❝ 油屋. in the service of the bathhouse witch

[aurie]

━━━━━━━━━━━━━━ ❀ ＭＯＲＩＫＯ.

location: workers quarters // hallway ‧ tagged: kodama ‧ job: herbs & tubs

森子. ━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━

the crisp, frigid air flew through her hair as she ran. her footsteps were light and graceful,
barely touching the soft overgrown earth beneath her feet. the meadow was surrounded
by trees on all side, almost like an oasis in the middle of the forest. whatever her skin
brushed seemed to liven, and her fresh flowers were left in her wake. she only slowed
for a single moment; a moment to inhale the smell of morning dew, clean air and... feet?

her eyes fluttered open, squinting at the growing light filtering in through the papered
windows. the putrid stench was coming from the fox spirit who slept merely a few inches
from moriko. the spirit's foot was brushing her nose, twitching every few seconds as it's
owner had quite an interactive dream. she sat up slowly, rubbing the sleep out of her
eyes with balled fists. working in the bathhouse meant an erratic sleep schedule, one that's
troubled her since she arrived. sometimes she was working in the mornings, sometimes
she didn't rise until dusk. obviously, she wasn't going to be able to go back to resting. her
uniform was sitting next to her, neatly folded and cleaned for the oncoming work day.

the door shut lightly behind mori as she exited. her brown hair was tossed up in a ponytail,
still laced with tiny pink flowers that never seemed to go away, no matter how many times
she combed and picked at them. there was a lot to be done, even during the day. her first
task was to probably head down to the boiler room to bring food to kamanji and the susuwatari,
although kamanji usually doesn't stir awake until water is needed. she enjoyed the old man's
company as she sorted and arranged herbs into their collective cabinets.

she had only taken a few steps before she heard a melodic tune wafting through the corridor.
it was unmistakably kodama, who's talent and elegance mori envied on a daily basis. sometimes,
she even avoided doing jobs just to hear her friend perform. moriko stood in silence, unable
to move until the harp faltered and ceased soon after. the bird spirit was undoubtedly nearby.
unable to contain her sudden burst excitement, moriko rushed to meet her, stumbling a few steps
before running down the hall. a few unsteady turns later, she came face to face with the entertainer.
the forest spirit had to take a second to catch her breath, attempting to regain her posture and act
like she hadn't just scampered around like a total child.

"good morning!" she chirped, giving her a sheepish smile. "are you off to get breakfast?" she asked,
tilting her head to the side. "i'll go with! i was just heading to the kitchen for the boiler man," mori
remarked, following kodama down the hall. it didn't occur to her that she was being intrusive until
the words came out of her mouth. she had only befriended kodama recently, after all. "i mean, if it
isn't much trouble..."

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[ari,]

ＣＨＩＥ ＹＡＭＡＵＣＨＩ!
Ｃ＇ＭＥＲＥ ＫＩＴＴＹ ＫＩＴＴＹ！xxwhere; halls tag; open!

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xxxThis place was absolutely beautiful. Each detailed structure and wondrous creature that walked through the doors lit her up with excitement, marveling at the spirits of Japan. Previously told that such beings were just fairytales, to watch walking - talking - beings discuss among one another, gamble, and bath was amazing. How could someone not enjoy this? Chie didn't want to leave, it was as if she was in a story book. But she knew that there were others reluctant to stay here, seeing the bathhouse as more of a prison than a gift. More specifically, the other five humans that wandered the halls and snuck their head in here and there. Unfortunately, any encounters that Chie had with them managed to end very quickly as her loud voice and unknowingly crass words made them run away as fast as they could possibly move their legs. So she had gotten to entertaining herself by bugging the boiler man and entertaining the tiny little coal animals that seemed to be the only thing not scared of her (though she had lost three shoes in the process).
xxxUnfortunately for Chie, however, she wasn't fitting in as well as she thought she would. Every job that had been handed down to her had been immediately failed. The towels had been dropped in mud, she insulted a river spirit, she scared the living daylights out of the workers, she took more money than she was supposed to, and don't even get her started on the tea. She was an absolute nightmare to work with and had become infamous among the workers, whispers talking behind her and a few even teasing her about it. But it might have been because of just how dense the girl was, but none of it bothered her. She wanted to stay and that meant finding a job that would fit her.
xxxSo here she was, on what she called "toilet duty" (which in detail meant cleaning out the baths that the workers didn't want to handle) and was avidly dodging working on it. Yesterday she had fallen into a pit of mud and waste, the smell was still clinging onto her clothes. After that incident, she had decided she really wasn't quite suited for that job. "Shh!" she whispered towards a tiny little frog after he noticed her creeping along the halls, hugging the wall and checking behind every corner. With a confused look on his face, he must have decided it wasn't worth his relaxation time. Okay, so far so good, no workers were coming. "Nope, I am not cleaning out the stinky toilet baths! How does someone get that dirty anyway? Didn't their mom tell them that isn't good!" she pouted, pondering about the merits of every job except that one. The job she really wanted to obtain was one that greeted the customers, where she could see each spirit and have lovely conversations and gleeful chats. They told her she wasn't exactly cut out for that.

[darling lady]

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name ;; Akane Hanabi
age ;; unknown
location ;; home
with;; Chie

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Time often meant very little to spirits. They were long-lived creatures, some of them even possibly eternal. Some spirits would sleep for years without noticing, for, like the spirits, the spirit-world was unchanging. It was nothing like the humans, their world seemingly flipping into a new state every time the spirits blinked. But time was important to some spirits, even with their age, and time was very important to a particularly productive spirit: Akane Hanabi.

As soon as the first rays of sunlight filtered through the glass, Akane was stirred into waking. The sun was a pleasant feeling, and its presence filled her with energy, as if the beings of fire were both connected. She stretched and yawned, basking in the warm glow for a moment, before moving to the vanity table and sitting in a plush red chair. Akane had multiple rooms to her name, but had a small room if you considered it to the bathhouse witch's rooms. That still meant they were huge, bigger than any of the guests rooms. Certainly much bigger than the servants rooms. Each room was decorated with someone whom obviously had a taste for elegance, nothing was too gawdy but it still inspired a sense of awe and wealth. Of course, the decorater was Akane herself, for she was much too picky to allow anyone else to do such an important task.

Akane applied red paint to her lips, and black charchoal to her eyes. After making sure her hair was impeccable, she moved to the next room, which had a larvge table, but only one place set. The servants knew that Akane had impeccable timing, and managed to set breakfast out right before she walked in, insuring three things: 1. Breakfast was hot and ready for Akane. 2. The servant was gone before Akane walked in. 3. The servant kept her job.

After eating, Akane left the plates for the servant, before heading downstairs. The sun was still barely in the sky, for Akane believed in being time efficient. It was important that everything was shipshape for the customers. So, when she heard a loud little voice refusing her work, Akane instantly changed courses. She knew the voice all too well, and was not surprised to see the little human around the next corner. Akane sighed, why couldn't everyone be compliant? Sometimes she was tempted to see if she could cast a spell on everyone, but it would do no good if they all accidently died. Then who'd clean the tubs? (Akane had her priorities well sorted).

"Chie, what are you doing?"



▬▬▬▬▬茜花火

[pika beanie]

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sugar,xxxx flour,xxxx andxxxx milk--oh my

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xxxxxxxxxx.tagged; katashi
xxxxxxx..whereabouts; kitchen
xxxxxxxx..job; cooking mama
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how long had the scenario kept repeating itself? being surrounded by actively demanding spirits on a daily basis, the constant,
overbearing smell of hot steam from the baths raiding the air--it could bear a lot of weight on a guy's conscious. for koki, it
was all the more significant since he didn't have any means of technology at his grasp every morning he woke up. it had been
the one thing that had kept him together, but now everyone was at risk for being casually rewarded with a glare. there was
no mistake that it had to also do with him suffering through the same periodic rundown, day after day. wake up, serve. get
ready for the day, serve. eat, serve. even his free time was him being at every spirits' beck and call. he still couldn't wrap his
head around how he got himself tangled up in this twisted scheme. a twisted scheme run by an obnoxious witch and her long
chain of other supernatural cohorts. maybe it was because he couldn't remember much of how he got captured by the spirit
realm, but what he did know was that he'd have his butt trampled if he dared to go against their orders.

what saved both humans and spirits alike from koki completely losing his mind was coincidentally his job. cooking for
everyone at the bathhouse had become an unusual refreshment he could look forward to every day. back in the human
world, he was notorious for being a pro with electronics but he was no stranger to the ways of baking or cooking either. not
the kind where shameless frozen, microwavable lunches or dinners were involved, but customer-qualified, homemade meals.
he never used to be a fan of helping around the house as a kid so his mom would make deals with him, many of them having
been of him cooking for the family sometimes. recipe books were part of the fifty percent of books he read in general, and
if his hands could speak, they would have a lot of stories to tell about the downsides of making food with hot oil. that was
pretty much all the talent he had so he qualified for mainly being one of the chefs of the bathhouse--technological work
was completely out of the question as they were completely extinct in the spirit world.

that morning he and katashi chose to make white miso soup with garlic and ginger, and broiled salmon. it was a simple yet
savory dish that was a traditional breakfast in some parts of japan. sticking to his routine, he had gotten up earlier than the
others since he had to cook for everyone and acting late was strictly not part of the job. already the kitchen was perfumed
with the delectable scent of grilling fish and the curious mix of fresh ginger and garlic, which would be an invigorating wake
up call for anyone if they were to walk in. koki's hands flew as they prepared in cutting up thin slices of tofu, bok choy, and
vegetables while also taking care with not having the fish get burnt. the portion was large so he had to be extra mindful of
his timing. he didn't bother in admitting it but he was thankful for the added help of katashi. it was a plus that he didn't
make any effort to bring up conversation. he wasn't particularly in the mood for it and he concentrated better when no one
was talking to him.

of course with each peaceful situation there had to be a little turbulence. a faint threatening spark between him and
katashi bit the air, a form of competitive vestige that had become a normality within their stay at the bathhouse. there
weren't any need for words as they silently fought against each other to hold the "title" of the most fastest cook. there a
brief exchange as koki stopped stirring the miso soup and faced katashi with a poker face meant to intimidate him. "you
should give up your useless wrestling with me. i'd just win anyway." he stared, mumbling the last part to himself. it
was like it never happened as he quickly went back to stirring and adding in the ingredients, but he made no signs to slow
down himself.

[mercenary]

xxx ＫＡＴＡＳＨＩ ＹＡＭＡＧＵＣＨＩ.
xxxxxxxxxx( ｈｅ＇ｓ ｓｏ ｒｅｃｋｌｅｓｓ )

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who? ;; koki xx what? ;; servant ( maid ) & chefxx where? ;; the kitchen
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Water shattered at the sudden connection between skin and liquid, struggling to swim past
small wrinkles within the skin of his face. His eyelids peeled open to reveal a pair of pale
blue eyes peering back at him. Everyday seemed to be a new struggle to maintain his cool
and not scream, he was always angry it seemed like. Someone could be simply breathing
next to him as they slept and it would make his eye twitch involuntarily. Sighing, he
retreated from the old, crummy bathroom and glanced towards the room scattered with
sleeping forms, the same pink uniform delicately placed beside them. His, however, was
rather different from theirs. It was the traditional white chefs coat and matching hat which
slumped significantly towards the left at an odd angle as if it had been sat on.

Curtains of dark bags hung below his eyelashes, clinging regrettably to his face, he still
hadn't gotten use to the early hours even after being trapped for a whole month. He simply
wasn't born to be a morning person, it was a complete surprise to him that he managed to
wake up on his own somehow. Better than to wake up to Akane pinching his cheeks in
order to wake him up, those were the days.

Deciding to try and take a faster route towards the kitchen, workers were crowding the
elevator anyways, he plopped his bottom onto the railing of a stair and proceeded to slide
down them. It was efficient in his mind but it only concluded in him slipping off several
times, a few almost to his death. But ah, who cared as long as it got him there in one
piece? If anyone had a problem, they'd have his usual morning grumpy self to deal with.
And that wouldn't be a pretty sight.

Practically dragging himself across the hardwood floors with a few creaks accompanying
him, he glanced down the hall to discover two figures. From the original sound it was
indefinitely Bitter Birdie and Moriko. Not wanting to deal with either of them he
jeered left into a corresponding hall and continued this pattern until he reached the
familiar doors of the kitchen. Various food aromas were wafted towards him as both
servants and chefs exited the double doors wielding mass platters of grub most likely for
the more...prosperous of the occupants here. They had to have their morning chow or else
they might just die, which in Katashi's mind wasn't a bad thing at all. He himself and
probably many of the other humans haven't eaten just yet, you learn to survive off small
rations living in the bathhouse.

Kicking the door expecting a better response than to be smacked in the face as it bounded
off the wall he examined the room. A growl spat past his lips at the sight of Koki, already
cooking, having of beaten him here. As he travelled towards his working area he thanked
the gods that there was no comment about him being faster. The fellow didn't seem to see
his presence, and if he did he showed no care. Noting the dish of the day was miso soup
and, his favorite, salmon he quickly began to chop green onions and tofu in order to catch
up to Koki who had gotten much farther.

"you should give up your useless wrestling with me. i'd just win anyway."

Slicing part of his index finger with the knife, Katashi gritted his teeth as his cold eyes darted
towards the face of his arch nemesis. Bringing his now bleeding finger to his mouth to
contain the blood he cringed at the sight. They looked similar in a repulsing way.

"Oh please, Koki. You must be the worst cook here anyways, I don't even have to try. I
mean, your specialty is indigestion."

He snapped through the plug in his mouth before removing the bleeding flesh and washing it
under the sink and continuing his cooking process. Now more aggravated than ever, his tofu
wereno longer neat little squares but came out as deformed rectangles. He cursed to himself
before taking a deep breath and managing to return his cool.

[avanhellica]

ＤＡＩＳＵＫＥ ＂ＫＡＺＥ＂ ＲＩＶＥＲ
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the river spirit ( occupation ) human resources ( mood ) "there's always work to do" ( location ) office > hallway ( tagged ) no one > kodama, moriko
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Kaze rubbed the back of his neck, exhaustion sweeping over him. He had spent the majority of the morning reviewing customer complaints. It was just a lovely thing. Complaining. It seemed like a pointless argument. That, for the most part, didn't get a person anywhere. Complaining never got anything done, so what was the point? Especially when the business, or whatever it was the customer was complaining about, had little to no issues. Kaze made sure of that. It was his job, after all, to sort through the customer's complaints and fix them. And there had been so many since his arrival in the bathhouse that most of the issues should have been solved. But apparently not. Spirits always had things to complain about. And lately they had been the smallest of details.

Kaze shuffled through the file laying across the desk in front of him. These were the latest complaints, concerns, and praise that had been written down from yesterday evening. All of them messily stacked within a manila folder. All of them handwritten in various signatures and scrawls from either other staff members translating for the guests or by the guests themselves. Half of the folder had already been sorted and fixed, but there was still a good hunk left for Kaze to finish. And hopefully before the morning was over. Otherwise it'd be extra work for him the next day.


● This lavender herbal water smells too much like sage. Can that be fixed?
● The floors in the hallway to the bathtubs are sticky. It'd be nice if that wasn't a problem anymore.
● Dining rooms seem small. Perhaps an expansion is necessary?
● Food was too salty. I couldn't even finish eating it.
● Toilet tissue could be softer.
● Lovely entertainment. Especially that harp-playing spirit.

Most of these complaints sounded crazy. And would make the most sane of persons want to repeatedly slam their heads into the desk. But that was why this was Kaze's job. He had no feelings. So, while it did sound dumb, it was one of those trivial tasks he could easily handle, while still maintaining strong levels of sanity.

Kaze began to write notes to himself on the pad of paper sitting in front of him, occasionally rapping the pen against the corner of the table or chewing on the end of it. An annoying little habit he picked up towards the very beginning of being assigned this job.

-- lessen sage smell
-- invest in more expensive toilet paper
-- praise kodama when time permits

Unfortunately the rest of the complaints would have to wait to be fixed. Or simply not fixed at all. The wooden floors in the hallway of the bathtub were cleaned every morning before guests arrived. But the sticky-ness cannot be helped; this wasn't the first time that had been a complaint. It was simply the way the herb-water worked. But it also helped to prevent any slippery accidents from happening.

Expansion was out of the question because it would cost too much money. But this had been the first issue with the dining rooms, so Kaze filed it away for proof later -- should it become a rising issue.

And there was no way in hell Kaze was going to bring up the salty food. Not with Koki and Katashi on the floor. They'd bite his head off if he so much as dared to even bring up such an insult. Too much salt!!?? Impossible!! And then fighting over who made the awful dish would most likely ensue. So Kaze figured it was some sort of fluke and simply decided to keep the insult hush-hush. No need to bring it up.

Kaze ripped off the piece of paper from it's pad and folded it neatly before shoving it into the hidden pocket within his hakama. While he typically enjoyed wearing formal kimonos, he preferred wearing the divided formal hakama instead; enjoying the fact they could have a more "pants-like" form to them, instead of a skirt. This made traveling easier for the spirit as opposed to the option of accidentally flashing people as he moved about.

Kaze made his way out of the little office space he worked in, figuring now would be a good time to stretch his legs and get something to eat before the sun set. On his way towards the kitchen, he spotted Moriko and Kodama.

"I'll accompany you if she doesn't wish to go there at this moment," He replied, coming in towards the end of the conversation. "And if Kodama does, then I'll accompany both if you if that is alright. I have been up in the office all day sorting through complaints so a bite to eat should do me well before this evening approaches."

(( ooc ;; lemme know if my font is a pain to read and I'll change it. I know it can look different on everyone's devices.