So lavish…
Sen Getsusa marveled as she walked through the Bathhouse.
Her own World had livelier scenes, yet this feverish energy was rare.
Every employee bustled with purpose; guests lounged in pools, some in shorts—others in their own robes, horns sprouting from their heads—dancing to the songstress's drums, fans plucked from nowhere.
Spring gods in fox masks, plump radish-like deities, and duck-basilisk phoenixes—all relaxed as attendants pampered them.
The Bathhouse's décor reminded Sen Getsusa of Meguro Gajoen: odd murals, romantic Taishō facades.
Wood floors thudded beneath every hurried step, the sound merging with drums and shouts.
The building was a self-contained World; mist slicked the corridors, dampening her skin and chilling her clothes.
Reds and yellows bled through the fog like van Gogh swirls; staff dashed past chanting work songs.
Around the corner waited the lift.
Open-sided, it rose past a spectacle of pools large and small, guests dancing or sipping sake over rice balls.
Higher still, secluded rooms offered privacy; pink-sakura-robed maids giggled as one girl tugged another's robe loose.
At the top: Yubaba's quarters.
Underused compared to below, Sen Getsusa thought—dark empty halls lined with huge vases and murals, eerily quiet.
Mr. Bai strolled slowly, giving her ample time to gape.
"Yubaba is waiting inside."
After twists and turns he stopped at an enormous door.
The Boy pointed, then left without another word, face cold.
…
Sen Getsusa watched the so-called Mr. Bai vanish into darkness. Just as she raised her hand—
A vast force seized her collar.
"So rude—like a clueless human! Get in here NOW!!"
A hoarse ancient voice cracked; Sen Getsusa felt herself locked in place.
The owner hesitated, judging, then yanked her forward.
Sen Getsusa's feet left the floor as doors slammed open and shut—bang, bang—until she was hurled into a spacious office.
BANG!
The final door shut.
The force whirled her mid-air, then let go—clearly hoping to see her fall.
She dropped.
Twist, curl, roll.
Like a leopard she flowed, instinct and technique merging; she landed light and unhurt.
She straightened her boots and coat while the voice mocked.
"I see, a human."
Had the room and voice differed, Sen Getsusa would have thought herself back with Yubaba's Sister in the bottom swamp.
Before her stood Yubaba: huge nose and chin, squat powerful frame, eyes bulging—identical to her sister save for heavier gold and gems, and décor born of gaudy taste.
Three green heads crouched by the desk legs: exotic pets.
"No contract, no work—and she lets a human stay intact!" Yubaba snarled. "How many days, human? Let me count my sister's blunder."
"Half a day?" Sen Getsuka squinted at the chandelier. "So even here, not working is a sin?"
"Half a day?"
"Half a day?!"
Bang, bang, bang! Yubaba stared intently at Sen Getsusa, raising her hand and slamming the table hard. "You actually dare to lie to me?!"
The candelabras around them and the books piled on the desk began to vibrate. The entire room was filled with a familiar power—the same force that had pulled her earlier.
Then, before Sen Getsusa's eyes, Yubaba flew up from behind the desk in a fit of rage and charged straight at her! Her massive eyes were bloodshot as she stared menacingly at her.
"I smell a heavy scent of a witch on you—you stayed with my sister for at least fifteen days!"
"Oh, Yubaba, you... can tell?"
Sen Getsusa took a subtle step back, avoiding the giant nose that was pressing against her chest.
"Hmph! You think you can fool me? I am the Master of the Bathhouse!" Yubaba spoke with pride, her bloodshot eyes still fixed on Sen Getsusa.
"I see..." She nodded, casually twirling her curly hair with her finger. "Maybe so much has happened lately that I accidentally forgot."
After saying that, she nodded with certainty. "It must be that. Besides, there isn't much difference from the time you mentioned."
"Are you joking?! You lazy human!" Yubaba sniffed Sen Getsusa with her large nose, her gaze falling on her gloves. "She even wove a barrier for you!"
Sen Getsusa raised her bunny gloves and looked them over. "A barrier?"
"Hmph! If it weren't for the barrier she wove for you, do you think a human could pass through Spirit Street unharmed?"
Sen Getsusa focused her gaze and silently invoked Profiler.
[Witch's Barrier (Bunny Version): Once worn, non-human entities will perceive you as one of their own.]
[Please be careful not to take them off in front of them; the instinct of some entities is to tear everything apart.]
[Note: Cannot be sealed into a card, cannot be transferred (ineffective if worn by other creatures).]
Sen Getsusa understood in her heart that Yubabas Sister had done a lot for her without her even realizing it.
She shifted her gaze subtly toward Yubaba.
[Witch: A god-human of this realm who has managed the Bathhouse for centuries, performing purifications for visiting guests.]
[Energy Level: Yabai!]
Sen Getsusa:... Looking at the silent girl, Yubaba laughed sinisterly. "If you don't want to cause trouble for that person, you'd better find a job, understand? Otherwise, my sister will be very troubled because of you."
Sen Getsusa nodded obediently.
"Everyone must have a job here. And I am willing to hire you..." She hooked her finger, and a contract and a pen flew from the writing desk, stopping precisely in front of Sen Getsusa.
"Sign the contract, and you can leave with that person's dividend." Yubaba calmed down briefly, trying her best to put on a kind expression as she looked at Sen Getsusa.
"Sign it. You don't actually have to work for me; it's just that since you exist here, you must follow the rules. Only those with a 'job' can pass through the Bathhouse Station. You and I will just put on a show for the 'rules'."
Yubaba negotiated with Sen Getsusa.
The girl's eyelashes fluttered as she carefully examined the contract, her eyes as clear and calm as lake water as they slowly scanned up and down. Her long, curly hair made her already thin body look even more fragile.
It was hard to imagine that such a beautiful and pure girl would have such slender and soft hands hidden in her pockets.
Even harder to imagine was what those hands in her pockets were gripping.
Sen Getsusa tightened her grip on the silver table knife in her hand, then looked at the distance between her and the person in front of her, thinking for a moment.
She let go of the knife, pulled her hand out of her pocket, and grasped the quill.
"This should do it, right?" Before she could finish speaking, the moment the name was signed, the paper and pen flew back to the desk impatiently.
Yubaba nodded, turned around, and walked gracefully back to her distant desk, hopping onto her chair with satisfaction.
"Hahahahaha! That person's people also have a day like this! This round, I win!" Yubaba looked at the signed contract in her hand and laughed towards the ceiling, occasionally waving the contract at Sen Getsusa.
"You can go back! Human! Tell that sister of mine that if she wants me to dissolve the contract, she should come and exchange it for the Contract Seal!"
Contract Seal?
"And you..." Yubaba's wrinkled face was cold and eerie as she stared menacingly at Sen Getsusa. "...Please work for me for a hundred years first! Hahahahaha!"
Sen Getsusa stood in the distance with her head tilted, her right hand constantly rubbing the bunny pattern on her glove.
"Now, I'll be taking your name!"
Yubaba aimed her massive palm at the name and waved her hand toward Sen Getsusa's signature. The name was easily dismantled, as if it had heard some kind of call, and scrambled toward Yubaba's palm, leaving only a single short character from the long name.
"...Let me think, what would be a good name for you..."
Yubaba was talking to herself happily when suddenly, the name that had been summoned by her palm circled in the air a few times and then leaped back onto the contract without looking back.
The magic had failed.
Yubaba's eyes widened. She looked at Sen Getsusa, then at the contract, and screamed in rage!
"Liar! Your name isn't Nobi Nobita at all!"
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