I'm sorry! It's been so long since I've updated! I've just had no idea as to what direction I would be taking this story.

Chapter Nine

Sen hurried off to the side of the tub, clearing the way for the customer to climb into the tub. The blob crept up the side of the tub before tipping over almost in a dive, crashing into the surface of the water. The bathwater quickly spilled out of the tub onto the floors, nearly taking Sen with them when they reached her. By the time the wave had dissipated, the water was all a dark, muddy brown.

Sen looked up at the customer, trying to ignore her disgust that her legs were now completely covered in mud. The mud blob poked its head up out of the water and looked around. She took that as the clue to get more water.

Slowly, Sen waded through the mud over to the compartment. It took her only seconds to clip the second of the tokens she had taken to the string and sending it to Kamaji.

Sen turned and waded through the mud over to the tub. As she did, the water trough came down from the wall again, descending to its position over the tub. Once she reached the tub, she scurried up the side and grasped the rope. Sen jerked it quickly, hoping that the water would help with the smell.

The water began to pour down onto the spirit, overflowing the tub and spilling out onto the floor, this time sweeping her with it. Before she could fall, a tentacle of mud covered entirely by water swept out of the spirit and picked her up. Her eyes widened in terror as the tentacle moved her toward the spirit. It came to a stop with her head partially in the stream of water falling over the spirit.

After mere seconds there, Sen's hand hit something. Instantly, she grasped it, recognizing it for a handle. "There's something stuck in his side!" she called out.

"Something stuck? Get the staff down there," Yubaba said with a speculative look on her face. By now, it was evident that she did not believe this to be a stink spirit.

"Sen!" Lin called from the hallway. It took her only seconds to run through the stream of water and up the side of the tub to Chihiro. "I won't let him hurt you," she said as she grabbed Sen around the waist and pulled.

Even as the two tried to pull whatever the item was loose, Yubaba dropped down from the balcony to float in the air above the water. "That's no stink spirit we have on our hands." She conjured a length of rope and tossed it to Sen, who quickly grabbed it and tied it to whatever it was that was stuck inside the...customer.

As they worked at securing the line, the staff filed in and took hold of the rope, which had unravelled enough that the staff could all help in pulling the item out.

"It's tied on!" Sen called to them.

Yubaba stood atop the room divider, pulled out her fans, and said, "Everyone ready on my command. And. Heave."

Every time Yubaba, and the rest of the staff who joined in, said 'heave', they pulled on the rope as a unit. In a matter of seconds, they were making progress. Soon enough, the item became visible. Sen, who was till at the front of the line, was able to see it. She did not stop pulling, but she asked in confusion, "A bicycle?" And a bicycle it was.

More items were entangled in the bicycle. The all began to come out in a heap of waste and mud, pushing the staff away in a veritable mudslide. Sen, who had stood on the tub's edge, was lucky enough to be at the side of this mudslide. She was not pushed away and to the ground as the rest were. This meant she was able to pull out the last little plug from the customer.

When that little plug was removed, a sort of hissing sound, rather like a sigh, was emitted from the water, which most of the staff presumed to be not a customer despite the animation with which it entered the bathhouse. The water had stopped flowing, and the mound of mud was no longer there. The water settled into the tub.

However, some of the water came up to encircled Sen in a sort of water ball. Thanks to this water, Sen did not hear Lin's cries, "Sen! Sen, where are you?"

Amidst the stillness of the glassy water and the steam, an aging, though very large, spirit mask came up out of the water. After a few moments in silence, it said, "Well done." It faded away into the steam as though it had never been there.

The water surrounding Sen receded, leaving her clutching what appeared to be a river stone. She looked back up to the tub, only to find the steam fading away, leaving only a tub filled to the brim with water.

In the seconds following, the staff made a discovery. Amidst the trash, mud, and water that now littered the floor, almost like a river, there was gold. Immediately, they all rushed forward, trying to claim what they could of the gold.

Yubaba, seeing this, spat out to them, "Back off! Our guest is still here, you idiots!"

Even as she spoke, the water from the tub began to form a sort of bubbling mountain which grew and grew until it burst upwards in a long stream of water.

The customer was leaving in what appeared to be his proper form: a dragon of water. As he left, he laughed, curling around the rafters before shooting out the main gate.

The remaining customers and staff members began to cheer, but this did not surprise Sen. It was the sudden euphoric embrace of Yubaba which surprised her. "Sen, you did great! We made so much money!"

Only then did she let go of the teen. "That spirit is rich and powerful. Everyone learned from Sen. Sake's on the house tonight, but first hand over all the gold you picked up."

That, of course, brought a whole round of protests. Sen did not care about the gold. She had helped someone in need and had been rewarded with a river stone, which she presumed to be valuable in some way.