The "Spring" Bath (2)

“Hmm,” she deeply thinks. She tries to think of a way to sneak in, though nothing comes to mind as she’ll look suspicious trying to sneak in around and stand out in the crowd.

She sees the person at the counter who’s not the usual she recognizes every time she visits.

Meanwhile, an idea comes to her mind.

“I have an idea and I think its worth a shot.”

Go on?

The black spirit, sounding a bit perplexed, waited for her response in earnest for a moment.

“Ah! I might as well take a bath since I’m here.”

That didn’t sound thoughtful to the black spirit; her reply was treated with skepticism. I mean, she might as well take a bath while thinking of a “plan”.

She walks inside normally with a smile on her face. It caught the attention of the counter person who pulled down his newspaper. She’s reminiscent of a customer that comes all the time.

He, however, seemed a little annoyed.

“How many people?” The counter person asked.

“One person, please! I’d also like to rent a towel.”

He stood up from his chair and took a pair of folded towels from underneath, “Here.” Then gently held it towards her.

Izanami took the towels and responded delightfully. “Thank you.”

“Thank you very much,” he responded, not so enthusiastically compared to Izanami.

She gave a slight nod before walking through the hung pink cloth on the left hand side.

An hour later, she comes out with a relieved sigh. She held the towel that wrapped her hair.

“Aah! How refreshing!”

Izanami felt as if her body resetted back to bliss. From all the chasing previously, I can understand. The black spirit, however, speaks the opposite.

The black spirit wasn’t fond of the way she’s spending time.

How time-consuming.

“It’s human necessity!” She argues.

The black spirit sighed. Don’t you have better things to do, like catching that spirit?

“Can’t you be quiet for once? And why do you worry?”

I have, all that time. And well, it seems to me that its more like entertainment.

“Well, whatever.”

After Izanami’s reply, she proceeds to continue her search for the lost spirit after a change of clothes.

———᯽———

“Even though I can’t go to the male section again, I highly doubt that spirit will be there again.”

With that said, it seemed suspicious that the lost spirit was around here anyways. Why did it linger in the male section? Let alone the bathhouse? Questions like that, even with answers are confusing to connect—so she didn’t bother much.

Izanami stood in place as she ponders, “Nothing makes sense here.”

She then asks, “Hey, do you sense it nearby?”

…

“Wassup? Why aren’t you saying anything?”

…Well, actually, when you were taking your bath…

She listens closely.

It was as close as when you encountered it before.

Wow. What a revelation. To think the black spirit was as clueless as her was a mistake. Waiting until now to reveal such crucial information must be frustrating for her. But, instead of showing frustration, she immediately rushed back inside, not turning back at all.

Going past the person at the counter, though he didn’t notice. No, more like she blitzed past.

Just like before: at the time where she needed to desperately climb over the high school fences and right when the rain poured down the earth, almost losing control for the second time.

Instead of going back to the female section, she darted inside the male section.

Going through the changing room, though no one is present.

She reached out her hand while her eyes bulged from focus. And then, she darts past the sliding door, with the lost spirit in front. In a flash, her reached out hand was on the verge of contact with the spirit.

Never before has she been this physically intensified. With that, she would be strained during or after the moment as consequence. But no. Nothing of that sort. In fact, she had continued, leading up to this point.

Though, even with such immense speed, the spirit swiftly dodged to the right of Izanami’s now firmly closed hand.

Izanami exchanged blows of grabs, while the miniature, lost spirit exchanged evasive darts.

On her next attempt of grabbing, she missed completely by the shortness of keeping track. Even to no avail, she kept her head leveled as the lost spirit escapes once again.

She remembers something odd a short time ago: during the bath, the other visitors left; the bathers stood up and followed along.

This was weird to her.

She keeps a serious face and asks, “Where is it now?”

The black spirit replied, Back to where the lookout person was.

“Alright.”

Now, this was the perfect chance to catch it.

———᯽———

The lost spirit wavered in the bathhouse, determined to not get caught in the grasp of Izanami, our Drafter.

The spirit turned back to see that Izanami has caught up. She blitzed through the bathhouse, following behind, and continues to do so.

The spirit doesn’t want to get caught, it wants to stay and continue Its linger with no issue. That’s Its desire. The desire to continue moving forward to keep its peace. And to It, Izanami is an issue that needs to be avoided.

To Izanami, the lost spirit is something to be caught by her hands. Intriguing as the being is, it doesn’t feel justifiable to go to such length.

Then, the spirit stopped its waver and stepped up to Izanami who stopped the following moment. In a firm stance, glaring at the spirit. The spirit mimicked her glare. It’s features is distinct, undoubtedly. But compared to the black spirit, its light is dazzling. Luminous enough to where It shimmered with a pure, almost glowing white, making it easy to spot in a brownish environment like this bathhouse.

Once again, they resume to their cat and mouse game. She grabs, then it dodges. She grabs, then it dodges—continuously, for more than a few seconds.

Lasting almost an impressive amount of time, she couldn’t keep up any longer. Her speed and accuracy diminished by the second.

Izanami paid close attention to the spirit’s movement pattern.

It wavered in eight directions. With Izanami following behind, it almost resembled an octagram. An eight pointed star that connects every third corner of a regular octagon.

She stopped her attempts momentarily, following every direction the spirit continuously dodges to. She’s waiting for the right moment to strike.

And then…

“Prr!?”

The spirit had stopped its waver. To their surprise, Izanami caught it.

“I did it!”

She raised her arms, holding the spirit intact between her hands. She’s happy, while the spirit became startled.

“Now that I think about it…It feels soft and squishy.”

After she curiously examined the spirit, It responded with a confused tone.

Izanami stares closely. Why was I catching this spirit in the first place?

She seems to be perplexed, but nevertheless understands. By all it was doing, wanting peace; a place to stay and rejoice.

It’s been done. Now all you need to do is keep holding it.

She follows the black spirit’s instructions.

Upon closer inspection, the spirit resembled a cat with its ears and mouth, though its body is like a blob, just like the black spirit. Its fading away. Izanami feels relieved and smiles like she shared the same sentiment. Its like Izanami helped the spirit be where its supposed to stay. She had realized this after the intense catching. It instantly reminded her of herself.

Izanami took a moment to pause. Moments after the spirit completely faded away, she knew it already ascended.

“How did you know on what to do?”

Instinct. That’s my guess.

She stretches.

Her stretching continued as its pleasant, especially after that intense fight. “There’s not a lot I know about you!”

—

“Are you one of those ‘I know a lot that you don’t! …Maybe a little too much?’ or?”

I’m no all-knowing being, lol.

Izanami halted, momentarily pausing with her movement. “Huh?” Perplexed, she can’t figure out what’s wrong.

———᯽———

Izanami is in her room.

She had reached back soon after.

Stood still, she crosses her arms with seriousness.

“So, how about we start getting to know each other?”

Agreed. We might fight sometimes but—

“—As partners, we have to work together.”

The black spirit snorted as Izanami finished Its sentence. Izanami perhaps had an idea of what inhuman words would come out of Its mouth.

She uncrosses her arms. “What even are you?”

I didn’t have the right time to tell you this, but just like that spirit, I’m also one.

“Yeah, you already told me that. What I mean is, your not like that spirit. Or you would’ve not been stuck in my head.”

I’m a contracted spirit. Me and you…made a contract. You are what we call Drafters—humans that contracts with spirits.

“…I made a contract with you?”

She sat down on her bed, waiting for the black spirit’s reply, who momentarily waited for her to continue.

No…

“What do you mean?”

Its quite the opposite.

Izanami doesn’t say anymore, staring across the room for a good while.

“—”

…I…uh…may have done it without your consent.

Immediately, Izanami stood back up. “So it was forced?!”

Well…

“And here I thought ‘I was just unlucky’.”

Even so, she wasn’t even conscious during the contract on that day. It wouldn’t have came across her mind anyways, though, if it wasn’t for the spirit, she would’ve been a goner; she acknowledges that.

Izanami sat back down and shrugged. “But eh, it is what it is.”

“Enough of that though,” she continued, then ponders. “Ah! Another thing. Do spirits have names or something to refer? Like you for example.”

The reason she asked is because there is no way of her calling the black spirit—whether that’s to talk or in need of aid, she definitely doesn’t want to risk an irreversible outcome when in danger. The black spirit understood her completely.

Like humans being male or female? No. Even that concept is undreamed-of. When it comes to names… Not sure.

“So then I just refer to you as ‘It’?”

Yes.

This wasn’t a surprise. Spirits don’t retain human gender identity. They don’t eat and drink, and probably don’t sleep either.

”Wait, how do you even know slang.”

She’s talking about after the catch, which the black spirit used familiar slang in Its reply.

How observative…and nosy.

Well, with that consideration really getting to her head, she just shrugged it off.

“Back to before,” Said Izanami as she goes to her desk. She opened her notebook and grabbed a pen from the tray. Pushing down the top of the pen with her thumb, the pen clicked and the silvery-gray tip showed. “How about we come up with a name?”

…Sorry?

”You know, something to call you as.”

I know what a name is.

She jotted down a few names on one page, increasing quite quickly across the two pages. During this, silence and thinking were all that mattered.

After finishing her brainstorm, she scans the two pages in hopes of choosing one of the many names that would suit the black spirit.

“Black Blob.”

Wha- No.

Of course, she didn’t consider the black spirit’s opinion on the important matter.

“Obsidian Wraith?”

—

The black spirit felt perplexed and Izanami could feel it herself.

“Okay, on a serious note, what do you think ooooof?” She scanned the pages again. Then, it hit—the name that genuinely took Izanami’s attention. Out of them all, this one felt right.

Izanami lifted her index finger and pointed for a moment, right before placing it on the name. “Noktu,” she called.

“Noktu,” she repeated. “What do you think?”

I…like it.

With that—and the black spirit’s approval—Noktu is now officially the name of the black spirit.