To say the very least in the most polite way possible, some of the other kids were pretty brave, if not rude.The oldest boy and the other girl with the weird pink hair in particular were audacious enough with their opinions. Neither had sounded particularly threatening, at least, in Tori's eyes, since they were kind of going against some sort of witch here. Tori continued to fidget, biting her lip; it's like something bad was probably definitely going to happen.This Lady Katashi person seemed like the kind of wicked hag who invited children into her candy house so she could eat them, except maybe Lady Katashi wouldn't invite them and just grab them off the street instead.

As expected, disaster struck in a fraction of a second; Tori blinked and suddenly everyone was staring at something over to the side. When she went and peeked over as well, she saw a pig wearing the oldest boy's clothes squealing and running around. Honestly, Tori almost laughed at how comically bizarre and random this dream was getting, but no one else was laughing, and something about the fear in the animal's eyes felt awfully piercingly real.

Ugh, this was an awful nightmare. And it was taking so long too.

Tori watched the pig flail around for the longest time, getting more uncomfortable and restless by the second, until finally the thing turned back to the boy, and only then did Tori really realize that the thing was the boy along and the witch had turned him into a pig when Tori wasn't looking. The girl mentally slapped herself for being dumb, then returned to rocking slightly back and forth on her heels and spying on Lady Katashi from the corner of her eye, fully convinced now that now would really be a good time to shut up.

She screwed her eyes tight as the old hag made a speech about spirits and money-making and other stuff that didn't make sense. Tori turned the word "spirits" over and over in her head, heart slowly sinking as her trail of thought chugged deeper down the ravine: since she was (probably) dreaming, and dreaming was just like spirits leaving bodies to go to nicer, more fantastical places, then if Lady Katashi was telling the truth, she would be stuck dreaming forever and ever earning money for a scary greedy crone who turned boys into pigs because she wanted to.

Tori didn't like that idea, but the bathhouse itself seemed super cool (ignoring the geezer in charge of it), and she didn't want to become a panicky pig or cow or chicken, so she blurted, "Yes, ma'am!," snatched the quill in front of her, and signed the contract with the eighth signature she had invented that week, a series of scribbles and swirls that turned into a blot. She realized it was probably different from the last time she'd done it (again), but she shrugged it away and decided that this was her new signature (again). Besides, she was too nervous to really remember things at the moment; goofing off at the extravagant bathhouse (away from Katashi's office) for a while was starting to seem fun now that she thought about it more, but she wondered if her family would miss her. She didn't want to make them worry. Tori told herself that when the people in other stories like Alice or Dorothy got out of the other universe, it seemed like no time had passed at all, so now she'd stick by that idea and escape this place when she got tired of it, which wouldn't seem like it'd be soon; the palace was gigantic.

Slowly, the idea of the bathhouse was starting to feel enchanting again; maybe she would meet spirits who actually liked humans. The idea excited her, and she fervently prayed that the other kids would be excited, too; the last thing she needed at the moment was killjoys.

Mae quickly glanced back and forth as the two children were toyed with by the old crones magic, her mind running in circles trying to figure out how that could possibly happen. It was a dream, it had to be. There was no way such a thing could possibly happen in real life, it was impossible. The coming explanation would only send her mind reeling even more. The way the old witch regarded her made her face twist a bit, 'the silent one' to be 'seen and not heard'. It made her wish she even could shout, but all she could do was bite back her irritation as she gripped her note pad.

With each passing sentence she could feel herself growing more confused, and annoyed in equal measure. Spirits...and for profit? Using them to make profit off of spirits that would eat them if given the chance? She found herself remembering back to childhood fairy tales, Hansel and Gretel, Red Riding Hood and plenty of others. The girl quickly wrote something again, catching one of the papers that were tossed out by the witch. She looked over the contract for a moment, grimacing at the strange characters on the page. They may have well had been moon runes to her, which made her glance back to her own paper wondering how the witch could even read her writing if this was how she wrote.

Still she raised her notepad once again. ”What about when we're not needed anymore. Are you just gonna eat us then?” The message read, Mae glancing back to the contract. It didn't make sense to her, if they were wanted for workers why let them go after signing a little sheet of paper? She always heard to read the fine print on any contract... but no one ever said anything about contracts written in weird spirit runes. Looking around again she noticed some of the other children already signing the papers. Maybe they didn’t care, just wanted an adventure, but she was too skeptical to sign immediately.

Blake couldn't believe his eyes, instantly placing his hand over his mouth after seeing Daniel turned into a pig. It wasn't everyday you meet a witch. It wasn't every day said witch turns a child into a swine. However, he couldn't quite place his finger on it, but something about this whole situation amused him. Watching a boy of age 14 being turned into a pig, and said boy running around helplessly with his clothes was simply put, funny. And Blake simply watched, in a stunned silence, as he continued to run around before he suddenly transformed back in an instant.

Blake's stunned silence came to an abrupt stop upon hearing Lady Katashi address him directly. Blake's first instinct was to put Tori or Mae in front of him, but instead he stood his ground. So if I do sign this paper I get to go-- he paused, thinking for a moment. No... Something isn't right, she is lying. If she were Pinocchio her nose would have already poked their eyes out. It wasn't like they had much choice in the matter, because if they refused, they would suffer Daniel's predicament. It was a case of sign the paper, or get turned into a swine.

Blake, knowing that indirectly their choice didn't matter, picked up the ink quill and reluctantly signed his name. Maybe if he, and the others, co-operated they would all be able to go home soon to their loving parents. Nathaniel and Victoria would of loved to have a word with this... Lady Katashi. Unless, of course, they didn't like pork. That would be a problem...

Lady Katashi watched warily as the other children signed their contracts, but her gaze settled on Mae when she refused to sign hers. "When you're not needed?" she purred, leaning in, wrinkles deepening as she smirked sickeningly. "Dearie, you're always needed in the Bathhouse! I'm sure one worker in particular would tell you that, heh..." she croaked, tapping her talons on the desk. The other contracts floated behind her serenely.

The doors opened ever-so-slightly, allowing the reptilian "Master" Yoru to stride into the office, almost perfectly at home in the lavish area. In his hands was a struggling, squealing piglet; it wasn't Daniel, fortunately. "Perfect timing, Yoru, some of the children are having doubts about whether or not to sign!" called Lady Katashi gleefully, clapping her hands together. Yoru gazed at her for a moment with those narrow and empty eyes, before opening up a polished side-door. The children may be able to catch a glimpse of a filthy stone room, as Yoru tossed the piglet inside.

An ungodly roar ripped through the air like a knife, strong enough to make Master Yoru's dark hair flutter in it's wake. This was followed by frantic, scrabbling noises, a squeal, and then a wet ripping noise. Lady Katashi grimaced, for even she found it disgusting. Yoru shut the door with a click and all sound was cut off neatly, demolishing all traces of the beast that let loose such a noise. "You see, children, you'd be lucky if the spirits ate you." threatened Katashi darkly. Master Yoru was still staring at the door for quite a while now, before reluctantly leaving the monster within alone, and standing beside Lady Katashi.

"Do hurry and sign the contract, dearie, because she usually eats -two- piglets...and I need to know whether or not I need to send Yoru down to the pig pen for another one." crooned Lady Katashi, whilst she observed the other contracts floating mid-air.

Mae grimaced a bit as Yoru was called into the room accompanied by the shrill feeble cries of a piglet which made her clench up even more. Her eyes flicked between Yoru and Katashi before the side door was opened and the piglet was tossed inside. The girl wondered for a moment what they could have possibly hoped to accomplish with the little show. She wondered until the monstrous roar howled through the air that is. The girls eyes widened, a cold sweat forming at the back of her neck as the horrid sounds rang through the room. Mercifully the door was soon shut cutting off the source of whatever creature had made the noises.

The girl gulped heavily at Katashi's following comments, snatching one of the contracts from the air with a quivering hand. Looking at it she found herself hesitating once again, pen poised at the signature line. Mae bit the side of her cheek, her stomach sinking as she marked the paper with her name, releasing it into the air afterwards. When it was done she put her notepad away and gripped the strap of her bag, averting her eyes from the witch as her expression gradually shifted back to the pouting glare she often held. For a moment she felt the urge to look between the other children for their reactions to the events but refrained from actually doing so, keeping her eyes cast down to the ground.

Katashi's grin widened sickeningly as the final contract fluttered back towards her. "Such lovely names," she crooned, stroking the signatures gently. Her eye narrowed to slits as she regarded Yoru, who stared back at Lady Katashi dully. There was a pause, and Katashi swiped her hand once more; each name from the contract floated into the air, shining bright and golden.

Each name began to lose some letters. These letters floated serenely into Lady Katashi's wrinkled palm, leaving behind remnants of their names, the lost fragments in the Third Witch's grasp. MORGAN KIPPLE changed into MOKA, BLAKE HAWTHORNE changed into MAKOTO, MAE TOUSSAINT changed into MATO, TORI SKYE changed into TOMO and finally, DANIEL AMERA suffered the largest loss of name, losing his entire first name to be left with only the smallest piece - AME.

These new names soared through the air until the hit their respective owners straight in the forehead, sinking in. Yoru, for once, displayed an emotion; surprise. He turned to look at Katashi in shock - "My Lady, you can't...!" he started, only to be silenced when Katashi turned her glare onto Yoru.

"I can't what, Yoru?" she hissed, clenching her fist so that the remnants of the children's names shrank and fluttered out of the gaps between her fingers, onto a long sheet of paper hanging far away in a dusty corner of the office. It's difficult to make out from here, but there are many letters and short phrases - other people's names, with gaps where there should be small groups of letters. "No, go on. Tell me what I can't do." ordered Katashi cruelly, rounding on Yoru.

Yoru glanced back at the side-door, fearfully, knowing full well what lies just beyond it. "You can't....be so kind to them as to let them work right away, Katashi. Your generosity is unheard of." explained Yoru in a monotonous voice of resignation. Lady Katashi smirked a little, ignoring Master Yoru and returning her attention to the children.

"Well, there you have it. I was lying, as your kind seem to do so often. You do not get to leave the Bathhouse. Yoru, take them down to Mai." exclaimed Katashi, rubbing her palms together. "Thank you for helping me, children...you're too kind! Ahaeheheheheheh!" she shrieked, ending in a loud and cruel cackle as the same tugging notion that the children felt on their midriffs dragged them all the way out, out into the elevator with a resounding crash. Yoru, it seems, was also being dragged, but paced quickly with the dragging to avoid the dignity of looking like an equal with a human. He was the last to enter the lift and, before the children could protest, he pulled on the lever.

"I didn't think-...." started Yoru, before silencing once more. He sounded like he was in pain. A short, swift movement freed Morgan- was it Morgan? The name 'Moka' seemed to stick out more than her original name now - from the spell that bound her lips together. After a while, Yoru turned around sharply.

This was not the Yoru that the children were used to. The cold hostility gave way to a concern, almost parental, in Yoru's reptilian features. His orders did not sound like orders anymore, but carried a tone of urgency - these were warnings, not orders. "Listen closely. What happened to you there, that was not what I was told of. This is Lady Katashi's Bath-house, and you'd do well to consider what it is you say within it's walls, understand? Because it is Lady Katashi's Bath-house." he whispered, putting emphasis onto certain phrases in the hopes that the children would understand the implied meaning. "You'd also benefit from listening to Mai." he added wisely, before turning his back on the children, ignoring them.

The elevator doors slid open to reveal...a show.

A large throng of the women with the low-cut robes were waving their fans excitedly, whooping and cheering at a figure in the middle of the crowd. The frog-like men were hopping from foot to foot, laughing so hard that a few of them were rolling on the floor, tears streaming out of their eyes. They all stomped in time with whoever was in the middle, yelling out some form of chant, or song without notes. Yoru's commanding presence was not enough to silence the crowd, but a quick glance over their shoulders caused the mass of people to shuffle hastily to the side, revealing a long pathway cut through the hollering mass, and the figure revealed.

Said figure was one of the uniformed workers the children saw earlier, in the pink uniforms, that appeared to be cleaners. She was large, in the sense that she was tall and imposing, with more muscles than fat. She had wide-spaced eyes, and a flat, almost pig-like nose, with a wide mouth. She was also wearing a mop on her head, and shouting:

"My name is Lady Ka-ta-shi,
They call me the Third Witch!
I'll work you all to hell and back,
'Cause really I'm a biiiiii..."

The dancer trailed off, staring at Yoru in surprise, but only for a moment. She composed herself very quickly, her dance quickly turning into a twirl as she strutted down the isle, with the self-imposed importance of the woman who she was rather crudely pretending to be. "Yoru, dahling!" crooned the woman in a mockery of Lady Katashi. She had literally no shame, it seems, and emitted a friendly kind of warmth and protection that was, until now, non-existent in the bathhouse. She was genuinely amusing without the grim humour of lady Katashi, held a power that was stronger than the cruelty of Yoru amongst the workers, for this woman was someone who they genuinely liked, not respected. This was shown by the fact that very few of them fled from the imminent disaster - it was unlikely this woman would be able to evade punishment after being caught in the act of blatantly mocking her superior.

Yoru glared at said woman, knocking the mop off her head to reveal long, auburn hair that is tied hastily behind her back in a loose ponytail, the fringe tied into a smaller ponytail just above to avoid getting in the way as she worked. "What is the meaning of this?!" he shouted, and the crowd twitched in a single, unified cringe away from Yoru.

"Could ask you the same thing, Yoru!" roared the woman in return - until now, she's the only person to have ever talked to Yoru as an equal. "Pay deductions are fine by me, but no breakfast before work! Now we gotta clean the tubs before we even get a meal? You know that isn't going to to work, right?! We're going to do a rubbish job just to get our food!"

Yoru leaned back a little, and for a while, it looked as if this mystery woman was winning. But suddenly, she recoiled backwards, staggering away from Yoru and looking up at him fearfully. Clearly, something had happened just then; but since the children were behind Yoru, it was impossible to make out what it was. "You'll get your breakfasts back, then." he snarled quietly, raising his voice to the crowd in general. "You'll ALL get your breakfasts back! But the price you have to pay, you'll wish you had no food at all. The humans, are now workers of the Bath-house!"

Yoru might as well had said that he was going to start beheading the workers, because it would've given a similar effect. There was an uproar of wails and groaning from everyone, including the mystery woman. A large circle of space appeared on the floor around the children as the workers regarded them like a disgusting mould, the women with the low-cut robes hiding their faces behind their fans and talking to one another, the pink uniformed ladies pulling faces and jeering at them, the frog-men staggering away from each of the children as if worried they'd get infected just by standing near them.

"And you, Mai, get to look after them!" snapped Yoru. The mystery woman stared at the children in horror. "And if I hear one complaint from any of you, I'll take you straight up to Lady Katashi before you can even apologise! NOW GET BACK TO WORK!" he roared, causing the workers to scurry away and start cleaning with renewed vigour. Now, only Yoru and Mai were left. "They're your problem, not mine." snarled Yoru, turning to walk away.

Mai glared at Yoru sulkily, then stared back at the children hopelessly. Now and again, a worker would rush past with a bucket or a platter full of food, since they were blocking the corridor. Mai didn't seem to mind, instead she sat down cross-legged on the floor so she was about eye-level with the children, looking at them as if they were strange new creatures. "...So, what're your names?" she asked carefully, trying to open a conversation.

Rather worryingly, their new names would overrule their old ones in response to this question, no matter how hard they try to speak of their original names. It's as if the new name has eaten the old one, and continues to be blurted out of their mouth whenever they try to introduce themselves.

Tori didn't think she'd be seeing Master Yoru again so soon, nor did she think she would ever think of him as not the meanest person in this place (or dream, or whatever it really was). It was obvious now, though, that Lady Katashi was the most unpleasant person in the Bathhouse. Her orders aimed towards Yoru alone sounded suspicious. Even the piglet in Yoru's hands was nervous, and it had the right to be, the children soon discovered when its squeals and screeches ripped across the large room, accompanied by the roar of something...something possibly more unpleasant than Katashi. Tori choked on her breath, quickly averting her gaze from Yoru's (seemingly) nonchalant expression and whatever was past that tiny door. Out of this room...she couldn't wait until she was out of this room.

Finally, the last girl signed her contract; thank goodness. Lady Katashi didn't seem like an amicable enough person-thing to spare everyone else at the blunder of even one of them; Tori wasn't sure what Katashi would've done if the other girl hadn't signed it. She sent a grimace towards the other girl, sending a mental message of Geez, that was close! her way, and politely turned back to listen to whatever other cruel nonsense Katashi was going to spout, although Tori's fingers still wiggled restlessly behind her back, and she fixed her eyes at the wall right behind the witch to avoid throwing up at her disgusting expressions. Oh, no offense, of course.

She couldn't keep her eyes away, though, when her name magically peeled itself off her contract as if in a cartoon, and flew into the hand of the old hag in front of them. Tori watched in awe as the letters rearranged themselves. Before she could really read what the words now spelled, the letters flew towards her face, and she yelped, throwing her arms up the shield her face, but the word already flashed in her mind:

Tomo.

Tomo? What was that?

Slightly disoriented, Tomo(? That was always her name, right? Wasn't it?) took a while to process Yoru's sudden loss of composure, and suddenly, everything seemed a lot stranger and alien than before, while also so much more real. It was a bit too weird for poor Tomo, who nearly fell completely over as she was thrown out the room screaming by the same magic that had dragged her in. What? What did Katashi say? She was lying? But what was that supposed to...?

As Tomo stood in the rapidly dropping lift, she really didn't know what to think anymore. Katashi's little bit about not leaving the Bathhouse kind of concerned her, but she wasn't sure what she could do about it, and considering what the witch seemed to think about humans, maybe she would change her mind and eventually release them when she was tired of watching them. Tomo breathed sharply, telling herself she'd make the best of her job or whatever it was before thinking about stuff like that.

Surprisingly, Yoru was acting rather kind (as kind as he could get, at least), and especially after Katashi's show of cruelty, he suddenly seemed like the friendliest person-thing ever. Tomo mentally took note of his advice, getting a bit used to staying quiet. She could've asked questions, but Yoru probably wouldn't have answered them. Besides, the doors now opened again, this time to a pleasant change of pace--a performance of some sort.

Whatever the original context had been, seeing such a ridiculous display that seemed to entertain even the other spirits was such an amusing sight that Tomo couldn't help but break into laughter even after Lady Katashi's dark display of power. At least it was now obvious that everyone agreed that Katashi was no good. For a moment, Tomo has assumed that all spirits were like Katashi or Yoru, and it was refreshing to come across a woman like the one prancing before them now.

The moment of joy, however, was short-lived, and the air grew heavy yet again at the mention of humans. Tomo's heart sank. What was it with these spirits and humans? What did humans ever do to them? Well, whatever the reason, Tomo would make sure that she and the other kids would change that! She looked around at the other children accompanying her indignantly, seriously hoping they shared the same conviction. "Don't worry! We won't let you down!" Tomo announced publicly. Although that probably wasn't the reason of their disgust, it would hurt to show them how enthusiastic she was going to be, would it? Optimism was the key word here!

A shout from Yoru sent the workers back where they came from, and a few formalities (if you could call them that) later, Tomo found herself staring at the funny big lady from earlier. She would commend her for her comedy, but it didn't seem like she was particularly happy with humans either, so Tomo resorted to puffing her chest out and declaring, "My name is...Tomo!" Was that always her name, though? This nagging feeling kept bothering her, but she decided to ignore it, as it wasn't exactly helping the situation.

Blake Hawthorne stood open mouth as his name, along with everyone else’s, magically fluttered from the contract and into the air… It wasn’t every day you see what was clearly magic at work, Blake thought to himself, watching the names losing some letters here and there. Squinting, he attempted to make out what they spelt-- Bam. Before he could even protest, the letters soared towards his face and slammed into his forehead, sinking in.

Makoto… he thought to himself, gingerly rubbing his forehead. Makoto was… his name? Blinking, Makoto snapped his attention towards Lady Katashi upon hearing her say: “Well, there you have it. I was lying, as your kind seem to do so often.” Lady Katashi’s and Yoru’s previous disagreement didn’t even interest him, what did was the fact she lied. Lady Katashi had lied to them. How could she?!

Makoto was about to retort before being dragged outside, and into the elevator. Dusting himself off, Makoto regained the dignity he could and stood up, clutching onto his satchel as he stood in the corner of the elevator as it descended.

Makoto’s heart was lifted, however, upon hearing Yoru’s general concern for the children. Maybe Yoru wasn’t so bad after all. Yoru actually looked like he did care, deep down in his own way. Makoto made sure to remember his advice, and then waited in anticipation for the elevator door opening to reveal their new home.

Makoto couldn't help but giggle at the ridiculous display, finding it entertaining. Lady Katashi’s office seemed like a distant memory, and he was glad that everyone wasn’t as mean-- too soon. Because as quick as it came, the feeling had fled upon noticing how they were regarded like disgusting creatures…

Makoto didn’t know quite how to react, so instead he retreated back into his shell, hiding amongst the children. Makoto didn’t even come out when the workers were sent scurrying back to work. “Hello… I'm… I'm Makoto,” was the only thing he said to Mia before falling silent again.

Morgan.... or... Moka, she guessed. She didn't care as the spell was lifted from her lips, all she could do was glare at Yoru. It was his fault. Everything was HIS fault. He'd brought them here and now he acted like he had no idea of what intention the witch had. Now that her mind had been cleared in her disability to open her mouth, she saw that this was foolishness pure and true. And a boiling anger welled up in her, and as it did, a voice sounded in her memory.

"Now Mistress Morgana what's got your face so red?" The servants of her household poked her teasingly when she got mad at her father. Initially, Moka only more angry. "Mistress Morgana, shall I tell the guard to ready the catapults?" At this, she had to giggle. They alluded her name to her favorite tale; King Arthur and the nights of the round table. Since she was always fascinated with Arthurs sister, a witch named Morgana, the servants and her mother often called her that out of play.
"No!" She said at last, mocking a british accent. "I shall cast a spell on them all and be rid of them. Turn them to frogs!" At this the servants mockingly gasped.
"Such power!" He said, laughing a bit as he feigned horror. "We are not worthy Mistress Morgana!" The servant continued to laugh as he continued on with his duties. Morgan relaxed, her anger subsided with the servants company.

Mistress Morgana... She had to smile. She loved that nickname. Morgana, Morgana~ Mor.....Morgan. Right. Moka is such a cheap barbie doll name. Morgan had to roll her eyes at her 'new name.' She might like Japanese culture but why something so lame? Couldn't she be Yuki or Raitenin? Moka, what the hell was she, a coffee cup?

Lost in her thoughts, Moka didn't realize they'd been brought downstairs nor heard anything. When asked, she mumbled the word 'Moka,' to Mai. Right after, however, she started to pay attention and watched Yoru walk off, her eyes a bit softer this time. A servant... like the ones back home. He should have known better, but he didn't. Why...?

Daniel grinned, running a hand through his hair. He watched the letters rise off the page, curiously watching as peoples name get cut short. He watches as his name rises, smiling fondly at the letters, as if amused by their sudden life. Though this got cut short harshly as his name got mauled so short that he was left with only three letters. He opened his mouth as if to complain however he knew he could not for fear of severe punishment. He watched it come close to him, imagining it would pass through. It did not. Slap. "Ow." he muttered as the letters hit him square in the forehead. He obviously wasn't hurt it was more shock. He glanced to Yoru as he stuttered over his words, almost wishing to laugh in his face. He watched this bemusedly until the wicked croan of the old, evil witch sounded in his ears "Hm?". Silence. The world drowned out and he heard silence, his mouth dropped and he stared blankly at the witch. Surely. Surely she must be. She has to be lying.

The instructions of Yoru passed over him as he stared. He followed orders given to him but it took him a while to break out this state of shock "Forever." he blurted just as the room fell silent due to Yoru and Mai's argument. This caused a few people to stare but soon the room picked up with noise as everyone began to pick up working again.

Wait. He'd tried to mull over what was said No food? More work..? Wait people don't like humans? these thoughts ticked over in his mind. For a most of the time he'd remained quite quiet and didn't say...Anything save for a few replies. Only when he'd heard the dull murmurings of words around him did he tune in. Names. Wait. Names? People were reciting their names, but now they've stopped. And they're looking. At me..

"Ame"

Wait that wasn't his name... Was it? Surely it must be, he'd replied so methodically as if he'd done it his whole life! It had to be. This spirit world was messing with his head. He was is Ame that was always his name. Now he'd felt dumb, though the confusion couldn't help but show on his face.

Mai shifted her position a little bit. One of the frog-workers paused a little, muttering "Get a move on, Mai, you're in the way!" but a short, swift glare from the woman made him hurry on. There was an incredibly long pause, as the woman had no clue where to begin telling those kids what was ahead of them. Well, she had to get one thing out of the way, first and foremost.

"Alright then...I'm guessing She did something funny with your contracts and your names were floating, right? I'll...uh, yeah, I'll tell you about that when you don't look like you're about to pass out from too much information." continued Mai, smiling. She emitted a warm and protective aura about her, much more so than her cold co-workers. Instinctively, you'd know she's one to be trusted.

"Listen, I'm gonna take you guys somewhere quieter, but I'm no Yoru - you can talk amongst yourselves and ask me anything you like as we get moving. And I'll try to get you something to eat, too, you must be starving." said Mai, getting to her feet and then very carefully making sure that each child is helped up personally by her. Her hands are large, calloused workers' palms, but she held yours in a delicate, worried way as she helped you to your feet, as if worried that if she tugged too hard your arm would just pop off.

"Follow me, and honestly - don't fret about just ignoring me. I'm sure you're better off talking with each other, since you're all, uh...around the same age? Kinda? It looks like it." mused Mai, eyeing you sceptically for a minute. She did not lead the way, rather walked alongside you in a slow, easy-going manner compared to Yoru's brisk strides. The workers parted like the red sea in the wake of Mai, almost all of them snatching glances at the children as you walk past.

Mae's mind was still reeling from the thought of the hellish sounds that had just torn through the room mere moments ago and each new piece of information only added to the storm that swirled around in her head. Each of their names suddenly changing in mid air, worming their way into the childcare’s memories, and then finally the deceleration that they would in fact not be leaving. They would be stuck in the otherworldly bath house of spirits and monsters. Even as they were shuffled off by Yoru, who even seemed to be taken aback by the situation, Mae's mind or rather Mato's as it now seemed to be screamed that she knew nothing good would come of signing that paper. But nothing good would have came if she refused either. She was stuck between slavery and slaughter without a way of escape from either.

The girl soon found herself flipping through the pages of the note pad, her eyes glued to it, entirely oblivious to what anyone else said even as they were pawned off on another of the bath house workers. As she did so a name on the pages continually popped out at her until she finally arrived at the front cover, the same name appearing written in the corner with contact information detailed below. Mae Toussaint. She ran her thumb over the text, the words giving a familiar feeling, but one which seemed to be growing more distant with each moment. It was surely her notebook, but she was called Mato, so why Mae? She recognized the information but the name continued to feel unnatural.

Staring at it the girls head soon began to throb causing her to close the note book in defeat, finally looking up to take a look at the woman who they had been shoved off to. She was talking about... something she didn't quite catch. She looked strange as anything else they had seen since arriving, but she seemed preferable to Yoru at least. Still, she couldn’t muster the energy to 'say' much of anything at the moment so her arms simply hung at her sides, fingers tapping nervously against her book.

As the funny bathhouse lady thought about what to say, Tomo glanced around at the workers scurrying here and there. She tried to meet their gazes and offer up friendly waves, but none of them would so much as glance at her at the moment, so she turned back to Mai with a huff. At least she seemed nice enough. She didn't really seem like she loved to hang out with humans, either, but at least she was friendly about it. As for the contracts...Tomo kind of did remember something like that, but thinking about it made her head hurt and just gave her fuzzy images, so she decided not to ponder too much on it.

At the mention of food, Tomo perked up. Come to think of it, she was starving, and now would be the perfect time to show off how much she could stuff in her mouth. She skipped after Mai as she went, chirping, "That sounds super great! Thanks a lot! You're way nicer than everyone else here," she added with a tiny whisper before falling back to talk with the other kids, a giggle on her lips.

In particular, Tomo approached the girl with the notepad from earlier. She hadn't said anything the whole time, as far as Tomo could remember. That made her seem kinda shy, and right now she looked dejected to boot, so Tomo thought she'd cheer her up a bit. After all, if this group needed anything, it was a bit more brightness. "Boo!" Tomo said as she came closer. She offered the other girl a wide, toothy grin. "What's your name? I'm...Tomo! Mai said we should talk more, and I think we should. We've gone pretty far together, but we hardly know each other!"