Haunted Hotel - Remake

[Kasumi Roseglimmer]

Kanna Kakimari

“No idea,” Saffron answered, not seeing a name on the painting of the maid. “Why are you turning your phone off? Ohhh, are you doing a forced restart because it was glitching out? Smart!”

Saffron saw Kanna turn her head to look down the hallway, her eyes tracking something that the blonde girl couldn’t see.

“Oh boy, not that thing again!” she rolled her eyes, gently pushing Kanna towards her room, “Come on…inside, missy…you need to take a shower and relax,” she said in a motherly tone, ushering her into her blue coloured room.

Searching for the bathroom, she led Kanna towards it, looking around the place. “Did you bring any bags or luggage with you? You’ll need something to change into once you finish your shower,” she told her, taking care of her friend. “But it does look like there are spare clothing from the 1950’s in the drawers and closet".

Saffron pointed towards them, showing Kanna the opened closet and drawers, which contained clean and new garments from the 50s era. “Hee hee, might be fun to dress the part. I bet I’ve got clothes in my room too. We should play dress-up!” she said, sounding childish to the other girl. That silly, playful and child-like side of her coming out.

================================================

The ghost of Cleotha the maid floated out of her own painting of her portrait and flew after the fire demon, chasing it down and bopping it on the head with her duster.

“Hey, no you don’t! I’M gonna impregnate that girl. You go find someone else to possess. I laid eyes on her first. Besides, the world don’t need no more fire demons. You guys burned this whole place down in the first place! Give the girl to us that needs to birth our forgotten babies,” she ordered, rubbing the large, round, twin filled bump that filled out her dress and apron nicely, making a huge ball of her middle.

“You’ll just scare the humans away. Leave this to me. Since you’re the reason my kids never got a chance to live, you crummy fiend. You oughtta make up for that!”.  

[Kasumi Roseglimmer]

Kanna Kakimari

((You're thinking of the 1960s. Disco came after the 50s, lol. Just Google '1950s clothing' to get ideas of what fashions were around. That's what I'm doing.))

"Hmph, that's what I thought," the beautiful young maid said, putting her hands on her hips. "We've waited almost 70 years for this chance, I'm not going to let you take the first mortal that's free".

Cleotha floated gently in the air while listening to the fire demon, smiling when it agreed to let her have Kanna as her vessel. "That's exactly why I want her. She seems like a very nice girl and I think she'll be a good mother for my little ones. She might even be nice enough to let me take control of her body sometimes so I can mother them when they are born. Well, I'd better hurry up and possess her before another ghost does. Good luck bringing in more humans," she said, not wasting any time before she looked at all the doors, trying to remember which room Kanna was in.

She saw the room number across from her portrait on the wall. "Aha! It was this one," the ghost said to herself, hearing the sound of running water as the young woman took her shower.

"Hmm, maybe she won't notice me entering her body while she's paying attention to her shower. I should possess her now," the ghostly woman muttered softly to herself, gliding through the closed door and floating around Kanna's room before entering the bathroom. She hesitated when she saw the small figure, Kanna's back to her. She did feel a little bit bad but this was her ticket out of here. This was the chance her twins needed to live. "I'm sorry"

Cleotha whispered her apology quietly amid the sound of the falling water, making sure that it was audible to the human, before drifting towards Kanna and jumping into her body, getting settled in. Cleotha tried to hide, but Kanna's belly grew very big, swelling up as her twins transferred into the other woman's womb.

"Maybe she won't notice I'm here," Cleotha said to herself, praying Kanna didn't look at her stomach or look in the mirror. She didn't speak in Kanna's mind yet, staying quiet, trying to be sneaky. She didn't want to suddenly start talking and scare her.

=========================================================

Saffron looked at the bags and suitcase on the floor. The bellhop must have brought them to Kanna's room when she wasn't looking, because she didn't see her come in with bags. Listening to what she said, Saffron giggled. "Actually, you're thinking of the 60s and 70s. The 1950s were before Disco came around. They did have ballroom dancing and stuff though".

When Kanna agreed that trying on 50s outfits sounded fun, Saffron was pleased and decided to find a dress or outfit in her own fully stocked room. "Okay. Then I'll go to my room to shower and get changed into some 50s fashion. I'll come knock on your door once I'm done," she said, not knowing that there was a ghost who was preparing to make Kanna pregnant while she took a shower. Saffron wouldn't be pregnant till a bit later, probably after she had a sleep. It would be a big shock waking up the next morning with a ginormous stomach.

"Alright, well, I'll go back to my room for now and leave you be. Enjoy your shower," she said, waving as she left. Saffron smiled as she walked back to her own room, taking her bathroom items and a fresh towel and walking into her private bathroom. She disrobed and put her shampoo, conditioner, soap and other stuff on the shower items rack. She then tested the water and stepped in, sighing as the warmth sank into her chilly bones. Saffron luxuriated in the water, not caring about the water bill since she didn't have to pay it, taking her time to get clean and relaxed. Once she rinsed off the soap, she turned off the water and wrapped herself in a huge towel, drying herself off before wrapping it around her like a short dress and walking back into her room, the carpet thick and soft on her bare feet.

The golden haired woman picked out a fresh pair of panties and a bra from her own belongings, putting them on before she hung up her towel and began looking through the closet and dresser drawers for 50s clothes. She gasped at how the clothes were all made for slim and slender women's figures. Not that that was a problem, since Saffron was tiny. Taking out a crisp white blouse and a matching gingham red skirt for a tiny waist, Saffron giggled as she put them on, slipping on a pair of white shoes with small heels. She went to the mirror and posed, turning this way and that to admire herself.

The young lady then went back to the bathroom and put on makeup, using a blowdryer, brushes and hair products to dry and style her blonde locks. She checked herself out one more time in the mirror, then grabbed her handbag, making sure she had her wallet and phone inside. She grabbed her room key and went out of the room, walking down the hall to Kanna's door and lightly knocked.

It had been about 20 minutes since she left, so she hoped Kanna finished her shower and got dressed already. "Kanna, are you ready?"

Saffron's clothes: pretty  

[Kasumi Roseglimmer]

Kanna Kakimari

Kanna wasn’t exactly dressed in 50s fashion, deciding to wear clothes from her own luggage, but that was okay, Saffron wouldn’t be too put out by the other woman not joining their game of dress-up. She was sure there were plenty of 50s outfits in Kanna’s room’s wardrobe and dresser that they could try her with later.

Saffron smiled when Kanna opened the door, swallowing her disappointment about Kanna’s regular clothes. “Oh, wow, you look so different than before! I could barely recognise you!” she said, in a positive tone. “So long as you’re comfortable. And look - look! I found clothing from the 1950s in my wardrobe and dresser! I put it on. Doesn’t it look great? This is so fun!~” she enthused, giving a slow twirl to show off the plaid red skirt, black bow upon the waist and white lacy blouse. “Women back then must have had tiny waists. They must have been very fit since they didn’t have the technology we have today to make things easier”.

Saffron followed Kanna into her room, looking around once again “Gosh, so much blue! This deep sapphire colour is very nice though. Compared to my room’s light blue and yellow hues. Hey, why are you going back into the bathroom?” Saffron asked, blinking curiously as she watched Kanna bend down to inspect something in the still wet bathtub. What she said unnerved Saffron even more.

“What? What do you mean? How could somebody else be in the shower with you? That doesn’t make any sense,” Saffron said, denying the idea of anything spooky being afoot. She listened to her comment about the substance in the bath, then cringed when Kanna actually TOUCHED it and brought some to her on her fingers, making Saffron take a step back. “It doesn’t look like water? Ew…I don’t know, maybe shower gel? Soap? It looks…slimy. Don’t bring it near me, eek!”

The blonde, leaning back away from it, tentatively peered at the clear slime on Kanna’s fingers, noticing that it seemed to slightly glow and shimmer in the light. She hadn’t even noticed Kanna’s stomach yet. Which was surprising because with her midriff bared, it would be very hard to miss the small bump. But Saffron had been looking at Kanna’s face, not her belly.

“Um, whatever it is, you probably should go wash your hand. Do you always touch unknown substances when you aren’t sure what they are?” Saffron asked, a little grossed out. Her expression shifted to concern when the other girl moaned, however.

“What’s wrong? Do you have a stomach ache? Maybe you need to eat,” she asked, wondering if it could be hunger pains due to travelling a long way without stopping for food. She was taken aback by Kanna’s own question. “Wha- why would that be? Oh, that time of the month? Bloated?” she asked carefully, looking down at Kanna’s stomach inquisitively and seeing to her astonishment that indeed, it had a rounder bulge than it should. “Umm…yeah, it definitely puffed out. Let’s go downstairs to one of the cafes or restaurants and get some food, yeah? Maybe that will settle it. Or you might have gas” she pondered, watching Kanna sit on a bed with a blue quilt. She sat across from her, on the other bed, facing Kanna. She shifted about on the bed, then bounced a little on the spot.

“Yeah, you’re right, these mattresses are pretty good. Must be because it’s a luxury hotel that wants to pamper their guests. Well, anyway, you go and wash that stuff off your hands. And then we can go get food and see what’s to do around here for fun. Are you ready to try some legit 50s cuisine?” she asked, “I figured since everything embraces the 50s here, even the food is gonna be interesting,” Saffron giggled, feeling her own stomach rumble emptily, hunger making her lick her lips. All she’d really had was road trip snacks to nibble on lately.

=====================================================

Cleotha stayed quiet, praying that perhaps Kanna hadn’t heard her whisper ‘I’m sorry’, while she was showering. She wanted to interact with the other woman but without scaring her, since being a ghost that was hiding inside Kanna’s body would probably scare anybody. Even someone who came into this hotel all dressed up, looking like they were going to a Halloween party. Cleotha didn’t know anything about video games, anime or pop culture. She came from a time too early for that.

The pretty maid focused on keeping her little ones small and still, restricting her pregnancy to an earlier, less noticeable stage in the mortal’s belly, though she would carefully grow Kanna’s belly little by little every day.

Hopefully without Kanna’s realisation at first. But it was hard to hold back and not just make Kanna at the stage of pregnancy Cleotha was at when she died. She might rush things if she got too impatient, causing the belly to pop out, big and proud. Cleotha would try not to do that. But she couldn’t make any promises. She’d waited SO long already. She didn’t want to be stuck in this hotel for another 70-80 years.

She had been a little careless while possessing Kanna in the shower, however, and some ectoplasm had been rinsed from her ghostly form and onto the bottom of the tub beneath the shower head. That’s what glistened on Kanna’s fingers, gooey and faintly glowing. Cleotha silently cursed herself for letting that ectoplasm get loose. “Oops, good going, Cleotha, you nearly gave yourself away with your ghostly goo,” she said to herself, internally facepalming at her careless blunder. “How did I not remember to tone it down on the ecto production? Guess I got a little too excited at finally having a mortal I can possess. Oh my gosh, did they just say something about getting food? I haven’t been able to eat for so many years! I can’t wait to eat again. I can’t wait!” she squealed quietly in her thoughts, thinking about how she’d be able to experience eating through possessing Kanna’s body. She could feel everything Kanna did, to a degree.

Cleotha peeked down at the tiny belly bump she had given to Kanna and giggled softly, feeling proud of herself for her plan working out. “Stay calm and quiet, my precious twins. I’ll let you grow bigger soon enough. You’re about to enjoy some real food for the first time in a long time”.  

[Kasumi Roseglimmer]

Kanna Kakimari

“Shall we go downstairs and see? I think there’s a buffet in one of the restaurants. That way, we can just pick what we want on sight,” she said, rising to her feet. “Mm, I’m in the mood for some warm and comforting autumn food. How about you?” she asked, knowing that whatever they picked would be charged to their room’s account and they could pay it before checking out.

She was glad Kanna went and washed her hands. That was pretty weird, what she did before. Who goes and gets something slimy out the bottom of their bathtub?! Saffron shook her head and chuckled softly to herself. Kanna was a weird one, alright.

“Yup, let’s hope so!” Saffron replied, crossing her fingers that it was just shampoo and not ectoplasm like in the Ghostbusters movie.

“Alright, let’s go,” Saffron agreed once Kanna was ready, glancing at her belly bump again. “You sure you don’t want to put something on over that to hide your bump? Maybe tie a hoodie ‘round your waist,” Saffron suggested, going to the door and opening it, hefting her handbag on her shoulder. She was bringing it with her more out of habit than anything. “Got your room keys? Don’t lose those!” she warned Kanna. She shivered a bit in the hotel’s corridor, despite the place having the heaters on. The autumn air was chilly.

When they got downstairs, Saffron tottered over in her white heels, to a large map that was on the wall and looked at the different restaurants and cafes the hotel offered on the ground floor. “Hmm, oh there it is. The one with the buffet. Sanctum Sanctuary! Neat name. Get ready to take your tastebuds on an adventure back in time,” she giggled, walking into the restaurant with equal amounts of trepidation and curiosity. Saffron picked up a plate and began to walk up and down the buffet table, assessing the dishes on offer. There was a dinner table, snack table and a dessert table plus a salad bar. The blonde girl spooned some meatloaf, green beans amandine and scalloped potatoes onto her plate, along with some chicken and dumplings plus some baked ham with pineapple.

She avoided the gross things jellified in aspic, like the ham salad. She also avoided the creamed onions and peas, oysters Rockefeller, creamed tuna on toast, bananas with ham and hollandaise sauce…people sure had some funny tastes back then.

Many of the recipes were delicious, though, so she picked the good looking ones. Saffron got herself some juice from a decanter and went to sit at the table, putting her napkin over her lap and waiting for Kanna to join her.

=================================================================

The ghostly maid heard the rage demon speaking to her while she was in Kanna’s body. “I’m already possessing her. She just hasn’t noticed! These silly girls have no clue what’s going on…for now, anyway. I plan to take full advantage of that,” Cleotha told the demon.

“I’ll grow her belly a little bit when she goes to sleep tonight. I doubt she’ll notice it’s gotten a bit bigger when she wakes up”

When Kanna began to pick foods to put on her plate, Cleotha allowed her cravings to come through to the girl, making her crave the same things she did while pregnant. “Oh, get some of those baked bananas with the ham and hollandaise! That’ll be really good,” she urged Kanna, murmuring the suggestion in her mind. She wouldn’t eat it if she weren’t pregnant. But her twins gave her the weirdest hankering for different things. “Oh and grab those creamed veggie filled pancakes with the peach garnish. Mm-mm!”

Cleotha hoped Kanna would just think it was her own voice in her head.

=================================================================

While the women were in the restaurant, a young man entered the hotel’s lobby. He went to the reception desk to book a room, allowing the porters to take his luggage upstairs aside from his tablet and stylus, which he brought with him to scribble down ideas for a new children’s book. Feeling both hungry and tired, Finn decided to get a meal before he turned in for the night. Strangely, the other restaurants were empty aside from the staff. So when he saw Kanna and Saffron in the restaurant with the buffet, he decided to eat there. Something about this place felt odd and he didn’t want to be alone with just the staff. For some reason they made him feel cold and a sense of eeriness followed him around.

Finn grabbed a plate and grinned when he noticed the blonde woman dressed up in 50s attire. He then glanced at Kanna and blinked when he saw her outfit, noticing her small round belly. While putting different foods on his plate, he spoke to her, “Aren’t you a little cold in that? It’s Fall, you know? By the way, isn’t this food interesting?” he chuckled, looking it over. “Some are delicious while others I could pass on”.  

[Kasumi Roseglimmer]

Kanna Kakimari

((Posted at last. Thank you for waiting! cat_sweatdrop ))



“Is that so? You come from a cold part of the country, then. I hear that places like Hokkaido get a lot of snow in winter... I’m from here, in the US. I haven’t travelled outside the country but I’d love to see other places. I’m sure they’d give me new inspiration,” he said, eyes sparkling as he thought about how overseas countries could inspire him for new artwork and stories and give him fresh ideas.

Finn kept listening to Kanna, doing his best not to look at her belly. He saw her picking some of the grossest looking dishes but held his tongue, thinking maybe she just wanted to try them out of curiosity. He was sure no one would willingly eat that otherwise. He held back a chuckle when she said the foods were amazing.

“Well, that’s one way to put it. They sure are unique and original, very colourful,” he said with amusement. Different people liked different things, he told himself. Maybe to Kanna, those foods would taste good. He was certain he wouldn’t like them, though.

When she asked his name, he quickly told her, feeling bad that he didn’t say it first.

“Oh, sorry, I should’ve said so sooner. Where are my manners? My name is Finn Shepherd. I decided to stay here on the way back from a long interstate trip promoting my new novel. Sorry, I don’t know why I’m talking so much! I’m usually an introvert, ehehe!” he paused and blushed, rubbing his arm.

“I just feel like this place is…well, too quiet. When I saw you two ladies, I came here to eat because all the other restaurants are empty, except for the staff. I thought it was a bit strange. Maybe this hotel is new, though. Not many people must know about it yet, or something…” he mused, finished filling his plate and now looking for a table to sit at. He was hungry so he grabbed a lot of food.

He kind of wanted to ask to sit with the women so he had some human company but didn’t want to make them uncomfortable, so he began walking towards the tables, slowly wandering, trying to pick one that wasn’t too isolated. He would try to sit near them, if he could, without being obvious about it. Eavesdropping on people’s conversations was a habit he developed. It gave him more ideas for his novels and he learned interesting things about people that way.

===================================================================

Cleotha heard the demon’s soft, crackling laughter, followed by his words. “Oh, I WILL. You can be sure of that,” she replied firmly, not caring if he listened or not. “I’m not doing this for fun but I may as well enjoy the experience while I use this girl. And what are you staring at that boy for? Don’t you go causing him any trouble. He seems like a nice young man,” she stated, not wanting the fire demon to harm him or scare him.

It turned back to her and she met its gaze through Kanna’s eyes, able to see what the girl could not.

“Ha! YOU telling ME to be careful? That’s rich coming from a demon!” she snorted in his mind.

“Of course I’m not gonna let anything bad happen to her. I need her to give birth to my children. Not only that, but I need to take over her body so I can mother and raise my babies and to finally escape this godforsaken hotel! And don’t you even think about stealing her. She’s MINE”. Cleotha said sternly to the demon.

“We ghosts ain’t the ones responsible for burning this joint down and then trapping us all here for eternity, remember that”. She told the demon as a parting shot, looking back down at the food and rubbing her hands together in glee. “Hoo boy, we’re about to chow down. Let’s feast!” she said, licking her lips as she waited for the girl to pick a table and start eating.

“Hurry up and eat already. Stop gabbing to the newbie, chickadee. I wanna taste that good stuff,” she urged Kanna, her voice softly whispering in the Japanese girl’s mind. Cleotha had some attitude.

======================================================================

Saffron had picked a table in the middle of the restaurant so she had a good view all around her. She waited for Kanna to join her, raising her arm to wave, beckoning her over. “Kanna, over here!”. She saw the silver haired man Kanna was talking to and wondered if they knew each other. “Who is that? Is he one of your friends?”

The blonde questioned the dark haired beauty once Kanna was within hearing range.

“That’s the first other hotel guest I’ve seen here besides us. He looks cute,” she said with a smirk, lowering her voice so the stranger (Finn), didn’t hear. She had already started to pick at her food, taking neat bites and enjoying them. Glancing at Kanna's plate, she worried. "I hope that doesn't make you sick, Kanna. You're braver than me when it comes to trying new things, ahehe!".  

[Kasumi Roseglimmer]

Kanna Kakimari

Kanna didn’t answer her question about whether Finn was one of her friends that she had been waiting for, so Saffron went ahead and assumed she didn’t know him. She was glad that another person showed up though. Maybe more people would trickle into the hotel during the evening.

Saffron grinned and laughed a little towards Kanna’s response to the food comments. “Ah, well, if people in the past ate it then I’m sure it’ll be fine. Maybe it’ll taste better than it looks,” she said, eyeing the food suspiciously. “Let’s enjoy our meals and then we can turn in for the night. I need a good sleep in,” she stated, politely raising her hand to cover a yawn. She continued to eat her dinner, devouring it hungrily but not in a mannerless way.

She watched Kanna take a bite of her foods, waiting to see her reactions. If Kanna liked it, she might ask to try a bite off her plate. She was just about to ask for a taste of the weird banana combo when Kanna spoke up first. “Huh? What do you mean? Food doesn’t just- ”

Saffron’s words froze when her eyes saw the table, noticing immediately that some of the food was floating in the air by itself and bites were being taken from it by invisible entities. Saffron didn’t know the Boo Brothers. She had never met them. She couldn’t see the ghosts since she didn’t have the sixth sense, but she could see the food being picked up and eaten. She dropped her fork in fear, uttering a short, sharp scream “Ahh!” Saffron got to her feet, flight or fight kicking in. She was ready to run when she heard voices coming from near the buffet tables. “K-K-Kanna! D-do you hear that? S-someone’s talking over there! But there’s no one there!” she stammered out, clutching her arms to her chest, poised to flee. “Th-the food is being eaten!” she squeaked. “N-n-no way…could it be…this hotel really is haunted?! I think those are ghosts!”

Saffron’s face was sheet white and she was shaking, scared but unsure what to do. “I don’t want to stay here any more. It isn’t safe. We should leave,” she said, not wanting to be anywhere with invisible entities she couldn’t see that were able to see them. She then looked at Kanna’s belly. “What if your belly is something the ghosts have done? Like, a curse. This is bad…” she fretted. “I’m not cut out for this! I hate horror movies!” she wailed. “Why meee?”

She didn’t want to stick around to find out what would happen when the lobster would upset one of the ghost’s stomachs. And she was more worried about Kanna’s stomach now than before.

================================================

Finn nearly dropped his plate when he saw what was happening, overhearing the women's conversation. "What? This place has ghosts? Really!?"

================================================

Cleotha talked to Kanna in her head. "Hello, Cleotha here. Don't mind me, I'm just a friendly ghost that's talking to you. I live here, y'know? Do't worry about those guys. Them's just the Boo Brothers. They ain't a bad bunch" she said, "Lucky ones that can eat despite being ethereal. Please eat, by the way. I won't let them harm you. And tell your friend to calm down" she said with a chuckle.

Cleotha then called out to the fire demon and the Boo Brothers. "Hey, guys, mind making yourself visible to oridinary humans? That blondie over there is going to have a heart attack otherwise. I think she'd feel better if she could see what you look like. Well, not the fire demon, just the Boo Brothers".  

[Kasumi Roseglimmer]

Kanna Kakimari

Saffron took a few deep breaths, then shakily sat down. “How do you know they’re friendly?” she asked, unsure. “Why are you able to stay so calm? I thought ghosts were just a made up thing. This changes my whole view of the world!”

She picked up her fork with shaking hands and resumed eating nervously, hearing Kanna whisper something to herself. Was she praying?

=============================================

Cleotha smiled, the gesture sending a warm feeling through Kanna. “Um…well…about that…it’s kind of a side effect of me possessing you. Don’t worry about it for now,” she told her, not wanting Kanna to freak out that there were twin babies resting in her womb.

“You are a strong person, so I’m sure it’ll be okay”, she said comfortingly, “I’ll tell you more about it when I think the time is right. Sorry, by the way. We haven’t had any humans here in so long. I had to take the chance when I saw it, so I jumped into your body while you were distracted in the shower”.

At least she was a friendly ghost, Cleotha thought. Kanna was lucky, really. There were some ghosts who weren’t so pleasant.

=============================================

Finn chuckled when he overheard the Boo brothers talking, regaining his composure more easily. “Well, well, would you look at that?” He said in amazement, sitting at a table near the two women, close enough to listen to their conversation. He started eating, “Dinner and a show” the man smirked, amused, watching the three ghosts and the fire demon. “This hotel was more interesting than I thought”.

=============================================

Saffron heard Curley say her name. “Yikes. I better be careful so I don’t join those three,” she muttered, taking some calming breaths to get her heart rate down, focusing on her meal as best she could, but glancing at the Boo brothers constantly, listening to them and watching their antics.

“I guess these guys aren’t really too bad. Just hope they don’t eat all the good food,” she said with a small smile and a chuckle. They did seem a little goofy. She then heard some laughter mixed with fire sounds and gasped when the fire demon appeared “But what about that guy?! He looks dangerous,” she said, pointing out the fire demon to Kanna. “Is that the fire demon you mentioned earlier? Are they bad?”

When he spoke, she nearly choked on her mouthful of food. “What?!” She broke off into a coughing fit, hitting her chest and taking drinks of her fruit juice to recover.

Saffron panted, a bit embarrassed. She then spoke to the rage demon. “Did you burn it down by accident or on purpose?!” she asked him suspiciously, pointing her fork at him. “Why are all these ghosts here? Can’t you just leave? Do you really love this place that much?”