Chapter 5! Yay! Sorry it seemed to take so long for those of you incredibly anxious to read the rest :P  Got some things in here too that I found the names of in other fac-fics, so a thank-you to the authors of them :) Enjoy!

"Haku, do we really have to do that? Everybody here knows me already," Chihiro said.

"Well, I suppose you don't. But I'm worried about what they would think of Ruby."

"Why would I have to hold my breath?" Ruby asked.

"Because when we cross the bridge, we don't want anybody to see you until you have a job and can stay here freely, and holding your breath would complete the spell that I can put on you to keep you invisible," Haku explained.

"Ruby, now that I think of it, I agree with Haku that you should hold your breath. Some of the people here are a little aggressive, and it would be for the best. I will hold my breath too if you don't want to do it alone," Chihiro offered.

"Let's go then," Haku said.

"Wait! What's happening to me?" Ruby asked. "I'm disappearing!"

"Oh that's right! Just eat those berries that I gave you before. You'll be fine."

Chihiro and Ruby both did what they were told, and then took deep breaths and held them. As they crossed the bridge, Chihiro realized why Haku wanted her to hold her breath. That sweet boy. He remembered the last time and how Chihiro had clung to him while they crossed the bridge before. Just to make him happy, she held onto his arm like she did the last time, a smile spread across both of their faces, and Haku blushed. Ruby was holding onto Chihiro's hand so they wouldn't get separated, and they all continued across the bridge and towards the bath house. Instead of going into it though, Haku lead Ruby and Chihiro to some bushes to hide in while he told them the plan.

"Ok, now do you remember the way to get to the boiler room Chihiro? That's where we're going. I will let you lead the way this time to see if you can remember," he said with a sideways glance at her.

"I remember. We have to go out through the back gate and then down the long staircase," she said with a hint of nervousness in her voice. She dreaded going on those stairs again… The last time she tried that, she ended up charging strait into a wall.

"That's right Chihiro. I'm surprised you can recall it after so long."

With that, Chihiro lead the way through the gate and to the staircase. Ruby went down the stairs in front because thus far she had been afraid of everything in that world but the rickety old staircase, and now was the time for her to show her braver side. Chihiro, more afraid than ever, went behind Ruby. Haku went last, that clever little schemer. He heard the fear in Chihiro's voice when she recited the directions to the boiler room, so he descended the stairs behind her on purpose. He wanted to make her feel safer by holding onto her shoulder while they went down, and it worked.

The three of them reached the bottom of the stairs in one piece, or rather, three pieces, and entered the boiler room. As soon as they entered it they could hear the loud and steady clanging of the boiler, and the sounds of Kamagii grinding herbs into a mix for the bath tokens that had come to him. As they got closer, Chihiro saw the susuwatari busy at work. She had a lot of respect for the little soot balls. She remembered when she had helped one carry a chunk of coal into the furnace, and she also remembered how heavy the coal was. Kamagii noticed Chihiro, Haku and Ruby when they walked in, and after finishing with the bath tokens, he was the first to speak.

"Well, well. I knew that you and Haku had made a promise to see each other again, but I never thought that you would ever bother to come and see me while you were at it," he said holding out his arms to hug her. Chihiro went to him and was about to reach up to his working area when two more bath tokens came down. Kamagii hugged her anyway, ignoring them, and made it clear that they were more important this time.

"Kamagii, it's nice to see you again," Chihiro told him. "I brought my friend with me this time. Her name is Ruby; she's the one over there marveling at the susuwatari." And indeed she was. They are very fun to watch, actually. Running around with their bits of coal, and then jumping at the furnace to put the coal in, only to get blown back by the hot air and start all over.

"Nice to meet you Ruby."

"Yeah……," Ruby replied, distracted by the susuwatari. "Oh, sorry. Nice to meet you Kamagii. What are these little guys that feed the furnace for you?"

"They are called susuwatari. They used to be balls of soot, but I put a spell on them so that they could work for me." Then turning to Chihiro, he asked, "Where are you headed to after visiting with me?"

"We were going to stay here and wait for Rin to come, and then after we saw her, I was going to bring Ruby with me to get a job from Yubaba."

"Well do you have something that will remind you of your name? Yubaba will probably try to steal it from you again. She hasn't changed a bit."

"Don't worry about it Kamagii, I've already found something for them," Haku said. "I was going to wait until later, but now that we are on the subject I will give them to you now." Haku reached into his pocket and took out a bracelet. It was blue, and it had pink letters on it that said Chihiro's name. "I wove this together for you right after you left, even though I didn't know when I would be able to give it to you…."

"Oh, Haku, you made this? It's gorgeous!"

"Thank you," he said, blushing. "Ruby, I didn't know that you were going to come with Chihiro, but then Gyukudo told me so I found this," he said, reaching into his other pocket. It was a small ruby attached to a string. Ruby thanked Haku, and then put it on as a necklace.

Just then, a small door on the opposite side of the room opened, and Rin came out. She was carrying a tray of food for Kamagii and a basket of kompeitou for the susuwatari, the same as she did years ago. She handed the food to Kamagii, and as she fed the susuwatari, she was silent. She didn't even notice Chihiro and the rest of them until a susuwatari offered one of it's kompeitou to Chihiro, who thankfully turned down the star-shaped candy.

Chihiro just sat there, waiting for Rin to see her.

Rin looked up from what she was doing and saw Chihiro and the others, then resumed with her job. Suddenly she stopped dead. It didn't hit her before, but now she realized that it was Chihiro who spoke to her. She looked up again, dropped everything, charged Chihiro's way and began squeezing her to death, all while showing off a smile that kept getting bigger and bigger.

"Chihiro! I can't believe it's you! I'm so happy to see you!" She looked Chihiro up and down to see what she had changed to after so long. "Wow, your looking a lot older. It's been six years………….. So your sixteen, right? You've really grown. Are you still a clumsy dope?" she asked with a wink.

"No, Rin. But you probably are," Chihiro retorted before sticking out her tongue.

"Come over here and tell me how you've been." Rin pulled Chihiro to a corner of the room where nobody else could hear then talking. Chihiro told her everything about how she was back home, and what had happened so far while she had been in the Spirit World.

Meanwhile, Kamagii spoke with Haku and Ruby about other matters. "How are you taking all of this, Ruby? Are you having a good time here?" he asked.

"Yes, it's been a very refreshing change from the human world so far," she answered.

"Ruby," Haku began, "I want to apologize if you have been feeling like a third wheel. It's just been so long, and I've missed Chihiro so much….."

"It's ok, Haku, don't worry. I'm just happy that you and Chihiro are here. If I were here on my own, I don't know what I would do. So don't be sorry, I don't mind."

"Thank you for understanding."

There was a very long and uncomfortable silence after that.

A few minutes later and still talking, Rin and Chihiro came back to the others.

"Ruby, let's go. I'm taking you and Chihiro to Yubaba so you can get a job. Haku," Rin said, turning to him, "Yubaba wanted me to send you to her; she wants to talk to you before I get to her with the girls. You better take the fast lane, if you know what I mean."

"Right." With that, he changed to his dragon form and flew off.

 "I'll come back later and get your bowls, Kamagii." Rin motioned for Chihiro and Ruby to fallow, and they went through the small door and into the elevator.

"Ruby, there are a few things you should know about Yubaba before you waltz into her office and ask for work. She has a very short temper and low tolerance for small talk. But when she finally does give you a job, she will give you a new name, and you have to use it as long as you are here. That's why Haku gave you and Chihiro a thing with your names on it. Yubaba gets better control over you when you forget your name." She paused as they reached the highest floor that the elevator would take them to. She thought that she might have to try and hide Ruby, but then thought that nobody would notice her with Chihiro back, so she lead them to the next elevator they would take. "So anyway, make sure that you always wear that ruby on your neck so it can remind you of your name. And don't talk back to Yubaba, or she could get really angry or blame you for waking up the baby even though she is always the one who does. What with her yelling and slamming her fist on her desk when she gives an order. And then there are those discolored heads she's got jumping around her office………" They had reached the top floor where Yubaba's office was.

"Rin, are you coming with us?" Chihiro asked.

"No way am I risking my life. This is your problem," she said. "Good luck."

"Bye," Chihiro said as she waved to Rin.

"Thanks for the advice." Ruby had just enough time to thank her before the elevator door separated them from Rin.

As Chihiro walked with Ruby fallowing close behind, they soon reached the tall doors that lead to Yubaba's office. Chihiro was about to just open the door and keep walking, but then she remembered the last time. With her hand nearly to the door knob, she stopped and looked down. She could see that little head attached to the door, and then she smirked. She remembered how it had scolded her for not knocking before, and she also remembered that it used to be at eye level with her.

But that was back when she would have been afraid. So, she knocked.

"Well, Chihiro, I see that you have found some sense over the years," it began. "Come in."

"I said come in."

I know her name is Lin in English, but in the movies original language it's Rin. So there.