Undying Love – Intense Rivalry

Author's Note: *cheers* Lookie, lookie! Chapter 4 is complete and ready! As you will read on in this chapter, I have introduced a new character to the story. It took me some time to create this character. XD Mwahahaha… *grins evilly* I hope you like it! ^^ BTW… after you are done reading my chapter, please review it. *loves to read your reviews and your suggestions of improvement* Thanks everyone! *hugz*

Several hours had passed quickly that day. Though Haku was busy doing Yu-Baaba's dangerous work all day, he couldn't help but to keep his mind off his work most of the time. Instead of concentrating on his work, he was imagining of the happiness Chihiro and he would share once they reunited. Only a couple of more hours to go, and Yu-Baaba would finally give him the Amulet of Life that would grant him passage to the human world and a human form. He waited for this opportunity for 6 years, and after all of the sacrifices he made, his dreams would finally come true.

A few hours later… there he was, sitting one of Yu-Baaba's leather chairs, waiting for her to come. He tapped his foot impatiently. What took Yu-Baaba so long? Haku had been waiting for her for half an hour already, to receive the Amulet of Life that he rightfully earned. And yet, there was no sign of her for the moment.

'I bet this is some kind of sick torture that Yu-Baaba has cooked up this time, making me desperately wait for her. I bet she's probably in one of the other rooms, laughing her head off at the sight of a river spirit, anxiously waiting for an old hag…' Haku thought to himself. All of a sudden, his dark thoughts were cut off as Yu-Baaba came into the room with… Raisuke.

No wonder she was late. She was with that lowly river spirit, Raisuke. He stared right into Raisuke's blue eyes in disgust, and Raisuke flashed an innocent grin. Raisuke got to Haku's nerves the first day he saw him. Raisuke was arrogant and talked too freely for his good. Besides, Haku always hated how Raisuke never took him seriously. Raisuke always played those innocent and immature games with his head, driving him crazy. There wasn't a time when Haku prayed that Raisuke would just shut up.

Raisuke was basically a somewhat-powerful river spirit such as himself. Raisuke was Yu-Baaba's second apprentice. Ever since the destruction and debt that No Face left to the bathhouse, Yu-Baaba hired another apprentice to help her pay off the bathhouse's debts. Raisuke came to the bathhouse about 2 weeks after Chihiro's depressing leave.

Ever since Raisuke was assigned the same position as Haku, Haku was annoyed with him. Haku had to practically beg for Yu-Baaba to give him a job at the bathhouse, and Raisuke got it easy. Raisuke was just some spoiled stranger, son of one of the most powerful river spirits in the Spirit World. And while Haku had to work hard for his position, Yu-Baaba freely gave Raisuke the same position that Haku had to earn himself! Raisuke didn't even work half of the time! It wasn't fair. In all honesty, Raisuke was some spoiled and arrogant spirit who thought that he was better than everyone else… just because he came from a powerful family.

'Pfft. Stupid Raisuke. Why did he have to come here? I was already miserable enough with Chihiro's leave, and then this arrogant jerk had to come along. What luck I have. Since both of us have the same position, Yu-Baaba always assigns us to the same jobs, making us… partners.' Haku exclaimed to himself in disgust, at the thought of Raisuke and he being partners. Just the thought of Raisuke already made him sick.

It wasn't that Raisuke actually did anything wrong, well not directly, anyways. But with his everlasting arrogance and his large chatterbox working at the same time, it wasn't hard to hate a guy like him.

Haku wasn't the only one who shared this opinion. Mostly all of the male workers in the bathhouse had a "secret" disgust for him too, probably because of his arrogant attitude and non-stop bragging.

On the other hand though, all of the women loved, no… worshipped him. It wasn't very surprising to Haku that Raisuke would attract many women. Though he was a jerk by all means, he was very physically attractive for his age. Raisuke also had lots of charm to go around, with his flirting experience and non-stop babbling. Raisuke was highly athletic as well, and he even belonged to one of the most popular and powerful river spirit families in the Spirit World. He was practically the perfect example of the ideal man that any girl could fall in love with at first sight, with all of the bells and whistles.

Raisuke, being about the same age as Haku, was about as tall as him. Raisuke was a lively, young man with probably the most handsome and lively blue eyes that a girl ever saw. His eyes alone radiated like bright stars in the night sky, acting like an addictive aphrodisiac to any girl that set eyes on them. Raisuke also had a chin-length hair style, just like Haku's, except his hair was in a golden yellow color. His overall body was well-built too, showing show his strong and attractive complexion. It seemed as though his body was created perfectly, showing no flaws at all.

Haku basically considered Raisuke as a glitch to his life, a problem, a pest, and a rival. Raisuke's need for attention and his arrogance always annoyed Haku to an extent that he tried to ignore him. He hated the fact that the girls could actually like something that was as self-centered as Raisuke. That thought sickened him even more, if it was possible. And for some reason, Raisuke always teased him and treated him like a child. He was first at the bathhouse before Raisuke… what right did Raisuke have to boss him around and treat him like an unequal?

He sighed in discontent. All of a sudden, Haku's train of thought went off its track, as a familiar and angry voice pierced through his cluttered mind…