Nostalgia

"Welcome back," a Frog at the gate called to Hana and her crew, "Enjoy yourselves. Oh, and you've got a new companion. I see Inferno has been a busy boy lately. I'm going to begin counting down until he goes on his tirade; then we'll all see some real action." Chihiro was clueless as to his words.

"You see, Inferno tends to come here to throw fits every time one of his brides escapes. Not that he searches the bathhouse, but he does cause property damage that Yubaba isn't that fond of. He's in debt to her up to his nose after all the explosions he's made. It doesn't matter whether or not we come to call; he'll show up anyway to make trouble. So don't worry when he arrives, you're safe," Hana warned.

The girls continued on their way inside the bathhouse. However, the guard at the gate looked at the young woman bringing up the rear with a puzzled expression on his face. He thought, 'If I didn't know any better, I'd swear that was Sen all grown up. But that's impossible; she died a thousand years ago. Man, when Haku sees this one I don't want to know what'll happen. And it's his pity party today as well.'

Chihiro and the others had rented a tub that was especially designed for groups. As the new River Spirit took a look around she found herself sensing familiarity hanging in the air. This place…she had been here before. But was it all a dream of sort? Certainly, Chihiro didn't remember ever going to the Spirit World and staying around. However, this room, the field, the ship, even the workers were all somewhat familiar to her. Nostalgia began creeping in, sending cold shivers down Chihiro's backside.

Kira, ever the cheerful one, ceased her splashing match with Kaze to speak to their new Sister. "Hey, Chihiro! What's wrong? Did your parents ever take you to something like this in the Human World and you're thinking back to it? If so, you should have told us that this would be too painful to do. We could have returned to the hideout and had a private party. Only reason we came was so you could feel refreshed after your ordeal." She shrieked then; Kaze took advantage of her distraction to dump a pail of water on Kira's head. Then, the two were back to fighting, leaving Yume and Hana to pick up the pieces.

"I've never been to a human bathhouse before," Chihiro told the girls, "But somehow, I feel as if I know this place. This entire world has burned itself in my mind like a forgotten memory. Almost as if I came here before as a child. However, I know I never wandered around the lands of the Spirits. What if I was a Spirit in a past life or something? If so, then how did I die? Am I more than I thought I had been?"

"Well, past lives aren't usually remembered so vividly; either by humans or by Spirits. Second, I don't know how you could have forgotten something like this...unless you passed it off as a fanciful dream. Third, I wouldn't worry so much. Whatever it is will pass with the shifting of Time," Yume told the girl.

But before Chihiro could thank her new friends, she heard Inferno's voice boom, "Where's my bride! My newest lovely has gone missing! If I find out who has sheltered her, then they are going to wish they'd never interfered with me!" It was accompanied by explosions and some falling walkways.

Chihiro was curious to see what was going on. So with Ayame cloaking them all in shadows, the girls snuck along the hallway to where the Volcano Spirit was throwing his hissy fit. Suddenly, an old woman wearing a blue dress jumped down from the top floor to confront Inferno. Kaze smirked. "That's old Yubaba; the owner of the bathhouse. She and Inferno detest one another; she hates him for the obvious reason that he always wrecks her bathhouse and never pays for repairs, he hates her for the reason that he just hates most people. It's always fun to watch these two spat like two human children."

"If you want to come into my bathhouse," Yubaba told him, "Either make an actual search for your missing brides, do it as a customer, or be willing to pay for all the damages you have amassed over the years. I thought I was rid of you once and for all; you never came around again after number five left."

"I was playing possum; my latest bride is quite different from the rest. I'm still not sure what type of Spirit she is. You and I both know that anyone who wishes to stay hidden won't be hanging around your bathhouse; so many Spirits in one place after all. That means they're definitely not here. But I can express to you all my anger so that anyone who hides them from me will know my wrath," Inferno yelled.

As Yubaba prepared an attack spell to knock Inferno off his feet, the crafty Volcano Spirit opened a portal to his own dimension and stepped into it. Luckily, she was skilled enough to extinguish the magic before it destroyed any more of her bathhouse. The witch muttered, "Next time I see him…he will die!"

At that moment, a brown haired woman wearing a pink uniform came downstairs to survey the damages. She was relieved that it wasn't as bad as usual; when Kira had escaped, the entire front of the hallway was blown apart and the guests were trapped inside. This time, only a few rafters and walkways were destroyed. "Yubaba, if you want I can gather the Yunas together and form a cleaning detail to get the mess cleared away. I'm afraid we'll have to hire a carpenter tomorrow to put it back in working order."

"Lin, you go do that," she muttered, "I'm going to make sure everything is ok upstairs; if my son was hurt in any way by that monster…then I'll find that volcano of his and blow it apart with him still inside the crater." Yubaba then left, leaving Lin to get ready to begin the cleanup. Just another Inferno attack.

"If you would like Lin, we'll help out. After all, he's after the six of us," offered Hana as Ayame broke her shadow. Lin could clearly see the five missing brides were all together. Then, her eyes settled on the sixth one; Chihiro. She was definitely new to the group…but why did she look so much like Sen?

Chihiro stated, "My name is Chihiro; I'm a River Spirit. It's nice to meet you. I don't mind helping out at all; I'm just grateful to be away from that man." She smiled at the young woman, however her heart was again feeling strange. Although she'd never met Lin before today, she looked real familiar to the girl.

Lin winked and then turned. "Thanks girls. I know I can always rely on you when you come by." With that, she left to get a group together to clear the debris. However, she too couldn't shake the feeling that this young woman named Chihiro looked like Sen. Come to think of it, what was Sen's real name?

Teefa's Last Words...

Well, that's another one gone, and a big mess for the girls to clean up. We get Haku into the mix soon, say next chapter.