This is a shorter chap than the rest, I know, and I'm sorry, but I couln't think of anything to finish it off with, other than what it already ends with.

thank you for all the great reviews!

Chapter Six: The Trouble Begins

Haku sat waiting at the bridge. Chihiro's work should have been done by then, unless something had slowed her down. He was about ready to go and look for her, when he caught sight of her, heading for him. He saw now why she had taken so long. She was dressed in a yellow kimono, adorned in variously colored flowers, a lime green obi was tied around her waist. She had her long hair pulled away from her face, but still allowed it to flow down her back. Chihiro blushed, as he stared.

"Lin helped me find these..." she explained.

"I'm glad," he replied. And indeed he was.

"To what might I owe the invitation, by the way?"

"Well, since it's so crowded inside, yet Zeniba has some rather lively music playing, I thought I might have the pleasure of a dance, with a beautiful girl."

"Uh-huh..." she said, stepping closer to him, "And who is this beautiful girl?"

"She's tall, with brown hair, wonderful eyes, and someone I love," Haku replied playfully.

"Such compliments you give her. I'm sure she'd be pleased," Chihiro said, with a smile, inching closer.

"I would hope so. It would be a shame, if she wasn't," said Haku, leaning down, to kiss her.

Chihiro smiled, as she kissed him back. They were interupted however, when someone from the bathhouse screamed. Both of them turned in the direction of the bathhouse to see the yellow-orange glow of a fire, on the upper levels, while smoke poured from one window.

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Lin sighed, in relief. Thankfully, the fire had been put out quickly, and no one had gotten more than a few singed hairs, or in Kei's case, a singed tail. Where the fire had come from, no one knew. All they knew was that Kei had come tearing down the stairs like a bat out of hell, with her tail smoking, yowling about a fire. There was only one being in the place who could cause spontaneous fires, and he had been with Lin, before, after and during the incident. Kei, like a typical cat, wouldn't give anyone a straight answer about where the fire had come from, or if there had been anything in the room that could have caused it.

Though, Lin had to admit, it had been funny, watching the cat run around, acting like a few burned hairs was the end of the world. Even more amusing was the look of disappointment on both Haku and Chihiro's faces. She was sure the fire had interupted any plans they had for that night. Underneath the disappointment though, she saw hints of fear, as if they had been dreading something like this would happen. It rather confused Lin, and if there was one thing she hated, it was to be confused. She would have to track the two down again later, and ask them what was wrong. I might know already, if I hadn't left, when Zeniba spoke to them... She complained to herself, as she picked up burnt bits of blanket and pillow. She was probably telling them about whatever danger she said she senses coming... But this was just a tiny fire... How could this have anything to do with what Zeniba senses?

Shaking her head, Lin continued to help with clean up. Something wasn't right.

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Zeniba paced back and forth in her office, ignoring the bird that buzzed around her head, even ignoring No-Face's questioning "Uh?"s... She didn't know what to say. She couldn't shake the feeling that the fire earlier had something to do with whatever her sister was planning. She knew it was Yubabba. That much had been certain from the beginning. Lin had told her it had just been a small fire, most likely and accident, since Kei hadn't said anything about anyone strange being in the room... As if that cat would tell anyone anyway. She'd most likely keep it a secret, all because she felt we needed to find out on our own... One reason I never have liked cats...

"You requested to see me, Ma'am?" said a dry, crackling voice, from the door.

"Yes, yes I did, Ryu."

"Mistress Zeniba, is this about the fire? I'll admit, I've been known to lose control every now and then, but this wasn't one of those times..."

"I never said it was Ryu. I was going to as if you know any way it could have started on its own, without your help of course."

"I just create it and control it," said Ryu, with a bow, "I am no expert on ways it can start for no appearent reason, unless a fire spirit does it..."

Zeniba sighed, "Very well, thank you, Ryu."

"You might ask Kei some more questions though..." he added as he left... "She was the only one in the room when it started..."

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Kei wasn't happy. That little brat of a pyro had ended up getting her questioned, and that was not a good thing. To show her displeasure with him, she waited, hiding under a chair, to ambush him, much like her mortal counter-parts. Although unlike most housecats, she wasn't playing. As soon as he was in range, she let out a yowl, and procceeded to tear his legs to shreds. She peeled herself off of him, before he was able to use any flames on her, and ran for an empty part of the bathhouse, leaving Ryu to tend to the bites and scratches.

She wished she had been able to do more, but being a cat had it's disadvantages. Size for one thing, and use of better weapons than claws and teeth. Though generally she had no need for weapons at all, as she was most often a calm, cool being, who preffered to sit on the sidelines than join in on a fray, but Ryu had thrown suspicion at her for the fire, and that just wouldn't do. At least she had gotten the message to him, or so she hoped.
Of course, Kei realized that going for Ryu made her seem all the more suspicious. She could find a way to smooth things over, like she always did. She was a cat after all, and cats were resourceful, and stubborn. And for now... She had other business to take care of, that had to be done now.

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Chihiro didn't sleep well that night. Her dreams were plagued again, by the images of fire, and dying spirits. This time though, she wasn't just trying to save her friends, she was watching herself try. The other her struggled to get to an injured Lin, and Haku, but she couldn't make it.
Then, there were two tall shadows in the flames, one taller than the other. A familiar voice echoed through her mind, "I told you, you would need good luck, child." There was a hint pf manic joy in the voice, that made her shiver. She tried to see who the two people in the fire were, but she couldn't make them out properly. Screams of pain, made her stop trying to see. Her friends were all dead, or dying now, and there was nothing she could do to help.

Haku didn't sleep at all. One, because every time he shut his eyes, he saw a similiar scene to what Chihiro was seeing, and two, Chihiro's tossing and turning made it impossible to sleep anyway. Her dreams must have gotten exetremely bad, for she was now thrashing around, muttering something, and as she shook her head, Haku felt tears land on him. In an attempt to calm her, he took the distraught girl in his arms, and held her still, muttering into her ear that everything would be alright. It took several minutes, but she eventually calmed down, handfulls of the fabric of Haku's clothes clenched in her fists, and face buried against his chest. Haku didn't let go of her at all for the rest of the night.

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Ryu winced, as he drug himself out of bed. His legs still hurt, because the damn cat had assaulted him. It was a clear enough message: don't pass the blame to Kei... Easy enough, when you weren't about to be blamed for the fire. If he had been, he would have almost certainly been thrown from the bathhouse, most likely by the dragon, and that wasn't part of what he was here to have done... No... No there was plenty to come between then, and the time he was thrown out, which he was sure he would be eventually, though not before it was too late.

"Good morning, Ryu," said the voice of his new partner.

"Must you do that, woman? Where are you?"

"In the shadows, as always."

"I'd get up and find you, but as you can see my legs aren't in the best condition, no thanks to you. Why are you hiding, anyway, I already know who you are."

There was a cold laugh, "You deserved what you got. You shouldn't have tried to pass the blame on a cat. And I prefer hiding. It's more fun."

"I wouldn't have had to pass the blame on anyone, if you hadn't started the fire in the first place. That's why you told me to stay with Lin all evening, isn't it?"

"Of course. We couldn't have them being to sure about who they blamed, now could we? I want doubt to get into their minds, until they no longer know who to trust. Creating chaos, Ryu, is an art. And I have mastered it in my many years. Oh, and don't bother trying to report to Yubabba... She's... Not giving you orders any longer."

"What? What did you do?"

"Let's just say the chain of command has changed a bit... I'm in charge now. I'll see you again tonight... Oh... and continue flirting with that human girl... Maybe you can make the dragon jealous enough that he won't be suspicious of us... or me, anyway, until it's too late..."

Ryu didn't bother to answer. He knew she was already gone.

He stumbled down to the first floor, and groaned. Figures that he would run into Chihiro and Haku first thing. Maybe she had known he would.

"Morning, Ryu," Chihiro grumbled. She didn't appear to be in a very good mood. Haku only gave the fire spirit a quick nod.

"Good morning," Ryu replied, "You're looking beautiful today." That wasn't a lie at least. It seemed Lin had found more than one kimono for her, as today, she was dressed in a red, and black one, and black obi. What he recognized as a shukusen; a steel ribbed fan, with sharpened points, was tucked in the obi. Her hair, as it always was, was tied back away from her face. He took her hand, as he had the night he met her, and kissed her fingers. He could almost feel holes buring into his head from the glare Haku gave him.

At least this is fun... He thought, I just hope I don't get eaten before all this is over.

Seeing her escort's glare, Chihiro made some excuse to continue on their way. As they walked, the voice of his partner sounded in Ryu's head, You'll have to separate them at some point, so they can be taken care of individually.

Ahhhh! How did you get in my head!? Ryu demanded, trying to hide the fact that she had frightened him.

It's not that hard, Ryu. And did you hear what I said about splitting them up?

I don't see how. They're practically glued together, except for when she's working... But even then, he's always close by. While they're sleeping isn't an option either...

Just figure something out. And it doesn't have to be to where neither knows the other is missing. It wouldn't stay like that for long anyway. After a certain amount of distance, they can talk, just as we are now.

Oh great. You could have mentioned that before...

I didn't know that until just a few moments ago, insolent boy. I overheard Zeniba discussing it with someone...

Grumbling, Ryu deliberately rid his mind of any thoughts, and went about the daily chores Zeniba had given him...

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"You really shouldn't let him get to you..."

Haku only heard the last part of Chihiro's monologue, and was glad of it, it had seemed to be rather longwinded. So many words, that only told him one thing. Don't be jealous. He had been too deep in thought to really listen, until the last sentence. Thinking about the fire the previous night. The banging that was now constantly ringing throughout the bathhouse was a clear reminder that it hadn't been a dream, to all who had been hoping it was. Both he and Chihiro had already mastered the art of blocking out the sound. Others weren't so lucky, and complaints were frequently voiced, and random threats were made. Generally about catching whoever had started the fire, and hanging them up by their thumbs somewhere, simply as punishment for the torture they were going through now.

Although, odds were, the fire starter was still there, and was just as annoyed by the repairs as everyone else.

Haku had his own ideas about the arsonist. As much as he wanted to blame Ryu, (Maybe Chihiro's right... I do let him get to me... But he shouldn't flirt like that...), that didn't seem right. It seemed... too easy. There was something a bit more sinister at work here, of that he was sure... And it had Yubabba written all over it.

"I never said thanks, you know," Chihiro spoke again, pulling the dragon from his thoughts.

"Huh? For what?"

"For helping me, last night... I wasn't sleeping too well. Nightmares. But they stopped, after awhile... And when I woke up, you were holding me..."

"That doesn't mean I stopped the nightmares..." Haku replied, somewhat shyly.

"I think you did... and again, thanks. I may not have gotten much good sleep, but some is better than none."

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