Happy thanksgiving everyone. Hope you all had a great holiday.

Chapter Seven: The Difference Is...

Kei was different. That much every spirit could tell. Though she wasn't jumpy, or twitchy, like they would have expected her to be. No. In the few days after the fire, she was all the more haughty, and proud, as if she had acheived some great goal, that no one else knew about. It certainly wasn't making her anymore pleasant to be around. And she would every so often yowl, or growl at people who got within five feet of her. She was also ignoring her task of keeping the place vermin free, and more than once the head cook saw a mouse that would have normally been dead almost as soon as it showed its self. He voiced his complaints to the cat rather loudly, so that everyone on that floor was able to hear the fact she had been slacking recently.
Kei however, didn't seem to see anything wrong with her behavior.

Lin felt it was time to put the cat back in her place, so as she was walking by the table on which the siamese had perched herself, she reached out and grabbed her by the scruff, in such a way that she wouldn't be able to turn and claw any part of Lin's body.

"Hey, let go!" the cat demanded, trying to wiggle out of the spirit's grip. "You're ruining two good hours of washing."

Lin ignored the creature, and held on to her, as she walked towards the front of the bathhouse, only making the cat struggle all the harder. Lin carefully aimed, and tossed the cat out the front door, "If you don't work, you don't have a place here," she said matter-of-factly, though it gave her great pleasure to toss the cat in the dirt. "And you haven't been doing your job." Lin dramatically dusted off her hands, turned on her heel, and went back to her daily chores. She felt she had done rather well.

Until Kei came back to get her revenge.

Like a typical cat, she was choosing the most inopprotune moments to be under people's feet, or getting hair on freshly cleaned clothes, bedding, and other fabrics, and in general driving everyone insane. This wasn't the first time she had done something like this. There had been a few other times, like when Boh had stepped on her tail. She had made life hell for everyone because of that, or when one of Lin's friends had accidentally dumped a bucket of filthy water on her. Some of the spirits insisted that she had a split personality, and when someone spited her was when it showed. Lin just thought the creature was psychotic, and wanted an excuse to show it.

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Chihiro didn't hear Lin calling for her... or rather, she blocked it out. She didn't want to hear anything right then, other than the frantic beating of her own heart. She was pretty sure it was skipping a beat every now and then, as Haku kissed his way up from her neck, to her lips. His hands had already removed her obi, with her help, and her kimono had started slipping down her shoulders. slipped? Who am I kidding... that was on purpose... And Haku was unclothed from the waist up.
Her kimono ended up peeled away from her skin (Ended up? Ha! I know exactly how that happened... ) , and all thoughts had disappeared from both of their minds-

"There you are!" someone shouted from the doorway, "I've been looking all o- AHHHH! I did not need to see this! GOD! I'm going to have nightmares now!"

Chihiro scrambled to situate her clothes, before Lin could complain further... but it didn't stop her. "I should have known you two would...But really... right before work? And where anyone could walk in on you!?"

"Not anybody... " Haku replied, seemingly amused, "Just someone so nosy that they'll pick a lock to find out what's on the other side."

Lin crossed her arms, "I did no such thing!"

"Then why is it you were able to open the locked door?" Chihiro grumbled.

"Just get dressed," Lin muttered, "We've got alot of work to do tonight, and that damn furball isn't making things any easier."

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Lin hadn't been kidding Kei certainly wasn't making things easier for people.

"How're your legs doing?" Chihiro asked Ryu, as they worked, "I hear the cat tore you up pretty good the other day..."

The fire spirit nodded, "Yeah... It's nothing, I'm fine now. I'm just..."

"Just?"

"I've just got alot on my mind right now..."

That certainly wasn't a lie... He had way too much on his mind... Like how was he supposed to do what his partner wanted, and what he'd been ordered to do, when he found he genuinely liked Chihiro? Or how was he even supposed to get her alone in the first place... I'll get you back for all this... He thought, hoping she might hear him. If she did, she chose not to answer, which wasn't uncommon. Her plan for suspicion and doubt had worked at least. Everyone was on edge, and sporting quick tempers, more than once, Ryu heard the shouts of a chef, as he scolded, or accused an apprentice. Even the young girls, who helped clean floors, and baths were snappy.

He noticed as well that friends who were generally inseperable were in fights, and avoided eachother... Maybe her plan had worked too well.

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Zeniba was about ready to pull her own hair our by the roots.

She knew what was going to happen.

She knew why it was going to happen.

But she didn't know when.

And she didn't know who.

Or how.

No-Face, generally one to try an cheer her up, was simply staying across the room from her, brooding as well. There were times Zeniba wished he could speak properly, since she was sure he knew more than she did, whjat with his constant nightly wanderings. Perhaps he had overheard something, and that was what accounted for his dark mood, but there was no way to get him to tell. Ever since Chihiro had stopped his rampage in the bathhouse on her first visit, he hadn't spoken again. It was strange that he hadn't gone crazy again, when Zeniba had brought him back. Maybe it had been something about her sister's presence that made him insane... Either way, it didn't matter. He couldn't speak, to tell her what was wrong, and nothing was going to change that.

"Auntie Zeniba?" said Boh, creating a tremedous thud as he sat down, "Is everything alright?"

"No it's not, Boh," Zeniba replied, "No it's not."

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No-face did indeed know what was going on, he had heard them, talking... Ryu, and that woman, who changed forms. He knew the whole plan, and there was no way to tell Zeniba of it, or Sen, or even the dragon, who seemed to understand what he was trying to say better than most.

He moved, silent as a shadow, out the door and down the corridor, to try and listen in on the next conversation... The two met every night. Maybe he would hear something that he could get across to someone.

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"I don't see why it has to be those two," Ryu argued, "wouldn't three normal spirits suffice?"

"Yes, but that's no fun... Come on, Ryu, you gotta admit, the girl and that dragon will be much more fun to catch... Besides, sucking the life out of them will be all the more rewarding. As for the other one, Lin, I just want to enjoy sucking every ounce of life and power from her as I can. I never liked her much..."

"She isn't that fond of you, either," Ryu muttered, "Neither am I, for that matter."

"Then why are you still here, sparky?"

"Don't call me that... And I don't really have much of a choice, do I?"

"Well, you do, if you think about it... Help me, or die. That's a simple enough choice, I think."

"I prefered this when I was getting paid, and the girl and the dragon weren't involved."

"Oh come now, Ryu, they always were involved. Yubabba just didn't want you to kill them. She wanted the bathhouse destroyed. But I want them all dead... "

"Why?"

"I thought that much would be obvious... Power. The more of them that die, the more power I'll gain. Simple. There are just a few I want to enjoy killing on my own... After you've captured them for me."

"You expect me to be a match for the dragon?" Ryu scoffed.

"Not in a fair fight," said his partner, with malicious amusement, "But cheating, yes. Sneak up on him, boy! Set a trap, something! Just don't play fair!"

Ryu sighed, "Do your own dirty work, woman."

"Do you want me to tell everyone that I saw you start that fire? Or maybe I should hurt someone first, then tell them it was you... I can bet that Zeniba would believe me over you anyway. And if you hurt someone... say, Chihiro, I can assure you that you wouldn't even have time to register what had happened before you were lying on the ground in several peices... Dragons can be very violent..."

Clearing his throat, nervously, Ryu answered, "Fine... But don't expect me to help kill them..."

"Oh I don't... I want them to myself, Ryu. I want them all to myself..."

"So what's the difference? Between me killing them, and you taking their power or spirit, or whatever it is you'll do, and you killing them, and doing the thing with the power?"

"The difference is fun... It's not as fun if I don't get to do it myself... Besides, they'll die anyway, after a good draining. IF I only wanted to drain power... I'm aiming for life... Feels better. For me anyway."

Ryu shook his head, "power-hungry bitch," he mumbled as she left.

"I heard that," she said, as she changed form, "Sweet dreams, Ryu..."

Ryu somehow doubted his dreams would be sweet.

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Lin woke in the middle of the night, seeing a small shadow, slinking through the room. She got up, as silently as possible, and followed the shadow. It cornered its self, and Lin pounced.

"HA! got ya, you little-" she stopped, seeing what she was holding up, "Wha-" she didn't get any more out before she heard a few words spoken, and she was sent into darkness.

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The next morning, Lin was nowhere to be found. Chihiro searched all over for her, with the help Boh, No-Face, Haku, and the bird. She didn't turn up, anywhere. When asked, Kei simply said she hadn't seen her since the day before. And Ryu had somewhat guiltily said that he hadn't seen her either.

While they continued to search, Ryu paced back and forth in his room... Had his partner had something to do with Lin's disappearence? Had she done something to her? It was supposed to be up to him to get Lin, Chihiro and Haku... Wait... wasn't this better? Then he didn't have the guilt from trapping Lin weighing down on him. I just have the guilt of knowing what happened to her weighing me down... Not that I have much choice... I really do like living. But who's to say that she'll kill me? She could be bluffing.. That would be typical for someone... no, something, like her. Then, do I really want to take that chance? I'm sorry Lin, and Chihiro, but I really have no choice.

He could only hope that something would go wrong, and everyone would get away.

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Haku didn't like the current way things were going. It smelled like a trap to him, or a distraction. And he was usually right about such things.

He voiced his worries to Chihiro, and Boh, and they both agreed that Lin's disappearence was either a trap or a distraction.

But that didin't change the fact that she had to be found, and soon. Before anything worse could happen to her.

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Lin woke to comeplete darkness. She could make out vague shapes, but nothing more.

"Hello?" she called, "Is anyone here?"

She got no answer.

"HELLO!" The echo was all that came back to her. She tried to move, and found that she was tied to something, that kept her from going more that a few feet. "Well, isn't this just perfect?" she muttered to herself, "I'll kill her... I'll kill her very very dead, and leave her for the bugs..."

Though how she was going to carry out that threat on her captor, Lin wasn't quite sure. She just hoped she figured out how, and fast.

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I imagine it's kinda obvious who Ryu's partner is... but still, for the sake of suspense, I won't say nothin this chap :p