"That's Incredible! How are supposed to talk to a dragon though, do we have to feed it to gain its trust?" Honestly, I'm slowly beginning to like it here, this is a world filled with twists and turns, it seems like it's hard for anything to ever be boring. I mean dragons? Come on! This is too crazy to be true, but it totally is! If there are more people who are kind and patient like Makoto out there. Then it can't be all bad can it? Even though it's exciting, I can't stay here forever though. I had to come from somewhere, I couldn't have just appeared out of thin air right? I wonder if I have a family, am I married, am I in school? Is someone out there missing me?

"He's not always a dragon. He's a certain class of dragon that has the incredibly rare ability to shape shift. Most pure breeds have the ability to take on a human form by choice, dragons are the same way since they are a breed, so most likely he will take on a human form to talk to us." We walked up the stone steps to the bridge.

"Look little bird! The sun is setting so things are about to get interesting." He said.

"Does that mean 'The Stray' are coming?! We need to get out of here!" I asked paniced, I really didn't want a repeat of yesterday.

"Don't fret, the stray are actually incredibly hard to find around here, but somehow you managed to find a shit ton. Looks like you're a walking hazard, but don't worry. With a big, strong, and handsome guardian like me around everything will be fine." He smirked.

"Oh so now you're 'the handsome guardian'?" We laughed whole heartedly together, Makoto definitely knows how to lighten the mood. He stopped when we came to the bridge.

"Bow with me." He said and leaned forward to bow deeply and I copied him.

"Why?"

"This is where the rich come to bathe and replenish themselves. As foreigners we must show our respects, make sure to take off your shoes when we get inside okay?" I nodded we began to cross the bridge as the sun settled to our left. As it got darker the lights and lamps lit up.

"Did you see that?" I asked gesturing to the lights.

"Yes, that's normal. It's almost time for business so the light the lamps to guide guests to the bathhouse. It gets insanely busy at night."

Before my eyes dozens of strange creatures solidified out of thin air around us and walked besides us on the long bridge without a glance. I shrieked in surprise and instinctively grabbed onto Makoto's arm. He chuckled at my surprise. "Their…they've…what's happening?!" I spluttered out, not sure what to think about this. One moment we are walking alone on a bridge, and the next we are suddenly surrounded by an appearing crowd all heading to the bathhouse together.

"Hard to believe they've been here the entire time huh little bird? They can be seen now because the moon is giving them incredible energy to solidify. We probably should have come earlier before the guests arrived." We crossed the bridge and were greeted by short stubby men with huge heads who looked like toads and long shapeless women who resembled slugs.

"Welcome! Welcome all!" "Good evening friends!" "Welcome! Enjoy your stay!" They greeted every guest they came into eye contact with, one of the frog man's eyes met with Makotos, and he walked up to us to make conversation.

"Ahh! Welcome back Makoto! Always refreshing to see your smiling face! Oh! I see you've brought another friend! Will you be accompanying her to a room then?" His comment made me blush. Makoto smiled. "Unfortunately no, not tonight my friend! Were here to deliver an urgent message for the Lord, that is all."

"Oh! How pleasant! I hope your journey was prosperous. Go right ahead." He bowed and gestured into the bathhouse.

"Until next time my friend!" Makoto waved and we went inside the Bathhouse. When we entered I couldn't help but gaze in awe! The walls are covered in beautiful traditional murals, the air was warm and smelled like fragrant bath salts mixed with the scent of delicious food. This is definitely a thriving place of business. There wasn't anywhere to turn without seeing either a guest or an employee. This place was like something from a dream. My mind was overwhelmed by the sheer size of it all, it was absolutely breathtaking.

"Coming little bird?" I heard Makoto say, I was so out of it that surprisingly he had walked about a yard ahead while I lost myself in the intense surroundings. "I'm coming!" I said and sped up to stand by him and stay his pace. "Keep close O.K.?" I nodded and followed him. As he bobbed and weaved past people and changed directions down the hallways in between baths. I felt nervous to see most people were staring.

"Why are they looking at us like that?" I whispered.

"Probably because you look like you just crawled out of a mineshaft." He looked over his shoulder down at me to smile. I glared back. "I'm just kidding! Honestly I don't know, they usually don't stare at me so they must be staring at you for some reason." I tried to ignore their stares while we stepped in front of a large red elevator and waited.

"Where are we going?" I asked

"To see the lord, he's on the top floor probably in his office as always." I nodded again, I'm not sure what to say in a place like this. Such tradional, architectural beauty mixed with the cold awkward stares have left me speechless. Just the workers though, not the guests. Weird.

We stepped into the elevator when it arrived and he turned the red lever. It was silence for most of the ride. Makoto broke the silence.

"Remember, this is a dragon we are dealing with. Their known for being natural born leaders." He said

"What's he like?" I asked, curious.

"Well, I don't know him personally of course, I only see him when I am delivering messages form the Jasmine Palace from time to time. But, I do know some spirits who work here, and what they tell me is he's always quiet. He lurks around the bathhouse from time to time to check on his employees and management to make sure they are doing their job. He's filthy rich, which is to be expected. Dragons have a weakness for anything that glitters like gold. He's spotted mostly during the day rather than night for some reason. He has a tendency to disappear sometimes and nobody really knows why, but that's only on certain occasions."

"How does the bathhouse stay in service if he is gone without notice?" I asked.

"No-one dares to misbehave in his absence because they are afraid of what he will do to them when he gets back." He said.

"Will he hurt us for being late?" I asked a little panicked

The elevator made a 'ding' and we were met by two bronze doors that opened upon our arrival. I don't know if I could ever get used to this whole 'magic' thing. They opened to a wide hallway decorated with large traditional pottery. He led me down the hallway and took a right, then a left down another hallway.

"No way! This isn't the first time I've been here, he knows me. I highly doubt he knows you though, so I think it would be best if you let me do the talking O.K.? No offense."

"Why don't I just wait outside then?" I asked

"Are you kidding? You are extremely accident prone! You're a hazard to yourself and others, there's no way I'm leaving you alone out here to cause hell on earth wandering around this bathhouse."

He stopped in front a huge dark oak wooden door and he turned to me and put a finger to his lips to gesture me to shut up. I nodded and he knocked hard three times. I heard a deep voice on the other side.

"Enter."