All right you guys, this is the next chapter for this fic. Hopefully you enjoy it, it took me a while to figure out the events that were going to happen within this chapter, before I move onto the next chapter which will have a lot more action, and hopefully be a lot longer then most of my chapters. :)

--Chihiro sighed and shook her head slightly, her arms folding around her body as she felt a chilling breeze move past her form, her eyes peering into the darkness as she turned around and went the way in which Mori had told her to go, "I'll have to come back sometime.. Granny's probably getting worried." Chihiro said in a small mumble, as if it would make it so that the reason she was going back was because of Zeniiba, which, she knew deep down was because the wolf had actually scared her. She didn't even think that there were any creatures within the forest, especially since everything else in this world seemed to have been flipped upside down, and just completely messed up in her opinion. --

Chihiro sighed and continued to walk through the line of trees, still following the way that Mori had told her to take. Her head raised slightly as she moved her eyes up to glance at the sky, watching as the clouds began to turn a slightly darker blackish grey color. It looked as if it were about to rain, and the thunder that shook the sky confirmed it.

She picked up her pace a bit, walking briskly through the forest, avoiding any trees that she may have smashed into at the fast walk that she was trying to keep up. A single droplet of rain that landed on her nose alerted her that the storm was approaching quickly, and it was going to be pouring rain in just under a few minutes. She'd be soaking wet by the time she got back to the cottage Zaniiba lived in if she didn't hurry. She moved into a slight run and began to jog through the trees at a quick pace, before exiting the forest and running now, down the path that lead down toward the small cottage in which she was staying in. Her feet thumped against the ground, mixing with the sounds of thunder. Her small form was lighted up as a single bolt of lightning flash in the sky, lighting her surroundings up only slightly,and now longafter that, a down pour of rain began to fall from the heavens above.

Chihiro yelped and quickened her pace further, her feet thumping against the ground still, as small leaves made soft crunching sounds as she ran over them. Her hands were frantically waving above her head almost as if trying to block the rain from completely soaking through her hair. She didn't slow down as the cottage came into view, this only caused her to hurry up, and move at a faster pace, before she made it to the door. She wrenched it open and clambered inside, shutting the door behind her. She glanceddown at her clothing beforefrowning a bit as her clothing stuck to her like a second skin.

Zeniiba raised her gaze to glance toward Chihiro in amusement, before she stood up and grabbed a blanket, wrapping it around Chihiro lightly, "Here you go dear. Why don't you go sit by the fire while I make you some tea?" Before the girl could answer, the old lady was off to the stove, boiling up some water to make the tea with.

Chihiro sat down on the soft leather couch and leaned back slightly, laying down some across the couch as she stared intently at the fire that was lit in the fireplace. The orange glow of the flames casting small shadows across the room as it lit up. A few moments later, a cup of hot tea was stuck in her hands, with her sipping at it every now and then, her eyes locked onto the flames dancing inside of the fireplace. She smiled a bit as she watched them. The flames seemed so free, licking up the wood that was in the bottom of the fireplace, keeping the flames going. Bits of paper were stuck inside of it as well to keep it going. Chihiro seemed entranced by the flames, and didn't notice as the cup of tea was taken from her hands and placed on the table in front of her, and a warmer blanket was swept over her form. The sound of thunder crackling in the sky seemed to sooth Chihiro some, and she snuggled into the warmth the blanket gave to her, her pale hands clentched into the fabric, pulling it closer to her.

Chihiro's eyes drooped slightly, before sheallowed them to close fully as she drifted off to sleep, Zeniiba's voice being the last thing that she heard, saying a small, "Goodnight Chihiro."

Back at the bathhouse, things seemed almost hectic as the workersscrambled around like little mice to get everything ready for Deruku Moonu's arrival. One of the rooms on the top floor near where Yubaba resided was set up nicely, and ready for their guest. The fairly large room had a small fireplace near the side, a desk at the other side of the room, and a bed that resided just inside of the room, leant up against a large wooden wall that was painted an ivory color. The king sized bed was set up so the headboard leant against the wall, red drapes sweeped across each side of the bed, that was covered with deep crimson colored blankets. The sheets were made of the finest silk, and the comforter that were spread across the sheets and folded back a few inches was made of the same fabric on the outside, but had cotton stuffed inside of it to make it thicker, and much warmer then that of the other sheets. A single couch was set up on the other side of the room, as well as another sofa. They both surrounded a marble colored table that was in the middle of it, a vase with a few roses inside of it, sat in the center of the small table.

Workers continued to bustle around, making sure that everything was in order before Deruku arrived. Yubaba, though, was sitting in her office, staring off blankly at the ground, lost within her thoughts. She was knocked from her thoughts from a voice calling her name. Yubaba snapped her blue eyes up to gaze at Carissa who stumbled back a bit, seemingly startled, "Did you want something?" Yubaba said, trying not to seem to rude toward the girl, but she ended up snapping at Carissa either way she looked at it.

Carissa lowered her head and stared at her feet, shifting them back and forth uneasily, "When will Chihiro be coming back?" She said this in an almost mumbled voice, before allowing her eyes to barely glance toward Yubaba who sighed.

"As soon as Deruku leaves, she can come back." Yubaba said, her voice having softened some. She had to admit, she had gotten used to having Carissa around, but the girl still seemed to be slightly nervous around her. It didn't bother Yubaba all that much, but Carissa WAS one of Chihiro's best friends, and Yubaba had become quite fond of the girl.

"What if... What if Deruku doesn't leave in just three days?" Carissa answered in a small mumble, a frown making it's way across her lips. She missed Chihiro, and disliked having to stay here with a bunch of strangers that she didn't even know. Though, Alyssa had been of some help through the single day that she had stayed here for. She didn't have a chance to talk to Chihiro all that much, either, before she had to leave for that old woman's house. What was her name again? Oh, right. Zeniiba. She was Yubaba's twin sister, but she seemed much nicer then Yubaba was, even though she had been trying to give Carissa as much as possible to make her feel safe and welcome at the bathhouse. It was appreciated greatly, as Carissa found herself not really disliking it here as much as she thought she would.

"I'm sure he will." Was Yubaba's last reply, before Carissa took the hint and exited the room, closing the door and allowed Yubaba to continue with her thoughts.

A few hours later, the man that everyone was getting ready for had finally arrived. He stepped inside of the door, and glanced around silently with his piercing silver eyes, as his raven black hair fell past his shoulders and moved into his face. A clawed hand raised as he brushed the strands of his hair from his face, his eyes meeting a pair of baby blue ones. Those that belonged to the head of the bathhouse. "Thank you for allowing me to stay for a while." Deruku said, in a feigned polite tone as he seemed to mock Yubaba by bowing toward her.

Yubaba gritted her teeth slightly, trying not to explode with the anger that seemed to be slowly building up inside of her, "It's my pleasure. I hope you find your stay... Pleasant." She said this in a low voice, a forced cheery smile was on her face. And if anyone had been looking close enough into her eyes, they could see the rage pouring out of them directed toward Deruku.

The younger looking man smirked toward Yubaba, and nodded his head in a, once again, polite gesture, "I certaintly hope so."

Yubaba almost growled at the fake cheery tone that he was using toward her, before she turned sharply to glance toward one of the Yuna, "Show him to his room." She said this in an almost authorative voice, and the Yuna nodded.

"Please follow me sir." She said, and turned away, beginning to walk off. Deruku followed after her, rolling his eyes slightly. He threw one last cocky smirk toward Yubaba, giving her the image of him being a spoiled little brat. Yubaba's eye twitched slightly. Yes, this was going to be -so- much fun.

(I was gonna end it there, but I guess I'll be nice and continue on with the chapter, try to go for the longest chapter for this fic that I've ever made! Mwuhaha. o.o;)
Brown hair shrouded a pale complextion as two eyebrows furrowed together slightly. Chihiro turned to the side, tangled within the blankets that had been placed upon her last night, her mind still lost within her dreams, her body still showing that she was fast asleep. She looked to be having a nightmare of sorts, but it could've been mistaken as just her being uncomfortable.

A frown stretched it's way across Chihiro's lips as she curled into a fetal position, her hands clentching into the covers that surrounded her form. A small bead of sweat trickled down along her forehead, as the girl on the couch sharply twisted back and forth, rolling around in the confines of her sheets, her eyes clentched shut tightly. This was the only thing that gave away that Chihiro's dream, wasn't a dream at all. But she seemed to be stuck inside of a nightmare, one of her worst fears, or something she had already lived through...

---Dream---

Chihiro hands clentched into fists as she stared toward one of the men. The one who had raped her mother, who now lay dead in the living room from where they just were. All she wanted to do was scream and hollar at the male, but she was surrounded by a couple of them. Her eyes darted around frantically, trying to find the window that she had once escaped, but her eyes were only met with blank walls that seemed to corner her, leaving her vulnerable to the men that were eyeing her body. She gulped slightly and began to back away slowly, her feet tripping on something and she fell to the ground with a small yelp and landed with a thud. She didn't even bother worrying about the pain as she saw the feet that were approaching her, causing her eyes to widen and her to back up quickly. Her back only ended up meeting a wall. She was shaking now, as the man in front of her seemed to taunt her with his next words.

"Aw, look at the poor helpless little girl. Both of her parents are dead, no one wants you anymore. Can't you see that? And Kohaku." The man gave a laugh at this, as he said the name, staring down at Chihiro with a large grin plastered across his face, "Do you really think that he wants you? He found someone else, and you saw them embrace each other. Or do you need another little reminder of how the one that you've loved and cared for has quite obviously betrayed you?"

The scenery inside of the dream world seemed to alter as it came back to the garden. Chihiro watched as Kohaku and Alexia embraced each other. The other men having seemed to vanish out of thin air as she was left to stare at the two as they cradled each other in their arms, holding each other tightly in their embrace. Chihiro's eyes narrowed slightly, just to keep the tears from falling down her pale cheeks as she watched as Kohaku pulled away from Alexia and dragged a single finger down her cheek in a loving caress, causing the girl to smile and lean forward. Before Chihiro could witness the two of them kissing, she quickly turned her gaze away, closing her eyes tightly as she began to mutter things under her breath, "This isn't really happening. It's just a dream. None of these things are real." Her breath was slightly shaky as she spoke these words to herself, willing herself to try and believe them. It would've worked if it wasn't for the next few words that Kohaku had whispered to the girl in his arms...

"I love you Alexia. Nothing will tear us apart, I promise...And this is one promise I intend to make sure I keep." There almost seemed to be something that Kohaku was trying to tell Chihiro, but she couldn't understand what it was. Did he diliberately break his promise to her..? Did she really mean that less to Kohaku for him to forget something as simple as a promise to come and see her? How could he do this to her? Her eyes flashed with anger, sadness, loneliness, but most of all, they had a definate look of betrayal within them.

---End of Dream---

Chihiro's eyes seemed to snap open, only to be met with the concerned ones of her granny, Zeniiba.

"Dear, you were twisting and turning in your sleep, and you were crying. You looked like you were having a nightmare..." Her words drifted off as she watched as Chihiro began to untangle herself from the sheets, before the girl stood up, throwing the blankets off of her.

Chihiro smoothed down her clothing before flashing Zeniiba a small smile, nodding her head, "Don't worry about me. I'm all right. It was just a dream. A bad one, but a dream none-the-less." If only she could at least believe what she was telling her grandmother and not feel so guilty about basically lying toward the older woman. Though, Zeniiba seemed to understand and she nodded her head, before making her way over to the stove once again, beginning to boil some water, and chop up vegetables and other herbs, mixing things together as she began to make a small breakfast for Chihiro and herself to eat. Kaonashi had gone out earlier, to do some work outside of the house as it seemed to be a nice enough day. Well, as nice as any day around the spirit world now-a-days could get.

It was warm outside, and a soft breeze blew by every few minutes. Chihiro sighed, and ate what was placed in front of her. It was a small bowl of rice with a sort of sauce that was over top. It was good, so she ate it, before excusing herself and going outside to wander around a bit. This time, though, she made sure not to wander off to far into the forest, to lost in her thoughts to worry about what was hidden within them. She sat herself on a rock, just near the edge of the forest, and basked in the memories of her dream, seeing small images of Alexia and Kohaku kissing flashing through her mind before she closed her eyes and willed the thoughts to be placed at the very back of her mind, not wanting to remember the images.

"It was only a dream." Chihiro said in a soft whisper to herself, trying to make herself believe the words that slipped from between her lips...

Sorry guys, I'd continue but my fingers are actually starting to hurt from typing so much. Hopefully you're satisfied with the update, and if not.. Well.. Too bad? Lol. Anyways, I'll be getting the next chapter up of 'Secret's Revealed' soon, but I wanted to make sure I had this story updated first. Ta-ta for now. And please review.