Down in the boiler room, Kamaji worked tirelessly as a tangle of wooden tokens clinked against each other above his head as the endless stream of orders for nice, steamy water kept coming in. He mashed many herbs into his wooden bowl, stirring it and tossing it into water while tugging at a tag each time to send water to the baths many feet above. The little flock of sootballs scurried back and forth from the furnace and their small little outlets where the coal was hidden. It was only the second week since the dragon family arrived and work around the bathhouse was in full-gear. Aburaya was hosting more guests with a longer stay time than it ever had before which meant the workload was high. Kamaji couldn't remember the last time the bathhouse has been that busy, especially for him! Most of the guests wanted bathwater that reminded them of their home which required many special herbs from the sea as well as his best remedies, and those took a long time to make. He had been working overtime to get the preparations ready ahead of time so there wasn't that long a wait. Plus, Yubaba had personally come down to the boiler room just two days ago to yell "get the water ready faster, you old twig!" to the dear spider-spirit. Not wanting to face Yubaba's wrath, Kamaji has been sacrificing his precious lunch time to make sure all the ingredients were ready to be tossed into the bathwater.

He had just released a wooden tag when a knock on the metal wall behind him rang through the loud whistles of the boiler room. "Looks like it's been busy here," Haku said as he observed the bustling stream of sootballs hurriedly keeping the fire in the furnace burning. The river spirit wiped sweat from his brow as he stood at the door. "It is really hot in here. I can never understand how you can live here most of the time, Kamaji."

The old spirit laughed as one of his many arms stretched to get an herb from the floor to ceiling cabinetry and drawers. "This old spirit has been working in the boiler room for hundreds of years! The heat is nothing, ha!"

"I respect your endurance, " Haku smiled.

"Did you need anything, Haku? If you do, make it quick, not every spirit has the leisure to walk about."

"I was just checking to make sure you weren't overworking yourself, Kamaji. Lin's been worried since you haven't the time to eat your lunch," the river spirit explained.

Kamaji smiled at that and patted Haku's shoulder. "Thanks for your concern but I'm alright. Nothing can break this old timer. Is that all?"

"No. My lord Ryujin requested that tomorrow evening all of the bathhouse workers would dine with the servants of the Dragon Palace in the banquet hall. A small break and thanks for all of your hard work, really."

"I appreciate that but I'm not too sure I'm comfortable with being with so many others. I prefer my solitude," Kamaji said thoughtfully as another bath token came in. "I'll keep it in mind but don't expect too much, Haku!"

"Of course, Kamaji. Good luck with your work." Haku left the boiler room with Kamaji bent over the table mashing up more herbs in his small wooden bowl.

Haku headed for the garden out back, which was near the stairs that led to the boiler room. He stroked the leaves of a young sapling as he reminisced among the tall grass. This was where he had left Chihiro before he had to start acting like "Master Haku" again. He had planted instructions into her mind to go find Kamaji to get a job to keep Yubaba from turning the girl into a pig like her parents. "I hope she's feeling better," he murmured to himself, still worried about Chihiro. Whenever he was alone and had time to think, it was the first thing Haku would say since thoughts of Chihiro could only be kept at bay with busy work. It's been a few days since he locked away the fountain in his secret room and he never went anywhere near it in case the urge to go check on Chihiro was too strong to resist. The image of her blank face haunted the corners of his mind and it was troubling him, not knowing what was wrong.

"Oh, Kohaku, you're here." His sister, Yachiru, slid the door open and stepped out into the small garden. She was wearing a pale peach-colored sundress that seemed to glow in the evening light. "Good morning," she said brightly.

"You've just woken?" Haku said as she approached him with light steps.

"Yes. I made the mistake of exploring the bathhouse and the surrounding area till it was nearly noon last night, so I have overslept," she explained, crouching down to observe a dainty yellow flower with small green bells instead of leaves. She lightly shook it and the flower jingled and chimed, making her laugh. "This is a very adorable flower! Where in the Spirit World did you get it?"

"Goldenbells are common here. You can find many living in the wild in the meadow beside the train station in town," Haku answered as his sister kept childishly playing with the flower.

"That just reminded me! I haven't been to the town just yet! I've been so busy exploring the bathhouse that it completely escaped my mind! You must show me around, Kohaku!" Yachiru pleaded just as Yanagi came by in dark-green robes and a cup of tea in hand.

"Oh? Yachiru is finally awake, I see," their brother said, joining the two in the garden. "What have you got there?"

"A goldenbell! Isn't it the most amusing flower, Yanagi?" His sister giggled, making the flower jingle.

"Interesting. It would look nice next to those reef flowers you planted recently, Yachiru," her twin agreed, playing with a flower of his own. He turned to face Haku who was watching them in amusement. "I overheard you two. I wouldn't mind visiting the town."

"Of course. The town is very nice and has many amazing food stalls. When shall we go?" Haku asked.

"Let's go right now while I am feeling hungry! I want to taste the food with a nice appetite!" Yachiru smiled while weaving the stem of the goldenbell into her braid.

"Now? I made a promise to be with someone," Haku said a bit reluctantly.

"Who's more important than your brother and sister?" Yanagi retorted. As if to answer his question, a young spirit boy came running out of the bathhouse with a blue satchel thrown over his shoulder.

"Haku! I'm ready to visit auntie Zeniba!" Boh shouted with a look of excitement. His short brown hair was messy, showing he had hurriedly dressed up to meet his aunt. He noticed the two siblings a bit too late and his face flushed in embarrassment. "Uh, hi! I mean, hello, your royalness!" The young spirit quickly bowed his head and Yachiru laughed at how pink his ears were.

"The bathhouse owner's son? He is more important than us?" Yachiru teased.

"Well," Haku mumbled, beginning to feel embarrassed himself.

"That's completely fine! We can visit the town some other time! I wouldn't mind playing with this little boy!" She hugged Boh tightly, ruffling his already messy hair. "Such a cute boy! What's your name?"

"Boh..." came the muffled reply.

"He said you were going to take him to Zeniba? I heard of that witch, quite powerful and very dangerous," Yanagi said to Haku.

"She's more like an old granny," the river spirit said with a shrug.

"Well, I would love to see Zeniba with little Boh," Yachiru gushed and Haku suppressed a sigh.

"Alright…"

Less than half an hour later, the three dragons were soaring through the sky with Boh clinging onto Haku's mane. A pale-green slender dragon twirled and dove through the clouds as a more broad blue dragon calmy glided a little above Haku. "Yachiru is really enjoying herself," Yanagi chuckled, speaking to Haku telepathically.

"She must not fly out too often," Haku guessed.

" Yes, we rarely leave the palace nowadays and there's not enough room to fly on the grounds," Yanagi explained and his brother cocked his head in question. "Trouble has been brewing near the borders of our domain and the Red Bird is starting to become restless. She's been sending border patrols every day now and if Yachiru and I get caught flying outside of the Palace, our Lord Ryujin will have a fit."

"It's that bad near the borders?" Haku mentally exclaimed, surprised by this revelation.

Yanagi nodded his head grimly as he set his deep-blue eyes onto the horizon where the sun had just disappeared, bringing the world into night once more. "Your return to the palace a few years ago sent a ripple of confusion on our people, Kohaku. Rumors about you have spread as to why you've disappeared for so long, and with these rumors are outbursts of fights between those who trust you and those who don't. The nights when I sneak out of the Palace to check on the commoners, I often hear whispers from those lurking in the darkness. They say that the humans have polluted your mind and are controlling you." Yanagi gave him a knowing look. "They're worried the same thing that happened to our Father will happen to you. And that it'll be like with Samebito all over again."

"..." Haku remained silent, absorbing this new piece of information in his mind, letting it sink in. He had always known that there will be some who wouldn't be happy with his return. He was never the ideal Dragon Prince and he used to be a troublemaker. In addition to that, he lost his river so easily while his siblings still remained in control of their earthly domains after many decades. Then from the time he spent brainwashed as Yubaba's apprentice, he had done more dark deeds then he could ever recall. For those who had known him before his name was stolen, they recognized him but did not believe it was he, Haku, doing those heinous acts. Only when he officially returned to the Dragon Palace did they realize he was the same spirit who wreaked havoc in the distant villages and kingdoms and stolen many precious treasures and ancient keepsakes. Of course he acted quickly to right those wrong deeds but there was still bitterness that remained, especially with rivals from his time in the Dragon Palace.

"I'm sorry to have so much trouble with my disappearance and return," Haku finally said after many long minutes. He received a light chuckle from Yanagi as the dragons slowly started to descend into a thick forest.

"You had better be. We were lucky to have gotten a vacation like this with all that's happening," Yanagi laughed, making a toothy dragon grin. With his front claw, he gently nudged Haku in a brotherly way. "At Least the Kohaku now is much, much better than the Kohaku before."

Haku made a mischievous smile and with his tail, sent Yanagi rolling thirty yards away in the air, nearly making Boh lose his grip on his mane. "Haku! I'm still here!" the little boy cried out as Yanagi came racing back to them.

"I'll let this one pass since the Bathhouse owner's son is with you, Kohaku," his brother laughed before landing and transforming into his human form. Brushing a hand through his long hair, he looked deep within the woods where a pale orange light glowed in the distance. "Is that where Zeniba lives? In that direction?"

Haku landed right next to him, already in his human form, and set Boh on his feet. "Yes, she lives in the small cottage where the light is coming from. It'll only be a few more minutes."

"Excellent! Then let's get going!" Yachiru shouted out from above them as she transformed into her human form in midair and began plummeting to the ground. The two brothers began to panic as she let out a gleeful shriek, the wind whipping her blue hair all over and adrenaline pumping in her veins at the freefall. Not a second passed before she collided into the two male dragons and they were an entanglement of limbs as Boh and her laughed. "That was the most fun I had in forever!" Yachiru grinned, freeing herself from Haku and Yanagi's legs and then skipping towards the cottage.

Haku rubbed his head as Yanagi lied on the ground, his arms and legs sprawled out and a dazed look on his face. "I hate it when she does that," he managed to groan before sitting up and Haku chuckled.

"I don't remember you being so weak and Yachiru being so excitable," he noted and Yanagi shook his head.

"You're not the only one who changed this past couple decades."

"Yanagi! Kohaku! Come on, Boh and I are almost to the cottage!" Yachiru's voice rang out throughout the woods and the two brothers sighed.

"We're coming!"

Footsteps echoed throughout the empty halls of the Dragon Palace as a tall woman with dark, wavy hair with streaks of blue green glided for a large door of thick crystal and glowing coral. Without knocking she entered the chamber where shelves of coral lined the walls and a large floor-to ceiling window allowed for a nice view of the gardens of the Palace. Soft blue light rippled through the water and cast an elegant glow on a young man seated in a giant clam shell, a large, worn book in his lap. He didn't look up as the woman sat across from him on a small comforter shaped like a wave crashing into rocks. She crossed her legs so that her heeled foot would poke out of the billows of silk and velvet that made her gown. She watched the man read for a while before finally clearing her throat.

The man looked up with an annoyed expression and asked, "What is it?"

"The Suzaku and her entourage have just left the Palace grounds," the woman said in a cool voice.

"And?"

"They'll return within a week from now for one last check. Afterwards, Mother urges us to head to Aburaya as soon as possible."

"I'd rather not leave the Palace so vulnerable for a short vacation at a place for commoners," he said haughtily.

"You know our lord Ryujin and Mother would not like our absence to be prolonged, Ichirou," the woman warned, narrowing her blue eyes at him.

"Alright. We'll leave after the Red bird visits again next week. Pleased, Kimiko?" Ichirou said with an exasperated sigh.

"Yes. I'll take my leave now." Kimiko stood up and headed out the room. Before closing the door behind her, she glanced over her shoulder and whispered, "Once we arrive at Aburaya, at least loosen up, Ichirou. Try to act a bit like Father even if it's only in front of her? You know how terribly she misses him."

"A man who was so easily controlled by humans should not be missed," Ichirou murmured, flipping a page in his book. "If you ask me, our youngest brother, Kohaku, is the one who resembles him the most. Pester him about these trivial things instead. I've an entire kingdom to run within a few years and I'd rather not waste time to please Mother."

Kimiko sighed. "Alright. I'll see you at dinner?" No response came so with a heavy heart, she closed the door. Leaning against it, she closed her eyes. "I really do hope the same thing with Father doesn't recur," she whispered to herself before walking down the long, empty hallway.

A/N:

Uh, so hi gais. Long time no words, lol. Sorry it's been a while since I updated, busy with school life and other stuff. I will try to update atleast once a month or something if it's possible but no promises. I hope you gais liked this chapter, no fluffy stuff or anything but it does clear up a couple questions, no? And I was always wondering how to bring Ichirou and Kimiko into the story but ideas brewed so it made this :3

I'm actually very excited to make the next chapter, and omg, hopefully I'll have time to actually right u

Well, see you gais next update and stay on alert mode