Meeka was sick of being on watch. She knew that the windows were all closed and she knew that there were no intruders on this floor. Yet she did her job and checked everything anyway; Master Haku was depending on her, and Mistress Chihiro would be home any day now. She hoped Mistress Chihiro's mother had recovered fully.

Meeka paused to gaze out of yet another window she was checking. The moon was a fingernail in the sky and provided little illumination. There were still a few hours until dawn but the night was not cold despite the sky being completely clear, showing a myriad of stars burning with their cold fire. It would be summer soon, and Mistress Chihiro would have been in the spirit world for almost a year.

Meeka wished the summer would hurry; she always felt more alive when the trees were in full leaf. Besides, the mating season had been difficult for her this year; with the summer, the last of those disgusting urges would leave her. It was almost enough for the spirit to wish she was human; how blessed were that race not to have a mating season! She idly wondered how many of the staff had let themselves get pregnant. A nursery would have to be set up again; another one of Master Haku's innovations. Before, Yubaba would have just fired workers when they were too near their time to work.

Of course, there was always at least one case of forced fertility. Master Haku was very strict about such things. Meeka imagined his opinion on such issues would have hardened even more since he became a mate to a human. The last perpetrator he caught had been ordered to be whipped and banished from the bathhouse and surrounding lands as well as paying the mother reparation. Meeka dreaded to think what penalty the dragon would demand now he had his own female to protect. Then, of course, there was rape.

Rape was exceptionally rare in the spirit world; as Meeka understood it, such a thing was a crime of anger rather than passion. Spirits must have a different make up to humans as it happened so infrequently, but there had been individuals desperate enough to force themselves on another, but again usually for the purposes of procreation. If that ever happened in the bathhouse, Master Haku would not have to intervene; the staff would tear the offender limb from limb.

A grey cloud floated across the moon. Meeka sighed; maybe it would start raining after all.

"MEEKA!" a voice snapped, making the wood spirit jump. Rin was stalking up the corridor and Meeka cursed herself for not remembering she was Watch Leader tonight. The waspish woman was extremely strict; why Mistress Chihiro liked her so much was beyond Meeka. "That's the third time I've caught you daydreaming this week!" the woman growled. "If I catch you once more, I'll put you on slopping out the pig pen!"

Meeka wrinkled her nose delicately at the thought. Her sense of smell was very acute and such a task would probably make her vomit; which was why Rin was so fond of the threat when dealing with spirits such as herself.

"I'm sorry," Meeka whispered, sounding as abject as possible. "I was just checking the weather; it looks like it may turn bad." Rin glanced at the window.

"That is of little concern to you who should be looking for intruders; you need to learn to stay on task and..." Rin trailed off and frowned at the window. The grey cloud that looked heavy with rain seemed to have swelled since Meeka had first seen it. Storms were nothing unusual on the plain but this cloud was isolated; the rest of the night sky was still clear. Meeka saw what interested Rin so much. The night was still; not even the grass was moving in the silver light, yet the cloud was moving, and rapidly.

Rin muttered a spell under her breath; Meeka recognised a far-see spell when she heard one. Rin gasped and stepped back from the window with a jerk. The colour had drained from the spirit's face, leaving her as pale as death.

"Meeka," Rin whispered at last. "Go and wake Haku up."

"But he is so weak!" Meeka protested.

"GO!" Rin roared suddenly. "Tell him we are about to be attacked, and if I'm any judge of these things, by a considerable force; this is a small army, not the small force he was expecting."

Meeka's ginger ears flattened and the hair rose at the back of her neck. She was incensed.

"Who dares attack Master Haku?" she hissed.

"MOVE, CAT! NOW!" Rin shouted, her voice squeaking slightly through fear.

Meeka found herself tearing down the hallway on all fours; her claws digging into the wood of the floorboards, giving her extra purchase and speed; ringed tail streaming behind her, like a banner.

Rin glanced at the cloud once more; it was looming even larger than before.

"Lady, help us all," she whispered. Then she turned and sprinted away to raise the alarm.

Rin, Linca and Zeniba all stood at the main gates. A horde of shadow people had gathered before the bathhouse. They stood in silent ranks on the opposite side of the bridge. There were a few other spirits among them. Zeniba saw some wood and grassland spirits, mainly low-level non-bonded spirits that had boar or lizard characteristics; the type of spirits that were more brawn than brain, and therefore easy to hire as mercenaries.

"I estimate two thousand out there, at least," muttered Zeniba.

"The shadow spirits are not powerful; it's the mercenaries that will be a problem," murmured Rin.

"You're right," nodded Zeniba. "And this place only has one approach for those on the ground so it's easy to defend. However, with such numbers involved, any shield we erect will not last long."

"Perhaps that is the intent," said Linca, her white, marble-like eyes surveying the invaders. "Knock out the shields and keep us busy while the mercenaries get in and out as quickly as possible."

"Or they could just try to raze the place to the ground" growled Rin darkly.

"That is not their intent," said a tired voice.

Slowly; painfully, Haku shuffled toward them. Meeka fussed about him like an old mother hen. He had lost weight and his face had thinned. His hair was lank and lifeless with none of its characteristic lustre. He was paler than anything that was still breathing should be, and there were large shadows beneath his eyes. His eyes seemed overlarge, and burned with a feverish intensity; it was clear to all that it was through will alone that he remained awake.

"You look like death warmed up," Linca commented with her usual tact. "Fat lot of good you are going to be to us; you can barely walk!" she scoffed. The emerald eyes focused on her and suddenly Linca wished she had not spoken. The jade depths were full of a cold determination that made her shudder.

"Yubaba wants this place in one piece," he said quietly. "I think the damage will be minimal. It is us they wish to incapacitate." A chilly smile touched his bloodless lips. "Kamaji has planned a warm welcome for them and you have all been drilled in your responsibilities by General Rin." His smile broadened and his teeth peeped at the worried-looking spirit woman. "Was it really necessary to have long-distance runs for the Yunnas who were off shift? I've had nothing but complaints since I woke up."

Rin blushed but mumbled in her defence about how out of condition they all were.

"Try curbing your megalomaniacal tendencies, just a little, Rin; this is a bathhouse, not a barracks." The teeth flashed again. "But you have done an excellent job; you all have. Thanks to you, we are ready for them. They would really need twice the numbers that they have here to overrun us. Conquest is not their agenda; this is merely a distraction."

"It's a fairly serious distraction, Haku," murmured Rin ruefully. She was treated to the same gaze Linca had received a few moments before. Then Haku shrugged.

"Perhaps, but we do not even know what they want yet."

As if awaiting his words, a large boar spirit started to cross the bridge. He had an impressive set of tusks, which he had tipped with steel. He wore boiled leather armour of the finest quality and his bristle covered body had many long pink scars received over many battles. He stopped halfway across and the small piggy eyes regarded the group of spirits gathered at the main gate dispassionately. His ears twitched and he snorted.

"What do you want, pig!" shouted Linca, before anyone could stop her. The boar grunted but gave no other indication that he was insulted.

"We are assembled at the behest of the mighty Yubaba!" he announced, his voice rasping. "She claims to be the rightful owner of the property. If you wish to avoid conflict, disband your forces and disable your defences. On your surrender, the dragon Kohaku will be taken into our custody; the rest of you have no involvement in this issue and have the chance to go free if you yield now."

"Well, well," said Haku to himself. "I'm popular today."

"There is no way my sister could assemble such a force," muttered Zeniba. "There is another involved in this. Shadow spirits are not easily led and are normally peaceful."

"It matters not!" growled Rin. "They are not having this place or my sister's mate!" She turned to the dragon. "Can you fight or do I have to baby-sit you?" Haku's hand fell to his sword, which was resting at his side.

"My form will not be perfect, but I'll be able to hold my own."

"Good," grunted Rin. She moved forward. The bladed staff clasped in her hand made an impressive walking stick.

"Where are you going?" asked Linca.

"To give our answer," said Rin in an offhand way. "Want to join me?" The former land spirit had an assortment of knives strapped to various parts of her anatomy and two were now held in her small, delicate hands.

The two marched across the bridge and refused the boar's offer. It was all incredibly civilised. Rin decapitated the mercenary after he threatened to eviscerate Linca. The head disappeared into the gorge beneath the bridge and black blood gushed over the planks as the body toppled backwards.

"That's going to take forever to scrub out!" gasped Meeka. Zeniba looked at Meeka sharply; quite sure the wood spirit's brain had addled.

"That will have got their attention; crude but effective," Haku grinned. The scent of blood curled up his nostrils, hot and heady. He licked his lips, relishing the prospect of spilling more. He was in an incredibly bad mood from his mind-numbing lack of energy and his body was unresponsive and slow; a change of form would be in order if he was going to do any real damage. A dragon was dangerous even when on the point of collapse.

Instinct would take over and he would slaughter hundreds before the day was out. If he could get through this, Chihiro would return and the crippling drain on his power would cease. The possibility that things could go horribly wrong was there, however. He did not want to think about it but it nagged at him. He could not get rid of the thought that this was all fitting in very nicely with someone's plans. Haku did not like to think of himself as a pawn but the possibility was very real. He turned to the old witch beside him.

"If things go awry, I want you to look after Chihiro." Zeniba stared at him, hardly believing her ears. Haku unsheathed a dagger from his tunic, and with one swift movement, cut a lock of teal and black hair from his head and handed it to the witch.

"Give her that and tell her I love her," he ordered, while sheathing the dagger and drawing his sword. It took him a moment to stop trembling but the weakness passed and his resolve hardened.

"You will be asking me for this back at the end, Haku," said Zeniba softly. "And you can tell Chihiro you love her yourself, not that she does not know already."

"I hope so," he whispered and glared out at the rapidly retreating Rin and Linca. The shadowy horde were pursuing them over the bridge and those spirits that had carried other spirits in started to spiral up into the air to gain enough height to attack. The grey predawn light had faded and the sun's rays broke over the horizon, painting the landscape burnt orange and red.

Rin and Linca sprinted through the gates and they were closed behind them. Steel bars braced the gates and fire spirits welded them in place. Blue light glowed around the bathhouse and sulphur gave the air a tang. It took over fifty magic users to erect a shield of the size needed and it was only temporary. Everyone knew the invaders would get in eventually, and then it would come down to fighting in the corridors.

However, the staff knew the territory and were well prepared. The invaders were nearly to the gate when the bridge exploded beneath them. Haku estimated that Kamaji's dynamite had just lowered invader numbers by over a hundred. The roars and squeals of the dying and injured assaulted his sensitive ears, accompanied by the scent of charred flesh. The battle for the bathhouse had begun.

Yubaba was hopping mad. She could hardly remember a time when she was so angry. Her hair was loose from her customary high bun and the grey tresses snaked around her. Her eyes were wide and bloodshot and smoke was beginning to curl from her mouth. Actually, thinking about it, she could remember a time when she had been that angry.

"What did you do with my baby?" She flew at the boy who had simply wandered into the nursery as if he owned the place. Her hair had wrapped around his back, shoulders and neck. Flames from her mouth had licked around him. He made no move to free himself. He met her furious gaze calmly, his green eyes showing nothing but contempt for her. It was then Yubaba had realised she had lost all control over him. She felt fear as those ethereal eyes stared back at her.

"He's with your sister," said the boy dragon coldly...

Yubaba felt her anger heat further. Flames sparked on her lips and teeth. He had been an arrogant lizard even then. He had grown so much worse since gaining his full powers. There was hardly anyone left who came close to him in power, his damn river was so well protected and he had learned so much from her... too much. Yubaba growled to herself. The only one who could give the dragon a run for his money was behind the doors before her and she was none too pleased with him at the moment.

She shoved the doors open and stomped into the open-air hall of translucent white marble. Kenshin sat on his black throne, poring diligently over maps and papers. Two shadow spirits aided him; one acted as a scribe, the other seemed to be a general dogsbody, pouring wine for him and sorting papers into neat piles.

The cursed air spirit had some sort of affinity with the shadow people. They probably owed him something. Little was known about the shadow people, they rarely talked to those outside their race. All that was certain was that the older they became, the less of a form they seemed to have. Some looked almost human while others were shapeless black masses with pits where some sort of eyes should be. They were a closed society but the air spirit was treating them as his servants.

The air spirit himself did not even acknowledge her presence; his head remained bent over papers, leaving the witch to froth at the mouth. After a few moments of being utterly ignored Yubaba could stand it no longer.

"YOU! THEY ARE BLOWING HOLES IN MY BATHHOUSE!" she shrieked. Kenshin winced at the sound and finally turned to her. One black eyebrow rose, the only outward sign he gave that the witch was irritating him.

"Calm yourself," he said softly, "you look terrible." The flames licked higher from the witch's mouth.

"You said they would not damage the bathhouse!" she protested. Cold grey eyes locked with her own, and Yubaba felt her anger lessen as a shudder passed up her spine.

"I well remember what I said," Kenshin said coolly. "I told you there would be minimal damage. This is a battle; be glad if the place is still standing at the end of it."

Yubaba shrieked with renewed indignation.

"That's my Bathhouse, you fool! You have no idea what it's like to see something you have built with your own hands destroyed!"

The wind above her head howled as the spirit before her stood. He casually brushed the matt black hair back from his face as if to give Yubaba an unimpeded view of his strange eyes that held the wisdom of the ages in their depths. Deliberately he strolled towards the witch and just as deliberately he slowly raised his right hand. The blow was so swift it took Yubaba's brain a moment to realise that she was on the floor and that her nose was bleeding. She looked up disbelievingly at the figure in black standing over her. His eyes were still cold and dispassionate, as if he was bored with the situation already. He clenched and unclenched his fist making the joints pop ominously.

"Get up," he said gently. Then he turned from her and draped himself over his throne. Yubaba struggled to her feet, feeling numb with shock. "I have something to take your mind off things while the battle continues," he said conversationally, as if it had been someone else who had just backhanded her.

"Swamp Bottom's mistress is indisposed at the moment. Go to the cottage and bring me her seal; I need it." Yubaba bowed low and shuffled away but his voice called out to her again, low and seductive as always; it slipped into her mind with frightening ease.

"Yubaba?"

She turned and looked back at him; he was not even paying attention to her. The air spirit's head was bent over a map one of the shadow spirits had just handed him.

"If you ever come before me again in such a state, I'll kill you. Do not presume that because you woke me up I will tolerate being ranted at."

Yubaba felt her heart grow cold but she bowed with deference and shuffled away.

"It's all for the bathhouse," she murmured. "It will be worth it in the end; it's all for the bathhouse." She smiled to herself and imagined what she would say to Haku when she took back what was hers. "He will not be so arrogant then!" she grinned. "It will all be worth it."