Chapter 1: Dreams Are Dangerous

Setting his porcelain teacup on the tray, Haku turned his gaze to the witch before him. The witch Zeniba had a disproportionate head, a stout body, and large piercing eyes. With a flick of her finger, she lit the fireplace and moved to sit across Haku in his office.

"How is the situation with the bathhouse?" Zeniba's voice crackled, "are you holding up alright?"

"I make sure to entertain at least two different merchants each week here — full expenses paid for," Haku replied, "I suppose building these relationships will take time but I think we're getting somewhere."

"Funny how these damned merchants trust my blackhearted sister more than they trust you," Zeniba rolled her eyes, "being good sure doesn't earn much rewards in the spirit realm."

"Well if we're all so pure I'm sure the bathhouse will go out of business," Haku smirked, "we couldn't have become the largest bathhouse in all of the spirit realm if it weren't for dirty, black-hearted spirits."

"Some of these damned spirits need more than a cleanse. They need to be purged," Zeniba smiled wickedly at her twisted little joke as she sipped her tea. Staring into the fireplace, the reflection of the flames flickered in her eyes. The early mornings were becoming cooler as autumn colours were slowly fading into winter tones. These colder seasons were her favourite. It was not because of the festivities, rather, it was because it was the only time the spirit realm showed its true colours - cold, harsh, and unforgiving.

Haku watched the witch's expression change into a look of nostalgia as she stared at the fire.

"What is it?" He implored.

The fire reminded her of someone she once met 16 years ago. The girl was warm, kind, determined and possessed the sort of love that had melted her 80 000 year old heart.

Chihiro. Zeniba shook her head and sighed deeply.

"And how are those dreams you've been having?" She asked Haku, without turning her gaze away from the fireplace.

Haku's eyes dropped to his desk immediately. It was a sensitive topic but he trusted Zeniba and she was the only person who knew about this problem.

"I can't keep them out. I've been having them more frequently as of late." He admitted quietly.

"And they all end in the same way…?" Without turning from the fireplace, she cast a sidelong glance at him. Haku nodded his head solemnly and knew immediately what Zeniba was going to suggest.

"I'm not drinking the potion," he interjected immediately, his hands wrapped around his porcelain cup tightly.

"Haku, dreams are dangerous-" Zeniba retorted.

"Yes, even the weakest of all spirits know that. I don't need you to educate me on this-," Haku's grip on the cup tightened, the whites of his knuckles were beginning to show.

"It bends reality Haku!" Zeniba shouted, "Not just your reality - damn YOUR reality - I'm concerned about HER reality."

Haku couldn't come up with a response to that. Feeling the tension build up within, he couldn't keep the pressure down any longer. "These memories of her are all I have!" He hissed and the teacup in his hands shattered into a thousand pieces.

A moment of silence passed between the two as the broken pieces floated from where they lay, putting themselves back into place again. Zeniba walked towards the balcony, staring into the pink skyline, the edges of the sun making its first appearance. Spirits were fast going to sleep and the river separating the spirit realm from the human realm was turning into a wide grassy field.

"Then keep those dreams of yours under control," Zeniba spoke softly, "don't let it control you." With that, she dived over the railings and disappeared into thin air.

Haku looked over to the balcony from his seat and felt a deep sense of emptiness within him. He had riches and power - he even had his name back. And yet…

As the sun began to rise and the spirit realm turned deadly silent, Haku changed into a dark silk robe and slipped into bed. He yearned to see her again, but not like in his dreams.

/

Perhaps it was the way she stepped into the river - always carefully, her toes grazing the surface. Or perhaps it was the way her kimono fanned out, before the water claimed its every fibre and soaked it till the salmon colour darkened into a creamy rouge. It was dark but the moonlight illuminated her smile as she walked into his calm waters.

"Haku," she whispered his name like a love song and the water responded to her. He responded to her. As she stepped deeper into his element, he could feel the curve of her thighs and the taste her skin. Every atom of his being was drawn to her and so, he let his currents wrap around her in an embrace.

Chihiro. His currents clung to her, nudging her to come closer, to step in deeper. It wanted to hold her. He wanted to hold her, feel her human warmth and keep her safe with him.

"Haku," she whispered. His waters were well above her chest and he could feel her heart beat.

My love. He wanted nothing more than to keep her safe in his depths. He wanted to feel every part of her being, to memorise every curve of her body.

"Haku, no…" Her legs started to kick a little at first, and then rapidly. She kicked against his currents, pushing him away.

No? You're mine. You're mine. He was desperate to hold her but she was fighting him.

Why, Chihiro? She was kicking frantically now while her arms swung in wild directions. Her panic rippled with urgency through his being and the urge to keep her safe was even stronger. He wanted to keep her near, he needed to keep her safe in his depths.

"Haku NO-" she shrieked before her voice was cut short with a gurgle. Chihiro was sucked into the abyss of his love, his deep deep longing for her…

/

Haku sat up with a jolt, woken up by a piercing pain in his chest. It was that dream again, he probably had this dream a thousand times. The details were different but in the end, Chihiro always died. Always drowned.

Sweat trickled down his temples as he got up from his office chair to pour himself a hot cup of tea. Although nothing could wash away the vile taste of seeing her drown in his depths, the light fragrance of peach tea ground him to reality.

With a snap of his fingers, he cast a spell into the hot drink. Dreams were dangerous. Zeniba had warned him many times before. But he couldn't let go of her. He couldn't bring himself to drink the potion and suppress these memories. Memories are powerful and even the strongest of magic can't completely wipe it away from the mind. But that isn't the point - Haku wanted to keep her close to him, to think about her and not bury her deep into the abyss of his subconscious. If only he could do that without having these nightmares. He cast a spell in his tea to ease the effects of his palpitating heart.

"It was just a dream. It was just a dream," his heart was still pounding but Haku kept repeating those words like it was a desperate prayer as his hands scrunched into a fist on his chest. The room was spinning and Haku clumsily staggered back into the office. He sunk back into his office chair, where he had fallen asleep halfway sorting out endless reports.

The effects of his spiked tea calmed his palpitating heart. But something still felt wrong. There was a nagging urgency at the back of his mind he couldn't seem to put a finger on. Haku ran a hand through his mossy sweat-slicked hair as he looked up from his desk. His eyes squinted, his vision blurred.

Before he knew it, the walls of the room seemed to collapse on him. The tea, despite his magic, was not helping anymore. Instead, the pressure in his mind was getting stronger and Haku buried his face into his hands. Holding onto the edges of the table, Haku felt as though his mind was about to split in half. His teeth clenched in excruciating pain. He had many nightmares but none threw him into a frenzy like this before.

Suddenly, his eyes opened. There could only be one explanation for his splitting headache. An intruder has entered into the spirit world. No, someone not of this world forced into this plane.

"Damn it. Damn it DAMN IT!" Haku immediately shifted into his dragon form and took flight to his river, raining scales along the way.

This can't be true. Please tell me it's not…

Haku flew as quickly as he could to his river. From a few kilometres in the air, he spotted a limp brunette lying upon his banks. Her body was unmoving and his river lapped against the shore, toying with the ends of her hair. Speeding towards the motionless figure, he could hear his heart palpitating in his ears.

"Chihiro?" He gasped as he landed, desperately cradling her into his arms.

He shook her shoulders, hoping that she would wake - nothing.

He pressed his head onto her chest. Still nothing. Above her head, he could see her life force losing its vitality, her aura fading away.

Magic was powerful but not invincible. Not nearly enough to hold off the powerful arms of death.

Unless…unless…

He leaned into her hesitantly before smashing his mouth against hers.

He stared at his river, scared to his wits.

This was not a dream. Not anymore.