Chapter Two

It rained that night.

Chihiro squinted against the rain battering down at her windshield. Since the time she returned, there had been no rain, no snow, no… anything really. The heavy downpour was a surprise to her. She, like any person, had seen rain… but this felt more than your average shower. The beat of the water was melancholy, sad, adding to the cloud of despair that had wrapped around her as she left the river.

Slowly, her small red buggy pulled up at a red light. Releasing the petal, she turned her head and gazed out the car. People walked, umbrellas held high, eyes forward, each step seemingly premeditated, as if they knew exactly where to step... exactly where to go.

Although those words promising to reunite had been a lie, Chihiro had to thank the dragon once again. Without him, she would not be like the people walking in the rain. If she had not took the time to get know him during those fateful days, she would, of no doubt, still be of the same mind she was before entering the gate... someone who just... who just didn't care.

University was starting soon. Her dream of becoming an ecologist had not died with the Kohaku's lost words. Chihiro shook her head, remembering the exact moment her future became clear. She was so young, so vulnerable when the dragon had told her his story. His eyes had glittered with unspoken emotion. His words, like the memory of the river, poured through her mind. The polluted water... the dangers that humankind wreaked on the ecosystem so many animals – and other beings, call home.

It was time someone had done something about it, and she had promised to herself that very moment, she would be the one to do it.

Ah... the good old times.

The light turned green and Chihiro was once again brought back to the land of the present. Placing her foot once again on the gas pedal, she pressed down and her buggy once again, began to move. Just as the car started into motion, she heard a screech.

Turning her head the other way, she was suddenly blinded by a bright light. The world slowed around her, and the only thing she could now see was the incoming truck. Her eyes widened as a large, blue tow truck skidded against the wet road. Shock froze her body and she swallowed. As if in slow motion, the wheels of the truck spun, trying to regain balance.

Adrenaline suddenly pulsed through her veins and once again her limbs could work. Frantically, she pressed on the gas pedal, teeth gritting as the ominous, oncoming truck, spun towards her. She heard her wheels spin in an effort to move, but she knew it was too late.

Quickly she bowed her head for a quick prayer, and a trickle of tears escaped closed lids.

Oh God, please, I can't die today! Not today…

:::BREAK:::

The dragon couldn't help it. Like all those years ago, the girl always had been his weakness, his drug. Just that simple sight of her could reduce him to a blundering idiot. Once again, she became the blood in his veins, the air he breathed, the river to his dragon spirit. He couldn't turn away. Like the love-sick fool that he was, he followed her.

You're pathetic, Kohaku. Just plain pathetic.

His conscience ate at him and he grimaced, a faint growl escaping clamped jaws. Dammit, why couldn't she have just stayed away? Tossing his head, he tried once again to rid himself of her calm, serene image, rooted in his mind.

It was no use. The face was still there, and she, by God, was not leaving.

Circling the sky, he tried to catch a glimpse of her in the car. However, the vehicle blocked his view from afar. He, with his exceptional sight, couldn't even glimpse a strand of hair on her head.

Stupid… tinted… windows…

The next time the dragon would decide to crash a car, which he did often for fun, he would most definitely choose a buggy. In fact, he would crash that exact brand of car, and relish doing it. The damned thing hid her beauty like a nun's garb. He could see nothing from where he hovered.

As if on cue, he watched her pull up at a red light. Finally, he thought, a smile touching his lips.

Finally.

Slowly, he descended from the skies, making sure there were no spectators. Just before he hit the tree he had intended to hide in, his dragon transformed to the man and he lightly landed on a branch.

Thank heavens he had his name back, he thought unhumorously. After regaining his identity, the dragon realized he had lost so many of his previous skills to Yubaba. Luckily for him, generating clothing was one of several skills all dragons had, and he could once again proclaim it as his own.

A quick T-shirt and jeans quickly clad his nude body.

The light turned green.

Swearing under his breath, the dragon began to sprint in the direction her buggy. The car gently came to life and started its movement forward.

Then he saw it.

The large truck, spinning out of control, was rushing headfirst towards the buggy.

Dread filled him and on impulse, he ran towards the two vehicles.

She had risked so much, coming to him. Would he live with himself if he let her die? She had found him, and he had just found her.

Thigh muscles worked as he raced, faster and faster towards the spot, he knew would be the crash site. He had spent too long in his dragon form. His human body had long been stored away, and quickly, he tired. Breathing in, the air burned his lungs, the muscles cramped.

He couldn't give in.

She couldn't die, and no matter what, he would never, ever, let her leave him again.