Chapter 3: Master of Diversion, Glimmer of a Dream
Kaihn had slipped away in the commotion when the town's people were in a state of havoc.
He was alive and well, yet he couldn't bring himself to face the others.
He refused.
After all of the pain the poltergeist had caused in his form, he felt it was hopeless to face his family now... There was no hope for his salvation, and no peace waiting for his soul.
Of this he was certain.
He walked away from Deadmarch, and back toward the warrior's, but he would instead make a left before the turn off.
He continued to move forward, when he saw...
It was like death's doors were spreading in all directions, changing everything in it's path.
It left only dark space behind.
Erasal.
The Giant, Boh, and another female giant were running with a whole group of people.
"Why is it speeding up again!?" She exclaimed.
"I don't know!" He replied. "But this time we run... FAR."
He saw Kaihn as they ran.
Boh picked him up, and held him with a crushing grip as they ran.
"I'm going to throw you in there." He said.
"Wait!" Kaihn exclaimed.
"There's a LOT to explain here! I was possessed by a poltergeist!"
Boh laughed bitterly.
"You're so full of shit."
"Who is this guy?" The woman asked.
"Onna, this is Kaihn. He's a murderous asshole... Now that we've all met..."
Boh prepared to throw him.
"No, wait! I'M SERIOUS! There's a Behemoth up ahead in Deadmarch! He's the one who freed me! HE'LL TELL YOU!"
"You'd better not be lying." Said Boh, tightening his grip.
"I will crush you if you are..."
Kaihn gulped.
"F-Fair enough..."
...
The portal had sucked us all in...
We were floating for a while, and completely unconscious of our bodies.
Chihiro and I had been taken together, and the group had separated... That's all I know.
I was desperately trying to wake up.
Wake up...
Something's happened Haku, and you need to wake up.
(Sleep... Rest until it's ready.)
No... I need to wake up now! Chihiro could be in incredible danger, and I'm just sleeping...
(Danger...? No... Why would I hurt you? I just want to meet all of my guests...)
Who are you...?
I felt a bright light hit my eyes, as a world of sorts became more clear.
I looked over at Chihiro, who was still sleeping on the ground.
The grass was soft, and the area around them was like a paradise, lavished with flowers and life...
I shook her.
"Chihiro! Chihiro! Wake up! Come on... You need to wake up."
Her eyes fluttered, and she looked at me.
"H-Haku... What happened...?" She whispered.
"I don't know..." I said.
"How are you feeling? Are you hurt?"
"N...No." She said softly.
"Just waking up."
She sat, and looked around.
"Where are we? This place is..."
"It seems nice." I said.
"But I don't know yet..."
She sighed. "I can't tell either way, but I don't sense any bad intent."
I relaxed slightly.
I trusted Chihiro with all of my being... If she says there's no one threatening us, then there isn't. I suppose it must be more of a search than a battle.
I nodded. "Alright then, shall we take a look around?"
She nodded, and we stood.
We walked into a clearing, and found an interesting artifact.
It was the stone cottage that Chihiro and I had made our home.
"No way..." She gaped.
"What's this doing here?"
I sighed. "I'm getting a big dreamscape vibe from this... I think this place knows our past, and things we cherish. We may want to be careful where we wander..."
Chihiro stared at me.
"I didn't get that vibe..."
She held her head.
"Haku, what's going on!? Why can't I sense anything!?"
She was clearly distraught, and scared.
I tried to activate the spell that calmed her... Nothing.
My eyes widened.
"What!? I can't use my river magic!"
Chihiro stopped.
"You can't? Hold on..."
Her mind seemed to calm.
"I think I know what happened... We switched abilities, and magic. Now you have my intuition, and I have your river magic."
I looked at my hands.
"How strange..."
We walked up to the cottage.
There was a nice stream running next to it, and Chihiro stepped on it...
The water bunched at her feet...
I then realized we were wearing no shoes.
She tried to shake the water off, but it seemed to cling to her like a magnet.
Oh... That happened to me when I first became physical in purgatory.
"It sticks!" She exclaimed.
"I can't walk inside like this!"
I sighed. "Just stand on the ground, your feet shoulder width away."
She did, and she was standing on bubbles of water...
She soon lost her balance, and fell down.
"I can't stand up right..." She said nervously.
I helped her stand.
"Are you okay?" I asked.
She nodded. "I think I'll be alright..."
I nodded. "Good... Now imagine the water sinking into the earth, and step away when you feel your feet touch the ground."
It took some focus on her end, but she seemed to manage just fine.
I smiled. "The same thing happened to me my first time in purgatory..."
She laughed. "Really!? What did you do?"
I felt myself grow warm... I love her laugh.
"Well, I had to learn to walk on water bubbles for about a week... Then I figured it out."
She shook her head.
"I couldn't have walked... I would have tumbled a lot though."
I laughed. "I could see that!"
We both looked at the cottage.
"Should we go in?" Chihiro asked.
I shrugged. "I don't see why not... I am curious to see what our dreamer has done with the place."
We walked inside.
It looked exactly how it did when we left it...
I looked around.
"Hmm... It looks... Normal."
Chihiro walked over to the kitchen area, and held the cast iron pan.
"It's not rusted... It was before."
I sighed. "I don't think that I see any flaws, now that I think about it. No crack in that wall..."
I walked over to our bed.
"The chip on the headboard is also gone."
Chihiro shook her head.
"This is just too weird."
"Yes, it is very strange..." I agreed.
Something touched my mind... Like a warning to take our time.
"Chihiro, I think we should stay here for today, and venture out tomorrow morning... I have a feeling we need to conserve our strength before we leave."
She nodded. "Alright. You're the one with my intuition right now..."
I smiled. "Well, while we're here, I'll make some lunch."
She smiled warmly. "So what are you making?"
I shrugged. "I don't know yet, let's see what we have..."
I looked in the food storage, and I was shocked.
"Um... Yeah, anything you want, I can make... Wow."
Chihiro walked over to where I was, and gaped.
"That's way more than we even need!"
I shrugged. "Well, we're only staying here for today, so does it matter?"
She smiled. "I guess not."
I pulled out four small pork chops, butter, white wine, a small amount of salt and pepper, rosemary, and two cloves of garlic, which I minced.
I was making modenese pork chops.
This was a recipe I had learned from watching the cooks at the bathhouse... It was my best meal.
When I had finished cooking the pork chops in the butter, I added in the white wine, minced garlic, and other spices, allowing it to simmer.
Chihiro sniffed the air.
"That smells fantastic... What are you making?"
I grinned. "I guarantee you it will taste even better... And this? Well, it's a surprise."
She rolled her eyes and laughed.
"Having fun Haku?"
I laughed. "Maybe a little..."
I made a nice salad as a side, and served us each two of the pork chops.
We sat down at the table, and ate.
She took a bite, and seemed to melt in her chair.
We both savored the dish...
I smiled to myself. This was pretty delicious.
"Oh wow... Haku, you really out did yourself. This is amazing..." Said Chihiro. Her tone was pleasant, and light.
I smiled, and felt myself blushing.
"Well, I figured we should make the best of this while we still can..."
She grinned. "There are lot's of ways to make the best of our time."
I felt myself grow hot.
mmm... Lot's of ways...
(Eiji... Something's happening with Eiji...)
What...?
A vision crossed my mind, and I saw Eiji, Hiro, and that girl moving a body... Was that Lilith!?
...No, it was Freya. She looked like Lilith...
Then... Kaihn was running toward them.
No! Not him!
...Wait. It wasn't Kaihn... No, it was Kaihn. A Kaihn I had never met.
He ran to them from...
What in the world was THAT!?
A wall of death was threatening to consume them.
I realized then...
We had created this wall upon opening the portal.
It was moving fast, and...
Holy hell... A BEHEMOTH!
THE BEHEMOTH!
How did ChiKaKÅ« get mixed up in this!?
He grabbed the children, both giants, Kaihn, the Leviathan's, and the crowd of people.
He swooped them up in one armful, and made great leaps forward.
Chihiro stood with me in the vision.
"They can't run forever!" She exclaimed.
She must have accidentally slipped into my vision using a mind tap. It takes physical contact from the hands to the head... It can get hard to control unless you're familiar with river magic.
I sighed. "What can we do? Is there anything?"
She looked at it.
"It needs to slow down..."
The wall made a quick movement forward...
Eiji's eyes went wide with fear.
"NO! STOP! STOOOPP!" She screamed.
She held her head in her hands, her eyes closed shut.
She was shaking...
The wall had stopped, and I saw the vision fade.
They were okay...
Chihiro's hand was still connected to me.
She began shaking violently as my memories flowed into her.
I couldn't just stop her, or remove her hand... That could hurt her, because of her lack of control in this.
She pulled her hand back, and fell to the floor.
I knelt down next to her, and grabbed her shoulders.
"Chihiro? Are you alright!? Chihiro!?"
She sobbed, and leaned into me...
What did she see?
She continued to cry as I held her.
"What did you see love...?" I asked softly.
"Please tell me..."
She curled up into me.
"I... I saw what they did to you... At the bathhouse... Haku... I know you told me, but I had no idea."
So that was what she saw...
I would have never wanted her to experience that.
The training was even harder back then, and the work load was easy after that, but morally excruciating...
I felt I had lost my soul to my demons, until Chihiro had helped me remember my name.
Kohaku river...
That is my name. I still use Haku, because it's familiar now.
Still, I will never forget...
I leaned in, and gave her a soft kiss.
"None of that matters now..."
I put her hand on my head, and showed her the rest.
A warm smile crossed her lips...
She opened her eyes.
"Eiji's safe." I said.
"You don't have to worry now, the wall has stopped, and will move considerably slower."
I also knew now that we were timed.
We had to find this seed before the wall of destruction spread, and destroyed everything...
Today however, we needed rest and energy.
I wasn't going to worry Chihiro with that detail yet... I would bring it up tomorrow.
She gave a sigh of relief...
A tear slipped down her cheek.
"Thank goodness..." She whispered.
I pressed soft kisses on her head...
Then her lips.
"I love you..." I said, continuously kissing her.
I really needed her.
We had been so incredibly stressed and busy lately, there was hardly time to eat.
We usually spent what time we had sleeping...
I need her...
I want her...
God... I REALLY want her.
My lips trailed to her neck, kissing and biting with a furious passion... It was like a fire in my chest.
My lips.
I carried her to our bed, and slipped off her dress.
I held her arms to the bed, pressing lingering bites and kisses on her jawline and neck...
She gave a soft and pleasured moan as I trailed my lips down her chest and torso.
She grabbed my arms and flipped me over, tearing my shirt off.
I felt pleasure course through each place her skin touched me... Especially her lips.
I felt myself let out a long and low moan as her lips moved down my torso...
Jolting slightly at each soft bite...
My eyes rolled back as she moved lower...
I grabbed her, and held her against the headboard.
Our bodies were pressed against each other, each touch sending tremors down mine...
She let out longer moans as bliss and ecstasy filled our minds and bodies...
Her lips brushed against my neck, and I still felt sensitive, moaning softly.
"You picked up on that one fast..." I breathed.
She curled into me.
"I think that's because you did it to me once... It was more familiar."
I looked into her eyes...
God... It was like they were shimmering.
The light hazel seemed to have an entrancing golden quality...
I felt a warm smile cross my lips... Like our hearts were completely connected.
...Because they were.
She was projecting her emotions on me with her eyes...
I think there's definitely some truth to what she said. Every spell I had used on her, she was able to use with ease.
In fact? It seemed first nature.
That could be dangerous.
If magic was like breathing, then you couldn't hold your breath forever. There were certain spells she wouldn't be able to control well because of this.
I sighed. "Chihiro... You need to be careful okay? The river magic you've picked up on may be hard to control. I don't want you hurting yourself... If you use too much at such a constant rate, it will exhaust you."
Her eyes became nervous... Making me nervous.
"I... I'll try." She said.
I focused, and I was able to snap myself out of the spell.
"Chihiro, you need to calm down." I said.
"You're using my projection and entrancing spell... Just breathe..."
I wrapped her in my arms, letting my hand stroke her back.
"Breathe..."
She seemed to calm down, and curl up into me.
"I am really scared right now..." She whispered.
"I feel so lost... I never imagined how it would feel to have everything your sure of change completely... Not like this."
She cuddled into me further.
"Well... Not everything I'm sure of..."
I felt a warmth spread across my chest, and in my very soul.
I pressed a kiss on the top of her head.
"I really love you Chihiro..." I said softly.
"I love you..." She whispered back.
We rested for a while, just holding each other...
I felt a pang of worry.
I really hope that Eiji is okay...
This journey could really hurt him. The last thing I want is for him to feel like he's lost himself to his demons...
Eiji... You are precious to Chihiro, and you are very precious to me.
I promise...
I will be watching for you.
