Don't Look Back – Chapter 4
It Begins
The double doors opened. I held my breath, wondering if Chihiro was still here after all of these years. When the doors opened, fully, my eyes swept the room as I walked down the stairs. Eyes were following me wherever I went, and I wasn't surprised. I wasn't the 12 year-old boy that I was when I left. Nope, I was a young man of 22. I spotted a few Yuna giggling at me, and I refrained from rolling my eyes. I wore black pants and coat, and dark green scrollwork decorated my sleeves. My hair had grown, seeing as I didn't have the time to actually cut it. I trimmed it before coming, and I held the rest back in a low ponytail. A few strands had fallen into my face, but I didn't care. I knew that they were going to fall out no matter how hard I try to keep them back.
I could feel the silence slowly coming down on my, threatening to crush me. I ignored it, and walked with long and unhurried strides to Yubaba. When I reached her, I gave her a bow, and she managed to give me an awkward curtsy in return.
"Welcome back, Haku."
"Thank you for receiving me Yubaba." I replied.
"I understand you know my new assistant, Chihiro?"
"I do. Where is she?" I asked, trying to hide my eagerness to see her.
"Hello, Master Haku." A woman's voice said. I turned slightly to my right, and my gaze settled upon an angel. There's no better way to describe how much she has grown. She caught my gaze, and gave me a graceful and deep curtsy. My heart tightened when she did. I've learned something already. I don't want to see her curtsy to me again. I don't want to be her better.
No matter how hard I tried to stop myself, I had to ask the question. "Chihiro… is that really you?" I breathed.
She smiled at me, and my heart absolutely melted. Damn, what is wrong with me? Maybe ten years hasn't changed the way I feel about her. By the looks of where this is going, probably not. "Yes, it is me." She said in that musical voice of hers. I'm not kidding, it really is!
Yubaba interrupted our reunion, which I felt like punching her for. "Now that we're all reacquainted, let the dances begin!" she snapped her fingers, and the musicians began to play once again. "Chihiro, I'm retiring for the night, you're in charge."
"Yes ma'am." Chihiro nodded, and Yubaba left through a side door. As the spirits started to dance something similar to a human waltz, I turned to completely to face Chirhiro.
"It's been ten years… it's good to see you again Chihiro." I said softly, meeting her gaze.
"It's good to see you again too, Haku."
I smiled, and gave her a deep bow. "With that said, would you honor me with a dance?"
Chihiro smiled back, and curtsied in return. "The honor is all mine. It's not everyday that I get asked by a river god to dance, let alone a friend."
I grinned, and held out my arm to her. When she took it, I felt like I was on the top of the world. Even though I left 10 years ago without a good bye to her, she doesn't hate me. She still considers me a friend even. If I can ask the gods, what did I do to deserve such a friend as her? As we stepped on the dance floor, the musicians switched songs. I grimaced when I heard which one they were playing.
"Do you know this one?" I asked Chihiro, not trying to hide my disgust for the dance.
She laughed at my expression, and my knees went weak. Her smile can make my heart melt, looking into her eyes can lift my spirits, and her laugh makes me want to sit down… living here is going to be a lot harder than I thought.
Chihiro smiled up at me, "Yes, I do know this one. But judging by the look on your face… do you want to wait for the next one?"
I shook my head, "They'll just start playing it again when I come back on the dance floor."
The dance portrayed a river in its prime, powerful and majestic. Yeah, I know. Fitting, isn't it? The two of us never touched, her being the piece of wood in the river, and me playing the river. I guided her around the dance floor, and she never missed a step or beat. I kept my eyes in Chihiro, and let my feet guide me.
She had grown so much. I knew that she would age and become a woman… but the woman that was dancing with me was more beautiful than any human woman would hope to be. Her hair shimmered, and the beads of her belt were clinking together. Those beads baffled me to no end. Sun gold and fire red beads were wrapped around her waist, and what they stood for was a mystery to me.
My thoughts drew to a close just as the dance did. Chihiro had followed the steps exactly and had danced away from me. Now, she spun toward me, stopping a few feet in front of me, back to me. Her arms were held out slightly away from her sides, and her palms were open and facing me. I slid up to her in one movement, and took her hands gently in my own, intertwining our fingers. She was startled, but I squeezed her hands reassuringly. I wrapped both of our arms around Chihiro's waist. She leaned her head back and let it rest on my right shoulder, and the both of us looked to our left at the double doors that I had walked through naught but a few minutes before.
From a distance, I bet we looked like a perfect picture. I saw a few spirits smiling as us, and I smiled back, then glanced down at the top of Chihiro's head. A mighty river god holding a human. That picture was one of a kind, and that picture… was shattered.
As the last note played, I didn't want to be anywhere else. Holding Chihiro close was now my favorite past time, one that I know I won't get to do often. Something like this is foreign to me. I chose not to associate with women, so this is the closest to one that I have ever been. I love the way that she seems to just fit into my arms effortlessly; it's like she was made to do that. I mentally kicked myself.
'You haven't even been back for a night, yet she has you completely wrapped around her finger, and she doesn't even know it!' I scolded myself, but I ended up smiling, 'Maybe that's not such a bad thing.'
The musicians stopped playing that long last note, the crowd burst into applause. As the couples stepped off the dance floor for a break, and new couples came on to dance, I didn't let her go. To my delight, she seemed content to stay like that. I leaned down to whisper in her ear.
"Since when did you dance?" I asked her softly.
She laughed quietly. "I don't. I don't know very many dances, so don't get used to this."
"Really? You're a natural Chihiro. I guess someone will have to teach you… I would, if that doesn't bother you."
"You would really do that?" she asked, looking up into my face, chocolate brown eyes twinkling.
"If you aren't afraid to be criticized, then I'll teach you."
"I'm not afraid of criticism. You learn to deal with it as Yubaba's assistant."
I laughed when I heard this, and she joined in. I hugged closer to me, "You have no idea how true that is."
"Haku… yes I do." She told me, containing her giggles.
Suddenly, the music stopped. Everyone stopped dancing. Chihiro and I looked back at the double doors, and they burst open. Everyone gasped, and I held Chihiro closer, glaring at the new arrivals.
Three figures came down the stairs, clad entirely in black, hoods drawn up over their faces. Two of the figures stopped on the last stair, and the figure in the middle continued to walk toward us. A few feet away from me and Chihiro, the figure stopped and pulled back their hood. I was surprised to find an older woman underneath the hood. She looked to be in her 40's, but her age didn't diminish her presence. The woman was deathly pale, paler than I, with her long silver hair hiding most of her face. One, cold, light blue eye surveyed the room, the other hidden behind her curtain of hair.
"Who is the owner of this bathhouse?"
Chihiro slipped out of my grasp, and took a few steps toward the strange woman. "The Lady Yubaba has retired for the night-"
"And are you her assistant?"
Chihiro frowned, "Yes I am. May I ask-"
"What lies you spread! Yubaba would never hire a human to work for her!"
"I am not a human any-"
"Is that so? Well, regardless of what you say, our reason for being here stays the same."
"What is it that you want?" Chihiro snapped, losing her patience. I'm actually surprised the woman let Chihiro finish a sentence for a change.
"My name is Maeve, and I want your river god." The woman hissed, and she snapped her fingers. I didn't have time to react. Unbreakable bonds tied my hands behind my back, and black clad figures came out of nowhere to hold me still. I thrashed about, kicking and fighting my way out of their hold. Then I saw the strange woman move. She pinned Chihiro against her, and raised a long and silver knife to her throat.
"If you continue to put up a fight, you won't see much of your precious human again."Maeve hissed. I stopped fighting back immediately, and I hung my head in shame. "I thought so. You've become to weak, letting a human come this close to you can become dangerous Haku."she laughed, and I glared daggers at her.
"What is going on here?" Yubaba cried, walking back into the room. "I was having a wonderful dream, and-" she cut off, and her eyes widened. "You! You… why are you here? We had a deal, you leave us alone and the gods would let you live!"
"That pact has been terminated. Yes Yubaba, it is as you and your sister feared. The Druids are back, and we're thriving."
Everyone seemed panicked, and began to look for an easy way out. Yubaba took a step back, and I paled. Not the Druids… anything but the Druids. I knew that Chihiro had no idea what was going on, and I didn't expect her too. But, what she did next I never would have expected her to do.
Maeve dropped the knife she was holding to Chihiro's throat with a yelp. I noticed the knife was steaming hot, giving off steam even. Chihiro moved away from the woman and faced her. She spoke a few words, and flung a huge fireball at her. My eyes went very wide. This was definitely not the girl that I knew ten years ago. Maeve cried out in pain when she hit the opposite wall. She slumped over, unmoving. The two unmoving figures on the stairs drew their swords, and rushed Chihiro. She was unfazed, and threw two fireballs at them. They joined Maeve against the wall.
At this point, the ballroom was in chaos. More black clad figures had jumped up out of nowhere, causing the guests to flee in panic. Yubaba was on stage; incinerating any black figures that she laid her eyes on. Then I realized that the room was growing smaller, and I could hear the howl of the wind. They really weren't kidding when they said that they wanted me.
Chihiro spotted me, and I didn't feel safe. Her hands were holding bunches of flames, and her hair was wiping around her face from the energy of the fire she possessed. Her dress danced in an unseen breeze. I… I was afraid of her. I was really glad that I wasn't a Druid at that moment.
"You will not be taking Haku." She said softly, but her voice rang out through the hall. No one seemed to hear her, but my guards did because they dragged me even faster to another side door. Then Chihiro did something that I didn't know she could do.
When I first brought her to the bathhouse, I had to fly her over the bridge because she was spotted, remember? Well, she did exactly what I did that night, and it blew me away, literally. The force of the wind hit us when she stopped, bowling over some of my guards. I kicked out, and the remaining men holding me let go. I sprinted away, but some of the men followed me. One grabbed my foot, and I spun around to face him. But before I could do anything, the man let me go as if he was being burned. Then I realize he had… but not by Chihiro.
A dragon wound it's body around me, it's lower body wrapped around my legs. The dragon's two back feet were on my right hip, and the two front feet rested on my chest. It's neck went behind my own, and it's head was draped over my shoulder. This dragon looked and was built exactly like me, but was much smaller with different coloring. The scales were a sun gold, and the mane was a fiery red. 'Like Chihiro's beads…' I thought, my mind racing. 'Chihiro is wrapped around you… she's a dragon…' The thought seemed to far fetched, but I had proof, and it was literally wrapped around me. Then I saw a… flame of some sort flying around the men, causing them to run away from me. When I looked at it hard enough, I realized it wasn't a flame, but another dragon!
'Huh?' The thought sent my mind reeling. 'Chihiro can't be two dragons… but if she's not the dragon around me, where is she?'
As if in answer, someone snapped. The dragon quit chasing the men, and the dragon wrapped around me slowly unraveled itself. They merged together, and shot off to some unknown destination behind me. I turned to see where they were going, and my jaw dropped. The flame shot toward Chihiro's out stretched hands, and the flame hit her dead center. But instead of crying out in pain, falling over, or roasting to a crisp, she was perfectly fine. The fire hadn't harmed her at all.
She smiled sheepishly at me, "Sorry about that."
I breathed in shakily, "I don't mind much, really."
Chihiro giggled, and snapped her fingers again. My bonds came undone, and I rubbed my wrists as I walked toward her. "How- never mind. I don't want to know how you did that."
She smiled, then swayed. "Whoa…"
"Chihiro!" I cried, catching her before she hit the floor.
A Yuna came up to me and laid a hand on my arm. "Here. I'll take her to her rooms."
"And who are you?" I snapped, not caring about being polite.
"Ah, forgive me." She said, giving me a deep curtsy. "I am Kasumi, Lady Chihiro's maid. She's all right, just tired."
"And you know this because?"
"She's done something like this before. Not on this scale of course, but something along these lines. If she wishes to, she can explain the circumstances when she wakes."
I blinked a few times, and stared hard at Chihiro's maid. "Sumi? Sumi, is that you?"
She smiled. "My name was Sumi. Since I work for Chihiro, my contract with Yubaba was broken. Now, I have my true name back, Kasumi."
I smiled. She had found me a few hours after I had just lost my river. She brought me to the bathhouse, fixed me up, and sent me off to see Yubaba. I know that she thinks it's her fault that I became Yubaba's henchman, but there wasn't anything she could do. In those few months, she became one of my close friends. But after I became the second in command, she could no longer talk to me. In a way, she's kind of my older/younger sister.
"It's good to see you again… Kasumi."
Her eyes danced. "Good to see you again too, Haku. Now, let's get her into bed."
A/N:DUN DUN DUN! The Druids have returned! Who they are and why everyone is afraid of them is coming next chapter! I didn't realize how much people LIKED this until I got like four reviews in a day. Now, for me, that's a lot! So, here are your thank yous to whoever reviewed!
clavira89 - Yes, Haku is back, and he's going to be here for a while before I kick him back out... just kidding! I'm glad that you're liking this, and here's the next chapter! Hope you liked it!
Wings of Tears - Yes! Another 10/10! I know, hope you liked this reunion, but a better one is coming next chapter, so don't get upset if you didn't think this was fluffy enough. ((although their official reunion might not be fluffy... but you never know.)) Thanks, and I hope you like this chapter too!
Coyote - I'm sorry that I went to fast! I'll go back and edit that chapter when I get the time, how does that sound?
liddoloner - I'm glad that you think this fic is interesting, and I hope it got more so in this chapter.
Lack Therof - I'm glad that you're liking the plot here, and that this fic isn't "crappy". But, have you read anything by Velf? Because those Spirited Away fics are NOT crappy AT ALL. You liked how I explained what happened to Chihiro? Really? I thought that I didn't put enough detail into it, but I guess not! Yay!
Blah - Liking the plot... the story is flowing... oh yeah. ((puts on shades / lmao))
angelofblades - I couldn't help but give her something cool like elements... hehe! I was orginally going to give her the ability to become a dragon, but I thought that it would sound that I was making her more like Haku, and I didn't want to do that. So, I think summoning two fire dragons is WAY cooler.
Disclaimer: I own nothing... hmph.
Read and Review please, and thank you!
-Vincent's Angel of Chaos-