"My house!" Rin cried as she looked at the shattered wall.
Haku noticed the mass of feathers unmoving on the ground and flicked a glance at Ryumiko. He knelt close to the dead monster, to inspect it. When he seemed done, he frowned at the girl who was still seated on the ground.
"You tried to get outside didn't you?" he sighed.
At this, the girl leapt to her feet. "I only sat on the windowsill! I didn't take a single step onto the grass and that thing attacked me!" she explained, pointing at the black feathers.
"So I suppose were you the one to kill it?" he questioned, his green eyes searching hers.
Ryumiko pursed her lips, wondering if she should tell him the truth. Haku noticing her hesitation, stepped closer so he that he was looking down at her.
"Uh... well... there was someone else... I don't know who exactly - but he did save my life..." she stalled, avoiding his eyes. When she caught a glimpse of his deep green orbs though, she blurted, "Are there any other dragons beside you?"
Haku raised an eyebrow at her query, "Yes there are. Are you saying it was a dragon that 'saved' you and tore down Rin's home?"
Ryumiko rolled her eyes, "I guess the whole knocking down the wall thing was over-done, but otherwise, yes he saved my life! Is that really a problem? He left as soon as he killed it, and he even bowed to me before he flew away in all his red glory!"
"Red?" Haku asked.
"Yeah, red!" Ryumiko said, getting on her toes to glare at him on equal ground.
"And you don't even suspect he's just acting friendly to get on your good side?" he almost growled.
"If he was going to kill me later, why didn't he let that monster do it for him then?" she shouted back.
Both green and blue eyes narrowed at each other, until Rin split them apart with her arms. "Okay, cool down you two lovebirds!" she said frustratedly.
The two stuttered at the prospect of being called 'lovebirds'.
Haku was the first to wheel around to face the woman. "Rin!" he shouted, his eyes wide and the lightest of blushes across his cheeks.
"T-That's - ew!" Ryumiko said, pushing Haku away from her as if to prove her point.
Rin just giggled at their reaction. "Look I don't care what you do, but I need help putting this wall together again," she said, jerking a thumb behind her at the rubble.
Ryumiko was amazed by the walls of the house. Even though they had been smashed to smithereens, as soon as two pieces came together, they melded until you couldn't tell it was ever broken. So now the wall looked as good as new, dinner had been served and the human girl was lying on her bed, watching the cresent moon in the sky.
Hearing a small huff from the corner of her room, she looked briefly at the dragon spirit who was rolling out a mattress.
"What are you doing Haku?" she groaned, moving her eyes back to the slender moon against the darkening turqoise sky.
Haku heard the irritation in her voice and gave her a patronising glare he was glad she didn't see. "I'm here to make sure no other dragons, rabid ravens or pesky humans go in or out of this room until morning. I'm also hoping to find out the mystery of your attire."
Ryumiko scoffed, "Yipee... I really have no idea what Chihiro saw in you..."
Haku froze, "What are you mumbling about?"
"Oh nothing. Just that my cousin must have been blind when she met you," she replied.
"Ha ha. Very amusing. Go to sleep!" Haku said, climbing into his own make-shift bed.
"She must have been deaf as well..."
"Could you just sleep already?"
Ryumiko sat up in her bed, "Really! Besides the whole thing with Yubaba, what happened to you? Chihiro made you out to be so... emotionally stable! Now you're emotion-less then suddenly scolding me for everything I say or do!"
Haku sat up to face her, "What does it matter to you?"
"I've spent years trying to figure you out! And I had to do it with only drawings and an idea of what Chihiro told me herself! Now that you're actually in front of me, it's indescribably infuriating that you're just as difficult to understand, if not more so!" she said harshly, resisting the urge to throw a pillow at him.
"Why does that concern me?" said the spirit, smirking at the murderous intent lurking in the girl's eyes.
Instead of flying into a state of uncontrollable rage, Ryumiko angrily flipped onto her side, facing away from him and pulled the sheets over her. Haku grinned in what he thought was his triumph. A few more minutes of silence passed, and despite Ryumiko's wishes to see if she could meet the one who gave her the clothes, she'd fallen asleep.
Haku stayed awake for a few more hours, when something bright blue shone through the window. He got out of bed and crouched, prepared for an attack, ready to transform if the need be. The light grew brighter as something fairly large slithered through the window frame. It gave a short burst of light as it began to shrink, changing into the shape of a human. Haku stared at the newcomer.
It was a tall woman with a young face and pure white hair that trailed along the floor. She was dressed in a similar robe as the first dress Ryumiko had worn. It was long and the colour of the night sky, with hints of a deep blue along the edges of the fabric. Her eyes were a glistening silver as she observed Haku. Her white painted lips parted slowly as she spoke. "I have no quarrel with you, young child," she said, her voice echoing like chimes in his ears.
"I am protecting this girl and I ask why you come here unannounced," retorted Haku, glaring at the older woman.
The woman's white lips turned ever so slightly upwards as she moved her silvery gaze from him to the sleeping human girl. "This girl is important to the Spirit World. Even the clan of dragons have acknowledged this."
Haku stood straighter, "Why are you here?"
The woman smiled, "Cautious aren't we? Good. I must inform you that most of the Dragon's power has been taken from us. Our clan was tricked by Yubaba. She holds more than half of our power in her hands. Even if she knows she can't use it herself, she has lessened us as her opponents. We are now as weak as common serpent spirits. In spite of this, our oracle told us that a human girl would come to free the Spirit World from Yubaba. Though we are weakened, we have been providing for and protecting this girl as best as we can in hiding. We do apologise for Retsu's reckless behaviour earlier today."
Haku frowned, "I did not feel a change in my powers as a dragon spirit."
She nodded, "You would not have. You separated your power from ours, the moment you started working for Yubaba. Now that you're free, your power is your own. Which is why we are all counting on you as her protector."
The woman left silence as she placed a set of new clothes beside Ryumiko's bed. She moved slower than necessary, letting the situation sink in for Haku. Her white hair fell over her shoulder as she bent down, illuminating in the moon's soft light.
Haku was quick to recover, "But she can't be the prophesised one! She has not lived in the Spirit World before."
The woman's eyebrows twitched ever so slightly downwards, "Our orcale foresaw a human girl with midnight black hair and eyes the colour of the ocean. Where did you receive that prophecy?"
"Zeniba, twin sister of Yubaba. They hate each other so there is no threat on her side," Haku said.
The woman's frown deepened, "We are sure this is girl. However I shall report back to the clan and see what they make of this. My brother Retsu shall remain during the day to make sure there is no harm to her until we know exactly who she is."
Haku nodded his undrestanding, "May I request your name before you leave?"
The woman gave a short smile as she glowed once more a brilliant blue, "Yukaoi."
"Kohaku," Haku said bowing farewell to the woman.
As she began to once again glow a brilliant blue, she said something quickly before she left, "Do not tell the human of our existence. It would be troublesome for us dragons."
Yukaoi's human form shuddered before lengthening into the shape of a dragon, whose dark-coloured scales matched the dark shade of the dress she was wearing. Within seconds, when the blue light had faded, she had blended into the night sky and disappeared.
Though Haku did not know why it'd be a problem to tell Ryumiko about the dragon clan protecting her, he decided it would be best to heed the woman's words. The dragon clan were a highly formidable power in the Spirit World, one he should have returned to, upon freeing himself from Yubaba, however he hadn't. He did not think that the dragon clan would have accepted his love for a human, so he remained alone, for when Chihiro came back.
He sighed as he felt an urge to get back into bed. As he felt himself drifting off asleep, he grimly imagined Ryumiko's smirk when he'd tell her 'he never saw anyone leave or enter her room'.
Woo! Updating nicely so far! EXCEPT EXAMS TOMORROW! NOOOOOooooooooo...! ALSO IT'S MY BIRTHDAY TOMORROW! AHHH MIXED EMOTIONS!
Many thank-yous to:
Mysticbreeze327
Crystal-Wolf-Guardain-967
Spastic Treehugger
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IT'S MY BIRTHDAY TOMORROW! :)