Don't Look Back – Chapter 10

Reunion Followed By Bad News

((Haku's POV))

I paced my office. A week… a week since I had last heard from Amaya. What's going on? She said that she was going to keep in touch and let me know what was going on…

Then, I heard a tapping at my window. I walked over, and opened it. I jumped back when I realized it wasn't Amaya, but a young man… a young man that looked a lot like me.

"Perun, Master Haku."

I nodded my head. "So, you are Perun… you look nothing like your brother."

"I know. It's a stretch to even say we're related. One would say we were cousins unless told otherwise. But that's not why I'm here. You know of a woman named Amaya, correct?"

"Yes…"

"Don't worry, she's a few minutes behind me. She may have told you all ready, but I wish to join your cause. But I know right off the badthat I'm going to have to earn your trust because of my name. I understand, and I'll prove my loyalty."

I raised an eyebrow. "And how do you plan to prove it? Swear?"

"That, along with a surprise." He said, smirking. "I, Perun, child of the water, swear to serve the League in any way that I can, and to protect the Haku, Lord of the Kohaku River and Chihiro, Mistress of the Flames."

"Child of the water? You're a water spirit?" I asked, dumbfounded. As far as I knew, I was the only one that had been born in the past 1000 years…

"I am. Do you require anything else of me?"

"You swore to protect me and Chihiro, correct? Then if you have sworn, go get Chihiro and bring her back to me."

"That can be done." Perun said simply, and walked toward the window he came from. He extended a hand out, and someone took it. Amaya stepped through the window, and the both of them turned to pull someone else into the room. When they were through, Perun stepped in front of the person, blocking them from my view.

"Master Haku, here is proof of my loyalty." He said softly, stepping aside to reveal… Chihiro.

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Perun must have seen the look on my face. He smiled, and took Amaya by the arm and whispered something in her ear, leading her out of the room. "We'll wait for you outside." He said, and left my office to sit in my living room.

I just looked at her for a few seconds, and then sprinted across the room to embrace her. "Oh gods… Chihiro… you're back… you're really here…"

She gave a faint laugh. "Haku… I can't breathe…"

"Oh!" I cried, letting her go with a blush. She rubbed her shoulder and winced. Concerned, I tried to move her hand to see what was wrong, but she pushed me away. She lifted the shoulder of her dress to cover something, but I was quicker. I pushed the sleeve away, and gasped.

A black and blue bruise spread over her shoulder and I couldn't even see the whole bruise. "Chihiro… who did this?"

"So, you're not going to buy the 'I fell' excuse?"

I glared at her. "Who did this?" I repeated.

She looked at the floor, and didn't look up. "Eh… men…"

"They hurt you." I whispered, dread sitting in my heart. She nodded slowly, and moved away from me. It tore my heart… she didn't want any man near her now.

"Amaya put it down fast… they never touched me again. That's how I met her actually. She stopped her men-"

"Her men?" I asked, astounded.

"She didn't know of it. Some of her men were the ones guarding my cell, and would escort me to and from Kallisto's office. It was her order in the first place."

I wanted to comfort her, tell her that everything would be all right… but both of us knew that it would be a lie. Things weren't okay, and they wouldn't be that way for a while. I never knew that it would kill me that she didn't want me near her… I wanted to wash her fears away, whisper comforting things in her ear.

Then I saw a lone tear make its way down her dirty cheek, following one of the many trails. I couldn't take it anymore. I stepped closer to her, and hesitated when I saw her stiffen. My heart split in two, 'She really is afraid…' I lamented to myself. When I saw a few more tears leak out of her chocolate brown eyes, I had to do something. I slowly raised a hand to wipe away the tears. She looked up at me, one more tear finding its way out of her eye. Then, she buried her head into my chest and let out heart wrenching sobs. It killed me to listen to her, to the point where I had to burry my face in her hair so she wouldn't see my own tears. I moved one of my hands to rest on her shoulder, and heal the bruise there. I sent my magic out to heal any other bruises, and discovered the horror of what she lived through. I healed them as best as I could, and let my tears fall.

"Chihiro…" I whispered.

"Wh… what?" she sobbed.

"I'm so sorry… I didn't fight Phobos-"

"Haku…"

"- I didn't try to come after you-"

"Haku."

"-I let this happen-"

"Haku!" she looked up, and saw my tears. She let out a small gasp, and immediately wipes them away. "I'm fine now, really. The healing truly helped. Besides, I'm happy to be back."

"You have no idea." I whispered, rubbing her back and resting my head back in her hair.

After a few minutes, I called Kasumi in. She ran into the room and hugged the life out of Chihiro, and immediately led her across the hall to get her cleaned up, and to find her a proper healing. I took Perun and Amaya up to see Yubaba, who nearly flipped at the sight of them.

"Yubaba, do you intentionally think that I would bring them here if I knew that they would cause harm? They brought Chihiro back, and swore on their elements."

Her eyes widened. "Chihiro? She's back?"

I nodded. "She is, and Kasumi is seeing to her as we speak. Now, the question is why the Druids wanted her in the first place. Any ideas?" I asked, looking at Perun and Amaya.

Amaya shrugged. "I have no clue. I'm not let in on Kallisto's big plans."

"And I know of only a few." Perun added. "Unfortunately, I have no idea what my mother's motive was for capturing Chihiro. It may have been the fact that she's one of the few fire elementals that this world has seen in a long time…"

"Aren't you forgetting about Odin?" Yubaba asked.

Amaya blinked, then looked at Perun and the both of them busted out laughing. "You don't know?" she gasped out. "Odin's been dead for 10 years. Kallisto snapped."

Yubaba and I starred at the two laughing ex-Druids. Then, I felt the corner of my mouth twitch. I smiled, and Yubaba just shook her head. "Things will never cease to amaze me."

Perun stiflted his laughter, and went on. "As far as I know, Kallisto was after Haku-"

"Which doesn't make sense either, she can't make me do anything of my own free will." I said, crossing my arms.

Amaya shook her head in wonderment. "Is the League THIS clueless? We can, we have the magic to make you work and do what we want. How do you think we managed to survive in exile? Besides, having the great River God working for us would have been a major break through."

Yubaba shuddered. "Haku… forced to work for the Druids… that scares me."

I starred at her, eyes wide. Not many things scare Yubaba. "It's that bad?"

"Boy, you don't really realize how powerful you are." She said to me solemnly, and turned her gaze back to Amaya and Perun. "We know that you swore to Haku, but I need further convincing…"

"You want us to swear to you too?" Amaya asked, leaning on her right leg, hand on her hip.

"More than that. I want to mark you."

"Yubaba! That's outlawed!" I cried.

"Hold on Haku. I want to use the more modified, and legal form."

"Which is?" Perun asked coolly, arms crossed over his chest.

"Using my magic, I would create a band that would wrap around your arm. It would allow me to tell where you are, what condition you are in, and will instantly know if you plan to betray me. Unlike the old markings, this would be removable, but I choose when and where it comes off. Do you agree to my terms?"

Perun looked at her for a few seconds, and then removed his outer coat. "Do I get to pick which arm?" Amaya hesitated, and then rolled up the sleeve on her right arm.

Yubaba held two cords of a bright white in her hands, and shot them at Amaya and Perun. The bands went around Amaya's wrist, and around Perun's bicep, becoming smaller and smaller until they were wrapped tightly around their designated limb. With a flash, the bands dimmed, and shone slightly.

"Now, if Haku or Chihiro wishes to give you one is up to them."

Perun looked at me out of the corner of his eye. "I know you don't fully trust me, even though I brought her back."

"Is it your given talent to read people's minds?"

He smiled crookedly, "No, it's just common sense." He explained, and turned to fully face me. I summoned up a cord of emerald green and shot it at Perun. It settled just below Yubaba's band, and I looked at Amaya. She nodded, and I shot out another one. When she received it, she nodded in thanks, and rolled her sleeve down.

"Anything else that you guys could have a clue of?" I asked, looking at the pair.

Amaya shook her head, but Perun nodded. "I do."

Yubaba settled back down in her chair. "By all means, share."

"Since Kallisto wanted Haku in the first place, she's planning to get him. She was going to have me lead an attack on the bathhouse to capture Haku and bring him back alive. Since I'm gone, I'm sure she's putting Phobos up to the job. She's preparing her forces, and should be here within a week."

A/N: DUN DUN DUN! ((evil smirk)) Don't cha luv plot twists?

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Thank you so much reviewing! Hope you liked this!

-Vincent's Angel of Chaos-

Disclaimer: Nothing... but the Druids are SO mine.

P.S. I'm looking for a character to add to the plot, someone who just screams power. So, if you have a character that you're willing to lend me, let me know!