For all of his time with Chihiro's family, Haku had never once been in a car. He had seen them, and he had most definitely smelled them, but he had yet to actually enter one. Had he done so before the six hour drive, he would've stayed home. Mr. Ogino had rented a large and very loud SUV, to better fit the family, Haku himself, and all of Rin's luggage. For being such an atypical girl, she packed like a typical girl. If she might need it, she packed it. Why she would need an evening gown and a risque fairy costume, well, that was one of the world's mysteries.

At the current moment, Haku was sitting in the middle row by the right window, with Chihiro sitting by the left window. One of Rin's suitcases was wedged between them. Usually he would've found anyway to be at Chihiro's side, but he was actually grateful for the space. The air in the car was artificially cool, and every time he took a breath, it felt like he was breathing in stale, rank oxygen. It got better when he opened the window, but then the car's rocking and the noise gave him the most wicked headache.

As he watched the other drivers on the road, he deduced several things. Humans weren't too different from dragons, at least in some regards. They mated for life, they made good, strong dens in which to raise their families, and they longed to move with the winds. However, humans lacked the gift of flight, of natural flight, and so had to make do with cheap imitations. Which weren't at all easy to come by. First, they had to make the large contraptions that could transport them at suitable speeds, and that was difficult enough. Then, they had to build and map the roads on which their automobiles could move. But the biggest difference was that everyone had to share these roads.

Dragons, when in flight, rarely came into contact with one another. There was just so much free air. And besides, they generally steered clear of one another. Here was another similarity between dragons in flight and driving humans. Most confrontations were unpleasant. But dragon confrontations were rare. Humans, because they had so little space to share, confronted eachother all the time. They even had rules they had to follow! And when the rules were broken, accidents happened. But these weren't just accidents. Twisted steel, gasoline spilt, lives lossed... it all seemed so senseless.

Haku was knocked from his reverie when he felt something touch his shoulder. Looking slightly startled, he turned in what he thought the direction of the touch was. But when he turned to Chihiro, she was quietly reading a book in her lap. She looked up and smiled at him for a moment, just to be polite, before returning to the book. Again his shoulder was tapped, and this time he realized who wanted his attention. Fighting the urge to snarl, he faced Rin, his face (hopefully) neutral. The princess had a set of headphones around her neck, from which the music of some pop/rock singer was blaring, and in her hands was some romantic manga. But it was the disdainful look on her face that caught his attention.

"Could you close the window? The smell out there is giving me a headache."


Haku had fallen lightly asleep at some time or another, but when he woke up, the car was stopped. As the rest of the world quickly registered, he realized that some of the luggage was gone, the doors were open, and Chihiro was gone. He never liked it when she wasn't withing viewing distance. After fumbling with the door handle, he stumbled out of the car, the feeling in his legs shaky at best. When he looked up, he thought he was prepared to find Chihiro, but what he saw, stopped him in his tracks.

There were trees. Great, big, towering oaks with strong boughs and a multitude of green leaves. And, and there were lots of them! The air smelled like wet earth and decaying plants, and beneath his restraining shoes tree bark and dried leaves crunched and crumbled.

He turned on his heel a few times, just to make sure this wasn't some horrendously cruel dream. It wasn't, for Chihiro's father was dragging in some of Rin's suitcases while she talked to someone on her cellphone. Mrs. Ogino was hefting a cooler and an obscenely large picnic basket into the house, which he had yet to see. But where was Chihiro? She wasn't outside, but he could smell her on the -

Oh... oh!

Apparently, Chihiro had forgotten that he wasn't exactly human. Because she seemed to think that she could sneak up on him, without him knowing. It was... what was the word? Of course, cute.

She was behind him now, the shuffling of her feet and the forced quietness of her breathing loud and clear. He could feel the air shifting as she raised her hands to grip his shoulders.

He turned around quickly, effectively startling her. Chihiro stumbled backwards, nearly falling to the ground. Haku grabbed her arm just before her feet slipped beneath her, and as her breath evened out, she tried to smile innocently.

"Um, I tripped?"

Haku just smiled warmly and tucked her hand into the crook of his elbow, and asked her to lead him to the house.


The house, as it turned out, was very nice. It was two stories, with a large living room dominating most of the first floor. The house was a bit older, so there were plenty of windows to let in the sun. In fact, most of the walls were dominated by them. The wall paper was crimson with small, indigo flowers enhancing, but not overpowering the beauty of it.

The floors were wood, a rich, warm maple that gleamed with polish. The furniture was modern in shape and very straightlined, but the butterscotch leather softened the effect and blended in seemlessly with the rest of the decor.

Behind the largest sofa was a set of French doors, which would open to a large patio, on which was a rectangular table surrounded by wooden chairs. This would be where they ate, even though there was a formal dining room connected to the kitchen.

The whole place smelled like it had been thoroughly cleaned very recently, but the smell was vanishing as Mrs. Ogino opened the windows, letting in the outdoor air.

Haku wondered why the family didn't live here all of the time. It was beautiful, within their price range, and was so much more intimate. This was a place for a family.

He sighed, deciding not to focus on unpleasant things, and looked up to the ceiling above. Only to find that it was much high than it should've been. It took him a moment to figure out that the whole center of the entire level was cut away, making it a balcony, which oversaw the floor he was on. He used just a bit of magic to get a clear view of the second floor in his mind, and counted six doors; four bedrooms, two bathrooms. But that made five bedrooms, as the master bed and bath was on the bottom floor. Confused, he pointed this out to Mrs. Ogino. Chihiro and Rin were dashing down the iron spiral staircase as he spoke, half of Chihiro's French braided into a pigtail. They were yelling at each other, about hair dye and bows, and dodging each other around the love seat. Mrs. Ogino sighed and raised her voice a little so that Haku could hear her.

"Well Haku, Mr. Ogino's mother is going to be staying with us as well. She'll be taking the largest bedroom on the second floor."

Chihiro and Rin stopped their bickering at once, in fact, they seemed to be frozen. They turned wide and frightened eyes to their mother, and then Chihiro spoke in a small and quivering voice.

"Gr-grandma's coming to stay with us? For... for the summer?"

Haku thought Chihiro looked ridiculous with half of her hair hanging out, so he moved in her direction when he heard Mrs. Ogino sigh.

"Now girls, she is your grandmother. No matter what you think, you know you love her."

Haku was standing directly behind the younger sister, and he could smell the anxiety rolling off of her. To show his support for whatever was going on, he placed his hand on his shoulder, and was surprised when she reached up quickly and threaded her fingers through his own. Even still, she was incredibly tense. Now frowning thoughtfully, he looked at Rin as she joined the conversation.

"Are her eyes still funny?"

Well, that was a bizarre question! Chihiro was leaning against his chest now, and while the small signs affection passing between them thrilled him, he knew she was only this open because she was terribly upset.

By now Haku was deeply, confused, and unsettled. They were acting as if their grandmother was the witch who'd done him so much harm. Actually, he'd have to thank her before he ripped her throat out. If it wasn't for her, then he'd never have met Chihiro.

"Excuse me, if you don't mind me asking, what is exactly is wrong with this woman?", he asked as he gently untangled the solitary pigtail, dragging his fingers against her scalp, infusing just a bit of magic into his touch, enough to calm her down a bit. Her muscles slackened a bit, and she regained enough energy to... sit down on the couch. She was still holding his hand, so he sat down beside her, the cloth of his pants brushing against her bare calves.

"Well, Haku, the girls' grandmother has cataracts."

When he didn't answer, Rin and Chihiro, in tandem, filled in exactly what was going on.

"Grandma smokes pot."


Well, folks, enjoy. The next chapter is flufferific.