Love like Winter
Part 12: "Stolen"
"The day certainly flew by," Haku emitted softly, his eyes turned to the window within Ren's room. He sat at the edge of the bed, twisting his head a bit as he spoke, a tiny smile on his neatly-sculpted lips. Ren glanced past him at the sinking sun in the window. "It feels good to get back on track..." he turned to the window again. Ren kept her eyes on him, smiling softly in return. "I still feel... that twinge of pain..." his gaze seemed to lower to his lap. There was a small shift as he balled his fists, a glistening tear dripping onto the back of his hand. Ren's smile faded as the crystal droplet clung to his skin. "But, I keep telling myself... I shouldn't be upset... Not when I have you by my side." Suddenly he'd turned his body to her, his consoling palm slipping against her cheek, lifting her head a bit so that their eyes locked. "You are showing me the life I was meant to live. A life out of the darkness and shadows of falsehoods. What Zabuza and I were creating... it was a dream, a dream of his in which I was being used. Though more than anything, it was a nightmare. Even if getting rid of Gato would do the village good..."
"Back then you two were committing crimes of your own," Ren noted, quietly. Haku looked ashamed for only a flash. It was gone in the same instant though and he stifled a feeble grin.
"Yes. That's exactly right. I was desperate though, to have a reason to keep going each day. Though I can see things crystal clear now, and the life I led back then was not one I would normally have chosen. I want to do this village well, not add on to the chaos." He paused as Ren squeezed his hand, which had slid back to the mattress.
"Don't worry," she assured, her gleaming eyes full of sincerity. "Today was a good day, a good start to a better life, doing Kiri well." Haku then giggled mirthfully, wiping the tears from his eyes and pulling Ren into an embrace.
"Thank you for helping me today. We're sure to make a wonderful team... keeping Kiri clean of any pesky missing-nin," squeezing gently, he kissed her cheek before pulling away to look into her eyes that were twinkling with life. Just then Haku suppressed a yawn before an air-soft chortle rolled from his lips. "I'm not sure about you, but I'm actually really tired," he was already unpinning his bun, removing the cloth that held it and letting his raven locks cascade over his shoulders. As Ren watched, her smile returned.
"You really are beautiful," she murmured, a blush on her cheeks. Haku looked to her, a look of slight awe on his face, as if it were the first time she'd told him this.
Easing under the welcoming covers and pulling Ren to rest her head on his chest he replied softly, "Never as beautiful as you..." before slowly sliding his chocolate eyes shut.
Only moments later, they were both falling into a blissfully sound sleep...
Ren stretched her limbs, yawning a bit. "Haku," she murmured as her first thought of the day danced through her still somewhat sleep-fogged mind. Suddenly her senses snapped on and she sat up, glancing around the room. Rubbing her eyes, she saw that it was still a bit dark outside, the sun only just creeping over the horizon. They had fallen asleep very early though she was surprised she hadn't waken a little earlier. Blinking, she realized the warm scent was absent... leaving a bitter, devoid feel to the room. Sliding off of the bed, she opened the door and peered down the hall. Even with her night vision, the hall leading to the living and kitchen area was nearly pitch dark. Turning slowly to her left, she saw that the bathroom light was pouring through the bottom of the door and she approached, knocking lightly on the door. "Are you in there?" she called, pressing her ear to the door. That was odd.. often the smallest shift would cause her to have woken. She must have been out like a light last night...
As her thoughts drifted through her mind, she realized she hadn't yet gotten a response. "Haku...?" ...Still, nothing. Reaching for the knob, she'd noticed it was open and peered inside. The red tooth brush—Haku's—was out of the container and there was tooth paste smeared on the mirror. Heart pounding, she continued inside and went straight to the window, noticing the lock was completely broken off. "No," she cried, a feeling of panic like no other suddenly ripping through her chest. Leaning forward, she held her nose close to the window. Whomever had taken Haku must have only left moments ago, and if she could pick up the scent now, she'd be able to track them...
How could I have not woken? She nearly slammed her fist against the window in frustration. Stopping herself from such a foolish action, she focused on the scent... It smelled of basil, something often used to cover one's own scent. Visualizing the color, she shoved the window open and glanced around with her nose raised slightly, sniffing... The scent continued right through the trees in front of her home, it's color twisting right into the foliage. This was good, whomever had taken her beloved was foolish enough not to mask the scent further in any way. Thus, if she hurried, she'd be able to catch them and figure out what on earth they were seeking. Dashing out of the kitchen and down the hall, she hurriedly got her sandals on, fetched Shippou Doki and flew out the door, determination and despair pumping through her veins.
The scent traveled through the trees, seeming to take many sharp turns so Ren had to stay focused and quick on her feet. They seemed to be taking a rather strange path and she nearly crashed into a few branches. Thankfully though, her reflexes were keen and dodging was something she was nearly a master in. Eventually, the scent took a huge arc downward and to the ground and she leapt from the trees, landing rather loudly, not noticing how how high up in the trees she had gotten. Turning her gaze forward, her heart suddenly dropped...
There was a fork in the path, which wouldn't have been such an issue... if the basil scent continued in either direction. Eyes flicking from either path, all the different scents were whirling around madly in the area and it was almost too much to handle. Falling to her knees, she looked—wide-eyed—to the paths, as if some how, some way the scents would fade away and reveal the basil scent...
Though of course, they did not leave. Lavender, lilac, citrus... nearly every kind of scent danced around, fogging the path she thought that would lead to Haku... the one she loved, she cherished... Her thoughts raced and now she did slam her fist to the ground, dust drawing up angrily in front of her. Who knows what could have happened to him by now... What did they even want with poor Haku? What wrong had he ever truly committed? Whoever they were though... they were a lot cannier than Ren had first thought. They had even somehow figured out that Ren's senses were different from most others.
Like some say, you should never underestimate anyone... Apparently not even in such a desperate time as this.
