The Path of Water

By Arlia'Devi

Disclaimer: I do not own Spirited Away in any respect; all rights go to Hayao Miyazaki and associates. I make no money from this.

The Path of Water

By Arlia'Devi

XXXIV: the Dragon's Lover

"A true lover always feels in debt to the one he loves."

~Ralph W. Sockman.

Haku landed and promptly changed back to his human form: the form that allowed him to communicate with Chihiro. He smiled gently at her bewildered and yet very excited look as he placed her down at a beginning of a long, dark brown stone cavern.

"I don't understand, Haku," Chihiro smiled as her brain went to jump at the best conclusion, but she quickly reminded herself not to get her hopes up. "What are we doing here?"

"Well," said Haku and took up her hands. "We'll get you unpacked, and then freshen up… I was thinking we could go to the meadow for a swim later, and then I'll make some dinner… As for the next four days, I don't know, I'm sure we'll figure something out."

Chihiro grinned and it was obvious she was euphoric when she realised exactly what Haku had planned. "But what about the bathhouse?"

"I worked very hard last night, all night and got very little sleep, and organised everything and managed to get four days just for us." He tugged her into the cave. "Come on. I want to show you around."

"Haku," Chihiro resisted and dug her heels into the ground. "Are you sure the bathhouse will be alright without you… yesterday, Rin wasn't very well. She was tired."

He frowned. "Chihiro," he said seriously. "Please, don't… I didn't leave Rin to do all the work. I talked to her, she was alright with everything. If you really must know, I took all the time out to make sure everything was organised; the orders, the bookings, the guests, the tokens, Kamaji, Rin and all the others. Please rest assured everything is fine, Chihiro; now please, can we enjoy this time away?"

Chihiro nodded eventually, coming to terms with the sudden surprise and Haku smiled. "Come on now, let me show you around?"

She smiled and followed Haku into the dark cavern. After a moment of leading Chihiro into darkness, he smiled and said, "This is my home, Chihiro – other than the bathhouse. Come this way." A small path was lit as torches along the cavern entrance lit up, burning and illuminating the shadowy cave. There was the sound of water running, echoing through the cave which gave both a refreshing, cool twist to the air and a calming environment. Able to see properly now, Chihiro followed Haku down a small bath, and then to the left of a two-way split off.

"This is my place," he ushered to a large cleared area, a flat plan where the river pooled into a underground lake. There were torches on the wall, but were unneeded during the day from natural sky-lights offered streaming sunlight. Small delicate grass grew from the dirt, as did a patch of strange-looking wildflowers. The water was a murky yet alluring turquoise colour and to Chihiro's surprise, there were the reflections of giant, beautifully coloured fish just under the surface, like koi at a thousand times their size. Chihiro ran to the egde of the water, her shoes crunching against the white sand. Haku jogged to her side.

"Giant Itchika fish, from an old lake that dried up many centuries ago. I adopted these… fish, and they're very benevolent, you know," he smiled. "They might suckle your feet, but they don't cause any harm. They usually loiter around here anyway; where the water is warmer and the plankton synthesise."

"Suckle your toes or suck in half your leg," Chihiro chuckled as she crossed her arms over her chest. Haku smiled and kissed her temple.

"It's going to be great here," he hummed. "Come on, I'll show you my house."

Swivelling around, at first, Chihiro saw no house, just a flat wall. That was until she looked closer and saw much more than that. Like the ancient _ in the middle east, Haku's home had been built and chiselled into the cave wall face. It had a large deep mahogany door with stained glass that opened to a long, large foyer with a staircase at the end. To the left, under an elaborately decorated and carved beam was Haku's large study and library and a sitting room. To the right, again under a particularly beautiful stone beam was his lounge room, elegant and expensive furniture: beautiful red-leather lounges and a cerulean weaved rug on the floor, a grand old fireplace and white marble kitchen bench tops.

"This place is amazing, Haku," Chihiro grinned. "This is really your place."

"No. I murdered the spirit that lived here. I was envious of his obvious good tastes and prime real estate location," he teased lightly and lead Chihiro to the large dining room with a 6 seated dining table.

"Do you entertain much?"

"No," he replied. "Not really."

Chihiro didn't question his logic in buying such a large dining table and let the dragon lead her upstairs.

"This is your guest room. Chase took the liberty of packing for you: you can go through your meticulously chosen clothes later," Haku said, opening the door to a large, cool room with a simple mahogany double bed and a small ensuite. It was comfortable and simple: a guest room, but Chihiro was confused. "I just wanted to give you the option…," Haku muttered, sensing her apprehension. "I didn't want to think you were forced to... um…"

"Share your bed each night?" she giggled. "Now… why wouldn't I want to do that?"

Haku grinned and kissed Chihiro tenderly. "Are you hungry?"

"Please, I'm just getting over Granny's stuffing of me like a roast fowl," she giggled and Haku lead her downstairs.

"Well," he said. "I'm hungry; how about in about an hour we go down to the meadow – the river runs through there and I would rather get some work out of the way early. You can put a sheet down under a tree, read, or take a nap, we'll take some food in case you do get hungry…"

Chihiro smiled. "Sounds wonderful.

After Haku had a bite to eat and Chihiro had a shower and changed into her swimmers: tropical print bikini's Chase had so packed for her other than her simple black one-piece. She found a sarong and a white tank top, because up in the mountains, to the north of the lands it was a lot warmer. Chihiro descended the stairs and was met with Haku, plainly dressed in a simple pair of shorts and loose fitting top, a woven bag in his hands.

She watched him eye her up and down and then he said, "Ready?" in an exciting tone and Chihiro nodded.

Leaving the house in the cavern, they walked a little way through small amount of forestry, following the river along its banks before it came to a lovely open meadow with a small beach of sand and an oval of clear grass surrounded by dense forestry. Settling under a tree, Haku spread out the blanket and lied down, just contented to kiss Chihiro slowly for a long, long time. He held her jaw, feeling how the muscles worked when she kissed him. Groaning, he parted and Chihiro gave him a lazy, appreciative smile. "I have to go to work. I'll be around an hour."

Chihiro nodded and yawned. It was very cool and comfortable under the small shady maple tree and she stretched out on the rug. "I'm going to nap. Go, river dragon; go tend to your river."

Haku smiled and backed away before slipping into the water and disappearing.

Chihiro grinned and stretched out her body. Her stomach still queasy was grateful for the flat surface, and the water bottle Haku had packed, and being allowed to settle as Chihiro napped for around half an hour under the sun. Chihiro yawned and stretched out in her sleep, muttering something before drifting right off again.

She looked peaceful lying on the rug the dragon had laid out for her. She was pretty, with long hazelnut hair that splayed around her shoulders and head. Her black lashes pressed against her pink flushed cheeks and her slightly kiss-bruised lips. She wore clothes that clung to her thin yet curvy frame and her scent was sweet and alluring as a strange woman leant over the human, sniffing her intently with her nose. So… this was the dragon's human? Her stunning may-green eyes flicked over to other spirits hidden in the forest and warily, two brightly coloured, unclothed women crawled out of the forest. They circled Chihiro carefully, watching the slumbering human with their unnaturally luminescent eyes.

The first was a woman of blue skin with beautiful large scales in the most essential places that shimmered in the light. Her eyes were spectacular green and she rested on her haunches as she regarded the human curiously.

The second woman was closer to normal than the first, of a deep salmon skin and tightly fitting clothing; tan fabric pinned and tied across her chest and a make-shift loincloth. A long claw ran over her cheek.

"A skin like a peach," she muttered fondly.

The third woman was a deep emerald green with liquid topaz eyes that shimmered like the sun. "So strangely dressed," she muttered. "This is the dragon Lord's?"

The blue woman nodded. "She is."

"Look!" spoke the salmon woman in awe. "She is waking up!"

Hearing noises and shadows being cast across the sun, Chihiro awoke to the disturbance, thinking it was Haku waking her to travel back to his home. She groaned and opened her eyes, only to be met by a pair of green eyes that were most certainly not Haku's.

She screamed.

The strange women suddenly scuttled back into their forest home after the human's shrill cry, but they did not stray far: their eyes still visible through the foliage. Chihiro stumbled back against the tree and caught her breath, desperately looking into the water for any sign of Haku. He would have felt that sense of fear, wouldn't he? Still there was no sign of him. Chihiro turned back to the peeping eyes.

"Who are you?" she asked them bravely, not being able to disguise the wobble in her voice. "Answer me!"

For a moment, the women didn't talk, until, creeping out of the shadows, the blue woman spoke, "Forest sprites…," she said softly. "You are the dragon's lover."

Chihiro couldn't speak; the sight of these women sliding out of the forest too overwhelming to speak. They were bright and barely dressed and they approached her like wild things, on their haunches and hands, moving around as if confused and wary, yet curious at the same time.

"What are you doing?" she stuttered, pressing herself against the tree as the women drew closer. The salmon-coloured one took up a lock of Chihiro's and ran it through her claws. "Leave me alone… get away from me."

"Such soft hair," the salmon spirit smiled and then touched her own ratty pink locks.

The green spirit touched Chihiro's knee and thigh and smiled, "Skin so smooth."

"Who are you?" Chihiro gasped and desperately hoped Haku was coming soon. These women had long, sharp fingernails; even by grazing the skin of Chihiro's thigh she felt how easily they could fillet her.

"We mean you no harm, human," spoke the blue woman in a rather throaty voice. "We are the dragon Lord's friends; we live by his rule. We will not harm what is his…"

Chihiro turned her head towards the water. "Haku!" she cried out, wondering if it would actually reach him possibly many kilometres away and under the water. "Haku! Help me!"

"Venus," spoke the blue woman as Chihiro turned back to her. The other women had stopped their touching and feeling, their curiosity satisfied for the time being. The blue woman touched her chest. "Venus."

"Your name is Venus?"

"Yes." The blue woman nodded. Then she touched the green lady on the shoulder. "Juniper." Then she moved to the salmon-fleshed woman. "Caia. We are of this forest. The dragon Lord's forest. It is very beautiful."

Suddenly, a light splashing was heard from the shore and Chihiro whipped her head around. Stepping onto the grass was a very confused, very wet Haku and he regarded the scene before him with hard eyes.

"Hello ladies," he spoke not too warmly.

"Master," Juniper and Caia fell to their knees. Venus dropped and bowed. "We mean no harm."

"You scared her," he said lowly. "I felt how frightened she was. I heard her cries for me twenty miles away."

"We were curious, master," whispered Venus. "We meant no harm. Please forgive us."

"Haku," Chihiro whimpered and his head snapped down to her. "Don't hurt them. They didn't mean to scare me, or hurt me. I think they could have easily killed me, but they didn't and they won't."

"You are not in trouble, ladies," Haku said and the forest sprites looked relieved. "I only wished you introduced yourself civilly to Miss Ogino instead of scaring her half to death. Go now, please."

Venus, Juniper and Caia bowed lowly before scuttling off into the forestry. Haku knew they would not stray far, too enchanted by the human to leave her be. The crisis now averted, Haku turned back to Chihiro. "Are you alright?" he asked kindly, a cool, wet hand touching Chihiro's forehead soothingly. Her heart still thumped fast. "They meant no harm to you, Chihiro… try to calm down." Then he chuckled a little. "I thought you were really in trouble there for a second; I almost had a panic attack."

Chihiro smiled softly but not genuinely. "What if I had been in trouble?"

"You're safe here; this is my domain. Every creature that lives in these mountains only may do so because of me." He rubbed her cheek softly. "Had it really been a danger… the twinge I felt of your fear was almost instant; I turned around the second I felt it. I swam as fast as I could."

She didn't deny the truth in Haku's words and curled up to his wet body, feeling some satisfaction in the cool, damp clothing he wore and his slick skin. Her wet white shirt clung to her stomach and the boldly coloured bikini top underneath and when Haku pulled away and stood up after some minutes, his eyes dropped down to Chihiro's chest. Haku swallowed thickly. "… Do you want to come for a swim?"

Chihiro frowned. "… I don't know Haku."

"Why not?" he seemed confused and padded towards the water. "You know how to swim, you enjoy swimming, and my river is dying to meet you again. The cool water will calm your nerves and soothe you upset stomach." He offered her a dazzling, toothy smile before he said softly, beckoningly, "Come in with me."

Chihiro hesitated and shook her head. Haku waded out to knee length in the calmed current and held out his hands for Chihiro to take. "Just come a little closer," he encouraged softly. "You don't have to get wet… just dip your toes in the water."

Before she realised she was walking towards Haku, her toes scrunched against the soft grainy sand of his small beach. She felt the water on the damp sand and something static pressed against her feet. It enthralled her. "Just one more step," Haku coaxed gently, holding his hands out as Chihiro took that one step and the lapping waves touched her toes.

There was something about the water that drew her in. Maybe it was how refreshing it felt against her bare skin, or the way Haku's voice was alluring and distant and how his hands were just in reach. Tentatively she grasped for them and Haku just held her fingertips. "Come a little deeper, Chihiro," he smiled. "No one is going to hurt you. Come a little deeper."

She nodded without realising it and stepped ankle deep. Haku kept the light hold of her hands, his eyes never leaving hers in some sort of hypnotic trance. He smiled at her bewilderment and said, "Come on… take another step, Chihiro. Come and stand with me."

Chihiro nodded and shuffled until the water was lapping at her shin. Her mind was dizzy and her vision was starting to get a little blurry. Haku seemed far away but his hands touching hers grounded her. Had he not been holding onto her, Chihiro thought she would have passed out. Everything was echoing, her vision was cornered by a lingering blackness and her ears felt like they had water in them. As if in slow motion, Chihiro watched her sarong fly back to the shore that was so far away and sit on the grass. She barely knew that she had untied the knot.

"… W-what is happening?" she managed to mouth out, suddenly frightened.

"Nothing. Nothing is happening," Haku replied softly and for some reason she believed him. "We're just going swimming. You're safe with me, Chihiro, you know that. Take a step deeper. Come and let me hold you."

She hesitated. "No… I… I feel funny."

Haku squeezed Chihiro's fingers. "Everything is alright. My river hasn't met you in a very long time. It's just missed you."

"It did?" she asked in disbelief.

Haku nodded once. "That's why you feel kind of funny… but you will feel alright soon. Come and stand with me, Chihiro."

Her feet didn't move from the muddy river floor near the shore. "I don't want to."

Haku frowned and moved the few steps up to Chihiro's body. His hands ran down her wrists, along her forearms and up to her shoulders and pulled her in, attempting to soothe her mind. She shouldn't be frightened… she should have wanted to come to him, but it was always going to be different with Chihiro. She was a stubborn person by nature; she didn't want to let anyone in, even when she knew the river was benevolent. Holding her by his chest, Haku attempted to soothe Chihiro, letting physical closeness hold her to the ground. After a few moments of simply staying like that, when Haku took a step back into deeper water, Chihiro followed him. A soft smile danced across her face, but her eyes were still milked over in a strange sort of unfocused way. Daringly, he took another step back, so that the water touched his hips and Chihiro's belly. She gasped at the sudden iciness of the river before giggling.

"What is so funny?" he rumbled softly, not letting the woman out of his arms. It was easier like this…

"I was so scared before…," she murmured. "I felt someone was trying to overtake me, I felt like I was going to faint. The feeling was so strong; I had no control over my actions."

Deeper still, so that the water was wading around her breasts, Haku asked in ragged breaths. "How do you feel now?"

"Strange…," Chihiro muttered. "Like I am kind of drunk. My head is spinning."

He nuzzled her brow and pressed a small, reassuring kiss against it. "It will pass."

"Haku?" Chihiro craned her head up to look into his eyes. "What is happening to me? Please tell me."

"The river is reacquainting itself with you… I knew it would happen, I just didn't think you would be so affected by it." He rubbed his thumb against her cheekbone. "It's trying to connect with you; I just wanted you to know every side of me, Chihiro. I'm sorry." She pressed her spinning head against his chest and groaned loudly, holding onto his forearms for support. His murmured apologies and the feeling of moving were the last things Chihiro knew before it all went black.

She awoke suddenly with a gasp. Her head was sore, her body ached and she was very cold.

The room she was lying in was foreign and dark, save for a small fire burning behind her in the hearth. Where was she? Chihiro looked around the room, not recognising anything particular until she saw the elaborately carved beams above the entrance and it dawned on her she was back in Haku's home, resting on his lounge with a thick blanket over her body and a large pillow behind her head. She was still wearing the bikini, and that brought her sore, tired mind back to the instances before.

Entering the water was like going under hypnosis: she felt slightly drunk, black was seeping into the corners of her eyes and all she knew was that Haku's body was a safe place. There was a pressure on her mind, a small ache that felt both suppressed and needy. Haku smiled at her, and came to hold her and the ache disappeared rather quickly, resulting in Chihiro suddenly getting very dizzy. He'd said something to her, maybe an apology – she couldn't remember, but what would he been apologising for? Had he done something wrong?

"Chihiro!" Haku gushed as he walked back into the lounge room, still wearing the same clothes he had been down by the delta. He knelt by her side and took her cheeks into his hands. "Are you alright? How do you feel, tell me, please?"

She pried his fingers off her face but didn't release them. "I feel fine… my head's a little sore like I hit it on something. How did I get back here?"

Haku bit his lip. "It's my fault really… I brought you back here. I'm sorry."

"You said that before… what are you apologising about?"

He seemed hesitant to answer but with a sigh, admitted. "My river was excited to re-meet you… I thought it would have been contented in just the physical contact of you swimming, but I always underestimate myself and my wants." Haku shrugged a little. "The river does not communicate like you and I; it has no language or way to speak per se. It wanted to know what you had been doing, but it could not ask, so it attempted to find out through your memories. As the water, I coaxed you in, and the deeper you got, the more control I, as the river would have over your mind."

Chihiro frowned. "What the hell, Haku?" she snapped. "Why would you do something like that to me? I trusted you!"

"Let me explain, please, Chihiro," spoke the dragon seriously, holding the woman down as she tried to get up and leave. "I tried to keep the river out and I did for a long time. My river doesn't understand things very well, but I knew once I had you I could protect you from the river until it understood that it could not force itself into your mind like that… I had just made it understand, and you would be free to swim around when I realised it had all been too much for you… I took you back here and let you rest." His eyes implored that she understood. "Please don't get mad at me, Chihiro, I never meant any harm in any of my forms. The river missed you and wanted you, but I had to protect you from… well, myself."

Chihiro huffed and didn't say anything for a long time. Haku rested his head against the arm of the lounge just awaiting the reply.

"I understand," she said eventually, still a little hard. "Do you understand now?"

Haku nodded. "The river understands now… it was very upset with itself for being so foolish with you. If I had known you going into the water would evoke such a strong reaction to the water, I would have told you; I would have never let you go in without the river understanding what it could and couldn't do."

Chihiro nodded. "I believe you Haku," she said and the relief on his face was easily read.

"Are you hungry?" he asked considerately. Chihiro nodded.

"How long have I been asleep for?"

Haku shrugged. "One, one and a half hours maybe? It's coming into the evening now. You should lie down a little longer."

That idea didn't really suit Chihiro. She felt sticky and smelt of river water all over. "I think I'm going to have a bath and freshen up," she muttered wearily and threw her legs over the lounge. On a scarf rack in the corner, Chihiro's sarong hung from one curled hook. Haku nodded and allowed the woman to walk slowly up the stairs. With a sigh, he wiped his hands on a tea towel and went back to making dinner.

Chihiro reclined back in the moderately sized bathtub and sighed contently. She washed off the smell of the river, however subtle it was and ran a comb through her tangled hair but still, could not shake the dull ache of her head. It wasn't as painful as it was annoying; an irritating thump out of place as her body felt fine. For a while, she thought about what Haku had told her, but finding that thinking hurt her head a little too much, she immediately stopped. Sometimes it was just nice not to think; to go with the flow to say, and see where it would take her.

Dressing in loose, light clothes and pulling her hair back, Chihiro descended and followed a beautiful, rich scent into the kitchen where the dragon was cooking a tomato-based dish in a deep pot.

"Hello domestic Haku," she smiled and sat at the counter. He was sipping on a drink on the rocks, obviously relaxing and enjoying his time away.

"Hello naked Chihiro," he replied teasingly, his eyes not turning to the pot. When they did, he feigned disappointment and went, "Oh…"

She laughed and poured herself a tall glassful of chilled water from a pitcher. Haku stirred the pot slowly; his weight leant on one leg before he let out a little yawn.

"My head is still sore," Chihiro commented as she took a big gulp of water.

Haku nodded rather solemnly. "It will pass; you need to drink water, have something to eat and then have a good night's sleep.'

"Speaking of food, what are you making there?"

Haku grinned. "Surprise."

Chihiro narrowed her eyes. "I don't like surprises..."

Plopping the lid on the deep pot and turning the heat down on the rather modern cooking top, Haku gave Chihiro a wicked smile. "I'm going upstairs for a shower. Don't peek in the pot, or you'll be punished."

Chihiro giggled a little girlishly as Haku wiped his hands on the tea towel and then threw it in the sink. "Incentive," she said playfully and Haku gave Chihiro a meaningful look before heading up the stairs.

Chihiro tinkered around the kitchen; had some drinks and lit some half-melted candles Haku had lying around. The dragon came back down the stairs leisurely smelling fresh and wearing a simple pair of boxers and a shirt; Chihiro laughed a little, they were a little past getting dressed up for each other.

I think it's a little bit the opposite now, grinned Chihiro as Haku served up a lovely steaming dish of some sort of marinara. Picking up a fork, Chihiro picked at her food sceptically.

"What's the matter, Chihiro?" asked Haku with a quirked eyebrow as he ate his own food.

"… I'm just… well… what is this, Haku?"

He laughed. "I'm not telling you until you eat at least one bite of it."

Chihiro twirled the tomato sauce on her fork. She didn't want to believe Haku but tasted the sauce and the delicate meat on the fork. It was tangy and yet sweet and the meat was easy to eat and sort of sweet. Chihiro nodded curtly, having too much pride and being the stubborn type, and would not admit to Haku that the dish was rather delicious. "Edible," she said as if announcing a final judgement as a critic. Haku laughed well naturedly. "It is fish, isn't it?"

Haku nodded. "Being the stubborn girl you are, you wouldn't have it any other way that me little less than force feeding it down your throat. Do you like it, at least?"

Chihiro shrugged and knew she wasn't going to give Haku the satisfaction of knowing how good the dish was. His head was big enough so she sufficed for, "It's alright."

Haku grinned, almost knowing Chihiro was teasing him but said nothing. He ate, feeling suddenly very hungry. Today had been a trying day; Zeniba, the river and his connections with Chihiro – an early night would be in order. But thinking they had another three days all alone to do whatever they wished made Haku feel kind of beautifully lazily, as well as spark a small feeling of warmth in his stomach at thinking what could be finished that they had started this weekend. Peeking over to Chihiro, who has hungry as he was, if not a little more, he wondered if Chihiro had been thinking about… well, their coupling. He knew she probably would have because when she finished her meal, Chihiro stretched and yawned and said, "I think I'm going to hit the hay early."

Haku nodded, figuring out her little saying meant sleep. "As am I."

"Haku?"

"Hmm?" his eyes flicked up from where he was gathering his dishes.

"I can sleep in your bed tonight, can't I? With you?"

He tried to push off the cheeky grin on his face, but Chihiro caught it and smiled. "Can I?"

"Of course."

Chihiro could not sleep. Even with Haku by her side, she couldn't sleep. The night had started with his arms wrapped around her protectively and that was comfortable; she had drifted off a little, but then woken up again not too long after. Haku had rolled away from her in her sleep, hugging his pillow and lying on his stomach. Chihiro huffed and looked up at the ceiling.

Great… she huffed. I'm exhausted but I can't get to sleep. How the hell does that work?

Chihiro didn't have the heart to wake up Haku. Why should he lose sleep as well? And, judging by the rate that he didn't try anything remotely amorous for perhaps a little pre-sleeping activity, Chihiro assumed he was just as exhausted as she was, if not more.

Hauling her legs off the side of the bed, Chihiro grunted a little and stumbled to her feet. Maybe a midnight snack would do wonders; or a short walk. Stumbling down the cold, stone staircase, Chihiro bypassed the kitchen entirely and slipped out of the front door and into the small cavern, dark at midnight but illuminated by the water, by strange reflective fungi that caught the filtering moon rays. The large Itchika fish's scales glowed in the moonlight, tropical pink and greens and blues; spectacular fish that seemed to light up the entire lake as they drifted around. The whole cavern was a kind of haunting place as the water reflections danced on the cool brown stone and as Chihiro moved closer to the white sandy shore of the lake, she felt a familiar pressure in her mind.

Haku… she said softly inwardly, suddenly realising that the dragon sleeping in the bed upstairs and the water at her feet were the same entity. Suddenly, she understood. She felt safe. Haku…

There was no difference being with Haku or the river, safe for his physical appearance; but the personality was the same; kind and gentle and totally in love with her. Chihiro waded a little deeper into the river, told him how she was scared of the giant fish, and how she had to keep her head above water if she did indeed swim with him. Haku seemed to understand because slowly the giant fish dived deep underwater and she knew that they had gone to another cavern of the river to rest; something told her that.

I will swim, but I want to stay by the house, she told him gently and somehow knew that he would understand. Every so slowly, Chihiro gasped as she took off her clothes and slipped into the water in only her underwear.

The water was nice, cool and clear and Chihiro felt like she was gliding instead of swimming. She spared a thought to what other inhabitants Haku had around in his depths, but didn't care much for it. She found a nice ledge and shuffled onto it, wringing out her hair and feeling contented just to have his presence around her now that she understood it.

The river wanted to show her things, Haku wanted to show her things and suddenly she saw ripples running through the water. Chihiro wanted to be scared; her mind reverting back to an image of what caused the ripples to be large, grey and with three rows of teeth, but she knew Haku trusted it, and so she trusted it. The presence of him a slight pressure soothed her and when a wet woman appeared by Chihiro's feet, she squeaked at her smooth, shimmering, transparent skin, like onion skin and her large brown baby-eyes framed by irregular large, curled lashes.

"Hello Miss," spoke the woman softly. "You are the dragon's lover."

Chihiro nodded a little dumbly as the woman scooted back a little bit from the ledge, and Chihiro got a glimpse of a large, green scaled tail under the water.

Mermaid.

Haku smiled against her mind at the realisation she had never thought mermaids existed let alone seen one before. Sometimes this human made him laugh; to think that she had believed in another world for most of her life, believed in him, a dragon and a boy and a river, and yet had not fathomed that other legends could possibly exist.

The mermaid braided Chihiro's hair gently, her long yet elegant fingers separating strands of chocolate hair. The mermaid told Chihiro of her life in the seas, lingering with fishes and going with the warm currents near coral reefs. She told her of the beauty of underwater coral reefs she had seen, hundreds of times better than anything the human world had. Haku had allowed her to stay within the river and she came and went wherever she wanted. The mermaid said her name was Cassiopeia and she was beautiful. Her hair was as black as the night at midnight and it cascaded down her back and shoulders, to the fins of her rear. Her hair was a little mattered with a bit of reed from the bottom of the riverbed. Chihiro's hair was completely braided when Cassiopeia commented that she should rest and then disappeared under the water.

Chihiro felt mindlessly content and tired, her limbs were weary and her mind and eyes were heavy. It felt as if the river was pushing her towards the shore and drowsily, Chihiro pulled on a shirt, not bothering to put on her pants. Stepping into the house, Chihiro made her way up the staircase and dropped her pants on the floor. Haku was still sleeping peacefully, his back to her and was hugging his pillow; rather undisturbed by Chihiro's sudden removal. She slipped in beside him as the big spoon, only in underwear and a shirt and slipped her hands underneath Haku's arms, splaying them out over his chest. At the slight disturbance, Haku groaned a little and then sighed, before he said rather hoarsely. "You went swimming…"

Chihiro nodded against the back of his neck. "I did."

"I know..," he sighed and swivelled around so that Chihiro's hands were sprawled out over his back and she was nestling in his chest. "I felt it – I knew what you were doing. You'd never seen a mermaid before."

"I think I finally understand your relationships with your river. Not entirely, albeit, but a little more than I first did."

He rumbled lowly in his throat and smiled. "Good," he hushed and bent his head to ghost his lips across hers. "I'm happy." Then he yawned. "Sleep now Chihiro… I'm very tired. Sleep now…"

Chihiro smiled and nestled into her warm dragon.

This was a strange chapter, but I hope you all liked it!

Thanks to the reviewers of the last chapter who were:

Guest, Rose of Apollo, oweeos, Geeks Love Books, Vegetalover135, Kim Taro, BarbieGotMunyest1998, ziggy-zee, Have a Nice Dream, sahra213, Tearing Rain, Sokka2Me, Randomsam123, Air1997, Miko Potter and LaurenvBelladonna.

Thank you all, and thanks to those who entered the competition - as you can see, we have a winner! Oweeo won the competition with her beautiful cover! There's a link to view it full on my profile, so make sure you all check it out and give Oweeo some love for her time and effort! (Do it) :D.

She also won the 4 chapters in advance, so yay to her!

Anyway, so next time on the Path of Water: Will Haku and Chihiro get the break away they need? Or will unforseen circumstances cut their time short?

Please remember to review, and then go check out Oweeo's work!

~Arlia'Devi