The Wait: Torn
A/N: Yeah okay, you know what guys? I read your really sweet reviews and I felt kind of bad for leaving you hanging like that only to update after two freaking weeks, so I did more work in the day so I could put in some time to writing this chapter. I've waited really long to do this one, anyway. Hope you like it! (:
During dinner, Haku found Chihiro sitting alone at a table in the mess hall. Her eyes were glazed over and her cheeks looked a little puffy as she sat there unmoving, lips slightly parted. What could Shou have done to make her look like this? He was more amazed at the fact that Chihiro had actually listened to Shou and remained at her seat till he came for her. He really should learn a thing or two from that phoenix on how to control this mischievous woman.
His mind drifted off to what was awaiting them, and he couldn't help but grin. Excitement was making him act rather unusual. He couldn't wait to see the look on her face later; that would make all the hard work these three days worth it.
He approached her, patting her shoulder lightly. "Chihiro, sorry for making you wait," he said. Chihiro, still appearing to be dazed, took a few seconds to register that he was there before she closed her mouth and nodded. "It's fine…"
"Are you feeling fine? You look rather dazed…" he frowned.
She shook her head. "Yeah, I'm good."
"If you say so… Don't push yourself, alright?"
She hummed to that, looking down at her fingers. "Haku… I have something to say…"
He smiled. Anxious to tell him her reply, was she? "I want to show you something first. Would you come with me?" He held out a hand towards her, which she stared at tentatively. Nevertheless, she took it, and he pulled her out of her chair, leading her to the entrance of the shelter. They walked outside, with him taking the lead while she quietly followed behind. "Aren't you going to ask me where we're going?" he asked.
"You look like you wouldn't tell me even if I asked," was her simple reply.
"You're quite observant today. Well then, would you mind closing your eyes until we reach?"
She narrowed her eyes at him. "I sort of do. Your ears are twitching more than usual today."
"Really?" he said with a smirk. "Just close your eyes. Trust me."
A look of hesitation flickered on her face, and she sighed quite heavily before complying and holding onto his hand tightly for support. "No peeking," he reminded. Slowing down their pace, he continued walking, till the path they were walking on opened up into the familiar, vast meadow that he had taken her before.
Perfect timing, he thought. The Sun was setting, creating a radiant, orange glow in the far-off horizon. The boundless sky was clear, save for the thin wisps of white and gray clouds floating about. He continued leading her carefully, making sure not to let her trip over protruding rocks or twigs. They soon came to where he had set everything up, with the help of his many partners back at the shelter.
A large oak tree stood proud and magnificently in the middle of the plain, and on the branches hung several streamers and balloons, as well as sparkling ribbons with pictures tied to them. Haku brought her to a stop in front of the oak tree, and then he finally said, "Open your eyes, Chihiro."
He didn't have to say it twice. The first thing she did was to scan her surroundings. It did not take long for her to realize that he had brought her to the meadow again, and she stared, for a moment, at the orange ball of fire up in the sky with red flames outlining it. "What's this?" she gasped when she finally rested her eyes on the large oak tree that had been very meticulously and splendidly decorated.
Chihiro made her way towards the tree while Haku followed behind her, barely able to contain his nervousness and anticipation. Her eyes fell on the colorful helium balloons that were floating in the air, moving with the gentle breeze, as well as the streamers that ran down the length of the long, thick trunk. They were hanging on the tree branches, and twirled as the wind blew, shimmering with every tiny movement.
Her hands went up to touch one of the pictures hanging on a sparkling green ribbon. It was a picture of her sleeping in bed. She was frowning, lips turned down into a small pout and she was curled up into a fetal position. "When did you take this?" she cried, alarmed.
"This one was taken quite a while back; you looked so cute, I couldn't help myself. Look at the other side of the picture."
Chihiro flipped it around, and found a short paragraph of words there:
I love watching you in your sleep. The expressions you make in your dreams are innumerable, and it's always worth staying up by your side just observing you. I will never tire of this, even if we sleep side by side for an eternity.
Haku watched as tears pooled in her eyes. Sheesh, this woman cried too easily. She began exploring, looking for more pictures and reading more of the words that he had taken very long to write. It hadn't been easy finding the right words to say. That being said, he had to take out the trash three times in a row late at night because of all this.
Now, Chihiro was looking at one where she was sitting on a bench in the park; their very own 'secret' spot. Behind the picture was written:
This place reminds me too much of the meadow here in the Spirit World. The sunsets here and there are unique and truly wonderful, but they never look as brilliant as you do, my Light and my Warmth.
There was another one with a picture of their hands clasped tightly together.
I love holding your hands. They fit snugly in mine, and fill me with so much warmth that I will never get enough of; I never want to stop holding them.
By then, a single tear was trailing down her right cheek. With the back of his hand, he gently wiped it away. She was looking at a picture in which she was crying now.
When you're sad, it makes me sad too. Your tears are my tears; your sorrows are my sorrows. I've seen you cry too many times, be it alone or in my arms, and I vow, never to let you shed a single tear because of me again, not as long as you're by my side.
"H-Haku…" Chihiro stopped suddenly, letting go of the picture as she brought her hands up to her face.
"Shh… I promised I wouldn't let you cry anymore, didn't I?"
He expected something like a "This is all your fault, idiot!" or something along those lines, but there was nothing. Chihiro continued crying, and he started to get worried when she didn't seem like she was going to stop anytime soon. Instinctively he pulled her into his arms, letting her head rest snugly in the crook of his neck. "What am I supposed to do with you, you little crybaby?" he chuckled, running his hand up and down her back soothingly.
It took a long while for her to finally calm down, and when she did, he pulled away from her. "Chihiro, remember that answer that I asked you to give me only later?"
She nodded wordlessly. "There was actually a reason why I wanted you to wait till now. Chihiro," his voice suddenly became serious as he took both her hands in his, "first of all, I want you to know that I love you, and that I'd gladly give up anything for you, even my life. Ever since that encounter at the bathhouse, I could never take my mind off of you. It was you who saved me, who gave me back my memory, and for that alone, I will be eternally grateful.
"It has been ten years since then, and I'm glad to have found you, when I was trapped in the darkest abyss. You saved me again, as you've always done. Perhaps it's fate, perhaps it's just a coincidence, but you're always there right when I need you the most, and you never fail to bring me comfort and happiness. Ever since we became an item, I loved spending time with you. Your smiles and laughter are contagious, but so are your tears and sadness.
"I love everything about you. Your kindness, your bashfulness, your thoughtfulness, even that meal which you put in a lot of effort into doing—though it did not turn out as well as we wanted it to—" he added with a chuckle. "And to be honest, I think we were made for each other. Your hands fit perfectly in mine, your head fits perfectly in my neck, our heights are even most convenient for kissing." That line made Chihiro blush quite madly, which delighted him.
"You mean the world to me, Chihiro, and that's why," suddenly the man got down on one knee, pulling a small, velvet box from his pocket and opening it to reveal a sparkling diamond ring, "I want to spend the rest of my life with you. I don't care if one day either of us will go first; until that day comes, I will give you joy every day of your life, I will comfort you when you are down, I will protect you when you are in need, I will be your strength when you are weak, I will be your light when you are lost, and, I will love you so much, for the rest of my life, no matter what the future brings. I vow to stay by your side, even when you don't want me there, because I love you. Chihiro… Will you marry me?"
More tears were falling from Chihiro's eyes, which landed on his outstretched arm. The shaking woman looked like she was going to stumble and fall, which sort of worried Haku. If only she could hurry up and say "Yes", all he wanted to do was to wrap her in his embrace and stop her from crying, even though he knew those weren't tears of sadness.
"I… I…" she squeaked an octave higher than her usual voice. "I'm sorry…" was all she said before she took to her heels and ran away.
Unable to react, Haku remained in that position, utterly baffled and dumbstruck by her answer. It was only when he found the sense to get up and run after her that the agonizing hurt welled up in his chest and his head pounded. "Chihiro!" he yelled, letting go of the box. Easily tracing her smell, he soon caught up to her. She turned back, looking quite frightened when she saw how close he was to her, and tried to go faster, but it was no use. Haku soon caught up to her and grabbed her by the arm.
"Chihiro, don't run from me," he pleaded, crushing her in his arms, refusing to let her go even though she struggled like prey trying to escape the clutches of its fearsome predator.
"Let… me… go…" she panted, trying to get away from him. "I'm not going to, I told you, I won't let you go ever again!" he snarled in her ear. As she continued struggling, he felt his patience wear thin. "Why, Chihiro? Why? You were fine this morning when I came to get you, what happened?"
"Don't lie to yourself," she said, after she gave up on struggling. "I heard what you and Sakura were talking about in your room this afternoon."
His eyes flashed. "You heard it all?" She nodded.
"And you believed her?" His voice rose by a few decibels. "Are you fucking kidding me Chihiro? You actually believed her words over mine? How could you?" His voice was filled with hurt and anger.
Chihiro drew back a sharp breath as he tightened his hold on her wrist. She was terrified; Haku never used such strong words, and he never sounded more beastly. She could hear the sound of low growling in his chest, and was at a loss. One wrong move could accidentally trigger something in him.
"Haku, I…" Suddenly she shrieked when Haku pushed her harshly down, so that she was falling back and landed on the ground quite painfully. His body was hovering above hers, and one look in his predatory eyes sent her heart hammering against her chest.
"If you won't believe my words, then I'll have to make you believe through my actions," Haku growled in a deep voice.
Chihiro had no idea what he meant until he leant down and crashed his lips against hers. Her mouth was hanging open from the shock, and he used that to force his tongue in, freely exploring her mouth while he held her both her arms down with one hand above her head when she begin to struggle. Her breath hitched when his other hand began to travel slowly down her neck, her breast, midriff and then her butt.
Chihiro was helpless; struggle, as much as she might, she wasn't even able to make him budge an inch. This wasn't Haku; this was a monster!
"You're mine," he whispered as his mouth finally left hers, moving down to her neck where he lathered kisses all over. He bit down at the junction where her neck and shoulder met, making her cry out. "S-Stop this, Haku…" As much as she had dreamed of doing this with Haku for a long time, she wanted to wait till after marriage and when he was fully lucid, not when he was like this.
Suddenly his hand dipped lower and rubbed against the apex of her thighs.
Chihiro inhaled sharply, feeling more liquid falling out of her eyes. "Stop it! Haku! Stop it! Stop it please…"
"No… please… don't do this…"
"You're lucky you got me, lassie. There are other men around here, and they're all ugly, unlike me. I've got the looks, so it'll be easier for you."
"Haku! Stop it! Please!" Her pleas fell on deaf ears; Haku continued assaulting her with kisses. As he tightened his grip on her, he began pulling her top up, exposing her bra, and then proceeded to grope one of her breasts, biting down hard on the other covered nipple as he did so.
What that other man was about to do to her, she could tell Haku was going to do too. Her body was trembling beneath his large figure, but he didn't seem to notice. Her desperate cries for help were unanswered; this meadow was a rather remote place, no one was going to be around to help her.
The moment Haku began unzipping her shorts, her struggles became stronger and more vigorous, but still it hardly did anything to help. "Somebody help me! Please! Somebody…" she cried like a mad woman.
It was then that out of the blue, a strong force knocked Haku off of her. "Chihiro! Are you okay?" Rei was by her side, cupping her tear-streaked and swollen face. One glance at her crumpled clothing was enough. "Stand back," he ordered, as he confronted the irate dragon who was now poised for battle. Chihiro clumsily scuttled backwards, zipping up her shorts and putting her bra and shirt back in place.
"Leave," Haku snarled, breathing heavily. The murderous glare in his eyes made Chihiro cower in fear.
"I won't let you hurt her," Rei replied, getting ready to fight too. "Snap out of it, dragon. She's frightened."
"Chihiro isn't scared of me!" he bellowed, "Chihiro… you're not scared of me, are you?"
Sensing his eyes on her now, Chihiro crawled backwards further, which only seemed to make him more furious. "Don't run away from me, Chihiro… you're mine!" Haku lunged forward, but was met in the chin with Rei's fist, which threw him back.
"I'm not letting you get to her," Rei said.
"Get out of my way!" A bright light appeared, and suddenly a ferocious dragon emerged, flying at lightning speed towards Rei, who was too slow to react in the slightest. Haku rammed into him, pushing Rei high up into the air. After that he released Rei and swung his tail at him, smashing him down into the ground.
"Rei!" Chihiro cried, shielding her face from the flying dust and rocks. When the air cleared, she saw Rei lying in a small crater in the ground, and screamed when suddenly she felt a warm breath in her ear.
A pair of strong arms wrapped around her waist, and then she found herself on the ground again, this time lying on her stomach. "You're mine, Chihiro… I love you… This is how much I love you, can you feel my love?" he asked almost manically, as he stuck his hot tongue into her ear, tracing her ear lobe and eliciting a moan from her.
With his weight rendering her motionless, now he had two free hands. One of them lifted up her shirt, allowing him full access to her breast, while the other gripped her sleeve so hard it was tearing.
"Stop it! Let go of me! Rei!" she shouted. Her throat was starting to get sore and frustration was all that she could feel, unable to help her friend who was knocked out from that heavy hit earlier on, and not being able to stop all the weird sounds coming from her mouth as Haku continued touching her.
"He's not going to get in the way of us, you belong to me," Haku growled, tearing her shirt in a flash, and throwing it over his shoulder. "Stop it! Please, I'm begging you, this isn't you, Haku!"
"Oh, you're wrong, Chihiro. This is me, I've only restrained myself and never shown this side of me to you before." Her bra straps fell off her shoulder and he began sucking on soft skin at the top of her back as his fingers attempted to remove the hook.
"You said you wouldn't hurt me! You said you wouldn't let me cry again!" she cried, burying her face in her arms. "You're a liar, Haku! You lied!"
"I never lied! I'm not hurting you, I love you!"
"Get off of her!" Rei was back on his feet and in one swift motion, he lifted Haku off of her and threw him onto the floor.
"Haku!" Chihiro cried, heart breaking when she saw some blood trickle out the corner of his mouth.
Rei turned back to her, helping her up. "Run!" Grabbing her hand, he ran off, making her follow behind him. Suddenly she felt something like a speed boost help her and Rei practically fly across the green plain. Everything else whizzed by in a blur of green and orange. Relief filled Chihiro's chest when she heard nothing behind them, glad that they were away from that dragon.
But, her relief was short-lived. Before long, they heard footsteps behind them, and to her horror, Chihiro turned her head around to see Haku hot on their trails. Rei tightened his grip on Chihiro's wrist and increased their speed, but so did Haku, who was in fact, quickly catching up to them.
Just then, Haku raised a fist that had the wind swirling around it. Chihiro followed his gaze, realizing that he was aiming for Rei. As if she was going to stand by and watch her friend get hurt!
"Look out!" she shouted, as she saw Haku prepare to plunge his fist into Rei's back. Rei paid no heed; he must have thought she imagined them knocking face first into a tree. There was no time to waste, so Chihiro did the next best thing she could do. Tearing her hand from Rei, she covered his back, just in time to protect him, when she felt a searing pain strike her right shoulder.
Chihiro cried out, and found herself falling, as everything else around her suddenly stilled. Things seemed to move in slow motion, as the darkness clawed at her, pulling her in.
The pain was overwhelmingly racking and she felt like her whole body was on fire. It was eating into her consciousness, and she felt herself quickly drifting, with shouts of her name the last thing she heard before falling into pitch darkness.
The woman's eyes slowly peeled open, and she found herself in a quiet, dark cave, lying on the ground.
She tried to get up, but was stopped by the intense pain in her right shoulder. Crying out and biting hard on her lip to stop herself from making too much noise, she clenched her fists and tried to fight it.
"Don't move around too much," Rei said, coming to her side. He had a cold towel with him, and he dabbed at her forehead, absorbing the cold sweat that had formed in her sleep.
"W-What happened?"
Rei's face hardened. "That beast hurt you, and then he ran off just like that. I brought you here temporarily to treat your wound; it was bleeding so much, I thought you wouldn't make it," he said.
"He… left?" she repeated in a small voice.
"Don't worry, I won't let him hurt you, fair lady."
One part of her was relieved that Haku had left so he could cool down and think, but the other part of her was upset that he hadn't been by her side or even shown some concern after dealing a serious blow to her. "Thank you… Rei… for saving me earlier…"
"Thank these ears, actually. Fortunately I was nearby when I heard some screaming and then I found you being…" he trailed off.
Chihiro peered down to see that she wearing a shirt that didn't belong to her. "Whose shirt is this?"
"Mine," Rei admitted sheepishly, "I didn't want you to catch a cold, so I lent you mine for the time being. I hope you don't mind."
"Aren't you cold?" she asked, gesturing to his half-naked body.
"I'm fine," he replied. "Oh right, you need to drink some water. Here, let me help you up."
He carefully placed an arm behind her back and supported her so she could sit up without putting any strain on her right shoulder. Then he lifted a makeshift cup, which was actually a large, folded leaf to her swollen lips, letting her drink.
"I'm sorry I couldn't make it to you earlier," he murmured.
"I was actually wondering if someone would even come for me, and I'm glad you did. Thank you, Rei. I don't know what I would have done if… if… if Haku had…"
"Speak no more, it was a terrifying experience for you, yes?" Rei let her lean against his chest. "Now rest, you need it."
"What are we going to do? We can't go back to the shelter, Haku would kill you and… I don't even want to imagine what would happen." Tears ran down her cheeks and she lifted her left hand to wipe them away.
Rei stroked her arm gently. "We'll worry about that another time. For now, the priority is to treat you and make sure your right shoulder heals well."
"I'm so sorry for dragging you into this, Rei…" she cried, shaking. "I didn't want you to get hurt…"
A finger tipped her chin up so she could meet his piercing dark orbs. "I don't just leave a dear woman when she's in need of help. You were more than worth helping, sweet Chihiro."
And then, he leaned in slowly, bringing his lips closer and closer to hers.
A/N: Well I had great fun writing that proposal scene ^~^ And now I'm starting to get rather unrealistic expectations of my future husband sigh... hopefully they aren't unrealistic though hehe.
Okay I'm really not going to update until after 15 October HAHA. This chapter had a bigger cliffhanger so… Careful what you wish for, sometimes. :P
Anyways, I had loads of fun writing this and I had better get back to my revision or my mom is going to strangle me.
Before I go, cheers to my reviewees the previous chapter!
Pureblooded1998, Denise530, NarutoSwagg99, smilingostrich, JiffyFrose, Guest, Weirdnfreaky, SAK00 and CrimsonEyedLover!
Ciao and enjoy the wait (see what I did there hurhur) for the next update! Goodbye and thanks for the well wishes too hehe :D Love you guys!
