Chapter 2

Entering the humanworld for the first time in so many years felt invegerating for Haku. Although his nose scrunched up for a moment. He had forgotten just how polluted the air was. No matter, his nose would get used to it eventually. Haku pulled out the purple piece of cloth he had gotten from Zeniba and clenched it tight in his hand. Although his thoughts didn't go to the place it was supposed to when he did this.

"Chihiro." He said with a soft smile on his face. "I'm coming to find you soon. Please wait for me."

Then he focused on the pull of energy he felt from the cloth and set off.

….

It had been early morning when Haku had exited the gate. By the time he reached the place the pull of energy was taking him, it was afternoon. He had walked through the streets using his magic to keep him concealed. He didn't want anyone stopping him to ask why he was wearing clothes so out of the ordinary. For he soon came to realise that the clothes humans wore were very different from his own.

The cloth had now led him to a relatively big house outside the townlimit. Even though his sense of smell was still messed up from the pollution in the air, something smelled vaguely familiar the closer he came to the house. Sort of sweet and fresh. "I wonder what it could be."

He knocked as he reached the door. After a minute or so, it opened.

"Hello. May I help you?"

It was a young girl by the looks of it. Though Haku could tell she was a spirit, and judging by her aura, she was quite a bit older than she looked.

"Hello. My name is Haku. I have been sent by the council of spirit elders to.." She cut him off.

"Oh.. You've come for the bodyguard position, haven't you?"

"Yes, that's right."

"Well come inside please."

The girl stepped aside for him to enter, so he did.

"My name is Ellie. I will take you to the mistress. Please follow me."

She let him through the house.

"I probably should warn you sir. She's not going to take kindly to being sent yet another guard. Unless you are very different from the others, you should prepare yourself for rejection."

"Well I do have a card to play the others didn't. Though truthfully, I don't know if that will be enough. After all, I do not know her."

Ellie looked back over her shoulder at him.

"Well, your attitude certainly is different from the others." She looked towards the front again. "Personally I hope she accepts this time. I care for her a lot. We all do here. And knowing she is in danger every time she leaves the house is nerve wracking."

"What kind of a person is she? I haven't heard much about her other than she is reviving the Kohaku river."

Ellie's voice seemed to lighten a touch when she spoke next. "Oh she is a wonderful person. The mistress is so kind to all living beings. She pures so much love into everything she does. Ever since the master took her in as his apprentice the house has become so much brighter and full of laughter. She brings light to the lives she touches. We have truly been blessed with receiving her into this house."

The answer Ellie had given had taken Haku a little by surprise. He had expected her to be a nice person, but Ellie seemed to describe her as a saint.

"Here we are."

They had reached a large door made of dark wood. As they walked through the house, the smell Haku had noticed outside had been getting stronger. The feeling that he knew where this scent belonged to was getting stronger as well. It reminded him of a sunny spring day. "It's coming from that room."

Ellie knocked on the door, and a sweet musical voice rang out from the other side.

"Yes?"

"That voice! It can't be.."

"Mistress Chihiro. The council has sent another guard for you. Will you see him?"

"Chihiro! Oh my lords! It really is her. That's why the scent was so confusing. It smells like Chihiro, but it must have matured along with her, which is why I didn't recognize it right away." Haku's thoughts were all over the place now. "Okay, calm down! I have to act natural when I see her. She's not going to recognize me, so pull yourself together."

"Uuughh… Alright sent him in. And Ellie please stop with the 'Mistress' already. It sounds so weird." She sounded very annoyed. Ellie was not kidding about her not taking this well.

Ellie opened the door a little and poked her head in. "Sorry Chihiro. Old habit."

She then opened the door wider and stepped aside for Haku to enter. "Alright you can go in now."

"Thank you miss Ellie." He said to her with a smile as he walked past her. Once he was through the door, Ellie gently closed it behind him. Trying very hard to keep a straight face, Haku looked up to see a young woman sitting at a desk turned sideways to him. She was writing something.

"I'll be with you in just a few seconds, I just need to write this down before I forget it. I hope you don't mind." She said without turning her head.

Haku couldn't help but let his eyes take note of her body. While sitting he couldn't tell her height, but she had grown a lot nonetheless. The bit of chubbiness she had still had as a child was gone. Now she was slender and elegantly built. Her hair, though in a high ponytail, still reached down to the middle of her back. "Wait that hair tie. It's made from the same material as the cloth. Zeniba must have given it to her when she came to the spiritworld."

"No, I don't mind at all." Haku figured that he should probably answer her.

At those words, Chihiro's form suddenly went stiff. As if a spell had just frozen her in place. She slowly turned to face him. Her face, while being relatively calm, still bore a few traces of surprise. Had she not expected him to answer? Figuring that he should probably say something, Haku decided to introduce himself.

"Hello miss Chihiro." He said with a bow towards her. "My name I Nigihayami Kohaku Nushi. It is very nice to meet you." As he said the last sentence, he raised his eyes to meet hers. This time there was no doubt. She was definitely surprised.

Her pen dropped from her hand. "Holy mackerel you are." She almost whispered these words.

Now it was Haku's turn to be surprised. "You recognize me?"

"Yes. I mean no. I mean.. I recognize your voice." She said this quite fast. Her face had lost a bit of the shock, and a small smile was creeping its way onto her lips.

"What do you mean? How do you recognize my voice?"

Chihiro rose to her feet and took a few careful steps towards him. "Well I assume you know that I am in the middle of reconstructing your river?"

"Yes, so I've been told."

"Well… Your water has your voice when it speaks. For a moment, I thought I had imagined it, but then you spoke again and said your name. There was no doubt in my mind that you were speaking the truth." Was it Haku's imagination, or was she blushing a little?

"Uhm. Yes my river and I are technically of the same mind, so naturally we'd… WAIT! Did you just say that you can speak with my water?" Now this was a shock. He knew that he had made a strong connection with Chihiro, but for his river to consciously speak to her without his presence… Only one person in the entire cosmos could be able to do this. "I wonder if she even realises what that means."

"Uuhhmm.. Yes..?" Chihiro looked a little puzzled now. "That's actually why I started the whole project in the first place. One day I heard a voice calling out to me, and after following it, I found the place of the source of the water. That's when I realised that it was the water speaking to me. It was asking for my help. Master Riku told me not to tell anyone though. Except for you though."

"Good thinking, had this information slipped out, she would probably be in even more danger than she is now. Hey speaking of.."

Regaining his composer, Haku also took a step forward. "I think we're getting a little off topic here."

Chihiro furrowed her eyebrows. "We are? How so?"

"Don't you remember what Miss Ellie said as she showed me in? The council sent me to be your bodyguard."

"Oh! Right…" She trailed off for a moment. "Well, you don't actually want to do that. Do you? I mean, I'm sure you have better things to do than to follow me around everywhere."

"Actually, I don't. Chihiro there are multiple reasons why I really want to stay here and protect you. One of which being that, I really want and need to make sure that you are safe."

Chihiro looked at him stunned. "Really? W-why?"

Haku took a few more steps closer to her. He was right in front of her now. "Well for one, you're reviving my river, the essence of my soul. And for that I am eternally grateful. Words cannot begin to describe how thankful I am towards you Chihiro."

Okay, she was definitely blushing now. Haku then reached down and took a hold of her hand, all the while looking her in the eyes.

"And second. You may not remember this, but I once made you a promise. A promise I intend to keep." He smiled as he watched her face.

In Chihiro's head, the image of a young boy with a blurry face flashed in her mind. She had had this dream many times. And every time the boy would tell her, he promised her that they would one day meet again.

"Oh. Really? What uhm.. What promise would that be?"

A smile crept onto Haku's face. "Once I hold up my end of it, you'll know."

"Great." Chihiro was smiling a little too now. But also still blushing hard.

"So then.." Haku broke the silence. "What do you say? Will you accept me as your guard?"

"Alright…" Her smile then turned a little mischievous. "As long as you don't start calling me mistress too. I really don't like that. So call me Chihiro. Okay?"

He chuckled. "Okay, Chihiro. I then hereby swear, on my life and honor as a dragon, to protect you with everything in my being, until the day you no longer need me."

And then it was done. The bond had been forged.

Hello again. What do you think of the story so far, huh? To be honest, I don't know exactly where I'm going with this but I do have a few scenes in my head that I'm moving towards.

Please R&R

See you soon ;)