A/N: whew. Okay.
Disclaimer: *is dressed like the boss of the Asylum and speaking in fake French accent* I no not own, ya? Ztupid bludzuckin' azyloom peepz.
Chapter Finished: 5/11/03
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Rin, Haku, and Kamajii all watched Chihiro after she had fallen asleep, and for a moment nobody said anything.
"She's too young to have gone through all of that - the pain he must have put her through," Rin sighed.
"Her father dead, her mother wounded, her baby brothers and sister in unknown hands..." Haku murmured.
"What are we going to do?" Kamajii asked. "Send her home, of course; but how can we make sure that the slave driver and Kawago don't come after her?"
"I'll kill Kawago - Yajuu - myself, and as for the shadowed man, I'm not sure about him yet... apparently, he chose her himself, so I guess I ought to kill him also. I still don't get why they have and are breaking humans' spirits - for the power? To take over? The Spirit World is not something that can be taken over with just brute strength."
"I think you're too blood-lust-y," Rin informed Haku. "You forget, no matter who or what, killing is killing, and you'll be affected should you try to end either Kawago's or what's his name's life. And what if they kill you, then, huh?"
"Don't worry about Haku, Rin," Kamajii said.
Abruptly, Haku stood up.
"Aah! Don't do that!" the Rin noticed the look on his face. "What is it? what's wrong?"
"There's somebody coming," Kamajii announced ominously.
"Kawago." Haku said simply, and the little door opened, and the Haku-look- alike stepped through. He looked at the lot of them and smiled that cold emotionless smile of his.
"Well, isn't it my big brother from the high winds come to mingle with the commoners," he sneered. "baka."
"It takes one to know one," Haku sneered right back. Both Rin and Kamajii were surprised at how nasty Haku could get - as in, they were ooing and awwing. Mentally and momentarily, of course.
"It's nightfall, and I've come to pick up what's mine," Kawago continued after losing a staring match with his "brother."
"no doubt she has told you her account of the past few days."
"She has," Haku said, voice steely. "and I understand that I have some killing to do - you aren't ever touching her again, Yajuu."
"Oh, now YOU'RE calling me Yajuu as well?" Kawago asked, feigning hurt. "it must be so, then. Give her to me now, and the woman and spider stay alive."
"Wait just a minute!" Rin began, but Kamajii silenced her with a look. This was Haku's to deal with.
"What are you going to do to them? Haku asked arrogantly. "spank them and make them call you daddy?"
That did it. Kawago's coiled muscles stretched as he sprang at Haku, who had been expecting this, and dodged him, pinning him firmly to the ground on the dirt floor, sending any remaining dust balls flying.
Kawago twisted swiftly, though, and soon had Haku pinned down with knee on chest.
Haku would have none of that, though, and twisted as well, feigning first left, then escaping on right.
Rin and Kamajii watched this scuffle continue on for a while silently, only taking action after the shock had worn off. Thinking quickly, Rin wrapped the nearest blanket around Chihiro and picked her up.
"I'm taking her to my room," she whispered to Kamajii, who nodded.
"Good - hurry, now, be quick!"
Rin did, hurry as best she could while carrying the thirteen-year-old girl.
Meanwhile, Kamajii finally stepped in to the evenly matched look-alikes, holding them apart with two arms each.
"Now, stop that," he said sternly. "if you're going to fight, fight outside - I don't want blood on my floor, it was just washed."
"No fighting will have to be done if I am given the girl - my girl, I might add." Kawago spat, knocking Kamajii's arms away forcefully.
"Get your own Shiraha to torture," Haku spat right back. "who has her spirit, heart, and soul? I think, were I you, I would wonder about who owns what."
"Who owns who!" Kawago barked, and laughed. "Sen is mine. Done and dead - got that?"
"Chihiro is no one's!" Haku barked back. He also pushed Kamajii's arms away. it was right then that both boys noticed Chihiro - and Rin - were gone. Kawago snarled, whipping towards Kamajii.
"Where did you hide her?!?" he snarled, eyes burning.
"Neither you nor Haku will be allowed that knowledge. If you want Sen so much, then go look for her on your own." Kamajii said.
Kawago snarled again and left, forcefully slamming the little door. Kamajii leaned over to Haku and hissed where she was, and to hurry and get there before Kawago.
"Hide her completely, if possible, use magic - ask Yubaba for help if needed." He instructed. Haku bowed, murmured a thanks, then left as well, taking the longest route to Rin and Co.'s, making sure Kawago wasn't following him.
"I wont let him touch you, Shiraha," he whispered as he ran down a hall.
As told, Chihiro was in Rin's room, snoozing away. the other girls didn't look too happy about it, nor the fact that Haku just walked in without knocking or anything; most of them were just in their aprons, screamed, and hid under their covers.
"We have to drop pretty low to hide her efficiently," Haku murmured to Rin, nodding towards Chihiro. "I'm going to ask Yubaba for help, since Kawago will already know my magic by now. He's going to come here at some point soon, because I know he followed me partway, so I want you to distract him. Can you do that for me?"
"I guess," Rin said, watching Haku as he gently shook Chihiro awake. She groaned sleepily and got up as he bid her. "go out the window, there." She paused, then glanced around the room at the girls. "and don't any of you open your mouths about any of this!" she ordered dangerously. A few blanketed lumps shifted uncomfortably.
Haku ushered Chihiro out the window, closing it firmly behind him, and held her, almost dragged or carried her sleepy form, up the roof to where he easily jumped across, and holding Chihiro to his back, climbed the ladder with just his feet.
(A/N: It takes a lot of talent to do that - climb a ladder without any hands, I mean.)
about halfway up, Chihiro became more awake and after a moment of panicking, she was climbing on her own, Haku behind/below her, urging her up and on. At the window, he used magic to unlock it and dropped Chihiro lightly inside, then followed, closing and locking the window before barely catching her as she collapsed, asleep.
He cut quickly through the baby's room, and leaned Chihiro up against the wall between the baby's room and Yubaba's office. Then he entered Yubaba's office, where Yubaba was sitting at her desk, as Hitogajeta had just left. And of course Haku startled her.
"Don't do that!" she scolded. "and there are better ways to come in other than through my baby's room! What did you do to him?"
"Didn't even see you baby," Haku replied briskly, and slowly exhaled, steeling himself for his next request. This would not go smoothly.
"Yubaba, I have a request of you."
"Request?! Ha! You are in no position to make a request." Curiosity got the better of her. "what is it you would want?"
"For you to hide somebody for me."
"Hmph. Hide whoever it is yourself. Who? And why."
"It's," he took a small breath. "Chihi - Sen. From before, remember? Sen. I can't hide her, not here. Kawago - what's his name told you about Kawago, I believe - wants her spirit." Haku paused. "he wants to break it. and from what I've seen, he's been doing a nice job of trying."
Yubaba didn't say anything. Sen? Yeah, she remembered the little brat. Why would she want to hide her in the least? But breaking her spirit? Wasn't breaking spirits illegal? No. not yet. Kawago obviously hadn't succeeded, then, if the way Haku spoke was true. But it took a lot of mental and emotional pain, skill, to break a spirit.
"He probably would have succeeded," Haku put in helpfully after a while. "Except Chihi - Sen no longer owns her spirit," he paused, "or her heart. Soul. The works. He would have ended up beating her to death, or worse."
Yubaba furrowed her brow. Ah, the choices life brought!
"Where is she?" Yubaba snapped.
With the slight shake of his head, Haku went back and picked Chihiro up, not even waking her. Yubaba's eyes widened in semi-shock. Kawago had done that? She hadn't met Kawago yet, and she knew what it would take to Break a Spirit, but this... in truth, the sorceress hadn't seen anything like this. She seemed to be covered in bandages, and bruises speckled her skin where the white tape, blue apron, or pink trousers weren't covering it. She frowned. "Who's healed her?" she demanded.
Haku shifted. "Kamajii, Rin, and I," he said, resting his weight on his left foot so that he could support Chihiro's weight easier.
"Well you haven't done a good job of it."
Haku was about to make a scathing reply in return, but instead his logical side took over. "Why would you care, Yubaba?" he asked smoothly.
She frowned deeper. "Okay, OKAY, I'll hide the idiot girl. But only because I know you won't cooperate if I don't."
Haku smiled a little bit in gratitude. A small couch was conjured up on the other side of the room, and Chihiro lay on it with a blanket.
"If she leaves this room, the spell will no longer take affect." Yubaba muttered irritably.
"Thank you." Haku frowned, then turned to go.
"And just where are you going?" she demanded.
"I have a few things to sort out with Yajuu - Kawago."
"I didn't give you permission to leave."
"And I didn't give you permission to stick a slug down my throat." He left, and as soon as he was out of the elevator, he began to run. As expected, Rin was arguing loudly with Kawago.
"Yajuu," Haku said calmly, then, "Kawago."
Kawago turned back to look at him coldly. "where is she?"
"Hidden. You and I, we have some things to sort out," Haku said, then held one arm out to the side. Kawago smirked - the boy was smart not to trust him to walk behind him. They walked in silence out to the bridge, where it was dark.
"I presume you want to know what we'll be doing over the girl's spirit," Haku said flatly.
"Indeed. Shall we set the rules?"
"of course. Eight rules in general."
"Deal." Kawago paused. "Rule one, we fight in Dragon form only."
"Rule two, we stay in air and water only."
"Rule three, no magic."
"Rule four, this takes place only during the day."
"Rule five, we have to have witnesses."
"Rule six, we are only allowed to "hurt" each other. Everybody else stays out of this."
"Rule seven, no forfeits allowed; but we each can have a second, should we want one."
"Rule eight, we have to have a five minute break each time a massive amount of blood is spilled." Haku smirked, as did Kawago.
The rules were laid out.
"Tomorrow." Kawago said firmly.
"Between lunch and breakfast."
"Good. Fine." Kawago turned to go back to the bathhouse, then turned and stopped. He cocked a cocky eye at Haku and the smirk that graced his face became a sneer in record time. "I will win, dragon-brother," he said.
"Why Chihiro?" Haku demanded, straight out of the blue.
"That is my Lord's question to answer. Then he shifted, spinning lightly on his heel, and stalked off towards the bathhouse. Haku sneered after him.
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A/N: the rules are laid out and Chihiro is temporarily safe! Wee!
Disclaimer: *is dressed like the boss of the Asylum and speaking in fake French accent* I no not own, ya? Ztupid bludzuckin' azyloom peepz.
Chapter Finished: 5/11/03
.
.
.
Rin, Haku, and Kamajii all watched Chihiro after she had fallen asleep, and for a moment nobody said anything.
"She's too young to have gone through all of that - the pain he must have put her through," Rin sighed.
"Her father dead, her mother wounded, her baby brothers and sister in unknown hands..." Haku murmured.
"What are we going to do?" Kamajii asked. "Send her home, of course; but how can we make sure that the slave driver and Kawago don't come after her?"
"I'll kill Kawago - Yajuu - myself, and as for the shadowed man, I'm not sure about him yet... apparently, he chose her himself, so I guess I ought to kill him also. I still don't get why they have and are breaking humans' spirits - for the power? To take over? The Spirit World is not something that can be taken over with just brute strength."
"I think you're too blood-lust-y," Rin informed Haku. "You forget, no matter who or what, killing is killing, and you'll be affected should you try to end either Kawago's or what's his name's life. And what if they kill you, then, huh?"
"Don't worry about Haku, Rin," Kamajii said.
Abruptly, Haku stood up.
"Aah! Don't do that!" the Rin noticed the look on his face. "What is it? what's wrong?"
"There's somebody coming," Kamajii announced ominously.
"Kawago." Haku said simply, and the little door opened, and the Haku-look- alike stepped through. He looked at the lot of them and smiled that cold emotionless smile of his.
"Well, isn't it my big brother from the high winds come to mingle with the commoners," he sneered. "baka."
"It takes one to know one," Haku sneered right back. Both Rin and Kamajii were surprised at how nasty Haku could get - as in, they were ooing and awwing. Mentally and momentarily, of course.
"It's nightfall, and I've come to pick up what's mine," Kawago continued after losing a staring match with his "brother."
"no doubt she has told you her account of the past few days."
"She has," Haku said, voice steely. "and I understand that I have some killing to do - you aren't ever touching her again, Yajuu."
"Oh, now YOU'RE calling me Yajuu as well?" Kawago asked, feigning hurt. "it must be so, then. Give her to me now, and the woman and spider stay alive."
"Wait just a minute!" Rin began, but Kamajii silenced her with a look. This was Haku's to deal with.
"What are you going to do to them? Haku asked arrogantly. "spank them and make them call you daddy?"
That did it. Kawago's coiled muscles stretched as he sprang at Haku, who had been expecting this, and dodged him, pinning him firmly to the ground on the dirt floor, sending any remaining dust balls flying.
Kawago twisted swiftly, though, and soon had Haku pinned down with knee on chest.
Haku would have none of that, though, and twisted as well, feigning first left, then escaping on right.
Rin and Kamajii watched this scuffle continue on for a while silently, only taking action after the shock had worn off. Thinking quickly, Rin wrapped the nearest blanket around Chihiro and picked her up.
"I'm taking her to my room," she whispered to Kamajii, who nodded.
"Good - hurry, now, be quick!"
Rin did, hurry as best she could while carrying the thirteen-year-old girl.
Meanwhile, Kamajii finally stepped in to the evenly matched look-alikes, holding them apart with two arms each.
"Now, stop that," he said sternly. "if you're going to fight, fight outside - I don't want blood on my floor, it was just washed."
"No fighting will have to be done if I am given the girl - my girl, I might add." Kawago spat, knocking Kamajii's arms away forcefully.
"Get your own Shiraha to torture," Haku spat right back. "who has her spirit, heart, and soul? I think, were I you, I would wonder about who owns what."
"Who owns who!" Kawago barked, and laughed. "Sen is mine. Done and dead - got that?"
"Chihiro is no one's!" Haku barked back. He also pushed Kamajii's arms away. it was right then that both boys noticed Chihiro - and Rin - were gone. Kawago snarled, whipping towards Kamajii.
"Where did you hide her?!?" he snarled, eyes burning.
"Neither you nor Haku will be allowed that knowledge. If you want Sen so much, then go look for her on your own." Kamajii said.
Kawago snarled again and left, forcefully slamming the little door. Kamajii leaned over to Haku and hissed where she was, and to hurry and get there before Kawago.
"Hide her completely, if possible, use magic - ask Yubaba for help if needed." He instructed. Haku bowed, murmured a thanks, then left as well, taking the longest route to Rin and Co.'s, making sure Kawago wasn't following him.
"I wont let him touch you, Shiraha," he whispered as he ran down a hall.
As told, Chihiro was in Rin's room, snoozing away. the other girls didn't look too happy about it, nor the fact that Haku just walked in without knocking or anything; most of them were just in their aprons, screamed, and hid under their covers.
"We have to drop pretty low to hide her efficiently," Haku murmured to Rin, nodding towards Chihiro. "I'm going to ask Yubaba for help, since Kawago will already know my magic by now. He's going to come here at some point soon, because I know he followed me partway, so I want you to distract him. Can you do that for me?"
"I guess," Rin said, watching Haku as he gently shook Chihiro awake. She groaned sleepily and got up as he bid her. "go out the window, there." She paused, then glanced around the room at the girls. "and don't any of you open your mouths about any of this!" she ordered dangerously. A few blanketed lumps shifted uncomfortably.
Haku ushered Chihiro out the window, closing it firmly behind him, and held her, almost dragged or carried her sleepy form, up the roof to where he easily jumped across, and holding Chihiro to his back, climbed the ladder with just his feet.
(A/N: It takes a lot of talent to do that - climb a ladder without any hands, I mean.)
about halfway up, Chihiro became more awake and after a moment of panicking, she was climbing on her own, Haku behind/below her, urging her up and on. At the window, he used magic to unlock it and dropped Chihiro lightly inside, then followed, closing and locking the window before barely catching her as she collapsed, asleep.
He cut quickly through the baby's room, and leaned Chihiro up against the wall between the baby's room and Yubaba's office. Then he entered Yubaba's office, where Yubaba was sitting at her desk, as Hitogajeta had just left. And of course Haku startled her.
"Don't do that!" she scolded. "and there are better ways to come in other than through my baby's room! What did you do to him?"
"Didn't even see you baby," Haku replied briskly, and slowly exhaled, steeling himself for his next request. This would not go smoothly.
"Yubaba, I have a request of you."
"Request?! Ha! You are in no position to make a request." Curiosity got the better of her. "what is it you would want?"
"For you to hide somebody for me."
"Hmph. Hide whoever it is yourself. Who? And why."
"It's," he took a small breath. "Chihi - Sen. From before, remember? Sen. I can't hide her, not here. Kawago - what's his name told you about Kawago, I believe - wants her spirit." Haku paused. "he wants to break it. and from what I've seen, he's been doing a nice job of trying."
Yubaba didn't say anything. Sen? Yeah, she remembered the little brat. Why would she want to hide her in the least? But breaking her spirit? Wasn't breaking spirits illegal? No. not yet. Kawago obviously hadn't succeeded, then, if the way Haku spoke was true. But it took a lot of mental and emotional pain, skill, to break a spirit.
"He probably would have succeeded," Haku put in helpfully after a while. "Except Chihi - Sen no longer owns her spirit," he paused, "or her heart. Soul. The works. He would have ended up beating her to death, or worse."
Yubaba furrowed her brow. Ah, the choices life brought!
"Where is she?" Yubaba snapped.
With the slight shake of his head, Haku went back and picked Chihiro up, not even waking her. Yubaba's eyes widened in semi-shock. Kawago had done that? She hadn't met Kawago yet, and she knew what it would take to Break a Spirit, but this... in truth, the sorceress hadn't seen anything like this. She seemed to be covered in bandages, and bruises speckled her skin where the white tape, blue apron, or pink trousers weren't covering it. She frowned. "Who's healed her?" she demanded.
Haku shifted. "Kamajii, Rin, and I," he said, resting his weight on his left foot so that he could support Chihiro's weight easier.
"Well you haven't done a good job of it."
Haku was about to make a scathing reply in return, but instead his logical side took over. "Why would you care, Yubaba?" he asked smoothly.
She frowned deeper. "Okay, OKAY, I'll hide the idiot girl. But only because I know you won't cooperate if I don't."
Haku smiled a little bit in gratitude. A small couch was conjured up on the other side of the room, and Chihiro lay on it with a blanket.
"If she leaves this room, the spell will no longer take affect." Yubaba muttered irritably.
"Thank you." Haku frowned, then turned to go.
"And just where are you going?" she demanded.
"I have a few things to sort out with Yajuu - Kawago."
"I didn't give you permission to leave."
"And I didn't give you permission to stick a slug down my throat." He left, and as soon as he was out of the elevator, he began to run. As expected, Rin was arguing loudly with Kawago.
"Yajuu," Haku said calmly, then, "Kawago."
Kawago turned back to look at him coldly. "where is she?"
"Hidden. You and I, we have some things to sort out," Haku said, then held one arm out to the side. Kawago smirked - the boy was smart not to trust him to walk behind him. They walked in silence out to the bridge, where it was dark.
"I presume you want to know what we'll be doing over the girl's spirit," Haku said flatly.
"Indeed. Shall we set the rules?"
"of course. Eight rules in general."
"Deal." Kawago paused. "Rule one, we fight in Dragon form only."
"Rule two, we stay in air and water only."
"Rule three, no magic."
"Rule four, this takes place only during the day."
"Rule five, we have to have witnesses."
"Rule six, we are only allowed to "hurt" each other. Everybody else stays out of this."
"Rule seven, no forfeits allowed; but we each can have a second, should we want one."
"Rule eight, we have to have a five minute break each time a massive amount of blood is spilled." Haku smirked, as did Kawago.
The rules were laid out.
"Tomorrow." Kawago said firmly.
"Between lunch and breakfast."
"Good. Fine." Kawago turned to go back to the bathhouse, then turned and stopped. He cocked a cocky eye at Haku and the smirk that graced his face became a sneer in record time. "I will win, dragon-brother," he said.
"Why Chihiro?" Haku demanded, straight out of the blue.
"That is my Lord's question to answer. Then he shifted, spinning lightly on his heel, and stalked off towards the bathhouse. Haku sneered after him.
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A/N: the rules are laid out and Chihiro is temporarily safe! Wee!