Disclaimer – "Default Chapter" saids it all ^^*
*Characters' thoughts in BOLD~!!*
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~*~ The Day the Dream Ended ~*~
Chapter 9 – Barrier
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A loud "bang" could be heard echoing throughout the storm-ridden Majou no Sekai; the residents within it could feel their land tremble, as if the earth itself was hit by a great impact. For a moment, a bright green light illuminated the whole sky, filling every corner of the unnaturally darkened land with its beams before giving way to darkness once more.
Taking advantage of the momentary distraction, Chihiro flung open the forbidding-looking doors of the dark room and ran as quickly as she could. Although distracted by the brightness, it took but a moment for the being which bore Haku's physical form to realize what had happened, and another to register the fact that his prey was getting away. Cursing underneath his breath, he too turned to give chase after the girl. As he began to head toward the direction Chihiro had escaped in, he smiled cruelly and decided to take his time in order to give her a head start, knowing that it was only a matter of time before he caught up with her.
This game of "cat and mouse" will be amusing enough to pass up some time. He thought to himself as he stalked after the escaping girl. Meanwhile, just make sure that you remain amusing to me…otherwise I might just decide to dispose of you, my little one.
Deciding it was time to put the pressure on the escaping girl to further enhance the stakes of this little "game", the nameless being started to sprout black-scaled wings out of his back—the wings of a dragon—and began to descend after his prey. However, even as he gained ground on her—and even as the thought of catching and toying with his spoils crossed his mind—something seemed to nag at the back of his mind, and tugged at his long forgotten heart.
Somehow…this rather…unpleasant…feeling…
Momentarily stopping in his flight and shaking his head as if to clear it of idle thoughts, his eyes flashed an angry bright blue as lightening of the corresponding color cut across the storm-ridden skies outside the large windows that seemed to make up the entire structure they were in. Not understanding the conflicting thoughts he kept having about the girl, and the overall…strangeness…she seem to be able to incite from him whenever he was around her—the strangeness known as emotions—he decided that he would end their game quickly and settle down to wait with her tied up. After all…he will get what he wants, either way. Better to keep her under constrains to prevent her from…from bewitching him. Mind made up, he once again flexed his great wings and continued on the girl's trail, keeping taps on her by tracing her strangely warm aura which was kept hidden by the castle walls. That is, kept hidden from all but himself and another, whom he found could not hide the girl from even if he had tried.
He will come for her…I can feel it.
He will come for her…and I will finish them both.
Then I can truly be free of all hindrances.
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The impact with which he threw himself against the magical barrier seemed to have done much more damage to him than to it: although the forbidding fire-like barrier glowed blue—the color of the magic fueling it—it held firmly, still blocking the way between the two worlds. Trying to get up from where he was flung back by the barrier, Haku could barely keep himself from crying out in pain as blood gushed forth from his severely damaged shoulder and the thousand aches from his body voiced their complains together.
Ow… Clutching his bleeding shoulder in attempt to stop the steady blood flow, Haku tried unsuccessfully to get up from his position on the ground by the tress, a fairly good distance from the barrier itself. Unable to get up, the river spirit started to called on his magic to support him when blue tentacles shot forth from the barrier, striking the injured dragon. Unable to defend himself and unable to get away in his current condition, the young man could only continue his grip on his wounded arm as the tentacles continued their merciless whipping on him, drawing blood and sending volts of magic-shocks wherever they touched his skin.
This…this might be the end for me…
Closing his eyes painfully from both physical pain and emotional turmoil, everything seemed to fade to black as an image of a smiling Chihiro—surprisingly no longer a child, despite the fact that he has not seen her for seven years—crossed the dragon's mind, putting it more at peace.
Chihiro…I'm sorry I couldn't get to you…I had wanted…so badly…to see you…just one more time…
Something inside of him rebelled against his giving up. However, in his weakened state Yu-Baaba's former witch apprentice could only summon enough strength to open his eyes—just in time to see the glowing tentacles all gather into one large strand in preparation for a last strike meant to be his death blow…
When suddenly, the entire forest itself glowed brightly and something enveloped in its brownish-green light flashed across Haku's field of vision, shielding him and saving him from the tentacles' touch of death. Unable to reach the injured dragon, the collected tentacle seemed to understand its power was outclasses and retreated back to blend in and become part of the barrier once again.
Wha..?
"Don't try to get up yet…you're pretty badly hurt, young man." His rescuer said to him sternly, yet kindly at the same time. Obedient partly because he was in too much pain to be able to move anyhow, Haku closed his eyes once again as he felt the warmth of the stranger's magic healing him, sealing his wounds and stopping his pains. When he opened his eyes again, he was completely healed. He touched a newly mended pink scar on his right arm gently, where he had been hurt particularly badly, and was surprised to find it still warm.
"You must give it time to heal, you know. Even the strongest magic cannot do everything for you." The old man said to him, taking a seat beside Haku on the ground. "There are things magic cannot provide for you, simply because there are things magic does not understand…do you know what I am saying to you?"
Looking at the old man oddly, Haku found himself understanding what this strange magical being, who came out of nowhere, was telling him. Nodding mutely, the two sat together in silence for awhile, enjoying their break from fighting, when Haku decided to speak up.
"It's certainly a strange thing to say to someone you just met sir, don't you think?" the young dragon acquired of his rescuer. A little surprised already by what this strange man was telling him, the river spirit was even more surprised when his companion started to laugh—a full-throated laugh so loud it was as if the whole forest was laughing, enjoying in the sorcerer's merriment. Getting himself under control, the aged man with dark green hair and earth-brown eyes turned towards the young man, who almost looked as if he was in a state of shock.
"Ah…I see you do not remember me then, young Kohaku?" he laughed at the young man's astonished and confused expression. "Remember the first creature who told you of the Majou no Sekai…all those years ago, when you first lost your home and had nowhere to return to?"
Looking at him with wide eyes, Haku found that he could remember, from so long ago. Chuckling at the dragon's wordlessness, the old sorcerer continued, helping the stunned young man remember.
"I was the one who told you to seek shelter with Yu-Baaba, my former wife before became overly consumed by her money and gold…before she lost sight of what's important. Remember now?"
Nodding almost viciously, like a young boy eager to answer the question, Haku managed to stutter out the simple answer. "You…you're Kodama!"
Delighted, the old spirit of the forest laughed, his laugh echoed by the greenery surrounding them. "Ay, my lad, you certainly haven't changed one bit now, have you?" looking at Haku fondly, his voice took on a more serious tone. "However, the stories I'd heard about you all speak differently. Care to explain them to me, my boy?"
Haku held up his hands and stared at them, frowning in concentration. Although he was curious as to what the young man was doing, Kodama kept his silence, giving the young river spirit a chance to choose his own timing. The leaves rustled in the background against the cool breeze, warning of the on-coming storm even as the skies continued to darken and the temperature in the air began to drop drastically. Finally, Haku spoke up, voice small.
"The stories you heard…were probably true." He said sadly, ashamed of the person he had been, the misguided way he had behaved. "However…"
Leaving his sentence to trail, the dragon suddenly looked up at the old man and smiled—a bright, happy smile, cheerful as if the clouds had parted to give way to the sunshine of his happiness. Taken aback at the sudden display of emotion on the usually stoic youth's face—even when he had first met the river spirit, when he had first lost his home, the only emotions one could feel from him were sadness and anger…but to see him so happy, especially to see him feel so strongly about it that he would dare display it?—Kodama couldn't help but wonder what had happened to the boy to make such an acknowledgeable difference in him.
"But I'm different now." Haku said resolutely. "It's no secret that there are many mistakes I've made in the past which I cannot undo…but…for all the things I can make up for—for all the difference that I can make—I want to. I want to be able to make them…to make up for what wrongs I had done in the past. Because I know now…I know…"
Face determined and earnest looking, the silver dragon looked the forest spirit straight in the eye without flinching. "I know who I am now…I understand that there is a reason for my existence—that I am wanted in this world—…and I'm not about to let my chance to live and make a difference slip from my fingers again. I've seen what's important…to me…and I've promise to protect…her…and I'm going to keep my promise."
For a moment, silence hung in the air between the two spirits, the only sounds disturbing them were the constant howling of the winds, growing stronger by the minute, and the rustling of the leaves in synch with the rhythm of the wind. A grin appeared slowly on Kodama's face as he suddenly stood up, surprising and taking the serious looking Haku with him.
"That's the way, my boy!" the old forest spirit cried, looking as proud as he sounded. "That's what I was trying to tell you, earlier! You really do understand!" Jumping around with Haku in circles and ignoring the sounds of thunder in the distance, the old man continued to show his glee even as a confused Haku decided to speak up.
"Wha…what do you mean?" the young man asked uncertainly.
"The things magic cannot provide for you…things magic cannot understand…don't tell me you don't even realize what an important lesson you've already taught yourself…or your 'lady of promises' has taught you." Eyes twinkling at the blush appearing on Haku's face, Kodama sobered down a bit, tone taking on a more serious edge now. "You must understand this…or you'll be overcomed by your own magic and forget who you really are…just like Yu-Baaba had done."
Looking at the darkening skies with a faraway looking on his saddened face, he continued.
"Yu-Baaba…she wasn't always the way you probably only know her as…wasn't nearly as cruel or as greedy, thinking of herself and her money alone. She was a caring person with a warm heart…a person that I fell in love with." His eyes grew distant, as if he was looking not at Haku or the sky, but at faraway memories…memories of a happier time. "We were so happy together! So carefree of whatever happened to us…because it didn't matter, you see. As long as we were together, we had everything we needed. But as her powers grew, she became consumed by her magic…and what she could accomplish with them. Little by little, it ate away at her…her magic became her sole reason for existence—it was as if little else mattered but what her magic could bring her. It hurt me deeply…to see her like that, being controlled unknowingly by powers that she herself possessed…utilized by powers that she harnessed."
Kodama blinked, and Haku could see tears escaping from the old man's eyes reflection the hurt in his heart.
"I tried…I tried to talk to her. To confront her about what was happening…tried to help her. But she wouldn't have any of it. She accused me of being jealous of her magics; of denying her of her source of happiness…it pained me, hearing her say that. But there was nothing I could do—I wasn't powerful enough to stop her, nor would I have done anything to hurt her. So I could only sit by and watch as her magic grew more powerful, and watch her grow more vain and more unlike herself…until the point when she decided I was a hindrance in her newly build world.
"So she tricked me into going on the train—mind you, it did run two-way, back then…from the Majou no Sekai to the humans' world, actually. Oh but this was years ago, before I had met you, right here in the humans' world. Anyhow…she just came up to me one day, as if nothing had changed between us…as if she was back to her old self again. I could barely believe my eyes, stupid fool I was." He turned his piercing gaze on Haku, who could not help but flinch a bit at the regret and bitterness in the old man's voice. "We rode the train together to 'visit Zeniiba', along with the spirits of those innocent and kind humans who had passed on—those who were granted the chance of spending their eternity as a part of the world of spirits, in reward of their good behavior during their lifetime. When we didn't get off until we reached the gate separating the humans' and the spirit world, I was getting a little worried…but by the time I had figured out what she had planned to do, it was already too late. As she got back onto the train, she drained all those innocent spirits' energy, blackening their very soul with her stained purpose and leaving them with barely any magic to keep them in existence. Before I could even attempt to stop her, she used the drained energy to seal the Gate which separated the two worlds to all means of magical traveling, and preventing me from ever returning to the Majou no Sekai." Silence once again took its reign between the two stranded spirits, both of them lost in his own thoughts. His expression darkening once again to match the mood of the black skies above, Kodama spoke again to finish his tale.
"After that, to even further isolate herself from those who would try and stop her, she forbidded the train from ever making its way to the Aburaya again. And so, since then, I've heard that she has sat in her 'castle' to rule over the Majou no Sekai mercilessly, growing more and more into this person who cared for nothing but herself and her own selfish ambitions."
Long moments passed, with the two spirits silently thinking his own thoughts. Sensing that his companion was still lost in his painful memories, Haku decided it was time to break the silence.
"But people do change, Kodama." He said quietly, just for the two of them to hear. Startled, the old spirit of the forest looked at the young man beside him, as if seeing him for the first time. Turning to face him also, Haku continued with a serious look on his face.
"People change…over time, we all learn lessons about life…we learn from the mistakes that we make, and become better from them. She was the one who taught me." Blushing as he noticed that he had somehow linked to Chihiro again, he continued before he got lost in his thoughts of her again. "She taught me that I mustn't close my mind and my heart off and give up merely because the situation looks bad, or because I feel that I can't change. But rather, she taught me that people are always changing—always growing better—as time goes on, and as they make mistakes, because we could take those mistakes and turn them into lessons…lessons which can shape who we are, or who we become. You'd be surprised," the dragon said with an encouraging smile, "at how much Yu-Baaba has changed. Perhaps…just perhaps…you are not the only one who regret what happened in the past, all those years ago, ne Kodama?"
Taking a moment to register what the young man before him was telling him, the old forest spirit found himself smiling back at the confident-looking river spirit before him, almost shinning in the radiance of his smile and the happiness he had within. Nodding, just once, and turning in silent agreement, Kodama thought to himself as the two of them began to walk towards the tunnel-gate which lead to the Majou no Sekai. You're saying…perhaps it's time to put the past behind us and look toward the future, ne young one? You don't know how long I've been waiting to hear those words, if only to confirm how I feel…if only to give me the strength I need to face her again…
They stopped, inches from the barrier which had almost brought about Haku's doom, just a short while ago. Taking a deep breath, his newly healed wounds almost screaming at him, reminding him of the punishment he had just recently been through, Haku prepared himself for whatever that was to come at him, thinking only of the girl on the other side…the girl who was waiting for him to keep his promise of protecting her forever.
"Do not be afraid." Kodama spoke softly, his eyes glowing in the brown-green of his magic. "Never before has this been attempted; never before has a spirit been able to break through the Gate leading to the Majou no Sekai. But there is one way to break through the combined might of the barrier and Yu-Baaba's Gate…"
Nodding, his own eyes glowing the emerald green of his magic, Haku found that he already understood what the old man was trying to tell him.
"We can break through the barrier…if our emotions for those on the other side are strong enough…if these emotions are important enough to us, then we will be able to pass through."
As one, the two spirits pushed against the brightly glowing barrier, glowing streaks of their own magic themselves, each thinking of his own object of affection and reason for returning to the Majou no Sekai.
Chihiro…no matter what…I will protect you.
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Waa…a whole chappie of Haku~! (and well…Kodama…but still, Haku~!!) ^^* Sorry it took so long for me to get this chappie out…(*puppy eyes* c'mon ppl…I made up for that by making this chappie exceptionally long~!) but was it worth the wait?? (Hopefully I'll get a 'yes' for an answer here~!!) I didn't wanna just throw Haku back in the Majou no Sekai without something happening to him in the humans' world…and thus the birth of this…rather unusual chappie XD
If thou ask't for it, thou shalt receive…rite?? XP (Hehehe…gomen minna~! All the Hamlet/Shakespeare we've been doing in English lately is getting to me~!!) LoL…I think I should really dedicate the Kodama story involving the train to nefarious vixen, since she was the one that was asking about it :D So that was for you~!! I was thinking about how I could tie a train into this ficcy…and so I put in my first take on the "one-way express" question…to be honest, I never even thought about it till you asked ^^;; But anyhow~!! Your timing was good too ^^* I was stuck wiv my "hmm…what should happen in the humans' world?", and along came your review…so I stuck that in here Hopefully, you liked this theory~!
Kodama (name literally meaning "spirit of tress") may seem, at first, juss a tad too animated for some ppl…I just thought that, with Yu-Baaba being so serious most of the time, she needed someone more fun to balance her out, ya know? LoL…gomen ne, for making him too unrealistic/animated-ish (great…now I'm making up my own words again…!) ^^*
Ahh…ya see why I like reviews so much?? You guys gimme the best ideas :P Anyways…critics, comments n' anything else much much welcomed~! Feel free to terrorize my teachers into not giving me any homework and/or canceling some of those overly-long concerts/shows/performances that they seem to like to all pile together, and somehow help me get over my really bad cold…and I'll be glad to update as soon as possible~!! LoL…in any case…just keep in mind it's "as soon as possible" :D
~Aqua Sunshine ^^*
ps: on a last note…Daremo…*scratches her head confusedly* I didn't think I was giving away anything when I was writing my AN last time…actually, I do take extra care that I dunt give away anything, to make life more interesting… *shrugs* But if you think I did, gomen nasai~! ^^* I'll try to not do it again, alrito?
