Disclaimer – "Default Chapter" saids it all ^^*

Characters' thinking/thought-voices in BOLD…enjoy~!!

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This is it.  Haku's fake blared his teeth in a sneer.  This is the moment I've been waiting for.

The beginning of the end.

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~*~ The Day the Dream Ended ~*~

Chapter 13 ~ Confrontation

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She felt light as a feather, weightless among the night cold air.  Opening her eyes slowly, Chihiro suddenly had the strange feeling that she wasn't herself—that she had somehow been disconnected from her body.  Looking around her, she realized that she was floating about in the cold of the night air.  Only, it was impossible to tell if it was 'night' in reality, as the dark, thick and unnatural clouds had consumed the skies, destroying the lands with their relentless storm.  A bright flash of light from below her caught the girl's eye, making her turn towards the source.  As her eyes adjusted to the light emitted by the two brightly glowing winged-figures and their features became clear, the girl visibly gasped, startled and frightened by what she saw before her.

"Do not be afraid…" the unseen voice that had guided her and Haku from the Land of Mists whispered to her.  Surprised as she was to hear and recognize the voice of an invisible being speaking to her—and not to mention that it spoke with Chihiro's own voice, she finally realized for the first time—the girl found that she could not tear her eyes from the fight that was happening right below her: a fight that she had tired to prevent with all she had, but to no avail.

How can I not be afraid? she thought as she watched the two Hakus' magics clashed once again, illuminating the black skies momentarily.  How can I not be worried…for the both of them?  Being all the way up here—wherever here is!—, watching them as they engage in a fight to the finish? 

Somehow, in her heart, the girl found that she knew—knew—that this fight was just…so wrong.  How can it not be wrong, when the two fighting against one another are one and the same person?  The same Haku that she cared for?

Sounding amused, the unseen voice spoke again. 

"And how are you so sure that they are the same being, She-Who-Connects-the-Two-Worlds?" she spoke carefully, as if the outcome of the battle before them depended on the girl's answer.  "How can they be the same person, if they both exist in the same time and dimension?  How can they be the same person if they are currently battling against one another?"

When Chihiro's only respond was to continue her pained stare at the two river spirits, the same yet so completely opposite to the other, the voice continued to speak, her voice low and sad this time.

"How can they be the same person, when their personalities are so different?"

"You're only asking me questions I cannot answer you." Chihiro whispered to the voice, somehow certain that the voice would hear her.  Her eyes caught and held by the intensity of the battle below, Chihiro gasped as she suddenly understood why she was brought here—and who the unseen being was.

"You are only asking me questions that you're certain I don't know the answer to, aren't you?  I can't tell you for certain that they're the same person—the only proof of that is what I feel, within my heart.  You're asking me these unanswerable questions because you know what I'm thinking…because…" her sentence trailing off, Chihiro closed her eyes and smiled as she heard her unseen voice finish her train of thought.

"Because I am also you, Ogino Chihiro."

"Yes, yes you are." Chihiro answered softly, feeling the correctness of her own spoken words.  Still smiling, she opened her eyes to find that she had been brought to the Land of the Mists once again.  Instead of wandering, however, this time she just stood rooted where she was, knowing that her voice and mentor would soon come to her. 

A slight whirl in the mists before her caught her attention.  In the area between her and the not-so-far-off distance the mists cleared, white nothingness replacing the haze.  Everything was picture clear.

She stood there, of the same height and appearance as Chihiro herself, clad in the same clothing the girl was, right down to the injuries and damage she and her clothes had collected during her confrontation with Black-Haku, although her clothes seemed to be made of the mists which belonged to this strange place.  Smiling slightly at one another, they both walked forward in the direction of the other, their unspoken thoughts reaching each other without any means of communication.  Walking until they are but a half an arm's length away, they stopped in unison, they gazes serious yet calm upon the other.

"You are the only one who can link the two worlds." Chihiro's image continued to speak in her preferred thought-voice, her form glowing a soft pink even as the magical hairtie which Chihiro had worn on her wrist since the day she had been compelled to find it started to pulse in the same light, reflecting Chihiro's own aura.  "And thus, you are also the only one who can prevent the two worlds from collapsing—either separately, or into one another.  You must prevent Black-Haku from reaching his current goal."

"What could I do?" Chihiro asked her image—the logical part of her own mind which stood aloof from everything else—which had taken physical form before her.  "I can't stop them—I'm no mage!  But I can't stand to see…either of them hurt.  Either of them."  Closing her eyes, Chihiro felt her image doing them same, pained by the thought of her Haku—be it the boy she had come into the Majou no Sekai to seek for, or the one she had spent her most recent times with—hurt by the other.  Sighing, the girl felt memories flood into her own mind, the pink of her aura, emitted by her pulsing hairtie which seemed to hold her untouched magic, blinding out her own image, which stood so close to her.

At first she had feared the demonic form of Haku—perhaps hated him, even: hated him for taking on her beloved dragon's form and deceiving her into trusting him.  When she had felt something…wrong…with him, and then when she saw him transform into the hatred which he held inside of him, the girl had felt fear for her captor like she had never felt before—raw fear that had driven her into running away from him.  However…

The images cleared; Chihiro opened her eyes to stare into those of her image's once again.

"You could not hate him—could not find it in yourself to stand by while he had struggled with himself.  You could not help but feel pained when you saw him in pain."

"Because they are also one and the same person…just like us." Chihiro whispered.  A tear rolled down her cheek; the memory of seeing Black and White-Haku battling on top of that fragile glass roof consuming the girl's mind until she could take no more. 

"I have to stop it—stop them.  I mustn't allow them to hurt each other anymore…it isn't right."

"And why is that?" Chihiro saw her image now as an entity of brightly glowing pink, flashing in urgency.  "Why is it that you can't stand the thought of them hurting each other?  Why does it hurt you to see them—him—in pain?" 

"Because…"

The girl hesitated, unsure of how to sort out declare her mixed emotions that seemed to be in the middle of a thunderstorm in her mind, let alone declare them out loud, even to herself.

"Answer me…answer yourself!  Why did you return to the Majou no Sekai in the first place?!"

"Because I had felt Haku was in pain, and I came to help him!  You know this as well as I do!" Chihiro yelled, frightened by her own uncertainty, at the brightly glowing image before her, its outline remaining that of Chihiro's form even though the rest of it had become the girl's pink aura.  Chihiro looked down at her own hands—they were trembling—as were her lips.  She bit down on her lips until she drew blood, frustrated and a little afraid of her own ambiguity—and the degree of emotions which she knew she held within her. 

"Do no be afraid…of yourself, Chihiro." The voice dropped to a whisper once again, gentling down from its last outburst.  "Do not be afraid of the emotions you hold within you…for it is with them, not brute force, that you can stop the water spirits' fight.  You must trust in your heart."

"Trust in my heart…" Chihiro whispered, staring at her trembling hands, "trust in my emotions…my feelings for Haku…"

Closing her eyes, the girl suddenly remembered all the times she had spend in her world, and during school or work, when images of the smiling young river spirit would suddenly form in her mind; during those long nights when she laid on her bed, unable to sleep and feeling all alone in the world…when thoughts of him and the times they had spend together would pop up in her mind—and everything would be all right.  Thought of him, and his smile which he held only for her…and his promise of one day reuniting with her.  Images and scenes of her times with Haku flooded into the girl's mind, each thought of him warming the girl's heart and easing the trembling of her hands.  Taking a deep breath, Chihiro gathered all her courage and opened her eyes, smiling widely, and glowing in the radiance of her smile and the bright pink of her strengthening aura.

"I came back here, to the Majou no Sekai," she began, staring straight into the image of her glowing pink outline until it was as if they were melting into each other, becoming one once again, "I feel worry and pain when I see them battling against one another, struggling with themselves…because I…" 

Opening her arms as if to declare her thoughts to the world, Chihiro held her smile and felt no fear even as she felt herself falling into thin air once again. 

"Because I love him!  I'm in love with Nigihayami Kohakunushi!" 

"Then hesitate no more." Her image spoke to her again with a gentle smile within her mind.  "Wait no more—fear no more.  You know what it is that you must do…what it is that you could do."

Chihiro fell back into her body as a large blot of blue-red lightening struck the large entrance of the fortress-castle, destroying it and leaving nothing but molten glass behind.

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Bou watched from the rooftop, shielded from the magic storm by the witches' combined magic, with the rest of the staff and the current residents of the Aburaya, including the Susuwatari and the remaining residents—spirit or not—of the Majou no Sekai.  All of them were looking skyward—looking into the nothingness at that circle of light, getting smaller as it floated up higher towards the seldomly appearing glass castle. 

Please come back soon, Mama.  The baby thought a little sadly to his mother, worry in every line of his large body.  Please come back to me…and remember to bring Papa back with you.

Gripping the mosquito-sized Yu-Bird until it could hardly breathe, the baby continued to stare even as the circle of light which held his mother and father disappeared within the thick clouds.

Please…the witch-child prayed, hoping to somehow reach his mother, come back safely—and with Sen and Haku too.

Looking at the mix of worried and frightened expressions of those around him, young and old alike, Bou couldn't help but feel a chill run down his spine and yet another clash of blue-red and emerald magic illuminated the night sky, revealing the castle and the on-going fight taking place on it.

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"You know you can't run away forever, Kohaku!" Black-Haku yelled over the noise of the raging storm to his other self, grinning madly as the silver dragon dodged yet another one of his many fire-magic attacks.  "You will tire…and then what?  Plunge to your own death?!  Fight me back with everything you've got!  I will not be accused of winning an unfair battle with you—I'll prove once and for all that I'm the more powerful of us!"  Fueled and made stronger by his use of black-magic, he threw yet another fistful of fire at his other, panting self even as a bolt of his lightening hit the young spirit, causing him to cry out in pain and fall on the glass rooftop once again.

I can't stoop to your level…I won't!  White-Haku thought as he contacted solid glass with his left side, his arm feeling the full impact of his fall.  I will not use magic that will bring harm to those around me…

Looking over at the still form of the girl who had unknowingly claimed his heart, the silver dragon bit back a groan as he got up from where he had fallen close to her.  Clutching his left arm in pain, White-Haku called to his magic sword which he had long sealed away, its strength and power too strong and unnecessary—until now.  Looking up at the hovering, demonic-looking Black-Haku, he yelled at him as he took flight, trying to get as far from Chihiro's unconscious body as he could before the fight resumed.

"I've given up on using my black magic for a very long time now, and I'm not about to start using it and hurting my friends again—I can defeat you without its help!"

"Are you so sure?" red eyes flashed with amusement as White-Haku flew to a level with him, weaponless and tired.  "Oh, you're right about one thing—you have given up on using your black magic for a long time—right after that girl appeared."

Eyes snapping with fury, fangs began to grow on Haku's demon form, giving him a completely sinister look.  Fingers disappeared and gave way to large silver claws, each stained with the brown-red color of dried blood.  His mass of dark hair darkened, turning a dull pitch black, not a hint of light reflecting from where glossiness should be.  The blue-red aura around Haku's demonic form blazed as thunder of pure red hatred flashed by; his aura matching the lightning's color.  "You gave up on magic that none other in your time and world could master—and you created me!" 

Hearing his demonic self laugh hysterically, White-Haku fought to resist his desires to cover his ears in attempt to shut up that cursed sound, knowing that would give his opponent the opening to get in another hit.  Biting down on his lips hard in his way of fighting the pain silently, the silver dragon decided to speak rather than listen to Black-Haku's rants.

"Created you?" he yelled, although not feeling as certain as he did the last time he spoke.  "What…are you talking about?"

"As simply as I had said it—you created me." Black-Haku answered, unexpectedly keeping his distance rather than attacking.  "When you chose that mortal over your own power—when you let her weaken you and allowed yourself to open up to her—you let go of the grip you had on your black magic.  Its nature does not have room for one whose heart is not hardened and separated from the rest of the world; it does not obey one who cares for others' feelings…or one that longs for those feelings in return!  When you lost your grip on your black magic which had been a part of you, you allowed me to come into existence!"

Feeling the shock the news brought to his other self, Black-Haku charged suddenly, his claws extended and glowing in the red of his enraged magic as he pulled his arm back for the attack that would end the fight—and White-Haku's life…

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*hysterical laughter (ahh…Black-Haku~!!)* Ahhahahahaha…oh man…why am I never right when I predict what I'm gunna write in my own chapters??  When I was planning these last few chappies…(which they obviously are!) I had seriously thought this would be my second last one.  Where the hell did this chappie come from?!?!  *laughter continues* Ah…*sobering down/grins* I guess I'll never know…but when I started to type this chappie…Chihiro just decided she should have a lil chat to for certain "find herself" before the end comes.  I hope that it turned out okay…although I'm thinking there are a few things I ought to explain, so here goes.  (for those of you who NEVER read my *ahem* lil blurbs, I'm making it (its title, anyhow) bold to hopefully catch your attention so to clarify this chappie, cuz I know it's a bit confusing~!  For once, my AN is worth reading~!! )

~`~`~`~`~`~`~Author's Note to explain this chappie: ~`~`~`~`~`~`~

1// I dunno if any of you remember this…but all the way back in the first or second chappie (yes…I forgot which…^^) Zeniiba had asked Kaonashi to hand her her seal, which she used to call on the hairtie she had given to Chihiro…and thus began our whole story of Chihiro coming to the spirit world again~! :D  I used the hairtie as Chihiro's link to her "inner self" (hey…they're all magical…we can't have poor Chihiro here all boring and un-magicky now, can we?? ) and to the Majou no Sekai, where it was (hold onto something) made (^^*).  I didn't want to just leave it at that and not explain it, cuz (at least to me) it looks like a complete waste of an excuse to introduce the 2 characters mentioned with the seal, and Chihiro's sudden need to return to the spirit world just doesn't make sense.

2// Land of the Mists…no, it does not exist in the movie itself…but I needed a place where our two main characters could think and sort out their thoughts/flesh out their thoughts for us to see, so it came into existence.  Think of it as a bridge in the passage between the two worlds, alrito? n.n

3// Chihiro's "other self" appearing in the Land of the Mists and talking to Chihiro…since she was already unconscious when Black-Haku explained who he was, there was no way for Chihiro to confirm her knowing that they were both Haku.  By having a confrontation with herself, Chihiro could "see" for herself that they were really both Haku, and also gave her a chance to find and figure out her own feelings for this world, the people in it, and Haku.  Remember, Chihiro was, at the beginning of the story, all cold-hearted and had shut out her feelings from the world—so it was naturally harder for her to admit that she loved Haku, to herself and to him (of course).  So I needed her to…sort of be forced to face up to reality and see for herself how she felt for him, so that when this is all over her feelings wunt be all mumble-jumbled, and whether the "end-results" are happy or sad (mahahaha…I ain't telling~!! ^^*), she would be able to show how she feels better…cuz she can do that now XP

4// If or when Chihiro returns to the human world, or even if (or when!) she stays in the spirit world, she can't go back to the way she was, all cold and indifferent/fake to the world.  I wanted to show that she's really over that—that she's learned that really wasn't her at all, and that she could show her feelings to the world and not hurt people around her anymore.

ALRITE~!!  I'm done now XD  Man…the chappie itself was long enough (longer even than the last chappie~!!), but that "note" was also as long as a short story!  Speaking of which…I have an English essay/short response diploma exam on Monday…AHHHH~!!  I'd better go read the story and memorize some quotes for my essay~!!!

Oh…almost forgot…!  Crits, comments and the such…send 'em this way~!  Send 'em all this way~!!!

~Aqua Sunshine ^^*