Disclaimer – "Default Chapter" saids it all ^^*
All the characters' thoughts in BOLD…please enjoy the final chapter of this ficcy~!
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~*~ The Day the Dream Ended ~*~
Epilogue ~ Eternity
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Walking along the new river in the woods which guarded the land of the spirits, Ogino Chihiro couldn't help but smile at the beautiful scenery around her.
Yes…it really is a lot like being in the Majou no Sekai. The girl reflected, face uplifted towards the warm rays of the afternoon sun which shone through the trees. So peaceful…so beautiful…so quiet. It's almost as if I'm taking a stroll through Yu-Baaba's carefully trimmed gardens, or the untamed woods by Zeniiba's cottage.
At the mouth of the small cavern, where the river flowed from the world of spirits to the world of humans—a fact that was still and will remain unknown to anyone other than the one seventeen-year-old girl who was bound to both worlds—Chihiro halted suddenly and sat down at her favorite spot, her back supported by a large willow tree next to the cavern, as if standing guard over it. Leaning against its warm bark and sitting upon the cool luxurious grass, the girl sighed, thinking of the mind-swirling events which followed her venture into these woods sometime three months ago—the one that had brought her back to the Majou no Sekai for the first time in seven years—that one fateful day which had forever changed her and the way she will live the rest of her life.
Her sudden disappearance from the human world, with her parents none the wiser concerning her whereabouts, had resulted in an entire month of answering questions from friends and family alike with an interestingly believable story whenever she was questioned about her disappearance. To her parents she had told the truth, only to have them tell her, with wide grins on their faces, that no one other than the two of them were likely to believe her, even if it was the truth. Surprised as she was that they believed her at all, Chihiro had understood the reason for using a made-up story as her disappearing excuse and agreed to go along with…what her parents had been telling everyone—after all, any other story would be more believable than hers, although it is the true reason.
Thinking back to her first day back at school since her return to the human world, Chihiro smiled faintly, remembering how surprised she had been when all her friends and classmates had crowded around her, each one of them asking her a million questions at the same time, even though they knew they could not be heard over the chorus of noise of their other schoolmates. It was not the way that they had swamped around her that surprised her—although she did find it very touching, and had told them so sincerely, to their surprise—but it was the fact that they were all asking her about her health, and whether she was really over her dreadful disease that the doctors had never seen before and thus did not have a cure for her. As the girl had stood there amidst her schoolmates, trying not to look too stunned, her friends had gone on to apologize for not going to visit her, because she had been placed in isolation in the hospital and thus was not allowed any visitors. Was she really all right now? She's so strong to have overcome that disease all by herself! Letting her faint smile slide into a wide grin, Chihiro wondered for the millionth time why, of all the excuses, her parents had chosen to come up with such an unbelievable story—and yet have people believe in it so firmly. Thinking of her parents brought Chihiro's smile to broaden, if that's possible, as the girl reflected on how dramatically her relationship with her parents—and even with her friends at school—had changed. The fact that she herself had changed so much probably had more to do with it than anything else. Gone was the heartless and cold girl, who had stood by life indifferently and uncaring of the rest of the world—the Ogino Chihiro that came back from the Majou no Sekai was just as the ten-year-old Chihiro had been: just as sweet, just as loving, and just as caring of others around her, bringing a smile to every face she meets.
Okaa-san…and Otou-san, too…I'm so glad that things are back to the way they were between all of us. She mused as she relaxed under the shade of the thick willow tree. Finally…I can feel like we're a family again…and our "house" feels like a "home" again too, full of warmth and love and laughter. I didn't realize how much I'd missed all this warmth before…
Her memory suddenly striking a painful chord as she remembered what had occurred in the world where she had found herself again before her return to her own world, the girl suddenly felt her heart squeeze painfully and her throat tighten, her eyes threatening to spill the waiting tears. Chihiro jumped up to distract herself, wiping her eyes on her sleeve.
They'll be worried if I don't show up soon. She thought, although she still stood on the same spot before the willow tree when she had jumped up. It wasn't that she didn't want to see her friends—being able to visit them through a magical portal whose very existence was to provide her with a route to the other world was wonderful—but on days like today, when she gets thinking like this…it was so hard to be cheerful and pretend everything was all right, when all she wanted to do was break down and cry like she did when she first returned to the humans' world, just barely three months ago.
A single tear escaped Chihiro's closely shut eyes, trickling down her cheeks and trembling lips, followed by others. The girl shook her head violently, as if trying to clear her mind of the all the pain which had suddenly come to hit her with full force. An early summer breeze blew by, gently ruffling the girl's light-chestnut colored hair as if trying to comfort her. She covered her tear-streaked face with her hands, as if trying to hide her pain from the world.
"Haku…" she mumbled into her hands as tears continued to fall steadily, further wetting her already tear-stained cheeks. "You promised…to come find me. You promised that we'd meet again…and yet…"
Her arms dropped to her side as the girl turned her gaze once again skywards, towards the endlessness of clear blue through the emerald green of the trees around her. Everytime she looked to the sky she would be reminded of him…of the joy of taking to the air on his back…then of taking to the air upon her own wings, flying towards him as he…as he…
Oh Haku…I miss you so much…don't you know? If I could only see you again! Even if it were just for a day…even if it were just for a moment…
Tears began to fall quicker, the girl no longer trying to stop the steady flow. Suddenly, a somehow familiar voice spoke to her from behind, startling the girl out of her painful memories.
"Then you have given up hopes of seeing him again, even when he has promised you that he would find you no matter what?" asked the quiet intruder.
His voice was warm gentle as the summer's breezes, musical in that it was a light tenor—pleasant to listen to, Chihiro reflected without giving it much thought. She spun around, looking around for the source of the voice but found no one aside from herself in this hidden part of the thick woods. However, to her surprise, Chihiro found that she was not wary of her visitor, despite the fact that she did not yet know who he was, or that he had suddenly appeared out of nowhere in a place where she alone knew about. At the moment, she was more concerned about what her unseen visitor had said to her—his words seem to sting and stick in her mind as it replayed itself over and over again.
Given up? The bewildered girl asked herself mentally, still looking around for the source of the voice. Have I really given up?
Chihiro stopped in her quest in looking for the speaker, deep in thought. Memory took her back to the day her beloved silver dragon had killed himself—the day she had cradled his dying form in her arms; the day his lifeless body disappeared into a thousand silver feathers—the day her dreams had ended. All the pain she had felt were still fresh in her mind: for a moment, it was as if she was back in time again, looking at herself as Haku had disappeared.
But then she remembered his last words, spoken in her mind as he became one with the feathers which bore what remained of his essence. Those gentle words which seemed to have engraved themselves in her heart—those gentle words which she lived by whenever the pain and loneliness of losing him became too much to bear.
*Flashback*
"Chihiro…" his voice was soft and tender in her mind, so warm and comforting. "Chihiro…I kept my promise of meeting you again, even after all these years, didn't I? I will make that same promise to you once more…that we will meet again. No matter what world you're in; no matter what stands between us—I will come back, and I will find you again. I promise you, my beloved one."
*End flashback*
The girl smiled through her tears, her broken heart once knit together again by her beloved Haku's words. Yes, she thought as she turned her eyes towards the willow tree, staring straight at it from the spot between the thick trees where she had unconsciously walking to. We will meet again, Haku…I know you will keep your word again. After all…
"You're wrong." Chihiro spoke to her favorite willow tree, where she was somehow certain her unseen visitor was. "I haven't given up…and I never will. Never.
"I will never give up waiting for Haku…because I know he won't break his word to me. I know he'll keep his promise." Smiling broadly, the girl walked up to the tree until she was underneath its shade again before she continued to speak. "And besides…even if he can't come to me…I know we'll meet again…because then I'll go to him…to find him as he did me."
Still smiling that gentle and wide smile, Chihiro found that somehow, she could feel her invisible visitor smiling as well. A little surprised at the…correctness…that this strange feeling—that she would be able to know this stranger's emotions as well—felt to her, Chihiro resumed her search for her voice's speaker, suddenly burning with a breathless curiosity as to whom her unseen visitor could be.
A small early-summer breeze whispered to her through the rustling willow tree, causing her to look up…and when she did, Chihiro felt her heart stop momentarily.
Sitting on a willow branch, shaded by its thick leaves, was a young man with slightly dark hair and gentle moss-green eyes, wearing clothes made with a cloth of the purest white, outlined with emerald and sky-blue hems.
All the girl could do was gasp at the vision, motionless and unable to take her eyes off of the river spirit in flesh and blood, sitting before her in the human's world.
She could not believe her eyes—nor did she want to be deceived by them, lest it turn out to be merely a vision, or a fragrant of her imagination. Chihiro stepped back involuntarily as the young man jumped down the length of half the willow to land directly in front of her, only a few paces away. They both stood there, within reaching distance, and stared at each other—his eyes unwavering in the emotion that they held, hers searching. Finally, he smiled tenderly at her stunned expression and spoke, his gentle voice quiet.
"It's been so long."
Four simple words…four simple words that brought back so much memory—the same four words that the silver dragon had spoken to her when they had finally been reunited in the Majou no Sekai—the same four words which he had spoken to her then with indescribable emotion that had warmed her heart as it did now.
"Haku…" Chihiro managed to whisper to the boy before her, as if afraid that he would disappear if she spoke any louder. His only reaction was to continued to smile that especially tender smile which he seemed to have reserved just for her, as if he too, was afraid that she would disappear before his eyes if he did anything to disturb the silence that had come over the both of them. Somewhere in Chihiro's heart, the girl found that she knew—she just knew—that this had to be her Haku…the only one who could provoke these deep feelings from the very bottom of her soul and make her heart beat so much faster. With that reassurance in her mind, the girl felt herself grin, her eyes filling with her love for him and the tears of joy of seeing him again.
"It really is you!"
Not wanting to be separated from him for another moment longer, the girl jumped into his waiting arms and began to sob on his chest within his gratefully tight hold. Lifting her face so she could see him without loosening her grip on him—or his hold on her—Chihiro could see that the silver dragon's eyes were wet with emotion as well. Smiling gently, she reached up to wipe his tears for him at the same moment he reached down to wipe her tears. Laughing when they both realized what they were doing, they continued to hold tightly onto one another as they gazed deeply into each other's eyes—and saw in them the same unfathomable degree of love that they themselves held for the other, enjoying the simple joy of being together again.
"Say, Haku…" Chihiro whispered as the silver dragon leaned down to rest his forehead on hers.
"Hm…?" he asked, not wanting to break up the physical closeness they shared at the moment.
"You told you that you loved me…and I think that's wonderful!—but " Chihiro smiled mischievously before continuing, feeling the sharp intake of breath her companion and love had taken at the word but. "You never asked me how I felt about you."
Pulling back just enough to look her straight in the eye—and almost afraid of what he might find there—the river spirit saw a teasing laughter intermixed with the undoubtable love the girl held for him within them. Relaxing, Haku cocked his head to one side and pouted, deciding on playing her game and melting the girl's heart in the process.
"But…but I thought you… If you don't love me…then I might just have to disappear again." The nineteen human-years old silver dragon said in an innocent voice, trying to offset the girl he held in his arms into confessing to him her true feelings. However, Chihiro knew him all too well. Putting on a pout of her own she answered him sweetly, but tightened her arms around him all the same.
"Uh-uh…you wouldn't disappear again." Chihiro said to Haku as she pulled him closer to herself again. "I wouldn't let you…and you'd come back to me…because you promised, remember?"
Smiling, and knowing that he had lost, the silver dragon gave in to the girl before him and asked, trying to sound serious and fighting his urge to chuckle at the turn in their conversation. "Alright then…Ogino Chihiro…how do you feel about me?"
Her grin broadening, Chihiro pulled her Haku even closer to herself as she whispered on his lips ever so softly, the two of them lost to the world around them.
"I feel that whenever I'm with you…I'm whole again. Because I hold only half of me—because I'm incomplete without you. Whenever I'm with you…I know that everything will be alright, even if they aren't—because you're there…and that's all that matters to me. Because…"
She didn't get a chance to finish as Haku suddenly leaned forward, pressing his lips on hers in a prolonged kiss. Her knees threatened to buckle beneath her as she shivered at the sudden surge of emotion rushing through her body, setting her veins on fire. Smiling as she felt him tighten his hold on her once again, Chihiro pulled away just a bit to get a better look at him. At his quizzical gaze, Chihiro laughed softly, feeling suddenly giddy as she finished her sentence.
"Because I'm in love with you, Nigihayami Kohakunushi…I'm in love with you with all my heart and soul."
Then her mouth was on his again, his breath warmly mingling with her own as the hot sweetness from his lips raced through her body. Words were no longer necessary between the two lovers—they were connected, heart and body and soul—and they understood the deep emotions they felt for each other as they understood their own. For long moments they stayed like this, neither wanting to break up such indescribable feelings they felt right now.
Smiling as they broke off their kiss, their foreheads still pressed together and their lips still slightly brushing, Haku whispered gently to his beloved girl as he leaned in to kiss her again, as if never wanting to stop.
"I know…I know."
~*~ Owari ~*~
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*blinkblink* Wow…I can't believe it's really done…!!! There you have it, ladies and gentleman: the ending of The Day the Dream Ended, brought to you by yours truly ^^* Hopefully, you guys enjoyed reading it as much as I enjoyed writing it~!!
A big THANK YOU goes to EVERYONE who read/reviewed~!! *huggles* This being my first ficcy ever…each and every one of you reading this ficcy (and especially to those of you who reviewed…you guys rock~! ) mean sooo much more to me than you'll ever know~! Thanks for sticking by me and reading even though some chappies might've dragged on forever and even though there were times even I thought the ficcy would never end~!! ^^;;
And as for the creation of this chappie—I like happy endings…and usually the "happy" in "happy endings" doesn't come without the "sappy" parts…which this chappie seemed to major in =^^= But if you prefer the bittersweet ending, feel free to ignore this chappie…not like I can do anything to prevent you to, anyhow! But in either case…I do hope that you guys liked this chappie…after all, the genre was Action/Adventure/Romance, rite?? n.n
And anyhow…seems like there are always explanation and excuses for my ficcy, aren't here?? Looks like this one isn't gunna be an exception, either XP Hey, it's good to keep a tradition going, you know?? Alrite…here goes:
1./ I dunt quite remember how the seasons in Japan goes (as in what season it is in Japanese when it's summer for us in North America)…but, for the sake of this story…let's just say that it's like Canadian/American weather, shall we?? That means that I wanted to imply in this chappie that summer was finally here, and thus the trees have all just barely reached green…etc. Let's just say, early June, shall we?? ^^* As if that's important…but guess it's always good to know, ne?? XD
2./ The "excuse" the Oginos gave for Chihiro's disappearance for a few days (yes, she was gone for a few days, as far as I'm concerned ^^) deserves a reference to InuYasha…Kagome's grandpa had used the same excuse for Kagome's extended absences at school, but he was more creative than I was and came up with a different disease everytime she had to leave her world ^^;;
I guess that's about it… *sniff sniff* Thanx again ever so much for reading…and dunt forget to leave a review this time~! After all, this is the last time I'm gunna hear you guys tell me what you think of my ficcy…which is especially important for its ending~! =^^=
~Aqua Sunshine ^^*
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~* WAIT~!!! *~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
*panting as I ran to catch up with ppl leaving* I almost forgot~! *blushes* As a special "thank you" for everyone reading my ficcy till the very very very end (^^*), I'm putting in a lil…preview, of sorts, of a new Spirited Away fic that I've just started~! Hopefully, you'll like what little bit you see here, and come back to read the rest when I post it~!! So here is it, a sneak previewed of my newest ficcy, premiering at a fanfiction.net page soon near you =^^=
Summary of fic: The fading melodies of memories. The agent of Time, intent on washing away emotions. Four years after her return to the human world, Chihiro finds herself forgetting…forgetting about the Majou no Sekai…and forgetting about Haku…
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Across Time and Worlds / Dearest Unreachable You
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Kohaku,
I'm here writing you another letter…pathetic, aren't I? After all…it's not like these letters will ever reach you, no matter how much I may wish them to. I know they won't…and yet…I can't help it but keep writing them to you—to me, you see…this is sort of like my way of reaching out to you. Deep down inside…I think I'm hoping that if I reach long and hard enough…then maybe someday these letters will find a way of reaching you. *blushes* Don't laugh at me, Haku-kun…when I'm so far apart from you…when I miss you this much…when all I can do is pray and wish…
But…it's too bad my wishes—even if I am to wish with my entire heart—won't find a way to get to you. I don't think even wishing could cross over dimensions and time to reach out to you—to bring you my message that I…
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Okay, so that wasn't very exciting…but that was only the first 2 paragraphs of the ficcy…so please come and check it out when I post it~!! And again, thank you ever so much for reading and reviewing my fic XP
~Aqua Sunshine ^^*
