After carefully wrapping her up from waist to chest under her shirt with strips torn from his own shirt, Haku slowly rose to his feet, cradling the fallen Chihiro in his arms. Her head fell back limply, pale as death. His face was dry, his eyes burning with anger. Every trace of pain and fatigue was gone, destroyed by concern and hatred. Slowly he turned away from Onikisu, still kneeling, and walked through the mists until he was gone. Onikisu stared after him, still numb from what had happened, what he had done.
A black light rose up around him, reflected by the obscure mist to make a sort of black-light room. An image of Yubaba projected from the black onyx at his throat. The fat witch hadn't changed at all over the five years, and was still just as amoral. Her nose as almost as long as her head was large and it stuck out of her head at a funny angle. She was short with straw-colored stringy hair and beady black eyes and thick light blue-violet eye shadow. A red dot was fixed right between her eyes. Gaudy golden baubles hung from her ears and somehow tied together her furrowed face and ballooned blue dress complete with half a dozen white lacy petticoats.
"Onikisu," she snapped irritably, "What are you doing? What happened?"
"She's… Gods, Yubaba, I think I killed her…"
"Is Sen dead yet?"
"No, not quite…"
"Bring the girl and the boy to me—"
"I didn't kill Haku yet, Master."
Her eyes went wide. "You didn't…? Then why are you still alive?"
Onikisu shrugged. "I think he was too worried about Chihiro to deal with me."
"No matter. Kill the dragon and bring them both to me before the girl dies." Then she was gone.
No… I can't. Chihiro is my friend, and I almost killed her… Onikisu rocked back and forth, shivering hard. I killed my friend…
A deeper voice sounded at the back of his conscious mind and he felt the star-shaped birthmark on his forehead that proclaimed him a unicorn while he was in human form burn. And it's too bad you didn't. Now, while he's vulnerable, get the boy.
No! I can't kill Haku! He's already about to murder me for what you did to Chihiro!
I? What I did to Chihiro? Who's the one with the blood on his hands—and horn? Besides, his grief would make him weak, his hatred make him vulnerable. Get him.
NO!
Weeping silently, Onikisu fought the battle between himself and rocked back and forth, wondering how on earth Chihiro would ever be able to forgive him… if she lived long enough to have that chance.
Haku didn't know where he was going, just kept walking. His skin felt itchy and dry where her blood had dried while she'd been holding him in his dragon form. He could feel Chihiro growing colder in his arms, heavier. My god, she's dying, and I don't know what to do. Think, Haku, think…
Suddenly an idea came to him. Hurrying to complete a few calculations in his head, he nodded to himself. She's close enough. He searched around for a clearing big enough and finally found one. Gently he placed Chihiro on the ground, lying her arms right against her sides, then backed away. As quickly as he could he transformed into his dragon form and hopped over to her still form. Dragons were made for the air and water, but being grounded made them bulky, awkward. Cautiously he picked Chihiro up, mindful of his talons, and rose above the mists.
Eyes peeled for the cottage, he wove through the air. The only thing he could see, however was the mist—mist and trees. He began to feel the panic beginning to creep around him, chill him, and draw him down.
Where is it, where is it, where is it? Thoughts melded through his mind, blending and folding together into one mass of uncertainty and confusion.
He took a deep breath and glanced around. Usually the feel of the cool air blowing on his cheeks calmed him, but not now. Often the sight of the stars and the moon soothed him, but not this time. The wind was too cold. He tucked Chihiro closer to his body. The sky was too dark. He held onto her tighter.
Calm down, Haku. Think this through. You know where the isha lives; you've been there tons of times for Yubaba's baby. There, Kourui can take care of Chihiro while Isha takes care of you. Stay calm, Haku. She needs you to be calm.
Soon the mist began to deplete and he scrutinized the forest below more closely. Where, where, where… No!
Jerking to a sudden stop in midair, the dragon snorted exasperatedly and stared closely at the ground. Zeniba? No, I can't be close to her; the Isha lives across the world from her! Sen doesn't have that much time—but can we trust Zeniba once more?
Deciding he had no other choice, Haku slowly descended to the ground and into the mists.
The windows rattled, and he heard Zeniba's voice, so much like Yubaba's, call out, "Well, what do you want?"
Gently Haku placed Chihiro on the ground, hopped back a few feet, and changed back into his human form. He was scooping Chihiro up into his arms when he heard the door open. Barely could he make out the rectangle of light pooling from the open door.
"Hello?" A familiar voice came muffled through the mists. Haku's spirits rose.
"Lin? Lin, is that you?"
"Haku?" A form was quickly solidifying from the fog and Chihiro's friend from the bathhouse was visible. Her brown hair was now shorter, but here eyes were every bit as bright and cunning. "Haku, what are you doing here? Where's—what's that?"
"No time to explain." He brushed past the startled girl, clutching Chihiro close to him. Lin was barely able to catch a glimpse of the other girl's face before Haku swept her away.
"Is that—"
"Where is Zeniba?" he cut in.
"She's inside…"
"What are you ding here instead of at the bathhouse?"
"I left there, squirt." She followed him inside. "Zeniba, we have guests."
The kindly old woman, a spitting image of her twin Yubaba, bustled from the kitchen. She smiled kindly when she saw him. "Haku, dear, lovely to see you…"
He walked past her without even acknowledging her. With a wide sweep of his hand he cleared everything off the table. The sudden noise made Chihiro stir but did not awaken her. As gently as he could he stretched her out on the table.
"Haku, what are you—Chihiro?" Zeniba came up behind him, the crankiness leaving her voice as she recognized her adoptive granddaughter. "What is she doing here?"
"Sen?" Lin came up behind Zeniba and Haku, peeking over their heads. She stood almost a foot and a half taller than the both of them. Lightly she reached out to shake her friend awake, but recoiled at the cold touch of her skin. "She's so cold. Haku, what's wrong with her?"
No-Face slid around to the other side of the table. He was the first one to notice the blood soaking through the pads and Chihiro's clothing. "Uhn… uhn…"' Gesturing furiously, he moaned loudly.
Five years had gone by since Chihiro, then known as Sen, had saved Haku's life and No-Face had moved in with Zeniba. She was now well-versed in his grunts and groans and immediately looked to where she was pointing. Her face instantly drained of color as she bustled around the cabin hurriedly. Over her shoulder she snapped at Haku, "Why didn't you say she was hurt? What happened?"
Before he could respond, Lin burst out, "She's bleeding? What cut her?"
"A unicorn's horn," Haku said grimly. "A black unicorn's horn."
Lin gasped and Zeniba halted in her movements for a moment then redoubled her efforts. "Then we must hurry to save our friend's life. She's lucky I've been around for awhile and know a little about these things."
"Should I send for the isha?" Lin asked worriedly.
"No time. Lin, prepare the bed. Warm the pallets and blankets. Haku, set some water on to heat up. No-Face, stoke the fires." The sorceress pointed at Chihiro's prone body and the small girl was lifted into the air. "This is going to be a long and tricky process. She might not make it, I might as well tell you now."
"No!" Haku choked out. Icy panic was gripping his heart. "She can't die, Zeniba! She can't!"
"For her sake, pull yourself together," the witch snapped. "This is going to require everyone's focus and complete attention. I don't know how bad her injuries are, but the fact that it was a black unicorn's horn makes it bad enough. We must hurry…"
The lamps burned bright all night long that night. Sounds of muted panic and bustle drifted outside through the settling mist. The creature outside, made mostly of a lamppost and a foot, hopped up into the window. When it saw what had happened, its light dimmed considerably.
The question on everyone's mind was the same: Would Chihiro live to see morning?
~*~S/N~*~ Okay, I've been using some Japanese words up till now, so I guess I'll tell you what they mean. If I miss any, please let me know and I'll define them in later chapters.
Chapter 1:
Rei: Spirit
Chapter 2:
Onikisu: onyx
Chapter 3:
Osanago: little child; little one
Hyouden: snow
Chapter 5:
Isha: doctor
Kourui: bitter tears; tears of blood
