Three days had passed since their medical emergency. Haku stood vigil, sitting beside the bed. His hand clutched Chihiro's, daring death to try and take her from him, taunting the mysterious. Though she was still unconscious, Chihiro had been growing somewhat stronger every day: her breathing mellowed the first morning; color began to come back to her pale cheeks the next; her skin was beginning to warm to the touch one this day. Zeniba had explained to them all—Lin, No-Face, and himself—that the unicorn horn had grazed her heart, avoiding piercing it by a fraction of a millimeter. Still, she'd lost so much blood and when she awoke…if she awoke…she'd be very weak and was unlikely to be herself for a very long while.
"She's likely to either be very clingy, or else want to be alone most of the time," she'd said, then gone on to say that most of these effects were caused due to the fact that it had been a black unicorn horn.
Lin scoffed. "White horn, black sworn, golden corn. What difference does it make?"
Zeniba rounded on her immediately. "Get this, Missy," she snapped, "and get it now. Unicorns are only capable of having horns of three colors naturally: white, black, and golden. The majority of the animals are born with golden. These kinds have no unnatural magical residue whatsoever.
"Unicorns with white horns are rare, rarer yet are black. White is the purest color, therefore made up of purely positive magic. Should she have been pierced by a white mare or stallion, she'd have lost no blood nor would she be in any pain. She'd be fine.
"But she was attacked by a unicorn with a black horn. Black is full of evil, the wickedest color. No amount of magic or healing will help her now save her own body's natural healing abilities. Especially since it was a unicorn that attacked her; unicorn's magic is far more powerful than any other kind."
"That's why you haven't even bothered trying to use magical means to replace the blood she lost?" Haku nodded with understanding.
Lin had been quiet after that.
Every day Lin bathed Chihiro in a shallow tub of warm water, scrubbed her hair clean, and redressed the wound in her hip. She also made sure that the child had a clean kimono to wear every day.
And every day Haku sat on the bed beside her, holding her hand or stroking her hair. He fed her daily, patiently spooning soup, broth, tea and water into her mouth. Even when she was in someone else's care, he was constantly at her side, always underfoot and in the way. Mainly it was just the two of them, Lin and Haku, taking care of Chihiro, though Zeniba oversaw them.
Finally Zeniba, fed up with Haku always being in the way and Lin jumping at shadows, stormed from the cottage that morning, muttering something about gathering herbs and medicine.
Haku stared softly down at Chihiro, watching her sleep.
"Hey, kiddo," called Lin, popping her head into the room. "I'm outta here. No-Face and I are going to Crystal Falls on Zeniba's train pass to go shopping. Besides, little one there needs some more clothes—mine are much too big for her."
"Okay." Sunlight filtered in through the window, casting soft light on Chihiro's still face. He watched the play on the shadows and light and sighed. Inside he ached to see her smile.
"We'll be gone for a few days," Lin continued. "Until Zeniba comes back, you'll have to cook Sen's food and wash her hair tomorrow. Don't forget her tea. Haku, are you listening to me?"
"Yes, yes, yes," he said distractedly. "Going shopping. Cook Chihiro's food, wash her hair, give her medicine. Got it. Bye, Lin."
The girl shrugged and picked up her wicker basket on the way out the door. "Come on, No-Face, or I'm leaving without you."
"Uh… uh…" No-Face came out of his room, a comical floppy pink hat draped over his mask. Lin rolled her eyes and walked out the door. "Be back in a few days, Haku."
No-Face picked up the gold pouch and followed her out the door and down the road. The swinging lamp-creature hopped after them.
"Oh, no, Mister," he heard Lin roar from outside, "you're staying here." The lantern-creature followed them anyway.
Darkness crept in as hours marched out. It was late evening before Haku realized it. Loath to leave her side as he was, he figured she'd like her food and went into the kitchen to prepare it. Every few minutes he'd step back and look around the corner through the open door at her. She never moved.
When their dinner was prepared, he set her soup and tea on one side of the tray and his rice and water on the other, picked up the tray, and walked back into their room. His pallet was folded up in the corner neatly. At night he laid it out beside hers and fell asleep clutching her hand.
Haku placed the tray beside her and moved up against the wall. Gently he pulled her into a half sitting up position in his arms, her head supported on his shoulder and his arm around her shoulders. Spooning up a bit of the steaming soup, he gently blew on it to cool it and let it trickle down her throat. When half of the soup had disappeared, she stopped cooperating.
"Come on, little love," he murmured. "Just a bit more, please? For me? Please, Chihiro, you have to eat." After much cajoling and coaxing he managed a few more swallows of soup down her throat, but no more.
"All right, Chihiro, you don't have to eat anymore." He hugged her briefly. "Just a bit of tea, then I'll let you rest."
She swallowed about half the cup of the medicated tea when he put it down and eased her back down on her pallet. Lightly he traced his fingertips down her cheek, then set about eating his now-cold dinner. As he watched her sleep, he also finished off hers.
Moonlight crept across the floor slowly. Soon it spotlighted Chihiro's serene face. Suddenly the exhaustion from the past days caught up with Haku. He wasn't sure if he could stay awake long enough to drag out his own pallet, so he lay down beside Chihiro on hers. Arm tucked around her waist, he whispered good night and was asleep in seconds.
She was floating away on a cloud. The pain was gone, leaving a numb nothingness behind. Sounds, lights, and tastes blended together and swirled away from her. It was like being suspended underwater—there was something there, and yet there was nothing. Oh, how she loved that feeling.
The breeze on her cheek cooled her heated senses and slowly brought her back to the real world. Chihiro rolled onto her side, winced with a low moan, and continued onto her stomach. Slowly she opened her brown-green eyes.
Everything was hazy-blurry, surrounded in fog. Her mind was slow, making everything worse. With a sigh she drifted back to the nothingness.
The sudden noise roused him from a deep sleep. It had just felt so right holding her that he'd allowed himself a deep, comfortable sleep instead of just the light stages he'd been in for the past half-week.
Haku opened his eyes and blinked. She'd moved!
Abruptly he sat upright and lightly shook her shoulder.
"Chihiro? Chihiro, are you awake?" When she didn't respond, he switched tactics. "Sen? Wake up, Sen, we're going to go rescue your parents." Still no answer.
But she'd been awake, or at least moved out of this coma-like state at one point or another, hadn't she? Or was someone playing a cruel joke on him?
Slowly, reluctantly, he stood and walked out of the room. "Zeniba? Zeniba, are you back? Lin? No-Face?"
No one answered his call. Shrugging, he went back into the room and sat down beside Chihiro. She was lying on her stomach now, facing him, with her arms crossed under the pillow. Her face was peacefully calm. He smiled softly at his friend.
"Sleep well, my little one." His hand briefly traced through her hair, then he stood and went about the chores.
