Haku fought the cocoon of blankets, trying to free himself. The bedding seemed to come alive, however, and wrap itself around him more tightly for all his struggles, tangling him in his terror. Wild thoughts ensnared him while his mind played horrifying movies before his eyes. What if something terrible had happened to her? How could he have let this happen, while she'd been in his arms, supposedly safe and sound?
I'll never forgive myself, he thought, if something's happened to her.
Finally he struggled his way out of the quilting and he stumbled to his feet, staggering to the doorway. It was closed. Now he knew something was wrong. He'd gotten into the habit of leaving it open so that the breeze could circulate into the room, cooling it as well as refreshing the stale indoor air.
When Haku tried to pull open the door, he slipped on one of the blankets and ended up sprawled out on the floor. The door slammed closed again. There was a shattering noise from further inside the house. Blushing furiously and rubbing his nose, Haku scrambled back to his feet and yanked the door open.
There was no one there.
Stealthily but quickly he crept down the hall, pressed against the wall and keeping to the shadows. Noises were coming from the kitchen—had someone broken in, kidnapped the sleeping girl, and then tried to ransack the home?
Reaching the door, he looked through the distorted glass. He could see the blurry shape of a person moving about inside the kitchen, but nothing definite. The person looked small and had slow almost lazy motions. They were crouching on the floor beside the cabinets, poking at the floor.
Slowly inching the door open, Haku peeked around the wooden frame to see inside the dimly lit kitchen. It was well past midnight, the only illumination in the room being a pale shaft of moonlight from the skylight above them and a candle lit on the table. The intruder was half-crouched half-sitting on the floor, their back turned to him. Dark hair was cut to about the length he used to wear his, just barely long enough to pull into a ponytail. A dark silk tunic covered the prowler's body, tapering down into soft pants, both of which Haku recognized as his own. The trespasser was reaching for something spilled on the floor, slowly picking up each piece.
Haku slipped into the room silently then loudly slammed the door behind him. The intruder glanced up sharply, then gasped and dropped the piece of whatever-it-was he was picking up. Haku noted that the scrap was stained crimson before the intruder whirled around, staggering to his feet and into the shadows.
It was not a male standing before him, but a female clutching her hand to her stomach. Dark eyes opened wide, the person stumbled back a bit. The way her eyes kept darting told him that she couldn't really see him.
"Who are you?" he boomed out. "What have you done with Sen?"
"Se… Haku?" The voice was soft, almost pleading. It was totally alien, and yet… somehow familiar.
Tilting his head to the side and being sure to stay in the shadows, Haku answered, "Step into the light."
Slowly she did as she was told, head bowed. Still, he noted the achingly familiar face and almond eyes. Taking a shaking step toward her, he whispered, "Chihiro?"
Glancing up at him, she smiled briefly. "Haku." Her voice softened still more. Suddenly she winced and held her hand a bit closer to herself.
He was over at her side in an instant, gently but firmly pulling her it away and into the light. Warm liquid stuck to his skin. Noting the deep gash, he looked up at her sharply. "What did you do?"
"Y-you startled me," she stammered, wincing as he nudged the cut, "I dropped the pot and then cut myself cleaning it up."
Suddenly he noticed her swaying a bit on her feet. Her eyes were slowly sliding in and out of focus. Scooping her up into his arms, he tisked, "What are you doing, getting up?" Not really annoyed, he hugged her close. "Gods, Chihiro, I was so scared." As he carried her back to the bedroom, he buried his face in her hair.
Eyes closed, she snuggled up closer to him. "Why? And I need to clean up that mess, Haku…"
"Hush." He smiled gently at her and squeezed her gently. "I'll clean it up once you are back in bed. And I was scared because…" His voice trailed off, and when he again spoke, it was terribly soft. "We weren't sure if you were going to wake up." Shifting her over to one arm so he could open the door with the other, he nuzzled her cheek. "You had us all worried, Chihiro."
"We? Us?" She fought down the urge to blush. "Who? Where… are we?"
"Zeniba's home." Very gently he set her down on the pallet and pulled the blankets up over her legs. "Lie down, little one. I'll bring in some of the tea you wanted."
"I'm fine, Haku." She struggled to stand, then sighed and placed her head in her hands as a wave of dizziness assaulted her. "Okay, so maybe I'm not fine."
Kneeling beside her, Haku wrapped one arm around her shoulders. "It'll be all right. I promise."
A faint whistling came from the front of the house. Chihiro slapped a hand to her forehead. "I forgot. I put another tea kettle on the stove when I broke the other."
"It's all right. I'll go get your tea. You stay put." He stood and smiled down at her.
"All right." Chihiro nodded, then pulled her knees up to her chest and wrapped her arms around them, watching him go.
Haku's heart felt light as the air he breathed as he let the tea steep. She was all right—she would be all right. He carried the pale blue tray into the room and set it on the floor beside the pallet. Chihiro had fallen asleep waiting for him. Lightly he kissed her forehead and tucked the blankets securely around her.
"Sleep well, little love."
He put the tray and everything on it away, then pulled out his pallet beside the sleeping girl and went to sleep himself.
Something important has happened… I must go. But my mission is not yet complete, I cannot return… I have to end this now, once and for all.
