"I can't take it anymore.... I can't.."
Aku stared admiringly at the old monk before him. His head now bald and the wrinkles sagging with upset.
"Master, you can. You are strong. The god of the Kohaku River is in you, remember?"
The weak man peered up at Aku with bright green eyes rimmed with a deep need of solace.
"Aku...please...I can't continue..."
Aku bowed his head in anger. What has Kira done now to make him let go of his soul so?
"Master, you taught me never to be a coward, how can you-"
The Monk lifted his own head in returning force and watched him with large slitted eyes.
"And I expect you to be true to that motto even after I perish." He stated. It was all that simple. The conversation was over. And as much as Aku's pride banged up against him, he refused to let his master down by disrespecting him on his decisions.
He stood abruptly and bowed. Taking the hint, the monk closed his eyes and smiled. His still strong teeth shining white with all its might.
"Aku, you must continue to live for me. You are young. And I no longer am. Please...do not fight against my wishes anymore. I will not last much longer, please just fulfill the very few I have left." Aku remained bowed and frozen. Standing back up stiffly his face was grim.
"And the girl?" he swallowed.
The man sighed. "what girl?" Aku shook his head and walked to the entrance.
"The one you have been waiting for since before you were human...."
The monk's face paled. Eyes sagged and a sudden weighing of the bones worstened.
Silence.
An eerie silence that chilled Aku's very senses. He snorted and left swiftly. The monk rubbed his eyes with his sleeves and ended up covering his face from the pain of the erosion of tears.
"Wake up, Chihiro." Aku managed through a tightened jaw. But all she did was stir on the floor.
He watched her breathe softly and slowly. Even more silence.
He kneeled by her and brushed her bangs with his fingers. A sigh escaped his lips and his body fell down into a lazy sitting position.
"Haku..." she mumbled and smiled. Pressing her forehead against his hand and rubbing it back and forth.
His breathing stopped. Haku....Haku.......she called him Haku.....
Snatching his hand away he crawled to a corner and leaned his burning face against the cool sliding doors.
"Its ok Aku, it'll be all right..." whispered the woman that looked like Yubaba as she passed by him. Behind her was Rin. Tired, she looked over to him and continued walking without a word.
'Could things shake up anymore?????' he cried in his mind as he closed his eyes.