A/N: Told ya, I'm on a roll. Here's another one for you guys! Enjoy.


Chapter 14: The Stand

He curled his body around Chihiro as they came crashing down to earth. Tree branches sliced into his flesh as he plummeted through the tops. He roared in pain after each piercing; Chihiro whimpered after each growl of pain.

The dark laugh rumbled over the land as Haku hit the ground hard. Too hard, in fact. The force unraveled his body from Chihiro, causing her to fly into the air. He couldn't move fast enough to protect her from falling to the ground. With a yelp, she rolled and hit a rock with her head.

Panic seized Haku when he realized that she wasn't moving. Quickly, not caring for his own safety, he transformed into a man. Crawling, he rushed to her side, pulling Chihiro into his lap. With the sleeve of his shirt, he wiped the pool of blood forming on her forehead.

"Chihiro!" he yelled while shaking her, "Chihiro!"

She made no response. Hell, he couldn't think. Normally, he could keep a cool head, but not this time. Too much panic. Too much grief.

"Hahahaha!" the SpiritEater laughed from somewhere behind him

Haku's eyes widened as he quickly turned his head to spot his enemy. The creature seemed nowhere in site. Haku's hands tightened on Chihiro. Suddenly, a blur of darkness sped toward him.

"I see you, Haku!"


She'd wandered off from her parents at the restaurant. Really, how could they eat so much food? They hadn't even paid for it. That seemed so rude.

Whatever. Let them get into trouble.

It was weird being in a town that looked so empty. The atmosphere felt a little spooky to her. The buildings looked nice and welcoming, at least. Maybe these were weird people who didn't like being out during the day, she thought. Maybe that's why the streets were so empty.

She came to a large building. It seemed like the centerpiece of the place, though it was off to the back. Chihiro gave it a look over.

"A bathhouse?" she said to herself

Yes. That's what it was. A really elaborate looking bathhouse. Curious, she continued closer.

She stood on the edge of the bridge leading to the bathhouse. It was a pretty steep drop. Her eyes looked to the tunnel leading of to somewhere when a train popped out of it.

"It's the train." She said excitedly, then ran to the opposite edge of the bridge to get a better look at it.

Something caught her attention. A feeling. It gripped her so suddenly that she couldn't help looking in the direction of the sensation.

Her eyes met his with the shock of familiarity. It was like seeing someone on the street that you used to know. But she didn't know the boy staring back at her. Did she?

"You have to leave . . . Now!" he said to her

She tried to protest, or at least question why she had to rush off. At the same time, deep down, she knew she shouldn't question him. She jumped from the rails of the bridge with confusion. The boy promised to hold "them" off, whoever they were as she ran down the path she came.

Fear gripped her as spirits began to appear around her. She yelped and screamed as they crept from the shadows and inside the abandoned buildings. What was going on?

"Mom! Dad!" Chihiro screamed for her parents, but they never came.

She retraced her steps back to the restaurants her parents decided to eat in. Chihiro ran up to her father, pulling on him with her tiny hands, begging for him to get up and go. When he turned to her . . . he wasn't her father at all. He was a massive pig.

Gasping, she released him, taking a step back. A creature hidden in darkness swatted at the massive pig until he roared and collapsed to the ground.

Roared? Pigs don't roar. They squeal. So . . . why . . . ?

Chihiro's eyes fluttered open, though she wished they hadn't. Immediately, a horrific pain throbbed her head, radiating from a point on her forehead. She reached up, feeling something wet there. She brought her hand back to her face to take a look. Blood. What happened?

Roaring sounded again, and this time, not from her dream. Her eyes, though her vision was blurry, turned skyward. A long white thing was attacking a big black thing. She squinted her eyes to get a better look at the scene. She gasped. Was that thing the SpiritEater? And it was fighting . . .

"Haku!"

Haku and the SpiritEater twirled in the dance of battle. The dragon snapped at the figure, biting into its spiritual flesh. The SpiritEater roared at him, swatting at Haku with its tentacles in retaliation. Haku dodged the creature over and over. Unfortunately, he miscalculated a movement. The SpiritEater tossed Haku into a tree with brutal force, slicing the treetop in half.

Chihiro screamed as Haku smashed into the tall oak tree. How long had the pair been at this? She remembered it was nearing dusk. Now it was night with a brightly glowing moon. Haku must have been exhausted by now.

"Haku! PLEASE!" she screamed out into the night

However, it was not Haku who noticed first. The SpiritEater turned its glowing yellow eyes on Chihiro with a cruel chuckle.

"OOOh, lunch! I am starved!" the thing said as it descended on Chihiro.

Chihiro gasped. Her legs wouldn't move her and her head was twirling so much, she felt ill.

"NO!" she screamed as she tried to crawl away

Haku slammed into the side of the SpiritEater, pushing it toward the trees. It half-crashed, half-phased through them. The use of his body weakened Haku. The dragon collapsed to the ground with a thump.

Chihiro moved as quickly as possible to Haku. Now that she was so close, she could see the bruises under his white scales, the deep gashes, and the look of absolute exhaustion of him. If he didn't stop, he was going to die.

"Get out of here, Haku. Please!" she begged him

Haku's green eyes looked almost glossy, like he was about to cry. Did dragons cry? She shook the brief thought out of her mind as Haku growled at her. She turned around to see a tentacle coming for her. Before it could reach her, Haku used his tail to whack her out of the way as gently as he could. She collapsed to the ground.

The tentacle reached for a new target. It grabbed Haku's tail, picking him up by it, then used it to slam him to the ground twice. The dragon made a sound similar to a human's whimper.

When Haku collapsed to the ground that final time, his body forced him back into a human form. His body was black and blue from head to toe. Cuts and bruises littered his perfect pale skin.

Weak and shaking, Haku used the grass below his fallen body to pull toward Chihiro. She seemed so far away. He couldn't protect her from that distance.

"Chihiro, RUN!" he said with a shaking voice

The SpiritEater closed on her quickly. She couldn't move fast enough to avoid it. The thing wrapped its tentacle around her body, squeezing tight. Her eyes fluttered shut as her breath stopped and heart slowed. Chihiro felt her soul seeping through her skin into the creature.

"NO!" Haku screamed. "NOOOOOOO!"

Finding a second wind, he charged at the creature. Before he got to it, the SpiritEater swept Haku into another tree. His human body handled that much worse than his dragon form. Haku fell to his knees as tears streamed down his face.

"What, Haku, is this flesh useful to you?" the SpiritEater said cruelly, "Ohh, is this the 'one,' Haku? The one you sold your soul for." It laughed, "Isn't that just a pity?"

Haku's heart broke. As her soul filled the SpiritEater, he felt his heart fading away. All his struggles . . . all his happiness . . . all for nothing. Nothing.

If there is any mercy left in the world, take me with her, he sobbed inwardly.