Standard Disclaimer Here.

I'm not even going to try to estimate how many chapters are left. But one thing's for certain, there's gonna be a pretty big fight towards the end. Chihiro gets po- Oh well, you guys'll find out later! n.n

The Imperfections We Weave

Chapter 8-Who Can Keep A Secret?

Just like Karu had said, Chihiro was there.

Kneeling with her face in her hands, crying. Something deep within me hurt at that moment; whether it was seeing her there like that or the knowledge of what I'd done.

But it wasn't my fault, though! I honestly thought that I'd never see her again.

I didn't know what to say, but I had to stop her crying. So I said the first thing that came to mind, the first thing that I had ever said to her.

"You shouldn't be here," My words were swept up by the raging rain and wind and carried over to her.

She tensed and her head slowly inched upwards.

"You're...," She stopped and stared at me. "You're...real..."

Her words were like a blow to the stomach. How long had she suffered, during the day and at night as she dreamed? I hurt both of us very badly.

'It was your fault.'

"And you're…here," Was the only thing I could think to blurt out.

"Kohaku." The way Chihiro said the word made it sound like more of an endearment than my name. She turned away from my gaze, her almost waist length, shiny brown hair shading her entire face. I knew what was coming; I saw the tears that slid down her colored cheeks, even as she tried to hide them.

"I thought that I'd never see you again," She whispered meekly.

I couldn't stand to be away from her any longer. Even if the tears were of happiness, all the pain and heartache inbetween…

I reached out to her, grabbing her chin with my thumb and forefinger, forcing her to look at me. I had so much to say to her, so many words that I had lost and couldn't find when the moment came.

I faltered, but trusted my soul to say all the right things through my eyes.

"I'll never leave you again, Chihiro. Never," I promised, rushing into a hug. She sobbed into my neck and shoulder awkwardly as I rubbed her back incessantly.

"I'll stay with you forever," I said again, trying to calm her.

It took quite some time, but the heaves and sobs slowed and I pulled her away from me gently.

She still had the purple rubber band that Zeniba (A/N: Hope I spelled that right.) and No-Face had made for her, I saw. She wasn't anything like in my dream, a totally different person. Her face still had some of the chubbiness from when she was younger, and her cheeks were the palest of pinks. She was small in stature, maybe a little more than five feet. It seemed at least half of her height came from her long legs. She was curvy; not too curvy, but not so little that she looked like a box.

And her eyes held the essence of life, held the very embodiment of her happiness.

I felt my eyebrows come together as her long bangs moved enough that I could see her forehead.

"What happened?" I asked her, reaching up to touch a small gash on her forehead.

'Stupid, Kohaku, stupid!'

She shied away from my touch, and I reprimanded myself for even trying. No one likes to get a fresh wound fingered.

"I slipped on a rock in the river bed…," Chihiro said quietly.

I looked down at her lips, and found they were a light, icy blue in color. I had momentarily forgotten that she was only human.

I grabbed her clammy hand and lifted her up. "You'll catch a cold if you stay out here much longer."

I walked her towards the entrance of the Aburaya, but felt a falter in her step.

"Who-?" She stopped in mid-sentence.

Damnit.

She had seen that thing.

"Nevermind," She decided quickly.

If there was one thing I'd do, it would be protecting her from that creature's darkness. The disease of his words and the sick feeling of his wicked mind fusing with yours.

"Are you sure?" I asked gravely.

"Yes…" She said in a hushed voice. I could sense her nervousness, which grew when all eyes were on her within the bath house.

But the silence didn't last long as Rin rounded the corner.

"SEN!" She blared. I looked around, shooting glares that promised death at random people, as the room exploded with noisy whispers.

"Rin!" Chihiro yelled back, though not as stridently. She was probably tired from before.

I listened into their conversation:

Rin's hands went to Chihiro's shoulders after releasing her from a hug.

"Wow, how long has it been? Look at you! You've grown so much," She blurted. "Quite a bump you've got there."

"Yeah, I sort of slipped in the river bed and hit my head," She explained. "It's been around five years in the human world. How long has it been here?"

Not even five years yet. Not too bad. I, myself, had a fourteen year old body that I could change to any age if I wished.

"Really, that long? It's only been a couple of weeks here," Rin commented.

She regarded me over Chihiro's shoulder, and I gave her a 'hurry up' look.

She sobered quickly and said, "You have to go see Yubaba!"

I saw Rin hook her right arm through Chihiro's left, and walked over to me. I took the hint I was supposed to do the same with her other arm. We undoubtedly looked stupid; maybe it was a human thing.

We burst into Yubaba's office after climbing exactly 259 stairs. I know because I counted every miserable step.

The witch looked up in surprise.

Looked up from Karu. I didn't see why he was still there.

"You! What are you doing back here? Seems you have a knack at finding trouble, don't you, little girl?" She hissed bitterly.

"I-It's you!" Chihiro pointed at Karu. "You're the guy I saw in the window from the bridge!"

'So this is your little flower, Kohaku? Pretty one, isn't she? Wouldn't it be a shame if…'

'You won't touch her, Karu,' I countered ferociously, stepping between the two, only slightly so that Chihiro wouldn't notice.

We were interrupted by Yubaba's grating voice: "Yes. Karu alerted us of your arrival."

Chihiro turned to her and gave her a vicious look. I couldn't help but laugh on the inside as Yubaba shrank in her seat.

'She has power, Kohaku. Will you exploit it before she exploits you?' Karu attracted my attention again.

'Chihiro would never do that! She's better than that. She's better than you will ever be!'

"Karu…?" Chihiro questioned out of curiosity. I was scooting closer and closer to her, only succeeding in alerting her to the edginess of the room.

'We'll see. What happened to her forehead? Did you do that, Kohaku? Hurting people again, are we?'

'No. You're wrong.'

"Hmm, yes, my name," He purred out loud blandly and rose from the armchair he was sitting in. "I think that it would be a good idea if I left…Don't you, Kohaku?"

Damned mocking bastard!

I felt fingernails digging into my palms and realized that they were my own. A mild growl could barely be heard resonating from deep within me.

I was about ready to rip Karu's throat out when he left the room quickly; was it just me or did he seem afraid?

It was deathly quiet then. Worse than deathly.

"What's going on?" Chihiro panicked, head swiveling everywhere.

"Nothing," I whispered, but didn't think she heard me, or anyone for that matter.

'Wouldn't it be horrible if she found out, Kohaku!' Crowed Karu mischievously within my mind.

Scene

End of Chapter Eight. Yep, that was fun. Chapter Nine'll be around soon. Review now.