Six bloody years is a long time in a cage.

Even for an immortal.

Haku (or Kohaku, if you prefer) lay trapped in an earth cage. Forced to crawl in the dirt, he spent hours investigating the tunnels he inhabited, always searching for a way out that magic did not block. For the young river god it was almost unbearable. He was even beneath the worms that slunk below the surface, but at least they had a job to do.

His body was even beginning to betray him, but the eternal darkness denied him the right to visually see that. No longer did his coat shine with the luminescence it once possessed; it was a dull gray color and vast black splotches covered him randomly. The once proud teal mane was thinning and flopped over.

However, the cause was not the elements so much as the distress it caused. The black was a physical representation of something eating away at his very soul as the days passed away.

"Kohaku, either you give up the wretched human or I will find her myself and tear her apart!" his mother howled.

No longer did he rebel verbally, the threats were barren. She would have torn the mortal world apart, were she able to get through. Her workers that could travel were unable to detect his beloved Chihiro and were subject to their monarch's fits of rage. As a last effort, Mara had even made peace, albeit temporarily, with his three older sisters.

Marabella, Bella for short, had visited him first. The youngest of the three girls, she had brought several other beautiful dragon maidens on multiple trips. He gently rejected each one, preferring to spend time with his innocent sister. Eventually, she couldn't stand to look at him. She began to stare at him as if he had a chronic disease and was watching him die. Since the last visit, he hadn't seen her in five years.

Then, Nila had stormed in. The fiery dragoness had traveled from her ice-covered home, ticked and ready to literally throw another female at him. Once, she did try, paying a very seductive female to 'stroll' into his tunnels. He had thrown her out. When Nila found out, she was quite pissed, screaming at the top of her lungs that he was a foolish dragon who would die of heartbreak even if he mated with a human. His own temper had snapped. Haku hadn't even gotten so much as a message from her in four years.

It was Sonia who had almost turned his heart. The oldest, and most intellectual of the bunch, she came only to see her brother, at first. The visit itself had utterly shocked him. She had sworn never to speak with their mother again, hoping to evade a fight to the death for causes unknown to him, and moved so distantly that he had been unable to track her.

Of all the dragons in the world, Haku admired Sonia (Sony) more than any other. Her daily visits paused the rancor that blackened him inside and out. They caught up with one another and Haku learned of his soon-to-be dracling nieces and nephews. He realized that there was so much to live for; she knew of several dragonesses his age that could make him happy. No longer could she fight for her little brother, she was lucky even to visit him. So, she offered to 'introduce' him to her friends.

During the week Sony gave Haku to think the proposal over, he desperately came up with every reason possible why he couldn't mate with another dragoness. As the days progressed, the doubt that filled his mind grew. On the final day, he was determined to accept her offer; Chihiro would have moved on long ago.

But, an unforeseen visitor came in his dreams:

"Haku, do not tell me that you've held Chihiro's heart captive for over eight years all for nothing!" a black dragoness bellowed.

"Who are you?"

"Snap out of it you stubborn dragon! Who I am is irrelevant. She has waited for you for more than half her life! If you can get your act together, I promise she will come for you."

This seemed to appease the dragon for a moment, but his happiness was run through with a silver sword.

"Mara will kill her!"

"Then you'll just have to save her, won't you?" mocked the female.

"And what if I chose another dragon for my mate? Then, she won't have to come at all!" he snorted.

Haku found himself in a very painful position. It felt as though something was searing his chest, the largest black spot on his scaly hide. Roaring in pain, the sensation lasted only several moments, but left him drained.

"The blackness is what causes you to think such."

"No…..I won't have her hurt," he growled shakily.

"Why do you doubt her love? Why must you question your fate? Here, let me share a real memory I have of her from a short time ago."

"Heh, a dream within a dream?"

"Duh."

There Chihiro sat on a small dragon-adorned bed. The sheets had brightly colored dragons dancing in the sky, guarding the young boy who lay under them, snuggled next to Chihiro.

"Tell me what he looked like Chihiro. I never see him anymore."

"Just like the pictures."

He smiled, "humor me!"

"Alright! He is enormous, at least several cars long, and almost a third of that tall. His face is handsome, sort of like the wolves at the zoo," she sighed, staring out the window. "There are beautiful scales that cover him entirely, a moon-washed white that glimmers and teal tresses that sway when he moves," Chihiro spoke, enchanted by her unseen vision. With a kiss, she assured him, "goodnight Bade."

Following Chihiro to her own room, Haku watched as she shut the door slowly, nearly stumbling over a haphazard piece of clothing. She hit the pillow face-first, crossing her arms to rest her forehead against them. The smell of salt wafted in the air.

She cried her heart out.

Haku began to weep too, wishing desperately to run to her side and comfort her.

"You promised…..I'll wait forever Haku," she whispered.

Snapping out of whatever trance he was in, Haku recognized the soil den he was caged in.

"Don't disappoint either of us Kohaku," echoed the female voice in his mind.

Haku did reject Sony's offer.

Since then, he missed her in the two years she hadn't visited, though she had reassured before she left that she couldn't really be mad at him. From the miserable look in her eyes he understood she wasn't expecting to see him again, ever. Do I look that bad?

Now he needed to figure out how to escape from his magical tomb or at least spy on his mother so he could see when Chihiro came.

So, maybe worms aren't so inferior after all.


Slightly Haunted : Alright, so I didn't get a single stinkin' review. I still wrote this fair-sized chapter (it was about three full pages on Microsoft Word, mind you!).

Here's a very important question that I would LOVE some input on:

Can I say that Chihiro's home (in Spirited Away, making it also in my story) is in America?

Technically, I do not remember the movie saying Chihiro moved to Japan or lived in Japan. I mean, that town really could pass for something in the USA and I'm fairly unfamiliar with modern Japan. Also, Chihiro and her family look like typical Americans, no offense...fat dad, chubby mom, and skinny girl all with brown hair...

Please respond!
-Slightly Haunted