By: jaded image
AN: This has to be the fastest update I've made since…forever. Therefore, it's not really good. Not that any of my chapters qualify as "good". Anyway, because of the support you lovely readers give me, this chapter is for all of you!
LadyRainStarDragon- Subtle sarcasm is not a strong point of mine… And thank you for feeding me! Hopefully it's low-carb, no calories, and sugarless… :)
Elven Kagome- Plums! I love plums. Among many many other foods. Whahaha. You always manage to make me laugh. To which I always receive odd glances from whichever poor soul is nearby. Thank you.
Wispers Sound Like Screams- All that chocolate made up for your long absence :) I swear, you're really quite skilled in bribing…
KatzEye- I feel the looove.
Manuca- Yes, Haku. Save her! Grab your knight-in-shining-armor costume and challenge Kaisuke for a duel to the DEATH! Ha, now there's something to ponder.
OceanicGoddess- I always feel warm and fuzzy when I get death threats. It makes me feel special.
Tirya King- Ah! Mei guan xi. Wo de han yu pin yin you dian cha, suo yi yin gai she wo duibuqi. Was that understandable…at all? I haven't used it in awhile, but it's good to practice. And I wish you luck in college!
Nekomouse- I nearly had a heart attack. A truckload of pixie sticks AND an adorable Haku plushie! I have updated! What say you now?
Bitchy-bitch- :) I'm glad you enjoy it so much. That's what I'm here for, to entertain all of you.
Disclaimer: I'm broke.
:Chihiro:
Looking back, Chihiro would remember this as one of those moments where time seemed to come to a standstill.
All life was put on hold as a thick silence settled itself amongst the trio. All felt rooted in place, and Chihiro could have sworn her heart stopped beating, just as the seconds of time refused to tick by.
Yet even thought everything appeared frozen, her thoughts were racing by at a baffling rate.
She had been stunned when, twisting her face away from Kaisuke's neck, who should she find but a wide-eyed Haku. Her face still had not recovered from its previous blood rush and took advantage of the moment to darken a few more shades, betraying her utter embarrassment.
Oh, what would he think? Chihiro wailed in her mind.
Even had she been close friends with Kaisuke, their position was still a bit too close to be considered friendly. Especially with his arm wrapped in such a possessive fashion around her waist…
The poor princess' cheeks paled under her blush, and she tried comforting herself. Haku wouldn't think like that. He wouldn't jump to conclusions and think we were…that we were… Hell, I hope he doesn't think period.
She was not sure why she valued his opinions so much. Maybe it was because he was her savior, her first friend in the spirit realm, someone she cared for deeply.
Blinking in confusion at the last one, she realized that she was still in Kaisuke's warm embrace and, maybe it was just her, but she did not think that would improve the situation much.
And so the flow of time returned to its steady rhythm as the little human girl detached herself from the forest god.
Or, at least she attempted to detach herself.
Kaisuke wasn't really making it any easier for her. His arms held her small body firmly against his own and he did nothing to acknowledge the fact that she was trying to get out of his grasp.
"A-ah!" Chihiro muttered.
She was too busy struggling to notice when Haku's jade green eyes flickered in her direction.
This was not good. Why won't he let go? Can't he see what kind of impression they were displaying?
"Lord Kaisuke, please…" She whispered quietly and leaned as far as his arms allowed.
His dark blue eyes studied her face and Chihiro could feel heat creeping up her neck and knew she must be glowing red by now. Kaisuke smiled at her and leaned in closer to her face.
To her relief, he slowly let her go. "Are you alright, Sen?" He questioned warmly.
Chihiro nodded as she scooted away, placing as much space as possible between them.
:Haku:
Shock did not begin to describe the feelings he had. Maybe more along the lines of appalled, horrified, dismayed, hurt…
He wasn't sure what he was supposed to think. The little human girl he had been searching for was locked in an intimate embrace with another. And not just any other. From what Haku could tell, he was a powerful young god.
A young man with hormones gone wild. Gods, he knew how that felt… That's probably what angered him most.
A sudden feeling of protectiveness overwhelmed him when he saw the panicked look in Sen…er, Chihiro's eyes. He heard her soft murmur for release as she tried to back away.
Haku's slender fingers curled into fists and he had the sudden urge to beat the pompous idiot until he was nothing but a bloody pulp.
By gods, if Chihiro had not been held hostage (he has temporarily convinced himself that Chihiro is indeed held against her will), he would have summoned enough magic to desecrate the whole bathhouse.
He could see Chihiro struggle to pull away from the man and felt his heart beat furiously at her fruitless struggles.
If he didn't let her go soon, Haku might have to yank his arms out of their sockets to free her.
He felt his blood pump furiously through his veins as the formerly declared pompous idiot leaned in closer to his human.
Completely disregarding his sudden ownership of the girl, Haku prepared himself for an all out tackle. He would break that bastard in half.
Suddenly, the god before him released Chihiro from his hold, much to Haku's relief and chagrin. He had really wanted a reason to ram that man to pieces.
"Are you alright, Sen?"
How dare he! How dare he utter her name from that vile mouth of his…albeit it isn't her real name… Haku was confusing himself with his own thoughts and his body ached from the pent up energy he had meant to let out.
Seeing Chihiro back away from the man, he finally decided perhaps he should do something. Darting forward, he grasped Chihiro's slender wrist in his hand and pulled her to her feet, rougher than he had intended.
She didn't say a word, only a worried glance with her soft brown eyes conveyed all her unasked questions and thoughts.
Glaring at the customer who sat comfortably atop his cushion on the floor, he tried to bow in a respectful manner. "Sorry to interrupt, but Sen is needed elsewhere at the moment." That was a lie and his tone sounded anything but apologetic.
Without waiting for a response, he yanked on the wrist he still had in his hold, and dragged the poor girl from the room. Not bothering to slam the paper door shut, he continued down the hall, his pace a bit difficult for Chihiro to keep up with.
Reaching the other end of the hall, he ignored the waiting lift, opting for the long flights of stairs instead.
After all, all that energy had to be used up somehow.
He had no intention of slowing down, but his brisk pace came to an abrupt halt as the girl he had been hauling along stumbled.
:Chihiro:
Ooh, Haku was mad. Or more like on the verge of blowing up.
His face was slightly pink from anger, and his beautiful eyes flashed dangerously. It frightened her that someone could look so furious and so she kept quiet rather than try and speak to him.
She vaguely understood why he was so upset. Her previous position was degrading for a young woman to be in, even if it was an accident.
And so, Chihiro had concluded that it was all her fault, bringing all the guilt upon her. It was her own clumsiness that started it all and for a moment, she felt despise towards herself.
Chihiro was startled. Since when had she become so morbid?
Lost in her thoughts as she was, and still the ever-clumsy human, she managed to completely miss a step in their downward travel, which in turn, led her right foot to settle down heavily on the next step. Her unsteady footing gave way in her surprise and she managed to completely slip off the steps and slide down a few stairs, scraping against the rough ledges.
A mixture of surprise and pain formed itself into a cry before tumbling from her lips.
Haku immediately whirled around and knelt next to her. Chihiro could barely make out the deep concern shining in his eyes. Damn these tears, she couldn't see him clearly enough.
"Chihiro! By the gods, forgive me! Are you alright? Where does it hurt?"
She did not respond while his gentle hands checked her for any broken bones or other bodily harm. His fingers lightly grazed over a gash on her arm, inflicted by those darn steps.
Chihiro flinched and blinked furiously as more tears threatened to fall.
She would show Haku that she was a strong girl and capable of enduring a little cut on the arm.
Glancing cautiously at the underside of her arm, she allowed a pained gasp to escape. A little cut indeed. The rough wood had scraped off the top layers of her skin and bright red blood was making its way merrily down her arm.
Haku was using his own crisp white uniform to dab around the edges. Chihiro grabbed his hand as it headed towards the wound with a cleaner section of his uniform.
"O-oh, it's ok, Haku! Just a little scratch…" What a lie. But she was determined to appear unfazed by the steady trickle of blood dripping along her arm. It was her stupid clumsiness again.
Haku shook his head and each strand of hair flowed with his movement. "Chihiro, you have to stop the blood from flowing. Just let me help you wipe it." He groaned. "It's all my fault. I shouldn't have been going so fast, selfishly dragging you along to my pace."
Running his free hand through his hair, as Chihiro still held his other, he seemed to be going through a phase of self-hatred.
A feeling of warmth and fuzziness filled her as she watched him fuss over her. His attention specifically devoted to her made her feel…special.
The pain had turned into a dull throbbing, and her head cleared enough for her to follow what he was saying.
"…I hope you know that I would never hurt you on purpose, Chihiro."
He finished wiping up her blood and reached forward to cast a healing spell. Something in Chihiro's mind clicked. …What did he say?
Pulling her arm back, she didn't even notice the stinging from her cut. "What…"
Haku cast an impatient look at her. "I have to heal that for you. Or else it will keep bleeding and may become infected."
Chihiro shook her head, her wide eyes staring steadily at his face.
"What did you call me?"
:Haku:
Haku froze, his hand halfway to her injured arm trembled slightly as he realized his mistake. How could he have been so stupid? He must have spouted her name five times in the course of their sudden interlude.
His concern for her overrode all common sense. Still…perhaps he could pretend she misheard.
"…Sen?"
She shook her head vigorously; her soft brunette locks flinging wildly around her head. Suddenly her small hands were on his shoulders, and her face was mere inches from his own.
If I lean just a bit more… He mentally smacked himself. His mind must be more battered than he thought after that fight with Riku. Still, he could feel his face heat up at the unfinished thought.
What the hell? He was not blushing. He never blushed, as blushing was not a part of his normal behavior.
The fragile looking girl drew closer and stared uncannily into his eyes. This was making him slightly uncomfortable. Only slightly, though.
His breath hitched in his throat and he decided to give up on trying to hide the fact that he knew her real name. His decision partly influenced by her blunt and questioning gaze.
"Chihiro."
There. It was out in the open now.
He watched in fascination as her wide eyes managed to get wider. She hurriedly drew back and he saw panic slowly etch into her features.
"H-how did you know?" Haku couldn't help smiling. She was adorable when she got unsettled.
Trying to calm her, he rested his hands on her knees in a soothing manner. "It's okay. Zeniba told me, she's Yubaba's twin."
"Zeniba? Yubaba's twin?…Yubaba has a twin!"
She seemed to have forgotten her sudden identity-discovering crisis. Finding out that there's someone out there who's the mirror image of your all-powerful, absolutely freaky boss does that to a person.
Haku chucked quietly. "She also has a baby. Mighty big one at that."
Seeing her with her mouth hanging open, Haku felt fond amusement surge within him.
Reaching once again for her arm, he managed to get a firm hold and quickly cast the enchantment. His hand hovering over the open flesh glowed a pretty pastel green and Chihiro was momentarily distracted while watching him.
As the soft glow faded away, Haku removed his hand to reveal soft pale flesh, still tender from the fall.
"You'll be alright now." He stated, sounding more like he was reassuring himself.
Chihiro sat on the wooden stairs, the rough edges digging into her back and looked like she was thinking pretty hard.
Haku took the moment to study her face. She looked as any regular human would. But he still found her features remarkable.
The way her soft chestnut hair brushed against her forehead. Wide, innocent eyes incapable of hiding anything from the world. Smooth expanse of pale skin…
Haku's eyes widened in disgust at himself. He was starting to sound like a lovesick youth. If anything, his past experiences had taught him that a smittened boy was not a good position to be in, regardless of how pleasant it might be at the time. And here he was, starting to fall for another. A human.
He was too pathetic.
:Chihiro:
She can now admit that it had hurt like hell.
Her awe of the boy before her doubled as he healed her skin-deep wound, mending it so that all that was left was a slightly discolored patch on her arm.
Replacing the pain was a pounding headache. Her thoughts were running together in her muddled mind.
What should she do now? Sure it had been a spur-of-the-moment type of thing when she lied about her name, but at the time her thoughts were stuck on bandits and con artists disguised as handsome young men.
Still…
Looking up, her heart missed a beat as her eyes met his. How stupid. He must be expecting some form of gratitude, and here she was, selfishly pondering away the minutes.
"Thank you…so much for healing my arm, Haku. You really shouldn't have bothered…"
He brushed off her thanks with a modest smile.
"It was my fault. I was just so angry…"
What was he upset about again? Oh, right.
Chihiro winced. This was going to be a touchy subject for times to come.
"Ah…about that. Lord Kaisuke was just saving me from a nasty fall. My clumsiness sort of kicked in." She bowed her head sheepishly.
"Come again?" asked the god before her, his tone suddenly changed.
"Er…I said Lord Kaisuke was just—"
"Kaisuke? Shinrin Kaisuke?"
Chihiro looked at him, her surprise shining in her expressive eyes.
"Do you know him? Is he your friend?"
Oh gods, if they were friends, then her position… It would be like she was cheating on him. Only that was impossible. Especially since in order to cheat on somebody, she would have to be somewhat closer than friends with the person whom she is cheating on first. Or something like that.
Clearing her head of all that useless drabble, she was a bit surprised to see Haku scowling. A full-blown forehead scrunching, lips twisting into a snarl scowl.
"Haku?" She whispered, fearing that anything might provoke him into a scary rampage.
"She mentioned him…talked about him like he was her hero." The gentle jade of his eyes darkened. "She left me for him."
He was muttering to himself, that much was for sure by the faraway look in his eyes.
Cautiously placing a hand on his arm, she decided to risk facing his anger as curiosity squashed common sense.
"Who is it, Haku?"
He didn't seem to hear, but his mutters to himself continued. And through it all, Chihiro heard him repeat one name.
Riku.
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…What a boring chapter. It didn't really turn out the way I expected it to. Then again…nothing ever does. What shall happen next, you ask? I don't know.Yes! Go me and my planning ahead.
Once again, please spare a few seconds from all your busy lives and leave me a review. I deeply appreciate it, including but not limited to: death threats, bribes, large quantities of food…etc. etc.
jaded image