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Chapter 11
Haku floated weightlessly in a thick blackness. His mind, detached, taking no notice as he twirled around in the darkness. A glorious feeling, so relaxed, a rare event for Haku. He closed his eyes. Ah, he could stay in this world forever, never go back to Asheno, the abuse, the despair.
His body began falling. He knew he was falling because he felt the breeze coming from underneath. Vaguely, a distant remnant of his consciousness wondered where he was going. As he plunged, a clear aquamarine ribbon formed a wavy path beneath him. The sound of rippling water reached his sensitive eyes, even as far above it as he was. A river, in the middle of utter nothingness. A bright circle of fire appeared next to the river.
As Haku neared the river, he saw that the fire was actually a flame tree in full bloom.
"Faran-Zhuku was right, those flowers were beautiful. It is a shame," the thought trailed through his head, as he smiled.
"For Hoth, for Shoma sake…still hope…" echoed memories of his recent conversation with the ghost.
As if on cue, all the blossoms drifted simultaneously off the branches, some settling onto nonexistent ground, others taken up by the current of the river and floating towards an indeterminate end.
No, panicked Haku, I don't want the flowers to fall. His body picked up speed, and the river approached him at an alarming rate.
Hatharu hel mhane khe aha rang through the darkness, relentlessly repeated.
"Nooooo!" screamed Haku as he splashed head first through the water's surface. When he looked up, he saw purple shadows of flame tree blossoms floating by. An invisible force had gripped his legs and was pulling him further down, down, down. Bubbles burst from Haku's mouth, escaping towards the disappearing surface.
"I'm going to drown in my own vision," thought Haku, resigning himself to his fate. "It won't be so bad to die, finally be in peace." He smiled.
The reverie was interrupted by images furiously ripping across his line of sight.
Asheno dragging a flailing 10-year-old Huki and locking him in a closet.
"Asheno, please! Why are you doing this to me?" he yelled, banging on the door.
Another door. It opened, revealing a young brunette, not a day over 20, lying on the floor with a gaping mouth. Blood and gray matter pooling around her. A gushing hole in the back of her head. A gun next to her limp hand.
Now Khosure…no, it was someone who only looked like Khosure. This man wore the thick traditional, formal robe of Hothan high society, in a reddish-purple color with exquisite embroidery. His head in a woman's lap, his face streaked with gentle tears. "I'm scared, that I'll be lonely, that Huki will never…"
Disinfectant filled Haku's nostrils. A sterile, gray hospital room came into being. In the bed, Lhurone…no, a woman with the same long black hair, tubes snaking out her arms, bandages wrapped effusively around her ribs and head. Then a flashback of Asheno slamming her into a wall in fury.
A small girl, twelve at most, with orange-yellow hair and amber eyes, standing absolutely silent in the middle of a classroom full of girls laughing at her. Flame tree blossoms blocked the image, drifting downwards in a suffocating shower.
The sound of melancholic roaring. The harithe. The howling wiped out all sound from the following images. The little Lhurone arguing, an obese man swaying on his feet, threatening Lhurone with a bottle.
Tori as a five-year-old, despondently staring out the window at snowflakes gently dancing through the air.
Finally, Haku watched as Asheno backed him into that corner, in that same parlor, the night of the harithe ten years ago. Watched as the evil bastard delivered blow after blow, the little boy still resisting, trying to protect himself…resisting…defiant.
"Dzuni…for Shoma…" rasped the ghost's voice.
"I can't die! I can't!" Yelling, trying to be heard over the harithe. "There's so much more I need to do, to learn about the Dzuni! Asheno must not torture us anymore! My friends! I DON'T WANT TO DIIIIIIIE!" Haku's final, desperate yell dragged on as he flailed wildly, as if trying to swim through the harithe.
His butt hit earth with a resounding thud while the back of his head and elbow smacked something hard. The pain snapped Haku's eyes wide open. He sat there panting heavily, taking in and slowly registering the familiar sight of his room. His hekasho had come loose and one shoulder was exposed. Blankets twisted around his legs. The desk—that was what he'd hit his head against…he was alive. He hadn't died.
"Haku, are you all right? I heard you screaming," Hatsuharu stood in the doorway. Seeing Haku sprawled against the side of the bed, he bent down to pick Haku up by his armpit. "Did you hurt yourself?"
"Oh, Hatsuharu," was all Haku said as he dazedly turned his head to look at the worried teenager. "Uh, yeah, I banged a few things but I'm okay. I was just having another one of those visions." Although, and he didn't mention this to Hatsuharu, he'd never had a vision quite like that before. It had been…so out of control. Hatsuharu settled him back onto the bed, in a sitting position.
"Are you sure you don't need anything?" insisted Hatsuharu.
"No, no…" Haku shook his head slowly. His memory flooded back. He'd just sent the ghost to Shiwa, and what happened after that?
"I found you in the hallway passed out, and I brought you up here," explained Hatsuharu, pouring out a glass of water.
"What time is it?" Haku asked, taking a refreshing sip.
"Almost midnight." So he'd been unconscious for almost four hours.
"Really, you scared me to death," Hatsuharu went on, settling himself into Haku's rickety desk chair. "First Lhurone, then you pass out. You sent the ghost wolf to Shiwa didn't you? I bet that was what made you faint. But of course I didn't know it at the moment." Hatsuharu stopped, surprised at himself. He didn't often express his fears and worries in front of anybody. "Well…anyway, I don't know how to thank you. Lhurone's safe." Hatsuharu studied the floor.
"Where's Lhurone now?"
"He's here."
"In the Shoma complex? Already?"
"Hm-mm. He called me about 7:30, said some monstrous wolf had come along and killed everyone who was beating him up." Hatsuharu grinned. "I got the chauffeur, picked him up in Shiwa and brought him back here. He's asleep now. He does have some injuries."
"So the next member of the Dzuni has arrived," mused Haku.
"He's a member of the Dzuni?"
"Yes, I'm fairly certain of that. When I sent him off, Faran-Zhuku referred to him as 'horse boy.' I'm just sorry he's going to have to deal with Asheno now."
Lhurone slept soundly after Hatsuharu had the family physician treat him upon their return to the compound. The splendor of the house had escaped Lhurone, consumed by pain and fatigue. Too much happened in too short a time, and he had slipped into a grateful sleep in the first good bed he'd been in for years. He did not wake up until eleven the next morning when the strong painkiller began wearing off.
"Ungn," groaned Lhurone as his bleary eyes blinked stiffly. Slowly, he opened his eyes wider, grimacing at the twinge his rib gave him. "Oh, teddy bear…" Still couldn't cuss right. What in the name of flower was going on? Nuts, not even in his own thoughts could he cuss. As the blurriness cleared, Lhurone took in the comfortable affluence of the room, the generous size of his bed, the fine draperies, the silk pillowcases.
"Pink lollipops, so this is where Hatsuharu lives," murmured Lhurone. The heavy wooden door creeped open, and a middle-aged woman's head peeked in.
"Oh, good, you're awake, Lhurone!" beamed the woman. "Just in time, too—I'm sure that painkiller must be wearing off now. Oh, I can tell from your face, dearie. Now then, I'll give you some more now. The doctor said you'll need it for at least three days, and no getting out of bed for a week. It's so good to have you back. I can make sure you're properly fed now! By the gods, the way Asheno had you beautiful children shipped off to miserable, lousy…" The plump woman kept up her chatter as she fiddled with a medicine bottle and poured some water. Lhurone lay slightly stunned. He'd heard of Asheno, certainly, but what was this talk of Asheno trading in children? Anyway, there was no time for such thoughts while his rib was throbbing, and he liked hearing this woman talk. Her presence cheered the room up.
"Excuse me, what's your name?" asked Lhurone.
The woman stopped her chatter and turned around, "Oh, of course, how rude of me!" She laughed. "My name is Rhena, dear, I'm the head housekeeper of the Shoma compound. I took care of the lot of you when you were babies. You've turned into such a beautiful young man, Lhurone—it is still Lhurone, isn't it? Good. Although I can't imagine what Asheno was thinking when he named you that. 'He was warlike'—it doesn't suit a quiet young man like you."
Lhurone chuckled weakly. That was the first time anyone had called him a quiet young man. The irony. "You took care of me when I was a baby?"
"Yes, before that evil man Asheno practically SOLD you!" Rhena stated indignantly as she waved the medicine bottle and measuring cup in the air.
"Asheno, he's the guardian of Hatsuharu and Haku?" Lhurone's mind was still too cloudy, but he vaguely recalled Hatsuharu mentioning Asheno. Neither he nor Haku would talk about Asheno much. "What's Asheno like?"
Rhena only set her lips together tightly. In this grim attitude she gave Lhurone his medicine. "Now, then, dearie, that should help. You'll know more about Asheno when you've had some more rest. You need to get some good food in that body of yours. All those tattoos…I'm sure you've never had a decent meal in your life!"
Not too far from the truth, Lhurone thought, as the pain began to subside.
"Hi, Rhena. Is Lhurone—hey, Lhurone! How are you feeling?" Hatsuharu smiled as he saw Lhurone.
"Hatsuharu," Lhurone tried to sound as glad as he could, with the medicine turning his head into a heavy weight.
"Hatsuharu, don't tire him out," scolded Rhena gently. "That painkiller the doctor ordered for him makes him woozy."
"Oh?" Hatsuharu stepped inside, eyebrows cocked in worry. Haku followed behind. Haku feels even more dangerous than he did when he was twelve, observed Lhurone. For his part, seeing Lhurone prone in bed jarred Haku, as he recalled the hospital scene with the woman who resembled Lhurone so exactly.
"Come now, Hatsuharu, again you're worrying about everybody," Rhena said, arms on her hips. "You know perfectly well he's in capable hands, and if I do say so, I know my business with ailing children."
"That you do," admitted Hatsuharu, lips curving upwards into a smile.
"Asheno doesn't know about Lhurone being here, yet, does he?" Haku suddenly asked. Then his wolf's ears picked up the faint shuffling of a slow gait—Asheno. Too late. "Oh no, he's here!" hissed Haku to Hatsuharu.
"No, he's not, I don't hear anybody coming," said Hatsuharu, alarmed nevertheless.
"Who's Asheno?" slurred Lhurone.
"Someone you'll wish you never had to know," intoned Haku darkly.
"Huh?"
"You're not being very kind to your guardian, Haku," cooed Asheno as he slid into the room. "So the horse has returned to his family." Asheno gave Lhurone an appraising look, a small malicious smile upon his face. How satisfying…for once one of them was lying before him, totally vulnerable. The three other people were boring their deadliest glares into Asheno's back.
"Leave Lhurone alone, he's badly injured," Hatsuharu said in a low voice.
"My eyes still function well, my slow cow," rebuked Asheno in an even voice. "I am only here to see Lhurone for a few minutes. I'd be a truly low human to attack someone in his sickbed." Barely audible chuckling. Asheno stopped by the bed and sat on the mattress next to Lhurone.
A disembodied head emerged in the fuzz of Lhurone's vision. A girly face, with black hair. But it looked old, the face had hard lines around the mouth and forehead, and the eyes carried a great bitterness and anger. The face was smiling. Not a genuine smile, a satisfied smile. The kind of smile Hiro, the gang leader, would have on his face after having his way with some street girl.
Lhurone felt a cold, bony hand caress his cheek. His entire body froze.
"Such a lovely boy, just like your mother," whispered the face. Only Lhurone and Haku heard Asheno speak. Asheno smirked. "I do hope we shall get along well." The iciness of the hand seeped into his body. The face drifted out of sight.
Asheno left the room as quickly as he'd arrived, with a smug expression.
A few minutes of uncomfortable silence passed. "Gods preserve us," declared Rhena, as soon as she heard Asheno walk out of earshot. "He will be the death of us all." She trotted over to Lhurone's side. "Lhurone, just take it easy now."
Lhurone nodded slightly. Asheno. He'd met him at last. No wonder Hatsuharu and Haku never wanted to talk about him. A drugged sleep overtook Lhurone.