YAY! I updated once again. Enjoy! Oh, it's a bit of a fluffy Haku and Chihiro in this chappie.

Chapter Three

In Your Embrace, I am Safe from all Harm

Haku took Chihiro's hand, smiling. She felt her stomach flip over at his soft touch. The two walked over to the bridge and chihiro clutched to Haku's arm. He leaned over to her, his mouth near her ear. "Before we walk onto the bridge, take a deep breath and hold it until we get to the other side." Chihiro nodded.

"Welcome!" two frogs greeted over and over to the various spirits who walked onto the bridge. "Haku, wonderful to see you again!" they greeted. He nodded to them without a word.

"Take a breath now," he whispered. Chihiro imagined it was diving class in school. She inhaled and pretended she was in the pool. Onto the wood they stepped. She pictured the water in her mind and imagined she would die if she took another breath. Half way down, her lungs were starting to get a little sore. Three thirds down the bridge. Chihiro let out a small groan. "Hold on, we're almost to the other side."

"Welcome back!" strange, pale women greeted. Some wore dressed, others wore different suits. One ran up to Haku, stopping him. She scattered confetti over his head, giggling flirtatiously at him. For some reason, this completely ticked Chihiro off.

"Welcome back, Haku!" she said, twirling some of her hair with a giggle. Chihiro swore she heard Haku give a slight groan of disgust. She walked over to the opposite side Chihiro clutched to him and started to trace her fingers along his sleeve. "How have you been?"

"Decent!" he answered coldly. The slug giggled as though he had told a hilarious joke. She plucked some confetti from his green hair, winking slightly.

"You look so cute when you have confetti stuck in your hair." Haku rolled his eyes. What kind of stupid compliment was that? By this time, Chihiro could not take it anymore. One, her lungs were ready to explode. Two, this stupid, ugly, floozy was pissing her off. She breathed out and in and slapped the slug so hard, she flew off her feet.

"BACK OFF!" she snapped. Everyone stopped dead and gasped in shock at the sight of her, but Chihiro couldn't care less. The slug also did not seem to care. She glared at Chihiro and stood up.

"You filthy little human, what do you think you're doing with my Haku?" she demanded. Chihiro took a step back. Haku stepped forward, about to speak. Chihiro spoke up first.

"Your Haku? What, are you two dating or something? If so, he has the worst taste in all of history." The slug charged toward Chihiro and tackled her. The two fell onto the bridge and shrieked at each other angrily. Chihiro yanked a handful of the slug's greasy black hair. She yelled in pain. "UGLY WENCH!" she yelled.

The slug elbowed Chihiro's stomach, knocking the wind out of her. "SKINNY PHLEGM!" she snapped. Chihiro kicked the slug and picked her up over her head. Chihiro walked over to the edge of the bridge.

"Have a nice swim!" she growled, tossing the slug over the railing and into the water below. The slug, eventually, surface, spitting out in disgust. "THAT'S WHAT YOU GET." Haku, along with dozens of other people, just kinda stood there staring at Chihiro with expressions that basically said, "holy crap."

"I see you are much stronger, Chihiro..." Haku whispered. He had to admit, he liked the fact she had thrown that stupid slug into the river. She cracked her knuckles, frowning.

"That moron had it coming." The frogs chose this moment to react at the appearance of Chihiro. They ran up to Haku and Chihiro.

"A HUMAN! GET HER!" they yelled. Chihiro prepared to deal with em like she did that slug, but Haku snatched her hand before she could.

"Let's go!" he commanded. He flew near the ground past the slugs, sending a flurry of white, leaf sized things after the frogs. The slugs were so surprised, they did not stop them. He led her into the little trap door outside of the entrance and into the garden. "Are you alright?" he asked. She nodded. Haku sighed in relief. "Good, you had me worried when you fought that slug."

"You...you were worried about me?" she asked. Haku blushed and looked away. Chihiro smiled and crawled up in front of him. She gently wound her arms around his neck and snuggled up against him in a hug. "Thank you, Haku." He tentatively put his arms around her back.

"Of course, Chihiro. The last thing I want is for you to get hurt." he whispered. "Love does that to me...even after years have passed..." Chihiro rested her cheek against his chest.

"I feel that, when you hug me, nothing can harm me, Haku. I apologize for how I acted before." Haku gently stroked his hand along her upper back.

"That does not matter, Chihiro..." he murmured in her ear. "If only I could keep you in my embrace forever so you won't ever get hurt, emotionally or physically. I swear to protect you, Chihiro. Even if you cannot remember, I loved you and still do. And you loved me in return. I hope those feelings will return." Haku's thoughts suddenly decided to turn against the tide. "Wait, what are you doing? Love or not, you need to let her go. Chihiro cannot stay here. You have to see to it that she is set free from the dangers of this world."

"Haku?" Chihiro seemed to realize what was going on and pulled away from him, blushing. "Haku, I know you must know me from the past. But, since I just met you and do not remember anything about you, I...I'm not sure if..." she was at a loss for words. "I just don't want to do something we will both regret." He nodded.

Author Note: OK, no she is not referring to sex. I don't hint for lemons. No, no, no! She was hinting to having emotion cloud their better judgement and cause vulnerability. She is lost and does not want to be distracted. Well, TOO BAD CHIHIRO. It's a Haku x Chihiro fanfic, DUH she'll get distracted. Ok, moving right along.

"Well, let us go to see Kamaji." Chihiro nodded and the two stood up. Haku led the way and she followed, her head to the ground.

"These emotions, they mean nothing. I cannot let them distract me. I need to get out of here. I can't let one strange, nice, sweet, caring, cute guy distract me. GAH! What am I thinking? That's not helping my situation. Ok Chihiro, just think of other things. Um...puppies, roses, Haku, cake, ice cream, frozen yogurt, Haku, running, jogging, diving, soccer, panther ball, Haku kissing you...OK, WHO IS THE LITTLE PEST IN MY MIND BRINGING UP HAKU? Me! Well shut the heck up. Not until you kiss that total hottie again. W-WHAT? You heard me. Kiss him again. You know it felt good as hell. I'M NOT LISTENING. Oh puh-leeze. Who was the one clutching to him and saying, 'oh Haku, I feel so safe in your arms!'? Quit denying your feelings and accept them. You're falling in love with him, whether you like it or not. I hardly know him. So you think. GAH! This is confusing. Just go back to the dark depths of my mind where you belong. Fine! But this isn't the last of me you'll be hearing from." And that was pretty much what was going on in Chihiro's mind.

(Bold Italics was the part of her mind that was arguing she loved Haku and the regular italics was pretty much the regular Chihiro. It's...confusing. One said she was in love, the other denied it. There, that sums it up)

"Chihiro?" Haku asked, slightly disturbed by her silence.

"I WON'T KISS HAKU AGAIN!" she shrieked. "SO STOP TRYING TO FORCE ME TO." He blinked and stared at her.

"Excuse me?" he asked, blushing slightly. She turned ten shades of red. "I'm not trying to force you into anything, Chihiro."

"I...I'm sorry about that, Haku." The rest of the trip to the boiler room was very silent. Well, not in their minds. Here is Haku's lovely little mind.

"That was odd what Chihiro said. But...I admit it to myself, I loved kissing her again. I doubt she feels the same... You need to keep your emotions in check. I know, but I think I am still love with her. So why are you just walking? Snatch the beautiful girl and kiss her like your life depended on it. ARE YOU MAD? That first kiss was bad enough to do, but another one? You're insane! Hey, I'm just being real. Haku is love with her and I don't blame him. She is pretty, smart, strong, need I go on? I understand how he feels, but he can't distract himself or her any further. Besides, you heard what she said after that hug. Oh cry me a river. GAH! You're impossible. I know, I do the best I can. ...if I were real, I would slap you. As amusing as all of this is, I agree with...uhh... Me? Yes! Kissing chihiro again is a bad idea. I want her in my arms again, but I don't want to do something we will both regret. Get her pregnant? NO YOU MORON! Ending up getting her killed."

And this is basically what went on in Haku's mind. He had three voices.

And that was the update. I liked it when that voice in Haku's mind asked if he meant getting her pregnant. I found that funny in a sick, twisted way. Yeah, please be so kind and review me.