Chapter Four: The Dragon's Escape

The sun found Haku on the floor, thinking about Chihiro. His eyes were shut tight as another spirit opened the door. Hesitant the spirit whispered into his ears, "Haku, are you okay?" Haku nodded, he didn't want anyone to know that he had recovered from the power drain, and had managed to save a bit of his magic.

Kamajii smiled and then said quietly, "I will help aid in your escape, Zeniba has returned to the Spirit World and has something important she says she needs to tell you. Go talk to her, she also offered to take you to the Human World to meet Chihiro if you wanted to." Haku opened his eyes at the sound of "Chihiro" and nodded. He pulled himself into a sitting position.

"She said that she would take me to see Chihiro?" Haku asked the eight-legged spirit.

"Yes," Kamajii replied, "she promised as long as you were willing to listen to what she had to say."

"I am." Haku started to change into his dragon form.

"Not yet! First hurry and put on these clothes, don't change until we get outside and I tell you to." Haku nodded and carefully followed Kamajii's instructions. Quietly walking down the halls and towards the entrance, Haku looked around. It was colder and some of the bath attendants were missing, presumably dead. There were dark spirits wandering around the halls of the bathhouse and they avoided them, they soon neared the entrance. The Evil One stood there, talking with some of his henchmen, hiding in a place where they could not be seen and waited until the entrance was empty. When it was they dashed outdoors and into the chilly weather outside. Shivering a bit they headed into the gardens where the flowers were covered with snow and frost.

"You can change now Haku," Kamajii said, "There's no one here." Haku nodded and thanked him before changing into his dragon form. He flew higher into the air until he was no more than a spec and flew towards Zeniba's cabin. The air was a bit chilly but the flight was enjoyable, the train was directly below him. He soon found himself relaxing and thinking about Chihiro. He wondered if she still looked the same, but quickly reminded himself that she didn't.

There were a few clouds in the air, but Haku expertly dodged those and soon landed at Zeniba's cabin. No-face, unsure of who was outside, came out to greet him. He let out a few happy "Ah's" and Haku snorted. Quickly changing back into the form of a 12-year-old boy, Zeniba soon walked outside and noticed Haku.

"Welcome Haku," Zeniba greeted him, "please come inside, it's very chilly out there." Haku nodded and bowed in front of the witch.

"You don't have to do that Haku." Zeniba said as he walked inside. Haku sat down at the table and Zeniba sat down across from him. He noticed that there was a cup of tea in front of him; Zeniba sipped the tea in her cup. Noticing that he wasn't drinking the tea she said, "Please I insist, is there something wrong with your tea?"

Haku shook his head, "What did you want to tell me Zeniba."

Zeniba sighed, "It's about Chihiro, and it also has something to do with the Evil One. You see, the Evil One has taken over both the Spirit World and the Human World the gates that separated both have been crumbling and are now gone. The border between both worlds is now gone, as we speak hundreds of spirits and humans are now crossing the border to go to the other world, chaos is everywhere. Your brother, Yoshiro, is currently on the other side with Rin and Natsuko; I followed him and was able to meet up with Chihiro. She fainted when I told her about the gates but she is fine now, I also have something I want to tell you about her. There is a reason why the Evil One is chasing her; she is the Dragon of Nature. You know the dragon that could control all elements the one that defeated the Evil One many centuries ago."

"Not possible," Haku gasped, surprised, "she never used magic in the Spirit World while she was here and she never changed into a dragon before. "

Zeniba nodded and replied, "I thought the same thing when I heard, but it's true. The Evil One told her, Natsuko, and Rin when they first met him."

"Then she must be the Dragon of Nature, but I thought he was…"

"Killed, yes he was, but it seems that somehow he managed to pass his powers on."

"Then she is somehow a descendent of him."

"Perhaps, there are maidens that fall in love with dragons, just as there are dragons that fall in love with maidens." Zeniba laughed, Haku looked away uneasily because he knew that she was also referring to him and Chihiro. His tea had now cooled a bit so he sipped some of it.

"You mentioned that you would take me to Chihiro if I wanted to," Haku said, "could you please take me to her then?"

"Yes, but not now it is still quite dangerous, I will tell you when we can leave." Zeniba said. Haku sighed, but didn't complain he realized the danger of going across the border, and he knew that it was even more dangerous now that he had escaped. Looking out the window he thought about Chihiro, memories of her previous visit filled her mind; he remembered his promise to see her again.

I am coming Chihiro, I am coming!

He thought to himself, Zeniba watched the boy look outside. She wondered what he was thinking about, No-face walked towards her, "What is it?"

"Ah ah, aah." He told her.

"Yes, I suppose you're right." Zeniba told him. "I never really thought of it, but now that I think of it you're right."

"Ah, aah ah ah ahh."

"I'll tell him now then No-face. Haku, No-face just told me a brilliant idea. If the border is broken then you should have no problem in flying over to the Human World."

"You're right, but what about you? You can't fly."

"You'll carry me to the Human World, but I do admit this plan has its own particular risks. You must be careful about when you fly, I am sure that there are other dragons who will be flying towards the Human World, perhaps by accident or out of curiosity. Be careful though, fly when no one notices you; don't fly when there are henchmen around as they will try to stop you."

"I was just going to ask about the risks of this journey," Haku told him, "but you're right, despite its risks we should try it out." He smiled and thought of Chihiro, he wondered just how she would look different but didn't dare ask. Haku walked outside and Zeniba followed him and watched as he changed into a dragon.

She quickly mounted him, "No-face, please take care of the cabin while I am away!"

"Ah ah!" No-face assured her. Zeniba nodded and they quickly flew away in the direction of the gate. As when he first flew to Zeniba's cabin Haku quickly found the flight enjoyable. The sky was filled with silky clouds and the view from the sky was breath-taking. As they edged closer and closer to the border, a small stream of spirits heading in the same direction as they were quickly became a large crowd. Zeniba frowned and Haku snorted with apprehension, he thought to himself about what he saw.

So many spirits headed in the same direction, this isn't good! Yoshiro, you must have started all of this how could you? I would expect some other foolish spirit to start such a large and dangerous migration, not my own brother!

Haku grew more worried when he saw some humans mixed in with the spirits, he hoped that there were still spirits left in Spirit World that would be wise enough to stay away from the border and not go to the Human World. The gate though was indeed broken, the building that housed the gate was now crumbling and some of the walls had collapsed, it was hard for him to believe that such a ruin had once housed a gate that controlled those who could exit and enter both the Spirit World and the Human World. Both spirits and humans alike were gingerly stepping over the ruble and onto the other side, as Zeniba had predicted there were also a few dragons that were also flying towards the gate.

Haku snorted as one dragon flew towards them; he quickly flew to the side to avoid collision. A large, translucent wall was all that was left of the gate, it stretched for miles and miles and Haku knew that it had to be the border. "It's worst than I thought," Zeniba quickly told Haku, "it was better when your brother first entered the Human World, at least it wasn't this crowded, the wall was also stronger. I could feel a force of resistance as I walked through. I suppose that those who walk through the border don't even feel that now, the way they are walking through so easily. I had to struggle a bit to get to the other side."

Haku looked around him in surprise and fear, he remembered the warnings that Zeniba gave him before flying through the border. To their immense surprise, the border parted a bit to allow them to pass. Zeniba looked at him and shock and said, "That's not supposed to happen, the border has weakened too much. We must already be too late; the Evil One now has control of both worlds." Haku snorted in fear and low fearful noises came out of his throat. Zeniba knew that he was scarred and tried her best to calm him.

Yoshiro looked up and was surprised to see a dragon flying in their direction, "Natsuko, Rin look, there's a dragon behind you two!" Natsuko and Rin looked behind them and saw Haku landing. Zeniba leaped off of Haku's back and he quickly changed back into his human form not knowing what Chihiro would look like, worried that he might not recognize her. Chihiro happened to arrive at that very moment, and Haku starred at her in shock. She bore little resemblance to the Chihiro that was trapped in the Spirit World before with her parents.

Chihiro shouted with surprise when she saw him, "Haku I am so glad that you are here!"

"I promised that we would meet each other again," Haku walked towards her his jade eyes glittering with delight, "didn't I?"

"You did, I am so glad that you came." Keiko gasped when he saw Haku; she had been spying on her friend when she had given a strange reply to her question. She wanted to find out who this Haku really was.

Haku frowned and whispered quietly into Chihiro's ears, "You're being followed." He starred at her. Chihiro looked around wildly and soon spotted Keiko, hiding among the trees giggling.

Frowning she shouted, "Keiko, what are you doing here?"

Her friend walked sheepishly out of the bushes and lied, "I was just taking a walk in the forest when I head voices, I was curious so I followed them and it lead me here."

Chihiro sighed, "Keiko you live three miles from the forest, usually you wouldn't want to walk that far. What's so special about today that you would want to?"

"Well there was that kid, I think his name was Yoshiro, that appeared today at school who said that he couldn't believe that you were a real person." Keiko pointed out. "Then there were those two women who dragged him out and then there was that horrible storm."

"Yoshiro appeared in your school today?" Haku asked. His jade eyes wandered towards his younger brother and wondered what trouble he had caused.

"Yes he did he asked for Chihiro and interrupted class, the teacher was pretty frustrated when he left because he didn't need Chihiro or anything."

"I assure you it won't happen again," Haku told her friend. He sighed and starred at his younger brother. Yoshiro was trying to avoid his brother's angry gaze. Chihiro looked at the two siblings, amused; she knew that Yoshiro was Haku's younger brother.

"I didn't mean too," Yoshiro tried to explain, "they startled me when they asked me who I was looking for so I had to think of someone's name, I just happened to think of Chihiro from the stories I heard."

"Yoshiro," Haku retorted, "why are you even in the Human World? I am quite sure I told you not to cross the gate."

"I am sorry Haku."

"So you're the Haku that Chihiro mentioned." Keiko suddenly interrupted with a gleam in her eyes. "Well I am going to tell everyone about Chihiro's boyfriend."

Haku, who didn't want his presence to be known, stopped her before she could walk any further. Keiko tried to push him aside, but he wouldn't budge. She tried to go around him, but Haku would only block her way. Angry, she tried to push him aside again. "Stop it Keiko," cried Chihiro, "I thought you were my friend." Tears started to fall out of her eyes, and Keiko stopped what she was doing.

"I am Chihiro," Keiko replied sympathetically, "I promise, I won't tell anyone about Haku." Chihiro nodded and quickly wiped away her tears.