Chapter Eight: Dragon Dreams
Chihiro tried to force herself to stop thinking about Haku, but it didn't work. She looked out the window wondering where he was. She thought that she saw a silvery line in the air, but decided that it was just her imagination. When the silvery line flew towards the cabin she hoped that it was Haku quickly she went to find her friends and tell them about the dragon.
Hikari quickly landed on the snowy ground and shivered at the cold. She had flown here to see Zeniba; Haku had sent a message to for her. "Hikari," Zeniba cried in surprise, "what are you doing here?" Chihiro starred at the strange dragon, it wasn't Haku but Zeniba and Rin seemed to know the dragon. Hikari snorted and changed into her human form, her eyes wandered towards Chihiro and she starred at her in shock realizing immediately who she must be.
Bowing she told Zeniba, "Haku sent me here with a message for you."
"Haku," Chihiro gasped, "he's alive? How do you know him?" Hikari nodded, but would not answer the second question.
"Hikari is Haku and Yoshiro's younger sister." Rin quickly explained. "Hikari, I do not know if you know this but this is Chihiro and…."
"I know; Chihiro's the Dragon of Nature." Hikari smiled. Rin looked surprised but quickly nodded.
"Oh forgive my manners come inside Hikari, it is quite cold outside. You could give me the message inside." Zeniba told the dragon. Hikari nodded and followed everyone inside.
"Here," she handed Zeniba a letter, "Haku told me to give to you and said that Chihiro may also want to see it. Yoshiro and Natsuko told me to say hi to everyone for them and Keiko is just worried about Chihiro's safety." Zeniba nodded and quickly read the letter; her face was grave when she was finished.
"Chihiro," she said, "I am not sure if you would want to read it. Hikari since you delivered this message would you read it for everyone, I don't think I could."
Hikari nodded and read out loud, "Zeniba, I pray that this letter reaches you soon, I worry about Hikari's safety. Chihiro, I just wanted to tell you that I miss you dearly. Keiko, Natsuko, Yoshiro, and I are fine. Despite the fact that Keiko is bleeding badly and both Natsuko and Yoshiro are still in an unconscious state, I myself am too weak to write and so had my sister Hikari write it. Every night I have nightmares about what the Evil One would do to Chihiro, and him torturing her. I wake up every day sweaty and screaming her name, at least that is what my sister and Keiko say. Right now they are interrogating Keiko; I can hear her bloodcurdling screams now. They remind me of my own interrogations, and I do not want to be reminded of them. They ask questions about your whereabouts and whether Chihiro has started her training, just recently they asked starting asking about Hikari. When you don't answer they whip you or use magic to immobilize you. Chihiro, I know that these interrogations must worry you but I assure you we are fine. I hope to see you again, Haku." There was silence in the cabin. Hikari let the letter gently fall to the ground, to be picked up by No-face, who placed it on the table.
"I never knew," Chihiro finally said, "I hope that Haku and the others are okay." She glance at the letter and thought about her beloved, about how much pain and suffering that he had faced, she vowed to get him out.
An idea suddenly occurred to her, "Hikari if you left from the place where Haku's being held captive, then surely you must know where he is."
Hikari shook her head sadly, "Unfortunately as soon as I left the dungeon where Haku and the others were being kept the building disappeared from my sight. It does that for it is surrounded by powerful magic that prevents people from the outside form seeing it, occasionally teleporting to another place to avoid being found. I suppose that's why he had me send this letter to you, to try to prevent the Evil One from finding me."
"Oh I see; then you can't send a letter back." Tears slowly fell out of Chihiro's eyes. Hikari shook her head, and Rin looked at her friend sympathetically wishing that she could do something to ease the pain.
Zeniba sighed, "Well it is still good to have you with us Hikari. Tomorrow we'll have to search for clues concerning our mysterious dungeon. Since you were in the dungeon I am sure that you would be of tremendous help to us." Hikari nodded, and looked outside. It was starting to snow heavily again, she grimaced.
Rin looked outside and told everyone, "Well we won't be able to search for clues today, it's snowing."
"True," Zeniba quietly muttered, "we'll have to start first thing tomorrow then." Chihiro watched as her tears plummeted towards the floor, creating small wet patches of water. Quickly wiping away her tears she looked outside, trying to remind herself that everything would be all right. Reality though reminded her that it wasn't, Haku was still in the dungeon and they still didn't know how to get there. She angrily cursed the Evil One under her breath.
Hikari sighed and looked away from the window and looked at the letter on the table. She picked it up and looked at it. She knew what it said, but wanted to know if there was some hidden meaning behind the words. Carefully observing the paper and the words thinking about what everything meant. Much of the letter referred to Chihiro and she grinned.
Haku must really care about Chihiro; then again she is one of the most powerful dragons. Though I am not sure if she can be referred to as a dragon, she is after all human. I wonder how Chihiro received such powers; perhaps she is related to the first Dragon of Nature in some way. Though it is strange, there are no records of him falling in love with a maiden and there are no records of him having any children. I don't remember there being any humans living around his home and his home was in the Human World after all. Perhaps Chihiro got her powers some other way.
She absentmindedly thought to herself. "Hikari is something wrong?" Rin asked her. "You're really quiet and it isn't like you to stay silent for an extended period of time."
"No I was just thinking about something." Hikari replied thinking about the first Dragon of Nature. Rin looked at her with great apprehension, something was wrong she knew it.
"Do you want to tell me what is troubling your mind?"
"No, it's fine." Hikari smiled and went to help Zeniba crochet a bracelet for Chihiro. Rin sighed and went to do the same. Chihiro looked curiously at the emerald green wool; it reminded her of Haku's eyes. Zeniba hid a small smile as she watched her sit by the window starring outside, she could tell that she was thinking about Haku the emerald wool she had chosen must have reminded her of him. No-face, Hikari, and Rin worked diligently besides the old witch as they carefully knitted the bracelet. Zeniba was immediately reminded of Chihiro's first visit to her cabin, when she was searching for a cure to Haku's illness.
The snow drifted peacefully to the ground, creating a thick blanket over the earth. Dark green leaves on a nearby tree contrasted sharply with the weather. Flowers were still in full bloom, many of them covered with frost and snow. The weather outside was both beautiful and haunting; nature seemed to be waging a war against itself. Chihiro sat silently watching the snow fall gently to the ground, so white against the dark skies above. Everything seemed so peaceful. Content, she decided to help Rin and No-face who were starting to make dinner for everyone. The howling of the wind changed into a barely audible whisper as the snow stopped falling.
Hikari quickly noticed the changed in weather and she smiled, hoping that tomorrow it wouldn't snow. "Strange," she heard Zeniba mutter to herself, "I don't know why it would stop snowing unless it was an omen of some sort." The clouds cleared, revealing a dark blue patch of sky sprinkled with many glittering stars. The waning moon seemed a bit frosty, but glowed brightly nevertheless. A shooting star sailed across the sky, to Chihiro it looked like a dragon flying. Mischievously, Hikari headed outside when no one was looking. She shivered as the cold penetrated her skin, but did not mind, the beauty of everything was spectacular. Memories flooded back to her as she closed her eyes and thought about one very special moment in her life.
Hikari was looking up at the night sky, the stars twinkled at her and she smiled. There was a shout and Yoshiro stormed angrily outside followed by a stern looking Haku. "Hikari! Where were you?" Yoshiro screamed at her. "We were worried when we didn't find you in bed!"
Hikari glared at her older brother and hissed, "I can take care of myself! I don't need you or anyone else to tell me what to do or protect me! I am perfectly capable of that!"
"What about the time when the Evil One nearly caught you spying on him?" Haku shouted.
"It was an accident okay?"
"What about the time the Evil One captured you and threw you in a dungeon?"
"Well um…"
"Face it Hikari, you are still very much a young dragon and need our protection. Without it you're practically helpless!"
"For the hundredth time I am not helpless! I can take care of myself, and if you want me to prove it then fine I'm leaving!" She quickly changed into her dragon form and was about to fly away. Both Yoshiro and Haku exchanged worried looks.
"I don't think that's wise." Haku cautiously muttered. "Besides I think it's best if we spend more time with each other as we hardly ever meet." Hikari considered it for a moment and changed back.
"I guess you're right, I just don't like it when you keep on bossing me around so much." Yoshiro hugged his little sister.
"I guess we are sort of a little bit overprotective." He told her. Hikari smiled sweetly and starred up at the stars. A shooting star sailed across the sky.
Haku smiled, "Hikari did you know that a shooting star is a lucky omen and if you make a wish on it, your wish will come true?"
Hikari looked at Haku fascinated, "No I didn't, I think I'll make one right now!" She closed her eyes tightly and wished with all her might that she would one day be as powerful and wise as her brothers.
Tears appeared in the corner of corner of Hikari's eyes as she remembered that day. She quickly located the shooting star, and wished with all her might.
Please let Haku, Yoshiro, Natsuko, and Keiko be protected from harm.
The shooting star sailed away caring her wish and she watched it until it became a faint speck in the sky and finally disappear from view. She headed back inside to her friends and the meal that was waiting for her inside. No one had noticed Hikari's disappearance and she smiled, the tear silently fell to the ground. Two more followed, no one noticed as she sat down and wept silently by the window. Finally, with all her tears spent, she went to help Zeniba finish the bracelet. Its glittering emerald sheen reminded her of her captured brothers.
When dinner was cooked they sat down to eat, not a single word was uttered during that time. Everyone was thinking about Haku and the others. An awkward silence had surrounded the friends as they considered what must be done the next day. Zeniba presented Chihiro with the bracelet when dinner was finished, "It's to help you cheer up a bit, you seemed a bit gloomy so we thought that this present might help you cheer up. I have to admit it's the exact shade of Haku's eyes." Chihiro grinned a bit at the last statement and everyone prepared for bed.
Sleep was especially hard for Chihiro as she thought about Haku. Some dreams were happy while others were horrible nightmares that she did not want to relive. Then one dream, surprisingly lifelike, appeared to her.
Haku stood in front of her smiling, "Chihiro, I am so glad to see you." His emerald eyes twinkled in delight. They were surrounded by light, her aura and his seemed to merge into one.
Chihiro smiled, "I am equally glad to see you. How are you? Fine I hope."
"No bruises, everything seems to be perfectly fine. I do feel a bit weak though it is nothing to be worried about." Harsh voices could be heard and Haku's image seemed to be fading.
"Haku, don't leave me!"
"I can't, I am sorry Chihiro. I will tell you one thing. Beware of the Evil One he is up to no good; do not believe a word he says he just wants to trick you into giving up your powers. Bye Chihiro, I assure you one day we will meet again in person."
"Good-bye then." She said in a barely audible voice. "I'll miss you." Tears fell out of her eyes as she watched as the shadows envelope her and Haku disappear from her sight.
Chihiro woke up sobbing, she missed Haku so much and the dream had seemed so real as if she really was talking to him. She fell back to sleep, her dreams tormenting her until she woke the next day.