Author's Note: Just so you know, this chapter does contain lemon. If you don't feel comfortable reading it...then I suggest you stop reading it here. Other than that, sorry for waiting so long before putting this chapter out! I hope everyone enjoys it! Keep R&Ring so I know what everyone thinks!

Chapter 9

Chihiro held on tightly to the two horns that sat on top of Haku's head. The last thing she wanted was to fall off and plummet to her death. Chihiro shuddered at the thought and tightened her grip. They darted in and out of clouds as they flew higher up into the dark sky. After about an hour Chihiro began to feel tired, so she leaned her head forward and rested on the top of Haku's head. Within a couple of minutes, she had dozed off to sleep.

Chihiro woke to Haku gently nudging her side. She slowly opened up her eyes and looked up at Haku who was kneeling over her. Chihiro sat up and looked around to discover she was lying in a grassy plain that was bordering a forest. The tree's of the forest were all dead and withered, giving the forest a frightening look to it. Chihiro pointed towards the intimidating woods with an apprehensive look on her face.

"We don't have to go into there do we?"

Haku nodded his head.

"Those are the ancient woods of Naruta; you must go through them in order to get to the Lagoon of Darkness. In the Lagoon of Darkness lies the Temple of Asjar. It is there that we will find the Amulet of Power. It's not going to be easy to get, there are obstacles we must go through in order to retrieve it." Haku looked back down at Chihiro smiling.

"We'll manage though."

Chihiro looked up at him confused.

"Haku, you aren't mad at me anymore?"

"I wasn't really mad at you. I was worried that Yu-Babba would put you in danger in order to get to me. I was scared that you would be at risk."

Chihiro sat up and unexpectedly kissed him sending him into a blush from ear to ear. He returned the kiss and ran his hand through her hair. Chihiro untied Haku's cloak and laid it beside them. Underneath Haku was wearing a white shirt with a pair of cotton blue pants that were about knee length. Before Chihiro knew it her cloak was off as well and they both laid on top of it. Haku ran his hands over Chihiro's entire body, causing a to chill run up her spine making her to softly gasp for air. Chihiro thrust her hands underneath Haku's shirt and began to massage his lower back. He rested his head on Chihiro's shoulder and quietly moaned under Chihiro's touch.

He leaned closer to Chihiro and lightly whispered into her ear, "We have to get going."

Reluctantly Chihiro and Haku stood to their feet and fastened their cloaks back on. Together they entered the decrepit forest. A light mist was spread around the ground as they walked over fallen logs that littered the leaf covered forest floor. They tread through the forest until they came to a small imp sitting on a wooden stump.

"Why have you disturbed the spirits of the forest?"

Haku looked down at the fairy, and spoke to it in a cold tone.

"We seek the 'Amulet of Power'."

This caused the imp to erupt in laughter.

"Too bad you will never exit this forest. There are three beasts that reside here. One of them is not too far ahead of you, the second lives in a place where the sun meets the earth. And the last thrives on death and fear. You have been warned."

With a final giggle the imp disappeared into a whiff of smoke. Haku grabbed Chihiro's hand cautiously. He created a small orb of light with his free hand.

"Chihiro, stay right here. Don't budge from this spot."

Haku walked further in the forest alone. Chihiro obediently stood where Haku had left her. She heard creatures moving around her, making her feel more scared than she ever felt before. Leaves crunched on the ground near her, as if someone was coming her way.

"H-Haku? Is that you?"

Low breathing could be heard and Chihiro suddenly wished that she was never left alone. She cautiously turned her head to see the source of the sound. A large dragon like beast emerged his head from the shadows causing Chihiro to back up slowly. "Oh no! I don't want to die! Where in the world is Haku?!?" She continued walking backwards until her back smacked against a tree. A smirk seemed to creep its way to the beast's lips as it lumbered toward her. Chihiro opened her mouth to scream, but no sound escaped from her mouth. Suddenly she noticed something creeping up on the beast's hind side. It raised it arms in the air and began to chant something that Chihiro couldn't quite make out. The beast suddenly turned his head and swung his tail wildly at the distraction. Suddenly a huge gust of wind came blowing through the area where Chihiro and the beast stood. Chihiro had to hold both hands tightly to the tree behind her to keep from getting swept away. The beast fell with a loud thud that made her clasp her hands firmly around her ears, rather than the tree. Suddenly Haku came running from behind her and looked down, surprised to see the beast. He quickly ran in front of Chihiro and pulled out a bow and arrow.

"Where in the world did he get those?", Chihiro thought as she watched the man she loved begin to shoot arrows towards the beast. He successfully shot it in both of its eyes, completely blinding it. The beast wailed out in pain and began in flail its feet around furiously. The figure who was also fighting the beast came into Chihiro's view. It was a tall man with long golden hair that came to about his waist. He wore tan pants that clung to him, with leather knee high boots. His sleeveless white shirt blew loosely in the wind and he jumped on top of the beast. He un-sheathed his sword, that was hanging loosely off his waist and plunged it deep into the beasts chest. It screamed out in agony once more before lying limp, proving it had been defeated. The man jumped off the beast and walked over to where Haku and Chihiro were standing. Chihiro could see now that he was quite an attractive man, he had long elf-like ears and beautiful dark purple eyes. Chihiro looked up at the tall man in awe. He walked up to Chihiro and Haku, bowing before he spoke.

"My name is Tsutomu, I am but one of the many spirits of this forest. I sensed a disturbance and came to see what it was. Why have you two dared to enter this forest?", he said giving both Haku and Chihiro a once over.

"We wish to retrieve the 'Amulet of Power'.", said Haku, slightly sick of having to repeat his mission numerous times.

"The Amulet?!? That is a fools errand!", said Tsutomu looking stupefied. "Who may you two be, searching for such a powerful thing?"

"I am Haku, spirit of the Kohaku River. This is my companion Chihiro, she is a human."

Tsutomu stared at Chihiro. "A human?!? No human has ever entered this forest. You must have great protection surrounding you."

Tsutomu bowed again, causing Chihiro to blush. Suddenly a loud cracking noise above them caused Chihiro to look up. A dead tree branch seemed to have broken off and it was falling right over her. Both Haku and Tsutomu jumped to save her, but Tsutomu reached her first. Tackling Chihiro to the ground, he shielded her protectively holding her close to his chest. The large tree branch crashed against the forest floor, creating a loud noise that caused many small animals to scatter.

"Are you injured?" Tsutomu said looking down and Chihiro. She shyly peered at him blushing as she shook her head. As he stared into her eyes she took in his natural beauty. "This has got to be the most gorgeous man I have ever seen..." Suddenly Haku clearing his throat seemed to snap Chihiro out of her daydream.

"Oh, Haku..." She said as she eased her way out of the man's grasp and stood up quickly. Haku looked away feeling slightly jealous.

"Well, I guess we should be moving on." Haku said his voice sounding different than usual. He slid the bow he was holding underneath his cloak. It disappeared underneath the shadow of the shroud as Haku wrapped it tighter around his body. "I don't like this Tsutomu character. Chihiro seems to have taken a liking to him though." These thoughts raced through Haku's mind as he began to walk away. Chihiro pulled the hood up to her cloak, and began to walk side-by-side next to Haku. After they walked several feet Tsutomu called after them.

"May I accompany you both on your journey? You two seem to have a lot of danger ahead of you. You will need the assistance of powerful magic."

Haku turned around quickly. "I carry enough magic for us to retrieve the Amulet on our own."

Tsutomu closed his eyes and darted behind Haku faster than the speed of light.

"Yes, but you will need magic that is a bit more advanced than yours."

Haku jumped at the man whose voice was suddenly behind him and turned to face him.

"You may come if you wish, but don't get in our way."

Tsutomu smiled. "You will barely even notice my presence."

All of three of them continued to walk for a while before Tsutomu's voice broke the silence. "The spirits of the forest seem unusually calm. Sempora must sense you."

Chihiro looked up at him with a puzzled expression. "Sempora?"

Haku interrupted Tsutomu who had opened his mouth to speak. "Sempora is the goddess of these woods. She resides in the center of this forest and holds unlimited power. She rules over this entire forest."

Chihiro nodded her head in awe.

"All of the spirits of the forest worship her. She is rarely seen by outsiders.", said Tsutomu.

Chihiro looked up into the sky and noticed nighttime was approaching. The sun had almost fully disappeared.

"Should we begin to set up camp for the night?", she said, terrified of what beasts would come out after the sunset.

Haku nodded his head in agreement. He began to clear leaves away by making sweeping movements with his hands.

"You don't plan on sleeping down here, do you?" Said Tsutomu looking horrified.

Haku looked at him with an annoyed look on his face. "And what's wrong with that?"

"Creatures of the night will steal your belongings and slaughter you in your sleep without hesitation."

Chihiro shuddered; Haku gave her an assuring look before glaring at Tsutomu. "Then where do you propose we sleep?"

Tsutomu pointed upwards towards the sky. "In the treetops. That is where we sleep."

"What do you mean by 'we'?"

"Me and my fellow spirits of the forest."

Haku sighed. "Then I guess we should go up into the trees."

He grabbed Chihiro's hand suddenly and flew high into the sky. He was followed closely by Tsutomu. All three of them landed on a high tree branch.

"We all should sleep on different branches of this tree. This branch might not support all of our weight.", said Tsutomu before flying to a tree branch near by.

Haku made a swooping arm movement that created a mat with a large blanket on it for Chihiro. He also handed Chihiro clothes in which she could sleep in.

Chihiro hugged him, "Thank you Haku; I'll see you in the morning. Uh, could you, um, put up a shade or something so I can change?"

Haku nodded and blushed as he caused the leaves on the branch above to grow and stretch down to shield him and Chihiro on all sides.

Haku opened the curtain of leaves to leave. "Goodnight Chihiro, sweet dreams." He walked out of the little room he created for her. Chihiro could hear him as he flew to a branch nearby. She changed into the long pale pink nightgown Haku had provided for her and stepped onto the mat before she fell on top of it. She covered her entire body underneath the large blanket. After several moments she discovered she couldn't fall sleep. As she stared up at the branch above, thoughts of her family and friends crept into her mind. "I miss mom and dad so much. I wonder how they reacted when they found my note...I wish they were here." A tear fell down Chihiro's cheek and she began to cry gently into her pillow.

Haku laid on his own mat on a branch not too far from Chihiro's. His thoughts were filled with nothing but her. "She seemed awfully quiet today. I hope she feels okay." Haku turned on his side and began to drift off to sleep when Chihiro's whimpers reached his ears. He sat up immediately and rushed to where she was sleeping. He quickly pulled back the curtain of leaves he had created for her, to find tears streaming down her face. He walked over to her and kneeled by her side.

"Chihiro, what's wrong? Are you hurt?"

Chihiro turned to see Haku, who was dressed in nothing but a pair of dark blue shorts. She sat up and wiped her eyes.

"I'm fine, don't worry about me. You can go back to bed."

Chihiro turned her back to him. "I don't want Haku worrying about me; he has enough to worry about. I'm nothing but a little homesick anyway." After she turned she couldn't help but start crying again. "I'm such a baby, why am I crying?" Haku laid beside her and wrapped his arms tightly around her.

"You miss your home don't you?"

Chihiro slowly nodded her head as Haku buried his head in the nook of her neck.

"I'm sorry for making you leave. I should have tried to get the amulet myself. I'm so sorry for making you leave everything Chihiro."

Chihiro turned to face him. "If you hadn't come to get me, I wouldn't have you in my life again. Don't apologize, it was my decision to leave."

Haku rested his forehead against Chihiro's as another tear slid down her cheek. Haku reached up and wiped it away with his thumb.

"I promise I will return you home safely, Chihiro."

Chihiro pushed her head forward and kissed Haku gently. He kissed her back a little more aggressively than he usually did. Chihiro pulled her hand up and began to gently stroke Haku's chest. He reached down and pulled the pink nightgown Chihiro was wearing over her head and trailed kisses from neck to her bare chest. She let out a low moan as her hands began to rub frantically against his back. Haku brought his head back up and lightly sucked on Chihiro's neck before finally kissing her again. She reached her hands down and pulled off the pajama shorts he was wearing. Haku kicked them onto the leaf-covered treetop and placed his hands gently on Chihiro's waist, his fingertips softly grazed against her smooth skin. They let their bare bodies lay against each other before Haku began to slowly ease himself inside Chihiro. He looked into her eyes apprehensively.

"Do you want me stop?"

Chihiro shook her head before draping her arms around Haku's neck entrancing him with a deep kiss. Chihiro winced in pain causing Haku to stop, but she assured him that she was fine and they proceeded to make love throughout the night.

-

Chihiro squinted her eyes at the sunlight that was creeping its way through the leaves. She stretched her arms out and yawned looking down to discover that half of her naked body was emerged from the blanket. She screamed slightly and pulled the blanket up to her neck before turning to look at Haku's sleeping face. He looked so content when he was sleeping; it made Chihiro's heart feel at ease. She couldn't resist herself as she reached up and wiped away a stray hair that laid across his face. Haku slowly opened his eyelids and smiled when he saw Chihiro's eyes staring back into his own.

"Good Morning.", he said in a groggy voice.

" 'Morning.", Chihiro replied in a small voice.

Suddenly the curtain of leaves was pushed back exposing massive amounts of sunlight into Chihiro's and Haku's little hideaway. Tsutomu beamed down at them.

"Why are you two still in bed? It's almost midmorning!"

He bend down and yanked off the cover that was covering both Chihiro and Haku, causing their bare bodies to be exposed. Tsutomu quickly turned his head as Chihiro let out a loud scream and scrambled to get the cover back over her body.

"M-My apologizes! I was not aware you two were...um...ill be waiting outside."

Tsutomu swiftly turned and left, leaving Chihiro and Haku alone again. Chihiro pushed her body underneath the cover blushing. Haku, who didn't seem to be embarrassed at all, stood and pulled his shorts on giving Chihiro a quick glance at his rear end.

"We should be getting ready to move on."

He turned and flashed a smile at Chihiro before leaving to go get dressed himself. Chihiro pulled on her clothes and felt in desperate need of a shower. After getting fully dressed, she walked out into the bright sunlight and to her surprise, face to face with Tsutomu.

"I am incredibly sorry! I wasn't aware-"

Chihiro blushed and looked down at her feet. "Its alright. We should have gotten up earlier and gotten dressed."

She looked up to see Tsutomu blushing as well.

"From what I have heard, Chihiro, you are not any ordinary human. Sorry about my nosiness, but I asked the other spirits for some information on you and Haku. And they have told me some very interesting tales about you."

Chihiro looked up at the attractive man and blushed even deeper.

"I'm nothing special really..."

"Nonsense! Having traveled to the spirit world is an honor by itself, but overcoming a "No Face", becoming concealed in a bathhouse, and dealing with Yu-Babba and her twin sister Zeniba! No human in the history of man has ever accomplished as much as you."

Chihiro looked up at him in awe and smiled. "To tell the truth, it really wasn't hard at all... WHOA!"

Chihiro had leaned onto her right foot that was centimeters from the edge of the tree branch causing her to fall backwards.

Tsutomu reached out and caught her before she had fallen completely off the tree branch.

"Perhaps we should go down to the ground now."

With that Tsutomu lifted Chihiro off the ground in one quick movement and dropped down to the forest floor where Haku stood waiting for them.

"I didn't want to interrupt your conversation so I decided to wait for you both down here." Haku looked away at the sight of another man holding Chihiro in his arms. He couldn't control his jealousy. "Why am I acting like this? I know that Chihiro would never betray me."

Chihiro looked at Haku slightly concerned before she noticed she was still in Tsutomu's arms.

"Uh, Tsutomu? Can you put me down?"

"Oh, s-sorry."

Tsutomu gently set Chihiro down and watched as she made her way over to Haku.

"Haku, are you alright?"

Haku almost had to force a smile to his lips as Chihiro gazed up at him looking concerned.

"I'm fine. Let's continue on."

Together Tsutomu, Haku, and Chihiro began to walk on for several hours before the growling of Chihiro stomach caused them all to stop and stare at her.

"I am a little hungry...", said Chihiro trying to get both men to stop looking at her.

"We should stop to get something to eat. I know a river that is not to far from here." Tsutomu turned sharply to the left and began to walk quickly. Haku grabbed Chihiro's hand as they walked about a foot behind Tsutomu.

"There it is I see it!" Tsutomu began to jog foreword causing Chihiro and Haku to run after him. They arrived to an area where the trees were parted causing the sunlight to flood over a sparkling blue river. Haku reached underneath his cloak and pulled out three fishing rods. Chihiro and Tsutomu each took one from his grasp. As the tree of them sat in silence to fish, Chihiro wanted badly to dive right into the shimmering river. Haku looked over at her and noticed her staring onto the water as if she wanted nothing more but to get right into it.

"You can go swimming if you like."

Chihiro nodded eagerly, but then looked sad, realizing she had nothing to swim in.

"...but I don't have a swimsuit."

"You can have whatever you need, just concentrate on the item that you want and the cloak will provide it for you. Try it."

Chihiro tied to focus all her thoughts on a swimsuit but nothing worked.

"Haku, it's not working. Maybe humans can't use it."

"Listen to me, clear your mind completely and focus solely on getting something to swim in."

Chihiro focused all her thoughts on a swimsuit and within moments she felt something light fall into her hands. She unveiled to her hands from underneath her cloak revealing a beautiful light pink swimming suit. Chihiro smiled and showed it to Haku.

"It worked!"

"I knew you could do it." Haku leaned over a lightly kissed Chihiro, making her feel happy all over. Tsutomu quickly turned his head away from the happy couple. Chihiro jogged over to an area where she was shielded from the two men and changed quickly into her swimsuit. She sprinted out of the cover of the trees and dove headfirst into the water. She breathed a sigh of relief as soon as the cool water hit her warm flesh. Chihiro swam around for a while, letting the water envelope her body. She only stopped swimming when she heard Tsutomu call out that he had caught a fish. Chihiro waded towards the shore and walked out of the water to see Tsutomu holding a small fish that looked similar to a minnow.

"That's not enough to feed all of us...", she said sounding disappointed.

"Not for long.", said Haku moments before performing an enlarging charm that made the fish almost quadruple in size. It now resembled a shark rather than a minnow. Tsutomu prepared the fish as Chihiro, who was still dripping wet, talked to him. Haku was still by the riverside determined to catch another fish for later.

"Tsutomu, don't you ever get lonely out here in the forest?", Chihiro asked him sounding a little sorry for him.

"Not really, I have my fellow spirits of the forest who keep me company. But I do tend to become quite lonely at night."

Chihiro looked up at him sadly. "Maybe you should look for a companion, someone to share your life with."

Tsutomu looked over with a confused look on his face, "A companion?"

"You know, someone to love. Like a wife or something.", said Chihiro blushing slightly.

"We spirits of the forest do not have "wives". We are intended to live a solitary life, even though that is not what I want.", Tsutomu looked up to meet Chihiro's eyes. "I want something like you and Haku have, and not be alone. I want someone to love."

Tsutomu reached up and quickly grabbed Chihiro's hand, She could see the sadness in his eyes.

"Chihiro, I wish there could be a copy of you. I want someone who is exactly like you, brave, generous, caring, sweet... they are all the characteristics I would look for in a mate."

"I told you before, I'm not all that great Tsut-"

But before she could finish her sentence, Tsutomu pulled her close and planted a sweet kiss upon her lips. Chihiro shoved him away quickly.

"Tsutomu what are you doing?!?"

But before Tsutomu could answer, the sound of leaves crunching made him turn his head in time to make contact with Haku's fist.

-

Author's Note: I hope everyone still likes the story...do you think I should add more characters to their journey or leave it with just Chihiro, Haku, and Tsutomu? Tell me what you think!

If you noticed, this chapter is quite a lot longer than the others...so sorry it took so long for me to put it up! The next chapter should be out a lot quicker...well, ill try.