Previously:

"Boys," Akane purred. "Please detain my dear fiancé at the first chance you get. But be careful, I have a feeling he's a feisty one," She said before throwing her head back in laughter. "If you can help it, keep him alive, but don't stress too much about it. After all, accidents happen! Besides that, you may have your way with him," Akane finished, causing the eager men to grin devilishly. "Now, if you'll excuse us. We must be off."

Placing her arm delicately around her father's, she waved her free hand, casting a spell and causing them both to disappear. Most of the guests could have guessed at the impending battle that was about to take place, and ran immediately to the doors, fleeing like mice.

All that remained were the 12 guards, Rin, Yasu, and a dragon spirit seething with rage. "Girls," Haku breathed, focusing all of his attention to the guards that had begun to circle him. "Leave, now."

"Absolutely not!" Rin shouted. "If these idiots pose a threat to my baby sister... consider them dead." She finished, her eyes suddenly losing all drunkenness and humor. Yasu rolled up her sleeves, preparing for the impending fight.

If anyone could have seen Haku at that moment, they would be terrified. The true personality of the dragon spirit was about to be awoken. He gave a throaty growl that no one else could replicate, which slightly resembled a deep, throaty laugh. "Akane," Haku muttered. "You've just made a big mistake."

The had been going on for quite a while now. Whoever these henchmen were, they were obviously highly trained in the art of combat. They were clad in armored attire with katanas at their sides, their faces showing no signs of mercy or weakness.

Rin and Yasu each battled 2 henchmen, and the two women showed no signs of injury or fatigue. Rin had changed into her spirit form, a humanoid kitsune spirit with ears and a fox's tail. She was light on her feet and danced around her opponents with ease, while Yasu fended off the other man as best as she could.
This left the rest of the henchmen to Haku. He had already knocked 5 of them out, meaning there were 4 left, all attacking him at once. But this sort of thing was exactly what Haku had trained years for with his father. If he had his blade with him, this battle would have been over already, but he had no choice but to battle hand to hand.
With a loud grunt, one of the bigger henchmen rushed forward, trying to jab at Haku with his fist. But, Haku's senses were far too quick. He grabbed his fist mid-air, mere inches away from his body, and twisted his arm behind the brute's body at an unnatural angle, causing a shriek of pain to omit from his opponents lips. As he held him there in the arm lock, another man lunged for him. Using the man with the twisted arm as protection, Haku whirled him in front of himself to receive the blow from the other man, knocking him out cold.
3 left. The brute who had unwittingly knocked out his own comrade gave a howl of rage. Before he could attack, Haku held out his hand, causing a fierce wind to swirl around the enraged man, pinning him up against the wall. He struggled as he tried to get out of his grasp, but to no avail. Haku took hidden delight at seeing him squirm, and to anyone else, this would have been the perfect opportunity to kill the man.
But he couldn't. However tough he projected himself to be, Haku could never bring it upon himself to take another man's life. Seeing the blade plunge through his father's back all those years ago, he swore he could never be responsible for inflicting so much pain on someone else.
Haku settled for a punch to the head, instead. The man immediately stopped squirming and slumped to the floor, unconscious. He grabbed the katana at the fallen man's side.

Now THIS is more like it, Haku thought with a wicked grin. Knowing the other two henchmen couldn't be too far behind, Haku turned around and was immediately met with the next man running towards him, sword in hand, ready to strike. But once again, Haku was too quick.
The dragon spirit brought his sword up to meet with his in a mighty clash of metal. The henchman tried to overpower him in strength, thinking that he would win, but Haku was one step ahead of him.
Kicking outward, Haku swiped at his opponent's legs, bringing him to the floor with a mighty cry. Bringing the hilt of his sword down, Haku hit him forcefully in the spine, rendering him unable to get back on his feet.
A sudden, deep slice at his shoulder, across his upper back, made Haku writhe in agony as he stumbled forward. The final henchman, a well-built muscular man, had gotten a blow in before Haku could turn to face him.
His endorphins kicked into overdrive. Grabbing the unconscious henchman's sword from the ground in one swift motion, he brought it around and met with the big man's knee. It made direct contact with his target, but the ruffian continued standing, only wincing in response.
Haku's wound was bleeding quickly. If he didn't end this fight soon, he could lose consciousness and be killed in an instant. His sight was already beginning to become blurry, showing just how little time he had left.
Using the last of his strength, he was just about to swing his sword once more when his opponent brought the hilt of his sword up with a jolt into Haku's nose. It began to bleed instantly and furiously, and his head was sent into a frenzy of disorientation. He fell to his knees, unable to battle further.
All he could see was the man in front of him, the victor. This was it for Haku. He closed his eyes as the man raised his sword, about to deliver the final blow. He tried to think of the one thing that had kept him going throughout the years, his motivation to live, his muse. Haku could see her sweet smile shining down on him.
"I-I'm sorry, Chihiro..." He got out before the man brought down his sword with a mighty roar.
But that sword never made contact with the dragon spirit. With a shrill shriek, Rin had moved forward just in time with a sword of her own, killing the man before he had gotten to Haku. Eyes widened in shock, the ruffian fell to the floor with a loud thud.
The remaining henchmen had all been taken down by both Rin and Yasu, but primarily Rin. As quickly as she could, the fox spirit ran to Haku's side while yelling orders to Yasu like a military general.
"YASU, get me three rolls of gauze, a bottle of alcohol, needles, thread, and grab Kamaji. If you don't hurry, he's going to bleed to death!" Rin's eyes were as serious as a heart attack. She immediately ripped a portion of her dress off, tying a knot over the wound, trying to slow down the blood flow.

Yasu had never seen so much blood in her life, and stood there for a moment in horror while staring at Haku's crumpled form. His eyelids were fluttering wildly, and his body could go into shock at any moment. Seeing her immobile, Rin practically screamed, "GET OUT OF HERE, NOW!"
She blinked in realization and ran out of the ballroom as quickly as she could to find the necessary materials.

Rin turned back to Haku and began to tear off his shirt to get a better look at the wound. His eyes were dilated, he was feverish and his hands were shaking. Why was he deteriorating so quickly?
Haku, even in his feverish state, knew what she was thinking and muttered in between frantic breaths, "P-poison... The blade was poisoned..." Rin's eyes widened in horror, and she prayed to every God in her knowledge that Yasu hurried with the supplies.
How could she look Chihiro in the eyes if anything had happened to her Haku? She couldn't even fathom how hurt she would be. Not only that, but losing Haku would mean Rin lost one of her closest friends... She shook her head, snapping herself out of that train of thought.
Getting his shirt fully off of him, Rin couldn't help but notice the green stone hanging from Haku's neck. Haku noticed the shocked expression and gave a sharp exhalation of laughter, causing him to wince. He took several breaths before speaking.

"Yes, it's a T-toitsu," He stammered. "Don't worry, she's safe."

Relief flooded Rin's mind. She hadn't realized just how worried she was for Chihiro.
"Where is she, Haku?" She asked urgently but softly, trying not to weaken Haku further.
"The Nigahayami Estate." He answered before a fit of coughing came over him. The bleeding from his nose had stopped, but the wound on his back and shoulder continued to bleed more and more. Veins under his skin appeared to darken with every passing second, indications of blood poisoning. "With Jiro and my aunt."
Haku tried to breathe deeply for a minute before adding more.
"Rin, please tell me the truth. How does it look?"
"Honestly, you look like death warmed over," She said seriously before giving a faint chuckle. This was a defense mechanism for her. When deeply upset, she would laugh. This quickly gave her the connotation around the bathhouse of being a jokester, but in reality, she was terrified for Haku's life.
"Please, Haku, just stay awake. Stay awake for her." Rin didn't need to say her name, for Haku already knew. He fought the urge to sleep as long as he could until Yasu finally arrived with Kamaji at her side.
Yasu ran to Rin, dropping off the materials. Kamaji got one look at Haku before heaving a deep sigh. "Good God..."
Just from seeing the pale, sweaty sheen of his skin to the way Haku's face was scrunched in a permanent expression of pain and suffering, Kamaji could see that whatever the knife was poisoned with, it may end up taking his life. Killing a spirit was a difficult job; in fact, it was next to impossible. But whoever had poisoned this blade had obviously thought ahead, and had engineered this poison with the intent of killing the dragon spirit. Judging by the look on Rin's face, she could tell as well.
But Kamaji had never been one to back down from a challenge. Rushing over, he got to work immediately.

Akane lied down on the gigantic pillow top mattress that she had ordered earlier that day. Her furniture was probably worth more than the entirety of the bathhouse she resided in, but was there really a financial limit for comfort? Her father certainly didn't seem to think so, for he saw to it that every one of her needs was met with no hesitation whatsoever.
Her room was adorned in luxurious items and lavish gifts, such as chandeliers and Victorian style furniture. In her armoire contained hundreds of gowns in all colors and styles. To anyone else, such a room would have been a dream come true. But not for her. It was never enough.
Her father sat in one of the over-the-top loveseats located next to her bed, a quizzical expression on his bloated features.
"Was it really such a good idea to leave the guards downstairs?" The fat man inquired. "I know you told them to keep him alive, but I honestly think they might kill him..."
Akane sat upright with a frustrated expression. "Do you really doubt me, father?!" The man immediately cast his eyes to the floor in guilt.
"No, pumpkin. Of course not," He soothed, not daring to say anything else. She was in one of her moods again.
"Besides," Akane drolled, slumping into her pillows once more, "I don't really care if he dies, anyway." Her father turned to her quickly with a frightened look.
"Don't look at me like that, father," Akane said, smirking at the reaction she received. "It's now obvious he'd never willingly marry me. He's too attached to that human twit. So," She stood up and checked her hair in the mirror, occasionally glancing at her father's face in the reflection. "If he does die, she'll be absolutely crushed." She oozed before giving out a lighthearted laugh. "That'll show her who's really in charge!" Satisfied with her appearance, she went back to her bed, ignoring her father's nearly disgusted reaction.

The man was exasperated. "Darling, Haku's parents, your mother, and I all agreed to this union when you were both too young to remember. Your marriage is already guaranteed, so why bother going through all of this trouble with the human girl? I agreed to help have her killed, but I honestly don't understand your reasoning." Despite his daughter's cold hearted ways, he did feel somewhat guilty about the events that have transpired. In his eyes, he didn't see what was so bad about the human.
"There you go questioning me again." Akane growled and paused before she continuing in a softer tone. "Let me put this delicately. The mortal has quite a bit of nerve, getting Haku's very homeland to side with her during this entire ordeal. Surely, in getting such a following, she must be planning on taking Haku for herself. What will I do, with her and an entire nation on her side? She's made them hate me, father!" Akane hit her fists on her pillows like a child on the verge of a tantrum. "I've given up on having him love me! But I will NOT hand him to such a disgraceful creature, and I will NOT be the laughingstock of an entire nation." She gave a huff of laughter. "Forget a single nation-We would be the laughingstock of the entire Spirit World!" Anger flashed in her eyes. "Ha, choosing a human over me! Who does he think he is?!"
She turned to her father once more, who had gone entirely silent. "There will be one of two options ahead of us. Either he dies now, which would in turn break the girl's heart. OR, he will live. And if he lives and DOESN'T marry me, I'll have both of their heads on a platter," Akane growled, a new resolution in her heart. "Now, leave me at once. I wish to be alone."
Akane's father chose not to say anything else out of fear of what else he would hear, and stood to leave. Shutting the door with a thud, he couldn't help but wonder what he would do for a bottle of sake right now.

There was only darkness. The blackness of her surroundings was nearly choking her, it was so intense. Chihiro couldn't tell where she was, but all she knew was that there were no walls, floors, or doors to this new location. The air was heavy, as if filled with the suspense, bordering panic, that Chihiro felt inside herself. She tried to move around, but her body was frozen in place.
Then there was the silence. It was deafening; filling every crevice of her body and soul with a dull ache that she couldn't quite place. She wanted nothing more than to put her fingers in her ears, just so she could hear her heartbeat. Just to know she was alive. But she couldn't.
And suddenly, sound. It was faint, but in contrast to the silence she was surrounded with before, it nearly blasted in her ears. Just as she had hoped for, it was a heartbeat, but it was beating far too fast. There was no one there to tell her who's heartbeat it belonged to, but somewhere inside her, she knew.

It was Haku's. And he was dying.

The paralysis she had felt moments before finally released itself, and she burst into a sprint. She didn't know where, for the darkness was still blinding her, but she kept running. She would keep running until she found him. Chihiro could feel a crippling pain spreading from her shoulder to the rest of her body, but she wasn't being attacked.
What kind of dream is this?
She tried to decipher what all of this meant. Her surroundings told her that this was nothing but a dream, but something was wrong. Something felt real.
'Haku!' She called out, or at least she tried to. Chihiro opened her mouth but no sound escaped. She could only hear it resonating in her head.
She tried calling out again, this time louder. Chihiro continued to do so until she was practically screaming his name inside her mind, begging for any response, but none came.

Finally, she found him. His body was crumpled in a heap of blood, and his face showed that he was in obvious pain. Haku's body was slightly translucent and had this faint glow about it, giving him an almost angelic look that made Chihiro wonder whether he was truly there or not. But, even if it wasn't truly him, she didn't care. It felt real, and seeing him in this much pain chilled her to the bone.
Rushing to his side, she tried to find the source of the blood, and stopped when she saw the mighty gash. It stretched from the top of his shoulder all the way to his lower back, crossing over his spine. The wound was several inches deep, and you could see through to the bone.
Chihiro took a sharp breath as she realized that the pain she felt in her shoulder was the exact same spot where Haku was injured. She began to panic, as the sound of the heartbeat surrounding her continued to accelerate more and more. Eventually that heartbeat would tire and give up.

She felt a freezing cold against her chest that burnt to the touch, and Chihiro quickly reached down to grab hold of the necklace that Haku had given her back at the bathhouse. Holding it in her hands, she felt at peace. Something told her exactly what she had to do.

Rolling the unconscious Haku onto his stomach, Chihiro held the necklace in one hand. With her free hand, she touched his bare skin, directly on top of the open wound. Where her fingers touched, the wound began to glow with white light as it stopped bleeding. After a full minute, the wound had healed almost completely. As she continued to touch his back, she felt power surging through her veins, flowing from her arm into Haku.
The wound left a nasty scar. His eyebrows were furrowed, and his breaths were shallow. Chihiro could see that he was in immense pain, but she didn't worry.
Moving his hair out of the way of his forehead, Chihiro closed her eyes and placed her hand on him, flushing the pain and toxins out of his body. Haku's face immediately calmed, and he gave a long sigh in his sleep, at last finding peace.
Haku was older than herself by hundreds of years, but seeing him sleeping so soundly made her see just how like a child he could be.
"See?" She murmured, at last able to speak. "All better."
Upon hearing her voice, Haku's eyes flashed open in an instant, locking eyes with hers immediately. Chihiro gasped in surprise, but just as quickly as he had opened his eyes, the dream had ended.

She sat up straight in her bed, causing the woman next to her, placing a tray of tea at her bedside to jump.
"Oh! Miss, you're awake?! Please, rest some more, let me call for Master Jiro at once-" A female servant dressed in a blue-grey frock began to say, trying to soothe the panicked girl before she was interrupted.
"Where am I?!" Chihiro demanded, forgetting her conversation with Jiro the last time she was awake. "And how did I get here?"
"You're at the Nigahayami Estate, miss," The servant cooed. "And forgive me, I'm not entirely sure how you got here either. All I know is that Mistress Yukino and Master Jiro arrived here late last night, and you were with them. Master Jiro stayed with you nearly the entire night and early morning, getting the poison out of your body. Apparently, you were attacked. Forgive me for being so forward, miss," The young servant locked her eyes to the floor, "But you're lucky to be alive."

Chihiro slumped back in her bed, remembering the conversation she had with Jiro before she had fallen asleep again. She had been poisoned?

By who? What had happened at the bathhouse?

"Oh, and don't worry about your gown, I've cleaned it and hung it in the armoire. I'd hoped you wouldn't mind, but I took the liberty of having you changed into more comfortable clothing," The servant said, gesturing to the white, airy cotton nightgown that Chihiro now wore. "Now, if you'll excuse me, miss, I'll go get Master Jiro. I'm sure you have lots of questions." The servant bowed before exiting the room, leaving the befuddled Chihiro alone with her thoughts.
She felt much better than she had the last time she was awake, recalling her pounding headache. Her dream came back to her in pieces. There was darkness. Then she saw some ghostly being in a slump of blood on the floor...

Haku.
She grabbed at her chest, her hand feeling for the necklace that lie under her nightgown. Chihiro pulled it out, gazing at it in wonder.
Chihiro was brought out of her thoughts by a knock at the door. With a croak, the huge wooden door slowly opened until Jiro popped his head in. He smiled at her and was about to give his greeting when his kind expression was replaced by a look of terror. He rushed to her side, placing his hand on her forehead.
"Chihiro... your aura! Something's wrong..." The way he refused to look her in the eye was beginning to frighten her. Was she ill? Was there poison still in her system? "It's white. Pure white- almost blinding. I haven't seen something like this in decades."

"What does that mean?" She got out in a squeak. Chihiro prepared herself for the worst news.
Jiro sat at the stool by her bedside. "It means... your soul now contains powers that are very unlike that of your species. Very much like a spirit's powers." He tied his long hair back with a quizzical expression, searching her face for some hidden answer. He seemed almost saddened by the news. Chihiro was shocked.
"I... have powers? How is this possible?" Chihiro stared at her pristinely white bedsheets, trying to process the information. "I don't feel any different."
"I have no idea," He admitted. "But, Chihiro, do you understand just what this means?"
She shook her head and was beginning to get seriously alarmed by Jiro's intense expression. She braced herself,

"I'm sorry to have to say this, Chihiro..." He sighed, unable to put it into proper words. "But you are no longer mortal."

Duh-duh-DUHHHH! There we go guys, a nice extra long chapter with a massive plot twist. Let me know what you all think! Don't worry, all will be explained in later chapters. Also, thank you to all who wished me luck on my final exams! They all went very well, and I ended the semester with very nice grades haha! *high-fives self* Expect another chapter from me around this time next week! I feel like I'm really getting into the groove with this whole writing thing, and it's a total blast. Let me know what you like and don't like, and again, give me suggestions! I love constructed criticism!

Also, you know the drill! Please leave a review, favorite and a follow if you enjoy my writing and the story! Again, REVIEWS. I love them! The reviews are what keep me going, so please do leave one if you can!

*** By the way, if you or anyone you know would be interested in doing fanart for this story, please leave me a private message. You can choose any scene from any chapter you want, and I would link your website or deviantart link in every single one of my chapters. I would love to see my words come to life through your art!

Thank you all again for your unwavering support, love you guys! Talk to you soon!