O.M.G...I WAS FINALLY ABLE TO UPLOAD! For, like, the past week and a half, I haven't been able to upload ANYTHING, so you guys have had to wait longer!Was it just me who had problems?I don't think it's just me, cuz my friend was having the same problems.

Well, I hope you guys like this chapter! There's some fluff at the end you guys will hate me for! You'll find out why when you get there.

Side Note: You know, when I promised fluff, that's all everyone talked about in their reviews. I must have a big impact on you people…not that it's a bad thing, mind you. /grins/

Anyways…NOW I HAVE OVER 10,000 HITS! WOOT! Arigatou-gozaimasu, minna-san! It's at 10,440 now! (wow, an even number...lol)IT WENT UP OVER 1000 FRIGGIN' HITS! With one chapter!

Review Responses:

Waterlover64: Oh yeah! I saw that name somewhere on here… I guess we are sorta the same. We both know people who you would least expect who joined up!

Someone: LOL. It seems everyone has been saying that. That's all I've seen in my reviews…

Sparkling Spirit: Don't worry, I'm definately not quitting on this story. It's my most successfuul one yet! I'm glad you (and so many others) like this story! Thanks for reviewing!

I said I wasn't going to do a disclaimer anymore, right? Okay, just making sure. But if you want one, go to the first chapter. /mumbles about mangy lawyers/

Chapter 10

Chihiro couldn't sleep that night. Everything that had happened was on her mind. From Haku asking her to come and help him to the youkai to her hair tie glowing strangely. She tried to think of ways she could help save the spirit world, but that only gave her a major migraine. Who knew that just thinking of how to save this world could be so painful?

She tried to go to sleep. She thought maybe everything would seem a bit easier if she got some rest. But then something decided to keep her awake.

The wound on her shoulder had healed considerably. The bleeding had stopped within an hour of when she got it and had clotted over. Last time she checked, the wound didn't feel as sensitive, either. But damn did it ITCH! She pulled the sleeve of her shirt down her shoulder and took a peek at the injury for what seemed like the hundredth time that hour. The redness of the skin just made the itching feel worse, and Chihiro had a hard time resisting the temptation to scratch it. Instead, she tried rubbing it. Fiercely, mind you. She moaned softly in pleasure as the itching went away. Once she was satisfied, she stopped and lay back down to go to sleep. But then it came back. She cursed under her breath. Persistent thing.

I guess it's a good thing, though, that it's itching so much, Chihiro thought. But why does it have to be this annoying! She rubbed at it again. She assumed her skin would probably go raw from all the rubbing, but she didn't care right now. She just wanted the infernal itching to stop. When it didn't cease its annoying acts, Chihiro grew very frustrated. She would have screamed at it (as if that would work), but everyone was sound asleep. Instead, she settled for twiddling with her thumbs, pinching her arms, drawing on the floor with her finger, anything. After all, things always work with mind over matter. But, it only works if the person will actually forget about their problems and focus on something else; Chihiro's mind was too stubborn and insisted on focusing on the continuous itching. Chihiro had half a mind to punch herself in the head. Well, that half a mind ruled her thoughts at that moment, so she did and yelped.

Her eyes widened and her hands immediately flew to her mouth. Anxiously her gaze scanned the room. Sakana was snoring a foot away from her, sprawled all over the floor. Akane was on her other side snoring softly, almost inaudible. Lin was tucked neatly away in a moth-eaten sleeping bag, still and quiet. From a distance, Chihiro would have thought she was dead. Lin's slow rise and fall of her chest, however, confirmed otherwise.

Chihiro sighed in relief, albeit half-heartedly. She was glad that she hadn't woken anyone up, but she needed someone to help her with her itching problem. True it was late at night, judging by the moon's position in the sky from the window, and true that those youkai were probably patrolling the halls, and true that anyone would be annoyed if she had woken them up…

Chihiro let out a low, involuntary whine. What was she supposed to do?

Quietly, Chihiro got out of her bed and crept over to the balcony. She settled herself on the edge, her feet dangling over the sea of water below. The moon shown brightly in the clear sky overhead, bathing everything in its milky glow. The cool night breeze caressed her body, comforting her bad shoulder and making the itch stop. Chihiro thought she could sit here and watch the night forever.

"What are you do awake?" A voice from behind her said. Chihiro spun around to see Haku's worried face.

"Don't scare me like that," she said.

"Sorry," he said. A silence passed between the two as both gazed into the night sky.

"You couldn't sleep either, huh?" Chihiro said, more as a statement than a question. Haku laughed and sat beside her.

"What's on your mind?" he asked.

Chihiro pointed angrily to her shoulder, then scratched it a little to show what she meant. Haku merely chuckled again.

"Here, I'll help stop the itching for a while so you can sleep." He placed his hand on her shoulder wound. Her breath hitched, and he paused.

"Are you okay?" He asked. She nodded. Physically, she was just dandy. But his simple touch made her heart race. Chihiro was glad it was dark out. She couldn't bear to think of what Haku would do or say if he saw her blush as bad as this.

Haku's hand began to glow a soft baby blue. Chihiro's shoulder began to tingle, making her wound itch even more, almost unbearable. But just as soon as the itching had gotten worse, it had disappeared completely. Haku removed his hand then.

"T-thanks," Chihiro awed at his power. Inwardly, her mind was jeering, thankful to Kami that the itching had ceased.

She smiled at him, and he smiled back. They turned their attentions back to the sky, but this time, Chihiro couldn't focus on it. She was overly aware of her closeness to Haku, but wasn't sure if he was or not. Through the corner of her eye, she watched him. He seemed so peaceful, just sitting there, staring at the sky. The moonlight bathed the both of them in white light. Chihiro was unaware that her mouth had opened slightly as her gaze was transfixed on Haku. He had an unearthly appearance, almost godly, in the moonlight. His bangs fell lightly on his face. She resisted the urge to pull them back. She wondered what he would look like had he been in his dragon form at that moment. He would probably look too special (for lack of better words) to even be in his presence, let alone touch.

Chihiro swallowed hard. She wanted to kiss him, then and there. But what would he think? Would he think she was weird, or push her away, thinking she was going too fast? Oh, why did these things always complicate her life!

Instead of kissing, Chihiro settled for the traditional approach. The hand-creeping-to-other-hand plan. Slowly, her hand inched along. But after the first, insignificant step, Haku spoke up.

"Is that all that's bothering you?"

Chihiro cursed him for ruining the moment. But his question made her stop and think. He was right on the money.

She looked up at him and her chocolate brown orbs met his gray ones. She could see into their very depths, all his feeling and emotion. Right now, pain and worry ruled them. Haku looked from her shoulder than back to her eyes before looking away.

"Maybe Lin was right," he said. "Maybe I shouldn't have brought you here."

A small pause followed as Chihiro let his statement sink in. Then it was her turn to look away as she gazed out to sea.

"Do you regret it?"

He looked at her in surprise. Chihiro looked back up at him, searching for his answer in his eyes. She immediately found it, but she waited for his answer anyways.

"Chihiro, I," he seemed to struggle with his words, "I put you in great danger by bringing you here, Chihiro. At first, I thought you would have been able to help since you helped me with Yubaba's curse and even freed your parents, but…" The smile that had appeared on his face disappeared just as quickly as it had come. "Now the evil is far greater, and I don't know if I'll be able to protect you this time."

Chihiro was moved by his concern, but also annoyed. She wasn't the weak little ten-year-old that she was five years ago.

"Haku, I came here not because you asked me to, but because I wanted to help you guys," she explained. "You all did so much for me when I was alone and my parents were turned into pigs." The memories made both of them laugh. "What I want to know, though, is why you chose me. What can I do to help? So far you have been the one protecting and helping me. Even my friends have been looking out for me and saving my butt. What good am I?"

"Chihiro, you're not helpless like you think you are," Haku said. "All on your own, you helped save not only your parents, but me as well. I chose you because, besides wanting to see you again, I thought you, of all people, would be able to do something."

Chihiro's face fell. "Because I was the only other person who knows about this world, right?"

"Not only that, but because, as I said, you saved a lot of us from Yubaba," Haku told her with a bright smile. "You have a special gift, Chihiro."

Chihiro felt something flutter inside her. She felt…happy and special. When it counted, he knew exactly what to say to her.

"But now…I wonder if I made a deadly mistake."

So much for ruining the moment.

Chihiro gripped his hand tightly and stared straight into his eyes. "Stop saying that. There must be something I can do if you chose me." Even as she spoke, tears formed in her eyes. She was confused as to why she was crying. Was it fear? Worry? Doubt? She choked them back, and stared determinedly into his eyes. He seemed taken aback at the sudden determination she now possessed. "I promise I'll help you save Spirit World."

He was speechless. She seemed so determined now, when just a minute ago she felt lost and helpless. In short, he awed at her strength. She was never helpless. She always had the strength to do things. She just never realized it was there in her.

"Thank you, Chihiro." He wrapped his arms tightly around Chihiro's tiny form. Startled and slightly taken aback, it took a while for Chihiro to calm down. This time she listened to her impulses, and hugged him back.

After several minutes, the two broke apart, though still with their hands in each other's. Their eyes were locked, and no matter what she could have tried to do, she couldn't (and definitely wouldn't) pry her gaze from his. Her heart rate skyrocketed. She could hear the intense pounding in her ears. Once again she was overly aware at their closeness and of the situation. By instinct, her body eased forward, as did his. Their noses were now mere centimeters apart. She couldn't back out now, even if she had wanted to. She closed her eyes and parted her lips, ready.

Suddenly, Haku broke away roughly, and began coughing.

"Haku, are you all right?" Chihiro asked worriedly.

"Yeah, I'm…fine," he coughed. His coughing fit lasted a few more seconds before he finally calmed down. He hunched over, his breathing staggered and heavy.

"Do you need anything? Should I wake Lin up?" Chihiro asked. Without an answer, she was about to stand, but Haku pulled her back down.

"I'm fine," he repeated. "I just swallowed the wrong way, that's all." To prove his point, he gave her a reassuring smile.

"Fine, but if you start coughing again like you just did, I'm waking her up, got it?" Chihiro warned and he nodded. Content, she smiled. "Come on, we should get back to bed."

Haku stood to join her, but wavered. Chihiro caught him before he fell. It was then that she could see his bloodshot eyes.

"Have you even slept at all these past few days?"

"Not really," he replied with a small smile.

Chihiro shook her head disapprovingly. With his arm straddled over her left shoulder, she dragged them both to their beds.

A/N: Aren't I evil? They were so close…/grins/ Ah, it feels good to be evil sometimes. Don't kill me, though, k? You got your fluffiness, didn't you?

Anyways, please review! Sorry this chapter was a bit short.

Also, ideas for this story are still welcome. (Strange how I said I had no idea what should happen, but here I am? But, I just need some little events for the body of the story. Something besides fluffy things!)

Ok, I just realized right before I was going to post this that I said Haku was like 6 inches taller than her. Well, he is, but he's also leaning on her and slumped over. So, he's still pretty tall, but now short enough for Chihiro.

Next time on Dragon Boy: Ch.11: Talking

Summary: Everyone is talking. About the Chimimouryou; about Chihiro; about Haku; about Chihiro and Haku; everything. (Might take a while to get up cuz I am going to focus on Lunar Destiny for a while. It's almost done and I've got everything already planned out pretty much.)