D/N: Mmm, Another chapter. I'm having fun! Hehehe. So, now the plot deepens. Mwahaha.
Ah, yes, and maybe you'll see some familiar characters here. Maybe. It depends on if I get an opening to throw them in. Nyahahaha.
Chihiro, thrown off for a moment, stammered, "H-haku! When did you get back?"
"Only a few moments ago, but that isn't the major concern for tonight." He motioned to the chairs once more, "Come, sit. You'll want to. Arachnid has gone home for the night, and don't worry; she won't say anything."
Hesitating for a moment, she stood there, hand on the shutters. Haku took a seat, and watched her with those level olive eyes until she finally let go of her death grip upon the wood, and jerkily walked over to him, sitting stiffly on the other chair. Something wasn't right; he looked like he had before, when Yubaba still controlled him. "What's wrong?"
Haku's frown deepened, as though deep in thought, and then he nodded, "What's wrong is what I have to tell you. I'm not happy about the fact that they have chosen me as their messenger b-"
"Who are 'they'?" Chihiro interrupted, suddenly not wishing to get to the bottom of this; she didn't want to know. All she did want to know was how she could get home.
Looking annoyed, the dragon boy told her, "Fine, I'll tell you. You know how in the spirit realm, the Children of Fenrir took the mythical creatures from the minds of men?" He waited until Chihiro nodded, showing that she remembered, and continued, "They also took the Gods and Goddesses people dream of. The Children thought they could control them, perhaps gain control over mortals, if need ever came that they needed to move there, but their plan backfired again. Who they took was too diverse for them to control; they formed their own consul eventually.
"Now, the Children are devising a plan to get rid of them. They're much more intelligent than the creatures, so they gathered together to form their own plan to get rid of them." Haku took a deep breath, "This plan must be entirely engaged by you."
Chihiro stared at him, suddenly feeling light headed. Dizzily, she asked, "Why can't they do it themselves?"
"Because they can be seen by the Children of Fenrir! You are invisible to them and know of the spirit realm, even if just a little. The little that you do know will help you tremendously, or so I am told."
Haku sat back, and allowed Chihiro to think. She was still light headed, and the edge of her vision was beginning to grow fuzzy. Before, in the cave in the woods, Haku had told her she would have to help them, but she didn't think that the time would come so quickly, and that she'd be the only one. Then her mind cleared as she thought of something; Haku never said she'd be doing it alone. "Haku?" The boy looked at her quizzically. "Will I be doing this alone?"
He bit his lip, and nodded once, "But understand this; if someone else gets involved, they'll be seen and die. If you go alone, then no one will die."
Again, the dizziness overtook her, but she fought it off. Finally, Chihiro asked, "There's more, isn't there. . ." It wasn't a question.
Another brief nod, and then Haku told her, "There's more to undermining the children than just getting past them, or sneaking around invisible. You'll have to do something, but no one has told me the details yet. All I know is that you'll have to prove yourself."
"How?"
"By getting to the palace of the gods and goddesses without my or any of their help save for the guide they will be sending."
Chihiro looked down at her bare feet, and wiggled her toes slightly, wondering if she was still asleep. This all was so strange and thrown at her so suddenly. "Is- Is it dangerous?" She looked back up at Haku's face, wanting to see his expression when he answered, hoping to learn something from it.
Haku's face remained eerily blank as he told her, "Extremely. I'm not allowed to tell you, no matter how much I wish to. You're going to have to get through them yourself. All that I can tell you is that you'll be forced to the limits of your mental and physical capability. Judging from how well you do during the trip, the consul will decide if you're ready to take on the Children of Fenrir."
"And if I don't do well?" She whispered, afraid of finding out.
"If you don't do well, you'll be. . ." He swallowed, "Killed."
Feeling as if her heart has just stopped, Chihiro froze. She tried asking why, but her voice wouldn't work. Her brain began to feed her images of how she could be killed, impaled upon a sword, drowned, burned, eaten alive, poisoned. . . The list went on and on. She shivered, and curled up in her seat, arms wrapped around her calves protectively.
Haku's expression changed momentarily, a mix of sympathy, his pain and sadness, but it only lasted for a moment. It faded soon enough, to be replaced by the blank expression that normally sat upon his face, "Chihiro. . . You know I would have never agreed to this had I known you would be the one that would come to their attention."
Chihiro whispered, face buried in her arms, "Go away, Haku."
"Chi-"
"Go away!" She cried out, flinging out an arm before her, tears flying off of her face in a spray, "Just leave me alone." Chihiro turned around, and went back to the window, hand resting on the wooden panels of the shutter.
Haku stood, one hand stretched out, as if to stop her. It feel woodenly back down to his side, and he sighed, looking at her shivering back longingly before leaving.
As soon as she heard the door close behind her friend, Chihiro let the tears burst from the dam she had set on them. It all was too much, too soon. She had just barely gotten used to the fact that the spirit realm had gone through so many changes, and now this? Considering what she had to do, she'd most definitely die. There was no way she could make it on her own in the wild; a simple run in with a kelpy had nearly gotten her trampled to death. Probably, from what she had heard about the Children of Fenrir, the kelpy was a paltry threat compared to them.
The purple hair band, which she had wrapped around her wrist, suddenly sparkled magically, pricking her skin lightly to get her attention. Chihiro touched it gently with her forefinger, shocked. She had forgotten about the friends she had made in this world, friends that were truer than any friend she had made in the human world. They were here, and she could only imagine what the Children had done to them, including Haku; she had seen none of her other friends yet.
Running a finger across the finely crafted band, she sighed, rolling the knot between her thumb and forefinger. Inside, she didn't want to die, she didn't want to go on this mission to save the spirit realm. She would have rather stayed home and slept in her bed, eating the food that her mother made for her, not using man eating birds or anything. Yet, what overpowered the instinct not to die was the one that felt as if she had to protect her friends from dying. She'd rather die for them than have them die because she refused to help.
Chihiro raised the band to her lips and pressed it against them gently, praying that everyone was still safe, that they hadn't run afoul of the Children just yet. She would do all that she had to do to protect them, even if it ment risking her life. Scrubbing her face clear, a resolve that she hadn't had earlier backing her, she went to the door.
Walking quietly out into the hall, Chihiro called, "Haku? Are you there?" No one answered her call. Haku had never told her where he was sleeping; she had simply assumed that he had a place. Finally looking around, she saw that the bedrooms that were on this floor were all empty and dusty; none of them had been used for a long time from what she could see. The time that she had spent sleeping and resting was time that Haku had been up and about doing whatever that he did now.
She went down the steps, her hands passing absentmindedly across the murals of the animals. On the banister, the grapes had changed into flowers; Arachnid must have done something to them earlier, when Chihiro had been waiting for Haku to return. There was a single light on downstairs, coming from the living room.
Chihiro went to the doorway, and saw Haku sitting in one of the seats, a lit candle sitting next to him while he gazed absently out the single large window in the room. He seemed to be deeply contemplating something, and probably would have heard Chihiro call him earlier had he not been so deep in thought. She stood in the doorway for a moment, suddenly nervous; she had yelled at him earlier when he had only been concerned for her. Finally pulling together the courage, she called, "Haku?"
He looked up at her, shocked, "Chihiro! Are you okay?"
She nodded quickly, and bowed to him, "I'm sorry for yelling."
Haku stood, and made her face him, "No, you don't need to apologize. I should be the one saying sorry to you. I had no right in telling you such awful things, especially when you're so exhausted."
Chihiro blushed, "It is my fault. Haku, I've thought about it and. . . . I'll do it."
"You will?"
"Of course!" She was suddenly angered by his skeptical tone. "I've thought about it. Giving up now would be like telling everyone I've made friends with here to die or be caught up in some spiritual war which I don't want to be a part of." She took a deep breath, and looked him in the eye, "When will I start?"
The half-smile was on his face once more, "In a week, Chihiro. Thank you." He kissed her forehead, and left the room, his pale cheeks lightly colored by a blush.
D/N: Aren't I evil? A little more Haku/Chihiro! They'd make such a cute couple. Nyahahaha. This was more of an explanatory chapter than anything; there'll be more action later. Fwahahaha.
By the way, people, I'll take any suggestions you have. Nyah.
Well, read and review! Thanks!