Silver Dragon

"Hm?" A wind storm in the Wastes seemed to try to pry open the magic door as Calcifer looked over to the rattling door with half opened eyes. The fire demon could sense that someone was at the door, but couldn't tell who.

"Who is it?" Sophie asked sleepily as she came down the stairs with a lit candle. It was close to midnight and the castle was sitting on the hills for the night, so it was easy for someone to walk up to it.

"…" Nobody answered as the wind outside seemed to die down, which puzzled the silver haired.

"Is something the matter Sophie?" Howl whispered as he walked up to his wife, placing a hand on her shoulder.

"There seems to be someone at the door." Sophie answered as she leaned into the raven haired. Howl gave her a soft squeeze before he pulled away and walked toward the door, seeing that the dial was pointing to green: the Wastes. He slowly opened the door as the crisp air of the hills blew into his face and into his nostrils, waking him up a little. For a brief moment, he had thought he saw a slim dragon with silvery-white scales and teal colored hair standing right in front of him…looking at him. Instead, there was a boy with swamp colored hair and he was about as tall as Markl, perhaps a bit taller. The boy seemed to be no older than Markl but the calm expression he wore on his face made him seem more mature.

"Hello. May I assume that you are Howl Jenkins?" The boy asked. His voice was a little deeper than Markl's and had a hint of a Japanese accent.

"Yes, yes I am." Howl said, raising a brow. He had never seen this boy before, nor anyone similar to the green haired, except when he went over to Fujimoto's world.

"…Have we met somewhere before?" The raven haired cautiously said, cocking his head to one side slightly.

The boy shook his head, "I have heard that you are a great magician and I have come from a long way to meet you," The teal haired paused as he bowed, which seemed a little…odd* to Howl, "My name is Haku, and I would like you to teach me some techniques."

XxXxXxXxX

"Hm?" Fujimoto raised a brow as he found a folded up piece of paper by his bedroom door. He frowned, knowing that it was another letter from a certain raven haired.

"Hah, well, it has been a while." The red head chuckled as he opened the letter. It has been almost a week and a half since that "incident". He was still shaken up by those pictures his wife had taken, but luckily, his wife had taken those pictures with her.

"Ahem." Fujimoto cleared his throat as he began to read the letter:

"Fujimoto,

Go through your bedroom door.

-Howl"

"What?" The red head sighed, partially relieved that he had spotted the letter beforehand because he was about to put his watering can in his room. He pocketed the letter and stepped through his bedroom door, blinded by some…colors…? He tilted his head to one side, noticing how the portal felt different somehow. A thought briefly ran through his head, concluding that the portal was his bedroom door instead of the usual "a-door-appeared-out-of-nowhere." Fujimoto shook his head as he continued forward through the gap between "time and space".

XxXxXxXxX

"Ok, so this is basically how the portal works," The raven haired drew a circle on one side of the paper, "Imagine this is your home and," he drew another circle on the opposite side of the first circle, "this is mine. In between the two is some kind of link-"

"Like a road!" Haku pointed out.

"Yes, exactly." Howl drew a somewhat straight line, connecting the two circles…a link.

As if something had indeed clicked together, a familiar cry echoed from upstairs. Sophie, who was sweeping the floor, sighed heavily, "Morgan is crying again. I'll go get him." The silver haired partly ran up the stairs as her husband nodded. He watched her go before ripping off a part of the simple drawing he drew. A big smile was on his face as he quickly wrote something down on the scrap of paper.

"Alright, are you ready Haku?" Howl said with such excitement that both Haku and Calcifer felt a shiver run down their spines.

"Ready for what…?" The green haired almost whispered.

"Hey Calcifer, did you find it?"

"Not the exact location…" Calcifer mumbled, rolling his eyes.

"That's good enough!" The raven haired motioned for his "apprentice" to follow him as he walked over to the front door. He turned the dial to black and quickly opened the door. A cool breeze blew in just like before, but this time was different because all Haku saw was this mass of darkness.

"Are you ready?" Howl smiled, holding out his hand for the green haired. The boy could feel his cheeks burn as he nodded, taking the pale man's hand.

"Now whatever you do, don't let go."

"O-ok."

"Click."

XxXxXxXxX

"Hm? Where am I?" He shifted his watering system to get a better grip as he awed at how green the land and the trees were, except the leaves on the trees were turning yellow and orange.

"If I remember correctly, it must be fall here." He took a deep breath, spraying his feet a little even though the ground was still a little wet. There was something a deep breath, spraying his feet a little even though the ground was still a little wet. There was something about the place he landed in felt sort of eerie…well it was probably the big round statue that seemed to stare at him…

"I-it has two faces…!" Fujimoto paled as he began to step away from the creepy statue, trying not to scream. But he had lost his composure when he felt a hand touch his shoulder.

"AHHHH!"

"Fujimoto! It's me!" A familiar voice spoke from behind him, making the red head quickly look behind him. To his relief, big blue beautiful eyes stared into gray ones, concern sparkling in them.

"Are you alright?"

"Mmhm," Fujimoto nodded, "U-uh, do you know where we are?"

"We're in Japan." A voice spoke behind Howl, revealing a green haired boy.

For a moment, the red head looked from the raven haired to the boy, wide eyed, but then a thought dawned on him, "…But I'm from Japan…this place doesn't look familiar…"

"It's a different Japan," The pale man smiled as he placed a hand on the boy's shoulder, "Fujimoto, this is Haku. He is my apprentice for today."

"How do you do." Haku bowed. The red head did the same.

"…But what are we doing here?" Fujimoto asked as he looked up to the colorful leaves once more.

"Well, I was thinking of teaching him some things then we could take a stroll through the forest. And by the way, do you like your outfit?"

"What?" The red head took a better look of himself and found that he was wearing a brown trench coat and a dark gray scarf. Howl looked different as well. His nose and face were red and he wearing his purple diamond coat and a green scarf with yellow stripes. Haku was wearing a blue scarf that matched his outfit. With the warm clothes on, he didn't notice the air was a bit colder than usual (well he is underwater 24/7 most of the time XP).

"Well it's um…different." Fujimoto said as he fumbled with the folds, interested in the material. As Haku shifted from one foot to the other, the green haired was growing impatient from their conversation and…another feeling that he couldn't put his finger on. It slightly burned in his chest as he continued to watch the two talk and…

"It looks good on you." Howl had said as he began to straighten out the collar on Fujimoto's coat.

The red head turned red as he spazzed out for a moment, "No, no, no! Not in front of your guest!"

"Well, technically you are one as well." Howl whispered in Fujimoto's ear, making the red head turn crimson.

"Howl-"

"Augh!" Haku threw his hands up in the air in exasperation as he grabbed the raven haired's sleeve, "Weren't you going to teach me some techniques?"

The pale man chuckled as he remembered Markl doing the same thing when he had promised to teach the boy some magic, "Alright, alright! Hm…I think that is a good place to start!" Howl led the green haired a little bit more up the path as he crouched down by a patch of flowers. The boy still had a sour expression on his face as he crouched next to the raven haired, a blush barely visible on his cheeks. Fujimoto stood nearby, curious as to what his "friend" was going to do.

"Now look here, you see those flowers?" Howl pointed to a few flowers that were wilting from the cold air, receiving a nod from his apprentice as he continued, "Now I want you to concentrate on those flowers and say, 'Bloom, flower, bloom.'"

"What?" Green eyes widened as his blush became visible.

"Here, I'll help you," The raven haired laughed as he kneeled behind the green haired and held the boy's hand out, "Now, repeat after me. 'Bloom, flowers, bloom.'"

Haku gulped as he shakily repeated, feeling his face grow hot, "…B-bloom, flowers, b-loom…!"

"Very good! Let's do it again." Fujimoto glared as the two continued their chant, a burning sensation in his chest arose as he gritted his teeth. As he turned around, he took a deep breath and calmed down, dismissing the intimate scene as a "hands-on" experience for the green haired.

"Ah, it worked!" Haku awed as he watched each wilted flower snap up towards the sky. The flowers seemed to sparkle in the sun as the green haired's smile grew. The red head had turned back around to watch the spectacle, his own eyes sparkling with awe as he felt his heart thump in his chest, feeling familiar blue eyes set on him.

"That was…that was amazing!" Haku exclaimed.

"Yes, yes that was." Howl said as he smiled, pulling his gaze away from his "friend" for a moment to pat the green haired on the head. Haku knew his face was bright red as he grinned sheepishly. Fujimoto could feel his eyes twitch as he had noticed the boy's blush.

"Well, let's find a different spot, shall we?" The raven haired said as he stood up, holding out a hand for Haku to take.

"Mm-hm!" The green haired nodded as he took the hand.

XxXxXxXxX

"Hm? Howl?" The silver haired looked around their empty living room as she carried a sleeping Morgan in the crook of her arm.

"Now where did he- hm?" She found a folded piece of paper labeled "Sophie" on the table her husband and the green haired boy were working on. She opened the letter and found some illegible handwriting, but she was used to his messy handwriting so she could somewhat read whatever he wrote.

"Dear Sophie,

Haku and I went out for a lesson. Will be back soon.

I love you"

"Ooh Howwll…where are you?" Sophie gritted her teeth as she crumpled the paper in her hand, "He is so going to pay!"

"Oh boy…" Calcifer mumbled as he sighed, deciding to go back to sleep.

XxXxXxXxX

Howl breathed in deeply, smelling the wet moss and the mountain air, "Ah, what a beautiful view."

"Yeah, it sure is." Fujimoto smiled as he looked down the valley and saw the many houses and the sliver of blue on the far right, guessing that it was the ocean. They had walked a little further down the path, towards civilization, and found an opening in the trees. Haku didn't seem interested as he decided to practice blooming wilted flowers and also create little particles of snow from the cold dew drops on the moss. Except part of his mind was elsewhere as he watched the two out of the corner of his eye, his skin hot as his eyes glowed. After a while, he gave up on "practicing" as he stood up from his crouching position and walked toward the edge of the hill, standing next to the red head.

"Hm, is there anything at the top of this hill?" Howl asked as he pointed in the direction they just came from.

Haku nodded, forcing a smile, "A train station."

"A train station?" The raven haired and the red head said in unison, which made the green haired's eye twitch.

"Yes, but I would recommend you not to go there."

"And why is that?" Howl raised a brow.

"Because once you go in, you may never come back out again." Haku said as he gave them a glare. Fujimoto made a small sound as he shivered in fear.

The raven haired didn't seem fazed by it though, "Oh really? Hm…" He paused as he rubbed his chin with his hand, "Why don't we check it out?"

"What? But he just said that it's dangerous!" The red head panicked but it seemed that the pale man didn't catch what he said as he walked back up the hill.

"H-How-" Fujimoto started but was interrupted by a tug on his collar.

"Why are you with him? He has a wife and a kid!" The green haired seethed.

"U-um…well…he has two kids." The red head pointed out, causing Haku's jaw to drop.

"Augh! Then why are you with him?" The boy had pulled the red head over to his left, making Fujimoto's back face the cliff.

"Ah!" The red head gasped as he held onto the green haired's hand for "dear life".

Haku gritted his teeth, "Let go-!"

"I think that is enough." A familiar voice spoke in the boy's ear as Haku felt a pair of hands wrap around his waist.

"Eep!" The green haired squeaked as he felt himself being pulled away from the edge, feeling his whole face and neck turn crimson.

"Howl!" Fujimoto smiled as he ran over to the raven haired's side, wrapping his arms around the man as he buried his face into his "friend's" shoulder. Howl chuckled as he ran a hand through red locks.

Haku continued to gape, "B-but-"

"And to answer your question, Haku," The raven haired interrupted as his eyes narrowed, "He is with me because we love each other." Fujimoto blushed at this as he quickly looked into those sharp blue eyes.

"B-but…Mr. Jenkins, you have a family!"

The raven haired smirked as he patted the red head's head with a hand, "He does too." Haku made a face as he slowly took a couple of steps back. After a moment, his face twisted in anger as his eyes glowed a dark green, his hands clenched into fists at his sides.

"H-Haku-" Fujimoto whimpered as he clung to his "friend's" coat.

Howl hummed as he softly smiled, "We know," He paused to gently push the red head aside before walking up to the green haired, "we know, but we just keep on meeting each other as if a red string has tied our pinkies together." He laughed at this as he winked. Haku growled as he could feel his anger drop.

Howl noticed this as he grinned, "Don't worry about it, for our sakes. We know how to handle it, right Fuji?"

"U-um…mhm." The red head nodded, taken aback for a second at the nickname.

The raven haired chuckled as he ruffled the green locks, "You did well today, Haku," Howl paused as he looked up at the sky, "Hm. Looks like the sun is going down. I guess we'll just have to visit another day," The raven haired sighed then smiled, "Now, shall we walk you home?"

Haku blushed, "N-no, it's fine! The sun is setting, right? So you should go on home."

Howl chuckled, "Alright. I guess we'll see you later." The raven haired ruffled the green haired's head before turning around to give the red head a nod.

"W-wait!" Haku called out to the pale man as the two were beginning to walk back up the hill, where their magic door lay hidden in the bushes.

"Hm?" Howl turned as he raised a brow, "Wha-?" He started but then was interrupted by soft pink lips. Fujimoto gaped as blue eyes widened.

"…Thank you for the lesson." The green haired said after he broke the kiss as he looked down.

The raven haired cleared his throat before speaking, "You are welcome."

"U-uh, HEY!" Fujimoto screamed as his hands were clenched at his sides. Both the green haired and the raven haired raised a brow as they noticed that the red head's face matched his hair and his shoulders were shaking with rage.

"U-uh…Fuji listen-" Howl held his hands up in front of him in defense as Fujimoto grabbed his collar and dragged him forcefully away from the boy.

"No, no, no! Why did you let him kiss you?"

"B-but he-"

"No buts!" As the two bickered, Haku softly smiled as he bowed.

As the two began to walk up the hill, something in the sky caught Fujimoto's eye as his anger seemed to be whisked away by the wind, "Ah! What is that?" The raven haired followed his gaze as he saw a slim line in the sky, which looked oddly familiar.

"Oh!" Howl gasped as he recognized the silvery "line". He looked to where the green haired was standing a moment ago and found no trace of the boy being there at all. The raven haired chuckled to himself, relieved that he wasn't crazy when he saw the dragon earlier at his door.

"Come on Fujimoto. Let's go home."

XxXxXxXxX

"Click." The door opened then closed as the dial turned from green to black to green.

"Where have you been Howl? It's already late in the afternoon!" Sophie placed her hands on her hips after she gave one of Morgan's toys to her younger son. Markl was almost going to greet his master but then stopped when he saw the silver haired's face and continued to play with his brother.

"I took Haku home. He did really well for a beginner." Howl calmly explained as he grinned.

Sophie stared at her husband for a long time before sighing, "Alright, just help me with dinner." She said as she walked over to the cupboard to decide what they were going to eat.

The raven haired laughed as he picked up Morgan into his arms, "Hey kiddo, what do you have here?" He asked as he touched the stuffed animal that looked like a purple elephant in his son's hands.

"Ah! Howl, could you get me that box on the top shelf?" The silver haired asked as she stood on her tiptoes.

Howl smiled, "Coming!"

XxXxXxXxX

Author's note: *"…seemed a little…odd": Remember how the Japanese bow? XD Different from the European way! XD Well, I hope you liked it! Sorry it took so long to post this up. :(