Author's note:
Uh...
You guys probably want to kill me right now for not updating for what, two months? Woops XD
Let's just say I've been really really busy with school and trying to keep my grades up. This chapter is short, (sorry for making you wait for such a lame chapter/shot) but I thought that I might as well update to let people know I'm still alive and so is this story. No promises on how regularly I can update this story since I can't write much on my tablet, the typing takes reeaaalllyyyyy long since the document is like, 54 pages long at this point, haha ^_^"
Well, I'm working hard to finish more chapters whenever possible so bear with me and enjoy this short short chapter! (o u o)/
Chihiro opened her eyes and found herself in a familiar living room. She tried to sit up but her back and head ached terribly so she gave up for the moment and laid there. Using her peripheral vision, she observed the other two occupants of the room. Demetri was up but still seated, his hands folded under his chin as a serious look clouded his face. Haku was still out, lying down with a thick blanket over him, and Chihiro could tell he was paler than ever before. "Demetri…"
"Chi-chan! You're awake!" The Irish boy hurried to her side and cupped her face in his hands. "I'm sorry I couldn't protect you…"
"Demetri...it's okay, A for effort, right?" the girl smiled weakly. She tried to get up again and Demetri helped her sit up. "How long have I..?"
"We've been out for three hours. We only have an hour to help Kohaku."
"What?! We have to get the potion now!" Chihiro exclaimed. She jumped to her feet but immediately began to sway as spots filled her vision. Demetri grabbed her arm to steady her, his forehead creased in worry.
"You shouldn't move too quickly, all of us got a concussion because of the oni," he advised just as Bakal and the tengu came in.
"The both of you are up," the tengu noted, taking a seat on the window sill with his arms crossed and his dark eyes on the two humans. "Don't move around unless you want to faint again."
"Sit down, Chihiro," Bakal said while he tried to sit her back down.
Chihiro shook her head lightly with a pale but determined look. "I need to get the potion before it's too late," she said. She started to head for the front door when the tengu stopped her.
"There is no need to rush. I've already brought the trunk that Zeniba sent." The tengu cocked his head to the side of the small living room where the rustic trunk sat, completely out of place next to the modern furniture that Bakal had.
"Oh. Thank you," the girl breathed out in relief.
"There is no need for thanks. I'm only doing what Zeniba had instructed me to do so," the tengu replied curtly. He stood up again and began to tremble a bit before transforming into the form of a large crow The tengu ruffled its black feathers and gazed at the humans. "You are out of danger at the moment so I will return to my post."
"Thank you very much for helping us, Kuraso-san," Bakal said and the tengu nodded its head.
Just before it disappeared into thin air, Kuraso said, "It's the green potion by the way, the one made of malachite stone."
There was a silence in the room while the three humans stared at the spot where the tengu had stood before Demetri cleared his throat. "The green potion, right? I'll get it from the trunk." The Irish boy walked over to the trunk and flipped the brass clasp. With a little effort, he lifted the lid up and his eyebrows shot straight up. "Uhm, Chi-chan...there's three different potions that are green in here."
"What?" Chihiro asked as Bakal went over to Demetri. The young man observed the trunk's contents with a thoughtful expression before grabbing a potion that had a dark green lines grooved into it.
"It's this one. Kuraso-san said the potion was made of malachite stone so here it is," Bakal explained as he placed the potion on the small coffee table. "Demetri-kun, please get the cup with the kudzu flower extract from the counter in the kitchen." The boy nodded and left to get the extract.
Chihiro stared intently at the green potion for a few seconds before glancing at Haku lying on the sofa across from her, his face deathly pale. "Do you think it will really work, Harada-san?"
Bakal smiled and sat next to the young girl, giving her a reassuring hug. "Of course, Chihiro. When it comes to healing remedies, you should always trust the spirits. And the potion absorbed the healing powers of malachite and, combined with the kudzu flower, Haku will get better in no time at all."
Chihiro gave him a weary smile. "My mother always said to trust my elders so alright."
"I have the kudzu extract," Demetri announced as he walked back in bearing a dainty cup filled halfway with the honey-colored extract. He set the cup down on the coffee table and glanced up at Chihiro. "Do you want to pour the potion, Chi-chan?"
She nodded and reached for the cup that Demetri passed to her. She took the potion and, with trembling hands, removed the brass top. With a deft hand, she slowly poured a milky-green liquid into the cup and they watched as the liquids mixed and turned into a crystal-clear jade colored drink. The smell of artificial grapes were long gone, replaced with the soothing scent of mint and green tea. "I have no idea how potions works, but I think we did it right," Chihiro grinned, letting out a small laugh of relief.
"We'll see once Kohaku drinks from it," her friend reminded. Demetri and Bakal worked together to sit Haku up from the seat, making him lean against the armrest to keep him upright.
Chihiro slowly approached the river spirit with the cup, careful to not spill any of the healing solution. She placed a hand on his shoulder and gently shook him. "Haku, drink this, it will make you better." Haku's eyes fluttered a bit before he groaned, turning his head away. Chihiro pursed her lips as she shook him again. "Haku, take it before you become even worse." He gave her a soft shove and it took Chihiro all her willpower to keep her balance as to not spill the potion. "Harada-san, Demetri, help me! Haku hates taking medicine!"
"What should we do?" Demetri asked.
"I don't know, hold his arms down, I guess. Last time I tried giving him medicine, he almost bit my hands off!" Chihiro recalled the memory and shuddered a bit. The river spirit had put on a real fight to keep the medicine out of his mouth that day many years ago when he was bleeding to death and she was glad that Haku wasn't in his dragon form currently.
Demetri and Bakal took a firm grip on Haku's arms and pinned his legs down with their knees as Chihiro attempted to coax him into drinking the potion. "Drink it, Haku, it will help you. I promise it doesn't taste as bad as the medicine that old river spirit gave me eight years ago." When Haku refused to open his mouth even a little, Demetri and Bakal gave her a look that said force it. "Okay, Haku, you left me no choice." Chihiro used her left hand and grabbed his chin to force him to face her way, him being too weak to resist turning his head away. She brought the cup up to his lips but the potion only dribbled down his cheeks as he refused to let it in his mouth. "Oh, come on, Haku!" She exclaimed in frustration.
Left with no other choice, she started bringing the potion to her own mouth. "Harada-san, Demetri-kun, I would rather you guys not look," Chihiro warned, her cheeks red. A look in her eyes made the other two to turn away, not wanting to face the young girl's wrath if she caught them looking. Taking a deep breath, Chihiro took a sip of the potion, her nose automatically wrinkling at the bitter taste, and brought her face close to Haku's. She could feel her face burning in embarrassment and she squeezed her eyes shut before placing her lips on Haku's. The river spirit's eyes immediately flew open as Chihiro mouth-fed him the bitter potion. Chihiro could feel some of the potion trickling down her chin but she knew she had to get as much of the potion into Haku as possible. With her lips, she forced his mouth open and kept it that way as Haku began struggling against her, trying his best not to swallow the potion. Once she was sure he had swallowed, Chihiro brought her face away and took another sip of the potion. She was able to force a few more mouthfuls into him before Haku had enough energy to push her away.
Chihiro wiped her chin with her arm, her face completely red at what she had just done, as Haku coughed and gagged at the bitter taste the potion left in their mouths. "Why does medicine from the spirit world taste so disgusting?" she mumbled to hide her embarrassment.
"I never knew that Chihiro would be the dominant one," Bakal commented and Chihiro glared at him, although it went to waste since his eyes were covered by his hand. He and Demetri didn't even need to look to know what Chihiro did to force the potion into Haku.
"Can we look now, Chi-chan?" Demetri asked, his cheeks pink.
"Yeah, whatever, I'm going to rinse my mouth," she snapped, marching off to the kitchen. Chihiro grabbed a glass and filled it with water, gargling and rinsing her mouth to get rid of the bitter taste. "Bleh!" She gagged as she coughed out the water into the sink. She turned off the faucet and stood at the sink hunched over. Her face was still red and she couldn't get the feeling of Haku's feverish lips on hers, even if the potion temporarily numbed her tastebuds. Chihiro buried her face in her hands and screamed in her mind. THAT WAS SO EMBARRASSING! She stayed like that for a few minutes, reliving the moment and banging her head on the sink until Demetri came to get her.
"Chi-chan, are you okay?" he asked as she kept her back turned to him.
"I'm fine, Demetri," she muttered before adding I only kissed someone, no big deal in her mind. "Is he feeling better already?"
"Kohaku's more awake than earlier and his fever went down considerably fast," Demetri answered before walking over to her. He placed a comforting arm around her shoulder and gave her a quick squeeze. "...Was the potion that horrible?"
"Absolutely disgusting."
"Well, atleast both you and Haku experienced the same taste equally."
"Yeah, no wonder he tried to bite my hands off back then."
They were silent for a couple of moments before laughing. Chihiro was so thankful for being friends with Demetri. He always knew how to calm her down whenever she was freaking out. She was glad that he was trying to distract him from the kiss with the taste of the potion because two kisses in one day was too much for a young girl like her.
Once their laughing fit finally calmed to soft giggles, she patted his shoulder. "Thanks, Demetri. I'm ready to face the dragon now."
"After you."
The two walked back to the living room where Bakal sat on the armrest in a deep conversation with Haku who was still too weak to stand up. "Ah, Chihiro," the both of them said when she entered the room.
"I must admit that spirit world medicine works really fast," she joked lightly as she sat down on the chair next to the sofa, Demetri following her example.
Haku smiled wearily. "And tastes horrible as a consequence." He remained silent for a few moments, staring at the wool blanket that draped over his figure thoughtfully. "Thanks for...healing me," he murmured, keeping his eyes on the spot where his feet hid beneath the blanket.
"It's fine, you saved my life many times already," Chihiro smiled. She looked down at her feet as well, letting her bangs cover her eyes as she snuck a peek at his face. His eyes are still a little dull, and he's still a bit pale. But he's definitely not going to start fading away anytime soon. Her eyes traveled to his lips, and her cheeks turned pink again so she quickly returned her gaze at her feet. "...Demetri and I should probably go back home and rest."
"Yes, go do that. I'll call both of your parents to contact the school to explain your leave," Bakal said as the two young humans stood up.
"I'll walk you to your house," Haku offered, attempting to stand up before falling back onto the sofa and bringing his hand to his head.
"Just stay there, Haku, all three of you sustained injuries from the oni attack, and you just healed. I'll drive Demetri-kun and Chihiro to their houses so they don't faint on the road or anything," Bakal assured.
Haku started to protest when Demetri spoke up. "Just go to sleep, Kohaku. Chi-chan and I worked hard to get you better so you should rest like a normal person. Don't make us regret healing you or anything," the Irish boy said. Having said what he wanted, Demetri walked out of the living room with only a slight limp and Chihiro followed after him after one last glance at the river spirit.
"They'll be fine, Haku. Just rest for now. I'm pretty sure that by tomorrow you'll be all better," Bakal smiled before closing the front door, leaving Haku in the silent and empty house.