Chapter 7: Hakuro
She opened up her eyes to the sound of birds chirping outside. The sun rays enlighten the room, it's already in the morning. She hadn't slept long but she awakened, seemed like her time setting as a human was still majoring her. She found Haku was still sleeping facing her and he was holding her hand. She sat up and held her head, she had no idea but her head felt a little dizzy. She threw her sight around, tried to make a clear look. Her eyes went to a basin filled with water and a rag was soaked in, on the small desk next to the bed. Did I catch a fever again last night? She looked at Haku. He looked tired and on his face was a little worried. I must be really caught a fever. And he must have woken up and compressed me. She sighed. They were right, bad things are really happening because I stay here. But she didn't want to think about it.
Chihiro's heart's beating faster as she looked at his sleeping face closely. She felt her feelings grew more and more. Her eyes went to his right cheek. She hesitated, but people said a chance doesn't come twice. She bit her lip.
A single quick kiss on the cheek won't wake him, right? She held her breath and ducked. She landed a kiss carefully upon his right cheek.
The river spirit sure would be very delighted if he was awake. But he was too tired and in a deep sleep, he wouldn't know the human he loved had just kissed him on his cheek. I did it. She blushed, felt both happy and embarrassed at once. Slowly she pulled her hand out from his grasp. She put his white kariginu as a blanket on him before she went out the room.
The first thing she saw was Kaonashi sleeping soundly on the sofa. He looked cute, at least that what she thought, she giggled. Then she went to the kitchen, she drank glasses of water and the dizziness on her head was gone. So, it's because I was having dehydration, she thought.
She took a seat at the dinning table and she saw a paper with handwriting was there.
To dearest grandchildren,
I'm going out to the town to submit my 'masterpieces' at the store and to buy some fabric. Eat and drink, I cooked chicken soup. I won't be long and please stay at home until I come back.
Love, Granny.
She smiled. She turned to the covered pot on the stove. She opened the cover, the steam came up with delicious aroma. She took a spoon and tasted a sip. She felt like she was about to cry in happiness. The soup was tasty and appetizing, just like her late mother's cooking long ago when her tongue were still working properly. It brought her to reminiscing her childhood memories. She covered back the pot, she would wait until Haku's awake and eat together with him.
She decided to went outside. She tied up her hair in her usual ponytail and put on her sandals. Cool morning air greeted her once she opened the door.
She took a deep breath.
Green plants around refreshing her eyesight. The smell of petrichor from the rain last night was still emitted from the ground. Morning dew on the leaves looked like being crystallized by the sun rays. Blooming flowers spotted in harmony. Birds chirping happily complemented the atmosphere.
She walked around. She remembered she saw a lake at a glance when she was on the dragon's back on their way to Swamp Bottom, she decided to looked for it. Behind a small forest next to Zeniba's house the water was flickering against the light and caught her attention. And there she was.
The lake wasn't big but wasn't so small. The water was so clear until the bottom could be seen. The human girl bent down and dipped her hand into the water. It was cold. She cringed and pulled her hands back. She laughed to herself. She sat down on it's edge, hugging her knees and enjoying the view. If only Haku's here with me, this would be perfect, she thought.
"Chihiroooo!" a man called her from the distance.
She turned around, Haku was looking for her. "Hey, Hakuuu!" she called him back. He turned to her. "Over heeere!" she waved her hand.
He came to her. "Chihiro, I've been looking for you! You make me worry," he said. "I woke up alone and you weren't there beside me," he said again with his pretended angry face. "Why didn't you wake me up?"
That only made his face looked cute in her eyes, she giggled. "I'm sorry. I didn't want to disturb your rest," she said. "Come, sit with me," she patted the ground gestured him to take a seat beside her.
Haku wouldn't refuse, he did so. He stared at her. "Are you okay? How's your cold?" he put his hand on her forehead.
Her face becoming crimson. "I'm okay now," she smiled. "Thanks, Haku,"
He put off his hand and put it on his forehead, comparing her temperature to his own. "Hmm, not much different," he mumbled and then smiled. "Thank goodness,"
Chihiro grinned. They turned to the water. Its surface was calm and so did them, enjoying the view in several moments of silence. Haku spoke up.
"It's my first time to come to this lake,"
"Me too," she nodded. "The water is so clear, it's beautiful,"
Haku merely nodded. She thought for a moment. "Haku I've been curious about something," she started.
He turned to her. "What is it?"
"I wonder if you could do something with water, like control it or something?" she asked. "I mean, you're a river spirit," she added.
He laughed friendly. "Of course I could,"
"Really!? I wanna see you do some!" she said excitedly.
"Sure," he smiled. He cleared his throat before saying a spell. "In the name of the wind and the water within Thee, let the river flows within me,"
He glowed for a second and then nothing's happened. The human looked curious, he smiled. "Take my hand," he offered his hand.
She just did so and something happened when she touched his hand. Instead of having his warm hand in hers, her hand was going through his hand and it was made of water. Now her hand was wet and held nothing inside. She gasped.
"Haku!" she cried.
"Be calm, I am The Kohaku River itself, remember?" he said calmly.
She blinked and the look of realization came up to her face. "Oh yes, you are," she giggled. She touched his hand again and the water wrapped her hand. She assumed he was holding her hand. "This is cool, Haku," she exclaimed.
Haku laughed a little. He looked into her eyes. His made-of-water-hand traveled to caress her cheek. Fresh water met her soft skin. She looked at him, his face was so calm and peaceful. She hoped the moment could last forever, but then it stopped.
He jerked, his expression suddenly turned into fear. His spell was gone and his hand was now grabbing her arms. She didn't know what's going on and she didn't realize that red liquid was flowing down from her nostril.
"Chihiro you're having a nosebleed!" he cried.
She gasped and brought her hand to her nose. He cupped her and carried her back to Zeniba's house. If Chihiro needed a few minutes, Haku would only need a few seconds to ran back home. He barged in making the sleeping faceless monster snapped awake.
"Ah ah!" Kaonashi cried sounded worried.
Haku propped her at the sofa. He moved fast, took a rag, brought it back to her and stopped her bleeding.
No one said a word. The atmosphere was tense, she didn't like it. Her yellow kimono was tarnished by her blood and also his white kariginu. "Haku... I'm sorry about your clo-"
"Don't say a word," he cut her off without looking at her eyes. He kept focusing on her nosebleed. He looked angry, but fear and sorrow reflected on his eyes. Chihiro sighed.
"I'm okay, Haku... Look, it's stopped," she said. "This usually happens, this is normal,"
"Normal?" he repeated angrily.
Zeniba arrived at her house's alley. She got a bad feeling as she saw the door was wide opened.
Kaonashi spotted her. "AH AH!" he shouted.
Whatever he just said, Zeniba ran in, directly to the living room. Chihiro was sitting on the sofa, Haku knelt facing her, spotting blood on their clothes.
"Chihiro!" Zeniba ran to her granddaughter. "What happened?"
"Granny," her face paled. "We were at the lake and I was having a nosebleed. Haku carried me back. But I'm okay, Granny," she smiled. Haku stood up and folded his arms.
Zeniba cupped her face, her pupils were getting small. You are definitely not okay."You're gonna be okay, my dear," she lied. Haku winced his eyes. "Chihiro, would you mind if I borrow Haku for a second?"
"Sure, Granny,"
Zeniba looked at Haku, he nodded. He followed her to the other side of the curtain. Her face turned serious.
"Did she catch a fever before?" she asked.
He nodded. "Last night and two days ago,"
She sighed. "This is not good, her pupils are getting smaller, Haku. You know what that means,"
"I know!" he cried.
Whatever they were talking about, it must be about her. Chihiro didn't want to think about it. "Everything's gonna be okay, right, Kaonashi?" she said to the faceless monster, but more to assured herself.
"Ah," he answered sounded sad.
"And you definitely don't want the next thing to happen, right?" she pressed him.
"Of course I don't! I'll stop it before it happened,"
"How?"
Haku trailed off. "Granny, I'm taking her to my river," he decided.
Zeniba's eyes widened. She nodded understood. She knew exactly what was he going to do. "I really hope it will work. Good luck, for both of you," she patted his shoulders.
"Thank you, Granny,"
They went back to Chihiro. Haku sat beside her.
"We're going to leave," he said to her.
"Why?" she frowned.
"I'm taking you to my river,"
Her expression changed. "Really?"
He drove out his doubts. "Yeah," he forced a smile.
"Haku, I cannot wait!" she said excitedly.
"No, no. Not so fast," Zeniba intruded. "I won't let you leave before you eat. I cooked for you, remember?" she frowned.
"Of course, Granny. We'll eat until we're full, because I'm actually starving," Chihiro grinned.
Zeniba smiled. "Good. And change your tarnished clothes, I'll wash it for you," she handed her another kimono, this one was peach colored. "You too, Haku," she turned to him.
"I'll be fine wearing this," he said but Zeniba didn't move. He sighed and then took of his white kariginu. Fortunately, his dark blue kimono wasn't tarnished too. "Thank you, Zeniba,"
"Very well. Now let's eat, the soup is waiting,"
Kayo took a deep breath of the fresh air around her. Yubaba was right, north mountains held beautiful sceneries. Though it was far and tiring, the scenery worth to it. The mountains meandered against the horizon, thin haze was covering their tops. Tea plantations spread over the foot of the mountains. The old witch said Hakuro's residence was on the east side of the mountains, so she continued a little further to the east.
She walked down into a forest, not a usual forest, it was cherry blossoms forest. They're so beautiful with their pink and blooming petals. She felt so right being amongst them, well she's a flower spirit. They reminded her of her mother. Mama, I wish you were here, she muttered in her mind. All of sudden the wind swirled with the flower petals, stormed past from behind her. The next thing she knew a little girl was standing in front of her. Her skin was white. Her hair was long and red, braided into two, one to the left and one to the right. She was wearing a pink apron dress. She looked cute and innocent with her purple little eyes.
"Hello, little girl. You must be the flower spirit of this forest," Kayo greeted her.
The girl grinned. "Hi, Sister! I'm Hana, the flower spirit. It's been a while I never met any sister or brother,"
Kayo grinned. "It's nice to meet you, Hana,"
"Me too!" Hana ran to Kayo, grabbed her hand with her little one. "Come on, Sister! Where are you going? I'd like to accompany you while you're here!" she pulled her hand.
Kayo laughed, the girl made her overjoyed. She never had a sister, but Hana called her as if they were real sisters. They walked together. "It's my pleasure to have you here with me, Hana," she smiled. "I am going a little further to the east,"
Hana stopped. "Let's turn back, Sister," she gripped her hand.
"Why?"
Hana's expression turned like a scared kid."Don't go to the east, Sister! I'm not suggesting my sister to go there!" she cried.
Kayo cocked her eyebrow. She crouched down facing the kid. "But I have to deliver this box to one who lives there, Hana. What is it? What is there in the east?" she asked.
Hana shook her head. Kayo sighed. "Look, it will be okay, Hana. I'm only going to deliver this and then turn back here," she held her shoulders.
Hana stomped her feet. "Be careful, Sister," she frowned. "Don't say I didn't warn you," she said sounded irritated. The wind swirled around her with the flower petals again and she disappeared.
Kayo stood up and sighed. She thought Hana was only scared she would left her. She continued her way with a little doubt. The further she went, the forest's territory changed. The more further, the flowers weren't fresh, they're brown and withered. The leaves were also brown and dried. Until she made it to a creepy territory.
Everything was black. The soil, the trees, the leaves, flowers, they're all black, but strangely they're all fresh and alive. She got goosebumps. She wondered what kind of spirit Hakuro was to live in such of place, and what's in the box she couldn't guess but she wouldn't be sassy to open it. Now she arrived in front of a black gate with '葉黒' written on its wall. This must be Hakuro's residence, she thought. She pushed the gate, it wasn't locked. She came in to found only a giant black tree stood sturdy in a small land at the middle of a pool. There's a bridge that connected the poolside with the land. Wait, no, the end of the bridge didn't reach the land. Its end stopped at the water, a few meters from the land. She walked towards.
"Uhh.. Hello?" She started. "Is anybody here?" she shouted a little. No one answered. "I'm Yubaba's apprentice. She sent me here to deliver this black box to Mr. Hakuro," she said again.
A man emerged out from behind the giant tree. She held her breath. The man was using the same outfit like Haku's, only all of them were black. Black kariginu, black kimono, black breeches. He was tall, his skin was pale, his hair was raven-black with long fringes haircut. His eyes were gray. He smiled to her.
"Welcome to Hakuro's," he said. "Please come closer, Miss,"
Kayo felt a little relief, turns out Hakuro wasn't a scary person like what she had imagined. She walked through the bridge. "Mr. Hakuro?" she asked.
"Yes, it's me,"
"I'm Yubaba's apprentice. I'm here to deliver this box to you," she bowed showing the small black box.
"Oh, yes that box! Just put it on the water, please" he said.
Kayo bent down and put the box on the water. It floated towards the land, Hakuro took it. He opened the box, but she couldn't see what's inside. Hakuro looked surprised but then he smirked. "Thank you, Miss,"
Kayo nodded. "You're welcome, Mr. Hakuro. And I guess my task has been fulfilled, I shall leave," she bowed. Couldn't bear any longer in that creepy place, she turned away to leave.
"Wait, Young Lady," Hakuro stopped her. She turned back. Hakuro locked his grey eyes to her purple ones. He reached something inside her, something she didn't even know it was still there.
Kayo felt uneasy. She looked down, ran away from his eyes. "Yes?"
"What's your name, Young Lady?" he asked.
"My name is Kayo, Mist-"
"Please, just call me Hakuro," he cut her off. "Tell me, Kayo, why are you so sad?" he asked surprisingly. She confused.
"Or should I say, Mikayo?" Hakuro added.
Kayo froze. She felt something pushed her from the inside. Her eyes widened. Mikayo... that is.. my real name? Mikayo... My name is Mikayo! She gaped. "Mister... I mean, Hakuro... How did you know my real name?"
Hakuro smiled. "You should have just thank me. Yubaba stole your name, you could never get out from the contract without your real name. But now you can,"
"Oh I'm sorry. Thank you so much, Hakuro," she smiled.
He walked towards. "I know why are you so sad," he said. "It's because the river spirit,"
Kayo felt annoyed, she thought he must have read everything inside her mind. "Then you must be know that I don't want to think or talk about him,"
Hakuro's expression didn't change. "I can help you to get him, Mikayo,"
She shook her head. "No, I'll be fine,"
"Don't deny it, I know you still want to get him," he pressed her.
Kayo didn't answer, she looked hesitated. From inside of the calm water between them, a white rose came up to the surface. "Take that rose as a gift from me," he said.
Kayo smiled a little, felt happy to saw another color than black at the place. She bent down, about to took it. She touched the petal, it pierced her finger. She gasped. Her blood fell into the water. The rose tuned black, it shattered and then disappeared. She felt something forced to filled her. She turned to him, his eyes became black. She began to scared.
"What was that?" she asked.
Hakuro smirked. "I gave you powers to get that river spirit,"
Her eyes widened, they turned into dark purple. "Why are you doing this?"
"Just take it as my gratitude," he laughed cunningly."When I saw you came, which was the first time I saw you, I fell in love. But then I read your mind, your heart was already attracted to someone but you had no chance to get him. I'm being humble to give you powers so you might have a chance to get rid of the human and be with him," he explained.
Kayo winced her eyes. "I didn't ask for this," she said coldly.
He walked out the land, passed through the water, towards her at the bridge. She stepped backwards. "Use the powers to be with him and you'll be happy," he said. He cupped her face. "But if you fail," he stopped and brought her mouth closer to her ear. "You'll be mine," he whispered.
She slapped him. "Take the powers back!" she demanded.
Ignoring the pain she gave, he felt like having fun. "Mikayo, My Dear, I can't," he smiled smugly. "Your blood has fallen into the pool. Live with that,"
Kayo gritted her teeth and clenched her hands. Tears were shedding from her eyes. "Damn you, Hakuro!" she yelled. She turned away running and left him.
Hakuro smiled coldly. "Well, I love you, Mikayo."
This one is less then two weeks, yeay! I really want it to be like this, so I'm sorry if it disappoint you :( But I promise the next chapter would be different and fascinating, I hope.
By the way, Hakuro (葉 黒) roughly translated to English is 'Black Leaf', it explains why he's everything about black. Hana (花) means 'Flower', and Mikayo (ミカヨ) means 'Beautiful fragrance child' (I got it from Pinterest, LOL), I just thought it fit to her as a lovely girl character.
Thank you to dv36muskan, I'm sorry but Kayo's love interest's stick with Haku, yes this other Haku is a rift.
Please keep reviewing, because your reviews keeping me to write; and to answer your questions, the next chapter will reveal: what is this 'it' Haku and Yubaba mentioned (the clue is: I'm taking her to my river) and what would Kayo do with the powers. Oh, and also let's hope Chihiro's condition don't get worse after her pupils are getting smaller.
Sincerely, moinami~