Spirited Away: The Wait [ORIGINAL]

Promises Fulfilled

     Haku felt like the world was crashing around him. Even more than the enormous foot pressed over his body, as the building sitting atop the quiet, fog-shrouded hill collapsed upon itself. With every cruel bang and crash of the distant building, more pressure built up in his chest, till he couldn’t breathe. A faint smell of blood wafted towards his nostrils. Whether it was his or Chihiro’s, he could no longer tell. He just knew that his walls were crashing down, and as every single second passed, he was falling deeper and deeper into a dark, pitch-black abyss.

     “Any last words?” Kurou asked.

     Haku closed his eyes. Chihiro was gone. No matter how much he didn’t want to accept it, it was the reality of the situation, and nothing he could do would salvage it. There wasn’t anything left for him to live for. He’d been the one who caused all of this. If only… If only he just hadn’t gone out of control, none of this would have happened, damn it!

     An excruciating pain filled his chest, as a couple of his ribs got crushed. The salty, metallic taste of blood filled his mouth and he spat it out, dirtying his clothes and making it even harder for him to breathe. By then, his body was gasping for air, but he had already given up, and was just wishing for the end to come quicker.

     But of course, he must have done some great wrong against the Ancients, because he wasn’t allowed to die—not yet, at least.

     A loud shout of “Haku!” was followed by a white tornado aimed directly for Kurou. In an instant, Kurou released his foot from the dragon, and without wasting time, someone picked him up, laying him down a fair distance away from Kurou.

     “Hey Haku, you okay- Sorry, that was a dumb question. Just hold still for a bit, yeah?”

      The confused dragon who was still trying to get his thoughts in order suddenly felt the pain on his back and his chest lessen significantly as a gentle warmth enveloped them. He knew that warmth. He’d felt it too many times before in the past. “Maiko.”

     “Hmph,” the redhead harrumphed with a smirk on her face. “I guess you’re forgiven for leaving us like that, since you remembered. Anyway, does it still hurt? I can cast another spell if you want.”

     “No, this is fine, thank you.” There was no healing spell for heartache. Haku was acutely aware of the growing dull ache in his chest. Eyes fixated on the mess of debris on the hill, he stood to his feet with incredible difficulty, requiring Maiko’s assistance. His legs were buckling beneath him, and he could barely support himself. In fact, suddenly he found himself choking and being unable to breathe again.

     In response, Maiko slapped the back of his head lightly and chided, “Hey, I only cast a spell for your pain to subside, you’re not completely healed yet you know. You have three broken ribs, bad flesh wounds and if you move any more you could puncture your lung.”

     “Chihiro… I need… to get her…” he wheezed, forcing his legs to stand.

     But Maiko forced him back down, making him land with a thud squarely on his posterior. “Makoto told me to look after you, so you’re not going anywhere until they finish up with Kashikyo over there and we get you back to headquarters to fix you up.”

     “Makoto..?” It was then that it dawned on the man that it was not just Maiko who had come to help him, but his old team, even Makoto. He caught a flash of yellow out of the corner of his eye. “Shou too?”

     The phoenix was engaged in an intense battle with Kurou, as he was engulfed in a bright golden light that blinded Kurou and then let loose an explosion of golden feathers, all cutting at the giant. They created multiple holes in Kurou’s body, and caused him to release a loud roar of anger, as he raised an arm and aimed a punch at the phoenix, except that Makoto intercepted him and returned a counter attack. Haku knew Shou’s power. His purifying magic was the most effective against the dark arts.