Somewhere in her flight from the lake, fear had turned to anger. She threw open the door to Haku's home and slammed it shut behind her, making it boom. The sound reverberated through the entire house; it would have woken the dead let alone a sleeping dragon. Chihiro picked up her bag and paced across the polished stone floor until Haku appeared at the top of the stairs.

"What's going on?" he croaked, rubbing at his eyes. To Chihiro's annoyance, she was distracted by the quite adorable picture he made with mussed hair, sleepy eyes and creased clothes. His shirt was open revealing the lean muscles on his chest and abdomen. Chihiro tore her eyes away and scolded herself. Her runaway thoughts only served to heat her anger.

"Take me back to the bathhouse immediately!" she snapped; he looked confused and descended the stairs.

"Why? What's happened?" He stood before her and looked her over appraisingly. "You're soaking!" he exclaimed.

"Well that happens when you get attacked by water!" she growled. His eyes narrowed, and he clenched his teeth.

"Who attacked you?" he hissed.

"You did!" she yelled, past caring about how she must appear to him.

"I don't understand," he said trying to catch hold of her as she passed him. But she shrugged him off. Her voice became very low and icily calm.

"Your river tried to drown me, Haku. As your river is a part of you, that means you attacked me. Now take me back, I'm not spending another minute in this place." She could see the hurt in his eyes, but he recovered quickly. She could almost hear his mind shift up a few gears. He was doing some fast thinking.

After a moment he said, "If I had thought for one moment that my river was so affected by your presence do you think I would have brought you here?" She just glared at him, wanting him to be less reasonable so she could yell at him and forget how afraid she had been.

He must have sensed how she felt because he moved away from her and sat on a sofa at the end of the room. A towel appeared in his hands, and he held it out to her. She shook her head; she wanted no favours from him at that moment. He sighed and put the towel on the floor. "Will you please tell me what happened?" he asked calmly.

"Don't you know?" she taunted, "As an all-powerful dragon I would hope you knew what your river was up to!"

"It's not quite like that; I know it's upset and angry about something, but until I'm actually in it I won't be able to talk to it directly." Chihiro rolled her eyes and scoffed and then obliged him and hastily babbled the details. The Nygel's involvement made him raise an eyebrow but apart from that his face was impassive, and his green eyes were unreadable. Chihiro was winding down, her speech less rapid, her anger fading.

"... I put my hand in the water, and it was like a whole other consciousness. It was so happy to have me there I almost cried. Then it started telling me how it wanted to take me down into its depths and make me part of it. That was when I got the warning from the Tac'tal and saw a wave about to crash down on top of me." Chihiro hugged her rucksack to her. "It tried to kill me, Haku," she said quietly. All her anger was now gone, it had melted into confusion and a need to comprehend. "And I can't understand why it would want to do that." Haku was staring at the ground, his hair falling around his face. There was a pregnant silence as Chihiro waited for his explanation.

At last, he said, "I've been an idiot, I should have foreseen this." He stood and slowly closed the distance between them. He took her pack from her and gently drew her to him. He held her for a moment and sighed. "I'm sorry Chihiro, I truly am. It must have been a great shock to you." She nodded against his chest, comforted by the warmth of his bare skin. "This will take some explaining, but I shall try if you are willing to listen." She nodded again. He drew her to the sofa and sat her on his lap, cuddling her to him despite her wet clothes.

"My river is a purely elemental thing. It has no concept of death... it just likes you. When you fell into it as a child it... well, the best way to describe it..." He paused, thinking. "The closest I can come it is that it liked the taste of you... and it was not pleased when I rescued you from its clutches. But that was how the connection was formed between us. My river never forgot you, and so neither did I. Even when I had forgotten my name I still remembered yours. It was branded in my elemental memory despite the fact I had lost my river." He hugged her tightly. "When I re-established the connection with my river, everything was chaos for months. The one thing it kept demanding was you. As it had been you that had given my name back, I thought it probably wanted to thank you. Things settled down at last, but it still occasionally asked about you, and it positively plagued me when I started to dream about you. Then you came back to the bathhouse, and I realise my river was suffering from the same thing I was. It took me time to admit it, but the truth was that I loved you. My river is the deepest part of me, and I can't lie to it, it had known how I felt for a long time, and it felt the same way. Now I have you in my arms practically whenever I wish, but the elemental part of me has been deprived of you so far." Chihiro looked at him sharply.

"You mean your river is jealous?"

"Simply speaking, yes," he replied. "I should have introduced you properly some time ago but..." He sighed again searching for the right words. Chihiro decided to help him out.

"You were reluctant to because as the deepest part of you it would almost be like me poking about your subconscious?"

"Yes," he whispered, surprised at her level of understanding. "You could have experienced things that you were not ready for, and I had no intention of opening myself up like that and possibly scaring you off."

He took her face in his hands and looked into her eyes. "What I feel now and felt then is so violent, at times I was afraid contact with my river would make you run from me. So I shut it away from you whenever you were in it or near it. Now it seems that it is tired of waiting. It does not understand oxygen or breathing, Chihiro. It just wants to be close to you. I suppose I should have told you that there essentially is a third person in this relationship."

"So it's a case of love me, love my river," muttered Chihiro.

"Yes," he said seriously. "If I am with you I can help you communicate with it, let it know about your fears and frailties. If you are willing, we could have a proper introduction."

Chihiro bit her lip. In her mind's eye, the cold black water seemed almost malevolent. "Little one," he whispered, "this is important to me, I need you to be on good terms with the water. It just has to learn. Please don't fear it." She sighed and nodded; he kissed her gently. "Thank you," he murmured. He was pleased, she could tell, but also extremely nervous. She realised that this must be the last barrier, after this, he had no more secrets, she would know his true nature. Chihiro steeled herself; she was determined not to mess up this for him.

Back on the bank, her courage started to waver. The water was still disturbed and choppy. Haku sighed.

"Well, it's really whipped itself into a frenzy, this could make things tricky." He turned to Chihiro and touched a hand to her forehead.

"I'll connect the river to you through me," his voice said in her head, "just keep a hold on me." She nodded dubiously. "Give me a moment to calm it down and then just think what you want to tell it." He took her hand and led her to the edge of the lake. He laid a hand on the surface of the black water. "Stop this!" she heard him command silently, "you've terrified her!" The river practically snarled back at him; he had been unjust, and it had only wanted to be near her. "If you calm yourself you may speak with her," Haku thought at his river firmly.

The river snapped back that it could speak for itself if only he let it. "She needs to trust you," he replied, "and she is not stepping foot in this water until she is completely comfortable." The river grumbled something back that Chihiro did not understand. Haku grinned. "I know exactly how you feel; you know I do." The water stilled and was a glassy lake once more. Haku smiled engagingly at Chihiro, and his soft voice whispered in her head. "Try it out, it won't think back exactly, but it will make itself understood."

Chihiro closed her eyes and tightened her grip on Haku's hand. Slowly she became aware of that vast presence again, but this time it was less invasive, hovering around the fringes of her consciousness. She felt a wave of concern flow from it.

"Yes, you did scare me," she told it. She felt bewilderment from it. "Because you could have killed me." Again it told her it did not understand. Instead of using words Chihiro tried to picture what the human lungs look like and her breathing in and out. Then she reminded it of the time when Haku had asked her to drown and how she had fought it. She told it about how her lungs had burned and caused her pain. Then she pictured what would have happened if she had drowned. She showed it an image of her fat bloated body floating in the water with fish nibbling away at her flesh. The confusion turned to revulsion and then what felt like a sheepish apology.

"Haku explained that you do not know what death is but I accept your apology," she thought to it. Relief flowed through her mind and then the smallest of requests. That she step into the water, then she could truly feel how cherished she was.

She shook her head. "I don't think so."She felt its disappointment, it promised to keep her head above the water.

"No" she replied a little more firmly than she meant to. It was not going to give up. It showed her an image of Haku holding her in the water; he could easily fly her out of it if she got scared. She felt Haku's grip on her hand tighten. "Was that your idea or his?" she asked. The river was confused by the question. She got the impression that it saw Haku as just a part of itself that understood the world more and could go where it could not, like a mobile appendage.

Chihiro tried to show it how she saw it, Haku as an almost human looking person who was occasionally a dragon and it as a cold glassy lake. It could not understand what she was getting at. Again it showed her the image of Haku holding her in the water. "Well, you are persistent if nothing else," she murmured.

Sensing her resolve was weakening it added a few details to the image. Her feet would still be on the sandy bottom; it would shift currents, so it was not so cold...

"Alright!" she cried opening her eyes, "You two win, I'll take a dip. Just give me a moment." The presence retreated with a very Haku like smugness. She let go of Haku's hand and sat on the sand to pull off her shoes. Her wet hands kept slipping, and sensing her frustration, Haku bent to help her. He said nothing as he removed her shoes and socks. The dragon may have been quiet, but his gaze spoke volumes. As he removed her tunic, his eyes devoured her bare shoulders and back, tracing every visible contour of her body through her wet vest and trousers which clung to her every curve. The water gurgled; Haku smiled.

"You see what you do to me? You even drive my river crazy." Chihiro could not help but return his smile. He helped her to her feet, cradling her hands in his. "This could get quite... err... intense. If at any moment it gets too much squeeze my hand." Chihiro nodded, not trusting herself to speak. He guided her to the water placing a hand on her lower back. Chihiro stepped into the water to find it cool but not cold. The river's presence was hovering in her head again but was maintaining its distance. With Haku beside her, she waded into the water. When she was submerged to her shoulders, he stopped her. "That's enough," he whispered. Chihiro turned to face him, he had removed his tunic, and the water lapped at his chest, his green eyes burned, and she felt her heart flutter. "Close your eyes," he breathed. Chihiro was feeling nervous and self-conscious, but she closed her eyes and waited.

Tentatively, the presence slowly filled her mind. It was exited, no, ecstatic that she had trusted it enough to do this. Chihiro did not reply, but she did not have to. As the presence grew stronger in her mind, it felt her apprehension. It practically cooed to her like she was a child and she felt a wave of very masculine protectiveness from it. The water moved slowly against her, trying to take her fears with it. She suddenly became aware of arms around her and a voice breathing her name in her ear, but it all seemed far away.

The river sighed contentedly as she relaxed in Haku's arms. It told her how she had always belonged to it and how it would always take care of her. It told her how beautiful she was, much more than any mermaid or nymph. She frowned and it seemed to bubble with a very Haku like amusement.

It slowly began to dawn on her that this was Haku and it also gave her an inkling of the vast amount of power he had to draw on. The river's energy was boundless; it burst with health and vitality. The bond between dragon and river would always be somewhat of a mystery to her, but at least she had gained some understanding as to its nature.

The river seemed pleased at her acceptance of it. It took that moment to make its full presence known to her. The river was a vast being that was kind of plugged into every living creature in it and every spirit that had made it its home. To get a true glance of the consciousness of a God was a little too much for Chihiro. Her legs trembled, she whimpered and clung to the body next to her in the water. She squeezed her eyes shut and tried not to lose herself. Sensing her fear the presence withdrew slightly and Chihiro breathed a sigh of relief.

"Sorry," she heard a voice whisper, "I just needed to show you, to let you understand."

The presence in her mind was concerned, and the water seemed to cradle and support her as much as Haku's arms did. Slowly she felt the nature of the waters embrace change. No longer supporting but touching and stroking. It was pleasent at first, she felt appreciated and content but the more she relaxed and enjoyed the caresses the more the mood of the water changed.

It was not just the water that was touching her she realised. Haku's hands were stroking her back and running over her hips then back up her waist to her shoulders. She felt her skin tingle, and her body shifted against him in response. She almost felt like purring and Haku, being in her head knew it.

A pair of lips brushed hers lightly, an enticing warmth filled her mind, whether it was her emotion or not she could no longer tell. The kisses grew demanding, and a tongue slid into her mouth, lusciously hot and wet. She returned the kisses and felt her hands wander across flesh and muscle. The water pulled at her; it wanted to feel every part of her, to have her entirely to itself. Haku filled her mind, and her senses revelled in what they were experiencing.

She now felt no distinction between river and dragon; the two were truly one. There was no room left in her mind to think, only to feel. Her lips moved down his neck, and her teeth nipped flesh playfully. She heard a gasp and then she was being kissed ferociously, and hands grasped at her body. She did not mind at all, she would surrender to his will, and he could take full possession of her as he wished, after all, she was only an insignificant human.

As soon as that thought floated across her mind, the kisses stopped. She moaned her annoyance, but the lips she tried to kiss were unresponsive.

"No," she heard him whisper hoarsely. She wound her hands through his soft silky hair and opened her eyes. Green eyes burning with desire looked back at her. The dragon was breathing heavily, but there was an odd look on his face. She was confused. The river distanced itself; its presence slipped from her mind.

"Don't go," she whispered, mentally reaching after it. The presence gently but firmly told her that it must leave her now. Chihiro felt truly bewildered.

"But I thought... what did I do wrong?" she mumbled.

The dragon touched her face bringing her attention back to her physical self.

"Nothing," he whispered "nothing at all, I meant only to show you what I was. I was not expecting your absolute acceptance, and your response to me was strong. I was in control of your mind and carrying you along with what I wanted. That is compulsion, and while what would have happened would have been wonderful... I would have hated myself afterwards, and you probably would not have remembered."

Chihiro blinked becoming more aware of herself all the time. She realised the truth in his words but her body did not seem to care, it burned for his touch. She felt cheated, embarrassed and slightly stupid. Most of all, she felt grateful that he had the presence of mind to put her feelings and sensibilities before his own. She stepped away from him coming back to herself fully. The water was icily cold; no doubt a way to help her wake up and bring her back into her own mind.

"I guess I owe you a thank you." He looked surprised.

"You're not angry with me?" he asked

"No, not really. A little embarrassed and annoyed with myself for being so weak minded." He smiled gently.

"You have nothing to be embarrassed about," he whispered. She smiled back shyly; it was odd to think that for a few moments he had known exactly what she was thinking and feeling. Also she had seen a bit of what he thought and felt.

"How do you cope with all that stuff going on at the same time? I mean there is the you I know and then all this..." she searched for the words and gave up. "... other stuff, just below the surface. I had no idea that..." She shook her head at a loss.

"I know you didn't," he replied. "Which is why I wanted to show you, perhaps it was too much. I seemed to have confused you more than anything else." Chihiro turned and started to wade towards the shore. The water sighed and begged that she return soon.

"I will," she promised, "just be gentle with me." It seemed content with her answer. As she stepped from the water, she turned to see Haku had not moved.

"I have a few things to do," he explained. She nodded but said nothing. She felt a little dazed still. "I won't be long," he promised, "eat something, it will help you ground yourself again." He slipped beneath the surface without raising a ripple.

Chihiro wondered back to the house and brewed some tea for herself. She tried not to think too much, but after her second cup of tea, her numbed mind decided to reassert itself. She felt very small and very inadequate, but some things made more sense now. She knew why half the bathhouse thought he was toying with her.

How could something so unimaginably powerful be content to want someone like her? Her perceptions were severely limited, and her understanding was poor. Yet when she had been in that water, she had felt so loved and protected that she had dropped all defences and surrendered herself to it. It was just as the Nygel had said; every drop of water did cry her name. The last impression that she had from the water was that it did not want her surrender; it wanted her fully conscious consent and participation or nothing at all. How could he love her like that? The Lord had been right in what he had said at her bonding.

"Such a thing should not happen."

Haku's reply had been simple. "But it has happened."

Chihiro nibbled at a thumb nail. Now she realised the full scale of what her heart had chosen. To love Haku fully and entirely as he deserved would not be easy for a mere mortal. In fact, it would probably turn out to be the biggest challenge of her life.

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