The border had been open for about a week when Haku finally got the warning that an intruder had crossed over. He quickly located Chihiro and they both flew to the now dry ferry crossing. Chihiro was slowly getting better at whizzing through the air while seemingly unsupported by anything except Haku's hand. She still could not look below her without a huge attack of vertigo, but she was learning to deal with it. The short flight from the top of the bathhouse hardly fazed her at all.

They landed gracefully before her astonished parents. Her mother recovered from her shock quickly however and hugged her daughter tightly.

"Oh, I was so pleased when I got your letter," Yuuko cried and stepped back from Chihiro and clutched Haku's hand. "I knew as soon as I saw you together that something like this was on the horizon. Just let me say how pleased I am for both of you." Chihiro beamed at her mother, her eyes misted a little with tears. Yuuko genuinely did seem happy for them. With only one way contact between Chihiro and her parents, Chihiro had had no idea how her parents had reacted to the news of her betrothal. She had suspected her mother would understand, but her father...?

Chihiro glanced over at Akio Ogino; he had lost weight, but his hair was greying. He looked older to her. His dark eyes were burning with disproval at his wife's actions, but his attention seemed to be on Haku. Chihiro realised he was sizing up her intended, trying to take his measure before he spoke to him. Chihiro prised Haku away from her mother and walked towards her father while clutching at the dragon's hand possessively. Akio blinked at the young woman before him; she was almost a completely different person from the thin, ill-looking girl he had last seen in a hospital.

His daughter stood straight and proud. Her dark eyes were exactly like her mother's and they sparkled with defiance as she regarded him coolly. Her figure had certainly become more feminine and it was accentuated by the loose, light green tunic-like dress she wore. Her hair was longer too; the brown tresses fell well past the middle of her back. She was breathtaking. Suddenly Akio felt a huge stab of guilt along with a fresh wave of paternal protectiveness. No wonder the thing by her side wanted to possess her.

"Father," said Chihiro crisply. "May I present Nigihayami Kohaku Nushi; one of the most powerful spirits in this part of the spirit world. He is the person I intend to take as my mate next week."

The green-eyed man-thing bowed to him shallowly. Akio did not return the bow. Chihiro could almost smell the testosterone in the air as the dragon and the human eyeballed each other.

"You take a great liberty with my family by taking our daughter as yours without asking our permission first," bit out Akio. Haku merely raised an eyebrow at her father's hostile tone, but Chihiro saw his shoulders stiffen also.

"Chihiro is quite capable of making her own decisions. Besides you were unwilling to believe her so I could not ask you. If you knew your daughter a little better perhaps you would have the sense to trust her judgement."

That hit home. Chihiro saw her father's eyes widen as if he had been slapped in the face. She looked helplessly at her mother. Yuuko just shrugged, quite happy to let the two males lock horns and vie for supremacy.

"I know my daughter a little better than you think, spirit," said her father quietly. "Which leads me to believe that you must have manipulated her in some way, to get her to agree to such a quick engagement and now a sham of a marriage."

"It's not a marriage," corrected Haku acidly. "It is a bonding of souls. Chihiro will giver her soul to me and she will have mine. We will belong to each other in a way that you cannot possibly comprehend."

Chihiro's mother edged around the pair and stood next to her daughter.

"I think it's going well, don't you?" she chuckled.

"I don't find it funny," said Chihiro, while nibbling viciously at her nails.

"Oh, let them get it out of their systems. They won't be happy until they have had a good fight."

"I would not worry, except... Dad is not the fittest person and, well, Haku is a dragon... when he gets angry..."

"Don't fret my dear, turn on the water-works and you will have them eating out of your hands." Chihiro decided to resort to blackmail only if necessary. She would rather just shout at them.

"If you cared for my daughter at all," hissed Akio, "you would not impose such a thing on her."

"I love your daughter," snapped Haku. "And I'm not the one who left her to rot in a hospital!"

Chihiro's mother winced and Chihiro knew things were going to go too far if she did not intervene.

"BE QUIET!" she yelled at the top of her lungs. "Both of you!"

To her surprise, they both turned to look at her. "You are like two children fighting over a toy!" she exclaimed, putting her hands on her hips. "For all our sakes, grow up! Dad you are 51 and Haku you are over 17,000 years old. Why don't you both start acting your age? I love you both and it's tearing me apart seeing you argue like this." Chihiro glared at her stunned father. "Dad, I love you but you have been a mule-headed bastard!"

"Chihiro!" her mother exclaimed. Chihiro ignored her. "Yes, you did put me in a hospital and no, I have not quite forgiven you yet; but I'm willing to try. All you seem to want to do is insult the very person who rescued me from that place. I love him Dad and I want to be with him forever, please trust me enough to believe that I know my own heart." She turned to Haku.

"And you promised to be civil; I really thought you had more manners." Haku blinked but she continued. "And you are being far too over-protective. This is my father; he is hardly going to hurt me deliberately. Back off before you forget yourself." She glared at both of them. "Now, I believe Meeka has prepared lunch. Mum and I are going for a bite to eat and a cup of tea. You two are welcome to join us, or you can kill each other. At the moment I don't care which you choose." She spun around on her heel and grabbed her mother's arm. Yuuko Ogino trailed alongside her daughter, impressed with her handling of the situation. Haku stared after Chihiro. Akio shuffled his feet and finally spoke.

"I'm not normally so rude upon first meeting someone but..." He trailed off when the dragon looked at him. Akio had to admit the green-eyed creature exuded hidden power and he was more than a little intimidated. However, after his daughter's stern words he felt the need to build bridges and quickly. He had not lost his misgivings however and he wanted to make sure the dragon knew it. "You are immortal, a creature of another world, how can this possibly work?"

"But it does work, we are a shining example that human and spirit can live together in harmony," replied the dragon solemnly. Akio Ogino looked after his rapidly disappearing daughter and then turned to the dragon, who towered above him.

"I don't like you and I don't trust you, but for my daughter's sake I will tolerate you."

"Fine," snapped Haku, gritting his teeth. "And I will continue to think of you as a pitiful fool." Akio nodded curtly and the human and dragon started to follow the women. Haku was wondering if Chihiro would mind terribly if he removed a few of her father's fingers and toes.

"Just a slight maiming," he thought. "Then maybe he would be more respectful towards me." He knew however, if he even attempted such a thing Chihiro would remove a particular part of his anatomy that was very dear to him indeed. Still, he was not required to like Akio at all. Thus he was resolved, but he could not resist one last dig at the infuriating human.

"How you ever managed to spawn such a daughter is beyond me. Looking at you both one would think your blood was not even the same temperature."

"You're right," Akio grunted. "She is stunning and you are not fit to walk in her shadow. You should be honoured she is lowering herself to take you as hers. She could have done so much better."

"I know," muttered Haku, the wind taken from his sails somewhat.

The human and the dragon entered the bathhouse having reached an impasse. They were unaware they had risen in each others estimation considerably.

At lunch, Chihiro ignored Haku and her father until her sisters arrived. Rin's sharp-tongued wit and Linca's constant chatter seemed to ease the atmosphere somewhat. Indeed Akio was completely charmed by Linca, something the sprite shamelessly played up to.

"Tell me," she said huskily to Akio, placing a hand on his forearm. "Where were men like you when I was in the human world?" Chihiro nearly choked on her tea and strangled a laugh. Her mother seemed to be having trouble hiding a smile too. "Now I see where Chihiro gets her good looks," said Linca leaning closer to the furiously blushing Akio. Haku seemed amazed at the exchange; his eyes were wide and his eyebrows were raised as high as they would go. Chihiro had to admit the sprite was being ridiculously improper. She was from a part of the spirit world that was connected to a very different part of the human world. Customs and the boundaries of the acceptable were different, but even if she was in the Ukraine, Chihiro was sure Linca would be pushing her luck. To Chihiro's amusement, her blushing father gave as good as he got.

"Chihiro did not tell me she had such a beautiful adoptive sister, I shall have to visit more often from now on and make an effort to get to know you better," Akio said as calmly as he could while meeting Linca's disconcertingly white eyes. Linca laughed girlishly and Chihiro took that moment to give her a friendly kick in the shin under the table. Linca yelped and glared at her, but she took the warning and toned down her behaviour. The conversation at the table lulled until Yuuko piped up.

"So what is exactly involved in this mating ceremony?" Chihiro and Haku shared a worried look, they had been hoping to avoid the subject; Chihiro did not know how to explain the proceedings in a way that would not sound like she was a touch insane for agreeing to participate in the ceremony.

Now Rin was not known for her deportment or diplomacy and so she surprised Chihiro when she offered her parents an explanation.

"It is a very beautiful and ancient ceremony; full of symbolism." Chihiro's parents nodded, both could respect such a thing. Rin continued, "The female betrothed is taken away by her family two nights before to be cleansed physically and mentally."

"I don't see why she has to go through this and Haku does not," mumbled Linca. "It's sexist." Rin gave her sister a flat look and did her best to ignore her.

"As I was saying, Sen will be cleansed; it also gives her an opportunity to spend time with her family before she commits herself to Haku."

Rin seemed wistful as she spoke. Chihiro was wondering if she was feeling emotions connected to when she was mated. Chihiro was certain that the name Rin had blurted out a few months ago had been her mate's. A mate whom she had had a child with; a mate who had treated her badly enough to make her run to Yubaba. Rin smiled and her soft brown eyes looked sad. "Traditionally this is the point that Sen must consider the suitability of her mate and it's her last chance to call a halt to things without dishonouring her family."

"What rubbish!" grumbled Linca.

"We as her family then ensure she arrives at the ceremony safely and in good health. To be mated when you are ill is considered to be a bad omen."

Chihiro was amazed that her parents were hanging on Rin's every word.

"The ceremony starts with Chihiro walking from one side of the temple to the other, symbolically leaving her family to start her new life. She will stop halfway and then Haku will ask her if she is free and willing to come to him. She will hopefully answer "yes" and complete her walk across the temple to stand at his side." Chihiro saw her mother swallow slowly; she guessed she could count on her getting emotional at the ceremony. "They will pledge themselves to each other before the Gods. Then the Gods will demand a symbolic sacrifice." Rin placed great emphasis on the word symbolic so Chihiro's parents had no chance to misunderstand. "Time was that there was an actual sacrifice demanded, a beast of some sort normally." Chihiro exhaled a breath she did not know she had been holding. Wisely Rin had left out the part about the sacrifice occasionally being a human child in times past. "In our days what is usually required are a few drops of blood from both parties. The Gods will accept the sacrifice and then Haku will have to confess."

"Confess?" Akio sounded alarmed.

"Yes," replied Rin. "He will have to tell her the worst thing he has ever done. We won't be able to hear of course, it will be done within a silence spell." Linca snorted.

"Again I find this very offensive; it implies that just because he is male he would rack up more misdemeanours than she would."

Rin, Haku and Chihiro all glared at the diminutive spirit. She held up her hands in a gesture of surrender.

"I just don't think it's fair, if you are all happy to go along with these antiquated customs then so be it."

"But it's all symbolic now, Linca," chimed in Yuuko, she then frowned and turned to Rin. "Isn't it?"

"Yes," Rin replied. "But if Chihiro does not like what she hears she may wish, and is within her rights, to walk away right then, but in doing so she will damage not only Haku's reputation but her family's also. In the past your clan or family were your livelihood and protection. To damage them was to damage yourself." Akio nodded at Rin's words.

"It was the same in the human past, marriages were about honour and money not love, though this seems more complex than an ordinary marriage."

"It is, and it is supposed to be difficult so that no one who was not a hundred percent committed would go through with it," said Rin sagely. Yuuko nodded.

"So, when she has heard the worst thing Haku has done and still wants to have him," Yuuko asked giving the dragon an encouraging smile, "then what happens?"

"Chihiro will touch her sacrifice wound to his and they will become mates. No one will ever be able to part them, they will always be aware of each other; their souls will be in each others keeping. They will be as much a part of each other as fibres are part of woven cloth; if you pick them apart there is no fabric." Rin gave Chihiro a rueful smile. "It will be one of the most beautiful and terrifying times of your life, sister, but I'm confident all will go well for you."

Chihiro smiled back, Rin's eyes looked so sad she wished she could take her pain from her. Haku was very still beside her; she felt anxiety through the Tac'Tal and knew he was worrying about his confession. He would have to be honest or the deities present would denounce him and not only would the ceremony not be able to be completed but he would be punished also. Chihiro slipped her hand into his beneath the table and squeezed reassuringly. He looked down at her and though he smiled she could see his worry.

"It can't be that bad surely?" she thought. "He may have lived a long time and probably has done plenty of things he is not proud of but I don't think it will be anything I'll have trouble forgiving."

She loved him so much she felt she would almost be able to forgive anything; well almost anything, she may have a few problems with rape, torture and cold-blooded murder. But Haku was not capable of any of those things; it was probably something he was forced to do while he was Yubaba's apprentice that caused him to worry so. He returned her grip and they turned their attention back to the table. The conversation had moved on but Chihiro could tell her father was far from happy about the situation; however, he seemed willing to accept it. Linca had finally done something useful and guided her parents onto the subject of what Chihiro was like as a child.

"She was such a tomboy," her mother exclaimed. "Always playing in mud and water; digging up worms and climbing trees. As soon as she could walk I could not turn my back on her." Yuuko chuckled to herself; Akio laughed too.

"She was a real terror, always wanting to know about everything. Why is the sky blue, daddy? Why is the grass green? What holds the moon up? Why do birds sing?" It was exhausting!" He smiled at his daughter affectionately. "Then there was the time your curiosity got you into real trouble."

"How so?" asked Linca.

"She fell into a river; she was only four years old and could not swim. I think she knocked ten years off my life expectancy. One minute she was sitting on the bank, the next she was gone." Chihiro hid a smirk and let her father talk. "Anyway she did not come back up, the river was fast and deep and I could not see her anywhere. I screamed her name and ran up and down the bank hoping to catch a glimpse of her so I could pull her out. Finally, I found her sitting in the shallows around the next bend in the river."

"Why did you fall in?" asked Rin, who had not heard the story.

"I had new shoes on and one fell in; I wanted it back," replied Chihiro. "I did not mean to fall in; I made a grab for it and overbalanced." Akio laughed.

"Anyway, when I find her, before I can say anything, she puts her head on one side and says "Hello, Daddy" as if nothing had happened." The table's occupants laughed and Chihiro flushed. "I try to pick her up but she wriggles away from me, points to the water and tells me I have to thank the..." Akio trailed off, both he and Yuuko stared open-mouthed at Haku. An enigmatic smile touched the dragon's lips and his jade eyes shone.

"Thank the what?" asked Rin, frowning.

"...The dragon boy," whispered Akio. Rin's frown deepened.

"Was that you Haku?" she asked.

"It might have been," he mumbled into his teacup. There was perfect silence at the table. Haku watched Akio closely waiting for his reaction. Finally, Akio stood slowly and bowed to the dragon.

"Forgive my earlier words; we owe you thanks and are greatly in your debt," he said quietly. Haku inclined his head toward Akio and motioned for him to sit back down. Chihiro could almost feel the dragon's mind start to race.

"I assure you, Akio, any debts owed are repaid tenfold by the fact that your daughter has consented to be my mate," he intoned and then a sly look crept over his features. Chihiro fancied she could hear a trap somewhere click shut. "That is if we have your blessing?" A grin split Linca's face and Rin looked thoroughly un-amused. Akio did not even seem to notice he had been manipulated.

"You have not only my blessing but my trust," he said sincerely.

"Then there are no debt between us," said Haku equally sincerely.

Linca decided this would be an ideal time to give Chihiro's parents a tour of the bathhouse. They all stood and she and Rin lead the way. Chihiro and Haku hung back and Haku slipped an arm around Chihiro and kissed her on the temple.

"You are far too clever for your own good sometimes," she mumbled into his ear.

"I know," he whispered. "But that's part of my appeal."

"Arrogant lizard," Chihiro chuckled and before he could distract her further she took his arm and pulled him in the direction her parents had gone.

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