Arresting Spirits

by Fedora Lekaios

AU (alternate universe)- Chihiro is the new agent specializing in the Spirit Cases, mysteries dealing with the supernatural and the celestial. In hopes of firing Chihiro asap, Yubaba partners her up with no-nonsense Haku Rivers. It's hate at first sight…or is it?

Chapter One: Real Life

##Haku##

Haku Rivers was boring, to say at the least. He was a strict, no-nonsense man with a schedule calculated down to precise increments of seconds. There were no buts or excuses in his frame of mind, just disapproval and condemnation.

If it weren't for the fact that he was incredibly handsome with his unblemished skin, sea-green pearls for eyes, boyish features, and a well-sculpted figure— well, perhaps one would find him absolutely appalling.

At 5:23 A.M. his eyelids automatically lifted on their own, without the help of the alarm clock, thank you very much. He stood up and did morning stretch exercises for exactly four minutes. Afterwards, he proceeded in turning on the television and listened without much discretion to the weather and if the Yelling Hyenas won the Nacho-ball Tournament last night.

"Ladies and Gents, remember it's gonna be one heck of a soggy day, so bring your umbrellas and rain boots!" the cheerful weather reporter announced, as soon as Haku had disappeared into the bathroom.

Haku entered his stately bathroom with quiet satisfaction, his sea-green eyes scrutinizing the creamy white tiles, the pink shell-shaped sinks, and the perfectly folded towels arranged by color, size, and shape. The maids actually did their jobs right today.

"Today's going to be a good day, I can feel it." He hummed to himself as he got ready for another day at work.

##Chihiro##

"Today's gonna be a crappy day, I can feel it." A plain brown-haired young woman grumbled to her reflection in the cereal bowl. Already, the tight knot of apprehension of her first day at a new workplace was giving her the willies.

"What if the new boss hates me? What if my partner hates me? What if everyone thinks I'm a joke for believing in the extraterrestrial? I can't move back to the city, especially after ruining the last case. And above all, I'm to the verge of being completely broke!" Chihiro exclaimed in self-pity as she gazed at her shabby surroundings. Almost everything needed professional scrubbing, polishing, fixing, and mending— everything to the electrical appliances down the squeaky door hinges.

Two ragtag, worn suitcases, which held all her belongings, sat in an unused corner by the door. She had moved to the small, dusty hotel at the edge of town two days ago. Chihiro sighed. She had turned to the field of police enforcement as a ticket to adventure and fame… and all she got was snobbish stares and a bad rep for being late and irresponsible.

…But it wasn't her fault. Lady Luck just didn't seem to like her too much.

Chihiro's plain blue eyes roved to the rusty alarm clock that probably dated back to the prehistoric times. They immediately widened in shock at the current time.

6:40 A.M.

"SHIT! I have twenty minutes!" She yelped as she ungracefully dumped her cereal bowl in the moldy sink and turned to the bathroom, bumping into her desk and chest along the way. She hopped from foot to foot from the pain as she brushed her teeth, brushed her tangled hair, put it up in a ponytail, and bolted to her chest.

She groaned at how her favorite black suit looked positively rumpled and creased. Chihiro shoved away the disheartened thoughts and hurriedly put it on, struggling with the small buttons on her white oxford shirt. While pulling up her socks, she glanced at the alarm clock and loudly swore when it read:

6:47 A.M.

"I'm gonna be LATE!" she wailed as she grabbed her purse, gray coat, work bag and hastily pushed her throbbing feet into her black heels. She all but wrenched the door from its hinges as she opened it, closed it, and locked it. The room was dark and silent for another minute or so, before Chihiro rushed in and shoved her pager and reading glasses into her purse.

"Damn Mondays!" she muttered under her breath as she once again left her room.

She half jogged, half sprinted to the bus stop while vainly trying to juggle her purse, coat, and work bag. Chihiro almost cried when her reading glasses fell out of her purse and the glass shattered to little pieces.

When she arrived at the bus stop, cradling the broken glasses to her chest, she lifted her head to the sky and silently prayed to God that she wouldn't screw up today. Of all days, today had to go well!

And then, the raindrops came…

"No… please say today is going to be sunshine and butterflies." Chihiro half whispered, half pleaded to the sky.

But the innocent raindrops soon turned into merciless jets of water, completely soaking Chihiro's brown hair and black suit. With a defeated, hollow sigh, Chihiro covered her head with her purse as she waited for the stupid bus.

It came two minutes later, and when Chihiro trudged onto the bus, the bus driver gave her the most pitiful, sympathetic face. Chihiro wished she could just wallop the bus driver with a baseball bat.

"Psh…I don't need charity." She whispered under her breath as she grabbed onto a vacant bus ring and counted the seconds on her wristwatch.

##Haku##

6:15 A.M.

"Hm… I'm behind schedule by one minute." Haku murmured before he sipped his bland coffee and proceeded in consuming his buttery, syrupy Belgium waffles and fresh fruit salad. One of the hotel's greatest amenities was providing excellent breakfast trays.

Exactly fifteen minutes later, Haku placed the clean tray outside his door, placed his morning newspaper in his suitcase, and walked outside to the parking lot. He casually unlocked his suave, silver Infiniti sedan and entered the car. As he drove out of the parking lot, he decided that he felt charitable today and would buy everyone at the office a cup of steaming Starbucks.

"I am too good." He stated as he glanced at his reflection in the car mirror. There was barely any traffic either, which was extremely rare on busy Yobanuga Street. He smiled complacently as he went through the Starbucks driveway and bought 14 mocha cappuccinos.

With seven minutes to spare, he pedaled his car towards Takudome Building, the home of Tokyo's finest police station.

##Chihiro##

"Sssssttttttttooooooooppppppp!" Chihiro screeched at the top of her lungs, abruptly halting the bus. She had been so absorbed in counting the seconds on her watch that she almost missed her stop.

She ignored the disgruntled glances as she pushed her way to the bus doors. When she stepped foot onto the ground, she concluded that since everything went wrong, things could only get better. Chihiro calmly smoothed her jacket and pants, adjusted her bags to a more comfortable position, and with a thumping heart, walked towards the Takudome Building.

She marveled at the swirling doors, the marble floors, the sharp-looking businesspersons carrying expensive suitcases, the gold-plated letters, and the luxurious furnishings. It made her feel even more nervous of her meeting with the new boss. Chihiro walked to the front desk and proudly placed a business card on the smooth counter.

After looking at the card, the secretary looked at Chihiro up and down, from her hair down to her scuffed shoes, and slightly frowned as she said, "Do you have an appointment, miss? With Miss Yubaba?"

"Yes, I do. My name is Chihiro Okimoto. I was newly employed a few days ago and I'm supposed to meet with Miss Yubaba at 7 o'clock sharp. I'm terribly sorry that I'm late—"

The secretary politely held up her hand to silence Chihiro's babbling, gracefully picked up the phone, pressed a few buttons, and said sweetly, "This is Rin, Miss Chihiro Okimoto has an appointment with Miss Yubaba. Shall I send her up?"

After a few moments of nodding and shaking her head, the secretary held her hand over the mouthpiece and said, "Take the elevator up to level 17. That's where Miss Yubaba is. But whatever you do, don't make her angry."

Chihiro's green eyes widened as she inquired, "Why?"

Rin placed the phone back to its cradle before whispering, "She'll chew you up and spit you out if you displease her in any way."

"What do I do?"

"Hm… you don't seem like a bad person, so I'll give you this piece of advice: compliment her son, and she'll eat out of the palm of your hand."

"Are you sure? That's kinda sketchy."

"Well, it's up to you if you believe me or not. Oh, and another piece of advice."

"Yes?"

"Whatever you do, stay away from Agent Haku Rivers, he's her evil henchman. And he's got the personality of a crocodile."

"Haku Rivers? I've heard of that name."

"Yeah, he's also filthy rich and on the cover of every police magazine for cracking tons of cases. It's nice if you have connections with him, but don't get attached, is all I'm saying." Rin said with a lopsided grin.

"Thanks for the advice, but I better go now." Chihiro said with a smile as she pointed at her watch.

"Good luck." Rin replied before greeting the next person in line.

Chihiro politely nodded her head and headed towards the elevator. Already, more and more people were entering the building. Takudome Building was steadily coming alive with morning commotion.

After she pressed the 'up' button, Chihiro cautiously looked around and noticed that everyone looked awfully stern, peeved, and exhausted. There were many people with dark circles under their eyes, a cup of coffee in hand, and an important manila folder or suitcase in the other.

The soft ping of the elevator brought Chihiro back on track as she entered the elegant glass elevator. She squirmed when more and more people shuffled inside the small compartments, squeezing themselves like sardines in a can. Chihiro was pinned between the glass walls and the people, and she couldn't help but groan when the people made room for yet another person.

I am going to bloody murder the next person that comes in. You'd think these people would have some manners in elevator etiquette. Chihiro thought darkly. Unbeknownst to her, the last person to enter the elevator was none other than the smirking Haku Rivers.

AN:So, how was it? This is my first attempt at a Spirited Away fan fic, so I'm a little doubtful. Please tell me if there are any grammar or spelling mistakes so that I can fix them.

Thanks for reading my story!

TBC, if ya review!