Anime/Manga » Spirited Away » Problem Dreaming
Author: AnnabethCerece
Rated: M - English - Romance/Humor - Reviews: 4 - Published: 05-30-15 - Updated: 05-30-15
id:11281716
Problem Dreaming
Chapter One: How It All Began
Plot: After Haku witnesses Chihiro break down due to her longing for the Spirit World, he begins to visit her in her dreams to comfort her. Very few spirits possess the power of dream walking— so when a complication arises Haku and Chihiro must try to make the best of a surprising situation and figure out a way to be together in one world.
"I have tolerated your eating like a bird since we moved here, but I absolutely will not tolerate you skipping meals completely. Please fix a piece of toast or eat a bowl of cereal or something." Chihiro sighed but followed her mother's request and slipped a piece of bread into the toaster. She cringed as she heard the thundering of feat down the stairs, and willed her toast to pop faster.
Her toast securely in hand, Chihiro darted out the door of her the house before the squealing voices could reach her, and began her daily walk towards the tunnel. As soon she was old enough to go off on her own (according to her parents) she began going to the tunnel every morning and sitting for an hour or so just to talk to the offering statues.
After the incident in the spirit world, her parents for some reason decided they wanted another child. Chihiro was excited at the prospect of getting a little brother or sister— until one turned into two and eventually two became four. The twins were the oldest at ten years old, her brother was seven, and the youngest girl four. Chihiro loved her siblings, but she couldn't stand to be in their prescence for more than a few hours at a time. As the oldest, by ten years no less, she prefered to go out on her own during the day. She had completed her college education just a few short weeks ago, thus freeing up literally all of her time.
She breathed in deeply, enjoying the scent of the forest in the morning. Early sunlight broke through the canopy of trees in patches, and Chihiro let a true smile break across her face for the first time since she came in from the forest yesterday. Yes she loved her family dearly, but she missed the days of quiet mornings and peaceful conversations. Now breakfast time was usually a bunch of shouting, crying, and arguing over who ate the last of the sugar loaded cereal.
Chihiro walked to the edge of the tunnel, dispersing what remained of her toast among the offering statues before sitting down. The cold from the tunnel seeped through the back of her hoodie, dew off of the grass seeping through her jeans. She blew out a slow breath trying to organize her thoughts. Since her graduation from college, Chihiro hadn't felt happy to graduate or sad to leave. In fact she hadn't really felt anything. She got up in the morning just to go through the motions of living, when in reality she was only existing.
"Am I having an existential crisis?" She muttered, something in her stomach starting to stir.
Chihiro sat in the same spot for hours before the dam holding her emotions in finally burst. Tears began to stream down her face and her hand came up to claw at her chest in an effort to staunch the sharp pain that manifested there. Sobs ripped from her throat, echoing the sounds of utter heartbreak and loneliness off of the surrounding trees and hillsides.
"I miss the Spirit World so much, but I can never cross through the tunnel. Why? Does Haku not want me to come back? He promised that we would see each other again..."
Haku was making his weekly rounds over his land in the Spirit World when a sudden wave of emotional distress from the border almost knocked him out of the sky. A scowl crossed over his face as Haku decended to the ground, thinking that another male spirit was attempting to molest a female spirit. There had barely been a problem with assaults such as these in the past, but recently Haku had dealt with at least four males attacking females in a sexual manner. It was a well-known fact and law that Haku would tear apart anyone who committed this crime, however that didn't seem to stop the problem as much as he would like.
A growl settled deep in his throat as he approached the tunnel, the dragon in him preparing to rip out a perverts throat. The tunnel was a common problem area from crime to younger spirits sneaking off to do kami knows what. No footsteps echoed off of the walls as Haku stalked farther into the darkness, only the menacing growls of a pissed off predator.
As soon as the sobbing reached his sensitive ears Haku began to run, fearing that he was too late to help the spirit in trouble. However as he got closer to the translucent barrier dividing the human world and the spirit world, he failed to see a spirit— instead he saw a human girl. Something about the distressed girl made him feel protective, almost as if he knew her...
Moving closer Haku noted that she was quite beautiful for a human. She was a bit too thin (his senses told him it was from a lack of adequate apetite), but her long brown hair had a glossy shine to it that a spirit's hair didn't usually possess. Her long legs were tucked up against her chest, thin arms wrapped around them. Her whole body shook with the force of her cries, and Haku had never felt an urge so powerful to cross into the human world.
"I miss the Spirit World so much, but I can never cross through the tunnel. Why? Does Haku not want me to come back? He promised that we would see each other again..."
Haku hit against the barrier the moment he heard her voice. It sounded slightly deeper from the little kid chirping voice she used to possess, but it still was her without a doubt.
"Chihiro! Please Chihiro I haven't broken my promise!" How could she believe he would abandon her? He beat his fist against the barrier again as her head slumped further down, as the sobs quieted. He could feel her spirit and fight, two of her qualities that had made him love her in the first place, begin to die and whither to virtually nothing. He had never had feelings this strong for someone before, and the despair that settled over him because of her pain was near unbearable. If his pain felt this bad, just what was she feeling at that moment?
"No, please Chihiro don't give up! I'm trying to find a way to get you back! Just please don't give up on me, don't give up on us!" Haku knelt on the ground until the human world's sky grew dark, Chihiro not moving the entire time. Anyone else would have thought her to be asleep, but Haku could still feel the waves of grief radiating from her.
Only when the crickets and frogs were in the middle of their early night chorus and the cold of the night began to nip at her did Chihiro finally move and stand. He watched as she rubbed her eyes and shakily stood to begin the walk down a barely worn path. The moment he couldn't see her disappearing form, Haku sprinted from the tunnel and burst into his other form with a flurry of scales.
'If Zeniba doesn't have a solution to this than I don't know who could help.'
The porch light was left on for Chihiro, though she noted her trek from the woods was only lit by the moon. Making sure to lock the door behind her, Chihiro kicked of her sneakers and switched the porch light off then the kitchen light on. A bright green post -it note stood out on the door of the refrigerator, informing Chihiro that a plate of fruit had been left for her. Sighing she opened the door and grabbed the plate, feeling the wooziness from low blood sugar start to hit her. Although Chihiro never had an appetite, she did eat enough to sustain her energy levels.
After finishing the fruit, she placed her plate in the sink to wash tomorrow and headed up to her room. The staircase felt like climbing a mountain. Chihiro's wearied heart had taken a toll on her entire body, making her feel like she had ran a marathon around the entire town. Not even bothering to turn on the light or change into pajamas, Chihiro simply fell face-first into her bed already dreading the next morning where she would have to put on a fake smile and endure another painful day.
Haku landed outside of the benevolent witch's quaint cottage, where no-face was already outside waiting to greet him. In another flurry of scales Haku quickly changed back into his human form and ran to the door. Not bothering to knock he burst through the door to find Zeniba already pouring tea and placing cookies on the table.
"Usually I would zap you with an itching curse to teach you a lesson about bursting into people's homes without knocking, but time is of the essence and we must get started." Haku sat down at the table, prepared to learn and do anything necessary to see Chihiro again.