"You can't do this Yubaba," Haku growls struggling against his restraints.
The witch grins, chuckling. The sounds is low and cruel and Haku shivers despite himself. "Your contract may no longer be
valid since that human told you your name," she replies, turning away. "But I'm not giving you up that easily, Haku."
"Let me go," he spits back, chains biting deep into his wrists as he struggles. His eyes are narrowed as he looks at his former master, heart racing beneath his chest. He tries to call up his magic, but her spell has sapped it all from him.
She doesn't answer him, just continues walking away, her long white hair tied into a bun atop her large head. Haku's heart sinks as the door clicks shut. He's trapped. And as the darkness surrounds him, his thoughts turn to her. Her bright smile, the way her ponytail would sway as she ran... Her pure sincerity.
He whispers her name, wishing she was still here. It had killed him to send her back to the human side of the river, even as he knew it was the right thing to do. "Chihiro," he whispers her name and it sounds like a prayer, lost alone in a dank and dark dungeon. "Chihiro," and he prays somehow she'll return, so that he can hold her again. Even if it's only one last time. "Chihiro."
"Chihiro!" a voice cries out, and Chihiro spins around, eyes wide, looking for the source. "Chihiro, over here!" Isuzu calls again, long black hair tied into pigtails as she bounces frantically on the balls of her feet.
"I guess I was imagining things again," Chihiro mumbles to herself. "Hello, Isuzu," she calls back, waving to her best friend.
A boy walks up behind Isuzu, long sandy brown hair falling to his shoulders as he stares at Chihiro. His face is pale white, like a winter's snow, and he wears a long, strange black robe that covers his whole body. Strange markings, that look like burn scars, make a triangular pattern on his face. He walks toward her, ignoring the blaring traffic racing down the road.
"Wait, sir, be careful!" Chihiro calls out, waving her hands frantically. She breaths a sigh of relief when he makes it safely to the other side, her heartbeat returning to normal. He stares down at her, unblinking, his deep black eyes boring into hers. A light grey colour encircles the iris, a haunting look, as he watches her. "Sen," he whispers, and she frowns up at him, confused.
"I'm sorry sir, that's not my name."
He frowns too, and she can't tell if he's mimicking her or if he's genuinely frowning. He slips a gloved hand from his silken robes, gesturing at her with an empty palm. "Ahh, Ahh," he says, still meeting her eyes.
She shakes her head. "I don't want anything sir. Is something wrong?" she asks, turning her head slightly to look for Isuzu.
"You don't remember me, Sen?" he asks, bowing his head so that his hair hides his face. "This makes me sad."
"I think you're confused sir. My name isn't Sen."
She turns a bit more, still trying to catch a glimpse of Isuzu. The boy lunges forward grabbing her shoulders and staring at her hair. "Your hair ribbon..."
She struggles to escape his grasp. "Do you like it, sir?" She reaches up and takes it out, letting her brown hair fall to her shoulders. "Here, you can have it, if you like it."
"Sen, you must remember. Where did you get that hair ribbon?" His eyes are pleading, begging, desperate.
Chihiro frowns, staring at the ribbon for a moment. It's bright purple hue has never faded, even in seven years of constant wear. She furrows her brow, trying to remember where she had gotten it, or why she feels she should always wear it. Flashes come to her, in bright vivid colours across her mind. A tiny mouse, running fast on a spinning wheel. A man with no face. An old woman with bespectacled, kind eyes. And a dragon that made her heart soar.
"I remember!" she bursts out, tears falling from her eyes. "It was real, it was really real! I'm so sorry I forgot, Kaonashi," she says, placing a hand on No Face's cheek.
He closes his eyes, cupping her hand with his. The corners of his lips tug upwards in a small smile as they stand there. "Oh Sen, I have missed you," he whispers, and her cheeks turn a bright pink at the intimacy in his tone.
Her heart skips a beat beneath her breast she she stares up at his face. "What happened? You look so different."
His eyes flutter open. "Zeniba did this, so that I could come to tell you."
She wipes the tears from her face with her free hand, wondering why he has come to the human world. "Tell me what? Why isn't Haku here?" She frowns as she thinks of him , her heart falling at the realization he hasn't come for her. She misses him, so much her heart had blocked off all memories of that time, to save herself the constant ache of missing him.
No Face lets out a soft sigh, releasing her hand to fall back at her side. "Haku is in danger. Yubaba has gone mad." There's a sadness in his eyes that she can't understand, something so terribly lonely that it makes her heart crack under the weight of his gaze.
"Haku? He's in danger? I can't let anything happen to him," she says, gripping his robes in her fists. "Please, we have to help him!" She knows she sounds desperate, but she needs to save him. Haku, the boy who had made her heart flutter like butterfly wings even when she was only ten. The boy who had saved her life, and who's life she had saved in return. "Please."
He bows his head again, hair falling forward to cover his face once more. "That is why Zeniba sent me. But, her magic can't send you back again, if you come to the spirit world with me."
The realization on his words hit her hard, knocking her back as her mind spins. She steps back a bit more, eyes taking in the sights of the city. The bustling people, loud and laughing, as they roam the sidewalks. The buildings so tall, like metal hands reaching to touch a grey sky clouded by toxic fumes and smoke. Her mind turns to thoughts of her parents, and all their hopes and dreams for her future. Isuzu, her dear friend with a bright and bubbly personality, and how worried she would be if she disappeared. How worried her family would be made her pulse beat like mad in her throat. She takes a deep breath, mind made up.
She bows low to No Face, clutching the brightly coloured hair ribbon in her hand. "If you'll excuse me," she says, voice firm. "I'd like to say goodbye to my friend before we go."