A/N: wow! Reviews! OMG, I can't believe it!! *passes out cookies* Yay!
Disclaimer: if I owned, why would I put a DISCLAIMER in, eh? Lol, okay, okay! I don't own anything within this fic 'scept my plot 'n whatever else ya dun recognize. Oh, yeah, and before I forget, I don't own Spirited Away. In case I forgot that.
Chapter Started: 4/22/03
Chapter Finished: 4/23/03
Third Person POV, Chihiro
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Chihiro opened her eyes, then immediately shut them against the light the seemed to pierce all the way to the back of her brain.
She waited a moment, then unfurrowed her brow and slowly let her eyes get used to the glare. Then she took more notice of herself.
For one, she hurt. All over, but especially at her neck and left shoulder. Or right between. Or both AND right between. She was laying on her back, hands thrown above her head [in a rather painful position for her shoulder and neck], something that felt suspiciously like water all around her. As though she were floating on it... no, she realized, she was in water but shallow water. She could feel the sand - rocks? - beneath her back. Her wrists were bound together.
It didn't smell salty, and she couldn't taste it, so she wasn't at the ocean. Where was she, then? Where were her parents?
"'Ehy you, gerrup!" said a hoarse voice, and she felt a sharp twang in her side. something had poked her. A foot, most likely. Or a stick.
With a deep breath, Chihiro opened her eyes once more. And, once more, she shut them quickly, tightly.
It wasn't human. It looked something like a cross between a human and a frog, really, in neat white robes. It was one of *them*, from where she had just escaped a little while ago. Or was it the other day? Weeks? How long had she been out?
"I say' gerrup!" he shouted again, and this time her did kick her, in the side of her ribcage. Chihiro let out a startled and painful yell, tears pricking the corner of her eyes.
Suddenly, she was jerked out of the water and placed on her feet, one of the creature's hands wrapped around her already wrapped-around wrists. Pain washed over her - no, it was really more soreness than pain - and she stumbled, the extra weight of her water-soaked clothes an added problem.
"C'mon, Human!" he snarled at her, then began dragging her - and she realized where she was. Water-covered train tracks, a certain building/island whatever it was right in front of her.
It took her a moment to realize that the sudden, piercingly anguished yell was coming from herself.
"Shurrup!" the frog-dude turned, jerking her forward at the same time [Chihiro had fallen to her knees], and once again planted his foot in a bruised spot - her stomach. She doubled over and cried harder.
Would she have to do all of that over again? Where were her parents? What was going on, how had she gotten here? Or maybe... maybe she had never escaped, perhaps she had just come and fallen asleep out here. But then, how had her hands been tied up? Why was she sore all over, especially between her left shoulder and neck? How had she managed to get bruised all over?
Maybe the train had run over her.
Heh.
Stupid thought, that.
"This is all a dream!" she cried as he - the frog-dude - dragged her impatiently along. Déjà-vu. Wasn't that what she had said when she had first gotten here? All a dream, just go away, disappear...
Disappear! Hurriedly, Chihiro scrambled to get in a painless position where she could see her hands, legs. Just as she had thought. She was fading! Fading away, into nothing, forever.
Then maybe she'd get her hands out of the rope.
Nope. The rope was magical, or so she thought. It began to glow as her fingers fell through one another, and the frog-dude noticed. He swore and took off at a faster pace. Chihiro couldn't keep up, and was dragged along, throw painfully into a boat thing, and left to try to get the water she had just swallowed out of her system.
Then she was thrown painfully out, and sunk halfway through the dock, though still on it. her glowing rope was grabbed, and she was once again dragged painfully up some stairs, through halls, more stairs, inside - where she wanted, and hated, never wanting to be - through, thrown carelessly onto a chair, hands jerked above head [eliciting another cry through her already flowing tears] and something stuffed into her mouth.
She knew what it was. Some of their food.
She coughed, and tried to spit it out, wanting nothing to do here - when had they become so cruel? The ones she had left behind had seemed to grow on her - and she them - but this was... torture. A hand/flipper grasped her chin, and somehow Chihiro found herself swallowing.
A moment of rest. Ah, peace, relaxation!
"Ah - ow!" she was jerked by the now-not-glowing-rope and pulled into an elevator, thrown to the ground.
"What are you doing?" she cried. "what's going on? How did I get here? Where are my parents? Why are you doing this?!?"
"I SAY' SHURRUP!" she doubled over and coughed, gasping for air after a foot was planted once more into her gut. Chihiro stayed silent for the rest of the journey up, only giving a few whimpers or choked sobs as she was dragged along to Yubaba's room.
Once inside, the door was slammed shut behind her, and she was thrown to her knees, head pushed down, arms yanked above and around head. Their being tied tightly with the magic rope kept her chin pressed firmly in the hollow between her neck and chest, elbows pushing harder to keep her eyes down that way. "What's going on?" she whimpered.
"Ah, Sen you must be." Drawled an unrecognizable voice. Chihiro started to look up, but her arms were jerked, and her head was slammed back down. She let out a painful cry, for the moment only being able to focus on her burning shoulder and neck.
"Crybaby," the voice remarked, and the owner of it sauntered over to her. She could barely make out black boots, but flinched (once again eliciting a cry of pain from her own lips) as a cold, pale hand pressed between her ear and shoulder, and the pain numbed a little. In fact, her entire body numbed, and she slumped against her bonds.
"Shall I relea' 'er, m'lord?"
"No." her bound wrists were jerked forward as the cold hand removed itself and took them instead. "leave us now."
"Yea' s'ir."
The frog-dude marched out.
"We meet at last, Sen," the voice whispered. He was *not* Yubaba, that was for sure.
"who are you?" one question led to another. "what am I doing here? Where are my parents? Yubaba? The baby? Haku?"
"You would do well to keep that sweet little mouth of yours shut," his reply was scathing. "or I among others will have to do it for you."
"Where are they?!?" Chihiro shrieked, trying to lift her head. Amazingly enough, she did, and the rope holding her raw wrists together fell to the floor. The catch to this action was that both arms were cut from the small letter-opener-sized knife the man was holding, and a hard smack to the forehead and cheek, sending her reeling on her butt, head bowed.
"I have taken care of the whole lot. That precious baby and his mother have been banished to my prison, along with quite a few others, and so has Yubaba's sister, that phantom No-Face, and all of their precious little animals. Your parents are with them, unconscious, pigs."
"PIGS?!?"
"Shut up, girl!"
Another hit to the cheek, her other one this time, and as her head snapped to the side once more, she tasted the coppery liquid of blood on her tongue.
"Where's Haku?" she persisted quietly after a moment. "what have you done with him?"
"That damn river spirit is off hiding here somewhere. You are going to help find him, and other things too."
Slowly, she looked up. "Who are you?"
He had almost-shoulder-length black hair, and strikingly green serpentine eyes set in a pale face. That was all she saw, before his fist loomed out of nowhere and she was thrown into blackness.
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When Chihiro woke up yet again, she was on a bed on the floor, once again dressed in those pink pant-things and the dark blue leotard. Her shoulder and neck had to be bruised, but otherwise they were feeling better, along with the rest of her body. Sore. That's all she was. Just sore. Tears began to track their way down her cheeks.
"Sen? Are you awake?"
She opened her eyes. There was Rin standing above her.
"Rin... why am I back here? My parents and I escaped!"
"what are you talking about, Sen? You just got here! Must have been a dream." She shook her head, still crouching over her. "what with you passing out last night just like that, I've been really worried. Do you know what it's been like guarding you from all those frogs that want you dead? I find it sad that Humans are so unloved." She shrugged. "your problem, not mine. Come on, you must be hungry." She stood up and looked down at Chihiro expectantly.
"But we escaped. I know it wasn't a dream. THIS is a dream!"
"Okay Sen, now you're starting to scare me." Rin frowned. "oh, alright, fine; I'll bring you breakfast in bed."
Rin left, closing (and locking) the door behind her.
Chihiro stared after her in disbelief before quickly jumping to her feet and pounding on the door. "Rin!" she shouted. "Rin, let me out! Let me OUT! This is just a dream!" no. it was a nightmare. And it still hadn't ended. It had started when her parents had announced they were moving away, and it still hadn't ended.
"WAKE UP, CHIHIRO!" she screamed, scrambling backwards from the door, bowing and clutching her head. She tripped and fell out the open door outside onto the deck. Moving unmajestically, Chihiro ran to the edge and leaned over it, staring over the "sea".
"MOOOOOOOOOOM!! DAAAAAAAAADDYYYYYYYYYYY! HAKUUUUUUUU!!"
She waited for a moment. There was a pounding on the door inside and a shout of "shut up!" accompanying the gentle lapping of the waves against the wall edge. Nothing more. No other answers.
"What's happening? Where are you?"
Again, no answer.
Chihiro sank to her knees, forehead against the railing. "I escaped," she whispered, tears squeezing from her tightly shut eyes. "I escaped..."
"Sen? What's wrong? Why were you shouting earlier?" Rin walked up behind her and sat down as well, offering a dumpling and bowl of rice.
"I don't feel good." Chihiro hissed through clenched teeth, not opening her eyes.
"again? Well, you're probably just hungry. Eat."
She opened her eyes completely and waited for her blurred vision to clear after the largest tears had fallen, to stare spitefully at the food. Finally, she reached out and ate it.
Rin watched her sympathetically. The poor girl must have hit her head at some point, or taken up this contract a bit too hard. She'd just been about to give her the shirt that would fit, then boom! Sen had groaned and passed out, looking for all she was worth about to die from grief.
Maybe Haku had done something to her. Or The Boss. Or one of the frogs, little toads, they were. Or all of them. Yes, that was it - Sen was taking their reaction to her a bit too emotionally.
"Ready to work, Sen?"
Chihiro ignored Rin's first remark and examined her hands for a bit before wiping her face defiantly and looking up as unemotionally as possible. "Where's Haku?"
"Who?"
"Haku! HAKU! You know, Master Haku? Where is he?"
"how should I know? C'mon Sen, if we don't get going we'll be in really big trouble."
Chihiro stood and lifted her chin. "I'm not doing anything until I find him."
Rin gave an exasperated sigh. Why was she so interested in that little fugitive? "Fine Sen, I'll help you look for him tonight. Can we please go now?"
Chihiro hesitated a moment. Then she dropped her head and gave a small nod.
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A/N: okay, that chapter was short. I'm really sorry about that. Plot beginning to thicken! I'll put a more Haku perspective in next. I'll try to, I really will!
Disclaimer: if I owned, why would I put a DISCLAIMER in, eh? Lol, okay, okay! I don't own anything within this fic 'scept my plot 'n whatever else ya dun recognize. Oh, yeah, and before I forget, I don't own Spirited Away. In case I forgot that.
Chapter Started: 4/22/03
Chapter Finished: 4/23/03
Third Person POV, Chihiro
.
Chihiro opened her eyes, then immediately shut them against the light the seemed to pierce all the way to the back of her brain.
She waited a moment, then unfurrowed her brow and slowly let her eyes get used to the glare. Then she took more notice of herself.
For one, she hurt. All over, but especially at her neck and left shoulder. Or right between. Or both AND right between. She was laying on her back, hands thrown above her head [in a rather painful position for her shoulder and neck], something that felt suspiciously like water all around her. As though she were floating on it... no, she realized, she was in water but shallow water. She could feel the sand - rocks? - beneath her back. Her wrists were bound together.
It didn't smell salty, and she couldn't taste it, so she wasn't at the ocean. Where was she, then? Where were her parents?
"'Ehy you, gerrup!" said a hoarse voice, and she felt a sharp twang in her side. something had poked her. A foot, most likely. Or a stick.
With a deep breath, Chihiro opened her eyes once more. And, once more, she shut them quickly, tightly.
It wasn't human. It looked something like a cross between a human and a frog, really, in neat white robes. It was one of *them*, from where she had just escaped a little while ago. Or was it the other day? Weeks? How long had she been out?
"I say' gerrup!" he shouted again, and this time her did kick her, in the side of her ribcage. Chihiro let out a startled and painful yell, tears pricking the corner of her eyes.
Suddenly, she was jerked out of the water and placed on her feet, one of the creature's hands wrapped around her already wrapped-around wrists. Pain washed over her - no, it was really more soreness than pain - and she stumbled, the extra weight of her water-soaked clothes an added problem.
"C'mon, Human!" he snarled at her, then began dragging her - and she realized where she was. Water-covered train tracks, a certain building/island whatever it was right in front of her.
It took her a moment to realize that the sudden, piercingly anguished yell was coming from herself.
"Shurrup!" the frog-dude turned, jerking her forward at the same time [Chihiro had fallen to her knees], and once again planted his foot in a bruised spot - her stomach. She doubled over and cried harder.
Would she have to do all of that over again? Where were her parents? What was going on, how had she gotten here? Or maybe... maybe she had never escaped, perhaps she had just come and fallen asleep out here. But then, how had her hands been tied up? Why was she sore all over, especially between her left shoulder and neck? How had she managed to get bruised all over?
Maybe the train had run over her.
Heh.
Stupid thought, that.
"This is all a dream!" she cried as he - the frog-dude - dragged her impatiently along. Déjà-vu. Wasn't that what she had said when she had first gotten here? All a dream, just go away, disappear...
Disappear! Hurriedly, Chihiro scrambled to get in a painless position where she could see her hands, legs. Just as she had thought. She was fading! Fading away, into nothing, forever.
Then maybe she'd get her hands out of the rope.
Nope. The rope was magical, or so she thought. It began to glow as her fingers fell through one another, and the frog-dude noticed. He swore and took off at a faster pace. Chihiro couldn't keep up, and was dragged along, throw painfully into a boat thing, and left to try to get the water she had just swallowed out of her system.
Then she was thrown painfully out, and sunk halfway through the dock, though still on it. her glowing rope was grabbed, and she was once again dragged painfully up some stairs, through halls, more stairs, inside - where she wanted, and hated, never wanting to be - through, thrown carelessly onto a chair, hands jerked above head [eliciting another cry through her already flowing tears] and something stuffed into her mouth.
She knew what it was. Some of their food.
She coughed, and tried to spit it out, wanting nothing to do here - when had they become so cruel? The ones she had left behind had seemed to grow on her - and she them - but this was... torture. A hand/flipper grasped her chin, and somehow Chihiro found herself swallowing.
A moment of rest. Ah, peace, relaxation!
"Ah - ow!" she was jerked by the now-not-glowing-rope and pulled into an elevator, thrown to the ground.
"What are you doing?" she cried. "what's going on? How did I get here? Where are my parents? Why are you doing this?!?"
"I SAY' SHURRUP!" she doubled over and coughed, gasping for air after a foot was planted once more into her gut. Chihiro stayed silent for the rest of the journey up, only giving a few whimpers or choked sobs as she was dragged along to Yubaba's room.
Once inside, the door was slammed shut behind her, and she was thrown to her knees, head pushed down, arms yanked above and around head. Their being tied tightly with the magic rope kept her chin pressed firmly in the hollow between her neck and chest, elbows pushing harder to keep her eyes down that way. "What's going on?" she whimpered.
"Ah, Sen you must be." Drawled an unrecognizable voice. Chihiro started to look up, but her arms were jerked, and her head was slammed back down. She let out a painful cry, for the moment only being able to focus on her burning shoulder and neck.
"Crybaby," the voice remarked, and the owner of it sauntered over to her. She could barely make out black boots, but flinched (once again eliciting a cry of pain from her own lips) as a cold, pale hand pressed between her ear and shoulder, and the pain numbed a little. In fact, her entire body numbed, and she slumped against her bonds.
"Shall I relea' 'er, m'lord?"
"No." her bound wrists were jerked forward as the cold hand removed itself and took them instead. "leave us now."
"Yea' s'ir."
The frog-dude marched out.
"We meet at last, Sen," the voice whispered. He was *not* Yubaba, that was for sure.
"who are you?" one question led to another. "what am I doing here? Where are my parents? Yubaba? The baby? Haku?"
"You would do well to keep that sweet little mouth of yours shut," his reply was scathing. "or I among others will have to do it for you."
"Where are they?!?" Chihiro shrieked, trying to lift her head. Amazingly enough, she did, and the rope holding her raw wrists together fell to the floor. The catch to this action was that both arms were cut from the small letter-opener-sized knife the man was holding, and a hard smack to the forehead and cheek, sending her reeling on her butt, head bowed.
"I have taken care of the whole lot. That precious baby and his mother have been banished to my prison, along with quite a few others, and so has Yubaba's sister, that phantom No-Face, and all of their precious little animals. Your parents are with them, unconscious, pigs."
"PIGS?!?"
"Shut up, girl!"
Another hit to the cheek, her other one this time, and as her head snapped to the side once more, she tasted the coppery liquid of blood on her tongue.
"Where's Haku?" she persisted quietly after a moment. "what have you done with him?"
"That damn river spirit is off hiding here somewhere. You are going to help find him, and other things too."
Slowly, she looked up. "Who are you?"
He had almost-shoulder-length black hair, and strikingly green serpentine eyes set in a pale face. That was all she saw, before his fist loomed out of nowhere and she was thrown into blackness.
.
When Chihiro woke up yet again, she was on a bed on the floor, once again dressed in those pink pant-things and the dark blue leotard. Her shoulder and neck had to be bruised, but otherwise they were feeling better, along with the rest of her body. Sore. That's all she was. Just sore. Tears began to track their way down her cheeks.
"Sen? Are you awake?"
She opened her eyes. There was Rin standing above her.
"Rin... why am I back here? My parents and I escaped!"
"what are you talking about, Sen? You just got here! Must have been a dream." She shook her head, still crouching over her. "what with you passing out last night just like that, I've been really worried. Do you know what it's been like guarding you from all those frogs that want you dead? I find it sad that Humans are so unloved." She shrugged. "your problem, not mine. Come on, you must be hungry." She stood up and looked down at Chihiro expectantly.
"But we escaped. I know it wasn't a dream. THIS is a dream!"
"Okay Sen, now you're starting to scare me." Rin frowned. "oh, alright, fine; I'll bring you breakfast in bed."
Rin left, closing (and locking) the door behind her.
Chihiro stared after her in disbelief before quickly jumping to her feet and pounding on the door. "Rin!" she shouted. "Rin, let me out! Let me OUT! This is just a dream!" no. it was a nightmare. And it still hadn't ended. It had started when her parents had announced they were moving away, and it still hadn't ended.
"WAKE UP, CHIHIRO!" she screamed, scrambling backwards from the door, bowing and clutching her head. She tripped and fell out the open door outside onto the deck. Moving unmajestically, Chihiro ran to the edge and leaned over it, staring over the "sea".
"MOOOOOOOOOOM!! DAAAAAAAAADDYYYYYYYYYYY! HAKUUUUUUUU!!"
She waited for a moment. There was a pounding on the door inside and a shout of "shut up!" accompanying the gentle lapping of the waves against the wall edge. Nothing more. No other answers.
"What's happening? Where are you?"
Again, no answer.
Chihiro sank to her knees, forehead against the railing. "I escaped," she whispered, tears squeezing from her tightly shut eyes. "I escaped..."
"Sen? What's wrong? Why were you shouting earlier?" Rin walked up behind her and sat down as well, offering a dumpling and bowl of rice.
"I don't feel good." Chihiro hissed through clenched teeth, not opening her eyes.
"again? Well, you're probably just hungry. Eat."
She opened her eyes completely and waited for her blurred vision to clear after the largest tears had fallen, to stare spitefully at the food. Finally, she reached out and ate it.
Rin watched her sympathetically. The poor girl must have hit her head at some point, or taken up this contract a bit too hard. She'd just been about to give her the shirt that would fit, then boom! Sen had groaned and passed out, looking for all she was worth about to die from grief.
Maybe Haku had done something to her. Or The Boss. Or one of the frogs, little toads, they were. Or all of them. Yes, that was it - Sen was taking their reaction to her a bit too emotionally.
"Ready to work, Sen?"
Chihiro ignored Rin's first remark and examined her hands for a bit before wiping her face defiantly and looking up as unemotionally as possible. "Where's Haku?"
"Who?"
"Haku! HAKU! You know, Master Haku? Where is he?"
"how should I know? C'mon Sen, if we don't get going we'll be in really big trouble."
Chihiro stood and lifted her chin. "I'm not doing anything until I find him."
Rin gave an exasperated sigh. Why was she so interested in that little fugitive? "Fine Sen, I'll help you look for him tonight. Can we please go now?"
Chihiro hesitated a moment. Then she dropped her head and gave a small nod.
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A/N: okay, that chapter was short. I'm really sorry about that. Plot beginning to thicken! I'll put a more Haku perspective in next. I'll try to, I really will!
