Disclaimer: all rights and responsibilities belong to Hayao Miyazaki; I disown them all (very very sadly.)

Author's Note:

Hee hee hee. I know what you folks want, but I'm personally rooting for Chihiro. That says nothing as to how this will turn out though. Like I said I have a like 3 different endings. I'm actually toying with the idea of playing them all out, "Clue" style. (If you haven't watched Clue and you enjoy a witty, silly, 'suspenseful,' murder mystery, I suggest you take a peek at that! It's one of my fave films eva! The ending/endings are the best part, and the characters are amazeballs. I absolutely love Mrs. White, Mr. Green, and of course Wadsworth.) But we'll just have to see how much time I have on my hands.

Ciao for now!

Boots

p.s. I love you guys! Best readers/reviewers ever!

p.p.s. I have no clue if the marble thing is true or not, some dude told me that at home depot when I was having my kitchen redone. It stuck with me, but I don't have any actual evidence to prove or disprove it, just sayin.

p.p.p.s. I played a wee bit with POV here. Do you like it or do you prefer when I tell the story with alternating views, telling different pieces of the puzzle?


Slow and Steady

The veins along the marble must never touch or else the marble will crack; at this moment, however, the veins all seemed to be connected. The central heart, pumping out all of the energy and bloodflow was Chihiro herself. Haku could feel every tremor of her heart, each expansion and deflation of lungs, every shift of muscle and bone; all through reverberation along the floor. His feet were a seismograph, and she was an earthquake. Each tremor was registered, and he wanted more. Watching patiently he enjoyed the flickers of inner turmoil wreaking havoc across her features. Chihiro muttered to herself, lips moving indiscernibly and arms tipping like a scale as she weighed her decisions both figuratively and literally.


A churning from deep inside began. Chihiro had never been in a situation like this before. Most women would have been thrilled to be locked in a room with this undeniably sexy bath lord, but she just wanted to get out. To go home. He never did say what would happen if she lost. She gulped, hoping he couldn't see the bobbing in her throat as she swallowed; she really didn't want to find out. His last word had left her mortified, rooted in place. If he was at that stage already, then she never stood a chance. 'Shit fuck!' she mouthed, releasing a stream of silent curses to make her feel better. Feeling bogged down with the knowledge that she had to move left her filled with tension; she weighed her options, left or right? Closer to the mirror-wall, or further way, closer to the door and possibly Haku? Unconsciously, her body rocked side to side as she debated with herself.


Haku enjoyed the sight; her rocking motion was almost soothing. He both saw and felt her movements and in that moment forgot himself. It wasn't until he heard the low moan from his own yawn that he realized his mistake. With mouth set in an ugly scrunched up, "O" it was too late to take it back.


'Hold up, I can win this,' she thought, 'I just have to keep my cool.' Chihiro took a deep, cleansing breath: in through the nose, out through the mouth. She lowered her lids until they were almost closed. It wasn't like she was missing much anyway. Using the muscles of her face she pulled her ears back and relaxed her shoulders, arms still outstretched. As her fear receded, her mind began to clear. The bath lord was tired. He had come to his room to sleep, and had passed out as soon as his head hit the pillow. Sure her appearance had startled him awake but he couldn't have lost the desire for sleep right? She could wait him out. Chihiro had been resting for days now and she wasn't sleepy in the slightest. She couldn't help the feeling of bouncy and the smile that raised her lips from her new found courage.


Haku watched annoyed as her features changed from shifting worry to unperturbed glee. Her forehead smoothed, her shoulders dropped from their protective hunch and a wicked grin threatened to split her face. He waited for the catty remark, the snarky comment. To his surprise she merely took a step forward before taking a small breathy yawn herself. The smile did not entirely leave her face as she dashed away moisture from her eyes before smoothing her face into a charming close-lipped smirk, "Your turn."