Wait for me, Akira! She firmly placed her feet into the grass, bracing for a hard collision. Chihiro had never fought a spirit with her katana, only her classmates. She could barely win against her teacher. However, the dragon had her brother as the captive. The dark spirit roared, flying down at her. With bravery lit in her eyes, she slashed at the spirit. Hearing a howl, she opened her eyes to catch a flash of a claw heading towards her face. Blocking it, she tripped from a rock and tumbled backwards. "Sis, watch out!" a terrified voice warned her. Looking up, the dragon had already summoned gallons of water into the air, glaring at her with red menacing eyes. Glancing away for a quick second, Chihiro noticed a group of spirits that left the boat were watching in curiosity. Don't just stand there! she thought bitterly. Noticing the water harden, she realized they were forming into ice.
"Run!" Akira cried, fearing for his older sister's life. "Don't worry about me, just run!" Ignoring his pleading, she stood her ground. With a growl, the large icicles flew down at her. She managed to block the one that were aiming for her, but a few managed to pass her katana. She felt pain searing by her shoulder, arm and leg. Roaring in frustration, Chihiro blindly swung her sword. Feeling heat surround her, she looked to where she had slashed with her katana. Flames had erupted, aiming towards the spirit. "Akira!" she shouted, hoping the flames would not hurt him.
Suddenly realizing the flames had bursted from her katana, she looked down at the heavy sword. "What is going on?" she muttered, turning back to the dragon. Flying away, the fire only caught onto the dragon's leg. A cluster of arrows also flew towards the spirit, and pierced its body. Howling, it almost dropped the struggling boy. After a look at the weary teenager, it vanished back into the water. "Hey!" she shouted at the top of her lungs, hoping the spirit would return. "I'm not finished with you-"
Before she managed to take a step forward, arrows and swords were pointed at her. "We haven't even started on you," a voice growled behind her. Turning around, she glared at the group of spirits whose faces were hidden underneath the cloaks and glowing lanterns. What do these guys want? she growled in her head. She wanted to save Akira immediately, but not in the condition she was in. Sighing in anger, she sheathed her katana. "What do you spirits want?" she growled, clutching her arm wound. Without a reply, a spirit approached her with ropes. "Come with us."
Chihiro squirmed in her tied hands, irritated by the rough rope that was repeatedly tied around her wrists. As they passed through the town, she realized there were more spirits than she had seen six years ago. Little spirits peeked behind the bigger ones, murmuring about her.
Finally, they had reached the bridge to the bathhouse. Chihiro gazed at the torn banners and broken wood. But as always, the smoke kept on coming out of the pipes. Kamajii, Lin, I hope you're still there, she hoped. And Haku… Her thoughts faded away as the rope pulled her to the bridge. Walking across, she noticed workers of the bathhouse and guests stare at her. "What's that smell?" someone sneered. "It could be a human! I wonder what it would taste like," another murmured. They both giggled. "Back to work!" a spirit ordered, shooing them away. Once again pulling her forward, she arrived at the entrance. Looking around, she quietly attempted to find the secret door Haku had led her to when she could not cross the bridge without being seen. "Hey, you! This way!" a spirit snapped.
As it tried to pull her in, she yanked it back with her strength. The spirit fell back, releasing the rope. Now's my chance! She thought, running towards the small door. However, it did not seem like anyone was chasing her. Looking back, she was already at the door. My speed was quicker than I usual am, she frowned. Is this connected to the fire from earlier? Before the spirits could find her, she closed the small door behind her, running into the garden. Slipping, she fell to the dirt face first. Rolling off, she felt the pain from her wounds. Wincing, her vision clouded for a second. Staring at her hands, they were covered in red.
"I have to treat them before they get worse," she muttered, trying to think of a way to escape. "And they took my katana too!" she grumbled. Tilting her head to the night sky, she knew one way to retrieve her sword. Yubaba. Using the special hair tie her spirit friends had made, she tied her long hair up. Testing her mysterious power, she jumped as high as she could. She managed to reach to the second floor, but fell into the bushes. Taking the twigs out of her air, she tried once again, running up the wall. Before she could fall back down, she gripped the railing of the third floor. Once again, she jumped to the sixth floor. It continued until she finally reached the top floor where Yubaba lived.
Quietly sneaking through the door, she glanced inside, looking if someone was there. A person sat in the chair beside the fireside, its back facing Chihiro. It gave her a hint that it was the witch because of the big, fluffy blue dress. Closing the door silently, she crept behind her. "What are you doing, human?" a voice questioned. Alarmed, she wondered if it was Yubaba or not. "Who are you?" Chihiro questioned back with a tone of hostility. The spirit stood up. From behind, it did look like Yubaba, apparel wise. However, her size had shrunk. She was as skinny as a stick, and when she turned to face the teenage girl, she had red eyes. Frowning, the spirit asked, "How did you get in here, human?"
"I should ask the same," she shot back. "What are you doing, taking Yubaba's place?" The old spirit seemed to look shocked at what she said. "What are you talking about? I am the owner of this bathhouse, the great Yubaba!" Chihiro had a second thought if the witch had lost weight or changed her appearance, but shook it away. "Don't lie to me spirit, where is Yubaba?" she snarled.
