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(A Spirited Away FanFiction)

Chapter.7 – Learning to Fly

Chihiro and Dyolf walked away from the house, walking down a number of dirt paths that led far away from the house. The sun was shining brightly, and Chihiro's eyes were fixed upon the beautiful sights all around her. The fields, the sky, which had hundreds of clouds scratched upon it. They walked for a few miles, until the house they had left shrunk in the distance until it wasn't there anymore. Eventually, Chihiro found herself and Dyolf walking towards a village. The village was small, made up by a few houses, a few warehouses and some shops that seemed to either sell food or mechanical parts. Dyolf led her through the village, and they arrived at one shop, which was easily the biggest shop in the whole village. They walked inside, ringing a small bell as they swung the door open. The shop owner looked up as he heard the bell. He was a short person with the face of a pig. It took a short while for Chihiro to realise that the owner was indeed a pig. He wore small round spectacles that enlarged his eyes to ridiculous proportions, and he had a balding head. He approached Dyolf, straining his neck to look up at him.

"Dyolf!" he said in a small gruff voice, "I've not seen you for a while, how've you been?"

"Fine Alabast," Dyolf said, shaking the small pig's hand, "To be honest, I'm not here on a social visit,"

"Doesn't surprise me," Alabast said, grinning, "When are you ever?"

Alabast then stopped, and peered around Dyolf, noticing Chihiro, who blushed in embarrassment for reasons she did not know. Alabast looked carefully at Chihiro, squinting his magnified eyes before looking shocked.

"A human! Here, in my store!" he exclaimed, surprised, he rushed over to Chihiro, and grabbed her hands, shaking them roughly, "My, my, my, what an honour!"

Chihiro looked at him, smiling courteously whilst being slightly worried. Alabast led them out of the shop, and they went around the back of the building, and inside a warehouse, where Chihiro saw a number of small planes. They were all basic bi-planes designed to carry only one or two people. They were all in a number of different colours, from bright reds to dull blues. Chihiro was in awe at the prospect of flying over the country. She watched intently as Dyolf conversed with Alabast, and after a few minutes of their talking, Alabast then loudly began to guide her and Dyolf around the warehouse, pointing out each individual aircraft and their strengths and weaknesses.

"…and this one here, I'd say is your obvious choice. Light, speedy and nimble. You see on the back, the machine gun. This little guy is small but packs a punch! Also the fuel consumption is something that cannot be beat. A gallon of fuel and you can fly halfway across the world, no joke!"

Dyolf looked carefully at the plane. It was a small plane with just one propeller at the front, and two seats and was painted a deep red colour. Dyolf watched as he nodded to himself, and then turned to Alabast to buy the plane from him. The transaction was made quickly, and Chihiro watched as Alabast ordered for his assistants to fuel the plane and equip Dyolf and Chihiro. An assistant walked over to Chihiro, passing her a leather helmet with goggles attached to them. She turned to Dyolf, who was busy putting his onto his head, with the goggles slid up onto his forehead. Chihiro shrugged her shoulders, and put the helmet on.

"Chihiro, come on!" said Dyolf. Chihiro looked at him oddly, as though there was something she was missing. She shrugged it off, and walked over to the plane, which Dyolf was climbing into. He sat himself in the pilot seat, and watched as Chihiro clambered into the passenger seat in front of the gun. They both placed the goggles over their eyes, and one of Alabast's assistants grabbed the propeller and pulled at it, forcing it to spin around. The engine soon started, and the warehouse was filled with the sound of the roar of the engine. Chihiro felt her seat vibrate from the power of the engine, and then felt the entire plane slowly slide forward, and Dyolf guided it out of the warehouse. Two huge doors slid out from the warehouse, revealing a large runway that stretched on into the horizon. Dyolf drove the plane down the runway, and as the plane built up momentum, Chihiro could feel her seat slowly rise into the air, until Dyolf guided straight up, and they darted straight up towards the sky. They flew straight into the white clouds, and came out on the other side facing a blue sky like a canvas. Chihiro couldn't hide her awe. She gasped in amazement at the sights she was seeing. From way up high she could see far out into the world. The fields stretched out for miles and miles, and every now and then there was the image of a small village or even a city. Far out into the distance, she could see swamp bottom, and the small track that connected it with the neighbouring villages. The only thing she could see of the bathhouse was a small pinprick. Chihiro's long brown hair was thrown wildly askew, and for the briefest of minutes, she felt like small child again.

"You see that small dot way off into the distance?" Dyolf called. Chihiro peered around, and saw a small area that was indistinguishable. "That's where we're heading. Cirrus Minor. It's going to take an hour at most… kay?"

"Sure thing," Chihiro called out. She sat back and enjoyed the sights as they passed by. From up high, she could see so much. Fields of crops, some with animals in them being reared for wool or meats. They passed over villages, and from up high Chihiro could see the small dots representing people. The experience was just inspiring for Chihiro as they flew in the sky.

The plane suddenly lurched violently to the left, and Chihiro felt the air get forced out of her lungs. She looked up in panic at Dyolf, who was twisting the plane in and around.

"What's wrong?" Chihiro asked

"The pulses…" Dyolf said. Chihiro turned her head around, and saw 3 planes heading towards them at an alarming speed. They were all a dark black in colour, and crudely dived in and out of the clouds. "Hold on," Dyolf said, and suddenly Chihiro's stomach lurched as Dyolf swerved the plane down. Chihiro's hair was blown wildly askew from the sides of her helmet as they dived deeper and deeper through the air. The distant ground came rushing towards them at an alarming rate, and Chihiro's breath was completely taken away by the sheer rush she was experiencing. There was a sudden sound of gunfire, and Chihiro twisted her head around, and noticed that the planes were now firing at them.

"Fire back!" Dyolf shouted. Chihiro looked at the back of his head as he concentrated on flying the plane.

"What?" Chihiro asked, not hearing it the first time. Dyolf then twisted his head around, blindingly flying the plane.

"Chihiro, fire the gun!" he shouted, staring at her. Chihiro looked into his eyes, hidden behind the goggles, and then it hit her. The thing that had been bothering her since they had left the house. How did Dyolf know her name? As far as she was concerned, she had never mentioned it to him or any of the elves once. She stared at him in amazement and shock, all the time gunfire flying around the plane. A stream of bullets hit the side of the plane, and knocked Chihiro out of her stupor. She saved the thought for later, and turned around in her seat, grabbing onto the handles of the large gun. She pulled the trigger, and was shocked as a stream of bullets flew out from the barrel of the large gun, and flew across the sky, connecting with one of the planes. The plane exploded in the sky, and Chihiro was partially shocked by the thought of blowing up a plane. Then a bullet ripped into the side of the plane again and all sympathy was suddenly lost. Chihiro twisted the gun around, aiming it at the planes, firing round after round after round. Her aim was thrown askew with every twist and turn Dyolf made with the plane, and she watched as her stream of bullets flew in nearly every direction. She willed for the bullets to hit the other planes, but with Dyolf's dangerous but necessary driving, it seemed an impossible task. Chihiro then pumped the bullets out of the gun, twisting it in every direction hoping that at least one bullet could hit its mark. Sure enough, there was an explosion in the sky, and Chihiro cheered to herself for her victory. All that was left was the last plane to bring down, which seemed to be flying almost as dangerously as Dyolf was.

A stream of bullets hit the side of the plane, and Chihiro, angry with the pulse in the plane, fired a continuous stream of bullets. She watched the bullets flew out endlessly and hit the plane, which exploded in the sky. Chihiro bounced joyfully on her seat.

"I did it Dyolf!" she exclaimed, turning around in her seat. She then realised that there was severe problem. A large column of black smoke was coming out from one side of the plane, and the wing on the same side was in tatters. She then saw Dyolf desperately try to guide the plane as it spun perilously towards the ground. Dyolf swore as he grabbed the controls of the plane, desperately trying to guide it with its one wing intact. Chihiro felt her heart race increase as the ground came closer and closer. She then felt the plane slowly tilt upwards, and just as the ground was about to meet them, the plane pulled up slowly, and they hovered over the ground.

"I'm going to have to land her… I don't know how much we're off course though," Dyolf remarked. Chihiro nodded even though Dyolf couldn't see her. The plane lurched violently as Dyolf connected the landing gear with the ground. He struggled to maintain the plane, and it rolled across the ground, connecting with a tree that threw Chihiro forward. She hit her head against the plane, and when she lifted it up, found she had a small oozing cut on her forehead. Slightly shaken, she climbed out of the plane, watching as Dyolf ripped off his helmet and threw it aside in rage. Chihiro slowly took hers off, and placed it inside the plane.

"Is everything alright Dyolf?" Chihiro asked. Dyolf nodded unconvincingly. "Where are we?" she then asked. Dyolf rolled his eyes, frustrated with himself more than anything. He put a hand over his eyes, shielding them from the sunlight, and looked around into the distance. Chihiro looked around, and she realised they were standing in a huge large field with nothing growing in it. It was like a desert of dirt to her. She looked at Dyolf as he removed his hand and turned to her.

"We're in the plains…" Dyolf said.