Nagi smirked, her malicious intent unwavering.
"You seem unfazed, girl."
Chihiro had stood her ground and looked firmly between the mask's eyes.
"You're not the first that's tried to kill me. Also if you'd really had intended to kill me, you would have done so already without announcing it. Am I wrong?"
The girl scowled, digging her fan deeper into Chihiro's neck. She winced as she felt its sharp tip cut into her skin. She refused to back down.
"You have nerve human, to talk like that to a God like me."
"Why does a God then, have a need to kill something as lowly as a human? Will killing me help anything in any way at all?"
Nagi chuckled. "You've got a point. No, it won't be for any major cause, but It shall certainly help ease Haku's pain."
"His pain?" Chihiro's resolve wavered momentarily. Nagi smirked again.
"Yes, because of you, he is in this state. Because of you, he cannot fully regain his power. If only you'd disappear, well, that's an eyesore gone."
Chihiro felt something warm trickle down the base of her neck. She thought for a moment.
"If, your intentions are to save Haku, then we have the same goal. Why don't we work together, it should at least save us some time."
There was a burst of laughter, it sounded melodic and graceful yet, it somehow sent chills down Chihiro's back. Nagi pulled the fan away, fanning herself gracefully, whilst Chihiro drank in air again in relief.
"You think you can find a way to save Haku from his pain, when you are the one that caused it?" Nagi tested.
"Do you know what happened to him? What happened nine years ago?" A flicker of hope sparked inside Chihiro, this girl might have all the answers she was looking for.
Nagi studied her silently for a few moments, before slowly choosing her words, her voice dripping with amusement.
"You just saw the engravings on his face did you not? Do you know what they are?"
"No I-wait, how did you know I just saw them?" Chihiro asked suspiciously. "You, that timing, you were listening the whole time weren't you?" Realization dawned on Chihiro.
The girl laughed again. "Of course. I can't have you getting too friendly with him. He was doing fine without you coming back. What were you hoping for, his affection?"
Chihiro glared. It was true she might have been hoping for something, a lot actually, but Nagi's interference was starting to tick her off.
"You seem to know a lot about him. What are you to him?" Chihiro despised the pangs of jealousy she felt; if the two had an intimate relationship while she was gone, there was no way she could compete with someone as beautiful as Nagi.
Nagi smiled. "Were just…childhood friends. I've known him for centuries."
Chihiro waited for a deeper explanation, however as a short silence prevailed, she realized that nothing was following. She bit her tongue – their relationship had no importance now, she had to first figure out how to work with the girl without getting killed.
"Anyways, no. I've no idea what the writing means. Care to explain?"
Nagi seemed to enjoy having the upper step in her knowledge of Haku as she fanned herself joyously.
"Those are the ancient writings of a curse, that of an undead. A being who is neither able to walk the earth as a full-bodied spirit, nor that of the dead. He is tied to walk on the earth as the despised. Do you know why this happened girl?"
Chihiro shook her head impatiently. All these questions were staring to irritate her.
"Because of his promise, girl. His promise, with you in fact."
"M-me? What promise?" Chihiro stuttered.
"Well, you should ask that to yourself. Did he not make any promise with you on the day of you departure years ago?"
Chihiro traced her mind back to the day of Yubaba's test. She had passed it, and the two had run together back to the entrance of the world.
Will we meet again?
I promise.
"Our promise to meet again…" Chihiro muttered slowly.
Nagi scoffed. "So that was the promise. How worthless. Well, Haku had made another promise to Yubaba simultaneously in order to save you. I don't know of the full details, but when you were stupid enough to board that train and go to Zeniba's, Haku made Yubaba promise to return you to the human world, in exchange for getting killed, ripped to shreds to be precise."
Chihiro gasped in horror. "It can't be, Granny isn't the type of person that would say such a thing!"
Nagi shrugged carelessly. "Who knows what the old prick was thinking at that time. Regardless of the reason, a promise is a promise. One to meet you, and one to end his life. This resulted in the breaking of fundamental law of this world; to keep one's promises. And now, he is reduced to such a state, cursed and unable to die, unable to live. Knowing this, can you still say you'll be able to save him?" Nagi shut her fan abruptly.
Everything was starting to make sense now. Chihiro swayed on her feet. Everything…. was all her fault? All whilst she had forgotten all about it and was living peacefully in the other world? His kindness tore at her heart.
"What do you say now? Do you agree that your sacrifice will ease his burden?"
"No." Chihiro mentally shook herself. "If it really is my fault, whatever happens, ill find a way to break this curse then. Whether in the process it takes my life, I don't care. But I need to at least try my best before so." The firmness in her voice seemed to resonate in Nagi. She studied Chihiro's look of determination for a moment, before fanning herself again and began to exit the room. She stopped at the doorway.
"Fine. I give you 10 days, and within those 10 days, if you do not find the solution, then your death shall be so."
She nodded as Nagi disappeared gracefully, leaving Chihiro to curl into a ball on the stone floor to clench her shaking arms.