Chihiro dreamt of blood dripping down her sides. Stop! Why are you doing this? Your family needs you. Your daughter is waiting for you to come home. No! Go home, damn it, live! She pleaded with him helplessly. It was no use. The scent of death permeated the forest. Blood stained the earth. He had been a happy child once, had played where his body now lay. She vomited as she cried, sick to her stomach from grief and horror.
Chihiro woke, curled up on the bed. Her heart felt torn to pieces. It's only a bad dream, she told herself. A nightmare. But this thought wasn't as reassuring as it used to be. For all she knew, it had really happened, and the curse had made her forget.
The sun had set. She entered the living room to find a clone of herself sitting at the table. Zeniiba had woven an illusion of Chihiro to accompany Haku. She stared at her made-up, jeans and t-shirt-clad self. Had she really dressed like that? She looked so strange, like a different person.
Shika walked in and transformed back into a human, bringing a small smile to Chihiro's face. Shika's dark hair was spiked, and he was wearing torn jeans and a leather jacket. He grinned at her and pulled a pair of sunglasses out of his jacket. "How do I look?" he said, propping the sunglasses up on his head. Chihiro only shook her head. Shika raised an eyebrow at this unusual silence. Before he could ask, Haku walked in.
There was little talk at breakfast. Haku and Chihiro were each lost in their own thoughts, and neither responded to Shika's attempts at cheerful conversation.
Spirits didn't care much for emotional farewells, Chihiro had realized, but she couldn't help stopping Haku as he was walking out the door.
"Stay safe," she said.
In response, Haku embraced her. Tightly. She was too surprised to hug him back. He was so warm. When she opened her eyes, he had disappeared through the door with her double. The windows rattled as he took off.
"What do you know," Shika remarked. "I always thought dragons were made of ice like their palace."
The wind had only died down for a moment when the leaves were whistling again. From the window they saw the tengu in the form of a large black bird flying over the trees, going the opposite way that Haku had.
"Maybe it's just a coincidence," Chihiro said, without much hope.
"We have to assume that they knew we were here," Shika said. "Let's go before it gets back."
Chihiro climbed onto Shika's back. The moment they stepped outside, the fog appeared and Shika was galloping full speed into it, wary of any vulnerable moment. Chihiro had never ridden a horse before. She clung on for dear life.
"I thought no one else could get in here?" Chihiro asked, when the fog had fully thickened and still Shika didn't slow down. He shook his head, nearly swiping Chihiro off his back with his antlers. To the left, she saw a sliver of red in the fog, keeping pace with them. Obviously, they weren't alone, and Shika had realized this. He didn't resume human form until the fog had almost thinned completely.
They walked out into Ueno Park, right into a crowd. Even though a thin layer of ash still carpeted the ground, everyone was trying to enjoy the last of the cherry blossoms. No one noticed them appear. Mount Fuji had been quiet since Chihiro had gone to the spirit world, and things looked mostly back to normal. Chihiro took it all in: the chatter of the people all around her, the slight tang of smog, the high-rises she remembered fondly from her childhood trips to Tokyo.
"Wow," Shika said, grimacing. "How do people live like this?"
"Have you never been to the city before?" Chihiro asked.
"I must confess that I never have," Shika replied. "I don't find that I care for it."
"I don't see anything wrong with it. There's so much energy," Chihiro said. "Well, where should we go?" Chihiro asked, as Shika grabbed her hand. "Well?" He didn't answer. "What's the matter?" She turned around. "Shika?" No one gripped her hand. No one was there.
He wasn't in the crowd. She was alone. Chihiro felt claustrophobic. Something red was in a nearby tree – the same color that she had seen in the fog. The crowd pressed in on every side, shouting happy, meaningless jibber jabber. She stared blankly at them, paralyzed, as they came at her in waves. Sound washed over her, roaring in her ears. She was in a sea of blank, monstrous faces.
"Chihiro!" Someone tapped her on the shoulder. She spun around. A girl stood in front of her. "Hellooo! Earth to Chihiro!" The girl was waving a hand in front of Chihiro's eyes. Her face slowly came into focus. She looked familiar.
"Yumi?" A girl from school.
"Duh." Yumi stared at her. "Dude, are you okay?"
"Yeah," Chihiro said, still dazed. "I'm okay."
"No, you're not," Yumi declared. "Are you here by yourself? You are? C'mon then. Let's find you someplace to sit down and you can rant."
Chihiro let herself be dragged along by Yumi and her new boyfriend through the crowd and out of the park. Through the corner of her eye she saw the red thing following them, whatever it was.
Shika felt his grip on Chihiro fade. His fingers became insubstantial. A familiar sensation pulled him into the fog. It demanded that he return home immediately. Don't panic, Chihiro. Shika thought. Please, don't panic. I'll be back as soon as I can.
"Chihiro, let's go in there. You'll feel better after something hot."
Chihiro looked up. Starbucks. A hot drink sounded wonderful. Yumi led the way into the coffee shop.
"Just go sit down," she said. "I'll order. The usual?" Chihiro nodded as Yumi's boyfriend helped her to a table. I have to pull myself together, Chihiro thought. But Shika. what could have happened to Shika? Yumi was walking toward them with their coffees. Chihiro tried to think of a story she could tell Yumi, but her mind was still sluggish.
"Here you go," Yumi said, handing Chihiro a latte and kissing her boyfriend on the cheek before handing him his drink. "I don't know why you insist on drowning your coffee in so much sugar and cream, but to each her own." She took a long pull of her black coffee before sitting down.
"Thanks, Yumi," Chihiro said wearily. "I owe you one." She took a sip. The coffee didn't taste any different than usual, but Chihiro found it nauseating. She set the cup down. Her hair tie shimmered on her wrist. She had forgotten that she was still wearing it.
Yumi waved off the thanks. "What happened? It was the earthquake, wasn't it? It took a lot out of all of us." Chihiro was grateful for the lead. She told Yumi how her mom had broken her leg and had been airlifted to the hospital there in Tokyo as Yumi nodded sympathetically.
Then, out of the blue, Yumi changed the subject.
"Oh! We found this adorable little shop yesterday. I really want to show you, you'll love it."
Chihiro blinked. "Okay." Yumi's boyfriend looked briefly surprised, then nodded.
They left the coffee shop and walked into the street. Yumi led Chihiro up one street and down another, and finally into a narrow alley. At the end was a little stationary shop, one of those tourist traps. Through the window, Chihiro saw pink pencil cases and Hello Kitty plushes. Yumi thought I would like this? thought Chihiro. There must be thousands of them in Tokyo.
They opened the door with a little tinkle of the bell. In the back, Chihiro caught sight of a red-headed woman behind the counter. She looked familiar. The red-headed bartender from Starbucks! Chihiro's subconscious screamed. She was following us the whole time!
And then Yumi crumpled in front of her. Behind her, she heard the thump of another body falling on to the floor. Before Chihiro could think much of it, she was unconscious.
The woman behind the counter walked over to the two girls now lying as though dead on the floor of the shop. A purple hair tie gleamed on the wrist of one of them. She was the right one. The boss was going to reward her well for this. She beckoned, and Chihiro rose to her feet as though controlled by puppet strings. Her eyes were still closed. The red-haired woman led the unconscious Chihiro through a door in the back of the shop and into a thick fog. With a last tinkle of the bell, the shop disappeared.