(sigh) Thanks again all my wonderful readers for your support and for being so patient with me once again…or at least for not hunting me down and killing me. I seriously thought I would get this written and posted within a couple of weeks, but then my beloved cat met his untimely death and I ended up adopting two newborn kittens a few days afterward to fill the void. Those kittens themselves require a lot of attention including nightly feeding and constant baths, but now they are potty trained! Yay for small miracles.
Another factor that has caused this story to be so delayed is just the fact that I haven't had much ambition for this story from the start. I still don't know where it is going and I have to pretty much force myself to write it. It's getting harder these days, especially since a lot of my attention is on the beginnings of a book I'm writing with my brother. But not to worry! That doesn't mean I'm going to stop on this one altogether. I'm just letting you all know what's up.
Todays advice: Whenever you're down, just cover yourself in kittens.
Chihiro glared over her shoulder, watching Hebi slide the screen door shut behind him. She turned to face Haku who was still blinking owlishly as though trying to dispel a dream. Or nightmare. Chihiro thought ruefully to herself. Her throat felt suddenly very dry. She licked her lips and swallowed, the sound resonated in the still air between them. The noise seemed to snap Haku out of his stupor. He jumped to his feet and bowed to her.
"Please, excuse my manners." He said.
"It's not a problem." Chihiro said, waving her hand in dismissal.
"Here, have a seat." Haku said. Walking around his desk he grabbed a chair near the window and moved it in front of the desk. Chihiro nodded her thanks and sat down. Haku returned to his own seat and the silence returned.
"Do you mind if I finish this before we begin? It will only take a few minutes." Haku motioned to the papers on his desk.
"By all means." Chihiro said. Haku tilted his head to her and began writing, his hand swiftly drawing out the characters where he'd left off before her abrupt entrance. Chihiro allowed her eyes to wander around his room. She didn't know why, but the thought of Haku having something as normal as a bedroom surprised her a bit. She knew it was silly to think this way, of course Haku would require his own private space. She had just always thought of him as a roaming beast that neither ate nor slept. However, Haku obviously did eat because there were several bowls of half-eaten food teetering on the edges of various surfaces. The room itself was surprisingly cluttered with shiny bits and pieces of things that Chihiro didn't recognize. The main area of the floor was immaculate with Haku's sleeping mat folded neatly in a corner. However, behind Haku's desk Chihiro could see piles of crumpled papers and bits of rubbish scattered around carelessly. All in all, it was a bedroom one expected a bachelor to keep, albeit it somehow gave off an almost cave-like aura.
Chihiro turned her attention to Haku. His head was bowed and his longish hair fell in dark curtains around his pale face. Moss green eyes shifted back and forth, following his aristocratic hand across the paper as it spelled out kanji in a half-sloppy handwriting that surprised Chihiro more than anything else in the room. Haku put aside his writing and read the content of a particular page. There was a European style clock sitting on the corner of his desk. It showed that it was nearing midnight. The sound of constant ticking filled the silence, and while it was a comfortable sound at first, it was now mingling with the tension in the air and grating at Chihiro's nerves. Chihiro glanced from the clock back at Haku, who had turned to a different page, and was shocked to realize his eyes weren't moving. He wasn't reading at all, but rather using the papers as an excuse to think. This made Chihiro even more uncomfortable.
What in the world am I supposed to say to him? She wondered to herself, eyes now glued on Haku's face as though he were a judge about to sentence her to death.
At long last, Haku put down his documents and met her gaze.
"Would you like anything to drink?" Haku asked. Chihiro wanted to slap him and scream let's just get it over with already, but instead she only shook her head. Haku cleared his throat and propped his elbows on the desk.
"We should talk about what happened the other night." Haku said, his piercing eyes fixing on Chihiro's face. Well duh! Chihiro thought to herself. Outwardly she nodded.
"I apologize for what I did. It was inappropriate and I'm sure I confused you." Haku began, dropping his eyes to his hands. "I want you to know that I care about you very much, Chihiro. I have ever since you were a child." There was a small leap in Chihiro's stomach, "However, I also understand that there is no possible way for there to be a relationship between us." The leaping turned into a heavy chunk of frozen lead that settled somewhere in her intestines.
"Especially not at a time like this when everything has been so turned upside down. I hope you will forgive my actions. From now on I swear on my honor that I will be as professional as possible from this moment forward." Haku's eyes returned to hers. Chihiro didn't really quite know what to say. She gaped like an idiot for a moment, but she managed to recompose herself a bit.
"Yes, that is probably for the best. I accept your apology." She could feel a painful mixture of emotions swell in her chest even as she said it. It hurt to even get the words out. Haku bowed his head to her and stood.
"Then, shall we begin your lesson?" He asked.
An hour later, Chihiro returned to her room feeling emotionally exhausted. Haku had said it simply and eloquently. He was all politeness and business. That probably made it all the worse. The lesson he had given her had been very simple and very vague. It had managed to keep her mind off his earlier words, but also opened her eyes to how much she was going to have to learn before she had any magic abilities bestowed on her. Now, back in her room, alone without distractions, her chest began to sting and her nose began to tingle.
Don't even THINK about crying! She scolded herself, you barely even know him! What's the big deal? It's perfectly fine to just be friends. Get a grip, Chi. You still have a job to do.
She continued reprimanding and reasoning with herself as she arranged some notes and fished out a book that had fallen down the side of her bed. She was still berating herself as she slid open her door and took a step into the hall, finding herself face to belly with the radish spirit. Chihiro gave a start and took a quick step backwards.
"Oh! Excuse me, sir!" She apologized, bowing deeply to him. The radish spirit gurbled pleasantly in reply.
"Do you need something?" Chihiro asked, straightening. She noticed that his eyes were narrowed and he was watching her shrewdly. He didn't respond at all to her question.
"If there's nothing I can help you with, than I must apologize, but I should be on my way. Lot's of work to do." Chihiro took a step forward, attempting to brush past him, but one of the tendrils on his face twitched. Chihiro gasped as a yellow, powdery substance burst from the tip right under her nose. The powder filled her lungs immediately. Chihiro stepped back into her room, gagging on the substance. It tasted stale and it was causing her head to spin. Chihiro looked fearfully at the radish spirit with watering eyes. He had followed her into the room and was looming over her, his pudgy arms stretching forward. Still coughing, Chihiro turned and ran towards the balcony. As she went, the room began to sway beneath her feet. The distance between her and the railing suddenly expanded by miles.
Her feet felt heavy and for all the steps she was taking it didn't seem like she was moving at all. There was a sudden rushing in her head and she found herself almost toppling over the railing as the distance closed in a whoosh. Chihiro crumpled to the floor. There was a steady resonating boom that caused her head to throb. She looked around blearily until she realized the sound was the radish spirit walking towards her as though in slow motion. Chihiro clambered to her feet and staggered towards the flowing black curtain. The world lurched just as she reached it, tossing her headfirst through the doorway. She landed on her face on the other side. Chihiro sobbed and gasped in relief until she felt a cold, spongy hand wrap itself around her ankle.
Chihiro looked fearfully over her shoulder and saw that only half of her had made it through the door. Her hips and legs vanished into thin air.
"Chihiro! What's wrong?" Haku's voice sounded far away and it was so distorted that Chihiro could barely make out what he was saying. Chihiro turned to him. He had dropped to his knees in front of her and began reaching for her arms. His fingers had barely brushed her sleeves when the radish spirit on the other side of the door began heaving her backwards by her ankles. Chihiro could no longer move to fight back. She watched the look of surprise register on Haku's face as she was suddenly pulled away from him to disappear up to her shoulders. He lunged for her as the radish spirit gave another yank from the other side, pulling her the rest of the way through. The last thing Chihiro saw of Haku were his wide green eyes. He managed to grab a hold of her fingertips before they were pulled away, but it wasn't enough to save her and she was quickly pulled from his grasp completely.
It was impossible to distinguish time as the radish spirit sped through marshes and fields by means Chihiro couldn't see. One moment everything would move so slowly that they didn't seem to be moving at all, then the next they would be traveling too fast for her eyes to focus. Chihiro didn't remember actually leaving the bathhouse, but she remembered seeing it in the distance as her head wobbled with the radish spirits movements causing her chin to bounce unpleasantly against his cool, squishy shoulder. She even saw a white dragon burst from one of the windows and begin circling overhead. As she watched him, she somehow knew that he wouldn't be able to see her even if she could somehow force her limbs to move. Time had taken a pause then, allowing to her to watch him mournfully for a moment before everything turned to a mushy blur and she found herself miles away. Despite how the powder had frozen her limbs and distorted her perception of time, Chihiro was still thinking somewhat clearly. She could at least analyze her situation and sum it up in a few words:
At some point, Chihiro fell asleep. When she woke up she was in a dark room surrounded by fuzzy black shapes that drifted around her lazily, grumbling back and forth in deep, guttural tones. It was a very lulling sound that almost caused her to drift back to sleep until a quantity of ice water was dumped on the back of her neck. Chihiro screamed and sat up straight. She was on a hard stone floor with her back to a wide plank. Her hands were bound behind her back with some kind of metal that bit into her wrists. Chihiro struggled against the bonds for a moment, but there was no possible way she would be able to escape them by force.
"Who are you!" She demanded, or at least attempted to. Her tongue was swollen and clumsy. She tried again to speak, but the sound coming out was a dull gibberish as her tongue lolled in her mouth, getting caught between her teeth and sticking to the roof of her mouth. She was surprised that it could even fit in her face. One of the dark shapes stepped towards her and pressed a cup to her lips. Chihiro shook her head. She doubted any would be able to get past her tongue. But the…creature…holding the cup forced her head backwards and dumped sweet, burning liquid straight down her throat. Chihiro sputtered on it and gagged at the taste, but immediately strength returned to her limbs and her tongue was loosened.
"Who are you!" Chihiro demanded again, and this time it was intelligible.
"You needn't worry about the details." A raspy voice rumbled from somewhere in front of her. Chihiro gasped as cold sharp steel was pressed against her arm. She let out a short cry as the blade sliced deeply into the skin. A cool glass vial was pressed below the incision and without looking Chihiro could guess that they were collecting her blood.
"Please. What are you going to do to me?" Chihiro sobbed. The glass vial was taken away and most of the dark shapes shuffled away to the left and were swallowed by shadows.
"Don't worry about it for now. You will be told soon enough, human." The same voice grunted to her. The remaining dark figures began shuffling away ignoring Chihiro's desperate pleas, leaving her all alone in the silent, dark room.
That one is a bit shorter than usual. Sorry 'bout that. I'm still having some internal conflict between two ideas I want to use, but I'll get it sorted out soon enough. Don't worry! And please remember to review! I think it's awfully rude when there are 65 people watching my story and only a dozen or so reviewing. What do you like? What do you hate? What do you want to see happen? I want to know these things!