Convergence – Chapter 13

By turning nonetheless; I don't own the rights to Spirited Away.

Haku walked out of the bath house and gazed upward at the sky. It would be clear and warm again this evening. There was nothing intrinsically wrong with that, but it had not rained for many weeks now and everything felt too dry to him. He knew this wasn't a normal weather cycle and he took it as a sign that something was out of balance in the spirit world. His co-workers didn't seem to be bothered by the lack of rain; however, they weren't the brightest group of spirits at times and he sometimes wondered if they noticed much at all besides food and gold.

The afternoon shadows were stretching out and blending with the approaching night as the frogs who were assigned to welcome the customers took up their positions. Haku walked to the far end of the bridge. Soon the repetitious bowing and greeting would begin. Though he wanted to remain outside, he knew this duty would only take up an hour or two of his time and then he would be back inside helping with the large tub.

His instincts had been telling him all day that he should be on alert and stay outside, yet after he returned from his morning flight, he was immediately instructed to report to the foreman. Elevator maintenance and cleaning the workshop next to Kamaji's boiler room had kept him busy. Rumors were still circulating about important guests and the need for everything to be perfect. It seemed plausible to him since Yubaba was always so worried about Aburaya having the right image for the most powerful and wealthy clients. Yet a sense of hidden danger continued to dog him even now.

Haku turned around when he heard the rapid tapping of wooden sandals on the bridge. One of the younger frogs smiled at the approaching spirit and said, "Hello, Rin. Lovely evening." She only nodded her head before walking past her would be admirer. Haku speculated as to why she was out here since she usually had cleaning tasks to take care of at this hour.

Rin stopped in front of him and gave a curt bow. After clearing her throat with a small cough, she said, "This is really ironic, so I'll get right to the point. Bou woke me up early this afternoon and told me that Sen is upstairs." She put on what she most likely thought was a reassuring smile, yet it only reinforced in his mind that she was a sly weasel. "I'm sure you don't believe us after the little prank we played on you, but he sounded…"

"How can you look me in the eyes and tell me that Sen is actually here?"

Rin surprised Haku by ignoring his barbed comment while she continued to speak in a calm voice. "Because I can tell if Bou is lying. He was so worked up earlier that he's probably dragging Sen all over the bath house so she can greet everyone, though I haven't seen him since he told me the good news."

"I haven't seen Bou at all today," said Haku. Wasn't it enough that they had attempted to fool him once? He deduced that they probably just wanted a bigger audience this time around, but he wasn't going to play along.

His gaze inevitably shifted to the entrance of the bath house when he heard shouts and laughter coming from inside. The workers should have been busy preparing for the kami to arrive, yet they were congregating on the other side of the partial curtain that hung in the entrance. He could see this was all meant to harass him on his last night of work, yet his gut kept telling him to pay attention. The workers were shouting 'welcome back' inside. He was about to brush it off as just one more elaborate prank until a pair of dainty hands parted the noren. "Sen is here." Anticipation spun and twirled through his body.

Rin faced the entrance before taking a quick glance over her shoulder at Haku. "Is it really Sen?" Haku nodded. "Look at how she's changed." She waved and called out to Chihiro as she ran forward. "Sen! It's so good to see you. Where's Bou?"

A crowd of workers followed Chihiro out of the bath house since any change from the usual routine always drew an audience. Haku smiled when he saw a frogs give Chihiro a pair of wooden sandals to wear outside. There was cheering and some good natured ribbing as the entourage prepared to cross the bridge.

"Haku, your girlfriend is here," hollered one of the frogs.

"Bet you he won't get much work done tonight," said another. The bath women giggled and made comments about Chihiro's dress.

Haku watched her approach his end of the bridge. He had no doubts this time that she was Chihiro. She was taller, her face was slimmer, and her hair, now cut short, was darker. Her simple dress flattered her slender figure, and its color matched the blush of her cheeks. She had become a charming young woman since he last held her hand.

Keeping his appearance as calm as possible, he took note of the overall details of this unusual situation. Everything felt too arranged, too convenient. It had to be more than a coincidence that she showed up on his last night of work. He told himself that he might end up having to thank Rin and Bou for their little prank because it had opened his eyes to the certainty that others would attempt to exploit his feelings for Chihiro.

Rin held onto Chihiro's shoulders while talking non-stop. "Look at you! Why did you cut your hair? Did Bou even recognize you when he first saw you? How long will you be able to stay with us?" Haku observed that Chihiro kept peeking over Rin's shoulder at him and that she wasn't even answering the questions that Rin was slinging at her. In a very uncharacteristic move, Chihiro shoved Rin aside before continuing to walk towards him.

Rin shrugged, although she did look a little sad. "Guess I can't compete with true love. When you two are done staring at each other, come inside and talk to me." It appeared to Haku that Rin was about to return to the bath house until her face took on a strange look of disgust. Sniffing her own hands, she ran to catch up with Chihiro. "Sen, you smell like you've been around a goblin. Are you sure you're okay?"

Chihiro didn't answer. The workers murmured in fear and surprise. Haku's anger awaken when he considered what a goblin might have done to her. It took a lot to get him agitated, but the thought of a goblin touching his Chihiro made him seethe.

She was half-way across the bridge when he felt the pull of their promise. Could that be what was affecting her so strongly? Her eyes were bright and intense as she held out her hand to him. A certain aspect of his personality liked being the focus of her unwavering attention, and his impulse to reach for her fought with his suspicions. He made a decision and went with it.

"Rin, I need your help. Something isn't right. Don't let her come any closer to me."

Rin smirked at him. "Feeling shy, boyfriend? She's not going to bite you." The workers found all this rather amusing, but Haku did his best to ignore them.

"I'm not joking. Help me now," he demanded. He was thankful that the customers had not started arriving yet, because the confusion among the workers was already rising to distracting levels.

Rin clutched Chihiro's arm, but Chihiro pulled loose and continued towards him. Next, Rin put an arm lock on her and that worked although Chihiro repeatedly attempted to break free. She didn't seem to feel any pain and she didn't even ask why Rin was doing this to her.

"Haku, it's definitely the scent of a crow goblin. Do you think she was abducted from the human world?"

"Most likely."

"Why won't she talk to us?"

"I don't know." As he studied Chihiro from a distance, his eyes were continually drawn to the necklace or choker that graced her neck. "Rin, what is Sen wearing around her neck?"

"It's folded paper that kind of looks like a dragon – oh no. Haku, I think you need to see this. The paper seems to be cutting into her as she's struggling. She's starting to bleed. What should we do?"

Chihiro continued to fight against Rin's arm lock although she calmed down some as Haku gradually stepped closer. She smiled at him before stomping viciously on Rin's foot. Rin whimpered and let go.

Before Haku could react, Chihiro grasped his hands. He fixed his eyes on hers and wondered how she had moved so fast. He had been standing several arm lengths away from her and should have easily dodged her. She shook her head and went red in the face when she discovered that they were the center of everyone's attention. "Oh…Haku, I…It's so good to see you again." It looked like tears were gathering in her eyes. "Did I hurt Rin just a moment ago?

"Yes, but we both realize that you weren't doing it on purpose."

A tear, poised to roll down her cheek, glistened in the light from the lanterns and Haku found himself wanting to whisk it away before it could fall. As he lifted his hand, Chihiro gasped. That was when they both discovered that she could not release her grip on his hands. Haku did not panic; nevertheless he knew that there wasn't any time for small talk. Rin limped up at that very moment. "Why the strained faces? I'm the one with the broken foot."

Haku kept his attention on Chihiro. "Did Yubaba put the origami dragon around your neck?"

"Yes. The paper she used looked like some kind of contract and it had a red spot on it." She faced Rin. "I'm very sorry about your foot, Rin. Bou is upstairs in his bedroom. Yubaba put a sleeping spell on him after he was captured."

Haku used her grip to turn her towards him again. "This is more serious than I thought, Chihiro. I'll use my magic to free our hands. Rin, keep watch and tell me when Yubaba shows up." He paused for a moment to focus his power for he would likely only get one chance at this. "By the power of wind and water – release!"

Chihiro screamed. In the next second her voice was cut off as the white paper around her neck turned red with her blood. Her eyes clamped shut and her lower lip trembled. The look on her face tore at Haku's heart and he could see that she was in horrible pain, but he didn't know what to do to help her. As she fell toward him, he tried to catch her, yet he could feel his own strength draining away. Pain assaulted his neck and head, making it impossible to concentrate, let alone stand up. Chihiro and his co-workers and even the lights of Aburaya disappeared.

Haku awoke to find himself in his dragon form. He had no idea how long he had been unconscious, but his head and neck still hurt. Scrambling up onto all four, he searched for Chihiro. When he didn't spot her immediately, he worried that he might have injured her. Everyone around him, except for Rin, was yelling and running in a panic back to Aburaya. Rin stared at him, her mouth agape.

As he tried to shift back to his human form, he noticed that something was stopping him. Looking about once again for Chihiro, he realized that there was now a heavy iron collar around his neck. Maybe that was the reason he couldn't change back into human form. He pulled at the collar and tried to remove it with his talons.

"No! Stop," shouted Rin. "That's Chihiro. I saw her change when you turned into a dragon." She took another step backwards away from him. "Be careful. Yubaba is behind…" Rin was unable to finish her sentence as she was flung towards the bath house. It looked as if a giant hand scooped her up and pitched her at the entrance. Fortunately several of the frogs were able to catch her before she hit a wall.

Haku bellowed out his rage and raked his claws on the bridge. Once again he had been tricked by Yubaba, and this time Chihiro would also suffer for his mistake.

Pain and heat seared through his neck. The collar was gouging him as it became tighter. His sight blurred and when it finally cleared he found Yubaba floating in front of him. He wanted to rip her heart out, if she even had one, but he couldn't move.

Yubaba laughed at him. "Do exactly as I tell you and maybe your little girlfriend will survive. If you disobey me, I'll make the collar so tight that it will kill you. If you remove the collar, you'll save yourself, but fatally injure Chihiro."

He roared at her. His escape had been only hours away. Yet once more he had to bow down and accept her dominance over him, and now Chihiro's life was in the balance. For a second time the intense pain cut through him.

"Go to Zeniba's cottage, and destroy it and everything around it. Leave nothing standing. If Zeniba tries to stop you, kill her." She pointed into the distance. "Now get off the bridge."

Haku was about to fly away when something small sped by his face. It sliced at his muzzle and he snapped at it. A split second later, he recognized what he had seen.

"Go," barked Yubaba.

Haku lowered his head and waited for the pain.

"I thought you would take better care of Chihiro. I'm disappointed, Haku."

When he looked up, Zeniba was floating in the air across from Yubaba. This was the first time that he had ever seen the twins together. The air glowed and crackled with the power that was charging up between the two sorceresses, and Haku's instincts told him that things were only going to get worse.

"Your fight is with me, Sister. Leave them out of this," said Zeniba.

Yubaba answered by hurling a disk of bright light at her. Zeniba brushed it aside and the deflected energy blast hit Aburaya. The resulting hole was big enough for the radish spirit to walk through. Haku hoped that there hadn't been anyone standing near the other side of the wall.

Yubaba pointed at Zeniba. "Kill her, Haku."

TBC