Fade Away – By Snowcloud

Chapter Fourteen – Rain

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I do not own Spirited Away. Miyazaki does.

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I will put your character in chapter 16, Cullensgrl.

Oh mah gawd. I can NOT write fluff. :(

I desperately need people to volunteer to be killed off and be evil. COME TO THE DARK SIDE... WE HAVE COOKIES.

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I snuggled closer to him, enjoying the peace and warmth of the moment. I knew that every second together here counted, because it may be our last. This quest wasn't easy, and we might not come back.

I heard a big splash, a squeal, and a hiss of displeasure. I laughed to myself. Kiki must have been enjoying her bath. Haku noticed the noises too, and shook his head.

"I don't understand why she hates water so much; it's really not that bad!" He said.

"Well, she is a cat, and you're a river spirit, you have to like water," I pointed out.

He chuckled softly and brushed some of my hair back.

"And you're a human, what do you have to see about that?" He whispered.

"Humans are adaptable," I said. "I like water."

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I jerked away from Haku as I heard footsteps near the entrance. Kiki waltzed in, black hair slicked back.

"That was horrible!" She exclaimed.

"Kiki, how do you work in a bathhouse if you don't like baths?" I asked.

She paused.

"Well, I don't take baths there regularly, maybe like once a week. I groom myself," She answered.

"What about serving the customers then?" I said lightly.

"Well, the water there is warmer and I usually don't touch it," Kiki insisted.

I sighed. It was pointless arguing with the black were-cat.

"So, now that that's done, we need to make supper. Haku, go catch some meat. I don't care what it is, fish, deer, rabbit, anything would do." She said.

He glared at her; Haku didn't like to be ordered around. But there was no reason to not do what she said, so he walked out of the camp, taking Kiki's bow with him.

"I'll get some firewood," I offered.

Kiki nodded in agreement.

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There weren't many trees around here, so it was hard to get decent wood. There was a nice good pine with lots of good branches, but they were too thick for me to break. I cursed under my breath and kicked a shrub of grass.

I wish I had a knife or something, I thought.

Suddenly, I felt something cold appear in my hands. Startled, I nearly dropped it. I looked down and saw the black dagger nestled in my palm. I was confused for moment, but then I remembered my previous thought. Could my weapon appear when asked? I shrugged and decided to ask Haku later.

The dagger was stronger than I thought, and it easily cut the tree. Gathering three or four branches, I decided it was enough. I sheathed my weapon and shoved it into my pocket. Grunting with effort, I picked the wood up and headed back.

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"Wow, you did really well!" Kiki praised my work. "That dagger is good!"

I laughed at her, amused.

"After all, it is a gift from the gods," I said.

Kiki ignored me, striking a match. I snorted in disbelief as the sparks came to life quickly. It took me forever to do it.

I heard a rustling sound and swung around to see Haku dragging in two ducks and a fish. I raised an eyebrow in surprise and pleasure. It was the first time in two weeks that we've had poultry.

"That's great!" I said happily.

He grinned.

"And now we can teach you how to cook!" Kiki couldn't resist adding.

That wiped the smile of his face.

"Oh come on, it's not that bad!" I exclaimed, noticing his reaction.

"Now, time to get started…" Kiki began.

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"WHAT THE FLIP? WHY DID YOU DESTROY THE FREAKIN DUCK?" Kiki yelled from outside the camp.

"I told you!" I could hear Haku's muffled explanation. "It wasn't a good idea to let me cook!"

I sighed. He had tried to roast half a duck, and ended up EXPLODING it. I have no idea even how that's possible.

Thump!

"Ouch! Watch it!"

Crash!

"That's what you get for ruining part of our meal!"

Finally I decided to call them back in.

"Kiki," I said loudly. "If you're done beating up Haku to a bloody pulp then come help me cook."

The were-cat reappeared, with him right behind her.

"She's crazy!" He said in exasperation.

"What was your first clue?" She replied dryly.

I held back a laugh as Kiki came over to the fire. One and a half expertly seasoned ducks were roasting there. The fish seemed to be about done, so she took it down and started to even it out between the three of us.

"Should I help?" Haku asked.

She glared at him.

"I'm not letting you near," She replied through clenched teeth.

"Hey, I'm sorry about what happened," He said sheepishly. "You can have my fish portion if you want,"

Kiki's eyes lit up.

"Are you sure?" She asked hesitantly.

"Yes, it's my apology," He answered smoothly.

"Thank you!" She squealed. "You're forgiven!"

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Haku and Kiki were back on good terms after dinner. Night fell and we decided to sleep, and I completely forgot to tell Haku about the dagger. I was really tired after the long day, and I looked forward to replenishing my energy. It wasn't long before we were all asleep.

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-IN THE MORNING-

I woke up with a start, heavily panting. My dream was horrible, and I couldn't even remember what it was about! My heart seemed to rip itself apart in agony though, so I guessed it must have been bad. Kiki was stirring next to me, and soon she was awake. Her eyes popped open.

"Eek, your hair is a MESS Chihiro!" She squeaked.

I rolled my eyes and took out my only comb. Brushing the tangles out of my hair, I saw Haku get up. We all did out morning essentials and packed up.

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"Are we going to fly or walk?" I asked.

We didn't know which to do, because we flew AND walked yesterday.

"Let's walk," Haku said. "I'm pretty tired."

Kiki nodded briskly.

I didn't like the area we were in, it wasn't that dry, but for some reason there were almost no trees. The only vegetation was small patches of grass. I glanced up at the sky, which was cloudy.

"It might rain today," I murmured.

Kiki wrinkled her nose in disgust.

"Eww, I hate wet stuff," She meowed.

"You don't think we've noticed?" I teased.

The were-cat purred as I nudged her shoulder affectionately.

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Walking here was easy, but it wasn't as beautiful as the meadow. After a few hours, the clouds grew darker, and soon it started to sprinkle a cold, thin rain. Kiki flattened her ears.

"We better find some shelter," Haku said.

I nodded my agreement.

The rain came harder and faster, and soon I was soaked to the skin. Cold and shivering, my group walked into a small cave.

The shelter very big, and the rain had no intentions of slowing down. It was pouring harder than ever now, and the wind howled. We huddled at the very back of the cave, keeping away from the storm. It was dark, and I couldn't see a thing. My hands fumbled around with my backpack, trying to find the matches.

"Let me do it," Kiki said.

Remembering that cats have good night vision, I gave her my bag.

"We need something to burn," She said.

My hopes plummeted. We were going to freeze to death out here, with no fire.

"What's that?" Haku interrupted.

Kiki's gasped in happiness.

"What is it?" I pressed her.

"It's a log!" She said.

They walked over to over the far left corner, the darkest. I didn't come because I was literally blind without any light. Kiki grunted as she tried to lift it.

"It's too heavy," Haku said. "We'll just have to make the fire here."

I heard a scrape of matches, and saw a few sparks. Suddenly, the log flared to life and I could see again. I walked over to it and we all sat close, enjoying the warmth.

We would be okay.

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