Disclaimer: All rights and responsibilities for the characters and world of Spirited Away belong to Hayao Miyazaki

Debris

Scuttling along the floor, silent as a grave, Chihiro groped about blindly; wishing, praying for a wall to orient herself. After a few sightless movements forward she had gotten disoriented, tried to go back to the chair, but it seemed to have moved. Gritting her teeth, she wiped her forehead distractedly, the salt burned her eyes. She was now sweating profusely the wetness adhered, what little clothing she had, to her body and her hair clung to her in the most sickening way. Briefly she wondered if the heat was being drawn in by the black curtains, or if it was all in her imagination. She was suddenly glad for the lack of clothes; a rustle of silk sheets stilled her movements instantly, then again maybe not. The loud staccato of her heartbeat slowed to a gentler thud and she listened intently. When no other sound occurred, she took a tentative movement forward. Her kneecap slid; she never realized knees had sweat glands before, and she fell into an awkward split. This was getting her nowhere. Slowly, she pushed herself to her feet, and unexpectedly felt more vulnerable than she had before. Hands outstretched she inched forward. Like one of those stupid girls in a horror movie, she had gone where she knew she shouldn't, and now she was trying to get out before she got caught by some freakazoid in a skin mask. She was shuffling her feet against the floor, afraid that if she took actual steps that she would knock something over, therefore she felt inexplicable horror when her foot caught on a rug and she tripped. She caught herself on a cool metal bar, but couldn't stop the "oomph," from escaping her lips. Biting onto a knuckle in fear she starred with unseeing eyes, prepared for doom. When nothing came, she closed her lids and let out a breath she hadn't realized she'd been holding. Then she pinched her cheeks in anger, squeezing forcefully, 'stupid, stupid, stupid,' she mouthed. As if that wasn't punishment enough, her heart stopped when she heard a chuckle directly before her.

"Please, don't hold back on my account." His voice was deep and harsh from sleep. Shrieking, Chihiro realized she was gripping onto his bedframe. She released it like a hot poker and stumbled backward. Haku watched in sleepy amusement as the girl ran in confused circles, chest heaving. Her pupils were fully dilated and were twin spots of black amidst the white of her eyes. "Calm down," He commanded, at this rate the poor thing was going to give herself a heart attack. She bounced against a chair and tripped over the mantle before falling into the fireplace.

"Ah- ah- achoo!" Chihiro had kicked up ashes and soot, and was now covered in cinders. He couldn't help himself; Haku started laughing. Chihiro was perched on an uncomfortable metal grate, and she couldn't stop sneezing. She could hear Haku's throaty laugh, and had the distinct impression that he must be able to see her. Her embarrassment grew tenfold and she crossed her arms and legs until she resembled a dirty pretzel. The laughter escalated and her cheeks burned. She was already in a fireplace, how fitting that she would erupt into flames from embarrassment. Wait, why was she embarrassed; it had been an honest mistake right? She tried to get out of the fireplace, but only got stuck further. The grate was gripping onto her clothes and she scrunched up her face, this was not her week. "I think I'm stuck," she whimpered. She was too mortified to be angry that he was laughing at her. The laughter ceased and she heard silk whispering and other sounds of fabric rustling, then the distinct reverberations of footfalls. Chihiro noted that he must have been trying to make more noise than he usually did, so as not to alarm her. She felt him come closer, her body thrumming like a livewire.

"Put out your hand," he said gently. She did as he said, and her palm struck brick. He scoffed, "your other hand."

"Well, what do you expect, I can't see a thing," she bristled.

Placing a warm hand on Chihiro's shoulder, he brushed his fingers down her arm until he reached her wrist. "I'm here," he said simply. The tiny hairs on her skin shot up at his touch, and her fingers fumbled against his, tightening her grip. He started to pull and she heard a tearing sound.

Panicked, she yanked him back, "wait! I told you I'm stuck!" She heard Haku mutter something under his breath and felt a wind whip around her, releasing the grate's iron hold. Haku pulled again, but she wasn't prepared for his strength and flew up out of the hearth and landed hard against him. Her ankle wrapped behind his leg and she felt them go down. As they landed in a tangle of limbs against the hard floor, the black curtains shot up, back to their hiding places and Chihiro was blinded by the abrupt light. "Ahh," she cried and buried her face into Haku's neck.

"Well, I hope we weren't interrupting something," a grandmotherly voice said icily from the patio doorway. As one, Chihiro and Haku turned sightless eyes to the intruder in shock.

Author's Note:

At first I had written this, in which Haku corners Chihiro and plays a game of cat & mouse; but Haku isn't all that playful in the movie so I decided to go in a different direction, to stay true to the characters. That is partially why it took me so long to upload today. The other part was that I had written a different intro, one in which we visited the investigation in the human world and saw what Chihiro's parents were going through; but I felt like it was too heavy. Plus I know you guys really just wanted to see how this part played out. So, here you go. Any guesses as to who the intruder could be?

Also if you are curious to read my other, very different, version of the showdown in the dark; tell me in a review and I might upload it as an outtake in a separate story form.

As always thank you for reading, for reviewing, and for all the PM's I've received lately. I honestly love you guys!

Take care,

Boots