Chapter 21: The Start of A New Journey

OKAY I KNOW YOU GUYS HATE ME AND ALL AND I'M SORRY. (midterms. And like Chihiro, I told my crush I liked him FIRST and on Christmas…turns out he likes me too..oh long distance relationships are hard.) anyways, THANK YOU ALL FOR THE REVIEWS! EVERY SINGLE ONE MAKES ME SMILE!

DISCLAIMER: I wish I was related to Hayao Miyazaki.

Translation:

Hontou ni arigatou gozaimasu. Tanoshikata desu. (Thank you very much. I enjoyed it.)

A bright line pried my eyes open. I was floating on nothing. There was a breeze, but it felt like it surrounded me rather than blow in one direction. All around was pure white like the clouds in the sky. My back was sore and when I sat up, I felt lighter. My hands reached behind me and felt nothing, but a raised scar from where my wings were. It was a sad reminder of what I had become. I may have originally been a land spirit, but I enjoyed the openness of the sky. Closing my eyes slowly, I decided to stand up half expecting me to collapse through some unknown trap in this empty world.

I knew I was dead. Chihiro's expression was a mix of forced happiness and concealed tears. I wondered how she and Haku were doing. I hoped she didn't cry too much. Things had to end up this way. My being was most likely flawed from the beginning. But weren't we all?

I looked back on the climactic battle of the war and realized how foolish it was of me to fight. It was just a simple argument between me and my best friend. It didn't have to go to war, but he was too far gone. Consumed with enticing ideas of gaining even more power, Reki joined the humans as they slowly and painfully took over most of the spirit world. Little spots remained around the world separating many spirits.

He was a powerful and wise fire dragon spirit, and so many other spirits followed in his path. The months before he completely turned were filled with fights. Every chance we saw each other, I would try to sway him towards the right path. We were both wrong. It's impossible to sway someone, especially him, to change his mind. I should've known better. Then we made a deal. I shouldn't have done it, but I wanted to prove to him that spirits could beat the humans, and thus began the war between spirits and humans.

At the battle on my plains, I fought mostly humans. I rarely fought with other spirits. I couldn't stand the idea of killing someone I used to know well. I was in a pinch and surrounded on all sides by humans. They pointed their so-called guns at me. They didn't know their firepower was supplied by Reki, but I did. I was desperate. Many of my allies were defeated. Their spirits faded into the ground. I simply dared them to shoot me. My pain would also mean Reki's if he even had the sense to feel it anymore. We were such close friends. One soldier was all it took. Out of fear, he shot straight at my stomach. I flinched and it grazed my side. The bullet left a black, bleeding burn on me.

Reki, who was fighting in his large, gray dragon form, hunched over in pain as did I. I sliced the ground with my blade crushing half the soldiers around me. The others reloaded their cartridges and aimed at me. I was ready to die. Out of nowhere, Reki ran between me and the soldiers who began to fire…

I didn't realize I was crouching on the ground tears slowly dripped from my eyes. A soft reassuring hand lay on my shoulder and I looked up at my mother.

"You did well, Asahi." She smiled. I stood up to hug her. I missed her and her comforting presence. As I pulled away, she said, "There's someone here to see you."

I peered over her shoulder and my eyes widened at the sight. Reki. Instinctively, I stepped towards him my hand reaching. He looks the same. The same reddish-brown hair that hung around his face; the same bright red cloak covering his gray uniform; he looked exactly the same. He was smiling, even his amber eyes were. Grabbing my outstretched hand, he pulled me close. I sucked in a breath and unwillingly relaxed.

He buried his face in my hair and apologized, "I'm so sorry. I didn't know what I was thinking and now we've ended up here. I'm so sorry."

I hugged him back and said words that I never thought I would utter. "I forgive you." At that moment, I realized that there was a part of me with a deep hatred for what he had done, but it was gone the second I muttered those words.

My mother hugged us both. The light began to fade and I was nervous at what was occurring, but then I realized I had my mom and my best friend. There was nothing left to fear. I already died.

"Asahi, Reki. You must choose between life and death. Both doors lead to something neither of you know. I made my choice long ago, now it's time for you to decide." I closed my eyes and I felt the world around me vanish into thin air, but I still held Reki's hand in mine and never lost the feeling.

Today was the day. I was so excited and so nervous. My legs shook uncontrollably whenever I sat down for a break. It took the 3 days for our plans to sink into Yubaba's head. She accepted it after a long argument. Rin would replace Haku, but she refused to become an apprentice. She didn't need to be Yubaba's apprentice to learn magic. I would be given special passage to the Spirit World on weekends and during school breaks in order to work. This way, I can slowly earn my place in the Spirit World when the time came for me to choose. Haku disagreed at first, but I convinced him to let me take the deal. He would come with me either way.

Kamaji and the soot sprites told me to come down to the boiler room before we left to give us something. I argued with him saying that he didn't need to give me anything. The soot sprites simply placed their heavy pieces of coal by my feet, not granting me passage until I agreed. At that point, I had to.

It was morning and the sun was just barely above the horizon. The workers were cleaning up and some came over to me to wish me well on my journey across the border. I was grateful that they supported me. I didn't want to make a big deal out of it, despite the fact that Rin wanted to hold a party the night before. Still, she set up a mini surprise party in our living quarters. Not every worker stayed, of course, there were still some that resented my presence. We enjoyed little snacks and tea and cake brought by none other than Haku. It wasn't for very long, but it left me feeling good. I bowed low to all of them saying, "Hontou ni arigatou gozaimasu. Tanoshikata desu."

Hugs were given by all. Rin hugged me last with slight tears in her eyes.

"Come back okay?" She whispered in my ear.

"Don't worry, I'll come back one way or another," I replied with a small laugh. "I'll miss you."

"You better," said Rin lightly punching my arm. "Now go with your boyfriend before I decide to keep you here." A slight evil glint passed through her eyes. There were gasps around us from the other women.

"Boyfriend? BOYFRIEND?" Their eyes passed between me and Haku. My face flushed almost instantly and I grabbed his hand running down the stairs toward Kamaji's boiler room. The hall was filled with laughter behind us.

I know I kinda rushed it at the end but I really wanted to post this. Anyways, I hope you liked it.

***AUTHOR'S NOTE: The end of this story is near. Within the next few chapters (there will definitely be at least 2 more chapters..but..) I would like to thank each and every one of you for a great readership. Your reviews have kept me going. Thank you.

***NEXT UPDATE: Late February