Unkind Mankind
Disclaimer: Okay, this is the last time I'll say this; I will never ever, ever, own Spirited Away, no matter how awesome that would be.
Chapter 25 – Stubbornness
"Sen…" Lin calls after Chihiro, who's still stubbornly stomping her way down the tracks to reach the train stop. "Se-en!" She calls again, jogging ahead of Haku to catch up to her. "Sen!" She yells once more, tugging Chihiro's wrist forcefully, making her stumble to the side.
"What?!" The train whooshes by the three of them before coming to a stop at the platform ahead of them, surprising Chihiro. She steps back a few large steps, suddenly very conscious of her life.
"You were walking on the train tracks. If I hadn't of done that, you'd be a pancake." Lin sighs, walking ahead. "You're such a dope. I didn't think your stubbornness was so bad that it could get you killed." Chihiro and Haku catch up to Lin, arriving at the train stop. "Okay Sen, hand over your tickets to the man." Chihiro's eyes widen, dropping her head.
"I thought we were forgetting something…"
"Sen! You mean you didn't get tickets?! What are we going to do now?!" Huffing, Lin plops down on the wooden bench seated in the middle of the small platform.
"Sorry, I- I completely forgot about it. Besides, I don't think Kamaji would have any more, and I don't have any gold to buy any. I don't think we would've gotten any tickets, anyway." Chihiro sighs, her head still lowered in dismay.
"…Fine. I guess we have no other choice." Haku grumbles. "I'll fly us there." He gruffly states, before stepping back a few paces and quickly transforming into the beautiful pearlescent creature that Chihiro loves so much. He lowers himself, waiting for Chihiro and Lin to climb onto his back.
"Are you sure about this, Haku?" Haku nods, seeming somewhat irritated, yet composed. His fierce green eyes flash, and just for a moment, Chihiro is scared of what he might do. Shaking away the obscenely ridiculous thoughts away, Chihiro climbs upon his scaled back, gripping his horns firmly. Lin, although somewhat hesitant, carefully climbs on, seating herself behind Chihiro. Gripping the young woman's waist tightly, she warns the dragon menacingly.
"No funny business, you hear me?" Lin's voice sounds a little strained, and when Haku growls in what is assumed to be a snicker, she kicks him in the side as a way of saying she's serious. In turn, this earns her a more irritated growl, and not a moment later, the trio are shooting through the sky at a pace that makes Lin beyond uncomfortable.
~o~o~O~o~o~
Chihiro sighs. It's only been an hour and a half into the trip, and no one's said a single word since they took off. The uneasy silence is starting to get to her, and she feels that if someone doesn't say something soon, she just might go crazy. Sighing again, she remembers the previous events of the day. Falling down the stairs was incredibly embarrassing for her, but the result of it turned out better than she ever could have thought. Blushing, she realises that she's just had her very first kiss, and the thought alone causes her heart to flutter. It all feels like a dream, none of it seemed real; she's finally back in the Spirit World after eleven long years of waiting for a broken promise to be fulfilled, she's befriended magical beings who were only ever thought to be mythical and surreal, and now she's flying through the air as if such thing was a part of her everyday life, riding on a dragon, no less.
The wind is refreshing on her face, and as she closes her eyes, Chihiro realises that she doesn't want to be angry at anyone, especially not Lin or Haku. Lin's like a sister to her; well, one she never got to have, anyway. And Haku, well, she isn't so sure at the moment. He's definitely more than just a friend; that much she knows. Her best guess is that he's more of a romantic interest now, and she can only assume that he thinks the same of her. At least, that's what she's hoping.
The silence still drags on, and Chihiro feels she's about to snap. Sighing again, she shifts a little, building up the courage to break the silence.
"U-um, Haku…?" Her voice is small and barely audible, though Haku had heard it loud and clear. The dragon grunts in acknowledgement. "I'm sorry; I didn't mean to snap at you earlier." She turns her head around, half-facing Lin who's still clutching onto her for dear life. "You too, Lin. I'm really sorry that I got mad at you. I guess I was just embarrassed about what happened at the bath house." A lovely blush spreads generously over Chihiro's cheeks when bringing up the topic once more. Lin sighs, shaking her head.
"No Sen, it's my fault, too. I shouldn't have pushed you to tell me such personal information." She laughs guiltily. "Sorry 'bout that." Chihiro smiles.
"That's okay. Friends?" Lin grins.
"Sisters." Chihiro's lips crack into a grin as well.
"Yeah, sisters." After a moment or so, the silence is broken by Haku snorting; Chihiro assumed he was laughing at them.
"Oh shut it, Lizard. You just ruined the moment." Chihiro laughed good-naturedly at the comment. Haku, ignoring Lin's complaining, gently lowered them to land. Chihiro, albeit confused by the action, hops off anyway, and then coaxed Lin to do the same. Once his passengers are on the ground again, Haku transforms back into the form of a man. Chihiro cocks her head to the side as a silent request for him to explain.
"I thought you ladies might want to have a break from flying for a while, since Zeniba's place is still a fair distance away." Smiling at Haku's kindness, Chihiro looks at her surroundings; a very sunny area, dotted with many different species of trees that she's never seen before, creating cool and inviting shaded spots on the grass. "And also," He adds. "I wanted to say that I'm sorry too; I was acting childish." He smiles apologetically. "Forgive me?" Chihiro cracks a smile.
"You're forgiven, dragon."
"Well," Lin states, moving over to a nearby tree, sitting up against the trunk. "I think I'll use this time to take a nap. Yubaba works us to the bone these days." Chihiro laughs lightly at the statement and nods.
"Suit yourself, Lin. But you're missing out on the scenery." She teases lightly. Lin merely smiles, shifting her position slightly to get more comfortable. She closes her eyes, and Chihiro grins, suddenly feeling giddy. Haku offers his arm to her, and when Chihiro turns to face him, she gladly takes it, feeling very lady-like. They walk a small distance away from where Lin is resting against the tree, before Haku motions for her to sit down. She sits, leaning back against her hands for support. Haku takes a seat to her right, planting himself right beside her. They both stare straight ahead of themselves, unsure of what to say.
"What's it like? Being human, I mean." Haku starts, unsure of where he's going with the topic.
"I'm not sure I get what you mean. Care to explain?"
"Well," He starts. "I've always been a spirit, so I haven't a clue what it's like being a human… If that makes any sense?" Chihiro hums thoughtfully.
"It's not too bad, I guess. I mean, we constantly have the fear of death looming over our heads, which is kind of depressing."
"I guess you don't have to worry about that anymore then, if that's the case." Haku chuckles.
"Oh ha ha, very funny, Haku."
"What? It's true, isn't it?"
"…I guess so." Chihiro shrugs her shoulders. Although she knows she should put her trust into him, there's something about Haku's words that bother her. The more she delves deeper into the subject of turning into a spirit, the more she questions whether that's actually truly what happened to her. 'I don't feel any different from when I was human, and I thought that spirits were supposed to have powers…' Chihiro takes a side glance towards Haku, furrowing her brows slightly in confusion. She opens her mouth to voice her worries, but stops when Haku abruptly turns toward her.
"You know," He turns back away, suddenly a little conscious of himself, and his cheeks are dusted with a pale pink, showing his sudden shyness. "I'm actually really, really glad that you're a spirit now." His eyes widen, turning back to her in slight panic. "I mean, not that I wanted you to die! It's just, just…" Haku trails off, unable to find the right words to say.
"Don't worry about it," Chihiro giggles. "I know what you meant, Haku." He sighs, visibly relaxing whilst turning back to the landscape. There's a long, drawled out silence between the two, but it's not uncomfortable. After a long while of merely sitting and enjoying the scenery, Haku stands up and offering a hand out to Chihiro, he smiles.
"We should get going." He simply states. Chihiro smiles back and takes his outstretched hand, shifting all her weight onto him as she stands. Whilst she dusts herself off, Haku makes his way back over to Lin, who seems to be comfortably slumbering against the tree. "Come on Lin, break's over." He nudges her with his foot, not quite feeling up to any mischief at the moment. Lin cracks an eye open, looking up at Haku, seemingly studying his face. She sighs and lets out a yawn, stretching and cracking her joints as she does so.
"Alrighty," She says. "We best not be late; who knows what the witch would do to us." Lin stands, waiting for Haku to step back and transform. He does so, and Lin and Chihiro climb on at a leisurely pace. Haku takes off into the air once more, this time even Chihiro notices the difference in attitudes with the way he flies.
~o~o~O~o~o~
"Goodness! What took you three so long? You should've already been here quite some time ago."
"Well-"
"Don't just stand there! Come in, come in!"
~o~o~O~o~o~
A/N: I just had to stop here otherwise I'd literally have nothing to write for next chapter. But by god I swear I will finish this story even if it kills me. Sorry for the long wait, folks. It seems that chapters are getting harder and harder to write these days, for some unknown reason. I'll start on chapter 26 right away, so let's hope that I don't get writer's block with that as well.
I just posted a weird oneshot that I wrote two years ago, so go and check it out! Love you guys!
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