I do not own Spirited Away, the original characters and this plotline belong to me.

Scary isn't it? Two Chapters in one week? Crazy!

Alright, all who have read, reread, and reviewed my story during its haitus, I love you all. So, I thought I'd give you the next chapter to make you all happy. Apologies for errors.


Chapter 28

Zaniba sat sipping her tea and gazing thoughtfully out the window when the knock on the door came. She slowly turned her eyes away. "Come in."

A frog hopped in through the door, "Madam, I've brought Sen as you requested." He then bowed and held the door while Chihiro walked in. The frog then closed the door as he left.

The old witch smiled at her, "You have grown since I saw you last, Chihiro." She put down her tea and waved at Chihiro to walked toward her. "I thought you'd like to hear an idea I had when I saw you, about why the death spirit, and her fallen god, are trying to find you." She looked back to the window, "As well as why magic is being drawn to you."

Chihiro smiled and nodded, "I'm sure if anyone could figure it out you could Granny." She joined Zaniba by the window, the witch waved a hand and a second chair clambered over to them. Chihiro sat. "I've had the hardest time trying to think of why anything here would want to hurt me." The fire crackled away in the large fireplace keeping the room wall, Zaniba's shadow danced eerily on the glass behind her.

Zaniba was quite for a moment, "Did you know, that long, long ago, before there was a bathhouse, and before even my sister and I were born your world, and this one were one and the same?" There was a distant look her eyes and an almost longing to see times like that. "I heard from an very old spirit before he passed his charge to a younger one that it had been a beautiful and peaceful time..." She turned back to Chihiro. "It was separated by the wishes of the gods, nothing could be that peaceful and be entertaining." She sighed, "But during that time, since some spirits, like Haku have two shapes, a beast shape, and a human shape, there were quite a few... halflings that came into existence."

Chihiro blinked, then she 'oh-ed' in understanding, "So spirits were having kids with humans."

Zaniba nodded, "Yes, the gods I suppose didn't know what to do exactly with all of these strange beings that were partially from one world and part from the other. I read in an old tome that the more human ones remained in the mortal world while the creature-like ones either came to this world or disappeared into the beneath world. That Doppleganger is likely one of them, not from here, not from there... you understand don't you my dear?"

She thought about it for a moment, "So, there are people walking around in my world who are part spirit and they don't know it?"

"You never knew, why should they? After all it has been centuries and the blood has been diluted with mortal blood more and more through each marriage."

Chihiro straightened slightly, "Me?"

Zaniba nodded, "Yes, you." She leaned forward, "It is my assumption that somewhere down your family line there is a spirit of some kind, I'm assuming an earth, or wind spirit. And when your family stumbled upon an entrance to this world that it immediately called out to you, trying to bring you in." She sighed and shook her head, "I thought that giving you that protective charm would keep you safe... it did quite a bit of damage actually."

"I don't understand Granny."

"Your spirit 'blood,' for a lack of a better term had never felt magic or had anything to do with magic until you arrived here those years ago, and it seems like it liked it. So when you were given the charm to protect you from harm it cut the flow of magic and spirit to you, essentially starving your spirit part of what it suddenly had had." Zaniba sipped her tea to wet her throat, "When you arrived here again and removed the charm your spirit part began to devour and drag in as much magic as it could reach, it has been gorging itself because it doesn't know if you will cut it off from this magic again."

The girl bit her lip, "My body's trying to kill me because it wants magic and I took myself away from it, that's what you think?" Zaniba nodded, "What gave you the idea that I was part spirit?" Chihiro's eyes flicked back to the shadow of Zaniba, there was something curious about it, but she looked back to the older woman when she spoke again.

"You haven't changed much since you were last here, Chihiro, spirits age at a much slower rate, so as a mortal you would keep your youth well into old age. Yes you've gotten taller and matured, but nothing much else has changed has it." The old witch leaned back in her chair, "It would also explain why this death spirit, and fallen god are after you."

"How?"

"Certain spirits have the power to take possession of another spirit's body, if the spirit is weak." Zaniba stated, again looking out the window. "If this death spirit were able to take control of your body it would likely use you to walk out into the human world, locate the black serpent's eye and return without having to exert much energy." The woman's eyes slowly slid back to Chihiro. "Do you understand?" Chihiro wasn't looking at Zaniba, her eyes were watching the shadow who's movements didn't match the movement of the flames, "You are only the most available puppet for getting the eye..."

"And freeing my master!" The shadow leaped from the wall as Zaniba groaned and slumped in the chair. The witches eyes rolling back in her head.

"Granny!"

The death spirit, scythe and all knocked the chair Chihiro was in flat to the ground and pinned the girl to the ground, the scythe's bladed edge pressed to Chihiro's throat. "The witch will live... a while yet." Her free hand pulled up Chihiro's sleeve and grinned looking at the mark on her arm, "Master was wise to mark his prey, he was always so wise..."

A window shattered behind them, Chihiro turned away from the broken shards flying inward, "Remove yourself from the girl."