By the time Chihiro made it to her work the painkillers had kicked in and she wanted to go back to sleep more than anything. The fox had silently sat in the passenger seat, ducking under it whenever people could see it. At least it's not entirely stupid, and thank whatever higher power is out there that it's small enough to do that.
Parking her car in an employee area she stepped out, pausing and turning to see the fox hopping out of her car, "Listen, I really don't want to be the one to cause a panic when people think I'm being followed by a rabid wild animal." The fox tilted its head and Chihiro sighed, "Just stay here, okay? I know you can understand me."
The fox nodded and dove under the car as Chihiro locked it and began walking inside, mumbling, "It's official, I'm actually insane." She clocked in and immediately Akoto appeared seemingly out of thin air.
"Chihiro! Why the hell are you clocking in?!"
Chihiro sighed softly, "I'm fine, really." Akoto crossed her arms and huffed before calling over their boss, the manager of the grocery store, who quickly walked over. He was an older man, not quite as old as her dad but in his 40's at least.
He had a look in his eyes telling Chihiro he would immediately agree with Akoto, "You're pale and look like you're about to be sick. I can't let you work like this. If the doctor says you're fine to work, then you're more than welcome to come back."
Akoto had a triumphant look on her face and Chihiro sighed, one too many times in one day, "Alright, alright, I know when I'm beat." It's not that she didn't want to go, but… How the hell was she going to explain the huge scratch on her side? Well, it felt more like a hole. Maybe Akoto and her boss were right and she was being much too paranoid.
Their boss nodded to Akoto, "Go finish up locking up your till, Chihiro can relax in the break room until then." Chihiro went to clock herself back out but her boss stopped her, "You clock out when you leave."
Chihiro cracked a small smile, seriously, free work time? This was way too much. She didn't argue, however, heading to the hidden break room. It was completely silent there, being rather isolated. She sat in one of the chairs and stared at the clock near the roof.
Everything was peaceful for a moment before a shot of anxiety flared in her stomach. Something told her that someone was behind her, and she needed to run. In a second she heard the break room door lock and felt hands on her neck, slamming her face into the table.
It only took another second for her lungs to start screaming for air, laughing from the person trying to kill her was easily recognizable. She felt herself begin to lose consciousness when a loud yell rang out and the grip on her neck loosened. Chihiro immediately jumped up to see the fox scratching at Hisashi's face and hissing.
Chihiro quickly rushed to the door and screamed, "Come on!" She opened the door and quickly moved out, the fox sprinting out. Chihiro waited until Hisashi came close enough for her to slam the door in his face and stun him.
She picked up the fox and quickly headed out of the store and to the car, putting the fox down on the ground and breathing hard, "What the hell…"
The fox let out a squeak and dived underneath the car as a voice rang out, a much more welcome one, "Chihiro? Why are you out here? You weren't in the back room and you didn't clock out, I did it for you."
Chihiro gasped, "Akoto… You went to the break room? And didn't see me?"
Akoto had a clear look of confusion, "Um, yeah? Hey are you sure you're okay? Did you hit your head or something?"
Chihiro shook her head, "I'm really grateful for you offering to take me to the hospital but I think I'll drive myself there."
Akoto scoffed and grabbed Chihiro's arm, dragging her to Akoto's car, "Nonsense. You don't look like you should be driving, you can hardly stand up!"
Yeah, because I was almost killed! Chihiro remained silent and glanced back at her car, the fox nowhere to be seen. She nodded to herself, hopefully the fox could find its own way home, the doctor would never let her go back to work after this.
At the hospital, Chihiro's fear was right. The doctor was flabbergasted at her wound, which seemed to start getting infected, and Akoto sobbed at seeing it. It was a mess, to say the least.
Luckily, she would only need a couple stitches just in case, along with some antibiotics to keep the infection from getting any worse and painkillers. The stitches were done within a few minutes. As Akoto drove Chihiro home, she had a look in her eyes that told Chihiro she had a million questions, but Chihiro knew Akoto wasn't one to pry, despite practically dragging Chihiro to the hospital.
Chihiro had honestly wanted to go back to work, but after Hisashi had attacked her and the heavy pain killers the doctor gave to her, she gave up on that desire and obediently entered her home, giving Akoto a wave of goodbye as she headed back to work, Akoto complained about having to go back but Chihiro managed to convince her.
Once inside, Chihiro leaned against the front door and sighed, pulling the emerald necklace out of her pocket. The emerald had seemed to have almost dimmed, as if it had a light coming directly from it before. In Hisashi's attack, the chain had almost managed to snap.
She paused, The way the necklace made her feel compared to the one he tried to give her, could it be… The necklace, more specifically the emerald, was protecting her? And what about that fox? Why was it so attached to her?
A thought came to her mind and she quickly darted up the stairs, rummaging through her sketches, throwing papers and sketch books everywhere before finding the one she wanted. She remembered this. Lin, one of her characters, was a fox spirit. She continued searching for a full coloured picture.
The fox and Lin looked exactly the same. That's why she noticed it's smooth white fur, and why she felt it was so distinctive, to everyone else it would be just any odd white fox, but to her…
A clattering from the bedroom window made Chihiro jump and whipped her head around to see the fox climbing into the room. It paused when it saw the mess and cautiously approached the sketches and paintings Chihiro was looking at.
It led out a squeak as it's gaze went back and forth from Chihiro to her art, it went silent for a long moment before letting out another loud squeak, beginning to search through the papers itself. Chihiro couldn't help but watch with her mouth agape.
Soon it returned, jumping into Chihiro's lap with one of Chihiro's first sketches, back when she started. A sketch of the old train station, mysterious statues sitting in front of the entrance.
Chihiro remained quiet for a moment before speaking softly, "You… Want me to go there?" The fox let out a frantic squeak and sprinted in circles for a moment before freezing and darting around to find a blank piece of paper and a pencil, clumsily scribbling onto the piece of paper.
The fox continued squeaking and Chihiro moved to look at the paper. She could hardly understand it, but she could understand two words: 'He's coming'. Chihiro gasped, "Hisashi?!"
The fox nodded and tried to scribble again, getting visibly frustrated. Chihiro thought for a moment, "Wait! Charades. Let's play charades." The fox paused to listen, "Ok, we don't have much time it seems so… Are you Lin?"
The fox nodded quickly and Chihiro put a hand to her head in an attempt to stop a headache, "Last night, that dragon, Haku?" The fox nodded again, "And… Ah! I think I remember making a 'painting story' once of him being powerless in the human world because he's too weak in the spirit world."
The fox, Lin, gasped and squeaked loudly as she nodded, Chihiro took a long breath, "Hisashi… I'm the only one who can save Haku and Hisashi doesn't want that, so he's trying to kill me."
Lin once again nodded, grabbing at Chihiro's sleeve, even more frantic than before. Chihiro jumped up, "Do I have time to pack a couple things, do you think?" Lin shook her head and Chihiro sighed, "I'll only bring the essentials, then." She quickly grabbed a small backpack, stuffed some spare clothes she wasn't sure were even clean, the painkillers and antibiotics the doctor gave her, and doubly made sure she had the necklace. She practically ran downstairs to pack some snack food, but Lin stopped her.
"Right, food in the spirit world. Gotcha." Lin nodded and sprinted to the door. Chihiro hesitated for a minute before writing a quick note for her dad on a notebook, 'I'm going on an inspiration trip with some buds and won't be back for a few days. You have enough food until I get back, please don't worry about me and take care of yourself. If my boss calls tell them I'm in the mountains and don't have cell service, because I will be. Love you, I'll be back soon.'
Lin squeaked impatiently and Chihiro followed her out the door, nearly forgetting to lock it. Lin began sprinting down the hills towards the forest and the ultimate destination. Chihiro followed, although quite a bit slower, causing Lin to pause often and very loudly squeak, Chihiro could guess what she was trying to say.
Chihiro made it to the forest but paused when she saw Lin freeze, her eyes wide at the forest in front of them. Hisashi stood only a few feet away, grinning. Lin hissed and growled like a cat and Chihiro began slowly backing away.
Hisashi followed Chihiro, but suddenly froze, his eyes widening. Chihiro froze at the sudden change, and felt a strange surge of power in the air. She could almost feel the emerald crack slightly in her pants pocket, and collapsed as a dragon seemingly appeared out of nowhere. The fox let out a noise of alarm and darted to hide behind Chihiro as the dragon, Haku, snarled at Hisashi.
Hiashi stood his ground, but only for a moment before bending down and throwing dirt into Haku's eyes before sprinting away. Haku snorted and shook his head, growling menacingly. Chihiro jumped up and ran to him, helping brush the dirt off his face, "How.. Why…"
Haku nudged her gently, "I can not stay here any longer. Find Zeniba. She will give you another." Chihiro nodded, assuming he meant the emerald. Did Haku have a ton of these lying around?
Lin let out a squeak from behind Chihiro and Haku nodded to her before slowly beginning to fade and disappear into thin air. At the Kohaku river he could stay longer, he could even bring her home, but there wasn't even any water here from him to regain energy. Even an idiot could figure that out.
Chihiro remained still for another long moment, putting a hand to the pocket the emerald was in before quickly heading to the old train station, her pace much quicker than before. Hisashi would be back any second knowing Haku couldn't save her again.