Disclaimer: I do not own Spirited Away

Author note at end.

Chihiro felt a shiver go up her spine as Yubaba talked in a low and dark tone. Even though she nodded to Yubaba's question about her understanding, there was no possible way she actually could. Lin let out a slight hiss at Yubaba's harsh words; however, before Lin could say anything, Chihiro began shouting in a panic, "What the fuck is that supposed to mean!?" Chihiro's voice rose with every word, as if to curse the heavens themselves. The elevator door dinged and Chihiro stormed out. Some staff was working, but froze and went silent as Chihiro let out a small scream and clutched at the sides of her head.

The outburst left Lin frozen with her mouth agape, and even Yubaba's eyes had widened in slight surprise. It was totally logical that Chihiro would be surprised and upset, but that level of panic had come seemingly out of nowhere.

After a moment, Chihiro fell to her knees and Lin let out a gasp, rushing forward and grabbing Chihiro's shoulders. Yubaba snapped out of her trance like state, something seeming to have clicked in her mind. She kept a casual pace as she stepped forward and forcefully put a hand to Chihiro's forehead, her large hand nearly covering the girl's entire face, "She has a fever, and no ordinary fever. You must get her to Zeniba quickly."

Aogaeru came hopping out from a side hallway and paused at the scene that lay before him, but none of the three women seemed to notice his presence. He hopped up to what looked like Chihiro's backpack and quickly grabbed it, then hopped away to the outside and the train station, deciding he wanted to get out of there as soon as possible. Luckily, he was a lot stronger than he looked.

Chihiro's head was swimming. It felt like there were a thousand thoughts in her brain, yet none at all at the same time. She heard the voices from her dreams, both the threats and love-filled voices. She heard Haku, but she couldn't make out what he was saying. Her eyes were open, but everything around her were blurry shapes, the colours fading into each other. She could hear Yubaba and Lin, but they quickly drowned out, the faceless voices growing louder and louder. Her head hurt, her side hurt, everything hurt and all she could do was scream, but that made the pain worse.

It didn't take Lin long to decide to just pick Chihiro up, in the easier bridal style. The human woman was surprisingly way lighter than she looked. Honestly, it was probably a bad sign. Yubaba frowned as she waved a hand over Chihiro's face, and finally, she stilled, "It's a temporary sleep. Go."

Lin didn't ask questions about the concern on Yubaba's face, rushing outside and down to the train station. She would be much faster as a fox, maybe even faster than the train. She continued to debate the option of going first by herself, but as she glanced down at Aogaeru she realized there would be no way he could carry her if she was still way too unwell when they got to the swamp. It wasn't until Aogaeru moved that she realized the train was already there, she had cut the time much too close.

The other creatures gave curious glances and she climbed into the train and placed Chihiro down, trying to get Chihiro into a comfortable position. The sleeping woman's brows were pinched, Lin prayed that Yubaba put her asleep deep enough she wouldn't have dreams, at the very least.

Aogaeru hopped up onto Lin's lap as she was placing a large sweater on Chihiro, muttering to herself about how she should have brought a blanket. The frog's eyes stared hard at the human, "...What in the world happened?"

Lin bit her lip and leaned back in the seat, "I don't know. Yubaba must know, but she didn't say."

Aogaeru snorted and he settled down for the long trip, "Of course she didn't."

Lin cracked a small smile but it was gone as fast as it had appeared, "The protective charm cracked. The minute it did, evil magic must have taken as much advantage as it could."

Aogaeru went quiet for a moment before speaking quietly, "Why is a human woman so important, anyway?"

Lin looked out the window, sighing, "Honestly, I'm not entirely sure. Only Haku does and I doubt he'll ever say."

—

Lin jolted awake from her half-sleep; the fox hadn't even realized she had dozed off. Aogaeru was at fault for her start, mostly, as he had shouted in her ears as the train came to a sudden stop. She took a moment to fully wake up before stretching and standing, nodding to Aogaeru who was already dragging Chihiro's backpack behind him as he exited the train. Lin let out a sigh of relief as she noticed Chihiro was fast asleep, and picked her up before exiting the train.

It took a moment for Lin's eyes to adjust to the pitch blackness, and luckily she saw a light approach then. Aogaeru let out a huff, clearly annoyed that it hadn't been waiting for them. The animated pole, a hand at the bottom and a lantern hanging from a hook at the top, paused before turning and hopping back into the swamp.

Aogaeru quickly followed, and Lin followed as well after covering her nose with a corner of the blanket, she hated how strong her sense of smell was sometimes. It only took a few minutes before the cottage appeared, a shadowy figure with a mask making excited gestures as they approached. Aogaeru snorted and ignored the figure, hurrying inside. Lin paused to smile at him and motion her head down to Chihiro, the figure clapping in even more excitement.

"My goodness! As beautiful as ever, Lin!" Lin let out a slight laugh as the old witch, Yubaba's twin, exclaimed. The figure followed in after her, closing the door behind him.

Zeniba, the much kinder twin, rushed over with a bright grin, "Oh deary me, let's put this poor girl on a real bed." Lin didn't hesitate to hand Chihiro to the witch, and they had both disappeared into a doorway in a matter of seconds.

Lin found a comfortable seat to sit down, startled when Zeniba suddenly appeared again, shouting, "The emerald was already broken!?" The action had startled the shadowy figure and Aogaeru too, the frog letting out a croak.

Lin nodded and sighed, "It's my fault, I'm sorry."

Zeniba clucked her tongue and grabbed the kettle that was suspended over the fire in the fireplace, "Nonsense, I underestimated them. I should have sent you with two, we knew how weak Haku was when he created them."

Lin made a noise of gratitude and took a sip of the tea Zeniba poured, going quiet for a moment as she relaxed, "How many more do you have? Will it be enough?"

Zeniba let out a hum as she sat, "Five more. I'm not sure it will be, but let's hope it is."

Lin sighed again, putting the cup down, "Is that witch and her allies really so strong?" Lin paused before continuing, before Zeniba could answer, "And, forgive me for this, but can Chihiro really help? I mean, I know her spiritual power is stronger than most humans, but she is still human."

Zeniba chuckled a little, "Not just any human. Even humans with strong spiritual power can't claim they're mates with a god."

Lin clenched her hands tight around her cup, her eyes stuck on watching the liquid inside, "I know you mentioned that before, but isn't that impossible? Haku erased her memory so she wouldn't become his wife."

Zeniba let out a small sigh, leaning back into her chair and taking a drink from her own cup, "That was the plan, which has unfortunately failed. Even without memories and any physical connection to this world, she still bears his mark. She still has the power she was born with."

Lin remained frozen, the figure and Apgaeru silently listening to the women's conversation, "I know I've been watching her for years, and I know she's powerful because I can feel it, but you still never told me about any specifics. Before there were threats I could handle, now she's almost died, and another god went as far as to attack her in front of me, like I wasn't even there."

Zeniba sighed again, peering her cup and tapping on the sides of the cup, "I'm not sure why Haku gained interest in the first place, or why she was born with such a strong spirit, but I do know something, about their first real meeting." She took another sip before lowering the cup again and closing her eyes, "Chihiro… She isn't entirely human, well, her body isn't. When she fell into the river, she did not survive. Should not have survived. Haku sacrificed part of himself to save her."

Wow. 2020 man. What a year, truly.

So, here's the deal. This thing is getting finished, don't fear. However, I feel like if I speak too soon on when, it's not gonna happen. So please be patient.

As for what's been going on in real life, well, it has been quite the roller coaster. I didn't have a computer for over a month, which was super exciting, and even though it's back now (obviously since I'm uploading this chapter), I still can't play video games on a freaking $2k laptop! So, it's going into the shop again and gonna get fixed whether it or the "experts" like it or not. Meanwhile, I have been working on a very exciting project. I have been planning out a novel of horror/thriller shorts. It's been something I've wanted to do for pretty much all my life, and it's finally coming together as I plan out how many stories and where they're going. It's going to be a combination of 100% fiction stories, along with about 50/50 non-fiction stories (depending on your beliefs). They're going to be originals by me (as original as you can be nowadays), originals by both me and my best friend who's super awesome at monster creations, and stories based on real life encounters; including some of my own. Of course, they'll probably be twisted to have more exciting endings other than "I moved away the end", but I digress. After that's done, if it works out in which case I'll make more, I will start working on the project that my whole life has been based around, no spoilers. Anywho, see ya'll around. ^_^