The view from a distance made the castle look big, but fuck it was big. The trio stood before what was assumed to be the entrance, large wooden doors looming in front of them. The castle had gothic details, very similar to the type Chihiro was fond of in the real world. She noticed gargoyles higher up, we're probably going to face those too, great.
Lin and Aogaeru were visibly shaken. "Let me go in alone."
Lin gasped and whipped around to look at Chihiro, "Why would you even think to suggest that?!"
Chihiro pulled out the two remaining emeralds, the one she had felt a crack in was dim, "I have these. As long as one works, I should be able to use it to find Haku. I think."
Aogaeru let out a high-pitched croak, "How are you going to get past Nomura and Hisashi?" A moment of silence before he let out a screech, "You're going to make me and Lin be bait, aren't you?!"
Chihiro and Lin exchanged a look before Chihiro replied, "Well I hadn't really thought about that part, but you did give a good idea."
Lin sighed and nodded, "I swear this is the most idiotic thing I've ever done, but there are two of us. If we pissed them off enough…"
Aogaeru screeched again, "Absolutely no way! I'm not getting myself killed for a human!"
Lin suddenly turned into a fox and growled softly at Aogaeru, who cringed away, "So your next plan is to travel all around the spirit world to look for a God who not only can but be willing to deal with these guys?" The frog stayed quiet for a moment and Lin raised her gaze to meet Chihiro's, "I'm ready for being a distraction. Either we live and we have a happy ending, or we die and it doesn't entirely matter anymore, since, y'know, dead."
Aerogaeru grumbled and made low croaks but hopped onto Lin's back. Chihiro was probably more anxious than the frog was in complete honesty. She wasn't sure she was willing to let friends sacrifice themselves for something that might not even work. Lin did have a point though, and Chihiro was guaranteed to die if she didn't at the very least try to find Haku.
The human woman took a huge breath in and out before approaching the doors. Lin turned back into her human form for a minute to help Chihiro push them open, turning back into a fox once they were open enough to slip through.
It was extremely dark, but luckily there were enough lanterns and candles in ornate holders so they wouldn't be bumping into much. Chihiro took another deep breath, "Let's try to stick together."
Lin and Aogaeru nodded and stuck close to Chihiro. She looked down at her emeralds and walked in a circle around the large foyer until one direction caused the dim emerald to glow a little brighter. Chihiro walked as fast as she could in that direction. Like most would suspect, the castle was like a maze and every hallway looked the same. Dead plants, suits of armour, curtains covering windows. At least some paintings were different.
Chihiro felt like she had been walking for hours when a sound made her freeze. Up until that point the castle had been deathly silent except for the sound of the trio's steps. Wait... She slowed her breathing to a point where even it couldn't be heard and turned around. Lin and Aogaeru were nowhere to be seen. Panic swelled in her chest as the sound echoed again and she ducked beside a wooden cabinet. It was distinctly the sound of slithering. I have to keep moving.
It'd be great if it was Haku, but deep in her gut, she knew it wasn't. She did her best to keep an eye on the emerald as she crawled so her footsteps wouldn't be heard. The slithering was growing louder but she tried to ignore it and hoped Lin and Aogaeru were safe. She knew they would also be in a complete panic but she couldn't let that stop her. The dimmer emerald looked like it could shatter at any moment.
Chihiro found herself unable to move again as the slithering sounded mere feet from her. She pressed herself against the wall, slowing her breathing again. Reddish-yellow eyes that glowed softly came around the corner. Chihiro clutched the emeralds so tight the one close to shattering cut her palm.
The snake had no trouble spotting her, a devilish grin appeared as it hissed then turned into him. Chihiro desperately looked for any way of potential escape. She spotted a door in between her and Hisashi. It was closer to her so she readied herself to sprint to it. Fuck! He was coming too fast for her to think a whole lot. She pushed off her feet and darted to the door, Hisashi's confusion giving her the second to open it and try to slam it close. He was faster.
The end of a snake tail wrapped around her, squeezing her right where the wound was. She let out a scream but adrenaline gave her the strength to fight back. She slammed the door as hard as a human could and there was a sickeningly loud crunch. A loud and high-pitched call of distress filled the hallway and room, but the tail was retracted and Chihiro was able to get the door closed. Still having more than enough adrenaline, she pushed every cabinet and bookshelf she saw against the door.
Only moments later loud banging came from the other side of the door. In just a second the force caused the wood to bend and creak. Chihiro quickly scanned the room and spotted a door on the opposite side of the room. She sprinted over to it and ripped it open just as the weak emerald shattered and cut her hand. She ignored the pain and pushed into the hallway. It was pretty much identical except for the fact that this one had no windows. Chihiro managed to still have enough energy to block the door she had just come from with some more cabinets and plants.
Then, she collapsed.
She hugged her knees and rested her on them, letting tears stream down her face for a moment. At this point, it was obvious Nomura was just messing with her. Of course, she would be able to manipulate this place so Chihiro could never find Haku, not unless it was to get Haku to kill the human himself.
Chihiro lifted her head enough to look at the last emerald. It was still bright, but she knew it wouldn't last. She wasn't even sure what happened when they broke. Did that power just disappear? Did it return to him? The latter infuriated her, but maybe he had made them before Nomura had shown up.
That's it!
It was so obvious. She was such an idiot for not realizing it. Haku had put his power into these. This whole time she kept thinking about how weak he must be. Nomura and Hisashi must have known about the emeralds and attacked him shortly after, probably after he told Lin to give them to her.
The crystal Hisashi tried to give her must have been to try to counteract the emeralds, and when she threw it away, he attacked her in a more… direct way. Hisashi definitely wanted her dead now, but before maybe he didn't. That thought of course only made her gag a little, no way she was going to feel an ounce of sympathy for that bastard.
She stared hard at the emerald before standing up, her legs shaky from exhaustion. She had to keep trying until the last emerald shattered. She prayed to every human God she could think of that the emeralds breaking were returning the power to its rightful owner. She could hear the slithering again but pressed on, ignoring everything except the precious emerald.
Once again, she felt like she had walked much too long as she watched the emerald struggle to continue glowing. All of a sudden she felt a strong hand grab her arm and throw her against the wall. She managed to glimpse at the laughing cloaked figure as she struggled to catch her breath.
"How cute, thinking a pitiful human could ever actually save that damn dragon." The voice was sharp and feminine. Nomura. Nomura let out a sigh and lowered her hood, black hair cascading to the floor; bright red eyes drew all of Chihiro's gaze. Nomura got closer and grabbed Chihiro's collar, "Such a shame. I really do admire your persistence, if you were actually from this world I might have even made you my apprentice." Nomura let go of Chihiro's collar and caressed Chihiro's face, "Now, that river god was much too stubborn to let me see why a little human is so important. You'll be dying any minute, so entertain me until you do."
Nomura's words faded away until they were no longer audible.