Hey everyone! Wow I'm so surprised, I got reviews! And I was all hyped up
when I saw them. So thanks to shazaoblossom (yea I'm glad I thought of a
crossover! ^.^) and meta lise and Jen Tai Yaung (I even appreciate
constructive criticism) for the reviews!!!!
Yes, I will keep updating, since u all really liked it (yay!) and to tell the truth I actually have 4 chappies written, but I didn't load all of them since I had a problem with the formatting and it took too long. hehe
Oh yea SPIRITED AWAY WON THE ACADAMY AWARD 4 BEST ANIMATED FILM!!!!! WOOO HOOO YEA PARTY!
Disclaimer: whoops I fergot 2 put one in last time (**gets clubbed by agent**) so yea I don't own Spirited Away.
And happy reading!!!!
lalala-flashbacks
'lalala'-thinking
~~~ - Dreaming
"lalala"-out loud
Chapter 2: Spirited Back
Chihiro's sneakers pounded along the ground. Soon after getting into the forest she had tied her hair back up; it was swishing in front of her face with every step she took. She paid no attention to direction; she trusted that she would find the path. Her dream had said that she was going back. As Chihiro ran, her mind wandered off of finding the way to the Spirit World and began to think of all the friends she would meet when she got there.
No-Face. "Thank you for helping me earlier."
Granny. "I want you to know my real name. It's Chihiro."
"Chihiro.what a pretty name. You take good care of it."
Rin. "I can't believe you pulled it off! You're such a dope, you had me really worried."
Kamajii. "Thank you Mr. Boilerman!"
"Good luck."
And Haku.
Caught up in her thoughts, Chihiro didn't notice two people following her, like silent shadows slipping through the leaves.
- - -
Sakura and Syaoran kept Chihiro in their sight, never losing sight of her. Sakura panted as she ran, "She doesn't seem to know where she's going. It's all very random. We could be chasing her for nothing."
Syaoran brushed some leaves out of his hair. "Everyone in the world disappears and we're left. It stands to reason since we've got magical powers. But she's here too, so she must have some kind of magic! And I want to find out what it is." Sakura couldn't refute his strong logic, so she kept silent.
Chihiro led them on a chase through the woods for twenty minutes. The girl seemed to be fueled by some extra tank of energy, while Sakura began to feel tired.
"Storm's brewing." Syaoran called suddenly. He pointed upwards and Sakura looked. Dark clouds were gathering like an ominous warning. Suddenly he held out his hand and stopped her. They had stumbled onto an actual path, and Chihiro was standing still.
- - -
The breeze ruffled the trees and blew a leaf across the path. Ahead of her, a stone statue of a funny creature (a cross between a frog and a dwarf) stood covered with moss. Behind it was a dusty red building with peeling paint, and a single tunnel in the middle of the wall. The end of the tunnel was too far away to see.
Chihiro could hardly contain her excitement. Here it was, the exact same path, just like it was four years ago. 'And there's nothing here to stop me!' Chihiro thought gleefully. She ran towards the tunnel. She could finally come back to the Spirit World! Everything was going to be great, she could see Haku again, go and visit Granny, maybe even-
"Stop Chihiro!" She recognized that voice.
"Syaoran?!?! What are you doing here?" He jumped in front of her, between her and the tunnel. She could see Sakura standing off to the side, staring at the old, decrepit building.
Syaoran glared at her. "Ever since I've met you, I've had a bad feeling about you. You're not what you appear to be." His tone was accusing. He took a step forward.
Chihiro was bewildered. What was he talking about? "What do you mean? I'm exactly who I am."
"NO! You're different. We know your secret." Syaoran took another step forward. He could sense something strong, but his anger blinded his senses and he stubbornly believed it was coming from Chihiro.
She couldn't believe what was going on. Sakura? And Syaoran? Knew what? That she'd been to the Spirit World? 'They couldn't. No one knows. I haven't told anyone.' She turned towards him, angry now. "You don't know anything!"
Meanwhile, Sakura was looking at the tunnel. She could feel something there, hovering in the air like sweet perfume. She could see the end of the tunnel faintly; it was far away. As she looked at it, a memory came back to her, of a conversation she'd had with Chihiro once, on a hike in these woods. As she remembered, the memory mixed with the shouts of Syaoran and Chihiro arguing.
"You know Chihiro.maybe we should take a different path." Sakura bit her lip worriedly.
Chihiro frowned, confused. "How come? It's all the same woods."
"Yea well..." (Sakura sweat-dropped) "Well people say there are ghosts in the woods. Like, spirits. And they say there's a
Syaoran and Chihiro were still arguing. "Oh yea? Well how come you never talked to me at Sakura's parties?" Chihiro yelled loudly.
"That's irrelevant! Now what do you have to do with everyone disappearing?" "Everyone dis--" Chihiro paused, suddenly feeling a cold chill. 'Didn't that voice in my dream say that.that they would all disappear?' She shivered. "I have no idea what you're
"building that the spirits go to. And they take a train where they disappear. The legend says that when you die, your person-spirit goes there, or here, to these woods. Hey! Chihiro, are you okay?" Sakura stopped and turned around. Chihiro had halted when Sakura had mentioned spirits.
"Spirits?" She said, her face as white as a sheet.
Sakura grinned good-naturedly. "You must be afraid of them too! Haha, I'm scared to death
All three of them didn't notice the light rain that had begun to fall, or the lightning booming closely overhead.
"talking about!" Chihiro finished.
"of them!"
Chihiro said softly (soft enough that she thought that Sakura wouldn't hear, but that it turned out that Sakura had heard anyway), "Well, you must have never been on the train before."
The lightning bolt that struck startled all of them out of their wits.
CRASH! "AHHHH!"
Syaoran was the first to recover. "It hit the tree!" he cried, pointing at a tree a few feet away. His instincts told him to grab Chihiro (no matter how much he was angry at her) and Sakura and to get them out of there. Sakura was by the building.
Chihiro was still dumbfounded as she saw the tree begin to fall. She vaguely felt Syaoran tugging her towards Sakura. 'Wait a minute,' she thought as she tried to register the fact that the tree was falling behind her, 'that's the way to the Spirit World!' Ignoring Syaoran, she ran ahead and brushed past Sakura to get into the building.
Syaoran saw her run ahead, and turned back. The tree was falling. There was no way he could get Sakura and make it under the tree to the other side. He had to follow Chihiro into the building. He shouted over the now pouring rain at Sakura, "C'mon! Into the building, we've got no other choice!"
Sakura and Syaoran made it into the tunnel just as the tree crashed onto the ground. Onto the ground right in front of the passageway. They were trapped inside.
- - -
They had caught up to Chihiro after getting through the long, dark and musty tunnel. Sakura and Syaoran stood, staring around them at the dusty and empty room around them. Chihiro stood a little ways ahead. Sakura noticed an expression of utmost happiness on her face. There were small stained glass windows in the wall, and the sunlight that came through them cast cheery colors onto the drab floor.
"Wait a minute," Chihiro said suddenly (just as Sakura was thinking), "sunlight? But it was just dark and stormy outside!"
Sakura approached the younger girl. "Maybe we should get out of here, Chihiro. This place feels.weird." And it did. Sakura could sense something strong, stronger than she had felt from outside the tunnel. Syaoran simply stood, looking around wordlessly.
Chihiro sighed, and slowly shook her head. "I'm not going back. You can, if you want to." She looked at the arched doorway in front of her.
Syaoran shook his head. "We can't. The tree that fell is blocking the way through. There's no way back, unless we can move it." Sakura gazed behind her at the tunnel. It was pitch black.
"We've got to go forward then. Maybe we can just walk around the building to get back to the other side." Sakura moved forward to join Chihiro. It was the only thing she could think of.
Chihiro found herself wondering if she should tell them. But she couldn't! 'They wouldn't believe me. If I tell them that we're in the Spirit World, then Syaoran might start up on that argument again. And Sakura's afraid of ghosts. I guess I can let them come with me, although I'll just have to make sure that they don't eat any of the spirits' food or get in trouble.' She started, realizing that Sakura and Syaoran were staring at her. "Hehe.okay, let's go."
- - -
They walked forward into the warm sunlight, and into a strange place. Sakura gasped. They had just been in a building that was in the middle of the forest. But this.this was far from it. She looked at Syaoran and saw the same wonder on his face. All of his anger dissipated.
As far as they could see to the sides, a great, grassy plain stretched out. It was dotted with stone statues ('like that one outside the building', Sakura thought) that were either sunken into the ground or standing crookedly. Chihiro started to run up a hill. Sakura and Syaoran had no choice but to follow.
They came to what seemed to be the remains of a river. A stream trickled through the giant boulders in the bed, making a soft gurgling sound. Syaoran felt that wherever they were, there was more to it than the calm appearance they saw.
"Look!" Sakura cried suddenly. "There are buildings over there!" maybe they could find someone and locate where they were. The trio silently walked over the rocks and went up a short flight of cracked stone stairs. Sakura noted a frog statue facing the riverbed, with its mouth open. It looked like a fountain.
To Chihiro, the whole walk was like heaven. She was here! Here, in her beloved Spirit World! What did it matter that Sakura and Syaoran were here? They could learn to like it, or maybe she could just find a way to get them back home again. Who cared? She was probably going to see Haku again.Haku.she suddenly found herself blushing. Syaoran woke her out of her reverie.
He looked around, puzzled. "They're all restaurants! Why would they only have restaurants?" Suddenly he smelled something. Something delicious! "Do you smell that?" he said to Chihiro and Sakura eagerly. Sakura nodded. She was hungry after chasing Chihiro at midnight in a dark forest. But Chihiro gasped. They couldn't eat the food! They'd turn into pigs! She couldn't let that happen.
"Wait! Wait! Don't go!" But they were already running towards the smell of the food. Chihiro sprinted after them.
Sakura and Syaoran ran through the streets of the eccentric little town full of restaurants, following the mouth-watering smell. When they got to the restaurant, they saw heaps of food, but no waiters or waitresses. They looked at each other. Both of them knew it was wrong to eat the food, but they were so hungry!
Just in time, Chihiro caught up. "Don't.eat.the food!" she panted, putting her hands on Sakura's shoulders.
Sakura was startled. "Why ever not? It looks edible." Chihiro still shook her head incessantly.
"Look, I can't tell you why, but you can't eat the food. Just trust me here." She pleaded with them. 'I can't possibly tell them that they'll turn into pigs! They would think I'm crazy.'
Syaoran got suspicious, remembering the argument on the path. "How would you know?"
But Sakura interrupted him. "Maybe Chihiro's right.this food looks so different than regular food. I don't recognize anything." She was worried. What was this place that they had stumbled into? And why wasn't Chihiro alarmed at all?
Chihiro sighed wearily and walked off. She turned. "Are you coming or not?" she kept walking through the village. She heard Sakura and Syaoran following her, and imagined the looks they'd be giving each other. She couldn't blame them. They had no idea where they were, and she wasn't telling them the truth. Or at least, not telling them. Was there such a thing as a lie of omission?
Chihiro looked up and found that her feet had led her back to the edge of the steps. It was darkening. She looked down and saw the frog statue begin to spout water. Soon the whole place would be a giant waterway. She didn't hear Sakura and Syaoran behind her. Sakura was concerned.
"Chihiro, are you okay?" she put a hand on Chihiro's shoulder. She screamed. Her hand had gone right through Chihiro's body! She turned around to look at Syaoran. He was going blurry around the edges. He gasped. Sakura ran to him, and he tried to hold her and comfort her, but his arms went right through her. He looked up at Chihiro. She wasn't disappearing. She was as solid as a rock.
Chihiro turned around. "OH NO! I forgot about that! How could I forget!" she wailed and ran up the steps to the disappearing pair. She knew she needed to get them back across the plain, but as she turned back towards the river she knew she'd see it full of water. Just like when she'd come here first.
"WATER? . It's just a bad dream . I'm see through!"
She shook her head, clearing away the cobwebs. She needed to do something, quick. Sakura and Syaoran were sitting on the steps. Sakura was sobbing quietly, and Syaoran was doing his best to try and comfort her and not touch her at the same time.
'This can't be happening,' Sakura was thinking, 'I'm too young, this isn't real, how can someone disappear?' Syaoran was torn between yelling at Chihiro and comforting Sakura. Comforting won, although he still wondered about what Chihiro had meant when she'd said, "how could I forget?"
Chihiro tried to remember what Haku had done for her when she was disappearing. Food! He'd given her a pill thing. But where would you get food that wouldn't turn you into pigs? "You need to eat food from this world." She mused, thinking aloud.
Sakura jumped up. "What? This world? How could you know what to do? How do you know all of this? And how come you're not disappearing?" She was upset now, not to mention scared to death.
Syaoran stood up too. "First you tell us not to eat the food and now you say we need to eat something? What are you talking about?"
Chihiro had gotten so stressed out that she blurted without thinking: "Because if you eat the food at the restaurants it'll turn you into PIGS!" The quiet after was oppressing. Sakura and Syaoran were stunned into silence. She threw her hands up and walked as far as she could go towards the river. This was too much for her. She rubbed her hands over her eyes and stared up at the sky. Behind her the slowly disappearing Sakura and Syaoran speechlessly stared at her back.
"Oh Haku," she whispered, "I need someone here, to calm me like you always did. Where are you?" A lone tear ran down her cheek. She stared at the sky.
Syaoran shouted abruptly, breaking the silence, "Hey! There's something coming towards us." He stood up and pointed at something in the sky. It was long and silvery, and moved about in the air like a fish in water. If Sakura hadn't been disappearing at the time, she wouldn't have found it as easy to believe that it was a dragon. Chihiro gasped and ran up the steps. Sakura was startled by the outburst.
Chihiro cried with delight. It was Haku! Haku, always coming when things were bad! "Haku! Haku! Over here! Oh Haku!" she shouted at the dragon, ignoring Sakura and Syaoran who were greatly perplexed.
- - -
Haku had been flying for hours straight after he had gotten the message from that.voice, or whatever it was. He couldn't believe he was really going to see Chihiro again. It had been so long. But he hadn't kept his promise. That was Haku's biggest regret. Every time he thought of his broken promise, his heart broke a little bit more. By now it must have been in pieces. But it wasn't his fault. His contract was still on; getting his name back hadn't really done much, except letting him gain a little more control on his body and mind.
Then he sighted them. Three figures, two disappearing, were standing on the steps by the river. And there was Chihiro! He sped up to greet her, anticipating her cool touch, the smell of her hair, her innocent smile. He could hear her calling to him.
- - -
Syaoran took out his sword and stood in front of Chihiro and Sakura. Even if he was disappearing, he had to protect them from this.dragon.thing. "Get back!" he ordered Chihiro, who stubbornly tried to run to the dragon, but Syaoran held her back. (His hands weren't completely gone yet). Sakura didn't need to be told twice.
The dragon landed in front of them. Syaoran and Sakura gazed in wonderment at the dragon; even if it intended harm, it still had a quality of elegance in it. Chihiro struggled to get free of Syaoran's grip, but he was too strong. She had to help Haku! She couldn't let him get hurt.
"Wow." Sakura whispered. The dragon was amazing. His scales were pearly silvery white, and his mane was the color of the ocean. He stood on four legs with small claws on the end of them and had two curved horns. But most amazing of all were his eyes; they looked as if there was a real person behind them, and they were an intensely bright green.
Chihiro felt Syaoran's hand start to disappear, and pulled even harder. She broke away and rushed toward Haku. Until then the dragon had stayed still, but now it moved forward towards Chihiro. Fearing that it was going to attack, Sakura and Syaoran shouted at her, but she didn't hear. As Syaoran was going to raise his sword, they both fell back in amazement as Chihiro embraced it.
She smiled, tears of joy in her eyes. "Haku! I've missed you so much! I can't believe you're here, and I'm here!" As she held onto the scales of Haku's dragon form, he slowly melted away and Chihiro found herself embracing a young man. (Sakura and Syaoran were completely stupefied, and could only watch in absolute shock).
"Chihiro." he whispered, and took a step back to look at her. She gazed back, at his silky black hair, green eyes like the ocean, his amazingly pale but perfect face, and the same clothes he had been wearing that day they met. He hugged her again.
Sakura and Syaoran were baffled. Apparently the dragon, Haku, as Chihiro was calling him, was a good guy. But still, he had changed from a DRAGON into a BOY. There was a little confusion on that. "Just what is going on here?" Syaoran demanded.
Chihiro gasped, remembering that they needed food. She ignored Syaoran and told Haku that they needed food. "I've already taken care of it." He said, holding in his hand two small red pills. "Here, eat this. It won't turn you into a pig. You need to eat some food from here or you'll disappear completely." Haku held out the pills towards Sakura and Syaoran. Sakura hesitated, but decided she had nothing to lose and swallowed it. She took a deep breath and looked at her hands. Her outline was becoming clearer, and as she kept looking, she became solid again.
She ran to Chihiro and hugged her. "Oh, thank you!" Sakura remembered the boy. She turned towards him. He was staring silently at her, and she couldn't find any emotion on his face. "Uh, thank you." She felt slightly uncomfortable around the dragon-boy-thing, whatever he was.
Syaoran wavered. Chihiro held out the other pill. "It's okay, Syaoran. You can trust us." He sighed, (what the hell?) and grabbed it. Haku stepped forward, holding his hand out.
"See? You're fine now." Syaoran reached for Haku's hand and grasped it. His hand didn't go through this time.
"What are you? Where are we? I know this isn't earth."
Haku gave him a level stare. He looked at Chihiro. She sighed, and nodded her head. "I guess you can tell them." Chihiro thought that at least she wouldn't have to be the one to tell them. It may be easier to take coming from Haku. Besides, nothing could ruin her happiness now; Haku was here!
Sakura gave Syaoran a baffled look. Whatever was going on here, Chihiro seemed to be in on it. She had a sinking sensation that wherever they were, it was far from home.
Haku said plainly, "You're in the Spirit World."
"WHAT???????"
Yes, I will keep updating, since u all really liked it (yay!) and to tell the truth I actually have 4 chappies written, but I didn't load all of them since I had a problem with the formatting and it took too long. hehe
Oh yea SPIRITED AWAY WON THE ACADAMY AWARD 4 BEST ANIMATED FILM!!!!! WOOO HOOO YEA PARTY!
Disclaimer: whoops I fergot 2 put one in last time (**gets clubbed by agent**) so yea I don't own Spirited Away.
And happy reading!!!!
lalala-flashbacks
'lalala'-thinking
~~~ - Dreaming
"lalala"-out loud
Chapter 2: Spirited Back
Chihiro's sneakers pounded along the ground. Soon after getting into the forest she had tied her hair back up; it was swishing in front of her face with every step she took. She paid no attention to direction; she trusted that she would find the path. Her dream had said that she was going back. As Chihiro ran, her mind wandered off of finding the way to the Spirit World and began to think of all the friends she would meet when she got there.
No-Face. "Thank you for helping me earlier."
Granny. "I want you to know my real name. It's Chihiro."
"Chihiro.what a pretty name. You take good care of it."
Rin. "I can't believe you pulled it off! You're such a dope, you had me really worried."
Kamajii. "Thank you Mr. Boilerman!"
"Good luck."
And Haku.
Caught up in her thoughts, Chihiro didn't notice two people following her, like silent shadows slipping through the leaves.
- - -
Sakura and Syaoran kept Chihiro in their sight, never losing sight of her. Sakura panted as she ran, "She doesn't seem to know where she's going. It's all very random. We could be chasing her for nothing."
Syaoran brushed some leaves out of his hair. "Everyone in the world disappears and we're left. It stands to reason since we've got magical powers. But she's here too, so she must have some kind of magic! And I want to find out what it is." Sakura couldn't refute his strong logic, so she kept silent.
Chihiro led them on a chase through the woods for twenty minutes. The girl seemed to be fueled by some extra tank of energy, while Sakura began to feel tired.
"Storm's brewing." Syaoran called suddenly. He pointed upwards and Sakura looked. Dark clouds were gathering like an ominous warning. Suddenly he held out his hand and stopped her. They had stumbled onto an actual path, and Chihiro was standing still.
- - -
The breeze ruffled the trees and blew a leaf across the path. Ahead of her, a stone statue of a funny creature (a cross between a frog and a dwarf) stood covered with moss. Behind it was a dusty red building with peeling paint, and a single tunnel in the middle of the wall. The end of the tunnel was too far away to see.
Chihiro could hardly contain her excitement. Here it was, the exact same path, just like it was four years ago. 'And there's nothing here to stop me!' Chihiro thought gleefully. She ran towards the tunnel. She could finally come back to the Spirit World! Everything was going to be great, she could see Haku again, go and visit Granny, maybe even-
"Stop Chihiro!" She recognized that voice.
"Syaoran?!?! What are you doing here?" He jumped in front of her, between her and the tunnel. She could see Sakura standing off to the side, staring at the old, decrepit building.
Syaoran glared at her. "Ever since I've met you, I've had a bad feeling about you. You're not what you appear to be." His tone was accusing. He took a step forward.
Chihiro was bewildered. What was he talking about? "What do you mean? I'm exactly who I am."
"NO! You're different. We know your secret." Syaoran took another step forward. He could sense something strong, but his anger blinded his senses and he stubbornly believed it was coming from Chihiro.
She couldn't believe what was going on. Sakura? And Syaoran? Knew what? That she'd been to the Spirit World? 'They couldn't. No one knows. I haven't told anyone.' She turned towards him, angry now. "You don't know anything!"
Meanwhile, Sakura was looking at the tunnel. She could feel something there, hovering in the air like sweet perfume. She could see the end of the tunnel faintly; it was far away. As she looked at it, a memory came back to her, of a conversation she'd had with Chihiro once, on a hike in these woods. As she remembered, the memory mixed with the shouts of Syaoran and Chihiro arguing.
"You know Chihiro.maybe we should take a different path." Sakura bit her lip worriedly.
Chihiro frowned, confused. "How come? It's all the same woods."
"Yea well..." (Sakura sweat-dropped) "Well people say there are ghosts in the woods. Like, spirits. And they say there's a
Syaoran and Chihiro were still arguing. "Oh yea? Well how come you never talked to me at Sakura's parties?" Chihiro yelled loudly.
"That's irrelevant! Now what do you have to do with everyone disappearing?" "Everyone dis--" Chihiro paused, suddenly feeling a cold chill. 'Didn't that voice in my dream say that.that they would all disappear?' She shivered. "I have no idea what you're
"building that the spirits go to. And they take a train where they disappear. The legend says that when you die, your person-spirit goes there, or here, to these woods. Hey! Chihiro, are you okay?" Sakura stopped and turned around. Chihiro had halted when Sakura had mentioned spirits.
"Spirits?" She said, her face as white as a sheet.
Sakura grinned good-naturedly. "You must be afraid of them too! Haha, I'm scared to death
All three of them didn't notice the light rain that had begun to fall, or the lightning booming closely overhead.
"talking about!" Chihiro finished.
"of them!"
Chihiro said softly (soft enough that she thought that Sakura wouldn't hear, but that it turned out that Sakura had heard anyway), "Well, you must have never been on the train before."
The lightning bolt that struck startled all of them out of their wits.
CRASH! "AHHHH!"
Syaoran was the first to recover. "It hit the tree!" he cried, pointing at a tree a few feet away. His instincts told him to grab Chihiro (no matter how much he was angry at her) and Sakura and to get them out of there. Sakura was by the building.
Chihiro was still dumbfounded as she saw the tree begin to fall. She vaguely felt Syaoran tugging her towards Sakura. 'Wait a minute,' she thought as she tried to register the fact that the tree was falling behind her, 'that's the way to the Spirit World!' Ignoring Syaoran, she ran ahead and brushed past Sakura to get into the building.
Syaoran saw her run ahead, and turned back. The tree was falling. There was no way he could get Sakura and make it under the tree to the other side. He had to follow Chihiro into the building. He shouted over the now pouring rain at Sakura, "C'mon! Into the building, we've got no other choice!"
Sakura and Syaoran made it into the tunnel just as the tree crashed onto the ground. Onto the ground right in front of the passageway. They were trapped inside.
- - -
They had caught up to Chihiro after getting through the long, dark and musty tunnel. Sakura and Syaoran stood, staring around them at the dusty and empty room around them. Chihiro stood a little ways ahead. Sakura noticed an expression of utmost happiness on her face. There were small stained glass windows in the wall, and the sunlight that came through them cast cheery colors onto the drab floor.
"Wait a minute," Chihiro said suddenly (just as Sakura was thinking), "sunlight? But it was just dark and stormy outside!"
Sakura approached the younger girl. "Maybe we should get out of here, Chihiro. This place feels.weird." And it did. Sakura could sense something strong, stronger than she had felt from outside the tunnel. Syaoran simply stood, looking around wordlessly.
Chihiro sighed, and slowly shook her head. "I'm not going back. You can, if you want to." She looked at the arched doorway in front of her.
Syaoran shook his head. "We can't. The tree that fell is blocking the way through. There's no way back, unless we can move it." Sakura gazed behind her at the tunnel. It was pitch black.
"We've got to go forward then. Maybe we can just walk around the building to get back to the other side." Sakura moved forward to join Chihiro. It was the only thing she could think of.
Chihiro found herself wondering if she should tell them. But she couldn't! 'They wouldn't believe me. If I tell them that we're in the Spirit World, then Syaoran might start up on that argument again. And Sakura's afraid of ghosts. I guess I can let them come with me, although I'll just have to make sure that they don't eat any of the spirits' food or get in trouble.' She started, realizing that Sakura and Syaoran were staring at her. "Hehe.okay, let's go."
- - -
They walked forward into the warm sunlight, and into a strange place. Sakura gasped. They had just been in a building that was in the middle of the forest. But this.this was far from it. She looked at Syaoran and saw the same wonder on his face. All of his anger dissipated.
As far as they could see to the sides, a great, grassy plain stretched out. It was dotted with stone statues ('like that one outside the building', Sakura thought) that were either sunken into the ground or standing crookedly. Chihiro started to run up a hill. Sakura and Syaoran had no choice but to follow.
They came to what seemed to be the remains of a river. A stream trickled through the giant boulders in the bed, making a soft gurgling sound. Syaoran felt that wherever they were, there was more to it than the calm appearance they saw.
"Look!" Sakura cried suddenly. "There are buildings over there!" maybe they could find someone and locate where they were. The trio silently walked over the rocks and went up a short flight of cracked stone stairs. Sakura noted a frog statue facing the riverbed, with its mouth open. It looked like a fountain.
To Chihiro, the whole walk was like heaven. She was here! Here, in her beloved Spirit World! What did it matter that Sakura and Syaoran were here? They could learn to like it, or maybe she could just find a way to get them back home again. Who cared? She was probably going to see Haku again.Haku.she suddenly found herself blushing. Syaoran woke her out of her reverie.
He looked around, puzzled. "They're all restaurants! Why would they only have restaurants?" Suddenly he smelled something. Something delicious! "Do you smell that?" he said to Chihiro and Sakura eagerly. Sakura nodded. She was hungry after chasing Chihiro at midnight in a dark forest. But Chihiro gasped. They couldn't eat the food! They'd turn into pigs! She couldn't let that happen.
"Wait! Wait! Don't go!" But they were already running towards the smell of the food. Chihiro sprinted after them.
Sakura and Syaoran ran through the streets of the eccentric little town full of restaurants, following the mouth-watering smell. When they got to the restaurant, they saw heaps of food, but no waiters or waitresses. They looked at each other. Both of them knew it was wrong to eat the food, but they were so hungry!
Just in time, Chihiro caught up. "Don't.eat.the food!" she panted, putting her hands on Sakura's shoulders.
Sakura was startled. "Why ever not? It looks edible." Chihiro still shook her head incessantly.
"Look, I can't tell you why, but you can't eat the food. Just trust me here." She pleaded with them. 'I can't possibly tell them that they'll turn into pigs! They would think I'm crazy.'
Syaoran got suspicious, remembering the argument on the path. "How would you know?"
But Sakura interrupted him. "Maybe Chihiro's right.this food looks so different than regular food. I don't recognize anything." She was worried. What was this place that they had stumbled into? And why wasn't Chihiro alarmed at all?
Chihiro sighed wearily and walked off. She turned. "Are you coming or not?" she kept walking through the village. She heard Sakura and Syaoran following her, and imagined the looks they'd be giving each other. She couldn't blame them. They had no idea where they were, and she wasn't telling them the truth. Or at least, not telling them. Was there such a thing as a lie of omission?
Chihiro looked up and found that her feet had led her back to the edge of the steps. It was darkening. She looked down and saw the frog statue begin to spout water. Soon the whole place would be a giant waterway. She didn't hear Sakura and Syaoran behind her. Sakura was concerned.
"Chihiro, are you okay?" she put a hand on Chihiro's shoulder. She screamed. Her hand had gone right through Chihiro's body! She turned around to look at Syaoran. He was going blurry around the edges. He gasped. Sakura ran to him, and he tried to hold her and comfort her, but his arms went right through her. He looked up at Chihiro. She wasn't disappearing. She was as solid as a rock.
Chihiro turned around. "OH NO! I forgot about that! How could I forget!" she wailed and ran up the steps to the disappearing pair. She knew she needed to get them back across the plain, but as she turned back towards the river she knew she'd see it full of water. Just like when she'd come here first.
"WATER? . It's just a bad dream . I'm see through!"
She shook her head, clearing away the cobwebs. She needed to do something, quick. Sakura and Syaoran were sitting on the steps. Sakura was sobbing quietly, and Syaoran was doing his best to try and comfort her and not touch her at the same time.
'This can't be happening,' Sakura was thinking, 'I'm too young, this isn't real, how can someone disappear?' Syaoran was torn between yelling at Chihiro and comforting Sakura. Comforting won, although he still wondered about what Chihiro had meant when she'd said, "how could I forget?"
Chihiro tried to remember what Haku had done for her when she was disappearing. Food! He'd given her a pill thing. But where would you get food that wouldn't turn you into pigs? "You need to eat food from this world." She mused, thinking aloud.
Sakura jumped up. "What? This world? How could you know what to do? How do you know all of this? And how come you're not disappearing?" She was upset now, not to mention scared to death.
Syaoran stood up too. "First you tell us not to eat the food and now you say we need to eat something? What are you talking about?"
Chihiro had gotten so stressed out that she blurted without thinking: "Because if you eat the food at the restaurants it'll turn you into PIGS!" The quiet after was oppressing. Sakura and Syaoran were stunned into silence. She threw her hands up and walked as far as she could go towards the river. This was too much for her. She rubbed her hands over her eyes and stared up at the sky. Behind her the slowly disappearing Sakura and Syaoran speechlessly stared at her back.
"Oh Haku," she whispered, "I need someone here, to calm me like you always did. Where are you?" A lone tear ran down her cheek. She stared at the sky.
Syaoran shouted abruptly, breaking the silence, "Hey! There's something coming towards us." He stood up and pointed at something in the sky. It was long and silvery, and moved about in the air like a fish in water. If Sakura hadn't been disappearing at the time, she wouldn't have found it as easy to believe that it was a dragon. Chihiro gasped and ran up the steps. Sakura was startled by the outburst.
Chihiro cried with delight. It was Haku! Haku, always coming when things were bad! "Haku! Haku! Over here! Oh Haku!" she shouted at the dragon, ignoring Sakura and Syaoran who were greatly perplexed.
- - -
Haku had been flying for hours straight after he had gotten the message from that.voice, or whatever it was. He couldn't believe he was really going to see Chihiro again. It had been so long. But he hadn't kept his promise. That was Haku's biggest regret. Every time he thought of his broken promise, his heart broke a little bit more. By now it must have been in pieces. But it wasn't his fault. His contract was still on; getting his name back hadn't really done much, except letting him gain a little more control on his body and mind.
Then he sighted them. Three figures, two disappearing, were standing on the steps by the river. And there was Chihiro! He sped up to greet her, anticipating her cool touch, the smell of her hair, her innocent smile. He could hear her calling to him.
- - -
Syaoran took out his sword and stood in front of Chihiro and Sakura. Even if he was disappearing, he had to protect them from this.dragon.thing. "Get back!" he ordered Chihiro, who stubbornly tried to run to the dragon, but Syaoran held her back. (His hands weren't completely gone yet). Sakura didn't need to be told twice.
The dragon landed in front of them. Syaoran and Sakura gazed in wonderment at the dragon; even if it intended harm, it still had a quality of elegance in it. Chihiro struggled to get free of Syaoran's grip, but he was too strong. She had to help Haku! She couldn't let him get hurt.
"Wow." Sakura whispered. The dragon was amazing. His scales were pearly silvery white, and his mane was the color of the ocean. He stood on four legs with small claws on the end of them and had two curved horns. But most amazing of all were his eyes; they looked as if there was a real person behind them, and they were an intensely bright green.
Chihiro felt Syaoran's hand start to disappear, and pulled even harder. She broke away and rushed toward Haku. Until then the dragon had stayed still, but now it moved forward towards Chihiro. Fearing that it was going to attack, Sakura and Syaoran shouted at her, but she didn't hear. As Syaoran was going to raise his sword, they both fell back in amazement as Chihiro embraced it.
She smiled, tears of joy in her eyes. "Haku! I've missed you so much! I can't believe you're here, and I'm here!" As she held onto the scales of Haku's dragon form, he slowly melted away and Chihiro found herself embracing a young man. (Sakura and Syaoran were completely stupefied, and could only watch in absolute shock).
"Chihiro." he whispered, and took a step back to look at her. She gazed back, at his silky black hair, green eyes like the ocean, his amazingly pale but perfect face, and the same clothes he had been wearing that day they met. He hugged her again.
Sakura and Syaoran were baffled. Apparently the dragon, Haku, as Chihiro was calling him, was a good guy. But still, he had changed from a DRAGON into a BOY. There was a little confusion on that. "Just what is going on here?" Syaoran demanded.
Chihiro gasped, remembering that they needed food. She ignored Syaoran and told Haku that they needed food. "I've already taken care of it." He said, holding in his hand two small red pills. "Here, eat this. It won't turn you into a pig. You need to eat some food from here or you'll disappear completely." Haku held out the pills towards Sakura and Syaoran. Sakura hesitated, but decided she had nothing to lose and swallowed it. She took a deep breath and looked at her hands. Her outline was becoming clearer, and as she kept looking, she became solid again.
She ran to Chihiro and hugged her. "Oh, thank you!" Sakura remembered the boy. She turned towards him. He was staring silently at her, and she couldn't find any emotion on his face. "Uh, thank you." She felt slightly uncomfortable around the dragon-boy-thing, whatever he was.
Syaoran wavered. Chihiro held out the other pill. "It's okay, Syaoran. You can trust us." He sighed, (what the hell?) and grabbed it. Haku stepped forward, holding his hand out.
"See? You're fine now." Syaoran reached for Haku's hand and grasped it. His hand didn't go through this time.
"What are you? Where are we? I know this isn't earth."
Haku gave him a level stare. He looked at Chihiro. She sighed, and nodded her head. "I guess you can tell them." Chihiro thought that at least she wouldn't have to be the one to tell them. It may be easier to take coming from Haku. Besides, nothing could ruin her happiness now; Haku was here!
Sakura gave Syaoran a baffled look. Whatever was going on here, Chihiro seemed to be in on it. She had a sinking sensation that wherever they were, it was far from home.
Haku said plainly, "You're in the Spirit World."
"WHAT???????"