:o My first Sen to Chihiro no Kamikakushi fic. It's a darker, more serious story compared to the original – enjoy.
The Morning After
Chapter I: Wrapped in Wind, Carried by Water
Chihiro laid on her bed with her arms flung above her head. She sighed and rolled over to her side, not able to get into a comfortable position in the middle of the night. A cold mist usually hung over the small seaside town this time of year, but tonight was weird. The air was muggy and thick, wrapping her in a duvet of heat. She couldn't sleep – something kept eating away inside her head.
"Uuuugh," she growled, sitting up in her bed. Her cotton pajamas clung to her sweating body, and her hair stuck to the back of her neck and face.
A cool breeze pressed against her face, a temporary relief for her exhausted and burning body. It died down soon, and she was left miserable again. Chihiro kicked off her blankets and changed out of her sweat dampened pants and t-shirt in exchange for shorts and an oversize t-shirt. She snuck outside in her dirtied white sneakers and walked in the dim light of the street lamps.
Her yellow sneakers had been worn out, and she had outgrown them by the middle of sixth grade. Her mother had wanted to throw them out for many months before she had entered seventh grade, but she refused to let her. Compromise hit them – Chihiro promised to wear new sneakers and her mother would let her keep the ragged old shoes. She agreed and to this day, she still kept them in her closet.
They were her memories, her nostalgic memoirs she never wanted to loose.
Chihiro tied her medium lengthed chestnut hair up with a rubber band in the darkness of the night. The moon was thinned out into an ivory crescent that glowed with the eeriness of a ghastly light. She walked along the smoothly paved sidewalk that circled around the main street and followed it down to the rocky beach. The waves rolled gently along the crevices of the jagged, uneven stones, reflecting the stars that hung lazily in the velvet sky. Chihiro found dry spot along the rocks, and sat herself down. She stared out into the dark horizon that mixed with the water and breathed out slowly.
The water wasn't clear here. The air didn't hold the smell of buns steaming or meat roasting on the fires.
Worst of all, she couldn't feel Haku's warm breath on her neck.
Chihiro wrapped her arms around her legs and buried her head into her knees. "Haku…" she breathed silently.
Chihiro.
She looked up, her hair flailing behind her and her eyes wide. Was it her imagination running away again? Nobody was around her, and nothing was moving except for the steady waves of the sea.
Chihiro.
The voice whispered to her again.
She had cracked. Was it the stress from school? Or perhaps it was just the heat getting to her.
A strong wind began to blow persistently, sending chills up her back. She stood up and gazed off into oblivion, expecting for something, or someone, to appear in front of her. Chihiro fisted up the cloth of her shirt in her hand and clenched her teeth – something wasn't right. The wind had died down into a quiet whistle, but the waves were roaring with anger and ferocity now. Droplets of water splashed against her bare skin, nipping away at her flesh. She raised her arms in front of her face, shielding herself from the fickle weather. Deciding it was too dangerous, she cautiously began walking along the rubble back to the road.
Chihiro.
She turned her head and saw water.
A wave towered above her body and crashed down upon her. Chihiro felt a thin layer of wind envelop her, a soft hand on her shoulder before it came down. The water drowned her, suffocated her. She felt her body being tossed around like a rag doll in the raging ocean, lifeless and fragile.
Hang on.
She opened her eyes and saw a light. Was it heaven, she wondered. Was she going to die? She outstretched her arm, grasping for the unattainable light and saw her own life slipping between her fingers. Chihiro gasped, sucking in the salty liquid that stung her sight. Her knees touched upon pointed surfaces and she could feel her skin tearing.
She was near land. She had to be. Chihiro began to frantically kick her legs, hoping that she was heading upwards towards the surface. She prayed that she'd be able to break the barrier between the heavens and the sea.
A current flowed swiftly and her muscles began to ache with great pain. Chihiro couldn't continue her struggle against the monster, but she couldn't stop or else she'd die. The current pulled her away, and violently shoved her against the rock. Chihiro felt herself loose consciousness.
And she saw blackness. She tasted blood.
Chihiro.
That light. Where did it go.
Sen.
Shut up, she thought. Let me sleep.
Chihiro.
The light, it was gone.
Sen.
She opened her eyes slowly, a new light blinding her for a moment. Her mouth was pressed tightly together, dry and chapped. Her head rested on a warm surface, propped up in a semi-vertical position. Her head spun like a kaleidoscope, her mind unsure of what had happened. She groaned and stretched her neck and limbs, feeling her pain disperse through her body. She smelt of hickory.
Chihiro looks up at the patched canopy of yellowish leaves, weak sunlight hitting the grounds. Moss crawled up the sides of trees and old logs, vines twisting around the branches. Dead leaves covered the earth, twigs and burrs as well. This wasn't home.
And that's when her hand found a warm nose. She turned her head and felt her heart leap up towards her throat. She gingerly felt it again and turned her head to see it.
It wasn't a dream.
It couldn't be.
It was real.
It was Haku.
She smiled and felt her stomach settle and her fears dissolve. "Haku," she choked through her tears of happiness.
The white dragon slept soundly on the forest floor, coiled around Chihiro protectively. His whiskers twitched at the sound of her voice and its eyes began to open. Still half closed, she saw emerald orbs looking up at her, the furrows of his brow shifting.
Haku's eyes shot open in a split second, and his body tensed and uncoiled into a serpent ready to strike. His jade eyes narrowed into slits and locked on with Chihiro's eye. She felt her stomach lurch forward and her palms grow clammy with cold sweat. He probably sensed her fear, as he bared his dagger like fangs and gave out a throaty snarl.