A/N: okay, I changed something: Chihiro is still virgin. K? my stupid
conscience actually got the stupid best of me. then Cloaked Fox - and it
wasn't flame, because flames are nasty, I'm guessing - just went ahead and
made me change it. besides, I think Haku deserves Chihiro more. *walks off
crying but comes back a moment later* I think 'Oni' means beast or
something like that, and 'Yajuu' means monster. Or something like that.
Those basic concepts, ya? And I preordered the DVD online, like, last year.
^_^0 so I have it. THANK YOU for telling me how to watch it in Japanese!
The dubbed version, like, changed all the cool and important things! Like
Chihiro saying Haku's name sounded like a god's, and Yubaba saying that
once Chihiro is gone she'd rip Haku into pieces... those little moments
that we like. AND how they changed 'blood' to 'germs', ooh I hate that! I
HATE IT! and thank ya for tellin' me Haku's full REAL name. I'm off to
memorize it in Japanese, now! *skips off singing Teletubbies theme then
ends up screaming bloody murder later as asylum attendants catch up*
Disclaimer: *yelling through bars of asylum* I ALREADY TOLD YOU THAT I DON'T OWN SPIRITED AWAY!!!!!!!! YAAAAAAAAAAAAAARRRRRRGGHHH!!!!!!!!!!!! *gets knocked out with tranq*
Chapter Finished: 5/6/03
Chapter Started: 5/5/03
HA! I switched the 'chapter finished' and 'started' note things! HAHAHAHAA!!!!! *gets dragged back off to Asylum*
Third Person POV
Lessee... okay, I'm so pathetic and passive. *glares at self* PASSIVE! I'M PASSIVE, DANGIT! *glances back at readers* right, so, three days; day one I told ya about; day two I switched to Haku and Co., and day three was last chapter. The beginning of Day Three at least. SO that makes this chapter... DUM DUH DA DAA! Confrontation day!!!!!
In English: Haku and Chihiro/Kawago meet
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"I WANT EVERYTHING READY PRONTO!!!" Yubaba screamed at the top of her lungs. She made sure that everything was neat and clean, guests were in their rooms, and employees were either in their dorms or where they were supposed to be. "Haku," she instructed, "get a helper and go greet our guests. I'll be in my office waiting, and you'll,"
"I know," Haku interrupted. "we went over this already." He started to walk off, to find somebody that he wouldn't mind standing with for ever.
And wouldn't ya know he managed to wind up in Kamajii's boiler room.
Ten minutes later, he and Rin were waiting on the end of the bridge, both trying not to annoy the other.
Which is a sad, pathetic thing, if you think about it.
"So, this guy - Hagajeta or whatever his name is - is bringing a bunch of slaves down to be bartered over and bought," Rin reviewed, sitting down cross-legged. "it's terrible, slavery. I think that they would be a little happier here. How many has this guy got?"
"I don't know, but a lot would be an educated guess. And his name is closer to hejetaga I think."
"I thought you said his name was Herogajeta?"
"No, Hitogeta!"
"Herojageto!"
"Kagetajo!"
"Kamikakushi!"
He stared at her. "'Kamikakushi?' I think you've been inhaling the bathtub fumes a bit too long, Rin."
She snorted. "Sure. What's his name again, though, really?"
"It's supposed to be "Lord Hitokageta" to us lowly workers."
"Ah, that's right."
"And there they are."
They both stood up, looking to the sky as the big black dragon landed and turned back to the shadow man. He marched up to Rin and Haku, stopped, and they both bowed. Hitokageta nodded his head slightly.
"You'll be the little river spirit, then," he said. "But who is this young lady?" his tone was scathing, sarcastic. Rin drew herself up irritably.
"I, LORD Hitokageta, am Rin."
"Good for you." he looked back to Haku, who instinctively clenched his fists. "I know the way to Madame Yubaba's office, dear boy. You and your girlfriend might want to stay here and make sure none of the slaves don't step out of line. Aikomi! Come!" he turned, and began to walk towards the bathhouse, the girl with the shackle around her foot following obediently. Rin stared after them, then jumped, startled, as many, many people - slaves - walked across the bridge too. All of their heads were bent, and their wrists raw and bleeding before them, tied tightly with rope. Their ankles were bound as well, and a few were struggling not to trip.
Both Haku's and Rin's jaws dropped.
"They're humans!" Rin cried. "all of them, they're humans!"
"That's right, girly. And all of their spirits have been broken too. Of course... some of them don't own their spirits..." the speaker was from their left, and both Rin and Haku froze. Rin's jaw dropped again. Haku clenched his firmly shut.
He looked the exact same as Haku, except his hair was a slightly lighter shade, and he seemed younger in a sense - a sense that nobody noticed, except for Haku and Kawago themselves. His eyes were different, a hard, cold, deep blue-gray, and he spoke with a slight accent. His skin was slightly more tan, as well. He was dressed in black robes.
At his side was a girl, a human girl, with brown hair. She was wearing a light yet coarse black baggy shirt, and a skirt that looked more like black burlap bag fabric wrapped and tied around her waist. Her head was bent, and her tangled brown hair cascaded over her eyes. She was breathing heavily, though quietly, and her wrists were bound, and seemed even rawer and redder than any of the other slaves'. There was a shakel around her right ankle, both of which were the same if not worse than her wrists. She smelled strongly of blood.
Haku and Rin both had a small sense of familiarity, but their attention was focused more on the Haku-look-alike before them.
"I call myself Nigihayami Kawago Nushi," he continued. "and you must be Nigihayami Kohaku Nushi, my supposed brother." His face twisted into a smirk. He reeked of coldness. He offered a hand, which Haku took hesitantly. "it's nice to finally meet you."
"... Likewise," Haku murmured.
Kawago's smirk grew. "ah, so you do talk. I was beginning to have doubts."
The last of the slaves filed past. Neither Kawago nor Haku let go of the other's hand, and their grips tightened until it became obvious they were trying to break the other's hand.
"You never told me you had a twin!" Rin exploded, throwing Haku aside and grasping Kawago's entire arm, shaking it heartily. "Koneenichiwa, my name is Rin but everybody calls me Lin-san, why haven't you been to visit your brother lately I would have really liked to meet you sooner you know things have been pretty hectic I never knew Haku had a brother!"
"... Charmed, I'm sure," Kawago said, firmly wrenching his arm back to his side.
Rin noticed the girl looking up through her eye lashes, looking as though she truly wanted to say something. She looked so familiar... Rin couldn't quite place her finger on where she had seen this girl.
"Look familiar?" Kawago asked, noticing where Haku's and Rin's eyes were straying. "she's been here before, three years ago if my sources are correct. Rin, why don't you go inside and make sure those slaves aren't messing things up?" though it was a question, it was phrased as a command, and a cold one at that. Rin shuddered and spun on her heel.
"If you wanted to be alone with Haku you only had to ask!" she snapped over her shoulder, disappearing inside.
Kawago looked straight into Haku's eyes.
They gazed at each other for a while before Haku finally said, "Why haven't I seen you before?"
"A rather long story, I assure you. and if things go as planned, then you really won't be needing to know."
"And why is that?"
"Because you'll be dead."
Haku shuddered. He didn't like this guy.
"Here. You can have this girl for the rest of the day, since I'll be staying here with the others for a while. Return her to my room at night fall, or you'll regret it." he stuffed a rope into Haku's hands and took off towards the bathhouse at a brisk pace. Haku was shivering from the feel of his cold skin, then common sense snapped at him.
"Hey, wait! What am I supposed to do with this?" he held up the rope (which was connected to the girl's wrists) and stared after Kawago. Kawago glanced over his shoulder and lifted a hand before disappearing inside.
Haku stared after him in disbelief, arms dropping to his sides.
There was a moment of silence.
"H- Haku?" asked a tiny voice. Haku started slightly and turned around, looking at the girl. Her head was still down, and he couldn't see through her hair to her face. He recognized her voice - he knew he had heard her voice before. Immediately he set to untying the rope from around her wrists.
"How did they manage to get a hold of you and all of those other humans? Are their spirits really broken?" he paused as the rope fell to the ground, and as it slipped off of her wrists, they began to bleed.
"I don't know," she mumbled as he held her wrists and hesitated over her ankles. He bent down and touched them too, and broke the metal clasp around the one off. He stood again, and she looked up at him. Haku froze.
"It *is* you! Haku!" Chihiro cried, tears beginning to fall. She threw her arms around his neck, and he held her, in momentary shock.
"Ch - Chihiro? What are you doing here? How did he get a hold of you? are you alright?" she must have been covered in blood!
Now he held her more firmly, yet gently.
"I was knocked out from behind and woke up in his bed, or I can only guess."
"Did he hurt you?" Haku demanded, pushing Chihiro away to hold her at arms length. He looked over her from head to toe.
"He did," Haku said bluntly, answering his own question. "I'm so sorry, Chihiro," he murmured, holding her again.
"It's okay. That guy - Hitokageta, I think? - told him to break my spirit, or whatever. Except he can't, because I don't *have* my spirit." She swore she'd never let go. "I think that, that you do. So Yajuu wants to fight you and get it, or so he's blabbed to me."
"Why?" Haku asked somewhat dumbly. Mentally, he swore also he'd never let go.
"Why what?" Chihiro whispered into his shirt thing.
"Why does he want your spirit? Why did he bother bringing you to me if he could have easily just have fought me other wise? Why do you call him 'Yajuu'? Why now? Why you?"
"Oh," they stood there in silence for a while longer. "I don't know why he wants me or my spirit in particular," Chihiro mumbled at last. "I don't know why me or why he brought me here. He seems pretty cocky, so I guess he would want me to see you die, should he kill you. and I call him Yajuu because that's what he is." Chihiro paused. "you knew you had my spirit?"
Haku flushed a little. "Not at first, no. I figured it out after a while, though."
"Yajuu wants to fight you to the death!" Chihiro said, voice rising slightly in pitch, looking up at him. Haku frowned and released her, pushing tears away gently.
"Let him try." He said simply.
"Well, *I* didn't know I didn't own my own spirit!" Chihiro said, voice slightly haughty. Haku offered her a small smile, which she tried to return.
"Kawago - Yajuu - really hurt you, didn't he."
"N- not really."
"Sure. Come on," He swept Chihiro up into his arms, carrying her is if she were a baby or small child. He took the shortcut, and noticed how Chihiro gripped his neck tighter as he made his way quickly down the back stairs, to Kamajii's boiler room.
Kamajii looked up as he entered, and so did Rin, who was there throwing those adorably sweet-looking star-shaped candies at the dust balls (who are also incredibly adorable looking - okay, back to the story, enough of my gushing.).
"Who's?" she started, but stopped when she saw Chihiro's still-tears- streaked face.
"Is that..." Kamajii froze as Haku trotted over to where Rin was crouching and set Chihiro down.
"Hi guys," she said softly.
"AI, SEN, IT'S YOU IT'S REALLY YOU!!!" Rin shrieked, sending the basket (and dust balls) flying as she scrambled over to squeeze Chihiro in a hug, knocking Haku over in the process.
"Sen? Is it really you?" Kamajii asked, leaning over his chair thing to look down at her.
"Y- yeah," Chihiro whispered, and Rin tightened her hold on her. "What's wrong? Are you okay?" her eyebrows shot up. "did that Kawago guy hurt you at all? if he did I'm gonna kill him!"
"That's my job," Haku muttered, picking himself up. Rin and Kamajii looked at him.
"Excuse me?"
Haku shook his head and looked directly at Chihiro. Rin let go of her, dropping her in the process, eliciting a small yelp.
"Of course he hurt her," Haku said, and Chihiro sensed it wasn't her turn to talk. Carefully, she found a semi-comfortable crouching position with her side against the drawers.
"he tried to break her spirit."
"HE DID?!? SEN, ARE YOU OKAY?!?"
"He didn't, of course," Kamajii put in. understanding suddenly shone in his eyes. "AH, I see," he said. "Kawago wants to kill you, Haku. Then why'd he bring Sen along?"
"What are you talking about?" Rin interrupted. They ignored her.
"I think so that, if he wins, she'll have to watch me die. Then not only would he get her spirit, but it'd probably be cracked in the least as well."
"Wait! What's going on?" Rin demanded.
"You think too little of yourself, Haku; it'd be shattered."
"Hello-o! Girl here that wants to know what's going o-on!"
"Stop embarrassing me, Kamajii. We need to heal her, I think she's been hurt rather badly. And how did you know about Kawago?"
"I told him," Rin said loudly, finally gaining Haku and Kamajii's attention spans. "would anybody like to tell me what you're talking about?"
"Kawago tried to break my spirit, but I don't have it," Chihiro explained softly, gaining everybody's eyes. Haku inwardly cursed himself from letting his attention stray from her for even a second.
"Who has it?" Rin asked, gently rubbing Chihiro's back. She bit back a small whimper, and said, "Haku does."
Rin stopped, looked back at Haku, then Chihiro again, then back to Haku. Finally her eyes rested on Chihiro.
"You can't be serious."
"Oh, she is," Kamajii said just as a lot of tokens fell down.
"THIRTY-FOUR?!?!?!?" He cried after counting them. Immediately her set to work, shouting at the soot-mites to get back to work double time. Haku stepped up next to Rin and Chihiro, setting his sandals next to the nearest opening.
"And, uh, I wasn't informed of this oh-so-happy news?" Rin asked.
"Of course you were!" Kamajii yelled over his shoulder. "twice, I think!"
"But I didn't think you were serious! So Kawago has come to challenge Haku in a duel over Chihiro, huh? Did the two of you set up the rules and whatnot?"
"No," Haku said. "he told me to return Chihiro to his room by night fall."
"You aren't going to!" Rin cried.
"Of course not. Chihiro, can you tell me everything that's happened since you woke up in his room or wherever?""
"HIS ROOM?!? DID HE HURT YOU?!?"
"You already asked that, Rin."
Chihiro paused, then forced herself to stand, stretch a little bit, then sit forward on her knees, shins spread so that she wasn't really sitting.
Rin said, "wait a minute," and took off.
"Don't wait," Haku said gently, pushing a lock of tangled hair behind her left ear. He spoke quietly so that his voice wasn't heard over the roaring of the boiler, Kamajii's grumbling and working, and the dust things' squeaking. Carefully, he sat with his back to Kamajii's chair thing, and pulled Chihiro softly against him, absentmindedly stroking her hair.
"Tell me, Chihiro-chan; what happened? I need to know everything."
Chihiro burst into tears and sputtered out everything, from waking up to the throbbing pain in her head to the many colorful threats Kawago had come up with before knocking her out then her waking up again, being set firmly on the ground, and led to Haku and Rin. Everything spilled out; her thoughts and fears, the pain, her tears, everything. Rin came back in sometime during the "second day" Chihiro had spent with Kawago, balancing a couple of bowls filled with water, a few clothes, a brush and hair thing. Silently, she sat on Chihiro's other side, picking up where she was, never interrupting, like Haku.
She hadn't realized that Kamajii had finished the tags some time ago and was listening as well until her story was finished. She was definitely embarrassed; that was for sure, and ashamed. She felt, though, like a great weight had been lifted from her shoulders, knowing that they knew. Her friends. Haku especially.
Closing her eyes, Chihiro waited for their reactions.
"Wow. Oh Sen, I'm so sorry," Rin murmured at last, gripping her shoulder firmly for a moment. Then she held up the brush and offered a small smile. "thought you might like your hair back up in its ponytail," she offered. Chihiro wiped her eyes hard. "yeah, thank you, I'd like that."
Shifting slightly, Rin gently brought the brush to Chihiro's hair and began to work out the tangles.
"Hmm, you'd better give that boy a real beating, Haku," Kamajii warned.
"I brought some hot water and some cold water, with some rags," Rin offered, pausing as she came to a spot where blood matted Chihiro'' hair. Her face twisted into a frown, and she dipped the brush into the nearest water bowl, grabbing a small lock of hair further up firmly so that she wouldn't hurt Chihiro.
"Good, we'll need them. Time to get you cleaned up, Sen," Kamajii said, reaching out and also gently gripping Chihiro's shoulder.
Haku said nothing. Chihiro wished he would. She couldn't bring herself to lift her eyes to his.
However, even if she had, Haku wasn't necessarily looking down at her. He was more staring through her hand, which he had laced his fingers with hers together. His thumb gently traced her wrist, and a no-emotion, rather calculation look entered his eyes.
"Haku?" Rin asked, noticing him. "are you alright?"
for a moment, it seemed Haku hadn't heard her, then slowly he lifted his chin slightly, back stiffening, and they locked gazes. Rin paused for a moment, shocked at the look of bloodlust on his face, then breathed out and shook her head a little.
"Don't look at me like that, it's freaky. There'll be plenty of opportunities to kill Kawago, trust me."
"Haku, say something, I'm certain Chihiro is rather embarrassed at the moment - I'm certain would be to." Kamajii said.
Haku looked to Chihiro, whose hair was starting to look better now.
There was a moment of silence before he finally spoke.
And when he did, it was in a low, dangerous whisper, that nobody had ever heard Haku use before. His eyes narrowed as he took Chihiro in, and his lips hardly moved; though the words seemed to be easily heard, clear as day:
"I'm going to kill him."
Chihiro bit her lip, and waited for anything else. She had never heard Haku use that tone before. She hadn't thought him capable of it.
"We have to get you cleaned up," Haku said, once more in his normal tone. The abrupt change was startling, and Rin paused in her brushing. "you're probably covered in blood and hurt all over. Can you tell me more about that blue pill he gave you before?"
Chihiro glanced up at him, and felt a flooding of relief wash over her. Her shoulders and muscles, which had been tensed, now relaxed audibly and she stopped biting her lip. Speaking softly, she retold him more about the blue pill thing, this time going into more detail; how it felt and its estimated size, for instance.
While she spoke, voice beginning to get hoarse, Rin finally got her hair up into a ponytail. Though her brown locks were a little longer, it seemed to automatically transform her into the Chihiro/Sen that they had known.
Haku asked a few more questions, which Chihiro answered, until he seemed satisfied.
"Rin, can you get a lot of bandages?" Haku asked, shifting so that he could stand and Chihiro could lean against Kamajii's chair thing on her side. she stood as well, though.
"Yes, of course. Anything else?"
"Hot water, in a bigger bowl, any sort of disinfectant you can find, and any pain killers or numbs that don't have to be swallowed." He voice became sympathetic. "this might hurt, Shiraha," he said softly.
Chihiro nodded a little. Had Haku just called her 'Shiraha'? feather? *white* feather. Chihiro's heart soared.
Rin left, and Kamajii and Haku dug out a bunch of blankets and got them in next to the chair thing, bunching a bunch of pillows up there. Gingerly, Chihiro sat down in her before position, facing the little door as Rin reentered, sporting a much larger bowl that was steaming under one arm, and a bag the same size and stuffed in the other. She closed (and locked) the little door firmly.
"Okay, we've got your steamy water, your bandages, more bandages, some more bandages, yet anoth - ooh! Here's a wash cloth! - a few more bandages, some soap, different soap, different soap, alcohol, healing medicine, poison treatment, more poison stuff, stuff to stop infection, stuff to stop bleeding, stuff that smells bad, incense, dagger, little strings, and the last any sort of numb-er that I could find." She set all these things out in front of Chihiro as she named them.
Chihiro giggled a little. "I feel like I'm being prepared for an operation," she said, shifting.
"Ooh! Okay, then, you Kamajii can be the student-doctor, I'll be THE doctor, and Haku can be the nurse! That is, if you want an operation."
"Not if I have to be the nurse," Haku complained, sitting behind Chihiro.
"Nurse Haku... that has a nice little ring to it, don't you think?" Rin asked.
"Now you two, we're cleaning her up, not replacing her heart," Kamajii reminded.
"Oh." Rin said in mock disappointment, making Chihiro give a genuine ghost smile.
"Okay," Haku sighed, bringing everybody back to the situation at hand. "I think the worst part, Shiraha, will be the embarrassment." He told Chihiro.
She paused, inwardly gushing at how Haku's nickname for her sounded wonderful coming from him, then froze.
"Embarrassment?" she repeated, turning slightly in confusion just as Haku and Kamajii rid her of the course black long-sleeved "shirt" thing. She squeaked, and immediately turned away from Haku, clasping her arms firmly in a criss-cross position and leaning over so that her forehead touched the blankets.
"You could have warned her," Rin said, sitting in front of Chihiro and laying her head in her lap. Face burning, Chihiro allowed herself to be repositioned so that she was laying on her stomach.
"She wouldn't have let us if we had warned her," Kamajii explained just as more tokens fell. He whipped around.
"WHAT, ARE THEY WASHING THE SLAVES AND THEN-SOME UP THERE?!?!?!?!??" immediately the room was filled with the sounds of the dust mites, boiler, fire, and Kamajii in general.
'stupid, stupid, stupid,' Chihiro thought angrily, hunched over slightly so that she wouldn't be putting so much pressure on her stomach and chest. They were what really hurt the most. 'you knew you'd have to get undressed and yet you continued to gush over being called a feather! But then again, it sounds really wonderful, being called feather by Haku... stop it! your probably gonna end up naked in front of him, so who cares about some cute nickname? It's his special nickname for me!' and so her inner battled raged.
"Shiraha?" Haku asked gently. "this may sting a little."
"Kay." Chihiro replied in a voice much higher than usual.
There was a moment of nothing, then she flinched then relaxed slightly as a hot wash cloth was rubbed gently on her back. after a moment, she relaxed completely, deciding the rhythm of the warm water on her back didn't really hurt at all. not enough - not enough to really make her cry, like the last three days of torture.
"This I know will hurt," Haku's voice said. It seemed lulling combined with the other sounds, and Rin's breathing became the same as hers.
Then she yelped and jerked, straightening out and starting to twist slightly as something freezing cold touched the part on her back that Kawago had made the small cut with the little knife. She had thought the wound scabbed over by now, but apparently not.
"Hold, Sen," Rin ordered, getting her back firmly into her before position. Tears began to streak down Chihiro's face and she distinctly heard Haku say, "it's poisoned."
She whimpered and cried as the hurting cold stuff was rubbed into her skin on her back, and she still writhed even after his hands left her back. A smell - sharp and prickly - reached her nose and she swallowed hard, breathing through her mouth.
Rin helped her sit up and hugged her gently, careful of the still-painful wounds on her front. Haku held her from the back, and they both murmured comforting words until the hurt had become a dull burn, ache.
"That hurt," Chihiro hiccoughed.
"I know, Shiraha," Haku whispered in her ear. "this will be a little painful, but in the end you'll feel better, I promise."
They stayed in the position until Chihiro stopped shaking and her tense muscles relaxed a little bit.
"Got to do your front, now," Haku said.
Chihiro squeaked, immediately in her before-hunched position, arms clasped firmly where they were. "Mm-mm!" she informed them firmly.
"Don't worry, Rin has that job," Haku said softly. "it's okay, it's okay."
"Yeah Sen, you can trust me!" Rin put in. reluctantly, Chihiro sat up and let Rin wash her front while Haku rubbed the cold stuff on her wrists and wrapped them securely in some bandages. He then tended to her shoulders, neck, and lower back. Rin finished and took a green bottle, pulling the cork off and dumping some yellow goo on her hand. The same prickly, strong smell reached Chihiro's nose and she sneezed, leaning away.
"No. not that stuff," she said softly.
"You do it, then," Rin replied, taking her free hand and rubbing the goo on it. "all over, and rub it in firmly just like Haku was doing before."
Chihiro stared at the stuff smeared on her hand and hesitantly took her palm to her stomach. She squeaked and jerked her hand back, breathing heavily. It hurt!
"Here," Rin said sympathetically, taking her hand. She pressed Chihiro's palm to her stomach and Chihiro squeaked again, tears coming once more. Eventually, Rin took over and Chihiro found herself back in Haku's and Rin's embraces a little bit later, crying a little.
"You're doing very good Shiriaha, we're almost done," Haku said, releasing her. He and Rin wrapped a long bandage around her upper stomach and chest, Haku still working behind Chihiro, for which she was both grateful and shamefully disappointed.
They sat back a little while later, and sighed. Kamajii just finished the last of the bandages and turned around, wanting to know what had been making Chihiro cry.
"I'll switch the water," Rin volunteered, standing and taking the dirty water and bowl away.
"Get some more medicines," Hake called after her.
"How are you doing, Sen?" Kamajii asked.
"Very bad." Chihiro replied, voice choked slightly. She didn't move from where she was leaning back against Haku, though. She always felt better, stronger even, with him.
"Now what?" she asked after a moment.
"I'm going to make a guess that Kawago - or what was it you called him again? Yajuu? - hurt you below the waist, too."
Chihiro shuddered heavily without meaning to, remembering how close she had come... to losing a precious aspect of life.
"I'm here." Haku said softly into her hair.
She leaned back completely into him, interlacing her fingers with his; his words were comforting.
"Okay," Rin said, coming back in with a clean bowl of steaming water, some clean rags, more bandages, and a few more bottles and some folded up clothes. Chihiro sighed, then suddenly thought of something: no way was anybody in there, even Rin, going to see her below waist. No way no how.
She drew back even more, pressing her back firmly into Haku's chest. His arms encircled her, and he breathed, "I understand if you hate me for this."
"Hate you for what?" she asked, then as Rin sat down and laid the things she was balancing to precariously, she realized what Haku meant. "NO!" She ordered firmly, drawing her legs back, too. But she winced and stopped. "No, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, I said no, as in, NObody is going to see me below the waist, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no!"
"It's okay, Sen, it's nothing we haven't seen before."
"HAKU HAD BETTER NOT HAVE SEEN ANYTHING LIKE THAT, AND doesn't a little word called 'modesty' make any sense to you?!?"
"Modesty?" Rin asked, taking Chihiro's left ankle and washing the blood off. "what's that?"
"It's... oh, no." Chihiro closed her eyes tightly. "you don't know what modesty is?"
Rin laughed and took the little folded clothes she had brought.
"Of course I know what it is, and so does Haku and Kamajii. I think." She paused, eyes flicking to the two males in the room. "here, I've brought some undershorts and an apron for you, and a shirt and some trousers too. Can't have you running around in just bandages can we?" Rin handed her a pair of underwear-shorts and a blue apron. "Alright, Haku, Kamajii, turn around. I SAID TURN AROUND!"
Using her quick little time of privacy, Chihiro pulled the undershorts up as quickly (and gently) as she could and took of the so-called-skirt, putting the apron on. Rin tied it behind for her, then frowned at her blood caked legs.
"Okay," she sighed. "he really did intend to break your spirit, didn't he?"
"Oh my, it seems so," Kamajii said.
Haku didn't say anything, and Chihiro knew she was burning with embarrassment - it'd be easier if he wasn't behind her.
They washed the blood off, and this time Chihiro did most of the work, while Haku took care of her other ankle. Then - with a slightly higher tolerance for the pain - Chihiro was told to rub all sorts of different stinging, burning goo and liquids and powders on her legs, front and back, top and bottom. Rin washed her lower back for her, and after quite a while of crying and bandaging, she felt rather like a mummy.
She sighed as she was helped into the pink pants that Rin had brought her, and carefully laid down on the blankets, then covered up.
"All better," Rin said with a small smile.
"Kamajii, can Chihiro stay here?" Haku asked.
"Of course."
Rin sighed herself and rocked back on her heels while Chihiro closed her eyes and slipped into darkness.
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A/N: oh yeah. I suck. *shoulders slump* oh well. Not too bad, ne? that chapter was long! LONG! *waves arms around*
Disclaimer: *yelling through bars of asylum* I ALREADY TOLD YOU THAT I DON'T OWN SPIRITED AWAY!!!!!!!! YAAAAAAAAAAAAAARRRRRRGGHHH!!!!!!!!!!!! *gets knocked out with tranq*
Chapter Finished: 5/6/03
Chapter Started: 5/5/03
HA! I switched the 'chapter finished' and 'started' note things! HAHAHAHAA!!!!! *gets dragged back off to Asylum*
Third Person POV
Lessee... okay, I'm so pathetic and passive. *glares at self* PASSIVE! I'M PASSIVE, DANGIT! *glances back at readers* right, so, three days; day one I told ya about; day two I switched to Haku and Co., and day three was last chapter. The beginning of Day Three at least. SO that makes this chapter... DUM DUH DA DAA! Confrontation day!!!!!
In English: Haku and Chihiro/Kawago meet
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"I WANT EVERYTHING READY PRONTO!!!" Yubaba screamed at the top of her lungs. She made sure that everything was neat and clean, guests were in their rooms, and employees were either in their dorms or where they were supposed to be. "Haku," she instructed, "get a helper and go greet our guests. I'll be in my office waiting, and you'll,"
"I know," Haku interrupted. "we went over this already." He started to walk off, to find somebody that he wouldn't mind standing with for ever.
And wouldn't ya know he managed to wind up in Kamajii's boiler room.
Ten minutes later, he and Rin were waiting on the end of the bridge, both trying not to annoy the other.
Which is a sad, pathetic thing, if you think about it.
"So, this guy - Hagajeta or whatever his name is - is bringing a bunch of slaves down to be bartered over and bought," Rin reviewed, sitting down cross-legged. "it's terrible, slavery. I think that they would be a little happier here. How many has this guy got?"
"I don't know, but a lot would be an educated guess. And his name is closer to hejetaga I think."
"I thought you said his name was Herogajeta?"
"No, Hitogeta!"
"Herojageto!"
"Kagetajo!"
"Kamikakushi!"
He stared at her. "'Kamikakushi?' I think you've been inhaling the bathtub fumes a bit too long, Rin."
She snorted. "Sure. What's his name again, though, really?"
"It's supposed to be "Lord Hitokageta" to us lowly workers."
"Ah, that's right."
"And there they are."
They both stood up, looking to the sky as the big black dragon landed and turned back to the shadow man. He marched up to Rin and Haku, stopped, and they both bowed. Hitokageta nodded his head slightly.
"You'll be the little river spirit, then," he said. "But who is this young lady?" his tone was scathing, sarcastic. Rin drew herself up irritably.
"I, LORD Hitokageta, am Rin."
"Good for you." he looked back to Haku, who instinctively clenched his fists. "I know the way to Madame Yubaba's office, dear boy. You and your girlfriend might want to stay here and make sure none of the slaves don't step out of line. Aikomi! Come!" he turned, and began to walk towards the bathhouse, the girl with the shackle around her foot following obediently. Rin stared after them, then jumped, startled, as many, many people - slaves - walked across the bridge too. All of their heads were bent, and their wrists raw and bleeding before them, tied tightly with rope. Their ankles were bound as well, and a few were struggling not to trip.
Both Haku's and Rin's jaws dropped.
"They're humans!" Rin cried. "all of them, they're humans!"
"That's right, girly. And all of their spirits have been broken too. Of course... some of them don't own their spirits..." the speaker was from their left, and both Rin and Haku froze. Rin's jaw dropped again. Haku clenched his firmly shut.
He looked the exact same as Haku, except his hair was a slightly lighter shade, and he seemed younger in a sense - a sense that nobody noticed, except for Haku and Kawago themselves. His eyes were different, a hard, cold, deep blue-gray, and he spoke with a slight accent. His skin was slightly more tan, as well. He was dressed in black robes.
At his side was a girl, a human girl, with brown hair. She was wearing a light yet coarse black baggy shirt, and a skirt that looked more like black burlap bag fabric wrapped and tied around her waist. Her head was bent, and her tangled brown hair cascaded over her eyes. She was breathing heavily, though quietly, and her wrists were bound, and seemed even rawer and redder than any of the other slaves'. There was a shakel around her right ankle, both of which were the same if not worse than her wrists. She smelled strongly of blood.
Haku and Rin both had a small sense of familiarity, but their attention was focused more on the Haku-look-alike before them.
"I call myself Nigihayami Kawago Nushi," he continued. "and you must be Nigihayami Kohaku Nushi, my supposed brother." His face twisted into a smirk. He reeked of coldness. He offered a hand, which Haku took hesitantly. "it's nice to finally meet you."
"... Likewise," Haku murmured.
Kawago's smirk grew. "ah, so you do talk. I was beginning to have doubts."
The last of the slaves filed past. Neither Kawago nor Haku let go of the other's hand, and their grips tightened until it became obvious they were trying to break the other's hand.
"You never told me you had a twin!" Rin exploded, throwing Haku aside and grasping Kawago's entire arm, shaking it heartily. "Koneenichiwa, my name is Rin but everybody calls me Lin-san, why haven't you been to visit your brother lately I would have really liked to meet you sooner you know things have been pretty hectic I never knew Haku had a brother!"
"... Charmed, I'm sure," Kawago said, firmly wrenching his arm back to his side.
Rin noticed the girl looking up through her eye lashes, looking as though she truly wanted to say something. She looked so familiar... Rin couldn't quite place her finger on where she had seen this girl.
"Look familiar?" Kawago asked, noticing where Haku's and Rin's eyes were straying. "she's been here before, three years ago if my sources are correct. Rin, why don't you go inside and make sure those slaves aren't messing things up?" though it was a question, it was phrased as a command, and a cold one at that. Rin shuddered and spun on her heel.
"If you wanted to be alone with Haku you only had to ask!" she snapped over her shoulder, disappearing inside.
Kawago looked straight into Haku's eyes.
They gazed at each other for a while before Haku finally said, "Why haven't I seen you before?"
"A rather long story, I assure you. and if things go as planned, then you really won't be needing to know."
"And why is that?"
"Because you'll be dead."
Haku shuddered. He didn't like this guy.
"Here. You can have this girl for the rest of the day, since I'll be staying here with the others for a while. Return her to my room at night fall, or you'll regret it." he stuffed a rope into Haku's hands and took off towards the bathhouse at a brisk pace. Haku was shivering from the feel of his cold skin, then common sense snapped at him.
"Hey, wait! What am I supposed to do with this?" he held up the rope (which was connected to the girl's wrists) and stared after Kawago. Kawago glanced over his shoulder and lifted a hand before disappearing inside.
Haku stared after him in disbelief, arms dropping to his sides.
There was a moment of silence.
"H- Haku?" asked a tiny voice. Haku started slightly and turned around, looking at the girl. Her head was still down, and he couldn't see through her hair to her face. He recognized her voice - he knew he had heard her voice before. Immediately he set to untying the rope from around her wrists.
"How did they manage to get a hold of you and all of those other humans? Are their spirits really broken?" he paused as the rope fell to the ground, and as it slipped off of her wrists, they began to bleed.
"I don't know," she mumbled as he held her wrists and hesitated over her ankles. He bent down and touched them too, and broke the metal clasp around the one off. He stood again, and she looked up at him. Haku froze.
"It *is* you! Haku!" Chihiro cried, tears beginning to fall. She threw her arms around his neck, and he held her, in momentary shock.
"Ch - Chihiro? What are you doing here? How did he get a hold of you? are you alright?" she must have been covered in blood!
Now he held her more firmly, yet gently.
"I was knocked out from behind and woke up in his bed, or I can only guess."
"Did he hurt you?" Haku demanded, pushing Chihiro away to hold her at arms length. He looked over her from head to toe.
"He did," Haku said bluntly, answering his own question. "I'm so sorry, Chihiro," he murmured, holding her again.
"It's okay. That guy - Hitokageta, I think? - told him to break my spirit, or whatever. Except he can't, because I don't *have* my spirit." She swore she'd never let go. "I think that, that you do. So Yajuu wants to fight you and get it, or so he's blabbed to me."
"Why?" Haku asked somewhat dumbly. Mentally, he swore also he'd never let go.
"Why what?" Chihiro whispered into his shirt thing.
"Why does he want your spirit? Why did he bother bringing you to me if he could have easily just have fought me other wise? Why do you call him 'Yajuu'? Why now? Why you?"
"Oh," they stood there in silence for a while longer. "I don't know why he wants me or my spirit in particular," Chihiro mumbled at last. "I don't know why me or why he brought me here. He seems pretty cocky, so I guess he would want me to see you die, should he kill you. and I call him Yajuu because that's what he is." Chihiro paused. "you knew you had my spirit?"
Haku flushed a little. "Not at first, no. I figured it out after a while, though."
"Yajuu wants to fight you to the death!" Chihiro said, voice rising slightly in pitch, looking up at him. Haku frowned and released her, pushing tears away gently.
"Let him try." He said simply.
"Well, *I* didn't know I didn't own my own spirit!" Chihiro said, voice slightly haughty. Haku offered her a small smile, which she tried to return.
"Kawago - Yajuu - really hurt you, didn't he."
"N- not really."
"Sure. Come on," He swept Chihiro up into his arms, carrying her is if she were a baby or small child. He took the shortcut, and noticed how Chihiro gripped his neck tighter as he made his way quickly down the back stairs, to Kamajii's boiler room.
Kamajii looked up as he entered, and so did Rin, who was there throwing those adorably sweet-looking star-shaped candies at the dust balls (who are also incredibly adorable looking - okay, back to the story, enough of my gushing.).
"Who's?" she started, but stopped when she saw Chihiro's still-tears- streaked face.
"Is that..." Kamajii froze as Haku trotted over to where Rin was crouching and set Chihiro down.
"Hi guys," she said softly.
"AI, SEN, IT'S YOU IT'S REALLY YOU!!!" Rin shrieked, sending the basket (and dust balls) flying as she scrambled over to squeeze Chihiro in a hug, knocking Haku over in the process.
"Sen? Is it really you?" Kamajii asked, leaning over his chair thing to look down at her.
"Y- yeah," Chihiro whispered, and Rin tightened her hold on her. "What's wrong? Are you okay?" her eyebrows shot up. "did that Kawago guy hurt you at all? if he did I'm gonna kill him!"
"That's my job," Haku muttered, picking himself up. Rin and Kamajii looked at him.
"Excuse me?"
Haku shook his head and looked directly at Chihiro. Rin let go of her, dropping her in the process, eliciting a small yelp.
"Of course he hurt her," Haku said, and Chihiro sensed it wasn't her turn to talk. Carefully, she found a semi-comfortable crouching position with her side against the drawers.
"he tried to break her spirit."
"HE DID?!? SEN, ARE YOU OKAY?!?"
"He didn't, of course," Kamajii put in. understanding suddenly shone in his eyes. "AH, I see," he said. "Kawago wants to kill you, Haku. Then why'd he bring Sen along?"
"What are you talking about?" Rin interrupted. They ignored her.
"I think so that, if he wins, she'll have to watch me die. Then not only would he get her spirit, but it'd probably be cracked in the least as well."
"Wait! What's going on?" Rin demanded.
"You think too little of yourself, Haku; it'd be shattered."
"Hello-o! Girl here that wants to know what's going o-on!"
"Stop embarrassing me, Kamajii. We need to heal her, I think she's been hurt rather badly. And how did you know about Kawago?"
"I told him," Rin said loudly, finally gaining Haku and Kamajii's attention spans. "would anybody like to tell me what you're talking about?"
"Kawago tried to break my spirit, but I don't have it," Chihiro explained softly, gaining everybody's eyes. Haku inwardly cursed himself from letting his attention stray from her for even a second.
"Who has it?" Rin asked, gently rubbing Chihiro's back. She bit back a small whimper, and said, "Haku does."
Rin stopped, looked back at Haku, then Chihiro again, then back to Haku. Finally her eyes rested on Chihiro.
"You can't be serious."
"Oh, she is," Kamajii said just as a lot of tokens fell down.
"THIRTY-FOUR?!?!?!?" He cried after counting them. Immediately her set to work, shouting at the soot-mites to get back to work double time. Haku stepped up next to Rin and Chihiro, setting his sandals next to the nearest opening.
"And, uh, I wasn't informed of this oh-so-happy news?" Rin asked.
"Of course you were!" Kamajii yelled over his shoulder. "twice, I think!"
"But I didn't think you were serious! So Kawago has come to challenge Haku in a duel over Chihiro, huh? Did the two of you set up the rules and whatnot?"
"No," Haku said. "he told me to return Chihiro to his room by night fall."
"You aren't going to!" Rin cried.
"Of course not. Chihiro, can you tell me everything that's happened since you woke up in his room or wherever?""
"HIS ROOM?!? DID HE HURT YOU?!?"
"You already asked that, Rin."
Chihiro paused, then forced herself to stand, stretch a little bit, then sit forward on her knees, shins spread so that she wasn't really sitting.
Rin said, "wait a minute," and took off.
"Don't wait," Haku said gently, pushing a lock of tangled hair behind her left ear. He spoke quietly so that his voice wasn't heard over the roaring of the boiler, Kamajii's grumbling and working, and the dust things' squeaking. Carefully, he sat with his back to Kamajii's chair thing, and pulled Chihiro softly against him, absentmindedly stroking her hair.
"Tell me, Chihiro-chan; what happened? I need to know everything."
Chihiro burst into tears and sputtered out everything, from waking up to the throbbing pain in her head to the many colorful threats Kawago had come up with before knocking her out then her waking up again, being set firmly on the ground, and led to Haku and Rin. Everything spilled out; her thoughts and fears, the pain, her tears, everything. Rin came back in sometime during the "second day" Chihiro had spent with Kawago, balancing a couple of bowls filled with water, a few clothes, a brush and hair thing. Silently, she sat on Chihiro's other side, picking up where she was, never interrupting, like Haku.
She hadn't realized that Kamajii had finished the tags some time ago and was listening as well until her story was finished. She was definitely embarrassed; that was for sure, and ashamed. She felt, though, like a great weight had been lifted from her shoulders, knowing that they knew. Her friends. Haku especially.
Closing her eyes, Chihiro waited for their reactions.
"Wow. Oh Sen, I'm so sorry," Rin murmured at last, gripping her shoulder firmly for a moment. Then she held up the brush and offered a small smile. "thought you might like your hair back up in its ponytail," she offered. Chihiro wiped her eyes hard. "yeah, thank you, I'd like that."
Shifting slightly, Rin gently brought the brush to Chihiro's hair and began to work out the tangles.
"Hmm, you'd better give that boy a real beating, Haku," Kamajii warned.
"I brought some hot water and some cold water, with some rags," Rin offered, pausing as she came to a spot where blood matted Chihiro'' hair. Her face twisted into a frown, and she dipped the brush into the nearest water bowl, grabbing a small lock of hair further up firmly so that she wouldn't hurt Chihiro.
"Good, we'll need them. Time to get you cleaned up, Sen," Kamajii said, reaching out and also gently gripping Chihiro's shoulder.
Haku said nothing. Chihiro wished he would. She couldn't bring herself to lift her eyes to his.
However, even if she had, Haku wasn't necessarily looking down at her. He was more staring through her hand, which he had laced his fingers with hers together. His thumb gently traced her wrist, and a no-emotion, rather calculation look entered his eyes.
"Haku?" Rin asked, noticing him. "are you alright?"
for a moment, it seemed Haku hadn't heard her, then slowly he lifted his chin slightly, back stiffening, and they locked gazes. Rin paused for a moment, shocked at the look of bloodlust on his face, then breathed out and shook her head a little.
"Don't look at me like that, it's freaky. There'll be plenty of opportunities to kill Kawago, trust me."
"Haku, say something, I'm certain Chihiro is rather embarrassed at the moment - I'm certain would be to." Kamajii said.
Haku looked to Chihiro, whose hair was starting to look better now.
There was a moment of silence before he finally spoke.
And when he did, it was in a low, dangerous whisper, that nobody had ever heard Haku use before. His eyes narrowed as he took Chihiro in, and his lips hardly moved; though the words seemed to be easily heard, clear as day:
"I'm going to kill him."
Chihiro bit her lip, and waited for anything else. She had never heard Haku use that tone before. She hadn't thought him capable of it.
"We have to get you cleaned up," Haku said, once more in his normal tone. The abrupt change was startling, and Rin paused in her brushing. "you're probably covered in blood and hurt all over. Can you tell me more about that blue pill he gave you before?"
Chihiro glanced up at him, and felt a flooding of relief wash over her. Her shoulders and muscles, which had been tensed, now relaxed audibly and she stopped biting her lip. Speaking softly, she retold him more about the blue pill thing, this time going into more detail; how it felt and its estimated size, for instance.
While she spoke, voice beginning to get hoarse, Rin finally got her hair up into a ponytail. Though her brown locks were a little longer, it seemed to automatically transform her into the Chihiro/Sen that they had known.
Haku asked a few more questions, which Chihiro answered, until he seemed satisfied.
"Rin, can you get a lot of bandages?" Haku asked, shifting so that he could stand and Chihiro could lean against Kamajii's chair thing on her side. she stood as well, though.
"Yes, of course. Anything else?"
"Hot water, in a bigger bowl, any sort of disinfectant you can find, and any pain killers or numbs that don't have to be swallowed." He voice became sympathetic. "this might hurt, Shiraha," he said softly.
Chihiro nodded a little. Had Haku just called her 'Shiraha'? feather? *white* feather. Chihiro's heart soared.
Rin left, and Kamajii and Haku dug out a bunch of blankets and got them in next to the chair thing, bunching a bunch of pillows up there. Gingerly, Chihiro sat down in her before position, facing the little door as Rin reentered, sporting a much larger bowl that was steaming under one arm, and a bag the same size and stuffed in the other. She closed (and locked) the little door firmly.
"Okay, we've got your steamy water, your bandages, more bandages, some more bandages, yet anoth - ooh! Here's a wash cloth! - a few more bandages, some soap, different soap, different soap, alcohol, healing medicine, poison treatment, more poison stuff, stuff to stop infection, stuff to stop bleeding, stuff that smells bad, incense, dagger, little strings, and the last any sort of numb-er that I could find." She set all these things out in front of Chihiro as she named them.
Chihiro giggled a little. "I feel like I'm being prepared for an operation," she said, shifting.
"Ooh! Okay, then, you Kamajii can be the student-doctor, I'll be THE doctor, and Haku can be the nurse! That is, if you want an operation."
"Not if I have to be the nurse," Haku complained, sitting behind Chihiro.
"Nurse Haku... that has a nice little ring to it, don't you think?" Rin asked.
"Now you two, we're cleaning her up, not replacing her heart," Kamajii reminded.
"Oh." Rin said in mock disappointment, making Chihiro give a genuine ghost smile.
"Okay," Haku sighed, bringing everybody back to the situation at hand. "I think the worst part, Shiraha, will be the embarrassment." He told Chihiro.
She paused, inwardly gushing at how Haku's nickname for her sounded wonderful coming from him, then froze.
"Embarrassment?" she repeated, turning slightly in confusion just as Haku and Kamajii rid her of the course black long-sleeved "shirt" thing. She squeaked, and immediately turned away from Haku, clasping her arms firmly in a criss-cross position and leaning over so that her forehead touched the blankets.
"You could have warned her," Rin said, sitting in front of Chihiro and laying her head in her lap. Face burning, Chihiro allowed herself to be repositioned so that she was laying on her stomach.
"She wouldn't have let us if we had warned her," Kamajii explained just as more tokens fell. He whipped around.
"WHAT, ARE THEY WASHING THE SLAVES AND THEN-SOME UP THERE?!?!?!?!??" immediately the room was filled with the sounds of the dust mites, boiler, fire, and Kamajii in general.
'stupid, stupid, stupid,' Chihiro thought angrily, hunched over slightly so that she wouldn't be putting so much pressure on her stomach and chest. They were what really hurt the most. 'you knew you'd have to get undressed and yet you continued to gush over being called a feather! But then again, it sounds really wonderful, being called feather by Haku... stop it! your probably gonna end up naked in front of him, so who cares about some cute nickname? It's his special nickname for me!' and so her inner battled raged.
"Shiraha?" Haku asked gently. "this may sting a little."
"Kay." Chihiro replied in a voice much higher than usual.
There was a moment of nothing, then she flinched then relaxed slightly as a hot wash cloth was rubbed gently on her back. after a moment, she relaxed completely, deciding the rhythm of the warm water on her back didn't really hurt at all. not enough - not enough to really make her cry, like the last three days of torture.
"This I know will hurt," Haku's voice said. It seemed lulling combined with the other sounds, and Rin's breathing became the same as hers.
Then she yelped and jerked, straightening out and starting to twist slightly as something freezing cold touched the part on her back that Kawago had made the small cut with the little knife. She had thought the wound scabbed over by now, but apparently not.
"Hold, Sen," Rin ordered, getting her back firmly into her before position. Tears began to streak down Chihiro's face and she distinctly heard Haku say, "it's poisoned."
She whimpered and cried as the hurting cold stuff was rubbed into her skin on her back, and she still writhed even after his hands left her back. A smell - sharp and prickly - reached her nose and she swallowed hard, breathing through her mouth.
Rin helped her sit up and hugged her gently, careful of the still-painful wounds on her front. Haku held her from the back, and they both murmured comforting words until the hurt had become a dull burn, ache.
"That hurt," Chihiro hiccoughed.
"I know, Shiraha," Haku whispered in her ear. "this will be a little painful, but in the end you'll feel better, I promise."
They stayed in the position until Chihiro stopped shaking and her tense muscles relaxed a little bit.
"Got to do your front, now," Haku said.
Chihiro squeaked, immediately in her before-hunched position, arms clasped firmly where they were. "Mm-mm!" she informed them firmly.
"Don't worry, Rin has that job," Haku said softly. "it's okay, it's okay."
"Yeah Sen, you can trust me!" Rin put in. reluctantly, Chihiro sat up and let Rin wash her front while Haku rubbed the cold stuff on her wrists and wrapped them securely in some bandages. He then tended to her shoulders, neck, and lower back. Rin finished and took a green bottle, pulling the cork off and dumping some yellow goo on her hand. The same prickly, strong smell reached Chihiro's nose and she sneezed, leaning away.
"No. not that stuff," she said softly.
"You do it, then," Rin replied, taking her free hand and rubbing the goo on it. "all over, and rub it in firmly just like Haku was doing before."
Chihiro stared at the stuff smeared on her hand and hesitantly took her palm to her stomach. She squeaked and jerked her hand back, breathing heavily. It hurt!
"Here," Rin said sympathetically, taking her hand. She pressed Chihiro's palm to her stomach and Chihiro squeaked again, tears coming once more. Eventually, Rin took over and Chihiro found herself back in Haku's and Rin's embraces a little bit later, crying a little.
"You're doing very good Shiriaha, we're almost done," Haku said, releasing her. He and Rin wrapped a long bandage around her upper stomach and chest, Haku still working behind Chihiro, for which she was both grateful and shamefully disappointed.
They sat back a little while later, and sighed. Kamajii just finished the last of the bandages and turned around, wanting to know what had been making Chihiro cry.
"I'll switch the water," Rin volunteered, standing and taking the dirty water and bowl away.
"Get some more medicines," Hake called after her.
"How are you doing, Sen?" Kamajii asked.
"Very bad." Chihiro replied, voice choked slightly. She didn't move from where she was leaning back against Haku, though. She always felt better, stronger even, with him.
"Now what?" she asked after a moment.
"I'm going to make a guess that Kawago - or what was it you called him again? Yajuu? - hurt you below the waist, too."
Chihiro shuddered heavily without meaning to, remembering how close she had come... to losing a precious aspect of life.
"I'm here." Haku said softly into her hair.
She leaned back completely into him, interlacing her fingers with his; his words were comforting.
"Okay," Rin said, coming back in with a clean bowl of steaming water, some clean rags, more bandages, and a few more bottles and some folded up clothes. Chihiro sighed, then suddenly thought of something: no way was anybody in there, even Rin, going to see her below waist. No way no how.
She drew back even more, pressing her back firmly into Haku's chest. His arms encircled her, and he breathed, "I understand if you hate me for this."
"Hate you for what?" she asked, then as Rin sat down and laid the things she was balancing to precariously, she realized what Haku meant. "NO!" She ordered firmly, drawing her legs back, too. But she winced and stopped. "No, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, I said no, as in, NObody is going to see me below the waist, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no!"
"It's okay, Sen, it's nothing we haven't seen before."
"HAKU HAD BETTER NOT HAVE SEEN ANYTHING LIKE THAT, AND doesn't a little word called 'modesty' make any sense to you?!?"
"Modesty?" Rin asked, taking Chihiro's left ankle and washing the blood off. "what's that?"
"It's... oh, no." Chihiro closed her eyes tightly. "you don't know what modesty is?"
Rin laughed and took the little folded clothes she had brought.
"Of course I know what it is, and so does Haku and Kamajii. I think." She paused, eyes flicking to the two males in the room. "here, I've brought some undershorts and an apron for you, and a shirt and some trousers too. Can't have you running around in just bandages can we?" Rin handed her a pair of underwear-shorts and a blue apron. "Alright, Haku, Kamajii, turn around. I SAID TURN AROUND!"
Using her quick little time of privacy, Chihiro pulled the undershorts up as quickly (and gently) as she could and took of the so-called-skirt, putting the apron on. Rin tied it behind for her, then frowned at her blood caked legs.
"Okay," she sighed. "he really did intend to break your spirit, didn't he?"
"Oh my, it seems so," Kamajii said.
Haku didn't say anything, and Chihiro knew she was burning with embarrassment - it'd be easier if he wasn't behind her.
They washed the blood off, and this time Chihiro did most of the work, while Haku took care of her other ankle. Then - with a slightly higher tolerance for the pain - Chihiro was told to rub all sorts of different stinging, burning goo and liquids and powders on her legs, front and back, top and bottom. Rin washed her lower back for her, and after quite a while of crying and bandaging, she felt rather like a mummy.
She sighed as she was helped into the pink pants that Rin had brought her, and carefully laid down on the blankets, then covered up.
"All better," Rin said with a small smile.
"Kamajii, can Chihiro stay here?" Haku asked.
"Of course."
Rin sighed herself and rocked back on her heels while Chihiro closed her eyes and slipped into darkness.
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A/N: oh yeah. I suck. *shoulders slump* oh well. Not too bad, ne? that chapter was long! LONG! *waves arms around*