Love Hunt
Chapter One
It was a slightly damp day in Swamp Bottom, and No Face was out, searching for mushrooms, as Zeniba asked. What he found proved to be far more interesting.
In a clearing, set apart from the woods, was a puppet theater. From the sounds coming from it, the show had already started, but there was no audience. Curious, No Face went to see what was going on. Inside the puppet stage, paper puppets told the story of a girl entrusted with a precious treasure, and how a sinister force took it away.
"When she woke up, her treasure was gone," the narrator intoned. "Her beautiful land lay in ruins, and she knew what she had to do," A puppet girl wandered across the stage. "I must get my treasure back! But I can't do it alone...who will help me?" There was a pause. Then a hushed voice.
"I don't think this is working. There isn't even anyone out there!"
A different hushed voice answered the first, "There *is* someone there, I can feel it!" Again, the puppet girl pleaded, "Won't anyone help me?"
"Ah, ah." No Face had gotten sucked into the story, and was now vigorously nodding his head.
A cautious eye peeked from behind the curtain and took note of No Face. With a sudden flash, the puppet stage was gone, and a real-life version of the girl puppet stood in its place, along with a young man. "Thank you for your support!" the girl cried, while the young man stood off to the side, looking a little peeved. The girl took no notice of him, focusing all her attention on No Face. "You see, the story you have just witnessed is not entirely fictional. I am the girl, and I do have a treasure I need to get back. Would you be so good as to help me?" She cocked her head, looking as 'little girl lost' as she could. "Pleease?"
No Face nodded again, and was immediately embraced by the girl.
"Thank you, thank you!" She exclaimed.
Surprised at her reaction, No Face started to turn transparent, and the girl partially slipped through him.
She stepped back, and introduced herself. "My name is Karidasu, but you can call me Kari. And this is my subordinate, Shibushi," she motioned to the young man.
"Subordinate!?" The young man turned abruptedly. "Kari, that's going too far this time!" Shibushi glowered.
"Hush," Karidasu replied, putting a finger to his lips. "You follow me around and do what I tell you to, so why shouldn't I call you my subordinate? Besides, you're the one who started spouting lines about 'never leaving an innocent girl to the wild and wicked world'?" She grinned mischieviously at him.
Mumbling under his breath about being tricked, Shibushi said no more.
After all that, No Face began to wonder just what he had gotten himself into. Karidasu and Shibushi followed as he lead them back to Zeniba's, Karidasu continued to talk, not caring that she got no reply from No Face, who was unable, or from Shibushi, who was unwilling.
"Back already No Face? Did you find the mushrooms so soon?" Zeniba called, when she heard the door open.
"Eh, eh," No Face motioned Kari and Shibushi to come in.
"Thank you, gracious madam, for seeing us into your home," Kari said, with a twirling curtesy. She then actually looked at who she was addressing. "Zeniba?!" Her eyes widened, then she smiled and ran to embrace her, "It's so good to see you again!"
"You haven't changed since the last time I saw you," Zeniba said good naturedly, "How is your quest coming along?"
"Well, I had a bit of a false start, but now I think I know the direction I have to go in. Right now I'm just working on gathering companions," Kari replied.
As the two continued to talk, No Face looked to Shibushi questioning, who just shrugged and said, "I'm as clueless as you are."
"Aa! I almost forgot," Kari stopped, "This is my first party member, Shibushi. Shibushi, this is Zeniba, an old friend of mine."
"I feel I should be surprised at that, but nothing really surprises me about Kari anymore," Shibushi said, then added with a bow, "It's a pleasure to meet you."
Time passed with tea, cake, and explainations. No Face, though he hated to leave Zeniba, felt bound by his implied word. But it was too late in the day to start out, so they spent the night, with plans to set off first thing in the morning.
"All set?" Kari asked Shibushi. They had finished a hearty breakfast, mostly made by No Face, and Kari was anxious to get on the road.
"Of course I'm set," Shibushi replied, cooly. He was also anxious to get going, but didn't want to show it.
Zeniba and No Face shared a tender goodbye, and then they were off.
"Bye bye! We'll be back someday!" Kari called, waving as they walked away.
They travelled most of the day, getting just beyond the boundaries of Swamp Bottom before deciding to stop for the night.
As Shibushi and No Face set up camp, Kari scanned a book Zeniba had given her, apparently written by her, "The Care and Keeping of a No Face."
"Makes him sound like a pet," she mumbled. She read through various tips and comments, and finally tossed the book aside. "Forget this," she exclaimed, "No Face, I declare you your own person, and that's that!"
No Face looked at her quizzically, then went back to collecting firewood with Shibushi. Shibushi just shrugged and said, "You may be in for more than you bargained for. I know I am."
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Hi all, thanks for reading this ^_^ I'll try to have the next chapter up, which introduces a new character, soon.
I'd just like to make a note on the names of my characters. Since most of the names in Spirited Away are descriptive of the character, I did my best to make their names fit who they are, in Japanese. Karidasu means 'to hunt out' and 'to round up,' which is what Kari is trying to do, in more ways than one. Shibushi is short for Shibushibu, which means "unwillingly." It fits, doesn't it?
Please send me reviews, so I know what you like, or what you don't like. 'Til next chapter, ja ne!