Author's Note: Yay, another chapter in my story. Thanks so much to the people who have reviewed (even though fanfiction.net deleted the last few reviews I got…) Thanks to all of you, I wish I could remember who all had reviewed, so I could thank you all specifically, but as I said, some of the reviews never showed up. Grr.
Anyways, I really wanted to get this chapter up before I left on vacation (which is tomorrow), so here it is. I know it's short, but hey, at least it's something, right? The wait for the next chapter may be a little, tiny bit longer than the last few have been, since I won't have access to my computer while I'm gone. Well, I hope you enjoy this chapter, I promise I will get another one up ASAP!
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Haku screamed Chihiro's name, hoping somehow to snap her out of her trance in time for her to react. His entire being willed her to move, to run, to dodge to the side, anything that might save her. He watched helplessly as the cloaked figure raised a shining blade over her head. The metal of the weapon caught the light of the sun, reflecting into his eyes and forcing him to blink and turn for a moment. He glanced away for only a second, but by the time he looked back, both Chihiro and the figure were gone. It was as though they had disappeared, or perhaps had never even been there at all.
"The Shadow…" Haku choked out through clenched teeth as he stood in terrified awe. He'd recognized the cloak; it could have belonged to none other than the famed mercenary who had earned the name of the Shadow for stunts such as this, instances in which he disappeared without leaving so much as an eyelash behind. Haku didn't hesitate a second longer. Immediately his legs were carrying him to the spot where Chihiro had been only seconds ago. As he charged past, he noticed ephemerally that there were no signs of blood or even a struggle. That meant she probably wasn't dead, something for which he was extremely thankful.
He tore deeper into the dense forest, ignoring the stinging pain of the branches that lashed out at his arms and legs and ripped across the tender flesh of his face. He ran until the forest became so thick with vegetation that he could no longer pass through. He fell to his knees in front of an ancient, twisted tree and leaned his head against it in defeat. He'd failed her. He'd failed his only true friend, the only person he'd ever really cared for, and now he was left alone to wonder where she was and whether or not he would ever see her again.
The young man breathed raggedly, trying to collect his thoughts. Memories of Chihiro flashed rapidly through his mind, paralyzing him with their potency. Images of the day they'd met, their first duel, the times they spent together happily bombarded him. He sank closer to the ground of the forest floor, heavy with his grief. She was gone now, and Haku had no idea where the Shadow had taken her, or what he would do to her. Tears stung at the corners of his eyes, but he refused to let them fall. It had been years since he'd cried, and he couldn't afford to be weak now.
He vowed to himself to search for his friend every second he could spare, but at the moment, his comrades needed him. He had a battle to fight, and he couldn't abandon his many other companions for the sake of one, though his heart begged him desperately to do so.
Slowly, agonizingly, he pushed himself to his feet. His eyes bore deep into the darkness of the forest before him one final time, hoping to pick up some fleeting sign of her. Nothing. He sighed to himself and prayed silently for her safety.
He turned steadily and took off at a run, back towards the village where Yubaba's forces had amassed, and where the other members of his group were no doubt trying valiantly to defend against them. His heart pounded in his ears, urging him to turn back around, to continue his search for Chihiro. It took every ounce of strength he had not to do just that.
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A pair of honey-colored eyes flew open, allowing light to enter them for the first time in hours. It stung. No, that wasn't quite right; it wasn't just that her eyes stung, it was that everything stung. Badly. Her head was in especially bad shape, she couldn't remember the last time she'd had such a severe headache. Of course, at the moment she couldn't really remember much of anything.
The girl reached a tentative hand to the back of her head and placed on solitary finger there, only to remove it instantly, as though she had placed it in a fire. She gasped from the pain the simple touch had caused her and wondered how her head had gotten to be so sensitive and so sore. It felt like a tree had fallen on her. Maybe she was dead. She looked at her surroundings and found that she was lying in a bed in the middle of a small room. Everything around her was a bright, sparkling shade of white, the walls, the bed she was laying on, the sheets. If she was dead, the colors of the room certainly seemed fitting. She looked down at herself with surprise. She was dressed all in black and stood out terribly from the rest of the room. She furrowed her brow nervously, feeling as though she was intruding somehow. She certainly didn't belong in this place, wherever it was. Her stark contrast with her surroundings gave her an uneasy sensation, and she suddenly felt a desperate urge to blend in, to dress herself all in clean, untainted white and get lost amongst the endless purity that surrounded her. Perhaps then she wouldn't have felt so vulnerable, so…lost. She shivered involuntarily and balled her hands into tight fists.
Slowly, she rose from her bed. She swung her legs to the side of the bed and set her feet tentatively on the cold floor. She took a cautious step forward, chewing on the inside of her left cheek gently all the while. She peered over at the door on the wall in front of her. A few more steps brought her directly in front of it. She reached out a hand to push it open, but then paused. She stared down at the hand in front of her in fascination. It looked entirely unfamiliar, like some foreign object, even though it was attached to her body. She studied it carefully. She turned it over leisurely, examining the palm as well. Her mouth opened in confusion. She began to panic, realizing that she couldn't remember what she looked like at all, who she was, where she was, and a million other things.
Breathing suddenly became difficult, and she found herself gulping for air, swallowing quickly and roughly, hyperventilating in her fear. Why can't I…remember…? She clutched her head with her hands and fell to her knees. A fine layer of sweat formed over her upper lip and across her forehead. The girl panicked.
Her eyes darted around the room, met only with blinding whiteness. It all felt so empty, so vacant, and blank. The same way she felt. She saw herself, or perhaps her lack of self, in that room. It reflected her very essence, and she was terrified by it. She needed to get out.
She stumbled blindly for the door, fumbling with the knob. Mercifully, it was unlocked. She staggered from the room into a long, narrow hallway. She ran. She didn't know where she was going, she simply let her legs carry her as far away from that terrible room as they would go. She didn't stop until she passed out with exhaustion.
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"Empress, you'll be pleased to know that I've captured the girl. She's sleeping in room 31D now." The voice was muffled slightly by the material of the shadowed individual's cloak.
An old woman sat behind the desk that was at the center of the spacious room. She looked over and regarded her subordinate with an unwavering stare. She tightened her lips into a taut line before speaking. "Are you sure you got the right one? The one I told you about?"
"She matches your description perfectly, it could be no other."
"Wonderful, please, tell we when she wakes up," the woman smiled at her veiled companion.
The smile was returned warmly. "Of course. In the mean time, is there anything else I can do for you Empress Zeniba?"
"No, that will be all for now. You've had a long day, rest for a while."
The figure nodded once. In a flash of black and crimson red, the Shadow was gone from the room.
The Empress leaned back in her chair, sighing deeply. She smiled.
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Author's Note: Yeah…I hope that last little section made sense. I mean, it made sense to me (maybe because I wrote it…) but it may not make sense to you. I suppose I can spell it out to you, but that may ruin some of the fun. Oh well. Ok, so the Shadow captured Chihiro and brought her back to Zeniba's little base thingy, whatever you want to call it, under Zeniba's (the Empress) orders. Yeah. So that's the deal. I'm not going to tell you anymore than that right now. Mwah.
Well, if you are so inclined, please leave me a review. I'd love to hear from you! I'm sorry I couldn't make this chapter longer, but vacation calls! I'll make it up to you, I promise. Bye for now.