Into Another World
Chapter 2 - draft version
a Sen to Chihiro no Kamikushi (Spirited Away) / Tenkuu no Escaflowne (Vision of Escaflowne) crossover fanfiction
by Selene
Disclaimer: they're not mine!
-------
They sat in one of the benches on platform, waiting for the train to come. Hitomi stared out at the urban city sprawled before her, colourful billboards popping among roofs and buildings here and there. Chihiro was busily tapping her feet against the floor, sitting low on the bench with arms folded in front of her chest.
They had told each other everything, amazed at each other's experience. In the end, they agreed that returning to the place Chihiro had been to was probably easier than returning to the one Hitomi had been to, which could very well be light years away.
It was not difficult to persuade Chihiro's parents to let them go, on the pretense of a weekend break in the countryside before Chihiro had to crammed everyday for her high school entrance exam. Chihiro's parents remembered nothing of the past, the weeks they had been gone to a different world were nothing to their busy, adult mind.
Such things were not important.
--
"Turn this way, Hitomi," Chihiro suddenly said.
Hitomi stopped the rented car she was driving and peered outside. "Are you sure? That's not even a road I can drive on!"
"Or maybe we can just get down here and walk there?"
"I think that's best," Hitomi said, a little dubiously. "I don't think it's safe to drive on that kind of terrain, anyway."
They got down and started walking down the small road Chihiro mentioned. It was not even a road anymore; the wild grass had grown on it, but they could still see where the road was heading.
"I remember those," Chihiro said, stopping suddenly.
"What?"
"Those deity statues," she answered, pointing at the side of the road where, among the tall wild grass, they could see glimpses of short stone statues.
"People used to pray to them," Hitomi said. "I guess these have been abandoned. Well, if you remember those, then we must be heading the right direction." She started walking again, but stopped when she realized Chihiro wasn't following her. She remained standing there, staring at the statues.
"Chihiro?"
"They must be lonely," Chihiro said slowly. She shook her head sadly before she started walking to catch up with Hitomi.
Hitomi smiled at her, "Maybe they've moved on....."
"...... To another world," Chihiro continued, smiling back.
"Yes. To another world."
--
They reached the end of the road, only to find a wall covered with crawling vines.
"Is it here?" Hitomi asked.
Chihiro merely nodded, glancing to her side, where a small squat grinning statue stood, covered with green moss. "This is it."
Hitomi stepped forward to brush the vines aside, revealing a dark gap in the wall. "There's a hole here, alright." She pushed more of the vines aside, making a way big enough for both of them to go through. "There you go." She turned back at Chihiro and said quietly, "Are you sure about this?"
Chihiro nodded. " I .. need to know. About myself and about .... him."
Hitomi watched her carefully, remembering her own occassional wish to return to Gaea. She knew Earth was her home and it was where she belonged, but she couldn't help wishing to meet Van and everyone again, wanting to know what had happened to them, what kind of lives they were leading now... She shook her head and extended one hand to Chihiro.
"Ready?"
Chihiro stared at her for a while, before saying, "Are you sure about this, Hitomi? You don't need to come with me, you know.... I don't even know whether we'll be back safely."
Hitomi smiled. "I know... but I can't let you go off alone, either. Don't worry, I've suffered worse and came back well and alive, and so have you. We'll do it again if we have to."
"Thank you," came the quiet reply. "I'll ..... I'll go with you to Gaea too, if you want me to."
"I don't think that's possible... and, I don't think that's a good idea. For me, at least, but thanks for the offer. Shall we go in now?"
Hitomi had been skirting her own issue since they told each other their story, as if she was trying to forget about it. Chihiro didn't really understand her reasons, but she was glad she seemed to support her with this trip.
Chihiro nodded at her, took a step forward and took Hitomi's hand. Together, they walked into the darkness.
---
They emerged from the tunnel on the other side soon after. The sky was as azure blue as Chihiro remembered, the grass as uncommonly green and as tall.
"Down there, Hitomi," Chihiro said, tugging Hitomi's hand towards the direction of the town.
"What a lovely world," Hitomi murmured. "It reminds me of Gaea slightly."
Chihiro made a face. "I know. Our own world is just filled with boring tall buildings."
Hitomi laughed, suddenly feeling more excited than before. This was a new world for her. A rich and vibrant magical world, from what she gathered from Chihiro's stories. It'd be interesting to see what they would see.
They reached the town and walked down the main road quietly. There was no one in sight, not a human, not a spirit. The shops lining the road looked abandoned and desolate, some of the signs were fading and dropping.
"Chihiro? It looks as if no one's been living here. Did it used to look like this, too?"
Chihiro shook her head. "No. Back then, even in the broad daylight where you can't see the gods and the spirits, everything looked .. normal."
They walked silently down the road, reaching the bridge that lead to the bath house.
Hitomi laughed. "That looks just like a traditional Japanese bath house!"
"It does, doesn't it?"
They crossed the bridge together. As they neared, they saw the lanterns outside the gate were as worn and tattered as the shops lining the street that they had seen earlier.
"It looks abandoned, too." Hitomi said slowly.
Suddenly a train whistle was heard. Chihiro spun around and ran to the side of the bridge quickly. She peered down and there it was, the train. It sped past underneath the bridge and disappeared in the distance. "At least the train is still here," Chihiro remarked.
Hitomi cocked her head towards the bath house's gate. "Wanna go in?"
"Yes. Of course."
The wooden gate was unlocked and could easily be opened. Inside, everything was empty and bare.
"Everyone's gone," Chihiro said forlornly. "What could have happened?"
They walked around the building, checking room by room randomly, going up one floor at a time. "Should we check out the Yuubaba's office?" Hitomi asked after they reached the fourth floor and finding nothing but several dozen empty rooms.
"Yeah, that's a good idea. I hope the elevator is still working," Chihiro said, leading Hitomi to a discrete-looking elevator in one hidden corner. "This is one of the servants' elevator. We'll need to change elevator later."
Luckily, the elevator was still working smoothly. They travelled up and changed to another larger and more decoratively elaborate elevator at one of the higher floors.
The elevator door opened and Chihiro said, "This is her office's floor."
They stepped out and Hitomi suddenly grabbed Chihiro's arm, stopping her.
"What is it, Hitomi?"
"Something's wrong. I feel...... something..........."
"I thought you said you stopped having these kind of power?"
"I thought so too, but......." Hitomi suddenly fell to the floor on her knees, her hands clutching her head, her face distorted with pain. The air was suddenly still and she couldn't seem to get enough air into her lungs. But then the wind roared in her ears, terrifying in its fierceness. It was like flying. And then she saw the corridor before her juxtaposed with a different one, yet the same one. Flapping black birds flew on either side of her head, swooping down, tearing, killing. She smelled a iron tang in the air. A smell she could barely forget.
"No......" she moaned.
"Hitomi? Hitomi?!!! Are you alright?" Chihiro put her arm around Hitomi's body, kneeling beside her on one knee, holding Hitomi up. "Say something!"
Hitomi opened her eyes and lowered her hands. "I..... I......" Her voice was shaking, along with her entire body. Broken bodies were sprawled everywhere, slumped on the ground, against the wall. Suddenly a flash of white and green appeared amidst the black flapping wings, worming its way through, crashing its body against the walls. And then there was none.
"Did you have a vision? Are you alright? Tell me, Hitomi!" Chihiro urged, her voice rising in panic.
Hitomi turned her head and looked straight into Chihiro's eyes, her eyes glassy and haunted. "They're dead, Chihiro."
"What do you mean? Who's 'they'?"
"The people who used to live here. The servants....." Hitomi shivered. "They're all dead."
"What? How?? And Haku? Did you see Haku?"
"If he is the giant flying white dragon........ yes, I did see him," Hitomi said quietly.
Chihiro waited.
"I'm sorry, Chihiro. I saw him...... He fought the black birds who attacked this place. But then.... he was bleeding, falling...... and they tore him into pieces." Hitomi closed her eyes, trying to ward off the vision of the torned dragon.
Chihiro gasped and covered her mouth with her hand, shaking her head.
"I'm sorry, Chihiro. He's dead."
----
Notes:
Hi, sorry for the long lag between one chapter to another. I'm slow, yes.
It's good to see that there's already a category for Spirited Away. Yay for Chihiro x Haku fics hahahaha~
Thanks for the few people who reviewed the first chapter. I'm glad the fic makes sense to those who know both series / movie, though it may not for those who don't.
To answer queries, yes, of course, this fic will have Haku and Van. I adore waff and fluff, don't you? ^_~
But as you can see, Haku is apparently dead, so there's a little problem here.
Anyway, as always, this is a rough draft, so please mind the grammatical and spelling mistakes, or any glitches and bumps.
Please review! XD XD
Chapter 2 - draft version
a Sen to Chihiro no Kamikushi (Spirited Away) / Tenkuu no Escaflowne (Vision of Escaflowne) crossover fanfiction
by Selene
Disclaimer: they're not mine!
-------
They sat in one of the benches on platform, waiting for the train to come. Hitomi stared out at the urban city sprawled before her, colourful billboards popping among roofs and buildings here and there. Chihiro was busily tapping her feet against the floor, sitting low on the bench with arms folded in front of her chest.
They had told each other everything, amazed at each other's experience. In the end, they agreed that returning to the place Chihiro had been to was probably easier than returning to the one Hitomi had been to, which could very well be light years away.
It was not difficult to persuade Chihiro's parents to let them go, on the pretense of a weekend break in the countryside before Chihiro had to crammed everyday for her high school entrance exam. Chihiro's parents remembered nothing of the past, the weeks they had been gone to a different world were nothing to their busy, adult mind.
Such things were not important.
--
"Turn this way, Hitomi," Chihiro suddenly said.
Hitomi stopped the rented car she was driving and peered outside. "Are you sure? That's not even a road I can drive on!"
"Or maybe we can just get down here and walk there?"
"I think that's best," Hitomi said, a little dubiously. "I don't think it's safe to drive on that kind of terrain, anyway."
They got down and started walking down the small road Chihiro mentioned. It was not even a road anymore; the wild grass had grown on it, but they could still see where the road was heading.
"I remember those," Chihiro said, stopping suddenly.
"What?"
"Those deity statues," she answered, pointing at the side of the road where, among the tall wild grass, they could see glimpses of short stone statues.
"People used to pray to them," Hitomi said. "I guess these have been abandoned. Well, if you remember those, then we must be heading the right direction." She started walking again, but stopped when she realized Chihiro wasn't following her. She remained standing there, staring at the statues.
"Chihiro?"
"They must be lonely," Chihiro said slowly. She shook her head sadly before she started walking to catch up with Hitomi.
Hitomi smiled at her, "Maybe they've moved on....."
"...... To another world," Chihiro continued, smiling back.
"Yes. To another world."
--
They reached the end of the road, only to find a wall covered with crawling vines.
"Is it here?" Hitomi asked.
Chihiro merely nodded, glancing to her side, where a small squat grinning statue stood, covered with green moss. "This is it."
Hitomi stepped forward to brush the vines aside, revealing a dark gap in the wall. "There's a hole here, alright." She pushed more of the vines aside, making a way big enough for both of them to go through. "There you go." She turned back at Chihiro and said quietly, "Are you sure about this?"
Chihiro nodded. " I .. need to know. About myself and about .... him."
Hitomi watched her carefully, remembering her own occassional wish to return to Gaea. She knew Earth was her home and it was where she belonged, but she couldn't help wishing to meet Van and everyone again, wanting to know what had happened to them, what kind of lives they were leading now... She shook her head and extended one hand to Chihiro.
"Ready?"
Chihiro stared at her for a while, before saying, "Are you sure about this, Hitomi? You don't need to come with me, you know.... I don't even know whether we'll be back safely."
Hitomi smiled. "I know... but I can't let you go off alone, either. Don't worry, I've suffered worse and came back well and alive, and so have you. We'll do it again if we have to."
"Thank you," came the quiet reply. "I'll ..... I'll go with you to Gaea too, if you want me to."
"I don't think that's possible... and, I don't think that's a good idea. For me, at least, but thanks for the offer. Shall we go in now?"
Hitomi had been skirting her own issue since they told each other their story, as if she was trying to forget about it. Chihiro didn't really understand her reasons, but she was glad she seemed to support her with this trip.
Chihiro nodded at her, took a step forward and took Hitomi's hand. Together, they walked into the darkness.
---
They emerged from the tunnel on the other side soon after. The sky was as azure blue as Chihiro remembered, the grass as uncommonly green and as tall.
"Down there, Hitomi," Chihiro said, tugging Hitomi's hand towards the direction of the town.
"What a lovely world," Hitomi murmured. "It reminds me of Gaea slightly."
Chihiro made a face. "I know. Our own world is just filled with boring tall buildings."
Hitomi laughed, suddenly feeling more excited than before. This was a new world for her. A rich and vibrant magical world, from what she gathered from Chihiro's stories. It'd be interesting to see what they would see.
They reached the town and walked down the main road quietly. There was no one in sight, not a human, not a spirit. The shops lining the road looked abandoned and desolate, some of the signs were fading and dropping.
"Chihiro? It looks as if no one's been living here. Did it used to look like this, too?"
Chihiro shook her head. "No. Back then, even in the broad daylight where you can't see the gods and the spirits, everything looked .. normal."
They walked silently down the road, reaching the bridge that lead to the bath house.
Hitomi laughed. "That looks just like a traditional Japanese bath house!"
"It does, doesn't it?"
They crossed the bridge together. As they neared, they saw the lanterns outside the gate were as worn and tattered as the shops lining the street that they had seen earlier.
"It looks abandoned, too." Hitomi said slowly.
Suddenly a train whistle was heard. Chihiro spun around and ran to the side of the bridge quickly. She peered down and there it was, the train. It sped past underneath the bridge and disappeared in the distance. "At least the train is still here," Chihiro remarked.
Hitomi cocked her head towards the bath house's gate. "Wanna go in?"
"Yes. Of course."
The wooden gate was unlocked and could easily be opened. Inside, everything was empty and bare.
"Everyone's gone," Chihiro said forlornly. "What could have happened?"
They walked around the building, checking room by room randomly, going up one floor at a time. "Should we check out the Yuubaba's office?" Hitomi asked after they reached the fourth floor and finding nothing but several dozen empty rooms.
"Yeah, that's a good idea. I hope the elevator is still working," Chihiro said, leading Hitomi to a discrete-looking elevator in one hidden corner. "This is one of the servants' elevator. We'll need to change elevator later."
Luckily, the elevator was still working smoothly. They travelled up and changed to another larger and more decoratively elaborate elevator at one of the higher floors.
The elevator door opened and Chihiro said, "This is her office's floor."
They stepped out and Hitomi suddenly grabbed Chihiro's arm, stopping her.
"What is it, Hitomi?"
"Something's wrong. I feel...... something..........."
"I thought you said you stopped having these kind of power?"
"I thought so too, but......." Hitomi suddenly fell to the floor on her knees, her hands clutching her head, her face distorted with pain. The air was suddenly still and she couldn't seem to get enough air into her lungs. But then the wind roared in her ears, terrifying in its fierceness. It was like flying. And then she saw the corridor before her juxtaposed with a different one, yet the same one. Flapping black birds flew on either side of her head, swooping down, tearing, killing. She smelled a iron tang in the air. A smell she could barely forget.
"No......" she moaned.
"Hitomi? Hitomi?!!! Are you alright?" Chihiro put her arm around Hitomi's body, kneeling beside her on one knee, holding Hitomi up. "Say something!"
Hitomi opened her eyes and lowered her hands. "I..... I......" Her voice was shaking, along with her entire body. Broken bodies were sprawled everywhere, slumped on the ground, against the wall. Suddenly a flash of white and green appeared amidst the black flapping wings, worming its way through, crashing its body against the walls. And then there was none.
"Did you have a vision? Are you alright? Tell me, Hitomi!" Chihiro urged, her voice rising in panic.
Hitomi turned her head and looked straight into Chihiro's eyes, her eyes glassy and haunted. "They're dead, Chihiro."
"What do you mean? Who's 'they'?"
"The people who used to live here. The servants....." Hitomi shivered. "They're all dead."
"What? How?? And Haku? Did you see Haku?"
"If he is the giant flying white dragon........ yes, I did see him," Hitomi said quietly.
Chihiro waited.
"I'm sorry, Chihiro. I saw him...... He fought the black birds who attacked this place. But then.... he was bleeding, falling...... and they tore him into pieces." Hitomi closed her eyes, trying to ward off the vision of the torned dragon.
Chihiro gasped and covered her mouth with her hand, shaking her head.
"I'm sorry, Chihiro. He's dead."
----
Notes:
Hi, sorry for the long lag between one chapter to another. I'm slow, yes.
It's good to see that there's already a category for Spirited Away. Yay for Chihiro x Haku fics hahahaha~
Thanks for the few people who reviewed the first chapter. I'm glad the fic makes sense to those who know both series / movie, though it may not for those who don't.
To answer queries, yes, of course, this fic will have Haku and Van. I adore waff and fluff, don't you? ^_~
But as you can see, Haku is apparently dead, so there's a little problem here.
Anyway, as always, this is a rough draft, so please mind the grammatical and spelling mistakes, or any glitches and bumps.
Please review! XD XD