The milky fog swirled thicker than ever the next morning. Visibility beyond their cozy shelter was about three feet. Onikisu couldn't even see far enough to see the ground at the base of their cave when he leaned out. Hmm, he thought, I guess we could just stay here today. However… This would be an excellent time to lead her back to Yubaba without her realizing where we were going because of the fog… The urge to stretch his legs and let a run take his mind off things filled him. Casting a glance over his shoulder at the sleeping Chihiro, he thought to himself, The spell I put on her food last night should be strong enough to knock her out for at least twelve hours. She'll still be asleep when I get back if I make it a quick run…
Silently he slid down the side of the cliff and to the ground. Merging was easy enough to do now, but it still took him several seconds to transform. Reveling in his newfound freedom, he let out a triumphant yell and ran down the dim trail between the trees. Within seconds, the mist swallowed him up, leaving nothing, not even the wind of his passing, behind.
She was close, so very close; he could taste it on the air. Where was she?
He was so tired, but her safety came first. He must hurry… She was in grave danger…
He must hurry, but he was so tired…
A beautiful and yet unnatural scream filled the air. Chihiro was slow to shake herself from the bonds of sleep. Eyes tightly closed still, she rolled over—
And out of the cove.
A startled yelp escaped her lips as she dropped from the ridge to the ground, landing with a dull thud, followed by a low groan of pain. Slowly she sat up and rubbed the back of her head. "Ow…"
Chihiro tried to discern the objects around her, but all she could see was dense white mist. It pressed against her face and throat, feeling wonderfully cool, repressively cold, and threateningly sinister all at the same moment. She knew in an instant that she did not like it at all, and that there would be no escape from it.
"Onikisu? Onikisu, where are you?"
Hesitantly she moved forwards into the misty, arms outstretched to avoid hitting or being hit by something. Small steps seemed to get her nowhere, and yet within a dozen steps, she couldn't tell where she was or how far away her shelter was.
Shivering from the cool of the haze, she decided to try to go back to the cave to retrieve the cloak Onikisu had left for her. As soon as she turned around, however, she realized a chilling truth:
She was hopelessly lost.
I can't be that far from the ridge, she thought desperately. I'll just walk back the way I came until I find it. Again she turned in a circle, trying to get her bearings.
Which way did I come from?
Arms still outstretched, she felt her fingertips brush the rough bark of a tree. "Okay," she said aloud, "there weren't any trees by the cave. So if I go this way"—she turned her back to the tree—"then it should be in that direction." Slowly she took another step…
And stopped as she ran face first into another tree.
Stepping back and rubbing her nose ruefully, she muttered, "Okay, nod dad way."
Lofty figures of tree-trunks towered over her, a dark gray in the misty haze surrounding her world. Chihiro couldn't even see the canopy of the trees—the fog obscured her vision. She considered trying to climb a tree to see further around her, but discarded the idea when she realized that the fog probably was just as thick above.
"Onikisu? Onikisu, are you there?" She knew full well that he would not be able to hear her even if he was, knew that her voice didn't even travel as far as her sight did, but she needed to try anyway. "Onikisu?"
A loud rustle to her right spun her around with the reflexes of one of Onikisu's shadow-cats. But when she tried to move ahead, she found herself blocked.
Upon closer examination, it was the side of a large horse that blocked her, the color of the animal's hide perfectly matching that of the fog. Lightly she ran her fingers over its side as her eyes traveled up and down its body. The mane and tail stood out clearly, a rich, deep sapphire intertwined with shimmery silver. The sleek neck was bowed; the horse's ears were laid back. But what caught her gaze and held it…
She gasped. A gleam of soft, dark light radiated from the tip of an obsidian horn growing from the center of the animal's head. It's a unicorn!
The unicorn's ears were laid back threateningly, front legs braced apart, head bowed with the horn pointing ahead menacingly. But it was not she it was trying to intimidate; rather, someone or something in front of them. She remembered talking to Onikisu the night before, and his words. "Why, I once ran across a unicorn that was a pure snowy white with a deep sapphire blue and silver tail and mane." Wasn't that what he said, or something along those lines? But the unicorn he had been speaking of had had a golden horn, whereas this one had an ebony one with milky swirls, just like the gem that Onikisu wore at his throat. Just like the gem…
"Onikisu?"
The magnificent beast ignored her blithely, concentrating upon some unseen foe in the fog. Chihiro tried to discern shapes in the mist, but saw nothing except swirling shadows. What did he see?
She didn't know what happened next. Suddenly another creature launched itself at the unicorn, slamming her back against the tree hard. Then her protector was snatched away, leaving her crumpled against the base of the tree.
A startled scream erupted from her throat as the tree above her exploded in shards of wood and leaves, showering her with splinters. The second creature bounced back from the ruins of the hardwood timber and lay limp on the ground, too exhausted and hurt to move any more. She wanted to pull away, but couldn't. Then the mists parted for a moment and she caught her first clear look at her attacker. Her heart nearly stopped.
The thundering of hooves came crashing towards them. She had to make her decision and make it fast. The earth-shaking noises were coming closer, echoing louder. Her head began to pound in tempo to the beating of the drums.
But there was real no decision to be made, nothing really to think about. She knew what she was supposed to do, what she would do.
"NO!"
Chihiro flung herself upon the snowy white dragon, shielding his body with her own. She held her arms tightly around his thin body and pressed her cheek against the smooth scales one last time. A scant second later she felt a sharp stab of pain shoot up her side from her waist to the middle of her ribs. Warm sticky liquid poured from her side and fell upon the beautiful alabaster brute beneath her, and yet she was cold and growing colder, ever colder. As the blackness settled upon her once more, she heard an anguished roar and an angry scream.
The body beneath her was moving and she clung tightly to consciousness.
"Chihiro! Chihiro, please, don't die!" Two strong arms clutched her tightly to a warm body, but she was so cold… The achingly familiar voice did nothing to ease the pain in her heart. "You can't die on me, Sen. Not now. Chihiro, answer me. Chihiro? Chihiro!"
A second voice joined the first in calling her name, but not even the two of them combined was enough to keep her tied to the world of the living. She was so cold… Everything was fading…
Then, blissfully, she knew nothing.
