Disclaimer – As long as that big "D" word is here…I'm fine, rite?? ^^'' See last chappie for disclaimer pls!
Note – As in my other Spirited Away fic (^^), the characters' thoughts are done in BOLD…hopefully, you'll enjoy this newest pop of idea in my head~!
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
Across Time and Worlds / Beyond the Boundary
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"Chihiro! Breakfast time, dear! And don't forget your bento today!" Ogino Yuuko called from the kitchen to her daughter, who had apparently inherited her father's tendency of taking things slowly and being late. Upstairs, the fifteen-year-old was busy trying to tie her shoulder-length light chestnut hair in French braids to keep it out of her face. Pausing at the end of her second braid, the girl smiled at her reflection in the mirror, thinking of how things had changed since her return from the Majou no Sekai five years ago.
The things I learned there…the things I realized about people—and about myself, too—are lessons that I'm never going to forget. She thought as she fumbled around for a hairtie to match the pink one in her other hair. At least something good came out of my being in the Majou no Sekai…maybe that was the reason why I was brought there…maybe now that I've learned what I was supposed to…I'm never supposed to go back again… Maybe…
Chiding herself for letting her thoughts stray onto that particular topic again, the girl reflected that her life now was almost perfect: she had a great relationship with her parents—better even than before she went into the Majou no Sekai and knew only how to live selfishly and reliantly on others—she was athletic and excelled at her sports, she had good grades at school, and made many new and wonderful friends. Maybe…maybe now it's time for me to forget all about the Majou no Sekai and go on with my life, instead of spending innumerable nights thinking…about them…I'd only make myself miserable that way.
An elastic found its way into her hand and, holding it up, she could see it sparkle with magic. Suddenly, an image formed before her in a pool of sparkling pink emitted from her hairtie, and, for a moment, she could see the faces of her friends from the land of the spirits, circling around a dejected-looking Haku. The vision lasted but for a mere few moments, and disappeared as if it did not exist at all.
To call my life perfect…I'd be lying to myself. Chihiro thought as she closed her eyes, the brief magical image as clear as a picture in her mind. How could it be perfect…without them…without him!—in my life? He's…important…to me…
Tying the spelled hairtie to her braid, Chihiro hurried downstairs give her mother a quick grin and grab her lunch before rushing out the doors for school. Her could hear her heart pounding rapidly in her ears, as if trying to remind her and to warn her from the emotional turmoil she was setting herself up for…however, her mind was already made up about one thing. Today…no matter what I'll find—or what I won't find—I'm going to go there…I'm going to try to go to the Majou no Sekai again.
Because no matter how much it hurts…I have to keep trying…to get to you.
I want to see you again…so badly.
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
Rain continued its relentless downpour over the little town, drenching anyone out of doors who had been unfortunate enough to not remember an umbrella. The skies, so crystal clear and blue that morning, was now darkened with thick rain clouds—the promise of a long thunderstorm. Standing with the rest of her schoolmates at the shoe lockers and preparing to go home, Chihiro realized that she herself had also forgotten to bring an umbrella.
I should've known… the girl thought wryly with a sigh, staring at the thick rain clouds which seemed to be mocking her. I've lived here long enough to know what spring is like here…the weather constantly changing without any signs of warning…but then again…maybe this is just something else the Majou no Sekai so thoughtfully set up to prevent me from trying to get in again.
"Ne, Chihiro-chan? Did you forget your umbrella again?" Shinobo Yumi asked, coming up to Chihiro from behind the girl's still form—knowing all too well how forgetful her best friend was like—and completely surprising Chihiro out of her thoughts.
"EH?!" Chihiro jumped at the sound of her friend's voice, being too deep in thought to have heard her come up. Laughing, the other girl repeated her question with a knowing grin. At Chihiro's mumbled "hai", a masculine voice laughed and spoke up from behind the girls, startling Chihiro yet again.
"Sumimasen for surprising you like that, Chihiro-kun." The boy said in his teasing tone, looking down at Chihiro from his head-taller height with a bright smile. Softly spiked snow-white colored hair caught her attention, the odd coloring framing the boy's almost fairy-like face and features perfectly. Blinking to distract herself from the vision, the girl realized that he was still talking to her. "Maa…to make it up to you, allow me to walk you home today? We wouldn't get all drenched in that rain now, would we?? What do you say, Chihiro-kun?"
"It is raining pretty heavily outside, Chihiro-chan." A new voice spoke up, urging her to accept. Not startled this time (^^*), the girl turned to see that many of her friends had gathered around to watch this mini real-life drama taking place in the shoe locker hallway, all of the anxious to see if Chihiro will finally give in to the handsome and equally popular Itski Yue's invitation.
Looking from their class president to her best friend—and to her "audience" of friends gathered around herself—Chihiro smiled gently and shook her head, knowing full well that her friends meant well and that Yue-san's invitation was genuine. It's sweet that they would worry about me like this...and for Yue-san to keep trying even though I never accept his invitations. She thought of her friends as she turned to face the heartthrob of their school. However…they have to understand that no matter how much they try to urge me, or how many times he asks me—or however many times my friends try setting me up on dates—it'd never work. After all…someone has already claimed my heart, even if he doesn't know that…
"Iie, arigatou, Yue-san…demo, I don't think I'll be heading home right away today." Chihiro said, not wanting to hurt his feelings and still keeping that gentle smile on her face. "I have to run an errand, you see…and I couldn't trouble you to stay with me the whole time just to hold your umbrella for me. Arigatou…demo I'll be fine." Then, turning quickly towards the doorway holding her schoolbag over her head, Chihiro smiled brightly to her friends before heading into the rain.
"I'll see you all tomorrow then!" she said as she used her back to open the school doors and disappearing into the rain. Still inside the school, some of the girls who had gathered around to watch the short drama sighed, all the while asking among themselves why Chihiro wouldn't allow herself to go out with anyone. Seeing the disappointed look on Yue's face and the equally disappointed looks on the concerned faces of Chihiro and her mutual friends, Yumi smiled, thinking of what Chihiro had once told her when she had asked her best friend that same question the other girls were dying to ask her.
"It's hard for us to expect her to just go on and like someone else and go out with them…when there's already someone on her mind." Yumi said softly, but loud enough for all of them to hear. The bustling sound of various conversations stopped as Chihiro's best friend opened her own umbrella and started to leave. "Someone important to her…someone she can't forget, even though he's far away. She's too stubborn to admit it…but I think she fell in love with him even without noticing it…and that isn't something she could just rid herself of so easily. Knowing Chihiro…she'd never give up on him, no matter how far away he is." With that, Yumi too, pushed opened the doors and left, and tiny blurred dot in the steady rain.
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
The rain was cold, and her bookbag wasn't quite as water resistant as she had hoped it to be, the rainwater soaking into its material to drip on her head. Ignoring the growing wetness and the cold seeping through her clothes and skin, Chihiro gritted her clattering teeth and ran on towards the ruins, splashing icy water on her legs and dripping water from her soaked clothing as she ran. Almost there… she thought as the old tunnel came into sight. The sound of the howling wind from beyond the tunnel sent shivers down the girl's spine even as she continued her run towards it, her mind trying to block out the nagging voice that was relentless in trying to stop her—to prevent her from another brush with the painfulness of reality once again. Chihiro paused at the entrance of the tunnel, panting to catch her breath and taking a moment to enjoy the sensation of no longer getting rained on, although she was still soaked to the bone.
The tunnel laid open before her, its howling winds whistling a haunting melody. Behind her laid another open road—the one she had just come from—that leads back to the developing town and towards her house. Standing in the crossroad of the Border of Time, Chihiro closed her eyes as the voices in her mind began to scream louder, begging her to come to her senses and stop before she venture into tunnel again…before she drown herself in the endless cycle of being disappointed over and over again by her own false hope and dreams of ever setting foot in the Majou no Sekai or meeting its residents again.
To admit to herself the truth…she was scared. Scared of the feelings of despair and loneliness she would feel once she finds nothing but rubbles and ruins in the land she was once able to see as the Majou no Sekai—the only things she had been able to find for the past five years. She was afraid that if she went through with this sudden urgency of trying to reach them again—of trying to reach him again—and fail…then she would have to give up forever and not even have this glimmer of hope to hang onto—not even have the image that she was shown this very same morning to carry with her within her heart: the image of her friends as they are now, five years since she'd last seen them, trying to reach out to her just as she was trying to reach to them.
I don't want to lose you…any of you…I don't want to just wake up one day and realize that I've simply forgotten about you…
The girl shook her head violently, as if to dose out her hesitation, and looked determinedly into the tunnel—into the unknown darkness.
I can't turn back now…I just can't. If I do...then I'll live the rest of my life wondering what would've happened if I actually went through with this. I know—I just know!—that eventually I would be able to come to you, Haku…and so if I don't keep trying now…then…
Then how am I going to live the rest of my life, believing in what I believe in now?
Smiling slightly at the stupidity of her own reasoning, Chihiro walked forward into the darkness, confident in her resolve.
There was a blaze of light at the end of the tunnel and, for a moment, the girl thought she could see clear blue skies and lush green grass stretching for miles as far as the eye could see. Then, as suddenly as the light had appeared it was gone, replaced by the constant splattering of rain on the cold, hard stone roads of the ruins and the abandoned structures themselves.
She was still unable to reach the Majou no Sekai.
Sinking onto her knees, the girl whose heart was bounded to the land of the spirits gave in to her tears, not making an effort to conceal them anymore as trails of tears trickled their way from the girl's face to join the chilly rain on the hard ground.
In the background, amidst the music of the steadily falling rain, a distinctive ticking sound could be heard, unheeded by the weeping girl.
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Hmmm…let's see, where shall I start? Hehe…by the chappie title, Beyond the Boundary, I meant Chihiro's side of the world. After all, as I tried (but knowing me…trying really doesn't help much sometimes…^^;;) to summarize in my…summary…of this fic, Chihiro starts to forget things…so I just thought, might as well start with an idea of what her life is like now in the human world, ne?? Guys…you still here? n.n
Japanese vocab…I've never done this before, even though there's only one word I think I need to mention in here! But just in case you're wondering…a bento is a Japanese lunchbox…what they call their packed lunches :) Sumimasen means 'I'm sorry' or 'excuse me', depending on the context it's used in…maa is sorta like a sound of saying 'well' (I think!)…iie means 'no', and arigatou means 'thank you'…and the rest should be clear enough for you guys to make out the meaning…or it's not too important anyway XD I wanted to put these little things in to try to make it slightly more Japanese-ish…again, to make up for the rather small to lack of Jap influence in my other ficcy… ^^;;
The names of Chihiro's "best friend" and everyone's "boy of their dreams" trying to win Chihiro's heart are both made up, and who knows?—mebbe they'll just end up both serving entirely as sidesides in this ficcy…or one of them will take a rather major role in it, after all…I'd like to tell ya, but I really couldn't see…I kinda still have to figure that out for myself XP And if the names sound familiar to you guys…that's cuz I kinda just jambled whatever anime character (or bishie!)'s names came to my mind first together and made up these names like that… ^^;; (I doubt anyone would actually be called "Yue"…but he was for you, Tiva-chan…for always being here to read EVERY SINGLE ONE of my ficcies!! *huggles* Thanks a bunch, buddy~!!)
Lastly, for those of you who have read The Day the Dream Ended and are reading this now (thank you, thank you, thank you! ^^*), the whole layout/formatting of this chappie might seemed just a tad familiar to you (with the whole Chihiro-centric chappie and her thinking to herself thing)…dunt worry, this fic's story itself is quite different than that of my other fic, and the different should turn out (aka. Show!) pretty soon…so you wunt end up reading the same story presented in a different way, no worries~!!
As always, comments, criticisms and anything else ya wanna say is welcomed~! Please tell me what you think, so I'll have a better idea of where to take this story, okiee??
~Aqua Sunshine ^^*