CHAPTER 2: ADVANCED TECHNOLOGY
A blast of heat came from the open door, as smoke and fire flew at the two. Piles upon piles of soot was scattered about the room, as they walked down the tiny corridor of pipes and wheels. They walked into the large room only to be confronted by five small frog-looking creatures that were running back and forth from a large pile of coal and the furnace, holding shovels full of the black rocks. Beads of sweat spilled down their faces as they tossed the shovel fulls' of coal into the fire. Another strange creature who seemed to be running the whole boiler room sat at the front, mixing and collecting different herbs with it's eight long legs that could stretch and move in any which way without having the main body move an inch. Len moved easily into the room, with little fear of these strange creatures. Chihiro remained at the entrance, starring in at them all with fear and curiosity raging in her eyes.
"Hey, Kamaji. And how are all of your guys fairing?" She questioned the group in the room. They all just moaned in unison as they continued to heat the boiler.
"So you brought us a visitor I see." The eight-legged creature asked as he hit the platform he sat on with a wooden gavel sending the frogs off on brake.
"Yeah, and wouldn't ya know it. It's Sen. Thought I'd never see this girl again." Len said with a laugh as she turned to see the still cowering Chihiro. "You can come out. He doesn't bite."
Chihiro gulped hard and slowly came out from her hiding place.
"Ahh… hello." She said with a great quick bow to the creature.
"Well, hello my dear. I see you've grown into quite a beautiful young women since last I saw you." Kamaji said politely, looking her up and down.
"Ahh… thanks." She said, now a bit less scared and taking a step closer she stepped down into the place where the tiny workers had been running back and forth from. Once her foot touched the ground a strange spark lit up in her head. Her eyes looked to the tiny holes lined along side the foundation. Something was missing that use to be here lighting the furnace rather that the frogs.
"It seems she came down with a case of amnesia while she was gone all those years. She doesn't remember anything. So make sure you go easy on her." Len whispered to Kamaji. He nodded in reply and looked to where Chihiro stood starring at the holes along the sides.
"Umm… Mr. Kamaji… uh… was their something else that use to bring the coal back and forth?" She asked still starring at the holes expecting something to come out and greet her.
"Oh, you mean the soot balls." He started as he shot a look to Len, who had a large grin on her face realizing that she was remembering. "Well you have missed quite a bit so let me explain some things in brief." He cleared his throat. "While you were gone, Yubaba had begun to loose her touch and fiery temper. And as she grew older, her magic also died. Another sorceress who had been waiting for this time finally made her mark and took over the entire city. She's a strange sorceress. Rather than using magic, she resorts to that of human technology. Only this technology is far more advanced from what humans had gotten too. And in turning to technology, she has made it so all of the employees are not allowed to use any sort of magic while they work. The soot balls I had put a spell on so they could work for me, but ever since Noria came, the frogs have been put to work." Kamaji explained.
"It's been terrible. But no matter how much we want to quit, we need the money. No other jobs in the city are hiring, and we have no way to leave. See she's a sky spirit, which means we can't even fly out of here if we had the right spirit to help us. And she has made it so only spirits are allowed to purchase train tickets out of here." Len added to Kamaji's explanation.
"Oh." Chihiro stated solemnly.
"Well let's try and get you a job here. It'd be better off if you stayed here and worked. It wouldn't do anybody good if we tried to conceal you from her sight, seeing as she has hidden cameras all over the place. Luckily she's out right now, so I'll bring you up to her room without much difficulty." She finished as she headed over to a small sliding wooden door and opened it.
"Well come on. She'll be back soon, and then it won't be so easy." Len insisted as Chihiro then quickened up her pace and scurried over to her. Quickly taking off her boots she looked to Kamaji who had started back to work along with the frogs she called up to him.
"Ahh… thank you Mr. Kamaji." She said with a bow.
"No problem, Sen, and call me Kamaji." He said with a smile that was hardly visible under his bushy mustache. Chihiro smiled and bowed. She decided to wait to say anything about her real name. She wanted to see where this thing was going. Sen did sound familiar to her, but it still wasn't ringing a bell.
Len led her threw a tiny room and out into a giant inner chamber of the building. Staircases and elevators lined the walls. The building soared high above them, roughly around five stories. Len started off walking towards one of the elevators and boarded it. Turning around inside her eyes grazed around looking for the girl.
"Hey, Sen. Would ya come on already. This isn't a tour." Len exclaimed to the girl. Chihiro then quickly walked over to her, eyes till focused on the interior. Upon stepping into the room they were both suddenly sent skyward. They flew past different windows that showed many different scenes of spirits and many human looking people as well. Not to mention the assortment of frog type people. Only these frogs were more human-sized unlike the ones she had just witnessed in the boiler room.
"Hey, Len." Chihiro began as the doors opened and they walked out and into yet another elevator.
"Yeah, what's up?" She returned.
"Aren't there any other humans that work here? I mean you look like you're a human and—"
"Don't say I'm a human! I'm a spirit just like everyone else around here we're just lower spirits unlike the ones we serve." She explained in a huff.
"I'm sorry. I was just confused on why some looked to be human, and yet you all hate humans."
"Humans are messy and could care less about anything and everything. But you seemed to show to everyone here that not all humans are that bad. But spirits still disapprove of that race." She explained more fully.
"Yeah, that is true. I for one hate people. I started to drift away from being really social when I moved here seven years… ago…" She slowed in her speech. "They said I had come here seven years ago. And supposedly if I was around all of these spirits, and then returned to being around humans all the time, would that really affect the way I was around others?" She questioned herself in her thoughts.
"See I told you humans were no good. Even you realized that after the three days you were here." She said with a grin as the elevator beeped and opened its doors. "Well this is it. Good luck." She said. Chihiro stepped out into the long hall as the elevator then descended leaving her alone. This hall looked a lot different from any of the others. Its original Japanese style was completely taken away as a light blue metallic metal streamed the hall. Small circular windows lined the hall, and on each side letting in beams of sunlight enter. Small little glowing blue balls floated about the room. One flew up to her face, and suddenly projected a holographic image of some shadowy figure sitting in what looked to be a hovering half circle chair with fancy red cushions in the lining.
"So this is the young girl whom everyone has been talking about. You've been quite the little celebrity around here ever since you mistakably wondered in here seven years ago with your parents." Said a female voice.
"Erm… I would like a job please." Chihiro stated quietly. Not really use to the fact yet of speaking to air.
"I had a feeling you would come up with the same line that Yubaba wished you hadn't spoken so many years ago." The figured sighed. "Well come in. Not really very formal of me to leave you hanging in the entrance having to talk to me." She stated as the hologram disappeared. The tiny blue sphere floated down to just about ankle level and pulsated a bright blue. Then the rest of the blue spheres quickly gathered and formed a rather comfy looking blue chair. The chair floated back, picked up Chihiro in it and then flew down the hall at a rather fast speed but not to fast as where she would become to overwhelmed. A final door opened at the very end, allowing her to enter a pitch-black room. The only thing lighting it was the blue spherical balls that floated in the main hall. Suddenly a snap was issued amongst the dimly lit room and spheres surrounding Chihiro and the shadowed figure from the hologram brightened finally allowing for the figure to be seen.
It was yet another girl who looked to be human in each way possible. She had long blue hair that reached down to the small of her back. Perfectly straight and cut exactly even right across the bottom. Her bangs were wild and were dyed black. Her outfit looked a lot different from those everyone else wore. It didn't even look like something a normal human would wear. It reminded her a lot of the American cartoon of "The Jetsons" but had a sort of Japanese feel to it. The girl let out one of her arms and grabbed hold of one of the blue spheres that fit perfectly in her palm.
"Nano Bugs. Cute little creations aren't they. In the human world you've just recently been working with them. Can you imagine that this little sphere holds hundreds of these tiny robots?" She smiled as she tossed the sphere back into the air.
"Will you offer me a job?" Chihiro questioned once more. She really didn't understand what the big deal was of her getting a job, but she felt like she needed to continue with the game.
"I really don't need any more employee's. I have enough of them as is, not to mention you're a human. The only thing your good for is meat for the spirits to eat." A wicked little smirk lit up her face. Chihiro took a slight step back at this thought.
"Please ma'am, I would really like a job." Chihiro chimed in again, now a bit more determined, as this girl was becoming more of a nuisance like the preps she had to deal with at school.
"I'm sorry, but their just isn't any hope for you here." She smiled and was just about to send her out when scratching and clanging of chains in another part of the dark room could be heard. "I thought I told you to stay quite!" The girl yelled as she stood up abruptly. Chihiro's eyes widened as she noticed the girl had a tail, which was concealed from view when she was seated. "Deal with him!" She commanded to the Nano bugs. Around twenty of the tiny spheres whizzed over to a corner of the room where the racket was being issued from. Chihiro turned her view from the girl and then onto the pitch black area of the room in which the nano bugs had cornered. Suddenly bolts of electricity flew from them hitting something. Flashes from the bolts lit up the area. Screams of pain in a roar like state flew from that part of the room. Chihiro squinted in to see what was being attacked, and amidst the bolts she could see a silver scaled body. Rosy blood stained the once brilliant shimmering white of the body. The chains finally stopped it's moving and the nano bugs floated back into the main part of the room. Low moans from the creature were heard.
A sigh from the front drew Chihiro's frightened gaze away from the distressed creature and back onto the girl.
"Just sign your name on the X and you'll be set up with work." She said as she settled back in the chair. Just then two nano bugs floated up to her and stretched up in front of her a clear blue screen with a giant red X at the side. Chihiro looked at it confused.
"Just motion your finger on the line and sign it." The girl said in a low dried out voice as she sat back and painted her nails.
Chihiro did as she was told and traced the original Japanese characters onto the see through paper. Once it finished it disappeared and reappeared in front of the girl on some strange screen that had dropped down and was now sitting in front of her left eye.
"Well Chihiro. I'm Noria, your boss. And now your name will be 2029." She said bluntly as the little screen flew back up. Chihiro looked closer to see that the thing was attached to her head, a further inspection of the girl and she noticed random tubes sticking from the back of her neck and the tops of her hands, and strange looking tattoos were all over her skin that was exposed. She suddenly screamed out in pain as a nano bug came over to her forearm and tattooed the number to her arm. It quickly finished and flew off. In a normal human reaction, Chihiro grabbed it as blood oozed from where all the needle punctures had come threw.
"Now you may leave." She said as she was suddenly whizzed out of the room and thrown onto the floor at the elevator door in which she had come from earlier. The door opened and Len stood their holding a bandage and some medicinal herbs. She quickly poured some on the bandage and walked up to her.
"Don't worry." She said as she wrapped the bandage around where the tattoo had begun to really sink into her skin and become engraved.
"We all have them." She said helping Chihiro to her feet. Chihiro stood a bit wobbly at first. The whole experience was way too much for her. Len led her out and onto the elevator. "Everyone still calls each other by their names, but when she's around make sure to call people by their numbers. Her nano bugs can't record sound we've found out. So when there around make sure you're at least busy doing work. But don't worry to much about the numbers." She explained as she led her down to another elevator. Chihiro boarded this one and then leaned up along the wall.
"This is to much."
Author's Notes: Yet another chapter done. This is the most I've ever done on a fanfic. Normally I've lost interest after the first chapter or the prologue which ever came first in that story. ^_^;; Well continue to R&R, and I'll continue bringing you more chapters. Feel free to contact me by:
E-mail: uriko_san2002@yahoo.com
AIM: F00LmeTW1C3
YIM: uriko_san2002
I also draw, so I did some fanart of Haku in his dragon form. I'll post pictures like this whenever I get something done. So look for them if your interested in my art. ^_^ You can check out my other art as well at
maya-chan.deviantart.com no www. It's just http:// and then the name. If I put in the whole thing it will turn into a hyperlink and then you can't see it.
Here is Haku's picture
thumbs.deviantart.com/300W-96A096/large/indyart/anime/Haku_A_Stylin_Dragon same with this one no www at the beginning.