You may be wondering why I update so regularly. Well, you see, there's this thing called school. They let you use computers if you say it is for homework. I tell people this is English. They don't really care anyway. Life is good, updating is better...
Disclaimer: I don't need to go through this again, do I?
The Sneak- Thanks! I was really worried that it wouldn't be any good. I'll work on the editing stuff. Good-luck on your stories too!
Haku's girl- You are soooooo nice! I'm sorry the chapters are so short, I'll work on that. I'll try to make it up to you by updating regularly. Please keep reviewing, I'd like to know what you think.
Red-Rose87- You reviewed again! Hee hee! sings and dances while skipping around the room
Already three people have reviewed! I'm happy. Happy happy happy happy happy happy…
Chapter 3- Through the Tunnel"Oomph!" Chihiro's gasp echoed. Echoed? Chihiro looked around cautiously.
"Whoa! Neat tunnel" Said Rose as she stepped through the curtain of vines that hid it from the rest of the world.
"Chihiro! You alright?" Wren asked, following Rose through.
"Yeah, I'm okay. I'll probably just have a huge bruise in the morning." Chihiro answered, gingerly getting up. 'Ooo, that will be sore.' Chihiro thought as she stretched. Looking around she realized it was the tunnel that led to the Spirit World. 'It must have been here all along, I just never went down the road far enough.'
"We should probably go back." Wren said. She disliked dark places, always had since she was little.
"It's pouring outside! I'm not going back out into that, crazy girl!" Rose glared at Wren, though Chihiro could tell she wasn't really angry.
"You know, I'm almost certain this is the tunnel that leads to the Spirit World." Chihiro approached the subject tentatively, not certain how it would be received. "We could go through?"
"You know, going home is starting to sound better." Rose commented. "I'm not sure if I'm ready to go to the loony bin with you two little crazies. Maybe another day."
"Let's go down it!" Wren said at the same time, excited.
"But you hate the dark!" Rose said, examining Wren closely. "Are you sure you're my sister?"
"Yup!"
'Well,' Chihiro thought, 'This is going nowhere.' But she didn't say anything, letting the other two argue it out as she looked around. Part of her still didn't believe it was the same passageway she had went through three years ago. 'Why didn't Kohaku come?' Years of correcting herself had trained her to think and talk about Kohaku using his true name. 'If it was this easy all along, why isn't he already here?' But maybe she was being unfair, Chihiro reminded herself. Maybe he still couldn't get away from Yubaba, or maybe time was different in the Spirit World. 'Or maybe,' a dark part of her mind whispered 'he's glad to be rid of you.' Chihiro winced. Of all the possibilities, that one scared her the most. Chihiro's thoughts were interrupted by the sound of the twins nearing the end of their fight.
"Fine! Chihiro and I will just go on without you!" Wren said, finally losing her temper.
"No, I'm coming with you. You'd probably lead Chihiro off a cliff thinking you can fly, crazy girl!"
Chihiro sighed. She hated it when they brought her into the argument. "Let's just go home." She broke in, halting the disagreement.
"But you want to see your dragon boy again, don't you?" Rose asked, confused.
"I'm sorry we were fighting. I'll shut up now." Wren said, contrite.
"Yeah, we were just running our mouths off for the hell of it. Come on, girl! Don't let us crazies get you down."
Chihiro looked down the tunnel, then grabbed the two older girls' hands and started her journey back to the Spirit World.
The three blinked in the dusty sunlight. Although it was evening back home, light from the setting sun still filtered through the train station windows.
"I will never doubt you again, Chihiro. This friggin' place is real!" Rose said, awed. "Or I've gone insane."
"You know, Frigg is a Norse Goddess." Wren said, blowing the conversation to a whole different planet with her usual ease.
"Really? Goddess of what?"
"Childbirth, I think."
"Jeeze, no wonder it's a swearword now."
Chihiro shook her head slightly. Here they were in the Spirit World, and her friends were discussing Norse religion.
"So if you think the Spirit World exists, does this mean you'll believe me when I tell you about Alfred now?" Alfred was the wizard Wren insisted stole Snickerdoodle once.
"I said I was a believer, I never said I was gullible." Rose answered, peering around in the fading light. "Hey, should we start exploring while we can still see or what?"
"Yes!" Chihiro said excitedly. Finally they were getting somewhere! Wren just pouted and refused to look at Rose. Walking out of the train station, Chihiro led them through the winding streets lined with restaurants. The sun was setting fast, and already the ghostly, shadow-like spirits were appearing. The bridge to the bathhouse was unguarded, for no guests were arriving yet. Chihiro, Rose, and Wren quickly made their way across the bridge, and Chihiro opened the little door to the garden. It was difficult, for she was already disappearing, as were Rose and Wren. Chihiro started to get worried. What if they couldn't find food in time? And if they did, would they be able to swallow it? Chihiro remembered that the more you disappear, the more difficult it was to swallow things.
But Kamajii would help! Chihiro was sure of that. Hastily Chihiro took them down the steps to the boiler room. It wasn't easy, the step that Chihiro had broken when she was ten wasn't fixed, and to top it all off Rose was afraid of heights. Wren had to coax her down step by step as Chihiro waited uneasily at the bottom. After what seemed like an eternity, everyone was safely in the boiler room.
"Eeh, who's there?" Kamajii turned around. "Chihiro! Come to visit your old grandfather?"
Chihiro giggled at the joke. When she had first come, Kamajii had told everyone that she was his granddaughter. "Yes! I've made it back!" Chihiro said happily. "But my friends and I need some food! Will you help us, please?"
Kamajii grinned and handed each of the girls a piece of shrimp. When everyone was back to normal, Wren and Rose introduced themselves. Chihiro was impressed that they were so polite and acted like meeting a six-armed man was an everyday occurrence for them. Suddenly, the door to the rest of the bathhouse opened and Rin entered.
"Kamajii, did your soot-balls develop voices? I thought I heard-Sen!" Rin shouted, finally spotting Chihiro. "Where'd you come from?!? Not that I'm not happy to see you, klutz." Rin added as an afterthought. She looked at Chihiro. 'She really hasn't changed that much.' Rin thought. 'Sure she got a little taller, but not much. Her hair is longer now, and she's just starting to look like a pre-adolescent.'
Chihiro explained how she got to the bathhouse again and introduced Rose and Wren. Finally Chihiro got to ask the question that had been bugging her for three years.
"Rin, where's Kohaku? He promised he'd see me again." Chihiro didn't see the worried look Rin and Kamajii exchanged. "It's been three years here too, right? Does Kohaku still work here?"
"Sen, I mean, Chihiro," Rin said carefully. "It's been three years here too. Haku left almost two and a half years ago. He wanted to find you. We never heard from him since. I thought by now he would have-" Rin broke off, not sure how to continue.
"He was so anxious to be free so he could see you again." Kamajii stated for Rin. "Something must have happened to him."
Chihiro felt emotions descend on her. Worry, that was the main one. Worry that Kohaku was hurt somewhere, worry that she was too late and had waited too long. Guilt, too, that she hadn't tried harder to get here before. She felt guilty that one little part of her seemed relieved that he hadn't forgotten her, that maybe he loved her after all. Wren speaking to her snapped her out of her misery.
"Chihiro? Chihiro, can you think of anyone who Haku might have gone to? Someone who might know which way he decided to leave the Spirit World, cause there must be more than one way."
Chihiro felt relief sweep away all the rest of her feelings. Zeniba would help her! She might, no, must know what happened to Kohaku. Quickly she told everyone her idea. Both Rose and Wren approved, feeling that neither of them could leave Chihiro on her own.
"We'll have to walk to Swamp Bottom. We can follow the train tracks, but it will take a couple days, I think." Chihiro explained when Rose asked how they would get there.
"No, you'll take the train." Rin interrupted, surprising them all. She held up a small piece of gold. "Haku gave this to me before he left. He wanted me to buy my contract back and get out of here. I couldn't bring myself to do it, not without seeing you again to tell you where to find me. I was sure Haku would bring you back to visit sometime. Guess I'm not psychic. I don't really need this, but you do. I'll just go buy the tickets for you." Rin left after feeding the soot-balls.
In next to no time Rin was back. Chihiro, Rose, and Wren said goodbye to Rin and Kamajii, and were on their way again. Sitting on the train, Chihiro felt a wave of exhaustion wash over her, but she couldn't sleep. Turning to Wren, she asked, "Will you tell me a story? The one where you meet Alfred."
Rose grinned and laid her head on Wren's shoulder as Wren started. "Well, once upon a time there was a funny place called high school. And in this high school was a funny class called Algebra…"
TBC…
Finally done with this chapter! Only took one day too! Plz R&R. Also, I'm sorry for some of the language. I had no idea Rose was such a potty mouth. Rose proceeds to give author the finger And I don't know what the building was at the other end of the tunnel, so I just said it was a train station. If I'm wrong, I'm very sorry. See ya later!