Chapter 5: Assisted Reunion

By, azngurlenluv

A/N: AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!! **runs away from angry mob of SA fans** I'm SO sorry this didn't get up earlier, but I've been lazy. That's the only reason I can give you, I'm sorry to say. Wait, and I've also lost momentum… I was going to watch SA again to become inspired, but I let my friend borrow it yesterday, so, meh… School started too, so I guess that's another reason. Being an honors student means a lot of schoolwork. So here's the long-awaited Chapter 5. I think it's shoddy, but I wanted to post it sometime in August. Since September is only 2 days away, I figured I might as well write it today before I get swept away by Labor Day weekend.

I figure that I won't answer reviews this time. I'm anxious to get this up, but I just want to thank you all for sticking with me and waiting patiently despite the fact that I am very lazy. **bows humbly**

Disclaimer: Me no own Spirited Away! Miyazaki-san do! He make money. Me broke. No sue me. Me broke.!!!

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Chihiro was reaccepted into the bathhouse with no objections. Her service to the famous river god that came years ago made her well-liked among the workers, despite the fact that she had led No-Face into the bathhouse who wreaked havoc and consumed almost everything and everyone. She was also well-known among the bathhouse visitors, and became one of the most on-demand workers at the bathhouse. She was requested for constantly and worked from dusk till dawn, where she usually collapsed into her bedding with no time to think about anything.

It began to rain one night, so business slowed down, giving Chihiro considerable time to talk to everyone and become reacquainted. The women there all knew of the little thing Chihiro and Haku had felt for one another, and they loved to talk to her about it. They questioned her about when she knew that she loved him and sighed at every slightly romantic thing she mentioned, wishing to find love for themselves one day. Chihiro, in turn, questioned them about his whereabouts. She wanted to know when they last saw him, and the only information they could offer her was that they last heard of him when he went to the top floor to meet with Yubaba.

As the night turned to dawn, everything in the bathhouse shut down. Yubaba was seen flying away from the bathhouse in her bird form, and everyone else went to sleep; everyone except Chihiro. Chihiro sat there on the balcony outside of her room that she shared with a number of other women in the bathhouse, thinking of nothing more than Haku. She feared the worst for him, pondering over the fact that he was last seen walking into the quarters of an evil sorceress. She sighed and watched the sun's light glisten off of the water all around them from the recent rain. She noticed something flying about in the wind, and turned her attention to it, hoping that maybe…

As it came closer, she saw that it was nothing more than something that looked like a bird. It drifted closer to her, and she gasped as she saw that it was just a piece of paper shaped slightly like a bird. She scrambled up to her feet and reached out to beckon it towards her, knowing full well the sender of the paper bird: Zeniba.

It came closer and landed on the balcony beside Chihiro. Suddenly, the transparent image of Yubaba sprang up, but the kindly eyes showed that it wasn't Yubaba, but her twin sister. Chihiro was happy to see Zeniba again, and she was about to give the image a flying hug before she remembered that it was nothing but a transparent image and that she would injure herself if she were to come flying at it.

Instead, she smiled brightly at seeing the counterpart of Yubaba. "Granny!" she exclaimed, "How have you been?"

The image of Zeniba smiled at Chihiro in a granny-like way. "I'm just fine, dear," she answered, sounding more like a grandma with each passing breath, "I heard, or rather, felt, that you had come back, so I wanted to drop by, in a sense, and see how you were doing."

Chihiro smiled gratefully, happy that she had yet another person in this world that cared about her. Someone to care about her… Chihiro got a pained look on her face. Her hands began to clench and unclench, a tear or two escaping from her eyes. The impact of all of her sorrows and worries finally hit her, being as they were pushed away for a few days because of her busy schedule.

More tears flowed from her eyes as she brought her hands up to her face. "I'm NOT o.k…" Chihiro said, muffled by her hands, "I came all the way back here. I left my world forever. And HE'S not here! Worst of all, no one knows why he isn't here, so now, I'm worried. I miss him so much…" Chihiro continued to cry, her breathing becoming ragged and short.

Zeniba could do nothing but look on at the poor girl, but then a thought struck her. "Wait, you're talking about that dragon boy… Haku, right?" Zeniba started. Chihiro nodded, and in turn received a rather sharp gasp from the sorceress. Looking up from her hands, Chihiro saw Zeniba with a forlorn expression on her face.

"…What?" she asked, the feeling of dread rising in her. Zeniba stood there for a minute, and then opened her mouth to speak. "My dear," she said, "I'm sorry to say this, but Haku is still here. He's being held captive by my sister…"

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A/N: I'M NOT DONE!!! The chapter title will fit. I will add more later!!! I'm just tired and I want to make my August deadline that I set like, a month or so ago. Sorry that it's sort of short and not as well written as the other chapters… I wanted to get this up before tonight, though… I WILL edit, so don't fret. I've found another excuse for not writing this chapter earlier: my friend got me into role-playing. I role-play at www.tsukitejina.com. Peoples there are nice, and if you decide to join, then Private Message me using their mail system in there. My name in there is Kasumi Aoyama. Oh, and as to what kind of role-playing it is, it's basically a magic school, ala Harry Potter. It's not Harry Potter though, but its own entity. There are some borrowed terms and everything, but it's basically very original. And if you're already on there, then PM me telling me your character's name on there. Alrighty? I'm outie, home dog! **grins** Till next time.