You have always been there, I just didn't know (part 2)
Chihiro surveyed herself in front of the mirror. She did one turn and giggled to herself. She straightened the wrinkles on her uniform and nodded, apparently satisfied with the way she looked. She grabbed her bag and ran downstairs towards the dining room. She pulled up a chair and sat down. Her mother laid down her meal on the table in front of her. "Good morning!" Chihiro greeted.
Her mother smiled. "Good morning!" she returned, giving Chihiro a kiss on the cheek.
"Where's Dad?" Chihiro asked, looking at her father's empty seat.
"He had to go to work earlier than usual today. I think it's a business meeting with some client. Well, eat up or you'll be late for school."
Chihiro nodded.
After eating, she kissed her mother goodbye and ran out of the door, bag in hand.
"Good morning!" Chihiro greeted her friends as she entered the classroom.
"Good morning!" Momoka greeted back while the others nodded. Chihiro sat down by her desk. She took off her bag and began to arrange her things. Nikken, Sakura and Momoka gathered around her. They were all smiling mischievously.
"What?" Chihiro asked.
They all shook their head, trying to look innocent and Chihiro's suspicion grew inside her. "All right, what's up?" she asked again.
It was Nikken who spoke first. "Well, we've been hearing things—about you," she said between giggling fits.
Chihiro frowned. "What things?" she asked.
"Um…remember the upcoming costume party this Friday?" Sakura asked with a twinkle in her eyes.
"Ye-e-s," Chihiro said slowly. Something's up, she thought. I just wish I knew what! She looked at each of them, trying to figure out what they were all giggling about, but she just couldn't get it.
"Well…who are you going with?" Momoka asked.
Chihiro blushed. She should've known! Now she was in for it!
"Well, I'm going with Ha—um, I mean—Y-Yoshikawa," she replied.
"AHA!" her three friends chorused, pointing triumphant fingers at her. Chihiro blushed even harder. Momoka laughed sinisterly. "I knew it!" she exclaimed. "Lately, you and Yoshikawa have been pretty close! We've been seeing you together for the past weeks!"
Chihiro couldn't believe it as the truth struck her. "You—you've—you've been spying on me?" she cried out.
Her three friends laughed altogether and Chihiro fell back on her chair. She hung her head as her blushing became more intense. "Well, we were just—I mean—it's not like—um—well—it's just—I—he—"
"Oh, you don't need to get shy about it! We think it's great!" Sakura said.
"You've made a pretty good match," Momoka agreed.
"You two make a cute couple," Nikken gushed.
The three of them sighed. "Chihiro and Yoshikawa forever!" they chorused.
Momoka looked at Chihiro and saw that she was hiding under the table. The three of them crouched down to her. "Chihiro?" Nikken asked.
Chihiro covered her face in embarrassment. "Please don't say it out loud!" she said. Momoka, Nikken and Sakura looked behind and saw that all their classmates were looking at them. They smiled sheepishly and took Chihiro out of the classroom.
At lunch, the three of them sat on their usual place near the game court. As usual, the boys were playing soccer. One of them, of course, was Haku, disguised as a student under the name Yoshikawa. But only Chihiro was aware of it.
Haku threw a glance at Chihiro and her friends as he whizzed across the game court to score a goal. He noticed Chihiro's head was bent and she looked worked-up while her friends were giggling about something. He delivered a goal and as he wiped the sweat on his forehead, he closed his eyes to concentrate. The dragon charm on his necklace glowed bright blue.
Hey, what's wrong?
Chihiro's eyes widened and she looked up. She saw Haku waving at her. He was using the charm to speak to her. She was used to it now, they've been communicating that way for quite a while. She hung her head again as she nibbled on a rice cake.
Nothing. It's just that…I heard everybody's been talking about us.
Haku frowned as a teammate passed the ball to him. He passed the ball to another.
What's wrong with that?
Chihiro bit her lower lip. Well…it's—I mean—aren't you embarrassed?She heard Haku laugh inside her head. At the sound of his laughter, Chihiro felt her heart lighten.
Why would I? I don't care about them. It's you I care about. Look, just don't mind it. And don't worry about your friends. They're just teasing you.
Chihiro smiled and looked at Haku but he was busy driving the ball towards the goal. Thank you. Now concentrate on your game, we're going back to class.
All right. Take care! See you later!
See you later!
And with that, the connection was broken.
Yu-Baba exhaled a cloud of smoke as she studied a few files. She weighed the income for the day and groaned. It was the same as yesterday. She massaged her temples and sighed in frustration.
"Haku!" she cried out. "Haku!"
Her door opened and a figure went in. "Yes, Yu-Baba?"
"Why isn't there any change in today's profit?" Yu-Baba demanded. "I specifically ordered you to supervise it!"
Haku gave a bow. "I'm sorry," he said. "But the day's not done yet. A lot of customers might come later."
Yu-Baba glanced at the morning sky and shuddered. "Well, you're right. Business is booming at night." She sighed again. "This is getting tiresome. Get me something warm to drink…and some newts!"
Haku gave another bow to retreat. "Yes, Yu-Baba," he said.
As he turned to go, Yu-Baba pointed a finger at him and attacked him with her magic. Haku dropped on the floor, limp and knocked-out. Then, after a few moments, he disappeared into thin air.
Yu-Baba's fists clenched and she bared her teeth. "I knew it!" she exclaimed. "He's been acting strange for quite a while now."
She strode to the window and looked out. "Where are you?" she asked herself. As she pondered the question in her mind, a black dot appeared in the sky, growing nearer towards her. She smiled.
A large bird with a man's head landed beside her. "Well, my pet," Yu-Baba said. "What news have you got for me?"
Her pet moved closer to her and whispered in her ear. As the whisperings continued, Yu-Baba's expression turned from light to grim and finally to anger. "WHAT?" she screamed. "Someone is going in and out of the Spirit World using my magic behind my knowledge?"
Her pet nodded savagely, grinning from ear to ear. Yu-Baba's eyes flared dangerously. "Who? Who dared?" she exclaimed.
Her eyes drifted towards the place where the fake Haku fell and disappeared. Her expression turned sinister and she smiled smugly. "Hmmm…" she said. "I think I have an idea who…and why."
Chihiro sighed as her mother arranged her costume. She looked at herself in the mirror. She was going as a witch in the costume party, minus the gruesome make-up. Her mother bought her the costume. It fitted her perfectly, also the matching black boots. Her mother smiled as she finished tying the black ribbon around Chihiro's waist.
"There. You're all done. Oh, your hair! What should we do with it?" her mother asked.
Chihiro shook her head. "It's okay. I'll just tie it up with this," she said, picking up a purple hair band.
"Hmmm…you've had that hair band for years now. Funny, it still has a lot of glitter."
Chihiro's eyes widened. "Oh!" she exclaimed. She couldn't possibly tell her mother that she got it from Zeniba, who happened to be a witch in the Spirit World! "I don't know why it's like that! It really is odd, isn't it?" She let out what she wished was a convincing laugh.
Her mother's eyes narrowed but after a moment, she smiled and gave Chihiro a kiss on the cheek. "Have fun. Your dad's all ready to take you there," she said.
"Okay," Chihiro said.
Inside, she was sighing with relief.
The party was already in full swing when Chihiro arrived. She cowered in a corner and tried to avoid the crowd. She was suddenly struck with shyness. She sat on one of the chairs beside a window of the dance hall. She sighed. Her heart was racing. She couldn't wait to see Haku…but there was something inside her that was too shy to face him.
"Wow, Chihiro! You look fantastic!" a voice cried out in front of her.
Chihiro looked up and saw two of her classmates, Emiko and Jiro. She smiled. "Thank you, Emiko. You have a nice costume. Who are you supposed to be?" she asked.
"Oh, I'm Juliet," Emiko answered. "And this is Romeo."
"How sweet!" Chihiro exclaimed.
"She made me do it," Jiro joked.
"Jiro!" Emiko said, threateningly holding up a fist in front of Jiro.
"I was just kidding!" Jiro explained.
"Oh, really?" Emiko grabbed his collar and dragged him away.
Chihiro giggled as she watched Emiko and Jiro walk away. Then, she frowned. The music slowed down and she hung her head. Where was Haku? She wondered what his costume was. Her heart was thumping wildly again. She didn't know why.
Hey.
Chihiro gasped in surprise and she quickly looked up. There was Haku, holding out his hand to her. "Haku," she said.
"I'm Yoshikawa, remember?" Haku laughed.
Chihiro blushed lightly. "Oh yeah, I forgot. Sorry," she muttered. She surveyed him. He was wearing his own clothes, the one he wore back in the Spirit World. She smiled. Well, it was a costume party. It fitted perfectly in the crowd.
"What's wrong?" she heard Haku ask.
"Huh?" she started. "N-nothing. It's just that—well—your costume."
Haku looked down at his clothes and laughed again. "Honestly, I didn't have anything else to wear," he said.
Chihiro laughed along. "It fits here, though. Unlike back in the mansion, when you showed yourself, people thought you were a ghost," she said.
"That was deliberate. I was trying to scare away the people so they wouldn't come in," Haku protested. "Anyway, we're wasting the good music. Let's dance."
Chihiro's heart raced again as she took Haku's hand. He led her towards the dance floor. They found a spot and they faced each other. At first, it was awkward on Chihiro's side. She kept blushing intensely whenever she tried to put her arms around Haku's neck. But afterwards, they were dancing smoothly along with the music.
Chihiro sighed as she laid her head on Haku's shoulder. It was a wonderful feeling. She felt dizzy, as if the world was turning too fast, but it gave her heart a queer beat and she wished it wouldn't stop. Not now, not ever.
What?
Chihiro looked into Haku's eyes. Then, she dropped back down on his shoulder.
Nothing.
"Everybody's still dancing. I can't believe how much energy they have. I'm tired!" Chihiro said as she and Haku sat down by one of the tables.
"Do you want a drink?" Haku asked.
"Yes, please," Chihiro replied.
Haku got up and walked across the dance floor towards the refreshment table.
Chihiro watched as the crowd on the dance floor thickened. She caught glimpses of her friends, Momoka, Sakura and Nikken, dancing with their dates. Her eyes darted around the crowd and then, her heart stopped.
She stood up in surprise. There, walking towards the stage was…
YU-BABA!
She blinked several times, trying to see if it was reality or a dream. But Yu-Baba remained no matter how many times she blinked. But what was she doing there? And why were the students not bothered by her presence?
But, of course! Chihiro thought. It was a costume party. Nobody would notice that was her real appearance. Oh no! Yu-Baba? Here?
Chihiro began to run towards the dance floor. I'd better warn Haku!
She tried desperately to reach Haku but the dancing crowd was too thick she only made it to the very center of the dance floor, where she was trapped. There was only one way she could reach Haku in that case. She grabbed her dragon charm and closed her eyes tightly.
Haku!
But it was too late. Yu-Baba was already on the stage. Chihiro watched, mesmerized, as Yu-Baba spread out her right hand before her. "Sleep," she said. "Sleep."
One by one, the students all fell on the floor.
Haku froze as he held the two cups in each hand. He heard Chihiro scream his name inside his head. Oh no, he thought. Something must've happened.
He left the two cups on the table and was about to run towards the crowd when he heard a familiar voice…a very familiar voice.
"Sleep," it said.
Yu-Baba! Haku thought. He used his magic to shield himself from the spell. Then, in vain, he began to search for Chihiro. He stopped in mid-run. All the students have fallen, except for one.
"Chihiro!" Haku shouted in disbelief.
There, amidst the sleeping crowd, Chihiro stood, trembling from head to foot. Haku called to her again. Their eyes made contact and Haku realized she was just as clueless about it as he was. Well, they were not the only ones.
"What? Why didn't my spell work on you?" Yu-Baba exclaimed in disbelief. "Never mind. I'll get you anyway."
"Not today, Yu-Baba," a voice cried as a white flash darted across Chihiro, shielding her from Yu-Baba's view. When the white flash disappeared, so did Chihiro. Yu-Baba let out a scream of frustration.
"Haku, what do we do now?" Chihiro asked as they soared through the air. Haku had transformed into a dragon.
I don't know. We can't escape her here. Haku used the necklace to communicate with Chihiro.
Chihiro tightened her grip around Haku's neck. "What do we do now?" she repeated, sobbing.
Hey, don't cry. I'll find a way, I promise.
"Can we escape her if we go to the Spirit World?"
I don't think so. She has a lot of power there. We'll just make it easier for her to catch us.
"Well, there must be a way to escape her!" Chihiro cried, turning frantic.
Relax. I won't let anything happen to you.
"I know, but—what about you? I don't want you to do anything stupid and risk your life."
If it comes to that, I swear I will.
"No!" Chihiro insisted. "There must be another way. Do you know anyone who can help us?"
No, I don't.
Chihiro's eyes brimmed over with tears.
They were trapped.
