Chapter 3
Spirited Away
A second chance for love
Elesterie
Formality, What Is Its Price?
Haku stared at her, his eyes widening with shock. Nani? Sen didn't say that last time...in fact, she just asked me how I knew her...but...but...does she honestly remember me?
"Oh, don't worry," Chihiro said hastily, seeing the look on his face, "I must be dreaming..." Chihiro shuffled her feet. She was sure she knew him. Baka Chihiro, stop torturing the poor guy! You know you have a bad memory...ack...but he sure does look familiar...
Haku was amazed at how Sen had coped with what she was thinking. All he wanted to do was to shout to the whole entire world how Sen was so close to remembering him. But in reality, he knew he couldn't do anything. So he stood up, nodded his head at Sen and walked into the bathhouse.
"Calm down, I'm coming," he told the servants, as he slid open the door.
Deep down Haku wanted to tell her everything: how he felt about her, how he knew her, but most of all, how he loved her; but he took heed of Kamaji's warning. After all, he didn't want to be the victim of destiny's anger.
Chihiro buried her head in her knees as she crouched and waited. Waited for things to calm down, as Haku referred it to. Chihiro, on the other hand, referred it to getting over herself, and start crawling when she felt like it. When the time came, she slid out of her position, crawled, continued crawling until she reached the back door. The door clicked open, and Chihiro made her way to the back of the onsen.
It was windy as, and deadly cold. Chihiro then found that she was nearly 50 metres high when she accidentally stumbled to have a good look over the edge. She kept her back to the wall, breathing hard and trying not to look down at the ocean, and crawled down the stairs. The first stair, the second stair, the third stair... Chihiro continued counting it in her head, so it would keep her sane. But on the seventh stair -CRASH- and the stair broke by force and her plan to keep calm backfired as she screamed while running down the stairs.
After making it all the way (Chihiro had either closed her eyes, or screamed her head off), she arrived at the boiler room. She took one deep breath and opened the door and took and few steps in.
She then saw Kamaji – or who she thought was Kamaji, an elderly man with eight arms - and saw the hard work the, what she called, 'little black runts' were doing. She took another deep breath and said nervously, "Ano...hello? Are you Kamaji?"
The man called Kamaji turned to look at her. After one glance, he made a grunt, which was meant to signify that he was annoyed, and turned back to his work.
Chihiro gulped at his coldness, and thought it would be best to leave him. But she remembered what Haku said 'If you don't get a job, Yubaba will turn you into an animal.' Chihiro thought these words and then told herself, Make no excuse for Yubaba to turn you into an animal.
Chihiro took the deepest breath she could muster and said in a more confident voice, "Haku sent me here to find work. Please let me work here. Onegai! Ano...are you Kamaji?"
"Yeah, I'm Kamaji. Slave to the boiler that heats the baths," Kamaji said, ignoring Chihiro's plea for work.
"Please sir. I've gotta get a job here," Chihiro pleaded with all her might, trying to see if this Kamaji would soften his heart for a poor girl like her.
"Sorry girl, but I've got all the help I need. Those magic sootballs are the ticket," Kamaji merely grunted. Chihiro turned, and saw what he was referring to. The 'little black runts' were actually magic sootballs.
"Ano, I really really need this job. I'll do anything it takes!" Chihiro pleaded, almost bringing tears to her eyes. I'm getting really emotional today, she thought bluntly to herself.
At that precise moment, a lean tall teenager in her late teens, came in through a little trap door. Chihiro could see that this was the only entrance, apart from the back door, to the boiler room.
"Chow time, have you guys been fighting again?" the girl said, referring to Kamaji and the magic sootballs. The girl began throwing little stars from a basket for the magic sootballs to eat, after placing a tray of food for Kamaji. The girl happily watched the sootballs jump with happiness, and for some unknown reason, shifted her head left and found Chihiro.
"A human! You're in trouble," the teenager said, pointing her slender finger at Chihiro, "you're the one everyone's looking for!!"
"She's my granddaughter," Kamaji said before the teenager could accuse Chihiro of anything else.
Both Chihiro and the female teenager reacted at Kamaji's words with surprise. Well, if you call Chihiro's jumping at shock and the teenagers' jaw hanging open, reacting as surprised.
"She says that she wants to work here, but as you can see," he pointed to the magic sootballs, "I've got all the help I need. Could you take her to Yubaba for me?"
"Hmph! I'm not risking my life," said the teenager carelessly, not giving a care in the world about the human.
"For a roasted newt," Kamaji coaxed.
After hesitating for a couple of moment, the teenager gave up and sighed, "Oh, alright. C'mon little girl."
Chihiro followed the girl, after bowing with thanks to Kamaji. Their path was indeed obscure, as they had to make a couple of detours. Up the lift. Across the deck. And stopping outside another lift, waiting for it.
As the lift arrived, a pack of spirits departed from it. But as they came out, the host turned around and said, "Lin...you smell of...I can't quite put my finger on it...iie, you smell like human!"
Lin, looking desperate and mischievous at the same time, glared at him and said, "Well, maybe it is, maybe it isn't...or is it this?" At that precise moment she took out the roasted newt. The host groveled at her feet.
"Please Lin! Come on! I'd do anything for it!! Aw shucks, I'd even be happy with a leg, onegai!" the foreman said.
Lin hastily pushed Chihiro into the lift and said in quite a loud tone, "Anyone who wants to go up, push the lever down."
Since Chihiro was behind a big spirit, she had to squeeze through to pull down the lever. It took her quite a number of seconds to complete that, and before she knew it, the lift doors closed.
As this was happening, Lin gave Chihiro one more glance and was satisfied, so she put the newt in her mouth and walked off, leaving the host to start crying.
When Chihiro reached the top level, she was directed out by the spirit. She gave a bow right before the doors closed.
She slowly walked down the corridor, so as to be careful to ambushes or traps, and saw a beautifully polished door made out of mahogany wood. She gazed at its interesting features, apparently amazed. After about a minute of inspecting the door, she was about to reach out to open the door when the handle spoke, "Aren't you going to even knock?"
Chihiro was ever so frightened. What kind of door handle talks? She then heard an unpleasant voice, "Come in."
As soon as Chihiro heard that voice, she was not only pulled into the main room, turning corners and falling face first into the floor, but she instantly connected the voice with the name Yubaba.
Chihiro struggled to sit up and saw a grotesque face. Yubaba..."So, you're the human being who brought a racket to the bathhouse."
Chihiro drew in all the courage she had and yelled "Please let me work here!"
Yubaba was taken aback by the human's outspokenness, that she nearly jumped with surprise. Not many humans would be demanding for a job, in fact, they would crawl in the corner and wither to die. Amused, but also angry, Yubaba zipped Chihiro's mouth closed.
"This is a bathhouse where spirits come to rest. What place does a human have here?" Yubaba's voice was full of fury.
She unzipped Chihiro's mouth, so as to hear the girl's answer, only to hear Chihiro plead for work once again, "Onegai! I want to work here!"
"Why – " Yubaba's voice stopped when she heard cries from another room, "My baby...!" and Yubaba immediately ignored Chihiro and rushed into a door, which was covered by drawn curtains. .
Chihiro took advantage of the situation and shouted, this time louder than ever, "PLEASE! I REALLY NEED TO WORK HERE! I WANT TO WORK IN THIS ONSEN, RIGHT HERE AND RIGHT NOW!"
"Ok, ok. Just keep your voice DOWN!" Yubaba snapped from the other room. It took a moment for a piece of paper and pen to fly to Chihiro from Yubaba's desk. Chihiro took hold of the pieces of stationery.
Yubaba reappeared, drawing the curtains even harding, nearly making the curtains rip "That's your contract. You have to sign it."
"Do I sign here?" Chihiro asked delicately, while pointing innocently at a section of the contract, wanting to sound like a poor girl so that Yubaba could possibly favour her.
"Yes," Yubaba muttered without noticing Chihiro's delicacy or even looking where Chihiro was pointing.
When Chihiro finished signing her name, in perfect Japanese, the contract flew right into Yubaba's grasp. She gave the signature one glance before saying "Chihiro, what a nice name. A nice name which is now mine. From now on, your name is Sen."
At that point, Haku came in to break the ice. Yubaba was laughing evilly whereas Chihiro was petrified that her name was going to change from a beloved Chihiro to a deprived Sen
"You called for me?" Haku asked, giving Chihiro only one glance to tell him he wasn't interested.
"Yes. Take this child and show her where she is to work. I have some work to do, so there shouldn't be any trouble!"
"Hai," Haku bowed and asked Chihiro sternly, "What is your name, girl?"
"Chi – Sen."
"C'mon."
Chihiro had followed Haku out of Yubaba's room, and backtracked her path there. They made their way to the lift, and waited patiently. Almost instantly, the lift arrived, where Haku stepped in and waited for Chihiro to.
"Ano..."
"Sen! In, chop chop! I don't have much time. Get in the lift!" Haku barked, his short temper flaring.
Chihiro, scared, stepped into the lift, as Haku shook his head with disappointment while pulling the lever down/.
In the lift, Chihiro thought she could clear some misunderstandings by asking Haku, "Ano...Haku – " but Haku cut in.
He knew what he had to say. He had to tell Sen off. He didn't get it though. He quit being Yubaba's apprentice, so why was he still being called up to her? Destiny. It must've changed everything to be exactly like it was when Chihiro first came. So no one remembered her after they saw her…but him. Why me? Is destiny granting Sen this opportunity to torture me?
"No idle chatter…" he told her, "and it's Master Haku to you."
Enjoy this! I'll fix up the other chapters during the next week. Ja!
elesterie
