Author's notes: This is the sequel to freezingsaphire's "Spirited Away: Saving the Spirit World". Go read it if you haven't. Or this fic will make no fricken sense. Please read and review. Constructive criticism will be appreciated. Nice reviews will make a happy writer. Flames will be used to melt chocolate; flamers will be dangled by their toes over a boiling cauldron of melted chocolate.
Warnings: Language, OCs, slight innuendo, Haku/Chihiro, character-torture, a crazy author… I'm going nowhere with this.
Disclaimer: Plot is freezingsaphire's. About the "Better?" part, I read it in another fic, but I can't remember which. If you're the author, tell me and I'll credit you, or remove that part. We do not own Spirited Away. Just don't sue us dammit.
Never Say Goodbye
Prologue
Why… why did you have to run away? You were a wonderful student in school, with close friends and a perfectly happy life. Why? Where are you? Cousin Chihiro… I miss you…
"Izumi… Izumi?" the girl in question stirred from her sleep, and pried opened her eyes to find her mother hovering over her concernedly. "Sweetie, are you alright?"
Izumi raised her hands to her face to rub off the tears that had flowed down her cheeks. "I'm fine," she realized that her voice shook, and choked back a sob that threatened to rise from her throat. Someone who didn't know her wouldn't have noticed, but Izumi's mother was hardly "someone who didn't know her".
"There there…" her mother said in a soothing voice, and handed her a tissue to wipe her tears off. " I know you were close to Chihiro, and you two obviously loved each other very much. There's nothing wrong with crying over someone you love. You don't have to hide it." Izumi's mother pulled her into a hug, and Izumi began to cry softly against her chest. Minutes passed, and Izumi's sobs subsided to occasional sniffles.
"Better?" her mother asked. A simple question that didn't imply being "all right"; merely one that asked if crying had helped. It was a question Izumi's mother always asked after one of her daughter's crying jags. Izumi nodded, and smiled up at her mother.
"Better. Thank you." Izumi gave her mother a hug, and got out of bed to change and get ready for Chihiro's "funeral".
Izumi ran a brush through her hair as she stared into the mirror. To put it bluntly, she looked like shit. After Chihiro had gone missing, Izumi had fretted so badly, she barely ate and slept. The meager meals she ate did nothing to help her appearance, and she was even skinnier than she was before. There were dark rings under her eyes; the pitiful amounts of sleep she had each night showed clearly. She exited her room and went downstairs, where the people offering their condolences had gathered.
After four years of searching and with no clues as to where Chihiro had gone, the police had finally thrown in the towel and proclaimed her missing and dead. Her family had pleaded with and begged them to continue searching, holding on to any possibility that Chihiro was still alive. The police hadn't been willing to waste any more resources or manpower to find Chihiro. Her family had no choice but to accept that she was never coming back.
Chihiro had had many friends, but few who were truly close to her. Those friends consisted of two people, and they were the only ones who had bothered to come. Kojin and Miyu looked no better than Izumi did; similar to her, both had lost weight, and had dark rings under their eyes.
Izumi got drinks and handed them to the two visitors, "Here, you must be thirsty."
"Thanks," Kojin replied and accepted the drink gratefully, smiling weakly at Izumi. His eyes were red from crying and he looked like he had definitely seen better days.
Miyu muttered her thanks and glanced at Izumi. "You must be Izumi, Chihiro's younger cousin. We've heard many things about you. Chihiro used to talk about you a lot." He voice wobbled as she finished her sentence and she rubbed away tears that had gathered at her eyes.
Izumi nodded. The family resemblance was hard to miss. She was a splitting image of Chihiro; the only thing different was their different hair color. Chihiro's hair was brown; Izumi's was of a slightly darker shade, almost black. Even so, it was difficult to tell them apart. "Chihiro was like an older sister I never had," she said as she looked away. She did not need to start crying again, not in front of Chihiro's two closest friends. They were having a hard time themselves, and she didn't want them worrying about and comforting her.
"Take it easy… You really don't have to hide your grief you know," Kojin said, almost inaudibly. He threw the empty packet drink in the trash and turned to walk off in the other direction. Miyu managed a wan smile at her. "It was nice meeting you. I'll see you later," she said and hurried after Kojin.
Cousin… You can't be dead. You just… can't. I know, somehow, you're alive somewhere. I can feel it…
Haku eyed the empty cell with a look of disgust across his handsome face. He did NOT need this so freaking early in the morning. Still glaring at what was left of the cell that used to hold Nimokushi, he listened to a guard give his report.
"We don't understand what had happened, Haku-sama. The cell was specially designed to counter any magic he had, with numerous spells placed on it to prevent his escape. All we know is that there was a blast, the two guards positioned outside his cell were dead by the time others had rushed here, and Nimokushi was gone."
Haku stepped through the debris, racking his brain for possible methods Nimokushi could have used to get out. How the hell had that bastard done it? I doubt even I could break out of this cell. With Haku's level of magic, that was really saying something. Haku rubbed his temples. He felt a headache coming on. Haku glanced up at the guard, to see the other man shifting nervously under his gaze.
"It really isn't your fault," Haku told him calmly, a hint of amusement in his voice. Earning the title of "Lord of the Spirit World" had given him respect from others. He didn't mind that. It was the fear of him that he found unwanted. "Given that he was the previous lord of the Spirit World, I had expected him to break out sooner or later. So it isn't particularly surprising that this cell wasn't enough to hold him. I trust you treated him justly?"
"Hai, Haku-sama, we gave him fresh food daily, and treated him well." The guard replied as Haku stopped to examine something on the floor of the cell.
"What's this…?" Haku murmured to himself as he knelt down and blew away some of the dust on the floor. What the…
Carved into the stone floor, and previously hidden by the dust, were the words: Darkness... that fool Haku, he didn't see the meaning behind my actions, I will accomplish what he failed to do, I will return...
"Haku-sama?" the guard asked, uncertain of what to do.
"Get this place cleaned up. Leave this matter to me," Haku replied as he hastily walked out of the cell, and then the prison, trying to banish the memory of the words from his mind, anxiety and a trace of fear detectable on his face.
"I will accomplish what he failed to do, I will return..."
This was not good.
"Tadaima," Haku called out as he entered the small cottage he shared with Chihiro.
"Okaeri," Chihiro's voice came from the kitchen. She had to be cooking dinner. Grinning, Haku used his magic to fly himself to the kitchen. He knew Chihiro was miffed whenever he used magic around the house.
Chihiro was at the stove, frying something in a pan. The food smelled delicious. Chihiro's cooking improved everyday, and Haku found his mouth watering. He was hungry.
"What are we having tonight?" He whispered near Chihiro's ear and wrapped his arms around her waist. He knew Chihiro's ear was sensitive, and nipped gently at it. Chihiro squirmed against him.
"Stop that," she said sternly, struggling to hold the pan steady with Haku's arms around her. It was getting harder as Haku started feathering light kisses on her neck, "If you keep that up, our dinner will burn."
Haku pouted, and reluctantly let go of Chihiro. He wasn't about to forfeit his dinner, no matter how much he had missed Chihiro at work. He wandered around the kitchen, waiting for Chihiro to finish. He got some cutlery out of the drawers and started setting the table for two. This happened nearly everyday; he got home, tried to get Chihiro's attention while she was getting dinner ready, and his wife threatened him with the prospect of no dinner to get him to stop it. Of course, they occasionally let their dinner go up in smoke, and went out to eat instead.
Chihiro finally turned off the stove, and scooped the food out onto a plate. She placed the plate onto the table, together with the other dishes she had prepared. She and Haku settled down and began eating.
"Hm… I swear, your cooking gets better everyday," Haku smiled at Chihiro, once they had finished dinner. "How are things in the house?"
Chihiro got up to clear the table, but before doing so, she planted a kiss on Haku's lips. "They're great. Zeniibaa-san was really nice have to let us live here."
The kind old sorceress had not joined them for dinner today, as she was out running an errand. Zeniibaa had saved both their lives four years ago, and had offered to let them stay in her cottage.
"There's no one but me around here," Zeniibaa had said, "It gets rather lonely without any other human contact."
Gratefully, the couple had moved in. Chihiro often helped Zeniibaa with the household chores, and kept the old lady company when she was feeling lonely. In return, Zeniibaa let them stay here. It was a win-win situation.
It had been a difficult choice for Chihiro, and she had sacrificed many things to live in the Spirit World. She would never see her family again, and they would never know where she had gone. She would be as good as dead to them; she had simply disappeared.
Sometimes, she wondered what it would have been like if she had gone back to the human world. It had not been easy to let go of her family; she sometimes woke up in the middle of the night, crying, remembering her family and the ones she loved. But Haku would hold her, comfort her, and she would remember why she had let go of her previous life. She was with the man she loved, and there were many people in the Spirit World who loved her too.
She was happy.
Chihiro finished washing the dishes, and Haku pulled her into a very involved kiss.
"Now, let's finish what we started ne?" he whispered and carried her up to their bedroom.
Izumi flopped onto her bed. She closed her eyes for a while and heaved a huge sigh of relief. The school term was finally over, and she could relax and forget about her studies for the time being. Perhaps she would go finishing or animal watching in the forest. Her hands itched for the feel of her fishing rod.
Izumi got up and walked over to the chest at the corner of her room. She opened it and pulled out her fishing rod, testing the reel and nylon string.
"Whew, It's still in perfect working condition, I thought it would be rusty…" she murmured as she pretended to cast the line.
She changed out of her school uniform and into her outdoor clothes. Throwing her rucksack over her shoulder, she opened her door and was prepared to go out when a dusty book fell from her cupboard and onto the floor. Turning around, she picked up the book and after a moment's hesitation, put it into her rucksack, and left after sticking a note onto the refrigerator for her parents.
Izumi walked into the cool shade of the forest, and hooked a small worm onto the end of her fishing rod before casting the line out deep into the river. The river ran through the forest, and was her favourite fishing spot.
Sitting with her back against a sturdy tree, she watched as the river surface shimmered and sparkled in the sunlight that passed through the leaves and branches of the trees. Mystical River… It really lives up to its name… Its beauty is nearly unrivaled… she let her thoughts run wild, remembering how the government had nearly cut down the forest four years ago to build more houses. Remembering how much she had cried because she had loved this river, remembering how Chihiro had vanished without a trace, remembering how the government had stopped their plans after the townsfolk had heard rumors that the missing girl had run away because she had loved the forest so much.
Her thoughts finally coming to rest on the book she had brought, she reached into her rucksack and pulled it out. She blew the layer of dust on the cover page off and used her sleeve to wipe away the grime that had collected on it over the years. Izumi's eyes widened when she realized what the book was: Chihiro's diary, written when the missing girl had been ten years old.
Flipping the book open, Izumi turned to the first page, and began to read…
