Haku(Past)
Finally, I couldn't stand it anymore and informed Yubaba of my intentions. As predicted, she was livid.
"NANDATO??!" Yubaba shrieked, her eyes looking like they were going to pop out any second. The papers around her desk fluttered, startled by the outburst.
The emerald boy repeated himself calmly, not in the least ruffled.
"I wish to end my contract here."
Yubaba glared at me, and if eyes could shot daggers, it would have gone right through me. Then she closed her eyes for a moment, regaining her posture, and smirked.
"…You won't be able to. Have you forgotten? I still have your true name." she said, smirking wider.
"I have remembered it. I have gotten my true name back." Green eyes remain alert and poised with elegance.
She snorted, sorting out the papers on her desk.
"You're lying."
"I'm not." He replied.
She paused, and looked at me cynically.
"…you're lying. It can't be. You can't remember your name." she said slowly.
"My true name, is Nigihayami Kohakunishi." Haku said placidly.
Her eyes widened.
"It…IT CAN'T BE!!" she shrieked, standing up half-way. "YOU…YOU AREN'T SUPPOSE TO REMEMBER IT!!"
Beneath the endless piles of papers, something popped like a firecracker. He knew that it was his contract.
For a while there was silence in the room. Then as if some realization dawned on her, and she clenched her fist, bringing it down on the papers on her desk with a loud crash, grinding her teeth viciously. Haku heard her murmur something that sounded like, "That damn brat…" before screaming, her skirts and the papers flying crazily about with her burst of power. Preparing himself for the worst, he tensed, watching her warily.
"…I AM GOING TO TEAR YOU TO PIECES!!" Yubaba screamed, flying up from behind her desk like some overgrown swooping vulture to rush at him, but he was expecting that, and at the last moment when her jewelry-clad fingers were about to reach him, he leapt sideways. Yubaba barely caught herself from knocking into the mantel above the fireplace, wobbling dangerously in the air. Haku narrowed his eyes when Yubaba turned around to face him.
"DON'T THINK YOUR SO SMART, YOU LITTLE BASTARD!! WHEN I FINALLY CATCH YOU, I'M GOING TO TEAR YOU APART, LIMB BY LIMB!!" she shrieked again, and rushed at him. This time however, she released a burst of red power from her palm. He countered it with one of his own green one, the two blasts meeting in mid-air and exploding. He covered his face with his sleeve against the scattering pieces of remaining energy. When he looked again, Yubaba was gone.
His eyes narrowed further as he studied the surroundings warily, making a 360 degrees turn once in a while to make sure she wasn't behind him. Still, she was no where to be seen.
The next thing he knew, he heard a bristle in the air above him-- and when he looked up, a powerful blast of energy was heading towards him. He lunged to the side and rolled to absorb the impact. The energy created a deep hole on the expensive Persian carpet, and he could smell the burning material.
He continued to dodge the next series of blows; if he had been any slower, all that would be left from him was a pile of ashes. He dodged one nearly—it burned off part of his hair.
Suddenly he was thrown back by an unexpected blast of red energy, slamming against the wall. The wall cracked a little with the force of the impact. Haku felt a burning sensation on his chest—he grimaced in pain. Most of his shirt was burned off, and the raw skin beneath throbbed, bleeding trickles of blood in some places. He went forward and coughed; his dark green hair stuck to his face, a thin sheet of perspiration covering his face. He clutched at his burned chest and glared at the laughing Yubaba.
"Ahahaha, I knew you couldn't escape that. I'm the one who teach you all the tricks; do you really think you could get out of here alive?" she laughed hard, her thin shoulders shaking.
Yubaba raised her right palm in front of her; a ball of blue fire popped and flickered in it. She laughed for a last time, before hurling it at him.
He knew his body couldn't move fast enough to dodge it, but he tried anyway. His legs propelled him to his right; but the blue fireball followed him. In his desperation, he ran as fast as he could.
Chihiro…I'm sorry…I may not be able to keep my promise… He closed his eyes, waiting for the red-hot pain to hit his full on the back.
The expected blow never came. Instead, he heard a blast, which he presumed that Yubaba's shot had hit something else. Stopping, he turned around in shock.
He thought his eyes was deceiving him at first. Two Yubaba's were standing face to face, equal looks of hate on their faces. The only difference was that one looked transparent, and the other not. Then he shook his head; there wasn't two of them. Their similar dress code made him mistaken Zeniba for Yubaba.
"Nice to see you again, dear sister. Though I never thought it would be under this sort of circumstances." Zeniba coolly stated. Yubaba pulled back her lips in a sort of snarl.
"What do you want?"
Zeniba snorted. "Isn't it obvious? The dragon is coming with me."
"No he's not. I'm going to kill him and tear him to pieces right now." Yubaba growled.
"I said once, and I won't say it again. I advice you to hold your temper and your peace or there'll be another mess at the Aburaya. Even though I would be gladly do the job without an invitation. So don't give me the reason to do it." Zeniba said seriously, a cold look on her face.
Yubaba was silent, pondering the situation. Haku watched both of them; he was still too numb to feel anything.
Finally, Yubaba turned around and went behind her desk. She sat down with a flop, and said haughtily, " Fine. I have more important things to do than waste my time on a dumb dragon. Anyway, being with you, that stupid boy is far worse than dead." Her nostrils flared, and she started sorting and collecting her papers again.
Zeniba rolled her eyes, before turning to Haku.
"You're coming with me now." She said simply.
She walked several paces in front of him, and turned around again.
"By the way, Shurei is doing quite well in my place. You should visit him sometimes. The boy should learn to tell apart his own mother and his own aunt."
Yubaba froze; then relaxed again. She smirked.
"…what boy? The only son I have is my Boo."
Zeniba's eyes hardened, but she said nothing. She mentioned Haku to come over to the fireplace, and with a simple flick of her hand, the fire roared and envelope them both.
Haku(Past-Zeniba's Hse)
One of the few things he noticed as soon as he stepped out of the fire that licked at him but did not burn, was the two figures waiting patiently. A small boy, who looked about 10 years old, with a mop of uncombed hair, perched on a chair, smiled widely as soon as he saw Zeniba behind him. The other was none other than the No-Face, standing beside the sitting boy. He too, nodded his head and, "Aa!" at their arrival.
The next thing he noticed, was that the blinding hot sensation on his chest. He almost closed his eyes with the pain, and his hands clutched at the edges of it, hard.
"YUBABA!!" the boy shouted, jumping out of his chair and hovering attentively in front of Zeniba. The smile never dropped from his face.
"For the last time, boy, I am not Yubaba. I'm her twin sister, Zeniba." The old woman retorted to the smiling boy. She glanced at Haku, turning to No-Face.
"Bring me the emergency box from my drawer. And a bowl of water too." She said curtly. No-Face nodded vigorously and went off. She gestured to Haku.
"Well don't just stand there! Shurei, where are your manners? Don't you see we have a guest?"
"Hai!" Shurei shouted and immediately went over to him, helping him to a chair.
…
"It's done." Zeniba announced, washing her hands in the bowl of water. Haku thanked her politely. She took down her spectacles, and closed the small wooden box. Shurei and No-Face watched her, Shurei with the ever-present smile. Haku wondered if somebody could smile so long as him.
He touched the bandages on his chest gingerly; blood soaked through some places, but otherwise she had stopped the blood flow, and it was a nice job, he thought.
Afterwards, they had dinner. Haku was invited to join, but he didn't feel like eating. So he just sat the table, drinking the juice. It was pleasant; he thought he would never had a chance to have such a wonderful dinner for his whole life.
When they finished, Haku offered to wash the dishes for them. Zeniba firmly declined; and Shurei chipped in that he would do it. No-Face retired to a corner, where he sat and sewed for the rest of the night.
"Now, since all of the things are taken care of, I have some things I want to discuss with you." Zeniba said.
"What is it?"
"It concerns your next step from here. Since your contract is more or less ended, you have to choose. You have two choices: You can either choose to stay here—this house has plenty of spare rooms, don't worry—or you can choose to leave the Spirit World, and go back to where you came from." Haku listened silently.
"But," she raised a finger. "If you wish to leave here, and go back to your own world, you will be homeless. With your river destroyed, and without a space to habitat, you are destined to wander until you find a suitable place. But I know you will go anyway; this place leaves too much painful memories for you."
He lowered his head, and stared at the table.
"So, I'm offering, out of kindness, that I will search for a suitable place for you, but it will not be where you came from. I will try to find one that suits you, and the final decision is still up to you."
If I go back to my own world, it will the same as going back to a land where I am not welcomed. My river is destroyed; I have no where else to go. His eyes softened in sadness.
I still have a promise to keep. I have to leave this place.
"…Very well then. I will thank you now, for your kindness." He bowed his head lightly.
Zeniba waved it away; but a rare smile appeared on her wrinkled face.
"Then you will stay at our house till then. I assure you it won't boring; not with the two of them here." She jerked her head to Shurei at the back and No-Face.
Haku smiled sadly.
Haku(Past-Zeniba's Hse)
It was decided then. After a few days spent at Zeniba's house, though cheerful days it was for him, the old woman came back one day and announced that she had found the suitable place, and asked if he would like to see it. Haku had seen it, and agreed that it was suitable.
His wounds were almost healed by now; there was more that meets the eye to Zeniba. Haku was immensely grateful for it.
On the last day, when he would leave the Spirit Land, he went out. Not far away from the little cozy cottage, was the lake. He sat down beside it, and was surprised when Shurei came up behind him.
"Shurei."
"Konbawa, Haku-san."
They basked in silence, until Shurei turned.
"You were once my mother's dragon, weren't you?" Haku blinked.
"Yes." He wondered if the boy was referring to Zeniba or Yubaba.
Shurei seem to read his thoughts, because he said, "I know Zeniba is my aunt, and my mother is Yubaba. That was the first thing she said to me when I was here."
Haku nodded. Shurei smiled, the smile carrying a hint of sadness.
"My mother, Yubaba…she doesn't like me. That's why they switched; Auntie Zeniba's baby became Yubaba's Boo, and I became Auntie Zeniba's Shurei." He twirled his finger at the surface of the lake.
"Don't you…hate her for that?" he asked.
Shurei stared blankly ahead of him, then shook his head, his black locks flying.
"Ie. There's nothing to hate anyway. I came here when I was very young; I don't even remember my mother anymore."
"Do you miss Yubaba then?"
Again, the boy shook his head.
They were silent for a moment.
"Haku-san…I'm sorry for all the troubles my mother caused you." He suddenly said. He turned around in shock and stared at him.
"…why are you apologizing?" he said slowly.
"Because…I know my mother is a very bad person. Demo, I don't want you to hate her for that."
Haku laughed quietly.
"…I don't."
Shurei stared at him, before smiling too.
"Neh…tomorrow you will be leaving, no?"
"Yes."
"…I know it might not happen, but I own you one for forgiving my mother. So…if you need anything, I will try to help you where I can."
Now it was Haku turn to stare at the boy. Finally, he smiled genuinely, one that he rarely wore nowadays.
Shurei smiled back, and they just sat there, until dusk had settled over them.
Demo: but
Aburaya: Yubaba's bathhouse.
Zeniba(Thank you for those who told me the right spelling!): Yubaba's
twin sister
Konbawa: Good evening
Nigihayami Kohakunushi: Haku's real name
Nadato: more or less means what!!??
