Hello people. So here I am, back again with my crazy self to continue with my crazy little story thanks to the motivation of some very nice reviewers!
Here are my responses and stuff.
Russet W
I'm glad you find the story interesting. You don't like Sateiku? Well let's see if you suspicions will be confirmed!
Dill
Thank you! It's good that you like my portrayal of Chihiro because frankly, it's sort of hard to decide what she would be like at 16 years old.
vicky
Thanks for your compliment, don't worry, I will continue to write!
twighlight16
That is so cool—it makes me happy to know you think it rocks!
amanda
You're dying to find out? Is this fanfic THAT interesting (?)
COOLANGELS
I am honoured that you think I've done a good job.
Save Me
Chapter 2
"Haku!"
Chihiro sat up, her hazel eyes wide open and her heart racing. Realizing that it was only another dream, she fell back into the soft mattress.
"Oh my gosh..." she gasped suddenly.
Is this the room I slept in? It's...it's so...
She couldn't find the words to describe it with.
It's like a place right out of a fairy tale...
Chihiro took in everything in astonishment. Covering the whole ceiling was a lovely and realistic painting of angels playing harps in a pink and purple streaked sky. The walls were a soft pink that matched the painting. Across the room, the wall directly opposite her glowed as sunlight streamed in through peach silk curtains and the entire area of the floor was just fluffy, thick carpeting of the same shade.
She numbly looked down at the soft blanket that covered her. A lavender satin quilt. And the bedspread itself was of the same colour and material.
Still speechless with surprise, Chihiro got off the bed and began to walk around the room. It was only then that she saw a door in the wall.
I wonder where that leads to...
Her eyes wandered over to the large mahogany dressing table close to the door, the surface of which was crowded with endless perfumes, cosmetics and the like. Then that glowing curtained wall.
Could the entire wall be just windows?
She padded over and parted the silk curtains.
Wow...
The huge window allowed her to view the front yard which was mostly cobblestoned and a large fountain sat in the middle.
Next to that, was the white BMW Chihiro had come from the adoption agency in and a shiny red Porsche.
Maybe that belongs to Sateiku.
She blushed guiltily at the thought of him. She couldn't help but notice how attractive he was, although he was supposed to be her new brother.
Stop it, Chihiro!
She didn't like him in that way or anything. Knowing who he was, and having known a certain emerald-eyed river spirit stopped her from feeling that way, much to her relief.
She tore herself away from the window and continued to look around, and discovered another door.This one was purple and there was a gold sign on it with her name so she pushed it open.
A bathroom? My own bathroom?
Chihiro smiled in spite of herself and went in to take a shower.
I'll ask about the other door when I go downstairs.
After her bath, Chihiro was bursting with energy as she ran out of her room and down the hall. She was about to rush down the stairs when she heard some female voices and decided instead to walk stealthily down.
"...oh, really?"
"Yes, and from what I heard, her parents were rich."
"Well wasn't the car they were driving a silver Audi or something? You need more than just a couple grand to get one of those."
"Oh, Keiko, it was so kind of you and your hubby to take their poor little girl in."
"Don't give me any credit. It was HIS idea."
There were astonished gasps. "Oh my gosh! Really?"
"Of course. Oh, that poor, poor dear. Spent all those years in that orphanage—she's been there since her parents died. And she's so quiet and—"
Chihiro entered the livingroom, holding her head up high.
"Oh, here she is," said Mrs. Kaishitun, all smiles. Her two friends looked up in surprise.
"Good morning," said Chihiro airily, fuming inside because of what she had heard. In fact, her hunger was the only thing that kept her from storming out of the room and letting Mrs. Kaishitun and her idle friends see how hot her temper could really be.
"Chihiro, darling, did you sleep well? You must have been so tired, it's nearly noon already..." Mrs. Kaishitun trailed off when she saw the weary expression on Chihiro's face.
Chihiro was already in a bad mood and she already hated her adopted mother's 'pet names' for her. She had been grinding her teeth while Mrs. Kaishitun was putting on an act and calling her darling...
She should cut the crap and apologise for talking about me and my parents like that! She knows full well that I heard what they were saying!
Mrs. Kaishitun giggled nervously. "Um, would you like some breakfast, dear? It's all ready for you on a tray in the kitchen, why don't you go get it and come sit with us?"
"Okay," Chihiro mumbled, making an about-turn and heading for the kitchen.
She groaned inwardly when she returned to the living room.
They were just staring. All three women just sat and gawked at her silently until she sat.
Mrs. Kaishitun was the one to break the spell of silence.
"So, Chihiro, would you like to talk?"
"Why not?" Chihiro responded curtly.
"Well, I'd like to ask you some questions, sweetie. We must all help you through this difficult stage in your life, so don't be shy, express yourself freely..."
"Yeah, in front of a bunch of total strangers. I'm so excited.
"...all right, dear?"
"Sure."
"It must have been so hard for you, these past few years. Think back to the day your parents were killed in that tragic accident... How did you feel? You must have been devastated... And I heard that you collapsed in your grief...is that true? Oh it must hve been horrible...
Chihiro looked up from her tray to glare at the woman.
Are you a fool or an idiot? Choose one!
She actually has the nerve to talk about something like that in front of me and all her friends? As if she's talking about something that happened to someone she doesn't know in some distant country! I swear, I feel like emptying this whole cup of coffee onto her head right now!
"Chihiro? Chihiro dear," Mrs. Kaishitun called in her wheedling voice.
Setting her tray on the glass table in front of her with a loud thud, Chihiro stood, her eyes flashing in her anger, and said, "DON'T call me dear," before walking off.
She could hear the woman's two friends gasping, followed by appalled exclamations:
"Well! How rude!"
"And Keiko was just trying to help her!"
"What a spoilt little brat!"
Chihiro didn't stop running until she pushed open her door and flung herself onto her bed, sobbing as she began to remember things that she had avoided thinking about for the past two years.
(Flashback)
One afternoon, two years before.
"I am SO tired."
Chihiro smiled weakly and looked at her best friend as they trudged along the deserted road. On either side of the road was forest vegetation, as far as anyone could see.
"Yeah, me too," Chihiro sighed.
Sayuri frowned and tugged on her wet raven hair. "When will this hair dry? And you don't want to know how much time I spent straightening out all these waves this morning. But here I am, back to square one because of that swimming competition."
"How long did it take to do your hair?"asked Chihiro.
"Nearly two hours, just to impress you-know-who."
Chihiro couldn't help grinning when she saw how suddenly Sayuri's brown eyes lit up.
"But," Sayuri added, "at least it was worth it. Nobutada loved how my hair looked. And," she said, gripping the medal dangling from a ribbon around her neck, "and I got this pretty thing. At least I managed to come third. You were amazing, Chihiro! You swam like a fish! How do you do it?"
Chihiro glanced at the gold medal hanging from around her own neck. "I wasn't as good as all that," she said modestly.
"Yes, you were! And don't you forget it!"
Sayuri's eyes wandered to the beautiful purple hairtie that was presently on Chihiro's wrist.
"That hairtie is sooo pretty. I swear, sometimes I think I see it glowing."
Chihiro gazed at it. "Yeah," she said wistfully.
"So you've searched all over this forest for the entrance to the spirit world and you still can't find it? You'd better get back over there soon and grab your dragon boy, Chihiro, 'cos I am this close to hooking you up with that cute guy in Chemistry class... what's his name? Oh, yeah, Utashi—"
"Sayuri!" Chihiro looked petrified.
"What? Afraid he won't like you? I recall seeing him giving himself eye strain over you three classes in a row!"
Chihiro's skin heated. "You're kidding me."
"Nope, not at all."
"Oh, no," Chihiro groaned.
"Well he can't help it. You're not any plain Jane or anything. Utashi's not the only guy who gapes at you!"
Chihiro sighed. "I will find the spirit world. I've got to."
"That's the spirit! But you'd better get home and get all dolled up before you go searching again—you don't want the poor dragon boy to die of a heart attack before his time, do you?"
Chihiro pushed Sayuri, whose sides were splitting from trying not to laugh out loud.
Soon the thick forest came to an end and houses were visible.
Both girls looked in wide-eyed puzzlement at the scene around Chihiro's house as they approached it.
"Whoa..." said Sayuri. "I wonder what's going on."
Chihiro didn't know what to say.
There were police cars, a fire engine and an ambulance in front of her house, all making a horrible noise with their ear-splitting sirens. Police officers and some other people in suits paced around in front of the house, as if waiting for something.
"I hope nobody's sick," said Sayuri nervously.
Finally they got to the house. One of the officers approached.
"Which one of you is Chihiro Ogino?" he asked quietly.
"I am," said Chihiro. "Wh-what's going on?"
"Ms. Ogino, there is something very important that you need to know. Please come into the house where we can all have a seat."
Chihiro followed numbly and Sayuri walked closely behind her. When they got to the door another officer there blocked Sayuri's way. "Relatives only."
The officer who was with the girls shook his head. "No, let her come in."
Chihiro felt a strange sense of foreboding as she sat.
Relatives only? What's going on?
"Ms. Ogino, what type of car did...er, do your parents drive? A silver Audi A4?"
Chihiro nodded.
The officer looked really downcast as he spoke. "I don't like to be the bearer of sad news, Ms. Ogino. But...there has been a serious motorvehicular accident and I'm sorry to say that...both of your parents were killed."
Chihiro was frozen with shock. She just stared at the officer in disbelief. Something heavy settled in her chest, making it difficult for her to breathe. She felt Sayuri hugging her and heard her say something like, "Oh my God, Chihiro, I'm so sorry..."
The weight in her chest got heavier and heavier until Chihiro began to sob and hot tears escaped her eyes. She stood, intending to run far, far away, into the forest and hopefully that horrible nightmare would end and she'd wake up to see her mother by her side...
"Ms. Ogino, it would be best for you to remain seated," called the officer.
"Chihiro?" said Sayuri.
The officer followed her. "Ms. Ogino, please return to you seat."
"Chihiro, where are you going? Do you feel sick? Chihiro? Chihiro!"
The light went out of Chihiro's eyes and she fell to the floor.
(End of Flashback)
Chihiro lay on her bed, tears still streaming down her flushed cheeks. She hated Mrs. Kaishitun for reminding her of what she had been trying to forget. And she was disgusted with herself for being so weak and pathetic as to cry. She liked to be strong in every situation, and events in past years had made her into the tough, resilient tomboy of a young woman that she was.
Get a hold of yourself, Chihiro. Quit crying, it won't bring your parents back, she scolded herself mentally.
Wiping away her tears with the back of her hand, Chihiro marched to her bathroom to wash her face.
She walked back leisurely into her room afterwards, still wiping her face dry with a towel.
"Hey," a deep voice greeted.
Chihiro jumped a little and moved the towel away from her face.
Sateiku? But how did he...
It was then that she saw it. That mysterious door was wide open and Chihiro could see a bed with blue sheets in the room it revealed.
"That's your room?" she demanded.
"Sure thing," he replied casually.
Chihiro looked through the doorway, then at Sateiku in disbelief.
But that door doesn't even have a lock!
"Wh-why is there a door between our rooms like that?" she gasped.
Sateiku shrugged. "Mom's idea."
That's it for chapter two! If you liked it then please review! And if you didn't, you can flame me too!
(I'm trying to remember if I had anything sweet or caffeine-rich with my breakfast this morning) because I am extra hyper!
I saw a BBC 'breaking news' item a couple of hours ago. My sympathy to all the people in London who are probably scared to death because of these insane terrorists that have once again set off a bomb. (21/07/05) And all other ppl who are going through something or other.
Put a smile on your faces!Laters!
SparklingEmeralds