Disclaimer: I do not own Spirited Away or any of the characters in it! Just a jerk called Arashi and three very mean girls, belong to me!
Lost-and-Lonely-Pheonix – Thank u! I'm glad u like it! I try to write the story so that people feel sorry for Chihiro, but at the same time, try not to make the story over depressing, because that's just boring for everyone to read. Lol.
Sparkling-Ruby Gem – Thank u very much for reviewing! It's always appreciated!
Crazianimegirl – thanks for the review! I really like your story; your ideas are great!
KatzEye – thank u for reviewing! Here's the next chapter!
AlmostNirvana – Hey Alex! Thanks for reviewing! The funi thing about ur review is that I can actually imagine u saying 'HA! I found it!' lol!
Iznil the Gothic Faery – Yay! At long last, u've found it! Lol! Thanks for reviewing!
Sakura-no-hana-hoshi – thanks for reviewing! Haku will be in the next chapter!
IvoryStar – thank u for the review! It actually gave me some inspiration for writing this chapter (possible parts of Arashi's body that he might need to become a father)! Lol! Thank u! pls review and tell me what u think…
Depressed Pixie – Thanks for reviewing nic! Me? One of the smartest girl's u no?...u must not no many girls then…lol…
Shamanbabe – Thank u! I'm sure you're a very good writer too!
BattleAngelKurumi – Thanks for reviewing, like to hear from u as always!
LadyRainStarDragon – lol! Thank u for reviewing! I actually based the character of Arashi on the majority of the boys at my school. Lol, so he wasn't all that difficult to write.
A/N – hi! I know it's almost been 3 weeks since my last update, I'm really sorry! I was overwhelmed with English coursework last weekend so didn't have time to write! Sorry! Well, to make it up to you all, I've written this incredibly, lengthy chapter(well, to me, it is)! It's more than twice as long as my usual ones! But then again, people do say: its quality, not quantity that counts, so it could just be all poo. Lol. Oh, just a word or 2 to explain Chihiro's retaliation at the end of the last chapter: Chihiro's reaction was greatly influenced by and was due to her lack of experience with boys. This is what caused her to give the slightly exaggerated reaction. Anyways, on with the chapter! Please review afterwards! Thank you!
Chapter 4: Consequential Actions
Burying her face deep in her hands, Chihiro sat curled up in the far corner of the female bathroom, feeling absolutely bewildered with her life.
She felt baffled by the sudden occurrence of many unexpected happenings, within the single day. Her uneventful life, that she became so accustomed to, was now shattering into pieces.
'What is going on with me?' she pondered, struggling to give some logic to these recent incidents. 'This afternoon, I slapped someone! Until then, I have never slapped anyone in my life! Tonight, I humiliated the most popular boy in school, in front of everyone! And now I'm sat in the corner of the smelly toilets, not knowing what to do next! What is wrong with me? Why is everything going so wrong? If Haku were here now, he would know the explanation. I'm sorry Haku,'
The tormenting memories plagued her mind. She felt ashamed of herself, ashamed because for a moment, she allowed for that filthy pig, Arashi to replace Haku…
Without warning, the triad of girl's unexpectedly burst in, whilst Chihiro was still lost, deep in her thoughts.
'Hey, Chi!' shouted Itsuko in a slightly mocking voice, as she pranced around in front of her 'I can call you Chi, right? Okay, that's settled then, Chi. So how you feeling Chi?'
Dismissing the annoying voice of Itsuko, Chihiro remained seated on the floor hugging her knees, unmoved and still.
'What's up? What's up? What's up?' She knew what was bothering her, which gave her all the more reason to continue acting like an immature five year old, winding Chihiro up.
'Leave me alone,' was the simple reply she gave.
The three girls looked at each other, exchanging devilish grins. They perched themselves on the floor next to her and commenced their evil scheme.
'Hey, we want to help you,' Miwako announced.
'Sure you want to help,' Replied Chihiro sarcastically, 'Why would you of all people want to help me?'
'Look, we know what an ass Arashi can be,' Miwako said, understandingly.
'Yeah, he's just a no good pretty-boy,' concurred Akiko 'He's a jerk!'
'And if you're seen with us, Arashi and his crew will not dare lay a finger on you,' Itsuko added.
The last statement, Itsuko said, hung in the air. Until now, it had never occurred to Chihiro that she would most definitely be punished for humiliating Arashi like she did. This new thought made their offer seem much more appealing than it had been just moments before.
'Why on Earth did I come to the toilets?' She thought, feeling stupid with herself 'I'm such an idiot! Well, I've got no choice. If I want to get back home in one piece, then I'd better accept their help.'
She thought it would be wise if she did not remind them of their earlier encounter, this afternoon, in case they change their minds and decide not to help her.
'But still. Why would they want to help me?' Chihiro pondered
'Okay, last chance, you can either accept or refuse our help. Which will it be?'
Chihiro did not reply. Her conflicting thoughts confused her mind.
'Fine. We'll take your silence as a refusal then,' With that, the girl's arose from the cold, tiled floor and began to head for the door.
'Wait!' exclaimed Chihiro 'Please, I would very much appreciate you help, if you don't mind…' she added, hesitantly.
'Okay, okay! We'll help you!' Replied Itsuko. Clapping her hands in a childish manner, she turned around in excitement.
'Come on, then,' Miwako said. An unnerving, fiendish smile that was brought to her lips, caused Chihiro to consider staying in her present position.
'Well?' snapped Akiko 'What are you waiting for?' Chihiro could see the suppressed anger in her eyes. She obviously remembered the slap she had received today.
Chihiro stood and began walking towards the trio of girl's. They took her hands and guided her towards the door. Though she was grateful of their sudden but strange kindness, there was nagging feeling that something was amiss. They noticed the mistrust in Chihiro's eyes.
'Are you always this suspicious of everyone?' Akiko sniggered.
Chihiro remained silent, which was more than enough to answer her question.
Itsuko stepped ahead and pushed open the door, smiling happily. Without warning, Akiko and Miwako, grabbed Chihiro under her arms and with great force, hurled her out of the female bathroom. With harsh impact, her face and body met the floor, quickly.
'We said we would help, didn't we?' Miwako said with a cruel tone in her voice 'Well, we're helping you learn your place, Ogino!'
The dancing came to a halt and the music ceased to play, as all the attention was now focussed on Chihiro…and something behind her…
Before she had time to react, a stream of pinkish red liquid rained down from above her, as Arashi stood pouring the entire contents of the punch bowl, all over her; soaking Chihiro from head to toe.
The atmosphere of the room changed noticeably, as the sustained silence was now replaced with mocking laughter, heard in every corner of the room.
'HA! How do you like me now, Ogino?' smirked Arashi, feeling proud of himself.
Chihiro looked up, as Arashi stood towering over her in triumph. However, she did not allow herself to cry, as the tears would have been wasted. She had no desire to give them their satisfaction that they wanted; they did not deserve it. Instead, she arose from the floor, which was now very sticky and glared straight in Arashi's face. Though, her drenched dress was causing her great discomfort, she stood up tall with all her remaining self-esteem. She had absolutely no idea of what she was to do next, but was hoping some inspiration might come to her.
Standing only inches apart, Chihiro could smell the foul stench of cigarettes, lingering in his breath. It reminded her of the first, frightful acquaintance she had made with Yubaba in her hideously decorated office, on that fateful day she and her parent's wandered so carelessly into the spirit world.
'Well?' asked Arashi looking straight into her eyes, raising an eye brow; intimidating her. He turned to his group of friends and laughed 'Oh! Look, Ogino is mad at me!' He said in an exaggerated, childish voice 'Oh! What will I do now? Ogino is going to hurt me! Wah! I want my mummy! Haha!'
Laughter spread throughout the entire room, once more. Chihiro felt infuriated at his juvenile remarks. She could not bare this indignity any longer. The scornful laughter filling the room, droned through her head like the incessant buzzing of filthy flies.
She stepped in closer to him and a sneaky smile touched her lips.
'That's it Arashi!' She spat in his face 'You've got it coming!'
With all the strength she had, Chihiro thrust her knee up between his legs, causing him to drop down to the floor, from the unspeakable pain he felt.
After doing so, she started to edge slowly towards the main entrance, whilst Arashi was being swarmed by his 'crew', enquiring if he was alright.
She did not cry nor fear him, like he had anticipated her to, which surprised him and added to his rage. After being utterly humiliated twice by the same girl, who apparently to everyone was the social outcast of the school, he tried to redeem his name and power, by shouting aimlessly at everyone. 'Get Off Me You Idiots! I'm Fine! Go Get That Bitch!' he commanded, barely able to stand up.
This was more than enough of a warning for Chihiro to flee the building. She ran speedily past the school gate, with the clicking of her heeled shoes trailing behind her. A group of tall and built male teens pursued her, following closely behind. Attempting to lose them was a difficult task, as they were very persistent and were probably all a member of a sports team of some kind, therefore making them very athletic people.
They were catching up; the loud stomping of heavy pounding feet behind Chihiro, was enough to inform her of that. The muscles in her legs were beginning to fatigue; this was not good news for Chihiro, as the decrease in speed would not aid her in this situation. She was panting heavily as she ran and her heart raced frantically, from both fear and exhaustion in her muscles.
'Come on. If I can just make it around that corner. Maybe I'll be able to lose them, there.' By now, Chihiro was straining every muscle in her thin body.
Unfortunately, to her misfortune, the heel of one of her shoes snapped off with a crack. At the velocity she was running, she lost her balance very quickly and was soon in contact with the rough surface of the cement pavement. Miscellaneous stones and dirt gashed at her bare skin, revealing the raw flesh under it. Within seconds, blood was soon trickling slowly down her legs and arms, from the various grazes and cuts found on her knees and elbows.
Chihiro knew she had to get up, quickly. There was no time to waste, because before long they would catch up to her. With the pain of her aching muscles, she pulled herself up from the floor, using her little remaining strength. But alas, it was too late. A powerful kick in her back knocked her down to the harsh ground, once more. Simultaneous, ruthless beating was shortly followed. Her body, arms and legs were throbbing with unbearable pain. They towered over her in superiority, sneering at her weak body. They were a sadistic bunch; cruel and merciless.
She was hoping desperately that someone would see her and come to her aid. But sadly, not a soul was to be found.
Using the remainder of her inadequate energy, Chihiro kicked aimlessly into the air. This proved to be effective, as they jerked back in the event of surprise. She saw an opening in the circle of surrounding bodies. Seizing the opportunity, she charged through the gap and was momentarily escaped from the trauma.
Chihiro stepped back, but was curious as to why they did not chase her. However, it did not take long for her to realise the answer, as it soon became apparent to her; she had staggered out into on-coming traffic.
Her eyes widened, as a blinding white light seemed to paralyse her whole body. Freezing on the spot in terror and panic, her mouth became painfully dry. Closer and closer; nearer and nearer it became. Every memory she conserved flashed into motion before her eyes in this, but, single moment. The deafening echo of a horn and the horrendous shriek of skidding tyres, cut through the silence of the crisp night air, as a soundless scream resonated from a motionless mouth.
END OF CHAPTER!
Hehe, just joking! I'm not THAT mean…lol…but that would have been a really good cliffy if I did end the chapter there…lol…
Stopping barely centimetres away from her body, the car came to a halt. Chihiro dropped to her knees, and was instantly overwhelmed with numerous mixed emotions, induced by this ordeal.
Two rather plump figures immerged hastily from a blue Audi. It was her parent's. They were travelling to the school to pick Chihiro up. Unknown to them, the traumatized girl that was sat in complete shock on the floor in front of their car, was Chihiro; their treasured daughter. Hurriedly, the couple crouched down to assist her.
'Chihiro? Chihiro! Are you okay?' exclaimed her mother with great worry and concern 'What happened? You're cut and bleeding!'
'Mum?' Chihiro looked at her mother with sad eyes. Relieved to see her, Chihiro wrapped her arms tightly around her mother's cuddly body. 'It doesn't matter now, I just want to go home,' she wept.
Without further questioning, both her mother and father helped her carefully into the car.
They arrived home without delay. Though the journey home was in silence, Chihiro knew by her mother's concerned face that she was blaming herself.
Chihiro felt like crying, but held it in, agonisingly. She did not want her mother to feel responsible for the ruthless beating she had endured. Before retreating back up to her bedroom, she turned around at the bottom of the staircase and said, with a forced smile,
'Mum, dad. I don't hate you and it's not your fault. Please don't blame yourselves,'
Finishing her sentence, Chihiro ran up the stairs. She swiftly entered her room and closed the door behind her. Collapsing on her bed, she fell asleep within seconds.
Saturday morning. Chihiro woke up to the glorious sun, shining its magnificent rays brightly through her window. She yawned, still half dreaming, unable to differentiate between the dream world and this real world. She felt eager to start the new day. That was, until reality, came into existence, once again, and the unwanted memories of yesterday flooded back, becoming fresh in her mind. The range of bruises and cuts, hurting in the slightest of movements, caused Chihiro to moan in pain. She felt the discomfort of her unclean dress, sticking to her body. Last night, she was thoroughly exhausted; she did not even have enough strength to merely change out of her filthy dress, before going to sleep. Looking at her clock, she got out of bed and headed for the bathroom.
Chihiro could hear her father, downstairs, wailing at her mother to prepare all his things because he was going to be late for work, yet again. This was not out of the ordinary for Chihiro, as it happened almost every morning.
The iciness of the cold, hard floor in the bathroom, took Chihiro by surprise, as she had stepped from the warmth of the soft carpet in the landing. Adjusting to the cooler temperature, she shuddered.
Seam by seam, she ripped off her already-torn dress, feeling quite exasperated with her present life. Throwing it into the bin, she never wanted to see it again.
She turned on the shower, adjusting the temperature to suit her. Climbing in, she lowered herself gently to sit down in the bath tub and allowed the shower to rain down on her back. She wanted it to wash away her despair; for it all to disappear with the water, down the drain, and never return to her.
Her aching muscles and injured body throbbed in pain. Water stung her damaged skin, burning like acid where raw flesh had been revealed. Grief-stricken tears began to escape her eyes, as the happy, yet heart-rending memories of her kind spirit friends…and of Haku played in her mind.
'Haku. You promised…'
By the time Chihiro went downstairs for breakfast, her mother had already gone to work, leaving her alone in the house.
After placing a couple of slices of bread into the toaster, Chihiro pulled out a small first aid box from one of the many drawers in the kitchen. She dressed her wounds, after cleaning them with antiseptic to avoid any infection.
Placing the two pieces of toast with generously spread strawberry jam on a plate, she took her breakfast to the living room and turned on the TV. Baby cartoons were showing. She grabbed the remote from the other end of the sofa and began flicking through the channels.
Cartoons did not interest Chihiro much, as they all seemed to share the same story line of the hero almost getting killed, but for some strange miraculous reason, ends up saving the day as usual.
At last, she finally stopped at a channel. It caught her attention, instantly. It was a documentary about the Chinese culture and various traditions, involving some information about the spirit world. She decided to watch it, as it may come of use to her.
In the Chinese custom, at a funeral and on certain special days of the year, the family will burn various different types of paper that is made to symbolize clothes or even money. The spirit of their deceased relative and loved one, will receive all these gifts in their after life. Here, we have some examples of the special paper to show you.
'Well, I don't exactly have any gifts for Haku, as such…' Chihiro thought aloud to herself '…but, I wonder if a letter counts,'
Chihiro spent the rest of the afternoon writing a letter to Haku, but never seeming to obtain the exact words that she wanted to express her feelings. Annoyed at this, and with a painful headache, she decided to take a break and go downstairs for a drink and a snack. It was already 6 p.m. and her parents will be returning home soon, from work. She made a cup of tea and grabbed some biscuits and went back upstairs.
Watching the peaceful sunset, she felt calm and relaxed. The bright orange light seemed to completely engulf the small town that she lived in, as though nothing else in world existed, but this one moment where lovers would be embracing each other, watching the sun go down and caring families would be sharing the warmth of their home, together. Looking out into the distance, Chihiro gave a longing sigh. Though her mind was, now, strangely quiet and calm, her heart still ached in despair.
Feeling slightly refreshed, she picked up her pen and began to write. She had, but, to picture Haku in her mind and a devastating feeling of emotions would begin to crush her heart. Her words were carefully chosen and concise.
Finishing her last sentence, she was pleased with what she had written and held it up, proud, in front of herself. She felt that each and every sentence, written on the page, was a precise reflection of her inner most feelings.
Taking the letter down to the kitchen, she took once last look at it; checking it for grammar and spelling. Suddenly, an unexpected tear rolled down her cheek and dropped onto the bottom of the paper, smudging some of the writing. She had not realised, until now, that she had such emotions and feeling for Haku. And that, that was the reason why she wanted to see him again.
Allowing the letter to burn in flames in a large mixing bowl, she watched it turn from firm white paper to charcoal-black flaky ashes. With care, she took the remains to the balcony in her parent's bedroom. Scattering the contents of the bowl into the gentle blowing evening wind, she watched it disappear into the clear night sky.
Sorrowful tears blurred her vision, as she heard Haku's name almost echoing in the wind.
'Haku...'
A/N – Sorry here's another author's note. You guys must be getting tired of these. Lol. I forgot to give special thanks to KatzEye in the last chapter for giving me a great idea! And also special thanks to IvoryStar for inspiration for a section in this chapter too! Thank you! Argh! I have a cold! And it's awful(having a running nose is disgusting)! Damn my stupid contagiously ill brothers! Lol! Oh, nearly forgot to tell you all, next chapter is all about Haku and his life.