One Fine Day
Author: Chaos Valkyrie
First Conceptualized: March 2005
Posted Chapter 03: December 23, 2005
Generic Author's Notes:
1. Due to new ffnet standards, all chapters have been updated, most with some minor edits. I'll answer/re-answer reviews between now and next posting in the new area.
2. I have decided on a new update policy. Now that my life is getting back together, I will now post once-a-month on whatever Friday happens to lie between the 15th and 21st. I can't promise an update on every story, but I can promise that if it doesn't post one month, it WILL post the next. This also means that some months, you'll get bonus chapters on some stories.
3. Web page will be up soon with stories that can't be posted here – namely "The Villain's Guide to Evil Stuff" and songfics, etc. I put off the launch to get all this stuff out.
4. By the way, if anyone has Chapter One of "The Chaos Land Tournament" or Lesson 10 of "The Villain's Guide", please let me know. My copies got deleted, and those are the only two I didn't have backed up. You will be rewarded! So please, go to my Author Page for more details…
Thank you for your continued patience, and Happy Holidays!
Chapter Three: Persistence of Memory
Chihiro struggled, an invisible force pulling her down a dark hallway. Long cruel fingers tugged her relentlessly forward; it was all she could do to remain upright. Her foot hit a bulge in the carpet; she tried to scream, but nothing came as the momentum and force acted as one to fling her towards the wall…
Chihiro jolted awake, gasping, heart pounding. "Just a dream," she mumbled; for the past week she'd been waking this way. In the waking world, Chihiro mostly remembered the happier moments from her stint in the Spirit World. Her dreams of late however relived the more traumatic incidents, ones she had buried without regret: the terror of being pulled down the hallway by invisible hands; the hysterics of rescuing a dying Haku; the horror of finding her parents in their pig-like forms…
And it was all because of the excavation. The class had begun work on the project a few days after Nushi-san's visit. The project was nowhere near as simple as the class had been led to believe. Chihiro herself had not realized that the Kohaku river was in fact several kilometers long, full of trash and debris from its stint as a dry ravine. Then the apartments that she remembered from her childhood had formed a blockage. Although they had been bulldozed to the ground, huge piles of concrete just waited to be removed. Had it been another river, Chihiro would have been tempted to throw in the towel and accept the failing grade that awaited her – it wasn't as if they were being paid for this, after all.
But this was Haku's river. Even if he never fulfilled his promise, even if she never saw him again, she would do this for him. She had already given him his name back, years ago; now he could have his home as well. He had done so much for her… this was the least she could do. And so Chihiro worked harder than any of her classmates, even though her nights left her with little rest. It seemed as though the proximity to the river had opened a doorway in her memory. During the day, her work kept her too busy to linger over old dreams; in the dark of the night, however, her mind was free to worry over the near-forgotten memories like a dog with a particularly tough bone.
Chihiro flipped over, snuggling deeper under her quilt. But sleep, however, had long since fled her, and after tossing and turning restlessly for ten more minutes, she sighed in resignation. Mumbling to herself, she got to her feet and staggered from her bedroom to her small kitchen. Putting the kettle on, she trudged over to her sofa and flopped down, grabbing her journal and pen where they awaited her.
She opened the journal to her bookmark and began writing the details of the dream on the creamy white vellum. She had decided long ago to write down any and all memories of the Spirit World. This not only helped her to remember the events of those chaotic three days, but helped her keep her sanity as well. Logic told her that little girls and their families didn't just simply vanish for three days… but the fact remained that three days were missing from her life in the normal world. And no matter how her parents rationalized it away, Chihiro knew the truth. A truth that was too crazy to believe…
The kettle whistled, and Chihiro finished her entry before rising to make her tea. She let the brew steep, then carried the mug back to the sofa and began flipping through the diary of her adventures. She grinned as she passed over stories of Lin and Haku and Noh-Face. She laughed at her first doodles of Kamaji and Yubaba. And her eyes teared even as she smiled as she passed over countless renderings of Haku – Haku as a dragon, Haku as a boy, and Haku as she thought he might one day appear, as a man.
Chihiro lifted her cup to her lips and vaguely realized it was empty. She closed the journal abruptly, setting it carefully on her coffee table as she rose to her feet. With only a quick detour to the kitchen, she returned to her room and attempted to sleep once again.
"I've got to move on," she mumbled to herself as she carted yet another plastic bag of trash to the waiting trucks nearby.
"Huh?" Kagura asked eloquently, tossing in her own sack.
"Never mind her, Ogino just enjoys talking to herself," Sakura teased as she handed her sack off to one of the boys in the class. Chihiro frowned as Sakura primly adjusted her work gloves.
"At least Chihiro's working, Takani. She collects five bags of garbage for every one you pick up," Kagura hissed angrily.
"Oh yes, that is so something to be proud of," Sakura smirked.
"Actually, it is indeed," another voice interrupted. Sakura made a face before they all turned to face Nushi Mogami. He grinned his perfect smile as he effortlessly lifted one of the heavier bags of garbage that had been left beside the trucks. All three women's eyes widened as he tossed it one-handed into the truck behind him. He smiled at Sakura coldly.
"Ogino-san is obviously interested in helping the environment, not merely her grade point average," he told her. Sakura rolled her eyes. He frowned as he studied her.
"Its not wise to believe the world flows about you, nor to ignore the workings of the natural world." Sakura looked shocked, as if he had read her thoughts. "Your life is one of many, and the world will move on beyond you if you linger too long over your looks, your achievements," he paused, looking at Chihiro briefly, "Your memories." He returned his attention to Sakura. "You need to quit focusing on yourself so much before the world completely turns its back on you," he warned, before walking past them to find their instructor.
Kagura grinned. "Well, he's a weirdo, but still, if he's not fooled by Sakura, you've gotta like him!" Chihiro nodded absently, watching Sakura as she gazed in confusion at the retreating back of Mogami. Sakura blinked rapidly, then turned quietly from Chihiro and the giggling Kagura to return to the riverbed. Both women blinked.
"Man, looks like he really got to her," Kagura whispered, and Chihiro nodded. The two women returned to their own section of the riverbed, and continued to pick up trash. Sakura was silent for the remainder of the afternoon.
End Notes: No Haku yet… but he's coming! I swear! I just have a lot of exposition to get out of the way!