-Catgirl-of-Bavaria-: Ah, I haven't updated this one for a while…what with my birthday party last weekend, and my newest story taking over my brain and refusing to let go of it until I got something done on it…Yeah that's my excuse and I'm sticking to it! Haha. But seriously, my new story, Learning to Love Again, is in the Spirited Away section, if you haven't seen it yet, check it out? I'm having fun writing it…But I guess now my two creations will have to share my attention…hmm. Anyway, this chapter's a little blah. Not much happens, but bear with me, here. I'll put up the next chapter with it in apologies. Gomen Nasaiii!
Enjoy despite the fluff. –Bows low-
Chapter 15 – Explanation
Shizuka stared at her feet through the darkness as they dangled off the edge of the boiler room deck. Far below, the train hurried past, its headlights playing off of the glassy water. It had stopped raining, but all the precipitation had left the landscape down below Shizuka to look like a sea that stretched far beyond the bath house, deeper into the spirit world. She was now wearing the bath houses uniform of work, the pink pants and purple undershirt. Chihiro had put her human clothes in the steam room to dry.
Chihiro and Shizuka had managed to help the unconscious Haku back to the boiler room, through a series of back lifts in the staff section of the resort. It was still in the dead of night, the time that Shizuka found that the bath house busily operated, so workers were bustling around, sending whispers everywhere they went as the odd trio passed, some even greeted Chihiro as 'Sen' excitedly, as she had plowed on, ignoring them.
The boiler room was a fascinating place for Shizuka, the boiler man turned out to have six arms, which were used as his main source of mobility. For a while when she and Chihiro had gotten to this room, while Chihiro tended to the injured boy, Shizuka watched as the spirit's arms grew in length in order to reach even the highest drawers in the cavernous place. He had been nice enough, from what she saw when he saw Haku, but he was still busy taking orders, the entire bath house depending on his attendance to the furnace. The soot balls were another thing. They were the boiler mans workers, and created a river of coal rocks that flowed out of one wall and to the furnace. As the soot balls emptied their loads and zoomed back for more, they stole curious looks at the newcomer, Shizuka.
"Hey…" Shizuka heard a tired voice behind her, recognizing it as her best friend. Chihiro came and sat down next to the blue-eyed girl with a light sigh. "Haku will be fine, he just needs some rest…That's what Kamaji told me as soon as he could steal a break…" Shizuka immediately determined that Kamaji was the boiler man.
The two friends bathed in the moonlight and silence.
"I guess…I owe you an explanation, Shizuka…" Chihiro finally breaking the silence and peering down at the submerged train tracks.
Shizuka looked up at her friend, finding her guilt instantly in her eyes. Chihiro took a deep breath, and told Shizuka everything about her previous visit to the spirit world. She made an effort not to leave too much out, but still have the tale end at a reasonable length. From her parents taking the wrong turn and leading them to the gateway, to her battle with No-Face and her journey to save Haku, to Haku's goodbye as she ran back to the human world. She finished, leaving a fascinated look of awe on Shizukas face. Chihiro was actually wearing a little smile again, nostalgically looking back on it.
"So that's why you're always daydreaming." Shizuka whispered, still amazed by the sheer unusual greatness of her friends story. Her eyes turned to Chihiro.
"Chi…Why didn't you ever tell me this before?" Chihiros laughing smile glowed in the moonlight.
"You wouldn't have believed me…" she told her. Looking back at the water below, she continued. "You probably would have just thought I was crazy like everybody else does in the human world." Shizukas face flushed. She was sad to say that Chihiro was right. Had she not been sitting here, with Chihiro in the middle this strange world of spirits, and without witnessing all that had happened tonight, she probably would have been just another Shugi.
"I decided long ago, for that specific reason, to never tell anyone about this place. I finally had a friend in my new neighborhood, and I didn't want you to think I was making stuff up." Chihiro added.
"So, I have been wondering for a while, Chi…" Shizuka continued. "For a while now, you've been really detached…and you always came to school upset. People started to say it was problems with your family, but I know better. It was something about this place…right?"
"I've been having dreams." Chihiro said, leaning back onto the support of her hands. "For six years I've dreamed about this place, practically every night. In every dream, Haku was there. But as the years passed, Haku began to slip from my memory. Believe it or not, every time I saw him for a while now has had his face hidden in shadow, or fog, or whatever. Until I even lost his name…." Her voice had regret in it. "I came to school upset because the dreams and the fact that I was forgetting him were still fresh in my mind and bothering me. I don't even think I noticed how I'd brought that worry to school with me..."
"So you came back, to see him again and get your memories back…" Shizuka suggested.
"Not exactly, "Chihiro said shifting nervously. "After you left, I went back to sleep, and this time I had a nightmare…You saw what Yubaba did to Haku up there, well, I saw it happening when he was being punished for waiting for me to come back, and it was so much worse. After waking up from that, I finally came back."
She went on to explain that Haku had been staying up to wait in the grassy field during the day, while working at night, and how Yubaba had finally used his own fearful thoughts against him as punishment.
"He was still exhausted when we were on the lift to come get you. He was trying to hide it, but I knew."
Shizuka stared at the sky, taking in Chihiro's words. The way she always doted on this river spirit, it was obvious to anyone with half a brain that she was in love with the guy.
"Chi, I'm sorry I led you guys into all that trouble up there with that Yubaba lady…" Shizuka apologized, still staring at a moonlit cloud passing overhead. "I'm sorry that I got you into taking this job, and getting him punished…"
"Shizuka, it- it's not your fault!" Chihiro cried, surprised at her friends guilt. For some reason, Shizuka found the name she'd been addressed as a little strange. Chihiro was right, Yubaba did steal names… "I don't know what she's planning, but you don't have to apologize for it, really!" Shizuka smiled. This was her Chihiro, never wanting to put blame on others.
For a while, they sat together in the light of the setting moon. Morning was coming, and they'd probably have to head in to get some rest before their first night of work. Everything was quiet except for the distant bustle of workers, jubilation of relaxing customers and the busy boiler.
"So, Chihiro," Shizuka suddenly broke the silence. "Has he kissed you yet?" she asked her playfully. Chihiro immediately blushed, giving her silver face a pink tint to it.
"He has, hasn't he?" Shizuka giggled, tickling Chihiro in her sides. "So? Is he good? How was it, Chi?" she continued teasing, as both girls rolled on the stone deck, laughing and battling each other with merciless tickling until they lay gasping for air in the growing light of dawn.