A/N: I'm back. Thanks for all the reviews! Sorry, no individual responses this time. In general, I'm glad you thought it was amusing, Haku did in fact need to have faults in order to be teased, and there will be chapters like that in the future.
Oops! I think I told you this was reunion…well I lied. (ducks flying objects) This chapter is dark. And the PG13...wait their doing the stupid K ratings now aren't they? Well then the T rating kicks in here for some goriness. (runs around in circles with nervous energy) Eeeek! It starts out slow, but will get intense. Ok… I hope it's good…
Disclaimer: I don't own Spirited Away.
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Recap: So I left you with-
Haku flinched. "Ugh. Giggling airheads." he sighed. "Alright Rin. I guess I won't blow you up if you teach me to talk properly."
Rin giggled. "Sorry dragon! Yet again, you are too fun to annoy."
Haku grumbled "Yeah, yeah. Whatever. Now are you going to teach me, or not?"
Rin pointed to a chair and smiled. "Sit. This may take a while."
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Crisis in the woods
A train rattled by quietly on the pitch black ocean.
"Now for the final test." Zeniba said as she got up from her chair and pointed at it. A carbon copy of Chihiro appeared with a pop. The round face, stubborn eyes, and brown ponytail was exactly how Haku remembered them. Zeniba smiled. "Well, she's grown up now, but we don't know how she looks. This will have to do." She looked at the slightly bewildered Haku who stood staring at the dummy with intense, green eyes. "The final test, is to say those lines while looking at her face."
Haku cleared he throat. "…ok." he took a long breath and began. "Hello Chihiro. It's me, Haku. I'm so sorry that I couldn't come earlier. But Yubaba's close watch over me has made it hard. And because of you, I have also gone back to my river and have been working on rebuilding it. I can never thank you enough for giving me back my name. But now, I don't want to scare you, but I think evil spirits maybe targeting you. Do you believe in me enough to come with me, back to the spirit world?" Haku stopped. The silence in the boiler room was pregnant with disbelief.
"D-did he…talk smoothly?" Kamaji stuttered, scratching his bald head.
Rin blinked rapidly. "Guys…" a smile slowly crept on her face. "I think he's finally got it!"
Haku stood proudly smiling at his critics. He tossed his head in a waterfall of green glimmerings. "Ha! I knew I could do it!"
Rin crossed her arms raised an eyebrow. "Dragon. You couldn't even say 'Hello Chihiro' right till ten minutes ago."
Haku looked sheepishly at the ceiling. "..right. Sorry." Rin, Zeniba, Kamaji, and Bo who was now fast asleep in his chair, covered by a blanket produced by Kamaji, all looked at him, waiting for that one word. "Thanks." They smiled.
Zeniba came up and gave Haku a hug. "You will do fine, my dear." she let out a yawn looking at Bo. "Now we'll be off. It's very late." But suddenly she snapped into focus, seeming to remember something. "Oh dear! I almost forgot…" She whispered something emphatically into Haku's ear. "Got it, darling? You must remember that!" Haku nodded slowly. "Good. Then off we go. We'll see you tomorrow dear." She pointed to Bo and turned him into his mouse form. She then turned herself into a paper bird and lifted Bo from the chair and up the shaft.
He turned to Rin. "You can go too."
Rin walked over, yawning and ruffled his hair. Haku grumbled. "It's about time you idiot! Dragon like you should be able to talk right." She smirked. "Just don't EVER try to be poetic again, and you should be fine." Haku rolled his eyes. "See you in the morning." she said chuckling. She walked over to the door.
"Wait!" Haku called out.
Rin turned around. "What?" she said a little annoyed. It was late, and she was tired!
"Um…thanks." Haku mumbled, looking at the floor.
Rin smiled and gazed fondly at him for a moment. "See you in the morning. Try to get some sleep." she said softly. Haku looked up and grinned. Rin waved and shut the door with a snap, leaving a wide awake Haku and an already snoring Kamaji.
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Two figures streaked across the courtyard full of vibrant green grass. Mayu and Chihiro looked frantic as their sandals slapped the ground.
"But I swear I set the clock right last night!" Mayu panted.
"The what happened?" Chihiro panted back. She looked at her watch and groaned. "Fifteen minutes late!"
They ran around to the front of the art building but stopped abruptly. There was a big yellow school bus parked in front of the entrance and their classmates were filing in.
"What's going on?" They ran over as one of their classmates who waved. It was the girl who had been sitting in front of Mayu yesterday in class.
"Hey you two. We're doing objects of nature next, so the professor told us we're going to drive to a nearby wood to collect specimens."
"That's weird." Chihiro said, frowning, "We're not done with the animal paintings."
The girl shrugged. "Come on." she said, climbing up the stairs of the bus. Mayu and Chihiro didn't get a chance to respond. They shrugged and followed her in. Once inside, the girls looked around for empty seats. They also scanned faces. "No Sei." Mayu said. They found a pair of seats at the back and sat down.
Soon the bus rolled out of the front gates of the college. It was a rickety old bus, and Chihiro could feel every crack and bump in the road. The girls stared out at the small town scenery, trying to ignore the uncomfortable silence between them.
Finally Mayu sighed. "Chihiro," she started. "Just listen all the way through, alright?" Chihiro nodded, glad she had broken the silence. Mayu took a deep breath. "When you told me that story the first day, you didn't mean to did you?"
Chihiro blinked, surprised. This was not the opening she expected. "No, I kind of blurted it out…"
Mayu nodded. "Well at that moment, I pretended to believe everything you said. I mean the last thing you needed was to feel alienated by your roommate on the first day." Chihiro felt a pang of gratitude and smiled warmly at her friend. Mayu grinned in return. "But obviously I had my doubts. So I avoided the subject with you, till I could made my own decisions. Then Sei kept bugging you about the spirit world, and I watched your reactions. And Sei's reactions." she chuckled to herself remembering the stunned look on his face from when she had slapped him. He had it coming… "And I figured it all had to be true." she finished.
Chihiro gazed steadily back. Slowly, she admitted it. "Yes. You're right." She felt intense joy explode in her chest. She believes me! She really does…
Mayu nodded. "Honestly, even though now I know its true, I still can't believe that everything you told me actually exists…" she made a face remembering some of the ridiculous things she had described.
Chihiro surprised both of them by laughing. "Well, I don't blame you. But I guess you're just going to have to trust me on tha-" Suddenly the bus screeched to a halt, throwing everyone into the seats in front of them.
Chihiro rubbed her bumped forehead. "Owww!" Mayu winced and rubbed a sore elbow in agreement. The girls looked outside to see that they were in the middle of a thick wood.
Mayu stared, black eyes wide. "Whoa! I guess we got too absorbed to notice the change in scenery." Chihiro gasped and shifted nervously. She felt an odd itching sensation in her chest. The whole morning seemed strange to her for some reason. And where are we?
The lanky professor suddenly started talking in a booming voice and the girls jumped, again. "We're sorry about the rough ride. Your sketch books are piled in the front seats, so grab them and follow me." Students filed out slowly. Chihiro scowled. How come I didn't notice he was there? She glanced around at the students expect Mayu. Same with them…It was as if she and Mayu were being kept from noticing their surroundings unless they consciously paid attention to it.The line moved forward and soon it was their turn. They grabbed sketchbooks and followed everyone down the stairs and onto a beaten trail. It was well traveled and littered with napkins, wrappers and the occasional glass bottle. They were the last ones in the trailing ribbon of brightly dressed students.
Chihiro looked around at the trash in disgust. "Ugh. It's so littered!"
"Yeah…" Mayu said distractedly, fanning herself. She groaned. "God it's so hot!"
Chihiro looked around at the tall trees nervously. Splotches of burning yellow sun painted the forest floor. The group walked on, deeper into the woods. Where are we?…
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Haku looked at Zeniba, Rin and Bo with a tense grin. They were standing on the crumbling steps, facing a dried up river bed, a whispering meadow and an old red theme park entrance in the distance. Haku's emerald eyes still sparkled with hope and uncertainty. I get to see her again! I get to see her agai-
Rin snickered seeing right through him. "Stop daydreaming you poet!" Haku blushed and absently ran his fingers through glittering hair. Rin smiled. "You can do this. Go get her!"
Zeniba gave him an overpowering hug. "Speak from the heart darling! And-" she stared him straight in the eye. "Remember what I told you!" Haku nodded.
Bo giggled "Yay! Haku's gonna get Sen back!" he crooned. Haku smiled and nodded again.
"Thank you everyone. Say thanks to Kamaji for me too." A determined look came over his face. "I'll be back soon. And not alone!" he cried dramatically. The others laughed happily just as suddenly, Haku's face paled and his eyes flickered. He put a shaky hand to his stomach. The others looked on in alarm.
"Haku? Haku! What's wrong?" Haku breathed in shallow gasps. He felt like someone had grabbed his stomach and heart and squeezed them both, tight. A voice whispered feebly in his mind. Help me Haku…help…The unexplained dread and panic washed over him in crashing waves. His knees buckled but barely held. Just as suddenly as it had come, it was gone. He swayed for several more moments on his feet.
"Nothing…" he said slowly recovering. He forced a smile. "Bye."
The others gave each other confused, worried looks. "Haku…"
Haku glared, his eyes flashing a warning green. "I'm fine. I'll be back…" He turned and pelted down the steps with violent energy.
"Haku!" Rin yelled.
"Come back safe!" they all shouted after his disappearing form.
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Something was wrong. Something was very wrong. Chihiro looked at the seemingly normal students in front of her. By now, she and Mayu were parched and completely dehydrated. Sweat soaked and exhausted. But their classmates seemed to be absolutely tireless and unaffected by the heat. They continued to walk at a very fast pace, nearing a run than a leisurely walk. They chatted merrily amongst themselves.
"My god! Are they all marathon runners?" Mayu panted. Chihiro glanced around at the thickening trees. Where are we? She wondered for the billionth time, looking around, not paying attention to her footing. Suddenly she stepped on a glass bottle on the path. Her ankle rolled outwards and sinews twisted. The bottle, pushed from her foot, crashed into a nearby rock and shattered. Chihiro gasped as she saw she was going to fall onto the pile of broken glass. She managed to twist with her torso avoiding most of the shards. But her right arm was not so fortunate. Glass bit deeply into the tender flesh of her inner arm. Mayu heard a shattering of glass and a soft groan behind her and whirled around, eyes wide.
"Chihiro!" she screamed and ran over to her, crouched down. Chihiro lay sprawled on the dirt on her side. Clenching her jaws against the pain, she rolled over on her back, holding her arm. A large piece of glass stuck out perpendicularly from her flesh just above her elbow. Blood oozed around the glass in red lines.
"Oh my god!" Mayu cried.
Chihiro looked up through a fog of pain. "Mayu. My ankle's hurt, but can you help me sit?" she rasped. Mayu nodded franticly. She supported Chihiro's back as she slowly sat up. Mayu saw a convenient rock nearby.
Mayu pointed to the rock. "Can we get you there?" Chihiro nodded. Mayu had to half drag her friend until she was leaning against the rock. Tears seeped unwanted from Chihiro's eyes as her sprained ankle was jostled along.
Mayu saw this and gasped. "Chi! That hurt! I'm so sorry…" she was almost hysterical. Heart racing. Throat tight and burning from thirst and fear for her friend. She saw Chihiro's ankle start to turn a brownish purple. "We need to get help!" She looked up to see that their class had disappeared. "Where he hell did they go? We need to get you some-"
"Mayu!" Chihiro croaked. Mayu stopped and realizing she was ranting. Deep breaths. She thought to herself. Calm down for Chihiro's sake. She took a deep breath. Chihiro was now leaning against the rock, eyes half closed from the pain. Her sweat soaked hair was plastered onto her face, flushed from the heat. "Help me Haku…help…" she whispered under her shallow breath, too soft to be heard by Mayu.
The terrible, fragile sight of her friend got Mayu into focus. Her eyes took on a look of command and rationality. "Chihiro, I think we have to get this glass out." Mayu said, slightly louder than usual, realizing Chihiro was only half conscious. "I want to carry you somewhere, but that glass will just wedge itself deeper." Chihiro barely moved her head in a nod. Mayu felt her heart race and took another deep breath.
Bandage. I need bandage… She remembered she was wearing a tank top under her t-shirt. She ripped off her outer t-shirt and tore it into a long strip. Then, fighting nausea, she reached out with trembling hands to the glass and gripped it. Ok. One, two …three! she yanked the glass out cleanly. Blood spurted out of the wound and splattered her arms. Mayu gasped and Chihiro finally, mercifully, blacked out. Mayu put pressure on the wound, frantic. Crimson blood oozed between her fingers with every beat of Chihiro's heart.
Mayu stayed that way, keeping the pressure on for long, agonizing minutes. Blood stained her white nailed hands and mixed into a gruesome mud in the dirt below. Finally the flow seemed to ease up a bit. Mayu took the bandage and wound it as tightly as she could around Chihiro's arm. Within a second, it was bright red. Oh god…What do I do? There were no people for miles around…Tears sprang into her eyes and she looked up to the sky. God, please! Send some help! Please help us…As if in reply, suddenly there was a loud shriek behind her. Mayu whirled around to find a huge bird soaring down at them. "Ahhhh!" Mayu screamed and ducked. It was a falcon, nearly three times the size of a normal one. It had golden-amber feathers with cream and dark brown flecks. There were richer brown feathers on the crown of its head and it had a murderous looking sharp beak of pure gold. Its razor sharp talons were the same brilliant color.
The great bird of prey simply soared past her and perched on low hanging branch nearby. Mayu eyed the great bird. It stared back at her with intelligent amber eyes.
It was then that a flash of blue struck Mayu's eye. She saw what it was and gasped. It was her ring, the one she though she had left in the art room yesterday. It was hanging from its golden chain in the birds golden beak. "What!" she yelled at the unmoving bird. "How did you get that!" she cried. The bird responded by shrieking loudly, urgently. It turned its head down the path, back to Mayu, and shrieked.
Mayu stared at it. She looked at her surroundings. They were at a fork in the path. The bird, was at the entrance to the left one which looked more overgrown, untouched in years. She looked at the deadly white face of Chihiro and made a lightening decision. I've got to move. Now. She loaded the unconscious Chihiro onto her back. She struggled for a moment under the dead weight, but gritting her teeth, she walked towards the falcon. The bird took off again and landed on a branch, slightly farther down the path.
"You better not be getting me lost." Mayu gasped at the magnificent bird. She glanced back at Chihiro and grabbed her wrist. She felt only a weak pulse. The wound was leaving a ribbon of red blood on the path. Mayu felt a fresh wave of panic, but she forced it down. Hang in there Chihiro…She turned back towards the bird. "I'm trusting you." The bird perched on a branch down the path and stared back at her. You should. A voice rang in her mind. It was vaguely familiar but Mayu was too exhausted to think much of it. She just kept a weary eye on the great golden wings as she trudged as fast as she could deeper into the woods carrying a limp Chihiro on her back.
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A/N: Oh man I feel evil for leaving it there.Sorry! (ducks more flying objects) It was also a bit unnecessarily bloody… I was feeling a bit angsty. My poor Chihiro. And Mayu too, what a scare! The strange unexplained things in there are intentional and will be explained soon. Also it's really late right now, so forgive me if this chapter's not as well edited as the others...
I'm not usually much of an environmentalist but people: don't litter! This chapter wasn't based on my personal experience but what happened to Chi isn't too unrealistic. (God forbid)
Till next time! Review please! I'd love to hear people's reaction to this one.