VIEWER DISCRETION ADVISED. This chapter contains content that might not be suitable for younger audiences. This chapter contains content that could trigger veterans and those effected by wars. Again, Viewer discretion is advised!
Chihiro woke up early the next morning. She was awake before her mother so she decided to take a bath. She carried 7 large buckets of water from the sea and put them in their cast iron tub and then lit a fire in the heating element. She closed the door to the bathroom and looked at herself in the mirror well she undressed. Her hair was now down to the middle of her back. Her face was now matured being contoured perfectly. She had to find cheekbones, average breasts, and she was about five and a half foot tall, she was skinny and tone, I have a scar through her eyebrow now from an accident while training.
She removed the sparkling hairtie from her wrist and placed it on the counter before making her way to the tub. She put one foot in to make sure the temperature was just right. She made her way in and slowly laid back letting her body relax into the hot water. Her long brown hair floated in the water. The steam in the bathroom fogged up the mirror as she washed her hair and body. The only thing on her mind in that moment was peace. She closed her eyes and watched the shadows from the lit candles dance around on her eyelids.
Eventually the thoughts of Haku came in to her mind. She brushed water against her leg and remembered how he pulled her from the water when she was small. She remembered her little pink shoe and how she was terrified to drown but then the water picked her up and carried her back to shore. It was Haku that saved her life, and to him she was forever grateful. She couldn't help but Wonder what he looks like now. Was his short dark green hair now long? Did his eyes still pierce with the darkest green? She then began to blush as she thought about what he looked like now. How tall was he? What did his body look like now? Is his dragon form still the same?
She left she shook the thoughts from her head. She pulled the plug on the tub allowing the water to leave through the drain in the floor. She pulled herself from the water and patted herself dry. She put on her bra and white and pink shirt. She then put her white socks and and underwear on. She managed to wiggle her way into her black pants and then put her hair into a towel burrito. (What else do you call it! :P) She then placed her sparkeling hair tie back on her wrist and made her way into the hall.
Her mom was still sleeping. She still had about 25 minutes before she had to wake up for her shift at the medical center. She made her way into the kitchen and lit a fire in the make shift oven. They didn't have power anymore because they no longer had enough men to run the power plants since they were all fighting in the war. She placed to pieces of salmon on the open flame and then reheated the steamed rice her mom made the night before.
While the fish and rice were cooking, she went out to the back yard and collected the eggs from her chickens. She put them on the counter in the kitchen and then put 2 in a pot to boil them. She went to the porch and broke off 2 large pieces of nori and brought them inside along with 2 carrots from their garden. Her mom seemed to smell the food because woke up quickly.
Once all the food was done she prepared them both a plate. She gave her mom the larger piece of salmon on top of a bed of rice laid on the nori. She then sliced up one of the eggs and a carrot and put them to the side of the plate. She poured her mom a cup of water they had distilled from the sea. By the time she made her way to her mom, she was already in her nurses uniform and ready for work.
"Good morning mom. I made you some breakfast. I know you need a lot of protein for the day." She looked at her mother longingly but met a blank stare. " Thank you Chihiro." Her mom took the plate and scarfed the food down. In that moment Chihiro thought about how her mom resembled her 'old' form as a large pig. She let out a small laugh and a smile at her mom.
"I have to be along now", her mom grabbed her bag off of her couch and started out the door. Chihiro felt led to follow after her mom. She pulled her mom into a hug from behind. Her mom went silent. "Mom, look I know I haven't been the best daughter, and I know dad is gone, but you have bo idea how much I wish it had been me instead of him. I know you're not the proudest mother, but I want you to know that I love you."
Chihiro looked up at her mother's face as a single tear left her eye, "I will be late if you don't stop this, we will continue this when I get home." She looked at Chihiro as she pulled away and forced an awkward smile on her face before walking out onto the porch, down the dirt path towards the main road.
Chihiro had just made it to her bedroom when she heard the all to familiar sound of enemy war planes flying over-head. Her heart dropped. She scrambled to make it back to the front door when she heard the bomb dropping. She managed to make it into the living room before the bomb hit. She was flung against the kitchen counter as the windows blew out of the house from the force of the bomb. She tried to make it to her feet when another bomb hit on the opposite side of the house.
She was flung back to the floor as the whole house shook and filled with dirt and smoke. Her ears were ringing, but she could make out the distant screams from the other villagers. The planes seemed to be getting further away , but the bombs hitting the ground were still shaking the house. She crawled over to the wall and pulled herself up.
Everything was dark and ashy. She was disoriented and in pain. She looked down and seem that she had two shards of glass sticking into her body. One was stuck through her thigh and the other was lodged in her stomach. She screamed in pain as the pulled them out. She slowly pulled herself to the door and quickly put on her training jacket and belt she left beside the door and tried to hurry out of the house.
Her leg and core were both bleeding, she was in pain, but she was determined to find her mother. She tripped and stumbled over debre while she could still hear screams and bombs going off. She struggled to see in-between the flashes of lights. She searched and searched until one deafening flash showed Chihiro what she feared the most. Her mother was laying on the ground, blood coming from her head,mouth, and nose. She had a piece of fencing stuck pinning her to the ground.
She collapsed next to her mom and began to cry and her mother was struggling to breathe. Her mom looked at her and touched her hand gently. "Chihiro. My sweet sweet little girl." Chihiro looked at her mom as she couched up blood. Tears were rolling out of both their eyes, "Don't be sad my sweet girl. I'm sorry I've been so cold to you, but I thought I was showing you how to be strong in hard times, the truth is", she coughed up more blood this time as she winced in pain, "the truth is, I am the weak one. You are so strong. I am more than proud of the woman you have become. You take that after your father. I love you my child. You will be okay. You're stronger then I am just always remember", Chihiro watched as her mother began to choke on her own blood, "just remember...*cough*... That your mother ...* cough cough* will always love you."
She looked Chihiro in the eyes as her chest fell for the last time. Chihiro was freaking out and tried to pull the bit of fencing off of her mom but she simply wasn't strong enough, "D8MNIT MOM DON'T LEAVE ME! I STILL NEED YOU. PLEASE", tears were coming faster than she could breathe. She tried to shake her mom awake but nothing was bringing her back. She collapsed next to her mom and cried for a while.
That was it. She was completely broken. She heard the planes in the distance heading back in their direction, still dropping bombs. She quickly gave her mom a kiss on the forehead and closed her eyes. She took the locket and dog tags from her neck and placed it on hers. The grabbed her moms medical bag and gave her one last kiss before she got up and tried to run from the planes that were closing in on her.
The more she ran, the more her leg bled and sent sharp pains into her stomach. She managed to run almost off their property before the planes had caught up with her. Another bomb hit the ground about 100 feet from her and it sent her flying down a bank. She hit her head on a rock on the way down which almost knocked her out.
She was in so much pain. Everything was moving in slow motion. All she could hear were bombs blowing up but it was muffled by the ringing in her ears. She stumbled to her feet, trying to make it away from the attack. After walking past all the tall trees she came to an opening.
This place felt oddly familiar. She walked to the right of the clearing where it was much clearer and the sounds of the bombs grew faint. Chihiro knew she had been here before. Her vision grew a little darker as the pain in her body began to take over all her senses. She stumbled on a small fat looking stone spirit sculpture. She Definately knew this place.
She took in a deep breath, despite the pain, and slowly looked up. There it was the big red building which allowed her to pass through the spirit gate. Her heart was pounding. She placed her hand on the wall and embraced it. She began crying as all the emotions hit her at once. The thought of leaving everything behind, her dad being gone, her mom dying before her eyes, and the oppertunity to go home to the spirit world.
The pain grew as Chihiro made the decision to leave this world for good. She had nothing left here. Anything there would be better than staying there. She pulled a shakable flashlight from her mother's bag, and began to walk down the long, dark hallway. After a few seconds, she could make out a light at the end of the tunnel. She could feel her heart beating in her head as her breathes grew more and more shallow, the pain was becoming unbearable. The further she walked, her heart grew more nervous. She was nervous to see the end of the tunnel, but also scared that she might die before she made it there.
She finally made it to the end and walked out into the peaceful light. She bo longer heard any bombs, and finally felt a little content as she collapsed to her knees. Her vision started to blur as she tried to look around. It was just the way she remembered except there was someone walking towards her. They finally came into view, she knew this one all to well. His short dark green hair was now long and flowing down, the top half pulled into a bun. He wore long flowing white and blue robes, was over 6 foot tall, and had a peaceful light about him.
Chihiro's heart wa as bearing so hard, clouding her vision, as the pain grew in her body. It was Haku. She finally felt safe. A sharp pain made her collapse onto the floor. The man ran to her in time to stop her head from hitting the stone ground. She looked up into his piercing, dark green eyes. She let out a soft smile, "Haku...", as his name left her mouth, she lost consciousness and her head dropped down into his lap.