Forgotten
Author: NekoNemui
Rating: T
A/N: This one's probably one of the most complicated chapters I've written out of the twelve that I've posted. Yes, this is the new and updated version of Chapter 3. Please keep in mind the trouble I went through to make this somewhat readable. Enjoy!
Disclaimer: I wanted to steal Haku but Chihiro found me and beat me over the head before I could steal him from Studio Ghibli. Unfortunately he isn't mine.. yet.
BZZZZZT!
The sound of the final bell was music to Chihiro's ears. Not literally, the sound was awful, but its meaning was what made it so great- it meant she could get out of the school. She could leave it behind.
Until tomorrow.
No! She mentally scolded herself. Don't even think about it.
Soundlessly, she collected her books and stepped quickly out of the classroom. Luckily she'd had no classes with the others since that morning, not that it really bothered her much either way. But even now, as she looked backwards over her shoulder, she heard the tinkling sound of Aya's laughter and the clacking voices of her stupid guy-friends. The sound was coming closer, so Chihiro hurried on faster. She was in absolutely no mood to deal with talking to her doll-like friend right now.
If a God existed and had heard her silent hopes to get away, he squished them beneath his holy shoe.
"Oh, Chihiro! There you are!" Chihiro's heart mashed into her chest at the sound of Aya's voice. What had she done to deserve this? She soundlessly let out a stream of 'why me?'s in her mind. There was no getting out of this now.
Slowly, she spun around to meet Aya's stabbing gaze. The girl had the biggest, fakest smile plastered on her face. It only meant one thing; she wanted something. Chihiro returned the false grin, feigning excitement.
"Aya! Sorry, I didn't see you there. I would love to chat, but-"
"Look," Aya interrupted. "I'll get straight to the point. I have a really important date tonight, and was wondering if you'd let me borrow your necklace for the occasion?"
Chihiro froze, scrunching her nose at Aya's rudeness. She was wearing her mother's pendant that she'd been given when she was only three years old. It had been passed down to Chihiro, and wasn't just some silly necklace; it was made of eighteen carat gold. It was oval-shaped and had an engraved picture of two lovebirds on a tiny swingset. It was truly a beautiful piece of art.
"It's so cute." Aya cooed, leaning forward to observe the subject piece of jewellery around Chihiro's neck.
"Yeah." Chihiro had to agree with that. "But Aya, it's my mother's-"
"-Hey Aya!" A senior student stepped through from the crowd of people gathered behind her curly haired friend. He had dark hair and equally dark eyes that narrowed when he spotted the two girls. "Are we gonna go? Party starts at four, and it's a thirty minute drive."
Chihiro's brow wrinkled. So much for that 'really important date'.
"Yeah, yeah." The doll faced girl waved him off.
Next thing Chihiro knew, Aya had reached out and pulled her into a tight embrace. Chihiro did not hug back- it was too sudden and she was still getting over her slight shock. Her study books fell from her hands as she uncomfortably tried to wriggle out of the grasp. Then it hit Chihiro like a ton of bricks. She knew what Aya was trying to do.
But once again, God squished her hopes and dreams as a small click sounded from just behind Chihiro's ears.
Aya pulled back, releasing Chihiro and shoving her backwards a few steps. In her hand, she held Chihiro's necklace. A big grin of triumph danced across her face.
"Thanks, C! I'll give it back as soon as I can!"
Chihiro was simply stunned. Stunned.. and angry. Who did Aya think she was? Who just took someone's things without having granted permission first? Was the girl mentally challenged or something? Chihiro had to admit that the thought of Aya being crazy did make her feel a little better, but at that moment she had bigger things to deal with.
"No!" She heard someone yell out; not realising the voice was hers until she noticed the funny looks that random students shot her as they walked by. She realised what she must look like to them: books scattered across the floor and yelling out after a person who was no longer there to yell at.
Just like that, Aya was gone, probably already squeezing into the party van that would take her to the Yamato's shack. The Yamato's are a group of three brothers who own a shack down by the river. Two of the boys had already graduated, and the third was currently a senior. All the parties were held at their shack because their parents were always overseas for work purposes, and probably had no idea that their angels of sons were drinking and destroying the place in their absence.
Chihiro sighed as once again she realised that she was the only one left in the corridors.
Then she picked up all her books that had been scattered around the cheaply tiled floor, and continued down the hall to her locker, shaking her head and mentally punching herself for being played so easily. Once she reached it, she pulled out her phone, and flipped the top open.
"3:17" she murmured, before slamming it shut again.
So it had officially taken her 17 minutes to walk from her class to her locker.
She actually wondered if that could be a new record.
Slowly, she pulled out her bag and stuffed all her books and papers in. Her neck felt annoyingly bare without the necklace clasped around it, and the feeling was starting to bug her more than it should.
"I'll give it back as soon as I can!" Aya had said. Chihiro wondered how long that would be. She sighed, and pulled her bag onto her shoulders before walking stiffly away from the Year 10 area. Then a sudden thought crossed her mind that made her stop in her tracks. Reaching over her shoulder to dig blindly in her bag, Chihiro pulled out her notepad and a pen, scribbling a quick message in her trademark loopy handwriting:
Thank you for lending me money, but it won't be necessary. My mother's picking me up now. -Chihiro Ogino.
She then sprinted down the hall; her footsteps echoing throughout the high corridors, until she reached the front office. The receptionist once again gave her a quick glance of disapproval before returning her icy gaze to her computer screen; tapping away at the keyboard as if Chihiro wasn't even there. Scowling silently at the lady from beneath her bangs, the brunette slipped past the desk and put the note and money in the Principal's notice locker.
Then as quietly as she snuck in, she crept back out again. The huge double-doors of Osaka loomed ahead of her in the silent hallway, seeming so close and yet so far away at the same time. Taunting her. After what felt like a small eternity, the brunette finally reached them and tugged them open; stepping out into the heated air. The glare of the direct sun instantly had her breaking a little sweat, making her subconsciously think of that saying 'sweat like a pig.'
Like a pig..
For an unknown reason that Chihiro couldn't quite put her finger on, the mention of swine made her heart sink a little; as if the word itself was an important piece of an unfinished puzzle the girl knew nothing about.
The brown eyed girl shook her head; hard. What was wrong with her lately? First she thinking up strange mutations, and next she was finding strange meanings in equally strange words that are difficult to find meaning in. Sighing in defeat to her own crazed mind, Chihiro reached into her pocket and pulled out her phone, huffing somewhat angrily when she noticed the time.
3:28pm.
Instead of taking her usual route home, Chihiro turned sharply and headed in the opposite direction. She needed a break from all the crazy thoughts, and didn't quite feel like going home and sacrificing her free time to her new assignments just yet. Reaching a vaguely familiar dirt track she had walked only a handful of times before, the sixteen year old glanced up at the cloudless sky.
Who on earth could be expected to sit indoors and do work on a day like this?
She let the corners of her mouth twitch up in a dopey grin. She knew exactly where she was going.
She was going to the Kohaku River.
Haku knew he had to move fast. Getting to Zeniba was no easy task, and the raven-haired spirit needed time. Time he simply didn't have enough of. If Yubaba were to catch him, she'd ..
He didn't want to think about that.
The high-pillared corridor he walked through was dimly lit by various candles hanging from the walls; leaving the green-eyed boy with barely any sight except for the rich jade-stone tiles that surrounded his feet on the ground below. Not that the light was a problem for him, though. Being a dragon spirit, he preferred darker lightings.
Things had been getting more intense at the bath-house of late. Yubaba's control over her workers had been destroyed ever since Chihiro had found a way to break it. Chihiro had been the one to free Haku, and many other spirits because of that action alone. She'd single-handedly become an inspiration to everyone, and had even gone so far as to bargain for her own freedom against Yubaba herself. She was a girl unlike any other in all worlds. A rarity.
And because of the impact Chihiro had brought and left behind, Yubaba had gone on a rampage; sending every soul in the bath-house into the clutches of raw terror.
Haku turned a corridor sharply, the force of the movement tossing his thick dark hair out behind him in a graceful motion. Only she could make things right again. Only Chihiro. He wondered what she was doing at that moment. He wondered if she was happy. He wondered..
Haku stopped abruptly in his tracks; the bare heels of his feet screeching against the tiled floor in protest to the movement. Would she have fallen in love with someone else?
He could feel his heart as it sank, shrivelled and formed a pit of sorrow deep in his stomach. Even though it was physically impossible, the boy felt he might be torn in two as the thought sliced at his insides like scissors on paper.
But still he continued on through the dark halls. He was on the top floor, the one both he and Yubaba owned separately. Haku needed to escape the bath-house without anyone noticing a too-long absence. If Zeniba could help him reach Chihiro, he knew his chances of returning here were slim.
That's what he was counting on. He knew once he left the building, coming back would only cause trouble for everyone. Hell, the raven knew that just leaving would cause trouble for everyone. Yubaba would hound them all just to find her number one apprentice, and even though he felt guilty for inflicting that sort of uproar in the bath-house, he couldn't put them over her.
And so, the green-eyed boy continued onwards. Chihiro was far more precious than staying and living an endless life of regret. After all, he had a promise to fulfil, didn't he? He'd already wasted six years of her life; how much longer was he going to wait?
At last the corridor came to an end and he saw the giant windows of the top floor loom before him. He also noted, with relief, that they were all opened already, so he wouldn't look suspicious with having just one open to escape from. Haku picked up speed; sudden adrenaline running through him. His spiritual strength lifted him off the ground a tiny bit with each stride, and soon he was running on thin air. With a final leap, he shifted his body into a horizontal position, and glided smoothly through a small window opening.
Haku sucked in a breath as he gripped a part of the roof than stuck out slightly over the windows. He loosened his grip as he flipped; flinging himself upwards onto the traditional-styled tiles as stealthily as a cat. He exhaled, but froze when a too-familiar voice echoed through the bath-house below.
"No, no, no, no, no! That simply won't do! That smell is awful! WHOSE IDEA WAS IT TO PUT JASMINE BATH SALT IN THE TUBS?!"
Yubaba.
"Open the windows immediately! Get that smell out!"
Haku jumped backwards just in time to see a row of windows two or so flights below him slam open. The wafting smell of jasmine tea filled the air, running through his senses and causing him to cough slightly at the overwhelming aroma. He pinched the bridge of his nose and ducked backwards further. At least Yubaba had a decent sense of smell; he'd give her that much.
"Everyone!" Haku heard the old spirit screech, her voice notably louder than it had been before, if that were even possible. "Pour this water off the roof right now! It's disgusting."
As Yubaba continued to babble something about trusting workers to choose bath salts, Haku's eyes widened. Panic coursed through his veins in icy pulses; he was trapped. The windows on flight 7 were all open now, so someone would surely spot him if he left now. And others were currently making their way to the roof. He couldn't turn back now – He'd already come to terms with the fact that he was going, and nothing was going to stop him.
Think, damnit, think!
He heard the creaking of the roof door and acted wildly fast, slamming it back down and creating a magical lock to hold it in place; to stall time. He heard banging from the under-side, as if someone had fallen into someone else. The sound of sloshing water filled his ears, along with the cries of the spirits below.
Haku didn't waste any more time. He snapped his eyes shut and bowed his head; the sudden movement causing his raven hair to fall over his face. He reached deep into his soul, and called to his dragon spirit; attempting to concentrate on only that which was harder to do due to the stressful situation he was in. He felt the answering call, and the transformation began. Haku's legs started to feel stronger, and he could feel his body grow taller. His eyes fluttered open, and a new vision took place behind his snake-like eyes.
Without a second thought, Haku threw himself into the air. He felt the familiar ache of wings as they sprouted from his back, and welcomed it. Instead of going down, Haku pushed himself upwards, where he could camouflage within the thick steam rising from the bath-house vents below.
He glanced backwards, and saw the lock he'd made give out on the tiny door. With a quick flick of his new tail, the lock vanished, stealing away any evidence that he'd been on the roof at all. Then he hurriedly pushed himself higher, hoping to be concealed within the darkened sky before anyone came through. He really didn't want anyone to know he was going.
Even if a single frog-spirit knew, Yubaba would surely find out. Her control still affected many souls, and basically their information was hers, too. Keeping secrets was a difficult thing to do in the bath-house.
Haku's vision was getting dimmer. That was a good thing, he supposed, as it meant he was getting closer to the darkness. The tiny figures below him were almost too small to be people – now they looked like tiny ant spirits.
He breathed out shakily; releasing the tension trapped inside his muscles in relief. He was in the clear.
Finally, the darkness swallowed him up entirely; the last of his diamond-scaled tail disappearing into the blackened sky.
Prevented from seeing anything past the tip of his nose, Haku lost all knowledge of how high up in the air he was. His dragon senses whispered to him that he was headed in the right direction, so he supposed it didn't matter, really.
Haku continued to fly onwards for several hours in total darkness, growing somewhat bored with the sensation of being airborne. His dragon muscles ached from the exertion; not used to being used for such a long period of time. At long last, a sliver of pink rose from the horizon, and Haku could see the wide stretch of ocean from the glorious reflection the light gave. As the sun began to peek over the water, Haku saw that in the distance ahead of him, there loomed the enchanted forests in which Zeniba lived.
CHOO CHOO!
Haku jumped in surprise and glanced down as a tiny caterpillar-looking object glided swiftly along the water's surface. It was the train. The same one that Chihiro had used when..
No! The thought of her made him queasy. In a good way, but evoking memories was too painful. Like dangling a treat in front of a puppy's nose when they knew they couldn't have it.
Haku shook the thoughts away and flicked his tail hard, sending him flying forward at a dramatic speed. He knew his mission. He knew where he stood. Now all he had to do was find a way back to her.
The next three hours dawned on Haku. Every second was making him slightly more anxious; slightly more excited; slightly more preparative. The feeling was eating him alive.
He was completely awake even though he hadn't slept a wink; frantically searching the forest below. It was almost impossible to see anything beneath all the intertwined trees. It was like someone had come along and woven them together by treetop, creating a large canopy to keep away any prying eyes.
It was an enchanted forest, after all. The depths of it remained a mystery.
Something caught Haku's eye to his far left. A path. It was only tiny from so high up, but Haku had seen it, and he knew exactly where it led. A burst of adrenaline coursed through his veins as he sped to reach it before becoming impossibly lost again. The trip took barely a minute.
Instead of stopping on the narrow stretch of dirt, Haku flew along it. He could feel every nerve in his body acting up at an impossibly fast rate. His heart fluttered within his chest.
And at long last, the small cottage came into view. Hope came into view.
Haku slowed his pace down, coming to a full stop when he was hovered just a few metres from the tiny cottage door. He released his dragon spirit, and slowly, began to change. Snake-slitted pupils turned round; dragon jaw shrank; green hair, now black. Tail- Now legs.
His bare feet touched the rocky earth beneath him, the transformation fully complete. He was once again a boy.
The little cottage-like door in front of him flung open with a deafening crack. And there, directly before his eyes, stood an equally small elderly woman; her light hair in an all-too-familiar bun and wearing the same blue dress she'd always worn. An exact replica of her twin sister.
Zeniba.
He had never been more relieved to see the spirit woman in his life.
"Young Haku. What brings you here?" She barked, obviously unfazed by his surprising arrival. It was obvious she wasn't going to invite him in first. How typical of her.
"I am in desperate need of your help." Haku replied, staying perfectly still except for the movement of his lips. He wondered if he could have been a little less blunt, but it was too late to change that now. Haku wasn't the type to say something more than once, anyway.
"Oh, so just after you steal my precious golden seal, tear my second body in half, destroy the magic spell on my paper birds, and let Chihiro leave.. YOU WANT SOMETHING FROM ME!?" She roared; her hair beginning to stick up messily as fire erupted from her mouth in ragged breaths.
Haku had expected that. She was too much like Yubaba that it wasn't even jest worthy. He endured her wrath, knowing he deserved every bit of it.
Ignoring the first three remarks Zeniba had thrown, Haku continued speaking. "That's what I've come to see you about. I want you to help me find her."
The little woman froze; her breaths returning to normal and her hair slowly rearranging itself to the way it had been before her outburst. "Come in." She said, stepping back to make room for the dragon spirit.
Said dragon spirit stepped cautiously into the homely room, keeping his piercing gaze on Zeniba the entire time. He hoped she wasn't playing some kind of cruel trick; though she wasn't really the type to do something like that; unlike her sister. The little living room he'd wandered into was candlelit, and he could smell jasmine incense burning throughout the air.
If Haku had been a different kind of person, he might have laughed.(1)
"No-Face." Haku's gaze landed on the addresses spirit. He was sitting at a small table in the corner of the room, peacefully weaving threads together with a wheel. Upon hearing his name, he glanced up at Zeniba, listening politely as she continued.
"Please let us speak alone. You may continue weaving in the other room. This shouldn't take long." Haku didn't miss the glare he received over the little woman's shoulder.
Slowly, No-Face stood and gathered his things. He glided silently out of earshot; not a single sound leaving the spirit's lips as he did. Once the soft sound of a door closing reached their ears, Zeniba turned to her raven-haired guest.
"You seek such impossibilities, you moron. Don't you know about the Gate? It rarely opens. Your chances of getting to her are almost zero." She waved her hand as if dismissing his plans altogether.
"I know that." He shot back, unable to suppress the anger that had leaked into his tone. "I was hoping somehow you would help me get there by force. I know you can. I know what kind of magic you keep hidden."
"Magic? Me?" Zeniba burst out laughing; the sound remind Haku very much of a cackling witch. He frowned, not liking that she had found amusement in the situation he was taking so seriously.
Finally the old bat began to calm down, wiping tears from the corners of her eyes. "And how did you reach that conclusion, oh great Kohaku Nushi?"
She was mocking him. He really didn't understand why. "Because you've crossed through the Gate before."
And suddenly the room was silent. Zeniba gaped at him, her large eyes growing wide. "How .. could you possibly know that?"
Haku shrugged, a small smirk dancing across his lips. "I had a hunch, and you pretty much just confirmed it. After all, why bring me inside when you could have just told me I couldn't pass through to begin with? I guessed you must have had some knowledge."
It took a few seconds for Zeniba to react to what the dragon boy had said. "WHAT?! YOU GUESSED?!"
Haku frowned. "Yes. And I was right, obviously."
He watched in slight amusement as the woman fumed on the spot. She trudged angrily over to a living chair and flopped down into it; almost as if expressing defeat.
"Fine, you got me. What do you want to know?"
"How did you get through?" Haku asked immediately, almost cutting off the end of the elder's sentence.
In response to this, she sighed; sounding almost annoyed. "I'm only sharing this with you because you caught me, you realise that, don't you? You have to keep hush-hush about that, by the way. I mean it – don't tell a soul."
When Haku nodded, she began to speak. "A few thousand years ago, I went searching for a book. Not just any book – the only one with information on the Spirit Gate. I won't go into the details, but when I got my hands on it, I discovered something.. interesting."
Pausing only to smirk at Haku's intrigued gaze, Zeniba continued. "The book spoke of a legend – one that only a rare handful of people have heard – so you should feel honoured that I'm telling you this, brat. The legend was set in a time very, very long ago when humanity was being created by the almighty lord above. He made two beings and placed them on Earth. They were called Adam and Eve; the first male and female humans to then create humanity as we know it. Now that's where the human version ends, but the book told a different one; the one of truth. In the book's version, the woman, Eve, was only half human. The other half of her was spirit; allowing her to cross between both worlds to maintain balance."
Haku could feel his interest peaking as he took in the information. He crossed the room to seat himself opposite from Zeniba, who kept talking through the movement.
"Seeing as humans are given only a short amount of time to live, Eve eventually passed on, though her spirit half didn't die with her. No; instead her spirit found a new container – inside her youngest child of three months. This child inherited all of Eve's spiritual powers, and he became the new bridge between the two worlds. After he passed on, the cycle continued, though the whereabouts of Eve's spirit became unknown as there became more and more humans. You see, it doesn't follow a direct family line; Eve's spirit could end up in any newborn."
Haku raised an eyebrow. "Why newborns?"
"Well, I suppose that's because newborns are fragile. Their delicate minds are weak and easily penetrable; compared to that of say, a two-year-old. Eve's spirit plants itself into newborns, and the child grows up with an immunity to illness, however not one to death. Sadly, unless the container crosses into the spirit world, he or she will grow old and die without ever knowing the power they possess. This is why the connection between humans and spirits has been severed – because the bridge rarely ever finds their way here."
"What does this legend have to do with anything? How does it help?" Haku questioned, not doubting the older woman at all. After all, what was the point in lying about something like this? She wasn't that low.
Zeniba smiled sadly at the boy. "Someone gave me that book, you know. After seeing my efforts to find it, they just.. handed it over. It was a man, a man named Gray. He was the one before Chihiro to enter the Spirit World. You remember that, don't you?"
"Unfortuntely not. My river wasn't created then, so I wasn't here yet." Haku replied, feeling somewhat disappointed for having missed something so important.
"Oh? I see. Well, he was the container of his generation. And, though this is strange to talk about with you, we fell in love. You should understand – after all, you're in the same situation."
A faint blush dusted the raven boy's creamy cheeks. His lips pressed into a thin line, and he motioned for Zeniba to continue, not trusting himself to speak.
"After he gave me the book, we spent a long time trying to find a way to.. well, be together. One day, I passed into the Human World. To this day I'm not entirely sure how it happened; but I was only there for a few days before I was hurled back here. When he came to the Spirit World again, he had a theory. It's one I continue to think about all the time, even though he's long passed."
Clearing her throat a little too loudly, Zeniba spoke again. "If someone from the other world is thinking of you, they're creating a path for you to walk down. A path – through the Gates. That's what he said. I don't think that's true, as much as I hate to say it. After all, if it was true, you'd be with Chihiro right now, wouldn't you?"
Haku froze, a nervous laugh leaving his lips. He didn't want to tell her. But he had to. "Chihiro.. I made her forget. Before she left, I wiped her memory of this world."
Now it was Zeniba's turn to freeze. Haku could feel the tension growing within the small room as the silence stretched on. Finally, the woman snapped.
"WHY DID YOU DO THAT?! My, my, after she'd unlocked her power, too! Haku! Do you have any idea what you've done?!"
Haku's eyes widened. Had Zeniba just said.. power? What power? No.. it couldn't be.
"That's right, you moron! You only just realised?! Chihiro is the container of the current human generation!"
Hope that all made sense. If you have any questions please feel free to either review or PM me about it. Thank you for your support xx
(1) If you didn't get this, basically Haku found it amusing how Yubaba hated the smell of jasmine, while Zeniba obviously liked it. Just another difference between the two! Hahah.