Spirits Within Otome

Spirit Dancer: The Transformers musical Score is such a good thing to listen to while you're writing. I never knew that one soundtrack could fit all of my scenes so perfectly. Just listening to the music inspired me to write a few things that I never thought I would write. Anyway, with that rant over with, here is the next chapter. I hope you all like it. Things are slowly starting to take place, and if you're reading the story for the second time, you'll know what I'm talking about. And if this is your first time, then I grin and giggle, because I will be watching and waiting for your reactions grins

Thank you to all those who reviewed!! Honestly, I was scared that no one would like this story, but you seven have proved me wrong. Many thanks and hugs to fruits-basket-girl94, The-New-Nightingale, nfkjihgqeiub8, WolfAngel-Kaiasa, DaisyQueen, Maskedgoddess, and GothicWolfGirl. Thank you all so much. Your reviews mean so much hugs and gives out cookies

On another note: I switch between using 'Sen' and 'Chihiro' a lot towards the end of the chapter. The reasoning behind that is when someone calls Chihiro by her real name, she tends to think of herself as Chihiro rather then just Sen. And it's visa versa when someone calls her Sen. So hopefully, this little note will clear some of the confusion away.

Disclaimer: ……Please invent your own disclaimer after the beep……………………………BEEP! I do however; own Kafu, Kane, and Aiko. So please don't sue me! I'm not worth the trouble, really…

xXxXxXx scene change

xVxVxVx same scene, different point of view

Chpt. 2 – Past Friends and Future Foes

The uneasy silence continued as they walked down the hallway, and Sen resisted the urge to start babbling. Something about the man next to her was giving her the creeps, and yet she couldn't put her finger on what it was. The concern for Haku was starting to make her feel nauseous. She was tempted to ask the boy next to her, Kafu she mentally corrected herself, if he had seen of the dragon; but her gut told her that asking him wouldn't be the best of ideas. It wasn't long before Sen started to recognize the hallways again. They were headed down numerous staircases towards the first floor. There were muffled exclaims and greetings from the workers who still remembered her, and she returned their welcome with a slight smile. They walked for a few minutes more before they stopped in front of the foreman's podium. The frog's eyes widened in delight as he recognized the girl in front of him.



"Sen! You're back!" His exclamation seemed to draw every worker that was within hearing range to the small room, and soon the two were surrounded by a mass of noise. Sen nodded to the frog, but then glanced around her nervously as the crowd seemed to be pushing in on her.

"Quiet!" Kafu's voice made Sen jump and turn her attention back to the man in front of her. The room instantly became silent, all eyes on the two before them. "This girl has signed a contract and needs a job." He barely finished his sentence before the shouting started again. It seemed as if everyone wanted the human in their department, not seeming to care how bad she smelled. Kafu growled and waved his hand in the air, the silence returned much quicker this time.

Kafu then turned to sweep his eyes over Sen, his mind's eye putting her in different job scenarios. Or at least, that's what he wanted everyone else to believe. He could see why the dragon had liked her so much. She was quite beautiful for a human. She really didn't smell that bad either despite her short time here. Her chestnut hair was pulled back into a ponytail before falling in waves down her back. She was slightly shorter then he was, but not enough that she had to physically look up at him. Her skin seemed to be perfect, not a blemish in sight. A few jobs popped into his head based on that fact alone and he had to bite down a smirk. She was incredibly thin, but not enough to appear sick. No…in fact it had the opposite effect. He saved her face for last, and just barely managed to keep his face outwardly cool. She had high cheek bones that seemed to set her face into an oval shape. Her lips had a natural pout to them, and he wondered for a moment if they were as soft as they looked. He saved her eyes for last, knowing that was where he would make the most effect on her. They were light brown, and one could see specks of very dark green around the iris if one looked close enough. He couldn't prevent the small smirk from sliding across his face this time.

"Master Kafu, if I might suggest that Sen be placed with Rin? One of her workers has fallen ill, and she needs someone to replace her…" Someone stated timidly, breaking the silence that seemed to have fallen over the room, but Sen wasn't sure who it was. Kafu had been staring at her for a full five minutes, ice blue eyes seemed to drag themselves over her as if he was inspecting a horse. A small smirk slid across his face as his blue eyes finally found hers. Sen suddenly had the urge to back up and run as far away from the man as possible, but she stood her ground and looked at him right back.

"Alright…Rin, show Sen to her new room and get her set up…" Blue eyes finally moved from her face to Rin, who looked like she was trying to hide the excitement she felt, and Sen released a sigh that she didn't realize she had been holding. "The rest of you get back to work!" His voice bounced off the walls and the crowd slowly dispersed. Sen took another deep breath to calm her nerves as Kafu walked back the way they had come. Something then touched her shoulder making her jump.



"Whoa, Sen. It's just me…" Sen let out a nervous chuckle as she turned to her friend. Dark brown eyes looked at the human in front of her with concern. Sen looked like she was trying to hide from something that was going to get her. "You look like you've seen a ghost….are you ok?" Light brown eyes looked back over her shoulder to make sure Kafu was no where in sight before answering Rin.

"Yeah, Kafu just…..gives me the creeps." She felt a shiver run down her spine that caused goose bumps to rise on her skin. Rin chuckled then as she turned and headed towards the staircase that would lead them to their room.

"Yeah, you and everyone else. And here I thought Haku was bad…" Sen's face fell slightly as she was once again reminded that Haku was still missing. Rin had continued talking but the human barely heard her. She didn't know if he was even alive or not. That thought hurt the most…thinking that Haku might never come back. No more tentative smiles at something that she hadn't understood. No more random acts of kindness that didn't really seem to fit his personality, but at the same time fit perfectly. It took Rin a moment to notice how quiet Sen had gotten, but when she did the brunette wrapped an arm around the girl's shoulders. "I'm sure he's fine, Sen. Come on, this is Haku we're talking about. If anyone can take care of himself, it's him." Sen smiled slightly at Rin's attempt to make her feel better. She wanted to believe the spirit's words. She really did, but the uneasy feeling in the pit of her stomach wouldn't go away. It was then that she realized she didn't know where she was going.

"Hey, Rin…where are we?" Rin grinned as she stopped in front of two wooden doors.

"I got promoted." With that, she opened the door and walked into the room. The first thing Sen noticed was that the room was a lot bigger then the one that she had slept in the last time she was here. There were eight twin sized beds lined up against the wall to her left, with eight more sitting against the opposite wall, the two rows facing each other. There was a large area run in the middle of the room and the closets were over to her left. Brown eyes narrowed in confusion as a thought hit her.

"Yubaba doesn't seem like the one to promote her employees…especially when it deals with this much money." Sen stated as she walked into the room, shutting the door behind her. She walked across the wooden floors to where Rin was searching through small outfits that looked, at least from where Sen was standing, like kimonos. The spirit glanced over her shoulder at the girl behind her, dark brown eyes seeming to take in her size before continuing to shuffle through the curtains of silk.

"Yeah well I guess we impressed her the last time with that river spirit." Rin muttered, more to the row of clothes then the girl behind her. There was a long moment of silence that was only interrupted with Rin's mutters of 'too big' or 'too small'.

"So she just…promoted you?" Rin turned to look at the girl behind her, absently handing her the undershirt.

"Yeah…. I was just as surprised as you are…" Sen's eyes widened in shock….but that didn't seem like the witch at all. Sen took the undershirt slowly, still deep in thought. Rin then turned around and proceeded to finish looking through the kimonos.

"So…what do you do now?" Sen asked softly, her thoughts still running a thousand miles an hour. Something didn't seem right. Yubaba would never do that unless she was forced to. But who would force the witch to do something like that?

"I attend to the guests. And from now on, so do you." Rin grinned as she pulled out a blood red kimono with silver dragons on it. "Ah here we…." Rin's voice faded as she took a closer look at the design on the silk. "Or not…I'll find another one."

"No!" Sen reached out to stop the woman from putting it back. "It's beautiful. Thank you, Rin." A smile touched her lips as she ran her fingers over the silver threads. "Thank you…"

xXxXxXx

The days seemed to slip by one after the other and it wasn't long before Sen had realized that she had been in the spirit world for over a month. She felt a little guilty for lying to her parents. She wanted to go back and tell them that she was perfectly fine and safe, but the fear of not being able to return made her reluctant. And to make matters worse, Haku was still missing. Sen had made a vow that she would find him, but so far she had very little to go on. When she would ask the other employees if they knew something, she would always get the same answers.

"I'm sorry, but I haven't been here that long. The only one I can think of is Kafu…"

"Try asking the foreman. Perhaps he has seen him…"

"Sorry, Sen, but I have no idea. Try asking Kafu." The foreman rubbed the back on his neck nervously, as he gave the girl the bath token she had requested.

"Thank you." Sen bowed slightly before turning on her heel and going back to the baths. She had left her customer alone long enough and it should be ready for its bath by now. Her thumb unconsciously ran over the silver dragon that was stitched onto her left sleeve as she slowly made her way across the busy bathhouse. And if Haku being missing wasn't bad enough, Kafu seemed to refuse to leave her alone for more then five minutes straight. It was really starting to piss her off. When she had asked why he always had to watch her, he told her that he had orders. Not for what, or from whom, just he "had orders". Yubaba was the only person that Kafu seemed to listen to. But why would Yubaba want Kafu to watch her 24/7? Didn't he have duties to take care of? Maybe errands for Yubaba just like Haku had? The sounds from the baths and the spirits in them were all background noise as she turned the corner that would lead her to the stall in which she belonged.

To be honest, it was kind of creepy, having those ice blue eyes always following her around, only leaving her alone when it came time to go to sleep, or for decency reasons. Rin, for some reason or another, never seemed to notice the boy when he would follow them around the bathhouse; which only added to the list of questions that Sen had. She knew that Rin was usually more observant then this, so why was it that she never saw Kafu? Sen had even gone out of her way to point the boy out to the woman, but when she looked, he was gone. Whatever Kafu's "orders" were, Sen wished that he would get them completed soon and just leave her the hell alone. Rin saw her approaching and ran to meet her, brown eyes looking irritated.

"Sen, where have you been?" She said in hushed tones. "The tree spirit has been ready for his bath for the past ten minutes." Chihiro smirked slightly as she followed Rin back towards the stall.

"Sorry, Rin. I…got caught up." Rin looked about to retort but Kafu cut her off.

"Yubaba wants to see you Sen. Rin can cover for you while you're gone." Kafu looked at Rin as if daring her to argue with him. Rin glared at the man and snagged the token from Sen.

"You might as well go. Not like you have a choice in the matter anyway. I'll explain it to our guest…" And with that, Rin walked the rest of the way to the bath, apologizing for the inconvenience that the spirit may have experienced. Sen sighed and began to follow Kafu to the elevators.

"Why does she want to see me?" Kafu glanced over his shoulder, and Sen couldn't help but shiver slightly at the cold gaze.

"Why does it matter?" Kafu snapped, turning his head back to look forward again. Those four words however made Sen worry a little. Worry, because Kafu didn't know why either. And if Kafu didn't know then it must be something bad. It didn't take them long to reach Yubaba's floor, and Sen then proceeded to go through the open office door.

"Aren't you coming inside?" Sen asked when Kafu didn't follow her. Kafu merely glanced at her, blue eyes seeming to glue her to the spot in which she stood.

"She wishes to speak to you alone. I will be waiting right here to escort you back to your bath." Sen nodded, slightly confused before she entered the office. The slamming of the doors made her jump as she proceeded to stand in the middle of the room. Yubaba was sitting at her desk, working on the never ending pile of papers. A moment of silence passed before Sen couldn't take the suspense anymore.

"You wanted to see me ma'am?" She bowed slightly to the old woman. Yubaba looked up, large brown eyes seeming to sweep over her as if inspecting her. Sen's brow crinkled in confusion as the witch continued to study her.

"You've grown since I last saw you. You've matured into a fine young lady." Yubaba stated, brown eyes looking a lot kinder then Sen ever remembered them being. "And didn't I tell you to call me Granny from now on?" It took Chihiro a moment to remember what the witch was talking about, but once she did, a smile flashed across her face.

"Granny!" Chihiro rushed around the desk, arms out ready to hug the old woman.

"Shush! We don't want Yubaba's apprentice to hear." She couldn't keep the laughter from her voice as she caught the girl in a hug. "It's good to see you again." A thought then hit the human as she pulled away to look at Zeniba.

"But, if you're here, then where's Yubaba?" Zeniba shrugged as if it weren't important. But to her it probably wasn't.

"I asked her to meet me to discuss something important. Our meeting place is a good four hours away, even for her. But once she realizes I'm not there, she'll come back quickly, so we'll have to hurry. She's been gone for over two hours already. I needed to show you something, and I'm afraid you're not going to like it very much." The witch's smile fell as she made her way over to the fireplace. Sen stared after her in confusion before moving to stand next to her. "When the time comes, you must leave when I tell you to. I know it will be hard, but you must promise me that you will return to your duties when you are told, otherwise there will be serious consequences." Sen didn't like where this was going, but nodded anyway.

"I promise." Zeniba nodded, and then proceeded to say a few words in a language that Sen didn't understand. The fireplace groaned before it shifted over to the right enough so that both women could make it through. There was a large staircase that went in a downward slope before disappearing into the darkness.

"Here…you will want to wear this. I do not want to have you dirty that beautiful kimono." Zeniba handed the girl what looked like a black bath robe. Sen slipped it over the red silk before she followed Zeniba into the tunnel.

xVxVxVx

What was taking them so long? He wasn't sure why the witch needed to see the girl in the first place. Something seemed off about the whole thing, but Kafu wasn't stupid enough to go against what 

Yubaba had ordered. Leaning against the wall, Kafu sighed in boredom. Why did he have to lead the human around everywhere anyway? Yubaba was acting as if Sen was trying to pull something. He hadn't known the human girl for very long, but she seemed to be quite intelligent when she wanted to be. He had heard her asking about Haku, and that had caught his interest. He had yet to tell Yubaba about it of course. After all, he wanted to be the first one to punish her if she did something wrong. That thought alone caused a smirk to slide across his face. Maybe watching Sen's every move wasn't as bad as he thought. It certainly was entertaining. He could tell that he annoyed her, always being there, always watching. And of course, that only made her all the more desirable. Sen's voice them hit his oversensitive ears, causing him to once again pay attention to what was happening in the room. Because of the spell that Yubaba had put on the door, he couldn't make out the words that were being said within the room. Yubaba seemed to be scolding Sen about something, but what he didn't know. It didn't matter, soon she would be done, and he could take Sen back to where she was needed. Another moment of silence passed before a deep rumble echoed off the walls.

"What the hell…?" Kafu muttered to no one as he pushed off the wall. That certainly wasn't normal. Yubaba never goes down to see Haku unless she's alone. Ice blue eyes stared at the door before gently pushing against it. Much to his surprise, the door opened without a sound, and he opened it just enough to see Sen disappear into the dark tunnel.

xXxXxXx

The torches seemed to light themselves as the two made their way down the stairs. The air was stale and smelt heavily of mold, not to mention the temperature. "Why is it so cold?"

"The cold makes it harder for spirits to cast spells and saps them of their energy as well." Zeniba muttered sadly and Sen shivered, wrapping her arms around herself to try and retain some of her body heat. Her stomach was tying itself into knots as they continued to descend. How long was this staircase anyway? And why did she have the feeling that something bad was going to happen? Goosebumps began to pop over her skin causing her to shiver. It must be at least 40 degrees…

"W-why are you taking me down here G-granny?" Sen had to force out the words, slowly so that her chattering teeth didn't bite off her tongue. Zeniba sent a sad glance over her shoulder.

"I'd cast a warming spell on you if I knew it would help. I'm sorry, dear." Zeniba seemed unaffected by the cold musty air, the witch continuing down the stairs as if she hadn't heard the girl the first time. Sen growled slightly.

"S-stop avoiding the q-question." Zeniba sighed as she continued downwards.

"You'll find out soon enough." But the question was if the human was ready for it?

xXxXxXx

Voices….small murmurs that hovered just outside of his consciousness, raising him from the light sleep that he had finally been able to achieve. What did the witch want now? Hadn't she had enough fun for one day? No, he silently answered himself. Yubaba could keep him down here for decades, and would take great pleasure in it. Sighing, he blocked the voices out and was almost able to call back the dreamless sleep that he rarely got. But the voices persisted, and it was then that his tired brain finally clicked the thoughts into place. Voices….more then one. And the second voice didn't sound like the other demon that came to torture him. The tones echoed off the walls, making it hard for him to understand them, even with his acute hearing. Jade eyes remained closed, the lids feeling as if they were made of lead. He was so tired. All he wanted was to sleep for a few hours in attempt to gain some of his strength back. But the coldness in the air usually prevented that as well. The voices stopped then, the silence bringing him out of his thoughts. It was almost too quiet, and that's what made the dragon worried. His eyes slowly opened and all drowsiness was instantly gone when jade met warm brown.

xVxVxVx

"S-seriously, Granny. Please t-tell me w-what we are d-doing down h-here." Sen just wanted one answer. Just one… that was it. But Zeniba didn't need to answer the human's question as they finally reached the bottom of the stairs. Brown eyes widened as they glanced down the row of empty cells. She wasn't even aware that the bathhouse had a place like this. The hallway was very long, and against the end wall was a cell that had thicker bars then all the others. It also looked to be the hardest of all of them to get out. Sen's face paled when she realized that this single cell was the only one that wasn't empty. She could barely make out the person within seeing they nearly blended in with the wall that they seemed to be leaning against. Sen looked to Zeniba, but the old witch just sighed and began to make their way towards the end of the hallway. Brown eyes couldn't seem to take themselves off of the being before them. She still couldn't tell whether the occupant was male or female, with the way that they were curled up against the wall. Their once white clothes looked sickly brown with all of the mud that had gotten on it. As they got closer, she realized with dread that it wasn't mud staining the cloth, it was blood. The being before then twitched, and the head slowly rose. Well, she could tell that it was male now…there was no way that a 

woman could pull off the angles that lined the face of the person before them. His eyes were closed, dark hair falling in ratty knots past his shoulders. He seemed so small, with the way that his legs were curled up against him. Slowly the eyes opened, and that was when time seemed to stop. Because Sen could never forget those eyes. The eyes that had haunted her dreams for the past eight years. The cold suddenly wasn't a problem anymore and it felt as if the room had suddenly lost it's oxygen as they continued to stare at each other; both in disbelief at what they were seeing. She was almost afraid to say his name….afraid to believe that not only he was alive, but he looked like he was holding on to the life he lived by a mere thread.

"H-Haku……?" Jade eyes seemed to continue staring at her, and she could see every emotion that flickered in them. Hope, fear, sadness, regret. The metal door seemed to suddenly open, but Sen couldn't make herself move towards it.

"We don't have much time, dear." Zeniba's voice snapped Sen out of her trance as she rushed into the cell and slid to a stop by the boy. There wasn't a spot in the reveled skin that had not been cut or bruised in some way. His once beautiful hair fell in knots to his mid back, the bangs now rested at his chin. The light grey outfit that she remembered him in was so stained with blood and dirt that it looked like it was more of a rusty red color and had so many rips, tears and holes in it that it barely managed to continue covering his body. Sen let out a shaky breath, but couldn't get over the shock of how hurt he was; nor the anger towards the person who was responsible.

"What……what has she done to you?" Her voice was more of a whisper, afraid that if she spoke too loud she would wake up and find out this was all just part of some sickening nightmare. Part of her hoped that it was. She would prefer think of the man before her as dead instead of being in the shape that he was in at the moment.

"What are you doing here?" His voice was hoarse, as if he hadn't used it in a very long time. He looked so scared, sitting there with his legs drawn up against him. Sen couldn't answer; her tongue seemed to be glued to the roof of her mouth. Jade eyes switched from her to the witch behind her. "Why the hell did you bring her here? You know what the consequences will be if she gets caught."

"She wanted to see you, Haku. She thought you were dead. Now here…eat these." Zeniba waved a had in front of her, and three rice balls appeared in her hand. "It will give you back some of the strength that my sister has stolen from you." Haku sighed before gglancing at the witch in front of him.

"Listen to me, Zeniba. You need to leave." Haku's gaze switched from the old woman to the young girl in front of him. "You both need to leave now before Yubaba comes back."

"What's going on? Why are you so scared?" Sen asked, cutting the dragon off. She didn't understand why he was in such a rush to get rid of her. Was it because he no longer needed her? No longer wanted her there with him? A piece of her heart broke off at the thought. Zeniba seemed to ignore him and pressed the small package of rice balls into the boy's hands, but they were instantly forgotten.

"Chihiro listen to me." Jade eyes bore into brown, trying to convey how important the message was. "Be careful when you're around Kafu. He is not all that he seems. Please Chihiro. If you do anything for me please do as I say. Kafu is a very dangerous spirit. Do not be caught alone with him. Always make sure you have another spirit with you, do you understand?" Chihiro nodded slightly, brown eyes wide in fear. She didn't like the desperate tone that Haku was using. He made it seem as if Kafu was out to get her or something. "Don't do anything that would make him angry, or give him the reason to punish you." Sen nodded again, wide brown eyes unable to look away from the dragon's face. "Promise me."

"I promise." Chihiro whispered, and Haku seemed to relax a little. He even managed a very small smile.

"Good. I'm counting on you to keep your promise." He slowly raised the rice balls to his mouth, taking very small bites. After however many weeks of no food, he wanted to make the small blessings last as long as they could.

"They should give you back enough energy to last you a few weeks without my sister or Kafu knowing. But if you don't finish them right away, you must keep them hidden. My sister must not of my visit." Zeniba continued as she stood by the door, a sad smile on her face. "It sickens me that she treats her prisoners so badly. Even with you, one would think that she would have more class then this."

"Well, I'm not her most favorite person in the world…if you haven't noticed." Haku's smile grew a little and Chihiro couldn't take her eyes off of him. She was so happy that everyone was wrong, and that he was alive. Maybe not fine, but him being alive was far more then she could ever ask for.

"I'll find a way you get you out, Haku-"

"No! Do not do anything to anger Yubaba." His fierce expression returned. All traces of his previous smile gone. "Please Chihiro. You promised."

"But you can't expect me to just sit around and work for that…..monster while you're down here, rotting away being hurt like this." Dirty hands grabbed the sides of her face to make sure that she was looking at him.

"I know it will be hard, but please Chihiro. I can not stand the thought of them hurting you too. Just act as if you don't know anything. You still have no idea where I am. You must NOT give Kafu or Yubaba any reason to think that you know my whereabouts."

"But-"

"Listen to me!" Haku's weak voice echoed off the walls slightly, and Chihiro found herself unable to speak again. "Please. I will be fine. I've lasted this long." he smirked slightly before it died. "A few more years won't kill me." Brown eyes widened at the thought. Years? "And besides, I won't let the likes of Yubaba finish me off that easily.

"Oh Haku, can't you see you're scaring her?"

"Good. maybe then she'll listen." Haku retorted sharply. Zeniba shook her big head and looked over to Chihiro.

"I'll make sure that he is well taken care of. You don't need to worry, Chihiro." A wrinkled hand rested gently on the girl's shoulder. Haku's hands slowly dropped to pick up the rice ball again. He needed to try and finish them as soon as he can. The faster he got rid of them, the better. Chihiro suddenly felt so useless. She hated the fact that she couldn't do anything to help the young man out. Without realizing what she was doing, she suddenly wrapped her arms around his shoulders. Lords was he cold. His skin felt as if it were made of ice, and Chihiro found herself wishing that she had done this sooner. Maybe then she could have warmed him up a little.

"Then promise me, Haku. Promise me that you will wait for me. I can't stand to see you treated this way, and I can't just sit around doing nothing." She felt that Haku was about to object so she continued. "I will keep my promise. I won't do anything out of line." She pulled back so that she could look him in the eye, a small smile in her lips. "Yubaba will not have a better behaved employee in the house." The smirk slowly died then as she became more serious. "But I will find a way to get out of here ok? One way or another I will set you free." Seeing as he wasn't going to convince her otherwise, Haku just sighed and nodded his head.

"Just remember your promise. And remember my warning." He smirked slightly then. His little Chihiro certainly wasn't a little ten year old girl anymore. She had blossomed into a beautiful young woman; however the thought only made his warning all the more serious. Kafu would indeed enjoy punishing her in the state that she was in now. Pushing those thoughts aside, he smiled again, and for the first time in eight years, he felt peace.

"I will." Chihiro smiled back before lightly kissing his cheek. She had the feeling that she had already been down here for too long. If she didn't return soon, people other then Rin might begin to notice her absence.

"I will be back as soon as I can, Haku. You hold on until then, and remember to keep those rice balls hidden." Zeniba said, the sad smile returning on her face. Haku nodded, eyes never leaving Chihiro's.

"Until next time, Chihiro…" Haku murmured softly, the smile trying so hard to stay in place. A sudden wave of sadness suddenly washed over the human as she hugged him again.

"Until next time, Kohaku…."

"Come child, time to get going. We have already stayed longer then we should." Zeniba began make her way out of the cell. Chihiro nodded and slowly rose, dusting off the robe as best she could. She didn't look back when she exited the cell, but couldn't help but wince when she heard the metal door shut with a soft bang. She began to follow the witch down the hallway and couldn't help but look back once more. Haku nodded and stuffed the rice balls behind him with a small grin, where they disappeared from sight. Her vision blurred slightly, but she left the tears unshed as she climbed up the stairs, and Haku disappeared from her view.

SD Special note: I've gotten some reviews that are telling me that they have read a story exactly like this one. With all due respect for those persons, may I remind you that I am re-writing my story "Spirits Within". It's on my profile, I haven't deleted it. You can still go read it. I am re-writing this story because I believe that I can improve the holes that I had in the original story. So please, read my Authors notes at the beginning and the end. It's not just me sprouting nonsense. I don't put anything on here that does not hold some sort of importance. Thank you very much.

Spirit Dancer: OK…so there's chapter two. I debated on making it a little longer, but I thought that the next chapter would have more affect if I stopped chpt 2 here. Please don't be mad. I'll update really soon. It seems that I can't stop once I've started, and I am starting to get to the more interesting parts grins evilly Oh I can't wait. Also, I know that the ending might be a little confusing to some of you. I will explain it in the next chapter, so please be patient. And y'all know what to do. Please review!!