Authors Note: I am so sorry I didn't manage to update last weekend. It is a good thing that I managed to finished this chapter earlier than I thought. As usual without having time to edit much. I am sorry about it. Besides that I will like to thank everyone who had reviewed SAK00, Guest, fandomnerd12, MXiong, Shiks, DarkNinetales55, Led Floyd. xoxo

Fandomnerd12: I did read some manhwa before and really like the works of Hwang Mi Ri, Lee Eun Young and Wann, I will check out Girls of the Wild. I did come across it but didn't start reading it. But since it is recommended I will give it a try :)

Disclaimer: I don't own Spirited Away

Chapter 4: Enchanted Lights of Firefly

The night sky was dark sparkling with bright stars. The moon was full with its light shining into the glass window of the cabin. It gave the room a dim glow. The girls were already sound asleep after a long exciting day except for one.

Chihiro lay awake staring up the ceiling. After the afternoon rest she was now wide-awake. Besides, the voices she kept hearing weren't going away. Why wouldn't they leave her alone?

She placed her hands over her ears and shut her eyes tight.

"I wonder how long are these humans going to stay?"

"I was surprise today that Kawa no Kami helped that girl."

"I heard that she was the one who brought balance back to the spirit world."

"Eh? That scrawny kid?"

Chihiro opened her eyes and sat up immediately. She was fed up with the voices. Why did she have to lay here listening to these unknown voices taunting her?

Who the hell is the scrawny kid? Chihiro thought to herself angrily. She had no idea what they were talking about but somehow she felt like they were directed at her.

She took a deep breath and flung her blanket away. Some fresh air will clear her mind.

Chihiro stepped out of her cabin and was immediately greeted by the cold night breeze. She hugged herself tightly and shivered slightly. She should have brought a jacket but she only packed t-shirts.

She looked up the night sky lit up beautifully by stars and smiled slightly. Her mood was getting slightly better. The sprain on her leg didn't hurt as bad anymore too and she was glad.

Now that everyone had gone to sleep the place was quiet and peaceful. Chihiro didn't mind the quiet solitude. It was nice after being haunted by weird voices in her head. She made her way towards the river slowly.

The rushing water was loud in the quiet atmosphere. The full moon gave the water a glittering sparkle. This place was beautiful. It reminded her so much of Kohaku River.

A sudden sharp pain hit her head immediately. She closed her eyes tight and clutched her head.

"Ko…ko…" Chihiro stammered still clutching her head with her eyes shut. "Koha…"

"What are you doing out here?"

Chihiro gasped and her eyes snapped opened. She turned around slowly to see Kenshin standing behind her staring at her slightly worriedly.

She blinked several times. The thoughts she had earlier completely forgotten. What was she trying to say?

"Are you feeling alright?" Kenshin asked when there wasn't any respond from Chihiro.

"Yeah…" Chihiro nodded and turned back towards the river. "I couldn't sleep so I came out for a walk."

"You shouldn't go near the river again." Kenshin frowned.

"I will be fine." Chihiro turned to him and gave him a lopsided grin. "Sorry I gave you such a scare."

"Who the hell said that I was scared?" Kenshin said irritated.

"Hai, hai…" Chihiro replied in a carefree manner. "What about you? Why did you come out here?"

"I wanted to see how the place look at night."

"Ah, trying to get inspiration." Chihiro nodded her understanding.

"It's not like that…" Kenshin stammered slightly.

Chihiro raised an eyebrow at his odd behavior.

"Its…" Kenshin frowned slightly. He had never got difficulty with words before. But now he was totally lost for words.

"What's wrong Ken? Did the accident this afternoon really bother you so much?"

Kenshin looked up away from her and pushed his hands into the pockets of his pants. What kind of feeling was that when he saw Chihiro fell into the river and didn't emerge to the surface for a long time? He was definitely frantic. His body moved on his own towards the river and he would have jumped in if the boys didn't stop him.

"I was scared I guess…" Kenshin said finally in a soft voice. The feeling was unknown to him, somehow along the way he came to care about Chihiro more than he thought. It was something that he never thought possible.

"You know, sometimes its ok to show your weak side." Chihiro told him.

"What the hell?" Kenshin turned back to her and glared at her.

"You know my weakness, I always like to be happy but to remain happy there will be changes sometimes. So the feeling that I need to change is always scary to me." Chihiro said softly looking into the river. "I have always hated changes. It doesn't matter for the good or bad cause. I wonder why do I hate changes so much. The feeling is rather weird."

Chihiro turned to Kenshin and gave him a small smile.

"Then why don't you look for happiness instead rather than letting things change the cause of your life?" Kenshin told her rather nonchalantly.

"Yeah you may be right." Chihiro chuckled softly. "To take hold of your own life and find happiness instead of it finding you."

Kenshin gave her a stern look before he looked up the sky with a soft sigh. Chihiro always looked at things so differently. Everything had a beautiful meaning to her. He just couldn't see it. How was he able to produce an artwork that will exceed all others?

"Ken!" Chihiro cried. "Look!"

Kenshin looked away from the sky to see what Chihiro asked him to. His eyes widened slightly.

Fireflies floated out from the trees and hovered above the river making the place look so unreal. There wasn't a place like this in a big city and it was the first Kenshin had seen such beauty. Maybe that was how Chihiro was able to paint her picture with such passion.

"It's beautiful isn't it?" Chihiro ran forward and reached out towards the glowing fireflies.

Kenshin remained silent.

The fireflies glowed around Chihiro giving her a rather captivating atmosphere. She giggled softly when some of them lingered around her shoulders and her hands. The light was giving her an enchanted look like a nymph from a fairy tale. The night breeze blew gently sweeping her long silky hair slightly.

She looked up at the fireflies around her and reached both hands up slightly as if she was trying to catch them. It was a childlike behavior and still she looked so beautiful in the twinkling light.

"I found it." Kenshin said softly.

The beauty of the image before him mesmerized him.

He took out his cell and took a picture immediately.

Chihiro turned back to Kenshin with a radiant smile unaware that Kenshin took the picture. However, she was utterly shocked when she saw the look on Kenshin's expression.

It was the first time ever she witness such a gentle smile from him.

"Ken?" Chihiro blinked several times.

The smile vanished instantly as though Chihiro imagined it.

"You will fall in again if you go to near the bank again." Kenshin said nonchalantly.

He was back to his normal self again.

Chihiro shrugged it away. She might have imagined it anyways. The night was beautiful and everything seemed to be enchanting. She could have caught a strange light that played tricks to the eye.

She turned back towards the river and smiled softly. The fireflies had made the place so romantic. Kokoro would love it here but everyone was already sound asleep. When she thought about Kokoro, she then remembered the conversation she had with Kokoro earlier that day.

Chihiro touched her heart. That time when she saw Kenshin smiled. Even it was for only a second or she thought she might have imagined it. Why didn't she feel anything?

Any girl would have most properly gotten their heart to skip a beat because she had to admit Kenshin was rather good looking. That rare smile made him looked even better.

So why didn't she feel anything. Could it be that she had some kind of heart problem?

Masaka… Chihiro thought to herself almost dejectedly.

"You shouldn't roam around at night with just a shirt on." Kenshin called towards her breaking her train of thoughts. He then turned away and started to walk back to the tents. "You will catch a cold."

"Oh… right." Chihiro took a first step towards him when she heard a familiar voice. It was a voice that was unlike the others that she heard before.

"Don't go… Chihiro please don't be further away than you already are."

Chihiro's heart skipped a beat. That familiar voice made her heart break. She turned around slowly and caught a silhouette within the edge of the forest at the other side of the river.

There was a pair of familiar emerald eyes glowing in the dark. It was those eyes that haunt her dreams.

Chihiro could feel her heart pounding so hard as she turned back towards the river and took a staggering step forward.

"What the hell are you doing?" Kenshin shouted.

He turned around to see Chihiro taking slow steps towards the river like she was sleepwalking. He dashed forward, wrapped both his arms around her waist immediately and pulled her back.

Chihiro didn't hear Kenshin at all. She was too transfixed at that figure at the edge of the forest. She needed to see who it was. She needed to get there. She held up a hand slowly as if she was trying to reach it.

The vision before her started to become hazy.

No don't go away! Her mind screamed.

She could feel tears started to fall and she felt someone pulled her back. Then everything went black.

She collapsed into Kenshin's arms. He stared down at her pale face with trails of tears down her cheeks.

Haku looked rather dejectedly at the scene before him. He knew it was a matter of time Chihiro will capture the heart of that boy. Her amazing and selfless ways were always something everyone came to love.

He only felt a little save when he found out that Chihiro couldn't love anyone. Though it was also a big disadvantage for him.

When he watched Chihiro was about to follow that boy he couldn't help but voice out.

"Don't go… Chihiro please don't be further away than you already are."

His eyes widened when he saw Chihiro responded to it. Did she hear that?

Their eyes met and Haku thought his heart would burst.

But she was walking into the river again. No…

Haku took a step forward though he stopped when he saw that boy returned to grab her back.

He breathed a sigh of relief.

He walked out from the shadows when that boy carried Chihiro away from the river and towards the cabins.

"Her heart is strong." Haku then heard Kawa no Kami.

"I know." Haku replied softly. "Though it still hurts to see her with another."

A small chuckle came from Kawa no Kami.

"It is rare to see a spirit show such emotions for a human but I can understand why."

"She heard me… I never thought that she could still hear me."

"The spirits in the forest had been reporting to me that she seemed like she heard them as soon as she got here." Kawa no Kami told Haku. "The forest spirits said she tried not to acknowledge it. It is without a doubt she still possessed a little of that ability of hers."

"She could hear us?" Haku was surprised. She showed no sign of any spiritual abilities until she came back to this town. "But she never show any signs of spiritual abilities when she was in the city."

"Well, it could be because anything spiritual in the city is weak." Kawa no Kami explained. "Spirits are stronger in places that they are believed in. She already had a powerful spiritual ability in the beginning. No one can strip it away entirely from her because destiny is not so easily change. Though it must be hard on her."

"Why do you say that?" Haku asked rather worriedly.

"She has no memories about the spirit world nor does she remember how to control hearing the spirit voices around her. It must be pretty annoying to keep hearing the spirits whispering all the time. It could be why she was out here tonight. The forest spirits were roaming the cabins."

Haku looked slightly troubled after hearing it.

"Don't worry Kohaku-ouji she is a very brave girl."

"I know but I can't help feeling helpless when all these are bringing her so much pain." Haku said softly. "Even how I tried to bring back old memories to her, she forgets it instantly as soon as she remembered. It is like something is blocking her mind."

"Chihiro's heart is strong and I am sure her soul still remembers you. If not you wouldn't reach her so easily."

Haku was silent. He somehow didn't feel as bad as he was earlier.

Kawa no Kami chuckled again.

"You found yourself a very rare jewel Kohaku-ouji. When you managed to catch her don't let her slip away the second time."

"I will keep that in mind." Haku smile for the first time since Chihiro left.

The morning sun was bright and Chihiro was taking a walk in the forest. It was still early and most of her friends were still sleeping. She decided for a walk because she needed to clear her head. She couldn't remember what happened last night.

She remembered the fireflies clearly and then everything after that was blank. She even wondered how she got back to the cabin. Maybe she should visit the doctor about her memory lapse. It had been getting worst since she got back to this town. She walked on following the path provided carefully.

The guard did mentioned to follow the path and you wouldn't get lost. That would be the last thing Chihiro needed to be lost in the forest. She could hear birds chirping in the distance and cicadas cricking loudly around. She closed her eyes, took a deep breath and caught that same familiar scent again.

Chihiro stalled in her steps and slowly opened her eyes. It seemed like that scent was following her everywhere she went. She hugged herself tightly as if she was cold.

She could feel her heart aching again. That nostalgic smell and the feeling of longing for it to be there forever was washing over her entire being.

She didn't want it to go away.

Then she heard a snap from a twig brought her back to reality and she turned around slowly.

Fukui Soujirou a boy from her class came up the path and she relaxed slightly. She smiled at him.

"Ohayou." Chihiro greeted him.

"Ohayou." Fukui replied rather shyly.

He was still the same shy boy from before though he wasn't stammering anymore when he talked to Chihiro. That was a big improvement.

"It is a beautiful morning." Fukui said.

"Yeah…"

There was a short silence from the both of them before Fukui spoke again.

"I remember the last time we were alone together was in the graveyard back in our final year of high school."

"Right you were my partner." Chihiro smiled. "I remember."

"Yes it was so embarrassing that I fainted in the middle of it. It was a good thing Matsumoto-san came along and carried me out."

"Eiji carried you out the graveyard?" Chihiro was looking at him rather wide eyed.

"Yes, you don't remember?"

Chihiro remained silent. She didn't even remember that Fukui fainted. They went through the graveyard and then something happened. They heard something but what was it? The pain hit Chihiro again and she shut her eyes. She clutched her head with both her hands and crouched down.

"Ogino-san!" Fukui quickly went to her. "Are you alright?"

Chihiro didn't answer.

"Ogino-san!" Fukui called again.

The pain didn't go away this time.

There were flashes of bones…. The sound of wooden chimes clacking in the wind…

"I will go call for help!" Fukui got up quickly and ran down the path were he came from.

Chihiro could hear Fukui's footsteps getting further away and she finally the images started to fade away. She was able to look up again. The pain in her head was subsiding.

What was that? Was it another memory lapse? She took a deep breath and stood up slowly.

"Is that how you seduce men?"

Chihiro blinked and turned towards the voice and saw that there were three girls that hung around Kenshin since they came for this camping trip near by the trees. They glared at her as they approached.

"I am sorry I don't know what you are talking about." Chihiro replied rather monotone and started to walk away from them. She was heading back to where the camp was but one of the girls reached out and pulled her long hair.

"Hey!" Chihiro's head jerked back in a painful way.

"Don't walk away from us when we are talking to you!" One of them yelled.

"Stop pulling my hair!" Chihiro kicked the girl's leg hard.

"OW!" The girl let her hair go and stumbled back.

"How dare you!" The other two girls lashed out at Chihiro.

Chihiro stepped back slightly at their sudden onslaught but she was quick and dodged whatever attack they threw at her.

"Stop it!" Chihiro cried grabbing one of the girls hand when she tried to hit her. "This is getting stupid!"

The girls paid no attention and that was when Chihiro caught a strange glint in their eyes. They looked like they were being possessed. Was that even possible? Because of the distraction two girls managed to subdue Chihiro holding her down.

"Please stop this right now!" Chihiro struggled in their grip. They suddenly became stronger and the strange light in their eyes was glowing brighter now.

The third girl took out a foldable dagger often used in camps by scouts and approached Chihiro slowly.

Chihiro stared in horror as the girl raised the dagger back…

A silvery object stained with crimson flashed before Chihiro's eyes and she felt the same sharp pain in her head again.

That was a strong gust of wind blew and the girls screamed except Chihiro. The wind felt so familiar and it engulfed her strongly with that scent she loved so much.

Everything was becoming hazy again and Chihiro knew no more…

Haku couldn't stand back and watch anymore when one of the girls took out a dagger. He swept down from the trees so quickly he nearly brought a hurricane to the entire campsite.

The girls were knocked out in an instant by the strong wind and Chihiro was also unconscious when he landed next to her on the ground. He knew that Chihiro passed out because of something else.

Haku saw that Chihiro gained some sort of recognition. It showed in her eyes. She always passed out after that. It was like a spell binding her from remembering anything. When she wakes up her memory would be erased always.

"There are girls screaming over there!" Haku heard voices coming towards their direction.

He looked down at Chihiro lying still by his feet. He knelt down and touched her cheek gently, brushing the fallen strains of her soft hair away from her face. He then turned to the other three girls that were unconscious around him. He sensed a spell cast upon them. It was a very common spell that he recognized immediately.

His frown deepened. How low could she get? Using a siren's spell to do her dirty work?

Haku would not take any more chances. He picked Chihiro up into his arms and flew up into the trees above before anyone could come to their location.

Chihiro opened her eyes and was greeted by a small gold fish staring down at her. She blinked as she looked at the goldfish flapping its small fins, opening and closing its mouth. After for like about a few seconds of staring contest, the goldfish finally turned away and swam off or as if it looked like it swam away.

Chihiro sat up immediately and looked around with her eyes wide with astonishment. She was on a rather large king size canopy bed with drapes that looked like watery substance. There were koi fishes swimming around the ceiling. The light that glowed in the room looked like light reflecting from water.

The room was rather vast and almost empty. The bed she was on was at the far end away from the shoji doors that wavered like liquid. There was a round stone table in the middle of the room with three stone chairs around. There were beautiful carvings of dragons around the edges.

On the table there was a beautiful gold porcelain teapot with fishes illustration on it and small matching tea cups arranged around it.

At the other right side of the room was like a cove area where books were arrange in a shelf and a low Japanese table by it. The left side was hangings of ancient swords.

There were two stone side tables by the bed and on it was an object like a lava lamp without the glass cover on each table. Chihiro scooted towards one of it and stared at the colourful bubbles floating around the holder. Even without the glass the bubbles bounced above the lamp stand.

She raised the hand gingerly and poked the bubbles carefully with her finger. It scattered slightly into the air and then floated back towards the stand.

Chihiro gaped. She must be dreaming.

What is this place? She thought in awe.

She pinched herself and hissed in pain. It was too painful to be a dream.

She looked over the bed at the floor and saw that it had a watery look too. With caution Chihiro put a foot towards the floor slowly. Her toes touched the floor and it rippled. She retracted her foot quickly as if the floor scalded her.

Chihiro stared at the floor for a few seconds before she tried again very slowly placing a foot back towards it. When she knew there wasn't any danger, she finally placed both her feet on the ground and stood up from the bed. She took a step forward gingerly. It ripples every time she took a step even though the ground was actually concrete.

A small smile appeared on her lips. Everything looked so real but it seem like she was in dreamland.

What a beautiful and enchanted place.

But where was she?

The smile that appeared on her expression vanished instantly.

There wasn't time to marvel over her surroundings.

Really, what was this place?

Reality came crashing back to her instantly. She was supposed to be at the forest with her friends. There was some kind of weird fight with some girls and then…

And then… what happened next?

Chihiro couldn't remember.

Was she kidnapped? Who brought her here? She had to find a way back! Her thoughts were interrupted when the shoji door slid opened and she found herself staring into the pair of emerald eyes.

Those eyes that were in her dreams always…

to be continued...

Authors note: Ok I hope there aren't many mistakes in the chapter *sweat drop*... it is always my laziness when it comes to editing. I hope everything went well.

I think there isn't anything to explain in this chapter. But if there are still any Japanese words that I forgot to explain please let me know. I was told once not to use Japanese in my story because they don't understand but it was also my fault for assuming everyone might know and didn't explain. So this time I try to explain everything. I hope I didn't over clarify everything. :P

Thank you for reading and please don't forget to drop a review.