*AUTHOR'S NOTE: Hi everyone! I am so sorry it's taken me so long to update. I'm a senior in college and I work nights in an Emergency Room so I've been busy as heck! I really tried to do some cool things in this chapter, so I hope you all enjoy it. Everything may not make sense right now, but I promise you it will in the end. Please remember that whenever you see this - [...] - that means that the scene is changing. Also, be aware that there is a decent amount of blood in this chapter, NOT violence. This is all about trying to heal Sen's wound, so there is talk of blood and things like that, but there is no violence. Anyway, please enjoy! :)
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Haku pushed his dragon form as hard as he could, forcing it to fly faster than it ever had before. The delicate scent of Chihiro's blood burned his sensitive nose as he followed its lingering trail through the sea that surrounded the Bath House for miles. The current had taken her, and Chihiro had drifted far in the short time that Haku had been with her in his ethereal form. The further he flew, the harder it became for him to breathe. What if he was too late? What if she bled out before he could reach her? Humans were so much frailer than spirits- something he often forgot. She could easily die while waiting for him to save her.
She could die before they even began their life together.
That thought sent him into overdrive, Haku forcibly blocking out everything other than the scent of her blood. He was going to find her, save her, and ensure that Yubaba would never have a chance to hurt his woman ever again.
The heartless witch who ruled the bath house would pay for her crime in blood, of that much Haku was certain.
...
Zeniba frowned, her feet hovering mere centimeters over the crystalline sea. She ran the pad of her index finger across the large red ruby on the neckline of her dress, "Sen should be here; my magic has never been wrong."
Noh-face gestured an ethereal black hand downward, "Ah, ah."
The witch looked down through the crashing waves beneath her and instantly found what she was looking for. A few feet beneath the surface floated Sen, unconscious and blood still pulsing generously from her abdomen. Zeniba dove headfirst into the water and scooped Sen into her arms. She knew that Sen was dying and there wasn't much time to fix what Yubaba had done. Although Zeniba had witness the circumstances of Sen's injury through her paper bird, she had no idea just what her twin sister had done to the metal that pierced Sen's abdomen until now. She had not realized that Yubaba had used a spell to enchant the sword. Now that she was physically touching her, the severity of Yubaba's spell became apparent.
That's why Sen kept bleeding- her sister's magic was purposely preventing any type of clotting.
Zeniba gripped Sen securely to her chest in an attempt to stem the flow of blood as much as she could, "Noh-face, wait here for Haku. When you find him, bring him to my home. I don't have time to wait; Sen is losing too much blood. It will be hard enough to save her as it is and if I wait for Haku, it may be too late."
Noh-face's perpetually neutral expression changed to a deep frown as he looked towards Sen. He nodded solemnly, "Ah."
The witch placed her index and middle finger against Sen's forehead gently and projected her magic into the unconscious human's mind, "If you can hear me sweetie, I want you to know that I will do everything in my power to save you. However if I am successful, I want you to let me plan your wedding in return. And I get to give you away."
Zeniba then crushed Sen to her chest tightly and kicked off in the direction of Swamp Bottom.
Noh-face's sad expression changed into one of a slight smile. After Zeniba presented her conditions for saving Sen, he could have sworn he saw the human smirk.
...
"Chihiro, please wake up," a familiar voice begged close by. She could feel someone take her hand and squeeze it tightly. "Please baby. We miss you so much."
Sen's eyelids fluttered opened to the sight of rectangular fluorescent lights. She blinked a few times, confused. It took a few moments for her vision to adjust to the brightness, but when her eyes focused, she began to survey her surroundings. With increasing horror, she realized where she was.
A hospital room.
"Chihiro?!" Sen's father choked. "Oh my God, Yuuko! She's awake!"
Sen could hear her mother throw something, and knowing her mother it was probably a book, onto a table and then lunge onto the hospital bed, "Chihiro!" She sobbed through a smile of relief. "Your father and I were so worried about you! Oh I can't believe you're really awake! We were worried you would never wake up."
"M… mom? Dad?" Her voice was cracked and weak. "What happened?"
Her father squeezed her hand again, "You don't remember? The owners of a small apartment complex found you unconscious on the bank of a small stream on their property. You must have been trying to cross the small stream when you caught your sandal on one of the tree roots and fell. The doctors think you hit your head pretty hard on the rocks. When the complex owners found you, you were bleeding pretty badly from a gash in your forehead. After they called an ambulance, they found our contact information in your cell phone and called us. You've been here ever since."
She then noticed the thick white fluff that covered the windowsill outside of her hospital window, "H… how long as it been since then?"
Her mother pushed a lock of stray hair from Sen's eyes, "It's been 6 months, sweetie."
Sen shot upright, the abrupt motion yanking wires off her body and from her nose, "6 months?! Th-that can't be right! I was… I was…"
"You were what, Chihiro?" Her father asked, confused.
I was in the Spirit World, she thought to herself in disbelief. I was living in the Bath House with Haku and Rin. I was home.
Sen felt a few solitary tears drip from her eyes. Was it all a dream? Was her entire experience in the Spirit World all a product of her being in some sort of coma for the last 6 months?
"Oh honey," her mother cooed, stroking her hair affectionately. "I know it must be hard to take all of this in when you just woke up after so long. Why don't we see if we can get the doctor to evaluate you to make sure you're well enough to go home? I'm sure you'll feel better once you're out of this hospital. You can stay with us for as long as you need to recover."
Sen slumped back into the hospital bed, mind still reeling. Everything in the Spirit World had seemed so real… she was certain it hadn't been just a figment of her imagination; even she wasn't that creative. Besides, after 13 years of only having dreams of Haku to cling to, Sen was sure that she could tell the difference between those and reality. There was no logical way that Sen had just been in a coma for 6 months. It was simply not possible. Just as her parents left the room, she pulled the bed sheet over her head and pushed up her thin hospital gown to expose her abdomen.
Above her bellybutton was a raised, dark brown scar the exact width of a katana blade.
She ran her fingers over the scar a few times before noticing the glittering purple hair-band around her wrist.
...
Bowls upon bowls of medicinal herbs completely encompassed every free, stable surface that inhabited Zeniba's home. Though the chance that any of those herbs would be effective at actually nullifying Yubaba's spell was minimal to none, it was still important to use them in order to stave off infection. Zeniba had to keep reminding herself that humans were much more susceptible to death from simple things like that.
The witch flicked her wrist at a small wooden chest next to the door. A clean white sheet floated from the chest and spread itself onto the long wooden table that sat in the middle of her central room. Zeniba carefully removed Sen's bloody kimono and tossed it carelessly onto the floor behind them before setting the human gently on the table.
Finally observing the full extent of Sen's freely bleeding wound, Zeniba sighed, "This is not going to be easy." She snapped her fingers, the small golden seal materializing from thin air and dropping into her open palm. Zeniba then held the seal above Sen's abdomen and closed her eyes. "Seal of my father and all those before him, I humbly ask to use your power."
The golden seal erected itself in midair, hovering inches above the seemingly endless stream of blood pulsing from Sen's wound. It then began to spin, slowly at first but increasing in speed with each additional rotation until it was a golden blur. The magic seeping from the seal was so strong that the atmosphere in the small room became charged. The lights dimmed and flickered as ancient magic crackled around Zeniba in response to her request.
Zeniba gave a small bow of respect before extending her arms with her palms facing the seal. She bowed her head, keeping her eyes closed, "Golden seal, I humbly ask that you show me the full damage that has been done to this human girl. I ask this with the intention to save her life."
The seal continued to spin as a bright white light came forth from the bottom. The light, while always attached to the seal, extended towards Sen- simultaneously taking the shape of an arm. As the ghostly arm came closer to the bleeding wound, it sprouted 5 long fingers. The air around Zeniba began to hum and buzz as the seal's magic grew stronger and stronger.
All at once, the ghostly hand plunged itself into Sen's abdomen, Zeniba's head snapped back, and every window in the front room of the cottage shattered.
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Sen woke up screaming.
Her heart pounded furiously within her chest as beads of sweat ran down her temples. She threw her blankets back and frantically pushed her tank top above the level of her scar. The previously raised, dark brown scar was now extremely red and puckered. Instead of looking like something that had healed long ago, the area now appeared to still be in the early stages of healing.
The most frightening part was that it had felt like someone was inside of her body.
Moments later, Sen's parents came bursting into her childhood room in their pajamas. Her mother shoved a mass of disheveled hair from her face as her father surveyed the dark room with ever-suspicious eyes, "What's the matter, Chihiro? Is someone in here?" He demanded, his usually kind voice now steely and full of parental authority.
Sen fell back against her pillow, tactfully pulling the blanket over her exposed abdomen, "I'm sorry," she huffed, still breathless from hyperventilating in her sleep. "I must have been having a nightmare. I'm fine now, I promise."
Her parents exchanged wary looks before turning back to her. "Are you sure, sweetheart? Do you want me to turn your TV on for you so you aren't in the dark?" Her mother asked, eyes full of concern.
She forced a half-hearted smile, "I'm ok, Mom. You guys go on back to bed. If I have trouble falling back asleep, I'll turn it on."
They both remained in the doorway for a few seconds as if trying to decide whether or not she was really alright before her father reached for the shoji, "We are right down the hall if you need us, Chihiro."
"Thanks Dad. I love you."
He smiled crookedly, "I love you too, pumpkin. Goodnight."
Once the shoji to her room was slid shut, Sen wrapped her arms around her torso and let out a shaky breath, "What's happening to me?" She could still feel something unnatural happening within her body as her scar continued to throb and burn. Tears leaked from her eyes and slid down her temples into her hair.
Sen bit her lip violently, breaking the skin. She could feel the hysterical sobs building in her chest, "Where are you, Haku? You promised you would save me!"
As she silently cried herself to sleep, Sen could have sworn she smelled Granny Zeniba's floral perfume.
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The moment that the seal's ghostly hand delved into Sen's abdomen, Zeniba became blind to the physical world. Instead of seeing the wooden beams that supported the ceiling of her cottage, the witch was seeing the inside of Sen's wound as if she were in there herself. The enchanted katana not only cut straight through her skin, fat, and muscle layers, but it had perforated her small intestine and numerous blood vessels as well. As the ghostly hand moved around inside the wound, Zeniba's point of view shifted as well. Something caught the golden seal's attention and Zeniba felt a painfully strong surge of her father's magic. As the magic soaked into Sen's wound, it clung to the edges of her torn flesh relentlessly. Zeniba could see that the seal alone was not strong enough to reveal whatever had been hidden in this place, so she silently commanded her own power to aid it. Thick waves of magic burst forth from the large ruby on her dress's neckline and quickly made its way inside the gash.
When her magic melded with her father's, it was like a fog was lifted from her vision. Suddenly, Zeniba could see the remnants of her sister's enchantment- tiny black gastropods, similar to Yubaba's control slugs, were gnawing away at the edges of Sen's torn flesh in order to prevent any sort of clotting or healing. Realizing they could be seen, the gastropods stopped chewing long enough to simultaneously look up at the ghostly hand.
"We have to get them out of her," Zeniba managed, her voice barely audible.
"With our combined power, we can remove them and the spell they carry," the seal replied in her father's voice. "However, I sense that something else is at work here. Something we cannot repair."
Beads of sweat trickled down the witch's forehead as she exerted more strength in order to speak again, "Let us do what we can. I will figure out the rest once I know she will live."
She could feel the seal's consent. Her father's voice resounded throughout the small room, "Then let us begin."
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There was a gentle knock on the shoji to her bedroom, "Chihiro?"
Sen stared unfocused at the television, "You can come in, mom."
Her mother slid the door open softly, "Good morning, sweetie. How are you feeling?"
"Better," she lied. "Thanks."
"I'm so glad. When you refused to leave your room these past few days, your father and I started to worry. Are you certain you feel well enough to be here alone? I can always call off of work again if you need someone to—"
Sen forced a smile, "Mom, please. I'm 23 years old. You can go to work without worrying about me. I will be fine by myself."
"Yuuko, it's 8:45. You'll be be late for work if we don't get going!" Sen's father called from the bottom of the stairs.
"You go on, Akio," her mother called back. "I'll take the train today. I just need to finish getting ready." As soon as they heard Sen's father close the front door behind himself, she came into the room and sat on Sen's futon. "I was trying to let it go, but it's been nagging at me for months. I just need to understand what you were thinking, Chihiro."
Sen's pulse quickened, "M-mom?"
It was then that Sen noticed her mother holding something small and rectangular in her hands. Yuuko looked down at the rectangle, "Why did you go back there?"
"Mom, I—"
When she looked up, there were tears in her eyes, "This is the second time we have almost lost you at that river. Don't you think that means something, Chihiro? Don't you think the Gods are trying to tell you to stay away from that river?"
"It's not as simple as all that," Sen replied quietly, pulling her knees into her chest. "I can't just stay away from him."
"Him?"
"I-I meant there. I can't just stay away from there. Things are a lot more complicated than that."
Her mother cupped her face, "Chihiro, honey, I need you to tell me what's going on. I need to understand."
Sen inconspicuously fingered the puckered scar on her abdomen, "I'm afraid that you wouldn't believe me if I told you the truth."
"Try me, Chihiro," Yuuko's deep hickory eyes were full of steely determination.
She fidgeted for a moment, conflicted. Her mother was much too observant for her own good. If she told her mother everything about her time in the Spirit World, there was every chance that her mother would have her institutionalized. But something in her gut told her that if she didn't tell her mother everything, she would never see the Spirit World again.
"Chihiro," her mother coaxed, "you can tell me anything. And if you don't want your father to know, I won't say anything to him."
Sen let out a deep breath, her decision made, "You'll need to take a personal day. I want to show you something."
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"Zeniba?! Chihiro?!" Haku burst through the front door of the small cottage, his hair and kimono disheveled and Noh-face on his heels.
The sight that greeted him was horrific. Blood-soaked sheets and glass littered the floor and the lights flickered and hummed as if they were going to burn out at any moment. Chihiro was lying on the long wooden table completely unconscious and covered in blood while Zeniba stood next to her with her arms outstretched. Upon closer inspection, Haku could see Zeniba's golden seal hovering above Chihiro and a ghostly white arm extending from the seal into the almost-healed gash. When he came closer to Zeniba, it was clear that she was struggling. She was staring at Chihiro with unseeing, glassy eyes and her teeth were clamped together so hard that the muscles in her jaw were twitching. Every few seconds, Zeniba's extended fingers would spasm, almost like they did when she used her magic.
Noh-face observed Zeniba for a moment before turning to Haku, "Ah, ah."
"What is it?" Haku asked quietly, unable to tear his eyes away from Chihiro's lifeless form.
Noh-face pointed to Zeniba's ruby, then to the golden seal, then to Haku, "Ah."
Knowing that Zeniba's ruby was where she stored her main source of power, the pieces started to come together in Haku's mind, "Zeniba is using her magic and the magic from her seal to heal Chihiro, but she's still struggling to finish. Are you saying I can lend them my power as well to make it easier?"
The spirit nodded, "Ah, ah."
Unsure of exactly what to do, Haku made his way to the side of the table opposite Zeniba and extended his arms towards the seal in the same fashion. He closed his eyes and summoned his inner dragon as close to the surface as he could without actually shape-shifting. "I am Nigihayami Kohaku Nushii," he muttered under his breath. "I am the God of the Swift Amber River, and I command all of the magic I hold authority over to lend itself to this seal."
Haku felt a sharp surge of power immediately followed by crippling exhaustion. He grit his teeth, forcing himself not to collapse as the slightest unprovoked movement could break the magical connection between the three of them. The sheer force of his fundamental magic leaving his body threatened to bring him to his knees, but Haku resisted. After all, this wasn't about him. This was about saving the woman he loved.
Across the table, Haku heard Zeniba's breathing instantly ease. A few minutes later, he heard Noh-face, "Ah! Ah!"
All at once- the golden seal dropped to the table, Haku dropped to his knees, and Zeniba stumbled forward, clutching the edge of the table for support. Haku and Zeniba were both gasping, breathless from receiving all of their magic back at one time.
"Thank you, Haku," Zeniba panted. "Your power… was the last boost we needed to… finish repairing Sen."
Haku's head snapped up, sea-foam green hair sticking to the sheen of sweat on his face, "Is she… is she alright?"
The witch was silent.
Haku gripped the table and pulled himself up, his legs quivering. "Zeniba, please… answer me."
She grabbed her golden seal and slipping it into a fold in her large blue dress, sighing, "Her body is repaired, but she lost a lot of blood. She needs a transfusion."
"A transfusion?" Haku frowned. "What is that?"
Zeniba flicked her wrist towards a chair when it slid up behind her, she practically collapsed onto it, waving her hand weakly towards her tousled bun in order to fix it, "When humans lose too much blood, their bodies are unable to function and they eventually die. Sen needs new blood to replace what she lost. Otherwise…"
His shoulders slumped as he looked towards Chihiro's face, tears glistening in his bottomless jade eyes, "How do we get the blood inside of her?"
"Don't worry about that; I know how to do it. We just need someone to give her the blood."
Haku's spine stiffened, "Let me do it. Give her my blood."
"Don't be ridiculous, Haku," Zeniba scoffed. "Your blood is much too powerful for a human to handle; it would almost certainly kill her. No, we need someone who has little to no magic in their blood. Sen could handle that."
"Little to no magic…" He thought for a moment before his eyes lit up. "Rin!"
"Who?"
Haku looked back to Chihiro, relief flooding his heart when he saw her chest rise and fall but sadness overtaking it when he noticed how pale she was beneath all the dried blood, "Rin is Chihiro's closest friend in the Bath House. She's a weasel spirit and I don't believe she has any magic in her blood at all. And I know she would do anything to help Chihiro."
Zeniba nodded, "That is the exact kind of spirit we need. Go to the Bath House as quickly as you can and bring her back here. I left a small amount of my magic inside of Sen's wound to keep her alive until we can get her blood, but that won't last forever. We need to give her a transfusion as quickly as possible."
Limbs still shaking, Haku stumbled towards the door before the witch stopped him, "Haku, don't be silly. You are completely exhausted from lending me your power; do you really believe you will be able to summon your dragon form in this state?"
He gripped the back of her chair for support, "I will not give up so long as Chihiro needs me. I failed her for 13 years Zeniba, and I will never fail her again."
She smiled, "Of course you won't. I was simply suggesting that you borrow my golden seal so you have the energy you need to transform and make it back with someone on your back."
Haku's eyes widened, "You… you would trust me with your seal? After I tried to steal it from you?"
Zeniba reached into the fold in her dress and pulled out the seal, dropping it into his palm, "You are an honorable man, Haku. I trust you with this seal because Sen's life depends on it and I know that you would go to the ends of the realm for her. Now take my seal and retrieve Rin so we can finish this."
He gripped the seal tightly, feeling an instant rush of power. His dragon was clawing within him, desperate to be released in order to save its mate, "I will be back as quickly as I can."
Seconds after he disappeared out the door of the cottage, a deafening dragon's roar shook the foundation of the house as it flew overhead.
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Zeniba wove her hands intricately around the cottage, invisible magic repairing the shattered windows and putting everything back in its place. She waved her hands towards the chest again, and this time a small piece of cloth floated towards her. After dipping the cloth in a small bucket of cool water, Zeniba proceeded to wash all of the dried blood from Sen's unmoving body.
Noh-face silently shuffled to her side, observing Sen. His vacant expression turned to a frown, "Ah, ah?"
The witch sighed, "So you noticed that, did you? There was only so much my seal and I could accomplish here. Whatever enchantment my sister used on that katana, it doesn't end at the actual wound. We removed as much of the spell as we could see, but there is clearly more to it than that; thankfully Haku was just too exhausted to notice it. I… I didn't lie to Haku when I told him that Sen would die without a blood transfusion, I just…"
"Ah?" Noh-face coaxed, his ethereal hand on her shoulder.
For the first time in 500 years, tears welled in Zeniba's eyes, "I just didn't mention that even if she gets one and lives… she won't wake up."
The Noh mask contorted into a pained expression, "Ah…" Noh-face shook his head in disbelief and denial. "Ah. Ah. Ah."
She gently brushed Sen's hair back from her face, "No, Noh-face. I'm not lying. After the transfusion, we will have done everything we can. After that… it will be up to Sen to come back to us. Yubaba made sure of that."
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*AUTHOR'S NOTE: Please let me know what you think! :D