AUTHOR'S NOTE: Hello everyone! I am so, so sorry for the ridiculous hiatus. I was finishing my last two semesters in college and in 2 days I will be walking in commencement for my Bachelor's Degree! I am so sorry for the neglect, but know that I would never leave Haku and Chihiro apart forever. I am back to working on my stories now and any feedback is always greatly appreciated. Thanks for sticking with me this long! Enjoy. :)
The moon hovered high in the indigo sky, full and round, it's beams casting eerie shadows among the trees. Sen could feel her heart hammering wildly in her ribcage as the wind whipped her hair across her face with short, stinging slashes. A low moaning sound came from the dark tunnel before her, no doubt a result from the vicious wind. It looked exactly as she remembered it: faded red paint peeling away from the plaster, thick mossy vines creeping up to the roof, large uneven stones being pushed apart by the overgrowth of grass between them. Even the egg-shaped figure still remained, forever encased in stone, guarding the tunnel's entrance with his watchful eyes. When she was little, Sen had been afraid of the stone guardian. She always thought he looked like he was ready to gobble her up. But now, when she was finally so close to going home for the last time, she thought it seemed like he was welcoming her back. Plus, she was a few feet taller than the egg-shaped statue now and he was completely covered in a thick layer of moss, so that lessened his intensity a little as well.
Sen rested her palm on the top of the stone guardian's mossy head, "This is it, isn't it? This is the last time we'll see each other."
The stone guardian was silent as always.
"You know, I have a theory about you," she continued, perching herself on the ground in front of the statue. She sat half-facing the tunnel and half-facing the statue. He grinned at her in the moonlight with empty eyes. "You're the one who opens the Spirit Gate, aren't you?"
Another long, melancholy moan resonated through the tunnel.
She smiled, her heart slowly returning to a normal rhythm, "I'll take that as a yes. I've thought about it for a long time, you know. How I even got through the gate in the first place. And eventually, it just hit me: it was you. I can't help but wonder why? Why did you choose me?"
The only sound was the wind rustling through the leaves in the thick trees that surrounded them.
"Were you trying to teach me a lesson? To appreciate my parents?"
Silence.
Sen wrapped her arms around her knees and turned to look at the tunnel, her heart aching, "I wonder if you know just how much you gave me by letting me into that world."
The tunnel moaned again.
She smiled at the affirmation, "Of course you do. I'd be willing to bet you even knew Haku once, probably a very long time ago. Probably before you ever became the guardian of this place."
The wind tumbled some stray leaves at her feet.
Sen frowned, her pulse picking up speed again as her mind pondered the severity of the situation she was about to plunge into. She was so close to being with Haku again, but there were still things that needed to be done. Sen leaned her head against the statue, "I have to face Yubaba when I go back," her voice shook slightly. "She actually tried to kill me this time… I never thought she would go that far, but I was wrong. I was so, so wrong. Now… I don't know what to do. Haku would probably rip her apart if he was given the chance, but he's still under contract at the Bath House. If I were to confront Yubaba, she could hurt him. I want to prove that I can take care of myself, because I can, but I don't want to do anything to jeopardize Haku. He's waiting for me on the other side of the Spirit Gate, but I don't want to go without a plan. Because I'd be willing to bet that Yubaba has one for me."
The wind seemed to settle a little.
She pulled her knees closer to her chest, her mind reeling, "Maybe I should stay here instead. Haku would be safe that way."
"Yeah, and how did the last 13 years of that work out for you?"
Sen let out a deep sigh, "Good point."
It was then that Sen realized someone had spoken to her. She bolted upright in alarm and looked towards the tunnel, but there was no one there.
"Over here, silly girl."
Very slowly, Sen turned her head towards the stone guardian and saw that he was no longer frozen, but rather grinning at her mischievously. "GAH!" She yelped, hurling herself backwards so quickly that she stumbled and slammed, back first, onto the uneven stones.
"Well that was rather obnoxious."
"I feel like I shouldn't be so surprised," Sen managed a little breathlessly. She pushed herself up, wincing at the slight ache that was already starting to encase the muscles in her back. "How exactly is it that you're talking to me?"
The stone guardian, who was no longer stone but now a plump little man, peeled sheets of moss from his gaudy overcoat, "Goodness. Would it have killed you to clean me up a little over the years? I've practically melded into the foliage. That would not have been good for my eyesight, you know."
"Your… eyesight?"
He gave an extremely overdramatic sigh, "How else would I be able to watch over the Spirit Gate if I had no eyes?"
"Oh. Right."
"You're the one that figured out I was the one who controls the Spirit Gate. How did you think I did it?"
"I… I don't know. I just didn't really think…"
He sighed dramatically again, cutting her off, "And to think I'm the one that chose you. Perhaps I've lost my good judgement in my old age."
"Hey!"
"Regardless," he continued, ignoring Sen's irritation, "I'm here now."
She brushed the debris from her shirt before turning back to the guardian, "Not to be rude or anything, but why exactly is that? Aren't you just supposed to sit and guard the gate?"
"Perhaps I get tired of doing the same thing day after day," he shrugged before his eyes glinted mischievously,"Or perhaps, I am just in a charitable mood."
Sen frowned, unsure of what to do. She wasn't so sure she wanted anything charitable from a spirit with seemingly dual personalities. However… she was edging on desperate. "You… want to help me?"
The guardian shook his head, "I don't really care about you so much as I hate Yubaba. So if helping you hurts her, then I am more than willing."
"Well, please don't sugar coat it for me," she quipped sarcastically.
"I am just being honest with you. I don't care much for humans, I never have. However, Yubaba has left somewhat of a sour taste in my mouth. For that reason, I would like to help you be rid of her."
"What exactly did Yubaba do to you?"
The plump man put his chubby hands on the area where his hips probably were, "Who do you think exiled me here?"
"Wait, wait, wait," Sen furrowed her brow, "you didn't come here by choice? Yubaba forced you to guard the Spirit Gate? Why?"
The little man brushed past her towards the tunnel, "What does it matter now? I'm here, I've been here for the last thousand years, and I will be here for at least a thousand more. Unless Yubaba is dealt with, that is."
"Hang on a second," Sen grabbed the guardian's arm to stop him. "It matters to me. Why did she send you here? What did you do?"
He snatched his arm from her grip, "Why do you have to ask so many questions? No wonder Yubaba was ready to be rid of you."
The guardian's words felt like they burned her. How could he say that? Yubaba had almost killed her! And for what? Because as a child, she had outsmarted the witch? Because she had cost the witch her slave? That hardly seemed to warrant a death sentence. And she certainly did not appreciate this fat little statue-man condoning what Yubaba did to her and making light of her very near-death experience.
Sen raised her hands in defeat, anger and disbelief lacing her voice,"You know what? To Hell with you. I don't need you or your help. I will deal with Yubaba myself."
"Oho? And how do you plan to get through the Spirit Gate without me opening it for you?"
She snapped the shimmery, purple hair-band from where it held her ponytail and showed it to him, "See this? Spirits made this for me, so I can cross over without your help. I don't need you."
His eyes widened as he saw the band shimmer unnaturally in the moonlight. She could tell that he knew she wasn't bluffing. Just as she was about to enter the tunnel, the guardian shouted, "WAIT!"
Sen paused, debating on whether or not she should listen to whatever it was he wanted to say. She sighed. Couldn't hurt, right? "What?"
He waddled over to her, "Perhaps that was a bit harsh. You must excuse me, I don't often speak to humans in person like this. I forget just how… curious your kind can be."
"Curious?" She repeated, amused.
"Intrusive," he clarified. "Nonetheless. I will tell you, but you have to promise that you will help me."
This little man was confusing her, "Wait, I thought you said you wanted to help me? How can I possibly do anything to help you being exiled?"
The guardian held out his chubby hand expectantly, "By accepting my... gift, you are helping me. Once Yubaba is dealt with, I can come back to the Spirit World. As long as she remains in her current position, I cannot leave this place."
Sen eyed his outstretched hand skeptically, crossing her arms over her chest, "Tell me."
He sighed, dropping his arm back to his side, "It's so foolish, I am embarrassed to even speak of it."
Sen waited patiently.
It took a few moments before he spoke, but eventually the little man seemed resigned to the fact that Sen was not going to let this go, "Something you said before was true- I did know Haku, but it was a very long time ago. I used to be an attendant at Yubaba's Bath House. To put it simply, I was the previous foreman."
Sen thought of the large amphibious spirit who was the current foreman of the Bath House: several inches taller than her, deep, booming voice, commands respect and attention from the workers. Then she imagined this fat little spirit as the foreman and the contrast almost made her laugh. But the look in his eyes held her tongue.
He looked… heartbroken.
The man gave an empty laugh, shaking his head. He seemed to be talking more to himself now, "Thinking back on it now, I cannot believe I was ever such a fool. Everyone who works for Yubaba knows exactly what they are signing up for; it's all right there, in her contracts. She gives you a job in exchange for your life. What else did I expect?"
"Your name," Sen corrected gently, finding his mistake rather strange. "She gives a job in exchange for your name."
He looked up at her, his face grave, "No, Sen. The exchange is for much more than just a few symbols on a sheet of parchment. For a spirit, a name is everything. A name holds memories, ambitions, hopes, fears… love. And when Yubaba owns your name, she owns everything that it holds as well."
"I don't understand," she admitted. How could Yubaba own someone's feelings? How could she steal something so intangible? And if she was able to do such a thing, what exactly did that mean?
"Have you ever wondered why everyone at the Bath House is so greedy and focused on their work? Have you ever wondered why you never hear anyone speak of dreams? Or fears? Or love? It's because the contract does not allow it. When Yubaba takes ownership of your name, she steals everything inside that makes you… you. She turns her workers into empty shells, focused only on work and money. That is the true nature of her control; she simply removes everything else from your heart."
"But…" Her heart was racing along with her thoughts. "But Haku? And me? We are both under contract but we can still feel, we still have other wants. How?"
The once-stone guardian's gaze was aimed at Sen, but she could tell he was not seeing her. He was seeing something else, something from a different time. "Haku can feel and want because you gave him his name back. But his contract still binds him to the duties of the Bath House and he will never be able to permanently leave until his contract is destroyed. You are an exception to Yubaba's magic simply because you are a human. Her magic can affect you in certain ways, but it does not always work. The ways of the human mind and heart are unknown to us spirits. We are not always certain how to traverse them."
No, that couldn't be true. Yubaba's magic had affected her more than just once. "Yubaba has used her magic on me plenty of times. She's used it to get inside my head, manipulate my dreams. She's the one who sent me here. How can I be an exception when her magic seems to keep working on me?"
He shook his head, "Dreams are easily manipulated because they aren't real. And she was able to send you here by getting her magic into your physical body. Never once has her magic been able to touch your heart."
Sen realized that he was right. Everything that Yubaba had managed to do to her had never affected her heart. Even Haku's magic only ever affected her memories, never her actual feelings for him. So while Yubaba could own her name and force her to remain under contract at the Bath House, she would never have full control over her like she did everyone else. Sen would always be free to feel anything she wished.
And since Sen gave him his name back, Haku was free to feel things, too.
That must be why Yubaba wanted to get rid of her.
The little man was still staring far beyond the person in front of him. Sen knelt down and put a hand on his shoulder, "Why did Yubaba banish you?" She asked softly, not wanting to break him from his reverie.
His voice was almost a whisper, "I started to want things."
"What?"
He shook his head, "Not 'what'."
Sens eyes widened with realization, "You fell in love."
There was a shimmer in the corner of his eye but he quickly blinked it away, clearing his throat, "As I said, foolish."
She slumped onto the ground before the little man, pulling her knees up again, "And you haven't seen her in a thousand years?"
"943," he corrected before smiling sadly. "But who's counting?"
"Okay," Sen replied quietly. "Let's help each other."
The guardian's gaze refocused on Sen, his expression not hiding his shock, "Really?"
She nodded, "I had to wait 13 years. I'd say you're about 930 overdue."
Yubaba drummed her gaudy red claws against her elegant mahogany desk. She was debating on how best to punish her workers for not making enough money this month. "I could throw a few of them into a pot of boiling oil," she mused, lighting a cigarette. "That would be fun."
"Hoy," one of the green heads replied.
"Hoy, hoy," another one agreed.
"Mmm, perhaps you're right. That oil should be used for customers, not wasted on worthless workers. How about cutting food rations for everyone down to one meal a day for the month? It would teach them a lesson and save me immensely on food costs," Yubaba scribbled some equations onto a piece of parchment to assess the effectiveness of her plan. She smiled, "Yes… yes that would save us quite a lot of money. Perhaps I should make this the new policy."
"Hoy," one of the green heads remarked.
She waved her hand towards the heads, annoyed, "Right, right. Don't want any of the workers passing out and unable to work. Damn."
The large clock above the fireplace tolled, catching the witch's attention. Right on cue, Boh began to whine in the adjacent room. Yubaba waved her hand absently towards her office as she left the room, magic putting everything back into proper places and dimming the fire in the fireplace.
Yubaba did not notice the small area on the front of her desk, next to the pen holder, where a small, crystal-shaped glass vial was supposed to be. She did not notice that the spot was empty and the vial was missing.
She hadn't noticed for the last 943 years.