Chapter 23: A Piece of The Past
Haku moved swiftly with his eyes focusing on both views, his lover's and his own. Confusing? A little bit. But the point was they were both stronger like this. Seeing the state of affairs around him, he chose another more effective way to fight rather than having to knock out those puppets old school. Haku shifted into his dragon form. Easily he banged, pounced on, and even used his claws to fight and protect his family in the battlefield. He had never even pictured himself to be this wild.
But again, it was never that easy. There was this one puppet, who seemed like toying with the dragon. He never once attacked the dragon, only messing. The beast got mad as he flew away fast going to the alley between the restaurants. It seemed to work to trigger the dragon as now he was chasing that puppet.
There he got him, he flew past above him and stopped him. If the puppet had any expression, sure he must be surprised. Haku pounced on him, opened his mouth wide and made his jaw capture that puppet's head, he was ready to bite it hard until it disjuncted from his neck.
And suddenly, something beyond anyone's expectation happened. The puppet grew bigger, it's twice the size of that dragon. Haku had to let the puppet's head go as now the puppet could clench his body with one hand. Haku wiggled and scratched with his claws, trying hard to escape. But it only made the puppet wrath and tried to get rid of the little dragon in his hand. As if a weapon was being loaded, the puppet swung his hand and forcefully hurtled the dragon to the ground.
"HAKU, NO!" Chihiro screamed inside just before they both lost their focus and their garwa spell was off. Between the battlefield, Chihiro aghast. She hastily about to run to save him, but enemies waylaid her. Three puppets at once infront of her, she grumped. The first one on the left went forward and aimed for her head. She made it to duck and then punched his jaw. Meanwhile the other on the right turned out to be ready behind her and snarled her up. Chihiro thought fast, and then stiffened her body.
"Aboor!" she cast a spell. Now she flew up fast. At the point she thought she's high enough, she balanced her feet and aimed at the puppet's head.
"Hoomus!" she said. Then she plunged fast and sharp, perfectly hit the puppet and landed, even though she had to trundle on the ground.
Just why she stopped trundling right onto one's feet... and as she looked up, it's the last puppet! And he was about to stab her! Chihiro shut her eyes and spontaneously extended her hand to the puppet. That sharp sword above her touched some strands of her hair but it never landed to hurt her because suddenly the puppet fell to the ground. Chihiro opened her eyes and found Q over there, pulling back his sword out of the puppet's body. Turned out he stabbed the puppet just in perfect timing and saved her.
"Q!" Chihiro squealed.
"Chihiro, are you okay?" he asked while offering his hand to help her.
"Yeah, that was close!"Chihiro took his hand and got up. "Thanks," she said again.
Q nodded while he looked around looking for the daughter of The God of War. "Where's Lin?" he asked.
Chihiro frowned. "We got separated within the mist," she answered. "I'm sorry, I was distracted... Haku needs-"
"That's okay, I know" Q cut her off. "Go find him. I'll look for Lin," he commanded.
Chihiro nodded. With that she left him and went further heading to the town. She was sure Haku was somewhere near that restaurant where her late parents were once turned into pigs. She was so worried and her only focus now was to find her dragon. And there she was at the intersection, the restaurant was on her left. She looked around and called him, but there were no answers. She searched more into the alleys, there were no signs of her lover. In fact, she found no one around, not a single spirit from the bathhouse she knew, not a single puppet. Ifshe had been paying attention, the mist was gone too and everything was a clear view. Suddenly she heard the dragon's groans and she could tell that sound was coming from the back of the restaurant. That's impossible, she was there a minute ago and there was nothing. As if she was being tricked that she couldn't see or hear anything around the town. Chihiro winced her eyes and rushed to save him.
"HAKU!" she screamed as she found her dragon sprawling on the ground, meanwhile a puppet was an inch away from striking him. Chihiro moved fast, she took the dagger out from her pocket and threw it sharp towards the puppet. As if it was too easy or it was meant to be, the dagger hit the puppet on its neck. Strange that it never happened before, the puppet turned to her, gave her an annoying laugh for seconds before it disappearedto thin air.
This made Chihiro blinked in confusion and skipped a heartbeat as that thing that just happened left a frantic feeling on her chest. Her dagger that was floating in the air now fell and clanked on the ground, bringing her back from her thoughts. She gasped and ran to the dragon's side.
"Haku! Are you alright!?" she squealed.
Out of their senses, in the darkness from within a shack across the restaurant, the puppet master had been lurking on them. He locked his eyes on that couple. The brown haired girl in pink salmon clothes was just a mere spirit, but he knew that she wasn't a born spirit. For him, that's illegal. He humphed in disgust.
So, this dragon is our Haku.Ji-In said to himself as the girl helping the dragon to get up.
Then the dragon shifted into a human form. He was now a boy with dark blue bob hair in his white kariginu suit. "Chihiro...I'm okay..." he said to the girl before he hugged her.
Ji-In smirked.And this fake spirit that used to be a mere human girl is our Chihiro. What a good day to kill lovebirds with one stone.
He put on his white cloak and mask as he watched the couple moving back heading to the bathhouse. He could feel all the darkness that had been suppressed for decades within him, streaming all over his body. That felt really good, he actually missed it. Since he met the love of his life, he left his homeland in the north and promised to never step into the darkness again. But now, as his daughter was in danger, nothing can stop him to embrace his powers back and ward off anything that threatened his family.
This is for you, Mikayo.He came out from the shack. Without any hesitation he made his way trailing over the couple.Two out of three troublemakers had been found, one more to go.He was sure the couple would lead him to the last and probably the mastermind of all the chaos that tangled his daughter. He was sure Chihiro and Haku would lead him to Yubaba.
"Liiiiinnnn!" Q shouted. He had been looking around for her in the middle of this thick dark mist. He tried many times to contact her from the pendant, yet she gave no response. He tried to contact Yubaba too, but she never answered. Strange, it seemed like he couldn't hear anything except his own voice. He also realized that it's been a while he went around and no puppet attacked him, in fact he didn't see anyone at all.
"Hellooooo?" he shouted again. And then suddenly a puppet appeared in front of him. "Woah!" he squealed. Then he moved fast, swaying his sword and took the puppet down.
Another puppet came running from his right. Q turned fast and withstood the puppet's sword with his own. He clashed his sword and shoved it while pushing away the puppet, and finally stepped forward to stab the puppet. He pulled back his sword and stepped backwards. Somehow his gut told him to do so. Beyond his expectation, someone bumped him from behind his back. He turned around and found the girl also turned around her back to see him.
"Q!" she squealed happily.
Q got his eyes widened. "LIN! I've been looking for you!" he shrieked.
"I called for you through the pendant a thousand times but you never answered!" Lin said angrily.
So he was not the only one having the problem. He grabbed her shoulder. "Lin, I called for you many times too, but it seemed like something is blocking our connection, moreover, blocking everything here," he explained. "Did you call for Yubaba too? Did she answer you?" he asked.
The look of realization came up to Lin's face. "You're right. I did and I heard nothing from her," she answered. "In fact, I heard nothing at all, like I was all alone here," she added.
Before Q could respond to her, all of the sudden, the mist that was so dark and thick, vanished into thin air in less then a second. The next thing they knew, there were a huge number of puppets encircling them. Q gasped as one of them was already standing behind Lin and ready to hit her.
"LIN!" Q shouted. He pulled her to the side and instantly he beheaded the puppet that was behind her.
"Oh, God!" Lin exclaimed.
Q turned to her and found her ducking and made her way beneath his axilla. She moved fast and used her dagger to stab a puppet that was going to take him down from behind his back.
Lin and Q looked at each other. Knowing that they shared the same idea, they nodded, and then they stood back to back and ready to fight those puppets around them.
Yubaba who had been worried because she couldn't see anything but dark and thick mist while none of Lin or Q answered her call through the pendant, now seeing everything clearly. Her mouth dropped open while she looked around the scene. She saw chaos all over the place. Her employers and workers were here and there fighting those puppets with all that they got. Some ran around, crying for help. Some of them used magic and hid. And those bodies on the ground, she shut her eyes and swore it was her fault that she couldn't protect them. Then she spotted Lin and Q near the bridge. That was a good thing because none of the enemies reached the bridge and invaded the bathhouse.
"Lin! Q! Can you hear me!?" she contacted them through the pendant again. "Answer me!" she said again.
Lin had just slammed down a puppet. "Yeah, Yubaba, finally!" she answered.
Q punched a puppet down on the face. "Yeah, we're kinda busy here," he answered.
"Our communication was blocked,"Yubaba tried to explain.
"We know!" Lin and Q answered at the same time.
Yubaba gulped."Q, the situation is getting worse. Shall I do my part now?"
Lin and Q stopped to take a look around for a while. Yubaba was right. Lin turned to him. Q shook his head. "Not now," he answered.
Lin looked at him in disbelief. "What are you waiting for!?" she yelled.
Q gulped. "Hold on for a while, it's almost-"
"At this rate you will get all of us killed!" Lin shouted on his face while she pulled his clothes on the collar.
Q felt extremely guilty that he had to make them wait, as it was the only way to fulfil the forecast. The look on Lin's eyes was full of anger and sadness. He sighed. Then he caught two figures far from the town behind Lin, making their way closer to the bathhouse.
"It is time," he said while grasping Lin's hand that was on his collar. "Look," he said again while he pointed something behind her.
Lin turned around and found Chihiro and Haku coming their way.
"CHIHIRO! HAKU!" Lin shouted, calling them.
But suddenly a huge mass of puppets swarming around Chihiro and Haku.
"Yubaba, now!" Q commanded.
Yubaba winced her eyes."Copy that,"she answered. With that, her eyes glowed as she started casting a spell.
A second later, the foreman that was still fighting a puppet, suddenly floated in the air and then was pulled up and flying back into the bathhouse. And then another worker was taken too. And the other one more. Another one. One other more. One, bye one. Yubaba saved her people by pulling them back as the last move. Everyone still got to fight back until they got their turn.
Chihiro and Haku were about to fight those puppets, but they weren't getting attacked. The puppets were just swarming around them, moving closer to them, trying to squeeze them. Haku held Chihiro close to him.
"Haku… What's going on with these puppets…" Chihiro uttered.
Haku held her hand tighter as the puppets were now trying to get through them. "I think they're trying to separate us," Haku said cautiously.
He was right. Now the puppets started to lunge over them and pull them away. Haku and Chihiro tried their best to push and ward them off but their number was getting more and more multiplied. Haku thought it would be easier if he shifts into his dragon form, but that will separate him from Chihiro.
"Haku, don't let go!" she cried.
"I won't!" he cried back as they were getting far from each other but they were still holding hands.
And then the puppet mass pulled them harder and made it break their hands away.
"No, Chihiro!" Haku howled.
"Hakuuuu!" Chihiro yelled as she was carried away with those puppets.
Haku growled. He played out thegarwaspell. Now he shifted into his dragon form and pounced on those puppets.
Chihiro realized that these puppets carrying her brought her closer to the bathhouse. She started to fight again, she couldn't let them go to the bathhouse, not even to touch the bridge.
"Loonga!"she casted a spell to those puppets and instantly some of them bounced away from her. Now this way she could fight them properly.
Lin detected her sister was there, not much far away from her. She kept on fighting the puppets while trying to make her way to Chihiro.
"Chihirooo!" she yelled as she ran closer. But suddenly her body floated, her feet were no longer touching the ground. "Whoa... What- Yubaba, not now!" she protested. Yubaba heard her through the pendant, yet she didn't respond. "NO! Let me protect her!" Lin cried as she was getting pulled away. Yubaba didn't listen to her and flew her back into the bathhouse anyway.
Meanwhile Q now was only overseeing everything from within the battlefield. He saw was Lin getting pulled back into the bathhouse. He saw the dragon went wild over those puppets that kept swarming on him. He saw Chihiro was taking down the puppets one by one, though there was not much anymore coming to her, yet she was being pushed to be on the bridge.
This was it."Yubaba! Is that everyone?" Q asked, trying to make sure everything was going as they planned, the true plan that only him and Yubaba knew. And by sayingeveryone,he was talking about Lin being the last one getting pulled back.
"Yes. Everyone is back in the bathhouse," Yubaba answered.
With that Q swept his eyes over the view once again to ensure thatnobodywas left on the battlefield. He nodded to himself. "Okay. I'm going back too," he said to Yubaba and then he flew back into the bathhouse.
Chihiro was too caught up to take down those puppets and there was not a chance for her to realize that everyone was getting pulled back into the bathhouse, leaving only herself and Haku alone with those puppets in the battlefield. From Haku's eye view, she knew that he's in trouble, that those puppets kept on growing in numbers and that could exhaust him to death. Chihiro groaned.
"Hang in there, Haku!" she said to him through their mind to mind conversation. "I will come to you!" she said again. Soon, she promised, as soon after she could knock down this one last puppet that seemed toying on now was trying to punch her on her stomach and she caughtits fist. The puppet stepped its foot across between her legs trying to lock her but she turned with her hand gripping the puppet's wrist. With that the puppet was twisted on its back. Chihiro took no more mercy, she stabbed the puppet with her dagger.
Chihiro sighed with a bit of relief. That was the last puppet she had to cope with before she could save her dragon. She was just taking a step when she saw a figure of a man with a white capped cloak. He wore a mask that covered his face until his nose. What's left were his eyes and his forehead, which there's a stitch mark on it. Chihiro's eyes widened, her heart skipped a beat, and she was stunned. This was their enemy that Q had been warned about.
The next moment she gulped and then she turned to him. This was the forecast she had to fulfill, now finally was thrown up on her face. She balled her fists, with her dagger on her right one. "Ji-In!" she shouted to him fiercely.
Haku wailed. He could see from his Chihiro's eye view that the enemy that he least expected was now ready to throw anything at his lover. "I'll come to you, Chihiro!" he shrieked at her.
Chihiro took a second to look at where Haku was, and the dragon was still there being swarmed with puppets. Then she looked away. From the very start, she went back here to the spirit world and brought all of this chaos to him, to everyone at the bathhouse. All because of her. All the enemy ever wanted was her. So maybe this time, it was probably the best thing to let him be busy with the puppets. She should not bring him further in this.
"Stay right there, Haku." she said. "I will be fine," she said again.
The dragon got wrath. He would not let her do anything reckless. He casted a spell, the puppets around him bounced away. He was ready to take off and fly to Chihiro, but suddenly a massive wave of puppets came over to bury him.
Ji-In was enjoying doing all of these. That's right, he would just keep the dragon busy with his puppets. That was an easy thing. Meanwhile now he was walking closer to the dragon's lover, the illegal fake spirit. He locked his eyes on her, seeing everything through her. He smirked, he was ready to shatter her using every painful thing that laid inside her heart.
"Chihiro," Ji-In called.
Chihiro stanced her feet.That's right, you know me already.She sighed heavily. "That's right! I am Chihiro!" she shouted. "I'm the one you're looking for!" she shouted again to him.
Ji-In was getting closer and closer. Chihiro took steps backwards as now they almost arrived at the bridge. "Stay where you are and state what you want from me!" she insisted.
"Chihiro, I'm sorry," Ji-In said.
Chihiro winced her eyes with a frantic feeling upon her. Was it just her or Ji-In's voice that sounded different just now, she thought that voice was so familiar. Now she breathed heavily as she realized she had just stepped on the beginning of the bridge. "STAND THERE WHERE YOU ARE OR THIS DAGGER COULD FLY TO YOU ANYTIME NOW!" she snapped.
Then Ji-In stopped. He left some meters between them. "Chihiro," he called her again.
His voice made her chest heavy. She groaned. "What do you want from me!?" she shouted angrily.
Ji-In did not answer. Now he slid down his cape revealing his head and hair. He locked his eyes on her. Chihiro gulped as she could not look away from him. Ji-In continued to take off his mask and reveal his face to her.
Chihiro's eyes widened. Her heart dropped to her stomach. She lost the grip on her hands, the dagger fell to the ground. She lost her focus and all senses of what's going on around her surroundings.
Haku, too, was stunned. He couldn't believe what he saw through Chihiro's eye view for seconds before she lost her focus and theirgarwa-spell sheer off. He howled trying to call her. He tried to call her in her head but their connection was blocked.
The only thing Chihiro knew now was the man standing in front of her. With all of her mixed feelings, seeing the face ofthe oneshe had been missing. The face of amanthat had been her guardian her entire life. The face of amanthat would welcome her when she reached home. The face of her first pure love. The face that she believed she couldneversee again. The face of amanthat she lost, that she never thought the last time she saw was the night before the car crash.
Her body was trembling. Her lips were numb but they could not resist letting out her voice that was under arrest on her throat and chokingher.
"Dad...?"
Greetings, my dear friends. Surprise. I'm not gonna say much but my greatest thanks to all of you who somehow still read this story and left so many love and support for me through the reviews. EVEN IT HAS BEEN YEARS I LEFT :'(
But it was such a blessing... that 2 months ago, I got myself back to this fanfic world, because of this lovely and heart warming words from Hello100player. I cannot thank you enough.
Not gonna lie it was hard for me to back to writing, this chapter alone took me days to finish. Oh God. Wish me all the good luck and pray for me so I can continue this story. Thank you, thank you, I hope you still enjoy it.
Love, Moinami.