Hi everyone, I'm back with another short chapter.

I trust everyone is doing alright for themselves and taking care of their health, both physically, emotionally, and mentally. My advice is to release some stress, take a walk outside and enjoy the fresh air, whether it is in the city, countryside, or the woods a good walk is great for our health.

And since it's autumn, it's a beautiful time to go out on a nature walk.

Chapter 9

The scene changes to the side of Yubaba's bathhouse with the morning fog/mist covering the side bathhouse with the rising sun casting a beautiful blue silhouette.

The frame switches to pan down to the restaurant's buildings and the lantern's lights get turned off as the misty fog rolls across the screen.

Even though this is a quiet setting in the movie, it is still beautiful to see a sunrise, it's even more beautiful to see it when the sky is so foggy and misty.

Zoe "Questo è bellissimo."

Takuya "What an amazing view."

Bokomon "Do places in the human world have gorgeous mornings like this?"

Kouji "Sometimes. If you're lucky to see it."

Despite what's happened to Chihiro, the land and cityscape were beautiful, with the morning sun rising over the horizon.

The scene changes to the women's bedroom, where all the female workers are sound asleep, as their light breathing are the only sounds in the room.

However, there is one faint sound of whimpering. At the far end of the room, in a futon next to Lin was Sen. Who was wide awake and shaking like a leaf, and was the cause of making whimpering noises.

The scene shows the door hinges on the floor sliding open, meaning that someone from the other side is coming in.

Sen stops her whimpering, hoping that her quiet cries haven't caused anyone to send a message to Yubaba about her whines and complaints so soon.

The only thing Sen could hear are the sounds of someone's footsteps coming closer to her, the camera pans to the futon blankets until a familiar lower torso walks into the frame for only a second.

Sen closes her eyes, fearing for the worst. When the sounds of footsteps stopped, a gentle hand rested on her shoulder, covered by her futon. As a familiar voice spokes to her in a quiet whisper.

Haku (Off-screen): Meet me at the bridge. I'll take you to your parents.

Tommy "So Haku was protecting her. He's not a bad guy."

Kouji "Or it could be a lie."

Takuya "Kouji. He's risking a lot to keep Chihiro from turning into a pig or something worse. I believe we can trust him."

Haku's hand lifts off from Sen's shoulder and after a couple of seconds, the sliding door shuts back into place, causing Sen to let out a quiet gasp and lift her upper body out of bed to look where Haku has left and see if anyone else had woken up.

[Bathhouse Morning]

Seeing everyone is still asleep, Sen sits up straight and takes her robe and examines it while trying to understand how to put it on.

The scene cuts to the deck hallway outside of Sen and Lin's girl's room, the sliding door opens as Sen crawls out with her robe in her arms as she looks around quickly and quietly leaves the area.

Cut to Sen, now fully dressed, walking down a flight of stairs instead of taking the elevators, afraid that the sound could wake anyone up.

Cut to the boiler room, where Kamaji is sleeping in the same spot where he was working, with his arms holding onto his futon covers. The small sliding doors open as Sen crawls out, not to disturb Kamaji in his sleep.

As Sen walks over to the floor base and notices that something is missing from the spot she left them.

Sen: My shoes are gone.

J.P. "Yubaba or one of her workers must have got rid of them."

Tommy "She doesn't want to let her go."

Peeking out from their little home, the sootsprites came out from the holes carrying Sen's missing shoes and socks. Sen saw this and was surprised at their kind actions as they set her shoes down for her.

Sen: Thank you.

Zoe "The sootsprites."

Takuya "They hid her shoes from being taken away."

Kouji "I will admit, these little puff balls are friendly and helpful."

Sen takes out her socks and slips on her shoes as she jogs to the door, but before she even turns the handle, all the sootspites bounce up and down, shaking their puffy bodies. As it's their way of saying 'See you later.'

Sen waves to them with a small smile, as she opens the door and leaves the boiler room.

Cut to Sen walking up the wooden stairs before she pauses to look over the morning view to see a farmhouse building on the other side of the bridge as the sound of the train running its tracks is heard in the background of the music.

Sen takes her attention off the sight and continues to climb up the stairs.

Cut to the entrance of the bathhouse, the small hidden door opens as Sen creeps out from it and shouts it after making sure that there is no one nearby.

She jogs to the bridge, only to stop herself from crossing it. Because standing in the middle of the bridge was the same spirit that was looking at her last night. And he or she was still looking at Sen!

Tommy "It's that mask guy again!"

Bokomon "He's still standing there?"

Neemon "Is that bridge his home?"

Bokomon "I don't think so."

Blinking out of her daze, Sen walks across the bridge, and when she is close to the spirit. Sen bows her head and continues to power walk her way over, but once she makes it to the other side, Sen turns around to find the spirit no longer standing there.

Kouji "How did he move so quickly?"

J.P. "Maybe he turned invisible? I mean, spirits are like ghosts, right?"

Sen was surprised, even more startled when Haku walked up behind her. Causing her to let out a startling gasp.

Haku: Follow me.

As quickly as he came, Haku turned to walk to the garden gate. Leaving Sen to catch up to him.

The scene changes to a beautiful floral garden as Haku and Sen come around the corner of a very tall red flower bush. It then changes to Sen's point of view showing Haku's back walking forward through the flowers, as many different types of flowers change as they walk on.

The animation of the movement was so breathtaking, it made every member in the theater feel as if all the flowers were opening a pathway for them.

Everyone agrees this scene was indeed pretty. Gorgeous even.

Tommy "It's so pretty."

Zoe "I wonder what types of flowers they are?"

Haku: We don't have much time. If you're found here, you'll be turned into a pig yourself.

As Haku walks faster, Sen steps fast between the two flower bushes. Making sure not to lose sight of Haku.

Cut to a hill looking over a farmhouse, as Haku and Sen came out of the garden pathway and continued down to the pig pen.

Haku: You must never come here without me, understand?

Sen: I understand.

The screen changes to show the insides of the pig pen, where hundreds or thousands of huge pigs are kept locked up in small pens. Some were sleeping, standing around, or doing what pigs do.

Cut to a pen where two pigs are laying down on the dirty floor. The camera switches to Sen standing at the doorway with Haku, she takes a few steps forward but stops to turn to Haku silently asking him if these two are really her parents.

He nods 'yes' causing Sen to let out a gasp as she rushes over to their pen and cries out to them.

Sen: Mom. Dad. Are you alright? It's me Sen.

Takuya "Wait, did Chihiro just call herself Sen?"

Zoe "She did, why else would she try to get her parents' attention?"

Takuya "No, I mean like she's saying that Sen is her real name, not Chihiro."

As those words left Takuya's mouth, the gears in everyone's heads were starting to turn, and it dawned on them that Chihiro's identity had shifted and changed.

Sen looked confused at her parents before shouting at them again.

Sen: Hey, wake up!

But her parents didn't wake up, nor respond to her.

Sen (Off-Screen): Mom! Dad!

They still didn't acknowledge her presence, one of them even flipped its ears around. Cut back to Sen with a worried look on her face as Haku walks in beside her. She turns to Haku.

Sen: What's wrong with them? Are they sick?

Tommy "Please tell me that they aren't."

Haku: No. They ate too much, they're sleeping it off.

Cut back to the sleeping pig, one opens its eyes before closing.

Haku (Off-Screen): They don't remember being human, so look hard, it's up to you to remember which ones they are.

J.P. "Talk about finding a needle in a haystack."

Bokomon "This is quite a challenge for Sen, I mean, Chihiro."

Neemon "I forget, Is Sen is Chihiro, or is Chihiro is Sen?"

Bokomon "They're the same person, nitwit."

Cut back to Sen and Haku. Sen's expression became sadder and teary with every passing second, her lips trembling as she tried not to break down and cry right then and there. Instead, she shouts at them for one final time.

Sen: Don't you worry I promise to get you out of here soon, so don't get any more fat, or they'll eat you!

And then turns and runs away out of the Pig Pen warehouse.

No one wants to say anything, but the situation still feels heavy for just one person alone. And Kouji is starting to think that being on your own and pushing others away feels wrong.

Kouji 'Have I been going all about this wrong?'

Well, that's it for Chapter 9, and Chapter 10 will be another short chapter.

But Chapters 11 and 12 will be longer, so please, no complaints about when they will be updated. It doesn't help.

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Questo è bellissimo. Means: This is beautiful.

Until then, See ya later.