Spirited Away II: Return to the Spirit Realm

Chapter 7

Haku knew, of course, why the Lady called for him. It was stated in the letter. The Lord has been the Royal Army's general; and since his death, the Royal Army did not have a general and the Lady needed one for the upcoming war with the Dark Spirit.

Haku saw the Imperial Palace and slowly landed down, shivering slightly from the cold weather. The Imperial Palace truly was a sight to behold: pointy towers with red flags and banners reached for the sky; pillars supported the high-arched roofs; the marble of the Palace glittered in the sunlight; and elegant stairs led to the gate. There at the foot of the stairs stood a group of male spirits, whispering among themselves nervously and looking very solemn and unhappy, as if they would much rather be somewhere else.

Haku transformed into his human form and joined the group. Nobody paid attention to his arrival. Then the gate opened, and there stood the Lady. She indeed was a very beautiful woman, and actually shared a secret resemblence with Haku. She had large, almond-shaped eyes, porcelain pale skin, and a heart-shaped face with a pointy chin. Only her eyes were azure in color, not emerald; and her hair wasn't dark and straight but fell down in graceful waves to her waist, and also was azure in color.

The spirits bend on one knee and lowered their heads in respect.

"Rise," the Lady said. The spirits rose, feeling very self-conscious and discomfit.

"Thank you all for coming. Please, follow me," she said, and walked into the Royal Gardens. The spirits murmured among themselves in confusion, but obediently followed the Lady behind.

The Royal Gardens once was a beautiful sight to behold; cherry blossoms stood over the still lakes and the flowers and fruit orchards filled the gardens with their sweet smells. But, due to the change of weather, the trees were bare and there wasn't a single flower in the flower beds. Even the Lady wore a cloak over her silk garments, shivering slightly from the cold weather.

When the Lady camed to a bare field, she turned around and acknowledged the group:

"As we all know, the Dark Spirit escaped the Abyss and is now on the loose. It still has the same intentions to conquer the Spirit Realm. There will be a great war with the Dark Spirit, that will decide our fates forever. If we win, we will all live peacefully as we have for the past millennium. If we lose, we will all be under the enslavement of tyranny.

"I called you here today because of your noble acts and from what I heard, great knowledge on sciences and magic. Today I will test your skills, and hopefully, I will pick a general among one of you for the Royal Army for the upcoming war. Remember, the fate of our families, our people, our entire world depends on you."

So the Lady tested each of the noble spirits' skills. Though she picked the ones who were supposedly with great power and strength, she was actually very disappointed in them. Many of them could not answer the questions she asked them; and they definitely displeased her with their magic skills. A few strands of the Lady's blue hair turned almost gray after repeated failures.

The one who actually showed talent and knowledge was Haku. He was the only one who correctly answered to each question the Lady asked him, and defeated every other spirit who fought them when his fighting skills were tested. By the end of the day, the young Nigihayami Kohaku Nushi was immediately appointed as the new royal general.

Of course, this was undoubtedly the biggest achievement Haku ever had. But he saw it more stressful than anything else; he will be directing the troops to fight the Dark Spirit, and everybody knew the Dark Spirit as the "unconquerable." But Haku knew that he had to do his best; to fight the Dark Spirit will take every ounce of his power, and he was determined not to disappoint the Lady and not to let the Spirit Realm down.

It was already late night back at Zeniba's. The kind witch looked over at Chihiro as she was helping her with the knitting. But she looked to be knitting her brow into a frown more than anything else.

"Chihiro, dear, don't worry. Everything will be fine," Zeniba reassured her with a smile, patting the girl's arm.

Chihiro returned the smile weakly. "Granny ... can the Dark Spirit be stopped?" she asked.

Zeniba pressed her lips together and looked at the rosy fires, rising from the fireplace's pit. "Everything can," she replied slowly.

Chihiro had the uneasy feeling that she had something to do with it. "Granny, who can?"

"That is nothing for you to worry about," Zeniba said firmly.

Chihiro frowned. What is going on, she thought, dismayed. "Granny ... can't you tell me?"

Zeniba sighed, knowing that Chihiro would not be satisfied until she was answered. "I can't say who or what exactly can stop the Dark Spirit," Zeniba explained. "You understand, it is the worst villain ever."

"Can't it be killed?"

Zeniba looked up at Chihiro sharply and saw her stifle a yawn. "It is late, dear. You go to sleep now. It has been a tough day for all of us."

Chihiro put her knitting on the couch beside her. "Rest ... sounds wonderful, Granny," she murmured, standing up and giving the elderly witch a kiss on the cheek. "Good night."

"Good night, dear."

No-Face approached Zeniba when Chihiro disappeared, grunting.

"Of course she can't know," Zeniba replied in a hushed whisper. "Knowing Chihiro, she will just set out to kill the Dark Spirit without thinking the next two steps ahead."

No-Face sat down and began to work at Chihiro's unfinished knitting, grunting a question.

"You're asking about the gold seal?" Zeniba arched her eyebrows. "Unfortunately, it cannot do anything, No-Face. You know that there is no spiritual force that can actually defeat the Dark Spirit. The Abyss served its purpose; but now that the Dark Spirit knows how to get out of it, it will be just as useless as everything else. None of this is a coincidence, No-Face! I'm sure that whoever tried to hurt Chihiro and had the weakened outcome of her Immune disorder has something to do with the Dark Spirit."

No-Face grunted again and began to knit more quickly.

Zeniba sighed wearily. "I have a good idea who it can be," she whispered. "My sister."

Then, the wind picked up and rattled the windows dangerously. No-Face opened the door. Haku stepped in, death-eyed and exhausted.

"Well, what did the Lady want?" Zeniba asked.

Haku sat down at the table, hurriedly telling Zeniba what happened at the Imperial Palace. Zeniba gave a small nod of understanding and brought a large cup of tea to him.

"Chihiro can't be affected by the war," Haku said, drinking his tea. "It is too dangerous."

"That is easier said than done," Zeniba said sternly. "I'm afraid it may even be too late."