Spirited Away: The Wait [ORIGINAL]

It's My Turn Now

(28/10/14) A/N: This is an updated chapter there are just some slight edits (: Feel free to read again, it would help to make more sense of the next chapter (the one I am about to start writing) but it’s okay if you don’t, because there’s no major change to the plot, so the setting is still the same. ;) Thank you!  

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“If ever there is tomorrow when we’re not together… there is something you must always remember. You are braver than you believe, stronger than you seem, and smarter than you think. But the most important thing is, even if we’re apart… I’ll always be with you.”

–A.A. Milne

     Haku followed Tadashi, the best tracker in his old team as the lime green-haired man ventured deep into the forest. Shou had taken one of Rei’s tunics and given it to Tadashi to try tracking, and Tadashi seemed like he was on good progress, confidently walking down the path where his nose led him.

     That was, until he came to a stop in the middle of nowhere. “The scent just stops here,” Tadashi frowned. The two looked around, but there was no decent hiding spot around the area. “Are you sure there’s nothing left to follow?” Haku asked.

     Tadashi shook his head, sighing. “Sorry man, I wish I could do more, but this is a dead end. He must have cleaned up really well around here. I’d guess they were taking shelter here and he went through a lot of pains just to clear it up.”

     “You don’t think Chihiro could be anywhere in the vicinity?”

     “I highly doubt it. Humans have a real strong smell, so I’d know even if she was standing at the other end of the forest.”

     Haku swallowed thickly, as Tadashi rested a hand on his shoulder. “You’ll definitely find her, don’t worry. I wish I could stay and help, but Makoto will have my head if I don’t return soon.”

     “You have my thanks. Go back, I wouldn't want you to get into trouble because of me,” Haku nodded with a small smile. His friend flashed him a similar smile, and then changed into his wolf form, speedily sprinting back towards Shugorei headquarters.

     Haku pinched his nose in frustration, furrowing his brows together. It was the second day of Chihiro’s disappearance, where could she be? Furthermore, if they didn’t return soon, he didn’t know how he would explain it to Chihiro’s mother. “Chihiro… where are you?” he murmured, carefully scanning his surroundings, for any clue; even a small one would do. He needed to know that she was safe and alive after taking that hit from him.

     Her shoulder… The injury that he had inflicted.

     The look of pain on her face was still vivid in his mind, and every time he closed his eyes he could still see it, clear as day, as if the scene were happening right before his very eyes once again. “Are you happy that she nearly got killed because of you?”

     The dream he had the night before still haunted him. He’d heard Chihiro’s voice, yet it was distorted in a way, and when he laid his eyes on her his heart had leapt into his throat; he could not speak. The woman had been lying in a pool of crimson blood, reaching a bloody hand out to him and whispering over and over, “You did this to me… Haku… why..?”

     The dragon growled and opened his eyes. Enough was enough, brooding on nightmares and morbid thoughts was not going to be of any help. So he forced himself up and began exploring the vicinity, looking for possible hiding places, but no matter how hard he looked, there was no way of finding something decently big enough for two grown adults to take shelter in. There wasn’t even a trace of Chihiro’s blood on the dirt beneath his feet.