A Face Among the Crowd [SPIRITED AWAY FANFIC]

Chapter 2

I couldn't just let him walk away. I mean, who was this guy? Plus he was super delicious and I'm single at the moment. Most likely single for life with cats, but you know, a girl can hope.

But even as I thought this, he was already disappearing into the fog in which he came, obscuring my vision of him.

I had to let him go because it would be a little creepy if I followed him. So I turned back to my destination and headed home. Treading back home was scary because it was quickly getting dark, my adrenaline was already running from the car incident, and I couldn't get my parent's final moment out of my head.

I finally reached the doorstep of the little building I called home. It was a stout house that was crumbling a bit around the edges and the windowpanes rusted a little. Even though it was rundown, this is where I held all my memories of family and laughter. But now that they were gone, it was dark and empty.

I was supposed to be watched over from my uncle, but he was a depressed alcoholic who didn't really care about his little niece. So here I was, sticking the key into the lock of a dreary house all alone.

I walked up the stairs to my room and collapsed onto the bed. I rolled over and plugged in my iPhone, listening to Ke$ha's "Past Lives". The heavy beat vibrated inside my head as I drifted off into a well-deserved nap from the fright I had had earlier from the near death experience.

When I awoke the sun was completely gone along with my tiredness. I heard a clanging come from the downstairs so I jumped out of bed, thinking back to that frightful night where my parents had been killed.

Stupid! I forgot to lock the front door when I came running up the stairs to welcome sleep. How could I forget that when I live all alone?

Instead of doing the rational thing and jump out the window with a phone in hand already dialing the police, I flew down the stairs grabbing a shoe that was overturned by my bedside.

I wanted to see who (or what) it was and hope it was the thing that had ended my parents' lives. I wanted to face their killer. Even though I couldn't really defend myself, that thought never came to mind because I needed revenge.

I rounded the corner into my kitchen and there it stood; the dirty behemoth of a monster.

He turned his soulless eyes towards me and I screamed, dropping the pointless shoe I had grabbed to protect myself with. He was larger than I remember, stooping low as to not knock his head on the ceiling.

I took a step away from him, intending to back up, but I tripped and fell hard on my bum. He towered over me glaring down at his new pray.

He bent down to lower his fist upon my skull, but he was stopped with a groan. The beast spun around to face whoever had hit him and swung his giant arm.

But it was stopped by a double edged katana. He held two of the swords, my savoir from the almost car accident standing in my own kitchen. Blood was dripping from the katana, splashing onto the tiles of my floors.

For the second time today, he saved me from imminent death.

Battling the demon thing, my hero gracefully lunged and ducked the clumsy attacks of the monster. Dirt and blood splattered everywhere, covering the counter tops and floor.

I could tell that the man had a wound inflected on his abdomen; he started to slow down a bit. But finally he won out, slaughtering the beast where he lay on the floor bleeding out.

The man stood up and stretched his hands above his head, placing the swords into their sheaths. He looked up at me, finally noticing that I was standing there staring at him. His eyes got even bigger when he realized it was the girl he had saved earlier that same day.

I was shaking in the corner, wondering what to do and still scared of what had just taken place. My arms were wrapped around my body, trying to keep in the warmth that was escaping from my flimsy nightdress. The short, pink silky nightdress I was wearing barely covered me up to the thighs, leaving me chilly from the open door.

My heart was racing as the man stepped towards me into the light. I could see the wound on his chest, bleeding into his dark v-neck t-shirt. But through his shirt I could also see the well-muscled abs and lean body.

"You again," he states bluntly, leaving an awkward silence in the interim. I couldn't think of anything to say so I just nodded. "Are you okay?" He looks at me awaiting an answer. I nodded again because frankly, his appearance frightened me.

He was tall, dark, and handsome; just like every girl's dream. But you could tell he was also dangerous, judging by the monster he just slayed. But I felt bad for him, seeing his gaping wound.

"Yes, but you're not," I intoned as I grabbed a first aid kit from underneath the sink. I opened it up and brought out the gauze, Neosporin, and hydrogen peroxide. "What's your name?" I asked him as I motioned for him lean against the table.

He lifted his shirt over his head, revealing mouthwatering abs and the deep cut. "Rien."