Spirited Away II Chapter Six

   The sun rose over the Aburaya, making the top of the building gleam with beauty and a majestic glow. Yubaba was preparing to leave the bath house, leaving everything the Kashira until either she or Haku returned. The Yu-Bird, who had returned to its normal state after Chihiro left, waited patiently for Yubaba to transform and take off with it. Wrapping herself in a black cloak, Yubaba walked over to the railing, hopped on it, and transformed into a giant bird-like creature. As she flew off with Yu-Bird, Yubaba wondered what happened to make Haku disappear so suddenly the previous night.
   "It's as if he felt a familiar presence at the bath house." she thought to herself, "I wonder…did that brat Chihiro return? If she did, she's going to be in very deep trouble."

   At the same time Yubaba was leaving, Chihiro woke up from a peaceful sleep to the rising sun. She rubbed the sleep out of her eyes and put her shirt on, looking over at Haku. He was still sound asleep, making her smile.  She couldn't help but pull his covers over his shoulders and watching him as he slept.
   "He seems so peaceful when he's sleeping." she said in a low voice, "I'm just glad he can relax now."
   With that, Chihiro got up and walked over to the kitchen area, looking around to see if there was anything to cook breakfast with. Noticing all the clean dishes that were washed the previous night, she decided to start cooking. Putting on an apron and gathering all the necessary ingredients, she started to boil the rice and let it simmer, checking the heat occasionally. Water boiled in another pot for soup, which Chihiro was chopping vegetables for. She chopped green bell peppers, portabella mushrooms, and leeks and put them into the boiling mixture.
   "Now to figure out what spices she put in." she said to herself, observing all the spices. She then noticed an obviously placed group of spices on the counter next to her. Groaning at her own stupidity, she added the noted amounts next to the bottles into the soup and mixed until she couldn't see the spices anymore. Deciding to test the soup, she took a small sip but wasn't satisfied.
   "It's missing something." Chihiro said to herself, "That secret ingredient. What is it?"
   Chihiro looked around the small area and noticed a pile of roots lying to one side, deciding it was better to smell the roots before deciding which would be best to use. The first she picked up looked like a thin potato and didn't smell too good.
   "Red ginseng." she said, "Definitely not it."
   Picking up another root, she smelled it and sighed.
   "Vanilla, but that's not it either. I should know."
   Finally, she picked up a sand colored root and smelled it. She smiled, believing that she had finally found the right one.
   "Ginger. I think I tasted it last night while I ate the soup."
   Satisfied, she ground the proper amount of the root into the soup, mixed it in for a minute or two then tasted it. She smiled and giggled to herself.
   "Just like Kasei's. I guess that secret ingredient's not so secret anymore."  
   Getting out three of the bowls for soup and rice, she got three plates out to make onigiri. Wetting her hands with warm water, she scooped some of the rice and morphed it into a triangle. She made three onigiri for each plate then filled the bowls with rice and soup. Relieved that breakfast was done, she took off her apron and placed everything on the trays Kasei used earlier. Looking over at Haku, who was still asleep, Chihiro smiled and walked over to the sleeping boy and knelt down next to him.
   "Haku." she softly said, shaking his shoulder, "Haku, wake up."
   Haku groaned a little then opened his emerald eyes to see Chihiro smiling at him. He sat up and stretched a little, then turned to Chihiro.
   "Morning, sleepyhead." Chihiro said with a slight giggle in her voice.
   "Morning." Haku replied, "You're already up?"
   "Mmm-hmm. I just finished making breakfast and figured I might want to wake you up."
   "Thanks for that, otherwise I would have slept all day."
   "That would have been funny."
   "Ha ha ha. I forgot how to laugh."
   "You did? That's too bad."
   "That's not funny!"
   Chihiro was so busy laughing she didn't see Haku come at her with his pillow, knocking her over. She looked at Haku, who wore a proud smirk on his face.
   "Now who's forgotten how to laugh?" he asked.
   In a split second, Haku was thrown back by Chihiro's pillow. She was panting and said, "Ha. How's that?"
   Before long, the two were engaged in an intense pillow fight, thankfully nothing spilling from the pillows. Kasei suddenly came in during this fight, her red hair down and wet from a bath, looking at the two children perplexed.
   "What on earth are you two doing?" she asked, putting her hair up and surprising the two. Haku, who was sitting on Chihiro's back, decided to explain everything.
   "Chihiro was just waking me up, that's all." he explained, "Let's just say our small talk turned into this."
   "A pillow fight? Geez, sometimes I wonder if you would have acted like this while still under Yubaba's control."
   "Then you would have hurt yourself."
   "Not really. I just would have asked…Who made breakfast?"
   "I did." Chihiro said, still trying to get Haku off of her, "And I figured out just what goes in the soup."
   "How'd you figure that out?!
   "Just by smelling the roots."
   "I never even though of that before. Haku, get off of her."
   Haku finally got off Chihiro and she gasped for air, with a ton of exaggeration.  He laughed a little at her as he helped her up, making sure that she was okay.
   "Never do that again." Chihiro said, her face giving off a scowl that made Haku force back laughter, "It's not funny."
   "Sorry." Haku apologized, "Your face is cute when you're mad."
   Chihiro's eyes widened and blushed, making her look away in embarrassment.
   "Oh, Haku, quit teasing her." Kasei said, bringing the trays over and setting them down, "She's a girl and girls blush easily."
   "And you don't?" Haku asked in retaliation, sitting down.
   Kasei opened her mouth to speak…but nothing came out.
   "Haku- 1, Kasei- none." Chihiro said after a moment of silence from the fire spirit.
   "You may have won for now," Kasei said, her tone lower than normal, "But I will prevail."
   "I hope you're done acting like Yubaba when she's just woken up."
   Haku and Kasei started laughing at Chihiro's comment and calmed down a few moments later and then everyone began to eat breakfast with much conversation in between.

   "WHAT?!!!! SHE"S BACK IN THE BATH HOUSE??!!!!!"
   The foremen cringed as Yubaba yelled at them for telling her that Chihiro had returned. They now regretted opening their mouths about the subject and had to subject themselves to Yubaba's anger.
   "Where is she?!!" Yubaba yelled once again, scaring the foremen even more.
   "W-we don't know, madam." Aogaeru replied nervously, "She must have gotten in during the rush yesterday."
   "Well, FIND HER, YOU IDIOTS!!!!!"
   The three foremen ran out of the room, with some comical falls and crashes included. Yubaba sighed then pulled on a rope that rang a familiar bell.
   "Maybe he might know something." she said to herself.

   In Kasei's room, a bell rang, alerting everyone to the sound. Haku sighed, causing a concerned look from Chihiro.
   "What was that?" she asked.
   "Yubaba wants me in her office." Haku answered, standing up. Chihiro grabbed his hands, looking up at him with worry in her eyes.
   "You won't take long, will you?" she asked, "Yubaba might ask you about me."
   Haku smiled then replied "Don't worry, Chihiro. I'll be right back. I promise." He then kneeled down and hugged her, which she returned tightly. After a few seconds, he released her, got up, and walked towards the door. Before he opened it, he turned to look at Kasei and Chihiro, who were both concerned for him. He smiled at them with a reassuring smile then opened the door and exited the room.
   "Do you think he'll be okay?" Chihiro asked.
   "Knowing Yubaba, he might be in for one hell of an interrogation." Kasei answered.

   "You wanted to see me?" Haku asked as he entered Yubaba's office.
   "Yes, I did." Yubaba answered, "My associates have alerted me to an intruder in the bath house."
   "Do you know who the intruder is?"
   "I believe it is someone named…Chihiro."
   Haku's eyes widened in surprise. Yubaba noticed this and smirked.
   "I see…so she is here. Where is she?"
   "I…don't know." Haku stuttered in reply.
   "Well, if you see her, bring her to me immediately."
   "I will."
   "Very well. Dismissed."
   Haku bowed in respect and left the room. When the door shut, Yubaba smiled to herself.
   "He's a bad liar." she said to herself, "She's somewhere in this bath house…and I'll find her."

   The door to Kasei's room opened then was slammed shut, scaring the two girls in the room. Chihiro got up and walked towards Haku, worry once again on her face.
   "What happened?" she asked as Haku sat down, she sitting next to him.
   "Yubaba knows you're here." Haku answered then groaned.
   "How long has she known?" Kasei asked.
   "I don't know! She just told me that an intruder was in the bath house and then said Chihiro was that intruder."
   Haku then felt something wet on his sleeve and turned to see Chihiro crying beside him.
   "Good going, dragon boy." Kasei sarcastically remarked, "Now you made her cry."
   "I'm sorry." Chihiro sobbed, "You're in trouble because of me."
   Haku placed an arm around her shoulders and responded, "It's okay, Chihiro. None of this is your fault."
   "Really?"
   "Really."
   Wiping her tears away, Chihiro smiled at Haku, who was smiling back at her. She then hugged him, to his surprise, but he returned the gesture. Kasei smiled at the scene then turned to work in the kitchen area, leaving them alone. Their embrace lasted a minute or so before they finally let go of each other.
   "You are a good friend, Haku." Chihiro commented, "I knew that when we first met."
   "So did I." Haku agreed, "Despite everything you had to go through, you remained loyal and kind towards everyone, even when they weren't kind to you."
   "That's what friends do, isn't it?"
   "Yeah."
   "Hey, lovebirds!" Kasei yelled, making the two pre-teens blush, "Lunch is done."
   After the trays were set down, the three friends enjoyed their lunch and each other's company, with many humorous stories being told throughout the afternoon into the early evening.