SPIRITED AWAY: CHIHIRO RETURNS

Illusions: Part 2

Haku makes his way through the void and although he was running as fast he could it still felt like an eternity for him trying to reach Chihiro's shadowy figure in the shortening distance. As he got closer he could see her much clearer, and it was her looking around confused and scared until she spots him running towards her. Tears began welling up in her eyes as she called out his name and ran to him in a panic and holds him tightly in her arms.

"Oh, Haku...I'm so glad its really you... I was so scared...there is something in here Haku...its after me..." she cried into his chest as he tries to calm her.

"Shh...I promise you, nothing will harm you, I'm here now and I will protect you I promise now stay with me so you don't get lost okay?" he says gently stroking her cheeks with his thumbs as he caressed her face. Grabbing her by the hand he leads her back the way he came back to the wall that he was searching, he got her to put both hands on the wall. However, suddenly he noticed how cold her skin was.

'Shock maybe?..' he thinks to himself for a second before brushing it off as being frightened.

"Chihiro, love, are you okay? You're so freezing..." he says feeling her forehead.

However, she just smiles at him sheepishly and nods reassuringly at him "don't worry I think I'll be okay... let's just hope we find what we need quickly...".

He nods and then they both search for the entrance together, however, he couldn't shake the feeling that something was wrong with Chihiro, it seemed like her but something was off...was it because she was scared?? Did the Chihiro he knew really get that scared? He was still getting to know this new Chihiro, she has always been brave and stubborn...this Chihiro, however, was a scared little rabbit...

A shiver runs down his spine, as he begins to realize the differences in the Chihiro that stood next to him, he couldn't help but have a bad feeling. Suddenly, he got an idea to figure out if he wasn't going crazy... Chihiro is one of the few that he allows knowing his true name, the demon wouldn't know anything about it.

"Chihiro...can I ask you something?" he asks warily.

"Hmm?" she replies as she continues to search the wall, having gotten a bit too far away from him for comfort...

"What is my real name...my full one?" he asks eyeing her with suspicion.

She looks at him in surprise and was about to answer him when suddenly something grabbed her legs and dragged her away. It happened so fast that it took him a bit to process it. When it finally sunk in his heart stopped and he bolted in the direction of whatever that thing was taking her.

"Chihiro!!!" he cries out, hearing her blood-curdling screams and cries.

He searched frantically his suspicions long forgotten, his heart was pounding again and his instincts raged. He wanted to change into his dragon form but if he did that he would probably lose his rope, besides for some reason he felt weak like it would be too much energy, even if his sense of smell was better in that form than in his human form he took on.

Suddenly, he caught a scent, it was hers...he ran towards it and small gurgling noises could be heard from a small distance. Suddenly he slipped on something wet and as he got back up he looks down at the ground and then at himself...blood...

He felt his heart slowly crack, cracking more and more as he followed the trail of blood that stood out vastly in the white void..suddenly he spots her in the distance her body on the ground he could hear her struggling to breathe.

'No...no...no, no, no, no,' he continuously thinks to himself as he ran and followed the trail of blood to find a blood-soaked body, Chihiro. He felt a low growling sob catch in the back of his throat as tears drip down his face, he usually wasn't one to cry but the scene before him of his precious mate made him sick to the stomach...