Spirited Away: The Wait [ORIGINAL]

Sore Spots

The Wait: Sore Spots

     The woman mentally prepared herself for the scolding of a lifetime, imagining how the man was going to lash out at her for not listening to him and making everyone worry for her. Perhaps after this he would lock her up just for good measure or maybe even send her back home immediately, since all she did was cause trouble for them.

     Looking down to avoid his piercing glare, she fiddled with her fingers behind her back and shuffled her feet awkwardly on the soft grass. The tension growing between them was escalating quickly, and she thought she would suffocate at the rate it was going.

     But what Shou did next surprised her, maybe even shocked her.

     He grabbed her arm and pulled her towards him, so that her face crashed into his hard chest. His arms wrapped themselves around her, squeezing her tightly. He was muttering some words that she had to strain to hear, and when she heard them, she got even more dumbstruck.

     “You’re safe… you’re safe… everything’s alright…” he chanted over and over. He sounded like a huge load had been lifted off his chest.

     He must have been searching all over for her while she had gone missing. She noticed the dirt on his clothes when they pulled away and the distinct signs of tiredness on his face: Red-rimmed eyes, enormous eye bags and mussed up hair.

     Guilt washed over her for having caused him so much trouble and worry. “I’m so sorry for everything, Shou—” she began, but was cut off when Shou put the back of his hand against her forehead.

     “Are you sick? You look pale. Did anything happen to you? Were you attacked? How did you get out of the forest all by yourself? I was looking everywhere for you, and I thought…”

     She quickly hugged him, trying her best to assure her that she was really well. “Whoa there, one question at a time,” she chuckled.

     He opened his mouth, as if in protest, then closed it and gazed at her expectantly. “I met this guy Rei who saved me just in time before I could get eaten by some wild wolf spirit, and,” she put up her finger in warning before he could interrupt, “I’m perfectly fine. It didn’t put a scratch on me.”

     Shou heaved a sigh, shaking his head, with a you’re-such-a-trouble-magnet look in his eyes. “That’s good… who’s this Rei guy, anyway? And how are you feeling? You don’t look too good.”

     “He works like a sort of delivery boy, from what I gathered. He’s a really kind person. Rei even took care of me when I collapsed and gave me something to drink that helped—”

     “You what?” he nearly screamed, making Chihiro wince.

     “I collapsed because my body is low on iron.” To his confused look she added, “I’m anemic, which means I have a low red blood cell count. And I haven’t been taking my medicine because I didn’t bring them along. Which means—”

     “You need to hurry back or your body may not be able to take it,” he finished sternly.

     Chihiro hung her head. “I guess…” What was she feeling? Disappointment? Reluctance? Why did she still want to stay? She had already met her friends and even made some new ones, and had even gotten her answers from the dragon, even if there were still several unexplained matters.

     Perhaps she was just worried about Haku at the moment. “Oh right, how is Haku doing right now?”

     Shou looked towards the shelter with a distant look shining in his fiery orbs. “He was beaten to a pulp; those demons did a pretty good job of it. He suffered a great deal of injuries, hence there was some internal bleeding and demon poison entered his system. But no worries, he sought treatment in time, so every last bit of poison is out of his body, and the bleeding has stopped, though he’s still unconscious and resting in his room.”