Home Again (Spirited Away)

Crimes Against Yubaba

We get pretty lucky because everyone can definitely tell something's weird about Ryo, so we just follow hushed voices and gazes until I catch a glimpse of a see-through shoulder duck inside the gym. Without looking, I reach out to pull on Haku's arm, but my hand yanks on dead air. I turn and see that my hand goes right through his chest—and this time, my arm is solid, not him.
I can feel the panicked look spread across my face, and as soon as it does, Haku says, "I'll be fine. I just need to get back as soon as possible."
I nod and point toward the gym. "That way."
Through the sea of parents and locals we go, through the gym doors, where one half of it has all kinds of stalls open advertising anything from food to cheap carnival games, and the other is set up for a later sport event, I'm guessing. I look back to make sure Haku has followed me and is not causing a scene (after all, he is dressed in his regular attire, not to mention the fact that he's see-through. He'd make a great addition to Room 3-C's haunted house). Haku nods, encouraging me to keep going, and I turn around just in time to see Ryo slip into the boy's locker room.
I make a face. "Was that really necessary?"
Haku asks, "What?"
I turn to face him. "Ryo just went into the boy's locker room. It's most likely empty, but considering I'm a girl, it's a bad idea for me to go in there. If it's anything like the girl's locker room, it doesn't have another exit, so Ryo must have seen us here and is trying to wait us out."
Haku says, "We can trap him?"
"You can trap him," I say. "I can't go in there."
"No, I need you in there with me," Haku says. "You know everything here much better than I do, and I most likely can't even open the door. Trust me."
I let out a sigh and brace myself for impact. "Fine, but there had better not be anyone here I know. I'll never hear the end of it."
We stealthily slide over to the boy's locker room, which at this point I'm praying is empty other than Ryo. No one is directly looking at us, but that doesn't mean someone won't see a half-see-through weird-looking guy and a girl go into the boy's locker room. I open the door just a crack and go inside, Haku behind me.
The boy's locker room is dead silent—which is good and bad at the same time. The lights overhead flicker just a little when we walk in, giving an overall creepy effect. The boy's locker room is a lot like the girl's locker room in look—benches, lockers, three stalls in the back, tile floor—but smells a lot less like perfume and glitter body spray and a lot more like body odor and male deodorant. However, both smell like sweat, so I'm having severe flashbacks to my years at Kiganei.
"Ryo!" Haku shouts out. "We know you're in here. Come out now or suffer the consequences."
No answer. And there's no other exit than the one behind us. I shoot out a hand to keep Haku from going any further. I look at him and whisper, "Guard the door? He could slip out and we wouldn't know."
Haku nods, and I turn around to start checking things. Ryo couldn't have left yet, so he must be somewhere in here. He's too big to fit in a locker, and he's still too solid to melt through the walls. That leaves the closed stalls in the back. I grimace, thinking, Why is it always me?
I drop to my knees, but I don't see any feet. And Ryo is pretty tall. If he's standing on the toilet seat, he must be doing some severe crouching to not be seen.
I kick in the first stall, and nothing happens. Just a squeaky stall door and a dirty porcelain throne.
Haku calls out, "Show yourself now, and the consequences of your actions will not be as deadly as they will if you do not."
My heart pounding, I kick in the second stall, but it's the same as the first—absolutely empty. I'm met with disappointment and slight terror. There's only one more to go, and if Ryo's not in it, then where could he be?
Taking a deep breath, I reel back to kick in the third stall, and BAM! The door flies open and WHACK! right to my leg and the world is spinning, just like my view, as I fall back, half doubled over in pain and half trampled by a pair of shoes, and THUNK! I see stars clouding my vision, and it swims and gets dark but does not fade, and I dimly register that Ryo knocked me down and the back of my head hit the bench.
I hear something crash, and a lot of struggling, and then a kind of silence. I pick myself off the floor, head pounding, and gently turn to see Ryo restrained by what looks like string made of light, Haku towering over him, livid. Haku shouts, "Dirty thief! Apologize to Chihiro immediately!"
            Ryo spits something—I hope that wasn't a tooth—and looks up at me—or maybe down, or maybe sideways, since I can't tell thanks to my vision doing back flips. He says, "I thought you were on my side."
         "Yeah, well, um." That's all I get out because I realize I'm about to fall over. I reach behind me and fumble around for the bench. My hands feel the seat and I try to sit on it, but I miss it by about two inches and my butt hits the cold, hard tile floor.
          "Chihiro!" Haku calls out. A snap of his fingers, and there are more light-restraints on Ryo, to the point he couldn't stand up if he tried. Haku flies over to me and helps me stand back up and then actually sit down on the bench. "Are you okay?"
            "Just peachy." Haku  touches the back of my head and I wince in pain. His mouth sets itself into a hard line, and he lets go, and I hold my head before I throw up.
             I am vaguely aware of Haku standing back up and walking back over to Ryo. I hear him say, "For your crimes against the Bath House and against my friend, you will answer to Yubaba. I hope you know what you have done."
            He snaps his fingers again, and I see Ryo turn to solid light and seep through the floor. Haku turns back to me, worried, and I try to piece together some semblance of an everything-is-okay look.
             He sits so that he is level to my eye and gently cups the side of my head. Eyes piercing mine, he repeats, "Are you okay?"
             My brain is pulsing. "I might have a concussion. I'll be fine; I just need to get to my mom, or a doctor, or I don't know. Hey, Haku, why are there two of you?"
            The Hakus get an even more worried expression, and then I hear banging on the door and an angry male voice yelling, "Whoever's in there, come out now!"
            The Hakus' eyes widen, but only one pair of hands pulls my arms around his neck. Haku says, "We need to go. I think I know a person we can trust."
            I don't think I black out, but after that, everything is gone but the wind in my hair and hoping Haku won't let me fall.

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A/N: Hey guys! I'm back! It's been many a month since I last updated! I think I have a plan of how this is going to go, so stay posted, and hopefully it won't be next year when I update again. I really appreciate all the support (and the comments) on the previous chapters! Much love! See ya next time, and happy new year!
~Vi