Chapter One: Welcome Back

Chihiro's POV

I sat on the school bus, my eyes tracing the forest we passed. I had a strange respect for these forests, ever since I was a little girl. The woods fascinated me, I would explore for hours as if I was hoping to find something amazing. Shrines to spirits dotted this particular wood. Suddenly the woods ended and the school bus roared onto full streets, work day traffic poured onto the roads filling the surrounding area with such constant noise that I longed for the silence of the forest.

The bus finally hurtled into school and stopped with a loud pop of the engine. I stood and gathered my belongings, allowing others off the bus before me made me one of the last to get off.

"Why are you always last to get off the bus? " I looked up to meet the startling blue eyes of my best friend, Takumi.

"It's polite to let others off before you get off" I answered quietly and started walking towards my first class, Biology.

"You are one strange girl" I heard Takumi's quiet laugh and I looked up to smile at him. I am always startled by how good looking Takumi is, his satin black hair falls into his face. Falling into his sapphire blue eyes. No one but him have blue eyes in our school. He is tall and built, partly because he loves to play basketball, captain of the team. I love saying my best friend is captain of the basket ball team, it makes me as proud as a PTA mom.

"So, how are you and Mei doing?" I asked, mostly to be polite but also because i was strangely curious, I always got a kick out of hearing all the girls Takumi got, must be because my own love life was dismal.

"I broke up with her, She's exactly the same as the other girls I have dated" He sighed in exasperation.

"How's the Mystery Girl ?" Takumi has a huge crush on this a girl for years but he still refuses to tell me who it is, he says I will laugh at him.

"Clueless as ever" this time his sigh was a sad one.

"You'll get her one day" I smiled up at him.

"I sincerely hope you are right" He looked down at his feet and sighed again. I patted his back softly, but the bell sounded and I hurried off to class. As I neared the door to my biology class I saw a sudden flash of black and what looked like a huge man in a black cloak. I blinked once and he was gone. My imagination must be playing tricks on me, but that didn't explain why that sight seemed strangely familiar.

Pushing open the doors of my class, I was once again hit with the noise of the city. Adolescent laughter and chatter issued from all around. I sat in my usual seat, at the back facing the huge wall sized window. Being on the third floor you got a beautiful view of the forest that surrounded the school, i loved to see the season change. The trees turning brilliant shades of red, orange and yellow, then the baroness of the winter followed by the jade leaves of summer and spring, only for the cycle to begin again. The trees were a startling shade of green today, spring had kicked in a few week prior and I was happy to see the trees returned to there former glory.

"Class, there is a new student starting today. I would like you all to be considerate as this is his first day" Ms Maeda's voice barely reached the front row.

"Class!" the teacher bellowed and I looked up to examine her, I was always startled by Ms Maeda's decision to teach, tall and thin her jet black hair fell to chin length in a chic style, she used to be a fashion editor but left to teach Biology. She was much better suited to runway modelling then storming the corridors of this dump.

"This is Kohaku" she looked up and gestured at the tall boy next to her, my gaze followed hers and was met with a pair of startling green eyes.

" Haku" he corrected in a low husky voice. My eyes explored the strange boys face. His green eyes were framed by heavy lids and a row of amazingly long eyelashes. His skin was translucent white and seemed to exude a strange glow. He had a small nose and perfect pink lips which suddenly spread into a smile, revealing a long line of pearly white teeth. A strong jaw followed and to top it all was a head of black hair,that had a slight green twinge. I felt the admiration of the 12 girls in the room and the resentment of the 10 guys buzz around the room.

"Do we have anyone willing to show Haku around?" As the last word escaped her lips 11 hands shot up, all female. I kept my hand firmly by my side, beauty didn't impress me, not when my best friend looked the way he did. Ms Maeda stifled a laugh.

"Okay girls you can work it out for yourselves" with that she turned around to write something on the board. "Haku sit wherever you like, assigned seating is not my forte" she set him a wide smile, that he returned. I noticed the girls sit up straight, putting on their best alluring smiles, and the boys slumping in defeat or moving closer to their girlfriends. I was bored by this predictable development so I went back to doodling on my notebook. I drew a dark figure enclosed in a clock with a white face with grotesque painted features.

"Can I sit here?" Haku was looking down at me with a small smile.

"Sure" I heard the chair squeak as he sat down, ignoring this I want back to my drawing. I tended not to listen in biology, Ms Maeda was not the greatest of teachers, another reason why her former job was more appropriate. She would usually prattle about biology for 10 minutes then entertain us with an amusing anecdote. Today was no exception; however she did manage to tell the class we would be starting Marine Biology next week. As the bell sounded I stood up and put my biology book back in my bag. Suddenly a large hand was thrust in front of my face. I looked up into his green eyes.

"I'm Haku" I took his hand.

"I know, I'm Chihiro" and with one final shake I swerved round him and exited the classroom.