HEY! Thank you everyone who reviewed! It's so nice to get positive feedback! More of you should do it! It could be like a reviewing party! And I'm sorry it's taken me so long to type up this chapter. I have no excuse aside from my sheer lack of ambition. I'm a horrible person (hangs head and sobs). Anyways, now for your advice!
Always be conscious of your surroundings. Otherwise, you'll find yourself in someone else's slippers and you'll know not how you got there.
"Where have you been?" Chihiro sobbed into his neck.
"I've never really left you." He murmured into her hair and held her close. "I've visited you every night in your dreams." Chihiro could remember her dreams now as well. And he was right. She could remember every night she had roamed through her mind with him at her side. Chihiro wrapped her arms a little tighter around his neck and they stood there, holding each other, neither daring to move for fear of becoming lost once more. Haku shifted his face a bit and kissed her hair, then rested his cheek against the top of her head. Chihiro felt his whole body tense. She looked up to find him staring down the hallway. She followed his gaze and saw Saru standing next to the staircase. A pizza box was in his hand and his whole body was quivering with rage.
"Saru!" she cried in alarm and quickly pulled away from Haku. Saru dropped the pizza and began storming down the stairs. Chihiro cursed under her breath and, after casting an apologetic glance at Haku, took off after him.
"Saru! Wait! It's not what it looks like!" She called, taking the steps two at a time. "Saru!" She managed to catch up with him on the next landing and grabbed his arm. He whirled around at her touch and glared at her. She could see tears glinting at the corners of his eyes. Without a word, he pulled a small box from his pocket and thrust it in her hands. Then he left. Chihiro watched him go, then with shaking hands opened the small box. A ring twinkled up at her. A single diamond set in a white gold band.
"Dammit." She growled, wiping the remaining tears from her eyes. She ran a hand through her bangs and glanced back up the stairs. Haku was watching her with his lips pursed. Chihiro sighed and walked back up to him.
"Come on." She said, nodding to her apartment door.
Neither of them spoke as Chihiro placed the pizza and ring on the counter and shifted through her kitchen, rearranging the papers on the counter nervously. Finally, she turned to Haku who had been watching her, his head slightly tilted to one side.
"What are you doing here?" She asked, unable to hide the waver in her voice. Haku sighed and sat down on the couch in the living room. Chihiro walked around the counter and sat in the chair across from him.
"I was sent to find you." He said, fixing his gaze on his hands.
"Why?" She asked. Haku shifted in his seat and licked his lips nervously. "Haku, just tell me." He nodded and took a deep breath.
"Yubaba is dying. She asks for you to come to the spirit world before…it happens. She guarantees that you will be able to leave at any time and there are no tricks. She just wants to speak to you." Haku then seemed extremely interested in the fringe of a pillow.
"But…she's a spirit! How can she be dying?" Chihiro asked.
"Spirits can die just as easily as humans. Don't you remember what happened to me?" Chihiro nodded. She could still smell his blood on her hands. "But…I guess the better way to explain it is that she's beginning to fade. She's a very old spirit and she won't last much longer." They sat in silence for a moment, then Chihiro stood up and began pacing nervously.
"So…what exactly does she want to see me about?" She asked.
"She wouldn't tell me." Haku said, shaking his head.
"I don't know, Haku. I don't trust Yubaba and you can hardly blame me for it." Haku snorted at this. "Besides, I'm settled here…I'm happy. And…this is a very big…weird…thing. I just don't know if I can handle this." Chihiro collapsed back into her chair and ran her palm across her forehead. She could feel an impending headache, worse then that she felt she was on the brink of hysteria.
"I give you my word that nothing will happen to you. Yubaba gives her word as well." Haku said softly. Chihiro glanced up at him.
"You know, something seemed wrong out in the hall, and I just realized what it is." Chihiro said. "Haku, do you remember your name?" Haku froze and stared at her, unblinking.
"Well do you?" She demanded.
"No. It was taken from me again, soon after you left." He admitted.
"Then how do you expect me to trust Yubaba now?" Chihiro asked. Haku paused for a moment before answering.
"I don't expect you to trust her. But I'd hoped that you would trust me." He stood up and began walking towards the door. "Please think about it, Chihiro."
"Call me Chi."
"No. You'll always be Chihiro to me." He said with a soft smile. "I'll call on you tomorrow night for your answer." He opened the door and stepped through. Chihiro hesitated, then ran to the door and leaned out.
"Haku, wait!" She called after him. He paused and turned. Chihiro bit her lip before asking, "Would you…would you like me to tell you your name?" Haku smiled and shook his head.
"Maybe later." Then he was gone. Chihiro sighed and went back into the apartment. She opened the small box and gazed at the ring for a moment before burying her face into the couch and crying herself to sleep.
"Well, everything seems to be in order. Congratulations Chi, you've survived a week and a half of hell!" Bosu said, peering over the forms and receipts.
"Thanks Bosu." Chihiro said, tilting her head in thanks to her boss. "And how was your vacation?"
"It was wonderful. I almost couldn't pry the missus from the mini bar." He said giving Chihiro a playful wink. "And, before I forget, I got you a souvenir!" Bosu reached into a duffle bag beside his desk and sifted through various wrapped presents before taking one out and handing it to Chihiro. Chihiro smiled and began ripping away at the light blue wrapping paper. She pulled off the lid of the box and staring up at her through a layer of bubble wrap was a dragon figurine. It was as long and thin as a snake, it's silver body glowed beneath markings of blue and green. It didn't look exactly like Haku, but the sight of it brought all the events of the previous night right beneath her nose once more. She glanced up at Bosu who was watching her with an expectant smile. Chihiro smiled at him and swallowed back tears.
"Thank you! It's beautiful." She said honestly.
"I thought you'd like it! I don't know why, but when I saw it I just knew I had to get it for you." Chihro sniffed and smiled.
"Um…I should probably be getting back to work." Chihiro said, trying to mask the strain in her voice. Bosu nodded and stood to escort her the three steps to the door. Chihiro paused and hugged him. "Thank you."
"No, thank you!" Bosu said, patting her back gently. Chihiro pulled away, smiled and slipped through the door. She was halfway to her own office when she caught a flicker of blue. It wasn't the pale blue worn by wash girls, it was the deep blue of the male workers. Chihiro turned the corner and sure enough, Saru was walking stiffly towards his parlor. His back was to her and his shoulders were taut beneath his vest. Chihiro only hesitated for a moment before going after him.
"Saru!" She called. Saru ignored her. Chihiro ran behind him and grabbed his arm roughly.
"Will you just talk to me?" She demanded. Saru yanked his arm out of her grasp easily. "Fine, then just listen!" Chihiro said, practically jogging to keep up with his long strides. "What you saw last night, it wasn't what it looked like!"
"Oh? And just what did it look like?" Saru asked coldly.
"Don't be like this! Nothing was going on between me and that guy! He was just a childhood friend that popped up out of the blue! I haven't seen him since I was ten, so of course I'm going to be happy to see him!" Chihiro said, trying and failing to grab his arm again.
"Oh yes, the two of you looked very happy." Saru growled.
"Saru! Knock it off! I can't believe you would even think of me like this!" Chihiro said. Saru stopped and turned to her.
"What am I supposed to think of you exactly? You're always so drawn back! It's like you're barely there sometimes! I've been trying, Chi! I've been trying really hard to get close to you because I love you! But you know what? You've never said that back to me! It's as though you're always keeping something held back! Like you have expectations for me that I'll never reach! Do you know how frustrating that is? And then I find you last night in the arms of another man! What happened after I left, Chi? Tell me that!" Saru demanded, his voice raised and full of pain.
"I invited him into my apartment! Okay? Is that what you want to hear? He came into my apartment, we talked for about ten minutes and then he left! Holy shit! I must be a whore because I had another man in my apartment for TEN FREAKING MINUTES!" Chihiro yelled.
"Then why? Why didn't I see him leave the apartment building?" Saru hissed. Chihiro glared at him and shook her head. "And just what is so important, pray tell, that he had to come and talk to you for ten minutes about? What is so important for you to sacrifice us?" he asked.
"An old mentor of mine is dying." Chihiro said, turning her back to him. "And the only one sacrificing us, is you."
"TAKE IT OUTSIDE WHY DON'T YA? I'M A PAYING CUSTOMER!" Someone yelled from the other side of one of the steaming screens. Chihiro looked up and saw faces peering out at them curiously. She took the ring from her pocket and tossed it over her shoulder at Saru. Then she stomped to her office. A few minutes later, she wiped the remaining tears from her eyes, got her breathing under control and picked up her phone.
"Bosu. I'm going to need a few days off." She said, lightly fingering the dragon sculpture.
Sorry, that was a bit short, and holy crap, I make Chihiro cry a lot! I'll try to do that less! And I'll try to update as soon as I can! Lots of reviews would help! Thanks!