Chapter 3 - Trouble

The next day, there was an addition to Chihiro's group walking to school. Haku watched from behind a tree as he spelled his clothes to match the boys' uniform. The new girl was small, with a pale, rounded face like a doll and large, dark eyes and black lips. She was surrounded by the other girls.

"Your parents let you wear that out of the house? I'm so jealous," one sighed.

"Do you like it?" the girl simpered. "It's the new Givenchy."

There was a collective "oohhhhhh."

"When did you move here?" Chihiro asked. "Where did you go to high school before?"

Haku frowned as he followed them quietly. Something wasn't right. The ground still trembled occasionally, but that wasn't it. It was the new girl. There was something off about her. He could sense the boys approaching from around the corner. That would give him an opening to join the group.

"Nowhere interesting," the new girl said. "I'd rather hear about this place. Are there any cute boys here?" She snagged Chihiro's arm and pulled her closer. "I bet they all fall for you."

"Leave her alone," Risuni snapped, pulling Chihiro away.

"Why?" the girl asked with a sneer. "She doesn't belong to you. Right, Chihiro?"

The boys appeared, leading to a round of introductions. Risuni pulled Chihiro to the back of the group.

"What's the matter?" Chihiro said. "You're usually nicer to new kids. Like that tour yesterday with Kohaku..."

"Did you see the way she was looking at you?" Risuni whispered. "I don't trust her. And I may not know make-up, but I've been your friend long enough to know that if that's 'Gee-vaun-chi', I'm a baboon."

"You know I can't afford Givenchy," Chihiro said pointedly.

"They cater to classy rich people," Risuni said. "Not to the high-schooler fad of the day…"

A call from Kane drew Chihiro back into the center of the crowd. Haku caught up with the back of the group and fell in step next to Risuni.

"Who's the new girl?" he asked casually.

Risuni glanced sideways up at him. "She calls herself Kiyo. And you know just as well as me that that's no girl."

Haku dropped his voice. "How do you know? And who are you?"

"I should be asking you those questions," Risuni replied, keeping her eyes on the new girl, "but now's not the best time for this conversation. You don't seem to mean any harm. Unless… did you lead her here?"

"I've never seen her before," Haku said.

"That doesn't mean you didn't lead her here," Risuni commented. "Look, if you're going to maintain the popularity that your looks got you, you should be up there in the middle of that group, not talking to me. They got used to me being Chihiro's pet weirdo years ago, but if all the popular kids start talking to me, they're going to start suspecting me. So go on. We can talk later."

Haku took her advice and went to instigate himself in with the "cool" kids. Behind him, he felt Risuni's gaze continue to observe the group's dynamics intently.

"Did'ja see the new girl?"

"Course! New blood, man."

"Did you spend all of math class drawing her, bro? Lemme see that. Guys, check it out."

"Hey, give that back!" the boy protested.

"That's actually not bad," another boy commented, examining the stolen notebook. "I didn't know you could draw."

"How 'bout you, Kane? New girl?"

"Look at all of you. No loyalty at all," Kane said in disgust.

"Still Chihiro all the way?" someone teased.

"She's still pretty, bro. We're not saying she ain't."

"Cold, though. She's never gone for anybody. We might actually have a chance with this one."

"Maybe she doesn't swing that way," the boy with the notebook said, shrugging when Kane glared at him. "It's possible. Just sayin'."

"That's not true," Kane said.

"How come she never agrees to go out with you then, huh? Don't kid yourself."

"Maybe she an' Shinkono. They're always hanging out after school."

"Do you think they do it?"

"Gross, man."

"What! I know I'm not the only one thinking it."

"Kohaku, I saw your eye on her yesterday. We should warn you, she's never liked anyone. Don't get your hopes up."

"I'll keep it in mind, thank you," Haku said to hoots of laughter.

Haku spent the rest of the school day closely studying the interactions of the boys around him. A touch of magic meant that the teachers never called on him to speak during class, and left him free to mull over what Risuni had said that morning. If she was right, and Haku had led Kiyo here, then he may have caused exactly what he had feared. Did Akuma send this girl? Kiyo? Why is she here? For that matter, why am I here? Soon enough, the school day was over.

"Ugh, I can't believe we have to read this whole thing before school's out."

"And write a paper on it," Chihiro added.

"It's so stupid. No one's going to need to know myths once finals are over," another girl exclaimed.

Risuni caught Chihiro's eyes and smiled as Chihiro stuck her tongue out.

"Hey, Chihiro, Akari," Kane called. "We're gonna grab ice cream from that new shop."

The new girl, Kiyo, smiled at them from where she stood next to Kane.

"Sweet," Akari replied, joining the group.

"I can't," Chihiro said, grimacing. "I'm already behind on this reading and my parents are getting on my case about my grades."

"You have, like, the strictest parents ever," one of the girls complained. "You're doing way better than I am."

Chihiro waved. "Next time," she promised.

One of the young men elbowed Kane. "See, bro? She'll never agree to go out with you."

"Kohaku, wanna join us?" Akari offered.

"No, thank you," Haku said. "I'm expected at home."

"So polite!" the girl next to Akari whispered. "You never see boys like that around here."

The group split, one clump headed toward the mall; the others dispersed. Risuni appeared at Haku's side. "Did you see how angry she looked when Chihiro said she wasn't going?" Risuni nodded toward the new girl.

Haku nodded slightly. He walked toward Chihiro. "Would you mind if I walked you home?" he asked quietly.

Chihiro's face turned bright red. She glanced at Risuni, standing behind Haku, who gave her a thumbs up. After a moment of silence that Haku didn't comprehend, Risuni walked up to them, eyebrows raised. "C'mon, Chihiro. Let's ditch this loser." She grabbed Chihiro's arm and started dragging her down the street.

"Don't call him that," Chihiro protested.

"Do you want him to walk you home?" Risuni asked.

Chihiro shook her head.

"Well then." Risuni continued to pull Chihiro away. "See you later," she tossed at Haku.

Haku watched, flabbergasted, as they walked away.

Chihiro dreamt. She was riding a dragon. They flew through the bright sunlight with the wind caressing her hair, and she could feel its scales beneath her fingers, warm and smooth, as she talked to it. Him. The dragon was a him. He shook out his green mane and his muscular body rumbled in laughter at what she had said. Her mouth moved, but she couldn't make out her words. She could only feel the pleasure and freedom of flight.

Then the sky grew dark. She was standing on the ground and the dragon was above her, flying fast. He rammed himself against an invisible wall in the sky, over and over, until he shook with pain and exhaustion. Stop! Chihiro cried to the dragon, You're hurt! Stop! but she made no sound, and could only watch helplessly as the dragon thrashed, its mane matted with blood and torn scales, and fell through the air. The dream drew her away; the white dragon shrank into a white dot, still falling, too far away for her to help. She thought she felt a broken thud as he hit the ground.

Chihiro woke with tears in her eyes and a sharp ache in her chest. "Stop," she whispered. But she couldn't remember who she was talking to or what she was trying to stop. A bad dream. It was only a bad dream. She slept.

"Do you have it?"

Haku produced a strand of hair - it was one of Chihiro's, he knew, though it was pale and had been stripped of its original color; it still smelled of her - and handed it to Zeniba. The sun was just rising over the swamp.

"Listen," Haku said. "I've been feeling these tremors just on the other side of the border. Have you heard anything?"

"What do you expect? The explosion at Onagawa has set everybody off."

"What do you mean?"

Zeniba raised her eyebrows at him as she fed the hair into the spindle. "I'm surprised the humans didn't mention it. It was in their news. The nuclear reactor at Onagawa had an incident. A child blocked one of the outflow pipes. It leaked quite a bit of material into the surrounding soil. Emigrants are flooding across the border." Her eyes narrowed. "It's not an accident. That's the second one this week. I'm sure he had something to do with it. If only I had proof…"

The window opened again in the air, showing the messy room beyond. Two of the walls were taken up by two full bookshelves. The other two were plastered with posters of boy bands and actors. A large traditional Japanese bed heaped with furry plush animals took up most of the floor. Chihiro was bent over, scooping up the silk-bound copy of the Kojiki from next to her pillow. She turned and grabbed a leather bound journal from her desk, pushing aside tangled piles of jewelry, and slung her backpack over her shoulder. The window followed her into the kitchen and then out into the still-grey morning.

She walked toward the woods by the highway, where a familiar narrow track led her through the trees. The fog still hung like a heavy curtain over the branches. Little cinderblock shrines, built when the town was only a farming village, lined the track, and as she followed it, they could see stout statues peek out from between the gaps in the trees. The track ended in a small paved clearing with one of the statues standing in the middle, as if guarding the place. She sat down, leaning against the statue, and pulled out her breakfast and library books.

"She can't see the gate," Zeniba reminded Haku, seeing his surprise. "Remember, if Chihiro is ever to recover her memories of her time here, you must find the charm."

The white dragon swam through a dark, narrow cave. The weight of the water and rock above him was crushing, but it was still water, and it could not hurt him. The water fought him, pulling him backwards by his tail and mane. Still, he made headway and approached a small opening in the tunnel. The current was the strongest here. The dragon waited a moment, shoring up his energy, and then shot forward through the hole into a still lake. Everything was subtly different. He tasted the faint tang of metal and smoke in the air. The water had slightly too much nitrogen and was cloudy with algae.

Chihiro watched as the dragon rose out of the water into a strangely familiar woods. There was a shadow in the trees. The dragon sensed it, too. He cast his head around, searching, and locked in on a scent. He flew, skimming the ground, through the trees past squirrel-sized houses and stone guardians, to a clearing where a girl slept. The shadow stood over the girl's body. Chihiro saw the flash of metal in the shadowy figure's hand before the dragon slammed into the dark cloud and knocked it away.

The shadow swirled and solidified until it looked human, and the two rolled into the undergrowth. The shadow, now a black-haired girl, jumped away. She stabbed at the dragon's tail as it whipped toward her. The blade skittered off the scales with a loud screech, throwing sparks. It did no harm. The dragon was on her in a moment, picking her up easily in his mouth and throwing her with a twist of his head. Her body hit a tree and slid down to lie at the base of the tree.

"Who sent you?" the dragon snarled. There was no answer. A moment later, the familiar face, with large, dark eyes and dark lips backlit by pale skin, dispersed into smoke.

The dragon stared at where the girl had been, and then turned back toward the clearing where the other girl slept, oblivious, and turned into a young man.

The wind pulled through Haku's mane as he stared at where the girl's body at been. Kiyo, was it? The name seemed familiar now. Kiyohime. One of his. Akuma knows where she is. The thought loomed in Haku's mind. He turned to Chihiro and let the length of his dragon's body melt away. She had not been hurt, had not even woken. Bespelled, perhaps.

She looked so innocent, wearing simple clothing and asleep against the guardian of the Gate with her books lying open around her. Her face was bare of makeup; her skin looked translucent with youth in the filtered sunlight. Her hair fluttered in the breeze. Her salty musky human scent lay delicately upon the smell of leaves breaking down on the forest floor. Haku's worse fears had been realized, but seeing her sleep peacefully like this, it was as if the danger had been simply a bad dream, and nothing more.

"Haku," she mumbled.

Haku started. Was she dreaming? His heart thudded painfully. He stared at her, unaware of the intensity of his gaze.

Chihiro opened her eyes and yelped; her back slipped from where it rested against the stone statue and crashed down among her books in a flurry of papers. "H-how long have you been standing there?" she asked, looking up at him. Their eyes met and her forehead wrinkled in confusion.

Chihiro, it's me. Do you remember me? She knows nothing of what happened? "You were talking in your sleep." Haku fought the urge to reach out and touch her, to gather her up in his arms, to squeeze her in relief. He forced himself to pretend, pretend that he didn't know her, pretend that he hadn't almost been too late.

"That's embarrassing.…What did I say?" she stammered. She seemed horrified, but unafraid.

"You called me. Haku. How did you know that my friends call me Haku?" I wouldn't still be Haku if not for you. Do you understand? The name would've become a nightmare. He crouched until they were at the same level, willing for her to understand.

She brushed herself off and sat upright. "My apologies, Kohaku-san. I didn't mean to be rude." She inclined her head to indicate an apologetic bow.

Please. Calling me Kohaku erases everything that happened. He managed to keep from saying the words aloud. "You can call me Haku if you want to," he said. Please.

"Haku…" Chihiro said slowly, tentatively, as if tasting the word on her tongue. "What are you doing out here?"

"Funny," he said. It wasn't funny at all. "I could ask you the same thing. I was looking for someone."

"Really? I've been coming here for years, and I never see anyone out here," Chihiro said.

"She's not from around here, but this is near where we last parted. I thought I might find her here again," Haku replied. He changed the topic. "You still haven't told me why you're out here all by yourself."

Chihiro gestured to where the Kojiki lay open among her notebook and pens on the cracked cobblestones. "It's quiet out here. I like it. No one bothers me here."

"Sorry to disturb your peace. I can leave now, if you'd like." He waited, watching. There was no danger in the woods now, but still he couldn't bring himself to take even a single step away.

Chihiro looked up at where the sun shone through the leaves. "I… should probably head home too. Are you just going back to town? Would you mind… if I walked with you?"

"I would like that," he said quietly.

Chihiro gathered her things and fell into step beside him. They started down the track together. "May I ask you something?" she said.

"Of course," Haku said.

"What was that song you were singing, at the library?" Chihiro blushed again when Haku looked at her.

"It's the poem you were reciting. The Ballad of Ashitaka." It's his love song to the demon princess, one of the last songs in the epic.

"Written sometime in the thirteen or fourteen hundreds," Chihiro said when Haku offered no further information. "But… how do you know the tune? I've looked everywhere for a recording, and there's nothing."

Haku searched for an answer that he could give her. Surely "Spirit World royalty are expected to know more historical literature than human teenagers" would count as bragging. And she would not believe "it was a popular song when I was growing up." "My father taught it to me," Haku said.

"Oh," Chihiro said. She paused awkwardly, then changed the subject. "So, um, tell me about this friend," she said. She smiled to cover up her embarrassment.

Haku looked at her, startled, but she wasn't even looking at him. Her gaze was directed into the trees. What could she possibly mean? he thought. He could feel her body heat radiating beside him. Her scent permeated the air. Below the human musk was something very familiar that he couldn't place. It was distracting. "Um," he said. "What do you want to know?"

"I dunno," Chihiro said. "What's her name? What's she like? Do you like her?" She grinned.

What do I say? What is safe to say?

He paused long enough that Chihiro bowed and apologized for prying.

"No, no, it's okay," Haku said. He couldn't bear for her to be formal. "Her name was… Sen. It was a long time ago. I don't know what she's like now, but she was very kind and she helped me through a hard time." Do you like her? the question echoed in his head. He didn't understand it. She had been his friend; of course he liked her, at least, he liked the girl that he remembered. But that didn't seem to be what Chihiro meant.

"When did you last see her?"

"Probably about seven years ago. Why do you ask?"

"Because this is such a small town that if I was living here at the time, I'm sure I would've seen the two of you around."

"Maybe you did. Do I look familiar?" She turned his face toward his, and the child's face he remembered so well shone out at him. Please let me look familiar, he begged silently. Please remember me. Zeniba's words rang out in his mind. She must not remember you.

Chihiro looked into his face, examining it more closely. She seemed to consider it. "Now that I think about it, maybe you do, a little bit," she said. "Your name seems familiar, too."

There had been no trace of recognition in her face, and no danger. She was being polite. Haku humored her, keeping disappointment and relief out of his voice. "That makes it a little less strange that you were calling out my name in your sleep."

Chihiro made a face, embarrassed. "Oh!" Chihiro stopped suddenly. "I was dreaming about you! Sorry, that's kind of creepy. But…I think…you were in my dream…" she frowned. "I don't remember what it was about… Sorry, I'm sorry, that sounds so weird," she mumbled, flushing.

She remembers! Haku reveled in the thought. Then he realized that she was waiting nervously for him to respond. "That's okay," he said. "Stranger things happen." Like a dragon being saved by a human girl. But she dreams! The charm worked! There's some part of her that still remembers me, even if she's not conscious of it.

"Do I look familiar to you?" Chihiro asked.

"Definitely not when we first met," Haku said, thinking of the mannequin in the window, "but at the moment you do." Of course you do. How could I forget you?

"It's the makeup, isn't it?" Chihiro half-grinned. "I don't actually look that different from when I was ten. Taller, maybe." She was bantering now - familiar territory for her.

She did still have a boyish body, but Haku refused to answer her attempt at self-depreciation. "It's definitely the makeup," Haku said seriously. "Why do you wear it? You don't need it. It just covers you up. You're much prettier without it."

Chihiro blushed furiously and looked down at her feet, suddenly shy again. "It's kind of like a shield, I guess. Protection. What people say doesn't hurt because they're not talking about the real me. It makes me feel stronger."

"I see," Haku said. "It's not just your face, is it? It's your clothes, too. You're much nicer when no one else is around. And your hair looks different." He reached out and touched a strand of it. It was soft, just like he remembered.

Chihiro was speechless. It had been such an intimate gesture. "What about you?" she said a little defensively, when she found her voice again. "Your designer clothes, and your hair?" For like her, he was wearing worn jeans and a t-shirt, though his were tailored so well that they looked and moved like they were part of his body.

"You're not the only one who needs protection," he replied.

Who had he been looking for? Chihiro wondered. She tried to focus on the fact that he had clearly been looking for someone, someone who meant a lot to him, someone who wasn't her, but the other words he had said to her repeated themselves in her head.

You're much prettier without. You're much nicer when no one else is around. You can call me Haku if you want to. My friends call me Haku. Do I look familiar?

He was so easy to talk to. He had forgiven her when she blabbed insensibly. He had pretended not to see her embarrassment. He had such a nice voice. And though she barely wanted to admit it to herself, she found him attractive. She wanted to see him again. It probably won't go anywhere, Chihiro tried to convince herself. Even if it could, we're about to leave for college. It's not worth it. The timing is terrible. But she couldn't stop thinking about it. Seven years ago. Have I seen him before? Do I know him?

Seven years ago. Back then, her hair would've been in a ponytail. That was the biggest change. It'd been short ever since that one trip to the salon... She'd cried after it had been chopped off but everyone told her she looked so pretty with it short that she'd kept it. Before that...

She opened a secret compartment in her jewelry box and pulled out a worn purple hair tie. This hair tie. She sat on her bed, contemplating it. She had worn the hair tie every day when her hair had been long. She had kept it safe and well-hidden in her jewelry box ever since she stopped wearing it. You're not the only one who needs protection. Chihiro had kept the feeling that it was very important, but no longer knew why. Why had she protected this hair tie so carefully? Come to think of it, I can't even remember where I got it. Back when she wore it, she had never needed anything else. Her friends and parents always bought her hair-things, but they sat in a small drawer, still in their packaging, untouched.

Three short encounters, and he had her thinking about things she hadn't thought about in years.

Chihiro put a hand to her hair. Maybe it was time to grow it out again. Her mother's voice rang from the hallway, making her drop the hair tie in surprise.