Forgotten
Author: NekoNemui
Rating: T & M (a little?)
AN: I had fun writing this. You'll see why.
"Get away from her," He spat, the intensity of his green eyes boring holes into the older man's face. "Right now."
Haku had trailed Chihiro to The Pub, and had been keeping an eye on her from a distant table while she'd been sitting alone at the bar. He had wondered who she'd been waiting for – He'd hoped it wasn't some guy. He'd felt his protectiveness over the brunette kick in whenever someone would casually walk by and flirt with her; or maybe that was just his possessiveness talking. Either way, seeing her kept waiting like that really made him mad. Who dared to leave his Chihiro waiting on a Saturday night? Scrap that, who left her waiting at all?
When the dark haired girl who was obviously intoxicated had collapsed, Haku had noticed the man that had slipped past Chihiro's drink. Being slightly too far away to make out what exactly had happened, he let his nerves settle down and convinced himself that nothing had happened at all. But when she'd left to go outside, he had immediately noticed the change in her stride. The way she swayed on her unbalanced legs was definitely something he'd found himself worrying about.
As she'd left the room, Haku had risen from his seat, and had gone to investigate the scene she'd left behind. Stealing the bottle Chihiro had left (and ignoring the two girls beside him), he'd taken a tiny sip of the drink; not allowing himself to swallow any of the liquid itself. He had instantly noticed the slightly off-flavour, and went searching for the creep who'd obviously put it there before. While he was busy interrogating people, he was completely unaware of the scene that was taking place just outside that back door Chihiro had gone through earlier.
By coincidence or complete stroke of luck, he had found Chihiro milliseconds before the guy could actually hurt her. Using his raw spiritual powers, he had covered the distance in one, gripped the man's wrist in two, and had stopped the force of the blow in three. Three milliseconds were all he had needed.
And now, the man was staring with a completely stunned expression at the raven haired boy's speedy arrival.
"Get away." Haku repeated, his eyes narrowing darkly. "Don't you dare touch her again."
The man looked easily intimidated by the spirit boy, but did not retreat his extended arm. Haku could feel Chihiro's eyes on him, but he didn't dare take his eyes off the guy in front of him to check her; or even loosen the grip on his wrist, for that matter.
With an extremely forceful shove (that Haku was sure must have hurt), he pushed the man's clenched fist away from the girl, and shoved him against the wall; his forearm closing over the male's throat. He leaned in, and lowered his voice to the point where he was sure Chihiro wouldn't hear.
"Didn't you hear me? Get out of here now, or I'll kill you."
Haku really wasn't sure if he was lying or not. At that moment, he was so furious that he wasn't sure if he would actually go through with his words, or leave them as an empty threat. Hell, Haku didn't even know who he was angrier with; the guy or himself. He was mentally punishing himself for not reaching Chihiro sooner. For not realising what was happening until it had already happened.
The river spirit's well-trained eyes easily saw the quick flex of muscle beneath the man's bicep, and dodged smoothly as a punch was aimed at his face. Using Haku's occupied attention to his benefit, the guy shoved at Haku's arm that pinned him against the cement wall. It came free; and Haku was forced to retreat a few steps as the darkened figure made a few more attempts to get a hit in.
Oh, the bastard wanted to play, eh? Well, it takes two to tango.
Bending into a crouch as a foot flew over his head; the green eyed spirit boy flicked his leg out, knocking the man off his feet and sending him tumbling to the floor. Leaning over the elder's sprawled body and straddling his legs; Haku grasped the man's wrists and pinned them on either side of his head. He smirked as he realised he had succeeded in effectively restraining the older man. Deciding to play his trump card, Haku hovered closer to the man's face, bringing them eye-to-eye at a horizontal angle.
He could feel this energy zapping behind his eyes as he spoke; his words sharp and clear. He knew this would be the end of their little match.
"I want you to go back inside and forget that this ever happened. You will leave the girl alone. You will go home. Now."
And suddenly, the man's eyes seemed to glaze over; staring into oblivion as Haku removed himself from the other's body. Slowly and somewhat shakily, the man rose to his feet. He didn't even look back as he trudged out of the dark alley, heading back towards the back door with his eyes fixated on something in the distance.
He would obey the raven haired spirit, no matter what. Compulsion was not a spell to take lightly.
A slight shifting noise behind him made him whirl around; green eyes meeting a pair of unsteady brown ones. Chihiro had never looked so helpless than she did at that moment; her crumpled body supported by only the rotting wooden planks that were rested against the cement covered building. Her legs were shaking slightly, and her eyes were desperately trying to hold on to tears that he could see threatening to fall at any second.
Without any hesitation, he rushed to her side.
"Chihiro? Can you hear me?" He spoke softly, making sure that she knew he wasn't a threat like the other man had been.
"Mmph.. Ha..ku?" She turned her glassy stare onto him and squinted. It was almost as if she could see him, but couldn't quite get the focus right. When she suddenly flinched, Haku's eyes widened in concerned alarm.
"Are you alright?" He hurriedly gave her a full-body check; searching for any damage that could be somewhat serious. The biggest injury she had was her skinned knees she must have gotten from her fall, and Haku breathed a sigh of relief.
"'s .. rainin'.."
Haku's brows wrinkled in surprise when a small droplet of water plopped onto his cheek rather suddenly. Feeling Chihiro jerk stiffly beside him, he glanced back at her to see she had also been attacked by the changing weather. He guessed that was why she had flinched before, too.
Gathering her limbs together and placing one hand beneath her knees and another behind her back, Haku scooped the brunette off the ground and carried her with him as he attempted to find shelter. He clutched her tightly to his chest as he walked; hurrying faster when the rain began to fall at an alarmingly fast rate.
Had she always been this light? The last time he had carried the girl was when she had ridden on his back before discovering his true identity all those years ago in the Spirit World. She had been lightweight then, too. He supposed she had always been that way, really.
Glancing around somewhat desperately, Haku noticed that many of the townspeople had already packed up their stalls and closed their shops down for the evening. The streets were dimly lit by various streetlamps hovering overhead; creating a sense of desertion within the small town.
Spotting what seemed to be a tin shelter covering a footpath a few hundred metres up the road, the spirit boy ran towards it with impossible speed – Chihiro still laying limp in his arms. The downpour of rain had already soaked Haku to the bone. He bent slightly over the girl beneath him; attempting to keep her dry as much as he humanly could.
"Chihiro, where do you live?"
Perhaps he could have chosen his words a little more wisely, but in that moment all he knew was that he needed to take her somewhere safe: and her home was the obvious place to turn to. He had a guess she lived in that little blue house on the side of the hill, but he couldn't conclude it unless she told him for sure.
"Mm? .. can't.. g-go home." She stammered, shivering slightly against his chest. "Can't.. go.. home- not ..like t-this."
And Haku understood completely why she didn't want to go home. After all, what would her parents say if a dripping wet stranger showed up at their front door with their half-unconscious daughter in their arms? Yes. He understood perfectly.
So that left only one other place to go that the green-eyed spirit could think of.
When they reached the tiny shelter, the raven-haired spirit lowered Chihiro to the ground. Brown eyes gazed up at him in question, but Haku ignored them as he slipped off his leather jacket and wrapped it around the girl's shoulders; which could be easily seen through her rain-soaked cardigan.
"Do you trust me?" Haku asked the sixteen year old, tilting her chin up slightly so she could look him in the eye. When she nodded, Haku smiled comfortingly; pulling her once again to his figure and setting out into the rain.
Somewhere between the shelter and Haku's boarding room, Chihiro had passed out. After she had, the raven had used his speedy abilities to get them to his place quicker. After all, he really had no idea what had been in that drink of hers, and wanted her in a safe environment as soon as possible. Once they had arrived, he'd used his element-based powers to pull all the water from their drenched bodies; something he wouldn't have done unless he were alone.
Now the green eyed boy was pacing the small living area within the cabin-like room; the girl in question laying peacefully beside him on the little red sofa that had (like all the furniture) come with the room.
What had been in that drink? He hoped it wasn't anything fatal.
Exhaling loudly into the peaceful silence of the settled air, Haku flopped down into a chair beside Chihiro's sleeping figure. His hands ran up and down his thighs repetitively; a nervous habit for the black haired teen. Suddenly his fingers brushed something – a lump in his pocket. Frowning, the raven pulled it out, and mentally kicked himself for (once again) forgetting he owned a phone now.
Hoping to distract his thoughts from panic, he flipped the lid of the black piece of technology for the second time that day; deciding to conquer its hidden depths and strange ringing sounds once and for all. The small home screen came alive beneath the touch of a button, and Haku's eyes scanned the page – looking for something (anything) that might come across as familiar.
When his eyes rested on a small book icon with 'Contacts' written underneath it, the spirit boy remembered what Yano had told him earlier, and clicked into it to see if the basketballer's number was actually there. His nose wrinkled in confusion when an unknown name appeared on the screen.
"'Batman'..?"
Actually, Haku decided it wasn't confusing at all. Changing his name to something absurd seemed like something the spiky-haired idiot would do. And then it hit him - Yano might know what was wrong with Chihiro. Pressing the 'Call' button beside the contact, Haku stood and left the room – the ringing noise from earlier humming into his ear.
"'Ello?"
Haku's rolled his eyes as the familiar voice echoed through the device in his hand. "What the hell is a 'Batman', Yano?"
"Hm? Yano? What are you talking about- I'm Batman." He could almost see the grin spreading cheekily on the other boy's face through the line. "I can't believe you don't know who I am. Where have you been all your life, man?"
The raven rubbed the bridge of his nose in slight frustration. He knew it wasn't right to take it out on Yano; after all, the boy hadn't done anything wrong. But the spirit boy wasn't feeling up for jokes due to the completely opposite situation he was in, and felt ready to snap. "I need your help."
Yano must have heard the edge in Haku's voice, because when he spoke next, his voice was serious and steady. "What's up?"
"Do you know anything about situations where someone sneaks something strange into someone else's drink without permission?" Haku realised he must have sounded like a creep; asking for that sort of information so bluntly.
"Drink spiking? I guess – Wait, why? Why would you want to know something like that?" The brown haired boy sounded suspicious – just like the green eyed spirit had expected.
"My friend has been.. spiked, I guess you could say. I need to know whether she'll be okay or not."
"Oh." Obviously Yano had realised that his friend wasn't plotting illegal scenarios like he'd thought. "Is it that girl? You know; the one you like?"
"So what if it is? She needs help, and I'm here to give it to her. I just need to know what to do."
A sound passed through the line that sounded much like Yano had clicked his tongue. "What's her condition?"
"Um," Haku glanced across the room at Chihiro's 'sleeping' figure once again. "She's out. Been like this for about fifteen minutes now."
The spirit boy could hear a muffled curse on the other line. "Fifteen minutes? Sounds like she was given a dose of GHB."
Haku raised an eyebrow, but when he stupidly remembered Yano couldn't see the action, he spoke aloud; a hint of deadly sarcasm in his voice. "Care to enlighten me?"
"Whoa whoa, bossy britches – calm that attitude down already. I dunno what the full name is.. 'gamma' something or other. Some of my mates have used it before – it's pretty common for both spiking and using as a similar form to ecstasy." The basketballer paused, seeming to be trailing off in deep thought. "Has she been showing symptoms you can describe?"
Ignoring Yano's strange remark, Haku thought back to when Chihiro had stumbled out the back door in the pub. "She seems to have trouble moving herself, and her reaction time doesn't appear to be very quick at all. She could barely keep her eyes open when I found her, and now she's passed out on my sofa."
There was a small silence, and a faint tapping sound could be heard from the brunette's side of the call. "Okay, yeah, I just Googled the symptoms of GHB, and your girlfriend's definitely showing them."
So many things about that one sentence made no sense to the raven haired boy. 'Googled'? Seeing as Yano had so casually used the word, Haku didn't dare ask what it was; if it was common knowledge like apparently 'Batman' was, he didn't want to cause another suspicious confusion between himself and his friend. He wanted to avoid personal questions at all costs.
Chihiro wasn't his girlfriend, either.
Just as the green eyed boy was about to speak, Yano continued, cutting him off without realising it. "She'll be fine. The symptoms wear off in three to four hours, so she should be better by morning."
Before Haku could stop it, he breathed a huge sigh of relief. He immediately wished he hadn't when his friend's laughter echoed through the phone in his hand. "You really do like her, don't you?"
The raven frowned a little. "You've already asked me that."
"You never replied, and now you have to tell me, because you owe me for the info." Yano shot back, obviously pleased with himself for catching his new friend off-guard.
Haku sighed. There was just no winning with this guy. "Maybe."
"That's not a real answer, and you know it."
A low grumble sounded from the spirit boy's throat. "Fine, I do. Tell anyone and you're dead. Can I go now?"
Yano laughed again. "I'm not a girl, dude; I can keep secrets. Oh, and don't you dare change my caller ID – I'm Batman, I swear. Later, man." The line went dead before Haku could reply.
Everything was dark. Dark, like the night sky without the stars or the moon to give it any meaning. After all, what was the night without them? Just an endless stretch of black that engulfed everyone and everything, robbing the world of colour to leave it as simply.. Well, nothing.
Yes. Dark was definitely the word to describe the place where Chihiro was right now. Not that the brunette had a problem with that. Dark was just fine with her. Dark was peaceful.
Something light suddenly appeared a fair distance away from her. Well, she assumed it was a fair distance, though she couldn't be sure when everything looked the same. For all she knew, the light could be hovering a few centimetres from her eyes.
Completely entranced by the tiny glow, Chihiro could only stare in silence as it grew slowly bigger. Soon it had expanded so much, that the brunette could have sworn there hadn't been any darkness to begin with. The world had suddenly turned a blinding shade of white.
And then the colours came. Slowly at first, but then moving quicker; like an invisible paintbrush were flicking them across her vision; like the whiteness was the canvas. Just when Chihiro thought the colours would stop appearing, they began to move. Shifting and sliding to form an image.
To form a memory.
A memory Chihiro remembered quite clearly, actually. One she thought about a lot. It was the day of the moving: six years ago. The colours moved and she could see the town as it rushed by her car window in a blur. She could feel her younger self poke her tongue out at it; a childish habit the brunette had since grown out of.
And then the image broke apart and Chihiro knew what she was going to see. She was going to see the station that they'd stumbled across. The green fields they'd found as a family when they'd taken a detour to their new home.
But when the swirls of colour re-formed, that was not what Chihiro saw.
It was an small town; a village, more like it. Food stalls littered the busy streets clustered full of strange-looking shadow people – if Chihiro could even call them that. And towering high and mightily above it all stood a giant traditional styled building, with so many windows that Chihiro wondered how long it would take to count them all.
Before she could take in any more, the colours changed, and a new scene was painted in front of her. This time, she could feel her younger self's heartbeat as it raced within her chest. Glancing around at the new scenery, the brunette nearly jumped out of her skin when she realised she was looking through her own hands. As a large-looking ferry approached her through a lake that she was sure hadn't been there before, chunks of the image fell apart, leaving the picture unfinished; the story untold.
And then she saw him.
A boy with hair darker than dark itself. Two beautiful eyes greener than precious emeralds. A strong nose, and perfectly sculpted lips. Creamy coloured skin that seemed to glow beneath the moonlight.
And suddenly, he was clutching her to him, pressing her gently against a hardened surface as if to conceal her from something. His sweet scent filled her nose, weakening her muscles and turning her bones to jelly. Leaving her breathless and unable to think.
When the image cracked apart, Chihiro almost cried out as she was torn from the embrace. She silenced herself, however, when no image returned. Only blackless engulfed her vision, leaving her alone and confused. A soft voice spoke from within its depths, seeming to echo on all sides of the brunette. She gasped when she recognised the voice as her own, speaking in a conversation she herself had no memory of.
"How did you know my name was Chihiro?"
And then his voice came. She didn't know how she knew; she just did. She was positive it belonged to the boy from before.
"I have known you since you were very small."
Chihiro's eyes snapped open as she bolted upright, a loud gasp leaving her parted lips. She was drenched in sweat, and her throat was dry. Her tongue felt like sandpaper in her mouth.
Her fists were curled around bed sheets – ones she didn't recognise as her own. Widening her eyes in shock, the girl snapped her head up and scanned the small room. Her heart throbbed in her head, each pulse sending a wave of nausea through the teenager's body. Was she still dreaming? What was going on?
A creak sounded throughout the room, and Chihiro gasped again when she saw the bedroom door opening slightly in the darkness.
"Chihiro?"
That voice. It was him – it could only be him; the boy from the pictures. Her already widened eyes grew ever larger when he stepped into the room and crossed over to the bed. The moonlight that poured through the window behind her lit up his features as he moved; and her heart faltered a little when she realised his torso was bare, revealing a smooth, toned chest. It was him. Maybe a little older and wearing only a loose pair of jeans, but the girl didn't have a single doubt in her mind.
He came to a stop beside her, and lowered himself into a kneeling position to level his face with her own. His too-close lips began to move, though Chihiro was too dazed to make out what the boy was saying to her.
Suddenly, her vision pulsed, and the sixteen year old could feel her muscles give out beneath her. She began to fall backwards onto the bed when a pair of arms encircled her; keeping her from doing so. She gazed up into brilliant green eyes, which were looking at her in pure concern. His lips were still moving, closer than before, though all Chihiro could think about was how similar this embrace was to the one from her dreams.
All the feelings that she'd had in that moment came surging back in huge tidal waves; stealing her breath and eating away at her heart. Suddenly everything she thought she knew made no sense; becoming doubtful of the life she'd lived until now. The only thing she was sure of were her feelings for this boy; that she needed him.
That somewhere long ago, she'd fallen in love with him.
Without a second thought or care in the world, the brunette lifted her chin and, with the last of her strength, closed the distance between their lips.
Agh, didn't even draft of proofread this, so I hope it all makes sense and the spelling's okay. I was going to post it last night (when i finished it at 2am), but my laptop died on me and my charger was somewhere in the house. I found it this morning, though, BUT THEN THE WEBPAGE CRASHED AND MY CHANGES TO THIS DOC WEREN'T SAVED AND ARRRGH. So here's the chapter, finally. Hope everyone had a wonderful Christmas! I'll try to have another chapter out by New Years before I go away for a few days on holidays. I haven't finished Chapter 3 yet (gah, so lazy, I know), but I'll try really, really hard to get it out today.
(Hi - it's the next day and I've finished chapter 3. I can't upload it without editing chapter 4 and 5, so it might take me a week or so to do. Sorry, guys! Please understand :c)
Also, I hope you guys know that everything you do to influence this story means so much to me. Whether it be a single view, a follow, a favourite or a review, I really appreciate everything. I don't think you guys realise how many times a day I check my phone for new fanfiction notifications! I love reaing reviews, and always try to reply to them, so leave one below and I'll get back to you if I can!
Thanks again for reading xoxoxox