The Wait: Betrayal

Chihiro lay on the warm woolen blanket, fiddling about with her fingers. Shou had just left, saying that he was supposed to help out with the mealtime period. She had wanted to tag along, but to her slight disappointment, had been declined very politely by him. His reason was that having her around would probably result in brouhaha by the older spirits. Apparently, the more traditional spirits tended to be more prejudiced against humans, and they weren't afraid to openly discriminate against her. That would also explain the ruckus at the bathhouse when she first came too.

"What should I do…" she mumbled to herself. Idly lying around was killing her; she wanted to do something and not waste good time. But truth be told, she was getting a little tired, as usual. Taking a nap did sound tempting, but she was still not exactly comfortable with making herself at home in a foreign place. It felt rather awkward, especially so because of the fact that Haku was being strangely nice to her.

She couldn't help but question his motives. That man was so secretive and mysterious; one moment he was a cold and the next he was a saint. Was it her, or did that not make any sense?

And why did he still keep that two-faced mask of his? Either he had bipolar disorder or he was just plain evil. She would have preferred him to let her see the last of that sweet boy from before, even if it wasn't genuine. At least her impression of the Spirit World wouldn't be tainted—that was too mild a word to even begin to describe her current impression of Haku.

What could have happened to Haku to make him change so much ever since she left?

Wait, what was she talking about? It wasn't as if she had gotten to know him very well in that period of time, so who was she to say that he had changed in the first place?

Chihiro sighed deeply and flipped over so that she was lying flat on her stomach with her chin resting on her arms. "So many thoughts…" she muttered before hitting her head against the soft cream sheets. She inhaled the smell of detergent and a strong sense of nostalgia swept over her. It faintly smelled like the detergent her mom used to wash their clothes.

Lemon.

"You're officially homesick," the girl declared miserably.

Out of the blue, muffled footsteps could be heard from outside and thinking it was Shou, Chihiro got up and walked to the door. She was about to turn the doorknob when it was opened quite roughly by someone and before she could react in the slightest, the sharp side of the oak door slammed right into her face.

"Ouch!" she cried, stumbling backwards while rubbing her poor nose and forehead. There was a stinging pain lingering and she was pretty certain that her nose had been broken. That was also going to leave an ugly bruise on her forehead for sure.

"There's someone in here too?" a female voice asked.

"Yes, she's staying here temporarily though." That sounded strangely like Haku. Chihiro opened her eyes and took in the pair who had just arrived. A girl with big, round red eyes glared at her menacingly, with a very hostile aura surrounding her. Her wet and long raven black hair flowed neatly down her back, making the clean white top she was wearing damp. She was quite beautiful, with her prominent nose and very shapely body, if one would excuse her eyes.

Her red eyes reminded Chihiro of those vampires she used to read in those sappy romance novels she used to love—she had grown out of them—and for a second there she wondered if vampires did actually exist.

There was a pause before the girl's full pink lips parted and in a metallic voice dripping with venom, asked, "What's a human doing here?"

Chihiro shrank back a little, hoping there wouldn't be a murder happening anytime soon. She looked at Haku expectantly who looked absolutely unfazed and blank as usual. Had he brought her here just so that her blood could be sucked out by this crazed spirit who seemed to hate humans to the core?

"She's staying here temporarily," he repeated calmly.

Before Chihiro could stop herself, her lips took on a life of their own and questioned, "Sorry, but who is this?"

"She's your new roommate," came his simple reply.


"Shou, can you fly?"

Shou gave her an odd look, nodding slowly. "Yes?"

"Bring me home. Now."

He leaned forward in his seat, the girl having gotten his attention. "What's the hurry, love?"

"My new roommate's going to kill me."

"New roommate? What's this about a new roommate?"

"Haku showed up with a new girl who obviously hates me a lot for no apparent reason. I have a feeling it's something to do with me being a human," she deadpanned.

"What's up with that guy…" Shou sank back into his seat, stroking his chin and furrowing his brows in deep thought.

"He's probably telling me to leave in a very subtle manner. So could you bring me back?"

He held up a hand. "Hold your horses, girl. It's a policy in this shelter to have a room completely occupied before we can use another room. It's easier for us to keep records like that. Come on, Chihiro. Haku wouldn't scheme like that— Okay, maybe he would, but he wouldn't do that to you."

The girl remained dubious of this but decided to drop it. "Why wouldn't he do that to me?"

The blonde gave her the are-you-stupid look. "You're either really stupid, or very dense."

Slapping him on the arm, she frowned at him. "I'm not dense! Haku's very hard to read!"

"Oh, go on," he answered mockingly.

"I'm serious!"

"What do I do with the two of you…"

Chihiro huffed and leaned back in her seat, folding her arms across her chest. "I'm leaving by myself then."

"You can't; you don't even know where you are."

The woman opened her mouth in protest but could find no valid argument against that point. True, she had no idea where she was and only Shou or Haku could send her back home.

"This is kidnap," she stated coldly.

"What kind of a kidnapper gives you a room in a grand shelter?"

"And a potential murderer for a roommate," she pointed out.

"You've got me and Haku to protect you, so there's no need to worry."

"But—"

"If you want to, I can always move in," he added with a wriggle of his brows.

"But—"

"You're so stubborn, Chihiro. See how it goes for the next few days and we'll talk again."

"I'm going to be here for another few days?" Chihiro nearly screeched.

"Ask Haku."

She sighed in defeat. There was no point in arguing with this blonde.

"Don't get mad, dear. How about I bring you up to Haku's office now so you can ask him by yourself?"

Perking up, she nodded eagerly.


"How long is Haku going to take?"

"I'm not very sure about that; he's quite the busy man, if you know what I mean," Shou wriggled his eyebrows suggestively.

When Chihiro averted her gaze, he clapped once, startling the girl. "What?"

"I know that look; you're jealous."

"Am not!" she protested.

"Am too!"

"Am not!"

"Am too!"

"Are we really going to have this argument?" Chihiro asked tiredly, rubbing her temples as if it was all giving her a big headache. Shou simply laughed and shook his head. "You started it."

"Did not!"

"Did too!"

"Did not!"

"Did too!"

"Shou, could you help out with the young cubs? They've been… you know." A beautiful woman looking to be in her twenties emerged at the door, cutting in to the two's childish bickering. She leaned against the doorframe with her legs twisted in a seductive manner. Her wavy purple curls licked her face, resting casually by her thin, slender arms. Her enchanting indigo eyes ran over the pair and her lips were tugged up in a coy smile as she gazed at the man expectantly.

"Not again… I'll be there…" Shou turned to Chihiro. "Just wait till Haku gets here, yeah? Don't fall or trip or anything like that while I'm gone."

She slapped his arm in response. "I'm not an idiot; I can take care of myself."

"Whatever you say," he answered in a sing-song voice and sauntered out of the room. Before he could leave though, he turned back and winked to her, using his eyes to gesture at the hot lady beside him.

"I told you the ladies love me," she could imagine him say. Rolling her eyes at him, she turned back to the window by Haku's desk and heard the door close behind them.

She tapped her fingers on the smooth, cold surface of the table, humming to herself. They had been waiting for quite a while already but Haku hadn't shown up. He would probably be around in a couple more minutes.

Sighing, Chihiro leaned against the window, staring at the field filled with the playful and adorable children. She eyed them, envious. Being young was nice.

Out of the blue, her eyes caught a little girl in a bright yellow dress trip and fall. She was a clumsy one, even managing to end up rolling comically on the grass once before coming to a stop with her face flat down in the dirt. In a matter of seconds her body was shaking slightly. It didn't take a genius to figure out that she was crying.

Wondering if she should go down to take a look—she'd always had a soft spot for those adorable things—she then spotted a man jogging towards the little girl.

His glossy green hair reflected the sunlight, making it seem like a radiant, glorious mane around his head. Kneeling down on the grass, he picked the little girl up with ease and dusted off the grass blades and dirt off of her soiled dress.

He wiped the tears away from the wailing girl's round face before ruffling her hazel brown hair, beaming at her which prompted her to smile back. He said some words to her, and her plump cheeks turned rosy and she threw her arms around his neck, letting him carry her with ease, as if she had just heard her ideal prince charming speak to her in all her fantasies and dreams.

A tiny smile played on Chihiro's lips. Haku had always been there to help out and to comfort, even if it was someone he didn't know. Then it dawned on her that one of the reasons for that gaping hole in her heart that could never seem to be mended was that she had missed that side of Haku. She missed seeing him worried, seeing him smile, seeing him laugh.

She took a step back, not wanting to let her emotions get the best of her. But thanks to her clumsiness, her waist knocked into the sharp part of the table mistakenly, making her cry out in pain and flail her arms about wildly to keep her balance. In the process, she accidentally pushed over several pieces of papers and a book onto the floor.

Landing with a loud thump on the floor, she winced at the new sore spot on her waist while the huge mess of papers fell like snowflakes, gently falling to the floor with a collective shuffle.

Chihiro anxiously got to her feet, feeling bad for causing trouble in Haku's office. Maybe she did need Shou to keep an eye on her.

Great, now Shou had managed to brainwash her into thinking she really was stupid.

"I'm sorry…" she apologized to no one in particular, while hastily gathering up the papers and setting them on the table in a neat pile before going to retrieve the book.

The notebook was encased in a leather covering, and it lay half open on the ground, letters and envelopes spilling out of it. As Chihiro got to retrieving them and shuffling them into a neat pile though, a certain word on one of the letters caught her eye.

Chihiro.

Feeling a jolt in her nerves, she hesitated. Basic courtesy would be to respect one another's privacy. That was just one reason up against the many questions popping up in her head, however.

Besides, since it concerned her, she had a right to know, didn't she?

Picking the smooth piece of paper up, she scanned through its contents. The words were written in fanciful, cursive handwriting. It made her feel as if she was reading the diary of the historical English figures, except that it a letter in some notebook of Haku's.

A brief feeling of guilt washed over her but she shrugged it off. Curiosity killed the cat, but curiosity still won her over.

As she skimmed through some of the content about the shelter, she noticed the letter was addressed to her.

Her eyes stopped at one of the sentences, which wrote:

"… …not once have I forgotten, Chihiro… …"

Chihiro did not even hear the door open until it slammed tightly shut, nearly breaking off its hinges in the process. In her shock, she dropped the letter and her wide eyes came to rest at the shocked man standing by the door.

"What are you doing in here?" His tone was suspicious and he moved towards her in large strides, hastily picking up the letter she had dropped. Upon recognition, his eyes widened considerably with shock before narrowing into angry, betrayed slits at the woman.

But his intimidating stance had no effect on her whatsoever. Right then, she was probably feeling just as betrayed, yet at the same there was this sinking feeling in her chest that made her want to throw up.

"You," he sneered, not bothering to hide the venom in his voice, "who gave you the permission to go through my possessions?"

The numb girl remained silent. One could probably hear the booming drum of her erratic heartbeat.

"What did you read? How much did you read?" He spat every word like they were poison on his tongue.

To that, her lips tugged up sardonically, surprising herself. "I read enough." Her tone was neutral, distant and cold, if anything.

Haku was speechless. Raking his fingers through his hair, he suddenly laughed bitterly. "So, you know everything?"

Chihiro looked away, well aware she had reached the limit of her emotional capacity. She pursed her lips as Haku closed the distance between them. Instinctively, her legs took a step back, and another, as he continued to back her up against the glass panes of the window behind her wall, leaving her trapped.

Keeping her gaze lowered, she flinched when Haku's hands slammed loudly on either side of her face. The glass vibrated from the impact and for a moment she felt like she was falling prey to the beastly man in front of her.

She could feel his breath on her forehead, and she stuck her body as close to the wall as possible.

"How much do you know?" he repeated, a strain in his voice.

The mute girl refused to answer him, and so he tipped her chin up, forcing her to look in his eyes. Wordlessly, they stared at each other. Chihiro chewed on her lip for fear that she would break down the instant she opened her mouth to speak.

"I'll only ask this one more time. How much do you know?"

Taking a shaky breath, she blinked back the moisture in her eyes. "You've always remembered, haven't you?"

A few moments of silence passed between them before Haku gave a loud sigh. Whether it was relief or frustration, she could not differentiate. But it agitated her all the same.

She raised her hands to his chest and shoved him away to allow her to exit the room quickly. She wanted to save herself the humiliation, at the very least.

But of course, Haku would not even grant her that privilege. His hand grasped her wrist firmly, pulling her back. Chihiro whimpered at that, trying in vain to keep her tears from falling. Still, she kept her back facing him, refusing in all her pride to let him see her vulnerable.

"Wait."

She bit back a bitter laugh. So that was the first thing he would say to her? She reckoned she had waited more than enough for him.

"Chihiro, I—"

"I'm tired, let me go to the room, please," she cut him off.

"Rest here. I need to explain."

"There's nothing more to explain, Haku."

"Yes, I owe you an explanation."

"You don't owe me one in the first place."

"I'm still going to explain things to you."

"I don't want to talk."

Chihiro tried to wrench her hand from Haku's grasp but his hold was too tight; it was beginning to hurt. "It hurts, Haku, let go!"

Before she could say anymore, he pulled her into an embrace. She struggled against him, trying to push away, but his muscular arms encircling her prevented that, caging her in.

All she could do was to succumb, but the annoying thing was that she had already begun to cry.

Shaking with angry sobs, her fists hit the man over and over. "Just stop it, I can't take this anymore…"

"I apologize, Chihiro. I never meant for you to find out this way."

"You never meant for me to find out in the first place, did you?"

He remained silent.

"Why?" That was the only question Chihiro wanted him to answer. Why would he pretend to forget her when he supposedly still remembered?

"It's… complicated. That's all I can say."

If he weren't holding her and if she weren't crying, she would have cracked him right across the face for being the jerk of the century. "You know what? I really hate you." She clenched her teeth and taking advantage of him having loosened his hold, pushed him away and ran out of the room.

He yelled her name from behind which only spurred her on faster. Spirits walking along the corridor, at the sight of her tear-streaked face gaped and stared, some evenly unashamedly pointing at her and whispering among themselves.

She didn't care for any of that, though. All she wanted was to get away, to get away from Haku, away from the Spirit World, away from reality.

Chihiro sped down the halls, making various turns though she had no idea where she was going. She didn't care anymore, though. Now she had a fiery passion and desire to go back home, back to her family.

"Chihiro? What're you doing here?" someone called from behind her.

The girl quickened her pace, which only amused the blonde who jogged up next to her. "So what did Haku say?"

Turning sideways so he wouldn't see her face, she kept quiet and continued with her directionless walk.

"Hey, what's wrong? Why are you crying? What happened?" Shou brought his hand firmly down on Chihiro's shoulder, forcing her to stop and to turn around. She stubbornly kept her face down, though.

"I accidentally walked into a room full of onions…" she lied half-heartedly.

Shou snorted. "No kidding. But really," he bent down to look at her sparkly eyes, the skin on his forehead crinkling with concern, "what happened?"

"Can you… just bring me back… please?"

"Something happened, alright. What did that idiot say to you? I'm not doing anything until you tell me everything that went down between the two of you."

"But—"

"Not 'buts'. Maybe it's just a misunderstanding?"

Chihiro looked up fiercely at him. "A misunderstanding? It's anything but a misunderstanding, Shou!"

"Hey, you—"

"I just realized that I have wasted much of my life on some cheap 10-year-old girl's fantasy! I can't bear to stay anymore," she cried.

"You need to calm down. You're hyperventilating."

The girl's shaky knees buckled beneath her, and she would have fallen to the ground quite roughly had it not been for Shou who swept her up suavely in a bridal style. She breathed sharply and irregularly, eyes prickling with more tears.

"I want to go home…" she whimpered, seemingly reverting back to her 10-year-old self.

"Wait just a little longer. It isn't time for you to go yet." His words were final.


A/N: Sorry for the late update; I'm dying with overflowing homework. In any case, I spent quite some time putting this together so I hope you liked it! I might be back to edit a little because I think it can be better, but for now I really need to get back to doing my work. Leave a review please!

Updated A/N: I nearly killed myself in school when I was re-reading this because I realize that there is so much that needed to be edited. . I'm sorry!

Not forgetting my reviewees:

Ialiceiamagodness, Leeshyloo, NarutoSwagg99, Angelic Toaster, snowflowersister of toshiro241, Epic Thunder 101, Sereenalovesanime, FreeHummingBird11, Abcdefg824 and poseidonandpercy1213!

I really appreciate all your encouragements; they really do keep me going! Thanks again and hopefully I'll see y'all again soon? ^^