The Wait: Farewells
"I wonder what Piglet is doing," thought Pooh.
"I wish I were there to be doing it too."
-A.A. Milne, Winnie-the-Pooh
The familiar meadow reached far out, extending far away from them. Its grass had grown so tall it covered half of their calves. Wild flowers had grown too, and the green pasture was filled with a faint, sweet aroma. There was no wind, and in the still air hung a gloomy silence as the pair stared ahead of them wordlessly.
"So… this is it." Haku was the first to speak.
Chihiro hummed almost inaudibly. "Yeah… I guess it is. Again," she added almost absent-mindedly.
"You do remember what to do, don't you?"
"Go, and don't look back," she said, reciting his words the last time they had been there.
He sighed at the memory. "That's good…"
"I'm really going to miss you…" she said out of the blue.
He glanced at her, surprised. Chihiro hastily averted her eyes, a tiny pink blush dusting her cheeks. Attempting to justify herself without being awkward, she added, "Shou too! And everyone else, like the kids and... um… Sakura?"
Haku couldn't help but chuckle at how cute she looked when she was flustered. Chihiro was still deep in thought for a better comeback when he said, "I'll miss you too, Chihiro."
Her head jerked up to his, her surprised brown orbs finding his, as if she hadn't been expecting him to feel the same way. He remembered how she had looked when they had first met outside the bathhouse. Pure curiosity and surprise had been found in those clear eyes of hers, hiding nothing.
"Your eyes are so beautiful," he murmured, absently stroking his fingers lightly across her cheek.
"U-Um… thanks…" Bewildered by the affectionate gesture, she blushed even harder.
"Will you be alright when you get back? Do you know how to go back home?"
"Sure, I'll be fine."
"I'm not convinced."
She cocked her head to the side, furrowing her brows. "Why not?"
"After witnessing your exceptional sense of bodily coordination…" he trailed off, but they both knew he was referring to how she had somehow "tripped on air" and fell on her butt after helping a person up. She had even reminded that person good-naturedly to be more careful a millisecond before falling herself.
Everyone had cracked up at her clumsiness before helping the embarrassed woman up.
Chihiro puffed out her cheeks and frowned like an angry chipmunk, except her cheeks weren't quite as fat. "I just happened to lose my balance, that's all! I don't fall every 5 seconds, you know. And I know my way back. There's only one path to follow."
"Watch out for the little rocks and bumps on the road; we wouldn't want you tripping over them now, would we?" he teased.
She rolled her eyes. "No one could be stupid enough to trip over them!"
"Says the one who tripped on air."
"I did not!"
He gave her an if-you-say-so look, smirking at her undisguised annoyance. Now she knew why Shou and Haku got along so well together. And he must have picked up all of these from that stupid phoenix too!
At that moment, the wind picked up, blowing in the direction of the tunnel. Both of them turned their heads simultaneously, reminded of the impending farewell they would have to go through once again.
The dragon stole a glance at the woman while she wasn't looking, and in that short time made sure to capture every single detail of hers and keeping those memories and mental pictures of her locked away in his mind. His eyes raked over her petite, tiny frame, realizing with heartbreak yet again at how sickly and frail she looked. Her face was pale against the rays of sun shining on her that made it seem like she was glowing like a radiant angel.
He was happy though, that they had managed to reconcile, and immensely grateful for leading him out of that pit of darkness and guilt. Chihiro, had yet again, whether she had realized it or not, taken a hold of his heart and saved him once again.
That girl held the one piece of his heart that had always been missing ever since she left 10 years ago. For that little time they had spent together though, even if it was a very minute period of time, he felt whole again. He felt truly happy for once; even happier than he had been when he was with Sora.
"I need to go soon…" The words they both didn't want to hear were spoken.
Haku felt himself being hurled back to when the news of her condition had been broken to him. His chest had been deflated of air, and it was being constricted, so much so he nearly couldn't breathe. Then the pain in his chest began to grow. Apparently it was true that immense heartbreak could even be felt physically.
It was like the sky was being ripped apart before his very eyes, leaving a thick black hole in its place, ready to suck every single thing out of his life in that moment, leaving him a homeless, empty shell. In other words, it was as if the world was ending as he gazed at the delicate woman in front of him telling him with tearful eyes that she was going to die.
Fate certainly loved playing jokes on star-crossed lovers. Destined never to be together, doomed from the start, as cheesy as it sounded. He was close to despair, but the single thought that Chihiro was suffering and needed the support more than he did kept him composed and sane.
And support, he did. The next day, he had showered her with care and generosity, and both of them had finally started to get along, talking and sharing about their lives, reminiscing about old memories. The feelings of nostalgia had overwhelmed them, leaving Chihiro close to tears.
Haku would have loved for her to stay by his side forever, but sadly, she had to go home immediately in case her condition took a turn for the worse.
He didn't want to let her leave him again, not when he had already let her go once. She was a precious gem to him; without her, he was pretty much like a tiny shoot that had just sprouted without its roots.
Chihiro seemed like she didn't want to leave either, but it was impossible to stay together for long. The fact that she may never return was killing him on the inside, slowly tormenting him and sucking the life out of him.
Sometimes he really hated fate for all its stupid plans.
"Here, open your palm."
Chihiro did as told, opening her palm and letting him place a certain gem in her hand.
She gasped upon recognition of the priceless item. "Haku! Wasn't this from Sora?"
"Yes. I want you to have it."
"But, it's of great sentimental value to you! I can't take it!" She attempted to shove it back to him, but he stood his ground and insisted that she hold on to it.
"This is a token of my gratitude for saving me, and this gem will keep you safe. Think of it as a lucky charm, if you like."
"But—" Chihiro really wasn't comfortable accepting such an important gift when she didn't even deserve something like that.
Haku shushed her. "Please? Think of it as my final request to you. I want you to be safe."
She frowned, but his eyes were filled with steely determination, leaving her no choice but to resign and agree to keep it with her. Her fingers stroked the smooth covering of the gem, allowing it to keep composed.
"I would give you something but I don't have anything with me now," she said, "so I guess I can only wish you enough."
"Wish me enough?" he echoed curiously.
"Yes, I wish you enough, Haku. For as long as you live, I wish you enough." Then she boldly stepped closer to Haku, stood on her tiptoes, and planted a tender peck on his cheek before whispering a raspy "Goodbye" in his ear.
Then she turned around, took a step into the meadow, and began walking away, not turning back.
Chihiro glanced out her bedroom window, chin propped on one elbow. Her fingers drew random patterns on her bedroom sheets while she gazed at the ball of mellow orange taking its time to fully awaken and brighten the town. It was 7am in the morning, and though she would have usually been asleep till 9am, she hadn't been able to get back to sleep.
In fact, it had been this way ever since she left.
Yawning, she turned to her drawer to grab three items that served as invaluable mementos from the Spirit Realm. She had a habit of doing this after waking up. Somehow, it just started the day right.
The first, and oldest, was the purple hair tie Zeniba had given to her.
A shame she couldn't tie her hair with it anymore; it had been her favorite and her friends would comment on how pretty it looked, despite its simplicity. Perhaps it was the natural purple glow it had to it. She had always wondered what Zeniba had done to it to make it look so special. She had never seen anything like it before.
The next was the pressed yarrow flower necklace Kamaji had given her. She smiled and gazed at the yarrows in it, remembering that it was supposed to have healing powers. It was a beautiful accessory she put on all the time; it resting on her chest made her feel like Kamaji and Lin were just close by in her heart. Chihiro could imagine a sulky Lin hurrying her to get her butt back to the Spirit Realm and stay there longer.
Lastly, she came to a tiny box. Her mother had given her a ring box to keep the gem in; it was a befitting home for the treasure. Its dark green body reminded her yet again of Haku's green orbs, those captivating eyes of his that had the power to draw her in so that there was no return for her. She missed him so much. Gripping it tightly, she clasped her fingers together and began to wish.
Yes, she was wishing upon a gem. A rather strange notion she had decided to adopt every day that helped her to move on. She had already gotten her wish of seeing them for the last time, with the exception of Zeniba, Yubaba and Bo due to time constraints.
"Any later without your medicine and your condition would have become much more serious. I will be prescribing you with more medication just to ensure that your body is sufficiently supplied with iron and be sure to take them daily and on time. You don't want your condition to get worse just because you were being forgetful," the doctor had said when she and her mother went to the hospital for a checkup immediately after she had returned.
Chihiro sighed. It had been two months since then, and she was feeling much better after getting plenty of rest and nagging from both Sakino and her mother.
And not forgetting Shou, a new friend she had managed to make in that time there. That short time with him had proved him a worthy and reliable companion; he was fun to be around, other than when he was feeling up to some mischief that day.
She snorted at the memories of several pranks he had already played on her, but grimaced as she realized she actually missed his cheekiness and lighthearted self. Even his pranks, she realized with a jolt. While he was a very lighthearted person, he was also serious where appropriate, which made him a great friend to go to for advice.
Chihiro wished she could go back, but her mother had been watching her closely since she left without prior notice before. She didn't want to trouble her mother by making her suspect a case of insanity in her already sick daughter.
She'd likely blame it on the fevers she often got that probably ended up frying her brain.
"Chihiro? You awake?" called her mother from outside as she knocked on the door gently. "It's almost 9."
The woman put the objects back into her drawer and replied, "Yeah, I'm up."
Yuko opened the door and stepped in, all freshened up and energized for the day. Chihiro could never understand how she could wake up so early and be so energetic in the mornings. She hadn't inherited that particular trait from her, apparently. Her mother would often comment she was too much like her father, even sharing bad habits. "What would you like for breakfast?"
"Not prune juice."
Yuko rolled her eyes at that childish remark. "Tell me that after you recover. Anything else other than prune juice?"
"Hmm… Just some toast will do, then. I'm not feeling up to much today."
"You never have much of an appetite; I'll make you a sandwich."
"Sounds good. Thanks Mom."
"You're welcome," Yuko smiled, "and by the way, we're running out on milk, oil, and few other things I need to cook lunch and dinner later today. Go to the grocery store and get the things, will you? After breakfast, that is. The shopping list is on the table."
Chihiro hummed and nodded. "Okay, sure. I don't have much to do anyway."
Half an hour later, she was ready and full from breakfast. She had been good after eating half of the sandwich, but her mother had insisted strongly that she finish the entire thing, and now her stomach felt like it was ready to explode with semi-digested sandwich-y goodness. "Bye Mom," she called as she closed the front door with shopping list and purse in hand.
"Stay safe and be back soon!" Yuko replied.
I can't walk very fast with this baggage, she thought, rubbing her unhappy tummy. That would mean 15 minutes longer than the usual.
Chihiro dug into her pocket, gripping the gem sitting inside tightly. It was worrisome to keep it in her pocket since it could easily drop out, but she didn't want to go anyway without it. That, and the yarrow necklace and hair tie too.
It was only a short 5-minute walk to the grocery store and in no time, she was there. There wasn't much to buy this time, thank goodness. There were only 5 items on the list that day. The last time she had been sent here, she had about 20 items to carry and had a lot of trouble hauling them back home. Her mother hadn't been able to help because she was working, and she hadn't expected Chihiro to be so muddle-headed as to buy it all at one go.
Chihiro set the items down on the counter and took out her purse to pay for them. "See you again, Ogino-san," the cashier greeted politely and bid her goodbye with a friendly wave and smile. "See you!" she smiled in return.
With the two plastic bags in hand, Chihiro started to make her way back. She turned down the corner, where a street basketball court happened to be. She often passed by it to find children and teenagers alike playing together. It was usually very noisy and lively, with shouts and cheers when someone scored or dunked the ball.
She was surprised to see it occupied with a couple of kids this early in the morning, though. Usually it was only used in the late afternoon.
Maybe it was because the teenagers and more grown ones took the lead too much during the late afternoon games. The height difference between the children and teenagers was quite significant, naturally. The boys were going at it wholeheartedly, smiling and laughing as they passed the ball to one another and made commendable efforts to shoot the ball into the hoop.
Unconsciously, a smile graced Chihiro's lips as she stopped to observe them. The sound of laughter filled her mind as she recalled the times when she played Jume with the other children at the shelter. It had been great fun, pushing the ball into the goal and trying not to fall down because of her lack of balance. It had been fascinating to see the magic spring alive from their being quite literally, and the adrenaline that got them even more pumped up.
It made her think of the time when she had still been angry at Haku and when they had sort of challenged each other, though there had never been a challenge to begin with, seeing how skilled he was in nearly everything. Slowly, her lips straightened into a tight line as her spirits dipped.
If only everyone could suddenly appear before her very eyes once again. Why did they have to belong to different worlds? Now she understood how tough long-distance relationships could be. Her heart ached to see them all again, even Shizuna, whom she'd gotten slightly closer to in the short amount of time they had gotten to know each other.
Chihiro exhaled deeply. Her feet shuffled forwards, urging her to get a move on and hurry back or her mother would get worried. She was about to leave, when out of the blue, she heard several panicked shouts.
"Yuu!"
"Watch out!"
"Yuu, run!"
"Don't just stand there! Run!"
She snapped her head to where the children in the basketball court with panic-stricken and horrified faces were pointing to, only to see a young boy their age squatting in the middle of the road, with his petrified eyes glued to an oncoming bus that was not slowing down in the least.
It was starting to close in on him, but the driver didn't seem to notice anything; he seemed to be squinting his eyes at something much farther up ahead, leaving him oblivious to the vulnerable child right smack in the middle of the road.
There were no passengers on the bus at the hour either, so there was no one else to notice the boy who was clutching a basketball and his ankle. He must have sprained it, she realized.
As the bus began to near the boy who shut his eyes as frightened tears and perspiration began streaming down his cheeks, Chihiro recklessly dropped her groceries on the floor and made a mad dash to his side as fast as she could.
"Hurry, take my hand! Run!" she pulled him to his feet, and thank goodness he had the sense to abandon the ball and hold on to her. He held on to her tightly like a baby koala terrified of leaving its mother for fear of danger if it let go in the slightest.
Holding on to him, he began to hop back on his good ankle while she steadied him, but it was no use. The bus was going to fast. They weren't going to make it in time.
Chihiro's heart sank in panic, and her desperate eyes found the boy's who was probably thinking the same thing as her: What now?
Without thinking, she shielded the boy with her body, leaving her back facing the front of the bus.
Screams for help and for the bus to stop were the last things she heard before impact struck.
A/N: Yay another cliffhanger huehue LOL I'm sorry but I just had to :P Did you guys tear up or cry at the front part when they said farewell? I felt pretty sad lol. Heh. Hope I didn't make you too upset? Oh well. Look forward to the next chapter :D
And I'm not a person made out of steel in case you were wondering, what with all these sadistic things springing out in the plot recently haha.
Do leave your opinions on this chapter! ^^ I get so super happy reading your reviews haha they really cheer me up (:
Thank you to you amazing, sugar-sweet reviewees for your super cute reviews the previous chapter:
MiyukoLove, SilentWriterGirlWithADream, Pureblooded1998, pillowpuff28, NarutoSwag99, Loxxi, Nic7C, SAK00, michelle88222, Kamel2711XD, diety, amazonian-kickass, Snowflake, KamCereno, Leeshyloo, kariared and Samson and Delilah!
P.S. I updated the previous chapter with a quote LOL if you're interested go see it! I love these Winnie-the-Pooh quotes hehe~