Disclaimer: I do not own Sen to Chihiro no Kamikakumeshi (aka Spirited Away). And I do not have any money. This fan fiction is for the sole purpose of putting my idea(s) out into the public and sharing them with those who are interested. I am not making money off of this fan fiction.

But this fan fiction still belongs to me.

Out the Window and Through the Tunnel

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Dancing Hearts


Haku got up and walked to his seat again, calmly, gracefully.

Chihiro saw the look within Haku's eyes. It told her that he almost expected her answer, almost wanted to hear her say no, but he wanted to hear her say yes too. And there was a glint of her Haku in his eyes, of the softness within him that could not flow out.

"Why not? What is wrong with me?" The Haku in front of her asked. His voice possessed a little... startling aggressiveness, and yet, he didn't ask as a demand. The aggressiveness was from plain curiosity.

"Because..." Chihiro felt compelled to answer. She considered him one of her more important friends. And she knew she needed to force the answer out of herself, she needed to convince herself of why she was so stubborn about not getting a boyfriend. She took a deep inhalation. "Because I already love somebody."

"Who? A childhood friend before you moved here? Because your friends told me you were... available," he informed her, and pausing just before the word available, as if it somehow made her available.

Chihiro made a mental note to talk with her friends about it. She nodded. There was nothing wrong with a childhood friend. "And we promised to meet again." Chihiro felt comfortable with this Haku, but his recent interrogations were pushing her a bit.

He waited.

She took on a far away look and continued. She would feel better if talked with somebody who believed it, and if he didn't, he would just know what a foolish little girl she was. "And he promised to find me, to meet me. So I'm waiting here for him." Chihiro hurried on before he spoke again. "And, you look... just like him... And the day before you moved here, I saw him... but it was... so long. And I couldn't simply... walk up there and say hi to him."

By then, Chihiro had already broken down into a trembling shoulder and inaudible sobs. The memory, the dream was scattered into pieces, as if telling it to him had made the memory into a story, officially.

She straightened herself back out after sitting up, and hastily tried to rearrange her disheveled hair. Then, a loud sigh slipped from her mouth as her shoulder sagged down again.

She continued, since he obviously didn't have much to say. "And being with you has been like being with him, except I think you are calmer, but you radiate the same... warmth. I'm sorry... but, you are not him..."

Chihiro was out of things to say. There was no more explanation for Haku as to why she even thought about engaging herself in such a relationship. Instead of talking, she waited tentatively to see Haku's reactions.

"So, you are still in love with this childhood friend of yours?"

Chihiro faltered a little. Was she truly in love with somebody that never kept his promise? Or was she simply in love with a memory? And why is this Haku prodding her memories so much?

Chihiro reprimanded herself slightly. After all, it was her that led him on. She was going to tell the truth, even if it would hurt both of them. "Yes, I am still in love with him, and so I cannot be in love with you."

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Haku only walked over to Chihiro, again with that softness flowing in his eyes, a softness almost identical to the one in the dragon. And he caught her in a tight embrace, like he wanted to cry himself.

Chihiro felt comfortable being held Haku, the modern Haku, and she felt guilty for feeling comfortable. But she still snuggled into into his embrace.

And they lingered there, in the embrace, in the cafe, for a second before Haku pulled out from the embrace abruptly just after whispering in her ear, "I am Kohaku."

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And she could only stare at him in disbelief. She didn't know if she was going to pose the question to him, or how she would ask him. She considered for a moment.

Haku looked at the floor, the only sign that he was nervous, jittery, unsure of what he was doing. "Yes, I am the Haku." He grinned ruefully at the article placed before his own name. Then, he smiled at the way he found himself describing himself next. "The 'original' from Arubaya."

Ecstatic, they engaged in another embrace, with tears of joy on Chihiro's cheeks.

Slowly, Chihiro pulled out again. She asked, "So, why now?"

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a/n: Sorry, but the chap where the two Hakus meet has been postponed indefinitely due to my lack of writing skills...