Chapter 15
Haku's Turn
After their discussion, Chihiro was escorted back to her seat. The volunteer was intrigued by the attention this Chihiro Ogino was receiving. His instructions were pretty specific, including the route she was to taken back to her seat. "Excuse me for asking, but what could you two possibly talk about in such a short time?"
"I don't think I am at liberty to discuss the..." Chihiro stopped cold. "Short time?" I talked with her a good half hour."
"Are you sure, Ogino-san? I don't think you were in there more than two or three minutes. Look, the lecture is still ten minutes off."
There was another knock at the door--and another volunteer poked his head into the room. "Professor Natori, Mr Suzuki is here."
"Please send him in."
Hideki was puzzled by the circumstances he found himself in. First, he gets called in from a summer project to attend a lecture he has no interest in, then he gets pulled out of his seat just when he's beginning to get an idea how to improve on his project. "Professor, I am honored that you would wish to visit with me, but..." Hideki stopped cold. "Where is your spirit, ma'am?"
In intense fire built up in the professor's eyes. "Suzuki-san! Two points: First, I dismissed my spirit for our introduction. Second, you didn't know who or what I was. For your own good, don't ever EVER do that again."
"Do what?"
Professor Natori was still a little upset, but understood his comment to be more lack of sensitivity than malice. "I know who you are and what you've become. You are the first ever fully and mutually aware spirit and human, but you haven't learned a thing about discretion."
Now Hideki was beginning to get heated. "I guess you know me well enough, but I still don't know you and I don't know why you are interrupting my life." He then changed his mood to one of awe. "By the way, how did you do that?"
"Hideki, I was just giving you your first lesson in spiritual etiquette. Even though you may be able to do it, you must never let anyone know that you can reach into her spirit. I'm calling my spirit back. In a second, feel free to let your spirit interact or converse. As for your question about how my spirit can wander independently, it is a learned skill. Approximately one percent of humans can do it. Of those, all of them have been females--and nearly all of the females have been identical twins."
[HAKU, DO YOU KNOW WHO I AM?]
[I DON'T KNOW YOU, BUT I SEE YOUR NAME IS YUKIKO NATORI]
Hideki was somewhat surprised to sense being called 'Haku.' "Professor, why did your spirit just call me Haku?"
It was what the professor had suspected. Hideki and Haku were fully interchangeable when it came to communication. She was relieved, however, that he lacked the sensitivity to pierce the spirit as Chihiro had done just a short while before. He was less a threat to a person's privacy as she feared he might be. Miyu fielded the question. [WE HAVE MET BEFORE. LEAVE IT AT THAT FOR NOW]
"Hideki, are you familiar with a young woman named Chihiro Ogino?"
That got Hideki's--and Haku's--attention. "Yes" [YES] "How do you know her?"
"That is not important for you to know. It is only important that I know whether you know how to find her." The professor took on the demeanor of a neighborhood gossip. "She's here tonight."
"I'm not ready to meet her, professor. You didn't tell her I was here, did you?"
The professor was relieved to hear that. If he had said anything else, she would have had to try to dissuade him from attempting to meet her until the time was right. "No, I didn't tell her. In fact, I seated her in a place where she can't possibly see you. I'm impressed with your patience, Hideki. When did you figure it would be a good time to meet her?"
"I want to meet her through her parents. We had a chance meeting a few years ago at Ochanomizu where I was studying. I think I can do it by arranging a commission to design something--anything--for her father. I'll need to be an established architect by that time, so I don't think I'll be ready until I'm about twenty five or so."
Professor Natori reflected briefly to herself. "A few years ago? Ochanomizu? Of course! The Kanda River. One of the dirtiest cleaning jobs ever--and very little profit. Had to shut down the place for two days." She then rejoined Hideki in conversation. "As plans go, yours is very wise. Nevertheless, I'd like you to keep one thing in mind. It may sound a little harsh, but it's for your own good. It seems to me like you have planned your romance like you would plan a major project. The heart doesn't work that way. Chihiro isn't a career path; she's a living person with her own mind and spirit. There are things you can do that she can't--there are things you can do that nobody can--but there are things that she demonstrated today that you can't do."
"Professor?"
"Yes?"
"Who are you and why are you interested in us? I don't understand how it could not be important."
"I can't tell you now. You'll have to return to your seat. Use door two, OK?"
Hideki returned to his seat through door two. Oddly, there was still a little time left before the lecture. He sat down, completely at ease with himself. He had, after all, learned a very important lesson about discretion. "I could have blown my entire first meeting with her father," he thought, "had I spooked him at all." Hideki had also learned other things that he used his newly-found skill of discretion for the first time. "Poor Miyu. Kaya must know she was completely innocent of the charge, yet she continues to hold that grudge. I must admit I'm happy about Chihiro and Sen. I think Sen, once she learns how to separate, will make a fine successor to rule the spirit world."
Chihiro, eagerly awaiting Professor Natori's lecture, felt a sudden urge to open a letter the professor gave to her before she left. It read:
Chihiro-sama,
I am pleased you have accepted my offer. There is one very important thing we must show you. Upon conclusion of tonight's lecture, proceed immediately to the emergency room of the University Hospital. My sister will see you there.
Good luck and take care,
Miyu
Haku's Turn
After their discussion, Chihiro was escorted back to her seat. The volunteer was intrigued by the attention this Chihiro Ogino was receiving. His instructions were pretty specific, including the route she was to taken back to her seat. "Excuse me for asking, but what could you two possibly talk about in such a short time?"
"I don't think I am at liberty to discuss the..." Chihiro stopped cold. "Short time?" I talked with her a good half hour."
"Are you sure, Ogino-san? I don't think you were in there more than two or three minutes. Look, the lecture is still ten minutes off."
There was another knock at the door--and another volunteer poked his head into the room. "Professor Natori, Mr Suzuki is here."
"Please send him in."
Hideki was puzzled by the circumstances he found himself in. First, he gets called in from a summer project to attend a lecture he has no interest in, then he gets pulled out of his seat just when he's beginning to get an idea how to improve on his project. "Professor, I am honored that you would wish to visit with me, but..." Hideki stopped cold. "Where is your spirit, ma'am?"
In intense fire built up in the professor's eyes. "Suzuki-san! Two points: First, I dismissed my spirit for our introduction. Second, you didn't know who or what I was. For your own good, don't ever EVER do that again."
"Do what?"
Professor Natori was still a little upset, but understood his comment to be more lack of sensitivity than malice. "I know who you are and what you've become. You are the first ever fully and mutually aware spirit and human, but you haven't learned a thing about discretion."
Now Hideki was beginning to get heated. "I guess you know me well enough, but I still don't know you and I don't know why you are interrupting my life." He then changed his mood to one of awe. "By the way, how did you do that?"
"Hideki, I was just giving you your first lesson in spiritual etiquette. Even though you may be able to do it, you must never let anyone know that you can reach into her spirit. I'm calling my spirit back. In a second, feel free to let your spirit interact or converse. As for your question about how my spirit can wander independently, it is a learned skill. Approximately one percent of humans can do it. Of those, all of them have been females--and nearly all of the females have been identical twins."
[HAKU, DO YOU KNOW WHO I AM?]
[I DON'T KNOW YOU, BUT I SEE YOUR NAME IS YUKIKO NATORI]
Hideki was somewhat surprised to sense being called 'Haku.' "Professor, why did your spirit just call me Haku?"
It was what the professor had suspected. Hideki and Haku were fully interchangeable when it came to communication. She was relieved, however, that he lacked the sensitivity to pierce the spirit as Chihiro had done just a short while before. He was less a threat to a person's privacy as she feared he might be. Miyu fielded the question. [WE HAVE MET BEFORE. LEAVE IT AT THAT FOR NOW]
"Hideki, are you familiar with a young woman named Chihiro Ogino?"
That got Hideki's--and Haku's--attention. "Yes" [YES] "How do you know her?"
"That is not important for you to know. It is only important that I know whether you know how to find her." The professor took on the demeanor of a neighborhood gossip. "She's here tonight."
"I'm not ready to meet her, professor. You didn't tell her I was here, did you?"
The professor was relieved to hear that. If he had said anything else, she would have had to try to dissuade him from attempting to meet her until the time was right. "No, I didn't tell her. In fact, I seated her in a place where she can't possibly see you. I'm impressed with your patience, Hideki. When did you figure it would be a good time to meet her?"
"I want to meet her through her parents. We had a chance meeting a few years ago at Ochanomizu where I was studying. I think I can do it by arranging a commission to design something--anything--for her father. I'll need to be an established architect by that time, so I don't think I'll be ready until I'm about twenty five or so."
Professor Natori reflected briefly to herself. "A few years ago? Ochanomizu? Of course! The Kanda River. One of the dirtiest cleaning jobs ever--and very little profit. Had to shut down the place for two days." She then rejoined Hideki in conversation. "As plans go, yours is very wise. Nevertheless, I'd like you to keep one thing in mind. It may sound a little harsh, but it's for your own good. It seems to me like you have planned your romance like you would plan a major project. The heart doesn't work that way. Chihiro isn't a career path; she's a living person with her own mind and spirit. There are things you can do that she can't--there are things you can do that nobody can--but there are things that she demonstrated today that you can't do."
"Professor?"
"Yes?"
"Who are you and why are you interested in us? I don't understand how it could not be important."
"I can't tell you now. You'll have to return to your seat. Use door two, OK?"
Hideki returned to his seat through door two. Oddly, there was still a little time left before the lecture. He sat down, completely at ease with himself. He had, after all, learned a very important lesson about discretion. "I could have blown my entire first meeting with her father," he thought, "had I spooked him at all." Hideki had also learned other things that he used his newly-found skill of discretion for the first time. "Poor Miyu. Kaya must know she was completely innocent of the charge, yet she continues to hold that grudge. I must admit I'm happy about Chihiro and Sen. I think Sen, once she learns how to separate, will make a fine successor to rule the spirit world."
Chihiro, eagerly awaiting Professor Natori's lecture, felt a sudden urge to open a letter the professor gave to her before she left. It read:
Chihiro-sama,
I am pleased you have accepted my offer. There is one very important thing we must show you. Upon conclusion of tonight's lecture, proceed immediately to the emergency room of the University Hospital. My sister will see you there.
Good luck and take care,
Miyu