Disclaimer: Spirited Away is owned by Miyazaki Hayao-san and all the rest of his wonderful wonderful Studio Ghibli. This work of fanfiction only...borrows...it (ehehe) and is for entertainment purposes only. I'm not making any money out of this (or anything else) so suing me would be pointless because, believe me, you won't get much. =)
Happy birthday to me! X) Ha! ^_^v I am now sixteen, and under federal law I am now allowed to...um. I'm too chicken to try to drive yet...hm...clears throat Well, anyway, my birthday was actually yesterday, but I wrote most of this chapter yesterday anyway, so...=P Oh, and I got a big bunch of birthday balloons! Those big helium ones! Arigatou nee-chan! THEY'RE SO BOUNCY!!! XD (Please excuse my hyper-ness. I've had more sugar this morning than is strictly healthy.) Anyway, as a present to all of you, I am updating with what is undoubtedly my longest chapter so far. ^_^ Enjoy! goes back to playing with her balloons
Never Forget
Chapter 4: Egao (Smiling Face)
by Nereix
She couldn't close her ears.
"Ne, ne! Have you seen the new transfer student?"
"Un! He's gorgeous!"
"Who? What transfer student?"
"Eehh!? Aki-chan, you haven't seen Nigihayami-senpai!?"
Chihiro winced, putting her head down on her desk and doing her best to ignore her classmates' conversation.
"Etto..."
"No way! He's got homeroom right now upstairs! Come with me!!"
"Eh—Nao-chan! Slow down! ...Hey! Matte—————!!"
"Sagamura! Tonoyuki! Where do you two think you're going!?"
"Gomen nasai, Souyama-sensei, I think they're gone..."
The school had been bursting with whispers ever since the tall third-year had transferred in from Tokyo. The teachers liked him for his studious habits and polite manner. The boys liked him for his skill on the soccer and kendo teams. The girls liked him for...uh, they just liked him, and let's leave it at that.
Chihiro avoided him.
Day after day, his words reverberated through her head—repeats of a voice she desperately didn't want to hear.
I'm sorry. I don't know anyone named Chihiro.
She buried her head further into her arms and clenched her fists, gritting her teeth.
Go away.
Leave me alone. You don't know me, so stop taunting me and go away...
Are you sure you have the right person?
Go away...
She wanted to cry.
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The crowd gasped "Oh!" as Kuraya sent the ball heading in his general direction as a black-and-white blur. Kohaku dodged around a member of the opposing team and darted towards it, mentally calculating his angle. It was a tricky shot. Someone in the stands shouted, "Ganbatte, Nigihayami-senpai!"
He nailed it. The goalie didn't even have time to react as the ball was sent spinning into the net behind him.
Cheers of "Nigihayami! Nigihayami!" and the occasional "Kyaa!" erupted from the stands. Their school had once again managed to defend their position as first in the Yamanashi prefecture. The commentator was shouting as loudly as the rest of them, screaming into the microphone, "And with that one last goal, the score is settled! The home team wins, thanks to our star player, Yamanashi no Ryuu, Nigihayami Kohaku!!"
"Nice shot!"
Kohaku grinned and accepted the towel his best friend thrust at him on their way to the locker rooms. "Pft! No thanks to you, Sou! What did you think you were doing, aiming at the opposite team's players like that?"
Kuraya Souichi gave his friend his best innocent expression. "Who, me? Would I do that?" At Kohaku's dry look, he clapped him on the back, chuckling. "Come on, you know I only make things harder for you because I care..."
"Yeah, yeah," he muttered, twisting open a water bottle.
"Aw, Haku-chan's so mean!"
Kohaku choked on his water. "...'Rusee!" Ever since he had mentioned his encounter with the girl next to the tunnel, Souichi hadn't gotten off his back about it.
Souichi grinned. It was so easy to bait him. The novelty never wore off. "You know, though," he started a tad more seriously, rummaging through his locker. "Ogino-san's in my Literature class, and..."
"Your Lit class?" Kohaku cut him off. "But she's only..."
"Aha!" Souichi interrupted in turn, his eyes glinting with mischief, "Haku did a little research about his secret admirer, did he?" At the other boy's furious blush, he continued, "She's a second-year, yeah, but she's taking some advanced classes. I was saying, she seems like a nice girl."
"Your point being?"
Souichi threw a towel over his shoulder, grinning. "My point being, I think I'll ask her out."
Kohaku stared at him.
Souichi grinned and winked, stepping backwards into the shower room. "So you'd better act fast, dragon boy, or I'll beat you to it."
He had already well disappeared by the time Kohaku regained command over his voice and managed to stutter out one brilliant, ingenious word.
"What!?"
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The ending bell rang out, causing Chihiro to jump. She'd started to doze off. Tiredly, she rubbed her eyes and stretched, trying to ease the stress that had lately settled onto her shoulders and lower backbone. Once again, she hadn't had enough sleep...
She bit her lip. I should just stop thinking about him. At this rate, it's really gonna really affect my schoolwork... With a sigh, she zipped closed her pencil bag, threw it in her school case, and headed for the door of the classroom.
"Ogino-san!"
Chihiro looked around to see the older boy jog up to her. "Kuraya-senpai, what is it?"
He gave her a friendly smile. "Are you busy this afternoon?"
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Chihiro walked through the halls, bag slung over her shoulder, looking intently at the rooms to either side of her. Dance studio, dance studio...
Firmly held in her hand was a plain white envelope. She blew a lock of hair out of her eyes. Why am I playing messenger anyway?
"Are you busy this afternoon?"
"Iie..."
"Can you do me a favor, then?" He took out an envelope. "I was supposed to deliver this to someone, but I'm afraid I can't make it today. He's in the dance studio after school until six. Do you think you can take it to him for me?"
"Um, sure, but..."
"Ah, yokatta! Thank you very much! I really appreciate it! See you tomorrow!"
"...um, why me...?" She found herself talking to air, as he had already run off. Chihiro was left standing at the doorway of the empty classroom, envelope in hand, feeling a bit confused.
She made a right turn. Weird guy... The dance studio was to her left. Through the glass panes on the door, she could make out a lone figure on the far side of the mirrored room, smoothly executing a pattern dance with a bokken.
The door emitted a slight creak as she pushed it open. He looked up, and she stopped short.
Kohaku felt his face grow slightly warm and forced down the blush. Noting her surprised expression, he straightened up from his semi-crouch. "Um...Ogino Chihiro-san, right...?"
Chihiro blinked. "Ah...hai. Um, sorry for interrupting you, but Kuraya-senpai said to give this to you..." She trotted over and handed him the envelope, trying to keep her expression blank as his fingers brushed hers.
"Oh." The bokken was hurriedly placed on the floor. "Thank you."
He tore open the envelope and fished out the folded paper inside. Why would Souichi send him a letter?
His eyes widened as they fell on the three inked words, neatly written in slanted handwriting.
You owe me. =)
Chihiro fidgeted. She took a deep breath. "Well, I should be going..."
"Chihiro!" he blurted out, then mentally kicked himself as she froze again. "I—I mean, I'm sorry—Ogino-san...um, about the other day, I want to apologize...so..." He bowed. "Sumimasen!"
Surprised, she turned back. "Ah, d-don't!" She hurried to push him back up until she was looking up at his usual height. "Don't apologize! You didn't do anything wrong. It was my fault, I mistook you for someone else..." Chihiro belated realized that her hands were still on his shoulders, and she snatched them back, turning slightly red as she looked away. Kohaku swallowed hard and looked down at his sock-clad feet.
"Ano..." he said, after a moment. "Maybe...we just started off on the wrong foot the other day." He turned to her and bowed, offering a slightly apologetic smile. "My name is Nigihayami Kohaku. Pleased to meet you."
Chihiro's eyes softened and she bowed in turn. "Ogino Chihiro desu." She looked up and gave him a warm smile. "Yoroshiku ne!"
Dimly, Kohaku noted that it was the first time he had seen her smile. But that detail was tucked away for later comprehension, because at the moment, something in her eyes, sparkling out at him, rendered him completely breathless.
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Somewhere, very far away...
The luminescent crystal sphere gave one last flicker and died, the fragile figures shown inside blinking out of existence. As her thin line of concentration snapped, she couldn't help the low growl at the back of her throat.
Wrinkled hands hovered over the misty crystal, passing over the surface, encouraging the magic motes to gather up again. They hadn't so much as started to clump together when they suddenly exploded with a sharp ping, fragments dissipating into the air. Curse that meddling sister of hers!
Zeniiba clomped grumpily to the window, pulling back the curtains and staring past her lucent reflection into the night. Seven years. Her interfering, stubborn witch of a sister had managed to delay those two's meeting for seven years. Sure, it was all up to chance. Of course, it was inevitable that it would take a while. But those two shared a bond that automatically drew them to each other.
...Even if one of them didn't remember it.
She'd worked on that too. She could swear that she had found every single frailty, every single tatter in the net that kept the two worlds apart, and forced her magic through them. It worked to both her advantage and her disadvantage that Memory was the easiest of all elements to manipulate. It meant that she had an easier time gaining a foothold, but it also meant that it was nearly just as easy for her twin sister to throw her down. That last time, she had thought that she'd finally had him. But then Yubaba had done a quick-edit to the forest floor and then twisted his balance. That hit to his head erased an entire day's worth of Zeniiba's work.
A day. It was three months in a human's life. And those seven years...
She caught herself biting her nail and forced herself to stop. Apparently, the nasty-tasting nail polish did nothing to deter her when she was stressed.
There wasn't near enough time on her side of the planet. Those poor children had a hard ordeal ahead of them.
Yappari, the trickiest and most unpredictable element has always been Time...
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See! That was long, yes! And I'm about to make it even longer by responding to all my reviews ^_^ Look for your name!
Jenn – Your review encouraged me to keep writing. Thank you, and I hope these new chapters do justice to your words.
Mika – Sorry for the cliffhanger ^_^ I'll try to cut down on them, but they really are fun to write (gomen, gomen!)
smart89 – Thank you! I hope you enjoy!
Fhulhi the Crazy – Hehe. Your review was the bright point of my day. Well, here's the 'more' you were asking for ^_^
miwata – Yes, I continue! For as long as my muse holds out. =)
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bows Minna, arigatou gozaimasu!!
