Undying Love – A Week of Preparation

Author's Note: YAY! Chapter 9! ^^ *cheers happily* I have also taken into your consideration of the new reviews I read from my readers about my "short" chapters, and from the advice of a good friend at school. I'll try making my chapters a little bit longer, perhaps about 1000 words this time. But, this chapter is EXTRA, super-duper… long! Good gawd, it was equal to 5 FULL pages on Microsoft Word, and it took me a WONDERFUL 5-6 hours to write. You'll notice that I ended up getting lazy later on in the chapter, so I only did detailed parts for the 1st and last day of that week! XD And I think people would get pretty bored, just trying to read about 10 pages of Haku… preparing himself for school and all. Besides, if I did ALL of the days… goodness, I don't even want to think how long it would be or how many more hours I would have to write about it! For the readers who have already read the previous chapter, you'll know that Haku has FINALLY reached the human world. *grins* And yes, Chihiro and Haku will be meeting REALLY soon. But, once Haku and Chihiro reunite, the chapters will DEFINITELY be longer… since I'll be writing both of their points of view, usually. Well, read and review my chapter… please. Have fun! ^^ Oh BTW… just to tell you know, I'll be updating a LOT more in the next few days because of the 3-day weekend over here! ^_____^ *grins evilly*

Day 1: A "Little" Bit of Shopping

"Hey, sleepyhead… wake up!" screamed Rin in Haku's ear, causing him to immediately fall off his bed and slam his fragile body on the hard, wooden floor.

"Ugh… remind me to lock my door next time before I go to bed. I should have realized it before… that giving you free access to my room is a dangerous thing. And please try a more gentle approach next time, before trying to make me permanently deaf… " Haku exclaimed angrily, as he slowly stood up and rubbed his painful back, trying to reduce the intense aches that were starting.

"I did try waking you up with my 'gentle' approach about 10 times, just to tell you know…" replied Rin, as she sat on the side of his bed and stared at him, waiting for his answer.

"Oh…" Haku said, flushing in about 5 different tints of red. How was he supposed to know? He was sleeping… it wasn't like he had special hearing powers while he was taking a snooze. Besides, you couldn't blame him. He had quite a bit on his mind last night, and the whole fact that Haku and the others arrived in the human world at about two in the morning… it certainly didn't make his situation any better.

"Still, that was no excuse to go around and attempt to make me deaf…" exclaimed Haku, still frustrated and angry with Rin.

"Oh, just chill out, will you? What else would you have me do? I called and 'nearly' screamed your name 10 times in a row, and what happened? Ahh… yes, you just kept on sleeping. Besides, it wasn't my fault… you left me no choice!" answered Rin.

"Believe what you want to believe then. I have a feeling that this pointless argument will never end if someone doesn't decide to stand down. What's done is done. I can't exactly go around trying to change the past, even though was you did was CLEARLY wrong. Just don't do that again…" said Haku, giving Rin a glare of warning.

"Your wish is my command, Master Haku…" Rin exclaimed cheerfully, as she bowed gracefully in front of Haku, for an extra effect.

"It better be. By the way, what does 'chill out' mean?" Haku asked, naturally confused about the new term he had heard moments ago.

Rin sighed. One thing was for sure, he would need a lot of help. No, scratch that. He would need every kind of help available to mankind, to learn all of the knowledge that a typical 16-year-old would already have. She chuckled to herself. Then again, that innocent and conservative attitude of his was a cute and attractive charm. He'd definitely have no problems attracting girls for that matter, and he'd probably be able to fit in with the other boys once he got used to his school. But, the big question was… would he be able to attract and charm "his" Chihiro?

"Oh, never mind! First day here, and you are ALREADY driving me crazy! Get washed up and dressed. We're going to the shopping mall to find you some new clothes!" Rin exclaimed excitedly, as she made her way out of his bedroom.

"Uhh… Rin? What's a shopping mall?" asked Haku, confused for a second time that morning.

Just then, Haku had heard Rin's frustrated growl down the hallway. Rin must have been pretty annoyed with him. He'd probably be annoyed with himself too for asking too many questions and being so clueless more than half the time… if it was possible. But, he couldn't help it, even if he wanted to. It was his first time actually living as a human, what could anyone else expect from him?

An hour later, Rin and Haku left Kamajii back at the house. While Rin and Haku would be shopping for his new casual clothes, Kamajii would be phoning the different schools near by and trying to discover which school Chihiro attended. Once that was found, Kamajii would need to register Haku into the school, and sort out any kinds of conflicting formalities that came up. Hopefully, if everything when well and to plan, they'd have Haku attending Chihiro's high school in about a week's time.

Meanwhile, Rin was practically giving Haku the most aggravating time of his life. For the last 6 hours or so, Rin had asked him to try on about 100 different outfits in about half of the stores in the mall… literally. Rin was certainly picky by all means when it came to clothes, but of course; she had a good amount of fashion sense, like any other young adult in her early twenties. Out of all of those different outfits, Rin had only approved a total of 17 of them.

Though Haku, by all means, was absolutely frustrated with Rin and her sense of pickiness… for once, he was enjoying himself. He was actually enjoying this! It was something new to Haku; trying on different clothes. Never in the Spirit World did they have these places called 'malls'. And Haku had never had the chance to choose or shop for his own clothes. For all of his life in the Spirit World, he had only worn copies of the same outfit, every single day, at the bathhouse. And never did he see so many kids in one place, or stores, for that matter. It was a new experience for him, and as far as he was concerned… he was going to enjoy every minute of it.

At the end of the day, Haku and Rin had practically bought about 25 different outfits, all of school supplies that Haku would need, and the food they'd need to cook meals, as they returned back home at about 9 in the evening. In Haku's opinion, he thought that Rin and he had accomplished quite a bit today. At the same time, they were able to fit in some time to eat their lunch and dinner, and dessert as well, which he thought was the best part of his whole day.

'Mmmm… dessert… ice cream… chocolate…' Haku thought to himself. It was his first time tasting those things in his life, and, oh my… they were the best tasting foods he ever ate in his life! He'd wish that those tastes had lasted forever in his mouth; the foods were delicious, ESPECIALLY the chocolate. Now, why didn't they have these things back home in the bathhouse? Oh, if only he had discovered these foods sooner… he would have been able to enjoy those years ago!

It was 11 in the late evening, and Haku was lying on his bed, staring at the sky once again. The evening sky was shimmering brightly, with the beautiful, golden stars… which were scattered all over it. As far as he was concerned, it was as though as he had never left his home in the Spirit World. He sighed. A few more days, and he'd be prepared to attend school and reunite with his Chihiro. Only a few more days… and his dreams would finally come true, after 6 harsh years of hard work. Everything seemed perfect so far, just like he had dreamt it to be… as he allowed himself to fall sleep, being engulfed by the gentle darkness of his dreams once again…

Six days later…

Day 7: Final Preparation For School… and Chihiro

About a week had gone by since Haku had last set foot on his home in the Spirit World, for that matter. He couldn't believe a week could pass so quickly; it's as though as his stay in the human world has just started. Then again, as they always say… time flies when you're having fun! A couple of hundred years of being a river spirit, and yet… he had more fun this last week that has gone by… than in his entire life! Though he had to spend about 4 of those days studying and preparing him for society and school, he found it quite fun. You might think that enjoying hours of study and stuffing his face in books was crazy, but hey… considering the fact that he had been working in the bathhouse and doing Yu-Baaba's dirty work for his entire life; it was quite the refreshing change.

So, instead of working in the bathhouse and checking on the other workers, like his usual working routine; he was in a detached house located in the human world, reviewing some Grade 11 mathematics. Surprisingly, those last few days of study had been easy for him; Haku even learned all of the knowledge that a 16-year-old student should have… and more.

And how did he do this? Ahh… yes, through the wonderful books that Rin and he happened to have borrowed from the local library near his new home there. Haku was quite glad to be a river spirit and having special abilities with this; it had become quite helpful. He was able to read a 500-paged book in about 15 minutes, 30 minutes tops; thanks to his magical powers for that wonderful ability.

Aside from concentrating on his academic preparation, Haku had been working hard on preparing himself for the social part of his challenge. He had been practicing and learning how to talk and act like an average teenager, thanks to Rin and her non-stop commitment. Haku finally wasn't as clueless as before, luckily. He was finally able to socialize with others, normally, and was able to still preserve his original and not to mention… charming, personality. And yes… he was finally able to grasp the concept of sarcasm, along with many other little tidbits, since he was quite the fast learner. Luck had definitely been with Haku for the last couple of days, and just hopefully, that luck would last for him when he would finally see Chihiro… after all of those years.

Even though Haku had spent hours preparing himself for tomorrow's reunion with Chihiro, a realization hit him in his heart. Even with all of this preparation… he still might not be prepared enough for his Chihiro. For all he knew, Chihiro might have thought that he was nothing more than a childish dream all of these years. Perhaps, she thought that he was nothing more than a figment of her 10-year-old imagination…

'No… no, no, no. Chihiro loves you, she must love you. I know that those short moments that we spent with each other… there was something more between us than just friendship. There just had to be… after all, pure love was what broke the spell…' Haku thought to himself, remembering the whole fact that the curse on him was lifted because of what Kamajii had claimed to be 'pure' love, which was what shared between them. He just hoped that their love had lasted through all of those harsh and lonely years.

Then again, why was he complaining and worrying so much today? Haku was considered very lucky that Chihiro didn't even move to some other part of the world in those 6 long years that passed by. After three days of tedious phone calls, Kamajii was able to locate the high school that Chihiro attended, and even had successfully registered Haku in her school. It was very lucky indeed that Chihiro's school even accepted him; after all, it wasn't normal to have new students coming in during that time of the school year.

He sighed. Less than 24 hours… and Haku would finally meet Chihiro after all of these years. Hopefully, Chihiro would understand why he wasn't able to visit her after so many years, and perhaps continue and develop the relationship they once shared… hopefully.

Only one more day… only one more day, my dear Chihiro…

Many hours had passed that day very quickly. Before Haku knew it, it was 6 in the evening; time for dinner. The food in the human world was one of the best things that Haku enjoyed, and one thing was for sure… they were a lot better than the weird, and not to mention, the same meals that they served in the bathhouse for so many years. Sometimes, Haku even wondered how he had survived all of those years with those crummy meals. And after all of these years, scary enough… he still didn't know what those meals actually were!

"So… Haku, how do you like my new recipe? Well, actually… it isn't my recipe, but hey, you got to give me credit for trying to cook something of my own… from the cookbook. After all, I thought that people around here were getting pretty tired of eating the same canned goods, every day…" Rin exclaimed, waiting for a hopeful answer. Then again, she probably knew Haku's answer before he said it… since he was practically stuffing up himself with any of the food he could get his hands on. The Haku she saw before her was definitely one she would have to get used to. Never did she think that Haku could eat so much in one sitting. She always wondered where all of that food went. She probably couldn't even eat one quarter of what Haku ate for lunch, much less… dinner. Then again, grown boys were known to eat quite a bit at this age in life.

"Mmm… umm… mmm… mmm. There, finished digesting all of that food…" Haku replied, as he drank 2 full cups of water afterwards.

"I can… uh… see that. So, what did you think of the food?" Rin asked.

"It was delicious. You should mashed potatoes with gravy and that steak again, sometime! It's sure; at least, a million times better than what I ate in the bathhouse for the last couple of years…"

"I knew you'd liked it! Hmm… maybe I should consider a profession in cooking when I return to the bathhouse. What about you, Kamajii? You haven't said a thing all dinner… What do you think? Is it good?" questioned Rin, as she turned to face Kamajii.

"Very good indeed, that's for sure, Rin! No need to fish for compliments, though…" Kamajii replied smartly, as he finished his last bit of tender and well-done steak.

"Just following your lead, Kamajii. I must say, you must give me credit for that effective ability of mine… Then again, I did learn it from the one and only master…" Rin exclaimed, giving Kamajii an evil and mischievous stare.

"Umm… could you excuse me from dinner? I kind of want to take a walk outside, alone…" Haku asked… interrupting Rin and Kamajii's little playful battle.

"I don't see what's wrong with that, Haku…" Rin replied calmly.

"Go ahead. But, make sure to not to return to the house too late… okay?" exclaimed Kamajii.

"I'll remember that. I'll see you both later then…" exclaimed Haku, as he made his way out of the cozy house.

Three hours of wandering the peaceful streets and grassy hills made Haku pretty tired. Err… no, 'pretty tired' didn't even give justice to what Haku felt right now. It was more like 'absolutely drained out of every energy reserve left in his body' type of thing. Haku right then wanted to collapse right on the soft, lush grass beneath the soles of his shoes. And Haku did right just that. 

Haku wondered to himself why he even decided taking a 3-hour walk all around town. Right at this point, he pretty much regretted that walk of his; his bones aching for relaxation and a long break from his physically-strained activities.

Hmm… then again, that tiring walk of his allowed his mind to free up some space. Over the last week, Haku had been thinking way too much for his own good. He questioned practically about everything that happened in his life… until there was basically nothing left to question about.

And being Haku, it made his situation a little worse. He was never the type to share his inner thoughts, and with his conservative attitude… it was obvious what came next; he kept every one of his thoughts to himself.

He sighed. Rin was right… thinking too much is bad for you. Very bad… horrifyingly bad… "losing your mind" bad. Haku was at the point that his mind was at the brink of cracking into a million pieces, from the amount of overload of his deepest thoughts. And going crazy right before meeting Chihiro wasn't a good thing at all, that's for sure.

Just then, Haku realized that he was being stupid again. He was here, alone on a grassy hill, thinking about thinking. Goodness gracious, he was becoming as retarded as crazy people come. Instead, he should be using that brain power of his to figure out what he would do… once he found Chihiro.

At this point, Haku practically stopped thinking about anything. He was absolutely sick of thinking… then again, he was thinking about being sick of thinking. He sighed again. As far as he knew it, he couldn't escape the "wonderful" thoughts of his complicated mind.

Today was the last day before seeing Chihiro or attending school for the first time… why was he worrying about these things? Tomorrow's problems should only be thought of during tomorrow, not today.

Besides, maybe… there was no need to worry. Perhaps his luck would turn out a lot better than he expected. And anyways, all of the thinking in the world wouldn't change his fate with Chihiro. His destiny with Chihiro was already set and engraved in the stone tablets of fate as far as he was concerned, and he wasn't going to fight with it. He'd just solve his own problems as they come in time. Hopefully, Chihiro wouldn't be another problem in his life… but a source of happiness and pleasure for the rest of his life.

I made a promise, and I intended to keep it. I promise from the bottom of my heart that will be reunited… my lovely Chihiro…