Undying Love – Forgive and Forget?

Author's Note: IEE! A new update… and only in a week too! I've been trying to update my story more lately… since I want to try to get this story done before my school exams come up at the end of January. I was planning to add more content to this chapter, but I decided against it… for my own reasons… which I'll explain after the release of the next chapter! I do hope that you really like this chapter! *used up all of her free time at school, and much of my Friday to write this* As usual, I'd love to hear from you guys! Remember to read and review, and give your input on what you think about the story! Thanks for reading!

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Haku reached his home about 25 minutes after the ruthless beating, still all painfully bruised and sore. Though he wouldn't confess this secret to anyone else, Koji sure knew how to throw a deathly punch… or brutally attack someone unfairly for the matter. During the walk to his home, Haku contemplated on the situation at hand, deciding that it would be better to tell Chihiro and the others about Koji, after they finished their short stay in the Spirit World.

A couple of hours ago, it was unanimously decided that the whole gang would return to the Spirit World, with Chihiro included. Just as expected, Chihiro had been ecstatically happy after hearing the wonderful news. Haku had grinned and gave himself a good pat on the back, absolutely cheerful that his flawless plan worked perfectly to acquire the wanted reaction from his love. He had long gotten the impression that Chihiro desperately wanted to visit the Spirit World, considering the fact that she kept on bombarding him with various questions about the Spirit World, during most of their conversations that day.

Though much of his anger towards the black-eyed boy dissipated, some of the bitterness for this Koji was still left behind. Haku had an almost irresistible urge to tattletale on the boy, grinning at the thought of the various things that Chihiro would do to the pitiful boy. But out of all the wonderful things that his broad imagination conjured up, Haku melted at the idea of hand-imprinted-faced Koji, being viciously slapped and scolded by his enchanting Chihiro. Adding a speck of blackish-blue bruises on Koji's eyes, courtesy of his beloved girlfriend, and that concept would have been the diamond… the best of Haku's flawless conceptions.

But, while Haku had thought amusingly of Chihiro's furious and disappointed reaction against her best friend, Haku couldn't help but feel a strong pang of guilt. Just as much as he wanted to see the so-called "pleasing" look on Chihiro's face when she found out about this secret, he felt awful because of one primary reason: Haku knew that Chihiro would be in an ultimately miserable state after hearing such disheartening things. Though this misery and hatred wouldn't be directed at him, Chihiro would be undoubtedly bitter and disappointed at Koji.

No doubt that even though the resentment wasn't towards him, Chihiro would not be able to fully enjoy the precious time they'd spend at the Spirit World… as long as this matter was on her mind. Haku shook his head in disagreement; he promised to himself that he would make sure that Chihiro would have the time of her life. In his mind, he believed that it wasn't fair or considerate to make his girlfriend worry about him during her limited time at the Spirit World. Haku would just have to wait after the visit to the Spirit World, before he would finally spill the truthful beans to her.

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Two and a half hours later…

"Haku… is there something bothering you?" asked Chihiro softly, putting two of her gentle fingers under his chin, slightly lifting his head up. His hazy, bluish-green eyes immediately met his love's sparkling, but concerned, cinnamon eyes.

The three friends surrounding the dining table waited silently for his answer, as they all noted to themselves of Haku's very peculiar behavior. Almost instantly, Haku diverted his stare away from Chihiro's worried eyes, unable to look directly at her troubled stare. Haku felt truly guilty for keeping such a secret from her; he knew that Chihiro had been asking him what was wrong for the last half hour… out of genuine concern. He knew that he was acting out of character ever since he got home, and he was awfully sure that the others caught onto his hidden worries by now. But, even still, Haku would not tell her the truth… until the time was right.

"I'm… I'm fine, honest!" Haku choked out nervously, knowing that his acting skills were absolutely shameful; he literally had zip talent when it came to lying. His unsure and questionable words raised the unconvinced eyebrows and the incredulous stares from the three of them; him and his secret were done for.

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A few minutes later, a fuming and thunderous voice resonated all over the once peaceful house…

"HE DID WHAT?!" Chihiro shrieked furiously, tightly grabbing the now crumpled cloth of his plain white shirt. Haku immediately made a small choking noise, as Chihiro cut off any sort of air circulation he once had; the poor boy.

"He… err… followed me to the in the Feikoru Forest, and attacked me… from behind…" he spluttered out, trying to loosen the deathly-like grasp Chihiro had on his shirt. To his incredible luck and relief, Chihiro finally released him from her stone-solid grip. The only problem was that it resulted in the unknowing boy to fall hard on his backside, increasing the physical pains on his sore body.

Haku mentally noted to himself to never anger Chihiro again; she was absolutely terrifying when she was thoroughly pissed. Who ever knew that such an innocent and gentle angel could have such an uncontrollable and violent rage?

The young male moaned softly in pain, supporting himself with his hands, as he got up from the wooden floor. Haku rubbed in backside slowly, trying to relieve the acute pains, slowly backing away from his own girlfriend simultaneously. Just as much as she looked like she was finally learning to calm down, physical appearance could no longer be given full credit… when it came to predicting the interesting things that she was capable of. Unfortunate for poor Haku though, he had to learn of this fact… firsthand.

Chihiro watched from the corner of her eye, as Haku slowly backed away from her. 'So that's how he wants to play, is it? He's stupid to think that I'm not going to catch onto his plans. He won't get away from my clutches that easily; I'm not done with him yet!' she thought to herself. Before Haku knew it, Chihiro made her unexpected advance and punched pitiful Haku in the stomach… hard.

Haku plummeted to the floor knees first, grasping at his stomach again, as he closed his eyes in much pain. What the hell did she think she was doing?! Haku tried his best to catch his breath, after that tremendous impact had knocked out all of his breath. The unfortunate male let out a small moan of agony, still experiencing the aftermath of her violent fist.

On the other hand, Chihiro beamed happily at Haku, smirking triumphantly at her own innovative work. She put both of her hands on her hips, and made a taunting, reprimanding clicking with her tongue.

"Hmph. Will you quit whining about your wounds already? If you think that punch was bad, just wait until you see me really angry! And besides, it was your fault for being dishonest with me to begin with! If you had only told the truth in the first place, instead of covering up your secret with lies!" she chided, pointing an accusing finger at her own boyfriend.

Haku retorted angrily, still trying to get his explanation through to his hard-headed love. "I told you already, it wasn't like I wasn't going to you the truth later on! I was going to tell you about this… eventually…" Haku made an emphasis on the last word, hoping that Chihiro finally got his point. But… that was highly unlikely.

Chihiro snorted mockingly at Haku's supposedly "truthful" confessions. Stupid liar! I bet he wouldn't have confessed the secret if he had the chance! "Oh please Haku; I'm not that dense! You might be able to pull that trick on some stupid ditz, but not me! Yes, I admit that it was wrong of Koji to attack you like that… and I will also deal with him accordingly, once we get back from the Spirit World. But that does not give you any sort of accuse to lie to me in the first place! It was obvious that you had no intentions of telling the truth… if it wasn't for the fact that everyone caught onto your horrible acting skills! You are such a liar!" she shrilled confidently, giving him a most disappointed look.

Haku sighed; it seemed that she was just as hard-headed as he was. Just great. "I'm not a liar, and you very well know it!" exclaimed Haku, feeling slightly pained… and yet awkwardly amused, by Chihiro's absurd accusations.

Chihiro rolled her eyes and continued with her verbal bombardments, dismissing anything that Haku had said to her in the last couple of moments. "Not only are you a liar, but you're a… a…" Chihiro paused for a moment, trying to think of a perfect word that would represent Haku. "A bastard!"

Chihiro watched as Haku registered this new accusation, with the widening of his eyes, before an unfortunate silence filled the room. All of a sudden, Haku did the one thing that she would have never expected in a million years; he laughed at her! Her sinful boyfriend actually had the audacity to laugh at her!

The pretty girl glanced at the now tearful, but highly entertained, boy in front of her, who was now holding his stomach… not from pain, but from an uncontrollable laughter. 'What the hell did he find so funny about my insult?! He shouldn't be the one laughing; it's his fault for starting this whole argument to begin with! And yet, he still managed to laugh at me, when I've been righteous and honest all this while. Haku just gets harder and harder to comprehend nowadays…' she mused silently, not like being the so-called "star" of the joke. This was embarrassing… and not to mention, degrading.

Haku's once booming laughter was now reduced to an amused chortle, as he realized the serious and deathly expression that shadowed Chihiro's face. He sighed mentally. The boy couldn't help the laughter that exploded from within him; that was just the most absurd claim he had ever heard of! Haku knew that somewhere inside, Chihiro was seething… and trying to find more innovative and effective ways of torturing him in the near future. It was obvious that his laugh didn't help the already tense situation; she wasn't very pleased his with reaction. After all, who liked to be laughed at?

He smirked slightly, planning evil things in his head; this would be the booming start of… Mission Possible: Annoy Chihiro. "I, for one, feel so insulted! To be called a bastard… such a low hit to my manly pride! But then again, you'll get a little something from this too. If I'm a bastard, I guess you'll have to bear with having a bastard boyfriend… oh, the horror!" teased Haku, putting his hand to his forehead in a most dramatic display. Chihiro wasn't pleased at this fresh, cocky Haku… who replaced the once kind and caring boyfriend of hers. Ugh, this certainly wasn't her day.

"You… you…" Chihiro thought briefly, trying to think of some decent comeback. She found none, and cursed aloud in pure frustration and defeat. "Damn it!"

On the other hand, Haku chuckled softly at Chihiro's frustrated form… his plans always worked! He walked behind Chihiro, and slipped his hands at her waist lovingly… resting his head on her right shoulder. "Finally losing your touch, eh? About time too…" he cooed in her ear jokingly. He grinned mischievously, knowing full well that their argument was coming to an end; it always seemed that they could never get angry at each other for long.

As predicted, Chihiro leaned into his chest… and gave out a small sigh before apologizing. "I'm sorry about that Haku. I never meant to get so angry. But, it's just that sometimes… you make me so frustrated that I can't control what I say or do! You could have just told me the truth to begin with… I would have understood."  

He nuzzled his nose affectionately to her soft face, a genuine smile on his face. Nice and considerate Chihiro was much better than the angry and frustrated one. "I'm sorry too. I know I should have told you the truth to begin with, but I didn't want to frustrate you before our visit to the Spirit World. I knew how much you really wanted to go there… and I wanted to make sure that everything would be perfect. Can you forgive me?" Haku confessed, praying that he would understand his previous intentions… and forgive him for his sins.

"Oh, of course, Haku. I'll always forgive you… as long as you stay true and honest to me. Somehow, a part of me knew that you always had good intentions… but sometimes, I just couldn't see straight at the time. Haku… thank you for thinking about me first…" Chihiro whispered gratefully, turning to face Haku as she gave him a heartwarming hug.

The couple stayed in this position for some while, until a small cough was heard coming from the narrow doorway. Almost instantly, the couple broke off their hug… reluctantly, both tinting pink because a certain female had caught them in an intimate and passionate act. Rin, seeing this positive development, smirked inwardly. How romantic.

"I'm glad that you two have finally forgiven each other. It just wasn't right seeing you two fight; you're both meant to be together. Call it my accurate and dependable instinct. Now… enough of that loitering, and let's get to the Spirit World!" Rin declared excitedly, slowly walking through the doorway she once came from, motioning for the couple to follow her.

The couple, now hand-in-hand, obediently followed Rin out the doorway… relieved that their conflict was rid all problems. The attractive male tugged slightly at her girlfriend's hand, as she stared up into his twinkling eyes.

"Hmm… what is it Haku?" she asked curiously, perking up one eyebrow in question.

He flashed her a wicked and foolish grin; something told her Haku was planning something not-so-friendly. Once making sure he got her full attention, he asked a most interesting question… "Just wondering… do you still think I'm a bastard?"

Almost immediately, Chihiro slapped at Haku's arm playfully… rolling her eyes in an amused and amiable way. "Oh… HAKU!"

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Another Author's Note: Hiya, everyone! Hopefully you found this chapter to your liking! I was briefly reading some of my previous chapters for inspiration and ideas, and I've realized how dark and dramatic this story as become. Not that having too much drama is bad or anything, but it'd be nice for some of the characters to actually be happy for once. I don't like my characters to be utterly miserable for the whole story. LOLz. I'm not that cruel to the characters when it comes to my writing. Well… read and review! Until next time, see you!