-Catgirl-of-Bavaria- : Mwahaha, I hath returned to save the readers from the cliffhanger I last left with! –evil laughter- I probably would have done it earlier, but I woke up at ten and was only about a quarter awake… -Blinks sleepily- As of now(1:30pm), I think I'm about half awake! Yay, good for me. I don't know why I'm so tired today, but oh well. Huzzah, here's the next chapter, I know you guys will enjoy it! Read and Review and make me a happy catgirl!
Chapter 10 – Two Paths Meet
Chihiro found the little door at the side of the welcome patio that she remembered led to the garden on the right side of the bath house entrance. She noted that it was now smaller to her as she crouched down to open it, vaguely thinking of how it may be like squeezing through one of the cabinets of her kitchen at home.
She pushed it open easily, and, to her relief, quietly and crawled through, noting that it was about the same as the overgrown trail back in the human world, only void of any bushes that wished her arms further harm.
She stood nimbly, and futilely brushed off her pants. Almost walking off, the girl remembered the door, and quickly glided it shut with a push from her foot. It emitted a low squeak, but Chihiro wasn't concerned. She was closer than ever to finding her lost love, her heart told her through it's rapid pace.
Turning once more for her destination, she set out at a hastened walk down a muddy stone trail. She stepped lightly; making sure her boots wouldn't make too much sound on the pathway of stepping stones. As she walked, Chihiro took in the beauty of the well kept garden.
Turning her head towards the back door of the garden, she was startled to see someone already standing there.
Stopped in her tracks, the teen noted his dripping wet green-brown hair that stuck to his back in the heavy rain, and white and blue work uniform.
It was him, she knew just from the hair. He was slightly hunched over, his forehead leaning on the door frame. She could tell, somehow, that he knew of her presence.
Again, she felt her heart aching to call out to him…
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Haku stood there, focusing on the door jam, hearing the footsteps grow closer until they stopped and he heard a small gasp behind him. His heart raced, the dragon knew it was her, but still the voices that had taunted him earlier in Yubaba's office returned to him, telling him everything he didn't want to hear or believe.
"All humans smell the same,"
"Maybe another human has gotten into this world."
He refused to believe it. Mentally throwing those thoughts into the vault with the others, Haku took another deep breath, and turned towards the human behind him.
She stood there, about five feet tall, staring at the ground. He could see the collection of tears in eyes that he couldn't really see, but knew were beautiful.
Her clothes and long hair were completely soaked and plastered to her body, which had indeed matured into a delicate and slender but developed form.
She looked so perfect standing there, Haku declared to himself that it was one of the most stunning images he'd ever seen. She wasn't beautiful as he'd thought she'd be, she was gorgeous!
Suddenly, he noticed all the scratches that had torn up her arms, and the scrapes on her knees. She was covered in mud and blood and looked soaked to the bones. He felt the urge to protect her rising up again, to heal her wounds, like she did for him once. But first he settled on healing her tears first.
She looked up at the dragon, revealing her face and tears and the fact that she'd obviously just noticed him gazing at her.
"Chihiro…" He breathed soothingly, feeling her name flow out of his mouth. He was glad to note that it was the most inviting tone he'd ever heard himself use with anyone as far back as his memory went.
She stared back at him with wide brown eyes that were still brimmed with tears, just for a moment, before, with a choked little voice,
"Haku…" She smiled through her tears, suddenly, repeating his name. "Haku…Haku!"
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Chihiro felt fear rising in her body as she watched the guy just stand there, as though pretending she didn't exist.
'Maybe that's what he's doing,' she thought pitifully. 'He knows I've forgotten him, so he's ignoring me…'
Still, Chihiro called on her memory more desperate than ever. Still, she battled with herself, her hope pitted against her doubts.
'Maybe this is all just another dream… Soon he'll turn around, and his face will be covered with mist or something like that, and I'll wake up back home.' She hung her head in guilt and fear.
She stood there, staring at the ground, fuming at herself, angry that here he was in front of her, and she still couldn't produce his name. Tears began to well up in her eyes until she looked up to see him there.
Gazing back.
With large beautifully green eyes, and an expression of pure bliss on his pale face. She could see him again!
"Chihiro…" He whispered, looking back at her tear-filled eyes with total adoration.
With that look on his face, the face that she could see again, Chihiro found herself swimming in memories. She heard herself chanting Haku from all of the memories that flashed before her eyes, some yelling for him, some whispering.
She saw his face from several different times of her journey long ago, younger, like that of a twelve year old boy, but his face nonetheless. Staring at him now, his matured face still gazed at her, with a small but heartfelt smile. He didn't seem mad at all.
"Haku…" She choked a little on her tears. Trying again, she sobbed, "Haku…Haku!" She felt herself smiling underneath all of the rain and tears on her face. She had got him back!...
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"Haku," Chihiro said, suddenly losing her enthusiasm. Her tears started rolling down her pink cheeks in droves, and her smile started to vanish. "Haku, I'm sorry…" She sobbed, suddenly dropping to her scraped knees. "I'm so…Sorry.."
Haku watched her, almost frightened as she whimpered an apology that he wasn't expecting. As her knees hit the ground, he suddenly panicked and went to her.
Kneeling almost in mid-run, he put both hands on either shoulder. He tried to look into her eyes, even though they were pointed towards the torn material of her pants. Chihiro wept quietly as she focused on those rips, not bearing to look into the dragons amazing eyes.
"Chihiro, what are you apologizing for?" Haku asked her worriedly, gently wrapping his toned arms around her and pulling her into a hug. He placed a hand on the back of her head and brought her into the shelter of his shoulders, protecting her from the rain.
"Because…I was forgetting you…little by little…" She choked. Haku felt his heart skip a beat at her words, but continued to console her, stroking her long and drenched hair as he stared at a little thorn bush near the edge of the garden.
"I dream about you…Almost every night…" She said into his white top, trying to hold back the tears.
Haku held her close to him, letting the rest of her tears stain his top.
"Ever since I left this place I've dreamt about you, Haku…But I began to lose you, until your face was always hidden, and your name was gone!" She told his chest as she clenched her fists that gripped his shirt. "I couldn't find your face or your name in my memories, and I hated it!"
Her last words hung in the rain, echoing through both of their heads. So she had forgotten, Haku thought with despair.
'But not completely,' he told his captive thoughts before they had a chance to take over him.
He felt Chihiro drift out of his embrace and he found her looking at him, almost like a child who was ridden with guilt.
"Are you mad, Haku?" She asked quietly and innocently, her eyes full of honest fear that Haku'd seen there before. Last time it was just all out fear of being in a new world. This time, though, he knew it was the fear of rejection, something he'd been suffering for a long while now. "Are you mad that I forgot you?"
"No, Chihiro, I'm not mad at all." He said assuredly, giving her what he hoped was his best smile. He hadn't smiled in so long. "You're here with me again, and that's all that matters to me."
He pulled the human girl back into an embrace, but this was more of a loving than comforting embrace.
Chihiro felt her heart lift out of it's pit of guilt as Haku pulled her against his body. She was so grateful she didn't have to turn around knowing that her loss of memory had cost her such a treasured relationship. She threw her arms around his solid shoulders and let her smile widen, taking the dragons scent in. Letting his body warm hers.
In the rain and thunder, they sat like that for a few minutes, letting the rain continue to soak them both. Haku, after a while, drifted apart from her, very slowly. Chihiro saw through the rain that his face was slightly pink.
He looked at her for a moment, taking her in. He felt his heart racing, he knew what he was about to do, and he was nervous that he might screw it up. After all, most of his life had been spent as an emotionless and harsh stone that Yubaba had turned him into.
He slowly leaned his face towards Chihiro's, tipping his head slightly to the side. He got closer and closer to her lips before stopping just short of them. He was going to let Chihiro close the gap, or lean out if she didn't want it. He felt his own lips throbbing just from his nervous heartrate.
Chihiro suddenly understood why he was hesitating, and blushed a furious red before smiling at Haku and leaning slowly into his kiss.
Haku melted as she closed the gap, something that he'd never imagined could happen to him. Chihiro just felt so perfect to him, in his arms, in her personality, and now in this intimate way. She was perfect in every way. He decided to let his tongue just barely explore her mouth, only just taking in her taste, before calling it back and finishing the kiss.
"I love you, Chihiro," he whispered through the still falling rain, as he had barely pulled away. "I should have told you the day I first saw you."
Chihiro responded by pulling him back into a deeper embrace. She nuzzled into the crook of his neck affectionately.
"Kohaku…" She sighed, using his true name.
Haku suddenly, with the harsh reminder of a thunderclap, realized where they were and what time it was. Both the river spirit and the teenage girl were completely soaked, and the rain was only coming down harder. He got to his feet and offered Chihiro a hand up. They both headed for the door that led to the deck on the side of the building, hands together and fingers interlaced.
"Kohaku, what happened to your hands?" Chihiro enquired, suddenly noticing the bandages wrapped around them.
"Oh, it's nothing…I'll explain in a minute," Haku replied, reluctant to tell her about the pain he endured in Yubabas office for waiting for her, just to save her another spin into guilt. He helped her step over a slot of a missing step.
"You know, there's a funny story to that missing step back there…" Chihiro told Haku with a fond giggle as they made their way to the bottom of the steps.
-Catgirl-of-Bavaria- : Woo! Finally they meet! I'm terribly sorry if this chapter was a little confusing, organization-wise…I was trying to get both their perspectives on the situation, It's easier to understand when I divide the two different character's thoughts in Word, but it didn't carry through last time I did it… (chapter 9 between Chi and Haku's halves of the chapter) –ponders…- I'm still new to this site and everything, so I still need to get all of the little tricks down, please bear with me! –Nervous laughter- Well, I'll try again, but if it's all jumbled and confusing, you'll know why!
Anyway, hope you liked it, I'll update soon, as always. No, I don't really have a life. I'm a high school graduate, and I have not been able to find a job. Rawr. My days of late have been nothing but cleaning, reading and writing Spirited Away fanfics and working on my own original manga. Mwahaha, Fear the summer of idleness!
As always, Thank you for all your reviews, and gomen to any reviewersI haven't responded to, I think I've responded to everyone, but with my laziness and utter madness, I might have missed someone...-sweatdrop- Anyway, thank you all!