Chapter 4

The sun shone brightly on to Chihiro's face causing her to squint her eyes open. She reached up and the closed the shades hanging on the side of the window to block the sun. After lying back down onto the bed a sudden thought came to her, "I don't have shades in my bedroom". Chihiro sat straight up and looked around the foreign room. There was a nightstand next to the bed with a single telephone on it. She quickly got out of the bed and walked down a small hallway adjoining to the bedroom. "Where the hell am I?" When she entered the next room she saw a boy stretched on a couch fast asleep.

Suddenly the day before's memories came flooding back to her. She had assumed it was all a dream. But there laid Haku on the couch right in front of her. He had come to see her. But, if he came to see her, then why was he with Jayna yesterday? Has he been here for a while now, but just afraid to come see her? Chihiro felt as if she was going to cry again. Haku slowly opened his eyes and looked up at her.

"Chihiro!" he quickly sat up, started by her presence.

"Sorry about bringing you here, I didn't know where you lived and I couldn't just leave you there where you fainted! So I rented a hotel room and -"

"Wait, What time is it?", said Chihiro sounding quite distressed

A small clock on the table in front of her illuminated "9:45 am"

"Crap! My dad is going to KILL me!"

Chihiro scurried back into the room she was slept in, and picked up the receiver to the phone sitting on the nightstand. She quickly dialed the number to her house.

"Hello?", said a tired voice on the other line.

Chihiro thought up a quick lie in her head.

"Hi, Mom, I'm sorry I didn't call last night, but I went to Hatsumi's house and crashed after my date."

"Your father and I figured you went over her house to spill all the juicy gossip about your date."

Chihiro breathed a sigh of relief.

"Akari is on her way over here and were going out to eat breakfast, Ill come home right after okay?

"Okay sweetie, see you then, bye!"

Chihiro hung up the phone. Thank goodness her parents didn't freak. But she realized she had more pressing problems when she heard Haku enter the bedroom.

"Is everything alright?", said Haku sounding concerned

Chihiro jumped and looked at him "Yeah, everything's fine. No need to worry."

She caught a reflection of herself in a mirror hanging on the wall, "Oh God! I look hideous!" Her eyes were red and puffy from crying and she had makeup smeared all over her face. Her hair sat on top of her head in a tangled mess.

"Um, is it okay if I take a shower?"

Haku looked slightly confused at the strange request, "Uh yeah, the bathroom's over there."

He pointed to a door standing opposite to Chihiro. She ran into the bathroom and locked the door behind her. She leaned her back against the door. "Haku is really here, I'm not dreaming, this is reality." She began to take off her clothes and then threw them onto the cold linoleum floor. After removing her underwear she leaned over into the tub and turned on the shower. After giving some time for the water to heat up, she opened the curtain and stepped into the warm flow of water. Closing the curtain behind her, she put her head under the water and ran her fingers through her hair trying to smooth out the tangles. She let the water run over her body and consume her.

She still couldn't believe that Haku was back. She half expected to wake up from this dream she was having any time now. After she bathed, she turned the water off and stepped out of the shower on to a crumpled up bath mat. She grabbed a towel that sat folded on the back of the toilet and began to dry herself off. She suddenly wished she had some other clothes to wear. But she proceeded to put on the same clothes she wore yesterday and checked her reflection in the mirror to make sure she was presentable.

After taking a deep breath she opened the door and stepped out of the bathroom. Haku as standing next to the window staring out the it. The sound of the bathroom door opening caused him to look over at her. Chihiro gazed into his charming emerald eyes. She missed looking into those eyes for so long. After a couple of moments of silence Haku finally spoke.

"Would you like to go for a walk?"

Chihiro nodded her head and followed Haku out of the hotel room. They walked down cold, gray stairs outside and out into the parking lot. They were right across from the park Chihiro and Jake went to the night before. Suddenly Chihiro remembered what happened there. "Jake said he loved me! But how can he love me when I love-"

Haku seemed to notice the confused look on Chihiro's face.

"Are you okay? I don't want you to faint again."

"Yea I'm fine."

After walking for a while Chihiro stopped abruptly and looked at him.

"Why have you come here, and after all this time?"

Haku pointed to a clear space of grass under a tree.

"Lets go sit and talk."

Haku walked over to the tree and sat underneath it. Chihiro sat down across from him in the grass.

"Yu-Babba sent me here to retrieve you."

"What?" Chihiro wasn't expecting that at all. "So he didn't come to see me on his own free will, he came on an order. He was forced to come." Chihiro felt a lump grow in her throat, but she forced it down.

"Why in the world does she want me?"

Haku took a deep breath and explained everything to her. From the item she was to retrieve to the fact that if she gets it then he will be set free.

"So he only wants me because I am the ticket to his freedom. He doesn't even care about me. As long as he gets his freedom." Chihiro buried her face in her hands.

Haku looked at her with a puzzled expression, "So, um, will you do it?"

Chihiro glared at him, "No! I wont do it! How dare you come to me after six years, out of the blue and ask me to do a mission for Yu-Babba! Do you know how long I waited for you?" She stood up abruptly and turned her back to him.

Haku stared at her with a stunned expression on his face. He walked up from behind her and placed a hand on her shoulder.

Chihiro trembled from his touch.

"Go away! Get away form me!"

Haku could hear it in her voice. She was crying. He had made her cry. He felt sick with himself. "Why did I accept this mission? All I wanted was to be able to hold Chihiro in my arms. I want the girl I love to be with me. Is that so wrong?" Haku couldn't take it anymore. He grabbed Chihiro from both sides of her waist and turned her around to face him. She had tears streaming down the sides of her face. She fought to get out of his grasp. But he ended up pinning her to the ground.

"Get off of me! Go away! Leave me the hell alone!"

Haku ignored her pleas, and kept her pinned firmly to the ground.

"Chihiro listen to me, I love you. I accepted the mission to be with you! I came to fulfill my promise to YOU!"

Chihiro held her breath and relaxed her body. "He remembers the promise he made to me. He loves me!" Haku bend down and gently kissed her. Chihiro was taken aback but returned the kiss and wrapped her arms tightly around his neck. Haku loved everything about Chihiro, from the way she tasted to the way she smelled. He tried to memorize everything about her.

"I love you too Haku," Chihiro said, "I love you so much."

As they laid in the grass with their bodies intertwined, Chihiro wished that this moment could last forever, but knew that it would soon have to come to an end. As if Haku could read her mind, he eased himself off of her. They both stood up and held each other for several more moments.

"How long do you have until you have to go back?"

"Till tomorrow. Will you come with me?"

Chihiro nodded her head. Haku held her in a long embrace.

Together they walked toward Chihiro's house with their hands intertwined around one another. When they reached her house Haku turned to Chihiro.

"How will you tell your parents?"

"I don't know yet.."

Haku kissed her softly before turning to go back to the hotel.

"I'll be waiting outside your school tomorrow, see you then."

Chihiro raised her arm and waved goodbye, before turning and going into her house.

"Sweetie is that you?"

"Yeah Mom I'm home." Chihiro felt the tears welling up in her eyes again. She will have to leave everything in this world behind tomorrow. And she didn't know when she would return. Just then Chihiro's mother stepped out into the foyer.

"Sweetie are you okay?"

Chihiro tried to hold back her tears. "Yea mom, I'm fine. Ill be in my room if anyone calls."

Chihiro ran past her mother and upstairs into her bedroom. After she closed the door behind her the purple hair tie gleamed on her dresser, catching her eye. She walked over to it, picked it up, and used it to hold her hair back into a ponytail. If she ever needed protection, now would be the time. She plunged onto her bed and couldn't help but cry herself to sleep.

-