Chihiro sat in her class as kids piled out the door, heading to the nearest place to eat. She didn't bother moving, she hadn't brought a packed lunch nor any money and if she was being honest she wasn't even hungry. It was rare for the teenager to get hungry enough to eat during school hours, even rarer for her to actually eat. So as the kids who weren't her friends left in groups she stayed in the classroom gazing out the window.
It was a beautiful day today, it was cloudy and light rain caressed anything it could touch with its wide reaching arms. She could feel the warmth of the sun but the bright rays weren't out enough to blind her sensitive eyes. Days like this were her favorite; days like this she wouldn't bother making an appearance at the amusement-park-that-wasn't-actually-an-amusement-park.
"Chihiro?" She looked up towards the speaker, in the doorway stood her teacher with an apologetic smile, "Are you busy?" Chihiro shook her head because when was she ever busy? "Good! We have a new student and all the other students are busy. I know this is a lot to ask but can you show him around?" Chihiro didn't reply as she scooted her chair back before standing up, quietly making her way towards her teacher; even her footsteps were near silent.
As they walked towards the office her teacher droned on and on about the new student, telling her stuff that she didn't care to know. She mostly blocked the woman out, not bothering to retain any of the information. Chihiro would show the new student around, show him his classes and what to do, and when she was done he'd find a group of friends that he belonged to. Chihiro had been through this more than once, showing new kids around only to be left behind in the end; not that she really minded all that much.
Chihiro hadn't been expecting the beautiful male waiting for her in the office, and she knew immediately that he wouldn't be sticking around all that long. "Chihiro," her teacher said with a smile, "this is Kohaku. Kohaku this is Chihiro." The boy smiled in a way that Chihiro couldn't quite put together.
His hair was dark and long, much longer than her own, and cascading down his back in a beautiful mane. His skin was pale and porcelain white, a sharp contrast to her tinted skin. His face was sharp and well defined, he was tall and thin and even through his school uniform Chihiro could see that his body was more than just skin and bones.
"Hello," his voice was melodious. Had she heard it somewhere?
"Hi."
"I'm Nigihayami Kohaku Nushi." His green eyes held something Chihiro couldn't quite place, an emotion she wasn't sure she had ever felt.
"Isn't that the name of a river?" She remembered visiting it as a child, the memory blurry and unrecognizable now. It was like a piece of paper, the edges burned and ruined from ever being read again.
His smile grew wide and displayed a perfect row of blinding white teeth, "It is." She nodded and didn't say anything else, her sudden quietness not deterring the boy walking next to her. She wanted to reply to him, something about him called to her in a way that wasn't foreign, in a way that was comforting. But she couldn't, wouldn't; she didn't know what to say or how to act, her awkwardness one curse out of many.
So that was how she spent the first half of her day, showing the new student around. He had gained much attention and by the second half of school he was gone and nowhere to be seen. The cooler kids had gone crazy looking for him, wanting to be his friend more than he seemed to want to be theirs.
Chihiro found herself oddly drawn to him. And as she had showed him around his eyes had rarely left her, his attention plastered to her. It was new and exciting experience.
It was best she stayed away from him.