"Wait," Chihiro blurted out as Haku looked like he was about to continue speaking. "Before you say anything, anything else, please, just hear me out." She paused then and closed her eyes. She almost couldn't believe she were about to say the things that were on the tip of her tongue, but a sudden rush of courage coursed through her veins and she knew that it was now or never. No matter what happened next, at least she could hold onto the satisfaction that she'd made her feelings, and her agenda, known.
Haku looked on at her patiently and didn't attempt to interrupt or question her sudden outburst. When she opened her eyes to make her speech, they locked with his ashy green ones. Her heart felt as though it were about to stop. Ignoring the heat rising in her cheeks, she plowed on, this time keeping the eye contact he made with her.
"When I left this place all those years ago, when I walked down those stairs for the last time, you told me I couldn't look back. And I didn't; not once. I spent years wondering if I did the right thing, wondering if you would keep your promise. For a while I convinced myself that you meant I would see you in the memories, in the skies as day turned to night, in every drop of water that came to me. For a while that is what I believed until I couldn't accept that as the answer anymore.
"When university applications became the subject of my families discussions, I knew that was my window, and that was my sign. I needed to see you again, for real. I needed to know that you were more than just a fading childhood memory that wouldn't leave me alone long enough to get a decent night's sleep.
"If me coming here is somehow detrimental to you, I'm sorry, I truly am, but I had to come. I had to come because even if you don't feel it . . . the way I do. . . I needed you to know. . ." The gentle summer breeze had dispatched a collection of delicate petals into the air of every color, sending them gently onto the two occupying the gardens. Chihiro swallowed hard and wished that her surge of courage had outlasted her speech. Her eyes never wavered from Haku's as he watched her patiently.
"I know we were only children. And I know that you're a spirit and I'm just a human," she finally said quietly, her courage giving in, and her eyes falling to the worn dirt path beneath their feet. "But my feelings for you are still so strong . . . stronger, even. . ." She couldn't bring herself to say it directly, and instead brought her hands to cover her face. For the first time since arriving in the spirit realm she wished that she might sink into the earth, if only to escape the feelings drowning her now.
She was so busy being consumed by her mortification that she had failed to really notice Haku moving towards her. He stepped within arm's length, and gently plucked a fallen petal from her silken hair. She was surprised by the sudden touch, and looked up, letting her arms and hands fall slightly. Haku studied the petal with fondness, as if he had watched it grow up unto this very moment, and was now bidding it farewell. If fell lightly from his finger tips and floated out into the obscurity of the rest of the gardens.
"Chihiro," he said slowly, lovingly. "You were never, 'just a human'." Then, reaching out as though he had been longing to do so for ages, he gently brushed some loose strands of hair away from her face and tucked it behind her ear. "You were the greatest friend I've ever known. You saved my life. For that I can never repay you." He stepped forward again, enough to take her hands into his own, suspending them between the two.
"I promised you that we would meet again, I know," he said, his face turning a bit downcast now, taking on a much more serious tone. "I have wanted to see you, always, but you must understand that I cannot leave this world. And you were so young . . . It had to be your choice, to make when you were ready to take that leap once more. I promised we would see each other again because I knew that you would make that choice, but I could not know when. And so I've been waiting here, watching the bridge every evening as day turned to night. And here you are," he said with a depth of affection that Chihiro had never known from a man.
She suddenly smiled as tears began to creep out of the corners of her eyes. She wasn't sure if it were the relief of his words or the joy she felt from hearing them. She felt as though she could breathe again, and her smile grew until it seemed as though she were about to start laughing.
Haku looked down at her with concern, and without thinking about it placed a strong hand on her back and looked at her carefully.
"What is it? What's wrong?"
"Nothing, nothing at all. I just," she brushed the tears from her eyes and tried to look at him reassuringly. "I've just never been so happy."
The afternoon seemed to pass quickly as Chihiro felt she could never get enough of Haku's presence. She reveled in the air of him and, although still quite shy, found herself coming to adore the feeling of Haku's guiding hand placed gently on her back as they strolled through the gardens.
They spoke of everything that had transpired during Chihiro's life after she left the spirit world as a child. Haku listened patiently and never missed a single detail. When she mentioned dreaming of him, he would ask for as much of the design of those dreams as she was willing to share. He told her that dreams were spiritual ties from the soul to the spirit world.
Haku told Chihiro about taking the bath house over when Yubaba stepped down, and gaining his full magical potential as he grew. He regaled Chihiro with every detail of the how the bath house flourished and how he found Min and took her on as his apprentice. There was so much that had changed in the time that Chihiro had been absent, and yet so much that remained unchanged.
Chihiro was about to asked about Min and her story when an involuntary yawn tumbled out of her mouth. She covered her mouth quickly and smiled.
"I've kept you out of bed much longer than I intended," Haku admitted, apologizing as they walked back across the bridge. The sun had made its way to the western skies and Chihiro realized that she was immensely tired. Regardless of this fact, however, she was sad knowing that soon she would have to part ways from Haku in order to catch up on her sleep.
"I didn't mind," she said, smiling up at him. She admired for the first time his strong clean jaw; so defined and handsome. She blushed and looked down at the ground as they stepped toward the elevator. She walked forward and turned to realize that he did not follow. He held the doors open with one hand however and looked on at her.
"I apologize that I can't take you all the way up, but Min will meet you at the top," he said, extending a hand to brush her cheek. His eyes gave a look of longing and she could sense that he wanted more from her, but refrained and stepped away from the door, allowing it to slide slowly shut.
"Do you ever sleep?" Chihiro asked suddenly, surprising even herself. With nothing more than a sly grin, the door closed over him and she was left with nothing but the memories of the day that had transpired.
It may have been the fact that an elevator was carrying her rapidly up the multi storied bath house, but she felt lighter than air by the time the machine came to a halt. The door slid over and, just as Haku had promised, Min stood at the ready. She gave a short bow to Chihiro and directed her off the elevator. Its door slid shut with a shp behind them as she walked forward toward the pent house door.
A moment of concern washed over her as she realized that Haku intended for her to stay in a room on his floor, and not with Rin. Aside from Haku, she realized too that Rin was the person she wished to see most at the moment. She needed help processing everything that had happened that day. Min lead her dutifully through hallways that she had never been through until now, and finally they stopped at a normal wooden door.
Min turned the brass knob, and the door swung open slowly, the hinges giving the slightest creak. A few lights came on and she hesitated, taking in the room from where she stood. The lights were mounted on brass fixtures that extended slightly out from the walls. A four poster bed sat with its headboard against the wall, and to the right a small but finely constructed fire place sat. It was not lit, likely due to the summer seasons warm weather, and a cover was fixed across the hearth, decorated with a scene of sakura trees; their blossoms drifting this way and that.
Min finally encouraged her to enter, and as she did she noticed that to the left was a small bathroom that had been obscured by the door frame. The room was cozy and her uneasy feelings gave way to her true exhaustion as Min assured her that she wouldn't be far if Chihiro needed anything. Once the door clicked behind Min, signifying her departure, Chihiro collapsed into her new bed, ignoring the fact that her things had been placed on the chest at the end of the bed. She fell into one of the most peaceful sleeps she'd had in years, fully dressed.
Haku sat in his office, looking at tallies and sending Min on different errands. He tried to focus only on his work, but the knowledge that Chihiro was just a few hundred feet from where he sat kept pulling at the edges of his mind.
Setting down his pen he gave into the urge to revel in the memories he had from earlier in the day. It was almost too good to be true that she had finally returned to him. He had never given up hope, but there were times when he wouldn't have blamed her for choosing a human life over returning to the spirit world. He stopped at that thought suddenly and reminded himself that she could still go back. The magic would be hard to achieve, but he would let her return, if she wished it.
This caused a frown to tug at the corners of his mouth and he got back to work. He knew he could never keep her from making her own choices, for he only wanted what would make her happy. But as long as she was here, he would do everything he could to show her how happy her return made him.
