Aw, hell. My mom is trying to find a story she posted on fanfic a LONG time ago, and if she finds it, she's going to make me read it! Which would be alright, except for it's for the Mummy Returns, and it's like, 20 chapters long, and I'd have no clue what she was talking about, because I barely remember what happened in the movies! I'm kind of happy, though, because she's finally going to start reading what I've been writing. Although, that also creeps me out a little, too. whimpers I hope she doesn't read my yaoi fanfic when I get it out. That would be hard to explain.

"Oh, yeah, Mom, I suddenly starting believing that incest was alright, and that we should all encourage others to marry their cousins because they read about two brothers making love to each other on Yeah...suuureee...she'd so TOTALLY believe that.

Anyway...wait...I forgot what I was going to say. Damn. Hate when that happens. sigh Let's just get on to the story, shall we?

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Chihiro dumped a pillow and a large quilted blanket onto the black futon. There was just enough room in her tiny bedroom for the futon to lay flat on the left of her bed. Why had she followed her mother's orders to bring the futon allll the way up the stairs to her room? Because in the 3 hours that she and Haku had been sitting in her room, they hadn't come up with any fool-proof ideas to thwart Kosuke, and his reign over the bath house.

Haku engulfed Chihiro in a hug from behind. Sensing it was her friend, Chihiro leaned backwards willingly, loosing herself in Haku's rich, unique scent, and his warm body. An encouraging voice whispered in her ear, "Don't give up. We'll think of something. Tomorrow, we'll just try harder." Okay?"

"Yeah," Chihiro replied. Her response was admitingly delayed, and Chihiro was a bit disappointed when the pleasant scent and warm body disappeared form her senses. A moment later, she found out why.

"Chihiro, honey! Time to go to bed!" Haku had heard Mrs. Ogini's footsteps approaching, and had put an appropriate distance between them. Her mom opened Chihiro's bedroom door and poked her head inside. "Bed. Now," she commanded, and Chihiro scurried under the covers of her small twin-sized bed. Haku flopped down respectively onto the futon mattress and lowered himself under the covers. Mrs. Ogini walked into the room and gave them both goodnight kisses on the foreheads, even though she had to bend down considerably to give Haku his kiss.

"I'll see you two in the morning. Get a good night's rest, because you have school tomorrow." Mrs. Ogini waved them goodnight, and turned off the light as she left the room, closing the door behind her with a soft thud.

Silence. Chihiro stared up at her bedroom ceiling. Why had her mother kissed Haku goodnight? Didn't she know that was embarassing? "Hey, Haku," the girl whispered. "I'm sorry my mom kissed you. It must be pretty freaky, to have a complete stranger kiss you on the forehead."

Chihiro could hear Haku shift under his blankets, and she scooted over to the edge of her bed so that she could look down on him. Haku had turned so that he was laying on his side, staring right back up at her. "It was fine, just surprising was all," he whispered back. Chihiro blushed, glad it was dark in the room so that Haku couldn't see. The only light that came into the room was the moonlight, entering through the only window.

"Haku," Chihiro began slowly, "do you think we could...um...hold hands?"

Chihiro caught the shadow of Haku's warm smile, and over the edge of the bed, she could see him extend his hand. Scooting over until she was almost hanging off of the bed, Chihiro took the boy's warm hand in her own. It was an odd request, but Haku had willingly granted it. Chihiro smiled as Haku gently squeezed the hand in his own, urging her with a silent request to slip into a peaceful sleep. Before she knew it, Chihiro had complied, and thoughts of Haku and the Spirit World filled her dreams.

Haku just watched the small girl as she drifted off. What an odd family, he thought. First, the mother kisses me without permission, and then Chihiro requests to hold my hand as she falls asleep. Not that I mind it...

Haku looked out the window from his vantage point on the ground. A midnight blue sky and twinkling silver stars were all he could see, but that wasn't what was on his mind. I have to go back some time, and I might have to bring Chihiro with me. I hate to involve her...she's so innocent...she shouldn't be going through these sort of disasters. Is it really a disaster, though? Maybe for the bath house, but not for her. I wonder what Chihiro thinks of the whole problem. And she doesn't even know the whole truth. In all reality, I don't want to tell her the truth. Why did I ask for her assistance? Is she really the only one who can help save the bath house, and everyone who works there? What a terrible mess I've gotten her, and myself, into.

As all these thoughts ran through his head, Haku felt his eyelids droop, and his grip on Chihiro's loosened, though he never completely let go. Of course, he'd have to be an idiot to let go of his one, true, love.

-----------------""

Chihiro woke up in the morning with a start. So startled, she fell off the edge of the bed she had been precariously laying on. With an "Oomph!", she successfully woke Haku up in the process.

Stumbling when she stood up, Chihiro dragged her feet to her alarm clock and pounded on it until her fist hit the right button to turn it off. It really was an unorthodox method, but it started the day with half as much stress.

Haku rubbed his eyes, not completely sure the sounds of the punches and the visual were matching up. "Good morning Chihiro, did you sleep well?" Haku asked pleasantly after he abandoned his previous actions. Chihiro blinked and turned to the boy, acting as though she had forgotten he was there.

"Oh, um, yeah, I had good dreams." They were about you. "What about you?"

Haku couldn't very well remember the dream he had had, so he just gave a slight shrug and said, "I feel rested, so that's good enough for me." Chihiro scoffed and opened the door to her bedroom. Haku gave her a questioning glance, and she pointed out into the hallway. "Out. I have to get dressed."

"Oh, right." Haku stood, untangling his legs from the blankets. Stepping out into the hallway, Haku took with him his school uniform so that he too could get changed. Walking down the hallway to the bathroom, Haku closed himself in and changed quickly. Chihiro's room was empty when he peeked in, so the boy continued down the hallway to the stairs, and down the stairs into the kitchen, where Chihiro and her father were sitting at the kitchen table, and Mrs. Ogini was standing in front of the stove, waiting for several eggs to cook.

"Morning Haku!" The bubbly older woman greeted. Mr. Ogini just looked up from his newspaper and gave the older boy a grunt to acknowledge him. Chihiro had her head laying on her arms, and Haku honestly believed for a moment that she had fallen back asleep.

"Good morning, Mrs. Ogini, Mr. Ogini." Haku said quickly. He took a seat next to Chihiro, and a plate of eggs and toast was promptly put in front of him.

"Chihiro, darling, sit up and have breakfast," Mrs. Ogini shook her daughter awake, and Chihiro obediantly sat up, leaving room for the girl's own plate, identical to Haku's.

"Thanks Mom," Chihiro muttered as she dug into her eggs. Haku mumbled a thanks too, before he began on a piece of his nicely browned toast, slathered in butter.

"It's no problem!" Mrs. Ogini beamed, setting a plate in front of her husband. Then, she too sat down, and the entire table was quiet, save the sounds of cutlery hitting plate.

Awk-ward.

------------(-)

"Bye Mom! See you later!" Chihiro shouted as she and Haku made their way to school. Mrs. Ogini could be seen waving through the living room window at the two leaving children.

Chihiro skipped down the sidewalk, and Haku watched in an amused silence. The two had made it through the increasingly awkward breakfast, had gotten ready for school, and had left with just enough time to get to class and not be late. A great accomplishment, in Chihiro's eyes. "Hey, Haku!" she called over her shoulder. "Are you ready for another day of torture?"

"Hn," the boy replied. He hadn't slept well last night; dreams of the bath house and his life before Chihiro had come crashing down on him like waves on a beach. And, like waves, those dreams did some serious damage to the landscaping of Haku's brain. He now had a lot more to think about. The questions that might not have occurred played through his mind, and he could find no suitable answers to any of them.

Chihiro noticed the boy's odd behaviour and stopped skipping to join him in a slow, ponderous walk. "What's the matter? You aren't looking too well..."

Haku started and looked down at Chihiro with warm eyes. "Nah, I'm fine. Just...thinking too hard, is all!" If Chihiro heard the hesitation in Haku's voice, she didn't show it. Instead she just smiled brightly, totally believing the boy's excuse.

"Okay, well, give it a rest, at least for the rest of the day. We can think about it later, alright? If you think too hard, you'll damage all your brain cells, and then we wouldn't be able to come up with a plan at all!" Chihiro tuffled with Haku's hair playfully, and he swatted her hand away gently, a smile on his face. It was so like Chihiro to put off big matters until the last minute. Chihiro wanted him to promise not to think about it, but how could he not? It was the more important of the two reasons for him coming to see her. So, he halfheartedly lied and said he'd focus on the day. Chihiro accepted the lie and seemed satisfied. Haku's heart broke in two at the secret he was keeping from her.

Really, the girl had so much control over him.

------------(TT)

"Alright class, take a slip and pass it on. These are the permission slips for the survival training we'll be doing this Friday. Yes, I know, Friday is coming up in a few days, so some of your parents might be reluctant to let you go. Just remind them it's mandatory that you go, because this is also for a grade. I need these in by tomorrow, by the way. Does everyone have one? Alright, then, let's begin the lesson."

Chihiro stared at the paper in her hand. The gym teacher was hosting survival skills in the woods behind his house? But, the only woods in the area were the ones behind the condos, where the entrance to the Spirit World was. Maybe, he lived in one of the condos? Possibily. But, the better question was how much begging and pleaing was she going to have to go through to get her parents to sign her slip?

Suddenly, Chihiro found her gaze being shifted to Haku, who was sitting in the back of the room, staring out the window. She made a face; Haku was probably thinking about the Spirit World, even though she had asked him to relax a little. Although, she couldn't really blame him.

Chihiro made a small choking noise when a realization hit her. What if, during the survival training, one of her classmates found the portal to the Spirit World? They could get stuck in there, much like she had, and if this guy - Kosuke - was as mean and nasty as Haku portrayed him to be, the student(s) wouldn't have a very good chance of ever making it back out again.

Oh. Kami. She and Haku had yet another problem to add to their ever-growing list. They would have to devise a plan to stop anyone other than themselves from entering the gate that led to the portal. And Haku, would he even be able to go to the survival training? It was mandatory, which meant that everyone had to go, but what if he didn't have anyone to sign his paper for him? She could always forge a signature for him, but her handwriting was a bit of crap, and it was nowhere near as neat and delicate as an adult's should be.

Chihiro mentally groaned. Now she knew why Haku was always staring off. He was wondering the same things she was, and maybe even more. The thought made her head hurt, and Chihiro had to sympathize for the older boy. He had so much responsibility, and even though he had come all the way across from the Spirit World to seek her out, she had barely even helped him! Kami, she felt so guilty!

Chihiro sank her head down onto her desk and decided that she would use lunch to think things out up on the roof. She'd even invite Haku, though she wouldn't tell him about the other problems she had ran into. That would only stress him out even more!

Her mind set up, Chihiro focused on the lesson that was being taught, and was realized to find that it was relatively easy. At least she had gone over one hurdle on the track that was her life.

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Ohhh...cheesy and crappy ending. Darn. That stunk. Well, you know what? I resent that! At least this chap was a little longer, I think. I spent more time ranting at the beginning than I did on the entire chapter. And, there was a section in there that was really, really, short, and I could have taken it out, but that would have been too much work! XD Me a lazy bum...