Meep! Okay, this is a bit weird, but I decided that I can use a time-skip just this once! XD I think I already used one in this story, though!!! So, basically, this chap starts as the class is hiking to their "survival training". Kay? Kay.

Me no owney...sniffle...

--------TT

Chihiro lifted her backpack higher onto her shoulders. It wasn't necessarily heavy, but it was larger than most backpacks, and she didn't like it when it would hit against her lower back and butt every other step. She was dragging the tent bag alongside her, because it was too long and heavy to attach to her backpack. Akito had offered to help her carry it, but she had just shrugged and said he could help put it up.

It was a miracle, really. Mr. Ibiki had assigned her, Haku, Akito, and Yuri to her tent, because it was the only 4 person tent, and the other, bigger tents had been split evenly into boys and girls. Supposedly, the four were the most responsible, and Mr. Ibiki could trust them not to "mess around".

Chihiro just had to know...what had Mr. Ibiki been sniffing to think that Akito was a responsible student?

"Hey, Chihiro, do you want help pitching your tent once we get to the clearing?" Yoko asked, hanging back until Chiihro caught up with her. Yoko had been camping several times before, and even though Chihiro had only been a few times, Chiihro was confident she could pitch her family's tent.

"Nah, that's okay. I can figure it out, and if not, I've got two obedient boys and Yuri to help me." Chihiro said, adding emphases(sp?) to her friend's name.

"You got stuck with two boys?" Yoko asked raising an eyebrow. "I thought Ibiki wanted to seperate them equally?"

"Yeah, well, apparently we are 'responsible'. Funny thing is, the boys are Haku and Akito." Chihiro used air quotes and laughed dryly at the end of her second sentence.

Yoko frowned. "Well, I guess I'm happy you got stuck with Akito...I mean, you like him right? But I don't really know Haku very well...he's that new guy with black hair, right? He's really quiet. Good luck with him!"

Chihiro stomach did a flip and sank deeper in her body. "Actually, he's really nice. I've talked with him and stuff...he lives fairly close to me. Not as weird as you'd think..."

Yoko frowned again, her usual expression gracing her soft features. "Chihiro, if I didn't know better, I'd say you liked Haku more than you do Akito."

"W-what? N-no way! I just t-talked with h-him is all, n-nothing more!" Chiihro stuttered, bringing up her hands in defense. Yoko gave a light laugh, and Chihiro gave up. "Okay, so I do like him; way more than Akito, in fact," she admitted.

"I knew it!" Yoko exclaimed, raising a fist in the air triumphantly. "There's no way you'd fall for a dunce like Akito!"

"Aw, that's not nice," Akito said, jogging to catch up to the two girls. Yoko blinked and then looked at Chihiro, who had a pleading look on her face. It obviously read, "Please don't leave me alone with this guy," but Yoko was going to ignore her for a moment.

"See ya later, Chihiro," Yoko said, waving as she jogged off in search of a certain black-haired boy. Chhiro stared despairingly at her friend's back until Akito's bumped into her shoulder, on purpose, of course.

"Hey, so, what are we going to do after we pitch our tents and stuff?" Akito asked.

"I guess that's where the "survival training" part comes in. That is why we came here, you know." Chihiro said, the voice of reasoning strong in her head. Why had Yoko left her? She wasn't good at small talk! As long as Akito kept asking questions...

"Oh. So, Chihiro...want to share a sleeping bag?"

Oh. My. God! Who does he think he is?! "Um, no thanks. I'd feel really stupid if I lugged my sleeping bag all the way out here, and then didn't use it." Chihiro tried to smile sweetly, but it came out as more of a grimace.

"Kay, then. Well, we could always share your sleeping bag." Akito's perverse grin sent shivers up Chihiro's spine, and she willingly snuggled up into the arms that snuck their way around her front.

"I'm not sure the teacher would allow that," a cool voice said. Chihiro recognized the voice and melted into the arms. Thank God, her savior had come.

"Nushi, what the hell are you doing?" If Haku's voice was cool, Akito's was icy cold. The brunette was obviously jealous of Haku's interaction with Chihiro.

"Saving a good friend from a perverse teenager?" Haku offered, his arms tightening around Chihiro. The three were standing alone on the path, seeing as how the other students had all gone ahead. Akito stiffened, and Chihiro swore she saw his fist clench and unclench, as though he were debating whether or not to punch Haku right in the face. Haku also seemed to stiffen, but Chihiro could not tell why. The boy was usually so calm around Akito, he wouldn't just blow up right now, would he?

"Well, I should be the one calling you perverse. Look at the way you're holding her!" Akito pointed an accusing finger at Haku's arms, as though they might disappear if he concentrated hard enough.

"This is nothing," Haku said, his voice never wavering. "Chihiro doesn't mind it, and at least I'm not the one who wanted to share a bed with her."

Akito was blushing a mad shade of red, and finally he turned of the balls of his feet and stomped off, heading in the direction the class had gone. Chihiro turned so that she was facing Haku and hugged him back, muttering in his ear, "Thank you. You really did save me. That guy is so crazy!"

Haku smiled and blew on Chihiro's neck, making her jump. "No problem. Your friend, the brunette, came and got me. She said that a lech was coming on to you back here."

"Yeah, that was pretty much it," Chihiro replied, giggling. "I think we better catch up to the class, though. They might send out a search party for us if we're too late!" Chihiro grabbed Haku's hand and pulled him into a jog down the path. Haku smiled and followed, watching Chihiro's ponytail swing back and forth with her steady footsteps.

---meep---

Chihiro stepped back to admire the fire that was blazing in the fading light. It had taken a while, but she had finally gotten it to rise to a nice height. Yuri plopped down on the ground next to the fire, stretching out her hands to warm them in the chilly night. "The tent's up!" The blonde told her enthusiastically.

"About time! You guys took forever! I already got a bucket of water and lots and lots of dry firewood!" Chihro mumbled, but she was secretly pleased with herself. "We just have to heat up the water before we drink it, and we'll be fine."

"What about supper?" Akito asked as he walked around the fire to take a seat next to Yuri. "Didn't Ibiki said we got to fend for ourselves for supper? I just remember that Team 2 got dinner, and we got breakfast. Team 1 got lunch, right? Then shouldn't Team 4 get tomorrow's lunch?"

"Yes, that's right. He said that he'd be able to provide each team with one meal, and we got the fortune of drawing the breakfast slip." Haku slipped to the ground next to Chihiro, who plopped back down to complete the circle.

"So, what are we preparing?" Yuri asked, stretching lazily. "I'm game for just about anything."

"Well, I don't know. I saw a few apple trees out next to the creek I got the water from, so I suppose we could wash a few apples and eat them down there while we heat up the water. I don't think there's anything else, unless someone wants to go to the tedious task of catching fish." Chihiro laid back onto her back, looking up at the faintly visible stars.

"Apples sound nice," Yuri said. The boys were silent, so Chihiro stood up and made sure the bucket of water was sitting near the water to let it warm up. Then, she grabbed a small plastic bag from her backpack. She had intended to use it for wet clothes, but she could always reuse it after she collected apples.

"I'll be right back," Chihiro said, waving as she jogged off in the direction of the creek. The three other students looked at each other, and then Yuri asked the question every one of them was thinking.

"Shouldn't one of us go with her?"

Akito and Haku looked at each other, contemplating. Haku stood up first, and nodded. "I'll follow her and help her pick the apples." With that, the boy took off down the path Chihiro had just taken. Yuri frowned, and then glanced over to Akito.

"Shouldn't we be going with them?"

"Someone needs to stay here so that we can kep a fire going to heat the water. It's not safe to let fires go unattended in the woods, and we still need the water to drink." Akito's answer was plain and informative. Yuri shrugged and looked into the fire. How could Chihiro have a crush on this guy?

"So...what now?"

----apple----

Chihiro twisted the apple around so that she could check it for marks and such before she pulled it off the branch and dropped it into her bag. It was hard to see in the weak moonlight. She had already collected a dozen or so apples before the bag began to get heavy, and Chihiro decided to head back to the clearing.

As she walked along the dark path, Chihiro couldn't help but feel a sense of dread washing over her. It was a pretty night out, with a full moon and several stars visible, but Chihiro couldn't shake that awful sense that kept coming back. As she approached the clearing, Chihiro could see the red glow of the fire flickering on the nearby trees.

Chihiro had to blink a few times before she realized what was wrong with the picture. "Where's...Haku?" she asked weakly.

Yuri looked up from a card game she was playing with Akito. "Hm? But he went to get apples with you! He left right after you did! Haven't you seen him?"

Chihiro's lip trembled. Dropping the bag in her hands, she jumped over the rolling apples and headed back in the direction from which she had come. Akito and Yuri looked at each other with horrified expressions.

"Chihiro, there might come a time when I have to go back to the Spirit World, and when I do, I don't want you to worry. I don't know if I'll be able to tell you when, but if I disappear for a while, don't be afraid. Be the brave Chihiro I know."

No way! He did NOT go to the Spirit World without me! He said he would, but... Chihiro's tears blurred her vision, and she tripped on a large rock, scraping up her knees and hands in the process. She didn't care, though. She had to get to the Spirit World gate! Maybe...maybe Haku hadn't left yet! Maybe he'd waited for her, knowing she'd follow him! Yes, maybe...

Chihro tripped herself again, but this time she managed to stay on two feet. Running, she knew she was going in the right direction. it was almost like the gate was calling her, like it was telling her she needed to hurry. It was encouraging her to keep going, to not turn back! Chihiro kept running, even though her breath caught in her throat, and her knees and hands stung from the cuts on them. Blood ran down her legs and dripped from her wrists. She thought only for a moment that she must look a mess, but appearances didn't matter right now. All that mattered was finding Haku!

God, Haku! Why?! You should have known not to leave me, not like this! Why, why, why? You could have waited for me! We could have gone together! Two heads are better than one, but it seems like you weren't even using the one head you've already got! Chihiro's tears splashed off of her face onto the dry ground underneath her running feet. She was nearing the gate right now, it was just around this corner...

Chihiro fell to her knees, wincing as her cuts were filled with dirt and grit. There was no Haku waiting at the entrance to the gate. In fact, there was no one. Chihiro sobbed silently before her tears began to run dry. Filled with new-found determination, Chihiro stood up on her weak knees and walked over to the large arch that would take her to the Spirit World. Not looking back, Chihiro walked through, her confident mood showing in her posture and her gleaming eyes.

Darkness. And then, a light. Chihiro found that she was beginning to limp. As she walked into the large room at the end of the tunnel, Chihiro had a blast of air pass by her. It smelled damp, and Chihiro's heart sank. She remembered the river, and how she had not been able to cross it at night.

The clanking of a ferryboat's bell caught Chihiro's attention. She ran out to the very entrance of the building and saw the ocean lapping at the edges of the door. The ferryboat was not that far away, and it was still boarding. Chihiro took off her shoes and left them in the doorway. Then, without a second thought, she jumped into the water and starting swimming to the shore closest to the ferryboat.

Climbing out, Chihiro wrung out her clothes and hair before sneaking over to the ferryboat's entrance. There was a small ramp to go up, and a long line of spirits were slowly making their way up.

Before she knew it, Chihiro's back was being pulled, and she felt herself being tugged into the slowly ascending line of spirits. Looking up, Chiihro smiled into the face of the radish spirit. The radish spirit pretended to ignore her, but Chihiro could have sworn she saw the corner of his mouth curl up a little.

Once they were safe on the ferryboat, Chihiro was able to speak with the radish spirit. "Excuse me, um, Mr. Spirit, but thank you. I had no idea how I was going to get to the bath house! You really save me!" She said as she bowed with respect. The radish spirit made a small noise of acceptance and then patted her on the back. Chihiro stood up straight and looked at it. "So, you know Haku is still alive, right?" The radish spirit made another small noise, and Chihiro began to tear up. Her words rushed out before she could stop them.

"I told Haku I wanted to go to the Spirit World with him, but he was worried about my safety, so he told me I couldn't go! Then, when we were on a school field trip, if you could call it that, Haku snuck away while I was collecting apples, and now it's probably going to take me forever to find him, if I find him before Kosuke does! Oh, I'm so worried about him, and I want to know where he is so much!" Chihiro began to cry again, and the radish spirit beckoned for her to sit on his lap while he patted her back to try and sooth her.

The ferryboat let out a bell tone a little later, after Chihiro had stopped crying. The radish spirit stood and ushered her out of the room, under the cloak of secrecy. The two hurried over the bridge, past all the greeters, and into the bath house itself. Chihiro was still hiding behind the radish spirit, but that didn't stop her from running stack dab into another person.

Chihiro groaned and rubbed her head. The person on the floor across from her did the same, and they looked up into each others' eyes.

"Lin!"

"CHIHIRO!!!!"

----Katie!----

LOL. I just had to put that last thing. So, finally, we're getting into the real plot of the story. Yay! Plz review! I worked hard on this chapter!