Hey guys! I'm back from my holiday, and as promised, here is the new chapter. It did take a little longer to upload because I've had slow internet for days now. Enjoy it, munchkins.
I do not own Spirited Away.
'Ahh!'
Haku heard it before he felt it. The sharp blow of another body colliding with his own. Hard.
He knew that if he'd been a simple, normal being, that definitely would have done some damage.
Though painless, the force had surprised him, and pushed him backwards. He stumbled to regain his own balance against the bumpy concrete wall, eyes wide.
"I'm so sorry!" She- a girl- stammered.
Haku lifted his head, putting on his most winning smile.
"That's all ri-"
And that's when he saw her face. Chihiro Ogino, the most beautiful girl in the world, with tears streaked down her cheeks, and eyes he could see desperately trying to withhold them. Haku felt his own heart drop down to his stomach. His mouth opened slightly, yet no words came out.
He watched as Chihiro's cheeks reddened beneath his stare. She shut her eyes, squeezing out another tear.
'What am I doing? Stop staring, you moron!'
But it was already too late to say anything. Chihiro ducked around him and continued fleeing down the emptying hall. He could smell her sweet scent as a small puff of wind blew past him, echoing her movement.
Haku watched from a distance as Chihiro slowed to a walk. He couldn't see past the thick tree she'd disappeared behind, but he sensed some kind of bench. She was hiding from something. Him? Possibly. He'd made her embarrassed. He mentally punched himself for that.
Haku cupped his hands to his chest, and breathed in slowly, focusing his energy flow. A faint light peeked through the crinkles in his palms. When he removed his hands, two tissues had appeared. It was simple magic, even young spirits could do it.
He folded them carefully, and walked silently over to the tree. To her.
Haku's nerves kicked in. Suddenly the tissues were a dumb idea. He pushed them into his pocket, and leaned against the opposite side of the tree. His sharp hearing picked up rustling sounds from Chihiro. As if she was searching herself for something she needed. He heard her let out a strangled sob.
That did it for Haku. Without thinking, he stepped around the tree as fast as he could, and..
.. touched her on the shoulder.
Millions of tiny sparks shot through Haku at that moment. His hand tingled at the touch, even though it was very quick. She tensed, and turned her head to face him. Their eyes met for only a brief second, before Chihiro cast her eyes to the ground. He watched as her hair fell graciously to cover her face, taking in every single perfect, chocolate coloured hair.
She'd entranced him. Completely and utterly entranced him.
Haku's eyes were fixated on the blackboard as the memories so vividly swirled through his mind. He wasn't really taking any of the lesson in, but he knew he could easily figure out the problems on the board if he gave himself a moment to.
He couldn't believe it had only been an hour since that memory had taken place. And he also couldn't believe that she was here.
Sitting right beside him.
Since he'd sat down, she hadn't looked him in the eye. In fact, she hadn't acknowledged him at all. And Haku craved her attention as if it were sugar.
He propped his elbow up onto the desk, and rested his chin in his palm. He purposefully had himself tilted in her direction, slightly closing the space between them. She didn't seem to notice.
"Okay, class. We'll be moving to the Science room to experiment this practical activity. Please arrange yourselves into partners that you know you can work well with."
The sensei's words soaked into Haku. He grinned, leaning back in his chair. Perhaps a little too cocky for his own good.
He turned his head to Chihiro- but she was no longer in the chair by the window. His head whipped around frantically, and he saw her standing with a group of girls.
He closed his eyes. 'Ah well. You can't have everything.'
"Nigihayami-kun?" Haku's eyes snapped open to see ..
His eyes narrowed darkly. It was her- the girl from the river with the boys. Haku was sure of it. Her voice, her hair, her..
Haku felt his cheeks go hot at the memory. All he could see was her bare body beneath the water's surface.
"Oh? What's this? You're going all red. Do you perhaps.. like me?" The girl said with a smug grin, looking down at him.
He could see faces turning to the scene. He could feel her eyes on him. He glanced up to meet Chihiro's gaze as she leaned against the heavy wooden classroom door. Something flickered through the girl's eyes, but as soon as it had arrived, it was gone. Chihiro turned her head away to instead look out the window.
Haku close his eyes and smirked at the girl standing before him. "As if I would."
"Reeeally?" The girl seemed amused. It pissed Haku off. "Then why don't you be my lab partner?" She whispered, leaning closer.
He could see her cleavage out of the corner of his eye as she bent lower. He stood abruptly.
"No thank you." He said as he pushed past her and the onlooking students.
Chihiro stared at the scene unfolding before her. Haku - as he'd told her to call him – was being targeted by Aya. It was obvious that she wanted him, and she has a habit of getting what she wants. No boy could resist her charms.
A part of Chihiro's heart sank.
'What's this feeling? Am I disappointed..?'
She kept her eyes on him from across the room. She leaned against the classroom door, and wrapped her arms around herself.
Aya saved her most winning move for last. Chihiro could see her pushing out her chest, and leaning into Haku. He hardly seemed affected by it.
She couldn't hear the conversation they were having, so Chihiro was surprised when Haku stood from his chair, and walked away from Aya. She was even more surprised to see him walking towards her.
'Urgh, Chihiro, you're standing by the DOOR. Where else would he go? He's not coming over to you!'
Chihiro closed her eyes and stepped respectfully out of the doorway as Haku passed. But the echo of his footsteps were not heard beyond the door.
"Ogino, would you like to be my lab partner?"
Chihiro's eyes snapped open. Her skin prickled. '..Eh? Me?!'
Her eyes met his once again. "U-um, okay." She murmured.
Haku broke out into a massive smile that reached his eyes. "Good, let's go." He said, grabbing her by the hand and dragging the two of them out of the room.
Chihiro's arm felt like it was going to fall off from all the spark-like feelings that pulsed from her fingertips to her shoulder socket. Even though they were speed walking- almost jogging- through the school hallways, the touch of his hand just make her mind go all muddled.
Time passed. She didn't even realise where they were going. The hallways were suddenly unfamiliar.
"Wait." She said, loud enough for Haku to hear. He slowed to a stop, and turned to look at her.
"What is it?" He asked, cocking his head to one side slightly. His dark hair shifted with the movement. Chihiro ignored the way her heart jumped at the movement.
"I.. don't know where we are." She admitted.
"Really? I don't either. I thought you'd tell me if I went the wrong way." He said, rubbing the back of his neck apologetically.
Chihiro glanced around. She didn't recognise any of the rooms, and Osaka High was such a big school that it was almost like a maze. And they'd taken so many turns and stairs that she barely had an idea of which way to backtrack.
"Ah, it's useless. This school is so big it'd be almost impossible to find our way back without getting even more lost. Why don't we just wait for a teacher to walk by and ask them?" Haku suggested.
Chihiro suddenly realised that they were still holding hands. She hated the way she felt like his hand fit perfectly with her own. It just felt so warm and soft- just as hand-holding should be.
He must have felt her tense, because he immediately unwound his fingers from hers.
"Sorry about that, um, I, er.. wanted to get out of there quickly. Sorry if I made you feel uncomfortable." Haku stammered, looking at the ground.
Chihiro' heart beats grew stronger. 'He's cute.' She realised suddenly.
"U-uh, no no, I didn't feel uncomfortable.."
Chihiro froze, turning a deep shade of red.
"Not that I mean I was comfortable! I- yeah- no, not uncomfortable, just, um, you know, I didn't feel weir- no, it was okay, um.." Her eyebrows twitched as she found herself at a loss for words.
Haku's face was frozen in confusion. Then slowly, he started to laugh, clutching at his stomach. Chihiro stopped stammering, and simply watched him as his head tilted up, and his white teeth peeked through his lips.
He flopped his head forward, and looked up at her beneath his lashes.
"You're staring at me." He said.
Chihiro snapped out of her trance. "N-no I wasn't!"
"Yes you were!" He teased.
"Your.. your hair distracted me!"
"My hair?" He shot a smirk at her.
Chihiro stood, cemented in place. Her mouth hung open, still registering what she'd blurted out.
Haku laughed, and ran his fingers through the dark strands on his head purposefully.
"Do you like it?" He asked with a wink.
"You're so full of it." Chihiro laughed. Then she sighed. "Well, if we're stuck here, I'm going to at least find a place to sit."
Chihiro opened the door nearest to her. It was an empty classroom with nothing inside.. Haku began to search with her, opening doors too. All the rooms were empty. Completely bare, with nothing inside. Not a single desk, chair or even blackboard. Almost as if they were abandoned.
"Oh! I know where we are now!" Chihiro said gleefully. "This is where the new classrooms are. This part of the school was under construction for a while. I know how to get back to the Science rooms."
"Chihiro."
She looked up, responding to her own name. Her first name. She raised an eyebrow at Haku.
"Yes?"
She watched as he moved to sit cross-legged against the wall on her left. He patted the concrete floor beside him.
'An invitation.' She realised.
Chihiro didn't know why or how, but the next thing she knew, she was sitting there beside him on the dusty floor.
Haku broke into the same grin as earlier. Chihiro once again noted how it reached it eyes. It meant the smile was genuine. Getting back to the classroom was suddenly someone else's problem.
"So.. ah.. where are you from?" She asked, focusing her eyes forward.
Haku shrugged. "Doesn't matter. Nowhere special."
"Er.." Chihiro trailed off, not knowing how to reply. There was a pause.
"What're you thinking about?" He asked, drawing lines in the dusty ground with his finger.
She tilted her head. "Why should you get to ask me questions? You don't answer mine."
He laughed under his breath. "I suppose that's fair. Okay, ask another question."
"Why did you transfer to Osaka?"
"There was someone I wanted to see."
"Someone? Ooh, a crush?" Chihiro teased.
He smiled sadly. "Something like that."
Suddenly a figure came into view. "Finally, I found you two!" It was the sensei.
He wasn't happy.
"BOTH OF YOU HAVE HELD UP MY LESSON. WHAT ARE YOU DOING HERE, ANYWAY? BOTH OF YOU ARE STAYING BACK TO DO THE EXPERIMENT AFTER SCHOOL! NOW GET BACK TO MY CLASSROOM THIS INSTANT!"
Quickly, Chihiro and Haku got to their feet and moved quickly down the hall after him.
Chihiro remembered what Haku had said before the sensei inerrupted. Her heart dropped down into the pit of her stomach. He liked someone else. 'Why do I care? I'm not .. attracted to him or anything. Right?'
She swallowed hard, and smiled. "I'm sure you'll definitely succeed." She whispered.
"Eh?" He asked, turning his head to look at her confusedly.
"You'll definitely end up with that girl if you came this far for her." Chihiro answered with her best grin.
Haku said nothing. The silence that followed was almost torturous.
"I hope so."
Okay guys. Thank you all for your support. I know this chapter wasn't too great, but the next one will be better.
I love you, my little raindrops :3