Forgotten

Author: NekoNemui

Rating: T

A/N: I'm baaaack! Here is Chapter 13! I may have to start doing weekly updates, but for more information on that - read the bottom note. As always. c:

Disclaimer: :sobs unattractively:

A cool breeze hissed through the summer air, bringing with it a warning that the weather was about to change. Dark clouds began to form; weaving together until they'd doused the morning light and replaced it with an eerie mildness.

Every so often, tiny rays of light would break through the weave, casting small dots of golden sunshine to the earth below. Most of this light would waste; landing on objects that didn't need or care for the hearty glow of the sun. However, one particular beam gracefully landed upon the folded hands of a girl – a young brunette seated comfortably atop a park bench; bobbing the balls of her feet up and down in an attempt to keep blood flowing throughout her cold limbs.

Chihiro didn't want to go home just yet. She'd been out for nearly a day already, and she knew her parents were worried about her – the text messages and missed calls explained that much – but, for some reason, she couldn't bring herself to move her legs and walk the rest of the distance home. Maybe it was because she was too tired to listen to the lecture she knew would come from both parents the moment she stepped foot in the door; or maybe it was something more than that.

Maybe it was because she knew now that she wasn't, and would never be the same girl she had been a day earlier. No; this girl was different – she saw things beneath a new light. To Chihiro, the world around her had never looked more beautiful than it did on that morning. After knowing what could have happened to her the previous night, she was extremely thankful to have made it out unscathed. Well, because of him.

If Haku hadn't been there, she may not even be alive now. She figured that after that man had done what he'd intended to do, he wouldn't have just let her go. It would have been too risky; and after the extreme measures he'd gone through to get her in such a state; she could guess that he wasn't new to that kind of thing.

Yes, that state. She knew now how stupid she had been to get herself into such a situation in the first place. After the damage had been done with those drugs, she had been left weak.

Vulnerable.

Chihiro shivered in her thinly layered dress and gritted her teeth as small droplets of rain began to fall from the charcoal sky. She was wearing the same thing she'd worn the night before; and it was already beginning to soak through because of the easily absorbable material. But the sixteen year old had already given up on any warmth, so she just let the iciness bite into her.

Casting her eyes off the ground and to her surroundings, Chihiro realised how empty the place was. She had found a park on her way back from Haku's house, and had decided she would stall time there and let herself just think. There was a playground a few metres away from her; a place that should be full of squealing kids so full of life. But now it was abandoned; only used on days filled with promising sunshine.

The once occupied swing-sets creaked on their chains as a gust of wind pushed them into a steady swing. Leaning forward to prop her elbow on her thigh and rest her chin in her palm, Chihiro imagined two invisible children sitting there; kicking their feet out as they pushed the swings back and forth with their weight as momentum.

The bench she was sitting on was the only one in the area; or, at least, it was the only one she could spot through her squinted eyes. The rain began to fall harder, and Chihiro found herself instinctively tensing her feet as if she would bolt for cover at any second.

She wouldn't do that, though. She needed this - to be with nature for a moment; to let the rain trickle into her skin, washing away her worries and drowning out reality - if only for a short while. She could feel the wetness seeping into her hair; sending stray droplets running down her face.

The rain was falling so hard now that the noise of splashing water pellets had completely engulfed her hearing senses. She opened her mouth and let out a noise; feeling more like gibberish than anything else. Nope, she couldn't even hear that.

Chihiro glanced around one more time; double checking that nobody would be around to witness her following movements. When she was convinced that the coast was completely clear, she experimentally waved her hand in front of her. She didn't really know what she was doing, or what she was expecting to see, but if her experiment from the previous day had been real, then surely something would happen, wouldn't it?

Maybe she was just hoping for a miracle. Or a distraction from her thoughts.

When nothing immediately changed, the brown-haired girl felt her heart drop in disappointment. Had she really, truly imagined it all ..?

But then Chihiro noticed that she rain wasn't falling quite as hard as it had been only moments earlier, and looked up above her head as a wishful beat pulsated through her veins.

For a moment, the brunette wasn't sure what she was seeing. After a first glance, it all just looked like.. well, rain. But after observing for a while longer, Chihiro saw that a huge cluster of raindrops had actually stopped in mid-air while new ones continued to fall around them. It was almost invisible to the human eye – in fact, Chihiro was surprised she had noticed at all. But she had seen it; oh yes she had. And now her continued to widen in amazement as she followed her 'halted raindrop' trail with her gaze and realised that it covered the entire sky. It went on as far as she could see.

Suddenly the rain stopped completely; not a single drop touching her body. Her breath hitched slightly as she flung her eyes skyward again excitedly. Had she managed to stop the downpour completely?

But instead of seeing the dark sky and rain; she saw the underside of a black umbrella. Her eyes immediately swung down until they landed on the grasp around the curved handle. This person had slender fingers; ones meant for fine movements and not tough works like heavy labour. She twisted around to see the umbrella's carrier, and feigned annoyance when she recognised the person immediately.

"Haku?"

The raven haired boy was leaned over the back of the wooden bench planks, arm extended slightly outward as he held half of his umbrella over her. He raised an eyebrow and pointed to his ear with his free hand; motioning that he couldn't hear what she had said. She shook her head and shot him a puzzled look as she rose into a standing position; circling around the bench until she was standing beside him beneath the shelter provided for them both.

"What are you doing here?!" She yelled over the thundering rain.

Haku opened his mouth as if to reply, but shut it almost instantly after. His eyes left hers as he glanced around the area, and Chihiro wondered what exactly he was looking for. Almost as soon as the thought had entered her mind, she felt a tightness around her wrist and looked down to see that Haku was dragging her to a shelter across the street.

She wasn't sure how, but suddenly more memories of the night before began to fall into place. Being here – with him, beneath the rain, brought back a mild feeling of déjà vu. She remembered being in his arms as he carried her away from the elements. Away from danger.

Her saviour.

They reached the shelter and now with more space to cover from the rain, hearing became less of a chore to do. She could tell that by listening to the squelching of her flats against the wet gravel below – something she could not hear before.

"What were you doing out there?"

It took a few moments for Chihiro to register that Haku had spoken to her. She shifted her eyes away from the floor and up to him; observing as he shook water from the ebony coloured umbrella. When he seemed satisfied enough with the little task, he rested the handle against the wall and lifted his gaze to meet hers.

"Nothing." The brunette replied quickly; flickering her eyes to the sky behind Haku in search for her frozen water. It wasn't there anymore – she was thankful for that. It might've been hard to explain something like that to someone else, after all. But that wasn't the real problem – the real problem was her fear. Fear of her own vulnerability. "What are you doing here?"

The raven must have noticed her glance and turned his head to look in the same direction. When he obviously saw nothing abnormal, he looked back at Chihiro and pursed his lips.

"It started to rain, and I knew you were walking so I decided to come and see that you were fine." Then, referring to her first statement, he asked "Nothing?"

There was something about that look. The way his eyes seemed to be searching hers for answers – the way they looked so caring and .. comforting. Before Chihiro could think twice, she decided that she would trust those eyes; that face; him. She would trust Haku with her thoughts.

"I was just thinking.. what if you hadn't been there last night? What if I hadn't been able to get away? Would I still be here now?! Haku – if you hadn't miraculously showed up, I might have.. I might not have been able to-"

She broke off mid-sentence when Haku suddenly appeared in front of her – circling his arms around her shoulders and pulling her against him in a tight embrace. She was shorter than him – so her cheek was pressed gently against his collarbone as one of his hands shifted to rest on her head. She hadn't even noticed she had been crying.

"Is that what this is all about?" He murmured into her wet hair softly. "Chihiro – you're safe. You're here. You can spend as much time as you like wondering what would have happened 'if', but at the end of the day, none of that matters. It doesn't matter – because it didn't happen, you understand?"

"No!" Chihiro shoved her hands against his chest to break free; but instead, he clasped her hands in his and kept her from running off. She gasped in reaction to his suddenness, but continued to speak nonetheless. "No – I don't understand! It does matter what would have happened 'if', because I wouldn't have been able to protect myself! I'm not like you – I'm weak!"

She couldn't keep her bottom lip from trembling as she felt warm tears streak down her face.

"..I'm weak."

The brunette let her head hang limply, and didn't pull away when her forehead landed on Haku's chest. If she had been in this same situation a day earlier, she would have blushed and babbled something stupid in apology. She didn't have the energy to be embarrassed about things like that now. This Chihiro was different.

"You're not weak."

The sixteen year old didn't even look up after the raven's comment. She stayed still – both exhausted and too upset to say anything at all. She should probably have moved away; she was soaked and was only making him wet, too. But for some reason her body refused to follow her orders. She felt his chest deflate as he let out a long sigh.

"Chihiro, come over here."

Before she could protest, the girl had been pulled from her resting position and was led by hand to a drier patch of ground. She glanced confusedly at Haku when he dropped her hands and lowered himself into a strange stance directly across from her.

"I want you to hit me."

Chihiro raised both eyebrows, staring at the boy in disbelief. When he caught her look, he frowned.

"I'm serious, Chihiro. Try to hit me."

With her brows pulled together in puzzlement, the brunette half-heartedly raised a fist and let it soar towards Haku. She'd never actually hit anyone before, and didn't want to, either. Why was he making her do this?

Just as Chihiro was about to make contact with the raven's chest, he darted quickly to the right and swung his arm down; gently re-directing her punch to her far left. Her arm swung far too easily; she hadn't punched very hard at all.

She blinked. How had he done that all so smoothly?

"You're going to have to hit harder than that. Try again."

Feeling a new determination come to life within her, she swung around, retracting her arm and flinging it out again with noticeably more force than before – this time aiming for his head. She could feel the accuracy behind her aim; and she knew she wouldn't miss.

But once again, Haku side-stepped. Instead of bringing down his arm to move hers like she expected, he twisted his body around and gracefully raised his closest leg. She immediately knew that he was going to kick her.

But right when she expected to feel the impact of his foot, he halted barely a centimetre from her waist.

"See that?" He asked, still keeping his body perfectly balanced and unmoving on only one leg. "I want you to try it."

Chihiro understood now what Haku was doing. "You're teaching me?"

The raven lowered his leg back down and circled her until he was standing directly behind her. His fingers closed around her hands; curling her own inward so they made two fists. He then reached underneath her arms and raised them – extending one out and bending the other behind her so that her fist was resting above her hip.

From their new position, Chihiro could feel Haku pressed gently against her back. She could feel the presence of him grow closer as he lowered his head to hover beside her own; his warm breath tickling her ear as he spoke softly into it.

"Only if you're willing to learn."

And suddenly Chihiro smiled. She hadn't even felt it coming; her lips just curled upward on their own accord. She tried to straighten them out again, but the effort was wasted. They would not budge.

"Right now?"

She could feel Haku's chest quiver a little, and realised that he was laughing softly.

"I don't see why not, Chihiro."

The brunette turned her head to the side; catching Haku's eyes with the corner of her gaze.

"You do realise I know nothing about fighting, right?"

And suddenly Haku's hand that still rested on Chihiro's outstretched arm jerked back; sending her elbow flying behind her in an incredibly sharp and accurate movement. She couldn't have stopped the blow even if she had wanted to. She flinched as the hit made contact with Haku's stomach; though he hardly batted an eyelid as he kept his eyes locked on hers.

"If someone attacks you from behind, the best thing someone with your frame can do is to hit them with your elbow – A surprise attack." He smirked. "Now you know something."

Chihiro blinked. "Someone of my frame?"

"Short and lacking enough body weight and physical strength for direct attacks."

The sixteen year old's eyes narrowed at the definition, which, to her annoyance, made Haku burst out laughing.

"So, like this?" It was her turn to smirk as she swiftly lifted her elbow and jabbed it back down; hitting the softness of his flesh with even more strength than before. She grinned satisfyingly when he let out a sharp breath – which was probably the most reaction she was ever going to get out of the boy.

"Yes.. like that." He said softly as he regained his breath. He frowned down at her, feigning discomfort. "I'm not sure whether or not I ought to teach you more; if all you're going to do is use it against me."

"Hey – I'm not the one who offered myself up as a punching bag."

Haku sighed. "You're very frustrating sometimes, you know that?"

Chihiro pulled a face at him over her shoulder. "Ow. My heart."

And then the raven flipped her around in his arms; looking her dead in both eyes. Chihiro resisted the urge to gulp at the new source of intensity within those green orbs. Her humor deflated like a popped balloon.

"Do as I tell you to and try not to get hit." He whispered; almost too quickly for the brunette to make out.

"Wait – wha?!"

"Move to the left!"

Chihiro's mind suddenly scattered; leaving her with nothing stable to grab on to. All she could do was watch in shock as Haku pulled back and aimed his right leg upwards; straight towards her.

"Chihiro! Left!"

Suddenly, that was what she did. She didn't know how; one moment she was there, only millimetres away from getting a sharp kick to the chin, and the next she was safely crouched down to her left hand side. Had her body reacted on its own?

"Good. Duck down!"

Her body complied again with his orders; tucking into a smaller figure as a punch went over her head.

"Step back!"

"Jump right!"

"Get behind me!"

"Duck!"

With every order, Chihiro found herself just as easily following it through. It was a surprise to her; had she always been this quick to react? Maybe dancing helped with her stamina and agility.

Haku looked down at her in her crouching position; a small smile playing on his lips. "You're surprisingly good at this, you know."

The brunnete was completely breathless by that point, so she only nodded to show her mutual feelings.

"When you're ducked down like that, you can swing your leg out and knock into your opponents ankles. If you do that, and do it accurately, you will send them flat on the ground; leaving you with the advantage."

Chihiro blinked up at him again. "You want me.. to hurt you?"

"Hey now, what's this new attitude? I don't believe you felt this way before."

"Ha-ha." She rolled her eyes sarcastically before standing up straight. "I think it would be best if I were to head home now, anyway."

She watched Haku as she finished speaking; noticing how his eyes flickered to the ground and back up again. He then looked directly past her; his gaze now resting on the pouring rain outside their shelter.

"You can take my umbrella."

Chihiro smiled and ran her fingers through her damp locks of hair. "Actually.." She wasn't sure whether or not she should ask him what she wanted to so desperately. To hell with reasoning; what did she have to lose?

".. I was wondering if you could walk with me?"

Haku's jaw slacked a little when Chihiro had asked him that. Why was she always so unpredictable? All of those little things she did; every single one made an impact on him. The way she ran her fingers through her hair, or even the way she blinked at him with an obviously confused expression on her face. Usually Chihiro was very easy to read – everything showed on her face.

But right now, she was almost completely expressionless. Almost as if she was waiting for something; mentally preparing herself for the worst possible outcome to her question. No; he was sure of that now, as her lips pressed into a thin line beneath his stare.

A slight giddiness began to bubble within him. There was no way he was turning down that offer. He offered her a soothing smile.

"Of course I will, Chihiro."

She immediately lit up, and beamed as she grabbed the umbrella from its perch against the wall. He could see her hesitate before she opened it, and then handed it to him.

"I think you had better carry that. I might not be able to keep my arm up high for the whole walk to cover your height."

He shrugged, taking the umbrella and opening it beneath the shelter. "Sure."

As the two set out beneath the umbrella, Haku noticed that the rain had begun to fall at an angle; now making it more difficult to stay dry from the downpour. There was a gap between himself and Chihiro, and the only way he could think to keep her from getting any wetter was..

With a quick, swift scoop of his free arm, he pulled the young brunette to him; his hand clutching her furthest shoulder as her right half was pressed gently against his left. He felt her tense for a moment before she spoke.

"What are you doing?" It was barely a whisper.

"This'll stop the rain from hitting us so much." He frowned. "Unless this is too uncomfortable..?"

"No, no; you have a point. This is fine."

He felt her loosen up and relax into him as they walked through the town. Occasionally a car would pass them by, but they made sure to stick to the back-streets so that they decreased their chances of an accident. They travelled in a comfortable silence; the sound of rain thundering against the umbrella filling their ears enough without extra talking.

The raven hadn't even realised how quickly time had passed before he felt Chihiro tug on his sleeve.

"This is my house."

He glanced up in the direction she was gesturing. His suspicions had been correct – she did live in that blue house next to the forest. He found his eyes wandering to the left; gazing into the lush greenery only a few feet away. If it weren't for the wire fence, he might have actually felt tempted to go in.

"It's beautiful, isn't it?"

He hadn't noticed that Chihiro had been watching him. He snapped his head away and looked back at her.

"Yeah, it really is."

She smiled softly, and as she did, the raven noticed several beads of rain fall from her hair and roll down her cheeks. She was absolutely soaked. And probably cold, too – there was a slight breeze out.

He frowned concernedly. "Chihiro, you're all wet. Go inside before you get sick."

But as the words left his lips, a sudden memory came to him.

'Eve's spirit plants itself into newborns, and the child grows up with an immunity to illness, however not one to death.'

It was what Zeniba had told him three weeks ago – God, had it really been only three? It felt like an eternity. Being Nigihayami Kohaku Nushi felt like a distant memory.

"That's the funny thing about me, Haku." The raven snapped out of his daydream when Chihiro addressed him again. "This might be strange, but not once in my life have I ever caught a cold."

The green-eyed boy felt his heart skip a beat. The legend.. was real?

"You've never been sick at all?"

He watched intently as Chihiro pursed her lips in deep thought. "Nope – never. I actually never realised how abnormal that is until now." Her brows pulled together in worry. "Is something wrong with me?"

Haky blinked out of his trance. "What? No, of course not. Why would there be something wrong with you?"

She shrugged her slender shoulders, the movement causing her drenched cardigan to slip down her arms. "Anyway.." She trailed off and Haku waited; watching her eyes flicker from him to her front door and then back again repetitively.

"..Want to come in for a moment? Nobody's home right now anyway – the cars aren't there. And besides; you're equally as soaked as I am, and it is my fault."

Haku raised both eyebrows at her; causing her to blush a slight shade of pink. He immediately corrected his features; concealing his surprise with a smile as he spoke.

"That's alright – really. I don't want to out-welcome my stay with you."

His sharp eyes easily picked up the tensing in her jaw.

"I guess that's true. I don't get sick, but you never know – I might get sick of you." She smirked.

The raven couldn't help but laugh at what she had said. Had she always been so sharp and witty? No; the ten-year old Chihiro Ogino was many things, but witty was not one of them. Haku decided that he might actually like this older Chihiro even more than her younger self.

"Maybe." He grinned, his heart beating a bit too harshly in his chest.

He had fallen in love with her all over again.

Suddenly, Haku spotted a figure out the corner of his right eye.

"Crap!" He widened his eyes and turned to look at Chihiro, who was gaping at the incoming vehicle. He'd never heard her say anything like that before, and found it.. interesting.

"That's my mother!"

Haku turned to watch as the car pulled into the driveway. He had become familiar with the new form of transport, and now understood that they had names - "car" being the most common.

A sudden tug on his sleeve make the raven stumble towards the house. Chihiro was practically dragging him along the pavement and front lawn; waving 'cheerily' at her mother as the woman exited the driver's door and opened an umbrella of her own.

The three of them reached the front door at the same time.

"CHIHIRO! Where have you been?! You realise I have been searching all over for you – calling your dance instructor, your friends mothers -the school, even.. and nobody knew where you had gone! Why didn't you answer your phone!? That's what a phone is meant for, RIGHT?! CHIHIRO!"

The woman who was Chihiro's mother bent over; supporting her hands on her thighs to regain her breath. Haku twisted his fingers together, not really knowing what to do with himself.

"Mum, I know – I know what you must be feeling, and I understand your anger one hundred percent. But you need to hear me out; you know I would never do something like this purposefully, don't you? After dance yesterday I went out with Shoko and Miyuki – you weren't home yet but I figured I would be home before either you or dad, anyway. So I went out, and.. and.."

Chihiro trailed off, looking flustered as she stumbled over what to say next. Haku breathed in and swiftly went to her rescue.

"Chihiro and I are friends from school, Mrs Ogino. I saw her last night and we talked for a while. Shortly after, I tripped over someone and hit my head on the corner of a table. Chihiro kindly came with me to the hospital to have it checked out. I was lucky – it wasn't anything serious."

Chihiro's mother looked at Haku as if she were seeing him for the very first time. He smiled apologetically. "I am sorry, Mrs. Ogino. It is my fault Chihiro didn't answer her phone. They wouldn't allow phones to be turned on because the radiation could confuse some of the new machinery in the particular room I was in."

The woman before him looked stunned. "Oh my. I hope you are alright.. um?"

"Haku." Chihiro murmured.

"Haku." Her mother repeated, speaking louder than her daughter. "Thank you for bringing her home in this weather."

"Not a problem. I should be going now, anyway." He shot a glance at Chihiro, who was looking at him with thankful eyes. "Goodbye, Chihiro," He nodded to her mother. "– Mrs. Ogino."

And without a second glance, the green eyed raven lifted his ebony coloured umbrella, and set out into the rain.

"He's handsome, Chihiro." Her mother whispered, the two of them watching as he disappeared down the road. "When did you meet him?"

The brunette rolled her eyes. "Mum. It's seriously amazing how bipolar you can be."

Suddenly Chihiro squeaked as she was pulled into a bone-crushing embrace. She sucked in a sharp breath and attempted to wriggle out of her mother's arms as they only tightened around her further.

"Mu-mum! Yo..u're .. crush-ng- me-!"

"-I'm so, so glad you are safe, Chihiro."

Her mother loosened her grip around the sixteen-year old; pulling back to look at her with teary eyes. Chihiro's brows curled upwards as she felt a pang of guilt seep throughout her stomach. She hadn't realised just how much she had worried the middle aged woman.

"I know." The brunette whispered, circling her own arms around her mother's waist and pulling them together again. "I'm really sorry."

The position was perfect. With her mother's head resting on her shoulder, there was no way she would've seen Chihiro cry.

Hello hello hello!

So, if anyone has been wondering 'oh my gawd, where is that damned NekoNemui with the new chapter?!' then you haven't read my warning that I would be away on holidays for a week. I am back now, so here's your chapter, OKAY?! Hahaha

Anyway, school starts again for me really, really soon; and I have so much to juggle with my time already. I'm applying for jobs (and if I get the one I want, I'll be working three or so nights a week), I have my regular dose of homework (which is a crapload), and I'm going to be putting aside time to exercise and get fit for next summer. I also want time to read my books, socialize and of course - WRITE! So that's why I'll try doing weeklys.

If, for example, I don't post one week, please don't be upset or anything. I'm sure I'd have a good reason, but I'm going to try really hard to get one out every seven or so days.

On a lighter note, has anyone here read 'Inspired Destiny' by Dr. John F. Demartini? It's a great read, and has really inspired me to fulfill my destiny in life.

Thanks again for reading! This chapter was really 'cutesy' and 'fluffy' but I promise that the plot comes back soon. I get too carried away with my writing -.-

Chuck us a review? c: Always appreciated. xoxox