Chihiro floated aimlessly, allowing herself to be pulled by the gentle current of the river. Her hair billowed around her head like a halo, and she breathed bubbles instead of sucking in the water around her. She could see the bottom of the river through the clear water, the floor of the river swimming with fish and covered in river plants. Dugongs floated above the river plants that thrived in the water. It's so beautiful, Chihiro thought to herself. A small smile spread on her face just as a cold current whirled around her, and she saw a streak of white burst past her, leaving a trail of bubbles behind. A dragon..?
Just as the thought came to her mind, the water around her suddenly became very cold and icky to her bare skin. The once clear water became murky, and a foul stench filled her nostrils as Chihiro's eyes widened at the now polluted river. Empty beer bottles and trash buried itself in the sand on the river floor, and plastic waste floated around her. It slowly became darker and darker as something man-made stretched above the surface of the river, covering it up. Chihiro began to panic as she became trapped underwater. What's happening?! She screamed in her mind as she flailed in the disgusting water.
"Calm down, dear, it's only a dream." An old woman's voice spoke to her, echoing throughout the river. Chihiro looked around for the source when the purple hair tie she wore around her wrist began to glow and an image of a large-headed woman with a beak-like nose, grey hair, and bulgy brown eyes appeared before her. "Hello, Chihiro. My, you've grown up to be such a fine young lady," the old woman smiled kindly.
Who are you? Chihiro tried to ask but only bubbles escaped from her mouth. Nevertheless, the woman understood what she was saying.
"Don't you remember me? I'm your Granny," the old woman cackled.
The young girl squinted her eyes hard at the woman when a flash of realization occurred. "Granny...Zeniba?!" Chihiro exclaimed. There was a white flash of light and suddenly the two were no longer in the filled in river, but instead, on a green meadow with many wildflowers. "I remember you, Granny! I miss you!" she cried out, hugging Zeniba who returned the embrace fondly.
"I've missed you, too, Chihiro," Zeniba murmured. She took Chihiro's face in both of her wrinkled hands and observed the girl. "Oh my...it seems your soul is stronger than ever. I'm glad Haku was able to get to you in time."
"Haku?" The girl raised her brows at the mention of his name.
"He's been trying to get to you for many years now, honey," Zeniba said with a warm smile. "Kept me working for days on end to find another opening to the human world so he could fulfill his promise."
"His promise," Chihiro repeated slowly and then another dream flashed in her mind.
Will we meet again?
Of course we will
Promise?
Promise.
"Oh...that one, yes, he kept his promise alright," Chihiro laughed, glad that more memories were becoming clearer to her. "Granny, do you know about the oni's attack?"
"Why of course. I foresaw it during my meditations many years ago which is why I gave you that hair tie, to protect you, " Zeniba pointed to the purple hair tie that Chihiro's friends had made for her eight years ago. "I'm glad it was of some use. Those foul oni...what is Enma thinking?"
"Do you really think that Enma is not the cause of this, Granny?"
Zeniba shook her head. "I'm not sure of anything, Chihiro. Only that the oni is trying to gain power for Amaterasu knows what. But that's not why I'm here. I have something to tell you, Chihiro, something very important."
"What is it, Granny?" Chihiro asked, eager to know why the witch visited her in her dreams.
"I'm giving you this trunk. It will have everything you need to protect yourself from the oni when Haku's not around." Zeniba waved her long, gnarled fingers and a small, wooden trunk appeared beside Chihiro, looking old but secure. "I don't have long before the spell wears off, so I'll only explain it once and you best listen carefully, Chihiro."
"Okay!"
"Inside this are useful items you can use to defend yourself from evil spirits, and a book that has the answers to everything you need to know. It's an ancient book passed from my grand father to my father and to me. And also, my golden seal. You'll know what to do with them once you wake up," Zeniba explained hurriedly, her time limited. "Make sure to keep these items safe and with you at all times. Give Haku the golden seal, and tell him that it will help locate the others. Chihiro, I wish I have longer to be with you but the spell…"
"I know, it's okay, Granny," Chihiro smiled, hugging Zeniba one last time. The witch was slowly starting to fade away and a heavy feeling of sadness weighed her heart. "Before you go, Granny, I have one last question. Will I ever come back to the Spirit World?"
Zeniba smiled grimly at her last question. "All you need to know is in that book, Chihiro. Good bye. We'll meet again soon, whether it's in this world or yours." And with that, the witch disappeared completely from the meadow, leaving Chihiro alone.
The young girl looked up at the vast blue sky and closed her eyes. "Bye, Granny." When she opened her eyes again, Chihiro was back in her own room, in the comfort of her bed with the morning sun streaming through the window. She sighed and sat up, stretching her arms while she was at it. "Even with all this supernatural stuff going on I still have to go to school," she grumbled as she hastily grabbed her uniform and rushed to the bathroom for her shower.
Chihiro was tugging a brush through her wet, tangled hair when she felt eyes on her. She whirled around to find Haku sitting on her window sill with a small smile, his eyes slightly hidden by his fringe. "Good morning, Chihiro," he said with a casual look. She felt her cheeks burn as she gaped at him. "What's wrong?" He asked a bit innocently.
"P-people don't just barge into someone's room early in the morning!" Chihiro exclaimed with a pink face. She felt under dressed, only wearing the school skirt and a tank top, her blouse flung over her shoulder messily. Haku seemed unfazed, not understanding that the situation they were in was actually extremely awkward.
"I thought you gave me permission to come in as often as I liked," he reminded.
"I did, but at least wait until they're actually dressed!" She shouted. "Are you actually a pervert, Haku? I remember that you snuck into the woman's sleep quarters with no second thought just to tell me to meet up at the bridge."
Haku laughed and shook his head. "I assure you I am not a pervert. You are dressed, and I did wait for you to finish in the bathroom before coming in. And," he added with a victorious look, "You recalled a memory! Well done."
"Huh? Wait, I did!" Chihiro gasped in realization, covering her mouth with her hands. She remembered her second morning in the Spirit World. She was still awake while the older women slept when Haku came in and placed a hand on her shoulder, whispering to her to meet by the bridge to go see her parents. Parents? Chihiro looked at Haku with a confused look. "Haku, were my parents with me in the Spirit World?"
"Not exactly," he answered. "They were turned into pigs by Yubaba because of their greed. You wanted to save them so you stayed even though you had a chance to go home."
"Oh." More memories came clearer into her mind as Chihiro remembered completely her first day in the Spirit World. She had met a weasel spirit named Lin and a spider spirit named Kamaji, and the many sootballs. A smile came on to her face, pleased to remember her past. "I remember. You were really bipolar, Haku."
Haku rolled his eyes when he noticed a small trunk sitting on top of her desk. "What's that, Chihiro?"
Chihiro turned to see what he was looking at and saw the trunk. "The trunk. Granny gave it to me!" She rushed to the chest and tried to open the brass clasp with fumbling hands to no avail. Haku came up from behind her and reached around her to open the trunk. Chihiro blushed at their closeness and focused her attention to his hands undoing the clasp and tried to ignore the heat of his body against her back.
He was able to flip the clasp and the trunk snapped open. The two peered inside and Haku widened his eyes at the contents. A thick, ancient-looking book rested on the red velvety lining in the trunk, closed by a brass clasp. A small, golden seal glinted beside it, and a few bottles of something crowded around the seal. There was a small metal rod dotted by white pearls and covered in strange engravings. A thick bundle of purple thread and two knitting rods were placed to the side with a small leather pouch. A tiny bird-looking figurine took one corner of the chest along with some seals, and last of all, another wooden chest. Haku took all this in, his emerald eyes unable to hide his surprise at the items. "Chihiro, where did you get these?"
"Granny gave it to me in a dream." Chihiro took out the tiny chest and opened it curiously, and was amazed by the many rings that glimmered before her. "She said that I would know what to do with them, but I don't even know what these are."
Haku took the chest of rings from her and gasped. "These are magical items, Chihiro! Each ring has a certain power that it can do. That rod over there, it can be used to fight spirits! And...is that Zeniba's golden seal?!" He exclaimed, holding the magical object to his eyes for a better look. "She gave you all these?"
"Yes, and she told me to tell you that you can use the seal to find the others," Chihiro relayed to him the witch's message from the night before.
Haku took hold of Chihiro's shoulders, looking her in the eyes intimately. "Chihiro, you said she gave you this in a dream? What did she say? What did you dream about?"
Chihiro was momentarily speechless at the intensity of his gaze before she could answer. "I-I was dreaming about this really pretty river when it suddenly became very polluted a-and I thought I was going to be trapped because someone was covering it up. Th-then, Zeniba started talking to me, saying that my soul got stronger and that she was glad you found me on time, Haku." She blushed at that, realizing that Haku had been trying to get to her for a very long time. "She said...to keep these with me at all times to defend myself from the oni. Also, that that book has all the answers we need and that we'll meet again soon."
Haku was silent at this new information, gazing at the golden seal in his hands. He turned it over and over, making Chihiro stand there awkwardly. Finally, he said, "Keep that rod with you, Chihiro, and take two of the rings. Put the book with your textbooks in your school bag and the seals. Place the tengu statuette on your windowsill, it will help ward off evil spirits for a mile around. Hide the thread and knitting needles in your drawers and put the trunk and the chest away underneath your bed." Chihiro followed his instructions carefully as Haku paced the room, the golden seal in hand. She chose a blue and a green jeweled ring and shoved it in her skirt pocket and placed the chest inside the trunk before sliding it underneath the bed. She threw the strange rod into her bag and placed the tengu statuette on her window, making sure it was facing east. Chihiro finally tucked away the thread and needles in her desk drawers before putting the rest of the items in her bag.
"What else, Haku?" She turned to face him, her school bag zipped shut on her bed bulging with the magical items.
"That's all, thank you." Haku looked at the golden seal one last time before slipping it away in his pants pocket. The situation must be more dangerous than I had expected if Zeniba went as far as to send a trunk of defenses for Chihiro to use, he thought, staring at the girl's face with a worried look. He didn't like the idea that Chihiro would need to use all of these items, even more with the tengu statuette. It was dangerous to ask for the help of these spirits; they can get very wild and tricky.
"Haku? Is there something wrong?" Chihiro asked, peering up at his face.
Haku shook his head and smiled at her softly. "It's nothing, don't worry about it. You should get dressed now, or your mother will wonder what's taking you so long." He started for the window when Chihiro grabbed his wrist.
"Haku, wait," she said. He turned around to face her, waiting. Chihiro took a deep breath and locked eyes with him. "Last night, you said it hurts, me not remembering. I kept wondering why I trusted you a lot even though we just met. I barely knew anything about our past, but now, I remember. You didn't just save me from disappearing, you also saved me from drowning. You helped me get my parents back and protected me from Yubaba. You were the first person to be nice to me and helped me, and you gave me onigiri when I was crying after seeing my parents as pigs." Chihiro took Haku's hands in hers and gazed up at him. "That's why I like onigiri so much. Why I dreamt about the river last night and about dragons. They were all you, Haku. Thank you. Even though I forgot about us, you still came to find me. You saved me from the oni and gave me the memories of the most amazing time of my life. Thank you, Haku. Because you never stopped caring about me through all this time."
He was silent for a few moments before Haku finally hugged Chihiro, burying his face in her still wet hair. "As corny as that sounded, thank you, Chihiro. For remembering." He actually meant it. The pain in his chest was gone now, knowing that she remembered everything. It was a wonderful feeling, the joy he felt in that moment. The two stood there, hugging each other for a long time in silence before Haku finally broke away and glanced outside the window. "I need to go now. I'll see you at school, Chihiro."
"See you, Haku," she smiled, waving bye as he climbed out the window and disappeared in the blink of an eye. Chihiro hovered beside the window for a few seconds before putting on her blouse and grabbing her school bag from the bed. "Time for school, I guess."
Chihiro came into the courtyard where her friends were waiting with a skip in her step. Demetri gave her a strange look while Emi ran up to her with arms open, ready to give a huge hug. "Good morning, Chihiro-chan!" Emi said with a big grin, relieved that her friend is all better.
"Good morning, Emi-chan. Hey, Demetri," Chihiro waved at the Irish boy who just narrowed his eyes at her. She gave him a confused look, glad that Emi couldn't see their exchange of facial expressions since they were hugging.
"You're awfully happy today," Demetri said while carefully choosing his words. He didn't want Emi to become suspicious and find out about the oni attack yesterday.
"Oh." Chihiro understood what he meant, that he was expecting her to be wary or scared or something. Which made her wonder, why wasn't she scared? An oni could spring out and attack her or her friends at any given moment, and all she had were the items given to her by Zeniba which she barely knew how to use.
"Don't tell me why, let me guess," Emi piped up, pulling away from her with a smirk, obviously misunderstanding what they meant. "You finally remember where you met Haku-kun." Chihiro gave her a look of surprise and blushed, the answer written on her face. "Ahh! I knew it! Do you like him, Chihiro-chan? Did anything happen between you two after we left? Haku-kun lives with Harada-san, right? You probably met up with him after we left."
Chihiro blinked rapidly, trying to recover from her surprise. Emi was spot on as to why she was happy this morning, and it embarrassed her. "Kinda...and I think Haku lives with Harada-san," she said slowly, not sure if what she said was right.
"So do you like him?" Emi asked while holding Chihiro's hands and looking up at her eagerly.
Chihiro's already pink face turned a bright red as she shook her head in denial. "No! I don't like him that way! Haku is like a brother to me!"
Demetri let out a sigh of relief as Chihiro stammered it out. He lifted his head to find Haku walking up to them with a calm expression, having not heard Chihiro's outburst. Emi noticed the river spirit and jumped towards him with a determined look. "Haku-kun, do you like Chihiro-chan?" She asked just as he reached them.
Haku blinked in surprise, not expecting to be asked that sort of thing. "Of course. Why else would we be friends?" He said with wide emerald eyes.
Emi pouted at their responses as Demetri grinned inwardly. He was glad that the two is either oblivious to their feelings or they have none at all. It gave him a better chance to get Chihiro. As for Chihiro, she was slightly disappointed in his answer. She was hoping, although the odds were not in her favor, that she might have a special place in Haku's heart. I guess not, after all, he's a spirit and I'm a human, she grumbled in her thoughts.
Haku remained oblivious to her frustrations, not realizing that he had answered wrong. Instead, he glanced up at the morning sky with a faraway look before saying, "We should go to class," before beginning to walk away.
Emi gave Chihiro a sympathetic smile before pushing her ahead. "Just keep trying, Chihiro-chan!" She cheered, pumping her fist in the air.
Chihiro smiled back and turned around, running to catch up to Haku who was already near the entrance. "Haku, wait for me!" Haku stopped and politely waited for her before walking off again, not looking at her. "Why aren't you looking at me?" She asked curiously, peering up at his face.
Haku gave her an embarrassed look before setting his eyes straight ahead. "I'm like a brother to you?"
She blushed furiously, realizing that he had heard what she said. "Haku, I-" He cut her off by suddenly pulling her to the side of the hall and blocked her from the view of anyone in the hallway with his body while holding her against the wall. "H-Haku?!" Chihiro gasped, her heart pounding in her chest as he hugged her tightly. "People can see us!"
"No they can't, I'm blocking you," he murmured softly in her ear, his long, dark hair brushing against her neck. Haku gazed into her eyes, a piercing emerald that sent shivers down her person. "You don't like me?"
"I-I do!" Chihiro stammered while squirming to get free from his hold. She didn't feel comfortable with all these people who can see them being so intimate in public.
"Like a brother?" Haku's lips brushed against her cheek as he tried to get the answer he wanted to hear out of her. "Nothing more? It will never change?"
Chihiro felt like her heart was going to burst. "I don't know! It might change if you make it!" She exclaimed, her heart and mind a mess, not knowing what to say.
"So I have a chance?" Haku asked but Chihiro kept silent, not wanting to embarrass herself even more. He smiled and pulled away while tilting his head to the side. "Well, I suppose I'll have to pick up my work where I left it. I'll definitely get you to like me, Chihiro. After all these years, I have to."
He turned around as if to walk away but then faced her again. Before she could respond, Haku tilted Chihiro's face up and lightly kissed her on the lips, just a brush, before taking a step back and speeding away, leaving Chihiro standing there, fingers to her lips with a dazed look.
What were you thinking, making her fall in love with you? Idiot! Haku thought angrily to himself as he burst through the classroom doors and headed for his desk. He was frustrated earlier, when he had heard that Chihiro didn't like him, not in the way he wanted. But what can you say after eight years? The two didn't really know each other that well to begin with, so he shouldn't feel surprised. Even so, Haku was still upset and answered in a way that made it seem like he had absolutely no feelings for Chihiro. He should have kept that act up. He didn't want to hurt her, but he went and blew it by telling her that he'll make her fall for him. He even went as far as to kiss her!
You're an idiot who's just going to hurt Chihiro, Haku mentally shouted. He was completely out of character, and it concerned him. Must be the pollution getting to me, he grumbled in his mind as he lay his head on his desk. What was he going to do with himself?
Author's note
In case you're like, what is up with this sudden development? All will be revealed in the next chapter o u ob
I'll just leave you guys hanging