Spirited Away: The Awkward Rom-Com After Chihiro and Haku's Reunion
A year has passed since Chihiro returned from the mysterious bathhouse, Aburaya. Now a high school student, she's bored out of her mind. The promise she made with Haku, the dragon boy, is a constant weight on her heart.
One day, a transfer student arrives. "Nice to meet you, Chihiro Ogino. I am Nigihayami Kohaku," he says with a dead serious face. He's definitely Haku, but he's acting all human and weird about it! And since he's super handsome, the whole school goes into a frenzy!
But for some
Spirited Away: The Awkward Rom-Com After Chihiro and Haku's Reunion - The transfer student says, "Nice to meet you."
The morning light streaming through the classroom window felt whiter than usual.
Ogino Chihiro sat at her desk, gazing absently outside. On the grounds, the soccer club was running through their morning practice. The heat of the purple braided cord she'd felt in the shopping district after school yesterday, and the sound of water echoing up from beneath the culvert — Haku's presence — still clung stubbornly to the back of her mind.
*(That was definitely Haku.)*
*(But why didn't he show himself?)*
Ever since they'd parted at the Mukouguchi tunnel a year ago, Chihiro had never once doubted that she would see Haku again. *"I promise I'll come find you"* — those words weren't a lie. Chihiro's strong-willed brown eyes stared straight up at the sky.
At the back of her head, the purple-and-yellow braided hair tie felt just slightly warm.
"[excited]Hey, Chihiro, are you even listening!?"
Suddenly, a desk was rapped with a tapping sound, and Chihiro snapped her head around.
Her black bob, cut straight at the shoulders, swayed softly.
"[surprised]Huh? What?"
Camped out at the desk in front of her was the usual duo of partners in crime — Saki and Misaki. Both of them had sparkling eyes and were clearly in a state of high excitement.
"[excited]You've been totally spaced out all morning! This is huge news!"
"[excited]They say a super-hot transfer student is coming!"
"[excited]And get this — someone from the next class apparently saw him in the staff room, and they said he's an insanely gorgeous boy!"
"[excited]Isn't that amazing?! Do you think he'll be in our class? I hope he's in our class!"
Chihiro gave a vague nod.
"……Mm-hmm."
She wasn't interested. Whoever the transfer student was, it didn't matter. The only thing in her head was Haku.
*(What was that presence yesterday?)*
*(Is Haku already in this town?)*
*(If he is, why won't he come see me?)*
"[excited]Ugh! Chihiro, you always go totally blank when this kind of topic comes up!"
"[excited]Your years-without-a-boyfriend equals your age, you know! Show a little interest! I'm telling you, when you see him, you're gonna freak out!"
"[calm]Look, I really don't care. I'm…"
That was when it happened.
The classroom door slid open with a clatter.
Their homeroom teacher Sasaki — twenty-eight, single, a science teacher and a young instructor popular with the students — stepped up to the podium.
"[serious]Alright, take your seats. Homeroom's starting."
The class buzzed. Behind Sasaki, another figure was visible.
"[gentle]I'd like to introduce the transfer student who'll be joining this class starting today."
Sasaki shifted half a step to the side.
Without any particular thought, Chihiro looked that way.
— The next instant.
Her heart gave a single, massive *thud*.
Standing there was a tall boy with cool, composed eyes.
Deep greenish-black hair, straight. Though there was no wind, it seemed to sway ever so slightly — as if he were underwater.
Deep emerald-green eyes.
Perfect features, like a marble statue.
*(— Haku.)*
Chihiro's lips soundlessly shaped the name.
A year ago, at the Aburaya bathhouse — the one who'd met her, saved her, told her *"I promise I'll come find you"* — the white dragon, Haku.
On impulse, Chihiro nearly rose from her seat.
But.
From the podium, the boy let his mouth relax just a fraction, addressing the whole class. A gentle, even smile — the kind you'd give out equally to anyone.
"[gentle]I'm Nigihayami Kohaku. It's a pleasure to meet you."
A polite, composed voice — and yet one utterly devoid of any real feeling.
His eyes met Chihiro's.
— In that instant.
Something flickered through Haku's emerald-green eyes. Something like pain. Something like regret.
But it was gone in a literal instant.
Immediately, those eyes shifted to the indifferent coldness of someone looking at a stranger.
Deep in Chihiro's chest, something clenched tight.
*(Why —)*
*(Haku… that is you, right?)*
*(Are you pretending you don't know me?)*
"[gentle]Alright, Kohaku's seat — let's see, the one next to Ogino is open. Ogino!"
"[surprised]— Y-yes!"
Chihiro answered in a fluster. She could tell her own voice had cracked.
Haku — Nigihayami Kohaku — walked slowly from the podium.
Every gaze in the class was fixed on him. The girls' eyes, especially, were those of maidens who'd fallen head over heels.
*(Of all places… next to me.)*
Chihiro's face grew steadily hotter.
Her small frame trembled with tension.
Haku stood beside her.
"[gentle]Nice to meet you."
A short, curt phrase.
He didn't even meet her eyes.
Chihiro couldn't produce a sound.
"[whispers]……N-nice to meet you."
Forcing the words out was all she could manage.
Haku was already facing forward.
**
First period began.
Japanese class. But Chihiro's head was completely filled with something else entirely.
*(He's next to me.)*
*(Haku is — in the seat next to me —)*
She glanced at Haku sidelong.
He was looking at his textbook with a serious expression. His profile was as beautiful as ever, like a sculpture. But the gentle look he'd shown her at Aburaya a year ago wasn't there.
*(Why is he pretending not to know me?)*
*("Nice to meet you" — like we're meeting for the first time.)*
*(He should remember the promise.)*
Unconsciously, Chihiro found her ballpoint pen racing across the corner of her notebook.
*Haku*
*Haku, hey*
*Nigihayami Kohaku Nushi*
Haku's true name — the precious name Chihiro had remembered that day, the one that had freed him from Yubaba's contract.
*(I remembered this name.)*
*(And when I did, Haku smiled, so, so happy.)*
*(Does he not remember?)*
Before she knew it, the edge of her notebook was filled with Haku's name. Chihiro hurriedly covered it with her hand.
"Hey, Chihiro, hold on."
Saki spoke up in a whisper from behind her.
"[whispers]What?"
"[excited]The guy next to you — isn't he insanely gorgeous?! God really does exist! Thank you, God!"
"[calm]Haaah… yeah, I guess."
Chihiro gave a noncommittal reply.
*(He's not a god, Saki.)*
*(That's… a dragon.)*
She murmured it in her heart, but of course she couldn't say it out loud.
She glanced over at Haku again.
As ever, he was completely ignoring Chihiro, staring at his textbook.
A sharp little pain pricked at Chihiro's chest.
**
The moment break time arrived, the classroom erupted into chaos.
"[excited]Kohaku-kun! What's your favorite food?!"
"[excited]Do you have a girlfriend?!"
"[excited]Why did you transfer here?!"
"[excited]Do you have any hobbies?!"
In the blink of an eye, a wall of girls had formed around Haku. Students from the next class, having caught wind of the rumors, came flooding in too.
Haku didn't show a single trace of annoyance.
"[gentle]My favorite food? Let's see… melon bread, I suppose."
"[laughing]Kyaaaa! Melon bread! He eats normal stuff!"
"[gentle]I don't have a girlfriend. And the reason for my transfer is my parent's work."
"[excited]What kind of work does your parent do?!"
"[gentle]……It's a bit unusual, so I can't go into detail. I'm sorry."
"[laughing]Mysterious! So cool!"
Chihiro watched the scene from her own seat.
*(Wow… he's like an idol.)*
The girls' shrill squeals echoed throughout the classroom. With the face of a perfect honor student, Haku politely answered each and every question. But — Chihiro could tell.
That smile wasn't real.
It was completely different from the smile he'd shown her at Aburaya a year ago. Haku's smile back then had been kind, and warm, and just a little awkward.
*(His smile now… somehow, it feels so far away.)*
Chihiro clenched her fists tight.
She gathered her courage and stood up.
She tried to push through the wall of people — just then.
Haku glanced in Chihiro's direction.
His emerald-green eyes fixed on her, cold.
*(— Ah.)*
Chihiro's feet stopped.
That single look crushed her courage in an instant. Haku immediately averted his gaze and began answering another girl's question.
Still half-risen from her seat, Chihiro found herself frozen, unable to move.
"Chihiro, your face looks terrible. You okay?"
Saki popped her head in to peer at her.
"[surprised]Huh? What does?"
"[calm]It's bright red, and you're kind of sweating… Do you have a cold?"
"[calm]I-I'm fine. Just a little hot."
Chihiro sat back down in a hurry.
She looked at her notebook. The word *Haku*, which she'd written unconsciously earlier, leapt into her eyes.
*(What am I even doing?)*
*(He's right next to me.)*
*(And I can't even talk to him.)*
Chihiro tore off the edge of the notebook, crumpled it into a ball, and shoved it into her pocket.
**
Second period, third period — the classes continued.
Chihiro couldn't concentrate at all.
The words on the blackboard wouldn't enter her head. The teacher's voice sounded like distant noise.
*(Haku's cold eyes.)*
*(Like he was looking at a stranger… those eyes.)*
A year ago, when Chihiro had tried to save her parents at Aburaya, Haku had brushed her off coldly at first too. But that had been to keep Chihiro away from danger.
*(Is that what this is, too?)*
*(Is he trying to protect me?)*
*(If so — why? From what?)*
Chihiro glanced beside her.
Haku was copying the blackboard into his notebook with a serious face. His profile truly looked like nothing more than an ordinary transfer student.
But — the purple braided cord was growing faintly warm.
*(This is telling me.)*
*(That person is definitely Haku.)*
Chihiro gently touched the back of her hair.
**
Lunch break.
Saki and Misaki, who'd dashed to the school store, came back to the classroom clutching two melon breads.
"[excited]Kohaku-kun, if you'd like, here! It's the famous thing from Mikasaoka High's school store!"
"[excited]The quality is insane for just 150 yen!"
"[gentle]Thank you. I'll gladly accept."
Haku thanked them politely and took the melon bread.
Opening her own lunchbox, Chihiro stole glances at the scene.
*(Melon bread… he couldn't eat anything decent at Aburaya, after all.)*
*(I wonder if human-world food really does taste good to him.)*
Haku opened his mouth just a little and bit into the melon bread.
For an instant.
Truly, just an instant.
The corners of Haku's mouth softened.
— It was incredibly close to the smile he'd shown at Aburaya a year ago.
Deep in Chihiro's chest, a gentle warmth spread.
*(I knew it.)*
*(That's the real Haku.)*
Chihiro stopped her hand mid-bite of her lunch and made a decision.
She clenched her small fist tight.
*(…I'll call him out.)*
*(After school. Somewhere we can talk, just the two of us.)*
Chihiro tore out a fresh page from her notebook and quickly wrote with her ballpoint pen.
*Come to the cherry tree behind the old school building after school. No excuses.*
She folded it up small and placed it quietly on the edge of Haku's desk.
Having finished his melon bread, Haku picked up the slip of paper casually.
He opened it.
He read Chihiro's writing.
— His emerald-green eyes wavered, just slightly.
Then, slowly, he turned toward Chihiro.
For the first time — the very first time today — Haku looked Chihiro straight in the eye.
An instant.
Just an instant.
But to Chihiro, that single instant felt like an eternity.
Haku said nothing.
He just gave a tiny, truly tiny nod.
Chihiro's heart gave a great leap.
*(He'll come —)*
**
After school.
Chihiro waited for Haku behind the deserted old school building.
This place reminded her of where she'd parted from Haku before leaving Aburaya on that day a year ago — for Chihiro, it was a place that held special meaning.
A single large cherry tree stretched its branches toward the sky. The spring breeze gently swayed the boughs.
*(Will Haku come?)*
*(He will, right?)*
*(I mean, he nodded.)*
Chihiro's heart pounded, refusing to settle.
How should she start the conversation? What should she say?
*"You're Haku, right? Why did you pretend not to know me? You remember the promise, don't you?"* — just as she was going around and around with such thoughts,
she heard foots
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