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Visit

A Sen to Chihiro no Kamikakushi fanfic by Sakura.

Standard disclaimers apply.

 

Word Count: 555

Posted: 2003.1.21

 

Edited 2005.04.02.

 

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Chihiro looked up from her notebook, blinked in the lamplight, and listened.

A music box was playing.

She slowly turned around in her seat, gently setting her pen down on the tabletop. The flat she lived in was barely large enough to house her, but she still crammed its corners with little trinkets and souvenirs, such as the music box she kept on the shelf wedged between the shoe rack and the stove.

That same music box was playing now.

She tiptoed to the door, gingerly lifted the noren, and peeked outside. Standing in the genkan was a tall dark-haired boy about her age, dressed in robes of white, holding the music box in his palm. His green eyes watched the small crank turn, wide with fascination, before lifting to meet her bemused gaze.

Chihiro grinned. "Hi there."

He bowed politely. It was one habit he could never rid himself of. "Pardon the intrusion."

"Intrude as you please." She stepped out into the corridor, not bothering to hide her pleasure at seeing him. She loved having him visit her --- he had always been one of her most favorite people, and he always seemed to fit in perfectly with the pastel curtains and the scratched pots and the strewn sneakers. "Finally got off work?"

"They were gracious enough to give me some time to rest." His eyes were back on the music box. "So naturally I came to see you."

"That's very sweet."

"Is it." A small smile lifted his lips. "And how are the 'papers'?"

"Dreadful." Chihiro made a face. "I'm not even halfway through the first one."

"Hmmm."

"But I'll be able to finish them tonight, I think. It depends."

The musicbox stopped playing. His fingers closed around it lightly for a moment before he reached out to place it on the shelf where it belonged.

"Come up now, Haku." It sounded more like a plea than a command. She held out a hand as if to guide him, when he had been in her flat so many times that he knew its nooks and crannies better than she ever possibly could. "I'll make us some tea and serve you cheap biscuits and bore you to death about my paper."

He smiled, taking her proffered hand and stepping into the hall. "It was terribly impolite of me to visit without a token of some sort."

"You don't need to bring anything." She shook her head, making her ponytail flap in the air. "I don't even need anything. Just seeing you is..."

"'Is'?" They had stopped in their tracks, and he turned his gaze full on her, making it even more difficult for her to continue.

"Is...is enough for me, I mean. You know." Embarrassed, she gave their linked hands a little shake.

"No, I don't think I know."

"Hakuuu."

He laughed, and she opened her mouth to say more, but right then and there --- in the small corridor of her cramped flat, between the rusty refrigerator and the closet with its small tin mobile hovering dangerously close to their heads, he bent down and gently kissed her, making it clear that whatever it was she wanted to say, he understood very well.

 

 

[ the end ]