Chapter Text
"Chihiro dear, could you go down to the construction workers and tell them that the new bricks will be coming soon."
"Yes momma. It'll be great when they finally finish up the new houses away from the Kohaku River."
"Indeed, it will. I still can't believe your dream will finally become a reality. All these years being so persistent and determined to recreate that river with the old homes built in it. Where does all your fire come from?" Chihiro's mother laughed and handed her daughter a basket of buns and sticky rice balls.
"I'll go give it to them. Just a few more days and that river will be flowing like it used to. It should be restored to its original glory." Chihiro said with a deep dramatic voice as she flailed her arms in a swoop.
"I'll see you darling." Her mother said cheerfully as she kissed her adorable 18 year old daughter. Her only daughter had been so adamant to rescue that river ever since she was 11. She thought it was strange and so did her husband but as she was convinced to rebuild the river she had formed this odd confidence. It made them happy to see her suddenly beaming with excitement every morning. Chihiro was finally going to obtain what she had been wishing for all this time.
Chihiro hopped down the hill dangerously and slid onto the road as she barely tried not to fall. She jumped over a small puddle near the construction site and met with the workers.
"Hey, Haru! I brought snacks." She yelled. She scurried down the slope and nonchalantly tossed him a bun.
"Thanks Chi." He grumbled.
"No problem! My mom told me that the new brick shipment will be coming in today so you guys can finally finish up." She said as she took out a rice ball and took a small bite.
"I can tell how excited you are Chi. But once we actually finish, we should, maybe, hang out as a celebration." Haru said nervously as he wasn't truly looking straight into her eyes.
"Well of course we would celebrate. I've been waiting for this moment forever."
"Forever is a stretch Chi." He chuckled.
"Well, one day I just felt like this river meant everything to me. It felt so familiar and comfortable. Although it had those houses in it, I feel like it would be peaceful if it was flowing again. Once it rains, this river should be back in no time. I've done enough environmental habitat research to know that the earth where the river was has a chance to be able to carry water above it again."
"Well the day we fully take the wreckage out and complete the new homes, it's supposed to rain. It's quite the coincidence, right?"
"It's fate Haru! It's definitely fate." She said enthusiastically.
"Chi, I was wondering, would you like to go to the old Ramen shop after I finish work?"
"Is your Dad okay with that? He's the boss of the site."
"Yeah, he'll be okay with it."
"Sure. I'll see you then."
Chihiro placed the basket beside Haru's work table and told him to share it with his friends. Haru was 18 too and had been in her class for several years.
Chihiro cared for him deeply, on a very family-like level. He was a borderline brother; he was Chihiro's best friend. But as immature as she used to be, Chihiro grew into a much unexpected lady who had quite motherly tendencies despite her own mother's ways. Sometimes as he worked, he'd skip meals so Chihiro would bring snacks to keep him healthy. She was motherly in most ways and much more refined than when she had first arrived in this village but she kept her optimism and strength.
The young girl was extremely talented for her age. Chihiro was an incredible artist, her pieces were commonly described as magical. She painted a world which intrigued those who saw her work. They questioned how she could so vividly define the places and people she drew but she would always say that it felt right.
Chihiro wasn't disliked, she was popular, in fact her long brown hair and sparkly purple hair tie was her signature that she carried with her for all these years. She was well liked by the boys she encountered and through the years she had dated a few too.
Even so, Chihiro never felt right. It just didn’t sit right with her being with other boys; she thought it was her of course. The mentality of 'it's not you it's me'. In her heart, she felt like she reserved some space for someone who she'd never find.
She held her hands behind her back and stared at the sky as she hummed tunes that she couldn't clearly remember from long ago. Chihiro worried whether she was stuck in the past but brushed off the idea several times.
"My life is perfect. I'm sooo excited for that rainy day to fix everything." She said aloud.
Chihiro dined with Haru and went home. As they walked, she began to think about the possibility of Haru being her boyfriend. She had thought about it several times but always concluding that it wasn't a good idea.
Romance tended to crowd her thoughts. She yearned for a real relationship with a guy but the ones she ended up with were never like, like whom, her father?
They weren't like someone she didn't even know. She was subconsciously comparing them to a boy who she didn't even know she was thinking about. He was a memory in the back of her mind where she only saw a glimpse of him in the most insignificant dreams. This boy's face wasn't even readable in her dreams. Everything she painted was a burr but somehow she managed to create a new version of the smudges in her mind with each stroke she painted. Some places become clearer with each new canvas.
"You okay Chi?" asked Haru.
She thoughtlessly tilted her head and starred. Her brown hair slipped in front of one shoulder and her side bangs sat cutely over her right eye. Although her eyes seemed distant she appeared adorable and irresistible to her young best friend who had admired her for years. "Yeah." She responded.
"Whatever it may be, I'm sure you'll be okay." He told her as he took his jacket off and draped it over her shoulders. He smiled at her and guided her back home. He waved goodbye and told her he'd see her tomorrow. Chihiro left and ran to her bedroom.
"Were you out with Haru again Chi?" her mother called out to her lovingly from another room.
"I was!" she called back.
"You can stay at his apartment whenever you want dear!"
"Good to know Momma. Thanks!" Chihiro said sarcastically.
"You are very welcome dear!"
Chihiro jumped on her bed and attempted to relax.
"I'll probably feel better once we fix the river." She told herself.