Disclaimer: I do not own Spirited Away

Warnings: Outsider's POV; misunderstandings

Un-Beta'd

With the well-known strangeness that surrounded Ogino Chihiro and her family, they were not surprised to discover that her very own grandparents were touched with Ogino's eccentricity. On Parent Day, Ogino's parents failed to show. Ogino didn't seem disappointed though. Instead, her grandparents took their place.

They were old and gray, as expected. The grandmother was short and plump, wearing an expensive-looking antique blue dress and large, expensive, gaudy jewelry. Her earrings were made of pure gold, and her brooch was composed of a large red rock - ruby or garnet, they could not tell - lined with gold. She wore at least one ring on each finger, and like her brooch, the rocks she adorned were just as large - covering her fingers from knuckle to knuckle. She looked friendly enough, but something about her made them want to squirm.

The grandfather was bald, tall, and lanky. He was dressed in black, with complementing black spectacles that mysteriously stayed on his face despite the lack of temples (1). His mustache was large and bushy, covering the lower half of his face. His arms were impossibly long, seeming to go on for miles on end. His fingers were long and spidery, and his nails sharply resembled black claws. They didn't know what to think of him, but for some reason, his very presence made them want to shudder. Kind of like how one would be torn between running away and freezing at the sight of a spider.

Despite their apparently friendly demeanor, something about them just screamed at the students to watch their step. After a brave soul struck up conversation with Ogino's grandfather, however, the students began to relax. He didn't seem that bad. He was loud at times - especially when praising his granddaughter - but he was friendly enough. A bit grouchy at times though.

He talked about a lot of things: how he used to work in a boiler room, about his pets he named "Sootball," about how he used to have "Sen" help him out at work when she was younger - much like how he used the useless servants the Young Master would gift him. Free labor and all that.

At the casual mention of Ogino's boyfriend, everyone in the vicinity didn't bother to mask their blatant attempt to eavesdrop. He didn't seem to notice. Neither did Ogino. But that was probably because she was too busy hiding her red face behind her hands as her grandfather was loudly reminiscing the past.

"I remember when Sen first met the Young Master," he said. "Sen was only ten and she was already causing trouble!"

"Trou-trouble!" Ogino's face was red. "I wasn't that bad! Besides," she pouted, "Haku and I met way before then."

"Oho?"

"He saved me from drowning in the Kohaku River when I was younger."

"Oho? Is that so?" Somehow, despite having over 50% of his face covered, he managed to give a mischievous look. "Maybe the River God wanted to take you as his wife."

The students watched in fascination as Ogino's face grew redder than they thought was possible. "S-Stop!" Ogino turned to her grandmother. "Granny! Make him stop! Please!"

Her grandmother just gave her a sly look in return. "I don't know, Chihiro. You know that that young man has always known what he wants. Is it so hard to believe someone like young Haku could decide something like that so early?"

"G-Granny!"

"You know as well as we do how much you mean to that young man. We've all seen how possessive and protective that young dragon is. Doesn't he still have that shoe you lost when he saved you?"

"Stoooop," she whined, burying her face into her hands. Her ears were scarlet.

"Oh, how romantic!" One of the girls piped.

"Just like that Western fairytale! Cinderella!" Another sighed dreamily.

"Ohoho," Ogino's grandmother laughed mischievously. "Yes, dear. How romantic."

"Sen's not just a damsel in distress," her grandfather harrumphed, drawing curious eyes and ears. "She saved that Young Master from your little servants, remember?" Somehow, even with his pitch-black lenses, he managed to direct a pointed look at his wife.

"Hmph! That little brat had it coming that time," the old woman scowled. "Who did he think he was dealing with? Hmph!"

"Bah! I could care less about that!" The old man glowered – somehow. He seemed to forget that they weren't the only ones in the room. "Do you know how long it took to clean up all that blood?! My workplace was a mess!"

A chill went up their spine at his words, and the previously humorous atmosphere disappeared.

"Next time you try to kill someone, don't destroy my place!"

"Hmph! You act as if I purposely lured him there! It's not my fault the brat fled to that place."

When their spat turned into a dangerous argument, Ogino stepped in and somehow pacified them with a few words. And as if nothing happened, the elderly couple returned to their jovial states of being.

The rest of the day was filled with a stifling, anxious silence.

When the day was finally over and the dangerous couple finally left with the dubious excuse of being needed "elsewhere," the class let out a collective sigh of relief.

Somewhere along the lines, Ogino bowed to everyone in apology for her grandparents. When a brave classmate tentatively asked why they had come instead of her parents, Ogino scratched her cheek and smiled, face still flushed.

"My dad was going to come, but he got called in to deal with an important client, and my mom had to fill-in at work 'cause a co-worker had to go on medical leave."

She received some blank stares in response, and a few gave up trying to fathom their life and face-planted on their desk. Some of the girls, on the other hand, whispered and squealed about something-or-other. Snippets of "Romeo and Juliet" floated about.

When the day was over and everyone went their separate ways, a student wondered what that old man did in that "boiler room" of his, and shuddered at the implications before dismissing the thought in favor of happier things. But his mind couldn't help but think back to Ogino's obviously Yakuza family. Really, it was no wonder that onna-oyabun(2) was so irked. Her granddaughter was dating the heir of their rival Yakuza family!

(1) Part of the frames for glasses. The temples are the foldable parts that allow the frames to rest on the ears.

(2) Female oyabun (female head of the Yakuza family)