Bouquet

III.

A train that seemed to go on forever, crossing a vast cerulean ocean. She didn't know anyone on board—they were mere shadows in her dream.

Just step on, the wind seemed to whisper to her.

You need to, to get to the next stop in your journey.

…...

The day of her graduation was possibly the most hectic one of her life. Chihiro jumped from apartment, school, work, apartment, station without so much as pausing for a breath.

All the dullness of that day seemed to drip down her person like sludge as Chihiro peeled away layers and layers of dead weight from her school, her work, her life.

Haku was like medicine to her. She still remembered the way he'd held her hand, for just a brief moment, as they'd paused over the white lilies to bring to Mrs. Saiko's finished apartment.

He stood on the metro platform now, holding a simple bouquet of white peonies. Chihiro swallowed heavily. The peonies arranged were botan—a difficult arrangement piece that wasn't taught to just any ikebana novices.

His darkish bangs brushed softly against his unblemished brow and striking green eyes. He was still wearing the simple button up chemise and pants that were part of his uniform, but the silly little half apron was gone. Several women at the station turned there heads to stare. If he noticed, he didn't react to the attention. Haku had a vaguely wistful look about him, and Chihiro caught her breath and looked away before she could see the pain in his gaze.

"I don't like farewell bouquets," Chihiro said, swallowing the lump in her throat.

His eyes seemed to search her face gently.

"It's not a farewell bouquet," he corrected.

"This simple offering is to congratulate you for graduating today, Chihiro-san."

She wanted to hear her name from his lips again. Perhaps without the honorific. It made her feel old and tucked away before her time. But then again, Chihiro thought wryly, that's exactly what she was doing with herself—stowing away to the countryside to work on renovating several Shinto shrines and old temples.

The job offer had come in through a friend of her mother's who was on a small town board committee overseeing some renovations to nearby temples and cultural buildings.

While calling home the night before the graduation ceremony, Chihiro had jumped on the opportunity.

"You and Dad aren't coming to see me give my speech, so consider letting me do this a graduation present."

"But Chihiro, darling! What about your job?"

"I'm finishing it properly. Mrs. Saiko's order will be done tomorrow morning after I sign all the papers tonight, and I'll quit officially via phone tomorrow. "

"And Kai-kun, your boyfriend? He got you that job, you know."

Chihiro winced at her mother's insistent tone. "Kai and I were done months ago, Mom." She had thought of green eyes, of a soft smile and a deep, mind-numbing gaze that still sent delicious shivers through her body. "Yes. Definitely, definitely over."

Staring straight at the twin pools of lucid green eyes now, Chihiro felt her knees knocking together slightly. The station surroundings blurred for a second, as she felt her world focus on who was directly in front of her. She clutched her duffel tighter, diploma stuffed inside hastily a few hours earlier.

"Thank you for helping me with my luggage, Haku," Chihiro said.

"It is no trouble. It was convenient for both of us since I had to deliver the ikebana flowers to your office," he said, tone carefully polite.

Chihiro scowled and blushed at the same time. "I'm sorry you had to see that. My boss wasn't too happy with me moving my stuff out of the office today. Neither was Kai."

"Have you finished with him?"

Chihiro didn't know if he was talking about her boss or Kai, her ex. "Yes," she said resolutely. "You told me that the best policy was always to chase after your heart, or your dreams." She paused as if testing the words herself. They weren't so bad, really… not all that corny when you meant them.

"That's what I'm doing, Haku," Chihiro finished, trying to sweep her arms in a flourish that failed due to her heavy duffel.

"You're moving," he intoned.

"Yeah. To hillbilly-ville."

Haku seemed puzzled by her word choice. "I enjoy the scenic views in the countryside far more than the skyline in Tokyo," he said carefully.

Chihiro perked up as a wild thought came to her. "Why don't you move there too? We can go together…" her voice died out as she realized how fantastical that train of thought was.

Haku was silent, as if contemplating. Probably wondering if she was sane, Chihiro thought with a hot flush rising to her cheeks. After all, they'd just met… right?

"I-I'm going, then," she said meekly.

Haku stood absolutely still, but his eyes seemed to focus and become a startling emerald hue under the light. So vivid that Chihiro thought she'd seen them somewhere before… like in a dream. Or…

Resolutely, she turned away from him, towards the tracks.

A sudden sharp gust of wind blew through the subway station.

'But that's impossible.'

Chihiro blinked. The train had not yet come close enough.

'We're underground.'

It suddenly smelled of rain, and Chihiro thought she caught hints of grass and dirt, as if the metro station had been transformed into a riverside bank.

She saw an entering train snake in, and it seemed to flow as if water, smoothly carrying its passengers past the tide.

Chihiro's ears tingled. Her pupils dilated.

The bouquet of white flowers Chihiro was holding practically leapt at her face.

And the pearly petals shook free of their spindly stems before dancing in the cool breeze.

White.

And in the reflecting metal of the train whizzing past them, the white petals looked silvery and hard.

They look like dragon scales, Chihiro thought giddily as a wave of déjà-vu hit her.

Her knees shook, and she sank to the rough ground of the station.

Still staring at the reflection on the surface of the rushing bullet train, Chihiro saw the petals blow away and disappear, leaving only the raven-haired man standing on the tracks, appearing in the reflection unobstructed as soon as the flower petals had fled in the flurry.

Transformation.

The train passed.

Chihiro started, shocked as she turned back around and stared at Haku in a new light.

"Have I met you before, not in Tokyo…?" she gasped, still clutching at her duffel and (the remains of) her flowers.

Haku's warm tenor resounded in her ears, and Chihiro thought of the tolling bell of a clock tower. A beautiful red clock tower, amid grassy fields. Something she could very nearly draw out in her mind's eye, and perhaps soon design where she was going.

"I told you it was not a farewell bouquet," this truth fell from his lips like drops of rain to a parched earth. A weight had fallen from his shoulders.

"In truth, I will see you again very soon… I keep my promises, Chihiro."

The subway line's whistle blew. It sounded like a distant locomotive, coming closer on the underwater tracks. Rippling over calm waters like a serpent, like a—

She breathed in the wonderful scent of rain, or the sky and other the faint scent of flowers that surrounded Haku after work. The pleasant tingle spread all the way down to her toes, blossomed out at her fingertips, and fanned its way upwards until her cheeks glowed in surprised pleasure.

Haku smiled, more contentedly than she'd ever seen him smile. Like he'd found what he'd been looking for, finally. "After all, kami do not lie."

Chihiro almost laughed then.

Stepped forward to meet him.

Almost as an afterthought, Kohaku added in a soft murmur only Chihiro could hear.

"Perhaps I will bring roses next time."

… Owari/End

Suzu: thanks so much for reading! Rather than poring over certain dolce details of Haku and Chihiro rediscovering each other, I thought I'd go for a subtle, simple sweet reunion in this piece.

Okay, with a magical fun gust of wind at the end.

And I tried to really weave the imagery of the bouquet along with how Haku's scales dissolved like millions of little petals in the movie. That is my favorite scene. The reflection in the passing train showed the petals

And the theme—Japanese flower arrangement/bouquet work—definitely fit in my mind. I assume Haku would be excellent at it, since he controls water and air, just what flowers need to retain their fresh appearance, haha. We can assume he was looking for her after she left, and decided to fit in the best he could at a job that was still part of Chihiro's world.

I'll leave it to you to ponder all the other small clues and hints, yo.

A lot of the imagery used was supposed to mirror parts of the movie. ;)

Mini glossary:

Chi-chan: 'chan' is a suffix (see honorifics) added on to be cute, friendly… so you would use it to address a friend. Also, the shortening of Chihiro's name serves that purpose doubly. Her friends, then, are definitely modern Japanese girls.

Chiyoda: a district in central Tokyo which houses the traditional Imperial Palace. There are many scenic spots and temples.

Shinjuku: a very stylish part of Tokyo, with large hotels and a red-light district.

Noh: Remember No-Face? The mask on his face was a Noh mask, which is used for a certain kind of traditional Japanese theater. Also, spirits are often depicted wearing noh-like masks that represent their animal affinity.

Ryokan: traditional Japanese hotels/fancy dining places/fancy entertainment complexes.

Ikebana: traditional Japanese flower arrangement.

Botan: tree peonies. The blossom petals do kinda resemble scales.

Honorifics: usually, if you call someone without an honorific in Japan, you're either a close friend or family member. Otherwise, it would be considered brazen and rude. A polite honorific that take on the idea of 'ms.' or 'mr.' in English is '-san'. The politest form would be to tack on '-san' to one's last name.

Kami: gods, or more correctly in this context, spirits. (Ko)Haku is a river spirit, a river kami. In the last line, you notice that I refer to him as Kohaku. This is meant to signify Chihiro's awareness of who he truly is at the end.