Spirited Away 2 [PDF]

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"SPIRITED AWAY 2: RETURN TO THE SPIRIT WORLD" Chapter 1: Twelve Long Years The world was full of amazing things. Chihiro Ogino knew that better than anyone. She had seen them. No, scratch that, she had lived them. It may have been 12 years ago, but she could never forget what had happened all those years ago. She had stumbled upon a magical land. No, a magical world. It was a place of mystery, excitement, and danger. It was the spirit world. Not the spirit world as in the life after death, but a whole other universe, inhabited by witches, wizards, demons, monsters, and, of course, spirits. It seemed like a dream, a wild fantasy world from the imagination of a child, but it was real. Chihiro was certain of that. She had the proof with her even now. Although no one would think that a simple hair band was proof of the spirit world. But it was real to her, and that's all that mattered. She remembered the day she received the hair band. She remembered everything about that world, and she missed it. But most of all, she missed him. Who was he, no one would believe her if she told them. He was the one who saved her those 12 years ago. He was the one who helped her rescue her parents and return them all home. He was the one she dreamed about almost every night. He was Nigihayami Kohaku Nushi, also known as Haku, and he was the spirit of the Kohaku River. It had been 12 years since they've seen each other. Twelve long lonely years, and not even the smallest sign of the river spirit. He had promised they would see each other again. He had promised! But where was he? And where was the world that she had come to love even more than her own. Her first experience in the spirit world had been terrifying as well as exciting. She and her parents had been on their way to their new home when they accidentally stumbled into the place that would change her forever. She remembered how scared she had been. Any 10 year old would be terrified by what had happened. Her parents, unaware of what they were getting themselves into, had eaten the food meant for the spirits. They gobbled it up like pigs. As punishment, the witch in charge of the land, Yubaba, had turned them into pigs. Chihiro had been left all alone in the spirit world, lost, confused, and scared to death. But then he came to her. He comforted her and helped her through this difficult time. Following his instructions, Chihiro had gone to the bathhouse owned by Yubaba and received a job. The old witch stole her name, changing it to Sen. She was put to work with the other spirits in the bathhouse. With the help of Haku, along with two other spirits, Lin and Kamajii, she managed to get become useful enough to be considered a good enough worker to stay in the bathhouse. That was until she had accidentally let in a monster named No-Face, who caused a great deal of damage to the bathhouse. Yubaba wasn't happy about her 'guest's' behavior. And if things weren't bad enough, the old witch had sent Haku on a mission to steal her twin sister's magic gold seal. But Yubaba's sister, Zeniba, had placed a powerful protective spell on the seal to prevent it from being stolen. As Haku slowly died, No-Face continued to wreck havoc upon the bathhouse. And to make matters worse, Yubaba's son, a 10-foot baby, had tried to force Chihiro to play with him, which resulted in him being turned into a mouse by Zeniba. Things began looking up after that though. After retrieving the golden seal from Haku, Chihiro managed to lure No-Face and get him out of the bathhouse. Once outside, the monster, became quite peaceful and friendly.



Chihiro, No-Face, and Yubaba's son, still in mouse form, then took the train to Zeniba's house to return the golden seal and apologize for Haku. As it turned out, Zeniba was quite nice. She had welcomed Chihiro into her house and had even given her the hair band she now wore. After everything was as it should be, Haku arrived at Zeniba's house, once again in perfect health. It was then that Chihiro realized who Haku really was. Just like Yubaba had done to her, the old witch had stolen Haku's name. But Chihiro knew what it was, and with his name restored to him, the river spirit was able to break free from Yubaba's spell. When they returned to the bathhouse, Chihiro discovered that Yubaba and Haku had made an agreement to return her and her parents back to the spirit world if she passed one final test, which she did. Chihiro's contract was torn up, or completely obliterated to be precise, and she and her parents got to go home. Chihiro sighed. Not for the first time did she find herself wishing that she had failed Yubaba's test. Not that she wanted her parents to remain pigs, but she wished she could have stayed. She hadn't realized it back then, but as the days went by, Chihiro began to realize that her home was the place she had just left. She missed everyone so much, even the old hag Yubaba. Oh, what she would do to go back to the spirit world. Or better yet, to be able to go back in time and prevented herself from leaving to begin with. "Why did I leave?" she whispered to herself. "What'd you say, Chihiro?" Chihiro snapped back to reality as the person next to her spoke to her. She turned red with embarrassment as she realized she had gone off into another daydream again. She was supposed to be concentrating. She was in class right now and needed to keep her mind open. Chihiro was currently attending college. She was majoring in the field of art. She was a very good drawer as well as painter. Strangely enough, she specialized in drawing dragons. In fact, that's exactly what she was drawing now. "Nice drawing." Said the girl who had spoken to her earlier. Chihiro smiled. "Thanks Mimi." Her drawing was very good indeed, and very detailed. It was the drawing of a large dragon bursting up from out of a river, with a young girl of 10 on its back. Several strange creatures stood on the edge of the riverbank. Two old women that looked exactly alike, although one looked grouchy, stood next to a very large baby. A spider like man stood a short distance away surrounded by small black spots with eyes. Feeding these little puffballs was a woman in her late twenties. And next to her stood a shadowy black figure, wearing a mask over his non-existing face. "You know," said Mimi, pointing to the girl on the dragon's back, "she kind of looks like you." Chihiro laughed; Mimi had hit the nail on the head. "Yeah, I guess she does." "What do you mean, you guess? You must have known what you were drawing. I see you used your favorite dragon again. So what do you call this one?" Chihiro laid her drawing down. "I call it 'Sen and the Spirit of the Kohaku River'." She replied.



Mimi rolled her eyes. "I swear you're obsessed with that river. I can't believe you love a river you almost drowned in. I'd be scared to death of it." Chihiro couldn't blame her. Mimi didn't understand things the way she did. "The river saved me." She replied. "And almost killed you." said Mimi, sounding bored. "Besides, that river is all covered up now anyway. Although I still don't understand what the big deal is." 'No one does.' Thought Chihiro, as she ran her finger over the dragon's face. Class ended a few minutes later. Chihiro packed her things up and got ready to head home. No, not home. Her home was the spirit world. She saw the small apartment she lived in now as her current residence, not her home. No place had ever felt like home since she left the spirit world, and she had the feeling that nowhere ever would. Chihiro wanted desperately to return to the spirit world. She had tried on several occasions. She had walked down the path that led to the spirit world so many times that she was surprised it didn't have a groove in it. But no matter how many times she walked down that path, she never came out in the spirit world. Twelve years. It had been twelve years! How much longer was Haku going to keep her waiting? Did he even remember his promise? Had he just said they would see each other again to make her leave? Chihiro didn't want to believe that. She wanted to believe Haku truly meant what he said. But 12 years was a long time, and she was beginning to have her doubts. Then again, spirits didn't die unless they were killed, which was a very difficult thing to do. So time wasn't exactly the same for them. In fact, spirits probably saw 12 years as humans saw days; not that long at all. But Chihiro was human, and 12 years was a very, very long time to her. "Hey Chihiro!" called Mimi, bringing the girl out of her thoughts again. "Me and some of the girls are going to go out for a night in the town. Want to come? It will be a girl's night out." Chihiro gave her friend an appreciative smile and shook her head. "No thanks, I've got other things to do." Mimi frowned. "You sure, we're gonna go boy watching later. Come on, we could meet some real cute guys." Chihiro just shook her head again. "Really, I don't want to. You guys go have fun." Mimi sighed and gave up. "Ok, if you say so." She turned to leave but then stopped. "By the way, when do we get to meet him?" Chihiro froze. "Who?" Mimi cut her eyes at her. "Don't play dumb. We can all see it. Who is he? Come on, give us a hint." Blushing furiously, Chihiro turned away. "I have no idea what you're talking about."



"Liar!" Chihiro made an attempt to get away, but Mimi moved to stand in her way. "Don't deny it! It's written all over your face." Chihiro remained silent. Mimi sighed and folded her arms. "Chihiro, come on, how long have we known each other?" "Three years." Chihiro replied. "And four months." Mimi added. "And in all that time you haven't once been able to fool me. I've known it for a long time. I've been patient, waiting for you to spill the beans, but you never say anything. I've tried wheedling it out of you, but you're just so stubborn. Why won't you tell me?" Chihiro didn't say anything. How could she say that her thoughts were always on a certain river spirit that she hadn't seen in 12 years? Everyone would think she was crazy. "Is he married? Does he have a girlfriend? Does he live far away?" Mimi kept throwing all the questions at her. But Chihiro wouldn't crack. "Speak to me, girl! You're going to drive me crazy!" Chihiro laughed. Mimi could really be a nuisance at times. But she was a good friend. One of the few Chihiro had in this world. Ever since her little run in with the spirit world, she never really reconnected with the human world. She didn't have many friends. She went to school and she went to work just like anyone else would, but then she went home and just hung out there. She just felt so misunderstood. She didn't feel like she belonged here. 'That's because I don't.' she thought. 'I don't belong here. I want to go home. To my real home.' The sound of Mimi snapping her fingers in front of her face brought Chihiro out of her thoughts. "Hello? Earth to Chihiro. You still in there?" "Huh, oh sorry, what were you saying?" Mimi slapped her forehead in frustration. She felt a major headache coming on. "Come on, I can keep a secret. Are you going to tell me willingly, or am I going to have to get April to come get it out of you?" Chihiro's mouth dropped open from Mimi's threat. She knew her friend could keep a secret, but April, the school's biggest gossip girl, definitely couldn't. She was excellent at getting things out of people and anything she found out would become public knowledge by the end of the day. Chihiro sighed and gave in. Mimi smirked at the look of defeat on her friend's face. She pushed her into a chair and sat in one across from her. "Start talking!" she demanded. Chihiro never spoke to anyone, not even her parents, about what had happened all those years ago. She wasn't about to start now. Besides, everyone would think she was crazy. But since Mimi was forcing her to talk, she decided to just give enough information to satisfy her friend's curiosity. "His name was Haku." She said, but before she could go one Mimi interrupted her. "Was he hot? Muscular? Tall? Handsome? Give me details!" Chihiro smiled at her friend's impatience. "I haven't seen him in 12 years." "WHAT?" cried Mimi. "You're carrying a torch for a guy you haven't seen in 12 years." Chihiro blushed. "I never said-"



"You didn't have to. I told you, it's written all over your face." Chihiro groaned at her body's betrayal. "Ok, yes I am. And so what if it was 12 years ago. We promised we would see each other again." Mimi snorted. "Girl, a promise doesn't mean anything. Guys will say anything to get in your pants." Now Chihiro turned red with embarrassment as well as anger. "IT WASN'T LIKE THAT!" she cried. She dropped her voice so she wouldn't attract attention. "At least, not at the time. I was only 10." "You were 10?" exclaimed Mimi. "Mimi, I said it had been 12 years." Chihiro chuckled. Realization dawned on Mimi's face. "I always was bad at math. But still, 12 years! And you haven't seen or heard from him once?" "I never said I haven't heard from him." "But you haven't." Chihiro didn't say anything. Mimi nodded, knowing that she was right. "Girl, it's really sweet and romantic that you have a love that you've waited 12 years for, but seriously, you need to move on. Your Haku has." "No he hasn't!" Chihiro cried, trying to convince herself more than Mimi. She wasn't even sure if Haku felt that way about her. How could he? He was a powerful river spirit, she was a human mortal. It could never work, no matter how much she wished it could. Maybe he did forget about her. Maybe he saw her as a scared little girl and pitied her. "Chihiro, listen to me." Said Mimi, trying to get through to her friend. "You can't spend your whole life chasing after a guy who wouldn't even bother to write a single letter." "We kind of live far away." Said Chihiro. 'More like different worlds.' She added mentally. "You have to move on. Just face it. You had a schoolgirl crush, that's all. Once you get a boyfriend you'll forget all about Kahu." "Haku." Chihiro corrected her. "Right him." Said Mimi. She looked at her watch. "Well, this has been fun, but I gotta go. You sure you don't wanna come?" She put on a sad puppy face, which Chihiro laughed at, shaking her head. "No really, I'm fine." She assured her. "You go and have fun for both of us." Mimi sighed in defeat. "Alright fine. I can't make you change your mind. But just think about what I said. See you Monday." "See you."



Chihiro was left alone. It seemed like she was alone a lot. It wasn't that she liked to be alone or anything, she just always felt like such an outcast, like she didn't belong. She once again found herself wishing she had failed Yubaba's test, or at least looked back while passing through the spirit gate. "I guess a part of me was left behind." She muttered, as she headed for her car. She threw her things in the backseat and started up the engine. She wasn't planning on going home though. She was going to a place she visited almost as much as the entrance to the spirit world. (-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-) After driving for a good long while, Chihiro finally arrived at her destination. She had wasted so much gas money driving all this way so many times, but it was worth every penny and more. To a normal person, no one would see why this place was special; it was just a bunch of apartments. To Chihiro, this was a very special place. It was where the Kohaku River once was. Now it was all covered up, flowing beneath the apartments, but there were still a few streams that connected to the river before it moved under ground. This was the closest place she could get to Haku. Chihiro slowly made her way over to a stream. She took off her shoes and socks and sat on the ground, letting her feet soak in the cool water. "Hello Haku." She said to the water. "It's been awhile. Sorry I couldn't visit sooner, but I've been busy." As usual, she was greeted with silence. She didn't know why she still expected an answer. She had received none in 12 years. "I made another drawing of us and the gang. Look." She took out her drawing and held it to the water, as if this would somehow allow the river spirit to see it. Chihiro sighed sadly. "I miss you all so much. Granny, Lin, No-Face, and especially you." She put the drawing away and went back to staring at the water. She felt tears coming on but she held them back. "I want to see you all again. I wish I never left. If it wasn't for my parents, I don't think I ever would have. And if you hadn't promised to see me again, I know that I wouldn't have left." She looked up into the sky, almost as if she thought she would see Haku coming for her. But once again, she was let down. "But where are you? I've waited so long." She suddenly began getting angry. "It's been 12 years, Haku! Do you know what that's like? I feel like an outcast among my own people! The only place that ever felt like home is a place I can't go to! I feel so lost here! I've been waiting all this time to see you again, yet you still haven't fulfilled your promise!" She glared at the water, but only saw her angry distorted reflection. It just made her angrier. "You could at least acknowledge my presence! I don't come all the way out here just to talk to myself! For goodness sake, Haku, I can't stop thinking about you and the others. I lay awake at night hoping you'll come for me, but you never do! How long do you expect me to wait! I don't live forever like you do! I have to live my own life, but I don't have a life here!"



When she still got no answer, she angrily kicked the water. "Can you even hear me? If so, why don't you answer? Was I really just some foolish little girl that you felt sorry for?" She was talking more to herself now than to anyone else. Her anger slowly turned to a sad empty feeling. "Was Mimi right? Did you move on and forget about me? If you have, that hurts, Haku. It hurts more than anything you can imagine." She couldn't stop the tears now. They fell freely down her face and into the water, becoming a part of the Kohaku River. "I shouldn't have left. I wish I never did. I don't belong here. I've tried to get back, but I can't. Please come for me Haku." She didn't know how long she sat there crying, but the sun was beginning to set and it was getting cold. Reluctantly, Chihiro got up and put her socks and shoes on. She turned back to the water to say goodbye. "I have to go now." She said, patting the water. "I don't know when I'll be back. I plan on trying to get through the spirit gate again tomorrow. Maybe this time I'll finally get through. Goodbye Haku. I miss you dearly." She made her way back to her car and began the long lonely ride back home. It was dark by the time she reached her apartment. Tomorrow she would be able to sleep in, but then she would have to go to work. It was just a temporary job, and it wasn't all that enjoyable. She would much rather work under contract at the bathhouse again. She really missed it. After showering and getting settled in for the night, she climbed into bed and thought about the day. Mimi's words continued to haunt her. She didn't want to believe that Haku had broken his promise. She didn't want to believe that she would never see the spirit world again. She didn't want to believe she would never see any of her friends again. But it had been 12 years. How much longer could she wait? "Please Haku." She whispered, tears forming in her eyes again. "Please keep your promise." And just like so many other nights, she cried herself into a sleep where she dreamed of Haku and the spirit world.



Chapter 2: Living in the Human World The annoying sound of her alarm clock woke her up. Even on the weekend she had to get up early; well, earlier than she would have preferred. Then again, if it hadn't been for her little trip the day before, she wouldn't have been up so late. The reason she was getting up early was because she had to go to work. She worked part time at a small coffee shop while she attended classes. During the weekdays she worked were normally night hours, since she attended class, and morning hours on the weekends. She normally worked 20-25 hours a week. It wasn't so bad, but Chihiro preferred the bathhouse. Groaning, Chihiro rolled over and turned off her alarm clock. She wanted to roll over and go back to sleep. She was too tired to worry about getting to work on time. 'It's your fault you were out so late.' Her conscience scolded her.



"I know! I know!" she yelled back at it. "Fine, I'm getting up." Throwing back the covers, Chihiro got out of bed. She shivered and grabbed her robe. Why was it always so cold in the morning? She went into the bathroom and caught sight of herself in the mirror. EEK! Shouldn't have looked. She was having a massive bad hair day, no doubt from her constant moving about in an uneasy slumber. Her hair was much longer than when she was younger, and at the moment it was all tangled and sticking up all over the place. "This is going to make me late for work." She complained, glancing at the clock. "Why do I always cut it so close?" (-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-) "Miss Ogino, late again I see." Said her boss. Chihiro stumbled into the coffee shop 8 minutes later than she should have been there. Her boss was nice, but he had very little patience when it came to having his employees arrive late. "I'm very sorry, sir." She said, bowing her head. "I had a little trouble this morning." The boss sighed. "Just don't let it happen again. You're an excellent worker; I'd hate to lose you." "Yes, sir. I'm very sorry." Chihiro apologized again. The rest of her shift went pretty much the way it always did. Nothing exciting ever happened. It was a small quiet place. It was very dull. There wasn't all that much to do. The boss insisted that everyone should always be doing something, but sometimes it was hard to findanything to do. The best thing about the job, besides the pay, was a free coffee and pastry everyday. Sometimes the shifts went by quickly, other times they took forever. Today just happened to be one of those days that seemed to never end, even though it was only a 5 hour shift. The bell rang, indicating someone entered the shop. "Miss Ogino, care to take this one?" asked the boss. "Yes, sir." Chihiro replied. She approached the man that had just entered. "Hello sir, Welcome to our shop." The man smiled at her. His eyes looked her up and down. Chihiro felt like she was being examined. She didn't like it. "This way, sir, I'll show you to your table." She said. Always serve your customers with a smile. "What can I get for you?" The man was still checking her out. "I'll just have a hazel nut coffee, please. With extra cream." "Yes sir, I'll get it for you right away." She was actually glad to get away from the man. She felt uncomfortable under his gaze.



While she was in the back, one of her co-worker couldn't help but make a comment about her customer. "Wow, Chihiro, that guy was checking you out." Chihiro sent her fellow employee a death glare. "Oh shut up!" she snapped, as she prepared her customer's order. A minute later, she returned to the table with her customer's coffee. "Here you are, sir." She said, setting down the coffee. "Extra cream, just like you wanted." The man smiled and took the coffee. "Thank you, my dear." Chihiro gave him a very forced smile. "You're welcome. Is there anything else I can get for you?" The man shook his head. "Just the bill." Chihiro didn't waste a second. She didn't like the way this man kept looking at her, and was eager to get him away. She returned with the bill as quick as possible. "Here you are, sir. Have a great day." She said and turned to walk away. "Ma'am." Chihiro stopped. She began grinding her teeth in irritation. Why couldn't this man just pay and leave? She turned back to the man, turning her scowl into a smile. "Yes sir? Was there something else I could get for you?" The man shook his head. "Not while you're working. If you would like, I would be happy to buy you a coffee when your shift ends." 'Is he asking me out?' thought Chihiro, panicking. 'Oh no, think fast Chihiro.' She gave him the most sympathetic look she could muster through her irritation. "Uh, no thanks. I get a free coffee everyday." She said. "And I have a boyfriend!" she added quickly. The co-worker she had spoken to in the back chose that moment to pass by. "Since when?" they asked. Chihiro wanted to strangle them. Why did they have to open their big mouth? Now what would the man say? "I've had one for awhile now!" she said, more forcefully than she meant. The man either knew she was lying or didn't care. "Just because you have a boyfriend shouldn't stop you from coming to dinner with me." 'Oh, so now it's dinner.' Thought Chihiro. She decided to make a run for it. "No thank you, sir. I have to get back to work." She didn't wait for a reply as she sped back into the kitchen. She didn't come back out until she was sure the man was gone. "Geez Chihiro, you don't give any guys a chance." Said her co-worker. "That guy was really hot."



"Then you date him!" Chihiro snapped. What she had told the man was only part true. She may not have had a boyfriend, but someone did have her heart. (-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-) Chihiro returned home to her apartment and flopped down on the bed. She was still exhausted from the lack of sleep the night before. She decided to take a nap whenThe phone rang. Chihiro groaned and gave the phone a death glare, as if that would make it stop ringing. She just couldn't catch a break today. Groaning Chihiro picked up the phone and held it to her ear. "Hello." She muttered. "Chihiro sweetie, it's mom." Came Mrs. Ogino's voice from the other line. Chihiro yawned. "Hi mom. How are you and dad?" "Oh, we're just fine dear." Her mother replied. "You're father's right here. Hold on, I'll put you on speaker… Can you hear me?" Chihiro nodded, then realizing that her parents couldn't hear a nod, she answered. "Yup, can you hear me?" "Sure can." That was her father. "How are things there, honey?" "Ok, I guess." Chihiro muttered. It was always just 'ok'. Things had always been either 'just ok' or 'not so good', ever since that day 12 years ago. "How is your schooling going?" asked Mr. Ogino. "Just fine." "I still don't know why you wanted to stay there. There is a perfectly good art school here." Chihiro sighed. "I know. I just can't bring myself to leave this place." That was actually only part true. She couldn't bring herself to leave the town she was in because then she would lose any opportunity to go to the spirit world again. If she ever did manage to get through the spirit gate, she would leave her old town in a second and never return. 'Just like I should have.' She thought. Her parents had been slightly disappointed when she had refused to move with them. Her father had gotten a new job, which required the Ogino family to move. Chihiro didn't want to leave, and since she was 18 at the time she stayed behind while her parents left. She took up residence in the apartment she was currently staying in and got a job at the coffee shop to pay rent and continue her schooling.



The town actually had no impact on why she stayed. She had moved before, she could move again if she had to. The thing she had absolutely refused to leave was the only place that held a doorway to the spirit world; well, as far as she knew it was the only one. She had been living her life in hopes that she would one day be able to pass through that gate once again. Sadly, that hope was beginning to disappear. "Well we were just calling in to see how you were doing." Said Mrs. Ogino. "What have you been doing with yourself?" "The usual." Chihiro replied sleepily. "Going to school. Working. All the-yawn-regular everyday stuff." "Chihiro dear, why do you sound so tired?" asked her mother, sounding concerned. "Are you getting sick?" Chihiro rolled over onto her back. "No, I was just up really late last night." "Really!" exclaimed her mother. "With who? Did you finally get a boyfriend?" "Who is he?" Mr. Ogino demanded, suddenly becoming the overprotective father. Chihiro sighed. "It wasn't anything like that." She said, rolling her eyes. "I was just up late." The other line was silent for a bit before Mrs. Ogino spoke up again. "Chihiro, you didn't go back to that river again, did you?" Chihiro tensed up. Her parents didn't like her constant trips to their old town. They found it strange that she would be willing to take a very long road trip just to spend a few hours by a river; one that nearly drowned her no less. "Uh… maybe…" she muttered. "Why?" "Chihiro, you know we don't like you going there." Said her father. 'If only they knew.' She thought. "There are just so many memories there." She said. She used this excuse every time this conversation was caught up. She was surprised her parents still bought it. She didn't go back for the memories, she went there to be close to Haku; since it was the only way she could be. "How late were you up?" her mother asked. "Um… not sure." She said honestly. She really didn't know how late she was up, but it was late enough to make her want to take a nice long nap. "Well you shouldn't stay up so late, it's bad for your health." "I know, mom." "Good, then we'll let you rest." "Thank you." Chihiro replied, truly grateful. She was exhausted. "Ok then, take care of yourself."



"And don't stay up so late." Her father added. "Ok dad, bye." "Bye dear, we love you." "Love you too." Chihiro hung up the phone. Finally, some peace and quiet. Better take it while it was available. She fell asleep a few seconds later, once again dreaming of the spirit world and the life she could have had. (-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-) Chihiro woke up several hours later. One glance at the window showed just how long. The sun was beginning to set. "Must have been more tired than I thought." She mumbled. "And from the looks of things, I'll be going to bed again in just a few hours." Chihiro's stomach began growling and she decided to have some dinner. Hopping out of bed, she walked over to the fridge. "Let's see. What's on the agenda for today?" she said. A quick glance in the fridge indicated that she needed to go grocery shopping. Chihiro sighed. "Guess I'll go out for dinner." She grabbed her coat and keys and headed outside. It was rather warm out, and she didn't really need a coat, but it was just a precaution. She got in her car and started it up. She noticed she needed to get gas soon. All these trips to the Kohaku River were really costing her, but she didn't really mind. "Hmm, where to?" She decided to just drive around until she found a suitable place to eat. She would need to stop for gas on the way too. After a few minutes of driving, Chihiro came to some territory that was very familiar to her. She had been down this road many times; sadly she had never reached her destination. 'What the heck.' She thought. 'One quick stop can't hurt.' After all, it was around this time of day that she had first stumbled into the spirit world. She took the turn that led to the path to the spirit gate. How many times had she gone down this path now? She had no idea, but she knew this path like the back of her hand. First came the steep hill, followed by the extremely bumpy road, then the small statue at the end of the path, with the spirit gate behind it. It was here that she parked her car for the thousandth time. "Well, here we go again." she sighed. She got out of the car and walked up to the spirit gate. She had done this so many times and was disappointed every time. There would be no spirit world beyond this gate; just a large field surrounded by more woods. It was always the same, always. So it was no surprise that Chihiro didn't expect to find anything on the other side. Even so, she took a deep breath and walked, once again, to what she hoped was her home.



Chapter 3: Back to the Bathhouse Twelve years of trying. Twelve years of being let down. Twelve years of disappointment. Chihiro had become so used to being let down that she had no longer expected to find what she was looking for at the end of this tunnel. So it came to a great surprise when she saw something other than the usual empty field. Rather than being surrounded by woods, there was what looked like an abandoned amusement park, or so her father had thought. Chihiro couldn't believe what she was seeing. For years she had dreamed of this moment. For years she had been let down. Could she finally have made it back after all this time? "Am I…" she whispered. "Is this… Could I be…" For some reason, the truth wouldn't register to her. She wanted this for so long. Now that it's happened, she couldn't believe it. Finally, things began to click into place. "I'm… I'm… back…" She said quietly. An overwhelming joy suddenly filled her, as tears of joy began running down her cheeks. "I'M BACK!" She couldn't believe it. She had finally made it. She was back. She was home. It was amazing. Everything was just as she remembered it. Form this view anyway. She needed to get closer. She began making her way in the direction she remembered the bathhouse being in. After a few steps, something unusual happened; she was ankle deep in mud. Chihiro looked behind her. The ground was wet and muddy. It had been dry a moment ago. Chihiro sank deeper in the mud. No, it was no longer mud. It was muddy water, and getting deeper. "The water!" she cried. Memories of what had happened 12 years ago came back to her. When she had tried to get away before, this field had been completely submerged, blocking the only way to the spirit gate. It looked like it was happening again. "Oh NO!" she cried as the water got deeper, pouring out of the mouth of the frog statue on the other side of what was soon to be a river. She made a run for it. The water was getting deeper by the second. It was already up to her waist, then her chest, then her neck. "Almost there! Almost there!" she panted. But it wasn't easy to run in water, and suddenly she was no longer running. The ground completely vanished beneath her feet. "Great." She muttered and began swimming. The water continued to get deeper. Luckily, she was almost to the other side. Just a few more yards and she would be safely back on dry land.



Suddenly she felt something pass by her leg. Something rough and scaly. Chihiro gulped. What was in here with her? There, she felt it again. And this time she saw something too. It was too dark to make out what it was underwater, but it was big, and whatever it was, was circling around her like a shark. "Please don't eat me. Please don't eat me. Please don't eat me." She kept repeating this phrase as she swam faster, yet more carefully. There was an explosion of water as the creature suddenly burst up from underwater. Chihiro got a good look at it, but wished she hadn't. The creature looked like some sort of giant eel monster. And of course it had to have a mouthful of long razor sharp teeth. Chihiro squealed and swam as fast as she possibly could. The 'eel' darted forward, no longer keeping up the circling shark routine. "Please don't eat me! Please don't eat me! Please don't eat me!" Her feet hit the bottom. She began wading as fast as possible. The 'eel' struck and its jaws clamped down over her jacket. Without wasting a second, Chihiro gave up the jacket and scrambled up on land. "Oh thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you!" she panted, hugging the ground. She looked back at the water, giving it a dirty look. "STUPID EEL!" The water exploded as the 'eel' launched itself out of the water. Chihiro screamed and crawled out of striking range. The 'eel' just barely missed clamping its jaws on her. Once she was sure she was far enough away that the 'eel' couldn't reach her, Chihiro laid down to catch her breath. "That was close." She mumbled. "Five minutes into the spirit world and I almost drown and get eaten." She took a few minutes to catch her when a bright light flashed in her face. She held up her hand to shield her eyes from the light. It was coming from one of the ships that brought the spirits. Then Chihiro suddenly realized what she was seeing. She saw the ship, but she saw it through her hand. "Oh no, I'm disappearing again!" she cried. This had happened the last time she came here. Haku had provided her with a berry, telling her that unless she ate some food from this world she would disappear. It didn't sound that hard to take care of. The only problem was that she had no food. Chihiro jumped to her feet and began looking around. "I need some food! Something, anything!" Her first thought was all the food stands nearby. She made a break for them, hoping she wouldn't disappear. Suddenly she skidded to a halt as a thought hit her. She knew that she needed to eat some food from this world; the only problem was that if she did Yubaba would turn her into a pig or some other animal. "The old bat." Chihiro growled through clenched teeth.



She was facing quite a dilemma. She could either eat the food of the spirits and get sentenced to the pigpen, or she could fade away. Neither option sounded appealing. Where was Haku when she needed him? Wait, Haku had been the one to give her the berry last time. She had eaten the food of the spirits then, and Yubaba didn't turn her into a pig. But why? Was it because she didn't take the food and it wasgiven to her? It made sense. Her parents had behaved like pigs so that was their punishment. Maybe, hopefully, if someone gave her food it wouldn't be considered a crime. Chihiro looked down at herself. She was hardly visible. She had no other choice. She raced for the food stands as fast as her fading legs would take her. The spirits were already about. Most of them were shadow spirits, which only made sense since there were so many shadows in the world. Most of them looked surprised to find a human in their world, while a few just ignored her. She could hear some of them talking about her. "What's she doing here?" "Is that a human?" "Pee-ew, she stinks." "Get her out of here before I lose my appetite." If Chihiro hadn't been in such a rush, she might have stopped to find out once and for all why humans stank so badly to spirits. But she didn't have time. She as fading fast. Quickly she rushed up to the nearest food stand. The spirit in charge of the stand gave her a dirty look. "Go away, human." It said. "Your money is no good here." "Please!" Chihiro begged. "I need some food or I'm going to disappear!" The spirit gave her a curious look. "Do you have any gold?" "Gold, um, no." "Then no food for you." Chihiro knelt down in front of the spirit. "Please, don't let me disappear." The spirit glared at her. "Get lost or I'll turn you into a cockroach." Chihiro didn't wait around. She knew this spirit would be of no help to her. She quickly ran to the next closest stand, but was sent away just like last time. It was the same everywhere she went. No one would help her. "Get lost." "We don't serve humans." "You'll stink up my stand."



"I've got more important things to deal with." "This is food for the spirits, not stinky humans." Again and again she was refused. The spirits just didn't seem to care about one little human. Chihiro collapsed against one of the food stands and began to weep. Why wouldn't anyone help her? Had she really waited 12 years to come back here just to die before she even got to see Haku again? A low grunting noise caused her to look up. A shadow spirit was sitting at the food stand looking down at her. He, at least she thought it was a he, had a dish of food in front of him. Chihiro took the opportunity to beg again. "Excuse me, Mr. Shadow Spirit but I'm in real trouble." She said. The spirit simply cocked its head to the side, as if it were requesting her to continue. "I'm a human, and unless I eat some food from this world I'll disappear. I have no money to buy anything from the stands and no one will give me anything. Can I please, please, please, have just one bite of your food; even if it's just leftovers? Please don't let me fade away." The shadow spirit continued to stare at her, as if it were considering something. Chihiro began to feel hopeful, until"Hey, human!" A spirit, that looked like a cross between a man and a dinosaur, came out from the back of the food stand. "Stop bothering my customers! Go on, get lost before I-" The shadow spirit held up his hand and made grunting noise. The spirit in charge of the stand gave his customer an odd look, but didn't say anything else. Chihiro looked at the shadow spirit hopefully. The shadow spirit grabbed a piece of, what looked like chicken, and handed it to Chihiro, who gratefully took it. "Thank you so much." She said, bowing to it. The shadow spirit nodded and went back to its meal. Chihiro stared at the food in her hand a moment, not sure if her theory was correct. Did she dare eat the food of the spirits? That question was quickly solved when she noticed she could barely see her hands. "Please don't turn me into a pig." She prayed, and put the food in her mouth. It was delicious! No wonder her parents couldn't stop eating the when they came here. But Chihiro was only concerned with one thing, and that was not disappearing. She chewed and swallowed as fast as she could, then slowly opened her eyes. Her hands were already beginning to reappear. Chihiro sighed and sat back against the wall. Thank goodness it worked. Now the question was, would Yubaba turn her into a pig, or spare her. Only time would tell. She wasn't sure how long she just sat at the food stand waiting, but the shadow spirit had finished its meal and left without her noticing. And once it was gone, the owner of the food stand was quick to get rid of Chihiro. "You still here?" it said. "Get lost! Your stink will keep away my customers!" Chihiro jumped to her feet. She was tired of being told she smelled bad. "I do not stink!" she shouted, a little louder than she meant to.



The spirit pinched his nose. "You do so. You smell like your world; all that pollution and everything. Why don't you go home?" Chihiro turned away from him and crossed her arms. "I can't. The water is blocking the path. Besides, I am home." The spirit groaned. "Well then, just get away from my stand." "FINE!" Chihiro shouted angrily, and stormed away fuming. As she continued walking away she realized that she wasn't out of the woods yet. She had to get a job or Yubaba would still turn her into some type of animal, or a lump of coal, or some other thing that Chihiro was sure she didn't want to end up as. 'I didn't exactly think past getting back here.' she thought to herself. She made her way in the direction she knew the bathhouse was in. Yubaba would already know she was here. Whether she recognized her or not probably didn't matter. If she didn't realize Chihiro for who she was, she would probably be treated the way she was the first time she came here. If she did recognize her… well they hadn't exactly been on the best of terms when they had last seen each other. Soon the bathhouse came into view. Chihiro suddenly got a feeling of finally coming home. But would she be accepted back? Only one way to find out. Chihiro crossed the bridge, trying, and failing, to blend in with the spirits. Last time she had crossed the bridge Haku had cast a spell that prevented her from being seen as long as she didn't breathe. She wondered what would have happened if she had held her breath the entire time. Unfortunately, a talking frog had startled her and she took a breath. Carefully, Chihiro made her way into the bathhouse. It was great to be back, but she was feeling slightly awkward at the moment. She looked around for Haku, Lin, or anyone familiar. Eventually she followed the other spirits until she came up to the foreman. "Hello, welcome, enjoy yourself." The foreman greeted every customer. "Hello, have a nice bath. Welcome, enjoy your stay. Welcome, have a… Hey, you're a human!" So, she was finally recognized, but only by what she was, not who she was. Chihiro bowed to him. "Hello Mr. Foreman." She said politely. "What are you doing here?" the foreman demanded. "You're not supposed to be here. Go away." Chihiro crossed her arms. "Don't you remember me?" she asked. The foreman looked surprised by her question. "Recognize you? What are you talking about? We haven't had a human here in years." Chihiro smiled. It was time to let the cat out of the bag. "Let me guess, not for 12 years, right?" The foreman nodded. "Yes, but how did you know…" he stopped talking as the truth suddenly hit him. "Wait a minute! Are you? Can you be?" Chihiro nodded, still smiling. "I knew that would jog your memory."



"SEN!" the foreman cried, jumping from behind the counting and giving her a bone-crushing hug. "Sen, it's so good to see you again!" He let go of her just long enough to scream at the top of his lungs, "HEY EVERYONE, SEN IS BACK!" Chihiro felt herself turn red with embarrassment as she heard her servant name being muttered all over the bathhouse. "Sen?" "Sen's back?" "She's really back?" "Look, it is her!" "She came back!" "Sen's back! Sen's back! Sen's back!" The next thing Chihiro knew, she was being surrounded by all the bathhouse's servants, being swamped with greetings and questions. "Welcome back!" "How are you?" "My, how you have grown!" "You stink again, but I'm glad you're back!" "Did you miss us?" "Sen's back! Sen's back! Sen's back!" Chihiro was beginning to feel awkward from all the attention. Apparently, everyone had missed her as much as she missed them. She kept a look out for Haku and Lin, but couldn't find either of them in the crowd. What she did see was several customers looking very irritated about being ignored. "Uh, not to be rude or anything," she said, trying not to offend anyone, "but as great as it is to see you all again, I think the customers are getting upset." The foreman looked at the customers and saw that she was right. "Ok people, back to work! We can all catch up later! Come on, we've got customers here!" The spirits reluctantly returned to their duties, although some lingered behind a little longer, including the foreman. "So Sen, how have things been going?" he asked. "We've all really missed you here." Chihiro smiled. "I missed you all too. It looks like the bathhouse is doing well."



"Yup, business is booming." The foreman replied. "You know, after you left, Yubaba was really in a bad mood for a long time." Chihiro frowned. "She's not still mad about the whole No-Face incident, is she?" If the old witch still held a grudge against her, this meeting might not be pleasant. The foreman snorted. "She was pretty upset about the whole thing for awhile, but then she began pestering us about doing a better job. It was all 'why can't you work as good as Sen', or 'I should fire you all and get more humans', or 'Sen was the best worker I ever had, I can't believe I let her go'. She just wouldn't stop talking." That brightened Chihiro's mood. "She's been comparing you all to me?" "Criticizing is more like it." The foreman replied. "Hey, maybe now that you're back she'll give it a rest. Uh, that is, if you are back. You are, aren't you?" He sounded really hopeful. Chihiro nodded. "I hope to be. If Yubaba gives me a job again. I was just on my way to see her." The foreman looked up at something behind her. "It looks like she wants to see you too." Chihiro looked at what the foreman was staring at. Circling over their heads was what looked like a crow with the head of an old woman. "Yu-bird!" Chihiro cried, happy to see her friend. The last time she had seen Yubaba's messenger Zeniba had turned her into a little bird. Yu-bird squawked loudly and landed on Chihiro's shoulder. Chihiro petted her old friend. "It's good to see you too." she said. "I'm guessing that Yubaba sent you to get me." Yu-bird nodded. "Well then, best not to keep her waiting." She turned back to the foreman. "It was good to see you again." "Take care, and don't let the old bat get to you." Chihiro laughed. "I won't." She was about to leave when she suddenly remembered something important. "Oh, Mr. Foreman, may I have a pencil and paper." "A pencil and paper?" the foreman repeated. "Uh, sure. Here you go." "Thanks." Chihiro took the paper and wrote four simple, yet very important words. My name is Chihiro. She hid the paper in her pocket and turned to Yu-bird. "Ok, let's go." Yu-bird led Chihiro through the bathhouse. It really wasn't necessary since she knew the way, but she wasn't one to complain with spending time with an old friend. It was strange though. She remembered her way through the bathhouse as if she had just been in it yesterday. Right now she was currently at the elevator she had met the Radish Spirit. She remembered Lin saying that this elevator didn't go up any higher. Both Lin and the Radish Spirit had been so nice in helping her reach Yubaba's office. Now



that she thought about it, where had the Radish Spirit gone after he had brought her to the correct floor. "So, you're back." Chihiro looked up at the voice. It was the strange talking doorknocker that had accused her of being rude for not knocking those 12 years ago. "Um, hello, again." She said. It was weird talking to a doorknocker. The doorknocker snorted. "Well, you sure shot up. At least you're not the scrawny little brat you were 12 years ago." "I was not scrawny!" Chihiro objected. "Whatever." The doorknocker opened the door, allowing her entry. "Yubaba's expecting you. Can you walk in on your own, or is my master going to have to pull you in again?" Chihiro merely grunted angrily and stormed past the doorknocker. She heard the knocker mutter something inaudible before closing the door. Yu-bird had stopped flying and settled itself on Chhiro's shoulder. Chihiro didn't mind. Besides, she knew the way to Yubaba's office, even after all this time. As it turned out, Yubaba's office hadn't changed at all, and neither did the old witch. She looked exactly the same as she did 12 years ago. Still the same blue dress, the same hairstyle, and all the gaudy jewelry. She watched as Chihiro entered the room with a thoughtful look on her face. "Well now," she said, sounding amused, "this is a pleasant surprise. I must admit that I hadn't expected to see you again." Chihiro stared at the witch. "I was beginning to think I wouldn't see you here again either." Yubaba snickered. "Actually, what surprises me the most is that you actually came back. And after the big deal you made about wanting to leave last time, I'm curious to know what made you come back." Chihiro felt irritated. She could tell that Yubaba was trying to overpower her, but she wouldn't be intimidated. She wasn't the same scared little girl she once was. "Well this time I don't have to worry about my parents being turned into bacon." Yubaba raised an eyebrow. "So, you're saying that if your parents hadn't been pigs you wouldn't have left?" she asked curiously. Chihiro didn't have a ready answer. She hadn't been sure back then. She was just a young girl who was worried about her parents. But now she could safely say that yes, she would have stayed. "Back then, I'm not sure what I would have done." She said. "But now, I can honestly say that I wish I never left." "Really?" said Yubaba. "May I ask why?" Chihiro really didn't want to get into her whole personal life with the old witch. She decided to give her a brief summary of how she had been felling these past 12 years.



"Because this place is my home." She said. "I just didn't realize it until after I left. I never felt like I belonged back in the human world. I never reconnected. All I've been wanting to do these past 12 years is to come back." Yubaba started laughing at Chihiro's speech. "I see. So you decided to come back because you felt like you didn't belong. How sad. Are you sure it didn't have something to do with a certain river spirit, hmm?" Chihiro tensed up. She would be lying if she didn't say that one of the biggest reasons she came back was because of Haku. It was true that she had never felt like she belonged in the human world, but the Kohaku River spirit was the main reason why she came back. Yubaba seemed to get the answer she was looking for from the look on Chihiro's face. "Ah, I see my suspicions were correct." She cackled. "I thought there was a little something going on between you and my apprentice." "I thought he quit being your apprentice." Said Chihiro. Yubaba 's expression suddenly began angry. "He did, thanks to you. Ever since you gave him back my name he's been doing things his own way." "So he's still working for you?" Yubaba snorted. "Of course he's still working for me. I may not be able to control him anymore, but he's still my employee." She sat back in her chair and gave Chihiro a knowing look. "And I assume you're here to get your job back, am I right?" Chihiro nodded. "Yes ma'am." Yubaba grinned. Oh how she was going to enjoy this. "And why should I give you your job back?" Chihiro crossed her arms. "I seem to remember that after my first customer you hugged me in front of everyone saying how the bathhouse made so much money and told everyone to learn from me." She said smugly. Yubaba seemed shocked by what Chihiro said, as well as the tone she said it in. She immediately took on her high and mighty attitude again. "How dare you speak to me like that! Honestly, what kind of person speaks like that when they're having a job interview?" Chihiro shrugged. "You asked why you should give me my job back." She replied. "And from what I heard around the bathhouse, you can't stop talking about how good of a worker I was." Yubaba growled in frustration. This wasn't exactly going as planned. "Don't put words in my mouth!" she cried, slamming her fist on the desk. "Yes, you did do good on the river spirit, but I haven't forgotten the incident with No-Face." A smile crept up Yubaba's face. She thought she had the human on this one. Little did she know that Chihiro had been expecting this. "I sincerely apologize for that." She said. "I thought that No-Face was a customer and was only thinking of business for the bathhouse. Everyone else thought he was a customer too. And it was me that got him out of the bathhouse."



"So what!" snapped Yubaba. "Do you have any idea how much damage that stupid monster caused? And all that gold that he gave us wasn't even gold, it was dirt! He cleaned out the kitchen, got a free stay, trashed the bathhouse, and threw up all over the place, even on me!" Chihiro couldn't help it. She began laughing. Even Yu-bird and the 3-green-heads started laughing. "Shut up!" shouted Yubaba. Everyone immediately stopped laughing. "And No-Face wasn't the only problem. Did you know that I had been trying to get Zeniba's golden seal for centuries? I finally got it and you returned it to her." Chihiro glared at the old witch. "First of all, the seal was not yours, so you had no right to take it." She said angrily. "And I thought that returning the seal would help Haku. Would you rather have had him die?" Yubaba grinded her teeth together. "No, I wouldn't have, but returning the seal wasn't what broke the spell, was it?" Chihiro blushed as she remembered Zeniba saying that love was the only thing that could break the spell. Yubaba didn't appear to notice Chihiro's embarrassment. "And then you go and give Haku back his name. I lost my apprentice because of you!" Chihiro stamped her foot. "You shouldn't be allowed to take people's names anyway!" she cried. "And I notice that you're only pointing out the things I did wrong. But even for those 'misdeeds', as you call them, they were all intended to be for what was best. And in case you didn't notice, besides the incident with No-Face, everything that you're saying I did wrong was actually your fault." Yubaba's mouth dropped open at Chihiro's accusation. "What? My fault? What are you talking about?" Chihiro smiled smugly. "Well, if you hadn't sent Haku to steal your sister's seal, your son and Yu-bird wouldn't have been turned into animals, and I wouldn't have returned the seal to Granny, thus giving Haku his name back, although I'm glad I did." Yubaba looked very irritated, but also thoughtful. She obviously hadn't thought about it from this perspective. But Chihiro wasn't done yet. "You know, instead of blaming me for everything, you should be thanking me for saving Haku and bringing your son and Yu-bird back safely. The only thing you really can blame me for is No-Face. But I was still new to everything back then. I didn't know I was doing anything wrong." Yubaba crossed her arms. "Ok, you have a point, but how do I know you won't make the same mistake twice? I don't want an incident like that happening again." Was she giving in? Chihiro hoped so. "Well, since this time I plan on staying, I'll have time to learn more about this world." Yubaba raised an eyebrow. "Oh, so you're staying this time, are you? What if I decide not to give you you're job back?" Chihiro sighed. Yubaba was really pushing it. She imagined that keeping her in suspense was a bit of revenge for what happened 12 years ago. 'That's an awful long time to hold a grudge.' Thought Chihiro. 'Can't let her get to me though. Must show no weakness.' Yubaba watched Chihiro carefully, wondering what the girl was thinking about. "Well?" she asked.



Chihiro thought for a moment. Suddenly something Yubaba said those 12 years ago came back to her. Chihiro snickered at what she was about to tell the witch. "Well, first of all, I'm older and more mature, therefore being a much better worker. But besides that, there's also the fact that I'm asking you for the job. And I remember you saying something about having to give a job to anyone who asks." Yubaba's mouth dropped open. Chihiro was certain she had this in the bag as she watched Yubaba trying to find some sort of comeback. "That's… how did… why I…" the old witch stuttered. Chihiro snickered as Yubaba tried to speak. "You can't just… I'm trying… Grr. That stupid oath! Every single time. Give a job to anyone who…" She stopped talking and looked like she was deep in thought. Chihiro didn't see how the witch was going to get out of this one, but the smile on Yubaba's wrinkly face suggested that she had a way. "I believe I may have found a loophole in that oath. Yes, I do have to give a job to anyone who asks, but I already gave you a job. You just quit it. There's nothing in the oath saying that I have to give back your job." Chihiro was speechless. The old hag had actually managed to get out of her oath. It was a lame excuse, but it looked like she could actually use it. Yubaba grinned at her triumphantly. "Ha! Now how are you going to get out of that?" she asked smugly. Chihiro began to panic. She had thought she had this in the bag, but it looked like Yubaba was the one pulling the strings again. Did she want to see her beg? Chihiro would if she had to. "Please Yubaba, give me my job back." She cried. "Please, I really want to stay." Yubaba laughed. "Not so confident now, are you? Next time you should think things through more fully before you-" "MAMA!" Yubaba was cut off by a loud cry coming from the room next to her. Chihiro knew who's room that was, having been in it once before. The doors burst open and the biggest baby Chihiro ever saw waddled out, looking like he just woke up. "Mama, you're being too noisy." The giant baby said. "I'm trying to go nap-nap." Yubaba smiled up at her giant son. "Bôh, sweetie, mommy's having a meeting." Said Yubaba. "Just go back to sleep and-" "Sen?" Bôh muttered sleepily, staring hard at Chihiro. His eyes suddenly widdened and he broke out into a huge grin. "SEN!" The giant baby rushed across the room, shaking everything as if there were an earthquake. He grabbed Chihiro and gave her a bone-crushing hug. "Sen! You came back! I'm so happy! I missed you so much!" he cried happily. He turned to look at Yubaba. "Look mama, Sen came back!" Yubaba, obviously amused at Chihiro's discomfort, smiled. "Yes, I see that, dear. Now let her go before you crush her."



Bôh looked down at Chihiro who was turning blue from his hug. He quickly dropped her, grinning apologetically. "Sorry Sen, I'm just so glad you're back. Are you going to stay this time?" he asked hopefully. Chihiro massaged her ribs, which were aching from Bôh's hug. "I'm not sure. I would like to, but it all depends on whether you're mom gives me my job back or not." Bôh turned to Yubaba. "Mama, give Sen her job back!" he demanded. "Please, mama. Please. I want Sen to stay with us forever. Please." Yubaba groaned. She wasn't very good at denying her son anything he wanted. "Sweetie, that's what we're discussing. I'm trying to decide if it will be worth taking her back." Bôh looked confused. "But mama, you've been saying for years how you wanted Sen back and how you wished everyone was as good as her." He said. Chihiro gave Yubaba a look that said 'I knew it'. Yubaba groaned. "Oh, alright fine. Spoil all my fun." "Yay!" Bôh cheered happily, along with Yu-bird and the 3-green-heads. Yubaba reached into her desk and pulled out a contract, which floated over to Chihiro. "You know what to do." She said. "Just sign and you'll have your job back." "Ok." Said Chihiro happily. She signed her name. "Uh, does this mean my name is Sen again, or are you giving me a new one?" Her name floated off the paper and Yubaba snatched it out of the air. "No, Sen is fine. That's how everyone knows you, why bother changing it?" "Can we play now?" Bôh asked. Yubaba shook her head. "No Bôh, Sen needs to get settled in first. You two can play later." She turned back to Chihiro. "So, go and get yourself together. You can stay with Lin again if you want; the two of you hit it off pretty well last time." Chihiro bowed. "Thank you ma'am. And thank you Bôh." Bôh nodded. "I'll do anything for you Sen." He said. "Come back and play soon." Chihiro nodded. "I will. See you later." She left the room and closed the door behind her before leaning back against it, breathing a sigh of relief. "That was close." She muttered. "If it hadn't been for Bôh, the old hag probably would still be teasing me."



As the moment past, Chihiro suddenly began to be filled with an overwhelming sense of joy. She was back! And this time she was back to stay. But there seemed to be something she was forgetting. Something she was supposed to remember. Suddenly it hit her. She reached into her pocket and pulled out the note she had written earlier. The four simple words on it had so much meaning. "Chihiro." She whispered. "My name is Chihiro."



Chapter 4: Reunion Chihiro wondered where Lin and Haku were. The bathhouse was a pretty big place, and it was crowded with customers at the moment. Chihiro decided to go see Kamajii first, since she knew where to find him. Where else do you find the boiler man other than the boiler room? She began backing her way downstairs. It was strange. Somehow, after 12 years, she still knew her way around the bathhouse as if she had just been here yesterday. 'Well, it is a magic place.' She thought. And very much unchanged. Everything was exactly the way it was the last time she had been here; minus the damage No-Face caused of course. She wondered what Yubaba did with all the money she got. The boiler room was the same as well. The shelves were still surrounding the walls, the furnace was still burning brightly with the coal being delivered by enchanted soot, and a strange spider like man sat in the middle of the room working furiously. "Hi, Kamajii." Chihiro called happily. Kamajii turned to her and blinked in confusion. "Eh? Who are you? And what are you doing in my boiler room?" Chihiro made a fake sad face. "Oh Kamajii, don't tell me you don't remember your own granddaughter." She teased. Kamajii looked at her as if she were crazy. "Granddaughter?" he repeated. "What are you talking about? I have no granddaughter." Chihiro crossed her arms and cut her eyes at the spirit. "Really? That's not what you said 12 years ago." "What are you talk… Oh wait, I remember something like that now…" the boiler man said, thinking hard. "Yes, a human girl wondered in here looking for work. I just said she was my granddaughter so she wouldn't get in trouble. But, how would you know that?" Chihiro shook her head. "Kamajii, I was that girl." She cried. "What?" Kamajii stopped working and approached her. He took off his glasses and looked her up and down. "Good gracious! It is you! Chihiro right? Or Sen?" Chihiro smiled and nodded. "Both. But I would prefer Chihiro." All six of Kamajii's hands grabbed Chihiro's and shook it. "Welcome back, welcome back! So good to see you again! How did you get back?"



"Same way I got in last time." "Ah, I see." Said Kamajii. "That darn spirit gate, you never know when it's going to open." He took a moment to really look at her. "My word, you have grown into a fine young lady." Chihiro smiled. "Thanks. I wish I could return the compliment, but you look exactly as I remember." Kamajii laughed. "Yes, well, that's one benefit from being a spirit; once you completely grow up you can choose you age." "Well us humans don't have that advantage. Several people didn't even recognize me." "Well, like I said, you've become quite a fine young lady." Said Kamajii smiling. "Haku and Lin are sure going to be happy to see you again. Have you seen them yet?" Chihiro shook her head. "Not yet. Do you know where they are?" Kamajii thought about it a moment. "Well Lin is somewhere in the bathhouse." He replied. "I'm not sure about Haku though. He's either here or at his river." Chihiro felt slightly annoyed by this. If Haku was at his river so much, why did he never answer her? The odds of him always being at the bathhouse every single time she visited his river over the past 12 years were very slim. "How are they?" she asked, referring more to Haku than Lin. "Well, they both miss you." said Kamajii. "Haku especially. He just hasn't been himself since you left." "Really?" Chihiro asked. After all these years she had begun to suspect that Haku just helped her because he pitied her. Maybe it wasn't true after all. Maybe Mimi was wrong and he hadn't forgotten her. "Oh yes, he'll be overjoyed to see you." said Kamajii, grinning mischievously. Chihiro wasn't sure what that smile meant, but she had a feeling it wasn't good. "Oh no, I'm falling behind!" Kamajii crawled back over to his work area. While he and Chihiro were talking, 9 bath tokens had arrived. "Sorry." Chihiro apologized. "I didn't mean to make you fall behind." Kamajii gave her a reassuring smile. "Oh don't worry about it. It was worth it. Besides, what's Yubaba going to do, fire me? Ha, I'm her slave. Hey you little rascals, get back to work!" Chihiro looked down and spotted all the enchanted soot balls hopping around her feet happily. She smiled down at them. "Hey guys. Long time no see." The soot balls squeaked happily. "Hey, come on now! We've got customers to attend to. You can get reacquainted later." Kamajii snapped, but he sounded amused. Chihiro looked down at the soot balls. "Go on, I'll come back later."



The soot balls bounced around for a few seconds longer before going to gather coal. Chihiro looked back at Kamajii. "Hey Kamajii, I need to find Lin so I can get 'settled in', as Yubaba put it." Kamaji snickered. "That's just like the old witch; get everything done right away." He joked. "Well, I'm sure if you just wait here Lin will stop by. She'll want to be the one to tell me you're back." The door to the boiler room burst open and a young woman with long brown hair dressed in servant clothes ran in. "Speak of the devil." Kamajii commented. Lin, like everyone else, had remained completely unchanged; except for the fact that she didn't look quite as emotionless as she did in the past. Right now she seemed overwhelmed with joy as she approached the boiler man, not even noticing Chihiro. "Kamajii, did you hear the news?" she cried happily. "Eh?" "They say Sen is back!" Kamajii pretended to be uninterested. "Yeah, I know." Lin's face fell. "You know? How do you know?" Kamajii continued working. "Because she's standing right behind you." Lin's head turned so fast that her neck cracked. Her eyes widened as she saw her long lost friend standing behind her. "Hello Lin." Said Chihiro. "It's good to see-" "SEN!" Lin cried, throwing her arms around the girl. "Oh, it's so good to see you again! At first I thought that everyone was playing a joke on me, but you're really here! Why did you wait so long to come back? We've missed you so much! How have you been? My gosh, you got tall! You look great! How long are you going to stay?" "Lin, slow down. I can't understand a word you're saying." Laughed Chihiro as she struggled for air. "And can you let me go please, I can't breathe." "What? Oh, sorry." Lin let Chihiro out of her death grip. "I swear, you're the third person today to try to hug me to death." Chihiro muttered, rubbing her sore neck. Lin smiled and slapped her on the back. "Oh you're fine. You're the toughest girl I've ever met." She said, with a big grin on her face. "Remember that stinky river spirit, and No-Face?" Chihiro snickered at the memories. "How could I forget the good old days?" "You can't." said Lin.



Chihiro nodded in agreement. "And we'll have a lot more of those days in the future." Lin's face fell. "What do you mean?" Her eyes widened. "You didn't sign a contract with Yubaba again, did you?" Chihiro cocked her head to the side. "Yeah, why?" Lin slapped her head. "Oh boy, Haku's not going to like this." she muttered. Chihiro caught what she said. "Why? Won't he be happy to see me again?" she asked, sounding concerned. Lin seemed surprised that Chihiro would ask such a stupid question. "Not happy, ecstatic!" she cried. "Even that's an understatement." Now Chihiro was confused. "Then what's the problem?" "Sen, do you know what he had to do to get you out of contract last time?" asked Lin. "He faced Yubaba when she was angrier than she had ever been. Who knows what it will take to get you out of contract this time." Chihiro relaxed. Was that the problem? That was nothing. "Lin, I willing came back, and I wanted my job back. I'm here to stay." "HUH?" cried Lin, clearly stunned by this. Even Kamajii looked surprised. The soot balls were jumping around happily again. "You're really here to stay?" Chihiro nodded and Lin squealed with joy. "Yay, Sen's here to stay! Sen's here to stay!" Chihiro laughed at her friend's childish behavior. "I would prefer to be called by my real name." she said. Lin stopped dancing around. "Oh right, sorry, Chihiro." Chihiro just waved it off. "No problem. So, where is Haku?" Lin rolled her eyes. "Should have seen this coming." She said, more to herself than to Chihiro. "Your dragon is at his river. Ironically, he left for it about an hour before you got here." "An hour ago!" Chihiro cried. "Grr, that's just great! I've been waiting 12 years to see him again and he goes and leaves an hour before I get here! This is just unbelievable!" Lin chuckled. "Settle down girl. He'll only be gone for a few days." "A few days! A few DAYS! I've already waited 12 years!" Chihiro cried, completely outraged. "I can't wait any longer!" Lin just held up her arms in an 'oh well' kind of way. "Well, unless you know how to get to his river and where it is, you're out of luck." Chihiro groaned and hung her head. "Hey, don't worry about it. Think how surprised he will be when he sees you here." Chihiro glared at her. "He shouldn't be that surprised to see me, considering the promise he made to me." She growled. "Does he always break his promises so easily?"



'Uh oh.' Thought Lin in amusement. 'Haku's in trouble.' This would be fun to watch. On second thought, dragons could be dangerous and she wouldn't want Haku mad at her for making his human mad at him. "No, he normally always keeps his promises." Chihiro snorted. "Oh, so I guess I just wasn't worth keeping a promise for." She fumed. 'Wow, she's really mad. Whatever Haku did, it can't be good.' Thought Lin. "I'm sure he didn't mean to break his promise." She assured the enraged human. "Uh… what promise was that anyway?" Chihiro sat down, crossing her arms and legs. "He said we would see each other again. And that was 12 years ago!" Lin gave a very forced smile. "Well… technically he didn't break his promise. You will see each other again. It just took a little while." Chihiro gave Lin a look that clearly said that that was the wrong thing to say. Lin continued to grin nervously. Perhaps it would be better to change the subject. "So, you staying with me again?" she asked. "We could be roommates, just like last time." Lin relaxed when Chihiro smiled and said, "Only if you don't mind having a sticky human around." Lin smiled, this time for real. "Ah, that human world smell will be gone in a few days. And even if it weren't," she grabbed Chihiro in a headlock, "there's no way you're getting away from me that easily." Chihiro giggled. "Thanks Lin, you're a good friend." "Yeah, I know." Lin led Chihiro to her new room, which wasn't really new since it was the same one she stayed in last time. Getting her a uniform that fit wasn't such a chore either since Chihiro had grown. "It's a good thing you're not so short anymore." Lin commented as she handed Chihiro her new clothes. "We don't have many clothes in the size you used the last time you were here." Chihiro held the uniform up and looked at herself in the mirror. "Thanks Lin, this is perfect. It's good to see things haven't changed much around her." Lin snickered. "Actually, things have changed a little. For the better too. You may not know it, but before you came here, not many of us got along so well and Yubaba was down right mean to us all. Now we all seem to get along and Yubaba's not all that cruel. I think Bôh may have been the one to get her to stop being such a hag. He's really nice and wants everyone to get along." Chihiro smiled. "I didn't realize I had such an impact on this place." "And it wasn't just with the bathhouse." Lin continued. "Many spirits don't like humans due to their destructive ways, but after meeting you, they don't seem to think all that badly about them anymore." "Well that's good." Chihiro replied. "Not all humans are destructive." Lin nodded. "Yeah, I know. I guess that most spirits don't notice humans unless they're cutting down trees and stuff."



Chihiro didn't say anything to this. She never really thought about how bad humans seemed to spirits. She had thought that spirits, well most spirits, thought themselves superior to humans and that's why they didn't like them. But now she was having second thoughts. Humans did have a tendency to destroy forests and valleys to build more houses and other civilized things. They polluted the environment and consumed nature without much thought. The spirits had a special connection with nature. When humans destroyed a certain piece of land, it was almost like they were destroying a piece of a spirit. Chihiro's heart sank as she realized that this was what had happened to Haku. The river hadn't been completely destroyed, but it was filled in, causing it to flow underground, in order to build apartments. That had greatly damaged Haku's river, causing him to be unable to locate it and therefore falling prey to Yubaba's name stealing contract. 'Poor Haku.' She thought. 'And he still helped me. Me, a human, after what my kind did to him and the other spirits. Oh Haku, I'm so sorry.' "Sen! Sen! Earth to Sen! Are you in there? SEN!" "Huh?" Chihiro just now noticed Lin trying to get her attention. "I'm sorry, what?" Lin shook her head. "Oh, nothing. You just looked like you weren't completely here for a moment." Chihiro gave a forced smile. "Just thinking." Lin grinned evilly. "Oh really? Was it by any chance about a certain dragon?" Chihiro blushed. "Oh shut up! Are you going to keep torturing me about this?" "You bet." Chihiro growled. "You better be careful, Lin. I'm not some little girl that you can bully around anymore." "I know." Said Lin. "Hey, wait a minute! I never bullied you!" Chihiro laughed. "I'm kidding." "Right." Said Lin rolling her eyes. "Come on, we need to finish getting you ready or else Yubaba's gonna throw a fit about us slacking." Chihiro cocked her head to the side. "We're not slacking, we're talking." "Yeah, tell that to the old hag." It took about 10 minutes to get Chihiro completely settled into her new/old room. The two women had a good time catching up on what happened over the past 12 years. Chihiro explained all about how she had made several attempts to come back to the spirit world and that the gate was never open. "That gate has a mind of its own." Said Lin. "You never know when it's going to-" "Sen! Sen! Where are you?"



Lin growled at being interrupted. She opened the door to find a very nervous looking toad. "What do you want?" she demanded. "We're talking here." The toad grinned apologetically. "Forgive me, but Yubaba wants to see Sen immediately. Master Bôh is throwing a tantrum and demanding to see you." Lin sighed and looked at Chihiro. "Sorry Sen, looks like we'll have to finish this later since her highness can't control her own son." Chihiro just smiled. "We'll have a long time to catch up on things. We're partners, remember." She followed the toad out the door. "Oh and Lin, remember that I prefer my real name." Lin smacked her forehead. "Oh right, I forgot. Sorry Se-Chihiro. That's going to take some getting used to, I have been calling you that for 12 years." Chihiro just nodded and made her way back up to Yubaba's office. She wondered what Bôh wanted with her, as if she didn't already know. She could already hear him crying by the time she reached the enchanted doorknocker. "About time." The knocker complained. "That spoiled brat is giving me a headache." Chihiro crossed her arms and glared at the knocker. "That little brat is your master and my friend. And you should choose you words more carefully when the one you're insulting is right next door." The knocker just groaned and opened up for her. She made her way down to Yubaba's office smirking at the look of irritation the knocker had had on its face. "Yubaba, it's me." The door burst open by itself to allow Chihiro entry. "About time!" Yubaba snapped. "I was having a flashback to when No-Face wanted you." Chihiro ignored the witch's snobby tone. "So, what's Bôh want?" Yubaba rolled her eyes. "What do you think? He wants to play. Sometimes he wants to play too much though." Chihiro blinked in confusion. She had never heard Yubaba talk badly about her son in anyway. Bôh usually had the old witch wrapped around his, or not so little, finger. "You know, Yubaba, sometimes you spoil him a bit too much." She commented. Yubaba hadn't even been looking at Chihiro, but now she stared at her with wide eyes. "What did you say?" she demanded, looking furious. "Are you accusing me of being a bad parent?" The witch was obviously taking this the wrong way. Was it just her imagination, or did Chihiro see sparks flying out of Yubaba's mouth as she spoke. "Not at all." Chihiro replied. "You're a wonderful mother. I was just saying that you need to make him realize that you're the parent, not him."



Yubaba snorted but seemed to calm down. "Thanks for the parental tip, Sen, but I have everything under control. Now get in there and play with him." Chihiro just shrugged. "Whatever you say. But I would prefer to be called by my real name, Chihiro." She got just the reaction she wanted from the witch. Yubaba looked shocked that Chihiro knew her name. "How… how… how did you? But I took…" Chihiro laughed because she knew it would spite the witch. "I know you did, but I'm not stupid. I wrote my name down earlier so I would remember it." She entered Bôh's room, leaving Yubaba with this news. Once Yubaba recovered she growled to herself, "I need to find a better way to keep control over my employees." Chihiro heard Yubaba's remark, but she ignored it. She was now one up on Yubaba. In the playroom, Bôh was nowhere to be seen, but Chihiro had a good idea of where he was. She walked over to the pile of pillows and stuffed animals. "Bôh? Are you in there?" The giant baby's head popped out from under the pile. "Yay Sen, you came to play!" Chihiro laughed. "Well you didn't give me much of a choice." Bôh crawled out of the pile and handed Chihiro a stuffed animal. "Let's play the time we beat No-Face." He said happily. The two played for over an hour before Bôh finally began to get tired. It was way past his bedtime, but since he was a baby he could sleep whenever he wanted and therefore had no actual bedtime. "That was fun." Said Bôh, as he climbed into his bed. "I'm glad I have someone to play with. Mama is normally working and I only really get to play with Yu-bird and mama's bouncing heads." Chihiro chuckled as she tucked Bôh in. "I was happy to play with you." she said. She turned to leave but Bôh wasn't done talking yet. "Hey Sen?" "Yeah?" "When you and Haku have kids, can I be their big brother?" he asked innocently. Chihiro felt the heat rise in her face. She was sure her face was beet red. She had not been expecting this discussion to come up. "Uh… Bôh, that's um… well…" "What's wrong?" Bôh asked.



Chihiro didn't know how to explain the situation to him. "Well, you see, it just won't work out between us." "Why not?" "Because, I'm a human and he's a spirit." "So." "So, uh…" Chihiro wasn't sure what to say. She knew it would never work between her and Haku. Humans and spirits weren't meant to be together, that's why the two worlds were separated. But then why did she wait so long for him? Was she hoping that the impossible would happen? "Why won't it work?" Bôh asked again. "Well… he just doesn't like me like that." She said, speaking what she thought was true. Bôh shook his head. "Of course he does!" he said cheerfully. "He feels the same way about you as you do for him!" Chihiro wished this were true, but it didn't seem possible. "No Bôh, I'm just a human that was lost in the spirit world." "No, you're not!" snapped Bôh, sounding angry. "You are the best friend anyone can have. You helped all of us. You got me out of my room and introduced me to Auntie Zeniba. You gave Haku back his name. You made lots of spirits realize that not all humans are meanies. We all love you, Sen! You're not just some human. You're our best friend. You're one of us." Chihiro was taken aback by the giant baby's speech. She smiled up at him. "Bôh, you sure are a lot smarter than any baby I've ever met." Bôh laughed. "Well how often do you meet a 307 year old baby in the human world?" he said. Chihiro's mouth dropped open. "You're… you're… you're…" Bôh nodded. "Yup, but I decided to stay a baby. I liked it best that way. It's a lot more fun. I didn't want to be a grownup. I want to stay a baby forever! Yay!" Chihiro scratched her head. "Well, I guess you can choose to be whatever age you want. I wish I had that luxury." She said. She suddenly became curious about something. "Hey Bôh, how old is your mother?" Bôh thought about it a minute. "Not sure. I do know that she's over 80,000 though." "80,000!" Chihiro exclaimed. "Wow, that's old." Bôh shrugged. "Age doesn't matter to spirits." Just out of curiosity, Chihiro asked, "How old was your father?" Bôh shrugged again. "Don't know. I never met him. I heard Mama one day talking about her and daddy having something called a one-night-stand. What's that?"



Chihiro turned red again. "Uh, that's something I'll tell you when… oh…" She was going to say when he was older, but that excuse couldn't be used on him. "Actually, uh… Don't you know?" Bôh shook his head. "I know it has something to do with making babies, but I don't even know that. Where do babies come from, Sen?" Chihiro groaned. She was just digging herself deeper and deeper. "Actually Bôh, only your mom can answer those questions, I'm not allowed. It's required by law for only a parent to tell their kids that. You'll have to ask your mom." Bôh nodded. "Oh, ok. Good night, Sen." "Good night, Bôh." She closed the door and went back into Yubaba's office. The old witch was at her desk writing something. She looked up when Chihiro entered. "You two done?" she asked. Chihiro nodded. "Yeah, I'm going to bed." Yubaba nodded back. "Very well, goodnight." Once Chihiro was at the door she turned to Yubaba and said, "Oh, and Bôh has a question for you." With that she ran out of the room. Yubaba blinked in confusion before going into her son's room. "Yes sweetie, did you want to ask mommy something?" she said. Bôh nodded. "Yeah, Sen said you'd tell me where babies come from and what a one-night-stand is." Yubaba stood dumbstruck in the doorway as Bôh's words slowly sunk in. Her cry could be heard from the outside of the bathhouse. "SEN!"



Chapter 5: The Enraged Customer "Sen, I mean, Chihiro, wake up!" "Don't have class today." Chihiro muttered, still more asleep then awake. Lin sighed. It was Chihiro's first day back, not counting yesterday, and the girl was still exhausted from the previous night. She would have liked to let her sleep in, but Yubaba, even though she mellowed down, was still very strict. Suddenly she got an idea. "Se-darn it-Chihiro, Haku is here." she whispered. Chihiro sat up, wide-awake. "Huh! What? Where? When'd he get here? Where is he?" she rambled.



Lin chuckled. "Calm down, girl. I just said that to get you up." This took a moment to sink in, once it did Chihiro's face fell and became both tired and annoyed. "Don't do that." She muttered as sleep began to take hold of her again. She laid back down and pulled the covers over her head. Lin sighed again and decided to try a more direct approach. She grabbed the covers and pulled completely off the bed. "Hey!" Chihiro cried as the warmth left her. Lin just smirked at her. "Come on, we've got customers." Chihiro pouted. "But Bôh kept me up late last night." She complained. Lin shrugged. "Tell that to Yubaba." Chihiro groaned. "Ok, I'm getting up." As it turned out, the bathhouse was already full of customers. How long had she slept for things to get this busy so fast? She made a mental note to ask Lin what time the bathhouse opened later. Yubaba was talking to the foreman, who was greeting customers while listening to the witch talk, when she spotted Chihiro come in. "Sen, so nice of you to join us." She said sounding very grouchy. Chihiro glared at her. "Well next time don't let Bôh keep me up so late." She fumed. Yubaba snorted. "Well, do you need a review of how things work here, or do you still remember after 12 years?" Chihiro continued to glare. She still remembered how things worked around here, having gotten the toughest jobs, but even if she didn't, she wouldn't give the old hag the satisfaction by asking for help. "I'll do fine." She insisted. "I'll ask Lin if I need any help." Yubaba returned the glare. "That will do just fine. Oh, and by the way, thank you for increasing Bôh's curiosity last night. He had so many questions for me." Chihiro couldn't help it, she burst out laughing. The foreman, having no idea what the two women were talking about, looked at them completely bewildered. "I'm sorry." She said. "He asked and I thought it would be best if you told him." "I wasn't planning on telling him!" Yubaba bellowed. "Someone that wants to remain a baby forever does not need to know things like that!" Chihiro shrugged. "He may decide to change into a teenager for a while. He would need to know then." "No, he won't, because he tried the whole teenager thing and decided to stay a baby!"



"Calm down." Said Chihiro. Neither of them noticed that people were staring at them. "Everyone needs 'The Talk' sooner or later." The foreman's mouth dropped open. "Uh, ma'am, would you like me to leave?" he asked, or begged really. Both Yubaba and Chihiro suddenly noticed that they were having this conversation in the middle of a crowded room and turned red with embarrassment. "No, we're done here." the witch said. "Sen, you're to clean the big bath." "The big bath!" Chihiro cried. The last time she had cleaned the big bath was 12 years ago, and it was dirtied up again a few minutes after it was cleaned. The big bath was not fun to clean. "You're just giving me that because of my conversation with Bôh!" Yubaba smirked. "Now why would I do something like that?" she chuckled. "You're the one who wanted your job back so badly." Chihro growled in frustration as Yubaba turned to leave. "I'm gonna tell Bôh you're harassing me!" she cried to the retreating witch. Yubaba snickered. "You do that. But until then, start scrubbing. And since Lin insisted on being your partner, she can help." As it turned out, Lin wasn't all that happy about their job. "You're becoming more trouble than you're worth." She growled. Chihiro just grinned apologetically. "She's just getting some revenge for having to talk to Bôh." She said. Lin growled in annoyance. "Well next time think before you annoy the old hag." Chihiro continued grinning. "Sorry, but it's not so bad. It's just like our first job." Lin rolled her eyes. "This day can't get any worse." She was very wrong. (-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-) Two spirits made their way to the bathhouse. They both looked a lot like mountains. The first one was very tall and had a body made of rock. Its chest and hands were covered in green hair, which on closer inspection was grass. It had a long green beard and the top of its head was pointy and covered in snow. This spirit was supporting the second spirit, who looked similar to the first only it was shorter and rounder. This spirit also looked like it was in a lot of pain and that it was very angry about something. It was huffing and puffing like it was exhausted and perhaps it was. "We're almost there." The taller spirit told the shorter one. "You'll feel much better after this."



The shorter spirit glared at the taller one. "I can't believe you dragged me all the way to this dump!" he snapped. "This 'dump' is the best bathhouse around." The taller one assured him. The shorter one gasped in pain and clutched its stomach. "You have no idea how much pain I'm in." he groaned. "Hang in there. This place will do wonders for you." "It better!" The two entered the bathhouse. The foreman greeted them like he did every guest. "Good day." The taller spirit nodded back but the shorter one wasn't quite as friendly. "What's so good about it?" The foreman flinched. "Um, I'm sorry." The taller one gave his friend a dirty look. "Don't mind him. He has been feeling a little under the weather." "Shut up!" The shorter spirit yelled. "What's with all the shouting?" Yubaba demanded, entering the room. The shorter spirit glared at her. "No one's shouting, you old hag!" Yubaba took a step back. She knew right away not to mess with this spirit. "My mistake. I'll just get my best employers to take care of you. Lin! Sen!" The two hurried over soaking wet and covered in soapsuds. "Yes, ma'am?" asked Lin, trying to keep the anger out of her voice. "We were cleaning the big bath like you requested." Yubaba ignored Lin's smart mouth. "We have two mountain spirits in need of your assistance. Sen, you take the shorter one. And be careful, he's in a very bad mood." Chihiro groaned. "Why are you picking on me? So you had to have an embarrassing conversation with your son, get over it." "Now!" Yubaba snapped. Chihiro and Lin approached the two spirits. The shorter one glared at Chihiro. "A human! What is a human doing here?" Chihiro gave a forced smile. "Follow me, sir, I'll get your bath ready." "Whatever. Let go of me!" He pulled himself free from his friend's supportive hold and followed Chihiro. The whole way to the bath, the spirit kept grumbling, sounding both angry and in pain. Chihiro wondered what was wrong.



"Sir, is everything ok?" she asked. "I'm fine!" the spirit snapped. "I just don't feel so good. And I don't need some stinking human worrying about me." "If you say so." Chihiro was getting frustrated with the spirit's attitude. Why was he being such a jerk? Was it because he was sick? Could spirits even get sick? "Here's your bath, sir." "I see that! Get out of the way!" The spirit stormed past her and crawled into the bath. "Ah, that's nice." Chihiro gave another forced smile. "Is there anything I can do for you?" The spirit snorted. Chihiro saw a bunch of steam come out of his nose. "I don't need anything from a human!" Chihiro bowed to him. "Very well, sir. If you need anything just ask and I'll be happy to get it for you." She turned to leave, but the spirit stopped her. "What are you even doing here anyway? Why don't you go back where you belong?" Chihiro was seriously losing her patience. She turned to the spirit, trying to keep a straight face. "This is where I belong." The spirit started laughing. Sparks flew from its mouth as it did so. "Humans don't belong here. Why do you think they fade away? Your kind are nothing but trouble." "That's not true!" Chihiro cried in spite of herself. "Oh no? Well that shows me that you are no different from any other human I've seen. For years I have watched as humans destroyed the land around my mountain. Now I'm suffering." Chihiro felt her anger drop a bit. "What's wrong? Maybe I can help." The spirit laid back. "You can't help. No one can." Was it her imagination, or was it getting much hotter in here? "Why can't I? Just tell me what's wrong?" The spirit eyed her suspiciously. He looked almost curious. "Why do you care?" "Not all humans are cruel and destructive." She said. "I just want to help. I don't like seeing anyone suffer like this. Let me help you." The spirit seemed to consider her for a moment. "Fine. I don't see what good it will do though." He brought his massive hands to his head. "I've got the biggest headache ever, my whole body hurts, I feel like I'm going to be sick, and I'm burning up." He began coughing, expelling smoke as he did so. "And it's getting worse."



Chihiro gulped. She had no idea what to do for the poor spirit. "Hang on, I'll be right back." She quickly exited the room and began running through the bathhouse. "Yubaba! Yubaba! Yubaba!" It took about a minute to find the witch, who wasn't at all happy about the commotion she was making. "What is it?" she demanded. "You're disturbing the customers." Chihiro stopped to catch her breath. "Yubaba, something is really very wrong with that mountain spirit. I don't know what it is, but he's really suffering." Yubaba looked confused for a moment, but she shook it off and said, "Fine, where is he?" Chihiro led her back to the spirit. He was in even worse shape now than he was two minutes ago. His whole body was trembling and the water he was soaking in was steaming. "Oh my!" Yubaba exclaimed upon seeing the spirit. "I told you." Chihiro cried. The spirit looked up at the sound of the two women talking. "Human! What did you do to me? I feel even worse!" His body began trembling again. Chihiro ran over to the spirit to try and see if she could help. "Don't worry, everything will be- OUCH!" Upon touching the spirit's rocky flesh, she burned her hand. She lost her balance and nearly fell in the water, which would have been bad since it was beginning to boil. "It hurts!" the spirit cried. "I'm burning! I'm burning! Make it stop!" Chihiro turned to Yubaba for instructions, but even the old witch wasn't sure what to do. She quickly turned and yelled as loudly as possible. "Everyone who is not attending a customer, get over here now!" She turned back to Chihiro and the suffering spirit and floated over to them. "Sir, tell me what's wrong. Perhaps I can cast a spell to-" "ACHOO!" The spirit sneezed right in Yubaba's wrinkly face. The witch flew backwards, covered in what looked like snow. She wiped her face and looked angrily up at the spirit. It was breathing heavily, fire emitting from its mouth witch each breath. "Ma'am, we're here." said one of the bathhouse workers. "What happened?" Yubaba didn't answer. She reached up and wiped the 'snot' off her face. "Ashes?" she whispered, looking at the white flakey substance. The mountain spirit looked like it was about to vomit. Its whole body was steaming. "It's so hot." He muttered, no longer having the strength to shout. Yubaba continued to look back and forth between the spirit and the ashes in her hands. "Ashes?" she repeated. "Can it be?"



She looked back at the spirit and Chihiro who was still trying to help it. The spirit suddenly leaned forward and grasped the edge of the bath. The rim blackened and burned under his touch. Yubaba's eyes suddenly widened with realization. "Sen! Get away from there!" she cried in panic. "That's not a mountain spirit, it's an erupting volcano spirit!" The spirit suddenly vomited all over the floor, only it wasn't vomit that was coming out of its mouth, it was lava. "Make it stop!" he begged. "His volcano must be erupting for the first time." Said Yubaba. "It's top is going to blow!" "My head!" the spirit cried. "My stomach!" The spirit's body was beginning to turn darker as if it was burning, which was actually what was happening. Large orange glowing cracks began appearing over his rocky skin. The pain was unimaginable. It was becoming an official volcano spirit. (-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-) Far away, back in the human world, towns folk ran around in panic as, what they thought used to be a mountain, shook the land. The volcano's top was about to blow for the first time, and it would surly destroy the entire town. (-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-) The only one in the spirit world who knew of the destruction the volcano was about to cause was currently in too much pain too notice or care. His transformation was intense, and more painful than anyone human or spirit could stand. "Hot! Hot! Hot!" he cried. "I can't take it!" "Hang on, I'll get more water." Chihiro cried, noticing that the bath was half empty. She quickly ran over to one of the workers cowering by Yubaba. "Does anyone have a bath token?" "Huh? Oh, I have one." Replied a spirit. Chihiro grabbed it out of the spirit's hand and ran back to the bath. "Sen, get back here!" Yubaba cried. "It's too dangerous for a human! He's erupting for the first time! He can't control himself!" "Then one of you do it!" Chihiro yelled. Neither Yubaba nor any of the other spirits moved. "That's what I thought!" She quickly ran over to the spot the bath tokens went to and sent it down to Kamajii. The slot opened and dropped over the bath, ready to pour the water. Chihiro went to pull the string when the volcano spirit suddenly burst into flames. "FIRE!" he cried. "IT BURNS!"



"Hang on!" Chihiro cried. "I'm almost there!" She tried to reach the string, but she had to get to close the burning spirit. "Get away from me!" he cried. "You need help!" Chihiro shouted back. "Foolish human, you'll kill yourself! AHHHHH!" The top of the spirit's head was visibly pulsing and glowing bright orange with embers. Tears of acid ran down his cheeks. Chihiro got as close to the burning spirit as she could get without burning herself. Her fingers closed around the string and she pulled. The water began flowing, pouring on the spirit and extinguishing the flames, reducing his pain considerably, but not entirely. "I… can't… take… it… any… more…" the spirit moaned. Chihiro didn't know what else you do. "Tell me how to help you!" she cried. "GET AWAY FROM ME!" the spirit bellowed, viciously backhanding her with his giant stone hand, which, thankfully, was no longer on fire. Chihiro flew backwards as the spirit gave one final cry of agony before the top of his head exploded. A blast of flames and lava erupted from the opening, going straight up through the bathhouse and bursting through the ceiling, burning through everything in its path. The spirit cried out as all the pain came out at once and he slowly sank under the water. (-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-) Back in the human world, the top of the volcano finally blew open. The river of lava ran down its side, heading straight for the town. There was nowhere for the villagers to go. They would surly be burned to death. (-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-) In the bathhouse, the jet of fire continued shooting upwards like an upside down rocket launching off. The water that the volcano spirit had been bathing in was all black and boiling. It looked like a tar pit unleashing a stream of fire, which Yubaba would later complain that it would cost a fortune to repair the damages. Slowly something began rising out of the thick black goo. The spirit rose covered from head to foot in the black muck. Glowing red eyes could be seen shining through the goo while fire continued to shoot up from its head. The spirit raised its arms and reached out to its volcano, using its spiritual powers to make contact. (-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-) The lava was approaching the town. It was less than a mile a way when the flow suddenly stopped. It was as if an invisible barrier had been placed in front of the flow. Slowly, the lava split in half and began flowing to the left and right of the town. The two flowing streams moved around the village and reconnected on the other side, where it continued flowing until it poured into the harbor. The townsfolk



watched in amazement as their homes and lives were spared by seemingly supernatural forces. Little did they know that that was exactly what had happened. (-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-) Back in the bathhouse, the erupting fire slowly lessened until it was no longer existing. The volcano spirit, still covered in the wet black ash, slowly lowered its arms and sank below the surface. Everyone was quiet, not sure if the danger was over or not. Chihiro was the first one to move. She slowly approached the bath and looked in at the bubbling black goop. "Sir, are you ok?" she asked cautiously. The ashy water began to bubble again. Then something burst up from under the goo, splashing it everywhere. The volcano spirit hovered in the air, no longer in pain. The transformation it had gone through was amazing. Its body was now strong and muscular. It was still made of rock, but it was all blackened and burned, and it was covered in glowing orange cracks. Its head had a large hole in it that allowed fire to flow out, which acted as hair. The spirit breathed deeply and turned to Chihiro, looking at her with eyes that resembled, or were, lava rocks. "The pain is gone." He declared, in a voice much deeper and powerful than his original one. "As well as my anger. My transformation is complete. Human, I cannot thank you enough for your help. You lessened my pain greatly and gave me strength to get through my first eruption." Chihiro smiled nervously. "Uh, no problem." She said. "Happy to help. Uh, you're not going to have to go through that every time your volcano erupts, are you?" The spirit shook its head. "No, it was just for the first eruption since my volcano needed to blow its top. And speaking of my volcano, it would have destroyed an entire town had I not interfered. Human, you have shown me that there is goodness in humans. Therefore I have spared the town." Chihiro bowed. "Thank you, sir. I'm glad you're ok." The spirit nodded to her. "I have a gift for you. But first, I shall heal the damage I have caused you." The spirit raised its hand and placed it on Chihiro's head. The burns that she had received from touching him while he was erupting healed completely, not even leaving the slightest scar. "It is done." Said the spirit. "And now for your reward." "That won't be necessary." "But it is." The spirit insisted. The flames on his head began burning more brightly. Something rose out of the hole in his head. It was a bright red gem that seemed to glow. It floated over to Chihiro. She looked at it hesitantly since it appeared to be on fire. "It will not hurt you, young one." He told her. "Take it." Chihiro did so. The gem was warm to the touch, and she didn't think it would ever cool. "Thank you, sir." Chihiro whispered, completely mesmerized by the jewel's beauty.



"You have earned it." The spirit replied. "I shall now take my leave. Thank you all for your kindness." The spirit exited the room, bowing to Yubaba and the other spirits on his way out. The old witch wasn't sure what to say, so she just said the first thing that came to mind. "Thank you, come again." "Chihiro!" Lin forced her way through the crowd and ran over to her friend. "You had me worried sick! Don't ever, EVER, do something like that again!" Chihiro smiled apologetically. "Ok, I won't. I promise." Lin noticed the bright red gem in her hand. "What's that?" Chihiro looked at the gem. "Oh, it's a…" The gem was suddenly snatched out of her hand by Yubaba. "AH!" the old witch cried, eyeing the gem in disbelief. "I don't believe it! A fire ruby! Sen, do you have any idea how much these things are worth!" Chihiro didn't have a clue. "Uh… a lot?" "A real fire ruby?" asked Lin, just as surprised as Yubaba. Yubaba saw Lin and the other spirits eyeing the gem and she quickly stuffed it in her pocket. "I knew hiring you again was a good idea!" she declared. "But don't you go putting yourself in danger like that again. Do you understand me?" Chihiro smirked. "Nice to know that you care." She said smugly. Yubaba chose to ignore that comment. "For a job well done, you may have the rest of the day off. The rest of you, clean this mess up." There were groans from the other spirits. Lin nudged Chihiro and smiled at her. "Back one day and you're already Yubaba's favorite." (-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-) Later that night, Chihiro sat on the balcony, staring out in the distance, thinking about a certain river spirit. "Day dreaming about your dragon again?" Chihiro didn't even need to look at the one who spoke to know who it was. "You love getting on my nerves, don't you?" Lin laughed and sat down next to her. "You're fun to tease. Don't take it so personally though. Oh by the way, good job with that volcano spirit today." Chihiro snickered. "Why does it seem like I always get the troubling patients? First it was a river spirit who got all clogged by garbage, then I had Haku who was cursed by Zeniba, then there was No-Face who went crazy and began eating people, and today I got a volcano spirit that was erupting for the first time."



Lin laughed. "I'd never stopped and counted." She said. "But you came out on top each time. You're a professional and you haven't even worked here that long." Chihiro shrugged. "I just hope I don't get a difficult customer like that every time." "With your luck, you'll probably have to deal with the most difficult spirit in the whole spirit world." Lin teased. "With my luck, I'll probably get that spirit as a customer." Chihiro replied. "Hmm? What customer?" Chihiro pointed out in the distance. "That customer." Lin looked at the large moving object in the distance that Chihiro was pointing to and began laughing. "Chihiro, that's not a spirit." She laughed. "That's Howl's moving castle. Haven't you heard of Howl's moving castle?" "Human." Chihiro pointed out, reminding Lin of her background. "Oh right." Said Lin, smacking her head at her stupidity. "Sorry." "It's ok. I know there are a lot of things in this world I don't know about." Lin snorted. "Girl, you have nothing to feel bad about. I'm 4,146 and I don't know everything about this world." Chihiro looked at Lin in surprise. "Wow, you're really over 4,000? You look like you're only in your twenties." Lin chuckled. "That's because I chose to be that age. That reminds me, how old are you now?" "22." Chihiro replied. "Kind of young compared to you." Lin just waved it off. "Na, age doesn't matter in this world. I mean look at Bôh. He's what 300, 320." "307." Chihiro replied. "Right, and he's still a baby. Some spirits eventually forget how old they are. That's just what happens when you live forever." "I guess." Said Chihiro sadly. Lin caught onto the sadness in her voice and immediately realized her mistake. "Oh Sen, I mean, grr, Chihiro, I didn't mean anything by that." Chihiro managed a weak smile. "It's ok." Lin shook her head. "No, it's not. I forget how you humans constantly have the thought of death hanging over you."



Chihiro didn't want to talk about her mortality. "We try not to think about it and just live for the moment. If I don't get myself killed, I could still have a good 60 maybe 70 years left." Lin frowned. "That's it?" she asked without thinking. She immediately clamped her hand over her mouth. "That's the age most humans live to." Chihiro replied. All this talk about death was getting depressing. "I'm going to bed. I'll see you tomorrow." Lin nodded. "Good night." (-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-) A few hours after the two of them went to bed, a large white dragon arrived at the bathhouse, unaware of the new employee that was working there. And he wouldn't find out tonight since it was late and he went to bed once he arrived, dreaming about a human girl that he had met 12 years ago.



Chapter 6: A Promise Kept Haku woke up in a very good mood. He didn't know why, but something about today felt special. It was almost as if there was a presence in the bathhouse that was giving off a powerful aura that filled him with joy. Little did he know that he was about to have a very interesting day. Getting out of bed, Haku got ready to start what he thought would be an average day at the bathhouse. He went downstairs to find everyone else up and about. He did sleep in rather late considering the early hour in the morning he got back. And was it just his imagination, or was everyone in a better mood than usual. "Master Haku! Master Haku!" Haku spotted the little frog spirit hopping over to him looking ecstatic. "Master Haku, you're back! When did you get in?" Haku shrugged. "Not sure. Really late last night." He looked around at the extra happy workers. "Did something happen while I was away?" The frog's mouth dropped open. "You mean you haven't heard?" Haku raised an eyebrow. "Heard what?" "Sen came back!" the frog yelled. Haku froze. The little spirit's words took a moment for him to comprehend. Once it registered, he glared at the frog. "That is not funny," he hissed. "You should know not to joke about something like that with me." The frog shook his head. "I'm not kidding! I'm serious! She's really here!" Haku bent down and glared at the frog. "If you're lying to me, I'll turn you into an actual frog for a week." He threatened.



He expected the spirit to confess that he was joking. It wouldn't be the first time someone played this joke on him. None of them realized that they weren't just having fun at his expense, but they were also breaking his heart every time. To his surprise, the spirit only gave him a big grin. "Master Haku, if I'm lying, I'll personally serve myself as frog legs for the guests." Haku's heart began racing. Was Chihiro really here? Did she really come back? Would he finally be able to see her after all these years? He grabbed the frog spirit and held him at eye level. "Where is she?" (-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-) "What was in this bath?" Chihiro complained as she scrubbed scum of some kind off a bath. Lin shrugged. "I don't know, but whatever they were, they must have been in desperate need of a good scrubbing." "I'll say." She scrubbed harder, but instead of coming off, the scum seemed to spread. "Ahh! This stuff is not coming off! Man, I wish I had magic so I could just make it vanish." She looked over at her partner, silently asking her a question. Lin shook her head. "Sorry, girl, I got nothing that can help. We'll just have to keep scrubbing." Chihiro began grinding her teeth as she scrubbed furiously at the bath. "Grr, isn't there another kind of soap to help get this off or something." "Hang on, I'll go check." Said Lin, getting out of the bath. "Just, I don't know, mop up all the water until I get back." Chihiro crawled out of the bath and began mopping up the water mess, fuming the whole time. "Stupid Yubaba." She growled. "That old witch just loves taking advantage of me." She kept mopping, unaware of the figure watching her from the doorway, trying to muster up the courage to go in. He knew she would be happy to see him, but he also knew she would be furious with him. After all, 12 years was a very long time to a human, though it was to him too, and right now her anger may overpower her joy. She was already in a bad mood. Better play it smooth. Chihiro heard someone clear their throat and say, "It's strange how 12 years can change a human so much." Chihiro froze. She knew that voice. She heard it in her dreams all the time. It certainly sounded older and more mature now, but there was only one person that voice could belong to. Slowly she turned around to face the speaker. Her eyes widened at the sight of the spirit of the Kohaku River. The last time she saw him, he was a little boy. But not anymore. He had grown into a young man. A very attractive young man. She felt her heart race increase just by looking at him. 'Is that really Haku?' she thought in disbelief. 'Wow, he looks hot!'



She took in his entire appearance. This was what she had been dreaming of the past 12 years, but this was a heck of a lot better than any dream. She could feel herself melting under his gaze. She suddenly realized she was staring and pulled herself together. She put on the smuggest face she could muster and said, "Well us humans don't have the privilege to decide on our age, unlike somepeople." Haku smiled. Chihiro had to hold herself back from throwing herself at him. She pinched herself to make sure she wasn't dreaming. Ouch! Yup, she was awake. That meant this was real! Haku managed to work up the courage to enter the room. He couldn't believe that she was really here. He would have to remember to apologize and thank his little frog friend later. Right now he had more important things to take care of. He approached Chihiro with more confidence. Perhaps she wasn't as mad as he thought. She certainly didn't look mad. Actually, she looked like she was in shock. He gave her a friendly smile and said, "You've really grown. You look beautiful." Chihiro felt herself blush. Why was her body betraying her like this? "T-Thank you. You've grown too. For some reason I still expected to meet a little kid again." Haku frowned. "I can turn back into a child if you want." "NO!" Chihiro cried, way too loudly. She turned red with embarrassment. "You look nice all grown up. Really handsome." Haku smiled again, the smallest hint of a blush staining his cheeks. "It's been a long time." Chihiro nodded in agreement. "Too long." Haku took another step closer. "It's really great to see you again. I've missed you." Chihiro could hold herself back no longer. The mop fell from her hand as she threw her arms around the river spirit. Haku was surprised at first. Happy, but surprised. He returned the embrace gratefully. He had longed to hold her for so long. Now that she was in his arms, he didn't ever want to let her go. A painful stinging brought him back to reality. It took him a moment to realize that Chihiro had slapped him and was now standing in front of him looking furious. 'Uh oh, looks like she is mad after all.' He thought, as he placed his hand over the red mark appearing on his cheek. He had to admit that he did deserve a good scolding, but did he really deserve that. "Uh, did I miss something?" came a voice from the door. Lin had returned with a bottle of some cleaning supplies. She quickly took in the situation and decided that she didn't want any part in it. "I'll just… I'll just come back later." She said and slowly backed out of the room, leaving Haku and Chihiro to work things out. "What was that for?" Haku asked, once Lin was gone.



Chihiro crossed her arms. "Don't play dumb." She growled. "You know very well what that was for." "Care to enlighten me?" Haku asked, playing innocent. That only made Chihiro angrier. "Hmm, let's see, how about for breaking your promise? How about for abandoning me when I needed you? How about for never giving me the slightest indication that you even knew I existed when I cried out for you? Are any of these good reasons? If not, tell me, I've got more." Haku felt ashamed of himself. "Chihiro, I…" He actually didn't know what to say. But apparently he didn't need to say anything, because Chihiro wasn't done talking yet. "You abandoned me, Haku!" She cried. "I trusted you. I really believed that we would be together again. I actually thought you cared for me and would be there for me when I needed you." She was shaking with anger now. "But it's been 12 years Haku. 12 years! Not once did you even attempt to contact me. Why did you leave me alone?" Haku hung his head. "Chihiro, I know you're mad, but-" "Mad? No Haku, I'm not mad." She seethed. "I don't even think there is a word for how angry I am right now. You completely left me alone. You promised me that we would see each other again, but you didn't keep you promise. I waited for years and I got nothing. Do you know what that did to me?" Haku shook his head. "Then let me 'enlighten' you. After my little trip to the spirit world I was never the same. I felt lost in my own world. I never really made any real friends. I became distant from everyone, including my parents. I felt like I didn't belong among my own kind. I called out to you so many times. I cried myself to sleep more times than I could remember. All I had to hold onto was the promise you made to me. I believed that one day I would be able to return here and see you again, but that never happened. I walked through the spirit gate so many times that I know every rock, every tree, every mark of that path. I went to your river so many times that my parent began to question my sanity due to my obsession with it." She wasn't yelling anymore. She didn't even sound that mad. She sounded hurt and full of sadness. It broke Haku's heart to see her like this. "And then I started doubting things." She continued. "I began questioning my own sanity. I began to think that everything was just a dream and that none of it ever happened. But I knew in my heart that it was all real. So then I started thinking that you lied to me; that the promise you made to me was just a reason to get me to return to the human world, a world I no longer belonged in. I tried to convince myself that this wasn't true, but after years of waiting and receiving nothing, I was coming to believe it more and more. One of my few friends kept telling me to move on, and that you were never coming, but I couldn't let it go. But that sinking feeling that you did lie to me and that you did forget about me kept creeping up." She turned away so he wouldn't see her cry. Haku was feeling a mixture of several emotions. He was happy to see her again, but he was crushed to see her like this, and he was angry at himself because he was one of the main reasons she was in this state. "Chihiro." He said softly.



Chihiro tensed up when he spoke her name. "Just tell me one thing, Haku. And don't you dare lie to me!" She turned to face him, looking both sad and angry at the same time. "Did you really make that promise just to make me leave? Was I really just some stupid lost human girl that you took pity on?" Haku was surprised that she would think that, but then again, he couldn't really blame her. In a way, he had abandoned her, although that had never been his intention. "Chihiro, I swear upon my eternal life that the promise I made to you was one I intended to keep. You weren't just some human I took pity on. And I never meant to abandon you." Chihiro looked into his eyes. There was no lie in them. He truly looked sorry for what he'd done. She felt her anger begin to fade. "Then why didn't you ever speak to me when I was at your river?" she asked. "I know you split your time between it and the bathhouse, but you must have been there at least once when I was. Yet you never gave the slightest indication that you knew I was there." Haku nodded. "Yes, at times I thought I felt your presence, but the part of my river you were at was such a small part that I couldn't communicate with you." Chihiro wasn't satisfied with his answer. "You helped me when I fell into your river as a child." "That was before my river was covered up." He explained. "Had you tried to contact me at a bigger portion, I would have been able to communicate with you. But since my river was underground, that wasn't possible." He looked up into Chihiro's eyes, pleading for forgiveness. "Believe me, Chihiro, I would never intentionally abandon you. I wanted to come to you for so long but I couldn't. My river was my way of contact with the human world. It was blocked off, so I couldn't come. I never intended to break my promise. I didn't know how or when, but I knew we would see each other again. Never had I thought that it wouldn't be for 12 years." Chihiro was surprised to see a tear run down his cheek. "Forgive me, Chihiro. The last thing I wanted to do was hurt you. I'm truly sorry that you suffered. Please forgive me." He was too ashamed to look at her anymore, so he shut his eyes. He didn't deserve to be in her presence. He had promised to be there for her and he hadn't been. He had let her down. She had been lost and alone for 12 years because of him. He felt a hand on his face. He opened his eyes to see Chihiro standing in front of, looking compassionate. "I'm sorry." She whispered. Haku blinked in confusion. "What are you sorry for?" he asked. "I'm the one who let you down." Chihiro shook her head. "But I let you down too." she said. "I should have had more faith in you. I'm sorry I ever doubted you. You did keep your promise. It just took a little while to fulfill." Haku smiled. "So you forgive me?" "Only if you forgive me." "I do." Chihiro smiled back. "Then I forgive you too."



That was it. All was forgiven. Everything was going to be alright between them. Sweet relief spread through both of them. Chihiro had to resist the urge to kiss him. Only the fact that she felt that he didn't like her that way held her back. After several moments of silence, Haku finally spoke up. "So, how have things been in the human world?" Chihiro shrugged. "Pretty much the same as they always were, only things were never the same to me since I was here. So I decided to take a vacation and come back here." Haku laughed. "Well I'm glad you did. How did you get back?" "Same way I got here the first time." She said. "The spirit gate finally let me through. I meant to ask, what opens the gate?" Haku shrugged. "From our side, only a very powerful spirit can open it. From your side, I honestly don't know. There are some theories about a large gathering of magic from several spirits come together that open the gate." Chihiro thought about that a moment. "Makes sense. The first time I came here was around the time a bunch of spirits were arriving. I suppose all the gathered magic could have opened the gate. So it was basically blind luck that I got through." Haku nodded. "If the theory is correct." Chihiro chuckled. "Oh well, who cares? I'm here now, and that's all that matters. Tell me how you've been? How have things been since you got your name back." Haku gave her a smile that made her feel weak in the knees. "There have been ups and downs. The ups would defiantly be having my identity back. I've always felt so incomplete without my name. But thanks to you, I remembered who I was. I was able to find my way back home. For years I felt almost whole again. There was just one thing missing…" He trailed off after that, looking like he regretted that final sentence. Unfortunately for him, Chihiro heard him loud and clear and her curiosity wouldn't let it go. "What?" she asked. "Something was missing." Haku mumbled. "What?" Chihiro repeated. Haku turned red and muttered something inaudible. "Excuse me?" He turned a deeper shade of red and said more clearly, "You." Now it was Chihiro's turn to blush. "Me?" Haku nodded. "Things just weren't the same without you. It seemed you touched me the same way I touched you. There wasn't a day that went by that I didn't think about you."



"Haku, that's so sweet." Chihiro whispered, truly touched. "I could say the same for you." A low noise that sounded like an "Aww," came from the doorway. Chihiro and Haku turned to see Lin spying on them. "Lin!" Chihiro shouted, picking up a bucket and throwing it at the spirit. Lin quickly jumped back and left the two of them alone again. Chihiro groaned. She was going to get teased for this later; that was for sure. Seeing the mess she made by throwing the bucket made her angrier. "Great! Just great!" she cried. "More work!" Haku laughed. "Helping Lin with her work?" he asked. Chihiro shook her head. "No, just doing my job." She growled. The smile vanished from Haku's face. "What do you mean, your job?" Chihiro raised an eyebrow. "My job." She repeated. "You know, working for Yubaba. Same as last time." Haku smacked his forehead in frustration. "Oh great." Chihiro cocked her head to the side. "What? What's wrong?" Haku sighed. "I didn't want you to get into another contract with Yubaba." He explained. "Last time I had good leverage to bargain with her. I don't know if I'll be able to break you contract this time. It's not easy to get out of working for her." Chihiro chuckled. "Oh Haku, you don't have to worry about that." "I don't?" "No. I already went over this with Lin. I actually like the work her. Sure I get stuck cleaning the big bath sometimes, but I really don't mind. It's kind of fun." Haku shook his head, clearly thinking that she missed the point he was trying to make. "No, no. I meant that you won't be able to return to the human world while under contract." He said, making sure to get his point out. "Oh." Chihiro replied. "Well you don't have to worry about that either. I'm not going back." Haku did a double take. "Wha-wha-what? Not going back?" he said, clearly surprised. "But Chihiro, you have to go back." Chihiro gave him a weird look. "Why?" "It's your world. You can't stay here."



She crossed her arms. "You didn't have a problem with me staying here last time." She said stubbornly. Haku rolled his eyes. "I wasn't planning on having you stay then either; just long enough for you to rescue your parents. That's why I wanted you to get a job from Kamajii last time; he doesn't put people under contract." "Haku, I want to stay here." she said, clearing things up. "I understand that. What I'm saying is that you can't stay here." Now Chihiro was starting to get mad again. "Oh, and why is that? Don't you want me here?" Haku looked hurt. "Of course I do!" Chihiro threw out her arms. "Well then, what's the problem?" Did she really need to ask? "Chihiro, your whole life is back in the human world. You can't just throw it away." "What life!" she cried. "Were you even listening to what I said about earlier? I never reconnected with my world again. My life was never the same. There was always an empty void in my heart. I don't belong there. I belong here." Haku frowned. "What about your friends and family?" Chihiro frowned too. "Over time I grew more and more distant from my parents. They moved away a few years ago and I haven't seen them since. My real family is here. And I don't really have any friends." "But you said that one of your friends told you to move on." Chihiro half smiled. "So you were listening after all. And yes, they did tell me to move on. But as for them being a friend, I'm not so sure. I guess I can consider her a friend, but not a true friend. I don't have any true friends. Sure, there were people I socialized with while at school and work, but I never had anyone like you, or Lin, or Kamajii. Here I have everything I need. I have friends and family. I feel like I finally belong. I haven't felt this way in years." Haku sighed. Chihiro could see that he was really sad, but she couldn't figure out why. "Chihiro, I'm glad that you consider us family, but regardless of how you feel, you have to go back." "What? Why?" she cried. "I don't want to go back! Why do I have to leave?" "Because it's your world." "But this is where I belong!" Haku shook his head. "No, Chihiro, you're not understanding. This world isn't fit for humans to live in. A human living here would be like taking an animal out of its natural environment. It will last for a while, but it won't last. Why do you think that you start to disappear whenever you come here? It's the food in your body that prevents that."



Chihiro shrugged. "So I'll just make sure I eat plenty of food during meals. It only takes a little bit." Haku sighed. She was so oblivious as to the way things worked here. "It's not just the fading away that you have to worry about. This world is unfit for humans to live in. You could die a very early age. You could get sick and weak very easily. And it's not just that. There are lots of spirits that don't like humans. It might not be safe for you." Chihiro took in everything he said. She never thought, or knew, about any of that. But it didn't matter to her. There had to be some way she could work this out. "Isn't there some way to make it that I can live here like you all?" Haku shook his head. "You could only live here if you were a spirit." Chihiro shrugged. "So, make me a spirit." She said simply. Haku gave a snort of laughter, even though there really wasn't anything funny about the situation. "I can't. No one can do that kind of magic." "But Yubaba could turn my parents into pigs!" Chihiro argued. "Why can't she make me a spirit?" "There's a difference." Said Haku. "For one thing, pigs are still mortal and non-magical. Becoming a spirit would mean granting you powers and eternal life. There's just no one that has that kind of power." Chihiro frowned. So she couldn't become a spirit. That wouldn't stop her. There still had to be some way she could stay here. "There must be something you can do. Please, do something. Anything!" Haku shook his head. "Chihiro, there is absolutely nothing me nor anyone else here that can help you. I'm sorry. Really, I am, but you can't stay here." "But I feel fine!" she cried, getting desperate. "Actually, I feel better than ever!" "For now." Haku replied. "But in a few years, this world will begin to take its toll on you." Chihiro had to hold back tears. "Well, I don't care! I'm not leaving!" Haku sighed sadly. "Chihiro, you don't have a choice. You can't make a life here." "No, you don't understand, I don't have a life anywhere besides here. Back in the human world, I felt dead. Here I feel alive. I feel belonged. If staying here will shorten my life and make it difficult, fine then, so be it! At least I'll actual be able to live for once." Haku took a step forward. "No, I'm not going to let you throw your life away. You can still have a life in the human world. You're going back." "No, I am not!" Chihiro shouted. She couldn't stop the tears from pouring down her cheeks. "There is no point in living if you don't feel alive. I felt like a robot that goes by a program and has no life of it's own. I want to stay here! I want to live for once! I'm STAYING! And neither you or anyone else can make me leave!" She ran out of the room crying, leaving a very upset Haku behind. "What have I done?" He muttered.



Chapter 7: Private Meetings and Private Issues Although Lin wasn't eavesdropping anymore, she was still close by so she could get the scoop on what happened between her human friend and the river spirit. She would get Chihiro to talk even if it killed her. "There probably in there right now confessing their undying love to each other." She muttered. "How romantic. Wait, did I just say romantic? Uh! I need to get out of this lovie-dovie atmosphere." The sound of footsteps caught Lin's attention. Chihiro came running around the corner. Lin immediately went on the attack. "Ok girl, start talk…" She trailed off as she saw tears in Chihiro's eyes. "Chihiro? What?" The human girl didn't even seem to notice her as she ran by, leaving a very confused Lin behind. "Huh? What just happened? That darn river spirit! What did he do now? I'll break his neck." A moment later, Haku came running around the corner. "Chihiro, wait come back!" He spotted Lin. "Lin, did Chihiro come by here?" Lin narrowed her eyes. "Yeah, she went that way." Ok, thanks." He started to run by her, but Lin grabbed him as he passed. "Oh no you don't." she snapped, pulling him back. "When she ran by she was crying her eyes out. What did you do to her, dragon?" Haku didn't have time for this. He needed to fix his mistake. "Nothing, it was just a misunderstanding." "Don't give me that!" Lin cried angrily, starting to draw attention. "You tell me what you did right now; unless you want me to beat you up now and ask questions later. AND WHAT ARE YOU ALL LOOKING AT?" The spirits that had stopped to watch the scene immediately went back to work. Lin turned back to Haku. "Well?" "Lin, I'll tell you later. I have to-" "No, you'll tell me now! If you go after her now you'll probably make things worse. Now tell me what happened." "Lin…" "You could have told me by now!" Haku clenched his fist. This crazy spirit wasn't going to let him pass until she got what she wanted.



"Fine, Chihiro and I were talking. Her contract with Yubaba came up and I said how it was going to be hard to break the contract again. She said that she wanted to keep her job and stay here and I explained how she couldn't since she was a human. Then she got all upset and ran off. Can I go now?" He started to run off again, but Lin held him back. "No, you can't go. You stupid dragon, what where you thinking telling her that?" "But it's true." Lin smacked her forehead. "I know, but you don't tell her that during your first meeting in 12 years. What is wrong with you? Men, they always mess everything up." Haku glared at her. "I'm trying to fix this." "No, you are going to dig yourself in deeper! I'll talk to her first. She'll need some female support." "But-" "No buts!" Lin shouted, getting everyone's attention again. "She might not want to see you right now. Grr. Never mind. I'll yell at you later. I gotta find her." She stormed off, leaving Haku behind with a room full of curious spirits. (-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-) Chihiro returned to her room and sat on the balcony. Looking out at the calm water always seemed to make her feel better. She was trying not to think about what had happened between her and Haku. That was not how she thought their reunion would be like. True, she hadn't didn't know how it would go, but she didn't think it would be like that. After 12 years she finally saw the one she loved again and the first thing he brings up is how to get rid of her. Was she really just a nuisance to him? 'But he said it wasn't like that.' She reminded herself. She began crying again. Stupid Haku. Why did he have to go and ruin what should have been a happy moment? "Chihiro? Chihiro, are you in here?" That was Lin. Chihiro recognized her voice. She wasn't sure if she wanted to talk to anyone right now. Lin would insist though. "Chihiro, where are? Come out and- oh, there you are." She came up and sat beside her. She saw that Chihiro was really upset about what happened. That darn dragon. She will be sure to give him a real good talking to later. "Hey, you ok?" Chihiro buried her head in her knees. "Haku hates me." "Say what?" "He wants me to leave. He said so himself. He can't wait to get rid of me." Poor girl. Lin wrapped her arm around her and Chihiro leaned into her as she continued to cry.



"Hey now, you know that's not true." She said. "Haku doesn't hate you at all. He cares for you more than anything." "Well he has a real funny way of showing it!" Chihiro snapped, sounding more angry than sad. "If he cares about me so much, then why does he want to get rid of me?" "He doesn't." said Lin. "He's just trying to do what he thinks is best. He thinks you'll be better off with your own kind back in your world with your family and friends." "You guys are my family and friends." Chihiro whispered. That made Lin tear up, but in a good way. She quickly pulled herself together. "Don't get all mushy on me now." She said, trying to sound like she didn't care. "Come on, where's that tough girl that faced that volcano spirit yesterday?" "She had her heart broken." Chihiro muttered. Lin forced down her anger. Oh how Haku would pay. "Men, they can't do anything right. Come on, perk up. He's not worth your tears." "I love him, Lin." Chihiro whispered. Lin froze. She looked down at Chihiro in surprise. So she admitted it. Everyone at the bathhouse knew how Haku and Chihiro felt about each other, even the little brat Bôh knew, but Chihiro had just now openly admitted it. Now if she could only tell Haku. "Listen Chihiro, Haku wasn't trying to push you away." She said. "He wants you here more than anyone else. He really does care about you. He cares so much that he's willing to never see you again if it means that you'll be happy back in the human world." "But I wasn't happy!" Chihiro shouted. "Can't he understand that?" "He can." Lin replied. "But he doesn't want you to do anything without thinking. Seriously Chihiro, are you really willing to never go back to your world?" "Yes, I am!" Lin stared at her a moment, realizing for the first time how much trouble it would be to get her to return to the human world when the time came. Haku hadn't exactly broken the news to her the right way though. And now she had to comfort her friend. But how would she feel when she discovered that she would side with Haku in the end. Lin didn't want Chihiro to leave, but it was for her own good. 'I'll worry about that later.' Lin decided. 'Right now she needs me to be on her side.' (-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-) 'You stupid idiot! How could you say those things?' Haku scolded himself. 'What was I thinking? She must hate me right now. But I was only trying to think what was best for her. Doesn't she know that I'll do anything to make her happy? Even if that means being separated from her by different worlds?' After he had time to think, he realized what a fool he had been. Lin was right, he did really mess things up. Now he needed to make them better. He had to make Chihiro understand that he wasn't trying to push her away, he was merely trying to do what he thought was best for her.



Chihiro was a human. She didn't understand how dangerous the spirit world was for her kind. Not only that, he couldn't just let her throw her old life away, although she never really returned to it after her first trip here, she had made that perfectly clear. But still, she had her parents. She must have more friends than she thought. There must be several boys with their eye on her; how could there not be. The thought sent a jealous anger soaring through his body. The door opened and Haku looked up to find Lin walking in. He immediately jumped up, eager for news on how Chihiro was doing. "How is she?" he asked. Lin's response was to slap him hard across the face. Wow, she hit just as hard as Chihiro. "That was for being such an idiot!" Lin scolded him. "You really upset her, you know. She thinks you don't like her and want to get rid of her as quickly as possible. I can't believe you." Haku hung his head. That was what he was afraid of. How could he make this better? "But to answer your question, she's doing much better now, although she is still upset." Lin told him. "Is it, uh, safe to see her?" Haku asked cautiously. Lin nodded. "Sure, just think before you speak." She warned. Haku nodded. "Yes, I will. Thank you, Lin." Lin humphed and turned her head away. "Yeah, whatever." Haku turned to leave, but before he did, he needed to make one thing clear. "Lin, just so you know, we all need to have a talk about Chihiro. We need her to understand that, regardless how she or any of us feel, she has to return to her world." He left the room. Lin dropped her tough girl act and hung her head sadly. "I know." She whispered, fighting back tears. (-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-) Chihiro waited in her room, impatiently pacing back and forth. She was no longer upset, now she was angry at Haku for ruining their reunion. Perhaps a matching red handprint on his other cheek was in order, if Lin hadn't done it already, that is. "He better come." She growled under her breath. She had waited a long time to see Haku again and darn it she was going to get a real reunion. But he was going to be the one to come to her and apologize. There was a knock at her door, making her jump. "That better be him." She muttered. "Who is it?" "It's me." Came Haku's voice. "May I come in?"



Chihiro decided to let the river spirit sweat a little longer. "I don't know, I'm still a little mad at you. You weren't exactly all that nice during our last little chat." "I know." Haku replied through the door. "I came to apologize. Can you open the door so I can do it properly?" Chihiro folded her arms. "I can hear you fine from there. Start apologizing." "Please, Chihiro. I didn't mean what I said. I don't want you to go. I was out of line. Please forgive me." Chihiro sighed. How could she stay mad at him? She couldn't. But she could pretend she was. She opened the door for him, trying to keep her angry face on. She found him standing in front of her with an angry red handprint on his cheek. So Lin had gotten to him after all. "That depends, do you still want to send me away?" she demanded. "Chihiro, I never wanted to send you away, nor will I ever want to. I was just trying to do what was best for you." Chihiro felt her anger returning and suddenly her fake angry face wasn't that hard to keep on. "I think I know what is best for me, thank you very much." 'No, because you don't know everything about this world.' Haku thought. But there was no way he was going to say that. "I'm sorry. I don't want us to fight. Can we just pretend that our last meeting didn't happen and start over?" Chihiro turned away from him. "I don't know. That would mean that we didn't resolve our argument about you not visiting me for 12 years." She was teasing him now. Haku managed to smile a bit. Did this mean that she wasn't angry with him anymore? "Ok, not all of it then." He said, practically begging. Chihiro smiled, still keeping her back to him. "You're going to have to make it up to me." She said. "Of course I will." Said Haku. "I believe I have just the thing. How would you like to come to my river with me the next time I go?" Chihiro did a double take. Say what? Did he just say what she thought he did? He was inviting her to his river? Wow, that was a real honor. Though Chihiro didn't know it, she was the only one Haku ever made this offer to. "Haku… I…" The river spirit smiled. "Shall I take that as a yes?" Chihiro was still speechless. "I… I… Are you sure?" Haku nodded. "Of course. I wouldn't be offering you the opportunity if I wasn't. Unfortunately, I won't be going back for awhile since I just made a trip, but I'm sure that you'll still be here when the time comes."



Did that mean that he wasn't going to make her leave? "Haku, I'm honored." "No, my dear. It would be an honor to have you there." He said. He held out his hand to her. "Now come on. We've got customers to attend to and a lot of catching up to do." Chihiro was positively beaming now as she took his hand. Everything was going to be ok after all. (-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-) It was late and everyone was asleep. Well, not everyone. One person in particular was just pretending to be asleep. There was an important meeting tonight, and she had to be there for it. Deciding it was safe, Lin slowly got up. She glanced at Chihiro to make sure the human was still asleep. She was. Smiling slightly, Lin pulled the covers higher over her human companion. "I'm so sorry, Chihiro." She whispered before quietly leaving the room. She made her way down to the boiler room to meet with the others. She was running a little late and Haku would probably jump down her throat about it. When she entered the room, Haku, Kamajii, Yu-bird, and Bôh were waiting for her. Lin wondered how that giant baby managed to sneak by Yubaba and get down here before she did. "You're late." Haku scolded her. Lin cut her eyes at him. "Not all of us have our own private room. Some of us have to worry about waiting for everyone else to fall asleep!" she snapped back. She took a seat next to Bôh, who was amusing himself by playing with the little soot balls. "Well then, let's get this over with." Kamajii suggested. "Right." Haku agreed. "Let's at least get the obvious stuff out of the way. We all agree that as great as it is to have Chihiro back she can't stay." The others nodded, although Bôh didn't seem to agree. "Why can't she stay?" the giant baby asked. "Bôh, you know this world is not fit for humans." Kamajii pointed out. "But I don't want her to go!" Bôh cried, beginning to tear up. "None of us do." Said Haku. Him especially. "But it doesn't matter what we want. We have to think what's best for Chihiro." "But she doesn't want to go either." Bôh complained. "And that's the point of this meeting." Said Lin. "We need to find a way to get her out of her contract and make her understand that she has to return to the human world." Yu-bird screeched something and flapped her wings.



"We know Yubaba won't let her go." Said Kamajii. "That posses a problem. What are we going to do about that? Blackmail? Bribery? A threat?" "Maybe Auntie Zeniba can help?" Bôh suggested. "NO!" the others cried, except for Yu-bird who merely shrieked. "Bôh, you know how your mother and aunt get along." Said Kamajii. Bôh looked confused. "They don't." "That's the point." "We'll only turn to her as a last resort." Said Haku. "Getting her mixed up in this now would probably only cause more fighting." "Not to mention No-Face would probably get involved too." Lin pointed out, shivering at the thought of the faceless monster. She had never really gotten over the whole No-Face incident. "Why can't we just let Sen stay?" asked Bôh desperately. He could be very wise at time, but he still had the mind of an infant. "Must we go through this again?" asked Lin sounding frustrated. "You know a human can't live here." "You were going to let her stay last time!" Bôh complained. Haku sighed. It was just like his conversation with Chihiro all over again. "She wanted to leave last time. We didn't need to worry about her wanting to stay last time. I'm sure we'll be able to find some way to break her contract with Yubaba, but the hard part will be convincing her that leaving is the right thing to do." It really pained him to say that. "Isn't her happiness more important?" asked Bôh desperately. "She wasn't happy in her world. And you weren't happy without her around, Haku." Haku visibly winced. It didn't matter what he wanted. Yes, he wanted Chihiro to stay with him more than anything, but not as much as wanting to see her happy and healthy. "It doesn't matter how I feel." He said. "What I want is what's best for Chihiro." Lin had to struggle to stay quiet. She hadn't told Haku or anyone else what Chihiro had said. If Haku was going to find out, Chihiro was going to be the one to tell him. She could help them along the way and give out hints, but they had to be the ones to confess their love to each other. "Maybe Sen knows what's best for her." Bôh said stubbornly. He wanted to do what was best for Chihiro too, but he was on her side. If by some miracle there was a way for her to stay, he would help her find it. "Bôh, let's not argue about this." Lin pleaded. "It will be hard enough convincing Chihiro. Please don't fight us." Bôh folded his big chubby arms, but didn't argue further.



"So, what are we going to do about this?" asked Kamajii.



Chapter 8: The Prophet and the River Chihiro was blissfully unaware of the meeting that had taken place between her friends, and they gave no indication that any meeting of any sorts took place at all. The days went by as if nothing was wrong at all. Chihiro was, without doubt, the happiest she had ever been in her entire life. She was back in her real home with her real family, and her one and only true love. Although she had admitted her feelings to Lin, she had yet to tell Haku. When she first confessed how she felt, she had been very emotional at the time and didn't care to keep it a secret, but now that she was thinking clearly, she wasn't about to admit her love to anyone else, least of all Haku. Lin was glad that Chihiro had finally expressed her feelings, now she just had to get her to tell Haku himself. That was easier said than done though. True she could tell Haku herself what Chihiro had said, but that wouldn't be right. Chihiro was going to have to admit it herself. She would help and encourage her along the way, but Chihiro would have to personally do it. Even though Chihiro was happy with the way things were going, she still couldn't help but feel like something was wrong. For the most part, Haku, Lin, and Kamajii were themselves, but Chihiro couldn't help but feel like something was wrong. It was noticeable in Bôh. The giant baby always seemed a little upset about something. When Chihiro asked what was wrong, he would always deny that anything was wrong. Even Yu-bird seemed to be acting a little strange, although it was harder to tell with her. Chihiro didn't think much of it, but she couldn't help but wonder if it had something to do with her. They all seemed to go in this mood after the day Haku had told her she had to return to the human world. Could that be the problem? She had thought that they had worked that out. But thinking back, she realized that she and Haku never had worked that out. True, they made up after their fight, but nothing more had been said about her returning to the human world. She had decided not to dwell on it. But one day, the bathhouse had a visit from a spirit that had changed everything. "Welcome, have a nice bath." The foreman greeted the spirit. The spirit merely waved the greeting off. "I have not come for a bath. I am here on behalf of my master, the great Lord Okaia." "Lord Okaia!" the foreman cried. "My goodness! What would Lord Okaia want with us?" "You, nothing." The spirit replied. "I have come here to see the human, Chihiro Ogino." "Yes, yes. One moment please." The foreman immediately contacted Yubaba, who was just as shocked and thrilled that a messenger of the great Lord Okaia was in her bathhouse. She immediately sent for Chihiro to attend to their valued guest. "Listen up, Chihiro, Lord Okaia is the most powerful sorcerer in the entire spirit world." Yubaba explained as she led the human girl to the messenger's private room. "If he has business here, it could be very important. You attend to his messenger's ever wish, or I'll send you to the pigpen for a week. Do I make myself clear?"



Chihiro gulped. "Y-Yes ma'am. But I doubt Bôh would be very happy with you for turning me into a pig." Yubaba growled. Chihiro always had that as an advantage. Why did Bôh have to be so fond of the human? "Just get in there." She ordered, shoving her into the room. The door closed behind her and Chihiro was left alone with the messenger. He looked like a shadow spirit; only he was bright red instead of black, and was rather short. The messenger observed Chihiro with glowing yellow eyes. "Ah, so you are the human my master spoke of. So good to see you." Chihiro was somewhat startle by the spirit's greeting. He was speaking to her as if she were the guest. "Um, if there is anything I can do for you, please let me know." She said. The spirit motioned for her to sit down. "Please, have a seat. I have come here on business, not leisure." Chihiro hesitantly sat down. This wasn't a normal customer. She wasn't sure what 'business' meant. She was on her guard. Haku had warned her that several spirits didn't like humans. The spirit made a quick flick of his wrist and a table floated in front of Chihiro. He sat down across from her. "My master knows of you." he explained. "He has seen you in a vision." "Am I in trouble?" Chihiro asked quickly. "If I did anything wrong, I am sorry and I ask for your master's forgiveness." The spirit chuckled. "You have nothing to fear, human. You have done nothing wrong. My master is actually rather fond of humans. I have merely come here to deliver a message, and to reveal a few matters." He laid a deck of cards on the table. Chihiro wondered where he had been keeping them, but decided that she didn't want to know. The spirit shuffled and cut the deck before dividing it into separate piles. "Tell me, do you know who Lord Okaia is?" he asked. Chihiro hesitated before answering. "Not really." She admitted. "I know he's the most powerful sorcerer in the spirit world." The spirit chuckled again. "Yubaba would have told you that. Yes, he is. And recently he has had a vision that concerns you and a few of your friends." He chose a card from one of the piles and looked at it, but did not reveal it to Chihiro. "My master has revealed that his path shall cross with yours. You will have a difficult journey ahead of you." "What do you-" "Please do not interrupt." said the spirit, taking another card. "The power of love surrounds you. Its source comes from a powerful river spirit." Chihiro blushed. The spirit took another card. "Yet there is a wall that blocks your path. One built from your mortality." Another card was chosen. "Your love is powerful, very powerful, and it will be tested by the three most powerful emotions. Do you know these emotions?"



"Uh…" Chihiro had no idea what the spirit was taking about. As much as she could gather, this Lord Okaia knew she was in love with Haku, yet her mortality was keeping them apart. That was obvious enough. But what was this about a journey? She knew of the expression saying that love is a difficult journey, but she had a feeling that these readings were talking about an actual journey. And what was up with the three emotions? She was clueless on that. "I don't understand." The spirit took three more cards. "Three powerful emotions will face off against your love. The first is joy, followed by sorrow, then anger." Another card. "The emotions must cross paths. Once these emotions test your love, you will be forced to make a decision that will affect you and those around you. No matter what you chose, someone you love will get hurt." "What?" Chihiro cried. "I don't want to hurt anyone!" "There are different types of love, human." The spirit explained. "The love for a parent, the love for a sibling, the love for a child, the love for a friend, the love for a spouse. There are many kinds. You must make a chose. One will be left behind. Which one, is up to you." "But I don't want to leave anyone I love behind." Chihiro exclaimed. "How can I make a decision like that?" The spirit took another card. "You have already made the decision. But you can still change it. When the time comes to make your final decision, you will have to make the choice again, but this time it will be for keeps." Chihiro gulped. She didn't like the sound of that. "How does your master know all this? Who is he?" "You will meet him, and then you may ask your questions." The spirit replied. "When?" Taking another card, the spirit said "Soon. After the water, you will be hurt." "What? I get hurt? How bad is it? Am I injured?" The spirit shook his head. "Not physically, emotionally. You will have your trust betrayed. You will turn to those closest to you, only to find that they have betrayed your trust; thus you will turn to others. This is when your journey will begin." He took another card. "You will forgive those that have hurt you, but you can not turn to them for help during your journey. You must follow your heart. If you do, it will lead you to life." The spirit took the final card. He placed them all back into one pile and reshuffled the deck. Whatever reading he had just given Chihiro, it appeared to be over, leaving her very confused and full of questions. "Wait a minute!" she cried. "That's it? You can't just leave me like this." The spirit put away the deck of cards. "I am sorry, human, but I am merely delivering my master's message. I know nothing of any of this. If you wish to know what your readings means, you will have to speak to my master." He got up to leave. "Remember Chihiro, after the water." He said as the door closed behind him. (-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)



Chihiro's mind had been racing for the next few days. She was confused, irritated, and depressed all at once. She tried to make sense of what the spirit's message meant, but came up with nothing. She considered asking Lin or Haku, but decided against it. Thinking about the part of having her trust betrayed was very unsettling. She didn't want to think about that. As the days went by, Chihiro was so lost in her thoughts that she failed to realize that the day she had been looking forward to for a long time had finally arrived. "Wake up, girl!" cried Lin, pulling the covers off Chihiro. Chihiro groaned. "Mmm, Lin. It's too early. Go back to sleep." "Sleep? How can you think of sleep on a day like today?" Chihiro placed her pillow over her head. "What's so special about today?" she asked sleepily. "What's so- Chihiro, this is the day you've been looking forward to." "Remind me why." Lin sighed. "It's the day Haku said he would take you to his river." "Oh, that's nice…" It took a moment for this to sink in. When it did, her eyes shot open and she jumped wide-awake. "What? Oh no, it is! What am I gonna do? What am I gonna wear? Should I wear a bathing suit? Ah, I don't have a bathing suit! What time is it? Am I running late?" Lin had to resist laughing. "Chihiro, calm down. This was why I got you up so early. Come on, let's get you ready for your date." "It's not a-" "Whatever." (-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-) After assuring Chihiro that she looked fine for the tenth time, Lin had to practically drag her to the place where she was supposed to meet Haku. He was waiting for them on the bridge. He smiled when he saw them approaching. "Hello ladies, how are you today?" "We're good." Said Chihiro. "I'm really looking forward to this." "I'll bet you are." Lin muttered slyly. Chihiro elbowed her. "Well then, lets be on our way." Said Haku, holding out his hand. Chihiro carefully took his hand. Lin had to keep from laughing at how nervous her friend was. "Play nice you two." She teased. "Lin!" the other two cried, turning red.



"Let's go." Chihiro said. "Before I rearrange her face." Not wanting to be the butt of Lin's jokes any longer, Haku turned into his dragon form. Chihiro carefully and shyly crawled on top, taking hold of his horns to keep from falling. "Have fun!" Lin called, as Haku took flight. Chihiro cried out as she and Haku soared through the air. She hadn't done this in 12 years, not counting the countless times she did in her dreams. After she got over her momentary fear, she began to get a feeling of serenity. Riding high in the sky on her love's back was… nice. The view was spectacular. She had forgotten how beautiful it was. And flying with Haku was delightful. "This is amazing, Haku!" She cried. "How about showing me what you can really do." If she had been able to see Haku's face, she would have seen a mischievous smile creep up on his face. She could have sworn she heard Haku's voice in her head saying, 'Alright, you asked for it,' before the river spirit put on a burst of speed. Chihiro kept a strong grip on his horns as he flew higher and faster, breaking through clouds and giving her an even better view of the land. The wind whipped her hair around her as Chihiro took in all the sights around. She cried out as Haku spun in the air, leaving her upside-down for a brief moment. "AH! Haku, none of that!" she cried. She heard him snicker before the voice in her head say, 'Hold on tight.' Haku put on another burst of speed. Everything around her became a blur. Things got brighter and brighter until the light was practically blinding. The next thing she knew, she was underwater. Haku was gone, he was no longer with her. "Ahu!" she tried to say, but only bubbles came out. She quickly clamped her mouth shut, covering it with her hands. She was in Haku's river, that much was obvious, but where was Haku. 'Chihiro, it's ok. Breath.' Came Haku's voice. Chihiro looked around, but there was no sign of the river spirit anywhere. She began to panic and didn't remove her hands. 'Do you trust me?' She heard his voice again, asking her if she trusted him. Of course she did. He wouldn't drown her. Not intentionally. 'Just breath.' Putting all her faith in the river spirit, Chihiro removed her hands and breathed deeply. She expected to have her lungs flooded with water, but no such thing happened. Instead she gulped down cool clean air. She had no idea how this was possible underwater, but she wasn't complaining. "Ahu, ere ae u?" she tried to say, but only bubbles came out again.



'I am right here with you.' came Haku's voice. 'And you do not need to speak. Just speak to me in your mind.' Her first thought caused her to immediately panic as she pictured Haku reading her mind, seeing some of her deepest secrets, such as her feelings for him. But Haku, wherever he was, seemed to notice her dilemma. 'Do not worry about your personal thoughts.' He told her. 'I can only hear what you tell me.' Chihiro sighed in relief. 'Good, you scared me for a minute there.' Haku chuckled. 'Why, is there something you don't want me to know?' 'NO!' she cried, perhaps a little too quickly and forcefully. 'I just didn't like the idea of my mind being an open book. How would you like it if someone could suddenly look into your mind and see everything that you've every thought, said, and done?' 'I guess I wouldn't.' Chihiro nodded, satisfied. She looked around some more. 'Haku, I am in your river, aren't I?' 'Yes.' 'How can I breath?' 'I am simply feeding you oxygen. Water contains oxygen in it. I am simply extracting the air and giving it to you. It's just like how fish breathes. Think of me as your pair of gills.' 'Oh." She looked around, still trying to find some sign of Haku. 'Where are you?' 'Right here. I am all around you. The Kohaku River is part of me. I have reunited myself with it. Can you not feel me?' Chihiro thought she felt someone caress her cheek, but when she looked she saw no one. She heard Haku chuckle again. 'So tell me, how do you like my river?' Chihiro, for the first time, actually looked, really looked, at the body of water she was submerged in. It was… breathtaking. She saw the beauty that the river was, but there was more to it than that. It was almost as if she was part of the river. She could see and sense all the life within the river. Perhaps it was Haku's connection with his river and her connection to him that she was experiencing. This felt like more than simply being underwater. It was as if she was in a whole other world of life and wonder. 'It's amazing!' she cried. 'It's so beautiful.' Somehow, she felt Haku relax. It seemed as if her accepting his river was like her accepting something important from him. She didn't know why he had been so nervous. She loved everything about him; whether human, dragon, or river, she loved him with every bit of her heart. 'Haku this is amazing.' She told him. 'I never knew how exactly a spirit and their spiritual and are connected, but somehow, being here with you, I know that there isn't really a connection. This river is an actual part of you, just a part separate from your body.'



She somehow knew that Haku was glad that she understood. Being in his river at such a close personal level seemed to give her a special connection with the river spirit, allowing her to sense his emotions and read his thoughts. 'This is only a small glimpse of how I am one with my river.' Haku explained. 'I know every last detail of my river, just like you would with your body. I am aware of every plant, every rock, every form of life within it.'The river seemed to pull her along with it. Chihiro let Haku lead her on. He, the river, was feeling overjoyed at having her in his river, in him. 'Chihiro, do you remember the last time you came to my river?' She figured he meant the day she paid a visit to the small stream before she returned to the human world. 'Yes.' 'I felt you enter. Although I could not personally come to you, I was aware of your presence.' He seemed to be carefully considering his words. 'You were crying. I know this because one of your tears fell into my river. Part of you became part of me. For a brief moment, I was entirely connected to you.' Chihiro felt touched, but she wasn't sure where Haku was going with this. 'What are you trying to say?' she asked. Haku hesitated before saying. 'I… I would like to give you that same connection you gave me. Just for a moment.' Chihiro was surprised to say the least. Her tear, as Haku had put it, had merged with Haku's river, thus merging with him. Part of her became part of him. Now he wanted to share that experience? 'Haku… are you sure?' 'I am very sure.' Chihiro didn't reply. She didn't have to. Suddenly an indescribable sensation filled her. She didn't think there was a word in any language to describe what she was feeling. She became aware of everything with in the Kohaku River. She knew everything down to the smallest mark on the smallest rock. As for her connection with Haku, well, she didn't think there was a connection anymore. It felt as if they had become one, that there was nothing separating them. They were together on so many levels now. She could almost see things through his very eyes, hear his heartbeat as if it were her own, feel everything around as if it were her feeling it. And his emotions, she felt them as if they were her own. And there was one emotion that towered above all the others. Love, inexpressible love. Then it was gone. Whatever connection she had briefly had with Haku was gone and she seemed to be herself again. She wasn't sure, but just for the briefest moment, when she had zeroed in on that feeling of love, she thought she felt panic from Haku, as if she had stumbled across something he didn't want her to know. Or maybe, it was him that had come across something coming from her and she had been the one to panic. She wasn't sure. When Haku had made that connection she wasn't sure who was who and who was feeling what. 'Haku…' she whispered. 'That was…' She didn't know what that was. She couldn't think of anyway to describe the feelings running through her. 'Thank you…'



Chapter 9: Trust Betrayed Being in Haku's river over the weekend had been pure bliss, but by the time she actually stood on dry land again, she had the worst case of 'sea legs'. She was all wrinkled up from being in, or under, water for so long, but a simple spell from Haku quickly fixed that. She almost regretted having to return to the bathhouse, but both she and Haku knew that they had jobs to do. "Haku, that was the most magical experience I've ever had!" Chihiro cried as she rode on the back of the great river spirit. 'I am glad you enjoyed yourself.' Haku spoke in her mind. 'I too enjoyed your company. Would you like to come with me during all my trips?' Chihiro felt overwhelmed. "You'd… you'd really let me?" The dragon nodded. 'It would be an honor to always have you with me.' "Oh Haku… WHOA!" She had attempted to huge him and nearly lost her grip. She quickly readjusted herself as Haku chuckled. 'Careful, I wouldn't want to face Lin if I brought you back damaged in anyway.' Chihiro smiled. "Don't worry, I trust you. I know you won't let anything happen to me." Haku winced slightly when she said that. She won't be happy if she found out that he and the others had secretly been trying to think of a way to send her back to the human world. The thought tore at his heart. He wanted nothing more than to have her with him forever. But he wanted what was best for her. He loved her so much that he would do whatever it took for her to be happy. He put those thoughts aside. He wouldn't worry about that now. This weekend with her had been incredible, and he wanted to enjoy these last few moments alone with his love. 'Hang on tight.' He told her. He picked up speed. Chihiro was once again blinded by the bright light that had engulfed them on the way to the river. When the light faded, they were once again in familiar territory, not that Chihiro had seen much else of the spirit world besides the bathhouse and Swamp Bottom. She made a mental note to try and see Zeniba at some point. Perhaps Haku could take her there. "Haku, slow down." She cried, as he went in for landing, a little too quickly for her liking. "Haku, slow down! Slow down! Haku! HAKU!" Haku pulled up a few feet before he hit the ground and landed gracefully on the bridge. Chihiro was wide eyed with a terrified expression on her face; her grip on Haku's horns was so tight that her knuckles were white. Slowly she slid off Haku and stood on wobbly legs. She could hear Haku snickering and she turned to him, annoyed. "That was not funny." She said. "Don't do that again." Haku shifted back to his human form, grinning. "Come on, you enjoyed that."



Chihiro glared at him, but it was hard to stay angry with him when he was grinning like that and she broke into a grin. "Ok, ok. Just don't make a habit out of it." She suddenly noticed that her hair was in her face and she looked over the bridge at her reflection in the water. She'd had bad hair days before, but this was by far the worst; no doubt from spending the past few days underwater and then flying at high speed on Haku's back. "Yikes! Look at my hair. It's a mess." She saw Haku's reflection appear next to hers. "You're beautiful." He said. Chihiro blushed and playfully shoved him. "Oh, come on. Look at me. I look terrible." Haku's expression didn't change. "I'm serious. You're always beautiful in my eyes." Chihiro turned a darker shade of red. "But if you're so concerned with your hair." He blew lightly at her. Chihiro's hair untangled and straightened out into her usual hairstyle. "There you go, problem solved, beautiful." Chihiro blushed even more. Darn it, why did she have to go all girly now? Then again, how could she not with him looking at her like that? "I… uh, I guess we should go in." she said, not sure what else to say. "I have to check in with Yubaba first to let her know that we've returned." He said. "Ok, I'll see you inside." Chihiro replied happily. Haku watched her until she entered the bathhouse. He wanted her to stay with him. He would give anything to be with her forever. Sadly, their worlds kept them apart. Sighing, Haku changed back to his dragon form and flew up to the window of Yubaba's office. (-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-) Chihiro happily walked through the bathhouse. Several spirits greeted her, but she barely heard them as she reflected back over her weekend with Haku. She was only brought out of her happy memories when someone grabbed her from behind. It was Lin. "Nice to see you too." the spirit said irritably. "Honestly, you so caught up in La-La Land that you're not paying attention to anything else around you." Chihiro gave her friend an apologetic smile. "Sorry. I just had such a good time. It was the most wonderful experience ever." "Glad you had fun." Said Lin. "And while you've been off with your dragon, we've all been working. Oh well, what can you do?" She suddenly got a mischievous look in her eyes. Chihiro knew she was about to be interrogated. "Now then, start talking. I want details. And don't you dare leave anything out." Chihiro chuckled. Lin was just as bad as Mimi. Her human friend always wanted to know about her love life, but Chihiro couldn't exactly tell her that she was in love with a river spirit. At least with Lin she actually had someone she could talk to. "It was… incredible." Said Chihiro dreamily. "Being inside Haku's river was wonderful. It wasn't just being underwater. I could actually feel Haku all around me. And when we merged…" "WHAT?" Lin shouted, bringing a lot of attention to them. "You mean… you two… you two…"



Chihiro realized what Lin was talking about and turned beet red. "Not like that!" she cried. Lin was just as bad as Mimi. "Geez Lin, you've got a dirty mind. No, Haku simple merged me with his river, just like he does with himself." "He did what?" Lin shouted again. "He actually…" Chihiro nodded. "I can't even begin to tell you what it was like. For a brief moment, Haku and I were one with his river. I could see into Haku's very soul, and he could see in mine." Lin was still shocked by Chihiro's words. It was written all over her face. But so was something else. It looked like anxiousness. Chihiro raised an eyebrow. "Is something wrong, Lin?" she asked. Lin seemed to come out of her thoughts. "What? Oh, no. I'm fine." She looked around nervously. "I, uh, I have to go. I'll see you later." She took off as if she wanted to get away from her. Chihiro cocked her head to the side. "That's strange." She said to herself. "I wonder what's up with her." She continued on her way to her room, this time making sure to be a little more aware of what was happening around her. She saw that the bathhouse was actually quite busy today. Poor Kamajii must have his work cut out for him. Chihiro stopped. Kamajii, she hadn't seen him in awhile, since even before she left with Haku. She decided to pay the boiler man and his little soot balls a little visit, and began making her way toward the boiler room. When she reached her destination she heard voices from the other side of the door. She wasn't normally the type of person to eavesdrop, but when she heard her name being said, she couldn't help but listen. "…and now she's going all googly eyed and walking around in a dreamlike state." That sounded like Lin. Chihiro couldn't be sure since the door was separating them, but she was pretty sure it was Lin. "This could be bad. It may complicate things." "It doesn't seem like that big of a deal to me." That was definitely Kamajii. She knew only one spirit that talked in that sort of voice. "Everyone knows that she loves Haku, well, except Haku. So I don't see what the problem is." "The problem is that Haku is letting her get to him." The woman that sounded like Lin snapped. "He merged his river with her. Do you know what that kind of connection that could create between them? They knew each other body, mind, and soul. Haku may not be able to let her go if he lets himself get close to her like this." Let her go? Why would Haku let her go? It wasn't like she was going anywhere, nor was it like they were a couple, no matter how much she wished they were. "Oh Lin." Kamajii sighed. Ah ha! So it was Lin he was talking to. "You know Haku loves her more than anything. He wants to see her happy, even if that means that he'll never be happy. Yes, he's probably making it harder on himself, but how can he resist wanting to be as close to her as possible." "It can't be that hard." Kamajii sighed. "I said it before and I'll say it again, you just don't understand love."



"I do so! Chihiro is like a sister to me. I want her to be happy just as much as all of you do." If Chihiro hadn't been so confused by what the two spirits were talking about she would have been touched. "And Haku isn't the only problem." Lin continued. "If she falls in love with Haku anymore it may be impossible to send her back to the human world." Chihiro gasped as disbelief washed over her. The human world? They wanted to send her back. No, they were planning to send her back. "Lin, we've talked about this. It's for her own good. I wish there was some way for her to stay, but there isn't. We've all agreed that she has to go back, no matter what we would rather have. If you think Haku is making things more difficult, then just go talk to him." Chihiro felt like someone was crushing her heart. They had been lying to her. Her so-called friends had been sneaking off behind her back to talk about ways to send her back to the human world. They had talked with her, laughed with her, and did every other trustworthy thing friends would do while keeping this from her. How could they? Chihiro felt completely betrayed and hurt. She couldn't believe this. How could they do this to her? Suddenly Lord Okaia's prediction crept into her mind. 'You will have your trust betrayed. You will turn to those closest to you, only to find that they have betrayed your trust; thus you will turn to others. This is when your journey will begin. You will forgive those that have hurt you, but you can not turn to them for help during your journey.' She would forgive them? Not likely. Chihiro was suddenly consumed by rage. She didn't exactly know what would happen when she was told that those closest to her would hurt her and betray her trust, but she didn't think it would be anything like this. They tricked her. They lied to her. They were planning on sending her back. Well, not if she had anything to say about it. Chihiro slid open the door the boiler room so hard that she wouldn't have been surprised if Yubaba felt it up in her office. Lin and Kamajii jumped at the noise and stared wiped eyed at Chihiro who was looking like she might breath fire. "So, I bet you guys thought you were being really clever!" she cried. Lin looked like a deer caught in a headlight. "Chi-Chihiro! How, how, how long have you been there?" Chihiro glared at her. "Long enough to know that I've been all googly eyed and walking around in a dreamlike state." Both Lin and Kamajii gulped. The soot balls all huddled together looking terrified. "How could you do this to me? You tricked me! You lied to me! I can't believe it! I trusted you!" "Chihiro, please." Lin said, her voice pleading. "We were just trying to do what was best for you." "Well you obviously don't know what's best for me!" Chihiro shouted. "Because your opinion of what is best for me has broken my trust in you! If you want to do what's best for me, then just leave me alone and never mention the human world again!" She turned around and stormed out of the room, slamming the door behind her. Lin and Kamajii stared at the spot she had been standing at feeling very guilty. "Maybe we made a mistake."



(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-) Chihiro stormed through the bathhouse. All the spirits stared at her, wondering how she could have become so angry after being so happy less than five minutes ago. 'That's what happens when you put all your trust in someone and they sneak around behind your back!' Chihiro fumed to herself. She was mad. Very, very mad. She wasn't through with Lin and Kamajii yet, but she wanted to see Haku. She didn't want to believe that he played a part in this. If he had… She stormed over to the elevator, not sure if she should try to catch the river spirit on his way back from Yubaba's office, or if she should see if he was in his room. She didn't have to make that choice because when the elevator doors opened, Haku walked out. "Hello again…" he said, but trailed off when he noticed the mood she was in. "Chihiro, is something wrong?" Chihiro stormed past him, grabbing his sleeve and pulling him back into the elevator. She pushed a random button then hit 'Emergency Stop', before turning her angry gaze on the confused river spirit. "I just got back from the boiler room." she said coldly. Haku merely cocked his head to the side. His confusion made him look cute, but Chihiro's anger quickly pushed those thoughts aside. "Lin and Kamajii were having a very interesting conversation. It had to do with me going back to the human world. Now why would they be talking about something like that?" Haku's eyes widened. He suddenly looked very nervous. "Uh…" Chihiro's eyes narrowed. "Yeah, 'uh'. They also mention how we shouldn't spend too much time together because it may make it harder to get me to go back to the human world. Now isn't that strange?" Haku opened his mouth to say something, but Chihiro cut him off. "Haku, how could you? How could any of you? I never would have believed it if I hadn't heard it myself." "Chihiro, please," Haku pleaded. "We were just trying to do what was best for you." Lin had said the exact same thing, but that hadn't helped her, and it certainly wouldn't help Haku. "I think that I know what's best for me!" she yelled, her eyes burning. "I spend 12 years in the so-called life you want to send me back to! I know where I truly belong! I know where my heart truly lies! And that's right here!" She had to stop herself from saying 'with you' at the end of her last sentence. "Chihiro…" Haku hung his head. He felt ashamed of himself. He just wanted what was best for her, and instead he had gone and broken her trust. He had hurt the one person he loved more than anything in the world, even more than his own river. "I'm sorry." Chihiro could see that he truly was, but she was still angry and not quite ready to forgive him just yet. She hit the 'Emergency Stop' button again and the pushed the 'Doors Open' button. "Well Lin doesn't need to worry about us spending too much time with each other." She said. "I don't feel like being around you right now." She stormed out of the elevator. She didn't even look back as the doors closed on Haku, who didn't even attempt to go after her.



Chapter 10: Afraid to Love Chihiro stormed angrily through the bathhouse. Even though she was only a human and had no powers whatsoever, several spirits were terrified at seeing her so angry. She actually scared away several customers. Yubaba wouldn't be happy about losing business, but Chihiro was too angry to care. 'Oh, that Haku!' she thought angrily. 'I can't believe he did this. And Lin and Kamajii were in on it too. Some friends they are.' As she continued her angry rampage, her anger slowly began to turn to despair.'Oh, and here I was actually thinking that there could be something between me and Haku. I was such a fool. I don't know what I was thinking. He's a spirit and I'm a human, it would never work. I was so stupid. He will never love me the way I love him. I wonder if he even cares that much about me. And that goes for Lin and Kamajii too. I can't believe they were planning to send me away. How long have they been lying to me?' This was really depressing. She needed someone to talk to. The three she would normally go to were out of the question, since they were the ones that upset her. Yubaba would do no good. She would probably just assure her that as long as she still had Chihiro's contract that she was going to stay in the bathhouse. That lifted Chihiro's spirits a bit, knowing that unless Yubaba tore up her contract that she wasn't allowed to leave. She obviously didn't know about Haku, Lin, and Kamajii's plan to send her back to the human world either or else she would surely have put a stop to it, not wanting to lose her 'best employee' again. Still, that didn't help the feeling of being betrayed. She wondered who else was in on this little plan of theirs. Chihiro stopped suddenly as she realized something. Bôh, he had been upset about something for a while now. Did he know? Was he in on it too? She needed to find out. Right now she was feeling a little short on friends and needed to be with someone who wanted her around. She headed for Yubaba's office, not even bothering to knock, much to the doorknocker's irritation. Yubaba looked up as Chihiro burst in her office. "Haku already said you two were back." Yubaba remarked, turning back to her paper work. "I hope you enjoyed your break, because we're really busy today." "I need to see Bôh." Said Chihiro. Yubaba raised an eyebrow. "What for?" "It's personal." Yubaba's eyes narrowed. "You just had a vacation, and now you want a break? Nice try, girl, but we've got customers." Chihiro became irritated. What had started out as a great day had quickly become a terrible one, and she didn't need it to get any worse. "Hey, Bôh!" Chihiro shouted, making the three green heads jump. "Your mom won't let me come see you!" The reaction was predictable and immediate. "Mama, let Chihiro come in!"



Yubaba glared at Chihiro. "Sweetie, Chihiro has work to do. She just had a fun weekend away and has to do her job now." She said sweetly. "Mama, if you don't let Chihiro come in, I'll start crying." Yubaba growled in frustration. She may deny Chihiro what she wanted, but she would never deny her precious baby boy, which normally worked in Chihiro's favor. "Ok." The old witch groaned. "But make it quick, snookums. We're very busy today." Chihiro smirked and entered Bôh's room. The giant baby was nowhere to be seen. A giant hand suddenly popped out from under a pile of pillows and stuffed animals, grabbed Chihiro, and pulled her in. "Yay, you're back!" Bôh cheered. "I missed you!" Chihiro was having trouble breathing as Bôh hugged her tightly. "Bôh, I was only gone for 2 days." "I still missed you. You're my best friend. So, did you have fun on your trip with Haku?" Chihiro frowned. Bôh noticed her sadness and asked, "What happened? I thought you would want to spend some time alone with Haku." "I did." Chihiro admitted. "It was going great until I found out that him, Lin, and Kamajii were secretly making plans to send me back to the human world." Bôh's eyes widened. "Uh, oh." Chihiro could easily read the guilty look on Bôh's baby face. "You knew?" Bôh pouted, confirming her suspicions. "I can't believe it!" She pulled away from him and climbed out from under all the pillows. "Who else was in on this?" The pile of pillows exploded as Bôh surfaced. "Just Yu-bird." "Yu-bird too!" Chihiro cried. "Why does everyone want me to leave?" Bôh crawled over to her. "I don't want you to leave, Chihiro. I was actually against everything they were saying." Chihiro looked at him, hoping that one of her friends hadn't betrayed her. "They kept saying that it was for your own good and that you weren't thinking clearly when you decided to stay." Chihiro scowled. "How would they know?" "They just think that you didn't think the whole thing through completely and they don't want you to make a mistake that you'll end up regretting." "And you went along with this? Why didn't you tell me?" Bôh hung his head. He looked like he was going to cry. "Because I care about you, Chihiro. We all do, especially Haku. The spirit world is very dangerous to humans." Chihiro crossed her arms and turned away. "So I've been told."



Bôh sniffed. "Chihiro, I'm sorry. Please don't be mad at us. We were all just doing what we thought was best." Chihiro turned back to him. She felt her anger at her friends leaving her. Ok, so they hadn't handled the situation the best way possible, but they were doing it out of concern for her. But what was so bad about letting her stay? She was more than willing to take the risks. Was there another reason they wanted her to leave? "Bôh, tell me what exactly you guys talked about." She said. (-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-) Haku was feeling terrible. At the moment, he was laying face down on his bed, muttering what an idiot he's been every now and then. "I really screwed up this time." He moaned. "Now she's furious with me. What am I going to do?" A knock at the door interrupted his moping. He groaned and said in a barely audible voice. "Go away." The person either didn't hear him or didn't want that answer because they knocked again. "Go away." He said louder. "Open this door right now, dragon!" Haku sighed. That was Lin, and there was no way she would leave until she had her say. She was so stubborn. Haku waved his hand and the door open, allowing Lin entrance. She walked over to his bed and observed him laying down with his face in his pillow for awhile. "You know, it could be worse." She said. "How?" asked Haku, not even looking at her. Unable to think of something off the top of her head, Lin merely said, "Use your imagination." Haku didn't say anything. He just continued to lay down, not moving. Lin was beginning to lose her patience. "For goodness sake, get up already! You're acting like a child!" Haku finally sat up. "I'm just trying to think of a way to make this better." He cried. "I don't want Chihiro to be mad at me." Lin rolled her eyes. "Join the club." Haku glared at her. He was in no mood for her attitude; he had bigger things to worry about. "This wouldn't be happening if you and Kamajii had kept your mouths shut." He growled. Lin's eyes widened. "What? You're saying it's my fault your girlfriend is mad at you?" Haku ignored the 'girlfriend' remark. "No, I'm also saying that it's Kamajii's fault too."



Lin growled in annoyance. "Well for your information, lover boy, if you hadn't gotten caught up in the moment, I wouldn't have had to go to Kamajii! Honestly, what were you thinking by merging your river with her?" Haku was getting frustrated now. "It's none of your business what I do!" Lin didn't back down. "It is when my friends are involved!" she shouted back, poking him in the chest. "I know you love her and just wanted to be close to her, but did you ever think of how it would affect her?" Haku felt like he was missing something. "What are you talking about?" Lin pulled her hair and cried out in her frustration. "You idiot! How can you not tell that she's head over heels in love with you?" Haku's eyes narrowed. "Don't start that again. It's not funny." "It's not a joke!" Lin shouted. "Don't you notice the way she looks at you?" "Stop it!" "Why?" "Because she can't love me." Lin cried out in frustration again. "Why not?" Haku didn't have a ready answer, or at least not one he was willing to share. He turned away from Lin and said, "Just forget it. You wouldn't understand. Besides, she has to go back to the human world, so there can be nothing between us." Lin was quiet for a moment. She was thinking about what she and Kamajii had been talking about after Chihiro walked in on their conversation. "Maybe we shouldn't make her go back." She said. Haku sighed. There was a great deal of sadness in that sigh. "Lin, we've talked about this, remember?" Lin nodded, although her nod didn't matter since Haku wasn't facing her. "I do," she said. "But who are we to tell Chihiro how to live her life. She knows the risks of staying here; she knows what she's leaving behind in the human world, yet she's still wants to stay. Maybe we should let her." "We can't." "Why not?" "We just can't, ok!" Getting tired of talking to Haku's back, Lin walked around to face him. "No, it's not ok! Why are you so dead set on sending her back?" Haku turned away again. "You know why?"



Lin grabbed him and turned him around to face her again. "No, I don't. And don't give me that excuse of how it's not safe for her and how she's leaving her old life behind. There's another reason, and I want to know what it is. Now tell me!" "Because it's too painful to have her here!" Haku shouted. Lin was shocked by his outburst. Haku pulled away from her and began to leave. Slowly, what the river spirit had said began to click and Lin suddenly understood. "Oh my…" she whispered. "That's it. You're afraid to love a human." Haku stopped. His body language told Lin everything she needed to know. "So that's it!" she cried. "I can't believe I didn't see it. You're afraid to love her." "Lin…" "No, answer me! I'm right, aren't I? I've always known that you loved her, but I could never understand why you… This makes perfect sense now. I am such an idiot. How could I have not realized it sooner?" Haku turned to her. "Stop it, Lin!" "No, I won't!" Lin shouted. "I now know what the problem is and I'm going to find a solution. Why are you afraid?" Haku turned away and headed for the door. "Stay out of it. This is none of your business." Lin moved quickly. One moment she was standing in the middle of the room, the next she was blocking the door. "Yes, it is my business." She snapped. "Chihiro is like a sister to me. I want her to be happy. I can tell that she loves you, even if you can't, and I can tell that you love her but are afraid. Now tell me what the problem is!" Haku didn't answer. He just stared at her coldly. "Move." Lin shook her head. "No." "I can make you." Lin knew he was telling the truth, but she didn't back down. "If you don't tell me, I'll… I'll… drag Zeniba into this!" Haku's eyes widened. "You wouldn't dare." Haku knew Zeniba cared for Chihiro like she was her own daughter. He really didn't want to get involved with Chihiro's 'Granny' while Chihiro was already very angry with him. "You want to know why?" Haku snapped. "It's because it wouldn't be fair to either of us!" Lin raised an eyebrow. "Why are you talking about? Why won't it be fair?"



Haku turned away again. He was doing that a lot and it was greatly annoying Lin. "You really smart, figure it out yourself." Lin knew he was saying that just to annoy her, and it was working. Still, she didn't say anything as she worked out what the problem was. Haku was right though, she was rather smart and it didn't take her too long to figure out what the problem was. "You're afraid because she human." She said. "And humans are mortal. You're thinking of her life span." Haku didn't say anything, but Lin knew that she had just hit the nail on the head. "Now I understand. It's her mortality that's bothering you. The way you see it, you could be with her for about 60 years, but then you'll lose her." Haku looked really upset. "That's part of the reason." "What's the other part?" Haku wiped his eyes, trying his best not to let Lin see him so emotional. "She deserves someone that can take care of her forever. Not just in this life, but in the next one too. I'm immortal; I don't die. But Chihiro, one day, she will. That's the fate of all mortals. They die and are reunited in the afterlife with their loved ones. If Chihiro and I were ever together, she would die just like any other mortal, but I would continue to live on forever. The only way I would be able to see her again would be if I died too, and you know how rare and unlikely it is for a spirit to die. Chihiro deserves someone who will always be with her. This is why humans and spirits are separated by two different worlds, so this doesn't happen." Lin was quiet the whole time Haku finally poured out his fears. When he finished, she gave him a sympathetic look. "But it has happened." she said quietly. "You two love each other." "She doesn't love me." Haku insisted. "You're in denial!" Lin cried. "You just don't want to believe that she loves you. Either that or you're just too stupid to realize how she really feels." Haku didn't want to talk anymore. "Go away." "Quit changing the subject." "I'm not changing the subject, I'm dropping it." Lin growled. "Well if there's nothing that can change your mind about this, then it wouldn't matter if I told you that I think that you're a total idiot." Haku raised an eyebrow. "Oh, and how am I an idiot." Lin stomped her foot. "Because you should take what you can get out of life. If you love Chihiro like you say you do, and everyone else with eyes can see that she loves you just as much, then there shouldn't be anything keeping you apart. Would you rather be happy with the one you love for as long as time allows, or would you rather just mope around dreaming about what you could have had?" Haku sighed. "Lin, you don't understand." "Yes, I do understand."



"No, you don't! I can't do that to her. If it wasn't for her mortality, I would try to be with her. But she needs someone that can be with her in both life and death." Lin snorted and turned to leave. "Maybe you should let her decide that." She said before slamming the door. Haku stared at the door more a moment before collapsing back on the bed. He had a lot to think about. (-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-) Chihiro wasn't satisfied with the reasons her friends had decided to send her back to the spirit world. They were basically everything she said she was more than willing to face. "That's all you guys discussed?" she asked. Bôh nodded. "That's it, although I think Haku had another reason for wanting to send you home, but wasn't telling anyone. I could just tell that something else was bothering him." Chihiro pondered on this for a moment. Even though she was still angry, she couldn't help but forgive her friends; they were only doing what they thought was best. Darn it, that stupid messenger of Lord Okaia was right so far. She had been hurt by her friends, and yet she had forgiven them. Next came something about some sort of journey. Well whatever that was, it had to wait. She still had some things to take care of here. One of those things was convincing her friends to let her stay, regardless of any reason they came up with to send her back. Everything Bôh had just told her could easily be taken care of, but what was Haku's unspoken reason? What could he be hiding that he didn't want anyone to know? And why was that reason so important that she had to go back to the human world? A thought came to Chihiro, one that hurt more than anything that had ever happened to her, and brought on a feeling of deep jealousy. "Bôh, Haku doesn't have a girlfriend, does he?" she asked. Bôh started laughing. "Of course not! He's never had a girlfriend. Well, at least not during the time I've known him, and that was the same day I met you." Chihiro felt sweet relief run through her, but she also felt bad for Haku. "I wonder why. He's good enough to get any girl he wants." She suddenly blushed as she realized what she said. Bôh gave her a big grin. "Chihiro's in love! Chihiro's in love!" Chihiro turned a darker shade of red. "Bôh, cut it out." Bôh giggled. "Are you going to kiss him?" "Bôh!" "What?" the giant baby asked innocently. "You love him and he loves you. Just go kiss him." Chihiro covered her ears. "He doesn't love me."



"Does too! Does too! Does too!" "Bôh, please." She pleaded, with the sound of heartbreak in her voice. "Please, don't do this to me." Bôh frowned when he saw that Chihiro was really upset. "Oh, I'm sorry. But if you love him, why don't you just be his girlfriend?" Chihiro wiped away tears that threatened to fall from her eyes. "We can't be together. I'm a human." "So?" "And he's a spirit." "So?" Did she need to spell it out for him? Probably. "Bôh, I'm only a mortal. You spirits will live forever, but one day I'll die. I'll have to leave Haku, and I'll never be able to come back. I can't break Haku's heart like that." Bôh stared at her with sad eyes before suddenly grabbing her and holding her closely, almost as if she'd disappear if he let go. "No, Chihiro!" he cried. "You can't die! I don't want you to go! I'll hold onto so you can't leave!" If Bôh didn't loosen his grip soon, Chihiro would only have a short while to live, because he was suffocating her. "Bôh… I can't… breath…" she struggled to say. "Air… need… air…" It wasn't easy, but she managed to move herself into a position so that she could breath. "Don't die, Chihiro!" Bôh shouted, as he started to cry. "You're my best friend! Please don't die!" Chihiro smiled sadly. "Bôh, I don't have a choice. That's just the way mortality works." Bôh finally let her go. "Then we'll make you immortal!" he cried happily, as if simply saying it was going to make it happen. Chihiro patted his arm. "I would like that, but no one has that kind of power, Bôh." "How about mama? Or Haku?" Chihiro shook her head. "I already went over this. No one has that kind of power." Bôh looked liked he was about to cry, but before the tears began flowing, his face lit up as he got another idea. "How about Auntie Zeniba?" "Granny?" asked Chihiro. "She's just as powerful as your mom. She won't be able to help." Bôh shook his head. "You forget, Auntie Zeniba has a very powerful magic object. Remember?" Chihiro's eyes widened. "The golden seal!" she practically shouted.



Bôh nodded happily. "That may be your best chance." Chihiro tried not to get her hopes up. "It's worth a shot." She said, but then her hopes came crashing down. "But how am I supposed to get to Swamp Bottom? I don't have money to buy tickets." Bôh didn't seem fazed by this at all. "No problem. I have tickets." "What?" cried Chihiro, clearly surprised by this. Bôh nodded. "Ever since you left, I've been going to visit Auntie Zeniba every month. I go by myself because mama still fights with her sister too much. But I haven't gone yet this month; so you can have my tickets." Chihiro's mind was racing. This could be her only chance. At the very least she would get to see Granny again. She had nothing to lose and everything to gain. "Bôh, thank you so much. I don't know what to say." Bôh waved his chubby hand. "Don't thank me. I would do anything for you, Chihiro. You were my first and best friend. You showed me that there is a whole world outside my bedroom. Oh, but we should probably keep this a secret from mama." Chihiro nodded. "Good plan. She wouldn't want me going on another vacation after just getting back. So, how are you going to get the tickets?" Bôh smiled, almost evilly. "I'll take care of that. Just wait by the railroad tracks after everyone is asleep and leave the rest to me." (-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-) Chihiro did what Bôh told her. After the entire bathhouse was asleep, she went straight to the railroad tracks to wait for the train. The only problem was that she didn't have the tickets yet. 'Bôh better hurry up, or else I'll miss the train.' She thought. 'What time does it come anyway?' As she waited, she thought back on the day. She'd had worse, but she had also had better. Although she had already forgiven them, she pretended to still be mad at her friends to avoid any suspicion. She didn't want them trying to stop her from going to Zeniba's, not that they could anyway. A loud screech caught her attention and Chihiro looked up to see Yu-bird flying towards her, clutched in her clawed foot were the train tickets Bôh had promised her. Yu-bird landed on her shoulder and dropped the tickets in her hand. Chihiro took them but gave Yu-bird an angry look. "Trying to make up for lying to me?" she asked. Yu-bird hung her head. Chihiro felt the last of her anger at being betrayed leave her. "I'm still upset that you guys lied to me like that, but I forgive you." Yu-bird screeched happily and Chihiro stroked her feathers. She stayed with Chihiro until the train finally pulled up 20 minutes later. She handed the shadow spirit her ticket, wondering if it was the same one as last time, and told him of her destination. Yu-bird followed her onto the train.



"Oh, I didn't know you were coming too." she said. Yu-bird nodded. "Ok then. Let's find a seat." The train began moving as Chihiro sat down. She watched the bathhouse slowly fade in the distance, hoping that the next time she returned, she would no longer be a mortal.



Chapter 11: Thinking Things Through The train ride was so boring. It probably would have been better had Chihiro been able to actually talk to Yu-bird. True, she could speak to her friend, but she could not understand Yu-bird's squawks and screeches; she wondered if Yubaba could. She spent a majority of the time thinking about what had been happening the past few days. She was so confused with everything, mostly about her relationship with Haku. She wondered where they stood. She knew she loved him with all her heart and soul, but she wondered how he felt about her. They were more than friends, she could tell that much, but how much more? Could he even feel that way about a pathetic mortal? Everyone said that he loved her, but she just couldn't see how it was possible. Was it true that she honestly couldn't see what was always out in the open? It sounded like something from out of a love story. But this was not a story. This was real life, and real life was not always fair. There wasn't always a happy ending. She hoped that she would get hers, but hoping didn't do anything. She had to actually go and make her dreams come true. And that is what she was doing now. She desperately hoped that Zeniba would be able to help her. If becoming a spirit was the only way she could be with Haku, then she would go for it. But even then there would be no guaranty that she and Haku would be together. Yes, she loved him, but if he didn't return her feelings… The thought tore at her heart. But at least as a spirit she would have a chance. That is, considering that Zeniba could even help her. The golden seal did increase the old witch's powers, but would she be able to do change Chihiro's existence as a human to an immortal? That was the big question. But it wasn't the only question Chihiro had. She was also confused about her socalled fortune. Lord Okaia's messenger had made it clear that there would be something happening in Chihiro's future, but he left her completely in the dark about what it would be. She tried thinking back to what the messenger had said, but she couldn't exactly remember. A lot had happened and she was having trouble comprehending everything. According to her 'reading', she was going to have her trust broken by those closest to her and thus she would turn to others for help. Well that certainly happened. After finding out about her friends' intentions to send her back to the human world, they had broken her trust, and now here she was, on her way to Zeniba's, to get help from others. She also remembered that she would forgive her friends for lying to her, and even though she wanted to stay mad, she did find herself forgiving them. She was also supposed to be tested by the emotions of joy, sorrow, and anger. She didn't have a clue as to what that was supposed to mean. She would ask Lord Okaia when she met him, which, according to her reading, was supposed t happen. She gulped nervously at the idea of meeting the most powerful sorcerer in the entire spirit world. Why would a being of such power want with her anyway? Only time would tell. "Next stop, Swamp Bottom!"



"That's us." Said Chihiro, relieved that the long ride was over. She got up to leave but received no response from Yu-bird. Looking over, she saw that her friend was fast asleep. She gently poked her. "Hey, Yu-bird, wake up. We're here." Yu-bird slowly opened her eyes and yawned. She jumped onto Chihiro's shoulder and closed her eyes again. "Hey, I'm not a taxi." Chihiro joked. The two exited the train and made their way to Zeniba's house. On the way, they were greeted by the bouncing lantern. "How does it always know when someone arrives?" Chihiro asked, receiving no reply. They reached Zeniba's little house a short while later. It looked exactly the same as Chihiro remembered it. She couldn't wait to see Zeniba and No-Face again and she knocked on the door a little, ok, much harder than necessary. After a few seconds, the door opened and Chihiro and Yu-bird were greeted by a large black shadowy figure wearing a mask. "No-Face." Said Chihiro, happy to see her friend. "Ah?" the monster grunted. Slowly its thin little arms lifted up and he moved forward to wrap them around his long lost friend. "Ah, ah!" "It's great to see you too!" said Chihiro, hugging her friend. "No-Face, don't hog her. You're not the only one that's happy to have her back." Chihiro's face lit up even more at the sound of that familiar voice. No-Face moved aside to allow her entry and Chihiro was reunited with her 'grandmother'. The old witch, looking exactly like her twin sister, Yubaba, smiled at the human. "Chihiro, dear. It has been so long." "Granny!" Chihiro cried. Yu-bird fell off her shoulder as the young woman ran forward and wrapped her arms around the old witch. "Granny, I missed you so much!" Zeniba chuckled. "I missed you too, child. Now stand back so I can take a good look at you." She studied the 'new' Chihiro up and down. "My, my. You have grown into a beautiful young lady. Time really flies by." Chihiro's smile decreased slightly. "For you maybe. Time has just been dragging on for me. I've really missed this world and everyone in it. I've never forgotten it. And look, I still have the hair band you guys made me." She turned around to show the hair band in her hair. Zeniba smiled. "So you do. That's good. I'm glad you kept it. Now take a seat and I'll make us some tea." Chihiro nodded. "Thank you, Granny." She said, sitting down.



Zeniba, using her magic, actually made the tea prepare itself, although she was the one that handed it to Chihiro. Then she sat down and decided that it was time for the two of them to do some catching up. "So, my dear, tell what has been going on." she said. "I'm curious as to how you've been doing. I'm also curious to know why you're here again, not that I'm not glad to see you." Chihiro took a sip of her tea. When the cup moved away from her mouth, Zeniba saw that she was frowning. "It's a long story, Granny." Said Chihiro sadly. "And not a very happy one either." Zeniba returned the frown. "I'm sorry to hear that. Why don't you tell old Granny everything and I'll see what I can do." Chihiro took another sip of tea and started explaining. (-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-) The bathhouse was a very big place, and Chihiro was probably avoiding him, so Haku didn't really worry when he didn't see her at all the next day. But he had to see her. He needed to talk to her, to make her understand. But at the end of the day, when neither he nor Lin had seen her, they began searching. She wasn't in her room, nor was she in the boiler room. None of the other bathhouse employees had seen her that day either. Haku began to worry. "She's probably playing with Bôh again." Said Lin. As soon as she said that, Haku relaxed. It made sense. She was probably too upset about what had happened, but didn't want to be alone. So he and Lin made their way to Yubaba's office. "And what do you two want?" asked the doorknocker rudely. "We're here to see Chihiro." Said Lin, sounding just as rude. The doorknocker snorted. "She's not here. Go away." Haku glared at the doorknocker. He was thinking that Chihiro probably told the doorknocker to say that. "I don't have time for this." he growled. "I need to speak to her now." "I told you, she's not-" Haku ignored the doorknocker and opened the door. "How rude!" The two spirits entered the room, to find a rather irritated Yubaba. She obviously wasn't happy about them just barging in like this. "Yes?" she asked irritably. "We need to talk to Chihiro." Said Haku. Yubaba raised an eyebrow. "So, go talk to her. You don't need my permission." Haku bowed. "Thank you, ma'am." He and Lin headed for Bôh's room.



"Excuse me." Said Yubaba. "But where are you going." "To see Chihiro." Said Lin. "Well she's not here." Haku's eyes widened. He burst into Bôh's room anyway, much to Yubaba's surprise, and found that the doorknocker had been telling the truth. "Where is she?" he cried desperately. He was really getting worried now. "What happened to her?" Yubaba got up and walked over to the paranoid spirit. "What is the problem? You're going to wake Bôh." "She's not in there?" asked Lin. Haku shook his head and Lin began panicking. The three bouncing heads watched the two spirits freak out as Yubaba tried to figure out what the problem was. "Will you two shut up!" she snapped, keeping her voice down so she wouldn't wake her son. "Now what's the problem?" "Chihiro's gone!" shouted Haku. "We can't find her anywhere in the bathhouse!" Lin cried. Yubaba's eyes widened with disbelief. "What?" She reached out with her magic and tried to sense the human. She discovered that they were right. She couldn't sense any humans in or around the bathhouse. "She's not here!" "We just said that!" Lin yelled. Yubaba's fists clenched and unclenched. "That human is going to get it." She growled. (-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-) Chihiro finished her story. Zeniba had been silent through the whole thing, listening to every word the human said. "So I came here hoping that you can help me." Chihiro concluded. Zeniba remained silent as she ran through everything Chihiro had told her. "My child, I am so sorry. I never would have thought you would be so affected by everything that happened. I guess our world really had an impact on you." Chihiro nodded and looked at Zeniba hopefully. "So, can you help me?" she begged. Zeniba's expression was unreadable. Chihiro was wondering what the witch was thinking. Did she have the necessary power, and if she did, would she use it. "Chihiro, I know you think you're making the right decision, but are you absolutely sure about this?" the old witch asked. "Have you thought about all the consequences?"



Chihiro nodded. "I have. Haku, Lin, and Kamajii don't think that I have, but I have. I know that many spirits hate humans. I know that I'll never be able to go back to the human world. And I know I'll never be able to see my parents or any of my human friends again, but I'm willing to make that sacrifice. I don't really have any real friends in the human world, and my parents and I have become so distant. I haven't seen them in four years and we don't talk all that much." Zeniba nodded, but she noticed that Chihiro didn't seem to realize something. "I understand where you're coming from." She said. "But you're only looking at this from one way." Chihiro cocked her head to the side. "What do you mean?" Zeniba sighed. "You're willing to never see them again, but how will they feel? How do you think your parents and friends will feel to never seeing or hearing from you again?" Chihiro's eyes widened with realization. Of course, how could she have not thought about her parents? It would hurt them to lose their only daughter forever. She hung her head shamefully. "You're right. I've been selfish. I didn't think of them. I'm such an idiot." Then another realization hit her. "Oh my gosh. They were right. Haku, Lin, and Kamajii were right. I didn't think this through." Zeniba nodded. "They didn't want you to make a mistake that you would regret later. And who knows what else you may think about as time goes on. If you are going to make a decision like this, you have to think about how it will affect not only you, but everyone." Chihiro nodded in understanding. "You're right. I've been a fool. I'm so stupid!" No-Face laid a hand on her shoulder. "Ah, ah." Whatever he had said, Zeniba agreed with him because she was nodding. "He's right. You're not stupid. You were just rushing things." Chihiro didn't reply. She actually looked close to tears. Zeniba decided that she might need a minute alone. "I'll tell you what dear. We'll leave you alone for awhile and let you think about this." Chihiro nodded and Zeniba, No-Face, and Yu-bird left the room. Chihiro thought about everything Zeniba had said. There was a lot to consider. But she realized something, her friends were right. They had been trying to help her. They didn't want to get rid of her; they just didn't want her to make a choice she would later regret. They didn't exactly handle the situation in the best way, but their intentions were good. She would have to apologize to them later. But before she did that, she needed to settle her own problem here.



Chapter 12: Chihiro's Decision and Haku's Tale Yubaba was furious. How dare her best employee just leave without permission or telling anyone where she was going! Yubaba may not own her anymore since Chihiro remembered her name, but she was still her boss.



"Where could she have gone?" she wondered out loud. "She's not in the area; I would have been able to sense her if she was. She couldn't have returned to the human world yet since the gate hasn't been opened. So where did she go?" Haku was really worried. What could have happened to her? He would never forgive himself if she was harmed in any way. Humans tended to do stupid things when they were angry or upset, and he had really upset her. He mentally kicked himself for the thousandth time. "Oh no!" Lin cried. "What if a spirit that hates humans did something to her?" Haku felt his insides freeze. Why did she have to say something like that? If spirits were capable of having heart attacks, Haku thought he might have had one. "Don't be ridiculous." Yubaba snapped impatiently. "I'm sure we would have been made aware of something like that happening." Lin glared at the old witch. "Oh, nice to know that you care." She said sarcastically. Haku was still trying to calm his racing heart. The thought of a spirit harming Chihiro in anyway scared and angered him more than anything he ever felt. Although he and Chihiro weren't together, he was feeling his dragon instincts coming forth with the need to protect its mate, even though she wasn't. He would tear anyone that tried to hurt her limb from limb. Yubaba continued pacing back and forth. "She must have run off again. Although, I have no idea where or why. She just had a vacation." She stopped pacing and started thinking back to the last time the human had been in her office to see her son. The girl had seemed a little… out of it. She turned to Lin and Haku. Where they involved with Chihiro's behavior? Why else would they need to talk to her so desperately? "Haku, Lin, would you have any idea why Chihiro would suddenly feel the need to run off?" she asked. The answer was written on their guilty faces. "We had a… disagreement yesterday." Lin confessed. "It didn't go so well and she's a little mad at us." Yubaba sat down again, sighing. "Well, that would explain her behavior. Ah, humans are so strange. But where would she go? She hasn't been anywhere else in this world besides the bathhouse, Haku's river, and my sis…" Yubaba trailed off as she realized what Chihiro had done. "Of course. The girl has gone to see Zeniba. Her so-called Granny. Great, just great." Haku and Lin looked at each other. Of course, Zeniba. It was the only other place Chihiro would go to. "But how would she get there?" Lin asked no one in particular. Yubaba tapped her chin. "How did she get there last time? I know Haku brought her back, but I'm sure she didn't get there the same way." "She took the train last time." Haku explained. "Kamajii gave her some tickets he'd been saving." Yubaba's eyes narrowed. "Oh, he did, did he? I wondered about that. Well since the boiler man doesn't know where she is, I believe it's safe to say that she didn't get more tickets from him. And besides the train, how else could a human get there? Where would she get the tic-"



Yubaba suddenly stopped talking. For a moment she looked at a loss for words, but then she shook it off, laughing. "No, she couldn't have. She wouldn't. She better not have." The old witch opened one of the drawers and gasped. "SHE DID!" Yubaba's teeth clenched together tightly in her anger and smoke began seeping through the space between her teeth. Haku and Lin didn't know what the problem was, but whatever Chihiro did, it must have been bad to make the witch this angry. "It don't believe it! She actually stole from me!" Yubaba shouted, as fire shot out of her mouth with each word. "That no good, ungrateful, thieving human!" Lin took a step back. "Uh, ma'am, is there a problem?" she asked, although it wasn't necessary since there clearly was a problem. Yubaba turned angrily to her. "Yes, there's a problem! That brat stole the train tickets that were supposed to be for Bôh when he visited my no good sister! I can't believe it! She actually snuck into myoffice and stole from me!" "She couldn't have." Said Haku, trying to defend Chihiro. "No one can get in here undetected." Which was true. The doorknocker was aware of all those that entered. Yubaba only seemed to get angrier. "You're right. A human couldn't have. She must have had help! But who would…" She was interrupted by the three-bouncing-heads grunting at her. "Huh? What's that?" Yubaba looked around the room. "You're right, Yu-bird isn't here. In fact, I haven't seen her since yesterday. She must have gotten the tickets for her. That traitor! I'll make sure to punish her. And as for Chihiro, oh boy, is she in trouble. When she gets back, I'm sending her to the pigpen for a week. That'll teach her." Anger flared in Haku. He stepped forward, right up to Yubaba. "You will do no such thing." He said in a dangerous voice. Yubaba whirled around to face him. "How dare you tell me what I will or will not do with my employees! Don't forget, Haku, you may have you're name back, but you still work for me. So does Chihiro. And I have every right to punish her for what she's done!" Haku didn't back down. He hadn't been in this kind of position in 12 years; not since the time Yubaba accused him of kidnapping Bôh. But this time he didn't just stand his ground; he actually took a step forward. "You will never, ever harm Chihiro in anyway." He said threateningly in a voice as cold as ice. "Never, do you understand me?" Yubaba reached her boiling point. "SILENCE DRAGON! I'll do whatever I please, and you have no say in the matter!" "Are you challenging me?" Haku demanded. His own magic began flaring up. He would never let anything happen to Chihiro. Yubaba was forced to take a step back from the intensity of Haku's power. Her anger was now mixed with a bit of fear, and she knew Haku could smell it. She may be his boss, but Haku was much more powerful than she was. There was no way she could challenge him. Without her control slug inside him, he was free to do whatever he wanted.



Reluctantly, Yubaba took a deep breath and calmed herself. Haku too settled down, seeing that the witch was calming down, though she was still very mad. "No, Haku." Yubaba growled. "You know I can't challenge you. Very well, I won't punish her. BUT I want her back, and since I'm not welcome at my sister's you can go get her." Haku nodded. He had been planning on being the one to go anyway. She and him would need to have a long talk before coming back. It was time they finally settled their argument. "I'll leave immediately." He said. He went over to the window and changed into his dragon form. He took off and the window slammed shut behind him. Lin was now left alone with the very angry witch. She was suddenly feeling very uncomfortable, and it got even worse when Yubaba turned to her. "Uh…" Lin muttered. "Can I… uh… get you anything, ma'am?" Yubaba glared at her. "Just get back to work!" (-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-) Zeniba, No-Face, and Yu-bird patiently waited for Chihiro to make her decision. So far it had been about 20 minutes and she had yet to say anything. Zeniba gave her all the time she needed. It would not be any easy choice, no matter what she decided. She just hoped the human would listen to her heart and make the right choice. But whatever she decided, Zeniba would support her. After another 10 minutes, Chihiro rejoined the others. Zeniba looked up as the human entered the room. "Hello, dear." She said kindly. "Is everything alright?" That was actually a rather stupid question, since, judging by the depressed look on Chihiro's face, everything was not alright. Chihiro nodded anyway. "I've made my decision." she said. Zeniba sat down, waiting for Chihiro to say what she wanted. "Yes dear, what have you decided?" Chihiro looked close to tears. Zeniba felt bad for the girl. This must have been hard for her. "Remember when I told you about my reading?" she asked. Zeniba nodded. "Well, according to Lord Okaia's prediction, no matter what I decide, someone I love will get hurt. If I decide to stay, my parents will be hurt because they'll never be able to see me again. But if I decide to go back, everyone I love here will be hurt for the same reason; not to mention I'll be miserable again. It's not fair!" Zeniba closed her eyes, not wanting to see the girl so upset. "Life rarely is. But it's your life, Chihiro, no one else's. Only you can decide your future." Chihiro nodded in understanding. "I know. I also know that I have no future in the human world. I was always just a hollow shell of life these past 12 years. I'll die if I go back. That's why, even if I do end up hurting someone, I've decided to stay." Zeniba smiled. She knew Chihiro would decide that, but she needed to make the girl aware of exactly what she was deciding. It hurt her to put Chihiro through this pain, but it was necessary.



"Then I support your decision." said Zeniba happily. "I am just sorry you will suffer the loss of your parents." Chihiro frowned. "But staying isn't enough." Zeniba raised an eyebrow. "This place is the only home I've ever really had, but that's not the main reason I want to stay." Zeniba's face was emotionless as she said, "Haku." Chihiro nodded. "I love him, Granny. I love him so much. No matter what world I live in, there will always be this empty void in my heart without him." Tears began running down Chihiro's cheeks. Zeniba's heart went out to the girl. "I know, dear. You've loved him since you were 10." Chihiro nodded again. "But I know we can't be together. Not as long as I'm mortal. Which brings me back to the main reason I came here." Zeniba sighed and got up to retrieve her golden seal. "Chihiro, do you know how I got this?" Chihiro shook her head. "It was given to me by my father. You see, he was a very powerful wizard, but he was really struggling to find a place in this world. This was many thousands of years ago, of course; before me and Yubaba were even born. One day he met a very powerful witch. Together they build the bathhouse my sister owns." "Why did she get it?" Chihiro asked. "I was getting to that, dear." Said Zeniba. "After several thousand years, our parents' bathhouse became the most famous one in the entire spirit world. But after about 60,000 years of running the business, our parents decided to retire. They were going to hand the business down to one of us. But my sister and I just couldn't get along, and working with each other was out of the question. So our parents combined their magic and created this golden seal. They made us decide which we would want, a great business, or a great magical item. "Yubaba was the one that chose. She was always so greedy, and the thought of owning the most famous bathhouse was too tempting for her. So she got the bathhouse and I got the golden seal. But she was too greedy to stop there. So she came after my golden seal. I thought that putting a deadly curse on it would make her give up trying to steal it, though I hoped that the curse would never be put into motion, but that didn't work, as you should know." Chihiro nodded. "That was when she forced Haku to steal it." "Yes, it was." Said Zeniba. "I don't blame Haku though. It was my sister's doing. You see, when she inherited the bathhouse, our father made her take an oath to give a job to anyone who asks." "Why?" "Because he remembered how hard it was to get a job when he was still young." Zeniba explained. "Of course, that became a bit of a problem for Yubaba. She had to hire anyone who asked, and that didn't always go so well for her. Several spirits she hired caused a great deal of trouble. That's why she began stealing their names, so she owned them rather than hired them. But some powerful spirits, like Haku, were beyond her control, even when she did steal their name. So she put control slugs inside them so she could control them." Chihiro growled. "The old hag."



Zeniba chuckled. "Yes, it's not very nice. Our parents greatly disapproved of this, but Yubaba was the owner of the bathhouse now and they no longer had control over the business. At least she's mellowed down a bit since you came. She's no longer after my seal either. I really owe you, Chihiro, and I would be happy to help you in anyway I can." Chihiro beamed, but Zeniba frowned. "Unfortunately, I don't have the power to give you want you want." Chihiro's spirits came crashing down. "B-But, you have the golden seal." Zeniba looked at the magical item in her hand. "I'm sorry, dear, but even with the power of my golden seal, something like that is far too great for me." No. It couldn't be. Chihiro had been hoping beyond hope that Zeniba could help her, but it wasn't possible. The witch had been her last hope. Chihiro didn't know why she was surprised; she knew it was a long shot to begin with. Sinking in her chair, tears fell freely from her eyes. "Then it doesn't matter if I stay or not." She whispered. This surprised Zeniba. "What do you mean?" Chihiro wiped her eyes, but the tears kept coming. "This place is the only place I've ever really felt at home, but I can't stay here if I can't be with Haku. It's too painful." This interested Zeniba. She had had a similar conversation with Haku on several occasions. He had said pretty much the same thing: 'It's too painful to have her around knowing that I can't be with her.' Zeniba scratched her chin. She was doing some heavy thinking. "Chihiro, what would you do to be with Haku?" she asked very seriously. Chihiro looked up at the old witch. "Anything." Zeniba began pacing. Chihiro started getting her hopes up again. "Why, is there a way?" Zeniba licked her lips. "It's a long shot, but yes, there may be a way." Chihiro jumped up from the chair and ran over to Zeniba. "How? Tell me!" The old witch stepped back from Chihiro's sudden outburst. "Chihiro, I don't want you to get your hopes up. Understand that this is only a theory. Something like this has never happened before." "I don't care!" Chihiro shouted. "Tell me!" "Ok, ok. Settle down, child." Zeniba took a deep breath. "Alright, I'm thinking about Lord Okaia's prediction. He is a very powerful spirit. And for some reason, you're supposed to go on a quest, one in which you will meet him. Now remember, this is only a theory, but maybe he will be able to help you." Chihiro's face lit up. "You think so?" Zeniba's expression was unreadable. "I don't know. But his powers are far greater than my own." "I'll take the chance!" Chihiro said determinedly. "How do I find him?"



Now Zeniba looked uncomfortable. "Well, that is the problem. No one really knows where he lives… Ah ha! I think I might have a way of finding out." She held up the golden seal. "Show us the way to Lord Okaia." The golden seal floated out of her hand. It turned in the air until the toad at the top was facing a certain direction. Chihiro eyed the seal curiously. "Uh, Granny, what's it doing?" "Showing us the way. The seal is facing in the direction Okaia currently is." Chihiro frowned. "So, it can only point me in the right direction?" Zeniba nodded. "I'm afraid so. Without knowing the exact location, this is all I can do." Chihiro stared at the seal for a moment before her eyes narrowed. "Ok, I'm going for it." Zeniba turned to her. "Chihiro, are you sure you know what you're doing?" She needed to make the girl know exactly what she was getting herself into. "The spirit world is very dangerous to humans. And that's not even counting the spirits that despise your kind. You'll also need to make sure you get plenty to eat so you won't disappear." Chihiro angrily stamped her foot. "I am so tired of everyone treating me like some fragile little child! I am 22 years old! That may be very young to you spirits, but it's not to humans. I want to do what I want and not what everyone else wants for me. So stop trying to change my mind. I've made my choice, why can't anyone accept that?" Zeniba's mouth was literally hanging open. This was a new side to Chihiro that she hadn't seen before. Seeing the look on Zeniba's face, Chihiro suddenly felt guilty. She didn't mean to lose her patience like that, but she was tired of being treated like a kid. "I'm sorry, Granny." She said. "I didn't mean to-" Zeniba suddenly started laughing, much to Chihiro's bewilderment. "Oh Chihiro, dear, you certainly have grown up." She said. "You aren't afraid to go for what you want or to speak for yourself. I respect that. And don't worry, you didn't upset me. I don't blame you for losing you patience either. This has been a very emotional time for you." Chihiro gave the witch a guilty smile. "Sorry, I shouldn't have shouted." Zeniba just waved it off. "Forget about it. We all lose our temper sometimes. But if you're serious about doing this, it will probably be better to leave sooner rather than later." The old witch went to prepare a few things for Chihiro's journey. "Since you got here with Bôh's train tickets, you can take the ones that he would use to get back. You can take the train for as far as you can without getting off the seal's course. After that, you'll have to go on foot. I'm not sure how far away it is, he may live on the other side of the world. For your sake, I hope he doesn't. You'll have to be well prepared and leave as soon as possible." "Why?" Chihiro asked. Zeniba seemed surprised that she had to ask. "I'm sure by now my sister has realized you're gone and has already sent someone to collect you."



(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-) Haku flew towards Swamp Bottom. Even in dragon form it would take awhile to get there. He hoped Zeniba would be able to calm Chihiro down. She was pretty upset the last time he had seen her; not that he could blame her. He had let her down several times, lied to her, and snuck around behind her back. She had every right to be mad at him. 'Chihiro, please forgive me.' The dragon thought. 'I never wanted to hurt you. I've been such a fool.' Tears crept up into the dragon's eyes. He would do anything for Chihiro. He loved her so much. He didn't think he could live without her, but it looked like he might be losing her. She had done so much for him, and he had lied and hurt her in return. As Haku flew, he reflected back on his life and how much Chihiro had played a part in it. He had once been an ordinary river spirit. He had never thought badly of humans, but he never did allow himself known to them better; that would just cause trouble for the spirit world. When spirits got involved with humans, it normally caused problems. So he would ignore them and let them go on with their lives. But then she came. Hake had been one with his river at the time, when suddenly a little pink shoe fell into his river. A little girl was trying to reach in and grab it. But then she slipped and fell in. Haku felt her struggling to swim, but she was yet too young. He knew she would drown. It was a rule of the spirit world not to get involved with humans, even if it meant the human's death. All it would do was cause the spirits trouble. But Haku couldn't just let this little girl drown. So he separated himself from his river and took on his dragon form. Unfortunately her parents were nearby, so he could not bring her to shore without being seen. Dragging her down his river, he waited until her parents were out of sight before leading her to shore. Once she was safe, he reunited with his river and waited for her parents to arrive. "Chihiro!" her mother had cried. "Are you alright?" "I'm fine, mommy." The girl, Chihiro, had said. "The dragon saved me." If Haku were had been able to smile while united with his river, he would have. Knowing that the girl would be all right he moved on. Or so he had thought. For some reason he kept thinking about the little human. "The dragon saved me." Yes, he had saved her, but she was just a human. She had been in his river for only a few minutes, but Haku seemed to have gotten fond of her. He didn't know why. Humans have been in his river before, but he never gave a second thought about it. But there was something different about this human. He wondered if he would ever see her again. He doubted it since she would most likely be terrified of being anywhere near the water for a while. A couple weeks later, he had decided to leave his river for a while. Perhaps a little vacation would take his mind off the human. He took his human form. It was always that of a child. Why a child, he wasn't sure. Ever since he reached his childhood, he had never wanted to grow up; he never had a reason to. Then he went to Yubaba's bathhouse. The best bathhouse in the entire spirit world. He was just a customer at the time, but he never would have guessed what fate had in store for him. As it turned out, Yubaba had been searching for an apprentice. She approached Haku and offered him the job. The river



spirit was curious. Sure, he was already very powerful, but why not learn some more? After all, he was immortal, and had all the time in the world. And so his training began. For three years he was trained by Yubaba, but during that time he learned that being the witch's apprentice wasn't as great as it sounded. The witch was cold hearted and greedy, and she wouldn't let Haku return to his river. And strangely enough, he no longer felt a connection to his river. It was almost as if a magical barrier had been placed between the two. One day Haku had had enough. He was on his way to Yubaba's office when he heard the witch talking to Yu-bird and the three green heads. "Haku is becoming a bit of a nuisance." The witch was saying. "He won't leave his river. I should have expected this. Spirits bound to something can't let it go. They'll remain connected to it until it's no more. Well lucky for me, even if Haku does try to get back to his river he won't be able to find it. My shield spell is working perfectly, and now, thanks to the humans, he won't be able to find it at all." Haku was shocked by this. The witch had been manipulating him to get him to stay. She was blocking his connection with his river while the humans did whatever they were doing to his river. How long had this been going on? Anger filled the river spirit. He burst into Yubaba's office and demanded to know everything. When the witch had told him everything he needed to know, he returned to his river, but found that Yubaba was right. His river was gone. Instead a small human development was where he believed his river once was. He had no idea it was still flowing underneath the apartments, but he did know that it was still around. He would have felt if his river died, magic shield or not. Determine to find it, Haku returned to the bathhouse to see Yubaba. He discovered that while he had been gone, the witch had had an enchanted doorknocker installed to prevent further eavesdropping. Haku demanded to know where his river was. Since Yubaba had been blocking his connection, she would know exactly where it was. But Yubaba refused to tell him unless he agreed to sign a contract that would officially make him her apprentice. Reluctantly, Haku agreed. However, he did not expect to have his name stolen. When this happened he tried to get out of his contract, but the witch owned him now. Still he refused to obey her, so the witch put a control slug inside him to force him to obey. For the next three years, he was forced to do Yubaba's bidding. He tried everything he could think of to get his name back, but was unsuccessful. It seemed he wouldn't be able to get out of his contract after all. Then she came to him again. The human girl, Chihiro. She had grown in the past 6 years, but he still recognized her by her scent. He tried to spare her from suffering his fate, but then her parents got turned into pigs and she was forced to stay. Haku swore to protect her, just like he did 6 years ago. As it turned out, she saved him. Not only did she save his life, but she also freed him from Yubaba's control, gave him back his name, and revealed the location of his river. He was sad to see her go, but he knew she had to leave. It was for the best, but Haku didn't want her to go. He became very depressed afterwards. There was something about her that wouldn't leave him alone. It took him awhile to realize it, but he eventually figured it out. He loved her. Not the kind of way that he loved her now, but he loved her just the same. Without her, his life felt incomplete, even when he had his river and freedom back.



Haku knew he had promised to see her again, but it was too painful to. And even when he wanted to, he couldn't not with his river covered up. But she still found ways to be with him. She would go to small streams that were from his river that hadn't been buried. Then she actually came back to him. He was overjoyed, while at the same time crushed. Over the years, his love had grown into a romantic love for her. He wanted her to be with him so badly, but he turned her away, thinking he was doing the right thing by letting her go. He now realized how wrong he was. She didn't want to leave, and he didn't want her to. Besides, who was he to decide how she lived. He had been such a fool. 'Chihiro, I'm coming for you. I can't live without you. I don't care that you're a human. I don't care that you're mortal. I love you! Please don't do anything reckless.' Haku put on burst of speed, determine to see his love again and right what he had wronged.



Chapter 13: It Begins According to Zeniba, a train stopped at each train station every two hours. And so, after getting ready for what could be a very long journey, Chihiro was standing by the train stop with Zeniba, No-Face, and Yu-bird. Chihiro would be lying if she said she wasn't nervous. She had no idea where she would be going or what she would be doing. All she had was the golden seal to guide her. After waiting about 40 minutes, the train pulled up. Chihiro handed the shadow spirit the tickets, but was unable to give he destination since the golden seal would be telling her where to go. "I'm being guided by this seal." She said, pointing t the floating magical object. "It tells me where to go." The shadow spirit eyed her strangely before shrugging and moving aside to let her on. She was surprised when No-Face got on with her. "You're coming too?" No-Face nodded. "Ah." Yu-bird screeched and landed on Chihiro's shoulder. "You want to come too?" Yu-bird nodded. "Chihiro," Zeniba spoke up, "remember your reading. 'You will forgive those that have hurt you, but you can not turn to them for help during your journey.' Yu-bird wasn't meant to go with you." Chihiro looked at her friend. Yu-bird hung her head, looking sad. The shadow spirit was getting impatient. He cleared his throat and pointed to his watch. Chihiro looked at Yu-bird again and a determine look came over her face. "Forget the stupid reading." She growled. "I'm tired of everyone trying to get me to do what they want. Of course you can come, Yu-bird." Yu-bird smiled and flapped her wings happily.



Zeniba waved goodbye to the three of them as the train started moving. "See you soon, dear." "Bye, Granny. And thank you." Chihiro called back. No-Face gently tugged on Chihiro's sleeve and pointed to some empty seats. "Ah, ah." Chihiro nodded and they headed over to the seats, though Yu-bird was perfectly happy staying on Chihiro's shoulder. However, when they got to the seats, the spirit sitting next to them wasn't too friendly. "Go away, human. I don't like your kind." Chihiro frowned. "But there's nowhere else to sit, at least not together." The spirit folded his arms. "Too bad. You shouldn't be here anyway." No-Face stepped up to the spirit and growled at him, exposing his large mouth that could swallow the spirit in one gulp. The spirit slid back in his seat and didn't say anything else. No-Face turned to Chihiro and motioned for her to sit. "Uh, thanks, No-Face." Chihiro said, taking the seat furthest away from the grumpy spirit. They sat quietly for a few minutes. The grumpy spirit didn't say anything else. But, but he did occasionally give Chihiro looks of dislike and No-Face looks of fear. "Don't worry about it. Some spirits are just like that." Chihiro looked around for the source of the voice. She recognized it, but it couldn't be her. "Right here, dear." Next to Chihiro was a paper cutout of some sort of bird. Chihiro recognized it as one of the paper bird things that had attacked Haku 12 years ago. "Granny?" The paper 'bird' snickered. "You didn't think I would let you go without a way to keep an eye on you, did you?" (-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-) Haku was flying as fast as he could. He was almost at Zeniba's house. He hoped he would find her there. 'Of course you will. Where else would she be?' Haku thought. Little did the river spirit know, that the human he was searching for had already left several hours ago. But he was unaware of what she and the old witch had planned and was in for a rude awakening. Zeniba's cottage came into view and the dragon came in for a landing. The rush of wind alerted the old witch that she had another visitor. "Took him long enough." She muttered.



The door burst open and a very worried Haku came in. "Zeniba, where is she?" he asked. Zeniba raised an eyebrow. "Hello, Haku. Good to see you too. Why don't you come in?" Haku suddenly felt embarrassed for his rude entry. He had been in such a hurry that he had forgot his manners. He bowed apologetically to the old witch. "Forgive me for my rudeness. I was not thinking clearly." Zeniba nodded. "You are forgiven. So, what brings you here?" Haku had to resist the urge to roll his eyes. He knew that Zeniba was perfectly aware of why he was here; he even told her. And he knew Chihiro was here. He could smell her scent. "Where is Chihiro?" he asked. Zeniba shrugged. "Not here." Haku felt his heart rate speed up. "What?" he cried. "What do you mean she's not here?" "Just what I said. She's not here." Haku sniffed the air. "But her scent is still fresh." Zeniba nodded. "Yes, she was here. But she left." "Where did she go? Back to the bathhouse?" He hoped so. Zeniba shook her head. "No. I'm not entirely sure where she went, but she's gone to find Lord Okaia." "She's gone to what?" "She's gone to find Lord-" "I heard you!" Haku's mind was racing. "You let her go off into the spirit world all on her own?" Zeniba actually laughed. "Of course not. I'm perfectly aware of the dangers the spirit world poses against humans. No-Face and Yu-bird are with her. I'm keeping an eye on her as well." The gem on her head glowed for a moment and Haku immediately knew how Zeniba was watching her granddaughter. "Let me speak to her." He demanded. Zeniba narrowed her eyes. "You could be a little nicer about it." "Zeniba." The witch sighed. "Oh, alright."



She closed her eyes. The gem on her forehead began to glow again before it showed what Zeniba was seeing from the view of her paper 'bird'. Haku could see Chihiro sitting on the train with Yu-bird perched on her shoulder sleeping soundly. Haku sighed in relief. Thank goodness she was all right. "Chihiro, there's someone that wants to speak with you." Zeniba said. Her voice echoed as Haku heard her voice come from the paper 'bird' as well as from Zeniba's actual mouth. Chihiro eyed the paper 'bird' curiously. "Um, ok. Who?" Zeniba, eyes still closed, addressed the river spirit. "Ok, you may speak now." "Chihiro!" Haku cried. "No need to shout." Zeniba muttered. Chihiro's eyes widened as Haku's voice came from the paper 'bird' instead of Zeniba's. "Haku? What are you doing?" "What are you doing?" Chihiro folded her arms. "Going to see Lord Okaia." She said this like it was no big deal. "I know that." Haku cried impatiently. "Why?" Chihiro gave the 'bird' a bored look. "Because he may be the only one who can help me." No-Face nodded along with what she was saying as Yu-bird continued snoozing. Haku, forgetting exactly how he was communicating with his love, grabbed Zeniba's large head and cried at the gem. "Chihiro, please come back. The spirit world is dangerous for humans. I don't want you to get hurt." "I'll be fine, Haku. I've got Yu-bird and No-Face with me. Even Granny is here, sort of. I can take care of myself." "Why didn't you ask me for help?" Haku asked. He realized a moment later how stupid of a question that was. Chihiro seemed to get slightly frustrated. "Gee, I wonder why. Maybe because you were going to force me to go back to the human world, and that is exactly what I'm trying to prevent." Guilt filled the river spirit. "Chihiro, I'm really sorry about that. It was a mistake trying to force you to go back. I hope you can forgive me. And I promise that I won't try and make you go back if you don't want to." Chihiro glared at the paper 'bird' for a while before her expression softened. "Do you really mean that, Haku?" The river spirit nodded. "Yes, Chihiro. Please forgive me." To his surprise, Chihiro actually smiled. "I already have. I could never stay mad at you."



Haku relaxed. Everything was going to be ok after all. "Good. Tell me where you are and I'll come get you." Chihiro shook her head. "I can't do that. I have to go see if Lord Okaia can help me." "But I already said you could stay." "I'm not going to him so I can stay, I'm going to him to see if he can turn me into a spirit." "Turn you into a spirit?" he repeated. "But Chihiro-" "No buts, Haku!" Chihiro snapped, getting irritated again. "This is something I have to do. It's not just so I can stay. There's… another reason." Haku was confused. She had never mentioned another reason. "What other reason? Maybe I can help." Chihiro blushed. "No, you can't." "Why not? Just tell me what it is." Chihiro hid her face in her hands to hide her blushing. "I can't. It's personal." Haku was smart, but he could be clueless at times. "Chihiro, I care about you more than you'll ever know. If something is wrong, I want to know. I want to help, but you have to tell me what's wrong." Chihiro removed her hands from her face. She was beet red. Haku didn't think anyone could turn that red. "It's because I love you, ok!" she shouted. Haku was taken aback. Her words didn't quite register. The only time he ever thought he would ever hear that would be in his dreams. "What did you say?" he whispered, not believing his ears. "You heard me! I love you, Nigihayami Kohaku Nushi! I have ever since I was a little girl. You must have had some idea since I broke Granny's curse, and only love can break it. I loved you then, and I love you now even more. And I don't care if you feel the same about me." Haku was speechless. He had imagined this moment, but he never thought that it would ever happen. Was this really happening? "I didn't think you would ever feel that way about me." He murmured. "Well I do. And I want to, no, I need to have you in my life; even if it's only as a friend. But if there was any chance that we could be together, it wouldn't be possible if I remain a mortal." "Chihiro-" "No, Haku, I'm talking now. This is my choice and no one else's. I'm doing this because it's what my heart tells me to do."



She hid her face in her hands again. Haku just stared at her. This was… great. No, this was wonderful! She did love him! She told him so herself. All the jokes and teasing everyone had made about him were all true. And he loved her too. If there was ever going to be a chance to tell her, this would be it. "Chihiro, I…" But before he could say anything, his view of her in Zeniba's gem began to fade. "Chihiro? Chihiro! Wait!" The vision was completely gone now. The connection had been broken. No, not now. "Zeniba, bring her back! Let me speak to her! I have to tell her!" Zeniba didn't reply, but the gem on her head began to glow again. The old witch's eyes suddenly snapped open. Silver light erupted from the gem on her head, as well as from her eyes and mouth. Haku jumped back in shock as Zeniba began glowing. "What the…" Then Zeniba spoke, but it was not in her own voice. "Back off, Kohaku!" Haku took another step back. He didn't have a clue as to what was going on. One minute he was begging the witch to let him speak to Chihiro again, the next she was acting like she was under a spell. "What?" "I said, back off." Zeniba repeated. Haku realized something when the old witch spoke the second time. Someone else's voice was speaking along with hers in perfect unison. He also sensed a powerful magic within the room, along with the presence of another spirit. "They're using Zeniba as a puppet." Haku realized. "Who are you? Why are you speaking through Zeniba? Why did you cut me off from Chihiro?" The being enchanting Zeniba pointed a finger at the river spirit. "Leave the human alone. She must do this alone." Haku became angry. "Who are you to order me around?" The silver light grew brighter. "Who do you think I am? What other spirit knows of what is happening between you and the human outside of the bathhouse?" Haku thought for a moment before he suddenly realized who he was talking to. "Lord Okaia?" Zeniba, or rather the person controlling Zeniba, smiled. "Very good, Kohaku. And I am telling you to leave Chihiro alone and let her do as she wishes." Haku suddenly became angry again. "Why did you cut me off from her? Why won't you let me speak with her?" Lord Okaia/Zeniba sighed. "You now know how she feels. But I cannot allow you to tell her of your feelings yet." "Why not?" Lord Okaia was getting irritated with Haku's attitude and he raised his voice. "Because this is her quest! Her decision! She is doing this for herself. You are not to interfere. These are playing out as I have



foreseen them… mostly. The future is not completely set in stone, but please, trust my judgment, Kohaku. She must follow her own heart and no one else's." Haku could understand what Lord Okaia was saying, but he wasn't happy about it one bit. "If she is going to do this, then I am going to be there with her." "No, Kohaku." Lord Okaia said, all traces of anger gone. "She must do this without you. But you're part will come. Trust me on this. Go back to the bathhouse. All will be well. Trust in your human. Trust in your love." Zeniba's eyes closed and the light faded. The old witch looked a little disorientated, but perfectly all right. "Oh, I feel lightheaded." She moaned. "I wish I had a warning before being enchanted." Haku was still frustrated. He didn't care what Lord Okaia said; he was going to tell Chihiro now. He couldn't wait any longer. "Zeniba, let me speak to Chihiro. I don't care what Lord Okaia said." Zeniba rubbed her head. "Alright, one moment." She closed her eyes and focused. The gem on her head glowed faintly but did nothing else. Zeniba opened her eyes. "I can't, the connection is being blocked." Haku growled in frustration. Lord Okaia was one step ahead of him. Why did the stupid sorcerer have to be so powerful? He turned to leave. Zeniba eyed him suspiciously. "Where are you going?" "To find Chihiro." Haku replied. "But Lord Okaia said-" "I don't care!" Haku shouted. Zeniba jumped back in surprise. "I am not going to abandon her again! I am not going to let her just wander around the spirit world unprotected! I'm going, and no one can stop me!" "But you don't even know where she is." Haku didn't even look back. "She's on a train. If I follow the tracks, checking each one I'll find her eventually." Zeniba rolled her eyes. "She's not going to stay on the train forever. She's hours ahead of you. She'll more than likely get off before you reach her train." "That may be, but a dragon can always find its mate no matter where they are." Zeniba chuckled at that. "She's not your mate… Not yet anyway." Haku actually smiled. "No, but the dragon in me already recognizes her as my mate. And that will be enough." Without another word, he turned into his dragon form and took off. Zeniba watched him go. As he left, she felt the connection between her and the paper 'bird' open again. She chuckled to herself. "That dragon. He's so stubborn. And so in love."



(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-) Chihiro was both physically and mentally exhausted. Her 'confession' took a lot out of her. She wondered why the connection broke, but didn't dwell on it. It was probably for the best. She had already embarrassed herself enough for one day. "Oh, what must Haku think of me now?" she muttered. "He must think I'm pathetic." The paper 'bird' chuckled. "Don't put yourself down." Zeniba said. "If it helps, I think Haku is feeling the same way as you, pathetic." Chihiro groaned and rubbed her eyes. "Granny, please, I'm not in the mood." The paper 'bird' patted her on the shoulder, being careful not to disturb the sleeping Yu-bird. "Why don't you rest for awhile, dear? I'll keep watch on the seal." Chihiro was very grateful for Zeniba's offer. She was already half asleep. "Thank you, Granny. I really… appreciate… it…" She was asleep within seconds. (-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-) It was bright. Very bright. Everywhere Chihiro looked, she was surrounded by silver light. "Hello!" she called. All she got in return was her echo. What was going on? Where was everybody? Wasn't she just on the train? "Granny, No-Face, Yu-bird! Is anybody here?" "I'm here." Chihiro jumped a mile at the unexpected, unrecognizable voice. She turned around and found that she wasn't alone. Someone, or something was here with her. It was the blurry shadow of a man. It wasn't big, only about a foot, and it wiggled like a fire. Two holes around the head served as eyes. Chihiro cautiously took a step back. She remembered all the warnings of how the spirit world could be dangerous to humans and she wasn't taking any chances. "You have nothing to fear from me, Chihiro." The ghostly figure said. Chihiro gave the figure a suspicious look. "How do you know my name? Who are you?" The figure chuckled. "How rude of me. Allow me to introduce myself. I am none other than Lord Okaia." "You?" Chihiro cried in surprise. She expected the most powerful sorcerer in the spirit world to be a bit more… intimidating. "Yes, me. I'm not entirely here though. I am communicating to you through your dreams."



"So… I'm dreaming?" "Indeed. I have something to give you. You will need it. Give me your hand." Chihiro carefully held out her hand. Lord Okaia took it in his own shadowy hand. A flash of red light erupted from where the two hands connected. Chihiro gasped and pulled her hand back as something burned her. When she looked at her hand, she saw a bright red symbol on her palm. The symbol of fire. "What's this?" she asked. "A spell." Lord Okaia replied. "A fire spell. Use it when you are in danger. But be careful though, because the spell will only work once. Use it on joy." Chihiro gave Lord Okaia a confused look. "On joy? What does that mean? And what's all this stuff about me going on some journey? I only want to see if you can help me. Do you even know why I'm coming to find you?" "I do. But this is not the time to talk about such things. We will discuss this when we meet face to face." He started to fade, nut Chihiro wasn't about to let him get away that easily. "Wait, get back here! I have more questions." Lord Okaia was gone, but his voice still answered her. "All will be explained later." Chihiro looked at the symbol in her hand again. "Come on, you can't just leave me like this. You got involved with my life, and now you expect me to just do everything on my own." There was no reply. Everything began to get darker. "Lord Okaia!" (-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-) Chihiro woke up. She was back on the train. Everyone else was there. She took a deep breath and relaxed. "Just a dream." she whispered, as exhaustion took her back to the land of dreams again. She was so tired that she didn't notice that the fire symbol on her hand had come with her from her dream.



Chapter 14: The Storm Spirit's Storm "Ah! Ah! Ah!" No-Face proceeded to probe Chihiro, trying to wake her up from her slumber. "Stop… too early…" Chihiro moaned sleepily. "Ah! Ah!" "No-Face, stop it. What?" The paper 'bird' enchanted by Zeniba sprang to life. "Chihiro, get up! Look at the golden seal!" Groaning, Chihiro rubbed the sleep from her eyes and looked at the golden seal. It was still floating in the air, but now it was facing the doors of the train, rocking back and forth. "We need to get off here." said Zeniba.



Chihiro went over to the window and took a look around. "But there's no train station." She observed. Zeniba let the silence do the talking. Chihiro sighed and hung her head. "We're going to have to jump, aren't we?" Zeniba continued to let the silence answer for her. "Great." "No-Face, you take Chihiro." Zeniba ordered. "I don't want her jumping on her own." "Ah." No-Face nodded and opened the door, much to the anger of one of the train's workers. "What do you think you're doing?" the spirit cried. "This is our stop." Zeniba replied, flying out the open door. Chihiro walked over and looked down at the ground speeding by. "Oh, you have got to be kidding me!" The paper 'bird' hovered over to her. "It's not so bad." Chihiro glared at her. "You can fly! Of course it's not so bad for you!" "Ah." No-Face wrapped his arms around her and picked her up. "Ah, ah." Chihiro sighed. "If you're asking if I'm ready, then no, I'm not. But let's go anyway." Chihiro cried out as No-Face jumped. But she needn't worry as No-Face landed perfectly on his feet. The look on Chihiro's face was priceless. Zeniba chuckled at the human's reaction. "See, not so bad." She said. Chihiro slowly turned to her. "That was scary." Zeniba made a sarcastic snorting noise. "Oh please, how many times have you ridden on Haku?" Chihiro stubbornly turned away. "That's different. I trust Haku." "Ah, ah?" No-Face muttered, sounding a little upset. "Huh? Oh no, No-Face. I trust you too. It's just that…" Chihiro began looking around. "Hey, wait, where's Yu-bird?" Zeniba looked back at the retreating train. "Oops. Be right back." She said, before flying after the train. Chihiro and No-Face waited for the old witch to return. She came back a few minutes later with a very angry looking Yu-bird, who apparently wasn't happy about them leaving her sleeping on the train. She landed on Chihiro's shoulder and turned away. Chihiro gave her friend a nervous smile. "Uh, sorry, Yu-bird. We didn't mean to leave you." Yu-bird made a stubborn snorting noise and turned around, giving the others her backside. No-Face lightly patted Yu-bird on the head apologetically. Yu-bird screeched angrily in response. "Ok, that's enough." Snapped Zeniba impatiently. "The seal is telling us to go this way. Hmm, looks like we're going to have to go through that forest."



Chihiro looked out into the horizon. Several miles away was a forest that stretched for many miles in every direction. Great, who knew what kinds of strange wild animals were in there. "Looks like it's too big to go around." She muttered, before sighing heavily. "How do I get myself into these situations?" (-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-) "I hope they're alright." Said Lin. "They should have been back by now." Kamajii continued working. He didn't seem to be listening to the spirit woman's worries, but he answered her, indicting he was. "Don't worry, Lin. Haku would die before letting anything happen to his beloved Chihiro. The two of them are probably patching things up, and/or, making out. They're fine… I hope." "I heard that!" Lin cried. "So you're worried about them too." "I'm trying not to be!" Kamajii snapped back. "But you keep going on about how worried you are and you're freaking me out." Lin angrily stamped her foot. "I'm coming to you to ease my worries, but you're not helping!" Kamajii looked at the spot Lin stamped her foot. "You just stepped on one of my soot balls." The little black ball of soot popped up from underground and began squeaking angrily at Lin. "Sorry, geez, it was an accident." Lin said. The soot ball shook one of his thin little arms. "Oh, get back to work!" "Hey, don't yell at my soot balls!" Kamajii yelled. "Well then make sure they do their job and stay out of my way!" Lin shouted back. "What's wrong with you? You've been a big grouch since Chihiro left." "I have not!" The soot balls began squeaking madly, agreeing with their master. Lin glared at them. "Get away from me or I'll pour a bucket of water on you." "Then you'll be the one transporting the coal." Kamajii yelled. "Now get out of my boiler room!" "Fine, you can come get your own food from now on!" Lin marched out the door and slammed it hard behind her. Kamajii glared at the door for a moment before getting back to work. "Finally." He muttered. "Some peace and quiet." Lin stormed through the bathhouse, very much the same way Chihiro did a few days ago. What Kamajii said was true, she had been a grouch ever since Chihiro left, not that she would ever admit it. She was worried about her friend. True, Chihiro had gone to Zeniba's before when she was 10, but she had NoFace, Bôh, and Yu-bird with her. This time she just left on her own without telling anyone, not to mention she hadn't been in the best of moods.



Lin made her way to Yubaba's office. This would be her third trip there today, but she couldn't help it. If anyone knew if Haku had found Chihiro yet, it would be the old hag. "Yubaba!" she cried, entering the room without invitation. "No, they're not back yet." Yubaba replied, not even looking up from her work. Lin cried out in frustration. "Ah, what's taking them so long?" "My sister lives far away." Said Yubaba in a bored voice. "Why don't you do your job, it will help get your mind off things." "I can't work knowing that Chihiro could be in trouble! Besides, I don't have my work partner anymore." Yubaba snorted at the lame excuse. "So go pair up with someone else until she gets back." "But, but, but-" Yubaba was getting fed up. She snapped her fingers and Lin literally flew out of the room, down the stairs, through the hall, and dropped into the largest bath in the bathhouse. Lin sat up and her mouth dropped open as she realized she was in the big bath. "Now I have to clean the big bath too? By myself?" She pulled at her hair in frustration. "Chihiro, if you don't get back here soon, I'm going to kill you!" Meanwhile, back in Yubaba's office, Bôh waddled out of his room to see what all the commotion was. "Mama, what happened?" the large baby asked. "Nothing, sweetie." Said Yubaba. "Lin was just asking mommy when Chihiro and Haku were coming back." "Oh." Bôh retreated back into his room with a big grin on his face. He hadn't told anyone that he had helped Chihiro sneak away or why she left in the first place. He wanted it to be a surprise. 'Everyone is going to be so glad when they find out that Chihiro is going to stay with us forever and ever. Ya!' (-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-) "You know," Chihiro complained, "this forest looked a lot closer than it really was." After several hours of walking, they finally reached the entrance of the forest. The golden seal continued to stay in the same direction, indicating that their path was either in or beyond the sea of trees. No-Face and Yu-bird had been restless. The closer the group got to the forest, the more restless they became, almost as if they could tell that something was wrong. "Come on." Chihiro encouraged the others. "It looks like we're going in."



Instead of continuing, No-Face stopped. He cocked his head to the side as he stared out ahead. He seemed to be considering something. "Ah, ah, ah!" The faceless spirit cried, getting Zeniba's attention. The paper 'bird' stopped and turned to No-Face. "What is it? Is something wrong?" Ah, ah!" said No-Face, pointing ahead. Zeniba turned to the forest, Chihiro was close to the entrance. "CHIHIRO, NO!" The old witch suddenly popped into existence, coming out of the paper 'bird'; she was not transparent since the 'bird' was undamaged. She literally tackled the startled human, holding her down and covering her mouth. "Gran-ny!" Chihiro cried, trying to talk through Zeniba's hand. "Wha' are yo' 'oing?" "Chihiro, cover you mouth." "Wha's wron'?" "I was a fool." The old witch said. "This is a toxic forest. The spores are like poison to you humans. Not to mention it's filled with Ohmus and other giant insects. You can't go in there." Chihiro wiggled out from under Zeniba and used her shirt to cover her mouth. "So what do we do then?" she asked, irritated by yet another obstacle in her way. "Go around it? That will take forever. I don't think we have enough food for that, and I do not want to disappear." Zeniba scratched her head. "Hmm, let's think about this a moment." "Ah, ah!" No-Face cried. "What is it, No-Face?" No-Face waved his arms as if he were trying to fly, then made a moving over top of something motion. "Ah, ah." "Fly?" said Zeniba. "That is a possibility. But how?" No-Face turned to Yu-bird who was sitting on Chihiro's shoulder, cleaning her feathers. After a few seconds, she had the feeling that she was being watched and slowly turned to find No-Face staring at her. Feeling very uncomfortable, she took flight, only to have No-Face reach out and grab her. She screeched loudly as No-Face's mouth appeared and swallowed her in one gulp. "Oh my!" gasped Zeniba. "No-Face!" Chihiro cried. "What are you doing?" Instead of his usual grunt, No-Face let out a screech very similar to Yu-bird's. His arms started extending as feathers grew on them to become wings. His body became more solid as his legs became those of a bird.



"Oh, I get it." Said Chihiro. "Although, I don't think Yu-bird will be very happy with you after this." No-Face screeched gain and took flight. He grabbed Chihiro with his talons, being very careful not to hurt her, and flew up high with Zeniba close behind. "Be sure to stay high enough so that she won't breath the toxic spores!" she called. (-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-) Another train. She wasn't on this one either, and even if she had been, Haku would have picked up her scent. Turning back into his dragon form, he sped by the train to reach the next one. How many trains had he searched now, he wasn't sure. Actually, he wasn't even keeping track. He'd search every train ever made if Chihiro was on one of them. Still, he wondered how many more trains he would have to search before he found her; that is, if she still was on a train. If he passed her stop, he would have to backtrack and try and locate her scent. She was already hours ahead of him, and all these delays were wasting time. But he would keep searching. He didn't care what Lord Okaia or anyone else said. He was not going to let Chihiro do this on her own. They would get through it together. He would confess his love for her, just as she did for him, and they would live together happily for all eternity. That was considering that he reached her before anything bad happened to her. 'No, Haku! Don't think like that!' the dragon scolded himself. 'She will be fine. She has to be. If anyone tries to hurt her, I'll rip them apart.' His heart skipped a beat as he spotted another train in the distance. He quickly caught up to it, hoping to find his beloved, only to be disappointed again. (-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-) The wind whipped violently as the sky roared with thunder. The storm had come out of nowhere and it was getting worse by the minute. "I didn't count on a storm like this!" Zeniba cried, trying to be heard over the howling wind. "Chihiro, this is really dangerous! We could get hit by lightning! Not that that's a problem for us, but for you it's serious!" "I know, Granny!" Chihiro called back. "But what can we do? Land in the toxic forest?" Zeniba shook her head; she had to physically appear again to prevent the paper 'bird' from being blown away. "No, but we have to do something! I can't even see the other side of the forest yet!" "I'm open to suggestions!" It was No-Face that answered. He screeched loudly, nodding towards the dark sky, being unable to use his hands. "What's that?" asked Zeniba. "The storm is what?" No-Face screeched again. Chihiro was unable to understand what the flying faceless monster was saying and turned to Zeniba for answers.



"What's he saying?" she asked. "Hold on!" Zeniba cried, staring at the clouds. "He's right, this isn't a normal storm!" "What do you mean?" "I mean that this storm isn't natural! A storm spirit is causing it!" A storm spirit? Chihiro looked up into the sky. She couldn't tell the difference from this storm to a regular storm. "Why's the spirit causing such a storm?" "Who knows!" Zeniba cried. "But we need to stop this before you get hurt!" Chihiro growled with irritation. Zeniba didn't mean it, but she was making it sound like Chihiro was very weak. "How do we do that?" Zeniba strained her eyes to see through the pouring rain. "We need to speak to the spirit! Whoever they are, they'll be in the eye of the storm!" 'Of course they would.' Thought Chihiro. 'Something else to make my life more difficult.' With Zeniba leading the way, the group was brought to the center of the storm. Chihiro saw that a spirit was indeed causing the mighty storm. It hovered in middle of the eye of the storm, doing some sort of strange rain dance. The spirit looked very powerful and very intimidating. His muscular body seemed to be made of ice, or a bunch of hail and snow stuck together, to be more precise, and it had a beard and hair made of cloud. A golden crown with spikes in the shape of lightning bolts rested on its head. Its eyes glowed with electricity as lightning pulsed through its body, going into the storm clouds and striking several miles away. "How do we stop something like that?" Chihiro asked, amazed by the storm spirit's power. "Her, hold this!" said Zeniba, handing her the paper 'bird'. "I'll try and see what the problem is!" "Be careful!" Zeniba laughed. "Don't worry, I'm not really here!" The old witch flew over to the storm spirit, who was twice her size. He didn't seem that happy about being interrupted from his storm. Lightning began striking down from all different directions, coming too close for comfort for Chihiro. Zeniba began arguing with the spirit, something that Chihiro didn't think would help them that much. The sky turned red and the wind became more intense. Hail rained down so hard that it hurt. Whatever Zeniba had said, Chihiro wished she hadn't. Then the witch began pointing towards Chihiro, which was something else Chihiro didn't feel too comfortable about. The angry storm spirit looked at the human and faceless monster with what looked like anger. Chihiro suddenly felt like she would be safer in the toxic forest with the giant insects than up here in the presence of an angry storm spirit.



Zeniba only seemed to be making the storm spirit angrier, and eventually, he pushed the old witch aside and pointed a finger at Chihiro. Lightning struck, headed straight for the startled human and faceless monster. It happened so fast. There was a flash of lightning and everything got very bright. Then suddenly, someone was in front of Chihiro and No-Face. Whoever they were, they deflected the lightning bolt. Almost instantly, the storm began to calm. As quickly as it started up, it was over, leaving a clear blue sky. Chihiro slowly opened her eyes and took a good look at the figure in front of her. It was a woman, a very beautiful woman too. She had tree bark brown skin and long green hair that had different color flowers all over it. Her dress was made of leaves and flower petals. The woman turned to Chihiro and smiled. Pink eyes, underneath leaf eyebrows, looked the human up and down. She leaned down and whispered in Chihiro's ear. "Please forgive him. He was doing this for me. The other end of the forest isn't much farther." With that, she flew over to Zeniba and the storm spirit. Chihiro didn't have a clue as to what was going on, but the storm spirit suddenly looked very happy as the woman embraced him. Zeniba seemed to be happier too. She said something to the storm spirit who nodded in response. Then he picked up the woman and floated away into the clouds, leaving a rainbow behind. Zeniba flew back over to Chihiro and the others, beaming. Chihiro gave the witch a confused look. "Uh, Granny, um, what the heck just happened?" Zeniba chuckled. "It's a bit embarrassing really. You see, that woman was the spirit of this forest. That storm spirit was in love with her and he was showing off his strength, kind of like a mating ritual dance. He got a little mad when we interrupted him, but the forest spirit really liked it." No-Face screeched happily. "Wow, that's really sweet." Said Chihiro. "He made that whole storm to declare his love for her?" Zeniba chuckled. "He sure did. And both he and the forest spirit granted us passage." Chihiro suddenly remembered what the forest spirit said. "That's right. She told me the end of her forest isn't much further." Zeniba smiled. "Well then, let's get a move on. The faster we do this, the faster you can get back to your true love." Chihiro blushed. "I wish Haku could do some sort of ritual to let me know if he loves me or not. I still don't know how he feels." Zeniba patted Chihiro on the back. "Then maybe, you need to pay closer attention and you'll notice he's trying to hide his feelings from you." Chihiro spend the rest of the flight pondering over this.



Chapter 15: Let's Play "Finally!" Chihiro cried, as No-Face set her down. "My arms are asleep."



She shook her arms, trying to get the feeling back into them. She was greeted by the feeling of pins and needles in her arms. She made a mental note to have No-Face carrier her in a different position that would cut off her blood circulation the next time they needed to fly. And speaking of No-Face, he slowly reverted back to his non-flying self as he spat up Yu-bird. Just as Chihiro predicted, Yu-bird was very upset about being swallowed and she proceeded to scratch at NoFace with her talons. "That's enough, you two." Zeniba scolded them. Yu-bird screeched angrily. "I know it was unpleasant, but it did save us the time of going around the forest." Yu-bird screeched again. "You watch your language! I won't have that kind of-" "Stop it, you guys!" Chihiro cried. "This is getting us nowhere. Who knows how long we still have to go. We need to find Lord Okaia, and I still need to figure out what this spell is for." Zeniba seemed surprised by this. "Spell? What spell?" Chihiro just then realized that she had not yet told the others of the spell that Lord Okaia had provided her in her sleep. "This one." She said, holding out her hand. Zeniba popped out of the paper 'bird' and took Chihiro's hand in hers. "Hmm, this is a fire spell. When did he give this to you?" "While I was asleep on the train. He came to me in my dreams." Zeniba ran her finger over the red mark. "Why didn't you tell me earlier?" Chihiro rolled her eyes. "It kind of slipped my mind when we jumped off the train." Zeniba continued studying the mark. "I wonder why he gave this to you. He may have foreseen an event in which you would need it." Chihiro had figured out that much on her own since Lord Okaia had told her to use it on joy, whatever that meant. "He told me that I could only use it once and that I should use it on joy." Zeniba raised an eyebrow. "On joy? How strange." Chihiro nodded in agreement. "What does that mean? And why does he keep talking in riddles?" Zeniba shrugged. "Lord Okaia is a wise and powerful being. I won't pretend to know that I know what goes on in such a being's mind, but he must be doing this for the best. I just hope it all works out." (-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-) This was it. This was the train. Her scent was all over it. She had been here. How long ago, Haku wasn't sure, but she had definitely been on this train. She wasn't any longer, but at least he knew that he didn't need to check any more trains. Haku approached one of the train's workers. They would definitely remember a human being on board; they didn't exactly get those kind of passengers everyday.



"Excuse me, but there was a human on this train earlier." He said. "I'm not sure how long ago, but she was on board this train. Can you tell me which station she got off at?" The train employee shook his head. "I'm sorry, but she did not get off at a station." "What do you mean?" The spirit nodded to the doors. "She jumped. A faceless monster picked her up and the two jumped off. Something about following a golden seal." Haku's eyes widened. "She jumped? What was she thinking? That's dangerous for humans." He sighed and put his hand to his head. "Ok, can you tell me when this was?" The spirit made a disbelieving noise. "I don't remember. Hours ago. There wasn't any station around, but we were passing by a forest. I hope that helps." Really, it didn't. He had flown past several forests. There was only one thing to do, he had to backtrack along the tracks and try to pick up her scent. It would be somewhere between where he was now and Swamp Bottom. Haku sighed. He knew that he could find her scent, but how far back it was and how long it would take was a different story. "Thank you for your help." He said, bowing to the spirit. He turned into his dragon form and took off. The spirit watched him fade into the distance. "Good luck." (-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-) "I need to rest." Said Chihiro, collapsing to the ground. No-Face came and sat down next to her. They had been walking for a good six hours and were exhausted. Zeniba appeared again and sat down next to the other two. "You should eat something, Chihiro." The witch suggested. "Wouldn't want you disappearing." Chihiro reached into her pack and took out some of the food they packed. She only ate a little since they didn't know how long the trip would still be. She offered some to the others, but they politely refused. "Yu-bird, why don't you go and see if you can spot anything." Zeniba suggested. Yu-bird screeched and flew up high, seeing if there was anything worth reporting. This got Chihiro thinking. Where did Lord Okaia live? Did he live in some sort of castle? Was his home someplace like the bathhouse? Would Yu-bird be able to spot it from the air. Zeniba had said that no one really knew where Lord Okaia lived. Yu-bird flew back down and gave Zeniba a report of what she saw. Based upon the look on the old witch's face, the news wasn't good. "What did she say?" Chihiro asked. "Uh…" Zeniba muttered, looking uncomfortable. "She said that beyond this hill, there is nothing but rocky terrain that goes on as far as she could see."



"WHAT?" Chihiro cried. Just how far away was Lord Okaia, and where exactly was he? She began stomping her feet in a very childish manner. "Why does everything have to be so difficult? Why must I constantly have to be put through all this torment? Why, why, why, why?" No-Face would have had a look of concern on his face if he had one, as he turned to Zeniba and grunted. "Ah, ah?" "Yes, No-Face, she'll be fine. She's just getting out her frustration." Chihiro continued on with her tantrum until the feeling of the ground shaking snapped her out of it. At first she thought it was just her imagination, but then she felt the ground beneath her shift again. "Granny, something's wrong." She exclaimed. "The ground is moving. Zeniba placed her hand on the ground. "Yes, there certainly is a lot of movement." "Ah, ah." "I know it's coming closer, No-Face." The witch replied. "The question is, what is-" She didn't have a chance to finish as a large massive figure burst up from underground. Chihiro jumped back in surprise as the large creature dug itself out of the ground. What ever it was, it resembled a mole, a 20 foot egg shaped mole. But unlike regular moles, this one had large yellow eyes, as big as they were round, and it was covered in fur of brown and black stripes. "Wha's all da noise?" the mole like creature cried. He talked like a baby, Chihiro noticed, even more baby-like than Bôh. "Peez stop da pounding; my ears are vewy sensitive." 'What ears?' Chihiro wondered, before noticing a hole on each side of its head, which she assumed were the creature's ears. The creature turned to her. His large red nose twitched as he sniffed her, much to Chihiro's discomfort. "You're a human, aren' you?" it asked. Chihiro nodded. "Why are woo on my hill?" Chihiro struggled to find her voice. "Y-Your hill?" The creature nodded. "Yup, I'm a hill spiwit, and dis is my hill." Chihiro looked down at the large mound of dirt she and her friends were standing on. This was a hill? She hadn't noticed. Zeniba immediately bowed. "Oh, I am so sorry, we didn't mean to intrude upon your home. It's a very lovely hill." The hill spirit giggled. "Oh, dat's ok. And dank woo, it is a nice hill, isn' it?" No-Face nodded. "Ah, ah." The hill spirit bent down to become eyelevel with the faceless monster. "You funny. Can I twy on your mask?" "Ah, ah, ah."



"Peez?" "Ah!" The hill spirit sat on his rear and began kicking and screaming in a manor very much the same way Chihiro just had. This convinced her even more that this hill spirit was an infant; either that or he was like Bôh and didn't want to grow up. "Wanna twy it on! Wanna twy it on!" Yes, this spirit was just like Bôh, and just as spoiled. At least he wasn't violent about not getting his way. Chihiro remembered back when Bôh was still very spoiled that he threatened to break Chihiro's arm or have Yubaba kill her when she didn't do what he wanted; thank goodness he was no longer like that. But this spirit, she didn't know what he would do. And that screaming was very annoying. "Granny, can't you do something?" she shouted over the spirit's cries. Zeniba had her hands over her ears, but she still heard the human. "One moment." She did some quick magic and a mask similar to No-Face's appeared n the hill spirit's face. "There, how's that?" The hill spirit stopped crying as he noticed the feeling of something covering his face. "Ooooh! How do I wook?" "Uh…" Chihiro shared a look with her friends. "Very… cute…" The hill spirit cheered happily. "Yay, yay, yay! Dank woo! I so happy! Hey, wanna pway wit' me?" Chihiro grinned nervously' it was Bôh in his room all over again. "Uh, we'd like to, but…" "We're in a big hurry." Zeniba said. "Isn't that right, No-Face?" "Ah, ah." The hill spirit turned away from them. "I didn't want to pway wit' woo. I wanted to pway wit' the human." "Me?" The hill spirit nodded. "Yup, yup! I hear woo pway weally cool games in your world. Me wanna play!" Chihiro took a step back, making sure to keep her big smile on her face. "I really can't. I don't have time." "Dere's always time to pway!" the childish spirit insisted. "Maybe later." She turned to leave, and he friends were all too happy to join her. But the hill spirit was much faster than he looked, and he was in front of them a moment later. "I said we pway, so we pway." He demanded. "Come on! It will be fun!"



"We can't," Zeniba insisted, "we have to go." "Woo go!" the spirit ordered. "She stay!" No-Face stepped in front of Chihiro. "Ah, ah!" The hill spirit pouted behind his mask. "Woo no fun. Bye, bye!" He clapped his large hands together and the ground No-Face was standing on began moving, taking him away from the others. Yu-bird screeched angrily and began flying around the spirit's head. "Bad birdie!" the spirit cried, swatting at Yu-bird. Zeniba stepped forward to take charge of the situation. "Listen to me, we would like to play but we can't. We're in a hurry." The hill spirit turned to her. "Ok den, woo go too." A large mound of earth rose up from underneath Zeniba's feet and carried her off. Zeniba may have been a powerful witch, but this was the tree spirit's hill, the very thing he was born from, and he had all power over it. "Now we pway!" The hill spirit said happily to Chihiro. "I can't play!" Chihiro insisted yet again. "Sure woo can!" The spirit grabbed Chihiro's wrist in his large hand and began dragging her towards the hole he had originally popped out of. "Come on, we pway undergwound! It gweat for Hide-and-Seek!" Chihiro tried to pull away, but the spirit was rather strong and had a firm grasp. He was actually, and unintentionally, cutting off her bloodstream. "Let me go! Let go!" "No, woo see, we have wot's of fun!" the spirit insisted. "Woo shouldn' be in such a huwwy so much! Learn to have more fun and be happy like me!" 'I don't have time for this!" Chihiro thought angrily. Her hand, the one the hill spirit was holding, suddenly grew hot. It was the same hand that had the fire spell on it. Chihiro remembered what Lord Okaia had told her about the spell: 'Use it when you are in danger. Be careful though, because the spell will only work once. Use it on joy.' Well she wasn't really in danger, but this hill spirit was a bundle of joy. Then again, maybe she was in danger. The child-like spirit may not know how delicate humans were compared to spirits and his games may be a little extreme. Seeing no other way, Chihiro cried out, "Go fire spell!" He hand got much hotter as flames flew out from her open palm. The hill spirit cried out, not in pain since the flames didn't touch him, but in surprise. He quickly crawled into his hole and poked his head out. "Fire! Me no like fire!"



The flames were immediately dying down. Chihiro was glad since her hand was really hot. But once the fire was gone, there wasn't even the slightest burn mark on her hand; on top of that, the fire spell symbol was gone. "Chihiro!" Zeniba flew back over to her with No-Face close behind. "Are you alright, dear?" Chihiro nodded. "Yeah, I think so." The hill spirit crawled back out. His fur was sticking up and his yellow eyes were now red. "Woo a big meanie!" he cried. "Woo used fire on me! Me no like fire! Just for dat, me no pway wit' woo! Go 'way!" Chihiro backed away. She didn't know what an angry child-like spirit was capable of, and she didn't intend to find out; at least not until she was a spirit herself. Zeniba came up behind her and rested a hand on her shoulder. Bowing to the hill spirit, the witch said, "We are sorry for the disturbance, but you forced us." The hill spirit turned angrily to them. "Just go 'way! Me no wanna pway wit' woo anymore! Woo go bye, bye!" The hill spirit pounded on the ground. A wave of earth moved below the others' feet, carrying them away from his hill down into rocky terrain beyond it. "Hmph, big meanies!" the hill spirit complained, once they were gone. "Dey too busy to pway wit' me. Fine, I no want to pway wit' dem anyway." He crawled into his hole, like a stubborn child locking themselves in their room because they didn't get their way. But before he tunneled back underground, he turned to look back in the direction he had set the others. His eyes turned yellow again as his anger faded. "Oh well, maybe dey pway next time." (-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-) The ground stopped moving once they were out of range from the hill spirit's power, which wasn't far away from the hill itself. The sudden stop caused them all, not counting Yu-bird, who was flying, to topple over on top of each other. "Ow! My head!" Chihiro moaned. "What did I hit it on?" She turned around and saw Zeniba rubbing her own head. Apparently Chihiro had hit her head on Zeniba's. "Oh, sorry, Granny." Zeniba stood up, not realizing she was standing on No-Face. "That's ok, dear. Ow, what a spoiled brat. He was worse than Bôh." Chihiro chuckled. "I don't know, I think the two of them would have gotten along pretty well. Ah! Granny, you're standing on No-Face!" "I'm doing what?" "Ah, ah." "Oh my!" Zeniba began hovering in the air, sparing No-Face her weight. "I'm sorry, No-Face." No-Face stood up, dismissing it with a wave of his hand. "Ah, ah."



Chihiro looked around. She spotted the hill spirit's hill the distance. Wow, he had sent them pretty far away. It was just a shame that he couldn't send them all the way through this rocky terrain. "Now where are we?" she asked. Zeniba stood up and looked at the golden seal. It was still facing into the seemingly never-ending rocky terrain. "We're on the right track. Let's get a move on, it will be dark soon." Chihiro sighed. "Great. Let's just make sure that we don't trespass on any other spirits' land." (-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-) "Finally!" Lin cried, as she finished scrubbing the big bath. "That's done. And look at the time. Yubaba was right, working did take my mind off of things." She exited the big bath and went in search of her next job. She ran across one of her friends who was getting a little concerned with her behavior. "Hey, Lin. How are things going?" Lin sighed. "Well Rita, things could be better. Chihiro is driving me out of my mind with worry. And it's all my fault. The other spirit, Rita, put a hand on her shoulder. "Oh, don't go blaming yourself. From what I've heard, Haku and Kamajii had a helping hand." Lin scowled. "Yeah, that's true. It really is mostly that darn dragon's fault. I mean, why doesn't he just tell the human how he feels. But then again, the same thing could be said for Chihiro." Rita chuckled. "Everyone knows they love each other, except each other." Lin smiled for the first time in hours. "You got that right. When those two get back here, after I kill them, I'm going to get them to confess if it's the last thing I do." Rita was positively bouncing up and down. "Ooh, love confession plans. This I gotta see." Lin smiled mischievously. "You can help. I'll bet Bôh would like to help too." "Alright!" Rita tossed her cleaning supplies away. "This is going to be great." (-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-) It was very busy today. Kamajii was being worked to the bone. Not that he minded that much, it gave him something to do. He enjoyed his job, but still, he could use a vacation. And it was on days like these that he wished he hadn't given up his train tickets. But he wouldn't change his choice even if he could. "Kamajii!" The boiler man jumped in surprise, making a mess of things. He growled in frustration. He already had enough to do. "Kamajii!"



"What?" Lin and Rita entered the boiler room. Kamajii was surprised to see Lin in such a good mood. She had been sulking for the past several days since Chihiro had left. "What's all the ruckus?" Kamajii asked of the spirit women. Lin crossed her arms. "Well it's like this, we're getting tired of Chihiro and Haku refusing to admit how they feel." "We are?" "Yes, we are. So, when they come back, we're going to get them to confess to each other how they feel." Kamajii snorted and went back to work. "That's a switch. Not too long ago, you were saying how we shouldn't get involved and that they needed to confess on their own." Rita gave Lin a pointed look. "You know, he's right." Lin waved it off. "Ah, they will confess on their own. We'll just give them a little push in the right direction. So how about it, Kamajii, you in?" The boiler man considered it a moment. "Sure, why not. It would be fun messing with them." Five bath tokens suddenly dropped down in front of him. Kamajii sighed. "Maybe later though." (-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-) "What's it doing?" Chihiro asked, looking at the golden seal. The small magical item had begun spinning around and flashing with a golden light. "Is it broken?" "Broken?" Zeniba repeated, giving Chihiro a weird look. "Of course not!" She reached out and touched the golden seal. It fell from the air and remained motionless. Chihiro, NoFace, and Yu-bird gathered around, expecting the golden seal to do something. "Did the spell wear off?" Chihiro asked. Zeniba's hand closed over the seal. "No." She whispered. "We're here."



Chapter 16: Lord Okaia "We're here?" Chihiro asked. This was clearly a surprise. "Are you sure?" Zeniba nodded. "Yes, the seal indicates that this is where Lord Okaia resides." Chihiro looked around. Not only was this the last place she had expected to find the most powerful sorcerer in the entire spirit world, but according to what she was told in her reading, there were still things she had to do.



"But, I don't get it." She muttered, more to herself than anyone else. "According to my reading, it shouldn't have been this easy." Zeniba raised an eyebrow. "Would you like things to be more difficult?" "No!" Chihiro cried loudly. "I'm just surprised. Maybe my reading was wrong." Zeniba rubbed her chin. "Or maybe, there is still more to come." Chihiro groaned. She hadn't thought of that. She had figured that once she reached Lord Okaia that her 'journey' would be over. Speaking of which, where was that sorcerer anyway? "Um, Granny, if this is where we're supposed to be, where is everyone?" "Uh…" Zeniba looked around, realizing Chihiro had a point. "The entrance to Lord Okaia's home is probably hidden. Give me a moment." She closed her eyes and concentrated. It took a little while, but she did detect a magical barrier. "There!" She pointed to a large rock wall. "It's concealed. Reveal your secret path!" Zeniba's eyes flashed with light and suddenly the rock wall became transparent, revealing a hidden cave. Chihiro stared at the hidden entrance. No wonder no one knew where Lord Okaia lived. "He's in there?" Zeniba nodded. "Apparently." "Great." Chihiro was beginning to feel very anxious about this meeting. Sure she had met him before, sort of, but that was just in a dream. Now she was going to actually come face to face with him and beg to become a spirit for a love that she wasn't even sure was returned. "Granny, I'm nervous." No-Face rested a reassuring hand on her shoulder. "Ah, ah, ah." "No-Face is right." Zeniba agreed. "You'll do fine. Just trust yourself. And don't be afraid of him. From what I've heard, he can be a bit harsh, but he has a good heart." Chihiro swallowed. "If you say so." No-Face gave her a slight shove forward. Chihiro looked at the entrance. It was rather big. She hoped that Lord Okaia wasn't some kind of scary monster or something. Taking a deep breath, she stepped through the barrier. (-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-) Haku had finally picked up her scent. At first he was overjoyed, but then his joy turned to horror as he realized that it headed for the toxic forest. Those poisonous spores would kill a human in minutes. His fear faded a little when her scent stopped a short distance away from what would have been considered a safe distance from the spores. But another fear overcame him again that he realized that



he now no longer had a trail to follow. But where could she have gone? He had an idea of who might know. If there was anyone who would know, it would be them. "Spirit of the forest, I, Nigihayami Kohaku Nushi, spirit of the Kohaku River, am in need of your assistance!" he cried out. A few seconds passed before the spirit walked gracefully out of the forest. Haku bowed to her and she bowed back in response. "How may I be of assistance?" she asked. "Oh great spirit, I am in search of a human girl by the name of Chihiro." Haku replied. "I have followed her scent to the entrance of your forest. I ask if you know what happened to the girl." The spirit smiled. "Ah yes, the human girl. She did indeed pass through my forest." Haku's eyes widened with fear. "What?" The spirit chuckled. "Oh dear, perhaps I should make myself clearer. She did not go through my forest, she flew over it." At Haku's confused look she added, "A faceless monster and a witch flew her over my forest. I would not allow a human to enter my forest. I know very well that the spores of the plants are toxic to creatures not of this world. Do not fear for her, she is safe. They made it out of my forest some time ago." Haku sighed in relief. That was good. Chihiro was safe, away from the toxic forest. Now he just needed to find her trail again. "May I ask another favor?" The forest spirit nodded. "Of course." "Could you-" Before Haku could finish, a bolt of lightning struck in between him and the forest spirit and a very angry looking storm spirit was standing before him. "Who are you?" the storm spirit demanded, his voice booming like thunder. "Why have you approached the spirit of this forest?" Haku didn't back down, for two reasons, one he could tell by the look in the storm spirit's eyes that he was obviously involved with this forest spirit and was jumping to the wrong conclusions, and two, he was more powerful. But still he didn't want to start any trouble. "I am merely asking for help." He said. The storm spirit growled. Haku knew that storm spirits had short tempers so he was trying to be as polite as possible, but the storm spirit relaxed when the forest spirit rested a hand on his muscular shoulder. "Relax, love." She purred. "He speaks the truth. And you have no reason to be jealous. My love is for you alone." The storm spirit relaxed further and stepped back, but still glared at Haku. "Now then, what was it you wished to ask?"



Haku tried again. "Could you show me the spot she left your forest, please?" The forest spirit chuckled. "Is that all? Of course." She waved her hand and the trees and bushes moved aside, giving Haku a clear path all the way through her forest. "Follow the path I have laid out for you. You will find her scent again on the other side." Haku bowed to her. "Thank you. I am very grateful for your assistance." Without looking at the storm spirit, he walked by the two of them. The trees and bushes moved back in place as he moved further and further into the toxic forest. The forest spirit watched him disappear into her forest. She had a very large grin on her face. The storm spirit noticed the look she was wearing. "What is it, my dear?" he asked. The forest spirit chuckled. "Isn't it obvious?" she said. "The boy's in love." (-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-) Chihiro and the others continued deeper into the cave. When the light from the outside stopped providing enough light, torches on the walls became the new light source. This only creeped her out more. She felt like someone in a horror movie descending deeper into the monster's lair. The tunnel eventually led the group to a pair of large metal doors. Chihiro gulped as she realized that this was it… she hoped. The suspense was killing her. She would rather just get this over with. "Well, here we go." She said. She stepped forward to knock, but the door began to open, scaring her to death. She didn't need anything else to scare her, she was already terrified. The 'doorman' stepped outside and Chihiro was greeted by a pair of familiar yellow eyes. This was the same spirit that had come to the bathhouse to tell her of her future. "So you have arrived." The spirit said. Chihiro pointed at him. "Hey, you're Lord Okaia's messenger." The spirit bowed. "Indeed. My master has been expecting you. Please, come in." The spirit led the group inside. They were surprised, to say the least, by Lord Okaia's living arrangements. For someone who lived in a cave, they sure had great taste. The inside looked like a palace. Several servants, mostly shadow spirits, could be seen working. Their guide led them to another room that had the door opened just a crack. "My master has been waiting. Please, go inside." Chihiro bowed to him. "Thank you, sir." She said, and with a trembling hand, opened the door. The room was just like the rest of the house, about three times too big. It was also very dark, lit only by the light of a fire. And sitting by the fire, in a large red chair, calmly reading a book, was none other than the great Lord Okaia himself. He looked up from his book as his guest walked in. "Ah, so you have arrived at last." He said, power and wisdom radiated from his voice. "I am glad you made it here safely."



He stood up and stepped into the light, and Chihiro got a good look at the mighty being. He looked like a man, a very big man that was at least 15 feet tall. He was dressed in robes worthy of a king, perhaps some spirits even considered him to be one. His pale skin was as white as paper and long black hair, as dark as the night, fell down to his heels. But what intrigued Chihiro the most were his eyes. His eye color was gold, and they held great knowledge and compassion in them. Looking into his eyes, Chihiro suddenly didn't feel that afraid anymore. That is, until he smiled at them revealing very sharp pointy teeth that looked like they belonged to a carnivorous animal. Zeniba brought Chihiro out of her thoughts as she bowed to Lord Okaia. "Great and mighty Lord Okaia, it is truly an honor to meet you." Lord Okaia bowed back at her. "It is an honor to meet you as well. Forgive me for not coming to meet you myself, but sometimes when I get involved in something I lose track of time." He stuck a marker in his book and set it down. He noticed Chihiro trying to get a look at the title and he smiled at her. "It's 'Whisper of the Heart', by Shizuku Amasawa. A very good read. She's a famous writer in your world. In fact, this was the first book she ever wrote. Her husband, the famous violin maker, Seiji Amasawa, was the one who inspired her to write this." He closed his eyes and appeared to be deep in thought. "Some humans have such creative abilities. Sadly though, many spirits don't see that; they only see the humans' destructive side." He suddenly chuckled at himself. "Forgive me, I am rambling. You have come a long way. Please, have a seat." As it turned out, the entire group was able to fit on one chair. Lord Okaia went back to the one he was originally sitting at by the fire. He looked them over curiously. His gold eyes lingered on Yu-bird the longest. He observed her with a raised eyebrow. Chihiro looked back and forth between Lord Okaia and Yu-bird. "Is something wrong?" she asked. Lord Okaia turned back to her. "Not at all. I am merely surprised to see Yu-bird here. I predicted that none of the ones that lied to you about staying in the spirit world would accompany you. But the future is not set in stone. However, I am happy to see you all the same. You too Chihiro, Zeniba, and Kaonashi." Chihiro blinked in confusion and looked at No-Face. "Kaonashi?" she said. No-Face nodded. "Ah, ah." Lord Okaia chuckled. "I seem to be causing some confusion. I apologize. We have rather important things to discuss. Would any of you care for some tea while we talk?" Zeniba nodded. "That would be lovely." Lord Okaia snapped his fingers and two of his servants came in with tea and pastries. Lord Okaia motioned at the tray. "Please, help yourself. That tea is a special blend that Baron Humbert von Jikkingen taught my servants to make. He always said that it's a little bit different each time so the taste can't be guarantied." Zeniba took a sip. "It's very good." Lord Okaia smiled. "Then I'll have my servants give you the recipe." He said. His golden eyes moved to Chihiro. She gulped nervously. Lord Okaia chuckled. "You have nothing to fear from me. I do not wish to harm you." His eyes moved to her hand that had once bared his fire spell. "I trust you found my spell useful."



Chihiro blinked in confusion then looked at her hand. "Oh, yeah. Thanks. That hill spirit wanted to play, and he wouldn't take no for an answer." Lord Okaia laughed loudly. "Yes, Ju-Ju is a little bundle of joy. But he is very spoiled. If you had played with him, he probably would have kept you there for days. That little guy has so much energy." "I think I made him mad though." Chihiro muttered guiltily. "There's already enough spirits that don't like humans; I hope I didn't make things worse." Lord Okaia waved it off. "Nonsense. He was just upset because you used fire against him. He's afraid of fire, which is why I provided you with that spell. He's already over it. Besides, you did just as I predicted. You brought anger to joy." That suddenly reminded Chihiro of her so-called reading. "That's right. You sent your messenger to tell me of my future. He told me what was going to happen, but he didn't explain it to me." Lord Okaia nodded. "Yes, he told you only what I told him to tell you. You were not ready to know more. But now you are here and I can explain things to you more fully." Truth be told, Chihiro didn't care too much about what Lord Okaia had predicted. Her goal was to come here and ask to become a spirit. "Actually, sir, I haven't come here to find out what my reading means. I came to-" Lord Okaia held up a hand to stop her. "I know why you are here. And it is tied to your reading. The journey that I had spoken of, you are on now. You wish to become a spirit so that you may be with Kohaku. So you have come to beg me to help you." Chihiro got down on her knees and bowed to the mighty sorcerer. "Oh great Lord Okaia, will you please help me so that I may be with the one I love?" Lord Okaia smiled warmly her. "Rise young one. I have already agreed to help you. You are led by love of the greatest kind. You are following your heart, wishing to be with someone whom you are not even sure loves you in return." His smile faded. "However, I regret to tell you that I cannot help you. Not even with the power of Zeniba's golden seal." There was stunned silence, broken only by the crackling of the fire. Chihiro's mind was trying to accept the words Lord Okaia had spoken. She had put all her hope in him, and he couldn't help her. If the most powerful sorcerer in the entire spirit world couldn't help her, who could? "But, you're supposed to be able to help me." She said, talking more to herself than anyone. Tears were beginning to form in her eyes. "Are you sure you can't help me?" Lord Okaia closed his eyes and sighed sadly. "Chihiro, I may be powerful, but what you are asking is unnatural, even for spirits. I don't have the power to make you a spirit." Chihiro collapsed to the ground in her sorry. It was over. Her only chance to be with Haku was gone. "No… it can't be…" she muttered. "Please…" Lord Okaia slowly opened his eyes. "However, there is one being that can." Chihiro sat up so fast she thought she might have pulled something. "What?" Zeniba even looked confused. "I do not understand. What can someone else do that you can not?"



Lord Okaia's face was emotionless, he seemed to be trying hard to keep his mind off something painful. "You have been going about this the wrong way. You have been searching for someone powerful, and when they could not help you, you have searched for someone even more powerful. But this is a certain type of magic that does not come with power." "I don't understand." Chihiro said. Lord Okaia appeared to be thinking. "Let me put it for you this way. There are certain spirits that are born from the earth known as bonded spirits. Kohaku is one of them. He was born from his river. Your friends there," he motioned to Zeniba, No-Face, and Yu-bird, "are born of other spirits. But what makes bonded spirits more powerful than un-bonded ones is the powers they have from birth. Let's use the storm spirit you encountered. He has power over the weather. He was born of a storm and therefore inherited its traits. Do you understand?" Chihiro thought she did. "Yes, I think so." Lord Okaia nodded. "Good, then listen to me closely. The spirit you are searching for is one of a kind. I cannot tell you their name because they do not have one. They are the spirit of life. They have been here since the beginning of all life. To have what you are asking for, your very existence will need to be changed. Only the spirit of life has the power to change you." Chihiro nodded. She was overjoyed that there was still a chance for her to become a spirit, but she was also getting rather annoyed. Haku couldn't help her, so she went to Zeniba, who also couldn't help her. She then came all the way here to Lord Okaia only to find out that she had to go find someone else. Sighing, she turned to Zeniba. "Granny, why didn't you tell me about the spirit of life?" Zeniba grinned apologetically. "I'm sorry, dear. Truth be told, that spirit is only believed to be a myth." "No." said Lord Okaia, shaking his head. "I have seen them. They are amazing. A being born from life itself. Only they can help you, this I know. But what I don't know is if they will." "What do you mean?" Chihiro asked. "You will need to convince them to help you. They will not do it without a good reason. But if you follow your heart, all will work out." A knock at the door interrupted their conversation. Lord Okaia looked to the door and waved his hand, opening it. "Enter." A shadow spirit slowly crept into the room. He bowed to Lord Okaia who nodded in response. "My lord, a witch named Kiki has your delivery." Lord Okaia smiled and stood up. "Ah, perfect timing." He turned to his guests. "Please excuse me for a moment. I shall return shortly." He quietly excited the room, closing the door behind him. Chihiro was actually glad for the interruption. She needed a moment to collect her thoughts. Zeniba noticed Chihiro staring off into space and she gently laid her hand on the human's shoulder, startling her. "Are you ok, dear?" Chihiro nodded. "I guess I'm just a little overwhelmed by all this. Things just seem to be getting more and more complicated. I just don't know if I can handle this journey Lord Okaia spoke of. I mean, look



how many close calls I've had just coming here. Jumping off the train, the toxic forest, the storm spirit, the hill spirit. I don't know if I can get through this." "Love conquers all." The witch said. No-Face grunted in agreement. "Just do as Lord Okaia says. Follow your heart and all will be well." The door opened again and Lord Okaia walked back in. He had something wrapped in a cloth in his hand. "I ordered this when I knew you would be coming." He said, holding the wrapped item out to Chihiro. She took it and removed the cloth to find a strange dagger with a silvery transparent blade and golden handle. She looked up at Lord Okaia questioningly. "This dagger was made by a witch who specializes in healing. You will need it on your journey. There is a spell on the dagger that will kill an infection or disease. Use this against sorrow." "Sorrow?" Chihiro looked at the dagger carefully. "What do you mean by sorrow? And what about anger? I don't understand the reading your messenger gave me." Lord Okaia sighed. "Then it's time that I answered your questions." He motioned to a table and it scooted over in between him and the others. A deck of cards rested on top of it. Chihiro recognized them as the same cards that Lord Okaia's messenger had been going through. Lord Okaia looked curiously at her. "Chihiro, do you know why fortune cards are the best way for looking into the future?" Chihiro looked at the cards. "No." "And I don't have the gift of Sight." Zeniba said. Lord Okaia nodded. "There are very few do. And I will tell you why cards are best." He sat back in his seat and began explaining. "Destiny is like a card game. When one looks into the future, what they are really seeing are events that are most likely to take place based on what is currently happening and what has already happened. Now then, the cards you hold in your hand are events that are to occur in your future. Your destiny represents your game strategy. Now, picture the deck as your future and the cards in it are events that have not yet come to pass. One can look into the future, which would be like peeking at the next card in the deck. In doing so, by seeing what is to come, you may change your whole game strategy, thus changing your destiny. You have already done this." "I did? How?" Chihiro asked. Lord Okaia pointed to Yu-bird. "Yu-bird was not originally meant to come with you. You found this out, but you decided to bring her, so in a way you changed your strategy, or your future. But there are also other ways that your destiny may change, and that is if someone else peeks at your next card, or looks into your future. Understand?" Chihiro nodded. "I think so." Lord Okaia chuckled. "No you don't, but you will in time. Chihiro, the future that I have predicted for you is not 100 percent positive. No one can truly know the future, because everyone has the free will to change it. If you wish, you can turn your back on this right now. In a way you would be discarding the cards you hold, shuffling your deck, and drawing a new hand, thus changing you destiny." He smiled in amusement at Chihiro's reaction. "But I can tell that you have no desire to turn your back on this." Chihiro nodded. "I knew you wouldn't. But there is more to destiny than what I have already told you. All of what I have said has been one sided. But there other players in this card game. Everyone has their own destiny, and they can affect others if they peek at the other players' cards. I have done this. A human in the spirit world got me very curious. It very rarely occurs. So I looked at your fate. Had I not



interfered, I am sorry to say that things would not have gone well. The dangers that your friends at the bathhouse warned you about would have come to pass." This greatly surprised Chihiro. "So, you saved my life." Lord Okaia nodded. "In a way. But I will not get into that. For if I tell you what could have been, or what might still happen, it may change what I have foreseen, thus shuffling the deck." "Is that why your messenger only told me so little?" Lord Okaia nodded again. "It is. By telling you only what you needed to know, you made the decision to come here. Would you have come had I told you everything that has occurred? Would you have gone to see Zeniba had you known she couldn't help you, and thus not having you friends guide you over the toxic forest?" Chihiro tried to think about all this, but it made her head hurt. She decided that after this she would choose her own destiny without having anyone interfere. Lord Okaia seemed to notice her confusion. "I see that I am confusing you. This is a lot of information to take in. Let's get to your reading, shall we?" He picked up the deck of cards and closed his eyes. "By the power of the wind and the water, the earth and the fire, I command thee to reveal to me what I wish to see. Forces of nature, show me all." Keeping his eyes closed, he carefully shuffled and cut the deck. When he was finished, he set it down in front of him and opened his eyes. "Are you ready to see the path before you?" Technically, Chihiro already knew the path; she just didn't understand it. She nodded in response and Lord Okaia took the top card. Unlike his messenger, he did not hide the cards from her. The first card was a picture of 6 stars. Two were red, two were blue, and the last two were yellow. There was a line that connected the stars to each other. An orange line connected the first yellow star to the second red one, a green one connected the first blue star to the second yellow star. And a purple line connected the first red star to the second blue one. "The crossover of the three emotions." Lord Okaia explained. "Joy, sorrow, and anger. You have already face the one filled with joy and you brought anger to him. Next you will face a being filled with sorrow, to whom you must bring joy. Afterwards you will face a being filled with anger, to whom you must bring sadness." Chihiro leaned forward to look at the card. "Who are they?" she asked. Lord Okaia shook his head. "I cannot tell you that. For if I do, your game strategy may change, thus changing your destiny." He picked up the next card. It was a picture of two men cowering away from a crowd of people. One man was shouting in anger and the other was weeping in sorrow. "Both beings you will face have been wronged by humans. Be careful when you are in their presence; especially anger." Chihiro gulped nervously. "Is there some way I can change my fate from having to face them? You said one can change their destiny." Lord Okaia nodded. "Indeed, you can change it. But sometimes with the path you choose to take, things are unavoidable. If you wish to find the spirit of life, you will have to face these beings. They are a test that the spirit of life is setting up for you. Believe me when I say that if the spirit of life does not want to be found, it won't be. It will only appear to you once you face its tests." Chihiro sighed. "Ok, what's next?"



Lord Okaia took the next card. He glanced at it for a moment before setting it aside. This card was very important. It had a picture of a heart bleeding from a knife sticking out of it. Chihiro did not need to know about this card because nothing she did could change this, but if a stubborn dragon will listen to him, all will turn out well. The next card was a picture of a bride. One her right was a groom and on her left was what appeared to be her family. "Once, and if, you get to the spirit of life, you will have to make a choice between two loves. This will be very hard for you. No matter what you decide, someone you love will be hurt." Chihiro remembered his messenger saying that. "I remember that! What does that mean? I don't want to hurt anyone." Lord Okaia sighed sadly. "I know you don't, but you will have to. And I am sorry, but I cannot explain that to you further." He picked up the next card. His eyes widened when he saw it. Without showing it to anyone, he set it aside and took another card. Once again his eyes widened and he did not show it to his guests. "I'm afraid that this is as far as I am able to see for now. When I looked into your future, I could only see up to your meeting with the spirit of life, that is, if you do make it to them." Chihiro frowned. So she had some of her questions answered, but she still had plenty more than she wanted answers to. Still, she bowed to the powerful sorcerer. "Thank you, sir. I am grateful for all that you have done for me." Lord Okaia smiled, but there was sadness in his eyes. "Do not thank me. I am glad that I have the chance to give someone else the happiness that was taken from me." Chihiro cocked her head to the side. "What do you mean?" Sighing, Lord Okaia leaned back and crossed his fingers as if he were praying. "You are not the first human that I have met. Over 500 years ago, another human stumbled into this world. A young woman. She immediately began to fade away and she cried out for help. I appeared before her and help her. Never having actually met a human before, I invited her to stay with me. I was curious, you see; I had never met a human before. But soon curiosity became friendship, and friendship became love." Chihiro's eyes widened. "You fell in love with her?" Lord Okaia smiled, recalling a happy memory. "We fell in love with each other." He corredted. "We wished never to be parted. After some time, I asked her if she would become spiritually linked with me." Zeniba made an 'aww' sound, but Chihiro didn't have a clue as to what that was. "What's that mean, spiritually linked?" she asked. Lord Okaia chuckled. "She said the same thing. Becoming spiritually linked with someone is a spirit's version of getting married, only at a much deeper and permanent level. She said she would love to, but that she could not, for she was a mortal, and I, having eternal life, would outlive her. She said she couldn't possibly put me through the pain of losing a wife for as long as my eternal life lasted." 'Just like me and Haku.' Chihiro thought sadly. She, just like the woman Lord Okaia had fallen in love with, couldn't put the one she loved through such pain and heartbreak.



"It was then that I began to search for the spirit of life." Lord Okaia continued. "I wanted to make her a spirit so she could have eternal life. It was the only way we could truly be together. So I began my search. And I found them. I begged the spirit of life to make my love a spirit. The spirit of life was moved by my love for a mortal and agreed to help. I was so overjoyed that I raced back home immediately to bring my love to the spirit of life so she could become a spirit." All sign of happiness vanished from the sorcerer's face to be replaced by great sadness. "Sadly, I was so caught up in romance that I had been blinded. You see, one of my servants was the type of spirit that hated humans with the deepest loathing. They did not harm her while they were my guest, but when they found out that she was to become my wife…" Tears appeared in his golden eyes. "While I was out searching for the spirit of life, they took her away. They refused to feed her and she… she disappeared…" Chihiro gasped. Zeniba, Yu-bird, and No-Face seemed equally as shocked. Lord Okaia wiped the tears from his eyes, only to have more appear. "When I found out what they had done, I was furious. I was angrier than I had ever been in my entire life. I came very close to killing them, very close. But I spared them. I was better than that. But I did punish them. I stripped them of their powers and banished them from my land." "You can do that?" Chihiro wondered out loud. "Only the most powerful of spirits can." Zeniba whispered. She turned back to Lord Okaia. "I am so sorry that happened. If you ask me, they deserved death." Lord Okaia shook his head. "No, everyone deserves life, even if they take it. Besides, it would not bring my love back. She is dead, and I am here still living; living forever." He closed his eyes and took a deep breath, calming himself. "I miss her, everyday. I long to see her again. This is why humans and spirits shouldn't be together. But we were so close to actually finding a way that we could; only to have the opportunity taken away." He looked up at the ceiling as if he were looking into Heaven itself. "I could end it. I could take my own life and be reunited with my love in the afterlife. Odds are I will never die, even if I was the weakest spirit ever to exist. But I go on. I continue to live." He looked at Chihiro very seriously. "Life is very precious, Chihiro. You only get one. Never forget that. Some spirits, in their eternal lives, tend to forget that. They begin to take life for granted, which is why they don't value the lives of others that much; especially humans. They see them as lesser beings, just like a human would see an insect. Yubaba used to be like that, but she's changed, for the better. She has realized, after nearly losing her son, the value of life. Everyone deserves it, even a creature as simple as an insect." He wiped the remaining tears from his eyes. "I want you to live, and be happy with your life. This is why I am helping you. I want you to have what I could have had, but never will." No one had any idea of what to say. To see the great Lord Okaia openly cry was surprising enough, but this background story was beyond shocking. Lord Okaia quickly pulled himself together and stood up. "Forgive me, but we are a little short on time. I must ask you to leave." "Wha'?" Chihiro's mouth literally dropped open. Here they were, having a very serious conversation, and then Lord Okaia suddenly dismisses them. Did they do something wrong? "Someone is coming for you." Lord Okaia explained. "Someone who I cannot allow you to see yet." "Who?"



Lord Okaia did not answer. He turned and made eye contact with Zeniba. The witch nodded in understanding. She knew exactly who was coming for Chihiro. He certainly caught up fast; never underestimate a dragon in love. She wondered why Lord Okaia didn't want Chihiro and Haku reunited yet, but who was she to question such a wise being? "Come, Chihiro. Let's go." She said. "Huh?" Chihiro looked back and forth from the sorcerer to the witch. "But-" "No buts, dear." Lord Okaia is a very busy man. We have taken up enough of his time." She turned back to the sorcerer. "Thank you for all that you have done." Chihiro wanted to stay longer, but she decided to leave without a fight. She bowed to the mighty sorcerer. "Yes, thank you. I am very grateful." Lord Okaia bowed his head to her. "You are very welcome. I look forward to our next meeting." He snapped his fingers and one of his servants entered the room. "My lord?" Lord Okaia motioned to the others. "See them out please, but first provide them with enough food and other things they might need." He turned to Zeniba. "One last thing, may I see your golden seal?" "Certainly." Zeniba held out the golden seal to him. Lord Okaia rested his hand over hers and the golden seal. A silver light surrounded the seal then faded away. "The seal will now guide you to the spirit of life. I will not lie to you when I say you have a difficult journey ahead of you, but if you follow your heart, all will be well." The group bowed to him one last time and then were led out. Once the door closed behind them, Lord Okaia's warm smile became a concerned frown. He looked at the last two cards he had drawn from the deck. The first one was a heart, half black, half red, with a golden arrow entering the red side and exciting the black side. "Love and hate." Lord Okaia whispered. He looked at the second card. It was a tombstone on a hill during sunrise with a rainbow rising out of it. "Life and death." He closed his eyes. "I will not allow the same pain I have felt fall upon someone else. But first…" His eyes opened and he looked at the wall, seeming to see straight through it. "I have a stubborn dragon to attend to." There was a flash of silver light and Lord Okaia vanished.



Chapter 17: Warnings Haku had long since given up walking and was once again in his dragon form, flying over the forest, yet still following the path the forest spirit had created for him. He flew as fast as he could. Every second he wasn't with his beloved Chihiro was a second she could be in danger. He had to find her, and nothing was going to-



A flash of light momentarily blinded him. He halted in midair, squinting to see through the light. Once he could see again, he found a tall powerful man standing, or floating really, before him. "That's far enough, Kohaku." The man said calmly. Haku glared at the man, having never seen the sorcerer before, he had no idea he was in the presence of Lord Okaia. He changed back to his human form and continued to glare at the mighty sorcerer. "I have permission from the spirit of this forest to pass through." He growled. Lord Okaia smiled. "I am well aware of that. What I meant to say is that I'm afraid I cannot allow you to go any further on your quest to rescue your human, Chihiro." Haku's eyes flashed angrily. "Who are you to order me around?" he demanded. "Do you know who I am?" Lord Okaia's expression remained the same. "I do. You are Nigihayami Kohaku Nushi, the spirit of the Kohaku River." He gave the spirit a smug smile. "The question is, do you know who I am?" Haku didn't reply, he wasn't going to admit that he didn't know. Lord Okaia smiled more broadly. "I'll give you a hint. It was I that spoke to you through Zeniba." Haku's eyes widened with realization. "Lord Okaia?" The sorcerer nodded. "Very good. But you have a problem with following orders. I specifically told you to return to the bathhouse and to leave Chihiro alone. Let her do as she wishes." Haku's surprise became anger once again. "Never! There's no way I'm leaving Chihiro on her own in the spirit world." "She's not alone." Lord Okaia replied, not flinching in the slightest at Haku's anger. "Zeniba, Yu-bird, and Kaonashi are with her." Haku's expression didn't soften. "Ah, I see that you doubt your friends' ability to protect her." Haku shook his head. "No, I just want to be there with her. If I am there, I know for a fact that she will be safe. I would never allow anything to happen to her." Lord Okaia nodded. "I know you wouldn't. But you can't always be there for her. Besides, she is stronger than that. Have more faith in her." "I do have faith in her!" Haku shouted, feeling insulted. "I just don't want to take any chances!" Lord Okaia's eyes narrowed slightly. "There is no need to shout, Kohaku. And I know that you just want to protect her, but I'm afraid I can't let you see her yet." Haku's anger hit its boiling point. No one, not even the great Lord Okaia would stop him from being with Chihiro. "I don't care what you think! I'm going to her! You can either stand aside or I can go through you!" Lord Okaia's power exploded outward. Haku was shocked by its intensity. Lord Okaia's eyes were glowing with a silver light and a silver aura swirled around him, making his hair and clothes wave around as if a powerful wind was blowing them. Haku had to resist the urge to move back. Lord Okaia was scary when he was mad.



"How dare you speak to me in such a way!" Lord Okaia bellowed, his voice echoing. "You dare to threaten me and question my power! You're smarter than that, Kohaku! You should know better than to challenge my power!" Haku's first thought was to cower down before the mighty sorcerer. He was very powerful, but he was no match for Lord Okaia, and he knew it. But then the thought of Chihiro erased all his fears and his stood his ground; not literally since he was in the air. "Nothing will stop me from being with Chihiro, nothing!" he said fearlessly. "And if I have to face you to get to her, then I will!" The two continued to glare at each other. It was harder for Haku since Lord Okaia was so much taller than him. After a few seconds, Lord Okaia's power died down and he returned to his normal state. He sighed as his smiled crept up on his face again. "Ah, true love." He said, chuckling. "It makes us do things we never thought possible. No, Kohaku, I have no intention of fighting you. But, I still cannot allow you to go to her yet." "Why not?" "I'd rather not say." That wasn't good enough for Haku. Heck, no answer would have been good enough, and he wanted the sorcerer to know this. "Well, whatever reason you have, I don't care. I'm going to her." He slowly passed by the sorcerer. Lord Okaia didn't make a move to stop him. He simply closed his eyes and sighed. He really didn't want to tell Haku the reason why he didn't want him to go to Chihiro, but the stubborn river spirit wasn't giving him a choice. "Kohaku, if you go to her now she will die!" Haku froze as Lord Okaia's words hit him. He didn't understand. Chihiro would die if he did go to her? That didn't make any sense. He turned to the sorcerer. "What do you mean?" Lord Okaia sighed again. "I didn't want to worry you, but if you attempt to assist her on her journey, she will die." Haku's heart began racing. "What are you talking about? How will she die? Tell me!" Lord Okaia reached into his pocket and took out the card representing life and death. "Chihiro will face a difficult challenge ahead of her. What she does will determine whether or not she lives or dies. But if you are with her, she won't survive." "That doesn't make sense!" Haku yelled, grabbing a handful of his hair in frustration. "How can she die if I'm there to protect her?" "She will die because you're trying to protect her." Lord Okaia replied. "Chihiro will meet a spirit that holds a terrible grudge against humans. If you are with her, you will attempt to protect her. Chihiro will not abandon you, and the angry spirit will kill her." Haku was staring at the sorcerer in disbelief.



"However, if you are not there, she will not worry about you and she will have a much better chance of survival." Haku continued to stare at Lord Okaia. He looked heartbroken and it really hurt the sorcerer to see him suffer. Finally, Haku hung his head in defeat. "So I can't go to her?" he muttered. "But… I… how can I…" Lord Okaia turned to face the depressed spirit. He rested his large hand on Haku's shoulder. "Do not fear, Kohaku. All will be well. But you must return to the bathhouse. There is something you have to do as well." "What's that?" asked Haku, not really caring. Lord Okaia took out the second card, the one with the half black, half red heart; love and hate. "After Chihiro faces the three emotions, she will, her love will meet it's opposite. Hate. You see, Kohaku, before you and her can be together, hate will attempt to stop it. There is a spirit back at the bathhouse that hates humans. They will not stand a human and a spirit to be together. They will try to kill her before she becomes a spirit." Haku's head snapped up. "What?" Lord Okaia nodded. "Yes, it's true. The same thing happened to me, and I do not wish my fate to befall upon you and Chihiro. You will be the key element to Chihiro becoming a spirit, which is why you must be where she will find you. But before she does, the one filled hate will find her and attempt to kill her before she become a spirit." Haku's anger erupted. How dare anyone even think about hurting Chihiro. He would kill them if they tried anything. "Who are they?" he demanded. "I'll kill them before they get the chance!" Lord Okaia sighed. "I cannot tell you that. If you know, it may change the events I have foreseen. I told Chihiro that destiny is like a card game and her game strategy is her future. I have looked at the next card in her deck, so I know what comes next. But if I tell you, it may change your strategy and thus ruining everything I have seen. Destiny is so uncertain. The smallest thing can change it. This is why I cannot tell you. But, I will say this; the one who will attempt to kill her has been at the bathhouse a long time. Keep your eyes open and keep watch for her when she returns." A look of determination came over Haku's face. "Yes, I will." Lord Okaia nodded. "Good. And have faith in her. Your love is strong enough to get through anything." There was a flash of silver light and Lord Okaia was gone. Haku hovered in midair thinking over everything that had been said. If Lord Okaia was right, then he couldn't go to her now, no matter how much he wanted. He had no choice but to return to the bathhouse and wait for his love to return. In the meantime, he would search for the one who dared to consider harming Chihiro. Turning, he looked out on the horizon and saw the end of the toxic forest. Somewhere beyond it was the woman he loved, and he couldn't go to her. "I'm sorry, Chihiro." He said with tears in his eyes. "I will wait for you. Please, come back to me."



With that, he changed back into his dragon form and headed back for the bathhouse. (-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-) "That plan will never work." Rita complained as Lin went through another one of her 'Chihiro and Haku's love confession' plans. "Ok then, how about this one." Said Lin, taking out another plan. "We get them both really drunk and then leave them alone in the same room over night." Kamajii snorted. "That won't work either; neither of them drink." Bôh yawned. He didn't have much interest in this romance stuff and was rather bored. "Why don't you just lock them in a room until they admit their feelings to each other?" he suggested. Lin shook her head. "That only works if they're fighting. How about this plan? We send them to Haku's river and not let them come back until they confess." Bôh gave her a confused look. "How is that different from my plan?" "It just is." "And how are you planning on pulling that off?" Kamajii asked. "Uh…" Lin didn't have an answer. "I'll figure that out later. Right now I'm just brainstorming ideas." "Yeah, and look at some of these." Rita muttered, going through Lin's plans. "Blackmail, bribery, truth potions, tell one that the other is dieing, spells, tickle them until they confess… what the heck is this one?" Lin looked at the plan Rita was looking at and snatched the paper away from her. "That one I thought up out of frustration." She snapped. Kamajii sighed in his own frustration. "Do you have any ideas that will actually work, or are these just things that came to you?" Lin didn't answer, but she did turn away and start whistling to herself. Rita rolled her eyes. "You're really bad at this." she said. Lin glared at her. "Oh, and like you could do better!" "This was your idea, not mine." "Well you wanted to help!" "Why are you yelling?" "I'M NOT YELLING!"



Bang! The door to the boiler room burst open and Yubaba came in, looking furious. She glared accusingly at Kamajii, Lin, and Rita. "So it's true! You're down here filling my son's head with… with… inappropriate ideas!" "Mama, we're just trying to find away to get Chihiro and Haku admit that they love each other." Said Bôh, as if this were an everyday discussion. Yubaba didn't seem any less angry. "You don't need to take any part in that!" she yelled. "You should just leave the two of them alone and let things progress naturally. Besides, I don't need any little halfspirits running around here anytime soon." "But mama, I want to play with their kids!" Kamajii cleared his throat. "Aren't we getting a little ahead of ourselves?" "Hello!" cried Lin, waving her plans around. "We're in the middle of something here." "Not with my son!" Yubaba snapped. "Sweetie, we're leaving." "But we live here." "I meant the room!" "But mama-" "Now, mister!" Yubaba shouted, pointing at the door. Bôh frowned. This was new. His mother was very mad. He didn't know what he was doing wrong, but he had the feeling that he wouldn't be able to change his mother's mind this time. "Yes, mama." Yubaba was momentarily taken aback by her son's obedience. She was also surprised that she had been able to deny him something he wanted. Perhaps Chihiro was right and she needed to assert her parental authority a bit. Not too much though, she liked spoiling her son, but a line needed to be drawn. 'As much as I hate to admit it, I'll have to thank the human when she gets back.' The witch thought. 'If she comes back.' That last thought made her frown and feel rather sad. 'I hope she comes back.'



Chapter 18: Telling the Others Lin was getting fed up with all of this love work. She was drawing a blank on what to do. And Yubaba had to go and pester her about not working. So she had to put her plans on hold to go tend to the customers. Approaching the foreman, with a bored expression on her face, she said in a lazy tone, "One bath token for King Totoro." The foreman nodded happily and handed her the token. Lin took it and sighed. Working wasn't as much fun anymore without Chihiro around. "Lin!"



The spirit woman turned to the one calling her. "Hey, Rita." "How's the planning going?" Lin sighed again. "It would be going a lot better IF YUBABA WOULD LEAVE ME ALONE!" she shouted, intending for the witch to hear her. The foreman was quick to scold her. "Lin, please! We have customers!" Lin snorted. "Yeah, whatever." She walked away with a real stubborn look on her face. Rita followed close behind, looking concerned. "You're worried about her, aren't you?" Lin visibly tensed up. "What, no way! Chihiro can take care of herself. She's a strong girl, she'll be fine." "But she's human." "She'll be fine!" Rita took a step back. Lin could be scary sometimes. "It's ok to worry." Lin threw the bath token in her frustration. It hit some random spirit who yelped in surprise, but she ignored them. "Ok, so I'm worried! Get off my back! I swear, if that dragon doesn't bring her back exactlythe way she was when she left, I'll… I'll…" Rita cocked her head to the side. What would Lin say she would do this time? "You'll do what?" "Use your imagination!" Lin continued storming through the bathhouse. In her anger, she forgot about her customer, and was later scolded about it by Yubaba. Rita tried to calm her friend, but when Lin got into one of her moods, it was rather hard to be around her. But Lin's mood was about to take a sudden change, and it began when one of the toad spirits came running up to her and Rita. "Lin! Lin! Where are you?" the spirit cried. Rita waved the toad over. "She's over here, Clam. But be careful, she's in one of her moods." "I heard that!" Lin shouted. She turned to the toad and glared at him. "What do you want?" Clam gulped nervously. "Uh, just thought that you wanted to know that Master Haku has returned." Lin's eyes widened. "About time! How's Chihiro?" Clam looked very nervous. He pulled on his mustache anxiously. "Well… um, you see…" "Spit it out!"



Clam gulped. "She's… not… with… him…" he said carefully, then braced himself for the explosion. A few seconds of silence went by. "…WHAT!" Lin sped past Rita and Clam as she raced towards the front doors. She knocked over several spirits, many of them customers, on her way. Sure enough, there was the river spirit, walking into the bathhouse, looking very depressed. Lin marched over to him with fire in her eyes. "HAKU!" Haku jumped at his name being called. A moment later he found himself pinned against the wall with a very, very angry Lin standing in front of him. "Lin… what?" "WHERE IS SHE? WHAT DID YOU DO WITH HER?" "Lin-" "ANSWER ME OR I'LL- HEY, LET, ME GO!" Rita and Clam pulled Lin off the startled river spirit and held her from doing anything she would regret." "Lin, calm down." Said Rita. "Yeah, you're disturbing the customers." Said Clam, looking embarrassed. "FORGET THE CUSTOMERS! KNOWING MR. INSENSITIVE HERE, HE PROBABLY SAID SOMETHING STUPID AND CHASED HER AWAY AGAIN! WHAT DID YOU DO, DRAGON?" Rolling his eyes, Haku made a zippering gesture and Lin's mouth sealed shut, literally. This only fueled her anger, but it prevented her from shouting. Haku put his finger to his lips and said, "Now, if you'll please stop shouting, I'll let you speak again." His voice was filled with sadness, but only Rita and Clam seemed to notice; Lin was too frustrated to notice. She gave him a dirty look and nodded. "Alright then." Haku removed the spell, and the second he did, "WHY YOU-" Zip. Haku shook his head in disappointment. "If you're going to continue to shout, let's at least go somewhere more private. I'll explain everything there." He led the three spirits through the bathhouse, nodding apologetically to customers he passed. They entered an empty room and Haku locked the door behind them. "Now," he said, "I assume you're wondering why Chihiro isn't with me." Lin rolled her eyes as Clam asked, "She's ok, isn't she?" Haku nodded. "Yes, I was told by Lord Okaia himself that she was fine. She's with Zeniba, No-Face, and Yu-bird."



Rita's eyes widened. "No-Face? That terrible monster that ate 3 people?" Haku nodded. "And what in the world were you thinking letting her go off with that thing?" Haku growled impatiently. "That thing is a good friend of hers and mine. His aggressive behavior was a result of all the greed and hunger for power the bathhouse was filled with back then. I trust No-Face." Clam gulped. "I hope you're right." Lin looked like she was bursting to say something, but Haku's spell still held her mouth shut. She settled for making irritated noises. "Wait a second!" Rita cried. "You just said Lord Okaia said she was alright. You met Lord Okaia?" Haku nodded. "Yes, he was the one that told me to come back. He said that Chihiro would need me here for when she returned. And he also gave me some very disturbing news." He looked around as if expecting someone to be eavesdropping. Lowering his voice he said, "According to Lord Okaia, there is a spirit here that will attempt to kill her when she returns." Clam and Rita's mouths dropped open. Lin's would have too if she had been able to open her mouth. "Mm? Mm mm mmm mm mm mm! Mmm mm mm mmm mm mmm!" "Can't understand you, Lin." Said Haku. "If you promise not raise your voice, I will remove the spell. And if you scream again, I will leave the spell on you and you'll have to wait for it to wear off." Lin nodded furiously and Haku removed the spell. "WHO-" She clamped her hand over her mouth and took a deep breath. "Who would want to kill her? Why? Anger could be seen in the river spirit's eyes. "Many spirits hate humans. Some hate them enough to kill. Lord Okaia warned me that this spirit wouldn't stand for a spirit and a human being together, nor will they allow a human to become a spirit. They will try and kill her before Chihiro becomes a spirit." "Didn't he tell you who it was?" asked Rita. Haku shook his head. "He said that giving out too much information could change the future he has foreseen. But he did warn me of this to give me a chance to stop whoever they are." "It's probably one of the women." Said Clam. Both Lin and Rita hit him over the head. "Ow! What was that for?" "For being a sexist pig!" Lin shouted. Clam rubbed his head. "I am not! If you had let me finish my explanation you wouldn't have thought so. I was merely wondering if one of the women could secretly be in love with Haku and is jealous of Chihiro." Haku's eyes widened. He hadn't thought of that. It was a possibility, but he didn't think any spirits like him that way. But still, it was worth looking into. "I don't know who it is, but I intend to find out." He said. "I'll need you three to help me. Don't tell anyone of this other than Bôh and Kamajii." "What about Yubaba?" Clam asked.



Haku shook his head. "No, knowing her, she'll round up everyone in the bathhouse and probable scare whoever they are away. No, we'll have to keep this quiet. I'm counting on you three. Don't let me down." "Of course not, Master Haku!" cried Clam, saluting the river spirit. "I'll help." Said Rita. Lin cracked her knuckles. "If anyone so much as puts one hair out of place on her head, I'll kill them." (-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-) Chihiro was getting very aggravated. She was tired, hungry, and in a desperate need of a shower. And all this walking was a killing her feet. Why must everything in life be so difficult? All she wanted was live happily ever after with Haku. Was that so much to ask? Apparently it was if she had to go on this stupid journey. It was worth it though, but that didn't mean that she had to like it. "AH! Why must I go on this ridiculous quest?" she shouted in frustration. "Why can't the spirit of life just appear to me?" Zeniba sighed. She didn't blame Chihiro for being irritated. In fact, she was surprised the girl hadn't been complaining more than she was. She sure had patience. "Let's take a break." Zeniba said, popping out of the paper 'bird'. "Besides, you need to eat." Chihiro had no arguments. She was starving! She had to make sure to eat very little so she would have plenty of food for the journey. She offered some to the others, but they politely turned it away. Yes, they were hungry, but they didn't need to eat. Food was more of a luxury for spirits rather than a necessity. "No, Chihiro." Said Zeniba, waving away the offered apple. "You need every last morsel; we wouldn't want you disappearing." "Ah, ah." No-Face agreed, nodding. Chihiro sighed and took a bite of the apple. Zeniba sat down beside her. "Listen, dear, I know things seem tough now, but you have to believe what Lord Okaia said. Follow you're heart and-" "It will all work out." Chihiro finished. "I know, I know. But why must I go through this? Why is the spirit of life making me go on this stupid journey?" Zeniba patted the human on the back. "That I cannot answer, but my guess is that it is testing your love and devotion. It wants to see what you are willing to do for love." "Anything." Chihiro said. "You know that." Zeniba nodded. "Yes, I can see it in your eyes. But to say something and actually do something are two different things." Chihiro clenched the apple in her hand so tightly that her fingers dug into the fruit. "Well if it wants to test me, why doesn't it just come out and do it." She turned to the floating golden seal and began yelling at it. "You hear me, spirit of life? Come out! Lord Okaia said I would have to face joy, sadness, and anger! I faced joy, now where's sadness and anger? Come out, come out wherever you are!"



The seal did nothing but continue floating in the air, pointing in the direction they must take. It wasn't like Chihiro expected anything to happen, but she just needed an outlet for the bottled up frustration that had built up over the past several days. Zeniba patiently waited for the human to get her frustration out. When the Chihiro was finished, Zeniba asked, "Feel better?" Chihiro nodded. "I'm sorry. I'm just…" "No need to apologize, dear." Zeniba assured her. "Everyone has these emotions. I don't blame you for being upset. This does seem rather unfair. But you have to understand that the spirit of life can't just go around turning every human that comes to our world into a spirit." Chihiro shrugged. "I guess, but how many humans come here anyway." Zeniba rubbed her chin. "Good point." (-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-) "WHAT?" Bôh wailed. "What do you mean someone is wants to kill Chihiro? MAMA!" Rita waved her arms around, trying to silence the overgrown baby. "Master Bôh, please keep quiet. Don't tell your mother." "Why?" Bôh demanded angrily. "Chihiro's in trouble! Mama will find out who wants to hurt her! Mama!" Rita put her finger to her lips. "Shh, please, Master Bôh. Haku wants to find out who they are, not scare them away, which is what your mother will do." Bôh pounded the floor with his giant fist. "Fine, but she better be ok! If anything happens to Chihiro, I'll tell mama that it was all your fault." Rita gulped. She didn't want Yubaba to hold her responsible for losing her number one employee. "Don't worry, Master Bôh. We won't let anything happen. Just keep this quiet. We don't want whoever wants her dead to find out we know." Bôh nodded ion agreement. "Who does know?" "Just you, me, Haku, Lin, and Clam should be telling Kamajii about it now." (-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-) "Who wants to hurt Chihiro?" Kamajii demanded furiously. Clam shrugged. "We're not sure, but that's why we're telling you, so you can keep your eyes and ears open for anything suspicious." Kamajii rubbed his mustache as he pondered over this. "Who could want to kill Chihiro?" "It could be anyone." Said Clam. "We thought everyone liked her. We can't trust anybody."



"Anyone, eh?" Kamajii repeated. He was getting very mad. "You're right. We can't trust anybody. It could be anyone. It could be Yubaba. Maybe she's mad because Chihiro ran away." Clam shook his head. "I doubt it; Chihiro's her best worker." "Or maybe, it's Lin. She could be mad for Chihiro always getting them in trouble and having to do the big bath." Clam raised an eyebrow. "That's highly unlikely." "Or it could be Bôh! He might be mad because she didn't play with him enough! Or maybe it's Rita! All this planning to get Haku and Chihiro to admit their feelings for each other could have annoyed her!" "I think you're taking this too far." "Or it could be you!" "What? Me?" Kamajii got right up in his face. "Maybe you're still mad over the whole No-Face incident! Or perhaps it was you!" He pointed accusingly to the soot balls, who shrank back nervously. "You're angry because she didn't help all of you with that coal 12 years ago! Admit it! Admit it!" "Kamajii!" The boiler man glared at Clam, who had a very startled look on his face. That snapped Kamajii out of his hysteria, and he realized how he was behaving. "Uh… sorry." He muttered, embarrassed. "I was getting a little paranoid." "A little?" asked Clam, still looking nervous. Even the soot balls were still cowering away. Kamajii took a deep breath. "Ok, ok, let's talk about this rationally. Someone wants Chihiro dead because they hate humans." He scratched his chin. "Hmm, why would they wait until now?" Clam shrugged. "I'm just telling you what Haku told me. He wants you to keep your eyes and ears open for anything." Kamajii nodded. "I'll do that. And you, you little powder puffs," the soot balls jumped back, "you are going to search the bathhouse. It will be easier for you to spy. Just make sure that you don't leave a trail of soot behind." The soot balls all nodded and began to leave. "Not all of you! I still need some of you to help me down here." The soot balls stopped. They squeaked amongst themselves for a bit before half left the boiler room with Clam and the other half returned to their work. Kamajii watched them for a moment, not really seeing them since his mind was elsewhere. 'Chihiro, I hope you'll be alright.'



Chapter 19: Polluted With Sadness Zeniba sensed the presence getting closer the further they went. She wasn't sure what it was, but something was wrong with it. And it smelled bad too! Was it a spirit? A monster? Some other creature that lived in the spirit world? Whatever it was, she hoped it was human friendly. Best not to take that chance. "Maybe we should go in a different direction." The witch suggested. Chihiro gave her a confused look. "But the seal is pointing in this direction." "I know but… there's something up ahead, and I'm not sure if it will tolerate a human." Zeniba explained. It took a moment for this to register to Chihiro, but when it did, her eyes narrowed in irritation. "I am tired of being judged because I'm a human! Not all humans are the same! Yes, some are bad and destructive, but not all, and not me!" She turned away and stormed in the direction the seal was pointing in. "Come on, guys!" she snapped as she passed No-Face and Yu-bird. No-Face looked at Yu-bird then at Zeniba before shrugging and following his friend. Zeniba sighed and shook her head. She understood why Chihiro was upset. She had a right to be, what she said about humans was true, but not all spirits understood that. "Granny!" Zeniba snapped out of her thoughts and popped out of the 'bird'. "I'm coming, dear." She cried, rushing forward. She raced up the hill to where her companions were. "What's wrong? What happened?" Chihiro pointed to the figure in the distance. "Look." Zeniba looked at what Chihiro was pointing and gasped. Not too far away, was a snake. A very large snake. It could swallow anyone of them without even dislocating its jaws. But other than the size, this was no ordinary snake. It appeared to be made of water; very polluted water too. "Oh my." Zeniba whispered. "Is that a snake?" Chihiro asked. "Sort of." Zeniba replied. "It's a spirit. This is just its spirit form. Just like Haku in his dragon form." "Oh." Chihiro nodded in understanding. She made a weird face and covered her nose. The spirit stank. It smelled like smoke, car exhaust, garbage, and other nasty things she couldn't think of at the moment. "It smells bad." Zeniba put her finger to her lips. "Shh, it's asleep." Chihiro shrugged. "So, snakes are deaf." Zeniba shook her head. "You forget, dear, this isn't your world. And that's not really a snake." "Right, right." Chihiro mentally scolded herself for being stupid. Of course, things were different. She also noticed that the snake had eyelids.



No-Face gently grabbed Chihiro's hand and pulled her. "Ah, ah." Zeniba nodded. "He's right. We should go before it wakes up." "But Lord Okaia said I was supposed to meet two more spirits. One filled with sadness and one filled with anger." Chihiro said. "What if this is one of the ones I need to see?" "Let's not take chances, dear." Taking Zeniba's advice, the group slowly moved around the sleeping spirit. It would have been much easier to door if they weren't squeezed between the canyon walls. It was almost like fate deliberately set the spirit right in their bath so the would meet first they were going to have No-Face eat Yu-bird again and fly them over the sleeping spirit, but Yu-bird wouldn't cooperate. So they had to actually squeeze by it and hope it wouldn't wake up. 'Stupid destiny.' Chihiro thought as she slid past the snake. 'Why can't things be easy?' She didn't have to do this. She could always turn back and not take the path Lord Okaia predicted for her. But she wanted this. She wanted Haku. So she pushed onward. "No-Face, watch where you're going!" Zeniba whispered quickly. The snake grunted as No-Face accidentally stepped on its tail. He quickly stepped off, but the snake's eyes flickered open. Zeniba gulped nervously and moved in front of Chihiro protectively. "Stay down." She whispered. The snake didn't attack. In fact, it didn't even seem to notice them. It uncoiled itself and winced in pain. Chihiro noticed this. She also noticed that the snake was breathing heavily, like it had just had a hard workout. Foul liquid leaked from its mouth as it panted. "Granny, I think its hurt." She whispered. "He." Zeniba replied. "What?" "It's a boy." "How can you tell?" Zeniba didn't answer. Instead she just pushed Chihiro further away. It was at that moment that the snake noticed them. Everyone froze, except for Yu-bird who was shaking in fear; apparently snakes ate birds in the spirit world too. Chihiro gulped. "Uh… hi." The snake opened its mouth. Chihiro expected it to either strike or say something, but instead it vomited, covering them in the nasty liquid. The group stood there drenched. "That is so disgusting." Chihiro muttered.



"Ah, ah." "Granny, what's wrong with it?" Zeniba grabbed a handful of her dress and rung it out. "I'm not sure, but I don't think it's going to attack." No sooner had the words left her mouth did the snake start moving towards them. "Or maybe not." (-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-) Two days and no leads. Haku was getting impatient. For two days, his friends had been observing every spirit in the bathhouse, but no one looked suspicious. Haku regretted that he couldn't search himself, but he was keeping lookout for Chihiro. He had been sitting in his room at the window, staring off into the horizon, day and night, waiting for her to come back. He didn't eat, he didn't sleep, he just watched and waited. After Kamajii's brief moment of paranoia, he managed to calm down enough to actually help. His soot balls were very useful for spying, but their absence did slow down his working speed, much to Yubaba's displeasure. Rita reported back empty handed time and time again. She searched for the dates of when the bathhouse's employees had started working. Several of them had been working at the bathhouse for thousands of years. She wished Lord Okaia had been more specific when he said that it was someone that had been working at the bathhouse for a long time. What was a 'long time' to someone as old as Lord Okaia anyway? Clam kept up with his theory that it was one of the women secretly in love with Haku, yet he found nothing suspicious; although he did get hit several times by nearly every female in the bathhouse for spying on them. Bôh wasn't much help. Having the mind of an infant, he didn't know what to look for. He mostly listened to whatever information reached his mother's ears. And speaking of Yubaba, the witch's patience was really running thin. Not only were Chihiro and Yu-bird still gone, but Haku refused to work until his little girlfriend came back, Kamajii was slacking, her son was listening in on her conversations, and Lin, Rita, and Clam were spending all of their time goofing off; not to mention that trails of soot were being found everywhere. Finally she decided that enough was enough and she sent someone to fetch Haku. The river spirit was still in his room, gazing out the window, when the knock came at his door. "Come in." he said, hoping it was one of his friends with news of whoever wanted Chihiro dead. The little frog spirit hopped in, jumping up onto the windowsill. "Um, Master Haku, Yubaba wants to speak with you." Haku's eyes narrowed in frustration. "Then tell her to come to me. I'm keeping watch until Chihiro gets back." The frog spirit gulped. He didn't want to make Haku angry, but if he didn't bring the river spirit to Yubaba, then she would be mad at him. What a dilemma.



"Um, Master Haku, you know I would do anything for Miss Chihiro." He said. "After all, she saved me after No-Face ate me." He shivered at the memory. "I'll stand watch until you get back. You can count on me." Haku studied the little frog for a moment, trying to decide if he could trust him. He didn't want to take any chances. But what grudge would the frog spirit have against Chihiro? And it was true that Chihiro had saved him from No-Face. Just then, Haku spotted one of Kamajii's soot balls trying to get his attention. Now those little guys he could count on. Deciding to make this meeting go as fast as possible, and to make it clear that he was not going to do anything until Chihiro was back safe and sound, he nodded to the frog spirit. "Ok, but don't take your eyes off the window." He said. The frog saluted him. "Of course, Master Haku, you can count on me!" He turned to the window and stared outside. Haku looked at the soot ball and nodded, receiving a nod back from the ball of soot. With that, he sped out of the room at top speed. Not even bothering with the elevator, he flew out the window, up to Yubaba's room. "What do you want?" he demanded. Yubaba jumped in surprise at Haku's sudden appearance. "Oh, Haku! You startled me. But I'm glad you're here. I have to talk to you about-" "What do you want?" Haku repeated. Yubaba's eyes narrowed at his rudeness. "Don't you take that tone with me! This is the reason I sent for you. I want to know just what is going on. You, Lin, Clam, and Rita are refusing to work and Kamajii is slacking off. What are you all doing? AND WHY IS THERE SOOT EVERYWHERE?" she bellowed, dusting off her desk. Haku growled in annoyance. "Something important has come to our attention and we have to take care of it." Yubaba wasn't satisfied in the least with Haku's reply. "What kind of answer is that? Obviously you're doing something. I want to know what is it." Haku shook his head. "I can't tell you." Yubaba grinded her teeth together in annoyance. It was times like these she wished that she still had control over the river spirit. "Well, whatever it is, you can take care of it during your breaks." "No. It has to be done before Chihiro gets back." Yubaba gave him a cheeky smile. "Why, you planning on proposing?" Haku turned red. Yubaba chuckled, finding enjoyment in Haku's discomfort. "Haku, whatever it is, if you need it done before Chihiro comes back, if she comes back, that's fine. However, I do not want you or the others slacking off anymore. Do I make myself clear?" "Perfectly." Said Haku calmly. "Now let me make myself clear, Chihiro comes first, no matter what."



Yubaba slammed her fist on the desk. "What on earth could be so darn important that needs to be done before she comes back?" Bôh, who had been listening in on the conversation poked his head out of his room. "Someone wants to kill her." He said. Haku glared at Bôh who covered his mouth as he remembered that he was supposed to keep quiet about this. "What?" Yubaba shouted. "Who wants her dead?" Haku turned back to the old witch. "That is what we've been trying to figure out. All we know is that it's someone who works here." The look on Yubaba's face was murderous. "How dare anyone attempt to do anything to one of my employees! No one takes from me! Oh, I'll find out who they are, and when I do, I'll-" "Do nothing." Haku interrupted. "I will deal with this." "She's my employee." Yubaba snapped. "Anyone who does anything to one of my employees must be ready to answer to the boss." Haku's eyes narrowed. "And she's the one I love. Anyone who does anything to her must be ready to answer to me." Yubaba didn't say anything in response. She tapped her fingers on the desk pondering something. A slight smirk appeared on her wrinkly face. "Very well, Haku. You take care of this. But I want it dealt with quickly." Haku nodded and, without waiting for the witch to dismiss him, left the room. Yubaba sat back in her chair, thinking about this turn of events. She wondered who would have it in for Chihiro. She also wondered which one of her employees was stupid enough to take away one of her workers. Something moving caught her eyes and her fist came crashing down on the snooping soot ball. "Gotcha!" (-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-) Zeniba continued to block Chihiro from the snake. It wasn't attacking, yet it wasn't backing off either. "What do you want?" she asked. The spirit didn't reply, it merely spat up more foul liquid. "Maybe he's sick." Chihiro suggested. Zeniba shook her head. "Spirits don't get sick. But there is definitely something wrong with him." Now Chihiro was confused. "But when I was here 12 years ago, Bôh said that he never left his room because he thought he would get sick."



Zeniba snorted. "My sister would have told him that. It was a lie. I wonder what other nonsense she told him to keep her 'precious baby' from leaving his room." The snake's tail moved forward. The others froze as it gently wrapped around them. It wasn't in a threatening way, but Zeniba was still on her guard to fight back should the spirit try anything. The snake brought its face right up into theirs. Its eyes were bloodshot and full of tears. Poor Yu-bird was freaking out. To have her natural predator right up close like this was terrifying. The snake hissed and that was all Yu-bird could stand. She flew off Chihiro's shoulder, scratching the snake with her talons. The snake cried out in pain as Yu-bird's claws slashed its nose. It began thrashing about violently. Zeniba cast a quick spell and she, Chihiro and No-Face floated out of the snake's reach. The snake didn't react, but once again vomited more foul liquid. "What's wrong with him?" Chihiro cried. "I'm not sure." Said Zeniba. "We have to help him." Yu-bird screeched in disagreement, but Chihiro ignored her. "What do you suggest?" Zeniba asked. Chihiro reached into her pocket and took out the dagger Lord Okaia gave to her. "Lord Okaia must have foreseen this. That's why he gave this dagger to me. He told me to use it on sadness. This spirit sure looks miserable." Zeniba thought about this. "Ok, just be careful." She said, lowering the girl down. Chihiro planned on being very careful. She knew that someone in enough pain could behave violently. Both Haku and No-Face had been very aggressive when she attempted to feed them the medicine from the river spirit 12 years ago when they were suffering. Chihiro slowly approached the spirit. The snake spotted the dagger in Chihiro's hand and hissed. Chihiro stopped and started speaking quietly to the spirit. "No, it's ok. I'm not going to hurt you." she said. "I just want to help." The spirit's gaze darted back to the dagger again and its eyes narrowed. "No, this will help." She said, knowing the spirit wouldn't believe her. She wouldn't believe someone if they told her a dagger would heal them. "Lord Okaia gave me this. You do know who Lord Okaia is, don't you? He knew that I would meet you. This is some sort of healing dagger that will kill any infection. Just trust me." The spirit hissed again, spraying Chihiro with more of the nasty liquid. "Don't you want to get better? This will help. Just show me where it hurts." "Careful Chihiro." Said Zeniba. "I'll be ready to step in." The snake got into a striking position. Chihiro had to admit that she was afraid. She wanted to help, but this spirit was very uncooperative. Not that she blamed it. She really hoped that she was doing the right thing.



She took another step and the snake struck. Zeniba reacted immediately, surrounding Chihiro in a protective shield of magic. As the snake attempted to bite through the shield, Chihiro stabbed it. The dagger buried itself into the snake's neck. A simple stab wound wouldn't kill a spirit, but it sure hurt. It pulled back and howled in pain. The nasty liquid sprayed out of its mouth like its head was a fire hose spout. After a few moments, the dagger sticking out of its neck dissolved, leaving the spirit gasping for breath. A small wound was left where the dagger had been, and from this cut a fountain of the foul liquid sprayed out. The fountain didn't stop as more and more liquid sprayed out. The more that sprayed out, the more the snake began to change. Finally, the last of the liquid left its body and the wound closed. Its skin had turned the color of clear water. The snake sighed loudly before collapsing to the ground. Chihiro, who had retreated over to Zeniba, slowly stepped forward. No-Face moved forward to stop her. "Ah, ah, ah." He said, shaking his head. He approached the fallen spirit to make sure it was safe. Once he was convinced the danger was over, he motioned for the others to approach. "Ah, ah." All except Yu-bird went over to the sleeping spirit. Chihiro gently probed the snake and its eyes flickered open. Chihiro jumped back as the snake rose up. It didn't attack or do anything aggressive. Instead, it began to change. It turned into a man. He looked like he was in his late thirties or early forties, although he was probably hundreds or thousands of years older than that. Besides the fact that his skin was scaly, he looked like a normal man. The newly transformed spirit bowed to the others. "Thank you, my friends. I can not begin to tell you how grateful I am." "Uh… you're welcome." Chihiro muttered. "What happened?" Zeniba asked. The spirited frowned. "I was… polluted." He explained. "You see, I am a lake spirit. In the human world, my lake had been constantly polluted for years, thus affecting me as you saw." Chihiro suddenly felt very dirty as she looked at the puddles of dirty water. "You mean, all this is…" The spirit nodded. "Pollution. It would have taken me months to expel all that pollution from my body, but thanks to you, I healed much faster. So thank you, miss…" "Um, Chihiro." The spirit bowed again. "Well, Miss Chihiro, I am truly grateful. If there is anything I can do to repay you, just name it." Chihiro shook her head. "Oh no, I don't need repayment. I'm just glad you're alright." Yu-bird, who had been flying high overhead, flew down and grabbed Chihiro's shirt, trying to pull her away. Chihiro pulled her shirt free. "Yu-bird, you're being rude."



The spirit chuckled. "Don't worry, I'm not going to eat you. I assume that's why she's afraid." Zeniba nodded. "Most likely. But she's right; we should be going. We have a long way ahead of us." "Oh, where are you going?" Chihiro looked at the golden seal. "Um, that way." The spirit looked in the direction she was pointing and a worried look crossed his face. "Just how far in that direction are you planning on going?" "Uh…" Chihiro turned to Zeniba for an answer. The witch just shrugged. "As far as we have to go." Her eyes narrowed in suspicion. "Why?" The spirit gulped. "Miss Chihiro, I would advice you to turn back now." Chihiro blinked in surprise. "What? Why? What's over there?" The spirit taped his fingers together nervously. "Well, you see, a very powerful spirit lives in that direction, just outside of this area. She's a forest sprit named Yuteela, and she doesn't take kindly to humans." Rather than being afraid, as the spirit thought she would be, Chihiro just sighed. "Not another one." The spirit raised an eyebrow in confusion. "Another one?" Chihiro just waved it off. "I've had dealings with those kind of spirits before. It's just another one that doesn't like humans." The spirit shook his head. "No, you don't understand. Yuteela doesn't just dislike humans, she holds a grudge against them. You see, many years ago, back before the 'Pom Poko' era, her forest was strong and healthy. It was the home to many animals and it spread for miles. But then humans came and completely tore it down. All of it, turning it into a city. Yuteela still hasn't forgiven them. She despises them for what they did." Chihiro didn't know what to say. As a human, she didn't understand what it was like to lose a part of herself like spirits could. She couldn't even begin to imagine what it must be like. "That's so sad." She said. The lake spirit nodded. "It is. She became very bitter and mean. Not that any of us blame her. For a spirit to lose their piece of land that they were born from is would be like you humans losing one of your five senses. Yuteela will not take kindly to you. She may even kill you. I strongly suggest that you turn back." Zeniba turned to Chihiro, looking for her reaction. "Well dear, what do you want to do?" Chihiro only needed to think about it for a moment. A determine look came over her face. "I'm going. Lord Okaia told me that I would meet a spirit filled with anger. I've face joy and now I've faced sadness. That means that once I get past this Yuteela, I should reach the spirit of life."



The lake spirit's eyes widened. "You're trying to find the spirit of life?" Chihiro nodded. "Well I wish you luck; on both getting past Yuteela and finding the spirit of life. Just know that no one has ever finds the spirit of life; it finds them." Chihiro nodded. "Yes, I know. Thank you." The spirit shook his head. "No, thank you. And be careful." "I will. Bye." "Goodbye." The lake spirit watched them go. He greatly admired the human for her courage. He just hoped that she knew what she was doing. "Good luck, my friend."



Chapter 20: A Big Mistake "Master Haku, I'm getting a little worried about you." said Clam. "You haven't gone to sleep since you've gotten back. Why not let one of us take over being lookout for awhile and you get some rest." Haku gave his friend a smile but politely declined the offer. "No thank you, Clam. It's not that I don't trust you or the others, I just want to be the one to keep watch. This way I know for a fact that I can't miss her. Besides, I'm too worried to get to sleep." "Kamajii may have something to help." Said Clam. He turned to the 2 soot balls in the room. "Does he?" The soot balls squeaked and nodded. Haku, once again, declined the offer. "Thank you, but I'll be fine. You and the others just keep searching for the killer." Clam sighed, but nodded. "As you wish." He turned to leave, but Haku stopped him. "Do any of you have any leads?" Clam's shoulders sank. "No, nothing. Do you suppose Lord Okaia just said such a thing to send you back?" Haku's eyes widened. He had never considered that as a possibility. He thought about it for a minute. "No, he wouldn't lie like that. There must be something we're not seeing." Clam nodded. "Then we'll keep up the search and report back to you anything we find." With that he left the room. Just outside was Lin and Rita. They both looked worried. "How is he?" Rita asked. Clam sighed. "Very depressed. He's really worried. And not getting any sleep isn't helping him." Lin nodded. "Yeah, that's not exactly healthy, even for a spirit." "He's just worried." Said Rita. "He doesn't want to take the chance of falling asleep and missing Chihiro returning."



"But he's going to need his strength to face whoever it is we're looking for." Clam said suddenly. "He can't exactly beat them all tired and drained of energy." Lin smacked him over the head. "Ow! Why is everyone always hitting me? What was that for?" "For being an idiot." Lin muttered. "Haku is the strongest one here. Even extremely weakened he could take down anyone that challenged him." Clam glared at her. "Once again, you don't let me finish. Yes, he is very powerful, but what if it's not one of the bathhouse employees? There are some spirits that come here that are stronger than him. Ow! Stop hitting me!" "Idiot." Snapped Lin impatiently. "According to Lord Okaia, whoever is after Chihiro has been here for a long time." "LET ME FINISH!" Clam shouted, rubbing his head. "Just think about what that means for a moment. Lord Okaia never said that it was an employee; just that it's someone who has been here for a long time. Some customers do come here a lot. It could be a very frequent customer." Lin and Rita were silent for a moment as they considered this possibility. Then they cried out in unison and ran to the railing, knocking poor Clam over in the process. "How could we have been so stupid?" Lin cried, looking down at the many customers. "As if this wasn't hard enough!" Rita shouted. She lightly banged her head against the railing in frustration. (-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-) Zeniba noticed that something was bothering Chihiro. She had been acting funny ever since they had met that lake spirit. She wondered if she was worried about running into this angry spirit, Yuteela. "Chihiro, is there something on your mind?" she asked in concern. Chihiro just sighed. "I fine. I guess I'm just worried about Haku." Zeniba would have raised an eyebrow questioningly had she not been inside the 'bird'. "What are you worried about?" Chihiro sighed again. "Well, ever since we spoke to that lake spirit and he started talking about 'bonded' spirits, I've been worried about Haku and his connection to his river." "I'm afraid I don't follow you." Chihiro thought about it, trying to decide how to put what she wanted to say into words. "Spirits like you, No-Face, Kamajii, Lin, and Lord Okaia, you're not bonded to any landmass like Haku is. That connection worries me." Zeniba nodded in understanding. She now had some idea of what Chihiro was getting at, but she was still confused. "I still don't see what the problem is." Chihiro frowned. "I think I understand why so many spirits dislike humans a little better. Most of them are probably bonded spirits, and they hate humans for their destructive ways. This Yuteela that we



might run into, she's a good example. She lost her entire forest to humans. I don't blame her for holding a grudge in the least." "I see." Zeniba muttered. "But why are you worried about Haku?" Chihiro stopped walking. "I'm afraid of what my kind might do to his river. I mean, look at that lake spirit. Look how much pain he was in because his lake was polluted. If it hadn't been for me, he would have had to have endured that pain for months while he slowly recovered. Then there's that river spirit I helped the first time I came here. I have no idea what happened to him, but I'm sure it was human related. Whatever it was, it caused him to revert to a creature similar to a stink spirit. I'm afraid that something like that might happen to Haku." Now Zeniba understood why Chihiro was upset. She was still so unfamiliar with the way things worked in this world and she was jumping to conclusions. Popping out of the paper 'bird', she rested a wrinkly hand on the human's shoulder. "Chihiro, you don't need to worry about that." She assured her. "You need to understand how bonded spirits are connected to their land. All bonded spirits have the power to unite themselves with the landmass they were born from, since it is part of them. When united, what affects the landmass affects the spirit. Most bonded spirits spend all their time united with their landmass. The lake spirit you helped was more than likely united with his lake for many years before the amount of pollution in his lake forced him to leave so he may recover. Yes, it would have taken months, but he would have eventually been able to return to his lake as good as new. The river spirit you spoke of was the same case; and I'll tell you right now what had happened to him. His river had been filled with litter, perhaps from a storm, causing it to be blocked up, thus affecting him since he was united with it at the time. It was just a simple matter of removing all that junk." "But what if something like that happens to Haku?" Chihiro cried. "You don't need to worry about that. Haku may be a bonded spirit, but he isn't constantly united with his river. Some bonded spirits don't always stay united with their landmass 24/7. Haku is one of them. So what happens to his river won't affect him all that much, unless he's united with it while it happens." "What if he is?" "Then he can find help, just like the others. But you don't need to worry about much happening to him." "Why?" Zeniba chuckled. "Don't you remember?" Chihiro shook her head. "His river was covered up. It flows underground now, out of harms way from the humans. It may have caused him to be unable to find his river for a few years, but it was a blessing in disguise." Chihiro relaxed a little at this news. At least Haku's river would be safe from anything any of her kind would do. But there was still something else that worried her. "Well that's a relief, but there's still something that's bothering me. Let's say, hypothetically speaking, that Haku's river is completely destroyed like Yuteela's forest. What would happen to him?" "Ah." Zeniba muttered, scratching her chin. "Well chances of a river being completely destroyed are slim to none, but if it was then yes, it would have some affect one Haku. You see, a bonded spirit's land is part of them, just separate from their body. To lose their land would be like a human losing a limb. They don't need it to go on, but they would miss it. How would you feel if you lost an arm or a leg?"



Chihiro gulped. She didn't want to think about that. And to lose a part of you was bad enough, but to have it taken was even worse. No wonder this Yuteela was so mad. Humans had taken away a part of her. If Chihiro had been in her shoes, she would be mad too. Actually, 'mad' would probably be an understatement. For the first time, Chihiro actually felt slightly disgusted with being a human. Her kind had, and still was, carelessly destroying the environment, not knowing what they were truly doing. And the spirits were suffering for it. It wasn't fair. "I feel sorry for her." She muttered. Zeniba gave Chihiro a curious look. "Who?" "Yuteela. She had a terrible wrong done to her, and it resulted in her holding a terrible grudge against humans. I don't blame her though. She has every right to be mad. How can I face someone like her when my kind has committed such a terrible crime and she was the one who had to suffer for it?" "You don't have to." Zeniba reminded her. "You can always turn back. Is your love strong enough that you'll face her?" Without hesitation, Chihiro nodded. "Yes, I will do anything to be with Haku." She hung her head. "I just wish there was another way." Zeniba just sighed and nodded. "So do I, dear. So do I." (-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-) Lord Okaia shuffled the deck, getting ready to see into Chihiro's future again. She had already completed much of the path he had foreseen. Now the dangerous part was coming up. She would have to be strong. Lord Okaia had faith in her, but that didn't mean he wasn't worried. Until she was officially a spirit, Chihiro was still in danger. This was why he was looking into her future again. He needed to take another look at the danger that was at hand. The closer she got to it, the more clearly he could see the path for her. Letting his powers guide him, he shuffled the deck. The angry spirit was rapidly approaching, this he knew. What he was looking now for was the spirit filled with hate. The cards were shuffled and Lord Okaia cut the deck, letting his powers guide his hand to reveal what he was searching for. Taking the top card from the deck, Lord Okaia sighed in disappointment. It was the picture of a skull. There would be a death in the future regarding this path. He had really hoped there wouldn't be, but hoping wasn't always enough. "Who's death will it be?" he wondered out loud, although he had a pretty good idea. Closing his eyes, he let fate guide his hand again as he shuffled the deck. "Show me the possible outcome. Who will die and who will live? And who shall be the one to take the life of the other?" He took the top card but his magic was telling him to take another, so he did. The first card was a red heart surrounded by a pink background while the second card was an upside-down heart black heart surrounded by a blood red background.



"Of course, love or hate." He muttered sadly. "Either the one filled with love will die, or the one filled with hate will." But there was more. He was being told to take yet a third card, and he did so. His eyes narrowed as he looked at it. "So, either one will die, or they both will." He sighed. "One death alone is too much. It is sad that it must come to this. But what are the outcomes? Who will be the one to take the life?" Following his intuition, he drew three more cards. He was surprised that there were three. These three cards each represented a person. One of them would take a life. He turned over the first. "The one filled with hate. Obviously they are one of the possible canidates who will take a life. If it is them, then the one who will lose their life will be Chihiro. I hope this is not the future that occurs." He turned over the second card. "This was predictable as well. Haku, yes he would be willing to kill the one filled with hate to save Chihiro. If he discovers who they are before they take the human's life, that is. I wish there was a path in which no one must die and no one must take a life, but alas, fate can be cruel at times." He looked at the last card. Now came the interesting part. He had thought that there would only be two possible outcomes; either Haku taking the life of the one filled with hate, or the one filled with hate taking the life of Chihiro. Who would be the third one to commit murder, and who's life would they take; Chihiro's or the one filled with hate? He turned the card over and his eyes widened. This was certainly unexpected. He had never considered this possibility. How unexpected; or was it? His golden eyes scanned over the cards, first on the card representing Haku, then the one representing the one filled with hate, and finally the third card. He closed his eyes. A hard decision would need to be made. If the first possibility came to pass, Chihiro would lose her life. He couldn't bare the thought of an innocent dieing, especially when they had their whole lives ahead of them just when they were about to be with the one they loved forever. He would not let this happen. He knew the pain of this path and he did not wish it on anyone. If the second possibility came to pass, then Haku would be the one to take a life. True, it was for the greater good and Haku would not be thought badly of by anyone, not even the gods, but Lord Okaia did not want Haku to have to take a life, not even the life of an evil being such as the one filled with hate. That left the third possibility. He did not like this one any better than the last. It was just as bad. But which of the two was better? Knowing the truth to this question, Lord Okaia made his decision, and a single tear fell down his pale cheek. (-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-) Haku felt himself nodding off to sleep. He shook his head, trying to stay awake. He needed to stay focused; he needed to stay awake for when Chihiro came back, she needed him. He suddenly sensed another presence. A powerful one too. He watched as the shadows seemed to come to life and take form. Haku braced himself for whatever he was about to face. The shadows came together and formed the shape of Lord Okaia's head. Haku relaxed as he recognized the mighty sorcerer. "Greetings, Kohaku." The shadow head spoke.



"Lord Okaia." Said Haku, bowing. "What can I do for you? I've done what you said. I returned to the bathhouse." Lord Okaia's head chuckled. "Yes, I realize this since I am speaking to you here." "How is Chihiro?" Haku asked. "Is she-" "She is perfectly alright." The sorcerer replied. He thought it would be best not to mention that she would shortly run into the spirit that would have killed her if Haku had joined her on her journey. "In fact, she is the reason I am speaking to you. But first tell me, how goes the search for the one filled with hate?" Haku assumed he was referring to whoever it was that wanted Chihiro dead. "Shouldn't you know? You have the gift of Sight." Lord Okaia sighed. "Haku, being able to see events to come does not mean that I know everything." Haku immediately felt bad for being rude; Lord Okaia was only trying to help. "Forgive me, I have not slept a wink since I have returned. But to answer your question, the killer is still undiscovered." "Not a wink?" Lord Okaia repeated. "Kohaku, when I told you to be ready for when Chihiro returns, I did not mean to give yourself sleep deprivation." "I know." Haku muttered, stifling a yawn. "I just don't want to take any chances. It would be a lot easier if you tell me whoever wants Chihiro dead." Lord Okaia shook his head. "I cannot, for it may alter the future that I have foreseen, and things may end badly. But I will tell you this, Chihiro will soon meet the angry spirit. If she can get past her, she will meet the spirit of life." Haku jumped to his feet. "Are you serious?" "I am. If all goes well, she will return tomorrow." "Tomorrow…" Haku whispered. "Thank heavens." "She will need you when she arrives, Kohaku. Be ready to meet her." Haku nodded. "I will be waiting." "Then I bid you farewell." With that, the shadows dispersed and Lord Okaia was gone. (-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-) "I'm not sure this is a good idea." Rita whispered, looking nervous. "Hey, we don't like it any more than you do." Lin snapped. "But Haku needs to get some sleep or else he'll be too exhausted to save Chihiro from anyone."



Clam walked in between them, carrying a bowl of soup. "There is enough sleeping herbs in here to kill an elephant. Haku should sleep for several hours, and when he wakes up, he'll be as good as new." "He'll be good and mad, is what he'll be." Rita exclaimed. Lin and Clam shushed her and knocked on Haku's door. It opened on its own and the three of them entered. "Master Haku, I have some soup for you." said Clam, handing him the bowl. "Thank you." Haku muttered sleepily, accepting the bowl. "Man, you look awful." Lin muttered. "I'm fine." The river spirit muttered, eating his soup. "Do you guys have any leads?" "Nothing." Clam muttered. "No one seems suspicious to me." "Nor me." Said Lin. Rita just shook her head. They sat in silence, watching Haku eat. Had he been more awake, he would have noticed how nervous they were. What he did notice was that he was beginning to feel even more tired and his vision was getting blurring. Something was wrong, and he knew it. He looked at the guilty faces on his friends' faces before his gaze dropped to the nearly empty soup bowl. He suddenly sensed it. "Sleeping herbs!" he cried, dropping the bowl. "Why did you put that in there?" The three gulped. "Now Master Haku, let me explain." Clam muttered. "Make it fast!" Haku demanded. He was already beginning to drop off. "We're just trying to help." Lin explained. "You haven't slept in days. How can you expect to stop anyone from harming Chihiro in this condition?" "So we decided to give you a few hours of sleep and one of us will keep watch for awhile." Rita said quickly. She really didn't like the look Haku was giving them, and she panicked. "It was their idea!" Haku dropped to his knees, holding himself up with one hand. He was furious. Yes, he had been careless by not sleeping, but they had no right to drug him, no matter how much they were trying to help. "I didn't want to sleep!" he shouted. "Not until Chihiro came back!" "Who knows when that will be?" Lin said. "I'm worried about her too, but I'm not staying awake for days on end. She may not be back for weeks." "SHE'LL BE BACK TOMORROW!" Haku shouted. The others' mouths dropped open. "Lord Okaia just told me… She'll be back… to-morr-ow…" He collapsed on the floor, barely awake. "You better… make sure that… that n-nothing… happens… to… to… her…"



With that he completely dropped off and was sound asleep. A few seconds passed as the three other spirits stood there stunned. The silence was broken by Clam screaming in a high-pitched voice. "Oh no! What are we going to do? What are we going to do?" he cried, running around in circles. "Chihiro's coming back tomorrow, we haven't found the killer, and we just drugged the only one who can stop them! Oh, we are in so much trouble!" "I told you this was a bad idea!" Rita cried. "Everybody shut up!" Lin shouted. "Ok, we just made a very big mistake. We have to find this killer and fast. One of us will keep watch while the rest of us search." "I'll keep watch." Clam said quickly. "All the female spirits keep attacking me." "That's because you're a peeping tom!" Rita shouted. "No, I just think it's a jealous woman!" "Sexist pig!" "SHUT UP!" Lin hollered. "This is no time for fighting. We have a job to do." She paused for a moment. "But first let's get Haku into his bed." The three spirits lifted the river spirit up and laid him on his bed. "Should one of us stay with him?" Clam asked. "No, he'll be fine." Said Rita. "The killer wants Chihiro dead, not Haku." "Yeah, I guess you're right." "Ok, enough waiting around." Said Lin. "We have to find the killer. We're running out of time!"



Chapter 21: The Angry Spirit Zeniba was getting nervous. And the farther they walked, the more nervous she got, but now she was really feeling anxious. Forest spirits were very powerful, and if the lake spirit was right and Yuteela did hold a grudge against humans, then this could be a real problem. Not being a bonded spirit, Zeniba didn't know the pain of losing one's land. She could imagine what it was like, but she could never know the feeling. She figured Yuteela would be upset and angry, but nothing could have prepared her for the amount of rage she felt originating from within Yuteela's domain. It was frightening. So much anger, all directed at the human's who dared to destroy her forest. "Chihiro, we should be careful." She warned. "We're getting close." Chihiro looked around. Everything still looked the same; just a bunch of rocky terrain. "How can you tell?" "I can sense Yuteela's anger." The witch explained. "Her aura is consumed with rage. When the lake spirit said Yuteela was angry, I had no idea it would be this intense."



No-Face growled as the effects of the angry forest spirit mixed with his emotions. Being the type of monster that he was, his behavior was a result of those around him; thus being the reason for his aggressiveness in the bathhouse 12 years ago. "I don't sense anything." Chihiro muttered, immediately feeling foolish for saying something so stupid. Of course she couldn't sense anything; she was human. "The air is thick with rage." Zeniba replied. "She's close. And to say that she is angry is an understatement." Chihiro gulped. "Where is she?" Zeniba shrugged. "Beats me." Chihiro groaned. "Yu-bird, do you think you could fly around a bit and see if you can see anything." She didn't think Yuteela would harm a fellow spirit. Yu-bird nodded and took off. Unknowingly to any of them, the moment she took flight a dark figure slid further into the shadows. It had been watching them for a while now, wondering what they were doing here. It didn't mind the spirits being here, but the human was another story. What was a human doing here? How dare they come to this world, and how dare other spirits associate with it! The spirit's knuckles cracked as they made a fist in their anger. Slowly they crept closer. The witch already suspected them, and the faceless monster was feeling the impact of their emotions. But the human was clueless, that was good. They knew personally how destructive humans could be. Their eyes narrowed as unhealed wounds opened up from memories of the past. They still remembered it as if it were yesterday. The humans mercilessly cutting down the trees, the animals running for cover as their homes were destroyed, the environment changing from its beautiful greenery, to a place fit for the benefit of humans. A low growl escaped their throat as they thought about these things. The humans had caused them so much pain, and now they were here. They couldn't just leave them in peace; they had to come to this world too. The greedy creatures! The humans will not take this world too! Yu-bird continued to circle overhead as the others followed down on the ground. None of them were aware of the angry spirit following them, but they did sense the emotions of rage getting closer and closer. Finally Zeniba held up a hand to stop them. She whistled for Yu-bird to join them on the ground. Chihiro cocked her head to the side. "What's wrong, Granny?" Zeniba's eyes searched around the shadows, looking for the angry spirit. "She's here." Upon realizing what the witch was talking about, Chihiro immediately jumped behind No-Face, clinging to his little arm. "Where?" "I'm not sure." Zeniba whispered. "But she's here somewhere." "Maybe… maybe we should ask her to come out so we can tell her that we come in peace." Chihiro suggested. Zeniba's eyes continued to roam. Perhaps that was a good idea; at least then they wouldn't need to worry about a sneak attack. "Very well, but I think you should be the one to do it since the grudge is



held against your kind." Chihiro moaned in fright but nodded in agreement. "Alright, then slowly step out into the open and get down on your knees." Chihiro did so. She slowly separated herself from the others, only by a few feet, and got down on her knees. "Ok," Zeniba muttered, going over a list of spells she could use in case any danger befell upon the human, "now formerly address the forest spirit and ask for her to appear to you." Chihiro took a few deep breaths before bowing. "Oh great and powerful forest spirit, Yuteela, I, Chihiro Ogino, request to speak to you on peaceful terms. Know that I mean you no harm and that I have the greatest respect for you." For a few seconds nothing happened, but then a figure burst from the shadows and appeared right in front of Chihiro, startling the human. No-Face made a movement to attack and Zeniba nearly unleashed her magic, but both held back as they watched the forest spirit tower over Chihiro. Chihiro gasped as she looked upon Yuteela. Unlike the other forest spirit, the one within the toxic forest, Yuteela was terrifying to look at. She seemed to be a cross between a human and a spider. Towering over Chihiro about 9 feet, Yeetla glared down at the human with four yellow eyes. Her nose, which were just 2 slits in the shape of two letter C's, sucked in air heavily, revealing how angry she was, and a forked tongue trailed over her pointy fangs. Long blood red hair fell past her shoulders and a pair of three-foot antenna poked out of her head, blowing in the breeze with her hair. Six black antenna stuck out of her shoulder blades, three on each side, waving around slightly as if they were itching to wrap around something, preferably something human, and several yellow spikes went down her spine. She had no left arm; instead 8 long spider legs grew out of the spot her shoulder should have begun to form an arm. Chihiro guessed that it was used for climbing trees back in her forest. Her right arm, the one that actually was an arm, was so long that it nearly touched the ground; her extremely long bony fingers just grazing the ground by her high-heeled shaped feet. Chihiro visible winched at the sight of the clearly angry forest spirit. "Yu-tee-la." She stuttered, wondering why the most dangerous of people were always so terrifying. The spirit's four eyes narrowed. "Human!" she hissed, pointing accusingly at Chihiro. "What are you doing here?" She turned furiously to Chihiro's companions. "What is a human doing here?" Zeniba gulped. "Just passing through." She muttered. "Passing through!" Yuteela bellowed. "A human should not be in our world!" She turned back to Chihiro. "What, destroying your world isn't enough? Now you have to destroy our world too?" Chihiro desperately wished Haku was here. "I don't want to destroy anything." "LIAR!" Yuteela yelled, slashing at the air. "Your kind destroyed my forest, and now you've come here to take away the only place I have left!" Zeniba moved in front of Chihiro. "She is not here to cause trouble. She is a good person." Yuteela snorted in disbelief. "That's what I thought when the humans first came. Then they started destroying my forest. She's no different from them! They're all the same!" Now Zeniba began getting angry. "How dare you accuse her of-"



"Granny!" Chihiro said loudly. "It's ok. I understand why she's angry." Yuteela threw her head back and laughed, but it wasn't an amused laugh. "Do you now? Do you really?" Chihiro nodded, trying not to show how frightened she was. "Yes, the lake spirit that lived nearby told me how my kind completely destroyed your forest." Yuteela sneered. "Well, aren't you the smart one? That foolish spirit has no idea what I've gone through. Oh sure, his lake may have been polluted, but he only got sick for a while. You have no idea what it's like for me." Chihiro tried to look sympathetic, but it was hard when she was trembling. How was she supposed to turn this spirit's anger into sadness? "I understand how you feel-" "NO, YOU DON'T!" Yuteela cried, yanking on her antenna. "You don't know how I feel! You'll never know! For a spirit like me, losing their land is like losing their home, their parents, best friend, and an important part of them all at once. Have you ever experienced anything like that?" "N-No." "THEN DON'T SAY THAT YOU UNDERSTAND!" She was breathing very heavily as she tried to get her anger under control. "You humans took something precious from me that I can never get back." "Well… it's not like you need it." Chihiro's hand clamped over her mouth. That had not come out right. Yuteela's anger hit the roof. "Oh, so I guess that means you could go on without your arms or legs because you don't need them!" "No, I meant-" "How would you feel if I took something from you? How about I take away your vision or your hearing? Let's see how you feel after that!" "I didn't mean it like that." Chihiro cried desperately. "Isn't taking care of a forest a big responsibility? Now you don't need to worry about it." This was not going the way she had planned. Yuteela clenched her teeth together as she said, "My forest wasn't just some garden or greenhouse like the kind you humans tend to! It was part of me! I was born from it! You humans took it from me! You're heartless, destructive, greedy creatures! "Not all humans are like that." Zeniba cried, coming to defend Chihiro's race. "Chihiro is nothing like that." "Ah, ah!" No-Face cried, nodding in agreement. "Well I have yet to meet one to show me otherwise." Said Yuteela stubbornly. "But it's true though." Said Chihiro. "There are people that protest against such destruction." "Oh, they 'protest', do they?" Yuteela mocked. "Yes, that really works. All the destruction stops because a small fraction of humans hold up a bunch of signs. Please! At the end of the day they just go back to their nice cozy homes and leave all the destruction behind."



"There are people that plant trees, clean up the environment, and shelter animals." Said Chihiro. "Ha! It's for their own personal gain though. They don't care." "They don't know." Chihiro corrected. "I had no idea about any of this until I came here." Yuteela locked eyes with her. "And do you think that it would make a difference if they did know?" she asked, practically whispering. "You humans don't care, not as long as you benefit from it. How many of nature's creatures died for the greed of you humans?" Her anger seemed to fade a bit and she got a far way look in her eyes. "My forest was so beautiful, so full of life. Everywhere you went, Kodoma ran freely. Greenery was as far as the eye could see. It was wonderful." Her eyes got darker. "Then the humans came. They mercilessly destroyed what I once held dear. Now tar and concrete cover the ones grassy ground and large metal buildings take the place of my beautiful trees. Even if by some miracle that city is destroyed and another forest grows where mine once was, it won't be mine; it will be that of the spirit born from the new forest." In her anger, she punched a large boulder, completely shattering it. "You humans, you just don't understand. You can't understand. You go about like you rule this planet, not caring about who or what you hurt to get what you want." "I told you, no one knows about this world or anyone in it." Chihiro cried. "They wouldn't care if they did!" Yuteela snapped. "I know this. Many years ago, a fellow forest spirit known as Shishi Gami was murdered. He had his head blown right off. Can you justify that?" Chihiro couldn't. "No." "You see! Careless, heartless, greedy creatures. And you just keep getting away with it. Well not here, not in this world. You'll pay for what you did to me." Zeniba held her arms out, shielding Chihiro. "If you want to do anything to her, you'll have to go through me!" Yuteela growled. "Traitor! You would risk your life for this miserable creature?" Zeniba's eyes narrowed. "Yes." Yuteela growled again. "FINE!" She lashed out, striking the paper 'bird' that Zeniba used to be in two places at once. The 'bird' was torn to pieces. Zeniba gasped in shock. "Chihiro, run!" the witch cried as she faded away. Chihiro did just that. She jumped to her feet and ran over to No-Face. "Not so fast!" Yuteela cried. She grabbed Chihiro by her hair and pulled her back. A moment later she released her, howling in pain. A burn mark appeared on her hand from touching the hair band in Chihiro's hair. Zeniba was right, it did protect her. "WHY YOU LITTLE BRAT!"



Yuteela suddenly changed. She went from looking like a cross between a human and a spider, to a giant mutant spider. Her face still resembled her humanoid form, but the rest of her was the massive body of a spider, changing from a pale blue color to a dark blue. Yuteela pounced. Chihiro cried out as she was pulled out of the way by No-Face. Then the faceless monster did something that Chihiro had never experienced and hoped never to again; he swallowed her! Yuteela cried out angrily and lashed out at No-Face, who had already turned to run away on legs now resembling a human's. Yuteela gave chase behind them as Yu-bird flew overhead, flying down every chance she got to attack the forest spirit. "Leave us alone!" No-Face cried in a voice sounding very similar to Chihiro's. "Give me the human!" Yuteela bellowed. "Never!" No-Face moved surprisingly fast, but Yuteela was gaining on him. No-Face called Yu-bird over to him and when the bird flew by, he grabbed her ate her too. Black bird wings burst from his back and he immediately took flight, flying beyond Yuteela's reach. "See you later." No-Face called down to the giant spider, thinking he and the others had gotten away. "You're not going anywhere!" Yuteela cried. She jumped high in the air, using her legs like springs. No-Face yelped and tried to fly higher, but Yuteela had already caught up. One of the black tentacles on her back lashed out, whipping No-Face and sending the monster crashing to the ground. Yuteela landed right over the fallen monster, glaring down at him. "Give me the human!" No-Face quickly moved out from under her. Yuteela spun around and slashed out with one of her legs. They slashed across No-Face's back, damaging his wings; it didn't really harm him since he doesn't naturally have wings, but it did prevent him from flying, and Yuteela was not going to stop anytime soon. (-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-) Chihiro knew where she was, she just didn't believe it. This was beyond disgusting. It was wet, hot, and tight. She felt like she was stuck in a tube. Poor Yu-bird was stuck in here for hours as they had flown over the toxic forest. Speaking of Yu-bird, she just dropped down inside No-Face's stomach, and she definitely wasn't happy about it. "Yu-bird, what's going on?" Chihiro cried, knowing that even if she received an answer she wouldn't understand what Yu-bird was saying. As she predicted, Yu-bird screeched angrily, telling Chihiro nothing she could understand, but she knew what the spirit meant. This was all just so wrong. She prayed No-Face would find a safe place and fast so he could throw up her and Yu-bird. 'That sounds real pleasant.' She thought sarcastically.



(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-) No-Face had to admit that Yuteela was determine to catch him. Ok, not him, but Chihiro; her constant cries of, "Give me the human," proved that. Suddenly, Yuteela jumped in front of No-Face's path and whirled around to meet him. No-Face skidded to a halt and changed directions, with Yuteela hot in pursuit. "Go away!" No-Face cried. He held out his hand and dirt disguised as gold appeared in it. He threw this at the charging forest spirit. "Here, take the gold and go." Yuteela ran right past the small pieces of fake gold. No-Face continued running. He suddenly spotted a crack in a rock wall. It looked like it would be a tight fit, but he went for it. Yuteela was right behind him and gaining. No-Face made a jumped for it, just managing to squeeze into the rock formation. There was a loud crash as Yuteela slammed into the rock wall. Crying out in frustration, Yuteela continued ramming into the wall. No-Face cowered back further. Yuteela was too big to fit, but he didn't want to take any chances. "Give me the human!" "No!" No-Face held out his hands and created more phony gold. "Take the gold and leave her alone." Yuteela squeezed her head inside the crack. Her neck, as it seemed, could stretch, and it moved inside a good four feet. "I don't want any gold! Gold can't give me back my forest!" "Neither will harming Chihiro." No-Face pointed out. "It's called justice!" Yuteela roared. "Her kind destroyed my forest; someone is going to pay!" "So you're going to harm an innocent because of what a few of her kind did who knows how long ago?" Yuteela's eyes flashed angrily. "You don't understand! Give her to me!" "I'd rather die." Said No-Face. And with that, he squeezed further away, heading for the exit. Yuteela attempted to continue her pursuit, but she was suddenly faced with a dilemma; her head was stuck! As Yuteela continued to try and free herself, No-Face was able to sneak away and find a suitable hiding place. By the time the forest spirit got her head unstuck she had lost track of the faceless monster. "Where are you?" she shouted. "Come out now!" No-Face gave a disbelieving snort of laughter at Yuteela's ridiculous orders. Yeah, like he would really come out just because she told him to. Thinking it was safe, at least for the time being, he threw up Chihiro and Yu-bird. Neither appeared hurt, but both looked disgusted. "That was the most disturbing thing that has ever happened to me in my entire life." Chihiro muttered. She turned to No-Face. "Thanks No-Face, I owe you." No-Face made a shushing gesture and pointed behind the large boulder they were hiding behind. Yuteela was on a rampage, throwing rocks and smashing boulders as she searched for Chihiro.



"Where are you?" she yelled. "Come and pay for what you've done to me! Take responsibility for your actions!" 'I didn't do anything!' Chihiro thought in outrage. No-Face pushed Chihiro up against the wall and covered her with his body to hide her in the shadows. Yuteela was getting closer, her antennas twitching to feel vibrations in the air. "Come out, come out, wherever you are." Yuteela hissed. Chihiro made a small moaning noise as Yuteela's shadow loomed over her hiding place. Yuteela was right behind them! "Where are you?" "SCREECH!" Yu-bird flew out of hiding and slashed Yuteela with her talons. Yuteela cried out as Yu-bird continued to attack. "Annoying pest!" Yuteela shouted. "Tell me where the human is!" No-Face pulled Chihiro along as Yu-bird continued to lead Yuteela away from them. "But what about Yu-bird?" Chihiro asked. No-Face made a shushing gesture and pulled Chihiro along. Chihiro really didn't want to leave Yu-bird, but she had no choice; if she stayed, she was dead meat. Yuteela growled as Yu-bird continued to taunt her. The stupid spirit bird was really getting on her nerves. She just wanted the human. Why would these spirits risk their lives for her? She stopped. Yu-bird doubled back when she realized Yuteela wasn't following her anymore. She began flying around the forest spirit's head again, but Yuteela didn't react. How could she be so stupid? Whirling around, she spotted the faceless monster pulling the human away in a desperate attempt to escape. 'You thought you could outsmart me?' she thought. Yu-bird panicked when she realized that Yuteela had spotted her friends. She continued to fly around the forest spirit's head, trying to get the attention back on herself. Yuteela didn't take the bait; instead one of her black tentacles lashed out and whipped Yu-bird, sending her crashing to the ground. "You can't escape now!" Yuteela declared. Chihiro was unaware of the approaching threat as No-Face dragged her, surprisingly fast, away from the angry forest spirit. Chihiro actually thought that she might get away until Yuteela's shadow looming over her suddenly made things darker. Chihiro turned around to find the enraged forest spirit right behind her. "NO-FACE!" she screamed.



No-Face pushed Chihiro away and dove at Yuteela, latching onto her face. Yuteela cried out and tried to shake No-Face loose. "AH!" No-Face cried. Chihiro didn't understand No-Face's language, but she certainly got the message. "RUN!" Chihiro did just that. There wasn't anything she could do anyway; just try to get away. Yuteela struggled to get No-Face off, but No-Face held on tightly. "Get off me!" Yuteela shouted. When No-Face refused to budge, Yuteela head-butted a rock wall, crushing No-Face. The faceless monster grunted but still maintained a firm grip. Yuteela continued to slam into the rock wall, giving herself a massive headache, but hurting No-Face much more. One of Yuteela's tentacles wrapped around No-Face and finally ripped him off. She glared at the faceless monster. "She's gotten to you, foolish creature!" She mercilessly tossed No-Face aside and turned back to the retreating Chihiro. "You won't get away now." Chihiro ran without looking back. She was afraid to see what would be happening to her friends if she turned around. So she ran; ran like the weak little human she was. But she couldn't run much longer. She had been traveling for days and was completely drained. 'Is this how it's supposed to end?' she wondered. 'Am I going to die for what a few of my kind did many years ago? It's not fair! I've come so far! Oh Haku!' She half tripped, half collapsed, no longer having the strength to continue. "I can't do this anymore." She said tearfully. "My friends are in trouble, I'm all alone, there's an angry spirit after me. What do I do?" She covered her eyes and began to weep. She couldn't help it. She felt like she was 10 years old and lost without anyone again. A flashing light, bright enough for her to see through her hands covering her eyes, distracted her. She opened her eyes and saw the golden seal. It was spinning in the air and flashing, just as it had done when she and the others had reached Lord Okaia. "Am I…" she whispered. "Have I arrived?" "There you are!" Chihiro turned and saw Yuteela rapidly approaching. Finding new strength, she jumped to her feet and ran. The spirit of life was here somewhere, and she was going to find it; hopefully before she was caught. She expected to have Yuteela fall upon her at any moment, but instead the forest spirit was calmly walking towards her with a wicked grin on her face. "There's nowhere you can run to now, human." She sneered. "That's a dead end." "A dead end?" Chihiro muttered.



She soon realized that Yuteela was right. Not too far ahead was a large canyon, one that was way too far to jump across and was so deep that she couldn't see the bottom; only black. "What it this, the Grand Canyon?" she cried. Yuteela laughed as she approached. "Now you'll pay for what you did." Chihiro turned to her fearfully. "Please, I'm not any of the humans that destroyed your forest. I'm nothing like that." "Liar!" Chihiro was terrified. She could feel herself shaking. No, wait, that wasn't her. The ground was shaking. Looking down, she saw cracks appearing on the ground. The edge of the canyon wasn't sturdy enough and couldn't handle Yuteela's weight. "WAIT, STOP!" she cried. Yuteela ignored her and took another step forward. That was all it took. Yuteela's enormous size and weight caused the ground to give way beneath her and Chihiro, and the two of them fell into the dark abyss.



Chapter 22: The Spirit of Life They fell into the darkness, the seemingly never-ending darkness. Chihiro was screaming at the top of her lungs, but Yuteela didn't seem too concerned about it. In fact, she was still attempting to get to Chihiro even as they fell; not that Chihiro noticed, she was too terrified to even remember the enraged forest spirit. 'I have her now!' Yuteela thought victoriously. 'She can't get away from me this time! She's mine!' Her fangs slid down as she reached for the hysterical human with her long leg. The human was dead no matter what. If Yuteela didn't kill her, the fall would. "I shall have my revenge!" Suddenly, there was a blinding flash of light. Yuteela cried out as the sudden brightness blinded her. Chihiro thought that this must be the light at the end of the tunnel since she was surely going to die. But no, she did not. A light pressure seemed to surround her body, as if she were being held. Her fall came to a stop, but Yuteela's did not. The forest spirit roared with rage as she fell past her target and vanished into the darkness below. Chihiro was too stunned to even realize what was happening. Her mind was a complete blank as her terror sent her into shock as she fell. The light caress against her cheek went by unnoticed, but the kind voice that spoke in her ear registered to her. "Wake up, child. You're safe now." Something pulled at Chihiro's mind, waking her from her initial shock. She immediately began panicking again as she realized she was hovering over thousands of feet. The kind voice spoke to her again.



"Calm down, child. I will not drop you." Almost as if a spell had been cast upon her, and perhaps one had been, Chihiro felt herself relaxing. Whoever, or whatever had saved her had a firm grip on her, preventing her from dropping down into the darkness. It was then that Chihiro noticed that nothing was holding her. She was suspended in midair and there was no one around. Nothing except this light, that seemed to contain every color in existence. The light was warm and comforting . "What's happening?" she cried. "Where am I? What's going on?" She heard whoever was there chuckled. Chihiro could sense its amusement. "You always were very curious." The being said. It's voice sounded like many, as if hundreds of people, men and women, young and old, were speaking at once. "But trust me when I say that you're safe." "Where are you?" Chihiro asked. "I am the light that surrounds you." Chihiro blinked and looked around. That was when she noticed the impossible. The light was alive! Chihiro didn't have a clue as to how the light could be alive, but it was. Chihiro tried to comprehend this, but her brain just couldn't make sense of the whole situation. "Forgive me, but I cannot take on a physical form. This is the only form I posses. But do not fear, I won't let you fall." Chihiro looked down below her; down where Yuteela had vanished. "What about Yuteela? She fell down there." The being chuckled again. "Not to worry. She is a spirit. A little fall like this won't hurt her too much." "…A little fall?" This fall was anything but little. "It's such a shame. She has so much anger in her and has for so long, it's nearly driven her insane. I had hoped that she would be able to let her anger go if she could only see that not all humans are destructive. It was a very slim chance. Hmm, but perhaps there may still be a chance." Chihiro looked around her some more. It was very strange talking to someone made of light. "Who are you?" "My child, do you not know?" Zeniba's golden seal floated over to her and dropped in her hand. "I am the spirit of life." (-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-) Haku knew he was asleep. He wanted to wake up, but those sleeping herbs were so strong that he couldn't. How much did those idiots put in his soup? No doubt Kamajii had a helping hand in providing the 'ammunition' for them. He would need to have a long talk with them later; once Chihiro was back. "Oh God, Chihiro!"



She was in danger, or soon would be, and he was here, sleeping like a baby. He had to wake up. He had to. "Kohaku." Haku turned around to find Lord Okaia standing behind him. The sorcerer didn't look happy. "Lord Okaia, what?" "You're dreaming." Said Lord Okaia. "Just be thankful you're not in a dreamless sleep, or else I wouldn't have been able to reach you." He looked around the empty dream realm with a disappointed look on his face. "You were careless. I told you to be cautious. Staying awake for days on end and then being drugged is just…" He shook his head and sighed. Haku hung his head. "I didn't want to miss her return. You said-" "I am well aware of what I said, Kohaku. But I did not mean for you to behave like this. Chihiro will be returning shortly and you're drugged." Hake began to panic. "I'm not going to miss her, am I?" Lord Okaia closed his eyes. "That depends on your own strength on fighting off the affects of the sleeping herbs. The amount you consumed would cause a normal spirit to sleep for at least 3 days. You'll have to fight the drugs." That didn't make Haku feel any better in the least. But instead of getting anxious, he got angry. "Didn't you foresee this? Couldn't you have warned me?" He was really angry at himself and not so much with Lord Okaia. The sorcerer's eyes began to glow with their silver light in warning. "Don't take your irritation out on me, Kohaku." He growled. "I can see into the future, but I can't see everything. Besides, when we last met, events had been further away. Just like with anything else in the world, the further away something is, the harder it is to make out. I did warn you not to trust anyone. Your friends may not have meant any harm, but that didn't stop this from happening." Those words stung. They were harsh, but true. Lord Okaia had warned him to keep his eyes open, and he had only been keeping his eyes on the horizon, waiting for Chihiro to return. "Will she be alright?" he asked. Lord Okaia sighed. "She is with the spirit of life even as we speak." Haku's head shot up. "What?" Lord Okaia held up a hand to stop him. "At the moment, things are out of our hands. Whether the spirit of life grants Chihiro the life of a spirit or not has nothing to do with us. However, your part is coming, Kohaku. In order for Chihiro to truly become a full-fledged spirit for all time, she will need you. And you will need to be awake." "What about the one who wants her dead?" "That is not your concern at the moment." Snapped Lord Okaia harshly. "Your main focus will need to be waking up so you can be there for Chihiro when she needs you. Even if she gets past the one filled with



hate, if you are not there for her, she will not be able to become a spirit and her whole journey will be for nothing." Haku's eyes widened. "Then wake me up! You should be powerful enough to remove the affects of the sleeping herbs." Lord Okaia nodded. "True, but I cannot interfere anymore than I already have, for risk of changing-" "The future you have foreseen. Yeah, I get it." Haku muttered impatiently. Sighing, Lord Okaia said, "I would not expect someone without the gift of Sight to understand. Just know this Kohaku, you have until this time tomorrow to be ready for Chihiro, otherwise you will miss your chance. Good day." And with that, Lord Okaia vanished from Haku's dreams, which were immediately filled with images of Chihiro. (-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-) The spirit of life? The spirit of life! She did it! She had found it! Actually, 'it' seemed to be the only way to describe the spirit since it seemed to be neither male or female. Chihiro immediately pushed this thought aside as she focused on the task she had nearly died on several occasions trying to get here. "You're the spirit of life?" she said, not able to think of anything else to say. The spirit of life chuckled. "That's what I just said." Chihiro turned red with embarrassment. "Oh great spirit of life, I have come a long way in search of you." "I already know this, my child." "You do?" "Of course. I am the spirit of life, after all. I have a connection with all living beings; from the most powerful of spirits, to the microscopic bacteria surrounding us." 'Ew, I really didn't need to hear that last part.' Chihiro thought in disgust. "Perhaps other creatures find you to be just as disgusting as they are to you." Said the spirit of life. Chihiro blinked. "Wha… How did… You can read minds?" "Hear others' thoughts would be a better way of describing it. I hear them just as if they were spoken." "Then you know why I am here." "Indeed. I allowed you to find me after you proved how determine you were."



This didn't make sense to Chihiro. "Wait, if you can read thoughts, and you have a connection to all living things, then why did I need to prove myself?" She started getting angry. "Do you know what I've been through to find you?" "I do, which is why I have appeared to you now. Many beings believe they are going to do something. They believe it with all their hearts, but in the end they are not truly willing to do it." "So all this was a test?" Chihiro demanded angrily. "You made me risk my life on several occasions when you could have helped me at any time? Why?" "Don't think I am cruel, child. Just because one has the power to do something, doesn't mean that they should. I know you wish to become a spirit, but do you think you are the only one that wished to be something that they're not? Many others wish for a different life other than what fate as provided for them. Even now, the goldfish princess, Ponyo, wishes to become human. Should I go to her right now and grant her wish? Should I appear to every being that wants something more out of life?" Chihiro didn't answer, but the spirit of life heard her thoughts. "To do too much for others, would result in them becoming dependant on you. They would not be living their own lives, but will be living what they believe would be best. They may not even realize that they are better off the way they already are. They may realize that what they desire is not better for them. If it is truly something they want, they must be willing to do whatever it takes to achieve it. They may say they are willing, but saying and doing are two different things. You have shown your determination to me. I have tested you by having you come across three spirits filled with the strongest of emotions; joy, sadness, and anger." Chihiro hung her head, thinking of Yuteela. "I didn't do so well against Yuteela, did I? I can't blame her though. I think that she's wrong for taking out her anger on all humans in general, but I don't blame her for what she feels towards the ones that destroyed her forest." "Her anger has consumed her for many years. Ever since she lost her forest, she has allowed it to take over her. Anger is all she has known for so long. That is her choice, though. Can I help her? Perhaps. But if I did, then she wouldn't be living her own life. I feel it too. I can feel her anger, and I pity her. The anger towards those that have wronged her is justified, but it should not be directed towards all human. This is something many spirits have in common. You see, Chihiro, to spirits, humans are like snakes." Chihiro blinked in confusion. "Um… like snakes." "Yes. Think of this from a human's point of view. Most humans upon seeing a snake, immediately see it as dangerous. However, there are many different species of snakes in the world, many harmless. But most humans won't take the time to separate the good from the bad. However, there are a few that take the time to get to know the different species. These kind learn the difference between them and they learn how to appreciate each one individually. Even the dangerous snakes are learned to be appreciated, for the humans that learn to understand them know that these types of snakes don't think that they are doing anything wrong. "Now, look at things from a spirit's point of view, only replace the snakes with humans. Most spirits dislike humans for their destructive ways. But just like in the case with the snakes, there are many different humans, many harmless. And most spirits won't separate



the good from the bad, except for the select few, such as your friends. Do you understand what I am saying?" Chihiro thought about it. This was certainly an interesting way of looking at things. "I've never thought about it this way before. But I think I know what you mean. We all judge too quickly." "One of the many ways that humans and spirits are the same. We all have more in common than we think, but some don't see it or choose not to. Yuteela is a prime example. She has convinced herself that all humans are the same and refuses to see otherwise. But I see it. I see the difference in everyone. No one can hide anything from me." Chihiro suddenly felt very uncomfortable, and very exposed. "So, you know everything about me?" "Indeed." "Then, can you help me? Please." "That depends. First I want you to tell me why you are here and what you want." "But you just said that you know everything about me." "Yes, but there is still doubt within you for what you want. You may be able to tell yourself one thing, but to voice it will make it final. If you want me to give you what you want, then speak from your heart." Chihiro nodded and took a deep breath as she began to collect her thoughts. She felt a little uneasy knowing that the spirit of life was hearing every thought that was going through her head. She felt like her privacy was being invaded. "I have come to you because I wish to become a spirit." "And why do you desire this?" "Because I wish to live in the spirit world." "Are you sure that it is not merely eternal life that you desire?" Chihiro felt insulted. How could the spirit of life ask her such a question? If he, or she, or whatever it was, truly knew everything about her, then it should already know the answer. "That was not why I came!" she snapped. "Shouldn't you know that?" "Remember what I said about voicing your desires, Chihiro." Chihiro sighed and took a deep breath. "No, that is not why I sought you out. I wish to become a spirit so that I may live in the spirit world." She waited for the spirit of life to say something, but it remained silent, so she continued. "This is the only place that has ever really felt like home to me. I have great friends here, I'm understood, I feel for once that I truly belong." "Such places can be found in the human world. I don't deny that these answers are not good ones, but there is one that stands above all others. You know what I am speaking of."



Yes, Chihiro knew what the spirit of life meant. It was the real reason she came all this way; everything else was just an added bonus. "Yes, I know. The real reason I came searching for you is because… I'm in love… with Haku." She felt herself blush. "But I know that we can never be together as long as I'm mortal." "Why not?" Ok, now Chihiro was beginning to get a little irritated. She was merely telling the spirit of life things that it already knew. "Because, as a human, I share the fate of all mortals. I will eventually die. Haku is a spirit; he will never die. We would be together maybe 60 or 70 years, but then… I couldn't do something like that to Haku. It wouldn't be fair that I would have to leave him like that." "I see. Lord Okaia said something very similar to that when he came to beg me to give his human lover the life of a spirit." Chihiro remembered Lord Okaia saying that. "I remember that! You were going to help her, weren't you? Can you help me?" The spirit of life was silent for a moment. "First answer me this. You say that you love Haku, right?" Chihiro nodded. "More than anything. But you already know that." "Indeed I do. It is rare for a love as great as this to exist. But tell me, how do you believe he feels about you?" Chihiro was silent. She hadn't expected to be asked this question. "I'm… not sure. But you should know!" "I do, but I am asking you. How does he feel about you? Does he love you in return, the way you love him?" Hanging her head, Chihiro said real quietly, "I don't know." "Yes, you do. Think of all the times when you were alone together. All the times you looked into his eyes. All the times he's said your name. Think of the time he merged you with himself and his river, and tell me his feelings for you. Does he love you as you love him?" The spirit of life fell silent as it patiently waited for her answer. Chihiro was lost in her thoughts and feelings as she thought back on all the times she was with Haku and all the times everyone would tell her that he loved her. -FLASH"He just doesn't like me like that." "Of course he does! He feels the same way about you as you do for him!" -FLASH"For years I felt almost whole again. There was just one thing missing…"



"What?" she asked. "Something was missing." "What?" "You." "Me?" "Things just weren't the same without you. It seemed you touched me the same way I touched you. There wasn't a day that went by that I didn't think about you." -FLASH"Haku doesn't hate you at all. He cares for you more than anything." -FLASH"You know Haku loves her more than anything. He wants to see her happy, even if that means that he'll never be happy. Yes, he's probably making it harder on himself, but how can he resist wanting to be as close to her as possible?" -FLASH"You love him and he loves you. Just go kiss him." -FLASH"Chihiro, I care about you more than you'll ever know." -FLASHThese thoughts swirled around in Chihiro's mind. Were her friends right? Did Haku return her feelings? Was that really love she saw in his eyes? She had always hoped, but never thought it would be possible, so she would immediately dismiss the idea. But did he really love her? Her thoughts turned back to the time she was united with Haku's river. She remembered for a brief moment that she could sense a powerful emotion coming from him; one he was trying to hide but couldn't, so he cut their connection. Chihiro remembered that feeling. She knew what it was, but it had seemed too good to be true, so she didn't believe it. But there really was no mistaking the emotion that Haku had been feeling. It was the same thing she felt for him. Chihiro's face lit up as tears of joy began to run down her cheeks. She didn't know how she hadn't seen it before. Haku may have never put it into words, but love was radiating from him, and it was all for her; she just never saw it because she was so mixed up with her own feelings. Now she knew it. And this wasn't just wishful thinking either. That brief moment when she had been one with Haku had revealed that. He loved her just as she loved him.



Somehow, she felt that if the spirit of life were capable of smiling, it would be as it asked, "Does he love you in return?" Chihiro wiped the tears from her eyes as she realized what everyone else knew all along. "Yes. Yes, I believe he does. Everyone had always told me that he did, but I could never see it. I always thought that they were teasing me. But that time in Haku's river, when we were united… Yes, that feeling he had is the same as the one in my heart." She felt the spirit of life smile again. The spirit was glad that she had finally realized the truth. But she also felt uncertainty in the spirit and she began to worry if it would allow her to become a spirit. "Oh great spirit, I have answered your questions and confessed my love. I have recognized my true love's feelings for me and I know for certain that I will not be able to live without him. I have come a long way, facing all your tests, just so Haku and I could be together. Will you please grant me the life of a spirit so that we may be together?" The spirit of life sighed as it came to a decision. "Chihiro, I would be happy to grant you the life of a spirit, but you must think carefully about this. For once you become a spirit, I cannot change you back to a human." "Why not?" Chihiro asked, merely out of curiosity. "Not that I would want to go back to being a human, but why wouldn't you be able to change me back." "Because, my child, I am the spirit of life. My powers are linked to granting life, not taking it away, and that is what I would be doing if I turn an immortal into a mortal. And there is no other spirit with powers that can truly change a being like I can. I am warning you of this so you will be 100 percent sure about your decision. As a spirit, you will never be able to return to the human world again. So the only way you will be able to see your human friends and family again would be if you die and are reunited with them in the afterlife or if they come to this world. Either option is very unlikely to occur, which is why, if you choose to become a spirit, you must be prepared to never see any of your human friends or family again. Are you prepared to make this sacrifice?" Chihiro hung her head. She knew this was going to be brought up. She had already made her decision back at Zeniba's house, but now when the time was actually at hand… "I knew that I would have to make this choice." She said. "I was even warned by Lord Okaia. He told me that no matter what I decide to do, someone I love would be hurt. I wasn't exactly sure what that meant at the time, but now I know. If I choose to become a spirit and remain here in the spirit world, then my parents will never see me again. If I choose not to become a spirit and return to the human world, then Haku and the others will never see me again." She fell silent as more tears crept up in her eyes, but these were tears of sorrow rather than joy. The spirit of life felt sorry for her. This was not an easy decision to make. "The choice is yours and yours alone. Take your time in deciding." Chihiro shook her head. She had already made her choice. "No, I already know what I want. I really don't want to hurt anyone, but I have to do what my heart tells me. Both Haku and my parents want me to be happy no matter what, but I want them to be happy too." she said. "But I can't have both, can I? I know that all children leave the nest eventually, but this is different." She paused to take a few deep breaths, putting on a determine look. "It will hurt, but I know what I must do. Someone will be hurt no matter what. I want both of them in my life, but I can't have that. And I know for a fact that there is no



way I can possibly live without Haku. Losing my parents will be hard, but I can't live without Haku. That is why I have come here. I wish to be with him. Forever." The light around Chihiro intensified. "I knew of your decision all along, but you had to say it. Chihiro Ogino, I will grant your wish to become a spirit." Chihiro's face took on a look of disbelief. "You… you will?" "Yes, my child. You have truly earned it, so I shall give you what you desire." Chihiro was overjoyed. Even the pain of knowing that she would lose her parents vanished for the time being as the spirit of life told her that it would make her a spirit. But she had one last favor to ask before any final decisions were made. She just hoped she wouldn't be pushing her luck by asking too much. "Um, great spirit, I was wondering. Do you think that I could have an alternate form; like Haku, the lake spirit, and Yuteela, please?" "Don't push it." Chihiro immediately tensed up, thinking she was being too greedy. "I'm sorry! I was just wonder if you would… would…" She stopped talking as the spirit of life started laughing. "Child, I am kidding. Remember, I know everything about you. I knew what you wanted. Yes, I will give you an alternate form. I assume you want it to be a dragon?" Chihiro smiled nervously. "Yes, please." The spirit of life laughed again. "As you wish. But you must listen to me closely. My powers can give you the opportunity to become a spirit, but they alone cannot provide everything that is needed." "What do you mean?" Chihiro asked worriedly. "Your main reason for wanting to become a spirit is out of love. So love is needed to complete the spell. I can get your transformation started, but you and Haku must seal it with your love. Once you do this, you will become a spirit forever." Chihiro relaxed. "Ok. So what do I have to do?" "Listen closely. After I cast the spell, you will have exactly 24 hours to return to Haku and complete the spell. A simple kiss will be enough, but you must reach him within 24 hours." Chihiro's eyes widened. "WHAT? Only 24 hours! It took me days to get here! How am I supposed to get back to Haku in just 24 hours?" "Calm yourself, child. My spell will be enough to give you several powers that spirits have. You can fly back. It will be cutting it close, but you can make it." Chihiro sighed and nodded. "Ok. I'll go as fast as I can."



"Then I shall begin. But are you absolutely sure about this?" Chihiro nodded. "Then it shall be done!" The light intensified to a point that Chihiro could no longer see, so she shut her eyes. She felt power and knowledge filling her, pouring into her very soul. It was incredible. No, beyond incredible. She didn't think there was a word to describe the feeling that was happening to her. It was as if she had been sleeping this whole time and was finally awake. The power she felt, the knowledge she was given. It was indescribable. And this was only the tip of the iceberg. What would it be like when she completely became a spirit? The light dimmed down as the spirit of life finished its work. Slowly Chihiro floated out of the light, back up the cliff. "My part is done now. Farewell Chihiro. I hope you reach your love in time. Goodbye." And then it was gone. Chihiro continued to float up as she silently thanked the spirit again and again. She closed her eyes to keep from crying. This was too good to be true. It was… it was… "AH, AH!" Chihiro's eyes snapped open as she heard the familiar grunting of No-Face. She realized that she had reached the top of the cliff and No-Face and Yu-bird had been sitting at the edge, mourning her. "Ah, ah, ah! Ah, ah, ah!" No-Face cried, throwing his tiny arms around her. Chihiro blinked in surprise. She had understood that. She didn't know the language No-Face was speaking, but somehow she knew what he was saying. He was thanking the heavens that she was all right. "I'm fine, No-Face." She assured her friend, as Yu-bird flew happily over their heads. "The spirit of life saved me." "Ah?" Chihiro chuckled. "Yes, but I have no time to lose. I have to get back to Haku as soon as possible. Once we're reunited, I can complete my transformation and become a spirit. Then Haku and I can finally be together." "Well, I guess congratulations are in order." Came a nasty voice from behind her. Chihiro turned around and gasped. Crawling up onto the cliff was a very angry looking Yuteela.



Chapter 23: Forgiveness Yuteela was staring Chihiro down. She was still so full of anger, and it was still directed at Chihiro. No, that wasn't exactly true. Her anger was directed at those that destroyed her forest; she was merely taking her anger out on Chihiro since she was the closest Yuteela could get to the ones that truly wronged her. For years, Yuteela had wanted revenge, her anger building up as she allowed it to consume her. But she had been saving her rage to take out on the humans, and now it was exploding out all at once. Years of



built up fury was finally coming out, and Chihiro happened to be the unlucky one it was being unleashed on. "Leave me alone, Yuteela!" Chihiro shouted. "No, not until I've had my revenge!" the forest spirit snapped. "Not until justice is served!" "What justice?" Chihiro bellowed. "I have done nothing! I did not tear down your forest!" "But you would have! You're just like the others! Selfish and coldhearted! You'd jump at the chance to kill me!" Chihiro didn't back down. She felt more sure of herself, more confident and understanding. A result of her transformation? Perhaps. But she was not going to be blamed for what other people did. "You have no right to make that claim!" she cried. "You don't know me! You can't judge me like that!" "Silence!" Yuteela pounced, diving at Chihiro with her fangs exposed. Chihiro's first instinct was to run, that is, until a new one took over. An instinct to defend herself; to use her new powers. Thanks to the knowledge given to her by the spirit of life, several spells flew through her mind. Chihiro raised her hand with her index and thumb fingertips pressed together. She made a quick movement with her hand and Yuteela changed from a giant spider-like creature to a small white cat, crashing to the ground by Chihiro's feet. Chihiro's eyes widened as she stared down at the cat that was Yuteela in disbelief. 'Did I do that?' she thought in amazement. The cat blinked in confusion, not quite understanding what had happened. She looked up at Chihiro and her eyes widened. Yuteela hissed in fright and retreated back several feet where she proceeded to hiss and claw the air. Chihiro opened her mouth to say something, but No-Face suddenly rushed forward, seizing Yuteela by her tail. "No-Face!" Chihiro cried. The monster ignored her as he opened his mouth and dropped the squealing cat inside. "No-Face, don't! Stop!" No-Face turned to her, grunting with his mouth full. Yuteela's cattail thrashed around wildly between his lips as she screeched loudly from inside No-Face's mouth. Chihiro held out her and, silently asking for the cat. No-Face shook his head in objection. Chihiro narrowed her eyes. "No-Face, give me." The monster shook his head again. "Now, No-Face." No-Face frowned but did as he was told. He turned away and spat Yuteela out, making sure to cover her in as much spit as possible. Yuteela made a disgusted noise at being covered in the monster's drool. She shook herself dry and turned to Chihiro looking confused. Chihiro motioned for No-Face to step back as she knelt down by the cat. "Now if you promise to behave, I'll change you back. Or I could just leave now and you'll be stuck like this until the spell wears off. It's up to you. Will you behave?"



Yuteela looked irritated, or as irritated as a cat could look, by being bossed around, but she nodded in agreement, wanting to get out of this cat body. Chihiro smiled and stood up. She searched through the knowledge the spirit of life granted her and removed the spell. The small white cat immediately changed back into Yuteela's humanoid form. She growled in annoyance as she shook the remainder of No-Face's slobber off before turning all four eyes back on Chihiro. "Remember your promise." Chihiro said, preparing to cast another spell in case Yuteela had lied. The forest spirit's eyes narrowed. "I remember." She hissed. She continued to glare at Chihiro, but then her eyes softened. "Why did you protect me?" Chihiro blinked. "Huh?" Yuteela nodded towards No-Face. "You stopped him from eating me. Why?" Chihiro looked surprised that the question was even asked. "Why wouldn't I stop him? I didn't want you to get eaten." Her eyes suddenly widened with understanding. "You wondering why a human saved you, aren't you?" Yuteela just growled. Chihiro took that as a yes. "I know what you've brought yourself to believe all these years, but not all humans are the way you think they are. Many are kind and caring." "But I tried to kill you." Chihiro shrugged. "You're not the first." "Even spirits wouldn't hesitate to kill the one that attempted to kill them." Chihiro crossed her arms. "What a few do does not mean everyone of their species is the same. I am not like that, Yuteela. I do not kill and I do not hurt others. You've allowed your anger to blind your judgment. You've managed to convince yourself that all humans are wicked creatures. Well no matter what you believe or what you want to believe does not make it true. And even though you tried to kill me, I forgive you, because that's the kind of person I am." "Ah, ah!" No-Face nodded in agreement. Yuteela was silent. She looked like she was trying to come to terms with something. What Chihiro was saying and doing went against everything Yuteela had managed to convince herself to expect from humans. "How do I know this isn't some trick?" she demanded. Chihiro growled. "A trick? I am not trying to trick anyone. What would I gain out of it? You're just trying to hold onto your belief that humans are heartless. You've been angry for so long that you don't want your opinion to change." Yuteela didn't reply. Chihiro knew that she had pretty much hit the nail on the head. Yuteela could always convince herself that Chihiro had been lying, but after actually witnessing the human's goodness, she couldn't say that the girl was heartless without lying to herself. Chihiro knew that Yuteela was struggling with her emotions. She also remembered what Lord Okaia told her she must do; bring sadness to anger. She decided to do that by bringing up something that she had started to suspect about the forest spirit.



"Yuteela, from what the spirit of life told me, you've been angry at humans for taking your forest from you for so long that you've let your anger consume you. But, have you ever stopped feeling angry long enough to mourn your loss?" Yuteela's eyes widened at this unexpected question. "What?" "I really feel sorry for you, but you don't seem to have any sorrow in you; only anger. You keep saying how much it hurts, yet you don't seem sad at all. Why not?" "I… I…" Yuteela realized that she had no answer. And only now did she discover that Chihiro was right. She never did mourn her loss. From the day her forest was torn down until this very day, she had been so caught up in her rage that she never allowed herself to feel sad. "I wanted revenge. It was all I wanted, all I was focusing on. Everyday that went by I kept thinking about my revenge, but I never got it. That made me angrier. And when the humans that tore down my forest passed on, it only fueled my anger, knowing that they were beyond my reach. I cursed them and all of their kind. Not a day went by that I didn't think of how I was wronged. So, no… I never actually allowed myself to feel sorry…" Chihiro truly pitied the woman. So much anger and so much pain, but she never allowed herself to feel her sorrow for her loss. "It's ok to feel angry. But you can't let one emotion consume you. It's ok to feel sorry for yourself. It's ok to weep every now and then." A smiled slightly. "See, you're doing it now." Yuteela blinked in surprise. She reached up and felt the moisture pouring from her eyes. She was indeed crying. Chihiro had proven that not all humans were wicked and destructive. Yuteela could no longer take her anger out on this girl. So something else erupted inside her. Sadness. All the sorrow and pain that had been buried beneath her fury was coming out now. It had been there all along, she just never allowed herself to feel it since she was so consumed by her rage. "I'm crying…" she whispered in disbelief. "I haven't cried in thousands of years. Not since I was a child." "Crying is a way of letting out your sorrow." Chihiro muttered. "We were given these emotions so we could express them. God knows that I've done my share of crying in the past. Let your anger go. The ones that wronged you are gone. You've been mad for long enough. Now let yourself mourn your loss." Chihiro was actually surprised by her speech. She had never spoken like this before. Perhaps she was speaking of the 12 years she had wallowed in her own sorrow. Or maybe this was knowledge given to her when the spirit of life began her transformation. Whatever it was, it was definitely having an effect on Yuteela. The forest spirit wiped her eyes and looked down at Chihiro. "So what do you expect me to do? I can never forgive those humans for what they've done to me." "I'm not asking you to." Said Chihiro quietly. "All I'm asking is that you don't let the actions of what a few do affect your opinion of all others." Yuteela looked at Chihiro carefully, thinking about what she was asking of her. "I do not know if I can ever bring myself to accept that humans are like you… but I will remember your words. I have indeed let my anger blind me. My grudge against the ones that wronged me will probably never end, but I can no longer hold that grudge against all of human kind." Chihiro smiled. "That is all I could ever ask of you. Thank you, Yuteela." Yuteela shook her head. "No, thank you, human. If it wasn't for you, I would still be consumed by my rage. So thank you… Chihiro. That is you're name, correct?"



Chihiro nodded. "Yes." Yuteela gave her a small, yet sad, and turned away. She didn't look back as she walked away in the direction she had chased Chihiro in. Chihiro watched her go, not having anything else to say to her. She had done what she was asked to do. She brought sadness to anger. She just wished that she could do more to help. But that was up to Yuteela now. She was on the road to recovery and would proceed down it at her own pace. "Ah, ah." No-Face began pulling on her hand. Everything suddenly came back to Chihiro as No-Face pulled her. She had almost forgot the whole reason she had come out here to begin with. Now she needed to get back. "Ok, No-Face, lets go." She said. "But… how do I fly?" She closed her eyes and went through the knowledge the spirit of life granted her. It was strange. A lot of this new knowledge she felt like she knew all along, but she just hadn't see it. She searched for her dragon form. She felt it, but it seemed to be out of reach. Somehow she knew that she would not have access to it until she completely became a spirit. But then how was she supposed to fly? The answer came to her as she searched through her memories. Back to the time when she had returned Haku's name. He had reverted back to his human form, yet they still flew through the air. She searched for that power and found it. Once she did, it seemed almost second nature as her feet slowly lifted off the ground. "Ah, ah, ah!" Chihiro chuckled and held her hand out to No-Face, lifting him in the air with her. "Come on, guys. I only have until this time tomorrow to complete my transformation." Yu-bird screeched and flew in circles around her head. Chihiro chuckled. "Don't worry, I know the way. I'm not sure how, but somehow I know the way back." (-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-) Lord Okaia sighed as he set the card aside. So she had done it. She had brought sadness to anger. The cycle was almost complete. He was certain that she would make it to the bathhouse in time, but now the question was would she be able to survive the one filled with hate. Until she became a full-fledged spirit, she was still vulnerable to death. And even if she did survive, was Haku strong enough to fight off the affects of the sleeping herbs he had foolishly been given in time to help Chihiro complete the transformation. "This is the most important and most dangerous part of your journey, Chihiro." The sorcerer whispered. "You've done your part, now it's up to your dragon. By all accounts, he shouldn't wake for at least another three days." His golden eyes turned to the card that had brought a tear to his eye earlier. "I will do what I must so you and Kohaku will not face the same path that my love and I have. But there is only so much I can do." (-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)



"How could we be so stupid?" Lin shouted for the thousandth time. "We should have just left Haku alone. But no, we had to be all helpful and give him something to help him sleep. What were we thinking?" Kamajii was doing his best to calm down the near paranoid spirit, a failed attempt. "Now Lin, calm down. Chihiro will be fine. It wouldn't be the first time someone has attempted to kill her." Lin glared at him. "Is that supposed to make me feel better?" "Um…" "Just shut up." Kamajii was getting annoyed by Lin's attitude, but he knew that if he showed his own frustration that it would only aggravate Lin even more. And he did not want that. "Don't worry so much. Haku should wake up soon. I mean, how much sleeping herb did you use." Lin's aggravation seemed to vanish to be replaced by guilt. "Um… all of it." Kamajii's mouth dropped open. "Say what? You used all of it! I told you just to use the smallest amount." "We wanted to make sure he got a good night's sleep!" Lin cried defensively. "We didn't know how much to use." Kamajii smacked his forehead. "So you decided to use all of it. Oh yeah, that's logical. Why didn't you just ask me? I could have told you the right amount. Great, he'll be asleep for a week. And you say that Chihiro will be back tomorrow?" "What do you think I've been screaming about for the past hour?" Lin shouted. Kamajii growled. "Well just be glad that I have something to wake him up." Lin's head shot up. "You do?" "That's what I just said." Kamajii muttered, going over to one of his cabinets. He opened it up and gasped. "It's gone!" Lin's eyes widened. "What?" "I said it's go-" "I heard what you said! How can in be gone?" Kamajii folded his arms. "Well there's 2 possibilities. Either I ran out, and I know I didn't, because the jar was full earlier, and I keep it right next to the sleeping herb. The other option is that someone took it. Someone who obviously doesn't want Haku to wake up in time." Lin took a few deep calming breaths. "Ok, ok, maybe this is a good thing. It had to have been someone who was in here earlier. That can help us find the killer. So, besides me, Rita, Clam, Bôh, and your soot balls, who else has come in here?"



"Um…" Kamajii scratched his head. "A few people have come to get different ingredients. I didn't really keep track." Lin glared at him. "Hey, I was busy!" (-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-) The one filled with hate, as Lord Okaia called them, was waiting for Chihiro to return. The others were aware of their intentions; Lord Okaia had spilled the beans. But they were much smarter than anyone gave them credit for. The human would die if she ever came back. And they knew she would come back, for she was in love with Haku. 'A human and a spirit together. Bah! It's disgusting!' they thought. They would never allow such a union. They mentally kicked themselves for not finishing the human off earlier. They should have done it those 12 years ago when the human first came to the spirit world. But they had been patient. Human or not, Yubaba wouldn't be happy if they had killed one of her employees. They also knew that the human had wanted to go back to the human world, and she did. That time everything worked out fine, but then the human had come back 12 years later, and this time she wanted to stay! They were outraged at the time, but they kept quiet. Everyone else was happy to have the human back, so they put on an act. They had decided to see how things would turn out. Their patience was rewarded when they found out that Haku was planning on sending the human back to her world. They were glad that he had decided to do that. But then the human had run away, and as much of a relief as it was to have the disgusting human gone, it made Haku realize that he loved her too much to live without her. That had been the final straw. They had decided that if the human ever came back that they would kill her. They had waited quietly as Haku had gone off to bring his so-called true love back. When Haku had come back empty handed, they thought that the human had either returned to her world, or, preferably, died, but no such luck. In fact, the human had gone on some kind of quest to become a spirit herself. That had outraged them. That disgusting creature wasn't even worthy of her mortal life, let alone the one of a spirit. Still, they had to be patient and lay low. They couldn't blow their cover. Every move they made was critical; especially since the others were aware of the danger the human was in. They had to be careful; they knew they were being watched. Kamajii's soot balls were good at spying on people, but they left traces of soot behind, not such a good thing if you wanted to spy on someone. But things were finally looking up. The human should be returning tomorrow and Haku was in a deep sleep. By the time he woke up, the human would be dead, and no one would have a clue as to who did it. Of course, everyone, especially Haku, would mourn the human's death. They could play along; they'd done it before. And eventually everyone would realize that life was much better without the miserable human around. But then there was the problem of the human becoming a spirit. That would make her nearly impossible to kill, but even spirits could be killed if it was done the right way. The only problem would be how powerful the human would be if she became a spirit. It would be best not to take any chances and waste the opportunity to kill her. They would have to be really sneaky. Creep up unexpectedly and finish her off. Then all will be well again. 'All too easy.' They thought as they tossed the stolen waking aid into the river.



Chapter 24: The One Filled With Hate Chihiro flew through the air, pulling No-Face along with her, Yu-bird following closely behind. From up here, the spirit world was beautiful. It reminded Chihiro of the times she flew on Haku's back. She wanted desperately to fly with him again, only instead she wanted to fly beside him. They were covering ground fast. Of course, that was to be expected since they didn't have to walk. Yubird kept slowing them down though, unable to match Chihiro's speed. "Come on, Yu-bird!" she cried. "Can't you fly any faster than that?" "Ah, ah." Yu-bird glared at whatever it was No-Face had said, but was still barely able to keep up. Chihiro stopped to allow her friend to catch up before deciding to just take her in her arms to go faster. They were on a time limit. They had to get back to the bathhouse so she could complete her transformation. But she still had enough time to observe the view. The spirit world was truly a gorgeous place, far more beautiful than the human world, which, she realized, had not been properly taken care of. Pollution, global warming, natural disasters, none of these were present in the spirit world. That was because the spirits had such a deep connection with the environment. They knew how to take care of their world and didn't abuse it. And for those spirits that were bonded, they had to pay for the cruel way humans took care of their world. It was becoming more and more apparent as to why so many spirits disliked humans. It was for this reason that Chihiro was able to forgive Yuteela so easily. She had been provoked. It was just as if someone provoked an animal. She understood this and forgave the forest spirit, just like she had forgiven Yubaba, Bôh, and No-Face after they tried to kill her 12 years ago. Now they were her best friends, well not so much Yubaba. "Ah, ah!" No-Face cried, pointing at something on the horizon. Chihiro looked and saw what appeared to be a beautiful angel flying a short distance away. The angel waved to them before disappearing behind a cloud. Chihiro smiled. The spirit world truly was a magical, beautiful place. Even the dangerous places, such as the toxic forest they were currently flying over, which Chihiro had no problem breathing in any toxins, was beautiful. If only humans could live in harmony with their world. Chihiro frowned at the thought. She herself had once been arrogant about her former world. Coming to the spirit world had changed her in many ways. It had also changed her parents' appetite, since they suddenly seemed to find something wrong with any food made from pigs, although they didn't know why. The thought had amused Chihiro in the past, but now, thinking of her parents, it was depressing. She had lost them in a way. True, they had moved away and they rarely saw each other, but she could always call them up if she wanted to speak with them, or right them a letter. Now they were separated by different worlds, and only death could reunite them. Well, that wasn't exactly true. She could still return to the human world before she completed her transformation. No, she couldn't do that. She would miss her parents, but she knew that she couldn't live without Haku. On top of that, the human world hadn't felt like 'her world' since the first time she left it. She knew that she was doing the right thing by staying here, but there would be some things in the human world that



she would miss; the most important thing being her parents. She knew that at one point in the future it would really hit her that she had lost them. It would be hard, but everyone went through that pain eventually, and she would have Haku and her friends to help her get through it. She wished she could at least say goodbye though. No-Face noticed Chihiro's sadness and grunted questioningly. Chihiro gave him a smile, letting him know that she would be all right. "Don't worry, No-Face, I'm fine." She assured him. "Look, I can see the train tracks!" The tracks were indeed in sight. Now it was just a matter of following the tracks back to Zeniba's to drop off the gold seal and No-Face, since she didn't want to risk bringing the monster to the bathhouse, although he would probably behave since the bathhouse wasn't so full of negative emotions anymore, but better safe than sorry. It was well after dark when Swamp Bottom was finally in sight. It shouldn't take too long to reach the bathhouse from here. The moment Chihiro's feet touched the ground the door to Zeniba's house burst open and the witch flew out at light speed. "Chihiro!" Zeniba cried, hugging the girl. "I was so worried! After I lost connection I feared the worst! Did she hurt you? Are you ok?" Chihiro laughed. Zeniba was sounding just like Yubaba. "Everything worked out fine, Granny." Zeniba opened her mouth to say something, but Chihiro cut her off. "And don't you dare apologize; you did nothing wrong." Zeniba closed her mouth. It was then that she noticed something different about Chihiro. She had a powerful aura surrounding her, very much like a spirit. "Chihiro, what exactly happened after Yuteela cut us off? You seem different somehow, yet you're still the same." Chihiro smiled and handed Zeniba the golden seal. "I found the spirit of life." She said. Zeniba's eyes widened, but Chihiro stopped the witch from questioning her. "Granny, I can't talk now. The spirit of life agreed to help me, but I have to get to Haku as soon as possible to become a spirit entirely." Zeniba looked confused at first, but then a look of understanding crossed over her face. "So that's why you looked like you were trying to outfly Porco Rosso." "Who?" "You've never heard of the Crimson Pig?" Zeniba asked in disbelief. "No." Zeniba sighed. "Never mind. You go to your dragon, dear. You can tell me all about it when you literally have all the time in the world." Chihiro hugged the witch and kissed her cheek. "Thanks again, Granny. Thank you too, No-Face." Zeniba smiled. "Oh, you're very welcome, dear. Would you like me to summon a Kittenbus?" Chihiro shook her head. "No thanks, I'll just fly. Bye guys!"



Wasting no more time Chihiro took flight again. Zeniba, No-Face, and the enchanted lantern waved to her and Yu-bird as they flew further and further away. "Ah, ah?" No-Face asked. Zeniba smiled. "Yes, No-Face, I'm sure everything will work out fine." As the sun began to rise, Chihiro put on a burst of speed. She wasn't sure how much farther she had to go, but she knew she was getting close. She wasn't entirely familiar with her surroundings so she turned to Yu-bird for confirmation. "Yu-bird, we are almost there, aren't we?" She received no answer. Looking down, she saw that Yu-bird was asleep in her arms. "Hey Yu-bird!" Her friend snapped awake with a screech. Chihiro chuckled. "Sorry, Yu-bird. I just needed you to take a look around to see how much farther we need to go; you are more familiar with the area than I am." Yu-bird looked around and confirmed that they were indeed almost there. Chihiro was starting to get a little nervous. She didn't have a watch or anything, so she looked at the position of the sun to estimate how much longer she had. After another hour or so of flying, Yu-bird screeched happily and flew out of Chihiro's arms and began flying around excitedly. Chihiro wasn't sure what was going on until she saw something very familiar in the distance. Yu-bird had spotted it first since her eyes were better for seeing things far off. But now there was no mistaking it. The bathhouse could be seen. Chihiro beamed happily. "We made it!" she cried. "We made it!" She sped forward, leaving Yu-bird behind as she sped toward her home and her love. (-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-) Clam yawned. Keeping lookout was so boring. He was about to fall asleep and he had only been watching for a few hours. How had Haku stayed awake for several days just keeping watch? "Gotta stay awake." He yawned. "Gotta keep watch." He sat back, twirling his fingers. He was bored out of his mind. He needed to find something to do or else he was going to go crazy. He decided to just lay down and look at the different shapes of the clouds. "Ok, that one looks like a cat." He muttered dully. "And that one looks like a flower. And that one looks like a fish. And this is very boring." He sighed. Who knows how long he would have to wait. According to Haku, Chihiro was supposed to come back today, he was told by Lord Okaia himself. But really, this was taking forever. "I should have brought a manga." He muttered, impatiently. "Why doesn't she hurry up already? Come on, where are you?" The words had barely left his mouth before he saw a finger appear along the horizon. "Just another customer." He muttered.



But as the figure got closer, he realized that it wasn't a customer, but an employee. The one he had been waiting for. "She's here!" he cried, jumping up. He ran towards her waving his arms around and crying out for her to land. "Hey, over here! Miss Chihiro! Down here!" Chihiro spotted the spirit waving her down and she landed by the bridge. Clam ran over to her. "Miss Chihiro, you've finally come back." Chihiro nodded. "Of course I did." She said, surprised that he even had to ask. "Um, not to be rude or anything, but who are you again?" "Clam." He muttered. "Just another one of the many toad spirits of the bathhouse. We haven't formerly been intro… wait a second! Since when do you fly?" Chihiro chuckled. "Since yesterday. I met the spirit of life. He gave me the opportunity to become a spirit. But I have to get to Haku as soon as possible." Clam looked guilty. "Um, that may be a problem." He muttered. "You see, there was a little incident." Chihiro's eyes widened with worry. "Is he alright?" Clam nodded. "Oh yes, he's fine. Let's just say he's 'sleeping it off'. That's why I'm here to greet you." Chihiro smiled. "Well thank you." "It is no trouble. Now lets go alert everyone else of your arrival." Chihiro smiled more broadly and hurried passed the bowing Clam. As she walked by, she failed to see the dark expression come across the toad's face and the evil glint in his gray eyes. "It's a shame your return will be so short." he whispered, pulling out a knife. He crept up behind the unsuspecting human and raised the knife. A loud screeched startled him, as Yubird suddenly appeared and began scratching at his head. Chihiro turned around to find Clam batting at Yu-bird and stabbing forward. Using her new speed and reflexes, Chihiro dodged Clam's attempted assassination. Clam cried out angrily and began swinging the knife wildly. Chihiro kept backing away until she remembered that she could do magic now. Clam was thrown backwards by an unseen force. He sat up and glared angrily at Chihiro who glared back. "You just tried to kill me!" she shouted. "That's right, you disgusting human." Clam snarled. "You worthless piece of filth. You're a disgrace. You should have stayed in your world with the rest of your miserable species." Chihiro's eyes narrowed. "So what did humans do to make you hate them so much?" Clam growled. "Nothing. It's more along the lines that they exist to begin with." He raised the knife. "I should have done this long ago." Chihiro eyed the knife. She wasn't a spirit yet; a stab wound could still kill her. "Why didn't you?"



Clam humphed. "The first time you came here, you didn't have any intention of staying. When you got to leave, I cheered along with everyone else. But not because you got to go home, but because we got rid of you. I was the only one that was glad you were gone. Everyone else missed you, especially Haku. It was disgusting!" He spat the final word to show how much he despised her. "Then you came back and everyone was happy again, everyone but me, I was sickened by the very thought of a human here once again. "I was patient though. The others wanted to send you home and I was all too happy to agree, even if our reasons were different. Then you left for Zeniba's and Haku realized he loved you too much to let you go. He, along with the others decided to let you stay if you wanted to. I wouldn't have it though. I waited for you to return, which was why I was the first to know that Haku came back without you. And then my plans were nearly ruined when Lord Okaia told him of my attentions to kill you, though he didn't mention any names." That last part really aggravated Chihiro. 'Why didn't Lord Okaia tell me that someone was going to try to kill me?' she thought angrily. "I was very careful in my planning." Continued Clam. "I offered to help find whoever wanted you dead to avoid looking suspicious. I made up false theories, such as it was most likely a jealous woman. And it was me that came up with the idea to drug Haku." "You drugged Haku?" Chihiro shouted in outrage. Clam snickered. "I told you there was an incident. And then I volunteered to take his place as lookout, so I could get to you first." Chihiro glared at the spirit with great dislike. She started clapping just to irritate him. "Very good. I bet you thought you were being very clever. Seems like an awful lot of work to do just to get rid of me though." Clam sneered at her. "I would never allow a union of a human and a spirit. It's an abomination!" "I know that a relationship between our kind wouldn't work." Said Chihiro. "Why do you think I went to find the spirit of life? So I could become a spirit." "YOU'RE UNWORTHY!" Clam bellowed. "Miserable, disgusting creature! You don't even deserve your own mortal life, let alone the one of a spirit! Now die!" He charged at her. Chihiro instinctively reached for her powers and Clam was lifted into the air. "Put me down, you wench!" Chihiro caused him to spin around in the air, until he was about to be sick, before letting him drop on the ground. The knife flew out of his hand and into Chihiro's. Once everything stopped spinning around, Clam looked at Chihiro with pure hatred. The only thing that stopped him from attacking her was the knife in her hand. She wouldn't be able to kill him with something like that, but it would sure hurt. "And what are you going to do with that?" he demanded. Chihiro looked at the knife in her hand then looked back at Clam before tossing the knife aside. "You know what," she said, "you really disgust me. I've met spirits before that don't like humans, but they have always had a reason. But you, you're just plain prejudice. It's because of people like you that



there is so much hatred in the world. Many people died in the human world due to prejudice. You're just like those people. Spirits and humans have more in common than you think. You know what, you'rethe disgrace!" If it were possible, Clam's gaze became even darker as Chihiro turned away. She continued speaking even though her back was turned. "I'm going to report you to Yubaba, but she's not the one you should worry about. I suggest that you leave and never come back, because when Haku finds out what you tried to do, he won't be happy." Clam was outraged as he watched her walk away. How dare that miserable human turn her back on him. How dare she speak to him like that. Oh how she would suffer. He would be sure to make her death as slow as possible. Moving quickly, he retrieved the knife and dove for Chihiro. "You wretched creature, I'll kill you!" Chihiro turned around and saw Clam practically flying at her. Before either of them could react, lightning struck in between them, throwing both of them backwards. "What the?" Clam cried angrily. His eyes widened in fear. "Lord Okaia!" Chihiro sat up as the tall figure of Lord Okaia towered over Clam, and he did not look happy. "You just couldn't stop." Said Lord Okaia coldly. "You and your meaningless hatred have done enough trouble. I spared you after you allowed the woman I loved to die, and now you go and try and take away the same happiness from Kohaku that you took from me." Clam got angrily to his feet. "It was for your own good!" he shouted. "That human being in your presence was a disgrace. She wasn't worthy of your love." "THAT IS NOT FOR YOU TO DECIDE!" Lord Okaia bellowed, and both Clam and Chihiro winced as the sorcerer's power exploded. "You do not get to decide who is worthy of what. I loved her." "She was an inferior. A love such as that shouldn't exist. She was nothing; she was vermin. Would you fall in love with an insect?" "One cannot help who they fall in love with. And you are the vermin, not her. And I will not let you take away someone else's happiness. Soon Chihiro will be a spirit, and she and Kohaku will have what you took from me." "She doesn't deserve it." Clam growled, turning back to Chihiro. "She doesn't deserve to be a spirit. She doesn't deserve eternal life. She deserves death!" He dove for Chihiro again with the intent to kill. Lord Okaia's eye began glowing with silver light and Clam was rendered immobilized. "No, you're wrong. She's earned it. She does deserve it." He raised his hand as his body began to glow with a silver light. "You don't." Clam's eyes widened. He cried out in despair as the light consumed him. A moment later, he was gone. All that remained was a single lump of coal.



Chapter 25: Kiss of Eternal Life and Love Lord Okaia took a deep breath and let his power die down. He slowly walked over to the piece of coal that was once Clam and looked down at it. His back was turned so Chihiro could not see the look on his face, but she assumed that he was very upset. "Lord Okaia?" she asked quietly. The sorcerer sighed and turned to her with a sad smile on his face. "Hello again, Chihiro. I'm glad you were able to find the spirit of life." He noticed her looking at the piece of coal and he sighed again. "I assume you're wondering why I didn't tell you about him." Chihiro nodded. "When I looked into your future, I saw your confrontation with Clam. And though it resulted in his death, it worked out for the best, wouldn't you agree?" Chihiro reluctantly did, even though it was sad that Clam did have to die. "I guess so." She muttered sadly. Lord Okaia nodded. "However, had I told you about him, things would have turned out differently. How would you have reacted when you saw that the one who wanted you dead was here to greet you? How would Clam react once he saw that he no longer had the element of surprise?" Chihiro shook her head. "I don't know." "That is my point. Things may not have worked out for the best, which is why I kept quiet, so things could play out like this." "But," Chihiro looked at the lump of coal, "he's… he's…" "Never going to harm anyone ever again." said Lord Okaia, placing the lump of coal in his pocket. "I gave him a second chance, but he just wouldn't stop. I knew he wouldn't, and you almost died because of it." Chihiro gulped. "He was the one who…" "Took my true love away." Lord Okaia finished. "Yes, he was. And after I stripped him of his power and dismissed him, he came here. Then he goes and tries to force the same fate upon you and Kohaku that he forced upon me. I couldn't allow that." "But I thought you didn't kill anyone." Lord Okaia frowned. "I don't, but someone was going to die. It was going to be either you or Clam. Now the question was who the killer would be. It was either going to be Clam, in which case the victim would be you, Kohaku, who would have killed Clam to protect you, and the third possible killer," he took out a card and showed it to her; it was a mirror, "was me. I would not allow Clam to kill you; that was out of the question. And Kohaku has yet to take a life. Though him taking Clam's life would not be considered an act of evil, I did not want him to have to experience taking a life. Some spirits aren't bothered by taking others' lives, and then there are those who won't be able to sleep at night for a long time with the knowledge that they took a life. I didn't want to risk Kohaku experiencing that. So I took the burden upon myself, even though I hate violence." Chihiro was touched. Lord Okaia was so selfless. "Lord Okaia…"



Lord Okaia held up his hand to silence her. "You don't have to say anything. I am happy to take the pain of others so they may be happy. And now is the time for you to be happy." Chihiro didn't know what to say except, "Thank you, Lord Okaia. You're a good friend." The sorcerer smiled. "Go to your love. You have about 20 minutes left. Go and live the life that was taken from me." Chihiro bowed. "Yes sir, and thanks again." She turned around and ran towards the bathhouse. Lord Okaia watched her go. He was happy for her and Kohaku; they could have a life together with the one they loved, something that he knew he could never have. But he was happy. Happier than he had been in a long time. "Take care, my friend." He said before vanishing in a flash of light. (-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-) Haku could hear voices. That was good; it meant that he was nearly awake. He could already feel his body fighting off the affects of the sleeping herbs. He shouldn't have woken up for at least another day and a half, but his mind was stronger than his body, and his mind was determine to wake up. "She's back! She's back!" he heard someone cry. "Chihiro's back!" "Chihiro…" Haku muttered. His eyes snapped open and he was suddenly wide-awake and feeling well rested. But that didn't matter to him; not if what he heard was true. Throwing off the covers, he hopped out of bed. He was still dressed in his clothes from yesterday, but even if he wasn't he would have ran out of his room as if his life depended on it. Outside in the hall, spirits were running around excitedly, all of them heading for the front doors. Haku grabbed the nearest spirit and demanded answers. "Is it true?" he asked, sounding desperate. "Is she back?" "Chihiro?" the spirit asked. Haku nodded. "Yes, there was a commotion outside and someone went to check on it. They said they spotted her coming this way- Hey!" Haku practically threw the spirit aside as he raced to the front doors. There was already a crowd outside talking excitedly. Most of them moved aside when they saw Haku coming. "So you're finally up." Came a familiar voice. It was Lin, and she was giving Haku a very smug look. "Just in time too." Haku glared at her. "I'll be angry at you and the others for what you did later." He turned back to the bridge and saw the most beautiful creature he had ever laid eyes on walking towards the bathhouse. "Chihiro…" Haku was about to go out to meet her, but someone else beat him to it. Yubaba stepped out in front of everyone, looking very irritated.



Chihiro's face fell slightly when she saw that she would have to deal with the witch before she could go to Haku. "Hi, Yubaba." She said, trying to sound cheerful. Yubaba's eyes narrowed as she glared at her. "Back again, are you?" Chihiro nodded. "You know, I just can't figure you out. You keep saying that you want to stay, and then you keep leaving. I don't like jobhoppers. Make up your mind. Do you want to stay, or not?" Chihiro cocked her head to the side. "Of course I do. I just had some business to take care of first." "And that involves stealing?" Chihiro blinked. "Stealing?" "Don't play dumb!" Yubaba snapped. "You know exactly what I'm talking about! Sneaking into my office and stealing my train ticket! Who do you think you are, Lupin the 3rd?" "What are you talking about? I didn't steal any…" Then Chihiro realized that Bôh must not have told his mother about giving her the tickets. "Oh, no. I didn't steal them. They-" "Don't lie!" Yubaba shouted. "You can't fool me. How dare you do such a thing after all I've done for you. I should send you to the pigpen for a month." Haku didn't like Yubaba threatening Chihiro, not one little bit. "Yubaba!" he growled in warning. Yubaba visibly winced at the tone in the river spirit's voice. She knew that if she did anything to harm Chihiro, Haku would do worse to her. She wasn't planning on carrying out her threat, just to remind Chihiro who was in charge. Chihiro on the other hand was finally fed up. All these people kept thinking that they could boss her around and do whatever they wanted with her just because they were powerful. But now she had that power too, and she was going to stand up for herself and not let anyone push her around anymore. Yubaba may be her employer, but there was no way she was going to threaten to turn her into a pig, or coal, or any other thing that popped into the witch's mind. "Yubaba, I did not steal from you!" she snapped. "And I am tired of you threatening me. If you're going to send me to the pigpen, then do it now. Here's your chance, and it's the only one I'm giving you." "No!" several spirits shouted. "Chihiro, don't!" Haku cried. If Yubaba did do anything, he would simply reverse it, but he didn't want anything to happen to begin with. Chihiro smiled. Somehow she knew that the powers she was given were stronger than Yubaba's. It was like a sixth sense, and Yubaba didn't seem to notice the difference in her. "It's ok." She assured them. "I'll be fine." Yubaba smirked. "Well if you're so sure, I'll increase your punishment to two months instead of one." "Bring it on, Granny." Yubaba waved her hand and cast the spell. Chihiro sensed the magic and blocked it with her own. It was surprisingly easy to do.



'That wasn't as hard as I thought.' Yubaba was clearly surprised by this. "Huh? Why didn't it… Grr. Fine, try this!" She increased the power of the spell and cast it again. Just like before, it simply bounced off Chihiro. "That's two strikes, Granny." Said Chihiro. "One more and you're out." Yubaba began grinding her teeth together in frustration. "FINE, YOU WANT IT, YOU GOT IT!" She formed a ball of magic, putting all her power into this last spell. She was convinced that no tricks the human used could stop this. She would also extend the punishment to three months for being cheeky. Yubaba threw the ball of magic. This time Chihiro had to physically block the spell. She caught it in her hand and held it until the magic ran out. Once the magic faded she gave the stunned witch a smug look. "Strike three and you're out." She said triumphantly. Yubaba's mouth was hanging open in pure shock. "B-B-But… h-how did you… you… My spell. You should be able to do that, unless you're a… a…" Haku looked at Chihiro in awe. "A spirit." He whispered. Chihiro smiled. "Yes, I have gone to see Lord Okaia and the spirit of life. I was granted the opportunity to become a spirit and I took it. There's just one more thing I have to do to complete my transformation." She calmly walked across the bridge, stopping only to say to Yubaba, "And I didn't steal those tickets. Bôh gave them to me." "Wha-" Bôh gave her the tickets? How come she was the last to know? She turned to the crowd, knowing that Bôh was in there somewhere. She spotted his baby face surrounded by several spirits. "Sweetie, is this true?" Bôh nodded happily. "Yup!" How embarrassing. "Why didn't you tell me?" "It was a surprise!" Bôh said innocently. Yubaba just sighed. Haku's heart was pounding as Chihiro approached him. She was radiating with love and happiness, and it was all directed at him. He loved her so much and yet he hadn't told her how he felt. She had confessed to him. She had managed to work up the courage to tell him. And then she had gone on a journey that could result in her death just to be with him. He would have done the same, of that he was certain of. Just to spend one day with her would have been worth it, but what he really wanted was forever. And if it was true and she had become a spirit, then they could have it. Time seemed to stand still as Chihiro came to a stop in front of him, gazing lovingly into his eyes. "Haku…" she whispered. Haku was struggling to find something, anything, to say. "Chihiro, I was so worried about you." he said, before mentally scolding himself for saying like that, wondering why couldn't say what he really wanted.



Chihiro chuckled. "If you were worried about the person that was trying to kill me, you can relax, he's gone." Haku felt like he was about to cry. "I'm so sorry that I wasn't there to protect you." Chihiro just smiled. "This was my choice, Haku. I told you I loved you. I was willing to do anything to be with you, even if you didn't love me back." It was now or never. "I do love you, Chihiro. I love you more than you could ever know. I've just been afraid. Afraid to love a human." Chihiro reached up and rested her hand against his cheek. "I know. But I'm not human anymore." She said smiling. "Or at least I won't be after this." And she kissed him. It was their first kiss. A truly magical one, both figuratively and literally. As the two poured all their love and emotion into each other, Chihiro began to glow as her transformation began. Had she not been caught up in the moment, she would have noticed all the cheers from everyone and the voice of the spirit of life speaking to her. "Well done, child." Both Chihiro and Haku wanted this moment to last forever, but certain events prevented it. The golden light began to lift Chihiro away from Haku. The two stayed connected as long as possible, but Chihiro was eventually lifted too high up and their lips separated. She could feel it. She was changing in both body and soul. This was much more intense then when her transformation first began. But it wasn't unpleasant. No, it was glorious. She felt like she had been reborn, like she was truly alive for the first time. The golden light began to fade away as the transformation came to an end. Chihiro couldn't describe the sensation she was feeling. It was marvelous. And it was only the beginning of her new life. She reached into herself and found what she was looking for. She called it forward and felt her body change. She switched from her human form to her dragon form. Haku's eyes were wide in awe as he watched Chihiro make her transformation. When she turned into her dragon form, he couldn't resist. He changed into his own dragon form and joined her in the air. She was just as beautiful in her dragon form as she was in her human. Pink scales covered her body and hair, the same brown color as her human form, ran down her back in the same fashion as Haku, only longer. The two dragons intertwined with each other in a loving embrace in the air, resting their foreheads together and gazing lovingly into each other's eyes. On the ground, several people were crying tears of joy. Surprisingly, even Yubaba's eyes were a little watery, but she did a very good job at hiding it. "So much for your matchmaking plans, Lin." Rita commented, unable to tear her eyes away from the two spirits in the air. Lin sniffed, trying hard not to cry. "Oh, shut up!" she snapped. "You're ruining the moment. Just look at how happy they are." Bôh was positively beaming and clapping his hands. "Yay! They did it! Yay!" His joy turned to confusion as he watched the two dragons turn back into their human forms and fly up into one of the top windows of the bathhouse. "Hey, where they going?"



Rita gulped. "Wasn't that… Haku's room?" Lin snickered. "We won't see them for days." Bôh cocked his head to the side. "Why not?" Yubaba was getting a very uncomfortable feeling of déjà vu from Bôh's question and did not want to get into that conversation again. "Ok, everyone, back to work. The mushy stuff is over. You'll see much more of that stuff between them in the future. And you are all going to give those two some time alone. And no one is to bother them until they come out. Understood?" "Yes, ma'am!" everyone cried. Lin and Rita were shocked by this. "Wow, Yubaba can really be nice when she wants to be." Rita muttered. "Yeah." Lin agreed. "But she's right, those two deserve some time alone together. And I don't think anyone would want to walk in on them anyway." Rita snickered. "Clam might, that pervert. Hey, whatever happened to him anyway?" Lin just shrugged.



Epilogue Things were never the same around the bathhouse again, but the change was definitely for the better. Not long after her return, Chihiro and Haku were married, or spiritually linked, as the spirits did it, creating an eternal bond between the two. It was a wonderful feeling, to be connected to someone in such a way, and Chihiro couldn't be happier. They left the bathhouse for their honeymoon, spending it at the legendary castle in the sky, Laputa. After their return, lots of things began changing while others remained the same. After a few more years of servitude, Lin finally got on the train and left the bathhouse to explore the spirit world. She returned 8 years later saying that this was the only place she belonged, with her friends and family. Sadly, Yubaba and Zeniba never worked out their differences and most likely never would. Bôh still visited Zeniba every chance he got, only now he was normally accompanied by Chihiro and Haku. According to Yubaba, one thing useful came out of Chihiro's 'running away'. The spirits she ran into on the way became regular customers. Chihiro squealed with joy when the storm spirit and forest spirit showed up one day with an infant. And speaking of infants, Bôh and the hill spirit, Ju-Ju, did indeed become very good friends, just as Chihiro predicted. Neither one of them wanted to ever grow up and most likely never would. Chihiro was a little nervous about meeting with the hill spirit again since they didn't exactly part on the best of terms, but Ju-Ju had already forgiven her. The once polluted lake spirit came to the bathhouse quite often. However, his visits did decrease a little after Rita developed a crush on him and began following him all over the bathhouse for a majority of his visits.



Yuteela also came to the bathhouse. She no longer held a grudge against Chihiro and considered her somewhat of a friend. Yuteela did seem depressed a lot, but at least she wasn't such an angry person anymore. Chihiro knew that the forest spirit was on the road to recovery and just needed time. Even Lord Okaia became a regular customer of the bathhouse, much to Yubaba's delight. Whenever the sorcerer came, she made the staff work extra hard so Lord Okaia would leave a big tip behind; he was very rich after all. Kamajii was still Kamajii. He and his soot balls continued to work in the boiler room. He stopped being so grouchy all the time and became a much more cheerful person, although he would snap at the soot balls every now and then. Clam was never seen or heard from again. The others were shocked when they discovered that he had been the one they had been searching for. Lin kept saying how Lord Okaia had been too easy on him while Haku would say how he wished he could have gotten to the toad first. As for Lord Okaia himself, he never spoke of what had happened and no one ever brought it up. Unfortunately, this story doesn't have an entirely happy ending, not for some people. As Lord Okaia had predicted, Chihiro's human friends and family were deeply upset by her disappearance. After several days of not seeing her friend, Mimi had called Chihiro's parents. Chihiro became a missing person and after being searched for, for years, was eventually presumed dead. A funeral was even held for her. Chihiro's parents mourned their daughter's 'death', never once suspecting that rather than dying she had received eternal life. Mimi was upset as well, but at the same time, for some reason, she felt a little happy, because somehow she knew that Chihiro was in a better place, one where she belonged. As for Chihiro and Haku, well, things couldn't have been better. Chihiro never, except for once, regretted her decision of staying. The only time she did was when the result of losing her parents finally hit her. She had cried, but Haku had been there to take care of her. They worked through it together and Chihiro eventually became her normal cheerful self again. After a few years of marriage, Haku and Chihiro had their first child, a baby girl. Bôh suggested naming their daughter Sen. Both Chihiro and Haku had to admit that they liked the idea and did just that. Four years later, they had twins, one boy and one girl. Haku suggested naming them Akio and Yuuko, after Chihiro's parents, and Chihiro agreed. They decided to put off having anymore children, and, thanks to Zeniba, they found a spell that would prevent pregnancy. After all, they did have eternal youth, if you know what I mean, and they still acted like newlyweds, even after many years of being together. Still, Chihiro wondered if Yubaba knew about the spell back when she had her one-night-stand, which Bôh was the result of, but she decided it would be best not to ask. Time went on and life was good for Chihiro and her family. I cannot tell you what their future holds for I am mortal and they will live on long after I am gone. However, I will say this; Lord Okaia took one last look into Chihiro and Haku's future, and saw an eternity of happiness and love. THE END