"What if…" The two words that have been running through Haku's mind constantly, ever since the little human girl, Chihiro, left.

"What if Chihiro had guessed wrong…"

"What if Chihiro could have stayed…"

"What if Chihiro was a spirit…"

And so on and so forth. "Earth to Haku! You're in love with a human girl who you haven't seen in years! When will you learn to move on?" Lin would continuously say. Haku denied ever being in love with Chihiro. Sure, he had liked her. But what did a 12-year old boy know about love? Though, a part of Haku knew that Lin was right. He was in love. Ever since he met Chihiro, he had seen more than just a lost little human girl. He saw potential. Haku didn't realize that he was in love at the time. Like he said before, what did he know about love? Chihiro had saved his life. She had helped him find his name again…And now what? A life where Lin thinks he's going crazy, where Yubaba gives him death glares every time he goes to work (despite the fact that spirits can't really die…) Haku remembered Chihiro when they first met. She was a tiny, scared, mesmerized human girl who was confused and lost. Haku wanted to help her and get her home safely. The longer she stayed, though, the more Haku bonded with her. At one point, he thought that maybe, just maybe, Chihiro had liked him back? When he was sitting in Kamajii's boiler room, listening to him ramble on and on about true love…When they were falling through the sky, after Chihiro had told him his real name…Haku was close enough to kiss her…And now he kicked himself every day for not doing so. He was young and in love (though clueless about it) and now wanted nothing more than to see his Little One again…

15-year old Chihiro sat on her bed one rainy morning. 5 years had passed since she left the Bathhouse. 5 years since she left Lin, No-Face, Bôh, Zeniba, Yubaba even…But most importantly, 5 years since she left Haku. Chihiro hadn't gone crazy, nor shown any remote sign of doing so. She lived a 90% normal life: Caring, overprotective parents, good grades, a few close friends, and a new baby brother, Kenji. The other 10% not-so-normal part of her life was her secret obsession over a boy that she hadn't seen in 5 years. Chihiro was only 10 when she met and knew Haku, but since when did love have rules? She missed him dearly, and dreamt of him almost every night. When she though hard, Chihiro remembered their truly amazing experience- when she had figured out Haku's real name, falling through the night sky, embracing each other. They were so close, close enough to kiss. But why didn't they? It didn't make sense. Chihiro wasn't conceited, but for a little bit, she thought that Haku actually liked her back. She remembered the way he smiled, the way that he'd smile at her and at no one else. Then, she had to let him go. Obviously, she wanted to rescue her parents, but Chihiro always asked herself "What if…?" What if this, what if that…? She never told anyone of her experiences in the Spirit World. If anyone asked if she ever had a boyfriend, she'd reply simply with, "When I was 10." Even though that was a half lie, it made her feel a tad bit better. Chihiro's heart hurt whenever she thought of the last time she saw Haku. It was their good-bye. The sun was setting, and Chihiro's hand just slipped away from Haku's. As she promised, she didn't look back. But what if she had…?

"Chihiro!" Chihiro's friend, Hana, said. "What?" Chihiro replied. She was at another friend's house (Yuki) for a sleepover. Hana smiled. "Come back to Earth. We're playing truth or dare." Chihiro god up and sat between Hana and Yuki. 5 years after leaving the Bathhouse, Chihiro hadn't changed a whole lot. Her dark brown hair was just a little bit longer, but she always wore it in the same ponytail with the magical purple hair tie that Zeniba had made for her. She had grown a little bit taller, though she'd be lucky to reach 5'2 when she was an adult. She was still skinny and, well, as Lin once called her, she was "puny." There were two other girls along with that trio, Misa and Akira. Chihiro was still a bit dazed, thinking of Haku, Lin, Kamajii, Bôh, Zeniba, the Soot Sprites…She even missed Yubaba (though Chihiro never really knew why) Her real friends. "Yuki, you chose!" Hana said, laughing. Do not chose me…do not chose me…do not- "Chihiro!" …chose me. Oh, Universe, you just love proving me wrong, don't you? Chihiro thought as she sighed and said carelessly, "Truth." All the girls looked dumbfounded. "You always chose dare! Always! I was going to make you ask that one Hiroshi hottie from bio out!" Yuki exclaimed, obviously disappointed. Chihiro cocked her head curiously. "Never mind. So, now that it's truth for the first time in forever, let's ask the traditional teenage girl question: Have you currently, or have you ever had a boyfriend?" I should have known better than to choose truth…what was I thinking? Oh… Chihiro smiled to herself when she remember what she was thinking about. "Yeah," Chihiro said after a minute, "When I was 10." "Awwwwwwwwwwww!" All the girls cooed. "Was he handsome?" "Hold old was he?" "Why didn't it work out?" were just a few of the questions that were bombarded at her. Of course he was handsome, he was adorable! I'm not really sure how old he was, since spirits never age. I'd say about 11 or 12. And, well, humans and spirits can't exactly be together like that; it just wouldn't work out… was what Chihiro wanted to say. Instead, she restrained herself and merely replied, "Yeah, he was cute. I think he said that he was 12. Maybe 13? And well, I, uh, had to movie. This was right before I moved here…" Chihiro bit her lip and looked down. "What did he look like? What was his name?" Akira asked, smiling. "His name was Nigihayami Kohaku Nushi. We all just called him Haku, though…" Chihiro replied quietly, as she felt a lump in her throat begin to form. "What a name…" Misa mumbled. All the girls laughed, except for Chihiro. She went to her bag and pulled out one of the many pictures of Haku she had drawn. She smiled weakly as she examined it. His shoulder length raven-black hair with the green tint, his emerald green eyes… She could almost see the river within his soul. "Hey Chihiro! Mind coming back to reality to show us your dream boy?" Hana giggled. Chihiro sighed and passed the picture around. The girls examined him. Chihiro stood there, remembering all the good times with him. Then, out of the blue, Misa said, "He looks like a girl!" Chihiro's eyes darted towards Misa. She narrowed them. How dare she insult my river spirit? Chihiro thought angrily. "I'm sorry, Chi, but look at his clothes. He looks like"- But Misa didn't continue after seeing Chihiro's eyes, and the nervous glances from the other girls. "Oh no…No, no, Chi, I didn't-" Chihiro held up her hand, took the picture back (quite carefully), and said, "You know, Misa, if it weren't for that 'girl', as you would say, I wouldn't be here. He saved my life." And Chihiro left the room without another word. Once her friends thought that Chihiro was out of earshot, Hana said in a scolding voice, "Why would you say something like that?" "I wasn't trying to be mean, I was saying the truth and-" "-Still. You saw how she reacted, she really liked him…" "Yeah, and personally, I thought he was actually kinda cute." "Yuki!" "I was just saying…" Chihiro sat in a corner and stared at the picture of Haku. Tears rolled down her cheeks as she said, "You promised we'd see each other again, Kohaku." "It's been 5 years. Did you forget about me?" A minute later, she whispered, "I need you…"