A/N: added some relevant and awesome quotes to the beginning of each chapter:) they often have to do with the content or have certain themes I feel are important.

Chapter I:

Return to the Spirit World

"Revenge is an act of passion; vengeance of justice. Injuries are revenged; crimes are avenged."

-Samuel Johnson

"I wish I have as much stamina as you, then I would be able to shoot arrows consistently throughout the competitions," Chihiro lamented half-heartedly, recollecting several incidents during kyudo competitions where victory narrowly escaped her grasp, and continued jogging along side her small, white, fox like canine partner, as they pushed past the thick brush of lush foliage in the forest just ten minutes from her home. With more preparation, attending nationals wouldn't be impossible; Chihiro decided to concentrate her effort on target practice later in the night. Cool wisps of the night wind streamed past her, sweeping loose coffee locks across her face and her duffle bag thumped against her back, heavy with a jumbled lot of archery equipment, a University of Tokyo criminal law text book, a handful of pencils, a vintage clutch with a sticker of a juggling giraffe and the words TURDUCKENS YEY3 on the backside in thick sharpie, and a day old pickled plum rice ball. Often times when she reached in to grab her bow, she would get poked by a scattered lot of random pencils, so a pencil case has long been on her list of things to buy, along with a new roll of athletic tape and a bottle of the coveted Canmake gold glitter nail polish for her best friend Aya's upcoming birthday. Freedom in University frequently led her to forget about chores and cleaning, further promoting dirtying her already cluttered backpack and room. Chihiro shrugged it off and convinced herself that she'd organize her belongings tomorrow, and with great cleaning enthusiasm, although sometimes she would listen to the "Happy Working Song" without even lifting a finger. Watching Criminal Minds was worth much more of her time, it was interesting to see the nonconcrete, mental side of a crime, rather than just the analysis and detective work of the "who-did-it". She had her fair share of lazing around, but what she loved most was archery. The process of pulling her arm back, letting the arrow cut cleanly through the air and strike the target; every last bit of it, she adored. Tranquility would overtake her nervous thoughts and converge her will into the head of the arrow, then as the arrow streamlined to her aim, an impact of adrenaline and excitement would make her heart beat and palms itch for success. It was just so much fun. The classes, the subjects, the freedom, and archery club, everyday was enjoyable (well, almost); in a nutshell, Uni was pretty good, "everyday she's shufflin'." American pop culture equated to love.

Chihiro threw her head back and took a deep breath of the fresh countryside air; she was finally back home.

Suddenly, Shiro skidded to a stop and barked madly.

Placing her hands on her knees, Chihiro slowed to a stop and bent over to catch a few rapid breathes and chuckled, "What has caught your eye now, Shiro?" If curiosity was so sly that it could kill cats, then it could probably kill dogs too; however, curiosity is what leads to the discovery of new subjects and events, expanding more of the vast unknown world.

Looming overhead was the robust, red "plastic" shrine tower-esque gate that tunneled into the far Spirit World. It was there that Chihiro became "Sen". The identity of "Sen" was only another face of Chihiro that slowly decayed as ten long years rolled by, the memories tucked in the depths of their heart, waiting to be realized. The only faint bit of reminiscence that she could clearly draw was a "promise"; it was a vow that they would meet again. On the other end of the promise was Haku, an important companion who held her hand in times of strife; perhaps he was even her first love. However, through time's ever-onward journey, his face became blurry. The only features that she could distinctly recall was a pair of sharp jaded eyes and hair in a form of some sort of a bowl cut; a hairstyle that was surprisingly making a comeback in the fashion world, much to Aya's dismay. Chihiro smiled at the thought, they sure were fine fragments of her childhood past.

"Sen," Chihiro murmured, thinking aloud, taking two fingers and bending them like quotation marks, emphasizing her "past" as Sen. Pursing her lips into a tight smile, she bent her fingers into quotes again for fun; she thought of them like little rabbits, kind of cute. Or they could be winking snails. Wink, wink. She then crouched down to pet Shiro, only to suddenly withdraw her hand as she met the callous gaze of the fat stone statue that bore the slightest resemblance to an ape. It was still as creepy as ever. For a fleeting moment it seemed like there was a slight glare on the statue's glazed eyes, but suddenly, the pair of stone eyes flickered into a piercing red glow that seemed to evince a murderous intent. Chihiro flinched at the eerie light and quickly scooped Shiro up, keeping a solid gaze; she took a few steps back then broke out into a run.

A cloud of ill-omened gloom shrouded the forest, it was a gripping shadow of cold that chilled her to the bone, the winds prodding past her sweatshirt and biting her bare calves as she was only clad in running shorts and dirty sneakers. Panting, she bolted through the dense clumps of trees and bushes, resulting in several scratches and streaks of wet dirt coating her exposed legs. The Spirit World was not benign; it was harsh and unforgiving, allowing only the strongest to survive. And that statue. That ugly statue with red eyes. Instincts told her that the iris color change was only a prelude of a long tale of disturbance ahead, maybe it was even cursing her, spooky…she silently laughed at her foolishness, statues could not inflict curses anyways. Without looking back, she held onto Shiro tightly and proceeded forward, only to collide into a web of woven tree branches. Chihiro hopped back up on her feet but then stood frozen in her steps. The coarse branches and roots of the trees were everywhere, shifting in abstract wave like motions, some scuttled around her foot and others entangled in the skies, enclosing her in a net of bark and leaves. Coils of olive shaded vines shot out from underneath the dirt, rooting her legs to the ground and longer lianas bound her arms in place, rendering her unable to move. Wiggling her foot, pulling her arms, and even just plain struggling could not loosen the grips of the sturdy plants, if not, they only grew tighter. Taking a deep breath, Chihiro let out her frustration in a huff; she just had to relax and the plants would probably loosen the grip enough so that she could slip out. Shiro barked and made several attempts to chew off the crawlers, but to only have no success as more vines twisted their way forward and piled onto Chihiro's body. Forget about relaxing, she decided to concentrate on being able to breathe instead.

…

Malicious demons and ghastly spirits wandered around in the city, a myriad of oni, tengu, kappa, yokai, and yurei flooded the streets of the housing and public works areas, cramming into plazas and shopping centers. Tokyo became a mesh of monster and man, although most people seemed to be unaware of their ominous presence. Rivers of red trickled along roadsides, and pools of it lay in large puddles in the cement, giving the air a pungent smell of rust and death. Disregarding the unsightly scenes of tossed corpses and the awful stench of rotting flesh, people drifted to and fro, hurrying along in the grey cities; perhaps they were even unaware of the catastrophe in front of them. Children frolicked in the parks of yellowing grass, playing hide-and-seek, and not one noticed their missing companion. The beasts and spirits, they stood wide-eyed, pupils filled with insane glee and smiles like the crescent moon with a wash of red over their teeth. An angel winged man dressed in a suit dipped his finger in splotch of red and kneeled on the sidewalk, dragging his finger across the cement into the word "DEATH" then lapped off the remaining blood that stained his skin. Oh, how delicious the blood of man is. A brunet women approached him zealously, tapped his shoulder softly and handed him an ancient gold pocket watch then flounced off; the winged man thanked her with a slight bow, and just as the woman danced away, he took the watch and crushed its mechanic gears with the strength of his hands and laughed. Death swallowed the world and jeered at man's arrogant impudence.

Chihiro lurched forward violently back into sitting position and pressed her fingers to her temples, palms sweaty. It has been a long time since her last nightmare, and this dream was a queer one. A dream so real, that she could feel the heartbeat of death and the cold sensation of shock at the nape of her neck. Perchance the strange dream was an obnoxious sign that the stress of University was finally getting to her. Shiro licked her hands gently with his rough tongue, as if he was reassuring her, lapping up droplets of sweat.

"Mm," Chihiro mumbled, feeling quite refreshed, as she stretched her arms towards the sky, loosening her tightened muscles and flopped back down in a sigh. Again, Aya was right, taking a session of yoga would be a great stress reliever. The pressure for success was fully capable of destroying the poise of an ambitious individual, even through minute errors. Score: Aya vs. Chihiro, 2-0. Someday she would close in the gap of the scores, just someday, Chihiro vowed, or frankly, she could simply fail to notify Aya about her win. She needed not to know. Shifting her weight, she reached over to pet Shiro, only to fall out of a tree and land painfully on top of her duffle bag.

"Shoot," she muttered, after hearing several arrows snap sharply underneath her weight. Chihiro frantically unzipped her bag, thank goodness the bow and most arrows remained in tact. Speaking of which, why was she in a tree? With her thoughts muddled with faint traces of tiredness, she skimmed the horizons wearily then tilted her head back and groaned. This was definitely not the forest near her house. A cluster of traditional Japanese stores laid snuggly side by side across stretches of fresh meadows dotted with trees and lined by a faraway ribbon of brown rock. In the center of the plaza was an adorned green-roofed, red-washed building, a few stories high at most. Upon her realization, Chihiro stood up, swung her duffle bag onto her back, and whined playfully to Shiro as he lazily padded to her side, "Hurry, hurry. We have to get out of here~" The Spirit World was not a great place to get mixed up in. That nasty old witch…her parents turning into pigs…ugh. Her desire to meet Haku over the years had greatly dimmed due to the long passed time, and now, the bad outweighed the good. "Exit…goodness, where did we even enter…" she said, disappointed that she could not remember the directions from her past experiences. Argh, you can do it brain! Think…think…Chihiro thought, silently attempting to awaken any sudden epiphanies, but still could recall nothing.

…

A good hour or so had passed, and Chihiro and Shiro wandered aimlessly, desperately looking for the path to the human world.

"Maybe it would be best if we asked for directions," Chihiro sighed with a slight pout, screw her terrible direction sense. Now she really wanted their useless GPS Pon-Pon. Originally Chihiro named it Lilly, but discovered in the latter that her father substituted in the name Pon-Pon out of confusion. Uninvited, they strolled into the chain of restaurants, on the look out for a helpful spirit. However, in the sunny midafternoon, there was not a single soul present. She gritted her teeth and kept on a straight path until she reached a bridge. Wooden planks held the bridge and red-gated arches fronted to the doorway of the large red building; a sea the color of translucent sapphire isolated the edifice from the strip of land. The two stared at the magnificent scenery in awe for a moment's time, then decided to set foot across the bridge.

"What are you doing here?" a young man hissed, roughly around the same age as she was, although he was about a head taller, as he dashed towards them from behind the building. He wore his tousled midnight green hair in a not-bowl cut style. Rather it was a choppy, angular cut that grazed across the top of his cheekbones and the nape of his neck in the back. Much too traditionally dressed for her taste, he was attired in a pair of white tattsuke bakama and an indigo tunic; it looked rather similar to a sleeveless yukata, which exposed his muscular arms. "Why are you here?" he asked again, in a more demanding tone, his jade eyes hinting annoyance.

"I would like to know the answer to that too," she shrugged.

"Leave, it is dangerous here," he commanded.

"…I can't find the exit," Chihiro stammered timidly under his condescending attitude, looking down at her feet.

"Not this again…" he moaned, "Alright, listen carefully. Take this path straight down and run to the meadows and cross that patch of brown rocks, then you should see the entrance of the Human World across the hill. But you have to hurry, because…" he paused and looked sideways and said, "Goddammit." A blanket of darkness seeped through the edges of the land and dragged itself overhead, and the paper lanterns flickered on, casting a warm, orange glow onto the ethereal street side. The Spirits were awakening.

"This way," he grabbed Chihiro's hand forcefully and pulled her with him as he ran off the bridge. The strength of his grip was so tight that it felt as if he was cutting off her circulation; she wiggled her hand out of his constricting grasp and followed instep with him. "Ah, sorry about that," he said, staring straight ahead. Silhouettes of blob shaped specters were already on the move. "But I'm afraid we might not make it on time. Give me your hand." He reached out his hand for her to hold; once she took his hand, he released a spurt of energy, creating a torrent of wind that swept them off their feet.

At first, on liftoff, Chihiro squeezed her eyes shut and locked her hand in a death grip into to his, afraid to look downward. The mild winds caressed her face as she glided across the ground, making it slightly tempting to open her eyes. She warily opened one eye, then both as she watched restaurants and stands fly by in no more than a blur.

"We're too late," he growled crossly and made a soft landing, the bed of rocks have already become a gaping sea and masked spirits in sunset robes floated out from a ship and onto land. "Close your eyes," he ordered expressionlessly. Chihiro nodded and fluttered her eyes shut; right now he was the only person who she could trust to some substantial degree, so, why not. "Okay," he said, indicating that she could open her eyes, "I put a spell on you; the spirits here won't be able to detect your presence. You should be safe," he sighed, "We cannot do anything now, follow me. By the way, I'm Haku."

"I know," Chihiro replied, remaining two steps behind him. Although the hair was different, his face matched fairly well with the bits and pieces her memory. The feel of his hand was similar too, large but gentle.

"So you remember," Haku looked back at her with a small grin, a glimpse of the innocent boy he used to be.

"Of course," Chihiro laughed, "It was quite an exhilarating experience, meeting so many new people. Except the fact that my parents were transformed into pigs…yeah…that wasn't quite as pleasant," she said, knitting her eyebrows and pressing her lips into a thin line. It was her "odd" face, perfectly accessible when something strange or unpleasant came up. "ARGH!" she suddenly yelled in realization.

Haku balked, startled. "What was that for?" he shouted back in surprise.

"Shiro…I forgot Shiro," she uttered. How could she have forgotten him? Chihiro face-palmed herself for failing to care for her friend. "I have to go back," she said, panicking, and started back towards the bridge, silently praying that Shiro would be safe.

"I don't think you have to worry," Haku called out to her, pointing to her squirming duffle bag.

Chihiro nodded and quickly slipped the bag off her shoulder and opened it, smiling in relief as she lifted Shiro out and gave him a nose-nuzzle.

"Why do you have a kitsune with you?" Haku questioned from behind her, eyeing Shiro suspiciously. Kitsune spirits normally did not befriend humans.

"Kitsune?" Chihiro turned to him with a quizzical look, lifting one eyebrow, then laughed, "You mean Shiro? I found him injured by a roadbed and took him home."

Haku responded in a scowl, a bit piqued at her laughter towards him. Still, he was thoroughly convinced that he was right. "Well," he said, walking back, hands clasped against the back of his head, "We are heading back to the bathhouse anyways," he looked over his shoulder stoically at Chihiro, "It was not a wise choice to come here; you're in deep shit now. This place is much worse than it used to be."

"It is? It looks pretty much the same," she said with a questionable frown, trailing behind him.

"Who are you kidding," he lashed out, but was completely serious, "Not all spirits are kind. You stumbled into the wrong place at the wrong time. Right now many spirits both good and evil are being corrupted into an endless cycle of feeding on human blood." He looked back at her with a daunting grin, but withdrew himself after noticing that she had no particular reaction. "If you have not noticed yet, the air around here has become disgustingly suffocating; all that black fog is a gathering of poisonous miasma, it's eating up the divine power and the souls of those in the Spirit World. What is most surprising is that this all happened after that damned hag died and the invasion of the humans. In addition to that, Zeniba vanished without a trace and Kamaji has faded away. As of now, by simply being a human, you will unconsciously make several enemies from those you saw as your companions ten years ago. And the loopholes. After that incident, many breaches were created, forming an unguarded path from the Spirit World to the Human World, and even with all my power, I cannot seal all of them. Do you know? Both your people and mine are not in a favorable situation. The results of crossing paths between both worlds will be disastrous," Haku concluded in a glaring stare ahead, hands balled into fists at his side, "This world is mad."

There was a dead silence; Chihiro did not say a single word, not that she was frozen from shock, but because she could not comfort those of the Spirit World. It is clearly evident that Haku's world was crumbling right in front of his eyes, and there was nothing he could do. Even a string of the most beautiful words could not provide a sense of security; words alone were only false hopes and emptiness. The most eloquent phrases became ash at the foot of the victim when empathy does not exist. When one loses a treasure, the other cannot say, "Don't cry," because they have all the right to cry, those two words do not offer any promise that everything will be alright.

"Say something," Haku barked, ignoring her gaze.

"What?" Chihiro exclaimed, entirely confused. Normally, people hardly appreciate others probing at their wounds, right?

"Political correctness is annoying. Besides, it's less awkward if you say something."

"Oh. If that's the case," Chihiro said, flapping her arms a bit as the mood gradually lightened up, "I'm hungry."

"Have you eaten anything yet?" he asked, giving her a sideways glance.

"I haven't, not since I came here. But I think I have a rice ball," she replied, shuffling through her bag, then pulled out a squashed, putrid mass of old rice with splotches of red that appeared to be the remains of pickled plum. Haku took one glance at it and frowned in revulsion, wondering if that mass was even considered rice anymore. He quickly grabbed the rice ball from her hand and threw it far over the houses and onto the grass.

"Hey…" Chihiro started, but was instantly cut off.

"I don't have any food on me right now, but if you don't eat, you're bound to disappear again," Haku pointed out, "The bathhouse is just ahead."

The pair walked together for a moment more, and Chihiro entered into the ever-familiar bathhouse as Haku held the door opened and ushered her in.

…

No-Face slithered along the path, dragging his black limpid body across the uneven roadbed and lumbered on in a snail racing pace. Sen was back. The masked black spirit pressed his palms together and brought out the golden seal. He must give it to Sen; she was Zeniba's "solution." Zeniba's disappearance, Yubaba and Kamaji's death…let it not be all in vain, let the spirits face justice, their revenge has already been paid back in full. No-Face looked towards the bathhouse, in there was Sen.