This is for Midnight Insanity who convinced me to actually post this. Thanks hun, you rule!

Summary: And so here I am, standing at the gateway between reality and dreams, I once vowed never to come back here. When four years passed and there were no miracles bringing the one person I'd ever given my heart too didn't come. A promise was truly broken on that day and I found that at last I could let go...

Category: Spirited Away

Title: The Trouble With Love

I'm still not sure if it was real or all just some dream that I created from the fathomless depths of my mind. To this day if we hadn't arrived back to a future two months after we were supposed to have arrived I doubt I there would be any of these questions continuing to plague my mind.

And so here I am, standing at the gateway between reality and dreams, such a fine line holds them apart after all, sometimes reality and dreams cross into each other.

I once vowed never to come back here.

When four years passed and there were no miracles bringing the one person I'd ever given my heart too didn't come. A promise was truly broken on that day and I found that at last I could let go of the last threads that kept me from fully grasping reality.

Before then I'd come back here, to this exact spot, celebrating the anniversary of the day, which I left that world, that reality. The day that a promise was made that could never be kept.

I make no apologies or feel any kind of guilt for finally giving into the inevitable.

Every year on that day I came and wished for him to come back to me. But he never did. He broke his promise and I was damned if I was going to contemplate waiting for him until I was too old and too frail to return.

No, I did the adult thing and walked away with the shattered pieces of my heart.

So one now has to wonder why, three years later, at the much wiser age of seventeen, I have returned here.

That would be my younger sisters fault. Minako.

She and three friends decided to come here and explore for the day.

That was a week ago.

My parents have been frantic with worry and search parties have roamed over the whole area during the day looking for them. If I'd been here undoubtedly I'd already be there, or I would have told them that they needed to be back and a few hours after dark just so that if they dawdled or decided to be rebellious there would still be a chance for them.

Taking a deep breath of air I resettled the bag on my shoulder and checked that I still wore the shimmery purple string that had been woven for me by my friends when I was last there.

Closing my eyes I took one step, crossing the boundary between reality and dreams.

If you take the first step the rest will inevitably follow and so I found myself walking across the grassy plains until I reached the steps and then began climbing them also.

I walked down the familiar street even as the sky darkened around me and lights began coming on, going to the very spot he had once hid me before sending me down to Kumaji, the boiler man.

Instead of waiting as I did last time I crawled through the little door (a much tighter fit) and walked down the long staircase to Kumaji's.

Entering I smiled fondly at the memory I had of him before disregarding it and telling myself to remember that I was here for one reason and one reason only.

"What do you want human?" he asked me suspiciously, eyes narrowed in my general direction while he continued working.

A small smile touched my lips, "What, don't you recognise your own grand-daughter? Or do you have too many of them to remember such infinitely small details?"

"What grand-daughter? I don't have a grand-daughter?" he replied in his gruff way.

"Tsk tsk tsk Kumaji, forgetting your own grand-daughter." I shook my head lightly at him, "Have you seen any other humans here?"

He wrinkled his nose in distaste, "Yeah, three of 'em, Lin took them to get jobs from Yubaba, they're working with her now."

I grinned, at last a lead. "Thanks, by the way I never thanked you properly for those train tickets so thank you."

That caught his attention but I'd run out of time to talk to him so instead I just waved goodbye before sliding through the doorway to the main area of the bath house, travelling the familiar corridors until I came to the largest filthiest tub there.

"Why can't Oogie-boogie clean it herself!" a familiar voice asked with distaste, "Three days we've been working on this disgusting thing and it doesn't look like much of an improvement either."

"Her name's Yubaba, and should you really be insulting your employer?" I asked leaning against the side of the tub.

The girls inside looked up in surprise and one of them launched herself at me, hugging me tightly.

"You came, you're here for me!" she cried happily, "Oh Chi, you CAME!"

I smiled lightly, "Yes I came for you Mina, now I just have to find a way to get you out."

"That's not going to happen." A cold and definitely male voice replied from the doorway.

My sister paled, "Lord Haku, we were just cleaning it."

I blanched, the very person I'd been hoping not to see had just turned up behind me, fantastic.

I turned, composing myself as much as I could, getting the words ready to speak before losing them instantly upon sighting him.

His dark hair was cut much shorter than last time in a messy carefree style and he'd aged, his face losing much of its boyish charm and turning into something coldly autocratic, regal. He was more handsome than ever however, close even to beautiful although the masculine air surrounding him was too great for him to be thought of as that.

I scowled at myself, realising that I'd lost all control of the situation and composed myself saying evenly. "Oh I think you'll let them go Haku."

He smiled at this, actually smiled. A smile that didn't seem to reach his eyes, although he certainly was amused at my statement.

"And why should I do that, after they've been trained further they'll make good slaves."

I winced at the coldly autocratic tone to his voice, beginning to wonder when the light that I had loved in his eyes had disappeared.

"Because you owe me."

He cocked his head to the side, the amusement even more profound on his features. "Owe you for what human, I've never even met you before."

Although I had considered this to be the case, that he had forgotten all about me, it still hurt to hear. A dagger of ice went through my heart; a dagger which I had been sure had broken the said object a long time ago.

I smiled sadly at him, "For a promise never kept."

A small frown etched itself onto his features before his face became expressionless. "Either way, if you want to get them out you're going to need to work for it, and to do that you need to sign a contract."

I sighed, "And if I just walk out of here with them?"

He smiled coldly, "Their contracts won't allow them to leave this world."

My heart fell at this proclamation, even though I had already known it would be coming.

"So I guess that means I get to go talk to Yubaba now." I said, despondent, wondering just how long I was going to be stuck in this world this time. Just how long I would need to be near him anymore.

I'd tried so hard to forget everything about him, from the way he'd held me close and comforted me when I'd been scared. He'd told me he'd find me again, he'd promised.

It wasn't until I was old enough to understand that I was able to let him go, to put him to the furthest part of my mind. It was always there though, even though by then I'd realised that promises weren't made to be kept.

They were made to be pretty little words that people put their trust in just so that they couldn't see what would really happen.

And then he'd gone and forgotten about her, forgotten about everything they'd done together. Well two could play that game.

"Don't worry about showing me the way, I can find her myself." I muttered, moving past him and following the familiar path upstairs.

The bathhouse was exactly the same as I remembered it, a little more elaborate perhaps, but other than that the same sort of ambience.

I approached the gilded knocker carefully but confidently, after all, I'd been here before, there was nothing that she could do to me that I didn't already know about.

"Well, come in." the knocker said irately, the doors opening before me, a harsh draft threatening to pull me in.

Following the familiar corridors I found herself in front Yubaba's desk, the old woman with her head turned down doing some paper work.

"Well, what do you want?"

I smiled, she hadn't changed at all, she was the same bad-tempered old woman.

"A job."

She scowled, "Not another human wanting a job here."

Changing the topic I asked quietly, "How's your son?"

She looked up, eyes narrowed, "How do you know about my baby?"

I grinned, "Am I getting my job?"

Waving her hand in annoyance she created a contract for me, a scowl still firmly etched on her face.

I signed it quickly before letting it fly it's way back to her, waiting for her further comments.

"So, you're name's-"she stopped eyes widening, "Chihiro, why would you come back here after Haku spent so much effort on getting you out of your last contract."

"My sister and her friends, they came here by accident, I want them released in return for me."

She pondered this for a moment, "Three for one is a loss to me, and your reappearance will cause problems with Haku again...Still, the spirits always seemed to like you, and those three are pretty much good for nothings."

I nodded, accepting her words.

"Very well Sen, your sister and her friends will work for another week and then be released from their contract."

I smiled in something akin to relief, "Thank you."

"But in return you will stay here indefinitely."

AD: Mwahahaha!!! I feel evil leaving it there but whatever. Was watching Spirited Away for like the 50th time when I got the inspiration to write this. Leave me a review and let me know what you think.