Prologue:
"Will we meet again sometime," Chihiro asked with a worried voice. She turned away from the expanse of green grassy knolls to look at Haku. His framed small smile didn't reflect into his eyes, but she wasn't paying attention to that. Her mind was full of seeing her parents and getting back to her world.
"Sure we will," he lied smoothly. With his river filled in, he knew he had no way back to the human world to see her and yet he couldn't bring himself to tell her that they would never meet again. Her eyes were filled with excitement and happiness, how could he mention it now? Besides, she belonged in the human world, not the spirit world. This was her chance to return with a clean break. In time she would forget all that had happened there and her life would move on. The barrier between the worlds would make sure of that.
"Promise?"
"Promise. Now go and don't look back." Haku felt her warm hand slide out of his and his fingers grasped after the loss. He reached after her, almost about to stop her. Haku wanted her to stay, to abandon her world and family, and stay with him. Watching her walk out of sight, he felt a pain in his chest and his hand dropped back down to his side. Chihiro was gone.