I can't stop shaking, Chihiro thought to herself as she stopped at the end of the tunnel. Beyond her lay a shimmering field of green grass; stones of all sorts and sizes scattered themselves haphazardly about. The sky was clear and twilight was quickly descending over the familiar landscape. It bathed everything in fiery oranges and yellows.

She forced herself to continue forward into the valley, keeping her hand against the rough red stone that surrounded her. Everything was so familiar. So unchanged. It had been eight years since she had been to this place. It had been eight years since she found herself disappearing on the banks of a spirit river. It had been eight years since she first locked eyes with the boy who helped her save herself.

As the thought of Haku took root in her mind, she had a renewed sense of purpose. She had been planning her return trip for months, and there was no way she was going back on herself now. Removing her hand from the wall, she clenched each hand over the straps of her back pack and with a set face, moved forward into the sea of grass.

Her heart raced with uncertainty as she trekked, more quickly now as the sun began to sink lower in the horizon. With each step she swore her heart began to pick up its pace. As she observed it, the land did look unchanged, but a lot of other things could change in eight years. She glanced down at herself, taking in her womanly figure. Her hair had even grown longer, and she wore it down most of the time. However, she still wore the hair tie her friends had made her all those years ago, every day, over her slender wrist. She looked at it and observed how it glittered in the twilight.

Will he even recognize me? Perhaps this was a foolish thing to do. . . She wrestled with her thoughts every step of the way, until her foot hit the solid concrete of the stairs that her ten year old self had once began disappearing on. Her uncertainty seemed to settle in the back of her mind as a sense of wonder and nostalgia took its place.

She let her arms fall to her sides as she ascended the steps and took in the buildings and banners. Everything was as it had once been so many years ago. She walked slowly on, her mind lost in a time that had long since come and gone. She imagined the black shadowy spirits floating about; cooking, working, catering to the greater spirits that came to this small village in order to patron the bath house.

The bath house. Chihiro froze as she came upon the large tower that stood in the square just before the bridge of the bath house. It was just as large and mighty as she had once remember it. She knew she should want to cross the bridge, but now, suddenly, as the awe of her surroundings wore off, she realized just how nervous she really was. What if, when night fell, nothing happened? Or greater yet, what if something did?

"You shouldn't be here." Chihiro froze. Those words. Could it be who she thought? Her heart seemed to fail her for a moment as her breath caught. She almost couldn't bring herself to turn around. Suddenly, a light flickered on to her right, and then another, and another as the town began to prepare itself for business hours. It was happening.

"Haku?" Chihiro finally said, turning to face the voice. At first it seemed that it really could be him. The one that stood several meters away from her was young and wore the traditional clothing that she had seen Haku in when she first arrived. Even the hair was cut in a very similar fashion, but upon a more studied look, Chihiro realized it was not Haku at all. It was a young girl, possibly around the age of thirteen or fourteen. Her heart began to beat again, and very quickly. She felt it hammering through her chest and she put her hand on the tower for support.

What had she been thinking? What if Haku left for another home? Another place? She may have just hurled herself into the spirit world for a second time, only this time, there may not be any one kind enough to save her. Her most prominent connection to the spirit world's whereabouts were currently unknown to her.

"Why do you know that name?" The girl interrupted Chihiros panic, and pressed her to answer the question. "Why does a human know Master Haku's name?"

"I- Well- He and I," she was struggling to formulate a coherent thought. If she were interpreting this girls question the right way, then that would suggest that Haku was in fact present. Perhaps not in the square with them, but somewhere in the village or the bath house.

"Out with it!" the young girl demanded. She had her thin arms jutted out with her hands on her hips. It was almost comical that she acted hard, because she was a skinny child. Chihiro couldn't knock her for her spirit though.

"Is he here?" Chihiro asked.

"That doesn't answer the question," The girl crossed her arms now and moved a few paces closer to Chihiro.

"Sorry. We're. . . friends." She didn't know how to approach the question at first. She absently mindedly touched the hair band on her wrist and remembered watching Haku as a dragon for the last time outside of Granny's hut. "We're friends." She was surer of herself now, straightening and moving away from the tower.

"Well I've never seen you before." She was stubborn, of that much Chihiro was certain.

"I haven't been here in a long time." Chihiro tried to stay as alert to the conversation as possible, but the idea that Haku was very nearby kept tugging at the edges of her mind, like loose strings that, when pestered long enough, would soon lead to the unraveling of the entire garment.

The girl looked up suddenly and became tense. She sprang towards Chihiro and grabbed her arm, not unkindly. Chihiro gasped in surprise, as she was not expecting things to escalate so quickly, but the girl didn't seem to mean her any harm.

"Follow me, human. Quickly!" she tugged at Chihiro's arm and began toward the bridge. The girl kept a firm grip on Chihiro's arm as though she expected her to fly off over the bridge, or dissipate into the darkness. As they crossed the bridge, Chihiro noticed that night had fully descended upon the village, and the bath house glowed with the hustle and bustle of those who were no doubt setting themselves to work inside.

As they approached the front entrance, the girl and Chihiro veered off to the left. The familiar path lead into a small garden and a side entrance that Chihiro still knew well. There were people inside running about and the girl walked directly up to the sliding doors. This was playing out very similarly to Chihiro's first trip into the spirit world, except this time there would be no hiding.

"Min!" The doors slid apart with haste as a single toad kneeled to grant her entrance. "Oh, Min, we've been looking for you! There are rumors that a hu-" The toad stopped in his tracks and his mouth fell slightly agape as his large shiny eyes fell on Chihiro. She held her breath as she wondered desperately if anyone would remember her. For the moment, it appeared that either eight years had changed her too much for that to be so, or this was a toad that had never encountered her on her previous adventure. Either way, he was about to let out a cry of alarm when the girl, whose name it seemed was Min, slapped a small hand against his large toad mouth and pinched it shut.

"Not a word toad!" she hissed, making sure not to draw any other workers attention. The hall seemed relatively clear aside from the toad that must have been awaiting her return to the bath house. "I'm taking this matter straight to Master Haku to be dealt with, understand? Now listen carefully," she removed her hand slowly from his mouth before continuing. "We're getting on the service elevator and riding all the way up. We won't run into anyone else in the building that way. You'll go back about your business and shut down every word you hear of a human near or in the bath house. Got it? Get people back to work and assure them that there's absolutely no human here. We'll let Master Haku take care of this problem."

"Uh, I, yes ma'am." The toad bowed, keeping his eyes to the floor as he accepted Min's shoes as well as Chihiro's.

"No shoes or so-" Min had begun to instruct, but stopped when she realized that Chihiro had already obliged. Her eyes narrowed at Chihiro for a moment and then she grabbed her arm again and began to lead her toward the first level service elevator. Chihiro glanced back at the nervous toad that was already scuttling away, the door slid shut where they had entered.

They encountered no one else as they set foot on the elevator and Min pulled the lever to take them to the pent house. She glanced about nervously and wondered why they would go to the pent house. What of Yubaba? She feared that should she ever encounter the bath house witch again, she would remain in the spirit world for good. If that were to happen, she imagined that she would become the new version of Rin. Her heart ached for a moment as she wondered what had ever become of her good friend. Rin had watched out for her even though she seemed incredibly irritable sometimes.

"Um, Yu-"

"Don't talk." Min said. She kept her eyes straight forward.

"Sorry." Chihiro apologized out of habitual curtesy.

"What did I just say?" Min said, turning her head to look at Chihiro with an annoyed expression. Chihiro admired the girl for taking her work so seriously, but she did wish that she would divulge at least a little information. Anything would have been nice to hear now, as she ascended into the unknown.

The elevator slowed to a stop after what seemed like half an eternity. The doors slid open with an easy psh sound and closed all the same behind the two girls. The entry way to the pent house was still as large as ever, and had a lovely marble floor. However, other aspects of the room were much different. Everything was a bit less lavish, and the door to the many rooms beyond no longer had a Yubaba faced knocker hanging from it. Instead there was a plain one, and the door itself was a simple polished oak.

Min knocked on the door twice and it swung open as easily as if she had turned the handle and pushed. Min pressed on through the several rooms that lead to the main hallway with Chihiro in tow. They turned right and padded swiftly down the long corridor until at last they came to another door. This door marked the moment of truth for Chihiro, and she pressed her knees together to keep them from knocking.

Min knocked again at this door, but it did not swing open. Instead it seemed to dissolve before the two. Min passed through the newly opened doorway and kneeled on a very familiar rug. Chihiro however could not move and looked at the place the door had once been. No matter how much one see's, the marvels of magic never cease to amaze.

"Master Haku, we have a problem."

"Stand up, Min. I told you, you don't have to be so formal all the time." Chihiro's skin prickled as goose bumps formed over each arm and a cold spell rushed outward from her core, causing her extremities to feel numb. The voice, whose owner she could not yet see, was deep and smooth, but somehow as familiar to her as if she had known it for many years.

Min stood then and bowed in compliance with her Master's wishes, and then continued her delivery. "There's an intruder," she reached out to indicate Chihiro, but frowned as she realized that Chihiro lingered in the door way. She marched over, grabbed Chihiro's slender arm, and lugged her over to the carpet. She bowed to Haku again, and started over, "There's an intruder, Master Haku. a-"

"Human. . ." Haku finished for her. Chihiro couldn't find the courage to look away from the floor yet, and clenched her hands at her side. Eight years of dreams, of memories, of longing all coiled within her like snakes that pressed against her, seeking an exit.

"How should we take care of this?" Min asked. "Say the word, Master, I'll handle the problem."

"Leave us." Chihiro shivered at the sound of his voice. She still couldn't look up; she feared that by doing so this dream she had landed herself in might shatter into a million pieces and form a pile at her feet.

"Wh-"

"An apprentice does not question their master, Min. Do they?"

"No, Master Haku." Min bowed and backed up a few paces before she walked behind Chihiro and disappeared out into the corridor. There was no sound of a door shutting behind her, since this particular door didn't work that way, and so Chihiro had no way of knowing how alone the two left in the room really were.

The silence that ensued for the few moments that followed Min's exit were deafening. Chihiro's heart was beating fast enough to make her light headed as all of the fight or flight adrenaline went unused. She took a deep breath, her shoulders visibly rising with the action. She was about to look up as Haku spoke again, this time to her, and her alone.

"Could it really be," he began as Chihiro finally looked up to make eye contact with him.

Before her stood someone who was no longer the boy she remembered from eight years past, but a man. He was tall, and his body had thickened with muscle and maturity in the past eight years. His hair had grown longer, and he now kept it bound behind him; shorter strands framed his face on either side. His face, however much grown it now was, still maintained the soft and caring features that she could never mistake or forget.

"Haku. . ." she whispered under her breath.