Chapter 1

Never Break a Promise!

"We'll see each other again."

"Promise?"

"Promise! Now go and don't look back!"

An empty promise made 6 years ago. Chihiro stood only a few feet from the tunnel into the spirit world. She was now 18 years old. Touching the familiar building, chips of paint falling onto her hands made her realize how old this place really was. The wind that once pulled her and her family in blew as strong as before begging her to enter, but still she did not enter. She looked down the dark tunnel and remembered how she and Kohaku fell though the air smiling when he told her his real name. A tears threatened to fall from her eyes.

"Promise?" she whispered.

She still remembered the last time they touched. Holding hands as he lead her to the exit. She fell to the soft ground sobbing.

"I know I can't come back but you promised! You promised me!"

Kohaku was standing in the bathhouse entrance. A sharp voice erupted from inside his head. Falling to the ground, he heard Chihiro sobbing.

"You promised! You promised me! If I knew it was going to hurt this much I would have been better off to never meet you!"

"Master Kohaku is you okay?" Chichiyaku, the bathhouse foreman asked.

"I fine. Now if you will excuse me I need some fresh air."

He walked down to the stone steps at the edge of town. This was where he had watched as Chihiro disappeared into the tunnel. He started to yell out but was stopped dead in his tracks when he saw a girl in a blue summer dress sitting in the middle of the lake. She had beautiful long brown hair and as the moon casted its light across her face, he saw that it was Chihiro. The girl got up and started to walk away.

"Ch-Ch-Chihiro?"

The girl began to head into the tunnel. Kohaku started to run after her but stopped at the river. "Not this time!"

He closed his eyes breathing as he shifted into his dragon form. He flew after he but the closer he got the further away she looked.

"No this can't happen! This just can't!" He roared.

Kohaku went all the way to where the tunnel began and looked down the tunnel until he saw a light. There bent down in the grass was the real Chihiro. She looked longingly at the tunnel.

"Chihiro wait for me! Please don't leave me!"He thought, wishing to speak!

He started to yell but knew she could not hear him. He watched in sadness as the girl got up and walked away.

"Why did this happen am I connected to Chihiro? Can I see past the door? Chihiro please come see me!"

Chihiro walked away from the tunnel thinking about what Kohaku had said to her.

"Go and don't look back!"

Oh, I cannot go back no matter how much I want to!

She left walking back up the trail that she had made connecting the tunnel to her house.

I will never return to this place for it pains me so much to see it!

She walked away her back to the tunnel up to her ordinary life, the one where she belonged.

That night she had many nightmares about Kohaku. She was walking through the tunnel and watched in terror as he fell 19 stories, and hit the ground with a thump! However, no matter how much she tried to reach him Kohaku would just get further and further away!

No! No wake up this has to be a dream! Please don't die on me!

She awoke with tears running down her face. She looked at the clock and saw that it was only 7:30 am. She quietly got out of bed and put on her blue summer dress and sandals.

She pulled her hair up loosely with the glowing band she had received many years ago as a present from granny and her friends, she walked carefully, so not to wake her parents, and slipped out the door and into the early morning.

Turning quickly down the path she stood in front of the tunnel. The wind pulling her ever so closer to the other side, finally she took a deep breath and stepped forward.

"I am coming to see you, no matter what you say Kohaku! I'm coming to see you!"