It was another rainy night as Haku stepped into Yubaba's office. As he approached her, she said:

"Ah, Haku, Good. I was just about to call you up here. I need you to do something for me."

"Forget it, Yubaba. I'm not doing any more of your dirty work. I quit being your apprentice."

Yubaba's face went white, and she said:

"Well now Haku, that's all well and done if you can do one thing. You must be able to remember your name." Haku stared at her with his piercing green eyes before saying:

"My name is Kohaku." Yubaba stared at him in amazement. She couldn't understand how he had remembered his name, then she remembered the human girl.

"So, Sen figured out your name for you. I'm impressed."

"Her name isn't Sen, it's Chihiro."

"Hmph. It doesn't matter to me anymore. Well then Haku- or Kohaku I suppose it is now- what will you do if you're not working for me? In case you haven't noticed, you don't have anywhere else to go. What will you do to survive? You have no one here who really cares about you here." Haku knew that this was true, but he was so sick of the bath house, and so sick of being Yubaba's slave that he didn't care anymore.

"I know that, but I'll do whatever it takes to find Chihiro and my place on Earth."

"Well then Haku, you're free to go." Haku nodded once, and walked out of Yubaba's office for the last time.

Once outside, Haku knew that the river he had once inhabited was now destroyed. He could no longer go back there again. He didn't know where else to go. There was nowhere else on Earth that occupied his waters… except… struck by a sudden idea, Haku summoned up his energy, and flew toward the heavens, away from Yubaba, away from the bath house, away…

It was morning, and Chihiro was preparing for her first day of school. She had been wondering all night about her new school, her new classmates, and new experiences, yet in midst of all her worries, she heard Haku's voice telling her that it was going to be all right. Chihiro had been missing him and her friends from the spirit world more and more every day. Ever since she got back to the human world, she kept looking for signs of Haku, but she had no such luck. She hadn't given up hope, because she remembered that Haku promised her that they would meet again. She just hoped that it wouldn't be too long. She heard a knock on her door, and her mother told her that she was going to be late for school. Chihiro raced downstairs into the kitchen where her mother and father were waiting for her. She gasped a good morning, and ran outside into the pounding rain. She ran all the way to her bus stop, and sat down trying to catch her breath. She thought that she heard someone whisper her name, but as she turned around, she saw that there was no one there. Her bus came, and she got on. She got to her school, and was introduced by the teacher in front of the class. She was liked by many of her piers, and, by the end of her day, she thought that she just might like her new school. When she got off the bus, the rain had slowed to a steady drizzle. She went into her now empty house, and started to make herself some hot chocolate. As she watched the flame on the gas stove, she remembered Kamaji, and how he had the little soot balls to help him in the boiler room. Her thoughts vanished as she heard a knock on the door. She opened the door, and saw that there was no one there. She looked down, and saw a note addressed to her. The note was damp and smelled like pine needles, but was, nevertheless, readable.

Chihiro, the note said,

I am now in the human world, and occupy a creek that used to lead to my river. I am not sure of where to find you, so I trust that the magic spell I put on this piece of paper will find you for me. I am doing well now that Yubaba no longer has control over me and that I am now back in a portion of my own waters. Can you meet me at the train station after you come home from school? If you can meet me, make sure that you bring the hair band that Zenibah gave to you.

Your Friend,

Haku

Chihiro could hardly believe it! A note from Haku! She had been waiting for this kind of sign ever since she got back from the spirit world. She decided, without question, that she would go to the train station, and besides, she thought as she grabbed a pen from the desk in the living room, it would be worth it to see Haku again. She wrote on the back of the paper: I'll be there. Chihiro took the note out into the rain, and watched the wind carry it away.