Chihiro never thought that returning to the Spirit World would be such a ... spectacle.

Mrs. Ogino cried (as if it was the goodbye), and reminded Chihiro for the umpteenth time not to do anything foolish least she got a cold "with her Immune disorder." Chihiro never blamed her parents for being overprotective of her, but she did think that it was crossing the line when Mr. Ogino began insisting that she took his heavy, warm coat with her.

Chihiro barely convinced her father that she wouldn't need his coat, because the weather in the Spirit World is warm this time of year.

Finally, after promises and reassurances, Haku and Chihiro left. The walk to the border was silent but full of vivid emotions. Memory after memory resurfaced Chihiro's mind. She could clearly see it all in her head: her father taking the road down the woods, mistaking it for the short cut; how her father, despite her protests, convinced her mother and the three of them went inside the dark tunnel; how they, yet again, didn't listen to her and ate the food meant for the spirits...

"We're here."

Chihiro was surprised that she was so wrapped up in her thoughts, that she didn't even notice that they arrived at their destination; but the surprise melted away when she saw the field of green, a dried up river, and the small town beyond it. "It feels wonderful ... being back," she whispered, still taken with the beauty of the scenery.

Haku chuckled. "I never thought you'd actually want to go back. Your parents were turned into pigs here!"

Chihiro shook her head, smiling faintly. "I made very good friends here, Haku! I met Lin, Kamaji, Granny ... and you." Her blush turned a shade darker. "I don't have anything good related to the pig pens, for example. I have good related to this place, to the bathhouse." She sighed sadly.

"Is ... something wrong?" Haku asked, confused. Why would Chihiro sigh like that when she said, a mere moment ago, that it felt wonderful to be back?

"I just guess that you don't have anything good related to this place. You were Yubaba's biggest slave," she replied sadly.

"I was," he admitted, "but something good did happen to me. It was you."

Chihiro's cheeks burned a scarlet red as she avoided Haku's gaze as if her life depended on it. "M-m-me?" she stuttered, confused and shy.

A faint, barely pink blush covered over Haku's cheeks; but he ignored it completely. "Of course." He grasped Chihiro's hand and tugged. "Let's get going. I bet Lin and the others will be beside themselves with joy to see you."

Chihiro smiled. "Let's go," she agreed. The two walked quietly over the field, over the dried up river, and down the streets of the town that was full of aroma and tasty delicacies. Walking carefully over the bridge, they went through a small gate and came to the bathhouse; with the long, dangerous stairs at the side of it. The unkind memory of the stairs resurfaced, and Chihiro shuddered.

"It's fine. I'm here," Haku reminded her.

It wasn't the first time that Haku made Chihiro feel secure, protected, and confident. Nodding, she carefully descended the stairs with Haku at her side. This time, she didn't trip.

Either everything was perfect timing, or the whole thing took much longer than Chihiro thought it did, but the night began to fall. By the time the two reached the bottom of the stairs, it was dark completely. Loud hisses came from the boiler room - followed by a yell to "began working immediately."

Chihiro's hands shook with euphoric excitement as she put her palms on the cold surface of the door and pushed it open. A wave of familiar heat rushed out of the boiler room. Breathing in the welcoming heat, the two stepped inside.

Everything was the same as it was eight years ago. Kamaji, who did not seem to age one day, sat on his platform as he cranked the wheel and drank out of his kettle; the water dripping down his chin. The soot balls marched down in long rows, carrying the chunks of coal and throwing them into the blazing fires.

Kamaji - as usual - was ignorant of his visitors.

"Kamaji!" Haku cried loudly.

"Huh?!" the boiler man nearly dropped his hammer in surprise, turning his head around to acknowledge whoever spoke to him. He raised a skeptical, surprised eyebrow and did not fail his work as he inquired: "What brings you here, Haku?"

Chihiro took a step closer. "Hello, Kamaji."

Haku was right when he said that "the others" would be very happy to see her. Kamaji - who never done it before - let his arms drop off his work as he stretched them toward the girl, hugging Chihiro close in a grandfatherly fashion. Chihiro hugged the spirit back, willing herself to hold back the tears that were building up already for -

"Boiler man!" a shrill voice cried, followed by the slide of the door. "It's chow time. Aren't you w-?"

Of course it was Lin.

Chihiro pulled back politely. For the second time that day, her smile went so big, her cheeks hurt. "Hello, Lin!" she greeted, outstretching her arms towards the weasel spirit imploringly.

Chihiro began to notice that nothing changed, nobody aged except Haku. The thought that Haku aged, perhaps, because of her made her blush go very red.

Lin stared, before dropping her basket of star-shaped crackers and her bowl of noodles, running towards Chihiro and hugging her tightly. The basket, making a graceful Catherine wheel in the air, let all the crackers out and they fell, with the soot balls catching them, like a rainbow-colored shower. Kamaji gasped as the bowl of his noodles was about to do the same thing, and quickly caught it before even a single drop spilled over the brim.

None of the women took notice. There they were, embraced tightly, spilling out their greetings to each other as if they were some kinds of best friends who didn't see one another in over a century.

Well, that was how it pretty much was - only replace the word "century" with the words "long, lonely eight years."

"You're so beautiful! And as tall as me now!" Lin waved her hand over Chihiro's head, which reached up to her height, too. "Tell me everything!"

After Chihiro finished summarizing her eight years - leaving out her Immune disorder, of course - Kamaji spoke carefully to the girl, taking his share of the reunion. Haku, at the meanwhile, stood carefully in the corner; watching the reunion with a gentle smile.

"Why did you bring her now, Haku?"

Haku jumped at Lin's voice as he turned angrily to acknowledge her. "What?"

"...I forgot that," she admitted, now sad and regretful. "But didn't you hear? The Dark Spirit is on the loose!"

Haku's eyes widened. That, he thought, aghast, is impossible. "What do you mean?"

"I heard it yesterday," Lin whispered. "Everybody knows about it."

"The Dark Spirit was imprisoned an entire millennium ago!"

Lin shook her head sadly. "Quite by coincidence," she muttered, "he somehow escaped now, of all times - just when Chihiro came back!"

Haku looked at Chihiro. She was too wrapped up in a conversation with Kamaji to take any notice. Excusing himself politely, Haku stepped outside of the boiler room with Lin. The two heard the faint shouts of "welcome back" coming from the bathhouse workers, but neither took notice.

"Tell me what you heard," Haku said sternly.

"It was yesterday," Lin explained. "I was assigned to the big tub. While I was scrubbing, I heard the girls say something about 'getting free' and 'Dark Spirit.' So I asked them what was all the rambling about. They told me that the Dark Spirit was able to escape his prison and is now on the loose." Lin shuddered at the memory, tears coming to her eyes. "Haku ... you heard of the myth, right?"

Haku heard, of course. Practically everybody did.

"What are we going to do?" Lin cried. "I was so happy to see Chihiro back ... but ..."

"Chihiro will be safe," Haku assured her, firmly. "Just don't let anybody know she's back."

Lin nodded. "There's nothing more to tell," she said, opening the boiler room door, avoiding the hissing pipes as she walked in. "I also have to go back to work, before Yubaba notices I'm running late and gets suspicious."

Haku nodded. "Of course, go."

"Please, Haku! Keep Chihiro safe for me. She's like a sister to me. Please." Lin was at the verge of tears.

The conversation between Chihiro and Kamaji, however, interrupted the talk as they began to listen in to it.

"I can sense something is wrong, Chihiro," Kamaji was saying gently. "You know you can always tell me."

Chihiro sighed heavily. "I really didn't want to bring this up, but I'll tell. I have Immune disorder."

Kamaji put his hand on the wheel and cranked it loudly. "Back to work, you soot balls!" he bellowed, and the soot balls scurried to obey. "Tell me what you have, child," he told Chihiro in between the cranks of the wheel.

"Well ... the Immune system is something in the human body that keeps you healthy. There can be different Immune disorders. An example of Immune disorder is the lack of 'antibodies' in the system. Antibodies fight off viruses and infection. Like when a human gets a cut? The antibodies go to that cut to heal it."

Kamaji looked grave. "You don't have enough antibodies in your system?"

Chihiro sighed. "That's the whole problem. I started getting sick easily since I was eleven years old. The doctors aren't sure what's wrong with me. I seem to have enough antibodies, and my Immune system isn't like, bad, but I still get sick easily! The doctors just told me to be quarantined from people so I can stay healthy. So I was pretty much just at home."

Lin gasped loudly. "You sure you okay?" she demanded, cutting in the talk.

Chihiro jumped with surprise at the sound of Lin's voice. "Y-yeah, I'm fine, as long as I don't do anything stupid. The doctors said I have Immune disorder; they just aren't sure what exactly is wrong."

Haku frowned. He already knew Chihiro's problem; and when he first heard it, he didn't think it had anything to do with the Spirit World. But the Dark Spirit getting free after a thousand years of imprisonment just when Chihiro came back a second time, not mentioning the myth ... it just seemed too much to be coincidence.

I'd like to dedicate this moment to my wonderful reviewers! They are:

OtakuFanGirl001, AlyonaKK1, and Ariel !

Thank you for reviewing! Your encouragement means so much to me ...

Okay, so I'm not sure when I'll be updating next. I need like 2, 3 days to write a really good chapter; so please be patient with me. I think I'll update if not by, then on Tuesday for sure. If I'll have a change of plans concerning updates, I'll post it on my profile.

Thanks for reading! It feels wonderful to know that there are people out there who are so loyal and waiting for an update on my story. Thank you! See you all soon! :)

(I just did some minor editing to this chapter right now)