AUTHOR'S NOTE: Hey guys! Sorry this took me so long, I have been busy with my college summer classes. :( But please enjoy!

...

"Have a pleasant evening, sir," Sen bowed deeply.

After the last spirit handed her his money, she let out a huge sigh of relief. Just as Rin had predicted, countless spirits bombarded the big bath all night long, which meant that neither of the women got a single break. Not even for dinner.

Rin wiped a thin sheen of sweat off her forehead, "What a night."

Sen leaned against the wall across from the bath, "You can say that again. I'm starving."

"Me too. Let's finish draining the tub and then we can go get some food."

Just as they got to the lip of the tub, one of their roommates appeared at the door, "Sen, the foreman is asking for you."

Rin looked at Sen nervously, "I'm not supposed to leave you, remember?"

Sen smiled, unconcerned, "Rin, it's okay. Really; it's just the foreman. I'll meet you back in our room later, alright?"

The weasel spirit hesitated for a moment before letting out a sigh of resignation, "I guess. Just be quick and careful, 'kay?"

"I will, I promise." With that, Sen dropped the rag she'd been holding and left.

The woman who had come to get her hadn't stayed to escort Sen to the foreman. Instead, Sen found herself completely alone as she made her way to the front of the building since everyone else was busy with cleaning their sections and closing up for the night. She should feel nervous being alone, especially since Haku felt it necessary to employ Rin as her babysitter. But she didn't feel nervous at all. Actually, Sen was finding it hard to feel anything except complete and total gratitude. For so long she had felt like she didn't belong in her world, but now that she was in the spirit world, it felt like fitting two pieces of a puzzle together. No matter how he found her, Sen was thankful that Aoegaeru did. Without him, she might not have ever made it back to her true home. She would have to find a way to thank him someday.

"Sen, is that you?" The foreman called from the end of the walk, which was still some distance away.

Whatever he needed must have been important if he was actively watching for her. Sen sprinted the rest of the way, her bare feet thudding softly against the shiny wooden floor. When she reached the high desk, she had to catch her breath. "Sorry, foreman…" She huffed. "Is everything… okay?"

He shifted uncomfortably, eyeing a small piece of parchment on which he had scribbled something sloppily, "Yubaba wants to see you. Immediately."

Sen's eyes grew wide, "Now? But it's so late… did she say why?"

The foreman shook his head, "No. But if I were you, I wouldn't keep her waiting. It must be important if she's summoning you at this hour."

For the first time, she felt uneasy. Haku wasn't here, he was visiting Zeniba, and Rin had to finish draining the big tub. Earlier today, Sen had been confident that no matter what Yubaba was planning, she could handle it on her own. Now that she had to go see Yubaba on her own, at a time when neither Haku nor Rin would be able to help her, she wasn't so sure.

Knowing it would only be worse for her if she kept Yubaba waiting, Sen ran as fast as she could to the elevators and threw the lever roughly once she was inside. As the elevator ascended, she could feel her pulse quicken and her muscles tighten. What could Yubaba possibly want from her this late? Did she intentionally wait to summon her until Haku and Rin were unavailable? A myriad of increasingly pessimistic questions swirled around her brain as the elevator quietly brought her closer and closer to the 'Heaven' floor that the witch inhabited. When she was only 3 floors away, she managed to convince herself that Yubaba wouldn't do anything to harm her; after all, the witch had once told everyone in the Bath House that they could learn from Sen. When she was only 2 floors away, she started to hyperventilate; Yubaba had never hesitated to punish anyone for anything, justified or not, so surely she wouldn't spare Sen. When she was only 1 floor away, she succeeded in putting a tight lid on her fear; no matter what Yubaba tried to do to her, this place was her home and Sen would fight to stay.

The elevator stopped and the doors slid open inaudibly.

Sen took a few deep, calming breaths before stepping out and making her way down the hall to the large double doors that were adorned with the ugly, obnoxious doorknocker. Even though the doorknocker was clearly sound asleep and snoring, she grabbed it and pounded on the door three times anyway. After all, the doorknocker had never been courteous to her.

"Agh!" The ugly gold head shouted from her palm. "You little brat. Didn't you see I was sleeping?"

Accustomed to the rudeness, she simply said, "Yubaba called for me."

There was a long moment of the doorknocker grumbling obscenities under it's breath before swinging the door open, "Don't make any noise on your way out, girl. I'm tired."

Remembering the way, since she had been dragged by magic twice now, Sen quickly made her way through the 5 ornate, red-bordered sets of double doors that led directly to Yubaba's office. When she stepped through the last set of doors, she could see the witch writing something at her desk before looking up.

"Ah, there you are Sen. I called for you half an hour ago."

Sen bowed deeply, trying to keep a lid on her fears, "I'm sorry ma'am. Rin and I were cleaning; I came as fast as I could."

"Yes, yes," Yubaba waved her hand casually as she got up from the desk. "But now that you're here, I need you to do something for me."

She was a little surprised, "Oh…okay. What do you need?"

The witch glided across the room, hovering at least 6 inches off the floor, and landed on the carpet in front of her with a soft thud. A small envelope floated above her open palm, "I need you to deliver this to Haku."

It was such a simple, menial task that Sen couldn't help but frown, "That's it?"

Yubaba let out one of her hoarse cackles, "Of course. What did you think I called you here for?"

"I…" She hesitated before taking the envelope. "Okay. Uhm, why do you need me to take this to him? Couldn't you just call him to your office and give it to him yourself?"

The witch raised one thin blond eyebrow, "Not that it's any of your business, but after you left last time, Haku quit being my apprentice. He hardly ever comes when I summon him now unless he knows it's important. If I wasted my breath to summon him now, he wouldn't come. Although I believe the contents of that envelope are of the utmost importance, there is not telling if he would feel the same."

Sen turned the small envelope over in her hand, noticing the red, waxy stamp keeping it sealed on the back.

"Before you go sticking your nose where it doesn't belong," Yubaba began as she made her way back to her desk, "just be aware that I will know if anyone but Haku opens it. So I wouldn't temp fate if I were you." She sat back in her plush chair and yawned, flicking her fingers toward her bun. Whatever was keeping the bun atop her head disappeared and the blond, tendril-like hair fell around the witch's face. "Go already."

Just as Sen was turning to leave, something occurred to her, "Ma'am? What if Haku isn't in his room? I don't think anyone has seen him all day." Of course they hadn't, he'd been in Swamp Bottom. But she wasn't sure if Yubaba knew that.

Yubaba rolled her eyes, "Then just leave it in his room somewhere he'll see it. Do I really have to spell everything out for you?"

She was getting ready to explain that she had only asked because Yubaba said the envelope was important, but decided against it. What good would arguing semantics do anyway? Instead, Sen bowed quickly and left the office. She was just grateful that all of her paranoid worrying had been for nothing.

When all 5 sets of doors had closed, Yubaba smiled, running her fingers across the small jeweled box, "So it begins."

...

Sen stood outside the shoji screens, her heart hammering painfully in her chest. Under the dim lamplight, the silver nameplate with 'Master Haku' in elegant kanji gleamed majestically. She knew he wasn't inside, she knew he was most likely still in Swamp Bottom. Even if he was on his way back, it was not a short trip. Despite knowing all of this, her heart still desperately tried to escape from her chest. Not that it didn't always do that when she was around him… or thought of him… or kissed him. Whenever it came to Haku, her heart did all sorts of new and interesting things.

Knowing she needed to hurry so she could get some sleep, Sen slid the screen quietly and slipped inside the dark room. None of the lamps were lit, only moonlight streamed through the open shojis that led to the balcony. Since Rin hadn't let her come up here to straighten up in the morning, his room was still pretty messy. The usual pile of papers were strewn chaotically about the table and his kakebuton was in a heap at the bottom of the shikibuton. She blushed when she noticed a pair of blue pants and a white kimono top on the floor next to his bed. Usually he undressed in the bathroom, but after spending the evening with her at the pigpens, he had undressed right next to his bed… in front of the balcony… bathed in moonlight…

Sen's spreading blush brought her back to reality. She cleared her throat, trying to banish the previous thoughts from her mind. If she ever consciously thought of him in that state, there's no doubt she would never be able to speak to him coherently again. Then she remembered the envelope. Sen was looking around the room for a decent place to leave it when she noticed that someone had brought the tray with Haku's dinner on it and left it on the small chestnut table to the left of the door. Since there wasn't really anywhere else Haku might notice it, Sen placed the envelope on the other chestnut table to the right of the door. She was turning to leave when she let out a long yawn. It had been an awfully long day, there was a shikibuton just across the room, and her bed seemed so very far away…

"It's not like he will be back anytime soon," Sen justified to herself. "And his bed is already a mess. If I get up a little earlier in the morning, I can make it down to our room before Rin wakes up."

When she made it to Haku's bed, her legs seemed to give out on their own. They had worked hard today and she was just so tired. Sen slipped the shiny purple hair-band from her ponytail and her thick chocolate hair fanned out across the makuras. She managed to pull the kakebuton up to her chest before sighing contentedly; his bed was ridiculously comfortable. But the best part was that everything smelled like him: the blanket, the pillows, the mattress. No matter how she lay, all she could smell was the rich, crisp, masculine scent of Haku. It made her head spin and her skin flush. Sen knew this was inappropriate, it was much too intimate to be in his bed like this, especially without permission; after all this was where he slept, where his bare skin caressed the gold kakebuton like a lover…

Sen sighed contentedly and quickly descended into sleep.

...

The water was warm today; warmer than it had ever been. The pleasant temperature of the river put her more at peace than usual as she floated gently under the sunlight that penetrated the waves. There was something she wanted to ask the river, but now she just couldn't remember what it was…

"I've missed you," the river purred, sending the all-too-familiar invisible hands to rumple her hair.

She smiled, eyes closed and face titled towards the surface, "I nev'r shoulda left," but the words sounded all wrong, like her mouth was full of molasses and her tongue couldn't move properly. The way her words tumbled out of her mouth made her giggle.

The river stilled instantly, "What's the matter?"

Her smile quickly faded as she took in the question. She felt fine, better than fine actually. There was a pleasant tingling emanating from the ends of her limbs that reminded her of the few times in her life when she'd had too much alcohol and her whole body just felt lighter, more airy. Her thoughts seemed to swim drunkenly around in her head, just out of reach. Sure, she was struggling a bit to focus completely on just one thought, but that didn't really surprise her. She seemed to remember that not long ago, she had felt completely exhausted. This was probably just her body's way of trying to recuperate.

"I feel amazin'," she replied, slurring once again. "Like I had too much sake."

The invisible fingers were tracing her features now, as if they were trying to discern something from them, "Have you?"

She thought for a moment, momentarily distracted by how wonderful the river's 'hands' felt on her face, "Don't think so… we were w'rking all night on the big tub."

"Are you positive? You didn't have any drinks with Rin after closing?"

She reached to touch the 'fingers' that were on her face but then sighed with disappointment, "Why can't I ev'r see you? I wanna know what you look like."

There was a long pause, "You have seen me."

"No," she shook her head, hair billowing around her face. "I'd r'member."

The river chuckled, but there was only a small trace of actual humor in its voice, "I promise you, Chihiro. You know what I look like."

She sighed again, "I love when you say my name."

The river didn't respond. Instead, she could feel the invisible hands caress her face or take her pulse or do some other odd, probing thing every few seconds. She felt like a science experiment but she was too… not herself to care.

"Y'know something? Haku r'minds me of you. I think maybe that's why I like him. I think I love him and you… isn't that funny? But you're just water. Just water. Not a person. How can I love water? Does that mean I'm crazy? Because I love some water?" Her words, though seemingly inebriated, still came from sober thoughts. Sober thoughts that she had been too afraid to give voice to until now.

The river swirled around her, trying to give her some measure of comfort, "Chihiro…"

She closed her eyes and tried to push away the swirling water, "It doesn't matter. I don't care. Guess I'll just be crazy then."

Her eyes remained closed for what seemed like a long time as she tried to understand all of the things she felt. There was a deep, smoldering love in her heart for the river, but also an eerily similar feeling for Haku. She tried desperately to analyze these feelings, to figure out what exactly she was supposed to do about it, but her drunken brain refused to let her focus. Instead, the only thing she was able to focus on was the light, pleasant buzzing going on in her body.

"Chihiro," the river whispered, "open your eyes. See me."

Never wanting to deny the river anything, she opened them.

And gasped at what she saw.

Floating in front of her was Master Haku, in all of his kimono-clad, turquoise-haired glory. She reached out, convinced he was an illusion conjured by her mysterious intoxication, and was shocked when her fingertips met smooth, silky skin. "H… Haku?" She managed.

He smiled, catching her hands on his face, "Hello, Chihiro."

All shyness washed away by her current 'condition', she wrapped her arms around his neck exuberantly, "Haku! I can't b'lieve it's you!"

He held her to him, his well-toned arms winding around her waist, "It has always been me."

Her head was swimming, trying urgently to grasp what this meant. The strange drunkenness she felt seemed to confuse her yet clear her mind at the same time, like an old veil of fog was being lifted while a new one attempted to take over.

"I thought…" Her tongue still felt heavy. "I thought you f'rgot about me."

"What?"

"I didn't see you for 13 y'rs… I thought you didn't want me 'nymore."

He pulled away quickly so he could look at her; his face was stunned, "What?" He repeated, disbelieving.

She touched his cheek gingerly with her fingertips, "I know I w's young. But I loved you. And you pr'mised that we'd see e'chother again." Impossible as it seemed, tears started to form in her eyes. "But I didn't see you for 13 y'rs. Why didn't you come?"

"You…" He struggled to get the words out. "You remember?"

"Mmmhm," she looked down sadly. "Why'd you make me forget?"

His exquisite jade eyes were tortured when she finally met his gaze again, "I was trying to protect you. I thought that if you came back, Yubaba would… I thought it was best if… I thought you might forget that…" He stopped, his expression becoming pained as he cupped her face. "I missed you every single moment you were away from me. How could you ever think I wouldn't want you anymore? I just never knew how much you were hurting; if I had, I would have come for you immediately, consequences be damned. I thought I was doing what was best for you. Please, Chihiro. Please forgive me. Forgive my ignorance. As much as it hurt, I thought you would forget me someday and move on. I wanted you to have a normal life, as if you had never come here. I truly had no idea how much damage I was doing."

Though she still felt drunk, it was a little easier to speak now, as if his words had sobered her up a little, "There would never be anyone else, Haku. There's only you."

He crushed her to his chest, burying his face in the crook of her neck. "I'm sorry," he pleaded. "I am so sorry, Chihiro."

She felt herself melt into him, her bones liquefying. Now that she remembered him, remembered their past, she understood why she'd been feeling so many confusing things. Her heart had never really forgotten him; it refused to let him go. She pulled away softly and pressed her fingertips to his chin so he would stop.

It was clear that this frightened him. "You cannot forgive me," he surmised, heartbreak slowly invading his stunning features.

She looked into his regal jade eyes without faltering, "There's nothing to forgive. Don't you understand? I love you, Haku. I always have."

His eyes softened, "Chihiro, I—"

"Just promise me one thing," she interrupted, bringing herself closer to his lips.

"Anything," he murmured, his mouth only centimeters from hers.

Her fingers knotted in his untied mass of turquoise hair that billowed around him, "Promise me that no matter what, you'll never make me forget again. I don't care what Yubaba does, I never want to forget you."

He rubbed her nose with his as he wrapped a strong hand around the back of her neck, "I swear. And I will keep you safe from her. No matter the cost."

There was a moment of hesitation now, where her body felt so alive that she could sense everything; the delicate sounds of the river they were suspended in, the warmth of the sunlight piercing the surface and caressing her skin, the deep green of his eyes flecked with gold, the rich, clean taste of the water on her lips, the earthy, crisp scent of his skin…

And then, he kissed her.

Her lips parted and she sighed deeply, drinking in the scent of him until it mingled with her bones and became a part of her. His tongue explored her mouth, cautiously at first but gaining confidence as she encouraged him. She groaned, reveling in the strong, almost peppermint-like taste of him on her tongue. When he had kissed her before she remembered, it had been amazing. This was earth-shattering. Every part of her mind and body recognized him and she melded with him effortlessly. If there was any doubt in her mind about the things she remembered, they were gone now.

This was Kohaku. Her Kohaku. And he was undoubtedly her 'forever'.

When he finally released her, his eyes were bright yet tender at the same time, "I love you, Chihiro. I am so glad you found your way back to me."

The mysterious tingling in her limbs receded.

...

When Sen awoke, it was still dark out and the moon, although not in the same position, still shone through the half-opened shojis. She rubbed her eyes, more than a little confused. Why was she in Haku's room… in Haku's bed? Had she accidentally fallen asleep here? She sat up, looking around the messy room in an attempt to remember.

All she could remember was her dream.

She thought for a moment; while it was like all of her others about the river, this one felt different. It felt real. That would mean Haku was the river that had come to her in her sleep for 13 years; it would also mean that the things she was remembering about Haku were real, too. If her dream was real and not just a dream, that would mean that she had loved Haku for a very, very long time.

And that made a lot of sense.

She pushed back the kakebuton, readying herself to get up and return to her own room before she was caught here when, to her horror, she heard the distinctive sound of a shoji screen sliding open to her left.

"Sen?" That unmistakable voice asked, surprised. "What are you doing here so late?"

Sen blushed furiously, hurrying to remove herself from his bed, "I'm so sorry! I must have fallen asleep here by mistake. I had such a long day and I was just so tired…"

Haku walked over to her and to her relief, he was smiling, "It's alright. You just made me worry. I thought something was wrong and you came here to wait for me."

"No," she shook her head. "I think… I think I had to deliver something to you, but I can't remember what it was."

He looked around for a moment, "If I'm not mistaken, that looks like an envelope from Yubaba next to the door. Could that be it?"

Sen though hard for a moment, "I really don't remember. It might be though."

There was a long, awkward silence as he just continued to smile at her. It was odd because even when she had first came back to the spirit world, there had been absolutely no awkwardness between them. This felt strange and it unnerved her.

"Uhm, I should go. Rin is probably wondering where I am…" She began to make her way to the door.

He grabbed her arm, much more roughly than usual, "Please, stay." He said, his voice low and frighteningly unfamiliar. "I missed you today."

Something in Haku's eyes set the alarm bells off in her head. His usually calm jade eyes were now hard, glassy and full of malice. She tried to tug her arm away from him, but his grip was much too strong. He tightened his hold on her, making her wince.

"Haku, you're hurting me," Sen snapped, her temper flaring. "I don't know what's gotten into you, but you need to let me go."

He smiled again, but this time it was a dark, sinister thing, "What's the matter, Sen? I thought you liked me."

It was at that moment that the difference registered in her mind; this was not the Haku she knew. This was something masquerading as Haku.

"Let. Me. Go." She bit out each word harshly. "Now."

The thing that was not Haku let his façade drop now and he gripped both of her arms violently, "I don't think so."

Sen struggled as hard as she could to get free, but it didn't matter. This thing was much stronger than her and it didn't have a problem using force. And it didn't care if it hurt her.

"Now, now Sen, there's no need for all that," the strange voice purred from Haku's mouth. "All I want is to kiss you."

She could feel the bile rising in her throat as the thing that was not Haku leaned in closer. It even smelled wrong; like ashes and brimstone. Sen attempted to turn her head, to press her lips together in a hard line to stop the kiss, but again, none of it mattered. The thing held her in her place with one hand and used the other to grip her jaw so tightly that she didn't dare move again. It then paused before crushing its lips to hers painfully.

Sen tried to shake her head, tried to scream or say anything, but the thing wouldn't release its hold on her mouth. With horror, she realized that something was seeping from the thing's lips into her mouth and she couldn't spit it out. It tasted foul, evil as it invaded her. Whatever it was, it was cold, thick, and slimy. Like some kind of gastropod. Her horror increased exponentially when she felt it wriggle down her throat. Once she had unwillingly swallowed it, the thing that was not Haku let her go.

"Now," it commanded, "go back to your room."

Without a single word, Sen did as she was told. Even though she had wanted to run from the thing, this was different. This was something she couldn't control.

...

The dragon-form of Haku landed on the balcony just in time to see three fat, green heads bouncing out of his bedroom door.

That couldn't be good.

...

...

AUTHOR'S NOTE: Please leave reviews and let me know what you think! Things are starting to happen!