I do not own Spirited Away

It wasn't long before several of the girls returned, saying they had found Haku but he had disappeared before they could approach him. This further frustrated Chihiro, causing her chew on her nails a bit. A habit she had picked up after her mother had died when she got anxious, not necessarily a good habit but it helped her keep focus. The searches continued until customers had begun arriving, causing several of the girls having to stop the search and do their work, even more frustration. Chihiro had thought it would be easy, since the workers had been very careful to not let word of their search spread, but this possibly fake Haku was smart, if anything. It's possible he already realized Chihiro had figured it out, but still, how was that possible? Surely he wouldn't have known her small trip to the human world, only a few people knew about that.

Chihiro of course continued the search, even when most of the workers were now busy. She needed to find this Haku, if she approached him and asked him one simple question, she would know instantly if he was a fake or not. Just one question was all she needed.

Lost in her thoughts, she hardly noticed Lin practically sprinting towards her. She jumped a little when Lin grabbed her arm, clearly out of breath, "Sen! Yubaba found Haku and caught him!"

Chihiro felt hope flare up in her chest. She didn't expect she could trust that old witch, but here Yubaba was, saving their little mission. Perfect! Lin quickly led Chihiro to where Haku was being kept, a small room in the back of the bathhouse where no one could interrupt. Lin opened the sliding door and Chihiro was a little shocked to see the inside.

Haku was sitting on a singular wooden chair, struggling to get out of the ropes around his torso. Yubaba was standing in the far corner, holding a light that shone right on Haku. Chihiro let out a small sigh and shook her head, this was right out of one of those cheesy crime shows.

Still, it worked. Chihiro nodded to Yubaba and entered the room, causing Haku to immediately stop struggling and look up at her. He was so similar, Chihiro almost felt a bit guilty at seeing him all tied up. Even the look in his eyes was the same, but still Chihiro had a feeling deep in her gut that told her otherwise. One question, that's all she needed.

"What color was the shoe that I lost in the river when I was a child?" Chihiro ignored the looks of confusion, coming from even Haku. Chihiro could hear Lin go to talk, but Haku interrupted her.

"Blue"

It was pink.

Chihiro couldn't help but smile a little. If she could remember what color it had been, then the real Haku could too. That shoe had been very pink, not blue. She still felt the confusion, but she didn't let it get to her. She was confident to state, "He's not the real Haku."

The color drained from fake Haku's face as he realized I was serious, Lin let out a gasp and Yubaba remained quiet for a long moment before approaching the centre of the room, where the fake Haku and I were.

"Who are you then, boy? Speak up!"

The fake Haku seemed very adamant on staying dead silent; Yubaba grew frustrated after asking him the same question several times. After about the fourth, she shooed Lin and I out of the room, closing the door behind us. Lin and I exchanged worried glances; surely Yubaba wasn't planning anything too bad? Chihiro had to admit, she was angry at this fake too, but not that angry. It wasn't long before Yubaba opened the door again; I glanced behind her to see that the fake almost looked asleep. She hoped nothing too bad had happened, but hopefully they got answers, which Yubaba shared shortly after opening the door.

"It seems our fake is working for another witch by the name of Nomura. I've heard of her before, she lives in some ruins in the mountains."

Chihiro memorized the name, noting where Nomura apparently lived. Mountains, would the train go anywhere near them? That was something to worry about later, she decided. Right now, there was something she needed to know, "Did he say why this Nomura trapped Haku in the human world, and replaced him?"

Yubaba shook her head, "He has no idea, or that's what he claims. He says he's just a golem that was given a job."

"A golem huh…" Chihiro frowned; sure they had an idea on who did it, but why? Was it as a punishment or something? Did he steal something again? No, that's not it. When he stole Zeniba's charm he was under Yubaba's control, he wouldn't steal something on his own, Chihiro was sure of that. Why then?

Lin spoke up suddenly, after being quiet for a very long time, "Nomura… I think I recognize that name. She came to the bathhouse a couple times and would only ever ask for Haku, she would always tell us her name and insist Haku would come if we told him who it was. As far as I know, Haku never gave her request a second thought and would ignore her a lot. This happened shortly after you left, Sen. For a couple of years I think, then he started acting weird after her last visit, that's when he must have been replaced. I'm trying to remember what happened…"

Chihiro waited in anticipation as Lin crunched up her eyebrows in thought, her finger on her chin. After a few minutes she snapped her fingers, "I remember! During her last visit, that was the first time Haku approached her. He took her to one of our private rooms, and then afterwards she left on her own. He started acting weird the next day, I think."

Chihiro nodded and lowered her eyes as she thought. Ok so, Haku apparently didn't want anything to do with her until her last visit. What changed? Did she say something to him to make him go along with her? And apparently she started showing up shortly after Chihiro had gone back to the human world; did that have anything to do with it? She didn't think so, but there was nothing solid as of yet.

Raising her head towards Yubaba, Chihiro quickly stated, "Yubaba I'm going to need a couple of maps and a ticket for the train. I'm going to find this Nomura."

Lin quickly jumped up beside Chihiro, "Make that two tickets, I'm going to!"

Chihiro cocked an eyebrow at Lin, "You can't leave work, I don't know how long of a trip this will be. Plus, I can get back here easily once it's over, you have to travel all the way back by foot."

Lin scoffed, "The girls can handle a couple of days without me, I'm not letting you go without me. That frog will probably say the same thing, but I don't trust you with him, so I'm going whether you like it or not."

Yubaba let out a small sigh, "Fine, fine. I'll get you three tickets and some maps of the train route and the mountains, but you're on your own from there. I'll meet you and the front entrance. Oh, and Lin, I expect you back here within two weeks, got it?"

"Got it, boss ma'am!"