Almost 10 years to the day when he last saw his friend, Haku finds himself in a strange position. He has been offered to return to the humanworld to see his river be reborn, but it requires him to bind himself to an unknown person for a while. All he want's is to keep his promis to his friend, but to do that he has to take a risk. Who is this unknown person? Will He reunite with Chihiro? Read to find out more.

I Own Nothing but my OC's

Chapter 1

It had been a very interesting day for Zeniba. As she was returning home, she thought to herself how things were about to change for the better. The witch had barely been in her own home for more than a few minutes when she felt a familiar energy getting closer. Zeniba sighed in exasperation.

"That boy is so impatient." She muttered to herself.

When she heard and saw the shudders on her windows start to rattle, she gently waved her hand and opened the door before her guest could knock.

"Come on in Haku. You are no doubt here to ask what they said, are you not?"

"Zeniba, Hello." Haku bowed his head in greeting and walked inside the small hut. "Yes I am. Do you have any knews? Did they say anything about my River?"

Haku was very excited. For a while now his powers had been getting stronger, and he could feel the cause was that his river was somehow, for some unknown reason, coming back to life in the humanworld. This was very good news, for many reasons.

#1 - He would have his source of power back.

#2 - He would have a home again

#3 - With his anchor to the humanworld reestablished, he could go find Chihiro. This was somehow the thing that weighed the heaviest on his heart.

Zeniba had yet to answer his question. She had turned her back to Haku, unbeknownst to him it was to not show him the smirk on her face. She however managed to wipe it off her face by the time she turned around again, with a teapot in her hand.

"Come Haku, sit and have a cup of tea. Then I will tell you what they said."

A little reluctantly, Haku made his way to the table. He felt in such a hurry, but he wanted to know so he sat and looked at Zeniba with anticipation. As Zeniba purred the tea, she started to tell the story.

"The council of elders have discovered the reason for your return of power. It would seem that the guardian of the spiritworld gates in Japan is retiring and has appointed a successor. And.." But Haku in his haste cut her off.

"What does that have to do with my river?"

Zeniba looked at him annoyed for having been cut off.

"Well if you want to know, you probably shouldn't interrupt me young man."

Haku looked down, ashamed of his rudeness towards his friend. "I'm sorry Zeniba. Please continue."

"As I was saying, he has appointed a successor to the guardianship of the gates, and as her tribute to the bond between our worlds, she has decided to revive Your River."

Haku stared at the old woman in front of him unblinking. Not able to believe what he had just heard, he couldn't find a response. His mouth opened and then closed without a word. Since Zeniba could see that he was not going to say anything. She continued.

"She apparently believes it very wrongful, as well it was, that the humans destroyed the river in the first place, and wants to give back what was taken away. She has been working towards this goal for what seems like a few years now. The reason for your surge in power would be due to the work nearing its end. They have started letting the water back into the riverbed, and thus your power is once again flowing."

Haku was stunned. The new guardian was reviving his river. This woman, whoever she was, had decided that lending her strength to him was to be her proof of worth towards the job she was about to overtake. True You needed to do something pretty huge to show the council of elders that you would be a good guardian, but very few had ever taken on something this big.

"Why?" The word just spluttered from his mouth. "Why did she decide on my river? There would be plenty of things she could do to show her worthiness of being a guardian. How come she chose me?"

A tiny bit of the smirk from before crept onto Zeniba's face. She was unable to force it down again.

"Well apparently she doesn't seem to know the real reason. When she was asked that exact question by her master, who had also been asked by the council, she simply said: I have fond memories of the river when it was still flowing freely. It pains me that my kind did something so horrible to something so beautiful, just for the sake of building an apartment complex. Had they just rerouted the water, so much unnecessary pain could have been avoided. I feel like there is a deeper reason than that, but to be honest I cannot tell you, for I do not understand it myself. I just feel like this is something I need to do."

Zeniba slowly sipped her tea as she let this information sink into the head of the man sitting across from her. After a while, Haku finally seemed to be able to speak again.

"How will I ever repay this person? This is a debt I will never be able to truly fulfill." His eyes portrayed the shock he felt. "I wonder who she is." He thought to himself.

"Well.." Zeniba caught his attention again, as he had been staring off into space. "You could ask her that when you see her." She didn't look at him for fear of cracking too wide a smile that would let him know that she already knew the answer to his question.

"What do you mean?"

"Well the council said to ask you if you would be willing to go to the humanworld premature to your rivers completion? With their authority They can let you go with just the power you hold now."

"YES!" Haku stood up in a rush, a wide smile across his face, eyes alight with excitement. About to turn Zeniba stopped him.

"However…" She watched as his face slowly fell into a small frown.

"However, what?" He asked cautiously.

"However, there is a condition to this allowance."

"What condition?" Haku sat down again with a bump.

"They require that you have a true purpose while your river is unfinished. Otherwise you might just wander aimlessly around."

"I would not be wandering aimlessly." He said with a huff. "I would be looking for Chihiro. I still have a promise to keep to her."

"Yes, exactly. And would you even know where to start looking? No, you wouldn't. They ask that you take an oath to become the guardian to be's new bodyguard until she fully accepts the position."

"WHAT?!". "Take an oath? What if it takes years for her to become the new guardian? I've already kept Chihiro waiting long enough."

Zeniba could see his internal struggle upon his face.

"The old guardian will not be waiting long before he appoints her. He is very old by this point, and is ready to pass the burden on. Unfortunately some think it unwise to leave this great responsibility in the hands of someone so young, and have been trying to assassinate her, so as to keep her from inheriting the title. And though she is in danger, she has not approved of any of the spirits the elders have previously sent to her. Sending them away after mere minutes of talking to them. They.." She trailed off for a second. "We hope that if you present yourself as her guard telling her who you are, she will accept. It is the best option."

Haku fell quiet for a minute. "What about Chihiro? Do you think I will ever be able to find her? Humans grow so fast. What if she's an old woman before I find her? I never meant to keep her waiting so long." His words rang with the deepest fear in his heart.

"Haku listen to me." His eyes raised from his teacup, into which he had been staring, and met Zeniba's gaze. "I can without a doubt promise you that if you take this offer you will find her again soon. Besides, you know she doesn't remember us right? Humans always have their memories erased when they leave the spirit world, unless they have some sort of authority like the guardians of the gates."

Haku knew she spoke the truth. He had been contemplating how to help Chihiro Remember him once he found her, for a long time.

"Alright. I'll take the job. But how am I going to find this woman once I get to the humanworld? And what is her name anyway?"

The smirk threatened to return to Zeniba's face, but she managed to keep it at bay.

"As for her name, I will not tell you."

"Why not?"

"You will find out soon enough."

She then placed on the table a small patch of purple cloth.

"Once you find yourself in the humanworld, this will help you find her."

"What's that?" Haku looked curiously at the piece of fabric.

"This piece of cloth was woven from the same material as something we know her to be keeping on her person at all times. If you keep it close, like clenching it in your hand, and call out to the similar energy, you will be able to find her wherever she is."

Zeniba had never let Haku in on the secret of her gift to the human.

"Take it and go. I will inform the elders that you have taken the position. In the unlikely event that she does reject you as her guard, you will return here and will wait for the rive to be complete. Are we agreed?"

Haku stood up, took the piece of cloth from the table, and looked the witch straight in the eyes. "Agreed. Thank you for everything Zeniba. I owe you a great deal." He then turned and walked out the door.

"As long as you keep her safe Haku, you don't owe me a thing." She said softly.

Hello to anyone that finds this story. Thank you for choosing this to read! Really! I'm excited. This is my first ever fanfic to ever puplish and I'm so nervous. Anyway I hope you are enjoying it so far. Please rewieve.