Disclaimer: I do not own Spirited Away

The house, no, the entire swamp was deathly quiet. Lin's eyes widened and she stood up in a shock, breaking the silence as she slammed her hands on the table, "What the hell!? So that's why she's supposedly his wife!?"

Zeniba's eyes widened, slightly surprised at Lin's sudden outburst. The old witch knew the fox would be shocked and probably upset, but this extent wasn't expected. She gently placed her cup down, glancing at the shadow figure and frog, both of which seemed just as surprised. The shadow figure matched Zeniba's gaze and she let out a slight sigh, "No face, why don't you go check on Chihiro."

No face clapped and made noises of what seemed to be approval before slipping into the room Chihiro was sleeping in. Lin rubbed at her face in exasperation before sitting down again, still restless, "So that's why he fell under Yubaba's spell. He saved a human that was supposed to die."

Zeniba nodded, shifting to grab a plate of cookies and move it closer to the young fox woman, "Also why he is so weak now. Why he risked so much for her is beyond me, but," Zeniba smiled softly, "I'm glad he did."

Lin chuckled, although it was light and betrayed how tired she was, "Me too."

Chihiro felt… short. The pain in her side was gone and she was standing in the grassy field between the train station and fairground, the wind gently rustling her clothes. Glancing at her clothes made her realize why the grass seemed so much taller. She was ten again. Had she ever come to this field when a few days ago? She was sure she hadn't.

The young girl started walking forward to the fairground as if something was possessing her and forcing to. She tried to reject it, until...

"-iro! Chihiro!"

Chihiro would recognize that voice from anywhere. It was her mother. She began to sprint in the direction of the voice, only slowing down to inspect the buildings. They looked so different at this height. The girl froze at the sound of her parents chatting, turning her head to see them eating a feast.

Something in her compelled her to scream at them to stop eating, but before the words could escape her mouth, they had turned into pigs. She panicked and looked up, realizing the sky had become black. She turned and sprinted towards the field, only to find an ocean of water. Strong arms grabbed her. Haku. Was... Was this little boy really him?

He didn't give her time to ask before he was pulling her into the bathhouse. Yubaba gave her name, Sen. Working in the bathhouse, helping the river spirit. A masked shadowy figure that became attached to her, and she eventually became attached to it. Haku hurt, bleeding. So much blood.

A blink later Chihiro was facing Zeniba, a much kinder witch than her twin sister. Her brain was going a mile a minute. It felt like all these moments were becoming intertwined, like a timeline being jumbled and nothing seemed to fit.

And then, peace. The puzzle began to complete. A calm washed over her, a calm she hadn't felt before. She stepped out of Zeniba's cabin to see Haku, in his full dragon form. His white glistened like it was covered jewels in the moonlight, his eyes soft and kind. She felt herself sprint to him and hug him.

She climbed onto his back like it was something she had done a million times, then suddenly he was human again as they flew through the sky. Chihiro closed her eyes for a moment. Opening them, she faced pigs in a pen, told two of them were her parents. She didn't exactly know how, but she knew her parents weren't there. She just knew. The answer was right.

Haku grabbed her hand and they raced to the edge of the fairgrounds, facing the train station across the field. She felt like she wanted to cry, knowing what would come next, but she couldn't let the tears fall. He had promised her he would come back to her. He promised they will see her again. After a long moment, she let go of the boy's hand, walking across the field.

No! This is wrong!

Chihiro willed every muscle in her body to stop, but she didn't. Once again her body was not under her control. Finally, she stopped at the train station and glanced back at Haku, whispering, "please, don't let me forget you. Please come back to me."

Finally, her body was forced through the train station doors, and she fell to the ground onto her knees. Her eyes widened and tears dropped onto the ground as she realized. The fogginess, the feeling like something had happened, but what seemed impossible to place.

She felt her body grow to its adult size, the train station darkening to near pitch-black, ominous noises and creaks surrounding the now-adult Chihiro. She heard what sounded like mocking laughter, laughing at her childish foolishness.

You lied. You broke the promise. How could you?

You lied! You lied! You lied!

The words repeated in her head, growing louder and louder until she screamed them out loud, the words becoming unintelligible as pain streaked her side and she heard the blood pouring from a wound hit the ground. Blood began to surround her, staining her clothes. The pain became so intense she started to go numb. The mocking laughter continued, a voice joining in. Hisashi. She couldn't understand what he was saying, but she almost didn't care.

You left me. You left me to die. You never planned to keep that promise, did you?

The sound of something large scraping against the ground started approaching. Before long, the hissing of a snake was loud enough to be nearly on top of the numb woman. She wasn't sure if it was the stickiness of the blood or just the lack of will, but she couldn't move. She couldn't even find the energy to lift her head to look at the massive snake, open jaws hovering above her.

She closed her eyes to prepare for the pain of the snake's jaws snapping around her, but the snap never came. Finally, she shifted, finding the blood was gone too. The disappearance of the blood caused her to snap her head upwards. The train station was lighter again like it had been before; like nothing had happened.

Soft fur brushed against Chihiro's back and she stood up in surprise, spinning around. She felt large tears fall down her cheeks as she stared into the kind emerald eyes of her precious dragon. Chihiro fell forward into him clinging onto him desperately. She froze in surprise as fur disappeared, replaced with strong arms circling her. Warm breath on her neck immediately caused her to relax again, as she buried her face into Haku's shoulder.

Chihiro wasn't sure how long they stood like that, simply enjoying each other's warmth. To the woman, it felt like none of those nightmares had even happened. All she could feel was peace and happiness.

Eventually, Haku spoke up. His voice was deeper but just as soft as she remembered, "I'm sorry."

Chihiro let out a small sigh, pulling her face away from his shoulder to respond, "Then why did you lie about returning for me. About not erasing my memories."

Haku didn't speak for a while and fear began creeping up Chihiro's spine, what if this was just another nightmare? The fear faded when he finally spoke, "I didn't want to lie."

Chihiro pulled herself away more so she could look into the man's eyes, "I want to, no, I need to know the truth."

Haku lowered his gaze for a moment before meeting Chihiro's eyes again, "Losing your memories was a simple side effect of returning. Lin and her friends were watching you the whole time, waiting for a good moment for us to reunite."

Haku didn't hide his flinch when Chihiro's eyes filled with doubt, "What would that moment look like, Haku? When I became too old and was moved into a home? Or even after that?" She pulled away further, causing another slight movement from Haku, "I nearly died. In fact…" She glanced at her side before quickly ripping off her shirt entirely, it falling to the ground. Haku averted his eyes but only for a second.

Chihiro's side was turning a sickly green, the wound itself was infected and almost looked rotten. Chihiro didn't give Haku the chance to talk, "Even without memories, I'm not stupid. I imagine it looks like this if not worse in the real world."

Haku remained still for a moment before suddenly dropping to his knees, startling Chihiro and causing her to reapproach him, "I'm so sorry. I couldn't stop him."

Chihiro felt tears on her cheeks again, "Where the hell are you." It wasn't a question.

Haku raised his eyes, "With the snake god that calls himself Hisashi, and a witch calling herself Nomura."

Chihiro hesitated before replying, "Why can't you escape?"

Haku frowned, lowering his eyes again, "They threatened your life if I didn't give in to them. They didn't keep their word."

Chihiro sighed, "Karma chose a bad time, it seems."

Haku cringed a little before standing up quickly, bring Chihiro into a standing position as well, "My emeralds. There are still five. Use them to track me down and free me, as soon as you do I'll handle the witch and the snake."

Chihiro nodded, "...And I better do it before I die."

Haku suddenly grabbed Chihiro and pulled her into his arms, planting a quick kiss on her lips, "I promise you won't. I promise as soon as I'm free the witch will regret ever challenging me or threatening you. This time, I will keep them."

Chihiro was quiet for a long moment, mostly out of shock before shaking her head clear and returning the kiss. It wasn't in the 'real' world, but the warmth felt more real than anything else, "You better."

Chihiro closed her eyes and felt Haku pull away before soft fur surrounded her and the dream faded away into blackness.