Good afternoon everyone, I just got off of work and was feeling super excited about posting a new chapter for you guys! I hope you enjoy! I know it has been a while but I do have a life so the chapters I will post will be shorter than the first few were. I still hope that you all will enjoy!

Also something I wanted to address from some comments is that I know that this fanfic isn't super accurate as far as Chihiro and her parents being gone for a whole year but it was more interesting this way :)

Chihiro had ran to her tent to pack the few things she had collected during her time here. She packed a change of clothes and some food she had hidden in her tent, though she was sure that she wasn't going to use the clothes but she tried to always be prepared.

After she was done in her tent she ran over to the barracks and the weapon tent to collect the weapon Zeniba had said she was allowed to bring. When she walked into the tent she saw a bunch of men standing around talking to each other, they were laughing jovially even though they currently lived life fighting in a war.

"Excuse me," Chihiro cleared her throat and spoke up to the soldiers. "I came to collect my allotted weapon per Zeniba's order."

All the men turned a looked at her all at once and she stiffened, grimacing. She hated it when this kind of stuff happened. All the men seemed to appraise her with eyebrows raised. They all at once turned their heads away from her and met each others eyes and started cracking up laughing.

"You! A soldier!" One of them finally spoke up, holding his stomach and tears running down his face.

Another man spoke up, "They must be desperate! To have enlisted a small human WOMAN!" He too had tears running down his face.

"Go home young woman, you don't need to die in this war."

She glared at them all and put her hands on her hips. "I don't need any of you to tell me what I can and cannot do. Just give me my weapon. This is on Zeniba's orders!"

Some more giggling was heard through out the men and some of the older men grunted in what must have been anger.

"Sounds like we need to just kick you out of here GIRL. We don't need you."

A few of the men stepped forward towards Chihiro. The others stayed back laughing to watch the show. And a show it was indeed, another man that was at the back of the other men stepped forward and held his arm out in front of the ones that had stepped forward.

"I think that we all need to be calmer."

Chihiro looked into the eyes of this newcomer. He seemed familiar somehow but she wasn't sure how to place it.

He had long white hair though he didn't seem to be old enough for white hair at all. He had a gentle but strong aura to him and she was sure that she would remember someone like this if she had met them before. She looked back at his gentle face and he was giving her a slight sheepish smile.

"Do I...know you?" She asked questioningly.

The other men that were coming at her stepped back. One of the men seemed to dismiss her and said, "Just let Nano deal with her. He likes humans more than we do anyways."

They all streamed out to leave just Chihiro and this men, Nano, alone in the weapon tent together.

Nano leaned up against one of the tables that held some of the merchandise. "You probably don't recognize me in this form," he said as he was looking down at himself. "My other form is a lot bigger and more magical than this form I suppose."

Chihiro shook her head, "I am sorry...I don't..."

He laughed slightly, "I will give you a hint. You would know me by my smell, think back to your time at the bathhouse, back then your name was Sen. I seem to remember you pulling a bicycle out of my chest."

Chihiro's eyes widened and she blurted out, "The stink spirit!" Quickly she covered her mouth turning very bright red in embarassment.

Nano started laughing hysterically. "I am no stink spirit! I am a river spirit."

Chihiro appraised him, "Your name is Nano?"

He nodded grinning from ear to ear. "That is my nickname, my real name is Shinano. I have been watching you in the human world, you have learned much from your earlier time here. You help all those around you and you have even pulled trash from my river. And yet you..."

Chihiro's eyes widened in amazement as he spoke. Suddenly she interrupted him, "Wait! You are the Shinano River spirit?!"

Suddenly Emiko and Hiro made there grand entrance, Emiko skipped in and hugged Chihiro from behind. "Chihiro! Hiro is saying that I have to stay here and wait for us!"

"I just don't want you to get hurt Emi!" Hiro huffed in response.

Nano smiled at me and waived. "We can talk more later. Help yourself to any of the weapons in here. Consider anything you choose a gift."

Nano seemed to float as he walked towards Chihiro. He stopped just in front of her and kissed her gently on the cheek. Smiling he left the tent leaving Chihiro with more questions than answers and with some very inquisitive friends.

"Hell yes!" Hiro hollered forgetting all about his fight with Emiko for a moment as he went to find the coolest weapon that he probably wouldn't even be able to wield properly.

Chihiro pushed the thought of Nano to the back of her mind. She didn't have much time to get to Haku and knew that they needed to leave as soon as she was done getting ready to leave. She would handle Nano when she got back.

There you go guys! I hope you enjoy! I am sorry I don't have more time to work on this but let me know what you think! :)