Three years can change a person, especially after their world is torn apart. No one knows that better than Chihiro. Her parents were dead, her best friend, her Kohaku, was nowhere to be found, and she was stuck living in the middle of a cursed forest with a short temepered girl who had YET to take her suglasses off, not to mention, now, Zero was trying to get her to fly! Currently, said girl, now thirteen with nearly knee length hair, was sitting, yes, sitting, on large cloud with her hands folded behind her head.

Chihiro looked over the edge of the cloud,"I'll fall."

Zero glared at her through her black sunglasses,"Chihiro, you won't fall. You're a psychic, psychics don't fall."

"And what if you're wrong?"Chihiro asked,"What if my element isn't psychic?"

"You honestly think Mae, Madenso, and I are all wrong?"Zero asked, playing with a loose strand of hair,"We know what we're saying. Mae is older than even the twin rivers themselves, and Madenso is even older, they've been doing this for over five thousand years."

"They can still be wrong."Chihiro wined.

"Ugh."Zero got fed up and the cloud the two girls were sitting on vanished.

"ZERO!!!!!!!!!"Chihiro shreiked, plummeting to the earth.

"FLY!"

"I'M TRYING!!"

"STOP TRYING AND JUST DO IT!"

Chihiro let out a low moan and closed her eyes,'Fly.' She imagined herself flying over the river, chasing Zero.

"Open your eyes or you're gonna crash into something."Zero was right next to her.

Her eyes shot open, she was flying right of the Zeroku River, and she could see Zero's reflection in the water next to her,"I'm flying!!"

"Told ya so."Zero snickered,"You're a psychic, now, up." She shot into the air, her black shirt flying around her.

Chihiro concentrated, and she suddenly shot into the air, right behind Zero,"Comin' through!!"

Zero simply went faster,"Like you could catch me."

"ZERO!!! CHIHIRO!!!"

Chihiro suddenly fell, right into the arms of a young man with dirty blond hair,"AH!!"

"HEERO!!"Zero snapped angrily,"I finally got Chihiro to fly and you scared her!"

"Sorry."Heero shook his head,"There's a bunch of hunters on the forest's northern edge, you need to get rid of them."

"Why can't you, baka tree sprit."Zero hissed.

"Because I have to hunt down Gakasaki."Heero said simply,"Unless you want the crazy river spirit running amoc in the town."

Zero gave him a menacing glare,"Fine. Chihiro and I will chase them to the bath house, Yubaba probably need some new pigs."

Chihiro shook her head,"I'm just getting the hang of fly, I can't take them on!"

"Chi, listen to yourself, you sound like you've never done anything like this before."Zero grumbled,"Now let's go."

Chihiro jumped out of Heero's arms and flew alongside Zero,"Are you sure this is a good idea?"

"Yes."

The two girls flew low through the trees. Within minutes they came to a clearing in the forest where five men were standing in a circle around something.

Zero could easily smell the blood of a deer,"That's them. I can smell deer blood. Can you megaphone my voice?" Chihiro nodded and her eyes began to glow purple. Zero took a deep breath,"HUMANS!!!!!!!!!" The men jumped in shock as Zero's voice shook the trees. "LEAVE NOW, OR SUFFER THE CONCEQUENCES!!"

The apparent leader, a big, bulky mad with black hair looked around,"Who are you?! what is this, some kind of joke!?"

"I AM THE GUARDIAN ON THIS FOREST, AND I WARN YOU NOW, LEAVE OR YOU WILL DIE!!!"Zero retorted.

"Yeah right."the leader snapped,"And I'm Queen Elizabeth!"

"Yeah, you are."Chihiro grinned as her eyes glowed brighter.

The leader looked down, he had somehow transformed into Queen Elizabeth,"AAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!"

"NOW DO YOU BELEIVE ME?!"Zero roared,"IT IS TOO LATE FOR YOU, YOU WILL DIE UPON LEAVING MY FOREST!!"

"Oh, great guardian!"the leader fell down on his knees,"What must we do to live?"

"GO TO THE OLD THEME PARK ON THE EDGE OF TOWN AND EAT ALL THE FOOD YOU CAN FIND, AND YOU ARE NOT TO LEAVE UNTIL AFTER SUNDOWN!"Zero roared, her voice echoing through the trees,"NOW, GO, AND NEVER RETURN!!!!!!"

The hunters jumped up and ran as fast as their pathetic human legs could carry them. As soon as they were out of hearing range Zero and Chihiro broke down laughing.

"That was rich!"Zero said between fits of laughter,"They acutally bought it! Kohaku would have loved that!" She immediately regretted her choice of words,"Ugh, tender subjet, sorry."

"It's ok."Chihiro got up,"Let's get back to the river, Mae's probably worried about us."

Zero set a gentle hand on her shoulder,"He'll be back, Chi, don't worry."

"What if he got hurt?"Chihiro asked,"Or Yubaba wouldn't release him?"

Zero shook her head,'She's right. Something like that could have happened, but I'd feel it if it did, wouldn't I?'

"Or, he really didn't care?"Chihiro fought back her tears.

Zeor spun the girl around,"Come on, let's go into town, get all this off your mind. They've got some new games at the arcade I wanted to check out."

Chihiro shook her head,"I don't really feel like going out."

Zero took her wrist,"Come on, it'll be fun."

Chihiro let out a deep sigh,"Fine."

The two girls took off into the trees.

Zero watched the trees fly by her,'Where are you, Haku? Why can't I sense you anymore? Chihiro needs you, she loves you, please, come back.'

Before they even realized it, the two girls had landed in the very spot where Chihiro and Kohaku and parted ways three years ago.

"What are we doing here?"Chihiro asked,"I thought we were going into town."

Zero looked around,"I don't know. I thought so too."

Chihiro shook her head,"This better not be a joke Zero."

"It's not. I'm mean, ot heartless."Zero shook her head,"I guess part of me just brought us here." 'Or, maybe Kohaku brought us here.'

"Let's just go, I don't want to be reminded of Haku right now."Chihiro started to leave,"He probably didn't care."

"He cares about you Chihiro."Zero grabbed her wrist again,"Don't let yourself think anything else."

"How would you know?!"Chihiro suddenly snapped,"You barely even know Kohaku, you wouldn't know what he thinks about me!"

"That's where you're wrong, Chihiro."Zero grabbed her sunglasses,"No one knows Kohaku better than me."

"Zeroku's the only one that knows him that well, if even her!"Chihiro broke her hand free.

"That's true,"Zero pulled her sunglasses of,"because I am Zeroku."