Disclaimer: Ok, to make the disclaimer short, any character that you don't recognize as in being in Miyazaki's "Spirited Away" belongs to me. Ok? Ok.

Recalling The Past

Haku's ankle was wrapped delicately at the nurse's office. She had wanted to call the doctor to see if the doctor could check to see how much damage had been done to Haku's leg, but Haku refused, saying that his grandmother would take care of everything as soon as he got home. The nurse seemed to want to argue, but she just sighed, and handed Haku a pair of crutches she had there. Yuki volunteered to walk home with Haku, since they lived close to each other. Chihiro tagged along as well. Akari and Nikki were getting rides home from Akari's father.

"Are you sure that you don't want a ride home instead?" Akari had asked Haku.

But Haku had just shaken his head, and replied, "It's okay, thanks; I only live about two blocks away from here."

So, Yuki, Chihiro and Haku went on their way. Yuki and Haku were talking animatedly ("I'm really sorry about your ankle, but that save was spectacular! I can't believe that you saved us the game!"), but Chihiro was silent. She kept on thinking about Kyoshiro. Why had he hurt Haku like that? Chihiro had seen that when Haku had moved the ball over, Kyoshiro had still had time to think twice about swinging his leg. . . and why, why had Haku looked so frightened when he realized who that was? Sure, she had seen the boy at school there. . . they had even been assigned to the same classroom in the seventh grade- she didn't talk to him much, though, because he was one of the popular kids, while Chihiro was still trying to fit in; she was still sort of new to the school then.

When they arrived at Yuki's house, Haku still had to go around the corner, so Chihiro kept on going with him. They walked in silence for a while, Chihiro still thinking about Kyoshiro, and Haku clumsily trying not to trip here and there as he hobbled along.

"Why so quiet?" He asked, trying to break the silence.

"Hmm?" Chihiro shook her head, to stop daydreaming. "Oh, sorry; I'm just doing some thinking."

"About what?"

"About Kyoshiro."

The smile Haku was wearing wore off the moment Chihiro mentioned the name.

"What about him?" He asked, without looking at Chihiro.

"I was just thinking about how he hurt you today. . ."

"It was nothing. Just an accident."

"It didn't look like an accident to me- he had time to think twice about kicking your leg!"

"Yeah, well, stuff happens. . ." Haku insisted.

Chihiro tried to change the topic, now that she knew that this talk wasn't going anywhere. "How come you looked so frightened?" She asked.

Haku didn't answer immediately. Chihiro had the impression that Haku was thinking of how much to tell her.

"No reason; he just surprised me. We've met before, and. . ." His voice trailed off. He fell silent for a while as he remembered the last time that he had seen Kyoshiro.

Haku was running as fast as he could go across the forest grounds. He couldn't believe what Kyoshiro had just done. 'Why did he do this?'he thought angrily. He tried to run faster as he caught a glimpse of Kyoshiro's white hair.

He still couldn't get over the shock of what had happened:

The last couple of days, it had been hard for Kohaku to stay calm while hanging out with Kyoshiro- he was becoming more and more rowdy and obnoxious. He would hide behind boulders close to roads, and would use his magic to make trees fall across the road when a group of unsuspecting humans were trying to cross with carts full of goods to trade in the town just down that road, forcing them to take other routes, sometimes across the forest. Most of them got lost, and only a couple managed to find a way out days, maybe weeks later, to Kyoshiro's displeasure.

Kohaku decided that he had had enough of everything that night when Kyoshiro succeeded in sneaking into a town and setting most of it on fire. "This is just too much!" he had said. Kyoshiro grinned at him in a malicious sort of way. "Why do you want to hurt the humans? They try their best to please the spirits, and this is the way you repay them? By destroying their homeland?!" Kohaku pointed furiously at the burning town.

Kyoshiro only sniggered. "Who cares about them? Besides, I am a spirit of darkness and mischief."

Kohaku's blood was pounding with rage. "You know what? I just- I just can't stand it." Kyoshiro looked at him, a bemused expression on his face. "I'm through with all this ruining villages, and stuff. I'm leaving."

"I see. . ." Kyoshiro said. "so the friendship's through isn't it?"

Kohaku nodded angrily. "Alright then," Kyoshiro closed his eyes for a second, and opened them again slowly. "Can we at least shake hands goodbye?" he asked.

Kohaku stared at Kyoshiro for a long time, and then stepped forward, and extended his hand. Kyoshiro did the same, his eyes glinting malevolently. They shook hands, but when Kohaku tried to withdraw his hand, Kyoshiro squeezed his hand tightly. Suddenly, Kohaku was aware of a tingling, then burning sensation in the palm of his hand. Kohaku gasped as Kyoshiro let go of his hand, and revealed to be holding a large sapphire stone the shape of a water droplet- Kohaku's magic stone. "How'd- how did you. . ." Kohaku stammered nervously.

"Simple spell I learned a while ago." Kyoshiro smiled evily. He shot Kohaku a piercing look, pocketed the stone, said "Thanks for the goodbye present, Nigihayami!" and ran towards the forest at top speed. Kohaku was stunned for a couple of seconds; he couldn't believe that he had just finished the friendship he had built with Kyoshiro, and that Kyoshiro had just called him by his last name. Then, he shook his head a couple of times to land back in reality.

"NO!" Kohaku cried, and ran to catch up with him.

After a couple of minutes, Kohaku came to a clearing; Kyoshiro was standing at the other side, throwing the stone in the air, and catching it quickly.

"Give me the stone." Kohaku said angrily. Kyoshiro smirked, and shook his head. "Sorry, can't do that." He said. Then the smirk vanished from his face, and was replaced by a very ugly look. "I've decided that it would be a pain if I just let you run amok. You could bump into another spirit and ask for help."

Kohaku gaped at Kyoshiro. "You wouldn't. . ."

"For power, I would do anything." Kyoshiro whispered. He put his hands together, and a blood red energy ball the size of a basketball began to form. He looked at Kohaku, and whispered "Ever seen one of these beauties? They grow; a lot, and then they surround anything I want it to. Whatever is trapped inside can be considered beyond hope. It sucks the energy away, till its victim is dead. In about a minute of a lot of pain, Nigihayami, you'll be no more." He grinned evilly. "So, it was nice being with you, Nigihayami. Goodbye."

Kyoshiro threw the energy ball at him. Kohaku was rooted to the spot. Without his powers, he couldn't do anything. He ducked and shielded his head with his hands, though he knew it was no good. He could almost feel the energy ball expand as it came closer to him. The ground around him was a violent shade of red now; he felt as if a thousand needles were sinking into his body. He sank slowly to his knees, and writhed around in agony. He heard Kyoshiro's sinister cackle of glee. Then, his vision, began to fog up. It was hard to breathe now.

But then, a strong wind blew loudly around the clearing. Nothing had happened to Kohaku. He was still alive. He looked up. Somehow, the energy ball had been deflected in Kyoshiro's direction, and he had blocked it. Though the energy ball hadn't killed Kohaku, he had been drained of most of his energy, and all he could see were faint blurs around him. But he could tell that another spirit was battling with Kyoshiro- and winning. Another great gust of wind blew across the clearing, and he saw the white blur that was Kyoshiro get lifted off his feet. Kyoshiro was suspended in the air for a couple of seconds before Kohaku felt him land hard against a boulder. Kohaku's sapphire flew from his pocket. It floated gently towards Kohaku. Then, a gentle voice echoed in Kohaku's ears as he pocketed the stone. "Leave quickly!"

Kohaku did as told, without looking back. But he still heard Kyoshiro's scream, "I'LL MAKE YOU PAY FOR THIS, NIGIHAYAMI!!!!"

A couple of days later, Kohaku's river had been drained and the land around it destroyed; he knew who had done it.

"Hello. . ." Chihiro waved her hand in front of Haku's face a couple of times. He had stopped walking suddenly, and was staring at a crack on the sidewalk.

Haku shook his head. "Oh, hey. Sorry bout that." They walked a bit further in silence. Then, Haku stopped, and said, "Well, this is home."

They had stopped in front of a large, aquamarine house, two stories high, with four windows in each floor. It had two small flowerbeds in the front, and a big porch. Haku limped to the gate to the backyard and attempted to open it, and keep hold of his crutches at the same time, but was unsuccessful. Chihiro had been gazing at the house in amazement, and hadn't noticed what Haku was doing. Haku cleared his throat loudly.

"Errm, Chihiro, could you help me here?" he asked.

"What?" Chihiro looked back down at him. "Oh! Sure." she went to open the gate, and Haku hobbled inside. He turned to Chihiro and asked, "Well? Wanna come in?"

"Um, sure," Chihiro said, "but, would you mind if I use your phone to call my mom and tell her where I am?"

Haku nodded, and led the way through the backyard. Chihiro was awed at how big it was. There were more flowerbeds near the house, a vegetable patch, and there was a large hammock tied between two old trees. And lying in the hammock was. . .

Chihiro gasped. "Lin?"

A/N: Ok, ok. . . I know I hadn't updated in a while, but that's because I was having a bit of trouble with my computer. I'm really sorry! I hope you liked the chapter. SooOo, e-mail me if you have any questions or comments, and pleez review my fic!! Till next chapter,
Appl3sauce