Paths of the Heart

Chapter 8

-Memories-

Disclaimer- I do not own Spirited Away. It belongs to someone with a name that I cannot even pronounce and my eternal envy.

Haku walked along, aimlessly going nowhere. Though he was no longer Yubaba's apprentice, he still worked at the bath house to some degree. Most of the time he was a messenger, a job that he did not mind as much as perhaps he should have. At least it gave him something to do, a job. Yubaba had not been particularly pleased when he had revealed to her that he remembered his own name, and the contract was null. At first she had shrugged it off, thinking that he would return to her when he was unable to acquire work anywhere else. She had been furious when he had found himself a job working as a messenger for some of the greater spirits and gods.

He flinched, since that job had landed him right back at the place that he had fought so hard to leave. And the old hag had been about as happy to see him as he was to see her again. He had arrived in the company of one of the greater river spirits, the same one that Chihiro had aided seven years ago, in fact. The spirit was Haku's current assignment, and to gain some peace from both his colleagues and his duties, he had decided to take a break and do business from the bath house while he was on vacation.

Hence the reason that Haku had found himself back at that blasted place. Yubaba was not even the worst aspect of it all, though that was the reason that he offered to the outside world. The memories that came with returning to that wretched bathhouse were the things that truly plagued him and tore at his heart. Though it was nice to see Kamaji and Lin again, they only added to his misery. At least they understood what was actually troubling him though, and were kind enough to keep their respective traps shut. Even Lin, with her biting tongue and quick wit, would not use her as a weapon. In her heart, he knew the often seemingly cranky Lin missed her in her own way.

Her.

Chihiro.

Haku winced and mentally kicked himself. It a routine that he had become quite accustomed to, as he tended to perform it several times a day. But then he sighed. He had time right now, so...why not? In his minds eye he saw her again, still as a young girl. Even though he knew that she had to have grown, he still had a hard time imagining her as anything but the ten year old girl that he had helped rescue her parents all those years ago. He remembered her smile, and her strength, and the courage that rested under the whiny surface that was a young girl.

Her smile, her laughter. Her love.

Still he could remember the pain, and waking up to discover that she had gone and risked herself in an attempt to save him. How was she now? Had she forgotten about him? The memory of the promise that he had made her plagued him as well, for the simple reason that, at least for the moment, he had no way to fulfill it. With the destruction of his river he had lost the ability to travel freely between the human and the spirit world. One of his hopes when he had accepted the job as a messenger for the greater spirits was that he would be able to discover a way between the worlds, but as of now, one had yet to present itself. Even Zeniba could not aid him in that regard.

As the witches name wormed its way into his mind he had to smile a bit. Yubaba's twin, a mirror image in appearance but possessor of a completely different personality and demeanor, had eventually forgiven him for his thievery. Chihiro had become one subject that they both had strong feelings for, and often the topic of their conversation on the rare occasions that he had reason to be at in the area of her dwelling. The witch had developed a strong relationship with Chihiro during the girls short sojourn in the spirit world, going so far as to have the youth start calling her granny. Through the hair tie that Bo? And the birdy-thingy ( -A/N- I don't know if it has a name or a proper title or not, so for right now we are just going to call it the birdy thingy, all right?) and No-Face had made forher Zeniba was able to sort of keep tabs on Chihiro, but all that she had been able to tell him was Chihiro was doing all right and that she was happy.

Though not very thorough news, it had offered Haku a bit of comfort, as it made him feel better about letting her go in the first place. Still, it would have been nice to know if she missed him as much as he missed her, or even thought about him occasionally. He refused to believe the alternative that Zeniba had suggested on his first visit, the possibility that she had forgotten about him and her visit to the spirit world entirely. His heart simply would not allow him to think that, even though his head continually told him that it was probably the truth.

But just as it always did, that thought led him to others. What if she had forgotten? Had she found someone else to love, or, as another part of his mind pointed out cruelly, had a ten year old even truly known what love was? Had she really loved him, as he had loved her, loved everything about her. Kamaji had laughed at his fears, pointing out that Chihiro had run off to beg Zeniba's forgiveness in his stead, even after having met Yubaba and been told that her sister was far worse and much more powerful. And she had broken the curse laid upon him for his thievery before ever arriving at the witches house. A curse that Zeniba had declared could only be broken by the power of...love.

He paused at the edge of the river. He could not even remember heading that direction, or how he had arrived here. Looking across the great expanse of water, he thought about the human world, and of the one thing dear to his heart that rested there. As the sun set, he turned away, resigned to another night spent in the bath house, most likely with nothing to do. Perhaps he would walk down to the boiler room and see Kamaji. The six armed spirit always had a way of making him feel better.

Then, in the fading light, a flicker of scarlet caught his attention. Curious, and not all that eager to return to the bath house, Haku changed his course to have a closer look. As he drew closer the odd shaped lump on the ground slowly began to take shape, and after a few more steps he realized that it was human. His eyes flew to the sun sinking on the horizon, almost gone from sight now, and he cursed violently. Racing the last few steps to the limp figure, he fell to his knees and rolled it over roughly. "Who are you? What are you doing here? You need to-. !. Chihiro...?"

Dark eyes gazed up into his own, and the girl moaned gently. The blood caked on her head was dry for the most part, though his rough handling had opened the wound again. She did not respond, in her delirium did not even seem to recognize him. But he would know her anywhere. She had grown a bit taller, and was still slender, though the pleasing figure of a woman now gracing her body, and not the gawkiness of youth, and she had allowed her hair to grow out as well. But it was her.

A fleeting feeling impressed itself on Haku's mind, and the curses flowing from his mouth in a steady stream grew darker and more bitter. He was being summoned, he had a job to do. But he could not leave her there. There were spirits who still did not take kindly to the thought f humans in the spirit world, except in the form of bacon, and they would finish her gladly. Though the witch would happily take her in and care for her, Zeniba's was too distant in light of the summons he had just received. Which left him with one option. Morphing into his dragon form, he gathered her into his claws carefully, and paused to look at her tired face before leaping skyward.

Another chapter. Is everyone happy now? Thank-you to everyone who has reviewed this story, I really do appreciate it! Same as always ya'll. Please R&R. Positive re-enforcement might lead to a sooner update, constructive criticism always welcome and flames.. shrug Flame me if you desire. It make no difference. I'll use them as night lights or something. If anyone cares or give me the name for the birdy-thingy I'll fix it when I get the chance.