Notes: Chapter One was rewritten. Standard disclaimers. Yeah.

The Imperfections We Weave

Chapter 7- Home

"Ah-ooow," I groaned as I sat up slowly, grabbing my aching head that caused my vision to blur horribly. Every slight movement I made emitted a creaking sound from the thing that I was lying on.

The thing I had landed on.

My ears met the sound of water hitting the earth, and my skin felt the intense mugginess of the place.

"Where am I?" I asked no one in particular, still rubbing my forehead. Finally, my vision cleared enough that I could see.

My lips parted, just barely, and I breathed out a tiny, maudlin gasp.

A familiar soft, subdued light filtered through the multi-colored panes of glass that decorated the round windows, filling the room with a dusky half-light. The floor was dusty and scattered with pebbles from the crumbling beams and dried up leaves. I was thrown over one of the numerous benches in the room.

And it was pouring outside.

'How depressing,' I thought glumly, stretching my sore legs. 'My first day back and the sky is practically falling out.'

I stood up gradually, wobbling a little bit, then began trudging towards the doorway that led outside. To the Spirit World. To...

I was afraid that the second I walked through the barrier, I would wake up and it would have all been a terrible nightmare. I would be left heartbroken, once again.

"But it feels real enough," I muttered to myself.

Minutes that felt like hours hung in midair as I tried to gather my courage.

'It's now or never, Chihiro.' I held my breath and closed my eyes tightly, and bolted through to the other side as fast as I could. All the while I chanted a mantra in my head of," It's not a dream. I will make it through. It's not a dream! I will make it through!"

I opened my eyes and stood there, staring out into the distance, the rain washing over me. But I didn't care. I was too happy to cry, or laugh, or even think anything.

I was home!

At first, I took a few unsure steps that turned into a jog, then a sprint. I ran through the ocean of grass that reached my waist and past the decorative buildings. I reached the unfinished river bed and slipped on a wet rock, hitting my head, but it didn't matter. I was home again, and I couldn't wait. I ran past the restaurants with the enticing smell of food that taunted my nose and stomach. I ran up so many stairs that I felt I couldn't run anymore. I ran, and I ran, and I ran.

The bridge stood before me, I had stopped running. I took my first few steps on it, cautiously as if it would crumble away beneath my feet at any moment. I couldn't stop myself from dropping to my knees, my face in my hands. And I cried. I sobbed and heaved so hard that I couldn't breath, the rain mixing with my tears on the bridge where my whole life began.

And I didn't care. It didn't matter. None of it mattered. Because it was real and I was home with Rin, and Kamajii, and all my other friends.

"You shouldn't be here," Resonated a rich voice through the thick rain and fog that I recognized instantly. A voice full of laughter and depth and complexity.

The tears stopped, as did time it seemed like. Slowly, inch by inch, my head drifted up of its own accord. If it were up to me, I would have already been in his arms, but my body denied me any such privilege so soon.

"You're…," I stared at him for the longest time. It didn't seem to matter to him, though; he seemed just as enthralled with my being there as I was with his. "You're…real."

"And you're…here," He responded.

"Kohaku," I let his name roll off my tongue. Immediately I felt the tears well up in my eyes once again. A silent stream of water joined the accumulating puddles, and I turned so that my hair shielded my face. "I thought that I'd never see you again."

I heard the sound of Kohaku's flimsy flip flops hitting the bridge, and waited. He tucked a thumb and forefinger underneath my chin and lifted my face so that he could tell me everything he had to say in one glance.

Those deep pools of olive-green that held so much emotion. So bright and full of life, so caring. Nothing in the world was as wonderful as his gaze, and nothing in the world could hold so much passion and meaning in one glance. Kohaku truly was wonderful.

"I'll never leave you again, Chihiro. Never," He told me and pulled me hurriedly into a hug. I sobbed silently into his comforting neck, soaking his already soaked clothes (A/N: What is the thing that Kohaku wears called?). I knew what he said was the truth; I felt it in his strong embrace and heard it in his thick voice. "I'll stay with you forever."

After a handful of minutes (after the tears had slowed), he grasped my shoulders firmly but gently and pulled me away from him. I could feel his eyes looking me up and down, inspecting and measuring me. A worried look came across his face.

"What happened?" He pondered aloud, reaching up and touching the small cut on my forehead.

"I slipped on a rock in the river bed..," I explained quietly, shying away from his touch. He grabbed my hand instead and helped me up.

"You'll catch a cold if you stay out here much longer," He fussed at me, leading me inside the Aburaya.

As we neared the end of the bridge, I could have sworn I saw a dark figure standing in Yubaba's window. A creepy, evil looking guy that stared me down with a mischievous smirk on his face.

"Who-?" I stopped myself, and could sense that Kohaku was listening. What if it was just my imagination? I would feel like such an idiot if I asked who the person was, and there was no one there. "Nevermind."

"Are you sure?" He asked in response.

"Yes," I said, all of a sudden sounding very small and subdued.

We were in the bathhouse, and I could feel everyone's eyes boring through me. To say the least, I was nervous.

But that didn't last long.

"SEN!" I heard Rin scream at the top of her lungs, and immediately the room erupted in curious whispers.

"Rin!" I screamed back, forcing myself loose from Kohaku's grasp and running into her open arms. She grabbed my shoulders and pulled me back.

"Wow, how long has it been? Look at you! You've grown," She dawdled on. "Quite a bump you've got there."

"Yeah, I slipped in the river bed and hit my head," I justified the knot's cause quickly. "It's been around five years in the human world. How long has it been here?"

"Really, that long? It's only been a couple of weeks here," She said, astonished. Then she sobered up. "You have to go see Yubaba!"

She hooked her right arm through my left and dragged me over to Kohaku, who entwined his left arm with my right. A blush crept onto my face; I felt like Dorothy from The Wizard of Oz.

We reached Yubaba's office after climbing thousands of stairs, and burst into the room.

The witch jumped and looked up from the person she was talking to in surprise.

"You! What are you doing back here? Seem to have a knack at finding trouble, don't you, little girl?" She hissed condescendingly.

But I hadn't heard any of this; I was too preoccupied with her guest.

"I-It's you! You're the guy I saw in the window from the bridge!" I said loudly, pointing at him.

I suddenly felt the tenseness of the room, and saw Kohaku slightly step between me and the strange person sitting in the arm chair. I couldn't help but give a tiny smile; it was cute how he tried to protect me.

"Yes," Interrupted Yubaba. "Karu alerted me of your arrival."

I gave her a look that clearly said, 'I didn't ask you anything.'

"Karu…?" I questioned. Kohaku was nudging me in the side ever so softly; something was definitely wrong, I could feel it.

"Hmm, yes, my name," He purred, rising from the chair he was once sitting in. "I think that it would be a good idea if I left… Don't you, Kohaku?"

I looked down to see Kohaku's fist clenched. It was a tiny, almost inaudible, sound, but I could swear I heard a growl resonating from him.

Karu exited the room swiftly, and it remained deathly quiet.

"What's going on?" I asked, near panicking, looking around frantically.

Rin's gaze caught mine and her eyes averted to the door.

'There's something you should know," She mouthed to me. I nodded and continued on as normal.

Scene

Finally! Took me longer to write that one for some reason. How was it? Good? Bad? Should I do this Chapter in Haku's view next time, or just a continuation of this chapter?Review! Review now! (Places cookie on 'Go!' button) Please?