I do realise that I haven't updated for more than a week. I was starting to feel bad, so I shoved aside the tons of homework, assignments (and purposefully forgot that I have those yearly exams in two weeks) and wrote this chapter. It's longer than the other chapters (hehe) and I hope you like it! And I'm sorry for not updating for more than a week.

Thanks to all that reviewed!

(imagine a disclaimer here)

Kohaku emerged from the tunnel and walked down the dirt track, the only clearly-marked route he could see. There was a slight, unusual bounce in his step, as he could barely contain his excitement at seeing Chihiro again. It was only a few days but it felt like ages.

Looking up at the small town at the top of the hill, he realised with a start that he didn't know where Chihiro lived. After a moment of contemplating that fact, he decided to ask the first person he saw. Suddenly he wondered if he was going to start disappearing like Chihiro did, when she was in the spirit world. He looked down at himself, but he was still solid as ever.

Walking past a block of houses, he noticed that across the road in a park, there was a man sitting on a bench with his back to the road. Deciding to ask him for directions, he walked over and asked politely, "Excuse me sir, do you know where a girl named Chihiro lives?"

The man didn't even acknowledge his presence.

Kohaku tried again, "Excuse me?"

He leaned over to get a better look at the man, peering under his hat. His eyes were blank and seemingly looking right through Kohaku. He hesitated for a moment, then waved his hand up and down in front of his face. He didn't even blink.

Then he stood up and began to walk unseeingly into Kohaku. He jumped out of the way just in time, thereby bumping into a nearby rosebush.

"Watch it!" said a girlish voice from within.

Kohaku jumped again. Laughing, the rose spirit materialised from the bush. She had soft pink hair and a slight greenish cast to her skin. Long lashes and gracefully rounded hips completed the definite feminine look.

She asked teasingly, "Surprised seeing a spirit when you're one yourself?" She looked him up and down. "A river spirit?"

Kohaku nodded slightly.

"Nice, but you're pretty young. However…" she trailed off, eyeing him appraisingly. Then she rushed on, "My name's Tenshi Bara." She bowed.

He returned the gesture formally and said, "Kohaku."

"Short name."

He nodded, agreeing, as he didn't really want to give her his whole name just yet. He didn't trust her suggestiveness.

She rattled on, "I haven't heard of the Kohaku River. Is it around here?"

He shook his head slightly.

"Oh well." Then she switched topics quick as lightning. "Say, you do know that humans can't see you when you're still in the spirit world, right?"

He blinked. "This isn't the human world?"

Bara rolled her eyes heavenward and said, "Of course not, silly. If a stinky human ever saw us, they'd probably scream in terror and go insane while they're at it. They're all like that."

Kohaku gave her a hard look that went unnoticed.

"So," she said invitingly, "if you're not in a hurry or anything, you can keep me company for a while, couldn't you? Those tree spirits are so very boring."

He was tongue-tied for a moment. "Actually…do you know where a girl called Chihiro lives?"

She pouted. "You don't want to stay?"

"Maybe another time," he lied blandly.

The rose spirit brightened. "All right then. It's that blue house over there." She pointed to the end of the street. "Though I can't imagine why you want to see a stinky human," she grumbled. Still muttering about the unfairness of life and crazy spirits, she disappeared back into her rosebush.

Kohaku sighed almost audibly in relief. Then he set off down the street.

The rose spirit was right, though. This couldn't be the human world. Sure, he could see and hear the humans walking down the street all right, but they couldn't see him. For the better, perhaps. After all, what would they think when they saw a strange boy wearing the traditional dress when they were wearing modern clothes?

It was strange though – both worlds were in the same place but at the same time they weren't. It was confusing, and he decided he'd have to ask Zeniba about that sometime.

Then a thought struck him. If he was technically still in the spirit world, and humans couldn't see or hear him, how was Chihiro supposed to know he was here? But he kept going. He wanted to at least catch a glimpse of her.

Reaching the blue house the rose spirit had indicated, he looked up. It was a small, cosy two-storey house with four windows – two upstairs and two downstairs. There was a little gravel path that led up to a dark blue door, the colour matching the wooden gate in front of him.

He pushed it open, but to his shock, his hand went straight through the painted wood. He pulled back his hand from it as if it were hot iron. Then he cautiously tried again, with the same results.

Suddenly realisation dawned upon him and he almost smiled at his stupidity. He was in the spirit world, and the gate was in the human world. It was so simple.

He walked right through the fence and straight into the front door, coming out to a short, carpeted hallway. It was dimly lit, and significantly cooler than outside. From the sunlit room at the end of the hallway floated voices, one of which he could recognise. His pulse quickened and he hurried towards the sound.

And then he saw her. The all too innocent, childlike face, her soft voice carrying across the room, the brown hair; everything…she looked exactly as he remembered her. Though it had only been a few days, but still…

"Dad, did you find out why the movers had already left when we came? We had only been a little while through that tunnel," Chihiro was saying.

That brought Kohaku up short.

Her dad replied from across the table, "I don't know, all they said was we didn't come for several days, so they left. I'm sure they were lying. Lousy movers…never using them again." He tucked into his lunch.

Chihiro's mother advised, "You should lodge a complaint."

Chihiro poked her food absently. "But Dad, didn't you tell them they were wrong? That they're playing some trick on us?" She looked around the table. "It couldn't have been days," she said firmly, "we just went in to look at that theme park and came straight back out. Right, mummy?"

"That's right, honey."

Kohaku backed away slowly, not wanting to hear anymore. She had forgotten everything. She had forgotten the spirit world, her adventures, and her friends. She had forgotten him.

A wave of sadness engulfed him, and he felt as if he had been tricked. Yet, strangely enough, he felt no hate towards her. In a strange way, he accepted her decision; her choosing to forget him. But he knew he would always love her.

He blinked back tears, standing alone in the dark corridor. Suddenly he spun on his heel and left, never to return.

Okay, now that you've read that, it's time for you to REVIEW! Yes, that's right. Tell me what you think! All kinds of comments (good/bad/rude) are welcome!

I hear that pressing the blue button for submitting reviews does indeed bring you good luck. ;)

Reposted 22/11/05 to remove review responses