Disclaimer: I do not own Spirited Away

Chapter Three: Over the Hills and Far Away

It was raining, again. Chihiro was lying on her bed, listening to the falling water as it played its melody against the panes of her windows. Once again her thoughts were on the bathhouse twelve years ago and that rainy day the stink spirit had come. Unlike when it had rained over a month ago and she had been able to halt the memories from her mind, now she readily dwelled upon them. Perhaps not the healthiest habit, but it couldn't be helped after having seen Haku for the third time, now, a few days ago. She also thought again on the entrance to the spirit world and why it still would not open for her. Wondered if Haku was using that portal to come into the spirit world or not. Surely if he was, wouldn't it be opened to her, too? She had been hot on his trail, and yet, it looked the same as when she visited before and nothing like that first time twelve years prior. Could that mean he was using a different entrance altogether? She thought it possible. While racing after him from the park he was nowhere to be found, but she hastily went to the familiar location figuring that he'd go there, too. Yet, if that old amusement park could lead one to the spirit world, surely other portals were scattered around the prefecture. Around Japan. He could have easily made his way to one of these, instead, while she went to the seemingly broken portal below her house. This idea was a defeating one, she admitted. She had no way of knowing where to even look for another entrance to the spirit world. If the old theme park was an entrance, then old alleyways, forest paths, or any other common place location could lead her there, the girl theorized. It could take an entire lifetime to scour through just her city alone in search of another entrance, let alone all of Japan. Chihiro frowned deeply at the thought and sighed in her frustration.

"If that stupid portal would just work for a change my life would be so much easier," she mumbled to herself, referring to the theme park. She'd be able to get through and hunt down someone for some answers, even if it wasn't Haku. Ideally, she hoped to find him, first. By his reactions to her the past three times of seeing him, though, she wasn't sure if he'd even stick around long enough to indulge her questions. Regardless of that, someone would remember her, Chihiro argued. Someone from the bathhouse – Kamaji or Lin or Bō or Yubaba. Or Granny or No Face in Swamp Bottom. Wouldn't they? Twelve years had passed in the mortal realm. Was that equivalent to the spirit realm? Did time pass more quickly there than it did here? Chihiro felt defeated again at the idea. Perhaps countless decades had passed and no one was left to remember her. Perhaps the bathhouse wasn't even there, and everyone was gone, except Haku. It could explain why he suddenly showed up in the mortal world. It still didn't explain why he seemed to have forgotten about her, though.

"This isn't getting me anywhere," she admitted to herself as she rolled over onto her back and stared up at her ceiling. "Worrying and fretting won't help." Pursing her lips after, Chihiro made another deep sigh through her nose and pushed herself up into a sitting position. Over on her desk a stack of textbooks sat, taunting her with guilt and the many chapters she knew she should be reading at the moment. She couldn't muster up the energy that morning to study. Her parents were gone at work so no one was home to encourage her and check in on what she was doing. She would have had class that morning but her professor sent an email the night before announcing that they wouldn't be able to make it and a substitute couldn't be acquired on such a short notice. Chihiro had no qualms about missing class when she woke up to gloomy skies and rain. Her body was so accustomed to rising early that she had been up since six thirty. With the day off she hoped to catch up with some studying. But now and it was almost eleven and she was feeling a little guilty that she hadn't done anything that day aside from eat breakfast, watch a little television, and lay like a sloth in bed thinking about her past. Her stomach rumbled in anticipation for lunch so the young woman pushed aside the feelings of shame and drug herself out of bed, plodding downstairs to the kitchen to prepare herself some food.

She ate on the patio, watching as the rain fell down outside the shelter of the easement overhead. The mug of tea astride her plate plumed up steam against the crisp, spring air, whisping to and fro as gentle breezes swept through her backyard. Sometimes a stronger gust would blow through, pulling at the wind chimes hanging prettily from the patio cover. Their songs became louder and more aggressive, whether it was the metalling clanging of the copper one on one side or the thwacking of the bamboo one on the other. Chihiro fancied that after such a strong wind she'd see the white scaled and teal manned form of a dragon land gracefully down in the small span of grass beyond the patio. She would run up to meet him and hug his large head to her body and press her forehead to his and then they'd fly back to the bathhouse where Yubaba had prepared one more test for her in hopes of enslaving her for the remainder of her years. Chihiro blinked away the memory and frowned for the umpteenth time that day.

Finishing her meal, Chihiro retreated back to her room in attempts to study, but to no avail. Her mind could not focus on anything and she found herself rereading the same lines in her texts again and again. Leaning into her chair she let her head fall back. Mouth hanging open she groaned out loudly (since no one was home to question the action) and drug out the frustrated sound for many long seconds. Afterwards she brought her hands to her face to rub at her eyes, hoping to instill a sense of determination into her with the act. Needless to say it didn't work.

"I can't focus on anything!" she complained, falling forward again to slump her head into her hands, elbows propped up on the edge of the desk. Her eyes scanned the pages beneath her and she puffed out her cheeks and deflated them with a troubled exhale. "I have so much reading to do, but I can't make myself read this stuff right now," the girl continued to whine, sounding a lot like her ten-year-old self. She imagined the sight of her mother's face smiling in remembrance were she to have complained this to her, humor touching those eyes as the older woman thought back on memories of the girl's dissent to pretty much everything in life, Chihiro ruefully recalled. It was a feat in and of itself that her parents once tolerated her almost perpetual bitching. Such a thought caused her to grin, but it didn't help in her current predicament. She picked up her pen and tapped it against the glossy pages, trying once more to read. She only got in a paragraph before she realized that she hadn't even registered what the characters were explaining.

"Maybe," she murmured around the end of her pen that she had started to gnaw on – a habit she practiced when frustrated if the myriad of bite-marks on the plastic were any indication. "Maybe I just need another little break," she decided. She glanced to the clock also occupying her desk; it was a few minutes after 12:30. "Yea… just… just a little break."

And, of course, by a 'little break' she meant, 'I know damn well I'm not going to get any work done right now so I'm just gonna give up and not fool myself any longer'. Even further, it meant she was going to go and pay a visit to the theme park. Again. She had to at least try and pretend for the sake of her grades and for the money being spent for her schooling that she would get some work done that day. Definitely not now, but eventually.

Chihiro changed into something practical before racing downstairs. At the foyer she hastily pulled on a pair of rain boots with a black and white houndstooth pattern, and a raincoat that was navy blue with red accents. Last she grabbed her umbrella, not caring if the black and white polka-dotted pattern clashed with the jagged checkmarks of her boots. It was the only umbrella left, anyway. At least the colors matched, she mused to herself as she pulled out her keys from her pocket to lock the door behind her as she left. She'd try and make it back before her parents got back home in a few more hours. She didn't want them worrying about her when she had told them she wasn't going to leave the house because of the rain. If they knew about her obsession with the old theme park they probably wouldn't have believed her. But, they didn't, and admittedly Chihiro wasn't feeling very confident about the visit to come. It was just a means to placate her troubles and to help rid herself of the restlessness she was feeling, so she wasn't planning to stay very long.

So, down her street she went, making her way to the stone-set road that would lead her back there. With the rain she took a leisurely pace, satisfied with the way her boots would smack against the wet ground as she walked through puddles. She didn't care how old she was – playing in puddles was always gratifying. Eventually the old path was before her and she didn't hesitate to continue onto it. With the rain falling, small rivulets of water wove their way down the hillside between the little houses and the stones of the road below her, continuing on down the hill to the left of the path. It seemed to take a long time to head down it. Perhaps because she wasn't running full throttle in the hopes of catching a certain someone. Chihiro huffed out a breathy laugh at the notion, but couldn't help but wonder again where Haku currently was and what he was doing. As she rounded a bend in the road she saw the old red building in the distance and the statue before it. Despite the endless frustration it brought her it was a welcome sight to see. She thought back to when she had left the thing after her crazy adventure; how it had been just a solid, stone wall covered with foliage and nothing like the red faced building she now looked upon. That had greatly troubled her back then when she had finally mustered up the courage to return. Chihiro had feared that it would be the same, stone wall that would either not lead her to the spirit world at all, or lead her someplace within the realm she was not familiar with, far, far away from the bathhouse and from Haku - as if her leaving the other realm somehow reset the portal, making sure she could never return. Somehow it had changed back to the structure they first happened upon, but crossing over to the spirit world, whether it was to the bathhouse or not, had been, of course, futile in the end. The girl thought that it was at least a good sign that the building had always stayed the same since then. If, for some reason both were gone completely and the path brought her to a dead end, she knew she would be devastated. Even thinking on that was too troubling a thought to entertain so she quickly squashed it down before it could take root in her mind.

Entering inside, Chihiro closed her umbrella now that the rain wasn't a threat. It dripped a trail behind her alongside the wet footprints her boots left. Eventually these dried out as she entered into the lobby. The pillars and empty wooden benches welcomed her like old friends. With the sunlight blocked out by the grey clouds above, the round, colored windows did not shine happily into the area, casting their various hued reflections onto the floor below as they often did during her visits here. Approaching one of the benches the girl sat, resting her umbrella against the edge of the thing. Admittedly her legs were a little tired from the walk, as well as her arms from holding onto her umbrella during the trip. It was pleasant to simply sit and listen to the rain falling against the building. It made her smile when she thought back to her youth and her first visit here. She would have never wanted to stay alone inside the building. In truth it was a little spooky, Chihiro thought to herself as she glanced about. The shadows fell heavily in the corners of the building, ominous and threatening. But the woman didn't mind. After those days in the spirit realm not much scared her anymore. At least, she liked to think so. Following that experience, her parents had noted the drastic change in their daughter, unable to fathom just what could have altered her disposition so profoundly. Chihiro of course played it off for what it really had been. She simply told her parents that she was getting too old to be scared. Too old to complain about everything all the time – that that was for children and she certainly was no longer a child. Her parents had been greatly bemused by such a proclamation, but Chihiro held fast to her words, surprising them. Her adventure had made her realize just how much she had grown in but a few, fleeting days, and that she wasn't the same, spoiled brat kid anymore. She was determined to prove to everyone that she had changed. She owed a lot to her time in the spirit world. If not for those trials she knew she wouldn't be the same person she was today. Another smile pulled on her mouth and she closed her eyes.

They flashed open a moment later when the sound of something off in the distance caught her ear. Her mouth fell open, though she held her breath as she listened.

"Was that…?" she breathed out, but her worlds trailed off, unable to finish the thought. The woman sat up straighter, straining her ears. Her heart was suddenly racing and it felt like it was in her throat. Again she heard the sound, and this time she wasn't mistaken.

Chihiro leapt up from the bench and begun to sprint her way through the lobby towards the tunnel that would lead her to the rolling hills. Her umbrella was forgotten and it slipped to the floor from her sudden movements. The sound of her footsteps smacked loudly as she ran. When she emerged rain instantly fell down upon her but she paid it no heed. The tall, wet grass was slumped over as she ran through it, streaking against her boots or the hem of her raincoat. She bothered not with her hood and eventually her brow was wet and her hair littered with drops of water. Slipping once, she fell hard to the ground but the wet earth took the impact more easily than it would have on a warm, dry day. Unfazed by the pain now radiating from her left knee she continued onward a little more carefully, but no less feverish on her path. Down the sloping hill and then up the side of another the girl ran. She almost slipped once more but caught herself last minute before she could and tumble back down. Pulse rapid, chest hitching, eyes wide, the girl fought against gravity as she ascended and then stopped when she reached the top of the grassy knoll. Heavy breaths fell from her open mouth, visible against the chill air as they left her parted lips. The white clouds dissipated as they floated away. Frantic eyes looked down from the hilltop and didn't even register the presence of the riverbed below, the usual small, babbling stream now a small river rushing through it. They could only stare incredulously at the flight of grey, stone stairs that ascended up the hillside across from her. The frog was there, though no water poured out from its mouth pointed up to the heavens. No, it was still far too early in the day for that. At the base the lantern tower was there, too, its rice paper shade protected by the little pointed eave it sported. Off to the right was the ramshackle hut. Chihiro swallowed hard, her entire body quaking with the realization of what she saw. The stairs where there! After twelve, long years they were finally there. Beyond them she could even see the old buildings; the storefronts making their way up the path that would lead to the restaurants, and eventually the bathhouse beyond. The eateries would be empty at this time of the day. It was still early, perhaps about two o'clock, now. She had a watch on her wrist but she made no move to look at it, only having eyes for the scene before her. The girl felt like she could cry at the sight, but no tears were shed. Swallowing hard once more against her ragged breaths, the woman was spurred into motion again when she heard that same, familiar sound in the distance.

Down the hill she went, slipping towards the end and sliding the rest of the way to the bottom. She stopped her fall with a stretched out foot, bracing herself as it hit a large boulder. Luckily the rubber soles of her rain boots absorbed a good amount of the jarring impact. She scrambled up to her feet after, ignoring the way her foot still tingled, grass clinging to her raincoat and her hands stained a faint shade of green. Thankfully the water in the riverbed wasn't too high, allowing the woman to hop her way across the expanse without threatening to topple her over. She went a little more quickly than she should considering the rain and the mossy, slippery rocks, but in her haste she wasn't paying much heed to her well-being. Chihiro was still too shocked to do anything other than make her way as fast as she could to the bathhouse, mind reeling and heart bounding with joy and surprise and relief. Reaching the stairs she made her way up. Small patches of moss and grass grew here and there on the stone or in the cracks from the dirt below. Chihiro could have laughed at the sight of it all; it was just as she remembered it to be twelve years ago. She had no doubt that this was same part of the spirit world that she had been to all those years ago. She had finally made it through! After all these years the portal finally worked! She felt ten years old all over again as she crested the staircase.

Stopping for a moment she caught her breath, her sides searing and lungs burning. Her head was drenched, now, and water dripped down beneath her collar and dampened her sweater she wore under her rain coat. Still, she didn't care. It didn't matter if her face and hands were freezing, her left knee throbbing and her right foot aching. She was here! She urged herself onward, continuing up the path from the stairs that would lead her through the little city of shops. In the distance she saw another set of stairs, this one much smaller than the one leading up from the river. The brightly colored buildings with their unlit neon lights flanked them and the path beyond. Chihiro chanced a quick glance to the building besides her, imaging how those lights would look lit up in just another couple of hours from now. Turning her attention back to the path before her and to the stair she was approaching, Chihiro saw something that made her suddenly skid to a halt. Almost slipping for what seemed the hundredth time that day in moist earth beneath her feet, she put out her arms to stop herself and thankfully managed to stay standing. Her eyes widened even further and her breath hitched at the person standing at the top of the stairs, blocking the path. Recognizing him instantly, she now had no more desire to continue onward. That guarded, but curious look was on his face again. Her polka-dotted umbrella was in his hand. Like her he was damp with rain, though not nearly as soaked through as Chihiro looked. It clung to the ends of his hair and dripped onto his shoulders. Those green eyes burned brightly even without the light of the sun to illuminate them. In the distance she heard the same sound which had spurred her into action at the entrance to the park: the train. Neither the girl nor the spirit acknowledged its song and only continued to stare at the other. What felt like an eternity passed before he finally spoke.

"You shouldn't be here." Chihiro felt washed over with déjà vu at those words, but this time it wasn't the voice of a child she heard. Deeper, though no less intimidating, the man now sounded as he said this to her. Chihiro felt a shiver run down her spine. She couldn't tell if it was from the cold, her excitement, or the shock of seeing him here and finally hearing his voice after so long. "If they find you here they will kill you." Or turn me into a pig… or a lump of coal, Chihiro couldn't help but follow up silently to that statement. She berated herself for the thought. He seemed quite sure of himself, though, in that she would die were she to be discovered. She wasn't ten years old anymore. She hadn't come here by accident. Chihiro was an adult now, and no longer a child, and had ventured back into the spirit world willingly, purposefully, and she would have to face those consequences. It didn't seem like he held her to the same accountability, though, otherwise she had a feeling that she would already be dead. It made her hopeful.

"Why did you come here, Human?" he went onto ask when she didn't answer him. At that statement she felt her expression fall a little, and that hope dwindled a bit. So, it was true: he didn't remember her. A pit of sorrow started to form in Chihiro's heart at this confirmation. "I know you can talk. Answer me." There was a hint of warning on his voice and his eyes flashed brighter in his impatience. Chihiro struggled to find her voice, but tried to, not wanting to rouse his temper further.

"I… I…" She stumbled, lips quavering with the words she wanted to say to him but could not find the heart to. I came here for you, she answered him in her mind. Obviously he could not read her thoughts and he just continued to glare at her impatiently.

"It is said that a Witch rules over these lands. If she finds you here it will not end well for you," he informed her. Chihiro could only nod her head in acknowledgement. Swallowing, she finally found her voice.

"I know," she said, the words but a whisper from her lips but he seemed to have heard, regardless. She saw his brow twitch slightly to her response, as if he couldn't believe what she had said.

"You know?" he reaffirmed her answer and confirmed his disbelief. She nodded. "How? Have you been here before?" Chihiro felt the strong urge to laugh again, now at the cruelty she felt fate had dealt her. Of course she had been! He was the first spirit to find her here! He was the one who helped her! He was the reason she was able to save her parents and return to the mortal realm! She felt like she should be the one asking the questions, here. Why had he forgotten about her? Why hadn't he come to the mortal realm to meet her sooner if he had the ability to do so? Why now was she finally able to cross over to the spirit world after so many years? And if he apparently did not know her, why was he here, currently talking to her? Did he have an underlying sense of obligation to help humans who entered into his world, whether he knew them or not? She didn't ask him any of these things, though, reminding herself that she was trespassing once again in this world.

"Yes," she told to him instead, and across his face an emotion flashed so fast that she couldn't be sure exactly what it had been. "Twelve… twelve years ago. By accident." Those intense eyes held her own.

"Perhaps that long ago it had been an accident as you were only a child then; you coming here today looked anything but," he accused her, and Chihiro could only stare at him. "You returned here willingly. If you have been here before then you know you should not be here, now." Chihiro knew this. Of course she knew. She knew, too, that if she lingered she could also disappear if she did not eat something from the realm. The woman refrained from looking down at her hands to see if they were already beginning to turn translucent.

"I know," she said once more. He frowned more deeply.

"Then why? Why have you come here?" he asked again, urgency on his voice. Again she could only remain silent, not knowing how to answer. She thought he would become more irate but he didn't. In fact, his face softened just slightly, and on it passed the emotion she couldn't place earlier: it was hope. Just miniscule but it was there. He took a step down onto the stair below him, then another, but after stopped, not descending the rest of the way. Chihiro was still frozen in place as the rain fell down upon them. He was just as soaked as she was, now.

"Could…" He hesitated, as if he wasn't sure he wanted to finish whatever it was he had wanted to say. Licking his lips, the spirit seemed to have found his resolve, and in a quiet voice he asked: "Could it be that you know me?" For a moment Chihiro saw such vulnerability on that handsome face that she felt like she could have cried for him and the torment he was undoubtedly feeling. Her voice but a whisper, she answered him.

"Yes."

Closing his eyes a brief moment as if he couldn't believe his ears, the spirit took in a breath. Upon opening them, his former, stoic expression returned on his face, though nearly not as guarded as before. He descended down the remaining stairs and approached the woman with the air of someone important even if he didn't seem to remember who he was. Opening her umbrella as he neared, he deftly hoisted it and when he was close enough to the woman, he stopped and extended the thing out to shield her from the rain. Chihiro, still holding her breath from his sudden advancement, exhaled when it seemed he meant her no harm, and those grey eyes swept down to look at the hand he presented to her.

"Come. We have much to discuss, you and I," the spirit bade her, his voice quiet but firm. It sounded like he wasn't trying to make it seem like an order. Like she had a choice in the matter and could refuse him if she wanted despite the intensity of his expression. Chihiro knew she didn't have one, and he looked sure that she wouldn't object. It almost made her feel irked. Almost.

Without a second thought the girl put her hand in his and let him lead her away.

Author's Notes: Hello everyone! Finally, after what seems forever, I found the muse to write another chapter out before school starts!

Hope you enjoyed some Chihiro/Haku enteraction~ :)