Chihiro took one step, and then another. She walked all the way down the tunnel, keeping rhythm with the sound of her echoing feet.

She stopped immediately when she entered the giant church-like room with the stained glass windows. Something about it used to be spooky to her 6 years ago. But now, at 15, there was an unspoken beauty to it.

It was peaceful. The colored light that shone down from the glass was very familiar to her. Chihiro recalled holding her father's arm as they had walked though the room. But somehow, the entire room had a different feeling now that she was alone.

Continuing onwards, she inhaled quickly when she saw where she was now.

The field.

The same field that haunted her every time she laid her head on her pillow. For some reason, she expected it to look different, but it was still exactly the same as it had always been.

She began to walk.

Chihiro could see a mirage of her and Haku, saying their last goodbyes. 6 years later, after reliving it thousands of times in her dreams, she knew every line, every movement.

It's so strange,she thought. It's been 6 years, but being here now, it feels as though it's only been a day.

Her heart felt different than she thought it would be. She had expected it to be racing, but she couldn't find any excitement there at all. She was entirely calm; no anxiety, no fear. It felt natural.

Climbing the steps that led to the shops and merchants square, she saw the stand where her parents had turned into pigs. And there, on top of the center table, stood piles upon piles of exotic, wondrous smelling food. Although it looked delicious, it was certainly not enough to tempt Chihiro after what had happened before. In fact, the very sight of the food made her want to burst out laughing.

It was still mid-afternoon, so the lights wouldn't change for quite a while yet. She took her time walking to the bridge of the bathhouse; her mind caught in a reverie.

Now standing on the bridge, she half expected to see a young boy with striking emerald eyes staring at her, asking what she was doing there, telling her to get out.

Something in her head finally clicked.

Wait a minute, is Haku even still working here?! She thought in urgency, recalling that she told him to quit being Yubaba's apprentice. Chihiro wanted to punch herself for only now remembering this.

Nevermind,she thought. I came this far, and I am not turning back, no matter what. If he isn't here, I'll find him.She thought with determination.

As she walked down the bridge, she noticed something frightening. The tips of her shoes were becoming transparent.

Her eyes widened.

I'm… disappearing?!

God, how stupid was she? You'd think after going through this once before, she'd remember. She burst into a sprint; to where, she didn't know.

I'll go to Kamaji's, Maybe he'll have some spare soot food!

She was glad nobody had seen her. Chihiro knew that if anyone spotted her, they'd have questioned her; taking up precious time before she'd disappear completely.

Chihiro came to the wooden stairs that led to the boiler room. As a younger girl, she used to be terrified of falling to her doom. Sadly, that was the one thing that hadn't changed since that time. She thought she might as well get it over with; picking up speed, she skipped every other step on her way down. Unable to slow down, she slammed her nose into the thick cement wall.

Rubbing her nose, she gave a huff of laughter; she had done the exact same thing 6 years ago.

Some things never change.She thought.

Looking at her hands, she saw that they were fading quickly. Chihiro could now put her entire hand through her chest.

Locating the old metal door that led to the boilers, she entered; welcomed by a blast of hot air. Not even thinking of what she was doing, she darted inside the main boiler. Seeing an old man grinding spices in the center of the room, she turned to him.

"KAMAJI, no time to explain, I need food and I need it NOW." She yelled.

Startled by the random girl's sudden entrance, he looked suspicious.

Though Kamaji didn't recognize the girl, he quickly threw to her what appeared to be a small berry. Eating it without hesitation, her limbs regained their color.

"Thanks, Kamaji." Chihiro said, completely forgetting that it had been 6 years since they'd seen one another.

There was dead silence.

"Who are you and what are you doing here?" The old man asked roughly. He pushed his glasses further up his nose, trying to get a closer look at his intruder.

She paused.

"Hi, Grandpa…" Chihiro said, with cheeky smile.

More silence. Suddenly, his eyes widened as if seeing a ghost. Kamaji straightened his glasses, making sure he was seeing things correctly.

"Chi-Chihiro?!" He said in disbelief, forgetting his herbs; standing up with a jolt. All of his supplies crashed to the floor. Chihiro, being the caring person she was, immediately dropped to the floor to pick them up.

She stood up, about to respond, when she felt 6 arms wrap around her; making the herbs and spices drop once more.

Kamaji was hugging her. Chihiro was at first startled, but soon hugged him back. Her eyes began watering; she hadn't realized how much she missed Kamaji in particular. Without him, she wouldn't have gotten a job in the bathhouse. She wouldn't have met Rin, Yubaba, Zeniba, and everyone else. None of this would have happened were it not for Kamaji.

"I'm back…" She whispered in the middle of the hug. Kamaji let go of her, getting a good look at his now older granddaughter.

"Just look at you! You're blooming into a beautiful woman!" he said with his toothy grin. Suddenly gasping, he continued.

"Oh my, just wait until Haku sees you! Oh goodness, and Rin! She'll be here any minute to feed the soot! Have a seat until she gets here, and tell me how you've been!" He looked the most excited Chihiro had ever seen him.

Chihiro could barely contain herself as she told him she was staying for good. Expecting a good response from Kamaji, his sudden look of worry came as a shock to her.

"But what about your parents? Your friends? Oh, Chihiro… have you really thought this through?" He said, totally exasperated.

His reaction saddened her. She had truly expected her adopted grandfather to be happy she was back for good. She took a deep breath before explaining.

"Kamaji… my family is here now. I've thought this through every day for 6 long years…and I'm staying." She said, getting teary eyed. Chihiro continued.

"I tried so hard to live a normal life after I left the Spirit World. I tried meeting new friends… I got involved at school. Nothing worked. I just never had a connection with anyone since I left." Her tears began to fall on her cheeks, one by one.

"My family recently got word that we'll be leaving the city in a matter of weeks, forever. I would never see any of you guys again. This had to have been a sign, right?" she said with a slight hint of desperation. "I don't belong there any more, Kamaji. Please don't turn me away."

Kamaji now saw the pain she had felt all these years. Suddenly overwhelmed with guilt, he spoke up.

"I'm so sorry, Chihiro. I didn't mean to make you feel as though you weren't wanted. In fact, all of us here have missed you beyond words…even Yubaba. She yells at us daily telling us to work 'more like Sen'." He said with a low chuckle. "If you're ok with it, I personally would be overjoyed if you stayed for good!"Kamaji said with a grin, giving the girl another hug.

Almost as if on cue, a tall brunette women slid open the wooden panel and entered. Chihiro knew right away who she was.

Rin.

The fox spirit, not seeing Chihiro standing there, yelled at Kamaji.

"How many times have I told you to put your dishes outside the door?!" she said, taking his old plates and replacing them with tonight's dinner.

Kamaji was stifling laughter. Chihiro was standing right there, and it was as if she were invisible to Rin.

Chihiro, too, was stifling laughter. These had been the first words she had heard out of Rin's mouth when she first met her. How long, she wondered, would it take her to realize who else was in the room?

Rin turned around to feed the soot, but was surprised to see a mysterious girl standing there. Wait, no, that was no mysterious girl….

"SEN?!" she shouted, mouth spread in a grin. She let out a girlish screech before running over to her friend, catching her off guard with a bear hug. Both of them fell to the floor, laughing like little girls.

"I'm BAAA-aaaack!" Chihiro said in a sing-song voice. Rin was like a sister to her, she had missed her so incredibly much.

Rin gasped with excitement.

"For good this time?!" she said hopefully.

Chihiro giggled. Giving her a smile, she nodded. Once again, Rin let out her girly shriek and hugged her again, pushing her to the floor once more. Chihiro laughed the hardest she had laughed in a long time.

"This'll be fantastic," Rin said while laughing, "You can tell me all about your world! All your friends, all the boys who are madly in love with you, all your—" Chihiro's thoughts blocked her from listening to what Rin was saying.

So this must be what it feels like, to finally belong somewhere.She thought to herself, knowing she had made the right choice in coming back.

Both of them getting up from the floor, Rin asked Kamaji, "Has Haku seen her yet? She looks so beautiful now, he'd probably start drooling." She said with a goofy smile and a wink. Chihiro felt her cheeks get pink at the thought.

This sent Kamaji cackling. "Aww, don't tease the girl, Rin."

Chihiro remembered something. "So, Haku is still working here?"

"Not only is he working here, he's working in your old position!" Rin said, in stitches from laughter. "I swear, the first time I saw him scrubbing the big tub was the funniest moment of my life!"

Chihiro began to laugh. But Rin wasn't finished. "I still remember the day he quit being Yubaba's apprentice; it was right after you had left. He marched straight up to her office and quit on the spot. I don't really know what happened in there, to be honest, there were rumors all over the bathhouse the next day. Apparently, Yubaba said something she shouldn't have, and Haku tried to attack her."

This worried Chihiro.

Haku, attacking someone? He would never.

"Haku isn't that type of person…" she said solemnly.

Rin agreed. "I know, right? I still wonder, to this day, what she said to get him so worked up. Anyways, ever since that day, he's been working the tubs."

At that moment a knock was heard that the sliding wooden panel. Aogeru, the frog worker, entered the room.

"What is it, Aogeru?" Kamaji asked with concern.

He hopped up, right to where Chihiro stood. He looked her straight in the eye.

"Yubaba requests that you come to her office immediately, she has some things she would like to discuss with you." The frog said this in a blank, emotionless tone.

You could feel the air turn into concrete as he said those words. Both Kamaji, Rin AND Chihiro were concerned over what Yubaba wanted from her.

The frog hopped away, leaving the three others standing in an awkward silence. Suddenly, Rin turned to Chihiro with a sudden urgency.

"Chihiro, no matter what… Get a job. Don't let her send you off. You can't leave again, please." Rin said with desperation. She continued.

"If you can't do it for me, do it for Haku. The last 6 years you were gone, he hasn't been the same as before. He misses you more than all of us combined, Chi."

Chi? Only mom has ever called me that… and Haku missed me?

"I will," she promised. "I'll get a job in the bathhouse, I swear it."

Rin gave her a long, affectionate hug. "Good, than meet me in the women's quarters later tonight. We have a lot to catch up on." She said with a wink.

And with that, Rin closed the wood panel and was gone. Chihiro gave Kamaji one last hug, promising she'd be back soon; this time, with a contract.

"Good luck!" Kamaji said, giving her a 'thumbs up'.

She slid the wood panel closed behind her, this time without bumping her head.

"Here we go…" she breathed to herself.