Thank you, Sandstorm2555, for bringing to my attention that this chapter was just a copy of the 5th chapter... I feel super embarrassed now haha. I got everything sorted out, so here you go. Sorry everyone! Thanks for all the support!

Exiting the boiler room and stepping inside the bathhouse, everything looked different than it had as a young child. Having grown at least half a foot since then, she could now see everything eye-to-eye. It was much less scary.

Chihiro recognized a few of the spirits as she walked to the elevator; the Radish Spirit being one of them. She waved to him, and from across the room you could see him wave his gigantic radish arm in her direction; greeting her. Bringing a smile to Chihiro's face, she kept walking.

As she neared the elevator, she walked past a group of the female bathhouse workers. They began whispering and gossiping behind her back.

"Is that Sen?"

"No way, that couldn't be. She looks so old now!"

"Just smell her! She smells exactly the same!"

"Oh god, not the smell. She'll stink up the whole place again!"

"I wonder if Haku-sama knows she's here yet. He'd probably have a heart attack. You know how much he missed her…"

This sent the two yunas into a fit of giggles, and Chihiro felt her heart leap to her throat. Haku had actually… missed her? Probably not very much, but the very thought of it made her insides suddenly feel warm and fuzzy.

She'd see her best friend again...it could be hours, and it could be minutes. Chihiro didn't know when, but all she knew was that she was seeing him, and seeing him today. The thought sent her heart into a fit of fluttering.

Now inside the elevator, she pulled the lever; shooting the wooden cubical upward. Chihiro was tempted to press her nose to the sides, wanting to catch a glimpse at the ground escaping beneath her feet.

Remembering Rin's old threat of her nose being ripped off, she thought better of it.

The top floor, huh?

The elevator began to slow down; eventually halting at the top floor.

Her heartbeat quickened. What did Yubaba want from her? How did Yubaba know she was there, so soon after she had arrived?

She silently prayed that whatever Yubaba wanted, it would end well, and not with Chihiro's head cut off.

Chihiro recalled every turn to Yubaba's office.

And a left here,she thought. This brought her to the magnificent door, which led to her fate. Just as she was about to reach for the handle, a raspy, shrill yet familiar voice insulted her.

"After all these years, still not going to knock?"

Chihiro whirled around to see where the voice had come from. She saw nothing.

"Still just as rude as before, I see." The voice barked.

She turned around and recognized the raspy voice as the doorknocker that stood there 6 years before. The metallic figure rolled its eyes as it opened the door with a creak.

Suddenly, she heard a familiarly sarcastic voice booming at her from some unknown source.

"Ah, look who finally decided to show up! Sen, please, come in. I think there's someone here who would like to see you."

Before Chihiro knew what was happening, she felt an invisible hand come and grab her shirt, yanking her all the way down the long corridor that led to Yubaba's desk.

Every bump and curve was another whack in her side. This wretched hand pulled her through very turn, and she could feel the gravity pulling at her. Her head had begun to spin, when she suddenly felt herself being flung to the floor; landing right on her head.

Rubbing her head as she groggily stood up, she saw she was right in the center of Yubaba's office.

The fat old woman snorted with a smirk, adding, "What an elegant and graceful entry, Chihiro. We're so glad you could join us."

Chihiro, having regained her balance, took a look at her surroundings. She remembered the long tapestries that hung on the walls; and every desk and shelf was filled with magical trinkets as far as the eye could see. Everything appeared to be the same, except there was someone else in the room…

She felt her entire body go numb as she saw who was standing beside the gigantic old witch.

There, stood a boy who appeared to be about Chihiro's age. His ocean green hair cut off at his shoulders. His blue and white apron covered what appeared to be an immaculately toned body, and he was quite tall. But what Chihiro stared at the longest were his eyes. Those emerald eyes that shone like the real gemstones themselves. They were the very eyes that had an ability to calm her, just by thinking about them; no matter what situation. She knew those eyes, and she definitely knew who they belonged to.

Haku.

Chihiro's eyes widened, her mouth gaped open in shock. She had not expected her old friend to be in the room with her, standing mere feet away.

Apparently, he was just as surprised as she was, because Haku's eyes immediately widened at seeing the girl standing there.

Time stood still for the two of them.

It was always said that the eyes were the window to the soul. Both pairs of eyes were frozen in shock; they could now see all the pain and loneliness the other had felt through the 6 years without each other. Chihiro always knew that Haku's eyes changed their shade, depending on his mood. His eyes, as of right now, switched from the saddest of blues to the brightest and happiest shades of green.

And then he smiled. He smiled the brightest, most genuine of smiles Chihiro had ever seen appear on his face.

This, of course, brought an even brighter smile to her face.

All of the pain; all of the tears she had shed in coming here, every last bit of it had suddenly become worth it. Thiswas why she was here, she thought. She was here to see her best friend's smile.

And Haku, having wondered what she was feeling only a day earlier, could see his answer staring at him in the face. Her brown eyes were soft and bright, almost delicate. As if a single look would shatter them. She was just as sad and alone as he was these past 6 years, it seemed.

They both simultaneously took several steps towards each other. Chihiro, wanting to embrace her dear friend again, suddenly felt the room began to swirl. She staggered, losing her balance. The impact on her head from being thrown into the room was finally taking its toll on her.

Her legs crumpled beneath her, but she didn't care. Chihiro was happy; so impossibly happy that she could cry. She knew, now that she had seen Haku, that she never wanted to be anywhere else other than the Spirit World, and that would never change.

Before collapsing entirely, she felt someone catch her fall. She couldn't see who, but she had one guess.

Chihiro was immobile, but she felt as if she were walking on air. She whispered two words before losing consciousness in her dear old friend's arms.

"I'm back…" she said, closing her eyes.

Haku's POV

Haku stood there with Chihiro in his arms. She had quite the impact when she crashed in here, he thought.

He just couldn't stop looking at her. Chihiro had looked so much older when she came in, but as she lay in his arms unconscious, she looked just as she had 6 years ago.

How was she here right now? What on earth was happening? So many thoughts were running through his head, he couldn't think straight.

Her head rolled to the side in his arms, and something purple and sparkly caught his eye.

It was the hair band that Zeniba had given her. He remembered Chihiro telling him about it before they had said goodbye, as they walked to the field. The memory made him smile.

"Ahem," Yubaba lightly coughed.

Whirling around, Haku had forgotten that they were standing in Yubaba's office. His cheeks flushed, realizing he had been staring at Chihiro for the past minute.

"Forgot I was here, did you, Haku?" Yubaba said with a devilish laugh. "You were so focused on Chihiro here, I was almost afraid to speak up. You guys stared at each other with such passion.Ahh, young love," She said sarcastically. Now she was really pushing Haku's buttons, and that's exactly what she had wanted to do.

It isn't like that, you know it isn't. Let it go, Haku.

Breathing in and exhaling all of his anger, he spoke up.

"I'm going to get some food from the kitchens for Chihiro. We don't know if she's eaten yet, and she may begin to disappear at any moment." He said, setting the unconscious Chihiro on the couch in the corner of the room. His calm town successfully masked how excited he was.

Yubaba only nodded. She didn't want an angry Haku on his hands if anything happened to the girl.

Haku exited the room with a lot on his mind. Closing the door, he leaned against it, feeling lightheaded himself. The best friend he had missed for 6 years, the one who saved his life and taught him what it felt like to care for another being, that very person… was at the other end of this door. His heart began to pound.

He would never deny it, he loved Chihiro.

People like Rin and Kamaji had told him time and time again that he was 'smitten' for her, but Haku really wasn't sure in which way he loved her.

His life changed forever when he met Chihiro, that's for sure. She was beautiful, inside and out. Chihiro was, to him, so much more than a best friend. Chihiro was everything to him. But was it a romantic attraction? He had never in his life been able to say that he was in love, and he wasn't sure if he was now, either. Plus, even if he was in love with Chihiro…

She'd never love someone like me.

He thought about her mortal body, how someone like her would eventually grow old and die. The thought stung the deepest parts of his heart, but it was true. She would die, and he would live on.

He was approaching his 136th birthday. This was still adolescent in the Spirit World, but Chihiro was only 15. It just wouldn't be right, he thought.

But, none of that mattered right now. He was just happy she was here, right now. If he did love her in the way Rin and Kamaji say, he would never dare tell Chihiro.

Haku remembered telling Yubaba that he was getting food for Chihiro. Waking up from his inner thoughts, he hurried to the kitchens in a hastened pace.