Hey, finally have some time to actually complete this story!! Hehe, has been quite a while now. There is one more chapter after this and that should be it! Happy Reading!

"Oh this is so much better than the bath-house we went to before we got here." Aya sighed, letting the water engulf her body.
Chihiro agreed. As this was the last day she would be here, Lin had arranged for Chihiro and Aya to take one of the baths used normally for the Gods, as a sort of goodbye present.
"I don't even know what they used!" Aya laughed, "But it's good."

Taking the bath made Chihiro forget what lied ahead in the next hours. Although she seemed to have made up her mind, she couldn't help but doubt her decision. So much had happened here when she was a little girl which had made an impact on her life. And then there was Haku…
"You're thinking about him aren't you?" Aya said quietly as if she had read her mind.
"No." Chihiro lied.
"You should say goodbye you know."
Silence answered Aya.

"What are your plans once we get back?"
"I don't really know. Back to work…if I still have a job."
"We have been away for quite some time."
"I am sorry Aya. Your parents must be worried!"
"Oh I'm sure things will be fine once we get back. Although, I have no idea what we are going to say. Even if we were allowed to discuss this place I doubt anybody will believe us."
"You must never talk about this place Aya!" Chihiro suddenly burst seriously.
"I know I know." Aya reassured.

"I would like to walk around the place before we head for the bridge." Chihiro requested.
"Of course, it's a shame we can't take photos." Aya smiled.
"Wouldn't that go down well!" Chihiro joked.

The girls left the Onsen and wandered through the deserted streets of the food stalls as Chihiro pictured them full of the lingering figures preparing food from when she was younger. Passing the gardens and the stables where she had seen her parents when they were turned into pigs and the smells and colours of the flowers that bloomed there. As they made their way down the worrying staircase down to the boiler room Chihiro remembered the scared feeling of unknowing which was now replaced with confidence. Everything was how she had remembered it and hoped it would be a memory she would know forever.

"Oh I wish I could keep some of this soot!" Aya exclaimed as she sat in the middle of the bounding group of workers feeding them their colourful provisions.
"Don't you even think about it," Kamajii warned, "I need all the help I can get."
Chihiro giggled. "We will miss you too, Kamajii."
Kamajii grunted his response and continued reaching for herbs from the ceiling high drawers.

Leaving Kamajii, the time was nearing so the girls leisurely headed towards the bridge. Although she had made up her mind she was dreading each step she took and wished she didn't have to make this ultimate decision.

As the girls entered the courtyard before the bridge they were greeted with a crimson display. Banners and rugs decorated the quarter and there stood the people she had met on her first visit nine years ago.

"Ogino. Are you ready to make your final decision?" Haku asked. He was stood by the bridge.
Chihiro was shaking slightly and she felt Aya's hand grip hers. "I am. I'm going home."
Haku showed no reaction to this decision. "When the drums start to beat you have up to twenty minutes to walk over the bridge, past the food stalls and across the old lake. Once you get onto the other side of the lake the decision is completed and you will not be able to come back here."

Chihiro turned to the crowd behind her and said her goodbyes. Lin was struggling not to shed tears. She was with Chihiro from the very beginning of her spirit world experience and she was happy she got to say goodbye.

Chihiro turned to the bridge and with Aya still holding her hand began towards the bridge. She hesitated before placing her first step onto the bridge but strength seem to make her body put the other foot in front of each other until she was almost at the other side; "Hold your breath until you get to the other side."

"Goodbye Chihiro." She heard Haku's voice in her mind. She turned around and there he stood on the other end of the bridge, the same blank expression on his face. Chihiro continued down the steps away from the Onsen.