Chapter II

Haku looked as though he wanted to come forward, but remained behind his desk. The room itself was very much changed in the fact that it had much less lavish décor, among other things. The carpet on which she stood was still the one she had become intimately acquainted with when she face planted into the room for the first time eight years ago. Haku seemed to do things in a much more sensible manner.

Chihiro quelled the urge she harbored that implored her to run to him and embrace him. She didn't want to seem strange or eager. Eight years gone is a long time, and they were no longer children. There didn't seem to be any set of social rules to apply to this situation, but throwing caution to the wind was not what she came to far to do.

"You look," Chihiro began, but blushed and looked passed him, to the red curtained window. She wasn't sure how to put to words what she saw without being too forward. He looked so handsome, so kind, so tall, so much older, but in the best way. These were things she could not, and would not say for the time being. "Where is Yubaba?" She finally decided that this would be the safest thing to say until she had more time to feel out the situation.

To her great surprise, Haku chuckled and looked at her kindly. His eyes were as soft as they had ever been. Time and age had done nothing to dampen their fastness. Her heart quickened as she watched his eyes, and she let her own fall to the desk at which he had previously been seated.

"Am I supposed to believe you came all this way to inquire upon the whereabouts of Yubaba?" He said finally, not unkindly. Before Chihiro could summon the courage to answer he continued, "In any case, she has been gone for quite some time. She lives very near her sister now, if I recall correctly. When you," he stopped abruptly as if something pained him, but the notion was gone the instant it had occurred and Chihiro was not sure it had happened at all. "After I returned to the bath house, I intended to share a few choice words with the old witch, but as it turned out, she had decided that she wanted to take the baby and live a more peaceful life where the child could begin to live freely. This really isn't the best place for a child," he said, gesturing his hand about the room. "So here I have been for the past, well, eight years."

"It looks different, and yet somehow still the same," Chihiro commented on the surroundings and the atmosphere of the place. "I can't believe Yubaba just left, just like that."

"Sometimes people leave," he said, almost absently. She noticed that his eyes were fixed on her very intently, and then, the storm clouds in his mind seemed to dissipate and he smiled gently. All of a sudden Min dashed back through the door.

"Yes, Master Haku!" she said, as she scurried into the room and kneeled before his desk. Chihiro looked on in confusion as Min came back into the room, but it appeared that she had been summoned by Haku. With an almost tired expression he told her once again to stand and to stop being so formal all of the time. This seemed to be something she did often that Haku was not fond of.

"You'll have to forgive me," he looked very apologetically at Chihiro now, and for the first time crossed the space between them to stand close enough to touch her. He reached for her hand and she allowed him to hold it up in his own. Her skin felt fiery against his own, and she tried to maintain a composed facial expression. He placed his other hand atop of the hand he held up and searched her face to see that she was alright. "The last thing I want to do is leave you," he seemed at a loss for words for a moment and she felt her stomach twist in a sudden panic. Was he sending her back? Was he leaving? Was there something she didn't know that was immensely important? Her mind was a tumultuous cluster of irrational thoughts until he spoke again.

"I have urgent business to attend to today, and it can't wait. But I'll come back," he promised and her entire body almost visibly relaxed at once. "In the mean-time I think there are a few people around here that you'd be very interested in seeing." He grinned now, and she could tell he was excited for her to see those whom she had not in many years.

"They're still here?" she asked, excitement building within her until it felt almost tangible.

"Min."

"Yes, Master Haku!"

"Please escort my dear friend to Rin." Min nodded and walked over to the door where she waited patiently for Chihiro to join her.

"We have so much to discuss," he said suddenly to Chihiro, and she smiled easily. "Rin will enjoy catching up with you while I'm gone. Until my return," he said finally, bowing his head slightly in her direction. She took her que to leave, and did so almost painfully. She didn't mind waiting for him to return, but their reunion seemed so anticlimactic. It was almost as if his mind were lost in something distant. He was kind, and he was happy, that much she could tell. There was something there that she just couldn't read, and she hoped that by the time he returned, she would have the courage summoned to be up front with him about her return; to tell him how she truly felt, even if it seemed foolish to hold onto feelings so old they could qualify as relics.

"This way miss," Min said as she extended her arm out through the door to direct Chihiro into the hallway. This was enough to make Chihiro double take. Min was at least seven times more pleasant now than she had been earlier that day. Min seemed to take note of this as they departed the room. Chihiro looked behind herself, something she had done ever since the day she promised not to look back. She didn't think she regretted not looking back, because she loved her family, but her mind was forever filled with what ifs since that moment.

The room was empty now, as the door materialized back into place. Her heart sank slightly, and she wondered what kind of business it was he was conducting. Her mind was pulled away from this track of thought, however, as Min began to lead them further away from the door, and she said:

"Sorry about all that, earlier." She seemed genuine in her apology and looked up at Chihiro for a moment before turning all of her attention to the hallways. "I had no idea you were her."

"Her?" Chihiro asked, taken slightly aback.

"Master has talked about you-" she stopped mid-sentence and redirected quickly, "Rin and Kamachi and plenty of guests have talked about you for years. You're a bit of a legend around here." Chihiro wondered why the sudden deviation away from Haku, but didn't press Min for details.

"A legend?"

"Did you really turn Yubaba's baby into a mouse?" Chihiro laughed and covered her mouth with her hand.

"I'm sorry," she apologized for laughing, "but no, I didn't. Granny – er – Yubaba's sister actually was the culprit behind that." Min seemed to be humored by the information and cracked a smile as they stepped forward in to the elevator.

As the machine descended back down the many levels of the bathhouse, Chihiro took the opportunity to press Min for a bit more conversation since she seemed much more apt to oblige now.

"So," she began casually, "Master Haku's apprentice." She waited to see what kind of information Min would allow her.

"He's the kindest Master I could have ever hoped for." She pulled on the lever of the elevator and it shuddered lightly to a halt within its shaft. She stepped out and gestured for Chihiro to follow, and she did. As the two began down this new corridor, Chihiro couldn't help but notice how nice it was. It seemed more like a place you would find the guests of the bathhouse, not an employee.

Everything made sense as they came up to a door that was patterned to match the other wallpaper; a swath of golds spinning and streaming across rich reds. The calligraphy on the door read "Foreman Rin". Chihiro felt a jolt of happiness run through her for her friend. Rin; a foreman. It was a position that Chihiro felt her friend deserved.

Min kneeled on the ground and called forth into the sliding door.

"Rin-san, I have a guest for you." There was silence for a few moments, and Chihiro feared that Rin were not there. Everything still felt very surreal to her. Then, in the same fashion she would expect from Rin, she heard:

"Well, come in!" Min obliged and slid back the door before stand and entering. Chihiro followed and saw that the room was a lot like an apartment. It was still smaller than many of the lavish rooms of the bathhouse, but it had more than one room. Rin was not yet in sight, and both young women folded their knees beneath them and sat on a tatami mat as they waited.

The room was well furnished, with a small polished table sitting neatly in the center of the main room. The walls were decorated in some traditional masks as well as an interesting wall scroll. However, while the office upstairs was done in a more western style, this room maintained a traditional look. As Chihiro finished taking in her surroundings, a door slid back with a shk and out stepped Rin.

She looked down at Min with a curious expression, and then at Chihiro. It seemed that it didn't quite register with her at first at whom she was looking. Then, as if the entire universe had lined up to make the connection, Rin's face widened in a brilliant smile. Chihiro thought she almost looked like a pretty toad for a split second, her grin was so wide.

Rin was much less reserved than Haku had been, and dove down to the floor to swoop her old friend up into a hug. Chihiro laughed loudly at the unexpected reception and hugged her back.

"Oh! Look how big you are! Well, in a good way, you know! You're hair! It's so long! You're so tall!" Rin went on and on about all of the things that had changed with Chihiro, and there were many. By the time Chihiro could get a word in edge wise they were both a bit red faced and warm from the burst of excitement.

"Min, call for tea, please," she said lightly.

"Yes ma'am," Min said as she excused herself from the room and left the two old friends to themselves. Chihiro folded her hands in her lap and smiled up at Rin. Her features were older, but time had done nothing to detract from the beauty that he face had always held. Not to mention the spit fire in her spirit. She was so pleased to see her friend so alive and well that she could have burst from the feeling.

"I have to ask," Rin said finally as calm had settled over the room, "and it's not that I'm not glad to see you, because I am, so glad, but what brought you back here?" Rin looked a little too knowingly at Chihiro but waited patiently for an answer.

"Well, I," but before she could finish, a tea tray was brought in and sat out before the two. Min was not the one who brought it, however, and a different servant kneeled at the table. Once everything had been sat out, Rin dismissed her and the girl excused herself. Once the door had slid closed once more, Chihiro picked up a steaming cup and slid it over to rest in front of herself while it cooled.

"I'd always wanted to come back," She finally decided to say as Rin had begun drinking her own tea. She could tell Rin wanted to add something to that, but instead smiled brightly and nodded.

"I always knew you would, too," she said. "Part of me hoped you wouldn't, because the spirit world is not a place for a human to live a happy life, but when Haku took over the bath house. . ." she trailed off and took another sip of tea.

"It's really so amazing what changes he seems to have brought to the bathhouse," Chihiro added, and she meant it.

"I never knew how gentle he was until you came along. If it weren't for you Chihiro, none of this would have every happened." She swept her arm around, tea still in hand, gesturing about the room. Chihiro understood that she meant the entirety of the bathhouse and the circumstances within.

"It was a really amazing adventure," she said, looking into her cup thoughtfully before finally indulging in the bitter sweet taste of her lightly sweetened green tea. It was immensely refreshing as she realized she had been thirsty for quite some time.

"Have you been to see Kamachi yet?" Rin asked as she sat aside her finished cup of tea, not bothering to pour another.

"No, not yet." And with that a smile bloomed across Rin's face.

"He's never going to believe it," Rin said as she stood and held her hand out for Chihiro to take.

[A/N]: I hate writing authors notes, but to those of you who reviewed, I'm deeply moved and thank you kindly for your words. I'm so pleased that you have enjoyed my writing. Please forgive the mistakes that you will no doubt find in this draft of chapter two. I'm quite tired as I write, but so eager to give you the next chapter, and so inclined to continue while the idea is fresh, that I couldn't wait to post. I will have an edited version of the chapter posted to replace this sometime tomorrow afternoon. K.J.