By the time Lin finished her story, it was late afternoon, and they hurried to finish early the preparations for the evening's business. Chihiro had wanted to visit Zeniba, and Lin wanted to come with her.

All of the tubs were scrubbed, the floors wiped clean, and they made sure that the elevators were working properly—Lin, to Chihiro's surprise, was very knowledgeable about the mechanics of the elevator.

Once again, Chihiro took the train to the sixth stop, but now Lin was with her.

"Why did you want come?" Chihiro asked curiously as they began the walk to the good witch's cabin.

"Bored, I guess," Lin said idly. She looked around at the trees that were darkening against the rich orange glow of the sunset. "Aren't these trees beautiful?" she said reverently.

Chihiro nodded, but cast a quick, curious glance at Lin. The trees were lovely, but Lin seemed almost in awe of them.

"Well, come along," Chihiro said, and before long they came to Zeniba's cabin. Chihiro knocked on the door; it was opened almost immediately.

"Chihiro!" Zeniba said happily. "And who's this?"

"Lin, ma'am," Lin said politely.

"Ah!" Zeniba said, beckoning the girls into the house. "So you're the one that my sister wanted to be heir to the bathhouse!"

Chihiro and Lin took seats at the table next to No-Face, who was busily kneading dough on a breadboard. When he heard Chihiro's voice, he turned and made a happy sound when he saw her; spotting Lin, however, he made a sound that sounded like a grumble, and Chihiro was surprised when she saw that Lin looked apologetic.

"I'm sorry, No-Face," Lin said. "I didn't mean to hint that you might hurt Chihiro. I realized after that you two are good friends."

No-Face nodded, as if accepting the apology and Chihiro remembered the first time that she and No-Face had gone to take the train to Zeniba's house. Lin had threatened to take revenge on the masked spirit if he harmed Chihiro.

Zeniba served warm tea and delicious bread to her guests, and they chatted idly for almost two hourse. It was very cozy and warm in the house, and it was pleasant to sip the flavorful tea and eat the fresh bread.

"You have a lovely home, Zeniba," Lin said. "And it's so beautiful among the trees. The woods seem magical."

"Yes, the woods are full of the Tsuri, the spirits of trees," Zeniba said solemnly. "Some can detect them more than others."

"Tsuri…" Lin repeated, softly. A thoughtful look passed across her face for a moment, but then she resumed a placid smile.

For Chihiro's benefit, Zeniba told many legends of Skylandia and even of the lands beyond. Chihiro was fascinated, but Lin had heard these stories before, from the Yuna. She was not very interested in the world she'd grown up in. Really, she'd felt that she'd never truly belonged.

"We'd better get back, Chihiro," Lin said at last. "Thank you, Zeniba, I had a very good time. I haven't been this far before. Maybe someday I'll even get to the city across the ocean."

Zeniba smiled. "Just call me Granny."

Lin was oddly distant and quiet on the ride home, but Chihiro did not pry. It was getting well into the evening, and by the time Chihiro and Lin got back to the bathhouse, the last of the gods and spirits were getting off of the boat. Among them was the noble river god, the one that Chihiro had saved three years before, when it had been so dirty it was mistaken for the Stink Spirit. It turned briefly, and somehow she sensed that it recognized her.

"Lin! Where have you been?" a sour voice said as Lin and Chihiro used the employees' entrance to get into the bathhouse. Her face was twisted into a very dark, insulted frown, and she seemed not to notice Chihiro.

"I just went to visit your sister with Chihiro. I thought she might like some company, and I wanted to do something different," Lin said.

"She was telling us about the spirits of the trees, the tsu—" Chihiro started to say.

"Silence!" Yubaba suddenly screamed, startling the bathhouse workers around her; she then tried to even her expression. "Those are old Skylandia legends that only those with nobility in their blood should hear. My sister obviously likes speaking to commoners."

Something odd occurred to Chihiro. Something within her subconscious was telling her that Granny hadn't told about the Tsuri just to entertain them, after all. She thought hard, and then she said:

"Lin, your real name—Lin isn't your real name—you must be named for the spirits of the trees! Say it!"—then, seeing a look of horror on Yubaba's face—"Quickly, now!"

"My name is…Tsuri!" Lin gasped out, and then she felt a sudden sense of peace—and independence. "The man and the woman I hear sometimes in my mind…they must have been my parents! I need to go to the human world and seek my family."

Yubaba looked positively ill. She had been about to use a magic charm to distract Lin from realizing what Chihiro had said. Now Lin was free to go!

With surprising authority, Lin announced that she would leave in the morning, and would Yubaba please acquire some proper clothing for her and something she could sell in the human world in exchange for their money? The bad witch conceded numbly, and Lin went to do the evening's work for the last time.

Yubaba detained Chihiro, and into the girl's ear she whispered:

"You cost me my heir. This isn't over!"

"You can't scare me," Chihiro said calmly.

"Don't be so sure," the witch said, menacingly.


Hope that you enjoyed this chapter-I really do like writing my first 'Spirited Away' fic.