Thank you, to all those of you who have reviewed.
Those who haven't: Remember, us writers flourish with reviews, we need 'em!

A/N: please don't get used to updates being this quick. This one is being done early for a reason:

I recently started a Spirited away role-playing game, and am in need of players. The characters from the original cast that are needed are: Zeniba, Yubabba, Boh, Kamaji, and Lin. Original characters, spirit or human, are also appreciated, but I really need the characters listed previously to be taken, as we can't start without at least Zeniba and Yubabba. I am Chihiro, a good friend is Haku, and the demon who will be our main enemy. Also within the current players is a fire Spirit.

Keep in mind that you can play multiple characters, so if you want to be from the original cast, AND have your own, that's fine with me.
Here is the link to it. Though you will be required to sign up on the site... http:// game.cgi?gi20855&gnSpirited+Away:+Return&date1163603601

Now, in reward for going through my rant, you may get on with the story.

Chapter Three: Reunion

Chihiro opened her eyes to see a slightly familiar ceiling, obscured by a familiar face, with shining emerald eyes, and black hair that had a greenish tint. She blinked, expecting the face and ceiling to disappear, to be replaced by either sky, or the ceiling of her room. When they didn't, she blinked again, then again. Still the ceiling and the face were there, and voices too. She rubbed her eyes with one hand. When she stopped, she let her vision clear once more. As it did, she felt a hand on her cheek. It was then that the full realization that Haku was really leaning over her, touching her, hit her.

She sat up and wrapped her arms around him so fast that she sent him tumbling backwards, which pulled her forward. She ended up lying on top of him, arms crushing him, face buried against his shoulder. The pain of her movements didn't register for a few moments, but by time they did, she was thoroughly distracted with breathing in Haku's scent. She felt hesitant arms snake around her, and give her a gentle squeeze.

Haku could feel the fabric on his shoulder getting wetter, and wetter by the moment, and realized Chihiro was crying.

The girl pushed herself off of him, and sat back to get a better look. He looked much like he had when she had left, save for he was taller, and he had obviously matured. His clothes were much like the ones she's left him in, except instead of white on blue, it was black on blue-green. Unable to resist, she embraced him again.

"I thought I would never see you again," she said, her voice muffled against his clothes.

"I promised you, didn't I?" he replied, trying to sound light-hearted, and failing. Like Chihiro, he couldn't resist wrapping his arms around her again. When they had let eachother go, he asked, "Why did you come here, anyway?"

"I panicked... I thought that gang was going to seriously hurt me. I never imagined that I would actually be able to get back, though, I never have been able to before. I just thought that I could hide, or that they would get creeped out by all the shrines..." she paused, "Either way, I'm glad I was able to get back. I've been wanting to for four years."

"What about your parents? It's going to be a long while before you can get home, Chihiro."

"I... I don't want to go home," Chihiro replied, in a determined manner. "You saw what I had to go through every day." She lifted the side of her shirt, to show that her ribcage was all one solid bruise, on both sides. "I go home, I go back to this, and I keep puttng up with it, until they either kill me, or put me in the hospital."

"You didn't answer the 'what about your parents' part, Dope," said a wry voice from the direction of the elevator. In her happiness to see Haku, she had been oblivious to Kamaji, and Lin.

"Lin!... I know... I avoided it on purpose. When I find an answer for it, I'll give it..."

"I think now would be a good time to answer it," Kamaji told her.

Chihiro sighed, "I don't know how to answer it... But I'm not going back."

Seeing that it was pointless to argue further, Haku asked if Kamaji had any herbs that might make Chihiro's bruises heal faster.

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Meanwhile, in her world, Chihiro's mother and father were pacing back and forth, worridly. She hadn't come home from school, and it was several hours after dark. They had called her teachers, and all had said they saw her heading home. Where could she possibly be? What if the gang of kids who had attacked her a few days before had done something to her? What if she was lying unconcious in an alley somewhere... or worse.. So many things that could have happened to her... She could even have run away, if she had heard their conversation a few nights before... As if to reflect their moods, a loud crack of thunder rang out, and the sky lit up, as rain began to pour down.

More phone calls were made, to all of their friends, and anyone they could think of that Chihiro might have gone to, but no such luck, none of them had seen her. It was if she had just disappeared from the face of the earth.

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Chihiro sat on the railing of the bridge, with Haku, getting drenched, as rain bucketed down. She held on to Haku's hand, as they watched the train light in the distance. Chihiro shivered slightly, when a gust of wind blew, driving the rain into their skin all the harder. She shivered again, when Haku placed an arm over her shoulders, and pulled her closer, but for an entirely different reason. She tensed for a moment, still a little unsure of herself, then let herself relax, and she rested her head on his shoulder. They stayed like that, until the rain, and clouds finally disappeared, and there was nothing left in the sky, but a full moon, and billions of stars. It was a beautiful sight.

Looking at the moon, the first pangs of homesickness hit Chihiro. She did miss her parents, but she wasn't going back. She may have wished her parents could be around, but there really wasn't any other place she wanted to be than right there, with her dragon.

"Haku?"

"Yeah?"

"Did you really think we'd meet again, when you promised we would?"

"To be honest, no... And I didn't think I'd regret seeing you go as much as I did."

"In other words, it's just like Lin said, you were comepletely miserable."

A low growl emitted from Haku, "I'll have to kill that woman someday... Or turn her into a sheep."

"Why a sheep?" Chihiro couldn't resist asking.

"Because it's something different, and she would be useful," Haku replied, with a deep chuckle.

Chihiro laughed. After the laughs were over, the pair sat in silence, until Chihiro finally asked, "Why so desperate to know if I want to go home or not, Haku?"

"Because as much as I want you to stay, I don't want you to be away from your parents. I was selfish once before, when I didn't make you forget, I'm not going to do it again."

"I told you before, I didn't want to forget, so you weren't being selfish..."

"Again, you avoid the parents part of that," Haku reminded her.

Chihiro sighed, "Alright... I miss them already, but not enough to go back. " And she certainly didn't. Not after what she'd heard the night that her parents found out about her being beaten up.

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Chihiro sat at the top of the stairs, staring at nothing. Her parents were arguing about something, and didn't even know she was listening.

"We can't just let her go on as she has," her mother hissed. "The girl is miserable, you know that! "

"So what do you suggest Yukimi? That we send her away? She'd hate us!"

"It would be for her own good, Kenshin, and you know it. She needs to get away from here, for good."

"So you want to send our daughter to another country, to live with an aunt she's never even met? Yeah, good plan."

"Oh come on, you know Yoshiro would love to see her. And, she's a psychiatrist, she may be able to help Chihiro."

"Sure, hand her over to dear sister Yoshi, to be belittled, and called crazy."

"Kenshin! She can't stay here! What happens if those bullies aren't just satisfied with bruising her? What if they do worse next time? And what if it's this place that's causing all her dreams?"

"She seems to enjoy them..." Kenshin replied, though Chihiro could tell her father was losing resistance. She was balling up her fists so hard her knuckles were white, and she could feel her fingernails biting into her skin, not quite hard enough to draw blood. As desperate as she was to get away from that place, she didn't want to go live with her aunt Yoshiro, in America. No, she wanted to get away to a different world entirely. She thought for a moment that they were done , but they continued, just as she was getting up. She promptly sat down again, not wanting to miss anything.

"Fine..." Kenshin sighed, "Arrange things with your sister. When everything is set we'll tell Chihiro. But it's you that gets to do it, Yuki."

"Alright."

"I'm going up to talk to her..."

Hearing her father's footsteps, Chihiro got to her feet, and went as quietly as she could to her room, and dove into bed.

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After that was when he had told her that half the time she was in her own dimension... "My parents were going to send me away, for good, anyway," Chihiro said softly.

"What?"

"They were going to send me away, to live with an aunt, in another country. I over-heard them talking about it, the night you were in my head, looking through memories. Sounded like they were going to send me away for good..."

"Oh," said Haku, understanding her reluctance to get to the subject of her mother and father, "I'm sorry."

"Nothing to be sorry about. They were right, I needed to get away from there, just not in the way they wanted me to-" she stopped when the light from a lantern was suddenly blocked. She turned, and saw an immense child, at least three times Chihiro's own height, and possibly a good four times her width.

"Sen!" said the child, in a voice that was amusing squeaky, for one so large. Perched on top of his head was a tiny bird, almost small enough to be mistaken for a fly. The bird buzzed down, and hovered in front of Chihiro's face, to land on her nose.

"Hello, Boh," said Haku, and Chihiro simultaneously. Chihiro found herself being picked up, and hugged so tightly she thought she might pop. She managed to squeak, "little... help... can't... breathe... in... pain..."

Haku growled a warning at Boh, "Let her go, you're hurting her."

Chihiro was released, and she gasped for air, "Nice to... see you... too... Boh."

"It's good you're here, Sen," said Boh, holding out his hand for the bird to land on, "Auntie Zeniba says that something bad is coming..."

Haku and Chihiro both looked at one another, remembering their dreams. Something was wrong, after all.

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And for those who have asked, yes, this is my first SA fic. All I have written previously is RE and CSI