…Wow…I guess all my whining paid off! . I got so many reviews! I'm soooo happy! You guys are soooo great! So guess what? Even when I am sick, I am gonna write this chapter for you guys, my loyal reviewers! (This story has now become the one of my stories with the most reviews! It's my most successful story, thanks to you all!)

BTW, just as a little note about me, the dreaded FCAT Writes are tomorrow! (Feb. 7) Someone kill me now!

For those of you who are fortunate enough to live in another state besides Florida, the FCAT is Florida's version of the Iowa's or w/e other test you guys take. The FCAT Writes is the Lang. Arts part of the FCAT, along with the math, reading, and science part. Basically, what we do is we take this multiple choice part, like a Grammar and essay test thingy, where you have to correct stuff. The second part is where they give us a prompt (like pick a holiday and explain why it is your favorite or convince someone why dogs are better than cats or vice versa) and we have 45 minutes to write a 5-paragraph essay on it. It sucks, and I'm afraid I won't finish! At least this is my last time doing this…Yay! But the FCAT doesn't end until 10th grade I think…ugh…still 2 more years to go…

But anyways, hopefully I will be able to post some more chapters and this one-shot on Final Fantasy: Unlimited I've been wanting to post. We never get any hw during the FCAT, but right now I have more projects than hw: one in science, math, Lang. Arts, and three in Spanish!

Disclaimer: ...now do you really thinkI own Spirited Away if I'm sitting here writing fanfics?

Chapter 4

I-it's…him, was all Chihiro could process through her mind. She didn't know what to do. Part of her told her to run, to run from him; but the other part of her told her to stay, to hear him out, and to hear why he had taken so long to return to her. All Chihiro knew was that she was just as dumbfounded as any other person who could see her face.

He halted in front of her, staring into her eyes. He didn't look all too different; his hair was a bit longer, now past his shoulders; he had grown a few inches taller as well and now he was a good six inches taller than her; his features began to take on a more manly appearance as he began to age from a boy to a teenager (though he was a river spirit); but most of all, his eyes seemed to have more of a depth to them, to contain more warmth and kindness like the one she knew all those years ago.

"Chihiro," he whispered. She shook her head, ridding herself of her daze. Taking one last look at him, she raced home, not daring to look back to see if he was real. If he truly was the same person she had met five years ago, then…she didn't know what to think.

Chihiro pushed through a group of kids, earning some remarks from them, but she didn't care. Her instinct was telling her to run, so that's what she did. She ran as fast as she could out of the school grounds and down the sidewalk back to her home. She could faintly hear the cries of Sakana and Akane calling out to her, but she couldn't make their words out. Her need to run grew, and she urged her legs to pump faster. She raced up the hill to her cul-de-sac. Pausing for a moment to catch her breath, she checked behind her for her friends. She could barely make out three forms stomping down the sidewalk. After a moment more, Chihiro continued her path to her house and to the comfort of her room.

Chihiro zipped up the stairs to her room, ignoring her parents' greetings, and slammed the door behind her. For a few minutes she stayed there leaning against the door, panting and trying to catch her breath and give her muscles a break.

She heard the doorbell ring and her mom answer the door. She didn't want him coming up. She hoped her mom wouldn't let them in, but when she heard three pairs of footsteps coming up the stairs, her heart raced. What was she going to say? What was he doing here? She had so many unanswered questions racing through her head, and she didn't know what to do. She felt so overwhelmed, she swore her body would give in and she would pass out.

"Chihiro?" She heard Sakana call from the hallway. "Chihiro, are you in there? Why did you run off like that?"

"Please open the door, Chihiro!" Akane cut in. Her friends sounded so worried, but she didn't want to face him. She didn't know what she would do. She didn't know what was going on, and if anything was wrong, she didn't want to drag her friends into it.

"Come on, Chihiro!" Sakana urged more forcefully. Slowly, Chihiro opened the door, revealing the three she suspected to be standing there. Gazing down at the floor, she stood aside to let them all in and shut the door. Still refusing to make any eye contact, she sat on her bed, her hands folded in her lap.

"Chihiro, what's going on here? Do you know this guy?" Sakana asked. Chihiro didn't answer. "Chihiro, come on! Answer me!" Sakana shook her shoulders a bit violently.

"Sakana, stop!" Akane stopped her friend. "Chihiro, please tell us what's going on. Why are you like this? We haven't seen you like this in years."

"What?" the boy interrupted.

"She just moved here a few years ago. When she first came to school, she was exactly like this, refusing to talk to anyone," Akane explained.

"…ever since you left five years ago, you mean?" the boy said and Chihiro looked up. True concern shone in his eyes, causing unwanted tears to pool in her own. "I'm sorry, Chihiro—"

"You have no idea how long I've waited for you to show up! You told me never to look back until I was on the other side of the tunnel, and I didn't! I trusted you! You promised we would see each other again soon! Five years, isn't soon, you know!" Chihiro yelled, venting out all her anger, and began to cry. "You have no idea what I went through…"

"What's going on here?" Chihiro's dad appeared at the door, followed by her mom. When she saw her daughter crying on her bed, Mrs. Ogino rushed to her side.

"Honey, what's wrong?" she asked, putting a comforting arm around her daughter.

"I…I just got tired of waiting," was all Chihiro said.

"Waiting for what, honey?" Her mom pressed.

Chihiro opened her mouth to tell her parents everything, but stopped herself. Instead, she said, "Just leave. I want to be alone." Everyone stared at her. They all exchanged worried glances, but complied and left the room. A certain boy, however, stayed behind, as Chihiro knew he would.

"Chihiro…" he began.

"Why did you wait five years, Haku?" Chihiro cut in. "Why did you make me wait five years? I gave up wishing for you to come back long ago."

Haku hung his head in shame. "I'm sorry, Chihiro. If you'll let me explain, I'll—"

"Explain what? What's there to explain! Disappear and then show up five years later!" Chihiro shouted. She finally looked up at him with tear-filled eyes. Haku gazed with immense guilt as a tear trailed down her check.

"Chihiro, calm down. There's a reason I haven't been able to come see you," Haku told her softly. "Just listen to me and I'll explain to you what's happening in the spirit world." Chihiro calmed down, now interested. Something was happening in Spirit World?

"After you left, I did keep my promise. I went to talk to Yubaba and quit being her apprentice, though she didn't take it quite well," Haku chuckled slightly, getting a small smile out of Chihiro. She knew how Yubaba had controlled him using a slug curse and how easily she had been about to dispose of him when he was about to die. She scowled at the memory, but continued listening.

"I stayed behind just a little while longer to make sure Yubaba wouldn't do anything to anyone else. She didn't, and I was about to leave to see you, but then…he came," Haku trailed off and scowled.

"Who? Who came?" Chihiro coaxed him to continue his story, their argument from moments ago forgotten for now.

"After you left," Haku began, "it seemed that everything would be back to normal; however, it seems you are very well known around Spirit World now because of what happened with Kaonashi." (A/N: I hope that's the right name for him in Japanese...)

"Really? I'm famous?" Chihiro asked, surprised. She was already famous in Spirit World? And they said that she was some worthless human…

"Yes, but it's with who that's the problem," Haku said. "Some of the evil spirits caught word of you. After they found out you left the bathhouse, they came…" Haku growled softly.

"Evil spirits at the bathhouse?" Chihiro cocked an eyebrow.

"Yes," Haku admitted. "Because of the incident with Kaonashi, we had little money left to spare for food and other things, and they were offering gold. Yubaba, being the greedy witch she is, just couldn't pass up the offer and allowed them in. Before we knew it, they took over and turned everyone into slaves. Lin and the others were able to help me escape so I could find some way to contact you—"

"Wait a minute," Chihiro interrupted. She thought back to all the weird occurrences that had been happening over the past few days. "You mean, that strange breeze, and the feeling of someone watching me…that was you?"

"Yes," Haku confessed once again. "I haven't been gone forever, you know. I've been trying to talk to you everyday. I've watched you by the river, but only recently have I been able to make myself known to you." Chihiro thought back to some time by the river. The day of her birthday, she saw a strange fish with the exact colorings of Haku's dragon form. Chihiro gasped and mentally slapped herself. She should have known better than to think Haku had not kept his promise.

"So…what am I supposed to do?" Chihiro asked after a moment of awkward silence. Why did Haku come to her of all people? What power did she have over spirits, let alone evil ones?

"With your help, we can thwart the reign of the Chimimouryou. Chihiro, you may not know it, but you do have a special power, though it may not be something like my powers," Haku encouraged with a smile. She couldn't just say "no" to that face, now could she? She was such a sucker to that face, and sometimes she hated it.

Chihiro nodded and Haku grinned. "Thank you, Chihiro."

"When do you want me to go there?" Chihiro questioned.

"If you can, we should leave as soon as possible, meaning—"

"Today; yeah, I get it," Chihiro stared at the ground. She didn't want to leave her friends and make everyone worry, but Haku needed her help, and she still needed to repay him from all the times he had helped her before.

Fighting back the tears as hard as she could, Chihiro forced herself to smile and look up at the dragon boy. She wasn't all that positive about leaving her friends and parents behind and she wasn't sure what she was going to tell them, but she had to do something. Chihiro stood and opened her bedroom door only to come face to face with Akane and Sakana.

"Hehehe," Sakana laughed nervously.

"You guys were listening?" Chihiro asked them.

"We're sorry, Chihiro. You're our friend. We're worried about you," Akane explained. She gazed worriedly at Chihiro. Again with the begging puppy dog face!

"What's 'Spirit World'?" Sakana asked. Chihiro exchanged glances with Haku and sighed.

"I guess I'd better tell you guys what happened…" Chihiro said. This was going to be a long day.

A/N: BTW, Chimimouryou means evil spirits of rivers and mountains. I found it on this really good Jap. Translation site. I hope it's right, anyways. Hehehe…Anyways, hope you guys liked this chapter! Haku came!

Please review! Don't forget, this is still a sort of second priority next to my YYH and Pretear stories (because of E .) Notice that it is above my Inu story…..

Now wish me luck, my friends, for I may not return alive tomorrow! (Lol…that's one of my favorite lines, but without the tomorrow and with some other things in front of it) Ok, enough of me babbling…see you guys next time!

Serena