Right. This chapter, enjoy! And wow, dream lighting, thank you for reviewing like five minutes after I put the last chapter up! Also, to Himeno Kazehito and the guest reviewer, thanks for reviewing.

As Haku flew silently through the sky, the girls' memories began to come back. The colours Arya had became water, flecked with white foam. Chihiro remembered a little pink shoe and a splash. Both girls were remembering something that had happened, years ago.

This was what they told Haku. When the girls were very young, Chihiro had dropped her shoe into a river, and she fell in when she reached to get it back. Arya, who had been sitting dangling her legs, had jumped in to try to save her sister, but had underestimated the depth of the water. But instead of drowning, the girls had been carried to shore.

"And the name of the river was the Kohaku River." Chihiro said.

"We connect you with it." Arya said. "We think that might be your real name – the spirit of the Kohaku River!"

Suddenly, the dragon's scales fell off, and left in the sky was two girls holding hands with an older boy. Haku was still flying, but only now, he just held one of Chihiro's hands and one of Arya's. The girls' free hands held each others'.

"You did it!" Haku's eyes sparkled as he spoke. "I remember! I was the spirit of the Kohaku river. My name is Nigihiyami Kohaku Nushi."

"They filled in that river." Chihiro said. "It's all apartments now."

"That must be why I can't get home." Haku said. "I remember you both falling into my river. I remember the pink shoe."

"You saved us." Arya smiled at him. "We knew you were a good person."

Chihiro giggled. "Arya, weren't you the one to accuse him of having done something first?"

Arya raised her eyebrows, but she smiled. "As if I could doubt anyone who rescued us...twice."

It was dawn by the time they reached the bathouse. Pretty much everyone was waiting for them. Yubaba paced on one side of the bridge, in front of a dozen pigs, while everyone else was together.

Even from a distance, the girls and Haku heard Lin calling "Hey, there they are!"

Finally, as the girls and Haku set themselves down, the mouse and fly left Chihiro and turned back to their normal forms.

"Mama!" exclaimed the baby.

"My baby!" Yubaba exclaimed, hugging him. "Are you traumatized? Did they do terrible things to you? You're standing all by yourself! When did that happen?"

Arya scowled at the suggestion that someone might have hurt the baby.

"Don't forget your promise!" Haku said, stepping forward. "You must return Arya, Chihiro and their parents to the human world."

"Not so fast, Haku!" Yubaba snapped. "I get to give them one final test." The other spirits started yelling protests. Now all of them supported the girls. "Shut up!" Yubaba yelled.

"Stop it, Mama." the baby said suddenly. "Leave them alone. Sen and Ani and I had a really good time."

Yubaba gasped and protested. "But a deal is a deal, sweetie. I have to give them one final test."

"If you make either of them cry, I won't like you any more." the baby threatened.

But the girls were ready to take the test. All they had to do was work together to pick out which of the dozen pigs were their parents.

It took a few moments. The girls conferred and then Chihiro turned to Yubaba. "There must be a mistake. We are both sure none of these pigs are our mom or dad."

"None of them?" repeated Yubaba as she held both their contracts. "Is that really your answer?"

The girls nodded...and their contracts disappeared.

The pigs turned into men and women spirits. "You got it!" they exclaimed. The other spirits cheered.

"All right, you win, get out of my sight." Yubaba scowled.

The two girls bowed to her respectfully, waving to everyone else, then running across the bridge. "Goodbye! Thank you!"

Haku was waiting for them, and took one of their hands in one of his, running with them through the stalls.

"So where is our mom and dad?" Chihiro asked.

"When you passed the test, they woke up on the human side of the river." Haku answered. "They're there now, looking for you."

The river had become the field it was when the whole family had gotten there. Haku told the girls he couldn't go any further. He made them promise not to look back until they'd passed through the tunnel.

"What'll happen if we do?" Arya asked.

Haku's face became serious. "I can't really explain. Just promise you won't look back."

While the girls were going to leave, Haku was planning to quit his job as Yubaba's apprentice.

"Will we see you again?" Chihiro asked.
"I'm sure we will." Haku said.
"Promise?"

"Promise."

Arya wasn't so sure. "Just in case things don't go how we plan them..." she whispered, raising herself up on her toes. She tilted her head up, and kissed Haku on the lips – her first kiss. It was short, but it happened.

Chihiro didn't feel jealous. Both girls loved Haku, but in different ways. It was both those feelings that broke the spell that nearly killed him. Chihiro's love was more of the admiration and worship that only a girl of ten could feel for someone. Maybe there was a touch of romantic love in there somewhere, but she wouldn't have known it. Arya's love was purely romantic. She'd even call Haku her first serious crush, with true feelings.

The girls were still holding Haku's hand. "Now go," he said, "And don't look back."

The girls obediently raced down the hill together, when they heard a voice calling their names.

It was their mom. "Where have you two been?" she called. "Hurry up!" Their dad was there too. The girls looked at each other, and ran down to their parents.

It was obvious the girls' parents had no clue of what had transpired over the last few days. They were very surprised when they got through the tunnel and found the car covered in leaves.

Finally, the girls stopped resisting the temptation, and looked back through the pitch black tunnel. Both girls thought about their experiences. Not yet did they realize it, but they'd grown up a lot. Both finally understood the meaning of hard work – and of sisterhood. Chihiro had become more confident and open to new things, while Arya had learned empathy and understanding.

Their parents called them into the car as they thought.

"Come on, girls! Let's get to our new home!"

"You two aren't scared, are you?"

The girls turned and got back into the car. Their hairbands shimmered in the sunlight.

"A new home, and a new school." their dad mused as he drove off. "It is a bit scary."

Chihiro and Arya smiled at each other, and spoke at the same time. "I think we can handle it."

Just an epilogue to go! Please, please, please review!