(A/N Nothing like a new chapter! Let's get to our story!)

Disclaimer: I do not own Spirited Away or its characters

Chapter Five: Days of Sunshine Days of Shadow

Lin sat on the balcony listening to the rain. Thunder KRA-KROOM! Everyone turned in for the night, Lin couldn't eat the rest of her unfinished sandwich. How could she think of food while words haunt her coming out of Yubaba's office less than four hours ago. If Haku succeeds, Chihiro may be sent to the pigpen, if he fails, he may sign another contract and suffer fate all over again.

Listening to the rain gave her an idea. As Yubaba's slave, she can't return to her chipmunk form nor remember how she travelled from the Spirit World to the Human World. She searched inside herself how she is going to give Haku a message, if Yubaba's magic works in the Spirit World, then maybe her spell can't be magical in the Human World.

To have no magical abilities, the only thing she can do is hope. Sitting around made her angry, she had to do something. Lin got up and went down stairs to the boiler room, she exited the back way and climbed the stairs, she turned the little door handle, crawled out, and walked across the bridge. Lin found a small barrel with a row-handle, she got in and rowed across the river. The little frog statue poured water from it's mouth as Lin left the witch's land.

Everything was dark, but a Spirit can see in the dark. Lin got off the barrel boat, and walked inside the train station. Lin stood still glancing at the three tunnels where Chihiro and her parents took back to the human world. She sat cross-legged and closed her eyes.

"My friend is in trouble. Help me let go, and lead me to get a message to Haku. In the name of the Earth, wind and boulder-bound beneath me, unbind my Spirit form and lead me to Haku."

She took a deep breath in and out. A silent gong bangs, bangs then bangs. Lin eyes grow wide, light flashes across her cornea then vanishes. Lin finds herself in some kind of light. Wasn't she in the empty train station a moment ago?

Lin panicked. A little voice calmed her down but couldn't make out the words but somehow understood the sentence. She sees a sphere in front of her, a sphere similar of a blackhole full of stars and galaxies. The voice calls for her to enter. Lin takes a deep breath showing no emotion. She enters the sphere hoping when she comes back, the witch can;t touch Haku nor Sen.

(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)

Chihiro brushes her teeth while examining herself in the mirror. She wears a white top with a navy blue skirt, with a red sash tied around her neck. She examines shoes, flats and high heels. She spits in the sink, gurgles and rinses with mouthwash.

She examines the shoes again. She blocks her vision with her arm, and lets her finger guide her. The flats, she nodded. She puts the high heels away, and slips into her flats. She sips on a cup of tea waiting for Kapiro.

She thought more about Hana's words. On her side of the conversation, which is the other way around that Chihiro had a boyfriend, it could of been the imagination of a child, a dream, but inside Chihiro believes it happened. If Haku remembered their promise, maybe Kapiro would be a better man than he was. She shook her head, all the nostalgic was getting the best of her like the neighborhood street of Harajuku.

A neighborhood in Japan where fans dress as their favorite character and be someone they are not. Chihiro chuckles how silly the hair, clothes, and acting in character like her school play "Kiki's Delivery Service."

A car light gets her attention, Kapiro honks his horn.

Chihiro puts her glass in the sink, she grabs her keys and coat, shut the blinds, lights, and locks her door leaving the porch light on. Chihiro climbs inside the car, putting her keys away in her purse.

"Are you ready?" asked Kapiro.

Chihiro nodds. Kapiro starts the engine and drives away with Chihiro. Smell of rain was in the air. Clouds cover the crescent moon as Chihiro warms herself.

"Are you cold?"

"Little bit."

Kapiro switches on the heater, Chihiro stares out the window thinking about her night and what will become after she gets to his house to have supper with his parents. Long time since her Father worked with Kapiro's Father for a short while.

Chihiro thought of her parents living in the city without her. She could call them, maybe visit them when the semester was over. Perhaps she may reconsider attending one of the best schools in the country.

Her thoughts were put aside when Kapiro parks the car in front of his house. He shuts his driver's door behind him, and comes around opening her passenger's door. Chihiro steps out thanking him.

"Shall we go inside before supper gets cold?" He offers her hand. Chihiro shyly puts her hand unto his locking fingers. Chihiro gulped. Was he just a friend or possibly more than a friend?

They walk hand in hand up the steps where supper awaits.

(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)

Kra-Kroom!

Haku walks in the rain soaked, it was cold, windy, thunder slashes zig-zag across the sky. Haku made it back where he started, he made camp under a tree, the fire does little keeping his hands warm. He massages his feet from all the walking he did today, tomorrow was day two. One day down, two more to go.

Haku was running out of time, but tomorrow might bring him luck. He could count on Alysa, considering the name Chihiro sounded familiar. Haku was getting apprehensive, his thoughts raced back and forth. What would their reunion be like?

Haku thought about their reunion since her departure. He believed she felt the same way, considering she may or may not recovered her memories. Haku gulped. If Chihiro didn't return his feelings? He thought he would die of a broken heart, although he had all the time in the world of immortality.

He put more sticks and leaves into the flame as he warms his hands. He thought about the day he had as a human. Nearly died of a car crash, searched half the town gazing at the window, and met a girl who assumem the name seemed familiar.

Haku sighs, he did a lot of running, walking and exploring today. Haku's eyes drifted, opened, then drifted again. He would need all his strength tomorrow, Haku watched the fire before putting another cloak of leaves. A few minutes later, Haku snuggled himself and fell asleep.

Lin was surrounded by a transparent wall of light, not similar of the sun nor moon. She took a step forward, the light was warm and comforting, she walked and gazed all around her until a black shadow with long flowing dark brown hair, eyes slim as a fish, diamonds flowed in a straight line connecting as the creature's arms, a blue cloak covers the rest of its shadow, its red lips showed it's enormous razor sharp teeth.

The creature's nose shaped like V's sensed Lin, Lin showed no mercy except wisdom. No Spirit was going to frighten her.

Lin bowed down."My name is Lin. I am an employee of Yubaba's Bathhouse. My Spirit form of the human world I possess was a chipmunk. I would gather my kind nuts and acorns to survive growing families, only my land was destroyed by humans to built a city. I have not been to the human world since the land was vanquished, and my kind has travelled part-ways. I have to come not to enter the human world but to get a message to a River Spirit. His name is Nigihayami Kohaku Nushi. He is great danger if he fails his mission to find his human companion Sen or Chihiro, preferably Chihiro might be her real name. If he comes back without the human he dearly loves, he will suffer illusional pains for the next thousand years, or the evil witch may sign him in another contract, she may steal his name like she did to my friends, or something worse after he reassigned."

The Shadow Spirit's face was unreadable. The first thing Lin noticed it closed it's eyes, and held out its hand. Lin figured it wanted to show her through pictures instead of words.

Lin placed her hand onto the shadow Spirit. Her mind transferred the time humans destroyed the environment where she lived. Her animals chipmunks and squirrels vanished without a trace. Lin was lost for awhile until she found a job at the bathhouse, the job was hard work but she made due to get her mind off humans.

Humans have been in the forest before, Little Lin at the time possess as a chipmunk thought nothing bad about humans. Children gathered berries in the woods, climbed trees, and gathered water a mile from the land.

Then the humans came and destroyed her home. Although Lin was sad her home was destroyed, she despised humans awhile until she came upon Chihiro, Lin learned Children are not like adults, it was the adults who wanted to destroy her home. Chihiro was no different. Lin misjudged her considering she landed a job and proved to be a hard worker.

Eight years passed, and the Spirit showed her she knew before Lin entered the Sphere of the galaxy, Lin wanted to ask if she can't possess her Spiritual form, she can however travel through a portal of everyone's dreams.

"Each portal has access to everyone's dreams, but not just their dreams. Their subconscious, his thoughts, feelings, everything no Spirit or Human can hide."

"Will you help me? I need to get to Haku before the bathhouse opens."

The Spirit nodded. The Shadow Spirit casts a spell opening another portal, the portal inside possessed more portals with everyone's names on the top. The Spirit informed Lin before entering the portal of dreams. It took Lin's hand speaking a clear yet beautiful voice.

"The River Spirit is asleep as we speak now, the portal will close when he opens his eyes. You will be transferred back into the train station as you were now. Hurry before I close this portal."

Lin bowed. Thanking the Shadow Spirit, Lin enters the portal and searches for Haku's full name. It took twenty-minutes to find his name considering there were millions of people in the world, including Spirits if they never leave their possessed Spirit Form in the Human world.

Lins Stumbles Chihiro's dream portal, its closed, Lin wished if she were asleep she could tell her Haku is in the Human World looking for her, she sighed, she wished nothing more of a perfect reunion between the River Spirit and the Human. Lin searched some more, she passed his name double back.

The portal's open, Lin takes a deep breath and goes inside.

(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)

"Thank you for having me for supper." Said Chihiro pulling up a chair next to Kapiro's Mother and Father.

"It's been quite awhile since your Mother and Father moved to Tokyo. Speaking of them, how are they?" asked Kapiro's Father.

Chihiro folded her napkin in her lap, "They're doing good. Mom joined a book reading club, and Dad is doing the same he always did at home in his office."

Kapiro's Mother and Kapiro set the platter of food on the table, roasted chicken, ramen noodles of green onion, poached eggs, and kernels of corn and ham. White rice served on the side.

Kapiro's Ftaher blesses the food, he serves his wife, then Chihiro, and last Kapiro. Everyone eats as they talk about Kapiro's study of Law, Kapiro pushes it off to the side. His schooling would take another three years before he became an official lawyer.

"Father. My grades are at the top considering I don't have to take 101 classes thanks to my A.P. classes in high school. Even if I graduate in a year and half, I have to take training classes which may take another two years."

"Son, High School GPA's and college don't count if a man who once studied his whole life of Law Enforcment, he had all his schooling at the top of his class, but it wasn't enough when he couldn't land a job he would take seriously. It took him four years to land a job. You need to get serious about this or your whole schooling would be for nothing."

"So, Chihiro." Kapiro's Mother steps in changing the subject."How's your art career coming along?"

Chihiro dabbed her mouth with her napkin. "It's coming along well. We're studying the Vatican and Art of the Church in school. I may travel to Italy next year and take an Italian Course."

"Course?" Asked Kapiro.

"It's an exchange program from my college, the small residence we live in takes a while to proceed to send five or six students to Italy, like myself in my spare time apart from my studies, I take Italian Courses online, I can remember a few phrases only I lack one full conversation."

"Isn't there an art school from your college one mile across campus?" asked Kapiro's Mother to her son.

"Yes, there is."

"Chihiro. Why don't you apply, you could be in Italy within the year?"

Chihiro cleared her plate."May I help you wash dishes?"

Kapiro sensed she was getting uncomfortable such a question from his parents."It's getting late. I'll drive you home Chihiro. Thank you for having supper with us tonight."

"Anytime you're welcome here, Chihiro!" Said Kapiro's Parents.

Kapiro helped Chihiro into her coat, the rain was beating down outside. Chihiro thanked his parents having her over for supper, she bowed them goodnight. They don't say a word the whole ride to her house. Chihiro couldn't say she had a bad time, she did miss her parents, she could apply for the art school, but she just couldn't leave this place.

It was like the whole town had an impact why she stayed, in the small community of no opportunities. Kapiro couldn't blame her. He had more struggles than her. Having a Father who pushes him to study and she gets to stay and have her own life of choosing her destiny.

Kapiro parks outside her driveway. Neither say a word till she opened her door, taking off her coat hanging it on the rack.

"I'm sorry my parents made you uncomfortable, especially my Dad constantly pushing me to achieve my dream of Law Enforcement."

Chihiro took a double-take."They didn't make me uncomfortable. Let me ask you a question if you mind me asking?"

"Go ahead. Ask away!"

"What is your dream? Did you actually want to become a lawyer?" Kapiro opens his mouth to say something, but instantly closes it."Don't interrupt me after I am finished. In high school, you were team leader of the Broadcasting Club. You worked the cameras, you edited special effects no one could figure out but you, if I am correct, you wanted to pursue a career in broadcasting, did you?"

"Chihiro-"

She shook her head."Don't Chihiro me! You know I am right. Your Dad pushes you, not to be disrespectful to him, you spent hours studying Law, extra A.P. classes, you spent your whole summer vacation studying curled up over fifty books about Law, everything about becoming a lawyer."

Kapiro tilts his head."My Dad-

"No Kapiro, all throughout high school, you gave lectures of following your dreams. Become an artist, travel the world, these hands were made to do things we never thought of. Why are you not following your own advice? If your Dad doesn't respect what you want to do with your life, it's not his. It's yours. Do what you love! Make your move."

Kapiro takes off his glasses. "I don't want to disappoint my Dad. After all I've worked for."

Chihiro frowned."I'm saying this because I'm your friend, if you go on following your father's dream, you will regret everything later on. You will be miserable for the rest of your life. Does it not matter to you what you feel?"

Kapiro puts on his coat." I'll see you before I leave. Good night, Chihiro." he kisses her cheek before she responds. Her cheeks stain red as the sound of his car disappears down the road.

Chihiro turns off the lights to get ready for work tomorrow. After brushing her teeth, and hair; she climbs into bed letting the thumping rain drift her off to sleep.

(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)

Haku's surrounded by a whirl of clear water, a white cloudy fog blocks his path. He knew he was asleep, within a few hours he would have all his strength to find Chihiro.

RRRibbit! A frog croaks hopping from one lilly leaf to anither joining his friends waiting patiently for a bug. A dragon fly zooms beneath the frogs, the frogs waits then zap, the frog catches his dinner.

An angel flew across the blue sky, waves to Haku then disappears into the clouds. The fog clears letting Haku walk out of the water, the green grass pasture spread miles up the snowy mountains, a ray of colors spread across the sky of millions of stars, similar of the Northern lights. Green, Blue, Pink, Purple, and Yellow shine across the sky above him.

Was it his imagination or is that water splashing behind him? Haku turns around. He couldn't believe his eyes, Lin stopped to catch her breath before speaking.

"Lin?"
"How did you get here? Where did you come from?" asked Haku.

Lin straightens up,"Well, consider it rude not saying hello."

"Hi." He waves sheepishly.

"Listen dragon before you wake up. You have to find Sen before it's too late."

Haku had the urge to roll his eyes."Isn't that what Mother Spirit got through talking to me about. I know if i fail, i will suffer illusions for the next thousand years. You know that Lin."

"No Haku, Yubaba will use your illusion to get you to sign a contract with her." She exclaimed.

Haku blinked."Why would she do a thing if I reassigned?" Lin shook her head. This was serious.

Lin smacks hims cross the face."Get through your head dragon. Yubaba will ease off some of the effects, you might turn as a last result, but suffer for the next thousand years. She made me swore I wouldn't tell anyone. I can't communicate in the human world but this was the only way to get a message to you. Please, you have to find her."

"I will find her, I saved her like she saved me; if Yubaba wants to play games, I'll be ready!" He turns his back against her.

Lin walks around facing him."That's not it. Sen is-

Lin glows of golden light, her feet, body, and face simmer away. Haku awakens the sound of thunder and lightening. As the weather rapidly roars the night away, Haku curls under the tree. Within a few hours he falls asleep, Lin's message brought him news of his upcoming rising of Yubaba. He's not stupid to sign another contract. He will protect Chihiro, forever.

(A/N My computer crashed and deleted all my work of this chapter which took forever to remember hours of work. College is a killer, swapped with homework, balancing my work schedule.

Takes more of my writing time. I'll try to update every weekday or weekend. Leave me reviews, it makes me ecstatic people are reading my story.)