Author's Note: I give my most sincere apologies for the lack of updates! But here it is! Enjoy and REVIEW (:

~ To See You Again ~

Toshio stared back at his reflection in the mirror. His hair was black, instead of the serene green color that it used to be. And the brown eyes that were looking back at him were no longer had the subtle green tinge that used to make them so distinct. After all the countless years of being an apprentice to that evil old Yubaba, such basic knowledge of the consequences of magic was nothing new to Toshio. But Toshio missed his old self, his original self: Nigihayami Kohaku Nushi, the powerful spirit of the Kohaku River. As Haku, he was free to use any sort of magic at his own free will. But most of all, as Haku, he could love Chihiro and be loved back.

That was not the case anymore.


"Remember, keep this by your side at all times," said Zeniba as she placed the folded towel in Haku's hands. "If you part with it for too long, you will start to transform back."

Haku felt the coolness of the towel with his palm. Such a measly, ugly towel, he thought to himself, but yet so powerful.

"Are you ready now?" Zeniba asked sternly, "transformation are complex works of magic, you know that."

Haku looked at the old witch and replied determinedly, "Yes."

Zeniba heaved a conceded sigh. "You two never change," she whispered. She then cleared her throat and quickly straightened herself, "All right then, you know what you are supposed to do?"

Haku gripped the towel and nodded firmly. He closed his eyes and tried to relax, since that would make the transformation significantly easier for Zeniba to perform. Zeniba smiled at her sister's young apprentice, "Thank you for doing that without my having to tell you." She then too closed her eyes and stood in front of the young man. Placing her hand on each of his shoulders, she said quietly, "In a moment, I am going to take a part of your soul out and confine it within that towel. Try to relax as much as you can, but I know it won't be easy." Suddenly, her grip became stronger, and Haku felt as if a knife was piercing through him. Is it my arm? No, it is my chest, on the left side, right where my neck meets my shoulder blades. The pain was slowly trickling down his body, down the tender flesh of his stomach, along the sides of the toned muscles of his strong legs. There were tiny needles pricking him all over, and the excruciating pain was causing him to tremble in violent spasms. A burning sensation was scorching the walls of his chest, and Haku could feel his breath being vacuumed out from his lungs. Haku tried to take deep breaths to ease his body, but his body was already empty, and everything began to disappear.


There was the tranquil zeee-zeee of the spinning wheel, and the soothing melody of a calming hum. He could feel the sound reaching closer and closer to his ears.

He opened his eyes a little and saw a warming glow shining through the opening in the curtains. "Zeniba," he murmured weakly, "is it done?"

"Oh yes, dear," she replied quietly, "but you collapsed halfway, which made the process slightly easier though, I should add." Haku closed his eyes again. His body felt odd, like it was not his. He inhaled deeply, expecting the searing pain to return again. However, to his surprise, the burn in his chest had disappeared, but he felt exhausted, so drained of energy that it hurt to breathe. Haku let his mind drift off, perhaps to a faraway place, and his lips moved a bit at the thought of reuniting with her again.


The next day, Zeniba carefully, but quickly, walked Haku to the tunnel. "You MUST not part with that towel no matter what, remember this," reminded Zeniba again and again. "Your soul is inside! To have one part of your soul here and another part there, you know how serious the consequences are!"

Haku limped along, "I know, I know." He was still so sore from the previous day, but he knew he had to keep going if he wanted to see her again.

"A girl named Sachi Usagi will be taking care of you until you are capable of doing so yourself," Zeniba added. "Ah, here we are."

"I'll take him from here," said an unfamiliar beautiful voice. He opened his eyes to see the source of that pleasant voice. A girl, who seemed slightly older than he, approached him and put his left arm over her light shoulders and her arm across his back to support his tired body. "My name is Sachi Usagi, and I am a graduated apprentice of Zeniba's, so I know a good deal of magic to help you for the time being." She then turned her head to Zeniba, "Don't worry, I'll take good care of him," and the two walked into the dark tunnel.