He awoke to the sound of a machine beeping at his side. Opening his eyes, he felt the comfortable bed underneath him, along with the warm blanket that covered his body. Turning his head, he tried to see where he was. White walls were decorated with children's drawings, with the floor shining brown. Moving back to his original position, he stared up at the wall.

Trying to remember what had happened before he blacked out, he started off with the leader. As if feeling the sword stabbing through him again, he touched his side. I fell and closed my eyes from the pain, he continued. But I could hear Chihiro screaming. Then… Then…

A flash of flickering flames appeared in his mind. Everything around me was warm, he thought. Something hit me, and buried me until I couldn't breathe properly. A couple minutes later and the heavy stuff were pulled away. Something grabbed my arm… He was dragged from the rubble, lightly dropped on something smooth. Leaning against it, someone was calling out to someone. Then I blacked out. "And now I'm here," he spoke aloud.

"Where is… everyone?" Remembering Chihiro's cry, he bolted up from his bed. Cringing from the pain from his side, he gently laid himself back down. Chihiro, where is she? he thought. Glancing out of the window, the sun shined brightly. A few children played in the courtyard, kicking the ball to each other and drawing with chalk. Taking the wires off of his arms, he slipped into his shoes. Leaning against the wall for support, he found the door and opened it.

The sound of his shoes echoed through the hallway. Panting from exhaustion, he tried to see if any door was open. Just as he was about to try another door, he heard a distant laugh. Following the numerous voices, he found a door that slightly opened. Prepared for the worst, he pushed the door open.

The breeze knocked into him, warming his cold cheeks. He realized spirits from the war had arrived to recover. This is a hospital, he realized. One spirit hopped off of the stool, leaping towards the spirit. "Master Haku, you're alright!" the frog chirped. "Aogaeru," Haku greeted. "Of course he's alright, he's Haku!" one exclaimed. "Please, help yourself."

Drawing out a chair for him, Haku gladly accepted. Slowly sitting down, he let out a deep sigh. Looking around, many spirits were cheerful: laughing, dancing, playing games by the courtyard and much more. "Aniyaku, where is Yubaba?" Haku asked. Turning back to the spirit from their conversation, Aniyaku stared at him. "She's around, I suppose," he shrugged. "Ever since the war ended, she came all so quiet and serious. The only thing she said to me was 'Do not go near the valley'."

Haku frowned. "What's at the valley?" The spirit narrowed his eyes. "You mean you don't remember? You were even there! Some dark spirit arrived and destroyed everything. Some say-" Aniyaku looked around, leaning towards the spirit. "Some say the dark spirit was Chihiro." His words echoed through his racing mind. Just as Aniyaku had spoken, the door creaked open.

As spirits began to turn around to greet the arriving spirit, they froze. The cheering and laughing died away. Blinking, the river spirit turned around to see who it was. The witch wore a bright red dress, with the usual sparkling jewels around her neck. Her grey hair was pinned down to the back, unlike the big bun on top. "L-Lady Zeniba," Aogaeru bowed. Many of the spirits quietly followed. "I hope that all of you are well?" the witch asked with a warm smile.

Murmurs of agreement spread throughout the crowd. "Please, don't let me interrupt your celebration. If you would excuse Master Haku for a moment," Zeniba gestured to the spirit. "Of course, ma'am," a spirit bowed respectfully. Haku limped off of the chair, leaving the quiet group. Once the witch closed the door behind them, the spirits in the room turned back to their old selves.

"Are you going to explain what's going on here?" Haku frowned, limping beside Zeniba. Without a word, they arrived at another room. Opening it, Yubaba sat in a chair, looking outside. Hearing the door close, the witch looked up. "Ah, you're here," the bathhouse owner spoke. Still confused as to what was happening, the spirit immediately demanded, "Where is this place? Where is Akira? And Chihiro?"

"Calm down, Haku," Yubaba snapped. "We too have questions that need to be answered! So sit down and be patient!" Silent, the boy sat in the chair across the table. "It's been a while since I've heard your old voice," he gave a light chuckle.

Turning back to the garden, she muttered, "Quiet, you little fish." After a few moments, a shadow appeared beside the balcony. Flying with the gentle wind, Daichi appeared into the room. "It took you a while to get here," Yubaba snorted.

"Welcome, Lord Daichi," Zeniba bowed, sitting beside her twin sister. Giving her a nod, he sat on the railing. "How are you feeling, Haku?" the lively spirit asked. The river spirit did not reply.

Blinking, the ancient spirit glanced at the twins. "Did you say something?" he asked, giving a teasing grumpy face. As Yubaba was about to snap back at him, Zeniba interjected. "Oh, nothing. He's just a bit rough from…"

Thinking she was talking about Chihiro, he sat up. "Tell me what happened to her," he calmly said. "What happened while I was out?" Daichi stared at Haku for a moment. His bright, energetic expression stiffened into a serious and cold face. "As soon as Yubaba and I came out of the rubble, we found you three," Daichi explained.

"Chihiro carried you and Akira out of the ground," Yubaba added. "So it's true," Haku thought. "Chihiro was the one who caused the explosion. So the valley is destroyed, correct?" Zeniba nodded. "There's nothing left there," she sighed.

"Continue," Haku eagerly said, tightly gripping the chair. "Since you were dying from that wound you received from the enemy, Chihiro offered to give her life to you," Daichi continued. The spirit tried not to panic. Trying to calm himself down, he kept himself from standing up and yelling in frustration.

"She attempted to give some of her life, but instead gave nearly all of it to heal you," the ancient spirit went on. "We managed to stop her from giving all of her energy, but…" His voice faltered. The only sounds that were there was the water dropping from the fountain and birds chirping.

Where… "Where is she now…" Haku gritted his teeth. The carefully woven chair began to crunch in his grasp. "Where is she?" Daichi looked away, staring at the same area where Yubaba was looking. Zeniba stood up, leaving the room.

"Where is Chihiro!" His commanding voice rang in the air. Some of the children's giggles and shouts stopped, wondering what the shout was. "I leave this to you, Lord Daichi," Yubaba said, following after her sister. The two men stood in silence.

Before the river spirit could repeat, Daichi pointed outside. "Look outside," he told Haku. Walking towards the balcony, Haku found one of the playing children to be Akira. He looked around, trying to find the ball that one of his spirit friends had taken. "Chihiro," Daichi began. "She…"

Finally turning towards the fountain, Akira found Haku limping across the garden fields. Racing towards him, he blinked in curiosity. "Isn't it too early for you to stand up?" he asked. When the spirit did not reply, he tried to ask again.

The river spirit could only shake his head, hiding his face from the human boy. Finding tiny drops of tears were falling from Haku's face, he realized who he was thinking about. "Don't cry, Haku," Akira sniffed, wiping the forming tears from his eyes.

"It's just like you said… back at the cave… We shouldn't cry under any circumstances. R-Right?" Breaking into silent sobs, the boys stood in the middle of the garden. From afar, two shadowy figures stood at the balcony. The two quietly watched them share their sadness.

The taller one glanced at the one that leaned against the railing. Without a word, the two left. As they left, the shorter one formed a warm smile.