When the day finally came, Haku was nervous with anticipation. He already had the look of a thirteen year old boy, and he had spent the day before in his dragon form for what would hopefully be the last time. He had already said his good-byes to everyone. He know waited for it to happen. Around noon, Haku was dining with Zeniba and No-Face and being impatient. Just as he was about to take his last scoop of food, he started becoming invisible. He panicked at first, but let himself go with it. He felt blackness swallow him.

When he woke up he was in a theme park. It was sunny but a cool breeze ruffled his hair, he knew he couldn't be in Chihiro's home town, for it was summer and the heat should be stifling. He looked around and saw that the letters were all in English. Luckily he understood many languages. He sat up and looked around, no one noticed the boy that was lying on the floor, the park hadn't even been open for ten minutes so there were hardly any people on this end of the park. He started wandering around, trying to look like he knew where he was going. Eventually he noticed that there was a lot of people for it being so early. The park was filling up fast and Haku got a sinking feeling that he might never find her. He searched within himself for his dragon form, so he could get above the crowds and try to spot her. He found his form, but when he tried to change, nothing. He panicked then remembered, he had given up all his magic to be here with her. He was human now. Deciding quickly he went on a ride that would get him an almost aerial view of where he was at. The ride was shaped like an elephant and the controls simply moved it up and down. He looked around and then spotted her. He didn't know how he knew it was her, he just did. When this ride finished he went to where he last spotted her. She was only a few feet away from there and was walking with her family.

"Chihiro!" he called out and saw her turn.

She gave him a blank stare, as if she didn't recognize him. Of course. He thought to himself angrily. They would take away her memories of him, it was a test to see if their feelings for each other were pure enough to endure anything.

She frowned, "How do you know my name?" she asked him.

Her beautiful voice full of confusion.

"I've known you since you were very little" he answered automatically.

She frowned, "Where have I heard that before?" She asked and looked at him as if she was examining him, "You look...like someone I used to dream about." She admitted then blushed at her words. "I mean...uh..."

Haku couldn't help but laugh, "Well if you dream about someone who looks like me, you must have seen me before." he said logically.

She nodded and her frown deepened. Her father called out to her and walked over to join them.

"Who's your friend?" Her mom asked.

"Uh."

"Haku" He said and extended his hand out.

"Haku? Chihiro you used to tell stories about a dragon named Haku, do you remember?" her mom asked her.

"Yah, that was the same story about you turning into pigs." she mumbled, "I used to think it was real. But I can't know you, unless you came all the way to California at the same time I did, which is too much of a coincidence. Unless you're stalking me," the last part was obviously a joke since she was smiling.

Haku couldn't help but to grin back. She was funnier than he remembered. In fact a lot of things had changed about her. For one, she no longer looked like a gangly ten year old. She looked like a beautiful teenager. Her hair was up in her usual hairstyle, but it looked longer. He noticed that she had on the purple hair tie that was made for her by Boh, Yubaba's bird, No-Face, and Zeniba.

"Nice hair tie" he commented.

Her hand went up to it automatically, "My friends gave it to me. Before I left..." her voice trailed off.

He knew that would work. The hair tie came from the spirit world. He watched her frown and try to figure it out. She put her hand to her temples and seemed to sway a little. Luckily her parents didn't notice and said they were going to go in line for the ride that was in a mountain. Chihiro nodded and closed her eyes. As soon as they were out of sight, her eyes rolled back and her lids closed and she started falling. Haku caught her quickly and lifted her up. He walked over to a bench and sat down with her head in his lap. The workers of the park rushed over to make sure that she was ok. Haku said that she needed some water, and one came back with a bottle, free of charge. Haku put the cold bottle on her head and she groaned a bit. He looked around and waited for her to come to. He wondered how long it would take for her parents to get back, hopefully a long time, or they would see her like this. After what seemed an eternity she opened her eyes.

"Haku?" came her small voice.

He turned and looked down at her smiling.

"Am I dreaming? What are you doing here?"

"What do you remember?" he had to ask.

"I remember the Spirit World, and my parents turning into pigs and Yubaba. I remember asking Kamajii for a job. I remember Lin, and Boh. I remember going to Zeniba's."

"Anything else?" his voice sounded desperate, she couldn't have forgotten him.

"OH! And No-Face and Yubaba's bird. Oh and the Soot Balls. They were cute." she said with a smile.

Haku felt...crushed. This wasn't anything like he dreamed it would be. Yes he was here, with her, but she didn't even remember him.

"I also remember a dragon." she said after a minute.

He glanced at her quickly and saw that she had her eyes closed and was smiling, "He was beautiful. He had white scales that shone in the moonlight. And white fur on his face. There was also green fur that ran along his back. He had horns too. And his eyes were a brilliant shade of green. Do you know what his name was?" she asked and opened her eyes.

"What?" he hardly dared to answer.

"Haku." she said and sat up.

"Really? Was this dragon always a dragon?" he had to ask.

"No, he had a shape of a boy. He wore odd clothes and sandals. He had green hair and his eyes were also a brilliant shade of green. But he was pale and his eyes were steely. The witch Yubaba had stolen his real name, and she put a slug in him to control him. He also got a curse on him, which nearly killed him."

"What happened?" he was mesmerized hearing her tell his story in vivid detail.

"I saved the day of course. I gave him medicine from the River Spirit and he spit up the slug and the thing that cursed him. I took the cursed object back to it's owner, and she said only love could break that spell." she blushed, "Then I remembered helped him remember his real name, Nigihayami Kohaku Nushi."

"So did you love the dragon?" he had to ask.

"As a friend, yes. I was only ten after all." she smiled, "I dream about him every night." she admitted.

"He dreams about you too." he whispered, "Every night."

She smiled up at him, "But what is he doing here?"

He sighed, "He felt sadness the moment she passed through the tunnel. He knew he had to be with her, so he asked these beings to make him a human. They agreed, but after three years, to give her a chance to forget him. It seemed like she did forget him, for a while."

"I couldn't remember anything, until you mentioned my hair tie."

"Its magic made you remember."

"How long are you staying?" she asked him.

"As long as you want me here."

"So...forever?" she grinned.

"Forever is a long time, you might tire of me."

"Nah." she said and hugged him tightly.

He closed his eyes when he felt her body against him. He still couldn't believe that he was there, in her world, with her in his arms.

"I can't believe you're here." Chihiro was saying in her soft voice.

He looked down at her and smiled, "Of course, you being a spirit wasn't really an option, so I became a human."

"But, you gave up everything. Why?"

"It's hard to explain right now Chihiro." he said.

He knew she wouldn't understand. She was still too young. She probably couldn't understand how he fell in love with her in their brief time together. How his soul yearned to be with hers. How just sitting here next to her was making him forget that ache he felt since she left. The years of agony finally made sense. He would go through them again if it meant having this moment with her.

"Try." she was saying.

"I don't want to...scare you off...make you think I'm moving too fast." he started, "Before I met you, the first time, my life was good. I was relatively happy. Then, it was like my soul connected with yours, then I left you with your parents and suddenly something was missing, then my river got filled up and even more of me was missing. When you came to the spirit world, it felt like the first part of me was back, like I was almost whole, except for that little piece."

"Your name?"

"And my river." he nodded, "After you got me my name back, and I knew what happened to my river, for those few hours, I was whole. I had my name, I knew the location of my river, I had..."

"Had what?" Chihiro noticed that his voice had trailed off.

"You."

"Me?" her eyes went wide.

"I've been around for a long time, as long as my river has. I'm more mature than humans in some ways, and less so in others. Like this, for example. I have no idea how to explain this too you." he sighed.

"Keep going." she told him.

"After you left, it was like a part of me was missing again, only this time it was a bigger part. It felt like...like my soul had left. Like all that was left of me was a shell."

"I still don't understand." she told him.

"Chihiro, I know you're still only a child in human years so I-"

"I'm not a child, I'm a teenager."

"Barely. I don't want to move too fast for you."

"Just say it Haku."

"I love you Chihiro."

"Oh. That's all?

"That's all?" he frowned.

She laughed at his reaction, "Haku, I've been thinking about you every day since I left. I draw pictures of your dragon. I get into fights at school because people tell me that you aren't real and that I was only dreaming. I get picked on all the time because all I do is doodle and get yelled at in class. I love you too silly." she said and laughed again.

Her love was different, he knew it. It was the childhood love that came with a best friend. He smiled, knowing that more often than not, that love grew into something else, unless someone else came into her life. It saddened him to think about.

"What's wrong?" she asked looking up at him.

"Just thinking."

"About everything you had to give up? So you'll never be a dragon again? And you'll never see everyone again?"

"No, but for some reason that doesn't bother me as much as it should. I'll get through it." he smiled, but it didn't reach his eyes.