Disclaimer: I do not own any of the characters in the story but I own the plot to this one.

Ink-Splatter: It has been a while since I've last written anything. Forgive me if this composition is rough. I'm just trying to warm up back to writing again. Thank you and hope you enjoy this.

Missing Piece

It has been exactly 10 years since it happened. Chihiro's memories are starting to get hazy. Some days she thinks it has all been a dream her troubled childhood mind had conjured since she was so against them moving. Yet there is a part deep within her that has always believed. She knew that they exist. She knows that he at least, is very much real. Her parents had noticed the change in Chihiro after the move. Their once demanding, bordering-spoiled daughter seemed to have matured in a heartbeat. They could not believe that after leaving that strange tunnel, Chihiro never complained about anything. She seemed to have mellowed down too, almost at an uncanny level. Like the tunnel had taken a part of their daughter when they left. They'd notice that Chihiro would often stare into the distance as if searching for something, or someone they could not see. They had asked if she was ok. They even contemplated moving back to their old home which they had voiced out one evening. Chihiro nearly went to hysterics when they suggested it. She was adamant that they stay. They were worried that Chihiro never made any friends. Every now and then she would bring someone over to do some school work but it was never the same person. It was almost as if their daughter was merely going through the motions of living. They had asked if she was depressed, on which Chihiro said no but they could see that there is melancholia in her eyes which weren't there before they moved. Somehow, Chihiro has done well with school. She had taken up architecture and is specialising in restoring old buildings. She had never given them any trouble but yet they could not shake the fact that their daughter seems lonely...

It was the first time ever that Haku had felt an eternity had passed before his eyes. As an immortal being, time is not the essence for him but somehow these past ten years had scared him. There was an urgency at the pit of his stomach which he cannot ignore. He had paid all his debts to Yubaba and Zeniba and is now a true free spirit. He made sure that Kamaji got his train ticket back, that took a long time to accomplish-almost impossible but he made it happen. He told Lin everything he did in order to get the ticket so she can at least have a shot on getting one for herself. Noh-Face still lives with Zeniba, he was the least of his worries. After regaining his name and stature, he is almost on par with Yubaba's spirit magick. He knows that he will not let her take his name ever again! For the first time in his very long life, Haku felt a tug in his heart which he could not shake off for the past 10 years. He let himself age naturally as humans do. He will always be the Dragon of Kohaku River he knows but for now there is something he must do and he knows that it is long overdue.

Chihiro fondly touched her hair tie. Yes, the memories of her friends making it for her is still there. She can still recall that night at least as if it only happened yesterday. She put her hair up, same as she did everyday for the past 10 years. She dressed casually today, in shorts and loose t-shirt, almost akin to what she wore that fateful day at the tunnel. She looked at herself in the mirror and a sad smile escaped her lips. She had grown into a woman. Taller, still on the thin side but her womanly curves are unmistakable. Her auburn hair darkened a few shades and her once plump cheeks now has defined cheekbones. She hardly knew the person who looked back at her from the mirror and yet she knows the longing in her eyes.

"I'm off now Mum, Dad! I'll see you later tonight." She shouted as she rushed to the door.

"Be careful Chihiro! Let us know if you need anything!" She could hear her mother shout back from the kitchen.

It wont' be the first time Chihiro returned to the tunnel. In fact, she had been there countless of times once she managed to gather the courage to go back. She would sit by the river, often sketching her projects for school. She had drawn up plans to restore the old building where the tunnel is. Her dream is to one day restore it, refine it and give it a new purpose. She had drawn several plans for it and is on the process of finishing the final piece for her thesis. She had promised herself that once she is done with that final project, she would never return to Kohaku River. It breaks her heart just thinking about it but 10 years is more than enough for her to move on as it was clear to her that everyone else has.

Chihiro could not ask for a better day. The sun is shining brightly but the air has a nice crispness to it balancing the heat. She found her usual spot by the river near an old stone lantern and a young cherry blossom tree. She set her blanket on the grass and proceeded to unload her sketchbook and pencils. She took a deep breath and looked up, admiring the dancing shafts of sunlight filtering through the leaves. She felt good. She always feels good whenever she is in that spot. She then took her pencil and started working on her project. She was concentrating so hard that she did not notice the new comer standing by her right hand side, slightly behind her. She heard a sharp intake of breath before she saw him. Her hand froze, she dared not look back in case she was mistaken. Tears came unbidden. She could not stop. It has been so long, she was sure she has been forgotten. She brought a hand to her mouth to stave off her whimpers. She has always been a cry baby, that never changed.

Haku bid everyone farewell. A lot of the bath women pined after him and the men were not too subtle in trying to hide their delight. He does not know where he is going or what he is going to do once he leaves the Spirit World but one thing he was sure of- he cannot stay. Zeniba told him he must follow his heart and it would lead him to where he needs to be. Funny enough his first instinct was to visit the place where he last saw her. The place where he told her to never look back. She never did. Garbed in his blue hakama and white kimono, he looks as stern as he did from when he still had the form of a young boy. He let his hair grow longer and had it tied in a low ponytail. Anyone who does not know him would avoid his gaze but those who do, knew that there is a gentleness in them now which wasn't there before.

He just emerged from the other side of the bridge and crossed the river when he first spotted her. There was no mistaking it. Haku knows Chihiro in whatever form she may be in. He noticed the definite changes since the last time they had seen each other and he was glad that he let himself age too for gone is the little girl who once clung to him desperately in fear. Infront of him now is a woman who is still Chihiro in her very essence. Haku cold not help but draw in a sharp breath. He did not even noticed that he had unconsciously walked closer to her, close enough for her to hear him. His world stopped when he saw her shoulders stiffened. She definitely noticed he was there but she wasn't moving. She was not turning around to look at him at all...

"Chihiro..." Haku could not help but say her name. His voice laced with longing even he did not know he had for her until that moment.

Chihiro gasped. She knows that voice! It can't be! It's been a very long time. He never came before, she waited for a decade, so why now? Her mind must be playing tricks on her again because she was so sad just when she had decided she had enough of waiting. Tears continued to well up in her eyes, both hands now on her mouth trying to stifle her cries. A hand touched her shoulder, warmth radiated to her whole being with just that one touch. Gingerly, she turned to look up and saw emerald eyes staring back at her. It's him. It is him!

"Ha-haku?" She managed to get out in between sobs.

Haku smiled ever so gently, making his green eyes sparkle with his own unshed tears. "Yes."

Everything came back at once to Chihiro. She was 10 again, her life in the Spirit World seemingly played back before her eyes. She remembered everything about Haku. She remembered their promise that someday they will see each other again. She held on to that promise. She knew that a part of her never left Haku. She longed for him like the moon longed for the sun. She knew that they live in different worlds and it would be hard for them to see each other again, if they could at all, yet she held on to that promise. Haku never failed to deliver before, and he surely would not fail her now.

Haku knelt infront of her and wiped her tears away, much like what he did when she was a child. "I've come to see you." He said ever so gently Chihiro could hardly hear him.

"But you never came...I waited and waited, but you never came..." Chihiro sobbed like her 10 year old self.

"I had to settle my affairs in the Spirit World before I could go. I was aware that time flows differently here, I wasn't sure you'd wait-I was scared that you wouldn't..." Haku started to stutter. He was quite unsure of what to say. He wanted to take her into his arms so badly but for some reasons he couldn't. Why was it easier 10 years ago? This grown up Chihiro seems more difficult to handle than the child.

Chihiro solved his dilemma for him. She threw her arms around his neck and sobbed shamelessly against his cheek. "Of course I'd wait! We promised! You've never broken your promise before, I knew you wouldn't start and break this one!"

Haku, although taken aback, put his arms around Chihiro's waist and tightened the embrace. He buried his face in her hair, somehow he knew he always wanted to do that and it felt so right. His senses are getting overwhelmed. Chihiro's scent, her warmth, her energy. Everything seemed so right. Chihiro was still sobbing and it breaks his heart. As if it's the most natural thing to do, Haku pulled back, tilted Chihiro's face towards him and sealed her lips with his. Chihiro was shocked at first, and so was Haku but their feelings for each other pulled them closer. That one kiss conveyed what words cannot. They don't need to explain what happened in the 10 years they have not seen each other. They don't need to talk about what to do now. They knew the moment their lips touched that they will never be parted by anyone or anything anymore. That moment, Haku found his home and Chihiro found her missing piece.