Disclaimer: I am poor and do not own, therefore do not sue.

"Your full name is Kohaku."

Wind seared my eyes as they widened, but I hardly noticed. I whispered the name—my name, savoring the feel of it on my lips, reveling in my newly completed identity. I couldn't believe that after a millennium in time, I had finally regained that piece of myself that Yu-Babaa had stolen from me.

And it felt wonderful. It was priceless to be whole again.

That heady feeling carried me through, back to the palace. I watched, glowing with pride and love, as Chihiro answered Yu-Babaa's question correctly, shattering her contract into nothingness. I heard the raucous cheers of all the bath house staff, but for all that racket it did not seem enough for this tiny girl whom I had saved so long ago, and who had returned the favor most amply.

I took her hand. "Come," I said, tugging. We ran back down those streets, past the bridge, to the edge of where the lake once was, and where the meadow was now.

For all her time in the spirit world, Chihiro never truly grasped its intricacies. "Oh!" she exclaimed, half in awe and half in delight. "There's no water!"

I was amused, but the lightness was slowly dissipating from me as I realized I must let go of her, she who was my only friend. "I must stop here," I said reluctantly, though I kept my voice level for her sake. Humans could be overwhelmed by emotions so easily—they had such short lives, and they experienced so little—and I did not want her to feel sorrow upon our parting. I had no qualms for suffering it myself. When you were a god, you lived countless lifetimes, and experienced all that flesh and spirit had to offer. "Follow the path that you did when you came, and you'll find your parents at the end."

"But what about you? What will become of you?"

I smiled. "I will go back to my own world. I'll go to Yu-Babaa, and ask to end my apprenticeship. I'll be fine now, that I know my own name."

She clasped my hand. "Will we meet again?"

"Of course!" I covered hers with my own. I was thousands of years older than her, but it was her that was reassuring me. There were few who had Chihiro's pluckiness and courageous reserve. She was a true friend and I was glad to know her. Yet I also knew once she left the meadow, she would not remember anything that transpired—and I feared losing her.

But I had faith in Chihiro. She had remembered who I was, despite my wholly different guise. She would find me again, if I did not find her first. In her eyes, I could see that same resolution that I felt in my heart, that we would find each other, and that unspoken promise lit a flame of determination in my heart.

"Yu-Babaa," I said, in my most no-nonsense tone, "I wish an end to my apprenticeship."

Immediately those eyes cut into me, and I almost even expected blood. Really, with Yu-Babaa, everything was a possibility, and nothing was unexpected.

There was no mistaking the power of her magic. But now, firmly entrenched with my own name, I was almost nauseated by her. How could I ever have accepted so subservient a role to a creature so spiteful, so short-sighted? How could I have forgotten my free-flowing nature as a river spirit so quickly? How had I become so entrapped?

She studied me for a long moment, with something akin to resignation. "I knew you would," she said at last. I was taken aback at her level tone. I was prepared stand strong in the face of her ranting and raving. I was prepared to have objects hurled at my head. I was prepared for anything but this.

My surprise must have shown on my face, for she gave a bitter chuckle and shook her head. "Boy, do you think I didn't guess what would happen when you regained your name? Why do you think I didn't want Sen here?"

"She was human," I replied evenly, but my mind was whirling with confusion. "Her presence was a stink among the gods."

"So it may be, but really it was my staff that objected the most to her. I've hired humans before, and far more willingly. But that slip of a girl was a link to your past, and I knew it the moment she set foot past the bridge. I could feel something binding you to her, and she to you."

"You knew all this time?"

"Of course!" she snapped. "What kind of a fool do you take me for? Magic is dangerous, Haku. Every contract has a certain risk. If I had laid one spell wrong, you would have been obliterated!"

I could feel my hackles rising. "I'd rather have been obliterated than served as Haku."

"The contract isn't broken yet, boy. Your name is still Haku."

"You took my name," I said venomously. Anger suddenly broke and rushed over me like a tidal wave, flooding my senses until everything was tinged red. "You took a part of me. You violated me. You used me for whatever suited your purpose, and then disposed of me when I was worn out. I wasn't your apprentice. I was your slave!" My voice rose to a near scream.

"Stop your caterwauling, boy. I'm no kind soul, and I wanted you as a servant." She glared at me distastefully. "You had power and potential, and I wanted it. Of course I took your name. I had to. Really, Haku, what did you expect?"

That did it.

"My name is Kohaku," I said softly, menacingly.

I took a step towards her. She paid me no heed.

"My name is Kohaku."

Now she was looking up from her desk, and in her eyes I read uncertainty, but no fear, not yet.

She deserved to have fear instilled in her.

She had stolen my name.

"My name is Kohaku." The anger was turning into rage, building and growing inside me, awakening power in me that I didn't know I had. Power that had been locked away with my name.

"My name is Kohaku!"

The room began to shake. Pillows and pens tumbled. Wind collected and howled around me as I began to glow blue. I trembled like a leaf as a thousand different feelings coursed through my veins, igniting the magic like a flame thrown upon oil. From the center of my being it spread like a ripple in a lake until I could feel its tendrils at my fingertips, barely obedient and eager as a bloodhound awaiting its master's command.

"My name is Kohaku. I am the spirit of the Kohaku river! Kohaku! Kohaku!"

The contract in Yu Babaa's hands shattered into nothingness.

My rage did not fade easily. Yu-Babaa was shaking as I stormed up to her desk and slammed a hand on it. I could see fear in her eyes now. And suddenly admist all my anger, I felt shame. Shame for wanting to inflict pain on another, to be as spiteful and petty as she was. I was no better, was I?

But I could not forget the deadness of my time here. I could not forget my anger.

Slowly, I removed my hand from the desk. I waited until she had managed to cease her trembling and looked up. She froze when she saw my gaze. I was told long ago that my eyes could turn any who looked into them into ice, figuratively speaking, and I could only guess that was what Yu-Babaa saw.

I spared her only a measured glance. "Her name," I said calmly, bitingly, "is Chihiro."

I turned sharply upon my heel and strode through those ornate doors one last time. I would never, ever return.

But I could never, ever forget.

A/N: I do intend to continue this piece, but I think it works as a standalone too.

AP, my lovely beta reader, I'm sorry I didn't send it to you beforehand, but you know how impatient I get about posting.

As always, I appreciate constructive feedback and criticism, as I am always looking to improve my writing.