Notes: I'm choosing to ignore the whole Ichigo-lost-his-powers thing and saying they won the Winter War without that happening (or that Ichigo got his powers back somehow, because there's no way that can last forever)…I planned this out before that came about in the manga. Also, I think Chihiro was younger in the movie than what I made her out to be in this so that the timelines meshed – ten in the movie, but I made her fourteen in this when she left her hometown. Please don't get on my case about it.

"CHIHIRO-CHAN!"

The call was the first thing the brunette heard as she stepped off the train into her hometown, bellowed from the mighty lungs of Kurosaki Isshin. She turned in the direction of the shout, immediately spotting him. It would be hard not to spot him, what with the eye-searingly bright floral print shirt he was wearing, and all the jumping up and down.

Chihiro smiled and waved, jogging up to him and pulling her luggage along behind her, her backpack slung over her shoulder. "Kurosaki-san!"

He swept her into a hug. "If I've told you once, I've told you a thousand times – call me Isshin!"

The brunette laughed. "That was three years ago," she said, and then added, "Isshin-san."

"Aah," Isshin said, sighing exaggeratedly. "If only all my children were as polite as you! Ichigo especially." He pouted.

"Does he still call you 'Goat Face'?" Chihiro asked playfully.

Isshin nodded in (greatly melodramatic) sadness. Had the poster of his late wife been anywhere nearby, there was no doubt he would have gone running to it by now, crying dramatically.

"Speaking of which," Chihiro said, glancing about. "Where is Ichigo?"

"Off running some errands," Isshin shrugged, as if it was of no importance what his son was doing. "But he sends his regards and apologizes for not being able to make it; it was something unavoidable."

"Oh," Chihiro said, trying not to seem too disappointed. She'd really been looking forward to seeing Ichigo first thing. He'd been one of her closest friends from a very young age, even if he had shut himself off from everyone after his mother's death, and he had been one of the most difficult people for Chihiro to say goodbye to.

Fortunately, Chihiro's natural bubbliness and optimism allowed her to bounce back relatively quickly, and she cheerfully made her way down the stairs of the platform to the plaza outside, one small suitcase bouncing down just behind her and her backpack still slung over her shoulder, hanging by one strap. Isshin trailed along behind her with her larger, heavier suitcase, which was filled with clothes and other necessities.

As they went, Chihiro babbled enthusiastically about visiting all of her old haunts and finding some of her former friends, many of whom she had stayed in contact with and informed of her summer return trip.

Though she didn't notice, Isshin's eyes were drawn to the purple hair band glistening in her hair, holding up the ponytail that now fell midway down her back. He frowned thoughtfully at it, but the expression quickly melted off his face just before Chihiro turned around to make an especially enthusiastic point. However, he remained vaguely troubled.

Touched by the Spirit World, eh? the ex-shinigami captain thought. And not some place like Soul Society or Hueco Mundo – the world of the true Spirits. Just what have you been up to, Chihiro, to have been there and carry gifts from it?

Behind the cheery brunette drifted a spirit ribbon that was not the pure white of a human, the red of a Shinigami, or the black of a Hollow. Instead it was tinted with a shimmering, ethereal gray and threaded with thin strings of royal blue, maroon, deep chocolate brown…and most strongly of all teal twined with gold and very pale silver.

Ichigo stumbled into his house, slamming the door behind him and calling out to his family. He flexed his right arm, wincing at the pull on his wound there – he'd been careless with the Hollows today and allowed one to score a deep strike on his arm with its claws. It'd been stupid, but he'd been distracted by the feeling that he'd been forgetting something important for today…something that had been driven from his mind by the continuous attacks from Hollows the past few days. Fortunately, they finally seemed to be slowing down.

The orange-haired teen then noticed the forest green suitcases resting at the base of the stairs. He stared at them for a good few moments before it finally clicked.

Chihiro!

Ichigo peeked into the dining room, wary of an attack from his father for some fabricated reason. No attack came…probably because his dad was engaged in discussion with Chihiro, who was waving her chopsticks around excitedly as she spoke.

Yuzu was the first to notice him.

"Ichi-nii!" she called out, smiling. The others at the table looked up at him. "You were running late, so we started without you – Chihiro didn't get to eat lunch because she was on the train all day."

Chihiro grinned, swallowing the mouthful of food she had taken while Yuzu talked. "Ichigo!" she cried, jumping to her feet. "It's great to see you again!"

Ichigo felt his lips turn up slightly in response to her enthusiasm. She was probably one of the very few people in the world who could possibly compete with Inoue Orihime in terms of optimism and bubbliness…though not bust. Rangiku was the only one with that dubious honor.

As Ichigo took his seat at the table, he realized that Chihiro hadn't really changed all that much in the three years that she'd been gone. Some of the tension he'd been feeling as to how difficult it would be to reconnect disappeared.

There were several smaller changes that he noted. Her hair was long, for instance, though she still kept it tied up in a ponytail. Her face was a bit leaner, the traces of baby fat that had been clinging at fourteen having melted away. He couldn't tell because she was sitting down, but he thought she was a bit taller.

She looked in shape, fit and healthy. Chihiro also had smudges of charcoal on her fingertips and under her nails, and a streak of silver-white paint on her cheek.

And, Ichigo couldn't help but notice, the brunette now had a gleam of steel in her eyes along with the dream-gaze he had always seen in her chocolate eyes.

The next day, Ichigo walked into a decidedly girl-talk breakfast, with Chihiro and Yuzu sharing some tips about nails, makeup, and hair…or something.

"…don't really bother with it too much, myself," Chihiro was saying as he sat down with his plate. "It's too frizzy and unruly to really do anything with. Look." She pulled it out of the ponytail it had been gathered into, allowing it to fall freely down her back. "See? Usually I just leave it in the ponytail."

"Oh, but think of what all you could do with it!" Yuzu said. "If we just used a flat iron on it or something – I'm pretty sure I have some creams that could help you style it, if you wanted to…"

"Maybe," Chihiro said, thoughtfully playing with the purple band she had just pulled from her hair.

"Ooh," Yuzu said, looking at the hair band. "That's a lovely hair band. Where'd you get it?"

Chihiro smiled softly, looking fondly down at it. "A group of friends made it for me. They spun the thread and everything themselves. It was a parting gift, but one so that I would remember them."

"How sweet!" Yuzu said, her hands clasped together. "You must have been very close – did they make it before you left for Karakura? Surely they knew you'd be back."

"No…" Chihiro said quietly, sadly. She rolled the hair band between her fingers. "I met them before we got to our new home. We got lost – Dad tried to take a shortcut." She smiled briefly, and then continued in a voice that trembled slightly. "I got separated from my parents. They helped me find my way back."

The hair band stopped rolling between her fingers. She unconsciously clenched it tightly. "I haven't seen them since that day. Any of them." The brunette looked out the window, sighing.

Yuzu sighed as well, her wide eyes looking slightly wet. "That's so sad," she said, dashing away the unshed tears with a swipe of her hand.

Ichigo, who had been simultaneously eating his breakfast and watching Chihiro as she told her story, stood up, stretching. He carried his dishes to the sink, and then walked back to the table.

"Done, Chihiro?" he asked. She hadn't touched much of her food, but she showed no inclination of finishing it any time soon. She was playing with the hair band again.

"Hmm? Oh, yes!" she said, leaping to her feet and carrying her dishes into the kitchen to lay them by the sink. "Um, I'll just put some stuff in my bag and we can go around the city?" She phrased it as a question. "That was the plan, right?"

Ichigo nodded. "I need to grab a few things, too. Make sure to put a bottle of water in with whatever else you're bringing. It's a hot summer this year."

Chihiro nodded, her loose hair flopping all over the place, and bounded up the stairs to the guest room.

Ichigo went to his own room and packed his Shinigami badge, Kon (who he muttered at to be quiet or he wasn't coming, because Chihiro was normal), his cell, a small notebook and pen, a bottle of water, and, after some consideration, a camera – he wasn't sure if Chihiro had brought one or not, and she might want to take pictures. His wallet he slipped into his pocket.

When he went down the stairs, he found that Chihiro had yet to come down. She appeared at the top of the steps a few minutes later, her hair once again in its high ponytail. She had changed from her pajamas into a light green top with a white ribbon that looped around the middle and tied in a bow at the back. She was also wearing pink shorts reminiscent of her favourite outfit from three years ago, and yellow sneakers with white socks.

It was, Ichigo realized, almost exactly the same outfit she'd left Karakura in. He still had the picture of her standing in front of her family's moving van, waving sadly and dressed in her green-and-white-striped baggy shirt, pink shorts, and yellow shoes.

"I was feeling nostalgic," she said, grinning. Then for some reason, she patted the silver bag resting against her hip, its strap on her shoulder. Ichigo could barely see the spiral top of what looked like a sketchbook peeking out from the top of the bag.

"Didn't know you drew," Ichigo said as they made their way out of the house and into the bright morning sunlight.

"Started a bit after I left," she said lightly.

"Must be pretty good by now," Ichigo said. "What do you draw?"

"Mostly people. Generally ones I've met or are friends with, but also some I've just seen…around. Also," she hesitated slightly before finishing, "I draw dragons."

Ichigo nodded. "Any drawings of your Karakura friends?" Ichigo asked curiously.

Chihiro mock-scowled at him. "If you're trying to 'subtly' ask if I've drawn your ugly mug, the answer's no," she said teasingly.

"Ouch," said Kon quietly from Ichigo's bag, sniggering slightly. Ichigo slapped the bag subtly, hoping Chihiro hadn't heard the perverted toy. Fortunately, she didn't seem to have.

They wandered aimlessly through for a while, catching up on everything that had changed. Chihiro was on the swim team, in the art club, and rode her bike to school every day. She had few friends. Ichigo ran around town a lot doing this and that, he sort-of-kind-of-not-really worked part-time for a shop (helping organize things, sell items, acting as someone who would step in as an actually-not-very-effective mediator between the shopkeeper and some of his more, ah, volatile costumers – Hiyori – and sometimes he just bought something and used it) he rode his bike to school most days as well, he wasn't in any clubs. He had several new friends since Chihiro had left.

"Oh?" Chihiro asked, arching on eyebrow skeptically. "And who would those people be?"

"Inoue Orihime," Ichigo started.

"I remember her!" Chihiro said. "She had auburn hair, right, with these pretty snowflake clips? She was really friendly!"

Ichigo nodded. "Yasataro Chad…well, Sado, but I call him Chad…he moved here after you left. And then Ishida Uryuu."

"Wasn't he in the B Class?" Chihiro frowned.

"Yeah," Ichigo nodded. "But we're in the same class now."

"And you're friends with all these people," Chihiro said. She laughed. "You've finally become people-friendly!" she yelled, still laughing. She playfully pushed him. "Next you'll stop scowling all the time, and then you'll start giving people spontaneous hugs!"

"Really?" an inquisitive young voice asked. "Carrot-top's finally let down his aggressive personality?" A grin. "Give me a hug, Strawberry."

With a start, Ichigo realized that they had come to Urahara's shop somehow, and the annoying little brat provoking him was none other than Jinta, who was quickly put into a headlock.

"I told you," Ichigo growled as the redheaded kid squirmed. "My name means Number One Protector. Not Strawberry!"

"Strawberry," Jinta wheezed out, much to Chihiro's amusement. Ichigo released Jinta from the headlock but promptly sat on the kid, using the boy's fallen broomstick as an impromptu weapon to be held at the redhead's neck.

"Take it back," Ichigo growled.

"Never!" Jinta shouted.

Ichigo's eyes narrowed.

"That's quite enough," came a rumbling voice, and then the two were separated from each other by way of being held up into the air by the massive form of Tessai.

"Jinta, for the three-hundred and ninety-fourth time, stop aggravating Kurosaki-san when he comes to visit. Especially when you should be working!" said Tessai. He dropped the boy to the ground and pointed to the broomstick. Jinta stuck his tongue out at the man but picked it up and started to sweep the ground around the shop.

"As for you, Kurosaki-san, the Boss thought you might be dropping in," Tessai said.

Ichigo looked startled. "Wait, what? We just wandered here, I didn't – could you put me down?"

"Oh, yes!" Tessai dropped him to the ground much the same as he had done to Jinta. Said redheaded boy sniggered. Ichigo made an ugly face at him before turning back to Tessai.

"I didn't tell him I was coming for any reason – mostly because I hadn't planned to come by here – and he didn't summon me here with one of his balls of paint. Why is he expecting me?"

Tessai shrugged. "I suspect you should know that yourself, Kurosaki-san," he said, his gaze very briefly flicking in Chihiro's direction.

Ichigo understood what the man couldn't say in front of his friend and scowled. Then he motioned to Chihiro for her to follow him.

"Let's go see what Geta-boshi wants," he grumbled, leading the way into the store.

Chihiro trotted into the store after Ichigo, looking around curiously. Despite having never been to this store before, she felt immediately at home here. The atmosphere of the small shop was comforting, and the shop itself seemed very…traditional, and old. It almost reminded Chihiro of the bathhouse for some reason. Oddly, she felt like she wouldn't be surprised to see spirits wandering around in this shop.

She didn't know how ironic her thoughts were.

The two teenagers stepped into the back room, where a man in a bucket hat tipped of his face was lying on the ground by a low table, idly fanning himself. The table had a lovely tea set on it; Chihiro could faintly see steam rising from the teapot. There was also a half full saucer of milk at the far end of the table.

Ichigo plopped down at the table, Chihiro somewhat hesitantly following him. She wasn't quite sure what to make of this.

"What did you want, Geta-boshi?" Ichigo demanded.

Geta-boshi sat up, tipping his hat back so it sat properly on his head. He kept waving his fan.

"Ichigo!" he said, as if surprised. "When did you get here?"

Ichigo groaned. Chihiro mentally translated the look on his face to mean "it's going to be one of those days" and stifled a giggle.

"Just now," the orange haired teen said exasperatedly.

"Would you like some tea, my dear?" the shop owner asked Chihiro pleasantly, ignoring Ichigo now.

"Yes, please," Chihiro said, pushing her teacup closer to him so he could reach them more easily. "I'm sorry; I didn't catch your name…"

"Ichigo didn't introduce me?" the blond asked, a mock distraught expression on his face. "I am Urahara Kisuke – sometimes called Boss or Geta-boshi – and this is my lovely shop!" he exclaimed, taking off his hat and making an exaggerated, somewhat awkward bow from where he was seated.

Chihiro smiled. "I'm Ogino Chihiro, sometimes called Sen," she introduced herself. She didn't know what compelled her to add 'Sen', but it seemed like the right thing to do.

"Sen?" Ichigo questioned, rejoining the conversation after fuming for the past few minutes. "That a nickname your new friends give you?"

Chihiro felt a pang at the question, but made an effort to smile as she answered, fingering her hair band. "Oh, they all knew me as Sen – for one of the characters in my name. But I told them my real name was Chihiro. Granny Zeniba said –" Chihiro broke off, swallowing convulsively. She hadn't mentioned any of their names out loud before, and now that she had, it hurt far more than she had expected. "–said Chihiro was prettier anyway," she finished softly.

Ichigo opened his mouth, presumably to ask her something, but before he could –

"May I see that hair band, Chihiro-chan?" Urahara asked quietly, stretching one hand out. His eyes were glimmering in a way that Chihiro couldn't identify, but she nonetheless removed the band from her hair.

She didn't drop it into the shop owner's hand, but instead held it in her own and stretched it out. Urahara reached for it, and –

"Ah!" he said, flicking his hand sharply in some kind of an attempt to get rid of the pain. "That stung."

Chihiro stared at her band. From beside her, she felt Ichigo do the same. It glimmered gently in her hand, looking the same as it always had. It didn't seem like something that would suddenly shock someone. It had never done so before…

But then again, she didn't think that she had ever let anyone else touch it, not in the three years since she had received it.

"I'm sorry—," she started. "I don't—"

"Make sure you don't lose that, Ogino-san," Urahara said pleasantly, still waving his hand through the air. "It has powerful protections on it, I can tell."

"Protections?" Ichigo echoed, not really following what was going on.

Chihiro wanted to explain, but she also selfishly didn't want to tell him anything. Ichigo could see ghosts for as long as she could remember. The most that had ever happened for her was a faint blur in the air or a sense of unease that ran through her whenever they were nearby. It was why she hadn't wanted to go into the amusement park tunnel – she could sense something unnatural about it. Now she wanted to keep it to herself, something that only she knew.

And besides that (plus how painful it could be to talk about it), even if she did tell Ichigo, she doubted he would believe her. Seeing ghosts was one thing – going into a world where spirits roamed freely, lampposts walked, magic was used, and she had worked in a bathhouse filled with every kind of spirit (and more!) that one could imagine? He'd think she was pulling him along.

"I'm disappointed in you, Ichigo," Urahara said brightly, reaching over the table and flicking the orange haired teen's forehead. "You should have told her what you do in your free time. All your other friends know, after all, and Chihiro would take it quite well, I'm sure." Then, winking at Chihiro, he announced to her, "Try not to be too surprised."

Urahara drew a cane out from somewhere behind him. Chihiro barely made out some kind of design on the bottom of it before the shop keeper had shoved it against Ichigo's forehead.

Suddenly there were two Ichigos. One flopped over sideways, looking like it was unconscious. The other fell backward and then sat back up, shouting insults at Urahara. He was dressed in some kind of black shihakusho, with a massive sword shaped like a kitchen cleaver wrapped up in white fabric strapped to his back.

Chihiro stared, her gaze flicking back and forth between the two versions of her friend. She wasn't freaking out or anything – Haku turned into a dragon, for Kami's sake! – but she wasn't quite sure what to make of it, either.

"Ta da!" said Urahara proudly, gesturing at the moving Ichigo. "You're friend with a shinigami!"

"Excuse me?" Chihiro squeaked out. The last time she had met Ichigo, she was sure he hadn't been a god of death.

Urahara grinned and burst into an explanation of pluses, Hollows, Shinigami, and Soul Society. He also dug out some very cute drawings to explain things with…though admittedly they looked like they may have been drawn by a little kid. (She didn't understand why Ichigo facepalmed at the drawings of bunnies and bears, but figured it was just a guy thing – they never understood cute animals.)

"Wow," the brunette breathed out at the end of the explanation. "But where do you fit into this, Ichigo? I mean – how are you a shinigami?"

Ichigo quickly related the story of his first encounter with Kuchiki Rukia (minus the horrible illustrations – which Urahara waved at him tauntingly – and her drawing on his face), and then finished with, "Because I sucked up all of her powers to awaken mine, I took over her duties as the Shinigami for this town. She's recovered by now, and I've been given an official Shinigami Representative badge."

He fished said badge out of his badge and showed it to Chihiro, who held it with something akin to, but not quite, reverence. She traced the design on it softly with her finger.

Chihiro knew that they had left a few things out of their brief tales – with Ichigo, nothing ever stayed calm for very long, so there was no way he had just strolled into this Soul Society with Rukia and received a badge without mishap – but she figured she could drag it from her friend later.

A purple-black cat with bright eyes hopped up onto the table just then, and strolled casually over to the saucer. She – Chihiro wasn't sure why she automatically labeled the cat "she" rather than "he" or "it" – started lapping milk out of it, tail swishing behind her and ignoring the others sitting at the table.

"Yoruichi, I'd like you to meet Ogino Chihiro, the young woman Isshin mentioned," Urahara said.

With everything Chihiro had been through today and in the past, she wasn't too alarmed when the cat daintily cleaned her whiskers and then said, in a distinctly masculine voice, "Oh?"

"Goat-face was talking to you about Chihiro?" Ichigo asked. "Why?"

Urahara ignored him.

"Chihiro, meet Shihouin Yoruichi. Yoruichi, Chihiro," the shop keeper said.

"Sorry," Chihiro said. "But is she – are you really a cat?"

The two glanced at each other. Yoruichi hopped off the table, and suddenly there was a dark-skinned woman resting an elbow on the table, her face nestled in the palm of her hand. She was wearing a long sleeved orange top with a black one underneath, and her purple-black hair – the same color of her fur as a cat – was pulled up in a high ponytail.

Her yellow eyes fixed on Chihiro, she gave a lazy grin and said, "Good job. You even knew what my proper sex was. Everyone else has been fooled by the voice. How'd you know?"

Chihiro shifted uncomfortably. "Well, you just seemed…female to me, even with your voice. I'm not really sure why. I could tell you weren't a cat because there was…there was a faint shadow behind you, walking where a human would be walking while you were a cat…I'm sorry, I'm not really explaining this very well…"

Ichigo stayed quiet during this, his brow furrowed, but Urahara asked, "Can you do this all the time, or—"

"Usually I have to concentrate," Chihiro said. "And it's been a lot harder to do ever since I came here – everything fluctuates. Sometimes it's clouded, sometimes it's clear. But everything's very calm in here, not so clouded, and Shihouin-san's shadow was easy enough to see even without concentrating very much. Do you need a lot of energy to stay in that form?"

"Not really," Yoruichi frowned. "Though at the beginning, it took a lot of reitsu to change completely into a cat…I could just not notice the energy needed now because I've become so used to it and my power levels have grown so much…"

Chihiro shrugged. "Maybe it's the energy levels; maybe it's that it's so clear here." She looked around, and then said, "If I concentrate…Urahara-san, that's not really a cane, is it?"

"No," Urahara said, fondly patting it. "My sword is in here. This is just a sheath for my darling."

Chihiro nodded thoughtfully, and then glanced at a nearby clock. "Oh!" she exclaimed. "Ichigo, it's almost twelve – didn't you say we were going to meet up with Tatsuki at a café?"

"Right," Ichigo sighed. "We need to head out."

With that, he got back into his body (and wasn't that an odd thing to watch), waved to Urahara and Yoruichi, and led Chihiro out the door.

The two walked in silence for a few minutes before Ichigo finally spoke.

"I guess you didn't tell us all that really happened with your 'friends', huh?"

"You haven't told me everything about Soul Society. I know you left stuff out. Lots of it," she replied pointedly.

"That's ugly business," Ichigo muttered.

"So's mine," Chihiro retorted. "I'll tell you mine when you tell me yours."

And with that ultimatum, they walked mostly in silence the rest of the way to the café.

Ichigo had no idea what to do about Chihiro. All he'd expected when she'd come back was having to come up with excuses for Hollow attacks he had to attend to, or making sure nothing happened to her.

Instead, she came here with secrets wrapped around her like a cocoon. He didn't know the truth of her anymore, whereas she knew his largest secret.

He stewed about how to approach it on the way to the café. Should he demand that she spill before he did, because she already knew he was a shinigami? Or should he just tell her everything straight off and let her tell her story after?

He looked up minutes later and they were on the street across from the café. He could already see Tatsuki there…along with Orihime, Ishida, and Chad. Ichigo almost wanted to glance around to make sure no one else would be appearing (like Keigo, God forbid, or Rukia…or Renji, for that matter – they'd get into a huge fight…) when he'd asked one person to meet up with him.

"Sorry, Ichigo," Tatsuki said, not sounding very apologetic. "I was with everyone when you called, at the park, and Orihime overheard…and then she made Ishida come…and then Sado thought he may as well come, too…"

Ichigo rolled his eyes. "Whatever," he said. "You don't mind, do you, Chihiro?"

Chihiro blinked. "You weren't lying," she said incredulously. "These people are all your friends, and you succeeded in making them so even with your charming personality. Didn't you even start some kind of rivalry with one of them?"

Uryuu cleared his throat. "Kurosaki started one with me, and then we all took a…trip together, which in his mind apparently cemented us as friends."

Ichigo snorted. "As I recall, it was you who started the rivalry with me. I didn't even know about that eternal Quincy vs. Shinigami 'for-our-honor-and-for-vengeance' feud until you brought it up!"

"Ano, Kurosaki-kun," Orihime said. "Should you have…?" She looked subtly back and forth between Ichigo and Chihiro.

"She knows," Ichigo shrugged, sitting down at the table. "And is currently refusing to tell me how she's connected with spirits…"

Chihiro grinned, joining them at the table and choosing to sit between Tatsuki and Orihime. "I'm guessing what he hasn't told me is about this 'bonding trip' you all went on, so I'm telling him nothing until he's agreed to spill his secrets, too."

"It wasn't all," Tatsuki muttered. "I didn't go. But anyway, it's nice to see you again, Chihiro."

"Tatsuki!" Chihiro enthusiastically cheered, hugging the black-haired girl. "Orihime, join our hug!"

The auburn-haired girl did just that. The boys all looked at each other. Ichigo rolled his eyes. Ishida pushed up his glasses. Chad just sat there.

Finally the joyful hugging came to an end.

"Do you need any introductions?" Orihime asked.

"No," Chihiro grinned. "That's Ishida Uryuu – he was in the other class – and that's Chad. Ichigo told me about you!"

Chad nodded. Ishida looked exasperatedly between Ichigo and Chihiro.

"I can't believe you," he said. "You've gotten another person to call him 'Chad'."

"Is that incorrect?" Chihiro asked with fake guilelessness.

"Forget it," Ishida muttered. "It's no use. Why am I even here?"

"If you want to leave, Ishida, we're not stopping you," Ichigo said.

"Bye," Ishida grunted, standing and slinging his bag over his shoulder. "It was nice to see you again, Ogino-san. Try not to start any wars while I'm gone, Kurosaki."

"Shut up, Ishida," Ichigo said, scowling at the other boy's back as he left.

"That sounds like a story," Chihiro noted, grabbing a roll from the middle of the table and biting into it.

"Tell you later," Ichigo said, and then started a discussion of what everything was going to be doing for their summer vacation.

It was later that It happened. Everyone had ordered food already and they were digging in when Orihime suddenly broke the not-quite-complete-silence that comes with eating good food.

"Hey, Chihiro-chan, did you hear about the river?"

Chihiro swallowed the mouthful of ramen she had just eaten (miso, not pork – she had blanched and felt slightly sick at the idea of eating any kind of food from a pig when she looked at the menu), and looked up. "No," she said. "Which one?"

"The one they filled in when we were all kids! I forgot the name, but I think it was Ko-something," Orihime said. "Yeah, the apartments didn't sell well at all – people moved in, but then they moved almost immediately back out. They kept saying that it had a terrible atmosphere. I went there once…I felt really sad, kinda lonely, and a bit lost. I can totally understand why they moved out."

Chihiro nodded shakily. She noticed her chopsticks were trembling in her hand and made an effort to steady the appendage.

"And then, people started campaigning again to have the river, since no one was living there. Some environmental groups checked it out, and it turns out the river continued underground. The area was actually eventually declared unsafe – I can't remember the reason right now, it was something kind of technical – the apartments torn down, and just recently they finished digging the river back up!" Orihime beamed. "Isn't that great?"

Chopsticks fell from suddenly nerveless fingers and landed with a thunk and splash in Chihiro's half-empty ramen bowl.

"The Kohaku River has been dug up?" the brunette asked numbly. She turned accusing eyes in Ichigo's direction. "I specifically asked you if anything changed! Didn't that count as something? How could you miss it?"

Ichigo held up his hands in defense. "It happened pretty recently, and I've been busy with a lot of other stuff. Besides, didn't you almost drown there as a kid? Surely you wouldn't want it to—"

"Don't presume to know what I want, Kurosaki!" Chihiro spat, standing and grabbing her bag. She knew that deaths in or near a river hit hard for Ichigo, and he wouldn't have wanted to be reminded of the fact that his friend had almost drowned at a young age. It would strike a chord with him because of his mother, she was sure. At the moment, though, she couldn't care. She was filled with a sense of urgency.

I have to get to that river. I have to see him. He promised we'd see each other again.

The brunette pulled some money out of her wallet, slapped it on the table, and took off. Ichigo followed a few seconds later with a quick apology to his friends.

Chihiro was vaguely aware of him following her through Karakura, but her focus was mostly on getting to the river as fast as she could. She could feel her sketchbook, which was mostly filled with drawings of Haku (both as a dragon and a human), bounce around in her bag, but for once she didn't want to stop and make sure everything was properly arranged so that none of the pages of her work were crumpled. She could be seeing the real Haku any moment.

Finally she skidded around a corner of a building and into a zone filled with dirt and some remnants of torn up grass. Fresh sod had been laid down close to the banks of the river, and many sprouts of grass had already grown.

Behind her, she heard Ichigo arrive, but all she was focused on was a figure standing by the bank of the river closest to her. Even before she could properly make out the familiar haircut and bluish-black hair, she knew.

"Haku," she whispered, eyes filling with sudden tears. Then she broke into a run. "Haku!" she screamed. "HAKU!"

He turned. She could make out the widening of his eyes, the wonder and joy that filled his face.

"Chihiro!" he laughed, meeting her in the middle. He grabbed her and pulled her into a spinning hug. They both laughed ecstatically, so happy to see each other again. Chihiro buried her face into Haku's shoulder, her arms wrapped around him, and his around her. His chin was resting on top of her head – she was still shorter than him.

"I told you we would meet again," Haku said softly.

"I know," Chihiro said, sniffling a bit. "I just didn't believe it until now. Silly me, doubting your promise." And then she really was crying, great heaving sobs similar to the ones she had given in the flower garden after the first time she had seen her parents. Haku comforted her then, and he comforted her now, pulling her closer.

"It's okay," he whispered. "It's all going to be okay. I promise."

"I'm sorry," Chihiro said miserably, pulling away slightly to rub at her eyes. "I'm just so happy – and I missed everyone so much, especially you, Haku! And I was almost beginning to believe that none of it was real, that I – I made it all up or something, that none of you really existed! I had the hair band, and sometimes I thought I could see something when I left the offerings at the shrines and in front of the tunnel, but…"

"It's okay," Haku said again. "I'm here now."

"Yeah, but who exactly are you?" came a sudden interruption in the form of a somewhat disgruntled and definitely confused orange-headed teenage Shinigami.

As soon as he'd spoken at the café, he knew he'd said the wrong thing. But it was too late to take the words back as Chihiro snapped back at him, set down some money, and raced off.

"Sorry," Ichigo murmured to the rest of his friends, laying some more money on the table to pay for his food. "Gotta go after her."

Then he was off, his longer legs allowing him to easily stay within eyesight of Chihiro, even if she had started out before him. He vaguely recognized the path they were taking as the direction to the river – the Kohaku River – and wondered why she wanted to see it so badly. She had almost died there. It was only because of a current that carried her to shore that she survived!

When they got to the land just before the river, he wondered why she had stopped. Then he looked beyond her and saw someone standing by the river. He looked as though he was dressed in some kind of old fashioned clothes, and he had oddly colored hair – surely it wasn't actually some shade of bluish-black?

Then again, Renji and Jinta's hair were literally red, Yumichika had multicolored feathers, Hitsugaya's hair was snow white, Nel's hair was a pale green, and Grimmjow's hair had been light blue. Who the hell was he to speak about weird colors of hair when he knew all these people with outrageous hair colors?

The teenage shinigami snapped back to attention when Chihiro abruptly screamed out a name and ran towards Mystery Person.

Mystery Person turned around, met her, they hugged, and then Chihiro was suddenly crying (Ichigo could tell by the shaking of her shoulders and they way she buried her head in his shoulder). He strode over to them, and arrived just in time to hear Mystery Person softly say to Chihiro, "I'm here now."

"Yeah, but who exactly are you?" Ichigo demanded. He didn't like that he didn't know what was going on or who this person was, and then he was already somewhat annoyed with Chihiro for not telling him anything and taking off.

Chihiro whirled around, a few faint tear tracks still visible on her face. Mystery Person kept his arms wrapped around her.

"I am Haku," he said coolly. "That is all you need concern yourself with, Shinigami-san."

"Where do you know this guy from, Chihiro?" Ichigo asked the brunette, eyes narrowed.

"I know him from the river, when he saved my life after I fell in," she said, tilting her chin up. Her eyes flashed. "And I know him from when my parents and I accidentally went into the Spirit World three years ago. He helped me rescue my parents and return home."

Ichigo frowned in deeper confusion, and then bristled at Haku's tone when he said, "Leave us please, Shinigami-san."

"No," he said stubbornly. "I'm not leaving until Chihiro explains what the hell is going-"

And then Ichigo landed on the ground in his spirit form, his body falling on top of him.

"Ack!" he yelped.

"Should I have warned you?" Urahara asked pleasantly, peering down at him as he moved his staff back to his side. "I thought you'd want to get out of your body quickly, since you looked like you were preparing for a fight…"

"Urahara!" Ichigo growled, shoving his body off and sitting up.

"Don't worry~!" Urahara sang. "I brought Kon with me!" He held up the stuffed lion, who was wearing almost exactly the same expression Ichigo was. His mouth was duct taped shut. "I snatched him from your bag when you weren't looking."

Then the shopkeeper turned to the two others.

"Kohaku-sama," Urahara said solemnly, tipping his hat and sweeping the river spirit an impressive bow. "It's very nice to see you again. I had feared…well." He trailed off, and then his gaze flickered between the two of them, contemplating their closeness. "I suppose you're one of the ones who placed the protections on Chihiro's hair band?"

Haku nodded. "It is nice to see you again as well, Kisuke."

"Hold on," Chihiro said. "You know – knew – know Urahara-san?"

Haku blinked down at her. "Yes," he said simply. "He's been coming to my river for over ninety years. I allowed him to meet me face to face one day…about fifty years ago? He had some very interesting stories."

"Whoa, whoa, whoa," Ichigo spat out. "Am I the only one here who is completely and utterly confused?"

"Yes," Haku said immediately. He didn't like Ichigo very much.

"Yes," Chihiro said teasingly.

"Yes!" Urahara said loudly, grinning and fanning himself.

"Definitely," Kon said, having worked the duct tape off from around his mouth.

"How the hell do you know anything?" Ichigo yelled at him.

The stuffed lion looked up at him with a smug expression. "Because Urahara told me."

"Ugh," Ichigo mumbled, falling back down onto the grass. "I give up."

Chihiro sat on his stomach. He wheezed.

"Come on," she said cheerfully. "Let's go back to your house. I'll tell you what happened to me three years ago, and you can tell me about this war Ishida says you started."

"I did not start it!" Ichigo howled.

"True enough," Urahara said, nodding sagely. "You just provided the perfect distraction for Aizen to act in."

"Whose side are you on, anyway?" Ichigo asked the shopkeeper, annoyed.

"Mostly on my own," Urahara said cheerfully. "Sometimes on Haku's – he's not as old as I am, of course, but he has quite some fascinating stories about Karakura and the lands surrounding here from before I arrived."

Ichigo kept choosing to ignore the interesting tidbit of Haku being at least over one hundred, deciding to press Chihiro on that as soon as they got back.

"Come on, Ichigo," Chihiro whined. "Stop talking about favoritism – I want to hear your story! So does Haku."

Ichigo looked doubtfully at the blue-black haired male. His face was utterly blank.

"Whatever," the orange haired teen said. "But get off of me. I need to get back in my body."

Chihiro obligingly rolled off of him.

"Ooh, this should be fun!" Urahara said enthusiastically. "I'll bring the popcorn! Isshin can provide the drinks."

"Shut up," Ichigo grumbled as they started back toward his home.

Haku and Chihiro walked closely together, fingers intertwined. Ichigo wasn't sure he liked that. Not because he liked Chihiro himself or something (she was like a third little sister that he hadn't met until he was five), but because he still wasn't sure about this Haku guy.

And he didn't really think that some story about him would change his opinion.

Stories were traded, disbelieving comments let out, some teasing commenced, Yuzu burst into tears at several points, Karin wandered into the house midway through an argument/shouting match/attempted (loud) peacemaking, and there was one moment where Haku almost lost his temper and went into his dragon form.

Isshin and Urahara avidly ate popcorn and drank soda throughout, acting like the story telling was some sort of spectator sport.

Four weeks later Chihiro stepped back on the train to go home.

She had reconnected with all of her old friends, made several new ones (Urahara leapt prominently to mind, followed closely by Orihime, whom Chihiro had known before not been close to until now), and learned some interesting things.

She now knew a few Kidou spells that Yoruichi had been delighted to learn she'd had the aptitude and power for, even in her human form, as well as some very basic Hakuda. She received some good medical advice/training from Isshin. She got several wonderful new recipes from Yuzu, thankfully none with pork in them. Ishida had taught her a few sewing tricks…and how to sew in the first place. Chad allowed her to discover the value of silence sometimes. Orihime explained the value of a good daydream, at any time or place. Urahara had helped her control her power better, so she could clearly see things now without difficulties (he said she'd had a difficult time in Karakura because of the fluctuating-but-usually-very-high levels of reitsu, which she wasn't used to), and she could turn it completely on or off. Ichigo lazily gave her a few battle tips she wasn't sure she'd ever use – they were definitely more fit for his fighting style (just charge in without planning and brute his way through) than what she thought hers would ever be. Tatsuki gave her much more useful self-defense tips. Haku made sure she knew several small protection charms.

She had gotten to spend a lot of time wandering around Karakura with Haku, and sometimes with Ichigo. She met Rukia, who dropped in for a visit at one point and let Chihiro exclaim enthusiastically over her drawings. She had promised to her friends to return soon (during a break or over a weekend, if she could manage it), and solemnly swore to Haku that she would come to his river as often as she was able. He said he'd like that, and he'd try to visit her too – he could leave his river for short amounts of time. This time, leaving wasn't as sad. She knew she'd be back. She knew she'd see them all again.

Ogino Chihiro clutched the glass flask filled with water from the Kohaku River to her chest, thought of all she had done and accomplished during the past month, smiled, and decided that she was a very happy young girl.

A/N: This was written because I kid you not, there are two Spirited Away/Bleach crossovers. That's it. I don't know why – it has such potential! (Although you can tell where I kind of got bored with this story and just moved to finish it. Sorry.)

So, this is just to clear a few things up: All the Hollows were attacking because they figured out that Haku was back and wanted to test his strength. They finally figured out he wasn't a pansy and decided they valued their existence, so stopped trying to attack him as often.

Haku's spirit ribbon is silver with teal and gold because he's a spirit – a real one. There's a difference between spirits/gods and the souls of humans, which is what shinigami, pluses, and Hollows are. (Teal because of the color of his fur. Gold because of the the plate-like armor stuff on his legs, nose, and stomach. Silver because of his scales in dragon form.)

Chihiro's ribbon was colored because she ate food of the Spirit World, the hair band had protective enchantments on it from her friends (which bled over onto her soul – royal blue for Zeniba, pinkish-red-maroon for Boh, brown for Yubaba's bird), and Haku had used enchantments on her several times plus before she left (thus the very strong teal-gold-faint-silver mix in her ribbon).

Also, about Chihiro's power – I think that through being friends with Ichigo for so long and from being in the Spirit World, she would develop some sort of power. In this case it's seeing things as they really are and sensing things. Does this mean she may have been able to see through Aizen's illusions? Quite possibly, but I'm not sure.

If you have any more questions about this, feel free to PM me about it or ask in a review or something. I don't want you to be confused by it. Also, please give constructive criticism if you can – I'm always looking for ways to improve my writing.