Disclaimer: I don't own Spirited Away or any of the characters except Meiou.
Cold and dreary- it had been like this all winter. The wind was frosty, and Chihiro knew only too well it would be bringing snow from the north. She traveled alone, as usual, since she seemed to be having difficulty fitting in to this new school of hers. Not accustom to being a loner (since she was pretty popular at the former school) she fell deeper and deeper into depression each and every year she sat alone under a tree on the outskirts of the school grounds, eating her lunch. The weather didn't bother her, she felt like it was only expressing her mood so everyone knew…
Not able to understand why people ignored her existence, Chihiro stopped a brief moment to examine herself in the window of small shop. A few girls from her grade were there, shopping together with laughter, but her eyes didn't reach that far. She started at her reflection in the pane of glass. She was short for her age, with thin arms and legs. Her brown hair was pulled up in a small red band.
Her eyes fixated a moment on the band as faint memories filled her mind. It had been a few years since the incident in the Bathhouse, but her memories were slowly becoming hazy. One memory that remained clear, though, was the final words of Haku. Now go, and don't look back… The promise to meet again was the only thing that kept Chihiro looking away from the ground as she continued on her way to her home.
Approaching her small blue house on the end of the street, Chihiro let herself in without so much as an announcement to her father and mother, who were chatting happily in the kitchen. She stopped at the foot of the stairs, listening to their carelessness as they talked about their jobs positively. Their happiness was too much for Chihiro to deal with at the moment, she hurried up to her room, where she slammed her door. As she buried her face into the pillow, tears began to darken her pink pillow-cases.
Chihiro's room was like many young, teenage girls at her school. Pink drapes shrouded her window, and dark, wooden, four-post bed was nicely tucked in with pink and red sheets. Her floor was covered in the traditional tatami-mats, with only a single red rug on the floor before a wooden dresser.
There was a light knock on her door, and Chihiro gasped as she quickly wiped her eyes as best they could. "Yes?"
With a light creak, her mother came in with a large smile, "Chihiro, we're going for an afternoon picnic."
Knowing she wasn't going to be able to talk her way out of it, Chihiro nodded with a forced smile. ""Great, I'll be right down," she said as she preoccupied herself with trying to find something on the floor. After hearing the door click shut, Chihiro took one final look around her room, throwing her book bag on the bed and following her mother out.
The little grey car her family owned was getting old, but it was still able to run. Her father drove and her mother chatted excitedly about how the neighbor invited them to dinner on Saturday. Chihiro sat in the back seat next to the basket of food. She didn't even notice the large red building that her parent stopped in front of. "We're here!" her father announced.
Chihiro's pallid face expressed her scathing horror as she set eyes on such a horribly familiar sight.
Remember, don't look back…
Haku's words echoed in Chihiro's mind as her parents got out and pulled the basket of food from the door across from her. She wanted to stop them, the thought of what would happen if they returned somehow dampened by the warming images of Haku flashing over her mind. She wanted to see him. He promised he would see her again, yet he has not come.
Thoughts of her school popularity filled her mind as she too got out of the car, following her parents, as if in a trance. She didn't know anyone at her school. She knew people in the Spirit world. She would rather have stayed there than have had to endure the torture of loneliness.
Don't look back…
Haku's words shot through her, breaking her thoughts instantly. She didn't want to go back. She didn't care if nothing would happen by them returning, she didn't want to chance it. Reaching out a thin hand, Chihiro made a grab for her parents as they took their first step into the dark tunnel, "Stop!"
Grabbing air, she stared at where he parents had been; now empty space. Her momentum was too much to stop herself from the same fate. Her first step into the tunnel sent her falling, as if all land gave way. Screaming, Chihiro awaited the abrupt stop of her hitting surface, hoping she would find herself in her bed where she'd dozed off in her tears.
The impact never came, but the wind blowing past her face stopped instantly. Was that water on her face? Chihiro's heart leapt as she assumed her tears had soaked her entire face. The next wave came, bringing her to the reality of something, or someone, splashing water into her face.
Slowly opening her eyes, Chihiro gasped, jumping slightly, as Haku smiled down at her. The sun behind the boy's head made it difficult to make out most of his features. Reaching up a hand, she placed it gently on Haku's cheek, "Haku?" she asked in disbelief.
The dark grin that spread over the boy's face made Chihiro uncomfortable. She noted his appearance to be slightly different than the Haku she knew before. His short hair was ebony, rather than Haku's dark green hair. His eyes were green, almost like the grass that swayed in the sudden breeze. The boy placed a hand on Chihiro's lips as she opened her mouth to ask who he was. "Shhh," he spoke in a far deeper voice than Haku had as he lowered his face closer to Chihiro's, "you are far more beautiful than even Haku admitted."
As their lips met, reality dawned on Chihiro from a familiar voice yelling over a roaring wind, "Meio!"
Ripping away, the boy that had kissed Chihiro glared up at Haku, slowly rising to his feet in defiance. Chihiro watched from the ground, her body couldn't seem to move from the shock that engulfed every bone in her body. She noted the twins glaring at each other, sparks almost visible between them. Haku was now there, with his white and blue uniform, dark green-almost charcoal hair, and his deep grey eyes. Meio, on the other hand, wore a similar white and black uniform of the same design.
Chihiro's eyes glared at Meio, "Who are you?"
Meio didn't even seem to notice Chihiro had spoken; his eyes were fixated on Haku, as if waiting for him to attack him. Haku's response echoed in Chihiro's mind for minutes afterwards, "He's me brother…"