Disclaimer: I dont own Naruto... nor Spirited Away.. aww

A/N: This is my first time to write a story... and well... hope y'all like it! :D

CHAPTER I- Through the Tunnel

xOxOxOx

The shrill ring of the bell echoed through the warm afternoon. From each of the classroom in Konoha High, came loud shouts of glee and relief. Thick crowds of students came swarming out, all excited to make their way home, or simply hang out with friends. In the midst of all the people, was a particular bun-haired female, slipping quickly across the throng, hurrying more than all of them.

"Tenten, wait up!" A voice called behind her, but she didn't even have to turn to know who it was.

"Ino, Sakura! Will you please hurry up?" She shouted back, hoping that they could hear her. "I don't want to be late for his Birthday!"

"Alright, alright." The blonde, muttered, as she finally caught up with her friend.

"Oh, Tennie, is Hinata coming?" Sakura added, slightly panting from the mixture of heat and exhaustion.

"She can't." Tenten replied grimly, then her eyes softened. "I think it was because Hanabi got sick." she continued, though she still felt disappointed. Hinata Hyuga was her best friend, but Hinata studied in a private school away from town. Therefore the two almost always accompanied each other in the simplest of celebrations, since it was one of their reasons to travel miles to see each other. So it seemed unnatural for Tenten not to have Hinata along with her this time.

"Aw, that's too bad." Ino said, as they finally reached a small muddy and rocky road that winded up to a high mountain.

Lee and his father always had weird tastes, even for their home. They had built it at the top of one of the only left mountains by their town, claiming that it gave them a chance to enjoy nature. So Tenten was pretty thankful that one of the tracks leading to their home was only a few meters away from their school gate. There were other roads of course, but it was in the opposite side of the mountain, leading directly from the town's capital. It would have taken them an hour just to pass through all the traffic to go there.

Tenten nodded at Ino's comment, though her eyes were concentrated at the rocky ground beneath her feet. About fifteen minutes passed in silence, and they could see the simple house only about ten more minutes away from them. But then, a drop of water suddenly fell on Tenten's cheek.

"Oh, no." Tenten whispered, wiping the drop on her face and looking up to the afternoon sky. The clouds above her were dark gray.

"Shit. Did anyone bring an umbrella?" Ino asked, worry filling her sharp features.

Tenten and Sakura's glum faces were enough to answer her question.

"Oh, come on then!" She shouted at the two, pulling them along.

xOxOxOx

"Strange." Tenten exclaimed, wringing her damp shirt. The rain was unexpected—it was fairly hot in the afternoon. But they would not have made it to Lee's house by running through the rain. So it was lucky, of course, that they had spotted the small cave only a couple of meters from where they had been earlier. Yet it was also the cave who gave Tenten so much discomfort. "I've never seen this before."

"Yeah." Sakura agreed, looking out at the drops of water falling. "But the entrance is too small, we must not have noticed it before cause we never really had a use for it."

"Maybe." Tenten relented, setting down her bag at a large rock at the side of the cave. It was just right, being able to fit the three of them, and at least it was dry. But what really interested her about it was how it ran all the way into the mountain, almost as if...

"Light!" Ino said in astonishment, also looking into the inner part of the cave.

She's right. Tenten thought. Though barely visible, she could make out a tiny glint of light inside. "A tunnel?" she asked aloud, confounded. "It can't be." She whispered.

"Your right." Ino nodded, then her eyes lit up with excitement. "Let's go see what's out there!"

"What?" Tenten answered, shaking her head. "But it doesn't even make sense! How can a tunnel be in this mountain?"

"Exactly, all the more exciting." Ino grinned, already pulling Sakura with her.

Tenten sighed. Nothing she could do would stop them, and with the rain trapping them inside, she had no choice but to follow the two.

xOxOxOx

"Wow..." Sakura whispered in fascination.

"This is amazing," Ino added, stopping in her tracks.

Tenten couldn't help but agree. It really was amazing. Her brown eyes flashed with fascination as she stared at the view before her. As soon as they had stepped out of the tunnel, no rain greeted them, but warm bright sunshine. When her eyes finally focused, she could see a small lake before them. Rocks were positioned in the middle of the lake, forming a kind of bridge that led to the land in the opposite side. The land on the other side showed a grassy wide plain, with trees on each side. But between all the trees were remains of a large town.

"Ruins?" Tenten asked aloud, finally finding her voice.

"Must be." Sakura answered her.

"But that's..." Tenten hesitated, analyzing the situation first. "Impossible. All of this is."

Ino and Sakura stared at their friend with questioning eyes.

"We came from the side of the mountain!" Tenten explained. "How could there be a lake here?"

"You think too much, Ten." Ino said, shaking her head.

"But she's right." Sakura answered, turning to her bestfriend. "This doesn't make sense... And the ruins, no one has ever told us about that before."

"Well maybe no one has gone here yet." She answered indignantly. "Why don't we go check it out?"

Tenten shook her head, even as her two companions moved towards the lake. Again, there was just no contradicting a determined Ino. Her chest tightened with dread, but still she stepped forward, following them.

"Good thing these rocks are so wide." Ino commented as she skipped to the first one.

"And positioned so closely together, too." Sakura agreed.

It's almost as if were all intentionally placed there. Tenten thought. But that made no sense. They were near ruins, meaning nobody could have lived there for the past years.

Or could there?

xOxOxOx

The lake was wider than everyone had thought, and maybe deeper too.

Tenten stepped into the firm ground moments later, relieved that they had gotten through the lake safely. She had to agree with sakura and Ino, it was a good thing the rocks were so wide, that they didn't have to worry about falling into the water.

"Well come on!" Ino shouted, pulling the two towards the old ruins before them.

The distance from the ruins to the lake was about fifty meters long, so Tenten was already panting slightly as they reached the old ruins. But the uniqueness of the ruins still did not fail to amaze her. The buildings were so intricately designed, that even through all the thick layers of dust, they stood out.

"I wonder what used to stand here?" Sakura asked aloud to the two, as she observed a building just to the side of Tenten.

Before any of them could even answer, a strong, sweet aroma started to fill the air around them.

"Mmmm... What's that?" Tenten asked, her mouth suddenly watering.

"Whatever it is, I want some of it." Ino stated, before following the scent.

"No! Ino!" Tenten shouted at her friend, but to no avail. The blonde had already gone into the ruins.

"I guess we have no choice." Sakura said, running after her best friend, Tenten right by her side.

Left. Right. Left. Straight.

Tenten gave up. There was no point in memorizing their way. She just hoped that Ino would still know the way back.

"Here it is!" Ino exclaimed, after making their way through the ruins.

She had stopped in front of what seemed like the only operating shop in the whole destroyed town. The window display showed tons of bread, with different toppings and cream all lined up neatly.

"That looks so good." Sakura said as they entered theshop.

"It's empty." Tenten thought, looking around. But something still nagged her. Who would want to build a bakeshop in the middle of an abandoned town?

"Oh, look!" Sakura said, ignoring Tenten's comment.

In the middle of the bakeshop stood a small table, with three chairs neatly arranged at the sides. On top of the table were three sliced chocolate cakes, waiting to be eaten.

"Do you think we could eat it? I'm starving." Sakura whispered to the two.

"No, maybe-"

"Nobody's here, and besides, we can pay it later!" Ino said, cutting off Tenten words. Before Tenten could say anything else, she and Sakura had already sat down.

"Tenten, come on!" Sakura called her, as she put a spoonful of the cake into her mouth. "This is amazing!" she commented.

"Uh, no." Tenten said, despite her grownling stomach. She suddenly had a feeling that she needed to be somewhere else... It was hanging in her mind, but hard as she tried to remember, the thought of whatever it was eluded her. "I think I'll go look around first... be back here in a few minutes." She dropped her bag by the third chair, and headed for the exit.

"Your loss." Ino stated, slicing her cake.

xOxOxOx

Tenten didn't notice how far she had already been walking until she reached a curve in the small, broken street. Taken by curioustity, she stepped forward and followed another path that led to the sides of the ruins. The trees were getting thicker and thicker as she walked faster. She was almost about to go back to the shop, until she spotted a small wooden bridge before her, hanging above another lake. The lake looked a lot like what they had first spotted, only smaller. But it was the building across the bridge that caught Tenten's attention.

It was the highest one that she had noticed in the town, and like the small bakeshop they had jus gone through, it was in use. She could see the smoke rising from the top of the building, which meant there must have been people inside.

"Whoa." Tenten whispered to herself in amazement. Who would make a bath house near some old, abandoned ruins? It was just like the bake shop they had passed through. Walking slowly, she headed towards the bridge. And that was when she noticed him.

He was standing on the bridge, staring intently down at the water. Tenten could see his long, black hair falling behind him. She would have assumed that he was a girl, if it weren't for the way he stood—it all just seemed so manly.

"Uh, hi?" she asked,nervously.

He turned to her sharply, and Tenten was taked aback by the color of his eyes. They were pale gray, much like how the moon shone at night, but with a slight tinge of purple on it. Then they widened in surprise. "A human?"

"Err.." Tenten scratched her head, confused. What did he mean? "Well, I-"

"What are you doing here?" The boy shouted, cutting her words. "Go back, to the wide lake before it gets dark!" He said, his eyes filling with worry, as he ran towards her. "Hurry!" he shouted at her, already pushing her away.

Tenten ran in panic and fright, looking back to see the boy only once. She didn't understand what he had meant, but it made her sweat. She looked up to the sky as she ran back to the shop.

It was getting dark.

"Ino! Sakura!" she shouted, when she was finally nearing the shop. "Hey guys-!"

The rest of her words were drowned by the gasp that escaped her lips. She stared in horror at the two creatures before her. Where her friends were positioned just moments ago, now stood two pigs.

Suddenly, a bell chimed as the moon rose in the sky. As Tenten looked frantically around her, dark shadows began to form and fill her surroundings. They had no shape, but each still looked different. They were foreign to her, but she had a guess on what they were.

"Spirits!" She whispered in desperate panic as her feet led her away from the shop. Her knees were shaking badly, but she still managed to run. Even as she made her way through the ruins, shadows kept popping up. And the buildings started to turn newer, and more refined. It was as if the whole town was coming alive again.

After what seemed like forever to her, she was finally standing in front of the lake were they had first crossed earlier. She didn't know how, but she had made it through the streets. But now...now rocks tha served as the bridge between the two lands were gone. And her friends—they were nowhere around.

But I need to go through! She thought wildly to herself, while formulating ways to cross the lake. Then, just like in the town, more spirits started to appear from the other side of the lake. In unison, they all started to glide across the water, moving closer to where she stood.

Gasping in horror, Tenten ran to her side, towards a small gathering of trees she had seen earlier. They would serve as a cover for her. Her aching feet gave way below her as she crashed into the fresh grass between the trees. She looked around in fear, but no more shadows appeared. Then she moved closer towards one tree, and leaned her back to it. She pulled her legs closer to her body, until her forehead touched her still shaking knees.

What was going on?

END OF CHAPTER

Editted: January, 2011

A/N: Hm... As some of you probably know by now, i based the plot from the movie Spirited Away... please review if you see any mistakes of anything you would like me to change, that would be for the improvement of the chapter. thanks. :)