Author's note: Just a short oneshot that came to me after watching Spirited Away. Bear with me: I let it sit for quite a while and haven't seen the movie for a long time, so I apologize for any mistakes you find. Also, I'm using notepad, which doesn't have a spell check, so feel free to point out any mistakes you see.
Also, spoilers for those who haven't read The Chronicles of Narnia- I just figured that maybe what happened to Susan in the very end would happen to Chihiro.
Disclaimer: Spirited Away does not belong to me.
Chihiro had always hated how The Chronicles of Narnia ended. Susan thinking Narnia a game- it was unthinkable! Yet, as she grew older, her innocent eyes were opened to the world, she began to understand how it had happened, and the part of her that would always be Sen watched as she grew out of her own memories, out of dragons, mysterious worlds, and people that turned into pigs. And Sen sat down and cried, left alone in the rooms of the bathhouse as Chihiro finally grew out of Kohaku.
Chihiro never remembered the events at the bathhouse clearly again, thinking it all a game that she had played in an abandoned theme park with a boy named Haku, while her parents feasted on the food. She couldn't remember anybody serving them the food, which she found strange, or Haku having parents for that matter, but she figured they must've been there, because how else would she explain their game? Try as she might, though, she could not remember any normal, human faces besides Haku's, and only in dreams did she remember Sen, forgetting the moment that she woke up.
That is, until Haku returned.
She thought it strange, the rumors of a young boy going from door to door searching for her, but that boy was put in a foster home, far away from her, and Sen weeped when she heard the news.
But, soon enough, Haku escaped from his foster parents, and the doorbell rang, and Chihiro opened the door to see Haku standing there, looking exactly the same as the day she met him. She blinked in surprise. He looked awfully familar, though it couldn't be, could it...? No.
"Can I help you?" she asked, knowing it wasn't possible for Haku to be standing there. Maybe he had finally left the theme park and had a son? Sen felt sad at the notion that he would ever leave her, for Sen knew that it was Haku standing there, and that he would never betray her. Not after what they had felt years ago.
But, meanwhile, Chihiro just jumped in surprise as the young boy ran up to her, shouting "Chihiro!" and embracing her legs. She shook her head and pushed the boy away as she began to remember, pushing away her memories with the boy that she had saved so long ago.
"I'm sorry, do I know you?" she asked, and the heartbroken look in Haku's eyes could have brought tears to her eyes, had she remembered.
"It's me, Haku! Don't you remember?" at Chihiro's confused look, he walked up to her and took her hand. "Come on! We'll fly again, if you want, though you've gotten awfully big! I don't know if I could carry you."
Chihiro frowned, creasing her brow. "Is this some kind of joke? Look, I don't appreciate you playing on my childhood memories, so I would appreciate it if you would leave."
Haku looked like he had tears in his eyes, and Sen screamed out inside of Chihiro, willing herself to escape this adult prison.
"You mean you don't remember?" Haku asked, and Chihiro's expression softened when she realized that this child was probably ill.
"Look, go home, okay? I'm sure you're thinking of somebody else."
"But, Chihiro, how could you forget?" Haku asked, tears in his voice.
"The Haku I know from my childhood is probably far away by now. Besides, it was just a game. A fun, wonderful game."
Haku hung his head, smiling grimly at her words, then embraced her again. "He's closer than you know," the boy said, "And ready to play again, when you're ready." he said, then let her go and walked away, his every step hurting Chihiro's heart, though she knew not why.
That night, Chihiro could've sworn she saw a dragon in the sky.