A/N: I do not own Spirited Away or any of the characters. All credit goes to Hayao Miyazaki and Studio Ghibli. I only own this Fan Fiction and it's contents. J Thank You.
Chapter 1: Realizing
Chihiro sat up in the bed as she wiped the tired from her eyes. It was 6am and she had just awoken to the annoying sound of an alarm clock. She really needed to get that thing set right. After all, it was summer now. No more early morning struggles and long walks to school. It was finally over for 4 months. She wasn't as excited as she was supposed to be though. If she was in Osaka with her mother, summer would be much different. She would be sitting under a beautiful cherry blossom tree reading "Alice In Wonderland", or hanging out with her best friend Miku, at the downtown coffee shop. But she wasn't in Osaka. She was in Tokyo with her father for the summer. Divorce papers said so. If she was only 18 she could be wherever she wanted for the summer. Stupid laws.
She walked into the bathroom and turned on the cold water. She splashed it on her face as the rush of cold went through her body. She dreaded to look at her face in the mirror that morning. Like she was upset with herself. But the truth is , she really was upset with herself. She was upset that she let those court people make her go with her father for the summer time. She did not like Tokyo. Her father's apartment in Tokyo was stinky and cold and it smelled like rice. And when she stepped outside it stunk. The air smelled of oil and dirt. She did not like it. The people in the apartment building didn't really want to associate with her and she didn't want to associate with them either. They were too strange. But anyway, she said to herself that no matter where she was for her months off, she would make them her best months. But she wondered "How can I possibly do that here?". She was truly unhappy. But maybe she could lighten up. She had only been there for a week so far. She still had bunches of time to make her summer fun for herself. So she stopped worrying and continued on with her duties.
She stepped into the shower and turned it on. The water came down like hot rain on a cold day. It sank into her skin like a sponge soaking up water. Once she was done with her hot shower, she got dressed up in a daily outfit. Converse's, T- Shirt, jeans, purple hair tie. After glancing at herself in the mirror she ran her fingers through her long dark brown pony tail which contained the shiny purple hair band. She loved her little hair band. It reminded her of the wonderful spirit world where she made so many friends. The friends and the fun times was the happy part. The sad part was the farewells she had to say to all of her friends in the long run. She really did miss Haku. She even dreamed of him some nights. They were always happy dreams. But they always lead to her missing him more, or a new sketch in her sketchbook. The sketches always lead to praises from friends that say "Wow. I wish I could draw like that." Or "That's so beautiful. Way to go!" But the funny thing is, Chihiro never thought any of her sketches were beautiful or good. They were just ordinary old things. But they were actually way better than anything!
Chihiro ran out of her room and into the kitchen. Her father was drinking his coffee and reading the paper. "Ohayou" Chihiro's dad said with a smile. Chihiro smiled and bowed to her father. He continued with his paper. "You hungry?" He asked. "No. I am still full from last nights dinner." "Oh okay." Chihiro sat on the couch and turned on the TV with her remote. Music videos were on and she liked music somewhat. "Sweety, turn that down." Her father said. Chihiro lowered the volume as the voice of her father making a business call drowned out the music. She stared at the flat screen and moved her lips to the lyrics of the song playing. "Oh, tell me goodbye, tell me goodbye. Dakishimate Te Wo." The song was by Big Bang. Korean boy group. But they did some songs in Japanese which Chihiro really liked. Chihiro's father walked toward her with an unhappy look on his face. "I'm sorry honey, but it looks as if I have to stay in the office all day. They need me there. I'm so sorry." He announced. "It's okay. I'm a bog girl. Do what you need to do at the office, I'll be fine here." She replied. "You sure?" "Yep. I'm capable of taking care of myself. I'm 16 for crying out loud." "Well, Okay then" Chihiro's father walked into his bedroom to get dressed as Chihiro rolled her eyes and turned up the music.
Chihiro got tired of all the music so she flipped through the channels until she stopped at a commercial. A commercial of a man babbling and claiming that he could get any spirit out of your house for free. "What a noob." Chihiro said under her breath. Then she thought. The word "spirit" caught her attention. Then all of a sudden, an idea hatched in Chihiro's mind. She smiled with happiness and continues flipping through the channels. She had a plan! Chihiro's father came out from his bedroom, dressed in his daily work suit. He kissed Chihiro on the cheek and told her goodbye for the day. He walked straight out the door and into his Subaru. Then he was gone. Chihiro jumped for joy and ran to the guest room where she had been staying. She stared towards her closet and took out her suitcase which was still packed, just missing a few things. She stood the suitcase up next to her bed and nearly ripped her cell phone from it's charger. She dialed a number and held the device to her ear. "Hey Paris. It's me Chi Chi." Chihiro said. "Oh hi Chi Chi. What's up?" The girl asked. "Not much but um…, do you think you can come pick me up?" "From where?" "Not far, I'm in Tokyo." "Ah okay. I guess so. Where at in Tokyo exactly?" "Michi St., Oak's apartment complex." "Oh I know where that is. That's right by LiLi's place. You know her right?" "Yeah.. I know her, just honk the horn when u get here." "Okay Chi, I'm on my way." "Thanks so much, Paris." "Hey, anything for my bestest friend." "Aww, well bye." "Bye, Girl."
As Soon as Chihiro hung up the phone she just sat around and waited. Nothing else really needed to be done. If Paris would drive her all the way to Osaka, she could get into the spirit world. Back with old friends and good times. That would be her best summer yet, right there. She was so excited. She just hoped everything would turn out the way she planned. Chihiro walked into the house and turned off all the lights, made sure everything was secure, and stood outside on the balcony. Tokyo looked beautiful from there but it didn't smell as beautiful. The smell of metal and gasoline hit Chihiro's nose like a nasty smack in the face. She pinched her nose to keep the smell away until she seen Paris's Honda Civic pull up. She smiled with joy. She was saved. Paris honked the horn twice as Chihiro ran out of her home's door and into the elevator. She pressed the down button and tapped her foot with anticipation. Once in the lobby, she ran like hell towards the glass sliding door. Paris could see her now and was smiling and waving. Chihiro smiled back and jumped in the car while Paris held the door open. "So where are we headed, Chi Chi?" "Osaka." Chihiro said proudly while gasping for air. Paris put the car in drive and rolled out of the parking lot.
AN: Short chappie, I know! So sorry, but I have to get someplace real fast. J Please review! :D Love ya guys!