Title: Just a Dream
Rating: T
Fandom: Spirited Away
Words: 1,288
Pairings: Chihiro/Haku.
Warnings: None.
Genre: General.
Summary: Ever had that feeling that there was always something missing? Ever knew something was off, but you just could not put your finger on it? Ever think it wasn't all just a dream?
Author's Notes: A good complement to the song is Just A Dream Cover by Sam Tsai. This is also posted on my livejournal.
Disclaimer: Spirited Away® is copyright Hayashi Miyazaki. This fan fiction is provided for entertainment purposes and in respect to Hayashi Miyazaki.
She looked back at the tunnel. The voice in the back of her head told her to turn around and go back. She felt as if she was forgetting something; she had left it behind on the other side of the tunnel. Chihiro had such a strong urge to let go of her mom and go back to find out what it was, but was too scared. It still looked dark and creepy.
Her father's angry tone made her snap her head back around. The fact that the car was covered in dust and leaves was strange. They could not have been gone for more than a couple of hours.
"That or it could have just been strong winds, dad," she said.
Her father nodded. "Yeah, but if it was some kind of practical joke and I ever find out who, those kids will be in a lot of trouble."
Chihiro let out a sigh. Her father and his anger management issues. Shaking her head, she got into the car. It could have just been super windy on this side. That would explain why there was so much debris on the car. Yeah, that was all that it was.
Fuzzy images of a bathhouse popped into her mind. Scrubbing floors with someone in pink work clothes. A boiler room with someone named Kamaji. A silver dragon who… No, none of that had happened. They had no been gone for days. The young girl pushed the images to the back of her mind.
As they drove away, a transparent figured faded completely from the spot it had held next to a tree.
Chihiro leaned in to kiss him. She ran her hand through his dark black hair. She loved how soft it felt. She loved the way that when the light hit it, giving off an almost green hue. He broke the kiss. Chihiro tried to focus in on his face, but could not see any of its details. She opened her mouth just about to ask him who he was when he put his finger over her lips to silence her. With his other hand he reached out to touch her hair, caressing her face as he pushed the fallen strand out of her face.
Chihiro reached up to touch his face. Just as their skin was about to make contact with each other, her alarm went off. Groggily, her hand reached out from under her bed sheets to turn off her alarm clock. Even though she had moved rather slowly to turn off the sound that interrupted her sleep, she moved back under the covers faster than the speed of light. It was cold. The teenage girl did not want to get up. She much rather lay in the warmth of her bed all day.
She snuggled against her body pillow, closing her eyes to try to get some sleep again. Seconds later the warmth she felt was gone, the chilly morning air touching her body. Chihiro shot up looking around. No one was in the room, yet her bed sheets lay on the floor. She looked at the clock on her nightstand.
"Shit!" Chihiro yelled a little too loudly.
"Is something wrong honey?" her mom called upstairs.
"No," she replied.
Quickly she got out of bed, hurrying to get ready. Her review books lay open in the bathroom as she brushed her teeth. However, her mind was nowhere focused on the book that sat there. Her mind was on her dream. The one she had practically every night. It was about the same person. She would always unload her day onto him, but he never seemed to mind. The funny thing was she started having the dream when she was ten. Though she could never remember his face or what he said for the life of her, she did know he aged in her dream just like she did. His features had changed from a boy to that of a young adult over the years, that she knew.
Making her way to her bedroom she was determined to forget about the dream that she could never remember the full details of. Instead, she had more open books opened throughout her room as she attempted to read over material as she changed.
Chihiro grabbed her bag ready to go when she noticed a yellow sticky note on her desk. It simple read "Good Luck." She had no clue how it got there, nor who it was from. Yet, somehow, the brown haired girl felt a smile creep on her face. She was totally ready for her entrance exams.
She stood there nervous. This was a big step for her. All her confidence in all the decisions she had made mere hours before was now gone. She had butterflies in her stomach. Truthfully, she was no longer so sure she was doing the right thing.
Her mom entered the room, tears threatening to pour out. "You look so beautiful honey."
"Thanks mom." She gave her mother a weak smile.
An 'ah' escaped her mother's lips. Her mother could tell from the weak reply and the sad smile that her daughter was having second thoughts about the wedding.
"Don't worry sweetie every bride questions her choice right before she is to be married. And all the grooms go through the same." Her mother reached out to hold her hand, giving it a reassuring squeeze. "Just remember you love him and this is why you are doing this. I'll leave and give yourself a few moments before the ceremony starts to just realize how beautiful you are and what a wonderful day today will be."
She turned back and looked at herself in the mirror the moment her mother left. The image of herself in the simple yet elegant white gone was unfamiliar to her. Her hair had been pulled up into a bun with only a few select curled strands loose falling out of the bun, not that many could see it with her veil currently covering it. They had put make-up on her face, something that the young women had rarely ever done.
"This is so not me," she groaned. "I hate my hair up in a bun. Why could they have not put it in a simple pony tail or better yet have left it down."
"I agree," a voice behind her whispered.
Startled, she turned around to come face to face with a young man that she had never seen before. Yet, she felt a familiarity about him. She opened her mouth to speak his name, yet stopped herself. It had been on the tip of her tongue, but she could not remember it now that she wanted to say it.
With a wave of his hand she felt her hair come loose. She looked back in the mirror to find that her hair now fell down her back in soft curls.
He smiled at her. "Much better."
"Thank you," she replied. "But, who are you? I feel like I know who you are, yet at the same time, I don't have a clue."
"It's okay. You just have to know I've known you since you were little Chihiro."
Not knowing what to say or do, she just nodded like an idiot.
"Congratulations Chihiro," he told her before he started to fade away.
"No wait! Don't go." Still he continue to fade, being so transparent that she could barely see him now. "I still don't know-"
Realization dawned on her. "Haku! No wait, come back!"
However, it was too late, he was gone. Tears fell down Chihiro's face. It all hadn't been just a dream.