Hi, I'm Red and this is my second fanfic (I sorta gave up on the first one and deleted it) so it won't be that good.

This story is an AU, where Chihiro moves into a town full of weirdos. Everyone is human except for Haku, Yu-bird, and No Face (Naturally). If you read the summary, you would understand. This does not follow the plot of Spirited Away, but I thought this would be nice since the ending was so unsatisfying. Please enjoy, and review! Also, tell me if there are any errors.

Chapter One: A New Town

Watching buildings and trees pass by, Chihiro sat with her knees to her chest. She had a bouquet of pink flowers in her arms, a card stuffed between blossoms. Her parents were chatting up front about the new town they were going to—a small, quaint place with a nice view of the river nearby. Seishin was the name of the town, and Chihiro personally thought it was ridiculous.

She set the flowers on the seat next to her, watching as the buildings and highways disappeared. Shrines and fields replaced the urban scenery. Were they really going to the middle of nowhere? Chihiro thought back to what her friends told her about where she was going:

"Eh? You're moving to Seishin? You do know the rumors about that place, right?" one of the boys in her class spoke up, a grin on his face.

Chihiro simply shook her head. She hadn't been many places and didn't talk to many people about places.

"It's cursed!" Someone else spoke.

"I heard that a dragon lives in the river and it'll gobble you up if you don't pray to it."

"Really? I heard that a monster called No Face lives in the forest. He lures people in with what they want the most, and eats them!"

"My mom told me that a bird with the head of a hag will swoop down to pick you up!"

As her classmates told their take on the legends of the town, Chihiro had a sinking feeling in her chest. Was it all true?

"Chihiro, honey, we're here," her mother said, getting her attention. She got out of the car, not noticing that it had stopped. She stood in front of a dark blue house, a moving van already working to get the furniture in the house. Chihiro glanced at the other houses around her, and pouted. She didn't like it already.

"It's pretty big. We'll have to hire someone to clean it. We'll be so busy," said her father, already taking a few bags out from the trunk. "Chihiro, why don't you go find a place to play while we unpack?"

And with that, Chihiro was walking down a dirt path through the forest near her house. A sign read "To Kohaku River" and stood at the beginning of the path. She was curious, so decided that would be where she would go.

Now if her parents were responsible, they wouldn't have let their ten year old daughter walk around a new town on her own. But they weren't responsible, were they?

Chihiro just barely heard running water, the smell of fresh flowers tweeking her nose. She followed the scent, s small smile on her face. She loved fresh flowers. But as she neared the river, the smell got unusually strong. Soon, she was surrounded by bushes and rows of blooming, colorful flowers. An old woman hummed as she tilled some soil in a bare row.

For Chihiro, this was all new. She had grown up in a city, far away from any running rivers or fields of flowers. The old woman noticed her, a smile on her face still. Chihiro noticed a rather large wart in the center of her forehead and the woman's large nose.

"Well what do we have here? A new child in Seishin? What a rare occurrence!" The woman came up to her, only about a head or two taller than Chihiro herself. "What's you're name, child? Did you come to see the river?"

A lump caught in her throat. Why was she scared? Maybe it was the way the woman looked. But slowly, she spoke up and said, "Chihiro, my name is Chihiro Ogino." She let out a stiff breath.

"Chihiro? What a pretty name! Well, Chihiro, welcome to my garden. The river is just down this row." The woman led her to the waters edge. Crisp, clear water ran across pebbles and stones. It was beautiful.

"Excuse me, ma'am…Who are you?" She felt a bit out of place in such a wonderful place. The garden ended just ten feet from the edge of the water, but the smell of spring flowers was still strong.

"I'm Zeniba. Don't confuse me for my twin sister that lives in town. I'm the kinder one." She chuckled a bit. "Maybe if you look closely, you'll see the spirit of the river." Chihiro's eyes widened.

She didn't want to see any spirit of any sort. "No thank you, ma'am. I'm not up to seeing spirits today."

"Are you sure? I'm sure he would love you. All the kids in town stay far away from the river. He needs someone his age to relate to." Zeniba placed a hand on Chihiro's shoulder, her head jerking to the forest. "You might want to get back soon. It'll be sunset soon, and few know what stirs in this forest at night."

As Chihiro hiked through the forest, she though back to the words Zeniba had spoken: "It'll be sunset soon, and few know what stirs in this forest at night." The sentence made her shiver from head to toe. Was there something dangerous in this forest? She didn't want to stick around to find out.

A rustling of leaves caught her attention. It came from behind her, so she turned around. All that she saw was trees and the dirt path. She turned to face forward, wanting to get home as soon as she could. That was when she saw him. Well, more like she came face to face with him.

The sight of a person in the forest other than herself made her yelp, her legs instinctively causing her to jump back. A boy stood in front of her. He was about her age, with black hair (that strangely had a tint of green) in a bob. He wore a white kimono with blue trousers, a purple sash tied around his waist. Chihiro had never seen anyone dress in such a way.

As she opened her mouth to say something, she noticed the look in his green eyes. He was shocked. He beat her to speaking, "What are you doing here?"

Chihiro simply didn't know how to answer.