Somber Return

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I don't own Spirited Away, Hayao Miyazaki does, though I own some of the original characters. This takes place six years after the movie.

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Chapter 1

"Is everything set?"

"Well, we're all packed and everything…"

"Are you sure we're not missing anything?"

"Wait…the car keys! Oh, I could've sworn they were in my pocket!"

Chihiro looked up from the magazine she was reading. Once again her dad couldn't keep track of anything.

"Where are they? They can't have gotten up and walked away!!"

Her eyes settled on the car keys sitting on the dining room table in front of her. Sighing in exasperation she scooped them up and headed towards the front door. She made sure not to trip over the suitcases in the hall. "Looking for these, Dad?"

Her father laughed a little. "There they are!" he took the car keys and ruffled her hair. This annoyed Chihiro, mainly because her hair had been in a nice ponytail.

"Here's all the numbers," said her mother. She tacked a sheet of paper on the wall. "The main one is the hotel we're staying at. All these are the restaurants and places we'll be going to. Try not to call here unless it's an emergency, okay?"

"I know." Chihiro smiled a little. August was a reminder that her summer vacation was nearly over and she would have to go back to school. Not that she hated school; she actually liked her 1st year of high school. But she liked relaxing. And she hadn't been able to relax for some time because…

"You're here to see us off, but where's Sei?" asked her mother.

"Probably still hiding in his room playing his Game Boy SP," said Chihiro, yawning a little. "He loves that thing; it sleeps next to him on his pillow."

"The least he could do was come say goodbye," said her mother, shaking her head in annoyance. She went over to the stairwell. "Sei!! Come down here, we're leaving now!!"

Moments later there was a thunder of small footsteps as a sullen six year old came down the stairs with messy dark brown hair, holding a Game Boy SP tightly in his hands.

"Come say goodbye to us, Sei," said their mother, holding out her arms to him.

Sei frowned at her. "Why do you and Daddy have to go? Why can't I go with you?"

"This is a vacation your father and I have planned for years. We want to spend a little time together. And besides, we all went to the beach last weekend. It's not like we don't ever take you anywhere."

Sei scoffed, kicking at the railing. "It's not fair!! I don't want to be alone with her!!"

Chihiro shook her head. Ever since her little brother was born, he seemed to dislike her. And when he had to do things he didn't want to do, he threw loud and annoying fusses. It annoyed her even more whenever her parents said his attitude was the same one she had when she was his age.

Yeah right, I was never that immature, she thought, pulling out her messy ponytail.

"Chihiro is your older sister and you will be on your best behavior," said their mother warningly. "She'll let me know if you give her too hard of a time."

Chihiro smiled at this, but it quickly faded when her mother addressed her. "And I don't want you throwing huge parties while we're gone. And only spend the grocery money on groceries."

"I know, Mom," said Chihiro. Then she muttered, "You told me eighty times yesterday…"

"Well, let's get going," said their father. "Um, where did I put the car keys again?"

"Your pocket," said Chihiro, retrieving the magazine she had been reading.

"Ah, now I remember." He pulled out the keys. He kissed both Chihiro and Sei. "We'll see you in a week and a half."

"Have a nice trip," said Chihiro as her mother kissed her too.

Sei made a snorting noise, indicating he was close to throwing a temper tantrum.

"Bye, take care of each other!!" said their mother as they hurried out the door.

Silence filled the room with their departure. Chihiro glanced at Sei. "So, do you want ice cream?"

Sei glared at her. "No! I hate you!!" Then he ran up the stairs.

Chihiro checked her watch as she headed into the kitchen. "Hmm, my break's almost over. Better get back to my homework soon."

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"All right, onto my last worksheets!" she said happily, closing her math book. "If only they wouldn't give us so much homework…"

Spending the day doing her homework hadn't been Chihiro's idea of starting off her break from her parents. Outside of taking care of dinner she had avoided the rest of the house as much as possible. Sei had recovered from their parents leaving, but he was still in a foul mood. Not wanting to be at the brunt of it, Chihiro gladly took on the task of finishing her summer homework.

"Okay, I need an eraser," she murmured, fishing into the pocket of her beige sundress. Her fingers did grab hold of something, but not an eraser. She pulled it out to find the hair tie that had been in her hair.

The special hair tie she had received years ago.

She sighed softly, fiddling with it. When she had entered the spirit world when she was ten years old, she never thought that her life would return back to normal. But there she was, six years later, sitting at home doing homework.

Six years, she thought, staring at the hair tie. Has it really been that long? It feels like yesterday that I was still at servant in Yubaba's hot spring. I remember seeing Mom and Dad held up in that pigpen, though they don't remember it happening. And everyone there…Kamaji, Rin, No-Face, Zeniba, Haku…

Her fingers stilled. Though she had many friends now, Haku still stood out as her dearest friend. It was almost sad, considering they came from two different worlds. The odds of them ever seeing each other again were very slim.

But he did promise me that we would, she thought with a smile. She stowed the hair tie back into her pocket. I know it probably won't be anytime soon, but I'm sure we'll meet again. He's not the type to break his promise to anyone.

Chihiro laughed a little and stretched. "Here I am, thinking about my past when I should be doing my homework." She grabbed her pencil. "All right, back to w—"

Suddenly, the house gave a violent jolt and Chihiro's room became shrouded in darkness. An odd feeling crept over her, but she pushed it down for the moment. She left her desk and went to the window, looking at the neighbor's house. Their lights were still on.

"Great," she muttered, storming to her door. "Sei, did you mess with the fuse box again?!"

Silence greeted her, along with the dark house.

"Sei?" she called, heading for the stairs. "Sei, come out! If you did something wrong I promise I won't tell Mom!!"

He didn't answer her. In fact, the only sound she could hear was her own footsteps descending the stairs.

"Sei?" she called again once she was downstairs. "Come out Sei!!"

She headed into the living room to find it empty. She nearly headed into the kitchen when something caught her eye on the floor. She quickly headed over and picked it up. It was Sei's Game Boy SP.

Chihiro swallowed a lump in her throat. Sei loved his Game Boy SP and never went anywhere without it; school, grocery shopping, even the beach.

Why was it just lying on the living room floor?

She stood up, turning her attention to the glass sliding doors that led to the backyard.

Sei was standing outside, facing away from her and looking towards the sky.

"Sei!" she called, heading for the glass door.

Everyone turned sour after that. Before she got too close to the door it suddenly exploded. Chihiro shrieked and quickly raised her hands as thousands of tiny, but very sharp glass shards flew at her. She cried out as the glass sliced her hands and her lower arms, quickly backing away. Her legs came in contact with the coffee and she lost her balance. She crashed into the table, and it crumbled under her sudden weight.

Then the glass stopped flying at her. Her limps were aching but she forced herself into a sitting position.

Sei was still standing outside, though unscathed.

"Sei," she groaned, heading back towards what had been the door. She was careful around the glass due to her bare feet, but hurried outside.

"Sei, come here," said Chihiro, reaching his side and grabbing his sleeve with a bloody hand. "Please Sei…"

But Sei did not answer her. His face and his eyes were blank, though he appeared to be staring at the sky.

"What are you staring at?" she murmured, speaking more to herself than to her little brother. She followed the direction he was looking in and froze.

A dragon floated high above. He was hissing and staring at them with cold eyes.

"Se…" it seemed to be hissing. "Se…"

Chihiro quickly looked at Sei. Was it talking to him?

She looked back up at the dragon. There was something very oddly familiar about it…

The dragon hissed loudly and descended down to them.

Chihiro acted quickly. She grabbed Sei's wrist and pulled him toward the house. "Run Sei!!!"

But Sei didn't respond or obey. He stumbled behind her, slowing them both down.

"Please Sei!!" she cried to her little brother, turning her head to him. She turned her head back around.

Her only warning was the flash of the tail before her mind exploded in pain. It all happened in slow motion after that. The force of the tail striking her hard in the stomach sent her flying across the backyard until she fell with a sickening thud on the grass.

Her vision was filled with spots, but Chihiro could the dragon standing in front of Sei. Even in his trace-like state, Sei seemed to react to it. He started speaking, but the loud ringing in Chihiro's ears prevented her from hearing him.

The dragon let out another hiss and started setting off back into the sky. As he took off, one of his talons reached out and grabbed the front of Sei's shirt.

"No!!!!!" shrieked Chihiro, forcing herself to her feet. She chased after the dragon, but it was already flying high and quickly into the sky. She ran until she met the fence closing off her backyard. "No no no!!!!" she tried climbing the mesh fence, but her own aches prevented her from doing so. She was helpless as she watched the dragon carry her brother off, disappearing over the forest.

Chihiro's mind was numb with the horror that had just taken place. She clenched her teeth tightly, but it didn't prevent a loud wail from escaping.

"Sei!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"

Is my first chapter all right? I hope it doesn't sound cliché. Leave your comments and tell me what you think.