My first Spirited Away fic! Despite being hastily/poorly written in my opinion, I still think it turned out halfway decent. I know this idea's been used before, but I figured I'd take a crack at it. So, I hope you all enjoy reading this!
Disclaimer: Hayao Miyazaki and Studio Ghibli own all the rights to Spirited Away.
"…I can't go any farther. Just go back the way you came, you'll be fine; but you have to promise not to look back, not until you've passed through the tunnel."
"But what about you, what'll you do?"
"Don't worry, I'll go back and have a talk with Yubaba. I'll tell her I'm going to quit being her apprentice... I'm fine, I got my name back!"
"Will we meet again sometime?"
"Sure we will."
"Promise?"
"Promise. Now go, and don't look back!"
You said we'd meet again, but it's been 8 years, Haku. I didn't know it would be this long, the now 18-year-old Chihiro Ogino thought as she walked through her high school for the last time before becoming a college student. She had blossomed into a fine example of womanhood. Many, many boys in her grade eyed her with interest. But she had held out for her dragon boy. Come on, Chihiro, you're being irrational. Haku's in the Spirit World, and he's stuck there with Yubaba. You know that. Well, there's always the chance that his talk with her worked…who am I kidding.
She sighed and left the building to head home. Though, it was too perfect a day to go straight there. She used the fair weather to her advantage and headed out on a walk. There was no place in particular she was going. She did follow a road that led out of town though. The road was old, and apparently the town hadn't bothered to pave it. Chihiro knew this road though. A distant memory crept up in her mind. This is the road to the Spirit World, isn't it. I shouldn't go down here…but maybe I could go visit Haku. I got out once, I can do it again, she figured with a shrug. With renewed hope, she ran down the path, her now long hair bobbing side to side with her steps. She saw that red wall that led to the other world. Her heart filled with excitement and hope.
But the door had been sealed.
"W-What? Why…how? Haku…he's trapped! Oh no…oh no, no, no, no, no…" she whispered as she ran her hand over the closed space. Her first thought was of Haku, but then her mind switched to the rest of her friends from the Spirit World. "What about Lin, and Zeniba? No Face, Kamaji and the soot sprites, even Boh…they're all trapped."
Chihiro sank to her knees in front of the wall, as tears started to form. She simply stared at it, and remembered her adventure in that distant land, so many years ago. Slowly, her sorrow turned to disappointment, and anger.
"You said we'd meet again. You said! So where are you Haku! You broke your promise!"
Chirhiro struck the wall, hoping that with some miracle, it would shatter and she could go back to the Spirit World. Yet, her actions only resulted in her injuring her hand.
"Ah…that hurt…" she hissed. Her hand was already starting the bruise and swell as she stood to leave. I guess I'm never seeing you again, she thought as she fled the area. She remembered a small, nearby stream, hidden amongst the trees. She followed the sounds of the water trickling over the rocks. The water was clean and fresh, as the small spring the stream was from bubbled up from somewhere. The young woman dunked her hand in the icy water, to numb the throbbing appendage. Though, she wasn't sure which really hurt more, her hand, or her heart.
Haku…I'll miss you.
Memories of her dragon boy caused tears to form again. She shut her eyes tightly, fighting to keep her tears from falling.
"Someone as pretty as you shouldn't be crying," a whisper carried by the wind reached her ears.
Chihiro opened her eyes and looked around. All she saw was the shadows of the trees dancing around her. Were they taunting her? They reminded her so much of the shadowy spirits she had encountered, the ones Haku saved her from, in that other world. The world where she would have gone again, had it not been sealed.
"Who's there?" she asked.
"You can't be who I'm looking for. The girl with the little pink shoe who fell into the Kohaku River can't have grown up be so beautiful, and forgot my voice. One or the other I could believe. It's hard to think, that I still remember her voice, when she's forgotten mine."
The voice was closer. A shiver ran down Chihiro's spine as she looked around once more. Still there was no one. Maybe it's my imagination, she thought. She gasped, caught off guard by a hand touching her shoulder tenderly.
"…I thought you broke your promise," she whispered, knowing who it was. Her hand covered his as she leaned back into his embrace.
"I would never break a promise. I would find you again, even in death, if it had been that long." His voice was smooth and rich, like melted chocolate. Chihiro smiled gently,
"Haku, the promise keeping river spirit."
"Chihiro, the human worth keeping a promise too."
See, what did I tell you, it's pretty poorly written. I believe so, at least. I may revise this in the future. Please review! Flames are welcome, but I like constructive criticism more.