Always With Me

Disclaimer: I do not own any part of Spirited away (as much as I wish to), all characters are copywrited to Miazakii.

Chapter One: Forgotten Past

The girl watched as the water sparkled brightly, catching her bright eyes with its natural beauty. From where she stood on the bank, she could see the entire river flowing across the green fields of grass. A smile brushed across her lips. Tossing her hair playfully, the wind seemed to pull her closer to the river. She didn't think but kept walking...closer...closer...Kneeling down, she bent to put her hand in the water only the second her small fingers touched the sparkling blue it was no more. Sand stood there in its wake, been blown about by the running tides of the very wind that had been her friend not too long ago.

Saddened and shocked by the sudden loss of the water, she stepped back. Her mouth hung open but she couldn't seem to surface words as she gazed at the remains of the beautiful river. On each side of the river now were shinning condos, each mirroring one another in their perfection and staring at her in mock laughter. The girl felt a tear slid down her cheek and she turned to face the east, finding that the sun was setting. A dark streak of red and orange ran across the horizon, tauntingly.

The girl sank down to her knees.

"No!" Chihiro sprang up from her cocoon-like bedding.

A soft breeze blew out across an open window, cooling her hot body. Chihiro placed her head on her hands and closed her eyes, instantly relaxed again. What a nightmare! She sighed and flopped back down onto her pillow, closing her eyes again. There would be no need for dreaming now. Pale light of the oncoming dawn peeked through the cracks of the blinds. Chihiro took a moment to think about what the nightmare could mean. She had been getting this one often, a little too often. Her mother had told her she had been speaking in her sleep. But whenever Chihiro asked her what she had been saying, her mother could only shrug.

Groaning, she opened her eyes and slid out of bed. The alarm clock read 8 Am, July 7, which meant that Chihiro had once again been cheated out of two hours of sleep. She walked over to her dresser with a sour expression and began to flip through for something reasonable to wear. Her eyes stopped on the mirror that lay above her bereau. Curious, she gazed at the girl who she saw looking back at her in the mirror.

A much older girl stared back, older than the one in her dreams anyways. She had chocolate brown hair that fell to a little below her shoulders with dark eyes, almost an obsidian color in their darkness. Where once had been a childish face of a little girl there were signs of growing up. Her lips had thinned out, gained more of a girlish look to them and her face seemed to have changed drastically. Her shape had become more feminine, hips beginning to widen and her chest taking on a little volume. Dark eyes flickered to the picture resting on her desk of the little ten year old she had once been. She made a sour face at the picture and flipped it around so that all she could see was white.

It had been four years since that picture had been taken anyways.

"Chihiro! Naomi is here!" Her mother's voice rang out down the hall.

"So early? NAAAAH!" she said, panicked, and began to scurry around her room.

Chihiro couldn't believe that she had come so early! She gazed down at her own dishevelled appearance and all but died. Dressed in bunny-rabit patterned pajama shorts and shirt, she looked like a bum. Yanking clothes out of her draws she chucked a pair of plain pants that she didn't feel like wearing behind her and continued to ravage for some acceptable form of clothing. Chihiro slid on a plain blue shirt, the color of the sky outside today. Her eyes found a pair of pants that might be acceptable and eyed the tag on the inside. Nope not it. Unthinkingly she tossed the pants over her shoulder, aimed at the other side of the room.

"Ooof!," A feminine voice called and Chihiro whirled around to gaze at her friend, a pair of pants decorating her neck.

"Gomen!" she cried, taking the pants off of her friend's head.

A girl with long black hair and quizzical brown eyes gazed back at her, eyebrow raised in amusement. She could only laugh as she watched her best friend Chihiro scramble around for some acceptable clothing. Her eyes paused on the shorts that Chihiro was still wearing, the matching pair to her own shorts. Naomi remembered well the day that they had bought them together. She laughed lightly.

"Relax Chihiro! I don't mind being used as a pants wrack every once and a while!" she joked.

Chihiro's expression turned to mock annoyance but she still laughed. Sliding on a pair of pants that was acceptable, Chihiro set to work on her hair. How could she forget about today? Hadn't she told herself that she would set the alarm so she'd be ready on time? Chihiro visibly sulked at the idea that she had almost upset their plans. At least the nightmare had benifited her by waking her up on time today. She couldn't help but think that today would be a good day.

"Yes because blue is totally your color!" Chihiro shot back friendly.

"Mmm, I always thought blue was your color..." Naomi begin and drapped the pants over Chihiro's shoulders.

The fourteen year old brushed the pants off and reached for a hair elastic. Her fingers paused over a shinning hair elastic that rested on top of her jewelry box. She didn't know where it had come from, or even what it was made out of, but Chihiro had clung to the hair elastic as though it had been a life line. Each day she wore it. It was her sort of lucky charm, it kept her safe. She tied up her hair in one swift motion and whirled around.

"Done!"

"Eh? Then why are you still wearing bunny socks?" Naomi asked quizzically.

Chihiro looked down at her feet and winced. Faster than before, she placed normal socks on her feet and slid them into her favorite shoes. Naomi watched, amused, as her best friend scrambled to make herself acceptable. Today wasn't just any day, it was an important day. For once in her life Chihiro tried to look decent. The attempt was working aparantly.

"There, does that pass inspection sergant?" Chihiro wrinkled her nose at her friend.

"Yep!" Naomi laughed, "Let's head out!

- - -

Tanabata festival was held every year on July 7th in Japan. It had been a custom dating back as far as anyone could remember to write a wish and tie it to a stick of bamboo. Then you would let it float out to the water and it would be granted! Of course it was also a big attraction for shopping. People would leave paper ornaments outside their house in an attempt to bring good fortune, businesss, good health and other wishings, to their houses.

It was a custom for Chihiro and her friend Naomi to visit the river and send their wishes off...after a long day of shopping.

"So you are saying that you don't remember anything about how you got here?" Naomi asked.

"I didn't say that! I just said that I remember taking a back road here and getting lost. Then my dad hit a reasonable phase and turned the car around. But I don't remember where that road is! I guess my memory isn't as good as I thought it was, huh?"

Naomi seemed to think upon this for a moment or so, as though she never really thought about it. Shrugging, she continued to gaze down at the paper that rest in front of her. Her pen was poised dangerously close to the paper as though her wish might come pouring out at any moment and she had to be quick to catch it. Chihiro gazed out at the river.

"You remember the day you moved in right? Remember you guys booked the movers to come nearly a week early!" Naomi giggled.

"Oh! How could I forget! My mom's expression was priceless when she saw all our furniture had been out on the lawn. Good thing it didn't rain and that we had you guys living next door to us. I can just imagine the neighbors thinking it some sort of corrupted fleemarket!" Chihiro joined Naomi in her laughter.

She would never forget the first day that they had moved in. It had almost been as though time itself had sped up. Her attitude towards going to a new school had done a complete one eighty turn and she had no idea why. Maybe it had been the sight of the boxes and couch piled right besides the door? Or perhaps the shocked expression her mother carried as she had all but flipped out. Thankfully Naomi and her family had been kind enough to guard the furniture. That had been the first day that the two had met. Her thoughts turned to the paper in front of her.

Chihiro paused, her pen poised above her paper and a quizzical look on her face. She had no idea what to wish for. What else did she need to wish for? Her mind continued like clockwork as she sat besides Naomi. It was dark now and nearing midnight. If she didn't get her wish down soon than she'd have to send it on one of the river's back home. Besides her Naomi stirred.

"Done!" she smiled and folded the paper, tying it to the bamboo.

"Already? What did you wish for?" Chihiro asked, resisting the urge to doodle on her paper.

"I can't tell you that..." Naomi laughed.

"Thought it was worth a try anyways," Chihiro teased and continued to scour down her mind.

"Oh! It's midnight on the dot, i'm going to go send my boat out now Chihiro-chan, i'll leave you to think of a wish." Naomi smiled and decended to the banks of the great river.

Chihiro was left with nothing but her thoughts. Mind spinning, she could think of so many things that she would want to wish for. But why would she? Of course she could name an item, or perhaps ask for a boyfriend. Chihiro was pretty sure that was what Naomi had asked for. Such a wish seemed short sighted to Chihiro. For a moment she thought about not sending one out at all. Then her memory of the dream found its way back into her mind and instantly she knew what she wanted.

I wish to know about my dream.

Satisfied, she folded the tanzaku paper around the stick of bamboo and grabbed the small paper boat. Quickly she approached the edge of the water and placed the boat down. For a moment it did not move. A strong wind was called and instantly the little boat began to float away. Chihiro felt as though she were being pulled closer to the river's edge. Brushing away the shiver that ran down her spine, she turned her eye towards the water once more. Sparkling moonlight glittered along the edges of the crystal water.

Chihiro...the wind whispered to her.

Shocked, Chihiro turned away from the water in a jog.

Cira's Note:
Hello! So begans my first chapter of my short Spirited Away fiction. I'm aiming for less than five chapters but it might span out more.
I know that this chapter isn't exactly action packed but you can bet that the next one will be. Bum Ba dum!
Thank you for reading this, I apreciate it a lot really!