"Chihiro, hurry up now, dinner's ready!" A voice yelled from inside the little cottage, and the brunette teen looked up.
"Just a second mom, I'm coming!"
She sent one last, desperate look towards the woods before turning and racing up the hill back to her house. She did this every day for as long as she could remember, and she couldn't even remember why. She just always went down the hill via the old road she and her parents had gotten lost on when they'd first moved here. She'd stand before the forest for long durations of time-hours, sometimes whole days-just standing. She could never muster the courage to enter the forest, for fear of what awaited her on the other side. Not fear such as a bear or a spirit, but fear of disappointment. She didn't even have a clue what of. She just felt a pain in her heart if she tried thinking about it, as if she couldn't remember something important. Something she should remember, she felt it carried as much importance to her as her own name. She entered the house, removing her shoes at the entryway and taking her seat at the dinner table. Her mother was there, and so was her younger sister, Lynn. She'd been born a few years after their family had moved here, and Chihiro had insisted on choosing the name, although she couldn't remember why Lynn was the name she wanted for her sister.
"Yummm, noodles." She sighed in happiness as her mom filled her plate, and she grabbed her chopsticks to dig in when there was the sound of a car pulling up outside.
"Daddy's home!" Lynn clapped cheerfully, and Chihiro sighed, pulling her sister with her to the entrance of the house to greet their father. The middle-aged man had lost some weight since Chihiro was a little girl, for some reason neither him nor her mother found any attraction in food any more. They only ate when they had to, and very little. Chihiro, however, had fallen in love with one onigiri, and was constantly eating it, despite that she'd despised it growing up, the sticky rice making her disgusted. She attempted, and failed, at remembering what had changed her mind about the dish. Her head hurt, though, speculating on every unanswered question in her life, so she turned her attention back to her family. Lynn was hugging their father, her hair a waterfall of brown flying around her. She giggled hysterically, and Chihiro couldn't help but smile slightly.
"Guys, hurry up or your food will get cold!" Chihiro's mother called from the kitchen, and her father laughed, lifting Lynn in one arm and wrapping the other around Chihiro's shoulder, placing a kiss on the top of her head. They sat at the table and began to eat, the topic of conversation starting out the same as always. 'How was work today dear?' 'Exhausting, more trouble at the office. How was your day, Chihiro?' 'Hm? Oh, it was fine. After school I finished my homework and went down to the forest.' 'Sweetheart, don't you think it's time you stop that?' 'No, I don't think so. Why don't you ask Lynn what she's been up to?' 'Ah, Lynn, sweetie, what did you and mommy do today?' 'I helped mommy make food!' 'Haha, did you now?' 'Mmhm! It was fun! I stirred the noodles so they wouldn't burn!' 'Wow, good job. But maybe you should learn how to make Onigiri for your sister?' 'Heehee, no way! She'd eat it all before it was even finished!'

More talk and joking until the subject flowed to the topic of Chihiro's birthday.
"So, Chihiro, you're turning sixteen! Wow, it feels like just yesterday you were excited about receiving your first bouquet!" Their dad chuckled. "Are you looking forward to it?"
Chihiro blushed. She was, actually. This year she was taking a train ride to the city she'd lived in as a little girl, and she missed it so. She nodded politely, remaining silent.
"She's excited about going back to our old home, it's all she's talking about when she's here." Her mother chuckled, and Chihiro smiled. Her mother had thought of her birthday gift, and she would be accompanying her on the trip to their old home for a few days. Unfortunately, Lynn and her father would be staying behind. Lynn had a tour of her school that weekend, and her father couldn't leave work.
"Well, that's great! I wish Lynnie and I could go with you guys, but your mom has already promised me to take lots of pictures, so I'll get to see them all once you get back." Lynn nodded in agreement with her dad and they continued their meal.

-
It was Chihiro's birthday, and, like clockwork, there she was, standing in front of the forest. She hadn't been there for long, it had been impossible to leave the house without one of her family members smothering her, when she could have sworn she could hear a rustling in the bushes behind her. She jumped with a small yelp, staring intently at the bush.
"H-hello? Is anyone there?" She stood there, rubbing her arms, with no response.
"Uh-I won't hurt you, I promise, just come on out."
Again, she received silence in return to her questions, and she sighed, taking a step forward and slowly moving the bush aside to reveal...a river. She sighed, exasperated, and slapped her forehead with her palm.
"Ugh, Chihiro, you're hearing things. Maybe I do need to stop coming here..." She turned back to the forest and sighed, shaking her head and ascending up the hill home.
Later that evening, after she had packed and prepared to leave the next day, she walked into the kitchen to grab a glass of water only to be greeted by her family shouting 'Happy Birthday!' and breaking out into song, a cake on the table lit with 16 candles. She blushed as she blew them out, closing her eyes and pretending to make a wish as she cut the first piece. Her mother brought out plates and Lynn licked the candles, wrapping her arms tightly around her sister as she giggled. Her father had gotten her a new camera and she thanked him, insisting the train tickets would have been more than enough.
"Nonsense," He'd told her, "what's a trip without a camera?"
Lynn gave her a hand-made card, with a child's drawing of the two sisters on the cover and a happy birthday wish scrawled inside the card in her nearly illegible handwriting. She kissed her sister's forehead and the door rang. Chihiro stood to answer it when her mother insisted she sit down and enjoy her cake. Stubbornly, the birthday girl insisted she could answer the door and her mother eventually obliged, dismissing Chihiro from the kitchen. Chuckling, the girl answered the door.

There was a boy standing on the other side, a boy who looked all too familiar. Chihiro froze, her eyes narrowing. She knew she recognized this person, but why...
Then he smiled at her and said "Hello, Sen."
She clutched her head in pain, the memories bursting through her mind like water through a dam too much for her to bear. She fell to the ground, the black-haired boy bending down with her.
"Chihiro, are you alright? You need to stand up and calm down before your parents come to check on you."
'Haku. His name was Haku. No, no it wasn't. It was Kohaku, and he'd saved you from drowning when you were a little girl. He'd also been there when you and your parents had entered the forest, and your parents had turned into-Oh God, they were pigs. No wonder they subconsciously stayed away from excessive amounts of food, they feared to overeat and become pigs again! Oh, and Lynn...'
The water spirit hadn't changed much, save a few small tweaks to his appearance. His hair had grown a few centimetres longer, and his eyes were older harsher.
She pushed Kohaku away from her and glared at him.
"What took you so long? You promised we'd see each other again!" She accused, her eyes watering. She wondered what could have happened to Lynn, the girl always said she wanted to leave the bathhouse, Chihiro wondered if she ever did.
The boy chuckled, her green-grey eyes closing and his face forming laughter lines. "I got a bit lost, you'll have to forgive me."
"Well, I don't. I...I'd forgotten everything! The bathhouse, Yubaba, you..." Her eyebrows furrowed in concentration. "Oh-oh God, you were a dragon! Oh my God, and you-I missed you, you jerk! I didn't even remember you, but I stood in front of the forest every day waiting for something, or I guess, someone, since I guess I was waiting for you. Do you realize how long it's been?"
He smirked. "I can tell, you've grown."
Chihiro blushed at that, and Kohaku wrapped his arms around her, pulling her into a hug and bending down to kiss her forehead.
"I missed you, too."
Her blush deepened and she offered him inside. He removed his sandals and walked down the hall as if he knew where he was going, his jet black hair flowing behind him. Chihiro entered the kitchen, blushing as she introduced him as a friend from school. Her mother raised an eyebrow, smirking, and her father's eyebrows narrowed. Lynn looked confused for a moment before laughing joyously.
"Good evening, sir, madame, I just stopped by to wish Chihiro a happy birthday. I hope it's alright that I dropped in unexpectedly."
Chihiro's father opened his mouth to answer, and his daughter had a feeling it wouldn't be very welcoming, so she intervened.
"I, uh, I invited him. He's actually one of my only friends, and I wanted him to be here. Is it okay?"
"Of course, dear." Her mother said, and Chihiro mentally sighed in relief as her parents introduced themselves. Kohaku ate a slice of cake before he excused himself, thanking Chihiro's family and wishing them a goodnight. Chihiro walked him to the door, where he turned to her and smirked.
"So, it's your birthday."
"How'd you pick that up, anyways?"
"Well, there was a cake on the table, so..."
"Yeah, but it could have been Lynn's."
The water spirit shrugged, a knowing smirk on his face. "Lucky guess. Anyways, I guess this means I owe you a birthday gift."
Chihiro blushed. "No, it's alright. You have impeccable timing, by the way. You show up on my birthday, but I was also about to give up waiting for you, I'd forgotten so much."
"Yeah, but I already got you something, so you have to accept it."
The birthday girl raised an eyebrow as the water spirit reached into the pocket of his jacket, producing a small red jewelry box. Chihiro smiled timidly at him as she opened the box, revealing a silver necklace with her name, Chihiro, written in silver. Also, at the end of her name, there was a little charm of a dragon's head. Chihiro's eyes watered and she closed the box, holding it against her chest as she closed her eyes to keep from crying.
"Thank you, Haku."
"That's only part of the gift, you know."
She couldn't help laughing. "Oh? And what would the other part be?"
He stared into her eyes for a moment, and Chihiro was about to say something else, but suddenly his lips were softly pressed against hers. She gasped into the kiss, shocked, his warm lips fitting perfectly against her own. She relaxed after a moment, wrapping her arms around his neck and allowing herself to melt into the contact. Kohaku wrapped his hands around Chihiro's waist, pulling her closer to him until they were pressed together. She heard a gasp from inside her house and opened her eyes, peeking from the corners of them to see the curtains had been pushed aside of the window, Lynn watching them with a scandalized look plastered on her face. Kohaku had noticed, too, and the two broke apart. Chihiro blushed brightly, tilting her head downward in an attempt to hide the heat in her cheeks. Haku laughed and pulled her close one last time, kissing her on the top of her head.
"I'll see you around, kid. Happy birthday."
"Wait! You're not-you're not leaving again, are you?"
Haku chuckled. "No, no. I'm moving into a house not too far from yours, so I'll be here to annoy you whenever I desire."
"Oh, joy."
"By the way, I hear your favorite food is Onigiri? Any specific reasons?"
"...Shut up."
He laughed and kissed her softly on the lips once more before bidding her goodnight, walking off into the night. Chihiro watched him go until he was lost in the darkness that was night.
Oh, how much she'd missed him.

I WATCHED SPIRITED AWAY AND I WAS NOT HAPPY WITH THAT ENDING AT ALL. NOT COOL. BLUH.
So I wrote my own ending :3
Enjoy!