Hello everyone! I read this awesome fic for Spirited Away and it inspired me to write this one! It was fun to write, and suprizingly it didn't take as long as i thought it would.

So anyways, here is the fic! I hope you all like it!

Disclaimer: I don't own this story or its characters. They belong to Mr. Miyazaki and studio Ghibli.

I just own the story. Teehee. lucky me!


Secrets Torn

A Spirited Away fan fiction by

Lockawayheart

"None of them are my parents," said Chihiro, confused, but still nervous about her decision on the group of pigs in front of her. POOF! The pigs in front of her morphed back into the colorful bathhouse workers. Her friends cheered and called out congratulations to her from the many, spacious rooftops of the bathhouse. It seemed like everyone who worked at the old, painted palace came to see her trial. But weither it was to see her off, or to see her fail was another story. The contract in Yubaba's hand turned instantly to ashes. The pieces of singed paper and the burnt dust floated away in the sudden wind that had come up. She felt the warm breeze caress her cheek, and whisper a quiet poem in her ear. She felt a warm hand graze her left one. Looking over, she saw Haku's bright, shiny olive green eyes looking into hers.

"You did it, Chihiro!" He said, giving her a hug. In her ear, however, he secretly whispered, "I always knew you could do it." This message made Chihiro's cheeks glow pink as she tore herself, half unwillingly, half embarrassed, from Haku's warm embrace.

"Oh no!" she exclaimed, her mind now on the problem in front of her. "Mom! Dad! Where are they? Are the okay? Oh no, oh no…not good…" she looked around, frantic, with a sudden panic.

"Relax," said Haku gently, taking her hand supportively in his, and leading her over to the wooden, memory-filled bridge, and to the steps leading down to the would-be- flooded, flowered and grassy meadow. He dropped her hand and looked deeply at her. His hands played with something around his neck. Pulling it out, he revealed a tiny replica of pure white dragon, with a magnificent teal mane, and small, scaly feet. It hung from a glowing, light, silver chain.

"This is so you can always reach me…no matter what world you are in," said Haku, and enveloped her fingers tenderly around it. It was barely the size of a quarter when she held it in her hand. Though it was small in size, she could feel his great power emanating from it and into her, racing throughout her body.

"I'll miss you so much…" said Chihiro, fighting back tears. Haku pulled her into a tender embrace, letting the tears flow out, letting her cry on his shoulder.

"You'll always be in my heart," he whispered into her ear. When her crying came to nothing more than two wet eyes, and a sniffley nose, he told her gently, "Go now, your parents will be wondering where you are. And remember, you can't look back until you've passed back out of the train tunnel…goodbye…Chihiro…" As she walked, she felt his last words surrounding her, walking her safely back to her parents. She said nothing to their scoldings, and looked out her window. Her new house was…different.

It was butter yellow, with white trim. An old Victorian-style porch wrapped around it, and a turret stuck out from the front right corner. A koi pond surrounded the middle of the yard, giving a slight Japanese feel to the grand Western-inspired house. When her parents unlocked the front door with a shiny, golden key, she walked inside, and was instantly drawn to the inside of the turret. 'What is this feeling? It feels…familiar…' thought Chihiro halfheartedly. Something about it called to her, something surreal, like the feeling she got when she entered the bathhouse for the first time. The room was rather large. A magnificent closet occupied one wall, while two window seats accompanied two wall length windows. A quaint, wooden bed with a matching nightstand was the only pieces of furniture in the room. Curiosity taunted her to open the nightstand drawer. She obeyed. She opened the first drawer and found nothing. The second drawer held the same. Inside the third drawer, however, she found a small figure of a river spirit dragon. The paint on it was old and peeling, but Chihiro could see traces of white and a small patch of teal upon its head. She instantly found the dragon around her neck. Looking at it, she found they could be twins.

"So you've chosen this as your room? Huh, Chihiro sweetie?" asked her mother from the doorway. Chihiro whipped around, startled. Her mother stood in the doorway, and set down a cardboard box marked ' Chihiro's things' onto the floor. She wiped away the droplets of sweat that were forming on her forehead. Chihiro, recovering herself quickly replied,

"Yes. I like this room." Chihiro's mother walked in and looked out one of the large windows.

"What a gorgeous view! It makes me jealous!" her mother said playfully. Chihiro giggled and closed her drawer with a snap. "What was in there?" her mother asked suspiciously.

"N-nothing!" stammered Chihiro. "Just looking around!" Her mother laughed.

"Okay then sweetie. I'll go get your boxes and bring them up here then." Chihiro nodded. Her mother left to go retrieve the boxes. Haku… she thought depressed.

XxX Spirited Away XxX

"Let's eat!" her father yelled out enthusiastically.

"Thank you for this meal," said Chihiro and her mother in unison. They dug into their dinner: instant ramen and iced green tea in a water bottle, all atop a cardboard box. Delicious. As her father slurped down the last noodle in one container, and startled chowing down a second, he noticed Chihiro wasn't eating. She just sat, picking her food in a depressed mood again.

"What's the matter, Chi sweetie?" her mother inquired.

"I'm just… not very hungry," she finished lamely.

"I see, nervous about school, huh?" Chihiro nodded. "Don't be! You'll do fine. But it is a big school. I can understand. If you don't feel like eating now, you can go to your room," Her mother said soothingly. Chihiro ran and retreated to her room. She took the little, weathered dragon from it's hiding spot. Tears fell down her face.

"Haku…" she whispered. She fell asleep with her hand carefully curled around it.

XxX Spirited Away XxX

School the next two months was…interesting. She finally had met a friend, Kissimmee, but it wasn't enough to clear away all the gloom, the longing to be able to talk to Lin about anything, and the shadows of love missing creeping into the light from the corners of her brain. Lovely. It wasn't that she couldn't find anyone to like her. She was just waiting until she saw Haku again. So she could be his. Exactly five boys had asked her out since her moving. She turned them all down, saying 'I'm not really looking for a boyfriend now…' but she was really saying 'get lost and stay away!' Today was different though. Today the boy was nominated by Kissimmee. And today he wouldn't take no as an answer.

"Why!" he demanded.

"I just don't want one," Chihiro replied.

"But I'm the best-looking guy in school! Girls line up to be able to go out with me!"

"Then go out with one of them," Chihiro said dismissively.

"But I want you! And if I can't have you, then no one can!" He forced himself on her, his lips forcing a violent kiss on her. It hurt her lips, causing them to bruise. His kiss was so fierce that it caused her to gasp for air. She started to shake with fear. She saw a glint of metal catch the sunlight. 'A knife!' she thought desperately. She didn't know what to do anymore. Her mind was becoming increasingly blank. Suddenly she found her voice.

"NO!" she screamed at the top of her lungs. The sound seemed to startle him, and his kiss faltered. She took this slip-up as time to push his face away. Then she made her escape. She ran faster than she had ever run before, adrenaline pumping furiously within her, and something else, a substance she couldn't identify. It gave her strength. Tears were running down her face. 'Thank goodness I got away when he was only kissing me!' she said thought to herself. 'But how could Kissimmee do this to me! I thought she was my friend! I thought I could trust her!' she thought furiously.

She ran into her room without a word to anyone, and locked the door quickly before diving onto her bed. She curled into a feline-like ball and bawled. She stayed in that position all day. Ignoring her homework. Ignoring her dinner. Ignoring her parents. She finally stopped crying when the stars began to pop out and wink at her through the glass. Somehow she was drawn to them. She slowly crawled out of the warm, safe, secure ball, and stumbled over to her window seat. She turned her puffy eyed, tear-streaked face to the stars. A silver-white star shot across the sky. She decided to wish on it. ' Please. Please let me be near Haku again! Forever. Let me be near Haku. Near my true friends. I want to escape this school. These people. These parents. Just escape from it all to be with him. And with Lin.'

This output seemed to take a lot out of her. The little dragon necklace clutched in her hand seemed to calm her. She found herself slowly but surely nodding off. The stars carried off her wish. The necklace started to glow…