Musings in History

Disclaimer: I don't own Spirited Away

Summary: It's been 6 years since Haku made his promise yet he still hasn't shown up. A slice of Chihiro's everyday life and inner thoughts.

Chihiro sighed. God, History class was such a bore! Chewing her pen, she turned her attention to the view outside the window.

It had been 6 years since she and her parents had returned from the spirit world, and although Chihiro had moved on, the memories of the place stayed with her.

Not that her parents could remember…

Of course, before she left Haku had warned her that her mum and dad wouldn't remember any of those events (and it was probably for the best too – after all, being turned into a pig had to be a pretty scarring experience) but she still found herself trying to subtly work the topic into conversations, probing perhaps hidden memories and trying to tease out even a hint of recollection. Though it was all in vain…

Chihiro wasn't obsessed with the subject. She just wished that there was someone who she could talk to about the experience. Trying to ignore the past would be like trying to ignore a part of herself - if she hadn't been to the spirit world; met Haku, Zeniba or Yubaba, then she wouldn't be the person she was today!

Nevertheless, she could feel the memories slip away from her grasp and melt into the very depths of her mind.

She still visited the old abandoned amusement park. It reassured her that the whole thing hadn't just been a dream. She never dared to venture back through the tunnel though for fear of making all of Haku's help worthless. She remembered her promise not to look back. However much she longed to return to the bath house and meet Lin, she refrained form going any further. However much she missed Kamaji and the little soot balls, she stayed on this side of the tunnel. However much she wanted to pour her heart out to Zeniba Oba-chan, she stayed next to the shrine. And her longing to meet Haku wa another matter altogether.

Whilst most of the scenery, the work, bath house - everything about the spirit world (including No Face) - was beginning to gain holes, in terms of memories; Chihiro would never forget Kohaku.

Even though everything else was like an incomplete painting, like a jigsaw with half of the pieces missing, the spirit of the Kohaku River always remained foremost in her thoughts.

She found herself thinking about the dragon-spirit a lot; how much had he changed in six years? Had Yubaba scrapped his apprenticeship yet? The question that cropped up most frequently though, was "When will I meet you again?"

At first, back when she was still 10 and had just returned to her normal life, Chihiro would wake up each day with anticipation making her cheerful and excitable. Each day, she would think "today's the day". In the evening she would go to the amusement park and just sit outside, waiting. Then she would trudge home. She would console herself; he would come the next day, surely.

This had continued as a cycle for about a year and a half. Then she had briefly succumbed to a period of depression.

This did not last long, however.

Haku had promised that they would meet again.

And so they would.

There was no point in getting upset; no doubt Haku had to sort out his own affairs. But he had promised that they'd meet again.

Chihiro couldn't stop herself from being impatient, but would then force herself to try and remember all of the events that had occurred when she was with him.

Haku had saved Chihiro's life when she was a mere child.

When she had stumbled blindly into the spirit world, Haku had been there to rescue her; fate had brought them together a second time.

And destiny would bring them together again…

Her parents had noticed a slight change in her behaviour and attitude from the day that they had escaped the world of spirits up to that very day – her mother openly fretted about her and her father spared her glances filled with concern. She had "matured in a day" as they had put it (though they had not realised that she was listening – evidently she'd picked up the art of eavesdropping in a day too!) and felt as though they had missed some important part of her childhood. Which they had.

This new maturity wasn't the only thing about Chihiro to change: where at her old school, teachers accused her of talking too much; the new ones complained that she was forever daydreaming.

As the years changed her maturity and characteristics, age gave Chihiro a few physical differences too;

Tall and slim, she was now just-over-average height for a sixteen year old with hair that fell down to just past the small of her back. One thing that had not changed was the style in which it was kept; tied back by a glittering purple bobble. A few strands of silky locks would fall over her eyes like a fringe to hide eyes that habitually looked vacant.

She was popular among some, and others thought her as strange: but that's life for you. No matter how much her new friends would pester her about the source of her permanently occupied thoughts, Chihiro steadfastly refused to reveal her "little adventure" (as she liked to call it) to them.

The most she had told them was that she was remembering her old home. She wasn't being entirely truthful but it also wasn't an outright lie – she remembered the Kohaku River where she'd been swept away but then also carried to safety by the strong currents…

Wasn't it odd, Chihiro mused, that the most common phrase that teachers liked to throw at her was:

"An idle mind is a devil's workshop!"

Chihiro would have loved to correct them and say that it should be an idle mind is a spirit's bath house, but they just would not have understood.

And it wasn't like she was going to explain it to them either…

"Sen!" Chihiro felt a sharp tug at her sleeve. Still, she decided to ignore it. Maybe whoever it was would leave her be.

What would Haku look like when she saw him? She wondered, 'Do spirits age anyway?'

"Sen!" The voce was beginning to sound more urgent now. "Will you get it together?"

Chihiro blinked. She turned to face Aiko who was scowling slightly at her. "Sensei just asked you twice for the answer to question nineteen."

Glancing down at her worksheet, Chihiro dutifully recited the answer to 19a) 19b) and 19c). The teacher looked at her haughtily, muttered something about 'needing to see her at the end of the lesson' and continued to go through the list of historic dates and events. Chihiro shot her friend (and savoir) a thankful yet apologetic smile. In return she received a slight nod as the corners of Aiko's lips quirked up into a small smile.

Now where had she got to..?

Ah, yes…

A/N: Kinda plotless and not the greatest title, but I really felt like writing this. I just wanted to show that although Haku has yet to show up, Chihiro hasn't lost hope. First time I've ever written Spirited Away, so please excuse any OOCness.
Oh yeah, and the reason that her froends call her 'Sen' is that she's trying to share at least a little of her little adventure woth them, so she lets them call her 'Sen' instead of 'Chihiro'.

Thank you for reading and I hope you liked it. I would really appreciate any feedback, whether a review, constructive criticism or even a flame (since it's winter).

Hollyrose