A/N: This is my first story so I hope people will enjoy it. I fell in love with Spirited Away when I watched it a few days ago and I wanted to write a story !

Disclaimer: I don't own Spirited Away, just the characters I make

Chapter 1: Step in Action

A deep long sigh escaped the young girl's mouth. She gazed at her window from her bedroom as she tapped her pencil in a rhythm. The glass had droplets showering over it, as the clouds began to clear.

It had been years since she had walked out of the tunnel. And how much she had regretted that action. Though her experience was scary from her parents being turned into pigs, she finally realized that the Spirit World was home. She made friends, memories that will never slip out of her mind. She hasn't been complete since. And her father and mother's death did not help with her emptiness. Her parents went on a date and they never came home as a storm hit. The pain still stunned her as if it happened yesterday. It's been a year. And it's also been 9 years since a certain spirit promised her something. Tears started to dwell in her eyes.

"Haku, did you forget your promise?"

Chihiro was now 19, starting her second year of college. Her brown hair reached to the middle of her back, usually tied in a ponytail. She had grown over the years, earning a womanly figure, and has matured.
The tears came as they damped her cheeks, but she furiously rubbed her eyes to make them stop. "Hold yourself together, the day is just getting started." She whispered to herself, shaking her head at her tears. She grabbed her sketchbook and papers that were scattered on her desk and stuffed them in her bag. She swung her backpack over her shoulder and placed her pencil in her back pocket.

Shutting her bedroom door and turning off all lights, she walked out of her house and headed to her car.

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"Psst, Chihiro!" A voice whispered out beside her. She turned around to see a classmate, with a rose. "Oh, hey Tadashi!" She said with a smile, setting down her pencil. "Drawing the usual dragon?" He asked, swiping his fingertips to her sketchbook, bringing it to him as he eyed the pencil sketch. She was known to draw the same dragon, the same witches, the same black figures and no one was sure why. She had her weird, but cute quirks. The obsession with green and blue, always having stories with spirits, and the Kohaku River. "Yep, he never fails to amaze me." She said, fixing her ponytail as the purple tie sparkled in the light.

"Mmm hmm." He said, questioning why she said he. "What's his name?" He asked, flipping through her sketches, seeing the same dragon. "Haku." She said, almost looking like she had memories with the beast. It made him wonder even more. "So what's with the rose?" Chihiro asked, eyeing the red flower. "Ah! Glad you ask!" He said, scooting away her sketchbook. He lifted the rose with his fingertips and spun it, while spinning in his chair. He spun towards Chihiro, making her laugh. He stopped it with his feet and slightly leaned closer to her. He moved the rose to her, indicating it was for her. "M-me?" She stuttered, a slight blush escaping to her face. Tadashi nodded, a smile across his face.

"Hear me out. I walk out of my apartment as usual and there was this lying on my yard. Weird, right? A single beautiful rose on the ground. Anyway, I thought 'Who would like this as a gift?.. Chihiro!'. So, here we are." He told proudly, still thinking how it got there. "Take it as a gift for having nice artwork."

"Thank you so much." Chihiro cheered as she examined the beauty of the rose. She also wondered how it must've gotten to where Tadashi said it was. It's must've fallen out of a bouquet from a person walking by. "Who knows? It might be a sign." Tadashi added as he spun back to his desk and back to his painting. "A sign of what?" Chihiro asked, a curious look on her face.

Tadashi shrugged. "A single red rose can mean something simple, but there are endless possibilities of what it is meant to be. You have to wait and see. But, I'm sure it promises life long devotion and love..." Chihiro nodded, liking Tadashi's idea of the rose being a sign.

Maybe it's a sign from my home...

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Class had ended, meaning Chihiro had to go to work. She took the rose to her car and drove to "ArtMistic", an arts and crafts store.

She brought the rose, holding it in her hand, careful not to prick herself with the thorns. She made her way to clock in, put on the necessary apron and name tag to start working. A coworker noticed the flower that sat with her at the cashier. "I think it would be cute to wrap it up nicely like a bouquet." She exclaimed, putting down the load of boxes she had. Chihiro looked at it. That was a good idea, it would look much better. She smiled at her, agreeing to decorate the single rose. She brought a plastic sheet and a pink ribbon to tie it all together. Now, it looked like it was bought instead from the ground. It amazed her it had yet to wilt.

The bell above the door rang as a customer came in. "Good afternoon." Chihiro greeted as the customer smiled back and walked around. Chihiro played with her hair tie. It was as if she had gotten it yesterday. The color never faded, never snapped, or lost the sparkle. It made her miss the Spirit World more. She wondered how everyone was doing. Kamaji, Rin, Yubird, Boh, No Face, Haku...

"Excuse me," A voice said politely. Chihiro snapped back to reality, realizing she was daydreaming. "S-sorry, are you ready to check out?" The girl nodded. She brought up a canvas and some brushes. Chihiro began to scan her items and bag them. But something caught her eye. The girl's necklace shined gold in the light as a rose petal was chained to it. She left, leaving Chihiro to glare at the one beside her.

No, it had to be a coincidence. "It's getting to your head, Chihiro..."

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After her shift, she drove back to the blue house and plopped onto her sofa. The sweet scent of the house filled her nose. She remembered the first time she came in as her parents started to unload their stuff. She still had that odd feeling in her from her trip. She questioned if it was all a dream, but it couldn't have been. The truck had been there with all their furniture, their car was covered in leaves and plants, it had to be real. She told her parents on the first night they settled in. They assumed it was just her imagination and carried on with their normal lives.

But she couldn't, she had changed as she saw the world at a different perspective. Her parents gave her odd looks sometimes, but adored their daughter nonetheless. They spent much more time as a family and had come closer. Memories flooded her mind as tears dripped from her face. It was now just her living in the house, as she refused to leave. It had happened when she was accepted in college. It was in the next town, but she decided to look for an apartment here so she could be close to her parents and to the gate. But, the accident came and she couldn't budge to leave. She stayed to live in the same house she moved to 9 years ago, getting a job as well.

It was around 7 o'clock, the sun was beginning to set and changing the sky to have a pink color peeking in. Chihiro looked at her bag, the rose, then back at the bag.

That's it. No more wondering if Haku would ever return, no more pain of being alone, no more dreams of being back home. There were too many questions and no answers. That rose made her snap, she had to know if it was a sign. Maybe then she could finally make up her mind if the Spirit World was worth holding onto for 9 years. She had to try, she had to try and go to the place where she belonged.

Chihiro took her bag and dumped out school related items, textbooks, notebooks, and due papers. She tossed in a few pairs of clothes, her sketchbook with her pencil bag, and her phone. She took the rose into her hand, squeezing it tightly, not caring about the thorns.

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She knew every tree, every flower, and every rock as she made her way through the forest, heading to the red gate. She somewhat despised it. She tried countless times to come back a few years back, but she was only greeted with an open field. It frustrated her and she stopped, hoping they would come to her. Hoping he would.

But, that day never came. Now, with this rose popping up, she was desperate to know what it truly meant. It couldn't be a coincidence. She stuffed it in her bag and she continued her way through.

She finally reached the gate, wind blowing in. This had to be it, she thought. She swung the bag over her shoulder, preparing herself to enter one last time. She took her steps through, baring how dark it was. But, she soon saw a dim light on the other side. A feeling of relief and excitement crawled over her body. Was she really coming back? She couldn't help, but started running towards the light. She finally found herself at the end.

She had to catch her breath, she was finally here. The buildings she remembered, the boat, the water. It was all here, after many years, she was finally home.

A/N: The first two chapters will be a little slow, but please review ! It will mean a lot to me and I can finish this story !