Disclaimer: I do not own iSpirited Away/i. It is the property of Hayao
Miyazake, Studio Ghibli, and Disney. I am not making money of of this
fanfiction. So there.
"Mother, I'm home!" Chihiro calls from the foyer. She slips her shoes off, leaving them in the front hall and steps onto the main level of the house, slipping on her house shoes. She shuffles into the kitchen. "Mom?"
She looks around. "Strange, she's usually home by now." She crosses the kitchen to the refrigerator. Opening the door, she bends down, looking around. "Food....food. Need food."
The glass door in the back of the kitchen rattles, and Chihiro looks up. Big blue eyes stare back at her through the glass.
"Sen!" Chihiro says. She crosses the kitchen floor, her house shoes slapping against the linoleum, and slides open the door. She crouches down, balancing on the balls of her feet, and the little Siamese arches up to her hand. "I was wondering where you've been for the past few days. Don't you run away on me like that." She strokes the pretty Seal Point down her back, eliciting a purr from the small feline. "You know you're not supposed to be an outdoor cat in the first place. Now stay inside."
Sen purrs, the vibrations rumbling against her slender chest. She opens her eyes suddenly, the light blue orbs piercingly bright. The hair on her back stands up. She suddenly shoots from under Chihiro's hand and streaks away into the grass.
"Sen!" Chihiro cries, standing up. "Sen!" She turns halfway in the doorway to go get her shoes, but she knows that by the time she got them, Sen would be out of sight. She runs out into the grass after the cat, house shoes still on.
She runs to the edge of the back yard, the top of the hill their house sits on. She scans about, looking for the cat. Suddenly she spots it, bounding down the side of the grassy hill. "Sen!" she calls, the wind rising up, blowing her hair and pushing down the grass. "Dammit!"
She starts to pick her way down the hill, arms out to her sides so as to keep her balance. She walks awkwardly sideways, slipping on the long grass, grass that comes up to her thighs. She slips, sliding on her hip, scraping her leg and ripping her sock. She rights herself, looking at the torn fabric. "Mother's going to kill me," she sighs. "Stupid Sen."
She looks around again, and just catches sight of the cat as it disappears into the edge of the trees.
"Dammit," Chihiro says under her breath. She runs the rest of the way down the hill, picking up momentum, and just stopping herself before she crashes into the trees. She peers between the trunks, looking for the cat, and starts to carefully make her way over the bracken. "I wish I had worn my regular shoes," she says to herself. "These house shoes are going to be ruined. I hate that cat."
She pushes aside the branches of the trees, nearly stumbling on the stones that line the road just beyond them. She steps over them awkwardly, trying to keep herself from falling, and turns around, looking at them. "They're not stones," she says. "They're little shrines."
Again, Chihiro stares ahead, as if trying to remember something. She looks down the dirt road, trying to recall why the little shrines by the side of the road make her so reminiscent. The paved road runs perpendicular to the dirt path she's standing on. She looks back up, into the forest. The lush green leaves rustle in the wind.
"Why...is this so familiar?"
She looks along the edge of the road as it curves away into the forest, and suddenly she spots movement.
"Sen!"
The cat looks over her furry shoulder, then scampers farther up the path. Chihiro starts to run. "Sen! Sen, come back here!" The tiny, sharp rocks in the road hurt her feet as she presses down on them through the thin soles of her house shoes. "I'm going to kill that cat!"She runs, every so often catching sight of Sen as she runs in the woods ahead of her.
She suddenly stops, out of breath, and leans over, bracing herself on her knees. I wonder if a cat is even worth all this trouble, she thinks as she pants. Stupid Sen. She knows she's supposed to be an indoor cat, so I guess being outside is just too exciting for her. All I know is that when I catch her, I'm going to cut her legs off. Then she won't be able to run away any more.
She looks up the road, trying to catch sight of the feline. Something catches her eye out of the corner of her vision. She looks over to her right. Squatting there in the trees is a white stone statue, fat and grinning. Statues and shrines. People out here in the rural prefectures are so superstitious. The wind picks up again, blowing her hair forward into her face. She hears Sen's piteous meow, and grumpily starts trudging further up the path.
It seems as though she walks up the path forever, but she finally spots Sen, arching her back and rubbing up against another white stone statue, seemingly right in the middle of the road.
"Sen!" Chihiro calls. At the sound of Chihiro's voice, Sen looks up, a lazy sort of look on her face, as if she's saying, "Took you long enough." And with that, Sen turns, scampering through a barrier of overgrowth that blocks the end of the path.
Chihiro walks up to the statue, looking at it. Seeing it form the side, there are two faces, one facing the way she came, and the other facing the end of the path. This looks familiar, too. Why is all this so familiar?
"No way! I'm not going in there!"
Chihiro looks up, looking over the overgrowth at the end of the path. Little bits and pieces of memories flash through her mind: a white dragon, red wooden tokens, little nuggets of gold. Like a dream...a dream I had a long time ago...
She peers at the overgrowth, and something red catches her eye. She walks over toward it, pushing the vines and leaves aside. Behind it is a solid wash of red. She taps it with her finger, and some of it crumbles and falls to the ground. She steps back, looking at the blemish she made, the white spot now where the red used to be. "It's plaster," she says to herself. "It's a...gate."
She pats her hand along the red wall, and it suddenly lets off, the growth giving way under her hand. She grabs the vines and pulls on them, and they break from their stems that have grown over the top of the structure. She jumps back as they fall to the ground, revealing a long, long space of darkness, the faintest of light at the end. And two bright, glowing orbs in the blackness.
"Sen!" Chihiro calls. The cat rises from her haunches, scurrying over to Chihiro. She picks her up, holding her to her chest. "What have you found here, Sen?" she asks the cat soothingly, nuzzling her cheek against the cat's soft fur. "What is this place?"
She walks forward, still holding the cat in her arms. Branches and clumps of plaster crumble beneath her ruined house shoes as she walks, looking around as best she can. As her eyes adjust to the darkness, she can see that she is in a tunnel of some kind.
A bell rings, loud and clear, echoing through the tunnel. Chihiro looks around, trying to find what it is that is making the noise. It ceases abruptly, and then starts up again. Chihiro reaches in her pocket, pulling out her cell phone, which reads that her father is calling. She pushes the "Talk" button.
"Moshi-moshi," she says, trying to keep her voice soft so that it doesn't echo too loudly in the tunnel. Four words run from the phone her father speaks on and over the analog system, into Chihiro's phone.
It slips from her fingers, and falls to the floor with a clatter.
"Mother, I'm home!" Chihiro calls from the foyer. She slips her shoes off, leaving them in the front hall and steps onto the main level of the house, slipping on her house shoes. She shuffles into the kitchen. "Mom?"
She looks around. "Strange, she's usually home by now." She crosses the kitchen to the refrigerator. Opening the door, she bends down, looking around. "Food....food. Need food."
The glass door in the back of the kitchen rattles, and Chihiro looks up. Big blue eyes stare back at her through the glass.
"Sen!" Chihiro says. She crosses the kitchen floor, her house shoes slapping against the linoleum, and slides open the door. She crouches down, balancing on the balls of her feet, and the little Siamese arches up to her hand. "I was wondering where you've been for the past few days. Don't you run away on me like that." She strokes the pretty Seal Point down her back, eliciting a purr from the small feline. "You know you're not supposed to be an outdoor cat in the first place. Now stay inside."
Sen purrs, the vibrations rumbling against her slender chest. She opens her eyes suddenly, the light blue orbs piercingly bright. The hair on her back stands up. She suddenly shoots from under Chihiro's hand and streaks away into the grass.
"Sen!" Chihiro cries, standing up. "Sen!" She turns halfway in the doorway to go get her shoes, but she knows that by the time she got them, Sen would be out of sight. She runs out into the grass after the cat, house shoes still on.
She runs to the edge of the back yard, the top of the hill their house sits on. She scans about, looking for the cat. Suddenly she spots it, bounding down the side of the grassy hill. "Sen!" she calls, the wind rising up, blowing her hair and pushing down the grass. "Dammit!"
She starts to pick her way down the hill, arms out to her sides so as to keep her balance. She walks awkwardly sideways, slipping on the long grass, grass that comes up to her thighs. She slips, sliding on her hip, scraping her leg and ripping her sock. She rights herself, looking at the torn fabric. "Mother's going to kill me," she sighs. "Stupid Sen."
She looks around again, and just catches sight of the cat as it disappears into the edge of the trees.
"Dammit," Chihiro says under her breath. She runs the rest of the way down the hill, picking up momentum, and just stopping herself before she crashes into the trees. She peers between the trunks, looking for the cat, and starts to carefully make her way over the bracken. "I wish I had worn my regular shoes," she says to herself. "These house shoes are going to be ruined. I hate that cat."
She pushes aside the branches of the trees, nearly stumbling on the stones that line the road just beyond them. She steps over them awkwardly, trying to keep herself from falling, and turns around, looking at them. "They're not stones," she says. "They're little shrines."
Again, Chihiro stares ahead, as if trying to remember something. She looks down the dirt road, trying to recall why the little shrines by the side of the road make her so reminiscent. The paved road runs perpendicular to the dirt path she's standing on. She looks back up, into the forest. The lush green leaves rustle in the wind.
"Why...is this so familiar?"
She looks along the edge of the road as it curves away into the forest, and suddenly she spots movement.
"Sen!"
The cat looks over her furry shoulder, then scampers farther up the path. Chihiro starts to run. "Sen! Sen, come back here!" The tiny, sharp rocks in the road hurt her feet as she presses down on them through the thin soles of her house shoes. "I'm going to kill that cat!"She runs, every so often catching sight of Sen as she runs in the woods ahead of her.
She suddenly stops, out of breath, and leans over, bracing herself on her knees. I wonder if a cat is even worth all this trouble, she thinks as she pants. Stupid Sen. She knows she's supposed to be an indoor cat, so I guess being outside is just too exciting for her. All I know is that when I catch her, I'm going to cut her legs off. Then she won't be able to run away any more.
She looks up the road, trying to catch sight of the feline. Something catches her eye out of the corner of her vision. She looks over to her right. Squatting there in the trees is a white stone statue, fat and grinning. Statues and shrines. People out here in the rural prefectures are so superstitious. The wind picks up again, blowing her hair forward into her face. She hears Sen's piteous meow, and grumpily starts trudging further up the path.
It seems as though she walks up the path forever, but she finally spots Sen, arching her back and rubbing up against another white stone statue, seemingly right in the middle of the road.
"Sen!" Chihiro calls. At the sound of Chihiro's voice, Sen looks up, a lazy sort of look on her face, as if she's saying, "Took you long enough." And with that, Sen turns, scampering through a barrier of overgrowth that blocks the end of the path.
Chihiro walks up to the statue, looking at it. Seeing it form the side, there are two faces, one facing the way she came, and the other facing the end of the path. This looks familiar, too. Why is all this so familiar?
"No way! I'm not going in there!"
Chihiro looks up, looking over the overgrowth at the end of the path. Little bits and pieces of memories flash through her mind: a white dragon, red wooden tokens, little nuggets of gold. Like a dream...a dream I had a long time ago...
She peers at the overgrowth, and something red catches her eye. She walks over toward it, pushing the vines and leaves aside. Behind it is a solid wash of red. She taps it with her finger, and some of it crumbles and falls to the ground. She steps back, looking at the blemish she made, the white spot now where the red used to be. "It's plaster," she says to herself. "It's a...gate."
She pats her hand along the red wall, and it suddenly lets off, the growth giving way under her hand. She grabs the vines and pulls on them, and they break from their stems that have grown over the top of the structure. She jumps back as they fall to the ground, revealing a long, long space of darkness, the faintest of light at the end. And two bright, glowing orbs in the blackness.
"Sen!" Chihiro calls. The cat rises from her haunches, scurrying over to Chihiro. She picks her up, holding her to her chest. "What have you found here, Sen?" she asks the cat soothingly, nuzzling her cheek against the cat's soft fur. "What is this place?"
She walks forward, still holding the cat in her arms. Branches and clumps of plaster crumble beneath her ruined house shoes as she walks, looking around as best she can. As her eyes adjust to the darkness, she can see that she is in a tunnel of some kind.
A bell rings, loud and clear, echoing through the tunnel. Chihiro looks around, trying to find what it is that is making the noise. It ceases abruptly, and then starts up again. Chihiro reaches in her pocket, pulling out her cell phone, which reads that her father is calling. She pushes the "Talk" button.
"Moshi-moshi," she says, trying to keep her voice soft so that it doesn't echo too loudly in the tunnel. Four words run from the phone her father speaks on and over the analog system, into Chihiro's phone.
It slips from her fingers, and falls to the floor with a clatter.