Chapter One: Name Calling
(A/N: "Spirited Away" belongs to Anime-God, Hayao Miyazaki, Studio Ghibli, and Disney. Hopefully you all can tell which things are not mine and which are. This is my first fanfic, so be nice. Oh, and I suggest to watch "Spirited Away" if you haven't yet. It is the best! Well, enjoy!)
The sky above her twinkled like jewels strewn all over a dark velvet cloth. Chihiro folded her arms behind her head. 'Everything is so quiet.' She thought. It reminded her so much of the time she spent with Rin at the bathhouse. Her legs swinging from the ledge and the warm, delicious dumpling Rin had swiped for her, but it all seemed so long ago. 'How long ago was it?' Chihiro asked herself. 'When was the last time I saw Rin, Kamajii and the Susuwatari? And HIM? How long has it been since I've seen HIM?'
It had been five years since that thrilling adventure. That adventure in the hidden town beyond the tunnel seemed too much like a dream for Chihiro. She lay on the roof of her blue house on the corner trying to remember every single moment of it. And she could remember everything… Almost everything. She could remember Rin and Kamajii. She could remember Yubaba and her twin sister Zeniiba. She could remember No-Face, Bou, and Yu-Bird. But for some reason, she could not remember HIM. That boy that helped her, guided her, and cared for her. All that remained of him in her memory was the love that could be felt between them. His name, his face, his voice, and his touch were all lost to Chihiro.
Chihiro had struggled night after night on her rooftop trying to remember HIM, anything about him. She did all this in vain. It seemed like someone had erased the boy from her memory, but some how he or she could not erase the love she felt for him and the love that she knew he had felt for her. She clung to this bit of information; the knowing. On the other hand, she really longed to know just who he was.
As she continued to try and reminisce, a thought came to her. "What if he doesn't love me anymore? What if he doesn't remember me like I remember him?" She asked herself aloud. Many more "what ifs" came to her mind.
Maybe it was better that she didn't remember who the boy was, she thought. Maybe there was a reason that she forgot. Maybe it was to protect herself or him. Maybe he couldn't remember her.
Just then, Chihiro's mother's head popped out from her window and disrupted Chihiro's train of thought. "Chihiro! Come down from there before you fall and break you back!"
"I'll be down in a minute, mom!" Chihiro sat up and blew a kiss to the sky. 'Whoever you are, wherever you are… Please know that I still love you…'
Chihiro slid through her window into her room, and plopped down onto her bed.
"Really, Chihiro," said her mother as she cleaned up Chihiro's closet. "You always have your head in the clouds! I'm surprised you haven't been spirited away somewhere!"
(A/N: Alright, alright! I know it's a cheesy pun! But just deal with it! LoL)
"MOM!" Whined Chihiro, "I so do not!"
"Ok, ok. Whatever you say, honey. Just don't dream your life away." And with that she leaned down and kissed Chihiro on the forehead, "sleep well."
Chihiro slid further into her covers and grumbled, "sure, whatever."
'Dream my life away… Is that what I'm doing?' Her mother's words began to burn in her mind. What if it was all a dream?! What if she was just holding to some silly childhood memory? The thought was too painful to bear. 'What if…' A single tear slid down her cheek. 'What if the boy never existed? What if I created everything, all of it, just to deal with moving to a new house?'
She buried her head into her pillows. She couldn't accept it. It couldn't be true. And yet… it made more sense. A little, lonely ten-year-old girl with nothing to do but create a world where she is the heroine and where she had friends, it seemed very likely. She turned to her side and brought her knees to her chest. Silent tears came pouring down her eyes. 'It probably was just a dream…Just a dream…'
As Chihiro's vision blurred, she saw something on her nightstand twinkle like the stars she had seen earlier. She reached to pick it up and almost laughed aloud when she did. She now knew for sure that she didn't make it up. She took a peek at the treasure that lay in the palm of her hand. It was a small purple ponytail holder. It wasn't just any kind of purple, but it was too hard to pin down what kind of purple it exactly was. It wasn't a ponytail holder that you could buy anywhere else either. It sparkled 24-7, even in the dark! Chihiro knew that she couldn't have dreamed up the whole adventure because the ponytail holder was proof that it had happened. Her friends had made this for her, to protect her. Chihiro could feel that magic and friendship pour from the small piece of yarn. She knew it wasn't a dream, and she knew that the mysterious boy existed.
The next morning, Chihiro woke up late, but luckily, it was a Saturday. Suddenly, her door flew open, making Chihiro jump out of bed and onto the floor. "CHI-CHI! Wake up! You're making us late again!" It was Yumi, her best friend.
Chihiro tried to throw a pillow at her. "Go away! Can't you see I'm trying to sleep?! And don't call me Chi-Chi!"
Yumi had already begun to shuffle through Chihiro's clothes looking for the right outfit for the day. "How about this!?" She whipped up a pair of short-shorts and a tube top.
Chihiro sat straight up. "Heck no! Those aren't even my clothes!"
"I know," smiled Yumi sweetly, "they're mine! So get up before I make you wear them, Chi-Chi!"
"Don't call me Chi-Chi!" Chihiro yelled sleepily.
Yumi began to dance around her, "CHICHICHICHICHICHICHICHICHI!!!!"
"Alright! Alright! I'm up! I'm up! Just shut up and never call me Chi-Chi again!"
"Sure, whatever. Geez!" Yumi sat down on Chihiro's bed and started to flip through a magazine. "Just hurry up okay! The rest of us are waiting at the park!"
"The rest of us?" Asked Chihiro as she changed into the usual jeans and t-shirt. Gone were the days of pink shorts and stripped green shirts.
"You know," stated Yumi flatly, "Kyle, Fiona, and…" She threw a magazine to the side. "Guess who else is coming?! JUBEI!!!" She jumped up and down in delight.
"Not another set-up, Yumi! How many times do I have to tell you? I'm not interested!"
Jubei was a boy in their class. He had had a crush on Chihiro since forever. Of course, Chihiro was flattered that the smartest, hottest guy in school was interested in her, but she had someone else in mind to be her boyfriend.
"Why not!? Jubei is one of the finest there is! Ugh, you're not going to wear that are you?"
Chihiro looked at herself in the mirror. "What's wrong? I always wear jeans and a t-shirt."
Yumi slapped her head, "that's just it, you ALWAYS wear them! Come on, the offers still up!" She wagged the shorts and tube top in Chihiro's face.
"Erm… no thanks. Only you could pull that ensemble off." And Yumi really could. Besides one other girl, Yumi was the hottest girl in school. 'I'm surprised she isn't with Jubei. She could have any guy she wanted.' For a small-town girl, Yumi seemed very modern and city-like. She constantly was changing her clothes and her makeup.
Yumi looked disappointed, "at least put some makeup on…"
Chihiro grabbed her trusty vanilla flavoured lip-gloss and put her hair in a ponytail. "I'll swipe some gloss on while we get there. Come on, let's go."
"About time. Why do you always put your hair in a ponytail? Your hair is so long now, it's almost to the small of your back. You should leave it down…"
Since her town was very small, it only took about ten minutes to get to the park. There were very few other forms of entertainment there.
Yumi ran ahead of Chihiro. "Look, there they are!"
Chihiro didn't know why she let Yumi drag her everywhere. She really didn't feel like it. Lately, her mind was somewhere else…
"H…Hey, Chihiro." It was Jubei walking up to her with a bouquet of tulips in his hands. He held the bouquet out to her. "These are for you."
"Umm," Chihiro took the flowers and smelled them, "thanks!" She remembered the last time she had gotten a bouquet. She had held it in the car five years ago. The card that had come with the bouquet had helped her so much when she was in the spirit world. 'Was that what it was called? The spirit world?' She shook her head, dismissing any thoughts about her surreal childhood adventure. "They smell great, Jubei. I really like them!"
Jubei shoved one hand into the pocket of his baggy jeans and ran the other through his soft blonde hair. "Oh, it was nothing." He blushed, which made Chihiro feel even guiltier for not having the same feelings.
They walked around the park, played Frisbee, and ate some ice cream. The whole time Jubei tried to strike up conversation with Chihiro, but she didn't really answer with more than a "yes" or a "uh huh." 'If it was all a dream, then why can't I seem to stop thinking about it? Why won't the memory go away?' She stared up at the clouds.
"Chihiro, Chihiro, are you alright?" Jubei was looking at her all concerned. Chihiro noticed it was just the two of them now. Yumi and the other had gone ahead to get some hot dogs from the vendor.
Chihiro sat down at a nearby bench and said nonchalantly, "Oh I'm okay. Yeah just thinking."
"About what?" Asked Jubei taking a seat next to her.
"Nothing. It's nothing." Chihiro had never really been alone with Jubei or sat this close to him either. As he continued to speak, she took a good look at him.
He was very good looking. His eyes were a clear blue, and his golden blonde hair tended to flop over his eyes once in awhile. He was tall and well built. Chihiro wondered why she didn't feel attracted to him like the rest of the female population.
"Chihiro," said Jubei looking at his shoes, "Chihiro, I really like you. I've liked you since you moved here, ten years ago. I know I've had a lot of girlfriends between then and now, but I've always thought about you. I think you the best thing since sliced bread. This is the first time I've put my heart on the line and asked someone this. I want…" This time he looked directly into her deep brown eyes. "I want you to be my girlfriend…"
Chihiro was speechless. Sure, she knew Jubei liked her, but she really thought that if she didn't return his affections he'd move on someday. She never thought it would come down to him asking her to be his girlfriend. Her silence seemed to have encouraged Jubei to keep on talking. "I really really like you." He looked around as if the right words could be found in the park. "No, I love you! I love you, Chihiro!"
Just then, out of nowhere, Chihiro began to get a splitting headache. "Jubei, I don't think…"
Jubei continued to stumble over a few more words. He would not take "no" for an answer. "Chihiro, I promise to love you forever! Promise."
Chihiro's head was throbbing with pain by now. "Jubei, please. I can't-"
'Promise?'
'Promise.'
Chihiro paused. A long time ago, someone had promised her something. But she couldn't remember who or what. She racked her brain for the answer but ended up making her headache worse.
Jubei leaned in to hold her, but she pulled away. "No!" she screamed and ran off.
'What's wrong with me?! Why am I running?' Billions of thoughts were suddenly running through her mind, but she could not make head or tail of them. She continued to run. She ran from everything and everyone.
"Chihiro! Chihiro!" She heard her friends yell. Chihiro looked back at them. That was a mistake, for she did not see the large rock in the middle of the path. Or was it a rock? She swore that she saw a face carved into it just before she fell. Just before she hit the ground a name came to her. 'Haku…' It echoed into her mind. She hit the ground headfirst and the world went black….
(A/N: So… How was it?! Remember this is my FIRST ever. But I will accept both good and bad comments, all writers do. Any reviews will be taken with great appreciation so please rate! There will be more promise! KK BYEBYE!)
~ Luv Laney *.