Hello everyone. It's been a really long time, hasn't it? I lost all will to write, for a while. Every time I did it seemed something would go wrong. I'm going to be honest, I still don't like my writing, at all. I don't think I've improved, in some ways I think I've regressed. Despite this, I always wanted to try to rewrite my fanfics, breathe new life into them. So, due to personal requests, here is my Spirited Away fic rewritten. Don't worry, as long as the staff here says it's okay, the original will stay up. There may be some of you that prefer that version.

All opinions and criticisms both positive and negative are welcome! And I hope that some of the issues with the original have been fixed in this one. I'm still writing it, and it seems like it'll be a lot shorter than the original, but I guess that's something only the future us will know.

Without further ado, I hope you enjoy!

Fifteen years. Fifteen years since she was forced to leave everything behind to move to a remote town miles away where she knew no one. When she first heard from her parents, she was angry. Why would they rip her away from everything she knew? She still remembered the flowers her friend gave her and her mother and father trying to convince her it would be good for them. She highly doubted it.

Something changed when they got there, however. Chihiro would never forget the strange statues and old train station when they took a wrong turn. She would never forget how when they came out of the train station, it had looked as if they had been gone for weeks. Her parents paid no attention to it, just calling it a strange supernatural experience, but Chihiro was always skeptical. Seriously, who believed in that stuff? Even at 10 years old she got confused by it. However, she never could deny the pull she had to that train station,

She would often find herself running towards it and playing with the statues, talking to them like they were living beings. Whenever her parents asked, she was as confused as them. They were just statues, so why did they feel so real?

After a couple years she had made new friends at her new school, and as much as she missed her hometown, she loved this new town. During school she discovered a new passion too, art, more specifically painting, mostly with water colours. She was no expert like the greats, but she aced her art classes and that's all that really mattered.

Her inspiration? She wasn't sure. Dreams, illusions, maybe she had read something about the images in a book. The strangeness didn't stop her. Every chance she got she would sit outside the train station with the statues, bringing all the supplies she could carry. She found herself painting fairgrounds, a bathhouse, strange characters she eventually named like Zeniba, Yubaba, and Lin. She felt like she could do it with her eyes closed.

There was a special character she painted the most. Haku. A beautiful silver and green dragon based off of the Kohaku river. Long and sharp looking horns topped his head, but his eyes were always kind. Haku had a human form too, which was unbelievably handsome, but she mostly painted him as a dragon. For some reason she just couldn't bring herself to show off her prized creations human form, at least not very much. She found that she included herself in most of the paintings, and eventually named this version of herself Sen.

Her parents were concerned, needless to say. They thought she had gone insane and put her into therapy for personifying the river that nearly killed her. Something in her told her it was okay. Nobody could explain how she survived, and maybe there was a part of her that wished Haku was real.

Everything changed when Chihiro was 15, nearly 16. She was in her room humming to music, one of her favourite bands, Starset, when she was interrupted by her dad yelling loudly and something smashing. It wasn't angry yelling, Chihiro knew angry yelling. She quickly dropped everything and ran down the stairs to see two male police officers standing over her sobbing father, a few broken dishes lying on the ground beside him as he kneeled on the ground, hands to his face.

Chihiro let out a sharp exclamation and the officers looked up at her. They look like they might cry too. She knew. She didn't know how, but she did. They didn't need to say anything. She screamed until she couldn't scream anymore as she dropped to the ground, one of the officers rushing over to catch her so she didn't hurt anything. She didn't care.

Her mother's funeral was a week later. Two weeks before Chihiro's 16th birthday. A day that will never be forgotten. A drunk driver in a truck with a suspended license the officers said. Her mother's tiny cheap car had no chance against the truck at full speed. Chihiro wanted to kill the driver. Jail wasn't enough for the bastard. She stopped painting for a while after that.

Her father was never the same. He was always the kind of guy who would make puns in the middle of a busy train as loudly as he could, even if it only resulted in a couple chuckles. After the funeral he was nearly the opposite. He became a workaholic, only coming home to shower and sleep before going back to his everyday and generic office job.

Eventually Chihiro graduated and went to college, as most people do. She entered general studies, she didn't have any interests to speak of. A friend from highschool that had entered the same college suggested mythology studies. Chihiro couldn't help but remember her paintings and the strange old train station so she eagerly entered the classes.

It didn't take long after that for her to start painting again. Her mother was her biggest fan and always said Chihiro would be the biggest artist in history. Chihiro couldn't disappoint her mother.

Now 25, Chihiro was doing rather well for herself. She was making money off her paintings, and while it wasn't a whole lot, it was enough. She still lived in the same house with her father, although he was still the same as he was after her mom passed away. This heaviness and darkness became the new normal, like all the light had been drained away.

Of course Chihiro still had her escape, among lifeless statues in front of a cold train station. It was like she belonged there. She saw light again like she did before her mom passed away. Despite everything, she had her paintings and she was plenty happy with that.

"Hey dad! I'm heading out, text if you need anything!" A grunt from seemingly out of nowhere confirmed he had heard. Chihiro let out a small sigh and stepped out of the house, closing and locking the door behind her, she knew her dad wouldn't himself.

It was chilly for a Saturday in late May, but every day felt chillier than normal lately, at least to her. She would rather not leave the house at all, but they really needed groceries. What a pain.

She climbed into her car and opened up the sweater she was wearing to reveal a basic black t-shirt. She had jeans that were so old they were falling apart, but hey, that was fashionable now, and who cares at a grocery store.

She turned the radio up to a random station and drove to the nearest one, which was only about 15 minutes away. It was like she was on autopilot. Get out, get reusable bags out of the trunk, go in, get a cart, shop. After only 5 minutes her dad texted her and added to her already stuffed list. It took awhile for her to get everything and she had almost finished when she heard a gasp from behind her.

Chihiro quickly spun around to a friendly looking old lady who beamed at her. Chihiro couldn't help but return a small smile, "Mrs. Nishihara! You know you shouldn't sneak up on people like that!" Chihiro couldn't help but let out a little laugh.

Mrs. Nishihara let out a booming laugh, "My! Dear, you're too young to have such short nerves."

Chihiro rolled her eyes slightly but the smile didn't fade, "Being around all you old folks have me aging too fast!" Mrs. Nishihara laughed again before patting Chihiro on the shoulder. They continued to shop together, idle and seemingly meaningless chatter. Mrs. Nishihara mentioned how her grandson had brought her here and was around the store somewhere, which made Chihiro let out a nervous laugh as she felt a pit in her stomach grow.

Two years ago was the first time she met Mrs. Nishihara, along with several other old and kind ladies, at a nursing home. While Chihiro was getting back on her feet, she decided she would need some extra encouragement, something else to do. Mrs. Nishihara was the first one to approach Chihiro, and they became fast friends. Chihiro couldn't help but see her mother when she was with the older friend, it was like something that was gone was back. It didn't fill the gap she had since she was only ten years old, but it was enough.

It wasn't long before Mrs. Nishihara introduced her grandson, Hisashi. Chihiro could never explain why, but Hisashi always sent shivers down her spine. He had made it clear he was interested in her, but his eyes were like he was looking at prey, no love filled them. She found herself comparing him to a snake, a snake that was biding its time to eat a mouse it had been watching for years.

It went further, too. He started to stalk her. Mrs. Nishihara never told him where Chihiro lived, she had asked after the first incident happened. Hisashi had knocked on Chihiro's door and of course she answered. He had brought a bouquet of flowers, and what most would see as a threat. He had told her that if she didn't stop her painting bad things would happen, she and her father would get hurt.

At the time, there was no threatening tone in his voice, but every time since then he brought the same warning, telling her she needed to stop painting. His most recent unwelcome showing at her door, only a few days ago, he brought a pale yellow box tied red clumsy ribbons; inside was a pale red jewel with a gold chain wrapped around it so it could be worn as a necklace. Chihiro obviously said no thank you but Hisashi said he wouldn't leave without her taking it, and she wanted him to leave more than anything.

As soon as she touched the jewel to inspect it she became dizzy and nauseous, and she quickly began developing a fever. She quickly put it back in the box and ran out the backdoor, struggling not to fall as she got close to the woods, close to her sanctuary. She did what most would do, she threw the box with the jewel in it into the woods like her life depended on it. Shortly after, it was like the sickness she had experienced had never happened.

Just the thought of encountering Hisashi made her start to feel sick again. Chihiro quickened her pace, but only subtly since Mrs. Nishihara was still chatting away. Once they made it to the cashout Chihiro let out a small sigh, almost free.

The thought of relief only lasted a second. A male voice shouted, "Grandma!" and Chihiro stiffened. Shit. The cashier gave Chihiro a dirty look as she stuffed all her items on the belt and bit her lip, quite obviously impatient.

"My, why are you so impatient?" Mrs. Nishihara tilted her head as she curiously watched Chihiro.

Chihiro saw Hisashi coming towards the cashout from a nearby aisle and she let out a nervous laugh, "Oh, no reason, I'd just like to get home sooner rather than later." Chihiro quickly turned away to pay for her groceries when she felt Hisashi's eyes fall on her. She nodded to Mrs. Nishihara, "I'll see you next time I visit then."

She quickly gathered her bags before the old woman could respond. It was more than a little rude, but just being around that man made her sick. She walked a little too fast, ignoring the cars and other people to get to her car. After practically throwing the bags into the trunk, she moved to the driver's side before a chill ran down her spine.

Biting her lip she spun around to see Hisashi staring at her with narrowed eyes. She tried her best to hide the shakiness in her voice, "Hisashi, did you need something?"

His eyes narrowed and Chihiro could have sworn they were like the yellow eyes of a snake, "You threw away the gift I gave you?"

Chihiro shrank back and opened the driver's side door, "Oh, no, while I was outside the chain must have broken or something and I lost it. I've been looking for it."

Hisashi's eyes narrowed further and Chihiro had no doubt, his eyes were those of a snake. He opened his hand to her, showing the jewel in his hand, "I don't like liars."

Chihiro glanced around at the people going back and forth between the parking lot and store before shouting, "And I don't like you! Leave me the fuck alone!" Her shouting was enough to gain quite a bit of attention. Hisashi jumped and seemed to panic a little, giving Chihiro the chance to jump into her car and speed away.