Disclaimer: I do not own anything from Spirited Away, they all belong to Hayao Miyazaki

Disclaimer: I do not own anything from Spirited Away, everything belongs to Hayao Miyazaki.

This film is easily the most flexible piece to work with, so, needless to say, this will be a rather smooth project. I'm writing this just to have a breather, so this is a relax routine/ escape more than anything. Hopefully you will enjoy reading this as much as I will writing it.

"Hey Chihiro, seen any Spirits lately?" a girl sneered meanly across the classroom.

"Yeah, you would think a girl of sixteen years of age would have grown out of that stage by now… OOPS! Was that out loud?!" Another snarled, nasty mockery dripping from her words at the last comment. Snorts of laughter followed.

Chihiro was not paying attention. Her head weighed heavily in her hands as she cast her eyes downwards at the sparkling amethyst band, given by her friends in the Sprit world. She would try to access it again today. Life without Haku was becoming unbearable.

"Shhhhh! Girls, girls!" Another yip of teasing tore through the air. "Don't distract her. She's summoning spirits with that magical purple band of hers. Did you know that THREE spirits had made it for her?"

Once again, she was forced to ignore the cries of laughter from her fellow classmates. The years had not been good to her, although only six had passed. She was young, and yet, the passions of youth and those hopeful, dewy eyes of most her age, were not present. After years of being chastised and eventually shunned, she had shrivelled up inside, becoming a slave to naught but her loneliness. Children could be so cruel. It had started on her very first day of school. She had met a friendly, talkative little girl; Ana. After a while of building-blocks and jump-rope, Ana asked if she had any friends. Chihiro, not understanding the magnitude of her answer had completely confided in Ana of her friends in the spirit world.

It started from a nasty outburst of laughs.

And it grew to this.

"Come on, girls." Ana's acerbic tone cut through the air. It was the only one Chihiro had trouble ignoring. Ana had been her only friend in this place, even if it had only lasted for a few hours. "She's not worth it. It's not our problem if she's still in lala-land. Besides, if the spirits take her away, well, it will be good for us."

This time Chihiro reverted to playing with her long brown hair; awkwardly. She was a bad actor and somehow, even pretending that she was not listening did not quite work to her advantage. They saw her squirm. They can sense everything. She could feel another strike at her sensitivity coming on.

"ENOUGH!"

Chihiro jumped as a fist hit a large wooden table in front of the classroom. The young teacher, Aikawa-sensei, was always the one to interrupt this emotional beating. "If you girls cannot be mature enough to keep your noses out of other people's business, then maybe you should be moved down a level. How does that sound? Anyone?"

The class remained deathly silent.

"Good. Chihiro, please visit me after class. Maybe you can help me decide where to put these puppies? Kindergarten, perhaps?"

At this, the class chuckled. Well everyone aside from Chihiro…. And the targeted group, of course. She stared outside the window, her large black eyes the very image of an empty, soul-sucking black hole.

She did not like these visits. She can feel the hostility radiating from all the girls as they exited the room. She can sense their hatred growing, despite the fact that it was not her fault the attractive—no—gorgeous male specimen of a teacher constantly asked for her company. This had happened quite a few times before. At first, she thought he wanted to consol her, to be a sort of pillar of strength and help her through the year. But it has grown. She was pleased to see that it had not taken any manifest form in the physical realm. The unspoken words, flowing from his eyes, however, had frightened her.

Once everyone had left, he made his way over to the door.

"Leave it open." She nigh demanded. She had always been a gutsy child, and remained so in her teenage years.

Very respectfully, he put his hands in the air, and left the door alone. He walked towards her, his hands in his pockets, and sat backwards in the seat in front of her. She could hear him breathe out as he eased himself into the seat.

"Chihiro, look at me." He said softly, his smile disarming.

Swallowing, she raised her eyes from her purple band and looked at him from beneath her bangs. When he reached out to scrape all that hair away, she jerked back with a "No!", the jolt removing most of the hair from her face save for an amount of fringe, just enough to cover a single eye. "I've already told you everything. I don't know what else you want from me." Her voice got progressively louder, more frustrated. "You have no business keeping me here!"

"Well, gee, I think a little respect is in order." He said, getting somewhat snarky all of a sudden.

She looked away from him, reverting into herself again. When she looked back at him, her empty eyes exploded with character. This was something only him and her family has seen. It was the last of her.

He flashed another easy grin. "Much better."

"I'm still not sure what you want. I don't think these visits are necessary anymore…" At the touch of his finger on her lips, a gasp forced its way down her throat, immediately blocking her speech.

"Shhhhh." He said softly. Her head spun when he got up and pinned her hands to the desk with his own. He leaned into her, but did not touch her. The door, after all, was wide open. "You know what I want." He said into her cheek. She flushed. He smiled another beautiful smile and backed away.

"If you need anymore help, just let me know, alright?" He added as an afterthought as she left the classroom. She hoped no one had seen him wink.

Chihiro heaved a disappointed sigh as she stood in the middle of the wooden bridge. Her feet made empty sounds against the dry, hollowed wood as they shifted in place, having given up on pressing onward. Thin, viscous streams spurted down the chipped, crumbled form of the bathhouse, carrying some of the loose red paint with it while dying the rest with a disgusting green. With the amber colour of the setting sun cast into the stale water, it almost looked like blood. This was it, then… The bathhouse was no more… the Spirit World had locked its doors to her forever… In those six years, she had returned to that very place countless times—to no effect. She was growing weary. Her emotions were drained.

Chihiro shuttered as a blade of wind thrashed against her petite form, fiddling with her school blouse and casting her pleated skirt above her thigh. She could still feel the ghost of his fingers trailing against hers from the last time they met. The soft sound of their hands sliding against each other was enough to cause a small tingle at the base of her neck.

This made her think of Aikawa-sensei. The thought immediately frightened her. She didn't want him. She wanted Haku. Only Haku. He was the only one who can save her from her emptiness. Her only real friend. Her breathing became choppy, and her dry eyes began to water. Why had he done this to her? Why had he waited so long? She wanted to hate him. She wanted to move on, perhaps find a real boyfriend, and real, Human friends. The problem with that, however, was that the damage had already been done. No one believed in her anymore. She was convinced, not even Aikawa. The only thing he believed in was… well…. She shook her head.

Utterly defeated, she hung her head and made her way back down the steps. No lights turned on. No shadows flashed in the darkness. No smell of food wafted to her nostrils… wait a second. The food. A thought occurred to her. She got into the spirit realm only after her parents had eaten the food… right? They had upset the spirits…………………………… right? Right? Meaning, if she can irk them again somehow… perhaps using the same method… would she get in? Could she finally escape this life?

It was all a big question mark, but it still managed to get her excited. But, then, who? Who could she use? She couldn't do that to her parents again. No; they meant too much to her. Then again, she did not think anyone deserved to be turned into a pig and threatened to be eaten.

One simple consideration of how her life was turning out to be had forced her to make a crucial decision. She had to make the sacrifice. It was worth it.

A/n: Yyyyyes. Starting off with a short, sweet chapter. Second one is rolling along nicely as well. The beginning is fast for a reason, being that it is not all that important. I just had to introduce the story somehow. Stay tuned, and as always, let me know what you think . 'Tis always in a writer's best interest to know her/his flaws and work on them.