Spirited Reunion

Sixteen-year-old Chihiro Ogino sprinted through the rain, barely watching where she was going as both water and tears blurred her vision. Everything had just become too much for her that day – the mean girls who had known her since she was ten, when she had told them stories about the spirit world; the boys who enjoyed picking on the quiet girls, and who regarded Chihiro as little better than a freak; and Seji, who had broken her heart.

Chihiro ran along a cycle path, splashing through the puddles before her ankle rolled, and she found herself tumbling down the grassy slope towards a river. Lying on the muddy bank, Chihiro didn't move for a moment, feeling the sharp sting of her ankle, and the grazes on her arms and legs.

"Why?" she whispered, blinking away hot tears. "Was it all just a joke to him?" she wondered, thinking about the boy that she had had a crush on for the past few months. Seji had seemed different to the other boys in her year, and had often gone out of his way to talk to Chihiro. When he had asked her out, she had almost been too shocked to say anything, and had instead replied with little more than a nod of her head.

But then today had happened. They'd only been dating for little over two weeks, yet they were a very happy two weeks as far as Chihiro was concerned. She had felt like she belonged, and Seji had been so nice to her. But then that cow Arisa had come along, and the next thing she knew, Chihiro was at the centre of a laughing circle of both boys and girls, making fun of her for her wild stories and silly superstitions. Arisa had linked arms with Seji, whispered something in his ear that had made the boy blush, and soon after he had dumped Chihiro like she had meant nothing at all.

"I'm not gonna cry," Chihiro told herself as she climbed back onto her feet and washed her hands and legs as best she could in the river water. "I've made it through worse than this before," she added, thinking back to those magical few days that she had spent in the spirit world all those years ago.

She thought about her friend Lin, and wondered if the servant girl had finally managed to get tickets for the train. She thought about Kamajii and his soot ball workers, constantly heating water and making herbal washes. She thought about Boh, and wondered if the oversized baby had grown up by now. She thought of Yubaba, running the bathhouse and trying to make money wherever she could. And of her twin sister Zeniba, who lived in her quiet house with the mysterious No Face spirit that had taken a liking to Chihiro. Raising a hand, she touched a finger to the sparkling red band that held her long brown hair back, and smiled, remembering how her friends had helped to make it for her.

Finally, she thought of Haku – the young boy who had helped her, and who had made her remember who she was when she had forgotten her true name, and had been living as Sen. Haku, who had helped her get her parents back, and who had saved her from drowning when she had been very small. Haku, whom she had loved, and who had told her that they would meet again, one day. But that had been six years ago, and Chihiro was still yet to see the river spirit again.

The rain was getting heavier, and the afternoon was dragging on as the miserable girl continued to plod along aimlessly. Chihiro knew that she should probably head home, yet she couldn't face her mother's worried eyes today. Her mother worried that her daughter didn't have enough friends, and wasn't being social enough, not like she had been before the move six years ago. Her mother assumed it was just a teenaged thing, yet she worried all the same.

The truth was that Chihiro often felt like the humans around her weren't worth her time. In an effort to make friends in her new school, ten-year-old Chihiro had told the other kids fantastical stories about spirits and bathhouses, dragons and flying paper dolls, giant babies and a train that ran through underwater tracks. At the time, they had thought that she'd just had a wonderful imagination, but then they had started noticing strange things about the brown haired new girl. There were certain places that she never stayed in as the sun was setting, she always bowed and said a prayer at shines, and sometimes she would see things that the other kids couldn't. They'd called her weird, and had alienation her from their group.

Chihiro had lived in the spirit world for only a handful of days, yet she was certain that those days had changed her forever, and not just where her confidence in herself was concerned. She had eaten the food over there, and even though she hadn't been there long enough for it to change her completely, she had a theory that it had changed her enough. Enough so that she was now different to most humans, and could see and sense things that other people couldn't.

Slowly walking along the course of the river, Chihiro began to pick up speed as the muscles in her sore ankle warmed up, and pretty soon she was running again. There was only one place that she wanted to be at that moment, and slipping and sliding up the slope, she started pushing her way through the trees and onto an overgrown track. Gasping and sobbing, Chihiro ran down the barely recognisable road, pushing her way through the branches that slapped and grabbed at her. She barely caught a glimpse of the stone statue that was sitting amongst the trees, grinning at her as she ran past. Up ahead, the dilapidated entrance way to the old theme park was in sight, and with a fresh burst of speed, Chihiro ran through the doorway and into the darkness beyond.

She stood for a moment, dripping and shivering in the empty space, before she slowly walked over to a bench seat and sat down. She was soaked to the bone, and her ankle was dully throbbing. The rain had washed what remained of the grass stains from her arms and legs, yet she could still feel a slight sting from her fall. It had been a horrible day, and she wished that she could just curl up and make it all disappear. She wished that someone would take her away from it all.

"Chihiro?" a quiet, familiar voice said from the distant doorway, and the girl looked up at the figure that was silhouetted by the fading light. A familiar tingle rushed over her skin, and Chihiro let out a sobbing gasp before she stumbled towards the doorway, throwing her arms around the young man that had appeared.

"Haku!" she sobbed, burying her wet face in his familiar white shirt. He stroked her hair in comfort, and it was only then that Chihiro noticed that Haku looked older. When she asked how that could be – because surely spirits didn't age – Haku smiled at her.

"But you've grown as well," he pointed out, and Chihiro blinked up at him. Had he changed his human appearance just for her? Everything else seemed the same – same green coloured eyes and black hair, same clothes and the same gentle smile.

"Kohaku River," she murmured, and the river spirit flashed her that gentle smile that she loved so much.

"The spirit of the nearby river told me that you were heading this way, and that you looked quite upset," he said, and Chihiro blinked at him for a moment.

"But why haven't you come to see me sooner?" she asked, as indeed she had waited to see him again, just like he had promised they would. But he had never come, and Chihiro had begun to give up hope of ever seeing her dear friend again.

"It's not as easy for spirits to travel through the human world, and for whatever reasons, you've been avoiding places that connect to the spirit world," Haku replied, and Chihiro gasped. Indeed, during the past six years she had done her best to stay away from known spirit haunts, especially during sunset, but she had never thought that doing so would make I harder for Haku to find her again.

"I didn't think," she started, and shook her head. "I didn't want to get dragged away and into trouble again," she finished, and Haku smiled at her.

"And I'm glad that you didn't. I'd hate for you to wind up in trouble again," he said, gently touching her cheek with his soft fingers. However, he frowned when he felt the wetness on her face. "Why are you crying?"

"I've missed you so much, and everyone here thinks I'm weird. The other girls are nasty to me, and the boys don't like me. The only one who did just dumped me, probably because stupid Arisa told him that I believe in spirits, and that I see things that aren't there. It's not fair!" she finished, hiccupping slightly as more tears ran down her face.

"No, it's not fair," Haku agreed in a serious tone of voice, before it softened somewhat. "But Chihiro, you're not weird. You're beautiful, and if the other kids can't see that, then they're not worthy of being your friend," he added, before he smiled. "Besides, I wouldn't have come out here just for anyone."

Chihiro gasped. "You came out here just for me?" she asked, and Haku nodded. "But I've been out here before, and you never came then."

"But you didn't need me then," Haku replied. "Not like you do now."

"I do need you, Haku. I've missed you so much, and I didn't think I was ever going to see you again," she said, before looking up at him with earnest brown eyes. "Please Haku, let me stay!"

Haku looked shocked for a moment, and took an involuntary step backwards. "Chihiro, I don't think-"

"Not forever," she quickly interrupted. "Just for tonight. Take me across the river and let me forget about everything for a while. You can bring me back in the morning, okay? Please?"

Haku regarded the girl for a moment, not sure what he should do. He had missed Chihiro in the six years that they had been apart for, and he wanted nothing more than to fly over the spirit world with her by his side once again. Yet should he? Chihiro was human, after all, and humans didn't belong in the spirit world. But then again, what harm could one night do? She would never be out of his sight, and he could bring her back when the sun came up in the morning. No harm, no foul.

"Alright, but just for one night," he finally said, and Chihiro's tear-stained face lit up. With a squeal of delight, she threw her arms around Haku, hugging him tight. The river spirit hugged her back, noticing for the first time that she still wore the hair tie that Zeniba had given to her, and even though it had been in the human world for so long, Haku could still feel its protective powers. Even after all this time, the friends that she had made had been protecting her from any major harm, but now it was up to Haku to help her through this current emotional pain.

"Thank you so much!" Chihiro said when they broke the hug, and Haku smiled as he led her by the hand out of the building and towards the river. The sun was sinking fast, and there was already a slight trickle of water running over the dry rocks.

"We have to hurry," Haku said, gripping Chihiro's hand tightly as he started running, dragging the girl with him. Bounding over the river before a wave of water rushed over the rocks, Chihiro gasped as she was suddenly flung into the air, before she settled on the back of a sleek dragon. Grinning with delight, Chihiro took in every detail of the white and green, serpentine dragon, trying to capture in her memory everything about him.

Somewhere down below them was Yubaba's bathhouse, yet they didn't stop there. Chihiro didn't mind as they flew over the gathered spirits that were streaming into the exclusive bathhouse. All she cared about was that she was with Haku once again, and a part of her felt like it had finally come home.

The End

Author's Note – So, my best friend and I recently watched Spirited Away for the millionth time, and she had the idea of Chihiro and Haku meeting up again when they were older. I was ordered to write it, so here it is. Mara, I'd better be getting some nice, grown-up Haku fanart for this! (I have a theory that he'll look like Howl when he grows up) Anyway, I hope you all enjoyed this little drabble. Please leave a review and let me know what you thought of it!