Disclaimer: Spirited Away is owned by the genius Hayao Miyazaki and by Ghibli Studios. I am merely a fan of said movie and I do not gain any profit or whatsoever from making this story.

Chapter 1: In Dreams

She gasped softly as she felt the soft caresses of the wind on her face, tickling her cheeks and gently blowing her brown hair tied in a tight ponytail. Below her she could see the train tracks still covered in water due to the rain and she vaguely heard a voice claiming that she would buy herself a train ticket one day and leave the bathhouse for good.

With a jolt, she realized that she was flying and acting out on instinct, she instantly grasped whatever her hands could so she would not fall from this thing she was riding on. Her hands grabbed what she could only describe as hard wood and she clung unto it as if her life depended on it.

Then she remembered something about her childhood and suddenly there was a flash of bright light. Ivory petals that reflected the light softly surrounded her and then, she felt gravity pulling her down. Ironically enough, she felt no fear as her body hurtled downwards, but rather confusion rose as the pieces of wood in her hands turned into something small, soft, and warm. The wood had magically transformed to hands and she gave an experimental squeeze. She felt an inexplicable but familiar comfort as the hands squeezed hers back.

And when she focused her eyes, she came face to face with the most beautiful emerald orbs she had ever seen...

-BAM-

Ogino Chihiro let out a girlish shriek as a loud thud woke her up from her nap. Glancing left and right in haste, like a prey caught in a hunter's nest, made her realize that class was over and she was alone. Well, not completely alone. Chihiro had yet to find out who had rudely woke her up from her deep slumber although she already had an idea who the culprit was. She shot a glare at Sato Hiromi whose grin only widened at the sight of Chihiro's annoyance.

"I thought I'd wake you up with a bang," Hiromi explained, the grin never leaving her face.

"Gee thanks," Chihiro muttered darkly as she gave Hiromi a scowl. The brunette in return only gave a mild shrug and Chihiro was very much tempted to start a mock brawl and pinch Hiromi's cheeks. Luckily enough, Yoshioka Haru decided to step in and serve as the mediator between the two girls.

"You were sleeping in class again Chi-chan," Haru started with a smile. "Good thing Kusakabe-sensei didn't notice or else you would have been in big trouble."

"Yeah," Hiromi piped in, "Kusakabe-sensei's a real nice guy and all but his punishments aren't laughable you know." For emphasis, Hiromi cringed slightly as she closed her eyes and wrapped her arms around her.

Chihiro only rolled her eyes at Hiromi's antics and replied, "Yes well, good thing I wasn't caught right?" She stuck her tongue out to Hiromi who returned the same gesture.

"But Hiromi-chan and I are getting worried about you, Chi-chan," Haru said softly. "You have this tendency to space out on us sometimes and..." she tilted her head and assessed Chihiro critically, "Have you been crying?"

'Huh?' Chihiro thought and her hand instinctively touched her wet cheeks. Wait, wet? So she had been crying? But why? Did she have a nightmare? That seemed like a plausible explanation but when Chihiro tried to remember what her nightmare was, nothing came to mind.

"It's probably nothing," Chihiro casually said as she began packing her things inside her bag. It was time for dismissal and Chihiro wanted nothing more than to go home and lie on her bed.

"Are you sure?" Haru started worriedly, "Because if you need help, I know someone who can..."

"It's nothing, I promise," Chihiro instantly replied giving Haru a reassuring grin. In her haste to put everything inside her bag, Chihiro accidentally dropped her sketchpad. Before she could pick it up, Hiromi did her a favour of retrieving the item. But instead of giving it back to its owner, Hiromi flipped the pad's pages and looked at Chihiro's sketches.

"Nice drawings by the way," Hiromi complimented and let out a soft whistle to indicate her awe. "Hey, this one's new!" She said and then handed the sketchpad to Haru who asked if she could see it too.

"It's the dragon again," Haru said as soon as she saw Chihiro's new drawing. "You seem to like drawing him all the time."

"Indeed," Hiromi added as she too, stared at the sketch, "You don't have a crush on him, do you?"

Chihiro snorted out a laugh as she stood up from her seat. "That's just weird Hiromi-chan, even for you," Chihiro replied as she grabbed her sketchpad. Hiromi only held up her hands in mock surrender as Haru snickered lightly at their antics.

"Ah, just trying to make sure," Hiromi explained and shrugged slightly. "I mean after all, Haru-chan over here has a weird fascination for cats after all." Then she pouted and crossed her arms in front of her chest. "So Haru-chan with cats and Chi-chan with dragons. I feel so left out and I'm thinking I should obsess over something too."

Her two friends only groaned in reply and Haru coughed out what suspiciously sounded like, "As if you don't obsess over your boyfriend already."

"Anyway," Hiromi started as soon as the girls finally made their way out of the classroom. "We don't really have any classes for the weekend, so what are your plans?"

"I promised my mother I'd help her with the chores," Haru replied.

"And my parents were planning on visiting my grandparents for the weekend," Chihiro added and inwardly grinned at the crestfallen look on Hiromi's face.

"Ah, no fair!" Hiromi whined loudly as she dramatically placed a hand on her chest, "And I was hoping we could watch the table tennis tournament tomorrow!"

"Hm? So we can watch you cheer for your boyfriend and make a fool out of yourself?" Chihiro asked frowning a bit as she remembered that time she and Haru watched a table tennis match with Hiromi.

"No silly!" Hiromi laughed girlishly, "So we can cheer for my boyfriend together!"

Instantly Chihiro and Haru looked at each other and then at Hiromi's hopeful face. "Pass." They both said monotonously.

V(-*o*-)V

Later that night as Chihiro got ready for bed; she took her sketchpad from her bag and opened it on the page where her latest sketch of the dragon was drawn. She lightly traced her fingers on the drawing, as if caressing a dear friend's face. Tears began to flow and she hastily wiped them with her sleeves, afraid that the water leaking from her eyes would land on the drawing and stain it. Instantly she closed the sketchpad with a snap and buried her face on her pillow. She did not know why she suddenly felt a pang in her chest nor could she explain the uncontrollable flow of her tears.

Author's notes:

Word count: 1194

Hello there! So I've watched Spirited Away for the nth time and I Love –with a capital L- the movie very much! Then I thought, maybe I should make a sequel of some sort eh? Because I'm sure I'm not the only one who felt that the ending needed more. Actually, we fans need more.

So please tell me what you think! I'd appreciate it very much if you leave a review or a constructive criticism. Cookies will be given of course. And extra batch of cookies for those who can point out my various Ghibli references.

Anyways, peace out and don't forget to leave a review. Thanks!