Chihiro’s Return| Spirited Away fanfic|
A/N: This is the first chapter of an unpublished Spirited Away fanfiction I started writing and I need validation. Before anyone starts reading it, I’d like to note that I based it off an interview w/ the creator of Spirited Away mentioned in multiple articles where the creator said that at the end of the movie, when Chihiro leaves the tunnel along with her parents, she forgets everything that has happened in a matter of seconds. So I was like ‘Let’s write!’.
Word count: Like, 1.6K
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Anyone who knew Chihiro ever since she was a young girl could agree that the past decade has brought the girl a major glow up. The little, frightened girl they once knew turned into a confident young woman ready to face life. This all happened thanks to her parents’ decision to move away from their hometown and start anew.
Chihiro couldn't disagree- even if she hated it at first, it was a good choice. Yet… something was missing. Ever since she moved into her new house and attended her new school, the ghost of an undetectable memory didn't fail to remain with her in the back of her mind with an unbreakable loyalty. She tried to ignore it, to forget it, and to leave that eerie feeling of missing out on a dear memory, but it never failed to find its way back to her.
As she walked through her college dorm room, packing her bags, she paused for a moment to look at a framed picture standing on a shelf, a photo of her 10 year old self along with her parents. The girl in the picture grinned ear to ear as she stood between her parents, holding onto their arms.She picked up the framed photo and smiled. Summer returned and she had the chance to see her parents again. Although Chihiro didn't like to admit it, she did miss her parents terribly.
Honestly, she was more than happy to spend two months with her parents. Her parents were getting old and weren't popular for their strong immune systems, so only God knew for how long that Chihiro still had the chance to spend time with them. The door creaked lightly as it opened, without disturbing Chihiro from her meditation.
'Chihiro-chan.' A soft, female voice said, in an attempt to catch the girl's attention.
Chihiro's head shot up immediately, as she looked at the door curiously. A girl her age with short, dark hair and casual clothes looked at her from the doorway.
‘Asura. I thought you went to the bus?’
‘Did you pack your bags? Everyone is there already there,’ Asura said, ‘We're leaving in fifteen minutes, you know.'
Chihiro felt her face get pale. 'Ah… yes, of course. I was just closing my luggage.’
She put the picture in her luggage and fetched the last clothes that were lying on her bed right next to her, and threw them in her luggage. After she forced the luggage to close, Chihiro took if off the bed, grabbed it by its handle and pulled it behind her as she left the room with her roommate.
Luckily for the two girls, their bedroom was placed on the first floor of the campus building, so they weren’t at such a high risk of being late. They walked rapidly across the campus garden and only increased their steps more when seeing a female teacher waiting in front of the bus, looking at them with a disapproving, sour look.
‘At last, Ogino-san,’ the teacher said as the two girls arrived in front of her.
Chihiro bit her lip as she bowed deeply, along with Asura. No matter what her parents told her while growing up, she still hated her last name. She would not get used to its ugliness. It reminded her of a big, ugly plum, or a reed plain.
‘I’m deeply sorry for my tardiness, sensei,’ Chihiro apologised, ‘It won’t happen again.’
‘I hope not. Tardiness is definitely not a quality a young woman should have. Take your luggage and get on the bus.’
Chihiro did as she was asked to. Helped by Asura, Chihiro lifted her luggage in the air and walked on the bus. As she walked on the bus, Chihiro smiled as she spotted her closest friend. After bidding a goodbye to Asura, Chihiro walked to her friend and pushed her luggage on the tray above her.
‘I saved you a seat!’ The girl told Chihiro excitedly, as she pat the free seat next to hers.
‘Thank you, Fumiko. You saved my life.’
The two girls laughed, as the bus’ doors closed. Soon enough, the bus’ engines started and the bus began moving.
‘Going to your parents’ house for the summer?’ Fumiko asked.
‘Mhm. Gotta spend time with them, y’know? So they don’t think I’m ungrateful or that I stopped loving them.’
Fumiko nodded. ‘I know the feeling. I’ll visit my parents as well for a while, but I’ll mostly travel with Akio.’
Akio was Fumiko’s boyfriend. Chihiro met him a couple of times as she had nothing bad to say about him. His and Fumiko’s relationship was a steady one and he presented to be a good guy with a goal that kept him pushing forward. If he treated Fumiko right and both of them were happy, Chihiro had nothing to say.
‘That’s really nice, Fumiko. I wish I met someone like that, too.’
‘Oh, you’ll find someone, Chihiro,’ Fumiko said light-heartedly as she nudged Chihiro lightly, ‘I know you will. You’re an amazing person.’
Chihiro smiled. ‘Thank you. You know, when I get home, I might make a small trip myself. There’s this old, abandoned building near my house, with a tunnel for entrance. My dad says it’s probably some of those buildings that were abandoned after the revolution in the nineties. It always creeped me out as a kid, but now… I really want to see what’s behind it.’
‘Ooh, it sounds like an adventure!’
‘It’ll definitely be one.’
After that, the subject was changed and the two girls continued to chat throughout the ride. A solid five hours later, Chihiro found herself sitting on the seat next to the window, watching how her town bathed in the warm, orange tones of the sunset, as a certain feeling of nostalgia washed over her. Fumiko got off the bus about an hour before, so now Chihiro was left on her own. It wasn’t as if she didn’t have any other friends. It was simply that many people had already the bus already and even the few people left on the bus were all tired from the long ride and the chit-chat and were waiting for the time they would reach their homes. In that moment, everyone wanted to be left alone.
Ever since last summer, Chihiro’s town didn’t change much. The same buildings, the same colours and same people were hanging around the simple streets. Eventually, the bus entered a street on a hill that Chihiro knew only so well. All the houses looked simple, made out of bricks and were coloured in simple colours. The bus stopped in front of a seemingly large house painted in blue. The bus driver coughed as he looked at the list in front of him.
‘Ogino Chihiro.’
‘Yes, sir.’
Chihiro stood up and took her luggage down. She walked down the aisle between the chairs. Just before she walked out of the bus, she looked at the driver, a nearly bald man in his mid-forties. ‘Thank you for bringing me, sir. Have a good evening.’
‘You too.’
She stepped out of the bus and watched how the bus’ doors closed, before the bus turned around and drove away from the hill. Chihiro smiled as she looked down at the forest beneath the hill. The forest wasn’t big, it was a mere surrounding around the hill that represented the highest point in the village The view was lovely, with a capability to relax anyone who happens to witness it. The only thing that brought a sense of eeriness was a red building that found itself in the middle of the forest, at the end of a dirt road not too far from the hill. IT would give anyone a chill down the spine, and was the cause of many mysteries and nightmares throughout Chihiro’s early teens and teenage years. Chihiro wanted to visit the house very soon, but the plans were not immediate. She wanted to spend time with her parents first. She wanted to catch up.
As Chihiro walked closer to her door, she hardly had to knock to the door. As soon as her fist hit the white door two times, Chihiro didn’t find herself before a closed door but in the strong embrace of a well-build man.
‘Chihiro-chan!’ Her father exclaimed, happily, ‘Welcome back! How was the trip, darling?’
The man let Chihiro go and ruffled her hair as she took some deep breaths.
‘Thanks, dad,’ Chihiro said as she entered the house. She took her shoes of in the hallway at the entrance, before following her father in the living room, ‘The road was fine. It felt really long and it was boring after Fumiko got off, though.’
‘Any interesting boy to talk to?’ Her mother’s voice rang happily from the kitchen.
Chihiro laughed, lightly. ‘No interesting boy, mom. None that I know of.’
‘Good,’ her father approved with a strong nod, ‘You deserve better. I’m sure there might be some negociable options in the IT department, but with these new generations, it’s different, y’know? It’s not what it was in my time.’
‘Every generation is different, y’know?’ Chihiro pointed out.
‘Not all generations are good.’
‘Are you saying I’m stupid?’
‘Oh, not you! Certainly not you! You’re an intellectual gem among your peers. All I’m saying is that in some generations, a vast majority of people are a bad influence. Certain expectations and trends are set, which are absolutely not healthy at all.’
Chihiro puffed, lightly. Her father did make a point there. She’s had her fair share of bullies growing up, but the amount of bad people dropped considerably once Chihiro entered college. Most people attending college, she realised, wanted to be there. They were all there for a reason and various goals in life and saw a path in life. College offered Chihiro a much home-like feeling outside the place she grew up in and people she genuinely liked.
Chihiro’s mother came out of the kitchen and hugged her daughter tightly.
‘It’s good to have you back home, dear,’ her mother said with a smile, before tuning to her husband, ‘Akio, won’t you help Chihiro get her bags in her room before dinner?’
‘Ah, yes, of course,’ Chihiro’s father exclaimed, as he took her luggage in his hands immediately.
Chihiro followed her father up the stairs and into her bedroom. As her father looked for a place where he could place her luggage, Chihiro’s eyes ran over her bedroom. The room was clean, all the things she left at home being neatly arranged. The amount of time that had passed since Chihiro’s last been in her bedroom made the room feel rather empty. It was welcoming and familiar, but empty. It wasn’t as if you had a long day and finally could go home, in your safe space. It was as if going back to a nostalgic memory that you once were so at home with, but was now something that you outgrew. Like a sweatshirt you once got and loved but eventually grew small and had to eventually be put in a cardboard box in the attic or thrown away to save space.
‘It’s really nice to have you back, Chihiro,’ her father said as he patted her back, ‘this house is really boring without you.’
Chihiro laughed. ‘Don’t let mom hear you.’
‘Oh, I’d be a dead man then.’ Her father laughed as he made his way towards her door, ‘Your mom’s setting the table now. Be sure to come before the food gets cold.’
‘Sure will.’
Chihiro watched how her father left her room, closing the door behind him. Being left to her own devices again, Chihiro found herself laying on her bed and staring at the plastic stars she once glued to her ceiling as a twelve year old. Memories from her younger self filled her mind, bringing her back to all the experiences she found herself in. At the reminder of her past horror, Chihiro stood up and walked to her bedroom window, locking gazes with the abandoned building from the forest. The building pushed so many nightmares and fears upon her for so many years, but it wouldn’t have to wait much longer before Chihiro took the final step to overcome her fears.
For a moment, Chihiro scoffed at the building. Why was it so scary, anyway? It wasn’t some sort of magical portal. It was just a silly, old building that was out of use.
