Chapter Text
Clear skies, clouds, trees, water, cherry blossom petals. All of these things could be seen from the young girl's vision. She had no idea what she was doing there or how on Earth she arrived there, all she knew was that she was there. Walking aimlessly in the silence as she could feel the soft breeze on the air, and the water below her feet. The girl had untied long brown hair that flowed with the wind behind her, pajamas and currently barefoot as she left the water below her. Everything was completely silent with no voice to be heard.
However, suddenly, there was a small voice and laughter. This surprised the girl and got her attention as she finally lifted her head and took a look around. “Hello? Is anyone there?” She asked in confusion as she continued to look around and tried to find out where the voice was coming from.
The voice then began calling out her name as it said, “Chihiro.” Picking up the pace, the girl began pacing and running around to find out where the voice was coming from. She then asked out loud trying to find it, “Where are you?”
As she continued searching, the girl eventually stopped and stood still as she saw something in front of her. It was a large dragon covered in white fur, purple scales underneath, and a blue mane. He didn’t seem dangerous or if he was gonna hurt her, though there was something else Chihiro could tell about this dragon. Upon moving a step forward and getting a second look at it, the figure was a boy He seemed to be around her age and slightly taller than her. He also had long brown hair, green eyes, and wearing white and blue clothes. The boy gestured his hand out to her as he called her name again in a soft and friendly tone, “Chihiro.”
Not knowing why, she felt like she could trust him as she slowly began walking towards him and reached her hand out for him as well. But, the closer she got to him, something felt wrong. The wind in the area suddenly grew much stronger and it left a tremor and whisper in the air, the bright blue sky suddenly grew darker. As she slowly turned around, she saw a large shadowed silhouette of a monster. As she then tried to run and get to the boy, it suddenly pulled her back into his darkness. The boy running forward trying to reach her.
However, he was too late and she was engulfed into the darkness. Chihiro was then alone in a dark room was nothing around in sight. Alone, she began to become uneasy and scared. She could then hear a loud chuckle all around her as she tried to get away, but there was nothing she could do. Looking up, the girl could finally see the monster’s horrible and terrifying form. It then lashed at her as Chihiro turned and tried to run away. However, she had made no progress as it began slashing at her and tossing her around. Trying to get away, Chihiro was terrified and shaking, screaming for anyone to help her. But then, the monster went for the killing blow. Chihiro helplessly screaming at the top of her lungs.
Opening her eyes and sitting straight up in bed quickly, Chihiro realized it was only a dream. But even with that being the case, she gasped for breath and could feel her heart racing. It was just a dream, why did it still terrify her and make her scared. But more importantly than that, Chihiro wondered who was the boy she saw. He didn’t seem like anyone she had known but she felt like they had met and known each other. Finally relaxing, Chihiro took a minute to think.
However, she then quickly realized that her mom was calling her as she yelled from over in the kitchen, “Chihiro, get out of bed now and come get your breakfast! You’re gonna be late for school!”
Looking over at her alarm clock, Chihiro’s eyes widened as she gasped in shock at what the time was and how she had overslept. She then dashed out of bed to quickly get dressed, then yelling to her mother, “Coming!”
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Stumbling to get her bag and everything ready, Chihiro then headed towards the kitchen as she announced to her parents, “Good morning.” She was wearing her black and white school uniform, black and white shirt, black skirt, red scarf, and grey socks. She had tied her hair back with a bow. Her father was currently at the table reading a newspaper while eating, and Chihiro’s mother finishing up in the kitchen. Placing Chihiro’s food on the table, she said, “There you are. What was keeping you?”
Sitting down in her chair, Chihiro tried to explain to her mom, “Sorry, I was still asleep and I didn’t hear my alarm gone off.”
Her mom didn’t believe it was as simple as that but let it slide for now. Putting the paper down for a second, Chihiro’s dad asked in concern, “I suppose. Speaking of which, are you okay?” While eating, Chihiro looked at her dad and hummed, not knowing exactly what he was referring to. Her dad then explaining, “I swear I heard you scream just a second ago.”
Chihiro had failed to realize this as she then informed her dad, “Oh, I’m sorry. I just had a bad dream.” Though thinking back on it, Chihiro didn’t quite know how to describe to her parents what it was about. And more importantly, she didn’t have the time to as she quickly finished eating as she then stood up and grabbed her briefcase. She then quickly put on her shoes and headed for the door, “Gotta go, bye mom, bye dad!”
Seeing that she forgot something, Chihiro’s mom ran after her, yelling, “Chihiro, wait!”
She then stopped and turned around as her mom caught up by the sidewalk close to their home as she handed a small box to Chihiro and told her, “You almost forgot your lunch.”
Chihiro nodded in recognition as she told her mom, “Thanks.”
Her mother then gave a soft kiss on her forehead before telling Chihiro, “Okay, now get going.”
Chihiro once again nodded as she ran off to get to school before the bell rings. And as she ran, she turned around and waved back to her mother. Seeing Chihiro was off, Ichiyuko went on back into the house and closed the door behind her. As she re-entered the home, she let out a small sigh as she happily told her husband, “You think you get all the time in the world but there she goes growing up so fast.”
Letting out a small smile in return, “Yeah. Just a reminder of how time flies and how we’re getting old.”
Looking at her watch, Ichiyuko informed her husband, “Speaking of time, I need to get to work. Take care of the dishes before you leave will you?”
Acknowledging, Akio picked up both his and Chihiro’s plates as he finished eating and stood up. He then told her, “Yeah, sure thing.”
Three years ago, Chihiro was terrified of this place. Going to a new city, getting a new home, going to a new school, leaving all of her old friends behind. She hated it and wished she could just go back. Though for a reason she couldn’t quite recall, she opened up to it and liked their new home. And now in the present day, Chihiro was a grown thirteen year old in junior high school and living a relatively happy life.
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The sun was shining bright with the occasional cloud, warming the city. Chihiro was admiring the weather outside seeing the school grounds and birds flying by. She was currently sitting at her desk of her homeroom classroom, looking through the window just in silence with her thoughts. She was trying to figure out the dream she had the other night. Who was the boy she saw in her dream, she did it feel as if she knew him if she had never seen him before. And then there was the whole shadow demon monster that attacked her. What did it all mean?
As Chihiro was lost in her thoughts, she couldn’t hear what her classmate and friend, Mizuha, was telling her as she was forced to poke her and call out, “Hello, Earth to Chihiro!”
Finally snapping out of it, Chihiro was slightly confused as she sat up straight and turned her face to her. She then asked, “Huh, what did you say?”
Letting out a small sigh, Mizuha replied as she said, “Jeez, sometimes you really are an oblivious dunce sometimes. You’ve been dozing in and out all day, are you daydreaming again?”
Trying to defend herself, Chihiro shook her head as she replied saying, “No, what are you talking about? Since when do I daydream?”
Another student, a boy by the name of Toshiro, whose desk was in front of Chihiro’s leaned back to see them as he replied, “Yeah right, sure you don’t. Ever since the semester, you’ve been dozing in and out and saying you have weird dreams but then you forget what they are about before you get to tell us.”
Thinking about it, Chihiro turned to Toshiro and responded saying, “That doesn’t sound like me at all.”
“Yeah, well that totally has been you.” Toshiro said to Chihiro with a snarky smile on his face. He then went on to elaborate and ask, “We ask you all the time what the heck is going on, but alas no response. Today it seemed like it was about some boy as you were mumbling. Do you have like a secret boyfriend or something?”
Both Chihiro and Mizuha were caught by surprise at that last question as Chihiro said in response, “What?! NO! ABSOLUTELY NOT!”
Mizuha then not wasting a second to smack Toshiro at the back of his head as he then rubbed the back of his head as he groaned and wondered, “Ow, what was that for?”
She then immediately yelled at him in response in a loud and angered tone while holding Chihiro around her shoulders, “What the heck is the matter with you!? Chihiro is a precious cinnamon roll of a girl that is too sweet and innocent for any guy, especially one like you! Plus I’m her best friend, if she did have a boyfriend, I’d be the first one to know!”
While Chihiro did appreciate Mizuha stepping in to defend her, her grip on the hug was a little too tight as she tried to breathe. Toshiro and Mizuha then continued bickering in argument, however, they were eventually interrupted by the sound of the bell for classes to begin. The homeroom teacher then coming into the classroom and instructing to everyone, “Alright class, that’s enough social talk for the moment. Everyone please take your seat so we may begin.”
As instructed, the students who were standing and/or were around the class with their friends proceeded back to their assigned seats. The teacher then went on to take the attendance for the day, making sure that all of the students were in class for that morning and once that was done, he then went on with the lecture.
Chihiro sat quietly at her desk, taking notes down in her notebook as the teacher spoke aloud, however, she slightly let her mind once again, unable to not let go thinking about the dream she had earlier. She didn’t quite understand why she was so hung up on it, it was a dream after all. People have crazy dreams all the time so why was she so focused on this one. But this one felt different, especially when it came to the boy she saw. He seemed so familiar, but Chihiro kept feeling that she had never seen him before. But even if she did, she couldn’t tell exactly as to where. She then considered telling her friends and parents after school, but for now, it would of course have to wait.
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After classes had finished up, the teacher had left the room and the students were once again free to talk amongst themselves. What was earlier a clear sunny day, now outside of the classroom windows, the clouds were setting in and grew dark. To the students, it looked like it was going to storm. Thunder could also be heard from outside and the wind was starting to pick up. As the students were talking, Chihiro went over to Mizuha and Toshiro and told them, “Weird weather today huh, I swear it was nice out earlier.”
Looking over to the window from his chair, Toshiro agreed and responded, “Yeah, it’s pretty crazy. And come to think about it, there wasn’t much of a warning of forecast about rain earlier today on the news.”
“Why are you two so worried about it? We’re near a massive water-front river. Rain and storms shouldn’t be that big of a deal.” Mizuha said not thinking much of it. She then turned over to Chihiro and asked her, “By the way, Chihiro, what’s been up with you today? You keep dozing in and out.”
Collecting her thoughts, Chihiro sat down and told them, “Oh yeah, that. Well, last night I had a dream about this boy…”
Toshiro and Mizuha were slightly curious as they gave each other a small look before turning back to her. Wanting to hear more as Mizuha said, “A boy, huh. Don’t stop there, elaborate.”
Chihiro then nodded in acknowledgement as she then went on to explain, “Well, he had long greenish hair, green eyes, and wore white and blue clothes. He seemed to know me, even calling me by my name, and when I got a good look at face, it’s weird. On one hand I could have sworn I knew him, but on the other, I can’t remember him or where we met. I tried to get closer, but, that’s when things took a twist.”
Toshiro then wondered, “What kind of twist?”
Chihiro then finished her story as she explained, “All of a sudden, it felt like something was chasing after me and the boy tried to help me but it was too late. Suddenly it was cold and dark. I was completely alone and I was scared. However, I wasn’t really alone as the thing that was chasing me was also there. I couldn’t get a good look at the monster as I was too scared and before I could flinch, it was going to attack me. But, that’s when I woke up.”
Both were surprised by her story as Toshiro commented, “Yeesh, that’s one heck of a dream.” He then wondered, “You didn’t have anything weird to eat last night, did you?”
Confused, Chihiro looked at him and replied, “What? No!”
“Then what do you think caused the dream?” Toshiro asked.
“How should I know?” Chihiro asked in return.
Mizuha couldn’t help but think and wonder looking up as she said, “Hmm, well with the boy part maybe it’s someone you knew from your old school before moving here. Or some imaginary prince charming.”
Chihiro then turned to her and responded, “Maybe, but I have my doubts about that as he appeared to be the same age I am now. And why would I dream up some random prince? I’m 13, not 5.”
Shrugging her shoulders, Mizuha then said, “Well, it was good enough of a shot, just throwing ideas out there.” She then turned to Chihiro and told her with a comforting smile, “But, whatever. I mean, it’s just a dream right? You shouldn’t let it bother you too much but I’m glad you shared it with us.”
Letting out a small grin as well, Chihiro felt more reassured and replied, “You’re welcome and yeah, I guess you’re right.”
As the storm outside looked like it was only going to get worse, Mizuha sat out of her seat and grabbed her bag as she informed the two, “Alright, I’m gonna head home before I can get soaked or anything.” She then looked over to Chihiro and asked her, “Hey Chihiro, want to walk home with me?”
She nodded in agreeance as she answered, “Yeah, sure.” Chihiro then went to grab her bag and went over to Mizuha’s side. Before the two could leave, Chihiro asked her other friend, “Toshiro, do you want to join us?”
Looking over at the two girls, he unfortunately told the two girls, “Thanks but I can’t, my boss wants me to do another night shift. Maybe some other time.”
The two girls acknowledged his response as Chihiro then told him, “Alright then, see ya later.”
Mizuha waved goodbye to him as she then turned to Chihiro and asked, “Ready to go?” And with Chihiro nodding ‘yes’, she replied, “Alright, come on.” The two girls then headed out, walking through the school hallways and making their way towards the main door to leave.
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As the two girls left the school, the wind had gotten harder, and it began to storm with heavy rain falling from the sky and the sounds of thunder were even louder than they were. The girls moved slowly and carefully, holding onto each other’s hand, as they kept going throughout the town to get home. While they were trying to stay out of the storm, Mizuha apologized and told Chihiro, “I’m sorry about this Chihiro. If I knew it was gonna be this bad, I would have just gone home alone and let your dad come get you after he’s done from work.”
However, Chihiro merely shook her head and responded with a smile, “No, it’s perfectly fine. I’d hate for you to have to head home to go by yourself in this weather.” Mizuha nodded in recognition before the two continued on walking.
As the wind picked up for a second, the two girls held onto each other tighter and screamed, feeling the full force of it for a second. However, it was only for a second as upon realizing that, the girls chuckled and laughed at how silly they were being. Chihiro then saying, “Come on, let’s keep going.”
The two got closer to the downtown area and just as they were about to pass it. The wind suddenly became the strongest it had been all afternoon, windows being forced open and shut, small weak structures slowly be pulled up, and it being difficult to walk through it. The two girls tried to walk on through but it was difficult. And with each second, the girls had no choice but to find somewhere to go and wait for it to pass. Quickly running and finding some shade inside of a restaurant. “Phew, that was a close one.” Mizuha replied upon getting inside and lowering her umbrella.
While running inside, the two girls had gotten slightly wet and soaked. Looking over at Chihiro, she told her friend, “Once again, Sorry about all this.”
“No, it’s fine. It’s nothing really.” Chihiro replied.
The two weren’t sure how long it would be until the storm passes as Mizuha headed towards the counter and asked, “Well while we’re here, I’m kinda hungry.”
“Sure, but something small and juicy.” Chihiro requested. Mizuha nodded and went ahead to place their order.
Meanwhile, Chihiro went ahead and walked over to one of the open tables and sat down, although as she was waiting, she looked over to the clear window and glass door. The wind was strong enough the whooshing sounds could be heard and slightly banged against them. And with what seemed like a whisper, Chihiro could have sworn that there was something calling out to her. But she wasn’t sure of what it was. And so, stood up and began heading towards the door, it didn’t seem like anything was there at first, so Chihiro took another few steps closer to the door. Still, she remained oblivious as to who it was that was calling her. Finally gaining a look at the door, in the distance outside, she could swear that she could see two silhouettes of beings. Two seemed to be clashing against each other in a fight. And as the two managed to gain some difference between the two of them. And before Chihiro could realize, one of the figures had rushed towards the door before slamming into it. The silhouette of the form resembling the monster she had seen in her dream.
Frightened, Chihiro screamed and stumbled back onto the floor. Others within the store had heard her scream and walked over trying to see if she was alright. Chihiro still in shock and breathing heavily wondering what she had seen. Little did Chihiro know, Mizuha had overheard her scream, and rushed over to see what was wrong as she asked, "Chihiro! Chihiro, are you okay?!"
Taking another look at the door, the shadow seemed to be gone. Was it real? Did she really see something through the mirror? Maybe she just imagined it the entire time and there was just nothing there in the first place. Calming herself down, she took a deep breath before turning back to Mizuha and told her, "Yeah, I'm fine."
While still confused as to what caused her to freak out, Mizuha then nodded in agreeance and told her with a small smile, "Alright." She then offered Chihiro her hand as she told her, "Here."
Accepting it, Chihiro took her hand and stood back up, and without even realizing it, many of the people in the store were staring at them as she had caused a bit of a scene. Nervously, she quickly bent down and said out loud, "I'm sorry!"
The people didn't seem to acknowledge or think much of it as they then went back to their own personal business. Not quite letting go what had just happened, Mizuha couldn't help but ask, "What the heck was all that about?!"
Turning back to her, Chihiro tried to come up with some kind of explanation as she stuttered to say, "I … umm… I thought I saw something. I guess I was just imagining it."
Mizuha didn't quite seem to believe her as she merely responded, Uh huh. Well, guess it doesn't matter now. Let's just sit down and eat. I'm starving."
Chihiro acknowledged her claim and agreed as the two girls walked back over to the table and sat down. It could have been just her imagination, but she was sure she saw something on the other side of the windowed door and vaguely from what she could breathely see, its shape and form resembled what she had seen in her dream chasing her.
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The two schoolgirls had their quick bite to eat as they shared a short conversation. Upon Chihiro's request, they wouldn't go much further into Chihiro was scared earlier and thusly, they moved onto topics involving school and what they had wanted to do for their upcoming break. The town that they lived in was small and far from a major city, however, it was also much quieter. While her mind seemed more eased, Chihiro still couldn't stop feeling easy nor did she know what was causing it. She was happy with school, her parents and friends. There was something else troubling her.
She had originally moved into that town when she was around 10 years old, almost 11. Though before she knew it, multiple days had gone by before that could have even arrive at their new home. How could that have been possible? Chihiro and her parents assumed it would have only taken a few hours to get there from their old house. But, the most pressing thing is that even all these years later, she had no memory of what happened in those days. It was a complete blank.
Before it could become too late and the sun could set, the storm did subside. It was still raining and there was a moderate wind that blew through the town, but it was less aggressive than the one before.
Chihiro and Mizuha left the store with their school briefcases in one hand, and an umbrella in the other hand. As they got out into the cold and wet, Mizuha commented while frustrated, "Ugh! This weather blows!" Looking over at Chihiro, she told her, "We better get back home before one of us gets sick."
Chihiro nodded and told her friend, "Yeah, I couldn't agree more."
The two girls then continued on walking back home. And as they were getting closer with each step, Chihiro could feel the wind around her. While it gave a cold breeze, Chihiro swore she could also hear it whispering. None of it could be heard clearly, but she did manage to hear a male soft voice call, 'Chihiro'. She quickly turned behind her, however, there was nothing there.
While looking around, there was no one in sight she could have figured had called her. Much less anyone else out in the storm at this time. However, it still caught Chihiro's curiosity as she asked her friend, "Mizuha, did you hear something?"
Turning back to see Chihiro, she didn't seem to see anything either as she responded in confusion, "No, nothing but you. I think that the weather's getting to you. Let's just get home and take it easy for the night."
Chihiro then remained silent as she turned her attention back to her front. Realizing at the last second that Mizuha got far ahead of her, causing her to rush and quicken her pace in order to catch up.
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Upon arriving home that evening, Chihiro had taken a hot bath and dried herself up. While having some to herself, her mind returned back to the boy of her dream. Her eyes were bright and vibrant yet were the farthest from intimidating as he saw her, his hair was long and lush as it blowed in the wind. His smile was gentle and kind, and when she got closer to him in the dream, his clothes were old fashioned and traditional. The way he reached out his hand was not to grab her but to take it into his in a gentle way. Everything about him assured Chihiro she could trust him as she reached out for his hand. However, before the two could touch, they were ripped away from each other.
Everything about the boy seemed familiar, Chihiro being sure that she could trust him. However, the second she tried to think of where they had met, there was nothing but blanks. Was he even real? Yes. Somehow, Chihiro knew in her heart he was real and more than anything, she wanted the chance to see him even for a minute. At around 7:30, Chihiro's mother announced to her family, "Dinner's ready!"
Chihiro's father was over in the living room watching TV after a long day of work and upon hearing his wife's words, he made his way over to the kitchen. Chihiro was in her room before she made her way down the stairs. She had switched to a more casual blue sweater and black pants, while wearing white socks on her feet. As her mom set the table, the other two then sat down at the table so they could eat.
The first couple of minutes were in complete silence as they all enjoyed their food. While some of their evening meals were quiet, this evening seemed to be more quiet than usual. In order to find out what was going on, Chihiro's mother glared over at her husband to speak up and say something.
The dad quicky getting the signal as he then turned to Chihiro and kindly asked his daughter, "So, how was school today?"
Merely looking down at her food, Chihiro replied in a bit of a mutter, "Huh? Oh it was fine. Just the usual old same stuff."
Her mom then continued on the questioning of her daughter as she wondered, "Okay, but what's with the mopey look honey? Is everything okay? Did something at school?"
Looking over at her mom, Chihiro replied, "No, nothing really." However, Chihiro then had a question of her own as she asked her mom and dad, "Hey, have I ever been friends with a boy that green hair and green eyes and/or wore white and blue clothes?"
To her parents, that seemed like a bit of an odd question as they each had to take a moment to think about it. Looking up, Chihiro's dad answered, "Hmm. Nothing coming to the top of my head that would fit that description."
Her mom seemed unsure either as she told Chihiro, "Maybe he was a boy at your old school but like your father said can't really recall at the top of my head and wouldn't know for sure."
Hearing that her efforts were in vain, Chiro let out a sigh of disappointment and told them, "Nevermind." Her parents remained confused as they continued eating their dinner. She didn't know how to exactly tell her parents what she saw while out in the storm earlier. Where would she even begin? She did mention briefly, how she was caught out in the rain with Mizuha and she merely tripped while they were trying to get home. But she didn't mention the image she saw through the window. To her parents knowledge, it seemed like a completely normal stormy day, though something about the way Chihiro said it made it seem like something was off.
As she finished up her food, Chihiro stood up and asked her mother calmly, "Hey mom, I'm feeling kind of tired today, do you mind if I just go straight to bed?"
Both of her parents were caught with shock and surprise to her request as it was still early. Though it wouldn't be much of an issue as her mother replied, "Yeah, sure sweetie.
That's fine. Is everything really alright?"
Chihiro nodded in response as she reassured her mother, "Yeah, I'm totally fine. Just tired today."
Her parents didn't completely buy her statement but they let it slide for now as Chihiro went on up to her room.
They remained silent for now, wondering what Chihiro was talking about between the boy and being that tired. Maybe it could have been from the rain storm but that didn't seem quite likely. In concern, Chihiro's mom kept looking up the stairs and asked aloud, "What is going on with that girl tonight?"
The dad did not seem to share the worry as he looked at his wife and told her with a bit of a smug grin on his face, "She's becoming a teenager. It's probably just some mood swings, I wouldn't worry about that. Plus, our daughter's a tough girl."
While that did help, Chihiro's mom did look at him and respond, "I know, but if something is wrong, I just want her to know that were right here."
Taking one last sip of his drink before finishing it, "She will, our daughter is well aware that if she needs us, we're right here."
Her words finally reached him as the mom could finally relax as she then smiled in acknowledgement and walked over to her husband and put her arms around him. He returned the hug as he put his hands on hers.
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Upstairs in her bedroom, Chihiro laid down in her bed under the covers on her side. Letting her think to herself once more. "Who are you?" She asked, referring to the boy in her dreams. Before she knew it, sleep overtook her as she closed her eyes, to rest and dream once more.