One Fine Day
Author: Chaos Valkyrie
First Conceptualized: March 2005
Posted Chapter 01: March 19, 2005
Updated: December 22, 2005
Disclaimer: If I owned this, there would've been a sequel. But there's not, and I don't, but I'm writing this anyway! Ha!
Author's Note: This movie makes me cry. Really. I love it, but it's so sad that Miyazaki-san said there wasn't going to be a sequel! However, that did leave an opening for fan fiction, hence, this story. I'm just one of those people who can't stand leaving that cute little story of friendship and true love unfinished, so here's my take on what happened next…
Chapter One: Story Time
"Onee-chan! Tell us a story!" the two little girls grabbed Chihiro's arms, making escape impossible. The twenty-year-old laughed, shaking her head as she was dragged off into their bedroom.
"Now girls," she said, once she had regained control of her arms, "You know that its already past your bedtime. What will your mother think if she finds out you've been up this late?"
Ayame, the older girl, giggled. "She'll only know if you tell her!"
Chihiro smiled in spite of herself. "True enough. So, what story do you want to hear?"
Ayame shouted, "Spirit World! Spirit World!"
Suzume agreed. "Spiwit world!" she said in her cute little voice.
Chihiro mock-sighed. "Girls, that's the one you ask for every time I baby-sit."
"Because you're the only one who tells it," Ayame pouted. Suzume pouted as well, both girls staring pointedly at Chihiro.
"All right, I'll tell the one about the Spirit World." The two girls cheered.
"Once upon a time…" Chihiro paused, waiting for the routine questions.
"What time?" Ayame chirped.
"A time long ago. Anyway, there was a young girl who was moving to a far away land with her parents. On their journey, they entered a strange little village entirely made up of restaurants. There was food everywhere, but no people. So the girl's parents started to eat…"
"Without paying for it?" Ayame gasped. Suzume shook her head.
"Right. The girl went off to explore the village, and when she returned, they had both been turned into pigs." Chihiro paused as both girls gasped before continuing. "In order to free them, the little girl was forced to take a job in the bathhouse for the spirits, which was run by a witch."
"Whad 'bout the dragon?" Suzume asked.
"Yeah, the dragon!" Ayame chimed in.
Chihiro smiled. "Yes, a dragon boy did help the little girl. He was the only one who knew her real name, and was her best friend at the bathhouse. He wanted to help her, for he had known her since she was very small."
"How small?" Ayame asked.
"As small as you are," Chihiro said, pointing at the girl, who giggled. "He was a river spirit, and he had saved her from drowning when she was little. He helped her keep her name…"
"Keep her name?" Suzume asked, pulling the blankets up to her chin.
"Yes. The witch would steal your name, and once you forgot it, you could never go home." Both girls gasped.
"I wouldn't forget my name," Ayame said confidently.
"Are you so sure?" Chihiro asked.
"Umm…"
Chihiro smiled. "Well, the little girl accidentally let a spirit called Noh-face into the bathhouse. He helped her to save a mighty river dragon, who was old and powerful, from the garbage that had consumed him."
"How'd she do that?" Suzume asked sleepily.
"She gave him a bath," Chihiro said, and both girls giggled. "The little girl had become a hero that night, but while everyone slept, Noh-face ate one of the workers! And then he woke everyone early, promising them gold if they gave him food and service."
"Was he evil?" Ayame asked, yawning.
"No, just lonely and misguided. The dragon had become very sick, and so she took Noh-face with her to find the witch's sister, in the hopes of saving him." Chihiro eyed the sleepy girls, deciding to summarize the story further. "But the dragon recovered on his own, and helped the girl to rescue her parents from the witch, and they all lived happily ever after. And now I think that its time you two go to sleep," she said unnecessarily, for both girls had drifted off to sleep. Chihiro smiled, tucking them both in before turning off the overhead light and quietly closing the door.
A key turning in the lock surprised her, and she walked to the entry hall of the apartment. The girls' mother quietly opened the door, smiling at Chihiro before bending to take off her shoes.
"Are the girls asleep?" she asked quietly.
"Yes, Yumi-san. You're back early," Chihiro smiled.
"They let me go early. Did the girls put up too much of a fight?"
"No, they had me tell the usual story and fell asleep before I even finished." She smiled, shaking her head. "They know that tale better than I do."
The mother laughed. "Yes, they sometimes ask me to tell your Spirit World story, but apparently I can never get the ending quite right..." She pulled some money out of her purse and handed it to Chihiro, who was putting her own shoes back on. "How does it go again?"
Chihiro gulped back a small sob and smiled. "The dragon followed the girl home, and they all lived happily ever after."
Yumi smiled at her daughters' closed door. "That's right. Do you have a busy day tomorrow?" she asked, turning back to Chihiro.
"No, I lucked out. I only have one class – Ecology, in the morning. The rest of the day is free, so if you need me…"
"No, the girls are going to visit their grandfather tomorrow afternoon. But I'll probably need you next week, if you're available," Yumi smiled, opening the door.
"I should be," Chihiro smiled. "I have a few papers to write for my other classes, but I can finish those by this weekend. Just call me and let me know. Ja ne," she said, leaving.
End Notes: All right, for those of you who read Kenshin, yes, I did steal the Genzai girls. But I needed cute little kids, and they're about as cute as they come! And the story Chihiro tells the girls is slightly altered on purpose, so deal with it. I'm not misquoting the movie by any means. Anywho, how was that for a first chapter? It'll be a few chapters before we see Haku, but I'm going to try to break the mold a little bit with this one. There'll be very little Spirit World, and hopefully very little angst. A reviewer on another story of mine (Duelist Café) complained about how much angst there was on ffnet and how they liked that story for its humor. With this one I'm going to try for pure romance, but you'll have to bear with me since it is not my forte – my stories are usually adventure or humour with romance on the side. Anywho, this chapter was recap and some situating – next chapter begins the plot!