A/N: I've been trying to find a story like this, and I couldn't. So I decided to write my own. Basically, it's the movie with Chihiro's OC sister, but I decided to work on her. She's not a Mary-Sue. Yeah, she's snarky and mean, but she has more than that to her. Please, please, please read! And ignore the non-Japanese name I give her...I liked it better than the name I originally intended.
Plot: When ten-year-old Chihiro and her eleven-year-old sister Arya stumble into a world full of spirits, they have to learn to survive, and how to work hard. Possible Chihiro/Haku or Haku/OC.
Disclaimer: Most of this is owned by Studio Ghibli and the amazing Miyazaki! I only own Arya.
Two girls were sitting in the back of the car, squashed in by the boxes. The younger girl was half lying on the seat, knees drawn up, holding a bunch of pink flowers. Her brown ponytail was messed up, and her dark eyes were only half-open. The older girl was sitting properly, listening to a song on her iPod, eyes closed. Her hair, darker than the other girl's, was in a messy bun, obviously messy from the minute she 'd made it up.
"Girls, we're almost there." Their dad's voice was loud enough to get through her earphones.
"This really is in the middle of nowhere." their mom exclaimed. "I'm going to have to go to the next town to shop."
"Yet another reason not to move." the older girl muttered.
"Arya, this is your last warning." her mother warned. Neither of her parents had any patience with the eleven-year-old's snarky remarks, and this was the seventh one she'd made since they began driving.
They passed a school. "Look, girls, there's your new school." their dad said. "Looks great, doesn't it?"
The younger girl finally sat up, took one look at the school and stuck her tongue out. "It's gonna suck." she muttered, slumping back down. "I liked my old school."
"We all liked our old stuff, Chihiro." Arya said. "This school is probably older than your last school – so you should like it." She didn't want to go to a new school, either, but she didn't say so.
Chihiro was only a year younger than Arya, but you'd never know it from the superior way the older girl spoke. You'd think she was a lot older. The two girls argued nearly every day. Chihiro, according to Arya, was lazy, spoilt and babyish, and Arya, from Chihiro's point of view, was rude, superficial and just plain weird. But neither girl had wanted to move from Kyoto. They both liked their old house, their old school, and their old friends. Chihiro was shy and quiet, never finding it easy to make friends. Arya was usually labelled badly because of her sarcasm, but she had friends at school and didn't want to have to give up her wit just to be well-liked.
Suddenly, Chihiro sat up, staring at the pink flowers. "Mom, my flowers are dying!" she whined.
"I told you not to smother them like that." her mother reminded her. "We'll put them in water when we get to our new home."
Chihiro sat back. "I finally get a bouquet and it's a goodbye present. That's depressing."
"Why do you want a bouquet, anyway?" Arya asked, finally switching off her iPod. "It'll die, anyway. I know I feel like dying around you." She often enjoyed winding her sister up.
"Arya!" her mother said sharply. "I've warned you, young lady."
Arya scowled, but she didn't say anything else.
After a few more minutes, the car stopped on an earthy road. The girls' father frowned. "Wait, did I take the wrong turn? This can't be right."
"Look, there's our house!" the girls' mom, said, looking up at a line of houses. "It's that blue one on the end."
"Oh, you're right. I must've missed the turn off. This road should get us there."
"Honey, don't take a shortcut. You always get us lost."
Chihiro was looking at the little stones to the side of the road. According to her mom, they were shrines for the spirits to live in.
Their father ignored the warning and drove.
"Dad, I think we're lost." Chihiro said, leaning over.
"We're fine, I've got four wheel drive." her dad said, as they passed a bump.
"Sit down, please, sweetie." her mom added.
Arya continued glowering in silence as all of this happened. Finally, the girls' dad screeched to a halt in front of a creepy statue.
The girls' dad got out to take a closer look at the arched tunnel behind the statue. It was a huge red structure with the tunnel as an opening
"Honey, get back in the car! We're going to be late!" his wife called, as the girls followed. 'Chihiro, Arya!" Finally, she followed.
A little breeze passed by the entrance of the
"The wind's pulling us in." murmured Chihiro.
"Let's go in, I want to see what's on the other side." her dad said.
"Yeah, good idea, let's take a look!" Arya smiled.
Her dad patted her shoulder. "That's my girl, up for a little adventure."
On the other hand, Chihiro scowled. "I'm not going! It gives me the creeps."
The girls' dad managed to convince their mom to look quickly, too, but not Chihiro. As they left, Chihiro stood by the car. "Come on, you guys! Let's get out of here!"
"Fine, wait by the creepy statue, it'll keep you company!" Arya called as the rest of the family walked in. Immediately, Chihiro took one look at the statue's weird smile and cringed. Then she followed. "Wait for me!"
The tunnel ended in an earth-coloured room, full of benches, old-fashioned lights and stained glass windows that shone rainbows through the room. The exit outside was on the other side.
Arya was the first to venture forward. The lights and windows were just the kind of thing that appealed to her. She loved pretty things, and she loved the feeling she got as she twirled around in the colour, savouring the moment. Chihiro scowled at her. She saw it as showing off. It didn't help that Arya was athletic and somewhat graceful, while Chihiro was, to put it bluntly, a total klutz.
After that, they came out of the room into the sunlight. There was a field, leading up to what their dad said was an abandoned theme park. Chihiro was all for going back, but there was some more exploring to be done. All Arya wanted to do was stay, but she didn't want to be there on her own.
"Where are you going?" yelled Chihiro as her parents continued to venture forward. "You said just a quick look! Now let's go back!"
Arya shrugged and grabbed Chihiro's wrist. "Come on, Mom and Dad are too far ahead. We can't force them."
But it seemed, judging by the aroma coming from the empty stalls, that someone was still there. Their dad was the first to find the stall full of unusual but delectable-looking foo.
No one was in sight, but the girls' mom said that they could eat first and pay when the person was back. But the two girls refused. There was a pit feeling in Arya's stomach telling her that there was something not right about this, and Chihiro just wouldn't – she already had a bad feeling about the place.
"I don't want any." Chihiro said. "We're gonna get in trouble."
"Besides," Arya said, "You don't know when they're getting back. How long are you going to wait?"
"Oh, they shouldn't take long." the girls' dad said airily. "Anyway, you don't need to worry. I've got credit cards and cash."
Arya recoiled at the way the two adults began scoffing things down. She didn't even know what they were eating, and by their mom's comment ("I wonder what this is called") neither did her parents, but they ate like Augustus Gloop. Never had she seen anything like it. Chihiro obviously felt the same way, and the girls walked through the theme park together, up to a beautifully made bridge with a bathouse on the other side.
"Pretty." Arya breathed, staring at the colourful building. It was traditionally Japanese with rice paper doors and amazing architecture. She loved buildings like this – it was one of the reasons she would miss Kyoto. It had wonderful buildings and gardens.
There was a train under the bridge. The girls watched it go by silently. After seeing it pass under the bridge, Chihiro ran to the other side to watch it disappear into the distance.
It was then that both girls noticed the boy.
He was older than them, a teenager, with green hair and dark green eyes. His clothes were traditional, too. Both girls gasped when they realized how close he was standing without them having noticed. The boy appeared to gasp too.
There was a pause. Then the boy frowned and said "You shouldn't be here. Get out of here, now!"
"What?" Chihiro began.
"It's almost night. Leave, before it gets dark." the boy ordered.
Lanterns around the park began lighting up. The boy gave both girls a little shove. "You've got to get across the river. Go! I'll distract them!"
The girls didn't argue. They just ran, and that was when they found out what was wrong with the food, why they were right in not trying it. They tried to pull their parents away, but they were...
"Pigs!" shrieked Arya. She grabbed Chihiro's hand again and they kept running, trying to keep out of the way of the shadowy figures they passed. Chihiro reached the steps first, but Arya stopped as Chihiro did, running the other way up. The field had become water, and Chihiro hadn't stopped in time. She was soaked up to her stomach, her loose T-shirt clinging to her.
"I'm dreaming, I'm dreaming!" Chihiro cried. Arya was transfixed by all the bright lights, but she shivered, too. What was going on? This didn't make sense!
In the words of the scriptwriter of "Howl's Moving Castle Abridged", this is a Ghibli movie, so nothing makes sense in the beginning. Please review!
