Chapter one: Six months later
The Japanese flag flowed in the wind as David, Nani, and David made their way out of the plane, and into the gateway.
"That took forever!" 11 year old Lilo complained. "I thought we'd never get off of the plane!" Nani smiled.
When they got to their gate, they approached a Japanese security lady in a lovely kimono. Nani handed the lady their passports. The lady took them for stamping.
When all done, the lady gave them back their passports. Nani thanked her, grabbed them, and put them in their pockets.
"Konbanwa!" The lady greeted. "Welcome to Japan, or as we Japanese call Japan, Nihon and Nippon." Lilo looked confused.
"Konbanwa?" She asked. "Don't you mean Konnichiwa?" The woman shook her head.
"Konnichiwa is the greeting we used at or around noon." She said. "Konbanwa is the term we used in the afternoon, meaning 'good afternoon."
"Oh!" Lilo just said. She spotted a half lion, half dog in the corner. She looked back at the lady.
"Konbanwa!" She bowed. The lady smiled.
On the taxi ride to their hotel, Lilo saw from the corner of her eye the half lion, half dog stature again. She looked the other way, a similar stature! She looked all around, half lion, half dog statures were everywhere! They were on rooftops, all lined up, on the ground, everywhere she looked, she saw the same stature!
"Uh, Nani?" She asked her sister. "She pointed to the statures. What are those? Why do I see them all the time? I saw some at the airport. They're everywhere!"
"They're Shisas." Nani answered. Lilo was confused.
"Shisas?" Lilo wanted to know.
"They ward off evil." David replied. "Komainu, or 'lion dogs." Lilo just looked at them for the rest of the way.
After checking into their hotel, Lilo, Nani, and David went to a Japanese garden.
"These Japanese gardens sure are beautiful!" Nani observed, taking a picture of a Japanese flower from her camera. "Aren't they Lilo?"
"Yeah." Lilo faked. "They sure are." She sighed. The poor Hawaiian girl wanted to be happy, but she wasn't. She just wanted to go home, she missed Keoni.
"Lilo." Nani said to her, and bent down. "What's wrong? You feeling okay?"
"I just want to go home." The girl answered. Nani hugged her.
"Oh baby!" Nani soothed her sister's hair. "I know you do, but home is miles away from here. We brought you here so that you could forget Keoni and Stitch. You hang around with Keoni too much. You need a break. We brought you here so you could be happy."
"So you and David can be happy." Lilo said. Nani hugged her again.
"Just give Japan a chance." She released her, and continued her picture taken. Lilo sighed.
"If Japan just gives me a chance." She said, and sighed again.
That night, the family all had sushi, rice, and tonkatsu (deep fried pork cutlets) at a Japanese restaurant.
"Lilo, eat!" Nani told her sister when she saw her playing with her food.
"Fine!" Lilo said, and ate her food.
"Night!" Nani said at their hotel.
"Night!" Lilo and David said back. Nani and David went to sleep.
Lilo sighed, turned off the lamp, made herself comfortable, and went to sleep.
The next morning, Lilo awoke to the bright morning sun. Lilo tried to block it out with her hand.
"Lilo, Lilo." Nani said, poking her. Lilo sat up, and rubbed her sleepy eyes.
"Ohaiyo Ganzaimasu!" Nani and David choused together.
"What the heck does Ohai…ganz… what does that mean?" Lilo asked with a yawn.
"It means good morning." Nani answered.
"Oh." Lilo said. She rubbed her eyes. "The sun rises real early huh?"
"It sure does." David agreed. "I guess that's why Japan is known as 'the land of the rising sun'."
"Well, wake up." Nani told Lilo. "Time for breakfast." Nani and David went to the shower. Tired, Lilo coved herself in her bed sheets again.
"Okay." She said. "Just after a little nap." The little girl went to sleep.
"LILO!" Nani shouted after her and David's showers, and were dressed for the day. Lilo immediately awoke, and jumped out of bed. "SHOWER, NOW!"
"Yes Nani!" Lilo shouted back, and ran for the shower.
Nani groaned, and collapsed on her bed. David chuckled.
"Sisters!" He said. "You can't live with them, you can't live without them." Nani sighed.
"Although she is a little cutie." Nani agreed. "She can be a real pain sometimes." David chuckled again. Nani chuckled back.
When Lilo was all dressed after her shower, and ready to go; she, Nani, and David left their room, and got downstairs of the hotel, and went into the breakfast room.
"Now guys," Nani started. "Where do you want to go? The Ueno-keon, park, Asaklusa Kannon, the imperial Palace, pr the Shinjuku Gyouen?" David shrugged.
"Wherever Lilo wants to go." David told her. "Will be fine with me." Nani nodded.
"Lilo?" She asked her sis. "Where do you want to go?"
"Home!" Lilo complained. Nani looked mad, and put her hands on her hips.
"Lilo Pelekai!" Nani scolded. "You know very well we can't go home! Now, where do you want to go?"
"I don't know." Lilo admitted. Nani sighed, hand to her face
"Well, while we walk, maybe you'll have an idea." They all started walking onward. Lilo sighed.
"This is going to be one boring vacation." She muttered to herself.
"I got it! I got it!" Lilo heard a voice. Suddenly, Yuna with a badminton racket came into view. She was walking backward.
"I got it, I got whoa!" As she caught her shuttlecock in her racket, she bumped into Lilo!" The two girls fell down.
"Did you mother ever teach you to watch where you're going?" Yuna wanted to know. She stood up.
"Me?! What about your mom?" Lilo stood up too. "Anywhere my mom didn't teach me, my big sister did!"
"Well, you still got allot to learn." Lilo gave her a dirty look.
"Anyway, my name's Yuna. What yours?"
"Lilo." The two shook hands.
Lilo? Yuma thought to herself. But this can't possibly be…nahh! Must be a different Lilo.
"Well, pleasure to meet you Lilo." Yuna said, and smiled. Lilo smiled back.
Suddenly, Yuna's grandmother, Jumba, and Pleakley came into view behind the bushes.
"Yuna, who are you new friends?" Her grandmother asked.
"Grandma!" Yuna said, going to her. "This is Lilo." Her grandma smiled.
"Well, it's an honor to meet you." She greeted Lilo.
"Jumba, Pleakley!" Lilo shouted, hugging them.
"Little girl!" Jumba said, hugging her back.
"Lilo!" Pleakley cheered. Yuna looked confused as mad scientist and little girl let go.
"You know each other?" She asked. Lilo looked at her and nodded.
"Uh-huh!" She said. "Jumba and Pleakley were my guardians in Hawaii!" Yuna smiled.
"You're from Hawaii too huh?"
A Lilo from Hawaii? Yuna thought again. Must be a different Lilo from Hawaii, right? Lilo looked confused, and was about to ask Yuna what she meant, when grandmother spoke.
"Yuna, why don't you ask your friends to come for rice cakes?"
"Yeah, good idea!" Yuna added. She went to Lilo.
"Why don't you and your family go have some rice cakes with us?"
"Well…" Lilo didn't know what to say. She looked at Nani, who nodded. She turned back to Yuna.
"Sure!" She told her.
"Great! Then follow me!" The gang all followed Yuna as David and Nani introduced themselves to Yuna's grandmother.
Yuna threw the shuttlecock high into the air with her racket, then left with them.
"Mmmmmm!" Lilo said as she ate a rice cake. "This rice cake is amazing!" She took another bite.
"I know!" Yuna said back. "My grandma is the best chef in the world!" Her grandma laughed.
"Well, I don't know I'm that good that I'll be on a cook- off." She laughed.
"When you try Grandma's cooking." Pleakley told them. "You're in haven."
"No kidding!" Jumba added. "Even evil genius like myself can't get enough." Grandma smiled at those kind words.
"Yuna, I got it!" A familiar voice called. Lilo dropped the rice cake to the ground shocked. Could it be?
Stitch came into view with a racket in hand. Lilo stood up, and managed to walk to the alien.
"Yuna, I got it!" He repeated. "I got…"
"Stitch?" Lilo asked. Stitch caught the shuttlecock in his racket, and then looked at the sun tan girl.
"L-Lilo?"