Chihiro was a princess, of a very powerful human kingdom called Kessho (means crystal in Japanese).

Chihiro came from a line of royals, all of whom hated spirits.

The reason they didn't go to war was because Chihiro reasoned with her father and mother over and over again to not do that, it will lead to other stress in the near future.

But each passing year, her father and mother and elder sister is becoming more and more arrogant.

Not too far from the Kingdom of Kessho is the Spirit World or the Spirit Realm.

Haku is the prince, and he has an elder sister who is named Kush.

All of them have hatred for Humans, for they are immortal spirits, who have the shared beliefs that humans are the real monsters who destroy everything and take things for granted.

And the world of Kessho and the world of Seishin (spirit in Japanese) collided when an fateful event happened...

The Start of it All

"Hahahahaha!" The King roared with laughter, along with his Queen who snickered behind her fan.

The courtiers were rolling on their stomachs.

They were all laughing at Chihiro's elder sister's jokes on Spirits.

"Aren't they a shameless wonder?" Minori, Chihiro's elder sister, walked over to her little sister, knowing it would be a wonderful show put on seeing the young maiden stuttering at her lines.

"No," Chihiro blurted out. She looked at the floor.

Minori was confused. Was this really her sister?

"I'm sorry, Minori-onee-chan, but I should leave now. I have a feeling something bad might happen today," Chihiro stuttered.

She earned glares as she trodded off to her room.

Once Chihiro had come to her room, she changed. She pulled on a dress that wasn't as flowy like her normal suffocating princess dresses that flowed like a wedding gown. It went to her ankle, and had a skirt-like feature that would twirl nicely if she swiveled around. It had sleeves, but they were veil like, with a deep cut that went to the sleeve ending, where it met her shoulders. They drooped and swayed exactly like a bridal veil, and was full sleeves. She pulled on moccasin boots that were wide enough when with her feet in there, she could slip in her magical weapon given to her by a moon spirit, a scythe named Artemis (Yes I am borrowing this idea from VK). It was a normal rod, no bigger than a foot. But when stimulated, it turns into a full blown scythe.

Since of her kind deed to a moon spirit, the scythe can only be used by her, and if someone tries to use it, it will disappear into mist and reappear to her in her hands.

She tied her hair which is long and trailing down her back into a long braid and sealed it off with a rubber band. She, was in one way or another, an unmatched beauty. But all of the countless suitors that came for her hand in marriage, were all turned away, for Chihiro had no personal interest in being married when she felt her heart was not truly in love.

Chihiro sighed, as she jumped out of her window, a high tower and landed gracefully on the silk-soft green grass without a single sound, an impressive feat for her all these years.

She went down the gravelly path, not knowing where it leads her, but knows that if for any reason she wanted to get back and turn around, she can go home in a flash.

She walked around, on the gravelly path, until she saw something that made her stop.

Another maiden, a few years elder to her, was on the ground lumped over, in pain.

Chihiro could sense in an instant that the maiden was a spirit. She had the only gift in the human race, that she could differentiate spirits, beasts, witches, doppelgangers, ghosts, and vampires from the humans.

Her father knew of her gift and many a times and forced her to use it against Spirits so the others could kidnap them. But she refused, resulting in her father neglecting her for her elder sister.

Chihiro rushed over to the maiden and lent her hand.

"Dear sister, are you allright?"

She smacked the hand away with full force. "Don't touch me, you filthy human!"

"Don't worry, I promise, I will not hurt you. But you will get hurt here especially if my foolish and arrogant father finds you, you know," Chihiro persuaded.

"How do I know that I should trust you?" the girl leveled her glare at Chihiro.

"If I break my promise, then I will let you hurt me severly," Chihiro pledged, hand over heart.

The girl started, but then yielded, taking some tust in Chihiro's vow and solemn words.

"Allright. Now fix me up," the girl relented.

Chihiro took a tiny pouch of almonds. She handed it to the girl and explained, "You are starting to fade. Eat this pouch of almonds, all of it, because you need the food from the human realm. If not, you will disappear into nothing."

The girl nodded and obediantly took the pouch and in one mouthful chewed it and gulped it down it's contents.

Now her fading body turned normal again.

Now Chihiro went to work on the girl's legs. Using her diagnosing powers she figured the severity of the pain in the legs. Too much for the girl to stand up.

Internally and externally the legs were hurt.

So she wrapped both legs in rolls of thick bandages. She waved a hand over each leg for 5 minutes for each and using her deep healing power she was able to both externally and internally heal the girl completely.

Then she took, unwinding the bloody bandages from the spot-free legs. She wound the bandages together, built a tiny fire and burned the bandages and put the fire out with a good amount of water.

She got up and lent a hand out to the girl, fearing the girl might slap it away again.

But this time the girl trusted Chihiro fully and took her hand and regained her balance.

Her eyes shined down to Chihiro, "Thank you so much. Unlike the others, you are somehow different. You do not have any kind of hate toward me and my kind. Thank you so much for treating to my wounds. I was here for hours, with humans passing me by and by. No one, except you, bothered to ask me what is wrong, and helped me."

Chihiro gave the maiden a warm smile, "Dear sister, I am overjoyed to see you pain free. Shall I give you shelter tonight? It is quite late. I was just going for an outing while my parents were having an awful joke night about spirits."

Her eyes darkened, "What?"

Chihiro gave her a sad glance, "They all hate spirits, except me. Only I don't hate them. And father, mother, and my real elder sister neglect me because I do not hate your kind. They think I am useless if I do not hate you. And I try again and again to tell them to stop this, but they won't. Who are you? Can you give me your name?"

"My name is Kush. I am the princess of the Seishin Kingdom," said Kush.

"Oh dear! You are not safe here. If father finds out, he will have you killed! My dear sister, let me tell you something that could save you and your dear people! And after I tell you, go home safely!" cried out Chihiro.

Kush was now worried. She hugged Chihiro and pulled away, an attempt to comfort her. "What is it?"

"My father has gone stupider than usual and more arrogant than ever. He has conquered many kingdoms, and beheaded each of their kings. His next kingdom aim is yours! Put your walls up! He makes big plans to take over your home and I cannot bear to see another beheading! Tell your father to keep the walls of your realm up! I do not know when my father will attack, but he will!" Chihiro exasperatedly finished.

"Oh my god. Who is your name and your kingdom name?" Kush asked.

"You promise not to hate me just because of my name and my Kingdom?" Chihiro pleaded.

"Yes. As long as you are telling me the truth, then I love you like a sister," Kush firmly stated.

"My name is Chihiro. I am the princess of the Kingdom of Kessho," Chihiro said in a wavering voice, but clear enough for Kush to hear. Her eyes widened.

"My goodness. My dear sister, thank you for your help and your loyalty. I promise that because of your selfless deed, of healing me and informing me this important news, you will be greatly rewarded something that will make the rest of your miserable life a happy life. This grant is on behalf of my life!" Kush vowed.

And with that she disappeared like fine mist.

"Kush? Kush! Kush! Kush, please don't leave me! I'm so scared, what might happen!" Chihiro broke to the floor sobbing hard.

Because even she doesn't know what might happen now.

She is so scared.

But after a while, Chihiro picked herself up, and went home, knowing that staying out here could potentially be a threat to her.

And as she drifted asleep, she was thinking of Kush's last words. What kind of blessing will she receive?

Not material wealth, for god's sake! Not that! Because endless material wealth will never get her somewhere.

Above all, she hopes it can be someone she can spend forever with. Someone who will not love her for her high status in her arrogant father's kingdom.

But someone who will love her for her beliefs, that war is never the answer.

With that, she fell into a dreamless slumber.

Seishin Kingdom

The king was worried for his daughter, Kush.

Of couse he never had to worry about her on her adventures but he saw through the looking glass that she got hurt. He, his wife and Haku were shocked to see a human girl come and help Kush.

Most importantly she was a princess of the Kessho Kingdom, the only human with supernatural gifts, an Artemis Rod given to her by Selene, the Moon Spirit, and no whatsoever hatred toward spirits.

This was new.

A human who doesn't hate her opposing race.

More like rare.

Kush burst through the doors, letting them bang open, for all she cared was telling her father some urgent news.

"Kush! Where in the world have you been? Do you know how worried you made your mother and I?" the king worriedly pulled his daughter into a hug.

"And you smell just like a human, Kush," he asked, though he knew the whole story. He broke the hug.

Kush read his mind, and looked into his eyes squarely saying, "Dad, you saw through the looking glass. You saw everything. So how can you be clueless after seeing the whole story unfold before your very eyes?"

"That's my Kush! Anyway, I heard her saying something about a kingdom going to attack this one. Is it true? I couldn't hear the human girl's words crystal clear, you know, word-by-word," the king asked with curiousity in his voice.

The Queen leaned forward in interest.

Haku was completely shocked. He stood by his father to catch onto every bit of the news Chihiro had told Kush about a possible threat to the Seishin Kingdom.

"First of all, you know her name is Chihiro. Call her by her name or else I won't give you any piece of information," said Kush, throwing a fit.

"Allright, allright! What did 'Chihiro' tell you about the threat?" the king impatiently asked.

"That is better. She is the only one in her human race who doesn't support the war against us. She doesn't hate us. But her family, as she explained it, has high levels of arrogance, shame, and stupidity. Her father had conquered other human kingdoms and beheaded their rulers. He now is aiming for this kingdom, and he will not take over this place until he beheads you! She tells us that in any way, get this kingdom ready for any war her father might place! She is trying to convince her father and mother not to attack us, but her persuading is not working, day by day. She said that despite her best efforts, her father is going to attack. She can't hold her father down any longer," Kush finished with worry filling her face.

"Oh god, oh god, oh god! Why haven't I have known this before?" The king buried his face in shame.

"Probably the connection to her part of the world is cut off?" Kush suggested.

"Maybe. But I have ways of finding out information if I wanted and desired it. I am now at a loss of words for the sudden news of what this princess told you," the king lamented.

"But she has faith in us that if we get ready, by the time her father's kingdom attacks us, we can defend ourselves," Kush comforted.

"Yes. It is for the best that for this one time, we follow Princess Chihiro's words on getting the kingdom ready for war," the king gravely commented.

Haku couldn't believe it. This mere human is able to help us this much? How do I know that she is not trying to lure us in for a trap? He thought.

"Because she isn't. She has pure intentions, that girl is nothing but pure. She detests her father and thought telling us would keep our own kingdom safe and sound." Kush firmly stated.

"How do you know she can be trusted? How do you know if what she is saying is true? What if she is giving us unecessary shock? We do not need it, for we have far more than enough to handle," Haku snapped back.

"Hey, pea-brain, if you heard, dad let me look through his looking glass whenever I wanted to and I saw how her father was acting, with all of his fancies. Trust me, I SAW what she was talking about. She is talking the truth, I am not that dumb," Kush glared at him with high intensity now. Haku was getting on her nerves.

"Why, you-!" Haku was going to fall into a quick temper, a surprising contrast to the water powers he posesses.

Kush rolled her eyes and hit Haku squarely on the head.

Haku touched his sore spot on his top of the head where she hit him and protested that it hurt.

Kush rolled her eyes once more, and muttered, "Am I really his sister?" and with that walked out.

"Darn it, she hits me so hard on the head! And why does she trust that human so much?" Haku growled, rubbing his head.

"Probably Chihiro's help and information she offered really had an impact. If you saw, she is the only human who helped her for the first time in hours. That girl really is something. Wish I can study her a bit," the queen answered her son's question.

"I agree. That human girl is completely different from the other humans. She has a kinder personality than the normal human," the king agreed.

"I heard that while the normal girls her age spend time in putting on makeup and dressing up and playing girly little games that they never grow out of, Chihiro goes out into the forests and plays her gold flute in the open. She learned how to play the flute on her own. And now it is the most beautiful sound in the world. I wish she can play a tune for me," the queen awed, hiding her mouth behind her fan.

"You keep wishing for her to do things! It is almost like you want to adopt her as your daughter!" the king joked.

"That is true, I do sound like that, don't I?" the queen laughed.

"Oh my goodness! How can you trust her? You never met her!" Haku yelled.

"But Kush has, and she has grown fond of Princess Chihiro. You know what a hard-head Kush is, she will not trust humans at any cost. That girl must be a wonder if she can get Kush to be fond of her," the queen explained.

"I heard that. I take pride in my hard-headedness. But now the only one being a hard-head is Haku," Kush popped her head around the corner, as if she had been hearing the conversation all along.

Haku glared at her, and Kush gave him a teasing look, which made him fume even more.

"Stop glaring at me, water boy, or else someone at first sight might mistake your powers to be fire," Kush commented.

"Oh be quiet," Haku shot back. And that earned him another square punch on the head.

And he just recovered from the earlier one. Poor Haku!

"Sometimes I wonder how I am able to tolerate you, you know," Kush giving a teasing smile.

And the hall filled with Haku's shouts at how much his head hurt, and his vow to get back at his sister on that.

"Anyway, I am turning in. Getting tired from having to tolerate Haku. Get some sleep, water boy!" Kush called over her shoulder, earning her another glare from Haku.

With that she was gone in her room.

"God I am going to my room as well. Man I need to put an ice pack on my head. Damn it Kush!" Haku growled, and vanished as well to his room.

Then they were alone with the king and the queen.

"Dear, I really want to see this Chihiro in person. Would you find a way so I can see her personally?" the queen asked.

"We shall see, my dear. We can't just pluck her from her home. We will wait for the right time for her to come here and become one of us. You would like that, right? For her to be a spirit?" the king asked, sending a glance to his wife.

"Yes I really want her to be one of us, spirits. She is in every right a perfect spirit, but is really a human. I think that it would be nice if we changed her into one," the queen concluded.

"Yes let us wait for the right time," the king commented, "Then I will send for her to live here for good."

The queen nodded her head simply.

The War against Kessho Kingdom and Seishin Kingdom

A month after this, Chihiro's father, King Akio, had grown so arrogant, that even her pleas to not attack became obsolete. He sent a letter to the king of Seishen Kingdom to either surrender his kingdom, or he will attack. The king decided the latter, as he would never surrender his kingdom, his home.

It was thanks to Chihiro's warning to the king of the Seishin Kingdom, was the king ready to fight.

The war had lasted a few months, at which Kessho Kingdom lost.

And the Seishin Kingdom had won.

They won, but had a condition.

They would let King Akio keep his Kingdom, a surprising act of kindness.

But they wanted something, anything.

A sacrifice of their choice, to keep the turmoil between the two worlds at rest.

(Present)

King Akio had been impatiently waiting for the 'sacrifice' that they wanted.

He turned to his daughter for an explanation for this.

But now Chihiro was colder to him.

"Chihiro, why didn't you stop us into having a war with the Seishin Kingdom? I should've known that they were this powerful!" He let out a cry of despair.

"What do you expect, father? I have begged you all my LIFE not to do this. But you grew to hate my warnings, thinking that you were all the allmighty. Every time I tried to warn you, you shoved me to the side, sometimes me sustaining injuries that lasted a few months," glared Chihiro.

The king's eyes widened. The queen cried hard. Minori sunk her head into her arms. And the rest of the court was pin drop silent.

"You barbaric fool doesn't care to heed to advice. I wasn't able to stop you because you would never let me finish my warning. If I didn't support you in your shameless business, you wouldn't flicker an eye in my direction, let alone notice my existance on Earth. I love this punishment you are inflicted with. If I, you, mother, Minori-onee-chan, or any of your material wealth gets sacrificed, I hope it teaches a lesson that before barging into war-business, heed little bits of advice. It saves you from being separated from someone you love or something you care about," Chihiro coldly finished.

Her father, mother, sister, the court, and the kingdom had hung their heads in shame.

Just then the doors barged open and guards of the Seishin Kingdom had come.

"We come to the royal decree of the King of the Seishin Kingdom, that the King, Queen, his son and his daughter have all decided that the young maiden, Princess Chihiro of Kessho Kingdom, to be sacrificed to the Seishin Kingdom!" one of the guards announced.

The queen started to wail, the king buried his head in his arms, and her sister wept uncontrollably. The whole court was weeping silently, and others were cursing themselves for being ignorant.

The queen tried to hug Chihiro and beg her not to go, but Chihiro backed out giving a glare that read do-not-hug-me.

Chihiro, with a calm composure, went to the guards and spoke, "I am Princess Chihiro. When shall I be taken to the kingdom?"

The guards were surprised that Chihiro had such a calm face on. "You shall be taken right now. Get in the carriage," one of them said.

Chihiro breathed in and out before cooly replying, "Allright, allright, I am going."

She sat in the carriage and the guards took off, towards their destination.