Rivers Always Claim What is Their Own
Chapter 1: Tricked!
By: LadyRainStarDragon
I don't own Spirited Away. I will never own it, but I can write.
No idea what inspired this, but I liked it after it was written. This may or may not be part of my continuity, depending on how 'Rivers Keep Flowing" ends.
Next chapter contains violence that I was not comfortable rating PG-13, but it isn't as graphic as some R movies I've seen.
The middle aged Priestess had been called out of her warm Shrine home, and away from her two children. She was not worried about leaving them alone, they were old enough to take care of themselves. Instead, she concentrated on the task ahead of her.
Two young men had burst into her home, pleading for her to drive a demon from their home, fearing for the safety of a baby sister left with a third brother. The two had been lucky that her husband had been in his own home that night, instead of on his monthly visit. That could have been very messy.
She had placed in the pockets of her robes the packets of salt, ash, vials of both holy river water and sake, matches, and candles that she might need. On her back was the ceremonial bow and quiver of hamaya, and her right hand employed her wooden staff that had been bequeathed to her by her grandfather. The gentlemen had insisted they needed to get home right away, leaving her with hastily scrawled directions on a napkin.
"Why do they always have to act up in the winter? You'd think they'd want to lie low and just enjoy the heat provided by the humans. Noooo, gotta try to drive out the humans into the snow and keep it all to themselves, forgetting that the humans are the ones who can put the wood into the fire. Demons." The Priestess shook her head exasperatedly.
She trudged on through the snow, uttering a colorful phrase now and then when some snow managed to find its way into her boots. A few tree spirits cracked a sleepy eye to see what the commotion was on this cold night. Seeing only the Priestess of the river shrine, they went back to their rest, in order to be strong for the spring growing season. The stars danced above, joyous that such a sweet personage would actually be below their light.
The wind began to howl a warning to her, as it had just passed something that it found very suspicious. The Priestess took it as a warning that the demon she would face was a strong and grouchy one. Hopefully she would be able to reason with it instead of having to actually fight. Shaking off the sudden ill feeling, she carried on. A child just might be depending on her.
The wind picked up some more, physically pushing her back, seemingly as if to keep her away from something. It moaned, a steady and low "Nooooooooooooo."
Still the woman soldiered on. A Priestess could not let the weather stay her if she were needed. Unseen eyes peered at her, longing to scream to her to go home. They could not though, although she knew of them, they must not be seen by those who also lurked in the bushes, all they could do was shake the leaves in warning.
The wind gave up. It knew how stubborn she could be. Evidence of just how stubborn she was now flowed freely through the terrain, it's cold waters rushing beneath the very thin ice. Fading down to sighs, the wind kami stayed to watch what was bound to happen.
As the Priestess drew to the middle of a clearing, two forms sprang at her from the sides, tackling her to the ground. Even just three years ago, she would have been able to feel and hear them, but lately she had begun to wear down. Life as the High Priestess of a popular shrine could be hectic, but then you also had to add in her duties of motherhood, and her husband's long absences tending to what tied him to her in the physical world. Her focus had turned within too much at times.
Her staff had been yanked cruelly from her hands, and during the struggle they had rolled around so much that her arrows were scattered and the bow broken. Clothing was torn, and she ferociously fought her attackers. However, they had the benefit of youth, and nights unbroken by emergencies. She lay pinned beneath one of them, and she quickly found out that this one was a male.
"Get your hands off of me!"
"I don't think so Priestess. We've seen you bathing in the river late at night, moaning to the river and writhing in the currents. We also know that your husband has been dead for ages. Don't you think it's time that you moved on?"
"No. Nigihayami Kohakunushi!"
"Keh. You're kami can't help you, they aren't real. Guess we do this the hard way."
The wind roared and the trees cried. There was nothing the trees could do, but the wind could carry this one message.