A Different Current of the River
Chapter 8: A River Lost
By LadyRainStarDragon
Disclaimer: Miyazaki owns Spirited Away.
Eyes caught between grey and brown watched the scenery pass by without care, taking little note of the trees dancing with the wind, the majestic mountains rearing their heads, or the town that was in the midst of a growth spurt and intruding into the forests and fields. The car climbed a hill, the adults in the front seat arguing about bad American songs, directions, and the other things that a married couple will argue about on a trip. A Maruchan truck passed by unnoticed, carrying dried noodles to an unknown destination.
Chihiro knew where she was going, and it may as well have been Yomi, for she was so far from her friends, her Ji-san, and Haku.
She looked at her good-bye card, still clutching tightly the bouquet that she had been given as a farewell from her best friend in the human world, trying to distract herself from her loss of her guardian.
"Mom! My flowers are dying!"
"I told you not to smother them like that, we'll put them in some water when we get home."
Chihiro pouted as the car continued, barely registering the comment from the front that there was her new school. She glanced at it as they passed.
"I liked my old school. It's gonna stink."
She slumped in her seat once more, lost still in the sulky world of a teenage mind.
"Where is she?"
A magnificent white and teal line snaked through the cotton ball clouds high in the sky, riding playful winds that were more interested in teasing him than doing anything truly useful to him. Silver horns gleamed in the sun, the spectacle invisible to those passing by in the jetliners and to most of those below. Perhaps a few innocents were outside on this lovely day, but of those, how many were looking up at the sky and in the right place to see a dragon pass by?
The light scent of cherries and a heavier taste of blood in the air reminded Nushi that he was much closer than he had been earlier. If not for his dragon's keen sense of smell it would have been missed though, and he only obtained whiffs because the wind Kami of the area was teasing him, not unlike the one from his own home area. Still he was a fair distance off, from her.
Dipping lower, he was glad of his invisibility, closer to the human eye but still confident that only someone with sharp enough spiritual abilities would be able to see him. To others, he was the fait scent of water in the air, that perfume peculiar to a river prancing beneath a summer sun and laden with water lily.
"Don't take a short cut dear, you always get us lost!"
Chihiro's mother, in her trademark pink sweater, uttered the famous last words that have the magic power of turning any bad trip worse. With experience, one would think that wisdom would have come. Such was not the case though, and only served to goad Akio into taking the turn onto the one laned and overgrown dirt road.
So much for the blue house on the end, situated at the top of the hill. The little car rolled by a tree that sighed a sad song, whispering of dragons and rivers in the breeze, and how one day another dragon might eventually be born from a tree, yet not before a river might bear a terrible loss. The song was only half-understood, felt more by the young woman with her heart and soul than comprehended with the ear. Her eyes alighted on some miniature stone buildings, some of which had been tended somewhat recently while others had been neglected and turned over by time and sprawling roots.
Where perhaps a few years ago she would have asked what the stone buildings were, and her mother may have answered that they were shrines, this older Chihiro only silently noted them. When possible, she planned to sneak down and clean up the old village shrine. Her mother of course would not approve, and the move had probably been made in part to dissuade her from becoming a fully trained priestess.
Yuuko glanced at the shrines as they passed, and for a moment, something flickered across her face. Chihiro couldn't be sure what it had been though, for a moment, her mother's face had appeared softer. Then her face hardened once again and looked forward.
"I wonder what that is about?" Chihiro thought to herself.
The sanctuary fell behind them as her father drove deeper into the woods, and by now it was clear that this road was no shortcut and would not wrap around to connect with the street just past their new house. Faster the car sped, and now went down hill, drawn and possessed by some unknown force. The family careened past stone guardians hidden on one side of the road, double sided to watch both comings and goings, gods that she was unfamiliar with that leered and warned at once.
Chihiro screamed in her mind, reaching out with a force inside of herself that she only barely knew as she struggled to free the car from whatever was controlling it. It was no use, and one word echoed in her head, a cry that she knew would not be answered.
"Haku!"
Green eyes snapped open, having slid shut to take a short rest in order to maintain their moisture. The panicked cry that echoed in the dripping caverns of his mind had been unmistakable, and very close. He could feel her presence approaching, a faint breeze rippling across the surface of his self, as the wind often rippled cross the surface of his river. The pull of the Pearl was unmistakable.
"No!"
That was his only thought, and if he were to leave now it would be highly suspicious. Ko, another part of himself that had equally been unwilling to leave Chihiro to chance and the pity of unknown Kami whispered to throw caution to the wind in this one case, to swoop out and turn her around and back to the town.
Haku clenched his fists, knowing that no matter what, Akio would be drawn to the gates, and that his curiosity would cause him to lead the entire family, including his Miko, into Kamikushi.
"Kamikakushi indeed. Hidden not just by spirits, but in the very realm of the spirits. I suppose there is no help for it then, I only hope that I understood the clues correctly."
Once more he flowed up from his futon, moving as smoothly as before and following the pull of the spells that drew desperate spirits into the employ of the witch. The very air inside the building led him through the bathhouse and to the elevators. Weaker spirits by this time would be thinking that Yubaba was their only salvation from their problems.
Haku knew full well that Yubaba herself was his problem. She was a danger to his people, and even he would not want the fate that the very walls had whispered to him usually befalling greedy humans that wandered here.
The elevator, red beams exposed to view while the lever was a burnished gold, slid upward steadily, showing the wall and floors as it passed each. Soon, it was in a fully enclosed shaft that continued upward until it reached a lavish set of doors at the top of the building. Here, the magic tugged forward, greedily beckoning him, whispering promises that no doubt would not be kept.
All to lure in a dragon that could become her assistant, or more accurately her Shikigami. Haku suspected the darker interpretation of the label.
Slave.
It did not matter; he was cunning as well. If, by some miracle, Chihiro turned around and removed herself farther from the border, he would no doubt be able to find some way to satisfy the witch early and remove himself from her employ. After all, he did have many treasures hidden away.
The doors slid open and he followed the magic hand through the darkened hallways past lavishly overdone walls and equally lavish Chinese vases that could easily hold four or five of him within its confines, possibly more. Just the vases by themselves would have been enough, and Haku would have preferred to have plain pine wood for walls, lovingly polished to augment them.
Finally, he stood before the witch's desk. An enormous set of eyes smiled winningly across the cluttered surface.
"So, to what do I owe the pleasure of this visit Dragon-sama?"
"I came to ask about the possibility of employment. I hear that you are a very powerful sorceress, and would like to further my training under you Yubaba-san."
"I see. It just so happens that I need an apprentice. I'm sure that you already know the standard practices of apprenticeship, as I can tell that you have had some training. If you'll just sign here please."
The sugary smile didn't fool Haku, he could smell her greed and eagerness pouring out of her like the smoke from the infernal cigarette in her old and wrinkled hand, and from her oversized nose in her gigantic head. Yubaba's large brown eyes were hard and businesslike, like his own no doubt were at this time. Like the rest of what he had seen of her living quarters, the many rings that she wore were outrageously large, as well as the brooch on her blue Victorian dress.
Haku read over the contract while Ko muttered in his mind about how the woman couldn't possibly be all that powerful on her own if she needed so many charms to boost her power, and wondered if they were possibly for her own protection from other magic users. Everything appeared standard to him, the running errands, sleeping in the quarters that were provided, eating what was provided, the term of service…
The quill floated over to him, and when he grasped it, trepidation filled him with the unfamiliar magic that laced the ink. With deft strokes he signed it with the proper kanji, and the contract floated back over.
"Nigihayami Kohakunushi. A fitting name, I thought that you were some kind of water spirit, and a Nushi at that…" The witch trailed off as she extended her hand and peeled off several of the signs. With each one, Haku felt something lift away from him, as if she were stripping his very essence. "And now you are simply Haku. Much easier to remember and more fitting for a mere apprentice. Your name is mine now."
His eyes narrowed.
"That's impossible, how can you own a name?"
"Is that any way to speak to your master? Read it again."
The contract floated over to him once more, just out of reach, and he read it.
"Standard. All possessions on the employee become the property of the employer."
"Including your name, the ink captured your energy signature."
Author Note:
Everyone can thank Haku. No, I'm not joking. I got a gentle reminder, in the form of a question as to why my entries here dried up. lol