The Passage of Time

Ch 1

Chihiro awoke. For a brief moment, she believed the last few hours had been a dream. She had not failed at choosing her parents. No, it couldn't be. Yet her eyes were still sore from crying herself to sleep. Yes, she was in the boiler room. Kohaku had carried her there. He was sitting next to her laying form in the same place she had seen him before falling asleep. His stoic expression quickly changed seeing Chihiro's open eyes.

"Kohaku," she whispered, grasping his right hand in hers. "I forgot them. I couldn't remember what they looked like."

"It's alright," said Kohaku, placing three fingers on her forehead. "You won't have to remember them again." Suddenly, the pain ebbed away from Chi…Sen's soul, the emotional attachment leaving the memories of her old life. "The past can't hurt you anymore," continued Kohaku, slowly taking his hand away. Sen looked up at him questioningly.

"I…"

"See, you don't want to cry." Sen nodded, Kohaku gently pulling her to her feet. Sen looked down at herself, only then noticing she was still wearing her clothes from the human world. They suddenly seemed foreign.

"I'll have Lin bring you your work clothes when she comes by later," commented Kohaku, noticing that Sen was picking at her shirt. He placed a hand on her cheek, making her look him in the eyes. He smiled. "It's going to be alright, Sen. Yubaba's not going to hurt your parents. They'll live out their lives peacefully." Sen nodded in response. "You're going to be okay too. You'll have to work in the baths. But everyone saw what you did. They respect you, Sen. You stood up to Yubaba. They won't make any trouble for you."

"But I'm going to be here forever, aren't I?" To that, Kohaku could only nod.

"A really long time," he replied. The response, though expected, started fresh tears in Sen's eyes. The girl effortlessly collapsed into his arms. He didn't know what to say after the truth. Yet there was one thing he could do.

"I won't leave you, Sen," he whispered. "I'm going to give my name back to Yubaba."

"No, don't. You.."

"No," interrupted Kohaku. "Sen, my river is gone. I'd cease to exist if I left her service. If you had chosen right, I'd have no reason left to be here." His words immediately struck. Her freedom would have meant his life. Sen was speechless. Her youth made her unable to comprehend the sacrifice Kohaku had just made for her.

"What now, Kohaku?" asked Sen, finally noticing that Kamaji was sleeping. Did she really sleep through her whole shift?

"We work. I'll stay Yubaba's apprentice while you'll work in the baths. It not an improvement, but we can stay together."

"Okay," replied Sen, nodding. At that, Kohaku helped Sen lay back down, drawing the sheet back over her body

"Go back to sleep. You'll have to get up for your shift in a few hours. Lin will wake you up." With a touch from Kohaku, Sen fell back asleep. Kohaku, no, it would be Haku from now on, remained at Sen's side briefly before going to sell himself back to Yubaba.

---

Business was brisk that night at the bathhouse. Sen was struggling to keep up with Lin, yet she could feel her stamina growing. A few more days and she wouldn't even break a sweat. "Good in keeping up," commented Lin as the two quickly scrubbed down a large tub. They finished just in time for a tree spirit. Sen and Lin bowed deeply as the spirit entered. The spirit resembled a young woman, the dark glowing skin of her body mostly covered by long emerald hair. As the spirit climbed into the freshly drawn mineral bath, Lin and Sen quickly left for their next job.

By the end of the night, the two were exhausted. Along with the other girls, they slowly climbed up to the communal sleeping room. After a small meal, lights out was called. Like two nights before, Lin and Chihiro sat on the balcony, looking down upon the rail tracks. A good deal of the sea had dried up, leaving a series of lakes across the otherwise barren landscape. "How often does it rain enough to bring back the sea?" asked Sen.

"About once every two months," replied Lin. "It's beautiful when it does. I'll give you that." Chihiro nodded. "So, what did you see on the train, Sen?"

"There were spirits on it," began Sen. "They were like walking shadows. They had faces, but I couldn't see them. They met other people at their stops that were just like them. There was a little girl at one. We looked at each other."

"Sounds pretty strange to me," added Lin. "What do you think they all were?"

"People's spirits," guessed Sen. "It's hard to think though that that's the afterlife."

"Well, we'll never know, will we?" Lin made the comment lightly, yet her words shocked Sen.

"You mean we don't die?" asked Sen. Lin nodded.

"Remember when Haku said you'd lose your human smell after three days?"

"Yeah."

"That's always the first thing that goes," began Lin, sighing a little. She pulled Sen close, taking a quick sniff of her hair. "Barely there. Trust me, you won't miss B.O."

"But what else will change?" asked Sen.

"You know, I was going to tell you all of this after it happened. Yubaba took me aside tonight and said to look after you tomorrow. Being a powerful witch, she probably saw the changes starting in you tonight. You'll be asleep the whole time, Sen. When you wake up sometime tomorrow night, I'll be there to help you get around. You'll feel pretty weak."

Even though Sen nodded, the girl began to visibly shake. Lin rapped an arm around Sen, holding her close as one of the girls inside called lights out. "I'll be here when you wake up," Lin said again. Sen nodded, standing up and heading indoors. Maybe it was the news, or perhaps the changes that were occurring inside of her that Sen felt exhausted. "Forever," she whispered. It was the last word to come out of her mouth before falling asleep.

---

When she had been eight, Sen had spent a week home from school because of the flu. The experience came to mind when she opened her eyes twenty hours after closing them. Her body was incredibly groggy as if she had only slept a few hours. Her joints ached terribly even though she only had the strength to move her fingers. The room she had fallen asleep in had changed. Her head falling to the left, she watched Kamaji busily making mineral baths. The soot balls were hard at work. Seeing her awake, one of the poofs of soot dropped its coal and pushed up and flew in front of Kamaji, making him turn his head towards the now awake Sen.

"Good evening!" Kamaji yelled over the sound of the steam. "Lin just stepped out to get us some food! Just hang in there, the worst is over."

"Okay," Sen mumbled, lifting her arms slightly. Strength was slowly returning to her body. By the time Lin returned with a large tray of food, Sen had successfully rolled onto her side.

"Hey, you're awake," Lin said, smiling. Lin handed Kamaji his dinner before quickly feeding the soot balls konpeito. She laid the remaining food next to Sen before kneeling. "You feel strong enough to eat?"

"I think so." Lin helped Sen into a sitting position against one of Kamaji's many cabinets. Seeing that Sen could eat without her help, Lin sat next to the girl.

"Haku was with you for a little while today," Lin said.

"Really?" Sen asked between bites.

"Yeah. Kamaji saw him early this morning." Sen smiled to herself. She desperately wanted to talk to Haku, though. So much had changed, of course. There was her new immortality. A thought had crossed her mind immediately after losing her freedom to Yubaba. Perhaps, when she died, she might be reunited with her parents. That was impossible now. Their souls, trapped in pigs' bodies, would be free whenever they died. Yet Sen would spend who knows how long serving Yubaba.

Despite her turbulent mind, Sen's face didn't betray her. After finishing her dinner, Sen bid Kamaji goodnight before returning to the women's sleeping quarters. The other girls just coming off their shift paid no attention as Sen rolled out her futon and promptly fell back asleep.

(Ten years later)

Though immortality had prevented disease and broken bones, Sen continued to grow up as the years went by. Standing straight, she was an even five feet three inches tall, making her slightly shorter than Lin. Her figure had filled out to a spitting image of her mother at the same age. Her hair had continued to grow to her lower back. She kept it in a ponytail most days as to keep it out of the way at work.

There were other issues, of course. Though Sen no longer needed an education in mathematics or history, she only knew roughly half the Kanji necessary to read a newspaper when she arrived at the bath house. The knowledge that she would never go to secondary school let alone college prompted Sen to educate herself. Though free time was scarce at the bath house, Sen wanted to be able to read when she could. Kamaji had helped her study with the books and papers he had in his collection. Haku had even smuggled some of the smaller volumes out from Yubaba's library.

More important, though, was the budding relationship between Sen and Haku. Their work kept them apart most of the time. Their meetings were brief, only an hour or two at a time. It was this reason that Sen awoke early on her first day off in two months. Haku had also been given time off as well.

"Sen, you woke me up," Lin complained as Sen dressed as quietly as she could.

"Sorry," Sen whispered before beginning to step around the other girls. Sen gingerly walked down the hall towards the stairs. The bath house, usually noisy and alive with the movement of guests and workers, was almost serene in the peace that came over it in the early morning just as sunlight began to drift through the rice paper walls.

Sen descended the stairs and walked out the main entrance into the outdoor cool breeze. Finally beyond those who might hear her, Sen took off in a run. She saw Haku standing on the bridge. He was patiently waiting. The spirit had changed his appearance over the last decade to match Sen's growth. He stood a few inches taller. He could just see over Sen's head if she stood right next to him.

"Good morning," he whispered into her ear as she leapt into his arms.

"How long do you have?" Sen asked after a long kiss.

"Until sunset," he replied, the disappointment only slightly lingering in his voice. "Yubaba didn't mind giving me the time off. It's strange…"

"Don't worry about her," Sen whispered, closing her eyes. Still in an embrace, she felt herself being lifted. They were flying. It was a brief trip. Behind one of the restaurants leading up to the bathhouse was a small shack. They had found it when Sen wanted a place to study. It became more of a love nest a Sen matured. Yet it was only in the last year that they had become intimate. Haku lacked the raging hormones of most teenagers, or at least immortal dragons that looked like teenagers. He had patiently waited until she was ready. Now that they had already crossed into that new territory, it didn't take them long to return to it that morning.

---

When Sen awoke after their lovemaking, it was noon. She was lying on the impromptu bed that Haku had built over the last year. Though the mattress and supports had been thrown out, Sen had smuggled some new sheets out of the bath house. Those sheets were currently on the floor. She lazily gazed around the room. Despite its run down look from the outside, she and Haku had spruced it up over the years. Four feet from the bed was Sen's desk. Three books Kamaji had given her were neatly stacked in the corner.

There were no windows, a plus when Haku and Sen wanted to make love. Yet despite that love, they both knew their existence outside Yubaba's reach was nil. At any moment one of Yubaba's animal spies could discover them. Maybe they already had. I'll probably end up a lump of coal, Sen thought.

"What's wrong?" Haku was awake. For the last few minutes he had watched Sen's face. It was when she looked upset that he finally spoke.

"Nothing," she assured. She placed a hand on his cheek, softly smiling. It was only then she realized that they were both nude. If the bed hadn't been so small she would have already moved away from the heat of his body. In a way she enjoyed it. So rarely was she able to lie next to him at all. In a forbidden recess of her mind Sen entertained the illusion that she would live happily one day with Haku in a home similar to Zeniba's. It was a place where she and Haku would live like the couples she had seen on television as a child. Sen became lost in her thoughts.

Haku's hand wiping away her tears was the next thing Sen felt. "I'm sorry," she whispered.

"It's okay," he replied, stroking her face. It wasn't the first time she had cried after making love. In a vague way he could understand. It was during these brief moments of bliss that Sen could most intensely feel her subjugation

"Maybe we should stop doing this for a while," Haku suggested. "You always get so upset afterward."

"You're right," Sen replied. Sen pulled the sheet off the ground to cover herself. The room suddenly felt cold.

"Haku," Sen began, her face turned away from his. "In your time here, have you ever seen someone fulfill their contract to Yubaba?"

"Once," Haku replied, his voice already hinting to Sen how his story would end. "I can't remember his name. He was a worker in the kitchen. Yubaba was mad, of course. In front of everyone, his contract exploded into a puff of smoke. Yubaba gave him a ticket for the train. Though everyone was happy for him, I was told later that it had been a whole century since someone had left. It's going to be a really long time, Sen."

"What about you? When you asked for your old job, did you read your contract? Do you know how long you'll be here?"

Haku smiled somewhat. "I actually asked to be released whenever you are."

"Really?" Sen's mood immediately turned around. "Did she say when that was?" Haku shook his head. Sen huffed.

"It's okay," he added, putting an arm around her. "I promised I wouldn't leave you."

"Thank you."

---

A few days passed in their usual routine for Sen. She awoke early in the afternoon with the rest of the woman workers. After bathing and dressing, Sen helped clean the baths. Occasionally she would be assigned to clean guest rooms. Making beds and washing floors was always easier work than scrubbing the gigantic tubs. Following that was the brief break for dinner before the guests began to arrive. The later half of her shift had become the most pleasant for Sen. Over the years she had learned the language of the spirits, an ancient form of Japanese. Though they rarely talked, the spirits were overjoyed when the realized that Sen could communicate with them. Some had taken a liking to her, expecially the radish spirit that she had met on her first day at the bath house.

As for Haku, he continued his work, orders from Yubaba that he would never tell Sen. There were other people in the spirit world to betray than Zeniba. A week after he had last seen Sen, Haku returned late one night. Changing back into his human form, he headed to Yubaba's office. He appeared haggard, a rare sight.

As usual, Yubaba was in the midst of calculating her profits. She was scratching away as a piece of parchment as Haku entered. She didn't need to ask. The fact that he came back alive meant his mission was complete.

"I had an interesting evening," Yubaba began, lighting a cigarette. "Would you like to hear about it?"

"Of course, Yubaba." Though no longer controlled the witch's magic, Haku knew the punishment for any sign of insubordination.

"My power allows me to know the location of every being on my hotel grounds." Though his face showed no change, inside Haku immediately all the times and he and Sen had gone to their secret room.

"I feel every presence," Yubaba continued. "Early this evening I thought I felt an intruder in the main baths. I sent a search team. They found nothing but the girls cleaning the tubs. So I went down there myself. After all, no one had noticed that No-Face was an intruder until it was too late. I found nothing as well. But the presence was still there, stronger as ever since I was so close to it. Do you know what it was, Haku?"

"No, ma'am. What was it?"

Yubaba stood and went to Haku's side. Smiling uncharacteristically, she placed a hand on his shoulder. "Congratulations, dad."

Haku froze. "Do you mean…" He trailed off.

"Yes." Yubaba's voice held a sweetness he had only seen Boh was present. "You know," she continued, some of her usual venom. "If you had touched that girl before she became of age..well, we wouldn't be having this conversation, would we?"

"No, ma'am," Haku replied, trying to stay collected. "Did you tell her?"

"Of course!" Yubaba nearly screamed. "I took Sen aside, of course." Yubaba had returned to her rarely seen loving persona. "Do you know how long it's been since I've talked to another mother? She waiting for you in the boiler room by the way. Before you go running off, Haku, there's one more thing we needed to talk about. I know this evening has been a shock to you both, but there's the issue of her and the child's safety we have to consider right now. Have a seat, this will only take a minute."

---

Sen was quickly pacing the floor of the boiler room. Kamaji and Lin were there as well. She had told both of them, of course. Though they had congratulated Sen and promised their support, Lin and Kamaji knew little of pregnancy, expecially that between two beings living in the spirit world.

When Haku finally appeared, Sen rushed into his arms, tears flowing freely. Lin and Kamaji excused themselves into the next room.

"I'm scared," Sen admitted between the sobs. "What's going to happen to us, to…" she looked down at her stomach.

"Let's calm down," Haku urged, rubbing Sen's back. "There's something really important about the baby we need to talk about." Haku helped Sen sit on the ground to prepare for the news. "When Yubaba told me about the baby, she told me that it took after me…a lot. Sen, when I turn into a dragon, I can control it. But this baby cannot. Even now, there might be a little dragon inside of you." He spoke as calmly as he could to let Sen know she wasn't in any danger.

"You see, Yubaba wants to keep you safe throughout all of this. I know it sounds crazy, Sen, but you could get seriously hurt if the fetus turns into a dragon later in the pregnancy."

"So what do we do?"

Haku took a deep breath. "Yubaba taught me a spell. When the baby changes into a dragon, so will you. When it turns back, so will you."

"Me…dragon…how…" She trailed off, unable to comprehend this new information in light of what had already happened.

"It has to be done," Haku whispered. "For the both of you."

"Okay," Sen finally replied, too exhausted even to think. "Take care of us, Haku." The last part came out as a whisper.

"I will," Haku replied before beginning the spell under his breath. Sen was already asleep in his arms.

---

Sen awoke some hours later, her body feeling unnaturally refreshed. She jolted into a sitting position. Still in the boiler room, she quickly looked around. Haku sat in a lotus position next to her, deep in meditation.

"You're awake," he said, the motion in the corner of his eye pulling him back.

"Did you do it already?" Haku nodded.

"Do you feel alright, Sen?"

"I feel pretty good actually," she admitted, standing. "How long did I sleep?"

"Just a few hours, actually. It's early morning. Yubaba said you'd feel better when you woke up. I guess she was right."

Taking a deep breath, Sen rapped her arms around herself. "Did I change over when I was asleep?" Haku shook his head.

"You won't know when it's about to happen. There's no pain. You'll have to learn how to control your new body, of course. It'll become second nature in no time."

"Okay," Sen said to herself. "Hey, I need to get out of here? Come outside with me?" Haku nodded. Together, the left the bath house. The stars were shining brightly. In the back of her mind Sen could remember someone once saying that it was darkest right before dawn. Maybe it was her mother. "You'll be a grandma," Sen whispered under her breath. They walked onto the bridge.

Haku collected Sen into his arms. "I'm scared," Sen admitted, "about so many things."

"Me too." The two stood there for over an hour. When the sun had fully risen, they went back inside. They were ready to face the future together.