Chapter One

The blaring, annoying noise woke her from her usual but hypnotic dream. Feeling her dream slip away, Chihiro Ogino rolled over, intending to hit the off button on her alarm, but missed. Still hidden under the covers, she hit the alarm again and once again missed. Growing increasingly agitated, her fist came down on the beeping device until it crashed to the ground. Thankfully, the impact shut it up. Chihiro sighed in relief, then resignation as she sat up to yawn and stretch as she faced her hand drawn memory of an old friend, his eyes as kind as they had been the last time she’d seen him.

Maybe today’s the day he’ll come for me. She thought, feeling hope and joy rise. I hope so. I miss him so much.

In the eight years since her return to the human world, Chihiro had prepared herself as much as possible for the day when Haku, spirit of the Kohaku River in the human world, would fulfill his promise. While in school, she had studied her way from the lower half of her year to the top of the year three semesters ahead of her previous classmates. Also, she had gotten a job as early as possible, hoping to gain experience in employment rather than the money. Being of a legal age, 18, she was now fully responsible for herself, even though she had been ever since she was thrust into the foster care system a mere few days after her parents deaths seven years ago. But, she wasn’t fully on her own in her house. As a condition to living as an independent, her supervisor had demanded that she rent out the extra rooms in her house to other foster care independents. Her options, at that time, were few. If she refused, she would be moved into a foster home, and then perhaps a foster house. In other words, she would be moved away from the gateway into the spirit world, and away from Haku. If she accepted, then she wouldn’t be living on her own, but at least she would remain near Haku and the gateway. She didn’t have to think about her answer and now, three years later, she was glad for it.

Her housemates understood that one day she might call and say she wasn’t returning. Thankfully, they’d stopped asking questions. Because of this, they were now mostly self-sufficient. All of them held good grades, kept their rooms clean, did their chores without prodding and those of an age legal to work held jobs and paid their share of the living expenses, as well as their school tuition’s, even pitching on for the younger one’s educations, too. For Chihiro, this meant she could leave at any given moment and not have to worry about how the others will get along without her. In fact, she had even prepared them for after she was gone. She deliberately withheld her share of the living expenses. Of course, she explained why, that she wanted to be sure they would be alright if she didn’t return and she wanted them to figure out how to pay the expenses without her share. They understood and accepted it. But Chihiro had no need for the money she earned from working. So, she consistently made advance payments on each of the younger children’s school tuitions. That way, with the time she had bought them, the older ones could figure out a new financial plan to cover the children’s tuitions when she left without too much threat of the children being evicted from the school.

At her work, she was one of the most respected waitresses. Her boss explained that he had never seen a worker with as much work ethic as she, always early, never late anymore, never argued or broke any rules. She always gratefully accepted the days off she had earned, but never asked for more than that. She had even been offered the position of general manager multiple times, but she always refused. Her reasoning was simple. As a waitress, she could call in and quit at any point. As a manager, she couldn’t. She would have to give two weeks’ notice and help in the interviewing process for the next general manager. She wouldn’t have forewarning for when Haku finally came to get her, so she avoided situations that would require notice.

With a sigh, she fell backwards on her mattress and looked up at her ceiling, which she had painted to mimic one of her favorite drawings of Haku. She loved going to sleep and then waking up to him watching over her. It made her feel safe, even though she knew it was a painting she had first drawn, and not the real Haku. She closed her eyes, only to bring them open again when she heard familiar shouting. She sighed and got off her bed and grabbed her robe, running down the hallway towards the kitchen when she smelled burning eggs.

As she’d suspected, two of the housemates, Utau and Kyo, were arguing over the proper way to cook eggs, the cooking eggs forgotten in the too-hot pan.

“Good morning, you two.” Chihiro greeted them as she grabbed the proper spatula from the utensils drawer, turned down the heat on the eggs, and then started trying to salvage the eggs.

“Good morning, Chihiro.” Utau and Kyo replied in unison.

“I’m sorry for ruining the eggs, Chihiro.” Utau whined, her voice heavy with unshed tears. “I wanted to make today easier for you, as congratulations on your promotion.”

“Utau, don’t be silly. The eggs aren’t ruined. And I appreciate the thought, but I don’t think I’m going to take the promotion.” Chihiro laid her hand on the 17 year old’s shoulder, the eggs safe for the moment. “With all of you helping with the living expenses, I don’t need the extra money. Besides, I like my job as it is.”

“Oh. Alright.” Utau seemed to sag a little, clearly saddened by her breakfast attempt having been made in vain.

“But, I’m touched you would try to make breakfast, Utau. Now, would you please go wake up the others? You don’t want to be late for school.”

Both Utau and Kyo ran to their respective sides of the house, leaving a grinning Chihiro in the kitchen to make the breakfast.

 

Two hours later, Chihiro was in her car, finally alone. All eight children had left for school, leaving their guardian free to follow her plans for today. A great deal of those plans included her usual trip to the nearby abandoned train station, which was the gate between the humans and spirit worlds.

She couldn’t count the number of times she had travelled down this path, but she did know every rock, tree and shrine. She also knew the train station just as well, perhaps even better than her old schools. As such, it was a little comforting when she sat down on what she considered to be her bench, readying her sketchbook and pencil as she did so.

It didn’t take long for her to decide what to draw, and once she started, she didn’t notice a single thing. She didn’t notice the movement of a creature in the rafters above her, making its way out of its den in an old, now hollow, clock mount. She didn’t notice as it watched her and made its way to her front, to see her face. Of course, she couldn’t see the creature. It was invisible to humans, its body shadowy and wispy so that it more or less resembled a storm cloud that was holding too much rain. This creature was more ghost than matter, so its breaths were barely audible, its paws didn’t burden the rotten rafters at all.

For Chihiro, all that mattered was this drawing, and the occasional glimpse out to where the field of the spirit world once was. All she saw was a boarding platform, which meant the gate was still closed. A stab of disappointment hit her as she turned back to her drawing, adding a new emotion to the complexity of the picture.

For the ghostly creature, what mattered was a human was in his gateway. This was a very rare occurrence, but he recognized this particular human. Ever since he had taken over the duties of protecting this gateway eight years ago, just before her first visit to the spirit world, she and her parents were the only humans he had ever seen, always sitting where she was now and drawing as she waited for something.

Chapter Two

Miles away, Haku, spirit of the Kohaku River, was flying in his dragon form over the landscape of the spirit world, downhearted. He hadn’t caught a single glimpse of Chihiro since he had sent her back home. He had been trying to, at the very least, stay near the gateway as much as possible so he’d notice if she came back. But, since he didn’t know what had happened to her after the last time he has seen her, he was also at the Kohaku River, which hadn’t been fully destroyed as he’d thought. Instead, the water had simply moved underground.  He didn’t know if Chihiro had been to the river, or even knew that it still existed, but he couldn’t rule it out, since the gateway and the river were his only means of seeing into the human world.

He was coming back from a trip to his river and, as usual, there had been no sign of Chihiro for the entire two weeks he had been there. That’s why he was so downhearted. He missed Chihiro but he hadn’t seen any glimpse of her for eight years. That’s why he could barely sleep at night. He missed her, and he was worried about her. His protective instincts were strong, and he was forever worried that his chance with her had already passed them by. She was human, and so very susceptible to the many dangers of her world. She could easily have fallen prey to disease, an accident or a wild animal, and he wouldn’t have been there to protect her, even if spirits were able to enter the human world. So, that’s another reason why he haunted his river so much. When he was connected to his river, he could pick up the odd conversation spoken by couples by his creeks. He prayed he’d hear anything regarding Chihiro, even if it meant she was dead. He couldn’t stand this not knowing! He needed to know what had happened to her, how she was faring, alive or dead.

As was normal for him, he turned toward the gateway and landed directly in front of it, disappointment once again swimming through him. All he could see was a wall. When the gateway was open, he could look inside through a doorway, which is why Chihiro and her parents were able to get through to the spirit world eight years ago. Knowing he hadn’t missed her, he settled down for a very long wait. As he waited, he remembered is adventure with Chihiro.

 

Eight years ago, Chihiro and her parents were moving to a new house in the town near the gateway when her father took a wrong turn and they ended up at the train station. Chihiro and her parents made their way through the gateway, with it having been open at that time, and wandered into the spirit town surrounding the bath house. Chihiro’s parents had smelt food and had greedily gorged themselves, while Chihiro restrained, knowing it was wrong. While Chihiro was panicking, Haku had found her and had helped her to not disappear by feeding her a berry from the spirit world before he told her how she could get her parents restored to human form. He told her to get a job at Yubaba’s bathhouse, working for Kamaji, the boiler man, because he wouldn’t ask a contract of her whereas Yubaba would. The next thing he knew, Chihiro, renamed Sen, held a contract with Yubaba as a worker. He was impressed she had gotten so far, but he couldn’t let it show. He hadn’t known what Yubaba would do if she knew Haku was even remotely feeling anything for the new worker, so he hid it. And when he saw how Sen was struggling, and then improving and learning, he was quite proud. He had a feeling she would be a great girl. But then he had been given a mission from Yubaba that resulted in him almost dying. The only reason he was still alive was because Sen had purified a fellow river spirit and he had given her a very potent food that would cleanse all that ingested it of any negatives, such as, in his case, the controlling slug Yubaba had planted in him, as well as the golden seal he had stolen on behalf of Yubaba. It wasn’t until he woke up that he found what had happened and discovered that Sen had gone to return the seal and offer her apologies on his behalf. Knowing she would be in danger from spirits who hated humans, he first struck a bargain with Yubaba. If Sen past a test, then she and her parents, returned to human form, could leave in peace. If she failed, she and her parents stayed. After having secured the means for her escape back to her world, Haku then transformed into a dragon and followed her, catching up to her at Yubaba’s sister’s hut, finding her safe and sound, and accompanied by a mouse, a mini bird, and a creature named NoFace. Seeing her safe, and, judging from her exuberant hug, she was as glad to see him as he was to see her. After that, he took her, the mouse and the mini bird back to the bathhouse to face her test. On the way, Sen told him his real name, Kohaku of the Kohaku River, which Yubaba had stolen as a means of controlling him. Knowing his name now, Haku was freed of his contract to Yubaba. As if it needs stating, Sen passed her test, picking out her parents from a group of 10 pigs…none of which were her parents, so Chihiro and her parents were allowed to go back to the human world. Before her departure, however, Haku promised her that he would one day see her again. He had meant it. By that point, he had already fallen in love with her, though he wouldn’t admit it to himself.

For spirits, loving a human was a gamble, and one that more than likely wouldn’t end well. A human could live in the human world, forever apart from the one who loved them, or they could live in the spirit world, risk death to prejudiced and hateful spirits, and still age as they normally would, leaving the pair a very short time together. Haku, however, was willing to take that risk if Chihiro wanted to be with him. He was a rather powerful spirit and so he knew he could protect her. As for the heartache he would suffer when she died…well, he’d rather suffer and mourn her then be apart from her, but only if she wanted him as well. If she wanted to be in the human world, then he’d let her go. To him, her happiness was more important to him than his own happiness was.

That’s why he was desperate to see her, or hear even a word about her. He didn’t just miss and love her, he needed to know how she fared. Did she dislike her world and wish to be with him? Or had she forgotten about him and has been fully integrated into her own world? Or, worst of all, was she dead?

That last thought brought a great deal of pain, causing him to whimper a small amount even as he redoubled his concentration on the gateway.

For yet another two weeks, he stood watch. The gateway did open a few times, when the bathhouse was opening for business, but at no point was Chihiro there. For a total of two weeks, Haku watched the gateway, hoping to see her. When he didn’t the morning fourteen days after his arrival, he flew off to his river.

Chapter Three

As for Chihiro, she was at the gateway on another visit, but this time was different. This time, she had brought supplies for a campout. She had remembered the first time she had been here was late in the afternoon. Perhaps she had been leaving too early and so missed the gateway opening?

So, here she was, wrapped up in her sleeping bag, sipping a cup of hot chocolate as she read a book. Every few sentences, though, she looked up. She couldn’t help it. There was something different in the air now, something that made her feel like something life-changing and wondrous would be happening tonight. It made her restless, which it why she couldn’t finish a paragraph without checking on the gateway portal.

Eventually, she put down the book and set about getting ready for bed when she suddenly heard new noises. Startled, she looked up and gasped. Before her, the platform was gone, replaced with a beautiful green field with flowers, a breeze and beautiful white puffy clouds in the sky. Her bed forgotten, she rushed forward, slow to believe that this was real. She had waited for so long and now, finally, here she was! She was back in the spirit world. Before she lost her chance, she pulled out her phone and texted Kyo and Utau, saying she wouldn’t be returning and good luck to everyone. Then she left her stuff there and rushed out into the field, laughing happily. She fell into the grass and smelled it, tears wetting her eyes and blurring her vision, before she got up and looked around. Nothing had changed. There was the town, just as it had been. But she had to remind herself to run. The light was fading and that meant this river would soon be replaced with water.

So, she ran, hoping with all of her heart that Haku would be on the other side waiting for her. What she didn’t expect was to see Haku in dragon form, rising out of the grass. She recognized him immediately. The green hair down his spine matched his eyes, and it compared to the white dominating the rest of his skin quite well. She stopped to absorb the sight of him, exactly as she’d imagined.

“Haku!” She exclaimed as she rushed forward, running as fast she could toward him. Haku roared and leapt toward, easily closing the gap in a single bound. Chihiro laughed and launched herself at him, locking her arms around his neck as she got as close to him as she could. At her back, she felt his head nestle against her spine as a rumble went through his body, almost deafening her. Yes, he was definetly happy to see her! That rumble sounded a lot like a purr from a cat.

Oh, Chihiro! Haku’s voice entered her head, light with happiness and joy. I’ve missed you so much.

“I’ve missed you, too, Haku. Please don’t let this be a dream. If I wake up, I just might die.”

Haku laughed, or as best he could in dragon form.

I agree! But I don’t think it is a dream. See? He then released her to bite at his paw. Sure enough, he started bleeding. Chihiro sighed in relief. She had been very much afraid this was a dream so she pinched herself and was elated, for once, to feel pain. It was real! Haku was really back!

With another shout of glee, she hugged him again as Haku transformed back into his human form to give her a proper hug. But he didn’t stop there. He laughed and lifted her up and spun her around, drawing another laugh from both of them. When Haku set Chihiro back on her feet, their excitement dimmed down to a peaceful absorption of each other’s presence.

After a time, they pulled a little bit away, enough to look into each other’s eyes, hands still clasped together.

“Wow, Chihiro. You’ve really grown!” Haku stated in amazement. “You’re so beautiful.” He stroked her cheek gently with his fingers, causing me to blush.

“Thanks. You’re really quite handsome as well.”

“Thanks. Your 18 now, right?”

“That’s right. You remembered!”

“Of course I did. I’ve been counting the days since you left. I may not remember your exact birthdate, but I know that each year is 365 days long. Doing the math was easy.” At that, Chihiro laughed and nuzzled against Haku’s neck. In response, he hugged her close again. “But I sure have missed you.”

“I’ve missed you too, Haku.”

Chapter Four

Haku didn’t know how long they stood there, embracing, nuzzling and generally rejoicing that the other was there at last. But, he did notice when the air got colder and the meadow began to fill with water.

“Water?” Chihiro gasped, having forgotten about this part. She watched the water climb higher up her legs while, beside her, Haku transformed into a dragon. This meadow would be several meters underwater shortly, and water of that depth held spirits that ate anything it found.

Come on, Chihiro. Climb on. He beckoned to her as he bent his head enough for her to grab hold of his horns and slip a leg over his neck. As soon as she was secure, he jumped into the air and took to the sky. But he didn’t land once they were safe. He just wanted a few more minutes alone with her. He could still barely believe she was really back! Besides, he liked the way she fit on his neck.

 

As for Chihiro, she was watching the lights come on in the town below as the sunlight faded from the landscape. It was quite a change. But as soon as that happened, she started getting a little sleepy and yawned, bringing her hand up to her mouth. She didn’t realize it, but she was expecting her warm breath to hit her hand. But, it didn’t. Something was wrong. Chihiro looked at her hand and gasped.

“Haku, I’m disappearing again!” She exclaimed, just as frightened as she had been that first time eight years ago. Haku swiveled his head around at the tone of her panicked voice.

Alright, Chihiro. Take it easy now. I figured this would happen so I always keep some berries in my pack. When I’m in this form, it becomes a sack on my stomach. The only way for you to reach it is if I fly upside down. Before I flip, I need you to hold onto my throat. Can you do that? I’ll use my forepaws to help stabilize you while I flip.

Chihiro took a few deep breaths and focused on Haku. She nodded.

“Yeah. I think I can do that. Here I go.” She said just before she started moving around to Haku’s throat, clasping either side of his neck tightly with her legs. Releasing a small amount of pressure from one of her legs, she let her body tip to the side and slipped down Haku’s neck until she was right where she needed to be. As soon as she was, she clutched onto Haku tightly with both arms and legs.

“And I choking you, Haku?”

No, I‘m fine. My windpipes are located deeper into my anatomy than yours are so I’m still breathing perfectly. Having said that, he then moved his paws to hold her where she was as he fled his wings, adjusted his weight, and flipped onto his back. This was a little difficult for him since he rarely did show off tricks like this for fun. Once he was sure he was stabilized and Chihiro could move about freely without fear, he removed his paws.

Chihiro looked around for the sack on his stomach. She couldn’t see it until he moved the flap. Nodding, she analyzed what she had to do. She could stand up and walk, but then there was the chance the wind would knock her right off of Haku. If she moved, that chance was still present, but it was lessened if she crawled her way down Haku’s body. And with that, her mind was made up. She started crawling, forcing herself to not look at her rapidly disappearing hands and arms, until she made it to the sack. Ignoring that implications of this, she stuck her hand into the opening and felt around for some berries. She found something and pulled it out. It was, indeed, a berry, which she quickly ate. With a sigh of relief, she saw that her body was becoming more solid as she watched.

“Alright, Haku. That berry did the trick. Im gonna return to your throat now, okay?” She explained even as she started moving. Once at his throat, she locked on again and waited as Haku flipped right side up again and used his paws as a landing platform for her to drop onto, which she did. Once she was in his paw, he placed her up near his horns, leaving her able to get on and grab hold.

Sliding into place, she sighed with relief again. “Thanks, Haku. Youre a lifesaver.”

Haku chuckled and grinned. It pays to be prepared, huh?

“Yes, it does.”

With the excitement now over, Chihiro yawned again and settled back against Haku’s head, fighting to stay awake. She lost.

Chapter Five

Haku noticed the moment Chihiro fell asleep. How could he not? Her grip on his horns loosened and he felt her body tip to the side, unable to stay balanced. Knowing she would fall if he didn’t do something, he reached up and tried to reach her. When that failed, he kept his paw up beside her and flipped onto his back so that Chihiro would fall into his paw. Clenching her gently but securely, he then righted himself and fell down to the bathhouse, debating. He could save the reunion for tomorrow, when Chihiro was awake and she’d be able to enjoy the excitement that would no doubt ensue upon the workers’ learning of her arrival. Yes, that’s what he would do.

Adjusting his wings, Haku floated down to the town and transformed back into his human form, Chihiro carried in his arms bridal-style, as he walked into a hotel that he knew was well-favored by the customers who visited for an extended amount of time. The manager immediately set him up with a room and followed Haku upstairs. At the door, the manager unlocked it and left Haku to his own devices once he had ascertained that nothing further was required of him. Haku, meanwhile, gently laid Chihiro on the bed and couldn’t help but stroke her cheek and hair again. He was still having trouble adjusting to how much she had grown and developed over the eight years they’d been apart. Before, when she was ten years old, she had been gangly, her arms and legs slightly disproportionate to her height, her face was still round with baby fat and she still had the characteristic immaturity for a child her age. Looking at her now, he could hardly believe the transformation.

She had grown, obviously, and was now quite pleasingly tall for a woman, almost tall enough for her head to reach his shoulder. Her face had lost is baby fat, revealing the beautiful facial structure, high cheek bones and triangular face he knew was just beneath the surface. But that wasn’t all that had happened. Her arms and legs were not proportionate for her height and body, and they had also lost their baby fat, though he suspected that what made them strong and slightly toned now was exercise. She had also grown more confident, courageous and sure of herself. When she had been a child, she had started out as easily frightened, confused, maybe a little bit helpless and overwhelmed. But, now, he knew that part of her was gone. He hadn’t seen it yet, but he knew it was true, replaced by these other characteristics that made her more appealing to him, as if she wasn’t appealing enough already.

Smiling to himself, Haku kissed her forehead and took a shower. When he came back out, Chihiro was still asleep so he dressed in enough clothes to cover him before he slipped into the bed. Snuggling up with her, Haku drew the covers over both of them before he fell asleep, Chihiro’s head nuzzled against his chest with his arms around her.

Chapter Six

Chihiro woke up the next morning, surprisingly more comfortable than she had been at home. And it wasn’t difficult to see why. She knew that was lying on Haku’s chest. He was breathing rhythmically, his heart beating steadily, and she could feel his warm, slightly furry chest under her cheek and hand. Not wanting to wake him, she didn’t move and just reveled in being with Haku again, being in the spirit world again.

She smiled and carefully lifted her head to study Haku. Just as she had grown and matured, he had done the same. His face was more lean now, and he was very handsome. His jet black hair had grown out so it touched his broadened, muscled shoulders. His arms, as she knew, were quite toned and developed, yet they still had the capacity to be gentle and tender. Behind his closed eyelids, she knew his eyes were a beautiful emerald green that she could easily be lost in. For her, it wasn’t unusual for just his eyes to feature in her dreams, so she knew their color well. She also knew the chocolate, gold and silver flecks in them, giving his eye color an iridescent look that would easily make other women swoon. But, he had also grown. He was quite tall now, even by human standards, making his dragon form absolutely massive. His hips were narrow, his legs long, strong and thick with muscle.

Smiling, she nuzzled against Haku’s chest again and waited for him to wake up, which he promptly did. Chihiro looked up at him again just as his eyes were opening. Chihiro smiled and started to say something but then Haku hugged her.

“You’re really here.” He whispered and Chihiro giggled.

“Of course I am, silly. But I don’t blame you for thinking I wasn’t really here. When I woke up, the same thought crossed my mind.” She said before she hugged him tightly, which Haku quickly returned with a laugh. “I’ve missed you so much, Haku. And I was so afraid that yesterday was just a dream.”

“Same. I’ve missed you so much I haven’t been able to sleep properly for eight years.  And I had the same…hesitation. Seeing you walking out of the gateway was a dream that I was half believing that would never come true. And before you go thinking I’m creepy or whatever, let me explain. I’ve lived a really long time. I may not look it, but I’m actually more than a thousand years old. And in all that time, I’ve never had a friend, let alone the kind of friends we were becoming eight years ago. That’s mostly why I missed you.”

“So, I’m a friend to you?” Chihiro asked, wishing to clarify, being sure to hide her own feelings. Haku nodded. “Good. I’d hate for one of us to feel more and the other to not reciprocate. And so you know, you’re my friend, too, and I was lonely. So lonely, I agreed to become guardian of eight foster kids just to fill my empty house.”

“But you’re eighteen. How can your house be empty? Shouldn’t you still be with your parents?”

“Mom and Dad were killed seven years ago. They were going on vacation to the coast while I was in America visiting a cousin who studied abroad. While I was safe in America, a tsunami hit the coast where Mom and Dad were. I don’t know the details; I didn’t want to know at the time. All I know is they never came home.”

“Oh, Chihiro.” Haku whispered before he enveloped Chihiro in a hug, having noticed how her voice trembled, even now. She hugged him back tightly, needing the kind of support he was giving her that no one else could provide.

 

After a while, they separated from their hug and just enjoyed being together again. They continued to talk and catching up in the eight years they had been apart. But it soon sank it that Chihiro was really back in the spirit world, and all of her friends were waiting to see her. She got restless and Haku figured out why. So, they checked out of the hotel and they walked to the bathhouse.

Chapter Seven

 Chihiro woke up the next morning –er, evening- thinking she was back home and her alarm was going off. Automatically she reached out with a clenched fist to pound the thing into silence. Her fist met only air. The pass of her fist over where when she had expected to meet something solid was enough to shock her into full awareness. “Oh. Silly me. There’s no alarm clocks here. But then what’s making that noise?” She looked around. This wasn’t the room she shared with the other girls! Where was she? And then she saw Haku on the sofa and smiled. She was in Haku’s apartment. As she watched, Haku woke up and snapped his fingers. Immediately, the blaring noise silenced. “Good evening, Haku.”

“Evening, Chihiro.” He yawned as he sat up and ran a hand through his black hair. “Sorry I fell asleep on you this morning.”

“Its alright. You had a rough first day. Besides, I liked you falling asleep on me. Its been my experience that only those who trusted me with their lives fell asleep on my shoulder, and that hasn’t been very many. So, it was quite exhilarating for you to fall asleep on my shoulder.”

“Oh, okay.” She stretched and got out of bed, smoothing the covers back into place. “What time is it?”

“There’s no real sense of time here. Just the placement of the moon and sun. Right now, everyone will be waking up soon, but I left you enough time for you to shower if you’d like.” He gestured to the pair of curtains that framed a doorway. She assumed that doorway led to the bathroom.“Thanks but maybe tomorrow morning will be better, after the work day. I always sleep better when I’m clean.”

“Alright, but the offers always open. I’ll go shower then. If you need anything, just speak what you want into that pipe.” He pointed to an old-fashioned pipe that was used in old times to let people of the same house but on different levels to communicate easily. “And it’ll come out the slot next to it.”

“That’s cool!” She went over to the pipe and poked around it a bit. Haku watched her and chuckled. She seemed like an exuberant, curious puppy and it made him smile. “And if you need to talk to me, just tap on the wall three times. The water in here will silence itself so I can hear you.”

“Another spell?”

“Yep. I was sick once and Yubaba refused to let me work for a full week after all of my symptoms disappeared. That means I had a lot of time on my hands so I enchanted just about everything in my apartment at least three times for different purposes.”

“Is there really that much magic in this world?”

“Oh yes. Every spirit is able to use magic, though their talents vary greatly. Some have small amounts, able to do only the most menial of enchantments. Most have a larger amount and can handle more difficult enchantments. But only the old ones, connected to the human world, have the most magic and can do almost anything. Being a river spirit, I’m one of them, but even I can’t do everything. What I can’t do, only three spirits excel at. Life, Death and Knowledge are their names. But among us spirits, there are some who believe that power lies in knowledge of magic, the language and the gestures of magic. They devote their lives to learning everything they can, and then passing all of that on. For many, that means an apprentice. For others, its writing a book for future generations to learn from. These are wizards and scholars, respectably.”

“Is there power in knowledge?”

“I personally believe so, but it’s also a spirit exclusive, like an eternal life. I haven’t met a human who can do magic. But, even the most powerful of creatures has to know about magic and the many intricacies of life to control that power. For beginners, that means learning the language and the gestures, the ranking of the spirits according to magical aptitude, and many other things before they can fully control their magic.”

“What happens if one has magic but they don’t use it?”

“It explodes. In some cases, the magic could turn a simple spell, like watering a flower, into a catastrophe, like the drowning of a village. In others, if it is ignored, the magic builds and builds until the spirit themselves explode. To keep this from happening, spirits are taught the fundamentals of magic from the time their children. They learn the language and the most used gestures so they can cast any easy spell they wish, but they don’t learn enough to do any damage to anyone without more learning, which they have to seek on their own.”

“But if all spirits can do magic, then why not enchant the bath house? Surely it’d make everyone’s lives a lot easier.”

“They would be capable of just that if they knew their names. And even though I know my name again, I wouldn’t use my magic to lessen my workload for the simple reason that we are all here to work. Without that work, we’d all be sitting around twindling our thumbs, bored silly, and the guests wouldn’t have as much of a good time as they would expect to for the prices they’re paying for top quality service and hospitality.”

“That makes sense. Wait, but why does the spirit world have magic but the human world doesn’t?”

“The human world does have magic, Chihiro. The humans just can’t harness it. And lately, they can’t even sense it. Places of magic were beautiful, like the oceans, a meadow, lakes, forests, volcanoes. All of those places were born of magic. But, long ago, the humans and the spirits occupied the same world and lived together. One human scholar and one spirit scholar were working on a project, the subject of which has been lost with time, and the two had radical differences in opinion. The human believed the key to life was to work without magic, to rely on one’s own body to do the daily tasks and overcome obstacles. The spirit believed that life was about using everything one had to work with to better one’s standing in life. Since the humans had always been magic-less, they all banded together to support the human scholar, while the spirits rallied behind the spirit scholar. The two created their own societies, each occupying half of the planet. After a terrible clash, the most powerful spirits came together and created the barrier we have today in an effort to keep anymore fighting from breaking out. But, magic is so essential to life that it was present even in the human world. But its weakening. The humans are destroying their half of the planet, sucking the magic out of the very essence of the earth. This, in turn, affects us. Every generation, spirits are born with weaker powers than their parents. As in my case, spirits connected to the human world are losing that connection and thus a vast amount of their power. Even the spirits of Life, Death and Knowledge are weakening. Life is weakening because she used only magic to create life. With less magic, she can’t do as much as she used to. The spirit of Death is slowly dying himself, the humans who die of pollution-caused illnesses polluting his very soul. And every generation we lose a bit more knowledge of magic, which affects the spirit of Knowledge.”

“Oh my god. And the humans have no idea of what they’re doing?”

“They are completely in the dark. Millenia have passed and humans live for so little time that nothing from the old times was remembered. Even now, humans can’t remember before the pollution and destruction how beautiful the land was, how clean the air and the water, how perfectly balanced life was.”

“And then they became greedy and destroyed the land to build new towns to bring in more income.”

“Or, back then, the case was food but, yes.”

“Oh dear.”

“Sen! Sen, can you hear me?” A voice rang out through the pipe on the wall. Chihiro rushed over to it. “Yes, Rin, I’m here. Sorry to worry you. I feel asleep on Haku’s shoulder and he took me up to his apartment.”

“Thank goodness. I was worried.”

“I’m alright. Is there something wrong?”

“No, nothing’s wrong. I just thought you should know that it’s time to get to work. We need every worker before opening.”

“Right. I’ll be right down.” She turned to Haku and hugged him. “Sorry, I have to go. Thanks for…well, everything. I’ll see you later?”

“Of course. But, Chihiro, listen to me. Now that everyone knows you’ll be staying, the bath house isn’t as safe as it was. There are some spirits who hate humans enough to kill. If you are in danger, or need anything urgent from me, just call my name three times, and I’ll come straight away. But, be careful. The spell can only be used in emergencies because it instills such a feeling of urgency in me and the only thing that can get that reaction from me is you. When I’m not around, stick close to Rin, but try not to be with anyone else by yourself. Spirits have eternal lives and so many have been around long enough to remember the humans. This means they’ve had more years than you can count to perfect acting, lying, anything. Don’t trust anyone but me, Rin, Granny and Boh.”

“I understand. I’ll be careful.”

“Alright then. You’d best get to work. The bath house will be opening soon.” He nodded and hugged her again before Chihiro dashed out of the apartment and down the stairs to the elevator.

Once she had caught up with her department, Chihiro searched for Rin, Haku’s warning fresh in her mind. She looked at spirits with a frantic eye, paranoid that someone would jump out and grab her. But after growing through puberty, she had learned how to hide her emotions so she was able to find Rin with a level head, hoping no one could see how terrified she was.With Rin by her side, Chihiro completed her evening prep work and ate breakfast. Once the bath house opened, however, they were separated. Chihiro was working in one of the tubs while Rin was hostessing again.Today, it was Chihiro’s job to help another worker relax the spirit with a long soak in the tub. Since she was the assistant, she had only to fetch water tokens and help scrub the bath after each guest. The other worker figured she would be most useful sitting in a corner, learning about a job she’d have to take on one day.Because of this, the night went by very slowly. Chihiro was lost in her thought, running over everything she had learned from Haku. She was still a little freaked that she could be in danger, but she felt better knowing Haku was a sentence away. After the bath house closed, Chihiro did her part to clean the house. She scrubbed her tub, her toilet and helped with the dishes. Once everything was done, she went up to the scrubbers floor of the bath house to shower, wash her uniform and claim the spot where she wanted to sleep. But her mind was still racing from this evening’s lessons from Haku so she sat outside, nibbling on a dumpling. Just as she was about to head inside, Haku appeared from below, flying in his dragon form. He flew right up to her and nuzzled her in greeting. Chihiro laughed quietly and climbed into his neck. She laughed again as he flew away from the bath house and over the now-sleeping village.“Haku, I’ve been thinking about everything you said this morning.”

Do you have any questions?

"A couple. Does it take magic for you to transform?”

Not in the way you think. As a river spirit, my dragon form is as much a part of me as your mind is. I can transform as easily as you can form a thought. But it takes an inborn spell for me to shift that only I know because the spell is singular to me. However, it doesn’t tire me as casting a spell would so, in a sense, the answer is yes and no.

“I see. Why does the gate open and close? I thought spirits can’t cross the barrier and the gateway is so well hidden from the humans that the chances of another human wandering through is slim.”

The gate opens according to the sun and moon. When they are lined up just right, then the magic that created the barrier is lessened, so it opens. But the magic comes back once the line up s broken, and so the gate closes. The gate only opens when the sun is moments away from touching the horizon in the afternoon on the three days when the moon is full and on the human side. The shift of power from the dying sun to the rising moon is what breaks through the barrier. Without the gatekeepers, holes would appear in the barrier and they wouldn’t heal. The gatekeepers are a special breed of spirits that are sensitive to the barrier, the sun and moon and they open the portals at the appropriate time, channeling the strength throughout the barrier but letting their portal be weakened into opening. This way, the barrier remains intact and strong but the gates are opened.

“Why are there even gates and portals. Wasn’t the point of the barrier to keep the two species separate?”

That was the point, yes, but the sun and moon work together to create massive amounts of magic and energy. That magic sweeps across the land similar to a wind, renewing the spirit world. But, the human world can’t live without it so the gates were created to open in accordance with those winds, to let the magic continue into the human world. Over the years, the gates been a boon to us as well. As you’ve noticed, there are humans in the bath house. All of them were lost and crossed into our world without knowing it. But, by the time they realized there were spirits here, the gate had already been closed so they had to stay and make a new life for themselves.

“Oh. Why do spirits have magic and human don’t?”

Why do spirits have varying amounts of magical power? Its one of the great mysteries that may never be solved.

“Has a human tried to learn magic?”

In the old days, yes. Many humans tried. They memorized as many words as they could, the studied the gestures religiously, and they practiced spells over and over again. But to no avail. The words and gestures are useless without magic, and humans don’t possess it.

“You’re a river spirit. Your river is in the human world.”

Yes.

“So, with the desolation of the human world, how are the connected spirits affected?”

Like you saw on your first day, a spirit can be polluted just as their connection to the human world is, even if the spirit isn’t occupying it at the time. The pollution is worse when the spirit is occupying their connection at the time of the destruction.

“Your river was tampered with, yet you look clean and healthy. Why?”

My river wasn’t polluted like others were. Mine was simply pushed underground. I am clean and healthy because the water itself isn’t terribly polluted. Being underground protects the water from smog and toxins, and when the water is above ground, it travels through vegetation roots that cleanse it. But I am lucky. Many others connections were wiped out entirely, and most of those connections that remain are polluted so heavily that many of the spirits will travel to the bath house for cleansing. Pay attention like you did on your first day, and you’ll be able to differentiate between a true stink spirit and a connected spirit in need of help.

“I didn’t really notice anything until the spirit tugged me underwater and held my hand to the handle of that bike.”

That is exactly what connected spirits will do. Stink spirits, however, won’t. In fact, now that I think about it, it’s doubtful you’ll have to face a stink spirit. Many of them know that they’re unwanted, though they can’t smell, and will stay away from anyone but other stink spirits. But even if you happen across one, they’re usually quite friendly and don’t mean to harm anyone so I doubt you’ll be in much danger.

“Hmm. Why did you want to be Yubaba’s apprentice?”

Well, back then, I just wanted to learn as much about magic as I could. All of the masters in the schools had already taken on apprentices so I had to look elsewhere for the knowledge I wanted. Yubaba and Zaneba come from a very old family and even though their powers aren’t as grand as their ancestors’, the knowledge is still passed from generation to generation. I hoped to learn what I could from Yubaba.

“Is there a particular reason why you wanted to learn about magic so much?”

Not especially, no. I just knew I was powerful and I wanted to learn my limitations, see exactly how much I could do.

“Oh.”

 

For a couple more hours, Haku and Chihiro flew through the air around the village. Haku answered every question Chihiro asked to the best of his ability. By the time Haku decided it was too late for him to be flying safely, Chihiro had already fallen asleep. As he had the previous morning, he took her to his apartment, tucked her into his bed, and fell asleep on the couch.

Chapter Eight

When Chihiro again woke up to the same noise she had yesterday, she didn’t even try to reach out for the missing alarm clock. Instead, she sat up and yawned. Haku was already up by now and snapped his fingers when he saw Chihiro was getting out of bed.“Evening, Chihiro.”“Hey, Haku.” She stretched and nodded her head toward the bathroom curtains. “Is that offer of the shower still open?”“Of course it is. Help yourself. You’ll find fresh towels in there, too.”“Great, thanks.” She got up and shuffled to the curtains and passed through.

After a rushed but luxurious shower, Chihiro climbed out dressed and feeling quite clean. Evidently the shower was enchanted so every time Chihiro reached for a product, it was right there.When she came out of the bathroom, her long brown hair already combed back and braided, Haku was gone. She was quite disappointed. She’d hoped to talk with him a little more. Oh, well. There was little doubt in her mind that she’d see him after work was done.Chihiro made her way down to the scrubbers dorm floor and helped everyone else clear their shared room. She stuck close to Rin again, still pretty cautious after Haku’s warning yesterday.“So, Rin, you know how I’m used to the human world being awake during the day. Well, do you call the evening 'morning' or is it still evening?”

“For us, the morning is the human evening.”

“Oh, okay. Hey, why do humans work during the day and the spirits don’t?”

“I don’t know, Sen. That’s just the way it is.”

The day was rough on Chihiro. Not only did Chihiro and Rin have to clean the Big Tub, which had somehow been left untouched for three days, but Chihiro was separated from Rin and had to work in the kitchens; ‘Orders from above’ was the gruff explanation she received. Clearly, Yubaba was testing her, making her do duties that scrubbers didn’t normally do, to see how she worked.Working in the kitchens was a torture unto itself. The big frogs were bossy and loved to shout orders at her, making her fetch an ingredient and then making her take it back when it was wrong. At the same time, she had to watch the dishwashers and wash dishes by hand. All in all, it was a very fast-paced, exhausting day and Chihiro was dead on her feet when the bath house closed. But, unwilling to let her work suffer for her exhaustion, Chihiro put every scrap of energy into helping to clean up and prep the bath house for the next day.As soon as she was done, she grabbed a bed and claimed a spot in the corner, where she fell asleep.

 

Chapter Nine

 While Chihiro slept, Yubaba was reviewing the reports she was getting from the heads of each department Chihiro had worked in so far. The girl had proven to be driven, with a strong work ethic and did what tasks she was given to the best of her ability at all times, regardless of any exhaustion, dislike for the job or muscle soreness. Twice she had not reported for bed in the scrubbers dorm but she suspected Haku had taken pity on her and let her sleep in his apartment. Well, that doesn’t matter. All she cared about was how Chihiro performed during operating hours. By getting details on the girl during the day, Yubaba hoped to figure out a good test for her. Yubaba could not hold her parents over her this time, and her employment was guaranteed. So what could Yubaba use against her? She’d need more information. Grabbing a pen and a slip of paper, she wrote out orders for Chihiro’s workload tomorrow. One copy was sent to each head of the two departments that would be involved with her tomorrow. With both pieces of paper sent out, Yubaba sat back in her chair to chuckle to herself. Oh, how she loved this subtle game of poking and proding. She loved working the girl to the bone, and Yubaba would take pleasure in making sure that Chihiro didn’t sleep a wink in the next few days. When Chihiro hadn’t slept for five or six days straight, Yubaba hoped that Chihiro would break, or simply keel over. Chihiro was a spirited, brave young woman and had already caused a great amount of trouble for Yubaba. She had to break that spirit before the danger to her profits would be lessened.Also, Yubaba couldn’t wait to see how Haku would struggle to override her orders. By using Chihiro, Yubaba hoped to also bring Haku to heel once again. The boy was far too powerful for Yubaba’s taste, and he was the biggest threat to her gold.“You wanted to see me, Yubaba?”

“Yes, Haku. Come in.” The boy stepped forward, in front of the fire. “I have some training for you.”

 

The sun seemed to fall too quickly. No sooner had Chihiro fallen asleep than she was waking up.“Sen, wake up.” Rin was crouched beside her, shaking her shoulder. “It’s a new day.”Moaning in protest, Chihiro sat up and wiped the sleep from her eyes. “Already?”

“Sorry, I know you had a hard day yesterday. But, you have to get up.”

“Yeah, I know. Alright, alright.” She put on her apron and helped clear the room. She rushed through breakfast and morning prep, hoping to catch a shower before the bath house opened. Worried about time, Chihiro didn’t waste any time and washed only her body and face. She redid her braid while she rushed up the stairs to the department she’d be working today; cleaning the rooms of overnight guests. Since all of the flooring up there was wood, she would have to use a rag and work on her hands and knees. With her back already sore from yesterday, she’d have a tough time getting her work done quickly, consistently and well today. Oh, well. She’d just have to do the best she could and pray tomorrow would be easier.

Chapter Ten

 True to Yubaba’s plan, Chihiro’s workload increased every day. She was tossed around from department to department, given increasingly arduous tasks that left every single muscle in her body aching and shaking by the end of the day. After closing hours, the amount of work Chihiro was ordered increased. On her first day, she had cleaned a tub and the stall, a hallway and a toilet. Now, the only consistent work were two tubs and the surrounding stall, three hallways, four toilets and washing the dishes until all of them were clean, dry and put away in the evening. More work was added every night.Two weeks into her employment, Chihiro had had very little sleep in the last five days, crawling into bed a mere four hours before the sun disappeared for another work-filled night. The sheer amount of work, the difficulty of the tasks, and the decreasing hours of sleep had all conspired to drain Chihiro of energy, her muscles in a seemingly permanent state of pain. Chihiro had no idea how she managed to find the energy to continue her usual level of quality work, let alone to be civil to anyone who spoke to her. Chihiro was sure she could handle the physical work that was demanded of her, no matter how grueling. She just wasn’t prepared for how little she would see of Haku, and how much she missed him. She hadn’t seen him at all since she woke up in his apartment for the second time, and she was worried. She hoped he was alright.

Meanwhile, Yubaba was growing increasingly frustrated. “This is impossible! How can this troublesome girl be so determined? I’m working her as hard as I can, and yet still the quality of her work hasn’t diminished at all! What else am I going to do?!” She shouted as she glared at the reports she had collected in the two weeks since the girl’s arrival. All of the papers screamed at her, praising the girl for her consistency, friendliness, and energy, each begging Yubaba to lessen the workload for such a wonderful worker. Yubaba was furious and screamed as she flipped over her father’s desk, sending papers, jewels, gold, inkwells and quills flying.By the fire, the three heads stopped jumping around to look at their mistress, bewildered. It was a rare sight for Yubaba to be so very flustered. Wisely, they fled the room.“Mama, don’t you think Sen’s had enough?” Boh strolled into the office and leaned his tall body against the doorframe. “You’re working her mercilessly and her work remains unaffected. Wouldn’t it be in the business’ best interest if you stopped working her? At the rate you’re going, you’re going to kill her. The bath house needs workers like her. It’d be foolish of you if you were to let her die simply to soothe your pride. Not only would the profits hurt, but Rin and Haku would both be very cross with you. I doubt you’d like having a powerful river spirit angry at you.”

“No! She hasn’t suffered enough yet.”

“What else can you do? You’ve had her working in every single department, adding more and more chores to her afterhours workload. The best thing you can do right now is accept defeat and back off, let her rest and recover.”

“No. She has to break. If I back off now, she’ll never be as tuneless as the rest of the workers.”

“Tuneless? You mean to make her no more than another worker?”

“Yes, of course. Once her spirit’s broken, she won’t let in anymore NoFace spirits, or anything as destructive.”

“Oh, Mama, I thought you were over that.”

“How can I be? Do you know how much gold she cost this business? Everything had to be cleaned up, supplies restocked, doors repaired, beams replaced. And then she managed to remove Haku’s slug so now he thinks for himself and is a danger to me. That dragon can rip this business to shreds until it’s no more than a pile of splinters on the meadow if he sets his mind to it.”

“And that’s exactly what he’ll do if you let Sen die. It’d be much better for you if you let her live. The bath house will still profit, and Haku will have no need to tear it down.”Yubaba sighed. She had to admit, her son was right. What she was doing now was purely self-destructive. If she pursued this, it’d mean only disaster for her business, the source of the gold that she coveted.Accepting defeat, Yubaba dismissed her son, righted the desk, and wrote out Chihiro's orders for tomorrow, as well as a note to Chihiro herself.

Chapter Eleven

Chihiro almost cried when Rin shook her awake. She’d fallen onto the first quilt she found, regardless that both halves of the two quilts she laid on were occupied already, little more than an hour before. And now, she had to wake up and do yet more work.“Sen, you have a message from Yubaba.”

“Yubaba?” She asked and accepted the envelope. Opening it, she read the letter once, and then again and again. It was difficult to believe that this had all been the test for her employment and that she had passed.“What does it say, Sen?”

“I passed her test. I’m ordered to sleep today and tomorrow, and report to her office the day after tomorrow for my reassignment orders.”

“Reassignment? You’re being reassigned?”

“I guess so. But I don’t know where. I passed her test so it must be one of the departments higher up than this. That was the deal. If I pass, I’m promoted. If I fail, I’m demoted. But I don’t know where she’ll put me.”

“Well, then you’d best sleep. You’re going to need your strength for your new assignment.” Rin handed her a bed and pointed to the corner Chihiro tried to grab whenever it was available. Chihiro nodded, accepted the bed, and curled up in the corner. She was asleep immediately.

Two days later, Chihiro found herself in front of Yubaba, receiving her new orders.“I must say, Chihiro, I’m impressed. Not many pass my tests.”

“Thank you. You didn’t make it easy.”

“Good. Now, you have worked in every single department. You know what expectations I hold and you know the work involved. Therefore, you’re going to be joining management. You’ll be in charge of the scrubbers. Is there a problem?” Yubaba had noticed Chihiro’s shocked face.“No problem, Yubaba. I’ve just never been a manager before. But I’m ready to do my best.”

“Good, then. Off you go. Oh, here.” She handed a paper to Chihiro. “Your predecessor’s orders for demotion. See that he gets it.”

“Yes, ma’am.”

”Then be gone with you.” Chihiro scampered off, rushing downstairs to the other scrubbers. First, she had to find the manager and hand over his orders. Then she’d see about settling into her new rank.The manager being demoted, understandably, was not very happy at being replaced by a human, even one he had lavishly praised. It took a force of three security guards to escort the frog away, though none of them could do nothing about stopping him from cursing Chihiro and swearing revenge. A coldness swept down Chihiro’s spine but she turned away and set about correcting the chaos and getting everybody back to work.That evening, Chihiro ate and slept well, her body grateful for the removal of the outrageous demands. But, it had been a positive experience. Her muscles had developed, which means they could handle more work and were stronger, and Chihiro now knew her limitations.

 

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Tag der Veröffentlichung: 09.07.2014

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I do NOT own Spirited Away. All credit goes to Spirited Away creator Hayao Miyizaki.