Boh pushed Kohaku away violently. Though Boh's appearance was slight compared to the giant, grotesque babe he used to be, it was only an illusion. Kohaku slammed into the wall and slumped to the ground.
Kohaku knew why he was so weak. Ever since rediscovering his real name, he had noticed that his abilities had started to dwindle. His river, the source of his power and his namesake, was gone. Everyday he could feel himself lose a little more.
Boh set his jaw. It had hurt him to see Kohaku, the one person he had ever looked up to, so weak and pathetic. Boh was pure power; it ran though his veins. He could not begin to imagine the river spirit's abilities to be beneath his own, but there he was, trembling from Boh's blow.
Kohaku rose to his feet, his long hair sweeping his shoulders as he stood.
"You can't, Boh. Chihiro has gone away and will never come back. She might have even forgotten about us."
The pain of his statement showed on both of their faces. Boh let out a shaky sigh. The girl that had plagued his dreams for the past 6 years of his life might have forgotten him. It was plausible.
Time passed so quickly in the Spirit World. By the time Chihiro would remember it, Boh felt that he might be old. Kohaku would never age, but with his ever-fading magic, he might fade himself someday. And Chihiro might forget.
"Kohaku, I need to bring her back. I can't take this anymore, this seeing her only in my thoughts! It's killing me!"
Boh drew in a ragged breath. He felt like it was killing him. Chihiro. Maybe the only girl he had thought of since the death of Yubaba.
Kohaku knew Boh's pain, but the thought of bringing Chihiro back was something he could not do. He couldn't jeopardize her life again. Why didn't Boh see that?
For a moment, Kohaku felt some of his old strength. Something only Chihiro could give him. He felt the power blaze through him, and he knew that it was tangible.
Boh stepped back slightly, gazing in awe at Kohaku's sudden flare of aura.
"You're not taking her back, Boh!" Kohaku said. There was a note of finality in his voice, and Boh heard it.
Boh felt his heart rise up to his throat, and he let out a strangled cry. Though his mother was dead, she had babied him onto her deathbed. Boh hated that he still behaved like a spoiled child. He was seven now. Old enough to leave the bathhouse. Old enough to make his own decisions. Old enough to marry.
"If you won't let me bring her back, Kohaku, I'll just have to find her myself!" Boh announced. Inwardly, he trembled. He had never left the Spirit World. What if he suddenly became a human seven year old? He couldn't bear it if he would lose this…this body. What would Chihiro think if she just saw a child rather than the man Boh knew he was?
Kohaku felt the power leave his body. Boh would…go after her? Into the Human World? Even Kohaku himself had only ventured there a few times. It was such a tedious process. He had to stay trapped in the Human World until his magic had restored. Crossing the river for spirits was a dangerous thing.
"Boh… If you go after her. If you go…" Kohaku started. He felt his years without Chihiro suddenly collapse on him. He hung his head.
"Please, Boh. Take me with you. I can't do it by myself anymore."