Haku's Story

Kohaku stood in front of a small cottage, and watched as the sun went down. He was still at the edge of the clearing, and was hidden by the dark expanse of trees. The air was heavy and humid, and the sound of buzzing insects filled the air. He took a deep breath, and could smell the rich earth of the swampland. He slowly walked across the clearing, and raised his hand to knock on the plain wooden door of the cottage. Before he could do so though, it swung inward and an elderly woman's voice called,

"Come in."

"You wanted to see me?" Kohaku asked, walking into Zeniba's small cottage.

"Ah, there you are Haku! I was wondering when you'd get here. Have a seat." Zeniba said looking up from her knitting and pointing to the chair across from her.

"I don't have time," he said curtly, frowning at the sound of his old name. "Boh sent me a message. He says there's something going on at the bathhouse that I should know about." He continued, staying in the doorway.

"You wouldn't happen to know anything about that, would you?" He asked, narrowing his eyes. Kind as she appeared to be, Zeniba was still Yubaba's twin sister, and he considered anyone related to her to be far from innocent.

"How is my nephew?" She asked offhandedly, ignoring his question. "My sister never talks to me anymore; I seem to have offended her somehow. And I certainly don't know about anything going on in the bathhouse; so you can stop scowling at me as if you think I'm some sort of evil spirit waiting to steal your soul. " She reprimanded him.

"My apologies. You can't really blame me for being suspicious though, my past history with witches hasn't exactly been pleasant after all." He reminded her, finally taking a few steps into the cottage before leaning against a table crowded with all sorts of bottles and glass jars.

"No I suppose it hasn't." She sighed, looking a bit sad. "Has Yubaba threatened you at all recently?"

"No more than usual. Though she did threatened to turn me into a pig if she ever caught me talking about-" He cut off abruptly, with a grim look on his face.

"About Chihiro?" Zeniba asked softly.

Haku nodded.

"We all miss her Haku, though I suspect you feel it the most. Still no luck completely breaking your contract with Yubaba?" She asked, noting that Kohaku shifted uncomfortably at the question.

"Unfortunately no. Nothing with Kamaji or Lin's either. Yubaba is still furious with me for helping Chihiro break her contract, she's not about to let anyone else escape anytime soon." He said.

"I've been wondering about that," Zeniba said. "I understand how she's keeping Kamaji and Lin there, but not you. The magic on your contract should have broken as soon you recovered your name," She said as he purposely avoided her gaze.

When Kohaku did not respond she asked:

"Haku? There's something else isn't there? Don't try to tell me there's another part of that contract, I was with my sister when she formed the spell for it. And besides, if you were still at the bathhouse you wouldn't need Boh sending you messages. So what's keeping you? The Spirit World is a big place, and there's not much left here for you," she said.

"There is everything here for me." He said quietly. "Chihiro has never been to the rest of the Spirit World. If I leave how will she ever find me? I can't risk losing her again, I couldn't stand it. I have to stay here." He said, sounding very worn out and tired.

Zeniba nodded. "This is precisely what I wanted to talk to you about Haku. I've been reading the copy of Chihiro's contract you found for me," she began.

"And?" He asked.

"She cannot return here. If she does, than Yubaba may attempt to force her back into her contract, or worse. And she's most likely forgotten she was ever here at all; that sometimes happens to humans when they leave this world. It's been years Haku. You can wait for as long as you like, but she'll never come." She told him firmly, but softly, not sure how he would react to such news, she hadn't forgotten his ability to morph into his true spirit form.

For a moment there was quiet, and Haku was as still and silent as a statue. Zeniba thought it might be best if she told him the rest when he suddenly unfroze.

"You're wrong!" He shouted angrily, his pupils turning to slits as he banged his fist against the table. The mahogany wood cracked, and several of the glass vials shattered. "Chihiro would never forget! She swore she would come back here one day! She has too…" He trailed off as all the fight left him. One of the glass shards had sliced the side of his hand, but he showed no signs of noticing. Several drops of blood fell from his hand, and landed on a basket full of paper figures below.

"Haku, she can't. It wouldn't be safe for her, or you. If she did, what do you think would happen when Yubaba found out? She hates Chihiro. It's safer for her in the human world," she tried to tell him.

"So what am I supposed to do?" He demanded. "Just forget about her? You know I can't do that," he said.

"And I'm not asking you to," she said calmly. "Which you would know if you would let me finish. I'm an old lady Haku, if I don't tell you now I might forget entirely."

"What is it then?" He asked, trying to regain his calm.

"Chihiro may not be able to come to you, but you could go to her," Zeniba told him.

"What?" He asked, shocked. "I thought only humans could go through the passageway Chihiro used. Does this mean I could have left sooner? Why didn't you say anything ?Y-, Oww! He exclaimed, rubbing the cut on his face where Zeniba's paper figure had struck him.

"Listen!" She snapped. "I didn't have to tell you anything at all Haku. But Chihiro cares about you, and you both swore to find each other. Now do you want to find out how or not?" She asked him calmly.

Kohaku was quiet for a moment. He then sat down in one of the old wooden chairs and sighed, "Yes, please."

And so begins the story! Really Kohaku, damaging the table? That was mahogany you know. Thoughts, comments, random observations, leave a comment and let me know what you think!

All rights to these characters belong to Hayao Miyazaki.