~Vaster than the Sea, Wider than the Sky~
Disclaimer: The characters in this fanfiction belong to Studio Ghibli. Copyright infringement is not intended.
A/N: This occurs three years after the events of Learning to Let Go, which is a Ponyo one shot. While this fic may be read on its own, the short fic sheds light on the background of certain relations between the characters. The crossovers in this fic get a lot tighter but I am assuming most people have watched Ponyo. But I could be wrong and it'll be unfair to those who haven't, and I would certainly like to hear from you what you think.
Criticisms and suggestions are welcome.
The boy-dragon looked down into the shimmering depths of the unseen river. A long time ago, when he first woke, this place had been a plain, a small rivulet running through it and nourishing the green grass that grew on its banks. That little stream of water had cut gradually into the earth, and over a long time, became the first running river he had once called home. It had been filled in, of course, but he hadn't really grieved when that had occurred. There had been many homeless spirits before him, and it wouldn't be possible, in any case, to truly mourn something which morphed constantly. As with so many other things, home was a notion he carried within himself; it was wherever he was. No river runs through the same place twice. Each return was both familiar and unfamiliar. He opened his eyes, took a deep breath and stepped through the heavy doorway before him…
The empty alcove was cramped without the way in which the guard was staring narrowly at him. There was a musty smell and the heavy velvet curtain with the frilled edge draped in a way that was completely suffocating for an aesthetic device.
"They say you're a dragon," the guard said in a tone that implied this was somehow Haku's fault.
"Yes, biologically speaking," he answered politely. The robes he was wearing were made of heavy winter material, made all the more unbearable by a tight mandarin collar. He tugged at it discreetly. Official council robes were terribly stifling normally without him stuck in the tiny waiting area. The guard's frown increased and he drummed his fingers impatiently on the table.
"And that you was trained by Zeniba. Lucky bugger aren't you?"
He smiled fondly, remembering their first meeting. It could hardly be called a fortuitous one since he had been escaping with her stolen seal. "Very."
"Huh."
If the Council didn't summon him soon, the guard might actually pop a vein – literally. As it was, the stocky man's short temper wasn't being improved by being in the same room with him.
"First time surrounded by so many wizards eh? From what I gather, you didn't get around much," he remarked in a goading sort of way.
This was true. Zeniba had kept an extremely strict eye on him but that didn't mean he hadn't learnt how to escape her attention. Nor was he so young that he hadn't gotten around some before becoming her apprentice.
"You seem to know a lot," Haku answered blandly, carefully deflecting the man's interrogation.
"Word gets around, boy," he growled, puffing up smugly. "And you're the talk of the town for the moment."
So there was a grapevine. He'd always suspected the Council guards knew more than they let on.
"If I were you, boy, I won't let that get to my head. You remember who we're going to be at war with if this don't go right. Oi. You hear me boy?"
Haku ducked his head modestly. "No sir, yes sir," he said in the same meek tone. The guard eyed him suspiciously for a second and then turned away, offended.
"If you're going to be like that, I doubt you'll last three minutes in front of any wizard, let alone a Council member or an elder dragon."
When Haku continued to remain politely blank-faced, the guard finally gave up and went back to sit at the desk and tapped his foot loudly. "Will they hurry it up?" he muttered.
A gong sounded distantly and the guard got up from his chair eagerly. Craning his neck out behind the curtain he nodded at someone outside. "There's your cue," he grunted as Haku got up as well. The guard was still scowling at him as he twitched aside the curtain. "Can't think why they want to talk to a deserter from the dragon coven."
"That's what I'm here to find out too," he answered, smiling grimly.
Men were so stupid, and the male representatives of the Wizard's Council were no exception. In fact, Yubaba thought, given how puffed up their egos were, it was no surprise they were making little headway. She glowered pointedly at Lord Raiden who was seated across her. Someone definitely had been putting on airs. Just because his adeptness with lightning made him a powerful spirit didn't make him a lord. She caught her sister watching her with a bemused grin. Speak for yourself, she mouthed from Lord Raiden's left side. The portly spirit whom Lord Raiden had been speaking to rapped the table for attention.
"I say that we issue an ultimatum. Why should the dragons throw their weight about on this matter? After all, they aren't the only beings capable of magic in this realm. We must fight back, if only for our dignity!"
He had barely ended his speech when the meeting broke into a discord of indignant voices.
Yubaba snorted. "A fat lot of good that would do us."
The spirit who had spoken frowned. "And what do you mean by that?" he asked coldly.
"I'm saying you'll blight your own mother's name if you thought she did something against you," she groused, sticking her knobby chin out daringly.
"Why you old witch…"
Lord Raiden put up his hand. "If I may speak," he interrupted smoothly. "The real issue is that time is pressing. The dragons have issued their ultimatum, which is that the Council produce the missing weapon or they will withdraw all magical support from our joint dealings, which…is a lot," he added, eyeing a scroll which he had unfurled.
"They can't mean it," Master Gen, the portly spirit said.
"They do, and they rightly have a reason for behaving thus; they believe we stole their most powerful weapon."
"Huh! Whatever their motive, they seem insistent on stirring up trouble."
"Which is why I suggested we send a representative to speak to them." Zeniba piped in. Master Gen looked scornful at the very idea.
"And who do you have in mind who has the slightest chance of standing up to the Ryuu-shi? Only another dragon could possibly…" He stared at her as the underlying implication of her suggestion dawned on them. "Ridiculous!"
He stood up and thumped the table violently.
"Absurd! Think of the risk involved!"
"You'll send that apprentice of yours? Why, it's been nothing but pure graciousness on the part of this council that he hasn't been put into prison! And you want him to speak to his kind for us?" Master Gen growled.
"It's because he is, as you so crudely put it, "his kind" that there is any hope of getting the dragons to face us directly in talks."
"It's true," Master Hanamori spoke. "They won't ignore one of their own kind. Particularly since…" the wizard cleared her throat. "It isn't quite right for me to say it."
Zeniba leaned forward, steepling her fingers under her substantial chin. "You mean particularly a dragon who's been trained by a Council wizard in our arts?" she replied archly. The elegant wizard coloured faintly.
Lord Gen cleared his throat. "If you put it that way," he huffed, "then yes, we're saying you should just have sent it on its way instead of mollycoddling it. Women!"
He glowered resentfully back as several other pairs of female eyes turned on him. Master Hanamori cleared her throat primly. "It is not that I do not condone your actions, but given the circumstances, you might have acted more prudently, Zeniba."
"His skills were being wasted," Zeniba answered. "Someone had to take him in hand. And everyone knows what sort of mischief, voluntary or otherwise young, untrained magic users can be."
Yubaba rolled her eyes. "Are you saying I did a bad job?"
"You certainly didn't do a good one," her sister retorted. "Encouraging theft, and from a fellow council member!"
Before Yubaba could rebuke however, Akihi, the youngest wizard on the council had jumped up. "Why don't we simply let him decide?" he suggested. "He should be allowed to choose his commitments."
There was a murmur at this. Yubaba frowned. "But would the boy come here?"
"He is already here," Lord Raiden said and nodded to the blond page. "Send for him please." Master Gen turned back to Zeniba in horror as murmuring broke in a hushed wave around them. "You let your dragon apprentice in?! How could you!"
"As if I could have stopped him," she grumbled as he walked into the middle of the floor.
Haku found himself being surveyed from head to toe. The obnoxiously high collar chafed at him as he bowed before the preceding wizard. The rising murmur that had accompanied his entrance died away as all nine members regarded him. Though he wasn't facing her, he could feel Yubaba's stare especially burning into his back. Well. It had been a while after all since he met his former mistress, and his presence in the Council's first meeting regarding the Coven hadn't been expected after all. Zeniba's tea cup clinked judiciously as he straightened back up. Master Gen coughed. "To business," he said purposefully. "What do you know of the Enabler of a Thousand Desires?"
Haku was unperturbed by the blunt questioning. Yubaba had tended not to explain her motives when he had worked for her either. "I have not seen it myself but to my knowledge, it was forged by the dragon-wizards as a wish-granting object to surpass all other such magical items."
He looked steadily at the earth elemental wizard. "It could revive the dead. Heal instantly the injured, confer knowledge…" Pausing midsentence, his attention shifted slightly to the chair wizard on Master Gen's right. "To one who calls himself lord, it could easily elevate you to an emperor and true manipulator the very fabric of space itself. The laws of physics would become pudding in the hands of such a creature." Lord Raiden smiled thinly at the veiled insult. "A dangerous object," he murmured silkily.
Master Gen mopped his sweating brow. "Yes, yes, no need to go into details," he said hastily. "We all know how powerful the dragon's legendary weapon is."
"No, I think you quite fail to understand what I mean Gen-shi. The Enabler is a weapon insofar as its wielder desires it. Greed, the desire for more power, could turn it towards destructive uses. It doesn't hold any power intrinsically. For this reason, it needs to be retrieved quickly before anyone gets hold of it. That is, assuming that it hadn't been stolen, but which according to the coven it already has been. We can then assume that whoever has hold of it would likely be a threat to both the council and coven."
Under his solemn gaze, the earth wizard squirmed uncomfortably.
"Does anyone else need further clarification?" he asked softly, his eyes travelling over each of their faces.
Although he'd grown some since he'd left the bathhouse but compared to the distinguished wizards before him, he was still young. Most of them were greying at the temples and beards, one of them, the venerable tree spirit of the West, the Nishi no Kusunoki had a full on white beard that swept over his plain brown robes. On the other end of the spectrum, the youngest of them looked to be only a few years older than he was. And, judging by the looks of Master Akihi's dazzling white and crimson robe, he was already a formidable elemental specialist dealing in fire. But more importantly, he found himself liking Akihi's friendly, open face.
"Yes?" he asked, bowing slightly when the fire elemental raised his hand.
"I've a question – it may seem impertinent, and I hope you'll forgive my-
"Oh stop maudlin and get on with it young man!" Yubaba barked.
The young man reddened. "I mean, what does the Enabler of a Thousand Desires look like?"
"I've never seen it myself," Haku admitted. "Though, based on what I've heard about it's forging, it most likely has no fixed shape but reflects the appearance of whatever it is its wielder desires most strongly. I believe popular shapes it has manifested historically are things like crowns or books and weapons like swords and even guns."
A female wizard spoke, "But then, child, the perpretrator must have known of this in advance; for how do you steal something if you don't even know what it looks like?"
"Well, we'll find out when we catch him, and for that, we'll need the cooperation of the dragons," Zeniba interjected smoothly.
Lord Gen rolled his eyes. "Not that again," he muttered sourly. "The Ryuu-shi is hard to please."
"Which is why we need somebody who can speak to the Dragon Master," Yubaba interrupted. "Not that I want to agree with my sister but Haku is our best shot if we don't want an all out war with the dragons," she added, and threw Zeniba an accusatory look to just try and laugh.
Zeniba smirked anyway. "I always knew you would agree with me," she answered triumphantly.
"Humph. Just because you came up with the idea first doesn't mean I'm agreeing with you. It's the only sensible thing to do, which some of us here clearly lack," she commented.
Master Gen, puttered indignantly. "Absolutely preposterous!" he grumbled again when Akihi laughed suddenly, slapping the table as he did. Haku wondered if he might not be a little mad. Once he had gotten all their attention however, Master Akihi sobered rapidly.
"I think this settles it – when the old crone sisters actually agree on something, I think it's best to follow their decision," the young wizard said with a conspirational wink at Haku. "I vote we let our dragon friend negotiate peace talks with the Ryuu-shi."
The female wizard who had spoken earlier smiled. "I think this settles it for me too. Let the dragon try his luck with the Coven."
"I agree," a third wizard added.
The Nishi no Kusunoki nodded his sleepy agreement.
Lord Raiden sighed. "It looks as though we've a majority. He didn't look very pleased either, Haku observed. "Very well. We, the Wizard's Council hereby appoint the Nigihayami to be our official representative to the Dragon's Coven."
And that's that! The first chapter of my first Spirited Away fic. Do kindly drop a review!