No one asked. No one asked for this. But my brain hates me so... Yeah...
"Takashi, come here."
"What is it Grandpa?" a thirteen year old raven haired boy said with respect but also a hint of irritation, as he walked to his elder.
"Sit down. I have something to tell you," he said like he had many times before. The boy held back a groan. That was short hand for 'I want you to listen to some crazy story I had to listen to when I was a lad.' He didn't really care for the stories. They were always crazy stories about spirits and goblins and other nonsense. But he was nothing if not respectful, so he sat down and did his best to look interested.
"When I was young, I lived by a river," he began with a dull tone. The teen responded accordingly, but barely heard the story. Something about a woman and a dragon and a child? How was that supposed to be any kind of help in school?
In the mind of Tadashi Shirogane, it couldn't.
"Abuela!" A young Latino boy ran excitedly to the elder woman and hugging her with equal enthusiasm.
"Oh my little Lance. How are you today?" the woman greeted, wrapping her arms around the young boy. Lance gave her a kiss on her cheek, and he was scooped into her arms.
"I'm good."
"That's good. Are you doing well in school?"
"Mmhm." He nodded with a big smile on his face, "School's 'Kay. But I like listening to your stories more," the little boy said eagerly, his eyes sparkling like a little puppy. The woman chuckled and sat in a plush chair, letting the boy eagerly scramble into her lap. His eyes locked onto her face.
"What kind of story would you like?"
"One when you were little," he giggled. The woman smiled. A nostalgic look overcame her face as she seemed to reminisce about the past.
"Well, my mother did tell me the story of how she met my father..."
"Oh that one!"
"Alright. My mother was once a little girl, living in Japan. She had her mother and her father, and they were moving to a new city. Along the way, they got lost and found a temple. Her parents were curious and entered the old building. My mother was scared but followed them anyway, not wanting to be alone.
Through the temple, they seemed to come across a village. One that wasn't on any maps.
But the odd thing about this village, was that no one was around. But the stalls had tons of freshly prepared food. They all smelled lovely, but my mother was concerned. Who made the food, she wondered.
She tried to convince her parents to leave, but they ate the food, so she went on, to explore the town," she spoke with nostalgia in her voice. Lance listened with rapt attention as his grandmother wove a fantastic tale of spirits and bathhouses and a loving dragon river spirit. Coming to the end of her tale, Lance yawned and rubbed his eye.
"Did it really happen grandma?"
"It's what my mother told me. And my mother never once lied to me."
"What was her name?"
"Chihiro. Her name was Chihiro."
The story fueled Lance's drive growing up. If his great grandmother could not only face but escape the spirit world with her freedom, then he had the potential to do anything.
Something that kept him going upon the entry into space.
He knew everyone would think he was crazy for actually believing his grandmother's story. A story of spirits. The story of remeeting his grandfather.
Yes, he believed his grandmother's words with the supposed identity of his great grandfather. According to his grandmother, it was the grand river spirit of a river in Japan, the Kohaku River. But his family just called him Haku.
But it was why everyone would think he was crazy. Aliens? Sure, they lived with them. Fought along side them. Spirits? Just some nonsense to explain science by some superstitious people.
Thankfully, Allura kept them busy so he didn't have to think too much about it.
He didn't think he ever would.
"This is awesome!" Lance laughed looking over at the planet they had just landed on. It appeared to be a bunch of close islands, hoping distance between many of them, with water streaming between the land. The islands appeared small, perhaps a few people could fit on one comfortably or a small house.
The water cascaded accords the land, elegantly weaving itself like a spiderweb. Lance didn't know how it was possible, but he silently thanked the spirits of the land for the beauty with a gentle touch of his hand barely grazing the water. He did so as his grandmother had taught him so long ago.
He wasn't quite sure if they were real, but it always was a comfort to think and thank the unseen deities who protected the land and essence of their people.
Esspecially when it came to water. Perhaps it was his connection with the Blue Lion previously, or the stories his grandmother used to tell him about her own absent father, but he felt close to the water, and the supposed spirits who lived in tandem with it. It was in his blood. He had accepted what seemed so outlandish then, and with all he had seen in space, who was he to deny the possibility of it all being true? Why would he want to deny it anyway?
It was a comforting thought. That the spirits were always around him. Sometimes, he swore he could hear their whispers. Little bits of encouragement.
"Come on Lance, we don't have all day," Keith grumbled.
"He's right Lance. We need to find where the Galra base is quickly," Shiro stated in his usual authoritive tone. Lance didn't argue. They really did need to find the base.
Lance felt a full and fluttery feeling in his gut. Something in his gut told him to follow where the water grew slightly more sparse. Where the feelings of comfort from water urged him to avoid to stay safe.
Up river. Lance darted from land patch to land patch from where the water was coming from.
"Oh god- Lance!" Keith called out chasing after the Cuban Paladin. Shiro rolled his eyes but went after the pair.
In what felt like minutes, Lance was glad to see his gut was right as he saw the Galra soldiers.
"La- what the?"
"Gut feeling," Lance answered Keith's unasked question.
Stupid. Stupid. Stupid. I am tired but this, like so many other ideas, would not leave me alone.
So basically, Lance's grandmother and Shiro's grandfather are the children of Haku and Chihiro from Spirited Away. Lance accepted the stories and is a bit more sensitive to the native spirits than Shiro.
I have absolutely no plans on continuing this. This has been gathering dust forever.