Courting the River Maid (Collection)

Best Friends Forever

Welcome to Courting the River Maid, which is a collection of short stories I have writen based on the movie Spirited Away by Hayao Miyazaki. Inspiration has slowed down, and I have gone back over this in order to re-arrange the stories in a chronological order. Other stories you may want to read will by 'Promise to Protect and Provide,' 'Underwater Savior,' 'White Death,''Promise of a River,' 'Rivers Never Die,' and 'Rivers Keep Flowing.' I plan a few more stories after the end of the last Rivers segment, and will probably return to 'Rivers Always Claim What is Their Own' later on.

Anyway, this collection will feature stories and snippets that for various reasons did not end up in the other stories.

Best Friends Forever takes place two years after the demise of the Kohaku River in 'Underwater Savior.'

The two six-year olds ran through the park, splashing in mud puddles with great delight, sprayed with the mixture of earth and water. The dark haired child fell, tripping on her own shoelace, and landed face first in a particularly squishy puddle.

"Chi! Are you ok?"

Pale hair curtained forward to obscure the child's face, but the former river lord knew that her eyes were a bright blue. Pale skin, paler than it should be due to not being outside as much as she should, covered the tiny hand that helped her friend up.

"I'm ok Lily!"

"Good. You're it!"

The pair laughed, and Lily darted away, Chihiro thundering close behind as the adults watched from the benches. Both children had to pause for a moment to cough, clinging to each other for support as their bodies tried to expel what had settled in their lungs. Bronchitis was not a fun thing, especially for kids. One of the adults rose to tell the kids to stop, but was shushed by the other three.

"The doctor said to let them play and run around as much as they wanted, that it would help them to get rid of the last of it."

"But they're still coughing. Surely they need to lay down and rest."

"Laying down only lets the fluids irritating them build up."

"You're right."

Nushi watched all of this through the mirror, checking on his pet and her best friend. It still grieved him that he could no longer physically go to the surface to play with Chihiro, but he had found ways to cope.

He hacked and knelt down, allowing the coughing fit to pass. Spirits didn't usually get sick, but this time he had drawn off most of the sickness from the two humans into his own body, hoping to learn more about the many microorganisms that were interfering not only with them, but the other children as well. It seemed like it was not just one disease that attacked them, but many that bonded together, taking advantage of each child's different weaknesses. As his body fought their diseases, he learned a bit more about their workings. It was hard, but there were few better methods of study that spirits used. He was just glad that no human disease had ever proven deadly to a spirit.

"You'll always be my best friend forever Lily."

"You'll always be mine too Chihiro."

Nushi smiled at the innocence and trust the two children had. So many threw their own away these days. As the children danced and sang, his face gradually settled into a small, sad frown. Little Lily was getting much weaker than he thought that she should be. What was more troublesome was that he saw the white Dragon of Death checking on her and comparing her name to his scroll. How much longer did she have left, and how would Chihiro take it when Lily's time was up?

'Best friends forever,' maybe he could use that innocent vow to ensure that they would be able to encounter again after this life. He didn't know why, but he was willing to do anything if he thought it might help his little Chihiro.