I do not own Spirited Away, the original characters and this plotline belong to me.

Hey everyone, great to be working on a new start again. This is the sequel to "Hunted by Death" for people who have jumped to read this one first, you're going to be confused, so do yourselves a favor and go read the first one, you won't regret it, its only 37 chapters long after all.

So without any further gilding the lily we begin "Wars of the Spirit"

Prologue

Downstairs there was music playing, and he was stuck upstairs studying, again. Not that he minded, his family's parties tended to get out of hand. Aunt Milli probably brought a batch of that nasty bean dip... he tried to tell himself. Trying to convince himself that he wasn't missing anything. Raz was failing miserably. He sighed and slumped over the desk covered in papers for his final shaman test. "I want some of Aunt Milli's nasty bean dip..." he mumbled. He then slapped himself across the face, "No, must concentrate, must be ready for anything tomorrow!" He jumped up from his seated position and went to his bookshelf and took out another book.

Raz looked at the desk, then at his bedroom door. His eyes darted between the two for a moment, "...Just a few minutes downstairs wouldn't... kill my chances... right?" He tapped the spine of the book against his forehead, slowly he slid the book back into place. He darted out of the room before he could change his mind again. His door clicked closed as a breeze came in through his window accompanied by a gentle hiss of sound.

They were talking about their own final tests when Raz entered the room, "...I remember this giant bird spirit swooping down and taking me for quite the ride." Aunt Milli was saying, "Then I had to climb out of its nest and down this cliff face."

"That doesn't give any confidence for me." Raz said walking to the dining table and snagging a plate. He put a large dollop of nasty bean dip on his plate along with several other unidentifiable concoctions that his family had brought together in one place. "I'm starving."

"Go easy on the bean dip, Aunt Milli adds an ingredient just to put people to sleep in large quantities." Uncle Ty, Milli's husband called over to him.

"Shouldn't you still be studying Raz?" His mother came over and gave him a hug from behind.

"Mom..." He groaned.

"What I haven't seen you in years! And you're going to disappear on me again for who knows how long!" She hugged him tighter. "You're just lucky that your master taught you well enough to astral project."

Raz sat up abruptly and sighed heavily. He groaned and rolled over, dirt wasn't the softest place to be sleeping. He rubbed his eyes, that had been what, ten years ago in the spirit world's time? His mother was probably long dead by now, Aunt Milli's grand kids were going to be having kids soon... there hadn't been another shaman born in his family since then. His body was still alive, preserved by magic. Eventually he would be forced to retire from this life and go back to that body, to the real world.

There was a hissing near his ear. He rolled his head coming nose to snout of the black serpent, its tongue flicked out slightly. "You're suppose to be guarding her." He immediately sat up. "Why aren't you guarding her, is she awake, you're only suppose to stay with her unless she wake up so did she wake up?"

The snake waited patiently for him to stop speaking, "There is an incident." His tongue flicked again. "We were forced to flee, the bathhouse has been set to flame."

Raz was immediately on his feet. "Haku is closer to the bathhouse why didn't you go to him first!" He demanded, he lifted up the black snake, about the size of a common black mamba and put him over his shoulders. "You should of gone to him first! How long ago did this happen?"

The snake opened his mouth widely, the image of a face, female, a water sprite appeared in its gaping jaws, she spoke. "The master is busy and does not wish to see anyone." The image dissolved. "We were turned away, without being allowed to speak my reason or speak our name." His tongue flicked again. "Flames began from the water rooms, much time ago."

Raz heard an echoing of a great roar as he approached the hills overlooking the bathhouse. Above the flaming building mingled in the smoke there was flashes of silver scales. The giant form of the river dragon came from within the smoke, another roar came from the creature it was the sound of a tormented soul. "Haku..." Raz whispered. "...no... she can't be."

The snake's tongue flicked again, "We depart." Black Serpent whispered and slid off his shoulders.

"Is she dead?" Raz asked looking over his shoulder at the snake.

"We are unsure," it continued to slither away, "We will search for her, perhaps find her."

Ta da! Quite the beginning my little friends, the rest will show more later.