I DONT OWN SPIRETED AWAY, I DO OWN A DVD OF THE MOVIE BUT THAT WAS A CHRISTMAS PRESENT SO I DONT THINK THAT COUNTS

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CHAPTER FOUR

Morigawa stared with wide open eyes at the bright red and lime green lollipops on the shop counter by the till in the supermarket while she waited for her mom to finish paying for the vegetable to be used in tonight's dinner.

Morigawa loved it when her mother cooked; she said that it was important for a girl to know how to cook since men will most likely think of it as beneath them. Morigawa didn't really understand what she meant by that but if it meant great tasting Wok in the end, then she nodded every time.

She really wanted to ask for a lollipop but she didn't want to sound selfish since her mom really didn't get much from her part time job and her grandmother never gave her spending money.

Chihiro dug through her purse to fine some spare change when she noticed Mori watching the lollipops. She smiled softly and handed over the money to the elderly woman who was serving them while shooting looks at Morigawa. She was one of those busybody types who knew of Chihiro's situation and didn't approve of it. A nineteen year old with a child.

Chihiro slapped the money down, earning a surprised yelp from the woman as she glared at her. But Chihiro only returned the glare with a pleasant smile "My change please?"

The woman handed over the change and Chihiro took Mori's hand and dragged her out of the shop.

How she hated how people would stare at her daughter, as if she were something beneath them. Honestly, she was just a child, no matter where she came from and people who treated her otherwise were cruel and temperamental. Chihiro didn't care what people thought of her, she had gotten over her insecurities long ago.

"Mama...that hurts" Mori said softly. Chihiro snapped back to attention and realised she was squeezing Morigawa's hand really tightly. "Oh, sorry Mori-chan."

Morigawa rubbed her hand and smiled up at her "That's fine Mama" and Chihiro's heart almost broke. How could people honestly hate Mori? She was such a darling, and ten times more behaved then other kids that age. Just a few minutes ago in the shop she had seen a little girl going through a horrible temper tantrum, throwing herself on the floor, screaming and embarrassing her poor mother as she cried for sweets. Coincidently, at that moment Morigawa asked if she could have some sweets and when she had replied no, Mori had only replied a soft "Ok." The look from that other mother, Chihiro had felt so proud.

"Hey Mori" she said with a smile.

Mori looked up "Hai?"

"I have some change from the shopping, because you were such a good girl in the shop, how about we go to the playground for a bit and get some ice-cream?"

Morigawa's eyes lit up ice-cream! That was even better than lollipops! "Hai!" she cried excitedly and hugged her mother's leg. She really loved her Kaa-san.

Chihiro led them to the park with Morigawa skipping/marching beside her and saying sweetly in a sing-song voice "I-su-ku-ri-mu. I-su-ku-ri-mu. Go-ing to the par-ku to get I-su-ku-ri-mu"

Mori was dressed in a yellow sundress with her chocolate brown hair in a low ponytail and a sun-yellow hat on her head rimmed with pink. She was wearing brown buckles shoed and looked adorable, or so Chihiro thought.

When they got to the park Mori rushed for the swings with a giggle. Chihiro laughed "Kay sweetie, you wait right there and I'll be right back, the ice-cream van's only around the corner. Don't talk to strangers, okay."

"Yes Mama."

"So one chocolate with a flake and rainbow sprinkles for you and one plain strawberry for me, right?"

"Right" Morigawa chirped.

"Kay, be back in a second. Don't talk to strangers." She reminded.

Morigawa nodded and began swinging. She had always been stronger than most people, so with her powerful legs she was in full swing in seconds and Chihiro nodded to herself before going to get their creamy treats.

Morigawa swung with a grin on her face. She loved the swings, it felt like flying. For some reason, Morigawa had always loved that feeling of flying, the feeling of air in your face as she ripped though the air. She always went on the really fast and scary roller-coasters when she went to the theme-park with her mother. People always looked at them weird because they would go on it at least nine times without getting sick. Mori loved feeling like she was flying; it brought wonderful feelings in her.

After about seven minutes Morigawa slowed to a halt, her mom was taking a long time. It didn't take this long to get ice-cream, did it?"

On a bench on the other side of the park, some women probably in their forties were watching their children on the jungle gym. One took a look t her on the swings and whispered something to her friend that made Mori flinch slightly. The woman didn't mean for her to hear, they didn't know o Morigawa's almost inhuman sense of hearing.

"Who's that girl over there, does she have a mother?"

"You don't know?" her friend whispered back "that's Ogino's daughter."

"Ogino? I thought her daughter was nineteen?"

"Not that Ogino, her daughter's daughter!"

"You mean she's the one who got herself in trouble at fourteen! I thought they got an abortion?"

Morigawa flinched and stiffened, but the ladies didn't notice

"Her father tried to force her; he even threatened to turn her out. Then the girl left the house, kept the baby and raised her on her own for a year. In the end the mother relented and begged her husband to let the girl come back home, with the child."

"How shameless, these kids these day's, no shame, I'll bet the father didn't stick around."

"I heard they don't even know who the father is."

Mori shut her eyes to try to block out their words, but it didn't help.

"They should have given up the child for adoption, such a smart girl too that Chihiro."

"Smart! She wasn't so smart when she get herself raped was she? Probably drunk too. What a slut!"

That was the last straw. Morigawa stood from her swing with tears in her eyes and cried out to the startled ladies. "YOU BE QUET ABOUT MY MAMA!" she screamed before running off to the direction of her mom.

Behind her she could hear the ladies murmur "Do you think she heard us?"

"Such an uncouth, rude child, shouting back to her betters. Like mother like child"

Morigawa shook her head. She hated people who talked like that. She mother...she was a good mother. She could have gotten an abortion, but she had her and loved her so much for so many years. She worked so hard for them and not only works but goes to school. She was the best Mom! How dare people call her such horrible things, she hated them!

She rounded a corner to see her mom standing there with the ice-cream cones in her hands as she was being blocked by two older boys who seemed to be hitting on her.

"Hey darling." One said "you all alone? How about you join us for a drink, our treat?"

"I'm sorry" her mother said shaking her head "But I really must be go..."

But the second boy put his hand on her shoulder "don't be so hasty sweetheart, we were just offering""

"Well I'm choosing not to accept."

"Look here Dar..."

"Mama!" Morigawa cried jumping out from her hiding place and pushing past the boy's "You were taking so long, I got worries mama" she said, rubbing her face in her mother's side. Then she looked up into the shocked expressions of the boy's faces. "Friends?" she asked innocently.

Chihiro tried to wipe the smirk on her face as she smiled down at her "No Mori-chan, these young fellow's were just offering to buy us a drink."

"Really! Let's go!"

Chihiro hid her smirk behind a cute smile "well you heard her, if my kawaii musume thinks it's a good idea then let's go!"

"Uh" the first boy said "I just remembered I...have a place...that I need to be...bye!" and he ran off. The other boy looked equally uncomfortable "Uhh...yeah! What he said" and then he too ran off.

As the two watched they burst out laughing "Baka" Chihiro said with a grin, I guess they can't handle mothers, well, bad luck for them, ne Mori-chan?"

"Hai Mama." Mori smiled.

"Oh!" Chihiro said, when she realised the ice-cream was beginning to melt. "Here, careful you don't dirty your new cloths or my mother will go nut's"

Mori nodded and took in a whole mouthful of her delicious chocolate ice-cream. Her mother took her hand and led her back to the park. But Morigawa stopped when she saw the ladies were still there. Chihiro noticed how quiet Morigawa had gotten even though she had already finished her ice-cream. The little girl tightened her hand in her mother's. "Mama, I changed my mind, can we go home?"

Chihiro was a little surprised, Morigawa loved the par, but they rarely got to go because Chihiro was always so busy, why would she...

Then she noticed how Morigawa was trying to avoid the two ladies on another bench who were whispering and staring at them with disapproving expressions and her heart almost broke again. Really, Chihiro was quite used to all the insults she received. People didn't take well to teenage moms. But she had heard them all so often that they no longer had any effect on her. But Morigawa...she was different. Every time she heard insults, she became sullen and depressed. She felt guilty, as if it were her fault her mother was being seen so badly. Chihiro felt so sad, no child should have to carry this burden.

"No Mori" she said firmly "even if you want to go home, I want to play with you here, and if those old bags don't like it then they need to be the ones to go." She said the last part just loud enough for them to hear and took great pleasure in seeing their faces scrunch up in anger. "Ne, Morigawa-chan?"

Morigawa looked at her mom with wide eyes before smiling wide "Hai!"

They went on the swings with Chihiro pushing Morigawa as she squealed and giggled with laughter "Waaaa! Higher, higher Mommy!" she cried happily.

On the other side of the park, the ladies looked over to the swings. The first child was a little girl with her hair in pig-tails about Morigawa's age "Ne, that looks like a lot of fun." She said to her friend who was a boy with messy black hair. "Yeah!" he said "let's go play over there." But as they jumped off the ladies said "Keitoko, Yousuke, we're going home!"

"Eh" Yousuke said unhappily "why!"

"Because I don't want you playing with people like them, now come on!"

The two ladies dragged their children away without Chihiro noticing. But Morigawa noticed, and she forced a smile to keep her mother from noticing how pained she was.

Kohaku stood on the banks of his river with a tense feeling. He always felt depressed, unhappy, tense, like he couldn't relax or be calm. Ever since he realised he couldn't find Chihiro he had been feeling that way. Ever since then Kohaku had been having problems.

Like he was always irritable and got angry over silly unimportant things easily. Because of this he stopped chatting with people, fearing that he would do something, but that only made people more afraid of him since he acted so cold and heartless. He had problems feeling calm. Always on alert. And he had been having sleep problems. What was the human word for it...oh yes! Insomnia, he was plagued with insomnia, even though he was so tired, he couldn't get to sleep.

But recently, for some strange reason, some of those problems seemed...not as bad. Like he would sometimes go back to the bathhouse feeling happy and refreshed and left people wondering what on earth happened to Kohaku. And just the other day...he almost managed to get to sleep. And the reason for this...that strange girl.

Morigawa.

Yes, it was ever since her appearance that the change in his problems began. The time he returned happy to the bathhouse had been after meeting her.

Kohaku closed his eyes and her image came up. Soft green eyes, dark chocolate brown hair, a face that was so familiar. Where had he seen her before? As far as Kohaku knew, he had never seen her before meeting her at his river, yes there was something about her. Even if she wasn't familiar, there was still something, something that...drew him to her.

But what?

Her scent?

She didn't smell like a normal human, perhaps that was what prodigy's smelt like. Kohaku had not spent much time around humans personally, so he wouldn't know. The only humans he knew on a name basis was Morigawa and Chihiro.

He shook his head. Thinking of Chihiro hurt to much, he didn't like didn't do it often.

Haku sighed and sat down on the bank of the river when suddenly a familiar scent of forests and rivers combined drifted over to him. It was different from the actual forest and the actual river, it was sharper and familiar. Seconds after scenting her, Morigawa stumbled her way through the thicket of bushed. Kohaku sometimes wondered how her mother allows a five year old to wonder about on her own. But he wasn't one to judge, he didn't even know his mother...did river spirits even have mothers?

Morigawa spotted him and her eyes lit up as she cried with happiness "Haku-san!"

There it was! That feeling of relief and calm. Why did he feel this way just from seeing her?

She came and shyly approached him "Um, may I sit?"

Kohaku blinked and nodded as she smiled and sat down.

The two sat in silence for a while. Kohaku glanced to the side and saw that there was something different about Morigawa. Her expression it seemed so...sad, like something was causing her pain and she couldn't stop thinking about it. Perhaps he should say something.

"Are you well?" he said suddenly.

"Huh?" she said, snapping back to attention and looking up, her painful expression was cleverly hid as she forced a almost realistic fake smile "Hai, I'm great!"

"Don't lie" Kohaku said bluntly "something's bothering you.

Morigawa froze for a moment "but that's not...I mean...because..." but she trailed off and looked back down at her lap sadly.

Kohaku waited for her to continue speaking, when she didn't he opened his mouth to encourage her, but then she said: "Do you..."

He paused and waited for her to carry on.

"Do you...think it's a bad thing to have a child at fourteen?" she asked softly.

"Huh?" Kohaku said, a little confused.

"Is it really a bad thing, to get pregnant at fourteen and not have an abortion? People act like it's such a bad thing; shouldn't they be happier that I'm alive? Why does that make my mother shameless?"

Morigawa's hands were curled into fists and shaking slightly, from either sadness or anger, he didn't know the reason, but he know it was badly troubling her.

"It's just that..." she sighed "my mother was raped when she was fourteen, and became pregnant."

The surprised Kohaku, of course he knew what rape was, but at fourteen? Wait, so her mother was about nineteen! So young.

"She was at her friend's birthday party, and someone spiked her drink. She was raped it wasn't voluntary, and the pregnancy was hard because grandfather demanded she get an abortion."

Then Morigawa looked up with an expression different from pain.

Pride

"But my mother refused, she said she was going to keep the baby, and was kicked out of the house. My mama worked so hard to support us, she dropped out of school and for the nine months that she was pregnant she worked so hard. She accidently met grandmother one day, and it was that day I was born. Grandmother decided she didn't want her only child on the street, so she tried to convince grandfather to keep us. But grandfather said he would only let mama back if I was put up for adoption...mama refused again, she said I was number one in her life, no matter where I came from. In the end, because of grandmother, grandfather relented. But he still hates me."

Morigawa looked down sadly again "My mom gave up so much to take care of me; she's only recently gone back to school. Mama loves me and even though she's always away and at either work or school, she still makes time for me. She's a great mom, I love her lots!

"But other people don't agree, they call mama shameless, wanton, a slut and a bad mother. People are always so mean to her and it's all my fault" Morigawa was tearing up now. "I don't care if they insult me, but I wish they wouldn't hurt mama. Mama, is a really good mom! Having a child at fourteen isn't a bad thing, right?"

Kohaku was still progressing all that he heard. A child at fourteen? rape? This child's mother had gone through all that and raised such a beautiful child. "No" he said softly.

Morigawa turned to him.

"It's not a bad thing, it wasn't her fault. And the fact that she kept you, to me that's impressive. She must be a really great person to work so hard, I'm impressed."

Morigawa looked at him shocked "you're not going to say she's a bad mother?"

"No"

"She's a good person?"

"Yes, a very good person and a strong one, like mother like daughter." He smiled "so don't take to heart what those other people say, they don't understand. And so..." he reached up to wipe the tiny teas forming in Morigawa's eyes "...don't cry, okay?"

Mori sniffed and then to Kohaku's surprise she clung to his side and rubbed her face in his shirt.

"Hey..." he began, but when he saw her shoulder's shaking, he smiled and instead patted her back. Let her cry, Kohaku had a feeling that this was the first time in a very long time that the child beside him had ever cried. She deserved it.

He thought about her situation. In the spirit world, those that did have children usually mated first. And those sometimes mated humans. Mating was a binding that lasted though time, it not only strengthened the bond between the two being mated but it extended the life of the weaker spouse by strengthening their bodies to survive time aging, the mate usually aged along with their mate. So they could always be together. If he ever found Chihiro, Kohaku was planning on doing the same with her.

But humans, they didn't seem to have the same morals. He had heard about abortions, where they killed the offspring from within the stomach. It seemed...barbaric.

But most girls did it.

Except the mother of this child. To have gone though so much at fourteen. He was impressed. And to promote such devotion in a child, he wasn't lying or trying to make her feel better when he said that he felt that Morigawa's mother must be a good person.

So they sat there while she cried.

Later that day, after Morigawa went home, Kohaku went back to his room in the bathhouse. And while lying on his bed thinking of Morigawa and Chihiro, he finally fell asleep.

WAAA ANOTHER CHAPTER DONE

Kawaii musume- Cute Daughter

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