A Different Current of the River
Chapter 4: We're Moving?
By LadyRainStarDragon
Disclaimer: Miyazaki owns Spirited Away.

The day had passed in thoughtful toil for Chihiro, tending Ji-san's gardens and listening to his stories of times long since past. Despite the veneer of normalcy, he had been remote and yet intimate all at once, as if he never had expected to see her again. It had only further confused the girl, but at least she was already used to Haku's mysterious comings and goings. That made it easier.

Yuuko had caught onto Chihiro's odd mood when she had returned. Attributing the odd wilting to too much time spent with Ji-san, she was banned from visiting him for a while. Yuuko was still under the impression that so much story telling was bad for a growing girls' grip on reality, even though her little girl was no so old.

Bedtime had dragged itself to the Ogino household, settling on the home and upon Chihiro's kamidana with ease. While the stars danced their kagura in the high planes of Heaven and the trees danced their own on the mountains and in the vales the wind sang a soft lullaby, but it was no match for the river's lullaby that she wished to hear. Although the others lay sleeping deeply in their room, Chihiro lay in her bed chasing after that elusive spirit of sleep. The morose sighs of the river would not allow her to sleep, replacing the happy song that usually burbled with the breeze.

The window slid open silently, and a familiar being entered her room, letting in the cool night air and the scent of a river hard won. There was something different though, almost as if he was at war with himself while he slowly approached her bed and sank down in his normal place. Without invitation, she rolled over and buried her face in his neck, searching for comfort she wasn't sure anymore that she would find. His arms slid around his little treasure as he instinctively began to purr for her, and he could feel her tensions ebb ever so slightly.

"What's happening Haku? It's bad, isn't it?"

"Why do you think something bad is happening Little One?"

"Dad's boss sounded really mad. Is he going to loose his job?"

The river beside her tensed, wondering if any memories had been jostled loose. Although Chihiro's memory of that fateful year was not apparent, he knew the memory and scars were still available to her subconscious. Some of her schoolmates had also lived through their parents losing jobs, and so the fear was something Haku knew he would need to combat.

"Your ototo's boss was mad, but not at him. He is not losing his job either, but getting another one, maybe even a better one."

"Oh. So why are you so sad then?"

"Who says that I am sad Chihiro?"

"You do. Your river has been crying since shortly after you sent Lily and I out. Why are you sad?"

A small smile curled in the waters of his face as it turned to nuzzle the child-woman's head.

"You read the river better than many I have known. Someone very dear to me is moving away soon."

"Oh. That is sad. You should be sure to say goodbye then."

"That's a good idea. Maybe it is for the best, then she can grow up as she should, not how the spirits want her to for their own selfish reasons."

"You're always saying that about me. Are there are others like me that the spirits are teaching?"

"Not here. Now sleep dear one."

Nigihayami Kohakunushi resumed purring as the budding woman slipped into sleep, then trailed off as he carefully untangled himself from her grip. That trusting innocence was about to die, he knew it would when she realized he was saying goodbye. He would miss that sweet cherry scent, but it was for the best. Even though a few centuries ago he could have taken her for a bride, now in this age she was too young. Time and distance would be a good thing, and the loneliness would be forgotten once more.

"That isn't true, and you know it Nushi."

His aramitama, that part of himself that cared little for current societal norms and clung to bits of the old ways it preferred, spoke up loudly within his own mind. Haku was not very good at letting hoarded treasure go, and it mattered not that this particular treasure was very alive. She had forged a special bond with him, calling him by a pet name that few until she had been privy to. At least it hadn't been Ko-chan.

"It is what will be Haku. She has to grow up, we can't keep her forever."

"We could steal her away like others did in the old days Nushi. She could live with us safely in the Kohakugawa mansion, or even in the underground river. We would never have to worry about anyone harming her, or about separating ever again."

"Such a decision is for her to make, and if we stole her it would estrange Koji from us."

Kohaku could feel his aramitama withdraw again, sulking inside the deep caverns of his mind. It was time to leave now, and as he withdrew from the room the river master did not notice how a part of him stayed behind with the human that he had sworn to protect. A stronger bond than that had been formed ten years ago now when his mother had bound the two together to preserve their lives. Haku could not leave her to fend completely for herself, with or without those pigs that were her parents. He was the kami of her birthplace, her ujigami, and he would do what was needed with her, whether his nigimitama Nushi approved or not.

The nebulous energy took form, calling atoms of water out of the air to both clothe and house it. Black hair matched the iridescence of the northern lights, shortly cropped at the shoulder as it had been when in his own puberty. Solemn jades surveyed his work as the aramitama checked for any imperfections. His feigned youth was perfect, down to the very workings of his body as he synchronized with what he had begun to think of as his feminine half. In this form he would not be recognized easily, and could go about his surveillance in secret, not endangering her to jealous spirits.

"I promised I would protect and provide for you. Not even our fathers could prevent me from fulfilling my vow to you."

The girl stirred in her sleep, frowning at some unknown displeasure in her dream. A glimmer of the woman she could become showed as clearly as the image of the child she had once been. Without another word, Haku ghosted out of the window and toward the community his charge would be moving to, morphing into his dragon form once outside. He would explore her new home, and discover any pitfalls that he would need to watch her around. As the baku, or dream eater he had hired long ago, arrived for her nightly duties, a familiar wind spirit watched from his perch in the trees.

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"Honey, wake up. Time for school."

"Five more minutes omoto-sama."

Yuuko pursed her once-full and rosy lips at the old-fashioned formality in her daughter's sleepy voice. She did not mind being spoken to with such respect, but it did bother her that her only child was so taken by the old ways. Once upon a time, a younger Yuuko was much the same way. It was the death of her older sister, drowned in the very river whose long forgotten shrine she had started tending, that had made Yuuko realize that the old beliefs were dangerous. The rivers of the island of Honshu were far away, but who was to say that the same result would not come of Chihiro's obsession. Worse still, what if her religious fanaticism made her unable to function in the real world?

"I gave you five minutes five minutes ago."

"The sun isn't even up yet."

"Were you up after I told you to go to bed last night?"

The teenager sat up, a bleary picture just like every other kid her age in the morning. Her long brown hair straggling down in a disheveled array spoke clearly of troubled dreams, and the red in her eyes screamed of unremembered tears in the night. Groggily getting out of bed, Chihiro began to fish under her bed for where she had shoved her school fuku the last time that she had used it. Stumbling past her dresser and grabbing a few other necessities, Chihiro eventually made her way to the bathroom and her morning shower.

It wasn't that Chihiro was habitually hard to wake up. No, it was more like she would prefer to remain in that dream world where anything was possible. She also did not look forward to school. She hated the short grey skirt of her uniform, and her white and grey sailor top left her similarly cold.

"Haku nearly died laughing the first time he saw this garbage. I'd rather wear one of my new kimono. The school or Mom would probably reprimand me though. Hmm, what would be better? Holding full buckets of water in the hall or listening to another lecture on how the days of the classics are dead and unless I'm working at a RECOGNIZED shrine I have to wear this ugly fuku?"

The indoor waterfall removed all physical traces of her restless night, and it was comforting to know that this water had once come from the river. It was like swimming in Haku's home without enduring the chilling and capricious breeze that often made off with any bather's dry clothing. At last though, her watery revels came to an end and she was in the annoyance known as the school fuku.

"I hate this uniform."

Similarly, it did not take long for her to get to the breakfast table, and Chihiro envied American students for having both Saturday and Sunday freed from the horror of school. Her egg and salad beamed from her plate, greeting her rumbling stomach as she slid into the Ogino family dining nook. The mumbles of her mother carried gently from the phone nook, and as the sun at last cleared the horizon to pain the sacred mountain gold, Chihiro wondered what her Mother could be gossiping about so early. Halfway through her salad, Chihiro's curiosity was relieved.

"That was your Father. He's been named head foreman for a new project."

"That's great mom."

"Yes, we'll be moving next Monday to the new house waiting for us."

"What? Mom, we can't move! The school year isn't over yet, and all my friends are here! And what about Ji-chan? We can't leave him here all alone. He'll get lonely."

"Oh Chihiro, you'll make new friends, and I'll contact the school for a transfer a little later. Ji-san will be fine, he has lots of friends, and this will be a wonderful family adventure."

"But the river isn't there! It's going to stink. I like it here, and I'm not moving!"

Chihiro had yelled her last statement, and sprang away from the table. Barely pausing to slip on her shoes, she tore out of the door and into the gold and blood dawn. In such a short time frame her secure world had shattered and there was little that she could do. There was something that she could do though. Her grandfather had told her about a cave in the mountain where monks and priests once hid from persecution. He had even taken her there once, on a meeting with the hermit who currently occupied it. There, she could hide, and her parents would not know where to find her. Chihiro could stay in the area that she so loved, and her parents could move.

"Yeah, that's what I'll do."

Sleepy trees stretched their branches as she ran through the woods and by the river that issued from the foot of the mountain. Birds sang a greeting to the sun, but rose in flight as she crashed through the underbrush. Half-glimpsed and oddly shaped figures were left unheeded as her distress began to part the gateway to other realms for her. At last the river, and the spring that it danced out of, and the site of some recent spirit battle were left behind. As Chihiro began her trek up the mountain, a very surprised Ten sent up a mighty roar that reverberated through the spirit planes of the local area, summoning a sulking white dragon from his river and enticing a curious being from his quiet mountain once more.

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"What do you mean you think that she has run away?"

Kohaku was on a very short fuse today, the way that his flowing teal mane stood on end and lashed wildly about was the least of Ten's evidence that he could very well be in big trouble. Ten had happily been sunning his great bronze scales in the healthful rays of Amaterasu, secure in the knowledge that no human would see him, even if they were idiotic enough to be in his territory so early in the morning. When the river began to froth and the river master drew closer to the alarm, Ten had relayed more specific details of the human's flight.

"Chihiro was in her school uniform, but it looked like she was heading to your father's cave. The exact opposite direction from where her school is."

The river fell flat at the same time the dragon's mane stopped its frantic dance, an unearthly calm falling over both of the dragons.

"She's found out then."

"Found out what? Nushi, what's wrong? What did you do?"

Kohaku did not notice his old friend's use of the ancient nickname, nor could he answer in the depths of his pain. To let go was appropriate so she could go on with life. To allow her to run into her father's territory would be easiest, but it would go against his vow to take care of Chihiro to let her run away. Solemnly, he began to follow the lingering scent of his human. Walking, he paced himself so as to give her more time to process what was happening.

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Haku had arrived at the community where his Little One would be soon living, wandering aimlessly through the streets, familiarizing himself with the spirits of the new area. He had easily found the school she would no doubt attend, and could not resist the feeling that even the school back home was better taking account of the building and the even more ridiculous fuku the students wore. He had found little that was noteworthy here, and had begun to explore the woods that tenderly enfolded the town.

The forest spirits here were as shy as the ones he dealt with at home, although they currently were in turmoil about the construction that would soon begin. At the boundary between the town and forest towered an imposing tree, the local lord of the land who had deigned to allow a simple shrine to spring up at his feet. This shrine and collection of spirit homes had been mostly forgotten by human attendants, and had an air of loss and foreboding.

"Excuse me sir, may I speak with you a few moments?"

Haku had bowed, holding the posture in respect until the great tree creaked and groaned in reply, the venerable old spirit's voice that of wind and ancient limb.

"Of course you may. It has been long since I have seen even an infant stream young river."

"Thank you. I am the guardian of a young girl whose family will be moving here soon. Can you tell me about the area and any particular perils that I should be on special guard against?"

"Few rivers travel so far for young children. She must be one who holds special fascination for you Young River. I am far too old for such things, but remember my own men and women well. These houses at my feet are for the spirits of those humans who had been lost in the forest. The border between the human world and our world is thin, and sometimes the curious are lost or find their way to the Aburaya and are transformed."

Haku frowned, his face marring like the cracks in his bed during terrible drought. Akio was easily lost and had once loved to explore just as much as his daughter now did.

"Do not fret so young one. It does not suit you, and as long as the child stays out of the forest she will be quite safe. The town has lost the mystical nature required as so few now cry for cleansing. She will even be safe as even fewer are pure enough to activate the crossing anymore."

"That is a problem though. My young priestess will no doubt search the forest to practice her meditations in peace."

The winds rustled the leaves as the old limbs creaked in shock and grief. It had not been very many years before that a human had become lost and consumed by the spirit world. The new child would surely be one to have a house at his feet in memorial soon, and would no doubt not be the last human to meet that fate.

"I am sorry that you are losing your priestess young river. You must go to the Aburaya and learn all that you can about it, and there is no better way to do so than by going undercover. However, take care not to lose your name. Speak to Kamaji, he will help you. The spider will be in the boiler room."

"Thank you sir."

Haku bowed again, and set off along the abandoned road leading deep into the forest. He took on his dragon form, shimmering along beneath the trees and passing roadside guardians that did nothing to challenge him. Aburaya was his objective, and it was a place well known for catering to rich and powerful spirits. A bathhouse, he would be able to find it by the characteristic scent of water and herbs. Slipping through the red arched gate that presented itself at the end of the road, Haku left behind the lower vibrations that made up the material world.

A grassy plain greeted him joyously after he hurtled through some kind of waiting area. High blue skies of a thousand summers beckoned him to come fly them, while the grasses begged him to roll carelessly in them like he had in his puphood. A stream meandered through the rocks, murmuring to itself how it would again be a mighty river in the night. Beyond even this river sprawled a town, and the lingering scent of spring-water and herbs beckoned.

At the stone steps leading into the town he took on his human guise, glancing left and right at shops and restaurants shut down for the day. The garish colors repelled him, and odd scents in the air made him wonder what sort of food was served here. He would prefer raw fish or simple rice, possibly the delicacy of a roasted swan if he were feeling especially opulent, but the heavy scent of spices turned his stomach rebelliously.

"To quote Chihiro, yuck. This really stinks."

During his exploration, Haku came upon a small shrine elevated on a pole near the center of town, what he considered a feeble show of respect for the spirit of the spring whose very blood told him was near. However, it seemed the spring spirit felt the same way about the place that Haku did, and had plunged even deeper into hidden crevices in the crust of the earth long ago. Beyond this, Aburaya towered imposingly, waving her banner proudly for everyone to see.

The spirits here were already sleeping, even out here he could hear the slow hearts and steady breathing interspersed with the occasional snore thanks to the keen hearing of his breed. Continuing on, he crossed over the red bridge that connected the bathhouse to the mainland and followed his nose through a small door. Searching for the scent of fire and soot lead him through another gateway and down rickety stairs.

"They need to replace this stairway, and maybe even put in a guard rail this time. By the smell of all this fear, many have nearly fallen."

Taking his human form back in an attempt to drown out some of the heavier smells, Haku could not understand why this run down hulk was such a famous place. His father had gone here once before the present owner had taken over back when it had been well cared for, and then only once after. According to the venerable old dragon, he had been so bothered by the poor treatment of the workers that he had filled the manager's rooms and office with snow. It was plain to see that the new owner cared little for the safety or comfort of the workers, but applied heavy veneers of grandeur where the guests would frequent instead. Already, Haku had a dislike of the current manager.

Opening the door at the base of the stairs, Haku received welcome confirmation that his relatively soft life had not dampened his tracking skills. Stepping into moist heat produced by water and flame, he quickly followed the dying heat that still radiated from the slumbering beast of the boiler. Walking through an antechamber into the boiler room itself, he was greeted by a mass of what appeared to be animated soot balls hoping for some kind of hand out. The loud squeaking awoke the form that had been slumbering on a nearby box, and so he calmly faced the other occupant of the room.

"How did you get in here boy?"

"I was told by the old tree at the edge of the wood to seek out Kamaji in the boiler room of Aburaya for help with my problem."

The old man sat up straighter, adjusting his darkened glasses with one hand, picking up his teapot with another, and bringing up a cushion with yet a third. He was a spider spirit by the look of him, and thoughtfully took in Haku's fine garb. Haku's cool reserve and lordly manner spoke volumes about his good breeding and high status.

"Your problem must be grave indeed if one so high ranked as you must come to me in my boiler room. Please tell me about your problem then."

Kneeling on the provided cushion, Haku began to tell the elder spirit of his problems.

A/N: For those looking for the update of Threads that I said was happening, check out my new story in the Inuyasha fandom. That's where it went instead. BlowingWind and Ryu are there, and there will be references to Koji-jichan after all.

I hope you enjoyed this installment of Current.