On the other side the camphor tree was not simply a tree.
It was a fortress.
Swelling in droves from the knotted burls at the foot of the massive trunk, equally mammoth roots broke in and out of the steep hill only to breech again beyond the mossy pools at its base. Lifting and dividing up into a snarled wall of twisting swelling forks, the living barrier surrounded the shrine, protecting the misty courtyard that was teeming with otherworldly creatures. Coming forward to the edge of the hill, standing under a great red torii gate that no longer existed in the mortal world, Chihiro stared down at the shifting kami.
There were hundreds!
Gathered in rude camps between the steaming ponds, clustered in the shade of the reaching branches of the camphor tree; Gods there were so many! Harried horned oni rode bristly boars and spotted deer along the stone path as they carried about the bundles and parcels of their belongings like feudal era refugees. Winged tengu perched on the wall in roosting flocks, some with sharp raven beaks and others with red bulbous noses. Kappa eddied in the ponds as Badgers and hares in padded jackets and hakema pants shared cooking fires made of diaphanous swirling willow wisps. Their children played amongst the ferns, chasing the shimmering mushi that hung over their heads like thick wood smoke. The bugs congregated in the nodding heads of the living garden gathered at the foot of the hill farthest from the living fires of the forest creatures. The spindly maples and shrubby cypress uprooted themselves from time to time, replanting in less crowded soil as more trudged down the stone path through the only break in the Root Wall. In their shadows, squabbling for scraps and being chased and hunted by the other kami, were the littlest masks.
None of the kami were bold enough to venture up the hill or into the canopy; probably due to respect for O-Inari-sama (1). Offerings to the camphor tree shrine were piled at the base of the stairs, untouched even by the little masks. Chihiro started back from the fox as Suzume slowly climbed to his feet. He looked like hell in that tattered spider-silk way of his. Coming over to hover beside him, she blinked back tears.
"I… I'm sorry! A-are you okay!?"
"Spare me your dramatics, child." He muttered wearily, "Remember that this was my own doing. Not yours."
He didn't sound angry, which was somewhat of a relief. In fact, the fox wasn't looking at her at all. He was peering over the top of the stairs, gold eyes riveted on the kami below. Such an expression of shock flitted over his face as he took in the refugees. Apparently they had grown since last he'd seen them.
"Do you know any of them?" Lin came along side him
"Yes." Suzume flashed his troubled gaze at her. "But most are strangers. I have not seen such disparate kami mingle as one in ages."
A distant cry went spreading through the camp as a tanuki caught sight of them, pointing madly before it turned into a stone Buddha. All eyes seemed to turn at them as more gasps sounded. Instantly the flats went eerily empty as the kami ducked beneath whatever cover was available. The tengu took to the air, circling the towering tree trunk like a flock of crows as they cawed down at them menacingly.
"Go 'way!" They croaked in unison, "Go! Go 'way"
"Git, y'buzzards!" Cinna hissed at the mountain goblins. "We got every right t'be here!"
Lashing her tail, the cat clawed at the air as they dove and swooped so close the wind of their sooty wings stirred the tall grass on the hill. Chihiro shrank behind the post of the torii gate as Lin yanked her back. Suzume didn't so much as flinch as the angry birds continued to circled and dive. Chihiro screeched as one of the tengu knocked its wings and claws against the torii gate, rattling the pole. At once the fox lifted his gold flute in warning. As he did his kimono went brilliant gold, flashing with luster as it momentarily caught at sunbeam. With shrill cries the flock parted, fluttering back to the Root Wall in a mob of black wings and scarlet robes, cawing a chorus of angry cries.
"Scardy birds!" Cinna yowled back them as she leaned off the top step shaking her fist, "Come back an' aye'll put y'in ah pie!"
"What's wrong with them!?" Lin frowned as she took her hand off the knife at her side.
"They are upset because she is here."
Chihiro shrank as his angry gold eyes turned to her. "M-me!" She was still hugging the torii post, "Why!?"
"Apparently your garment is not enough to muffle what you are." He looked her up and down with an unhappy moue, "They know you are mortal and they are afraid of what you might attract. This shrine is the only haven left to these kami. They are desperate to protect it." Returning the flute to his sleeve, Suzume reached inside the front fold of his kimono, pulling free something wrapped in gauzy white cloth. Turning his gaze away, he held it out to her as if he couldn't stand to touch it a moment longer,
"Put that on."
Confused, she took it, almost dropping whatever it was. An electric shock went jarring up her arms the moment her fingers curled around its edges. Folding back the gossamer cloth that turned out to be an attached cloak, Chihiro blinked down at the smiling eyes of the white kistune mask. Unlike most she had seen, the inside was painted blue. It was cracked in several places and a big piece was missing from the right cheek and temple. But still, the thing was vibrating with magic.
"I… I can't take your mask!"
"It is not mine." He answered more than reluctantly.
"T-then whose is it?"
Chihiro blinked, at a loss, because Suzume was the only fox she'd met since coming to Kumomi. You couldn't just borrow kami masks! Only then did she realize Cinna had bristled out. Every hair on the cat's body was standing on end as she stared sideways at the fox. Again Suzume's face hardened as if to hold back the sorrow suddenly flooding his eyes. It darkened his splendid robes like water running the ink of a poem.
He was forced to answer. He could not lie.
"It was my sister's."
Was.
There was no mistaking the way he pronounced the word.
Chihiro jolted as memory fluttered in her head, beating its wings against the inside of her skull. She remembered the high shelf in the storage closed. Remembered the many broken and shattered fox masks hidden beneath the white cloth. Shocked, dismayed, and honored, she didn't know what to say.
"T-thank you…"
That was all she could manage.
Suzume didn't reply. Even though touching it made her skin crawl, Chihiro put on the mask without another word, marveling as the thrilling whisper of the cloak's trailing edges tickled her legs. For some reason wearing it made her feel brave. So she started down the steps.
"L-let's get out of here. I don't wanna make anymore of the kami mad."
In spite of the mask, hundreds of angry eyes fixed on her back as she half ran down the stone path. Her leg was getting better with each day, but running still wasn't as easy as it used to be. She slowed, shrinking into Lin as they came upon the break in the Root Wall. Like guards watching over a castle keep, a pair of tengu perched at either side of the pass. They were wearing samurai helmets. Clacking their sharp beaks, the birdmen dipped their heads, watching her with beady black eyes. She couldn't help but cringe from the sight of their sharp talons and their even sharper spears.
Ignoring the pain in her leg, Chihiro ran. They all ran; ran until Suzume called them to a stop. Dropping to her knees in the dirt, she struggled to catch her breath. Cinna crouched beside her, gathering up a handful of her shirt as her fearful red eyes darted back and forth through the dappled light. But not so much as a mushi stirred in the sky or the brush. Lin continued forward, peering into the distance as she sniffed at the air like an animal.
"I smell the ocean."
"Go no further." Suzume warned, "That way leads to the old village."
"Neh, kiddo!" The cat yanked on her arm insistently, "Try yer gizmo s'we cun git back home!"
Pulling the lighter from her pocket, Chihiro paused as the kami shrank from her like she'd suddenly burst into flames.
"I want it known, child," Suzume started up warningly, "That the only reason I permitted you to leave the shrine is that mortal fire would have incited a riot among the kami. Use that device with care in this world for it has the power to destroy."
"I get it, okay?" At once intent on her task, Chihiro flicked it open and struggled with the striker. She'd never had any luck with lighters. Her stove back in Nagoya had been electric. All the same, the moment the flame caught it went bright white. The kami flinched as Cinna hissed; shrinking behind Suzume as she all but hugged his knees. Pushing up her mask, Chihiro brought it close to her face, staring in confusion at the pale little flame.
"Is it s'pposed to be that color?"
"I do not know," Suzume had thrown up a hand. He was peering askance around his fingers as if the heat was so intense it burned him, "I know nothing of mortal fire."
Transfixed, Lin came forward a step, staring at the light. "God fire's cold. You can't really heat anything warm with it. But mortal fire… it's so warm! It's the only thing that really heats water." She was quiet a moment, still staring, "It was a secret, but we actually kept mortal fire at the bath house. The Gods loved our hot water. Our bath house was famous for it. And the only reason we had it was because of Himeji. He was the only one brave enough to work the spell over the soot to keep the boilers going. Everyone else was too afraid of the fire to go down there, even Yubaba. Everyone except me and Haku."
At once her face tightened with conflicting emotions, anger and sorrow etched her features far deeper than the burn mark.
"When he first came to us we used to sit and watch the fire together. He was so much different back then. Warmer. But after Yubaba took notice of him, he went cold. After that he stopped coming to the boiler room."
As if dreaming, Lin reached for the fire.
"It's so pretty…"
She came up short as Suzume caught her hand, obviously afraid she was about to touch it. Lin went pink in the cheeks. Her frown deepened as he continued holding her hand until he realized what he was doing. Hastily the fox took back his fingers.
Again, the kami jumped, shrinking from the fire as it guttered.
"Whoa!" Chihiro jolted, making the mask drop back down onto her face as she held the lighter at arms length. The fire had gone angry, starting up from the lighter as it lurched to one side as if caught by a breeze, snapping and reaching towards the old village.
"Shite. Shite! Shite!" Cinna wailed as she pulled Suzume and Lin the opposite direction indicated by the flame, "Somethin's comin'!"
"I do not understand this! It could not have known!" Suzume paled as he split his attention between the fire and the distant bend in the path. "She is all but invisible beneath that mask! Even I would not know her for a mortal."
Lin tore herself away from the cat's claws, staring at the darkening shadows at the end of the road with an expression of gathering horror.
"It don' matter how 'r who, y'ninnies!" Cinna hissed as she reached after Lin, "All tha' matters's its comin'! We tested the zippy-thingy. It worked! Whoopee! Now we gotta go! Now!"
Chihiro had to admit, she had been all gun-hoe about monster hunting earlier. All of a sudden, confronted with the possibility of seeing that reeking monstrosity again, petrifying fear crept over her in spite of the fire in her hands. She very, very much wanted to go home.
"No…" Again, Lin shied from the cat's reach, going ashen as something dawned on her scarred face, "It's not following Sen... It's me."
"You?" The cat looked her up and down incredulously. "Whas'it want wit you?!"
"It has part of me." As Lin gripped the emptiness at her other shoulder her face twisted with the memory of pain, "It will keep following me right back to the others!"
"No." The fox shook his head stubbornly.
"Think, you fool! She pointed at him, making him start, "How did it find the shrine in the ghost village!? How did it find us again at the Onsen!? Because of me! How else could it have crept up on you, Suzume-dono! You! A God in your own house!"
All at once understanding hit the fox, understanding Chihiro wished she shared; because she didn't get why Lin was still backing away. With each step her friend took the bell in her heart began ringing louder and louder as the burn on her leg turned icy. But the fire was following Lin now, pointing at her as she retreated from them.
"Woman…" The fox began calmly. "You know nothing for certain."
Chihiro'd only heard him this gentle with Mrs. Nikkou. Slowly Suzume put out his hands. Only Lin would have none of his kindness.
"I know what it wants." Her face hardened with adamancy. Funny, it was a very Suzume expression. Lin took another step away, pinning the fox in place with her chestnut eyes as if willing him to stay. "Do not follow."
Turning, she sprinted down the road right into the gathering shadows.
Gods she was fast!
So fast that it took Suzume a second to take off after her.
"Wait!" Chihiro screamed, reaching after them as she dropped the lighter.
Except her words missed Lin entirely, hitting Suzume square in the back as if she'd cast a stone. The fox fell forward onto his hands and knees as if weighed down by the force of the word.
"Let me go!" He thundered, straining against whatever held him.
Snatching back her hands, Chihiro blinked. That's how long it took: just a blink. Then there was no more man. White as snow, a fox went racing down the road. Scooping up the lighter, she ignored the burn of the hot metal. She ran after Suzume and Lin. Woefully slow on her two legs, she lost sight of them in seconds.
"Y'too slow!" Cinna shouted as she came up along side her. Seizing her arm, slinging accross her tiny shoulder as the cat bunched up like a spring. "Hold on!"
Chihiro screamed as Cinna sprang up into the air like she was running on some kind of crazy irradiated spider venom! Chihiro's stomach flipped giddily as the ground fell away. Like an arrow they shot up into the canopy only to bounce off bending tree limbs like they were trampolines. Each time her arms felt like they were going to rip from their sockets, but the cat had her around the waist, claws once again digging into her skin. As her left brain retreated to a corner of her mind to gibber and drool, her right brain flattened its nose against the windows that were her eyes, fogging them up with sweaty handprints as it pointed out the fact that the ground beneath the spindly pines was very familiar.
She recognized the path Hidé walked her along.
Recognized the sandy white rocks poking through the ferns.
Recognized the salty air whipping through the trees.
Though, she also recognized the horrifying stink of rotting flesh.
Chihiro's insides sank as Cinna dropped down from the trees. She fell, plunging into fear as if tossed into icy water. Her heart thrilled up into her throat, beating so quickly she had to swallow it before it tore free. Through the distant trunks she could see the great swath it'd left in its wake, like some pyro had dumped gasoline across the forest floor and gleefully lit it up. Her feet hit the ground inches from the burn. But the cat yanked her up as her knees failed, pulling her towards the sweet fetid stink of death. Something was snarling in the distance. It sounded like a dog or a wolf or something! No. It was a fox. Only the barking snaps silenced, swallowed momentarily in a brilliant flash of golden white.
A bass roar that vibrated the very stones beneath her bare feet.
Resonating deep inside the primal marrow of her bones.
Loosing an adrenaline spiked flood of terror.
Cinna cringing back as something crashed through the trees to their left. Pines splintered like twigs. The cat tackled Chihiro, knocking them out of the way of an enormous tree that came thundering down in front of them. It fell in a cascading rain of branches and bark. The impact bounced them off the ground. But that didn't stop her; because through the monstrous bellowing she heard Lin's voice. Scrambling out from under the prickly blanket of needles and slapping branches, Chihiro scrambled over the trunk, dumping over onto the ground, rolling back to her feet.
"Chihiro!" Cinna shrilled form behind her.
She didn't stop. She was already breaking through the thinning trees. Dirt turned to sand and then to rock as the forest peeled back abruptly on the edge of the precipice, revealing the angry churning ocean through the weathered wood arch of Sengen's torii gate. It churned gray and frothy against the distant rocks.
Yet firmly planted on the thinnest part of the stone arch.
Balanced with her blade held aloft.
Lin stood unafraid.
The threat of her flashing knife seemed comical in comparison to the tarry behemoth that loomed on the edge of the scorched cliffs. It was huge! Taller even than Sengen's gate! The thing looked like all the worst parts of a spider and a crab rolled in toxic sludge with a hinged mouth like one of those crazy deep sea fish. But the smell! Oh, Gods! The smell! Chihiro couldn't help it. Turning away she puked right on a clump of pretty little purple flowers.
"Here!" Lin shouted defiantly, "Come and get the rest of me, you bloated filth!"
Whirling towards her friend's voice, Chihiro watched in horror as the thing trundled back and forth along the edge of the cliff, gnashing the scorched cinder points of its teeth. Yet for some reason it shrank from the lip, like it was afraid of heights or something. Gripping her blade between her teeth, Lin reached into her sleeve only to hurl a handful of salt right in the Forgotten's face. Blisters formed, hissing as if she'd thrown acid. The monster howled, rearing back just as an enormous white fox tore itself free from the log-jam wreckage south of the clearing.
It had two tails! Each tipped in black like a painters brush. It was huge, but nowhere as large as the Forgotten. All the same, with a furious snarl it sprung off a fallen tree trunk, sinking its teeth into one of the monsters spindly legs, tearing it clean off. Yet as the Forgotten screeched again, thrown off balance by its missing leg, the shiny casing caught between Suzume's teeth twitched spasmodically. The fox spat it out as it liquefied, scorching the stones where it fell. It shivered and bucked only to erupt into a bristling forest of reaching claws, born anew.
Scrambling back from a host of snapping pincers, the white fox shied right into the path of the greater Forgotten. With a yelp Suzume darted and wove between its stomping claws as Lin darted forward, hacking at the daemon's legs and slashing its underside as she deftly leapt and dived out of the path of its lashing reaching tongue. The burned woman bought Suzume enough time to summon a crown of foxfires. The crackling lights consolidated into a great churning ball of golden fire. They flattened, turning to a blade that carved a chunk of quaking black off the monsters flank.
As the beast shrieked again, its hissing flesh shattered as it struck the white stones, at once melting like tar. More lessers sprang up from the broken carcass of its body, pouring between their mother's feet as she roared again, tipping towards the edge of the cliff. The Forgotten's progeny reached in sharp undulating ribbons for Lin. Hard pressed to flee the agile little fiends, Lin started away from the apparent safety of the torii gate. Her white blade flashed back and forth as she cut down the bits of tar only to have the littler pieces spring up after her.
But she wobbled uncertaintly, falling still as the ground beneath her feet fractured and jolted. One of the Greater Forgotten's claws splintered a great chunk off the lip of the cliff! Lin had to dive aside to keep from falling with the stones over the edge. The lessers reached for her as she landed hard, surging forward. Before they could reach her foxfires shattered over her head, becoming a whirling wheel of lights, encircling her with a burning constellation of protection that drove back the reaching black hands.
The Greater Forgotten screeched as it lost its footing, beginning to fall. Except as it did, the beast unbent one of its insectorous legs, reaching far out to the edge of the opposite cliff. Sinking its claws deep into the pitted limestone, the ground jarred with another monstrous tremor as it pivoted, whipping around with deceptive speed, unhooking a suddenly unencumbered leg from beneath its body.
The claw smashed down onto Suzume.
Trapping him under the crushing weight of its foot.
The reek of burned fur and flesh slapped Chihiro in the face.
The God howled in agony.
NO!" Lin shrieked at the same time as Chihiro.
At the sound of her voice, the lesser daemons pulsed, whirling to fix their cindered eyes to her instead of Lin.
They surged at Chihiro in burning lines of tar.
Scrambling away, backing right into a tree, Chihiro knocked her head against the trunk as she tore the lighter from her pocket. Fighting to get the lid open, again she struggled with the flint. Her mind with blank with terror as the light seemed to blot out. She fell still as undulating black rose over her in an impenetrable wave that was about to swallow her whole.
Bells cut through the dark.
The deluge froze.
Just as the lighter sparked in her hands.
The fire came alive, snapping and licking up her arms without singing a hair on her body. But it breathed such heat that sweat slicked her face. The blaze threw itself at the daemons, burning them to cinders. But still the blaze burned. It also raged inside her! Devouring the fear that'd once paralyzed her! Hollowing her out until there was nothing but fire! Fire in her heart, pulsing through her veins until it was breathing out of her mouth and flowing from her eyes. Hungry were the white flames that heaved between her hands, hungry for the thing above her.
It consumed the lessers.
Gladly she let it scour them clean.
The wall they one comprised crumbled. And harmless ash fell over her instead of death. Through the smoke Chihiro caught sight of Lin and Suzume. The burned woman blurred with speed as she alternately fought off additional legs, all the while hacking at the arm that held the fox pinned to the ground. Suzume had reverted to his human shape, no doubt trying to make himself smaller to wriggle free. But even wreathed in flame, he still struggled against the claw that held him down. Already he was pale with the exhaustion echoed by the meager fire he had summoned.
"Help him!" Cinna screeched from somewhere behind her.
Holding out the lighter, Chihiro started forward, pulling the fire with her.
It fought her every step of the way. Feral and twice as fierce; it did not want to listen! It wanted to eat! It wanted to consume the trees and burn the grass! It wanted to burn the world until all was flame! Still, she held its fuel in her hands. Unwillingly it was forced to follow. Until through the veil of its own chaos the Fire saw the Forgotten.
And it wanted!
Now it was pulling her forward, nearly dragging her from her feet in its haste to get at the monster. The stone of the cliff face felt incredibly cold beneath her bare feet as she broke free of the trees. But she hauled the fire back, because Lin and Suzume were still in its path! .
With a startled grunt, the Forgotten lifted its hideous face, regarding her with dead cinder eyes. Something flickered there. Understanding? Recognition? What did it have to recognize!? She didn't have time to consider it, because fear rippled through its bulk. It yanked back the leg holding Suzume down just as his foxfire petered out. The monster shrank from Chihiro as Lin dragged Suzume from her path. As soon as they were clear she eased her grip on The Fire, letting it have its way.
Joyfully it sprang anew as thunder boomed over her head.
She couldn't hear it over the crackling voice of the blaze.
Then something went wrong.
Instead of rushing forward and consuming the Forgotten, the Fire dallied. It dwindled, draining from her insides, uncoiling from the furnace it had made of her heart and stomach. Inexplicably, it guttered out completely, leaving her holding a useless bit of warm steel. And chilly understanding welled in the absence of the heat. With it came a terror that swallowed her whole.
The Zippo was empty!
It had run out of fuel!
A shadow passed over her as The Forgotten loomed over her, leaning down so close she gagged, so near she could feel the cold emanating from its body. But it didn't snatch her up into the bleeding earth of its mouth. It didn't crush her beneath the fork of its claws. Bells that held no sway over the beast were ringing distantly. Someone was screaming. Except it wasn't her. It definitely wasn't her. Trembling violently, Chihiro held her breath as it leaned down closer still. Only to inhale, like it was smelling her! And the snorting blast of its exhale could have peeled paint!
"SEN…"
It spoke!
Rumbling like the grinding of granite boulders!
Making the ground beneath her feet vibrate!
Her insides rocked as it spoke her second name.
Just as simultaneous lightening and thunder cracked overhead.
Chihiro screeched, assaulted by a gale that came screaming over the lip of the cliff. Only to be thrown from her feet by the bone jarring impact that sent the Forgotten crushing to the ground beside her. She scrambled away through the biting wind as the monster tore deep gouges in the stone cliff with its claws, hooting and snarling as it bucked at whatever was holding it down.
Then she saw him.
Tearing hissing gouges accross the daemon's back with his beautiful golden claws, the dragon ripped clean another of the daemons legs before tossing the quaking digit over the cliff into the ocean. Haku vicious bellow cut short as he snapped at the burning whip of the daemon's lashing tongue, all the while pummeling the monster with the length of his tail. Beset and suddenly off kilter, the Forgotten roared as it tipped backwards over the edge, clawing and tearing at the crumbling lip of the cliff until it sank a single claw into the stone. Another tremor went through the ground as their combined bulk slammed against the cliff face. Yet the daemon's claw held.
Without thinking Chihiro darted forward with Ume's knife in hand.
She stabbed the thing's foot.
Stabbed it again and again until it ripped free, disappearing over the edge.
Howls and more bellowing echoed up from below as Chihiro found her feet, clambering out onto the stone arch so she could see. They were still fighting each other, anchored sideways onto the face of the rock. Trundling back and forth like some kind of demonic crab, the Forgotten's legs were surging in and out of one of the many caves dotting the cliff side. It snapped and bit the ledge, trying desperately to get at something inside only to shy with a yelp from the hissing spray of the waves breaking on the rocks below. Cinders started up from its peeling skin where the water splashed.
The bell in Chihiro's chest rang so loud she fell to her knees.
No wonder it was afraid of the cliff!
It wasn't afraid of the height!
It was afraid of the water!
Salt water!
As the monster tried to flee the dragon exploded out of a lower cave, catching hold of the creatures flank with tooth and claw as he pulled, hauling the beast back. Kicking and shaking, the enraged daemon screeched with frustration as it remained anchored in place.
Shoving up the fox mask, Chihiro screamed at Haku as she pointed to the ocean, "THE WATER! PUT IT IN THE WATER!"
He couldn't hear her over the Forgotten's bellowing. All the same, Haku's glowing green eyes flashed at her if only for a moment, widening as if seeing her for the first time. Then the monster rippled again like tar. Somehow it inverted, swapping round the placement of its mouth and front pincers. With a startled bark Haku let go of the flank that'd suddenly become its front, shying from snapping obsidian teeth as he kicked off the wall, catching air. But the daemon lashed out with the whip of its tongue, catching him at the throat. Haku roared as the lash burned his neck and face, sending him careening down into the cliff face below. Dust and rock flew under the force of his impact. And the Forgotten hauled the limp dragon out of the rubble, reeling towards its mouth like a fish caught on a line.
"NO!" Chihiro threw stones that had no hope of coming close. She uselessly tossed salt that was snatched up into the wind. Clinging to the edge of the cliff, she could do nothing but watch.
"HAKU!" She screamed so loud her voice broke.
As it did the dragon came awake, at once fighting against the daemon's tongue, uttering muffled barks as he tried to force open his mouth only to have it squeezed shut. The beast's tongue held fast as Haku's claws failed, cutting through the soft rock as he was dragged forward. Because the Forgotten was much stronger and much, much bigger. It hummed in anticipation as its meal approached its mouth.
Clinging to one of the torii posts, Chihiro sobbed, shutting her eyes.
Only look back as the Forgotten shrieked.
Again it shied as another wave crashed on the rocks below. Yanking back its burning tongue, it dropped the dragon onto the reef as the waves retreated. Shaking his head, which was now crisscrossed with red welts, Haku's sharp green eyes darted between the boiling ocean and the daemon's seared flank. Once again it inverted again, clambering up the cliff like a spider. And the dragon's ears pricked with understanding as he coiled, launching himself at the monster, hauling it back once more. Chihiro shrieked again as they fell a few feet, falling closer to the water, but not close enough!
Thunder boomed as the dragon reared his head to roar at the sky.
An eerie pulse like an earthquake went humming through ground. The air went electric with static charge as lightning flashed, smashing into the cliff over the struggling daemon, holding it at bay. From her vantage point Chihiro could see a swelling bulge forming in the distant churning water; it surged forward, picking up speed as she hugged the gate post in abject confusion.
Until the bell in her heart rang with knowing.
As the bulge hit the shallows it lifted.
Growing.
Becoming an enormous wave!
The ocean roared as it stood up out of the shallows into the sky.
The tsunami crashed over the Forgotten!
Crashed over Haku!
Crashed up over everything!
The mask fell back over her face as Chihiro threw her arms around the gate post just as the wave surged up over the lip of the cliff. She barely had enough time to suck in a breath as it drowned the world in water. The wave continued to snarl even as it submerged her, tearing at her hair and clothes as freezing shivering salt water eddied everywhere: invading her nose and ears, trying to force its way inside her burning lungs. Just as swiftly it rushed back, crushing her against the torii post as it hurried over the edge, trying desperately to pull her with it. Except she locked her legs around the pillar of wood, clinging tenaciously until air broke over her head and the water was gone.
With a cry she pulled in a deep shuddering breath.
She fell against the sodden ground, looking over the edge of the cliff.
The Forgotten was gone!
Gone! It was gone!
Only the elated whoop died on her lips, because Haku was gone too.
Pulling herself upright on the torii post, she searching both sides of the sea arch. Searched the reef and the rocks. Searched the boiling water beyond them and further out to the rippling gray; but found nothing.
Nothing!
"Haku!?" She shouted over the edge through the still screaming wind. As no answer came she screamed louder, "HAKU!?"
Nothing.
Chihiro was back at the lip of the cliff in an instant, still scanning the frothy foam for his white pelt. Looking for a line of shaggy teal or even a glint of gold. Nothing. Nothing but broken rock and shredded seaweed. She swung her leg over the edge of the cliff, fully intending to climb down to the reef to look for him. But hands caught her, pulled her back.
"Haku's down there!" She struggled, "He's still down there!"
Cinna shied from her kicking feet, hunkering down on her belly to peer over the wet edge. Her damp black ears flattened to her head, because the cat was soaked.
"Kiddo, ain't no one down there." The cat was so quiet Chihiro could barely hear as another wave broke at the foot of the cliff with a surging roar.
"No… No!" Chihiro's insides rang with dismay.
Back at the edge, Chihiro gripped the lip of the wet rock, firmly fixing her eyes on the white stone as she sought a toehold somewhere below her. Finding one, and then another, she inched her way down until she couldn't find anymore. As she clung to the stone, feeling it vibrate beneath the force of the waves, clarity somehow found her.
As misted salty air surged up from below, breathing over her, Chihiro bent her face into the sharp rocks and began shaking. Bawling, trembling, she threw her face back and screamed. Screamed until her voice shredded like the weeds stuck to the stone. Screamed even as the growling surf swallowed the sound. Turning back towards the water, Chihiro shrieked at the angry water, flinging at through stuttering trembling lips every curse and horror she could imagine.
The sea had taken everything.
Everything!
She was so consumed by grief and rage that she almost missed it. Almost missed a bit of white that remained even after a wave rolled back. It was the red she saw. There was a swath of it on his shoulder. Chihiro went very still as she watched the splotch of color cling to the rocks even as another wave tried to pull it back. He looked so small, so very, very small in his human form. So small she almost didn't see him.
She tried to call out, tried to yell something.
But she'd screamed her voice away.
All the same, Haku lifted his head.
Looking right at her with his brilliant sea green eyes.
(1) Goddess 101 - just a reminder of the various Goddess of this world so you know who to pray to. ^_^
O-Inari-sama: The patron goddess of the camphor tree shrine. Inari is the goddess of food and vitality, hence life. She is associated with rice, mountains, woods, earth, and fire. Foxes are her avatars and Suzume is a devout follower of his patron goddess. Inari departed from the sea, following the Sun Goddess as she danced westward onto the land. Inari stayed on the land, falling as rain and rivers, until she permeated the very earth with her body. Tranformed by the light from the sun, she welled from the ground as rice and trees and plants, still following the fire of the sun as it passes each day. Springs are sacred to her as it was the sun goddess who planted fire in the earth when she dwelled in the caves inside the mountains.
O-Sengen-sama: Inari's little sister. She is the patron deity of Kumomi. Sengen Jinja Shrine, kept by Kei and Kiri, is devoted to Sengen. Sengen is the keeper of the harbor and the ocean beyond its boundaries; she is associated with the sea, the wind, storms, and of course, dragons, who are all of these things.
O-Benten-sama: (alt. spelling Benzaiten) is the goddess of love and mercy. She is also the goddess of everything that flows: water, knowledge, eloquence, words, stories, and music. She has a close association with snakes and dragons in Japan. She is the mother of Inari and Sengen. Their father is the Storm King, the greatest god of the sea.
Amaterasu, the sun goddess: the most important Shinto deity.