Chapter 2: The Great Vast Blue

Rin hurried about the day with a long list of to-do list and an even longer train of thought in her mind. The sable spirit was never meticulous to begin with but her running thoughts were making it even more difficult for her to focus on her job.

"CLANK!" She knocked over a tea pot for the fourth time today. Rolling her eyes, Rin quickly cleaned up the mess.

"What's up with you today?" a frog spirit asked, "you're clumsier than usual."

"It was just a small mistake!" Rin snapped back, her large dark eyes shooting the spirit a dirty look. She wasn't exceptionally tall but she was at least twice the height of the stout frog spirit who was cowering away from her wrath.

As the night wore on, the bathhouse soon quietened and Rin finally finished checking on the last of the guests. It was handwork covering for Haku, who usually handled the hospitality side of things and understandably so. The dragon was the master of the bathhouse and had quite the charm, too.

As Rin walked back to her dorm, she could feel the anxiety in her heart building up. In the early hours of the morning, Haku had dragged her consciousness awake with his magic and imprinted the image of a human girl in his arms. She didn't understand at first, and was quite frankly on the verge of cursing the damned dragon for waking her up at ungodly hours. She didn't need to know about the next wrench that was throwing herself at the bathhouse master. But the image of the human girl seemed oddly familiar. She was a girl with dark, chin-length hair and had a gentle expression that radiated warmth and… and… what's that word again? Love! She radiated love. It was then that she knew… Chihiro is back.

Slipping into her dorm room, Rin made sure not to wake anyone as she took a set of fresh clothes. After changing into her purple casual robes, Rin undid her hair and brushed it through thoroughly. She took a deep breath as she stared at the first glint of light in the horizon. The next few days - no, maybe even weeks or months - were going to be hard. It could have been 16 years since the first time Chihiro stumbled into the spirit realm, but it didn't matter whether you're 10 or 26 - the spirit realm was no place for a human. Gathering her long waist long hair into a low ponytail, Rin mentally prepared herself to see the human girl again.

"Is she still sleeping?" Rin whispered as she entered into Haku's room. Haku startled awake and nearly fell over the side of the chair. He had been sitting beside Chihiro all night and the sun was about to rise.

"You're going to die from exhaustion if you don't get some rest," Rin scowled at the dragon.

Haku said nothing in return. Taking the damp towel at the bedside, Haku dabbed Chihiro's brows as he stared at her half opened mouth. He couldn't seem to tear himself away from the sleeping girl. It had been close to 20 hours since he found her lying on the banks of his river. It was by sheer luck that he got to her before her life force completely dwindled away.

"I did this. I need to be with her," Haku's tired voice crackled. Chihiro's chest rose and fell with small, shallow breaths. She should have been awake by now. Haku cradled one of her little hands in his, more so to hold on to her than to warm her cold palm.

"Look, you need to pull yourself together," Rin demanded in a low voice, hoping not to let anyone overhear the conversation, "I'll take care of her for now - god knows your health is going to have a direct impact on her!" A moment passed before Haku looked over at Rin, his eyes rimmed and weary.

"You're right," he whispered reluctantly, more to himself. Taking one last look at the human girl lying motionless in his bed, he stood up and took his leave and Rin side-stepped to take his seat.

Haku had a tall and lean build. He carried himself with grace, as any master of a bathhouse should. But right now, as he walked towards the door, Rin could see the weight of the world on his slouching shoulders.

Turning back to the sleeping girl, Rin said a prayer.

Making his way to the lower floors at the boiler room, Haku found Kamaji still hard at work. The sun was peaking through and daytime marked the hours for spirits find rest but at the bathhouse, rest for the boiler man only came when the sun was hanging high up in the sky. There was never a shortage of guests at the bathhouse.

Turning to look at the sliding doors, Kamaji saw a sleep deprived Haku make his way in. From the look of the bathhouse master's face, he knew something was up.

"Good evening, Kamaji, how have things been down here?" Haku asked, more as a polite greeting.

"Same old. You know how things are," Kamaji chuckled as one of his eight hands reached over to his black tea pot.

"Have some tea," Kamaji offered, pouring hot green tea into a small teacup. Haku took it with a nod and downed it as he threw his head back. Sitting on the floorboards, Haku inhaled the steamy hot air of the boiler room with a long deep breath. Not many people come down here because of the stuffy air but it was in this little space where he could be alone and have some peace and quiet.

Kamaji threw Haku a glance.

"There's something going on and I need you to keep this a secret," Haku spoke plainly.

I… Well, I… he couldn't bring himself to say it. He didn't quite know how to put it into words. The sound of staff moving about on top told him that this wasn't a good time, or place, to talk about this either. Haku stared deep into Kamaji's eyes and thought at him instead.

The old man's brows shot up momentarily. He didn't speak and the two men shared a moment of silence.

It's Chihiro. Something's happened and… she's here. She's in my bed, unconscious. I'm trying everything I can. I can't say more than that, for now… Haku shut his eyes and let the thought sink in for the both of them. She's back.

Kamaji cleared his throat and heaved a heavy sigh. Turning back to work, he

"you can sleep here for now," he grunted, "but make sure you call Zeniba first thing tomorrow."

Haku nodded his head in understanding.

He lay his head on the floor boards and sleep caught him more quickly than he expected. Chihiro… Chihiro… Chihiro…

Chihiro…Here. Over here. I'll keep you safe.

"What? Where am I?" Chihiro mouthed. It was difficult to speak. Difficult to move, even. Her body was suspended in an expanse of blue. Although she wasn't submerged, all she could think of was:

Water. So much water.

Chihiro was surprised she could even breathe, although she didn't seem to have full control over her body. Her hands reach out as she tried to make sense of where she was. Although the foreignness of this strange place made her anxious, she felt totally calm at the same time. She didn't know why but she knew she was safe. Thoughts not her own were appearing in her mind as she was rocked back and forth by the currents of this strange dimension.

Chihiro, over here. Chihiro, let me keep you safe.

"Who are you? Where am I…"

Chihiro… Chihiro…