A/N: Hey friends, I have news! Good, bad, I dunno...but news nonetheless. Perhaps it has not been very obvious but I have put some effort into posting a chapter every day. I know how much I hate waiting for new chapters so, I figured that short, frequently posted chapters would be preferable to lengthy chapters that take a long time to write. However, the resulting haste has affected my writing for the worse. Quite likely the most noticeable factor has been the all too frequent typos that seem to permeate my fic! ARG!!!! It's a malevolent, image shattering, mood spoiling infestation of errors! *pants* Well, anyway, they're getting on my nerves...
Also, after rereading, it seemed to create a choppiness that made it harder to get back into the fic. *sigh* Yes, I know I'm whining, wah wah wah. I just thought I'd let my meager audience know that I'll be slowing down for a while, sacrificing quantity for quality and whatnot. I shall still endeavor to update several times a week but I fear my stamina can no longer support my former wild pace.
Oh, and BTW I figured out how to allow anonymous reviews! Unfortunately, the first one that reviewed my fic burned me. Plz, I completely respect your right to hate my fic, but if you are going to review at least tell me why, as opposed to rattling off the generic "you suck" (and all of its variations). That way I can learn from my mistakes and, hopefully, improve. *takes a bow* Thankyou!

Disclaimer: C'mon! Chant it with me! Miazaki owns it, fate is very broke...

Chapter 4

Sleep was a soft quilt that Kohaku wrapped around himself. It was pleasant and soothing, but he vaguely sensed that the world was waking, and so Kohaku threw off the blanket of slumber he'd drawn over himself and opened his eyes.
Kohaku blinked blearily at the monster before alarm penetrated his sleep filled mind. When what greeted his eyes finally registered he jerked so passionately that he became entangled in his blanket and fell, quite awkwardly, back to the hard floor.
"Who are you?" Kohaku demanded as he pulled himself into a more defensible position.
"I'm Kamaji, slave to the boilers that heat the baths." The creature chuckled. "Are you all right there?"
"I'm fine," he replied guardedly. Then blinked. He was fine. He was covered. Practically head to toe in bandages, but Kohaku felt no pain.

"You did this?" he asked hesitantly.
Kamaji's chest rumbled with another sly chuckle. "I did, indeed," he wheezed. "But I must say, young man, that I am immeasurably curious as to who you are."
Kohaku blinked. "...I am...Kohaku River."
"I see..." Kamaji murmured. "And what brings you here?"
He faltered. "...I-"
"If you're looking for work I'd search elsewhere," he interrupted. "This is no place for young spirits. Yubaba rules the bathhouse with an iron hand. If you're not a paying customer she won't welcome you. Probably turn you into something...unnatural. A pig, maybe."
"So this is a bathhouse," Kohaku stated.
Kamaji grunted. "It's a place where spirits come when their work in the human world tires them out."
His eyes widened. "Then this is the spirit world...not the human?"
The six legged creature winced. "Hit your head a little hard there, didn't you?"
"Please," Kohaku breathed. "I must know. Is this the spirit world?"

"Well...yes, boy, it is..." Kamaji affirmed. "But how could you not know this?"
He closed his eyes and set his palms upon the ground. He stayed like that for a moment, curled a little inward, so that his hair covered his face. "I think...I died," Kohaku answered quietly.
Kamaji seemed surprised. "That's serious... It will make it difficult for you to get home, but it should still be possible, as long as your river perseveres." He instantly began to root around in his desk and, in the process, missed the lost expression on Kohaku's face.
Clothes and parcels were suddenly sailing through the air. Kohaku ducked to avoid a flying shoe but was unable to escape the second. He leaped dexterously out of harm's way, landing in a crouch. His muscles worked smoothly but his battered extremities protested and one of his bandages came loose.
"Yes, that should do," Kamaji announced. He strutted to the pile of junk with an extremely satisfied expression on his face. "This is what you'll need to get home." He held up a small slip of paper. "But, first, put these on." Kamaji threw a bundle of clothes at Kohaku.
Kohaku caught the bundle with ease and examined it. "Why?"
Kamaji snorted. "Haven't you ever used your human form before?"
The youth shook his head. "I didn't know I had one."
"Well, you'll need clothes. You may not have noticed yet but it gets cold around here," Kamaji explained. "And besides...It's not exactly normal for spirits to run around naked."
Kohaku pulled on a cotton tunic and reached for the pants. "What is that paper?"
"A train ticket. I've been saving for years but it looks like you need it more than I do. Take the tenth stop. That will take you to the only other portal I know of. When you died you were thrown through the gate closest to you, but you won't be able to leave that way. Kickbacks are a one way ride; you'll never be able to use that portal again. The other gate should still be open to you, though. Just don't die again, okay? I don't think you'd ever be able to go back then."
Kohaku nodded absently as he slipped on a sandal.
"Here." Kamaji handed him the packed satchel. "I've packed you some food and some water. It should last you the trip."
The river spirit slung the pack over one shoulder. "Thank you Kamaji."
He nodded. "Take care of yourself, Kohaku."

Kohaku ambled thoughtfully into the sunny morning. He stopped before the wooden staircase and looked up. It was muck taller than he remembered, and quite in need of fixing. He began to climb the stairs, gazing at the horizon beyond. There was a sharp drop to one side ending in the strong wide river Kohaku had found himself in the previous night. The early morning sun bounced off the sparkly river and lit the sky beautifully.
Out in the distance was a large flower field that undulated in the wind. Kohaku inhaled the fresh air. It was cool and clean and ruffled his hair, a welcome distraction from the thoughts echoing through his mind.
Kamaji, the boiler man, had given him the train ticket assuming his river was alive. But Kohaku River was gone. Kohaku suppressed a surge of remorse. Even if he made it back to the human world where would he go? He had no home.
Kohaku shook his head and climbed farther still. He couldn't go back. So what should he do now? Perhaps he could find a job somewhere but Kamaji had also warned him of the witch, Yubaba. Kohaku had no money so why would she be interested in him? He was nothing to her.
He sighed and ran his hand along the side of the building as he ascended. The metal of the bathhouse was rough and warm to his fingers. It would be hard to find a job anywhere, now that he thought about it. Kohaku had no skills except those inherit to a river spirit. He could interact with water, draw strength from it if the spirit consented. He could fly, in his dragon form, and be quite vicious if needed, but Kohaku was not sure that he could still transform. This was obviously not a good place to try it.
He stopped climbing and smoothly lowered himself to the step. Kohaku stared out at the luscious vista as he reclined and pondered. Aside from those meager skills he possessed only a dragon's innate affinity for magic. But it was untrained and underdeveloped. The only need a dragon had for magic was to control his river and that was so rarely required that it bordered on useless. A river spirit and his river were seldom separate. Only rogues used their power that way.
Kohaku plucked at his tunic, still not used to the abrasive feel of clothes. Obviously, his magic would get him nowhere if he couldn't use it to help an employer. Kohaku would have to be trained first. And who would train him for free? No one, that's who. No one unless...there was something in it for them!
Kohaku abruptly straightened, rigid with excitement. He could pledge his service in exchange for training! He would use the skills he learned to protect his employer. It just might work. Kohaku could have a home again.
He rapidly bounded up the remaining stairs but instead of heading toward the station Kohaku strode through the main entrance of the bathhouse in search of Yubaba.