Akio Ogino, 1959-2009

Beloved husband and father

Chihiro looked down at the picture of her father in front of her. It was a photo of him taken at her parents' wedding, two years before she was born. He was large, boisterous, and happy; which was how she was sure he would've liked to have been remembered- rather than the half sentient skeleton of a man he was when he'd passed. The cancer made him so frail, so vulnerable. Chihiro never thought she'd see him like this in her life. At least, not when she was only 18. He was supposed to be there for her graduating college, to eventually see her get married and start a family. He had been gone for two weeks, and she arrived from his funeral to her small Tokyo apartment exactly 10 minutes ago. The drive there and back was long and exhausting, and although she was happy to see her mother again after being far from home since starting college, she's never seen her in a worse state. Still, she was the strongest person Chihiro knew. In fact, the first time Chihiro saw her mother cry in her 18 years of living was while they were lowering her father's casket into the ground.

Chihiro didn't feel a strong connection to either of her parents. She never did. After they moved across Japan when she was 10 years old, she felt not only less connected to her mother and father, but to the world as a whole. Although Chihiro spent her teenage years suffering from this sudden detachment, her parents saw a positive adjustment in her while this was happening, in both her work ethic and attitude. At the age of 17, she had graduated as valedictorian of her class. The snarky demeanor she held as a child melted away, and she became almost overly polite and respectful. Due to this, most of her issues socializing, making friends or finding a partner, and listening actively when spoken to were overlooked by her parents. So long as their daughter was succeeding in life, there was no harm in her being a bit strange.

However, Chihiro wasn't happy. She didn't understand what she had at one point in her life, and she didn't remember having it, but she knew it was hers at some point. Maybe it was just a sense of normalcy, but it felt much deeper than that. Sometimes she thought back to the move her family made eight years ago. Upon arriving at their new house, her family had discovered that a new family had already moved in. They were late in claiming the house, almost a whole two weeks late, in fact. This didn't make any sense, as they thought they had arrived on the right date, but sure enough, it was 13 days later. Chihiro's parents, trying to avoid as much speculation as possible as to what happened, chalked it up to a misunderstanding. They must've just misread the date. Luckly, their realtor referred them to a house closeby for a similar price that they were eventually able to purchase after a week of staying in a nearby hotel.

Her parents remembered what happened in that mysterious abandoned theme park they found before moving in. They found a fair with food out in the open, ate a delicious dinner, and left their money on the counter when they were finished. They were so distracted by how delicious the food was that they hadn't noticed Chihiro had run away. After a short search, they found her at the field near the tunnel they came in through, and they went home after clearing off the debris that some teenagers probably threw on their car. Chihiro never told her parents, but she remembered none of this. She remembers entering the tunnel, and then exiting with her parents. This had always baffled her, kept her up at night even. She had read somewhere that intense trauma can cause blackouts in memory. This is what she assumed may have happened, maybe someone had taken advantage of her while she was missing from her parents sight. Maybe she blocked whatever happened out of her mind intentionally, to protect herself from whatever she had experienced. But the feelings she had towards that tunnel didn't coincide with trauma.

Yes, she feared the tunnel, even convincing her parents not to go back after they had considered checking if there might be fresh food on display to gorge on. She knew whatever was behind that tunnel was something she should stay away from. However, she felt drawn to it. Almost like whatever she was searching for was on the other side. Like there was an entirely different world she was missing out on, one in which she might've belonged. Still, she avoided it, not even going in the direction towards it during her morning jogs in that area.

She thought moving to Tokyo would solve some of her existential dread. Maybe being on her own, meeting new people, and focusing on her studies would help her learn more about who she truly was, and who she was put in this world to be. However, between the struggles of being unique and possibly depressed while watching her father quickly succumb to his illness from miles away, she didn't feel any better. She still longed for whatever was on the other side of that tunnel. In fact, the distance from the tunnel made this longing worse. Now that her father had passed, she became even more interested in what she's been avoiding all these years. His death taught her that you never know when life will be too short. He was 50 years old when she passed, which to her was much too young. She watched her grandmother live to be nearly 100, but fate had taken her father in half that amount of time. It could happen to her too, maybe one day she won't pay enough attention while driving. Maybe she'll inherit her father's cancer before she even reaches her 30's. Why should she spend her life feeling miserable?

So, she made herself a promise. Next week, after her finals for this semester are over, she will drive back home to see her mother. This is something she should be doing much more often, now that she has lost her other half. While she's there, she will walk through that tunnel and explore the other side. She'll go as far as she needs to go until she finds what she's looking for, whatever that is. However long it takes her. She'll even camp out there if she needs to. She had nothing to lose.

–

A week had passed and Chihiro was home with her mom. It hurt her to see her mother in so much pain, praying to a small shrine of her father every night for a sign that he's still with her, helping her through this dark time. Chihiro tried to focus on her future excursion on the other side of the tunnel rather than dwell on her mother's broken heart, as the latter was a lot for her to bear at the time. She told her mother she'd be going on a camping trip out in nature with Sakura, one of her only friends in high school that she still kept up to date with since moving to college in Tokyo.

Actually, it was more like Sakura was keeping up with her. She texted Chihiro almost every day, just to see how she was. Although Chihiro knew she wasn't the best friend for not returning the favor, she still enjoyed the attention and felt a legitimate emotional connection to Sakura. She sometimes wondered if she might be gay, being as Sakura was the only one who she was able to form this connection with. Men never interested her as much as Sakura did, but she didn't necessarily feel romantic towards her, just the endearment that most best friends felt towards each other. Still, there was not a single other person she felt this way for.

Chihiro thought of her while packing her bags. If something happened to her after walking through the tunnel, how would Sakura feel? Would she be happy she had one less thing to worry about? What about her mother, could she bear losing her daughter right after losing her husband? It didn't matter, Chihiro was doing this for herself. Not for Sakura or her parents. If something happened to her, it would be her own fault, and it would be from taking a risk to find true happiness. Chihiro only brought essentials. A change of clothes, a toothbrush, a hairbrush, all the cash she had available, and some camping supplies including a small portable tent that rolled into a convenient small bag that she could carry in her large camping backpack. She bought her cell phone as well, even though she wasn't sure she'd even be able to find service where she was going. She also prepared herself two bento boxes in case she couldn't find somewhere to eat while she was gone, although judging by her parents' memories she might not have that much trouble in that department.

Upon arriving at her destination, which she hadn't seen in person for 8 years, she felt as though something was telling her to go back. To avoid taking any risks. To return to her average life and forget all this happened. However, she knew there was no turning back at this point. She refused to have packed and gotten ready for nothing. She hopped out of her car and stared at the small statue in front of the tunnel. It felt like the statue was placed there for a reason, to guard what was inside. To prevent her from going in. She didn't care. She took a deep breath, counted to ten, and walked through the tunnel.

–

Kohaku remembered Chihiro all too well. In fact, even though this human had only lived for 18 of his thousands of years of life, and he'd only been keeping track of her for eight, he knew her better than he knew anyone else he'd ever met. She was the only being, human or otherwise, that he'd care to know that well.

Two years after Chihiro left, the apartments that once demolished his river were torn down, allowing the water to flow once again. This was sheer luck on his end. Although he reclaimed his name and identity, he spent the two years in between working at the bathhouse. He was under no contract, this was completely his choice, as he had nothing else in this world to call his own. He could leave at any point, but where else would he go?

Once news arrived that his river was once again flowing, the realization hit him that he was once again, a god. However, he stayed at the bathhouse while managing his river on the side. Yubaba had softened up quite a bit since Chihiro left. Kohaku speculated that this could be because of her son and his affinity towards Chihiro and disdain towards his mother for harming her and the other workers. She could've also simply been humbled by the whole experience. She wasn't used to being outsmarted, especially by a human. Chihiro's escape from her contract was surely a pivotal moment for her.

She had made comments to Kohaku, who she still considered a confidante even though he was no longer an assistant of hers, about leaving the bathhouse with her son and retiring to a more peaceful life- one where she didn't have to worry about her own employees tarnishing her name or ruining her business. She told Kohaku that she would be willing to leave the bathhouse to him, if he is willing to accept it. Kohaku liked the idea of this, even though he could never tell if she was being serious. He used this possibility as an excuse to stay, but he also enjoyed his position at the bathhouse now. He enjoyed being a higher up rather than just an assistant to Yubaba. It gave him a sense of control, which he had lost for a long time. Sure, he still did a lot of the dirty work, but he found the idea of guarding a river all day rather than keeping himself busy a bit boring. He'd fallen out of touch with the whole "god" thing.

He still studied magic, but under the rule of Zeniba rather than Yubaba. Zeniba was an excellent teacher, and he was rather fond of her. Kohaku never had a mother, but he almost thought of Zeniba as a mother figure herself. She certainly loved him as a son. When Chihiro left, Kohaku felt guilty about using his magic to make her forget her experience in the spirit world. Especially after promising her that they'd meet again, which is a promise he knew he couldn't keep. But he fell in love with her all those years ago- not in any way that wasn't pure, she was a human child and he was an ancient spirit. But in a way that made him want to protect her, at any cost. So, he stole some of Zeniba's ancient texts while she was sleeping, as he often did, and searched out anything that could be done about this.

What he found was a tracking spell, something he could use to glimpse in on whatever she's doing at the moment. Although this didn't sound appealing to him, in fact it sounded rather creepy, he didn't see himself as having much of a choice if he wanted to assure her safety. He also knew that there was likely no way to see her again. He would never watch her do anything private, such as using the restroom or changing her clothes. He's never seen her get intimate with anyone, or even close, but he knew when the time came he would respect her privacy.

What he observed in Chihiro is that she seemed to separate herself from other humans. He didn't blame her for this, the conversations he overheard from her kind while checking in on her were often ridiculous and superficial. Humans were full of gossip, which annoyed him quite a bit, but she seemed to float above all that. She also seemed to be rather intelligent, often studying and, from what he saw, excelling in school. He wondered what made her unique from the humans around her, not just in that she was above their ludicrous conversation and behavior, but that he felt so attached to her.

He was definitely indebted to her. She saved his life and gave him back his freedom. He would be very much dead if she hadn't come along when she did. But even before this happened, whenever he had any interaction with this human he would have the overwhelming instinct to keep her safe. From when she fell into his river as a small child, to when he found her peeking over the bridge connecting to the bathhouse, not knowing what was ahead of her. He was also fascinated with her. Her behavior was that of a spirit who has been here for centuries rather than an 18 year old girl. He had to admit, too, that she had grown up to be absolutely beautiful. Although it was something he wanted for her, he would sometimes wince at the thought of her finding a husband. When he let his mind wander he would occasionally imagine that it was her who he was coming home to every night after work, starting a family with her, dying with her. He knew he could provide for her much better than any human can. He brushed these thoughts off, after all this is something that could never possibly happen.

He knew this wouldn't last forever. Humans don't last forever. Kohaku envisioned Chihiro living a long life. Eventually marrying a tolerable human and starting a family, who she will grow old and die with one day. But she was already so frail. This could very much not be her reality. He witnessed her lose her father at the age of 50, he saw how sick and fragile he was in his last days, and he thought of the possibility of this happening to her. 50 years is such a short time to him, he couldn't bear the thought of only another 32 years with her. Let alone one. Or a month. Or a day.

Kohaku had a plan. He would bind his soul to hers, somehow. He knew the magic existed. This way they can be together after she inevitably passed. He could guide her spirit and help her with anything she needed. He'd retire from the bathhouse and they could spend eternity at his river by each other's side. He could help reunite her with her loved ones, her parents. He didn't know if she would remember him, afterall her memories of him have been wiped, but he still will have kept his promise, and in the process avoid losing her. In the meantime, he decided to do something that would surely confuse his workers, not that he cared. He aged himself from the 12 year old vessel he had been using for thousands of years to one of a 20 year old, and planned to age himself every year until she died. That way, they would be close in physical age when she eventually dies.

Rin's jaw dropped upon seeing this change. Rin and Kohaku developed somewhat of a frenemy relationship, where although their attitude towards each other is often stern and occasionally mocking, they still knew they could rely on one another if need be. Still, Rin was honest with him when she thought his actions were absolutely ridiculous, which happened to be the case now.

"What is going on?" "Nothing. Get back to work." He turned his back to walk away, when Rin burst out laughing. He turned around and glared at her. "May I ask what's funny?" he said to her, feeling frustration build up in his throat. He wasn't dumb enough to think she wouldn't comment on the change, but he'd at least thought she'd mind her own business. "Well you're handsome, I'll give you that," she chuckled. She wasn't wrong, his green-tinted hair had grown out past his chest and his face was angular yet soft. He stood tall and almost gangly, but still had some muscle definition. His sharp, green eyes remained the same, but fit in with his new features. He was, by all means, rather handsome. "But I still liked you better as a kid. This doesn't suit you as well." Kohaku sighed. He didn't really care what suited him at the moment, that's not why he did this. "Thank you for your input. Get back to work." Rin let out another laugh before walking away and likely telling all of her coworkers the big news, at least that's what Kohaku assumed.

He went back up to his quarters, which have been improved on quite immensely since he became a god once again. It was actually rather luxurious, a little lavish for his taste but he appreciated that he had a larger space. His favorite part was the large patio, which allowed for easier take-offs and landings. He went to his meditation center and focused on the tracking spell that he'd learned all too well at this point. That's when he saw her, at the end of the tunnel that inched so close to the portal to his world, pondering the chapel that the tunnel exited out into. Haku froze in fear. He had to make sure she wouldn't cross that river.