Author's note:
Hello everyone!
I've been very MIA and for that I apologize to those of you who have been looking forward to an update for so long, I want to make it clear that it isn't because I have no intentions of completing this story. I am tragically an adult and even more tragically a college student, a disabled one at that, and focusing on any of my hobbies is not something I do consistently by any means. I still have plans for this story that I am so excited to put to life! I can't promise absolute consistency but this is something I am going to put forth more effort to devote more time to so depending on my writing process/personal life I will hopefully be much more frequent from now on. Since I have a pretty good grasp of where this story is heading, these next few chapters will likely be posted rather quickly within one and another, but please do not assume that is going to be the case for the entirety of the fic as I continue it further. I do want to give a special thanks to those who have favorited and reviewed, I love hearing what you guys have to say and the fact that I have people who seem to genuinely love this fic makes my heart so happy. I am still incredibly thankful to everyone who has given this fic the time of day especially up to this point regardless of whether or not you interact. You guys are still contributing to my motivation to continue this fic about a movie very near and dear to my heart. It's also worth mentioning that I'm definitely going to be going back to previous chapters and editing a few grammar and storyline mistakes that have been made, but I will not be changing the storyline as a whole so don't feel as though you need to reread anything.
Thank you for reading my little ramble and I hope you enjoy this chapter!
-Fiona**
The nymph and the human rode together on Kohaku's back to the bathhouse. This was going to be a harder transition for the human than he was sure she anticipated, and he figured it may be good for her to have someone she is close to in her proximity as she gets adjusted to his world and her new job. Kohaku had never had more than one person on his back at once, and he underestimated how difficult it would be to keep them both from plummeting to their deaths. Chihiro stayed in front, clinging onto the dragon's horns, while Sakura clung tightly to Chihiro's waist, trying not to let the movement of the dragon fling her off. They landed in front of the bridge leading to the bathhouse, a sight all too familiar and full of mixed emotions to both the dragon and the human. The sun was still out and showing no signs of setting anytime soon, much to Chihiro's delight. Along with wanting to pay a visit to the boilerman to whom she owed so much after her previous adventure in this realm, she was also dreading the long night she had ahead of her.
Upon the two girls hopping off of his back, Haku changed back into his human form, that he was still a bit taken aback by the sheer size of having only ever taken the form of a 12 year old boy. He looked down at the nymph, who was apparently of his own river. "Sakura, let me show you to one of our guest rooms. Please stay as long as you'd like, there is no overstaying your welcome . Chihiro, do you remember where the boiler room is? I believe you have someone there waiting for your arrival." Chihiro nodded enthusiastically, excited to see the spirit who who had helped her so selflessly from the very start of her previous journey in the spirit world. After the trio crossed the bridge, Chihiro split off from the group in order to pay Kamaji a much anticipated visit.
Chihiro stood at the top of the stairs that lead to the boiler room. She'd been down them a couple times before as a child, but it was never an easy feat. She focused on every step she took down those rickety and steep steps, clinging onto the wall for dear life the entire way, until she was finally at the entrance to the boiler room. Much more successful than the first time, which led to her crashing full force into a wall. Considering the amount of times she has had similar accidents during her first stay in the spirit world, it's a bit of a miracle she had never gotten a concussion or serious injury. She felt the heat from the boiler tickling her skin as she entered, nervous but excited to see her dear friend.
When she was finally in the boiler room, she was taken aback by all of the newly resurfaced memories that flooded her mind. Specifically crashing through the ceiling vent with Kohaku in tow and landing directly on top of the poor unprepared Kamaji, and cramming the medicine ball given to her by the River spirit she helped save into his canine like mouth, probably lucky he didn't bite her arm off in the process. Kamaji was sleeping, likely preparing for a long day of work, and no one had noticed the human standing at the entrance. Much like everyone else in the spirit world besides Kohaku, The spider spirit was no different from how she left him.
"Kamaji?" inquired Chihiro loudly enough to hopefully wake him, feeling bad about disturbing his likely much needed slumber but knowing the best time to reunite with the spirit would be before the work day (night?) starts. Kamaji didn't awake at the sound of her voice. This was very much the same reaction he had the first time she had ever tried to get his attention, at the time she assumed him to be ignoring her but she now expected he may have problems with his hearing. Can spirits have problems with their hearing? Seems like a very human issue to have. "Kamaji!" she now almost yelled. Kamaji still didn't notice, but the sootballs sure did. The sprites one by one poked out of their hiding spot in the wall to see who was making such a commotion. Upon seeing that it was Chihiro who had disturbed their rest, the crowd of sprites broke out in excited peeps and squeals. Chihiro couldn't help but chuckle at the cute spirits.
Although Chihiro struggled to get Kamaji's attention, the noise from the soot sprites certainly did. Kamaji took his mallet and banged it against the metal contraption that he spent his life slaving away on, still very much half asleep. "You lousy balls of soot, quiet down!" he proclaimed before he noticed the familiar human standing at the entrance to the boiler. "Sen? Is that you?" Chihiro enthusiastically nodded, keeping her respectful distance. Kamaji stood from his work station/bed to get a closer look at the human who stood before him, and Chihiro also walked towards him to meet him halfway. Once they were face to face, Kamaji put the hands of his two front arms on her shoulders. "That really is you, isn't it?" he questioned, inspecting the human. "It's amazing how you humans grow in such a short amount of time, I had hardly recognized you!" Chihiro lunged into the spirit for a bear hug, which was returned by all eight of his gangly arms. "I did miss you terribly, granddaughter. You're one of the most exciting things to have ever happened to this God forsaken place." Chihiro chuckled. "I know. I definitely stirred up some trouble."
Kamaji broke from the embrace and looked Chihiro sternly in the eyes. "What brought you back to our world, Sen? I can't believe you'd ever want to come back here, after all you've gone through." Chihiro frowned. Kamaji did raise a point. She went through more turmoil than she had ever hoped to have to go through again in her life, yet here she was, back in the realm that should've been traumatizing for her with the intentions of never leaving. It must've had something to do with her enchanted hair tie that she now knew served the purpose of keeping her semi-attached to the spirit world, enough to long for it despite not having remembered it. "Something tells me I might end up being happier here than among other humans." It was Kamaji's turn to frown, a wave of concern taking over his face. "You know, Sen, as much as I love to see you again, this may not be the best place for you either." This annoyed Chihiro, though she was too polite to let that be shown. So far, she has only heard this sentiment from Kohaku, and it annoyed her then too, but she still refused to even consider rethinking her decision despite the opinions of the two spirits. "Thank you for your concern, but I promise I'll be ok. I'm a lot tougher now than I was back then, and I work for a scary dragon who seems adamant on keeping me safe. I'll be fine, I promise." Kamaji was still visibly concerned, but understood that it would take more than his convincing to change this human's mind. If anything, the way he saw it, she may just have to learn the hard way that this was not where she belonged. "I trust you, Sen. Just know that if there is anything you need to make your time here easier that Kohaku can't provide you, even just a listening ear, you know where to find me."
–
In the meantime, Kohaku led the faithful river sprite to one of the luxurious rooms intended for paying guests. If Yubaba has any problem with that he wasn't going to give it much thought, they had quite a bit of vacancy as it was, and being as he wouldn't allow for Chihiro to sleep on a cot he figured she probably wouldn't appreciate it if he did that to her best friend. Her opinion oddly mattered more to him than that of his "boss". Upon arriving at Sakura's new room, he thanked her for keeping such a close eye on Chihiro and promised her she would be held in high regard once she returned to his river. This pleased Sakura, she appreciated that he was allowing her to go home again regardless of her standing but the fact that she was looked at with favor by the god of her homestead meant quite a bit to her. Kohaku left the sprite alone to rest and returned to his quarters to finish the mountains of work that he seemed to always consistently have waiting for him.
Once he was back at his office, he noticed a leatherbound book placed on his table that hadn't been there before. He recognized this as what was most likely one of Zeniba's texts, and assumed she had used some sort of magic to subtly gift it to him. He opened the cover to see the title page of the book, as the leather on the front had no indication as to what it was about. "Human Sexuality and Intercourse". Was this some kind of sick joke? Thanks to his superior hearing he had overheard the gossip among the bathhouse and was well aware that the majority of workers were very entertained by the idea that him and the human must be having sex. None of them were familiar enough with either of them to understand that their connection was rather innocent, and thought it must be more superficial than it actually is because why else would a powerful spirit care for someone as insignificant as a human? This didn't bother him as he considered the lot of them to be ignorant and foolish, no better than the humans who Chihiro always seemed to float above. It did somewhat hurt him that someone as trusted as Zeniba would also assume his intentions with Chihiro weren't pure.
Still, this definitely made the dragon consider something he was hoping he wouldn't have to worry about after changing into his now more grown body. Although he was still a dragon, and his species was not known for having a high sex drive for those who weren't mated to them, taking on a human form meant that he still experienced human traits that would otherwise be foreign to him. One thing he enjoyed in his experience in the form of a 12 year old was that in his prepubescent state, his libido was still entirely nonexistent. Even during the times he would have trouble not fantasizing about the improbablility of being the one who Chihiro chose to love, physical intimacy between the two of them was not something he had even considered. He had never bothered to acknowledge some of her features that he now had to stop himself from giving too much thought, namely how slender yet womanly her body was. Mostly her long legs, which he did find to be rather gorgeous. He has seen the female physique in all its glory many times in his life but it has never stirred up any type of arousal. He was now ashamed to admit that while it's never been at the forefront of his mind, he definitely had more complex feelings involving his attraction towards the human. This became especially apparent when he had woken her up that afternoon to prepare for their visit with Zeniba, and she was in nothing but human undergarments which happened to expose the shape of her now fully developed breasts in their entirety. Although he felt bad for looking he had to admit it was a lovely sight, but the places it led his mind to made him feel perverted and shameful. Maybe he didn't respect the human as much as he thought he did, maybe he's just as depraved as the workers and Zeniba assumed he was. He tucked the book away in his desk drawer. Who knows, maybe one day it'll serve a purpose, but for now that wasn't something he wanted to think about. It felt uncouth of him to have these thoughts towards Chihiro, as he wasn't even sure if his feelings toward her were unrequited or not.
As he stood up from his desk, a wave of dizziness swept over him. That was odd. He felt the sudden urge to lay down in his bed, which he didn't deny himself the pleasure of. It felt better than standing up, but the dizzy spell did not cease. He had only ever felt unwell once in his life, and it was while his river was being demolished. He would have to go back to it soon to inspect any damages, but all he could bring himself to do at the moment was rest. He fell asleep rather quickly, which was something he probably waited a bit too long to do since the last time he'd bothered. It was very much unlike him to do so this close to the bathhouse's opening, but at the time he couldn't resist the urge.
–
Chihiro had an excellent time catching up with her good friend in the boiler room and was left elated from the interaction as she headed to Kohaku's quarters to hear his instructions for the night ahead of her. She had knocked, but the door remained shut. Maybe he wasn't back yet? She decided to look for him, she was still too new to this job to feel comfortable doing it without his guidance. She had walked through the halls on each floor besides the one belonging to Yubaba, which she figured it would be a good idea to avoid without Kohaku by her side, but found no signs of the dragon. She then explored the entirety of the baths, again to no avail. She looked outside as well, just to again find nothing. Very weird, he must've been in Yubaba's quarters afterall. By the time she had given up on searching, it became time to wake the Yuna. He had said he would do so while she got some rest in, but he must've forgotten. She didn't mind, whatever magic was in the food Yubaba gave to her seemed to be doing it's job and she didn't feel the effects of having only slept for 5 hours since her arrival.
She woke the yuna as she knew she was supposed to, and although she still received a few complaints in doing so it wasn't as bad as the first time by a longshot. As they all left for their duties, Chihiro pulled Rin aside. "Have you seen Haku by chance? He's not in his room and I can't find him anywhere. I thought he might be in Yubaba's quarters but it would be pretty odd for him not to meet with me before we opened." Rin, in her lingering drowsiness, shook her head no. "He could be anywhere, Chihiro. I wouldn't be surprised if he had taken off somewhere to do Yubaba's dirty work. Even though he doesn't have to he still gets bored enough to help her, sometimes." Chihiro, although still a bit suspicious, accepted this as a possible answer for now.
The night went the same as the last, thankfully Chihiro wasn't too hindered by the lack of guidance from the dragon she worked for. She was more accepting of the occasional defiance from the workers, as it was now something she had expected and the majority were still very kind to her. Still, she couldn't help but worry about Haku the entire night. She wasn't going to let it distract her too much, she trusted the dragon to take care of himself, but she had a bad feeling she couldn't shake away. She decided that once the baths were closed and the workers started preparing for bed, she would once again search for him.
Alas, the time came to do so, and despite how frantically she looked for him he was nowhere to be found. Could he have really taken off with no warning for who knows how long? Maybe this was a bit more probable when she had first noticed his disappearance, but now that it's been nearly 12 hours, the possibility of this being the case seemed a lot less believable. He should know by now that this would cause stress to her, and she knew him well enough to know this was something he'd likely try to avoid.
She had a plan. His door was still locked, and she would have to figure out a way to get past it. She didn't know why, but she had a feeling he was in there, and may need her help. She went through her room to look through her bag for something that could possibly be used to pick the lock. The first thing she noticed was the food she had packed, which was starting to smell foul. She disposed of it the best she could and rinsed out the empty bentos in her bathroom sink, who knows when she might need them again. She had no idea how much she had overprepared, and ended up having to throw much of her bag's contents on the floor in order to search more thoroughly. Much to her relief, she eventually found a couple of bobby pins at the very bottom of her bag, which would have to suffice.
She had never picked a lock before, but had seen it done on TV and figured it was worth trying regardless. She had spent a good couple minutes fiddling with the lock, staying aware of her surroundings so that no one would witness her and think she was trying to break into his room to steal whatever valuables she was sure he had. Much to her surprise, the lock eventually did turn, and she was granted access to the room. There, she found the dragon, in bed sleeping peacefully. At first this was a relief, but after she had tried waking him up to no avail, she started to feel a bit panicked. His soft snoring showed her that he was in fact breathing, but he was even more pale than usual and she noticed dark circles that weren't there before despite the fact that he must've been sleeping for the better part of 12 hours. His hair, once more healthy and shiny than she had seen in most women who weren't supermodels, had lost its luster and was now rather dull. Something wasn't right, she knew he must've not been well.
Chihiro decided to head to the sleeping quarters for the Yuna, and although it was time for lights out, many were still awake and chatting quietly among themselves. Her presence didn't seem to disturb anyone, which she was grateful for because she was not sure how she'd handle any snide remarks while she was under this much stress. Rin sat on the patio looking out ahead of her, contemplating lord knows what. "Rin?" Chihiro called from across the room, not wanting to step over any of the sleeping bodies to get closer to her. "Can I borrow you please? I think I need your help." Rin snapped out of her thoughts and wordlessly shuffled to Chihiro's side. "What's going on, Sen?" Chihiro took her hand and led her outside of the quarters, where hopefully no one could hear them. "I found Haku, but I don't think he's doing well. He looks very ill and is not waking up no matter how hard I try." "Hmm." Rin looked a bit concerned herself. "Dragons don't really get sick. That's pretty weird."
The two headed over to Haku's room, and to their surprise found Sakura by the side of his bed, trying to shake him awake even more aggressively than Chihiro had. "Who the hell is this?" Rin questioned. "Rin, this is my friend Sakura. I'll explain it to you later. Sakura, do you know what's going on?" Sakura looked up at the two girls, more worry in her eyes than Chihiro was hoping to see. "I think he was poisoned. We have to figure something out. He could be dying for all we know." The panic Chihiro had been feeling since she discovered the dragon in his current state was now amplified. "We need to take him to the boiler room, somehow." Rin suggested. "Kamaji might know what to do. He's good with these kinds of things."
The three girls had to work as a group to carry Kohaku to the elevator that led to Kamaji. Although Rin and Chihiro both stood tall and Rin was rather strong, Sakura has always been rather petite and frail, and the dragon was heavier than he looked. In his unconscious state, he was completely unable to support his own weight, and more or less flopped around while they tried to support him. They managed, but it wasn't without some struggle, and Chihiro was sure her arms and back would be sore the next morning. Thankfully, everyone was asleep by then and no one seemed to witness their struggle or the state Kohaku was in.
Eventually they made it to the boiler room, where Kamaji was very much asleep. Chihiro felt bad about disturbing his slumber once again, but this was necessary. Rin woke the sleeping spirit up by shaking one of his long arms, and upon waking he immediately noticed the two women who were at the moment trying to lay Kohaku's body on the floor. Kamaji, without asking any questions, lept from his space to find a cot and blanket for the ill dragon. Once Kohaku was situated, Chihiro explained to Kamaji how they discovered Kohaku and their speculation of poison being involved, but also that she had not witnessed him eating anything within the time she had been there besides a few measly bites of Zeniba's fish, which she highly doubted could've been tainted.
Kamaji took a moment to take in what he had heard from the human. "Zeniba should be here soon, you know." he began. "She uses her magic to keep up with his well being. It's nosey, but out of love. She's probably already on her way." Right on cue, an apparition began to form directly in front of Kohaku's sleeping body, which eventually became Zeniba's full opaque self. "It wasn't his physical form that was poisoned, most likely." she said once she had fully formed. "His river is still very much a part of him, and I suspect it has been tainted. There are plenty of spirits who have also lost their homes and are very envious of him, being as lucky as he is to have gotten it back after all these years. He needs to be with his river, otherwise he may never wake up." Chihiro felt tears in the back of her eyes. She cared for the dragon immensely, he was truly her favorite person in this world. To lose him immediately after just being reunited with him would've been an absolute nightmare. "I can use my magic to transport him there, but he will need help. Chihiro, Sakura, you are the only two here with the freedom to leave the bathhouse for a prolonged amount of time. You must come with him. It is both of your responsibilities to help him as his assistant and a nymph to his river. On the rare occasion they do become ill, dragon spirits tend to lose their humanity. It is a protective instinct they have, dragons do not fare well in nature while vulnerable." Chihiro recalled the last time the dragon was ill, he was very much not his normal self and behaved much more like a wild animal. "This may be the last time for quite awhile that you see him in his human form, and he may not remember you at first once you arrive at his river. His behavior will be entirely animalistic, and when in that state, dragons can be aggressive and unpredictable, but he cannot save himself on his own. He will need your help. I will assist you as much as I can, but this falls upon both of your shoulders more than it does anyone else's." This was a lot for Chihiro to take in in her panicked state, but she was very much willing to put in the work to save Kohaku and his river.
Sakura and Chihiro went to their respective rooms to gather their belongings. Zeniba had used her magic to transport Kohaku to his river before they left the boiler room. Chihiro was now rather grateful for her overplanning, as almost everything she brought (besides her cell phone and charger, which she might as well throw away along with the food she brought at this point) would likely come in handy. Chihiro was close to abandoning the clothes she had brought from the human world, especially since the shirt was still slightly damp from Bo's tears, but she figured she could just wash it in the river. The clothes were more mobile and comfortable than those provided to her. She changed from her kimono into one of the black work suitans that were in her closet and packed a few of the extras. No way she would take any of the kimonos, they were too beautiful to possibly destroy with whatever she may end up facing once they were at the river. Once she felt prepared, she rushed down to the boiler room as quickly as possible.
Sakura was already down there waiting for her along with Zeniba and Kamaji. "I hope you two are fully prepared." Zeniba said with a more serious tone than what Chihiro was used to hearing from her. "You should be able to forage for food once you're there, but I will gladly bring you my cooking whenever I am able to visit. His river usually has fish and a spring with drinkable water, but I wouldn't recommend touching anything from that river until we know it is untainted. I will arrive shortly after you to provide you with drinking water and anything else I can think of that you may need. Kohaku does have a cottage by his river, only big enough for himself, but it would be better for the both of you to stay there at night rather than exposed to the elements. Rin, you must take over for Kohaku in his absence. The last thing we need is for Yubaba to throw a fit because the person who really runs the place is unable to work." Rin huffed at this, but did not protest further. "Are you two ready to go? Keep in mind, if there is anything you left, you will not have the chance to return for it." the two friends nodded, understandingly yet solemnly. "Very well then. This will be a very easy transition for you both, try to relax and don't be nervous. Hold hands, take a deep breath, and then close your eyes and count to ten. When you're done counting, open your eyes, and you will be at his river. It's as simple as that." The two girls did what the witch had ordered.
They held on tightly to one another, breathed deeply in and out in unison, and Chihiro tried her best to put her racing thoughts aside and relax her body and mind as much as humanly possible. Once their eyes were closed and they began counting, for some reason Chihiro clearly heard Sakura's voice in her mind along with her own, counting along with her. Magic is weird. Once they were done, Chihiro opened her eyes to see the rather beautiful scenery that was Kohaku's river and the lush forest surrounding it. It was different from how the river looked in the human world, which was in a rather urban area surrounded by human life. This place looked completely untouched by anything remotely human, besides the small cabin that sat on a small hill not too far ahead of them. Chihiro turned to face Sakura, who was staring in horror at the river. Only now did Chihiro notice the multiple dead fish that were floating along the current. "It's worse than I thought." Said the nymph under her breath, tears forming in her violet eyes. A wave of dread swept over Chihiro as she realized her friend was reacting to the vandalization and destruction of her beloved home that she has only just now gotten to return to after all these years. It wasn't just a river, either, it was a huge part of what made Kohaku who he is and its health reflected his own. They were too lost in thought to notice the familiar yet very different dragon from the one they knew, until they heard his low growling from behind them. They looked behind them to see this dragon, head low and ears flat to his head, teeth exposed in a vicious snarl. This dragon was only physically the Kohaku they know and trust, he was now no different than a lion hunting his prey.