Underwater Savior

Chapter 2: The Nature of Nature and the Dragon's Pearl

By LadyRainStarDragon

Not mine. I can only wish. If you've seen the movie, then you know which characters aren't in it.

"'Hiro! Why did you fall in?"

"I dropped my shoe while thinking."

"Is that why your mom is mad?"

"I don't know Lily. Lately it seems like my mom is mad all the time. Especially after I've visited Grandpa."

Two children chatted idly where they sat. The sun glinted off of their messy hair, one head an earthy brown, the other a natural platinum color. Greyed eyes and sapphire eyes thoughtfully contemplated the flow of the river as children are wont to do. Neither of the children had any idea why Lily was such a pale child, even though her father had been adopted into his family. That was a messy story, so maybe it had something to do with the fact her father was pale too.

The adults were still busy eating. After Mr. Tanaka had checked out the little cove that they had beached in, he had declared it safe for them to play in. It was, oddly enough, very gentle in current flow here. The girls were sitting on a large rock a foot from shore, dipping their feet in and talking. Unknown to them, they had a spectator.

"Maybe it's just jealousy. Mom says that she feels like that sometimes after I tell her what a good day I've had with Sitter."

"Maybe, it's just with Grandpa though. Especially if he's told me any of the stories about the river, or the Kami that lives in it. She says it's all superstitious nonsense."

Kohaku growled to himself about that.

"Well I think it's real. I bet that it was the Kami who saved you. Because your mom doesn't believe in him, that why he didn't stick around."

The kid was smart. He didn't like to stay where people didn't believe in him. Honestly, he didn't think anyone would want to stay where they weren't wanted.

"Maybe. I'll have to ask Grandpa the right way to thank a Kami. Maybe he can help me, since I know mom won't. She's always busy, and dad will just keep watching TV as soon as he gets home from work."

Kohaku wondered what her home life must be like if her mother was always busy and her father just watched this TV she spoke of. From what he could remember, all the families that he had watched interacted with the members very regularly. He smelled something coming that made his nostrils burn. Someone was wearing way too much perfume. The smell of artificial flowers threatened to engulf him, so he dipped his nose underwater.

"Chihiro! Get away from there! You almost drown and you're back in the icky water!"

"But mom, it was my fault, not the water's. The water isn't icky!"

"Honey, all nature is icky and uncontrollable. Rivers are full of bugs, and trash, and bacteria, and germs, and slimy frogs, and fish, and algae." Mrs. Ogino shuddered at the thoughts. She hated not being in control, and hated being dirty.

His river wasn't full of trash. It was quite clean and he kept it so. The bugs he could see, but they were part of the ecosystem, just like everything else, and he made sure that things stayed in balance. Besides, the human body was filled with more gross things than were in his river, which was very nice. And it was quite controllable in his opinion.

"Mrs. Ogino, look, the water is so clear. How can it be dirty?"

"It just is Lily. Now, why don't you girls come back and we'll all play a nice game of I spy."

Somehow, Kohaku really didn't like this woman. This was the first time he'd even gotten close to her, and already, she annoyed him greatly. He watched as the girls trod sadly back over to the adults. He did not see how Koji's little boy could have been attracted to this person, but he thought that perhaps she had not been this way when they had met. He would give her the benefit of the doubt for now. If she harmed his Chihiro in any way though, there would be consequences for her, mother or not. He curled up in a hollow in the bank to wait.

Chihiro didn't want to leave the water. It felt so good there, like someone was watching out for her. However, mother had made it very clear that it was time to go back to the boring adults. All they seemed to talk about was politics, something called the economy, cooking, or what schools they wanted to send the children to once they were old enough. The Tanaka's would play tag and such with her sometimes at least though. Her own mom and dad were too caught up in the business world to play such childish games.

Mrs. Tanaka noticed how sullen the girls seemed as they came back from the river. "Would you girls like a story? I know one about the river if you'd like to hear it."

Kohaku's head popped up. Lily's mother wanted to tell a story about him? This would be interesting, at least he wouldn't be bored while waiting for the family to finish. He would be sticking with them until his young charge was back in her own area safely. The dragon was sorely tempted to peek, but thought better of it as it would just be his luck to be spotted.

"Really Charlotte, I think that another subject would be better." Mrs. Ogino seemed quite strained about something. Kohaku peeped anyway. You could never tell with humans anymore. Besides, he was still angry with the human female for not holding on to her pup, and would love to see her aggravated.

The girls squealed in glee. Amused, Kohaku thought that they looked rather like chicks straining to grab the worm from their mother's beak. All they needed was to start cheeping.

"Tell us! Oh, please, please, please, please!"

A smile now curled his lips. The image was complete. Kids still looked pretty much the same no matter what era you were in, or what specie they were.

"A long time ago, it is said that the Kami of this river used to interact with the farmers and fishers of the area often. He was very benevolent, keeping the children safe from drowning and quite healthy. The rice paddies flourished with the water that he brought from a sacred spring at the base of the mountains said to be populated by a fertility spirit. The fish living in his river were fat and tasty. The Kami loved to play with the young children, and would often been seen doing so when he could take time from his duties. His very favorite activity was playing music for them to dance to.

"He was often offered young maidens to take as brides, for the folk thought that he must be very lonely as he played with the children so much. He always sent them home untouched, as they had not passed a test they would not speak of, but always arrived with a gift that made the family rich. One day though, a kitsune family had sent him a prospective bride. They had taken offense at his spurning of their eldest and most beautiful daughter. While the Kami slept in his dragon form, the father of the girl stole his most precious possession. The dragon's Celestial Pearl granted him the ability to return to Heaven when he needed. Without it, he was stranded to the lower realms until such time as he could retrieve it.

"When the Kami awoke, he was most distressed to find that this is what had been stolen from him. The kitsune had left behind a false image to tell the Kami that for his ways the Pearl would be kept from him until such time as he would claim someone to be his bride. At that time, the Pearl would be returned. A warning was also left that the Celestial Pearl would not be in a form that he expected it.

"It is said that he still searches for his Pearl to this day. Some say that this is merely a story explaining the abandoning of the Kami's Shrine. Other's say the story is much more."

"That's a sad story. Will he ever find his Pearl?"

Chihiro's mother had had enough. "Don't be silly Chihiro. It's just a story. Well, are we ready to head home?"

Kohaku ducked back down. This Mrs. Tanaka knew a story that he hadn't heard in a long time. Yes, it had indeed happened. It had nothing to do with abandoning the Shrine though, that had happened much later. The Pearl's loss hadn't prevented him from performing his duties, just restrained him from entering heaven to speak with his betters when the occasion warranted. It was a bit of a pride thing as well though. He snorted, blowing a few bubbles in the water. He heard the thrum of an electric motor, and followed at a short distance, careful of the sharp blades. As he swam, he tried to think of how this Charlotte Tanaka could know of him. He would ask his Priest later.

After a bit, the boat reached the dock upstream near where the families lived. Kohaku took advantage of the wooden structure and hid under it as well as he could. Camouflage never hurt anything, unless it got ran over. He watched as Chihiro and Lily clambered out of the boat as best they could, then ran up the slight hill to tell Chihiro's grandfather all about their day on the river. He was sad to see them go. Paying no attention to the adults, he slid through the water to his own home, to sit and ponder why he felt this way until he could go to Koji tonight.