Promise of a River

By: LadyRainStarDragon

Chapter 5: Growing Up

Rain owneth not ye Spirited Away.

Story guide: Promise to Protect and Provide, Underwater Savior, Promise of a River (in progress), Rivers Never Die, Rivers Keep Flowing (in progress), Rivers Always Claim What Is Their Own.


Well, look at this, it's been a long time since I've needed to write anything. I've only had studying, worker supervision, and the regular 'forced retrieval' missions to do. The females have been particularly tenacious in trying to retrieve their belongings lately though. I am going to have so many spirits mad at me when I finally get out of this contract.

Other than that though, it's been rather peaceful. That's because it has been wonderfully, blissfully NORMAL! If you don't count the yunas or the odd weasel following me around on their breaks. Why do they keep sniffing like dogs? They think I don't see it behind their fans or sleeves, but I do have working ears, thank you.

I know I don't stink. I am very picky about my hygiene actually. Every hair must be in place, no wrinkles in the clothing, skin washed and scales scrubbed and polished every day. So why do they insist on following me and smelling me? It started all of a sudden too, that night where all the women seemed to have their cycles co-ordinate with each other. That's just scary. It's not normal, but I hear it happens ever hundred years or so.

On second thought, my life still hasn't approached normal. I can't remember much before Chihiro was a little child (and one incident is still rather fuzzy, but I do remember), but I know normal was nothing like this. Is psudeo-normal a word? Huh.

Crud! They're knocking on the door again.

Finally. They're gone. I think they're stalking me. They act normal when they work, but when they think Yubaba or the customers aren't watching . . . I swear, I thought one of them was going to fly across the room for a moment. Eww, flying slugs. There went my appetite.

Yubaba's not much help with it either. I don't remember having parents, so how am I supposed to know this stuff? What does she want me to do, walk up to the visiting River God (who touched my Chihiro and keeps coming back hoping she'll be here) and say 'why won't these crazy women leave me alone?' Yeah, that would go over nicely. He'd probably laugh himself to death. The one time I asked Yubaba why they kept trying to smell me, she just laughed and said it was the same reason she made me cut my hair when I came here.

The other men, they just say I'm the luckiest guy in the bath house, and those with girlfriends complain that they don't see them because they follow me around. I swear, the only two women here that don't creep me out for that are Yubaba (who says she's too old for such foolishness now and wouldn't be caught dead following her little pet thief around) and Lin. Lin just gets grumpier, but that's ok.

What is so lucky about women following me and trying to distract me from my job? And we can't forget tripping so that they either tap me or land right in front of me. I'm not catching them. Let's not forget pulling the weak 'this is just so heavy, can you help me?' They're here to work. I hate it when something isn't done just right. It's like when you order sweet and sour shrimp, then get served sweet and sour tofu instead. I hate tofu.

"Can I bring you something Master?"

'No, but you can get back to your post.'

Really, I might have considered sending her for a pot of HOT green tea and a plate of dumplings, since I had emptied my tea pot, except she had been making a point of coming here every ten minutes. I took a sip of my now very COLD tea to calm down before replying. It didn't work, I still felt stalked. I definitely was calling a meeting after hours.

"I think you should attend to the customers. I work here too, and am quite capable of taking a short break to stretch and get my own supplies, thank you."

She left. The lack of presence outside in my hall was divine. Stifle not a dragon, we do snap.

'Haku! Come take your test now.'

When the mistress summons, you get up there as fast as you can. Guess what my test was. No, really, guess.

"Haku! Can you tell me why the mature women have been following you around when they are not working?"

'Great. I asked her earlier, now she's asking me?'

"No, Yubaba."

Can you believe it, she started cackling at me. Why do old people cackle, they are perfectly capable of normal laughter. Anyway, getting back to my point, she was mocking me.

I hate being mocked. I kept my cool though. Somehow, some way, I would pay her back for each and every misdeed she'd done to me or laid at my feet. Oh, yes. Publicly.

"I even gave you a hint you forgetful dragon! Can you remember why I cut your hair when you came under my employment?"

"Because you said I was too young and untrained to have such unrestrained power. You also did not want the bath attendants to be distracted from their customers by my hair."

Going back to her paperwork, she started humming. Yes, humming, She had a twinkle in her eye too, winking and gleaming like those stupid jewels she always fauns over.

Absolute horror. That's what I felt at that moment when the winds breezed in and ruffled my now slightly longer hair before my face. It reminded me of a black bird's wing in the interior light, and it suddenly dawned on me. Somehow, they found me attractive like . . . that. Years of hearing the women giggling as I walked away, that time I swept Chihiro into the garden, the weird sniffing when they didn't smell like blood, my voice being deeper, and the odd dreams about my Chihiro. It all added up now.

"I see, I'm no longer in puberty, so you decided to either do something to make my scent affect them more than it should, or you've given them all something to bring their breeding or purging cycles early. You have also taken advantage of the last of my boyhood flux to intensify my notice of such forward advances."

"Very good boy. You pass. Now go make sure everyone is doing their job."

'Yipee.'

"Yes Yubaba."

Doing my duty, and swallowing my disgust at the witch and what she'd done, I made my rounds. Now that I knew why I was getting undue attention, I cloaked my scent. It led me to startle quite a few workers who were slacking off. A few well placed glares, a couple cleared throats, my normal expressionless mouth, and things were as they should be. I was much happier. I'd even made my erstwhile followers squirm.

Now hopefully they'll finish soon and get on their regular cycles.

After what seemed like forever, Aburaya closed down for the night. Instead of going right to bed, I went to bathe again. This made my second trip today to the river I was allowed to use for caring for my dragon form's bathing needs. The Big Tub was just too much to work for every day use for one dragon who happened to live here. Rivers were better anyway, the water moves. They only time you'll catch me in those tubs is if I need to relax abused muscles. Now, just the thought of spying bathwomen made my flesh crawl and my mane puff.

I'd better not see so much as a batted eyelash tomorrow though.


Having gotten to where he finally felt clean (again), and vented to himself, Haku slumped forward over his desk. Sweet slumber pulled him into its embrace, having had too stressful a day to bother moving anymore.

His daytime dreams were filled with a 14 year old Chihiro. She was bent over maps and tracing onto a current map where a river once flowed. Others were with her, also pointing out various places on the map, and she then used another color of ink to draw a new course. Enthralled with this dream, he found himself wrapping around her ankles and peering over her shoulder. Several times the dream Chihiro rubbed at her skin where he touched, her had passing through him like smoke.

Filled with pleasure with his dream, he purred out one word, which would have been heard if you were right next to him.

"Chihiro."

In the dream, she looked up from what she was doing, turning her head towards where her ear had been. She could have sworn she heard a familiar voice call her name. Unknown to her, her lips grazed and passed through a furry cheek as bamboo-colored eyes slid shut in bliss. Not seeing anything, but feeling a presence all the same, she looked at her friends. She didn't know why, but she had the urge to blush.

"Did one of you call me?"

"Nope. Let's get this done before free period is over."

"Right."


Reviewer Corner

Shamanbabe: Welcome, and thanks.

Nitengale: It may be just a one-shot in a collection, but that doesn't mean stuff won't be revisited when called for!

Avolare: Did I respond to you already? Or did I just think about it? Anyway, it will be continued. Anyway, I can't answer your question, it would give it away.