Promise of a River

By: LadyRainStarDragon

Chapter 8: Elder Brother, Delivery Boy

Rain owneth not ye Spirited Away.

Corrected due to the attack of the evil typo bunny.


Yubaba sat in her office staring at the blood stains she still hadn't been able to get out of her beautiful carpet since the day Haku put them there while bringing Zeniba's seal. He put one or two more there each time he came back from a dangerous mission too. If she didn't know any better, she'd swear he had a vendetta against either her or the poor innocent carpet.

The way he kept rolling on it though, with that glare in his eye, made her wonder. He was almost like a cat sometimes, only instead of spraying to mark his territory, he bled on her carpet. Maybe she should quit being so hard on him. Nah, he'd made her let go of the best attraction the bath house had possessed in a long time. Their pride and stubbornness had trapped them in a vicious cycle of dangerous mission, bleed all over expensive carpet, heal, make him clean the carpet, dangerous mission.

At least she got to make him squirm from time to time, taking a normal occurrence and blowing it up in his face to see how he handled it. Besides, if he still wanted to be a human's guardian, he had to go through this stuff. That way, it would be easier to deal with her. Teenagers and young adults could easily get themselves into more trouble than she ever could.

Speaking of making him squirm, it would be time to send him on another test soon. It was high time he take the final test, and then the Council could deliberate his readiness for a new guardianship. First, he needed to get his keister back here with the herbs and run off the customer that was scaring all the workers. She was getting too old for that.

"Haku! You're late! Where in the Seven Hells are you? Get back here now!"


That witch had sent me clear into China for some special ginseng, from a special spot, on a special mountain. I was expected to bring back a very large crate full of the stuff for healing teas. This was my third day away from the bath house, and I was almost back.

You wouldn't believe how relieved I actually was to see my place of employment (house of enslavement). At least this task was an honest job though.

'Bah! What do I look like? A pack animal? Crate indeed!'

Witches. Think they can boss all of us spirits around just because they're different. Oh let's trick the poor confused young god and get him doing menial labor and stealing for us! Let's steal the names of a bunch of normal everyday spirits and make them little more than slaves! Let's make their wages room and board, and take their tips. Whee, look at my power grow!

'Bah! I'd start a worker's union if it wouldn't endanger them.'

Just once, I want to see her flying around, struggling to keep a humongous, awkward, dead weight load airborne that magic would actually damage. I don't even get to use magic to levitate this giant box because my magic might spoil them. Good thing I had sharp claws to keep a good grip.

I was just within the boundaries of the resort, when I heard her bellows. I thought my ears were going to start bleeding, they're so sensitive sometimes. Yes, she had been kind enough to give me a job when I needed one, but I really resented the things she had me do sometimes.

So undignified.

'Maybe next time she won't send me clear to China. Just because they have five toe claws they think they're the most wonderful things to happen to the planet. Every time I got the crate half-full, they'd steal the herbs as I was gathering more. All because I've only got three toes. I'm from Japan, deal with it, you move West from Japan, you gain toes. Mutants. But oh, no, let's play Pick On The Foreigner.'

"Haku!"

'On my way.'

'So touchy about a bunch of tea. Just keep throwing your hissy-fit and wearing yourself out.'

If it was cherries, I could understand. But ginseng? It smells like socks! Offensive!

Besides, it could be used as an aphrodisiac, and with half the workforce being late teens now, I wasn't so sure it was the wisest thing to have surplus of. If they were even just half as bad as the little demon running around in the back of my head, I could rest assured of finding something that wasn't supposed to be going on. Again.

Then I get blamed for it. What's she want me to do? Sleep in the store room and guard the supplies? Just because I'm a dragon doesn't mean I want to guard somebody else's hoard. I certainly don't want to play elder brother to half the workers here either.


Inside Kohaku's head:

(You would hole up in there if Chihiro were in the cellar.). Where'd you come from? I thought I got rid of you for a while.


Taking care not to break the crate . . .


Still in his head:

(Pack animal)

((Be silent and let him write, you are going to drive all three of us insane.))

(Gods have two souls, so you could say we are born with split personalities.)

((Why must you be so annoying child?))

(Why do you have to be such a goodie-goody?)


. . . and IGNORING the voices in my head that had begun to torment me lately or take over my hands to taunt me with drawings, I placed the vexing burden on the veranda before landing myself. When I was sure of being free from the wood, I resumed my other form.

"You called for me?"

"Finally, what took so long?"

"There were some . . . territorial disputes."

"Hmpf. You dragons and your territorial boundary disputes, always getting in the way."

'No, really, tell me all about it.'

"Anyway. There is a customer down there who is terrorizing the workers. Get rid of him."

"As you wish." 'Probably just another No-Face.'

Have I mentioned how the lift always seems to take forever when you are impatient? Well, it does. I wanted to hurry up and get rid of whatever it was, so I could go take a nap. Harvesting and then escaping as fast as you could with 5 other dragons deciding they aren't done with their play yet can take quite a lot out of you. While waiting for the doors to finally open, I straightened my clothes.

At last, the doors slid open.

The place was in shambles! There had been bad customers before, but this was ridiculous! Wasn't Yoruiki supposed to be her enforcer while I was gone? That was the purpose of the whole assistant-in-training deal. I can think of hurricane dragons that caused less damage. At least it seemed to be limited to only one floor. I wasn't sure to be relieved or annoyed that it was the bathing floor though.

After a moment to survey the area, I found the one responsible for this. In the middle of the floor, coiled like a spring and puffed like those Corn Puffs cereals Bou had recently taking a liking to, was a little green snake, maybe a little longer than my arm. Right now, she was looking at some poor frogs who had been assigned to bring her a drink, presumably while she had been soaking, like they were going to be her main course.

"I said women attendants only! I don't want any filthy males near me! Not with as many of them as I've been having to bite lately! This whole summer! Every time my charge bent over there was somebody there ogling her! The ones she sees are no problem since she hurts them, but the ones that she doesn't see are what I get to hurt."

"Yes Maiden Snake! Sorry Maiden Snake!"

"Don't talk to me!"

Noticing her muscles tense a little more, it occurred to me she was really going to strike at them. She didn't seem poisonous, but I'd wager 10 gold pieces that her teeth were still just as sharp. Putting on my best smile, I stopped just out of striking range to speak.

"Excuse me, is there anything that I can help you with?"

I must have surprised her, because she screamed and twisted around to face me.

"I said . . . wait, you're not a normal servant. You look kind of familiar too."

She had that look women get when they are thinking, the one that promises death if you interrupt their thought process. The snake looked familiar to me as well, come to think of it. In fact, she almost looked like . . .

"Maiden Snake?"

"Aniki! What happened to you! Why did you get younger? Is that what happens when a dragon loses his river? In that case, I'd rather be an earth dragon when I grow up."

I'd been older? That was a surprise to me, I'd always looked like me to me. I know I've looked younger, but older? Maybe I should start paying attention to my age.

"I guess so. I thought I'd asked you to watch over Chihiro for me. Why are you here?"

Maiden Snake pulled a face while the hapless male workers began to creep away. I offered my arm for her to ride as I took her to eat something and calm down further.

"Chihiro had to move back with her parents for the season. There isn't any way I can follow where they went unless I feel like riding in the tail pipe of her father's car. I'm here, because it's been a very stressful summer for me, and now I've got time off."

"So she's doing alright then? What has she been doing?"

The lift doors slid shut and I pulled the lever to go up to the dining level.

"Yes, she's doing alright. What she's been doing is classified information though, sorry."

I tried my pouty face on her, but it didn't seem to have the effect on her that it used to.

"Sorry Aniki, it doesn't work on me anymore. Ten uses the same face way too much. Sorry for the huge mess back there, I kind of lost control. I'll pay for it."

It surprised me that she felt sure she could cover the cost of the damages.

"Who's been taking care of you?"

"Ten has. He's actually pretty sweet if you can get past his lecherous ways. Don't tell him I told you that though, or he'll start going after me too."

Listening carefully, I could hear the cleanup crew getting to work straightening up her mess. Just how did such a little thing make such a big mess? A small growl vibrated my arm from the rumble of my Chikyoudai's tiny belly, but was covered by the swish of the lift doors opening to let us out. We must have been quite the sight, the normally cold or irate seeming dragon smiling gently with a tiny snake wrapped about his arm. Noticing all the strange looks I was getting, she put her head on my shoulder to whisper at me.

"Why are they staring at us?"

"Haku! Quit cheating on Sen!"

"Lin! I'm not cheating on Sen! This is my little sister. Hey, why aren't you with the rest of the cleaners?"

"Did you forget it's my day off Dragon-Boy? And what was I supposed to think since I didn't even know you had a sister. Hey, she doesn't look anything like you."

"Lord Kohaku found me and took care of me when I was little. He became my elder brother. When the river was killed he had to go away though."

"Lord Kohaku? Man, what happened to get you put here? You never did tell me."

"Who's Sen?"

Trust Maiden Snake to change the subject at the right time to a subject Lin would find even more interesting. She had followed us into a dining area I had chosen so I could spend time with my sister and still look like I was trying to milk payment for the damages. I knew I was in trouble when Lin's face lit up with a big grin.

"Sen is just the girl Haku has been crushing on for five years. You should have seen him after she left, he was all mopey in his room if he wasn't yelling at all of us for a year."

"So what's she look like?"

I so wanted to change the subject. Sadly, when girls get their teeth into gossip, changing the subject is like trying to take candy away from Bou. It doesn't happen.

"She's short, scrawny, got a round face and perpetual blush, mousy brown hair with a life of its own, and these eyes that don't know what color they want to be."

Well, that was one of the most unflattering descriptions of her I've ever heard. Then again, Lin is an unflattering person, and still had the image of five years ago in her mind's eye. My sister found this the funniest thing she'd ever heard.

"Aniki! You've been pining for someone like that for five years when beautiful and influential spirits used to throw themselves at you? What's so special about her? You know, that sounds almost like Chi-. . . Oh, that's a silly thought, never mind. She doesn't look like that anymore."

The subject dropped like molting scales. The rest of the visit wasn't much to write about. Yubaba got her payment, which made her happy.

I didn't get to find out why she'd been biting guys though.


Shaking his head as he listened to a much older and much younger version of himself arguing inside his head. The deeper voice was busy trying to get the younger voice to quit imagining what Chihiro would look like scrubbing the floors now. Recently, lots of things that he had not wanting to deal with had been cropping up inside of his head. For example, the hormone driven younger self, that currently sounded like he was losing to the older self.

'If the two of you are done, we can sleep now.'

The solidarity of his form wavered as he fell into sleep, the perpetual arguments with himself laid aside until the next time his issues demanded his attention.

Tonight's dream found him in what appeared to be some sort of newsroom. Chihiro stood at a podium giving some kind of speech, pointing to areas on the map behind her. It seemed to him she was giving a report on the progress of a river restoration. Every once in a while she paused to answer a question, or handed it off to one of a few older persons who seemed to have accompanied her.

'Why am I dreaming about the river being restored? Humans don't do that, it's got to be wishful thinking.'

Despite his attempts to rationalize his dream, he felt himself go to her, and the nervous tremor of her voice stilled to be replaced by the sonorous waves of assurance. Too soon, her speech was done, and he felt the need to return to wherever he had been before. As he drew his presence away from her, he heard a whisper, too quiet for the microphones to pick up.

"Kami was with me this day."

Unknown to Kohaku, an elderly grandfather in the audience had noted the change of color from his grandchild's normal brown eyecolor to the grey they took on when in the presence of a spirit. Out a window to the side, he thought he saw the flash of a tail's tip.


Words

Aniki - elder brother

Chikyoudai - foster sibling

Reviewer Corner

Katsy Kat: True, but what would Chihiro have done if she realized she could buy the heads services? A little young at that time to be hoarding stolen worn clothing don't you think?

Fyraga: Yeah, the poor guy has to put up with a lot, even in his dreams, huh. That wily old Lin, picking on him so much.

Fantasywriter13: Thanks. Wait, Power Rangers, my little brother loved those. Go, go Power Rangers!

Nitengale: How else would a little kid describe them to his elder? Right now Haku's hearing voices because he's got stuff to deal with he's refusing to own up to. Right now, Chihiro's River Excavation project is freeing the nergy up that got buried, so it's going to swoosh around whether he gets help or not. Yes, spirit world has mental health professionals, but would Haku really put his pride and honor at stake to see one? Mostly, 'Lin would never let me live it down.'