Rivers Never Die

by LadyRainStarDragon

Chapter 18: A Pearl, Some Foxes, and Lin

I don't own Spirited Away, or any brand names that may pop up. There is no excuse for BlowingWind, Ryu, Ten or Haku's lost spirit piece. That's all me. As for Koji, well . . . everybody needs a grandpa to fuss over them sometimes.

Now, on with the story. I'm escaping while I can.


Chihiro and Kohaku were both in bad moods after the exciting before dinner entertainment. Kohakunushi had actually worked up the nerve to try to kiss her, and then he had been too caught up to notice the audience. So, he was in the worst mood.

After dinner they had gone to bed. It didn't help him any that his room was right next to hers and he could hear every noise that she made in there. That included changing into sleeping gi, sighing as she flopped on her bed, and the muttering about nosy friends. She had even thrown a confused comment in about her grandfather. He agreed whole-heartedly, but wished she would mutter perhaps a little more quietly. Her last words to herself before falling asleep were what shocked him the most.

"I've never kissed a man before. I wonder what it would have been like to kiss him?"

Kohaku promptly got back up, and rearranged his room. He made sure his futon was against the wall furthest away from Chihiro's. He really didn't need to have anymore thoughts like that in his head. There was no way that he would do anything before she was ready, if anything at all. He would defend his treasure, even from himself if need be. He fell into dreams of flying with Chihiro and caring for her as he had always wanted.

In another room, Ryu and BlowingWind worked with the pictures that they had amassed during their torture of their friend. A very lovely album they were making indeed. Oh yes, and the look on her face when they finally gave it to her would be worth the pain.

Koji was busy drawing up some papers, setting affairs in order for Chihiro's future. He had found a man that he approved taking care of his granddaughter. His claim on her was rather obvious anyway, even if one didn't take into account she had been his to protect since she was a baby. Dragons guarded their treasures very well.


The morning was uneventful. Chihiro placed some calls, and finally got the equipment reserved that would be needed. It would be available in a week. Then she placed a few calls to some of the volunteers that knew how to operate heavy machinery. Her dad would have loved to do it, but she wanted him to rest. He would be there if he could.

The residents had fallen into their routine of cleaning and gardening when a strange figure approached them. The woman was clad in a business suit of scarlet silk. Fiery red hair was drawn up in a simple twist. Dark green eyes peered out from behind metal-framed glasses and ruby lips were drawn into a pout from concentration. On one lapel was a small gold fox pin, on the other was a small silver dragon pin. The newcomer's eyes alighted on Chihiro.

"Miko, I can see that you have been touched by the Spirits. Would you know where I can find Nigihayami Kohakunushi-sama? I have heard that this is the new shrine to him."

Chihiro didn't know what to say. No one had ever asked of her to speak with the Kami. How was she going to handle this one? What if she got herself or Kohaku into trouble by saying where he was? She didn't have to wonder long though, as Kohaku himself was stuck under the porch, calling her to help him out. Both arms were wrapped around a squalling bundle of fur. Closer inspection revealed that what he was struggling with was a cat panicking in his arms.

"Chihiro! Toss me that towel for the cat."

Chihiro tossed him the blanket (the towel already having been shredded by said cat), and much hissing issued from the cave-like aperture to below the porch. The growls only increased in ferocity, and every once in a while the rending of flesh was heard. "Pull me out, the cat's panicking in here!"

So Chihiro pulled him out. The cat came out with him, which had been the intended objective anyway. Kohaku fell on top of her and the cat jumped out of the blanket and his arms to hide in the building somewhere. The cat was not going to the vet today.

As cute as the scene between the Shrine Maiden and the young Priest was, the woman didn't have time for this. She had to find Kohakunushi and the Heart of the River. There was a promise that had to be upheld. The couple finally managed to disentangle from each other, the boy looking a bit scratched about the face.

"Sir, maybe you can help me, since the girl is obviously busy. I am looking for Nigihayami Kohakunushi-sama. It is urgent."

"I am he. I suggest you not to take such a tone about Chihiro though. Now who are you?"

This stunned the woman. She would never have expected to find the river god retrieving a lost cat, or even getting stuck under a porch, much less all scratched up by said cat. Then again, this is the same Kami that she had first met playing with small children. Given his love of children and small animals, it did fit after all.

"I am Tsukaimono. Is this slip of a girl the one who possesses your Heart then?"

That name was familiar somehow, but he couldn't place it. The woman was a youkai though, and so a possible threat. He stepped in front of Chihiro protectively, too many entities were asking about this thing called the River's Heart.

"What are you talking about?"

The kitsune concentrated. The girl had to be his, not just his miko, but his. His prints were basically all over her. Not mingled with her like mates were, but wrapped around her, possessive and protective as a dragon's claw. She even saw the red string of fate that connected two who are meant to be together. Her voice dropped.

"Have you not told her then how important she is to you my Lord? Would you deny your own Heart, when this woman has labored for your river so long? Do you deny that she is what brought you back from where you had been sent when my father took away your river in order to return what he had taken from you?"

Memories flooded his mind. So she was that Tsukaimono then. Chihiro looked a little odd, like she was going to faint. He took her arm to steady her.

"We should discuss this inside. Come."


They went to the meeting area to have, what in Chihiro's opinion, would be the oddest talk in her life. She felt like she was out on display under the woman's gaze. She would never look at those trays of snacks at parties the same way again, since she felt like she was one right now. Chihiro would have been happy to go elsewhere, but Kohaku seemed determined to keep her where she could been seen and felt. Curiosity for what this Tsukaimono had murmured to Kohaku filled her.

"First, I should thank you for the gift you gave me at our last parting. I was able to meet a young man, provide for the family that I had with him, and gained my father's respect as a person. Now I manage a construction company that builds for the needy of Japan. I also need to apologize for my father though because of his rash actions both so long ago and of just a few years ago."

"I'm happy for you, but why are you apologizing for things that are not your fault?"

"Because of his desire to see me taken care of, father stole your Celestial Pearl in revenge. Then, he had apartments built where your river had been in order to send you to the Spirit World. There was a man in the company though that practiced witchery and his greedy Dog Spirit often messed things up. Mahou died before the project was finished, and the mononoke started attacking everything that Dad wanted safe. His thought had been to expose you to more female spirits, but when you got to Spirit World, you had already given your Heart to another. Sheer dumb luck that she found you."

"What is done is in the past. I am sure I would know if I had given my Heart to anyone though."

Koji chose the silence here to add his two bits.

"Perhaps that was the odd sensation that you had felt when you first held Chihiro as a baby, Lord? The odd feeling we could never figure out?"

"So you think I fell in love with Chihiro when she was a baby Koji? Do you realize that makes me sound like some kind of sick child molester!"

Chihiro blinked. This Kohaku was definitely more to the point about some things. And what was all this talk about love and giving hearts? She was so confused.

"No, I'm not saying that. I meant a different type of love. I meant that you gave her your heart at that time. Do you have your mind in the breeding nest?"

Chihiro was glad she'd put her tea down, otherwise she would have choked hearing Ji-chan say that. Kohakunushi looked affronted. Surely he didn't think about her that way, but where did Ji-chan get nest from?

Tsukaimono giggled. The rumors were right, he still was a shy God. "What is done is in the past, remember? Besides, you'll be even more mortified to know that your story is now the most famous love story in all of Spirit World. They started telling it just after you left."

Kohaku and Chihiro looked at each other. He was pale, she was flushed. "Did she say love story?" Kohaku merely nodded in reply.

"You mean he hasn't said certain words yet? It's been all over Spirit World how the great Nigihayami Kohakunushi fell in love with a human and went to great lengths to be able to reach her, including renegotiating his contract for human guardianship training. Well, I feel sheepish."

An uncomfortable silence fell on those that had gathered for the meeting. Always the talkative one, Tsukaimono broke the silence yet again. She now wanted to get this over with so she could go hide in her office again.

"Here Chihiro, this is for you to wear. Keep it next to your skin in your bosom. Only give it to Kohaku when . . . uh, here, let's just have dad say the rest, I still can't."

The pale skinned fox was no longer pale, unless you think an apple is pale.

After handing Chihiro a single gorgeous pearl on a silver strand and making sure it was where she told Chihiro to put it, she pulled out a leaf from some inner pocket of her jacket. Placing it on the table, a now late-middle-aged see through kitsune was standing before them. He blinked and looked around.

"Quite a group. Ah, there you are girl, you are the Keeper of the Heart of the River, yes? Good. Has my daughter given you the Pearl? Yes? Good. You have no idea how lucky you are girl, that dragon turned down so many beautiful women before you were even born. I do hope that you have at least properly kissed by now. Hmm, by that blush I'd say no, is something holding you back? Perhaps you never learned how to kiss? Perhaps he is merely waiting for you to be ready. Everyone says that humans and Spirits shouldn't crossbreed, but it has happened before. The worlds aren't going to fall apart. It's like inter-racial dating."

This was getting out of hand in Kohakunushi's opinion. The curious kitsune was flirting with HIS Chihiro. So he did the most obviously polite form of marking territory he could think of at the time. That's right, he put his arm around her and stared at the kitsune. It only confused Chihiro more. She sure hoped that somebody would translate for her when this was done, because her brain had checked out when they had linked arms and she had no idea why.

"Perhaps you could continue with the message that your daughter could not, sir."

"Yes, yes. Shy as ever. You really need to loosen up. I know that my daughter has given your girl the Pearl already, and seen that it is properly place. Yes? Good. Well then my boy, you have to be the one to take it out, and then your Celestial Pearl will be restored to you. In a sense, a Pearl is now being guarded by a Pearl. And it doesn't count if she just gives it to you. There are certain steps that you will need to take. I hear that it is very good for the health, and should also clear up your shyness quite nicely."

Was he insinuating what Kohakunushi thought he was? No, no, no, no. The damn kitsune had gotten him again. This is why dragons didn't get on well usually with kitsune. They were such practical jokers and preoccupied with procreation. This is worse than some of the plots that Chihiro's friends had tried on them. Sure, he had fallen for her over the years, but he had no idea if she returned his affections in the same way. Besides, he was quite certain their was some rule somewhere about taking a human mate now. Once she crossed into the Spirit Realm it would be acceptable. Even if there wasn't, he was a dragon, she a human. He could easily hurt her if he lost control or she began to freak out. Kohakunushi was highly beginning to suspect the influence of either the Sea King, or the Great Kami. Somebody must have it out for him with all he had gone through.

In Chihiro's head, the cogs were clicking and the hamster had gotten back on the wheel. She pieced together the information at hand and . . . came up with the same opinion as Kohaku did. Except this caused her to blush very much. It wasn't that she would object, just that she had a certain sense of decency, which didn't include talking about that with someone she didn't know really well. Especially if it was a kitsune she didn't know. She knew about kitsune and their favorite subject other than tricks and theivery. Kohakunushi noticed the blush.

"I won't force you to do anything Chihiro, remember that. Kitsune just like to joke around, and unfortunately this is the subject many of the jokes sit around. Just be glad that this isn't a few centuries ago and spirits have to keep a low profile when here."

Chihiro began to calm down, and even smile a bit as Kohaku calmed her. It was weird to her how every time he sought to calm her there was a presence seeming to master her very blood. Suddenly, the shoji door snapped aside and there, in her fiery temperamental glory, was a historically peeved spirit.

"Damn it Haku, you promised me you would let me know as soon as you found her! All this time and not even so much as one crane. You are so dead dragon-boy!"

"What in all the Realms do you mean? I sent you several cranes! Are you telling me that you didn't get them?" Kohakunushi thought for a minute, trying to figure out why she wouldn't have gotten the messages. After a second, he figured out the reason. "Uh-oh, I knew there was something I forgot to teach my replacement."

"That's a pretty big uh-oh."

Back in the office at Aburaya, Yubaba had finally gotten around to sorting the mail. As she opened the mail chest for the establishment, several paper cranes flew out, and buzzed around confusedly searching for the recipient's energy pattern. Not finding it, they settled for Yubaba as they had also been addressed to her. One by one, they told her about what the sender had been doing, and what he said. Yubaba cackled in glee.

"This will teach him to forget about showing his replacement how to do the mail. Now he's going to get an earful of Lin for no good reason!"

The witch's cackling could be heard through the whole bath house. Workers looked up, hoping that meant that Master Haku was having to deal with Lin now instead of themselves. Lurking in his room, a certain black kitsune whistled cheerily to himself, happy he had fooled everyone into thinking he hadn't figured out how to sort the mail.


Sorry it took so long. I made a trek with my family to visit hubby's relatives (12 hour drive each way, multiplied by two screaming kids, then factor in the relatives) which didn't really give me much time. Suffice it to say, never trust your car rack storage compartment, silence on a journey, or kids to eat the overpriced meals that you bought them.

Review responses:

Shitza: Yay, your internet is back up, I missed you. I don't know how I manage either. But I do. Now if only the stories I might be able to make some money on would work this nicely.

Nightfall2525: Yup.

Archangel Rhapsody: Yes, yes it is the same one.

Kittona: Thanks. Update included.

Elinviel: Thank you.

Bibliomaniac: Greed didn't really impress me either. He was meant to be a lingering obstacle to get rid of from when the river was originally built over, spawned from the heart of somebody in the responsible construction company. As for Nushi's and Ryu's idea it was spawned from a version of sleeping beauty I heard. Supposedly it wasn't the kiss in the story that broke the curse, but something Nushi knows he isn't ready for (the whole Kami with the human thing). Also, it was from a book in Ten's library, and I wanted it to be obvious that even the gods can have wrong or bad ideas. Also, remember that when a person dies, they supposedly become a minor kami (ancestor worship). Occasionally the spirits would dally with a human, sometimes producing offspring according to stories I have been told.

Big book worm: Really? Gee, thanks.

Dagorwen of Ithilien: Here ya go.