THE WIND AND THE WATER

The smell of old washed clothing, the odor of stored air used while in the Fukai; but it was the scent of Selm himself that gave Nausicaä the greatest comfort as she pressed against him.

The chestnut-haired princess stepped back from the Forest Person's embrace. On the other side of the room humming with the chants of the cat magicians was Haku, also saying his farewells to a special person.

"Haku, please come back to me," said that person. "Please."

The river spirit chuckled and lifted a hand to stroke her cheek. "You don't need to be so melodramatic, Chihiro."

Chihiro Ogino grasped the hand in her own and pressed it against her bosom, bending over it and closing her eyes as she did so. "Haku..."

"Don't worry. I'll be fine."

After exchanging what could very well be their last words to each other, the four went to the middle of the room, where three beds lay together, arranged so that their heads converged and the feet radiated outward like three equidistant spokes. On one bed lay Shizuku's motionless body, kept alive these past few weeks by the efforts of the cat magicians positioned at the periphery of the room. In between the beds sat Zeniiba, Howl and Yu-baaba, on wooden chairs with long armrests and thick feet carved to resemble some clawed creature's. The last two were already deep in their spells, entranced and insensible to what was happening around them. Beside Howl stood Sophie, giving Nausicaä and Haku encouraging glances as they met one last time.

"This is it," said Zeniiba. "We mustn't delay any longer. Good luck, both of you."

"Onee-sama," said Chihiro, wearing a defiant and determined expression on her face as she looked at Nausicaä, "don't try anything funny with him."

"What?" A smile spread on the Child of the Wind's face. "Chihiro, like I told you, I wouldn't dream of doing that. You don't need to worry." She leaned in and whispered conspiratorially, "He's all yours."

Chihiro colored and stepped back. "Anyway, good luck. Please take care."

"Yes." Nausicaä gave Chihiro a little bow, never taking her eyes away from the younger girl's. If only I could tell you that we'll meet in the future, and that you and Haku will be alright, she thought. But I can't. I shouldn't, or I might change things, and not for the better.

There was a quiet chorus of good-lucks from the others in the room—Rin and an aogaeru from the bathhouse Aburaya, Pazu, Elder Oroku of the tanuki tribe. Kaonashi also bid them good luck, although it came out as his usual 'ah, ah' instead of as anything intelligible. Seiji was also there, frail, dark-eyed, a shell of his former self after waiting for so long; he carried his violin with him. He had been playing to his dead wife for the past few days, playing an air which he had composed one night atop a turret of Fort Lorum and originally entitled 'Haru and the Baron.' It was supposed to be a happy tune, but his hands and heart effortlessly turned it into something melancholic and painfully solitary, something that stirred a profound sadness in each person who listened to it.

Because upon hearing it, they knew. They knew he was calling, calling to Shizuku, in the only way he knew how. Music had played an important part when they first met; the snickers and irritation over a parody had turned into friendship, and then love. Now Seiji was trying to entice Shizuku back to him, in a language they both spoke and heard with their hearts. None of the others had any doubt that she would hear him, somehow.

Sophie Hatter watched the friends strengthening each other with encouraging words and couldn't help but admire their concern for a previously unmet member of their clan. Her musings were interrupted, however, by a voice in her mind.

Sophie?

Yes, Howl? She looked at the black-haired figure slumped in the chair and laid a gentle hand on his shoulder, wary of waking him up from his spell.

I want you to tell Michael to fetch Haru Yoshioka. Bring her here.

Does he know how to?

He's a resourceful boy. He'll find a way.

Alright.

From beside one of the beds Pazu watched as Sophie gave Howl's shoulder the briefest of caresses. Prompted by the sight, he gave Sheeta's hand a gentle squeeze. She was sitting beside the bed Nausicaä was going to use, also in a trance like Howl and the twins were, though hers was not as deep. She was lending her mental power to them, and Chikuku—positioned beside Haku's bed—was doing the same thing.

The young man originally from Slag's Ravine sighed in relief. After three long months of searching and preparing, everything could finally begin. It wasn't easy finding the spell ingredients that were needed, even with Kiki's help. The worst part was trying to find that so-called 'helium two' Howl wanted. It had required a trip into the modern world, and quite a number of adventures. Even when they had found a supply, without Yu-baaba's magic there wouldn't have been a way to contain it long enough to bring back to the Cat King's Castle. As it was, Sheeta's gardener robot had suffered some damage while trying to handle it; fortunately, Laputan technology was resilient and the automaton had the capacity to repair itself, as it had demonstrated at the battle at the Phaecis Gang's island.

The huddle at the head of the beds broke up, and Nausicaä proceeded to hers. Her eyes met Pazu's. He could read the fear in them, and it chilled him to think that Jhil's only surviving child was herself afraid of what she was going to undertake.

"When you get back," he piped up, trying to ease her mind, "we should have a race, you and I. You on your Mehve, me on my flapter."

Nausicaä smiled a little. "I'd like that." She lay down on the bed. She was wearing a replica of her blue costume at Zeniiba's request, to help with her easing into the shifting reality that was sure to characterize the world inside Shizuku's mind. Haku was likewise clad in his blue-and-white robes, and Chihiro was in her red suikan bathhouse uniform instead of casual wear, but no tasuki was holding her sleeves back and her pants weren't bloused: Lune's castle was no Aburaya, and she wasn't here as a worker but as an honored guest.

The blond-haired man from the Forest was covering her with a bedsheet when Zeniiba came over. Standing over her, she asked, "Comfy?"

Nausicaä nodded.

"Good. Now, close your eyes. This won't hurt, but get ready. You don't know what to expect when you get to the other side."

Before obeying, the wind-rider sought and found Selm's hand and gripped it. One last look of faith—and love—passed between them.

I'll be here if you need me, he sent. I won't let any harm come to you.

Nausicaä nodded, but she knew the emptiness behind the reassurance. If things were that easy, Selm would probably be lying in her place, and she would be the one watching over him. Still, she was grateful for his words. He was now all that remained of her world, except for Chikuku: Kushana and Charuka had to return to their respective lands long ago, lest something bad happen because of their absence. Despite the end of the Dorok-Torumekian conflict, they all knew war was never more than a scheming brain and a hair-trigger away.

Selm's keen eyes were the last thing Nausicaä remembered before Zeniiba, unbidden, cast her spirit into a lightless abyss. Falling, she screamed.

------oOo------

Nausicaä had a vague vision of feathers, glowing white in the darkness, encircling her, and of a pair of large white wings flapping. A sweet breath of wind intruded into her consciousness, and she had the smidgen of a moment to wonder how familiar it was before something long, scaly, and silvery-white caught her in clawed hands.

Are you okay?

"Yeah. Thanks, Haku. So we get to do this again, eh?"

What?

Oh, nothing. Haku wouldn't understand. Not for some human years yet.

The darkness gradually gave way to a seemingly endless ocean under a sky made colorful with orange clouds and a yellow horizon. Nausicaä could smell the salt even though they were still very high above the water, the distance above which she judged by the tiny size of the spray-foam on its surface.

"Where are we?" she asked as Haku carefully deposited her on his back.

We're inside Shizuku's mind, Haku replied. These are its furthest reaches. Everyone has barriers they put up to protect themselves from the outside. It seems she prefers hers in the form of water. He raised his long, bewhiskered head and peered into the distance. Lots and lots of water.

"Well, then, let's go zooming over it and look for her."

You don't understand. There was a frown in the voice. This is going to be a very long journey, if her spirit and imagination are any measure. You must conserve your strength. Sleep, if you can.

"We just got here and you're telling me to sleep? I can't do that. What if I fall?"

Nausicaä. Have you that little faith in me?

"No, I didn't mean it that way. I don't think I can sleep on the wing."

Well, you'd better learn, and fast.

------oOo------

Sleep and flight are virtually anathema to each other, the combining of which being the province of no living creature except for some species of birds, like the ocean-spanning albatross. Though Nausicaä was no bird and didn't have wings growing out of her back—or she'd be a monster, as Chikuku said once before—she took Haku's advice and tried to sleep while he flew tirelessly on and the ocean under them unrolled in an ever-changing and never-ending vista. She found it ironic in the days after that the first thing she did upon falling asleep was pitch sideways, almost falling off her dragonish ride. After that Haku was much more careful and carried her in his arms, the rhythmic rumbling in his chest lulling her to slumber as he sailed towards a point he had never seen but knew existed, by the very dint of the sadness and longing emanating from it.

------oOo------

The moment they appeared in her world, she knew. Her eyes opened, and she sat up from her flower-stamen bed inside her giant lotus.

She could tell they were dangerous: they both gave off the same aura that awful old woman had. But she couldn't focus on their forms, for something was blocking her, thwarting her sight. All that came to her mind when she tried to visualize them was the roaring of the breakers and the hiss of the wind blowing the foam off it and sending it into the sky.

They meant her no good, that was apparent. She would take care of the one who was of the spirit world first. As she got off her bed the stamens puffed up and released gouts of pollen into the air with a faint tinkling sound. The woman turned and watched the glowing gold particles for a moment, catching them in her hand and then letting them trickle through her fingers like shining snow. Somewhere in the recesses of her mind she heard the faint echo of a violin.

"My name... my name is Shizuku..."