Disclaimer: I own nothing, just so ya know. Here's the story. I'll put the Author's note at the end.
It's Always With Me
by BlackFlame418
Lyrics/Song by Youmi Kimura
Chihiro sat at her desk finishing the last of that day's school work. As she writes her last answer, her gaze moves from her work to the window. Far away in the distance, she could see her old town. Then she began to remember.
Somewhere, a voice calls,
in the depths of my heart
May I always be dreaming,
the dreams that move my heart
"I remember you falling into the river. And I remember your little pink shoe!"
That day, when she was little and fell in the river, Kohaku was with her the whole time. He carried her back to shore. She laid on the pebbled beach, waiting for her mother, who was running to her, calling her name. Chihiro placed her wet shoe onto her equally wet foot. Though she did not know it, Kohaku, the river spirit, was sitting next to her. She inhaled and began to cry, shaken by what had just happened. Kohaku moved closer to her, wrapping on arm around her shoulder. He sobs ceased and her mother was now by her side. Even though her mother began talking to her, she was too busy glancing around. Someone was near, she just knew it. Her mother gave her a hand, but someone else's hand was there too.
So many tear, of sadness,
Uncountable through and through
I know on the other side, of them,
I'll find you
Just thinking back brought tears to her eyes. With water threatening to fall into tears, Chihiro ran through the house grabbing her purse as she flew out the door, running to the train station. She was going to where she thought she could find him. After many nights of waiting for as much as a shadow of a dragon or the face of her beloved Kohaku by the tunnel, this was the only other place she could think of to find him.
Not more then ten minutes later the train neared her stop. In a hurry, she again fled out of the train car and down the street. She looked up; the East Kohaku River Apartments were nearing. Chihiro headed for the back of the third building. Some magnetic pull forced her to head that way. As she rounded its corner she heard the sound of rushing water. All that was left of the Kohaku River was a small flowing stream. Chihiro quickened her pace. Close to the waters edge, she threw herself down next to it, placing her purse next to her. Bending over, she glanced in to see her reflection. She shook her head when her reflection turned into Kohaku and tried to shake his face out of her mind. Eyes brimming with tears, she fell to lie on the river's shore to look up at the sky above. "Kohaku…" she whispered.
Every time we fall down to the ground,
we look up to the blue sky above
We wake to it's blueness,
as for the first time
Though the road is long and lonely
and the end far away, out of sight
I can with these two arms,
embrace the light
Her body forced her to get up. Whether it was telling her "It's useless" or "Keep trying", she did not know. Her legs moved her away, though her mind was telling them to stay. Before her body would make her leave, she thrust a hand into the water, as if to say goodbye.
As I bed farewell, my heart
stops, in tenderness I feel
My silent empty body begins
to listen to what is real
Her feet did not bring her back to the train station. She knew, in her heart, that she would find him again, but riding to and from her house would not help. A spirit of any element could be anywhere. Or so she thought. Therefore she walked back to her new home, wondering where she could find him. She smiled at the thought of seeing him again.
The wonder of living,
the wonder of dying
The wind, town, and flowers,
we all dance one unity
Later that night, before dinner, Chihiro placed her hair in a pony tail, using the tie her friends, Boh, No Face, and Yubaba's bird had given her. She needed it to protect her and to give her hope.
Somewhere, a voice calls
in the depths of my heart
Keep dreaming your dreams,
don't ever let them part
As her mother began to set the table with food, she asked Chihiro, "Where did you go today?"
Chihiro looked up at her. She wanted to cry, but forced the tears back. "I wanted to see something in our old town." Her father began to say something, but she became lost in her father's words, not listening to him, only thinking of more ways to find him.
Why speak of all your sadness
or of life's painful woes
Instead let the same lips sing
a gentle song for you
After dinner, she immediately went to bed, crying herself to sleep. That is when she began to dream. She was at the bathhouse bridge, where she had met Kohaku. She was at the far end and on the other side, near the bathhouse entrance, he was there. A large grin grew upon her face. "Kohaku!" she yelled. It had been so long since she had seen him. The dream felt so real.
Kohaku also smiled. "Chihiro! Come find me! You know where I am!" he yelled back, but disappeared. Before he completely flickered away, Chihiro, confused, shouted back to him, "But you're right there!" She fell to her knees once her was gone and wanted to scream, but sobbed instead.
She shot up in bed, scared and slightly shaken. She wiped a hand across her face as if to whip away the dream. Her head snapped to the direction of the window. Though her curtains were drawn, she felt as though someone was watching her, Kohaku's voice still ringing in her head. "Come find me!"
The whispering voice,
we never want to foget,
in each memory
Always there to guide you
When a mirror has been broken,
shattered pieces scattered on the ground
Glimpses of new life, reflected all around
Quietly she got out of bed and opened the window. With the sun slowly creeping over the horizon, she grabbed her shoes and climbed out the window and down the trellis, carrying this summer's roses. Careful as to not get thorns from the roses, she slid down the last few feet from the trellis. Once she reached the ground she shoved her feet into her shoes, and then stealthily made her way down the forested hill to the old "Amusement park" as her father kept calling it.
Window of beginning, stillness,
new light of the dawn
Let my silent empty body
be filled and reborn
She turned the last bend of her much used secret path to the tunnel, sun glistening through the trees. The statue that once scared her, now a familiar face, silently greeted her. She sighed with a loss of hope. She knew it was too good to be true. She sat atop her stone friend, not facing the tunnel, but the pathway to watch the sun rise.
"I knew you would come." Chihiro swung her head around to face where the voice had come from. She was now eye to eye with a person, who looked like him.
'That's not him. It can't be.' She rubbed her eyes. She was just tired she thought. "Kohaku?"
"Chihrio…" she quickly got up from her sitting place and met his arms.
"It's you! It's really you!" she screamed, eyes brimming with fresh tears, but of joy. Kohaku spun her around and embraced her. "But I thought you couldn't cross the river?" she questioned, looking for answers in his eyes. He only smiled brighter.
"I made Yubaba change all that. Come. The others want to see you." Confused, Chihiro only took his hand and followed him through the tunnel. She had finally found him.
"Kohaku? How is this possible?" they stopped walking, "Will I be able to go back home?" he looked her straight in the eye, grabbing both her hands tighter, a large grin growing upon his face.
"From now on, you will be able to come here anytime you want. You can come and go as you please." Kohaku's short brown hair fluttered in the wind that forced them to walk on. "Come on now," he chuckled slightly. "Lin and Kamaji want to see you."
Chihiro could not help from smiling. 'This is real. It isn't a dream. He's here with me. He can always be with me.' "Kohaku?" they paused on the bank of the river. "Do you promise to always be there for me?" she just had to know.
"Of course I will. I've loved you ever since I've met you. And when you happened to first come here, I knew my feelings for you were true. Those feelings have always been with me and always will."
"It's always with me too." She nearly squealed and repeated it over and over in her head.
No need to search outside,
nor sail across the sea
Cause here shining inside me,
it's right here inside me
I've found a brightness,
it's always with me
A/N: So what did ya think? This one was hard to work with, but I managed to get it to my liking. I did want to go a little further with the details, but if I did that I'd probably never be done writing it. Tell me how you liked it. I'm willing to take the good, bad, and the ugly. All reviews are welcome, flames included.