Recalling the Spirit #10
So many chapters! I'd also like to thank everyone who has been reviewing my story, and for those who will be reviewing my story.
Dedication: To my family, who have supported and encouraged my writing. And to Porifra, for the utterly cool picture of Nile! Hey, do you have any Spirited Away Fanfiction That I could put on my website? Remember: I need a formal e-mail saying that I have permission to use it!
GUESS WHAT! I found an Irish-English dictionary! So from now on, Akira will be using more Old Gaelic. YAY!
I've got so many cool ideas for part two of Recalling the Spirit!
Also, in addition to Mortaled Away, I'm going to be making yet ANOTHER story, called Spirit Within. It would be a prequel to Spirited Away, when Chihiro was younger.
Of Little Comfort Now
The dragon snaked it's way towards them.
"That's...that's a DRAGON?" uttered Akira.
It stayed airborne, near Tamiko, looking as though it had come straight from a mythology book. Akira recognized the glistening scales, the beautiful eyes, the ivory fangs, and the very size of the beast...
...wait a minute.
"It's so...so..." Akira stared at the mythical creature. "Little. I've always imagined dragons as a bit more..."
The dragon, about the size of Tamiko's arm, draped itself over her shoulders, resting its head just under her chin.
"It's just a child. She'll be a lot larger when she's full grown, won't you, Taneesh?" Tamiko said, stroking the young dragon.
"Taneesh?"
"Yeah, that's her name."
Akira shook his head. "You made that up, just now?"
Tamiko stuck out her tongue. "No! I just know, is all. Do you have a problem with that?"
"But how did you..."
"Taiko! Are you feeling better? Only some woman down in the boiler room wants you. Says it's important." Kiku stood at the doorway to the medical ward. Tamiko's head rose, she opened her mouth to shout, and remembered that she was known as shy to these people. She stood up. "Yes Miss. Kiku. I'll be right there."
The dragon circled around her arm. "All right." She whispered. "You can stay with me." She turned. "Kir? Are you..." She stopped, blinking. Akira was gone, standing at the doorway, waiting for her.
"Well, Taiko? Are you coming, or what?"
Tamiko glared. "All right, all right."
+++
When they arrived, they found Nile, shaking. The Egyptian bracelets on her arms jingled, as did the ones on her ankles. She was dressed in the clothes of the ancient Egyptian woman. Sandals were tied to her feet, and kohl painted on her eyelids. Her hands were trembling as she slowly poured water into Haku's opened mouth.
Tamiko's step at the door startled her. She dropped the cup, near Haku's head, and it shattered into slivers of broken crockery.
"Oh, Ta...Taiko." Nile said, her voice carrying the hint of a quaver. "I'm sorry, I was...expecting someone else." She noticed Taneesh, wound around Tamiko's arm. A small smile crossed Nile's face, though she still looked jumpy. "You have a little guardian."
"Why did you summon me?" Tamiko questioned, trying to get to the point.
"Your father is awake."
Tamiko looked over at her father, sleeping peacefully. "Um..."
"Out of his coma, I mean."
"Oh. Good."
"He has to heal, but he'll be up and around in a couple of weeks. But he's completely mortal. He won't be able to stay here much longer then that. His body can't take it. He'll cease to exist in a world that is not his own. He'll vanish. And he won't leave without Chihiro."
Tamiko's mouth twitched in a smile. "Stubbornness runs in the family."
Akira snorted.
"You had better find your mother, and quickly. They'll come quickly if they know that we are here. Two of us in an easy-to-locate-area. They wouldn't miss that chance if they find out. " She said, gesturing to Haku and herself.
"Who's they...?" questioned Tamiko.
"How long can WE stay here? I mean..." Akira cut in.
Nile looked around quickly, seeming to Tamiko like a deer looking for wolves. "You'd better leave. Any longer and you will be missed from your jobs. Hurry...go!"
With that she gently pushed Tamiko and Akira in the general direction of the doorway. Once they had left, she knelt and closed her eyes, focusing. Slowly her form began to change. Her skin rippled and became scaled and green, her teeth growing sharp, and her nails elongating into claws. She opened her scaly eyelids to reveal bright yellow eyes. She closed her eyes again. ~Please. Give me the strength. I know I have been peaceful for so long, but I no longer afford to be. I MUST have a weapon. Please..."
A bright light formed in front of Nile, slowly stretching itself into pole of burning brightness. Slowly the light faded, leaving a Naginata. The six- foot oak staff had a six-inch blade attached to one end. Nile opened her eyes, to see her weapon. She stood, and respectfully picked up the glaive. She sighed, and still looking around warily, tried a few practice cuts. She wasn't as out of practice as she had thought. ~Just like old times.~
+++
Kyu groaned. Sitting up, he rubbed a lump on his head. He was sitting on grass, out by the lake. ~That idiot Kir. I hate him, loath him, despise him!~ His hands tightened into fists. ~I could have been dying and that...person...just decides to leave me HERE? Fire...flames...Kir, I won't stand for this. First Taiko, now this. Do you think it's FUNNY? I have to get Taiko away from a jerk like you. Permanently if I have to!~
+++
Tamiko frowned as she was walking, the path to the bathhouse lit by the full moon "What was she talking about? What did she mean by 'them'?" she muttered, petting Taneesh.
"How should I know?" Akira replied, keeping up with her.
She rolled her eyes. "It was a rhetorical question, fool."
"How was I supposed to know that?!?"
"Most people do know. Because most people have brains!!!"
Akira smirked. "Ooh! It smarts!"
"You are an idiot! Why do you always have to get all smart with me!?!"
"'Cause you get angry at me!"
"You inherited stubbornness from your dad, did you get your anger from your mom?!?"
"WELL, AT LEAST I KNOW MY MOM!!!"
Akira abruptly stopped walking and turned away. Tamiko stopped too, horrified at what she had just said.
"Akira...it just came out...I didn't mean..."
"Forget it. She left my dad a long time ago." He suddenly began walking, making Tamiko jog to catch up, his face turned from hers.
"...Akira...I didn't know...I'm so sorry..."
"I said to forget it." Akira's voice was lifeless. He went to English to Irish without noticing. "Dearmad se." (Forget it.)
The ribbon came loose in Tamiko's hair. Without thinking, she pulled it out and wound it, slipping it into her pocket.
"Akira, please...stop." She said grabbing out for his arm. He stopped and turned, a bit surprised. She lowered her head to look at the ground, her dark hair hiding her face.
"I don't know why I keep fighting with you. I REALLY don't want to. What I said was...cruel. Mean. Even if I didn't know...Akira...please forgive me. Can you forgive me?" Tears ran down her face and hit the dirt path, spotting it with dark splotches.
~She's...crying?~
"Of course I'll forgive you, mo stor." He said softly, putting a hand on her shoulder. "You didn't understand." She raised her head, wiping her tears away roughly with her sleeve.
"Mo stor?"
Akira smiled. "Irish. Old Gaelic. It's my new nickname for you."
Tamiko smiled to, albeit wetly. "Akira, I really am..."
"Don't worry about it. Put it behind you."
Together they began walking down the path. There was a comfortable silence between the pair, Akira and Tamiko both thinking. Finally, the latter voiced her thoughts. "Er...Do I WANT to know what mo stor means?"
Akira grinned, and continued to walk, facing forward.
"Kir-cha...Kir." She corrected herself hurriedly, flushing. "We're late already. Don't you think that we might be able to walk a little bit more quickly?"
Akira turned to her, flashing a grin. He winked. "Race you there."
And with that he was off.
Tamiko stood in the middle of the path for a couple of moments, staring at him. ~Akira...I...when did you...~
She blinked, and frowned. "HEY, NO FAIR! YOU GOT A HEAD START!!!" She dashed after him.
Five minutes later, they both arrived, panting. Akira turned to Tamiko, who was leaning against the wall. "Tami...mo stor...listen...I need to tell you something..."
"Huh? Akira...what..." Tamiko looked into his eyes, searching his face.
Akira slowly smiled...
"YOU LOST! I TOUCHED THE WALL TWO SECONDS BEFORE YOU DID!!!!!!" he said, pointing at her.
"..." Tamiko was speechless, gaping.
Akira took a step back, raising his hands. "What?"
"K...Kir...er..." She coughed. "That's not fair! You KNOW it's not!"
"Ladir. Tough."
She stuck out her tongue, and began walking towards the entrance to the bathhouse. Taneesh poked her head over Tamiko's shoulder and, to Akira's surprise, extended her small pink tongue Akira's way.
~There's more to you then I thought, little one.~
Arriving in the front room of the bathhouse, Tamiko looked around. "Kiku said she'd meet me in the semi large bath, just off that hallway." She said, pointing. "You'll be going be back to the infirmary, right?" Akira nodded. She snorted. "I STILL can't believe you got stuck in the infirmary!" Akira made a face.
"Oh well, I'll see you later then. Keep an eye open for my mother. Meet me at noon so we can go look for her. Say goodbye, Tane..." Before the name was out of her mouth, her young dragon friend had crawled over to Akira's arm.
Taneesh wound her way up Akira's arm, bringing her head up to Akira's, staring him in the eyes. Akira was shocked by how intelligent they looked. Wise, almost.
Tamiko raised her eyebrows. "She seems to like you. That's weird."
Akira made a face. "Oh, go away!"
"Fine. See you later. Taneesh?" The dragon crawled back to her mistress's arm. Tamiko gave Akira a curt nod, turned, and dramatically swept herself down a hallway.
Akira hid a smile behind his hand.
Five seconds later, Tamiko emerged, made a face at him, and went down the hallway that actually led to where she wanted to go.
Akira rolled his eyes. ~What a dope.~
"And if anything comes flying at your head, duck!" he called after her.
+++
Tamiko made a face, utterly annoyed. ~I can't BELIEVE him. Sometimes he seems so mature, and others...~
=Completely immature? He only does that to annoy you, you know. I realized that in the first two minutes.=
Tamiko frowned, stopped, and looked around warily. "Who are you? Get out of my MIND!"
=Don't you recognize me?=
~Who...who are you?~
=Mistress, don't you recognize me? It's Taneesh.=
~Taneesh...But how can you...?~
=Dragons mind-speak. Dragon spirits, like Nile, can converse in mouth- speak, since the human form is their real one, but I can only speak to humans like this.= replied Taneesh.
~But Nile is a crocodile spirit, not a dragon! How old are you, anyway? You speak a lot older then you appear.~
Tamiko could hear almost a chuckle in her mind. =Does it seem so? The dragon young are said to be wise by mortal standards. I am a mere 500 years old.=
~FIVE HUNDRED YEARS?!?!?~
=You would consider me...thirteen, by mortal years. And to answer your first question, Nile is special. She has a number of shapes. And, besides, doesn't a crocodile look a little similar to a dragon? In the times of the ancient Egyptians, crocodiles might have been dragons. Only Nile knows.=
Tamiko frowned. ~There's a lot more to Nile then meets the eye, isn't there?~
In her mind, Taneesh nodded affirmation. ~Same with your friend. He realized that I, too, was capable of more then it seemed. I believe if you had left me with him a few moments loner, he would have attempted to mind- speak with me. What's his name?=
~Akira.~
=How long have you two known each other?=
Tamiko frowned, calculating. ~The better part of a month.~ she said, finally giving up. She honestly didn't know how many days had passed.
=And are you friends?=
~I guess you could call us that. We kind of fight a lot though.~
=Most friends do.=
~A LOT.~
Tamiko turned into the doorway, spotting Kiku. ~HIDE!!!~ She said, taking Taneesh off her shoulder. Taneesh nodded, and flew off into the room, presumably to hide in the rafters.
Kiku came out. "Hey, Taiko, did you see that silver flash?"
"No, Miss Kiku."
Kiku sighed. "Great, now I'm seeing things. Oh well, we have to get to work. Grab a cloth, and start scrubbing!"
Tamiko rolled her eyes as she followed Kiku into the room. ~Dragons...mind- speak...spirits...just another average day in the bathhouse!~
+++
So many chapters! I'd also like to thank everyone who has been reviewing my story, and for those who will be reviewing my story.
Dedication: To my family, who have supported and encouraged my writing. And to Porifra, for the utterly cool picture of Nile! Hey, do you have any Spirited Away Fanfiction That I could put on my website? Remember: I need a formal e-mail saying that I have permission to use it!
GUESS WHAT! I found an Irish-English dictionary! So from now on, Akira will be using more Old Gaelic. YAY!
I've got so many cool ideas for part two of Recalling the Spirit!
Also, in addition to Mortaled Away, I'm going to be making yet ANOTHER story, called Spirit Within. It would be a prequel to Spirited Away, when Chihiro was younger.
Of Little Comfort Now
The dragon snaked it's way towards them.
"That's...that's a DRAGON?" uttered Akira.
It stayed airborne, near Tamiko, looking as though it had come straight from a mythology book. Akira recognized the glistening scales, the beautiful eyes, the ivory fangs, and the very size of the beast...
...wait a minute.
"It's so...so..." Akira stared at the mythical creature. "Little. I've always imagined dragons as a bit more..."
The dragon, about the size of Tamiko's arm, draped itself over her shoulders, resting its head just under her chin.
"It's just a child. She'll be a lot larger when she's full grown, won't you, Taneesh?" Tamiko said, stroking the young dragon.
"Taneesh?"
"Yeah, that's her name."
Akira shook his head. "You made that up, just now?"
Tamiko stuck out her tongue. "No! I just know, is all. Do you have a problem with that?"
"But how did you..."
"Taiko! Are you feeling better? Only some woman down in the boiler room wants you. Says it's important." Kiku stood at the doorway to the medical ward. Tamiko's head rose, she opened her mouth to shout, and remembered that she was known as shy to these people. She stood up. "Yes Miss. Kiku. I'll be right there."
The dragon circled around her arm. "All right." She whispered. "You can stay with me." She turned. "Kir? Are you..." She stopped, blinking. Akira was gone, standing at the doorway, waiting for her.
"Well, Taiko? Are you coming, or what?"
Tamiko glared. "All right, all right."
+++
When they arrived, they found Nile, shaking. The Egyptian bracelets on her arms jingled, as did the ones on her ankles. She was dressed in the clothes of the ancient Egyptian woman. Sandals were tied to her feet, and kohl painted on her eyelids. Her hands were trembling as she slowly poured water into Haku's opened mouth.
Tamiko's step at the door startled her. She dropped the cup, near Haku's head, and it shattered into slivers of broken crockery.
"Oh, Ta...Taiko." Nile said, her voice carrying the hint of a quaver. "I'm sorry, I was...expecting someone else." She noticed Taneesh, wound around Tamiko's arm. A small smile crossed Nile's face, though she still looked jumpy. "You have a little guardian."
"Why did you summon me?" Tamiko questioned, trying to get to the point.
"Your father is awake."
Tamiko looked over at her father, sleeping peacefully. "Um..."
"Out of his coma, I mean."
"Oh. Good."
"He has to heal, but he'll be up and around in a couple of weeks. But he's completely mortal. He won't be able to stay here much longer then that. His body can't take it. He'll cease to exist in a world that is not his own. He'll vanish. And he won't leave without Chihiro."
Tamiko's mouth twitched in a smile. "Stubbornness runs in the family."
Akira snorted.
"You had better find your mother, and quickly. They'll come quickly if they know that we are here. Two of us in an easy-to-locate-area. They wouldn't miss that chance if they find out. " She said, gesturing to Haku and herself.
"Who's they...?" questioned Tamiko.
"How long can WE stay here? I mean..." Akira cut in.
Nile looked around quickly, seeming to Tamiko like a deer looking for wolves. "You'd better leave. Any longer and you will be missed from your jobs. Hurry...go!"
With that she gently pushed Tamiko and Akira in the general direction of the doorway. Once they had left, she knelt and closed her eyes, focusing. Slowly her form began to change. Her skin rippled and became scaled and green, her teeth growing sharp, and her nails elongating into claws. She opened her scaly eyelids to reveal bright yellow eyes. She closed her eyes again. ~Please. Give me the strength. I know I have been peaceful for so long, but I no longer afford to be. I MUST have a weapon. Please..."
A bright light formed in front of Nile, slowly stretching itself into pole of burning brightness. Slowly the light faded, leaving a Naginata. The six- foot oak staff had a six-inch blade attached to one end. Nile opened her eyes, to see her weapon. She stood, and respectfully picked up the glaive. She sighed, and still looking around warily, tried a few practice cuts. She wasn't as out of practice as she had thought. ~Just like old times.~
+++
Kyu groaned. Sitting up, he rubbed a lump on his head. He was sitting on grass, out by the lake. ~That idiot Kir. I hate him, loath him, despise him!~ His hands tightened into fists. ~I could have been dying and that...person...just decides to leave me HERE? Fire...flames...Kir, I won't stand for this. First Taiko, now this. Do you think it's FUNNY? I have to get Taiko away from a jerk like you. Permanently if I have to!~
+++
Tamiko frowned as she was walking, the path to the bathhouse lit by the full moon "What was she talking about? What did she mean by 'them'?" she muttered, petting Taneesh.
"How should I know?" Akira replied, keeping up with her.
She rolled her eyes. "It was a rhetorical question, fool."
"How was I supposed to know that?!?"
"Most people do know. Because most people have brains!!!"
Akira smirked. "Ooh! It smarts!"
"You are an idiot! Why do you always have to get all smart with me!?!"
"'Cause you get angry at me!"
"You inherited stubbornness from your dad, did you get your anger from your mom?!?"
"WELL, AT LEAST I KNOW MY MOM!!!"
Akira abruptly stopped walking and turned away. Tamiko stopped too, horrified at what she had just said.
"Akira...it just came out...I didn't mean..."
"Forget it. She left my dad a long time ago." He suddenly began walking, making Tamiko jog to catch up, his face turned from hers.
"...Akira...I didn't know...I'm so sorry..."
"I said to forget it." Akira's voice was lifeless. He went to English to Irish without noticing. "Dearmad se." (Forget it.)
The ribbon came loose in Tamiko's hair. Without thinking, she pulled it out and wound it, slipping it into her pocket.
"Akira, please...stop." She said grabbing out for his arm. He stopped and turned, a bit surprised. She lowered her head to look at the ground, her dark hair hiding her face.
"I don't know why I keep fighting with you. I REALLY don't want to. What I said was...cruel. Mean. Even if I didn't know...Akira...please forgive me. Can you forgive me?" Tears ran down her face and hit the dirt path, spotting it with dark splotches.
~She's...crying?~
"Of course I'll forgive you, mo stor." He said softly, putting a hand on her shoulder. "You didn't understand." She raised her head, wiping her tears away roughly with her sleeve.
"Mo stor?"
Akira smiled. "Irish. Old Gaelic. It's my new nickname for you."
Tamiko smiled to, albeit wetly. "Akira, I really am..."
"Don't worry about it. Put it behind you."
Together they began walking down the path. There was a comfortable silence between the pair, Akira and Tamiko both thinking. Finally, the latter voiced her thoughts. "Er...Do I WANT to know what mo stor means?"
Akira grinned, and continued to walk, facing forward.
"Kir-cha...Kir." She corrected herself hurriedly, flushing. "We're late already. Don't you think that we might be able to walk a little bit more quickly?"
Akira turned to her, flashing a grin. He winked. "Race you there."
And with that he was off.
Tamiko stood in the middle of the path for a couple of moments, staring at him. ~Akira...I...when did you...~
She blinked, and frowned. "HEY, NO FAIR! YOU GOT A HEAD START!!!" She dashed after him.
Five minutes later, they both arrived, panting. Akira turned to Tamiko, who was leaning against the wall. "Tami...mo stor...listen...I need to tell you something..."
"Huh? Akira...what..." Tamiko looked into his eyes, searching his face.
Akira slowly smiled...
"YOU LOST! I TOUCHED THE WALL TWO SECONDS BEFORE YOU DID!!!!!!" he said, pointing at her.
"..." Tamiko was speechless, gaping.
Akira took a step back, raising his hands. "What?"
"K...Kir...er..." She coughed. "That's not fair! You KNOW it's not!"
"Ladir. Tough."
She stuck out her tongue, and began walking towards the entrance to the bathhouse. Taneesh poked her head over Tamiko's shoulder and, to Akira's surprise, extended her small pink tongue Akira's way.
~There's more to you then I thought, little one.~
Arriving in the front room of the bathhouse, Tamiko looked around. "Kiku said she'd meet me in the semi large bath, just off that hallway." She said, pointing. "You'll be going be back to the infirmary, right?" Akira nodded. She snorted. "I STILL can't believe you got stuck in the infirmary!" Akira made a face.
"Oh well, I'll see you later then. Keep an eye open for my mother. Meet me at noon so we can go look for her. Say goodbye, Tane..." Before the name was out of her mouth, her young dragon friend had crawled over to Akira's arm.
Taneesh wound her way up Akira's arm, bringing her head up to Akira's, staring him in the eyes. Akira was shocked by how intelligent they looked. Wise, almost.
Tamiko raised her eyebrows. "She seems to like you. That's weird."
Akira made a face. "Oh, go away!"
"Fine. See you later. Taneesh?" The dragon crawled back to her mistress's arm. Tamiko gave Akira a curt nod, turned, and dramatically swept herself down a hallway.
Akira hid a smile behind his hand.
Five seconds later, Tamiko emerged, made a face at him, and went down the hallway that actually led to where she wanted to go.
Akira rolled his eyes. ~What a dope.~
"And if anything comes flying at your head, duck!" he called after her.
+++
Tamiko made a face, utterly annoyed. ~I can't BELIEVE him. Sometimes he seems so mature, and others...~
=Completely immature? He only does that to annoy you, you know. I realized that in the first two minutes.=
Tamiko frowned, stopped, and looked around warily. "Who are you? Get out of my MIND!"
=Don't you recognize me?=
~Who...who are you?~
=Mistress, don't you recognize me? It's Taneesh.=
~Taneesh...But how can you...?~
=Dragons mind-speak. Dragon spirits, like Nile, can converse in mouth- speak, since the human form is their real one, but I can only speak to humans like this.= replied Taneesh.
~But Nile is a crocodile spirit, not a dragon! How old are you, anyway? You speak a lot older then you appear.~
Tamiko could hear almost a chuckle in her mind. =Does it seem so? The dragon young are said to be wise by mortal standards. I am a mere 500 years old.=
~FIVE HUNDRED YEARS?!?!?~
=You would consider me...thirteen, by mortal years. And to answer your first question, Nile is special. She has a number of shapes. And, besides, doesn't a crocodile look a little similar to a dragon? In the times of the ancient Egyptians, crocodiles might have been dragons. Only Nile knows.=
Tamiko frowned. ~There's a lot more to Nile then meets the eye, isn't there?~
In her mind, Taneesh nodded affirmation. ~Same with your friend. He realized that I, too, was capable of more then it seemed. I believe if you had left me with him a few moments loner, he would have attempted to mind- speak with me. What's his name?=
~Akira.~
=How long have you two known each other?=
Tamiko frowned, calculating. ~The better part of a month.~ she said, finally giving up. She honestly didn't know how many days had passed.
=And are you friends?=
~I guess you could call us that. We kind of fight a lot though.~
=Most friends do.=
~A LOT.~
Tamiko turned into the doorway, spotting Kiku. ~HIDE!!!~ She said, taking Taneesh off her shoulder. Taneesh nodded, and flew off into the room, presumably to hide in the rafters.
Kiku came out. "Hey, Taiko, did you see that silver flash?"
"No, Miss Kiku."
Kiku sighed. "Great, now I'm seeing things. Oh well, we have to get to work. Grab a cloth, and start scrubbing!"
Tamiko rolled her eyes as she followed Kiku into the room. ~Dragons...mind- speak...spirits...just another average day in the bathhouse!~
+++
