The Spirit Child

Everyone dreaded the dressing down they were going to get for wrecking some of Yubaba's property. However, she was surprisingly calm; seemingly happy for once, probably because this would be the last time someone wrecked anything in her bathhouse. All the girls had to do was promise to fix the wreckage and they'd be let off with a sharp warning. Of course, they accepted; nobody was stupid.

Luckily for them, they were great at working together to repair things; having done so every single time Inferno managed to blow something up at the bathhouse. So by nightfall, everything was clean and put away. Meaning, none of the guests ever found out the crap that had occurred earlier that morning. Also, after a relaxing night in the baths, the six were able to return to their true homes after so long.

Hana returned home to her beloved older brother; Bara. Her father and mother had long since departed from the world and as such he was now the new king of the Flower Spirits. Or, rather, the interim king. For it was the tradition of their people to have a woman on the throne. And Bara had merely been keeping things in order for the time when Hana could once more be free from Inferno's watch. She was in the looking for a king to rule by her side, however had no rush; remembering her long nightmare.

Ayame returned to her small village in the Misty Forest; a secluded area lying on the plains far west of the bathhouse. There, ready to greet her, was Yami; the lover she'd left behind. For the first time in centuries, she rushed forward to embrace him. They immediately began to prepare their wedding.

Yume, as a Dream Spirit, really had no place to go. Instead, she lived in a mountain to the north of Swamp Bottom; meditating on life and existence. She often visited Zeniba whom she had taken a liking to. The old witch was going to teach the girl how to wield powerful magic; Yume was quite interested in learning to protect herself better. In addition, Zeniba and No Face were working together to teach their new friend how to sew. After all, in a secluded mountain there is no one to help you out.

Kaze continued to fly on the winds to see all that she could see. As one of the Spirits of the four elements—Air, Fire, Water, Earth—she had the power to become a Dragon. Her Draconic form was serpentine like a Chinese Dragon with the arms and legs of a European Dragon and feathery wings on her back; everything in varying shades of green. It was the freedom that she missed more than anything else while in Inferno's power and while hiding from him. Now, the girl had a lot of lost time to make up for.

Kira returned to the forests that were her former home; they were a great deal south of the bathhouse. There, her entire tribe was waiting for her to return. She returned to playing hide and seek and tag with her friends, as well as climbing trees and wrestling. They were just like the animals that their kind were ordained to govern; playful and friendly. Not to mention they were often getting into trouble.

Haku brought Chihiro back with him to his refilled river. There, they planned to build a home and family together. And when a human explorer was finally brave enough to explore the region where the fierce Dragon was rumored to live, he beheld a clean body of water; great for fishing and drinking. It didn't take him long to come up with a name; almost as if it were imbedded into his mind by a greater force or being. "I shall call it, the Senkohaku River…" he stated. And it still retains that name today.

S...S

Ten years later…

Three Dragons were flying through the skies of the Spirit World; heading towards an old bathhouse. One was pure white with an aqua mane of fur. The second was gold with an aqua mane. Finally, there was a smaller Dragon who was blue with a golden mane. Because this one flew in between the other two, any Spirit who saw them could tell that the blue Dragon was the child of the other two.

When they finally arrived, the younger River Spirit landed first, seemingly excited over her first visit to this bathhouse. She was a five year old girl with amber eyes and brown hair worn up in a ponytail. Her garb consisted of a light blue dress and a pair of slip on shoes. A bright smile was plastered on her face. She would have run ahead and gone inside the establishment, had her mother not grabbed her.

"Mizuki," Chihiro warned, "Please wait for Daddy and me. There are a lot of rooms inside of here and it's easy to get lost. I remember when I came here for the first time; how confusing everything was." Chihiro thought back over that long millennium, remembering her first adventures and the first encounter with the man she would later marry. It warmed her heart whenever she thought of her lost childhood.

"Your mother is right. It is quite a place, and there are a lot of workers and guests running around. A child of your age would easily be lost in the shuffle. And I don't want Yubaba finding you when she is in a bad mood; she can be quite scary," Haku told his child. With that, little Mizuki grabbed the hands of both of her parents. They all began to walk towards the bridge, waving hello to the Frog on guard duty. He looked shocked; the two hadn't been around since Chihiro had gotten pregnant.

After they got inside, the family rented a tub to relax in. However, the peace did not last long. For they soon heard a shrill cry of, "Chihiro! Haku! Mizuki! Nice to see you three again!" In a split second, the trio had turned their heads towards the entrance to the room. Standing there in the hall with a big smile on her face, was Kira; Hana, Ayame, Yume, and Kaze were all hanging around behind her.

Chihiro smiled as she saw the best friends she'd missed. "It's nice to see the five of you too. I mean, it's been over a year since we last were able to get together. And we haven't been able to go to the bathhouse together in six. Come on in; we'll all have dinner together and catch up on old times."

Over the night, they ate and spoke about what was going on with each. Hana finally had a boyfriend. Ayame and Yami still had no child, but they weren't quite ready for one anyway. Kira and Kaze were just as wild as ever. And Yume had reached a new high in her spiritual calmness.

'Every time we get together, it's like a new beginning,' thought Chihiro, 'My abduction by Inferno was all for the best in the end. Now, I have a group of tight knit group of friends and can stay by the side of my beloved forever. Then there is my blessed daughter; the light I have longed for in all my life. Okaasan…Otousan…I hope you continue to watch over me from above. At long last, I am happy.'

Teefa's Last Words...

Yes, a sappy way to end it but I excel at sap. Mizuki (mizu-water, ki-spirit) was a character my artist friend sketched once in a pique of boredom; though that picter was her as a teenager. Bara (rose) was simply given his name at the last minute because it made the story flow much cleaner if the other mentioned Flower Spirit had a Flower name.