Thanks to everyone for your feedback, especially Trastuspies! I don't have much to say this update other than the next chapter will drop on either June 13th or June 19th depending on if I decide to split the super long chapter or not. I just don't like having a lot of time skips happening in one chapter so it will probably be split. As always thanks for your support and patience. Now if you guys will excuse me, I will be returning to the river near my house to continue writing.
Chapter 16:
Sweat rolled down Chihiro's back beneath her uniform as she held only the fourth position of the morning. The smoke seemed to cloud her mind and though she tried to reach the level of meditation that Yui requested, she was far from it. They had begun covering the beginning stances and movements after morning meditation a few days ago, but it was apparent that this dance was going to be a lot more difficult than she had initially predicted. Between Haku's evening training and Yui's practices in the morning, Chihiro was already quickly getting into shape. It had only been a few days since both had started, but neither teacher had a soft hand in teaching. Telling her to do it again from the beginning, Yui watched carefully as she went through all of the motions and positions slowly. Growling at her to fix the angle of her left foot, she used the fan in her hand to lift Chihiro's arm by a few centimeters.
"Will a few centimeters make that big of a difference Yui," Chihiro whined as her muscles ached terribly. Despite Haku's short massages after practice each night, she was tender and uncomfortable everywhere. Blaming her irritability on the upcoming time of the month, she tried to keep her mouth shut but it was hard when they were stopping so regularly to correct the minutest of details. Couldn't she just learn the whole dance and then work on fixing all of the angles?
"Everything plays a part in summoning the magic," Yui snapped as shut her fan closed. Using the fan to smack Chihiro's back, she barely registered the hiss that escaped from the girl's lips as she straightened all the higher. "Every step, every movement, every spoken word- all of it brings forth the magic from the relics you will be using. Your mind must be focused on drawing Haku out to complete the cleansing ritual and then completing said ritual when he responds to you. The magic you create together depends on the accuracy and thoroughness of your actions entirely. He might be considerate enough to do the dance with you without the call and use his own magic to complete the cleansing ritual, but then the power would be no greater than that of a simple water sprite by the time it reaches the edge of the town. Do it again!"
Starting over from the beginning, Chihiro tried to ignore her growing irritation at being constantly readjusted. Yui was strict, but it was hard to fight a logical argument with her. "What makes you so confident that you won't be there to do the dance anyways," Chihiro remarked.
"When a large population of water spirits are in the same vicinity it causes water in the environment to collect where they are. In short, it will start raining when everyone begins arriving for the festival. I will have to return to my delta and you will be left to complete the cleansing ritual in my absence." Chihiro remained silent for a moment and realized that she had been led by the nose.
"You didn't have a gut feeling. You already knew that you would have to find someone to replace you because of the rain." Yui swatted her knee with the fan causing her to bend it more. Holding the position, she felt more sweat roll down her forehead and back. Circling her, Yui stared hard at every angle of her body with a stubborn frown.
"Do you know why bound spirits would often respond to the summoning dances of the shrine maidens?"
"No."
"Because rituals completed with human and spirit participation have an immense amount of power. Any ritual I could do would not even be on the same magnitude of power as any failed ritual of yours. We are at war, Chihiro, and spirits from miles around are traveling here for a cleansing ritual that will bring hope. We need you to do this for us." Chihiro sighed as her arms began to shake. It wasn't like she could say no at this point. Zeniba had yet to send word of any news, Haku wasn't going to let her go until a solution was found, and there was a mass of spirits descending on the bathhouse town for a cleansing ceremony that she was supposedly going to do. Nodding her consent, Chihiro began the movements again. Holding out a wing to stop her, Yui sniffed the air around them thoughtfully before frowning. "You have worked hard this morning and should take some time to rest. I have some work to do here so please return to your room and relax."
Chihiro did not return to her room, but took her favorite seat in the infirmary beside Hikaru and Okita, both of whom had been healing quite well. The main infirmary was surprisingly empty with the lack of patients coming in recently and most of the staff had retired to the upper levels of the bathhouse to work on other projects. Hikaru never said much, but Okita was happy to fill her in on any of the gossip he had caught regarding the happenings in the bathhouse. That is of course when he wasn't busy trying to prank everyone. Chihiro was happy to give him any information he desired and he rewarded her with a sense of partnership, despite her lack of actual participation. Denying the exploding candy again gracefully, Chihiro smiled at her two favorite patients.
"We almost never see you anymore between Watari-san running you into the ground and whatever you do upstairs in the bathhouse," Okita whined as he scooted closer to her seat between their beds. Hikaru watched the two of them with interest. His wound had healed well enough that Chihiro no longer had the change the dressing each day, but she still enjoyed stopping by when time allowed.
"Haku might be strict, but Yui is a whole new level of difficult. 'Lift your arm a centimeter higher. Point your toes more," Chihiro mocked as she stood up off of her stool and assumed one of the stances.
"Oh no Chihiro-san, your chin isn't high enough," Okita joined in a sarcastic high voice, "and that bend in your knee doesn't show the depth of your sincerity!"
"It's about time you got that angle right with your ankle," Yui calmly stated as she entered the room silently, "but he's got a point about your chin." Chuckling to himself, Okita watched the matron of the ward with an evil glimmer in his eye. He had decided that it was long overdue for someone to go after the lioness of the pack, especially when she was taking away their favorite source of entertainment- Chihiro. Ignoring the trio, Yui went to look over the salamander still hacking up a lung beside the fire. She was considering moving him to hospice, but she didn't want to give up hope just yet. He could still push past this with just a bit more magic. Her progress towards him was halted at the smell of fresh blood. Looking over at Chihiro, she noticed how the spirits surrounding her had suddenly stopped talking, taking in the smell. Chihiro continued on talking animatedly to Hikaru about the different plans for the festival and how she hoped he would be well enough to attend. For his part in the matter, Hikaru was visibly puffing up his fur to look bigger and had bent forward towards her as if to jump at a moment's notice. Even Okita was silently glaring towards the other spirits in the room wondering if any of them would be tempted by the smell of human blood. Changing directions, Yui approached them and noticed the way Hikaru curled the sheets in his fist to keep from moving to get between her and Chihiro.
"Chihiro, you should return to your room at once. I will notify Lin that you are taking some time off from work." Chihiro stopped and looked back confused at Yui.
"Why would I take time off from helping out? I know I was a bit distracted this morning, but it's just cause I didn't sleep well last night." Raising an eyebrow in judgement, Yui fluffed her own feathers in offense.
"Are you questioning my diagnosis of the situation?" The moment however was interrupted as a thick rain of white plaster powder covered the human and crane alike. Coughing to clear her lungs, Chihiro wiped the powder from her face only to notice it sticking to anything moist, which was practically everything on her between this morning's workout and the steam in the room. Grinning proudly to himself, Okita released the string that had been hiding in the curtains and watched the show of the two of them trying to wipe the now wet plaster off. He had been saving that for a better moment, but given the situation, it would have to do. Chihiro needed to get her scent covered and the fact that he got the matron as well was just a bonus.
"What the hell, Okita! I thought we were friends," Chihiro growled at him as she tried to sludge some of the plaster off into the sink. It was obvious that she was going to need to move quickly to bathe before it all dried in place.
"Sorry! Collateral damage," he replied with a wink and smiled towards his intended target that was currently washing plaster off her wings into the sink. Throwing a handful of wet plaster at him, Chihiro left Yui to her place at the sink and began dragging her way upstairs by the least visible route. Slamming into the flat, she was grateful that Haku was not around as she hurried to the bathroom. Closing the door behind her, she quickly shed her clothes and got under the showerhead. Bathing off all of the plaster was a hassle and she spent the time quietly grumbling about Okita and hoping that his prank on Yui would satisfy him to some degree. Insatiable tanuki she murmured before noticing the water beneath her knees running pink. Clasping a hand to her womanhood, she pulled it back to see that her monthly menstrual cycle had begun in full force. Groaning in annoyance, she let the water cleanse most of the blood away. Typically her period came with lots of cramps, but this time it had come so softly she had not noticed it. Perhaps that was why Yui was insisting she go upstairs…
Drying off with a large fluffy towel and wrapping it around herself, Chihiro looked longingly towards the large bath tub. It was not proper to soak in a common bathtub when on your time of the month, but the warm water could be so relaxing on tense abdominal muscles. As she stood there contemplating breaking the social etiquettes, she considered the small tub in the corner of the room. Haku had told her to avoid the small bath since the water was cold, but perhaps if she drained the water and used a bucket to add hot water to it then she could soak in peace without disturbing the main bath water. Heck she could even drain the bath water afterwards and refill it with cold water so Haku would be none the wiser. Deciding to do this, Chihiro took the cover off of the small tub and looked into it. The green stone basin had an abnormally large drain hole in the center of it that Chihiro swore could suck down a large child if it had not already been covered with a grate. As Chihiro grabbed a bucket of hot water and carried it over to the tub, she was surprised to find water bubbling out from the drain and beginning to fill the tub. Wondering what sort of magic this was, she set the bucket down and leaned over the lip of the tub to get a closer look. The water seemed to move with a life of its own as it moved in eddying currents around the bowl, but upon her leaning over it seemed to reach up quickly towards her. Straightening up to avoid the water splashing into her face, Chihiro noticed the way the water seemed to rapidly begin filling the tub and sloshing towards her. Grabbing the tub lid and slamming it back into place, Chihiro took a few steps back staring at it. Breaking free of its confinement the water threw the lid off, startling Chihiro. Scrambling backwards in shock as the water took flight, she tripped over the slick stone floor and landed hard on her butt. Bracing herself for the wave of water to hit, she heard a shout from the door.
Haku had been conversing with Lin when he felt an electric shock of excitement from his river. Knowing that his water was hidden and that no one should be anywhere near it at the moment, he stopped speaking and focused in on the sensation. His eyes dilated until the blacks of his pupils covered the green of his irises causing Lin to startle in shock. Seeing what his water saw, he instantly panicked and took flight towards the flat. Racing faster than the wind itself, Haku charged into the bathroom in time to stop his water from jumping the girl. Like an over eager puppy it jumped annoyed at his restraint from its guest, but he settled it back into the small tub. Ignoring the naked girl sprawled out on the floor as she hurriedly covered up, he communed with his water. It explained that it had heard the cover being removed and was happy to see her through its own eyes rather than his. Though his water had originally planned on trying to act like normal water so as not to scare her, it had smelled blood coming from her and moved to quickly fix it. Scolding it for scaring her and sending it back down the drain, Haku turned his attention to Chihiro. Flushed from embarrassment and breathing hard, she clutched the towel to her body and remained seat on the floor.
"Show me where the injury is. With these sorts of things, it's best if you didn't hide it and just let me treat it properly," Haku said firmly as he kneeled beside her. Chihiro blushed bright red and gaped like a fish out of water for a few moments before laughing hysterically in discomfort. Wondering if she had finally lost her mind, he debated between leaving her there laughing on the floor while he ran for help or picking her up and bringing her straight to the infirmary, towel and all. Surely Watari-san would know how to handle female hysterics, or was her response from shock of seeing his water? There didn't seem to be enough blood around to warrant shock from blood loss. Sniffing her blood in the air, Haku felt his own blood race in response, but ignored the sensation.
"This isn't exactly something you can treat, Haku," Chihiro said as she sat more upright, "It's something natural for human women to experience." As she gently rubbed a hand gently over her abdomen, Haku recalled images of pregnant human women doing a similar motion while visiting the banks of his river in the past. Feeling a deep sense of broodiness, Haku put his hand gently over her hand resting on the flat plane of her stomach. He could easily imagine her stomach plump and protruding with a child…their child. Pushing his magic through her, he found the source of her bleeding. Why was her body making itself unfertile? Weren't only elderly humans unable to reproduce? Knitting the tissue back together magically, Haku smiled at her.
"There should be no more bleeding now, but you should rest awhile. I will see to getting a hot meal brought up for you." Chihiro's face blanched instantly at his response. If water trying to drown her wasn't shocking enough, what did he mean her period wouldn't be happening? There was no chance she was pregnant and it was obviously her body's time.
"What do you mean there won't be any bleeding?" Looking fairly proud of himself, Haku smiled at her and helped her to her feet.
"I fixed it."
"That's not something that needed fixing! It's completely natural," Chihiro said feel violated. She didn't enjoy her period much, but wasn't this some sort of insult to take it away? A small voice in the back of her head was screaming at her to shut up and enjoy the lack of cramps and smelly bloody. She wouldn't be around magic all of the time and it was better to enjoy the comforts of it now. Instead she focused on how there were so many other spirits that could have benefited from the magic he just wasted to relieve her of her monthly duty.
"Your bleeding would have inconvenienced the entire bathhouse. You would have to be kept in here for your own safety and I would not have been able to leave your side until it was over. Surely you must understand why this is for the better good," he asked her with a confused expression. She seemed truly upset, but he couldn't see why. Perhaps he should have fixed the fluxing hormones in her bloodstream while he was working on it. Grumbling about how he was wasting magic and that being stuck with him for a few days wouldn't have been so bad, Chihiro stalked out of the bathroom towards her room to get clothes on. Watching the sway of her rear as she left, Haku gave a confused smirk before shaking his head.
"Don't think about going anywhere dragon! I want answers. Just give me a second to get clothes on," she yelled over her shoulder before slamming the door to her room shut.
"However you'd like it, my lady," Haku called after her. Walking back into the living room he fixed himself a cup of tea before sitting down at the table. Writing a quick note down to the kitchen to have two bowls of soup brought up, he sent it off with a flick of his wrist as she entered the room. Trying to hide the red stain upon her cheeks, Chihiro sat down primly and began brushing out her hair. Noting the presence of her pajamas Haku figured they wouldn't be having a lesson this evening, which worked out just fine with him. Tonight he was going to start leaving small red herrings before he placed the first milestone clue anyways.
"So would you care to explain why I was just attacked by a wall of water in your bathroom, Haku?" She kept her eyes glued to the table and her hands were quickly working through the tangles of her wet hair. He put up a silence barrier around the room and tried to act nonchalant before speaking.
"I warned you to not disturb that bathtub. You opened it anyways and got the attention of the water beneath." Chihiro caught herself before sarcastically asking why water would randomly come up a drain to get her. It sounded like a bad joke from a cheap horror film and really the answer was simple, magic.
"So why was the water going to drown me for opening up the bathtub lid?"
"It was not going to drown you. It was just excited."
"Excited," Chihiro mocked with a brow raised.
"Yes, excited. My water was happy to see you. However it became panicked when it smelled blood and rushed forward to heal you. I'm sorry that it scared you." Noticing his choice of words, something that Yui had said the other day clicked in her mind.
"Wait a second. Was that YOUR water? As in your essence?" It was now Haku's turn to raise a brow and wonder who had been giving her such information. Knowing the location of a water spirit's essence was powerful and dangerous knowledge.
"Yes, in a way. The water is indeed the majority of my essence since it is the river water I was designed to control. It's hard to explain… When my river was being filled in in the human world, I was forced to transfer my essence into the spirit world so that I could remain whole. Despite being successful, the efforts of the move left me in dire straits with no memory and minimal magic. It was easy for Yubaba to take advantage of the situation... After I recovered my memory and took over partial ownership of the bathhouse, I did some major renovations. Amidst all of the chaos of construction, I built a small underground cavern beneath the bathhouse and moved my essence into it. Since I was naturally born to be a river spirit, my essence takes the form of water and it has indeed formed an underground river that winds around the bathhouse and beyond. The bathtub you disturbed is one of the few entrances to the cavern where my river is. You must never tell anyone of that bathtub or where it leads to. My very life depends on it." A knock on the door interrupted him. Pulling off the silence barrier, Haku called for the person to enter. One of the kitchen maids scurried in with two bowls of soup and rice. Setting the platters before them with a bow, she hurried away as Haku and Chihiro thanked her. Returning the silence barrier around the room, he said the proper thanks for his meal and dug in. Chihiro watched him eating and felt a deep sense of responsibility fall over her. Picking at her rice, she considered her options.
"I will not disturb your water again. I'm sorry for the bother."
"You are never a bother. Truly you keep me on my toes. I never know what to expect with you," Haku said with a small smile. Returning his smile, she enjoyed more of the food.
"Just out of curiosity, is that where you disappeared to the other night?"
"Yes, I actually find it much more comfortable to be closer to my river when I sleep than up here." The mental image of Haku removing the grate and squeezing down the drain brought laughter to her lips, but she silenced it with a modest cough.
"Is it beautiful down there," Chihiro asked as she honestly tried to imagine an underground river.
"I would say so. Perhaps one of these days I will bring you down and show you around. There is a gorgeous set of waterfalls and natural hot springs not that far of a hike from here." The distant happy expression on Chihiro's face as she tried to imagine the caverns that lie below wiped the smile right off Haku's face. It was so similar to her expression in his dreams that he was frozen still with fear. While his water was sure to protect her at all costs, he and it were one of the same, it could also be deadly if he was distracted. Not wanting her to go explore it on her own or let his water have the opportunity to simply kidnap her when he wasn't close enough to rein it in, Haku decided to give her a warning. "Promise me Chihiro that you will never go near my water unless I am around. It is indeed part of me, but sometimes it reacts on the baser instincts of my being."
"Not a problem. Trust me, Haku. You won't see me sliding down a pipe anytime soon," she replied with a laugh.