The Path of Water

By Arlia'Devi

Disclaimer: I do not own Spirited Away in any respect; all rights go to Hayao Miyazaki and associates. I make no money from this.

The Path of Water

LIII: What Now

Haku hurried down the hallways of the Imperial Palace, following Hotaru. His mind was racing, trying to comprehend everything. For months, he'd been looking for Hotaru's brother and found nothing least a few scents and markings, an inkling of what might have been Shinji. And now he was here. Only appearing when he wanted to be found, Shinji was here once again, and no doubt, he would leave once again and become untraceable.

They arrived at the throne room, to the grand doors that sealed it shut. Hotaru knocked and then pushed the heavy door open and there, sitting on one of his lounges, surrounded by guards, was Shinjil.

And another person.

A man. A man who Haku recognised instantly.

"Rami-tarng," he cried, stumbling forward before falling to his knee.

Rami-tarng was a thin man, with dark skin and a long wiry beard that ran down to the floor. He was dressed simply, unlike the last time Haku had seen him in robes that sparkled with gems and adornments. And sitting beside him was Shinji, looking very nervous.

"Rise, please, Kohaku," he said levelly, his voice like silk.

"My Lord, I cannot believe – you are supposed to be dead," Haku blubbered, raising to stand yet again. "Shinji, I-,"

"I believe I can explain everything," said Rami-tarng very calmly, "Over perhaps some tea."

No sooner had the previous, and rightful, leader of the Western Lands requested it, than they were there, gathering around a table and being served hot tea. Haku looked between the two men, Rami-tarng who was enjoying the scent of the hot green tea, letting it cool before he began to sip, and Hotaru, who was feverishly stirring his chai.

"So this is what you've been hiding from me," Haku said eventually.

"Yes," nodded Hotaru, putting down his spoon. "You see, well, we had to be sure we could trust you. Especially after everything that's happened recently, and the hold Jairomaku has on the Western lands, and now, possibly the Eastern, well we couldn't take any chances."

Haku broad his earl grey to his lips, before setting it down again and adding some more sugar. Across the table, Rami-tarng began to eat a sandwich. It was quite a peculiar sight, and a strange place to be discussing such dire politics. And still, even curiouser, the two across from him looked as if they hadn't washed in months, and eaten well in even less.

"Of course, I understand," Haku said. "But I am failing to understand…. You'll need to explain. Exactly what happened?"

Shinji looked to Rami and took a deep breath. "I was, still am, the Lord's hand. As such the Lady Ayne is to you. I am loyal to him to a fault. But, as you have found, this is not the case in a cabinet. There are some who will do whatever it takes to see a person fail. Jaikomaru was a member of parliament when he, and some other member of parliament, rebelled, we were outnumbered. The reach of the spirit born from fire is far, and with the help of the witch Yubaba, those who were once loyal to us turned. As you, also, have found."

"And you escaped?"

Shinji nodded. "It was not easy. We hid out in the northern mountains for many months. We were injured, we had scalding burns, but the forest spirits helped us and healed us. And then I sought you out, but the bathhouse was burnt down, and you were the Lord, we had to make sure we could trust you."

"I had heard you had taken a human lover," said Rami. "Where is she?"

Haku checked the time. It was the late afternoon, "She would be putting the baby to bed. You wish to meet her?"

"Would it be wrong to meet the face behind the name that's been on everyone's lips? Of course, if it's not too much, you have a young son, after all."

Haku called the attendant to the table, asked him to request Chihiro to join them, and then turned back to Rami. "Our son was only born six months ago. It was a hard pregnancy, so she may not feel up to it."'

Rami nodded thoughtfully. "I cannot be easy, carrying a half-ling. Still, the blessing of children is something not a lot of spirits wish to experience in recent times. I myself, have none. Which I have always regretted. As you have found, the Lordship allows for very little."

Haku agreed, "There are certainly things I miss. There is nothing I wish more than for the lands to be at peace, as they once were."

"Ah, yes," nodded Rami. "I did not agree with many things Sar'onga did, nor did my people, but peace was important to us."

"We wish to speak of the future, of what we can do," Shinji said. "Jaikomaru will do everything in his power to destroy the Eastern lands, and has the power to do so. Do not be fooled, he was behind the destruction of your bathhouse-,"

"He was?" came the shocked voice of Chihiro from the doorway. She looked to Haku. "Haku, what is this?"

He ushered her over, to the cushion beside him. "Sit, Chihiro. This is Shinji," he motioned to the bakeneko. "And this is Rami-tarng, the former Lord of the Western Lands. Presumed dead."

"Oh," she hummed and then looked to Haku. "Oh, oh right, I get it, very nice to meet you."

Rami smiled brightly. "Nice to meet you. A very popular young lady."

"So you think the current lord was responsible for the bathhouse fire?"

"I am beyond certain of it," replied Shinji. "It makes sense doesn't it? He was born of fire, and it is ironic – a bathhouse burning down. Surely, there would have been enough water."

"And there was the incident of your room burning out when you first arrived, do you remember?" Haku asked.

Chihiro nodded. "Definitely – at the time I just thought maybe it was an accident. I guess it was a little naïve."

Rami looked to Shinji who nodded.

"Rami-tarng is the rightful leader of the Western Lands, and with your help, we want to overthrow this evil man and bring peace back to our two nations. But," Shinji said. "He hesitated. Rami is frail. He is old. We do not have an army. We don't have much to offer you but our support."

Haku considered this. He looked at the tea leaves in the dregs of his tea, wondering if they could spell out the answers for him. But he saw nought. There were no clear answers to be had here. Eventually, Haku and Chihiro lead Rami and Shinji to rest in their new quarters, a modest small apartment that Shinji exclaimed was better than the numerous caves they'd been inhabiting, on the run from various Western trackers and spies.

Returning to their own room with a sigh, Chihiro waved off the wet nurse as Haku picked up Naoya and sat in the lounge suite. The baby gurgled in his father's arms, his green eyes bright and alert. He was more vocal these days, and a lot more attentive. He made small sounds, trying to mimic his mother's voice, and his first tooth was beginning to come through.

Chihiro sat by her husband. "Well, what now?"

Haku shrugged. "I don't know. I don't even know what to do with this information. Rami was a strong leader for thousands of years, but he's old and weary and weaker – they don't have any army. It may be true he's the rightful leader, but unless we can get the wrongful leader out of there, what can we do for it?"

"Wrongful?" Chihiro snickered a little.

"Hum. You know what I mean."

"We have had some victories," she urged, rubbing Haku's shoulder.

"The walls are up around the city, Chihiro. Our friends are injured, Raijin is still not well. Hotaru and Chase are doing the best they can, but we're not politicians, Chihiro, we're not warriors, or war generals – we're a bunch of spirits that used to run a bathhouse that are so ridiculously out of their depths, we can barely function."

He slumped back into the lounge. "What I would do to have the bathhouse back." Then he huffed out a laugh. "And to think I thought we used to have problems back then."

"We could have it back," said Chihiro. "We just need to save the world first."

Haku smiled wryly at her. "Yes, a small feat, isn't it?"

Rin was in the courtyard with a blunt sword and a reluctant training partner. Raijin side-stepped her sweep, moved back, lunged forward, but Rin blocked his parry, knocked his own sword from his hand and across the courtyard. Raijin hissed and clutched at his hand and tried to ignore how satisfied and smug Rin looked as he retrieved his sword.

"If I was able to find my Halberd, it would be a very different scenario," said Raijin bitterly.

"I would doubt it."

Raijin's halberd, his own weapon for which he used to control the skies, had been missing for as long as he could remember. He had even pondered going to forge another, but to do it was a time costly affair of smelting semi-precious stones and metals and spending many months in the clouds. It would show up. And Rin had an elaborate collection of her own weapons, anyway, surely he could borrow a staff or something.

This had not been the case. It was essential he fight for it, much to the amusement of Rin when the staff dropped to the ground with a clatter just thirty-seconds into a spar.

"Let's take a break," suggested Raijin.

Rin frowned. "We've only been going for an hour."

"And you've already tired me," he said, easing down to sit on the lip of the fountain. The water cascaded down a stone koi fish and into the pond. The sound was relaxing, and the lush green ferns and tropical plants of the courtyard gave it a sense of tranquillity. It wasn't as flashy or as large as some of the others around this luxurious palace, but it was nice all the same.

Rin huffed and washed her face with the water before rubbing it on her tunic. She leaned back against the cool stone, sitting on the paved ground and picking at the weeds that peeked through the cracks.

Rin was about to turn to look up to Raijin when Ayne entered the courtyard, dressed in a long flowing gown and her hair in a long braid down her back.

"I'm sorry for interrupting," she said. "But Lord Kohaku has asked for you to come to the dining room."

Rin rolled her eyes.

"We'll be there," Raijin said, getting up.

"At the Lord's beck and call, huh?" Rin grumbled, fetching her swords. Ayne disappeared silently back down the hallway, but she heard Rin complaining about living in the palace a little more, as if it was the most suffocating place on earth.

Ayne considered this as she went onto her next task, scheduling an arrangement with the newly returned General Dal and Haku – the General had been injured in the successful campaign through the mountains along the trading path, stopping the Western forces from entering the city district. Though he'd been successful, several groups of Western soliders had flanked the Northern side of the trade route, coming in from above them, and had to be pushed out messily. It had been a success, but they'd lost a lot of good troops doing it.

Ayne exited the Northern wing and made her way down the long hallways. The light from the long afternoon poured through the windows and crept up against the walls. Flecks of dust sat suspended in the light, dancing across the room.

Down the hallway, Ayne heard voices and saw shadows walk past the intersection. Hearing Kohaku's voice, she hurried quickly. Beside him, she saw Chihiro.

Rounding the corner, Ayne paused. Haku was opening a door to a rarely used room, a apartment of sorts, and a small, aging spirit entered. She had never seen him, but he exuded immense power. And then, beside him, a man, maybe half-a-head taller than Ayne herself stood beside Haku, smiling. He looked like Shinji, the bakeneko, with a crop of blonde hair, tanned skin and feline-like green eyes. She felt them catch her, and the hairs on the back of her neck stood up straight. An instinct deep inside her told her to run, that was her natural instinct to his gaze, but something much stronger told her to go towards him.

Haku followed Shinji's gaze over his shoulder and found Ayne standing there.

"Ah, Ayne!" he smiled, welcoming the girl.

"My Lord, Mistress Rin and Master Raijin wait for you in the dining room."

"Oh, great, I'll be there in a moment then," he said.

Ayne nodded and then Hotaru said something, something that buzzed straight passed her and her Lord's attention wavered from her again and back to this man. Ayne turned to leave, and just as she did, she caught a glance of green, a cut like sharp shattered glass.

(I can't remember if Ayne actually ever meets Shinji. I looked through my last few chapters, and I don't know I can't remember, don't kill me it's been three years)

Again, like a long time between updates. One day someone will be reading this and it won't make sense to them how long I actually do take to update, but it's been like four months and I am so sorry. But I've been working more and more on my own writing, and only writing fanfiction every so often. It's not that I don't like it anymore, but writing is my career, and as much as I love you guys, and love your support, I have to get my priorities straight. If you want to follow my writing as it goes into the real world, you can check out my twitter, instagram or Tablo page, where I will be posting my NaNoWriMo this month, 'Cooking with Strangers' - which was actually my university thesis project thingy as a screenplay. The top three books on Tablo, which is a free publishing platform, could get picked up by my favourite publisher ever, Momentum Books.

I don't care about who you are in real life, you say, when is the next chapter coming? Let's make a date, hey Sunday 8th of November. And if it's not up by then, scream at me through my inbox.

Thank you for always staying so loyal to me. I love you guys so much, it will kill me to end this series so soon (three? chapters to go) - but i hope you guys stay connected with me in some way once our journey is over. :) xx

~ Arlia'Devi