Consequences
At the end of Spirited Away, Haku says that he is going to go back and tell Yubaba he's not working for her anymore. However, there's a bit more to it than that, and some crimes are too great to go unpunished.....
Disclaimer: I do not own Spirited Away, although River Spirits are fun to play with.
Consequences
Yubaba was not in her office when he returned to the bathhouse. It was a simple matter to find his contract in the pile that the old witch had collected over the years, and he held it in his hand for a moment, feeling mixed satisfaction and anger as he thought of all the years he had spent in her service.
“My name is Nigihayami Kohaku Nushi, Dragon Lord of the Kohaku River,” he stated softly. He felt a brief surge of heat as the contract in his hand burst into flame and then he held only ashes, which he allowed to fall to the floor. He heard a whisper on the wind and he turned slowly to face Yubaba, who stared at him, dumbstruck.
“You broke…” she started to say; Haku smiled at her mirthlessly.
“Indeed,” he said with a note of dark amusement in his voice. For the first time in his memory, he saw real fear in the witch’s eyes and he momentarily contemplated giving her a very real reason to fear him. She had it coming certainly; she had enslaved him and the gods only knew how many others over the years under the guise of offering shelter. And yet her position did exist for a reason. Far too many Spirits had lost their homes in recent years and were glad of the opportunity to find work, or, like Lin, had stumbled into the Spirit world and had nothing in the human world worth going back to. He could not, then, destroy Yubaba, but he could make her think twice about treating other spirits as she had treated him.
“Now, Haku, you signed that contract of your own free will…” Yubaba said nervously.
“A contract signed while I was disoriented and in pain,” he said flatly. “A contract which mentioned nothing about being controlled from within by that foul slug you called friend. A contract, might I remind you, which was meant to offer me a place to stay and a way to support myself until I found out what had happened to my home, not force me to do your dirty work for centuries untold.” His voice was low, vicious in its intensity. He had meant to do this in cold blood; the more he thought about what Yubaba had done, though, the less control he had over his rage. The wind was whipping around him now, and in his anger his eyes had begun to glow green. “You used me, Yubaba. I have spent half of my life running errands for you and getting my hands dirty on your behalf, even when I had no wish to do the tasks you set me. I have lost my friends, my family, and my honor in the eyes of my peers - all because of you.” Yubaba was cowering now; at the end of the day, she was merely a witch, not an Elemental, and nothing she could throw at Kohaku now would be even remotely sufficient to stop him. A raging River Spirit was no laughing matter in any situation, and even less so when the Spirit’s rage was directed at her. He was not finished yet, though; he continued, his voice still deadly quiet.
“But for the people in this bathhouse I would destroy you,” he hissed, suddenly sounding far more draconic than human. “For what you have done I should incinerate you where you stand and let your ashes blow away on the breeze. Mark my words, Yubaba; if I ever hear of a spirit being trapped by your intrigues again, I will return and it will take the gods themselves to keep me from my retribution.” The words were more than a threat; they were an enchantment, designed to inform him the moment Yubaba dared to bind another Spirit to her, and Kohaku watched with a sense of vicious amusement as they took. Yubaba cowered for a moment longer and then, feeling the curse set in on her, let out a wail of mixed rage and horror. The spell would be more than enough to hold her for centuries; even eons should it come to that. He turned on his heel and stalked away, Yubaba’s scream still echoing in his ears and a feral grin on his face. He would be home by sunset.
Fin!