Disclaimer: I do not own Kyo Kara Ore Wa or any of its characters. This story is purely a work of fan fiction. No profit is being made from it.
Hayagawa Kyoko stared in wonder at the deep indigo waters of Lake Ikeda. A faint breeze sent ripples across the lake's surface. All around the shore colourful flowers bloomed in yellow, pink, white and red. In the distance Mt. Kaimondake rose majestically into the sky.
"It's beautiful" she said in awe. Her long auburn hair rustled softly in the breeze. She wore a blue jacket over a white t-shirt and a long yellow skirt.
"Yes, very beautiful" her boyfriend, Shinji Ito agreed distractedly as he gazed at her. His black hair stuck up in its distinctive spiked style. He was dressed casually in a black t-shirt and blue jeans.
Ito's blissful mood was abruptly shattered by an obnoxious voice exclaiming, "Oi Ito! There's a volcano over there! What if it erupts! How could you endanger Ore-sama like this?"
Ito sighed. This holiday was supposed to be a romantic getaway for him and Kyoko, but of course Mitsuhashi had invited himself to go along with them. "Mitsuhashi that volcano hasn't erupted in over five thousand years. We're perfectly safe."
"All right but if you're wrong and it blows its top I will never forgive you" Takashi Mitsuhashi warned. The bleached blond had on a garish Hawaiian shirt and black shorts.
He calmed himself slightly then continued. "Anyway, why are we wasting time talking? Let's find a boat and start looking for the monster!"
Ito rolled his eyes. Mitsuhashi had recently learned about Issie, the monster that supposedly dwelled in the lake and had promptly decided that he would be the one to capture it in yet another hare-brained scheme.
"Not this again. The monster doesn't exist, its just a story made up to bring in tourists."
"Ha! That's why I am the boss and you are the underling Ito. You lack imagination" Mitsuhashi said with a sneer. "The monster exists and when I catch it I will be rich and famous."
Before Ito could retort there was a sudden bark of harsh laughter. They all turned to see a Western man with black hair, dark eyes and a full black beard standing several metres away. He was tall and imposing, with a rugged, weathered face. He wore a dark blue coat, a white vest, grey jeans and black boots.
Ito immediately positioned himself between Kyoko and the stranger. Whoever he was Ito didn't like the look of him.
"Who the Hell are you and what's so funny?" Mitsuhashi snapped.
"My name's Jason Gibbs" he replied. Despite his American accent he spoke Japanese clearly. "What's funny is a punk like you thinking he's going to catch Issie."
"Why you…" Mitsuhashi started towards Gibbs but Ito stopped him with a hold on his wrist.
"I promised Kyo-chan there'd be no fighting on this trip" he hissed.
Mitsuhashi scowled but relaxed slightly and Ito let go. Turning back to Gibbs he glared at him and said, "and I suppose you think you can do better than Ore-sama, eh old man?"
"That's right. I'm not some punk with an ego. I'm a professional hunter. That's why I'm going to catch that beast."
Mitsuhashi grinned. "I could just beat the **** out of you now, old man, but as a favour to my underling here I will refrain."
Ito bristled but said nothing. Mitsuhashi went on. "Instead I'll merely put you in your place by beating you at your own game and being the first to catch Issie."
"We'll see." With that Gibbs turned and walked off. Ito sighed in relief.
"Right, now that he's out of the way let's see about finding a boat and equipment" said Mitsuhashi as he rubbed his hands together eagerly.
Ito was again about to retort but before he could Kyoko whispered into his ear. He smiled and nodded.
"You know Mitsuhashi we should split up. That way we can gather everything we need more quickly" he said.
"Splendid. I'll meet you at the pier and we'll hire a boat" said Mitsuhashi. He turned and hurried off muttering something about finding scuba gear and a big net. Once he was gone Ito turned to Kyoko and grinned broadly.
"That was brilliant Kyo-chan."
She giggled. "Thanks Ito-san. Now Mitsuhashi-san can get on with his monster hunting while we enjoy our holiday."
"Wonderful. So how would you like to start?"
"I'd like to go shopping. And then we could get some ice cream and then go for a boat ride on the lake."
"Let us be on our way milady" he said in a faux English accent. She giggled and put her hand in his.
"Indeed my noble knight" she said as they happily strolled away.
As a popular tourist spot Lake Ikeda of course had plenty of souvenir shops and it did not take long for the couple to find one they liked the look of.
As they entered Kyoko squealed in delight as she saw a row of Issie stuffed toys. They all depicted a green creature with four flippers, a long neck with an eel-like head, a short tail and two humps on its back.
"Oh look Ito-san! They're so cute!" she exclaimed.
A sales assistant walked up to them. "Ah, are you interested in our lake monster?"
"Not really" Ito replied. "We just came for a holiday at the lake."
"I see" the sales assistant said. "To be honest its refreshing to meet people who aren't here to go monster hunting. It brings in tourists but I wish more people would just appreciate the beauty of the lake."
"Where did this idea of a monster in the lake come from?" Kyoko asked.
"Well the story is that hundreds of years ago Issie was a beautiful white mare who lived here at Lake Ikeda with her foal. Then one day a Samurai lord came along and took away the foal. When Issie was unable to find it she jumped into the lake and over time her despair transformed her into a monster. To this day she still searches for her foal."
"That's so sad" said Kyoko.
"It's okay Kyo-chan. It's just a story" Ito said gently.
"I know" she replied.
Wanting to cheer her up Ito bought one of the stuffed toys. Her expression brightened when he handed it to her and she hugged it.
"Thank you Ito-san."
He smiled, glad to see her happy again.
After looking around a few more shops they went to an ice cream shop and ordered two bowls of sweet potato ice cream. Kyoko had heard that Lake Ikeda was the largest producer of sweet potatoes in Japan and so was eager to try some of the local specialty. Ito was more than happy to try some as well.
He watched as she dug her spoon into the ice cream and took a bite. Her eyes widened and she exclaimed, "it's delicious Ito-san!"
Ito smiled in delight, but his smile abruptly froze on his face as Kyoko reached over, scooped up a spoonful from his bowl and offered it to him.
"Try some" she said.
He started to protest but one look at her smiling face and the words refused to form. So he just sat there and let her feed him, his face turning bright red while she giggled. It was embarrassing but it was worth it to hear her laugh.
When they had finished their ice cream Ito and Kyoko headed to one of the docks and rented a small rowboat.
Ito stepped down from the jetty into the boat. Once he was sure of his footing he reached out to her. She took his hands and let him guide her down into the boat.
"Thank you" she said.
"You're welcome Kyo-chan."
They both sat down and he began rowing the boat out onto the lake. Kyoko settled back and looked around at the beautiful countryside. She listened to the gentle, soothing sound of water flowing past them.
"It's so nice here" she said softly. "I'm glad you suggested a holiday here Ito-san."
"I'm glad you like it" he replied.
They spent the next hour alternating between talking and admiring the scenery, enjoying being together in such idyllic surroundings. All too soon it was time to return to the jetty.
"That was so relaxing" said Kyoko.
"It sure was" he agreed. He spared a thought for Mitsuhashi, probably cruising around the lake fruitlessly and chuckled softly. No doubt he would be furious with him but Ito didn't care.
Hand in hand the couple walked the short distance to the bus stop that would take them back to their hotel at Ibusuki. When they got there however Ito slapped a hand to his face in disbelief.
"Not again" he groaned. "We missed the last bus. I'm so sorry Kyo-chan."
"It's okay Ito-san" she replied. "We can call a taxi to get back. Surely one of the shops around here has a phone."
"You're right. Wait here and I'll go and make the call."
"Okay. Oh just one thing."
Kyoko held out a hand expectantly. He was briefly confused but then smiled as he understood. He opened his bag, took out the Issie toy and handed it to her. She smiled back at him as she hugged it again.
She watched him go as he walked off towards one of the souvenir shops they had passed. Just then she heard a soft little whinny and turned around to see what was causing it.
There before her was a tiny foal. It was pure snowy white, with a little tail and big dark eyes. Its ears twitched as it looked up at her.
She smiled kindly at the adorable creature. "Hello little guy" she said as she crouched slightly so as to look smaller and less threatening. The foal nickered in reply.
Kyoko reached out and gently stroked its mane. She turned to look for Ito but there was no sign of him.
The air was suddenly filled by the sound of another horse neighing. The foal turned and galloped in the direction of the neighing, disappearing behind some nearby bushes.
"That must be his mother" Kyoko mused. Curious, she jogged after it and peered around the bushes.
She froze in dismay at what she saw. The white foal was standing still and looking around in confusion. There were no horses to be seen but some distance away was a man. She recognised him as Jason Gibbs, the hunter she, Ito and Mitsuhashi had met earlier.
He was holding a cassette recorder which he then dropped into a bag. From the same bag he took out a lasso. With a wicked grin he spun the lasso around his head and threw it at the foal. The noose went over its head and was drawn tight. Immediately it began neighing in terror.
She covered her mouth to keep from screaming in horror, unintentionally dropping her stuffed toy, as the hunter dragged the foal over to him. It took every bit of willpower she had to keep from running at Gibbs.
"Come here" he growled as he dragged the foal over, seized and roughly pushed it into a cage that was just large enough to hold it. He then picked up the cage with the foal inside it and carried it to a truck parked just a few metres away.
Her fists clenched with rage Kyoko waited until Gibbs went over to pick up his bag and then darted from bush to bush until she made it to the truck. She quickly climbed in and hurried over to the foal. It stopped neighing and nickered when it saw her.
"Hold on, I'll help you" she said quietly.
She tried to open the cage but found that it was secured with a heavy padlock. She looked around for a key but there wasn't one. Booted footfalls alerted her to the fact that Gibbs was coming back and she hid behind a crate just in time as he walked around to the back of the truck.
"You're going to help make me famous" he said to the foal with an unpleasant smile. With that he closed the cargo door. Fortunately there were ventilation slits which allowed light in so they weren't in complete darkness.
"Oh no" Kyoko said quietly. She ran over and tried to open the door but it wouldn't budge.
The engine started and the truck drove off. The foal began neighing again and she rushed over to try and comfort it.
"There, there" she said gently as she reached through the bars and stroked its mane. It seemed to calm down and stopped neighing.
"Ito-san" she said sadly, wishing that he was here now. The foal seemed to sense she was unhappy and started nuzzling her hand. Despite the situation she managed a small smile.
Ito strolled back to where he had left Kyoko. He had found a public phone and called a taxi that would be there soon to pick them up. Now he was smiling at the prospect of having dinner with her before they turned in for the evening.
His smile disappeared as he arrived to find there was no sign of her.
"Hello! Kyo-chan where are you?" he called. There was no reply.
He willed himself not to panic. He'd only been away for a few minutes. Surely nothing could have happened in that time.
"She must be hiding nearby to play a joke on me" he said, trying to convince himself. "Yes that must be it." Even as he spoke he felt a seed of fear and worry began to sprout in his mind.
He searched the nearby bushes with growing urgency, struggling to keep his fear in check. "Everything's fine" he muttered to himself. "Everything's fine."
Then he saw something and he stopped, overcome with icy dread. There, lying on the grass, was a stuffed toy Issie.
He screamed, "Kyo-chan!"
Kyoko was stroking the foal's mane when the truck slowed and stopped. She hid behind the crate again as the door was opened.
"All right you little runt, time to go" said Gibbs as he stepped in. He picked up the cage with the foal in and carried it out, taking no notice of its frightened whinnying.
Kyoko carefully peered out from behind the crate and watched as he walked over to a nearby dock where a cruising yacht was moored.
Taking a chance, she rushed out from her hiding place, jumped out of the truck and darted behind the cargo door to hide behind the truck.
Gibbs heard something and turned but thankfully she'd already gotten out of his line of sight. He stared at the truck for a moment before dismissing the noise he'd heard with a shrug. He turned and walked up the gangplank to his boat. Setting the cage down he went back to the truck to get the rest of the equipment crates.
"Now's my chance" Kyoko whispered.
She hurried out from behind the truck, ran up the gangplank and ducked behind another set of crates. Cautiously she peered out as Gibbs came on deck. He sneered at the foal again.
"Time to capture a monster" he said. He then went over to the control panel and began pushing buttons. The anchor was hauled up and then the engine started.
Kyoko's eyes widened as she recalled the story of how Issie came to be. That's why he's doing this. He thinks he can use the foal to lure Issie!
She frowned. The only monster is the one that's terrorizing an innocent little foal. I can't let the poor thing be treated like this. I have to do something, but what?
A few moments later the boat came to a stop and the anchor was lowered. There were no other boats around.
"This spot should be fine" said Gibbs. "Now then runt, call your momma."
He took out a whip and began lashing the deck in front of the cage with it. The foal neighed loudly in terror and tried to rear up but couldn't as the cage was too small.
That's it!
Kyoko was about to rush out at him when a sudden roar split the air. All eyes looked over to port where the sound had come from.
Something was approaching the boat at great speed, throwing up a fine white spray of water in its wake. The main body of it was under the lake's surface. All that could be seen were two dark green humps.
"No way" she whispered in disbelief.
Gibbs dropped his whip and ran over to the control panel. He grinned fiercely as he said, "that's it. Come to me."
The shape came to a stop in front of the boat, waves rocking its hull. It rose up out of the water. Kyoko's eyes widened and her jaw dropped as she stared at it.
"Issie… is real" she whispered.
The creature was huge, about the size of an elephant, and looked like an actual living version of the toy Ito had bought her. Its eyes were bright yellow and its mouth was filled with sharp triangular teeth that reminded her of Mitsuhashi.
Upon seeing the lake monster the foal instantly stopped neighing and began nickering as it pushed its snout through the bars. Issie turned to look at it and also nickered just like a horse. She lowered her head and touched her snout to the foal's.
"Oh wow. The legend was true" Kyoko said quietly as she watched in amazement.
Unmoved by the touching sight, Gibbs hit a button. A panel retracted and a harpoon cannon rose up onto the deck. His grin broadened as he reached for another button.
"NO!"
Kyoko dashed out from her hiding place and pushed the cannon's barrel with all her strength. It swung to the side and she backed away, covering her ears just in time as Gibbs hit the firing button. The cannon fired, the harpoon trailing a length of cable behind it as it flew past Issie to splash down harmlessly in the water.
"What?" Gibbs yelled. He glared furiously at her but before he could say more, Issie's head whipped forwards and her teeth closed around the back of his coat. His anger instantly replaced by fear he whimpered incoherently as she lifted him off the deck and held him suspended, his arms and legs flailing about futilely. With a flick of her head Issie flung him through the air. He landed with a loud splash and started swimming away without looking back.
She stared at the creature fearfully, fully expecting to be attacked next. Instead Issie returned her attention to her foal. She lowered her head and began ripping the cage apart with her teeth. Within seconds the foal was free. It nickered again as they rubbed snouts. Kyoko smiled at the sight.
The foal then trotted over to her and began nuzzling her leg. She laughed happily and stroked its mane. To her amazement Issie also nickered and lowered her head in front of her. Barely able to believe what was happening, she started to stroke the back of Issie's head. She had expected it to be cold and slimy but to her surprise the creature's skin was warm and velvety to touch.
"I'm actually stroking a lake monster" she said in wonder.
After a while she said, "this is nice but we really need to get back to shore."
Issie nickered again and flicked her head to the right. The foal whinnied happily and clambered over the railing to land with a soft thump on her back, right between the humps.
"You want me to get on your back?" Kyoko asked unsurely. "Um, okay."
Hesitantly she climbed onto the back of the lake monster's neck and slid down it until her back came to the first hump. Issie was keeping herself raised up so that only her flippers were submerged. Both Kyoko and the foal were well clear of the water.
Issie began to swim for shore with broad strokes of her flippers. She swam with slow, steady movements so as not to create waves and soak her passengers. Despite that it took only a few moments to return to the dock where Gibbs' boat had set off from.
Kyoko jumped down from Issie's back and landed lightly on her feet. The foal jumped down after her, its hooves clattering on the wooden surface.
She turned and smiled at the lake monster. "Thank you" she said.
Issie whinnied and then suddenly dropped beneath the lake surface.
"Wait" she called. "What about your baby?"
Just then she heard a familiar and very welcome voice call out "Kyo-chan!"
She spun around, an overjoyed smile on her face, to see Ito running towards her. He was also smiling in joy and relief.
"Ito-san!" she exclaimed as she also started running to meet him. They came together in a warm embrace, wrapping their arms tightly around each other. For a long moment they just held each other before reluctantly letting go.
"Are you all right Kyo-chan?" Ito asked, his eyes filled with concern.
"I'm fine" she reassured him. "I'm so sorry I worried you."
"What happened Kyo-chan? When you disappeared I was looking everywhere for you. Someone told me they'd seen a truck driving this way and I tracked it because I couldn't think of any other way."
The foal trotted up to him and started nuzzling his leg. Surprised, he started stroking its neck. Kyoko smiled fondly. Just as she was about to explain his eyes suddenly bulged.
"Behind me Kyo-chan!" Ito exclaimed as he stepped in front of her. Surprised, she turned to see Issie's head rising up from the lake surface.
"It's okay Ito-san" she said. "Issie's friendly. She just wants her baby."
"Her baby…" Ito repeated. He glanced at the foal as he started to figure it out.
Issie swam up to the shoreline, seemingly intending to beach herself. As she did so however something wondrous happened. Issie began to shrink, her long neck contracting and her colour lightening. The humps on her back melted away and her flippers changed shape. Within seconds the lake monster was gone completely. In her place a beautiful white mare stepped onto the shore.
Her foal dashed over to her and they nuzzled their snouts together. Ito and Kyoko watched in awe.
"I, I don't believe it" Ito managed to say.
"Believe it Ito-san" she said quietly.
Issie looked over at them and gave one more nicker. Then she and her foal slowly faded away until they had disappeared completely.
Ito's jaw dropped and he stared at the spot where the horses had been standing.
"Maybe I should start at the beginning" said Kyoko.
He listened as she told him the whole story. When she had finished he said "you're amazing Kyo-chan. Not only did you save Issie, you also reunited her with her child."
She giggled. "Stop Ito-san, you're embarrassing me."
"Let's go Kyo-chan" he said with a small smile. "Oh, I just remembered."
He opened his bag and took out her stuffed Issie. "You dropped this" he said as he handed it to her.
She accepted the toy and hugged it happily. Now she had another reason to cherish it.
The next day they met up with Mitsuhashi at their hotel lobby. He was not in a good mood.
"I'm fed up" he complained. "I was out on that lake for hours and I didn't see a thing! The ***** monster doesn't exist!" As he ranted he didn't notice the amused look that passed between Ito and Kyoko.
"You know Mitsuhahsi there's supposedly another monster in Lake Kussharo" said Ito. "Maybe you'd have more luck there."
Mitsuhashi growled, his teeth seeming to sharpen. "I'll throw you in a lake!" With that he started chasing Ito around the lobby. Kyoko giggled as she watched them.
Author's Note: My OC Jason Gibbs is the same one from my Rainbow Magic fan-fic "Friend in Need." Originally I was going to create a new character but then I thought "I already have an unscrupulous cryptid hunter OC. Why not re-use him?"