The Kappa and I
Riley's alarm went off at five o'clock on the dot. She rolled over and toggled the switch, turning the buzzer off. Pushing her arms in to the air, a few pops filled the room as she released the air from her spine. After cracking a few more joints, she swung her feet over the edge of her bed. Disentangling her body from the mess of blankets, sheets, and various stuffed animals was just another part of Riley's morning ritual.
Light sputtered to life as Riley struck a match on her desk. A faint draft blew around in her room. She shielded the small flame with her palm while she held it to the wick of a candle. The flame caught and the soft, warm glow chased a small bit of darkness from the room. Picking up the candle carefully, she pulled out her uniform parts from the dresser.
Riley's parents wouldn't be up for a few more hours. Riley would get up early to make breakfast and iron any clothes that were in the iron pile. She had never been spoiled like many of her classmates. Even when she was young, Riley had taken care of herself.
It wasn't that her parents didn't love her. They showered her with affection whenever they could. But they were just never around. Their work took them all over the world. There was a small number of incidences when her parents would be home for more than two weeks at a time. Riley had decorations from all over the world in her room. They littered her walls, shelves, and even added a bit of flare to her wardrobe every now and then. She wielded a basic knowledge of six languages. Her horizons were just about as broad as they could be.
Riley put her slippers on and walked to the laundry room. First she ironed a few of her father's pants. Then, careful to get each section, she did a few of his shirts too. Her mother had only a couple skirts and a shirt here and there. As she was battling a stubborn wrinkle, a note fell from the pocket of the skirt. Riley blinked and picked it up.
It had been folded up in to a little crane, a trademark of her mother. Riley smiled as she opened it. After skimming the messy handwriting, she smiled even more The note was just a simple way of her parents saying that they really did appreciate all the work she did.
With a gentle grin, Riley finished ironing and put together a small breakfast that could be eaten on the go. She grabbed a cucumber. Slicing it into small little circles she moved slowly towards her bathroom.
Riley placed her candle on her vanity. She closed the door gently, so not to wake her parents on the other side of the wall. A short burst of breath made the flame falter and go out. Her hands groped silently along the wall for the light switch.
Finally her fingers ghosted over the switch. She flipped it up and flooded the room with light. She had to cover her eyes as she was blinded for a moment. After she blinked a few times, her eyes had adjusted. She looked at herself in the mirror and sighed. Riley knew she wasn't drop-dead-gorgeous. But she also knew she wasn't barf-in-a-bag-ugly. She reached up and smoothed out a piece of hair that was jutting away from her head in an awkward way. She nibbled on a slice of cucumber as she looked at her hair. Sighing, she grabbed a brush and went at her hair. She didn't have much, it was just about to chin length and a pale—almost silver—colour. She finished with her hair and leaned forward to her mirror. Ice blue eyes stared back at her from the reflection. She tilted her head this way and that, checking for blemishes. When she was happy with the results, she leaned back. Her fingers curled around the edge of the counter and she just stared at herself for another minute or so. A soft splash came from her bathtub.
Riley blinked and turned her head towards her bathtub. Her family didn't keep pets. Her parents were scarred from the death of a family pet in their childhoods and Riley just didn't have time to care for an animal. Had the sound been just Riley's imagination? With silent footsteps, Riley moved towards her tub. Her grip tightened on the hairbrush in her hand as she reached out with the other. Her shower curtain was drawn, shielding the bathtub. After gulping hard, she grabbed onto the edge of the curtain and ripped it back.
She nearly screamed as she stumbled backwards. She tripped over her toilet and landed with a loud thunk on the floor. She looked wide-eyed at her bathtub. Sitting in the water was a boy. He looked to be about her age. His hair was black, what she could see of it anyway. He stared at her with brown eyes. He blinked and she responded in turn. He wore what seemed to be ninja clothing and wore a scarf that covered half his face. His clothes were a light shade of seaweed green and the scarf was a slightly orange yellow. On his head—large enough to be a hat—was a draping sort of shell that was styled similarly to his hair—spiky. If Riley hadn't known better, she would have said he reminded her very much of a kappa. A kappa was a demon who had domain over fear of water. But there was no way there was a demon in her bathtub! However, no matter how hard Riley could think, there was no other logical explanation for this boy in her bathtub. Well, really there was no explanation at all.
Riley looked him over some more. He seemed pretty harmless. But really, why was he there in her bathtub? The clock in the living room struck six, signaling that her parents would soon be beginning to wake up. She bit her bottom lip. What was she going to do? The water around him splashed as he got out of the bathtub. Riley moved back a little. He blinked at her a few times, moving towards her. He was only a few feet away when she heard the cloth of his sleeves brush across his shell. She closed her eyes and braced herself for an attack. When nothing happened, she barely opened one eye. He was reaching up towards the counter for a slice of cucumber. Riley sat stunned for a moment. He sat down in front of her, crossing his legs under him. He nibbled on the cucumber, testing it, then put the whole slice in his mouth. He chewed then swallowed. Riley thought for a minute or two, then reached for another slice. His brown eyes followed her movements. Her fingers wrapped around another slice and then gently held it out towards him. He eyed her warily, almost as if trying to decipher if she was a predator or not. Then slowly, he leaned forward and chomped on the slice. Riley flinched, causing her to drop the remnants of the slice. He made a noise and his face looked like he was frowning. Riley couldn't believe this. There was a kappa-like boy in her bathtub and her parents would be getting up any minute. There was no way she could explain something like that to anyone, let alone her parents!
Riley got up, started to leave, then looked back at the boy. She thought for a moment, then sighed. She bent down a little.
"Stay right here. I'll be right back." She said softly. He blinked, but nodded. The fact that he understood Japanese was a godsend at least. She opened the bathroom door and disappeared into the darkness. She came back a few minutes later with a plate full of cucumber slices. She sat them down in front of the excited boy.
"Eat these and stay quiet, okay?" He nodded again, grabbing a slice and putting it in his mouth. Riley let out a breath and exited the bathroom once again. She came back a moment later, re-lit her candle, then turned off the bathroom light.
Riley paced in her room. She had no idea what was going on. There was no way she could explain it to her parents, especially since she couldn't explain it to herself. As much as she hated it, she had to lie to her parents. She put all her uniform parts back into her dresser and climbed back in to bed. Not ten minutes later, there was a soft knock on her door.
"Riley? Honey?" Her mother called softly, opening the door slightly. "Are you feeling well? You're usually up by now." Riley coughed.
"Mother...I don't feel well at all." She said weakly. "I-I did the ironing and I made you breakfast."
"Oh, honey! If you aren't feeling well you shouldn't push yourself. I'll call the school and tell them that you're staying home today."
"But Mother-!"
"No, you can't overwork yourself Riley. It will just make your health worse. Get some more rest." With that, her mother closed the door. An awful feeling began to swirl in Riley's stomach. She never liked lying to her parents. Whenever she was little and she'd lie, she would confess with tears streaming down her face in no less than five minutes. Riley swallowed that feeling down and just waited until she heard both of her parents leave the house. She stayed in bed until she realized that maybe it was just a dream. It was possible she'd been hallucinating. She got out of bed and pushed her feet in to her slippers once again. Very slowly, she walked back to her bathroom. She opened the door and flicked on the light.
The kappa boy looked up at her from the water in the bathtub, a cucumber halfway to his mouth. Riley closed the door behind her and sat down with her back against it. She held her head in her hands. So it wasn't a dream and she wasn't crazy. Well, at least right now people didn't know Riley was crazy. She looked up at him.
"Why are you here?" She asked bluntly. He blinked, swallowing the cucumber in his mouth.
"You called me, Master." He answered. Riley blinked at him and shook her head.
"What? I'm sorry. I think I heard you wrong. Why are you here?" He made a noise that sounded like a sigh.
"I'm sorry it took so long to find you again. But," he paused for a second, nibbling on another slice as he thought, "Your aura is very weak so I couldn't locate you quickly."
"What are you talking about? I didn't call anyone!" He tilted his head.
"Master, do you remember me?" His voice was soft. Riley looked up at him.
"No, should I?" She sounded harsh. The light in his eyes seemed to dim. He looked down.
"Oh, I see." He whispered. Riley let out a frustrated breath and pushed her hair back with her hand.
"Sorry, " she mumbled, "This is kind of a shock to me. You're obviously not human." He shook his head to confirm her thoughts. "Then what are you?"
"A kappa demon, Master." He said, his eyes smiling. Riley frowned.
"Why are you calling me "Master"?" He tilted his head the opposite direction from earlier.
"Because you are my master, Master. We exchanged loyalty when—" He cut himself off and looked down again.
"Sorry, you don't remember." He whispered. Riley's frown deepened.
"Will you explain it to me?" Riley asked softly. His gaze came up and they looked at each other for a moment. Then he nodded quickly.
"Of course." He said. Riley stood and opened the door.
"Fine, but not in here. Unless," she motioned towards the bathtub full of water, "You have to be in water?" He stood quickly, shaking his head.
"Not at all Master. I can go where ever you wish to go." Riley sighed.
"That's great." She said sarcastically, but he seemed to miss it because his face beamed with happiness. Riley led the way to the kitchen. It was slowly beginning to hit her that this was going to be one wild ride.
