Tengu

by CSHayden

Brooklyn's daughter, Ariana, goes searching for a mythical clan of gargoyles in Japan.

3. Tengu: Part 3

Tengu

A TGS-based story

by C.S. Hayden

Characters from the "Gargoyles" show are the property of Disney and Buena Vista Television. All other characters are from The Gargoyles Saga fanfiction series and the story "Yama's Path" by Kimberly Towle. Scene from "Much Ado About Nothing" and Sonnet CXXX by William Shakespeare.

Part III

Ariana pretended not to notice the horned silhouette in the doorway as she concentrated on the movements of the tea ceremony, gracefully letting her hands flow from one element to the other. In a way, it was a relief that Kirin was watching; Ariana had been a little concerned when he hadn't showed up to roost at sunup. O-tama had told her privately that Kirin often roosted alone but Ariana had still found it worrisome.

It had been a relief to have the Chaji to focus on. O-tama had arranged to have it in the center of the main meeting room. Tatami mats were laid out in a horseshoe-shaped space around Ariana so she could serve as hostess. Miza had assisted in serving the three-course meal during the first part of the ceremony but all eyes were on Ariana as she went through the subtle nuances of her performance. Each movement, the curve of her hand, the drape of her sleeve, the way she held herself – all these things had meaning and depth to her audience.

The warm aromatic smell of green tea filled the air as the first dipperful of hot water hit it. Ariana let the ladle handle slide between forefinger and thumb as she returned it to its place. Her hand drifted over the whisk and floated down like a leaf to pick it up. Gently, artfully, she churned the tea to a thick frothy paste, adding water until it was the correct consistency. She presented the tea bowl, a ceramic vessel with a delicate blue glaze, to Takamatsu as highest ranking guest for his approval.

"Lovely," he said as he raised the bowl for all to admire. Their party was six; Takamatsu and his mate O-tama, Doryo, the toad-faced elder and his parrot-faced mate, Bana, Miza and her mate, Goro, who, to Ariana's surprise, was the potter who had made the tea set. Takamatsu sipped from the bowl, wiped the rim, and passed it to O-tama, who did the same, as did the next person in line until the bowl passed back to Ariana.

"A most excellent matcha," O-tama commented as the others nodded their heads approvingly. "You prepared it well."

"It pleases me to hear you say so," Ariana responded politely, "but I know I have much more practice ahead of me until I can be considered a tea master." She rinsed and wiped the tea bowl in preparation for making the usa chan or thin tea to be served with the dessert course. "Honorable Goro-san, I must again compliment you on this beautiful tea service. This glaze is so beautiful – it is like a blue moon in a winter sky."

Boar-tusked Goro bowed in return. "It is simply a glaze made from local materials. What types of glazes do they have in Ishimura?"

"The tea set that I used was a murasaki glaze, dark brown with a purple sheen. My friend Midori, who is also a tea hostess, has a set with an unusual metallic sheen. I do not know what the process is called…"

"Raku," Goro answered helpfully. "I've used mostly copper on my pottery although silver gives a more subtle effect."

"Really?" Ariana made a show of examining the tea bowl again. There were the faintest silvery traces like mist rising from the water mingled with the pale azure glaze. "And you can find that around here?"

"It is all in where you look," Doryo said dismissively. "In my day, humans were still mining in these mountains. The ore's still there but very difficult to extract."

"Truly? Kirin-san mentioned that they mined silver here during the Meji era," Ariana said demurely as she passed around small trays of sweets, "but surely, venerable Doryo-san, you are far too young to remember those times, neh?" She could feel the cavities forming as she flattered the elder with more sweet talk. The old toad had been openly hostile at the beginning of the chaji and only by emulating her friend Midori's mannerisms had she been able to keep him placated.

Bana tittered, having had too much sake earlier with their meal. "Too young?" she cackled. "Older than the hills, that's what you are, Doryo-san!"

As Doryo began to splutter, Takamatsu intervened. "Yes, I remember those days too, old friend," he said mildly. "The world was changing but we Tengu kept to the old ways." He sighed. "It is a pity that that too must change."

Ariana began to prepare the thin tea, careful not to rush but interested in the conversation. Unlike the tea she made before, the usa cha was served in individual cups and presentation was according to rank and seniority. She glanced at O-tama who smiled but shook her head just slightly, hinting that this was not a good time to interrupt.

"You are referring no doubt to this gathering in Ishimura," Doryo said testily. "It is a long journey, Takamatsu-sama. We have long been separate clans – why renew ties now?"

"Why?" Bana scoffed. "Old fool, have you not noticed? The Three are grown males and soon they will want to seek mates." She took her tea from Ariana with a small bow. "I have seen how curious they have been about Ari-chan here. They will not be content to remain here, knowing that there are females their own age in Ishimura."

Ariana bowed deeply to her guests. "I am so sorry that my visit has been so disruptive, revered elders." Doryo snorted and declined to comment, slurping his tea loudly.

"I agree with Bana-san," Miza said in her quiet, flute-like voice. "My Mozu has often spoken of his wish to visit Ishimura, not just as a social occasion but also to further his healer studies." She smiled apologetically at O-tama. "Kirin-san has spoken highly of the healers at Ishimura. Mozu could learn different things from them."

O-tama nodded beneficently back. "This is indeed so," she agreed. "Mozu has been studying with me since he was very small. He knows my tonics and cures nearly as well as I do. Kirin tells me that Kado, the Ishimuran healer, is quite a skilled surgeon and has even made complicated repairs to wings. Such knowledge would be of benefit to us."

"There are plans for such educational exchanges at the Grand Miai," Ariana said helpfully as she finished serving the tea. "Many of my peers are serving apprenticeships within their home clans. I know of an apprentice healer coming from London, and I met two from China. Toe—Mozu would be in good company."

Takamatsu cocked his head, stirring the fringe of ragged feathers on his head. "I shall give the matter serious thought," he said slowly. "I would like Takakura to meet Kai-sama. Seeing how Lord Kai manages his clan would be useful for Tak when it comes time for him to take my place."

"Do not forget Tancho," Goro added. "He is a fine young male, worthy of any female."

"It is not wise to send all our young warriors away!" Doryo proclaimed, thumping his empty tea cup down on the tatami mat forcefully. "What if they are dazzled by the ways of the Ishimurans? What if they choose not to return? What will become of us then?" He glared spitefully at Ariana who hastily lowered her eyes.

"Peace, Doryo," Takamatsu said soothingly. "I said I would consider the idea. It is a decision not lightly taken and I will need the counsel of the elders before I make a final choice." He smiled gently at Ariana and bowed solemnly. "I thank you, Lady Ariana, for performing the tea ceremony for us. It is pleasing to know that the old ways are still honored by the young."

"It is I who am honored, Takamatsu-sama," Ariana responded. She exchanged pleasantries with the other guests and saw them to the door. When she was at last alone, Ariana slumped against the inner wall and heaved a great sigh of relief. "Whew! I'm glad that's over with!"

She loosened the obi on her yukata and began the arduous business of tidying up. Miza and O-tama reappeared in their everyday clothes just as she had all the dishes stacked neatly on a tray and was rolling up the tatami mats.

"Here, I'll take those," Miza said, reaching for the tray. "Kiyo is just finishing with the supper dishes." She smiled. "Goro is very pleased that you like his pottery. He does not often get compliments."

"It's lovely work," Ariana said sincerely, "and so very different. I get tired of the dark colors that are used in traditional tea sets."

"I'll mention that!"

O-tama showed her where to put away the mats. "You did very well, Ari-chan," the Tengu healer said as they made their way to her hut. "Doryo was being his usual quarrelsome self but you took just the right tone with him."

"I've been around my share of grumpy elders," Ariana answered. "Do the others feel the same way he does?"

"Opinions are mixed," O-tama said simply. "They need time to fully understand the opportunity that you've offered them."

"Me?" Ariana blinked. "I'm just the messenger."

"But you are the face that they know," O-tama pointed out, "not some stranger far away. They can put their trust in you."

Toe was sitting on the porch of O-tama's hut, grinding up a selection of herbs and tending a charcoal brazier that had a pot of water boiling on it. The brown-feathered male looked up at their approach and bobbed his head in a small bow. "Konbanwa, obaasan," he said politely. "Good evening, Ari-chan."

O-tama sniffed delicately. "Ah," she said knowingly, "so Kirin-san has a swollen head this evening, neh? I had wondered why he was lurking about earlier." She dipped her fingers into the stone mortar and checked his mixture, touching her fingers briefly to her lips. "Yes, you have the proportions just so. Well done, my apprentice."

"What's wrong with Kirin?" Ariana asked curiously.

Toe clicked his beak ruefully. "Sensei has a hangover."

"Wouldn't stone sleep cure that?"

"It would," O-tama commented wryly, "if Kirin stopped drinking well before sunrise. The saki we make here is very good but strong. If one drinks too much, it thins the blood and stays in the body even during stone sleep." She eyed Toe. "There is a strong taste of ginger in your potion. Was he very sick?"

Toe nodded. "I was there when he woke up. First he roared, then he spewed."

"Eeeeuw." Ariana wrinkled her nose.

O-tama merely arched her brow ridges. "Better out than in. Then what?"

"He went to soak in the hot springs. He felt better afterwards but asked if I would make a tonic for him." Toe looked at O-tama anxiously. "You were busy and as I have made it before –"

"No, no, you acted correctly, Mozu," O-tama said kindly. "Add the water and let it steep while Ari-chan goes inside to change." She gave a saintly smile. "She can take the tonic up to him."

Ariana and Toe both stared at her. "Are you sure?" Ariana asked in dismay. "He may not want to see me at all!" She had the distinct feeling that she was the cause of Kirin's inebriation.

"If he complains, tell him that I had tasks for Mozu," O-tama replied lightly. "Do not let his manner trouble you, Ari-chan. He has brought it on himself."

It began to rain as she headed up the path and she barely made it to the cover of the cedars before the raindrops started to come down in buckets. She stood on the porch for a few minutes not only to flick the water off her wings before entering, but also to steady her nerves. Her conscience was bothering her even more than it had before. Kirin may have been a complete jerk to her but she didn't like thinking that she had upset him so much that she'd made him sick. Listening carefully, she could hear faint sounds inside and she rapped sharply on the doorframe.

Kirin groaned. "Come." His voice was rough and gravelly.

Carefully, Ariana slid the door open and stepped inside. Kirin was slumped over a low table, one hand propping up his head as his hair dried in damp knotted snarls all around his horns. Irrationally, her fingers itched for a comb and an industrial strength bottle of detangler. He was wearing a plain grey yukata with a quilted haori draped over his caped wings. The reason for this became apparent as Ariana came closer – in spite of the warm summer night, Kirin kept shivering.

"Boy, you're a mess."

His head snapped up. Kirin groaned and shut his bloodshot eyes. "What," he ground out slowly, "are you doing here?"

"O-tama said to bring this tonic to you," Ariana said simply, sinking to her knees. She took the cup off the top of the ceramic bottle and poured it for him. "Everyone else was busy."

"Well, you've done your task," he said gruffly. "You can go."

"Too bad," Ariana quipped as she slipped her backpack off. "She said to make sure you drank it all."

Growling under his breath, Kirin sipped the tonic and curled his lip at the taste. He stared at the pile of papers on the table in an obvious attempt to ignore her. Ariana noticed that they were the same papers that they had taken from the mysterious surveyor. They were assorted into piles and he had been making notes on a legal-sized pad of grid paper with a ballpoint pen.  It would seem that Kirin wasn't entirely following the 'no human things' rule himself but she wisely bit her tongue and said nothing. He shivered again and tucked the quilted jacket tighter around him.

"Are you cold?" She refilled his cup.

"Yes."

"Why?"

He gave her a baleful stare. "Must you chatter at me like a magpie?"

"I'm just curious. You don't have to bite my head off."

"At least then you would be quiet."

"Look," Ariana said with a heavy sigh, "let's call a truce, okay? What I said yesterday – I was out of line, I know that. Sometimes I'm too much of a go girl to think about what I'm saying and by the time I realize that, I've already said it and –"

Kirin held up his hand. "Enough."

"But –"

"Apology accepted." He rubbed his forehead between his eyebrows. "Ari-chan, my head is one giant throbbing pain, and before we can have any kind of civilized conversation, O-tama's tonic needs time to work."

"Oh." She smirked a little. "I guess that's okay. You do look like road kill." Casting a wistful look at his library, she asked, "Do you mind if I stay and read? I started Jane Eyre yesterday."

"Go head," he said, grimacing as he drank a little more tonic. "No one else is reading it."

For a long time, the only sounds were the rustle of Ariana's book and the scratch of Kirin's pen. Ariana slowly shifted the cushions around to suit her, unconsciously building a nest around her. It took some time to find a comfortable position but once she did, she read voraciously as she usually did with an old favorite.

Kirin's voice was quiet but penetrating. "You must like Brontë. You haven't said a word in over an hour."

"It's been years since I've read this one," she said absently. "Graeme and I were home-schooled. Our clan leader, Goliath, and his daughter Angela are big readers. They supervised our literature studies."

"Where in the story are you?"

"Jane and Mr. Rochester are flirting," Ariana said with a smirk. "I will never understand why he had to play games with her. It must be a Victorian thing."

"He was afraid," Kirin commented. There was something in his voice that made Ariana look up. He was staring at the papers on the deck but she could tell his eyes were far away. "Rochester was afraid of wanting something that he couldn't have so he kept trying to push her away."

"But why Jane? 'Small, plain, Quakerish Jane?'" She laughed. "He could have kept the nutcase in manor and stayed in London with the hot society chick."

"After a certain age, Ari-chan," Kirin said wryly as he resumed writing, "a male realizes that a mate's qualities as a companion are more important than transient things like sex appeal. Jane's intelligence, spirit and wit made her beautiful to Rochester."

"Yeah, right." Ariana shook her head and marked her place in the book with a leaf that had blown in through the door. "If he respected her, he would have been up front with her from the beginning." She carried it over to the table and began to dig through her backpack.

"He wanted a fresh start," Kirin countered. "Think of it, married all those years but no one to share his life. He saw the future in Jane because she knew nothing of his past." He gave a long huffing sigh that make his fish-like whiskers swing in circles over the table.

"Speaking of the past," Ariana asked, still sorting through her bag, "how's your head?"

"Better," he admitted. "O-tama makes very effective if nasty-tasting tonics." He scowled at the empty bottle on the corner of the table. "I should really have better sense than to drink like that."

"Why did you?" She sighed and looked down, not wanting to meet his eyes. "I can't help thinking that I had something to do with it."

"Why should you care?" he asked brusquely. "You hardly know me."

"Sometimes words hurt," she said simply. "I know how bad I feel when someone is careless enough to say something I might not want to hear, whether it's true or not." She sighed and twisted her fingers. "I've never driven anyone to drink before and, well, it bothers me." When no comment was forthcoming, Ariana glanced over at him beneath her lashes. Kirin was staring at her with a troubled expression of disbelief and sadness. She tilted her head and looked back at him. "What?"

"Nothing." He couldn't meet her eyes and huffed, covering his discomfort by sorting through the papers on the table. "As it turns out, you were right about these survey people," he said, changing the topic. "Their documents are very puzzling."

"Oh?" She pulled something out of her backpack and tucked it in her lap. "How so?"

"There are a lot of scientific terms – 'GPR' and 'hole-to-hole tomography' and 'gravimetry.'" Kirin shook his head. There's a reference to a geophysical survey done in 2002 to chart the Hyogo-ken Nabbu Earthquake of 1995."

"Mmm-hmm?"

Scanning the page in his hand, Kirin puffed out his lip and scowled. "I wish I had a current science book. None of these terms are familiar." When no comment from Ariana was forthcoming, he glanced over at her and his eyes first widened, then narrowed in a testy glare. "What are you eating?" he demanded indignantly.

Ariana twirled the cookie stick in her mouth around to the other side of her beak and slowly crunched it down. "Pocky."

"Not… chocolate pocky?" He sounded curiously wistful.

"Double chocolate. I'm starving – the tea hostess doesn't eat during the ceremony, you know." She glanced at him out of the corner of her eye. Kirin's mouth was drawn down in a pout so comical that it made his face look twice as long. "Poor Kirin-san," she sighed artfully as she pulled another stick from the foil pouch that she had hidden on her lap beneath the table's edge, "you've got a hangover. You probably wouldn't want any."

A barely-audible whimper came from his direction.

She licked some of the frosting off. "Mmmmm…. Yummy."

"Heartless wench."

Munching, Ariana merely commented, "Funny, I wouldn't mind sharing if someone were to ask nicely."

Growling briefly, Kirin ground out, "Lady Ariana? May I please have some pocky?"

Slowly Ariana drew a chocolate-coated cookie stick out of the pouch and contemplated it briefly before handing it to Kirin. The Japanese gargoyle put just the tip of it in his mouth, twirling it from one dangling barbel to the other, clearly savoring the taste. Ariana bit the inside of her cheek as she tried desperately not to giggle at him. He closed his eyes rapturously as he consumed the last of it and carefully licked his lips for the last miniscule specks.

Ariana shook her head. "Okay, now I know why you're always grumpy. You've got a sweet tooth and you're living in health food central!"

Shrugging, Kirin tried to put on a show of indifference by returning his attention to the table but when he glanced back up at her, there was a self-conscious smile hiding about the corners of his mouth. She rolled her eyes and let him take another from the open pouch, setting the pocky box on the table between them. Something about the way he was trying not to wolf down the treats gave her an idea.

"You know, since it's raining," Ariana began sweetly, "we could use my palmtop to do a background check on this company. I bet you could get your hands on it easy enough."

"Impossible," Kirin said, shaking his head. "The elders were adamant; the Tengu do not use human technology."

"That's only because they've never tried it," Ariana countered. "You and me, we're different. We learned to co-exist with humans and we know there's nothing wrong with it." She pursed her lips. "We'd only need my computer for a little while. No one would be the wiser."

Kirin bristled. "I've lived among them for over twenty years! That would be abusing their trust in me."

"Are you saying in all that time," she asked skeptically, "that you've never bent the rules? Not even once?" She leaned towards him. "You've got an awful lot of non-Tengu stuff in here. I'm pretty sure they just didn't magically appear in the schoolroom."

He snorted. "That's different – O-tama wanted me to give the Three the same kind of education that they would have received in Ishimura. She cleared it with Takamatsu."

"What if I sweeten the deal?" Ariana dug in her backpack. "I bet you could be bribed for the right price."

"Impossible!" Kirin crossed his arms. "There is nothing you could possibly offer me--!" His nostrils twitched as she moved closer.

Waving a silver-and-brown wrapped bar under his nose, Ariana teased in a sing-song voice, "Mmmm…., it's sixteen ounces of genuine, American-made, pure chocolaty goodness." She tilted her head and grinned. "What do you say? A pound of chocolate for an hour of computer time?"

He gave a whining growl.

"C'mon… you know want it."

"You are an evil wench."

"I'm a girl, Kirin-san." She wrinkled her nose fetchingly. "We're all evil. So what do you say, mmm?"

Kirin glared at her from beneath his furry eyebrows. His eyes lingered for a moment on the jumbo bar of candy. "You… can access the internet on that little computer?"

"It's got digital dial-up," Ariana answered cheerfully. "My brother set it up for me for the trip."

To his credit, Kirin kept up a steady glower for several minutes while he considered her proposition. She merely smiled and kept eye contact with him; according to Fox, that was the most important thing in a negotiation. When his eyes drifted to the lazy way her tail was curling back and forth, she knew she had him hooked. Finally, Kirin rose unsteadily to his feet and lurched behind the partition to his personal quarters. There was the sound of things being moved and the creak of a lid being opened. Kirin came back with her palmtop in his hands.

"It was in here the whole time?" Ariana exclaimed. "I thought in was in the strong room!"

Settling back down slowly and tucking his haori back in place, Kirin shrugged. "We built the schoolroom on top of the old strong room. What better place to keep something secure than in a weapon master's dojo?" He handed the small computer to her. "Show me how this thing works."

"It's easy," Ariana said and popped it open, taking out the stylus from the back to run the keyboard. "See? This is the dial-up and this—"

"What is that?" Kirin asked, leaning over her shoulder and pointing at the email icon blinking angrily at them.

She rolled her eyes. "That's my annoying brother checking up on me. Ignore him."

"Your techno geek brother that might know what those probes were?"

Ariana blinked. "Good point." She used the stylus to open the mailbox and promptly found Graeme's web conference link. It took a minute or two for her brother's face to fill the tiny window.

"Oniichan!!" Graeme started to crow but then stopped and squinted at the screen. "Oh-kay, who are you and what're you doing with my sister?"

"I see the family resemblance," Kirin said dryly. "He's got your smart mouth."

"Ouch!" Graeme quipped. "Who's this guy, sis?"

Ariana smirked at Kirin, who huffed and turned his head disgustedly. "This is Kirin, bro. He's a teacher from Ishimura. Kai might know him."

Graeme raised a brow ridge. "At least Kai's still speaking to me. Mom had a fit when she found out you left town." He scowled at the screen. "Dad and I are both roosting here at the office now, thanks to you."

"Sorry…"

"You are not!"

"Children, please!" Kirin rubbed his forehead. "Ariana says you know science, Graeme-san. We need to find some things out."

"What's up?" Graeme listened attentively as Ariana filled him in on the mysterious survey crew. They could see him looking down occasionally as he typed notes.

"—so what we need is to find out about this Wariguri mining company and what they're doing here." Ariana looked at the image of her brother hopefully. "Think you can dig up some dirt?"

"All ready working," Graeme said, rolling briefly out of the picture as he moved to another workstation. His voice grew faint and hollow for a few minutes. "For starters, 'GPR' is short for 'ground-piercing radar' and 'hole-to-hole tomography' is a type of GPR that employs a series of sensors. It's used in micro-gravity surveys to measure the rise and fall of the earth's crust in a seismic area. They used to drill boltholes and lower the sensors down but the latest models are more efficient."

Kirin raised a skeptical eyebrow. "And you know this because --?"

"Xanatech manufactures the microprocessor that's used in the sensor. I recognize the model."

"That figures," Ariana commented. "Ever since the quake that hit New York, Xanatos has been hot on geophysical research. I remember when he sent us out to retrieve that famous geologist, Dr. Van Weelden, from that dinosaur dig site just so he could have her analyze data for him."

"It'll take me a while to get into Wariguri's database," Graeme said, coming back into view. "They've got a killer firewall." He cracked his knuckles and gave them a wicked grin.

"Arrgh, me hearties?" Ariana quipped, knowing full well her brother's hacking abilities.

"Aye, cap'n! They's about t' be boarded, they is." Her green-skinned twin winked at her. "I'll send you the data as soon as I can, all right?"

"Thanks, Graeme – you're a sweetie."

"Domo arigato, Graeme-san," Kirin added. He blinked as the web link closed. "I did not realize that technology had come so far. I feel humble – and quite out-of-touch."

"You'll catch up," Ariana teased. "While Graeme sneaks in the back door, we'll see what else Wariguri Mining Ltd. is into on the 'net." She opened a web browser and tapped in a search request. "Hmmm….. lots of stuff, it seems."

"Interesting."

Picking one at random, she opened it but promptly pouted. "Oh, bother – it's in Japanese. I can't read this!"

"Luckily, I can," he commented. "Hold it still for a moment."

As Kirin leaned forward to read the computer screen, his barbels slid over her shoulder like a pair of skinny snakes. Ariana shuddered. "Eeeeuw, you're dangling on me."

"Sorry," Kirin said absently. He hooked first one, then the other barbel with his tongue and sucked them into his cheeks and upper lip with a long, drawn-out slurp. His cheeks were puffed out like a hamster storing seeds.

Staring at him, the corners of her mouth began to twitch. Ariana squeezed her eyes shut in an effort to keep from laughing and failed miserably. An irresistible giggle began low in her belly and built until it burst out uncontrollably. She fell over onto her side and lay in the floor giggling and pointing at him. Kirin merely crossed his arms and regarded her stoically, shaking his head.

"Weally, Awi-chan," he said, his voice distorted by the barbels stuffed in his mouth, "id's nod dat funny."  

"Jalapeña!" Ariana squealed. "Stop it! I'm dying here!" Her giggles turned into hiccups as she rocked back and forth, holding her ribs.

Spitting out his barbels, Kirin turned his head away from her but the shaking of his shoulders gave him away. It started as a deep, quiet chuckle but slowly his deep laughter filled the room, punctuated by Ariana's hiccups. He grinned shyly over his shoulder at her as he laughed and it was like the weight of years had been lifted from him.

"Honestly," he chided in a curiously gentle tone, "we will never get anything done if we keep this up."

"Just keep *hic* your whiskers *hic* out of your mouth," she commented, "or I'll never *hic* be able to *hic* stop."

"Very well." Kirin picked up the computer and scanned the Japanese website she had selected. He was all business but a certain formal stiffness was gone from his posture. "This site is for the Japanese Geological Survey. Wariguri provided them data for their earthquake early detection research."

"Seems *hic* pretty normal."

"Perhaps," he said slowly, narrowing his eyes. "An ambitious adversary shows one face at night and another during the day."

Ariana looked at Kirin shrewdly. "That sounds like *hic* a kind of *hic* Zen thing."

"I knew someone like that once," he said absently. "How does one change the search parameters?"

Patiently, Ariana talked Kirin through the intricacies of using Graeme's microcomputer. She was impressed at how quickly the Ishimuran scholar picked things up, in spite of his years spent away from modern technology. Unfortunately, she was having less success at controlling her involuntary abdominal muscle spasms.

Finally, Kirin blew out his lips noisily and sent his fish-like whiskers flying. "Go see O-tama, Ari-chan," he said bluntly, "before you explode!"

"Are *hic* you sure?" she asked meekly. "Graeme *hic* might call back."

"The rain is letting up and I'm feeling well enough to take a brief trip into Kobe," he replied. "You can't very well sneak around on the rooftops if you keep that up. You're too loud."

"Ha-ha," Ariana retorted but the effect was spoiled by three loud hiccups in a row.

* * * * *

O-tama stood there shaking her head. "Strangest case I've ever seen," she mused thoughtfully. "Normally, sipping pickle brine works like a charm."

"Ginger tea had no effect either," Toe commented. He frowned as he scanned an age-stained scroll. "It says here an infusion of dill and lemon is effective but we don't have either of those."

"Why me?" Ariana moaned, holding her stomach. "My abs *hic* are killing me!" She got up from the porch of the healer's hut and began to pace.

"Perhaps you should concentrate on your breathing," Miza suggested. She had brought the brine from the food stores and had remained behind out of curiosity. Word of Ariana's distress had attracted quite few other Tengu and they were all enjoying the novelty of her neverending hiccups. "Try slow, regular breaths."

"I tried *hic* my yoga breathing," Ariana protested, "but it just *hic* made them *hic* even stronger!"

Tic trotted down the hill. "Sensei's coming," he reported to O-tama. "He feels much better now. He was just getting dressed."

"Good," O-tama said firmly, "I want to know just what he did to cause all this."

"He just *hic* made me laugh," Ariana said, shrugging and hiccupping at once. "I just get *hic* like this some*hic* times."

"Aren't you done yet?" Kirin asked, slapping her hard on the rear. "We have better things to be doing than watching you make a spectacle of yourself." He walked right past her and helped himself to the tea that was setting on the porch.

"HEY!!" Ariana yelped indignantly, rubbing the seat of her pants with both hands. "What do you think you're doing, mister? That HURT!!"

Kirin raised one hairy eyebrow. "You're very welcome."

"What!?!"

O-tama and Miza looked at each other and began to giggle behind their hands. Toe grinned sheepishly and began to roll up the scroll. The onlookers tittered among themselves as they slowly drifted back to whatever they had been doing before. Belatedly, Ariana realized that her sudden outburst of temper had broken the cycle and that her hiccups had vanished.

"Oh." She glared at Kirin and gave her rear one last rub. "Gee, thanks." She was pretty sure she'd have the imprint of his fingers on her backside for hours.

He gave her a smug smile over the edge of his tea cup with a slight lift of his eyebrows and said nothing, although he seemed entirely too pleased with himself.

"Are you feeling better, Kirin-san?" O-tama inquired politely. "I hope the tonic that Mozu made served its purpose."

"Indeed," Kirin answered mildly. "I feel well enough to escort Ari-chan into town." He scowled at her. "It seems that she was expected to call in regularly. Lady Sata will be worried."

Picking up on her cue, Ariana sulked convincingly. "You promised you wouldn't say anything!"

"I did not," Kirin retorted. "I said that I wouldn't mention it to Takamatsu or the elders." He smiled at the Tengu healer. "What O-tama hears is for O-tama's ears, neh?"

"As it should be," O-tama agreed. "You will take care to get back in time?"

"Of course."

Tic and Toe perked up their ears at this news. "Perhaps we could accompany you part of the way, sensei," Tic ventured casually. "Tak is flying sweeps with Goro and we are to go out and relieve them."

"I don't see why not," Kirin answered back. "It has been some time since we've patrolled the western ranges."

"Kirin-san," O-tama said quietly, "take care. You know what the others would think." Ariana was surprised at the urgent tone of the healer's voice and looked between them with a baffled expression.

"Not to worry, O-tama-san," he said simply. "We will be back before you know it." He finished his tea and left the cup on the porch. "Very well, youngsters – let's go." Tic and Toe were halfway up the hill before Kirin finished speaking.

Punching Kirin in the arm as they walked up to the launch site, Ariana scowled at him. "Baka -- my tush still smarts."

Kirin raised an eyebrow. "Are you inviting me to kiss it and make it better?"

She narrowed her eyes at him. "You wish."

"Then don't complain, quarrelsome thing." They reached the top of the bluffs where the two younger males were waiting. Kirin took Ariana by the shoulders and turned her around so he could put the blindfold back on her.

"You know," she said lightly, "the guys are going to get the wrong idea about dating girls if you keep this up." She was answered by Tic and Toe's enthusiastic laughter.

Kirin merely huffed. "Rules are rules," he replied curtly. "Try not to cause so much trouble this time." He turned her around and she could feel the wind whipping up though the gorge below. "Tancho and Mozu are already airborne. Come along now – they're waiting for us."

Ariana reached out her hand and found his fingers grasping for hers. They touched, tentatively at first but without a word, their fingers twined together as he led her off into the open air. She didn't feel so much like a wayward hatchling tonight and wondered why. His fingers tightened on hers for a moment as a strong updraft sent them soaring.

"How's your wing?" Kirin called out.

"Fine," she replied, wondering why he'd even bothered to ask after the rough way he'd hauled her back to the village the night before. He said nothing but his thumb traced restless circles against her hand.

Two direction changes and a wind shift later, he pulled her to him and removed the blindfold, letting his knuckles lightly brush her brow ridge. "That's far enough," he said gruffly. "I'll take this."

"Whoa." Ariana blinked at the sight of millions of flickering lights spread out before her as they crested over the mountains. "Is this Kobe? I didn't know it was so close – I came from Osaka when I first arrived."

"You went the long way around then," Tic joked, gliding just off her left wing. "Kobe isn't as big as Osaka but it's closer to the village."

"Hey! Where's Toe?"

"Mozu? We saw Tak and Goro coming back from patrol and he went to see if old needlenose wanted to join us." He laughed. "Tak hates missing out on anything."

Ariana joined him in laughing at the joke. "Oh, I don't think I'll do any joyriding tonight. I'm not sure Kirin's nerves can stand it."

"You're a trouble magnet," Kirin growled above and to the right. "Something is bound to happen."

Tak and Toe came soaring in from the east. "Hey!" Tak called out. "What do you mean, taking Ari-chan out on the town and not inviting me?" He glared hard at Tic. "You just had to have her all to yourself, didn't you?"

Kirin snorted but Ariana spoke up to diffuse the situation. "Please," she said as she rolled her eyes, "I'm not a toy you can fight over, guys. Kirin and I want to check out that mining company. If you guys are going to act up, then you can go back home."

"Is that so?" Tak flicked his eyes sharply at Kirin. "Sensei? Do the elders know about this?"

"O-tama knows," Kirin replied, tapping a finger to his nose, "and that's all that matters. We go in, check things out, and go back to the village. You three could use the experience gliding in a city. It's more difficult than you think."

"Yeah, crash into a microwave relay tower and it's goodbye, gonads!" Ariana gave a giggling snort when the Three stared at her. "What?"

"I'll explain that comment later," Kirin interjected. "The last thing I want is for her to go into hysterics and start hiccupping again."

"So where are we headed?" Ariana asked.

"The central business district," Kirin answered as he led them higher over the city. "Wariguri has the main offices there with some warehouse space down towards the docks."

"But, Sensei," Toe said nervously, "we've never gone so far into the city before."

"Speak for yourself," Tak snorted. "Tancho and I have been here plenty of times."

"Going to the ball games with Goro is hardly what I'd call a night out on the town," Tic retorted. He grinned sheepishly at Ariana. "My master loves baseball. There's one pro team here in Kobe and two others over in Osaka."

"Let me think," Ariana mused, "that would the Blue Wave, the Tigers, and the Buffalos, right?"

Tak's mouth dropped open. "You," he said slowly, "know baseball?"

"Well, duh!" She laughed at them. "Hey, even I know about the famous ex-Blue Wave hitter Ichiro Suzuki! I saw him play once when the Mariners were in town playing the Yankees. I'll have to admit, it took me a while to get to speed on J-ball. If it wasn't for Toshi roping me into a game with the hatchlings at Ishimura, I'd have never gotten it all straight."

"Toshi?" Kirin asked suddenly. "Is this a suitor of yours?"

"Hardly – he belongs to Midori." Some of the enthusiasm left her voice. "No, Toshi is a bigger baseball fanatic than I am. I helped him organize the ballgame since he had rookery duty. The kids had a blast."

"Ah." Kirin hesitated for a moment and then asked, "I suppose there is a new head rookery keeper, neh? Miya was retiring when I left."

"Sakaki, Kai-sama's mate, has that job now. She's very good with them."

"Yes, I remember. She took over as assistant teacher when I started training under Setsu for my weapons mastery." He blew out his breath with a troubled sigh and frowned.

At that point of the conversation, they crossed over the suburban boundaries and became dazzled by the neon glare of downtown Kobe. As accustomed as she was to Manhattan's hustle, Ariana couldn't believe the bright lights and colors of the shopping district. People were still out and about in the streets, in spite of the late hour -- going into restaurants, looking in store windows, and lining up to get into clubs.

"And they call New York the city that never sleeps!" Ariana said ruefully, swooping up and over a power line.

"It's very hot and humid this time of year," Kirin commented. "It only makes sense to get out at night when it's cooler." He squinted at an address on a building. "The business district is only a few blocks east – this way." Turning on a wingtip, the older gargoyle led them into the narrow steel and glass canyons between increasingly tall buildings.

The nearness of the buildings didn't bother Ariana but she couldn't help noticing the nervous way the young Tengu males kept glancing to the sides as if they felt the walls were closing in. Toe kept raising and lowering his feathered crest like he was communicating his agitation via semaphore.  His tall brother, Tic, was fingering his prayer beads and muttering under his breath. Out of the three, only long-nosed Tak seemed unperturbed but if he flew any closer to her, he'd be riding piggyback, and frankly, Ariana could do without that.

She waited until they crossed an intersection and used the ambient heat rising from the street to spiral up to a higher altitude. "That's better," she said as Kirin began to scowl at her. "Flying below roof level always makes me feel a little claustrophobic, doesn't it you?" She rolled her eyes slowly from Toe to Tic and raised her brow ridges expressively.

"Ah, so it does," Kirin answered slowly, returning her gesture. "We need to find the Zanseki building. It's listed as a fifteen story structure on East Naishi Avenue."

"So," she quickly counted windows on a neighboring building and adjusted her flight path accordingly, "about this tall, yes?"

Kirin nodded. "Mozu, you go high and stay directly above Ariana. Tancho and Takakura, spread out. The quicker we find this place, the better."

The streets were less crowded in the business district and Kirin was able to sweep down low to check addresses frequently. They located the Zanseki building not far from the Hansai Expressway. Unfortunately, there appeared to be no way in.

"This place is locked up tighter than one of Xanatos' vaults!" Ariana exclaimed as they finished a third sweep of the building. She flew in close and managed to get a talon grip on a narrow ridge over a bank of windows. Her feet scrabbled against the polished stonework as she hung by one hand like a rock climber.

"Careful!" Kirin hissed nervously.

She saw his reflection in the window as he hovered directly behind her and started to smile when she noticed something in his shadow. Narrowing her eyes, Ariana could see the tell-tale red pinpricks of a laser sensory web. "Shards!" she swore. "What have they been up to that they need this kind of security system?"

"Do you see a way in?"

"No," she said finally. "They've got lasers and I don't have the right tools for bypassing it. We should probably see what Graeme's dug up on his end."

 "All right," Kirin agreed. "I don't like being in the open this much. We should go back to the village." He looked about but remained hovering, held aloft by his great wingspan.

"A-hem!"

"What?"

Ariana rolled her eyes. "If someone would get his hulking carcass out of the way, I could get off the building!"

Huffing indignantly, Kirin looped up over the top of the building while Ariana back flipped neatly into open air. He was arguing with the Three while she reached the roof.

"But, Sensei!" Tic was saying, "We'll never get a better opportunity!"

Tak raised his bulbous cleft chin stubbornly. "Let the elders live in the past if they wish! We're tired of hiding in shadows!"

"If we're gone too long," Kirin said in a reasonable tone of voice, "not even O-tama will be able to save your hide."

"What's the problem?" Ariana asked cheerfully. "Let's just take the scenic route back to the mountains. That ballpark we were talking about earlier is on the way, isn't it? I'd like to see that."

"Yes!" Tic agreed. "That would be perfect, sensei. They should still be playing with the rain delay." Next to him, Toe nodded anxiously.

"Please?" Ariana crooned, leaning against Kirin's arm and fluttering her eyelashes. "Pretty please with pocky on it?" She rubbed her cheek against his shoulder like a purring kitten.

"Oh, stop that!" Kirin huffed and turned his head away from her but not before she caught the amused look in his eyes. "All right – I suppose a few innings couldn't hurt."

Tak looked disgusted. "Why did that work for her? It never works for us!"

"Gentlemen, the first thing you need to know about females is that they make their own rules," Kirin said wryly, "and that we mere males are not meant to understand them."

"As it should be," Ariana said brightly. She tweaked the end of Tak's long nose. "Swoop tag – you're it!" Grinning, she jumped over the edge of the building. Tic and Toe exchanged a look and dove after her.

Pausing on the corner of a building, Ariana spotted a familiar sight in Japan – a row of brightly lit vending machines half way down the block. She carefully scoped out her surrounding for any signs of activity but the only lights on at street level were in a corner restaurant at the intersection. Not waiting for the males to catch up, Ariana sprang out from the wall, spun around a flagpole halfway down, and landed neatly on the sidewalk. Smiling to herself as she heard cursing overhead, she caped her wings around her shoulders and strolled along, deliberately making a show of inspecting the machines.

"What are you doing?" Kirin hissed from the shadows. "You'll be seen!"

"Oh, please!" Ariana snorted. "The only place open is that noodle shop on the corner and no one can see us from there. I'm thirsty!" She dug in her pocket and came up with a plastic card. She slid it through the scanner and punched in her selection. The vending machine thumped and rattled, drawing the Three closer. She smiled at them as she twisted off the bottle top and took a long, satisfying drink. "Mmmm…. Fizzy, lemony goodness."

"What is that?" Toe asked curiously, pointing that the card in her hand. "That's not money."

"It's a Xanatos Express cash card," Ariana said, holding it up between two fingers. "It's a traveler's best friend – no currency exchange hassles." She sipped her drink and took in their envious expressions. "What do you say, Kirin? Can I buy you guys a drink?"

Kirin huffed but his own curiosity had brought him out onto the street. "I suppose that would be harmless enough." He eyed Tak and Tic who were headed to one particular machine. "No beer."

"Sensei!"

"No fair!"

"I'm not having any, therefore you're not either." He glanced at Ariana with the ghost of a smirk on his lips. "Don't let them convince you otherwise."

"Still feeling that hangover, are we?" Ariana teased as she leaned towards him.

"Oh, do be quiet and get me one of those things you're drinking." He caught her starting to glare at him and added grudgingly, "Please."

Ariana merely smiled and turned back to the machine.

A woman screamed. Startled, Kirin and the three Tengu bolted for the shadows of the neighboring alley. They were halfway up the wall when they realized that Ariana's reaction was entirely different.  Her plastic soda bottle was lying abandoned on the sidewalk and the tip of her tail was disappearing around the corner.

"Ar-REE-ahn-NAH!!" Kirin snarled as he sprang down from the side of the building.

"Sensei, what—?"

A window shattered, sending a glittering spray of glass into the street as the body of a teenaged boy hit the pavement with a wet thud. The doors of a parked car flew open and two other young men jumped out and headed to the noodle shop, one with a swinging chain and another with an iron jitte.

"Secure those humans," Kirin commanded. "Ari-chan is in that shop – we must get her out!" He caught the chain being swung at his head and jerked it out of its wielder's hands. Tic caught it and used it to snag the hooked iron weapon in the hands of the other attacker. "Takakura, come with me!"

Leaping through the window, Kirin and Tak found Ariana wedged between two attackers and an old Japanese woman cowering next to an overturned table. A teenaged boy in an apron was lying unconscious besides her. One of Ariana's foes had pulled a long knife on her while the other had a plastic bag with money in it. Loose bills fluttered across the floor. Ariana had snatched up a broom and was wielding it like a bo staff to keep the knife fighter at bay. She glared at them with blazing eyes.

"Well?" she called out. "Don't just stand there!"

Both robbers glanced back for a second and that was the opening Ariana was waiting for. She bashed the knife wielder hard on the knuckles and forearm to force him to drop his weapon and then slapped him across the face with the head of the broom. The other man jumped back out of range only to crash into Kirin's broad chest. Mouth gaping, he slowly looked up into the horned gargoyle's face. He pulled a length of pipe of his jacket and swung it at him but Kirin batted it away like it was a cardboard tube. He growled and a puddle formed at the human's feet.

"I don't believe this is yours," Kirin growled as he removed the bag from the man's petrified grip. "Tak, toss him out."

"As you wish, sensei." The long-nosed Tengu grabbed the hapless robber by the back of his neck and the seat of his pants to pitch him through the window.

"Atta boy, Tak!" Ariana called out as she finished off her man with a sharp punch to the mid-section. As he crumpled to the floor, Ariana went over to see if the proprietors were all right. "Toe, get in here! I need you!" She dropped to one knee besides the injured boy.

Toe's feathered head appeared in the broken window. "Ari-chan?"

"Come here," Ariana said, gesturing to him. "They hit this boy on the head with a pipe. He could be very badly hurt!"

"Ariana," Kirin said in a low voice as he shoved the knife fighter out of his path with one foot, "we don't have time for this!"

True to his training, Toe only hesitated a moment before entering the noodle shop and reaching down to examine his first human patient. He checked the boy's pulse in several places and gingerly examined the head wound. "I can't feel a fracture," he said finally. "His pulse is shallow but it's getting stronger. I think he'll be fine."

"Okay," Ariana nodded. "Thanks." She turned to the old woman. "Obaasan?" she asked gently. "Are you all right? It's all over now."

The elderly woman groaned and put a hand to her head. "So terrible," she murmured. "There has been a gang of hoodlums running loose in Chinatown. I never thought they would come here!"

"My friends and I have caught them," Ariana said firmly. "We will leave them for the police. Do you have a phone?"

"Yes – yes, of course!" She turned back to the food counter, still without having clearly seen her rescuers, and pointed with a shaky head. "It's there."

"Kirin?" Ariana jerked her head towards the phone.

He curled his lip. "Ariana, we should not—"

"Just do it!" She forced herself to take some of the sharpness out of her voice. "Please, Kirin – you can see she needs help. Make the call and then we can back off."

He gave a menacing growl but reached over the counter for the phone. At the sound of his voice making the call, the old woman looked up and her eyes widened. She glanced between him and Ariana, the others having retreated outside. She drew a sharp breath to scream.

"It's all right, obaasan," Ariana continued in the same soft, gentle tones she'd used before. "We are not the ones that tried to hurt you. I know we look strange but it is not our way to stand by and watch when bad things happen."

"You are Tengu!" the old woman gasped. "My grandmother told stories of the mountain spirits! I never thought they were true!"

Smiling winsomely, Ariana helped her up into a chair. "You'd be surprised how much truth there is in old stories, obaasan." She looked over as Kirin hung up the phone and nodded at her. "The police are on their way. My friends and I must go now, but we will stay close by until we know you are safe."

"Wait!" the old woman called out. "You mustn't go yet – not without a gift. It's bad luck!"

"No, it's all right," Ariana said with a quick bow. The sound of a police car was beginning to echo up the street. "We must go!"

"Take some food then!" She pointed to the counter where a plastic bag loaded with food waited. "They ordered that before they tried to rob me. Take it with my blessing!"

Sniffing the open bag, Ariana could smell the rich aromas of udon noodles and cabbage pancakes. Grinning impishly, she snatched up the takeout food and bowed to the noodle shop owner. "Domo arigatou gozaimasu, obaasan! My friends and I thank you!"

She scampered out the door of the shop just as the lights of the police car came around the corner. Kirin grabbed her and pulled her into the alley. "What kept you?" he demanded.

"Guys, grab some sodas," she said coyly. "Dinner's on me."

* * * * *

The crowd chanted louder and louder as the runner rounded third and headed for home. The opposing pitcher caught the throw from right field and hurled it at the catcher. Everyone held their collective breath for the split second that the runner slid into home plate and was obscured by a cloud of dust. The umpire stood up and jerked his thumb over his shoulder. The more vocal protests were registered far above the heads of the humans below.

"Oh, come ON, ump!" Ariana yelled as she leaned over the edge of the roof. "His foot was on the bag! Do you need glasses or what?"

"Ari-chan," Kirin chided lightly, "the blind fool cannot hear you from up here." He had made himself comfortable with his back against a roof vent and had been content to observe the game from there while the younger gargoyles perched on the edge.

"It's just as well," she fumed, "because I would give him a piece of my mind!"

Tic finished his bottle of soda and laughed. "She and Goro would have a fine time of this, neh? My master is as calm as stone but at a ball game, he is a wild man."

"These Tigers are very good," Toe observed, "but I agree with Ari-chan. That blue shirt down there made a terrible call."

"What does it matter?" Tak asked as he dug into his noodle box. "The Tigers are up by two runs and it's the bottom of the ninth." He paused to slurp up another noisy mouthful of noodles. "The Blue Wave might as well give in now."

"No," Ariana said, setting her chin stubbornly. "They still have a chance with a runner on second and third. All they need is one solid hit and they can turn this thing around." She planted both hands on the wall and looked on as intently as if she were in the batter's circle herself. "Come on, guys!" Her tail twitched back and forth in agitation.

"This I must see," Kirin said as he abandoned his seat and joined them at the roof's edge, just as the crowd started chanting.

"Uh-oh! They must be bringing out the big guns now," Ariana said excitedly.

"Guns?" Toe queried. "Firearms aren't allowed-."

Tak biffed him on the shoulder. "Baka, he means they are sending out a heavy hitter. Right?"

Tic nodded, pointing to the player that was walking with purpose towards home plate. "That's Hirata! He's the leading pinch-hitter for the Blue Wave," he explained enthusiastically. "He's gone twelve games with no strikeouts, and in each one he's gotten a piece of the ball, he's added another home run to his record." The tall gargoyle laughed. "If Goro were here, my master would give you his stats all the way back to his school days."

Kirin eyed the batter who was taking a few swings with the bat, while eyeing the Tiger's pitcher, and arched one hairy eyebrow. "He has a determined swing. You would think he was going to hit the ball back down that man's throat."

Ariana grinned. "If he wants to win, he will!" Rising up, she called out, "Go for it, Hirata-san! Tear the hide of that apple!"

On the field, the batter took his place at the plate, staring down the length of his bat before drawing it back to the ready. The umpire settled in behind the catcher, who was sending signals rapid-fire to his teammate on the mound.

"Oh, come on!" Ariana said, squinting. "A slider? He won't fall for that!"

True to her prediction, the ball sailed into the catcher's mitt and the call came out as fast as the pitch did: "Ball One!"

Ariana grinned at the Three, who were all transfixed by the action going on. "Told ya."

The pitcher checked the bases, and then whipped a hard pitch that nearly nipped tight outside the batter's box, forcing Hirata to dodge backwards.

"Quit throwing bean balls, you bakayaro!" Ariana yelled, waving her fist.

Kirin shot her an amused look. "You're getting worked up over this," he observed. "It's only a game, Ari-chan."

"Well, there are certain things you just don't do, even in baseball!"

Toe piped up. "You missed it! The pitcher got a strike in!"

Snapping her attention back to the action on the field, Ariana bounced up and down on her toes. "Come on, Hirata-san! Knock one out of the park!"

By now the crowd was chanting, sending encouragement to the batter as he repositioned himself in the batter's box. The catcher readjusted his mask, and then sent another quick signal to the pitcher. Another pitch... another strike!

"I think the pitcher's got Hirata-san now," Tak said grimly. "One more strike, and the Blue Wave are finished!"

"As Dad would say, 'It ain't over till it's over!'" Ariana scowled. "All he needs is one good pitch..."

Just then, the catcher lifted his glove, nodding to the pitcher with conviction.

"Uh-oh...," Tic said cautiously, "here it comes!"

"What?" Kirin asked. "Here 'what' comes?"

The tall Tengu groaned. "The Tigers' pitcher has a phenomenal fastball! This guy always uses it to force out a clinch-strike," Tic said slowly. "There's no way that Hirata-san could be ready for it!"

The pitcher posed on the mound like a samurai before battle, waiting for a heartbeat before he drew up, pulled back and let the ball fly with a pitch that was almost too fast, too unbelievable to witness. It whipped through the air, leaving a blur that almost resembled a single, white line. The crowd held their breath as Hirata's bat connected, hitting the speeding ball right in the sweetest spot.

"Jalapeña!" Ariana gasped.

"Shimata!" Kirin breathed.

All five gargoyles watched breathlessly as the high-flying ball soared high over right field and the batter started to take his run around the bases. They joined in the chant that was rising from the crowd – "HI-RA-TA! HI-RA-TA!" The runners began to round the bases and to head for home. The roar of the crowd grew louder and louder as each player crossed the plate.

"Ichi! Ni! SAN! Ho-muran, Hirata!" Ariana and the Three crowed along with the humans below. Forgetting herself for a moment, Ariana gave a happy skip-jump and promptly tripped back into Kirin, banging the top of her head into his chin. "Ow!"

"Really, Ari-chan!" Kirin complained as he pushed her away. "Must you give me a hangover and a concussion in the same night?" His tone was harsh but his touch was gentle.

"Don't you want a little something to remember me by?" she quipped, winking at him over her shoulder.

"I shall name my ulcer after you," Kirin retorted with a huff, "because being with you will surely give me one!"

"Poor sensei!" Tic commented jovially. "Mozu will have to make you another tonic when we get back home."

"The humans are clearing out," Tak commented from his perch on the roof's edge. "Shall we go?"

While the others were looking over the edge, Adrian felt the persistent buzz of her armband. "If you don't mind," she said, eyeing the public restrooms in the vacant section just below them, "I'd like to visit the ladies' room before I go."

"The ladies' what?"

"Go? Go where?"

"Why can't we go too?"

Ariana rolled her eyes. "Geez, guys," she said disgustedly, "do I have to spell it out? I'm a city girl; I like a bathroom with porcelain fixtures and actual plumbing."

Toe cocked his head like a curious bird. "But –"

"Boys," Kirin sighed as he came to her rescue, "leave her alone and I'll explain." He waved a hand at her as if shooing her away. "Try not to be too long, Ari-chan."

"Thanks." Checking for stragglers, Ariana neatly tucked-and-rolled under the edge of the roof and sailed into the empty section. The public restrooms had just been cleaned by the fresh smell of disinfectant. She inhaled deeply and sighed; she hadn't been entirely acting when she made her excuses to Kirin and the guys. The Tengu facilities were fine but primitive after a life spent in Manhattan. After tending to all her necessary business, she turned on the water to cover her voice and tapped the comlink on her armband. "Okay, Graeme… I'm alone. Whatcha want?"

"It took me a while but I'm finally in," her brother's disembodied voice said. "I'm emailing the details to you but it looks to me like Wariguri is trying to salvage lost ore with those probes."

"How?"

"They're setting up a new kind of multi-spectrometer ground-piercing radar net. The tectonic plates in that region are like a loose deck of shuffled cards. The slightest geodesic shift could set it off so they're trying to be as unobtrusive as possible. I've downloaded the probe specs and I'll let you know once I've analyzed them."

"What kind of ore are they after?"

"Precious metals are at the top of their mineralogical survey. One of their clients is making components for the way station that's being set up between here and Mars."

"We went into Kobe and had a look at their offices downtown," Ariana said, frowning at her face in the mirror and taking a moment to fluff her bangs over her brow ridges. "We couldn't get in – they had a T-9 laser security grid on in there."

"A T-9?" Her brother raised his brow ridges. "That's interesting – I may ask Owen to check into it. A mining company shouldn't need a military-class security system like that."

"That's a good idea. There's nothing Owen likes better a little corporate espionage."

"Yeah, sneaky is what he does best." Graeme paused for a moment. "So are you all right, Ari? Everything okay?"

"Yes, yes… worrywart." Ariana smiled as she imagined her brother tapping his foot nervously as he sat at his computer hundreds of miles away. "It took a while but the Tengu have gotten used to me. I still freak the elders out but the others have been nice to me."

"Like that Kirin guy?"

"Please!" she snorted. "Kirin's old, for crying out loud!"

"So why was he hanging over your shoulder like that?"

"Tiny little viewscreen, duh!" She heard voices approaching. "I gotta go, bro. Talk to you later!"

"Bye!"

Ariana just had time to splash water on her face when Kirin came around the corner. He scowled at her. "Are you going to be all day?"

"Rude," she countered. "Fine manners you have, walking in here like that." Peering into the mirror as she blotted her face with a paper towel, she watched him watching her. "What? Don't you know it takes some of us a while to make ourselves pretty?"

"Stop making excuses," he said softly as he crossed his arms. "Mozu heard another person's voice in here."

"What?" She glared at his reflection. "You had me followed?"

"Never mind that," Kirin said dismissively. "Who were you talking to?"

Sighing, she tossed the paper towel in the trash and turned to face him, leaning back against the sink. "Graeme called."

Kirin cocked his head and his eyes glowed faintly. "But you don't have a phone on you unless—" He shot a hard look at her armband and figured it out. "You lied! You said that thing was--"

"No," she said, shaking her head, "I only told you what you needed to know."

"You convinced the council that thing was a medical device!"

"That part was true -- that was its original function. My brother and I did nearly die when we were born and these things saved us. Over time, the armbands were modified. I had to get it back when you guys took it because it set an alarm off on Graeme's armband." She smirked a little. "He was about to send the Marines after me when I got it back and gave him the all clear code."

"Then," he said warily, "you've been in contact with him all this time?"

"No, this was only the second time I've used the comlink," she answered. "You were there for the web conference." She watched as he huffed and furrowed his eyebrows together in thought. "Look, it's just Graeme."

Kirin flicked a glance at her. "He worries about you?"

"Hey, if he gets in a good hit while we're sparring, he's an emotional wreck for hours. It's just how Graeme is." Ariana crossed the room and put her hand on his arm. "Look, I know I wasn't entirely truthful. My armband is not a weapon and it's not going to hurt anybody but it's mine and I need it. Do you honestly think they would have given it back if they'd known otherwise?"

"Probably not," he admitted, sighing as he ran a hand over his face. "Gods, you complicate things. Twenty years of peace and quiet with the Tengu and in only a few days, you've turned my world upside down."

"Hey," she quipped cheerfully. "The week's young yet."

"Somehow I don't find that thought very comforting." Kirin turned and led the way of the restroom. "We should be getting back -- I sent the Three ahead. They'll be on the outskirts of the city by now."

Ariana followed Kirin out onto the upper deck seats of the ball park. The only activity now was the ground crew covering the infield. They had already switched off the lights in the stands but it made little difference to the two gargoyles. Kirin paused and was looking over the field. "It's been a long time since I've been to a ballgame," he mused. "I forgot how exciting it could be."

"See?" she teased. "It does you good to get out." She leaned up against the rail. "I suppose I'm in big trouble over the noodle shop, huh?"

"By all rights you should be," he growled half-heartedly, "but you were only following your instincts. Living with the Tengu has gotten me too used to hiding in shadows. There was a time when I wouldn't have run the other way." He shook his head. "I'm getting old."

"Nonsense," Ariana commented. "Age is just state of mind, Kirin-san. You need to get out the woods more often."

"Hmmph." Kirin cast a rueful look at her. "Still, the noodles were good."

"Hey, I worked hard for them," she joked back. "Shall we go?"

Kirin started to jump over the side but paused and reached under the seats to retrieve a souvenir doll with two clumps of wild brown hair that stuck out from under a tiny toy cap. "Here," he said gruffly. "You might as well have this."

Taking the little plush figure from him, Ariana began to laugh as she examined it. "What is it? I know it's the Blue Wave mascot but what kind of creature is it?"

"I have no idea," Kirin admitted. "They call it 'Neppy' -- it's supposed to be some kind of cartoon sea god like Neptune or Poseidon. I think it looks more like a deformed monkey with a bad haircut." He shrugged. "You can toss it away if you like. It makes no difference to me."

"No, it's hideous – I'll keep it, thanks!" She grinned and tucked it in her pocket. "It'll make a nice addition to my sports collection back home."

 The flight back to the Rokko mountain range seemed to take no time at all. They had talked pleasantly on a number of subjects from Ariana's life in New York to the Grand Miai to the kind of books they both liked. Kirin became highly animated on the subject; Ariana got the feeling that not many of the Tengu were interested in literature. Since reading was one of her favorite ways to wind down after a heavy workout or a tough night on patrol, she was perfectly happy to share his enthusiasm.

"—and you say that they turned Tolkien's entire trilogy into movies?" Kirin was saying as they approached Tengu Rock. "Astonishing!"

"Yeah, watching 'The Lord of the Rings' films back-to-back is one of our favorite things to do around winter solstice," Ariana commented. "It's better to see them one at a time though, a few nights apart and just let all the greatness soak in."

"It's that good?" he asked wistfully.

"Oh, yeeeeeeeeeah…." She looped up and over him in a lazy barrel roll. "Graeme was campaigning to have it added to the video room schedule. You should come back to Ishimura and see it."

"No," Kirin said firmly, "I'll never go back to Ishimura – too many bad memories." He frowned and looked away from her. The light that had been in his eyes dimmed and his whole body language went back to being guarded and self-contained.

Ariana chewed her lower lip pensively. "Then maybe you should make some new memories," she suggested. "You've been gone what, twenty years? Things change… people change." She swooped under so she could look Kirin in the eye. "You've changed since then, haven't you?"

Narrowing his eyes, he growled at her. "You are not O-tama and I am NOT having this discussion with you!"

"Touchy!" She merely shook her head. "Well, Mr. Grumpygoyle, there's only one thing to do."

"What?" he asked sourly.

She reached out and touched his nose with one finger. "Swoop tag… you're it!" With a peal of laughter, she dove into the gorge below Tengu Rock and shot low over the river. The walls of the mountain pass narrowed as it twisted through the ancient rock strata. Kirin's greater wingspan was at a disadvantage here; Ariana could use her full extension to catch the strong updrafts coming from the waterfalls and accelerated straight up like a rocket.

"Wench!!" Kirin bellowed indignantly as he struggled upwards.

"Hurry up, slowpoke!" she taunted him from high above. "You're dragging your tail!"

Ariana might have been blindfolded every time she left the village, but her ears had been open. She recognized the sound of the river changing and followed it east. The mountains were rising higher and she could smell just the faintest whiff of food cooking. The sound of powerful wings stroking upwards alerted her and she neatly looped around to watch Kirin approaching. He had a determined look on his face and a boyish grin that belied any grumbling he might be doing; she could tell that he was enjoying himself tremendously.

"It took you long enough," Ariana quipped as she lured him closer. "Poor Kirin-san… I do believe you're still a little under the weather. You want me to feel sorry for you." She pretended to pout and made kissing noises at him.

"I'll have you know I was playing this game while you were still in the shell, hatchling!" he growled. "Now come here! You know you cannot return to the village without your blindfold!"

"I don't think so," she said coyly. "You'll have to catch me first."

Dropping out of his arms before he had a chance to grab her, Ariana tucked her wings and plummeted in freefall towards the ground. She pulled out of her dive only a few feet from the ground and skimmed over the long grasses before shooting out back out over the deep gorge that the river had cut through the Rokko Mountains. Bright moonlight cast his shadow on the steep stone walls and Ariana took evasive action, pivoting on a wingtip and slinging around him.

"Ha!" she called out. "Saw you!"

"Two can play that game!" he retorted and executed his own tight turn. Together they wove an intricate pattern high in the Japanese sky, coming quite close to one another and spinning away at just the last second. It wasn't the first time that Ariana had been skydancing -- she and Graeme had done it for years -- but there was something exhilarating about it that hadn't ever been there before. She sailed in towards Kirin and he matched her move as they both drifted down into the gorge like a pair of falling autumn leaves.

"Why, Kirin-san," she said coyly, "Who would have guessed a bookworm like you could be so graceful?"

Kirin smiled and it was becoming more natural every time. "You'd be surprised," he replied. "I wasn't always a sour old persimmon, Ari-chan. I was young once."

"Oh, that…" Ariana gave an embarrassed laugh. "You've grown on me since then."

"I'm glad," he answered in a low voice and held out his hand.

Ariana felt her toes curl. She started to reach out towards him with her heart in her throat.

"Swoop tag!"

Tic and Toe zipped by in a double blur, passing between her and Kirin. Ariana's arm was nearly jerked from her socket as Tak snatched her away with him.

"Takakura!!" Kirin bellowed. "Release her!"

"What on earth do you think you're doing?" Ariana demanded as she struggled to free herself from his grip. She finally planted her foot in his chest and kicked him away.

"Don't play the innocent with me!" Tak sneered. "We all saw you leading sensei on a merry chase, flipping your tail at him! You shouldn't waste your time with him, Ari-chan, not when my brothers and I would make a much better match for you."

"Whoa, hold on, wait a minute!" Ariana stammered. "Who said anything about that? Kirin and I were just skydancing!"

"Right," Tak ground out as he closed in on her, "You want to play that game – fine, I'll go along with it. I'll catch you and then you'll have to choose me!"

"In your dreams!" Ariana shot back and folded up her right wing to drop in a fast spiral like a maple seed. Halfway down, she spun away into a strong crosscurrent blowing across the pass and zipped back towards the village. Tic swept past her and blocked her way, forcing her to change course. Ariana started to go high to avoid him only to encounter Toe soaring above her like his avian namesake, the shrike.

"Guys, what are you doing?" she called out in exasperation.

"Just playing," Tak answered back. "We saw you with Master Kirin and thought we'd join in."

"That's right," Toe chimed in from above, "Tak said you wanted us to."

"See?" Tak called out as he came up from behind. "All my brothers and I want is our fair share of your attentions."

Irrationally, her vision burned bright red as her temper swept over her like a wildfire. For the first time in her life, males were actually interested in her and Ariana was not pleased about it at all. She backwinged and changed direction in mid-air. "Damn you, Tak," she muttered under her breath, "I don't know where you got your ideas about girls but you've got a lot to learn about me!"

"Oh, I'm certain you could show me—erk!" Ariana's hand connecting with his face sent him spinning away.

"Who," she began hotly, "do you think you are, butting into my business like that? I certainly didn't ask you to – and I was having a good time until you bozos showed up!" She waved her arm at Tic and Toe. "And what do you mean, involving them just so you can get what you want?"

Tic eyed his brother suspiciously. "Tak, what is she talking about?" As they hovered, the winds began to drift them towards the Tengu village.

"She's just mad that she's been found out," Tak sneered as he rubbed his cheek. "You all saw her – how she's been buttering up to Kirin. She's playing a game of hard-to-get with us, brothers."

"WHAT?" Ariana screeched at the top of her voice. "Are you delusional, Tak?"

 A fierce roar came out of the sky and anything Tak might have had to say in reply was lost as Kirin hit him broadsides and drove him down to the ground just outside the practice field. The other Tengu, adults and elders alike, dropped whatever tasks they were doing and came out to see what the commotion was. Tak tumbled to a stop in a woodpile under a stand of cedar, his impact showering him with leftover rain from the shower earlier in the evening.

"You," Kirin snarled softly, "haven't earned the right to touch her." His eyes were white hot orbs burning in the shadow of his face. The menacing growl that rose from his chest was so low and so deep that at first it was felt rather than heard. His fur-tipped tail twitched like a tiger's as he stalked towards his prey.

Ariana landed between them with her hands raised. "Kirin?" she said very carefully. "It's all right. No one is hurt. Tak has learned his lesson, all right?" She put her hand gently on his shoulder. He was trembling with anger. "Hey… it's okay." Turning his face towards her, she drew his attention away from the fallen Tengu on the ground. "See? He didn't hurt me – it's okay."

Drawing a deep shuddering breath, Kirin closed his glowing eyes hard and when he looked up, they were back to his normal warm brown. He cast a guilty look in Tak's direction – the long-nosed Tengu was being tended to by O-tama and Toe. "Is he--?"

Ariana shook her head. "I gave him a hell of a shiner but he'll be fine." She put both hands on the sides of his face. "Are you going to be all right?"

He closed his eyes and pulled away from her. "No."

"Kirin…."

"Just leave me alone." He turned and disappeared into the trees.

"What is this all about?" Takamatsu demanded as he limped up, supported on Miza's arm. "Why are you fighting with Kirin, Takakura?"

"Ask her!" Tak said, pointing at Ariana. "This is all her fault!"

"Me? Are you nuts? You started it!"

Miza looked down her narrow beak at Toe sternly. "Well, Mozu?" she said. "You and Tancho have guilty faces as well. What is going on?"

Toe dipped his beak nervously. "It's just, well--" He cast an apologetic look at Ariana. "She spends all her time with sensei and we never really get to. Tak said we should take matters into our own hands."

"It's true," Tic sighed, rubbing the back of his head. "Don't get me wrong, I don't mind Master Kirin coming along – he spends too much time with his books as it is – but Ari-chan is our age. We should be the ones getting to spend more time with her."

"Foolish hatchlings!" O-tama said, shaking her head. "That is no way to impress a female, ganging up on her!"

"Listen to me, all of you," Takamatsu said as he fixed a stern look at the three young males. "We asked Kirin to act as Ariana's chaperone. He is there for her safety, and judging by your behavior tonight, with good reason!"

"Chaperone?" Ariana blinked. "But--?" It did explain why Kirin had stopped being openly hostile to her. She chewed her lip anxiously.

"Lady Ariana," Takamatsu said in a more kindly tone, "we could not risk anything happening to you while you were our guest. It would be dishonorable to both you and your clan. Please accept my apologies for the rudeness of our young warriors."

"No, it is I who should apologize, Takamatsu-sama," Ariana responded with a slight bow. "I'm sorry that I've caused so much trouble."

"As you should be!" sniffed Doryo, but the elder was firmly shushed by his mate before he could get started on a tirade. They each took one of Takamatsu's arms and began to help the Tengu leader back into the village. The crowd began to break up as Goro escorted the Three to O-tama's hut.

Miza put her hand on Ariana's shoulder. "Are you all right?" the beaked female asked.

"No," Ariana sighed. "I used to think it would be fun to have guys fight over me. It's not all that, is it?"

"The Three will get over it, Ari-chan," Miza said with gentle humor. "Young males will do foolish things, with or without us."

"Where did Kirin go?" Ariana asked, looking around. "He left awfully suddenly."

"Ah." Miza raised her brow ridges and feathered crest at the same time. "O-tama has gone after him. I should not worry, she will see to him."

In spite of Miza'a reassurances, Ariana felt the need to check up on Kirin. Since her backpack was still in the schoolroom, she had a perfectly good excuse for going there. paused with her foot poised over the porch step, Ariana heard voices in the schoolroom, Kirin's and – she concentrated – O-tama's. She frowned and crept softly around to the downwind side of the hut and crouched under the nearest window, driven by her own curiosity.

"—I can't do this any more, O-tama," Kirin was saying. "I know this is your doing!"

"No one is forcing you to do anything, Kirin-san," O-tama replied gently. "You agreed to this task, and it has not been totally unpleasant, neh?"

"I cannot believe I did that to Tak," Kirin huffed. "I am too old to have these feelings! She is too young for me!"

Ariana's eyes widened and she bit her lip. They were talking about her!

"Nonsense," O-tama commented. "You are a male in your prime, not a withered old elder. If anything, you are a moth to a flame."

"How so?"

"A moth is safe while it sits in the shadows," O-tama explained, "but a moth circling a flame, dancing in its radiance – that is when it is truly alive, when it is claiming that spark as its own."

"It is a dangerous dance," he observed. "It comes at too high a price. The moth may catch its wings on fire, especially if its wings have been singed before."

"Or it may become a phoenix and rise from the ashes."

They were silent and for several minutes, all that could be heard were the sounds of crickets and cicadas high up in the trees. Ariana was barely breathing.

"I will give this to her," Kirin finally said. "She is infuriating, impulsive, generous to a fault," his voice dropped to a shaky hush, "but when I am with her, I am not alone."

"Then that, Kirin-san, is a good thing." O-tama's skirts rustled and the wooden floor creaked as she stood up. "Tak is waiting to speak with you. I daresay Takamatsu has warmed his ears by now."

"I suppose there's no point in putting it off," he sighed. "Perhaps you should take Ari-chan's bag – it might not be wise for me to do it."

"As you wish, Kirin-san." The floorboards creaked and moaned as the two gargoyles left the building.

Wrapping her arms around her knees, Ariana sank down in the aromatic cedar needles that were drifted against the wall of the hut. She didn't know what to think – her thoughts were spinning around in her head so much that she felt dizzy and disoriented. In her visits to other clans, she had gotten on well with males her age but they always treated her as a comrade, a fellow warrior. She'd watched in envy at the way Midori had a crowd of males wherever she went – she'd even been jealous of the way Graeme doted on Lucy, even when they were an ocean apart.

"It's not fair," she whispered as she toyed idly with the silver ring she wore on her wing talons.

"What's not fair, Ari-chan?"

Ariana's head shot up. O-tama was standing below her on the narrow path. "B-but," she stammered, "I didn't hear you!"

"I was born with a withered wing, young one," O-tama said simply. "I learned very early to move with stealth and guile." She cocked her head like an owl. "You look unhappy."

"I should be thrilled," Ariana said, rising to her feet and coming down the slope to the Tengu healer. "I've been waiting such a long time for guys to notice me and what happens? They all act like idiots and fight!"

O-tama chuckled. "It was a rude surprise to the Three as well. If this does not make the elders wake up, nothing will." She handed the backpack to Ariana and linked her arm with hers as they began to walk back to the village.

"You knew I was there, didn't you?"

"I was sitting closer to the window," O-tama answered. "Kirin was too busy brooding to notice."

"Is he—" Ariana bit her lip. "Is he all right?"

"Kirin-san will be fine." Her steps grew slower. "I have been his healer for a long time, Ari-chan. You see," she came to a stop and looked at the younger female with hooded eyes, "a healer is not only responsible for healing the body. When the heart is troubled, a healer must be able to listen and make no judgments; only then can the soul be renewed."

"'What O-tama hears is for O-tama's ears.'" Ariana nodded. "But what does that have to do with Kirin?"

"He came to us gravely wounded, not a physical ailment, you understand, but a wounding of the heart. I can say no more than that." She began walking again. "It has taken a long time for him to heal but he's very close now." Smiling up at Ariana, she patted her arm with maternal affection. "It may not seem that you are helping but you are."

"Are you sure?" Ariana asked skeptically.

"Not really," O-tama replied, "but we will see, young one, we will see."

To be continued in Part IV of "Tengu"….