'Kappa scare most humans. It can't be helped. But a kappa human...' the words of Akari's father resounded; 'is rejected.'
That's the law of nature, Akari thought. Humans had an innate sense that was always aware. Like other animals that kill their defective young, their instincts knew that a monstrosity such as herself should not live. For reasons beyond her understanding, this sense manifested itself when an axe was in a human hands.
Akari looked up at the axe gleaming in the noonday sun. Raised high above Luke's head, it slipped further and further back as it charged, moving slower than reality ensured. Was time suddenly moving slower because these were her last moments? Whether this was merciful prolonging or relentless torture– she wasn't sure.
Mama... papa... If I die, I'll never see them again. Didn't I say that I had no regrets? Akari thought. But she had lied to herself. When she had left home, it wasn't by pure choice– it wasn't so that she could leave her parents in married bliss beneath the lake. She was kicked out. Mama. You said I couldn't stay with you– not until I find true love, she thought; I wasn't too worried about it before, but... now I know I'll never find it. There's no going back. Am I not strong enough?
There wasn't enough time for Akari to cry– only enough time to become aware of the wooden handle gripped tightly in her hands. Her heart beat grew and pounded in her chest and her desperation rose. She was holding the hammer that Owen had given her.
Without reason, Akari remembered the stories her mother had told her– of how she had won over the kappa by braving the mines– of how she had obtained the mythic hammer technique. That's right. I saw it many times, Akari remembered; I may not be strong enough to truly perform it, but I'll try–
Mythic level style–
Mama, lend me your strength!
Flinging the hammer handle upwards, Akari caught it mid-air– spinning it in hand as Luke's glinting axe came down. With fiery intensity her hammer slammed forward, flashing with a golden flare.
"EYAAA-AHHH–" Their voices rang out, booming through the air– melding with the pierce of clashing metal.
I won't die! Akari thought, her heels sliding back in the loamy earth. Heavily panting, she heaved her hammer's metal head sideways, yanking it out and parrying Luke's axe. The shriek of metal burned into their ears.
"No way," Bo said, stupefied by what he had just seen. She stopped Luke's FINAL LEVEL axe technique, he thought; And with a LEVEL ONE hammer strike?
Albeit stunned, Luke raised his axe back up and continued rushing forward with an incredible burst of energy.
Akari choked, wheezing for air and teetering on her feet. I can barely stand up straight... But I did my best, she thought; I have no regrets now... Mama, I tried. But I'm so tired...
"Luke, stop–" Bo yelled, finally realizing the gravity of the situation. "–Please! What are you trying to do? You're gonna kill her–"
Collapsing backwards, Akari covered her face and closed her eyes as the axe came down. But I said I wouldn't die! she remembered.
Once again Akari's ears pierced with the shriek of clashing metal. Feeling a large shadow cooling her skin, she looked up. Standing over her was Owen's familiar, muscly back. Holding his hammer one-handedly, he locked it with Luke's axe– breathing tensely as he leaned in to hold the weapon off.
"Luke, what are you doing?" Owen scolded. "This... isn't like you!"
Luke's eyes dilated and his mouth gaped open. He appeared to be regaining his normal consciousness. "Huh?" he gasped. His axe jolted from his hands as Owen slung it far away– spinning it off into the clearing where it slammed, blade first, into a tree trunk.
"What... what was I doing?" Luke muttered, trembling with his hands at his sides. A twinge of baffled fear quivered in his usually fierce eyes.
"Luke! I always knew you were crazy–" Bo jumped and raved. "But not THAT crazy."
"Akari," Owen said in concern, leaning over her. "Are you all right?" He bent down to help her up.
"Ye–" before she could answer, however, he had grabbed her waist and slung her up over his broad shoulders.
Having such a close and sudden look at Owen's muscles sent Akari past her limit and– in the process– made her forget about that fluids draining from her overturned noggin. Her vision blurred and everything went dark.
"Akari?"
She could feel warm blankets bundled on her chest and a pillow propping her head upright (and to a painful angle). Opening her eyes, she sat up, staring straight ahead and recognizing that she was in the clinic. Flinging her legs out over the side of the bed, she stopped when she saw Doctor Jin beside her. Holding a ceramic pot wrapped in a towel, his calm demeanor and silky hair was erased, instead replaced by frazzled bangs and a perturbed expression. How long had he been attending her?
"You regained consciousness?" Jin asked anxiously, surprised by this fact despite being a trained doctor. However, he was dealing with a half human, which was his normal expertise.
"I've been... unconscious?" Akari asked. "For how long?"
"For about five hours." Despite his previously frazzled appearance, his coolness returned. "It's evening now."
"Is that so?" Akari jumped out of bed. "I guess that's not too long."
Jin could've disagreed, though. He was a doctor, not a water bearer. Running back and forth for five hours, just to collect water from the lake for dumping on her had been extremely tiring. It had earned plenty of strange looks from the locals, too. Even Hayden, the local bartender, stopped to ask if he was filling up a special pool or bathtub.
"You can go home now," Jin exhaled. "You should go straight home and rest well today." He placed the ceramic pot on the edge of the night stand.
Looking down at the water-filled pot, Akari gulped in realization. So Jin was the one who had refilled her head when she first came to this island? And now– her eyes widened at the thought– again? "You really do know everything, don't you?" she cried, holding her head in agony.
"Well I wouldn't say that. There's plenty of which I don't know. I had to pour through a plethora of folklore collections just to find out how to care for you."
"For this, I have to repay you–" Akari looked around frantically. "–I'll... I'll leave fresh fish on your doorstep every day! But first, promise me you won't tell anyone. If you do, I'll even double the fish amount!"
Folding his his arms, Jin gazed at her momentarily before shaking his head. "I figured this would happen." He adjusted his glasses. "But I don't want fish. I just want reassurance that you won't..." He froze, staring at the ground.
"Heh?" Akari emitted.
"According to what I've read about kappa eating habits, that you won't..." Jin glared at the ground. "That you won't feed on the islanders by siphoning through their an..." He paused. How was he going to put this? "That is... The ends of their digestive tracts." Though he was a doctor (and well acquainted with all the names and parts of the human body), he felt it was inappropriate to outright say anus. Especially to a girl at her bedside. At least he had SOME manners.
Akari's face flushed red in shame. "N-no, I'm not that kind of kappa!" she insisted, shaking her head; "I was born from a good kappa– dad never did anything like that to the villagers– so just NO. I don't even need to promise that I won't, I just NEVER do that!" She gulped when she realized what she had said.
"Ah. Is that so?" Jin noted. "Then I guess I don't need a special kappa pledge from you after all. It appears everyone is already safe from you... Well. There's other ways for you to repay your debt to me now."
Akari fell to the ground, leaning on her hands and knees– defeated. I'm a Fail Kappa... She sulked. Her dad had once told her that if a kappa needed to repay a debt, one could simply pledge to never again harm any nearby humans. Promising to behave was infinitely better than promising to be a slave.
"Lately, it's been hard for me to collect medicinal materials." Jin revealed. "I waste precious time hunting them down, and my time is such an important resource... So, you can collect them for me. It shouldn't be that big of a deal for you anyway, correct?"
Clenching her fingers against the cold, hard floor, Akari filled with resent. Wait a minute... she thought; Are you saying that my time is worthless?
"Ah. But that only covers one debt, doesn't it?" Jin held his chin. "Yes. You'll need to repay me in another way, since there's not enough herbs and roots on this island to keep me quiet about your... Well. You know." He smiled coldly.
What's with that patronizing tone? Akari thought, grimacing. And especially when he's dong something so illegal! ...What ever happened to 'patient confidentiality?' The doctor was blackmailing her– and if she didn't know any better– she'd think that he was actually enjoying it.
"I understand," Akari muttered distantly, standing back up. "What can I do?"
"There is something," he said. "I am interested in your biology."
"What?" Akari rocked on her feet, growing increasingly mortified with each passing second.
"I know it sounds forward, but I wish to study you. Simply put, I want to see if there's anything to learn. Animals can also offer medical breakthroughs, especially rare ones like you."
"An animal, huh?" Akari trembled with unspeakable rage. "Right. I understand." I'm used to this by now.
Jin never noticed her building grudge, he only kept speaking. Adjusting his glasses, he pulled the long black bangs from his eyes. "–Just think of it as a part time job," he told her. "Of course if you're uncomfortable with it, I can find something else–"
"-NO. THAT'S QUITE ALRIGHT." Akari glared at him with a painfully forced and unhinged smile. It was so intense, that it took him by surprise. "I'LL SEE YOU RIGHT AWAY– TOMORROW, EVEN." She stomped away, like a dinosaur.
"I'll... look forward to it." He watched her thump down the stairs. Moments later, a booming eruption shook the entire building.
Running down stairs, Jin found that the clinic door had been knocked off its door frame. Somehow, Akari's anger had gotten the best of her, so she had slammed it with super strength.
Irene, Jin's supposed grandmother, stared at him with cool eyes. Folding her arms behind her back, she learned over the clinic's front counter like an old crow. "Are you sure it's ok to play with such a creature?" she asked coyly. "You've gotten her quite upset. Why, I think she even hates you now."
Surveying the splintered door frame, Jin held his chin with poise. "If she wants to hate me, that's fine," he replied. "Then we'll have even more in common..."