CHAPTER TWENTY-SEVEN
Helping with Fishing
I found myself walking across a large red bridge over a river near Watcher's Cape when something grabbed my attention- the light of sunlight sparkling brightly on water. To my left up ahead I saw a large pond. As I trotted closer I saw a waterfall that poured down from high up in the cliffs. A mermaid spring swirled in the middle of it. I came up to the pool, stopping to take a drink, and saw a man was fishing on the south side of the water. He was rather rotund, had deep-blue robes on, and his black hair was cropped short to his scalp. When he saw me he spoke in a low deep voice. "What do you want, wolf?" I stopped a few feet from him and wagged my tail in a friendly way. "Well, I don't need to worry about you taking my fish, I haven't caught any!" He laughed, but it was a dry laugh. I felt sorry for the guy. As if he read my thoughts, Hiraku spoke: "Hey, we could help you catch some fish, Akime here is good luck!" He winked down at me.
"I doubt a lucky wolf will do me any good, the fish aren't biting at all. I've been out here since dawn and there's been nothing." He sighed. "Maybe I'll just try again tomorrow…" But while he had been talking, I spotted his problem. The fish were in deeper water. Using the brush without Hiraku noticing, I connected the biggest fish I saw in the water to his pole. Feeling something, the man broke off and looked back at his fishing rod. "What the? I got a bite? I got a bite!" He whooped and pulled. After that, it was wave after wave of fish. We fished for some time, reeling in fish after fish after fish. The sun above us rose to its peak, then slowly started to sink in the sky, everything was then tinted with a late-afternoon orange glow. Then, in the afternoon sun, I curled up and yawned, I decided the next fish we caught, would be the last, then we'd have to get a move on. Just then, a fish snagged the line. The fisherman pulled firmly on the rod, but the fish darted this way and that, so fast you could hardly keep your eyes on it. "Hold on tight mister!" Hiraku said, hopping onto the ground. "Don't let this one get away!" He pulled with all his strength, but the clever fish wasn't getting any closer. I rolled my eyes, I would have to help. Guiding the rod, I helped reel the fish in closer and closer, until I could see it's detailed outline. With one swift movement, fisherman pulled it out of the water, and I stunned it with a power-slash. The blue-robed guy heaved it out of the water, and we all gathered around it. "A koi!" Hiraku said.
I looked the fish over, it was the most beautiful fish I had ever seen, its orange and black spots splashed over the white in just the right places, and its fins were unlike any others I had seen before. They were long and white, and tipped with black, not short and round. Plus it was at least a foot long!
"Can we keep this one?" Hiraku asked. "Fine with me," fisherman said to us. "Dead koi won't sell too well in the market anyway." He looked appraisingly at the pile of fish he had caught that day. "…And it's the very least I could do for your help." He added gratefully.
I grabbed the fish in my mouth, very gently. "Didn't that water-guy want fish?" Hiraku asked and I nodded as I trotted away from the pool, leaving the man to his bounty. We only needed this one. "Come on, let's hurry!" He said, sounding bossy. "Don't want this fish to die!" Using a quick stroke of my brush to stop the setting sun, out of the corner of my eye, I saw the fisherman wave happily next to his huge stack of fish, then I jumped into the mermaid pool. Going under the water for an instant, the large koi twitched in my mouth, but I had a firm grip on it. Dropping a mermaid coin into the pool, Hiraku and I started to spin around. The water glowed brightly, I felt a great suction force squeeze my body, I felt like I was going through a giant tube. I closed my eyes, I felt light-headed and out of breath, but then it was over. I popped my head out of the water and gasped, getting a giant waft of fish-scent, then pawed my way to the side and climbed out, shook and looked around. Yep, we were in the aristocratic part of Sei-an. Scanning the area, I saw Ren standing where we saw him last through the stalks of bamboo. I gathered my feet under me and sprang towards him, my tail wagging. "Hey water-guy!" Hiraku shouted. Ren turned towards us. "Hey Wolfie!… What's that in your mouth?" He said, bending down and reaching towards me. I spat the long-finned koi out at his feet, and it flopped miserably. "I don't believe it!" Ren said, rubbing his eyes then picking up the foot-long fish. "It's a mature, butterfly, maruten taisho sanke!" He said loudly, clearly celebrating. Apparently we had found quite a fish. He proceeded to dance around with the fish in his outstretched arms. I shared a quick glance with Hiraku, with the man still dancing in circles, holding a clearly uncomfortable fish, then I barked loudly to grab his attention. "Huh?" The dancing man suddenly halted and the fish flopped wildly in his hands so he struggled to hold it. "Oh yes, sorry my darling Fishie." He said, hurrying over to the canal and gently placing the fish in. It hovered for a moment, then took off in a flash of shining scales.
"Thank you Wolfie!" Ren said, beaming at us. "Thanks for bringing that fish to me instead of eating it!" He clasped his hands together and looked around, then continued. "Well now run along, and see if you can find a Showa now!" He made a shooing motion with his hands and turned back to the water to look for the fish. I shrugged and started to walk off. I heard a scratching noise near my ear and twitched, looking up at my forehead. Hiraku was marking something on the list of fish Ren had given us. "Well Akime," He said, rolling up the scroll and rubbing a bit of ink on his nose. "That's one of the fish on the list, a 'Sanke' he said, and it matched the description. Wonder what bubble-brain will give us if we get them all…" I thought that too, what would he give us in return? "Let's go back fishing." I told Hiraku.
"I agree," the brown poncle said, "I'm keen to see what we'll get if we get all those fish." I rolled my eyes, just like him to be interested in the treasure part. So we headed back towards the small pool that was hidden by bamboo stalks, with a few workers trimming and harvesting the fast-growing plants and placing the stalks in a cart.
"Akimeterasu!" A regal voice called, and I stopped. Yatosama was quickly approaching from the direction of his palace, flanked by the two guards who had been posted outside his palace before I fought Ninetails. The young samurai and the elder. "I knew our paths would cross again very soon." He stopped in front of Hiraku and I, the crystal ball in his crown shining in the sun. "Yatosama." I greeted him. "Allow me to introduce my right hand man, Tetsuo, and this is his apprentice, Hiroshi."
"We've met." Tetsuo said calmly, looking me up and down. "I don't know how you slipped past me, but you have my respect for it." He bowed his head, and his apprentice followed suit. 'it was nothing really' I thought to myself, but bowed my head in return. The bamboo-cart tipped over behind us, spilling its load onto the stone with a loud clatter. We all turned to look as the vendor and a few other men helped to pick up the fallen wares. One shouted at the rest harshly, but upon seeing the king he straightened up and strode confidently through the fallen bamboo towards us. He was tall and broad-shouldered, with black armor adorned with red and green cloth, close-cropped hair, and a fierce look about him. "Ah, here's another great man. Akimeterasu, allow me to introduce Takeo; one of my most loyal warriors." Yatosama said, gesturing to the powerful-looking man. Takeo bowed slightly in greeting. "It is an honor to serve the rightful ruler of Sei-an. I know that we shall soon bring great change to the city."
"He's a good man, one of the best in Sei-an. I trust you approve?" The king stated, the end of his sentence perking up slightly in an almost undetectable hopeful question. The energy of this man unnerved me, like he was ready to jump into battle at any second, but it was unfair to judge him harshly as I didn't yet know him. "Yes…" I nodded, and the king smiled. "Tetsuo, you and your apprentice can remain here to supervise, Takeo with me. Akimeterasu, if you are not busy, would you accompany me and my men to visit Queen Himiko's grave?" Yatosama asked, using a draping robe to gesture towards Himiko's, or rather, his palace. I nodded, and padded after him up across the plaza and up the stairs, in the direction of the great mountains.