Promises Kept
When the festival finished, Hiraku and I slept for nearly a whole day, waking up near sunset. I wracked my brain for tasks we still had to complete on the coast, and since we still had a phantom limb to deliver back, we returned to Ankoku temple. We returned the phantom limb to its owner, who grasped it thankfully, uttering: "Thank you… Now I have been to every corner of the land… Thank you…" before he faded away from our sight, leaving behind a hearty helping of praise. Curious, Hiraku and I decided to attempt to revive all the tombstones and see if there were any other souls with unfinished business. Some did not stir, apparently the people buried had led full lives with no regrets and were content to sleep. However, many of them were home to a restless spirit. There was a man who, when alive, had been too frightful to go outside his entire life. His dilapidated and uncared for house eventually collapsed in on his head, but now he refused to leave his grave for the same reason. He was too terrified of the world and especially of what lay in the world beyond. I brought him a flower, the most beautiful I could find, to show him that the outside world was beautiful and not completely horrible at all. If a delicate flower like this one could survive in the world, he could too. Emboldened, he had the courage to leave his grave and pass on to the next world.
One marker had apples around the grave as offerings, as well as a bow leaned against the stone. I swore it had a quiver leaned against it before as well. I attempted to rejuvenate it, to no avail. 'Perhaps their spirit has already moved on.' I pondered, extremely surprised when words were spoken right by my ear: "Excuse me, what are you doing to my grave?" I leaped and spun around, looking to see who had snuck up on me, and seeing no creature around. I did, however, see a quiver full of arrows.
"Woah, freaky." Hiraku said. "Did that quiver just say something?"
"Yes, I asked what you're doing." It responded. I felt a little cautious, the last animated objects I'd encountered were less than friendly, but this one seemed perfectly polite.
"This is your grave?" I asked curiously.
"It is. I was reluctant to move on to the next world after my early death defending the city from monsters… Now I fear my soul is stuck here in the mortal world, contained in my most prized possessions." The quiver lamented, hopping as it spoke. "That's rough buddy. Do you miss having a body?" Hiraku asked, I thought a little callously. "I do miss archery, firing my bows into the sky and watching them move swiftly towards their target. It was such a rush, I felt like one with my arrows." The quiver spoke longingly, sagging in sorrow.
"Well, we can help with that." I said, grabbing the bow in my jaws and wagging my tail. "We can be your body, just tell us where to aim." The quiver straightened up and the arrows shivered in joy. "Aim at the archer's constellation over the sea, I want to feel my arrows soaring through the heavens."
Hiraku pulled the string back while I held the bow firmly in my mouth. The first arrow hit the huge bell in the yard, causing a terrible ruckus and waking the foxes. I straightened up for the second attempt, readjusting my position, gripping the string firmly between my teeth and aiming at the stars. I loosed the bow and the second arrow soared straight and true into the starry sky. I saw a flash of white ascend from the arrow, momentarily taking the form of a man, flying heavenward- free at last.
"Rest in peace, arrow-guy." Hiraku saluted, and I sat, watching the stars and the spot the ghost had vanished. I swiveled my ears backwards at the noise of someone coming down the stone steps from the temple and turned to look. There was a young monk, drawn in by the noise of the bell. He crept down the stairs holding a broom like a weapon. "Who-who's there?" He called out, hugging the broom close and eyes darting around. I stepped out from behind the headstones and wagged my tail. "Oh, it's just a dog." He said, relaxing, and patted my head. "Or wolf? No matter, all are welcome here." He stood up straight and looked around. "Ugh, I hate the night shift. I swear, the other monks send me to clean this late as a sick joke! It wouldn't be the first time. Last week they sent me out to look for a sacred bird, and I looked all day and all night for days for the sacred snipe, but I found nothing! But I will accept my duty, humility and obedience are great virtues…"
'Well that's not very kind of them.' I thought. "Brother, that sounds like you need to stand up for yourself, stop letting the other monks push you around!" Hiraku said, surprising the young monk. "Oh! A sprite too? Well, that's what Kabe also says to me… But they-"
"No buts! You have just as much a right to be here as they do." Hiraku said firmly, but the young monk looked down. "The word of my superiors are the word of the Buddha, and I won't abandon my given duties." The young monk shuffled his feet. "Even if there are monsters out here at night… Uwabami, Wani, Guardians… At least we're far away from Ryo Ruins. The other monks say there lives a beast called a Kappa up there. Nasty thing, it will eat your shirikodama if it's given the chance." He shivered at the thought. "Your what?" Hiraku and I asked, confused. "Uh… Let's just say it's a manifestation of one's soul that resides in… A… Private place. Your best chance against it is to get it to spill water out of the bowl on its head. Or, you can toss something with your name on it into the bowl, then it will do what you ask of it."
I shared a look with Hiraku. We'd been up to Ryo Ruins and hadn't seen any beast like that, maybe this was another one of the other monks' pranks? Yet… We were curious. 'Maybe it's worth another look around. So what if it'll eat our shirikodama, we've faced worse. Leap before you think!'
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We didn't rush to the ruins, I spent my time exploring the coast and enjoying the bright, warm coast. I even raced against Orca, running across the waves using Umigami's power. He proved to be faster, but I was certain I could beat him if I kept trying. I found a small inlet on the coast's cliff surface above the Kabegami statue and restored the old grave inside, rejuvenating the stone and planting flowers around the stone. In gratitude, the traveler's ghost revealed a false wall in the back of the cave, which ascended upwards towards the ruins. We thanked him, and then took the stairway shortcut to the ruins.
We emerged from a cave on the south side of the ruins, near the bulk of the old buildings. I walked through the ancient stones, taking my time to examine the engravings, some old and covered in vines, and some cracked and unreadable. One that caught my eye was a carving with four mighty beasts on it, they were highly stylized, but it looked like one was a bird, a turtle, a tiger, and a dragon. I noticed a small inscription under the animals: "When the city is turned upside-down, you shall seek out the dragon to the east, the bird to the south, the tortoise to the north, and the tiger to the west."
'Maybe this has something to do with the Shijin that Iyo was talking about?' I wondered, padding past the stone.
Hiraku and I approached a few small ponds on the far side of the ruins, a mermaid pool spiral churning on the right side, moss strewn all across the rocks, and then one of the rocks moved, and I realized what I had thought was another green stone was actually a creature, watching the water closely. "Here, here little fishies…" It coaxed, waving its oddly-formed body hypnotically over the water, eyes glued intently on the water. It suddenly darted a hand into the water, as fast as a blink, and withdrew a squirming fish, wrapped in webbed fingers. "Gotcha! What a tasty little snack for Kappa!" It giggled, holding the red and white fish up high. "Wait a minute…" Hiraku said, hopping off my head and pulling out Ren's list to look at. Sure enough, the last fish looked exactly like the struggling one the beast, Kappa, was holding. Bright red spots on its back, and a pristine white base. I trotted up to the strange creature before it could take a bite of the fish and said hello, waving my tail. It glared at me, slowly lowering the fish from its mouth. "Godses, nasty Godses. What does it want with old Kappa?" It spoke in a high-pitched voice, slightly raspy. It had a shell for a body, a frog's limbs, and monkey-like face. The strangest feature of all, however, was the cup-like protrusion on top of its head, that was filled with water that sloshed around whenever the creature moved. "That's a beautiful fish you just caught. Is there anything you would want for it?" I said flatteringly, and the strange monster stared at the fish, pondering. "Hmm… For fish, Kappa wants… 10,000,000 yen!" The kappa exclaimed. "Um…Is there anything else we could give you? Anything we could do?" The green creature shook its head, quickly losing interest. "How about a bet for it?" Hiraku suggested.
"A bet? Like… A game?" The kappa re-steadied himself on top of a rock, and the koi flopped frustratedly. "Sure, let's make it a game."
"Kappa loves games! Kappa will play a game with the Godses for the fishie." He held up the fish, that wriggled in displeasure, but held tight in his webbed hands. "What game we play… I knows! Godses must do what Kappa does, and Kappa must do what Godses does, but only when the special words are spoken." Kappa declared. "No tricks, no magic!" The creature reasoned, waggling the koi in front of us. "You win… I gives you the fish. I win… I eats your shirikodama." The kappa grinned toothily and my muscles tightened. "Deal."
"Magic words are 'Captain's orders'." The Kappa explained. "Captain's orders, jump!" The Kappa exclaimed, and leaped several feet in the air, and I followed suit. "Godses' turn now!" The Kappa said, visibly excited. "Captain's orders… Turn in a circle." I said, spinning in place, and the monster did the same. "Now… Clap!" The monster commanded, clapping its webbed hands together, but I didn't move. "Very clever Godses, very clever." The Kappa said, disappointed its plan didn't work, the water in its head bowl sloshing around. I remembered what the young monk had said about these creatures, and had an idea.
"Captain's orders, bow!" I dug at the ground, initiating a bow. The kappa, without thinking, bowed in return- and the water in his protrusion spilled out in a waterfall. The kappa shrieked in alarm. "Tricksy god! You cheats!" The Kappa raged, stamping his feet. The creature began to shrivel in front of our eyes, drying out and withering away pitifully as it shrieked. I quickly whipped my tail to create a waterspout between the pond and the kappa's head before he completely shrank away, refilling the cup. The creature coughed and regained color, filling back in from its weakened state. "You… Spares Kappa? Oh thanks you, thanks you!" The slippery creature prostrated himself. "Kappa won't eat nice god's shirikodama. But Kappa still won't give up his fish!"
"Oh please?" Hiraku pleaded, and the kappa shook its head and stuck out its tongue. "What was that thing the monk said, to make it do what we say?" Hiraku whispered to me, but the kappa still overheard. "Kappa doesn't have to do whats they say! Good thing they haven't put something with their name inside Kappa's bowl." The green creature clasped webbed fingers over his mouth. "Blasts it! Kappa's spoiled it!" The creature fled, hopping away in large, awkward bounds, seemingly forgetting it owed me a life debt. It ran until it reached the bridge that crossed over the pond and dove beneath it. "No! Come back!" I ran after it, but the creature flailed his arms at me when I got too close, from the shadows under the bridge. Instead, I climbed up on the bridge, and started pacing, thinking. We weren't carrying very much that could be spared to be let go, let alone had one of our names' on it. Then I had an idea. "Hold on…" Not entirely sure how, I managed to open my astral pouch and rifled around inside until I found a nice gourd, as they're "useful for things outside of eating". Feeling a bit queasy, I withdrew the vegetable, Hiraku carved my name into the side with his needle-thin sword and I aimed the gourd over the side of the bridge. I barked, and the kappa stuck his head out to see what was going on, and I let the gourd fly. And… it missed. As did the second, and third. 'Why do I have such Gods-damned bad depth perception?'
"Let me try it, furball." Hiraku said and tried to take the fourth gourd from me. "No, let me try one more time." I said and pulled away, my voice muffled by yellow gourd. I closed one eye and lined up with the best precision I could manage. I barked, and the kappa stuck out his head, and I dropped it- and the gourd at last perfectly landed squarely in the dead center of the bowl. It fit snugly inside, sitting upright like a festive yellow hat.
A shock went up the creature's spine, and the kappa made a strange noise. Then he looked up and grinned wildly. "Ah, masters!" He sprung up to the bridge right in front of us. "What can Kappa do for masters, eh?" The creature grinned broadly. "Can I have the fish? Um…" I coughed. "Give me the fish, please."
"Of course, of course!" The kappa said gleefully, and held out the koi, bouncing from one foot to the other. I took it gently in my jaws, and Kappa clapped. "Anything else Kappa can do for masters?" The kappa said excitedly, bouncing lightly on his feet. "Actually…" I said, thinking. "There's a young monk at Ankoku temple… I want you to go and be his protector."
"Yeah, make sure he doesn't get picked on." Hiraku interjected. "Or attacked by monsters." I clarified. "Thanks you, masters. Kappa will get right on it! No one will mess with young monks while Kappa lives!" The green creature skipped away from the pond in the direction of the south coast, and Hiraku and I shared a look. Then I cantered towards the pond with a mermaid pool in the center. I spun the water with my brush and leaped inside, re-emerging in the Aristocratic Quarters. I shook my coat dry, and ran over to where I saw Ren standing and overlooking the canal.
"Oh, hello wolfie! Is that what I think it is?" He took a step back in shock and rubbed his eyes. "That lustrous white, such verdant red steps, it must be a Kohaku! The simplest and most fundamental of all koi, but their unassuming beauty must never be underestimated! Quickly now, release it into the water." I dropped the koi into the canal next to him, and the poor confused fish floated for a second, before taking off and joining the others. "Yahoo! Whoopie! Yay!" Ren said, dancing in place. "Now we have all the fish required; and they will breed, and we will have a canal full of beautiful koi again!" He danced again, jumping up and down and kicking his knees high. "Come and visit again any time you want Wolfie! Oh, and here's a reward for you!" He said, coming to a stop and holding something out in his hand. I widened my eyes in anticipation, and I felt Hiraku lean forward as it came into view. It was a fishing rod, a pale gray fishing rod. I looked at it in disappointment that surely was clear on my face even for Ren to see.
"That… That's it?" Hiraku said and stared at it. Ren looked down at the rod for a second, realization crossing his face. "Oh yes, how silly of me… You are a… Well- this is the only thing I had on hand… And I don't need it anyway. I don't fish any more, since I have all the fish I need. You could sell it to a merchant, it was quite expensive, and you and Mr. Pixie could get some yen!" My ears perked up a bit, a little extra yen was always better than none!
"Ah, ok we'll take it," Hiraku said, reacting the same as I- looking a little brighter, and I took it in my jaws then put it away. "And as a bonus, take a look at the fish you brought me! Those first two fish bred like rabbits, and with a few supplements from me, the babies are growing magnificently!" Ren said, hoping this would make up for his lacking prize. I shrugged and said to Hiraku, "Come on, we can take a few minutes to look at the fish."
"Ok..." Hiraku said, shrugging again. "We've earned it, let's waste a few minutes." I padded over to the edge of the water and peered in. I looked at our handiwork, after a couple weeks of being left to their own devices, and being drugged with Ren's growth medication, the koi in the canal below me were bursting with color. The koi's peaceful power was immediate, I felt calmer just staring at them. Hiraku's shoulders relaxed and he hopped down off my head to sit near my paws. I laid down and looked down at the water, and my companion rested his face on his hands as he also gazed, mesmerized at the fish. Blue, white, and black fish swam past us, there was a flash of yellow, and a large orange one, and an orange one with black spots. As I looked to the left, I saw a 'butterfly' koi that looked familiar. I smiled, that fish there was the grand matriarch of this school, I was sure. The very first one reintroduced, a magnificent, beautiful fish. The koi swam gracefully below us, some of them coming right up to my paws that were just dangling above them, very curious, friendly creatures. 'Maybe when this adventure is done, I could take one of these koi back to the celestial plains. I'm sure… Mother would like that.' I yawned, then I felt a slight weight on my ribs. I looked; Hiraku had fallen asleep, resting against my side. I smiled again. 'What's the harm in taking a small break? We've been journeying for a long time now, nonstop… It's good to have… Have a break once in a while..'
Then I rested my head down too. It had been so long since we both have had a good night's sleep, we were well deserved of a nap. Then I closed my eyes and slipped away into a deep and peaceful slumber of gentle waves and glittering, living jewels shimmering beneath the surface.
(AN: A chapter of sidequests! But some fun ones at that. Yes, I'm sorry to report that the quiver-ghost was Yoichi, he died a noble death. Him possessing his quiver is a reference to an archer of legend called Yoshiaki, who also possessed his quiver upon his death. Also, the shirikodama thing (do yourself a favor, do NOT look it up) is just a myth, because Kappa is grumpy and misunderstood and really just wants to be left alone.)