by Paul Kidd
A formation of spearmen marched past the tree line. In buildings beyond, common foot soldiers in their hundreds were fast asleep. More luxurious quarters housed samurai, and large stables were filled with horses. Chiri and Sura carefully crossed the space right behind the spearmen as they passed by, and vanished beneath the raised floors of the samurai quarters. They crossed beneath the buildings, then under a wooden walkway, moving towards the gardens in the west.
A section of the bailey had been sealed off with bamboo walls and planted with broad, shady trees. Sura sniffed, smelling the clear scent of water. She led the others carefully along the edge of a bath house, halting at the edge of a broad, well-kept path.
A small gate led through the fence at the far side of the path. Sura looked out carefully at the open ground. There was nothing in view except a pile of wood close by the bath house, and a little pile of wooden buckets.
The coast was clear. Chiri moved forward, then flitted out into the path.
Quite suddenly, a light shone out into the path. Chiri froze.
Two drunken samurai emerged from a nearby hut. The door was open, sending a stream of lamp light shining out into the road. Chiri’s white fur stood out bright against the dust.
Sura shot out of cover. In one great silken leap, she completely covered Chiri and tucked the white tip of her own tail out of sight. She lay flat in the dusty road down in a wheel rut, utterly still, keeping her face turned away from the light in case it sparked reflection from her eyes.
The two samurai clomped down out of their hut. They walked to the bath house and called out to the other huts. When there was no answer, one pulled open the bath house door and peered inside, holding up a lantern to light the way. But the bath fires were apparently out – the water was too cold.
The two samurai walked to the woodpile, only a few paces from Sura and Chiri. Both men peered under the bath house to look at the fireplace under the tub. One poked at the cold coals, while another took a pull from his sakē jug.
“Ah, you’ll never get it going!”
“Damn! Cold as a frog spirit’s arse!”
Finally the men gave up and turned away. They caught sight of another man some distance off, near the trees. The samurai wandered towards him, laughing drunkenly as they went.
Sura carefully looked up. Chiri peeked out from beneath her. With Daitanishi and Bifuuko covering the rear, they moved swiftly into the dark shadows of the bamboo wall.
Wriggling beneath the gate, they slipped out into a world of splashing water and black, looming trees.
A wide courtyard was filled with ranks of huge glazed earthenware tubs. A spring from the upper hill had been tapped, and bamboo pipes ran above the tubs, trickling water down into each container. Little side holes in the pots trickled out the overflow, keeping the water level far below the rims. The ground was covered with gravel and large stones. Run-off trickled away to be caught by a ditch, that carried the water off in a stream towards the outer fortress wall.
A single soldier walked through the expanse of fish tubs, keeping guard with an air of utter boredom. The man wore a short cuirass and a metal face guard for his forehead and his cheeks. He hummed to himself and toed rocks with his sandals, trying to pass a long and tedious midnight duty.
Sura and Chiri sat in the lower branches of a thick, knotted old tree, looking out over the moonlit yard. Chiri leaned in and whispered softly into Sura’s ear.
“This seems to be the correct location. But what if Chōisai-chan has been taken to the lord’s private compound?”
“So we’ll look there next!” Sura peered off at the solitary guard. “Ooh! No helmet!”
Daitanishi immediately lifted off from the branch and flashed through the air. He struck the guard on the back of the head and knocked him out cold. Sura gleefully leapt down from the tree. Chiri followed, scowling in annoyance.
“I have an unnerving feeling that you are bad for my karma…”
The two animal spirits shimmered and turned into their half human form, crouching naked amongst the fish tubs. Sura ran over and threw off the unconscious man’s armour, swiping his robe to cover herself. Chiri was utterly scandalised. She hissed a whisper.
“Sura san – that is theft!”
“Hey – lady in distress here! There’s a cold breeze blowing up the pass!” Something jingled. Sura checked inside the robe’s sleeve and discovered half a dozen silver coins. “Oooh! He has cash!”
“Sura!”
“What?” The fox looked over at Chiri, quite confused. “Oh alright. You know, for a rat, you’re a real prude…” Sura threw the guard’s under-robe to Chiri. “Let’s go. You check right, I’ll take left!”
Sura peered into the nearest huge pot. Large handsome catfish were swimming around at the bottom of the tub, showing clearly in the moonlight. The fox was immediately delighted.
“Oooh! Electric catfish! Those are pretty neat! They use those to cure rheumatism!”
The rat gave Sura a scowl.
“Sura! Be quick!”
“All right all right all right!” The fox gave a wave, then padded off down a vast row of tubs.
Lord Raiden had a serious thing for goldfish. There must have been two hundred immense tubs in the courtyard. Sura peered down into pots one after another, hoping the moon would yield enough light to see within. But none of the fish seemed a likely candidate to be young Chōisai. Several pots were filled with incredibly tiny fish fry – little specks with eyes that came over to peer up curiously at their visitor. Others held small fish no longer than Sura’s thumb. Things were made more complicated by the strange higgledy-piggledy arrangement of the tubs: neat ranks near the gate soon gave way to weird clusters interrupted by trees, little equipment sheds and wooden pillars that held aloft the ever-trickling water pipes.
After ten nerve-wracking, silent minutes, there was still no sign of Chōisai. Sura peered into a huge pot directly beneath a tree, trying to see down into the black waters. She rapped on the side, hoping to draw the fish up to the surface, but nothing seemed to arise.
Sura caught sight of another knot of enormous tubs beneath a tricking line of pipes. She took a swift look about the paths between the rows, but could see no sign of guards. Ducking low, the fox spirit flitted off amongst the pots, her long tail swishing in the dark.
One tub in particular caught her attention – a magnificently glazed pot painted with symbols for increase and good fortune. There was even a prayer rope tied about the tub. Sura rubbed her hands together in satisfaction. She silently crept to the pot and arose out of the shadows to peer down into the water.
As her head rose over the rim of the tub, she found herself looking into the shocked face of a human – a man with a black cowl wrapped about his head, and jet black clothing. Fox and human stared at one another in alarm.
Sura blinked, then pricked up her ears and gave a wave.
“Hi! I’m a water fairy. Just here to make sure the water here is clean.”
The human gaped at her in shock. “You what?”
Sura sniffed at the water, dabbled her fingers and gave a nod. “Well – everything’s in order here. Now off you go before the guards arrive.”
The man in black stiffened, then began to bluster.
“You there! What are you doing here! This area is restricted!”
“Yeah! Restricted to ninja, too!”
The ninja lifted his chin.
“I am an agent of Lord Raiden. Explain yourself!”
The fox rose, her tail curling in suspicion.
“If that’s true, why don’t you call the guards?”
“I… I have no need to! I am the guard!”
The ninja looked very different to the Akai Nami ninja Sura had encountered in the past: his headdress was more of a turban than a purpose-made hood. Sura looked sharply at the man and pointed a finger.
“You’re not an Akai Nami! You’re here to steal fish!”
The ninja hurled a wicked, leaf shaped knife at Su
ra’s head. She blocked the whirring blade with a pot lid, then flung the pot lid straight back at the ninja. The man popped up from the tub just in time to take a face full of dirt and gravel.
He fell back, wiping furiously at his eyes as the unarmed fox spirit raced off between the pots. Sura sped into the dark, zig-zagging madly as a pair of shuriken flickered wildly after her, thudding into a cherry tree.
The fox was gone. The ninja drew his sword and moved slowly, carefully into the dark spaces between the tubs. The sound of trickling water came from every side – tree boughs creaked and whispered. The man moved with savage, intense stealth, carefully moving forward for the kill.
Something metallic rang softly in the darkness. It sounded like a coin dropped from a careless sleeve. The ninja sneered, turning to home in upon the sound. He slunk forward in absolute silence, sword ready to run the fox spirit through.
A silver coin glinted on the ground beside a huge, broad fish tub. A hollow bamboo tube was jutting up out of the water. The ninja smiled and carefully approached the tub. He rose, poised his sword, then plunged it violently down into the water, stabbing at the bamboo snorkel.
The man gave a strangled noise, jerking wildly backwards as electric catfish in the tub whip-cracked a shock up through the sword and into the ninja’s body. The man fell, stunned. Sura sprang out of hiding behind a nearby tub and banged a rock onto the man’s head, cackling with glee.
Sura dragged the man back out of sight between the pots – then had a sudden thought and searched his robes. She came up with a knife, a tight package of silver coins, and shiny new gold piece.
“Ha!”
Chiri popped out from behind some fish tubs nearby. She cast a suspicious eye over the fox, scuttling over to hiss a whisper in her ear.
“Quiet! You make too much noise!”
“Sorry! Ninja moment!”
Chiri suddenly saw the unconscious ninja splayed on the ground. “What did you just do?”
“Double bluff and a whammy! I made a decoy to draw him to the decoy, then zapped him with a fish!” Sura saw that Chiri was confused. “What? It’s a fox thing!” The fox spirit collected Chiri and the two elementals under her wing. She gave the gold coin to Bifuuko to carry “Hey – there’s some big tubs over here. I might have found the right one!”
Sura led the way swiftly back over to the elaborately decorated fish tub where she had first found the ninja. Chiri cling closely at her side.
“Sura, why was there a ninja?”
“I think a rival lord is trying to steal Chōisai.”
They reached the decorated tub and leaned over to peer down into the depths.
There, shimmering in the darkness, was a waft of perfect yellow-gold.
A fish swam within– a huge goldfish with elegant fins. The creature’s colour was spellbinding – pure gentle gold, glimmering with highlights that seemed to sparkle with a life all of their own.
Utterly entranced, Sura and Chiri stared down into the water in absolute wonder. Chiri whispered in quiet, stunned reverence.
“Chōisai chan!”
They had to be out and gone. The unconscious guard would awaken soon, and there was sure to be a change of sentries sometime within the hour. Chiri leaned over the tub and clicked her fingers, trying to coax the glorious fish up to the surface.
“Chōisai! Chōisai chan! Here – there’s a good boy!”
Sura looked back towards the gate. She was certain that she could hear sandals marching on the gravel road. “Grab him!”
“I need to coax him to the surface… He’s gone deep again!”
“Then get in after him!”
Chiri made a face. “Eww! Into fish water?”
“Don’t be such a baby!”
Chiri winced, but climbed up and slipped gently into the huge tub, displacing a great splash of water. Water splashed into her mouth, and the poor rat spirit spat in revulsion.
“Lord Raiden’s filtration system needs a little work.”
“Shh! Get the kid!”
Chiri dropped her head beneath the surface of the reeking water, trying to shepherd Chōisai into her arms. Finally she managed to take gentle hold of the young carp spirit, coaxed him into her arms. The rat emerged from under the water – bedraggled, discoloured, and talking firmly and calmly to the great goldfish. She seemed to have established a good rapport.
“That’s a good boy. We’re taking you back to your mother. Remember mother?”
The fish immediately began to wriggle about. Calming him, Chiri hoisted Chōisai up over the edge of the tub. She handed the heavy, slippery fish carefully to Sura, who cradled him carefully in her borrowed robe.
Chiri pulled herself dripping from the tub – smelling of dank water and fish. With Daitanishi covering the rear and Bifuuko scouting the way ahead, they ran swiftly over to the ditch that drained water out and away from the fish yard.
The ditch filled with a steady stream that flowed all along the long edge of the yard, then ran off beneath the bamboo wall and out into the castle’s outer bailey.
The gates into the fish yard suddenly scraped open. There was a tramp of feet as a samurai archer marched four guards into the yard. They looked about – clearly wondering where the sentry had gone.
The samurai barked orders, calling for the missing guard. When there was no answer, the man gestured to his foot soldiers. The men spread out, naginatas in hand, pressing onward through the tubs to make a search.
Chiri and Sura kept low, slipping quietly into the cold water in the ditch. They lowered the fish into the water, keen to keep his gills wet, and the fish thrashed mightily, splashing like mad. Chōisai made a bright, happy noise of glee.
One of the foot soldiers caught a hint of the noise. He turned and walked towards Chiri and Sura, squinting as he tried to see into the pitch-black shadows.
Over amongst the tubs, the ninja swayed to his feet, nursing his injured head. A foot soldier caught sight of the man and gave a shout. The ninja turned and fled. Three men ran after the black-clad figure, chasing him off an over the bamboo wall.
The samurai summoned the man who had been approaching the ditch, and together they raced to Chōisai’s tub and stared inside. The samurai plunged his hand into the water then staggered back, bellowing an alarm. Sura saw lanterns hurrying towards the garden gates, and dunked herself into the water.
“Aaaaand we’re leaving!”
They turned into animal form, splashing down with Chōisai in the ditch. The flowing water flooded off and away under the bamboo wall and out into the main compound. After a dozen paces it reached a stone-rimmed pipe and plunged down through the ground.
Sura, Chiri and the two elementals plunged forward through the water, trying to keep Chōisai under control. In the castle bailey, foot soldiers were coming to their feet as sentries seized their weapons. Some men ran to the barracks, while others raced to the battlements. A samurai on horseback galloped through the compound, leaping his horse clean over the animals down in the ditch. The fox and rat tried to keep one paw upon Chōisai’s back as they sluiced forwards through the water.
The ditch fed straight into a pipe. But the pipe’s entrance was blocked by a welded iron grid too small to pass Chōisai or the fox. The grid had been blocked into place with large stones. Sura splashed to a halt and looked over towards the battlements, where more and more soldiers were running into position.
“Crap! Okay – we’re taking the pipe! You sure it’s clear?”
Chiri slithered, spluttering, trying to keep a grip on the rough stone lining of the ditch with one paw, and holding Chōisai with another.
“Bifuuko flew through and checked it. She said it was safe.”
“Great.” Sura lifted her snout over the edge of the ditch and watched for danger. “Daitanishi! Do that thing!”
The little earth elemental plunged into the rock that edged the grate, then suddenly expanded his size. The grate cracked free. Sura turned into half-human form, crouching in the shall
ow ditch to haul the grate aside.
In the dark compound nearby, a section of foot soldiers caught a glimpse of the fox. An arrow flashed in the dark, hitting the ground nearby and skipping wildly off into the dark. Sura flashed and changed into animal shape, plunging straight into the pipe. Chiri pushed Chōisai in after her, then dove into the pipe with Bifuuko and Daitanishi close on her tail.
They plunged wildly down through a great slimy, sloping pipe half filled with water. Bifuuko glimmered with light that reflected here and there off the walls. Sura slid, bashing through dirt, mud, and at one point, some sort of cellar mould. She shot downwards at speed – and suddenly the floor dropped out under her. The pipe plunged almost vertically, straight into darkness.
Sura wailed as she fell. She swirled around and around slimy walls, with Chiri squealing behind her. Chōisai made a noise of wild delight, while Daitanishi just frowned and scowled. Sura banged her backside as the pipe shallowed out – the water whooshing her along and down, down, down towards a faint glimmer of starlight beyond.
Sura suddenly slammed against an iron grid. In front of her, water gushed out from beneath the castle hill and splashed down in a little stream. Chiri and Chōisai crashed into Sura’s furry back – perfectly cushioned. The fox clung to the grid, pinned by the force of the water.
“Ow…!”
Waiting in the stream bed beyond, Tonbo stripped down to his loincloth as he splashed forward through the water. Behind him, Kuno – also in his underwear – wrestled a large sakē barrel Sura had ‘borrowed’ from the Shinto shrine. Half-drowned, Sura croaked and made a pathetic little wave.
“Help…?”
Tonbo wrenched the iron grid away. Sura, Chiri, Chōisai and the elementals all fell into a pool of water beneath the rushing pipe. Chōisai made a gleeful noise as he splashed down.
Kuno managed to catch Chōisai in his arms – marvelling at the sparkling beauty of the boy’s scales. He carefully placed the fish spirit in the empty barrel, filled it three-quarters full of water, then tamped down the lid.
Wet, battered and bedraggled, Sura pulled herself up out of the water. Bifuuko dropped the ninja’s heavy gold coin onto her head, and the bedraggled fox gave the elemental a dazed thumbs-up.