Tails High

by Paul Kidd

  “Something appears to be happening.”

  All of the ordinary monks seemed to have assembled – perhaps fifty men. The tall monk strode along and counted heads, seeming satisfied with the count. He then gestured for the group to move to some boxes stacked along the porch.

  The monks all happily rummaged in the boxes. They brought forth little towels, draping them over their shoulders or occasionally cracking them at one another like whips. The tall monk tried to bring the merry mob to order.

  Chiri looked excitedly up out of the leaves.

  “The baths! It must be bath time for the monks! This is perfect! Kuno san – this is your chance!”

  Kuno cleared his throat.

  “Forgive me. Propriety insists that I give the baths a wide berth for a while.”

  Chiri nodded, then looked back at Tonbo.

  “Tonbo san?”

  The big man shook his head. “Novices don’t bathe with monks.”

  The rat wrung her little paws together in distress. “But it is a golden opportunity! Sura san can hardly go. Someone must attend to this at once!”

  There was a pregnant silence. All eyes slid towards Chiri. The little rat blinked, then froze in panic.

  “Oh no! No!” She immediately caught the hiccups “Oh dear!”

  Ears flaming pink with embarrassment, Chiri tried to back away, but Sura caught her by the tail and pulled her through to her own side of the fence. She brushed the rat clean of leaf litter, placed a hand behind her rear and propelled her towards the baths.

  “Off you go! Bifuuko and Daitanishi will come with you!”

  The rat quailed, trying to dig her feet in. “No! There must be another way!”

  “Don’t be such a baby!” Sura pushed the rat along through the grass. “Anyway – perving at monsters is allowed. It’s professional!”

  The rat gave a little wail.

  “But what if I am caught? Then I shall never be a bride!”

  “Oh shush! Quit squeaking and start peeking!”

  Chiri found herself scuttling through the gardens, keeping out of sight behind a garden bed as she raced ahead of the line of monks.

  Daitanishi and Bifuuko floated along behind her. The rock elemental seemed distinctly amused.

  The bath house was a long wooden building with a hefty boiler shed and a wide back roof that sheltered huge piles of firewood. Chiri dashed into cover amongst the wood, spying out the way ahead. Once certain that she was unseen, she scampered beneath the wooden steps that led through the door.

  An old floorboard in one corner had a gap just wide enough for Chiri’s head. She pressed and wriggled – Daitanishi gave her a leg-up – then finally squeezed through the hole. She emerged into a humid space lit by sparse beams of morning sun.

  The huge bath house echoed to the splash of water running out of bamboo pipes.

  A wide robing room was filled with wooden benches. Beyond this was a great, broad room filled with seven enormous wooden tubs. These were filled with seething hot water, and the walls dripped with condensation. Even with windows open, the place was hot and sultry with steam.

  Chiri emerged beside the long rows of stools that ranged alongside the tubs. She looked about and saw a shelf running about the room. The little rat climbed up a rough wooden pillar and twittered along the shelf, threading behind piles of small wooden pails. She hid herself out of sight behind a stone image of a frog that sat on the shelf, peering between the frog’s splayed feet. Daitanishi and Bifuuko tucked themselves behind her, crowding tight against her fur.

  Bifuuko dubiously buzzed her wings. Chiri shook herself, scowling back at the air elemental.

  “Certainly it shall be simple! It is not as though it is the end of the world. After all, I have glimpsed Tonbo san and Kuno san in the bath before. How much more can there possibly be to see?”

  The doors to the bath house were thrown open by the merry horde of monks, who flooded in to the disrobing room and threw off their clothes. They marched single file right past Chiri’s hiding place. Fat ones, skinny ones, tall ones and saggy ones, young and oh-so old. Chiri was at groin height as they all came tramping and jiggling by.

  Her little rat face went quite wooden – save for a sudden twitch in one cheek.

  The tall, hatchet-faced monk stood before the bathers, who faced him with their backs to Chiri and the wall. The tall monk stood straight, and clapped his hands down at his sides.

  “Prepare for baths. Bow!”

  “Dozo-o-o-o!” The monks all bowed from the waist – bowing low. Chiri’s whiskers almost popped out of her skull.

  “Bow!”

  “Dozo-o-o-o!”

  “Bow!”

  “Dozo-o-o-o!”

  The third bow was the longest. Chiri fell over sideways and twitched.

  There were some images that never, ever faded from the mind…

  Sura, Kuno and Tonbo waited out of sight behind a wood pile, watching for Chiri’s return. Much splashing came from within the building along with sounds of hooting and hilarity. The senior monks and acolytes were all practicing breathing exercises in the main hall, and their odd sounds made a very eerie counterpoint to the noises coming from the baths.

  Chiri suddenly appeared, walking stiff-legged. Bifuuko and Daitanishi floated behind her, looking somewhat numbed. Chiri walked through the grass and up to her friends, staring straight ahead. She came to a halt beside Sura, tail stiff and fur standing all on end.

  “Let us never speak of this again.”

  The rat walked between Kuno and Chiri, looking neither right nor left.

  “Tonbo san – Kuno san. You are blessed above all mortal men.”

  The rat marched woodenly off into the weeds.

  “Hic!”

  Tonbo and Kuno looked quite pleased with themselves. Sura set her wig straight and shot both a dire look.

  “You two are going to be insufferable all day.” She pointed a commanding finger at the meditation hall.

  “Get going. Find those monsters!”

  The two samurai hastened off – moving more swiftly as Sura stamped her foot. The fox tilted her wig aggressively forward, then cast an eye at the two elementals loitering in the grass beside her.

  “Well, come on! You guys check under all the floor boards. I’ll go look for an excuse to cut the abbot!” She clapped her hands. “Let’s go!”

  Bifuuko and Daitanishi took off at full speed. The fox walked towards the gardens, trying to once again look untroubled and serene.

  Where the hell were the mamono?

  And where was the sacred mirror?

  The day rolled placidly by, with the monastery following its usual routine. Monks spent the morning cleaning floors and hoeing fields, then attended a sermon before lunch. All joined together  including the abbot and prior for a lunch of hot buckwheat noodles and fried savoury tofu. Kuno and Tonbo joined them, lingering over cups of tea while Sura sat in her room and crunched on an unappetising repast of shredded daikon and cold soya beans.

  The Ishigi samurai outside the walls remained attentively on duty. Once again, it seemed the mamono could only escape at night.

  Sura sat quietly reading Buddhist scriptures, somehow managing to conceal her utter boredom. Like most things Buddhist, she found them overly complex and laden with self-important waffle, though there were a few good thoughts here and there. Sura quietly took notes, daintily flourishing brush across paper. She interspersed her brushwork with little paintings of animals wandering through tall grass.

  The monks spent the afternoon together in study. They dispersed again in the late afternoon, heading off about all manner of different tasks. Some worked at copying scriptures, while others painted, or carefully tended the formal gardens. The abbot took a few carefully selected students through the steps required for sacred rituals, while a great bronze bell tolled out the daily hours.

  As the sun sank lower, Sura walked through the gardens. Far off in one section of the grounds, acolytes were checking g
reat strips of hempen cloth that had been dyed early in the morning. The cloths were lifted down and rinsed, wrung out, and carried wet and heavy into a shed to hang up overnight. It was a messy and cold job, yet one the monks tackled cheerfully. They seemed utterly self-sufficient.

  The powerful little monk who always wore outsized ojuzu beads met with Sura as she took a quiet walk beneath a grove of bright red maple trees. He radiated a striking sense of geniality and calm.

  “My lady. How are you finding your stay amongst us?”

  Sura graciously inclined her head.

  “Most edifying. But tell me, honoured monk, has there been any progress with your plague?”

  “No, my lady. We have had no sickness here. But the authorities are correct to quarantine us, nor does it cause us any hardship.”

  Sura walked side by side with the monk – clandestinely trying to see if he had markings on his neck. But the big bead necklace and an orange cotton scarf hid the man’s neck from view.

  The fox gave a quiet, sage nod.

  “Even so – prudence is advisable. I am a trained healer, and it would be a pleasure to offer my aid. Perhaps I could examine your brothers and look for symptoms?”

  The monk gently waved one hand. “No symptoms have been seen. These humble monks are not worthy of notice by so esteemed a guest as your ladyship. But we thank you for your most generous offer.”

  The monk bowed, then walked off to join a group of others bringing in the chickens for the night. Sura watched him go, gave a sigh, then spoke to the empty air.

  “This is not going to be easy.”

  “So it would seem.”

  Chiri peeked her nose out from nearby leaves. Her whiskers glittered in the rosy light of sunset. Sura sat on a nearby bench and gave a frustrated sigh.

  “Another sleepless night ahead. Those monsters could be anywhere. Damn but I want my spear!”

  “Kuno has it safe and sound.” The rat gave a yawn. “It will be evening soon. Is there something else we should investigate?”

  “Where are the boys? Watching the novices?” Chiri nodded, and Sura tried to suppress a yawn. “Well – as long as it’s quiet, I’m going to have a quick bath. This damned makeup is causing my skin to break out.”

  Chiri climbed sleepily up onto Sura’s bench. “I will come with you and stand guard, Sura san.” The rat yawned. “We must keep your cover.”

  Sura tucked the little rat carefully into her sleeve. With Bifuuko and Daitanishi carefully watching the flanks, she walked quietly over to the baths.

  Sunset had come. The bath house was deserted. Sura locked down the window shutters and firmly locked the doors, then blocked the windows with a few old robes left in the change room. Finally satisfied, she hauled off the wig and scratched at her scalp, making a noise of absolute ecstasy.

  Chiri crawled up onto the bathroom shelf. She found a folded pile of little dry towels, and curled up on them to keep watch. Sura lifted Bifuuko and Daitanishi beside her and settled them quietly in place.

  With everything ready at last, Sura unwound her long, great, irritating obi belt and hung her kimono carefully up over a pole. She freed her tail at long last: tied down against one leg, the damned thing was aching. Sura scratched her backside, sighing in satisfaction, then fluffed out her great, fluffy orange tail, shaking it out in pride. She admired her shadow on the wall – gave a great bone-popping stretch – then sat on a stool to wash.

  Free at last, Sura scrubbed her face clean of makeup, then her hands and feet. Seen naked, there was no chance of mistaking her for human; her hands and feet were smoky dark, and russet highlights ran across her face and back. Unpinned at last, her long rust-orange hair streamed down across her back, the white tips glistening. Sura washed her front, her feet, and then her hair. She rinsed herself half a dozen times, then slowly, carefully, eased herself down into the tub. She stuck three throwing spikes into the edge of the tub, just to keep them handy, with a pepper egg balanced on a bucket just nearby.

  The water was delightfully hot.

  Usually she would drink wine and eat a cake, but there were no such treats in store. However in the chill of the autumn evening, the bath in itself was utterly luxurious. The fox stretched out and floated all by herself in the immense tub, sighing in gratitude.

  A day spent in disguise – monsters to unmask and treasures to find… it wasn’t such a bad life after all.

  She lazed about splashing for a good long while. Sura’s stomach growled – but there was nothing for dinner beyond a handful of acorns and boiled tree bark. The fox gave a sigh and finally levered herself up out of the tub. She refrained from shaking herself dry – she was, after all, supposed to be a human lady. She used half a dozen towels to dry herself – another four to wring dry her tail. With a sigh, she sat back down to whiten her hands and face, and painted herself back into her human guise again. Dressing carefully, she set the wig in place and made certain her pointed ears were hidden.

  Chiri was curled up fast asleep on the shelf. Sura gently gathered up the little sleeping rat and placed her carefully in her sleeve. Bifuuko and Daitanishi were then tucked in carefully beside her. All slept on peacefully, rocking gently as the fox walked back out through the damp, warm bath house into the open air.

  Dinner – such as it was – was long past. The monks were mostly still in their hall, talking and taking their ease. Kuno was in one corner, quietly writing poetry. He continued keeping a subtle eye upon the monks to see if any showed the slightest oddities in their behaviour. But the men all seemed perfectly normal – no quirks, no strange activities or looks of suspicion. It was all just business as usual.

  In the kitchens, Tonbo was once again helping with dish cleaning and drawing water, keeping watch upon the cooks and acolytes. He had a view out across the gardens, and Kuno was carefully kept within his sight. He looked up as Sura passed but did not nod. She made a tiny motion of one finger, signing to him that all was well.

  She entered the guest house, walking past the prior’s quarters on the lower floor. Taking up a lantern, she climbed the stairs, watching for signs of anything wrong. But the building was quiet. The residents downstairs had yet to come home.

  Sura entered her room and carefully closed the door behind her, heaving a grateful sigh.

  Chiri was still fast asleep, with both elementals snoring peacefully away beside her. Sura tenderly carried them over to her bed. The quilt was folded up against a wall. The fox quietly slipped her friends safely in amongst the covers, nestling them into place.

  For the next half hour, there was a useful window for gathering intelligence. It was quite possible that the magical mirror held some sort of spiritual energy – perhaps even a small kami. Sura decided to slip out and try a clandestine scan of the buildings while the monks were still all in the main hall. Taking her fan, fu papers and lantern she moved back into the corridor, shutting the door quietly behind her.

  Sunset had faded, and stars flooded the sky. Sura moved into the garden, looking for all the world as though she were gliding off to walk the grounds in contemplation.

  Behind her, the little rat slept peacefully on.

  Long minutes passed. Slowly – quietly – a figure carried a lantern up the stairs.

  The prior came quietly to Sura’s room. He looked along the corridor, checking back towards the stairs, then swiftly opened up the door. He flitted inside, hastening over to Sura’s neat little pack of luggage.

  The luggage in question had been borrowed from the Ishigi castle. It was a rosewood travel box with many neat little compartments, containing only the things a true lady might need. The prior opened draws of cosmetics – found copies of the Lotus Sura and several commentaries – but kept digging swiftly down into the treasure trove.

  Over in the far corner of the room, Chiri awoke with a sudden start. She froze in fright, seeing the great, dark shadow of the prior looming over the room. Beside her, Bifuuko and Daitanishi came awake, blinking about themselves in shock.

>   The prior plunged into the box that held Sura’s spare clothes. He hunted onwards, flinging up bedding to cover Chiri and hide her out of sight. The rat and her companions wriggled back out through the quilt, peeking out in a line. They watched in shock as the prior opened a little basket to discover Sura’s discarded laundry.

  The man found one of Sura’s undergarments. Seizing it with delight, he pressed it to his face, making a little sound of ecstasy.

  He stood for a long moment, clutching the garment to his breast and looking undecided. He smelled the garment once more, and sprang into activity.

  Hiding the garment in his robes, he hastily set the room to rights, grabbed hold of his lantern and hastened away into the corridor.

  Chiri, Bifuuko and Daitanishi popped their heads around the door, just catching sight of the prior’s hat as he made his way down the stairs. The rat scampered after him. Bifuuko helpfully seized Chiri by the scruff of the neck, helping her skim swiftly down the steps.

  Out in the gardens, the prior swiftly covered his lantern. He looked about, saw that he was unobserved, then flitted quietly towards the deserted bath house. Chiri and the elementals followed, dodging behind grass and trees, keeping the man in sight as he moved through the gloom.

  The prior reached the bath house. He stopped at the entrance and checked again to make certain he was not being watched, then ducked swiftly inside and closed the door.

  Chiri raced up behind the bushes and ducked beneath the bath house steps. Once again locating her little entry point, she wriggled through beneath the wooden wall with Daitanishi and Bifuuko behind her.

  The prior had crossed the dark, deserted bath house, setting his lantern down behind the furthest bathtub. Chiri and the elementals peeked around the edge of a door and saw the man kneeling down at the far end of the baths. They flitted closer, keeping to the shadows.

  The bath house was covered with raised, slotted wooden flooring above a surface of old brown tile. The prior removed two modules of the raised wooden floor. Below was a wide square drain covered with a metal grille.