by Erik DeLeo
Miko had instructed Sukoshi to hide himself and Mrs. Kanin behind some shrubs and make a run for it when they had an opportunity. The apparent leader of the dogs, a rather mean looking Akita, spoke up.
“Whatcha doin back here?” he asked gruffly.
“Oh, just enjoying the views. Trying to pay my respects to the passed, whether already dead or soon to be.”
“I think she’s trying to be smart with you, Tsuyoshi,” said the second dog, a brown mutt of unknown ancestry.
“The only good cat is a dead cat,” said the third, a runt of a Shikoku.
“Don’t be baka,” said the leader to the mutt. “How many times have I asked you not to use my name?” He was clearly agitated.
“Sorry,” said the second dog.
“Well,” replied Miko, “now that you bunch of yatsu have had your say, how about this. Leave now before you get hurt.”
All three dogs started laughing.
“I think you have it backwards,” sneered the one named Tsuyoshi.
“You’re in for a rude awakening, dog.” Miko spat the last word.
The three spread out in front of Miko, who crouched, expecting an attack. And attack they did. At the same time.
All of them rushed at once. Miko waited until the last possible moment, then vaulted into the air and reached out with her right claw, right before spinning forward in a front somersault. The sharp ends of her claw gashed the nose of the leader, who howled in pain. Miko landed and quickly spun around to face them.
“Get her!” the Akita yelled, holding his bleeding nose with both of his front paws.
Miko crouched into a fighting stance. The two dogs looked at each other nervously.
“This ain’t no normal cat,” said the mutt.
“Yeah Tsu,” added the Shikoku. “Must be some kind of ninja cat or something.”
“Get her you idiots! It’s a cat.”
“Come to mama,” purred Miko.
The Shikoku hesitated, but the mutt attacked, a flash of teeth and slobber. Miko cartwheeled sideways, then leapt in the air and landed on the back of the dog, her four sets of claws puncturing his skin painfully. The mutt shrieked. Miko released her grip and jumped off, landing on her feet. The dog put his tail between his legs and scampered off, whimpering. Miko saw Sukoshi take the opportunity to slip away with Mrs. Kanin.
“Saddest collection of unwanted dogs I’ve ever seen,” said Miko, trying to keep the dogs attention on her. “Who’s next?”
Tsu had regained his composure and snarled, baring his teeth. With the mutt having run off, the Shikoku seemed stuck between fearing the wrath of his leader and fearing for his life. The Akita again barked a command.
“You get her,” said the Shikoku in response.
“I will, you idiot. Wait until everyone finds out you were scared of a cat.”
The Shikoku bristled at the comment, barring its fangs. Tsu, impatient, advanced towards Miko, looking for an opening. Miko maintained her fighting stance. The Shikoku, snarling with his ears pulled back, began to circle around her back.
“First I got your nose, Tsu. Maybe this time I’ll get your ear,” taunted Miko.
“If my teeth don’t get you first,” responded Tsuyoshi.
The Akita sported bloody welts where Miko’s claws had caught him. Even though Tsu was much larger than Miko, it was obvious she was both quicker and more agile. She pretended not to notice the other dog creeping behind her. Tsu’s gums pulled back revealing sharp, wet teeth. He lunged. There was a bark from behind her and Miko sprung into the air, just as the Shikoku attacked where she had been, his mouth wide open.
There was a loud yelp as the jaws of the Shikoku, aiming for Miko, inadvertently clamped down on Tsu’s neck. The Akita, hurt and wounded, reflexively bit back. Both dogs snapped and yelped at each other, and in the resulting confusion, Miko hurriedly slipped away.
She caught up with the Mrs. Kanin and Sukoshi just outside the the temple. She urged them forward without saying a word, quickly checking behind her to see if they were being pursued. Miko didn’t want to be caught out in the open.
The trio ran half a block, and slipped down a side alley, hiding behind a dumpster. Mrs. Kanin panted heavily and Sukoshi was equally as winded. It took a moment for all of them to catch their breath.
“Sorry to be direct,” asked Miko, “but do you happen to know anyone who wants you dead?”
Mrs. Kanin shook her head vigorously.
“No. Not at all. We’re a good family.”
“What about your husband,” asked Sukoshi, still breathing heavily.
“I don’t know. I don’t think so. Like I said, we’re a good family. No drama. No problems. Everything is great.”
“Everyone has problems,” replied Miko. “And based on what happened back there, you have some rather big ones.”
Mrs. Kanin started crying again and Sukoshi narrowed his eyes, looking right at Miko. She was pretty sure it could be considered a glare. He shifted his eyes back to Mrs. Kanin and his expression softened.
“Don’t worry, Mrs. Kanin,” said Sukoshi in soothing tones, “we will get to the bottom of this. Do you need someone to walk you home? Miko would be happy to escort you.”
This time it was Miko’s turn to glare.
“No, I will be okay. I feel like being alone right now anyways.”
“Please,” replied Sukoshi as Mrs. Kanin left, “if you need anything, don’t hesitate to contact us.”
Argument
The minute Mrs. Kanin was out of earshot, Sukoshi spun to face Miko.
“You need to be nicer to our clients.”
“And you need to make sure you aren’t leading us into potential death traps,” replied Miko, pointing at Sukoshi with the tip of her index claw. “I mean, I didn’t even bring any weapons. I can fend for myself, but you’re lucky those dogs were all bark and no bite.”
“Psssh. You’re lucky you have someone who’s out trying to get you work, otherwise you’d be an unemployed ninja cat and I’d have twelve hungry mouths at home.”
“Thirteen, if you count your wife,” replied Miko caustically.
“Consider what happened back there on-the-job training and we’ll call it even.”
“That’s the last client interview I go to unarmed,” said Miko angrily.
“That may be the last client interview you’ll go to period.”
“Fine by me.”
Miko began to groom herself, and turned her back on the mouse. She was tired of talking. She and Sukoshi had had their arguments before, but this was the first time either had risked injury, at least when meeting with clients. There had been other hairy situations, just not during a first meeting. Silence hung heavy in the air as she continued to lick her fur and ignore Sukoshi. It didn’t take long for the field mouse to express his displeasure.
“So how long do you plan on not speaking to me?”
Miko stopped mid-lick, looked at Sukoshi disapprovingly like only a cat can, and then continued to groom. The mouse threw his hands up, exasperated.
“First of all,” said Miko, as Sukoshi began to walk away, “I’m going to go check out Mrs. Kanin’s house, because I want to see things first hand. Second, I’m going there armed because I don’t trust this client as far as you couldn’t throw them.”
“You think you’re okay for this assignment?”
“Don’t interrupt me.”
“I’m serious. You remember what happened last time.”
“I told you not to bring that up. It was a one-time thing. Now, as I was saying before you so rudely interrupted me, I want a say in all potential future clients.”
“That last demand gives you a failing grade because, at best, you’re only getting two out of the three.”
“I never liked studying, so I’m okay with that.”
“Fine.”
“Fine.”
The cat and mouse regarded each other, Sukoshi with his arms folded across his white-furred chest and Miko sitting on her
haunches with her tail wrapped around her body.
“Well?” said Sukoshi finally.
“Well, what?”
“Are we going back to the tea house?”
“If you can play dead we are.”
“What does that mean?” asked the field mouse.
“It means I’m not riding under that bus again,” said Miko. “It offends my sensibilities. So, I’m going to put you in my mouth and you’re gonna present yourself as a lifeless, dead mouse to the world.”
“That might freak some people out.”
“Less than a live mouse and much less than a cat and mouse walking onto a bus together. I like to keep a low profile, and this ninja doesn’t want to be all over the Internet in a viral video from Japan. I mean, they already have penguin cafes here.”
“They do?”
“Yup.”
“With real live penguins?”
“Yes. Real penguins that are alive and breathing.”
“I had no idea.”
“You don’t hang out at the tea house enough. You’d be amazed at what people talk about there.”
“Lesson learned.”
Sukoshi lay down on the floor so Miko could pick him up.
“Please be careful,” he said.
“Yeah, yeah. I know,” replied Miko. “You have twelve mouths to feed.”
Miko stood up, carefully picked Sukoshi up with her mouth, and headed to the bus station.
Night
Miko pulled the thumb of her paw across the sharp edge of her katana before sliding it back into the scabbard. It was a nervous habit, one she had developed after her sensei, her teacher, had publicly scolded her for a dull blade.
Nothing had been worse than a verbal reprimand from Kobayashi-san. Especially one delivered in public. He was strict, but also fair. Besides stressing the need to perfect her craft, he had always been protective of Miko. He had no other female students, and he treated her like his own daughter. She never wanted to let him down, and the habit of checking her katana’s sharpness was a reflection of that.
She was alone outside the home of Mr. and Mrs. Kanin. It was nearly a new moon, so dressed in the traditional black ninja outfit known as a shinobi shozoku, Miko and her dark fur blended easily into the shadows surrounding the residence. She pulled the mask up over her nose, careful not to catch her whiskers under the fabric.
Patience was one of a ninja’s best weapons. The lights in the house had gone out an hour ago, but Miko had kept still, wanting to ensure everyone was asleep before she entered. Now that enough time had passed, she was about to go in.
The back of the home was surrounded by tall bamboo, which made it necessary for Miko to climb up an adjacent pine tree that had branches which hung close to the home’s roof. Her movements up the tree were essentially silent. With the katana strapped to her back, it was out of the way—yet she could still use it quickly if necessary.
Miko paused, then crawled her way along a branch, stomach hugging the bark. She hovered for a moment over the limb, before settling onto the roof without a sound. Crickets filled the night air with their music while Miko searched for a way in.
Her cat eyes, fully adjusted to the dark, revealed a window cracked open on a balcony right below the roofline. She padded over to the edge of roof, carefully scaled down a metal gutter pipe, and plopped onto the balcony. Miko held her breath a few moments to ensure no sounds were coming from inside. None came.
She hopped up onto the ledge and sat a few moments. The room on the other side of the window seemed unoccupied. Miko carefully cut the screen with her claw and slipped inside.
It appeared to be an empty guest room. The floor was covered in tatami, traditional Japanese flooring made into rectangular shapes. The house was silent and dark. Miko made her way over to the door. It was ajar.
Since there were dogs in this residence, Miko had used a special spray to hide her scent. It was a recipe her old sensei had developed, and helped disguise her from sensitive dog noses. Sensitive, wet dog noses. Miko shivered. She found dog noses intrusive and disgusting.
Outside the guest bedroom was an empty hallway. To the left was a dead end, so Miko went right. She had a sense that if there were any dogs in the home, they’d be downstairs. Miko hugged the wall, and made her way to a railing overlooking a stairwell. She sniffed the air. There was the ever-present smell of dog, but in a muted way that seemed part of the home. Miko reminded herself she was on a mission and to not focus on the smell.
Methodically, one step after another, she made her way down the stairs. Her muscles were relaxed, but ready for action. At the bottom, she stopped again. Still nothing. Miko quickly scanned the room. The smooth tile covering the floor spread out from the base of the stairs like a sea of white squares.
The katana felt reassuring on her back. She touched her belt, to which she had tucked in her throwing stars known as shuriken. Like checking the sharpness of her sword, she pressed the pads of her paws against the points. Her old master would be happy. They were as pointy as a newly forged weapon. It was an old habit, but one she couldn’t break.
The floor of white tile squares led to an open kitchen. She moved silently across the floor, and hopped up onto a countertop which covered an island full of drawers and doors. An pot of tea, probably empty, sat perched on the stovetop to her right, with a kitchen table to her left. She walked to the other end of the island. Two bowls lay on the ground below, one half full of water. Dog bowls.
She checked the air again. The smell of canines was stronger here. Miko needed to be careful. Her tail swished back and forth as she peered over the edge of the island. Beyond the bowls was a hallway. She threw a quick glance backwards. The hallway seemed the logical place to search. Miko scanned the room for exits, but the stairs seemed to be the only way back to the window and outside. The further in she got, the more dangerous things became.
Miko hopped to the floor and took practiced steps forward. Stealthy. Silent. Like a ninja. She stretched out one of her paws and ran it along the wall as she made her way down the darkened hallway. The shadow of a doorway loomed in front of her.
Beyond it, the unknown.
Room
Miko listened. She thought she heard the whisper of breathing, but it was hard to tell. If it was breathing, it was quiet and shallow.
Even though the door was open, the darkened threshold threatened. Miko’s eyes narrowed as she made her way forward. She traveled on the silence provided by the pads on her paws. A few steps in, she realized she wasn’t alone.
There was rhythmic breathing and the smell of dog. Miko pawed the throwing stars on her waist to reassure herself. Chances are the dog would never know she was there, but the feel of cold metal against her paws calmed the few nerves she had. The scent-covering ointment didn’t hurt either.
Miko didn’t know exactly what she was looking for, but her training had prepared her to spot anything out of the ordinary. And with the story Mrs. Kanin had supplied, she felt the odds were in her favor in finding something out-of-place.
The dog in the room wasn’t Mrs. Kanin, of that Miko was sure. It could be her husband, or it could be another unknown dog. Regardless, Miko knew it was important to remain undetected.
She explored the room, careful to keep her distance from any objects. One of the things her master had stressed was that it was typical to underestimate exactly how close you were to something and to lose a sense of where exactly your body was in relation to your surroundings—especially with one’s clothing. There was danger here. Sleeping dogs could turn into barking dogs in an instant. With only one escape route available, and the fact it was on the second floor made Miko extra cautious.
There were no signs of any clues in the room. She had double- and triple-checked all the obvious hiding places, but the area was clean. Miko stood there, the dog merely feet away. She could have sworn she would find something. Then the Shiba Inu breathed in sharply, startling Miko. Much to her relief, it simply stretched and let ou
t a big sigh. It then rolled over on it’s back, exposing the underside of its neck. And that’s when Miko saw it. A sliver of white. On closer inspection, it was a piece of folded paper stuffed suspiciously under the collar. She didn’t know what was on it, but it was definitely an odd place to store something.
Miko approached. The dog sighed again. She stopped. It huffed. Miko held her breath and waited patiently for the canine’s breathing to fall back into a slow rhythm. It did. A few steps later, she was standing over dog, its neck and collar exposed. Miko used the sharp tip of her claw to pierce the piece of paper. It punctured the paper. She then pulled her paw back, slow and steady. The paper slipped out from under the collar with a minimal amount of sound.
It was free! Miko carefully slid the folded up paper into the folds of her ninja uniform and backed up. There was no change in the dog’s breathing as she existed the room. Miko was ecstatic. Another successful mission under her belt. She was about to mentally pat herself on the back as she re-entered the kitchen when she saw it. It hovered there, at the edge of the counter, beckoning to her. Miko could feel the tension building inside.
She leapt up onto the main countertop, across from the island. Stress and tension crept through her muscles, and the knot in her stomach grew tighter. She tried to focus her mind on the kanji, the Japanese character her sensei had given her. An was the symbol for calm. The object taunted her. Beckoned to her. Miko closed her eyes and swallowed. She did not want to fail her sensei. Her teacher.
Miko open her eyes. In front of her sat the small object, located tantalizingly close to the edge of the counter. She only had to swipe at it quickly with her paw, and it would fall to the ground and Miko could feel peace again. But it would also ruin her mission.
Don’t do it, she said to herself.
Her paw reached out anyways. Miko tried to bring the image of the kanji back into her mind’s eye.
Calmness and peace, she thought to herself.