#62 fic: Sho's Very Excellent Adventure
Title: Sho's Very Excellent Adventure
Groups: Arashi, with many appearances by NEWS
Rating: PG
Word Count: 7,900~
Summary: In which Sho is tricked into going on an epic journey and his life is hard.
Notes: Japanese folklore AU. Written for bubbly during the je_otherworlds fic exchange; originally posted here. Thanks to g_esquared for going through this in record time, and for being so encouraging. <3
All of this had started with Riisa.
Naka Riisa, aged twenty-one from Nagasaki. Japanese Literature major, taking a floater in Introductory Economics. That was all it had said on the register. She had turned up at Sho’s first tutorial in a fluorescent, skull-patterned romper.
She was the first student in his tutorial group to call him Sho-kun instead of Sakurai-sensei. She was also the first student to get an A plus on the somewhat tricky Deadweight Loss question Sho was very fond of setting as an essay assignment.
Call it unprofessional, but Sho became fascinated by her. It wasn’t just because she was cute; she was, yes, but so were the other girls. She was exceedingly brilliant, but Sho suspected this was partly because of her blinding fashion sense.
There was a certain quality about her, Sho decided, a sort of inexplicable charm that nobody else appeared to possess.
It was this charm, perhaps, that led Sho to agree to help in the first place.
“I was hoping you’d be able to do me a favour,” said Riisa, eyes wide and lips curved into an uncertain smile. Hopeful.
If at all possible, I will try to help, was what Sho should have said. What he said instead was, “Of course.”
“Are you sure?” asked Riisa.
“Yes,” said Sho, glancing quizzically at her.
“Once more, just to be certain,” said Riisa.
“Yes…” said Sho.
“I hold this agreement binding,” Riisa intoned, pulling a bunch of yellow-coloured papers from her pockets and flinging them up in the air. Her expression in that moment was deadly serious; Sho could have sworn her eyes had glowed for a split second.
Sho’s office was suddenly filled with the smell of burning ashes. Then there was a deafening snap, and all the papers disappeared.
Riisa was beaming up at Sho. “Thank you, Sho-kun!”
“Wait- what?” said Sho.
“My first cousin’s missing,” said Riisa. “I need your help to find him.”
1a. In which Sho meets a giant fish,
Riisa had definitely drawn a picture of a fish on the paper napkin that now served as Sho’s guide. There were no fishes present, however, when he arrived at the specific point by the bayside in Shinagawa, at the specific time he was required to (four in the morning on a moonlit night). The only thing that greeted him was a young man sitting on a deckchair, reading yesterday’s newspaper by torchlight.
“You’re on time,” said the man. He appeared to only be wearing a towel. “Sorry, I wanted to say something cool like, you’re late, but… you’re not late. So.”
“I’m Sakurai Sho,” said Sho.
“One piece of advice for the journey ahead,” said the man, holding up his index finger, “don’t give away your name unless you have to.”
“Oh,” said Sho.
“I’m Shige, by the way,” said the man. “Since you asked.”
“But I didn’t-” Sho began, but decided against it. “I’m looking for a large fish,” he said instead, holding out the limp napkin. “I don’t really know why.”
Shige peered at it, but didn’t touch it. “Hm,” he said. “Riisa-chan has never been the best of artists.”
“Do you know where I could find a fish?” asked Sho.
“Riisa told me you were coming,” said Shige. The way he was looking at Sho made him seem slightly bug-eyed. “You’re not asking the right question.”
“Am I not?” asked Sho. “But she said-”
“You’re not looking for a fish,” said Shige. “You’re looking for the Fish.”
“The… fish?” asked Sho, bewildered.
Shige nodded. “The Fish of Shinagawa,” he told Sho. “Rather genial fellow. Fond of photography. Sometimes enjoys pretending that he is a cat. That’s the Fish you’re looking for.”
“Right,” said Sho.
“I’ll even tell you why you’re looking for the Fish,” said Shige.
“Why?” asked Sho.
“Because the Fish will lead you to the Fisherman,” said Shige. “And that’s who you want to be speaking to, if you want to start looking for Nino.”
“Wait - you know-” Sho began.
“He’s been missing for nearly a year, you know,” said Shige. “It’s very unlike him.” When Sho looked lost he added, “Ninomiya. Riisa-chan’s first cousin.”
“Right,” said Sho, wishing very much to be back in the postgraduate common room, working on his thesis. “Where can I find this Fish, then? And the fisherman.”
Shige was now folding up his extremely soggy newspaper. “First question first,” he said to Sho. “If you’re looking for the Fish…”
“Yes?” asked Sho.
“Look no further!” Shige exclaimed, leaping off the deck chair and flinging his arms wide.
Sho peered doubtfully into the dark waters of Tokyo Bay. “I don’t see anything.”
“I said. Look. No. Further.”
Sho glanced back at Shige with dawning realisation. “Oh,” he said. And then, “OH! ”
“Nice reaction,” said Shige, snapping a photo of Sho’s face with a camera he had suddenly produced out of nowhere. “And yes, I am the Fish.”
“But you’re… not. A fish of any sort, I mean,” said Sho, uncomprehending.
“Well, not at the moment,” said Shige, “but we’ll get there. You’ll see.”
“I don’t understand,” Sho said faintly.
“My second piece of advice for your journey ahead,” said Shige, readjusting his towel. “You mustn’t be afraid to trade in favours.”
“Favours?” Sho repeated.
“That’s how things work, among us,” said Shige. “For example, if you do manage to find Ninomiya, Riisa will owe you a big favour. One day it might come in handy.”
“And you telling me where the Fisherman is, that’s another favour, isn’t it?” asked Sho.
“Yes,” said Shige. “I ask for something very simple in return, though.”
“So you’ll help me?” asked Sho.
“Of course I’ll help you,” said Shige. “It’s Nino we’re talking about, after all. But the point is. You need to help me do something in return.”
“What is it?” asked Sho, by now quite aware of the dangers of agreeing to a favour without actually hearing what it was exactly.
“On your journeys you will likely meet a young man,” said Shige. “His name is Nishikido Ryo, and he is tiny.”
“So he’s short?” asked Sho.
“No,” said Shige. “He’s tiny.”
“So he’s a… boy?”
“No,” said Shige, slightly exasperated. “You’ll see when you meet him. Anyway, I want you to give this to him, from me.” He paused. “Steel yourself,” he said solemnly.
And flicked Sho in the forehead.
“That didn’t hurt at all,” said Sho, after the initial shock of Shige’s attack.
“Trust me, it will hurt Nishikido,” said Shige.
“That’s it?” asked Sho. “You want me to flick this guy in the forehead and say it’s from you?”
“Yes,” said Shige.
“Why can’t you do it yourself?” asked Sho.
“In case you didn’t notice, I’m a fish,” said Shige.
“No, I really didn’t,” said Sho with a straight face.
“I don’t have opposable thumbs,” said Shige, before glancing down at his hands. “Not regularly, anyway. The point is, this is possibly the easiest favour you’ll be asked to do, so just be grateful.”
“All right,” said Sho. “I accept your favour.”
“Will you help me?” asked Shige.
“Yes,” said Sho. “And yes again, for good measure.”
Shige grinned. “You’re getting the hang of this.” He threw his newspaper up in the air; it burst into strips of paper that scattered like Riisa’s had, before vanishing in a briny shower of mist.
“Right,” said Sho, for the third time that morning.
“And now,” said Shige, “for the Fisherman.”
1b. and is shown the way by a gentle fisherman
“Never,” said Sho. “NEVER do that again.”
“You’re good, for a first-timer,” said Shige, patting Sho on the back with a (slightly scaly) hand while Sho attempted to expel water through his nose.
“You could have warned me before you pulled me into the water with you,” Sho spat.
“Generally, when he warns, there tends to be more of a struggle,” said another voice.
Sho looked up to see a benign-looking man sitting by the water. He might have been Sho’s age, possibly a year older, but then again, it was hard to tell under that tan. He was also holding a fishing rod over the water, although Sho noted that there appeared to be no line attached.
“Are you the fisherman?” asked Sho.
“I suppose,” said the fisherman. “You can call me Oh-chan.”
“Short for Ohno,” said Shige, who was currently half-submerging himself in the water and beginning a process of becoming increasingly fish-like.
“Good morning,” said Sho politely. “I’m-”
“Sakurai Sho,” Ohno finished. He scratched his nose and sniffled a bit. “I know. Riisa-chan told me.”
“I’ll be going, then,” said Shige rather mournfully, sinking further into the water. “Do come visit when you’re done with all of this.”
“All right,” said Sho, waving. “I’ll remember the favour.”
With a clumsy splash, Shige disappeared into Tokyo Bay.
“Well,” said Sho. “That was strange.”
“Hm,” said Ohno thoughtfully. It was one of the most serene thoughtful noises Sho had ever heard.
“Do you know how I can find Ninomiya?” asked Sho.
Ohno considered this for a long moment. “No.”
“Oh,” said Sho.
“Well,” said Ohno. “Not at this point, anyway. But that’s why we’ll search together.”
“We’ll search together?” Sho repeated.
“I don’t see why not,” said Ohno. “Even if I don’t know, I’m sure one of the others might.”
“There are more of you?” asked Sho.
Ohno blinked. “I suppose?”
“Your tone of uncertainty does nothing to reassure me,” Sho pointed out.
“Hm,” said Ohno, by way of reply. It might have been the general weirdness of the morning getting to Sho, but all of a sudden Ohno seemed hundreds of years old.
“So… shall we?” asked Sho. “Best to get this over with.”
“Shall we?” Ohno repeated absently.
“Shall we go, then? Looking for Ninomiya,” said Sho.
“Hm,” said Ohno for the third time. “In that case, I will need to collect some items. You must go on ahead.”
“Items?” Sho repeated.
Ohno had pulled a tiny spiral bound notebook out of his front pocket and was now scribbling away madly on the first page. After a few minutes, he handed the notebook over to Sho. On the first page was a sketch of a young man crouched on a pedestal, sticking his tongue out.
Sho boggled at it. “And this is…”
“Nino-chan,” Ohno supplied. “As Hachiko. Show this to anyone you meet along this Bay and it will grant you safe passage.”
“Okay,” said Sho, flipping to the next page. On it was a map of some sort, complete with wiggly lines and weird dots. “Is this supposed to be a map? Am I supposed to be heading towards the dot labelled ‘K’ or the one labelled ‘P’?”
“Well,” said Ohno, scrabbling about in his large canvas bag. “I’m not very sure about P, so it’s better to go by K.”
“I don’t understand,” said Sho. “Which way is North?”
“It doesn’t quite matter, really,” said Ohno. “Just head along the Bay and you’ll be fine.” He handed Sho a plastic shopping bag of cucumbers. “These might come in useful.”
“Which end of the Bay should I be heading towards?” asked Sho.
Ohno squinted. Then he pointed to Sho’s right. “That way. Probably.”
“Thanks?” said Sho, with some trepidation.
“I will join you momentarily,” said Ohno, smiling sleepily at Sho.
Clutching the bag of cucumbers and Ohno’s notebook, Sho began to proceed in a rightways direction along Tokyo Bay.
3. In which Sho is waylaid by a kappa
If Sho had watched enough movies as a young boy he would have understood the ominous splashing noises in the water as a sign for him to run to safety. Unfortunately for Sho, he did not.
When a bony hand reached out to grab his ankle, it was already too late. Sho found himself being dragged down into the water. It was only by grabbing the lower rung of the railing that he managed not to get completely submerged.
“I have a thing! From Ohno!” Sho shouted. “I’m supposed to be given safe passage!”
The hand around Sho’s ankle did not let go when Sho said this. The owner of the hand did, however, pop up from the surface of the water, bobbing gently as it regarded Sho.
It was a kappa. It was green, with long hair and a beaklike face. Sho could glimpse the shell on its back.
“H-hello,” said Sho, pulling out the notebook from his shirt pocket with one hand. He flipped it open to display the Hachiko drawing. “This is the drawing.”
“Hello,” said the kappa. It swam forward slightly to take a look at Ohno’s drawing. “That’s Ohno-san’s work all right,” it murmured. “You’re searching for Ninomiya?”
“You know him?” asked Sho.
The kappa shrugged. “Who doesn’t? Doesn’t mean I know where he went, though.”
“I’m Sakurai Sho, and I’m looking for Ninomiya,” said Sho, forgetting Shige’s first rule. “Pleased to meet you.”
The kappa appeared delighted at this show of politeness.
“I’m Koyama Keiichiro,” the kappa told Sho. “Pleased to meet you too.”
It might have been Sho’s imagination, but as they spoke the kappa appeared to be becoming slightly more human-looking. It was still wearing its shell, but the reptilian quality of its features was slowly being replaced by something softer.
Sho blinked once, and bobbing before him in the water was not a Kappa but a young man with Kappa-like qualities.
“You’re - a man?” asked Sho.
“No,” said Koyama, “I’m still a kappa. But this is my human look when I want to head out and eat some ramen. I’m very fond of ramen, though I suppose most people are.”
Koyama also appeared to enjoy talking. A lot. Sho wouldn’t have minded sitting and listening, because this was probably a good way to buy himself some time before he was dragged to a watery death. But he was on a schedule here.
“Koyama-san,” Sho interrupted, in the middle of a rather engaging story about the time Shige and he found a bunch of pearls at the bottom of the river. “Could I trade a favour with you?”
Koyama paused. “A favour?”
“If you let me go,” said Sho, “I’ll give you…” he cast around for something to give Koyama and spotted the forgotten bag of cucumbers lying some distance away from them. “I’ll give you cucumbers.”
“Cucumbers?” Koyama whispered, eyes going comically wide. “Did you just say cucumbers?”
“…yes,” said Sho, gripping onto the railing with one hand and reaching out to grab the bag of cucumbers with the other. “They were from Ohno-san and I’ll give them to you if you let me go.”
“You have a deal,” said Koyama brightly, letting go of Sho’s ankle and receiving the shopping bag gladly. “I love cucumbers.” He turned to gaze limpidly up at Sho. “You are a true friend indeed, Sakurai Sho-san.”
“Well,” said Sho, slightly embarrassed, “glad to oblige.”
“Do you have a destination you are heading towards?” asked Koyama. “I would gladly escort you so you get waylaid by no other kappa but myself.”
“Thank you,” said Sho. “You’re very nice.”
Koyama beamed around a mouthful of cucumber. “I do try.”
“Ohno-san gave me a map,” said Sho, flipping to the next page of his notebook. “I don’t understand it, though.”
“Let me look at it,” said Koyama, hoisting himself up onto land. Sho was perturbed to note that he was wearing flower-pattered boardshorts.
“There’s a K here, and a P…” Sho said, showing Koyama the map.
“Hmmmmm,” said Koyama consideringly. After a long pause, he nodded.
“Yes?” asked Sho.
“Nope,” said Koyama. “Not a clue what this means.”
“Oh,” said Sho, disappointed.
“Ohno-san is like that, I’m afraid. He gets very vague,” Koyama told Sho comfortingly.
“I suppose I’ll just have to forge on, then,” said Sho, sighing deeply.
“Well, I have no idea what Ohno’s map means,” said Koyama, “but someone else might know.”
“Is that person close by?” asked Sho warily.
“Oh yes,” said Koyama, pointing at something in the distance. “He is in that house, yonder.”
Sho turned towards the spot Koyama was pointing at. Sure enough, there stood a house.
“I’d never noticed that before,” said Sho, perturbed.
Koyama shrugged. “It’s one of those things. They only pop up when someone points it out. The house is always Yonder.”
“That’s handy,” said Sho.
“It is,” said Koyama. “But then again, it’s Momotaro’s house, after all.”
“Wait,” said Sho. “Momotaro?”
4. In which Sho meets Momotaro
The house Yonder turned out to be much further away than Sho had initially expected. By the time they arrived at the entrance, even Koyama had to pause to catch his breath.
It was a rather nice house, on the whole, albeit old. The wind chimes in the front veranda were slightly cracked and made muted clinking noises in the breeze.
“Are you sure we’ve got the right place?” asked Sho, while Koyama rang the doorbell.
“I’m quite certain,” said Koyama.
“I mean, if he’s already claimed the demon’s plundered treasure, shouldn’t he at least have fixed the mailbox?” asked Sho.
“Things are different these days,” Koyama told Sho seriously. “Your average oni no longer has much money to its name.”
The person who answered the door was a middle-aged woman who greeted Koyama by his first name and ushered them without hesitation.
“He’s in the kitchen,” she told Koyama.
A young man was sitting by the kitchen table, solemnly eating a skewer of millet dango. He looked up when Sho and Koyama came in, and held out a half-eaten skewer he had left on the plate.
“Want some?”
“No, thank you,” said Sho, while Koyama made a face.
“This is Sakurai Sho. He’s the one Riisa-chan’s asked to look for Nino,” said Koyama. “Sho-san, this is Yamashita Tomohisa. You can call him Yamapi, though. Everyone does.”
“Hi,” said Yamapi. “Pi is short for Peach.”
“Right,” said Sho.
Yamapi chewed on a mouthful of dango. “Kame came by two days ago,” he said.
“Who’s Kame?” asked Sho.
“He’s a sea turtle,” said Koyama. “Messenger for the Emperor of the Sea.”
“Right,” said Sho. “I really should have expected that.”
“Someone’s attempted to steal one of the tide jewels,” Yamapi told them.
He paused significantly. Koyama looked agog. Sho was just confused.
“And this means?” asked Sho, finally.
“What this means,” said Yamapi, “is that Ninomiya’s probably tried to steal the jewel, and now he’s in a spot of trouble.”
“Why would he do that?” asked Sho.
“Who knows,” said Koyama. “He’s a fox, after all.”
“Sorry?” asked Sho.
“A fox,” Yamapi repeated. “Didn’t you know?”
“Obviously he doesn’t always look like a fox, because they shape-shift and everything,” said Koyama.
There was a long pause in which Sho considered this new information.
“Okay,” said Sho, finally. “Assuming that all of this is real and not some extended hallucination caused by inhaling all that dodgy smoke in the Union Bar-”
“Why were you inhaling smoke?” asked Koyama, curious.
“Assuming this is the case,” Sho continued pointedly. He turned to Yamapi. “What should I do?”
“Well,” said Yamapi. “You appear to have two options. You can either follow the words of the agreement to the letter and merely ascertain Ninomiya’s location - that is, find him and let Riisa-chan know, or.”
“Or?” asked Sho.
“You could find him and rescue him,” said Yamapi. “Either way, this requires you journeying into the Deep.”
“The Deep?” Sho repeated.
“Yes, the Deep,” said another voice. “Now will you stop repeating what everyone says in tones of confusion and decide already?”
5. In which Issun-boshi arrives, and Sho sets sail with a tanuki
“Who is that?” asked Sho, glancing about the kitchen.
“Me,” said the Voice. It sounded highly disgruntled.
“Ryo-chan!” Yamapi exclaimed. “You’re here!”
“Clearly,” said the Voice. “Riisa-chan said you lot would require some transportation. So here I am.”
While the Voice had been talking, Sho had identified the speaker. It was an exceedingly tiny man who was standing on the windowsill of Yamapi’s mother’s kitchen, arms akimbo.
“Is that-” Sho started to say.
“Nishikido Ryo. Otherwise known as Issun-boshi,” Koyama explained in an undertone. “He really is no taller than my thumb.”
“I heard that,” said Ryo sharply. “Now are you coming or not?”
Yamapi turned to look at Sho. “Are you?”
Sho took in the sight of a kappa, Momotaro and the unbelievably tiny Issun-boshi standing before him. Then he thought of Shige turning back into a fish, and the sizzle of Riisa’s magic as their agreement became binding. “I’ll go if you’re going,” he told Yamapi.
Yamapi smiled. “Sure,” he told Sho. “And after this we’ll hunt some oni together.”
“Finally,” said Ryo, hauling himself over the windowsill to stand on the kitchen counter.
“Wait,” Sho said, as they were rising to leave.
He walked over to Ryo.
“Yes?” asked Ryo.
“I promised Shige to give you this,” said Sho. “Steel yourself.”
Ryo patently did not steel himself. “What is going on-”
Sho flicked him gently on the forehead.
Ohno was waiting for them when they arrived at Tokyo Bay. He was holding a black canvas bag and conversing with a man in a very large straw hat.
When the man in the straw hat caught sight of them, he beamed and began to wave madly.
“Aiba,” muttered Ryo disparagingly from where he was inexplicably perched on the top of Yamapi’s head. He was still holding a tiny ice pack over his face, where a large and ugly bruise was rapidly forming. His mood had only worsened since he had been prevented from stabbing Sho with a pin that functioned as his sword.
As they approached the pair, Sho saw that Aiba was holding two bottles of sake in one hand and a giant man-purse in the other.
“I’ve seen him somewhere before…” said Sho.
“He’s a raccoon dog,” said Koyama. “You’ve seen him outside restaurants and noodle shops.”
“Pleased to meet you!” Aiba called, bounding up to them. He turned to Sho. “Are you Sho-kun?”
“Yes he is,” said Ryo, before making an incredible flying leap from Yamapi’s head to the wide brim of Aiba’s hat. “He’s coming along with us.”
“Where are we going?” asked Sho.
“Down,” said Ohno, appearing behind Aiba. He looked even sleepier in the daylight.
“Down?” Sho repeated.
“Yes,” said Aiba, pointing to the water. He must have caught sight of the look of horror on Sho’s face, because he added, “Don’t worry! It’s perfectly safe!”
“Unless you meet the Dragon King’s guards, of course,” Ohno added.
“To be honest I was more worried about drowning,” said Sho faintly.
“Of course you won’t drown!” Aiba cried. “We have a boat!”
They turned to look at the boat.
“It’s made of paper,” said Koyama, leaping into the water to examine it more closely. “How interesting.”
“It’s an origami boat?” asked Sho.
“Folded using a talisman of entry. One of my better ideas,” said Ohno, failing to explain exactly what they were entering. “It’s been waterproofed, of course,” he added.
“And if we do end up needing to breathe underwater,” said Aiba, “I have just the thing.”
He retrieved a large sack from the boat. Inside it was a large number of green peppers.
“You just take a small bite and suck out all the air,” Aiba explained.
“This is genius,” breathed Yamapi.
“This is madness,” said Sho.
“So are we setting off, then?” asked Ryo, his face a miniscule picture of boredom.
Reluctantly, Sho approached the boat, led by a delighted Aiba.
“Climb in!” said Aiba, hopping in neatly and making the boat wobble dangerously in the water. It was, indeed, made of paper, Sho realised, and covered by words and symbols impossible to make out.
Sho climbed onto the boat, trying his best not to upset the balance as he did.
“I’m afraid we can only take two people and Ryo,” said Aiba, turning to Yamapi.
“Bummer,” said Yamapi, while in the background Ryo was being very loud and very disgruntled about not being considered a person.
“You can help me with the fan,” Ohno told Yamapi, who brightened considerably.
“Wait,” said Sho, “what fan?”
Ohno pulled a giant fan from his canvas bag.
“That,” said Koyama, bobbing beside the boat, “is a tengu’s fan.”
“I’ve done the math,” said Ohno. “It would be wise to spend no more than half an hour down there.”
“Down where?” asked Sho.
“Down in the Dragon Palace Castle, of course,” said Yamapi, grasping the handle of the tengu’s fan.
“The what?” Sho exploded.
“Brace yourself,” said Ohno, as Yamapi began to wave the fan.
It seemed to grow larger with each wave. At first Sho felt only a tiny breeze as the boat bobbed further out into the water, but the breeze soon grew into a gale. The boat began to rock violently in the churning waters.
Then Ohno took hold of the fan, which was now as huge as four tatami mats and floating eerily in the sky like a large kite. He twirled it once, and then a second time. And then a third.
The waters began to open into a growing whirlpool below the paper boat.
“We’re sinking!” Sho shouted, terrified.
“That’s the point!” Ryo yelled back.
Aiba, in the meantime, was handing out green peppers. “Just in case,” he said cheerfully.
“Come back soon,” called Yamapi, waving at them as the boat got sucked further and further into the depths of Tokyo Bay.
“This is it,” Sho moaned miserably. “We’re going to die.”
6. In which Sho journeys to Ryugu-jo
By some obscure magic that defied the principles of physics, the boat stayed mostly upright as they spun deeper into the water. Sho had his eyes shut and was clinging onto the sides of the boat for dear life while Ryo and Aiba made exhilarated whooping noises.
“We’re almost there!” Aiba called, over the immense roar of the maelstrom. “Hold on to your peppers! It’s going to get a little bit wet!”
“WHAT DO YOU MEAN-” Sho began to holler back, but it was at that moment that the boat reached the centre of the vortex and they were suddenly pulled violently down.
Sho fully expected the rush of water to hit him with a crushing amount of force, but amidst all the speed and fury the most curious thing seemed to be happening.
The boat was being plunged into the depths of the water. It was, despite Aiba’s valiant efforts at waterproofing, crumpling under the immense pressure. At the same time, however, it appeared almost as if time was slowing for the three of them in the boat.
With horrified fascination Sho observed the way the churning water slowed eerily the moment it reached him. It should have engulfed him, but instead it was creeping incrementally up to cover him inch by inch.
A quick glance to the side revealed that the same thing was happening to Aiba, who looked entirely unperturbed at this as he took a swig out of one of his sake bottles. Ryo, still perched on Aiba’s hat, appeared to be using the tiniest of straws to blow himself a growing bubble of air. Only one of his arms was actually wet. He was holding a smaller pepper in his other hand.
Your pepper, mouthed Aiba urgently.
Sho pulled his slightly squashed pepper out of his pocket. They were both now neck-deep in the water. Aiba took a bite from his own pepper, and plunged his head down the rest of the way-
“Wait!” Sho shouted.
Aiba was gone. So was Ryo. The water was now up to his chin.
Sho sighed, bit into his own pepper, and ducked down into the water.
7. In which Sho arrives at Ryugu-jo and meets a dragon
He expected to drown.
Instead, he opened his eyes to a magnificent sight. They were standing before a large gate, four times Sho’s height and made entirely of coral. Past the walls and beyond the gate was an immense palace, huger and grander than any palace Sho had ever seen before. Swirling around it appeared to be numerous schools of beautiful fish.
They were underwater.
“Glad you realised,” Ryo remarked dryly. As he said this, he had hopped off Aiba’s hat and was now swimming slowly towards Sho, tiny bubbles floating from his mouth.
Sho took a step forward experimentally. It felt almost like being on land, albeit just a fraction more sluggish.
“How are we even breathing?” Sho asked. “And won’t the pressure kill us?”
Aiba shrugged. “Some things are better left unexplained,” he said, wandering closer to the gate and peering about. “After all, we’re not even really in Tokyo Bay anymore.”
“We have thirty minutes,” said Ryo, clambering onto Sho’s shoulder.
(He promptly slid off.
“I’m sorry they slope so,” said Sho.
“Not your fault,” said Ryo, swimming over to Sho’s pocket instead.)
“How are we going to find Nino?” asked Sho, trailing after Aiba. “This place is huge.”
“We don’t exactly need to find him,” said Aiba, as they stepped past the threshold of the Dragon Palace Castle. “It’s more a matter of being found.”
“Being found?” Sho repeated.
“By me,” someone boomed.
Or something, Sho realised, as he turned towards the speaker.
It was a dragon, emerging from the nearest gatehouse and coiling menacingly towards them. Its scales glittered in the undersea light as it moved, and its claws beat the water as it snaked round. Looking at it, Sho understood why people had written poems and made countless paintings and sculptures about its kind. All power and fury and lethal, mysterious grace.
Aiba, however, seemed unperturbed by the emergence of this creature.
“MatsuJun!” he called, waving energetically. “It’s been a while!”
The dragon appeared to bristle slightly. “Please stop calling me that.”
“I think it’s a great name,” said Aiba brightly.
“Yes, well, it’s stuck,” said the dragon. “Thanks to you, even Tegoshi won’t stop calling me that. Tegoshi.”
“Where is he, anyway?” asked Aiba.
“Delivering the sack of rice that will never be empty,” the dragon replied. “Apparently a young man managed to kill the giant centipede.”
In Sho’s front pocket, Ryo perked up. “Isn’t that a rather… traditional reward?”
The dragon turned its head to fix one amber eye on Ryo. “Oh, hello. Didn’t see you there,” it said.
“That’s what they always say,” said Ryo.
A glowing ball of light had appeared before them. The dragon began to turn sinuously around it, pearlescent light reflecting off its scales as it did so.
“Apparently he asked for a plate of gyoza that will never be empty,” said the dragon, twisting further until it was a thick knot of coils, “but we’ve not quite been able to manage that - hang on.”
There was a bright flash of light and a large ripple of energy that flung them all to the seabed.
When Sho scrambled to his feet again the dragon was no longer there. Standing in its place was a man with a faux-hawk and very pronounced eyebrows.
“That’s better,” said the man-who-might-have-been-the-dragon-MatsuJun. He turned to Sho. “Now perhaps you’ll look a little less overawed. I’m Matsumoto Jun.”
“We’re here for Nino-chan, actually,” said Aiba.
Matsumoto snorted. It was rather dragonlike. “Him. Trust him to still have a way out after committing a capital offence.”
“This is Sakurai Sho,” Aiba continued, gesturing to Sho. “Riisa-chan asked him to help.”
“Well there’s really nothing much you can do, at this point,” said Matsumoto. “The trial’s at dawn, but the evidence is indisputable. Takizawa caught him red-handed trying to steal one of the tide jewels.”
“What will happen to him?” asked Sho.
“The usual,” said Matsumoto, and when Sho gave him a look of incomprehension he added, “They’ll turn him into a jellyfish and keep him here for a hundred years.”
“What?” asked Sho.
Matsumoto shook his head. “I don’t make the rules. I’m only a lesser Dragon,” he said. “I’ll take you to him anyway. I’m sure he’d appreciate some visitors.”
8. In which Sho meets the kitsune Ninomiya
Ninomiya’s prison was a single cell placed at the bottom of a large chasm in the seabed. Matsumoto had changed back into a dragon to carry them down to that immense depth, where the only source of light was the eerie glow of the anglerfish on guard.
“We need more light,” Matsumoto murmured, touching his hands to a number of lamps positioned around the cell.
Sho’s first impression of the infamous Ninomiya was that he looked more like a mouse than a fox.
He was sitting at a low table, methodically polishing off a plate of manju. He did not look like a man about to be put on trial.
“He was allowed to choose one luxury and he picked that,” said Matsumoto.
“It tastes like home,” said Ninomiya. He didn’t say this with any particular expression of longing, however. He peered curiously at Sho through the coral bars of his cell, still chewing on one of the buns. “Did my cousin send you?”
“Yes. I’m Sakurai Sho,” said Sho.
“Well done for making it all the way down here,” said Ninomiya. “Want some manju?”
“Yes please,” Aiba piped up.
“I’d like half,” said Ryo grandly, although he was only a little taller than the diameter of one.
Ninomiya turned to Matsumoto. “Jun-kun?”
Matsumoto made a face. “No thank you,” he said. “I’m sick of the stuff.”
“That’s what you get for being around from before the time manju was even invented,” Ninomiya quipped.
“I don’t understand,” said Sho. “Shouldn’t you be more… nervous?”
“Why should I be?” asked Ninomiya. “You lot have arrived.”
“It’s not as if we can do anything to help,” said Sho.
There was a pause. Ninomiya’s eyes seemed to gleam in the darkness.
“Or can we?” asked Aiba.
“Well,” said Ninomiya. He tossed a manju over to Sho, who barely managed to catch it. “He can.”
“I beg your pardon?” asked Sho.
“It took us a while to track you down, but I wasn’t about to come down here without an exit plan,” said Ninomiya.
“And how is he an exit plan?” asked Matsumoto.
“Yes, I’d like to know too,” said Sho.
“I suppose you know by now that we trade in favours, Sakurai-san,” said Ninomiya.
Sho nodded slowly. “Yes, and?”
“And you have something that I may be able to trade for an amnesty,” Ninomiya told him.
“Don’t be ridiculous,” said Matsumoto. “There’s nothing anyone can trade for an amnesty.”
“That’s true under most circumstances,” said Ninomiya. “But what about a life debt?”
“A life debt to Sho-kun?” Aiba asked. “Who owes it?”
Ninomiya smiled. “The daughter of the Dragon King.”
“No,” said Matsumoto.
“Yes,” said Ninomiya. “That’s him. Twenty years ago, a young boy named Sakurai Sho rescued a small turtle from a group of children torturing it. That turtle was her Highness Otohime. Word was sent out for that boy to be found and rewarded, but he never returned to that particular beach.”
“We were on a family vacation,” said Sho faintly. “I remember that.”
He had been tall for his age at that time, and it was easy enough to scare off the turtle’s tormentors by telling them that some adults were coming. He remembered setting the turtle in the water and watching it kick off quickly.
“Nobody could track him down,” said Matsumoto. “We looked for years.”
“And then you gave up,” said Ninomiya. “But I didn’t.”
“Wait,” Ryo interrupted. “So what you’re saying is that Sho is Urashima Taro?”
“Well, he would have been, if Kame had managed to find him and bring him down here,” said Ninomiya.
“This is insane,” said Sho.
“I don’t believe it,” said Matsumoto. “You have no proof whatsoever.”
“The Princess will know,” Ninomiya told him. “Bring him to her and she’ll be able to tell.”
“You demand a lot, for a prisoner,” Matsumoto replied.
“But MatsuJun will help us, won’t you?” asked Aiba in his most persuasive voice. “At the very least you’ll try to gain us an audience with her.”
“I suppose I could,” said Matsumoto. He spoke to the anglerfish. “Go up and look for her Highness’ aides.”
As it swam away, Matsumoto turned to Aiba and Ninomiya.
“I hope you know what you’re doing,” he said, transforming rapidly back into a dragon. “Three minutes and I’ll raise the alarm.”
“How much time do we have?” asked Ryo, clambering out of Sho’s shirt pocket and swimming towards the door of Nino’s cell.
“What’s going on?” asked Sho, as Ryo landed on the lock of the cell and proceeded to climb into the keyhole.
“Repaying favours,” said Matsumoto, coiling once around his dragon pearl before swimming away.
“What about the whole thing about the life debt?” asked Sho.
“Well, it is true, but it’ll take far too much time,” said Ninomiya. “It’s more of a backup plan.”
“A backup plan for what?” Sho demanded.
“For if we don’t manage to escape,” Aiba told him.
There was a cry of triumph from inside the keyhole as the door to Ninomiya’s cell swung open.
Then the alarm bells went off.
Ryo popped his head out of the keyhole. “Was that me?”
9. In which Sho and the others attempt a reckless escape
“Great plan,” shouted Sho over the dreadful ringing of distant gongs, “now every single guard will be down here in less than a minute.”
Sure enough, far above them in the inky darkness of the water appeared the dim but distinct light of six or more dragon pearls.
“Don’t worry, I have this under control,” said Ninomiya. He reached under one of his tails - funny, Sho hadn’t noticed them before - and retrieved a softly glowing jewel. “Aiba, do you have your kite?”
“Yes,” said Aiba, “but we’re far too deep-”
“We won’t be for long,” said Ninomiya, and cast the jewel onto the ocean floor.
At first, nothing appeared to be happening. Then Nino pointed up.
“It’s getting brighter,” he said.
The waters were receding.
“A tide jewel,” murmured Ryo, awed. “You managed to steal it after all.”
Ninomiya laughed. “What point would there be if I hadn’t?”
As suffocating darkness of the deep ocean began to lighten and grey like an underwater sunrise, the dragons were drawing closer and closer. Sho could see them clearly now, cutting through the water towards the bottom of the cliff.
Something was affecting the way they swam, however; they appeared to keep veering off course.
“It’s the jewel,” said Ninomiya.
He was right. The rapid decreasing of the water level was creating currents that were making it difficult for the dragons to swim directly downwards.
“They’ll still get to us when the water dries out,” said Sho. “Can’t they fly as well?”
“We’re not waiting for when the water dries out,” Aiba replied, reaching for something in his man-purse. “We’re using this.”
It was a rectangular kite, the size of a notebook.
“It’s far too small,” Sho pointed out.
“We need to have words about your issue with size,” Ryo told him sharply.
Aiba, in the meantime, appeared to be talking to the kite. Very loudly.
“When something’s over a hundred years old it gets a bit hard of hearing,” said Ninomiya, by way of explanation. He glanced over to Aiba. “Are we ready?”
Aiba nodded. “Sho-kun, I need you to hold on to this string.”
“Wait, what-”
“Ryo-chan,” said Aiba, as he and Ninomiya began looping the kite’s string around Sho. “You’ll need to be up there.”
“That thing likes to bite me - you know that, don’t you?” Ryo grumbled, but still allowed Ninomiya to pick him up and place him in the centre of the kite, where he settled on the bamboo frame. “It’s made of paper but it has teeth.”
“Is that-” Sho began, watching the way the kite started moving on its own, tugging sharply on its string.
“An artefact spirit, yes,” said Ninomiya. “And now that you’re ready, please excuse us.”
He reached into his pockets and pulled out a broad leaf, which he placed on his head before making a sort of half-turn. The next moment, he had transformed into a fox with seven tails. When Sho looked round for Aiba he saw a raccoon dog standing in Aiba’s place.
“We’re lighter this way,” the raccoon dog - Aiba - explained. “Easier to carry.”
“Right,” said Sho, stooping down to gingerly pick Aiba up and carry him under one arm, before picking Nino up with the other.
“Hold on tight,” Ryo called.
The kite was beginning to strain and lift higher and higher while the water continued to diminish, and as Sho squinted up at it he noticed that the kite appeared to getting bigger and bigger.
Two things happened next: the first of the six dragons reached where they were at the bottom of the cliff; at the very same time, the now-giant kite burst past the surface of the water and caught a strong wind, pulling the rest of them swiftly along with it.
They were hurtling up through the water and past the cliff, pursued by the very first dragon, and as they got higher whatever enchantment placed on them by the entry talisman or the Palace grounds themselves began to fade. Sho was holding his breath again, the water wet and freezing and weighing his clothes down even as he was pulled up relentlessly by the kite’s string.
The dragon was gaining on them, close enough to snap at Sho’s feet and just barely miss him. Sho glanced down in panic, in time to see the dragon open its jaws wide -
They broke the surface of the water with an immense splash, gasping for breath even as the kite continued to take them higher. The dragon lunged out after them, but now that they were out of the water the kite could lift them more rapidly than before.
In a matter of moments they were now rising far higher in the sky than Sho could ever imagine, the ocean below them now a vast landscape of canyons and plateaus.
“It’ll flow back, you know,” Aiba told Sho. “Slowly, of course, but we haven’t wiped it out entirely or anything.”
“Thank you,” said Ninomiya, all seven of his tails whipping in the wind as they slowed to a glide. “I owe you one.”
“Make it ten,” said Sho. “I’m terrified of heights.”
Aiba laughed.
All Sho could do now was squeeze his eyes shut, hold on to his two armfuls of animal, and hope that Ryo and the artefact spirit would bring them to safety.
10. In which Sho returns, and discovers that things have changed
“You,” said Sho, upon entering his office and finding Riisa sitting in his chair. “You.”
“Hello,” said Riisa sweetly. Her electric green hoodie had ghetto foxes marching all over it.
Having now met Ninomiya, Sho could see the family resemblance. They had the same nose and the same disarming smile, although Riisa’s features were much softer. Most distinct, however, were their eyes, Sho realised. It wasn’t so much the shape of them as it was the way both Ninomiya and Riisa looked at him. Foxes’ eyes - considering and sharp; all intelligence and wiliness. And yet there was warmth, too; the very warmth that had led Sho to agree to the whole business in the first place.
“Nobody warned me about this,” said Sho.
“About what?” asked Riisa.
“About the fact that thirty minutes down there turned out to be two years and a month,” Sho gritted out.
“To be completely honest,” said Riisa. “It could have been much worse. You could have stayed for three days like you were meant to twenty years ago.” She paused to lean forward. “Trust me, three hundred years is a very long time.”
“Two years is a very long time!” Sho exploded.
“At least I stuck around pretending to be you,” said Riisa. “I got you published in two international journals and secured you a semi-permanent position at the university after finishing your thesis for you.”
Sho buried his face in his hands. “I’d rather have done all that myself.”
“Also, don’t forget to take Maki-chan out for dinner and a movie tomorrow night,” Riisa added. “She likes things with tomatoes in them, just so you know.”
“Please tell me you did not make me start dating someone,” said Sho in the most dangerous voice he could muster.
This, evidently, did little to daunt hundred-year-old fox spirits. “Yes, I did,” said Riisa cheerfully. “I think she’s the best thing that’s ever happened to you.”
“I want to kill something,” said Sho. “Not you,” he added quickly. “Most likely me.”
“Please don’t,” said Riisa, looking mildly concerned. “You still have favours to claim from us.”
Sho looked up at her. “Well then,” he said, “I’d like you to leave and never come back.”
“I’m not going to count that as a favour claimed because I was planning to do that anyway,” Riisa told him, rising from Sho’s chair and making her way across the cluttered room.
“Good,” said Sho wearily. “Whatever you say. Please just go.”
“Just one more thing,” said Riisa, pausing with one hand on the doorknob.
“What is it?” asked Sho.
“You still have the manju,” she said.
“Manju?”
Riisa turned towards him with a smile. Quite, quite effortlessly, she reached a hand into Sho’s coat pocket and pulled out the small bun.
“I don’t think you should eat that,” said Sho. “I’m amazed it’s still intact after being under water.”
“Of course I’m not planning to eat it,” Riisa told him, putting the manju into one of her own pockets with a little wink.
“It is, after all, the other tide jewel.”
-------
“The envelope was kind of… wet,” said Toma. “So I opened it to let it dry out.”
The items were spread out across Sho’s table - turned face down, because Toma was polite about privacy like that.
TO SAKURAI SHO: FOR FUTURE REFERENCE, said the envelope. Beside it was a rather soggy postcard of Tokyo Bay. On the other side of it, someone had scrawled the words Thank You from the Fish.
Below that was an IOU from Ninomiya, scribbled on a disposable chopstick wrapper. I needed that to level up, he had also appended, they say eight tails is especially lucky.
And finally: a photograph of Ohno, Aiba, Ninomiya and Matsumoto, posing with Mickey Mouse at Tokyo Disneyland. You know where to find us, one of them had written on the back. Well, not Disneyland, someone else had added, but you get our meaning.
“Friends of yours?” asked Toma.
“Well,” said Sho. “Well.”
Toma looked puzzled. He didn’t get a chance to ask any further, however, because Sho’s phone rang.
“Sakurai-sensei, there’s someone looking for you at the lobby right now; he says he’s a friend of yours,” said the receptionist.
“Right,” said Sho.
“Do you know a Yamashita-san?” the receptionist continued.
“What does he want?” asked Sho with faint trepidation.
There was a brief pause in which the receptionist repeated Sho’s question in much politer language. When she returned to the phone she sounded slightly troubled.
“He says there’s a bit of an… oni problem?”
The End
Groups: Arashi, with many appearances by NEWS
Rating: PG
Word Count: 7,900~
Summary: In which Sho is tricked into going on an epic journey and his life is hard.
Notes: Japanese folklore AU. Written for bubbly during the je_otherworlds fic exchange; originally posted here. Thanks to g_esquared for going through this in record time, and for being so encouraging. <3
All of this had started with Riisa.
Naka Riisa, aged twenty-one from Nagasaki. Japanese Literature major, taking a floater in Introductory Economics. That was all it had said on the register. She had turned up at Sho’s first tutorial in a fluorescent, skull-patterned romper.
She was the first student in his tutorial group to call him Sho-kun instead of Sakurai-sensei. She was also the first student to get an A plus on the somewhat tricky Deadweight Loss question Sho was very fond of setting as an essay assignment.
Call it unprofessional, but Sho became fascinated by her. It wasn’t just because she was cute; she was, yes, but so were the other girls. She was exceedingly brilliant, but Sho suspected this was partly because of her blinding fashion sense.
There was a certain quality about her, Sho decided, a sort of inexplicable charm that nobody else appeared to possess.
It was this charm, perhaps, that led Sho to agree to help in the first place.
“I was hoping you’d be able to do me a favour,” said Riisa, eyes wide and lips curved into an uncertain smile. Hopeful.
If at all possible, I will try to help, was what Sho should have said. What he said instead was, “Of course.”
“Are you sure?” asked Riisa.
“Yes,” said Sho, glancing quizzically at her.
“Once more, just to be certain,” said Riisa.
“Yes…” said Sho.
“I hold this agreement binding,” Riisa intoned, pulling a bunch of yellow-coloured papers from her pockets and flinging them up in the air. Her expression in that moment was deadly serious; Sho could have sworn her eyes had glowed for a split second.
Sho’s office was suddenly filled with the smell of burning ashes. Then there was a deafening snap, and all the papers disappeared.
Riisa was beaming up at Sho. “Thank you, Sho-kun!”
“Wait- what?” said Sho.
“My first cousin’s missing,” said Riisa. “I need your help to find him.”
1a. In which Sho meets a giant fish,
Riisa had definitely drawn a picture of a fish on the paper napkin that now served as Sho’s guide. There were no fishes present, however, when he arrived at the specific point by the bayside in Shinagawa, at the specific time he was required to (four in the morning on a moonlit night). The only thing that greeted him was a young man sitting on a deckchair, reading yesterday’s newspaper by torchlight.
“You’re on time,” said the man. He appeared to only be wearing a towel. “Sorry, I wanted to say something cool like, you’re late, but… you’re not late. So.”
“I’m Sakurai Sho,” said Sho.
“One piece of advice for the journey ahead,” said the man, holding up his index finger, “don’t give away your name unless you have to.”
“Oh,” said Sho.
“I’m Shige, by the way,” said the man. “Since you asked.”
“But I didn’t-” Sho began, but decided against it. “I’m looking for a large fish,” he said instead, holding out the limp napkin. “I don’t really know why.”
Shige peered at it, but didn’t touch it. “Hm,” he said. “Riisa-chan has never been the best of artists.”
“Do you know where I could find a fish?” asked Sho.
“Riisa told me you were coming,” said Shige. The way he was looking at Sho made him seem slightly bug-eyed. “You’re not asking the right question.”
“Am I not?” asked Sho. “But she said-”
“You’re not looking for a fish,” said Shige. “You’re looking for the Fish.”
“The… fish?” asked Sho, bewildered.
Shige nodded. “The Fish of Shinagawa,” he told Sho. “Rather genial fellow. Fond of photography. Sometimes enjoys pretending that he is a cat. That’s the Fish you’re looking for.”
“Right,” said Sho.
“I’ll even tell you why you’re looking for the Fish,” said Shige.
“Why?” asked Sho.
“Because the Fish will lead you to the Fisherman,” said Shige. “And that’s who you want to be speaking to, if you want to start looking for Nino.”
“Wait - you know-” Sho began.
“He’s been missing for nearly a year, you know,” said Shige. “It’s very unlike him.” When Sho looked lost he added, “Ninomiya. Riisa-chan’s first cousin.”
“Right,” said Sho, wishing very much to be back in the postgraduate common room, working on his thesis. “Where can I find this Fish, then? And the fisherman.”
Shige was now folding up his extremely soggy newspaper. “First question first,” he said to Sho. “If you’re looking for the Fish…”
“Yes?” asked Sho.
“Look no further!” Shige exclaimed, leaping off the deck chair and flinging his arms wide.
Sho peered doubtfully into the dark waters of Tokyo Bay. “I don’t see anything.”
“I said. Look. No. Further.”
Sho glanced back at Shige with dawning realisation. “Oh,” he said. And then, “OH! ”
“Nice reaction,” said Shige, snapping a photo of Sho’s face with a camera he had suddenly produced out of nowhere. “And yes, I am the Fish.”
“But you’re… not. A fish of any sort, I mean,” said Sho, uncomprehending.
“Well, not at the moment,” said Shige, “but we’ll get there. You’ll see.”
“I don’t understand,” Sho said faintly.
“My second piece of advice for your journey ahead,” said Shige, readjusting his towel. “You mustn’t be afraid to trade in favours.”
“Favours?” Sho repeated.
“That’s how things work, among us,” said Shige. “For example, if you do manage to find Ninomiya, Riisa will owe you a big favour. One day it might come in handy.”
“And you telling me where the Fisherman is, that’s another favour, isn’t it?” asked Sho.
“Yes,” said Shige. “I ask for something very simple in return, though.”
“So you’ll help me?” asked Sho.
“Of course I’ll help you,” said Shige. “It’s Nino we’re talking about, after all. But the point is. You need to help me do something in return.”
“What is it?” asked Sho, by now quite aware of the dangers of agreeing to a favour without actually hearing what it was exactly.
“On your journeys you will likely meet a young man,” said Shige. “His name is Nishikido Ryo, and he is tiny.”
“So he’s short?” asked Sho.
“No,” said Shige. “He’s tiny.”
“So he’s a… boy?”
“No,” said Shige, slightly exasperated. “You’ll see when you meet him. Anyway, I want you to give this to him, from me.” He paused. “Steel yourself,” he said solemnly.
And flicked Sho in the forehead.
“That didn’t hurt at all,” said Sho, after the initial shock of Shige’s attack.
“Trust me, it will hurt Nishikido,” said Shige.
“That’s it?” asked Sho. “You want me to flick this guy in the forehead and say it’s from you?”
“Yes,” said Shige.
“Why can’t you do it yourself?” asked Sho.
“In case you didn’t notice, I’m a fish,” said Shige.
“No, I really didn’t,” said Sho with a straight face.
“I don’t have opposable thumbs,” said Shige, before glancing down at his hands. “Not regularly, anyway. The point is, this is possibly the easiest favour you’ll be asked to do, so just be grateful.”
“All right,” said Sho. “I accept your favour.”
“Will you help me?” asked Shige.
“Yes,” said Sho. “And yes again, for good measure.”
Shige grinned. “You’re getting the hang of this.” He threw his newspaper up in the air; it burst into strips of paper that scattered like Riisa’s had, before vanishing in a briny shower of mist.
“Right,” said Sho, for the third time that morning.
“And now,” said Shige, “for the Fisherman.”
1b. and is shown the way by a gentle fisherman
“Never,” said Sho. “NEVER do that again.”
“You’re good, for a first-timer,” said Shige, patting Sho on the back with a (slightly scaly) hand while Sho attempted to expel water through his nose.
“You could have warned me before you pulled me into the water with you,” Sho spat.
“Generally, when he warns, there tends to be more of a struggle,” said another voice.
Sho looked up to see a benign-looking man sitting by the water. He might have been Sho’s age, possibly a year older, but then again, it was hard to tell under that tan. He was also holding a fishing rod over the water, although Sho noted that there appeared to be no line attached.
“Are you the fisherman?” asked Sho.
“I suppose,” said the fisherman. “You can call me Oh-chan.”
“Short for Ohno,” said Shige, who was currently half-submerging himself in the water and beginning a process of becoming increasingly fish-like.
“Good morning,” said Sho politely. “I’m-”
“Sakurai Sho,” Ohno finished. He scratched his nose and sniffled a bit. “I know. Riisa-chan told me.”
“I’ll be going, then,” said Shige rather mournfully, sinking further into the water. “Do come visit when you’re done with all of this.”
“All right,” said Sho, waving. “I’ll remember the favour.”
With a clumsy splash, Shige disappeared into Tokyo Bay.
“Well,” said Sho. “That was strange.”
“Hm,” said Ohno thoughtfully. It was one of the most serene thoughtful noises Sho had ever heard.
“Do you know how I can find Ninomiya?” asked Sho.
Ohno considered this for a long moment. “No.”
“Oh,” said Sho.
“Well,” said Ohno. “Not at this point, anyway. But that’s why we’ll search together.”
“We’ll search together?” Sho repeated.
“I don’t see why not,” said Ohno. “Even if I don’t know, I’m sure one of the others might.”
“There are more of you?” asked Sho.
Ohno blinked. “I suppose?”
“Your tone of uncertainty does nothing to reassure me,” Sho pointed out.
“Hm,” said Ohno, by way of reply. It might have been the general weirdness of the morning getting to Sho, but all of a sudden Ohno seemed hundreds of years old.
“So… shall we?” asked Sho. “Best to get this over with.”
“Shall we?” Ohno repeated absently.
“Shall we go, then? Looking for Ninomiya,” said Sho.
“Hm,” said Ohno for the third time. “In that case, I will need to collect some items. You must go on ahead.”
“Items?” Sho repeated.
Ohno had pulled a tiny spiral bound notebook out of his front pocket and was now scribbling away madly on the first page. After a few minutes, he handed the notebook over to Sho. On the first page was a sketch of a young man crouched on a pedestal, sticking his tongue out.
Sho boggled at it. “And this is…”
“Nino-chan,” Ohno supplied. “As Hachiko. Show this to anyone you meet along this Bay and it will grant you safe passage.”
“Okay,” said Sho, flipping to the next page. On it was a map of some sort, complete with wiggly lines and weird dots. “Is this supposed to be a map? Am I supposed to be heading towards the dot labelled ‘K’ or the one labelled ‘P’?”
“Well,” said Ohno, scrabbling about in his large canvas bag. “I’m not very sure about P, so it’s better to go by K.”
“I don’t understand,” said Sho. “Which way is North?”
“It doesn’t quite matter, really,” said Ohno. “Just head along the Bay and you’ll be fine.” He handed Sho a plastic shopping bag of cucumbers. “These might come in useful.”
“Which end of the Bay should I be heading towards?” asked Sho.
Ohno squinted. Then he pointed to Sho’s right. “That way. Probably.”
“Thanks?” said Sho, with some trepidation.
“I will join you momentarily,” said Ohno, smiling sleepily at Sho.
Clutching the bag of cucumbers and Ohno’s notebook, Sho began to proceed in a rightways direction along Tokyo Bay.
3. In which Sho is waylaid by a kappa
If Sho had watched enough movies as a young boy he would have understood the ominous splashing noises in the water as a sign for him to run to safety. Unfortunately for Sho, he did not.
When a bony hand reached out to grab his ankle, it was already too late. Sho found himself being dragged down into the water. It was only by grabbing the lower rung of the railing that he managed not to get completely submerged.
“I have a thing! From Ohno!” Sho shouted. “I’m supposed to be given safe passage!”
The hand around Sho’s ankle did not let go when Sho said this. The owner of the hand did, however, pop up from the surface of the water, bobbing gently as it regarded Sho.
It was a kappa. It was green, with long hair and a beaklike face. Sho could glimpse the shell on its back.
“H-hello,” said Sho, pulling out the notebook from his shirt pocket with one hand. He flipped it open to display the Hachiko drawing. “This is the drawing.”
“Hello,” said the kappa. It swam forward slightly to take a look at Ohno’s drawing. “That’s Ohno-san’s work all right,” it murmured. “You’re searching for Ninomiya?”
“You know him?” asked Sho.
The kappa shrugged. “Who doesn’t? Doesn’t mean I know where he went, though.”
“I’m Sakurai Sho, and I’m looking for Ninomiya,” said Sho, forgetting Shige’s first rule. “Pleased to meet you.”
The kappa appeared delighted at this show of politeness.
“I’m Koyama Keiichiro,” the kappa told Sho. “Pleased to meet you too.”
It might have been Sho’s imagination, but as they spoke the kappa appeared to be becoming slightly more human-looking. It was still wearing its shell, but the reptilian quality of its features was slowly being replaced by something softer.
Sho blinked once, and bobbing before him in the water was not a Kappa but a young man with Kappa-like qualities.
“You’re - a man?” asked Sho.
“No,” said Koyama, “I’m still a kappa. But this is my human look when I want to head out and eat some ramen. I’m very fond of ramen, though I suppose most people are.”
Koyama also appeared to enjoy talking. A lot. Sho wouldn’t have minded sitting and listening, because this was probably a good way to buy himself some time before he was dragged to a watery death. But he was on a schedule here.
“Koyama-san,” Sho interrupted, in the middle of a rather engaging story about the time Shige and he found a bunch of pearls at the bottom of the river. “Could I trade a favour with you?”
Koyama paused. “A favour?”
“If you let me go,” said Sho, “I’ll give you…” he cast around for something to give Koyama and spotted the forgotten bag of cucumbers lying some distance away from them. “I’ll give you cucumbers.”
“Cucumbers?” Koyama whispered, eyes going comically wide. “Did you just say cucumbers?”
“…yes,” said Sho, gripping onto the railing with one hand and reaching out to grab the bag of cucumbers with the other. “They were from Ohno-san and I’ll give them to you if you let me go.”
“You have a deal,” said Koyama brightly, letting go of Sho’s ankle and receiving the shopping bag gladly. “I love cucumbers.” He turned to gaze limpidly up at Sho. “You are a true friend indeed, Sakurai Sho-san.”
“Well,” said Sho, slightly embarrassed, “glad to oblige.”
“Do you have a destination you are heading towards?” asked Koyama. “I would gladly escort you so you get waylaid by no other kappa but myself.”
“Thank you,” said Sho. “You’re very nice.”
Koyama beamed around a mouthful of cucumber. “I do try.”
“Ohno-san gave me a map,” said Sho, flipping to the next page of his notebook. “I don’t understand it, though.”
“Let me look at it,” said Koyama, hoisting himself up onto land. Sho was perturbed to note that he was wearing flower-pattered boardshorts.
“There’s a K here, and a P…” Sho said, showing Koyama the map.
“Hmmmmm,” said Koyama consideringly. After a long pause, he nodded.
“Yes?” asked Sho.
“Nope,” said Koyama. “Not a clue what this means.”
“Oh,” said Sho, disappointed.
“Ohno-san is like that, I’m afraid. He gets very vague,” Koyama told Sho comfortingly.
“I suppose I’ll just have to forge on, then,” said Sho, sighing deeply.
“Well, I have no idea what Ohno’s map means,” said Koyama, “but someone else might know.”
“Is that person close by?” asked Sho warily.
“Oh yes,” said Koyama, pointing at something in the distance. “He is in that house, yonder.”
Sho turned towards the spot Koyama was pointing at. Sure enough, there stood a house.
“I’d never noticed that before,” said Sho, perturbed.
Koyama shrugged. “It’s one of those things. They only pop up when someone points it out. The house is always Yonder.”
“That’s handy,” said Sho.
“It is,” said Koyama. “But then again, it’s Momotaro’s house, after all.”
“Wait,” said Sho. “Momotaro?”
4. In which Sho meets Momotaro
The house Yonder turned out to be much further away than Sho had initially expected. By the time they arrived at the entrance, even Koyama had to pause to catch his breath.
It was a rather nice house, on the whole, albeit old. The wind chimes in the front veranda were slightly cracked and made muted clinking noises in the breeze.
“Are you sure we’ve got the right place?” asked Sho, while Koyama rang the doorbell.
“I’m quite certain,” said Koyama.
“I mean, if he’s already claimed the demon’s plundered treasure, shouldn’t he at least have fixed the mailbox?” asked Sho.
“Things are different these days,” Koyama told Sho seriously. “Your average oni no longer has much money to its name.”
The person who answered the door was a middle-aged woman who greeted Koyama by his first name and ushered them without hesitation.
“He’s in the kitchen,” she told Koyama.
A young man was sitting by the kitchen table, solemnly eating a skewer of millet dango. He looked up when Sho and Koyama came in, and held out a half-eaten skewer he had left on the plate.
“Want some?”
“No, thank you,” said Sho, while Koyama made a face.
“This is Sakurai Sho. He’s the one Riisa-chan’s asked to look for Nino,” said Koyama. “Sho-san, this is Yamashita Tomohisa. You can call him Yamapi, though. Everyone does.”
“Hi,” said Yamapi. “Pi is short for Peach.”
“Right,” said Sho.
Yamapi chewed on a mouthful of dango. “Kame came by two days ago,” he said.
“Who’s Kame?” asked Sho.
“He’s a sea turtle,” said Koyama. “Messenger for the Emperor of the Sea.”
“Right,” said Sho. “I really should have expected that.”
“Someone’s attempted to steal one of the tide jewels,” Yamapi told them.
He paused significantly. Koyama looked agog. Sho was just confused.
“And this means?” asked Sho, finally.
“What this means,” said Yamapi, “is that Ninomiya’s probably tried to steal the jewel, and now he’s in a spot of trouble.”
“Why would he do that?” asked Sho.
“Who knows,” said Koyama. “He’s a fox, after all.”
“Sorry?” asked Sho.
“A fox,” Yamapi repeated. “Didn’t you know?”
“Obviously he doesn’t always look like a fox, because they shape-shift and everything,” said Koyama.
There was a long pause in which Sho considered this new information.
“Okay,” said Sho, finally. “Assuming that all of this is real and not some extended hallucination caused by inhaling all that dodgy smoke in the Union Bar-”
“Why were you inhaling smoke?” asked Koyama, curious.
“Assuming this is the case,” Sho continued pointedly. He turned to Yamapi. “What should I do?”
“Well,” said Yamapi. “You appear to have two options. You can either follow the words of the agreement to the letter and merely ascertain Ninomiya’s location - that is, find him and let Riisa-chan know, or.”
“Or?” asked Sho.
“You could find him and rescue him,” said Yamapi. “Either way, this requires you journeying into the Deep.”
“The Deep?” Sho repeated.
“Yes, the Deep,” said another voice. “Now will you stop repeating what everyone says in tones of confusion and decide already?”
5. In which Issun-boshi arrives, and Sho sets sail with a tanuki
“Who is that?” asked Sho, glancing about the kitchen.
“Me,” said the Voice. It sounded highly disgruntled.
“Ryo-chan!” Yamapi exclaimed. “You’re here!”
“Clearly,” said the Voice. “Riisa-chan said you lot would require some transportation. So here I am.”
While the Voice had been talking, Sho had identified the speaker. It was an exceedingly tiny man who was standing on the windowsill of Yamapi’s mother’s kitchen, arms akimbo.
“Is that-” Sho started to say.
“Nishikido Ryo. Otherwise known as Issun-boshi,” Koyama explained in an undertone. “He really is no taller than my thumb.”
“I heard that,” said Ryo sharply. “Now are you coming or not?”
Yamapi turned to look at Sho. “Are you?”
Sho took in the sight of a kappa, Momotaro and the unbelievably tiny Issun-boshi standing before him. Then he thought of Shige turning back into a fish, and the sizzle of Riisa’s magic as their agreement became binding. “I’ll go if you’re going,” he told Yamapi.
Yamapi smiled. “Sure,” he told Sho. “And after this we’ll hunt some oni together.”
“Finally,” said Ryo, hauling himself over the windowsill to stand on the kitchen counter.
“Wait,” Sho said, as they were rising to leave.
He walked over to Ryo.
“Yes?” asked Ryo.
“I promised Shige to give you this,” said Sho. “Steel yourself.”
Ryo patently did not steel himself. “What is going on-”
Sho flicked him gently on the forehead.
Ohno was waiting for them when they arrived at Tokyo Bay. He was holding a black canvas bag and conversing with a man in a very large straw hat.
When the man in the straw hat caught sight of them, he beamed and began to wave madly.
“Aiba,” muttered Ryo disparagingly from where he was inexplicably perched on the top of Yamapi’s head. He was still holding a tiny ice pack over his face, where a large and ugly bruise was rapidly forming. His mood had only worsened since he had been prevented from stabbing Sho with a pin that functioned as his sword.
As they approached the pair, Sho saw that Aiba was holding two bottles of sake in one hand and a giant man-purse in the other.
“I’ve seen him somewhere before…” said Sho.
“He’s a raccoon dog,” said Koyama. “You’ve seen him outside restaurants and noodle shops.”
“Pleased to meet you!” Aiba called, bounding up to them. He turned to Sho. “Are you Sho-kun?”
“Yes he is,” said Ryo, before making an incredible flying leap from Yamapi’s head to the wide brim of Aiba’s hat. “He’s coming along with us.”
“Where are we going?” asked Sho.
“Down,” said Ohno, appearing behind Aiba. He looked even sleepier in the daylight.
“Down?” Sho repeated.
“Yes,” said Aiba, pointing to the water. He must have caught sight of the look of horror on Sho’s face, because he added, “Don’t worry! It’s perfectly safe!”
“Unless you meet the Dragon King’s guards, of course,” Ohno added.
“To be honest I was more worried about drowning,” said Sho faintly.
“Of course you won’t drown!” Aiba cried. “We have a boat!”
They turned to look at the boat.
“It’s made of paper,” said Koyama, leaping into the water to examine it more closely. “How interesting.”
“It’s an origami boat?” asked Sho.
“Folded using a talisman of entry. One of my better ideas,” said Ohno, failing to explain exactly what they were entering. “It’s been waterproofed, of course,” he added.
“And if we do end up needing to breathe underwater,” said Aiba, “I have just the thing.”
He retrieved a large sack from the boat. Inside it was a large number of green peppers.
“You just take a small bite and suck out all the air,” Aiba explained.
“This is genius,” breathed Yamapi.
“This is madness,” said Sho.
“So are we setting off, then?” asked Ryo, his face a miniscule picture of boredom.
Reluctantly, Sho approached the boat, led by a delighted Aiba.
“Climb in!” said Aiba, hopping in neatly and making the boat wobble dangerously in the water. It was, indeed, made of paper, Sho realised, and covered by words and symbols impossible to make out.
Sho climbed onto the boat, trying his best not to upset the balance as he did.
“I’m afraid we can only take two people and Ryo,” said Aiba, turning to Yamapi.
“Bummer,” said Yamapi, while in the background Ryo was being very loud and very disgruntled about not being considered a person.
“You can help me with the fan,” Ohno told Yamapi, who brightened considerably.
“Wait,” said Sho, “what fan?”
Ohno pulled a giant fan from his canvas bag.
“That,” said Koyama, bobbing beside the boat, “is a tengu’s fan.”
“I’ve done the math,” said Ohno. “It would be wise to spend no more than half an hour down there.”
“Down where?” asked Sho.
“Down in the Dragon Palace Castle, of course,” said Yamapi, grasping the handle of the tengu’s fan.
“The what?” Sho exploded.
“Brace yourself,” said Ohno, as Yamapi began to wave the fan.
It seemed to grow larger with each wave. At first Sho felt only a tiny breeze as the boat bobbed further out into the water, but the breeze soon grew into a gale. The boat began to rock violently in the churning waters.
Then Ohno took hold of the fan, which was now as huge as four tatami mats and floating eerily in the sky like a large kite. He twirled it once, and then a second time. And then a third.
The waters began to open into a growing whirlpool below the paper boat.
“We’re sinking!” Sho shouted, terrified.
“That’s the point!” Ryo yelled back.
Aiba, in the meantime, was handing out green peppers. “Just in case,” he said cheerfully.
“Come back soon,” called Yamapi, waving at them as the boat got sucked further and further into the depths of Tokyo Bay.
“This is it,” Sho moaned miserably. “We’re going to die.”
6. In which Sho journeys to Ryugu-jo
By some obscure magic that defied the principles of physics, the boat stayed mostly upright as they spun deeper into the water. Sho had his eyes shut and was clinging onto the sides of the boat for dear life while Ryo and Aiba made exhilarated whooping noises.
“We’re almost there!” Aiba called, over the immense roar of the maelstrom. “Hold on to your peppers! It’s going to get a little bit wet!”
“WHAT DO YOU MEAN-” Sho began to holler back, but it was at that moment that the boat reached the centre of the vortex and they were suddenly pulled violently down.
Sho fully expected the rush of water to hit him with a crushing amount of force, but amidst all the speed and fury the most curious thing seemed to be happening.
The boat was being plunged into the depths of the water. It was, despite Aiba’s valiant efforts at waterproofing, crumpling under the immense pressure. At the same time, however, it appeared almost as if time was slowing for the three of them in the boat.
With horrified fascination Sho observed the way the churning water slowed eerily the moment it reached him. It should have engulfed him, but instead it was creeping incrementally up to cover him inch by inch.
A quick glance to the side revealed that the same thing was happening to Aiba, who looked entirely unperturbed at this as he took a swig out of one of his sake bottles. Ryo, still perched on Aiba’s hat, appeared to be using the tiniest of straws to blow himself a growing bubble of air. Only one of his arms was actually wet. He was holding a smaller pepper in his other hand.
Your pepper, mouthed Aiba urgently.
Sho pulled his slightly squashed pepper out of his pocket. They were both now neck-deep in the water. Aiba took a bite from his own pepper, and plunged his head down the rest of the way-
“Wait!” Sho shouted.
Aiba was gone. So was Ryo. The water was now up to his chin.
Sho sighed, bit into his own pepper, and ducked down into the water.
7. In which Sho arrives at Ryugu-jo and meets a dragon
He expected to drown.
Instead, he opened his eyes to a magnificent sight. They were standing before a large gate, four times Sho’s height and made entirely of coral. Past the walls and beyond the gate was an immense palace, huger and grander than any palace Sho had ever seen before. Swirling around it appeared to be numerous schools of beautiful fish.
They were underwater.
“Glad you realised,” Ryo remarked dryly. As he said this, he had hopped off Aiba’s hat and was now swimming slowly towards Sho, tiny bubbles floating from his mouth.
Sho took a step forward experimentally. It felt almost like being on land, albeit just a fraction more sluggish.
“How are we even breathing?” Sho asked. “And won’t the pressure kill us?”
Aiba shrugged. “Some things are better left unexplained,” he said, wandering closer to the gate and peering about. “After all, we’re not even really in Tokyo Bay anymore.”
“We have thirty minutes,” said Ryo, clambering onto Sho’s shoulder.
(He promptly slid off.
“I’m sorry they slope so,” said Sho.
“Not your fault,” said Ryo, swimming over to Sho’s pocket instead.)
“How are we going to find Nino?” asked Sho, trailing after Aiba. “This place is huge.”
“We don’t exactly need to find him,” said Aiba, as they stepped past the threshold of the Dragon Palace Castle. “It’s more a matter of being found.”
“Being found?” Sho repeated.
“By me,” someone boomed.
Or something, Sho realised, as he turned towards the speaker.
It was a dragon, emerging from the nearest gatehouse and coiling menacingly towards them. Its scales glittered in the undersea light as it moved, and its claws beat the water as it snaked round. Looking at it, Sho understood why people had written poems and made countless paintings and sculptures about its kind. All power and fury and lethal, mysterious grace.
Aiba, however, seemed unperturbed by the emergence of this creature.
“MatsuJun!” he called, waving energetically. “It’s been a while!”
The dragon appeared to bristle slightly. “Please stop calling me that.”
“I think it’s a great name,” said Aiba brightly.
“Yes, well, it’s stuck,” said the dragon. “Thanks to you, even Tegoshi won’t stop calling me that. Tegoshi.”
“Where is he, anyway?” asked Aiba.
“Delivering the sack of rice that will never be empty,” the dragon replied. “Apparently a young man managed to kill the giant centipede.”
In Sho’s front pocket, Ryo perked up. “Isn’t that a rather… traditional reward?”
The dragon turned its head to fix one amber eye on Ryo. “Oh, hello. Didn’t see you there,” it said.
“That’s what they always say,” said Ryo.
A glowing ball of light had appeared before them. The dragon began to turn sinuously around it, pearlescent light reflecting off its scales as it did so.
“Apparently he asked for a plate of gyoza that will never be empty,” said the dragon, twisting further until it was a thick knot of coils, “but we’ve not quite been able to manage that - hang on.”
There was a bright flash of light and a large ripple of energy that flung them all to the seabed.
When Sho scrambled to his feet again the dragon was no longer there. Standing in its place was a man with a faux-hawk and very pronounced eyebrows.
“That’s better,” said the man-who-might-have-been-the-dragon-MatsuJun. He turned to Sho. “Now perhaps you’ll look a little less overawed. I’m Matsumoto Jun.”
“We’re here for Nino-chan, actually,” said Aiba.
Matsumoto snorted. It was rather dragonlike. “Him. Trust him to still have a way out after committing a capital offence.”
“This is Sakurai Sho,” Aiba continued, gesturing to Sho. “Riisa-chan asked him to help.”
“Well there’s really nothing much you can do, at this point,” said Matsumoto. “The trial’s at dawn, but the evidence is indisputable. Takizawa caught him red-handed trying to steal one of the tide jewels.”
“What will happen to him?” asked Sho.
“The usual,” said Matsumoto, and when Sho gave him a look of incomprehension he added, “They’ll turn him into a jellyfish and keep him here for a hundred years.”
“What?” asked Sho.
Matsumoto shook his head. “I don’t make the rules. I’m only a lesser Dragon,” he said. “I’ll take you to him anyway. I’m sure he’d appreciate some visitors.”
8. In which Sho meets the kitsune Ninomiya
Ninomiya’s prison was a single cell placed at the bottom of a large chasm in the seabed. Matsumoto had changed back into a dragon to carry them down to that immense depth, where the only source of light was the eerie glow of the anglerfish on guard.
“We need more light,” Matsumoto murmured, touching his hands to a number of lamps positioned around the cell.
Sho’s first impression of the infamous Ninomiya was that he looked more like a mouse than a fox.
He was sitting at a low table, methodically polishing off a plate of manju. He did not look like a man about to be put on trial.
“He was allowed to choose one luxury and he picked that,” said Matsumoto.
“It tastes like home,” said Ninomiya. He didn’t say this with any particular expression of longing, however. He peered curiously at Sho through the coral bars of his cell, still chewing on one of the buns. “Did my cousin send you?”
“Yes. I’m Sakurai Sho,” said Sho.
“Well done for making it all the way down here,” said Ninomiya. “Want some manju?”
“Yes please,” Aiba piped up.
“I’d like half,” said Ryo grandly, although he was only a little taller than the diameter of one.
Ninomiya turned to Matsumoto. “Jun-kun?”
Matsumoto made a face. “No thank you,” he said. “I’m sick of the stuff.”
“That’s what you get for being around from before the time manju was even invented,” Ninomiya quipped.
“I don’t understand,” said Sho. “Shouldn’t you be more… nervous?”
“Why should I be?” asked Ninomiya. “You lot have arrived.”
“It’s not as if we can do anything to help,” said Sho.
There was a pause. Ninomiya’s eyes seemed to gleam in the darkness.
“Or can we?” asked Aiba.
“Well,” said Ninomiya. He tossed a manju over to Sho, who barely managed to catch it. “He can.”
“I beg your pardon?” asked Sho.
“It took us a while to track you down, but I wasn’t about to come down here without an exit plan,” said Ninomiya.
“And how is he an exit plan?” asked Matsumoto.
“Yes, I’d like to know too,” said Sho.
“I suppose you know by now that we trade in favours, Sakurai-san,” said Ninomiya.
Sho nodded slowly. “Yes, and?”
“And you have something that I may be able to trade for an amnesty,” Ninomiya told him.
“Don’t be ridiculous,” said Matsumoto. “There’s nothing anyone can trade for an amnesty.”
“That’s true under most circumstances,” said Ninomiya. “But what about a life debt?”
“A life debt to Sho-kun?” Aiba asked. “Who owes it?”
Ninomiya smiled. “The daughter of the Dragon King.”
“No,” said Matsumoto.
“Yes,” said Ninomiya. “That’s him. Twenty years ago, a young boy named Sakurai Sho rescued a small turtle from a group of children torturing it. That turtle was her Highness Otohime. Word was sent out for that boy to be found and rewarded, but he never returned to that particular beach.”
“We were on a family vacation,” said Sho faintly. “I remember that.”
He had been tall for his age at that time, and it was easy enough to scare off the turtle’s tormentors by telling them that some adults were coming. He remembered setting the turtle in the water and watching it kick off quickly.
“Nobody could track him down,” said Matsumoto. “We looked for years.”
“And then you gave up,” said Ninomiya. “But I didn’t.”
“Wait,” Ryo interrupted. “So what you’re saying is that Sho is Urashima Taro?”
“Well, he would have been, if Kame had managed to find him and bring him down here,” said Ninomiya.
“This is insane,” said Sho.
“I don’t believe it,” said Matsumoto. “You have no proof whatsoever.”
“The Princess will know,” Ninomiya told him. “Bring him to her and she’ll be able to tell.”
“You demand a lot, for a prisoner,” Matsumoto replied.
“But MatsuJun will help us, won’t you?” asked Aiba in his most persuasive voice. “At the very least you’ll try to gain us an audience with her.”
“I suppose I could,” said Matsumoto. He spoke to the anglerfish. “Go up and look for her Highness’ aides.”
As it swam away, Matsumoto turned to Aiba and Ninomiya.
“I hope you know what you’re doing,” he said, transforming rapidly back into a dragon. “Three minutes and I’ll raise the alarm.”
“How much time do we have?” asked Ryo, clambering out of Sho’s shirt pocket and swimming towards the door of Nino’s cell.
“What’s going on?” asked Sho, as Ryo landed on the lock of the cell and proceeded to climb into the keyhole.
“Repaying favours,” said Matsumoto, coiling once around his dragon pearl before swimming away.
“What about the whole thing about the life debt?” asked Sho.
“Well, it is true, but it’ll take far too much time,” said Ninomiya. “It’s more of a backup plan.”
“A backup plan for what?” Sho demanded.
“For if we don’t manage to escape,” Aiba told him.
There was a cry of triumph from inside the keyhole as the door to Ninomiya’s cell swung open.
Then the alarm bells went off.
Ryo popped his head out of the keyhole. “Was that me?”
9. In which Sho and the others attempt a reckless escape
“Great plan,” shouted Sho over the dreadful ringing of distant gongs, “now every single guard will be down here in less than a minute.”
Sure enough, far above them in the inky darkness of the water appeared the dim but distinct light of six or more dragon pearls.
“Don’t worry, I have this under control,” said Ninomiya. He reached under one of his tails - funny, Sho hadn’t noticed them before - and retrieved a softly glowing jewel. “Aiba, do you have your kite?”
“Yes,” said Aiba, “but we’re far too deep-”
“We won’t be for long,” said Ninomiya, and cast the jewel onto the ocean floor.
At first, nothing appeared to be happening. Then Nino pointed up.
“It’s getting brighter,” he said.
The waters were receding.
“A tide jewel,” murmured Ryo, awed. “You managed to steal it after all.”
Ninomiya laughed. “What point would there be if I hadn’t?”
As suffocating darkness of the deep ocean began to lighten and grey like an underwater sunrise, the dragons were drawing closer and closer. Sho could see them clearly now, cutting through the water towards the bottom of the cliff.
Something was affecting the way they swam, however; they appeared to keep veering off course.
“It’s the jewel,” said Ninomiya.
He was right. The rapid decreasing of the water level was creating currents that were making it difficult for the dragons to swim directly downwards.
“They’ll still get to us when the water dries out,” said Sho. “Can’t they fly as well?”
“We’re not waiting for when the water dries out,” Aiba replied, reaching for something in his man-purse. “We’re using this.”
It was a rectangular kite, the size of a notebook.
“It’s far too small,” Sho pointed out.
“We need to have words about your issue with size,” Ryo told him sharply.
Aiba, in the meantime, appeared to be talking to the kite. Very loudly.
“When something’s over a hundred years old it gets a bit hard of hearing,” said Ninomiya, by way of explanation. He glanced over to Aiba. “Are we ready?”
Aiba nodded. “Sho-kun, I need you to hold on to this string.”
“Wait, what-”
“Ryo-chan,” said Aiba, as he and Ninomiya began looping the kite’s string around Sho. “You’ll need to be up there.”
“That thing likes to bite me - you know that, don’t you?” Ryo grumbled, but still allowed Ninomiya to pick him up and place him in the centre of the kite, where he settled on the bamboo frame. “It’s made of paper but it has teeth.”
“Is that-” Sho began, watching the way the kite started moving on its own, tugging sharply on its string.
“An artefact spirit, yes,” said Ninomiya. “And now that you’re ready, please excuse us.”
He reached into his pockets and pulled out a broad leaf, which he placed on his head before making a sort of half-turn. The next moment, he had transformed into a fox with seven tails. When Sho looked round for Aiba he saw a raccoon dog standing in Aiba’s place.
“We’re lighter this way,” the raccoon dog - Aiba - explained. “Easier to carry.”
“Right,” said Sho, stooping down to gingerly pick Aiba up and carry him under one arm, before picking Nino up with the other.
“Hold on tight,” Ryo called.
The kite was beginning to strain and lift higher and higher while the water continued to diminish, and as Sho squinted up at it he noticed that the kite appeared to getting bigger and bigger.
Two things happened next: the first of the six dragons reached where they were at the bottom of the cliff; at the very same time, the now-giant kite burst past the surface of the water and caught a strong wind, pulling the rest of them swiftly along with it.
They were hurtling up through the water and past the cliff, pursued by the very first dragon, and as they got higher whatever enchantment placed on them by the entry talisman or the Palace grounds themselves began to fade. Sho was holding his breath again, the water wet and freezing and weighing his clothes down even as he was pulled up relentlessly by the kite’s string.
The dragon was gaining on them, close enough to snap at Sho’s feet and just barely miss him. Sho glanced down in panic, in time to see the dragon open its jaws wide -
They broke the surface of the water with an immense splash, gasping for breath even as the kite continued to take them higher. The dragon lunged out after them, but now that they were out of the water the kite could lift them more rapidly than before.
In a matter of moments they were now rising far higher in the sky than Sho could ever imagine, the ocean below them now a vast landscape of canyons and plateaus.
“It’ll flow back, you know,” Aiba told Sho. “Slowly, of course, but we haven’t wiped it out entirely or anything.”
“Thank you,” said Ninomiya, all seven of his tails whipping in the wind as they slowed to a glide. “I owe you one.”
“Make it ten,” said Sho. “I’m terrified of heights.”
Aiba laughed.
All Sho could do now was squeeze his eyes shut, hold on to his two armfuls of animal, and hope that Ryo and the artefact spirit would bring them to safety.
10. In which Sho returns, and discovers that things have changed
“You,” said Sho, upon entering his office and finding Riisa sitting in his chair. “You.”
“Hello,” said Riisa sweetly. Her electric green hoodie had ghetto foxes marching all over it.
Having now met Ninomiya, Sho could see the family resemblance. They had the same nose and the same disarming smile, although Riisa’s features were much softer. Most distinct, however, were their eyes, Sho realised. It wasn’t so much the shape of them as it was the way both Ninomiya and Riisa looked at him. Foxes’ eyes - considering and sharp; all intelligence and wiliness. And yet there was warmth, too; the very warmth that had led Sho to agree to the whole business in the first place.
“Nobody warned me about this,” said Sho.
“About what?” asked Riisa.
“About the fact that thirty minutes down there turned out to be two years and a month,” Sho gritted out.
“To be completely honest,” said Riisa. “It could have been much worse. You could have stayed for three days like you were meant to twenty years ago.” She paused to lean forward. “Trust me, three hundred years is a very long time.”
“Two years is a very long time!” Sho exploded.
“At least I stuck around pretending to be you,” said Riisa. “I got you published in two international journals and secured you a semi-permanent position at the university after finishing your thesis for you.”
Sho buried his face in his hands. “I’d rather have done all that myself.”
“Also, don’t forget to take Maki-chan out for dinner and a movie tomorrow night,” Riisa added. “She likes things with tomatoes in them, just so you know.”
“Please tell me you did not make me start dating someone,” said Sho in the most dangerous voice he could muster.
This, evidently, did little to daunt hundred-year-old fox spirits. “Yes, I did,” said Riisa cheerfully. “I think she’s the best thing that’s ever happened to you.”
“I want to kill something,” said Sho. “Not you,” he added quickly. “Most likely me.”
“Please don’t,” said Riisa, looking mildly concerned. “You still have favours to claim from us.”
Sho looked up at her. “Well then,” he said, “I’d like you to leave and never come back.”
“I’m not going to count that as a favour claimed because I was planning to do that anyway,” Riisa told him, rising from Sho’s chair and making her way across the cluttered room.
“Good,” said Sho wearily. “Whatever you say. Please just go.”
“Just one more thing,” said Riisa, pausing with one hand on the doorknob.
“What is it?” asked Sho.
“You still have the manju,” she said.
“Manju?”
Riisa turned towards him with a smile. Quite, quite effortlessly, she reached a hand into Sho’s coat pocket and pulled out the small bun.
“I don’t think you should eat that,” said Sho. “I’m amazed it’s still intact after being under water.”
“Of course I’m not planning to eat it,” Riisa told him, putting the manju into one of her own pockets with a little wink.
“It is, after all, the other tide jewel.”
-------
“The envelope was kind of… wet,” said Toma. “So I opened it to let it dry out.”
The items were spread out across Sho’s table - turned face down, because Toma was polite about privacy like that.
TO SAKURAI SHO: FOR FUTURE REFERENCE, said the envelope. Beside it was a rather soggy postcard of Tokyo Bay. On the other side of it, someone had scrawled the words Thank You from the Fish.
Below that was an IOU from Ninomiya, scribbled on a disposable chopstick wrapper. I needed that to level up, he had also appended, they say eight tails is especially lucky.
And finally: a photograph of Ohno, Aiba, Ninomiya and Matsumoto, posing with Mickey Mouse at Tokyo Disneyland. You know where to find us, one of them had written on the back. Well, not Disneyland, someone else had added, but you get our meaning.
“Friends of yours?” asked Toma.
“Well,” said Sho. “Well.”
Toma looked puzzled. He didn’t get a chance to ask any further, however, because Sho’s phone rang.
“Sakurai-sensei, there’s someone looking for you at the lobby right now; he says he’s a friend of yours,” said the receptionist.
“Right,” said Sho.
“Do you know a Yamashita-san?” the receptionist continued.
“What does he want?” asked Sho with faint trepidation.
There was a brief pause in which the receptionist repeated Sho’s question in much politer language. When she returned to the phone she sounded slightly troubled.
“He says there’s a bit of an… oni problem?”
The End