Ronin's Revenge

Although Ryoma felt wary of the oni at first, he had to admit that the kappa didn’t appear to pose a threat to his well-being whatsoever. Not that a kappa in general was to be taken lightly; he had heard all his life that they were stronger than a man despite being roughly the size of a child. Additionally, their swimming capabilities were rivaled only by a koi fish overcoming a mighty waterfall. Also, there head was like a dish, holding in water that was said to be the source of their strength. And finally, though he wasn’t aware of such a quality in the mythos, this particular kappa had sharp claws with which he supposed it caught its food. That begged the question, though, of whether it needed to hunt at all.

“Do you eat?” Ryoma asked. He realized it was rather blunt, but there wasn’t really a way of bridging toward that piece of conversation. The kappa looked up and said, “I don’t have to, but I certainly enjoy it. Especially dining on the crucian carp; that’s my favorite!” Ryoma smiled at the response and said, “I enjoy them thoroughly as well.” Fond memories of fishing for them beside the imperial palace with Goro flooded his mind before the sadness found its way back in. Despite that, he was shocked to not only realize that he was befriending a kappa of all creatures, but also that he would find a similarity between the two.

A deep grumbling came from Ryoma’s stomach. Noon had arrived, and the poor warrior hadn’t eaten nary a bite since supper the night before. On top of that, the struggle against Orochi truly expended the extent of his energy, so he was in desperate need of replenishing. The kappa giggled, yet another action Ryoma wasn’t aware it was capable of, and said, “Perhaps we should remedy that hunger of yours before we continue on discussing food.” Ryoma nodded. The mere talk didn’t satiate his stomach’s desire.

“There must be a house nearby that this shed accommodates.” Ryoma said. “Let’s find it and see if the owners have anything they can spare for us.” The kappa jumped up, water sloshing from the cap of its head, and said, “There is! I caught a glance of it while moving you downstream.” Ryoma felt delighted to hear such news. And so, the two traveled back up the river, the samurai walking the banks and the kappa swimming upstream.

Soon enough, the duo found the house sitting by the water’s edge. Ryoma gasped at the sight of it; the shoji in the front of the house was in tatters, as though it had been peppered with one hundred arrows. Even the frame itself had been damaged by some horrid force. The samurai dropped to his knees and began shedding tears. “Not again,” he said, “not here. It couldn’t have happened here, too.”

The kappa placed its webbed hand on Ryoma’s shoulder and said, “I’m afraid so. I hate telling you this, but it’s happening everywhere.” Ryoma didn’t wish to listen further, however, and so, he returned to his feet and bolted toward the house. “Hello!” He yelled. “Is anybody there? I’m here to help!” He swung open the remainder of the door and swiftly entered the abode yet found a chilling emptiness. “Dammit!” He exclaimed. “This can’t be real!”

Ryoma retreated from the house and turned his attention to the oni. “Kappa,” he said, “please tell me you’re mistaken. Surely, this isn’t occurring across all Japan. The innocents of this country just have to be safe; I beg of you! Tell me you jest, that you don’t know that of which you speak!” Unfortunately, the kappa looked away, reluctant to repeat itself, to tell the weeping warrior the hard truth not once but twice was a thought too unbearable. Ryoma, instead, lowered his head and said, “I suppose you’ve no reason to lie to me, kappa.” He wiped the tears from his eyes and cheeks and continued, “I’m sorry for acting so hysterical. You didn’t deserve that.”

The kappa walked toward Ryoma ever so gently as to not rouse him further. It said, “Maybe there is a chance they escaped. Perhaps the oni wasn’t fast enough to catch them. We shouldn’t assume the worst immediately, right? I mean, there’s always that chance.” Ryoma raised his glance from the ground to the kappa (which wasn’t exactly all that far) and smiled weakly. “You’re right, kappa,” he said, “there’s always room for optimism. We should assume they’re unharmed before anything else.” He placed his hand on its shoulder and continued, “Thank you, truly.” The kappa nodded in understanding.

Once again, Ryoma’s stomach groaned in demand of sustenance. He sheepishly said, “I suppose I still need to eat. I pray they won’t mind if we were to appropriate some supplies.” The kappa shook his head and said, “We should be fine. If they did make it out, they probably aren’t in a rush to return to an unsafe location. I’m willing to bet that they’ve sought shelter elsewhere, so any foodstuffs they have ready to be eaten will most likely have gone bad before they come back.”

Ryoma couldn’t argue with the kappa’s logic (such a sage creature it was proving to be) and relented. “Very well.” He said. “Let’s go inside.” Together, they found their way through the remnants of the shoji and inside the house. It was modestly decorated but certainly lived in. Though vacant, one could still feel the amount of love that had been bequeathed within its walls over the years.

In a nook of the room, Ryoma found a bucket of substantial size. Walking toward it, he noticed water sloshing around inside. Once he made it close enough for inspection, he noticed fish swimming in the bucket. They were crucian carps! The samurai assumed they had been fished from the river outside. He licked his lips and said, “I believe I’ve found our lunch, kappa.” The kappa clapped in excitement. Then, Ryoma took the bucket and poured its contents into a pot in the hearth and lit a fire.

Before long, the duo was enjoying a nice carp meal. Though caught up in the bliss of eating, something still nagged on Ryoma’s nerves. Between bites, he asked, “So, kappa, why aren’t you partaking in the ransack of the country? Isn’t Orochi leading all the demons on a rampage of destruction?” The kappa swallowed, lowered its head, and muttered, “I can’t stand that demon Orochi. It always acts superior to other oni, like it was destined for greatness beyond its capabilities. I wouldn’t serve it if my life was on the line.”

Ryoma said, “It feels strange to refer to Orochi as an it; after all, it now bears the face of Emperor Hiro. That makes it masculine in my eyes.” Then, something occurred to the samurai, so he turned to the kappa and asked, “Are you a boy or a girl?” The kappa looked him dead in the eye and said, “I have no idea. What are you?” Ryoma blushed and said, “I’m male, obviously.” In response, the kappa said, “Well, I haven’t ever thought of myself as a boy or girl, but I’ll pick one if it helps you address me.” Then, it thought long and hard before commenting, “I suppose that I’d like to be like you, a gallant warrior, so if you’re a boy, then I want to be a boy as well.” Ryoma agreed, and from then on, the kappa was a boy.

Next, Ryoma asked, “Do you have a name? It feels derogatory to simply refer to you as kappa.” The kappa looked puzzled for a time, but eventually said, “I don’t have a name, and unfortunately, I don’t think I can take your name as well. That would make things awfully confusing, wouldn’t you agree?” Then, he cocked his head and said, “Speaking of, I don’t even know your name, samurai. What is it, anyway?” Ryoma said, “Call me Ryoma Amami. And don’t worry, we’ll think of a name for you in due time; I’m sure of it.”

The duo finished a majority of the contents of their lunch, yet had some left over. Ryoma began to lament as he said, “It’s a shame this fish will go to waste. It truly was delicious.” The kappa then took one last gulp of his meal and said, “Maybe I can fix it up so it doesn’t go bad.” Ryoma glanced his way questioningly and asked, “How do you presume to do that?” The kappa’s body began altering somehow, it was as though his chest was melting away and rearranging at the same time in the center. Then, something began appearing in the wake of the magical transformation. The samurai gasped as he saw what came out of his traveling companion; embedded in his chest was Ryoma’s ofuda!

“My talisman!” Ryoma exclaimed. “I was convinced it was gone for good. May I have it back?” The kappa shook his head and said, “No can do, Ryoma; I’m afraid it’s locked in place, fused within my body. I found it while retrieving your katana on the riverbed and it didn’t hesitate to merge with my being. Ever since, I’ve felt a strange sense of power within me that I can’t quite explain.” Ryoma cocked his head and asked, “What kind of power are you talking about?”

Without further prodding, the kappa took the leftover carp and began blowing on it. To Ryoma’s surprise, an icy sheen began coating the carp until it was completely frozen over. The kappa stopped blowing and said, “This should help our meal keep safe to eat for longer.” Ryoma, though stunned, managed to say, “You can control ice! That’s incredible, my friend!” The kappa giggled at being called ‘friend.’ Then, the samurai said, “That’s not something any of the texts concerning a kappa mention.” The kappa shook his head and said, “No, it’s the ofuda that’s given me this ability to manipulate ice. It’s never done that for you?”

Ryoma shook his head and said, “I’ve never known the ofuda to do anything, but I kept it as my lord bestowed it upon me. Looks like it did serve me some use, Emperor Hiro.” His last statement was spoken to no one in particular. Afterwards, he wrapped the frozen fish in a knapsack to take along for a second meal. After handling the carp, a thought occurred to the samurai. “I know what we can call you.” He said. The kappa looked at him blankly as if waiting for a response. Ryoma continued, “Let’s name you Yuki. It means snow.” The kappa mulled it over before he said, “I like that! I’ll be Yuki from now on!” And from then on, he was.