Ryosuke Matsui's Story

"Yuànsén you say?" From nearby in the market, a young man clad in blue glanced towards where Meke and Masaeyu were speaking. "I don't mean to eavesdrop, but I couldn't help but overhear."

Ryosuke offered Meke a bow of greeting with a smile, "The name's Matsui Ryosuke, student of Yuànsén and self-proclaimed swordsmaster. At your service, friend. What do you seek at the monastery, if I may ask?" As he rose, he flashed Masaeyu an amused grin, "Masa, you're being simple in the head again. He means he is searching for volunteers from here, to lend a hand with our problem. You think a traveller would go to the trouble of such a journey just to build a fence?"

Meke chuckled lowly.

"Indeed I am looking for workers here to begin the project," Meke explained. "Spare lumber and able hands. After that I must resume my own journey."

He took the offered fish and slung them over his shoulder.

"The reasons for my journey are personal," he explained to Ryosuke. "But they are not so urgent that I cannot assist with your kappa problem before I move on. I would ask of you to spread word of my intention among the village."

Masaeyu turned his head to catch Ryosuke, quite a familiar face, approaching. He glanced at Meke with an embarrassed chuckle. "Ah! My mistake!" He scratched the back of his head, brushing it off. "Well, in that case, you don't look like a madman at all for going about it that way!"

He let conversation pass between Ryosuke and Meke before speaking up once more. He wasn't sure if a fence in itself would fix the problem. They still needed to fish. They still needed to eat. But...it would bide them some time and hold back much danger so they would figure it out.

"We can do that." said Masaeyu. "Hey, Ryo, what are thoughts on this, ah?"

"A fence? Maybe it'll keep the children who like to play with death near the edge from falling in, and it will make it harder for the kappa to catch travellers unawares." Ryo shrugged his shoulders, "Not a solution, but a help, for sure."

He inclined his head to Meke in acknowledgement. "As you say. Many people come to the monastery for guidance in something close to their hearts. I do not doubt you will find something for you there. And of course, I'll spread the word for you."

Ryo grinned, "If there's one thing I'm good at other than the sword, it's talking."

Meke inclined his head in a nod.

"It is only my intention to provide a measure of safety for travelers on the road at night. It is not a solution, but if it affords some manner of protection until the source of the problem is solved, then it is time well spent."

He rubbed thoughtfully at his furry jaw.

"I must return these fish to Takeuchi Haruto. Volunteers are meeting down at the lake at noon if you would join with us."

"Understood. I'll make it! I'll get anyone I can to volunteer!" said Masaeyu to Meke, giving him a wave. "Enjoy the fish!"

This is good, thought Masaeyu. We get work. And without the danger of the kappa while fishing. It takes the strain off of a lot of the villagers. The children will be protected. So will any women who wander out.

He paused in thought, remembering that there was on little thing he needed to do. "Ryo!" he cried to the swordsman. "I need your help. I can't leave the stall and all the fish by itself. Would you mind finding my brother? He's out near the west side of the lake."

Ryo raised an eyebrow before nodding his head, "Alright, Masa. Is there a message you want me to carry, or ought I just say you're looking for him? And what on earth is he doing out there?" He shook his head with a chuckle, "In any case," Ryo glanced to Meke, "I'll be there at noon. One step at a time, eh?"

"Just tell him to get over here," said Masa. "He's been skirting his duties here at the stall anyway!" He shook his head with disappointment. "What's he doing there? What's he doing anywhere he goes but here? He's flippant and lazy, unlike his obviously diligent, peaceful older brother."

He sat himself back onto the table, finishing his meal. Yes, diligent and hard-working, Masaeyu was, at his empty stall. "And if you get a chance, give Youta a good smack in the back of the head. Not just for my sake, too."

As Taiki hit the water, more yells went up along the beach. It was with a second splash that he would find himself in company. Brandishing a speargun, Ryosuke grabbed Taiki by the arm and pulled him away from the grasp of one of the kappa that had closed in on where he hit the water. "Get to the shore!" the young warrior yelled over the roar of the waves being created by the battle in the water. "I'll fend off the kappa!"

Though he only had one shot, it was clear that the few kappa that had broken off from attacking Nanami knew what the weapon was. They hovered warily just clear of the pair of swimmers as Ryo covered the other man's retreat.

When Taiki reached the shore, he would find the hands of several men waiting to help him out of the lake and onto the bank. One of the kappa darted in to strike, but met a spear to the throat in the process. Thus disarmed, Ryo made a break for the bank himself. Though the other two kappa surged after him, they were met with spears, rocks and nets thrown by the men on the shore.

Pulling himself free, Ryo gasped on the sandy shore before pulling himself to his feet. "We shouldn't wait around. They might follow us onto the land. Get Nanami out and onto land, then let's get clear."

Nanami stomped across the water, stomping angrily at the Kappa that dared to get close to the pointed legs and got two of it's legs onto the sandy coast, splattering the sand with water, the great undershell of the colossus acting like a rain cloud. The men aboard the crab had started to wrestle with the crab, trying to guide the rest of it onto the coast.

Nanami was too lost in it's instinct to fight the Kappa. The crab snapped it's claws at the giant turtles and stomped with the rest of its legs, making the pagoda atop it shake violently, a shelf's contents had nearly fallen into the water when one of the men had rushed over and kept it there with his arms.

Taiki breathed a thanks as he swum out of the water, helping himself to a hand up and pulling his silvery scale chestplate from his chest, casting it upon the sand and staggering up the sands. The merchant stopped short and gazed at the creatures before breaking a seashell off his belt.

Taiki put the wet seashell to his lips, ignored the salty taste and blew.

An unearthly almost song-like tune drifted out of the shell, like the crooning of a whale. It traveled to the ears of the crab and Nanami instantly turned in the direction of the sound and responded with a mighty grinding of it's mandibles, raising it's pincers and begun to shuffle onto the shore.

As Ryosuke had predicted, the kappa began to crawl out onto the shore after Nanami, but the resistance they met from the other villagers was too great for their persistence to hold out. With projectiles soaring towards them, and spears being jabbed at them, they retreated back into the lake.

Aside from a few dead kappa on the beach, the very brief battle had claimed nothing in the way of victims. A man was nursing a nastily gashed leg, but he was already being helped back towards the village where it could be tended to. Ryosuke let out a breath of relief, grimacing down at his sodden clothes and wringing his hair out to one side.

"I think we really ought to put some warning signs up," he remarked, glancing across to Taiki, "I sometimes forget how slowly news travels from here."

The swordsman extended a hand, "Matsui Ryosuke, but you can call me Ryo. Is your crab alright?"

Taiki took the hand and swung his other hand to slap the other's back. "Thanks, I owe you and your village." Taiki grinned and slid the shell back into the folds of his outfit. Nanami crawled onto the shore, pulling itself onto the hills and digging itself firmly into the sand, circling on the spot and kept it's claws pointed at the lake.

"Just her pride, her leg might take awhile to heal but nothing she hasn't had before." The merchant smiled thinly, crossing over to the breach and pulling his sword from the sand, running a finger along the blade to clean the beads of sand off the cross-guard. Taiki gazed across the land for the sheath, sighed and shrugged.

"My pride too, nobody told us the Kappa were so aggressive. I'm Taiki, friends call me Tai. What's going on here, Ryo?"

"I wish I knew, friend!" Ryo shook his head, "None of us have any idea what's driven the kappa so crazy. I'm told that things were just like normal until one day one of the fishermen took his boat out onto the lake and was swarmed and sunk. I didn't arrive until last week, after one of my friends sent me word of the trouble."

Folding his arms, the swordsman gazed out across the deceptively peaceful waters with a frown. "You're welcome to stay at the village, and do trade, of course. Can't let a little lake trouble grind everything to a halt. We're going to be building a fence on the edge of the path later today, to help prevent people falling into the lake - or worse, being dragged."

Turning back to Taiki, Ryo offered him a polite bow. "I'm going to return to the village to change out of these sodden clothes, I'll let them know that you have arrived." he said, "Or you can walk with me, if you want."

Flicking the sleeves of his soggy shirt, the young swordsman turned and started on his way towards the village.

Ryo wiped a bead of sweat from his forehead, adjusting the hat he wore to shield him from the sun's glare overhead. He leaned forwards onto the post that he'd just finished embedding in the soil, stretching his exposed torso out and looking out across the beach towards where Meke stood. "Hey, traveller!" he called, "I'm curious, what are you doing putting a post out there? Some new plan?"

The young man raised one eyebrow, trying to figure out the possibilities for what the big cat-person could intend.

A short distance farther down the bank, Kyo stood with her bow at the ready in case the kappa were drawn to such a surge of activity at the water's edge. She glanced across to Meke after Ryo called out to him, but made no comment herself.

Meke was just finishing driving the post in when Ryo called out to him. He carefully waded through the clear water towards the bank - aiming to disturb the water as little as possible so as to not draw unwanted attention from the deeper recesses of the lake.

He retrieved another post from the waters edge before pointing at the embankment. "There," he told Ryo. "Where the soil is eroded."

The region he pointed to had been worn thin by frequent use but shielded well by the undergrowth that grew alongside the road.

"Meke! Mr. Meke, sir!" a boy called out as he came running along dragging behind him some netting that looked like it probably weighed more than the lad himself.

"I got what you asked for!" he yelled as he waved excitedly.

Meke grunted his approval and pat the lad on the head as he slung the netting over his shoulder.

"It is my wish to catch one of these kappa of yours," Meke explained.

"To catch one?" Ryo repeated, raising an eyebrow. "People have tried, and succeeded in the past. But to my knowledge nothing useful has come of it. I have seen some, in travelling circuses or zoos; they are nasty creatures in a cage or out of it."

Kyo had, in the meantime, made her way over closer to where they were gathered. "You'll need bait," she noted, "Though I'm sure you had that in mind. The kappa have seemed to like to raid our stores of meat since they started coming on land. Perhaps they prefer it to the monotony of the fish in the lake. You could likely bait the trap with some of that, but it's possible you may draw more attention than your net can handle."

The young swordsman cocked his head and drummed his fingers on the post as he listened to Kyo speak. "So what do you aim to do with your captured kappa?" he asked when she was done.

Though the sun was high in the sky, it appeared that a star had appeared in the blue, only to grow brighter within a few minutes. It was likely that no one would even notice the bright speck until it became a falling star, that streaked toward the lake at terminal velocity. A roar of thundering shook nearby trees, and sent birds flying in fright from the falling object, as it plunged into the lake with a cacophonous splash. Moments passed, as the water attempted to return to its earlier calm, until a coughing, sputtering male thrashed to get his head above the surface, screaming wordlessly in panic. His black hair was plastered to his face, obscuring his vision, and he seemed to be weighed down by some sort of heavy feathered coat. His screams were somewhat high pitched, and sounded like the panicked cries of a drowning bird. He had a light stubble over his chiseled jaw, and might have been considered handsome, if not for his drowned-animal behavior.

It seemed the man had no clue of how swimming worked, as he frantically slapped at the water with both arms, in an effort to propel himself upward. In a turn of unsurprising events he suddenly vanished under the water, probably yanked into the depths by the kappa that lived there. Or he just drowned because he fell from the sky and sucked at swimming. These things happened.

Meke shook his head. "We do not speak of the same kappa," he explained. "The kappa I seek will require a different sort of bait. Perhaps you might be of assistance," he noted. Meke wasn't well versed in human attractiveness, but from his time in Losenji he suspected Kyo would be more than adequate for his purposes.

"Meke, sir?" the boy asked as he followed Meke back down into the shallow water. "How can you tell what kind of a kappa it is?" he asked.

The boy seemed to have taken quite a shine for the Mira drifter.

"I will show you," Meke told the boy.

Though before he could follow through on the offer a few murmurs and gestures from the men and women along the road's edge drew his eye. They were pointing skyward and he turned his gaze to the sight of the bright light descending towards the open water.

Up until now Meke had taken care in not making too much commotion as he worked so as to not draw the attention of the kappa that lurked in the deeper waters, but the thunderous roar and subsequent splash followed by the man's mad flailing served to rouse the creatures.

Though they could not be seen yet, the churning of the water and the movements of the ripples at the surface betrayed the creatures beneath.

Meke wasted little time in grabbing the boy up out of the water and turning to pass him off to those at the banks edge; though, his own sudden movements and sloshing only added to the commotion in the water.

"What was that?" Ryo exclaimed, eyes widening as he turned towards the splash. It didn't take him long to make out the flaming shape of a man in the waters. "Ahg! How did he get there?!"

The swordsman jumped into action, taking off down the beach to yell at one of the other villagers. "Setsuo! Fetch your boat! There's someone out in the water!"

Out where Huginn was, whilst the villagers were pushing the boat into the water, the kappa had indeed been disturbed. The turtle-like beasts came in small numbers at first, barging and clawing him as they passed by. The fishing boat was shoved out into motion and Ryo clambered on board alongside two other villagers, bearing spears and oars both.

It would take them time to reach the struggling man though, and it wouldn't be long before the kappa began to tug him downwards under the surface.

After the events of the previous day, a gathering had been called at the centre of the village. The elder was stood upon a slightly raised platform and was speaking to the crowd.

"For too long now we have waited for the ministry to help us stop the kappa's aggression harming our village's livelihoods," he said, "Lives have been lost and trade has been stifled. Our very way of life is threatened. Now we have lost more lives to an open attack, we have no choice but to look elsewhere. I know that the money that has been volunteered for this did not come easily. In this pack are retirement funds, inheritances and provisions set aside for dreams. But we have no other choice. If we do not act, then the kappa will bring our village to an end."

There was a general murmuring of assent, mixed with a few cheers of approval from the crowd before the elder went on. "Now we need volunteers to take these funds to the capital, to beseech one of the guilds of Tianshi to come to our aid."

The crowd of villagers shifted, before one person stepped forwards. Kyo nodded her head to her father before speaking, "I will go."

A moment later, another stepped forwards. Ryo flashed Kyo a smile before raising his hand up, "Me too. The road isn't always safe, an-"

Kyo interrupted him. "Ryo, you should stay here and protect the village. If the kappa make a direct attack again, then we'll need your sword here. I can handle myself."

"But-"

This time it was the elder that interrupted him. "Kyo is half right, Ryo. Your skill is too valuable in our defence to send you on the trip to the capital. But Kyo, you cannot go alone. We will need other volunteers."