The Tale of the Kitsune — Part 4
A halcyon glow lit the inner staircase of the tower in rays of yellow light. Dust particles floated lazily through the beams. The wooden staircase creaked as the warmth of the new day heated the wooden railings.
Whoosh.
Nami leapt down a set of stairs, her shadow flitting across the wooden walls as if they were chasing each other. The dust scattered in swirls as she hit each ray. Her messenger bag bobbed behind her as she balanced on rails and dropped down to lower levels. She hit the main landing right before the mail room. The morning bell hadn’t even sounded yet. Am I actually going to beat Tetsuya this morning? Maybe I’ll have time to hide the slime bomb I’ve been keeping. She pulled an innocent looking purple ball out of her bag. You’re late Nami. Shoo Nami. A cow could move faster than you, Nami. She mimed Tetsuya. Yes, a slime bomb would definitely shake things up. She stepped onto the ground floor and reached for the door handle. A faint breeze ruffled her hair. Wind? Indoors? A grin broke out onto her face as she realized why. Oh, this is going to be good. She lifted the messenger bag over her head and held it scrunched up in her hand. She swung open the door to Tetsuya’s mailroom and threw the bag inside with all her might.
There was a sudden gust of wind. A shadow darted to intercept it, catching the bag mid-air.
“What is this?” Kouta’s voice sounded. Nami stepped in front of the doorway.
“Ohh, Kouta.” She said in a sing-song voice. He looked up at her. “Nobody tricks the trickster.” She flicked her hand and a round ball fell from it right at Kouta’s feet. A look of horror spread on his face as he realized what it was.
SPLAT!
The ball exploded. Bright purple slime flew everywhere. It covered the ceiling, walls, floor…and Kouta. He was covered in it from head to toe. A few specks hung from his folded wings. The tengu dropped the bag to the floor and looked at Nami, murder in his eyes. Uh oh. Nami flinched as he waved his fan. Nothing happened. It was covered in slime.
“You know, that’s actually kinda funny.” She commented.
“Nami.” Kouta said.
“I swear it washes right off.” She said. Kouta took a step forward, then thought better of it and deflated. He pulled a strip of slime off his face and threw it on the floor. Nami walked up to him and noticed an open window to her left.
“Were you actually going to toss me out the window?” She said. “Into the pond?”
“Still might.” Kouta said evenly, pulling another strip of slime off his arm.
“It washes off.” Nami reiterated. She glanced back at the window. “Maybe I should toss you into the pond?”
“You’re a menace.” Kouta said, swatting her hands away. “It’s good enough for now.”
Dong! The bell tower signaled the morning wake up call. Nami picked up her messenger bag and gestured outside. “I suppose we leave and come back? Feign ignorance?” Kouta shook his head.
“No, going to be a bit hard when I’m covered in the same exact slime that’s everywhere else.” Nami chuckled at his response. They walked up to the mail desk and waited. Kouta continued stripping peels of purple slime off his clothes.
“Remember this Nami, I chose the nonviolent route today.” He commented. She giggled.
“So why are you here today? I thought you had airships and secret missions to attend to.” She said. She could hear his eyes rolling in response.
“I was going to help you today.” Kouta said. “You’ve gone completely stir crazy in this tower. How anyone can feel confined in a ninety-nine floor tower is beyond me but somehow you managed to do it. I figured we could take a brief excursion to the Border House.” Nami’s face lit up. She squealed and wrapped Kouta in a tight bear hug until he complained of breathing problems. She let him go when she saw Tetsuya enter the room. He frowned when he saw her standing at the desk.
“Tetsuya!” She called. “Fill her up!” She slapped the messenger bag on the desk in front of the six armed mailman. He looked down at the bag and picked a piece of slime off the worn fabric. He cast an eye upon Kouta and tilted his eyebrows into a scowl. He used his additional hands to reach behind and fill the bag, but his eyes didn’t waver from the tengu.
“It is quite bewildering that such an esteemed yokai should entangle himself in such juvenile antics.” Tetsuya said. He used a free hand to yank another sticky chunk of slime from Kouta’s hair. “It borders upon disappointment.” Tetsuya dropped the clump into a waste basket and continued his work of stacking packages and scrolls into the bag. Kouta tucked his braid behind his ear and shrugged nonchalantly.
“I daresay you can’t please everyone, so it’s best to humor the people you care about most, yes?” He responded. Tetsuya closed the flap on the messenger bag and pushed it across the desk into Nami’s arms. He grumbled a response and waved them off. Nami slid the strap over her head and heaved the heavy bag off the desk. She gave him a warm smile as they made their way through the crowd towards their first drop off point.
“Well, how would you like to assist? Split the floors? Run up them together? Take all the letters and let me roam free for the day?” She asked. Kouta shook his head at her and instead produced a second, bright red fan.
“We’re going to spend twenty minutes learning how to control the fan so that we can deliver letters twice as fast.” He pulled her back out to the gardens and yanked the bag back off. He set it on the grass and pulled a couple letters from inside it. He pointed at a cherry blossom tree on the other side of the pond. “You’re going to send both of these into the tree hollow at the base of the trunk, okay?” He walked over to her and adjusted her stance, pushing her feet into place and moving one of her hands in front of her.
“It’s kind of like throwing a disk, but a lot more fluid.” He said and practiced the motion in front of her. He threw one of the letters and swept his arm out. There was a gust of wind and the letter whistled straight into the tree hollow. “One movement. You try now.”
Nami swung the fan wide as he threw the remaining letter. An erratic squall sent waves rippling across the pond. The letter flapped wildly through the air, struggling to remain afloat. Kouta flicked his fan and the letter flew back to them instantly. He makes it look effortless. Nami thought as he prepared to toss it again. Another fruitless effort on her part. But Kouta was patient. He seemed to know exactly what she was doing wrong each time and would tilt her elbow or take her hand and go through the motion slowly before letting her try again. Still, the entire process was immensely frustrating. It was taking her much longer than twenty minutes to get the hang of the fan and the movements.
“We could have delivered letters for fifteen floors by now, Kouta.” She said as the letter flopped on the grass in front of the tree. Kouta called the letter back once again.
“Frustration won’t help. You almost have it.” He said. Resigned, she whipped her arm back and mimicked his motions. The letter soared straight over the pond and landed neatly within the tree hollow. Finally. She breathed a sigh of relief. He made her practice it a few more times, but then they were ready. Kouta dunked his head into the pond to rinse off the remaining slime and then rushed to join her at the base of the staircase. He relieved her of the messenger bag and picked out a group of letters to hand out.
“Don’t be discouraged when I can deliver six times the amount you can.” He said. Nami yanked on the strap of the messenger bag, dragging him back to face her.
“Excuse me? Do you even know where half these belong? Most don’t have numbers, you’re just supposed to know based upon previous deliveries. We do this together so that we can have your speed and my knowledge. I’m not getting in trouble for the wrong package being delivered.”
“Of course, because you have never delivered the wrong item before.” Kouta retorted.
“Not accidentally.” Nami said. They both shared a conspiratorial look. “You don’t join me as often as you used to. Ever since you were called away for a bit. I asked around and a few spirits said you were visiting another tower?” Kouta broke their stare and switched his focus to the letters in her hand. He swiped them back and scanned through them.
“Most of these have numbers for mailboxes. Look to be within the first ten floors. I can start with them.” He said.
“Kouta.” Nami said, she grabbed the edge of his sleeve. She searched his jade eyes for a tell, something to give away why he avoided the topic. But all she saw was her own reflection staring back down at her.
“Everything is fine Nami.” He said. “Let’s deliver these letters or it’ll be midnight by the time we finish and we still won’t be at the Border House.” She sighed and let go.
“Aye, aye.” She heaved the messenger bag over her shoulder, then smiled up at him. “Do try to keep up.” She winked.
They sprinted up each landing, Nami directing them to the appropriate floors. She’d toss the letters up in the air. Kouta would direct them to the correct boxes. For room deliveries, Nami would wave her fan to send them through open doors. It was an efficient process, even if Nami did accidentally blow out a screen door on one level. She slipped away up the stairs as Kouta apologized profusely. Floor after floor. Delivery after delivery. They wound their way to the top. One final delivery to the Zodiacs and then they were both standing on the top balcony staring out across the horizon.
“Are we the best team ever or are we the best team ever?” Nami said as she shook free of the empty messenger bag. It thudded against the wood flooring beneath them and she stretched her arms wide. “After carrying that around all day, it’s the most amazing feeling to be rid of it.” She leaned against the railing and waved the red fan playfully at Kouta.
“So, what’s your plan for us getting to the Border House? After my prank on the Zodiacs, they banned me from spiritual realm excursions, including, but not limited to, the Border House itself.” She said. “I could disguise myself as a yuki-onna.” Kouta laughed in response.
“Nami, no disguises. No elaborate schemes. We’re flying there.” He said.
“I…from this height?”
“Seriously? We’ve flown together before.”
“What if you drop me!”
“I’m going to pretend you didn’t say that.” Kouta said. He held out his hand to her. “Offer is here. Take it or leave it.” Nami reached out and took his hand.
“I’m never one to pass on an adventure.” Nami said. “It’s in my nature.” He leapt up onto the railing and pulled her up next to him. “No pranks.” Nami told him.
“Cross my heart.” Kouta grinned. Hope to die. Nami completed the phrase. He stepped off the ledge.
They flew off the railing into the open sky.
Author: TheDancingMagpie Twitter
