The Stone of Kuromori

‘These numbers,’ he said. ‘What do they mean? Is it some kind of code? A puzzle? Some ancient language?’

Kiyomi rolled her eyes. ‘You’re such an idiot sometimes. Give me that.’ Kenny handed her the pad and for a moment the only sounds were the scritching of the pen and a quiet scrunching from the kitchen. ‘Here.’ Kiyomi held out the pad.

Kenny took it and read:

24°2'55.2'N 123°00'39.6'E

‘Oh, man. This is some kind of mathematics problem? Am I supposed to draw it?’ He scratched his head.

‘They’re coordinates. You know, as in finding things on a map.’ Kiyomi took the pad back and drew a circle on a fresh page. ‘This is the earth, right?’ She drew a horizontal line through the middle and a vertical one, cutting it in quarters. ‘This is the equator. Sideways lines are latitude. Down through the poles is longitude. Zero is Greenwich in London. Got it?’

‘Yeah. And because it’s a globe, it’s three hundred and sixty degrees in any direction, right?’

‘No. That works for longitude, but you count one hundred and eighty degrees east or west of Greenwich to make a complete circle.’ She drew arrows pointing to the left and right. ‘For latitude, it’s ninety degrees north or south of the equator. OK?’

Kenny furrowed his brow and closed his eyes to visualise the planet. ‘So, twenty-four degrees north of the equator is about a quarter of the way up . . . and a hundred and twenty degrees east of London is about two-thirds of the way to the International Date Line . . .’

‘Why don’t you use that big shiny box called a computer, before your brain has a meltdown?’ Kiyomi flicked her head in the direction of the monitor.

‘Fine,’ Kenny grumbled, powering up his dad’s clunky desktop. He called up a browser window, found a mapping site and keyed in the coordinates. The cursor flashed on a page of blue.

‘Zoom out,’ Kiyomi advised.

Kenny clicked on the scale and a grey, clam-shaped blob appeared at the top of the screen. He clicked again, shrinking the island, and continued zooming out until the state of Taiwan filled the page to the left.

‘Keep going,’ Kiyomi said.

Kenny waited until Japan appeared, on the top right, then sat back and whistled through his teeth. ‘Wow. That’s on the doorstep of China. It’s closer to Korea than it is to here.’ He hit the print button. ‘So why were these coordinates given to you? Where is this?’

Kiyomi crossed her arms. ‘I’m not telling you anything until you explain what the hell is going on.’

‘Hell is right,’ Kenny muttered, taking the map from the printer.

‘Well?’ Kiyomi glared again.

Kenny hesitated. He was sworn to secrecy, unable to tell a soul about the deal he had made with Susano-wo, the dread Lord of the Underworld. On the other hand, what was he supposed to do now that Susano-wo had shown himself to Kiyomi? Not only had he dropped Kenny in it, he had also given Kiyomi important information to deliver.

‘OK,’ Kenny sighed. ‘You’re right. Susano-wo offered me a deal.’

‘I knew it!’ Kiyomi said, her face twisting in fury. ‘To do what?’

Kenny looked away. ‘It was for you. For your soul.’

Kiyomi froze. ‘Wh-What?’

Kenny’s rubbed his stinging eyes again. ‘Back in July, when you . . . died – not all of you came back. The missing part was made up by Taro, and his oni soul began taking over, gaining control.’

‘Oh my God!’ Kiyomi gasped in horror. ‘The red jade ring – it was from Susano-wo, wasn’t it?’

Kenny nodded. ‘It was half of your missing soul. That’s why you’ve been feeling better, why the oni part has been weaker this past month.’

‘And what did you have to do?’ Kiyomi said, her voice a horrified whisper. ‘What did he demand in return?’

Kenny shrugged, but it was stiff and awkward, the complete opposite of the nonchalance he was trying to project. ‘He wanted some trinket, that was all.’

Kiyomi’s hand went to her mouth. ‘You gave him the Mirror of Amaterasu? Please, no. Tell me you didn’t.’

‘I did it for you,’ Kenny said, reaching out to take her hands. ‘To save your life. I had to do something.’

Kiyomi jerked her hands out of reach, shrinking from Kenny’s touch. ‘We have to go to Inari,’ she said, turning towards the door. ‘Right now.’

‘What? No way!’ Kenny declared.

‘Why not?’ Kiyomi paused in the hallway.

‘Because she’ll try to stop me.’

‘Good. Someone has to.’

‘And then what happens to you?’ Kenny blinked, trying to stem the tears suddenly brimming in his eyes. ‘And me? I won’t be able to survive here without you.’

Kiyomi bit her lip and stepped back into the living room. She placed a hand on Kenny’s arm. ‘It’s for the best.’

He pulled back. ‘Says who? What’s the big deal anyway?’

‘Kenny . . .’ Kiyomi’s voice was low, the warning tone unmistakable. ‘You have no idea who you are messing with, or how much trouble we’re all in.’

‘No, I don’t, so tell me.’ Kenny stared at her defiantly.

‘That mirror isn’t just any old relic, like the ones your grandad used to recover. It’s sacred. It holds some of the essence of the Sun Goddess herself, but – more importantly than that – it’s also one of the Three Sacred Treasures, the Imperial Regalia.’

‘Which means what?’

Kiyomi grabbed Kenny’s shoulders and fought the urge to throttle him. ‘Do you have any idea how dangerous, cunning, unpredictable, manipulative and plain old psycho Susano-wo is? He was crazy enough to start with, but thousands of years in Hell have hardly helped. He’ll trick you, first chance he gets.’

‘No, he won’t,’ Kenny said. ‘He’s kept his word so far – including healing you, I should add – and, if he does try anything . . . then me and Kusanagi will be ready for him.’

‘Yeah, right.’ Kiyomi released her grip and lowered her head, a curtain of black hair surrounding her face. ‘So, you did a deal to restore my soul? You went to the Lord of the Underworld . . . just for me?’

Kenny smiled. ‘Yeah.’

Kiyomi stroked his cheek. ‘Aw. That was sooo sweet –’ Kenny closed his eyes and relaxed a little ‘– and so stupid!’

WHACK! The slap was so hard it rattled Kenny’s teeth and made his ears ring. Spots flickered before his eyes.

‘Don’t you know I’d be better off dead than have you help that filthy, treacherous, lying, slimy piece of –’

‘No, you wouldn’t!’ Kenny fired back, rubbing his jaw. ‘You can’t fool me. I remember how you were before . . . You didn’t want to die. You wanted to live. To be normal, to hang out, to have friends, to laugh and play. You even wanted to be kissed.’ He wiped his swelling lip with the back of his hand. ‘Somehow, I don’t think being stuck in Yomi with a thousand oni lining up to torture you forever is a better option.’

Tears glittered in Kiyomi’s eyes and her voice was little more than a murmur. ‘But still . . . you should never have done this.’

Kenny slipped his arms over Kiyomi’s shoulders and drew her closer. ‘It was worth it,’ he whispered.

BRRAAPPP!

Startled by the sudden noise, they glanced round to see Poyo squatting on top of the counter. He waved a paw to clear the pungent air, then held out two steaming mugs of hot chocolate.

‘Great. Talk about a mood-killer,’ Kenny grumbled, taking one of the cups.

Kiyomi joined Kenny at the counter and they sipped their drinks.

‘I didn’t figure everything out,’ Kiyomi said. ‘I made Poyo tell me the rest, about your little trip to Matsue.’

Kenny glowered at the tanuki. ‘Thanks for nothing. Some partner you turned out to be.’

Poyo ignored him, rolled on to his back and aimed the nozzle of a can of whipped cream into his open muzzle. FW-AAAWSH! A cloud of surplus cream clung to Poyo’s whiskers, making him look like Santa Claus.

‘Well, I am not going to see Inari, I can tell you that,’ Kenny said, eyeing Kiyomi. ‘Besides, you heard what Susie said in your dream. He’s giving me four days to find this precious stone for him, or you’re going full oni.’

Kiyomi flinched and stared down into her Newcastle United mug.

Kenny leaned closer. ‘Kiyomi, I need your help. That’s why Susie summoned you in the dream. He knows I can’t fetch this jewel on my own, so he’s brought you in to help me.’

‘This is wrong,’ Kiyomi insisted.

Kenny’s grip tightened on his mug, his knuckles whitening. ‘What choice do we have? Go to Inari? Beg for forgiveness?’

‘You can do your duty, as she commands.’

‘Not if it means losing you.’

He slid off the stool and went to the desk, where he scooped up the map printout. After studying it, he returned to the computer screen and adjusted the map scale.

‘According to your dream,’ Kenny said, ‘the mirror showed that this stone he’s after is at the bottom of the East China Sea. If I’m reading this correctly, it’s somewhere off the coast of Taiwan, about a hundred kilometres east. Man, why is this never easy?’

‘Because if it was, Susano-wo wouldn’t need us,’ Kiyomi said, coming over to examine the map.

‘Does anyone mind if I have a look?’ Kenny’s father said from the hall. He yawned and closed his bedroom door. ‘I was trying not to listen, but you two hardly keep the noise down. As for you . . .’ He fixed Poyo with a glare. ‘You’d better clean up this mess. I’m tired of picking tanuki hair out of my food. Got it?’

Poyo straightened up, snapped a salute and fell into the sink.

‘Dad . . .’ Kenny began.

‘I know, I know,’ Charles said. ‘I’ve heard it all before. Not my concern. It’s for my own good. Blah-blah-blah.’ He held out his hand for the map. ‘Well, not this time. Last month, you pulled that routine on me and look where it got you. Lost in the mountains before ending up in orbit of all places. If not for me, you’d both be space dust by now, so I think I’ve earned the right to know what’s happening. Besides, if there’s any treasure hunting going on, I don’t see why you and my father get to have all the fun.’ He winked.

Kiyomi plucked the map from Kenny’s grasp and handed it to Charles with a winning smile and a small bow. Charles collected his reading glasses from the desk and scanned the map.

‘This isn’t so bad,’ he said. ‘Technically, these are still Japanese waters. The tiny island is Yonaguni. It’s the westernmost of the Ryukyu Islands and it’s accessible by plane. I can make the arrangements.’

‘Whoa,’ said Kenny. ‘Just like that? No arguing? No telling me I can’t go without an escort?’

‘There’s no need,’ Charles said, taking off his glasses. ‘I’m going with you. If you don’t like it, I’ll phone Harashima-san right now and the trip is off.’

Kiyomi’s face fell at the mention of her father.

‘Dad!’ Kenny protested. ‘We have to do this.’

‘Good,’ Charles said. ‘Then you won’t mind me coming along.’

The twin-propeller airliner touched down with a bump at the tiny Yonaguni Airport at 13:15 the next day. Compared to other airports Kenny had seen, it hardly merited the name, being little more than a 2000-metre runway with a flat, single-storey white building to one side that served as the terminal.

Stepping out of the Ryukyu Air Commuter plane, Kenny felt like he was walking into an oven. After the chill air conditioning of the pressurised cabin, the warm tropical breeze was a wonderful welcome to the island.

‘I hope you packed your deodorant,’ Kiyomi said, skipping down the steps. ‘It’s nearly thirty degrees here.’

‘That’s because the latitude is not dissimilar to Hawaii,’ Charles added, bringing up the rear. He shielded his eyes from the dazzling sunshine and looked out over the sapphire sea to the north.

‘Is that where we have to go?’ Kenny asked, following his gaze.

‘No. The coordinates you were given are to the south of the island. Let’s get settled first before we discuss that. Follow me.’

Kenny’s father led the way through the baggage-claim area and out into the arrivals lobby where they were met by a white-gloved taxi driver holding a placard. He escorted them to a waiting car and they all piled in.

‘Lucky I booked ahead,’ Charles said, once the taxi started moving. ‘There are only three taxis on the whole island and I didn’t fancy walking.’ The narrow grey ribbon of road followed the coastline, bordered by parched fields of yellowing grass.

Looking out of the window, Kenny noted the island was relatively flat, with some steep hills and outcrops rumpling the wooded interior. There were few tall trees – testament to the scouring power of the typhoons that wound their way through during the summer months.

‘Oh, look,’ Kiyomi said with delight, her nose pressed against the window. ‘Cute little horses.’

The taxi slowed to allow them a better look at a small herd of chestnut ponies grazing by the road, each about a metre tall at the withers.

‘They’re like Shetland ponies,’ Kenny said, ‘only not as hairy.’

‘Yonaguni horses,’ Charles said. ‘They’re a native breed, found only on this island.’

The road curved to the left and skirted the tops of steep black cliffs before descending to the little port of Kubura.

‘This is us,’ Charles announced as the taxi pulled up outside a white-walled, seafront bungalow property.

Stepping out, Kenny paused to sound out the Japanese writing above the entrance. ‘Ta . . . ka . . .’

‘Takahashi Minshuku,’ Kiyomi read for him. ‘Looks cosy.’

Charles shrugged. ‘We’re on a budget. This will be fine. We’ll be ready to set out first thing and it means we can keep a low profile.’

Kenny raised his eyebrows. ‘That’ll be a first.’

The minshuku was a bright, cheery bed and breakfast and it took minutes to check in, stow luggage and grab a table outside on the terrace shaded by ornamental palms.

‘This isn’t so bad, is it?’ Kenny said to Kiyomi, looking up at the sunlight sparkling through the palm fronds. ‘I mean, compared to our usual sewers or quarries.’

‘No,’ Kiyomi agreed. ‘It could be worse.’

Charles returned with a tray of cold drinks. ‘We’re in luck,’ he said. ‘Takahashi-san, the owner, knows a good diving school that can take us out to the south side tomorrow morning.’

‘Diving school?’ Kenny asked.

‘This jewel you’re looking for – isn’t it on the seabed? How else did you expect to reach it?’ Charles took a long glug of ice-cold beer and closed his eyes in satisfaction.

‘Are you guys heading out to the ruins tomorrow?’ A male voice resounded across the decking.

Kenny turned to see a pair of bronzed torsos. Two muscular men in swimming shorts, with closely-cropped hair and several Celtic tattoos, had approached their table. Charles reached over to shake hands and the new arrivals pulled up seats.

‘I’m Matt and this is Dwayne,’ the first one said, flashing a gleaming set of pearly white teeth.

Kiyomi edged closer to the newcomers and ran her hand through her hair.

‘We’re US Navy,’ Dwayne added in a rumbling baritone. ‘On R & R from Okinawa. What brings you guys down here?’

‘Uh, my son’s learning to scuba-dive,’ Charles said, thinking quickly.

‘I’m his instructor,’ Kiyomi added with a wink.

‘What? No, you’re – OWW!’ Kenny rubbed his ankle as Kiyomi caught him with her boot.

‘Did I hear you say something about ruins?’ Charles said, ignoring Kenny’s outburst.

‘Yeah, I thought that’s why everyone came down here,’ Dwayne said.

‘They’re something special, man,’ Matt said. ‘You know these islands, right? They’re all part of the Ryukyu Island chain. Well, I googled all this stuff on Ryukyu, yeah, and you know what? Ryu means “precious stone”, as in archipelago of jewels. That’s what Ryukyu means.’

‘That’s a fair interpretation,’ Charles conceded.

‘But you know what ryu also means?’

Charles slipped into professor mode. ‘There are a number of meanings, depending on the kanji and the context in which –’

‘It means “dragon”,’ Matt interrupted. ‘The original name for these islands is Ryugu-jo – “Palace of the Dragon God”. Isn’t that nuts?’

‘Nuts I’d agree with,’ Charles said, sipping his beer and wondering how much the sailors had drunk already.

‘And this is where the ruins come in,’ Dwayne said, leaning closer. ‘There’s like this whole underwater city out there, bro, with walls, stairs, doorways, statues, temples – totally crazy. Some folks say it’s Atlantis, but I don’t buy that. It’s more like some kind of ancient civilisation that got swallowed up by the waves. Isn’t that, like, totally awesome?’

Charles sat back, his fingers linked behind his head. ‘I do seem to recall reading something . . .’

‘Dad, are you serious?’ Kenny said. ‘This has to be some kind of scam. How can you believe this stuff ?’

‘Because we’ve seen it,’ Dwayne said, as though this was the most obvious thing in the world. ‘Me and Matt here have dived the site over fifty times.’

‘You don’t strike me as amateur archaeologists,’ Charles said, scrutinising them closely. ‘What’s so interesting about these ruins?’

‘Ah, that would be telling,’ Matt said, finishing his beer. ‘Heard you guys are going out tomorrow, right? Maybe we could hitch a ride in your boat – if you don’t mind, that is.’

‘And why would we agree to that?’

‘On account of we know the site. It’s about thirty metres down, which is no good for a beginner.’

‘There are dangerous currents too,’ Dwayne said. ‘It’s all open water with no reefs.’

‘And did we mention the sharks?’ Matt said. ‘Thousands of hammerheads at this time of year. Breeding season.’

‘Well,’ Charles said, draining his glass, ‘that’s a very generous offer and I thank you for the warnings. I’ll tell you what. Let me go have a chat with some people and, depending on what they say, we’ll see if we can work something out.’

‘Da-ad! ’ Kenny said, stretching it to two syllables. ‘How do you know we can even –?’

‘Sweet,’ Matt said, crushing Charles’s hand in his as he stood up. ‘Sounds like a plan to me.’

Kenny followed his father out to the lobby before he realised Kiyomi was still on the terrace. He strode back, hooked an arm through her elbow and tugged her away.

‘Did you see the arms on that Dwayne dude?’ she said, looking back. ‘I swear his bicep is bigger than my thigh.’

‘Who cares?’ Kenny grumbled. ‘It’s probably all steroids anyway.’

‘I have an idea,’ Charles said, when they caught up with him at the entrance. ‘Why don’t you two go burn off some steam with a hike up to Cape Irizaki, while I go talk to the guys at the diving shop?’ He pointed uphill, across the bay. ‘It’s only a kilometre. It marks the westernmost point of Japan, like Land’s End does back in England. You can use that lighthouse as a marker.’

‘OK,’ Kenny said, eager to put some distance between himself and the Americans. He stomped off, heading up the road.

Kiyomi caught up with him and grabbed his hand. ‘Ken-chan, you don’t have to be jealous of those meatheads.’

Kenny reddened. ‘Why would I be jealous of them?’

‘Exactly. There’s a big difference between admiring a nice set of pecs and liking the owner. Do you think either of those two would pull someone out of a burning building? Or suffocate a shark? Or bargain with a god?’

‘No . . . I guess . . . not if you put it like that.’ Kenny looked at Kiyomi’s smile and felt his annoyance melt away.

‘Or save millions of lives, including mine?’ Kiyomi took both his hands in hers and pulled him closer.

Kenny smiled and his pulse quickened. He brought his lips closer to hers, when THWAPPP! Something cold and heavy walloped the side of his head, knocking him to one knee.

‘Uh-uh, big fella. Stay right where ye are, if ye knows what’s good for ye,’ commanded a squeaky voice.

Peering round as he rubbed his head, Kenny saw five child-sized humanoids emerging from the tall grass. Naked, apart from grass skirts, they had shocks of bright red, waist-length hair and long pointed ears. Two carried short spears, two had arrows nocked against bowstrings and one was absently plucking the eye from a large fish.

‘Ken-chan, it’s OK, don’t hurt them,’ Kiyomi said, raising her hands and backing away. ‘Kijimunaa are harmless.’

Kenny stood up and almost tripped on a gleaming sea bream at his feet. ‘Did you just hit me with a fish?’ he accused the nearest creature.

‘We’s got no quarrels with ye, boy, but it’s the girly’s got to go,’ said the fish-thrower. He popped the freshly extracted eyeball into his mouth and chewed.

Kiyomi took another step back from the advancing creatures and felt the soil slip away from under her heel; she was at the cliff edge.

‘What’s she done?’ Kenny said, weighing his options.

‘Girly’s not clean,’ the kijimunaa said. ‘No oni on this island. Must get off – now !’

At this, the grass parted at Kiyomi’s side and two more creatures sprang up. One flung a length of rope with a stone tied at each end, while the other leapt into the air.

Kenny watched in horror as the cord spiralled round Kiyomi’s legs, ensnaring her long enough for the second creature to land a drop kick, launching her head first over the side of the cliff and down towards the rocks far below.

With no time to think, Kiyomi’s training kicked in. Her reflexes, honed by years of practice, made her tuck her knees into her chest and close her hand on the dagger in her boot as she fell. With a single upward stroke, she slashed the binding around her legs, grabbed the loose rope in her left hand and straightened her body.

Blue sky swam far below her feet and the rocky shore was a hundred metres overhead. The lapping waves were too far away for a splash landing – but she caught sight of a stubby, thick-trunked pine clinging to the face of the cliff.

Kiyomi slung out the weighted end of the rope. The stone glanced off the trunk, rebounded and snagged on a branch, looping over it. She braced herself for the sudden, wrenching stop. The rope snapped tight, a shooting pain lanced through her arms from wrist to elbow to shoulder, and her body jerked upright, whipping towards the craggy surface of the cliff. Twisting round to face it, Kiyomi drew her legs up, slamming both soles hard against the rock. She grimaced in pain before yelling, ‘Kenny! I’m OK. Don’t do anything stupid!’

‘What? Are ye deaf ?’ squeaked the kijimunaa, squirming under Kenny’s trainer. Its eyes were crossed from staring at the sword Kenny had pressed against its throat. At the top of the cliff, the other kijimunaa stood like statues, no one daring to move.

‘See? Girly’s fine,’ said one of the spear-holders. ‘Heh-heh. No harm done.’

‘We’s just playing,’ added one of the archers.

‘Then help her back up,’ Kenny ordered. ‘And no tricks. This sword’s getting very heavy.’

The two creatures that had originally ambushed Kiyomi scurried away and returned seconds later, tugging at the sleeves of her jacket as she crested the brow of the cliff.

‘Friends now?’ the lead kijimunaa said, motioning for the others to lower their weapons.

‘Ken-chan, I’m fine,’ Kiyomi said, tipping her head from side to side and rotating her shoulder joints. ‘Arms are going to kill me in the morning, but I’ll live.’

Kenny took his foot off the little man’s chest and squatted for a better look, leaning on the sword for support. ‘Has anyone ever told you you look just like a troll doll?’