The Stone of Kuromori. Jason Rohan
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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?’
The kijimunaa clambered to his feet and bowed to Kenny. ‘Me Tomba,’ he said, smacking his chest and gesturing for the others to bow too, which they did, their long hair fanning out on the ground.
‘You guys can stop that now,’ Kenny said. ‘I get it. You’re sorry. It’s all a big misunderstanding, right?’
‘Oh, yes. Big mistake,’ Tomba agreed. He pointed at the blade in Kenny’s hand. ‘Me know this sword. Who are ye, big fella?’
‘Kenny. Uh, Kuromori.’
‘Ahhhhh,’ the kijimunaa all said together, bobbing their heads as if this explained everything.
‘Ye’re the one bring back the sun, yes?’ Tomba said.
‘Something like that,’ Kenny said. He shrugged and the sword shimmered in his hand, melting away to nothing.
‘So, why ye bring oni-girly to island?’
‘Will you stop calling me that?’ Kiyomi said, hands on hips.
‘We’re here to find a missing object,’ Kenny said. ‘Maybe you can help.’
The kijimunaa drew closer, their long ears twitching. ‘Ye seek treasure?’
‘Yes. Well, no. Maybe. I don’t know,’ Kenny replied.
‘Ye should stay well clear of the drowned city,’ Tomba said.
‘So, it’s true? There really is a city out there, under the water?’
‘Very bad place,’ Tomba said, shaking his head in warning. ‘Great danger. Kuromori not go there.’
‘Sorry, I have to,’ Kenny said. ‘Otherwise, oni-girl’s going to –’
‘Hey!’ Kiyomi interrupted. ‘I said don’t call me that.’
‘Sorry,’ everyone else said.
‘Going to what?’ Tomba prompted, his nose twitching with curiosity.
‘Slowly go insane as this oni spirit inside of me takes control and turns me into a mindless killing machine,’ Kiyomi said, her voice flat.
‘Which, you’ll probably agree, is a bit of a bummer,’ Kenny said.
‘Ah, me know,’ Tomba said, brightening. ‘We’s kill ye now and fix problem. Yes?’
‘Actually, we’re hoping to find a cure,’ Kenny said. ‘Down in that underwater city.’
‘Ohhh,’ Tomba said, stroking his chin. ‘Me know who ye’s looking for.’
‘You do? Who?’
Tomba’s wide eyes searched the tall grass all around, as if fearful of someone watching. ‘Will not say, but me’ll warn ye. Don’t trust him one bit. He will trick ye if he can.’
PHEEEP! One of the spear-carrying kijimunaa let out a short sharp whistle and the group scattered like rabbits, vanishing into the long grass. Kenny cast an uneasy look around, wondering what had startled them, only to see his father approaching.
‘There you are,’ Charles said. ‘I thought you’d be further up the hill by now. Come on, slowcoaches, we can still make it to the monument in time for the sunset. You might even see Taiwan.’ He stopped to examine something silvery by his foot. ‘What’s a fish doing up here?’
At 05:30 the next morning, Charles, Kiyomi and Kenny crept out of the minshuku and trotted downhill, following the coastal road north towards the harbour. Overhead, the starry veil of the Milky Way laced the glittering sky.
Whispering waves washed the beach and the full moon dusted the horizon with silver while it slipped into the sea. Beautiful as it was, Kenny was secretly glad the moon was setting. After recent events, he was grateful for moonless nights.
Leading the way, Charles scrambled down a bank, across a small car park and on to a concrete jetty.
‘Here we are,’ he said, approaching a small diving boat with a covered cabin. A stocky Japanese man with a leathery tan and closely cropped salt-and-pepper hair was strapping a dozen steel air tanks into position.
‘Kids, this is Captain Mike,’ Charles said, climbing aboard.
‘Yo, dude! Wait up!’ barked a voice from the quay.
‘Oh, great,’ Kenny grumbled, seeing Matt and Dwayne sprinting towards the boat. ‘I thought we’d ditched these guys.’
‘They must have been sleeping outside,’ Charles said, ‘to make sure they caught us.’
‘You guys heading out?’ Dwayne asked, his breathing normal despite sprinting a hundred metres with a heavy backpack.
‘Yes, we are,’ Charles answered.
‘Mind if we hitch a ride? It’d sure be nice to get a last couple of dives in before we head back to base.’
Charles removed his glasses for a quick wipe. ‘Well, we’re on a very relaxed schedule here. It might not work out if you chaps need to catch a flight back.’
‘No problem,’ Matt said. ‘If that’s the case, we’ll just swim back to shore.’
‘With all your gear?’ Charles looked doubtful.
‘Sure. Besides, your boy’s never been scuba-diving before. Strictly speaking, he shouldn’t be anywhere near open water.’
‘I’ll manage,’ Kenny said, his jaw jutting.
Matt grinned. ‘I’m sure you will, kid, but that’s not what the rules say. It’d be a shame if someone blabbed and the captain here lost his licence over something as silly as that. What say Dwayne and I come along? That way, you’ve got two expert buddy divers in case anything goes wrong.’
‘Three expert divers,’ Kiyomi added with a wink. Kenny scowled at her.
‘OK,’ Charles said, after chewing it over. ‘You can come with us.’
Captain Mike opened up the throttle and the small boat set off, kicking up foam in its wake as it headed west to circumnavigate Cape Irizaki.
‘We’ve got about fifty minutes to kit you out,’ Kiyomi said to Kenny. ‘Come here and I’ll measure you up.’
Kiyomi went through the equipment box, finding Kenny a face mask to cover his eyes and nose, a neoprene wetsuit, buoyancy regulator and flippers.
‘Normally, you’d get some classroom study, a dip in a shallow pool to get used to all the gear and then an accompanied dive in open water,’ Kiyomi said, adjusting the straps on the mask. ‘In this case, we’re just going to have to fast-track you.’
‘You know I don’t need all this stuff,’ Kenny smirked. He lowered his voice. ‘After all, I can breathe underwater.’
‘Don’t