“Drive the monkeys off the island?” Raiden echoed. “But isn’t it theirisland?”
“No!” The crabs clacked their pincers angrily. “Those filthy monkeys invaded our land and stole what was ours. Before they came to this island, it was called Heikeshima. We planted a beautiful persimmon grove in the heart of the island and feasted off its bountiful fruits. But the monkeys were jealous and wanted the persimmons for themselves, so they climbed up into the trees and threw heavy rocks and sticks to keep us away. Now they have built a castle at the edge of the grove, and they defend itfiercely.”
“That’s awful,” I said, feeling a wave of sympathy for them. “And you haven’t been able to get rid of the monkeys? Is it just that there are more of them than there are ofyou?”
“No,” the crab said. “It is not the numbers. The problem is that the monkeys hide up in the persimmon trees, out of our reach, so we cannot kill them. Crab legs are no good for climbing trees,”it said sadly, clicking its pincers once again. “We could cut the trees down, but then we would not have our persimmons anymore. And we have worked very hard to grow those trees—we do not want to destroy them just to get rid of themonkeys.”
“I get it,” Raiden said slowly. “So you want us to help you get rid of the monkeys, so you can take back the persimmon grove. And in exchange, you’ll help us get the monkey king’sliver?”
“Yes.”
“Very well,” he said, folding his arms. “We will help you, but first you must help us get theliver.”
“Raiden!” I scolded. “They’ve already saved our lives. I don’t think we’re in a position to make demands likethat.”
“It does not matter,” the crab said, surprising us both. “Both tasks can be done at the same time, since they both require breaching the monkeystronghold.”
“So what, do we just get in, and I kill the monkey king and take his liver?” I asked. I still felt squeamish at the idea of disemboweling a monkey, but I would do it if that’s what it took to save mymother.
“Oh no,” the crab said. “The liver you seek is not located inside the monkey’sbody.”
“It’s not?” Raiden and I asked at the same time, sounding equallybewildered.
“How is that possible?” I asked. “Don’t the monkeys need their livers to be inside their bodies tosurvive?”
“Yes, but these are not the same kind of liver. What you seek is a special kind of liver that the monkeys hang in the persimmon trees to dry.” The crab sounded especially disgusted by this, as if he couldn’t stand the idea of his precious persimmons being contaminated by monkey livers. Admittedly, the idea sounded pretty gross to me too. “The monkey king’s liver grows in a special tree that he keeps in his room, so you will need to get him to invite you in there in order to takeit.”
“Eww.” I wrinkled my nose at that. “Are you telling me I have to seduce the monkeyking?”
“Sounds like it,” Raiden said. He sounded just as repulsed as I felt. “How would she even do that? It’s not like the monkey king is gonna get the hots for a human girl. He’s into monkeys, isn’the?”
“Perhaps,” thekyuubisaid, stepping into the room. She bared her fangs in a gamine grin that sent a shiver down my spine. “But with my abilities at your disposal, I don’t believe that will be a problem atall.”
13
As it turned out,thekyuubiwasn’t just good for setting things on fire or tearing into things with her claws and fangs. She was also good at creating illusions, and she used her magic to turn Raiden, me, and several of the crabs into monkeys dressed askabukidancers.
Wow, I thought, looking Raiden up and down. He was dressed in a red and gold checkeredkimono, and I had to choke back my laughter at the sight of his hairy monkey face all painted up with red, black, and whitekabukimakeup. There was absolutely nothing of Raiden’s features in that monkey’s face. Even his long black hair was gone, though thekyuubihad taken the fur on top of his head and styled it into atopknot.
“I don’t know what you’re laughing about,” Raiden said, then jumped at the sound of his own voice. His words had come out sounding more like a screechy monkey’s than his own baritone. “You look like Chewbacca’s long-lost wife. If she decided to take up a career as ageisha.”
“I do not know who this ‘Chewbacca’ is, but I hope you are not complaining about my disguise,”thekyuubisaid archly. She flicked her tails, sending dust motes flying about the room. “I followed the crab’s directionsexactly.”
“No, of course not,” I assured her, trying not to flinch at the sound of my own strange voice. For the first time, I started to realize just how powerful ayokaithekyuubiwas—this level of illusion magic couldn’t be easy. “We look great.” I looked toward the crabs, who looked very similar to Raiden. “This is what we should look like, right?” I asked anxiously. I really didn’t want to have to go through all this again. We’d already lost way too muchtime.
“Yes,” one of the crabs said, talking in the same screechy voice. “We are ready to go. But before we leave, I have a gift to giveyou.”
The crab stepped forward, pulling something from his robes. “This is anosuzumebachicharm,” he said, holding out a charm that was shaped like a tiny bee. I shivered—theosuzumebachiwere giant Japanese hornets so big that they were sometimes called “sparrow bees.” “You can use this charm to summon a nest of them, and use them to attack the monkey king at the right time. The monkey king is allergic, and if he is stung by even one bee, it will killhim.”
“And what about if I’m stung by one of these?” I asked, taking the charm gingerly. I felt like I was literally picking up a hornet’s nest, and the last thing I wanted to do was drop it. “Aren’t theosuzumebachipoisonous?”
“Yes, but these are bound to the charm, so you will be able to control them,” the crab said. He paused, then added, “If you are able to control thekyuubi, you should have no trouble with theosuzumebachi.”
I glanced at Raiden. “But these aren’t evenyokai, arethey?”
Raiden shuddered. “They might as well be,” he said as I fastened the charm to my bracelet. “For all you know, theosuzumebachiin there are ayokaiversion that are even larger than the regularones.”
“That doesn’t make me feel better. Atall.”
