Laughter is the Worst Medicine, Part 6

Part 1
Part 2
Part 3
Part 4
Part 5

Ichiro held Gin’s hand in front of The Capital’s jail. The city had never smelled so sweet as after that stone cell. He said, "Lord Taira, I am acting in a play tonight. It is the only way I know to earn money." Gin opened her mouth, but Ichiro squeezed her hand.

"How much longer are you with your troupe?"

"Just tonight, sir. Tonight is the last performance." Ichiro shifted nervously.

The onmyoji looked really annoyed and Ichiro wondered if he’d take them prisoner. Instead, the man in yellow said, "Go on. I’ll be by the granary tomorrow morning."

Ichiro and Gin bowed before hurrying off into the twilight.

“I want to see you in the play, Ichiro,” Gin said. Just then the bell ringers rang.

“We have to hurry then. Can you keep up?” Ichiro dropped her hand and ran ahead. Gin followed. The two of them gracefully wove through the crowds that were always in the streets. I wish I could run away from my troubles, Ichiro thought.

“Ichiro, you made it! What happened? We’re about to start rehearsing,” said a short actor. They were all a little older than Ichiro, but none could see through the breeze kami circling around him. He looks like Father, Gin realized. He knows Father so well he can concentrate on the kami all night.

“I overslept,” Ichiro said easily. They all laughed.

“Your little sister is a cutie!” One of the actresses tousled Gin’s hair. Gin wasn’t sure how to respond, a human had never touched her before (outside of those awful jailers). She smiled shyly at the pretty lady. The actors slipped costumes on and practiced.

It was nothing like a Kitsune play, where illusions were part of the entertainment. Gin looked at the pretty actress when no one was watching. Next time she needed to be a pretty girl, she’d look like her.

Then the sinister laughter started. Gin tried to out-pace it, but she bumped into the actors instead.

“If you can’t sit still, go ask the Innkeeper for some chores. He’ll pay you,” said the actress. She guided Gin to a stern man. I didn’t know humans had warm hands like we do. They have no fur, where does it come from?

The innkeeper pointed her to the kitchen. Gin dried dishes Sumi handed her. Sumi wasn’t kind like the actress. “Hurry up! Dry faster, you’ll never get a job being slow,” she said until Gin sped up.

Gin dried as fast as she could, but more and more came in. She darted over to the stack beside the wash tub and ate any scraps. She was so hungry, even human food tasted good. There were never this many dishes at home, she remembered with a twinge of sadness. Watching for food and drying occupied her mind and the laughter went away. She ran so fast to eat leftovers that Sumi (along with the rest of the dull witted humans) didn’t see her.

Gin heard a bell and the short actor say, “We will now begin the play, a daring tale of love and valor!” The crowd quieted down.

“My brother is in the play,” she told Sumi. “I want to watch.”

“Are you sure it’s time? You’re just trying to get out of work,” Sumi chided her.

“I heard the bell, and the short one said it’s starting,” Gin insisted. Uh-oh, I hope another human heard that, or I’ll be caught again.

Sumi poked her head out, then waved Gin over to the door. “Everyone, the play is starting!” she called. She carried a little bench just outside the kitchen door so it sat in the back of the common room. The others did the same. Gin sat with Sumi. “You’ve got good ears,” Sumi handed her a bowl of soup.

“Thank you,” Gin responded uncertainly before drinking it in one long gulp. Then the play began, so she never knew if that was the right answer. I’ll ask Ichiro later. He knows all about humans.

Ichiro stepped on stage and explained what the play was about. Breeze kami carried his words to the back of the room.

He looks like our father. Mom showed us what he looked like when he was younger, before we were born. We sat at around the fire with Granny and Poppy. The smell of dried leaves mixed with the smoke, and the first snow hadn’t fallen yet. What else did we learn that night?

Gin remembered that night instead of paying attention to the play, unless Ichiro was on stage. He held the pretty actress hostage. As long as his speech was, she could have easily escaped since she wasn’t tied up. Gin would have escaped. Or bit him. Humans were silly.

Finally a smart human came with a sword and stabbed Ichiro after another long speech. Instead of telling the kami to show a bloody corpse, as they did in Big Fork plays, Ichiro fell to the floor. The audience clapped.

Instead of running away, the smart human and the pretty actress declared their love for one another.

Ichiro lay motionless on the floor in a comfortable position. Not like the real death she’s seen last winter.

When the play was over Ichiro stepped forward on stage and passed a bag around the room.

“Show your appreciation for our masterful telling of this story by reaching deep in to your sleeves. Reach deep into your friend’s sleeves. Reach deeper into the stranger’s sleeve next to you! Thank you, and goodnight!” He said with flourish. The crowd laughed.

“Which one was your brother?” Sumi asked as she stacked the bench back in its place.

“The one holding the pretty lady hostage and who passed the bag at the end.”

“Really? He’s quite the good looking fellow. No wonder my daughter talks about him.” Gin had no idea how to respond.

“He’s got the guile of a Kitsune,” Sumi chuckled.

Gin’s eyes went wide.

Sumi laughed. “Don’t worry, most of them went away. Besides, if he’s your brother, you’d have to be a Kitsune too, and there are no little Kitsune girls. The onmyoji keep us safe in The Capital. You’ve seen them, they wear yellow robes.” Gin nodded. “Come on, little country girl, let’s get those dishes washed. Then we will eat.” More food that I don’t have to sneak? I’ll stay around instead of begging Ichiro to leave.

Gin was exhausted by the time they sat around a table eating the last of the food along with the acting troupe. A wave of sadness rolled over Gin when she realized that Sumi was the pretty actress’s mother. I’ll never eat with Mama again.

The innkeeper paid the kitchen staff, even Gin. Now she had her own money, enough for another bath!

“Starting tomorrow we are working for Lord Taira for the next two months,” Ichiro answered when Gin asked if she could come back. The Innkeeper nodded. Ichiro relaxed when no one asked him which Taira.

“That pays better than here, but they’ll have more demands on your time. Good luck,” Sumi said quietly to Gin. Gin smiled at Sumi and her daughter. The pretty actress tousled her hair again and gave Ichiro a wide smile. He won’t see her for another two months. Gin was relieved. She doesn’t even know what he really looks like!

It was so late, Gin nearly fell asleep walking back to the granary. When they got home, she sank onto four legs on top of her new kimono.

Ichiro’s worried thoughts churned. Would Gin ever be all right? What will we do in the winter when this granary is hunted out Gin hunts for longer and longer each week. Will she be ready to live in Kitsune Town then? Can I find another job? Is that strange onmyoji Taira just going to kill us in two months? Should we run now? Where would we go? He still remembered the hanged Kitsune on the way into The Capital.

Sleep brought no relief because Ichiro’s thoughts turned into a nightmare. He dreamed that the entire audience at the White Crane Inn cried “Kitsune, Kisune, Kitsune!” at them. Gin tried to run away on four legs, but instead twisted into a hideous creature. She stood on two legs and grabbed at her face with paws instead of hands. She screamed through a Kitsune mouth that stretched her head.

He woke up when Gin pawed him. Ichiro realized he’d been whining in his sleep. He licked his four legged sister to let her know he was ok. Then they curled up together.

Gin woke when the sun rose. She was apprehensive about today’s journey. She didn't want to remember and relive Big Fork. But maybe after today she'd never hear that horrible laughter again. Gin nosed her money still in her kimono sleeve and went hunting before the sound filled her mind.

She didn’t like the smell of fear on her brother.

Picture by Daphne Zaras - http://www.nssl.noaa.gov/headlines/dszpics.htmlOriginally uploaded at en.wikipedia; description page is/was here., Public Domain, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=2130165