Laughter Is the Worst Medicine, Part 7

Part 1
Part 2
Part 3
Part 4
Part 5
Part 6

Ichiro woke when Gin returned with a single rat. She gave him the half with the head. Good thing I have some money for breakfast now, Ichiro thought. Gin did really well last night. She didn’t panic during my death scene and worked all night without acting weird.

“Ichiro, let’s go have a bath. I have money for me, what about you?” Gin said after breakfast. She could still smell Ichiro’s fear.

“Yes, I have money for a bath. After the play, the other actors went back to serving. Didn’t you notice them bringing plates into the kitchen?”

Gin thought about it. “No. That pretty actress never came in. Or the short one. Are you sure?”

Ichiro sighed. “Yes, they did. Anyway,” he continued before Gin could argue with him, “I also served and got some tips. Let’s go have breakfast.” Last night, Gin was so intent on licking the plates she didn’t notice when I came in. At least everyone ignored her doing that. When Shina asked, I told her we’d just got to town and were living rough and that Gin was special.

“Big brother, let’s go to the bath house in Kitsune Town. I’m tired of humans.”

Ichiro drew a crude doodle in the dirt outside the granary of a tub and the street number where the Kitsune bath house was. Lord Taira would know where they went in case he arrived while they were out.

Ichiro and Gin walked to the bathhouse in Kitsune town. "Don't say anything about where we’re going, or who we’re going with." Ichiro told his little sister for the fifth time. "The Kitsune here do not like onmyoji."

“The humans like onmyoji. Sumi last night said they keep The Capital safe, but also got rid of most of the Kitsune.” Gin stopped. “What is that onmyoji going to do to us? Will he turn me into a boy?” It was the most focused thing Ichiro had heard Gin say since yesterday at the jail when she agreed to go on this journey.

Ichiro kept his voice even. If she hears my fear, it’s all over. “Of course not. He would have killed us already. No one can turn you into a boy. Let’s eat.” There was a food stand on the corner.

“No! I want to eat in,”Gin lowered her voice to a whisper, “Kitsune Town. Human food is strange.”

Ichiro didn’t question his plentiful good fortune, which was a nice change. Too bad everyone will see just how poor we are. He talked to the kami and created illusionary clothing to fool humans, but his actual kimono was too short and stained. His underkimono was little more than a rag at this point. No time to buy a new one at the human market, maybe there will be something in Kitsune town.

“Ichiro, why are human plays so full of talking? Everything is talking, talking, talking. You held that nice actress hostage, and you just talked. She could have bitten you and escaped.”

Ichiro shrugged. “I don’t know. But it’s a way to earn money. Did you see how good I looked?” He grinned at his sister. “Shina thought so.”

Gin pouted. “She messed up my hair. And she doesn’t know what you look like anyway.”

Ichiro laughed and tousled her hair. “Hey!” Gin smoothed it down.

Kitsune Town had very clearly delineated borders. Most of the Kitsune wore undyed kimono and kami-decorated them to fool humans and show how skilled they were to each other. Ichiro noticed that the illusions near the human border were very simple to keep up the appearance that Kitsune Town was a very poor human neighborhood. As they approached the bath house, in the heart of K-Town, they grew more elaborate.

There was a roast chicken stand next to the bathhouse and the smell drove Gin nuts. She walked towards it, but Ichiro grabbed her hand. The woman working at the bath house crossed her arms and stared at the pair suspiciously. She eyed Ichiro’s kimono and asked, “you got money?”

Ichiro gave her his best grin and drug Gin towards her. He reached into his sleeve and dropped coin on the counter, along with some illusionary cherry blossoms. The woman wasn’t impressed. “Cute. If you’re planning on staying around, get some better clothes.”

“Leave my brother alone,” Gin snapped at her. “You’re as bad as the humans.”

“She’s a feisty one. Here’s a kimono in your size, if you have any more money in those frayed sleeves.” She pulled a used kimono out from under the counter. There were a few stains on it, but it was clean. She looked the pair over again. “Did you walk in from the country?”

“Actually, we did,” Ichiro and Gin said simultaneously. Ichiro aimed for charming. Gin was surly.

“Welcome to Kitsune Town, the only properly civilized place in The Capital,” she handed them soap, buckets, and towels.

The smell of cooked meat drove Gin nuts. “Ichiro, I’m hungry. And everyone is Kitsune so I can’t even steal it!” She pointed to the roasted chickens nearby.

Ichiro counted his money, then handed it all to Gin. We’ll be out of town for a few days, and who knows what that onmyoji will do to us anyway. Might as well enjoy it. I’ll worry about new clothes when—if we get back. “Bring me a chicken, too,” he sighed. More bathers arrived, so he followed Gin over to the meat stall.

Gin ate her chicken. She bit huge chunks off until she’d reduced it to bones. Ichiro finished his even faster. He wasn’t exactly full, but he wasn’t hungry either.

Gin shrank down to four legs, right in front of everyone and ate the bones! Ichiro snuck a glance around to see who saw this embarrassing act. Everyone was staring at them. The lady behind the bath house counter laughed. Ichiro wanted to sink into the earth.

“Gin, Gin! Get up! Stop eating the bones in front of everyone!” He whispered. Gin glanced up at him and leapt into the air to grab the carcass out of his hand. Ichiro’s humiliation was complete.

“Son,” the man roasting chickens motioned Ichiro over. Gin was still eating, so he walked over with his head held high. The man gave him two more chickens. “Just take these, you two haven’t had many meals lately. Just get your sister off the ground, people will think she’s touched in the head. I don’t know about where you’re from, but we don’t do that here in The Capital,” he added kindly.

“Thank you, sir!” Ichiro stammered out. The man nodded. His wife frowned in concern. The rest of the crowd had moved on and no one was watching Gin now. I was wrong before. Now my humiliation is complete.

“Gin, I have another chicken, but you have to stand up and eat it.” Her head snapped up and she rose on two legs, wrapping her kimono around her. “Tell them thank you,” Ichiro motioned to the chicken sellers.

“Thank you very much for your generosity,” Gin said. She sounds so focused, it like she wasn’t just eating bones in the dirt like an animal. Ichiro worried about her.

They sat on their wash buckets and Ichiro bit into his chicken. Gin stared at the chicken in her hands.

“What is it, little sister?”

“The laughter is louder here, big brother. I don’t like it. Even eating all the marrow didn’t drown it out,” Gin admitted and burst into tears.

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