Protect The Innocent.

After another fifty rope jumps, Meiko panted and sat down, mopping her breath with a cloth. She looked up Tashiro on the roof, hammering the last nails, trying to keep the place from leaking, after another fierce storm.

The sun was high and the warm air felt good.

Why does he keep doing it?  She thought. He can leave anytime. I can hunt for myself, fight for myself; run faster, jump longer. Why does he stay? Is he waiting for me to ask? I know all about waiting. For two years, I did my best to survive. After burying my siblings, I scavenged for any food, gathered leaves and tested out what was good enough to eat. Even Mice.  Sometimes, I would get ill and hope never to wake up, sometimes the snow would come, and I would wait for the cold to take me. Even then, part of me was stubborn, still hoping to be rescued, to be found and accepted by a kind villager who would say, 'You're coming with us.' After a year, I only waited for the worst: to die or be attacked by wild beasts.  Is a slow life, a slow death? Was this my punishment for being born to the wrong people? I was lonely, and the world was cold and quiet. Then, finally, when I was on my last days, he came along. Fed me, kept me warm, helped me when I was ill. Not only that, he showed me how I could take care of myself, to be stronger, sneakier, able to fight back, and able to hunt. He never once asked for anything in return, even when he could have taken it. All he wanted was ...to save me. 

Meiko smiled as Tashiro descended the ladder, dusting his hands. 

"Bad news," He said, stroking his thick black beard. "We're out of nails."

"That is bad news. What are we going to do?"

Tashiro pinched the top of his nose and closed his eyes. He already had a plan, but wasn't too happy about it.

"Obviously, we will have to go to town and ask the Blacksmith." He said. "But without any money, it's not gonna be fun."

"Town," Meiko said, her face went pale and she started to rub the red tiger stripes on her neck. "Can't I stay here?"

"I was hoping to take you to see the world."

Meiko waved her hands.

"I don't need to see it! It probably won't interest me."

"Is it this about your background? That thing on your neck?"

Meiko looked down, her voice quiet.

"If the Villagers found out, they would kill me on the spot." She said solemnly. "No warning, just dead." Tashiro folded his arms and bowed his head in thought. "You can leave me here. Thanks to you, I'm no longer scared any more. I can fight for myself, you taught me that."

The big man shook his head.

"It's not about leaving you alone," He said. "It's about wanting you to connect with the world. You deserve to see it, after everything you've been through."

Meiko's watered. Papa?

She rubbed her eyes with the blade of her hand and smiled.

"They will still see me, there's no way..."

"Graves!"  Tashiro said quietly. "That's it."

"Dig graves?"

"Graves is the name of a character in a book. He sometimes wears a mask. That is how we will get you to the village. We're going in disguise!"

Meiko smiled. A disguise! Similar to how her family wore disguises during crime sprees. She walked into a cabin, opened a box, and brought out a mask and a straw cape. 

The mask was a bright blue 'Ogre' face, with pointy, oversized fangs and long, straggly white hair made from wool.

"A Namahage."  Tashiro said. "So it's true. Your ancestors were from Japan. Did they leave anything else?"

"This was supposed to be for my brother." 

Meiko lifted a smaller mask designed to cover the lower half of the face. It was dark in colour, depicting a scary smile, with big fangs and pointed canines.

"A Mempo," Tashiro said. "Yes, this will be perfect!"

"So we can get the nails, now?"

"Like I said, without money, it's not going to be easy."

"We could..."

"We're not stealing," Tashiro said firmly. "Especially from those who already have it tough."

Meiko nodded, her ears hot with shame for suggesting it. 

"I'm sorry."

Tashiro patted her head. "We can't go down a path that will ruin us."

Tingling from the sensation of being cared for, Meiko blushed.

"So what do we do?" She asked.

"We trade," Tashiro said, looking toward the east. "There's a mine with a healthy vein. We trade ore for nails. No Blacksmith would turn that down."

***

The journey to the cave took about an hour, through dense forest, steep grassy hills and mountain paths.

 Luckily, with the help of the two years of training, they had stamina in abundance, enough to hoist pick axes and mine for about a good couple of hours.

Well, one of them did...

Meiko slumped down and took a rest, pulling her legs close and resting her arms on her knees. Exhausted, she lowered her head, keeping her breath steady.

"Don't be too eager," Tashiro said,  as he continued swinging a pickaxe at the rock. "Remember you're only nine years old. Kids aren't designed for manual labour, despite what corrupt Victorians might say."

"I just need a break."

Tashiro threw her some beef Jerky. "Take all you need."

Meiko bit into the meat with relish, humming and savouring the taste.

"So do we have enough now?" 

Tashiro looked at the sack of ore and stopped what he was doing. He went down on one knee, supporting himself on the pickaxe. 

"Yeah, I think so."  He said. "Don't want to mine so much, we can't carry."

"Does that mean I get to be your protector?" Meiko said, as she lifted the bow. 

"What do you think? Fancy being rear gunner?"

For the first time, Meiko smiled with devilish glee.

***

Leaving the cave, the path opened out to a road wide enough to accommodate a wagon. They were halfway down the mountain, when Meiko heard a faint whimpering. It sounded like a Dog. Overwhelmed with an urgent need to assist, she raced off ahead.

“Wait!”

Tashiro grabbed her upper arm, just as her foot slipped over the edge. Pulling back, it took a moment for the girl to recover and for her heart to stop pounding.

“I’m so sorry,” Meiko said, bowing apologetically.

“I told you, every time, what happens when you rush headlong into danger.”

“The head is the first to go.”

“ And still you went,” Tashiro said, covering a hand over his face.“Why were you running?”

Meiko pointed to the sound of a dog whining.

Peaking over the edge, Tashiro saw a wagon wedged into the cliff rocks, the driver and horse lying dead on a ledge.

Inside the wagon, a Golden Retriever stood up and barked, with the occasional whine.

Tashiro looked around; they were on a flat corner of the mountain road with no trees to tie a rope around. Not good.

“There’s no way for me to rappel down.” He said. “I can’t climb up a mountain with a Dog on my back.”

“We can’t just leave it there.”

“I know, but…”

“I’ll do it.” Meiko said, her face hard with defiance. “Lower me down and I can tie the dog on the other end. The same way you lift rocks.”

“Like a net rope,” Tashiro said, nodding. This could work. “You sure about this? We’re talking about walking down a cliff.”

Meiko spoke quietly.

“I won’t be able to sleep knowing it’s out there alone, waiting to die. I knew that feeling. Holding onto hope and miracles, until one day.,,,they meant nothing. You being here showed me how wrong I was. Besides, I’ve been off a cliff before.”

“Not exactly making your case,” Tashiro said and smiled. “Well, we can’t have you losing sleep; so you best be ready.”

Meiko nodded enthusiastically.

“I am, I am always ready.”

“Calm down. Centre yourself. Steady heart, steady mind.”

Meiko closed her eyes and relaxed.

“Okay.”

***

Once secure, the girl was lowered slowly down the cliff face, careful not to cause too much swinging of the rope.

Taking the weight, Tashiro used a rock to stop him from slipping; the only way he could tell how close she was to the wagon was through constant instructions.

“A bit more…a bit more…”

The dog began to get desperate, wiggling its body and scrambling to climb over.

Everything was hanging precariously, the wheel axels jammed on protruding rocks, keeping the whole thing in a vertical suspension,

Once Meiko was lowered onto the Wagon, she stood on the back door and tugged the rope a couple of times.
“Stop!” She called out. Bending down, she gave the dog and couple of playful scratches around the ruff. “Yes you are! Yes you are!”

The dog barked merrily as Meiko carefully slipped inside the back of the wagon, using the crates as platforms. She soon spotted the body, a large man with his throat cut. He appeared to be dressed like a merchant. Meiko gasped and covered her mouth.

The Dog barked again, bringing the girl back to her senses. “You’re right, gotta focus.”

Untying herself, she used a Spanish Bowline knot to create a harness for the Dog.

With a couple of tugs, the animal was winched up while she waited inside the Wagon.

“Hurry,” She said quietly, looking at the straight drop. “Please hurry.”

Tashiro pulled the dog up, hand over hand, grunting with exertion, until the animal was safely upon the Mountain Road.

Wasting no time, he untied the harness and lowered the rope. Meiko wrapped it around her shoulder and chest.

All of a sudden, the Wagon broke free from the rocks and went rocketing downward, just as Meiko was done tying up the knot.

Upon hearing the scream, Tashiro started to pull again, relieved to feel a weight at the other end.

Eventually, Meiko was brought safely onto the Mountain road and got a hug from the Tashiro and a face full of licking from the Dog.

“You silly girl.” Tashiro said. “Always giving a heart attack.”

“And you always save me, even when I can’t save myself.”

“That’s why we train. So one day you won’t need me.”

“Don’t say that, Papa. I’ll always need you.”

“Papa?”

Meiko suddenly stepped back and pointed into the distance.

“Ehhhh…sun’s going down! We don’t wanna be walking in the dark.”

Papa? Tashiro thought.

“I meant Paprika!”

“That makes even less sense!”

***

Carrying a sack load of ore eventually took its toll on Tashiro. By the time he arrived back at the Cabin, his energy was spent, so he and the Dog slept for a couple of hours.

Tashiro eventually woke up to the scent of Vegetable soup cooking. Wandering into the kitchen area, he found Meiko cross-legged, stirring a pot under a campfire tripod.

"I was hungry and didn't want to wake you up." She said.

"Good," Tashiro said, kneeling in a Seiza position. "You should always think of yourself first, unless caring for others."

Meiko passed him a bowl.

"I still put us in danger, though." She said, glancing at the sleeping dog. "It's like I had to do it. Yuzu needed me. I don't why he was spared after the other guy was killed."

"Other guy?"

"He had a merchant's ring, so I thought he might have been one."

Tashiro thought for a while. 

"I wonder why the other wearing a scarf around his mouth. Huh, I'm starting to paint a picture."

"What picture?"

"A simple robbery, not so simple getaway." Tashiro said. "Judging by the evidence, the Merchant was attacked and killed, and in the Robbers' attempt at a getaway, failed to steer clear of the edge. Boom. No more Robber."

"What a waste,"

"So...Yuzu, huh?" Tashiro said, slurping the soup. "I guess it's appropriate. Still, you have a lot to learn about restraint."

"Didn't you say you beat up eight people and a giant?"

Tashiro went quiet.

 "They started it."