A Different World

The Kappa

It was well past midnight. Reizo was tired. He'd been in this little boat in the lake since 8pm. The Tohoku region of Japan is beautiful, but he had a job to do. He sat quietly in the boat, with a box of cucumbers by his side and a katana on his back. Kappas love cucumbers and Reizo hoped to distract the little creature with these vegetables. Unfortunately, Kappas also love human innards. Reizo was hoping to catch the monster on land, but Reizo has been coming back to this lake for a while now and the little s**t refused to be let out of his aquatic element. So Reizo had to get on the tiny boat and wait patiently. 

Reizo kept daydreaming about Ophelia. She left Japan a few years ago and he heard she was coming back for a while. He kept himself busy with fantasies that would probably never really happen. He was determined not to see her. He HAD to keep her away from his life. It just wasn't safe. Reizo saw movement in the water and stiffened. It soon proved to be nothing and Reizo found himself thinking about the dangerous Kappa he was about to kill. 

A few months ago, Reizo began hearing the rumors of this Kappa and went to do some further investigation. He began to recall some disturbing accounts.

"I was relaxing by the lake with my family and it tried to looking up my wife's skirt!" Said the old man.

"When was this?" asked Reizo

"Yesterday afternoon! My friend came to the same lake a while back and the kappa r***d his daughter! His son tried protecting his dear sister, but it ate him! The family is completely torn apart!"

"Yes, well...Kappas are dirty little things. Some are quite polite and well mannered, but this one seems particularly nasty," said Reizo.

"Please, young man...please...end this atrocity." The old man started crying.

Reizo had felt sorry for him. He went on to talk to dozens of others with similar stories and decided the Kappa had to be put down. 

So here he is, sitting on the boat...wait patiently. Reizo heard a small splash. It was so dark on the lake, it was difficult to see. Suddenly, Reizo felt a chill go down his spine. The hairs on his neck began to stand up and he felt  little sick to his stomach. That stench. The stench of rotten fish. The kappa had to be close. Reizo slowly began to sit up straight. His ears were straining to take in all the sounds. His eyes darting all around the water. Then he saw it. A hairy head with a bald spot in the center. The head went quickly back down in the water.

" I saw you..." whispered Reizo to the wind, not expecting a reply.

"I see you, too," whispered another voice.

Reizo whipped his head around and grabbed onto the hair on the kappas head, who popped up behind him in the water.

"AHHH," screamed the kappa. "let go, let go!"

"You little s**t! You've been causing a lot of trouble around here!"

"No, no, I am nice and polite, I would never!" yelled the strange humanoid creature.

"You r***d several woman and ate dozens of others!"

The kappa began to laugh, then noticed the cucumbers. "Are...are those cu..cucumbers? If you give me them, I promise to do no more harm."

Reizo made a disgusted face. The kappa's voice was low and hoarse. It smelled awful and he just couldn't take it anymore. 

"I'm sorry, but your past actions will not be overlooked. May your next life be better and filled with love and happiness."

The Kappa, whose name Reizo did not even ask, suddenly got furious knowing his life was about to end.  The creature shot his hand out to punch a hole in Reizo's stomach. Fortunately, Reizo was faster. With lightning speed, he whipped his katana out from behind his back and in one fluid motion, he swung the sword through the air. The Kappa's head fell off and into the tiny boat. 

It was finished. Another job done. Reizo went back to land and began cleaning up. Once again, his thoughts kept drifting to Ophelia. During her visit,  he decided to stay away and not put her at risk. He felt better making that decision and  was resolute. He felt that everything would be ok.

Little did he know, it would not be.