The Giant Monster in the River

The rest of the day passed without incident.

The sun rose as usual, and Hu was put through his paces by Fon Shaoling in the training room as usual, exhausting his Reishi through round after round of Kidō practice. Shimizu took his shift at his post and patrolled the corridors as usual.

Then the appointed time arrived.

The next afternoon, when Hu came out of the training room, Shimizu was already waiting at the door. He had changed out of his attendant's uniform and into simple everyday clothes, and he carried two fishing rods and a fishing basket.

"Shall we?" Shimizu smiled and raised the things in his hands.

Hu nodded and followed him.

The two walked through the Fon Clan's estate and the familiar bamboo grove, then followed the stream downstream. Sunlight filtered through gaps in the bamboo leaves, casting dappled patterns on the ground. The stream babbled, and birdsong occasionally drifted from afar.

Shimizu walked ahead, his steps brisk.

"I found this place back during that dark period of my life," he said as they walked, a trace of nostalgia in his voice. "Back then, I was forced to do things I didn't want to do every day, and I was worked half to death. Then this older guy took pity on me and secretly brought me out fishing."

Hu listened quietly.

"Bamboo Creek Plain wasn't like it is now back then." Shimizu paused. "The Fon Clan hadn't arrived yet, and a bunch of powerful families controlled the place. Ordinary souls like us were their beasts of burden, worked half to death every day. We even had to watch their faces to know whether we could have a drink of water. If that older guy hadn't brought me here to unwind, I might have fallen completely into depravity like the others a long time ago."

He turned and glanced at Hu.

"In those days, having a place to catch your breath was already an enormous blessing."

Hu was silent for a moment, then asked, "What happened to him? Where is he now?"

Shimizu's gaze dimmed.

"His name was Tosaya," he said. "Before the Fon Clan came, one of the powerful families controlling Bamboo Creek Plain picked him out and sent him somewhere else. After that... I never heard from him again."

He paused, his voice growing quieter.

"Knowing how those people did things, he might have already..."

He didn't finish.

Hu reached out and patted him on the shoulder.

"It's all in the past," he said.

Shimizu looked startled, then smiled.

"Yeah, it's all in the past."

The two continued walking. Hu raised the fishing rod in his hand, his tone growing lighter.

"Look, this is good stuff—Fon Shaoling gave it to me herself before I left."

Shimizu looked at the rod. It was finely made, with non-slip hemp cord wrapped around the handle. It certainly didn't look like an ordinary rod.

"Her Highness knows how to fish?"

"No idea." Hu shrugged. "But if she gave it to me, it's got to be good. I'm going to catch a few big ones with this rod today and take them back to show her."

Shimizu laughed.

"All right, then we're counting on that treasured rod of yours today."

After walking for nearly half an hour, the two finally reached the place Shimizu had mentioned.

It was a broad riverbank, where the stream slowed and widened, with reeds growing thickly along both banks. Sunlight glimmered on the water, and it really was a scenic spot.

"This is it." Shimizu set down the fishing basket and began arranging the tackle. "I used to come here all the time, and I caught plenty every time."

Hu crouched down too and took out the rod Fon Shaoling had given him. It felt good, neither too heavy nor too light, and sat comfortably in his hand.

The two set up their rods, cast their lines, and sat on the riverbank to wait for a bite.

The sun was warm, and an occasional breeze rustled the reeds.

Time ticked by.

The sun slowly sank.

Hu stared at the water, at the fishing line that hadn't moved an inch, and his lips began to twitch.

In his fishing basket lay two small fish, each the size of his palm.

Shimizu had one more than he did.

Hu finally couldn't hold it in anymore.

"Shimizu." He turned to look at Shimizu, who looked just as awkward as he did. "Are you sure... this is a good fishing spot?"

Shimizu rubbed the back of his head and gave a couple of dry laughs.

"Maybe... we're just unlucky today?"

Hu stared at him.

"How many did you used to catch here?"

Shimizu fell silent for a moment.

"...More than this, anyway."

Hu took a deep breath and slowly let it out.

"All right, bad luck it is." He patted the rod beside him. "What a shame for my treasured rod. A hero with nowhere to display its prowess today."

Shimizu laughed at that.

Just then, footsteps sounded behind them.

"Oh, there are people fishing here?"

Hu turned around and saw two middle-aged men walking along the riverbank toward them. They were carrying fishing tackle too, and it looked like they had come to fish as well.

One of them glanced at Hu and Shimizu's baskets and burst out laughing.

"That's all you caught?"

Hu's eye twitched.

The other man tugged at his companion, but he couldn't help laughing either.

"Come on, stop it. They might be beginners," he said with a laugh. "But seriously, don't you know? You can't catch fish here."

Hu was taken aback.

"You can't catch fish?"

"You haven't been able to for ages." The man waved a hand. "It was fine ten years ago, but now? You're lucky to have caught those few."

Shimizu opened his mouth to say something, but no words came out.

The other man glanced at them, then suddenly remembered something.

"Oh, right, you'd better not fish here at night," he said. "This river gets downright eerie after dark. You often hear huge splashes, like there's something big rolling around in the water. Some people say there's a big creature in the river that ate all the big fish. A few people refused to believe it and insisted on fishing here before. They had three or four rods snapped in a row and lost everything."

He shook his head.

"Pack up and go home while you can. Don't waste your time here."

With that, the two men continued along the riverbank and soon disappeared into the reeds.

The riverbank fell quiet.

Shimizu lowered his head and was silent for a while.

"I'm sorry," he said quietly. "It's been so long since I came here... Ever since I joined the Fon Clan, I've had to work to save up the money to marry Keiko, and I've had to train too. I don't even know how long it's been since I last fished here. I didn't think... you couldn't catch fish here anymore."

Hu looked at him without speaking.

Then he turned to look at the river.

The sound of splashing.

A big creature.

Fishing rods snapped in two.

A glimmer slowly lit up his eyes.

"Shimizu."

Shimizu raised his head.

Hu looked at him, a grin slowly spreading across his face.

"How about... we take on that big guy?"

Shimizu stared at him.

"Are you crazy?" he said instinctively. "Didn't you hear what that man just said? It snapped three or four fishing rods in a row!"

"Doesn't that make it even more interesting?" Hu's eyes were frighteningly bright. "We fished all day and only caught these few little fish. Are you really willing to go home like this? I'm not. Besides—"

He patted the rod in his hand.

"Shaoling gave me this rod. Its quality is guaranteed."

Shimizu opened his mouth to argue, but he looked at Hu's eager expression, then at the fishing rod in his own hands:

But mine wasn't.

Still...

He raised his head and looked at Hu.

"All right." He sighed and smiled. "I'll be crazy with you this once."

Hu grinned.

"That's the spirit."

The sun set, and night fell.

The moon rose, casting a silvery light over the river.

Hu and Shimizu sat on the riverbank, watching the water.

They had cast their lines into the deepest part of the river's center. They had changed their bait too—Shimizu had searched through the fishing basket and chopped up all the few remaining small fish for bait.

Time ticked by.

But all that happened was that the "few odds and ends" in the bucket became "a few more odds and ends." Hu's mind was no longer on those little things, though.

He stared at the water, at the fishing line that hadn't moved an inch.

Shimizu yawned beside him.

"Hu..." He rubbed his eyes. "My shift today wore me out. I can barely keep going..."

Before he could finish, the water suddenly exploded.

Hu's rod plunged downward, bending into a semicircle in an instant and creaking under the strain.

Hu's eyes widened.

"It bit! It bit!!"

He grabbed the rod, and the tremendous force dragged him a step forward.

Shimizu snapped awake, dropped his own rod, and rushed over to grab Hu's arm.

Together, they gripped the rod and struggled against the thing beneath the water.

The force was astonishing. The rod was bent almost to breaking point, and the line was stretched taut, cutting ripples across the water. Hu could feel the thing underwater diving desperately, trying to free itself from the hook.

"Hold steady! Hold steady!" Shimizu shouted.

"I am!!" Hu gritted his teeth and clutched the rod.

Time ticked by.

Hu's arms began to ache, and sweat appeared on Shimizu's forehead. But the rod was still bent into a semicircle, and the thing underwater showed no sign of tiring.

Then—

"Snap!"

A sharp crack rang out.

The rod broke in two at the middle.

Hu and Shimizu both lost their balance and fell backward, landing heavily on the riverbank.

Hu lay on the ground, gasping for breath as he stared at the broken half of the rod in his hand.

Moonlight shone on the break, on the fishing rod that had been snapped in two.

He remembered how Fon Shaoling had handed him the rod before he left that day.

"Ye Xing, this is for you," she had said with a smile. "Take good care of it."

He also remembered boasting to Shimizu just now—"This is a treasured rod."

Now it was broken.

"Aaah—!!!"

Hu sat bolt upright, fire blazing in his eyes.

He thrust out his right hand, pointing his index finger at the river.

"Lord of all creation—"

Shimizu froze.

"Mask of flesh and blood, wings of all things,"

"Hu! What are you doing?!" Shimizu lunged over and threw his arms around him.

"You who bear the name of man—"

Blue light shone at Hu's fingertip as lightning gathered and flickered there.

Shimizu panicked. He wrapped one arm tightly around Hu's waist and clapped his other hand over Hu's mouth.

"Mmph—!"

Hu's incantation was forcibly cut short.

The lightning at his fingertip began to flicker, as though it might go out. Shimizu kept his hand firmly over Hu's mouth, not daring to let go. He knew Hu was furious and had recognized the chant as Kidō. Though Shimizu had never studied Kidō, he wasn't stupid. Hu suddenly saying those things had to mean something, and if he let Hu unleash it, who knew what trouble it would cause?

"Mmph! Mmmph!" Hu struggled, but Shimizu held him so tightly that he couldn't break free.

The two wrestled on the riverbank, Shimizu desperately covering Hu's mouth while Hu desperately tried to break free.

In the midst of their chaotic struggle—

The veins on Hu's forehead bulged, and his face flushed red.

His eyes remained fixed on the river, on that pitch-black stretch of water. Moonlight shone on his face and into his eyes, which were filled with extreme anger.

There was only one thought in his mind—

I'll teach the bastard who broke the fishing rod a lesson.

It wasn't about the rod Fon Shaoling had given him.

It was what the rod carried—Fon Shaoling's feelings, the anticipation he had felt all day, and this evening spent with a friend—that had all been ruined by the thing underwater.

If I can't chant, then I won't.

The lightning at his fingertip, which had been on the verge of fading, suddenly lit up again, growing brighter and brighter.

"Mmph!-------"

Shimizu's eyes widened as he watched the blue light at Hu's fingertip grow brighter and brighter.

"Don't! Soul Reaper techniques aren't meant for catching fish----"

Then—

"—Mmph, mmph! Mmm! (Hadō #4: Byakurai)!"

Amid Hu's completely unintelligible words,

A thick bolt of blue lightning shot from Hu's fingertip, streaked across the night sky, and slammed into the river.

Boom—!!!

The water exploded, sending white steam billowing into the air. Lightning spread through the river with a crackle, illuminating the entire riverbank.

The recoil jolted Shimizu into letting go. He collapsed to the ground and stared blankly at the river.

Hu was also panting heavily, staring at the stretch of water struck by the lightning.

The steam slowly dissipated.

Pale fish bellies floated up across the river. Big and small, they were packed so densely that they covered the entire surface.

And in the middle of the fish was a huge white shape.

Hu and Shimizu stopped breathing for a moment.

They looked at each other.

They were in trouble.

Then the huge white shape moved.

Splash—!!!

The water exploded as the enormous thing burst from the river and landed on the bank, facing Hu and Shimizu.

Under the moonlight, its outline became clear.

It was a huge Hollow.

It looked like an otter, but its size was terrifying—standing upright, it was a good deal taller than Hu. Its body was covered in grayish-white fur that gleamed with an eerie silver light under the moon. Its limbs were thick and powerful, and its claws, sharp as knives, dripped with water. Deformed lumps of muscle bulged along its back, seemingly marks left by a long life underwater. Most frightening of all was its tail—thick and long, with a flat end like an enormous oar. One look was enough to tell how much power it could unleash in the water.

A deathly pale mask covered its face. The mask was twisted and hideous, like a cross between an otter and something else. Beneath it, two scarlet eyes stared fixedly at Hu. They held none of the madness common to Hollows, but instead a kind of... annoyance at having been disturbed.

Hu's throat bobbed.

Beside him, Shimizu had gone completely rigid.

The Hollow stared at them and slowly opened its mouth, revealing a mouthful of sharp teeth.

Huff—

A low, heavy breath.

Under the moonlight, on the riverbank, the two men and the Hollow stood facing off.