Lilligold’s heart skipped a beat. The world went out of focus for a split second, just long enough for a low hanging tree branch to smack her in the face, sending her tumbling across the ground a short distance while losing her grip on the items in her telekinesis. She came to a stop at the foot of a tree, just next to an incline leading down to the river’s edge.
Pulling herself together, Lilligold rose to her hooves, but a single misplaced step sent her falling down the incline. This time she braced herself, coming to a controlled stop on her side on the sandy shore, before quickly getting up and shaking some sand off of her face. She quickly found both the bonsai plant and Mizuko’s coin bag, thankful that their contents managed not to spill very much. She took a moment to scoop up and replace the spilled soil and coins, before making a mad dash down alongside the river toward the waterfall with the items floating in her telekinesis.
The opening to the reservoir was about four pony lengths wide and two tall, constructed from concrete which must’ve been somewhat old if the spiderweb cracks running along its surface were any indication. The churning water pouring in roared, nullifying any attempt she could make to call out for Mizuko. The sunlight pouring through illuminated the inside of the reservoir enough for her to see the flowing water down below; the distance down seeming little more than ten pony lengths at a rough glance.
The thought of turning back and getting help crossed her mind, and indeed, Lilligold started to turn around, only for her attention to be drawn to something to her left. Set into the concrete was a ladder leading down into the reservoir. Parts of it were rusted and worn, but was in very good condition on the whole.
Lilligold nervously bit her lip, her mind abuzz in contemplation on what would be the best course of action. On the one hoof, she could go for help, but her lack of proficiency with Neighponese would make the task difficult if she couldn’t find somepony who spoke Equish. On the other hoof, Yadame, or even Mizuko herself, could be in desperate need of medical care, to which she’d only be wasting time by venturing down into the reservoir after them.
But before she could commit to a decision, her ears flicked in response to a very, very faint sound beyond the river’s flow. To her, it almost sounded like… Wait, that was a voice! She leaned forward and strained her ears the best she could against the roaring river.
”Dare ga soko ni arimasu? Dare ga soko ni arimasu!?”
The voice was unmistakably Mizuko’s. More still, she sounded frantic, like she was in trouble.
The choice was clear.
Taking a moment to steel her resolve, Lilligold stepped over to the ladder. Mindful of her hoof placement, she stepped on, getting a good grip with her fetlocks before descending into the darkness. Step by step she took, slowly and carefully, always mindful of the rusted bars whenever she gripped one, lest she accidentally break it off and fall to her death. Never once did she look down, always keeping her eyes focused on the concrete wall in front of her. When she finally felt solid ground underneath her hoof, she let out a relieved sigh and hopped off onto the concrete walkway.
Taking stock of her new surroundings, Lilligold noticed very quickly that the path ahead split up in two directions; the right leading over a small bridge to the other side of the waterway, while the left led around a corner. She followed along the waterway toward the intersection, sparing it a glance every few seconds, wondering what kind of creatures might be lying in wait for a chance to seize her.
The sounds of the waterfall behind her subsided as she approached the intersection. She looked both ways, but saw nothing except inky blackness.
“Mizuko! Can you hear me!?” she called, before straining her ears to listen.
”... Lilligold!? Is that you!?”
That came from the right. Lilligold crossed over the bridge and rushed down the following path, her hooves clacking wildly against the concrete in her haste. The path led down a little ways before turning another corner, whereupon she saw Mizuko, drenched from head to hoof, Yadame resting on her back.
“Mizuko!” She rushed up to the other mare, embracing her in a brief hug — which Mizuko didn’t return — before looking over her body. “Are you alright? Did you get hurt at all? What about Yadame?” She winced upon seeing the large lump on Yadame’s forehead from where he’d hit the bridge’s railing.
Mizuko didn’t answer right away. It was then that a closer look at her revealed to Lilligold that Mizuko seemed to be a little on edge. Her eyes darted about, looking all around them as if expecting something to leap out and attack. It was behavior that Lilligold hadn’t expected to see from the mare who’d just jumped off a bridge and fallen into a reservoir, all to save a colt who’d seemingly been giving her a hard time. To see a pony like that feeling fear was more than a little unsettling to Lilligold’s already vulnerable nerves.
Finally, Mizuko turned her attention to Lilligold, casting one final glance at the water before replying, “We’re both fine. Yadame’s still unconscious, but I think he’s going to be okay.” Her face paled a little. “There’s something down here, Lilligold.”
Lilligold’s eyes became pinpricks. “W-What do you m-mean?” she stuttered.
“I heard something make a splash over there.” She gestured further down the corridor. “Something big.” She turned back to Lilligold, only to recoil in surprise upon seeing the lack of color in the other mare’s face as she stared past her.
And then she heard it: a wet slap on the ground behind her. Every single muscle in Mizuko’s body tensed while a chill ran down her spine. Another slap, followed by light breathing. Mizuko mustered the willpower to turn her head around, only to blanch herself upon seeing the hideous creature half-submerged in the water, leaning over the concrete and staring right at them.
Through the fear clouding her mind, details about the creature managed to click. Scaly green skin, duck-like beak, matted dark hair, webbed hands and feet. She was staring eye-to-eye with a kappa, a creature she’d always believed to be superstition, yet here was one right in front of her.
What little amazement Mizuko started feeling was abruptly cut off when she suddenly remembered all the stories she’d heard about kappas, and all the terrible things they would do to their victims, drowning being among the least horrifying.
The kappa hoisted itself up onto the concrete, to which Mizuko instinctively leapt backwards and closer to Lilligold, who was on the verge of looking like a ghost.
“Wh-Wh-What do we d-d-d-do?” Lilligold stuttered.
Mizuko gulped. “On my count, we make a run for it,” she replied. “One…”
The kappa lifted its hands.
“Two…”
It cupped its hands around its mouth.
“Three!”
”Foreigner!”
The two mares bolted down the path at speeds to put a cheetah to shame. But their escape was halted when several more kappas emerged from the water, blocking their way. Before they could so much as scream, their collective vision was filled with blinding flashes, accompanied by a series of clicks and excited shouts. The visionary assault lasted for a few moments before Mizuko and Lilligold were able to recover and blink away the colorful spots from their eyes.
“Lilligold…” Mizuko held a hoof to her forehead, trying to ease a growing headache. She turned to see that the other mare was also a little disoriented.
Her attention returned to the group of kappas. They were all huddled together, holding photographs in their scaly hands and wearing cameras around their necks, which appeared to be encased in waterproof housings. They held the photographs out for each other, pointing and giggling at the contents like a group of excited school foals having just caught a peer in an embarrassing situation.
“Ugh, what just happened?” Lilligold droned.
“... More gaijin hunters,” Mizuko replied, her tone betraying how she felt more surprised than angry by this realization. Then her ears flicked in response to a sound from behind her. Turning, she saw the first kappa advancing towards them, but the way its arms were casually crossed behind its head failed to instill any fear into her.
”My apologies for scaring you;” it said, addressing Mizuko. ”I didn’t think anyone would react in such a way to seeing me.” It stopped in front of the two mares, taking a moment to glance between them each, as well as the still unconscious Yadame sitting on Mizuko’s back. ”... It appears there is much to this situation that I’m ignorant to.”
Lilligold took a hesitant, fearful step back. Mizuko finally shook herself free from the oddity of the current situation, and placed herself between the kappa and Lilligold, her face settling into a determined expression. ”Who are you?” she asked.
The kappa fell into a short bow. ”I am Gesuru.”
Mizuko raised her hoof, hesitating for a moment, before gesturing to herself. ”I am Mizuko.”
Gesuru turned to Lilligold. ”Who’s the lovely mare?” he asked, his lips lifting into a coy smile.
Mizuko furrowed her brows. ”I won’t tell you.”
Gesuru snorted. ”Very well.” He then knelt down so he was eye level with the two mares. ”So, what brings the two of you down here? It’s been a very long time since we’ve had visitors from the surface.” His gaze focused on Yadame, his smile falling as he noticed the bump on the colt’s head. ”Looks like he needs help.”
”He does,” Mizuko replied, and turned away from him. “Let’s go, Lilligold.”
Lilligold nodded shakily. “Y-Yes, sure,” she stuttered, sparing a nervous glance at Gerusu as she followed after her.
The two mares only took a few steps before Gesuru came around and blocked their path, causing them to instinctively step back, Mizuko furrowing her gaze a little harder.
”There’s an excellent doctor in town who’d happily treat your little friend if you stay for a while. It’s been a long time since we’ve had contact with ponies; everyone would be overjoyed to meet the both of you, especially her,” he pointed to Lilligold, who shrunk a little in response. Gesuru's eyes took on a hopeful glint as he clasped his hands together. ”What do you say?”
Mizuko found herself too exasperated at first to respond. Everything about the situation was too surreal for her. Kappas were just a myth, she’d been told. A race of dangerous creatures who were apathetic toward ponies’ lives and lived in and around water.
But looking into Gesuru’s eyes made her question that belief. She saw real concern in them, and a genuine desire to extend a helping hoof, or hand in this case. His somewhat laid back demeanor didn’t strike her as threatening, though he was hardly a paragon of benevolence. But nothing about him or his friends made them out to be monsters, in stark contrast to everything she’d heard about their kind.
Moreover, her curious side was telling her to accept Gesuru’s offer. He had indicated there really was an entire city of kappas living right under the Neighponese populace’s muzzles. It flew in the face of what she thought she knew about her home country. How many ponies knew about this already? How many could know? Surely the news would’ve spread like wildfire by now if anypony had known.
A poke to the withers snapped Mizuko back to reality. Looking up, she saw Gesuru looking down at her with an expression of mixed delight and confusion.
”Lost in thoughts?” he asked.
Mizuko sighed, furrowing her gaze again. ”We’ll go with you, but only on two conditions.”
Gesuru nodded. ”Very well.”
”We follow behind you and your friends...”
Gesuru nodded again.
”... and no more pictures.”
Another nod.
Mizuko sighed again, silently hoping everything would turn out alright. ”Let’s go then.”