As the nine Koi Fish approached the elders ponds their hearts were full of fear and excitement, no-one had approached the elders to discuss such things directly and they were known to be impatient with the younger Koi, especially when being pressed for tales, the elders would rather open up and tell the stories on their own terms rather than on request.

Naruhito was the driving force behind the search for Dragon Gate, so he naturally led the fellow Koi to the area of the ponds where the elders gathered.

The day was very grey and there was a wind howling through the reeds that lined the banks…it was as if there was a storm approaching, the weather reflected the mood of the elders it seemed…

The young and wary Koi swam the perimeter of the ponds searching for the elders but they were nowhere to be seen,

‘They must be here somewhere!’ quizzed Noryuki ‘we haven’t come all this way to scour the weed and rocks for nothing, Juri, you must know where the elders rest, you got us in to this with your stories of the elders so I hold you responsible for our wasted time here!

‘Be patient Noryuki, the elders will find you, they do not rest in one place they move around so that they cannot easily be found…they are much wiser than you, this is how they have survived to become the elders!’ replied Akihito with an air of disgust in his voice.

‘Feel that?’ cried Jakehiro ‘there is an earthquake! I can sense it across the surface of the pond, this is not good, I feel danger!’
‘That is no earthquake my friend, take a look over there!’

As Akihito gazed across the pond to where the ripple had appeared to have started, his eight Koi friends followed the direction of his sharp eyes…and there it was, a strong wake carving through the choppy surface of the pond towards them, it was as if a large knife were cutting through the water in their general direction. The rain started to fall heavily as the 9 Koi heads looked on at the approaching wake…

‘What is this?’ quivered Ikumi ‘I am afraid, are we to die here in this lonely grey old pond, nobody knows where we are and who will protect Yazuri??’

‘Calm down Ikumi’ Akihito retorted with confidence in his tone ‘this is not our end pretty one, this is our destiny, the start of our adventure, the wake that you see is Li Bai, the chief of the elders he has seen us and he is now approaching us…fear not, this is the reason we are here is it not?’
‘Soo many young fools in my pond, are you not aware of the dangers here?’ bellowed Li Bai ‘return to whence you came and do not enter these sacred waters again, do you hear me?’

‘we are here to seek council with the great Li Bai, just a short moment of your time will remove the need to return to your waters old wise one!’ stated Akihito firmly.

‘and who are you to address me in such a familiar manner, young foolish silver Koi?

‘I am Akihito, honourable one, I only request a moment of your time to satisfy my friends curiosity, then we are on our way, otherwise I am afraid that he will return again and again until he meets his end or satisfies his foolish curiosity.

‘Akihito eh? I have heard that name only recently, are you the Akihito that dared to enter the Imperial lakes and rescue the young Princess?’

‘yes oh wise one, that is I, a foolish act which I do not regret, the Imperial pardon has opened up the friendship between Koi and Man, a two way benefit I feel that now offers Imperial protection to our kind!’

‘not so fast young warrior, I do not judge you, I salute you. What you did was foolish and brave, but most of all it was your destiny, I am honoured to be in your presence’

With that, Li Bai, bowed his head beneath the water, a gesture that young Koi would normally never expect from an elder, let alone Li Bai chief of the elders.

‘now, what of your friends curiosity? Am I correct in my assumption that he would like to hear the tales of Dragon Gate? After all what would a young Koi want to know from an old soldier like me, the only tales that I have are those of the Yellow River..’

‘your foresight is very keen oh wise one, this is our precise reason for trespassing the sacred waters, would you tolerate a moment with these foolish Koi to recall only a part of your tale?’

‘follow me’ sighed Li Bai ‘we should take shelter below the willow over there, we can then settle to my recollections’
What joy, the Chief of the elders was prepared to give council to the 9 warrior Koi, they would now learn more about Dragon Gate and hopefully take details of the perilous route along which so many Koi have travelled to their end or their second life.

Koi Fish Tattoo - Li Bais Tale (Chapter 8)

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