2 Tea and tofu

Chapter 2 Tea and tofu The Timekeepers walked through the market, keeping an eye out for DeLay. Their clothes had transformed. so they fit right into the crowd. Jackson's jeans and hoodie had been replaced with a blue kimono, patterned with gold dragons. Instead of her T-shirt and cotton pants, Sarah was wearing a long, silky kimono. It was pale green, like her headscarf, and it looked as if pink blossoms had been scattered over it. Both of them wore white socks and wooden sandals. A wide sash went around Sarah's middle, fastened behind her in a huge bow. As she smoothed the front of the sash, she found the paper squares tucked inside it. "I wonder what we'll need the origami paper for," she said.

The History Hub always gave them exactly what they needed on their missions. Tempo was flying ahead, chirping hungrily at the food stalls. Jackson was gazing at the stalls too. "Noodles," he said. "Sushi, tofu, dumplings..." Sarah smiled. Jackson loved cooking, and he was always looking for new recipe ideas! Beyond the market was a very tall, grand building. It reminded Sarah of the tiers of a wedding cake, with its stories stacked on top of each other, each topped with an ornate roof. Smaller buildings clustered around it, and they were all surrounded by a stone wall and a moat. It certainly looks important, Sarah thought. Maybe it's something

to do with our mission. "Hey, look at this," said Jackson. He fished out a small packet from his own sash. It was made of folded paper. Jackson opened it to reveal some brown metal discs. "These must be coins," he said. "I think the History Hub wants me to buy some food!" Sarah laughed. "I am hungry," she said. "If you go and get us some supplies, I'll see if the rest of the gang can help us figure out what DeLay might be up to." Jackson hurried off, and Sarah slipped behind a flower seller's display and opened her watch. She pressed a button, and a gallery of faces appeared. The Timekeepers! "I love your obi, Sarah," said Luke. "My what?" Sarah asked. "It's what your sash is called," he explained. "If you're wearing a kimono and an obi, you must be in Japan!"

Sarah moved her watch around to show the Timekeepers the busy market. Yasmin spotted Jackson buying noodles and laughed. "He'll be cooking up Japanese feasts when he gets home!" "Can you find out about Edo?" she asked. "We need some clue about DeLay's latest scheme." "We're on it," said Min-Jun. Moments later, Rosa said, "Here you go. Edo will one day be Tokyo, the Japanese capital." "The buildings surrounded by a wall and moat is Edo Castle," Hannah added. "The tall building in the middle is the castle keep. One of the other buildings is called the honmaru, which is where someone called the Shogun lives." "The Shogun is very powerful," Yasmin said. "Japan has an emperor, but that's mostly for show. It's the Shogun who really rules Japan."

Sarah thanked the Timekeepers. "Good luck!" chorused her friends as she said goodbye. Tempo landed on her shoulder. "Cuckoo!" Sarah stroked the bird's head and went to meet Jackson. His arms were full with two cups filled with tea, two paper boxes, and a little paper package. They sat down on an empty vegetable crate to eat. Jackson gave Sarah a box and two chopsticks. "That's deep-fried tofu, coated with honey and sesame seeds." He popped one of the light brown cubes in his mouth. "Yum!" Sarah tasted one. "Delicious," she agreed. "Cuckoo!" Tempo squawked, looking at their tofu with bright eyes. "Tempo, birds don't eat tofu," said Jackson. "But they do eat these." He opened the paper package. "Sesame seeds," he said, and Tempo gave a happy squawk. While they ate, Sarah told Jackson what the other Timekeepers had discovered. "Edo's clearly an important place," she said, "but we still don't know what DeLay might be up to." "Let's search the city," said Jackson. "Hopefully we'll find him before he causes any trouble." Saving some of their tofu for later, they carried their supplies as they walked through the streets, looking for DeLay. Soon they reached a row of artisans' workshops, which were completely open at the front so people could see the craftsmen and women working. "Maybe they've seen something suspicious going on," Sarah said, thinking about the time glitches DeLay often caused around him. "Let's find out."

"Cuckoo-oo-oo!" Tempo sped off to join a pair of elegant white birds perched on top of a sushi stall. They had long legs and a patch of red feathers on their heads. "I think they're cranes," said Sarah. "I know that people make origami cranes for good luck." "Maybe those cranes will bring us good luck in our mission," said Jackson. They went inside the first workshop. A woman sat at a long table covered in different fabrics and threads. She was embroidering a fish design onto some red fabric. "What a lovely color," Sarah said. The woman looked up with a smile. "It's beautiful, isn't it? Red fabric is our most expensive. I'm stitching slowly so I don't make any mistakes and spoil it." "What are you making?" Jackson asked.