5 The teahouse

Chapter 5 The teahouse "This way," said Kojima. "Follow me along the edge of the courtyard." The Timekeepers stared at him. "Those swords are scary," said Jackson. Kojima shook his head. "Samurais are aware of everything around them. You won't be harmed." They followed Kojima around the edge of the courtyard. They could almost feel the whoosh of the swords as the samurai practiced their moves. But Kojima was right, and they made it past safely. And at the far end of the courtyard was DeLay! He saw them coming. With a cackling laugh, he lunged at a huge vase of yellow chrysanthemum flowers that stood on a stone pedestal and knocked it to the ground.

CRASH! The vase shattered, sending flowers, water, and pottery shards in all directions. Tempo squawked in fright. The samurai immediately froze. Sarah gulped. "Uh, oh," murmured Jackson. The teacher marched toward them. "What is going on here? Why are you disrupting our practice?" "I'm sorry," Sarah said. "It wasn't us. It was—" She looked wildly around for DeLay. But he had taken advantage of the commotion and vanished. Kojima bowed to the teacher. "These visitors to Japan are not at fault," he said. "They are good people who are helping me." He glanced at the rows of warriors. "I think these samurai must be here with their Daimyos, visiting the Shogun's court." The teacher nodded. Kojima quickly explained what had happened to his Daimyo. "I'm here to deliver his message to the Shogun, but the rogue who broke that vase has stolen it." The watching samurai looked concerned. No wonder, thought Sarah. One rebellion could be the start of war and the end of peace in Japan. At a signal from the teacher, the samurai warriors all moved aside, leaving a clear path for Kojima and the Timekeepers. Kojima bowed his thanks, and Sarah and Jackson copied him. "Good luck with your mission," said the teacher.

"Good luck!" called the samurai, as the little group left the courtyard. DeLay was nowhere to be seen, but a loud squawk came from a rooftop along the road. "Tempo!" Sarah said. "Maybe she's spotted DeLay." Their cuckoo friend led them to a peaceful garden. A stream ran through it, gurgling softly as it bubbled over mossy pebbles. Maple trees rustled in the breeze, and a path ran through scented flower beds to a little wooden building. A sign hung outside. "The sign says it's the Silver Moon Teahouse," said Kojima, as Tempo landed on the roof. "She's telling us that DeLay's in there," Sarah said. A wide door, which was fitted with paper instead of glass, was half open. Through the gap, Sarah could see that the floor inside was covered with mats that Kojima said were called tatami. "They are made of cotton and rushes, and are quiet to walk on," he explained.

Ducking low so they wouldn't be seen by DeLay, they made their way around the outside of the teahouse and crouched behind a flowery bush to peer through a large open window. Three people were sitting on tatamis. A young woman in a green and gold kimono knelt opposite them. Before her was a little kettle on a stand. "They're having a tea ceremony, and she's preparing the tea," Kojima whispered. "It's a very important ritual in Japan." The woman stirred the tea with a little bamboo whisk. Then she poured it into a small teacup, which didn't have a handle, and offered it to one of her companions. Once she had served everyone with the tea, she offered small trays with little dishes of food on them.

"Those are kaiseki," said Kojima. "The food is made to look exquisite as well as taste delicious." Mouthwatering aromas drifted toward the Timekeepers. "Mmm, I can smell seafood and ginger and lemon," whispered Jackson. "Don't those little cakes look good? I wish time would stand still so we could have a taste." Kojima grinned. "That would be a great trick!" "It would," said Sarah thoughtfully. It had given her an idea... Kojima moved on to look for DeLay through the next window. Jackson was about to follow, but Sarah tugged his arm. "We can make time stand still, can't we?" she whispered. "I think it'll help!" Jackson grinned. "Time for a Time Freeze?" Their special watches were able to stop time for a short while, but they used Time Freezes only if they were in trouble and had no other option. They could be risky. "It'll take DeLay by surprise," said Sarah. "He'll still be able to move during the freeze, but hopefully it will give us the chance to catch him before he disappears again." Jackson glanced into the teahouse. The people inside were sitting quietly, sipping their tea. "They look so peaceful," Jackson said. "It would be nice if we could catch DeLay without disturbing their tea ceremony. Let's do it!" Quickly, before Kojima noticed what they were up to, Sarah flipped open her watch and pressed a button. Instantly, Kojima stopped in mid-step. The rustling leaves on the maple trees froze. The stream stopped flowing and the birds stopped singing. Everyone—and everything—

was frozen except for Tempo and the Timekeepers. And DeLay... Sarah slid open one of the paper doors and hurried inside the teahouse. They ran through it, looking everywhere for their enemy. As they passed the room with the tea ceremony, Sarah noticed that the woman in the green and gold kimono had been midway through serving more tea. The water that had been pouring from the tilted kettle's spout now looked like a twisted column of ice. "Keep still," said Jackson. "Maybe we'll hear DeLay moving around." They both held their breaths. Tempo perched on Sarah's shoulder and quietly folded her wings. A shadow moved across one of the paper doors. Sarah lunged to grab the door and slid it aside. Standing there was DeLay! To her amazement, DeLay put his fingertips in his mouth as if he was biting his nails in fear. "Oh no," DeLay said in a trembling voice. "There's no escape. You've caught me!" "Just give us the inro, DeLay, and you can go," Sarah told him.