7 Octopus and noodles

Chapter 7 Octopus and noodles "We need to find Kaito, the artisan we met who makes inros," Sarah said. "I'll explain on the way. I hope we can find his workshop." "It was near where we met you, Kojima," said Jackson. "Not far from here."

The Timekeepers and the samurai sprinted along, while Tempo flew ahead. By the time they had found Kaito's workshop, Sarah had told them her plan. They went inside. Kaito was bent over his worktable, measuring lengths of paper. Tempo swooped over him, ruffling his ponytail. "Cuckoo!" Kaito looked up in surprise. "It's good to see you again," he said, smiling at Sarah and Jackson. "Welcome, little bird. And you, samurai." "These are our friends, Kojima and Tempo," said Sarah. "Kaito, could you make us an inro, please? The design on it must be an exact copy of another one." "I can make the inro if you describe the size and shape you want," said Kaito, "but how can I copy a design which I have never seen?" Kojima said, "If you give me ink and paper, I will draw the design for you. I know it well. It is the emblem of my Daimyo."

Sarah took the washi paper from her sash and gave it to Kojima to draw on. So that's why the History Hub gave us the origami paper, she thought. While Kojima drew the octopus, Sarah explained how the inro and its message had been stolen. "If you can make a replica," she finished, "it will help many people who are suffering from the after-effects of a terrible earthquake." "I will do it happily," said Kaito. Jackson watched Kojima finishing the octopus. "Wow! You're really good at drawing," he said. Kaito leaned over to see the samurai's work. "It's excellent," he said. "Perhaps Kojima will draw me a picture of your bird while I turn this paper into an inro," he said. Jackson and Sarah helped Kaito as much as possible, by cutting paper and mixing glue. They followed his instructions and marveled at how quickly he worked. In a short while, Kaito sat back and said, "There!" A replica of the Daimyo's inro sat on the table before them. "Aren't you going to add the colors on the octopus design?" Sarah asked. Kaito shook his head. "We must wait for the inro to dry and harden," he said. "That will take until morning." Kojima and the Timekeepers looked at each other in dismay. There was no time to spare. As Sarah put down the drawing, a movement caught her eye. Her watch hands were spinning, but not backward. They were spinning forward! Flash!

Sarah blinked at the sudden bright light that appeared around the inro, then realized what had happened. Time had fast-forwarded! Good old History Hub! Sarah thought, grinning at Jackson. Neither Kojima nor Kaito had noticed that anything had happened. "Kaito," Sarah said, "I think the inro is dry." He shook his head. "It can't be." "Look and see," Sarah begged. Kaito lifted the inro carefully, using his forefinger and thumb. He tapped it. "Extraordinary," he said. "I don't know what you did when you mixed the glue, but it is dry. I can now start using lacquer to make the octopus design..." When the octopus design was finished, there was another helpful flash from the History Hub, as it sped up time to dry it. Again, Kaito and Kojima were amazed. "How can it be ready?" wondered Kojima. "It's almost...magical." "I think luck must be on our side," said Sarah. Kaito handed the inro to the samurai. Kojima turned it over and over. "It's perfect," he said. "It would even fool the thief who stole the original one."

"Let's hope it does..." said Jackson. Everyone thanked the artisan. Kaito gave him his drawing of Tempo, and he put it up on his shelf. As they left, Sarah took a deep breath. "Now we must switch this inro for the Daimyo's one," she said. "This part of the plan might not be easy..." A short time later, a noodle seller was thanking Kojima. "I haven't had a break all day," he told his customers. "This good samurai has offered to run my stall for a while?" Kojima, with Jackson's help, removed the top part of his armor. The stallholder handed over his apron. Once the samurai was behind the stall, he looked like a real noodle seller! Sarah asked a nearby clothes-seller if they could borrow hats to keep the sun off of them. "We'll return them when the man from the noodle stall gets back," she promised. "A kasa hat is best for keeping you shaded," the hat seller said. He gave Sarah three woven hats that she thought were shaped a little like open umbrellas. They would hide their faces perfectly!

With their kasa hats in place, they stood ready at the noodle stand. There was a long line of customers. Kojima served them, while Jackson had a great time cooking the noodles in a big wok. Sarah's job was ladling them into containers. All the while she kept an eye out for DeLay.