The Dragon That Ate Japan

Akira was young, but he was strong. He walked around the koi pond that was outside of his home. His koi were very dear to him, and he spent any spare time he had tending to them. Their pond was calm, with rocks surrounding the cold blue water, and lilypads littered the still surface of the water. The fish swam playfully around each other, sending soft ripples across the water. Akira dipped his hand into the water, dropping rice grains for the fish to eat. The koi swarmed his hand, quickly eating all the rice.

∗ ∗ ∗

As Akira walked up to the Dragon's Cove, he considered what he was about to do. The Japanese Emperor had taken everything away from him; all he wanted was to make him feel the same. When Japan had attacked his hometown in China, a small, cozy town near the Shenquan Harbor, in the Guangdong province, Akira had run away. Fueled by revenge, he began a new life, gaining trust, changing his name from Shang to Akira, and telling anyone who asked that yes, he was a Japanese orphan.

The Cove was nestled between the land and the sea, with a gentle wind that blew, rustling the leaves of the surrounding trees. The ocean stretched for what seemed like forever, with no sight of anything for 10,000 kilometers. Green algae covered the gray, slippery rocks. Akira had to balance carefully to avoid falling.

Akira carefully approached Tametomo, a famous dragon whose powers were legendary. Akira had heard that he could grow up to 7,000 kilometers long, over double the length of the mainland, breathe clouds, control the rivers and oceans, and change the seasons. Tametomo was rumored to help anyone, for a price ...

"Tametomo!" Akira shouted, "I have come to ask for help." He turned towards a stone pedestal in the corner of the dark cove, carefully walking around the massive sleeping dragon, taking up much of the room. Akira pulled out his sword, with an intricate and detailed fox carved into the golden handle, and a sleek steel blade that had touched many necks. He carefully pressed it against his nose. Shuddering, he slid the sword across his face, letting the blood seep down. It was warm and sticky, and he felt it drip slowly down his lips. He saw what used to be his nose, a large chunk of flesh, lay on the floor. Akira bent down, the pain numbed from shock. The nose was gummy and springy. He picked it up, and placed it in the center of the pedestal, the stone became stained. Akira touched his nose, letting the ruby red blood coat his finger. He dragged it around the nose in a circle, a red ring forming. All of a sudden, the blood started to pool towards the center, and the chunk of flesh that used to be a nose sunk deep into the puddle of red.

"Tametomo, I have given you what you want," Akira whispered, "A chunk of my own flesh as payment." The dragon began to stir. Rocks crumbled from the ceiling, and for a moment, Akira thought he was going to be buried underneath them, never to be seen again. But as Tametomo woke up, the rocks formed a ring around him, with a large staircase in the center. "What have you come for? What terrible things do you need, such terrible things that you are willing to permanently disfigure yourself for them," the dragon declared. "That you would hurt yourself?"

"I am here for revenge, Tametomo. The Japanese have hurt me, hurt my family. Because of them, I was orphaned. I was left alone, with only my koi to keep me company. I want them to know how it feels," Akira said, "How it feels to be alone."

Tametomo thought for a bit. Akira had done the sacrifice. All he could do was wait. "I will help you," Tametomo agreed, "But simply for you to see the errors you are making."

∗ ∗ ∗

Akira walked confidently away from the cove, excited, but also nervous. This was permanent. But Japan had hurt him. Badly. So he was willing to do it. Tametomo followed him, slowly creeping along behind. "So," Tametomo mumbled, "What's the plan?" "You can grow, and control water, can't you?" Akira asked. "Yes." Tametomo assured Akira. "So, you grow as big as you can, and then push the ocean away from the island. Then, you eat Japan." Akira decided. "But you will be alone!" Tametomo cried. "It's worth it," Akira muttered, "For peace of mind."

∗ ∗ ∗

After many days of travel, Akira had finally arrived at the very bottom of Japan, an island that would one day become Okinotorishima Island. He faced the great dragon, and said with confidence, "This is it. Grow, and swallow Japan."The dragon began to grow, rapidly becoming a hundred times larger, possibly even more. It was impossible to see how big the dragon had truly gotten. Akira stood in front of Tametomo, and he seemed to be the size of a flea compared to his gigantic head."Are you sure?" Tametomo clarified, "This is permanent." Akira nodded his head. "Of course." he replied, with a bit of shakiness lingering in his voice.

Tametomo sank beneath the ocean, with tall trees on the island that now seemed so small. "I'll leave this island, so you still have a place to live." Tametomo decided. He opened his mouth wide, and began to swim towards the mainland, getting as many islands as he could in his mouth while he swam. As he reached the main island, what is now called Honshu, and swam through it, his body gracefully moving behind him, leaving small ripples in the water.

Akira watched, not having to squint due to the size of the creature, as Tametomo ripped through the island, swallowing everything in it's path. He could just make out screams. Screams of the people who had hurt him. Screams of animals, just living their lives. Screams of innocent children. Screams that could not be heard. Screams that could not be heard... his koi! His koi were on that island, and had been eaten. Suddenly, Akira realized this did not just hurt those who hurt him, it hurt people who were just living their lives, and didn't even realize he existed. How shocking it must be, to just be living your life, and then get eaten by a dragon.

Akira knew he had to undo this. He looked around, and saw some Japanese maple trees. He swung out his sword, the very same that he had used to cut off his nose, and swiftly chopped them down, with a single cut. Akira ripped off the branches, and then stripped the bark off, and used it to tie the trunks together, all as fast as he could. He hopped on his newly made raft, and paddled as fast as he could. Luckily, Tametomo had made a strong current by swimming as fast as he had. Akira arrived at the top of Honshu. Tametomo would be there any minute.

Akira got off his raft, and began to run towards the dragon, as fast as his legs would carry him, through the hoards of people that were fleeing to the very place he had arrived. He held his sword strong above his head, gripping the handle with two hands. He entered the throat, and as he ran, he was lifted up by the sheer amount of things inside of Tametomo's body. Akira's sword ripped through the roof of Tametomo's mouth. Neon red blood began to pour through the gash, and coated Akira from head to toe, but there was nothing he could do. He continued to run, and the gash opened, until he reached the esophagus. The flesh began to fall, and it was all a disgusting mess of muscle, flesh, people, and a lot of blood. Akira began to have to swim, while still holding the sword high. His left arm moved powerfully through the blood, but there was no room for error. Suddenly, the dragon began to gag. Everything started to move back where it came in. Akira smiled. He had succeeded. Tametomo heaved, over and over, like a cat with a hairball. His back began to curve and flatten repeatedly. His claws dug into the ocean floor. "Brace!" Akira yelled.

Abruptly, everything began to fall forward, like a car speeding away from a green light. Akira tumbled forward and fell on his knees after he had rolled what must have been ten kilometers. He turned and faced the dragon. Tametomo was swaying back and forth, blood spitting out of his nostrils and mouth. "I am glad you realize your error," he sputtered, "It takes courage." He lowered his head, in a bow of respect. Akira blushed with embarrassment.

Then, he remembered his fish. He raced through the rubble that had once been so beautiful, and continued running until he recogized some beautiful gray rocks that had surrounded his pond. He dug through the rock, until he saw the orange and white scales of his koi. They would not survive long outside of water. Akira grabbed them, careful not to squish them, until he saw a puddle of water that must have been madewhen the island was spit back up. He gently dropped the fish in the puddle.

∗ ∗ ∗

Many months later, Japan had been rebuilt. The people ahd not yet forgotten, but they had begun to forgive. Akira had moved out onto the island that he had planned to reside on, Okinotorishima. And that is where he lived peacefully for the rest of his days.

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