Almost.
“Look, I appreciate your help, but when it comes to the boy, I really know what’s best,” Monkey said. “And what’s best is to not be fielding ideas from a talking cockroach.”
“This coming from the talking monkey,” Beetle said.
At first, they argued about how to cross Long Lake, which spread out in front of them. Then they debated how powerful Kubo’s magic was, and now Beetle told Monkey she was too protective. They were so silly when they fought, making jokes back and forth, that they started reminding Kubo of the fishmonger and his wife from his village.
Kubo kept playing his shamisen, trying to ignore them. After they’d fallen from the giant bone monster, Beetle used his wings to fly them to safety. They flew through the maze of tunnels, then out onto the rocky shores of Long Lake, which Monkey knew from folklore and cave paintings. Monkey had used some mud to help repair Beetle’s wings, but after his crash landing on the beach, they were too broken to fly very well.
The beach was covered with fallen leaves of yellow, orange, and gold. Giant pieces of driftwood had washed ashore long ago. As Monkey and Beetle argued about crossing the lake, Kubo played on. One by one the leaves and driftwood lifted from the shore, coming together to form a ship that was shaped like an origami boat. Monkey turned around, shocked by how impressive it was. With that, Kubo plucked a final note, creating a sail made up of grass and leaves.
They climbed aboard and set off. Beetle and Kubo used arrows to fish, and soon they were all eating sashimi. Little Hanzo speared a piece of fish and flipped it into Beetle’s mouth.
“Must you play with your food?” Monkey asked.
“Yes.” Beetle smiled. He turned to Kubo, expecting a laugh, but Kubo had a strange look on his face. “What’s the matter, Kubo? You act like you’ve never had a meal sitting between a monkey and a beetle before.”
“I’ve never had a meal sitting between anyone before,” Kubo said. He couldn’t help but feel a little happy here, with Beetle and Monkey, two creatures who cared enough to fight over him. He had loved being with his mother in the cave, but it had been lonely sometimes.
“Kubo, question,” Beetle said. “Before you started your heroic quest, what were you like?”
“Well, I looked after my mother mostly,” Kubo said after a long pause. “Sometimes I would tell her stories about little things, like catching fireflies in the mulberry fields. And when I told those stories, I could tell her eyes were mostly clear. I could tell she saw me, really saw me. And I saw her, too—her spirit, trying to find its way out.”
Beetle glanced sideways at Monkey and smiled. “You know what, Kubo? Before you went on this great adventure, you were still very much a hero.”
Kubo could feel his cheeks turn red. He was about to thank Beetle for saying such a nice thing, but then thunder echoed in the distance. They looked at the sky, which had turned a dark gray. A storm was coming.
“We’re going to have to head for shore,” Monkey said. “Find a hiding place.”
They watched as Little Hanzo marched up to the bow of the ship. He pulled out his sword, and they waited for him to show them the best direction to sail. But when he lowered it, he was aiming at the dark waters below them. Kubo leaned over to see what he was trying to tell them.
“The second piece of armor!” he said, noticing the shiny metal breastplate under the water.
“I got it!” Beetle cried. He grabbed the side of the ship and started to hop over.
“Beetle, wait!” Kubo said. “My mother told me a story about Long Lake. She said there was a Garden of Eyes under the water. Eyes that stare into you. They show you secrets, things to keep you down there with them forever.”
Beetle looked into the water uncertainly. “Well, I won’t look directly into anyone’s eyes. Even if I’m being incredibly sincere.”
Then he was gone, disappearing into the waves with a splash!
The rain was coming down hard now. The waves tossed the ship this way and that. Kubo kept peering into the dark water below, but there was no sign of Beetle. He knew beetles could hold their breaths for a long time.… But how long? Shouldn’t he have come back by now?
“Monkey, I think he’s in trouble,” Kubo said. “We should help him.”
Monkey nervously paced the length of the ship. “Kubo, your aunts are still out there,” she said, looking at the gray storm clouds above. They’d waited long enough for Beetle. She was sad to leave, but they had to—it looked as if it was already past sunset. “We should head for shore.”
Monkey heard a splash! somewhere behind her. When she turned back around, she realized Kubo was gone. She peered over the side of the boat, but she couldn’t see him beneath the waves. She grabbed the Sword Unbreakable and headed to the bow, trying to find the best spot to go in. He was somewhere below.… But where?
She dove off the bow. Before she hit the water, she was yanked back. She twisted and turned, but someone was holding on to her ankle.
She spun around, trying to free herself, but then she saw the Sister’s horrible face. The Sister was wearing the same terrible mask, her lips fixed in a sneer.
“Look at this.…” the Sister said, still clutching Monkey’s ankle. “I come fishing, and all I reel in is this stinking ape. How pathetic that this filthy creature is all that’s left of my sister’s magic.”
Monkey gritted her teeth. She used all her strength to break free, springing onto the deck of the ship. She held the Sword Unbreakable out in front of her, prepared to fight.
“This filthy creature will tear you apart!” she yelled, then charged toward her.
Lightning and thunder tore apart the sky. Monkey darted around the boat, trying to avoid the savage blows from the Sister’s razor-sharp chain. They’d been fighting for what felt like forever, and the Sword Unbreakable had been thrown across the deck. It was perched high above her, just out of reach.
As Monkey dodged all the Sister’s blows, the deck started to come apart beneath her feet. It was Kubo’s magic that had created the boat and held it together. She knew that he must be in trouble somewhere below the water, that he was close to death. How long had he been under the surface? How could she save him now, with the Sister after her?
The Sister saw Monkey’s worry and used it to her advantage. Her chain flew out and coiled around Monkey, trapping her. “I have crushed creatures who have fit this whole world on their fingernail,” she said. “This victory brings me no honor.”
As the Sister moved to strike, Monkey kicked free. “Imagine how you’re going to feel when you lose,” she said, flipping over her to the top of the bow. She landed right beside the Sword Unbreakable.
“I felt loss only once,” the Sister said, as Monkey launched her own attack. She dodged Monkey’s blows. “Eleven years ago, I lost my sister. She fell in love with a fool and betrayed our father. She was an ungrateful coward!”
Monkey was closing in, about to strike, when the Sister disappeared into the clouds and rain. All Monkey heard were her strange giggles echoing in the air around her.
“Who’s the coward now?” Monkey asked.
No one responded. Before Monkey could say anything else, Little Hanzo pointed to the ship’s sail, which was unfurled behind them. Monkey spun around in confusion. Sister wasn’t there.
Then, in an instant, the sail fell to the ship’s deck. Sister was hiding behind it, ready to attack from behind. She struck Monkey with the chain. Monkey fell, her head smashing against the deck.
As the Sister stepped forward, Beetle appeared at the side of the boat. He held a fish, skewered with an arrow, in his hand. Monkey frowned, knowing that Beetle must’ve gone beneath the water, then completely forgotten why he was there.
“I got it!” Beetle cried.
“Where’s Kubo?” Monkey called out. “Get back down there! He’s in trouble!”
Beetle’s face changed from happy to terrified as he slowly realized that he had forgotten about Kubo. He hopped back over the ship’s
side, disappearing into the water as the Sister stalked forward. She struck Monkey again. The Sword Unbreakable flew from Monkey’s hands, landing in the side of the wooden ship.
Monkey flipped to the other side of the ship, landing a quick blow to the Sister’s ribs. They fought on, Monkey dodging the horrible chain again and again. Soon the ship was just a few large pieces of driftwood, which Monkey jumped back and forth between, trying to stay safe.
“It never fails to amaze me how the creatures down here fight so hard just to die another day,” the Sister sneered.
“Down here, there are days worth fighting for,” Monkey shot back.
“There is nothing down here worth anything!” the Sister yelled.
Monkey spotted the Sword Unbreakable on a long, broken piece of the ship. She ran toward it, but before she could grab the handle, the Sister’s chain coiled around her. She fell, still trying to reach it.
“It’s pathetic what happened to my sister,” the Sister said. “I looked up to her. She was so strong. Love made her weak.”
Monkey turned, staring up at the Sister and remembering who she was. It all came back to her in that moment—their father, the Moon King, and the life she led before she met Hanzo. She’d tried to push it out of her thoughts for so long, but this sister—they had once been everything to each other. It was painful to see what strangers they had become.
“No,” Monkey said, narrowing her eyes. “It made me stronger.”
Then she leaped forward, grabbing the sword and spinning around. She closed in on her sister with a new power. This had to end—now. When she finally raised the Sword Unbreakable, she knew it would be for the last time.
Far below the waves, Kubo swam toward the breastplate. He could see the metal glinting through the seaweed as he weaved between schools of colorful fish. As soon as he reached it, he slipped inside the Breastplate Impenetrable, the suit magically shrinking to fit him. But when he turned to swim back, he noticed a strange glow coming from the deep.
The sea monster was staring at him with its one horrible eye. It was the creature his mother had warned him about, a giant underwater beast with thousands of legs. Kubo didn’t want to look at it, but he couldn’t help himself, and soon he was staring back. His limbs went limp. He could no longer think. All he wanted was to go with the monster deeper into the dark.
Whispers chattered in the gloom below. The giant eye took Kubo with him, down into the bottom of the lake, and Kubo was powerless to break free. He stared into the eye, hardly noticing a far bigger monster beneath them, one with a giant mouth lined with razor-sharp teeth. There were thousands of eyes below, all staring up at them, bringing him deeper into the trance.
Then something flew past his head with a whish! An arrow punctured the glowing eye, and the underwater monster let out a painful shriek, the sound rippling through the water. Another arrow flew past Kubo’s head, and he turned to see Beetle swimming toward him, his bow aimed at the giant monster below.
One by one, Beetle shot arrows into the glowing eyes as the monsters twisted in pain. Kubo slowly realized where he was. He’d gone so deep into the lake, and now he’d run out of air, his lungs throbbing. He opened his mouth, and water rushed in.
He tried to call for Beetle, but he couldn’t make a sound. His head was spinning. The last thing he saw was Beetle coming toward him. Then everything went dark.
Beetle broke through the surface of the lake, carrying Kubo in his arms. The ship was in ruins. The last pieces of wood floated along the water.
“Over here!” Monkey called out. She clung to what remained of the bow.
Beetle swam to her, pulling Kubo up onto the wreckage. He wasn’t moving, and his skin had turned a ghostly gray. “It was the eyes,” Beetle said. “They had him in a trance.”
“No.…” Monkey said, gently shaking Kubo’s limp body. “Wake up! Please wake up. It’s going to be all right.… I’m here.”
Monkey laid her head on Kubo’s chest, and the tears streamed down her cheeks. She could hear his heart still beating. But for how long? When would her child come back to her?
When she looked up, she saw the pieces of the boat coming together again. They assembled on the surface of the lake. His magic was still alive… which meant he was still alive. He had to be.
Just then, Kubo started to cough. He turned on his side, the water spewing from his mouth. When he’d finally caught his breath, he looked into Monkey’s eyes. “I saw you, Mother.…”
Monkey stroked his hair, hugging the boy to her chest. “My son,” she whispered.
They stayed like that for a long time. Slowly, the boat formed around them. Then they were moving over the water again, the giant sail catching the wind.
Hours later Kubo and Beetle were huddled around a fire. They’d found a cave on the shores of the lake, and they took cover there for the night. Monkey moved around collecting firewood.
Beetle looked from Monkey to Kubo, then back at Monkey. “So you must look more like your dad, then?”
Kubo just shrugged. Monkey hadn’t said much while they sailed to shore. He waited for her to explain as they made the fire, and while she speared fish for their dinner, but the whole time she was silent.
“You’re staring,” Monkey finally said, turning around. “Let me guess. You have questions.”
“Tell us your story… please?” Kubo asked.
Monkey seemed unsure. She picked up Kubo’s shamisen and handed it to him, a sad smile curling on her lips. “Perhaps you can help me.…”
Kubo plucked a few notes, playing for her.
“The night I met your father…” she started, taking a deep breath. “My sisters and I went to the Temple of Bones to kill Hanzo.”
Kubo was so stunned he stopped playing, holding his bachi in the air. For a moment the cave was quiet. “Oh, right…” he mumbled, playing a few more notes so Monkey could start the story. As music filled the air, pebbles and twigs rose up around them, hovering near the ceiling to illustrate what Monkey was saying.
“At the bidding of the Moon King,” Monkey went on, “my sisters and I had come down from the night sky and killed many noble warriors. Your grandfather told us that any man who found the magical armor would grow too powerful and be a threat to the heavens. That night, I arrived at the temple before my sisters. And there he was. The mighty Hanzo.”
Above them, the twigs and pebbles illustrated the scene—a young Mother and Hanzo together.
“‘You have offended my father,’ I said, ‘Now you must die.’”
“That’s so you.” Beetle laughed.
“We fought,” Monkey went on. “Hanzo was strong. But then he stopped. He looked into my eyes and uttered four simple words. These words changed everything.”
“I love you, Monkey?” Beetle guessed.
“‘You are my quest,’ he whispered. I had seen the wonders of the universe, but the warmth of his gaze as I looked into his eyes… that I had never known. It was his humanity I saw. And it was more powerful than anything in my cold realm.” Monkey watched as the figures danced above them, falling in love. “I spared his life, and he gave me mine.”
The figures then appeared with a baby Kubo in their arms. “He gave me you.…” Monkey said. “But your grandfather found us. His rage at my betrayal shook the heavens. Your father and his army gave their lives, allowing me to escape with you in my arms.”
Kubo stopped playing the shamisen, and the figures slowly fell to the cave floor. “Why does Grandfather hate me?” he asked.
“He doesn’t hate you,” Monkey said, stroking her hand through Kubo’s hair. “He wants to make you just like him. Blind to humanity, as I once was. Only then can you take your place beside him as part of his family.”
“I’ll never be like him,” Kubo said. “Never.”
Monkey hugged him, trying to calm his nerves. “I know.…”
After a long while, she realized he’d fallen asleep in her arms. She rose, carrying him to the corner of the cave, where
she made sure the robe was covering every part of him. Then she returned to the fire.
Beetle watched her limp as she walked. There was blood staining her fur, and she winced when she sat back down. “You’re hurt,” he said.
“Just a scratch.”
He glanced back at Kubo, making sure he was asleep. “Monkey,” he started. “Why didn’t you tell him sooner who you really are?”
“The magic that keeps me here… it’s fading,” Monkey said. “Soon I’ll be gone, and Kubo will be alone again.”
“Not alone,” Beetle said. “He is the son of Hanzo, and I will do everything I can to keep him safe from harm.”
“Thank you, Beetle. To know Kubo has someone to watch over him when I’m gone… that would be a fine way to end my story.”
“Your story will never end,” Beetle corrected. Monkey had never seen him so serious. “It will be told by him. And by the people he shares it with. And by the people they share it with. And by the people they share it with. And by the—”
“Beetle!”
“The point is,” Beetle said, “your story will live on. In him.”
Monkey looked across the cave to where Kubo was sleeping. She listened to each one of his breaths. She didn’t know if Beetle was just saying that to be nice, but she wanted to believe him. She smiled, wiping the tears from her eyes.
Kubo sat at the edge of the river. Beside him, a sweet old man was playing a shamisen. A thin white film covered his eyes. Kubo understood that he was blind.
“This is a dream,” Kubo said, sensing he was still asleep. “Is it a good one or a bad one?”
“See for yourself,” the old man said, gesturing to the fortress in the distance.
Outside it, a row of samurai wore the beetle crest. It must’ve been Hanzo’s fortress. The Helmet Invulnerable floated above the warriors, as if they were guarding it.
“The last piece of armor!” Kubo cried. “It’s here?”
“Follow the setting sun, and you’ll find it,” the man said. “In the place that might’ve been your home. Claim your birthright, Kubo! Give this story a happy ending!”
Kubo and the Two Strings Page 4
