The next week passed by, and nothing out of the ordinary occurred. It rained for about half the week, and the rest of the days were cloudy—at the foot of the mountain, that is. Up here in the mountains, it rained lightly just about every night.
The chickens were almost done with their job in the village. They were halfway through their last week when trouble arrived.
I happened to be in the village shopping. On that day, the chickens were supposed to be on patrol near the general store. Maybe I’ll go see how Pochi and Tama are doing at work...if I can find them. I got on the truck with Yuma, drove for a bit, and parked near a rice paddy. I had Yuma stay in the car.
The paddy was relatively large, considering that this was a small village in the mountains. I was able to spot Pochi and Tama easily. “Hard at work, I see,” I murmured. Then I noticed a few children playing next to Pochi. Isn’t that a dangerous spot? His tail could hit them at any—
“Aaaaaahhhh!!!”
Just then, one of the children got caught by Pochi’s tail and went flying into the rice paddy. At least it’s a paddy, so the kid probably isn’t hurt or anything. Still, I should go check on him.
The sudden shrill cry I heard next informed me that there had been someone else watching the whole thing. Probably the landowner here. Yuma and I ran over to the child.
“Hey, you all right?” I asked, pulling him up.
“Yeah, I’m okay! But mom is...”
The hems of my pants got covered in mud. Hopefully, I can borrow a faucet here. At least the kid seems to be okay, judging from the smile on his face. The other kids, presumably not wanting to get dirty, were all watching from a distance. Understandable.
“You over there!”
“Ah, I’m sorry about my chicken...”
The woman who’d shrieked and stood frozen in place a moment ago rushed over to us after I lifted the child. She looked relatively young, but she wore a very intense expression.
“Are you the owner of that chicken?!”
“Y-Yes...” I replied nervously.
“Just what are you thinking, letting something that large roam around unsupervised?! I know he’s here to get rid of the snakes, and I’m grateful for that, but I’m so scared that I can’t get any work done on the fields!”
“E-Er... I think you should be safe as long as you keep your distance...” Though he does have a pretty long reach thanks to the tail.
“Well, why did my son get knocked down, then?!”
Uh, precisely because he didn’t keep his distance... I was at a loss here. I glanced over at Yuma, who had an intimidating look in her eyes. Please, I’m begging you, do not peck her.
The child who’d fallen down stood up, covered in mud. “Mom, it was my fault!”
“You just stay quiet now!”
“Listen to me! It was my fault, ’cause I was playing next to Pochi-chan!”
“That’s right, auntie! It’s our fault! We didn’t think about how long his tail is!”
“Sorry, Pochi-chan.”
The children all stood up for Pochi. The girls snuck up to him and gave him tight hugs, which he just accepted stoically. Heh, look at Casanova here...
“B-But...it’s still dangerous!” exclaimed the woman.
“I’m terribly sorry. I’ll make sure he won’t do it again,” I assured her, bowing my head deeply. This kind of thing always ended with people blaming the animals—a sincere apology from me was probably the best way to settle things peacefully.
“Eh? What’s up? Hey, Pochi, you playboy!”
“What’s going on?”
As I was apologizing, Yumoto-san and a young man I didn’t know came out of the house near the rice paddy. Yumoto-san grinned at the sight of Pochi being hugged by the girls, and the other man stared at me bowing, visibly confused by the situation.
“D-Dear!” The woman—that man’s wife, it turned out—explained to the two of them what had transpired. The man and Yumoto-san seemed stumped for words.
“Anyway, Makoto, go over there and wash that dirt off,” the man said, pointing to a faucet. “Sano-san, sorry about that. Please feel free to wash yourself too.”
“Thank you.” I turned to the kid. “Makoto-kun, let’s go.”
“Okay. Thanks for earlier, mister!” The boy who’d fallen into the paddy smiled from ear to ear. We both washed the mud off at the faucet outside the house. Yuma also tagged along.
I could see that the discussion was heating up, with the woman, her husband, Yumoto-san, and the children all loudly arguing their positions. Makoto-kun seemed saddened by that.
“I’m sorry, mister,” said Makoto-kun. “It was my fault for playing near Pochi-chan...”
I smiled at him. “You’re not hurt, right?”
“Nope, I’m all right.”
“It’s all good, then. Just keep in mind that Pochi is working and avoid getting too close, okay?”
“Okay. Can I still say sorry to him?”
“Sure, just let him know you’re not hurt. He’s probably worried about you too.” Indeed, I’d noticed that Pochi had paid no mind to the girls hugging him—he’d kept looking over at Makoto-kun. Such a good chicken.
Makoto-kun nodded. “Thanks. I think mom babies me too much...”
“That’s just how mothers are. Plus, my chickens are pretty huge.”
“They really are. Where’d you get them?”
“Uh... A stall at the festival in spring.”
“Really?! I want one too! Do you think I can get one at the summer festival?”
“I wonder...”
We chatted as we washed the mud off our clothes. Makoto-kun was still wearing his clothes, but with today’s hot weather, a cold shower was just what he needed. Now he just had to change. Having soiled only the hems of my pants, I just washed them quickly here. I would give them a more thorough scrubbing at home.
Afterward, we joined the others, and the woman bowed her head to me.
“Please allow me to apologize for earlier.”
I didn’t think she’d acted in a way that merited a public apology, so I was at a loss for a reaction.
“Please raise your head!” I insisted. “I should be the one to apologize. I’ll be sure to give my chicken a good scolding...”
“No, Makoto was at fault here. We’re the ones who asked to borrow your chickens, after all. I’m really sorry.” This time it was the man who apologized. He bowed.
“Oh, no, no, it’s all right. I understand that my chickens can be pretty scary due to their size. I’m just glad no one got hurt. Please raise your head as well.”
Both parents had awkward looks on their faces when they stopped bowing.
“Hey, kiddos.” Yumoto-san turned toward the children. “The chickens are at work here! Stay away from them when you’re playing. They’re checking for dangerous snakes and getting rid of ’em if they find any. It’s dangerous if you don’t stay away. Got it?”
“Got it!”
“Sorry, Pochi-chan!”
“Pochi-chan, let’s play!”
“Tama-chan, here!”
Ah... Looks like some of them didn’t get it. Oh well. Kids will be kids. That’s a good thing too.
I went up to the couple. “It seems Makoto-kun doesn’t have any injuries, but I’d recommend watching over him just in case.”
“Thank you...”
“We’re sorry...”
Both of them still looked embarrassed about the whole thing.
“Also, please let the children know not to get too close. You see, my chickens have unusually long tails...”
“Uh... Are chickens supposed to have tails like that?”
“Who knows...?”
After that, the topic shifted to what constituted a “normal chicken,” and we spent some time discussing that, ultimately settling on the thesis that mine had probably undergone some sort of atavism. By the end, the woman was already laughing again, which relieved me.
It’s normal for mothers to worry about their children. Even if she knows what they are and why they’re here, it still must be frightening to have such massive chickens roaming around the farm. Maybe I ought to have participated in the meetings too. This sort of thing could have happened anytime. Everyone’s always so kind to me—I’d just taken it all for granted. I really need to be more attentive to the chickens...
“Yumoto-san.”
“What?”
“Are you still holding meetings?”
“Next one’s probably gonna be the last.”
“Can I join?”
“Well, sure, I guess...” the old man said, a bit reluctantly.
“I’d like to join, then.”
“Got it. I’ll let everyone know.”
After the whole commotion had settled down, one of the kids pulled me by the arm. “Hey, mister!”
“Hm? What’s up?”
“Can we play with the chickens?”
I turned to the chickens, who all lowered their heads slightly. That must mean it’s okay.
“Sure, if they’re done patrolling...”
I looked over at Yumoto-san, who smiled and said, “Sure, that’s enough for today.”
“Yaaaay!” the children shouted in excitement. They went to play tag with Pochi. The girls were hugging Tama and Yuma. Looks like the kids have taken quite a liking to them in my absence.