Once Paul and the two disputants were seated at the small picnic table, Inari paced a circle around them, drawing a curtain of … something ... that caused the air to shimmer like a heat haze. She came and sat opposite Paul, placing herself between the tengu and the tall, green haired dryad.

“Ok, court is in session I guess… perhaps we could begin by someone telling me what you two are disagreeing over, maybe?”

Both the tengu and the dryad exploded verbally.

“They have no right to sully..”

“It’s ours by right we need..”

Paul slapped his hand down on the table, the sound cutting across the argument.

“Ok… let’s try this again. First you, your name please.”

Paul pointed to the Dryad, who blinked.

“I..ahh.. forgive me Lord… I have no name that a human voice could pronounce.”

Paul pinched the bridge of his nose and sighed.

“Right, of course. Ok then...Miss.. Green… we shall call you.”

Paul turned his attention to the tengu.

“And you are?”

“Um.. Sora, Lord. I speak for my clan the Ushagas.”

“Your whole clan has a problem with Miss Green here?”

“Yes!… you see...”

Paul held up a finger, silencing the tengu.

“Ok, Inari… you’re familiar with the case. What, exactly, is the problem.”

“What, me? Ah… well.. there is a lake, fed by a spring, that goes on to be a river… both claim the water is theirs to use. Both have a valid claim. The spring rises on land belonging to the Ushaga family, but the lake is on land recognised as the dryads territory. The dryad claims the tengu are hoarding the water, and befouling what little reaches her. The tengu claim the dryad wants all of the water and refuses to share, sending roots upstream to intercept it at its source.”

Paul studied the pair.

“Both of your agree with Inari’s recounting of the facts?”

Reluctantly, they both nodded, with Sora adding,

“But she didn’t mention that it’s ours by right!”

Paul thumped the table again, wishing he had a gavel, or something.

“Ok, enough of that. Correct me if I am wrong, but both of you have argued enough that you know each other’s claims, am I right?”

“Yes my Lord.”

“Indeed.”

Paul nodded.

“Ok… lets try something different then, because goodness knows, doing the same thing over and over is going nowhere. Since you both know what the other’s argument is, I want you to each state the other sides case in this dispute.”

There was a momentary silence… and then both of them erupted verbally. Paul gave them a count of three, then slammed his fist down.

“ENOUGH! You agreed to this arbitration. My court, my rules. You will argue your opponent's case fairly, or I will make a summary judgment here and now… and there will be penalties for both of you.”

Silence fell as the tengu and the dryad looked at each other, while Inari leaned back in her chair, favouring Paul with an appraising look.

“Do I need to flip a coin to see which of you will go first?”

Sora shook his head, settling his wings with a rustle of feathers.

“Ah, no Lord… I will let Miss Green, go first. If that’s alright...”

The dryad inclined her head, and then composed herself. When she spoke her voice had an undertone that sounded like wind in the trees, rustling leaves and creaking wood.

“The tengu’s claim is that they own the entirety of the water, for their own use. Because the spring from which it flows is located on their land. They argue that they had an agreement with the former lord of these lands... that is, the lands of the lower valley and hills to the East of here, that they could draw water as they needed it. In years past this was not a problem, but the Ushaga clan has grown, and they need more water.”

“Question, why do the tengu need water from that specific spring.”

“The spring is needed because it is naturally of exceptional purity. They require it for bathing during their spring moult.”

“Is that ritualistic, or an actual physical need?”

The dryad paused, frowning slowly, and looked to Sora for clarification.

“May I elucidate, lord?” Sora asked.

Paul nodded, and the tengu answered.

“It’s a necessity for the young and the old, at least, because they are susceptible to infection of the feather roots when moulting. It’s less of a problem for those who are strong and healthy though. The spring water also contains minerals that are helpful in soothing the itching that comes with moulting, for everyone.”

The dryad looked thoughtful.

“I.. did not know that.”

“You never asked.”

Paul nodded slowly.

“Ok, Sora, do you agree that Miss Green’s presentation of your case was fair and accurate?”

“Yes, although there is much supporting evidence she didn’t mention, that I would’ve liked...”

“I asked, do you agree with it? Not did she argue your case the way you would.”

“Ah.. so. My apologies. Yes, I agree she presented it fairly.”

“Ok then, your turn to present her argument, and please, try for brevity. My patience is not infinite.”

Sora stared into Paul’s face for moment, and nodded, swallowing, unnerved by whatever he saw there.

“Umm. The gist of...Miss Green’s argument is that for her kind, water is essential for life. Her forest is protected by long agreement; the last lord of these lands had it written into local civil law as well. The lake is in her forest, and she draws sustenance from it. She argues that water should be allowed to flow freely, and does not truly belong to any one group or person, but rather to all as a common good.”

Sora sat back, and stared at Paul, who raised an eyebrow.

“That’s it?”

“I..ah.. yes...as I understand it...”

“Miss Green, is there anything you’d like to add to that?”

The dryad shrugged slightly.

“Only that until recently,that is until this century, I was content with the tengu as neighbours.”

“I..see… Ok then, if I understand this correctly, the tengu require the spring water straight from the source because it helps prevent infection in those with weakened immunity and soothes itching during their moulting season. The dryad however literally needs it in order to live.. and since there is a legal protection on her forest, it could be said that cutting off this supply would endanger her life, and violate the law protecting her.”

Paul paused thinking.

“So, on the one hand, we have legitimate medical need, and on the other a genuine case where the right to live is being endangered. Is that about right?”

Both sides nodded, as Inari leaned forward.

“You see now the problem Paul-san. Which ever way you decide someone will suffer.”

“I do… I have a question however.. Miss Green, could you survive off a different source of water?”

The dryad nodded slowly.

“Survive yes… water is water.. but that spring is very pure and carries traces of magic with it. I can survive without it, but it is what makes myself and my sister trees thrive.”

“Right. And you Sora… are there other medical treatments.. say distilled water for bathing, that could be used?”

“There..are.. yes. Not as effective though. And not customary.”

“Hmm… ok then. Are you both willing to hear and abide by my ruling?”

“We are Lord, you have been most fair and your methods are.. eye opening.”

The dryad nodded her agreement, but with a thoughtful sidelong look at Sora.

“Ok, both of you have a valid argument, and about equal legal precedent as far as I can see. However, the right to life trumps mere discomfort. But that said, however, an infection in someone weakened for some reason is also life threatening. Therefore it’s my ruling that since both of you have compelling arguments, that the spring should be shared… with stipulations.”

Paul paused, cleared his throat, and continued.

“The Ushaga clan will restrict usage to only those cases that are truly necessary. Miss Green, since you’ve shown that you can extend your reach to the head waters, you will oversee the tengu’s use of the waters. In exchange for which the tengu will work to secure you an alternative water source… humans have been laying pipes for a very long time. I suggest Sora, you look into that, and a water purification system. I would suggest ozone or Uv treatment since adding chemicals wouldn’t be a good idea. While you’re piping in purified water for Miss Green and her sisters, I’d look at getting some for yourselves, so those that don’t absolutely need the spring have something else to bath in.”

Both Sora and the dryad looked at Paul, thunderstruck, although Sora was quick to recover.

“And how are we supposed to pay for this?”

“You have a share of spring water, which you don’t need all year round. I’d suggest bottling it and selling it as an exclusive and highly expensive product. Further more, If I recall correctly, trees mostly need extra water during the spring and summer months, so if you stockpile it during winter when they are dormant, you’d probably be able to take a larger share, with Miss Green’s permission.”

The dryad nodded, recovering from her shock.

“Yes, you are welcome to take all you want during winter and autumn. We sleep when the snows fall, and the autumn rains are usually enough to nourish myself and my sisters.”

“That would be acceptable...”

Paul glanced between them.

“I take it then the ruling is agreeable to you both?”

“Yes!”

“Indeed.”

“Ok, then I will leave both of you to work out the details, and I’ll review it once you’ve thrashed it all out. If there is nothing else, court is adjourned.”

Inari got up, walking over to the barely visible barrier, and brought her hand down in a quick slashing movement, popping it like a soap bubble. Both Sora and Miss Green stood, and bowed in unison to Paul, before walking off talking in low earnest tones. Inari came back over and perched on the edge of the table, bending forward and putting her eye to eye with Paul.

“That was well done… their argument had been going on for decades!”

“Surely not?!”

“Ehhh.. tengu can live for hundreds of years, almost as long a dryads. But it looks like they might actually stop arguing now, and work together. That was a clever trick, getting them to argue the other’s case for them.”

“It’s one I picked up at school, actually. It’s surprising how well forcing someone to look at the problem from the other person’s perspective works.. although it can result in them arguing equally passionately that the other person is right.”

Inari laughed.

“That would’ve been funny!”

“To you maybe… to me it would just be a headache.”

Paul paused, and then narrowed his eyes as he looked at Inari.

“Tell me, oh great and wise Goddess.. just how many other cases like this are there?”

“Like what Paul-san?”

“You know.. disputes between Others that they can’t or won’t take to a human judge...for whatever reason.”

“Ohhh.. a few...”

“How many...”

“No more than a couple of hundred. That I know of.”

“WHAT?! Just how big an area do you think I own!”

“Ah.. about that… technically you are only responsible for the mountain as far as the boundary stones. But you see, the laws that govern that, at least those recognised by the Others… are rather old. And they contain a clause that if the adjacent lands don’t have a suitable Lord to render judgement, than it falls to you, because one of the duties of the guardian of my temple is to serve as Magistrate, for this prefecture, in the absence of the Lord.”

“Okayyy.. well I guess I should’ve realised that since those two aren’t from this area by the sound of it… but still, that’s a lot of cases… how far does adjacent jurisdiction like this extend?”

“Umm… I think there might be a temple guardian or two like you in the far north in the prefecture of Hokkaidō… but I can’t be sure if they are aware of the unseen world.”

“Inari… before you answer my next question, I suggest you think long and hard about what you know. Now, answer me this… is there anyone else the Others can take their disputes to, anywhere in Japan?”

“Ah… probably not. No humans anyway… the others do have their own courts but when the dispute is between two different types… it gets complicated and they need a neutral magistrate. Humans are traditionally seen as neutral by all. There used to be Seven Great Lords, seven human Magistrates, sometimes called the Seven Pillars of Wisdom… who oversaw the dō or circuits, which formed the original prefectures. They knew of the unseen world and kept it orderly. But the last one died many years ago. And no-one has been found to replace them.. and since there are no Lords now anyway..”

“Right.. so what happened? Why weren’t any replacements found?”

Inari sighed.

“Humans stopped believing. Time and society moved on, and there was no longer a place for creatures of magic in the world. I thought I had seen the last of your kind, until you came along.”

“Last of my kind, you make me sound like a dinosaur. What do you mean, my kind?”

“You can see Yokai, spirits, and magic. You have an open third eye, and an open heart...you just accept us as we are.”

“That’s it...that’s all?”

“Oh, well.. and you could perhaps become a god when you die. But that’s long way off and not certain anyway.”

“Thank you for that! So… word’s getting around there’s a human who sees the unseen, and is willing to arbitrate disputes. Can I expect a flood of pissed off Others seeking their day in court?”

“Not a flood, no… for those that can’t seek resolution in a human court, and cannot show themselves in public, it’s a long and arduous journey, fraught with many perils as they make their way here, hiding in the shadows and avoiding contact.”

“You make it sound as if the humans are an occupying army of monsters...”

“To many of the Others, you are.”

Paul sighed, rubbing his face with his hand.

“I’m beginning to get the feeling I am way out of my depth...even with your help.”

“Just do your best.. no-one would expect more. Truthfully, actually..most would probably expect far, far less. It’s easy for many of the Others to see humans as blind, stupid fools, obsessed with trivialities like money and full of their own self-importance. Finding one who isn’t, would be a shock to them.”

Paul smiled ruefully.

“I ought to feel insulted on behalf of my species… but honestly I rather agree with you. Humans as a whole are rather full of themselves. We can do great things, and terrible things… but in general we’re nothing much to speak of. Oh well… I suppose if I can help out then I should. I’ll give the matter some thought, see if I can think of a way of making it easier for Others to get here, maybe something like the Underground Railroad.”

“You’d build a subway system, like Tokyo?”

Paul laughed, shaking his head.

“No, no.. you misunderstand. The Underground railroad existed long before subways. Um, I think.. history isn’t my strong point... anyway it wasn’t a literal railroad. There was a time the Southern states of America practised slavery, while the Northern states did not. So there existed an illegal organisation, called the underground railroad, dedicated to helping runaway slaves to go north to freedom.”

“Ah! I see… I remember the American traders used to have slaves sometimes… do they still do this?”

Paul shook his head.

“Not as such no… there was a civil war over it and it ended with the Southern states losing and slavery being outlawed. But.. there’s legal means that are a sort of semi-slavery even now… it’s complicated I suppose is the best way of saying it. But that’s beside the point… What I was thinking was that there could be a network of friendly Others, who assist those that can’t blend in to traverse the country safely, in secret, from one safe haven to another.”

Inari slowly shook her head, a sad but thoughtful look on her face.

“That would be a worthy thing to do… but difficult to do, perhaps even impossible. Even before I lost contact with the outer world, the world of humans, most Others scattered among the humans were unaware of each others existence. Oh, they knew Others existed in general, or suspected it, but they had no personal contact usually. The tenuki are an exception, as is the community here, both because they strive hard to remain in touch and remain tied through their families.”

Paul looked off into the distance, beyond the temple’s walls.

“I..see… it’s like habitat fragmentation and isolation of an endangered species into pockets of territory.”

Inari tilted her head looking a question at him, but Paul waved a hand, dismissing it.

“Just an analogy I thought of… it would take too long and be too depressing to explain. But I think there are things that can be done about that.. maybe, but nothing that can be done quickly. However, securing here as a sanctuary would be a very good first step.”

Paul shook his head abruptly and stood up, offering his hand to Inari.

“Well, whatever. There’s nothing can be done immediately and it’s far too lovely a night for such gloomy thoughts. Could I ask you, as a friend, to accompany me around this festival, and show me the sights? That is.. if you think no-one would mind me slacking off a bit from pizza making?”

Inari laughed, the sound like a swift flowing stream over pebbles.

“Oh, I don’t think anyone would mind you taking a little time off… and I would love to show you around! As one friend to another...”

She hopped down from the table, reminding Paul rather of Shoko at that moment, and placed her slim white hand on his arm, leading him into the merry throng of the Festival.