(Hey, chapter six! Who didn't see this one around?

I apologize, but not really, for my multiple original characters. But don't worry — no Mary-Sues here! Or Gary Stus, as it were.

Mokou © ZUN

OCs © Me)


Impossibilities

Chapter Six: Journey


"Are you crazy? We can't bring a woman on board, she'll bring bad luck!"

Mokou didn't think she'd make it back to the ship in time to hear Shou arguing her case for her with what she assumes is the rest of the crew — five men and a young teen boy.

"She will not bring bad luck, Takeshi," Shou retorts, scowling. "Don't be ridiculous!"

"Yes, we can't have anyone being ridiculous," another man comments, sneering slightly. "Especially since we're sailing towards a mountain that doesn't even really exist—"

"Not now, Masato!"

"Is that her?"

All eyes turn to Mokou, who suddenly feels her earlier paranoia returning.

"Yes, that's her," Shou nods, looking both relieved and nervous at the same time.

"She's… young," the bald man in the group comments.

"That may be, but I'm willing to bet I'm older than he is," Mokou snaps, indignant as she gestures to the teen boy hiding in the group. "And in any case, why should my age matter? And why is the fact that I'm a woman relevant to whether or not I can sail?"

Silence falls over the small group.

"I don't like this," the first man mutters, looking uneasy. "I don't like this at all…"

"You don't like anything that doesn't conform to your expectations," the bald man groans. "But I'll say it again — I don't see why she should come with."

"I don't see why not, either," another man nods, bearing a close resemblance to the cynical man.

"Hmph. I don't care," the cynical man, Masato, grumbles. "This whole trip is madness anyways; what difference will a woman make?"

"That makes it more than half the crew… then it's decided," Shou nods, the worry finally disappearing from his face as he turns to face Mokou. "Welcome aboard, Teruyo."

Even though she smiles, she still feels something uncomfortable settling in her stomach.


"How are you holding up?"

Mokou doesn't look away from the horizon, even as Shou approaches her.

It's been almost a week since they left Yokosuka; in the time she's been on the ship, Mokou has managed to grab three hours of sleep a day — if that — and has had less to eat than anyone else on the ship.

Keine would be so proud of me, taking care of myself like this, she thinks dryly.

"I'm alright," she shrugs, reaching up to tuck a strand of her long hair behind her ear. "But I get the feeling that the superstitious man still doesn't seem to like that I'm here."

"Takeshi? Don't mind him," Shou waves his hand, as if dismissing Mokou's concern. "He's a good friend of mine and Ren's, but one of the most paranoid men I've ever met. He won't do anything to you."

The white-haired girl smiles at the assurance before looking up at the sky, frowning briefly.

"Looks like it's going to rain soon," she comments, crossing her arms in front of her chest.

"It'll just be a light drizzle, if anything," Shou shakes his head. "I wouldn't be too worried about the weather."

"Mm. If you say so, then."

Mokou doesn't notice the thoughtful look Shou gives her.

"Have you been up here all day?" he suddenly asks, catching the immortal girl by surprise.

"Uh — I think so?" she answers, looking over at the captain. "Why?"

"Because I'm telling you to go take a break — get something to eat. And that's an order, too, so I won't take 'No, I'm fine' for an answer."

Mokou is about to protest, but decides against it.

"Alright," she nods. "I will. Do you need me to send someone else up to—?"

"Just send Kaede; he'll be all the help I need."

Mokou goes below deck just in time to miss the first few drops of rain.


"There's going to be a huge storm, I know it!"

"You really think a little rain like this is going to get much worse?"

They're all — minus Shou and Kaede, who are still on the deck — sitting in a large circle, listening to the light sound of rain hitting the deck over their heads.

"Just you watch, Ren!" Takeshi argues, pointing up. "You don't make light of the weather when you're at sea. We're all at its mercy!"

"Come on, it's been barely raining like this for over an hour now," Ren counters, arms crossed in front of his chest. "It would've become something worse by now."

"And besides, wouldn't we want a storm anyways?" the young teen, barely "older" than Mokou and whose name she can't remember hearing, pipes up. "I thought the only way to get to Mount Hourai was by a storm…"

"A storm that's powered by — by magic," Mokou finally adds, deciding at the last minute that large words like "supernatural phenomena" would not necessarily be better. "At least, that's what I've heard."

"Magic? Don't be ridiculous," Masato scoffs, his already natural scowl deepening. "What do they teach you children these days? There's no such thing as magic."

"That — I'm sorry, you did just say there's no such thing as magic, right?" the white-haired girl repeats, blinking confusedly as she frowns.

"Coming from a man who's on a ship that's looking for a floating mountain in the sky, that's a pretty ridiculous thing to be saying," Ren chuckles.

"Especially since you're looking for an elixir that's supposed to grant immortality," the teen boy nods, grinning nervously. "You did think about that, didn't you, Masato-san?"

"Hmph," Masato snorts, shifting his gaze back and forth between Mokou and the boy. "I'm only here at my brother's request. If I'm going to be dragged along into this madness, I might as well have something to look for."

Mokou frowns, wrinkling her nose in displeasure at the man's attitude.

"But… is Mount Hourai even floating?" Takeshi asks. "That would make it impossible to sail to, wouldn't it?"

"Unless magic is somehow involved, which is a discussion we won't get back into," Ren replies, quickly shooting a sharp glance at Masato and Mokou.

"But even if it isn't — it's possible to sail to, isn't it?" the teen boy speaks up again. "After all, the moon princess believed that Prince Kuramochi had brought her the real jeweled branch. That means it has to be possible, doesn't it?"

"Oh, so now we're taking a story for truth," Masato grumbles, both loud enough to be heard and soft enough to be ignored.

"Well, yes, but don't forget that he was also lying to her," Ren replies to the boy. "And she may have believed him at first, but she did so reluctantly."

"Who did what reluctantly, now?"

The four men turn their heads to see another man, bearing a remarkable resemblance to Masato, walking towards them, soaked to the bone.

"Is it really raining that badly, Kaede?" Takeshi asks, eyes widening slightly as his paranoia rears its head once more.

"No, it really isn't," the soaked man shakes his head. "You and Masato can see for yourself — the captain's asking for both of you to help."

"We're doomed," Takeshi groans, both he and Masato rising slowly.

"Thank goodness," Masato mutters before walking to the deck with his paranoid companion. "This nonsense is more along your speed, brother."

Kaede chuckles, taking a seat beside Ren.

"Sorry if my brother was being… curt," he apologizes to what remains of the group. "He can get like that sometimes, as I'm sure you've figured out. So, what did I miss?"

"Nothing much," Ren shakes his head. "We'd just gotten into a discussion of whether Mount Hourai is actually floating or not. So we started going over the trial of Prince Kuramochi for proof of whether or not it's floating…"

"Hey, are you alright, Teruyo-chan?"

For the first time in well over a minute, Mokou suddenly realizes that she's sitting with her knees pulled up to her chest, tightly gripping her legs.

The three men are now staring at her.

"Y-Yes. Sorry," she apologizes, uncrossing her arms and letting her legs rest crossed under her. "I didn't mean to zone out…"

"It looked less like spacing out and more like you were remembering something," Kaede comments.

The intent look he's giving her tells Mokou that, despite her reluctance to share any of her memories of her father's task, this is an issue that won't be easily dropped.

But it won't stop her from trying.

"Really, it's nothing," she insists, keeping her voice as calm as she can. "I think I just… need to get some fresh air, is all."

"While it's raining?" Ren asks, raising a questioning eyebrow.

"There's nothing wrong with wanting to sit in the rain," the white-haired girl retorts, rising to her feet. "It's better than sitting cooped up down here."

Before they can ask her more questions, Mokou leaves, walking onto the deck in search of a moment of peace.


(End chapter six.

This would have gone much faster if I didn't have a cosplay to work on.

Please review!)