Ripple Effect
23rd March 2009
Series: The Seer

--

Chapter 25

Shizuka tucked his hands into the sleeves of his robe, arms folded across his chest. He glared out at the mist, disliking the new eerie air to the now deserted deck since the crew had been practically banished below.

Sorata's men had been distributed amidst them to cast charms and wards on the portholes so the air could circulate enough without allowing in the mist should it find a way through the wards again, as well as to present a precautionary Spiritually-able force. Then those with the cloaks of mist Shizuka had seen were quarantined in a section of the cargo hold.

"The attack would make the most sense if we rule it as possession," Arashi muttered in Japanese, pondering the matter at hand. "If a person has a weakness, any weakness at all, then it can be exploited by persuasion." She shrugged, tilting her head in agreement with Shizuka's explanation. "The only exceptions, perhaps, would be Watanuki-san, you, this fool—" she jabbed her husband in his side, eliciting a small yelp, "—and me. And that would only be our ability to recognise it for the supernatural persuasion that it is."

"But the men back from the fog aren't setting off any alarms," Sorata murmured, arms folded, glaring at the wood of the deck. "Doumeki and I have done all the tests we can; nothing's happened. They're just human. No possessions."

"Let's keep them contained as they are now. No sense risking the rest of the crew in case the fog cloaks can be transmitted." Arashi nodded her agreement and Shizuka shifted, glancing at the window of Watanuki's cabin where Jason peered out from the small window there, looking solemn and tense. Oddly, when the Englishman noticed the monk's stare, he smiled widely and gave a cheerful wave.

Another idiot.

Shizuka narrowed his eyes at the man, considering for the first time all he knew of Watanuki's pale cousin… and where said cousin had been at every opportunity trouble decided to pay them a visit—

Setting these less important thoughts aside he motioned to Sorata, the monk pulling out a set of warding knives from the same set as he'd used on the arms chest.

"In the meantime, we should seek to contain the situation." He handed them to the priest and explained, "These are my best suggestion at the moment. The catch is they're powerful containment wards but it would mean sealing ourselves inside the barriers."

"It would repel ill intentions from outside," Sorata nodded, "But could also trap us."

Nodding, he continued, "A spell powerful enough to hold the mist at bay will not be easy to dispel should we need to take it down."

"Is it worth it, you think?" Arashi asked quietly.

"I cannot say." Shizuka glanced at Watanuki's cabin window; Jason had gone. "But I feel, at the moment, it is the best course of action."

Arashi eyed him suspiciously, "And you are leaving this to us why?"

"I want to investigate further," Shizuka clarified.

"Oh no," Sorata denied, already shaking his head and holding the knives out to return them. "No way. I'm not letting you out there outside the wards, Doumeki, not a chance."

"I have no intentions of waiting for another attack," the monk stated calmly.

"That is not a good enough reason to—"

"I… agree," Arashi put in though hesitantly. She stared hard at Shizuka, "It's too risky. Surely you know that. I can understand why you would attempt it, the mist hasn't done much more than a few parlour tricks, but we still do not know what we are up against."

Shizuka would have argued but she had a very valid point. He accepted the knives back as he considered how his grandfather had berated him for allowing his—for heading too quickly into danger before assessing the values of the risk and benefits… and this could have been a prime candidate for another one of those situations.

He gravely stated, "I don't like this."

Shaking her head, Arashi looked at Shizuka, "You were going to say more about the attack earlier, weren't you?"

"Ahh." Taking a breath, Shizuka rallied his thoughts, "There's got to be a loophole in the stipulations of the ship's wards."

Sorata frowned, "What do you mean?"

"The wards hold even now—" he tapped his foot on the wood of the deck flooring for emphasis, "—but something found a way past it." He looked over at Sorata, "Any ideas?"

"Ill intentions!" Sorata exclaimed, expression lighting up. "It did not mean any one of us harm. That's the only way it would have come through the barriers."

"So it initially didn't have ill intentions but that changed," Arashi began.

"Then that would explain why it got forced back when Watanuki was attacked," Shizuka finished.

"Yes. Pushing the mist back wasn't my work, I can tell you that," continued Arashi. "So it seems that possession wasn't its intention."

"Considering all the factors, we can't add things up," Sorata murmured. "On one hand, the wards haven't failed. On the other hand, Watanuki was still attacked. Either way, it's unsolved."

"Unless you consider Warping," Shizuka muttered, the thought only just occurring to him. At their confused looks, he explained, "The mist must have had no ill intentions to get past the barriers –which it succeeded at doing. If so, the poisoning wasn't that. It could only have been a prank, perhaps even a test. When it touched the humans on deck, whenever it was that has managed to do it, the only unknown factor—"

"Is James," Sorata filled in. "The mists' intentions were, as you said, warped by the human mind."

"Which leaves us where?" Arashi asked warily.

"That humans are too easily influenced, for one," Shizuka murmured darkly. He glowered, "Only your allies until something strays them."

"It leaves us," Sorata shot Shizuka a look, "with the fact that it doesn't want to hurt Watanuki. It just wants something from him."

A nasty feeling filled Shizuka and he held up the knives again to say, "I want to do the warding."

"I thought we just agreed that was out of the question?" Arashi frowned at him. "You're immensely stubborn." Shizuka obstinately held the knives out, silent. And after a moment of glaring hard at him, she sighed and accepted them, shaking her head at her husband when he started to protest. "Alright. This once. And only because we've concluded the mist isn't out to hurt us." She glared. "But if something happens to you, I am telling your master I had nothing to do with it."

"Fine with me," Shizuka replied, barely restraining a frown as he turned and led the way to the Captain's room to plan this out.

--

Watanuki's predictable answer was, "You have got to be out of your bloody mind!"

"Hyuu!" Jason exclaimed. "Stop swearing." He reached and curled his fingers under Watanuki's jaw, squeezing lightly and stroking down one cheek with the other hand, "Your mouth is too pretty to be spouting such foul words!"

Shizuka irrationally thought Jason was right… and as though reading his mind, the blond idiot grinned widely at him.

"Did you think—" Watanuki jerked his head out of his cousins hands, "—I would agree to this? Honestly!" He shook a fist at Sorata, who leaned away, smiling nervously, both hands up in warding surrender, "And you! How can you agree to his shenanigans?!"

"Watanuki-san," Arashi interrupted sternly, "I must say I would agree with you." The young noble looked briefly hopeful until he registered the look on her face and deflated. "But. This is the best course of action."

"Best course of…" Watanuki looked angry for a moment but then resignation settled on his features and he turned to sit down, defeated. "I don't have any idea what else can be done," he muttered, "So I suppose it's not my… place… to suggest this one isn't the next best course of action."

"I'm afraid so," Arashi said quietly, laying a gentle hand on his shoulder.

"But!" Watanuki snapped, turning to shake his finger at the monk, "You're still insane!"

Shizuka blinked, looking bored. Honestly. What else did his silly master expect him to do? Sit around and wait for the next attack?

Watanuki must have sensed his feelings, unknowingly or not, because his cheeks flooded with colour and he yelled, "In my opinion, it would be better to wait and see than venture blindly out into the unknown!"

Turning a pointed look on his master, Shizuka thought that was a rather hypocritical thing of the young lord to say –and he could sense his feelings filtering down his connection to his master.

Instantly, the colour in Watanuki's face gathered in his cheeks and he looked guiltily away, muttering, "Don't say it."

Idiot, Shizuka thought, still glaring at his foolish noble.

Arashi and Sorata looked back and forth between the two, expressions turning wildly amused. Sorata rubbed a hand over his face trying to disguise his smile and even his wife had to cough to cover her laugh.

Rolling his eyes, the monk turned away to get started on the work, glancing quickly down at his hand to check for the chain –not visible in the brightness of the cabin.

For this instance, Shizuka used the original method he'd used in the early hours of the morning; the extended array and blessed spells. He almost reconsidered the blood arrays when Arashi, in helping him draw it, asked a little too many questions and prodded about how he'd learned such advanced Casting.

--

Stay here, Shizuka warned as he headed for the door, Watanuki already opening his mouth to protest. I don't want to have to worry about you while I'm out there.

Watanuki huffed and turned his back, folding his arms and sitting back down. Arashi and Sorata exchanged amused looks before Sorata spoke up,

"I'll rely on your communication link to Watanuki-san, as agreed. But just in case, I will open the barrier every six hours –in the event the barrier locks you completely out. Be safe, Doumeki-san."

Thank you. He nodded and turned to move through the door out onto the deck, casting one last glance at his master and noticing Watanuki had angled his chin low, watching him in return. They shared a long look before the monk turned and followed Sorata and Arashi onto the deck where they had begun to install the knives into the wood at all crucial points on the ship.

When the barrier went up, Shizuka was standing just outside it on the railing. He touched a hand over the lightly glowing shimmer, satisfied at how it felt beneath his hand.

It was then he noticed the glow on the back of his hand. Blinking, the monk realised it wasn't him, it was… everywhere. A light seemed to filter through the mist, faint for the most part but brighter toward the ship's bow. Gliding carefully over the narrow railing, he arrived lightly upon the ship's bow. The light seemed brighter here, beyond and below, so leaned over and he peered over the edge at the water.

There, just through the mist, he could see a merrily bobbing simple fishing boat… notably, a Japanese fishing boat. At its own stern stood a small mast from which hung a traditional paper lantern, the candle within shining much more brightly than its size could have accounted for.

Shizuka stared, taking in the sight, trying to decide if the figure in the little boat might be dangerous or not. When nothing happened, he decided to approach and glided down one of the ship's hanging ropes toward the little boat.

"Oh, Konbanwa," greeted the figure in the boat.

Shizuka blinked and slowly but politely returned in Japanese, "Good evening, Tortoise-san."

The Tortoise chuckled, lounging in his boat, fishing net cast over into the water to the starboard, a smaller rope trailing from it into his boat. He wore traditional work-man garb, a pair of loose trousers, robe-shirt falling only to mid-thigh and tied shut with laces instead of a sash, a straw mushroom hat atop his head. Between his thin lips he clenched a dark wood pipe which he pulled free to chuckle at Shizuka's expression, his mouth curving in what Shizuka figured must be a smile.

"Pardon me for staring," Shizuka offered with a slight bow of his head.

"You've got very powerful Sight," the Tortoise said instead, waving the pipe at him. "It's not often that humans can see me."

Shizuka blinked, not certain how to respond to what was obviously not a question. He reflected on the being's tone, a curious statement and interested in something passing, but not at all friendly. He would have to be careful.

"Ah, how rude of me," the Tortoise said suddenly, still matter of fact in his words, "Come closer if it you like, Sir Monk. But I don't think you should come aboard. My little vessel isn't quite part of your world."

"Thank you." Shizuka moved cautiously closer, arriving at the end of the dangling rope, foot braced on the end knot. Something about the way the creature had spoken kept him on guard. He also puzzled at the mention of 'not part of your world' but decided not to ask. Instead he marvelled at the simple speech the Tortoise used, in an accent common to the Tango peninsula of the northern Kyoto prefecture.

"Excuse me a moment," called the Tortoise. And he suddenly puffed hard on his pipe, the thick smoke curling sharply around him and the little boat, around Shizuka, and filling the air enough to almost blanket the Dancing Dragon.

Shizuka instinctively moved, dashing quickly up the rope to the safety of the ship, unwilling to remain in his last position if the enemy had registered it and would use the mist as a camouflage to attack—

Mist.

The Tortoise's smoke had manifested as mist. Shizuka frowned into the cool touch of the changed smoke, wondering who the creature was and why it had done this to their ship. When the mist cleared a little, the Tortoise was staring up at him, grinning.

"Ah, pardon me," he called up to the monk. "I needed to do that because of them." He pointed further out beyond the Dancing Dragon's bow and into the mist, the monk following the indication and—

Shizuka nearly gasped with shock. "Is that…?"

"A procession?" asked the Tortoise, sounding amused. "Why yes, it is."

"There are… lily pads," Shizuka breathed. Staring out at the amazing sight, he hopped up the rope and to the Dancing Dragon's bow, stepping out as far as he could to stare over the spectacle.

The entire scene occurred not twenty metres before the ship's bow: creatures such as he had never seen marched perpendicular to the ship's path, from his right toward his left, trekking upon gigantic lily pads. Most looked outrageous, in wild colours and odd animal-like shapes but some of the beings looked nearly human save for the colour of their skin and eyes. Each one clutched a lantern that seemed more like a plant's enlarged blossom than like any lantern Shizuka had ever seen before.

Voices and laughter drifted quietly over the water, only barely audible to the monk's ears. And like his sight, the sound seemed to slip in and out of perception. Unthinkingly he reached with his right hand to his left, fingers pressing over the base of the littlest finger.

Suddenly, the sound seemed louder and the vision sharper. Languages upon languages, or even simply odd singing, reached his ears. He clambered back down the hanging rope to speak to the Tortoise fisherman,

"What is that?" he asked, wary because he had seen such a vision in a book once before but— this could not be. "It looks like… the Demon Parade."

"That might be because that's what it is," the Tortoise said slowly.

Shizuka paused, noticing that the Tortoise's voice had turned low, thick and calculating. He stared, hand over the smallest finger where his chain connected him to his master, his vision flickering in his perception of the creature. Like earlier, his Sight had sharpened and on one spectrum of sight the Tortoise appeared as it had initially, a curious creature with familiar features in the shape of a man.

Now, however, the flickering Sight afforded him a visage of what must be the being's true form; a slimy, dark skinned mass of resentment. The earlier ridges in its hard flesh appeared cracked in and weary. The creature's true manifestation became evident in its dark eyes and calculating expression, its skin mottled and wet, cracks in its flesh seemingly filled with dirt. A low curl of dark aura coated its skin and its smile had turned completely calculating.

Lips smacking, the Tortoise spoke on a low tone, "Ahh… this is why you are able to see me, is it?" Shizuka followed its line of sight to the golden chain on his left hand. "You are Bound to someone of great power." He laughed, a low and dangerous ring that had Shizuka all the rest of the way to guarded. "But whoever that person is, he is not aware that he is still in danger. His connection to you," the Tortoise grinned, "is a link to him in return."

Shizuka narrowed his eyes. "And why would such a circumstance be of interest to you?"

"Power is of interest to any creature with an ability to seek it," the Tortoise said condescendingly. "Surely you cannot expect anyone not to take what is sitting before them?" His eyes moved to Shizuka's shoulder, the monk's skin twitching in reaction, but Shizuka did not dare take his eyes from the creature before him to look. Thoughtfully he added, "Even in spite of that."

"You said you created the mist because of the Demon Parade," the monk prodded, hoping to have at least a few more answers, ignoring the reference to his shoulder.

The Tortoise met his gaze and chuckled, obviously aware of what the monk was trying to do. "You have a single track mind, little human," he said. "I will indulge you. The mist is a chore I undertake. That Butterfly Witch named this task in return for something I asked of her." His lips twisted and he mused, "Always fair, always a nuisance. And here I am."

"Then taking from us," Shizuka said quietly, "is not part of the deal, is it not?"

"Neither is not taking," the Tortoise murmured— and lunged.

Shizuka hopped quickly up the rope, the Tortoise following as though flying, mist wrapped about the lower half of its body, moving quicker than the monk would have anticipated. He threw himself up into the air, dashing up the surface of the barrier toward the ship's main mast.

He spun around, letting his momentum skid along the barrier surface when he sensed the presence behind him, raising his arms and unleashing his Centre, bow and arrow forming instantly in his hands.

"Ohh," sighed the Tortoise, "You're not as little a fish as I thought, are you?"

Shizuka raised his arms and aimed, the tingling in his shoulder travelling down his arm and into his bow. It flared with power in his hands and he struggled to metre the feed of energy into his arrow. He hissed, "I do not wish to fight with you."

"Hm," the Tortoise hummed, staring in a manner that made Shizuka think the Tortoise looked like it wanted to eat him. "But that link looks too tasty." And again his eyes flickered carefully to the monk's shoulder, irritation in his gaze.

Feeling a bit more secure with an arrow nocked, the monk glanced down at where the Tortoise stared… at his shoulder; the same shoulder that had been acting up, skin tingling at odd moments.

It glowed.

Blinking, Shizuka watched the tiny glow over his own shoulder in the shape of—

Watanuki's hand. Startled, he remembered when it must have happened: as he sat on a cushion in Prince Amko's suites and Watanuki had rushed in, grabbing his shoulder and shaking him. Worried, upset, in fear…

A blessing. Watanuki had cast a blessing upon his skin. Shizuka frowned, thinking his master had no idea how to use spells and yet…

"Tasty," murmured the Tortoise, long black tongue snaking out to lick his lips, eyes back to the monk's hand and the chain.

Shizuka turned his eyes back to the creature, finding his Sight had settled on the being's darker form. The monk almost grimaced at the disgusting visage, jumping back just in time when it lunged, moving himself out of the way of the questing paw.

It was then he noticed,

"They're looking," he said apprehensively.

The Tortoise glanced over its shoulder to see what the monk saw, that some of those in the procession had paused and were staring into the mist, perhaps through it, at the Dancing Dragon… particularly those who seemed to have the most intelligence in their eyes, calculating and patient. It hissed, glaring at Shizuka when it turned back.

"I have a price to pay, little human," it snarled, moving away, mist thick about him as he moved back toward his little boat. "And so I still have my work to do." Shizuka watched, arrow still aimed for the creature's heart. It grinned at him and said, "But when the chore is done and we next meet… let's play."

TBC.

Author Notes:

Thanks to everyone who reviewed. I'm sorry if I haven't been able to reply yet --especially those who aren't registered users and therefore I cannot reply at all even if I'd wanted to. Thank you to you all for not just reading but writing back.

A word of warning: I might not be updating this coming weekend as I've hit a snag in the story line and I'm trying to edit the chapter after this one. So just in case there isn't an update, don't worry, there will be one on the following Saturday! Thanks again.