Ben 10 and MGE belong to their rightful owners.
Warning: (Possible) Grammar Issues ahead.
XXX
Monster Girls and Aliens
(Miles away from Zipangu port.)
Far from the voyaging ships' path, a giant tear in reality formed from above, creating a swirling-like wave in the sky, similar to that of a water whirlpool, but in a very odd way. It was all night time when it happened; even the mamonos who were swimming near the surface of the water did not took note of this strange phenomenon. However, few of those mamonos did and took notice of the strange event unfolding above them. The group was consisted of two Mermaids and a Sea Bishop.
The Mermaids were known for their beautiful voice and gentle disposition. The Sea Bishops were basically known as the priest of the ocean and served the God of the Sea, Poseidon. Their existence was crucially needed in the ocean for the other monsters.
The group stared in confusion and was curious as to what that thing in sky was. They were somewhat enthralled and afraid because of its mysterious nature and the uncertainty of what will happen after. Alas, they still continue staring at it nevertheless. The sea was calm despite the raging waves caused by the strong winds. The sky was also full of stars and the moon glowed brightly in the darkness of the night. It was all disturbed by a single phenomenon that was not very naked to the eye yet if one would focus their attention, a not so discernable phenomenon can be seen unfolding.
"Wha-what do you think it is, sister?" The Mermaid asked the Sea Bishop.
"I do not know, Cora. How about you, Kishiko?" The Sea Bishop asked the other Mermaid.
"I am not also sure. I do not exactly have the slightest idea of what it is, Sister Nerine." The other Mermaid replied.
Although Mermaids were not that curious about most of the things, this phenomenon in particular had caught some of their attentions. The two never knew why, but something from it was forcing them to stay still and watch as the weird tear in reality does what it does. Many ideas came up into their mind. One of which was the possibility that it was a portal connecting two places. It was more plausible as they heard stories of other Mamonos having the ability to do this, especially those mamonos who were residing within the Demon Realm. It was really possible besides the other weird stuffs that also came up into their mind.
"I think it is a portal." The Sea Bishop named Nerine said.
"Eh?" Both Mermaids muttered in unison.
"What?" She looked at them, raising an eyebrow as she did.
"I mean it is the only thing I can come up with unless you two have any more ideas."
"I do not really know, Sister, but if it is a portal, then why would it appear in the middle of the sea? Wouldn't it make sense if it will appear on the shore or on the land, right?" Kishiko replied.
"True… Plus, I do not know anyone that belongs or related to our race that has this kind of ability, and if someone actually did, why would they even try to open a portal up in the sky?" She added.
"Yeah, that is really weird." Cora agreed with Kishiko.
"How about we let the others know about this so we can learn what it actually is?" She suggested.
"You have a point. And I do like the idea of… wait look up!" Sister Nerine shouted at the two as the said 'portal' started to swirl violently.
An odd crack in reality seemed to appear and a black void forms in the center of it whilst emitting what appeared to be streaks of light. It also started to expand, distorting the lights from stars that were near it. They then saw what appeared to be a maw-like appearance from the portal. Suddenly, it spat something, like a ball of fire onto the ocean where they currently were. It caused a loud explosion as it landed on the water in great speed. The mamonos who were already watching the scene quickly swam in to the direction where the portal spat out the fireball thing.
While the two Mermaids focused their attention and speed on where it spat the fireball, Nerine slowed down and took a glimpse from where the object came from. But when she stared back to the sky where it originated, the portal was gone and not single evidence was left like nothing had happened in the area. The sky was normal again and the distorted light from the stars were back on its previous state.
"Strange, very strange." She said.
She quickly head back to the two Mermaids.
Once they had reached the object, the first thing that they had noticed the very strange appearance of the… the thing, whatever it was. The object's shape was oval, but irregular as the lower part seemed to be wider than the other side, closely resembling to that of a shape of an egg. It was also adorned with strange lightings and things that were attached to it. The condition of the object was surprisingly good as no visible damage can be seen. They expected it to have some burns or dented parts; however none can be found on it. Moreover, the object was rather huge than they anticipated.
"Amazing. This thing has no dents on it even after crashing on the water." Cora complimented.
"Indeed." Sister Nerine agreed. She may no smith or good at metallurgy, but she can still tell if something was impressive or not. However, a question came to her mind. What was this object for?
Sister Nerine cannot help but to think the purpose of the said object. She was brought back in reality no sooner.
The salt water that surrounded it began to bubble up. The group was confused as to what was happening to the object, but then quickly realized that the object was actually sinking! They panicked but then they asked as to why they were panicking about it. They chose to ignore that question in their head while swiftly climbing on it. Thankfully, the water had quickly cooled it down after the impact so they did not worry much about the possible burn that they would possibly receive from it. The Sea Bishop inquisitively searched for something she can learn from it.
"Why are we so worried?" Nishiko had suddenly fully realized their actions.
"I don't know myself, but my mind is telling me that we need to do something to this object." Sister Nerine answered.
"I think someone is inside!" Cora shouted. The other Mermaid, Nishiko and the Sea Bishop head's perked up in unison and swiftly approached their companion. After heading to their companion, they found what seemed to be a glass. It must have been a really tough glass to be able to survive the impact without shattering.
The Sea Bishop's instinct already telling her to open it, but how? The only object she could closely compare it was to that of a coffin or casket. And coffins and caskets had contraptions or locks on them so they can be closed or opened. However, this one does not have any! Like it was just made to create a perfect oval stuff, and just make it hollow inside. Who would even create something like this? She does not know if that person was on his/her right mind to design such horrible thing. And for what purpose does it serve? There was also the fact that someone was actually inside, but how can you put someone inside when there were no obvious openings or locks? This made her head hurt out of frustration. However, she knew that she needed to be calm and find a way to open this… sarcophagus. Yes, it was like a sarcophagus. Compare to this and to their other mamono counter-parts in the desert regions, their sarcophagus at least had some locks or something to them.
"How can we even open this thing?" Nishiko whined as she desperately trying to look for any openings. Like the Sea Bishop, Sister Nerine, she too was growing frustrated about the object.
"Maybe we can…" Cora accidently touched a certain part of the object and there, a hissing noise came afterward. The three jerked at this, definitely surprised as they did not expect it to make a weird sound. The very close sound they could describe or compare it to was that of the sound of a snake.
Back on the group, the three instinctively jumped back to the water as smoke began to erupt from the said object. The Mermaid, Cora, was worried if she had done something bad on it while the smoke started to came up and move downward.
"Uh...uh did-did I… Did I do something wrong?" She asked, worried about what she possibly had done wrong.
"I-I was just trying to help you guys, you know." She added.
"I understand, Cora. You were just trying to help us I know." Her friend Nishiko assured. Cora nodded shyly.
"Look, something is rising from that thing." Sister Nerine said to them as she pointed at the silhouette of a tall, slender… creature.
It seemed that the being had two abnormally long arms and two, what seemed to be, tentacles or tendrils on its back. She couldn't tell much about it as it looked so flat like a… cloth or bandage? Not only that, when the cloud in the sky fully revealed the moonlight above, it illuminated the whole ocean a little bit and there… she saw what the creature was.
It had pharaoh-like headdress, two black bracers and greaves. Its body was fully covered in bandages. So it was bandage that was hanging on its back all along. The creature was strongly akin to that of an actual… mummy and pharaoh! Not only that. The creature's limbs and eyes were also glowing eerily green, and there was something attached to its chest.
She stared dumbfounded and tried to make sense of what was actually happening. First was the weird portal in the sky, next as the ridiculous sarcophagus and last, this? It does not make any sense at all! Why a mamono, which belonged in the desert region, would be here in the ocean? She rubbed her temple and tried to approach the mamono. The two Mermaids, warily, followed her. But she was halted from her track when the said mamono regarded her with an eerie stare. She absent-mindedly gulped.
The two Mermaids on her side approached her.
"Sister Nerine, am I really looking at a mummy right now?" Cora asked.
"'She' was more akin to that of a pharaoh rather than a mummy, but 'she', indeed, looks like a mummy because of the bandages around 'her'." Nishiko said.
"Strange, shouldn't 'she' be voluptuous or something? 'She' is so slender… or thin? And 'her' body is all covered in bandages for some reason." She added.
"What do you think of it, Sister Nerine?" She asked the Sea Bishop.
"Mayhap we can talk to 'her'?" Sister Nerine suggested.
"Eh? Can we really talk to a mummy?" Cora seemed to find the idea too outrageous.
"Well, I'm going to try anyway." Nishiko said to her.
"Hello!" She greeted the mummy while waving her hand. The mummy then regarded her with stare like it did to the Sea Bishop.
"Uh, do you talk, right? You know it's really dangerous here."
"Ridiculous!" Cora interjected.
"How can that mamono talk? There is no way that mamono will be talking."
'Hello… there…' Cora was stunned when the mummy can actually talk, but… seemed to be in a different language. What was more was the tone of 'her' voice. It sounded like it belonged to a royal one. In addition, the voice does not sound like it belonged to a female but more like to a… male one. It's impossible since the Demon Lord was a succubus and all monsters should be a female by now.
'I cannot understand what you are saying…' It said, but all that came out from it was just plain, incomprehensible gibberish for them.
"Sister Nerine, what should we do about 'her'? We can't do much for 'her' situation. And from the looks of 'her', 'she' seems to be docile for… now." Nishiko asked.
"We can bring 'her' to the land. The nearest is Zipangu." The Sea Bishop suggested.
"Are you sure that is a good idea? You know what mummies can do when they become hungry, right?" Nishiko clearly did not like the idea of an undead lurking around in Zipangu.
"There is also the fact that 'she' will be killed once they lay their eyes on 'her'. However…" She stopped.
"However?" Sister Nerine raised a brow.
"I don't think that this mummy is just an ordinary mummy at all. 'She' could be a pharaoh too because of 'her' appearance." Nishiko answered.
"Well, you can also add the fact that 'her' height is abnormally tall." Cora added.
The three of them continued to talk, trying to figure out on what do with the strange mamono. Unbeknownst to them, the strange mamono took note of its surrounding and noticed that its 'sarcophagus' was now sinking, almost 1/4 of the body remained on the surface, but soon it will also disappear as it will be consumed by the depths of the ocean, too. So, it took the initiative and it kneeled. It reeled its whole body and there…
"Kyah!" The three mamonos screamed in total surprise as the 'mummy' jumped and landed right at them. Without wasting time, after it landed, the mummy quickly wrapped its bandages, latching onto one of them. The two Mermaids had successful free themselves from its grasp. The Sea Bishop on the other hand was very unlucky as the mummy's bandages tightly wrapped around her, never letting her go.
"Sister Nerine!" The two mermaids called out of worry and fear.
"Please, please, let go! Do not hurt me!" The Sea Bishop pleaded to the mummy whilst still trying to remove herself from the grasp of the undead. She felt that the bandages around her loosened a bit after she said that. Does that mean she could understand her? Of course, she could. Mummies were once humans, but she was not sure for their intellect. Maybe this one was really different from the rest. From its appearance alone, she can already tell that this is not a normal mummy at all.
"Sister Nerine, are you alright?! The mummy is still latching onto you." Nishiko said to her.
"I-I think I'm fine, Nishiko." She was not sure about that.
"Maybe, 'she' just need some help?" Sister Nerine said shakily, still completely afraid of the fact that the mummy was still hugging her. She tried to stare at it, but when she and the mummy's emerald eyes met, she shivered.
"You can understand me right?" The mummy nodded, albeit for the strange mummy, it honestly cannot understand what the mermaid was telling to it.
"Do-do you want to go to the land? Do you want to go home?" Sister Nerine asked her. The mummy nodded. She took a deep breath after this. It seemed that the mummy just simply wanted to go home. The peculiar one also seemed to understand what she was saying.
"I… I think… we are good." The Sea Bishop told the two Mermaids. The two Mermaids sighed in relief.
"So, she just wants to go home, right, sister Nerine?" Nishiko asked yet still wary of the mummy.
"Yes…" Sister Nerine smiled.
"But it will take days to reach the shore from here." Cora said.
"True, but this region is also close to the merchants' ships route. We could wait there until one will arrive."
"But, Sister, how can we know if there's a ship heading in that way right now?" Cora questioned.
"I think our problem is already solved, Cora." Nishiko told her.
"Eh?"
"I mean 'she' is already looking at one right now." Sister Nerine and Cora turned their head to look onto the direction where creature was staring right now. Yes, there was a ship a mile away. Its light can be seen clearly from afar because of the surrounding darkness that contrasted it.
"Well, let's start to head there." Nishiko said to them.
"Isn't that dangerous? I mean who knows what the people inside of that ship are." Cora doubted.
"You worry so much, Cora. It's just a merchant ship, and based from the direction it is heading, it is probably going to Zipangu. So let's go. Come on, Sister Nerine." Cora rolled her eyes and followed her companions.
XXX
(In the Merchant Ship…)
"C'mon, c'mon, wake your arses up!" The ship captain yelled to his crews consisting of both monsters and men.
"Seriously, Caps? I haven't slept enough!" One of the monsters whined.
"Shut it, Tengu. And how many times do I have to tell you that to address me as Captain Galton Howes the Master Sailor!" The Captain of the ship named Galton Howes berated.
The Tengu just rolled an eyed while the others shuddered in embarrassment because of their captain's self-proclaimed title 'The Master Sailor'. Although the title alone was not too far-fetched despite the old man's rambling, he was indeed well-experienced in terms of sailing ships as far as the other old humans or monsters that had sailed with him before could tell. Though the one only problem was that he always forced that title to anyone regardless of whom or what they were. He was a good sailor indeed, but not a master at all. They could even name some that were better than him. And as to why he was still sailing in spite of his attitude was beyond them. Some old folks said that despite the old man's 'attitude', he was actually good at heart, willing to help anyone whether if they were monsters or men.
"Hmph! More like the master 'whiner'." The Tengu scoffed silently.
"Huh?! You sayin' something there, young lady?" The grumpy old captain questioned.
"Nothing, ole 'Master Sailor', captain Galton Howes." The Tengu replied whilst sarcastically smiling at him.
"Heh, that'll do." The captain nodded in satisfaction. "I'm still wondering why you can't just fly there instead of sailing with us. Anyways…" His face then turned into a serious one.
"Now, as you can see we are still in the middle of the sea, yeah? Well, I have a bad news on you, lads." He told them. This had gathered the attentions of all monsters and men in the ship's deck.
"What bad news, Captain Galton Howes?" One of the crewmen asked.
The captain then went to sniff the air and exhaled.
"Ah, yes. The scent from the wind is very different yet familiar." Their captain said.
Riddled by the old man's statement, these caused some eyebrows to arise amongst them.
"So you have a keen smell, Captain Galton Howes. Now what does this scent implies? Are we on a perilous situation or not?" A Red Oni in particular asked, a bit worried.
"Eh, are you really taking him that seriously? You know, he's a bit uh… unhinge." A young crew member told her.
"Oi!" The Captain rebutted.
"What the hell are you sayin'? That I'm crazy eh? I'm adept in this line of work as far in terms of sailing goes, lad." He chided young man.
"My insight in this job is far too deep. Deep enough that no can see through it!" He proudly said.
"Yeah, yeah whatever." The young man shrugged.
"This old man is quite interesting yet odd at the same." One of the crewmen said.
"I concur." An Inari agreed.
"Huh, wait. Aren't you supposed to be with your husband right now below the deck?" The said crewman took note.
"Oh, well. You see, we are already done with our lovey-dovey. The way he caressed my body…" The Inari blushed and goes on for more specific details of her intimacy with her husband.
The crewman simply sweat-dropped at her. Suddenly, they heard a splash of water coming from the right side of the ship. All of their attentions were diverted on that direction and there they saw a woman with fin ears and a star accessory on her hair. Most of the men tensed as if expecting something would rise up from the depths of the sea and attack them or the ship, mostly likely a Kraken. The mamonos who were boarding the ship were also terrified because some of them had brought their husbands along with them.
"My, you almost gave us a heart attack right there, my dear." The Inari said to her, placing her right hand on her chest, breathing deeply in relief.
"I-I'm sorry to disturb you in your journey. My name is Cora and I need a favor, so please listen." The mermaid pleaded.
The Blue Oni crossed her arms.
"Hmph, what kind of favor do you-" She halted when she noticed something or more like someone behind the back of the Mermaid.
The rest of the men and mamonos tensed up, and prepared themselves as they took a fighting a stance. Fear emanated on their eyes as their gazes are fixed on the… creature. Amidst the dark sea, a green pair of eyes glowed, watching them silently. The creature had finally shown its full appearance when it completely boarded the ship, revealing to be a mummy. But, they knew that this was no mere mummy at all. The mummy itself was too tall and thin to be one. What's more was how the bandages crept around it, moving like tentacles. The pair of bracelet the mummy had was glowing and had the same color of its eyes. What baffled them were the accessories the mummy had, something that belonged to the Pharaohs.
"What are you doing?! You're clearly scaring them!" The Mermaid scolded the Mummy, in which simply regarded her with its stare again.
"Is that a Mummy or a Pharaoh?" Someone asked in confusion. The Mummy's terrifying gaze then shifted to them. This had sent shivers down to their spine.
"Please, do not attack 'her'! 'She' mean no harm!" The Mermaid begged them.
"So you know this Mummy, huh?" The blue Oni muttered spitefully, glaring right directly the creature, clearly not fond of the idea of a Mummy being on their ship.
"Oi, what the hell are you doing? Don't dare try causing some ruckus here on my ship!" The Captain bellowed which was ignored by the Blue Oni.
The Mummy had noticed the hostility of the blue Oni and 'she' too took a fighting stance, as if expecting her to attack. The Oni snarled viciously whilst the Mummy stared at her, not making any sound.
"At ease, everyone!" A Sea Bishop boarded their ship. Their attentions then went to the newcomer.
"Lady, you better explain the situation very well, lest you will cause chaos on this ship." The Captain told her gravely.
He too was wary of the creature. Most monsters can be reasoned with even if there were some that were savages, but a word to an undead? How could he or anyone reason with them? Rumors said that they take men regardless if it was their personal volition or not. Once the hunger took in, they will forcefully shove themselves to a man, sucking the life out of them.
"Very well. Let me introduce myself first. I am a Sister Nerine and I have a noble duty to be done when I stumble upon her. You see, our friend mummy here said that she wants to go home." She told the humans and mamonos onboard.
"So you're telling me, priest, that the mummy can speak?" The Oni had surmised, completely not believing that such undead creature can do, at least this one in particular.
"Then why can't she just talk to us so that we can alleviate the situation." One of the crewmen suggested.
"Well, she never really talk, she's more into gestures. She just nods. And, do not expect for her to understand much of our language." The Sea Bishop clarified.
"But, Sister Nerine, didn't she talk to us lately?" Cora remembered.
"She did, however her words were all gibberish for us." The Sea Bishop then turned her gaze on the humans and mamonos.
"Trust me, she wishes no harm to all of us. You can guarantee my words." She then turned her attention to the mummy beside her.
"If you can understand me a little bit, can I ask you to greet them?" The Mummy listened to her and, seemed to telepathically, get what she was trying to imply.
'She' lightened at little bit from 'her' aggressive stance and took a formal one. The said mummy then bowed right at them. After taking a bow, 'she' waved at them, trying to ease up the declining situation 'she' had against the group.
"Okay, that's enough, welcome aboard!" The Captain welcomed 'her'.
All the stares shifted right at him swiftly. Their expressions were mixed. Some were surprised while some were finding it hard to believe what the old man just said.
"Seriously, Cap, again?" The Tengu questioned him in frustration.
"You cannot honestly bring that thing with us back to Zipangu, right?" She pointed at the sight of the mummy.
Sister Nerine watched as an argument had sparked amongst them. The Sea Bishop can only do is to sigh.
'This is going to be a long talk…'
XXX
(Later…)
The Sea Bishop had finally convinced the people in the ship after a long painful talk. They bade their farewells and they went on their own ways. The rest of the crews were just there, standing, staring at the sight of the mummy. But soon, they returned to their usual routine.
"This is ridiculous!" The Blue Oni complained.
"That thing should be forbidden in this ship!" She yelled in frustration.
"Hmm, my dear, I wish that you will not do something so harsh. I know you have not found a man you like yet, but please, refrain for being violent." The Inari jested.
"Do not ever bring that fact to my face, you fox! And watch me." The Blue Oni angrily marched towards the mummy who was idly watching over them.
The mummy took note of her presence and tilted its head, as if asking what she was intending to do. Despite the obvious size different between them, being the mummy twice as tall as the Oni, the Oni, unexpectedly grabbed the mummy's chest and threw 'her' across the deck and straight to the sea. Unbeknownst to her, the mummy had quickly stretched its bandages from both of its arms and coiled to the ship's handrails and pulled itself back to the ship again. The men and mamonos were surprised from the scene that had transpired right before their eyes.
"Nice trick you got with your bandages." The blue Oni complimented while cracking her knuckles.
"Throwing you off of the ship is not the only thing I can do!" The Oni then charged right at the mummy.
"Raghh!" The Oni leaped into the air and right at the direction of the mummy. The mummy quickly sidestepped away from the raging Oni. It used its arm right arm as a whip and struck the Oni with it right in the face before she could regain any momentum from her initial jump. The mummy then launched its bandages from its free arm right towards the Oni. The Oni snarled at this. With great reflex, she bent down to avoid them. In a swift motion, she went to grab the bandages before they could retract back and pulled the mummy with great force. She punched the undead right at the face.
The sheer force from the punch had thrown the mummy back completely before colliding on a wall. A breaking sound of wood can be heard all over the ship, waking all the passengers that were sleeping below the deck. Although it was already dawn now, the sun was still far from rising.
"Whoa! Did she just kill the mummy?!" One of the crewmen gasped.
"What the hell is happening?" The other mamonos and men who were below the deck lately had asked until they caught the sight of a Blue Oni and a… mummy or pharaoh, they don't know which one was which.
"Oi! Can you stop what you are doing! You're not only causing ruckus, but also destroying my ship!" The Captain bellowed, in which was ignored by the Blue Oni.
He quickly called for someone to manage the stirring wheel of the ship. He rushed into the fray and to the sight of the mummy that was still attached to the wooden wall. The Captain went to do the right thing first, checking the pulse of the mummy. Albeit it sounded so stupid, he was not really sure if this 'mamono' had any pulse at all because he hadn't encountered any mamono of this kind.
"Tch, you're going to answer for this once we get back!" He told the Oni.
"Hmph!" The Oni puffed a chest. "I only did what is right thing to do." She rebutted.
"Yeah, ya'll probably pay for your recklessness." The Captain countered.
The Captain went for the neck and still, he did not feel anything at all. He clicked a tongue out of annoyance until he found something… odd. Out of curiosity, he went to poke the body of the mummy. He managed to put his hand inside between the gaps of the mummy's bandages and felt… none.
"What the hell?" He muttered in surprised.
The mummy's eyes went wide and stared directly at him and onto the sight of the Oni. Captain Galton Howes was shocked and quickly stepped back, removing his hand as fast as he could from the said 'mamono'.
The mummy stood up and readied itself. The Oni smirked.
"Heh, so you can survive that impact, huh? Very well. I have not warmed up yet." She told her.
"Oh dear…" The Inari sighed.
The Oni charged at the mummy. She was surprised when the mummy did the same thing. However, when she was very close to the undead, it took a great leap and a front flip. While in the air upside-down, it extended its bandages from one of its arm and wrapped around her leg. What surprised her more was when she was lifted from the deck with great speed by the undead easily much to her shock. The mummy slammed her back on the ship's deck, causing a loud crash. She spat out some saliva then blood after landing with her back.
The viewers were completely amazed at the mummy and terrified at the sight of the blue Oni. Amaze because of the incredible strength 'she' had and terrified of what it did to the poor mamono.
"We should help her!" The Crow Tengu said. The other nodded and quickly rushed the blue Oni. They tried to help her to stand but she refuted.
"I can still stand on my own." She told them, will still unwavering. "Now where is that undead?"
She saw the undead there… hanging in the foremast of the ship like a spider. What strange was how the undead's body was moving like the sails of the ship. They felt a chill when 'she' started to slithered 'her' body down from the foremast like a snake. It seemed like 'she' does not had any bones at all.
"Okay, that's very creepy." The Inari said.
"I agree." The Tengu affirmed like the rest.
"You are a peculiar one no doubt. Now time to finish this little show of ours." The Blue Oni charged right at the undead. But this time however, the undead did not make a move.
"Foolish…" The Oni smirked viciously. She readied her claws to pierce 'her'.
"Hey! The hell are you doing? Are you going to kill her?!" The Captain yelled out of shock and horror. The rest of the crews and the people on the deck were also horrified.
When she finally made contact with the body of the undead, in the blink of an eye, the body actually split into two, creating an opening. And like a venus flytrap, it quickly closed itself, trapping her in the process.
"Damn, did anyone see what she did? She splits herself in half just to trap the Oni!" One of the crowds shouted.
"Yeah, it like she's hollow inside? Wait is she actually hollow inside?" The created a confusion amongst them.
Captain Galton did not care what kind of mamono this was. He only hoped that they end up this little spectacle of theirs without causing serious injuries to each other. It was true that the said mummy was unique in some way, according to the sea dwellers, but he was not expecting something like this. He watched how the Blue Oni struggled from the bandages around her, wrapping like spider webbing. It seemed that the mummy had had enough already and does not want to make the fight last any longer.
Once 'she' was done, 'she' placed the angry Oni down. The Oni screamed in defiance while writhing her body like a worm, trying to break free. Then there was a snap as they saw the bandages slowly tore apart. The mummy was fast to response and added more bandages around the Oni to subdue her. When the undead think that it was enough, 'she' pulled 'her' fist back and punched the Oni, knocking her cold completely.
The Captain sighed at this while the other stared in disbelief.
"Did the mummy just put the Oni out cold? Damn…" One of them actually complimented.
Gossips and murmurs then erupted from the crowd, but the undead seemed to not care at all. They then saw the undead pulled the unconscious Oni and carried her in bridal style. At first, they thought 'she' was going to throw the Oni on the ocean in which they were ready to defy no matter what the undead was and the capability it had.
They breathed in relieve when the mummy was actually heading below the deck, probably putting the yet unconscious Oni on a bed in an empty cabin. The others, both mamonos and men, decided to help the undead. However, they were stopped by the owner of the ship, Captain Howes himself. He insisted that he will take care of them.
XXX
(Below the ship's deck…)
The mummy had placed the Oni down on a bed of an unoccupied cabin. Carefully, they took the care of her wounds.
"Excuse, me?" A Danuki suddenly came inside.
"Oh, what brings you here, uh…?" The captain paused.
"My name is Tamaki, Iwata Tamaki." She answered.
"Sorry, I'm not really good at remembering my passengers' name, I'm getting really old. Hehehe…" The Danuki only smiled.
"Well, good morning to you, Miss Iwata. I'm very sorry that some passengers caused some… show." He apologized.
"It's fine. I'm already awake before the commotion happened." She clarified to him.
"Still, I beg your pardon." The Old man insisted. "Anyways, what brings you hear, ma'am?"
"I'm here to check the Oni's health." She went on to inspect the situation of the said mamono, she then clicked a tongue.
"What? Did this mummy do any severe damage or worst to her?" The Captain was worried of the outcome after their little show.
"Not really. The Oni are really tough so you do not need to worry that much. She is alive, but she will be out for a day or more." She then pulled something out of her pouches. They were medicinal herbs. She gave it to them. The Captain raised an eyebrow because of this.
"You sure?" He asked. The Danuki nodded.
"Well, thanks for these." He took and placed them on the empty table right beside the bed.
"How do you know about healing stuff by the way?" He was curious.
"As a Merchant, you need to be prepared at anything. Danger always lurks in my line of job, especially when travelling near the borders of the Order. That is why I study about medicine a little bit." She answered.
The Danuki watched as they treated their patient. Her sight then shifted at the mummy who was also treating the unconscious mamono and how it used its own bandage to wrap the herbal leaves on the Oni's head. What was more was that after cutting its bandage from its own body, the bandages itself regrew like a tentacle in a great pace.
"What a strange fellow." She said.
And the day goes on…
(A few days later…)
"We're here!" The Captain shouted happily to his crews and passengers of his ship.
They then set the bridge and tied the ropes of the ship to the posts. Whilst the others were busy disembarking from the ship, a certain Mamono had just awoken from her long slumber.
"Ugh… it still hurts." She rubbed her head and noticed there were leaves wrapped around it.
"What is this?" She then remembered the night when he fought the 'undead!' She quickly pushed herself to get up and saw the mummy!
Just right there, standing in the corner, watching her. Her eyes narrowed at 'her'. The door suddenly opened and it was the Captain himself who decided to check up on her.
"Good morning, sunshine. Didn't really have your name though." The Captain asked.
"The name is Yusa, Kogane Yusa, Captain Galton." She introduced herself briefly.
"Good morning again, Yusa. Lucky me, there's a watcher for you." He told her.
"Hmph, I'm presuming that this mummy is my 'watcher' while I'm still unconscious, am I right?" She commented.
"Yeah, all day and night, 'she's' just here, taking a good care of you. I think the lady felt sorry from what 'she' did to you the night when the two of you fought out." He said to her.
"Hope you learned your lesson now." He added.
"Thanks, I guess… and sorry." She said towards the mummy who just nodded in response.
"Whelp, since you look good now, I gotta go. Hey, you better take care of her since you overdid that punch of yours." The Captain told the mummy before leaving.
The mummy approached the Oni who was surprised when the undead had offered a hand to her. She warily stared at it first, and then took it.
(At the port…)
The mummy assisted the Oni along the way. The Captain told the Oni that the mummy was her responsibility. She scoffed and asked how the mummy became her responsibility. Captain Galton reminded her of the damage she did on his ship. She could be imprisoned for damaging the properties of other people. Although she tried to reason that the mummy can be a threat to others, the Captain did not listen to this reason. He said that the mummy had done nothing to his men or women aboard the ship. In fact, 'she' stayed with her, checking her all day, all night. If the mummy was in need of sustenance, then 'she' should have attacked the men aboard already. So far 'she' did nothing.
They argue for a few minutes before the Oni had given up and took the responsibility of the mummy. It was a better option than paying the damage that would cost a lot.
"Okay, you better help me with these barrels." She pointed at the barrels of rum. There were 6 in total.
"You see, I have two arms so you need to carry the rest until we find and rent a wagon or a cart." The mummy went for the barrels and stretched its arms and bandages and carried all of them.
Yusa stared in slight amazement when the mummy lifted all the barrels with 'her' bandages without making much effort.
"You are really strong, are you not? Well, that is good. I can save some money from renting a wagon for these stuffs so come on and follow me." The mummy nodded and followed her.
(Along the way…)
Yusa gulped as she took a glimpse from left to right and found that all of the attentions of the inhabitants were on them. It seemed the mummy was indeed a strange sight to see in this place. 'Her' height was not even helping either as 'she' was very tall. 'She' can be easily spotted amongst the crowd. The Oni swore that she saw a Jorou-Gumo an Arachne-like species made a hissing expression and a Kunoichi drawing her sword out that was slightly hidden from her kimono. She could tell because the blade had slightly glimmered under the sun's light.
"We-we better hurry!" She said shakily, increasing the pace of her walking, so did the mummy.
'This is going to be a long day.' She said to herself.
XXX
To be continued…