Kyoko: Hey, this is Kyo. It's late so no real Authors notes. Enjoy the chapter Kurama enters…zzzzzzzzz.
Chapt 6 The Miasma's Meal
Yugachi looked over the ocean as he scraped the Greeb mildew off the front of the ship. Here and there he bashed a Greeb away and into the water. He glanced over his shoulder at the waters ahead. It was quite nice looking and somewhat mesmerizing. Going back to his work he listened to the sound of the waves on the water but something caught his hearing in the distance. There was a high pitched call undermining the softness of the waves. The sound was like a banshee screaming out in agony. Yugachi's eyes widened and he began to pull himself up. He went onto deck and looked at the other crew members. Everyone was edgy. Everyone else knew that sound and it sent shivers down their spines.
Hiei stood at the front of the ship his Jagan eye open. Yugachi walked up behind him and watched him.
Hiei had his eyes closed as he looked through the ocean. It was difficult to keep his concentration because the Jagan eye was somehow making the shrieks even more intense. He picked up very quick and short images. He saw red and silver. That was all he could pick up. He cursed and the Jagan eye closed. He hated this place. Retying his bandana around his forehead he turned around. He was met with two mismatched eyes. He looked down at the kid in annoyance and walked away. Yugachi watched him leave and he looked back to the ocean. One of the crew members called to him for assistance and he went to help.
Sairi listened to the sound of the eels and she shivered.
"How could she even consider doing this?" she thought. Suddenly she got a massive headache and she clutched her head. An image came into her mind. Someone was hurt and they were surrounded by Eels. His hair was silver and the water around him was turning red from blood. He was unconscious. Just as quickly as her image appeared it left. Clutching her knees to her chest she slowly sank down.
"Damn…" she muttered.
The two boys sat in their cells. Outside of their cell was Tina mopping the floor of the lower level. The screams began to reach the boat.
"Hey, Yusuke, what's that noise?" Kuwabara asked hearing the echoes of the screeching in the water. Yusuke looked up and listened.
"What the hell?" he said. All was silent except for the calls. There was a clattering of a mop was heard and Tina suddenly broke into a run to one of the back rooms.
"Shit, shit, shit, shit, shit, SHIT, SHIT, SHIT, SHIT!" Tina shouted. The boys watched her as her voice grew louder. She slammed the door shut.
"Woah!" said Kuwabara. Yusuke looked at Kuwabara.
"What's up?"
"There was an extreme amount of energy that just started up!" Kuwabara said nervously. Yusuke looked back at the door. Tina came back out and closed the door behind her sighing in relief. She walked over to the communication pipe.
"Shield's up. Got it at full power." She reported.
"Shields? Shields for what?" Yusuke asked. Tina turned and looked at them.
"Oh…just to ward off the giant slimy flesh devouring sea serpents that can grow about the size of four men standing on each other's shoulders, that can leap about 20 ft out of the water, and have razor sharp teeth the size of your head." She said simply. Kuwabara got a panicked look on his face.
"WHAT?" he exclaimed.
"Just to ward off the giant slimy-" she started.
"We heard you the first time." Yusuke interrupted.
"Oh…okay. Going to be inerestin though. Never went through the Ocean of the Miasma Eels during mating season." She said in wonderment.
"What difference would that make?" Yusuke asked.
"Oh, that's when they have their venom. If it gets into your wounds it will seep in and your organs will slowly decompose and spread until your just a pile of mush." She explained. Kuwabara became very pale and his eyes grew even wider. Yusuke still looked serious.
"How often is it that someone survives after getting infected?" he asked.
"Hmmm….well without the antidote…you're screwed. With it…maybe a 30 chance if your healthy, young, and EXTREMELY lucky." She said.
"Oh my god…WE'RE DOOMED!" Kuwabara shouted beginning to panic. Yusuke looked at her in thought.
"Doesn't sound that bad. I've faced worse." Said Yusuke. Kuwabara looked at him.
"Be quiet Urameshi! This isn't some stupid tournament or duel! This is SURVIVAL!" he shouted. Yusuke looked at him.
"Kuwabara…quite worrying." Yusuke said simply. Tina had turned around and her shoulders were shaking in laughter. Yusuke looked at her and went back to his corner and sat down. The screeching was growing louder.
The air was full of fear and tenseness as the crew continued to do their jobs of the ship. The shield was up but it wasn't apparent. The shield was an invisible force field that was emitted from a special stone found only on the islands. The stones weren't very large only about the size of a baseball, and were a red tinted color similar to a garnet. The stone was placed in a bowl of the eels' own miasma which the venom's own acidity caused the reaction of the stone.
Yugachi went to the edge of the boat and looked down in the water. Shadows that looked like large snakes were beginning to gather around the ship but an invisible force caused them to stop and turn back. The screeching echoed and at some points when the eels came to the surface the screech was very painful. A splash was heard and Yugachi was looking straight into the mouth of a half grown miasma eel coming straight towards him. Venom was dripping from its teeth showing the reaching of its puberty. Yugachi watched it come towards him his eyes observing it. At the last moment the eel was knocked back and with a hiss it fell back into the water. A small shiver ran down his spine.
Blood. It was everywhere. He could smell it mixed with another smell he wasn't familiar with. Screeching filled his ears and the chill of the water numbed. He couldn't think straight from the high pitched noise. He wanted to shout out in his pain but he had no voice from the dehydration. Here and there another intense slash of pain came to him and he felt weaker as his blood flowed into the water. His eyes became heavier and he finally passed out of his consciousness.
Holly and Kelsey sat in the crows nest looking down at the waters as the miasma eels circled. They were safe up there and they knew it, that fact was all that brought them comfort.
"Wow…that's a lot of eels…" Holly said. Kelsey nodded in agreement.
"Yeah…it is…you don't think it's mating season?" she replied. Holly shrugged. Kelsey then sighed and looked off at the sea where there was quite a bit of noise coming from it. Spotting something she stood up and leaned over the side as she tried to get a better view.
"Hey…Holly…there's a large group of them at the surface over there…"Kelsey said. Holly stood up and looked where she was pointing. The eels were agitated and were screeching in excitement. In the middle of the ruckus was something red and white. Holly looked harder and realized what it was.
"Holy shit that's a person!" said Holly. "MAN OVER BOARD!" she shouted.
"MAN OVERBOARD!"
There was a sudden fear that shot through the crew. Who was in the cursed waters? A bunch of the crew ran to the sides of the ship and looked into the waters. As the boat moved they finally came across the spot where the miasma eels were rowdy. They hissed and swam away as the shield hit them.
"Hey! Over here!" shouted Ross beckoning to the Port side of the boat. Several other crew members came over and lowered a net into the water catching the person's body out of the water and pulling him onto the deck. Blood began to cover the deck around the man's body. Another substance flowed with the blood. A liquid that was dark green and steam was rising off of it. The crew all immediately jumped away from him when they saw this. Anyone that almost touched his body were immediately trying to remove whatever liquid trace was on their skin.
Ross looked at the body his eyes wide. He pushed through the crowd of the crew and sprinted to the medical wing. He burst through the doors, surprising Kyoko.
"Kyo! Come quick! There's a man and he's bitten!" Ross said almost in panic. Kyoko immediately stood up not asking any questions and ran out the door to the deck. There was still a crowd around the body. Kyoko ran and shoved anyone in front of her out of the way.
"MOVE!" she shouted finally getting through. When she saw the man she seemed very shocked and just stood there a moment looking at him her eyes seemingly like they were reflecting on something very painful. She stood there her arms crossed tightly over her chest. She didn't move closer to the man and only stood there her eyes slowly filling with tears.
"MAKEWAY!" another authoritative voice yelled. The crew made way having an earlier warning. Sairi pushed through to the scene and looked at Kyoko. She saw her expression and made eye contact. That's all she needed to do. She turned to some of the crew members.
"Get extra bed sheets. Bring them here and place them on him and wrap him carefully in them. Carry him to the medical quarters afterward. The rest of you back to your posts." She announced Kyoko's orders that she had received from Kyoko. The stunned doctor was still standing there looking at the body tears finally beginning to start to fall. She hid her face with her sleeve and quickly wiped them away.
Yugachi was not able to get into the middle of the crowd of the crew around the body so he was not able to see until they all started to depart. He pushed his way through the now moving crowd and the first thing he saw was tears falling from his mother's eyes. This set him on alarm. He pushed through faster now and finally was able to see the body.
His eyes widened immensely when he saw the body. The first thing that caught his eye wasn't the fact that there were several open wounds with poison flowing with the blood, nor the amount of blood that was beginning to cover the deck. It was the color of the man's hair. It was long and silver just like his own.
Yugachi's fist tightened as he continued to look at the man. He heard footsteps behind him and a figure not much taller than himself stood beside him. Yugachi didn't look up.
Hiei had come onto the deck when he had sensed something. It wasn't just some random aura. He recognized it and it was somewhat alarming to him how weak the aura was. When he came onto deck he was able to see the body without any problem. He slowly walked over and stood next to Yugachi his eyes looking down almost as shocked looking as the boys.
"Kurama…" Hiei muttered recognizing the bleeding man.
"Kurama…" Kuwabara suddenly said aloud over the shrieks. Yusuke looked up in surprise.
"What?" Yusuke asked but his cell mate's expression immediately made him worry. Kuwabara's face was very grave and sad.
"H-he's…he's here." Kuwabara said. "B-but…I can barely sense him…his aura is so weak…" Yusuke looked alarmed. He stood up and removed his shoe and began to bang against the bars.
"HEY! LET US OUT OF HERE RIGHT NOW!" He yelled. Tina came into the area and looked at him raising an eyebrow.
"And……why should I do this?" she asked him. Yusuke looked at her with an extremely determined look on his face.
"Because if you don't I won't hesitate to SHOOT my way out." Yusuke said staring her straight in the eye. Tina looked at him for a while.
"I'm sorry, that just doesn't worry me." She said leaning against the cell. Yusuke immediately put his arms through the bars and grabbed her.
"If you don't let me out right now I will not hesitate to break your neck!" he threatened.
"If I let you out the captain would do worse." Tina muttered. Yusuke let her go and suddenly looked to Kuwabara. He winked at the other cell mate.
"I'm sorry to hear that." He said. Kuwabara looked confused. Yusuke motioned to the cell door. Kuwabara was still confused.
"USE YOUR STUPID SPIRIT SWORD, DAMNIT!" Yusuke shouted finally out of frustration.
"Oh!..." Kuwabara said finally getting it.
"Say wha?" Tina asked. Kuwabara stood up and summoned his spirit sword. He began to carve out the door of the cell.
"Hey!" Tina shouted. She ran to her room next to the cell and came down. A click was heard and Kuwabara was looking at the end of a gun when he was half way though.
"Cut anymore and I'll blow your brains out." She threatened. Yusuke looked at her very serious and calm looking all of a sudden. He held his fingers up aiming straight at her.
"My friend is dieing…if you want to die in attempts of keeping me in here then I'll allow you that. Know this…I care about my friends and I'm not just going to sit in this cell when I may be able to try and save them." He said not ever taking his eyes down. Tina looked at him for some reason feeling…a little intimidated.
Kyoko: Sleeping yeah…we'll try to write but we're too tired. ;-;
Kabira: Bouncing around. She means her I don't require sl- Zzzzzzzzzzz…
Kyoko: Pokes her with a stick. Hehehehe…Zzzzzzzzzzzz…