Vampire Princess Miyu Fan Fiction ❯ When Friends are True-A Vampire Miyu Saga ❯ Old Friends and New Threats ( Chapter 10 )

[ Y - Young Adult: Not suitable for readers under 16 ]

Chapter Ten



Chapter Ten
Old Friends and New Threats

"It was not supposed to be this way." Pazusu said. "Mori is supposed to be dead."
"What do you mean, Lord Pazusu?" Carlua asked as she nursed a still-unconscious Cait Sith. The Chinese Shinma had hit him hard enough to knock him out cold for the last three hours, but now he was showing signs of waking up. There seemed to be no other damage other than the small dent in his forehead, caused by what seemed to be a ring on the Chinese Shinma's finger. With as much force as he had behind that blow, it was amazing that he did not split Cait Sith's skull open.
"Back during the Shinma Wars, I remember seeing the body of a giant black wolf hanging from her paws as a trophy. Lord Gardine still has her skin in the entry parlor of his estate."
"Well, this is said to be the Realm of Ghosts." Water Lipper said, handing Carlua a damp cloth to be laid on Cait Sith's forehead. "My teachers have always taught me that the impossible seems possible here."
"Now that the Elders and involved with this, I doubt that we have very little chance of succeeding. And that mark on Cait Sith's forehead; only one type of High Shinma is allowed to where a ring of that size. We are dealing with their royalty, probably the heirs. They seem far too young to be the actual rulers. Still, the power that we have seen from them in nothing more than a small fraction." He sighed, putting his hand on his forehead. "We should not have come. Mori is alive and hates Western Shinma. We should just leave now and not look back."
Carlua left Cait Sith where he was lying- he would live, so she did not have to worry about him anymore- and walked over to Pazusu, kneeling by the chair that he sat in the place her hands over his, clenched in his lap. "Lord Pazusu, Larva has returned to us and I'm sure Miyu is dead by now. No one can survive wounds like that. We got what we came here for, and that's all that matters, isn't it?"
Pazusu looked up at Carlua just barely, then smiled weakly. "I suppose you are right…"
"No!" Water Lipper said, standing up so fast that the bowl of water sitting on the stand next to her clattered to the ground. Water splashed about her feet, dampening the ends of her heavy robes. "I don't mean to be disrespectful, Lord Pazusu, but some of us here still want to test our strength against these children. You yourself said that they are too young to possess the full powers of their parents, so I'm sure they are not as strong as we believe them to be. I myself still have a score to finish with the cat-girl and I'm sure that Lemunia wants payback for the Chinese Shinma that made him and Night Gia into puppets. I know Spartoi wants to avenge Amy. If we back out now then the Japanese Shinma will see us as weak and may someday even travel to our lands to conquer us!" Pazusu and Carlua only blinked slowly at her; this was probably the most she had said at one time since they arrived here. She dropped her head to advert her deep green eyes away from theirs. "Forgive me, my mouth has run away with me."
"No, it's alright. I understand your meaning, Water Lipper, I feel that you are right. You came here solely for the purpose of testing your strength and it would be unfair for us to leave without you doing so. The only thing I have to say to that is to be careful. Lemunia and Night Gia barely escaped with their lives and Amy is probably dead by now."
"I will be ware, Lord Pazusu." Water Lipper said, making a very formal bow. She then took her leave to prepare for battle.
After a moment of silence, Carlua asked Pazusu nervously, "Do you think there is a chance of Miyu living through those wounds?"
Pazusu only shook his head slowly. "It's hard to say. A vampire's body works in very different ways other than our own. It is said that their blood can heal the worse of wounds. And with the Elders helping her... it is hard to tell what is to happen next. I would not be surprised if the Chinese Shinma even try to attack us first. And if they do, I fear they will go after Larva first. They seemed to be very protective over the vampire girl."
It was Carlua's turn to stand up sharply. "If they do, then… I should warn them. Where are they?"
"On the deck, I think."
"If you will excuse me then, Lord Pazusu…" Carlua said as she hustled out of the room without another word. Pazusu smiled after her then rested his head in his hands to think.
Carlua found Larva with Spartoi on the deck as Lord Pazusu had said he would be. She could not help but to smile at the sight of the older cousin. In truth, she had not believed that they would succeed, much less come this far in the mission. Not only had they got Larva back from Miyu, the little demon was also now dead. Or so they thought, but Elders rarely got involved with the battles that the rest of their realm may be fighting. But, then again, why would they come up so far from the Lower Layers, to the Earth Realm, to save Miyu? She had always been taught that the vampires were the segregated ones from the entire realm. Carlua shook her head back and forth, partly from wanting to clear her thoughts of the horrid girl and second to clear away the feeling of dizziness that suddenly washed over her body. It was not the first time this had happened, but the waves were getting worse. Carlua pushed the feeling down. She did not want to appear weak in front of Larva.
"How are you feeling, Larva?" Carlua asked nervously, for some odd reason. If he felt anything like she did, he would be feeling exhausted from the black magic of the Mashujutsu.
Larva turned from Spartoi and smiled at her. Carlua felt her heart skip a beat. "Just fine, thanks to you and Pazusu." He answered. "How's Cait Sith?"
"He's doing alright." Carlua's response was not even half-hearted. "He should be waking up soon. He should also be grateful that his face was not crushed in. Lord Pazusu says that the Chinese Shinma that are here are some of the most powerful in their Clan, so he wants us to be careful. They will probably be wanting their vengeance as well."
Spartoi snorted. "Lord Pazusu constantly warns us of those savage barbarians but apparently they don't have enough backbone to kill us. And talk about primitive! Did you see what the bird-girl was wearing? Do they have no modesty?"
A small chuckle escaped from Larva. No matter how much he would deny it, the big man could never keep his eyes from wandering to a pretty girl. "It's better not to underestimate your opposite, Spartoi. You should know that being a warrior and all. Just like how I did not expect the vampire girl to keep me prisoner for all these years."
"Well, it was your own fault." Came a cold and harsh voice from behind. The three Western Shinma turned to see Lemunia approach them, who had gone unnoticed until now. The boy glared at Larva angrily. "She was not so difficult to defeat. I can't see why you couldn't do all those years ago what you did today. I would have thought that my brother would have held you to it. And then you repay him by sealing him in this hell-hole to protect her..."
Carlua glared at Lemunia hard enough to make him physically flinch. "Lemunia! How dare you..."
Larva silenced he by putting a hand on her shoulder. "It's alright, Carlua. Lemunia, I would like to apologize. I did not know what I was doing nor thinking then." Lemunia only grimaced and looked away. For one reason he was at a complete loss of words and secondly because out of jealously when he saw the color rise in Carlua's cheeks. Most everyone knew of the boy's feelings for her, but every time he would try to make it known to her she would only reject him coldly.
"Who would have thought that her hold would have been strong enough to turn two best friends against each other?" Spartoi commented. There was a sharp sting in his voice when he referred to "her".
"That brings up my next question." Lemunia said, making himself look at the others. "Why hasn't my brother come back yet? Miyu's dead, so the seal on her realm should have been broken." There was an uneasy silence on the deck of the Ghost Ship; everybody there knew that they were looking at the risk of Miyu still being alive.
It was Spartoi who broke the silence with an unrelated subject. "Well, I may as well prepare for battle. I have a feeling that the bird girl will want to fight me again. I would not mind fighting for real this time."
"Fight her to fight her or to see what she's wearing?" Larva called teasingly after him. Spartoi's laughter was the answer.
Larva smiled after his friend as he walked below deck. Though he knew that Spartoi had always been good at hiding his emotions behind a mask of good humor, he was still mourning for Amy. But his own smile fled when he saw the disturbed and concerned look on Carlua's face. "What's wrong, Carlua?" He asked gently.
"The Chinese Shinma and Elder will be after us now for killing the vampire girl. And there is a chance of Miyu still being alive. I'm afraid that you'll be the first one they go after..." She turned around sharply to face him, her sky-blue eyes filled with tears. "Larva, please promise me that you'll be careful! Lord Pazusu and I... we can't lose you again!"
Larva smiled again, hoping that it would cause some comfort. "I will, Carlua. Trust me, it will never happen again. Now if you excuse me I must speak to Lord Pazusu over such matter." Carlua watched him go with a warm and loving gaze. Lemunia shot a look after him that would have killed anything mortal in its tracks.

"Bored, Ryuko?"
"What ever made you think that?" Ryuko asked back, making the little stick-man stand on his head.
"You're making sticks dance again, that's why." Tacha said from just a few feet above his head.
Ryuko sighed and let the stick-man fall apart. He did admit, he was bored. The only thing he could do to pass the time was used his Puppeteering spells to make small figures out of sticks and a rock for a head and make them dance. If he was in a better mood and if Yoshi had persuaded him to do it, he would have made another to make for better means of entertainment... but this was neither the time nor the place. So he just made the little stick-man somersault and stand on his head and do other small acrobatics using the same spell he had used against Night Gia. "Can someone please explain what we're waiting around for? Mori told us to go look for Yui so she can wake up Miyu so we can kick the Western Shinma's butts!"
"For one thing, we don't even know where to start looking for Yui. The Shi have their own parallel dimension to the Japanese Shinma Realm and if we go there they will scatter. Like Mori said, they are very shy and don't like being disturbed, much less being pulled into other battles." Kia said. "Besides, Miyu and Yui are somehow bonded by blood, so Yui is bound to know that something has happened. If not, we have to find some way to get her out of her Realm and into this one."
"Perhaps we may be of some service to that?" Came a cool, melodic voice from the shadows. The Chinese Shinma looked to the dark grove of the trees at the same time to see three figures coming closer to them. One tall male figure, probably a few good inches taller than Kia, Yoshi or Tacha, a smaller female figure that was a few inches shorter and Ryuko and a smaller child figure that was even smaller than the woman. The Chinese Shinma recognized them almost immediately. The tall one was Aoi, a samurai who was loyal to the woman, Ranka. Aoi was not any Samurai, the Chinese Shinma reminded themselves; he was the Blademaster of the Japanese Shinma, the Shogun to all other samurai in the Realm who were loyal to their Elders and the protection of their clan. His shoulder-length white hair was pulled behind him in a small tail, keeping it out of his strikingly beautiful face. His cold gray eyes were highlighted by red tattoos both above and below to symbolize his position. A long curved katana hung at his hip and he wore heavy cloth-armor rather than the full medal armor than they had last seen him in, back during the Shinma wars. Wow, had it been that long?
Ranka was the Sentinel of the Second Layer and next in line to be the Elder, if the current Elders ever got through their trail process. Ranka's mother had been the Elder of the Second Layer, but like so many others, she lost her life during the Shinma Wars, right before the end. Why the Elders had not named her Elder of the Second Layer was unknown. Maybe Ranka was still considered to be too young to hold the position of Elder. Maybe the Lower Layer Elders did not feel it was urgent to name her as Elder yet. But in any case, it not doubted that Ranka would follow her mother's footsteps. Looking about as old as the Chinese Shinma, probably no older than twenty, Ranka had shiny black hair that was kept just below her shoulders and had bright blue eyes that stood out starkly against her pale skin. She wore a traditional light blue kimono and with a long royal purple obi that was decorated with mild-colored butterflies. She was not much taller than Miyu but by far much older.
The smallest Shinma was Ichiro, a younger Shinma who called himself a Werewolf. He looked no older than Miyu's age, maybe a little younger, but was born shortly after the Shinma Wars, making him as old as the majority of the Western Shinma. He had a wild mat of dark brown hair that covered half of his face, including one of his blood-red eyes. He was wearing a long brown Japanese-style coat tied around the waist but only one sleeve on his arm and black leggings that looped at the bottom and fit around his feet. The other arm was left bare and his chest had been wrapped in tight gauze. Why, the Chinese Shinma did not know. He had no distinguishing features of a wolf like what Yoto or Ryuko possessed, but his own ears were long and pointed and extended nearly to the crown of his head. It was said that he had the power to turn into a wolf, but they had never seen him in action.
"Long time no see." Yoshi said from the branch he was hanging from. "What brings you guys here? We haven't seen you for a couple hundred years."
"To avenge our Sentinel and to make sure that she is returned to her original strength. We have also come here to help you find Yui." Ranka answered.
"But you're not alone, either." Kia said, looking beyond Ranka and into the forest. The other Chinese Shinma craned their necks to see too, and then wide smiles split their faces despite their earlier moods when three new shapes stepped from the shadows. They were faces that were even more familiar than those of the Japanese Shinma that stood before them; faces from their past, from their childhood. "Nice dramatic entrance, guys."
"Well, I don't see why you guys get to have all the fun." The fiery haired fox girl smiled. "It took a lot of energy before Daddy let us go." Kitsune was the daughter of a lord that was close friends with Ryuko's father. She was only a few thousand years younger than the other Chinese Shinma by not much bigger than Miyu, which was small on their terms, and had the features of a red fox, including a large busy tail that was wrapped around her legs. She was dressed in a Chinese-like outfit, with a high-necked collar, black trimmed with red, and baggy pants that were as red as her hair and fur. She was also wearing a gray Japanese-style jacket over it. He yellow eyes sparkled with mischief. Ryuko swallowed the forming lump in his throat. He had forgotten how beautiful she was.
There was another girl with them, obviously much younger than the others considering she looked about seven or eight in human terms with the feline features of a bangle tiger. Her brown hair was pulled up into two small buns on either sides of her heads, just below her small ears, and were encircled with small blue beads. She wore an outfit much like the one Kitsune was wearing, but was a light-purple color. A wide grin broke out on her face as she ran forward and tackled Tacha, who looked more horrified than surprised. "Mei-Ling!" She said, trying to pry the girl away from her waist. "What are you doing here?"
"Daddy said I could come with Verde!" She said, her green eyes sparkling. "I also wanted to see you to see you again, big sister!"
Tacha looked at the last of the new Chinese Shinma. "Verde! Why didn't you say something? You knew there was a pending battle!" Verde was her dearest friend since childhood, but right now the feelings towards him was indifferent at the moment. Not much taller than Tacha herself, his shoulders and arms looked like the trunks of trees, thick and muscular. His short dark blue hair was held out of his black eyes by a thin headband. He was a Feline as well, with the same black panther characteristics as Tacha. He was wearing a dark green coat with three strips running diagonally across his chest, each a different color; light blue, black, and purple. The top of the sleeves were made from a transparent green material, revealing the tight cords of strong, rock-hard muscles. His breeches were plain and brown, and he wore no shoes, just like the other Chinese Shinma. Three gold hoop earrings were pierced through his left ear, glistening in the morning sunlight.
He only shrugged. "She was so persistent. He only agreed to it when I said I would accompany her."
"How did you come about coming here in the first place?" Yoto inquired.
"Well, unlike the rest of you," Kitsune harrumphed "I have very little Battle Experience. You guys had that war you fought in when I was a thousand years too young! As soon as I heard about the Western Shinma invasion I figured it would be an open opportunity since wars are few and far between anymore. Mei-Ling overheard me, and she wanted to go with so she could visit Tacha."
"But she's too young to fight!" Tacha protested, finally able to get the last of Mei-ling's fingers from off her belt. "You know you have to be twenty-one-thousand to battle."
"Damn Battle Experience credits." Yoshi growled from his still-upside down position. "Well, it sounds responsible. I mean, I don't exactly think that there will be a war anytime soon."
"Don't talk too soon, Chinese Shinma." Aoi said gravely. All other conversation halted immediately, and the Chinese Shinma looked at Aoi with blood-drained faces.
"Anyway," Kia said, taking a hold of Ranka's glance away from the side conversations. She sometimes wished that the others would take things more seriously. But now that they had three more persons on their side, the chances of the Western Shinma doing anymore damage was quavering. Ranka looked back at Kia, those icy, serene eyes never wavering. "Obviously there are enough of us here to cover a large amount of area at once. You know this land more than we do; what would you suggest doing?"
"We must approach the situations from all sides, like you said." Ranka said. "More than likely, Yui will find us before we find her. She and Miyu are...linked in a way, through their blood, but more like sisters rather than by other bonds that Shinma take. It will not be long before she knows what has happened here and will want to come to Miyu." Kia licked her lips and worried her bottom lip as the other woman talked. She was so patient, such a slow, quiet talker that it made Kia antsy. Time was running out, but Ranka took time to think everything out. The Chinese Shinma damned her impatient nature under stressful situations. "We cannot all go in one large group to find Yui, or we will probably frighten her off. The Shi are very shy." Kia nodded urgently. Several of the other Chinese Shinma had gathered around behind her, all looking down at Ranka but listening with the same eager expressions on their faces. Ranka seemed to sense this unease. "And the Western Shinma will not stay fixated on their ship for long. We will need to split up into groups to cover as much ground at once. Ichirou," she turned to the wolf-boy, who was lounging against the trunk of a tree on a branch twenty feet above the ground. "I want you to find Yui. If you listen carefully, you will here Miyu's voice. It will lead you to Yui."
"I don't see why the Shi Clan should become involved!" Ichirou retorted from where he was lounging. "They aren't like us! Why should we involve them with Shinma affairs?"
"Because we have no other choice. She is the only one who can save Miyu." Aoi said, without expression. The werewolf snorted but no longer protested.
Ranka continued as if neither of them had said anything. "Ichirou is no doubt the fastest of all of us here. If he follows Miyu's voice, it will not take him long to find her." Yoshi abruptly cocked his head as if listening for something, but then only shook it in confusion. "You seven cannot hear it, of course. Only those tied to this realm can, so you must trust his ears. I, however, must return to the Second Layer and guard it from whoever will be traveling to there next. The Western Shinma are as stubborn as they come, and will not give up easily. Aoi will assist me. Now, what will you do in correspondence to those?"
Kia cleared her throat before speaking. "Well, the Wolfins are fast as well, so two can go with Ichirou. Kitsune and Yoto, I think it may be good for you two. Yoto has not had a chance to fight yet, and you two will be the most likely to run into trouble, especially if the Western Shinma know about Yui. There is a river that runs straight through the land to the lower levels, right?" Kia asked Ranka. She nodded slowly. "Then that could mean that the water sprite may try to get to the lower levels that way. Tacha and Verde, that's your location. I'll go with you and Aoi to guard the Second Layer. And Yoshi and Ryuko, I need to two to go to their ship and find out any information you can on anything they might be planning. Does that sound like a good plan?" The Chinese Shinma nodded in agreement simultaneously, but waited for Ranka's approval before it was official.
Ichirou was the only one to protest. "But I wanna fight too, Ranka! it's not fair! They got to battle in the Shinma Wars..."
"Hush, Ichirou." Ranka said quietly. "And you may get what you wish for..."
Suddenly a hushed silence fell over the area and an unfriendly presence drifted on the breeze. The Chinese Shinma shifted in their spots, trying to look for the intruder but moving their eyes alone. Someone had been listening to their conversations. The only thing any of them knew was it was a Western Shinma. Ranka remained absolutely motionless, then pulled one pale hand from her kimono sleeve. A small finger piece was on the index finger of her left hand, the type used when she played the Kojo harp. It was also one of her favorite weapons. She made the slightest motion of her hand towards Aoi.
Abruptly Aoi took to the mask from his face and his sword from his sheath in a motion so quick that it made the Chinese Shinma blink to comprehend what had just happened. At the same time Ranka drew her arm across her shoulders, her fingers touching her right temple, then swung her arm back out the opposite direction. A thin blue line flew from that path her hand had taken, speeding towards a thicket of trees just as Aoi took one swipe at the thick undergrowth with his sword. Then he stepped back, his curved sword returning to with sheath with a sharp clack. At the sound there was a spray of blood, and three bodies fell from the shrubbery in pieces. The whole thing had taken less than five seconds. The Chinese Shinma had known the Japanese Shinma were extremely fast, but seeing them in action was also a sight that made the head spin for moments afterwards.
The last Western Shinma left standing staggered back, looking at disbelief at its fallen companions. It was dressed in what appeared to be a black body suit that looked a little to big for it, with long sleeves and a hood pulled up around its head. To the other Shinma's surprise, it had no face; only two pale eyes set in a white head. No nose, no mouth, no other distinct features. "No...no..." it rasped, looking at the pool of black blood at its feet. Then it turned and fled into the forest. "It won't escape." Ranka said calmly as the Chinese Shinma opened their mouths. "Ichirou..."
Ichirou's lips curled in a cold smile. He jumped from his tree branch, hands clenched into tight fists. "Let's do it!" He yelled as a powerful energy spell was woven around him. With a wild cry, he yelled "Kibashiri!" and threw his hands out. There was a powerful gush of wind, strong enough to break the huge cedar trees before him in half as if they were toothpicks. The retreating Shinma turned around and was only able to admit a strangled sound as he was torn to shreds as easily as the others were. A charred tunnel in the forest marked the full power of Ichirou's blast.
Ryuko cocked and eyebrow, mirroring the silent astonishment of his companions. "Impressive, for a squirt." He said. The others nodded in agreement.
"Ichirou," Aoi said when the young Japanese Shinma relaxed from his spell. "Did you even notice them?"
"Oh course I did!" Ichirou snapped back.
"But they...were not Western Shinma." Kia said, sounding slightly puzzled. "It had no face, and that was not a mask."
"Then, what was it?" Kitsune asked. Mei-Ling pushed past the older Chinese Shinma and was moving towards the black puddle of blood before Tacha pulled her back.
"Tacha, it smells funny. Like bad meat." The young Feline observed. Tacha took a sniff. It did smell odd but very foul. She pulled back quickly, taking her sister with her.
"It smells..." she hissed in disgust. "Ryuko, Yoto, do you know what it is?"
"Believe me, we can smell it just fine from back here!" Ryuko retorted. All three Wolfins looked about as disgusted as she did, with Kitsune and Ryuko raising their paws to their noses. Even Yoto was grimacing.
"I know that smell..." The big man said. "But I can not place it..."
"That's why it's a good thing that the two of you are going to the ship." Ranka said, looking at Ryuko and Yoshi. "Something very vile is amidst here, and it's not just the Western Shinma. We need to know what it is."
Tacha said, "Then we can't waste time. We need to go immediately. First, I need to put Mei-Ling somewhere where she'll be safe. Do you think that Mori will mind if she's in the Fifth Layer? All right then. Verde, come with me. Mei-Ling, let's go." The three Felines left the area, Tacha arguing with her sister about why Mei-Ling could not follow Tacha.
"The day is still young. We will meet back here at sundown, if it is possible." Ranka said. "Ichirou and Chinese Shinma, it is up to you to make sure Yui gets here under all circumstances. Everyone, be wary. We are Miyu's last hope. We cannot fail her."

The Western Shinma ghost ship loomed before them, dark and ominous. Yoshi and Ryuko sat crouched under a low hedge on the end of the forest, watching, waiting. They had been like that for over an hour, ignoring the insects that were crawling over them and the burning ache in their limbs. Nothing on deck moved. It was barely past mid day, but it was hard to tell with the dark clouds that were boiling overhead. More snow was promised. To their right, the remains of the western Torii gate were still smoldering. "I'm sure it's safe to move." Ryuko whispered, even though he did not take his eyes from the dark ship before them. It rolled on dark, choppy water that was peaked by white foam. Yoshi nodded in agreement. "How will we get up there?"
"I can't carry you if I were to fly." Yoshi said. "You're too heavy. But I can carry you on my back if we were to climb up the sides. The only problem with that is they might hear us if we were to get a running jump to the sides of the deck. We'll have to decide what to do from there." Ryuko approved immediately; they really did not have another choice. They moved from their hiding place to the next safe sanctuary between the forest and the ship. The Western Shinma could come out at any time. Yoshi had erased all signs of his presence so he would not be detected to even the most sensitive Shinma; an illusion spell woven by Ryuko hid his own presence as well as their smells. They were practically invisible. Ryuko had considered making them truly invisible, but even as powerful as he was in the magic of illusion, the weave to do so was large and would be picked up by others. They slinked from a place of safety to place of safety, keeping low to the ground and looking more like cats than a bat and a wolf. This was exactly why Kia had chosen them for this mission; they were the only ones who were quiet enough to pull it off.
After what seemed to be an eternity, they were at a cliff over the water and ten feet away from the starboard side of the ship. The wood was cracked and splintering badly in several areas, which would make good footholds when they had to climb up it. When Yoshi had to climb up it, that was. Ryuko could scale rocks as if they were flat earth, but trees were a different matter. Or anything that was made of wood. They would be out of site to any Western Shinma who were to come on deck now, unless they looked over the side of the railing. But not there was only silence. With Yoshi's nod, Ryuko climbed onto his back and grasped his own forearms in his hands around Yoshi's neck, making sure that he was not hindering Yoshi's wings. The Wolfin was two or three inches shorter than Yoshi, but was solid muscle which made his heavier than the Avian had anticipated. At any other time they would also be cracking jokes left and right about the current situation, but this was no time for their foolish games. Mori was counting on them to save Miyu, and they were in a neck-to-neck race with time. With a grunt, Yoshi launched himself off of the cliff and spread his wings, catching the wind under them until he hit the side of the ship with a solid ka-thunk.
Both Chinese Shinma froze where they were, Ryuko clinging to Yoshi's back and Yoshi hanging onto the side of the ship, all claws dug into the wood to hold on. This was not hard and he felt no strain; if he did not have a passenger that the moment, he would have been able to hold on without using his claws. Ryuko, on the other hand, wanted to get on deck as soon as possible. The ship was massive, the deck a hundred feet up from the surface of the water. The railing was twenty feet above them. The mere thought of the distance below them made his stomach churn. But for the moment, they were silent, listening. Had anyone inside heard them? Yoshi pressed and ear to the wood, listening. Not a sound from the inside. With a sigh, he scrambled up the starboard and pulled himself and his friend onto the deck.
The deck was barren, empty, much to their delight, but it was not time to breeze through this mission now. The tricky part was yet to come, and the most dangerous. On light feet they approached the door that led down below deck of the ship, to where the Western Shinma were dwelling. They were all down there, except for maybe Amy, who was still laying around in the forest somewhere.
The two Chinese Shinma crept along the deck, both masking their steps through magic and natural silence. Though they made not a sound, not even the wood under their feet creaking, they moved slowly across the deck, creeping towards the door that lead below deck. It seemed to take an eternity to get there, but soon they were on either side of the portal, peering down into the darkness below decks. The air was rank with their scent, which smelt too human for the pride of Shinma, but there were no Western Shinma at close hand. Yoshi leaned forward, one ear inside the doorframe. At his nod they moved in. There was no one close enough to sense their entrance.
The snuck down the stairs with all the silence they could muster. Even though their feet would make no sound when it touched the stairs, the wood will still groan under their weight. The darkness of the cabins soon began to close around them and Yoshi began to softly click his tongue, using the trademark echolocation to move in the dark until his eyes adjusted. Ryuko has fewer problems seeing in the dark stairwell, but he wished he had Kia or Tacha's eyes with them to help. The ceiling was low, making Yoshi press his wings to his back and both crouch to fit down the narrow opening. Soon the stairwell didn't seem as dark anymore; there was a soft golden glow that was progressively making its way up the stairs to meet them. After what seemed like days the ceiling above them opened up to the parlor of the ship, a big room lit by two dozen or so brazen oil lamps mounted to the wall with iron bolts. The floor and all the walls had been polished until they gleamed, the wood a rich hazelnut color and a bright rug covered to floor woven with blue, green and gold. Worked tables and high-backed chairs made of cherry wood and oak were also bolted to the floor, padded with deep red velvet cushions with gold trimmings. Dark blue curtains covered one wall, ending in gold tassels that brushed the polished floor. A couch was set up near on of the corners with a very Victorian-age feeling to it. Everything was bolted to the ground, but it did not take away from the splendor of the room. These must have been higher Shinma, judging by the surroundings. The whole ship, for being as ugly as is was on the outside, looked like one of the lord's manors on the insides. Ryuko and Yoshi felt differently towards the gaudiness of the room. They cocked their eyebrows at each other in silent questioning; the corners of their mouths turned up in smirks as if they wanted to laugh. Neither of them had liked the Victorian age very well.
The fringes of Yoshi's ears suddenly flipped back, catching the faintest whisper of a sound. The sound of footsteps coming this way, and a lot of them at that. He flashed a warning look at Ryuko; they were in the middle of the parlor, in easy seeming distance of anyone coming out of the next room. Ryuko's eyes flickered up and spotted thick planks just below the ceiling that kept the deck supported above, cloaked in gray shadows that would hide them from anyone that was not looking at them too closely. He mouthed the words "rafters" to his companion and both leapt straight up, catching a wooden beam and pulling themselves onto it, pushing into the shadows.
The Western Shinma entered through the door that the Chinese Shinma were just standing before. Seven Occidental Shinma entered through the portal, and Ryuko snarled silently at the sight of them; they still had the scent of Miyu's blood on them. "Then it's true?" Spartoi asked, questioning something that the Chinese Shinma had obviously missed. Ryuko and Yoshi sniggered at the sight of the still-visible dent in Cait Sith's head.
"Yes. My messenger has informed me before he was killed by the Japanese Shinma." The dark-skinned Shinma was saying. "Miyu can be revived. And Yui has Miyu's blood." The two hidden Chinese Shinma exchanged anxious glances in the dark and leaned forward to make sure they heard every word. "We must destroy her before she can reach the Fifth Layer!"
"Then let us go with you." Water Lipper said harshly, almost a hiss. It sounded like a snake getting ready to wrap its coils around an unsuspecting rodent. "I'm bored here, and the real battle is about to begin."
"Me too!" Lemunia snapped. It sounded as if he just wanted an excuse to get off the ship.
"Very well…" a sneer curled Cait Sith's mouth. "You two take care of Yui. The rest of you find the Second Layer! Or what's left of it, anyway. There is no Elder to deal with, only a sentinel that should be no harder to kill than the vampire girl. With her out of the way, this world is practically ours!"
"What about the other Elders? Mori and her sons?" Carlua asked, trying to keep her voice steady but it still quaked with every other word.
"I don't think we need to worry about them." Spartoi said, as if trying to comfort her fear. "They're bound to crumble to dust in a matter of days. They're said to be almost three times as old as the Earth Realm, and nothing can last for that long. Let's go, Larva!" He said, turning around to face his friend. "We'll take care of those weak Japanese fools!"
"Right." Larva said with a cruel smirk.
"I'm coming too!" Carlua said, grabbing her mask from a near-by table. Before Pazusu could say anything to discourage her from going, she was following her companions through the door that lead to the stairs to the deck. He did not like the idea of her in the Japanese Realm now that the Elders were involved. True, they were old and probably were not going to fight personally, but Mori's sons, Mioshi and Okkoto, were still young and fast and had all their mother's strength in both of them. But before he had a chance to tell Larva to at least watch out for her, her mask dropped from her hand and she collapsed to the floor.
"Carlua!" Pazusu cried. He was at her side at an instant, holding her up to support her even though she was completely unconscious. Larva and Spartoi both turned around, but it was Larva that approached Pazusu, who had a hand on his foster daughter's forehead. She was sweating slightly, but other than that, she looked unharmed.
"What's wrong?" Larva asked, concern laced in his voice. Up above, Ryuko shifted slightly when he felt jealously waves radiating from Yoshi. The bat Shinma's eyes were narrow as he glared down below, trembling slightly. Ryuko wondered what had made him so mad.
"It's nothing." Pazusu said. "She's just weak from lack of blood." Larva gave a start, and the radiation coming from Yoshi intensified. "You go on ahead."
"Yes, sir." Larva said reluctantly, but his eyes did not leave his cousin. She did this for me… I am sorry, Carlua… With a sigh, he turned away where Spartoi was waiting for him. "I'll be on my way, then."
"Don't worry, Larva." Spartoi said, patting his friend on the shoulder. "Lord Pazusu will care for her!" The two Western Shinma acceded the stairs up to the deck and disappeared. Pazusu picked up Carlua and carried to the couch and laid her down upon it, then sat in a nearby chair so he could watch her. His back was to the door that had come through, making an easy way to the lower parts of the ship for the Chinese Shinma. At first Pazusu and Carlua looked to be the only people left, but then Ryuko and Yoshi noticed Cait Sith standing by the door, watching the exit until the other Western Shinma could not be seen anymore. Then he turned and left through the door that the Chinese Shinma had hoped to get through.
"Now where is he going?" Ryuko whisper. They waited in the rafters for a few moments after the dark-skinned Shinma was out of smelling and hearing range, then they too carefully and slowly crawled out of the rafters and followed him down the dark hall. Pazusu never knew they were there.
"Dude, what's up with you?" Ryuko asked as they moved down the hall, pressed close to the wall. "The way you reacted when the girl collapsed…"
Again Yoshi burned with anger. This was beginning to frighten Ryuko. Yoshi was usually in a good, carefree mood all the time, always goofing off and making a jackass of himself. When he was mad, and mad enough for anyone in a ten-foot radius to feel it, must have been something really terrible that Ryuko did not catch. He stopped where he was, looking at the ground. "That ungrateful… he doesn't even feel guilty for what he did…"
"Yosh, you know that's not really him. They must have done something to him when he was killed. I think I have an idea, but…"
"That's not the point!" Yoshi said, whirling around to face Ryuko, his voice a dangerous whisper. "If he cared about her they way we thought we did, he wouldn't have done that! Or he would feel at least a little bit sorry for it! Ryuko, we can't let them get to Miyu. We can't let her down. I… I can't…" With that he bit his lip and looked down.
Ryuko felt as if an iceberg had settled in the pit of his stomach. He suddenly knew why Yoshi was so upset. He wanted to say something that would bring him back to himself, but he knew that it would only put Yoshi in a worse mood and most likely blow their cover. He put a supporting hand on his friend's shoulder. "Nothing's going to happen to her, Yosh." He said. "They're only nine Shinma, a long way from home and here all alone. We've got two Realms behind us. And if the Japanese Shinma rising against them doesn't scare them out, then we will." Slowly, reluctantly, Yoshi nodded. "Come on then. Let's see what this freak is up to. He doesn't smell right."
The two Shinma continued down the dark hall, keeping a clean distance between themselves and the Western Shinma before them. They did not have to worry about loosing him; his scent cut a clear path for them as if it were illuminated arrows pointing them in the right direction. Deeper and deeper into the ship they went, the passageways and halls becoming darker and smaller the whole way through. "Hold it." Ryuko said, holding out a hand before they entered one room. "Someone's in here. Not Cait Sith. Smells like…" he paused for a moment, drawing in one quick breath. "Night Gia. Stay here, I'll be right back. Wait for my signal." Pressing himself flat against the wall, which was something Yoshi had a hard time doing thanks to his wings, Ryuko slipped into the room. Not too long after that Yoshi heard a muffled cry that was silenced as soon as it was heard. He spared one peek into the room and saw Ryuko hunched over an unconscious figure in his arms. Even in the weak light where his vision was not as strong as the Wolfin's, he could make out the figure to be Night Gia. Ryuko's nose had not failed them yet. He laid Night Gia carefully on the ground and motioned for Yoshi to join them.
"He'll be out for a while." Ryuko said when Yoshi inquired the situation. "We couldn't have him making any noise and giving away our location. The ones above may not have heard us, but the one below would have had no problem. He still looked shaken from the last time we saw him. Damn, I'm good." He chuckled.
"It's getting stuffy." Yoshi whispered. Ryuko then noticed it for the first time. The air was thicker, mustier, and damp. They must be below the water line, well into the ship's deep belly. He immediately wondered what the Shinma they had been following was possibly keeping down here. "I wonder how much… Oh! Hide!" At his word both ducked behind a large pile of broken down crates and barrels to be unseen by Cait Sith.
The Western Shinma was standing not more than twenty feet in front of them, looking down into a dark stairwell that extended even deeper into to ship's hull. Both Chinese Shinma held their breaths as if they had spotted him at a hundred yards away, but their hearts thudded in their chests as if they had just run ten miles. Had he heard them? How could he not? They had not been talking at the safe whisper they should have maintained, but he showed no signs of suspicion. He only continued to stare down the stairs. Was he waiting to strike? Yoshi and Ryuko pushed themselves lower to the cold damp wooden planks as if trying to become one with the floor. Instead of turning around or unleashing any sort of attack their direction, he descended the stairs and was out of sight.
Both Shinma let out the breath they had been holding for a good two minutes. Ryuko motioned for Yoshi to stay where he was and slinked on his belly over to the stairwell. The air was dank and smelt strongly of molding rot, but even in the dark he could see Cait Sith was no longer on the stairs and was now standing in the middle of a room that was quite large. And quite well furnished for being in the bottom of a ship. Thick curtains hung from the ceiling, falling down the walls and onto the floors. With Cait Sith's back was towards him Ryuko motioned for his companion to join them. "Too risky to go down." He whispered so softly that even Yoshi had to strain a bit to hear. "We can hear just fine from up here." Yoshi nodded in agreement and both slunk to their bellies, hanging over the top step to catch every word spoken.
Cait Sith remained motionless where he stood for a moment of two longer, then raised a dark clawed hand and moved the nearest curtain out of the way, pinning it to the wall. Behind it stood a stone statue of a woman, draped in another aged cloth. She was wearing a dress that was split up on leg, a tall turban and her ringed left hand was drawn up towards the hollow of her neck. At first sight of it Yoshi and Ryuko felt as if they had been plunged into a pool of icy water. Every muscle tensed and a violent shiver ran down their spines. This statue was…evil. It was the only word that suited it.
Then Cait Sith spoke. "Just a little while longer, Mama!" The two Chinese Shinma blinked. His…mother? This was getting weirder and weirder all the time. "The time is drawing nearer…I can feel your life force, Mama! It will be very soon…I can hardly wait!" A smile split his face that was as cold and cruel as the feeling that surrounded them. Then something stirred in the shadows behind the statue and the room suddenly became darker than before. "Now…sorry to keep you waiting!" And four figures emerged from the shadows who, to Ryuko and Yoshi's shock and horror, had no faces, just like the thing that had been spying on them while they were talking to Ranka, Aoi and Ichioru. "What an assembly! The four mightiest of our Clan!" One of the creatures was massive, as wide in the shoulders as it was tall, draped in a dead-black cloak with some sort of hood pulled over the white face with what looked to be two horizontal horns protruding from the sides, above the temples. The hood of the mask had two thin slashes across the bottom of the hood that looked like eyes and a golden mark on the left side of its face. One of the other ones, having the same structure of a well-built man, wore a tall white hood with some sort of dark gold mark on the front. It…or he, so it looked…wore dark gold plates of armor on his shoulders that looked as if they were pulled down so they were level with his elbows, and a sort of white sash around his waist and knee-high white boots. Dark red marks were slashed across the sides of his face, much like what High Shinma would have, but these things were far from Shinma. The other male in the group also wore a tall hood, which was topped by what looked like a cat's head. He too was dressed in all black and had heavier shoulder armor than the other wore that looked like gripping hands. The last was a female, who wore her pale hair in a mass atop her head and a white veil over her mouth. She wore a shoulder-less and sleeveless top and opaque pants that hinted at rather shapely legs.
"Prince…" One of them hissed. To Yoshi and Ryuko, it felt as if icy cold fingers had gripped their spines. "You have summoned us! Will our Queen be resurrected soon?"
"Prince?" Yoshi's voice was a whisper of a whisper. "What does that mean?"
"Yes." Cait Sith said, a cruel smile forming on his face. "You no longer have to hide. Your powers will soon be unleashed!"
"We thank you." Another rasped. "No, what do you wish of us?"
"You know telepathically, but I'll tell you again. Gia, Gigi, and Gio, you are to pursue the Japanese Shinma and kill Yui! And Gima, you shall help me find the seal!"
"As you wish!" Said the female, Gima, who's voice was anything but attractive.
One of the creatures hisses again: "What do we do about Water Lipper and Lemunia?"
Cait Sith was silent for a moment, as if he was thinking, but the Chinese Shinma had a feeling as if he had known the answer for a long time before it was asked. "Well…if they find and kill Yui, that is good! However, we're not so sure how loyal they truly are. If we fail the task we gave them, you know what to do." He waved his hand, making a grand gesture for emphasis. "Yui has Miyu's blood. You must kill her, or there will be two vampires in this world. We must not allow that to happen."
"Yes, sir!" All four creatures said in unison.
"Now, begone!" Cait Sith commanded them, and three of the four creatures disappeared.
Yoshi felt a sudden tug at his arm and saw Ryuko in a near panic. He made frantic gestures, and without questioning he followed. The two Chinese Shinma recoiled from the top of the stairwell and ran as quickly as they could while retaining their stealth back down the hall and into an adjacent storage room that was filled to the ceiling with dark, cracked and dusty barrels. They wedged themselves as far back as they could before Yoshi asked, panting for breath, "What'd you do that for? What has you so worked up?"
"Yoshi, do you have any idea who they are?" Ryuko asked, seizing Yoshi's shoulders and shaking him. By the blank look on Yoshi's face, he assumed not. "Yoshi, they're Quarls!"
Yoshi frowned at his friend. "Don't be ridiculous. The Quarls were all killed in the Shinma Wars! Everyone knows that."
"You saw what just happened! Do you remember what they looked like, what they smelt like? All the High Quarl have dark skin and titled eyes, and the Higher they are, the more human-like they are. They like dark places, and this is ship is perfect."
"Slow down!" Yoshi said. "You're not making any sense."
Seeming to think so too, Ryuko took a deep breath, running a hand through his sandy-blonde hair. "All right. It's obviously that this guy has no friendly connections to Larva. The only thing he seems to be interested in is killing Miyu and anything or anyone that can bring her back. The Quarls are terrified of vampires. Do you remember how half of them fled when Kyuko stepped into battle? These guys called Cait Sith prince and asked if their Queen was to be resurrected soon. Cait Sith called the statue "mother". Kyuko turned Caial to stone, remember, and the seal was guarded by Mori. Yoshi, we were there when it happened, don't you remember? We saw the statue of the Quarl Queen! That was her, Yoshi! They're here to return her to flesh and finish what they started during the wars! Why do you think they want Miyu dead so bad?"
Yoshi's face was still serious, unbelieving for only an instant more, then all blood drained from it and he looked exactly how Ryuko felt. "Shit…oh, shit…what do we do? God damn it, Ryuko, what do we do? They're going to kill her…"
"Warn the Western Shinma first then find Mori. It's obvious that they used this ship for this purpose alone. Come on. We don't have much time!" They rose from their hiding spots and crept to the door, looked both ways for anyone coming, then headed back the way they came in. Soon they were back in the room that Night Gia was still laying unconscious in. "Wait…" Ryuko said, stopping. "I have an idea. Can you write something on the wall, a type of warning?"
"Sure." Yoshi said. He turned and flung out his hand. A ball of orange flame erupted from his fingertips and hit the aged wood. Words flared against the wall before dying off quickly.
Ryuko was kneeling on the ground next to Nigh Gia, and from what Yoshi could sense, was reversing the spell Ryuko had used on his earlier to put him asleep. Night Gia's eyes fluttered heavily but as soon as he saw the Wolfin crouched over him his eyes went as wide as saucers and he began to back up as far away as he could from Ryuko. "Hey, bud, can you do us a small favor? Just let out a nice, loud scream."
Night Gia did not have to be asked twice. The fear of seeing both of the Chinese Shinma in the ship, in their territory, was enough for his yells to echo around the entire ship. By the time it died off, they were gone.

Pazusu looked away from Carlua once when he heard Night Gia's scream. Was the boy just having nightmares? Or was something else a foot? There was something wrong in the air. Something had left the ship. For a moment, he thought it could be…no, it was impossible. More than impossible. But, still… With on last look at Carlua, who was still asleep on the couch, he left the room, down into the deep belly of the ship.
"Night Gia, what is the matter?" Pazusu asked when he saw the other Western Shinma backed against the wall, looking more terrified than when they had met him back on the ship.
"C-Chinese Sh-Shinma! Here! R-right here!"
"There's no one here but us." Pazusu tried to reassure him. "They won't come here."
"B-but they were!" Night Gia moaned. "A-and they left s-something! A m-message!" He pointed a trembling finger to the opposite wall. Pazusu, feeling as if the only way Night Gia would semi-calm down was if he looked, glanced over his shoulder in the direction Night Gia was pointing. He gave a start when he saw the smoldering wood.

A traitor lays among you. Be wary.