On the Icy Waters

[CelestialMochi 580]

Spoiler

 

 

 

 

S.A. 224, K.T. 821, F.A. 2020

 

 

It was right before the blue hour that the rolling of the thick fog came through the icy shores of the North of Aevos. The bell dinged faintly from the docks, its sound lost in the steady lap of waves against the boats. Fishermen prepare their vassals to deport as bits of the sunlight pierces through the thick fog. The ship groaned as it eased away from the dock, its hull cutting through the fog toward the vast, darkening ocean. Something purple would flicker along the waters closing distance with the boat that finally dropped anchor to fish. Too busy with dealing with their hulls and wrestling with the nets, the fishermen didn’t notice until it was too late. A large splintering boom could be heard making the bell ring violently near the main mast as the boat swayed one side then the other.

 

Cries erupted from below as panic spread. The captain cursed under his breath as he left the area he stationed himself to check below. Freezing cold water was wafting in from a hole and it was coming in quickly. Captain Óláfr cried out orders to drop their hull and to get every crew member to gather scraps of wood and tools to handle the hole. The nets dropped and the fish were set free. Though the hull was mostly full of sharks as the nets were made for them. The Oyashiman woman would do her best to untangle them without getting chomped on. Her feet stood on the waters as the purple flames flickered about her but not obscuring her pale murky eyes which hid behind a dark tinted pair of glasses. She used the bits of the nets that latched to the side of the boat to help her stand on the side of the ship, defying gravity. Calmly, she ran along the side and pulled out a bottle of dark blood-orange liquid, flecked with flickering yellow like flame. Uncorking it, she consumes the liquid and exhaled smoke as she pulls herself over the rail.

 

The clouds darken and the waves rose as the boat violently moved. The Oyashiman stood firm, moving toward the back of the ship, ducking behind barrels before taking a deep breath. A crackle echoed deep in her throat as sparks flew from her mouth. Fire erupted from her maw as she would spray the back part of the ship with it. The wood turned black and flaked before the fire started and spread. Thunder boomed above as the workers finally saw the woman. They screamed and charged her as they removed their weapons and cried for help from up top the deck, though only paused and started to laugh at her as she drew out two large flat looking “sticks” that stacked on top of each other. 

 

She did not hesitate as one of the items unfurled with a loud THWACK! The dark lacquered Haganeki wooden tessen had a bright red circle painted on it with a red silken tassel hooked onto its end. She then ran up to one of the crewmembers who panicked and threw a jab at her with his dagger. She had used the open war fan to block and shove the direction of the weapon away from her and used the closed one to hit the side of his temple. He fell down with a hard thud. This made the others upset and so the fight would go on. The flickering of her purple flames would die out as she would take some hits. Her white robes flailed about behind her as some people worked on the flames, the removal of water, and the hole in the ship as she fought the others who went down one by one. Eventually the heavy boots of  Captain Óláfr could be heard coming up the stairs. The last person she faced was kicked off the side of the ship and she quickly turned to face this burly tall man shrouded in dark attire. 

 

Her breath could be seen in white puffs and she closes one of her fans tucking it into her obi. Bits of her purple leather armor were sliced open and crimson ran down her arms and shoulder as she took in some deep and odd rhythmic breaths. She reached for her long Haganeki bokken and drew it out as sparks began to fly from her fingertips. The man chuckled darkly as he drew out his axe and went to charge at her. The purple flames burst out and rolled up her hands and arms all the way up to her shoulders. Then she let ribbons form around her head and neck to harden the area before the ribbons flickered off. “You are the only people who hunt the sharks up here. You only take their fins and let them suffer and die in such a grim way. And here you go to try and kill me, what an unlucky day…and I thought I only had to warn and scare you.” She said with a disappointed sigh. 

 

“Do not tell me what I can and cannot do! Do you know how much damage you have caused? How much money have I lost because of you? You could at least pay me back with your life!” He shouted at her. The thunder rolled against the clouds as the rain started to heavily fall.

 

“What a cliche thing to say.” She mumbled under her breath and ran to flank his side. She aimed to strike at him but did not expect him to be quick enough to meet her bokken with the blade of his axe. At first she held her ground and tried to push him back, but he had the upper hand with his height so she decreased her friction letting her slip with the sway of the boat. As this is all going on the ship was slowly sinking as the cargo area was now waist deep and most of the crew down there froze to death. 

 

The rain soaked the two to the bone  as she moved around Óláfr. He stumbled a little with the rocking of the boat and the whine it gave as it was implying it is slowly dying. She found this as an opening and took it as she rammed her bokken in the back of his knee making him kneel. He grunted in pain and tried to stand, but the Onna Musha moved quickly to strike her closed tessen at the man’s exposed throat. It didn’t cut, but it was a hard strike which stung as if he had been slit there. He coughed and struggled to breathe as he toppled forward. The vassal now was slowly tipping to the side and with the many bodies that fell over, the school of sharks roamed beneath the waters having a feast. 

 

Óláfr wheezed and groaned as he stood up. The Onna Musha showed him mercy at that moment as she spoke next and moved away from him, “Do you not see the suffering you have caused with the greed which plagues you? You had a chance to just round up your men and take them to the ports and live an honest life.” She tried to speak with reason to him. “You still can do that. Right now. Just drop your weapons and leave.”

 

The surviving crew members clamored out from below the deck and cried for help to their captain who glared with such wrath at the Onna Musha. They begged to live and tried to reason with him but he then spoke with a hoarse voice that was filled with such malice that roared in the storm air. “Leave if you wish! You are no crew of mine! Cowards, the lot of you!” The crew hesitated and then pleaded with him. “Enough! Either you help me get rid of this woman or you leave!” Again, the hesitation, but time was running out as the ship tilted even more, the waves lapping onto the floors. Some threw curses at Óláfr and others silently took the fainted bodies and just went to the rowboats to board them and leave. 

 

Óláfr then took this as a battle that only he had to conquer as he adjusts the gripping of the handle. This time, the Oyashiman charged at him though not in a direct line as she gracefully glided about from one side to the next, his own footing was uneven at this point. She would ram her knee into his abdomen as he tried to slash at her throat. The blade did find its mark but did not pierce her. Instead, the force made it slip out of his hand as it flung away and slid into the waters. The ship did its last cry as it was now fully horizontal and was rolling over. The captain fell back and fell into the violent waters hard. The Onna Musha managed to run and land on top of the water as the ship sank behind her. She thought it was over as she muttered prayers of peace for the dead and for Óláfr, but then a hand violently went to grab at her ankle and tried to pull its owner up. Óláfr’s face made it out of the water, he was now begging for his life and tried his best to keep his head above the waves. She went to reach out for him, but something tugged at him harshly. His eyes went wide out of horror and his hand slipped away as he was dragged into the waters. 

 

The Onna Musha took that as a sign to go, and so she went to run as fast as she could. Snapping jaws of sharks tried to get her, but she ran as quickly as one would run on land while the creatures went back to feast on their new meal. Eventually, she saw a few people in a rowboat ahead and waved them down as the waves started to settle and the rain now drizzled. She pushed the sunglasses onto the bridge of her nose as the sun started to peek out from the clouds, and the few crew members let her board on. Those with wounds she went to treat them and heal them. They spoke about her reasoning and about the much better future that they promised to her to upkeep. By the time they made their way to the port it was near noon. There they went their separate ways.