~Hakurei Shrine~ > Kosuzu's Grand Bookstore
Pure Lotus of the Sunken Stars (Complete)
Alfred F. Jones:
--- Quote from: Nwbi on August 20, 2010, 12:52:39 AM ---"Rescued the passengers of the Titanic once in her sleep"
--- End quote ---
I am slain.
FinnKaenbyou:
--- Quote from: Nwbi on August 20, 2010, 12:52:39 AM ---"Rescued the passengers of the Titanic once in her sleep"
--- End quote ---
That would finally give me a reason to watch Titanic.
Thanks Nwbi :3
ray10k:
--- Quote ---"You think Hijiri will let me away with killing Murasa twice for this?"
"Only if you get to her before I do."
--- End quote ---
lines like this remember me of why I just LOVE your stories.
also, I really enjoy what you did with Dolphin Rider Koishi, silly as the premise is.
FinnKaenbyou:
OK, let's get-a rescuin'.
-----
"Gah."
Murasa muttered curses to herself as she continued to inspect the damage. This thing was smashed up pretty bad. Just from looking at it, the main propulsion system was completely out of whack, and getting it back together would take both a lot of time and the help of the rest of the crew. It wasn't a physical engine like most boats ran on - rather, it was a catalyst through which the driver channeled their magic energy. This one had quite clearly breathed its last - the stone had shattered into a dozen pieces, one of which was careening out of the window at its own leisure. It could be replaced, but they were the sort of channeling stones only magicians would ever own.
Besides, that was the least of their troubles. The actual mechanics connecting the stone to the ship had been wrecked in the crash as well, and those could only be replaced through cold, hard effort. They ran along the length of the wall, too, so it was a two-man job at the very least.
And currently, the only other people who knew how to fix this thing were trapped in the rooms further up in the ship.
"Dammit..."
Murasa tried to punch a wall, and hissed as her hand phased through it. Dying wasn't as easy as it looked - her spirit was still connected to her mortal form, even if it was by a bare thread. She couldn't go anywhere she liked after she died - she was stuck where she was for now, and over time she would be able to stray further and further from her latest corpse.
But do they have that long to wait for me?
Murasa looked up the corridor, feeling powerless as she imagined what must be going on in one of those rooms. Hijiri would be fine, Hijiri was always fine - it was the other two she was worrying about.
"Nazrin, Shou...sorry, guys..."
There was only one thing she could do to help, and it was barely anything right now. She focused her mind, summoning a weapon to appear before her. An anchor emerged, surrounded by a faint green aura. She'd made a slight change to it, one that she hoped would get noticed when it mattered. This was going to take a little work, and it wouldn't be any help unless things went just right.
But it's this or nothing, isn't it?
She flung the anchor out of the room and through the broken wall, focusing her attention on it even after it had left her hand. It curved through the water at her will, following orders in spite of the lack of physical connection between it and its owner. In her head, she pictured the layout of the ship, adding in the fact that it was currently face-first at the bottom of the lake. That would make it...
There.
She positioned it at exactly the right place. Or at least, she hoped so. It was hard to focus on the ship's image in her head while controlling the anchor at the same time. It was all she could do, but it would have to be enough.
Ichirin...you'd better find someone, dammit. Hurry up...
-----
"OK, OK, OK..."
Sango walked along the shore of the lake, her mind concocting escape plans as quickly as it could. She occasionally pulled the flower in her hair off, spun it in her fingers, and put it back on to vent the nerves. She'd never had to work with anything more complicated than 'grab person by waist, lift to surface, bask in unending praise' - she'd never quite made it to the last step, but she was working on it.
"So. They're trapped in one of the side rooms, right?"
Ichirin nodded. Her initial worries seemed to have resided now that she'd found someone to help her through this ordeal. The pink cloud, who she'd introduced to Sango as Unzan, occasionally whispered in her ear to remind her of any particulars she forgot to mention. Koishi was strolling around examining the flotsam and jetsam emerging from the ship's innards - Sango got the strange feeling she wouldn't have had anything to contribute to the discussion that wasn't point-blank impossible.
"Yes. The living quarters are at the front of the ship, just before the captain's quarters. They were sleeping up until the ship took a nosedive, so I'm certain that's where they'll be."
Sango was getting more and more worked up with this. She needed a plan now, but nothing was coming to her - there were too many unknowns here for her to work with. The route inside could had been blocked by wreckage after the crash, effectively blocking them in. The alternative would be to enter through the captain's quarters and take them out the long way, but there was a good chance that the people she was trying to rescue wouldn't be able to hold their breaths for long enough to make the journey. She needed a third option, one that could get them out fast enough for that not to be an issue.
Aw, crap. I'm not going to have to...
Something was coming to her, but she didn't like it. It'd give her more cleanup to do, which was never a good thing, but in the end it was just about all she could think of. She sighed, biting her lip and trying to hide her immediate dislike of this idea.
"...How solid are the walls on that ship?"
Ichirin put a finger to her lip thinking it over.
"Hmm...they're rather strong, yes, but I think Unzan here should be able to make it through with a good punch. Unzan, would you be up for that?"
The cloud wavered up and down, the closest it could get to nodding. Sango did her best to look excited about the concept of more broken planks floating around in her lake. She failed.
"Alright, so here's the plan. You swim down with me and have Unzan...blow a hole in the wall. Then I grab those two and get them out of there. Sound fair?"
"Definitely. I won't be able to follow you in, but I should be able to do at least that."
Deep breaths, Sango. You can deal with a little mess when lives are at stake. For one, corpses are harder to clean up after than wooden planks.
She had the strange feeling Ichirin wouldn't approve of that joke at a time like this, so she kept that thought to herself. This was hardly an eloquent plan, but this was the best they could come up with on such short notice. There was only one niggling concern that Sango had to worry about.
What if they've already tried to escape by the time I get there?
This all ran on the assumption that the two trapped youkai waited around like good little girls for someone to save them. But that would be a risk in and of itself - waiting around that long would kill off any chance of escaping themselves if they let the air get too stale. They could have made a break for it, and just tried to swim through the flooded corridors up to the surface. In and of itself, there was nothing wrong with that plan - they would have plenty of time to get up to the non-flooded area, at which point Ichirin could have Unzan lift them out of the water.
But there was one big flaw with that plan. If the corridor had collapsed as a result of the crash, they'd be well and truly screwed. Even if Sango managed to find them and lead them out, the trip back would be too long for them to handle on one breath. She needed to find some way to bring air down to them in case the worst case scenario came to light.
Well, other than the, um, obvious method of giving them air. That was a last resort that she really wanted to avoid. Once was awkward enough.
"Hey, Sango-chan! Look at all this cool stuff!"
Koishi called out for her as she tried to figure out the last step in the plan. She really didn't seem to realise that this wasn't the time for playful scavenging, did she?
"Koishi-chan, I'm kinda busy here. I'll take a look at your-"
Sango turned around to look Koishi in the eye while she was speaking to her. The satori was wearing the same carefree smile as always, carrying a pair of empty bottles that must have once held sake. They were corked up, just enough to be airtight.
"Sorry I can't help you with your rescue, Sango-chan, but I can't find that ring you gave me...maybe I left it in my pockets?"
Koishi dropped the bottles at Sango's feet, suddenly running off to the pile of clothes she'd left behind to look for this magical ring of hers. Sango stared at them in wonder, as if they were made of solid gold.
Either that girl is a genius, or she's just really really lucky.
-----
"Taking their time, aren't they...?"
Shou couldn't keep the same joking attitude she'd carried beforehand - not when she could feel it getting harder to breathe. There was maybe a minute left before the room flooded completely, and she wasn't sure if the air would even be breathable up until then.
Nazrin didn't bother to respond directly to that statement. There was nothing she could say that was comforting and honest at the same time, and she was hardly going to lie. They'd waited for as long as they could, and staying here for any longer could easily be fatal.
"Shou. It's time."
The tiger sighed.
"I was afraid you were going to say that. Doesn't look good for us, does it?"
Nazrin slowly shook her head. Murasa hadn't emerged to help them, which meant that she'd been 'killed' in the impact. By the time she could stray into the living quarters, it would be far too late for her to be of any help to Shou and Nazrin. Ichirin was unaccounted for, and it was very much possible she hadn't survived either. Hijiri...well, Hijiri was a different matter entirely. She would undoubtedly be able to help out, but there was literally nothing that could pull her out of her meditations ahead of time.
"...Let's stay together. Whatever we run into. Right?"
Shou's hand reached out in the water, wrapping around Nazrin's. The mouse flinched slightly, but accepted the gesture. She was still very dishonest with her emotions, but Shou knew her well enough to interpret it as 'I don't want to look like I need your help, but I appreciate it'.
"Alright, then. On three."
They didn't need to discuss the plan. There was only one way they could make it out, and they'd just have to hope it wasn't blocked. Otherwise...well, it wasn't worth thinking about that.
"One...two..."
The pair took deep breaths in unison, before diving down into the water together. The door opened easily now that the room was just about flooded, and they made their way out into the corridor.
Later, Shou would regret not staying where she was for that final minute.
-----
"Ichirin. Ready?"
Ichirin had removed her headdress, revealing her long purple hair in its entirety. It was a necessary move, because water would undoubtedly cause it to flare up and block her vision. She nodded, getting a final OK from Unzan.
"Alright. Let's do this."
Sango was much more confident now that she'd worked out a solution to the worst case scenario. In fact, she was so certain that this plan was going to work that she honestly believed she could pull it off in her sleep.
The only uncertainty left was Ichirin - she had to remember where exactly on the ship Shou and Nazrin's room was, a job that wouldn't be made any easier by its new orientation. After that, everything was hopefully in the clear.
"Good luck, you two! Go save those innocents from the Black Claw!"
Koishi had appointed herself team cheerleader, offering words of commendation from the shore. Sango had made no objections - it got her out of the way, and that was all that really mattered right now. She played along for a moment before dipping into the water, Ichirin following close behind.
This was definitely the only uncertainty - the last time she'd checked, the wall of the ship was more or less totally featureless beyond a line of windows. This was going to be a test of Ichirin's memory for sure-
Hm?
Something had changed in the time they'd been making their plan. Rather, something had been added - there was something on the wall that hadn't been there before. An anchor - or at least, some sort of spirit in the form of an anchor - had been attached to the wall, its end pointing down at one of the windows. And if that wasn't enough of a hint, the bottom of the anchor had been hastily engraved with the word 'H E R E'.
The captain left us a message...but is she trying to screw us over?
Sango looked over her shoulder, checking if Ichirin had any idea what was going on with this. To Sango, the captain of this ship didn't exactly have a faultless record when it came to being cooperative, so she found it hard to believe that she'd suddenly turn over a new leaf now.
In return, she found a giant pink fist facing her, with only herself between it and the wall.
...Okaaaaay. Guess I'll take your work for it.
She awkwardly got out of the fist's path, and Ichirin gave Unzan the order with a dramatic finger point. The normal cry of 'CHARGE!' was understandably omitted, and the fist drove into the wall in relative silence. Of course, there were all sorts of sounds when it collided with it, smashing the wood into several dozen splinters that would all inevitably need to be cleaned up later.
Sango died a little, deep down inside.
"!!"
Ichirin's eyes widened as she got a look inside the room. Sango pulled herself out of her internal tantrum to follow suit.
There was no sign of the two targets, but a pair of dresses were lying forgotten in the room. The door hung open.
Well, looks like we're gonna have to go for the race against time after all.
Sango nodded in Ichirin's direction, giving her the all-clear to surface. The youkai nodded in response, and both the nyuudou and its master rose upward, their work done. It was all down to Sango now.
But against someone like me, time doesn't have a chance!
-----
"Mh?"
Shou looked back for a moment. There had been a strange sound in the corridors beneath them, in the direction they'd come from. She'd heard the sound of something getting smashed, and she was tempted to go back and check.
The hand tugging her along convinced her otherwise. Nazrin's eyes were severe, wordlessly saying to her 'why the hell are you stopping?' Shou shook herself before she started kicking for the surface again. She was hearing things, surely, and even if she wasn't it was probably just things coming apart after the flooding.
It hadn't been long, but so far things had been good. There had been no blockades, and at this rate they had a decent chance of making it to the surface. Nazrin lead on, putting her better eyesight to good use. She seemed optimistic - or rather, as optimistic as Nazrin usually got.
Not much further now. We just need to keep going up, and-
"Mmgbl?!"
Nazrin's grip on her hand suddenly grew tighter. All Shou could see from here was a dot in the distance. She was unaware of what had Nazrin so spooked until they came a little closer.
She felt her heart sink when she saw the corridor's newfound ceiling. Various planks from the walls had come half undone, then caught the planks that had fallen from higher up to create one, heaping pile of debris. And Shou and Nazrin were right under it.
You're kidding me. You are kidding me...
Even touching this thing was dangerous, because if they unsettled it there was a good chance the entire pile would come down on them instead, but the only other option was to go back the way they came and take the long way out. And that wasn't even an option, because Shou was well aware neither of them could make that trip without running out of air.
Nazrin looked back at her, her eyes containing the tiniest hint of fear. For Nazrin, that said a lot, and the grip around Shou's hand grew tighter still. Shou did the only thing she could, and squeezed back in response.
Let's try and look for an opening, okay?
There was an unpleasant creaking as Shou pushed at the pile of fallen planks. The pile shuffled slightly, but only by a matter of inches. Nazrin fared no better, her smaller frame giving her even less success than Shou.
"Mmph..."
Shou felt her cheeks starting to puff up. She gave the pile one final heave, but all she received in return for her efforts was more ominous creaking.
...There's no point. I'm just wasting my energy.
She gave up on trying to shift away the barricade, accepting that no amount of effort on her part was going to get anywhere. Nazrin was more tenacious, and if anything as she grew short of breath she started pushing harder.
"Mmbl...mmbwaagl!"
Her struggling came to a sudden stop as Shou put her arms around her. Only now did she realise how little they were wearing - Shou's skin was against hers, her hands were running along her back. The tiger pulled her in, pressing her against her chest.
If this is how it's going to end, let's make it count, alright?
Shou tipped her head forward, her lips pucking up. She did ninety percent of the work, leaving Nazrin to lean forward for the final ten. Her lips were warm, warm like she'd always remembered them being. She held her close, wanting to be found dead in her lover's embrace whenever someone came across this shipwreck. If these were her last moments, she was sure as hell going to enjoy them.
She ran a hand down Nazrin's back, feeling her soft skin for the last time. She felt Nazrin's hands do the same, carefully caressing her now while she still had the chance. Neither of them had much air to go, but what they had left they were sharing. This was no time for petty restraint - this was the last chance Shou would ever have to hold Nazrin, so she was going to do everything she could. Her hands grew brave, and finally she plucked up the nerve to move down to Nazrin's-
Poke, poke.
The loving, desperate embrace was cut short as Shou received a poke on the shoulder. Her eyes jolted to her side, suddenly realising that there was a spectator to the affair. Nazrin took a few seconds later to notice the newcomer's presence, but both of them responded in the same way.
Namely, by jumping away from each other and blushing awkwardly.
Even if Sango had been able to comment on what she'd just walked in on, she would have simply said nothing and let it go. As it was, she reached down to her waist and offered her secret weapons to the two floundering youkai.
...A bottle?
Shou examined what exactly she'd been given. It was one of the sake bottles from yesterday's festival - it must have been left on the ship after the party had come to an end. To specify its new purpose, the word 'AIR' had been quickly cut into the label by a fingernail.
She pulled off the cork, put the bottle to her mouth, and downed its contents like she was drinking ambrosia. Nazrin, at least, managed to look less extravagant as she took a breath from the bottle, but Shou was doing what she could to shift attention away from what she'd just been caught in the middle of.
She's not a regular at the temple. She's not going to spread the story. Nothing to worry about, nothing to worry about...
Shou's panicked inner monologue was interrupted by the creaking from above reaching its absolute peak.
?!
They may not have made an opening, but they'd done enough to slowly tilt the balance. The trapped planks started to come loose, obeying the laws of gravity.
Laws that were set to bring the planks down on their heads.
Shou and Nazrin both turned to the third youkai. Or at least, where she'd been - now there was a friendly-looking dolphin looking at both of them, offering its fin as a handle before it started on a quick trip out of the shipwreck. Neither of them found any reason to reject the offer, and grabbed onto Sango with all the strength they could muster. The planks were coming down in droves now, but they couldn't hope to outspeed the dolphin youkai at full velocity.
Shou hadn't expected the dolphin to take a hard turn into her own room - she knew full well it was a dead end. Or at least, it had been until someone had...smashed...the wall...open.
You mean I could have waited around a little longer, and avoided...that?
Shou buried her head in the dolphin's back, dying of embarrassment. Nazrin's face was the slightest hint of red, which was Nazrin-speak for 'the shame will haunt me for the rest of my life'. Neither of them shared their saviour's enthusiasm as she pulled them out of the hole in the wall and up to the surface, taking on human form once again and wrapping her arms around them.
"Thank you for choosing Tororetsu Marine Rescue. We hope your trip has been a pleasant one, and that you refrain from crashing your ships into innocent, unsuspecting lakes from now on. Thank you, and stay safe!"
"Sango-chan, that was AWESOME!"
"...Are they alright? They don't look too well..."
Shou could make out Ichirin's voice, speaking concern for her. So she'd made it out after all. Right now, though, she was pressing against Sango's arm, too disgraced to face the world.
Really, just go ahead and let me drown now. I don't mind.
-----
...Ah, another good meditation session.
Byakuren allowed herself to come out of her state of trance as she reached the end of her daily training. It had been a productive session, as was the normal after a night of celebration. It lifted her spirits, and that always meant the next day turned out splendidly.
She had felt completely calm and resolute, even in the face of all the odds that her mind could throw at her. She stayed strong, even when it felt like the world around her was descending beneath the waves with a violent crash. It had felt incredibly real, and yet she had fought the emotion and turned out triumphant. All in all, an excellent session.
"Mm?"
It took her a few minutes to realise that her mind had conjured nothing. The big giveaway was the fish swimming past her nose, looking at her with one beady eye.
...Oh.
-----
People who want to point out 'but didn't you say the window was on the ceiling now?' - I sort of realised that if that was the case then it couldn't possibly be looking outside, so I went back and edited it. Apologies for the mishap. :V
Alfred F. Jones:
Byakuren being oblivious to everything that's gone on strikes me as incredibly funny. :3
And ack, your Nazrin is adorable. Tsundere tsundere.