The stranger lurks in the back, bored and casually spinning here and there, then suddenly looks up.
In a moment the bow of the ship dips suddenly.
Shumi - "Fuck !"
With a wind the lanterns extinguish, giggles in the total darkness.
Unseen voice - "It is time for payment."
Shumi - "Beautiful new ribbon friend, please don't do what your thinking."
An impatient sigh in the dark.
Shumi - The sound of a sloshing drink and a spill. "And Chiyome. There was a plan. You will be paid !"
The ship creaks and shakes with the sound of laughter from the decks.
Chiyome - "Payment."
____
Hundreds jump on the fore deck, others grabbing the rails and shifting weight while the ship bobs, the entire deck crew tied to mast and various works. They looked mostly just annoyed.
Karasu - Shouting from the crow's nest, "Please stop doing that ! I really do hate it !"
The nest swings and bobs in dramatic circles atop the mast.
Karasu - "You have no idea what that's like up here !"
A ninja pops up behind her - "Yes we do !" Karasu turns with a scare as the ninja back flips with a flinging toss from the swinging mast.
____
Chiyome - "Ice cream."
A slow chanting in the darkness - "... ice cream ... ice cream ..."
Shumi - "It's in France ! It's on our way !"
...
Chiyome - "Good. And then we will make mochi.
A gust of wind, the lanterns lit.
The ship sails quietly approaching the temple ship.
________________
"Hey !"
Qiu's eyes open.
Shumi - Heard yelling from outside her ship, "! Hey !"
____
The stranger whispers in her ear, while on the Xinhua ship Akari and Mariko stare at her, pointing to the hissing spirit.
Shumi - Looks at the stranger like it's a crazy thought and takes a drink, "Whatever."
Qiu walks out to her deck's edge.
Shumi - "Hi ! So ... is this your boat ?"
Qiu - "You shouldn't be here. It's very bad here. There is nothing you can do."
Shumi - "Yah my new wife told me all about that (the stranger stares at her), but it's okay ! I don't believe in ghosts and I'm pretty sure she's immune to them so ... we're coming over now."
Akari and Mariko stare at the stranger, she shrugs back while the deck crew nervously extends plank.
____
Shumi and the stranger sit at the table with Qiu, the spirit nearly well wrapped around Shumi's head, sticking a serpent-like tongue in her ear while the others stare in horror, Akari and Mariko pale.
Shumi - Looks at them annoyed, "Oh come on ..." She drinks. "Anyway, ya wanna join the fleet ? Oh ! And also who are you, and my beloved petal wants to know why your boat is Hell."
The stranger stares at Shumi, then the spirit looking back ...
Qiu - Examining her, a raised bow and caution of the grinning spirit, "I ... am Qiu. I was always a bit like your friend I think ..." She shies her eyes from the spirit as it curls around Shumi, " ... but different."
____
She runs from pursuing dogs of hunt.
Qiu - Voiced over, "I had to run. They came for me. For us."
____
The spirit smiles briefly, as though touched by the acknowledgement.
Qiu - Eyes low, "And so I ran here ... I don't know how I got by them, I just did and then I hid. It's a warship, I ... just ran ... there was war ..."
____
She crouches in the dark storage.
Qiu - Voiced over, "But the men ... they found me and ..."
The light from the opening door and their shadows.
A sloshing sound and Shumi's voice - "Then what happened ?"
____
The spirit sits piggy back on her shoulders, playing with her hair.
She looks at them, "! What !?"
____
Qiu walks through the bloody oar deck, none on her except her feet. The spirit sits at the end licking her fingers and whispering their names.
____
She stares at Shumi, then one by one the rest, then back to her.
Qiu - "None may stay here. I hope you understand this."
Shumi - "That's too bad. It's a really nice boat."
Qiu - "I ... suppose it is, but you must also know that I ... we are hunted. Pursued."
The tension breaks with laughter.
Shumi - "Yeah. You're cool. Need anything ?"
Qiu - "I need ... pulleys. A lot of pulleys."
...
Qiu - "Do you have any pulleys ?"
________________
Xinhua priestesses crawl in red across the sinking wreckage let behind, checking wind and wave while a small ship passes through, crewed by the same, robed.
They dive from the wreckage for the boat as it passes through, knocking aside a corner chipped off from a roof of Qiu's ship, following a trail of bloating oarsmen.
________________
Faces churn from the dervish's shoulders and torso while it breathes hard through it's new teeth. His chest churns with grinding fire as it smiles slightly, form returning to rough clothing.
Magistrate - Staring a moment at the form, churning chest then up to eyes ..."I wonder how many ..." He smiles.
The dervish hisses though a grin.
The woman walks back through with her snack, "Will you be long ?"
The magistrates grins into the dervishes eyes, plucks the upright blade to wobble in the floor. The wobbling blade returns a shaking house, dust falling in a brief quake before he rights it with his finger tip.
Magistrate - "Not long now."
She smiles before turning up the stairs, he looks up to admire her, finger on the blade, then returns eyes to the enraged dervish.
~ Scene over Musashi gathering blades of the fallen into a nap-sack while the village gathers more, stripping the armor and dragging bodies away.
Magistrate - Voiced over, "Shall we continue ?"
~ ! The End ! ~