Chronicles: A Midnight Walk
Reiko woke with a start, the sea air blowing her hair back. A hand was holding her back, she didn't remember going to bed with anyone. She looked down at the hand, slight, not callused at all, filled with rings. Funitsu. I surely didn't go to bed with him, what's he doing in my bedroom, probably hoping to get a look at me sleeping naked. Oddly, though, I seem to be standing, my feet are on the deck of the ship, the stars above me. Wait, the stars, that means I am outside, that means I may have been walking in my sleep, which means, no clothing. Reiko looks down, yep that's about right. It is a damn good thing Funitsu's hand isn't just a bit lower. I would have to hurt him.
"Um, Reiko, are you all right?' Funitsu asked, trying very hard to look into her eyes, not letting them wander further down.
Reiko bit back her first response. No, I am standing naked on the deck of a ship. Your hand is dangerously close to certain parts of me that I never wanted you to see, let alone touch. What do you think, moron?
"Fine, just fine. I think I will go back to bed, now." She spun on her heel and turned to walk below decks. She had almost made it to the steps when Captain Masumoto leaned over the railing of the helm.
"Reiko," He said, "I don't mind that you are walking around the boat naked, nor does the crew, but the screaming that we are all doomed and that he is going to kill us and it's best to end it now rather than suffer the torture, really needs to stop. Thankfully, you were shouting in English, so most of the crew didn't understand you. By the way, you replicate an stuffy English accent quite well. Goodnight. I will be down to lock your door in a minute."
Reiko left.
As she climbed down the steps into the hold, heading back to the tiny, stuffy cabin that was hers alone (as the Lady's quarters were full with both Haku and Panda standing guard, and the griffon chose to sleep abovedecks), Reiko's mind whirled. None of her spirits had ever actually taken over her body before. She could hear them all muttering worriedly behind her as they swirled in her wake. She'd heard stories of how some shamans were actually possessed by their spirits, for good or ill, but the stories also made it clear that possession had a detrimental effect on the shaman who was the host.
She stalked down the corridor, wishing that Zhane had at least put on some clothing before going out and screaming incomprehensibilities at nobody in particular. So much for modesty, I suppose. The only mercy is that I don't think any of the others were on deck, other than the crew. She looked up, and the gaijin spirit was standing by the door to her cabin, her fists raised to her mouth.
Zhane's translucent form caught the lamplight, betraying the wispy brown hair that tumbled free around her shoulders and her dress that was torn and burnt in places. Reiko wished she could know the spirit's story; who was she, where had she come from? She didn't think Zhane had actually died on Mt. Fuji, any more. She stopped in front of the spirit and looked closely at her.
The gaijin's eyes darted around the corridor, her usual cries silent. Reiko waited. Finally, she looked directly at Reiko, her hands still covering her mouth.
There was a light in the spirit's eyes, something a little bit familiar. Madness, glee, terror, and...just a little bit of gloating. Reiko pointed at her, drawing her brows together. "I know you can't understand me, but perhaps you'll understand the tone of my voice. That was not acceptable, Zhane. Don't do it again."
She walked past the spirit, who was still silent and looking at her with that unsettling gaze, and into her cabin. The room was hot and close, the lamp she kept lit to ward off the dark low, her amber eyes reflecting the light. She settled herself cross-legged on her mat, opening her ancestor box and taking out a few of the things inside--a white stone, a seagull's feather, a piece of twisted metal. She closed her eyes and began one of the prayers that always calmed her, a prayer to Inari, the Fortune of Rice and Foxes.
In a few minutes, she could hear footsteps outside her cabin, and then the bolt on the outside of the door was thrown with a scraping thump. She shivered despite the heat, old nightmares flashing through her mind--being trapped alone in the dark, something pressing down on her from above. But she did not falter in her prayer, letting the fear sweep through her and away.
A memory sounded in her mind, Akechi's voice from a dream she'd had just before everything changed. "I'm sorry. You will never sleep well again."
She was very afraid it was true.