mizuxfem!oc
The Ningyo (人魚, "human fish") is a creature with both human and fish-like features.
Many fishermen who find these creatures caught in their nets throw them back into the ocean.
For if a ningyo is caught, she will bring misfortune and cal...
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CHAPTER SIX: THE HOLY ACT _______
Darkness deepened the night as they sat on the deck across a fire for warmth. Even though it happened hours ago, the suicide attempt dominated Mizu's mind. She was at a loss to explain the severe impulse that took hold of her. Even now, when she thought about being a fraction of a second late to grab Sogo...
She forced those thoughts into a corner of her mind and directed her focus on the journey.
Based on her nautical map and the speed of the voyage, they would reach Formosa next. There was a popular trading port controlled by the Dutch East India Company to trade with the shogunate of Japan. There were merchants from China, citizens, and expats working there to make a living. The Dutch traded with the Ming Empire in China just as much.
It'd be wise to stock up on dried foods and medicine there because she was running low on both those things. But she'd have to be careful, as in wearing her tinted glasses and a wide-brimmed hat again. She'd gag Fowler's loud mouth, too, so he wouldn't attract the attention of the port workers.
As her pointer finger trailed the strait leading to the main Dutch port of the island, the tricky situation of Sogo came up in her mind.
She is not a situation.
I'm leaving her there.
Women had no place in Mizu's road for revenge. Akemi, though not involved, was surprisingly carved for bloodshed as she saw in Madame Kaji's brothel, but there are not many Akemis in this world.
Even if she did... Sogo was weak. She remembered that grip on her neck when she leaped at her in the spare lodging. The grip that, if Mizu thought about it too much, made her breath whimper as she bit into her bottom lip.
She will be left at Formosa.
An unsettling feeling came over her as she thought more. She was planning to drop off a woman at a foreign port... it was eerily similar to the trading of flesh, wasn't it? Something terrible could happen to her.
Across from her in their shared, weak fire, the ningyo slept in a fetal position. She used the wool coat as a blanket over her kimono as the empty sleeves fell over her shoulder. She moved a little as an airy groan escaped her lips. Mizu's eyes fell on them. They were bright pink and cracked from how dehydrated they were by the scorching sun.
.. Lip cream. Mizu made an internal reminder once at the trading port. Sogo needs—
She caught herself. Sogo was to be dropped off at the port. Sogo will never have use for the lip cream because she'll go her own way and so will you.
Mizu closed her nautical book. To keep her mind distracted, she recited the geography of London in English. She repeated their several ports, the men who worked there whom Fowler had described, the usual shipping companies — and the names of the people living in the city tied to her remaining targets.
