Xiao Hua felt twitchy. They were in the Sea of Shadows, and the sea round him felt... wrong. he had not dared to call upon the kami after he had restored the prayers that would prevent him from sinking to the sea. It had seemed like a prudent idea after the gunso had told them where they were sailing.

Fingering a pendant he wore under his new uniform shirt, the man leaned to the railing, his eyes looking for a signs of something. Something unusual. There had to be something out there. The sea made him feel twitchy.

A very gravelly voice responds from behind, "It's bad luck to look at the water. If there's somethin' down there, its gaze ken touch yer soul."

"I know... it makes me nervous." the Unicorn replied, turning to face the mountain of a man that had addressed him. "The sea feels wrong."

He nods, "Suitengu doesn't rule here as much as he's in constant war wi' the reaching grasp o' Him." Musasha spits off the side of the deck at the mention of Fu Leng. "So yeah, the sea should feel wrong."

"No doubt about that..." the man muttered. "Iuchi Xiao Hua." he introduced himself.

The Hida nods, "That's a mouthful. I'm Hida Musasha. Wish I could set yer mind at ease, but I ain't one ta stretch th' truth o' matters, an' we ain't safe at the moment."

"Well met." he nodded. "And, I don't feel safe alright. The kami sound.. agitated. As if they were in pain."

"Nasty waters, these."

He nods, "Probably are. They are trapped in a net o' taint. He (Fu Leng)," The Hida spits, "can't be treatin' 'em wi' any kinda respect."

The man looks over his shoulder at the railing on the far side, "It ain't really a bad thing ta be paranoid in these parts. I ain't takin' off my armor fer two days after we pass through."

"You've sailed these waters before, then?"

He shrugs, "Not too far from here. Th' Jade Fortress, a turtle ship o' th' Crab. Seen what ken come outta these waters, too. Ya don' wanna be too close ta th' railing. Ya git snatched, 'n' ya might not have time ta scream fer help."

"Turtle ship?" he asked the man, curious. As much as time as the man had spent on various trading vessels, he had never heard about turtle ships. He also took a longish step away from the railing. Just in case.

He nods, "'Bout twice th' size o' this 'un, easy. Jade shards imbedded inta th' hull. Th' are like floatin' Shiro. They're slow, but th' armaments an' crew ken handle almost anythin' these waters ken send at 'em."

"Sounds... intimidating." Then again, most things coming out of Crab lands were intimidating. Weapons, sake, men... and women.

He nods, "'Skinda the point. Th' things we killin's intimidatin' back, oi?" He shrugs, "Also, th' git th' job done wi' the minimum loss o' life 'n' resources." Musasha slowly turns around to check a rail that groaned a little bit with the ships movement. "Nothin'." He seems relieved and disappointed all at once.

"You thought you saw something there?" he asked, both curious and worried. While he had seen seen the same wood carvings as Rinzuki, he doubted that actual tentacle monsters didn't exist. Or if they existed and if Doji Hokusai had really seen one, he probably wouldn't have survived to draw them... to do that with the fisherman's wife.

He shakes his head, "Th' nastiest ones sneak like shadows. Ya hear or see somethin' outta th' ordinary, look closer. It might be nothin', like this time, er it might be a lobster as big as my bigger cousin you were talkin' to durin' th' storm."

At least Hokusai hadn't drawn that. Or then he found giant lobsters aesthetically lacklustre. "I thought that lobsters lived near the bottom?" An attempt to apply logic to a place where all the laws of the logics didn't apply.

The big Hida shrugs, "Maybe afore He," spits again, "gits ahold o' them. But after, they crave man-flesh, 'n' grow real big. They 're quiet, too. Almost as quiet as a man-scout."

"Well, let's just hope that none of them wander in our direction..." he nodded, somewhat gloomily.

The Hida nods in agreement. "Jus' don' let it git ta you too much. If ya do, they win afore anythin' ever happens. Be alert, but don' fight a battle that might never happen. It's a skill one hassa learn if yer gonna ever be in these waters."