Godzilla Against Hedorah: Part One

Chapter Two

Hiro Seki poured out a glass of water into the kitchen sink, mumbling something to himself. "Mori, come over here!" he yelled, squatting down and opening the cabinet doors beneath the sink. He peered inside; squinting. There were no problems he could see on the exterior of the sink's pipes, and so he shut the cabinet.

Mori pressed down on the power button of their home's single television, turning it off. She rose up from the sofa and readjusted her hair. "Yes, honey?" she inquired.

Hiro flipped the water faucet, letting the fluid run out into the drain. It was a dark brown, black water. It was thick as well, dripping out like mud. "We have a problem with the pipes."

"Eugh. Is it like that for our shower, bath, toilets, and other sinks?"

"I don't know, but it's best we call a plumber to get it checked out."

Suddenly, there were three knocks on the family's door.

"Come in!" shouted Mori, shutting off the faucet.

As the door opened, it was revealed to the two adults of the Seki family that Kenpachiro had come to visit.

"Oh. Hey, Ken," calmly said Hiro.

"Hey. Is your water okay?" queried Kenpachiro, leaning on the kitchen table.

"O-our water?" muttered Mori, tilting her head.

"Yes, your water. Mine's been this strange color, almost mud like. Same's been happening for others, so far I haven't met anyone who's had water safe enough to drink.

Hiro cleared his throat and turned on the faucet. "Ours is the same as well."

"So it's a village wide problem. Everyone's affected."

"I guess so," chuckled Hiro as Jun walked down the stairs wearing nothing but swim trunks.

Jun stood before the three, stretching and letting out a yawn. "Shower's broken."

Kenpachiro nodded, "Well, I'll assume it's the same with everyone else."

"So it's not just a problem the plumber could come over and fix," murmured Mori.

"Mia called the plumber already. After investigating the problem, he decided to contact a sewage worker from Yokkaichi. There could be a problem with the water treatment plant, maybe it's broken," declared Ken.

Jun shrugged. "The stuff in my shower got dirty from that water. Could I borrow your shampoo and soap, tōsan?"

Hiro slightly turned around and eyed his son. "Where do you intend on going?"

"The river."

"Go on ahead," replied Hiro, giving a smile as the door swung open and Jun took what he needed and left. "Now, when is the sewage worker meant to be here, Ken?"

Jun's feet got stuck in the mud leading up to the river. He groaned, a towel slung over his shoulder which almost got covered in nothing but the already mentioned mud. The teenager tugged at his legs, eventually ripping his foot out of the mud. Sighing, Jun Seki continued to trudge along the bank of the river as it noticeably got darker and darker. The surface of the water too increased with a peculiar type of algae. Dense like the mud he had stepped in by mistake, and yet it had no smell. Or not one the human olfactory nerve could process yet. Eventually, Jun came to a stop in a far more open segment of the river where it branched off into a lagoon where the village of Manabe sourced its water from.

The once crystal clear water—crystal clear compared to the waters of Ise Bay that is—were covered completely in the sludge. The water treatment plant had the sludge splattered on it as it was visibly slurping and transporting this unknown mud into Manabe. Jun had found the source of the problem, and now the source of the problem was coming to him as the sludge bubbled. Jun began to back away, terrified. He could hear a bizarre screeching noise. There was brief chatter between two men and screams. "Wh-what?" Suddenly, a sharp metallic harpoon head shot up from the water and landed at Seki's feet. He let out a bloodcurdling scream and dashed off back into Manabe, certain that his life was far more important than hygiene.