Nagamonogatari 10: LS - Nadako Funanori

Name: Nadako Funanori

Species: Klabautermann

Abilities: Sensing Dangers at Sea and Shipwreck Victims

Age: 320 years old

Occupation: Ship Guardian, Seafarer, Repairing Ships

Location: Minatomachi

Title: “The Lucky Mariner of the Southern Seaport Town”

Likes: The Sea, Waves, Water, Seafaring, Adventures

Hates: Sea Monsters, Storms

Stage 1 Theme: Seaport of Nautical Yarn ~ Neptune’s Corsair

Stage 1 Boss Theme: Submarine Maelstrom Turbulence ~ Wild Torrent

After spending the night in a hotel, Hina and Kizuato start their journey to the province Isasagawa where a monstrous being is sealed. But surprisingly the province is actually an island the only way to get there is by travelling with a ship. After they arrived the beach city Minatomachi, they take a ship to the island. But suddenly they hear strange noises and mistake them for an enemy’s noise. So they attack the being without knowing they are actually attacking the Klabautermann of the ship.

A long time ago when people started to develop new islands and continents and many ships sailed around the world, they had to survive countless dangers. Giant whirlpools, reefs, storms and even sea monsters. Many of them became the inspiration for many legends and horror stories like the Kraken, the sirens, sea serpents and other monsters. Many pirates and sailors drowned in the sea after being attacked by sea monsters or being in distress at sea. The humans were unable to protect their ships against all these dangers and even the most skilled skippers lost their ships. During the Golden Age of Piracy, a new threat showed up and fishermen were afraid to go fishing. But then the Klabautermänner showed up. They were also called “Ship’s Goblins” or “Hobgoblins” but preferred their original name because they didn’t want to be mistaken for normal goblins who usually cause mischief.

The Klabautermänner were a rare goblin species who were well-disposed towards humans and showed a great fascination for seafaring and lived on ships. They usually hid her presence and were invisible for people but loved to play harmless pranks or make noises so they were often described as goblins with the power and personality of poltergeists. Because of their ability to sense all sorts of dangers of navigation and warned the humans, people started to believe they’ll bring good luck to seafarers. It also happened that they saved shipwreck victims or people who fell overboard. If a Klabautermann felt being welcome at the ship and developed sympathy for the crew, they protected the ship and repaired all sorts of damages. Usually they only chose seafarers who truly loved their ships and proved to be worth to be protected by a Klabautermann. But it could also happen that they decide to leave and when that happened, they give up their invisible form and say goodbye to the shipowner before going. Because sailors believed it will bring bad luck if a Klabautermann leaves the ship, they tried everything to keep them on the ship by gaining their sympathy.

But after the Golden Era of Piracy was over and humans invented new technology to handle these natural phenomena better than in the past and also invented stronger weapons to kill the sea monsters, Klabautermänner weren’t needed anymore. They were treated like an annoyance and people started to forget about them.

Nadako had been protecting ships since she was a child. She loved adventures and accompanying people on their travel. But after nobody needed her anymore, she realized that she had to search for another place where she could work. And when she heard about Nakatsukuni, she became curious about this world and hoped to find there a better future for herself. After being on a travel and for a long time and learning more about this world, she came to the harbour city Minatomachi and asked for work. But because people mistook her for a monster and refused to give her any work and when she tried to explain what she was, people misunderstood her and believed that she was a goblin and chased her away. Nobody in Nakatsukuni seem to know anything about her Species. So she almost gave up on trying but then she met a shellback who knew about her species. He offered her to stay on his ship as long as she wanted and he would also teach her how to conn. They became close friends and the old sailor told her stories of his sea adventures and confessed that he had been a pirate for many years before he was forced to give up his life as a buccaneer and worked as a sailor. The only thing he still kept from his past was his beloved ship “Neptune’s Corsair”.

 Nadako and the old man sailed around the world and visited many places. The old buccaneer was a rude and loud person, but still good at heart and was glad to have a Klabautermann at his ship. He became like a cranky grandfather for her and they shared a very strong bond. But when the old pirate became older and died from a sudden heart attack, Nadako was alone again and only had the ship. Now what should she do? All she ever did was protecting ships and even repairing them if the owner was worth to be supported. But now the ship had no owner anymore. After the ship had been on so many adventures, she didn’t want to give it up and decided to change her career. She became the new owner of “Neptune’s Corsair” and became the captain for the first time. Since most people in Kunihara didn’t possess magic abilities and couldn’t fly, she travelled to Minatomachi and started to work there as a seafarer. And since she was able to fight off all sorts of sea monsters who attacked her ship, many people wanted to travel with her and she always had many customers. Unfortunately she still has some old habits like making noises on the ship like a poltergeist and pranking the passengers. And this time she chose the wrong targets who immediately fought her after mistaking her for an enemy.

PERSONALITY:

Nadako is a child at heart who loves all sorts of stories and adventures which content ships and sailing. She can be easily fascinated for new things, loves her life as a mariner and the ship “Neptune’s Corsair” she inherited from the deceased swashbuckler, is her greatest treasure. She is very proud of being a shipowner and seafarer and protects her ship with her life. Though she is not very strong, she is still able to fight off sea monsters as long as she is connected with her ship. She is very loyal to people who really love their ships and take care of them. So if she decides to visit some other seafarers without getting noticed, she would repair their ships if they are damaged and also protect the passengers and the crew with her life.

Hina: “I don’t like ships at all. I always get seasick…”

Kizuato: “It’s not that bad. I honestly enjoy this kind of travel, especially because I love the ocean.”

Hina: “As long as one of us is happy… By the way what’s that sound? Don’t tell me we get attacked!”

Nadako: “Booooh!!!”

Hina: “I knew it…”

Nadako: “Hehehe, did I scare you?”

Kizuato: “Looks like the ship is possessed by some strange creature.”

Hina: “I’m actually a Klabautermann. And you are on my ship!”

Hina: “I guess I heard of them. These are some kinds of poltergeists who possess ships instead of houses. Alright, let’s kick some ghostly asses.”

Nadako: “You want to play with me? Yay, let’s have fun!”

AFTER FIGHT:

Kizuato: “Wait… you were the captain all along? And why didn’t you tell us before?”

Nadako: “Because I wanted to have some fun. By the way we are soon arriving the harbor of Isasagawa.”

Hina: “Thanks. But can you tell me why it’s called a province though it’s actually an island?”

Nadako: “Isasagawa was actually a part of the continent. But after a great earthquake happened, it broke apart from Kunihara and became an island. The people still live there but they need to travel with a ship if they want to leave the province.”

NADAKO’S SPELLCARDS:

Tsunami [Devastating Ocean Wave]

Whirlpool Sign [Ship Graveyard’s Maelstrom]

Sea Mysteries [Lost in Bermuda Triangle]