"Stop--" He winced, glancing between JW and the mushi. It paused in its tapping for a moment, the hairlike filaments on its legs waving in the air. It hadn't noticed the source of the movement yet, but it had noticed that something had moved, that much was obvious.

"Listen to me." His voice was still low, set with a sort of cautious intensity not unlike when he had warned James away from the Suiko. "There is a parasitic mushi a foot away from us. If you take another step, it will know you're there, and then you won't be going much of anywhere. Don't move."