Vandread: Soul
"So, what do we do now?"
Hibiki sighed as he crossed his arms and stared into the horizon. There was nothing they could do. The Nirvana had been rushed by the Harvest and in Bart's brilliant mind he sent out an all out attack. In the process, Hibiki's and Dita's combined form was sent flying into space...
And there lies the problem.
"I don't know, that idiot could have sent us anywhere. At least this planet has some sort of oxygen so we should be fine for a little while." he said to her.
Dita sat in the sand, her legs underneath her and her eyes scanning the abysmal dryness of the land. It did seem pointless to worry. At least she had her friend to keep her company.
"How does the machines look?" asked Hibiki turning to his marooned partner who was buried beneath the sand. Dita eyed her own dread and noticed sparks of electricity jettisoning from her cockpit. Things looks bleak.
She said to him: "I doubt we can even try to get off this planet and by the look of things it doesn't seem like we can even repair it. You said you were a worker right? Could you fix it?"
Hibiki scoffed mentally admitting defeat. He could if he had the tools but judging by his surroundings it seemed like a far off idea he would find anything suitable.
Then a distant roar echoed from the distance.
The two of them looked on and saw a massive dark cloud off into the horizon. The pangs of thunder and lightening calling in warning.
"Dammit," he said, "We have to find somewhere to hold up. We're sitting ducks out here,"
"Um..."
"What is it now?"
Dita made a nervous laugh as she pointed to her legs causing Hibiki to groan in frustration.
He said to her: "Did you break something?"
"I don't think so but it hurts to move them," she said as she caressed her shins. He looked around hoping to find somewhere to take shelter. He viewed past the mangled vanguard and dread and spotted a jutting rock several yards away. Maybe they could do something with that, there was no use seeking refuge from rain inside the machines. He wasn't that dumb.
"Can you walk at all?" he asked.
Dita pitifully got to her knees but once she set her foot onto the ground she gave out a cry of pain and sat back down.
"I'll take that as a no," he said disdainfully, "Alright, I guess I have to carry you."
Dita's face suddenly reddened and defiant, "No, no. I got it. Don't worry about me, I can walk."
Hibiki crossed his arms, "Are you stupid? You and I both know you can't even crawl. Now stop being difficult and let me help you."
He knelt down to grab her but she painfully inched away in rebellion, "No, you can't!"
"What's your problem? Don't you realize we're about to get hit by a storm?"
Her face was now crimson, "I weigh too much."
He stood there in a pause trying to understand what she meant, "I'm not a weakling, you know."
"I know,"
"Then let me carry you,"
"No!"
"Listen you..."
"I don't want you to carry me. I'm heavy!"
"Are you serious?"
"Yes!"
He looked at her and could see embarrassment beginning to spread across her face, "Fine."
She gave a sigh of relief.
Hibiki then saw an opening and quickly scooped her up into his arms. If she was indeed heavy he couldn't feel it, she was incredibly light but what made it difficult was her squirming.
"Wait, what are you doing?" she yelled.
"Helping you," he replied.
He tossed her over his shoulder and began to walk towards potential shelter.
To his surprise there was a slight indent in the rock surface, it was just big enough to shield them for a night or two from the rain. He placed her down and sat next to her.
"I wasn't too heavy, right?" she asked him in an utmost whisper.
He groaned, "What's with you women and your weight?"
"It's just... never mind," she said.
They sat in silence as the sound of rolling thunder echoed closer. Hibiki peered out towards the sky which was darkening at a fast rate. He had to think, how would they get off the planet? They had no means of communicating with anyone, they didn't even have rations. By the looks of things, there wasn't anywhere to even fend for food. They were just going to have to make do.
"Ow,"
He looked over to see Dita massaging her legs, "How badly are you hurt?"
"I don't know, when I first got out of the dread I was fine but as we stood there I had to sit down. I just thought I was tired but it feels numb."
He then sat opposite her and looked at her knees. They were badly scratched and bruised.
"Hey, put your leg on my lap."
"What?"
"Just put your leg here," he said patting his lap. She looked at him and obeyed.
"Duelo taught me a few things when we were at the brig when you guys first captured us. Every now and then he shows me a few of his tricks for wounds and such. Still, don't count on me to cure everything."
She nodded as she watched him. He pressed his fingers against her knee.
"Does this hurt?"
She nodded.
He inspected her scratches and saw they didn't go too far into the flesh. He then placed his thumbs over the top of her shins where he saw discoloration.
"Does this hurt?" he said as pressed down slightly.
She jumped, a painful expression on her face, "Yeah."
He then took the top of her boot and began to slip it off.
"Wait, what are you doing?" she said in an almost panic.
"Don't you see that I need to see your entire leg so I can help you?" he said in a matter-of-fact tone. She looked at him as if curious as to his already known intentions and nodded.
He slowly slipped off her boot and set inside. His eyes inspected from her shin all the way down to her foot.
She has really smooth skin, he thought. He took her foot into his hands and remembered the areas Duelo had taught him where to press into. He took his index finger and lightly tapped the ball of her foot.
"Did you feel that?" he asked.
"Yeah,"
He slowly rolled his thumbs down the bottom of her foot to her heel, "How about that?"
"Yeah, I can feel it."
"Okay, good. That means your leg is not broken, well, this one anyway."
He then placed his hand underneath her calf and cupped it in his palm.
"Any pain?"
"A little,"
"Alright, just looks like a lot of bruising I guess."
He checked her other leg and came to the same conclusion.
"You have really rough hands," she said to him, "Is that typical for all men?"
"Depends," he said, "If you work on a lot of things with your hands you tend to get them roughed up a bit. You won't be able to walk for a little while, not that I think you can help me anyway, at least I can keep track of where you are."
Dita could not help but look at him, something about him was different. It could have been that they were no longer with the crew the noise of everyday life wasn't there to deflect the true nature of his personality. She could hear the deepness in his voice that somehow soothed her into comfort. She could hear the subtle concern when he looked at her legs.
And his touch.
It was like nothing she could understand. Something about the fact that they were alone sent a different atmosphere among them she couldn't understand. Something was there, something in her head was linking things together but her brain could not find the why nor the how.
She pulled her injured legs to her chest and sat her chin on them. She was confused. Could he see the same thing she was seeing or was it something only she, a woman, could understand. It was funny, she thought, they were in a situation where life and death was the main focus whereas she was there thinking about this boy. Life was strange.
"Why are you so quiet?" he said.
She blinked and noticed her own silence, "Nothing! I'm fine, just thinking."
"That's a first," he said sarcastically.
"Do you have to make fun of me all the time?"
He looked at her, clearly taken back by her question, "What are you talking about?"
She looked away, "I like helping you and making you happy. You... you don't seem to want to do the same for me."
"What? I just did help you? If you feel that way then maybe I will just leave you here." he threatened.
"No, that's not what I meant!" she exclaimed in fear.
"Fine, have it your way,"
He picked himself up and walked away without another word.
