A Storm to Remember

Chapter one of Vandread: Crimson Tears is up. It has replaced the original first chapter. Go check it out if you didn't get the word from .

Lightning thundered and rain poured. Dita sat in quiet contemplation with her legs against her chest. She could feel the cold stare of loneliness slowly entering into her mind and the urge to cry was even closer. She didn't want to drive him away, all she wanted was to be closer to him, to be friends. She looked at the cave opening and could see the distant outlines of the dread and vanguard. That's what she felt like, she thought, as if rain was pouring onto their relationship and there was nothing she could do to mend it.

She sighed.

"Why did you have to go?" she whispered.

"Go where?"

Dita looked over to find Hibiki drenched with water, a slight bulge protruding from his orange tunic. Dita stared at him unsure of what to say next.

"You gonna sit there and gawk at me or are you gonna help?" he spat. Dita smiled and realized that his was Hibiki's way of forgiving her. She happily accepted his offer as she positioned herself closer to him.

"What do you need me to do?" she asked him. Hibiki pried his tunic open exposing a pile of dried brush from underneath. He nestled it in a neat pile and stacked it beside him. He then pried a small metal box from his back pocket causing Dita to eye curiously.

"What's that?" she asked him.

He lifted the small box to her and said: "I saved this little guy from my partner's chassis. Hopefully it will help us survive the night,"

He snapped two wires from the end of the box and tapped the now loose copper ends. The two ends formed a spark of electricity forming a smile on Hibiki's face.

"Alright, the wind is coming in too strong for the spark to ignite. Put your hands around mine." he said.

She obeyed and cupped her hands around his. Tapping the ends of the wires he caused a flurry of sparks to ensure but none caught. Dita could see the disappointment slowly pour onto his face.

"Wait, I got an idea," she said to him. She whipped off her trademark blazer and whip it around them shielding them from the roaring wind. Hibiki took the opportunity to spark the wires again causing the dried brush to go up in a fiery plume. Hibiki smiled.

"Awesome, you actually had a good idea for once," he said to her.

Dita looked away.

He noticed his words had hit her, "Oh come on, you know I didn't meant it,"

"Yeah, but it doesn't mean it doesn't hurt!" she retorted.

Hibiki didn't know what to say as he could see she was on the verge of tears.

"Hey, don't cry. I didn't mean it like that, I was just…"

"Making fun of me," she interrupted.

"It's not like that,"

"Yeah, how come no matter what I do to make you happy you never seem to like it? You never say thanks, you never even pretend to appreciate me."

Hibiki turned away, he could hear the hurt in her voice and it was disheartening hearing that from her. He didn't mean to come across this way, he was letting his pride do the talking. But what did he have to be proud of? He had nothing to call his own, nothing to show for any accomplishment.

Wait. That was a lie.

He did have something but whether or not he could prove it was his was another story entirely.

"Fine," he finally said.

They sat in silence for what seemed like hours. The storm outside raged on, wind whipping at the sand and rain plummeting the planet to its core. He looked outside the cave opening hoping to see some sort of life entering the atmosphere. He hoped to see a dread in the distance coming to their rescue but that idea was losing steam fast. There was no telling how long they would be there and they had no food to sustain them. He could feel his stomach begin to tumble and no doubt Dita wasn't faring any better.

He turned to her and saw her sleeping next to the fire her body shivering. She was something else, he thought. He noticed her lips quivering as a fine wisp of breath hovered before her face. He crawled over to her and tore off his orange tunic. He placed it over her and watched as her shivering body slowly eased into comfort.

To be honest he didn't know what he would do without her. He had the urge to protect her but he didn't dare admit it to anyone. He needed her but he didn't know why. He was fine with that thought though.

She was cute too.

Wait, what?

He shook his head, what was he saying? He thought a woman was cute? No way.

He watched as Dita shifted in her sleep exposing her thigh, he quickly turned away his cheeks rising in heat. He should go sit where he was, he thought, and try to get some sleep himself.

"Hibiki," she whispered.

He turned to her and suddenly his eyes fell downward forcing him to blush immensely. He immediately took his tunic and pulled it down.

"She gives me a heart attack even when she sleeps," he whispered to himself.

"Don't leave me," he heard her say.

Looking down he could see her eyelashes gleam in the firelight. Soft tears trembling down her cheeks, "Stay with me"

He smiled and whispered, "I won't leave. I could never leave,"

She smiled gently in her sleep, "Love,"

His smile slowly turned into a frown, "I'm not so good with that,"

"Love me,"

"I… I can't"

"Love me,"

"I… I don't know how,"

"Love me,"

"I don't want to be weak,"

"Please,"

"I don't want to hurt you,"

She remained silent. He laid down beside her, his face near hers. He could smell her scent and feel her warmth. He felt different, his stomach hurt and his mind foggy but he let his body speak for once. He wrapped his arm around her waist and pulled her close causing her face to float dangerously close to his. He could see her tears clinging to her face and with his finger he wiped it away. He wasn't good when it came to something like love but he knew he didn't have to be. With a final sigh of exhaustion he titled her head forward and did the one thing he knew felt right.

He kissed her forehead softly.

"I won't leave you,"

And with that he slipped into slumber.

When he awoke he could no longer hear the sound of thunder. He lifted his head, his eyes sore from sleep and made out the blue sky entering through the cave mouth. He looked beside him and could feel Dita's body still close to his. He slipped away without waking her and exited the cave.

Standing outside the cave he felt the chill of the wind nip at his skin. The storm was over and his next objective was food. He looked over the damp sand and spotted the dread and vanguard. He looked back at the cave and could make out Dita was still asleep. This was as good time as ever to find something to eat. He treaded back to his vanguard and noticed several birds congregating in the open cockpit. He shooed them away but was amazed by what he saw. The birds had made a nest and left several eggs.

He smiled, it was better than nothing.

He grabbed them and headed back to the cave, his trophies in hand.

He knelt inside the cave and lied the bounty onto the sand.

"Hey, where did you go?" said Dita sleepily.

"I found these, we get to actually have some breakfast," he said. He took one of the eggs and hastily bit into it spilling egg yolk onto his chin.

Dita quickly snatched the half eaten egg from him in protest, "What are you doing?"

"What am I doing? What are YOU doing taking my food!"

"It's not properly cooked, you can get sick!"

"What are you going to cook it for me then?"

"Of course,"

She rounded up the eggs, "Make the fire again and I'll prepare them."

Hibiki watched as she placed several large rocks onto the fire being careful not to extinguish the flames.

"See, it's not hard. If you place them on top of the rocks they won't burn but they will still cook," she said.

"How is that cooking it? You didn't even open any of them," he replied in innocence.

She smiled, "Never had hard boiled before?"

"Hard boiled?"

"Yeah well, technically we are not boiling them but it works similar."

"You're strange, you know that?"

She laughed, "But you like it right?"

He smiled, "Yeah, I do."