Story updated on: - 12/07/2010
Chapter beta read by: akiqueen
Chapter 4 (Acts of the Heart)
Hayami moped in his quarters, looking at a few magazines he obtained while on walkabout. Oblivious to his surroundings and deep within his thoughts, he tried to work out all the incidents that happened during the day. Staring at the bulkhead wall with a few posters he'd pinned up before trying to 'own' his room, H ayami wondered if Mutio would appear. He often looked at the windows of the aqua tunnels hoping to see her.
Then he thought. What am I doing?
As he looked at the crunched up packet of cigarettes, Hayami could not hold back the stray thought that rummaged in his mind. He also mumbled about his last two cigarettes before making any more decisions.
Few bangs at the door raised Hayami eyes. He was not in the mood for visitors and he wanted his space. But more than that, he wanted his time. When the second knock echoed through the metallic room, Hayami roared. "Fuck off!"
"It's Iga. Hayami, any chance of a word?" Hayami recognised the voice straight away.
"Yeah, OK!"
The door opened and Iga walked into a dark, messy room with a small cloud of smoke drifting up into the ventilation system. He saw Hayami laid out on his bed with his hands behind his head, enjoying the ride to Blue Base.
"Are you OK?" asked Iga, pulling up a chair.
Hayami shrugged his shoulders and took another puff from his cigarette. "Just thinking, you know. Long journey and all."
"Tell me, why did you leave us one year ago?"
Hayami paused before answering. It's been a long time since he left the Blue Six and his reasons all had to do with Mutio. The horror he saw back at Antarctica. That final moment! That anger affected his very being and he had to keep away from the water for a few months. But the memories still lurked in the back of his mind, especially the memory of Mutio swimming away with Verg. That animal.
"I guess it was the same reason as before and-" he paused, bowing his head. "Other things"
"Other things?"
Hayami returned from his daydreaming. "Nothing, don't worry about it." He continued, changing the subject, "So, sir, what can I do for you?"
"Hayami, I've got a proposition for you and I hope you will take it. I want you to come back to Blue Six. I don't know what our mission is, but I would sleep better at night knowing that I have you on my crew."
Hayami felt warm towards Iga's kind words. However, he drifted his eyes towards the bulkhead of the submarine and wondered about the chances of finding Mutio again. After seeing her for the first time in years, he yearned to see her again.
Iga interjected his thoughts, again. "Well, what is your answer?"
"Let me think about it!"
Iga reached for his cap and clutched it with both his hands. "What's happened to you?"
Hayami's eyes snapped to Iga's location. "All I do is kill, kill, and kill. I don't want to do it anymore. All my life it was about one thing and now I want to change. Shall I tell you how guilty I felt when I killed Zorndyke?" he paused, waiting for Iga to respond. He didn't. "I felt nothing, nothing at all. I want a normal life and not to start this killing cycle all over again."
"I am sure everything will be explained once we arrive at the conference. From what we already know, the creatures have disappeared and we hardly see them anymore," Iga carried on, with a tone of smugness. "If you don't want to be involved, why did you come?"
Hayami leered at Iga and was blunt about his answer. "I hoped to make some money from this."
Finally, Hayami ended the conversation with a smile. "Look, as I said before, let me think about it. However, I am staying on this sub for now. I get my own quarters and it's fairly big. Better than the accommodations on Blue Six and besides, I am a guest!"
Iga finished up with a smile; he placed his cap on his head and walked out.
-o-
Jake shuffled along the walkway in a penguin-like fashion, turning corners and walking up metal stairs. Eventually, he walked past Hayami's quarters, running into Iga, who was just leaving.
As if a storm had blown through, a young girl rushed past and was instantly grabbed by Jake. He squinted his eyes at the girl and then exclaimed. "What the hell is this? Why is there a child running around on my boat?" He tossed her to the side. "I never authorised this girl onboard! This is a highly advanced sub, not a playground."
Iga placed his hand on Jake's arm in an effort to remove it from the girl. He replied in the young girl's defence. "Jake, she's part of our crew. She uses the lorenziny system on Blue Six. They asked us to take her to the Blue Base and she wanted to come onboard and see this vessel." He got closer to Jake.
"She has a special gift which has helped us a lot. I see no harm in letting her look around."
Huang stared at Jake and then she appeared stoned and hypnotised. "I can feel them, something is coming, and they are mad!"
The group of people looked at Huang, puzzled by her sudden outburst. "Who is coming?" asked Jake.
"I don't know, they are far, but they are coming. Two hybrid sisters are onboard this vessel and they want them back." Huang pointed to the aqua tunnels.
"Two of them? You have some of those hybrids onboard?" Iga said.
Jake turned to Iga, "I ran into one of them in the waterways, but she vanished before I could get any more answers. I had no idea any hybrids were onboard! I've got search teams looking for them, but they've got the freedom to enter and exit the vessel at will. The aqua tunnels are connected to the open ocean."
Iga turned to the aqua tunnel window, deep in thought. "I would like to see the creatures in person." He turned with his hand on chin. "I've never seen them, except for their damn metal robots."
Overhearing the conversation outside his room, Hayami poked his head through the gap in the door to see what the commotion was about. As expected, Iga was chatting to Jake and then to a small girl, who he recognised. Her telepathic powers had increased and the things she said supported his theory that Mutio was onboard. However, Huang felt what Hayami was thinking and approached him.
"She's upset with you!" Huang said in a shy tone, holding her teddy bear.
"What?"
"I can feel Mutio's thoughts. She saw you kissing Kino and she is confused. You have upset her."
"Can you talk to her?" Hayami said, sitting up and destroying his cigarette.
Huang shook her head, leaving Hayami to sit back down in his quarters, disappointed.
"Why is she here?" Hayami questioned.
"She was protecting her sister from the evil shark monster while escaping. They found this vessel and the warm water drew them inside." Verg's image haunted Huang's mind.
Then Hayami's deep thought was interrupted when Iga called for her.
When Huang left, Hayami was left alone in his quarters. The only thing he could do was question the information given to him. Is it fate?
All he wanted to do now was to explain his actions to the goddess of the sea, someone that he yearned to touch and feel again. Mutio, when will I see you again?
-o-
Huang got ready to board a small sub leading back to Blue Six. She wanted to see more, but Iga ordered her back. The commander did the tasks he needed to do and decided to head back to his vessel, running into Kino on the way.
"Kino, when will you be returning to us? We are short on pilots and I need you to convince Hayami to come back to us; he is in a world of his own," said Iga.
"I don't want to talk about that asshole!" she snapped.
Iga stood back with a slight shock at her sudden outburst. Over the course of their career, he thought Kino and Hayami where getting on very well. "That idiot can rot in hell for all I care!" she snapped again, walking away before disappearing around the corner.
"Things are really strange around here," said Iga, looking at the little girl as they boarded the transport sub.
-o-
On the command centre of the Blue Six, the chatter was that of system status and depth reports. The odd joke about the tugging back to Blue Base was thrown into the mix from time to time and that caught the attention of the officer at watch. But before he could do anything about it, the culprit hid into the shadows.
Freeda sat at her post, as she did one year ago, enjoying the easy piloting. But then she was ordered to head down to the launch bay and board the Deep Sea Six.
She complained, "I'm fine where I am!"
"We need a pilot over there to steer the Deep Sea Six. They're causing a tidal shear on us." The officer at watch gave Freeda a sporting glance.
"I'm not going on that thing we are tugging, I am happy sitting here! Why not send lover boy here?" Freeda gestured towards Cekeros, who was stealthily sitting next to her.
The officer then dragged her out of the chair and then proceeded to kick her out of the command room. "Get on it NOW!"
-o-
Jake returned to his quarters and threw his coat onto his mahogany table. His next order of the minute would be to make his tea, one of the few pleasures he could enjoy while away from the command deck. Still, he stared at the unpleasant pile of paperwork that demanded his attention.
A COM signal echoed over intercom. What the hell do they want?
He leaned over his table and activated the intercom unit; his reply was clipped and shallow. "Yes."
"Control here, commander. Blue Six is sending someone over to help with the piloting while we're being towed. Also, there's a slight stabilizer error in the seventh ballast tank," a bored voice muttered.
"Reset the system. That should fix it!" said Jake, knowing exactly what the problem was. He leaned back on his chair and rubbed his tired face, thinking about having a shower.
-o-
Kino slumped onto her bed, almost crying at the events that happened with Hayami. She really liked him and had hoped that the kiss would wake him up. But it didn't, and now she was stuck on what to do.
Clutching the covers, she burried her head into the pillow and tried to hide her crying, so no one could here her through the thin walls.
However, soon she decided to stop. "I am strong!" she said. "It will be Hayami's loss. I don't need him."
Yes, she was much older and wiser now, and Kino tried her best to convince herself of that, and the last thing she needed was a love triangle. Yes, I don't need that, thank you very much.
But deep down, she could not hold back the small warm feeling of love. A tiny spark that could not be extinguished. "Perhaps, time will change his mind," she murmured to herself.
-o-
The night began to settle and the two vessels made their way through the open ocean. Dolphins danced and swam next to the hulls of the vessels, unaware that in the depths of the ocean, a menacing enemy was tracking them. Undetected, the two Musucas calmly followed, spying on the two large subs that were heading for the new Blue Base.