Author's note:
Hello all!
I have to say it is strange that I suddenly felt the urge to re-watch this anime. I was bed ridden with a pretty nasty cold, so I pulled out some random anime from the shelf, and look what happens! The plot bunnies attack!
I just had to post this otherwise I wouldn't be able to do anything else for a time… the bunnies are that insistent! Sadly not many people write for this show- so I will add my fic to the list of lonely crack dreams.
I don't own the show- I have to admit that I had to download the last episode because for some reason my dvd was totally scratched beyond playing… sad panda.
I hope you enjoy this fic.
Sitting on that beach, his face bloody, and his body bruised, Hayami Tetsu could not find the energy to move. Kino, the over emotional girl clung to his battered frame as hers still shook as the shock of their near death experience had just sunk in. They had survived... somehow they had survived and they managed to stop the war.
As they watched the equally injured Verg, one who had been their enemy for so long slowly wade through the waters and fall to his knees, Hayami Tetsu could not move.
When the strange creature's head silently popped up above the crashing waves, his body was too weak to even react. He took in her appearance, she looked just about as worse for ware as he did... the first time he saw her he thought she was alluring; with one eye slightly closed from a bruise, and what looked to be other wounds, he had to agree with his first impression of the strange hybrid. So much had happened to them both, and yet she was still just as mystifying. There was something special about this Mutio.
Her red orbs pierced his consciousness and a strange feeling hit deep inside him once again. The last time he felt something like this was when they were riding inside the Musca on their way to 'where they belonged.' Her smile and her curiosity had endured her even to a person such as himself.
He had never felt this twinge of emotion so strongly before. And here he was unable to call to her, to stop her from vanishing below the clear waters. Hayami Tetsu hated himself for not moving...
When she and all the other creatures vanished below the waves to bury their father, Hayami couldn't help felling that he would never see her again.
The war was over. And he had once again survived when so many had not been so lucky.
He had been given a message for the human race. A challenge from the late recluse Zorndyke. 'Live together.'
But as he just sat there and watched her drift out to sea, and out of his life. Hayami doubted he would live together with anyone ever again. After all this reliving harsh memories, being called on once again to fight, nearly being killed several times only to survive, and then beaten to within an inch of his life... he didn't want to deal with anyone, regardless of their race or origin.
The waves of the ocean that once held so much tension and anger crashed upon the shoreline near a solitary residence without a care. The house was sturdy, yet simple. Something that fit his character rather well. Nothing fancy, a roof over his head and a few rooms to hold his junk in. It was rough around the edges, but then again so was he.
Hayami Tetsu had left the rest of the crew of the Blue No. 6 and settled alone on an island a good distance from the rest. The survivors of the floods and the great battles under the sea were now free to rebuild their lives together. The remaining lands proved to be a challenging setting for the new cities for the human race. But in the short time since the end of the fighting, good progress had been made.
It was still too soon for the challenge to fully be reached. While there were no longer bloody battles and the animosity between the different species lessened a bit, there certainly was little trust. And trust was something that took time to grow.
But it didn't concern him. Living alone he did not need to trust anyone. The occasional visitor form the ship would come, but they didn't stay long. And that was something that Hayami liked.
He had everything he needed there with him. A well maintained generator, solar panels, water purification system, and lots of fishing nets and crates scattered off the shore to catch his food.
And yet something was wrong. Before he had a similar house, with similar gadgets and supplies and he had been fine. But not now.
Shielding his eyes from the sun high in the sky, Hayami swore as he found himself staring out at the ocean again.
"Damn it." He cursed again throwing the towel he had resting on his shoulders to the water. The dock area that easily attached to his deck was a place he found himself just standing and gazing out at the ocean more and more frequently.
Deep down he knew the reason. And maybe that is why he was so angry about it. He was not the type of guy to mope around because of a girl... a strange hybrid girl at that.
"Maybe I just need to get laid..." He groaned as he rubbed his face with his hands and turned back towards his house. The growling of his stomach was a good distraction and soon he forgot his heart's troubles for a time.
The morning dawn came sooner than he had expected and he groaned as sun's rays crept into his window. He had been meaning to make a curtain or shutter for that, but he had just not gotten to it yet.
Today was fishing day. And it was best to get up and straighten out the nets before the tide came in. The fish and other things he would catch in those nets would feed him till the next current came in with another mix of fish and other edible things.
Rolling over he draped his feet over the side of the bed. Slowly he sat and scratched his bare chest. He opened his eyes taking in the day from his room. Giving his mind and body a shake, he forced himself to get up.
"Gotta go get some food." He tried to mentally prep himself for the day, but it didn't seem to help.
Pulling on a dirty pair of coveralls, he tied the shirt sleeves around his waist and left his house. Walking towards the dock he noted that something was off. The amount of seagulls flying in the sky meant that something big had been caught in one of the nets.
He was rather curious as to what it could be this time. The last larger item that had managed to get itself caught in a net was a dead body of one of Zorndyke's creatures. Not feeling right with eating it, he simply gave the creature a quick, but dignified burial. He didn't feel like having to lug another heavy body up the dock.
However, the sounds that were coming from the water and the reaction of the birds to his presence told him that whatever he had caught was still alive.
The closer he got to the net area a ways off shore, the more he grew curious and quickened his pace. Soft snarls were accompanied by gasps, coming from some of the nets. The sound rang in his ears. Something inside of him told his body to move faster yet, and so Hayami found himself running the remaining length of the dock.
Peering over the wooden and metal structure that was the dock, Hayami found many of the cages and nets full of fish and the pulley system he had installed had successfully pulled the nets and cages partially out of the water. Looking more closely at the nets to the other side of the dock, he spotted the source of the noises.
There in a tangle of nets, partially over the water line was a creature he had given up hope to ever see again. The red eyes, the yellow and black legs and arms, the pointed ears and the gray hair told him that he had caught a Mutio.
For a moment he was frozen. Inside his mind he wondered if it could possibly be his Mutio. However that thought was interrupted as the creature continued to gasp and struggle. Moving quickly he jumped into the water and pulled out a knife. The creature didn't seem to notice his presence to much, or maybe it didn't care, but it thrashed inside the net not worrying about him as an added threat. It needed to get submerged and soon, otherwise it would die.
Hayami noticed that the Mutio inside the net looked a bit injured. As soon as he cut the nets and the creature was free to submerge itself, Hayami expected it to dash off.
But this one didn't. Instead of flying off beneath the water, this one hardly moved. Simply floating to the surface it looked at him with a gaze that made him almost forget to tread water. A small smile graced its lips briefly before its eyes rolled backwards and it began to sink.
Not knowing what to do, Hayami watched as the creature made no attempt to swim away, or stop itself from sinking. A large amount of bubbles escaped from the Mutio's lips, and Hayami began to worry.
As if something inside him beckoned, he dove down and caught the creature before it hit the bottom of the seabed, and brought it back to the surface.
"Hey!" He shook the hybrid but got no response. Looking closer he noticed that this Mutio seemed very familiar; the smile just before she sank too was so very familiar.
His heart skipped a beat when he looked down on the hybrid in his arms again. Holding her limp body closer, he looked around as if wondering what to do. His joy of having finally found Mutio was replaced by fear. What was he to do now?
Somehow he managed to get to the shoreline with the girl still in his arms. Laying her down in the shallow area, he tried to shake her a bit more. The hybrid did not respond to his calls and touch. Looking over her body, Hayami noticed many healing wounds and scars littering her shapely form. The thing that bothered him the most was her ear. On one side her ear had been injured.
"What happened to you?" He asked touching her cheek with an abnormally high amount of concern even for him. He felt a twinge of pain in his heart at seeing her present state. "Who did this?" he wanted to know, but he did not get answer.
Sitting there in the water he wondered what to do now. There was no way that he was just going to let her, in her weakened condition, stay there in the water. She would be unprotected, unsheltered from the elements, and Hayami would not allow that.
Picking her up in his arms once again, the tall loner did something that he knew he would laugh about in the morning. Carrying the girl into his house Hayami walked into the bathroom and put the plug into the bathtub.
Setting her into the tub, Hayami turned on the water pump and soon the water level was up to her chest. Grabbing several old rags and wash cloths, Hayami began to treat the wounds that she had suffered from getting stuck in his net.
Chuckling to himself that such a usually smart creature could get stuck in a net, he had her cleaned up in no time.
Standing up Hayami could not help but look down on the same creature that he had saved, and that had saved him... she was the reason the war had ended. His strange desire to protect this creature from Kino's gun after their battle, and then Mutio's desire to reciprocate such a gesture was truly ground breaking.
Seeing her trying to fight off her own kind when they were surrounded on the debris in the ocean, and the simple way she would curiously look at him both before they were attacked and after; she had shown him that not all of Zorndyke's creatures were the blood thirsty monsters that the humans would want them all to believe. Yes, they were dangerous- his scar on his arm told him that even without their machinery the hybrids could still fight, but then again, so too could his own kind.
He had often wondered what her own kind thought of her actions. He had nightmares about them harming her because he had touched her... he had sparked a curiosity in her. He had not meant to cause her problems or such a change in her usual life. He simply did not want to let her die there on the land after her machine was broken.
Seeing her state, he had to assume that her own kind did this to her. And that bothered him greatly. Suddenly the room seemed stifling and Hayami needed to get some fresh air.
Turning the water on a lower drip, he left the girl to sleep. She certainly seemed to need it.
Walking out of his house and on to his deck, Hayami took a deep breath and exhaled it slowly.
"What do I do now?" He asked himself again. Having the hybrid back was something that deep down he wanted, but now that she was here, what would happen. Was this some frustrated sexual tension he was trying to alleviate, or did he really care for the woman in his bathtub?
Had his frustration with his own race, the problems associated with humans that he had long suffered caused him to seek companionship with a creature such as this Mutio? It made some sense. He was not an overly educated man, nor did he like rationally thinking out every course of action, however this logic did fit.
And what was strange was that the same thing had to be happening with his guest. Why else would she have saved him, allowed him to touch her, and now, come back to his side? She was drawn to him, just as he was drawn to her.
Running his hand over his face he groaned. He didn't need all this added bullshit to his life. What happened to living alone for the rest of his existence and being content like last time?
His thoughts were interrupted by a loud crash from inside his house. Giving off a slight smile he assumed she had woken up and was scared.
The calm water was all around her. It felt different from the waters of the ocean which she had been swimming in. Searching her mind she tried to remember what happened, and why she felt so weak.
Opening her eyes she found that indeed she was not in the ocean. She was in some sort of tank in a small room. Her heart was beating a mile a minute, and her red eyes searched the room for answers. How did she get here? Where was here? And what was that familiar scent in the room? Why was it so calming?
She gave off a weak cry, but got no reply to anything. Not knowing what was going to happen to her, her first instinct was to get out and back into the ocean. Looking at her hands when they reached out and gripped the tub, she remembered the pain of getting stuck in a net. It was one of his nets...
Asking the sea creatures and sea gulls for many days, she had finally located the man who haunted her dreams, and her waking hours. Mutio could not explain why she felt so drawn to this sad looking man, but from the moment he touched her and returned her to the oceans he was on her mind.
She had suffered so much because of this fascination, but it did not matter. Verg's punishments had hurt; however the feelings of being all alone after being banished had not stopped her from longing to see the land dweller. Even after her creator's death, there still was a great deal of tension between her and the others. For the moment she had no place even among her own kind.
Why was she the only one to want to trust the humans? They had done bad things to her kind, but there was something strange about the one called Hayami... she had looked for him for some time.
Seeing him on the beach before the funeral procession, she wanted to run to him. But she couldn't. She needed to be with her own kind. To mourn the death of her father and creator, and to comfort her family, even the ones that had hurt her.
Deep down her heart hurt at seeing him just sitting there looking so blank. She had hoped he could have called out to her; she had called to him... could he not hear her? And then there was something else... she had feelings for him. In her species these feelings were akin to wanting to take a mate, but he was not of her kind. He also had a female of his own species comforting him. Did he already have a mate? Mutio was so very confused. If she could not even figure out her own kind, how could she even try to understand his?
But that didn't stop her. Before she had time to fully heal from her ordeals, she set out to find the human man. Not knowing the answers to all her questions, she had to do something.
And now she seemed to have been saved once again. Those nets, she had not counted on getting caught in them, she couldn't even remember getting stuck. All she knew was that before she knew what was happening, she was pulled mostly out of the water. It was true that her kind could live on the surface for a time, but once her skin dried out, breathing became painful. She had nearly dried out... and then she remembered a warm feeling coming over her before things went black.
Smelling the air, she confirmed that it was indeed Hayami's scent in the air and all around. It was just as she had remembered it to be, calming and in its own way alluring.
Pulling herself out of the water, Mutio looked for something to brace herself so she could pull her legs from the water. Finding something that looked sturdy, she put most of her weight on it and even got one leg out of the tall tub. The added weight and the weakness of her body finally caught up and her grasp gave out.
Falling to the floor with a loud crash, Mutio wanted to cry out with the pain, but held it back. Resting her head on the cool floor, she didn't know what to do next.
What if this wasn't Hayami's house? What if someone else had saved her? Could she escape in her current condition? She was tired... she wanted to see Hayami... she didn't want to be alone.
And then her sensitive ears picked up on someone approaching. Looking up she saw the door slowly open. The sunlight behind the door blinded her for a few seconds before she heard a voice...
a/n:
Sadly if you have not noticed, I am a hopeless romantic. I admit it, and I have learned to embrace it. It brings me shits and giggles.
So, they have found each other, but of course, life is not always roses and bunnies. You will have to stay tuned to find out where my randomness takes us.
Cookies to all those who review!
Well, maybe not cookies… I can't promise that… how about a second chapter instead?