seventh snack; video.

[selfished]

[ The feed is actually sort of a mess - definitely not recorded on purpose. Especially since the communicator seems to have been dropped on the ground rather forcefully (even though accidentally) and started recording because of that. But because of its slanted state it's hard to tell what exactly is going on. There's a hint of familiar blue armor

Comments

action;

[digtastic]

Corruption of purifier systems has been expunged and eradicated. Self repair functions activated.
[ Rock's body was still immobile as Kyouko shook him, the blue boy looking almost dead to the world. But even if he didn't physically show it, it was an entirely different case on the inside, his mind as active as it had ever been... yet not fully aware of anything at the same time. ]

Full system restore will be complete in [ ERROR ].
[ He knew something was horribly wrong. Even if he didn't know where he was, what had happened to him, and what condition he was in now. The last thing he remembered had been fighting those... things, before they seemingly disappeared into him. And shortly after that, his body seemingly turned on him, taking away any control he had over himself... before everything went black. ]

Vital systems will be online in one hundred and eighty seconds.
[ In fact, it was still black. So much so that he had to wonder if his eyes were even open. He couldn't see anything, couldn't hear anything, couldn't feel anything. And for a moment, he had to wonder... was this what dying was like? To just suddenly... not exist? ]

Wake up already, idiot..!
W-Wait... Kyouko?

[ His eyebrow twitched. ]

action;

[selfished]

[ It would be a lie to say Kyouko wasn't getting worried when he didn't respond at first, but.. then there's that tiny move, just his eyebrow twitching. But just that little is already enough for her, as her face clearly starts showing a bit more relief. She finally dares to let out a long breath, the breath she had been holding in out of suspense just earlier. ]

At least you didn't get yourself killed.. [ She just mumbles that to herself before shaking him more, just slightly again. ]

Come on now. If you sleep any longer I'm just going to let you lie around here on your own, okay?

[ Not that she ever would consider that, really-- it's just some tsun. ]

action;

[digtastic]

[ He didn't need to think about it twice to know it was Kyouko at this point. But if anything, knowing that only made him more desperate. He knew she was there, wherever "there" was. And right now, even with the dense darkness that seemed to surround him, he wanted nothing more than to reach her. He wanted to push through the darkness, wanted to grab hold of her, wanted to apologize for whatever he did, wanted to reassure her that he was alright. ]

Come on now.
I'm trying..

[ He wanted to get out of this darkness, wanted to get out, wanted out. ]

If you sleep any longer I'm just going to let you lie around here on your own, okay?
Don't leave.. please..

[ He wanted out, he wanted OUT, HE WANTED OUT! ]

KYOUKO!

[ He wasn't prepared for the light shining through the trees when his eyes shot open. ]

action;

[selfished]

[ He opened his eyes. Just that much is already enough of a relief to her. It means he's at least alive, awake, even with his limbs torn off and thrown all over the place. They could find a solution to that later, really, just as long as he was okay..

It wasn't until now that she realised she had been hanging over the boy to look at him with a rather worried expression, though. And so after a few moments of staring at him after he opened his eyes she quickly backs off a bit, forcing her expression back to normal standards. ]

... About time. [ Her voice is a bit soft and mumbly - perhaps even pouty. ] Idiot.

action;

[digtastic]

[ He didn't catch what she said at first, if only because he was still breathing heavily as he gathered his bearings. But at the sight of her over him as he woke up, he couldn't help but feel an immense sense of relief flood him, her presence alone already reassuring him that whatever had happened to him, that he'd be fine. Somehow.

Still, when she moved away, he hadn't been prepared for the sunlight that filtered down through the canopy of trees, so he moved his head away and squinted, moving his arm in front of his face-- wait. ]

M-My arms-- [ He tried to speak up, but coughed a bit when he realized just how dry his throat was. ]

action; 1 / 2

[selfished]

Stay calm. Those things took your limbs off somehow wile you were lying there like that.

[ Her voice is a bit tighter than usual - more in control, more serious. After all, Rock is lying here practically taken apart, and there's no one else around, so she has to take care of this situation by herself now. ]

I'm not sure what else they did to you, but..

action; 2 / 2

[selfished]

... It's okay. I'll take care of it, so don't worry. Just trust me on this one, okay?

action;

[digtastic]

[ Trust her? Was she seriously asking him that? She'd been his friend, been his confidant, and now she was his rescuer. If there was anyone in this entire village he could ever trust more than her, he definitely hadn't met them yet.

So at her words, he closed his eyes and leaned his head back against the tree stump, sighing in an attempt to calm himself down. He trusted her, it didn't even need to be said. But it wasn't in him to simply lie back and not help in some way. He needed to do something, anything... ]

... Can you-- [ He paused, grimacing slightly due to his dry throat, and then continuing with a softer tone. ] Reconnect my arms...?

action;

[selfished]

What do I look like, a mechanic?

[ It's the last remains of tsun activating themselves right now, really. But at the same time she is already looking at the loose arms for a few moments, raising an eyebrow appraisingly. It's not like Kyouko has tons of experience with or knowledge of technology - really, she grew up on the streets on her own, so there's not much to be expected with that. ]

... Fine.. Tell me how to do it and I'll do it. [ Not that she's quite planning on giving him all his limbs just yet - she doesn't even know if it's a good idea for him to move while he's like this altogether. ]

action;

[digtastic]

It's... not to hard...

[ He spoke softly, his voice practically a raspy whisper as he tried to keep from speaking up too loudly. Not because he didn't want to, but because his throat hurt too much for it. He then spared a glance over to the side, attempting to glance at the ground she was standing on... and actually seeing the carnage that was left behind.

Where his limbs were. ]

... [ They were the creatures he encountered, he had no doubt about it. But... for the most part, they were mangled beyond recognition, practically torn apart. And then, as he looked up at Kyouko, he finally noticed it. Blood. Their blood. On her. ]

Kyouko...

[ She actually did this. For him. ]

... I...

[ And just the thought alone made him view her under a different light. A much more appreciative light. ]

... J-Just... grab the arm and... push it into the right socket... it should lock into place... if you do it hard enough...

action;

[selfished]

[ She wasn't sure why he was so hesitating, but at the same time.. She could guess just a little, since it happened just as he was starting to look around him. For a moment she averts her gaze, instead pretending to be studying one of the loose limps as he finally spoke on.

And with that - wordlessly - she picks up one of the arms, before walking over to him. It feels almost.. macabre to do something like this, putting an arm back on someone. Even if it's supposed to be robotic, it still feels weird. (And it makes her think too much of Sayaka's words from back home, about how they were just zombies too, empty bodies that had no meaning.) ]

Here. Don't try to move it too much just yet when it's on though, okay?

[ Her voice is much more calm than usual, maybe even a little devoid of emotion - maybe she's not sure how to feel or what to think after that sudden burst of rage either.

Slowly but surely she moves the arm back to the socket. ]

action;

[digtastic]

[ He simply nodded at her advice, although in his head, he already knew what he wanted to do. But he'd wait until his arm was on, until he had some kind of limb. For now, he simply closed his eyes and exhaled, fully expecting the reconnection to be unpleasant... and hitting it right on the mark when the arm was finally connected, practically hissing in pain when his nerves flared up and he felt just how badly damaged his arm was.

Torn armor. Ripped wires. Broken circuits. And that was the minor stuff. Really, Rock wasn't even sure if his arm should've been working right now... but it was. And that was all he cared about right now. ]

... Sorry.

[ He said suddenly, and without even giving her the chance to refuse him, his arm shot up around Kyouko's neck and pulled her down to him, his hand gripping the cloth on her back as he pulled his head up to her shoulder and simply held her close. His nerves were screaming in protect just from the movement, practically crying in pain. But Rock didn't care right now. No, nothing like that matter right now.

Right now, the only thing that mattered was that Kyouko had saved him. And her attitude and his condition be damned, he was going to show her just what that meant to him. By way of a hug. ]

action;

[selfished]

[ She would normally have protested. But she was so caught up in her worry, especially with his hiss at the reconnection of the arm, that she doesn't even notice when he pulls her down all of a sudden, and even then it goes too fast to really protest still. There's some initial sputtering at the sudden movement, but after that she goes quiet.

She hasn't had anything remotely resembling a hug in years. Not since her family died. And to suddenly get one now, while she hadn't even expected it - why would she deserve a hug, she just did what was natural, she just saved him because.. because she cared, of course.

And while she doesn't protest as much as she normally would - she doesn't move out of the hug, she doesn't even sputter anymore - she still asks. ]

... Why..?

action;

[digtastic]

[ He didn't answer her. At least, not yet. Instead, at her question, he simply tightened his grip on her and hugged her that much tighter, his head tucked into her shoulder, holding her so close she might as well have been a lifeline. But then again, that was what she was right now. His lifeline. The only thing that was keeping him alive right now.

After all, if she hadn't shown up, how much longer would he have been knocked out? How much more damage would he have sustained? Would he have even been alive by the end of it all? ]

Because... [ Because he cared? Because she was his friend? Because she saved him? Because he was glad to have met her? Every single thing he thought of just felt inadequate, like the words to describe how he felt didn't even exist. ]

... I can't describe it. [ He finally said, being completely and purely honest, for once. ] I'm just... glad. Glad that you're here..

action;

[selfished]

[ It's enough to make her blush a little, really. Not exactly out of affection, but more because she's just that flustered at those words. He was glad that she was here, and not just glad that she was here, but glad that she was here. Specifically her. Nobody had ever acknowledged her like that before.

Part of her just wants to back off, to yell that it isn't something special like that at all, that it was practically a coincidence she came across it so he shouldn't think too much of it like that.

(Because it's better to not be close to anyone so you won't get hurt. Because it's better to just live for yourself so nothing, so nobody can hurt you at all.)

But she doesn't. Instead she just allows him to cling to her like that, her head tilted down a bit so her expression wouldn't be visible for anyone. Her voice is a little soft, a near mutter. ]

... I'm glad you're okay.

[ Because she isn't even sure what she would have done, how guilty she would have felt, if he wouldn't be able to saved anymore and she would have failed yet again after the fiasco with Sayaka. ]

action;

[digtastic]

... I'm sorry I made you worry.

[ The words left his mouth in a soft murmur, before he even realized he'd said them. But even after the fact, he couldn't bring himself to regret what he'd said. He could only imagine how worried he must've made her, if what he saw of her when she was looking for Sayaka was any indication. How angry she must've been, how frantic she must've been... and how much she probably tried to hide it. Because it was Kyouko, it wouldn't be her if she didn't try to hide it.

It just made his chest hurt more, reinforcing just how guilty he felt that he worried her like this. But no, he wasn't going to wallow in it this time. This time, he was going to make it up to her. Somehow, someway. And the first thing he wanted to do, was show her just how grateful she was... ]

... I'm really sorry... [ His grip on her back tightened, and he burrowed his face further into her shoulder, almost as if the very idea of letting go was forbidden. ]