Chapter Text
Fire. That’s the main thing he remembered. He remembered seeing a mix of dark and light blue hair over him, shaking him to get him up, and another head of dark orange grabbing them by the arm and pulling them away. He remembered hearing shouting and explosions, and a loud blaring alarm. He remembered trying to help others get away into escape pods, before being caught in an explosion himself. He remembered a hot, searing pain as metal sliced through his skin, and he remembered seeing his own blood covering the ground. He remembered seeing all red, before he couldn’t see anything at all.
And just before that fire, he was talking to someone. He doesn’t remember who, but he knows they had long green hair. They were telling him about their mission, and the next planet they were going to be surveying. For this one, they were supposed to check the hospitality of it, see if it was suitable for people to live in. He doesn’t even know how it happened. One moment, he was saying his goodbyes to his friend, telling her that he’d meet up with her again before they landed. And the next second, sirens, red lights, and shouting. And now he was barely conscious, laying back down staring straight up into the dark sky.
So..Where was he now? Surprisingly, he was still breathing even though his suit was torn and mostly broken. His radio emitted static, and his watch wasn’t turning on anymore. He couldn’t contact anyone, he couldn’t check his condition, and he couldn’t even tell where he was. His ship was probably broken into millions of pieces, scattered across the endless void of space.
He attempted to sit up, using his hands to hold himself up. So, he was on some random planet, no idea which one but one that should be in the vicinity they usually traveled. Hopefully, someone notified the station of their ship malfunctioning and would be sending people to look for any survivors. Hopefully. For now, he should start by trying to tell if this planet is a hostile one. It seemed pretty similar to Earth, or atleast where he was. Green grass underneath him, and tall trees in the distance. He hadn’t seen any water sources yet, so he thought he should try looking for one before it became a problem.
It was too bad that the small kit he always carried with him became a casualty in the fire. He had bandages to patch himself up with, and he had a small supply of food and water stored. It wouldn’t have lasted long, but it would be enough to keep him alive for the time being. And, it would’ve made finding shelter a lot easier. It was almost pitch dark here, with the only light being these strange blue bugs that lit up the night. There were tears in his suit that he’d have to fix, and hopefully, somehow find a way to fix his busted up translator too.
If he got saved, but the people who saved him could not speak the same language as him, what was the point? So he had a lot he needed to do, but he could do it! He’d been training for this moment for a year, he was prepared for whatever this planet threw at him!
He started his journey, attempting to catch one of the bugs so it could light up his way. Strangely, it just seemed to follow him. He held out his hand for it and it shied away, but when he moved away from it, it followed. He tried this with a few others but they all just flew away from him.
“So I guess you’re staying with me, huh? If you stay for a while, I'll give you a name.” He told it. He walked towards the trees he saw earlier, checking behind him to see if it was still following him. He wishes he had a lantern with him, it would’ve made it much easier for the bug to stay with him.
The trees seemed taller than the houses he was used to where he lived, and they were definitely stronger than your average tree. He wondered if he could build a temporary shelter in one of them? He looked up towards the branches, noticing multiple pairs of curious eyes staring back at him. He shuddered. Never mind then.
He took a deep breath and started heading through the forest, wincing every time he heard the slightest sound. He had no idea what was hiding in the greenery, and he didn’t want to find out. Ignorance is bliss, as they say. Once again, he tried to hold the bug in his hand, noticing that it was slowing down. Probably tired, and he held out a hand for it. This time, it accepted his offer, slowing down entirely to rest on his hand. He smiled and attempted to hold it closer, seeing if it would fly away if he were to bring it near him.
Surprisingly, the bug stayed still on his hand. He wished he could speak to bugs, or to be able to tell what they were thinking. It would be nice to have someone else to speak too, even if they were a bug.
“ While I'm here, I should probably get some supplies to start a fire.” He thought to himself as he looked around. Everything here was massive, even a simple stick would be enough for a fire to last the night. He pulled the bug up to his shoulder, setting it down lightly. Here, he would be able to use his hands while being able to see with the bug’s light. It could rest all it wanted, and when it was ready to fly again it could with ease.
He walked over to one of the trees, bending down to pick up one of the fallen branches. He broke it into multiple small pieces, holding the pieces in both of his arms to carry it easier,
“Alright! Now I can go look for somewhere to set up camp. Hopefully, tomorrow I can go out and look for food!” He said out loud to himself. Cheering himself up in situations like these worked best for calming him down. And, were it not for what happened next, he would have been perfectly happy.
Except apparently he wasn’t allowed to feel happiness. This planet just wouldn’t allow it. Because the moment he started walking off, he heard a growl behind him. He froze. The bug on his shoulder shot up, flying ahead of him. He wanted to call out to it, he wanted to reach out to it, but he also didn’t want to make any sudden movements. He heard leaves and stick break and crunch under the footsteps of whatever was behind him as it crept closer to him. He heard it smelling him, trying to figure out what he was.
He held his breath, closing his eyes and holding on to the hope that it would go away. But of course, this planet hates people with the name ‘Tsukasa’ and he heard MORE of them. At this point, he decided to entirely ignore the no moving rule and he booked it. Running through the woods, he abandoned the wood in his arms, hoping it would trip one of them and slow it down. That didn’t happen because they easily jumped over his small pile. He was running blindly, his little bug friend nowhere to be found. And apparently, he made the wrong choice going to this forest because there were no other bugs to light up his way,
The commotion from whatever was following caused other creatures to be aware of his presence, him having to constantly duck and dodge something jumping at him. His mind was in complete shambles, trying to figure out exactly how he could get out of something like this. He was supposed to have a normal day today, check out a new planet with his crewmates, learn a bit more about fighting, and put on a small show with his friends Emu, Toya, and Shizuku. And now, he was running for his life, watching as the animals fought against each other. Yowls and hissing and growls growing loud in his ears. He wanted to reach a hand over his ears, but doing that would mean he would no longer be able to hear where they came from.
And just as he thought he could run no longer, he fell into a hole underneath him. He screamed as he fell through, tumbling and rolling down into the dirt(?) until he landed harshly at the bottom. He fell through what seemed like a burrow, and an unnaturally large one at that. He shuddered as he thought about what kind of animal could live down here. He wanted to be gone before it came back, but he also didn’t want to go back up if those creatures were still looking from him.
And judging from the way the ground shook around him, and he could still very much hear the fights going on above him, they still were. He couldn’t leave unless he wanted to be torn into shreds. He sighed and decided to make use of the situation, finding it in him to lay down and fall asleep in the burrow.
Waking up, he noticed two things. One, his little bug friend was back. (Or maybe it was a different bug?) And two, there were about 20 small rabbits standing near the entrance of the burrow. These rabbits were, as usual, bigger than the ones on Earth. However, these ones weren’t monstrously big. He raised a hand towards them, lowering it for them to sniff. They crept closer, sniffing his hand and trying to familiarize themselves with his scent. It took about 7 minutes in total, and when the last rabbit pulled away, Tsukasa stood up.
His body was sore from how cramped it was inside the burrow, and he wanted to leave. As he stepped towards them, they dispersed, creating a small path for him to leave out of. He had to climb a little as the tunnel started going up, but it was quite easy to leave the burrow. Hopefully, all the burrows were fill of animals as friendly as these, and he could think of sleeping in them again.
“I Want to say I'll try to get my sticks back, but I am not stepping foot back in that forest.” He said to the bug as he glanced towards the forest. Maybe when he had a weapon he’d come back. For now, he started going past the forest, around the direction he thought he was originally going. The bug stayed either on his shoulder, or flying next to him. In the morning, Tsukasa noted, the bug was a more purple color, instead of the bright blue it was at night. Could it change color, or did it only change color every night? Does it glow every time it’s in a dark area, or does it only glow at night? These were a few questions that he wanted to try out with the bug, but he needed to do other things first.
Firstly, he needed to find a shelter. He didn’t know what he was looking for, but someplace that's closed off. If he could find one, maybe even a cave. Secondly, he needed to find food and water. Someplace that was near any kid of edible fruit (If there was any on this planet), and near an active water source. He didn’t care what kind of water source, as he would boil the water before he drank it anyways. And the last most important thing on his mind was to get some of his old tools back. He definitely wasn’t going to be able to use some of the parts on his suit until he manages to find some spare parts here, but he could use a few makeshift weapons, some bandages, rope, and maybe something else if he thought of it. He had many things on his mind, but these three were the most important.
He picked up small sticks as he walked, managing to get a pile that was half the size of his one from the previous day. If only he knew he could just find small bushes everywhere, he wouldn’t have gone in the forest..But, too late now. At Least he learned sooner rather than later that it was quite deadly in some places here. He would always be a little more careful with wherever he went.
He talked to the bug as he walked, telling it about who he is, where he’s from, and just small things about his life. He knew it couldn't speak back, but he hated silence. And since it was morning and they were in a pretty open place, he thought it safe to talk a bit louder than usual. By the time the sun started to set, he was exhausted and barely moving anymore. The bug was starting to glow again, this time changing to a dark blue/purple color instead of a cyan-ish color. He mentally noted it down, telling himself to keep note of what color it ends up being the next night.
He kept walking until the grassy area started to turn rocky. He thought this meant he was near a cave, so he picked up his pace a little. And entirely out of breath, when he found a small opening between some of the rocks, he nearly screamed and cheered. He wanted to, to tell the planet that he just got his next stroke of big luck. But he decided against it.
Waiting until the bug was fully lit up, he guided it into the cave and kept walking. The walls were narrow, and he had to squeeze his body to fit through. He wouldn’t have usually had a problem with this, except for the absolutely massive bug’s that brushed against him. Unlike the tiny bug lighting the way, these were all attracted to the light, following him with their thousands of legs and hundreds of eyes. Tsukasa thought he would only faint mere minutes after he entered.
“C’mon, where does it end?! Is it all just a tunnel? I can’t go back now, there's probably more bugs waiting for me if I turn around!” He cried to himself in his thoughts. His hope grew dimmer each second that there was actually an ending to this tunnel, and somehow he would have to find a way through those bugs again. “Y’know what, it could be worse, Tsukasa. Which would you prefer; These bugs, or those monsters from last night?” He tried to reason with himself, but ultimately he couldn’t come up with an answer.
At one point he started holding his breath, and when he thought he was about to faint, the darkness grew wider. The walls no longer seemed like they closed in on him. He couldn’t feel the hard shell of one of the many bugs following him closely. The tunnel did lead somewhere after all! And he was probably too caught up in his thoughts to notice, but wherever he was now had a small lake at the end. A small lake that was glowing a soft blue color. He decided he was going to stay here for the night, but definitely find somewhere else to stay the next day. The extremely long tunnel with the hundreds of bugs was just too much for him.
He set all his sticks on the ground, searching for rocks to build a small fire with. He kept aside around half of the sticks, so he’d have more to keep going the entire night. He’d have to get a cup, or some type of container later so he could boil water, but for now, he wasn’t going to trust drinking any water.
He didn’t have any of his old stuff, he didn’t have a permanent shelter, and he didn’t have a reliable source of food nor water, but for now, he was perfectly content. Hopefully, the bugs would be gone in the morning and he could clean up his fire and leave. He laid down on the floor, facing the lake as he started to doze off. And because of how fast he fell asleep, he missed the head of purple hair that peeked out the water at him.