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Daisuke wasn’t totally obvious.
He may see the brightest in everyone, he might make jokes, and he might mess up, but he wasn’t a child. He wasn’t. He’s old enough to have an opinion of his own! Even if…the only reason he’s here in the first place was because his mother wanted him to be here.
That’s not the point! The point was, that he can handle things just as good as everyone else. He wants to be able to help, if he can.
Being the first person to hear yelling from the main lobby, and to see Anya standing over Jimmy with a chair, wasn’t pleasant. Especially so early in the morning. Daisuke was frozen when he was seeing the scene, but what could he do? He didn’t know. He just ended up shouting for Swansea, who was thankfully awake at the time. They had tried to pry her off of Jimmy, and it made his skin crawl when he saw the bruises and some blood getting on the floor, seeping in it. Why? Why was she hurting Jimmy for? He’s their friend, right?
Well, that’s what he originally thought.
Daisuke was tasked with helping the co-pilot get bandaged up, as Curly took Swansea aside to ‘talk’. While he normally would have followed orders, his curiosity took over. Don’t get it wrong though, he only left Jimmy alone temporarily! The co-pilot was fixed up when he went anyways. They were in the utility room, and Daisuke was able to listen in by the door.
The words ‘assaulted’, and ‘Anya’ were in the same sentence. Along other unpleasant lines that he wished he didn’t hear. It made Daisuke freeze when he heard why she did that. Jimmy? He did that to Anya? No. Could he? Why? His thoughts had been interrupted when Curly left the room, leaving behind a disgruntled Swansea. When he noticed the intern, Daisuke was able to make up some excuse he was getting Jimmy some food and scurried off. What a close call.
But where was he really going? To her sleeping quarters.
His heart ached at the sight.
Did Swansea and Curly have to put the ropes on her like she’s some animal? This was wrong.
“Anya?”
Her head moved upwards weakly, her hair was still a mess, and she wasn’t able to love some of it out of the way of her face. Her form laying down on the cot, the ropes hugging tightly around her waist, her arms kept under them.
“…D…Daisuke?” She would ask back, as if startled to see him, other than someone else. Figures, she must’ve thought it was the captain.
He took a few steps closer to her, his hands wringing each other nervously.
“Ah, yeah. It’s me. It’s me—Gods, what did they do to you?!” Daisuke was still nervous, as anyone would be. Still, he tried to keep his voice down to a whisper, so to not disturb anyone who might be around the area. Her body flinched a little when his hand moved some of her unkept hair out of her face, and Daisuke would flinch back and retract his hand.
“You shouldn’t…” Her words trailed off, as she looked back at him with a similar worry, “…be here. The others m..might get upset at you.”
The others would be upset at him. And possibly her. Which, he didn’t want. But he just couldn’t let himself not check in on her.
“I know, I know. But…I just— I needed to see if you were okay.” The younger muttered, a hint of guilt coating his words.
Her gaze seemed to soften faintly at that.
“You didn’t h..have to, but I’m okay,” She reassured with small inhale, “..Just haven’t been feeling the best is all. I’m sorry you have to see me like this..”
Oh Anya…
He felt awful. She’s still trying to reassure him that she’s fine when she clearly isn’t, and he can’t do much with that.
“Anya, please, don’t be sorry. I wanted to see how you were doing. There’s no need to apologize.” Why does the sight of her like this make his chest hurt? His hand reached out to touch her cheek but quickly pulled back again. Stupid. Don’t touch her. Not right now, at least.
“How…How are you feeling? I— I mean, obviously, you’re not in the best condition. But, physically speaking, I guess?”
“T-Tired, I suppose.”
Tired?? That’s an understatement. Exhausted is a better term. With how she was aggressively and frantically beating Jimmy with all she could, while screaming, and thrashing while being held back, it’s safe to say her energy is used up. A nap is needed for sure. As well as something to eat and drink. She looks like she’ll pass out any second.
“Do you…want me to get you anything? Anything at all? A glass of water, some food?” He looked around the small room, and it doesn’t look like anybody got her anything. Or even bothered to at least make it comfortable for her. He hates this.
“I don’t think I should have anything right now,” Anya would mumble and lean a little to look at the intern better, “It’s most likely b-better if we wait until Curly says anything and gets it sorted out.”
Daisuke felt some doubt in that. The captain, right. From what he managed to hear when eavesdropping, was Swansea saying “Well, why didn’t you do anything?” Or “She wouldn’t have snapped if you kept his ass in check”. Nearly blaming the whole incident on Curly, rather than her. A part of Daisuke didn’t want to think that the captain is at fault, Of course not! He hopes. Hopefully Curly does fix everything, like he always does.
“Yeah…we…we best wait.” He doesn’t want to wait, but right now, they didn’t have much of a choice.
“Promise me at least you haven’t gotten hurt too bad though?”
“I promise.”
Her cheek had a small bruise on it, and she was obviously ruffled up. Jimmy managed to get some hits on her too, but he came down as the one who got hurt the most.
“Daisuke?”
When he heard her voice say his name, his attention went back to her face, his hands starting to fidget a little bit with each other, fiddling with his fingers.
“Yeah?”
“I’m sorry,” Apologizing, again, but this time, it seemed a little more desperate, “F-For earlier, for getting you involved. I didn’t think you’d or anyone else would be awake then.”
It was hard for him to see her apologizing like this when she’s the one who got tied up, not him. He doesn’t blame her for anything; she didn’t do anything inherently wrong.
“It’s…It’s okay, Anya. You don’t have to apologize to me. I’m the one who chose to check on you. Besides...” He trailed off. He didn’t want to go back to those thoughts again. “Besides…you had a reason, didn’t you?”
There was silence.
Anya didn’t even look at him, for a moment. A small nod is seen before she curled up, her body trembling.
“Not one I-I wanted anyone else to know about or be bothered with..”
Curly must have been the only person she told that to. It makes sense she didn’t want the other crew members to know. It’s just like her. His heart felt like it was being clenched up at the sight of her trembling. Damn it, Anya. This wasn’t her fault. This was all Jimmy.
“…Oh, Anya, I…“
He wanted to reach out and comfort her. But he shouldn’t. He can’t. So, he just ended up wringing his hands together even more.
“…Please,” A small tremble is seen from her again, “…Please I-I hope you don’t think I’d hurt you too. I never wanted this to happen, I swear.” She turned to her left side a bit more, “If I get deemed as a threat though, I hope…you don’t feel scared of me. Even in t-these circumstances.”
A threat? Did Anya just say that? She was never a threat. How can Curly think that? She just wanted to get an even score with that lowlife.
“Of course not! I’ll still consider you my friend, Anya!” Daisuke reassured her immediately once he heard what she said. No hesitation. “You’re not the problem. I know you aren’t. You never were.”
After letting her rest, Daisuke had some time to figure out what to do. This wasn’t right. It really wasn’t. He didn’t care if the captain would be upset—he had to get her something.
So to the main lobby he went. Getting her a few sweetener packets he had stashed. When he came back to her room, she was asleep.
….
Yeah so he untied her. Nobody was watching anyways.
After exiting her room, he almost thought he got away with it. Almost.
“Daisuke?”
The captain’s voice rang behind him, and his heart nearly ripped out of his chest. When he turned around, there he Curly was. With a raised eyebrow and confused look. Swiftly, his hand went behind his back, and he gave a nervous smile.
“O-Oh! Captain! Didn’t expect you to be here so l-late, because it’s almost time for bed, you know?” An attempt to joke, a poor one.
The pilot tilted his head a bit, raising his eyebrows with a curious expression. Seeing the younger man act rather nervously like that was suspicious to say the least.
“Yeah, it’s pretty late, huh?” He said, his eyes watching how his intern was hiding his hand behind his back. “I didn’t expect you here either, especially at this hour.“
“Yeah, yeah. I couldn’t really sleep, you know?” Daisuke tried to laugh, but it came off as nervous. His grip on the ropes behind his back tightened for a second before he forced himself to loosen it up. He has to play it cool. “Just…Just wanted a glass of water. Yeah! That’s all, really…”
“Huh, alright…” Curly nodded, pretending to buy the excuse, but remained skeptical. Something wasn’t sitting right with him. He knew Daisuke was nervous, he could clearly see by how he was acting, but he wanted to know why.
He crossed his arms across his chest. “Just water? That’s all?”
“Well…yeah. That’s it. N-Nothing else!” Daisuke didn’t like this. The captain clearly doesn’t believe him. His body language isn’t convincing at all, is it? “…why do you ask?” Dammit! He shouldn’t have even said that.
“No reason,” Curly said, his tone casual, “Just wondering why you can’t sleep.” He leaned his back against the wall next to the door, his eyes watching the intern. Something was going on here, definitely.
Why is this like an interrogation??
“Welll…” Daisuke took a deep breath. Stay cool, don’t give any hints. “You know. With everything going on, it’s been chaotic, and I couldn’t really sleep, and when I did I was tossing and turning and tossing and turning…and it’s a bit hot too. I mean, cold. Yeah. Cold. So cold that I couldn’t close my eyes!”
Great. He’s talking quickly.
Curly watched as the words just slipped out from the man’s mouth with rapid succession, his eyes still watching, scrutinizing him.
There was definitely something going on.
“Uh-huh…..” He hummed, “Yeah, it’s really cold tonight….” He pushed himself off the wall and started making his way towards the younger man. “So how come you can’t just use the thermostat to change the temperature for your room??”
Shit.
Taking a few steps back, Daisuke’s mind trying desperately to come up with something and not look more suspicious than he already is. Something that’s not a lie, something that’s believable. “Uhm. I mean…” He chuckled awkwardly, “I…I might have forgotten to do that. Yeah, it…uh, it kinda slipped my mind.”
“So you forgot you could adjust your room’s temperature with the thermostat.” The blond questions in a deadpanned tone, his eyebrow raised. “Even though the temperature was one of the things that kept you awake?”
“It’s kinda like that.” Daisuke agreed with a forced laugh, “I just…you know, forgot. I was, uh…I was distracted. Yeah, I was distracted. That’s why.”
He’s lying. Like, really badly. But he’s gotta try, right? His eyes kept shifting between the blond’s face and his surroundings.
“You…were distracted.” Curly rolled his eyes and sighed. He could clearly see the man was lying through his teeth, but just how dumb did the intern think he was? “Distracted by what?” He asked and moved closer to his intern.
His lips are sealed shut for a few seconds as Daisuke tried to come up with an excuse. Why is the captain getting closer? “Just…” His eyes darted from the window, to the wall, the captain, the ropes behind him, and repeated. The answer finally clicked. “Just thought I saw a spider.”
A spider. Really?? He’s better than this, come on!
The captain’s face scrunched up in surprise and disbelief.
“A…spider.” He repeated slowly. He blinked several times and tilted his head to the side with bewilderment. “You were distracted by a spider…?”
“Yeah,” Daisuke confirmed, almost too quickly. “What? You don’t believe me?” Nearly feeling his heart thump against his ribcage, he’s internally praying now.
A few clicks of the tongue are heard. “Oh nothing, nothing,” The other began, taking a step forward. “It’s just…odd that you’d come out of Anya’s quarters at night, when everyone else is asleep. For water. Because your room is too cold. And because of a spider too, apparently.”
He kept inching closer and closer, now stopping in front of the intern, only a few inches away. His eyes were locked on him like hawks. Ugh, Daisuke’s not going to make it. Dammit! His hands are still behind his back, holding the ropes, and the captain is too close now.
“I…” He’s desperately trying to think of something to deflect that. But the space between them is too damn close. Dammit! His eyes glanced at Curly’s face and the expression he’s giving, and he could see that the captain already knows. He’s screwed.
A sigh escaped the blond, who watched the intern grow increasingly nervous underneath his gaze. He then leaned forward ever so slightly, now staring down the young man. “And I thought I saw you put something in your hands? The hands behind your back, currently. Mind explaining that?” Curly’s eyes briefly flickered down to look at the intern’s hands that were hiding behind his back.
“N-Nothing!” Daisuke blurted out, it’s almost like a kid caught stealing cookies from a jar, but more was at risk here, “It’s just…nothing, I swear!”
“Mhm.” Curly hummed, clearly unbelieving. “If it’s nothing, then show me your hands.”
“…No. I can’t.”
“No?” He repeated to the younger man, his tone sharper this time. “What do you mean by ‘no’?”
“I meant I won’t do it!” Daisuke shook his head profusely, “It’s top secret! And—hey!” His arm was then grabbed, and a gasp is heard when the ropes were seen. The same ropes meant to be holding Anya down, and keeping her restrained.
Curly’s eyes widened when he saw the ropes in the young man’s hands. His blood turned to ice when it finally clicked and he understood exactly why the intern was acting so strangely this late at night. He clenched his jaw so hard he was surprised it wasn’t breaking any teeth.
“What the hell are you doing with these!?”
Daisuke would wince at the scolding voice and yank himself back, holding the item close to his chest. “It’s not what it looks like!” He began, trying to keep his voice down, since their still in front of her sleeping quarters, “I just—I don’t think that—“
Curly almost reached for the young man again. He really wanted to, but he held himself back. His blood was boiling and he was nearly seeing red, but he still tried to keep a level head.
“You don’t think what!?” The captain demanded with a harsh tone, “That Anya needs to be tied down?”
“Y-Yeah! Exactly!” Daisuke never raised his tone to an adult before, let alone a superior. His tone is almost defensive as well, but trying to be reasoning, almost asking to. The young man held an unsure but determined look, “What you’re doing isn’t okay—she isn’t dangerous! She’s our friend, and keeping her like that is bad. She didn’t do anything wrong!”
“She’s not in the right headspace, Daisuke. This isn’t your call to make. Our medic is temporarily confined, and our co-pilot is injured because of what happened earlier.” Curly’s tone was firm, but not hostile. Rather, it was more frustrated than anything. He didn’t like the idea of putting her in those restraints either, but there was no other option.
“Good!”
The younger was not backing down from his bold words either, when Curly’s eyes widened at him.
“Anya had a reason to do what she did, I’m not dumb, and you don’t have to treat me like I am.”
“How am I treating you like you’re dumb?” The blond’s expression had somewhat softened, but he was still incredibly frustrated. “You’re being naive, that’s what you’re being.”
Frowning a little at the ground, Daisuke then looked back at his superior with more firm persistence.
“I don’t care, She’s our friend, you know Anya. I know her too. She’s kind, compassionate, and the best!” His hands clenched the object in his hand, “..But if you want t-these ropes, you’re going to have to take them from me.”
As much as he tries not to sound scared, he is. But he can’t, for his own sake, and hers. His eyes, so wide and full of life, stared up at the blue ones, like a frightened puppy ready to bite, but not wanting to. Curly took in a deep breath and held it, trying to stay calm and level his head. The intern’s persistence was admirable, but incredibly frustrating for the captain. It was sweet that he cared for the young woman so much, but it didn’t change the fact that she still posed a massive risk to herself and others.
“I know exactly what kind of person Anya is, Daisuke, I’ve known her longer than you have.” He said in a firm yet measured tone. “That’s why we have to keep her restrained.”
“No, we don’t!”
Shaking his head again, Daisuke seemed more desperate and pleading than defiant.
“If you want to make sure she’s okay, you have to trust her,” He looked at Anya’s door, “…You have to. She wouldn’t hurt us. Only him.”
Daisuke couldn’t even say his name. And Curly knew that the intern had overheard his conversation with Swansea about Jimmy sexually assaulting Anya. He knew it.
“I know that, don’t think I don’t.” He said firmly, his tone cold and bitter. “But the fact that she wouldn’t hurt us doesn’t mean she won’t hurt herself.”
The possibility of Anya self-harming was something the younger obviously didn’t think about, which made Daisuke perk up and quickly look back at Curly with puzzlement. The tension seemed to ease a little, and the captain could tell that the intern just….wanted to do the right thing. Yet, most young people don’t look at the big picture, the whole thing.
“Oh, I didn’t…..know she..” He slowly trailed off, before looking at the ropes shamefully.
“Look, I care for Anya, and I don’t want to hurt her by restraining her. But we don’t have any other choice.” The captain let out another sigh, “She is clearly distraught, and the last thing we want is for her to do something…drastic.”
“…..Okay then.”
Huh? It was that easy-? Looking down at the younger man, Daisuke had given Curly a few ropes. Not all of them though.
“I don’t want her to be hurt in any way, but I don’t like her being tied up like the bad guy..” Daisuke started off, looking up at the blond, “Let me keep some, I’ll know what to do with it, you can count on me.”
The captain didn’t fully understand what the intern meant by ‘knowing what to do with it’, but he accepted the compromise with a heavy heart.