HSR: A Passing Crimson

"Well, there's no going back now."

Seeing her own space vessel be controlled and redirected by the very patient she had just recently rescued, Acheron released a soft sigh.

There weren't any regrets laced in that breath, but rather, a sign of surprise. Indeed, hidden behind that seemingly exhausted sigh was an emotion of disbelief.

Getting up her seat while simultaneously holding on to her sheathed blade, her eyes gazed over to Merris, his expression full of strange mirth.

Seeing his strange expression, she quickly pointed it out.

"You... Is this perhaps something you've always wanted to do?"

"Yes? Well, yeah... Erm, I mean, I've personally never gotten to maneuver a ship so... This is my first and it sort of got me too excited."

He couldn't hide his excitement and fascination over the various data and display on the screen in front of them, showering Acheron with his unfiltered cheerfulness. If she wasn't always so stone faced, then perhaps she, too, would have been infected by that infectious glee.

But of course, such a notion can't just happen by chance. It was, after all, one of the many things she had already lost on her journey.

Crossing her arms and tilting her head a bit, she slightly scoffed at him, her voice laced with an undertone of amusement.

"So that's it... That's why you were so adamant and even have an unnatural enthuse. Without a doubt, you are..."

"A scifi nerd?"

"...something along those lines. No offence."

"No offence taken. In fact, I'm glad that I'm recognized in such a way."

Indeed, he never shied upon her words. In fact, he even sported a look of pride as he happily took on that impression.

Looking at his prideful expression, Acheron paused for a moment as she observed him closely, her eyes seemingly piercing through his very being.

In that short moment, she had contemplated over some matters regarding the man in front of her... as well as her suspicions about him.

She would be a fool if she hadn't noticed all those suspicious aspects of his character. He may have excused himself through his sly tongue, but his intrinsic self was laid bare in front of her, fully exposed for her to observe.

In front of the ever-observing eye of the one that represents the Nihility, the lies and truths, which were carefully woven together to form an intricate pattern of illusions, could easily be seen through and shattered.

As for him... She knows too well about his upbringing— his eloquent reasoning as well as his constant need to protect himself in front of her. Because, despite all of those tapestries he had put up, she could still easily see his most primal emotion and the main reason why she could feel he was still hiding something from her— fear.

He fears her.

'The oldest and strongest emotion of mankind is fear, and the oldest and strongest kind of fear is fear of the unknown...'

She thought to herself, fully understanding Merris' need to protect himself. That instinctual urge to cower in front of her just shows how great his instincts were— perhaps even a direct result of the experimentation done to him back in the IPC spaceship.

Looking at him, who was still observing the analytics at the screen, she hummed lowly, as if displaying her acknowledgement of his character.

"Well, once you're done watching the controls and want to rest, you can access your quarters by going down the hallway at the right. After all, the trip to the black hole would take at least a few system hours." She said, pointing her thumb at the sealed door on her right while maintaining her gaze at him. "You should have been there already, right?"

Taking his eyes off the analytics, he shifted and looked at her. He digested what she said, and, after pondering for about a second, he nodded lightly.

"I have, yes. Though, isn't that where Ms. Acheron's room is also at...?"

"And?"

"...huh?"

"I'm saying, what of it? We're separated by doors anyway."

Hearing her say this with her usual monotone voice, he hummed for a moment before nodding. "I see, I see... Well, if Ms. Acheron sees no problem with it, then so shall I."

She raised an eyebrow. "What's the problem with it?"

"Nothing... Anywho, I'll go and check them now. See you later, Ms. Acheron."

With those words, Merris bade her farewell and left while humming some unknown tune, intending to see his temporary quarters which she had just provided.

Now left alone on the bridge, Acheron's eyes lingered over the cold metallic door that he used to leave for a few moments, as if seeing through it and looking at the person walking on the corridor.

But of course, besides her, no one could tell if she can actually do such a thing.

After a while, she shook her head lightly and looked back on the screen behind her, once more looking at the moving icon of their ship gradually approaching the redesignated location.

For a brief moment, her eyes shined with an elusive gleam, as if the image of their new designation was stirring an undercurrent of emotions beneath them.

"A black hole again, huh?"

Such a simple sentence yet once it was uttered by her, the atmosphere of the room inexplicably turned heavy.

Indeed, she knows them too well.

---

"This is a lot more spacious than I thought..."

Merris muttered to himself, completely engrossed in his newly acquired room. Although it wasn't that big in comparison to the ones he had in the past, it was still big enough relative to the size of the ship.

Looking over the room, he once more saw a full body mirror not far away. Walking over to it, he looked at his current appearance for a moment.

"Plain old patient outfit... Oh, I can't wait to get changed." He mumbled to himself, looking at his white outfit.

There was nothing wrong about it, per se, but he just can't stand the idea of sporting a patient's outfit everytime and everywhere. He valued his appearance and how people perceived him, after all.

Humans tend to judge others base on just their appearance. To give a good impression on someone, one must always sport an accommodating and aesthetically pleasing outfit that the other would take a liking to. Only then would the intangible abstract concept known as 'respect' would be willingly given. In other words...

Sophistication is the key to respect.

This was one of the basics of understanding the human mind— something Merris had made sure to always follow to charm and amuse those around him.

'Perhaps after we arrive to the space station she mentioned, I can pick up some new clothes...' He thought on a whim.

Then, out of boredom or perhaps whimsical curiosity, he stretched out his hand and began reverting it back to his grotesque form. His hand twitched and squirmed before eventually breaking apart, and from this blossoming horror sprouted few long swift tendrils that swayed around.

Looking at his own hand which was now a horrific sight of swaying meat tendrils, his eyes narrowed and a wry smile formed on his face.

"Disgusting little thing, aren't you?"

As if reacting to his words, his mangled arm swayed more vehemently, as if conveying their dissatisfaction with their owner.

Well, if they didn't look so disgusting with all the teeth of varying sizes scattered all over their crimson surface, then perhaps Merris could find it in his heart to find them somewhat cute.

Of course, until then, he would just continue to view them in their accursed form as disgusting wriggling creatures of pure repulsiveness.

Speaking of forms, Merris suddenly had an interesting thought while looking at his tendrils which were still swaying freely.

Touching one of the tendrils, he began to talk to it as if it was a person. "Let's work on your transformation next time. Perhaps I could shape you in... more ways than one."

Indeed, he could see some potential with his own body. If he could somehow change his form in any way, then he can become a literal living weapon that could freely change shape depending on the situation on hand. In other words, a bonafide biological weapon.

He can't wait to test it.

"Alright, go back now, little ones. I'll use y'all later." He said as he gently retracted his other hand from the tendrils.

Then, commanding his arm to revert back to his human arm, he released a soft sigh and formed a satisfied smile. He soon gazed over to the plain white bedsheets not far away and quietly hummed.

He had now nothing else to do.

"A few system hours... Should I do something productive?"

Although he asked himself that, even he knew he didn't have much to do in this ship. Besides helping Acheron manage the controls, he didn't have any other uses.

The trip to their designated location would take a couple of hours at best, and until then, he practically had nothing to do.

He had to admit that he was still feeling a tad bit hungry, but it wasn't at the point of him going impulsive again like earlier. And, as a guest, he can't just go and cook something in Acheron's kitchen again— that was just plain rude.

Of course, there is still one mundane thing he can do aside from eating and satiating his primal side...

Looking around, he hummed for a moment before lightly nodding his head. Out of habit, he murmured to himself.

"...cleaning it is, then."

Since he doesn't have anything to do but slouch around— which he cannot accept in his current circumstance as a mere guest— he could only provide subtle help around the ship. At least that way, he could repay his savior bit by bit instead of becoming a complete parasite.

He was an opportunist, but never an abuser, after all.

Additionally, he could use this as a leverage to further convince Acheron to hire him. An assistant that not only navigates and cooks but also cleans among other qualities is surely a fine bargain that even someone like her might consider.

With that thought in mind, he folded his sleeves upwards, prepared to initiate his idea.

"Alright, let's get to it then."

It was the least he could do to repay the one accommodating him, after all.

---

Merris left his room and soon went to find the utility room where the cleaning supplies were stored. Taking the necessary tools he needs he set out to clean the ship.

Meanwhile, back at the control room, Acheron, who had been looking at the security cameras, watched as Merris cleaned the corridors while humming another unknown tune.

Looking at his cheerful face that looked as if he was doing something he enjoys, she hummed briefly.

Remembering the actions he had done prior such as cooking and helping her out, she added another variable to his character profile in her mind.

"He must like doing house chores a lot..."

For someone who frequently forgets, cleaning was one of the issues she had. Though, of course, when she notices that her environment was dirty, she wouldn't hesitate to clean it. It was just that it would take a lot of time for her to notice them.

So having someone clean up in her place was... helpful, truth be told. At least, he was doing it voluntarily and not giving her a guilty conscience.

She appreciated it.

Having had enough of watching him, she turned her gaze away and focused on the ship's controls.

...completely missing out on the comical scene of tendrils sprouting from Merris' back and helping him wipe and clean the walls.

[Hm, hmm, hmm... ♪]

Of course, he still hummed that same unknown tune that Acheron had gradually found pleasing.

At that moment, the ship was in a stasis of passing serenity... A calm before the storm, even.