Sometimes
A/N: I do not own Vandred or any of its characters.
side note well this is my first time trying to do a Vandread fic. I have been reading them for a while now, after I watched the anime of course. and I always thought that I should bring one out but couldn't find the right avenue for it. Now I may not have all the facts straight when I write this story,and the characters will seem slightly OC but hopefully it won't be to much. So please don't go and bite my head off because of it. Anyways, enjoy.
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HOW!, How can you be so cheerful at a time like this!, Can't you understand that she is gone and never coming back!?" The boy known as Hibiki Tokai was shouting nearly at the top of his lungs at a young girl of no more than 16 years of age. She was a bright and bubbly girl that tended to look at the bright side of things, even in the most in-opportune times.
" I...I don't know how to act when I'm sad." Dita Liebely was standing there with a cheery smile on her face, despite the verbal thrashing that she was getting from her favorite person in the entire universe. She simply couldn't understand why he was so angry with her. Sure they had lost a person who was loved, but she still couldn't begin to understand why he was yelling at her.
" Dita!, can't you understand that Gasconge is...gone." even though he had already made mention that she was "dead and never coming back" saying it again seemed to have made it all the more real to Hibiki. and it showed on his face, as tears began to well up into this eyes. Now Hibiki was not known to be one to cry at the drop of a hat, but this time at least for him, it seemed appropriate.
Dita was still standing there with her ever present smile plastered on her pretty face, but still knew that deep down she was just as hurt by the loss of their Reg officer. But to her, Dita thought that they should be celebrating the life that was Gascogne, not mourning her death. " I'm sorry Mr. Alien.." her smile faltered a little when the tear stained face of Habiki's turned up to look at her.
" I..I...STOP CALLING ME MR. ALIEN!" with that he stormed off towards the modified hanger bay that housed the three modified Dreads and his modified Vanguard. Upon reaching the outter doors to the hanger bay, he pressed..no he banged the correct code numbers into the security pad that was on the right hand side of the doors. He waited for a few seconds before the doors finally opened up.
" Finally!, stupid doors taking so long to open.." he grumbled to himself as he walked in.
Habiki walked to his Vangaurd and stepped up onto the elevator that would bring him to the cockpit. After a short climb, he reached over and pressed the button that would allow him entry to his "Partner". A hiss of air from the seals as they cracked open, and the whine of the hydrolic rams, told him he could enter and begin the repairs that were so desperately needed. A few minutes later the doors to the hanger bay opened once again to admit the repair crew that were led by the Nirvana's chief mechanic Parfet.
Hibiki spared a quick glance in their direction, with a tinge of false hope that Gasco would be the one walking in to find her " card victim" as she had so aptly named him as he would constantly lose every single card game that they had played. He wouldn't admit it to anyone else, but the Head Reg officer had become his best friend and subsequent confidant. During those times she would listen to him gripe and complain about how Dita had always cornered him in the hallways and begging him to keep his promise to come to her room so he could see it.
When he noticed that it wasn't her. He let out a frustrated sigh and went back to his repairs. Parfet and the rest of the repair crew noticed that Hibiki was doing his own work on his Vanguard and decided to leave him alone for the time being. Of course that was not the only reason why they were opting to leave him alone. On the way there they had run in to Dita and she explained that he was in a very BAD mood over the loss of Gasco.
Parfet couldn't help but let out a little snort of incedulousness at the girls choice of words. They were all in more than a "bad mood" over Gasco's death. and if the rumors were true about the supposed friendship that Hibiki had formed with Gasconge, then he was surely in a foul sate.
" Ok girls! lets get to work." with a chorus of "yes maam" they all set out to fix any damage that the dreads had sustained in fight the Fake Dreads that first appeared in this last battle.
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The battle was in full swing when a Mother Ship appeared out of the blackness of space. This was not unusual to to the Nirvana's crew as they had already encountered 2 of them before. But this time, this one had started to spew cubes out that began to fuse together to form similar versions to the Vandred's that Hibiki, Dita, Meia, and Jura were all able to form with each other.
The shock of seeing this new development was held by all. Even Meia who was probably the most calm of them all, even in the most tense of situations. Hibiki couldn't help but wonder if this would finally be the end of their lives as he watched several cubes morph into an exact replica of Vandread Dita. A shrill call came over the tac net.
" Alright everyone! Hibiki and Dita will form up and take down these..imposter's..Jura, you and Barnette stand back and form a defensive perimeter around the Nirvana." came the cool voice of Meia Gibson.
like clockwork, everyone got into position and a blinding bright light erupted from the combining of Hibiki and Dita's respective machines. " Ready Mr. Alien?"
" Uggghh..I really wish you would stop calling me that!" With that they sped off and began tearing through the stand alone cubes that had gotten in their way. After dispatching the loose cubes and then destroying the fake Vandread Jura. Something happened to the real Vandread Dita.
All systems went offline inside the ship, and there were no comm signals coming over the Tac net either. At first everyone figured it was just the ship charging back up after using that much power to fend off the Fake Vandread Jura.
But after nearly 5 minutes of nothing, everyone began to get worried. On the inside Hibiki was becoming quite angry with his teammate.
" Listen, I told I would come and visit. but this is not the time to talk about this.!" he shouted at Dita, in hopes of getting her to put her hands back on the controls so the Vandread would start up again.
" Not until you truly promise that you will come and visit me in my room tonight." her eyes were closed and arms crossed over her breasts. She was shaking her head from side to side to let him know that she was not going to settle for anything less.
A hard bang was heard, as the Fake Vandread Dita slammed into the Real one. It then began to punch and fire off its weapons trying to breach the inner core of it, so it can finally put down the Real Vandread Dita once and for all. Hibiki was starting to slightly panic at seeing she was not relenting in anyway. Even with the imminent threat that was currently working its way through their tough armor, she was not giving up until he made his promise to her.
With a great sigh, Hibiki finally gave in. " Fine lets just get this over with!" once the words let his mouth, Dita's hands became a blur and rested on top of his. The ship started back up and quickly took care of the Fake Dita. They then turned their attention to the Mother ship trying to find a way inside so they could blow it up like they had done before from the inside.
The battle was becoming fierce. The normal dreads were quickly running out of ammo, Thus the call was made for re-stocking and as always Gasonge and her crew gathered up the necessary ammo and loaded it onto the re-supply ship. Gasgone took the ships helm and flew off towards the battle field.
After unloading her entire cargo, Gasconge began her trek back to the Nirvana when suddenly she was hit by a powerful blast that knocked out her engines and life support systems.
" Ugh..girls..need a little help here!" she was glad that she thought ahead and put on her space suit before leaving on her supply run.
With several calls of "were on our way" came over the net, Gasconge began to prepare to abandon ship, but just before she could make her way to the airlock. The Ship was once again rocked by an explosion, but this time it wasn't from a beam or missiles. It was from the Fake Meia grabbing onto the supply ship in its deadly and sharp talon's.
Gasconge was thrown around like a rag doll, injuring her shoulder. It was at this point that she heard Hibiki's voice come over the net.
" Hey..need a little help..?" came his amused tone.
" Funny..now get your ass over here and save me!" even though she was stern in her tone, she couldn't help but have an amused under current to lace it.
Just as Hibiki and Dita reached the Fake Meia, they saw that it had firmly grasped onto the supply ship and would play hell in getting it was from the Fake. Before anymore thought could be put forth. The fake Meia started to race towards the Mother ship.
"What the hell is that thing doing!?" came Hibiki's cry.
" Sorry kid, but it looks like you'll have to find a new card shark." came the voice of Gasconge.
" Huh?, what do mean..wait a minute..what are you doing!?" he started to shout into the comm when he finally realized what she was planning.
" I think you know already. besides if I don't do this then you won't be able to destroy them." even though her tone was sad, she couldn't help but smile at the face of Hibiki.
" No wait!, Please!, Don't do this!" he was literally banging on the controls now and Dita was being squished between him and the control panel.
" Goodbye..my friend." with that the comm went dead and a huge explosion sent a shock wave that reverberated out, strking the surrounding cubes and dreads.
" NOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!" Hibiki shot up and nearly tumbled out of his bed. Breathing heavily, he swung his legs over the side and put his face in his hands. Crying so softly that noone else could hear.
" A dream, just a dream.." he kept repeating to himself over and over again. That is until Bart woke up from the chant that Hibiki was saying to himself.
" Hibiki..? You ok..?" even though Hibiki was a third class citizen, Bart couldn't help but feel sorry for the boy who had lost his friend. In fact Bart himself felt saddened at the senseless loss of Gasco. He had come to actually like to be here amongst the women. Especially the vice-commander B.C.
At first Hibiki didn't say anything except for his mantra that is was just a dream. Then finally he looked up to where Bart was sitting and gave him a wry smile.
" No..but..I will be." he gave Bart another wry smile before he laid back down and pretended to go back to sleep.
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A few days later, The Nirvana's crew were slowly getting back into their normal routine. There was a quiet ceremony in the atrium of the ship for Gosconge, to which all had attended with the exception of Hibiki. No-one really excepted him to show since he was taking her death probably as hard or harder than the captain herself. He may have not been seen, but he was indeed there. Just hidden in the brush. Hibiki watched silently as the services went on and once it was over he quietly walked away, showing more stealth than he ever had before.
Meia the Dread squadron leader, began to become concerned for the boy when he refused to show up to practice drills that she had set up. Meia also began to realize that maybe for Hibiki this was going beyond more than just mourning for a friend. She herself had in private cried for the loss of her friend and colleague. Although much like Hibki she would just tell anyone who asked that she had something stuck in her eye.
After the thrid unsuccessful attempt to get him to practice. She resolved herself to go and talk to him, and see if she could possibly snap him out of this slump that he was in. Meia sat there for a moment and thought about the places that he could be hiding at this point. First she would go to his Vanguard to see if he was there, if not, then to his room in the mens section of the ship, and so on. With a nod of her head, she got up and headed out to find the elusive boy. Before she even got 10 feet from exiting her room, she saw him making his way down the hall in her direction.
" I was just about to go and find you Hibiki.." she said trying to keep the surprise out of her voice.
" Yeah..I'm..I'm sorry for not being there to..you know..practice.." He held his head low not wanting to look into the eyes of the dread leader. Meia was once again shocked at his tone and outward appearance. He looked like he hadn't slept all that much since the tragedy. His clothes were wrinkled and dirty looking, like he hadn't washed them. The lack of bite to his voice also gave her great concern as well.
" Tell me something..." she waited to see if he would acknowledge her. He didn't, so she continued anyway. " Why are you taking this so hard..? I mean yes losing...Gasconge has been hard,on all of us...but you seem to be taking it even harder then the rest. And don't think I didn't see you at the funeral..."
She stopped when his head shot up after she said that last part to him. He thought he had been out of sight to everyone, He then let a ghost of a smile run across his face.
" should've known..can never really hide from her." again he let another ghost smile filter across his face before quickly removing it.
Meia almost dismissed the smile the first time until she saw it for the second time. He had shoved it off his face so quickly that one could have thought it was a trick of the light.
" Well, you going to answer my question..? She did her best to leave out any annoyance out of her voice.
He quietly stood there and studied her for a few moments before answering her.
" I..I..can I be honest with you Meia..?" for the third time in less than 10 minutes she was shocked again. Him to be this forthcoming was just un-heard of.
" Of course." She said flatly. Meia saw that his eyes flashed with a bit of anger towards her tone, before it quickly faded.
" I..don't really know why. Its just that, Gasco, was the first woman to accept me for...ME!, and..I guess that she has found a special place in my heart.." he stopped speaking when his thoughts were filled with the Reg. Officer.
Meia was again for the fourth time surprised. Hibiki, the guy that always blew up for nearly any reason. Hibiki, the guy who always had a smart remark for any situation, especially when it came to the women. Had found someone who he..dare she think it..care for..?
" ...I gotta go.." Hibiki's voice snapped her back to reality. Before she could say anything he was gone and around the far bend of the hallway.
" Ohh..Hibiki..please get better, we all need you.." she turned and walked back into her room for some shut eye.
Suddenly, just as Meia had settled in for the night. The warning klaxon's went off, signaling that there was am immediate threat. She cursed loudly and attempted to get dressed on the way there. On her way there she ran into Barnette and Jura.
" Whats our status!?" she asked the two women.
" Only thing that I got from B.C. was that there was an object heading for the Nirvana." Jura said while running side by side with the other two.
" Any indication on what it is..?" Meia was starting to feel a little annoyed at the lack of intel.
" Nothing as of yet Meia." came the short reply from Barnette, who herself , had a hard time trying to get her boots back on without stumbling onto the floor.
A moment later then entire dread squad were dressed and out of the hanger and surrounding the Nirvana, awaiting for whatever it was that had dared to interrupt them in their time of grief. A second later a yellow blur could be seen exiting the Nirvana's modified hanger bay.
" Sorry I'm late, what I'd miss..?" Came Hibiki's voice over the net.
Everyone did not know what to say at first. They truly did not expect him to show up. But it was Jura who finally broke the silence.
" Nothing yet Hibiki, probably be a good idea if we linked up and do our thing.." she said while wagging her eyebrows at the boy.
He snorted with humor before nodding his head towards her. A couple of seconds later, the blinding white light that told the tale of a combination, subsided and Vandread Jura was born once again. Jura released the shield power modules and errected the nearly impervious green shield around the Dreads and the Nirvana.
All who were watching their screens, waited with bated breath for whatever it was that had triggered their proximity alarm. for a few moments nothing could be seen in the black inkiness of space.
" Is there anything really out there..?" the bubbly voice of Dita was heard.
" Don't know, but if there is something out there..I'm going to tear it apart.."It was Hibiki's voice that answered her question.
Finally the object began to appear, and nearly everyone gasped at what they were seeing. A Mother ship unlike any they had seen before. This was had the same shape and design as the rest, but was gold in color and not the usual purple, black and reds.
" Be ready everyone!, lets show these bastards why they don't kill one of our own and get away with it." All within earshot of Meia's voice were shocked to hear her angry speech. Most had never heard her have an angry tone, much less even raise her voice before. This was just a testament on the loss of one of their beloved.
Just before Meia gave the order to attack. A familiar voice came over the Tac net.
" Hey guys..don't I get a welcome home?" It was Gasconge's voice that echoed through the net.
Noone said a word, hardly anyone even breathed. They hoped against hope that it was truly her and not some Harvest trick.
" Geez..thats gratitude for ya, here I go bringing you guys a present and I don't even get a thank you.." Gasconge's voice had laughter coursing through it.
It was at this point that the Shield from Vandread Jura dropped suddenly and the two machines separated from each other. Hibiki's Vanguard drew his energy sword and raced towards the golden Harvest ship. With a purpose to put down the damnable thing for mimicking someone he cared for.
" Hibiki wait!!" Meia's shouted through the net, but Hibiki was hearing none of that.
Before Hibiki even got close enough to take a swipe at the Harvest ship, Cube types rushed out and held him, preventing him from doing harm to the main vessel.
" Let go of me your Bastards!!!, I'm going to kill you for taking her away from me!" He was doing his best to wiggle his Vanguard out of their grasps. It proved fruitless though and he and his Partner slumped, giving up.
" Just...kill me already. You've taken everything else away. Might as well finish the job.." He felt defeated and his tone relayed that to anyone who could hear him. It caused more than a few sniffs that could be heard over the tac net.
" Now why would I want to do that my little card victim.." that term caused Hibiki to nearly leap out of his cockpit.
" Gasco?" he said with hope.
" How many times do I have to tell you people!, its GOSCONGE!!" the bark she let out was un-mistakable. and everyone's heart leapt out of their chests.
Screams of joy were heard all over the net, the comm traffic was insane. Everyone trying to talk at once to Gasconge, asking her where she's been and so forth. Finally she put a stop to it all.
"QUIET!." once the noise died down she continued. " Thats better. Now, how about I come aboard before you all bombard me with your questions ok.?" The captains voice was heard above all others.
" It's good to have you back!"
2 hours and a thousand questions later. Gasco could be seen walking towards the women's bath area so she could take proper care of herself. She couldn't help but wonder to herself on why Hibiki were absent from her welcome home gathering. If she was being honest with herself. He was one person she would have liked to see most of all. Gasco was brought out of her musings by Hibiki's voice.
" Hey.." he was standing by the entrance of the women's bath apparently waiting for her.
" hey yourself." she gave him a smile that would melt anyone's heart.
And thats exactly what it did. it melted Hibiki's heart and everything else. He literally ran up to her, throwing his full weight upon her giving probably the fiercest hug that Gasconge had ever experienced in her life. He buried his face into her ample chest and began to cry for all he was worth.
" I'm sorry I couldn't save you, I should have tried harder!" he said in between sobs. Gasco couldn't believe what she was seeing, Hibiki...her Hibiki crying like a person who lost something so dear to them that it was physically painful. All she could do was put her arms around the shuddering boy and tell him " it was all ok"
He continued to cry for a long time, He finally stopped and looked up at her with a sheepish look." sorry." was the only thing he could say.
" Don't be Hibiki..you've shown me something today. Something that I never though possible." she gave him a lopsided smile.
" Wha? what do you mean..?" he was genuinely surprised when she leaned down and pressed her lips against his. Hibiki was so shocked that he neither responded or pulled away. When the kiss ended he was left speechless.
" You showed me that a man and a women could care for each other Hibiki. I knew there was something there, but it was so foreign that I couldn't put my finger on it. but now I know. Hibiki Tokai, stay with me..?" she gave him a look of sincerity and longing, one of which he had never seen before. It made him all the more willing and open to the idea of actually admitting that he cared for this woman.
The Woman named Gasconge Rhiengau.
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A/N: My first attempt at a fic on Vandread. I know I need a beta for this and subsequent chapters that may or may not follow. If your interested leave me a message either through the reviews or IM's and I will get back to you on that. Otherwise, I enjoyed writing this fic, I had read many fics that dealt with the pairings between Hibiki and Dita, even him with Meia, but never have I found one with Hibiki and Gasconge. So I thought I would take it upon myself to try one out to see if I can do it. please tell me how I did and don't forget to Review.