Chapter 14: Confession

Disclaimer: I don't own Vandread or the Ace Combat series.

The Odyssey of Discovery: Gryphus 1 the Second Stage

A new day comes and Chang, like everyone else, takes advantage of the little R&R it brought. Laying on his side in the bed, Chang felt alone with no one to share it with. But as usual, he kept it hidden. The young man was envious of Kyle and the rest of Gryphus Squadron and even his own squad mates, they all had someone to love while he didn't. He wasn't sure about Ken since he never mentioned if he had a girlfriend.

His sleep is ruined when the alarm sounds.

Sitting up groggily, Chang asked, "Come on, really? Why does the enemy love interrupting our relaxation?" His suspicions are proven wrong when Belvedere said the piping in the brig had burst open, flooding the men's quarters with water as Paiway rows her way through it in a raft taking pictures along the way.

Hibiki said, "Little brat." He loses his balance and falls into the water.

Bart used a spare pole to retrieve an important bed item, "Not my pillow! How am I gonna sleep now?" He too suffers the same fate when he lost his balance and falls into the water.

Paiway snapped a picture and grinned, "Look, it's a fishy!" She then spots Duero sitting on a desk in his room while reading a book along with additional ones.

He stated, "Well, it's not wise for humans to chill the lower half of their bodies." A column of water splashes onto him Paiway laughs until she gets soaked as well.

A bit later, BC surveyed the brig in ankle-high water, "We're not gonna be using this anytime soon." Misty arrives at the infirmary the three are in, Bart and Hibiki are covered in towels shivering while Duero looks fine. Misty offers Hibiki a blanket and even share her room until repairs to the piping are complete. Hibiki refuses the offer and stomps away bellowing about not wanting people to pity him

Duero said, "More like a spoiled brat if you ask me." Parfet comes in offering Duero the same thing Misty did with Hibiki but Duero kindly turns it down, saying that he's completely comfortable here. A mannequin of the human body falls onto his shoulder creeping the lead engineer out. Bart looks between the two and grunts with jealousy.

Hibiki reached the hanger with his bag in hand and stared at his Vanguard, "I didn't really choose to come here but don't have much choice, at least not until the men's quarters is fixed. Partner, you've changed quite a bit haven't you?" He suddenly sniffed the air, "Hey, what smells good?"

Misty popped her head out of the corner, "Hello there, my gut told me you'd be here." She present a hot bowl of soup, "Here you go, try it." Hibiki's growling stomach left no room for argument so he sits down and devours the soup, warmth fills his stomach as he chugs down the broth and wipes his mouth.

He asked, "What are you looking at?"

Misty smiled, "Nothing much except on how cute you are."

Hibiki replied, "What in the world are you talking about? You can't go around telling guys they're cute."

The blue-haired teen said, "Don't be silly, you are cute!" Dita stands against the wall outside the hall holding a bowl of porridge, a sad frown appears on her face realizing she came too late. She ran to consult with Jura in the cafeteria.

The Dread pilot stated, "So you just ran off without saying anything?"

Dita said, "Well, I..."

Jura sighed, "Jeez, how pathetic!"

Paiway asked the redhead, "What were you expecting?"

Dita's cheeks turned pink as she admitted, "Well, I wanted to give come porridge to Mr. Alien but Misty got there before me." Jura face palms while shaking her head.

Back in the hanger, Hibiki chows down on another bowl of food.

He stated, "This is delicious! What is it?"

Misty replied, "It's called paella. There are many flavors of paella from what I've heard. It's a time-consuming process but the effort pays off in the end." Jura along with some other crew members watch the event through a security camera at one point heard Misty mentioned boyfriend making them wonder what that was. Dita on the other hand doesn't watch. It soon grows to the point where she left the cafeteria.

Eugene accompanies Bart through the hallway but kept his distance from the sick man.

The bald helmsman said, "What a drag. Hibiki, I can understand that but now even Duero is kissing up to the women!" Eugene feels sorry for the guy.

The Aurelian chuckled, "It's called...um, how should I put this? Oh yeah, keeping each other company." Throughout the entire day, Misty shows her experience of gender coexistence something that's totally new to the crew save for Gryphus, Tianlong Squadron and Ken who originated from a time line where the two genders lived under the same roof. They hope Tarak and Mejale stop this idiotic gender war and live together like they did over 800 years ago.

Dita paces in the hallway before steeling herself to speak with Mr. Alien. However, that's cut short when she spots Misty coming around the corner with Hibiki. A smug look appears on the red-eyed teen's face, saying that she and Hibiki are gonna spend some quality time in her room. They walk past her.

The redhead said, "Hold on, Mr. Alien!" Turning around she presented an alien toy, "Here, it's for you." Irritated Misty smacks the toy out of her hands, the head shatters on contact with the floor. Hibiki was conflicted on what he should do. The girls end up playing tug-a-war with the poor guy.

He grunted, "Stop it now!" He freed himself and crashed to the ground before getting back up, "Let's get something straight, I'm not a toy!" Misty blames Dita for the whole thing.

Dita retreats to her room then sinks to the floor, looking at the broken alien toy. Tears fall down her cheeks making the redhead ask herself why so many came.

Chang sits in the cockpit of his J-20, thinking about his relationship with his squad mates: Mori Akaboshi and Catherine.

The two have remained loyal to him since day one. Never once had they thought of betraying him yet felt confused on how he should deal with the feelings he had for them. The young Chinese man remembers what Ken said.

The Usean said in his head, "If you don't cherish the love and respect they have for you then you'll be left behind while they move onward in life."

Chang retorted, "Easy for you to say, Ken. My childhood was nothing short of emotional torture." He's so lost in thought he fails to hear footsteps echoing on the hanger floor.

A voice called out, "Hey Chang, you here?" The pilot sticks his head out of the cockpit to see his squad mates below the J-20.

Chang responded, "What's up, girls?"

Mori said, "We were looking for ya but you disappeared."

Chang slid down the ladder, "Just needed some time alone. You know, ease my mind." Both of his wingmen can tell something was bothering Chang.

Mori suggested, "Can you tell us what's troubling you, Chang?"

Chang replied, "Nothing."

Catherine crossed her arms, "Uh-huh, sure. They say one's eyes are the window to their soul. Right now, your eyes are telling me something's bothering you, something deep." Chang tensed up knowing the young British woman caught on.

Mori begged, "Please tell us, Chang. We can't help you if you do not tell us." The expression on Chang's face changes as the conflict inside him raged, his dark brown eyes trembling. It took him years to forget the hell he went through during his younger days. Now they were coming back.

Catherine walks up to him laying both hands on his shoulders.

She told her friend, "Get it off your chest, lad. You'll feel better afterwards." The emotional barriers he built start cracking.

Chang shook his head, "No, you wouldn't understand." What he didn't know is that Catherine could relate to him, after all she went down the same road following her parents' death. The young British woman initially hid her emotions but the pain was too much. Chang helped her overcome her loss, now it was her turn to help Chang along with Mori.

Catherine stated, "Please, Chang. We're doing this as your friend."

Clenching his fists their flight lead snorted, "Fine. Get yourselves comfortable, this will take a while." All three members of Tianlong Squadron sit on the hanger floor. Seeing his audience there ready for his story, Chang takes a deep breath then directs his eyes toward them bracing himself for something he never told anyone.

Flashback

Chang was born on April 30, 1993 to Kim and Ayami Xiao Long. Born originally in Beijing, China his parents moved to Japan due to the smog that was ever present in the air over the Chinese capital.

Kim and Ayami were scientists that worked on developing alternative energy sources that would one day get rid of the smog over Beijing.

Kim stood around 6'2" tall, short black hair, dark eyes and fair skin tone.

Ayami stood around 5'7, shoulder-length black hair dyed red, high B cup breasts, dark brown eyes and fair skin tone as well.

They tried balancing work with raising Chang but over time work became more important.

3 years later, Kim and Ayami had another child, this time a girl named Yume Xiao Long who had mostly her mother's physical traits than Kim. Chang loved his sister like any sibling would, at least initially. Over time he discovered his parents focused more on Yume than him, both children had immense potential but Chang hid the sadness over the favoritism. At age 6, Chang was diagnosed with Epilepsy otherwise known as seizure disorder along with Asperger Syndrome, an autism spectrum disorder. His parents were surprised at this because nobody in their family tree had them.

The symptoms Chang had were speech difficulty, problems making friends, anger issues that he sometimes couldn't control, social interaction and balance difficulty. One thing neither the doctor or his family understood that his ASD made him look younger than he actually was.

Speech therapy helped with Chang's speech quality allowing him to speak better until he could talk like a normal person. In addition, he was given medication to control his seizure disorder. The medicine was really powerful so the doctor advised him to take only one a day, preferably with breakfast.

Kim and Ayami were strict when it came to education, they sent Chang to a prestigious academy that had a K-12 program and special courses for students with autism.

However, Chang's school life wasn't without problems specifically getting picked on due to his condition. It grew to the point where it became physical with Chang sending bullies to the infirmary and develop a reputation of beating up students who mocked others because they were different. Safe to say, Chang's parents weren't happy at Chang even after he told them he was made fun of and tried to ignore it but it became too much to bear and got involved in fights. Despite numerous warnings he got from the academy, Kim and Ayami didn't look for other schools to transfer Chang to.

So for the next 13 years, he struggled avoiding fights but it stuck with him. He sat alone during lunch and didn't interact with other students, mostly studied for tests and little else sometimes to the point where it made him sick. Hell, the emotional stress would trigger his seizures causing him to collapse and become unconscious along with twitching. One day, during class, Chang experienced a really bad seizure that sent him to the hospital. The social isolation hurt Chang emotionally but hid it from others. Sometimes he cried in his room wondering if anyone loved him at all. At dinner, he ate without engaging in talking about the day's events. When he was done Chang rinsed his plate and either read books, watched a DVD in his room, anything to rid himself of the constant frustration.

He even began resenting his parents for favoring Yume over him. At family gatherings he shot them heated glares but whenever Ayami looked at him he waved with a smile although the smile was forced to hide the pain of neglect they unknowingly inflicted. Despite the shit Chang went through he did have one source of light. During one visit to the Akaboshi family which revealed to be friends with Chang's, he met Mori.

There was something about the girl that he didn't understand. She didn't ridiculed him or made fun of his condition. She offered him to play with her to his own surprise he agreed. This made him smile, something he never done since Yume came into the picture.

On Tuesday, August 5 Mori asked him, "Hey Chang, wanna come to my birthday party?" Seeing his look of hidden surprise, she smiled, "Come on, it'll be fun!" Giving him a smile that was filled with kindness, Chang found himself accepting Mori's offer. He enjoyed the party and met some kids that shared some of his problems. These factors served as anger management for him.

After graduating at the age of 18, Chang got involved with a heated argument with his father over Chang's desire to join the special forces stating that it'd give him a purpose, something they never did.

Kim said, "Please son, don't do this."

Chang glared at him, "Why shouldn't I? I'm old enough to live on my own, dad! Besides where have you and mom been doing for the past 13 years? Oh, I know, work and dotting Yume while I had to endure being picked on because of my disorder. You know how hard it was climbing the ladder to graduation? You two weren't there when I came home covered in bruises. Only Mori, her parents and my grandparents showed compassion."

Kim started, "Son, I can..."

Chang cut him off, "Shut up! I've had enough of your neglect, I am not a child anymore. I'm free to forge my own destiny, not you. Nothing can persuade me to change my mind. Stay out of my way!" With that, he walked the door not caring for the pleas of his mother to come back.

The young man signed up for the special forces in eastern Japan. He next changed his last name to Shengli.

Chang's training proceeded smoothly gaining a lean, ripped figure. Other special forces members had slightly different builds.

Over the next 3 years, Chang proved himself being a hard worker eventually given a unit of his own. His unit did intelligence gathering, thwarting terrorist attacks, etc. One mission he remembered was helping the SAT Tokyo unit in a brutal gunfight with insurgents that were targeting the Prime Minister who's doing a speech.

Chang's unit was on lookout duty with him and another member of his unit stationed in one of the top floors of a skyscraper while the other half was on the ground providing information with Tanaka being the radioman.

Chang contacted, "Ground team, anything out of the ordinary?"

Tanaka comrade replied, "Nothing yet. If this speech doesn't wrap up soon, I'll pass out from boredom." The watchman stares through the binoculars until he picks up a black car making the turn.

He alerted, "I got an unidentified vehicle turning onto the road. Standby." Gazing through the scope of his sniper rifle, Chang saw the passengers loading their weapons of choice, "These guys are targeting the Prime Ministry, get him out of there now."

His friend answered, "Understood." Making his way through the crowd, he reached the Prime Minister, "Sir, we need to leave." The man asked why and gunfire echoes through the sky creating panic.

While guiding the Prime Ministry, Tanaka ordered, "All units, engage." With permission granted, Chang takes aim at the nearest target and fires the bullet screams through the air before it penetrated the target's skull, pieces of bone and brains explode in all directions. The enemy falls to the ground bleeding profusely from the gun shot in his forehead.

Pulling the pump handle to eject the empty shell, Chang sets his sights on the next target and was just about to shoot when his partner grabbed him and bolted toward an air conditioning unit.

Chang told him, "What are you doing?" His comrade Chris, a 20-year old transferred soldier from America points to where Chang was at, the young Chinese man follows his index finger and sees a hole in the floor. Poking his head out, Chang spots an enemy sniper on the roof of the building in front of them as indicted by the flash of light when the scope reflected the Sun's light. Hiding behind the air conditioning unit, Chang thinks of a plan he knows the sniper's waiting for him to appear.

Chris said, "Here's the plan. I'm going to draw the man's attention and when he's distracted I want you to take the shot."

Chang asked ludicrously, "You're going to use yourself as bait? Are you insane?"

His comrade fired back, "It will work. Besides I'm certain this guy only has a couple of years worth of experience." Chris steps out behind the air conditioning unit and gets the sniper's attention, dodging shots one struck mere inches from his feet

Chang uses the opportunity to aim his sniper rifle at the attacker, the bullet screams out of the barrel and pierces the skull, bone and brains fly everywhere then the body falls to the ground.

The gunfight becomes more intense the further they went and turned left when they spot a tank coming towards them, tires screech from the sudden turn but the Humvees avoid the tank's shot. Their situation gets worse when they spot a fully armed Apache attack helicopter chasing after them. It arms the rocket launchers and Chang's unit had to zigzag if they wanted to stay in one piece. Thankfully the rockets weren't guided but Chang knew a single hit could annihilate them. Mounting the gun turret, Chang opens fire on the helicopter the aerial unit breaks left. He then hears the distinct sound of the M-230 chain gun winding up. The jeep turns down an alleyway that was just wide enough for the jeeps to pass through but the helicopter keeps up with them overhead shooting the M-230 the bullets were getting too close to the Humvee's tires.

Chang asked the driver, "When will we be out of this alleyway?"

The driver answered, "Two more minutes."

Chang contacted the other driver, "Step on the gas, we won't last another two minutes." The driver plants his foot down on the gas peddle, increasing the vehicle's speed. When they reach the exit the lead jeep turns hard making the tires screech but the driver reestablishes control and drives along the street. Chang spots the Apache arming its rockets and takes aim with the AN/TWQ-1 mounted stinger missile launcher. After gaining locks, Chang fires the Apache pops flares to direct the stingers away.

The gunman on the lead Humvee shoots its minigun at the attack helicopter, the Apache dodges. However, it was a distraction allowing the AN/TWQ-1 to reload and Chang locks onto the target. He pulls the trigger sending the missiles on their way, the pilot didn't have time to react and the chopper blows up on contact with the missiles. Debris rains down as the two Humvees escape. Chang's unit rendezvous with the SAT at a makeshift command post and take over. The commander of the SAT unit thank Chang and his unit, Chang nods in return.

His popularity grew as the number of successful missions grew but popularity was a double-edged sword. One particular higher-up gave some vibes Chang didn't like.

Shortly after turning 21, Chang was assigned to deal with Chinese extremists in Kashgar located south of the Taklamakan Desert.

Chang's unit entered the city and asked the mayor of the city where the extremists were. The mayor told him they occupied an area south of the city, thanking the man Chang's unit headed to that sector coming across some apartment complex.

They're greeted with gunfire and Chang's unit take cover as pedestrians head for the safest place they could find.

Chang pops out from behind a parked car and fires his assault rifle taking out one shooter on the balcony. Suddenly Chris gets sniped as the bullet easily penetrates his helmet.

Chang yelled, "Man down!" A war cry alerts him to an extremist dressed as a bystander charging at him, suicide vest strapped to him. Knowing what will happen if the man sets his vest off, Chang puts a bullet through his head thwarting the suicide attack. Chang spots another extremist taking aim with the RPG, prompting them to evade he and Jun, the other remaining special forces member pick up Chris' body and move before the rocket hits the car. He targets the RPG man and blows his brains out while he reloaded.

Tanaka contacted the command post in Kashgar, "This is Tanaka of the special forces, we are under attack by heavily armed extremists, requesting-" He suddenly stops his request for extraction and shields Chang from light machine gun fire, pink froth sprays onto Chang's face. After what seems like forever, the shooting stops and Tanaka collapses onto Chang. Being heavier than him, Tanaka's body pinned his to the ground.

The sound of footsteps stop at Tanaka's body and Chang hears the extremist leader talking to someone on the satellite phone.

The contact demanded, "Have you taken care of Chang and his unit?" Chang's eyes widen in shock, that voice belonged to the higher-up he met.

The extremist replied, "Yes, sir. They didn't know what hit them."

The higher-up said, "That brat's desire to be acknowledged was always his greatest weakness." Shock turns into rage. He was set up!

Chang throws Tanaka's body off and pulls out his knife, screaming in blind fury. The extremist leader was expecting this and shoots Chang in the legs and chest, intentionally missing the heart. The enemy brings the satellite phone to his face.

The higher-up laughed, "Did you like the present I sent you?"

Chang cursed, "You son of a bitch! You set my team up!"

The higher-up said, "You're expendable, boy. How does it feel knowing you led your own team into an ambush?"

Chang vowed, "You're dead. You hear me? Dead!"

The traitorous bastard laughed, "Ha, that will never happen because you'll die where you lie. May your guilt plague you even in the afterlife." The call ends and the extremist leader aims to finish Chang off before the young Chinese man somehow brings his Glock 19 out, unloading the entire clip into the enemy. After the body falls to the ground, Chang's weapon arm falls to the ground and he passes out from the pain.

The next day he woke up in the Kashgar Hospital hooked up to pulse monitors, his body felt like someone tied it to blocks of cement. The doctor came in saying he just got out of surgery, the operators had to carefully remove the bullets in his legs and chest, the latter being mere inches from severing a major artery leading to his heart.

Chang stared at the ceiling tears run down his face as guilt filled him. He was the only survivor of the mission, nobody else from his unit. The guilty expression on his face turns into burning anger. At that moment Chang swore to exact revenge on the man that set him up even if it took his entire life to do so.

Immediately after being discharged from the hospital, Chang returned to Special Forces HQ and resigned from the special forces stating what happened to his unit was too much for him. With sadness, the general accepted his resignation.

This survivor's guilt continued plaguing Chang even after therapy. After that he shut himself off from others. Friends he made during his time with the special forces offered him support to cope with it but Chang refused saying he didn't want to bother them. Unknown to anyone, Chang felt he was dying on the inside due to the guilt. He challenged Ken to sparring matches hoping to beat him alongside doing anything to numb the pain. Sadly Ken prevailed every time.

He didn't drink alcohol because he was fully aware that it'd make it worse.

End of flashback

Chang stares at his wingmen who stared back with stunned expressions, he lowers his head expecting to be ridiculed or made fun of. It never came because Mori pulls him into a hug caressing his dark hair while Chang had a look of disbelief on his face.

Mori said, "I'm sorry you had to go through such an ordeal."

Catherine asked him neutrally, "You could've told us sooner, we'd never hold it against you. So why didn't you?"

Chang answered, "I was afraid you would laugh or make fun of me so I kept quiet about my seizure disorder. Having to live with Epilepsy is not easy it has an impact on your self-esteem. What's more is that there's no exact causes. Head trauma can be one of them."

Mori asked, "Is that why you take medication?"

Freeing himself out of Mori's comforting embrace Chang pulls out a bronze colored bottle, removes the lid and dumps a small blue pill onto his hand.

Chang said, "Yeah. This medicine is really powerful so the doctor advised me to take one a day, preferably in the morning. It lasts all day. I ran out of my prescription last week but Duero was given a generous amount of medicine one was compatible for my seizures. It was given as a thank you present from the residents of Gaia."

Catherine told him, "Life shouldn't always be about challenging Ken or isolating yourself. If something's bothering you, Chang you can tell us. Find a new hobby, do something you enjoy that way you won't be so bummed out."

Chang cocked his head, "Really?"

Mori said, "You helped the police arrest my tyrannical father. You helped Catherine coping with the loss of her parents."

Catherine encouraged, "Reach for the stars, the sky's limit! Go nuts!"

Chang stared at the ground for a second then said to his wingmen, "You're right."

Catherine gave him a cheeky grin, "Good. Come on, let us show you what hanging with friends can do for ya." They both grab his arms and run of the hanger.

Chang yelled, "Hey, not so fast. You're gonna pull my arms out!" Elsewhere Dita was talking with Ezra while the gentle bridge bunny sowed together a blanket. Ezra allows the redhead to tell her the story without interruption.

Ezra said to her, "Misty's been alone for 63 years in cold sleep so it's no surprise that she's spending time with him. Wouldn't you feel the same if you were in her shoes? Maybe you should become friends with her, Dita. That way Misty will know she's not alone. Hibiki may be rough around the edges but he's becoming a better person. He may not realize it but he does like you, Dita. The determination in his eyes, those are traits of someone in love." Dita's cheeks light up at that word.

It made sense though. Her heart races whenever she thinks about him or fighting at his side.

She's about to say something when Pyoro came out, "I won't let anything happen to Pyoro 2! Ezra, I told you paper diapers aren't good." He towed Sara's basket with a rope.

Ezra said, "Silly Pyoro, Sara isn't a toy you know." Any further conversation is thwarted by a knife cutting the rope and embedding itself in the wall. The occupants turn their heads toward the door Alex stands there with a dark aura that made his hair move about while he glares at the robot with blank, ominous white eyes. They all wondered when did he appear.

He stated with an equally ominous voice, "How many times have you been told not to call Ezra's child that name? She's a human, not a robot." He starts popping his knuckles.

Dita clings to Ezra whimpering in fear at the aura Alex was giving off, Ezra felt afraid though not to the same extent. Sara, bliss her little soul, isn't affected whatsoever.

Pyoro said, "A-Alex...I'm being a paternal figure to Pyoro 2, I mean Sara." He starts shaking when Alex moves closer.

Alex cried, "Paternal figure? Since when did you call yourself that when you aren't even Sara's Ohma?" He retrieved his knife and directed a terrifying grin at the white robot, "In that case, I'll turn you into spare parts for my F-22 Raptor."

Pyoro yelped, "Ahhh! Help me!" He bolts past the Aurelian who immediately gives chase.

He said, "Come back here, you bucket of bolts!" Hibiki enters the still partially flooded men's quarters to see Duero helping Parfet repair the pipes.

Hibiki asked them, "How are the repairs coming?"

Parfet replied, "It'll be a while before they're complete so be patient."

Duero offered, "If you want the repairs done sooner, why don't you help out?"

Hibiki said, "Sorry but plumbing isn't in my job description." Meia leans against the wall arms folded under chest.

She told him, "Even after the repairs are complete and you get your room back, things won't be the same. Am I right, Hibiki?"

Hibiki asked her, "What are you talking about?"

Meia said, "We were raised to believe that men were our sworn enemy that needed to be eradicated. Instead we are helping each other. What's taking place on this ship proves that, what's more is the growing attraction between you and Dita. Surely you would have seen by now. This is something alien to us but Hibiki Tokai would never run away. It's best that you be honest with yourself. Trust me, it will help you in the long run." She leaves the brig.

Hibiki chuckled, "Heh, she's talking more and more these days." Inside the commons, the crew searches through the various cameras for new developments but find none.

Jura sighed, "It's so frustrating just waiting for something to happen." Hibiki returns to the hanger where his Vanguard's at, opening the green bag and his eyes come across the Santa figure of him Dita gave at Christmas.

A voice startled him, "You're thinking about Dita, aren't you?" Recovering Hibiki whips around to see Misty leaning against the door frame to the hanger.

Hibiki sighed in annoyance, "Don't you have anything better to do?"

Misty shook her head, "Nope. I'm an outsider on this ship so I have nowhere else to go. Besides my home planet, Pluto has more than likely been razed by the Harvesters and everyone I know there are gone."

Hibiki tossed her a brush, "Here. If you don't have anything better to do than you can help me polish." Sometime later, he ventures into Reg Central and at first he sees Gascogne turning her chair around to ask Hibiki what he's sulking about but the image gets replaced with the new Reg leader.

Barnette asked, "What? Did you want something?"

Hibiki immediately answered, "Nothing."

The dark green-haired woman said, "I'm not good at playing cards but I'm a very good listener. If you want, you can talk to me."

Hibiki smiled slightly, "Nah, I wouldn't wanna bother you."

Barnette shook her head, "No worries. Please sit down while I make us some tea." Dita reflects on her relationship with Hibiki by herself in the Nirvana's garden while on this journey, shaking her head to steel her resolve before heading out to find him. She stops in her tracks when she discovers Misty hugging Hibiki from behind. Hibiki tries to explain but Dita runs off.

At the cafeteria, Jura was fed up on Dita's hesitation and decides to take action. She exits the cafeteria in search of Dita.

'Where is she?' Jura thought.

She finds the redhead standing in the hallway.

Jura barked, "Dita, come with me. We're going to discuss a new formation with the Dreads. Head to the briefing room ASAP! No excuses."

Dita said with bewilderment, "Uh, roger." Every monitor on the Nirvana turns on including Ken who just got done getting dressed after showering following a workout. He crosses his arms with amusement.

Dita arrives at the briefing room expecting the other Dread pilots there but to her surprise, Hibiki was the only occupant. She jumps when the door slams shut.

Jura popped up on the monitor, "Listen up. I concocted this plan so that you two can sort things out with each other. Until you do, the door remains locked. One more thing. Stop with this foolishness already." She flicked her blonde hair then glared at them, "You're making me look old here!" She ends the transmission after that.

In his room, Ken rubbed his chin, "This should be good." Jura taps her finger impatiently.

She growled, "My god, this is maddening! Are you two gonna stay like that forever? Hurry up and start talking!"

Hibiki told her, "Shut up! That woman's such a pain in the ass!"

Dita said, "So uh, Mr. Alien..." She stops in mid-sentence, obviously uncomfortable.

Jura gritted her teeth, "How irritating!"

Misty mused, "Aha, that's what this is all about. Here we have 150 people cheering one woman on. You Mejalian pirates value friendship a lot."

Jura warned her, "This is a good moment, don't you dare get in the way!"

The blue-haired teen shrugged, "No reason to fear. It would be suicide to make enemies out of the entire crew. Anyway the only reason I hung around with Hibiki was to relieve myself of boredom." Meia watches Misty leave.

The red-eyed teen sits on the bench in the garden and starts crying, not knowing that Meia followed her.

The Dread leader called out, "Misty."

Misty glared at her, "What do you want? If it's a lecture then forget it, I am not interested!"

Meia smiled softly at her, "There's no reason to act so tough. Besides, you're not all alone with us around. I mean we're all allies in this fight against Earth, right?" Misty cries in Meia's chest as the Dread leader holds her.

Back with Hibiki and Dita, the two find difficulty talking to each other.

Dita broke the ice, "So uh...the pipes, hope they get repaired soon."

Hibiki nodded timidly, "Yeah." Jura watches the scene from the cafeteria.

She mumbled, "Is he capable of saying anything but that? What's this 'yeah' stuff?"

Amarone pointed her index finger, "Hey, look there!"

Hibiki said, "Hey...uh..." He along with Dita seem to be unaware that their red-tinted faces were nearing each other and before their lips meet, the alarm snaps them back to reality. The viewers moan in protest from the ruined moment.

Barnette clapped her hands to get the stagehands' attention, "Okay girls, show's over. Let's get moving, we got delivery orders to carry out."

In his room, Ken reached for his g-suit, "Just when things were getting good."

Amarone hopped into her bridge control console and said, "Uh-oh, I'm picking up enemy signatures! It's a formation of 6 Seed Ships, 3 Tu-160 Blackjacks and 9 MiG-17s." Meia hears the alarms from the garden.

She told Misty, "I can't stay here, there are enemies to get rid of."

Misty stared at her with sparkling eyes, "Okay. Do your best, dear sister!"

Meia blinked from the girl's sudden change of mood, "Hm? Uh, sure." The pilots run to their fighters.

'I hope Dita and Hibiki's relationship improves after this. At least the love triangle's done with.' Crux thought.

The Harvesters didn't stand a chance leaving the battle very one-sided.

Later on, Hibiki finds himself making his way towards Dita's room. Kyle told him to resolve this love triangle plus man up and tell Dita how he felt about her.

'How did I find myself agreeing to this?' Hibiki mentally whined.

In no time he reaches his destination, clenching his fist Hibiki knocks on the door. Seconds later, the door slides open revealing Dita still in her everyday attire.

A look of surprise was plastered on the redhead's face before it turns into excitement. Faster than Hibiki can blink she pulls him into her room. Hibiki sweats drops at the sight of alien stuff.

'Yep, definitely a UFO nut.' He thought.

Dita sat down on the bed, gently padding it, "Come sit next to me, Mr. Alien." Hibiki gulps and sits down next to her, flinching when Dita hugs him.

She said, "I'm so happy you finally decided to visit my room, Mr. Alien. I was beginning to wonder if you forgot the promise we made."

Hibiki rubbed the back of his head, "Well, Kyle instructed me to resolve this fiasco going between you, me and Misty. And...how...I feel about you." Dita had a look of surprise on her face while inside the redhead's mind, a chibi version of Dita forms the peace sign telling Misty to eat that.

Back in the realm of reality, Dita recovered from the declaration, "Well...this is unexpected." She took his hand and placed it on her chest where her heart was making Hibiki blush, "Can you feel my heartbeat? It races every time you're next to me and aches when you aren't. Why is that?"

Hibiki gulped, "I guess you could call it love." The blush on Dita's cheeks deepened turning them a deep crimson.

The redhead tried to form sentences but they wouldn't come out save for the lump Dita felt in her throat. So instead she settled on the best alternative. She places her slim hand on the back of Hibiki's head pulling him in for a kiss, Hibiki's eyes widened at the contact. Unlike the kiss Misty gave him, this one was full of innocence and love.

Dita had no idea what came over her but she found this kiss liberating. They ultimately had to break for air, an intense blush on their faces.

The redhead said, "I love you, Mr. Alien." Hibiki's mind struggles to register those words.

He stuttered, "I l-love you t-too, Dita." The Dread pilot beamed with happiness, she wanted to hear Hibiki say those words for a long time. Now he said them not caring if he stuttered.

Hibiki gets up to leave but Dita forms a tight grip on his arm prompting the Vanguard pilot to look at her, blue eyes meeting brown.

Dita said, "Stay with me, Mr. Alien. I want you to sleep with me tonight." Seeing him blush again she giggled, "Not that kind of sleep. Just cuddle with me. Please?" Hibiki struggles with his fear of women but Kyle's words gave him the strength to fight back.

He gained enough courage to say, "Very well. Just don't try any funny business." Elated by this, Dita grabbed her pajamas and changes in the bathroom. Once she is finished, Dita pulls the cover to her bed down and hops in, patting the spot next to her. Removing his boots Hibiki hops into her bed, Dita pulls him to her. The grip she had on him made Hibiki know it's no use resisting so the lad proceeds to sleep though a small part of him was still nervous about this.

A/N: Chapter 14 done.

Not much to tell except Chang telling his wingmen the painful childhood he had and the betrayal by the higher-up.

One thing I should ask is how much can Hibiki eat? I know it's an anime plus he's a teen that grew up eating food pellets but come on, even an anime character of his size can only consume so much before he either he passes out or bursts.

Lastly Hibiki visited Dita's room after some words from Kyle.

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Stay tuned for chapter 15.

Vader 23A