Disclaimer: Vandread isn't mine :D

--------------------

Hibiki ran far away from Duero. He was hinting him again about some red-haired girl.

"Baka! What is he talking about?! What red-head!?"
"Alien-san!"
"Dita! Wh-h-at do you want?"
"I heard you talking about something with red hair. Are you talking about me!?"

Suddenly Dita didn't seem that stupid after all, Hibiki thought.

"Huh? Nothing! You're just hearing things!"
"Um...ok. Oh yeah! I made food for you!"
"Huh?!! Food? No...I must resist!"
"Here Alien-san! It's really good!"
"AaaAAaaaaH!!!!!! Is there no mercy!!"
"(giggle)"

The aroma of the food spread and opened up all his senses. There was no sign of hope for our protagonist!

"Aaaah! Just give it to me! (gulp gulp gulp)"
"Just promise you'll unite with me okay, Alien-san?"
"Whatever!! Says who!? Of course not! Never...ever! I don't ever want to be with you with anything!"
"______"
"Dita?"

Dita disappeared. Hibiki stopped eating. This was different. Was this some new game? He kept his guard just in case Dita was ready to attack him. He waited for what seemed like ages.

"Dita?"
"D-I-T-A-?-!-!"

"What if I said too much! Darn! It wasn't that mean...well it was...wasn't it." Hibiki said in his head. He searched for her while eating the last of his food. He decided to look first at the canteen. There were some people there but not all...not Dita. Hibiki decided to check her room. A place he dreaded but this was no time for being annoyed. He pressed a few buttons and the doors opened. Inside he spotted something...was it Dita? ...it was...nothing! Her room was empty.

"Where can she be?"
"Where would she run to?"
"Ah! the garden!"

Hibiki ran towards that area. An area he knew was good for thinking and just getting away from it all. He knew that all too well. He expected her to be leaning on the balcony railing. She usually did when she was troubled.

Surprise! No one was there. "Where else would she go?" he thought. Hibiki walked slowly to his room, clutching his bento box -the food container- tightly. "Did I really do it this time? But I always tell her stuff like that. It's not my fault! She's just really... really... well, yeah I guess it is my fault. Honestly I'm in denial! I suppose she couldn't take it anymore. What if she kept it all bottled up inside!"

In his room, Hibiki took his "pillow", the one from Dita. He held it tightly. Suddenly, he found the sudden urge to go on looking for her. He went to the engine room, where Parfait and Duero were. Dita liked to stay with Parfait but not today. He checked the canteen again and went to Ezra. He thought he went everywhere but she was nowhere. Hibiki was getting nauseated and he felt like he ran all over the ship, which he really did. He decided to go see Paiway, even if he'd rather see Duero but he knew the doctor was busy.

Hibiki dragged his aching body to the sick ward. His eyes were getting blurry and sleepy. He looked for Pai but headed instead towards a girl sitting on one of the beds. Her back was facing him while she folded some sheets. He couldn't take it anymore. He sat beside the girl and rested his head on her shoulder.

"Huh!" the girl said surprised.

She turned her head slowly and tried to identify the face resting on her.

"Alien-san!!"
"Huh? D-di-ta? Dita!"

Hibiki lifted his head to see if she was real or if he was just really sick. It was her! She was smiling..."Huh? I thought she was mad at me?" he thought but before he could speak, he found his head resting on her again. He looked for her the whole day, literally and he only had one meal, that was Dita's surprise breakfast-in-a-bento-box. In Hibiki's standards, this was good enough a reason to be really sick!

Dita just stared at the sleeping man's head on her shoulder.

"Um, ano... Alien-san,"

Too late he was in a deep sleep. She just smiled. "Alien-san is so kawaii!" she said in her head. She knew that if he heard her say that he'd go ballistic. Dita continued to do her work for Pai while trying to balance the weight of on her shoulder.

-------------------

Hibiki woke up just in time for dinner, figures... but he didn't move. He just blinked a lot to keep his vision clear. He knew somehow that he didn't want to move. There was a fragrant smell around him and it just seemed so right to be there. It took him a while to realize who he was leaning on.

"Dita!!" he said surprised as he stood up, embarrassed about what he just did.
"Alien-san, are you okay? You fell asleep and I thought it would be better not to wake you."

Hibiki just stared at her. She was different. She looked at him with this serious gaze. She didn't seem like the ditzy girl she was a while back. (no offence to Dita, I just mean how she acts sometimes)

"Alien-san?"
"Ah... oh yeah what?"
"Are you okay?"
"Yeah I'm fine, why?"
"Nothing, you're acting strange."
"Me, no... of course not!"
"Hai! Do you want to eat now?"
"Yeah! I'll go now... um... I mean let's go."

The two walked together to the canteen. Surprisingly, there were no feuds. Dita just kept smiling and talking a bit. She was just a bit quiet because she felt awkward with Hibiki. He was acting stranger than usual.

Hibiki was quiet but he did reply to her few questions. He didn't try to run away or escape from her this time. It felt weird but now he just wanted to stay beside her. Hibiki knew it was just too strange and the thought of her made him blush. He felt so embarrassed and for once shy around her. He couldn't help but be quiet although he wanted to explode with all the feelings consuming him.

-------------------

In the canteen, he made sure he sat beside Dita. She smiled at him but she seemed uneasy.

"Dita, are you ok?"
"Yeah... are you?"
"Of course... I just... never mind."

He fought in his head about telling Dita how he felt now even if he didn't understand it. But he didn't have the guts. Somehow thoughts of Duero's experiment crept in. "Should I? No! But..." he debated in his head. He was looking down at his food the whole time when he decided to face Dita... Wait where are you? She was facing the other side getting ready to stand up. An aching feeling filled Hibiki instantly. It hurt a lot especially in his chest and his stomach felt weird. "Where are you going?!" he screamed mentally

"Dita!" Hibiki said as he grabbed her arm. "Where are you going?"
"I'm just getting cake."
"Oh... sorry."

"Alien-san is acting so weird. Since when did he care if I left or not? What's going on?" Dita said in her head. She walked to the buffet table and looked back at him. He was looking anxiously at her. "Hibiki..."

--------------------------------------------------
Will Hibiki spill the beans? Why did Dita disappear? We'll see :D

--------------------------------------------------
Thanks a lot to Bluemermaid3280, Aoiri and Bishounen Lovah! for reviewing my first story :D
Please review...just want to check my progress.