A/N: This chapter is a serious one. Oh and about that sad ending, it's not coming. It called in sick. But besides that, the story i'm sorry to say is coming to an end. Remember this... writers have a tendency to write things at the last moment.

Chapter Ten: Countdown To Life's End

Several months later, Hibiki walked happily down the halls of the Nirvana, not caring who saw his freshly made smile on his face. With every passing second he thought of Dita, how he would care for her and cherish her for the rest of his days. He never felt so jubilant and so liberated before, he made his way to the lounge, his hands behind his head. As soon as he came in, Jura lunged at him wrapping her arms around his neck.

"Oh, Hibiki. Congratulations, I'm so excited for you. Although, I'm sort of jealous." she said. She placed on a seductive gaze and rubbed up against him making Hibiki blush. "You know, we could have had one ourselves. Too bad, a kind of liked you." she said. Hibiki pushed her away.

"Get the hell of me, why are you women so annoying?" he said making his way to the kitchen. But Jura wasn't finished, she trotted merrily behind him. Hibiki grabbed some food items and as he struggled to carry the heavy load, Jura made her move. She sat on a nearby counter, and waited for Hibiki to give her a glance.

"Oh, Hibiki." she said. Reluctant he turned to see Jura revealing some of her body that he never thought he would see. He felt heat generate through his neck as he dashed out the lounge, what a way to innocently get something for someone. He bolted down the hall, not wanting any more attention but to his dismay got it anyway. Ezra passed by but not before stopping him in his attempt to get away.

"Hey, Hibiki. How's Dita? I'm guessing this is all for her?" she asked. Hibiki caught his breath quickly before answering.

"Somewhat. I'm there too." he said. Ezra chuckled.

"How is it to be the first Tarakian to have a child with a Mejarian?" she asked. Hibiki shrugged his shoulders.

"Not sure myself, I mean this is a first. I hope I'm a good father. I'm trying my best now, I don't know what I would do if something were to put Dita in danger or the baby." he smiled. "I'm the luckiest guy in the universe." he said. Ezra smiled, she knew how it was to have a child.

"By the way, do you know the gender yet?" she asked, Hibiki shook his head.

"Nope, no clue. I don't really care. I'll be happy both ways." he said. Nice answer. Ezra placed a hand on his shoulder.

"Well, if you need any help on babies. I'm here to help." she said before departing. Ezra was a nice person, he was definitely going to take her up on that offer.

Hibiki entered Dita's room, he smiled as he spotted her sitting on her bed with knitting yarn on her lap.

"What are you doing?" he asked placing all the food stuffs on the small night table. Dita gave him a nervous smile.

"Ezra gave me this, she said I'm going to have to learn how to knit. Problem is, it's much harder than it looks. Oh, Hibiki. You didn't have to get me all this now. I'm not even that far along." she stated. Hibiki let out a slight laugh.

"No matter, I got to make sure that you're comfortable. Remember what Duero said about that? I hate to admit it but he does know a lot since Ezra." he said. The room door hissed open, Hibiki turned around to see Misty at the doorway. She ran in but to his surprise, he wasn't the reason. Misty ran to Dita and knelt down next to her.

"Oh, you're so lucky! I can't wait! What is it? Girl? Boy? You gave it a name?" she said rapidly. Misty was bouncing around the room asking questions left and right but not letting anyone answer them. She soon stopped as she settled down next to Dita, Hibiki never thought of anything like this to happen. He'd thought Misty would actually react negative towards this. He was relieved anyway. Misty looked at Dita's stomach and smiled.

"Do you mind if I..." she started. Dita nodded.

"Go ahead." she said.

Misty knelt down again but this time she placed her ear on Dita's stomach and listened. Hibiki looked on as he leaned against a nearby wall.

"Ow" said Dita. Misty retreated quickly.

"Oh, sorry. Did I do something wrong?" she asked, Dita shook her head as she placed a hand over her stomach.

"No, no. I'm not very used to this." she said. Hibiki went to her side, seeing as Dita had a tendency to not speak the actual way she felt. Dita hunched over in pain, she let out a faint gasp as she clutched her stomach.

"Dita? What's wrong? You okay?" Hibiki asked. Misty stood, her hands cupped over her mouth. Hibiki's eyes widened, something was wrong, something wasn't right. It hit him.

"Get Duero, NOW!" ordered Hibiki. Misty ran out the room, Hibiki looked back at Dita. He laid her down on the floor, he tore off his vest and placed it under her head. She was breathing heavily, it was actually audible in the room. She was also sweating profusely.

"Come on Dita. What's going on? Is it the baby?" he asked. Dita was unable to answer, she just clutched her stomach.

Hibiki sat in the emergency ward, waiting for the news of Dita's condition. He hadn't had any warning about this, he didn't have any premonitions about it. Why did it happen? Just when things were going great, this had to happen. Misty sat next to him, her eyes filled with tears. Hibiki tried multiple times to tell her that it wasn't her fault. But with every attempt the more she blamed herself. Ezra was also in the room, holding her daughter while Pyoro hovered over them.

Hibiki felt his heart beat rapidly, anxiety beating at his doorstep. His heart stopped when he spotted Duero along with Paiway enter into the room. He stood and went straight to him.

"How is she? Tell me she's alright!" he demanded. Paiway let out a sigh, Duero on the other hand crossed his arms.

"She's stable... for now. You can go and see her." he said. Hibiki didn't think twice about it, he ran past Duero and into the actual ward. Hibiki walked over to where Dita was sleeping. He gazed down to her, she wore an oxygen mask but was still panting. He thought back earlier that day.

"I don't know what I'll do... if Dita was placed into danger... or the baby."

Duero walked into the room.

"I'm sorry, Hibiki." he said. Hibiki looked at Duero.

"What do you mean? She's fine, right?" he asked holding Dita's hand. Duero shook his head which caused Hibiki to almost faint.

"She has some sort of disease, we cannot control it. Right now, she's stable but it won't stay that way for long. I'm thinking, she attained it from the horrid conditions from when she was captured. You didn't get it because you lived in similar conditions before, you're immune. She's not." he said.

"So you're saying..."

"Yes Hibiki. If she doesn't recover in less than a week. There's a good chance she'll pass away." he said.

Hibiki fell to the floor with his hands at the edge of the bed. Tears running down his cheeks. This couldn't be happening, why to him? Why couldn't he have a decent life?

"Why? God dammit. Why her?" he screamed. He banged his fists on the floor, hitting it with absolute force. He couldn't control his sorrow and furthermore his rage. He punched the floor repeatedly, making two blood spot appear on the floor. He no longer cared for life.

No, i'm sorry to say that this is not a dream. This is REAL. Don't count Dita out just yet, there are still several more chapters left until the shocking conclusion of "Vandread: Secrets of Dita and Hibiki"