Disclaimer: I do not own Vandread.

A/N: After a four-year hiatus, I am back to finish what I started. And yes, this is supposed to be the Hibiki we all know. But as you know, that tragedy changed him in more ways than one, including events that I have yet to reveal. Oh, and I plan on having flashback sequences that show what happened before the tragedy, they will be interspersed throughout the story.

Trials of Error

Chapter Two: Unexpected Homecoming

"To be honest, I didn't expect to get that reaction from Meia when I just showed up out of the blue. It was almost as if she were at a loss for words, and she had a look of worry on her face that she tried to hide, but I noticed. Now Barnette on the other hand, had quite a few words to say to me, most of them not very complimentary."

-From the personal journal of Hibiki Tokai

"Long time no see, eh?" Hibiki said with a smirk.

Several long seconds passed afterward before Meia could force herself to reply. She'd barely said his name when Barnette flew into a verbal assault.

"Where the hell have you been!" Barnette said, with a little bit of anger in her voice. "And when did you join the Tarak Army?"

"C'mon, is that anyway to treat an old comrade?" Hibiki replied jokingly, before answering. "Eight months ago, if you must know."

"You came back over eight months ago, and you don't even tell us!" Barnette said angrily.

"From the way you're scolding me, it sounds to me like you care about me," Hibiki replied with a slight smile.

Hibiki's reply only seemed to agitate her further. "Like hell."

"Alright, that's more than enough," Rebecca said, using her command voice. Confident she'd silenced them both, she turns to Hibiki. "It's good to have you back."

Appearing glad for the interruption, Hibiki turned his attention to her. "It's good to be back."

"As I'm sure you're aware," Rebecca said to him, motioning for him, Meia, and Barnette to follow her. "We have quite a bit to discuss."

"Lead the way," was Hibiki's only reply as he started walking.

"So, when will the rest of your unit be arriving?" Rebecca asked Hibiki.

"In the next couple of days," he replied. "But that isn't all you guys wanted to talk about, was it?"

"True," Meia replied, breaking her silence since Hibiki had arrived. "How come you didn't at least send us a message when you arrived in-system?

Damn, this again? He quickly came up with an answer. "I was intercepted by a Tarak cruiser the second I arrived in the system, in which they 'escorted' me back to Tarak for questioning. Damn intelligence officers."

"That still doesn't explain why you're part of their military," Barnette interjected.

"Oh, that," he said, looking down at his uniform. "It was part of a deal I had to make with them."

"What kind of deal?" Rebecca asked, giving him a quizzical look.

"That I serve in the military as a pilot and squadron commander, claiming they needed my skill to locate and destroy any Harvester units on the fringe of their space," he replied, telling them a half-truth.

"Uh-huh," Barnette said, doubt obvious in her voice.

"Alright, I think that's a good enough reason," Rebecca said, hoping to stop an argument before it started. "Hibiki, while we wait for your unit to arrive, I want you to work with Meia so that we can integrate squadron tactics so that we can run exercises when they arrive. Barnette, continue training the new security personnel. I want everything in order for when the time comes. Since it is getting late, you don't have to start until tomorrow. Dismissed."

"Help, it's pulling me in, I can't get away from it! Help! HIBIKI!"

With a sudden jolt, Hibiki sat upright, a cold sweat covering his face and chest. Why? he asked himself. "Dammit! Why am I having that dream again?"

That particular nightmare had been haunting his sleep for the past several months. At first, he only had it about once a week, but now it was every other day. The dream constantly reminded him of how weak he was, unable to save his comrades, unable to saver her, the one he cared for, the one he loved. Disgusted, he threw off the blanket he'd been using, and got off his bed. Walking over to the small bathroom in his quarters, he stopped at the sink. Turning on the sink, he splashed cold water liberally over his face in an attempt to banish the thoughts from his mind. Although he knew better, the memory would just reappear in his mind later.

He glanced at his reflection in the mirror, noticing the intricate snake-like tattoo coiled on his upper left arm. He had gotten that while he was part of a independent military group, but that was a memory he didn't want to remember either. He ran his hand along the scar on his chest, a memento from that time as well. Turning away from the mirror, he walked over to the shower. Several minutes later, he put on his clothes, a simple black t-shirt, tan uniform pants, socks, and a pair of boots.

He decided to go for a walk, and left his room.

Meia sat there, running combat simulations at the briefing room terminal. She intended to have everything in order by tomorrow. She knew it was getting late, but she had trouble getting to sleep. It was the same kind of situation that happened for the past few days. And it didn't help now that Hibiki had appeared out of the blue after being gone for so long. It made her wonder exactly where he had been for the last few years. But, knowing him, he wouldn't divulge that information, even if she asked.

"Dammit," she muttered, unable to clear her thoughts about Hibiki and events from the past. Need to focus!

Unable to find it, she got up out of her seat and determined to go work out her frustrations in the gym. As of late, she found that to be best way to get her mind off of certain things, as thinking over tactical maneuvers and battle plans just seemed to always bring back memories of that day, and her failure to anticipate the events that happened. She saved the current plan setup and shut off the terminal before briskly making her way out of the briefing room.

Several minutes later, she made it to the gym, which was situated in the Unity's recreational area. Even she'd been on the ship for a few months, she still wasn't entirely used to it. It still seemed somewhat foreign to her. She walked through the doors, and walked into the darkened room. Since it was late at night, or really early in the morning to some people, the gym was empty. She preferred it that way, no one around to witness her relieve her frustrations. She turned on the lights, went over to the women's locker room, undressed and took a quick shower. A few minutes later, she dried herself off and put on one of the training outfits, which was a simple, black sleeveless shirt with gray workout pants that were form-fitting but roomy.

Without much hesitation, she started her workout with some warm-up exercises.

Hibiki strolled around the ship's garden, trying to rid himself of the last traces of the nightmare that he'd had earlier. There was just something so serene, so peaceful about walking along the path, hearing nothing but his footsteps and the sound of running water from the stream that cut though the center of the park. It was a good place to clear one's mind of troubling thoughts.

How different I must seem to them, he mused to himself. After all I've gone through, I'd be surprised if I hadn't changed. For better or worse, I have yet to find the answer.

Having adequately cleared his mind of the nightmare, he glanced at his watch. "Better try to get some sleep. Meia would have my head if I wasn't adequately rested for the training exercises."

He started to make his way back to his room, when he noticed that the gym's lights were on. His curiosity peaked as to who would be awake at this hour, other than himself, he walked into the gym. There he noticed a familiar blue haired woman assaulting a punching bag.

It took all but twenty seconds before she noticed his presence. "How long were you standing there?" she asked, breathing heavily as she stopped what she was doing and turned to face him.

"Just walked in," he replied. "Need a sparring partner?"

"Answer something for me first," she said, making eye contact with him.

"And what would that be?" he inquired, even though he probably knew what the question was going to be about, but wanted to hear her say it first.

"Where have you been these last few years?" she asked. "Before you 'joined' the Tarak Army."

"Here and there," he replied, dodging the question. "How is it really any of your business?"

Her eyes narrowed slightly at his last comment. "It isn't really, I was just curious."

"Tell you what," he said, approaching the mat. "If you beat me in a sparring match, I'll tell you."

"Deal," she replied as she assumed a defensive stance.

The shrill, beeping sound of an alarm clock woke Barnette up from a fitful sleep. She reached over and felt around for the offending clock, and once she found it, she slammed her hand down on it, silencing it for the moment. She sluggishly moved around in her bed, before forcing herself up to a sitting position.

"I hate getting up this early," she muttered to herself as she climbed out of bed and made her way to the bathroom.

Once there, she stripped out of her underwear and stepped into the shower. Several minutes later, she stepped out of the shower, grabbed a towel and proceeded to dry herself off. After drying off, she walked out of the bathroom and back into the rest of her quarters. She went over to her dresser and grabbed several articles of clothing.

It wasn't long before she was fully dressed in attire that was very similar to the outfit that she had worn when she was in charge of the Nirvana's Reg System. It had been a while since she had last worn her normal outfit, which she couldn't wear without being reminded of Jura.

She walked over to her nightstand, which contained her belt holster for her sidearm, a first generation CZ 75 9 millimeter handgun. She picked it up and pulled the slide back to check and see if the gun was unloaded, from force of habit. She flicked the safety off and squeezed the trigger, dry-firing it. She then grabbed one of the loaded magazines and inserted it into the handgun, pulling the slide back to load a round into the chamber. She clicked the safety back on, before putting it into the holster on her hip. Even though encountering anything hostile was almost nonexistent, she preferred to be prepared either way.

"Best get to it," she said aloud before walking out of her room and on her way to perform her tasks for the day.

With a thud, Meia landed on her back, with Hibiki pinning her.

"Looks like you lose," he said with a smirk on his face as he held her to the mat.

"You're a little too arrogant," Meia replied, pulling a quick move and reversing their situation, this time with him pinned to the mat.

"Not bad," he said, complimenting her. "I concede."

Hearing what she wanted to hear, she got up off of him, allowing him to get up as well.

"That's not like you to give in so easy," she said to him. "It's almost like you let me win."

"Maybe I did, maybe I didn't," he replied, smiling.

"I don't know what it is, but you've changed," Meia said. "Now how about you answer my question now?"

Before he could answer, Rebecca's voice sounded from both Meia's and Hibiki's communicators. "Meia, Hibiki, report to the briefing room as soon as possible."

"Looks like it'll have to wait," Hibiki replied to her.

Well, there you have it. I'm pretty sure most of you are thinking, 'About damn time' and I don't blame you one bit on that one. I know it seems to be going a bit on the slow side, but it will most likely pick up in pace in a few chapters. Read and review (if you want to, I would appreciate it, but it's not absolutely necessary.)