Meia didn’t bother putting Hibiki back on her chain.

Hibiki sat stewing in Meia’s palm as his superior officer and Gascogne made their way down the corridor. He was a little disappointed with all three of his so called ‘friends’. But at least Meia and Gascogne stood up for him, even if it wasn’t quite as enthusiastically as he’d hoped. Gascogne had at least offered up a wink. It was Dita’s response that really had him depressed though. Sure she annoyed him a lot and it pissed him off she never bothered to call him by his real name but he thought they had sort of formed an odd friendship. She didn’t seem happy at the prospect of eating him, but she didn’t seem too worried about it either. Was that all he was to her? Just someone she’d befriended on a whim, a novelty that would eventually be replaced by other novelties? Dita was friends with everyone because of her happy go lucky attitude and overzealous nature. She also came across as being a bit dim. Maybe he’d mistaken their relationship. Maybe he was nothing more than an acquaintance, someone who could easily be cast aside if need be? What did Dita really think of him?….. Hell, what did his other two female friends think of him? Hibiki wasn’t quite sure. It was food for thought.

Gascogne stopped at an intersection, “Well Hibiki, I’ve got to get back to the grind. Come down and see me sometime soon will ya? It’s been a while since I’ve crushed you in poker.”

“Yeah, sure….. I’ll have some serious time to kill.” The male sighed, Meia’s usually stoic gaze softened as she looked down at her now tiny subordinate and friend.

“……. Look Hibiki, I know it’ll be tough, not being able to pilot the Vanguard and all…. But you can still be useful.” Gascogne insisted.

“How, as a paper weight?” Hibiki asked sarcastically.

“Well yeah, that’s one possibility, but not the only one. If you want to give being a stagehand another try…… I won’t force you to wear the uniform.” She gave Hibiki a knowing smile causing him to blush.

“Well… er… I guess that wouldn’t be so bad.” The prideful boy admitted.

“Sleep on it.” Gascogne turned and left.

“If you do decide to work in the supplies depot don’t get too cozy. I haven’t given you permission to leave my squad, you’re still a member. I might need you for something down the line.” Meia informed him

Hibiki didn’t respond but he had a slight smile on his face. Meia did care, even though she didn’t have any use for him she knew how belittling it was for him to be shrunk. Hibiki liked being needed, it justified his existence. Now though…… his smile slipped away.

“Lets head back to my…. 'our’ room and get you situated.”

“… All right.” Hibiki half heartedly agreed.

Meia didn’t want to subject Hibiki to the surprised reactions of the rest of the crew. Some of his closer friends who weren’t aware of his shrinking, such as Bart and Jura, would probably be very shocked and she didn’t want him to be too self conscious. Also some of the other more man hating girls might visibly show glee or happiness at Hibiki’s predicament. That was also something Meia didn’t want. She’d have to spread the news before anyone actually saw Hibiki. Hopefully that way when people saw him for the first time their reactions would be….. less dramatic.

“Okay, here we are.” Meia entered her room. It felt weird introducing the male to her room. She had taken him in only an hour prior but their stay had been brief. Now Hibiki was going to be living with her. Meia felt a strange sensation, she could feel blood creep to her cheeks. Was she blushing? Why? Meia was a bit confused.

“So, um, there’s a shelf next to my bed. Maybe I could get you some foam rubber and a piece of cloth? Hmmm, no, I think we can do better than that.”

“I’m fine with it. Whatever you give me it’ll probably be better than my bed back on Taraak. They were really uncomfortable, like lying on metal bars. I think they were designed to dislocate your spines, to keep the lower class from uprising most likely.” Hibiki said sincerely.

“Well you’re no longer on Taraak, and I think we can do better.” Meia reaffirmed, “Is there anything you’d like from your room?”

“Uh..” Hibiki really didn’t have too much and what he did have it wouldn’t be any use to him at his current size. Unlike Meia he’d snuck on to the Nirvana and became a prisoner, first a prisoner of the Taraak militaries and then he was recaptured by the women. He’d come on without any personal possessions. Truth be told he didn’t really own much to begin with so abandoning his living quarters back in the industrial district was no big loss, “Nah, I’m good, I don’t need any of that junk.”

“Really? No keepsakes? Nothing?”

“Nadda.”

“All right.” Meia set Hibiki down on the bed, “Well I think we could at least get you some clothing. Perhaps from Paiway’s dolls?” She wasn’t sure if there were any male dolls, they weren’t very popular.

“No way! I hate women clothing!” Hibiki spat as he was set down on her bed.

“Well we certainly can’t have you walking around naked. Look Hibiki, I’m going to head out and get some supplies for you. Stuff for a bed, some clothing, food. You just sit tight.” While she was at it she’d also have a word with Barnette, she’d gone too far. It was well known she hated the male crew members but to go as far as to shrink one of them? And that one was Hibiki………

Meia turned to leave.