[FIC] Chapter 06/?? Breathe
Posted: Sat Sep 27, 2003 8:41 pm
AN: Back to the Chidori / Sagara stuff... a reread of Chapter 1 and 2 may
help reorient yourself after so long
Expanding a bit on the
Whispered sitaution, and setting up for the
rest of the fic.
Char Notes: Fundamentally, I believe Kaname, despite her protestations
and long seperation(s), loves Sousuke. So does Tessa, but her responsibilities
and duties preclude her from acting on them, as I wrote in the last chapter. And I also agree FMP! breaks out of the catfight-mode of
competition between the two... they both respect and like each other
as friends, but when it comes to Sousuke... which is what I tried to write
about in this chapter as we take a peek inside Chidori's mind. Tried
to get Mizuki, Kyouko and Shinji some time as well.
...also, wonder what's Sousuke'd have to do to make Chidori just MELT
in front of him *hehe*
Regards
-----
06 BREATHE
Kyouko sighed as she regarded Chidori's idea of the kind of lunch to get for comforting one's troubles. After wandering the shopping district for almost three hours, to find the 'perfect place' as Chidori put it, they were now crashed out at some fast food grease joint. The smell of the cooking was enough to make Kyouko retch.
Why couldn't we go somewhere where they actually try to make some decent food. she thought to herself. All she could handle right about now was a cold pop, while Chidori...
"I'll take a teryaki burger, extra sauce, a side order of fries with salt, a chocolate sundae... oh, can you add extra chocolate sauce to that too? And..."
Kyouko struggled to keep her stomach in check.
"I tell you Kyouko," Chidori started as she unwrapped her burger, "the nerve of the examiner. I just wanted to tell her my side of things, but noooo, she goes on about propriety and such..."
Kyouko just watched Chidori wordlessly, sipping the pop through her straw.
"YES, I was late... no, scratch that...WE were late," Chidori said quickly, correcting herself. "YES, we can't get in after the exam doors close, but we both had a reasonable excuse... didn't we?" Chidori looked over at Kyouko, hoping for some support.
The silence between Chidori and Kyouko was so thick it could've been cut with a knife. "Hey, Kyouko, right?" Chidori tried again. No answer. "C'mon, I thought we were on the same side?"
Kyouko seemed to sit there forever in silence before she started slowly, "If we're on the same side, then why can you just level with me?"
Chidori shuddered. She had never known her friend to have spoken with such a... seriously deadly voice before. "Kyouko, you're not mad at me, are you?"
"I think I have a right to be mad at you, Chidori."
"Why's that?" Chidori wasn't showing it, but Kyouko's tone was seriously creeping her out.
"Kana-chan, do you remember what I told you this morning? I'll tell you again." Kyouko said, her voice rising a notch, not giving her friend a chance to answer. "I said I've been your best friend since you started here, and that I know when you're lying. You must take me for a pretty big sap to just sit here, lying through your teeth, while you put on a show that you're just fine!"
Kyouko had gotten so close to Chidori, she was scrunched down into her seat, Kyouko mere inches from her face. "Ky-ky-ky-..."
"Don't 'Kyouko' me, oh great Miss Jindai Class President." Kyouko continued. "I'm sick of your denials! I'm sick of your whining and moaning! I'm sick of it all!!"
The restaurant went deathly silent at that point as Kyouko suddenly realized how loud her voice had gotten, and how public her complaining had gotten... and how close she was to Chidori's face. She sat back down and took a deep breath. Moments later, her outburst forgetten, everyone else in the restaurant went back to their business, leaving her free to get through to her friend again.
"Kana-chan, I thought you were my friend. I thought that meant something. Yet ever since Sagara-kun left, you've been so closed off to me..."
And as that word got to Chidori, Kyouko was almost sorry she had said it. Almost. Chidori's face suddenly scrunched up, here eyebrow shaking in a nervous tick. Gotcha! Kyouko thought. "Spill it, Kana-chan. Sagara-kun's on your mind, and it's driving you nuts, am I right?"
"DON'T talk to me about that..."
"He IS, ISN'T he?" Kyouko got back into Chidori's face again to make her point. "Can you at least tell me that much without denying it?"
Chidori sighed, lightly banging her head against the table in frustration. Finally, she reluctantly admitted, "Am I that obvious to you?"
"Took you that long to figure it out? So what is it about Sagara-kun that's driving you crazy? I thought you'd be happy he was back in Tokyo?"
"I am..."
"FINALLY!! Kana-chan, you actually admitted your true feelings for once!" Kyouko immediately grabbed her camera and took a not particularly flattering shot.
"...but..."
Kyouko's cellphone ringing caught both their attentions. "Hi...Yeah, where are you all?...Uh-huh...Yeah, we missed it, long story...Hey, I got great news!...Kana-chan actually admitted her true feelings for once!...Yeah, isn't that great!...We're down in the shopping district, yeah, I'll tell you all about it when you get down here!...It's hot!!"
Chidori looked over at Kyouko, who was bubbling over with glee. Oh great, here it comes she thought. By tomorrow it'd be all over the school, the next day... She couldn't deal with it any more. Picking up her things, she started for the door.
"Hey, hey, Kana-chan," Kyouko half whined, "where are you going?"
"I lost my appetite. I'm outta here!"
"What, over one little episode of admitting what you're really feeling? Am I hearing you right, Miss 'I can take on the world all by myself'?"
Chidori kept on walking, ignoring her.
* * *
He stood in the shadows, watching her. Ahhh, there she is he thought. Slowly, his hand slipped into his bag, pulling out the handmade device. Come closer, come closer, yeeeeeees.
She was so close now, close enough that he could almost...
* * *
She didn't need this. It kept playing over and over in her mind.
His return. Him catching her... there. How happy she'd been when he'd said he was spending his vacation with her... The next thing she'd remembered was Kyouko at school interrupting her, then finding out she was late for the exams.
Dammit!! That bastard!! When I see him next, I'll...
* * *
Oooooh, my goddess, my angel, my...
Oh, you look so...
"Excuse me, sir, but could you direct me to..."
"Go away, pal. I'm busy!" A tap on the shoulder.
"Look, pal, I said I'm busy! Buzz off!" A tap again.
He turned around, quite furious his view had been spoiled. "How many times do I have to say it...Pfffht... Mmmmph..."
"Is something amusing you?"
"Yeah. Where'd you run away from, the circus?"
"I do not know anything about a circus. I am here in Tokyo to visit a friend. I merely require directions that I hope you can provide me with."
"Yeah? The way you're dressed, you'd be lucky to make it 20 feet alive, pal!" He eyed the stranger over again. Sunhat 5 years out of date, tacky, no-namebrand sunglasses, a garishly bright-colored Hawaiian t-shirt, baggy shorts that were obviously not his fit... "I don't know who does your fashions, but you got 'idiot' written all over you!"
"As far as I know, I do not have 'idiot' written all over me. Perhaps you could show me where."
"Are you for real, pal?!"
"What do you mean 'for real'?"
* * *
"Hey, come on Kana-chan. I'm just glad you finally told me what was going on. Come on."
Chidori kept walking, Kyouko's pleas totally lost on her, muttering oaths under her breath. Stupid Sousuke! Clueless Sousuke! He can't even figure out after so long... When I see him, I'm gonna...
"Hey Kana-chan, isn't that..."
"Go away Kyouko! I'm not in the mood to listen!"
"But Kana-chan! Look!"
* * *
"Hey! Hey! What is this! Are you a cop or something?!" He had him up against the wall and was... "Hey, I got respect for your kind, but I don't swing that way, got it?"
"I am merely performing a body search. You were acting in a suspicious manner. Please hold still for a moment."
"Oh, I bet! Look, I was just here, minding my own business, and then you come along and..." He was suddenly thrust hard against the wall. "HEY! What gives?!"
"You were seen following a young woman suspiciously. That gives me all the reason I need to search you."
"Yeah, you and what warrant? Let me see your...Unnnff!" He was pushed against the wall harder, and suddenly the stranger's voice was in his ear.
"I said..."
"SOUSUKE!!! WHAT THE HELL DO YOU THINK YOU'RE DOING?!?!"
My Angel... you've come to...
* * *
Kyouko hung back a few steps. At first, she couldn't believe her eyes, but she was sure that was Sousuke there, knocking over some bystander in the corner. That the guy was most obviously a stalker, and had it written all over him, was lost on Chidori as she stomped over to see what the, as she put it, 'infantile, military-minded jerk' was doing.
Ahh, love! And she can't even admit it she thought.
"WHAT THE HELL DO YOU THINK YOU'RE DOING, RUNNING AROUND DOWNTOWN TOKYO KNOCKING OVER SUSPICIOUS-LOOKING PEOPLE?!?! THIS ISN'T ONE OF YOUR STUPID OTAKU WAR-ZONES, YOU KNOW!!"
"Chidori, I was..."
"Excuse me..."
"AND WHAT KIND OF CLOTHES ARE THOSE?!" She pulled off his sunglasses, holding them with contempt. "THESE ARE KIDS' SUNGLASSES. WHAT THE HELL WERE YOU THINKING WEARING THEM?!?!"
"They're prescription. I picked them up for a job I did in..."
"OH, SHUT UP, SOUSUKE!!"
"Excuse me..."
* * *
Not smart to interrupt her when she's like that, Mr. Stalker, or you'll be next. Kyouko wanted to draw back from the scene that was being played out, but it was simply too delicious watching Chidori blow her stack like this. A hand clapped onto her shoulder.
"I was wondering what the heck you meant by 'it's hot,' but now I see!!"
"Oh, you'd better believe it, Mizuki."
"You getting this?"
"What, you're not planning anything, are you?"
Acting nonchalantly, Mizuki put on her best innocent act. "Oh... Looks like Sagara's about to have a VERY memorable..."
"SO WHAT THE HELL DO YOU HAVE TO SAY FOR YOURSELF?!?! HUH?!?!"
"Chidori... it's all a coincidence."
"...NGH!!"
...5...4...3...2...
"Wrong answer, Sagara-kun..."
"WHY YOU...!!!" The final straw gone, Chidori's hand made for her halisen, and in a major-league swing, connected it with Sousuke's head. He went down with a solid thump, but Chidori wasn't finished there, jumping onto his prone form to administer a solid beating.
"I'LL GIVE YOU COINCIDENCE, YOU...(whack!)!!"
...Houston, we have lift-off...
"She's in love?"
"Yup." Kyouko and Mizuki looked over at Chidori and Sagara, and what a sight to behold. Chidori, showing no signs of letting up her physical assault on Sagara anytime soon had run out of Japanese invective to yell at him and was starting on her American repetoire, all the important four letter ones anyways. Poor Sagara, beaten to a curled up fetal position, was desperately trying to fend off Chidori's halisen, and doing a poor job of it. The sounds the paper fan beating made, coupled with Sagara's uncharacteristically pathetic-sounding pleas of mercy, caught the attention of the entire shopping district.
"Should we stop her?"
"Ummm..."
"Chidori, stop it, please!"
"YOUGODDAMNED(whack!)fudgie(whack!)MILITARYMINDED(whack!)SHITFORBRAINS(whack!)UNROMANTIC(whack!)KNOWNOTHING(whack!)INSENSITIVE(whack!)BREASTFONDLING(whack! whack!)..."
Myyyyy Angeeeeeel....
* * *
Sitting at the police station, Chidori found herself calming down... somewhat. This is REALLY not my day. Her assault on Sousuke attracted the attention of everyone in the shopping district, and why shouldn't it? Two officers practically had to drag her, kicking and screaming, off Sousuke. Taken down to the station, she'd been cooling her heels for the last half-hour while Sousuke was whisked off to the hospital. I didn't hit him that hard. And if I did, like that jerk would feel it.
"I hope that has been cleared up, miss."
"Yes."
"Then you may go. And please don't let this happen again."
Mizuki and Kyouko waiting for her outside. Chidori wanted to bury herself in a hole right now. Mizuki started off with a shot right across her bow. "Soooo, Kaname. How goes things in the love department? Find any good boyfriends to beat to death?"
Chidori just kept walking on by.
"So, Sousuke, what do you have to say for yourself?" Mizuki started in a airy-fairy falsetto voice.
"Chidori, it was all a coincidence." Kyouko picked up in an equally annoying high-pitched falsetto voice.
"Oh Sagara, I LOVE you!!" Mockingly, Mizuki threw her arms around Kyouko making mushy-kissy faces with her. Kyouko added to the injury by playing along. "Oh! Kana-chan! I LOVE you too!"
She couldn't take it anymore. "I don't need THIS!! Least of all from either of you!!"
"You're one to talk, Kaname. You know, Kyouko hit it right on the head eariler when she said you've been so closed off to us. Personally, I think you're denser than concrete..."
Chidori glared at Mizuki with an icy stare.
"...I didn't like putting up with your whining either the last couple months whenever you got a letter from Sousuke, and all you could do was whine and moan about why he can't write a normal letter. Or why he wouldn't say when he had time off, you know." Mizuki continued. You need to hear this for your own good, girl.
"You know how lucky you are to have him? Jeez, what I wouldn't give to have a boyfriend that was as loyal as him."
"You left out thick-headed, Mizuki."
"Hey, they can be trained, they're only men, right?" Mizuki slapped Chidori on the shoulder. "So cheer up, willya? What is it with you anyways?"
"Besides a year's worth of school down the tubes... BECAUSE of that idiot! Besides the public humiliation of getting dragged away by the police... BECAUSE of that idiot!..."
Mizuki got into Chidori's face, a smirk of satisfaction on her face. "Besides the fact you can't admit he's gotten under your skin and takes your breath away?" She grabbed her friend by the arm and dragged her to the ladies room. "Take a look at this."
"It's a mirror, so what?"
"LOOK at it Kaname, and I do mean look! And ask what you see what's your problem, willya?"
"I don't need this..."
"Look. Now! Or we're not letting you out, Kana-chan."
Beaten, Chidori turned to face the mirror, just staring at it. Her reflection looked back, but offered no answers. What is my problem anyways? I like him. Alot! Despite his otaku crap and failings as a normal teenaged boy, I like him alot! Why...?
"So, you learn anything yet, Kaname?"
She shook her head. "Nope."
"Well, I learned something from this."
"What's that, Kyouko?"
"That you're completely hopeless, Kana-chan!" They both gave their friend a hug, laughing with her at the little joke.
"Yeah... right... I guess I am hopeless..." Chidori joined in on the joke at herself. Yeah, I am completely hopeless...
* * *
She was running again. Breathless, desperate, the adrenalin coarsing through her veins. Please, don't let Dannigan catch me! Sousuke... you promised you'd always be there for me! Where are you?
She found what she was looking for: the universal key in Tessa's safe. She grabbed it. Got it! Now... but something caught her attention. She hesitated...
Sitting in the safe was a photo frame. Odd, why would... No, I shouldn't. I have to get the universal key to...
Her hand moved on its own. The frame slid slowly out. Time seemed to stop. There's still time, put it back! Don't look at it! her mind screamed. But she had to look.
...And she wished she hadn't. The picture was of Sousuke with Tessa next to him in a t-shirt and shorts. Sousuke's face, as usual, was scrunched up in his unreadable 'at attention' look, but Tessa was smiling that smile. And they were sitting on the beach.
A million questions flew through her mind. When was this taken? How long had they been going out? Does Sousuke care for her? Is it why...
And to think, when I first met her, I didn't believe she was Sousuke's captain. I said at best she'd be Girl A manning communications... I'm such an idiot!
She thought back to the time after the Behemoth incident. Tessa ordered Sousuke to turn off his audio receptors. And quite plainly to her face, Tessa claimed she loved Sousuke. Of course, she had to deny her own growing feelings for him, saying she had nothing with that militaristic pervert. And think Tessa's chances with loser-boy, know-nothing-romantic Sousuke were about that of a snowball in hell. But the gauntlet had been thrown down nonetheless, the challenge made.
Tessa loves Sousuke, and Sousuke loves...
It had to be Tessa of course. They saw each other daily. Heck, they even worked together on the same sub for months on end. Plenty of time to... to what? she wondered. "Or how he's now married to another girl, and they have three darling children?" She'd been taken aboard the Daanan, the hangar alone had enough room to hold all the students in her entire school with no cramping. No reason Tessa and Sousuke didn't have a bunch of rugrats running around on the ship by now.
Teletha Tesstarosa. She gingerly chewed on that name, pondering a very close friend. They'd gone through so much together, starting with their awkward first meeting. She over at Sousuke's to apologize for her behavior earlier that day and Tessa hiding out at Sousuke's apartment, safe-house if she recalled correctly. What the hell was I supposed to think, Tessa's shoes just lying there and she comes out of the shower wrapped in a towel?
Next thing she knew they'd been kidnapped by someone named Senia. In the trials and hardships that followed, Chidori had to admit she felt a degree of respect for Tessa. She was scared as hell, wanting the nightmare to end, yet Tessa never seemed to waver. Then there was the 'Whispered' connection. At first, she thought she was going crazy, Tessa's voice whispering in her head. Her little side trip to Khanka and her subsequent examination had left her with the indelible impression to never try that particular experience again. Tessa's voice seemed to be the calm in the storm, reason to her wild emotions of just wanting to run and hide till it was all over.
The third time was when Gaulun had taken control of the Daanan. Tessa had bravely put herself in the line of fire so she could escape. She couldn't believe Tessa would try something like that, drawing Gaulun's attention to herself so she could escape, but Tessa had left her little choice in the matter. The moment guns started firing, she could only run as fast as she could to avoid getting shot, and as Tessa's only hope of regaining control of the submarine.
The final time was after the nightmare had ended. She couldn't sleep after all the excitement and took to wandering the darkened hallways of the Mithril Pacific Base Admin building. Late into the night, she came upon Tessa blankly staring at a vending machine. At first, she thought Tessa couldn't make up her mind on what to get, but she'd been standing there for over ten minutes. Looking back, it seemed like such a silly guesture, sending Sousuke over to comfort Tessa. She never heard what Sousuke said to Tessa, and she never wanted to know, only remembering Tessa's reaction to it was to fall into Sousuke's arms crying.
Yes, Tessa was a close friend indeed to her.
...a close friend who just happened to be her rival for Sousuke's love.
Life's cruel she thought.
* * *
"What are we doing at the hospital?"
"Can you guess, girl friend?"
"Oh, no... NO WAY!! NO WAY!!" She started to back out, but neither Kyouko or Mizuki was going to let her get away that easily.
"Oh YES!! Come on!! We're going to see Sousuke."
"Kana-chan, at the very least, you DO owe him an apology for beating him like that."
A nervous tic started on Chidori's forehead. "I don't owe that jackass ANYTHING!!" But the foolishness of that statement came down on her the moment she finished saying it. She was pissed off, only wanting to vent her rage, and in her passions had beat down Sousuke when he'd only wanted to protect her. She'd already heard from the police the guy Sousuke had intercepted was suspected in a number of stalking incidents involving high school girls in the area.
"...and you could finally also, you know..."
"Know what?"
"Oh come on, Kana-chan! You're not in junior high anymore. You know... that!"
"...or are you so dense you need us to draw you a diagram?"
"I'm not, but Sousuke is." The three broke into peels of laughter over that one.
"Chidori..." a voice spoke from behind her.
"AAACK!! Who the hell...!! How long have you been there, Sousuke?!"
"One minute and five seconds, precisely."
"You could've said something to me!!"
"You were talking with your friends, and I did not want to interrupt."
She froze. He heard everything.
"Well, we're off! You two lovebirds have fun, huh?"
"Hey... wait! What the..."
"I still have to find a way for us to make up that exam you know, Kana-chan. You've got your hands full with Sagara-kun, so have fun!" They started walking off, leaving her alone... was it a good thing or bad?
"Love... birds?"
Chidori could only blush. Ohhh, tell me I don't have to explain the facts of life to him! "So, Sousuke..."
"Chidori..."
"Sou... listen, can you drop the formality and just call me Kaname? We've known each other long enough now."
"I'm sorry... Kaname, I..." He was getting uptight again. I'll have to take the initiative, I guess.
She grabbed him by the arm. "C'mon, I'll take you to my place. It's the least I can do after the hell I put you through today. You finally have your chance. So why the hell pass it up?
"Kaname, I, uh... I..."
"Yes?"
"I'm supposed... I have something for you." Sousuke ruffled around his duffel bag for a few moments.
Chidori could only gasp. No way!! Last time he tried to get me something...
He came out with a small box, delicately wrapped with a pink silk bow. Sousuke gently passed it to Chidori, as if he were holding a precious gem. Chidori took the box purely on instinct, totally lost for words.
"I hope you like it."
"Sousuke, is... is..." she could only start. Is it something wierd or dangerous? More of your otaku paraphenellia again? Unable to hold back the anticipation, she gently undid the silk thread holding the wrapping together, careful not to ruin it. All at once, she realized the gift wasn't from Sousuke, or he had help in picking it out. Something this special wouldn't come across his military mind.
Her fingers brushed against something cool and smooth in texture. Her fingers trembling, she slowly pulled out an 18K gold necklace. Hanging at the end was a blue turquoise stone, her birth month. He actually remembered... Sousuke, you...
Sousuke himself was taken aback by what he saw in the box, and after all that had happened to him today, he wasn't sure how Chidori would take this particular shock. "Kaname, I..."
Her index finger brushed against his lips. "Sousuke... just shut up, would you?" He instantly clammed up.
She fell into his arms, holding him tight.
* * *
The whine of rotor blades. The spray of the sea. Nothing surrounding you but miles of empty ocean and your comrades close by. Slinging his duffel over his shoulder, Sousuke thought of how he was going to deal with being away from it all "for the duration of the present crisis," as Major Kalinin had put it.
"Sergeant Sagara?" her voice called out.
He turned around and stood at attention. "Yes, Captain."
She shifted slightly on the balls of her feet, visibly uncomfortable. "You're on leave already, Sergeant. There's no need to come to attention, especially for me." The ploy didn't work, he remained at attention. Get on with it her mind reminded her. "There is one last thing you must pack. Take this and give it to Kaname-san when you go see her." She produced a small box wrapped in a bolt of pink silk.
"I already have a gift for her, Captain. The Major said..."
"Sergeant, you do not understand. This is not a request. This is an order, and I am ordering you to deliver this to Kaname-san upon your meeting with her. I am also ordering you to never tell her who or where this gift came from. Understood?"
"Understood, Ma'am!"
"Have... have a good shore leave, Sergeant."
"Yes, ma'am!" He snapped off a salute to his CO.
Returning his salute, she turned around and walked off, the increasing whine of the turbines of the helicopter drowning out everything else. Left to the sounds of his own thoughts, Sousuke could only look back totally confused. Never tell her who or where this is from. "What does that mean? I don't understand."
...And for a moment, he thought he saw tears streaming down from Tessa's eyes.
* * *
"So, Sousuke, do I still pull here?"
"What do you... NO! Chidori!..." He immediately knocked the necklace from her hands as she seperated the gemstone from the chain and pulled her to the ground with him, covering her body with his own. Nothing happened.
"Ahem."
Slowly his eyes opened. "Chidori... what, what were you..."
"Oh, just making sure that it wouldn't blow up in my face the next time I wear it out on a date." she said flippantly, relishing in her small victory over him. "And remember, my name's Kaname? We're friends, right?"
"I... uh..." He suddenly became very tense, realizing that he was now lying on top of her in a very compromising position. He made a move to get up but she wouldn't let him with her arms wrapped tightly around his back.
"We're friends, right... Sousuke?" her voice becoming soft, more feminine.
"Uh..." She edged closer to him, her lips slightly parted. She could feel her pulse rising. This is so right! Oh, God, PLEASE don't let anything spoil this...
Nothing did. Their parted lips met. She felt no resistance from him. Her breathing came in gasps as she realized I'm kissing him. I'm actually kissing him. My first kiss!
A cough behind them broke the magic of the moment. "Well, I see our patient is... UP and about."
Caught in an embarassing situation, they both scrambled to their feet. "Ahh... Doctor. Ahh-hah!"
"Well then, you're free to go, Sagara. Do take care of yourself! I should perhaps call you and your lady friend a taxi?" He turned and left the two blushing teenagers to their own devices. Sousuke was the first to break the silence looking for the two pieces of the necklace. Chidori turned to help.
"Sousuke, I... I wanted to tell you it was a really beautiful gift." They located both the stone and the chain. Both were intact. "Really."
"Kaname, I..."
"Yes?"
He stood up, handing back the pieces of the necklace to her and slung his duffel bag over his shoulder. No!
"I... I should go now. I've caused you so much trouble today."
"Sousuke... wait." She felt her heart breaking. He'd done so much for her today, yet she'd mistreated him the minute he'd come back into her life, and this was what she was getting in return. "Wait! Please! Don't... don't leave me!"
"I already have facilities to stay at while I'm in Tokyo, and it's getting late. You should..."
She wanted nothing more than to thump him down again. He's so insensitive, and at the worst possible times!! I just want him to come over and spend the night...
He suddenly stopped midsentence, as if... as if. "Kaname..."
She nodded wordlessly. "But first, would you help me put this lovely necklace on? Please?" She handed him the necklace and brushed back her hair so he could see what he was doing.
Sousuke made a tentative move towards Kaname, necklace in hand. What is... what is going on? I don't understand. It's just... His hands moved of their own accord, gently undoing the clasp and slipping the stone around her neck. What am I doing? What am I feeling? Why do I feel so close to her?
She admired the stone more closely. "Sousuke... it really is beautiful." Pause. "It's must have been expensive."
"I did not buy it. I was ordered to deliver it to you, and never divulge the sender's identity or source."
"Uh-huh. Take me home you silly jerk, and along the way maybe you can tell me some more of your stupid otaku lies." She giggled as she left him completely confused and wordless as he puzzled out the meaning of her words.
Thank you Tessa, wherever you are.
* * *
The drive back to her apartment was mercifully silent, but she couldn't sense any sort of barrier between herself and Sousuke. Her head was still up in the clouds over her bold move to kiss him at the hospital. A bunch of people must've seen that... oh, God!
She could still feel the pressure of Sousuke's lips against hers. He hadn't reacted to her move, but he hadn't resisted either... she wondered whether he had enjoyed it or not, or even understood. She didn't want to spoil anything by simply asking him. No, I want to enjoy this alittle longer she thought to herself.
Sousuke sat beside her, barely inches from her, staring outside the front window... his face unreadable, again. Somehow, though, his face seemed softer than when she'd originally met him, more human. Was it possible the emotionless Super-Sergeant was... No way! She was cracking up inside at that thought. Oh God, if that were to happen...
"Sousuke, penny for your thoughts?"
"Kaname, I am...I am..."
"...lost for words?"
He turned to face her. "Something like that. I'm not usually this..."
She pressed her finger against his lips again. "No, just... just please don't spoil this moment for me. Just... just hold me. Hold me in your arms forever." she whispered.
He obliged.
Back at her apartment, none of the magic seemed to have worn off. "Sousuke, make yourself at home. I'll be right back." Gawd, I need a shower! She felt so warm under he collar, yet she never wanted it to end.
"There's some tea in the cupboard there, I'll be right back!"
Sousuke just stood there, his thoughts hidden behind his impenetrable face.
* * *
"Ow! You're sitting on my foot!"
"Shhhhh!! Shut up!"
"Hey! What's going on there?!"
"Shhh!!"
Kyouko, Shinji and Mizuki were crowded on Chidori's balcony. Shinji's mini-cam had been placed looking into an open crack in the blinds. Behind his laptop, he carefully manipulated the controls...
"Hey, what's going on?!"
"Ow! Quit shoving!"
"If you two don't shut up, we're all going to be caught!"
Kyouko stared down Shinji with a deadly look in her eyes. "If you don't do this, you're not getting back those AS pictures of yours!"
Shinji whined. "You're more mean than those upperclassmen from 4-E!! I thought you said all I had to do was to..."
Kyouko stared him down. "O...ohkay, okay... you win!" He immediately turned his attention back to the screen, fiddling with some controls.
"Thanks, sweetie!" She kissed him on the cheek. Mizuki could only stare at those two in stupefication.
"How much longer you planning on hiding this from Kaname?"
"Until Kana-chan admits her feelings to Sagara-kun. You know, Mizuki, she'd NEVER let us live it down if she found out Shinji and I were an item before her..."
"That including or not including when Sagara was here originally?" But it was a rhetorical question. Chidori would definately have torn a strip off either her or Kyouko for finding a boyfriend first.
"Okay... I think I got it, Ky-chan." Kyouko and Mizuki gasped as they saw...
"She just left. 1000 yen says she's going to find her halisen to beat him down again." Mizuki flippantly remarked.
"Have some more faith in Sagara-kun, Mizuki. Even HE managed to take your breath away once." Kyouko hit her where she knew Mizuki didn't like it.
"Oh shut up, Kyouko!"
"What's going on? Zoom in alittle, Shinji..."
"I can't, that's as far as the zoom-magnification goes."
"Darn it!! I wanna know what's going on!!"
* * *
Chidori enjoyed taking hot showers. There was nothing better to take your mind off your troubles than stepping under a stream of warmth, wrapping you up like a blanket. Or maybe I should go with a cold one. Heck, I practically was ready to strip down and do... it with him right on the floor there... She felt the warmth in her cheeks as she recalled her first kiss with Sousuke. It still felt wonderful, but the rational part of her mind was starting to question more and more whether Sousuke himself felt... anything! I mean, he's the military otaku among military otaku! Romance and love isn't in his vocabulary!
Her mind brought her back to the night she sent Sousuke to comfort Tessa. After seeing Tessa fling her arms around Sousuke, whatever he may have said to her, it pretty much had clinched their romance as far as she was concerned. Yet the next day, Sousuke showed up at her quarters with an offer to do something.
"When I'm with you, it feels like I can do anything."
Why did that line seem so... was it even an admission of love from him? The water continued to run off her as her mind pondered that. Who does Sousuke love, no... what does he feel for me? Friendship? Love? Disgust? Hate? I want... I have to know! she resolved to herself. Turning off the water, she knew what she had to do.
"Sousuke? Did you find everything okay?" she asked, as she stepped outside her bathroom wrapped only in a towel. She got no answer. Where...
"Sousuke? Where are you? This... this isn't funny!" He was seriously creeping her out. Where had he...
"SOUSUKE!! WHAT THE HELL DO YOU THINK YOU'RE DOING?!"
He was standing outside her balcony, obviously tyring to block her from seeing...
"Chidori! This is... this isn't what it... I..."
"SAA-GAA-RAA!! ARE YOU UP TO YOUR NO-GOOD HENTAI SHIT AGAIN?!?!" That's it! He's dead! I'm going to kill him, then I'm going to bury him where no one can find him!!
"Chidori! I can offer an explanation, but.. but.." She barged right past him, ready to kill with her bare hands.
"YOU PERVERT!! YOU CLUELESS, GODDAMNED PERVERT!! WHAT THE HELL WERE YOU DOING ON MY PATIO AGAIN? WERE YOU AFTER MY UNDERWEAR, YOU PANTY THIEF?!?!"
"Chidori... I can explain..."
* * *
Down in the bushes, Mizuki, Kyouko and Shinji were dusting bits of leaves and twigs off and checking for broken bones as a loud crack! sounded out in the cool night air.
"...Kaname's halisen..."
"...that one sounded louder than it usually is..."
"Can we go home now, Ky-chan?"
* * *
The next morning, Chidori could barely suppress a yawn as she walked through the school doors.
"Well, seems like you had a busy night there, Kana-chan." She barely had the strength to find a comeback to that remark.
"I guess someone kept her up all night." Mizuki observed. "Hey, hey, Kaname..." She slid close up to her and started whispering conspiratorily in her ear. "So how was he? Was he *huah-huah* good?" imitating the heavy breathing sounds associated with...
Chidori's reaction had Kyouko and Mizuki scrambling back for cover. "Ahh!! Ka-Ka-Kana-chan... your face...!!"
Just then, Shinji had the misfortune to join the group. "Hey, Ky-chan, about last night, I... AHH!! Chidori-san!!"
"Listen you three, and listen good! The next time any of you decide to get involved in my lovelife I will personally guide you on the road to Hell! GET ME!!"
The three could only quake in fear and nod in agreement as Chidori stalked off to classes in an even more bitter mood.
"Hey, Ky-chan." Shinji started after Chidori was out of earshot. "I guess our brilliant plan to get Chidori-san and Sagara-kun together failed, huh?"
"...I guess last night didn't help either..."
"...so back to square one again?"
The three could only sigh in unison.
* * *
Outside, Sousuke took to walking the school grounds again. So many memories here. Many happy ones, especially with Chidori. His mind wrestled with the concept of what everyone else called 'a normal life.' He knew he didn't have a normal childhood, fighting day-in day-out in the hellhole of Afghanistan, always for his life, and always for keeps. People like Chidori, Kyouko, Mizuki, and Shinji; the act of walking down the sidewalk without having to constantly be on guard... it simply baffled him to no end. Or was it envy he was feeling? I've never been envious of anyone. Why would I be envious of them now? he thought to himself.
Then there was the matter of what had occurred between himself and Kaname at the hospital. Why did it feel so... Putting it out of his mind for the moment, he decided to keep his mind occupied on something else. Picking a quiet spot under a shaded tree, he looked through his duffel bag for the 'interesting reading material' Major Kalinin had promised to pack for him. He was anxious to see what it was. Perhaps it's the complete technical manual for the Ground Laser Target Designator.
He found a hand written note on top of a manila folder. "To Sergeant Sagara. The contents of this file are classified TOP SECRET, I trust you understand what that entails when you open it to read. I have another reason for you reading this, which will become clear later on. -- signed A. Kalinin, TDD."
ON WHISPERED CANDIDATES: STAFF STUDY.
INTERIM CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS, 17TH DRAFT
Sousuke suddenly found himself unable to breathe... he felt his hands shaking. What is wrong with me...I'm... I'm... He quickly stuffed the folder back into his duffel and looked around. Anyone arou.... no, no one saw me, I think. Sousuke never recalled used foul language, but after reading the title...
He carefully pulled the folder out again, taking a long look around to see if anyone was within eyeshot. He saw the second period gym class running laps, two boys cutting classes and smoking over by the old storage shed... but no one else. Opening the folder carefully, he flipped through looking for the Executive Summary.
...and wished he didn't. The date on it said the whole report was compiled less than a month ago. Major Kalinin must have some friends in high places to get this, but why...
No! It can't be... His hands shaking even more, he began to read.
...Whispered candidates, with their treasure-trove of scientific knowledge, represent the best way to leapfrog current technologies and theories. Our methods for identification of candidates are steadily improving each day; a conservative estimate places odds of a Whispered candidate at 1 in 10,000,000 in the population. Steps to identify and isolate these candidates and extract their valuable knowledge must be undertaken without delay.
Our methods of successfully extracting this information remains dubious at best, however. Research must be conducted in order to determine more effective methods of extraction. Currently, success rates are an abysmally low 4%. 54% come out in a permanent vegatative state with little or no Black Technology obtained. The remainder fare little better, becoming manic-suicidal, requiring in the candidate be immediately terminated.
Soviet / East Bloc success-failure rates cannot be accurately measured. Extrapolating from and using our own data as a baseline, they most likely have not succeeded any better, and no doubt remain engaged in active programs of kidnappings, etc. to seek out additional Whispered Candidates for experimentation.
One minor detail remains, that of the Whispered candidates themselves. Morally, do we have the right to snatch them from their homes and lock them up, as if they were little better than animals lead to the slaughter? They are, after all, human beings, no different than you or me. What they possess in their head is what differentiates them. This report is by no means the sole voice of concern, but given the growning Soviet / East Bloc attempts to unlock the Whispered technology, and those of rogue nation-states and terrorist groups with the capital resources required for such an undertaking...
At that point, Sousuke only wanted to find the nearest garbage can and throw the report in it. Or the nearest shredder. Then find something wash the bad taste out of his mouth. Words were wholly inadequate for what he had just read, and he had no doubt the main part of the report went on like this, only in worse, sickenly gory details.
A beeping sound caught his attention. Satellite modem, but it was only for emergencies...
* * *
help reorient yourself after so long
Expanding a bit on the Whispered sitaution, and setting up for the
rest of the fic.
Char Notes: Fundamentally, I believe Kaname, despite her protestations
and long seperation(s), loves Sousuke. So does Tessa, but her responsibilities
and duties preclude her from acting on them, as I wrote in the last chapter. And I also agree FMP! breaks out of the catfight-mode of
competition between the two... they both respect and like each other
as friends, but when it comes to Sousuke... which is what I tried to write
about in this chapter as we take a peek inside Chidori's mind. Tried
to get Mizuki, Kyouko and Shinji some time as well.
...also, wonder what's Sousuke'd have to do to make Chidori just MELT
in front of him *hehe*
Regards
-----
06 BREATHE
Kyouko sighed as she regarded Chidori's idea of the kind of lunch to get for comforting one's troubles. After wandering the shopping district for almost three hours, to find the 'perfect place' as Chidori put it, they were now crashed out at some fast food grease joint. The smell of the cooking was enough to make Kyouko retch.
Why couldn't we go somewhere where they actually try to make some decent food. she thought to herself. All she could handle right about now was a cold pop, while Chidori...
"I'll take a teryaki burger, extra sauce, a side order of fries with salt, a chocolate sundae... oh, can you add extra chocolate sauce to that too? And..."
Kyouko struggled to keep her stomach in check.
"I tell you Kyouko," Chidori started as she unwrapped her burger, "the nerve of the examiner. I just wanted to tell her my side of things, but noooo, she goes on about propriety and such..."
Kyouko just watched Chidori wordlessly, sipping the pop through her straw.
"YES, I was late... no, scratch that...WE were late," Chidori said quickly, correcting herself. "YES, we can't get in after the exam doors close, but we both had a reasonable excuse... didn't we?" Chidori looked over at Kyouko, hoping for some support.
The silence between Chidori and Kyouko was so thick it could've been cut with a knife. "Hey, Kyouko, right?" Chidori tried again. No answer. "C'mon, I thought we were on the same side?"
Kyouko seemed to sit there forever in silence before she started slowly, "If we're on the same side, then why can you just level with me?"
Chidori shuddered. She had never known her friend to have spoken with such a... seriously deadly voice before. "Kyouko, you're not mad at me, are you?"
"I think I have a right to be mad at you, Chidori."
"Why's that?" Chidori wasn't showing it, but Kyouko's tone was seriously creeping her out.
"Kana-chan, do you remember what I told you this morning? I'll tell you again." Kyouko said, her voice rising a notch, not giving her friend a chance to answer. "I said I've been your best friend since you started here, and that I know when you're lying. You must take me for a pretty big sap to just sit here, lying through your teeth, while you put on a show that you're just fine!"
Kyouko had gotten so close to Chidori, she was scrunched down into her seat, Kyouko mere inches from her face. "Ky-ky-ky-..."
"Don't 'Kyouko' me, oh great Miss Jindai Class President." Kyouko continued. "I'm sick of your denials! I'm sick of your whining and moaning! I'm sick of it all!!"
The restaurant went deathly silent at that point as Kyouko suddenly realized how loud her voice had gotten, and how public her complaining had gotten... and how close she was to Chidori's face. She sat back down and took a deep breath. Moments later, her outburst forgetten, everyone else in the restaurant went back to their business, leaving her free to get through to her friend again.
"Kana-chan, I thought you were my friend. I thought that meant something. Yet ever since Sagara-kun left, you've been so closed off to me..."
And as that word got to Chidori, Kyouko was almost sorry she had said it. Almost. Chidori's face suddenly scrunched up, here eyebrow shaking in a nervous tick. Gotcha! Kyouko thought. "Spill it, Kana-chan. Sagara-kun's on your mind, and it's driving you nuts, am I right?"
"DON'T talk to me about that..."
"He IS, ISN'T he?" Kyouko got back into Chidori's face again to make her point. "Can you at least tell me that much without denying it?"
Chidori sighed, lightly banging her head against the table in frustration. Finally, she reluctantly admitted, "Am I that obvious to you?"
"Took you that long to figure it out? So what is it about Sagara-kun that's driving you crazy? I thought you'd be happy he was back in Tokyo?"
"I am..."
"FINALLY!! Kana-chan, you actually admitted your true feelings for once!" Kyouko immediately grabbed her camera and took a not particularly flattering shot.
"...but..."
Kyouko's cellphone ringing caught both their attentions. "Hi...Yeah, where are you all?...Uh-huh...Yeah, we missed it, long story...Hey, I got great news!...Kana-chan actually admitted her true feelings for once!...Yeah, isn't that great!...We're down in the shopping district, yeah, I'll tell you all about it when you get down here!...It's hot!!"
Chidori looked over at Kyouko, who was bubbling over with glee. Oh great, here it comes she thought. By tomorrow it'd be all over the school, the next day... She couldn't deal with it any more. Picking up her things, she started for the door.
"Hey, hey, Kana-chan," Kyouko half whined, "where are you going?"
"I lost my appetite. I'm outta here!"
"What, over one little episode of admitting what you're really feeling? Am I hearing you right, Miss 'I can take on the world all by myself'?"
Chidori kept on walking, ignoring her.
* * *
He stood in the shadows, watching her. Ahhh, there she is he thought. Slowly, his hand slipped into his bag, pulling out the handmade device. Come closer, come closer, yeeeeeees.
She was so close now, close enough that he could almost...
* * *
She didn't need this. It kept playing over and over in her mind.
His return. Him catching her... there. How happy she'd been when he'd said he was spending his vacation with her... The next thing she'd remembered was Kyouko at school interrupting her, then finding out she was late for the exams.
Dammit!! That bastard!! When I see him next, I'll...
* * *
Oooooh, my goddess, my angel, my...
Oh, you look so...
"Excuse me, sir, but could you direct me to..."
"Go away, pal. I'm busy!" A tap on the shoulder.
"Look, pal, I said I'm busy! Buzz off!" A tap again.
He turned around, quite furious his view had been spoiled. "How many times do I have to say it...Pfffht... Mmmmph..."
"Is something amusing you?"
"Yeah. Where'd you run away from, the circus?"
"I do not know anything about a circus. I am here in Tokyo to visit a friend. I merely require directions that I hope you can provide me with."
"Yeah? The way you're dressed, you'd be lucky to make it 20 feet alive, pal!" He eyed the stranger over again. Sunhat 5 years out of date, tacky, no-namebrand sunglasses, a garishly bright-colored Hawaiian t-shirt, baggy shorts that were obviously not his fit... "I don't know who does your fashions, but you got 'idiot' written all over you!"
"As far as I know, I do not have 'idiot' written all over me. Perhaps you could show me where."
"Are you for real, pal?!"
"What do you mean 'for real'?"
* * *
"Hey, come on Kana-chan. I'm just glad you finally told me what was going on. Come on."
Chidori kept walking, Kyouko's pleas totally lost on her, muttering oaths under her breath. Stupid Sousuke! Clueless Sousuke! He can't even figure out after so long... When I see him, I'm gonna...
"Hey Kana-chan, isn't that..."
"Go away Kyouko! I'm not in the mood to listen!"
"But Kana-chan! Look!"
* * *
"Hey! Hey! What is this! Are you a cop or something?!" He had him up against the wall and was... "Hey, I got respect for your kind, but I don't swing that way, got it?"
"I am merely performing a body search. You were acting in a suspicious manner. Please hold still for a moment."
"Oh, I bet! Look, I was just here, minding my own business, and then you come along and..." He was suddenly thrust hard against the wall. "HEY! What gives?!"
"You were seen following a young woman suspiciously. That gives me all the reason I need to search you."
"Yeah, you and what warrant? Let me see your...Unnnff!" He was pushed against the wall harder, and suddenly the stranger's voice was in his ear.
"I said..."
"SOUSUKE!!! WHAT THE HELL DO YOU THINK YOU'RE DOING?!?!"
My Angel... you've come to...
* * *
Kyouko hung back a few steps. At first, she couldn't believe her eyes, but she was sure that was Sousuke there, knocking over some bystander in the corner. That the guy was most obviously a stalker, and had it written all over him, was lost on Chidori as she stomped over to see what the, as she put it, 'infantile, military-minded jerk' was doing.
Ahh, love! And she can't even admit it she thought.
"WHAT THE HELL DO YOU THINK YOU'RE DOING, RUNNING AROUND DOWNTOWN TOKYO KNOCKING OVER SUSPICIOUS-LOOKING PEOPLE?!?! THIS ISN'T ONE OF YOUR STUPID OTAKU WAR-ZONES, YOU KNOW!!"
"Chidori, I was..."
"Excuse me..."
"AND WHAT KIND OF CLOTHES ARE THOSE?!" She pulled off his sunglasses, holding them with contempt. "THESE ARE KIDS' SUNGLASSES. WHAT THE HELL WERE YOU THINKING WEARING THEM?!?!"
"They're prescription. I picked them up for a job I did in..."
"OH, SHUT UP, SOUSUKE!!"
"Excuse me..."
* * *
Not smart to interrupt her when she's like that, Mr. Stalker, or you'll be next. Kyouko wanted to draw back from the scene that was being played out, but it was simply too delicious watching Chidori blow her stack like this. A hand clapped onto her shoulder.
"I was wondering what the heck you meant by 'it's hot,' but now I see!!"
"Oh, you'd better believe it, Mizuki."
"You getting this?"
"What, you're not planning anything, are you?"
Acting nonchalantly, Mizuki put on her best innocent act. "Oh... Looks like Sagara's about to have a VERY memorable..."
"SO WHAT THE HELL DO YOU HAVE TO SAY FOR YOURSELF?!?! HUH?!?!"
"Chidori... it's all a coincidence."
"...NGH!!"
...5...4...3...2...
"Wrong answer, Sagara-kun..."
"WHY YOU...!!!" The final straw gone, Chidori's hand made for her halisen, and in a major-league swing, connected it with Sousuke's head. He went down with a solid thump, but Chidori wasn't finished there, jumping onto his prone form to administer a solid beating.
"I'LL GIVE YOU COINCIDENCE, YOU...(whack!)!!"
...Houston, we have lift-off...
"She's in love?"
"Yup." Kyouko and Mizuki looked over at Chidori and Sagara, and what a sight to behold. Chidori, showing no signs of letting up her physical assault on Sagara anytime soon had run out of Japanese invective to yell at him and was starting on her American repetoire, all the important four letter ones anyways. Poor Sagara, beaten to a curled up fetal position, was desperately trying to fend off Chidori's halisen, and doing a poor job of it. The sounds the paper fan beating made, coupled with Sagara's uncharacteristically pathetic-sounding pleas of mercy, caught the attention of the entire shopping district.
"Should we stop her?"
"Ummm..."
"Chidori, stop it, please!"
"YOUGODDAMNED(whack!)fudgie(whack!)MILITARYMINDED(whack!)SHITFORBRAINS(whack!)UNROMANTIC(whack!)KNOWNOTHING(whack!)INSENSITIVE(whack!)BREASTFONDLING(whack! whack!)..."
Myyyyy Angeeeeeel....
* * *
Sitting at the police station, Chidori found herself calming down... somewhat. This is REALLY not my day. Her assault on Sousuke attracted the attention of everyone in the shopping district, and why shouldn't it? Two officers practically had to drag her, kicking and screaming, off Sousuke. Taken down to the station, she'd been cooling her heels for the last half-hour while Sousuke was whisked off to the hospital. I didn't hit him that hard. And if I did, like that jerk would feel it.
"I hope that has been cleared up, miss."
"Yes."
"Then you may go. And please don't let this happen again."
Mizuki and Kyouko waiting for her outside. Chidori wanted to bury herself in a hole right now. Mizuki started off with a shot right across her bow. "Soooo, Kaname. How goes things in the love department? Find any good boyfriends to beat to death?"
Chidori just kept walking on by.
"So, Sousuke, what do you have to say for yourself?" Mizuki started in a airy-fairy falsetto voice.
"Chidori, it was all a coincidence." Kyouko picked up in an equally annoying high-pitched falsetto voice.
"Oh Sagara, I LOVE you!!" Mockingly, Mizuki threw her arms around Kyouko making mushy-kissy faces with her. Kyouko added to the injury by playing along. "Oh! Kana-chan! I LOVE you too!"
She couldn't take it anymore. "I don't need THIS!! Least of all from either of you!!"
"You're one to talk, Kaname. You know, Kyouko hit it right on the head eariler when she said you've been so closed off to us. Personally, I think you're denser than concrete..."
Chidori glared at Mizuki with an icy stare.
"...I didn't like putting up with your whining either the last couple months whenever you got a letter from Sousuke, and all you could do was whine and moan about why he can't write a normal letter. Or why he wouldn't say when he had time off, you know." Mizuki continued. You need to hear this for your own good, girl.
"You know how lucky you are to have him? Jeez, what I wouldn't give to have a boyfriend that was as loyal as him."
"You left out thick-headed, Mizuki."
"Hey, they can be trained, they're only men, right?" Mizuki slapped Chidori on the shoulder. "So cheer up, willya? What is it with you anyways?"
"Besides a year's worth of school down the tubes... BECAUSE of that idiot! Besides the public humiliation of getting dragged away by the police... BECAUSE of that idiot!..."
Mizuki got into Chidori's face, a smirk of satisfaction on her face. "Besides the fact you can't admit he's gotten under your skin and takes your breath away?" She grabbed her friend by the arm and dragged her to the ladies room. "Take a look at this."
"It's a mirror, so what?"
"LOOK at it Kaname, and I do mean look! And ask what you see what's your problem, willya?"
"I don't need this..."
"Look. Now! Or we're not letting you out, Kana-chan."
Beaten, Chidori turned to face the mirror, just staring at it. Her reflection looked back, but offered no answers. What is my problem anyways? I like him. Alot! Despite his otaku crap and failings as a normal teenaged boy, I like him alot! Why...?
"So, you learn anything yet, Kaname?"
She shook her head. "Nope."
"Well, I learned something from this."
"What's that, Kyouko?"
"That you're completely hopeless, Kana-chan!" They both gave their friend a hug, laughing with her at the little joke.
"Yeah... right... I guess I am hopeless..." Chidori joined in on the joke at herself. Yeah, I am completely hopeless...
* * *
She was running again. Breathless, desperate, the adrenalin coarsing through her veins. Please, don't let Dannigan catch me! Sousuke... you promised you'd always be there for me! Where are you?
She found what she was looking for: the universal key in Tessa's safe. She grabbed it. Got it! Now... but something caught her attention. She hesitated...
Sitting in the safe was a photo frame. Odd, why would... No, I shouldn't. I have to get the universal key to...
Her hand moved on its own. The frame slid slowly out. Time seemed to stop. There's still time, put it back! Don't look at it! her mind screamed. But she had to look.
...And she wished she hadn't. The picture was of Sousuke with Tessa next to him in a t-shirt and shorts. Sousuke's face, as usual, was scrunched up in his unreadable 'at attention' look, but Tessa was smiling that smile. And they were sitting on the beach.
A million questions flew through her mind. When was this taken? How long had they been going out? Does Sousuke care for her? Is it why...
And to think, when I first met her, I didn't believe she was Sousuke's captain. I said at best she'd be Girl A manning communications... I'm such an idiot!
She thought back to the time after the Behemoth incident. Tessa ordered Sousuke to turn off his audio receptors. And quite plainly to her face, Tessa claimed she loved Sousuke. Of course, she had to deny her own growing feelings for him, saying she had nothing with that militaristic pervert. And think Tessa's chances with loser-boy, know-nothing-romantic Sousuke were about that of a snowball in hell. But the gauntlet had been thrown down nonetheless, the challenge made.
Tessa loves Sousuke, and Sousuke loves...
It had to be Tessa of course. They saw each other daily. Heck, they even worked together on the same sub for months on end. Plenty of time to... to what? she wondered. "Or how he's now married to another girl, and they have three darling children?" She'd been taken aboard the Daanan, the hangar alone had enough room to hold all the students in her entire school with no cramping. No reason Tessa and Sousuke didn't have a bunch of rugrats running around on the ship by now.
Teletha Tesstarosa. She gingerly chewed on that name, pondering a very close friend. They'd gone through so much together, starting with their awkward first meeting. She over at Sousuke's to apologize for her behavior earlier that day and Tessa hiding out at Sousuke's apartment, safe-house if she recalled correctly. What the hell was I supposed to think, Tessa's shoes just lying there and she comes out of the shower wrapped in a towel?
Next thing she knew they'd been kidnapped by someone named Senia. In the trials and hardships that followed, Chidori had to admit she felt a degree of respect for Tessa. She was scared as hell, wanting the nightmare to end, yet Tessa never seemed to waver. Then there was the 'Whispered' connection. At first, she thought she was going crazy, Tessa's voice whispering in her head. Her little side trip to Khanka and her subsequent examination had left her with the indelible impression to never try that particular experience again. Tessa's voice seemed to be the calm in the storm, reason to her wild emotions of just wanting to run and hide till it was all over.
The third time was when Gaulun had taken control of the Daanan. Tessa had bravely put herself in the line of fire so she could escape. She couldn't believe Tessa would try something like that, drawing Gaulun's attention to herself so she could escape, but Tessa had left her little choice in the matter. The moment guns started firing, she could only run as fast as she could to avoid getting shot, and as Tessa's only hope of regaining control of the submarine.
The final time was after the nightmare had ended. She couldn't sleep after all the excitement and took to wandering the darkened hallways of the Mithril Pacific Base Admin building. Late into the night, she came upon Tessa blankly staring at a vending machine. At first, she thought Tessa couldn't make up her mind on what to get, but she'd been standing there for over ten minutes. Looking back, it seemed like such a silly guesture, sending Sousuke over to comfort Tessa. She never heard what Sousuke said to Tessa, and she never wanted to know, only remembering Tessa's reaction to it was to fall into Sousuke's arms crying.
Yes, Tessa was a close friend indeed to her.
...a close friend who just happened to be her rival for Sousuke's love.
Life's cruel she thought.
* * *
"What are we doing at the hospital?"
"Can you guess, girl friend?"
"Oh, no... NO WAY!! NO WAY!!" She started to back out, but neither Kyouko or Mizuki was going to let her get away that easily.
"Oh YES!! Come on!! We're going to see Sousuke."
"Kana-chan, at the very least, you DO owe him an apology for beating him like that."
A nervous tic started on Chidori's forehead. "I don't owe that jackass ANYTHING!!" But the foolishness of that statement came down on her the moment she finished saying it. She was pissed off, only wanting to vent her rage, and in her passions had beat down Sousuke when he'd only wanted to protect her. She'd already heard from the police the guy Sousuke had intercepted was suspected in a number of stalking incidents involving high school girls in the area.
"...and you could finally also, you know..."
"Know what?"
"Oh come on, Kana-chan! You're not in junior high anymore. You know... that!"
"...or are you so dense you need us to draw you a diagram?"
"I'm not, but Sousuke is." The three broke into peels of laughter over that one.
"Chidori..." a voice spoke from behind her.
"AAACK!! Who the hell...!! How long have you been there, Sousuke?!"
"One minute and five seconds, precisely."
"You could've said something to me!!"
"You were talking with your friends, and I did not want to interrupt."
She froze. He heard everything.
"Well, we're off! You two lovebirds have fun, huh?"
"Hey... wait! What the..."
"I still have to find a way for us to make up that exam you know, Kana-chan. You've got your hands full with Sagara-kun, so have fun!" They started walking off, leaving her alone... was it a good thing or bad?
"Love... birds?"
Chidori could only blush. Ohhh, tell me I don't have to explain the facts of life to him! "So, Sousuke..."
"Chidori..."
"Sou... listen, can you drop the formality and just call me Kaname? We've known each other long enough now."
"I'm sorry... Kaname, I..." He was getting uptight again. I'll have to take the initiative, I guess.
She grabbed him by the arm. "C'mon, I'll take you to my place. It's the least I can do after the hell I put you through today. You finally have your chance. So why the hell pass it up?
"Kaname, I, uh... I..."
"Yes?"
"I'm supposed... I have something for you." Sousuke ruffled around his duffel bag for a few moments.
Chidori could only gasp. No way!! Last time he tried to get me something...
He came out with a small box, delicately wrapped with a pink silk bow. Sousuke gently passed it to Chidori, as if he were holding a precious gem. Chidori took the box purely on instinct, totally lost for words.
"I hope you like it."
"Sousuke, is... is..." she could only start. Is it something wierd or dangerous? More of your otaku paraphenellia again? Unable to hold back the anticipation, she gently undid the silk thread holding the wrapping together, careful not to ruin it. All at once, she realized the gift wasn't from Sousuke, or he had help in picking it out. Something this special wouldn't come across his military mind.
Her fingers brushed against something cool and smooth in texture. Her fingers trembling, she slowly pulled out an 18K gold necklace. Hanging at the end was a blue turquoise stone, her birth month. He actually remembered... Sousuke, you...
Sousuke himself was taken aback by what he saw in the box, and after all that had happened to him today, he wasn't sure how Chidori would take this particular shock. "Kaname, I..."
Her index finger brushed against his lips. "Sousuke... just shut up, would you?" He instantly clammed up.
She fell into his arms, holding him tight.
* * *
The whine of rotor blades. The spray of the sea. Nothing surrounding you but miles of empty ocean and your comrades close by. Slinging his duffel over his shoulder, Sousuke thought of how he was going to deal with being away from it all "for the duration of the present crisis," as Major Kalinin had put it.
"Sergeant Sagara?" her voice called out.
He turned around and stood at attention. "Yes, Captain."
She shifted slightly on the balls of her feet, visibly uncomfortable. "You're on leave already, Sergeant. There's no need to come to attention, especially for me." The ploy didn't work, he remained at attention. Get on with it her mind reminded her. "There is one last thing you must pack. Take this and give it to Kaname-san when you go see her." She produced a small box wrapped in a bolt of pink silk.
"I already have a gift for her, Captain. The Major said..."
"Sergeant, you do not understand. This is not a request. This is an order, and I am ordering you to deliver this to Kaname-san upon your meeting with her. I am also ordering you to never tell her who or where this gift came from. Understood?"
"Understood, Ma'am!"
"Have... have a good shore leave, Sergeant."
"Yes, ma'am!" He snapped off a salute to his CO.
Returning his salute, she turned around and walked off, the increasing whine of the turbines of the helicopter drowning out everything else. Left to the sounds of his own thoughts, Sousuke could only look back totally confused. Never tell her who or where this is from. "What does that mean? I don't understand."
...And for a moment, he thought he saw tears streaming down from Tessa's eyes.
* * *
"So, Sousuke, do I still pull here?"
"What do you... NO! Chidori!..." He immediately knocked the necklace from her hands as she seperated the gemstone from the chain and pulled her to the ground with him, covering her body with his own. Nothing happened.
"Ahem."
Slowly his eyes opened. "Chidori... what, what were you..."
"Oh, just making sure that it wouldn't blow up in my face the next time I wear it out on a date." she said flippantly, relishing in her small victory over him. "And remember, my name's Kaname? We're friends, right?"
"I... uh..." He suddenly became very tense, realizing that he was now lying on top of her in a very compromising position. He made a move to get up but she wouldn't let him with her arms wrapped tightly around his back.
"We're friends, right... Sousuke?" her voice becoming soft, more feminine.
"Uh..." She edged closer to him, her lips slightly parted. She could feel her pulse rising. This is so right! Oh, God, PLEASE don't let anything spoil this...
Nothing did. Their parted lips met. She felt no resistance from him. Her breathing came in gasps as she realized I'm kissing him. I'm actually kissing him. My first kiss!
A cough behind them broke the magic of the moment. "Well, I see our patient is... UP and about."
Caught in an embarassing situation, they both scrambled to their feet. "Ahh... Doctor. Ahh-hah!"
"Well then, you're free to go, Sagara. Do take care of yourself! I should perhaps call you and your lady friend a taxi?" He turned and left the two blushing teenagers to their own devices. Sousuke was the first to break the silence looking for the two pieces of the necklace. Chidori turned to help.
"Sousuke, I... I wanted to tell you it was a really beautiful gift." They located both the stone and the chain. Both were intact. "Really."
"Kaname, I..."
"Yes?"
He stood up, handing back the pieces of the necklace to her and slung his duffel bag over his shoulder. No!
"I... I should go now. I've caused you so much trouble today."
"Sousuke... wait." She felt her heart breaking. He'd done so much for her today, yet she'd mistreated him the minute he'd come back into her life, and this was what she was getting in return. "Wait! Please! Don't... don't leave me!"
"I already have facilities to stay at while I'm in Tokyo, and it's getting late. You should..."
She wanted nothing more than to thump him down again. He's so insensitive, and at the worst possible times!! I just want him to come over and spend the night...
He suddenly stopped midsentence, as if... as if. "Kaname..."
She nodded wordlessly. "But first, would you help me put this lovely necklace on? Please?" She handed him the necklace and brushed back her hair so he could see what he was doing.
Sousuke made a tentative move towards Kaname, necklace in hand. What is... what is going on? I don't understand. It's just... His hands moved of their own accord, gently undoing the clasp and slipping the stone around her neck. What am I doing? What am I feeling? Why do I feel so close to her?
She admired the stone more closely. "Sousuke... it really is beautiful." Pause. "It's must have been expensive."
"I did not buy it. I was ordered to deliver it to you, and never divulge the sender's identity or source."
"Uh-huh. Take me home you silly jerk, and along the way maybe you can tell me some more of your stupid otaku lies." She giggled as she left him completely confused and wordless as he puzzled out the meaning of her words.
Thank you Tessa, wherever you are.
* * *
The drive back to her apartment was mercifully silent, but she couldn't sense any sort of barrier between herself and Sousuke. Her head was still up in the clouds over her bold move to kiss him at the hospital. A bunch of people must've seen that... oh, God!
She could still feel the pressure of Sousuke's lips against hers. He hadn't reacted to her move, but he hadn't resisted either... she wondered whether he had enjoyed it or not, or even understood. She didn't want to spoil anything by simply asking him. No, I want to enjoy this alittle longer she thought to herself.
Sousuke sat beside her, barely inches from her, staring outside the front window... his face unreadable, again. Somehow, though, his face seemed softer than when she'd originally met him, more human. Was it possible the emotionless Super-Sergeant was... No way! She was cracking up inside at that thought. Oh God, if that were to happen...
"Sousuke, penny for your thoughts?"
"Kaname, I am...I am..."
"...lost for words?"
He turned to face her. "Something like that. I'm not usually this..."
She pressed her finger against his lips again. "No, just... just please don't spoil this moment for me. Just... just hold me. Hold me in your arms forever." she whispered.
He obliged.
Back at her apartment, none of the magic seemed to have worn off. "Sousuke, make yourself at home. I'll be right back." Gawd, I need a shower! She felt so warm under he collar, yet she never wanted it to end.
"There's some tea in the cupboard there, I'll be right back!"
Sousuke just stood there, his thoughts hidden behind his impenetrable face.
* * *
"Ow! You're sitting on my foot!"
"Shhhhh!! Shut up!"
"Hey! What's going on there?!"
"Shhh!!"
Kyouko, Shinji and Mizuki were crowded on Chidori's balcony. Shinji's mini-cam had been placed looking into an open crack in the blinds. Behind his laptop, he carefully manipulated the controls...
"Hey, what's going on?!"
"Ow! Quit shoving!"
"If you two don't shut up, we're all going to be caught!"
Kyouko stared down Shinji with a deadly look in her eyes. "If you don't do this, you're not getting back those AS pictures of yours!"
Shinji whined. "You're more mean than those upperclassmen from 4-E!! I thought you said all I had to do was to..."
Kyouko stared him down. "O...ohkay, okay... you win!" He immediately turned his attention back to the screen, fiddling with some controls.
"Thanks, sweetie!" She kissed him on the cheek. Mizuki could only stare at those two in stupefication.
"How much longer you planning on hiding this from Kaname?"
"Until Kana-chan admits her feelings to Sagara-kun. You know, Mizuki, she'd NEVER let us live it down if she found out Shinji and I were an item before her..."
"That including or not including when Sagara was here originally?" But it was a rhetorical question. Chidori would definately have torn a strip off either her or Kyouko for finding a boyfriend first.
"Okay... I think I got it, Ky-chan." Kyouko and Mizuki gasped as they saw...
"She just left. 1000 yen says she's going to find her halisen to beat him down again." Mizuki flippantly remarked.
"Have some more faith in Sagara-kun, Mizuki. Even HE managed to take your breath away once." Kyouko hit her where she knew Mizuki didn't like it.
"Oh shut up, Kyouko!"
"What's going on? Zoom in alittle, Shinji..."
"I can't, that's as far as the zoom-magnification goes."
"Darn it!! I wanna know what's going on!!"
* * *
Chidori enjoyed taking hot showers. There was nothing better to take your mind off your troubles than stepping under a stream of warmth, wrapping you up like a blanket. Or maybe I should go with a cold one. Heck, I practically was ready to strip down and do... it with him right on the floor there... She felt the warmth in her cheeks as she recalled her first kiss with Sousuke. It still felt wonderful, but the rational part of her mind was starting to question more and more whether Sousuke himself felt... anything! I mean, he's the military otaku among military otaku! Romance and love isn't in his vocabulary!
Her mind brought her back to the night she sent Sousuke to comfort Tessa. After seeing Tessa fling her arms around Sousuke, whatever he may have said to her, it pretty much had clinched their romance as far as she was concerned. Yet the next day, Sousuke showed up at her quarters with an offer to do something.
"When I'm with you, it feels like I can do anything."
Why did that line seem so... was it even an admission of love from him? The water continued to run off her as her mind pondered that. Who does Sousuke love, no... what does he feel for me? Friendship? Love? Disgust? Hate? I want... I have to know! she resolved to herself. Turning off the water, she knew what she had to do.
"Sousuke? Did you find everything okay?" she asked, as she stepped outside her bathroom wrapped only in a towel. She got no answer. Where...
"Sousuke? Where are you? This... this isn't funny!" He was seriously creeping her out. Where had he...
"SOUSUKE!! WHAT THE HELL DO YOU THINK YOU'RE DOING?!"
He was standing outside her balcony, obviously tyring to block her from seeing...
"Chidori! This is... this isn't what it... I..."
"SAA-GAA-RAA!! ARE YOU UP TO YOUR NO-GOOD HENTAI SHIT AGAIN?!?!" That's it! He's dead! I'm going to kill him, then I'm going to bury him where no one can find him!!
"Chidori! I can offer an explanation, but.. but.." She barged right past him, ready to kill with her bare hands.
"YOU PERVERT!! YOU CLUELESS, GODDAMNED PERVERT!! WHAT THE HELL WERE YOU DOING ON MY PATIO AGAIN? WERE YOU AFTER MY UNDERWEAR, YOU PANTY THIEF?!?!"
"Chidori... I can explain..."
* * *
Down in the bushes, Mizuki, Kyouko and Shinji were dusting bits of leaves and twigs off and checking for broken bones as a loud crack! sounded out in the cool night air.
"...Kaname's halisen..."
"...that one sounded louder than it usually is..."
"Can we go home now, Ky-chan?"
* * *
The next morning, Chidori could barely suppress a yawn as she walked through the school doors.
"Well, seems like you had a busy night there, Kana-chan." She barely had the strength to find a comeback to that remark.
"I guess someone kept her up all night." Mizuki observed. "Hey, hey, Kaname..." She slid close up to her and started whispering conspiratorily in her ear. "So how was he? Was he *huah-huah* good?" imitating the heavy breathing sounds associated with...
Chidori's reaction had Kyouko and Mizuki scrambling back for cover. "Ahh!! Ka-Ka-Kana-chan... your face...!!"
Just then, Shinji had the misfortune to join the group. "Hey, Ky-chan, about last night, I... AHH!! Chidori-san!!"
"Listen you three, and listen good! The next time any of you decide to get involved in my lovelife I will personally guide you on the road to Hell! GET ME!!"
The three could only quake in fear and nod in agreement as Chidori stalked off to classes in an even more bitter mood.
"Hey, Ky-chan." Shinji started after Chidori was out of earshot. "I guess our brilliant plan to get Chidori-san and Sagara-kun together failed, huh?"
"...I guess last night didn't help either..."
"...so back to square one again?"
The three could only sigh in unison.
* * *
Outside, Sousuke took to walking the school grounds again. So many memories here. Many happy ones, especially with Chidori. His mind wrestled with the concept of what everyone else called 'a normal life.' He knew he didn't have a normal childhood, fighting day-in day-out in the hellhole of Afghanistan, always for his life, and always for keeps. People like Chidori, Kyouko, Mizuki, and Shinji; the act of walking down the sidewalk without having to constantly be on guard... it simply baffled him to no end. Or was it envy he was feeling? I've never been envious of anyone. Why would I be envious of them now? he thought to himself.
Then there was the matter of what had occurred between himself and Kaname at the hospital. Why did it feel so... Putting it out of his mind for the moment, he decided to keep his mind occupied on something else. Picking a quiet spot under a shaded tree, he looked through his duffel bag for the 'interesting reading material' Major Kalinin had promised to pack for him. He was anxious to see what it was. Perhaps it's the complete technical manual for the Ground Laser Target Designator.
He found a hand written note on top of a manila folder. "To Sergeant Sagara. The contents of this file are classified TOP SECRET, I trust you understand what that entails when you open it to read. I have another reason for you reading this, which will become clear later on. -- signed A. Kalinin, TDD."
ON WHISPERED CANDIDATES: STAFF STUDY.
INTERIM CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS, 17TH DRAFT
Sousuke suddenly found himself unable to breathe... he felt his hands shaking. What is wrong with me...I'm... I'm... He quickly stuffed the folder back into his duffel and looked around. Anyone arou.... no, no one saw me, I think. Sousuke never recalled used foul language, but after reading the title...
He carefully pulled the folder out again, taking a long look around to see if anyone was within eyeshot. He saw the second period gym class running laps, two boys cutting classes and smoking over by the old storage shed... but no one else. Opening the folder carefully, he flipped through looking for the Executive Summary.
...and wished he didn't. The date on it said the whole report was compiled less than a month ago. Major Kalinin must have some friends in high places to get this, but why...
No! It can't be... His hands shaking even more, he began to read.
...Whispered candidates, with their treasure-trove of scientific knowledge, represent the best way to leapfrog current technologies and theories. Our methods for identification of candidates are steadily improving each day; a conservative estimate places odds of a Whispered candidate at 1 in 10,000,000 in the population. Steps to identify and isolate these candidates and extract their valuable knowledge must be undertaken without delay.
Our methods of successfully extracting this information remains dubious at best, however. Research must be conducted in order to determine more effective methods of extraction. Currently, success rates are an abysmally low 4%. 54% come out in a permanent vegatative state with little or no Black Technology obtained. The remainder fare little better, becoming manic-suicidal, requiring in the candidate be immediately terminated.
Soviet / East Bloc success-failure rates cannot be accurately measured. Extrapolating from and using our own data as a baseline, they most likely have not succeeded any better, and no doubt remain engaged in active programs of kidnappings, etc. to seek out additional Whispered Candidates for experimentation.
One minor detail remains, that of the Whispered candidates themselves. Morally, do we have the right to snatch them from their homes and lock them up, as if they were little better than animals lead to the slaughter? They are, after all, human beings, no different than you or me. What they possess in their head is what differentiates them. This report is by no means the sole voice of concern, but given the growning Soviet / East Bloc attempts to unlock the Whispered technology, and those of rogue nation-states and terrorist groups with the capital resources required for such an undertaking...
At that point, Sousuke only wanted to find the nearest garbage can and throw the report in it. Or the nearest shredder. Then find something wash the bad taste out of his mouth. Words were wholly inadequate for what he had just read, and he had no doubt the main part of the report went on like this, only in worse, sickenly gory details.
A beeping sound caught his attention. Satellite modem, but it was only for emergencies...
* * *
but you didn't hear that from me...
