[FIC] One Scoop or Two? (part two)
Posted: Tue Apr 13, 2004 10:47 pm
“SOUSUKE!!!” Kaname was yelling and waving across the quad. “Sousuke, over here!!!”
Hearing his name, Sousuke walked over, keeping a sharp eye on everyone walking near Kaname.
“I’ve been looking for you, Sousuke!!!” The look on her face was rather intense. Sousuke misinterpreted her piercing stare.H
“Uh….”
“Sousuke?”
“I….”
“SOUSUKE???”
“Errr…”
“SOUSUKE!!!”
“I apologize, Kaname.” Sousuke bowed. His gaze left her face, looking back to the school. A long plume of smoke snaked its way skyward.
“What happened?” Kaname didn’t frown. She did not reach for her fan. In fact, she hadn’t even brought the halisen with her.
“A boy was acting rather strangely. I watched him from concealment. When he thought no one was looking, he placed something in your locker.” Sousuke was sweating.
“So you blew it up?” Kaname’s face was still angelic.
“Yes.”
“O, that’s OK.” She smiled.
“Uh… OK? You didn’t know? Then it must have been the other thing…”
“Other thing, Sousuke?” Kaname kept seeing the look on Mizuke’s face in her head. It was such a wonderful day.
“Yes. Again, I apologize.”
“Why?”
“The ball field.”
“What about the ball field, Sousuke?” Kaname looked in that direction. A huge cloud of dust dulled the look of the late afternoon sun.
“I do not believe you with have your softball match tomorrow.” Sousuke kicked at the dirt with his shoe.
“O?” Kaname tossed her hair. She undid her bow and refashioned it.
“There was a man with a shovel and a bag of large objects. He was digging in the dirt, and planting those items.”
“Those were the bases, Sousuke. I told you that before.” Kaname took out her mirror and checked her lipstick.
“Yes. But, this was a different man. I had not known he was the new grounds-keeper until after the grenade.”
“I see.” Kaname pulled one of her stockings up a bit.
“He should be out of the hospital in time for next week’s game.”
“It’s not a problem, Sousuke.” Kaname chuckled, thinking about a house full of squid. She wished she could have been a fly on the wall.
“You did not know that either?”
“What else did you do, Sousuke?” Kaname wasn’t angry. Until he finished with his confession, they couldn’t leave.
“Uh….”
“Sousuke?”
“Ummm….”
“It’s OK, Sousuke.”
“A large box arrived with your name on it. Nothing else.” Sousuke was twiddling his fingers. Kaname smiled. She’d never seen that normal gesture done by him before.
“Yes, it was for the front of the school. Part of the beautification project paid by this year’s fund raisers.” She had spent a lot of time and energy organizing bake sales, magazine drives, sports pledges, and the likes.
“It was ticking, Kaname.”
“Of course. It is a large clock.” The fancy artifice would be erected at the groundbreaking ceremony next week. It should become one of the most talked about neighborhood attractions.
“Was a clock, Kaname.” He looked over near the loading bay. A number of fire trucks were there. The arcing spray of water creating a miniature rainbow.
“Exploded that too?” Kaname checked her nails.
Sousuke just nodded his head.
“OK, now that you got all that off your chest, its time for ice cream.” She patted her purse with her hand.
“Ice cream, Kaname?”
“Yes. My treat.” She smiled and started walking. She stopped when Sousuke remained standing.
“It is not too long before dinner time, Kaname. Why would you wish to go for ice cream? It is low in nutritive value.”
“For fun, Sousuke!” There was a touch of steel in her voice.
“Fun, Kaname?”
Kaname squared her shoulders. Did he mean ‘What does the word Fun mean?’ or ‘Why would ice cream be fun?’ Neither one exactly fit her idea of the perfect mood.
“You DO know what fun is, don’t you Sousuke?”
“Uh…”
“Everybody has something they think is fun!” Kaname nodded her head. ‘Even otakus.’
“I…”
“Sousuke. Tell me something you think is fun. And don’t mention books, movies, or anything to do with weapons or warfare.” Kaname checked her watch. They did have homework to do, after all.
“Ummm…”
“NOW, SOLDIER!” Kaname’s hands went to her hips. Her face grew cloudy.
“Errr… I… uh… being around you is fun, I think.” Sousuke couldn’t bring himself to make eye contact with Kaname.
Kaname was speechless. Her mouth fell open. Her chest rose and fell with deep fast respirations. Her heartbeat pounded in her ears. Warmth came to her cheeks, then spread everywhere else.
“Are you alright, Kaname?” Sousuke looked concerned.
“Uh…” Kaname felt as if she was floating, with no attachment to the ground.
“Kaname.”
“Ummm…” The breeze had never felt so good.
“KANAME!!!” Sousuke’s shout broke Kaname’s reverie.
“Yes. Let’s go get that ice cream, Sousuke. You HAVE had ice cream before, haven’t you?” Kaname began humming a happy little tune.
“I have tasted it before. On occasion, the commanders would buy some for the submarine crew. I did not understand the relevance of it. Sgt. Major Mao ordered me to try some.”
Kaname stopped dead in her tracks.
“Kaname? Are you OK?” Sousuke thought about asking about her circulatory problem. He decided not to. Kaname seemed very self-conscious about it.
“You don’t understand the ‘relevance?’” Kaname’s voice carried an accent of total disbelief.
“No.”
“Dessert doesn’t have to have any special meaning, Sousuke. It is not supposed to have great nutritional value. It’s all about the taste, silly!” Kaname felt as if she were lecturing the first alien to land on earth.
“I have not placed much importance on taste, Kaname. Food serves a purpose. It fuels the body. It keeps one alive. The flavor of protein bars is not to my disliking.”
“That’s terrible, Sousuke!” Kaname was shocked. She realized that Sousuke was different. She kept finding out just how different each and every day.
“It is not a problem. When I was very young, and on my own, I had to eat what I could find. After meals of raw rat, dog, rotten fruit, and moldy refuse, I learned not to pay attention to taste. It is a useful skill to have in the military.”
Kaname put her hand over her mouth. “Garbage?”
Sousuke nodded.
She started swaying on her feet. “DOG?”
Sousuke nodded again.
She put her hand to her forehead. “R-A-T-?-?-?”
“Yes. Most often they were dead.”
Kaname fell to the ground. “I had no idea. I’m s-s-sorry, Sousuke.” She fondly remembered her childhood. She had seen a rat once, on a family trip to the city. It had glared at her from a pile of garbage. At the time, it was the most horrible thing she had ever seen. She cringed thinking about the words ‘most often.’ This was not a conversation she wanted to have on the way to ice cream.
Sousuke gave Kaname a hand up. He promised himself to take Kaname to a doctor after ice cream. He might have something to correct Kaname’s obvious anemia.
“Well, enough about the past. You’re with Kaname Chidori now. Who better to teach you about good taste?” She wasn’t thinking. She had meant it as a joke.
Sousuke didn’t answer.
“First, I will explain ice cream to you, since you don’t seem to know anything about it!” Kaname sat Sousuke down on a bench and assumed an authoritative pose.
“That is incorrect, Kaname.”
“What?” Kaname was caught off guard. Sousuke had said he had never really eaten ice cream.
“I have come across reference to ice cream in the past. A flavored ice concoction was popular in China, thousands of years ago. “
“Uh…” Kaname was stunned. Sousuke couldn’t possibly do it---he couldn’t turn ice cream into something otaku!
“In 500 B.C., the ancient Greeks refreshed themselves with a mixture of snow from Mount Olympus, mixed with fruit juices.”
“I…” Kaname felt her face redden again, for a different reason.
“Alexander the Great would motivate his soldiers with a similar treat one hundred and fifty years later. He had large trenches dug and filled with ice. The ice was flavored with honey and nectar.”
“Errr…” The vessels at Kaname’s temples were throbbing. Her vision blurred slightly.
“Nero sent runners to the mountains of the Alpennines for snow in the first century B.C. That was before Rome burned, of course." He skpped ahead a number of centuries.
"King Charles I of England paid the man who brought the recipe for ice cream to his nation a large stipend to keep it a royal prerogative. He was beheaded soon after that. I do not know if there was a connection.” Sousuke rubbed his chin.
“I…” Kaname clenched her teeth.
“In World War II, the American armed forces competed furiously with each other, to see who could outdo the other by serving ice cream to the troops.” Sousuke paused to cough. “Of course, soldiers are never happy. The Americans had more ice cream than they knew what to do with. The British gave their troops beer rations. Each group of men was envious of the other.”
“Sous---” Kaname was shaking.
“In addition, I once read a book called ‘The Ice Cream War.’” Kaname’s eyes narrowed at that last word. “It was about a little know conflict during the first World war. A small German expeditionary force in Tanzania, led by Colonel von Lettow-Vorbeck, defeated a vastly larger joint British and Indian landing force. The Germans were aided by millions of angry bees whose hives had been destroyed by gunfire.”
“SOUSUKE!!!” Kaname kicked Sousuke in the shins. “This is about having fun today, not stupid stuff that happened before we were even born!” She kicked him again. “Fun, Sousuke.” Another kick, harder than the last. “Do you understand? Fun!” One more kick. “My treat.”
Sousuke didn’t know what to say. Reflexively, he simply said “Thank you, Kaname.” It was the correct answer. Kaname’s smile returned, then blossomed.
“You know, you can really be sweet when you put your mind to it.” Kaname patted Sousuke on the cheek.
“Thank you Kaname.” If it worked once, why not use it again?
Kaname blushed.
“OK, where was I? Forgetting any possible military references….” Kaname’s look suggested grievous harm is Sousuke did otherwise. “Let me tell you about ice cream. It is simply one of the most wonderful creations known to man. It is sooooo creamy….” Kaname closed her eyes, looking ready to swoon.
“I must apologize, Kaname. I do not wish you to go misinformed. Current ice cream is not made with actual cream. It consists of 10-16% milk fat; 9-12% milk solids other than fat; 12-16% sweeteners, usually a combination of sucrose or glucose-based corn syrup; 0.2-0.5% stabilizers and emulsifiers, such as agar ; and 55-64% water, which comes from milk and other ingredients. About 50% of the actual volume of the food stuff is air incorporated during the whipping process. Frozen custard contains egg yolk as well. Ice milk has less than 10% milk fat. Sherbert has only 1-2% milk fat and a greater amount of sweetener. Sorbet contains fruit puree and no milk products.” Sousuke managed to get that all out with a single breath.
Kaname wasn’t angry. She was too stunned to be angry. Sousuke did not eat ice cream, but sounded as if he had a PhD in icecreamology. “How?”
“After Sgt. Major Mao’s order, I did extensive research. I trust her judgment implicitly. I wished to find out what ingredients made ice cream a valuable resource for the warrior. Sadly, I found none. It is the only faulty command I can attribute to her.”
Sousuke?” Kaname spoke little above a whisper.
“Yes?”
“Do me a favor…” Her voice grew a little louder.
“Kaname?”
“DON’T SAY ANOTHER WORD UNTIL I ASK YOU TO!” She was only a decibel or two shy of shouting.
“Yes, Kaname!” Sousuke stiffened and snapped off a salute.
“Sousuke….” Kaname spoke quietly again, moving her finger, beckoning Sousuke to come closer.
“Kaname?”
“NO SALUTING!!!” Kaname looked ready to bite.
“By your command.”
“Oooooooooh!” Kaname grabbed Sousuke by the collar. “Didn’t I tell you ‘DON’T SAY ANOTHER WORD’?”
“Y---” Sousuke wisely stayed quiet.
After that, Kaname settled down and began to describe the wonders of ice cream. The coolness. The creaminess. The many amazing flavors. She told him about the place that ice cream had in her heart---everything that was good and right and pure.
“No doubt it was ice cream that is responsible for me being as sweet as I am today.” She looked at Sousuke expectantly. When he didn’t say anything she stomped her foot and said “Hmmmpppfff! Some gentleman you are.”
Sousuke shook his head, opened his mouth, and pointed with his finger.
“O, that’s right. You have my permission to speak, Sousuke.” Kaname swept her hand out, a truly generous gesture.
Sousuke remained silent.
“Sousuke?” The generosity evaporated.
Sousuke kept quiet.
“SOUSUKE!” Kaname was quite willing to share her anger.
“Thank you, Kaname.” That had worked before. He couldn’t think of anything else at that moment.
“For what?” Kaname looked very cross.
Sousuke’s battlefield experience came to his rescue then. The ‘Fog of Dealing With a Teenage Girl’ was not that different than the ‘Fog of war.’
If cannon fire was insufficient?
Try missiles!
If rocket fire didn’t bring the enemy down?
Call in an air strike!
Etc.
“Yes, Kaname.” It worked. Bullseye.
Kaname smiled.
While they walked to the JR line, Kaname still had a smile on her face. On the ride to Ikebukuro Station, that smile never left her face for a moment. Strolling to Ice Cream City, the smile remained. That was Kaname’s record for smile endurance around Sousuke.
For a while, Kaname even took hold of Sousuke’s arm.
Sousuke looked somewhat confused, but he kept quiet. He let Kaname do as she pleased. It was a miraculous day. He was learning.
***********************************************************
***********************************************************
“Kaname, why are there so many varieties?” Sousuke was staring at the ice cream menu. “Doesn’t that make it more difficult to choose?”
“Don’t you like variety, Sousuke?” Kaname didn’t want this to turn into a chore. She hoped that Sousuke wouldn’t ask her to give a tactical briefing on each and every flavor. It would be best to nip that possibility in the bud.
“The variable settings in an Arm Slave are preferable to older less capable systems.”
“This is NOT about Arm Slaves, Sousuke! It’s about ice cream. It’s about taste. It’s about preferences. There must be something---outside of the military---that you are familiar with, that has multiple possibilities.” Kaname was willing to accept some reference to military items if it made her point
Sousuke stared at Kaname.
“Sousuke?”
“He continued to stare. Opening his mouth, he thought twice and closed it again.
“What were you going to say, Sousuke? I promise I won’t get mad.”
“You, Kaname.”
“W-W-What???” Kaname hadn’t expected that answer.
“You can be very nice. Sometimes you help me with homework or bring me a bento.”
“OK. And…”
“Other times you can be somewhat intense and overbearing.”
“I see. Go on…” Kaname set her jaw and began rubbing her hands together.
“There are instances when you behave overly emotional with a disturbing decrease in cognitive functions.”
“Decrease in cognitive functions. How nice…” Kaname’s shoulders tightened up. He eyes narrowed. “Please continue…”
“You can be very harsh. At times your violent tendencies can border on the pathologic. Or so Captain Testarossa had insisted.”
“O….. really….. Sousuke…..” Kaname was about to kick him, but stopped. That would only reinforce his opinion. It would by no means prove him right, however. She’d save it for another occasion and get him twice.
“Hmmmmm. I believe we were talking about multiple choices and preferences.”
“Affirmative! I prefer you when you are very nice, Kaname.”
“That’s not what I….“ Kaname’s first impulse was to puff her self up and say that it was not a matter of his choosing. Instead, she saw a golden opportunity---a way to get Sousuke to finally see something she had tried to show him all along.
“That’s very reasonable, Sousuke. Have you figured out the connection yet?” Kaname looked him directly in the eyes.
“Kaname?”
“When I’m very nice. Why I’m overbearing. What makes me emotional. And who makes me violent?” Kaname smiled. Even Sousuke should be able to figure out the answer to this one.
Sousuke stood quietly, rubbing the top of his head.
“Sousuke?” Kaname began tapping her foot. If they were going for ice cream, she would actually like to get some.
“Ummm… is it a woman thing? …. Errr….. Sgt. Major Mao says that if we were smart, we wouldn’t let her have weapons during a certain part of the month!” Sousuke nodded his head. That must be it. “That is not a problem, Kaname. You cannot help that you are a woman.”
Kaname froze in place. He brain kept waiting for an answer that didn’t come. The answer Sousuke gave set fire to a short fuse.
“How can you be so DENSE!” She stood nose to nose with Sousuke.
“How, Kaname?”
“WHY ME???” Kaname actually tugged at her hair.
“I do not know, Kaname.”
“OOOOOOOH!!!” Kaname forced herself to count to twenty. “Let me put this as plainly as possible.” She took a piece of paper and a pen out of her pocket. “Here, Sousuke. Write down what I tell you. Study it. There will be a pop quiz in the future. If you don’t get it right, I’m going to pop you one!”
“I am prepared, Kaname.”
“That’s what scares me, Sousuke. That is what scares me.” Kaname shook her head. “I am very nice when you behave well. That means behaving just like any other teenage boy.”
“I see,” Sousuke said, writing. “You will be nice if I write things about you on the bathroom walls. It would also require that I stare at more at girls’ breasts and posterior aspects and make exaggerated sounds of approval. Flatulence as humor might require a different diet. Should I also scratch myself in public, Kaname?”
“Sousuke, you moron!” Kaname couldn’t hold back any longer. “What I meant was that you---like every other boy in school---would not shoot, knife, trap, explode, or otherwise destroy any object you might find suspicious! Big idiot!!!”
“Why did you not just say that, Kaname?”
“AAAAHHHH!!! SOUSUKE!!!” Kaname kicked Sousuke in the shin, hard.
“Are we going to discuss what makes you violent, Kaname?” Sousuke looked down at her foot.
“That was not violent, Sousuke. That was demonstrative. Keep up your foolish questions and you will get a good view of both emotional and violent!” Kaname showed all her teeth.
“Foolish, Kaname?”
“OOOOOOOH! NOT A WORD. NOT ANOTHER WORD!” Kaname almost forgot about ice cream. “I am overbearing when a certain sergeant proves totally clueless. I am emotional when a particular soldier stresses me beyond all reasonable limits. I become violent when that same boy pushes all of my buttons!”
“Buttons, Kaname? Girls have buttons?” The look on Sousuke’s face would have been comical if it wasn’t so tragic.
“THAT’S IT! THAT’S ALL I CAN TAKE!!!” Kaname turned to leave. It was then that she realized that the two of them were surrounded by a ring op people eating their ice cream. To them, it had been better than Shakespeare In The Park. That meant that Kaname would have to find some way to salvage her dignity. She changed tact altogether.
“Enough about me, Sousuke. We were discussing varieties and ice cream.” She next crossed a line in the sand, one she had sworn never to cross. She was going to speak to him in the otaku tongue. “Let me put it this way. Is there only one variety of submachine gun?”
“No Kaname, there are many. I have told you that on numerous occasions.”
Kaname frowned. She remembered each and every occasion all too well.
“Do you, Kurz, and Melissa all favor the same type?” God be praised. She hadn’t turned into a pillar of salt…yet.
“No. I prefer---”
“That’s enough, Sousuke. Now, tell me why.” She should get a medal for this. Maybe a statue.
“Each of us values one characteristic over another. All weapons may be good, but some will be better at certain things. It is a matter of preference, Kaname.”
“Exactly! That is why there are different flavors, Sousuke. There are many people making the choices. Also, in ice cream, people like to try something different sometimes. The tongue has many characteristics. Some flavors will serve better than others on a given day Sousuke.”
She had to say it.
“Each day at an ice cream stand is a different mission, Sousuke.” Good thing Kyouko, Ryo, or Maya didn’t hear her speaking like that!
“I see. Thank you, Kaname. You have impressive skills as an instructor.”
Kaname smiled.
“Well then, it should be easy now!” Kaname said cheerfully.
“No.”
“What?”
“I still cannot decide, Kaname. I do not have enough intelligence.”
Kaname let that opportunity pass. She knew what he meant. “I think I know what might help.” When it was their time to order, Kaname asked the woman at the serving window “Do you offer sampler cups here?”
“We sure do, young lady.” She showed Kaname a thimble-sized plastic cup. She quoted one price for a single cup, and another price for one dozen samples. Perfect!
“We’ll take a dozen, please. We’ll come back for cones later.” She turned to Sousuke. “Do you want to select some at random, Sousuke? Or would you prefer to try the most popular flavors?”
“I will trust you, Kaname. I will allow you to run this operation.”
For some reason, the use of military terminology didn’t bother Kaname. In fact, in context, it made her smile. He trusted her judgment.
“OK. Let’s start off with the eight most popular. Please give us one green tea….. one vanilla….. one red bean….. one chocolate…. one lychee….. one rum raisin….. one adzuki bean….. and one mango.” Kaname took a moment to run her eyes down the list again. “How about sweet potato….. strawberry….. saury….. and caramel.” That ought to be a good variety. If he liked one certain type, that would give Kaname a good idea where his tastes lay.
They walked over to a secluded bench, situated under a beautiful cascade of flowering branches. Birds hopped from branch to branch over their heads. Bees went about their business, flying from blossom to blossom.
“Here you go Sousuke,” Kaname handed Sousuke a plastic tray with the twelve samples of ice cream. “I’m sorry, but they don’t carry garbage, dog or rat. They were all out of protein bar.”
“Kaname?”
“Sorry. Bad joke. Here, dig in. Let me know what you think.” She handed Sousuke a tiny plastic spoon.
**************************************************
As it turned out, trying a dozen different flavors didn’t exactly make things easier for Sousuke. But, Kaname was delighted. She was so certain that Sousuke would only like vanilla.
“The lychee is very good, Kaname.” Sousuke almost sounded surprised, finding out that he liked ice cream.
“It tastes much like the flavor of grapes, but much richer. Did you know, that lychee was cultivated in China as early as 1700 BC. One Emperor in the Tang dynasty had a favorite concubine who kept the military messengers busy riding to bring back lychees on ice?”
“No. That’s very interesting.” Kaname didn’t mind the otaku reference. She just sat watching Sousuke, her chin on her folded hands.
“The saury is interesting as well.” The fish was something like an oversized sardine. “Did they have other sea food varieties?”
“Yes. Octopus. Prawn. Abalone. Crab. Shark fin. And sea urchin.” Not exactly Kaname’s cup of tea.
“I see. Those might prove interesting as well. Perhaps we will need to try ice cream another day, too.”
Kaname couldn’t help but smile. It was nice to see Sousuke like this. Exploring something that too many people took for granted. Doing something that didn’t leave someone injured or a building in ruins. Something ‘normal.’
“If I am not mistaken, the SS-189 Saury was a Sargo class submarine of the U.S. Navy in World War II. Submerged displacement of 2350 tonnes.”
“Fascinating.” Kaname’s eyes were glued to Sousuke’s face. She liked to see the different expressions he made tasting each flavor.
When Sousuke tasted the mango, he looked troubled. “What’s wrong, Sousuke? You don’t have to like all of them, you know.” The mango was the last one he had tried. He had liked all of the eleven previous.
“That is not it, Kaname. I like the mango flavor best of all.” He looked down at his shoes.
“Sousuke, what is it.” Kaname was becoming concerned. Sousuke’s face had opened up like a book earlier. Now, it was shut tight.
“Burma, Kaname.” Sousuke put the sample cup down and ran his hand through his hair.
“Burma?” Kaname guessed that Sousuke was reminiscing about a previous mission. She was correct.
“Yes. Myanmar. The military junta there maintained a policy of unspeakable human rights. They treated ethnic minorities horrendously. We were sent in to free a large number of captives in a forced labor camp.” Sousuke stopped. He shook his head slowly.
“If you don’t want to talk about it, that’s OK.” Kaname realized again just how different a life Sousuke had led. She felt ashamed about her previous reactions. Sousuke couldn’t be expected to react like everybody else.
“No. I like speaking with you Kaname. It makes me feel----” Sousuke stopped.
Kaname wanted to hear more about how Sousuke felt when he talked to her.
“When we got to the camp, we found widespread evidence of atrocities. Rape. Torture. Executions. Whole villages burned. Crops destroyed.” Sousuke paused a moment. “There were mango groves there. Harvesting mangoes was one of their labors.”
“O! I see. The mango brings back bad memories.” Kaname didn’t want Sousuke to sink into depression.
“I think you should look at things differently, Sousuke.” Kaname was just being her usual perky self. She was not necessarily trying to short change his compassion for unfortunate people. “When you got there, you stopped the bad guys, didn’t you?”
“Yes, we did.”
“And you freed a lot of prisoners?” Kaname was on a roll.
“Affirmative.”
“You made their lives a lot better, didn’t you?” She hoped this would end up making a bitter memory somewhat better for him.
“Yes.”
“That was a good thing, right?” It certainly was. Kaname was amazed once again. Sousuke could touch so many lives in a positive sense as a soldier, then aggravate endless people as a student.
“Yes.” Sousuke’s expression brightened some.
“Do you think they would celebrate their release, or feel bad about it?” That was an easy one.
“They would be happy, Kaname.”
“That’s all I wanted to say, Sousuke.” Kaname smiled.
***********************************************
Kaname got a single scoop cone with Black Raspberry Truffle.
Sousuke chose a cone with a double scoop of Mango.
After taking his first bite, he said “Thank you, Kaname.”
“You’re welcome, Sousuke.” Kaname smiled. “I’m happy that I could get you to come eat ice cream with me.”
“No. I thank you for the cone, too. I meant thank you for helping….. about mangoes.”
“You’re welcome, Sousuke.” That made Kaname feel very good inside. No matter how much trouble Sousuke caused, he did spend much of his time protecting her. It was nice to return the favor in some small way.
Kaname was very glad she had thought to bring Sousuke for ice cream. She had even forgotten why she had felt like rewarding him in the first place. She hadn’t thought about Mizuke in a while.
“So, do you like ice cream, Sousuke?”
“Yes, Kaname. I would have to say that it is….. fun.”
“Do you like it more than protein bars?” Kaname had her fingers crossed.
“Yes, Kaname.”
“Do you like it more than blowing things up?” Kaname was only half joking.
“Yes. I do not blow things up for pleasure, Kaname.”
Kaname was glad to hear that.
“How about fishing. Do you like it better than fishing?” That was asking a lot.
“No, Kaname. Ice cream does not make me feel relaxed like fishing does.”
“Do you like it better than girls, Sousuke?” That one slipped out.
“Uh…”
“Girls, Sousuke. You know, those people different than boys….” Kaname stood up and did a pirouette.
“Uh…”
“Sousuke, are there any girls you like?” Kaname went pale momentarily. Now why had she asked that?
“Uh…” Sousuke froze in mid-lick.
“Well?” Now that she had asked, she found that she wanted to know the answer. Wanted to know, AND didn’t want to know.
“Errr…” Sousuke began to sweat. He became very engrossed in his ice cream cone.
“Sousuke?” Not this again!
Ummm…”
“SOUSUKE!!!”
“Kaname?”
“Aren’t you going to answer my question?” Kaname was getting a bit steamed.
“What purpose would the answer serve, Kaname?” Sousuke’s look was the epitome of cluelessness.
“Is that all you think about, Sousuke? PURPOSE?” Kaname looked at her ice cream. Sousuke might be wearing it soon.
“Kaname, you sound upset.”
“I am NOT upset!!!” Kaname was very upset.
Sousuke was smart enough to stay silent.
“Hmmmpppfff! Just answer the question, Sousuke. That’s an order!”
“Sir, YESSIR!” Sousuke barely stopped in time. He came close to saluting with the hand holding his ice cream cone.
“I like Kyouko….”
“O, I see…” Kaname’s face fell. “I guess I never saw that one coming. How silly of me. She is a nice girl after all. Very sweet. Dependable.”
“And I like Ryo…”
“Huh?” Kaname’s look went from down trodden to hopeful.
“Maya, too…”
“I see.” Kaname understood what Sousuke was saying. She got some of her spunk back.
Sousuke went on to name every girl, with the exception of Mizuke. Mizuke, and herself.
Kaname waited.
And waited some more.
“Sousuke… do you like me?” Kaname began to worry some. She did go a bit heavy on the halisen sometimes.
Maybe she was just an assignment to him.
“Yes, Kaname.”
“Ah… I… that’s nice, Sousuke.” Kaname felt her face catch on fire. She‘d gone this far. “How much do you like me, Sousuke?”
“I feel I can do anything around you, Kaname.”
“I know that. You told me that when we were fishing. Do you like me more than Kyouko, Sousuke?” Her heart was pounding.
Sousuke studied his ice cream cone. He took close notice of the pattern of its ridges and depressions. He turned the cone, to make certain the pattern was the same everywhere.
“Sousuke?” Kaname began to feel fidgety.
Sousuke looked up at the leaves above his head, tracing the veins, examining the blades, taking note of the stems. Leaves were a miraculous thing.
Kaname signed.
“Yes.” Sousuke said quietly, feeling on edge.
Kaname brightened up.
“Do you like me better than Ryo?” Kaname was prepared to go through the entire school roster.
Sousuke took notice of the crowd. He should have done that before. It was mostly business men, college students, and families with small children. There were no suspicious characters.
“Sousuke?”
“Yes.” He answered quicker that time.
“Do you like me better than Maya?”
“Yes.” The answer came after a slight pause.
Kaname continued until she ran out of names. Sousuke liked her more than everyone else she had mentioned. She told herself it didn’t matter. She convinced herself that he should like her more than the others, because of what they had been through---nothing more. She decided it couldn’t possibly make any difference in the way she looked at him. Still, as if someone else were in control of her tongue, she pushed onward.
“Do you like me better than Shinji, Sousuke?”
“Yes. I like Shinji in a different way. He is someone who is interested in military topics, as am I. He is very found of Arm Slaves. That is something the two of us share.”
“How do you like me differently, Sousuke?”
“You do not smell unpleasant, Kaname” Sousuke said after some thought. He began sweating again.
“SOUSUKE! Can’t you say anything straight forward? Are you trying to say you like the way I smell?” Kaname tossed her hair. Sometimes he was so impossible to deal with!
“Yes your choice in soaps is commendable. Body washes, too. They are good smells. But, when you wear perfume, I believe I have an adverse biological reaction to it.” Sousuke looked away.
“Adverse biological reaction? Does it make you sneeze?” Kaname was curious.
“No.”
“Do your eyes water?”
“No.”
“Does your throat tighten?”
“No. None of those.”
“Then what, Sousuke. I need to know. If it makes you sick, I will try something else.” Kaname liked that perfume. It had been a gift from her sister on her last birthday.
“It…uh…sometimes…it is involuntary…” Sousuke looked very disturbed.
Sousuke?” What was getting him so embarrassed.
“The blood…how can I say this… not by choice…” Sousuke’s face looked pale.
“SOUSUKE!” Kaname stomped her feet. They would have to head back soon.
“Sometimes the blood flows to places it does not usual flow, Kaname.” Sousuke went back to examining leaves.
“Huh?” For a second, Kaname was totally perplexed. Then she thought a moment. ‘Could he mean?’ She too began examining leaves. That other self took control of her tongue again.
“What else, Sousuke? How else do you like me differently?”
“Uh...your voice is not unpleasant...”
“Sousuke, are you trying to say you like the sound of my voice?” That voice went up an octave.
“Yes...when you are not shouting or screeching...”
“I... DO... NOT... “ Kaname caught herself. “OK Sousuke. You like my voice. That’s nice.”
Kaname sat quietly. So did Sousuke. Kaname tried to decide whether she should probe and deeper. Sousuke looked for an excuse to run. He did not understand his fear. He had never felt anything quite like it in the middle of battle---not even when he appeared to be helplessly outnumbered, or was taken prisoner by enemy forces. There were no similarities whatsoever to the way he felt in combat. However, for some reason, he had a flashback to a brief period of confinement at the hands of freindly troops who had mistaken his identity.
“What else, Sousuke?” Kaname threw caution to the wind. She might never have a chance like this one again. She could decide whether or not she liked Sousuke’s answers later. There was always time for plausible deniability.
“I...” Sousuke looked stricken.
“It’s OK. Take your time. It’s important you let me know Sousuke.” Kaname smiled an evil smile. “It’s crucial to the success of your mission.”
“It is... how, Kaname?”
“It just is, soldier. We don’t have time for a briefing. Now, get on with your report.” If that didn’t do it, nothing would.
“Affirmative. I find that your appearance...” Sousuke couldn’t help himself. He had to give Kaname a brief one over. Kaname noticed, and posed.
“How do you find my appearance, Sousuke?” Kaname tried to find the perfect angle to show her better side. She sucked in her breath and threw out her chest. She crossed one leg over another. Those actions had all been subconscious.
“I think you look... you do not look unpleasant Kaname.”
Kaname grit her teeth. She had had her fill of ‘not unpleasant.’ “Is there anything else you would like to say about the way I look, Sousuke?” Kaname wash fishing for a positive word. ‘Pretty’ would have been nice. ‘Gorgeous’ or ‘breath-taking’ would be much better.
Thinking back to another question, Sousuke missed the point
“I...uh...well...”
“SOUSUKE! Your a soldier for crying out loud. Show some backbone. I need to have confidence in the person protecting me, right?” Kaname was beginning to feel anxious.
“Sometimes…uh…like with the perfume…it‘s...the uh...blood...” Sousuke straightened his shoulders and set his jaw. “I do not understand it, Kaname.”
Kaname instinctively moved a little closer to Sousuke.
Sousuke twitched. His remaining ice cream fell off of the cone and onto the ground. “Ah. The ice cream....”
“That’s OK, Sousuke.” It happens to everyone sometimes. Nothing to be upset or embarrassed about.” Kaname choked on her ice cream.. She had thought about something else. It was not something she had experience with---some things just get to be common knowledge by gossip, girls’ magazines, or television.
Kaname shook the wandering thought away. She didn’t know whether she should feel a secret sense of satisfaction, or get up from the bench running. Still, part of her was determined to forge ahead.
“Does anyone else make you drop your food, Sousuke?” Kaname asked.
“Huh?”
“Does anyone else at the school make you...uh...make the blood go...um...there.” Kaname knew she was blushing. She was glad that know one other than Sousuke was within earshot.
“No, Kaname.” That truth had been simple to say. It would have been a good place to stop. “Not at the school.”
Kaname stood up quickly. This time her ice cream fell to the ground. She had dropped her cone. “Somewhere else, Sousuke?” Her voice was suddenly rough. There were storm clouds brewing in her eyes.
“Uh...” Too late, Sousuke realized the pickle he was in. If he didn’t answer, Kaname was likely to get angry. If he did answer, she was likely to get angry. Lt. Commander Kalinin had once told him that ‘the truth shall set you free.’ He considered that an order. It was always a matter of what truth to tell...and how much truth to offer. He seemed awfully short of options at the moment.
“Sousuke.”
Sousuke remembered Kaname knocking at her door, intent on apologizing. He remembered the food that she had brought over. He remembered her relief and happiness when he told her that she had nothing to apologize for.
He remembered her reaction when she first saw Captain Testarossa.
Sousuke began to sweat as heavily as he had that day.
“SOUSUKE!!!” Kanamae’s mind was a whirl. She checked and cross-checked any number of possibilities. She ended with one that could prove hazardous to Sousuke’s health and continued well-being.
“There was a time...at my apartment... uh... when I saw a silhouette in the shower...”
“T-T-T---“
“The blood...uh... well... I did not stare.”
“T-T-T---“
“Also... on a beach... when I was training... someone fell on me... then moved around...uh.”
“T-T-T---“
“She would not get up... the blood...”
“T-T-T-T-T-T-T-T---“
“I do not know whether or not it was pleasant, Kaname.”
“TESSA???” Kaname finally manage to spit the word out. She was about to leave in a major huff.
“Affirmative. Captain Testarossa. Are you upset Kaname?” Perhaps they both had circulatory problems. Sousuke swallowed. Yes. That would be the simplest answer.
“OF COURSE NOT SOUSUKE! WHY WOULD I BE UPSET???” Kaname was way beyond upset.
“It was not by my choice, Kaname. It was an inappropriate action. Captain Tesstarossa is my commanding officer. It was improper to speak of... uh... that with her. We had training to do. I could not figure out why she was suddenly immobile.”
Kaname clenched her teeth. She knew all too well why Tessa had been ‘suddenly immobile.’ She deflated, letting the tension ease out of her.
“Yes. Any such reaction around Tessa is VERY inappropriate and EXTREMELY improper. Do you understand, Sousuke?” Hmmpff! ‘Take that, Tessa.’
“Affirmative.”
“You should try to keep your blood where it belongs. If you can't, then be sure you never EVER discuss such matters with a Captain. It might be grounds for dismissal or court martial. Yes, it would be best if you stayed out of all siuations that might lead to... uh... misdirection of blood.” Kaname couldn’t believe she was having this conversation. But, anything that stymied that smug little Captain was worth pursuing.
“I see. You may be correct, Kaname.” Sousuke was lost in thought. “Perhaps I should ask Sgt. Weber or Sgt. Major Mao. If there is an issue that might compromise the effectiveness of our team...”
“NO!” Kaname spoke loudly and quickly. “NO, Sousuke. You know Kurz. And, Melissa is a close friend of Tessa. They tell each other everything.”
“Yes. That is true.”
Kaname sighed. That was a close one.
“Lt. Cmdr. Kalinin. He is my commanding officer, too. He must base his decisions on our overall condition. If it is a problem, then he should know of it!” Sousuke stood. From the look on his face, it seemed he was intent on reporting in then and there. "Yes, as an older male, he will also be able to describe the significance..."
“Wait!” Kaname put her hand on Sousuke’s arm, then pulled it away. “This is a personal matter, Sousuke.” Her mind was working at a feverish pace, looking for a good answer. “If you bring too many personal matters before your commander, that’s when he might actually begin to question your effectiveness as a soldier.”
“Again you are correct, Kaname” Sousuke said ofter pondering things for a short while. “Again, it is good to have you around. You are very clever. It is good to have someone who looks out for my better interests.” The first and second statements had Kaname smiling. The third had her looking away, feeling somewhat sheepish.
“Thank you, Sousuke.”
“There is one thing I am curious about Kaname.”
“Sousuke?” Kaname began to feel a tingle. Maybe Sousuke was going to ask her if she liked him. What should she say? How did she really feel?
“Your level of expertise. Where does it come from. Do girls have problems with uh...blood flow...as well?”
“WHAT?” Only Sousuke! “That is NOT something that you ask a girl!” Kaname pushed on Sousuke’s shoulders, hard. He---and the whole bench---fell over with a loud Thud. “HMMPPFF!!”
She marched away at a quick and determined pace.
When she was out of sight, she smiled and answered “Yes.
After she got back to her apartment, she decided on taking a nice cold shower.
“I really DO like ice cream,” she said.
***********************************************************
END
Hearing his name, Sousuke walked over, keeping a sharp eye on everyone walking near Kaname.
“I’ve been looking for you, Sousuke!!!” The look on her face was rather intense. Sousuke misinterpreted her piercing stare.H
“Uh….”
“Sousuke?”
“I….”
“SOUSUKE???”
“Errr…”
“SOUSUKE!!!”
“I apologize, Kaname.” Sousuke bowed. His gaze left her face, looking back to the school. A long plume of smoke snaked its way skyward.
“What happened?” Kaname didn’t frown. She did not reach for her fan. In fact, she hadn’t even brought the halisen with her.
“A boy was acting rather strangely. I watched him from concealment. When he thought no one was looking, he placed something in your locker.” Sousuke was sweating.
“So you blew it up?” Kaname’s face was still angelic.
“Yes.”
“O, that’s OK.” She smiled.
“Uh… OK? You didn’t know? Then it must have been the other thing…”
“Other thing, Sousuke?” Kaname kept seeing the look on Mizuke’s face in her head. It was such a wonderful day.
“Yes. Again, I apologize.”
“Why?”
“The ball field.”
“What about the ball field, Sousuke?” Kaname looked in that direction. A huge cloud of dust dulled the look of the late afternoon sun.
“I do not believe you with have your softball match tomorrow.” Sousuke kicked at the dirt with his shoe.
“O?” Kaname tossed her hair. She undid her bow and refashioned it.
“There was a man with a shovel and a bag of large objects. He was digging in the dirt, and planting those items.”
“Those were the bases, Sousuke. I told you that before.” Kaname took out her mirror and checked her lipstick.
“Yes. But, this was a different man. I had not known he was the new grounds-keeper until after the grenade.”
“I see.” Kaname pulled one of her stockings up a bit.
“He should be out of the hospital in time for next week’s game.”
“It’s not a problem, Sousuke.” Kaname chuckled, thinking about a house full of squid. She wished she could have been a fly on the wall.
“You did not know that either?”
“What else did you do, Sousuke?” Kaname wasn’t angry. Until he finished with his confession, they couldn’t leave.
“Uh….”
“Sousuke?”
“Ummm….”
“It’s OK, Sousuke.”
“A large box arrived with your name on it. Nothing else.” Sousuke was twiddling his fingers. Kaname smiled. She’d never seen that normal gesture done by him before.
“Yes, it was for the front of the school. Part of the beautification project paid by this year’s fund raisers.” She had spent a lot of time and energy organizing bake sales, magazine drives, sports pledges, and the likes.
“It was ticking, Kaname.”
“Of course. It is a large clock.” The fancy artifice would be erected at the groundbreaking ceremony next week. It should become one of the most talked about neighborhood attractions.
“Was a clock, Kaname.” He looked over near the loading bay. A number of fire trucks were there. The arcing spray of water creating a miniature rainbow.
“Exploded that too?” Kaname checked her nails.
Sousuke just nodded his head.
“OK, now that you got all that off your chest, its time for ice cream.” She patted her purse with her hand.
“Ice cream, Kaname?”
“Yes. My treat.” She smiled and started walking. She stopped when Sousuke remained standing.
“It is not too long before dinner time, Kaname. Why would you wish to go for ice cream? It is low in nutritive value.”
“For fun, Sousuke!” There was a touch of steel in her voice.
“Fun, Kaname?”
Kaname squared her shoulders. Did he mean ‘What does the word Fun mean?’ or ‘Why would ice cream be fun?’ Neither one exactly fit her idea of the perfect mood.
“You DO know what fun is, don’t you Sousuke?”
“Uh…”
“Everybody has something they think is fun!” Kaname nodded her head. ‘Even otakus.’
“I…”
“Sousuke. Tell me something you think is fun. And don’t mention books, movies, or anything to do with weapons or warfare.” Kaname checked her watch. They did have homework to do, after all.
“Ummm…”
“NOW, SOLDIER!” Kaname’s hands went to her hips. Her face grew cloudy.
“Errr… I… uh… being around you is fun, I think.” Sousuke couldn’t bring himself to make eye contact with Kaname.
Kaname was speechless. Her mouth fell open. Her chest rose and fell with deep fast respirations. Her heartbeat pounded in her ears. Warmth came to her cheeks, then spread everywhere else.
“Are you alright, Kaname?” Sousuke looked concerned.
“Uh…” Kaname felt as if she was floating, with no attachment to the ground.
“Kaname.”
“Ummm…” The breeze had never felt so good.
“KANAME!!!” Sousuke’s shout broke Kaname’s reverie.
“Yes. Let’s go get that ice cream, Sousuke. You HAVE had ice cream before, haven’t you?” Kaname began humming a happy little tune.
“I have tasted it before. On occasion, the commanders would buy some for the submarine crew. I did not understand the relevance of it. Sgt. Major Mao ordered me to try some.”
Kaname stopped dead in her tracks.
“Kaname? Are you OK?” Sousuke thought about asking about her circulatory problem. He decided not to. Kaname seemed very self-conscious about it.
“You don’t understand the ‘relevance?’” Kaname’s voice carried an accent of total disbelief.
“No.”
“Dessert doesn’t have to have any special meaning, Sousuke. It is not supposed to have great nutritional value. It’s all about the taste, silly!” Kaname felt as if she were lecturing the first alien to land on earth.
“I have not placed much importance on taste, Kaname. Food serves a purpose. It fuels the body. It keeps one alive. The flavor of protein bars is not to my disliking.”
“That’s terrible, Sousuke!” Kaname was shocked. She realized that Sousuke was different. She kept finding out just how different each and every day.
“It is not a problem. When I was very young, and on my own, I had to eat what I could find. After meals of raw rat, dog, rotten fruit, and moldy refuse, I learned not to pay attention to taste. It is a useful skill to have in the military.”
Kaname put her hand over her mouth. “Garbage?”
Sousuke nodded.
She started swaying on her feet. “DOG?”
Sousuke nodded again.
She put her hand to her forehead. “R-A-T-?-?-?”
“Yes. Most often they were dead.”
Kaname fell to the ground. “I had no idea. I’m s-s-sorry, Sousuke.” She fondly remembered her childhood. She had seen a rat once, on a family trip to the city. It had glared at her from a pile of garbage. At the time, it was the most horrible thing she had ever seen. She cringed thinking about the words ‘most often.’ This was not a conversation she wanted to have on the way to ice cream.
Sousuke gave Kaname a hand up. He promised himself to take Kaname to a doctor after ice cream. He might have something to correct Kaname’s obvious anemia.
“Well, enough about the past. You’re with Kaname Chidori now. Who better to teach you about good taste?” She wasn’t thinking. She had meant it as a joke.
Sousuke didn’t answer.
“First, I will explain ice cream to you, since you don’t seem to know anything about it!” Kaname sat Sousuke down on a bench and assumed an authoritative pose.
“That is incorrect, Kaname.”
“What?” Kaname was caught off guard. Sousuke had said he had never really eaten ice cream.
“I have come across reference to ice cream in the past. A flavored ice concoction was popular in China, thousands of years ago. “
“Uh…” Kaname was stunned. Sousuke couldn’t possibly do it---he couldn’t turn ice cream into something otaku!
“In 500 B.C., the ancient Greeks refreshed themselves with a mixture of snow from Mount Olympus, mixed with fruit juices.”
“I…” Kaname felt her face redden again, for a different reason.
“Alexander the Great would motivate his soldiers with a similar treat one hundred and fifty years later. He had large trenches dug and filled with ice. The ice was flavored with honey and nectar.”
“Errr…” The vessels at Kaname’s temples were throbbing. Her vision blurred slightly.
“Nero sent runners to the mountains of the Alpennines for snow in the first century B.C. That was before Rome burned, of course." He skpped ahead a number of centuries.
"King Charles I of England paid the man who brought the recipe for ice cream to his nation a large stipend to keep it a royal prerogative. He was beheaded soon after that. I do not know if there was a connection.” Sousuke rubbed his chin.
“I…” Kaname clenched her teeth.
“In World War II, the American armed forces competed furiously with each other, to see who could outdo the other by serving ice cream to the troops.” Sousuke paused to cough. “Of course, soldiers are never happy. The Americans had more ice cream than they knew what to do with. The British gave their troops beer rations. Each group of men was envious of the other.”
“Sous---” Kaname was shaking.
“In addition, I once read a book called ‘The Ice Cream War.’” Kaname’s eyes narrowed at that last word. “It was about a little know conflict during the first World war. A small German expeditionary force in Tanzania, led by Colonel von Lettow-Vorbeck, defeated a vastly larger joint British and Indian landing force. The Germans were aided by millions of angry bees whose hives had been destroyed by gunfire.”
“SOUSUKE!!!” Kaname kicked Sousuke in the shins. “This is about having fun today, not stupid stuff that happened before we were even born!” She kicked him again. “Fun, Sousuke.” Another kick, harder than the last. “Do you understand? Fun!” One more kick. “My treat.”
Sousuke didn’t know what to say. Reflexively, he simply said “Thank you, Kaname.” It was the correct answer. Kaname’s smile returned, then blossomed.
“You know, you can really be sweet when you put your mind to it.” Kaname patted Sousuke on the cheek.
“Thank you Kaname.” If it worked once, why not use it again?
Kaname blushed.
“OK, where was I? Forgetting any possible military references….” Kaname’s look suggested grievous harm is Sousuke did otherwise. “Let me tell you about ice cream. It is simply one of the most wonderful creations known to man. It is sooooo creamy….” Kaname closed her eyes, looking ready to swoon.
“I must apologize, Kaname. I do not wish you to go misinformed. Current ice cream is not made with actual cream. It consists of 10-16% milk fat; 9-12% milk solids other than fat; 12-16% sweeteners, usually a combination of sucrose or glucose-based corn syrup; 0.2-0.5% stabilizers and emulsifiers, such as agar ; and 55-64% water, which comes from milk and other ingredients. About 50% of the actual volume of the food stuff is air incorporated during the whipping process. Frozen custard contains egg yolk as well. Ice milk has less than 10% milk fat. Sherbert has only 1-2% milk fat and a greater amount of sweetener. Sorbet contains fruit puree and no milk products.” Sousuke managed to get that all out with a single breath.
Kaname wasn’t angry. She was too stunned to be angry. Sousuke did not eat ice cream, but sounded as if he had a PhD in icecreamology. “How?”
“After Sgt. Major Mao’s order, I did extensive research. I trust her judgment implicitly. I wished to find out what ingredients made ice cream a valuable resource for the warrior. Sadly, I found none. It is the only faulty command I can attribute to her.”
Sousuke?” Kaname spoke little above a whisper.
“Yes?”
“Do me a favor…” Her voice grew a little louder.
“Kaname?”
“DON’T SAY ANOTHER WORD UNTIL I ASK YOU TO!” She was only a decibel or two shy of shouting.
“Yes, Kaname!” Sousuke stiffened and snapped off a salute.
“Sousuke….” Kaname spoke quietly again, moving her finger, beckoning Sousuke to come closer.
“Kaname?”
“NO SALUTING!!!” Kaname looked ready to bite.
“By your command.”
“Oooooooooh!” Kaname grabbed Sousuke by the collar. “Didn’t I tell you ‘DON’T SAY ANOTHER WORD’?”
“Y---” Sousuke wisely stayed quiet.
After that, Kaname settled down and began to describe the wonders of ice cream. The coolness. The creaminess. The many amazing flavors. She told him about the place that ice cream had in her heart---everything that was good and right and pure.
“No doubt it was ice cream that is responsible for me being as sweet as I am today.” She looked at Sousuke expectantly. When he didn’t say anything she stomped her foot and said “Hmmmpppfff! Some gentleman you are.”
Sousuke shook his head, opened his mouth, and pointed with his finger.
“O, that’s right. You have my permission to speak, Sousuke.” Kaname swept her hand out, a truly generous gesture.
Sousuke remained silent.
“Sousuke?” The generosity evaporated.
Sousuke kept quiet.
“SOUSUKE!” Kaname was quite willing to share her anger.
“Thank you, Kaname.” That had worked before. He couldn’t think of anything else at that moment.
“For what?” Kaname looked very cross.
Sousuke’s battlefield experience came to his rescue then. The ‘Fog of Dealing With a Teenage Girl’ was not that different than the ‘Fog of war.’
If cannon fire was insufficient?
Try missiles!
If rocket fire didn’t bring the enemy down?
Call in an air strike!
Etc.
“Yes, Kaname.” It worked. Bullseye.
Kaname smiled.
While they walked to the JR line, Kaname still had a smile on her face. On the ride to Ikebukuro Station, that smile never left her face for a moment. Strolling to Ice Cream City, the smile remained. That was Kaname’s record for smile endurance around Sousuke.
For a while, Kaname even took hold of Sousuke’s arm.
Sousuke looked somewhat confused, but he kept quiet. He let Kaname do as she pleased. It was a miraculous day. He was learning.
***********************************************************
***********************************************************
“Kaname, why are there so many varieties?” Sousuke was staring at the ice cream menu. “Doesn’t that make it more difficult to choose?”
“Don’t you like variety, Sousuke?” Kaname didn’t want this to turn into a chore. She hoped that Sousuke wouldn’t ask her to give a tactical briefing on each and every flavor. It would be best to nip that possibility in the bud.
“The variable settings in an Arm Slave are preferable to older less capable systems.”
“This is NOT about Arm Slaves, Sousuke! It’s about ice cream. It’s about taste. It’s about preferences. There must be something---outside of the military---that you are familiar with, that has multiple possibilities.” Kaname was willing to accept some reference to military items if it made her point
Sousuke stared at Kaname.
“Sousuke?”
“He continued to stare. Opening his mouth, he thought twice and closed it again.
“What were you going to say, Sousuke? I promise I won’t get mad.”
“You, Kaname.”
“W-W-What???” Kaname hadn’t expected that answer.
“You can be very nice. Sometimes you help me with homework or bring me a bento.”
“OK. And…”
“Other times you can be somewhat intense and overbearing.”
“I see. Go on…” Kaname set her jaw and began rubbing her hands together.
“There are instances when you behave overly emotional with a disturbing decrease in cognitive functions.”
“Decrease in cognitive functions. How nice…” Kaname’s shoulders tightened up. He eyes narrowed. “Please continue…”
“You can be very harsh. At times your violent tendencies can border on the pathologic. Or so Captain Testarossa had insisted.”
“O….. really….. Sousuke…..” Kaname was about to kick him, but stopped. That would only reinforce his opinion. It would by no means prove him right, however. She’d save it for another occasion and get him twice.
“Hmmmmm. I believe we were talking about multiple choices and preferences.”
“Affirmative! I prefer you when you are very nice, Kaname.”
“That’s not what I….“ Kaname’s first impulse was to puff her self up and say that it was not a matter of his choosing. Instead, she saw a golden opportunity---a way to get Sousuke to finally see something she had tried to show him all along.
“That’s very reasonable, Sousuke. Have you figured out the connection yet?” Kaname looked him directly in the eyes.
“Kaname?”
“When I’m very nice. Why I’m overbearing. What makes me emotional. And who makes me violent?” Kaname smiled. Even Sousuke should be able to figure out the answer to this one.
Sousuke stood quietly, rubbing the top of his head.
“Sousuke?” Kaname began tapping her foot. If they were going for ice cream, she would actually like to get some.
“Ummm… is it a woman thing? …. Errr….. Sgt. Major Mao says that if we were smart, we wouldn’t let her have weapons during a certain part of the month!” Sousuke nodded his head. That must be it. “That is not a problem, Kaname. You cannot help that you are a woman.”
Kaname froze in place. He brain kept waiting for an answer that didn’t come. The answer Sousuke gave set fire to a short fuse.
“How can you be so DENSE!” She stood nose to nose with Sousuke.
“How, Kaname?”
“WHY ME???” Kaname actually tugged at her hair.
“I do not know, Kaname.”
“OOOOOOOH!!!” Kaname forced herself to count to twenty. “Let me put this as plainly as possible.” She took a piece of paper and a pen out of her pocket. “Here, Sousuke. Write down what I tell you. Study it. There will be a pop quiz in the future. If you don’t get it right, I’m going to pop you one!”
“I am prepared, Kaname.”
“That’s what scares me, Sousuke. That is what scares me.” Kaname shook her head. “I am very nice when you behave well. That means behaving just like any other teenage boy.”
“I see,” Sousuke said, writing. “You will be nice if I write things about you on the bathroom walls. It would also require that I stare at more at girls’ breasts and posterior aspects and make exaggerated sounds of approval. Flatulence as humor might require a different diet. Should I also scratch myself in public, Kaname?”
“Sousuke, you moron!” Kaname couldn’t hold back any longer. “What I meant was that you---like every other boy in school---would not shoot, knife, trap, explode, or otherwise destroy any object you might find suspicious! Big idiot!!!”
“Why did you not just say that, Kaname?”
“AAAAHHHH!!! SOUSUKE!!!” Kaname kicked Sousuke in the shin, hard.
“Are we going to discuss what makes you violent, Kaname?” Sousuke looked down at her foot.
“That was not violent, Sousuke. That was demonstrative. Keep up your foolish questions and you will get a good view of both emotional and violent!” Kaname showed all her teeth.
“Foolish, Kaname?”
“OOOOOOOH! NOT A WORD. NOT ANOTHER WORD!” Kaname almost forgot about ice cream. “I am overbearing when a certain sergeant proves totally clueless. I am emotional when a particular soldier stresses me beyond all reasonable limits. I become violent when that same boy pushes all of my buttons!”
“Buttons, Kaname? Girls have buttons?” The look on Sousuke’s face would have been comical if it wasn’t so tragic.
“THAT’S IT! THAT’S ALL I CAN TAKE!!!” Kaname turned to leave. It was then that she realized that the two of them were surrounded by a ring op people eating their ice cream. To them, it had been better than Shakespeare In The Park. That meant that Kaname would have to find some way to salvage her dignity. She changed tact altogether.
“Enough about me, Sousuke. We were discussing varieties and ice cream.” She next crossed a line in the sand, one she had sworn never to cross. She was going to speak to him in the otaku tongue. “Let me put it this way. Is there only one variety of submachine gun?”
“No Kaname, there are many. I have told you that on numerous occasions.”
Kaname frowned. She remembered each and every occasion all too well.
“Do you, Kurz, and Melissa all favor the same type?” God be praised. She hadn’t turned into a pillar of salt…yet.
“No. I prefer---”
“That’s enough, Sousuke. Now, tell me why.” She should get a medal for this. Maybe a statue.
“Each of us values one characteristic over another. All weapons may be good, but some will be better at certain things. It is a matter of preference, Kaname.”
“Exactly! That is why there are different flavors, Sousuke. There are many people making the choices. Also, in ice cream, people like to try something different sometimes. The tongue has many characteristics. Some flavors will serve better than others on a given day Sousuke.”
She had to say it.
“Each day at an ice cream stand is a different mission, Sousuke.” Good thing Kyouko, Ryo, or Maya didn’t hear her speaking like that!
“I see. Thank you, Kaname. You have impressive skills as an instructor.”
Kaname smiled.
“Well then, it should be easy now!” Kaname said cheerfully.
“No.”
“What?”
“I still cannot decide, Kaname. I do not have enough intelligence.”
Kaname let that opportunity pass. She knew what he meant. “I think I know what might help.” When it was their time to order, Kaname asked the woman at the serving window “Do you offer sampler cups here?”
“We sure do, young lady.” She showed Kaname a thimble-sized plastic cup. She quoted one price for a single cup, and another price for one dozen samples. Perfect!
“We’ll take a dozen, please. We’ll come back for cones later.” She turned to Sousuke. “Do you want to select some at random, Sousuke? Or would you prefer to try the most popular flavors?”
“I will trust you, Kaname. I will allow you to run this operation.”
For some reason, the use of military terminology didn’t bother Kaname. In fact, in context, it made her smile. He trusted her judgment.
“OK. Let’s start off with the eight most popular. Please give us one green tea….. one vanilla….. one red bean….. one chocolate…. one lychee….. one rum raisin….. one adzuki bean….. and one mango.” Kaname took a moment to run her eyes down the list again. “How about sweet potato….. strawberry….. saury….. and caramel.” That ought to be a good variety. If he liked one certain type, that would give Kaname a good idea where his tastes lay.
They walked over to a secluded bench, situated under a beautiful cascade of flowering branches. Birds hopped from branch to branch over their heads. Bees went about their business, flying from blossom to blossom.
“Here you go Sousuke,” Kaname handed Sousuke a plastic tray with the twelve samples of ice cream. “I’m sorry, but they don’t carry garbage, dog or rat. They were all out of protein bar.”
“Kaname?”
“Sorry. Bad joke. Here, dig in. Let me know what you think.” She handed Sousuke a tiny plastic spoon.
**************************************************
As it turned out, trying a dozen different flavors didn’t exactly make things easier for Sousuke. But, Kaname was delighted. She was so certain that Sousuke would only like vanilla.
“The lychee is very good, Kaname.” Sousuke almost sounded surprised, finding out that he liked ice cream.
“It tastes much like the flavor of grapes, but much richer. Did you know, that lychee was cultivated in China as early as 1700 BC. One Emperor in the Tang dynasty had a favorite concubine who kept the military messengers busy riding to bring back lychees on ice?”
“No. That’s very interesting.” Kaname didn’t mind the otaku reference. She just sat watching Sousuke, her chin on her folded hands.
“The saury is interesting as well.” The fish was something like an oversized sardine. “Did they have other sea food varieties?”
“Yes. Octopus. Prawn. Abalone. Crab. Shark fin. And sea urchin.” Not exactly Kaname’s cup of tea.
“I see. Those might prove interesting as well. Perhaps we will need to try ice cream another day, too.”
Kaname couldn’t help but smile. It was nice to see Sousuke like this. Exploring something that too many people took for granted. Doing something that didn’t leave someone injured or a building in ruins. Something ‘normal.’
“If I am not mistaken, the SS-189 Saury was a Sargo class submarine of the U.S. Navy in World War II. Submerged displacement of 2350 tonnes.”
“Fascinating.” Kaname’s eyes were glued to Sousuke’s face. She liked to see the different expressions he made tasting each flavor.
When Sousuke tasted the mango, he looked troubled. “What’s wrong, Sousuke? You don’t have to like all of them, you know.” The mango was the last one he had tried. He had liked all of the eleven previous.
“That is not it, Kaname. I like the mango flavor best of all.” He looked down at his shoes.
“Sousuke, what is it.” Kaname was becoming concerned. Sousuke’s face had opened up like a book earlier. Now, it was shut tight.
“Burma, Kaname.” Sousuke put the sample cup down and ran his hand through his hair.
“Burma?” Kaname guessed that Sousuke was reminiscing about a previous mission. She was correct.
“Yes. Myanmar. The military junta there maintained a policy of unspeakable human rights. They treated ethnic minorities horrendously. We were sent in to free a large number of captives in a forced labor camp.” Sousuke stopped. He shook his head slowly.
“If you don’t want to talk about it, that’s OK.” Kaname realized again just how different a life Sousuke had led. She felt ashamed about her previous reactions. Sousuke couldn’t be expected to react like everybody else.
“No. I like speaking with you Kaname. It makes me feel----” Sousuke stopped.
Kaname wanted to hear more about how Sousuke felt when he talked to her.
“When we got to the camp, we found widespread evidence of atrocities. Rape. Torture. Executions. Whole villages burned. Crops destroyed.” Sousuke paused a moment. “There were mango groves there. Harvesting mangoes was one of their labors.”
“O! I see. The mango brings back bad memories.” Kaname didn’t want Sousuke to sink into depression.
“I think you should look at things differently, Sousuke.” Kaname was just being her usual perky self. She was not necessarily trying to short change his compassion for unfortunate people. “When you got there, you stopped the bad guys, didn’t you?”
“Yes, we did.”
“And you freed a lot of prisoners?” Kaname was on a roll.
“Affirmative.”
“You made their lives a lot better, didn’t you?” She hoped this would end up making a bitter memory somewhat better for him.
“Yes.”
“That was a good thing, right?” It certainly was. Kaname was amazed once again. Sousuke could touch so many lives in a positive sense as a soldier, then aggravate endless people as a student.
“Yes.” Sousuke’s expression brightened some.
“Do you think they would celebrate their release, or feel bad about it?” That was an easy one.
“They would be happy, Kaname.”
“That’s all I wanted to say, Sousuke.” Kaname smiled.
***********************************************
Kaname got a single scoop cone with Black Raspberry Truffle.
Sousuke chose a cone with a double scoop of Mango.
After taking his first bite, he said “Thank you, Kaname.”
“You’re welcome, Sousuke.” Kaname smiled. “I’m happy that I could get you to come eat ice cream with me.”
“No. I thank you for the cone, too. I meant thank you for helping….. about mangoes.”
“You’re welcome, Sousuke.” That made Kaname feel very good inside. No matter how much trouble Sousuke caused, he did spend much of his time protecting her. It was nice to return the favor in some small way.
Kaname was very glad she had thought to bring Sousuke for ice cream. She had even forgotten why she had felt like rewarding him in the first place. She hadn’t thought about Mizuke in a while.
“So, do you like ice cream, Sousuke?”
“Yes, Kaname. I would have to say that it is….. fun.”
“Do you like it more than protein bars?” Kaname had her fingers crossed.
“Yes, Kaname.”
“Do you like it more than blowing things up?” Kaname was only half joking.
“Yes. I do not blow things up for pleasure, Kaname.”
Kaname was glad to hear that.
“How about fishing. Do you like it better than fishing?” That was asking a lot.
“No, Kaname. Ice cream does not make me feel relaxed like fishing does.”
“Do you like it better than girls, Sousuke?” That one slipped out.
“Uh…”
“Girls, Sousuke. You know, those people different than boys….” Kaname stood up and did a pirouette.
“Uh…”
“Sousuke, are there any girls you like?” Kaname went pale momentarily. Now why had she asked that?
“Uh…” Sousuke froze in mid-lick.
“Well?” Now that she had asked, she found that she wanted to know the answer. Wanted to know, AND didn’t want to know.
“Errr…” Sousuke began to sweat. He became very engrossed in his ice cream cone.
“Sousuke?” Not this again!
Ummm…”
“SOUSUKE!!!”
“Kaname?”
“Aren’t you going to answer my question?” Kaname was getting a bit steamed.
“What purpose would the answer serve, Kaname?” Sousuke’s look was the epitome of cluelessness.
“Is that all you think about, Sousuke? PURPOSE?” Kaname looked at her ice cream. Sousuke might be wearing it soon.
“Kaname, you sound upset.”
“I am NOT upset!!!” Kaname was very upset.
Sousuke was smart enough to stay silent.
“Hmmmpppfff! Just answer the question, Sousuke. That’s an order!”
“Sir, YESSIR!” Sousuke barely stopped in time. He came close to saluting with the hand holding his ice cream cone.
“I like Kyouko….”
“O, I see…” Kaname’s face fell. “I guess I never saw that one coming. How silly of me. She is a nice girl after all. Very sweet. Dependable.”
“And I like Ryo…”
“Huh?” Kaname’s look went from down trodden to hopeful.
“Maya, too…”
“I see.” Kaname understood what Sousuke was saying. She got some of her spunk back.
Sousuke went on to name every girl, with the exception of Mizuke. Mizuke, and herself.
Kaname waited.
And waited some more.
“Sousuke… do you like me?” Kaname began to worry some. She did go a bit heavy on the halisen sometimes.
Maybe she was just an assignment to him.
“Yes, Kaname.”
“Ah… I… that’s nice, Sousuke.” Kaname felt her face catch on fire. She‘d gone this far. “How much do you like me, Sousuke?”
“I feel I can do anything around you, Kaname.”
“I know that. You told me that when we were fishing. Do you like me more than Kyouko, Sousuke?” Her heart was pounding.
Sousuke studied his ice cream cone. He took close notice of the pattern of its ridges and depressions. He turned the cone, to make certain the pattern was the same everywhere.
“Sousuke?” Kaname began to feel fidgety.
Sousuke looked up at the leaves above his head, tracing the veins, examining the blades, taking note of the stems. Leaves were a miraculous thing.
Kaname signed.
“Yes.” Sousuke said quietly, feeling on edge.
Kaname brightened up.
“Do you like me better than Ryo?” Kaname was prepared to go through the entire school roster.
Sousuke took notice of the crowd. He should have done that before. It was mostly business men, college students, and families with small children. There were no suspicious characters.
“Sousuke?”
“Yes.” He answered quicker that time.
“Do you like me better than Maya?”
“Yes.” The answer came after a slight pause.
Kaname continued until she ran out of names. Sousuke liked her more than everyone else she had mentioned. She told herself it didn’t matter. She convinced herself that he should like her more than the others, because of what they had been through---nothing more. She decided it couldn’t possibly make any difference in the way she looked at him. Still, as if someone else were in control of her tongue, she pushed onward.
“Do you like me better than Shinji, Sousuke?”
“Yes. I like Shinji in a different way. He is someone who is interested in military topics, as am I. He is very found of Arm Slaves. That is something the two of us share.”
“How do you like me differently, Sousuke?”
“You do not smell unpleasant, Kaname” Sousuke said after some thought. He began sweating again.
“SOUSUKE! Can’t you say anything straight forward? Are you trying to say you like the way I smell?” Kaname tossed her hair. Sometimes he was so impossible to deal with!
“Yes your choice in soaps is commendable. Body washes, too. They are good smells. But, when you wear perfume, I believe I have an adverse biological reaction to it.” Sousuke looked away.
“Adverse biological reaction? Does it make you sneeze?” Kaname was curious.
“No.”
“Do your eyes water?”
“No.”
“Does your throat tighten?”
“No. None of those.”
“Then what, Sousuke. I need to know. If it makes you sick, I will try something else.” Kaname liked that perfume. It had been a gift from her sister on her last birthday.
“It…uh…sometimes…it is involuntary…” Sousuke looked very disturbed.
Sousuke?” What was getting him so embarrassed.
“The blood…how can I say this… not by choice…” Sousuke’s face looked pale.
“SOUSUKE!” Kaname stomped her feet. They would have to head back soon.
“Sometimes the blood flows to places it does not usual flow, Kaname.” Sousuke went back to examining leaves.
“Huh?” For a second, Kaname was totally perplexed. Then she thought a moment. ‘Could he mean?’ She too began examining leaves. That other self took control of her tongue again.
“What else, Sousuke? How else do you like me differently?”
“Uh...your voice is not unpleasant...”
“Sousuke, are you trying to say you like the sound of my voice?” That voice went up an octave.
“Yes...when you are not shouting or screeching...”
“I... DO... NOT... “ Kaname caught herself. “OK Sousuke. You like my voice. That’s nice.”
Kaname sat quietly. So did Sousuke. Kaname tried to decide whether she should probe and deeper. Sousuke looked for an excuse to run. He did not understand his fear. He had never felt anything quite like it in the middle of battle---not even when he appeared to be helplessly outnumbered, or was taken prisoner by enemy forces. There were no similarities whatsoever to the way he felt in combat. However, for some reason, he had a flashback to a brief period of confinement at the hands of freindly troops who had mistaken his identity.
“What else, Sousuke?” Kaname threw caution to the wind. She might never have a chance like this one again. She could decide whether or not she liked Sousuke’s answers later. There was always time for plausible deniability.
“I...” Sousuke looked stricken.
“It’s OK. Take your time. It’s important you let me know Sousuke.” Kaname smiled an evil smile. “It’s crucial to the success of your mission.”
“It is... how, Kaname?”
“It just is, soldier. We don’t have time for a briefing. Now, get on with your report.” If that didn’t do it, nothing would.
“Affirmative. I find that your appearance...” Sousuke couldn’t help himself. He had to give Kaname a brief one over. Kaname noticed, and posed.
“How do you find my appearance, Sousuke?” Kaname tried to find the perfect angle to show her better side. She sucked in her breath and threw out her chest. She crossed one leg over another. Those actions had all been subconscious.
“I think you look... you do not look unpleasant Kaname.”
Kaname grit her teeth. She had had her fill of ‘not unpleasant.’ “Is there anything else you would like to say about the way I look, Sousuke?” Kaname wash fishing for a positive word. ‘Pretty’ would have been nice. ‘Gorgeous’ or ‘breath-taking’ would be much better.
Thinking back to another question, Sousuke missed the point
“I...uh...well...”
“SOUSUKE! Your a soldier for crying out loud. Show some backbone. I need to have confidence in the person protecting me, right?” Kaname was beginning to feel anxious.
“Sometimes…uh…like with the perfume…it‘s...the uh...blood...” Sousuke straightened his shoulders and set his jaw. “I do not understand it, Kaname.”
Kaname instinctively moved a little closer to Sousuke.
Sousuke twitched. His remaining ice cream fell off of the cone and onto the ground. “Ah. The ice cream....”
“That’s OK, Sousuke.” It happens to everyone sometimes. Nothing to be upset or embarrassed about.” Kaname choked on her ice cream.. She had thought about something else. It was not something she had experience with---some things just get to be common knowledge by gossip, girls’ magazines, or television.
Kaname shook the wandering thought away. She didn’t know whether she should feel a secret sense of satisfaction, or get up from the bench running. Still, part of her was determined to forge ahead.
“Does anyone else make you drop your food, Sousuke?” Kaname asked.
“Huh?”
“Does anyone else at the school make you...uh...make the blood go...um...there.” Kaname knew she was blushing. She was glad that know one other than Sousuke was within earshot.
“No, Kaname.” That truth had been simple to say. It would have been a good place to stop. “Not at the school.”
Kaname stood up quickly. This time her ice cream fell to the ground. She had dropped her cone. “Somewhere else, Sousuke?” Her voice was suddenly rough. There were storm clouds brewing in her eyes.
“Uh...” Too late, Sousuke realized the pickle he was in. If he didn’t answer, Kaname was likely to get angry. If he did answer, she was likely to get angry. Lt. Commander Kalinin had once told him that ‘the truth shall set you free.’ He considered that an order. It was always a matter of what truth to tell...and how much truth to offer. He seemed awfully short of options at the moment.
“Sousuke.”
Sousuke remembered Kaname knocking at her door, intent on apologizing. He remembered the food that she had brought over. He remembered her relief and happiness when he told her that she had nothing to apologize for.
He remembered her reaction when she first saw Captain Testarossa.
Sousuke began to sweat as heavily as he had that day.
“SOUSUKE!!!” Kanamae’s mind was a whirl. She checked and cross-checked any number of possibilities. She ended with one that could prove hazardous to Sousuke’s health and continued well-being.
“There was a time...at my apartment... uh... when I saw a silhouette in the shower...”
“T-T-T---“
“The blood...uh... well... I did not stare.”
“T-T-T---“
“Also... on a beach... when I was training... someone fell on me... then moved around...uh.”
“T-T-T---“
“She would not get up... the blood...”
“T-T-T-T-T-T-T-T---“
“I do not know whether or not it was pleasant, Kaname.”
“TESSA???” Kaname finally manage to spit the word out. She was about to leave in a major huff.
“Affirmative. Captain Testarossa. Are you upset Kaname?” Perhaps they both had circulatory problems. Sousuke swallowed. Yes. That would be the simplest answer.
“OF COURSE NOT SOUSUKE! WHY WOULD I BE UPSET???” Kaname was way beyond upset.
“It was not by my choice, Kaname. It was an inappropriate action. Captain Tesstarossa is my commanding officer. It was improper to speak of... uh... that with her. We had training to do. I could not figure out why she was suddenly immobile.”
Kaname clenched her teeth. She knew all too well why Tessa had been ‘suddenly immobile.’ She deflated, letting the tension ease out of her.
“Yes. Any such reaction around Tessa is VERY inappropriate and EXTREMELY improper. Do you understand, Sousuke?” Hmmpff! ‘Take that, Tessa.’
“Affirmative.”
“You should try to keep your blood where it belongs. If you can't, then be sure you never EVER discuss such matters with a Captain. It might be grounds for dismissal or court martial. Yes, it would be best if you stayed out of all siuations that might lead to... uh... misdirection of blood.” Kaname couldn’t believe she was having this conversation. But, anything that stymied that smug little Captain was worth pursuing.
“I see. You may be correct, Kaname.” Sousuke was lost in thought. “Perhaps I should ask Sgt. Weber or Sgt. Major Mao. If there is an issue that might compromise the effectiveness of our team...”
“NO!” Kaname spoke loudly and quickly. “NO, Sousuke. You know Kurz. And, Melissa is a close friend of Tessa. They tell each other everything.”
“Yes. That is true.”
Kaname sighed. That was a close one.
“Lt. Cmdr. Kalinin. He is my commanding officer, too. He must base his decisions on our overall condition. If it is a problem, then he should know of it!” Sousuke stood. From the look on his face, it seemed he was intent on reporting in then and there. "Yes, as an older male, he will also be able to describe the significance..."
“Wait!” Kaname put her hand on Sousuke’s arm, then pulled it away. “This is a personal matter, Sousuke.” Her mind was working at a feverish pace, looking for a good answer. “If you bring too many personal matters before your commander, that’s when he might actually begin to question your effectiveness as a soldier.”
“Again you are correct, Kaname” Sousuke said ofter pondering things for a short while. “Again, it is good to have you around. You are very clever. It is good to have someone who looks out for my better interests.” The first and second statements had Kaname smiling. The third had her looking away, feeling somewhat sheepish.
“Thank you, Sousuke.”
“There is one thing I am curious about Kaname.”
“Sousuke?” Kaname began to feel a tingle. Maybe Sousuke was going to ask her if she liked him. What should she say? How did she really feel?
“Your level of expertise. Where does it come from. Do girls have problems with uh...blood flow...as well?”
“WHAT?” Only Sousuke! “That is NOT something that you ask a girl!” Kaname pushed on Sousuke’s shoulders, hard. He---and the whole bench---fell over with a loud Thud. “HMMPPFF!!”
She marched away at a quick and determined pace.
When she was out of sight, she smiled and answered “Yes.
After she got back to her apartment, she decided on taking a nice cold shower.
“I really DO like ice cream,” she said.
***********************************************************
END