Growing On Me [FIC]

[dd]

A/N:

Just a quick SongFic. Based on 'Growing On Me' by The Darkness.

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The two teenagers walked along the alleyway, headed for school.

Today, they weren’t alone. A few other students had chosen that path, and were walking singly or in small groups.

One of the upperclassmen was carrying a portable radio, listening to it as he strolled merrily on his way. He had the volume turned up, so it was easy for the others to hear, whether they wanted to or not:

I can't get rid of you
I don't know what to do
I don't even know who is growing on who
'Cos everywhere I go you're there
Can't get you out of my hair
Can't pretend that I don't care …it's not fair

Kaname looked over at Sousuke out of the corner of her eye. He was walking along as calmly as ever, carrying his school bag. But, looks could be deceiving with anyone, and he was not the exception. There could be all manner of weapons in that bag. Who knows what she might find if she emptied his pockets.

Big otaku idiot!

It was a cloudy day, but she still had a shadow. A living, breathing, nonsense spouting shadow. What she wouldn’t give sometimes, just be alone. How nice might it be, to go out for a walk with her friends, without being stalked by some teenage mercenary with a penchant for trouble?

Still… to be honest… he was kind of cute, in his own way… even if he didn’t know how to behave like normal boys. Maybe that was part of his charm. He was different. He was honest. He looked out for her, not himself.

But, that didn’t mean she had to care, right? No way! Maybe she was growing on him. He most definitely was not growing on her. Not at all. Not even the slightest bit.

I'm punished for all my offences
I wanna touch you but I'm afraid of the consequences
I wanna banish you from whence you came
But you're part of me now
And I've only got myself to blame

Sousuke scanned the surroundings one more time, before glancing at Kaname. He frowned. Punishment was an apt word. At first, when he came to Tokyo, he felt as if he was being punished for some unknown crime. He was a soldier… a Specialist… an Arm Slave pilot. Why was he pretending to be something he was not? He was only a teenager by age. School was a new environment, and he had been thrown into it without any chance to survey the battlefield and gather intelligence.

That part only felt like punishment. True chastisement came in many forms. The teachers and Vice Principal were always finding some reason to scold him or try to exert their dominance. Those reasons were often petty, and showed a total lack of understanding on their part regarding the nature of terrorists, and the dangers surrounding Kaname. For some reason, the Principal seemed more forgiving. No doubt she was a Professional too, in her own way.

Rubbing his head, he felt the small bumps and welts. There was no physical punishment at school. That came by way of Miss Kaname Chidori, Student Class Representative and Student Council Vice President.

His eyes went wide, listening to the lyrics of that song. The touching part. That had him beginning to sweat. It was best that he never let those kinds of thoughts stay in his head for very long. The girl was very attractive, or so his natural reactions suggested to him. In some ways, it was much better when she was yelling at him… striking him… or folding her arms across that… uhhh… ample chest and turning away from him. When she was kind to him… when she brushed up against him… when she brought him a homemade bento lunch and sat down to eat it with him… it made the task of concentrating on the surroundings much more difficult.

Sometimes, when operatives went under for too long a time, they began to take on characteristics of the people they were infiltrating. Even more, some of them began to sympathize with the target group. If he was at Jindai High School for much longer, would he find himself becoming a teenager?

You're really growing on me
(Or am I growing on you?)
You're really growing on me
(Or am I growing on you?)
Any fool can see

“No he is not!”

Kaname blushed, and then immediately blamed Sousuke for eavesdropping, even though she wasn’t really holding a conversation with herself. At least not out loud. She almost let him have it with the halisen when he gave her that inquisitive look of his. So she had blurted something out! It wasn’t like she was crazy or something.

‘He’s growing on you, that’s all.’ Part of her mind winked, figuratively. It had been a long time when she had given any guy the time of day.

‘He most definitely is not! If anything, I'm growing on the scruffy military jerk. What boy wouldn’t feel the same, if he had a chance to see the real me?’

‘Sure sure. What boy wouldn’t love a chance to be tattooed on the head with a paper fan, day after day. It’s so-o-o romantic. But he’s not growing on you. Not even a little bit. You took dinner over to him last night because you cooked too much by accident, and you couldn’t put it in the refrigerator, because it must always be at least half empty.’

‘That was merely an act of kindness, my way of saying thanks. I would have done that for any boy who had saved me from a bunch of thugs in the park, whether or not I had been the one starting trouble in the first place. He rescued me. I am growing on him. Not the other way around!’

“Kaname, are you alright? You are about to walk into that lamppost. Have you been brainwashed?”

‘Ooooo-ooo-oo-oh. What does he think I am, a clueless fool like him? Of course I saw … well… that was a close call. But it’s his fault, since you’re making me think about the stupid head! Idiot. Moron. Jerk. Loser.

‘You’re right. He’s not growing on you. Mmmm hmmm. Not one bit.’

Sleeping in an empty bed
Can't get you off my head
I won't have a life until you're dead
Yes, you heard what I said

Sousuke wondered if there was something troubling Kaname more than usual. No, he wondered if there was something that was troubling her more than he was. He might be totally lost in this civilian existence, but he wasn’t entirely clueless by any means. It just took him a while to see the things that others noticed as a matter of course, and to understand and recognize the things that they took for granted.

There was no manual for this kind of thing. Asking help from Kurz and Melissa only left him feeling inadequate, or more confused than when he sought them out. He couldn’t query Lt. Commander Kalinin on such matters, or he might doubt the abilities of a subordinate. He most definitely could not ask the Captain, even though she was his same age. She was his commanding officer, too. And, for some reason, he felt strange around her at times.

His fellow students weren’t much more help. The girls would not share secrets about one of their own sex. There seemed to be some kind of conspiracy in that regard, one that was gender-related. Most of the guys simply chuckled, laughed, or slapped him hard on the back, thinking that his questions must be some kind of a joke. Shinji was very forthcoming; however, he seemed to get his knowledge from magazines and those computer games he played.

He was not doing his job! It was not enough to keep Kaname Chidori safe. He had to keep her life as normal as possible. One could not be considered a good operative if he kept altering the terrain. A clever enemy could take note of that. The more suspicion that was focused in Miss Chidori’s direction, the more danger she would be in.

Miss Chidori. ‘Angel’, as Kurz called her. There were other names too, but he preferred not to put much stock in things written on the bathroom walls. He called her ‘Chidori’ most of the time, but found himself thinking of her as Kaname.

Whether he was under his cot, or doing late night calisthenics, he found himself thinking more and more of her during the evening hours, when he was alone and unburdened by his duties. Why? Was it a way to understand her better, and therefore do a better job? Doubtful. Sometimes, he just lay there in the dusty confines, picturing her face. It was strange. It deserved more thought.

He swallowed hard, and then began to sweat. He redoubled his efforts, putting a hand inside his bookcase, taking comfort from the feel of a trigger. The song was correct. If Kaname were killed, he could go back to his old life. But, he could not allow that to happen!

I wanna shake you off but you just won't go
And you're all over me but I don't want anyone to know
That you're attached to me, that's how you've grown
Won't you leave me, leave me alone

Kaname felt her face growing warm. Sousuke wasn’t all over her in that fashion. If he ever tried anything perverted, he would learn what real pain was. Still, she wouldn’t mind if he would actually look at her the way a normal guy would.

No. It wasn’t because she wanted him to like her or anything. He just stood out too much. Too many people thought he was a freak or sociopath or something. She couldn’t blame them! If he complimented her on her dress, or noticed the perfume she started wearing, it would help him fit in. If he did it when they were alone, that would be fine too, since it would serve as practice. That was one of the reasons she cooked for him. Practice. She liked to cook, and she wanted to get better. He was a help in that way, right? Actually not…

“Baka.”

Kaname bit her lip. He was looking at her again. She tried hard not to clench her hands into fists. Instinctively, she laughed that laugh of hers, making things worse.

“Shouldn’t you be watching the road or something, instead of me? Hmmmpppfff. Some soldier you are.”

You go girl! If you ever did want him looking at you, that kind of thing certainly wouldn’t help. Of course, it didn’t hurt, really. She had already made so many similar remarks, one more couldn’t possibly make a difference. Besides, this was about him, not her. She went to a lot of trouble to cook for him some times, but he still seemed to prefer those stupid MREs, protein bars, and fresh plain rolls. She could just hate him sometimes!

He was so much trouble. He was so stupid and clueless. He was everywhere.

It was bad enough having to deal with him, and all of the messes he caused. It didn’t matter that some people thought that she caused a fair number of the mishaps. They were wrong. Everything was the fault of that albatross. He was always hanging around her neck, bringing her bad luck. Just like with that mariner guy had in the story they read for class. If he wasn’t around, she wouldn’t ever do some of the things that she did!

That was bad enough. Sure, she was Whispered. That was one secret that needed to be kept. That wasn’t her fault. Hell, if that jerk hadn’t shown up, she might never have found out. Well, that wasn’t exactly true. And he did rescue her from kidnappers, right? No! Why was she getting soft on the jerk? More often than not, she got kidnapped because of him. Or Mitril. Whatever! She was thinking about secrets, not being rescued in heroic fashion by some brave young man. No. Not heroic. He was just doing his job! And that was another one of the damn secrets.

Worst of all, because he hung around her so often, her friends suspected some kind of hidden truth. No, not that she was some kind of freak with Back Technology locked away in her head. Not that Sousuke at his age was a mercenary from some super secret organization. They thought that she might have a crush on the loser! They thought that the two of them might be an item… and might be going out together!

“That’s ridiculous!”

He wouldn’t leave her alone, that was all. No matter what she did, or what she wanted. And, that’s what she wanted, to be alone. Right?

You're really growing on me
(Or am I growing on you?)
You're really growing on me
(Or am I growing on you?)
Any fool can see

“Uhhh… Kaname…”

Sousuke cleared his throat, remembering something he had to tell her. Even though he felt much more comfortable when he was called back in for missions, he found himself worrying about Kaname when she was alone in Tokyo. Well, not alone, actually. When he wasn’t there to protect her.

“What is it Sousuke?”

Her voice sounded so angry, so resigned to negative things in her life. He looked down at the road for a few moments. He preferred seeing her smile. He like her quiet laugh, and the way that she said his name softly. But, none of that was important. Things like that had no bearing on his obligations.

“I need to inform you of something. I cannot go into any details, as you well know. In a few days time, I will be heading off on a mission.”

Yes, that was the kind of thing he used to pray for, to pull him away from the city and that school. Now, he didn’t know if he felt he was returning home, or leaving home. Yes, perhaps he was too deep under cover.

You're really growing on me
(Or am I growing on you?)
You're really growing on me
(Or am I growing on you?)

“What?”

Kaname almost stumbled. That one had certainly caught her by surprise. It always did, when he brought up such things. Maybe she had gotten too used to his being here. After all, the big jerk might just pack up his bags and leave some day, never to return. But, that would be great, wouldn’t it? It’s what she kept wishing for, right?

“You’re leaving me alone?”

Big idiot!