Sosuke Sagara's eyes scanned the crowd, looking for anything out of the ordinary. Today's event, with its crowds of people and the raised stage would provide ample opportunity for a terrorist attack. He would have to be especially vigilant. Though the event had its own security force, he would not let his guard down. After all, they were civilians, a few of them ex-military, perhaps.

But none of them was a Specialist.

He shifted slightly in his seat, adjusting his Glock 17 so that the weapon did not poke quite so painfully into his lower back. With fifteen rounds of rubber bullets loaded in the pistol, plus another magazine of regular ammunition, plus his usual assortment of stun, fragmentation, and smoke grenades, he would be ready for nearly anything. Getting the weaponry through security had been easy enough. He had simply cached everything here the day before. The person at the entrance had eyed Sosuke suspiciously, having heard the stories about the serious-eyed student with the cross-shaped scar on his cheek. The man had expected to have to confiscate a small third-world-country's worth of weapons. Instead, he found nothing but another student. He had looked at Sosuke dubiously for a few seconds, and then waved him on.

Sosuke allowed himself a tight smile. He had been fully armed less than a minute later, courtesy of his planning ahead. Overconfidence and complacency were deadly in his line of business, and he suffered from neither. He had seen too many good men and women, too many innocents killed by those two traits. As a result, he always tried to prepare, both mentally and physically, for an opponent that was stronger, better trained, and more skilled than he. Sosuke considered such a mindset essential to survival. And survive he had, from his origins as an orphan in the shattered, war-torn wasteland of Afghanistan, to the Gulf war, and many, many conflicts in between. Now, at eighteen years old, he was a veteran, a professional operator. Most people didn't join the armed services until they were the age he was now, and they often chose non-combat roles. Sosuke had been in a combat role for over a decade.

He scanned his surroundings again. He was sitting in a simple white chair, surrounded by other simple, white wooden chairs, in neat orderly rows. These were in turn filled with students, like himself. They chattered excitedly to each other. To either side of the chairs were sets of bleachers, filled with friends and family of the students in the chairs. Facing the students was a raised platform, with a row or ornate chairs at the rear. At the front of the platform was a podium. Colored fabric decorated the sides of the stage, while also covering the metal framework underneath. Sosuke had already checked it out, and found nothing dangerous-looking underneath. Still, he couldn't constantly be checking without drawing attention to himself. He had devised a simple, yet elegant solution.

By placing motion sensors along the length of the fabric, and then linking them to his watch, he would know if anyone tried to enter the space underneath the stage. He could then discreetly and quickly deal with the perpetrator. So, the stage was taken care of. He had also checked underneath the bleachers. As they didn't have any obscuring fabric decorations, he hadn't bothered to use motion sensors on them. And of course he had checked every single chair, making sure that none of them had a bomb or other harmful device on the bottom of the seat.

In the weeks leading up to the ceremony, he had used his resources at MITHRIL to obtain comprehensive background checks on every person here. Students, staff, janitors, caterers, ushers, and anyone else associated with the event. No one escaped his scrutiny. Sosuke had even gone so far as to request that the Tuatha De Danaan be stationed off the coast of Honshu, in case he should need fast access to his Arm Slave, Arbalest. Having Melissa Mao and Kurz Weber nearby and ready in their M9s wouldn't hurt either. Between the three of them, there was little that could threaten what- or whomever they were guarding. And if things got really tight, the Lambda Driver would make short work of the problem. To Sosuke's knowledge, he was the only person that could operate the device. The only other had been Gauron, and he was dead, thank God.

He still had nightmares about that day; of him and Gauron sliding around on the deck of the TDD-1, Arm Slaves locked together in mortal combat. Gauron had armed the self-destruct mechanism on his A.S., and then grabbed Arbalest in a death grip, meaning to kill Sosuke and the crew of the TDD-1. That his own life would be forfeit meant little to him. Sosuke had feared him more than any opponent he had ever faced, because he truly didn't care if he lived or died. It was this mindset, combined with an absolute ruthless determination to get what he wanted, than made him more dangerous than anyone else.

A barely audible sigh escaped his lips. Gauron was dead. Sosuke was jumping at shadows. But on the other hand, no one had seen a body. And in his mind, you weren't sure unless you saw the body. However, the chances of surviving an A.S. self-destruct were infinitesimal. He knew, he had checked with the maintenance crews on the TDD-1. Those devices were meant to wipe an Arm Slave from the face of the Earth. Sosuke remembered a particularly graphic demonstration from his training for the S.R.T. An old, battered M6 had been left in a large open area, one of the munitions ranges. Sosuke's class had been in a hardened bunker, a mile from the A.S. The self-destruct had been triggered remotely. In a normal A.S., they could only be triggered from inside the cockpit.

The blast had shaken the ground beneath them, and were it not for the tinted windows, many would have been blinded. When the smoke cleared, there was a crater where the M6 had been only moments before. No trace of the A.S. remained. It was a reminder of their duty, their dedication to the mission.

They would succeed, or they would die.

"Sosuke!"

Sosuke was snapped out of his reverie. He looked over at Kaname Chidori, the reason for all of his preparations. She had a menacing look on her face. "If you blow anything up today, if you tackle anyone, if you screw anything up today, so help me, I'll convince Tessa to make you the mess sergeant on the Danaan.

He considered. He knew the assignment would be difficult. "It is not a problem, Miss Chidori. I was often the cook for the Mujahideen camps in my youth."

Kaname sighed, holding her head in her hands. She should know by know that nothing in the way of threats would faze him.

Fortunately, there was another way.

Kaname smiled demurely at Sosuke. She then pulled out the halisen that had been secreted away in its hiding place at the small of her back. The reaction of the young MITHRIL sergeant was comical, to say the least. His eyes locked onto the paper fan, tracking it like defense radar tracks an incoming missile. She waved the halisen casually for a few more seconds, and then replaced it. Like her protector, she believed in being prepared for anything. Like an overzealous military misfit that insisted on overreacting to everything. "Do we have an understanding, Sosuke?" she asked sweetly.

He nodded, swallowing hard.

"Good."

Today was what Kaname had been working for for three long years. Unlike American high school, it was optional. Taking an entrance exam was required as well. Even with extensive preparation, admission was difficult. Add to this the fact that school was year-round, and one would understand why Kaname didn't want anything to ruin today.

Today was graduation.

Today was the culmination of three years of studying, athletics, and more extra-curricular activities than almost anyone. She was also the president of various clubs and organizations. In addition to this, Kaname was the class representative, a position similar to that of class president in America.

The fact that she had managed to achieve all of this while being the target of a terrorist organization and the unwilling protectee of a walking disaster zone made today all the more special. She had been kidnapped, experimented on, shot at numerous times, cut, bruised, and beaten. Incredibly, those were the easy times! The really fun ones had been a result of Sosuke's attempts to 'protect' her. As it turned out, she did need protection. She needed protection from the young man sitting next to her. Sosuke had tackled her. He had detonated her locker because of the many notes from the guys in their class. The school had eventually given up and given her a locker with no holes in the door for a prospective suitor to slip notes through.

Of course, his own locker received the same treatment. Amazingly, some of the girls in their class seemed to think that Sosuke was dashing and mysterious. Several had enough of a crush to try and tell him with love notes.

They had all been detonated, of course. Sosuke had suspected that they might be letter bombs, or filled with chemical agents, or perhaps they might contain electronic bugs to eavesdrop on him. So he took no chances. One girl had tried repeatedly. Kaname had been fortunate enough to stop Sosuke from completely destroying the note, and had shown him that there was no bomb, no bugs, and no anthrax. But the damage blotted out some of the message. All that was legible was that the person wanted to meet with Sosuke after school.

Curiosity getting the better of her, Kaname decided to wait after school at the prescribed place, hiding behind a low row of shrubbery. Kyoko Tokiwa, her best friend, had joined her. Together, they waited. Soon after school let out, they saw a girl, presumably the author of the notes in Sosuke's locker. Sosuke himself, however, was nowhere to be found. After a couple of hours, Kyoko left. Kaname continued to wait. Well after dark, the girl was still waiting for Sosuke to show. Instead, two men with rather questionable motives approached her. It was clear that they intended to take advantage of her. Kaname made the mistake of stepping out from her hiding place to defend the girl.

As they turned their attention to the new girl, one of them went down, clutching his chest. Before his partner could react, he, too, went down. Wondering if they were next, the girls turned. There was Sosuke. Face painted in shades of green, brown, and black; dressed in a ghille suit, he hefted the twelve-gauge shotgun that he had used to take down the would-be rapists.

Kaname sighed, remembering. Things had not gone well from there. When the two girls had recovered from the shock of basically seeing Sosuke appear out of thin air, the girl that had written the note approached Sosuke, and told him how she felt. Sosuke's indifferent response had sent her into tears, and she ran off, sobbing. Kaname turned to him, glowering. She had known that he was dense, but this one really took the cake.

Still, thinking back, she remembered all the times he had saved her life, all the times he had been there for her. Despite all their misadventures, despite all the…

Kaname sighed, rubbing her temples. The anticipation must be getting to her; she was beginning to appreciate this moron. She would never understand him, and he would likely never act like anything approaching normal. Sosuke Sagara was a misguided military misfit.

Well, at least it might soon be over with. There had been no attacks on her or any of the other whispered for over a year now. Maybe MITHRIL would reassign Sosuke after today, and she could continue on to university in peace. Getting this far with him around had been a miracle. Kaname knew that she couldn't survive university with him around.

Unbeknownst to her, the young man beside her was having similar thoughts. With no apparent threat to Whispered anymore, MITHRIL might indeed pull him off his current duty. While he would do whatever they ordered him to, he wasn't entirely sure how he felt about leaving her.

With a barely audible sigh, he leaned back and waited for the ceremony to start.

Off the coast, the TDD-1 lay in wait, there by the choosing of her Captain. Though diminutive, Teletha Testarossa was by no means a pushover. Though only sixteen, her mind far surpassed the rest of her officers in tactics and strategy. Not only that, but she was Whispered as well. When Sosuke had requested that the boat be stationed nearby, in case of emergency, Tessa immediately agreed. She tried to tell herself that is was simply because it made sense, strategically. It had nothing to do with the young sergeant making the request.

She sighed, twisting her braid in her fingers, as she was known to do when mulling something over. American Captains might smoke, or sip coffee. Russian Kapitans might very well take nips from a vodka-filled flask. Tessa played with her hair. It was an admittedly girlish trait. What the hell, she thought. I am only eighteen, after all.

Her thoughts wandered to the ceremony that they were here to guard. Admittedly, Sosuke might not have been able to complete a formal education, were it not for his current assignment. Now, the question was, would he be needed elsewhere, or would he continue in his duties? The value of the Whispered was no less than it had been in the past. There simply hadn't been an attack recently. However, Tessa knew from experience that the most dangerous groups, like Amalgam, often put months, if not years of planning into a single operation. That was what made them so dangerous. Skill only took you so far in this game. Luck, too, had a large role to play. Many would dismiss this as mere superstition, but Tessa knew better. Warriors like Sosuke, and like his nemesis, Gauron, were more than just good soldiers, more than well trained; they had something else that separated them from the rest. An intangible something that made them what they were. A man could have all the training, all the willpower and enthusiasm, and still not make it. A platoon of such individuals might not be able to take an objective, well trained though they might be. But Sosuke, or a single man like him, would. It was something that Tessa put a lot of thought into. Sosuke was very valuable to MITHRIL. Much time and effort had been invested in him. And while that investment had paid off handsomely, there was now the question of what to do next.

Tessa was the one to make that decision, but she would consult her XO, Commander Mardukas, as well as Lieutenant Commander Kalinin, and Sergeant Major Mao. These three made up the top authority on the sub, and were included in all major decisions. Tessa could either pull Sosuke away from his current duty, or issue an order directing that he stay there.

Pressing her lips together, she stood from her chair. "Commanders Mardukas and Kalinin, come with me. Lieutenant Chambers, you have the conn."

The officer stood, saluted. "I have the conn, aye."

Tessa gathered her subordinates with a look and left the bridge.

Sosuke suppressed a yawn. It seemed that the official from the school was going to go on forever. Patience, while a good trait for a soldier, could be hard to maintain sometimes. Besides which, the longer Kaname was exposed like this, the more nervous he got.

A quick glance around told him that nothing was amiss, nothing had changed since his last glance, approximately thirty seconds ago. Was he overreacting? Kaname would no doubt tell him that he was, and follow up with a Hmph and a characteristic toss of her hair. However, hit training told him that there was no such thing as too much vigilance, and one had to remain alert to minimize any possible danger.

You're overreacting.

He had to admit, anyone considering trying to attack today's event would have their work cut out for them. There weren't many groups left that would have the necessary training, resources, or gall to pull it off. MITHRIL had been very effective at quietly and quickly removing most of those that could from the world of the living. While many might call it cold or ruthless, it was because the men that they were there to fight were cold and ruthless, and that seemed to be the only way to deal with such men. Treaties and summits and meetings certainly never seemed to get anywhere. Force, much as Sosuke hated to admit, was the most effective way to deal with threats. Oddly enough, he hated to fight. It was an old maxim of the soldier, whether a Specialist, like himself, or a standard grunt in a standard army, that those who were trained to fight wished the hardest for peace.

Still, it would take only one lapse in concentration, one second where you let down your guard, and all hell would break loose. Your carefully constructed plans would collapse, and you would be in the shit. Sosuke had seen it happen countless times, and had lost many good comrades and fellow soldiers because of complacency. He swore that he would never be that person. If something went wrong, it wasn't going to be because of something that he did.

The official was still talking. He snuck a glance at Kaname. Her eyes were drooping; apparently, she felt almost as fed up with this guy as he did. Quickly, he looked away, lest she catch him looking at her and begin to question him. With all his training, women were still a mystery to him. It was only his bad luck that he didn't know that women were a mystery to all men, and he wasn't the only one in the dark.

Suppressing a sigh, he leaned back to wait the ceremony out.

Tessa replaced her tea cup in the saucer, and looked at the two men. "Gentleman, we need to make a decision on what we are to do regarding Sergeant Sagara from here on out."

Commander Mardukas' eyes hardened, just noticeably. It was a widely known fact that the career naval officer wasn't a big fan of the SRT in general, and Sosuke in specific. Neither was he ecstatic to be subordinate to a teenager. "Captain, why not let Personnel deal with him. It's unbecoming to concern yourself with the matters of a simple sergeant."

At this, Lieutenant Commander Kalinin's eyes were the ones that narrowed. "Simple, Commander? Sergeant Sagara is the only person that can operate the ARX-7. I highly doubt that makes him simple."

"Enough."

The two turned to their Captain. "I don't really care how either of you feel about him. It doesn't change anything. With Kaname Chidori soon to be off to college, and the lack of attacks on the Whispered, the question has arisen as to his next assignment."

Tessa let her eyes narrow, just a bit. It was rare that she showed any emotion. Though many considered her to be an aberration, a little girl playing at being a grown up, the two men in the room with her knew better. When that seemingly innocent face took on a serious mien, things were going to happen her way. Or else. "I, for one, believe that Sergeant Sagara has earned a respite. Yes, there is still a danger, and we still need to remain vigilant."

She allowed her voice to cool a tad. "However, with the removal of Amalgam from the situation, I believe that we can afford to let the Sergeant go on a leave of absence."

Tessa sat back, awaiting the inevitable response. She wasn't disappointed.

"With all due respect, Ma'am, I disagree." Commander Mardukas leaned forward in his chair, steepling his hands in front of him. "If anything, we need to keep Sergeant Sagara in a place where he can be supervised. He has shown that while he is a talented soldier, he still needs to learn a few things about following orders."

At this, Kalinin's face tightened. "Commander, I think that young man has shown us is a remarkable dedication and sense of duty. Who else in the entire organization has sacrificed as much as he?"

Captain Testarossa sat back in her chair, as the two men politely argued about whether the young man in question was going to be let go, or held under an even tighter thumb. What neither of them realized was that the decision regarding him had already been made, and not by her. She simply wanted to see how they felt about Sosuke Sagara.

After a fair bit of time, she raised her hand. The two men stopped, cut off in mid-sentence. "Both of you make some very interesting points. I now feel compelled to tell you what will happen. General Amitt, of High Command, has made the decision that Sosuke will remain on his current assignment. Kaname Chidori is too valuable a resource to be left unprotected. As Sergeant Sagara has the most experience with her, and is more likely to be able to provide a covert level of security, he will accompany her to University."

Mardukas grimaced, but had the wherewithal to not voice his displeasure. Just as Kalinin knew not to allow his relief to show.

Tessa stood up. "I am going to Communications to ensure that the Sergeant is informed of his new orders. Dismissed."

Both men stood as she left the room.

Sosuke sat in his apartment, wondering what to do next. The ceremony was over, the congratulations long since given and received. There would be a summer break, and then Kaname would start at University. He wasn't sure whether his assignment would allow him to follow her there, or whether he would be reassigned to another mission.

Truth be told, he wasn't sure what he wanted. He had been thinking about his feelings for Kaname, and he wasn't sure he liked where they were taking him. He had known men who became involved with a woman, and had seen their attentiveness towards other matters drop. In his line of work, that wasn't a risk he could take lightly.

He glanced around his apartment, eyes roving over details that had long since been committed to memory. The cot on which he slept, the communications console where his orders came in, the set of barbells that he used to keep in fighting trim. Accoutrements of a life spent in the service of others. A life lived according to strict discipline and an unwavering sense of duty.

A life spent alone.

Sosuke wasn't the emotionless automaton that many thought him to be. Behind that face was a coolly calculating mind, always analyzing, always observing it's surroundings and their possible effect on the person it belonged to. Sosuke had, truth be told, enjoyed his time on this assignment. It was far preferable to some other places he had been, and were he to be given a choice, he might very well choose to continue his education.

Money wasn't an issue. A sparse lifestyle and few financial obligations had seen to that. Lieutenant Commander Kalinin had also helped his young protégé to invest some of his substantial savings, and over they course of several years, they had grown rather nicely. So no, money would not be a problem. The problem lay in the fact that his current assignment was likely to end.

Sosuke mulled that over for a bit. Was he prepared to move on? To take another assignment, and leave Kaname?

The trilling of the communications console interrupted his thoughts. With a heavy heart, he activated the encryption suite, and prepared to receive his future.