Summary: Shortly after volume 2 of FMP! when Sousuke and Kaname finally have some time alone together, Kaname remembers. Sequel to 'Angel'.

Angel 2

By: slstmaraudersjple

Kaname woke up in an unfamiliar room. She groaned slightly and the lights flickered on. She immediately threw up one arm to shield her eyes, worried about the sudden soreness she felt throughout her body. "Wha-?"

"You're awake." A familiar male voice spoke, sounding relieved.

Struggling to piece her thoughts together, she tried to pinpoint the location and owner of the voice. It sounded familiar…

"…Sousuke?" She ventured uncertainly, peering through the cracks of the fingers on her hand, squinting as her eyes adjusted to the brightness. She glanced to her side and eventually made out the figure sitting in the chair next to her bed.

"Affirmative." Her Mithril bodyguard nodded. "It is good that you are awake and well."

Kaname frowned, trying to recall the events that had transpired to lead to her current bedridden state. Judging from the guilty look, Sousuke had, she guessed he was involved. (Which wasn't unusual, but he looked… more guilty than normal.)

Then she remembered.

"Guaron…" She said softly.

"What about him?" Sousuke asked sharply, his voice growing deadly as he continued, "Did he do something to you-"

"I remember a boy," Kaname interrupted slowly.

Her bodyguard immediately grew silent, a sign for her to continue.

"Well, I don't remember exactly," Kaname admitted, her blurry memories floating in her mind. "I was young, maybe 10, when my father returned from his command post. I never knew why – he never told me. And because I didn't remember anything, I never could piece things together. I just always had the feeling that it was because of me."

Glancing at Sousuke, she continued, "We were in Afghanistan. He and a team of researchers were studying some plants and wildlife in a specific area. A precocious child, I wandered off despite my father's warnings. Naturally, I got lost."

Kaname closed her eyes and leaned back against the bedhead, hugging a pillow to her chest as she thought about the incident. "I got scared. I didn't know if they would find me. I ended up in a clearing in the middle of nowhere, and I remember crouching down next to a tree with my head in my hands, crying. I heard sound some time later, and when I looked up I saw this boy. He… wasn't like any other normal boy. He wasn't holding a weapon in his hand, but his clothes were splattered with blood."

Biting her lower lip and frowning as she recalled the encounter, she said, "I remember… I was scared of this boy. He said something to me. He asked who I was." Laughing a bit, she confessed, "I understood everything he said, every single word. I just couldn't remember how to respond. I couldn't remember anything I'd been taught. I just babbled in Japanese and English and he didn't understand a single word of what I was saying. Finally, I managed to say that I was lost. I could tell that he understood me because he suddenly looked a little relieved. But before anything else happened, my father and his team came out of the trees on the other side of the clearing.

Kaname opened her eyes and looked at Sousuke. "That boy… suddenly moved so fast, he was a blur. Before any of us knew it, he was holding me in front of him with a knife to my throat, telling my father in Farsi that he'd kill me if they tried anything. My father pleaded with him, and even though there wasn't really any reason to, the boy finally told my father that he'd let me go in exchange for my safety."

Her lips curved up and she closed her eyes again, lost in the encounter. Her voice came out wistfully as she continued, "I remember… as he took me backwards into the end of the clearing… I just started talking. Switching between Japanese and English again. I wasn't even aware of it until he looked at me with the oddest expression. I told him… that he couldn't have been any older than me. I remember telling him that I knew he was a good person. He pulled me into the forest and after a couple minutes of walking, he let me go and gestured for me to leave."

Kaname drew her knees up to her chest, resting her head on the pillow. "I remember turning to leave, but there was something about him that just broke my heart. He looked so… lost. I remember reaching up on my toes to kiss his temple, and turning to leave, and then turning around to look at him again and telling him thank you and to be safe. That was the first and last time I saw that boy. I must have passed out or been medicated shortly after reuniting with my father, because when I woke up again I was in a hospital bed not too different from this."

After a moment of silence, Sousuke asked, a trace of curiosity coloring his voice, "Why did you believe the boy was good? He could have killed you."

Kaname 'hmmm'ed for a moment while she thought of a response. Finally, she shrugged and said, "I don't know. I guess the operative word is 'could have'. He could have killed me… and he should have… but he didn't. He should have killed me when coming across me in that clearing, but instead, he stopped and I have the feeling he would have helped me if my father and his team hadn't shown up. He let me go when he could have taken advantage of the situation and killed me and run away. He… there was just something about him that screamed for help, I guess. And even though I couldn't do very much, I felt that I could, at the very least, show him a bit of kindness and compassion."

Suddenly, Kaname's eyes brightened and she turned to him. "You would've been there at the time!" And then more hesitantly, she asked, "Would you happen to know…?"

He shook his head. "Negative."

She frowned, looking dejected, and he continued, "There was only one 10-year-old boy in the entire camp."

She looked back at him, confusion marring her features. "But…?"

"You are very intelligent, Miss Chidori. I'm sure you'll figure it out." Sousuke finished. His last statement was as much reassurance as it was a confession.

The truth was, he didn't know what to feel about putting everything together. How would she feel? How would she react? Would she be mad at him, perhaps angry, or even… hate him?

He watched as she pieced everything together, her previously puzzled expression clearing as her eyes widened and she gasped softly. Looking at him with a sense of wonderment, a myriad of emotions crossed her eyes – shock, surprise, anger, hope, joy, sadness, disappointment…

Sousuke lowered his eyes and shifted slightly, turning away from her–

And he felt arms wrap around his neck and a soft body pressing to his.

Startled, he turned back – how had an intruder gotten past his defenses? – and found that Kaname had somehow found her way out of bed and was half-standing and half-leaning as she hugged him.

"You were that boy." She whispered, burying her head into the crook of his neck, warm tears soaking into his shirt.

Observing the way her body seemed to be struggling with standing – she was supposed to be resting, not standing until at least a couple days later, if her trembling legs said anything – he reacted quickly, sweeping her legs out from under her as he stood up and gathered her up in his arms.

"Sousuke?" Kaname questioned, looking up at him in confusion as tears ran down her face.

He sat down on her bed, carefully setting her sideways on his lap and allowing her to retain her grip on him as he chastised her softly, "You shouldn't be standing yet. Your body is still recovering."

Kaname settled her head back into the crook of his neck and reiterated, "It was you."

"Affirmative." He confirmed.

She was silent for a moment before she finally said, "I'm glad you're all right."

Unsure of how to respond, he simply replied, "Thank you, Miss Chidori."

They stayed like that for a while until a nurse came in and gave Kaname a shot.

After the nurse left and the meditation started to kick in, Sousuke laid Kaname down in the bed and tucked the sheets around her before taking up his position in the chair.

"…Sousuke?" Kaname called drowsily.

"Yes, Miss Chidori?" He promptly responded.

"'m glad you're here, Sousuke," She said sleepily, her eyes fluttering close as her breathing evened out.

He watched as she fell asleep, his eyes softening as he observed his angel.

After a long moment, he finally responded quietly, "Aa. I am also glad you are here… Kaname."

Fin.