Chapter 1: Sousuke Meets His Enemy
Kaname made sure to close the door, since Sousuke had forgotten. The two of them were in his quarters aboard the Danaan. They had just returned from a Tokyo shopping trip. There was plenty of time for R&R while the ship was in harbor, being serviced.
Kaname had purchased two new dresses, as well as a hat.
Sousuke had purchased a cartoon show. He ignored Kaname as he raced to play his newly acquired episodes, to see his favorite character, Heero Yuy.
Sergeant Sagara's attention was entirely engrossed by this new thing he had found. Apparently, watching classic anime was a big hobby on board the Tuathaa De Danaan. Sousuke's personal favorite happened to be a show called Gundam Wing. It was something he found particularly easy to relate to. A group of young soldiers, like himself and his comrades, were fighting in a war for freedom, justice, and whatever else they fought for. Sousuke didn't really like to think about it too much, he was a soldier, not a scholar. He found the show so engrossing, in fact, that he barely payed any attention to Kaname, which would prove to be a poor decision..
"So, do you think I look cute in this dress?" she asked him.
"Sure." he replied.
"What about the other one?" she continued.
"Sure." he reiterated.
"Which one do you like better?"
"Sure." he would come to regret saying.
"You're not really listening to me are..."
"No, that's all wrong! Those tactics will never work against such an enemy!" Sousuke interrupted.
"I see. Well, I guess I'll have to mess with your head. Is that all right, Sousuke?" Kaname warned.
"Yes. That is acceptable." he said, continuing to ignore her.
"Okay. You jerk. I'll teach you to ignore me"
Kaname thought to herself for a bit about the perfect way to make Sousuke regret not giving her his full attention. After a little while, and about six thousand rounds of Heavyarms' ammo, a plan began to form in her head.
"Man, it sure is hot on the Danaan today. Aren't you hot, Sousuke?" she began.
"Yes. No! Not there! The enemy will always look there first!" he yelled at the screen.
"You mind if I take my jacket off, Sousuke?" I'm just so hot."
Sousuke did not reply, his attention so engrossed in his show.
"Okay, I guess not." After removing her jacket, she paused for a moment. She wondered for a moment if she really had the guts to go through with her plan. Besides, he was just watching a TV show. It's not like he was ignoring her out of anger. After a moment of thought, she steeled her reserve, and continued her ploy.
"Wow. This shirt is itchy. Man, what I wouldn't give for a nice, hot bath. Mmmm. I love to feel the water run all over my skin. I think I'll just take this itchy old shirt off, now. You don't mind, right Sousuke?" she cooed.
"Affirmative." he managed to bark out, in between calculations of remaining ammo.
She was a little hurt that even that failed to get his attention. With renewed resolve, she decided to redouble her efforts.
"Yeah, you don't mind at all, huh, big boy? Tell you what, why don't I just slip this skirt off, too? There's no one around. Ah, that's much better. So nice and comfy. Mmmm. You know, I've always found being naked around your friends is a great way to feel closer to them, haven't you?"
"I can see that." he mumbled, as Heero and Duo fought about... something. He didn't care what. As long as they fought well.
"Yeah, so you don't mind? Good. There. That's better. Wow, I'm much cooler, now. Hm. A little cold, in fact. I might need you to come warm me up, Sousuke. Keep me company, right?" she dared.
"That is acceptable, Kaname." he said, as the pace of the show slowed down a bit.
"I'd really like that. Sousuke... Sousuke..." she hesitated. Did she dare say this last part out loud? It was only a joke at his expense, but secretly, in her heart...
"Sousuke, will you make... will you make me a woman, right here, right now?" she blurted out.
"I can agree to that." he replied while still absorbed in his show. Slowly, as the conversation with Kaname replayed in his head, reviewing the parts he skipped over, as only a trained soldier can do, it dawned on him what she said. His eyes growing wide in surprise, he turned around.
"Wait, what?" he said.
He had turned around in time to see two things. The first of these was a fully dresses Kaname looking very angry. The second was the large white fan quickly coming at his head. He could not dodge. There was no time. He tried to roll with the hit, but it was like rolling with a meteor strike.
"Damn you, Sousuke! Not only are you not listening to me, you're a pervert, too! And here I am, alone with you in your room! If I had thought for one second that this is what you were like, I never would have come in here!" she angrily accused.
"I apologize. I was only concerned by your bizarre statement." he countered.
"Oh, don't try that, mister. God, you're just like Kurtz. Worse, maybe." she said.
"No, it was only a misunderstanding." he tried.
"There was nothing to misunderstand! I'm leaving." she finished, as she stormed out of his room.
Sousuke was left in a stunned silence. Not knowing what else to do, he went back to watching his show. Heero was back on, the character most like himself. Outside, Kaname paused a moment before walking off. She began thinking to herself.
Oh, Sousuke. Why does it bother me so much when you ignore me? She allowed her mind to wander a bit. You always follow orders. Never question authority. You're like a big dumb dog. But you can be so... cute sometimes. Realizing where her mind had wandered off to, she quickly put it back n it's cage, and continued walking.
Five days later, Sousuke and Tessa were in a hangar aboard the TDD, discussing a new training system.
"That is correct, Sergeant. This is a computer simulation of the capabilities of the Arbalest. It is not a normal simulation, however, in that it is entirely interactive. I'll allow Specialist Vonn to explain.
"Thank you Captain. You see, this is no ordinary simulation. Not by any means. This is AI Virtual Reality, the next step in computer sims. With it, we recreate the entire AS unit, Arbalest. Also, we can create any number of enemy AS, as well as support AS." said a thin man wearing glasses, and a technician's uniform.
"I still do not see the difference, sir!" Sousuke was quick to state.
"Well, of course not, my boy. There isn't one yet. I'm getting to that, you see. The difference, in this simulation, is that your mind gets jacked directly into the simulation. It's true virtual reality! You will feel as though you are truly a part of the world you inhabit!" Vonn replied.
"So, it will be a full virtual experience?" Sousuke inquired.
"Correct, correct, my boy! Very astute! Now, I'll explain further! You see, we take a helmet that is attached to a cord, and inside the helmet are magnets, which can be used to induce brainwave patterns, and then we...Vonn began.
"Not now, Vonn. We don't have time for a full technical explanation. We have to run the simulation." Tessa interrupted.
"Of course, of course. How silly of me. Now, my boy, see here. Would you like to meet the enemy you will be fighting? The Captain picked this one out especially for you." Vonn continued.
"The Captain?" Sousuke said, while looking over at Tessa, who was playing with her hair, trying to look at nothing in particular. A faint blush could be seen in her cheeks.
"Very true, boy, very true. So, shall we meet this enemy?" Vonn began. "You can come out, now!"
A door opened on the side of the hangar. From the darkness, a boy about Sousuke's age walked in. he had a similar hairstyle to his own, and looked quite a bit like himself, except this boy was not wearing a military uniform. He had on black pants and a green shirt. As Sousuke began to place the face of the person in front of him, he nearly fainted.
"Do you like it, Sagara?" Tessa asked, a little bit of hope in her voice.
Sousuke could not respond. He didn't know how to. Standing in front of him, staring him down, was his enemy for this simulation. Standing in front of him was Heero Yuy.
