Accidents Happen
Whether the intent had been planned or simply accidental, she would probably never know. The way his expression hardly ever changed upon surprise, fear, or simply plain shock, it was hard to tell if he meant what he said or if it was simply a joke; though he rarely ever joked. She had even grown to believe he didn't understand the meaning of the word, joke. And yet his existence in her life made it all seem much happier, like the time after a joke has been told and everyone is laughing and having a good time.
Chidori Kaname, once a mere high school student working her way through life alone, had one day met the lunatic, war-crazed young man that had flipped and flopped her life into that which was no longer considered normal. Or natural. Or in any way regular. Her life had gone from simple and quiet to being held hostage by some insane member of an anti-government agency. And that wasn't the first or the last of it. She'd practically gone through Hell and back.
But he had been there all along, protecting her and risking his own life for her sake. Kaname didn't want to admit it, but she cared for him so much. She worried every time he was called out for any other mission besides the one where he would protect her. At times, when he was gone for much too long, she would sit in the middle of her bed, clutching her stuffed Bonta-kun doll and try her best not to cry. But he'd always return, looking worn and injured, but safe nonetheless.
Sagara Sousuke, however unintentional, always seemed to screw things up. It was just his nature to pull a gun on a teacher in the middle of class (or simply pull out a gun) and whenever he felt danger was lurking, it always ended with an explosion or even something worse. That was probably why Kaname, under intense pressure already due to make-up exams in her cultural class, was about ready to snap and scream her head off.
Sousuke had done it again. Apparently, using his exact words, "Sorry, Chidori, but traces of an alcoholic liquid was located in the class area. Not knowing whether it was dangerous or not, I had no choice but to immediately seal off the area and spray an anti-explosive adhesive. If that liquid had come inches from a fire or even something extremely hot, it may have-"
He had been cut off just then when a large, tan-colored fan connected with the top of his head. As he fell, Kaname furiously banged at the door, trying her best to open it so she could air out the room by opening all the windows. No such luck, seeing as it seemed to be wedged tightly shut. Her frustration only grew.
"Chidori, what are you-" Again, he was cut off when she had grabbed his collar and stuffed his face at the door.
"Open it," she demanded, all anger clearly apparent on her narrowed face. Sousuke, still held against the door by his neck collar, tried his best to protest.
"Chidori, we can't enter the area until all traces of the adhesive has dissolved, otherwise we may end up clogging our air systems if we enter too early..."
"How long will that take?" Kaname roared, holding up her fan in a threatening motion.
"Anywhere between three to five days," Sousuke replied, his voice sounding like it was no amazement whatsoever. Kaname's fan connected with his head once more, bringing him to the ground with a loud and painful thumping noise. Standing over him, she glared down angrily.
"Sousuke! I've had it!" Her words spurted from her mouth before she could stop them, "If you don't cool down your crazed ways and outbursts, I swear I'll stop talking to you! I'll contact Tessa before you can say 'sorry Chidori' and have her relocate you. I mean it!" It was a somewhat empty threat, with only half being true. The other fifty percent was a giant bluff, but knowing Sousuke, he wouldn't take it lightly. After all, any sentence with Tessa's name in it always put him on edge.
She'd definitely pull through with the silent treatment, but Kaname could never have him relocated. She cared too deeply for something like that. But Sousuke... He didn't know otherwise. Maybe that was why his eyes widened to the size of golf-balls as she turned tail and strutted off, not giving him a chance to speak.
Sadly, by the end of the day, Kaname was regretting her words so much, she almost went home early. Kyouko, noticing her dear friend's worry, stopped snapping with her adorable pink camera and peered up at the distressed classmate, a questioning look on her innocent face.
"Kana? Is everything alright?"
Kaname mumbled something inaudible and sank lower into her chair. Kyouko frowned at this gesture.
"Kana? Did you and Sagara have a fight again?" Kyouko knew her friend all too well, and when Kaname turned her head away, she knew instantly what the problem was, "If it's about the science lab incident, it'll be fine. Sagara didn't mean it. That mixture was really, really strong smelling and it was no real problem. The room'll be open in a few days, you know."
"I know, Kyouko..." Kaname sighed and glanced up at the petite girl with the cute brown braids and wiry glasses, "I said something to him that I probably shouldn't have..."
Kyouko nodded and sat in the desk beside Kaname's, "Sagara probably won't take whatever you said to heart, Kana."
"No, I bet he will! I was really mean, Kyouko! Really, really mean..." The blue-haired girl trailed off and lowered her head sadly.
"What'd you say?" Kyouko enquired brightly. When she gained no answer, she figured it was something Kaname didn't want to repeat, "I'm sure it wasn't that bad. And besides, Sagara will have forgotten all about it tomorrow when he chucks something supposedly dangerous out the window."
Kaname nodded, smiling at the thought. Still, somewhere in the back of her head, she couldn't help but wonder what might happen. She couldn't help but think that it wasn't going to be alright...
-----
The next day felt normal. Kaname awoke feeling much better than she had the day before, and as she walked along to school, she felt Sousuke was probably trailing her as usual. Pausing in her steps, she turned briefly and glanced along the sidewalk, a hopeful look in her eyes. But she didn't see any trace of his familiar presence.
"Sousuke! Get down here," she hollered, tapping her foot as she waited, but her hopes were soon drained when he never came, "Sousuke?"
No answer.
Kaname's worries returned instantly and she proceeded to sprint the rest of the way to school, collapsing in her chair when she got there, panting as she glanced about the room hurriedly. He was nowhere.
"Kana? You okay?" Kyouko's friendly voice asked, sincere concern dripping from each word.
"Have you seen Sousuke?"
"Sagara? Not yet. Why?" Kyouko didn't gain any answer from this, so she turned and started towards another desk in the room. "Kazama, have you seen Sagara?" she asked the mecha otaku politely. Kazama's head jerked up so suddenly, he almost fell from his chair.
Straightening his glasses, the startled boy sat upright, "T-Tokiwa! U-uh... No, I haven't seen Sousuke... Why?" He asked quickly and uncertainly, stuffing whatever toy model he'd been fantasizing over into his desk.
"That's what I'd like to know..." Kyouko trailed off as her eyes landed on Kaname's slumped form. When the teacher entered and the bell signaling the start of class rang, Kyouko took her seat and listened to the lesson, thoughts on the situation working in the back of her head. Sagara wasn't here, which meant he was either out on one of those odd absences he had randomly, or the fight Kaname had mentioned was huge.
But all questions were answered when Sousuke burst in twenty minutes late, a panicked expression on his face and a gun sticking halfway out his back pocket, having been rather carelessly hidden. He saluted the teacher, stumbled over an excuse, was given a strict lecture and told it wasn't to happen again, and seated soon after. Kaname was half-tempted to demand what was up, but didn't, instead staring ahead stubbornly, not once glancing his way, no matter how tempting it was.
When class was over, Kaname rushed out of the room before Sousuke could make any excuses and even ignored Kyouko as she rushed to her next period. Sousuke followed in suit, but he was less enthusiastic and didn't check anything over twice. His usual safety pre-cautions were lost and Kaname soon found herself stepping into class rather disappointed. Kyouko frowned at the two and turned back towards Kazama.
"Do you know why they're acting so weird?" She questioned, her voice lowered so only the two of them would hear it.
"Not sure..." Kazama yawned again, "I was up all night last night and didn't talk to anyone."
"You should try sleeping more," Kyouko giggled and headed towards Kaname, "Kana, why don't you talk to him? He's acting strange and all, so if you talk with him, he might not feel so bad."
Kaname buried her face in her arms, "I don't know... He's behaving and all, but it doesn't feel right. I'm a horrible person, Kyouko..." She grumbled and slumped her shoulders more.
"How about I talk to him?" The shorter girl questioned further, but gained no answers. Her worries went from simple to a slightly panicked level.
-----
The tread home after a long, on-edge day without any problems or words from Sousuke seemed to last forever. Kaname's head hung low as her feet dragged across the ground with each step, no enthusiasm and no impatience readable in her posture and face. She was a little worried... Well, actually, she was much too worried to think correctly or she'd probably deny it all, but Kyouko's pestering and questions had gotten her thinking.
What if Sousuke had taken her so seriously (which was more than likely) he had calmed his entire attitude? It was a scary yet pleasing thought, but Kaname just didn't like it. He wasn't acting like the old, nervous Sousuke. He wasn't acting like he had an attitude at all. Kaname glanced around for the seventh time since she'd started home. Every time she hoped to spot his figure hiding behind a tree, but she didn't and it brought her hopes down even more.
The smart thing to do would be to stop looking around altogether, but Kaname couldn't take it. She kept hoping she'd spot him. But with each glance brought a great let-down. It was depressing.
"SOUSUKE, GET YOUR ASS DOWN HERE!" She suddenly screamed, then covered her mouth and about sprinted back to her apartment. She kicked her shoes off and collapsed on her bed, clutching Bonta-kun tightly. She hadn't meant to holler, but it felt good to let some of the anger out. She sighed and shut her eyes, breathing deeply.
The doorbell rang sometime later (how long it had been was undetermined) and Kaname considered not answering it. She got up anyway. Not even bothering to see who it was, she opened the door and stared out bluntly.
Sousuke stared back, looking as nervous as could be.
"What do you want?" She demanded as angrily as she could manage, but the flare was gone. Sousuke seemed surprised she didn't hit him, but he glanced down anyway.
"Tokiwa told me to come over..." His voice trailed off.
"Oh, so you'll listen to her, but not me? Wow, how nice. Oh, wait, I forgot, you listen to your captain too," she didn't address him by his name as she spoke. Sousuke stayed silent. "Well, then, what?" Kaname continued, "What do you want?"
"A-are you okay? Y-you haven't said anything since y-yesterday," he seemed incapable of speaking normally.
"That's because I'm mad at you. Ticked is a better word, actually," Kaname brushed at an imaginary dirt piece on her sleeve, "Why don't you just go? I don't feel like bothering to explain anything."
Sousuke's frown deepened, "I-I'm sorry..." He muttered.
Kaname looked away, "I don't see why you're apologizing now. You'll just do it again tomorrow."
They fell into silence.
"Sousuke, you just... You push it too much. The science lab issue was stupid. Of course the lab room will have strange smells and chemicals. It's a science lab. Think," she motioned to her head and sighed, "But of course, you don't think. Sousuke, if you keep this up, you'll be relocated no matter what I say. For all we know, you might be kicked out of the school. I just... I'm concerned."
He glanced up at Kaname quickly, "Chidori..."
"Sousuke, just process it through that thick head of yours, would ya'? I'm not saying it again," Kaname crossed her arms before she could stop herself. She hadn't meant to react, but it was just too natural for her.
"Sorry, Chidori," Sousuke flinched when she appeared to yank a fan from behind her, but instead a Bonta-kun slammed into his face.
"Whoops," Kaname smiled lightly, "So... You gonna try an' think before you act? Because while today might have been explosive-free, it was a little boring. You can behave as crazy as you want, just consider what it'll do to everyone else before you blow it up."
He nodded and handed her back the Bonta-kun. Kaname clutched it tightly, "Why didn't you blow anything up today?"
Sousuke looked down, a light blush across his cheeks, "No reason... You were mad..."
Kaname peered at his face closely, "You're lying. Really, why didn't you?"
He gulped, "Uh..." He paused, then muttered something Kaname couldn't quite hear.
"Sousuke."
"I didn't want you to send me away..." His eyes traveled up nervously.
Kaname grinned evilly, "Really? Well, if that's the case, I suppose I could try an' keep you around. But no funny business. If you screw up again, you'll be pushing it. Okay?"
He nodded nervously. Kaname punched him in the shoulder in a friendly sort of way, "Don't be so quiet!" All she earned was another tilt of the head. Kaname sighed and turned away, an expression of sadness clouding her face slowly but surely. She was grateful he didn't want to leave, but at the same time she couldn't help but wonder. Maybe she was thinking too much on the subject. Being to broad-minded on such a simple thing.
"Sousuke?"
"Yes, Chidori," Sousuke sounded normal with his robotic voice, which was a little scary.
Before Kaname could control herself, she turned and kissed him on the cheek. Or so she had hoped. Her mark was just a little off and she found herself blushing like a tomato as she pulled away, "S-s-sorry..." She squeaked, her voice jumbled and uncontrolled. Sousuke's face was just as red and he appeared to be on the verge of passing out.
"T-that's q-q-quite alright..." He was unsteady as he spoke. Kaname bit her lip and glanced at him nervously.
"Sousuke?"
He gulped, acknowledging that she'd spoken despite the tremendous amount of sweat dripping down his face.
"I never really wanted you to leave..." She trailed off slightly, "I could never want you to leave..."
His face brightened considerably, "Really? I mean..."
"Really," Kaname smiled, "You're definitely gonna stay here. Mithril will have to fight me before they take you away! And I'm sure Kyouko and Kazama and everybody else in class would agree!" She pumped her fist to show her enthusiasm.
Sousuke nodded, still utterly nervous.
This time Kaname leaned forward and pressed her lips against his, certain of her target. Sousuke burst into a larger sweat when she leaned back, winking as she held up her index finger, "That's to try and convince you to stay, okay?"
She giggled when his face grew redder than a cherry, "If you ever try to leave us, we'll hunt you down and drag you back by your toes. That's an order, sergeant!"
She burst into laughter when he went deathly pale and saluted, completely unsteady and looking as if he could fall over at any time. Kaname turned away and touched her lips lightly with her fingers. She had actually kissed him... Twice! She couldn't wait to tell Kyouko!