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It was an old American movie on TV that night. Typical overdone action, and of course the explosions were unbelievably huge and loud and perfectly done.

And of COURSE Sousuke was hopping mad over it.

"You know," I remarked, "it's America. Maybe they do things differently."

"But –"

"Nope."

"Miss Chidori, it's absolutely –"

"Theatrical?"

He blinked. "Pardon?"

"It's absolutely theatrical," I offered.

He scowled at the screen. "I don't understand how no one has a problem with things like this," he muttered. "It's utterly and completely disastrous. If it had been a real military operation –"

"It's not a real military operation," I reminded him. "It's a MOVIE."

"And with good reason," he grumbled. "It's completely unbelievable."

"So how about you just sit and laugh at how utterly goofy it is?" I suggested.

The idea didn't seem to thrill him. "Sousuke... really. Just shut up and watch the movie, would you?"

He muttered something, probably about the poor thought put into the movie and how embarrassed he was by even subjecting himself to it. But he did shut up.

I had two more cents worth to throw in, however. "The damn movie isn't about the special affects or the realism anyways," I added. "It's about the plot, you ninny. The point isn't how real the action is. It's about how the movie ends."

He glanced at me. "I suppose I understand," he said thoughtfully.

And that was that.

I sighed and kicked my shoes off. "Sousuke... you're allowed to stay here, I guess. I mean, I have a guest bedroom. You don't have to go back to your apartment... it's pretty late."

He shook his head. "I'm sorry, but I can't do that."

"Look, you leave here in the middle of the night every night, and you end up right back at my doorstep every morning before school... I'm not trying to make you. But it's almost four. You'll just be back here at seven anyways for school."

"I really can't. I have to send word back to Lieutenant Commander Kalenin when I arrive back at my station, and it's vital that I send it when I return. My superiors at Mithril... not Kalenin, or captain Testarossa, but the mainland division of Mithril... they feel that I'm wasting my efforts here," he admitted. "Ever since Arbalest programmed the LAMDA driver to respond specifically to me... it's complicated. I'm probably boring you."

I shook my head. "Of course not – I mean, I'm just glad you're talking to me, you know? You can keep going, if you want."

Sousuke nodded, a little hesitantly. "Well my AS – Arbalest – the LAMDA driver has adjusted so that only I can use it now. And... I wasn't the original recipient of that particular AS, so Mithril is already unhappy with the captain for allowing me to use it, when it was still an experimental weapon. And we know so little about what the LAMDA driver is capable of, even now. We don't know how or why it can do the things it does..."

"And they want to take you somewhere so that they can learn more about it," I finished softly.

"It's. The LAMDA driver is just too –"He huffed with frustration. "It's too unpredictable. When I couldn't start it, when I needed it – Melissa was almost killed. There's no specific reason that it didn't work. I just. It shouldn't be a weapon so heavily relied upon when it can't even be counted on to work, and I can understand why they want to replace me as your guardian."

"Yeah, but..."

"And the more time I spend with you on a social basis," he continued, "the more they worry about you becoming a liability than simply an assignment. They worry that I'll become attached to you and possibly lose focus during battle again, which I can't afford."

"But you're doing your job," I argued. "I mean, you're supposed to protect me, right? Isn't that what you're doing now? How do they know that I'm not in some kind of danger, right now? Which, technically, I am, since I'm one of the Whispered or whatever, and there's a bunch of other guys after me now. So if they have a problem with it, tell them you're just protecting me," I said flippantly.

His look was Not Amused. "I can't say that to a superior officer, even if it was Melissa."

I rolled my eyes. "Well duh. I'm just saying that they shouldn't whine, if you're doing what you're supposed to be doing. Plus, what if it's really that Gauron guy after me again? I mean, I don't think anyone else could protect me from him. And unless they want to sacrifice my brain to him so that they can play with their Black Technology, then I don't see how they can send you somewhere else."

His face, sullen already, fell even more. "If Gauron is still alive, then it's going to take far more than me to protect you from him. He's already gotten the better of me... four times, I think. If he's alive..."

"But we're not thinking about that," I cut him off. "All I'm saying here is... you DON'T HAVE to walk all the way back to your apartment."

Sousuke's face was adorably blank for a second. "I... oh. Miss Chidori, I really can't."

I couldn't help the pout. Honestly. "All right, fine."

But he didn't make a big deal of moving from his spot on my couch.

We didn't say anything for a few minutes, and neither of us moved. So I figured, it couldn't hurt to ask. I was just curious.

And questions never hurt anyone... right? Because... okay, so maybe it wasn't the brightest thing for me to ask him. Maybe I have my dumb moments. But I did it anyways.

"Hey... um, Sousuke?" I began hesitantly. "Why did Gauron call you Kashyyn?"

His face was no longer adorable. "What?"

"I was just... okay, I was just wondering about it, you don't have to answer," I said quickly. "It was a stupid question, never mind."

Now he looked suspicious. "Why were you even wondering?"

"Um. Because no one else called you that," I said lamely. "And. Um. He never actually called you by your name. Unless – I mean, that isn't your name, right?"

Sousuke looked away. "No. It's not my name. You don't speak any other languages?"

I shook my head. "Nope."

"It's derived from a word in the Helmajistani native language," he said shortly. "I suppose it's the equivalent of a nickname."

"Oh," I said thoughtfully. "So... what's it mean?"

"It doesn't mean anything," he replied shortly. "It doesn't translate into another language."

But I didn't believe him.

That was when he stood up, straightening his clothes stiffly. "I should be going," he muttered.

I put my forehead in my palm. "Look, I'm sorry. I shouldn't have asked... I wasn't trying to piss you off or anything."

He shook his head. "I'm not offended."

"Can we just forget I ever asked?"

"Consider it forgotten."

I swallowed. "So I guess I'll see you in the morning?"

"Of course. And don't forget we have an algebra test in the morning."

"SHIT!"

"...I'll be loaning you my notes in the morning, then."

I groaned. "No. I've got my own notes. Gah... I'll just study through the first hour tomorrow."

A nod as I opened the door for him. "'Night, Sousuke," I told him, letting a yawn peek through.

Sousuke nodded again. "Before I go... it was inappropriate of me to snap at you. And it was also slightly inaccurate to tell you that... that name didn't translate. Depending on how it's pronounced, one of the loosest things it means is 'little one,'" he muttered, looking away from me.

I blinked. "Um. Oh. That's a kind of..." don't say it, you brat, don't SAY it!

"I was eight when I first met him," he explained feebly. "I suppose by all rights I was little."

"What about the other pronunciations?"

His voice hardened as he turned away from me. "I don't understand."

"What do the others mean?"

"Nothing."

And this time, nothing was what he was going to say about it.

Well... that answered like three or four questions.

Sousuke

By her attitude, I suspected that Miss Chidori had failed her test: for the past several weeks, her temper had been carefully checked, and her explosions had been few. But failing a test apparently set her back a bit. Her trigger that particular morning was when she came out of the girls' bathroom to find me lounging against the wall, waiting for her. Takuma had given me enough reason to decide that even bathrooms weren't safe, and so I made a habit of rather blatantly waiting for her. Should anyone suspicious pass by with the knowledge she was in the restroom, it would be clear to them that she wasn't unguarded.

But I suppose I scared her... or surprised her, as she came storming out.

"DAMMIT, SOUSUKE!" she exploded. "GIVE ME SOME WARNING NEXT TIME, WOULD YOU! Jeez! And don't look so damn smug about that stupid-ass test, you moody military jerk, I didn't have TIME to study for it because I have a LIFE!"

"I never said –"

"Can it," she snapped. "And God, could you be more discreet about STALKING me? Honestly, Sousuke, if you're trying to do that whole mysterious bodyguard thing... YOU'RE NOT DOING IT VERY WELL!"

"If you wouldn't –"

"If I wouldn't WHAT?! Be on hit lists? Be wanted by weird guys who hijack planes? Well if you INSIST –"

"I was going to say if you wouldn't yell –"

She whacked me with a folded newspaper, which was surprisingly painful. "I'll yell if I want to!"

"Of course, Miss Chidori."

"Oh, so that's it? A 'Yes, Miss Chidori,' and that's the end of it?" she demanded. "You're not even going to argue?"

"I happen to agree with you."

"What's there to agree with?" she wailed.

I paused. That was actually a good question.

I don't normally dream. But after school that day, before I was supposed to meet Kaname at her house for another study session, I did fall asleep. And I dreamed.

The images fled my mind upon waking, but I felt the after-effects. My body was trembling, I was drenched in sweat, and the room felt like it was a thousand degrees. The only remnant of the dream was that name – his name, for me. Kashyyn.

I could feel my own heart pounding – something had snapped me from a fitful sleep. The door.

I glanced at the clock... nine. Dammit. I was supposed to meet Miss Chidori at eight. She was probably furious with me. Kurz knew I was supposed to be there, and he hadn't even –

The door.

It was probably Miss Chidori, I realized with a cringe. I was nowhere near presentable, although on some base level I didn't care.

"Kurz!" I called irritably.

"...Yo?"

"The door, if you would," I snapped.

"I'm busy!" he hollered back. "Hey, Melissa!"

And then from the bathroom, where steam was pouring from under the door, an indication that she was in the tub. "Fuck you, Webber!"

"Sousuke, dude, just get the door! Who is it?"

"I don't know, because no one has answered it."

"So answer it."

I sighed and pulled my dog tags from my undershirt, standing up and striding to the door. Some form of apology was already coming to mind, some petty reason why I didn't make dinner – something that wouldn't end up a hazard to my health. I could still remember the feeling of home base coming in contact with my head, and it wasn't something I looked forward to feeling again.

"Dude, don't bother, I'm closer," Kurz sighed. "Christ, you're difficult."

I sat back down and picked up my pistol, which needed to be polished. "Has Miss Chidori called?" I asked.

I heard him pop a few bones. "Nah, why?"

"I was supposed to meet her for dinner, and I overslept. Which reminds me, why didn't you wake me up? You knew I had plans."

"'Cause, asshole, you haven't slept. I was just glad to see you unconscious, okay? Do you think it's her at the door?"

"It's possible."

The door swung open, and I heard Kurz suck in a breath. Soft words were exchanged, and I couldn't hear them, but I could tell that it wasn't Miss Chidori at the door. The voice was too low to be female, and I leaned forward to try and catch a few words.

"Uh. Sousuke?"

His tone made me sit up. "Yes?"

"It. The door's for you."

My gun was in my hand immediately, and I moved to get a better glance at the figure in the door. But he'd opened the door and left it at an angle that blocked my view, so I kept my gun trained on where I knew the person was standing.

But I could see Kurz's face, and I could see how wide and shocked his eyes were. I would probably need the gun.

"Kurz, move out of my way," I said quietly.

"You don't need the gun," he answered, just as quietly, as I slipped into the doorway.

My hands shook on the gun as my eyes met the stranger's.

A smirk that wasn't dulled by the injuries I was noticing – and there were a lot. In fact, when my eyes fell to the ground at his feet, I could see blood soaked all the way down his clothes and pooling on the floor. I might not need the gun; he was going to bleed to death in the doorway.

But his voice made me realize that I shouldn't set down the gun, because he was absolutely lethal until he was dead.

"I've got a business proposition, Kashyyn."