All right, time for the next entry! I see a few people enjoyed that last one. Good, because I'm a little more disappointed in that last entry than I thought I was. Hopefully, this next one will be better. WARNING: This chapter contains spoilers for Full Metal Panic! The Second raid.
-Kouji Tamino
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Finding Yourself in a Routine Plot
Situation 2: Rescue Mission
Sousuke awoke with a start, quickly realizing that A: it was already getting dark, B: Kaname was missing, and C: he was in a hospital. Memories of the moments before a speeding vehicle hit him flashed before his eyes. As his mind worked the pieces all together, he soon understood that the incident with the van as he was attempting to rescue Chidori was no accident. Those bastards had intentionally taken him out in order to keep him from interfering. Once he finally managed to discover where they had taken Chidori, he was going to make them pay severely for even laying a finger on Chidori.
There was only one problem, however. He not only had no idea where they had gone, he had no way to determine the location either. He could ask around in order to collect recon, but it appeared to be much too late in the day for anyone who might have witnessed the incident to still even be around. Sitting up in his bed, wincing as he finally noticed that his ribs were bandaged up, he made up his mind. "It doesn't matter. I must find Miss Chidori."
"Oh! So you're awake, Mr. Sagara!" a nurse replied as she walked in, carrying a pencil board with several pieces of paper clamped to it. Looking the papers over, she quirked an eyebrow as she read. "Oh my, what a nasty accident you were in!" She shouted obliviously. "It's a wonder you're looking so well!"
"That was no accident…" Sousuke muttered to himself under his breath. Stiffening as the nurse asked him what he had just said, he coughed awkwardly, fist to his mouth. "I-it was nothing, ma'am! I was just wondering how long I would be detained here at this facility!"
"Oh, is that all?" The nurse asked, giggling. Looking back at the papers, she nodded. "Hmm, says here that you'll be free to go tomorrow once it's confirmed that you're stable. Anyway, you seem to be doing quite fine, so I'll just leave you to rest for the night. Good night, Mr. Sagara!"
"Good night…" Sousuke replied, nodding simply. As the nurse left the room, he looked around intently. He had to find a way out of here without alerting anyone. "Sorry, but I have no intention of staying here", he said to no one in particular. Conveniently, his clothes were all folded up and sitting on a nearby chair. Checking to make sure that no one was close by, he slowly slipped from his bed, unceremoniously ripped out all the tubes connected to him, and began to put his school uniform back on. "I hope that I'm not too late."
After managing to escaped out through the window with his things, he aimlessly wandered the city, making his way back to the ice cream parlor where the incident had taken place earlier that day. "There doesn't appear to be any clues to where they could have gone. This this will not be an easy mission."
"Sagara?" a rough voice replied, the source walking out of the shadows into the open with his hands in his pockets. It was fellow student and school rival Issei Tsubaki. "Is that you? You look terrible, what the hell happened to you?" He had a fierce aura about him, as if he had just gotten out of a fight or was ready to fight. It was beginning to unnerve even the usually unshakeable Sousuke Sagara. Sensing this, he reassured the other boy. "Oh, don't worry. I'm not here to pick a fight. I just got finished training with the rest of the Amateur Karate Club. They're all sitting around resting after the thorough beating I gave them. They're getting too soft, if you ask me", he replied with a slight tinge of disgust evident in his voice. "I barely broke a sweat. If you weren't looking so ragged yourself, I'd challenge you right here and now!" He shouted, raising his fists with a smirk. "Both to settle our score, and to quench my thirst for a challenge!"
"Chidori has been kidnapped, Tsubaki." Sousuke explained bluntly, un-phased as he was suddenly grabbed by the shirt and screamed at. He had been expecting this. "I don't know where they took her, nor what school they go to. Please, will you…" Pausing for a moment, he sighed. It was true that he didn't get along that well with the arrogant martial artist, but he couldn't deny that his skills would be highly invaluable in rescuing the girl. So for once, he was willing to swallow his pride when it came to Issei Tsubaki and ask for his assistance. "Tsubaki, will you please help me find her?"
"Of course I will!" Issei shouted, suddenly getting really pumped up and energetic, driven by the prospect of being the one to actually rescue her and claim her undying love. Of course, he wouldn't actually make this public knowledge, but that was how he felt, damn it! If anything ever happened to her, he didn't know what he would do. "Come on, let's go! My fighting spirit is on fire! We're bound to run into a lot of guys just asking for a brawl!"
Giving the fighter an irritated look, he rubbed his temples and closed his eyes. Perhaps asking him was a bad idea after all. His over eagerness could become a liability. "Like I said, I have no idea where to go and--" Just at that moment, his cell phone rang. Looking at the outer screen before answering it, he scoffed at the familiar number. It was Wraith who was calling him. What in the hell did he or she want? He almost didn't want to take the wretched call, but after some thinking, perhaps Wraith had some information as to the location of Chidori. He or she had to have witnessed the incident, so it was quite likely. Finally resolving to answer the phone, Sousuke spoke in a firm voice. "Yes. What is it?"
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"My my, Sagara…" Wraith replied tauntingly, speaking through her voice modifier. Just because Chidori knew her identity didn't mean that her idiotic 'bodyguard', if you could even call him that anymore, needed to. "You don't seem to be in a very good mood." The Mithril Intelligence agent chuckled. Knowing Sagara, Chidori was in no real danger. She could afford to have a little fun with him for the moment.
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"I'm not in the mood for your games today, Wraith." Sousuke growled, his mood bordering on anger now. He didn't want to answer that call and this was why. The agent had a particularly annoying skill of getting under his skin whenever they talked with each other. If he didn't know any better, he would swear that he or she got off on verbally tearing into him. "Do you know the whereabouts of the people that kidnapped Chidori? If so, could you please tell me?"
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"I don't know… Should I assist such an insubordinate member of Mithril?" Wraith teased, utterly enjoying getting a rise out of the young TDD-1 SRT member. It was boring just observing Kaname Chidori unless she herself put a few ripples into the water, and Sgt. Sagara was just such a perfect target of her amusement.
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"I don't give a damn about Mithril!" Sousuke shouted, finally letting his anger get the best of him. Quickly regaining his composure, he took a deep breath and humbled himself for the second time that night. "Please, Wraith… I need your help if our efforts are to be a success. I will forever be in your debt."
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Wraith smirked. She had won once again. She wasn't doing this for him, though. She owed Chidori her life, and she still felt that she hadn't yet paid her dues. Besides, she wasn't about to admit out loud, but she had grown rather fond of the girl. She was tough, spunky, and had handled herself quite well during the initial rooftop meeting and the incident with the assassin that followed. She couldn't let anything happen to her, not after all she had been through. "Fine. Just pay attention to my directions and you'll find her, no questions. By the way, you'd be better off to not spout off words like Mithril among citizens."
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"…Th-thank you… And yes, I understand." Sousuke muttered, having been beaten in the verbal war between him and Wraith once again. He intently began to write down the instructions before hanging up without even saying so much as 'bye'. He was in no mood for anymore 'small talk'. Now that he had the location of the thugs, Tsubaki and he could finally go rescue Chidori. "All right, I've secured the location, so let's go."
Issei was understandably confused by the phone conversation that had just taken place. He also wanted to meet the person on the other line. Anyone who could rile up the always-somber military nut was quite a character indeed. "Wait… who was that? And what the hell is Mithril?"
The dark haired solider for hire became rigid, slowly turning towards his temporary partner. Once again, he had jeopardized his position. He had to quit blurting out things that civilians had no business knowing. "Oh, Mithril? That was nothing, just some dumb obscure video game."
Not really buying the obvious lie, the green haired boy decided to let it slide for now. Saving the lovely Miss Chidori was much more important at the moment. "Fine, whatever. Let's just go already!"
Nodding with an expression of intensity, Sousuke took out one of his many weapons from who-knows-where. "Affirmative! There's not the minute to lose!" The two rivals were off, bursting into a run towards their destination.
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When they arrived, they found that the enemy made their base of an old warehouse. "God, that's so cliché…" Tsubaki whispered, a scowl on his face. "I mean, seriously. An abandoned warehouse? How stale can you get?" The two scouted the area and found that the most accessible entrance was the one on the far right. There was only one guy guarding the door and he seemed to be isolated from the others.
"All right, here's our strategy", Sousuke began, reaching around to find a suitable weapon. "I'll launch a smoke bomb. Once that distracts him, you head in and use hand-to-hand to incapacitate him. Once he is out of the way, I'll grab his key if necessary and we will head in. We have no idea what we'll find inside, so be prepared for anything, including an ambush." The scarred boy had no idea if this plan would work. They might even be stopped at the door. And if they did manage to infiltrate the base, then what? There was no telling how many people were in there. He was confident in his skills, but the fact was that he was exhausted and injured. He wouldn't be able to perform at 100, and someone just might decide to take advantage of that.
On the other hand, what would happen to Chidori if he didn't at least try? The sick and twisted things that the punks in that building could be doing to her made his stomach churn and his blood boil. He had to go, for her sake.
Luckily for him, Issei had similar thoughts, so there was no need to try and convince him. The duo snuck around the surroundings plant life and quickly made their plan a reality and successfully made their way into the warehouse. There seemed to only be about 10-15 guys there, so that was good. What wasn't good, however, was that as soon as they entered the building, they all took notice of the intruders. The brawl was on, and there was no turning back.
Both boys were managing to take on several opponents at one due to their superior fighting skills, but a wounded Sousuke was quickly tiring. He decided his next best option was to make a break for it at the next available opportunity. He could spot a door that led to another section of the warehouse and possibly Kaname. Finding his opening, he took it, shouting. "I'm going to get Chidori! Cover me!"
Issei, sensing that his rival was in no condition to continue beating back all of these relentless attacks, nodded and agreed grudgingly. "Go on ahead! I'll keep 'em busy for you!" Standing in front of the 6 remaining guys, he smirked. "Hold on, fellas. Your fight…" waving his hands in front of himself, his body began to glow with a piercing blue aura. "…is with me!"
The hoodlums from another school stood still as if frozen, their bodies shaking in fear at the frightening atmosphere he gave off. "Why can't I move?" One boy asked rhetorically, sweat dripping down his brow. "Wait, that stance… He can't be prepared to use that move, can he? It hasn't been correctly performed in 56 years supposedly!"
Tsubaki could only laugh as they stood in awe at his power. Soon they would feel the full wrath of his new technique. "That's right! I learned this one from an old man in the mountains!" Suddenly, his aura changed to that of a glowing fire-like orange, and his intensity began to grow. A powerful wind burst from his body and pushed the thugs back a few inches, their eyes widening as they started eyeing the doors to make their retreat. "This hand of mine is burning red! Its loud roar tells me to grasps victory! Bakunetsu… God…"
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Sousuke finally reached, the door, pulling out his trusty Glock and blowing the lock off. After kicking the door open, he found three more boys with their hands all over a barely conscious, drugged up and half naked Kaname. His horror at seeing the girl's school uniform in tatters and strewn all over the floor didn't take long to turn into violent anger and hatred for the ones responsible. How DARE they do such a thing to Chidori. He was having trouble just keeping his composure, not having been this angry since Hong Kong. Grabbing one of the boys by the collar, he shoved the barrel of his Glock right at his forehead, shaking hand tightening threateningly on the trigger. As the other two ran off and left their friend to the mercy of the ticked off mercenary, Sagara stared at him coldly and spoke in an equally frigid tone that echoed his behavior back when he believed that Chidori had been killed under the orders of Gauron. "It appears that your comrades have abandoned you", he taunted, finger continuing to play with the trigger. "That's too bad for you." Just as he was about to pull it, a feminine hand clasped his hand gently. Looking over to the girl, he slowly became his normal self again, eyes softening. "Ch-Chidori?"
"Please… don't do it, Sousuke", Kaname said weakly, staring at her friend through half lidded eyes. She could barely stay awake, and she felt horribly ill. Just how much drugs had those bastards pumped into her body, and what kind of sick things had they planned to do to her that required her to be this out of it? Still, despite what they had done and almost did to her, she didn't want to see Sousuke senselessly kill an unarmed person out of pure spite. If she let him do that, then the boy that she cared for… the boy that she was falling in love with, even… might be lost forever. "I don't want you to become a cold blooded killer, so please…" Squeezing his hand a little tighter, she gave him a warm smile. "Besides, I'm all right. You saved me just in time, just like always…" Slowly losing her consciousness again, she rested her head against the boy's lap.
"Sorry Chidori, but it's already too late for that", Souske whispered, thinking back to how he had pretty much murdered a quadiplegic Gauron on what was practially his deathbed. Although knowing Chidori, after what the sadistic man had put them all through, she probably wouldn't mind too much if she ever found out... Tossing the now passed out punk to the side, Sousuke took off his uniform jacket and placed it on Kaname's body to somewhat preserve her modesty before gently picking her up and turning to head back into the part of the warehouse he came in from. Glancing at all the scattered bodies, he looked to the creator of most of the carnage. "I presume that you had no trouble with the rest, Tsubaki?" His gaze turned to one group of guys in particular, who were singed, smoking, and had a strange orange glow to them.
Issei stared forlornly at Kaname as her sleeping form nuzzled against Sousuke's white dress shirt. He was glad that she was safe, though. That's what really mattered. Smirking cockily, he picked at his nose with his thumb. "Yeah, they were nothing. So, you doing okay Sagara? I could tell that you're pretty banged up. What did they do to you, anyway?"
"They attempted to exterminate me with a motor vehicle," Sousuke replied indifferently, his normal expression and tone not changing at all. "Their fatal flaw was not finishing the job and making sure that I had truly expired. What a flimsy assassination effort. And yes, I'll be fine. I'm taking Chidori home and I no longer require your help. Thank you, and I am truly grateful for what you've done."
"Now wait a second… You got hit by a car driven with an intent to kill or maim, and you still did what you did tonight?" Issei was completely dumbfounded, but he didn't want to here anymore. Both physically and mentally exhausted, he just decided to go home and turn in. "Well goodnight, Sagara. Make sure that Chidori gets home safely, okay?" Turning with a casual wave, he walked away from the pair.
Urzu 7 nodded, turning in the opposite direction to walk to the train station so Kaname and he could get home. It had been quite the day, and he really hoped that nothing else went awry on the way there.
Wraith watched from a nearby rooftop, a small grin on her face. It looks like her gamble on the Sgt. Had paid off. Chidori was safe, no casualties had resulted, and damage had been kept to a minimum. If there was anything she could fault Sagara for this time, it was the fact that the idiot had forgotten to call the police on those punks. Picking up her phone, she began dialing. Her work was never done…
To Be Concluded…