Disclaimer: Yes, I do not own Full Metal Panic. And yes, in my dreams, I'd like to pretend I do.

Summary: Her mouth stopped near his ear, and whispered ever so softly, much like the same way she did last time Sousuke allowed her to cut his hair. "You can't protect me forever, Sousuke" SousukeKaname

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Save Me

By makka na yuki

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He had almost killed her, Sousuke grimly thought, as he tried to stop himself from punching the nearby submarine wall. Though he knew his only goal the night before was to immobilize the mysterious enemy, so many things could've gone wrong. What if he had miscalculated his aim and the bullet pierced some vital organ instead of just her legs? What if she fell off the building in her haste to get away…? What if… what if…

Calm down, he told himself as he took deep breaths in hopes to soothe his nerves. He had been restless before, but now he's a total wreck. Even as he tried to stop the bleeding from Kaname's wounds, all the while forgetting his own injuries, his hands couldn't stop shaking.

There was so much blood

Take it easy Sousuke, he chided with himself again. It would do no good if he were to snap now.

Chidori's not dead. She's fine… she's…

"She is waiting for you in the interrogation room." A deep voice disturbed the young soldier's thoughts. Kalinin looked at his foster son with a stoic face. His eyes however, betrayed his worry. "Talk to her."

"Yes sir!" Sousuke immediately straightened his stance to salute his commanding officer before walking off. He owed a lot to this comrade of his. Kalinin was the first one Sousuke contacted after the commotion, and the old man took it upon himself to lead the investigation and have them transported to the Tuatha de Danaan. Sousuke felt more at ease that a person he truly trusts is handling this case.

"Prepare yourself, Sagara" the old man's voice stopped him in his tracks, "She was reported to have been seeing the enemy from quite some time now."

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The sight of her made him uncomfortable.

Sousuke never imagined Chidori to be seated where she is now – in the middle of a dark interrogation room. It was similar to the ones he usually saw in black-and-white cop movies, with a big bright lamp connected to the ceiling as the only source of light. Though in this day and age, the young soldier knows that hidden cameras and lasers line the steel walls. It was more of a solitary torture prison, and he doesn't doubt it has been used as such prior to this case. He almost cringed at the thought of physically hurting Chidori to start confessing.

She wasn't supposed to be confined here like a… like a lab rat, under the scrutinizing gazes of the people behind the camera lens. She wasn't supposed to be out of bed, with two armed guards stationed to follow her everywhere like a criminal…

Damn it, Sousuke grimly thought as he clutched his clipboard, she wasn't supposed to smile at him like that, after what he's done…

The Kaname Chidori he knew should never look that defeated.

Kaname saw his unease. "So... you've caught me huh?" she started, trying to make a light conversation.

Not knowing what to answer, the young soldier sighed before taking his seat and skimming through the clipboard's countless pages he had read a dozen times. He still couldn't believe what was happening. Granted he was the most qualified to do this job because of previous associations with the blue-haired girl but … How in the world were they expecting him to conduct this interrogation with her smiling at him like that? That same betrayed smile she always showed whenever she knew he was going away in another life-threatening mission?

Sousuke cursed again. He was never going to leave her again after this, if given the choice. He was a human first, a soldier second – that was what he learned… no… what was drilled in his head every time she hit him for doing something so uncivilized. But right now, he had to follow protocol. He had to keep a straight face.

Otherwise

"Is it true that you have been attending to small meetings conducted by personnel from a terrorist agency?"

The blue-haired girl had been expecting this – another interrogation, at least now by someone she actually knows - but how many times do these military men have to repeat the same god-forsaken questions before they finally realize that she wasn't bluffing the first time she answered them?

"You already know the answer to that"

He sighed again. "Yes or no only, Kaname Chidori"

"Ahh, whole name basis now huh." she huffed feeling insulted. "Well then, yes"

Kaname knows she shouldn't be surprised by his attitude – she had expected it long before as well – but any sign of concern would have been nice for a change. Everybody in this damn underwater base couldn't look her in the eye anymore, though they always did look and whisper amongst themselves a lot whenever she was seen passing by, escorted back and forth from this room.

"Whatever" she breathed in annoyance.

She's still the same, the young agent almost smiled at the thought before continuing. "Is it true that this agency is led by none other than-"

"Don't say it" she cut him off, eyes ablaze. Her sudden shift to anger surprised them both. She shouldn't be this affected anymore…. "Don't ever say his name"

"But... Chidori" he added, hoping to lessen her fury. Sousuke didn't want her to be mad, either at him or in general, in slight fear that she would bring out that giant fan of hers from who-knows-where to make his head more rattled than before. But he would've gladly accepted her anger rather than this cold acceptance.

The long-haired girl seemed to have read his thoughts "I'm unarmed, Sousuke." She almost laughed at his expression "And I don't think hitting you right now would prove beneficial for both of us. Those guards outside aren't carrying just play guns you know?"

Sousuke sighed in defeat. "I haven't finished the questioned yet…"

Kaname crossed her arms, mood darkening all over again, "Doesn't matter. I won't answer it"

"Well then, is it also true that-"

"Cut with the crap Sousuke!." Kaname sighed, her irritation growing by the second. Don't people here ever know when to give up? She'd been through this so many times that it makes her head throb. "You're tired, I'm tired. Getting shot isn't exactly my idea of having fun."

He flinched.

Silence.

And then…

"Why?"

She smiled sadly at him, knowing she probably didn't have an answer to that as well.

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They stayed like that for a while longer. Two totally different individuals seated opposite around a rectangular table in a dark, small room. Tense silence permeated the air, and yet… the familiar presence of each other made it a little bit more bearable. They both cherished it, knowing full well this may be the last time… If the people watching from the cameras had any complaints at this obvious waste of military time, they didn't let anyone know.

Sousuke decided to break the silence this time around. "What happened... w-when I was gone..?" he finished hesitantly, not wanting to show his guilt for leaving her alone, nor portray any weakness to his commanding officers that were watching. This isn't part of the procedure, the young agent thought as he looked at the details in his clipboard, but I have to know.

Kaname placed her hand atop his, hers soft and warm against his coldness. Choosing to evade the question once again, she replied "Don't blame yourself, Sousuke, please"

It angered him. The young soldier removed his hands from under hers only to slam it both back down the table. The force left her wincing.

"Tell me" he hissed as he grabbed both her shoulders, patience suddenly waning at the number of unanswered questions in his mind. "Is someone" – he almost spat the word in disgust – "forcing you to do this?" It was vague, whatever he was referring to, as vague as their relationship right now could get. But they both knew what he was talking about.

Kaname's eyes widened in … fear? Sousuke shook her a little bit more when he realized she might dare not answer him again.

He had never used that tone on her before. She didn't expect herself to push him this far.

He wasn't supposed to snap.

No, she shouldn't be scared of him. Not now…

The barrier she had set around herself was breaking

"N-no…"

His grip on her arms tightened. Sousuke stared at her face, looking for any signs that she might be lying to him. "I don't believe you"

Her's eyes narrowed in response. She hissed back "I don't care"

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Author's Note: Ah yes, everything's becoming a little bit clearer now. nods to herself like she doesn't know this would happen. I hope I didn't make Sousuke seem out-of-character… he is human, we all know that, and that's just how I imagine him to react in such situations.

I'm not one for many words, so I hope you won't all mind that the chapters are all still frigginly short. I find it easier to read that way. And I simply don't have the time to make it longer, unless I just add more useless details that are… well… useless and does not add anything significant to the plot me making excuses again. Reviews, as well as grammatical corrections and whatnot, are still very much appreciated. It's the only thing that keeps me going with this fanfic, aside from my love of this anime, of course.

Hohohoho.