OUR HEARTS JOURNEY
By: saihei
Disclaimer: I do not own 'Full metal panic'.
CHAPTER 14: "Chocolate, Candies and Pizza!"
"Chocolate first before answer." Shizuru said with her sweetest smile waiting for her first chocolate.
Mao was dumbfounded and stared down at Shizuru's hand.
Shizuru playfully waved her open palm, illustrating that she was still waiting for the promised chocolate.
Tessa knew how violent Melissa could get when it comes to training her underlings. Could she be that violent even with children? The young captain cleared her throat. "Sergeant major--"
"HAHAHA!" Mao laughed hard grabbing her stomach. "HAHAHA! SHE'S AS CLEVER AS SOUSUKE!" She suddenly stopped laughing and turned her violet eyes to Kurz. "Give her the chocolate Kurz."
"Ha?" Kurz incredulously looked back at Mao. "We don't have chocolates here sis."
"What?" Mao's teeth gritted angrily. "THEN BUY SOME MORON!" She bellowed and kicked Kurz butt. The blonde soldier painfully flew out of the door.
Tessa immediately covered Shizuru's eyes. "Sgt. Major Melissa Mao! Please watch over your attitude! No violence in front of a civilian child!" The young captain ordered.
"Sorry I got carried away." Mao apologized. "So..." She paused as her eyes met Shizuru's juvenile glare.
"You lied to me! You don't have chocolates!"
Mao took a single stepped backward. "Y-You...you're calling me a liar?"
Tessa sighed and took something out of the grocery bag they brought from the mall. "Here I have a candy." She said and put a fruit flavored candy on Shizuru's palm.
"Thank you!" Shizuru removed the candy wrapper and put the sweets in her mouth. "Um..." She chewed happily. "Banana!"
Tessa smiled. "Who's your daddy then, Shizuru-chan?"
"I don't have a daddy..." Shizuru answered as the candy already melted in her mouth.
Both Mao and Tessa perplexedly looked at each other.
"...mommy said daddy died in an airplane accident." Shizuru continued.
"Ha? A mere plane accident can't kill Sousuke Sagara!" Mao affirmed. 'Geez, Kaname hate Sousuke this much that she even end up killing him?! Wow...' Mao thought silently.
"Mr. Sagara?" Shizuru eyes squinted as she remembered the owner of that name. "Mr. Sagara is not daddy!" Shizuru pushed. "Daddy is in heaven with my grandma!"
"No, Sou--" Mao's word hanged suspended as Tessa touched her shoulder. Mao turned her eyes and watched the young captain shook her head.
"No Melissa. She's just a child; we can't force her to simply believe strangers like us. I don't want to confuse her." Tessa gently spoke.
"Fine," Mao agreed. "So, do you know where you were born?"
Shizuru looked up to Mao and smiled. "Cho-co-late."
Tessa smiled and gave her another candy.
Shizuru kept the candy in her pocket and answered the question. "Japan! But I grew up in New York! Grandpa told me!"
"That's..." Tessa's sentence got interrupted by a masculine voice coming from the door.
"What are you doing?"
Mao immediately turned around and saw Sousuke standing by the door. "Yo! You're back already?"
Sousuke's eyes squinted. "You did not answer my question. What are you doing?"
Tessa watched Shizuru excitedly jumped off the sofa and ran to Sousuke.
"Mr. Sagara! Mr. Sagara!" Shizuru reached up her two hands toward Sousuke, requesting to be cuddled.
Sousuke smiled and picked up the small girl. "Hi."
Tessa smiled, but she failed to ignore the pain which struck her heart. Sousuke was happy just to know that the child remembered him, Shizuru effectively entered his world like the wind penetrating his skin. So easy and effortless...Tessa felt her heart ached again. 'Shizuru is important...Sousuke will never smile like that for me.'
"Well, that smart kid escaped from the daycare at the mall, she's lucky that we're the ones who saw her!" Mao said.
Sousuke frowned. "Ayame's negligence again..."
Shizuru placed a hand under Sousuke's jaw. "Auntie left me at the daycare! I was looking for her!"
Sousuke nodded. "Then my deduction was incorrect," He turned his gaze at Mao. "I thought you kidnapped her."
Mao wheezed. "H-Ha?' She began laughing anxiously. "No way! How could you even think that! I can't do that! Sousuke you moron! Ahahahaha!"
"Forgive me." Sousuke said reverently.
"Shizuru loves sweet Sagara-kun." Tessa implied.
Sousuke smiled and noticed the candy wrapper in Shizuru's hand. "I see, does your mother allow you to eat sweets?"
"Only a little!" Shizuru answered.
Sousuke suddenly remembered Kaname. "I must return you now."
"Okay!" Shizuru agreed. "Maybe Auntie Ayame is waiting for me there!" She said in glee.
"See you later." Sousuke said and faced the door.
Shizuru placed her chin on Sousuke's shoulder. She looked back at Tessa and Mao. "Bye-bye!" She waved her hand.
Tessa and Mao watched the kid happily waved her hand toward them. The young captain waved back while Melissa showed a grin.
"Bye for now brat!" Mao said.
Sousuke had already left the safe house when Kurz came back. "Hi! Here's your chocolate—eh? Where's the kid?"
"Sousuke came and took the child; he said he'll bring her back." Tessa answered.
"What?! What about these chocolates?" Kurz whined and threw the packs of different chocolates down on the small desk.
"Eat it Weber."
Blue eyes met intense violet orbs. "You know, I'm not into sweets sis!"
Man lit a cigarette and pinned her famous death glare to Kurz. "Everything is expensive here Weber, eat it or... I'LL CHUCK IT IN YOUR MOUTH WITH THE WRAPPERS!" The Sgt. Major threatened angrily.
Tessa sighed. "You know, we can still keep those sweets for future use."
"T-That's right sis," Kurz apprehensively agreed. "We can snatch the kid again some other time!"
"Good riddance Weber." Mao smirked and blew out some white smoke. "I like that kid." She smiled as she remembered Shizuru's face.
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"SHIZURU!" Ayame hastily ran toward Sousuke who was carrying Shizuru.
Sousuke halted and looked at Ayame. "We meet again, Ayame-chan, in the same circumstances."
"Hello auntie!" Shizuru greeted as she waved her hand to Ayame.
Ayame took Shizuru from Sousuke. "I told you to be a good girl! But you escaped and the daycare called me to tell that you were missing! How could you do that? My sister will kill me if--"
Shizuru pouted. "You left me there and no one wants to play with me! It's boring there auntie..."
Ayame sighed. "You're ruining my teenage life Shizuru..."
Shizuru smiled and placed her arms around Ayame's neck. "I love you auntie!"
Ayame sighed again. How could she get mad with such a compassionate child? By the end of this she will simply take the blame on herself. "Hai-Hai...just don't do this again okay?" Ayame said with a smile and felt the little girl in her arms nodded.
"Ayame..."
The young teenager smile vanished and turned into a scowl as she glared at the young soldier still standing before her. "What?" She asked with a very miffed intonation.
Sousuke disregard the cold treatment and continued his sentence. "...I think you're ineffective in watching over Kaname's child. You're irresponsible in your assigned subject of duty." Sousuke stated.
"Shut-up otaku!" Ayame growled and stepped angrily on Sousuke's foot.
Sousuke was obviously unaffected by the violent action. "My foot had received a kind of torture that was inhumanly impossible. If you're intention was to hurt me, you failed." Sousuke uttered seriously.
"You otaku...grrrr..."
"Anyway," Sousuke smiled. "Would you like to hire me as your niece bodyguard? It's for free and guaranteed effective for--"
"NO WAY!" Ayame retorted immediately.
"Auntie, let's get my things now." Shizuru said.
"Fine." Ayame nodded. "You listen mister, this is the last time you'll lay you're finger to my niece or else—"
Sousuke butt in; "You're the one who's pushing her to me because of your negligence." Sousuke implied.
Shizuru covered her mouth as she giggled.
"What's so funny Shizuru?" Ayame asked annoyingly and watched her niece's swiftly shook her head.
"Please reconsider my offer Ayame." Sousuke said and smiled toward the little girl. "See you again Shizuru."
"Alrighty!" Shizuru answered. "Bye-bye Mr. Sagara!" She smiled and watched Sousuke left.
Ayame took a deep breath to calm her fuming mind. "No more daycare centers to you wise kid!"
"Um!" Shizuru nodded. "If you're busy, you can ask Mr. Sagara to take care of me!"
"NO!" Ayame bellowed again. "You'll not tell your mommy about this or else I'll be dead!"
"Dead?" Shizuru anxiously repeated the word. "Alright, no tell."
Ayame was about to explain her sentence when she saw Kaname approaching them. "Sis?"
"What?" Kaname's brow skeptically twitched for the worried look that Ayame displayed. "Me and Kyouko got to finished early so I decided to follow you here, did anything happened that you want to tell me?" Kaname asked curiously.
"MOMMY!" Shizuru called rather loudly.
"What?" Kaname shifted her attention to her daughter.
Shizuru smiled sweetly and reached for her mother which took her gently in her protective arms. "I want to eat pizza, let's eat pizza mommy okay?"
Kaname smiled and nodded. "Sure, you already missed American dishes huh." Kaname frowned when she smelled something from Shizuru's breath. "Shizuru, did you eat candies again?" Shizuru just smiled.
Ayame watched her sister began walking away toward the nearest Pizza parlor. 'I screwed up twice...I have to be careful now or my dream cell phone will be—'
"Are you going to stand there all day huh Ayame?" Kaname yelled. "Move your feet! I'm hungry!"
"Coming!" Ayame yelled back and followed her sister.
TBC
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A/N:
Chapter 14 up!
You know guys...while I'm writing this my head is still blurry for the lacking of sleep...
so obviously I failed to check if there's any correction that I have to rectify so please bear with it for now,
I'll try checking when I am fortunate enough to have my normal 6 hours sleep!
To those reviewers who directly requested for a longer chapter and two chapter releases,
I tried my best to grant it so please don't forget your reviews...
sigh I'm not yet updating my Gakuen Alice fic, so I have to work with that one too, so guys and gals...
PLEASE REVIEWS!!!