Here's the last chapter, thanks for reading.
Disclaimer: Full Metal Panic! and its characters are the rightful property of their respective owners. This piece is not for profitable purposes.
Chapter 5: The Dance – Part IIThe girl screams in surprise and Kaname looks around and thinks 'Could it have been? Of course, who else? But where?'
The girl runs to the boy and says, "Gin-kun, Gin-kun, are you all right?"
He remains unresponsive on the ground as she shakes him.
"There is no need for concern, he'll recover in approximately ten minutes."
Confused, she says, "Who said that?"
Kaname answers instead, yelling, "Sousuke, what are you doing?'
"I've been guarding the area, making sure no one comes in without a ticket or inebriated."
"You've been here – somewhere in here – this whole time? When did you arrive?"
"1700."
"Since then? We didn't start collecting tickets until an hour after that! Where are you!"
The girl, still holding onto the boy's arm, looks worriedly around the room and says, "Excuse me, but will he really be all right?"
"I assure you, its purpose is only to stun. There will be no long-term effects."
"Enough, Sousuke, come out so we can see you."
"No, it's all right, you don't have to come out if you don't want to. I'll just wait here with Gin-kun. When he wakes up, I'll help him home."
Sighing as she walks towards the two, Kaname answers, "I'm sorry he put you through this trouble, Sousuke always overreacts in violent ways."
Kaname scans the room and shouts angrily, "Sousuke, the least you can do is help us move him somewhere."
Only a moment passes before she is startled to hear a voice close behind her saying, "Understood."
She jumps and says, "Don't surprise me like that!"
Confused, he says, "But you said…"
She interrupts him, answering, "Yes, I know what I said, oh, forget it, just help us."
Together, the three of them move the boy into a nearby classroom.
The girl bows slightly and says, "Thank you for your help. I'll watch over him here."
Kaname waves her hand and says, "Of course, no trouble."
Kaname and Sousuke leave the room and return to the ticket table. Kaname is about to lecture him once more when she notices for the first time what he is wearing – a suit.
Embarrassed but not sure why, she looks away and says, "I didn't think you were here until that happened, there haven't been any explosions or gas clouds."
Not understanding her jab, he responds, "This is an important event, I took especial care. There is a series of surveillance cameras set up that will trigger the traps if needed."
"Surveillance cameras, triggers," she says, actually impressed at his forethought.
He nods in agreement.
Noting his appearance once more, Kaname gathers the courage to say quietly, "Sousuke, why are you dressed like that?"
A questioning look across his face, Sousuke responds, "Is this not the correct uniform for this type of event?"
Not very surprised but still disappointed by his answer, Kaname says, "Yes, that's true, but I wouldn't really call it a uniform, it's what you wear when – never mind."
Appearing confused, Sousuke says, "Is something wrong, Chidori?"
She remains silent, so he begins thinking aloud, "Possibly food poisoning? Yes, that seems plausible because of your gatekeeper status here."
Angered, she clenches her right fist and says, "That's not it, you idiot!" before running off, leaving a perplexed Sousuke behind.
"Kana-chan, how are things going here?" Kyoko asks as she enters the lobby.
She looks towards the table, but sees that it's empty.
She scans the room and calls after Kaname, "Kana-chan?"
She is startled when she hears a voice, "Chidori left her post."
"Sagara-kun?" Kyoko asks as she looks for him.
Knowing that her next question will be to ask where he is, Sousuke decides on his own to show himself.
"Oh, there you are, Sagara-kun. Where did Kana-chan go?"
"I'm not informed. We were discussing my uniform for this event and she seemed ill – I thought it was food poisoning – and she left."
'Kana-chan probably though Sagara-kun was going to ask her to dance,' Kyoko thinks.
"Sagara-kun, have you ever been to a dance before?"
"Negative."
"Have you seen what's going on in the gymnasium?"
Misunderstanding her question, he lifts up a device that looks like a small television and says, "I'm using the device to see the images from the surveillance cameras I've set up."
"Allow me to answer that question," an unknown approaching voice states.
Both Kyoko and Sousuke look around, and are surprised to see Atsunobu approaching, his fan, closed, resting against his hands.
He stops when he is before them, lifts and opens the fan, brings it up towards his face before lowering it slightly and continues, "Socializing, enjoyment – dancing."
With a thoughtful expression, Sousuke answers, "I see, a form of amusement."
Atsunobu and Kyoko nod their heads in agreement.
"So then Chidori is here for this purpose as well," he says, half questioningly.
Atsunobu closes the fan and points it at Sousuke as he says in a raised tone, "Sagara-kun!"
Sousuke stands at attention, his arms at his side as he answers, "Yes, sir!"
"You are hereby released from duty."
Surprised, confusion crosses Sousuke's face as he says, "Sir?"
Atsunobu brings the fan back towards him and opens it again, "Am I understood, Sagara-kun?"
Deciding that he must have meant what he said, Sousuke replies, "Yes, sir, understood."
"Very well then," Atsunobu answers, not waiting for a response before he walks away in the direction of the gymnasium.
Sousuke turns to Kyoko and says, "Tokiwa-san?"
"Yes, Sagara-kun?"
"I'm going to find Chidori."
Kyoko gives him the thumbs up sign and says, "Good luck, Sagara-kun."
He hurries off in the direction he had last seen her go, and uses his device to look for her on the surveillance cameras. He spots her standing nearby, in front of the door to the library, and quickly makes his way there.
He arrives, and Kaname is startled to see him.
"Sousuke, what are you doing here?"
"I came to find you, Chidori."
Her head droops and she says sadly, "Why, because no one was manning the ticket table?"
"No."
Surprised by his answer, she looks up at him with a curious expression and says, "Why, then?"
He stands straight and says, "Chidori, would you care to join me for a dance?"
Flustered, she says, "Sousuke, what do you mean?"
Confused, he says more to himself than to her, "Is that the wrong way to say it?"
Realizing that he had indeed meant what she thought, she blushes but also smiles and says, "I think that wouldn't be a problem at all, Sousuke."
He smiles in response.
"Shall we go then, Chidori?"
She surprises him when she says, "Let's stay here, just the two of us. We can hear the music from here, a slow dance even just started."
"All right," Sousuke answers.
Having watched what the students were doing using the cameras, Sousuke attempts to mimic their movements, and awkwardly approaches her.
More certain of her actions, Kaname places Sousuke's arms gently on her waist and then her own on his shoulders.
She looks up at him and says, "You move slowly in a circle, you can follow my lead."
They begin to dance as the music plays, sounding distant but still enchanting. Sousuke has some trouble at first, but soon is moving in time with Kaname. They smile at each other, each enjoying being with the other.
The song ends, and Sousuke is shocked when Kaname hugs him and says, "Thank you, Sousuke."
"Thank you, too, Chidori."
They each blush for a moment while they look in each other's eyes.
Embarrassed but happy, Kaname takes hold of his hand and says, "Sousuke, let's find Kyoko, and all join the rest of the party."
"Sure," Sousuke answers, as Kaname begins to run off, taking Sousuke with her.