Journey to Insanity and Romance p 8

Disclaimer: I do not own Full Metal Panic or Robocop. Wish I did though.

The Next Morning and Detroit

When Kaname opens her eyes, she smiles at the sight of Sousuke sleeping soundly beside her. She gently wraps him in her arms and presses him to her nude body. Holding him like he's her favorite teddy bear, she sighs and thinks about how well it had gone.

She then runs a slender finger along the scar on his left flank. When she gets to the end of the scar on his flank, she sees another scar. This one is on his left bicep.

She gasps as she remembers how he had gotten it.

Danigan was trying to kill her when Sousuke stopped him. Danigan was then trying to shoot him while Sousuke was trying to evade him and his bullets. A bullet went through the outside of his bicep, as he was flying toward Danigan. Once Danigan was dead, the two teens made peace with each other. Kaname then freaked when she saw Sousuke's bicep wound, prompting him to reassure her.

As she does so, she thinks, 'Sousuke has done so very much for me. Always charging head-on into dangerous situations, just to keep me safe. How many times can he do so until Fate decides it's time for him to stop? I've seen him get hurt so many times. All to keep me safe.' She then strokes his other scars, very softly.

Sighing, she quietly remarks, "So many scars, so much pain inflicted on him. How does he keep from screaming out when it hurts?" She then feels him twitching slightly and smiles warmly as Sousuke opens his steel-gray eyes.

"Good morning, Sousuke. Have a good rest?"

"I never slept so well, actually. Of course, we didn't get a whole lot of rest, did we, Kaname?" Kaname blushes and shakes her head no before she lightly giggles and kisses Sousuke completely.

"Sousuke, I've been thinking about something."

"Like what, Kaname?"

"Since I'm a 'Whispered', and we're together now, it got me to thinking. If we were to marry and have children, would they be 'Whispered' as well? If they turn out to be and they're targeted, it'd be a nightmare."

Sousuke sighs as he replies, "I can't really say for sure, Kaname. As you know, my knowledge of the 'Whispered' is strictly limited to only your protection and the reason why I love you so much. You have an inner courage, are intelligent and also very beautiful. Me? I've been a warrior ever since I was eight years old. It's like Melissa said. Teenage mercenaries are not exactly normal. From all appearances, you had a normal childhood, according to your dossier shortly after we started our mission."

Kaname scrunches her face and nods in agreement, knowing her boyfriend is being quite accurate. She then giggles as she says, "I think I started having feelings about you the first day we met. I wasn't quite sure what to make of them. After all, you were just following me around like some crazed stalker. But, then you came and rescued me in Khanka, told me about your actual purpose for following me and saved me."

Sousuke shakes his head, smiles and replies, "Actually, Kaname, we saved each other. I only saw myself as an expendable soldier. A migrant mercenary. Plenty of those on the planet, so it's not like I would have been missed by anyone. When I looked into your eyes, I felt myself falling into them."

Kaname blushes as she thinks about it and realizes something. "We were about to kiss back then, weren't we? Then Kurz had to just ruin it by clearing his throat. If anyone deserves a halisen massage, it's him, starting today. I think I'll let Melissa do that."

At that, Kaname hears a strange sound from Sousuke. "Sousuke, you all right?"

Suddenly, Sousuke bursts out into laughter and rolls off the bed, holding his sides and tears coming out of his eyes.

"I don't know whether to feel relieved that I'm being spared from the halisen or if I should be worried about Kurz. Once Melissa gets started with something, she doesn't quite let up."

Sousuke resumes his chuckling as Kaname rolls her eyes and giggles at her normally serious boyfriend's behavior.

She then gasps as she thinks, 'I'm actually thinking of him as my boyfriend now. It was bound to happen sooner or later. I was just trying to get used to the idea.'

Getting up from the bed, she doesn't blush as she starts to get dressed in front of Sousuke. She then hears Sousuke getting dressed as well.

Sousuke remarks, "We'll have to sleep in separate rooms tonight, Kaname. If your Father knew about what had happened, he would most certainly go through the roof."

Kaname sighs in agreement as she returns to the bed and sits down beside him. She then wraps an arm around his shoulder and says, "It's a sound idea, Sousuke. After all, it was our hormones that got us in here. I don't think Daddy would enjoy hearing about his eldest daughter and her boyfriend having hot, steamy, passionate sex inside his house."

Sousuke nods and blushes in agreement. Kaname sees this and whispers, "When we get back to Tokyo, we'll experiment some more. I really enjoyed last night, Sousuke."

"As did I, Kaname. As did I." Kaname smiles warmly at him, gets up, finishes dressing and leaves the bedroom to see what's on the television.

Five minutes later, she returns to the room and sits down, saying, "Sousuke, it's a good thing you're sitting down right now."

"Why do you say that, Kaname? Is it bad news?"

"No, more like strange to weird news, Sousuke." She then turns his face towards hers and says, "I remember the day you told me you forgot my notes. I'll tell you the same thing, only with a different result. At times like this, it's important to keep calm. Sousuke, you have a living relative. A cousin that looks just like you, only without the scar."

His reaction is subdued as usual. At least until he processes the information completely. His eyes go wide excitedly as he says, "A cousin. Where and who?"

"Detroit, Michigan and his name is Luke Sagara."

'Blood brother, I pledge to thee, I will always remember thee.' Sousuke remembers that faint memory, shakes his head and says, "I need to see his face, just to be sure. But, what was he doing in Detroit?"

"It seems that he was fighting alongside Detroit Police, the residents of Cadillac Heights and 'Team Hawk'."

"Was he injured?"

"No, he wasn't. But he did kill some goons from a group called the 'Sho-Da-Kah'. I caught the tail end of his statement. He said that you wouldn't have approved of what they were doing. He strongly feels you're dead, Sousuke. It may be time for a reunion of the cousins Sagara. Who knows? He may be just like you. Brave, sweet and determined."

"How about moody and manic, Kaname?"

Kaname merely shrugs and says, "That's all environment, Sousuke. After all, you witnessed your parents' deaths when you were a child. You later on became the ultimate warrior, found a new friend in Kalinin, joined Mithril and started working for the cause of Justice."

"Do the others know yet?"

Kaname nods and replies, "They were watching the news when they saw his face. Daddy said the resemblance was totally uncanny, save for your scar of course. But, otherwise, you could be taken for twins."

Sousuke gets up from the bed slowly, finishes dressing and walks out the door, with Kaname right behind him. He then feels her slip her hand into his and give it a soft squeeze, with Sousuke returning the squeeze with the same amount of softness.

When they get to the living room, they see the others sitting away from the screen, in order to allow Sousuke to see his cousin.

Sousuke goes into shock as his mind reels from it all. 'I have a cousin. I actually have family.' At that, Sousuke falls backward onto the floor, causing the others to gasp. Kaname kneels down beside him and puts his head into her lap, stroking his face as she does so.

Tessa and Kalinin check on his vitals and Tessa sighs in relief as she says, "He's all right. He's just in a serious state of shock. As long as I've known him, I've never known Mr. Sagara to be this way. It must have been overwhelming for him. Just like when I visited at Jindai High and he collapsed as well."

Kalinin nods in agreement as he says, "I've known Sgt. Sagara for a good long time now. It would take quite a bit for him to go into shock. Even learning about living family would tend to be much for one that went through life without his parents to guide him as he grew older and stronger."

He then turns to Kurz and Melissa, saying, "Get Intelligence on the horn. Have them get everything on Luke Sagara. I want everything within one hour." Kurz and Melissa nod, smiles on their faces as they proceed to make the calls to Intelligence.

Shunya comes up and asks, "Will he be all right? If he's like that upon learning about a living relative, then perhaps he isn't the right guy for Kaname."

"Baka!" Kaname's shout has Shunya reeling. She then explains, "It takes quite a bit to shock Sousuke, Father. Massive combat zones with two hundred enemy Arm Slaves, no problem. Facing off against his fiercest enemy, also not a problem. A swarm of angry classmates and females, a slight problem. His superior Officer driving his hormones crazy, potentially big problem. But, Sousuke spent most of his life without his family. Now, he learns that he has a cousin living in Detroit, Michigan. A cousin that looks like him, no less. If you were in Sousuke's shoes, with the same circumstances, wouldn't you feel the same way? Sousuke's my dream guy. This is only the second time he had been this badly fazed. I'm sure it won't happen again. Also, when Tessa visited, Sousuke was up for four days and nights before she even arrived. With no rest at all."

She turns to Tessa and asks, "Can I speak to you alone, Tessa?" Tessa nods and Kaname gently lifts Sousuke's head off of her lap and gently lies it onto the floor. She then kisses Sousuke's lips as she gets up and walks with Tessa.

When they get into the hallway, Tessa giggles and says, "That took quite a good amount of guts on your part, Kaname. Undoubtedly, you would make Sergeant Sagara very happy should you two wed."

"Uh, yeah. About that. Tessa, if a 'Whispered' was to give birth to a child, would that child be 'Whispered' as well?" She then shakes her hands in front of her, adding, "It's not like I'm expecting at the moment. It's just something that crossed my mind after Sousuke and I started our new relationship."

Tessa smiles and gently replies, "There hasn't been any research on the chances of the offspring of 'Whispered' being 'Whispered' themselves. After all, no one knows where the 'Whispered' came from or how they even came to be."

She then takes Kaname's hand and adds, "If you do have children, put recording devices into their bedrooms for when they start speaking. If they start talking technical terms in their sleep, that indicates that they are 'Whispered'. I'm afraid that's all I can think of for now, Kaname. I'm truly sorry."

Kaname, feeling down yet hopeful, replies, "It's not a problem." She then gasps, smiles and says, "I am starting to be like him. Picking up his thinking methods, his speech patterns. What am I going to pick up next? His desire to destroy enemies or everything around him?" At that, she starts laughing and, soon, Tessa starts laughing as well.

Tessa calms down enough to say, "I don't think Sousuke truly wants to destroy everything around him. After all, he's just doing what he can to keep you safe and in his life. I picked up that much from you both when you visited us on the de Danaan. As much as he was unwilling to admit it, he was quite perplexed with his thoughts about you. Just like you were about him. I guess his innocence in everyday life and bravery under fire was what first attracted me to him. You saw the same things in him as well, didn't you?"

Kaname nods and replies, "Oh yeah. And then some. Every day, before he even came into my life, I had a hard time waking up as I have a very hectic and busy lifestyle. When he came along, that all changed. He makes me feel alive, more alive than I had ever felt before. The best part of it is that he doesn't really have a very high opinion about himself. I mean, this one guy for example, Saturo Shirai. Talk about a real loser. Yeah, sure he was cute in his own way, but he was too vain. Kept on looking at me like he was expecting to be able to get with me. When Sousuke was shown the graffiti about me, he did everything in his power to maintain and defend my honor. Now, what kind of guy do you know of that would be able to do that other than a guy like Sousuke?"

"How exactly did he try to maintain and defend your honor, Kaname?"

Kaname giggles as she replies, "By sticking Shirai's head into the toilet during an interrogation in the boy's room. Of course, I didn't much care for how he went about it. But, after his fake date with Mizuki, I realized that he would do anything to help a person save face. That includes dunking a person's head into a toilet."

Tessa sighs as she says, "That's Sgt. Sagara for you. Any actions he deems dishonorable, he'll do anything to keep things honorable for the target if the person had been targeted by the dishonorable party. Was Shirai responsible for the graffiti in the boy's room?"

"I don't really know. I'll tell you this much though. Whoever it was must have stopped upon hearing about Shirai's encounter with the toilet and Sousuke. I guess they weren't too thrilled with the idea ofgetting the same treatment from Sousuke if they had kept it up and he found out it was them."

That has Tessa giggling along with Kaname as both ladies return to the living room.

Upon arrival, they are both relieved to see Sousuke sitting up on the floor and being helped up by Kalinin. Kalinin gives him a gentle thump on his back in congratulations on having a living relative. They then hear the most endearing question from Sousuke's mouth.

"When can I meet him? It seems I've got a lot to catch up on with him."

"Indeed you do, Sergeant Sagara. If you like, we can arrange for the charter to fly you and Miss Chidori along with Sgt. Weber and Sgt. Major Mao. Just, try not to tell him too much about yourself or Miss Chidori at one time. Too much information might not be a good thing to have."

"Affirmative, sir." At that, Kurz comes up with a smile on his face.

He then says, "Intel came through for us. Mao's got them on the line right now." The next thing they know, Sousuke had bolted through the doorway and right to the radio. Chuckling slightly, the others follow Sousuke and listen to the information as it comes in.

"Luke Sagara, 23 years of age. Occupation: Delivery person. Military experience: Marine Corps; Five years, honorable discharge. Family listed as follows: Father; Fukoa Sagara, deceased. Mother; Kimiko Sagara, deceased. Uncle; Fumiko Sagara, deceased. Aunt; Keiko Sagara, deceased. Cousin; Sousuke Sagara, missing, presumed dead. That is only the official public records. Now might be a good time to adjust the information, Urzu 7."

Nervous, Sousuke asks, "Does he have a contact address?"

"Affirmative, Urzu 7. His residence is located in Detroit, Michigan. 548 Primrose Lane."

Excited now, Sousuke asks, "Does he have a contact number?"

"Negative, Urzu 7. It seems he doesn't trust the phones in the world anymore. After all, it was a phone call that informed your relatives about your supposed demise."

"Urzu 7, roger." At that, Sousuke ends communication with Intel. Looking back at Kaname, he sees her eyes shining brightly with hope and affection.

She then says, "The ball's in your court, Sousuke. What do you want to do?"

Sousuke bows his head down, in thought. He then shoots it back up, wearing a manic grin and says, "I'm meeting him, Kaname. Care to come with me?"

"Affirmative, Urzu 7." At that, Kaname runs up to him and gives him a big kiss and hug.

Meanwhile, Kurz and Melissa are starting to make arrangements with the Mithril charter to fly the four of them to Detroit.

Kaname then thinks of something more and says, "You guys may want to wear civvies in Detroit. I don't think the Police will think too kindly about you wearing fatigues while in town."

Kurz and Melissa grin, head to their rooms and get changed. Kaname turns to Tessa and asks, "Would you to come along as well, Tessa?"

"As much as I'd like to, I must return to de Danaan, along with Mr. Kalinin. I spoke with Commander Mardukas yesterday after Sergeant Sagara's victory and informed him that the Sergeant had received his Medal. I'll be informing him upon return to TDD-1 as to Mr. Sagara's cousin. I'd love to see his face when he hears the news." Tessa then lets out a giggle as does Kaname.

Shunya and Ayame look over at Tessa and Ayame says, "I'd like to go along with Kaname and Sousuke, Tessa. After all, his cousin sounds like he'd be cool to meet."

Tessa ponders and replies, "I do not see a problem if Mr. Chidori doesn't."

Shunya, torn, weighs the options. He then slumps his shoulders and says, "I do not see a problem in Ayame going with your finest soldier, Captain Testarossa. As much as I'd like to see the Tuatha de Danaan however, I cannot leave New York right now. The U.N. is voting on a new Security measure regarding our Embassies around the world. For some reason, even though I'm the Delegate for Environmental Issues, they require me to be present."

He looks over at Kaname and adds, "Don't be afraid to use your new earrings on any punks that come your way, Kaname."

Kaname grins and replies, "It won't be a problem, as I'm sure they'll get a blast out of them." Shunya's jaw drops in shock as Kaname says, "What can I say? Being around Sousuke has certainly helped me quite a bit. When we get back, we'll go to Ground Zero so Sousuke can honor those that died trying to save innocent lives and I can support him. As I trust and believe in him."

Shunya nods in agreement, remembering Sousuke's Mithril patch. A shield with a sword, globe and wings.

Shunya then asks, "Were there any incidents involving petty thugs?"

"Only indirectly, Mr. Chidori. The first time was when a young girl at the school put a love letter in my locker. I detonated it, as I thought a bomb had been placed there. When I reconstructed it, somewhat as a majority of it had been incinerated in the blast, I thought it was a threat. So I went to set up a preemptive strike. I had the girl in my scope the whole time. Then, along came a trio of thugs. They intended to assault the girl, but Kaname stopped them as best as she can. When one started moving on her, I struck. All three had been knocked silly, thanks to rubber slugs from my shotgun."

Sousuke sighs and goes on. "I didn't find out until later that the girl had a crush on me, as she told me she had placed a love letter in my locker. She ran away, heartbroken, when I told her I detonated it and aimed my shotgun at her. However, that's not the end of the story. A couple of days later, Kaname, myself and Miss Tokiwa were accosted by the same three thugs as we were heading home from the arcade."

Kaname giggles and jumps in. "Sousuke destroyed a shooting game with his gun, thinking it'd be faster than pointing the light gun to the side to reload it. In any case, they wanted to hurt Sousuke, but he convinced them otherwise. Sousuke, what kind of gun did you use anyway?"

"Steyr SPP, Kaname. Fully automatic. After all, peaceful solutions are the best solutions. Those three were scared senseless, Mr. Chidori. They reported to the leader of their gang and she made arrangements for me to 'discuss' things with her."

"More like she wanted you hurt, Sousuke. In any case, they tied me up, put a 'Hostage. Do not touch' sticker on my forehead and waited for Sousuke to show up. When he did, Mari Akutsu had him disarm himself. By the time he was done, she was furious and freaked out at the same time. And the members of her gang completely went pale."

Shunya shrugs and says, "I see no reason why she would be freaked out over Sousuke having two weapons."

Kaname laughs and replies, "That's because he was packing about fifteen weapons. Right, Sousuke?"

"About that many, Kaname. Give or take seven more. In any case, she wanted to know where I had put it all at on my person." At Shunya's pale face and bulging eyes, he continues.

"She then forgot about the question and ordered the thugs to beat me senseless. That was when I introduced my 'extra special guest' for the meeting."

"Mari's brother, Yoshiki. Sousuke tied him above the warehouse floor as a bargaining chip. He then started blowing up ropes and 'persuading' the creeps to go home by telling them that everyone has something important to them."

At his dropped jaw expression, she finishes. "Don't worry, Daddy. Yoshiki made it safely, as it's not Sousuke's way to actually hurt an ally on purpose. Mari let me go and we both walked out. When we got to my apartment, I cooked Sousuke a bowl of beef and plain rolls."

Shunya shakes his head and sighs. He then slumps his head, chuckles and says, "I'd like to hear some more of your stories when you three get back from Detroit, Kaname. Sousuke, please give Luke my regards. I can only hope he's half the man you are. In other words, not so destructive."

"Affirmative, sir." Sousuke snaps to Attention and fires off a quick salute, causing Shunya to laugh out loud.

In Detroit, Michigan, Officer Elizabeth Davis and Luke Sagara are preparing to go on a date when Luke stiffens suddenly.

"Luke, what's wrong?"

"I'm not quite sure, Liz. Just a weird feeling I have that I'm going to meet someone integral to my past." He then turns to Davis, grins and says, "I have hope, Liz. I hope it's Sousuke, alive and well."

Davis smiles, strokes Luke on his cheek and softly says, "Good. Now, start thinking of a way to greet him when you see him again. After our date. Understood?"

"Affirmative." At Davis' puzzled expression, he shrugs and adds, "No idea why I said that."