A/N: Auntie Anna is adviing that this fiction is siutable for teens, becouse theres a chance children will not realize some things in it, the author isalso useda few sience terms so he apologise that some of them can be wrong. Some of thoughts are other peoples.
Rating: T
Diclaimer: Dont own the series, characters and other stuff (as money)
He was exhausted, the world around him started to spin and his head simply could not take all the information, his ability for save it at certain things was equal to zero. The beginning of day, early beginning. The day in fact already started yesterday, because he whatsoever didn't slept at all. Luckily it wasn't visible.
The walk offered a moment so he thought about yesterdays events.
Someone shouted, but his hearing was nothing for that day, so the shout or yell didn't make any effect.
"Hey, are you deaf!"
When he understood it was Kaname, suddenly something strike his instincts, the fear assaulted thebrain and Sousuke covered from being hit with something over a head. But the hit didn't come, nothing came.
Is this some kind of sympathy?
"Good morning Miss Chidori, since we met, we can present the walk to school together." Sousuke said then.
She didn't replied?
And why is that stare all about?
"Is there something wrong, if my appearance disturbs you then..." Sousuke started the quick answer to unpredictable silence.
He raised his hand in order to examine the object of her staring, nothing was wrong with it, except the thing that it was all covered in blood, drifts dried and at some places still liquid because the amount of it.
Blood, i don't remember getting myself injured.
"Your hand, is it wound?" She asked and move closer to get a better view at the hand.
"No, its probably only some color, nothing to worry about."
Sousuke lied and quickly hide his hand into right pocket, that should camouflage it until he wash it later.
"Well... if that is a truth." She said.
"Yes, be sure it is."
They continued to school, for the whole path his expression look apathetic and he had to listen to the monologue about what is it for person to talk at least once about nonsense and laugh about it. But his status of overtoil was much more bigger thing to thought about, and blood of course too. The exhaustion probably paralyzed the sense of tact, so he couldn't feel the wound properly, but when she reminded it he could feel it then. It wasn't anything serious, just a scratch.
But how to clean it?
The blood on the hand is not a problem, but what for the shirt. He wouldn't have a problem to get over it, but the pupils should have objections for it.
Fresh, cold water with a particle of kitchen salt.
But this one is already dry, so i need to use the mixture of diluted hydrogen peroxide with smidgen of ammoniac.
Are these ingredients present at the school?
Then the pain rushed through his head and spinal column, Kaname hit him.
"What was that for." He asked with confusion, because he didn't recognize something wrong.
"You are not listening to me again!" Forcible argument.
"Well, i am not concern in this kind of explanatory discussion, it is not worthy at this moment." He explained
"And what is more worthy now to thought about?" Kaname asked him, she prepared for strike.
"Well, i... uhh... only wondered about some accordant ingredients." He said.
"Like what?" She was excited now.
"Hydrogen peroxide and Ammoniac." Sousuke replied, no smash came.
"Ohhh..." Kaname said and started to walk again.
Sousuke walked beside her, now he thought why she acted that way, when he said it. His right blood stained hand started to get palsy, due to absence of blood coming through veins.
I need to get my hand from that pocket.
He passed over to another side of Kaname and move it out to have more cover. She watched him doing it.
What is that idiot doing?
"Why are you so interested about all the science now?" Kaname tried to start a conversation again.
"I only wanted to clean that heelpiece." He answered.
"But the soldiers are always dirty." Kaname said then.
"Negative, thats possible an lie expanding through the population because the fact that soldiers are always at war and are dirty, but when they have chance or are at the barracks they try to clean their uniforms, not the snipers or saboteurs of cour..."
"Ok, i have the picture already, don't start with that art of war crap again." Kaname snapped out Sousuke from his own monologue.
"Understood."
He said as he saw the school grounds and tried to find a first subject in his exhausted memory, his hand was of course now covered again in his pocket.
Better safe than sorry.
Kaname walked over to the crowd of her friends, and Sousuke was left behind, it didn't matter to him, the number of hits and glossolalia will drop to minimum, zero if he had luck. Luck is what happens when preparation meets opportunity.
Now he concentrated on find some solution on his blood problems, he quickly changed his shoes and attempted to enter the bathroom to clean the mess from the yesterday action. The proximate bathroom was on the first floor right door next to the stairs, Sousuke needed to be fast, fast as wind, faster. He stopped before the door and affirmed that the blood is invisible, he almost open it, then thought occupied his head, there will be someone there too. Sousuke opened the door, the truth was that more than three persons were there.
He walked in one of the closets and shut the door behind him. Pulled the safety pin out and threw the grenade over.
The room started to fill with smoke rapidly, all the boys started to run out of it with yelling and shouting about some joker idiot.
I must be fast.
The closet door opened and Sousuke in gas-mask walked out of it, he unbuttoned his uniform and started the cleaning with liquid soap which was present at every toiled, because of the qualities and a fact that its pure detergent and no fauna in it. However this kind of chemistry soap is too liquid for cleaning cloth. Sousuke rubbed the piece of shirt and began to be desperate about the situation. Suddenly the door opened, squeak that it made would even deaf hear, so as did Sousuke.
What a mistake, not even greenhorn can made this consequential fault, as to forget lock the door.
The door opened and Kaname rushed in. She saw a man in gas-mask and half wet shirt.
"You idiot, whats this all about, explain it now!" She shouted, the smoke already volatilize.
He thought for a moment and flow into discovery, that there is nowhere to run away.
"Are you taking POWs?" Sousuke said then.
"What?" She didn't understand.
He removed his gas-mask and started explanation.
"The USSR had not sign the Geneva convention and had most numerous POWs in World War II, so i am talking about torture in he..."
Sousuke fall down under the pressure of hit.
"...That really... hurts." He whined.
"Better shut up or you will get another." Kaname said, in that time Sousuke instantly got up from the ground.
"Why are you playing with that weaponry always in school anyway?" She asked then.
"I just needed the bathroom to clean my shirt alone, is it a perpetration?" Sousuke said already dressed in uniform.
"Yes, if you using grenades for it!" Kaname yelled as she watched the empty smoke grenade.
"The end justifies the means."
He said and was already leaving but she stopped him with her own body.
"No, it don't! All this for one blotch!"
"Affirmative."
"This is blood." She said focusing at the tarnish on his shirt.
"Yes, it is." He confirmed the fact.
"What happened?" She asked without any anger in her.
"This information is classified." Sousuke said again with soldier look.
"Would you mind to tell me?" Kaname asked.
"No." He said and walked out of the bathroom
Kaname walked behind him, her thoughts concerned about his coldness about presence of blood. Born soldier. He just walk satisfied with thing that the blood is now hard visible. But his exhaustion didn't fade away, that yesterday action sucked the all spirit out of him and his body could wreck any moment now. But the thing that Captain ordered him not to tell anyone about that action, and put the top-secret mark on it.
Could i just tell her, it would be much easier.
But order, is an order.
They entered the classroom and he just simply sat at his desk, starting preparations on the first subject which was history, of course, this subject gave him hell and the yesterdays events didn't give him any opportunity to learn anyway. Kaname did the same with her own belongings and was ready too. She turned over to Sousuke.
"So did you study yesterday, today is the test you know, and the worst of all will be..."
"I know the teacher will examine his knowledge about it." He cut off her sentence.
"Ok, just be sure you aren't the one, i heard no one got a better grade than F from it." She insisted.
"Don't worry about it, i will be fine." He said in the exact moment when teacher came in, so Kaname leaned back again.
As long as its from military history or some war.
The teacher reminded the test and everyone started to prepare, teacher gave the papers with questions, he said not to turn it and start until everyone had test. The moments went as hours and Sousuke was hit by impoverishment again, he drowned in seconds the thinest pointer on the clock moved slower and slower. Finally the teacher reached him and handed the paper, the blank side provided him a memories of yesterday, whole thing projected in that white color, he snapped out of it.
"Start writing now." Teacher announced the class.
The moment of irreclaimable.
No, turning back. The blank paper, projector. The sounds of pencils scraping, fear of whats on the other side.
He started nictiate, the exhaustion finally got him.
Concentrate!
He grabbed the paper and turned it, he had a very bad luck, it was about war, but it was about Soviet intervention in Afghanistan. Was this possible? How could someone torture him so badly, his memories from the childhood in this war were things he wanted to forget, but even when he managed there will always be someone to bring it back. The sweat started to drip onto the paper, but when he thought about his mother, he wasn't sure if its only sweat or tear. Sousuke was immobile, he wasn't even sure if he had pen or pencil in his hand.
He remembered the mountains that provide his group a cover and ability to regroup for another attack, but of course the soviets recaptured it in matter of days.
Everyone called it war of helicopters, for one reason, Russians had a large amount of choppers soon in the third month of the war, and even created a new model from MI-24, the MI-24P the mountain version with motors modificated to the mountain conditions.
They called it "The Devil's Chariot."
For its reputation, the one they feared the most was their helicopters.
All of a sudden a slight tweaking snapped him out of his thoughts about childhood.
"I see you didn't improved yourself Mr. Sagara, you don't even write your name." Teacher said and took the paper with him.
Sousuke couldn't do more than watch the scenery and jumped again in the pool of thoughts in which he seemed as non-swimmer.
Its fate, the past is always coming back at the most unwanted moment.
Kaname turned to find out what happened, but saw a unusually looking face, she wonder what happened, it was about war so what the problems about it, its his playground, isn't it?
"Hey Sousuke, what happened to you." She couldn't see his eyes, the shadow covered them.
"Its nothing..." Sousuke said in voice that anyone would start to regret the person, which said it.
"Doesn't seems that way." Kaname instantly said.
"Something i wanted... to forget... came back with that test." He expressed his feelings, not like ever before.
Kaname had nothing to say.
"Lets just say i am under heavy distress now, there is no need to concern about it." He said and started to leave the classroom.
"Wait, you can tell me!" She yelled, but it was already late.
"I saw that look on Sousuke for the first time." Kyouko said after appearing from nowhere.
"What happened to him anyway, it was military stuff." She after short time added.
"He didn't tell me." Kaname answered.
Sousuke was soldier after all and the emotion what came back, quickly disappeared. On the other hand, he had to be leaned by head on the wall. He snapped his thoughts and appeared in the class again. His normal look again, he is a soldier, a mercenary he will get over it.
"Are you ok?" Kaname asked.
"I'm fine, thanks for your concern." Sousuke said in his normal voice again.
"You know, i was depressed but the thing that bring me back to the reality was a..."
"Was what?" Kyouko asked from nowhere again.
"Uhhh... nothing... just forget it." Sousuke ice-skated out of it.
"Forget it? You are on the teachers wish-list." Kaname said after not quite long time.
"And what is that?" He asked
"Just use your brain for once, that means you are his next prey." Kaname nearly yelled
"Prey? I don't see any chance that he have access to the any kind of weapons and..."
He felt the same pain, which he experienced several times this day, in other words she hit him again. Kyouko, which learned to predict this act, got a prefect photo of it, and was happy about the picture, because its equal as the photo of bullet coming through the card, only best photographers are able to get it. After some time they finally explained the whole thing to him.
"I understood, but will he do it from the same theme as the test, because wars and conflicts are my specialties." Sousuke said after the dialog between Kyouko and Kaname about it.
"No, he will probably use something else." Kyouko answered the question.
"But don't worry, hes not using random stuff, hes using only things we already went through." Kaname cut in.
"I apprehend that my ability to learn it myself isn't great, could you leave free your evening today?" Sousuke asked looking over to Kaname.
She made a thoughtful look.
"I don't have plans for today so its possible, but."
"But? what." Sousuke wondered.
"You didn't say please."
She is sometimes a killer.
"I am appealing, to you to teach me." That was everything he managed to say.
"Say please." She said with stare by both Kyouko an Sousuke.
"I am begging you for... uhh please could you teach me?" He said.
"Ok." She said simply
"Be over my place at six." Then she put in.
He spoke as a normal, i actually made him do it, i am good.
Kaname felt hard about herself, the sentence what Sousuke said, replenished her ego to maximum and he was fully aware of it. As long as he understood the things, what are happening, he will have a teaching lesson with Kaname at her place. Normal, right.
Shes my good friend, very good friend and part of my mission too, but am i going to be ok at her place, is some danger awaits for me?
Soldiers life is always risky. But how not to get hit by bullet or shrapnel, how to use camouflage well in certain areas, he got the survival training and used it few times, but none of the lessons was about evening with girl what is so close to him.
Just why are my memories so easy to brought back?
-
When he awakened, the world was balancing in green spectrum of color, his eyes nearly closed again, but he jumped as he realized the promise he made. He looked at his watch, half past five. There was only thirty minutes left. Did they left me sleeping here the whole time? The exhaustion faded a little, so he could append. He ran out of the school in high speed, that the newspapers in the tobacconist flew for a long time. Sousuke needed to get there at time, he knew that any overdue will lead into hitting his head, so he putted the extra speed, which he always saved for the emergency. The persons were complying about his speed and even shouting some word he couldn't hear because of the speed.
Finally her apartment. He actually jumped into the building making some save time. The strength that he put into the jump, provided him a long fly, in the middle of it he looked onto watch and ascertained that there were only five minutes left. His fall was hard, his bones ached.
No matter now. Goal, almost done, just the stairs.
He flipped over his whole body, exhaled a few times and started to run again.
"...Finally...i...am...here..."
Sousuke panted hard, it even made him cough. The watch showed precisely six o'clock.
I made it. He knocked a three times at the door and waited for it to open. Now he realized that he is still in school uniform, it doesn't matter if i am dressed casual or not. The door started to open slowly, was she preparing her strike, for the half-minute delay? This squeak again, are there present any doors that aren't squeaking? She opened the door, and smiled at him.
What is this? He thought as he saw that she actually didn't wear something casual, but instead something he didn't know how to describe, only thing he knew was that the long skirt and Kashmir sweater fit her well. He haven't had any words for it. She blushed when she saw the stare.
"You're looking like if you going to die." Kaname then said behind threshold
"Certain things happen on my path here." He said and remained immobile.
"You can come in if you want?" She joked a little about his look.
"Yes i certainly want to." Sousuke walked in and felt a little like fool.
He walked over to the center of room and stood there for a moment waiting for her to close the door and join him, she locked the door, Sousuke started to sweat as if the large amount of sweat which made out of nowhere wasn't enough.
Then he examined her at full beauty, and even as a soldier with lack of style he must agree.
"I must say that you look quite,... good."
Sousuke said and then felt the exhaustion hit again, it was nothing serious, but it was there again, how he will be able to learn in this condition of overtoil. His head told him that if hell be in battle, he would die most likely. Aiming and moving abilities will access the zero limit and the enemy would use the chance to torture him, the exhausted body could not take that the damage, then he will die. But this isn't a war,
he didn't know if that was better or worse.
"Well, thank you." She said rushing into his thoughts, and started to move closer to him.
What is she doing? Why she locked that door?
The new danger began to grow and if he were in battlefield he would already call an artillery, but in this kind of situation, Sousuke was like a spy or scout behind enemy lines.
His experiences were no good in this kinds of situations. Sousuke sweat more and more, and Kaname was closer and closer.
What can I do?
She walked past him and now was behind him. Sousuke sighed, these kinds of dangers kept solving themselves. He was too afraid to turn around and face her again, he worried that his condition will drop to minimum, because Sousuke didn't have that much energy, he already depleted his emergency supplies and his body was ready to fall from exhaustion at any moment now.
I need to regroup. I need a strategy, safety directions are missing.
"What are you doing, we need to start already!" Kaname yelled at him.
Sousuke felt satisfaction when she shouted again.
Maybe i will survive this situation after all.
He turned and faced her again, she already sat at the table and prepared some papers and notebooks about the themes they get through this month, Sousuke never knew they been through this whole things already, he stepped over the another side of the table and sat down. None of foes i met put me in this kind of situation. His usual look appeared again on his face.
I'm hoping that this kind of matter include some military. Sousuke searched through his memory and remembered that nothing, expect that Soviets in Afghanistan was about war.
"Shall we start?" Kaname said with look he never witnessed before.
"Yes, i am wondering what kind of theme the teacher will come with, and most certainly it wont be any subjects about war or battles, so he will presumably choose some i am not very skillful at." Sousuke's truth was said.
"You're right he'll probably use this social life of war children, you see." She said and pointed at the notebook to show him.
"That is possibility." Sousuke was afraid that it will guide the memory into some parts of his childhood.
"In this, i can provide a quality detailed information." Sousuke add in.
"Yeah, so if you're so good at this, then there is no problem, because he's checking if you now the similar theme, from what have you had the wrong grade, you know." Kaname suggested.
Maybe this is my chance to vaporize.
"But in the case he'll choose the another theme, we need to recap the previous questions." Kaname then added rushing into his hopes and looked at him.
Maybe the chance itself vaporized now.
He sat agreeable on the farthest side of table. Sousuke had no choice but to cooperate, no one in the history of warfare disarmed him that easily, for unknown reason she sat there like waiting for something, she intended something.
"Will you sat there the whole time or we can start?" She said finally.
"What is wrong about my current position?" Sousuke asked simply.
"Its all wrong, there you don't even see in the notebook, just sat next to me." Kaname left him in sea of cogitations.
Optimal advantage of human is, that he can act not optimal.
Sousuke stood up and started to walk on the other side of the table, he was unaware of the danger what it takes. He pulled the chair and sat beside her, he leaned his hands onto the table. She turned to face him and opened another notebook.
"There, isn't it better?" She asked him.
"I must agree that this position is more optimal." Sousuke replied the answer with opposite of the thought he had before.
The feeling of desertion his line started to somehow mock him, into thought that there wasn't any danger at all, this is just a form of remedial class, no real danger at all. Or maybe the enemy is using a cover to outwit my senses and reflexes. But there is no enemy.
He thought , as they got through a few lessons about social life of war child's, this was his specialty, first hand experience. But it wasn't about child soldiers, it was more about child's and their life with their families in the middle of war, little different from his story. Sousuke must say that some things in it he didn't really know about was present. But more important was, why were all lessons about children so suddenly?
The clock moved and it was already two hours since the start.
I am starting to understand it a little, but also starting to feel more and more tired. His eyelids slided down under the pressure of yesterday and today actions and facts. Kaname noticed that too. She cracked with the book closing it before him, that made him to wake up again.
"What is with you today? You look like piece of garbage." She realized the state of his physical strength.
"Its nothing, i am feeling well." He lied
Actually he felt like a breakfast leftover from yesterday.
"Why don't we take a little break, you really look bad." Kaname suggested.
"As you wish."
He said like if it wasn't his problem and he didn't need it. She stood up and went somewhere in the place, he didn't know where, because he did not pay attention to it. Just a few more lessons and it will be over, but he must admit that this probably helped him a lot, even though he knew half of it already.
The table was already full of circumscribed papers and his eyes never caught Kaname so careful about him. But he was pointless to see the real assignment of her. She already was back with some biscuits on the plate and put them down at the table.
"Just take as much as you want." She said handing him one.
Sousuke just nodded his head and took the biscuit, the food was a thing that was not much present in this day so he relished it. But he didn't want to be rude, so he took two more and finished, then he realized she stare at him for a quite time.
"That must have been some galleys yesterday." She tried to get onto the object of his exhaustion.
"Affirmative." He said.
"What happened?" Kaname searched for explanation.
"Its a classified material, i am sorry." Sousuke said.
"It doesn't matter, don't tell me if you don't want too. You know there was a terrorist attack in the mall just yesterday?" She just tried to brought up another topic.
In that time Sousuke looked substitute, if he ate a biscuit at that time he would choke. He tarted to sweat again.
Could she really knew it?
"Uhh... yes, i heard about it." Sousuke put in.
"The rumors say that one man shoot out a whole group of terrorists, which planned to blow a bomb, as a protest against capitalist society or something." She added and looked over to him to see the reaction.
"Aren't you interested!" She yelled.
"Yes, of course i am."
"I talked about it with Kyouko and she said to me, to look in today's newspapers to find a little surprise in it, i wonder what she meant by it." Kaname started to search for todays print.
Could it be that journalist, he said he haven't got two cameras!
Sousuke started to sweat (again), what after she find out that it was me. Everyone who read the newspapers will knew about it, but thats not a problem. He remembered the pain, what traveled through him each time he get hit and calculated that its way more dangerous than some photo in news. She searched, luckily the print wasn't present at the room. But then he zoomed over a counter and saw it. It was fresh todays newspapers.
Sousuke needed to sneak behind her to get a hold onto it.
"I will attempt to try look for it too." He provided himself a chance.
"OK." She continued searching.
With each step the noise of it was dropped a little, in order to mystify her about his position behind her, the counter was just a few steps from him now, he remembered the fact, why he hated the sneaking missions most, there is always a big danger of being discovered.
Now he was noiseless, the excellent balance between strength, speed and pressure, made him now unstoppable, just a three more steps partition him from his goal.
One, the stress was drooping with every second.
Two, the seconds started to go slowly.
Three, he grabbed the newspapers and tried to hide it.
Mission accomp...
"Hey, you found it." She took the print from his hands.
This isn't good.
He walked back and sat again at his chair, Kaname sat too and opened the newspapers, his picture was on the second page, she searched, on the first was advertisement. With every page she got through, more and more stress fell off in him and multiplied twice after the fact that her hand reached another page. This isn't good at all. When she got through the whole thing, and was about to start from beginning, he gulped.
"There it is..." She said.
"The situation can be done with calm manner." Sousuke said.
He looked on it, the picture was too blurry to know who it was, but unfortunately the person which knew the face will know who it belonged to.
He sighed.
He took the hit what came as a man and since he was prepared, it didn't hurt that much.
"You're lucky that it isn't high-quality! Just why don't you told me!" She shouted.
"I told you its classifi..." Sousuke tried to say.
"Start explain, NOW!" She shouted near his face.
His ears shrieked, like if grenade blew up right before him.
Sousuke quickly understood that she got him in corner.
"I will explain this then, yesterday at sixteen-thirty, i walked to market to buy some food supplies for my bread-room, it all went smoothly, but then i was engaged by a enemy. Some lady got ran into them, and one grabbed her and shouted something about blowing the place, so i quickly hide and prepared my strike, i managed to got them one by one without noticing from anybody not the leader with lady itself. I disarmed the Semtex, the high-explosion plastic explosive, and finally got the leader knocked unconscious, then i choose to leave it to police and evaporate." Sousuke illustrated.
She was angry, when she saw the picture, but now she understood that he was just saving the people, just doing his duty.
"And you got yourself wounded." She then added in already calm voice.
"The wound i got, is fortunately nothing serious and i didn't even notice it yesterday." Sousuke assured her.
"Its good to hear, really..." she said.
"But,... there is one more thing." Sousuke said getting her attention again.
He looked at his right hand, the hand which was full of blood just this morning.
"When i was there, i was worried, but not worried about the explosion, not worried about death, i... well, that lady what was there, she..."
So, thats it he was worried about some girl in market he didn't even know and when i am the hostage, my death is, "very well"?
"...she...i..."
Sousuke had a serious problems showing a emotion, what an irony, he wasn't afraid to battle against tank using only a rocks, but was afraid to show his human self, his real self, not the one what his childhood and training presented, the real one what is hiding behind all that camouflage and weapons.
"Spill it out, already!" Kaname shouted with a anger.
"She looked exactly as you." But that cooled her down.
Kaname haven't got any words.
"I don't know what happened, it was only hair color and maybe something else, but when i saw it, i was invincible, i felt the taste of Aluminum in my mouth (epinephrinaemia) and maybe thats the reason why i didn't felt that wound too." He said.
Kaname was speechless and thoughtless, she did not expect something like this after all.
"...I,... maybe i act with distance, but i have problems with showing my ...emotions." He said.
She just blinked.
Now he looked in her eyes.
"When i first met you i considered everything as a duty, but slowly i realized that... you became part of me." From that sentence Kaname started to blush.
"I am sorry, but this was the first time something talked from me, i didn't thought about it, and don't even know what it was..."
She blushed even more and burst herself on him, hugging him tightly, she felt content, he for the first time used an weapon she didn't even know he knew, of course he didn't knew what it was, because it was rusty and now it started to beat again.
"It... was your heart." She said and tighten her hug.
Sousuke just watched the scene as it was developing and understood that he said something nice, not knowing about it, he instantly wrapped his hands around her and felt something he didn't felt before, maybe as a child before his mother died, but not for once after that. He didn't knew what to do, to enjoy the situation or break the silence with another lack of inference.
She laid her head on his shoulder and felt the happiness of the situation, this was the remarkable day, he really showed emotion, people should celebrate it from now on. Then she looked at his face and realized, that he felt asleep.
The exhaustion from today's and yesterday's events finally took its assessment. His eyelids closed at warm of the situation, and only thing he remembered, after that, was soft kiss on his cheek.
And finally his deserved slumber came.
-
When he woke up, he understood what happened and felt something he never felt before,
not in his entire life.
He felt the happiness.