AN: Just FYI, this is actually me chopping a longer story into pieces because I'm not quite done with the end. That and I'm such a shortfic writer that it's actually almost painful to try and write longer, so this was my attempt at convincing my poor brain that it wasn't writing that much after all. Also, if my fishing skillz are lacking, please be kind (though do inform me). I'm a strictly freshwater--rivers, lakes, and ponds--kinda gal, so I had to research my saltwater fishing 'fo.
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Part II: Casting the Lure
Unlike last time, Kaname was actually staying where Sousuke had planned for her to stay—in the guest quarters on Melida Island, Mithril's base of operations. No parachuting out of a plane in order to rendezvous with the Tuatha de Danaan this time. Just a neat landing on an airstrip and an escort by Jeep to this nice little house she was told was kept for high-ranking visitors. Since the perks of the accommodations did not include military-style bunks and a communal shower, on the whole she was pleased. Its quiet location on the edge of the compound was an added benefit, affording her some insulation from the bustle and noise of the main part of the base.
'For a top-secret organization, this place sure is busy. And obvious!'
Kaname kept this observation to herself as Sousuke drove through the main portion of the base on the way to his favorite fishing spot.
They hadn't had much time there before, when Sousuke had taken her there after Gauron's takeover of the Danaan. Just 30 minutes before she'd had to get on a plane to rush back to ordinary life in Japan. It had seemed almost surreal, the cliché island of peace in the aftermath of trauma.
Now was different, though. This was what he'd meant for that first trip to be, she imagined. Just an ordinary outing, two friends spending time together in an enjoyable activity.
'Friends.' Kaname glanced sideways at Sousuke. 'Friends, even though I think I'd like us to be more. Friends because every time I try to open my mouth and tell him how I feel, I just can't follow through. And Sousuke will never notice on his own. I'm going to have to say it if I ever want anything to change.'
Breaking off that decidedly depressing thought, Kaname chose to instead focus on her surroundings now that they'd left the base proper. She found herself surprised by the beauty of the island that served as the home port of the Tuatha de Danaan. Though how she'd been preoccupied enough to miss what was basically a small jungle on her first trip here, she'd never know. The dense trees and undergrowth were scarred in spots by what she assumed was practice combat. It had the feel of a tropical island, despite the military trappings—which, for all she knew, it could be. After all, she really had no idea of the actual physical location of the island. She couldn't have found this place on a map even if she'd wanted to, which she supposed was kind of the point.
Once they arrived at Sousuke's fishing spot, she oh-so-generously helped him unload the Jeep—though her generosity didn't extend to handling the sloshing pail of unidentifiable small fish.
The rocks at the end of the island formed a natural sort of jetty, or at least she assumed it was natural. That was about as much as she knew. They'd fished from these rocks the last time with only two fishing rods and a small tackle box—nothing like the gear Sousuke had dragged along with them this time.
"So what kind of fish are we trying to catch?" Kaname asked, dusting off her hands on the back of her shorts after dropping the last tackle box behind Sousuke's chosen vantage point.
"Sea bass," Sousuke announced in his 'I'm-the-expert-and-I'm-in-control' voice.
"So how do we catch these sea bass?"
"That depends on what type of bait you want to use. We've got cigar minnows if you want live or we've got some artificials rigged."
Though Kaname didn't consider herself overly girly, she definitely didn't feel up to wrangling around in the pail of small fish in order to find one, catch it, and then attach it still alive to her hook. It could just as well get eaten as soon as she put it in the water without her ever catching a fish, and then she'd have to get another one out of the pail and put it on the hook. The whole process seemed like altogether too much effort without a huge possibility of return.
"Um, not-alive bait, please."
He looked intently for a minute at the assortment of poles he'd dragged along with them before selecting one out of the bunch and handing it over to Kaname. The luridly colored object hanging from the end of the line was vaguely fish-shaped and bristling with hooks. She eyed it with a certain amount of trepidation and disbelief. If she were a fish, she wouldn't let that thing anywhere near her face, much less try to eat it. Heck, she wasn't a fish and she didn't want it near her. She could just see it now—trying to fling that thing out into the water and hooking herself in the cheek with on of the decidedly sharp looking three-pronged hooks.
While Kaname had been standing there trying to remember exactly how she was supposed to get the lure into the water without catching herself, Sousuke had selected another fishing rod for himself and baited the bare hook with a madly twisting minnow.
"Here," Sousuke said, "Do you remember how to cast? Watch."
He cocked his arm back and snapped it forward, adding a flick of the wrist to the end that sent the bait and line whizzing out through the air to plop neatly into the ocean.
After he demonstrated casting a few more times, Kaname quickly caught on and settled into the gentle rhythm of the motions. Despite her fishing inexperience, she found the activity to be kind of soothing. The smooth snap of the cast, the wait for a tug on the line, the slow reel back in to check the bait. Even Sousuke seemed relaxed, which was unusual enough for him.
Then he started talking—also unusual for Sousuke—and to her shock, she found he actually had a hobby. Besides blowing things up, being clueless, and making her life miserable, that is.
He talked animatedly about graphite rods, the merits of artificial versus live bait, the difference between a leader and a line, and proper casting techniques until it all started flying over her head. She felt both confused—something she was used to around Sousuke—and somehow slightly not so bright—something she definitely wasn't used to around Sousuke. After all, she was the expert at All Things Normal. Sousuke was supposed to be the clueless one when it came to things involving ordinary life. Sure, during super-secret AS missions or attacks by terrorist organizations, she was mostly over her head while Sousuke operated with relative ease, but that wasn't real life. And fishing was so, well, ordinary. It was if her world was suddenly slightly off balance. It made her look at things differently. It made her look at Sousuke differently, and she wasn't quite sure she liked that.
Then, during a lengthy lull in the conversation, it happened.
"Sousuke!"
"Yes, Miss Chidori?"
"I think I caught something! And I think it's big!" The last came out in a screech and the rod in Kaname's hand bowed under the weight of whatever was on the other end of the line. Sousuke, ever practical, quickly wedged the end of his fishing rod between some nearby rocks and then dove to help Kaname, whose arms were beginning to shake from the strain.
He wrapped his arms around her from behind, bracing her, and placed his hands over her own to help her reel. Kaname felt like someone had zapped her with an electric current. Everywhere he touched tingled in the funny buzzing way a leg tingles when circulation returns. She almost felt like she was having one of those out-of body-experiences she remembered from a show on American TV, back when she still lived there with her parents.
Sousuke didn't do casual touching. It was a-OK to throw his body on top of hers to protect her from shrapnel, gunfire, or anything else that might threaten her with harm. It was fine to hold her in his arms as they jumped out of a plane or parachuted off a cliff. Adrenaline fueled hugs in the aftermath of life-or-death situations were simply natural bodily responses in his opinion and so carried no emotional meaning.
This though, this was strange. This was strange on par with Sousuke asking her to go on vacation with him. This was behavior you would expect from a boyfriend, a lover, and not a clueless military maniac.
Even through the excitement of battling whatever monstrous—or maybe not so monstrous—fish she had managed to hook, Kaname became more and more aware of the firm body pressed against her back, of the breath that caressed her ear as he spoke his instructions and encouragements to her, the wiry strength in the arms that braced her, and the slight callus of the hands that enfolded her own.
When they finally managed to pull the fish in, all Kaname could feel was relief that the temptation Sergeant Sagara presented was moving away from her to release the fish from the hook. As Sousuke slid the fish onto a stringer and then moved to find a good place to secure the end, Kaname attempted to get her scattered wits together.
'How did I not notice that he's developed his social skills? Or is it just me? Is he comfortable enough with just me to act like that?'
Despite her efforts at normalcy, Kaname felt oddly askew the rest of the afternoon. It was if something had shifted inside her, or more like she was being pulled towards some unknown climactic event.