Sword and Shield

Chapter 19: The Courier

Courier 1. n. A person who looks after and guides tourists. 2. n. A person who delivers messages. 3. n. A company that delivers messages. 4. n. A company that transports goods. 5. v. To deliver by courier.

28 March 2000, 14:35 hrs

Chofu, Suburbs of Tokyo, Japan

Tamagawa Police Station Parking Lot

Sousuke's mouth dropped open in surprise at the teen before him. "Farzen? Farzen Zalad?"

"Yes… it's been years Kashim! It really is you, you old war dog! We heard you died…" Farzen said as he stepped forward then smiled toward Kaname, "…and this… this must be the Angel I was told to contact!"

"Sagara, who is this guy?" Tessa asked from the back of the group and Sousuke stiffened slightly before answering.

"This is Farzen Zalad, I knew him from Afghanistan… he was a courier for Bdakistan's Tiger," Sousuke said.

"Still am!" Farzen said with a grin. "A while back we found a survivor from the battle at the northern border… an arm-slave pilot. She said that you were dead."

Sousuke's jaw clenched and he glanced around the group. "Who was the pilot?"

"She… I believe her name was Sabine."

Kaname stiffened and glared at Farzen while Melissa Mao arched an eyebrow. "I thought I killed her."

"She was badly injured when she was brought in… As a member of Amalgam, she wasn't really an enemy of ours." Farzen shrugged. "She offered to assist in the training of arm-slave pilots, in exchange for the medical care and payment."

"So you took her in… she told of the MIRV strike on Merida Island and you thought I was dead." Sousuke stated.

"Yes, well…" Farzen scratched the back of his head and shrugged again. "She was most adamant she had killed you, I believe she wished to make an attempt on Massoud when she realized who he was. I think she has a vendetta against you Kashim."

Kaname sighed. "No, her vendetta is against me, she wants to hurt me in any possible way she can."

"So she strikes on your loved ones Kashim, because you have her?" Farzen asked. "You really are one lucky bastard."

"Farzen!" Sousuke snapped grumpily. "This is not the ideal place for a discussion. We can talk once we're back at the apartment."

Tessa suddenly stiffened. "Al… we left Al alone! What if someone broke in and stole him?"

28 March 2000, 14:40 hrs

Chofu, Suburbs of Tokyo, Japan

Room 404, Mansion K Apartments

"Hello? Is anyone there?" Al's artificial voice echoed through the empty apartment and the AI fell silent. "I did not realize how boring my existence would be without humans to interact with."

The AI didn't make a sound of discontent, it had not quite learned to make such audio stimuli as a sigh or groan, those things came naturally to humans and it had not yet figured out when it would be proper to use them as an AI. It had compiled a great deal of data for it from watching the interactions in the room, but still did not feel comfortable integrating that information into its own programming.

Still there was nothing for the AI to do without humans to observe and learn from. The AI began to run combat simulations in its boredom, observing that even this was quickly becoming repetitive without an unpredictable opponent like a similar artificial intelligence or human mind to struggle against. After an hour, the AI gave up on that means of alleviating boredom and activated the wireless receiver built into its case.

The AI skimmed through the internet, searching, reading, analyzing, and considering a thousand different ideas a moment before the rattle of the door's lock drew its attention back to the room.

With a clack, the door unlocked and a Chinese looking woman stepped inside, an eyebrow arched as she stepped over the collection of shoes by the door and closed it behind her. The AI compared her face to dozens of others before identifying it and decided to play a bit of a prank on the unsuspecting woman.

"Hmm... still gone." Wraith muttered as she stalked over to the table, flipped through a couple sets of papers, and frowned. "Typical..."

Al skimmed through its music files before downloading the original bond theme song and starting it playing at a barely audible volume. His webcam focused on Wraith, studying her expression as she shut a couple magazines and stood up. Her eyebrow twitched slightly and she glanced toward his case.

Al slowly began to up the volume as Wraith approached the case and scowled at it. She was about to tap it when his voice echoed from its innards. "Wraith, I appreciate that you are here. It has been rather boring without anyone here."

"Al! You damn box of circuits." Wraith snapped as she jumped. "Do not startle someone that's armed, bad things tend to happen."

"Affirmative, Sergeant Sagara has been a exceptional example of that when I've seen him. It amazes me that both Melissa Mao and Kurz Weber continue to tease and prank him." Al stated.

Wraith sighed and sat down at the table. "So... you're here by your lonesome then?"

"Affirmative."

"You've spent too much time around Sagara." Wraith muttered before leaning back in the seat. "I guess I'll hang out here and make sure you're here when they get back."

"Thank you." Al stated flatly. "I have a question."

"Yes?"

"I have noticed that humans have a great variety of reactions to stimuli... are you all so different from each other? I attempted to classify humans into different types and the result was... messy." Al stated. "There are also statements that Sousuke makes in battle that he refuses to explain at times."

Wraith arched an eyebrow at the AI and shook her head. "We're chaotic creatures Al... each of us have a different upbringing, different experiences. I'm sure if we copied your programming into a couple different AIs and wiped the memories of each they would end up just as different after a couple years."

"Understood. Is that why Sergeant Sagara is so different from the others? Even other military personnel do not function in the same manner he does."

"Probably... but sometimes humans are just wired different."

"Wired? Colloqualism meaning mental programming or distinct nature." The AI stated. "I believe I understand... the Sergeant's duty record suggests far more experience than any other Mithril Operative I have dealt with. Miss Chidori on the other hand has far less experience then the average..."

"That depends on what you define as experience Al." Wraith said. "The Sergeant has a lot more experience fighting wars, but much less experience living in peacetime. He had experience with the Afghan, Military, Russian, and Vietnamese culture before his deployment here. There are sufficient differences that he hasn't been able to adjust just yet. Kaname has spent most of her life in either America or Japan living a civilian life, though she tends to embrace the American culture more than the Japanese one... she is a free spirit by nature." Wraith tapped the table after a moment. "The fact that she is sharing this apartment with Sousuke is rather un-Japanese, but then she spent a large part of her early life and development inside the United States until returning just a few years ago."

"I have observed this... however I do not understand how it is that the Japanese have a name to describe her nature when the American's do not... She is tsundere."

Wraith laughed. "Yes she is. But, you see the Japanese tend to do more classification and defining of people then the Americans. The thing is that the Japanese have a rather... constraining and rigid set of social norms, this often causes a tendency for polarization.
People conform or blatantly reject and rebel against those norms. Kaname and her friends are more open than most, I suspect it is because of the more liberal nature of Jindai High School's administration... and adaption to the presence of a personality as foreign as Sagara Sousuke."

"I believe I understand." Al stated. "One would have thought that the martial upbringing and stoic nature would have been an asset… if not for his ignorance of everything outside of warfare and the military."

"Very good assessment," Wraith said. The door opened and Wraith froze. "Shit."

Sousuke burst into the room and rolled behind a chair before pointing his Glock straight at Wraith. Behind him was a teen with a dark complexion that was pulling a Krinkov from a green satchel that hung from his side. Wraith wiped out her own pistol and leveled it at the teen.

"Stand down Sergeant." Al stated.

Sousuke's gaze flicked to the case and softened slightly before he lowered his pistol. "Put it away Farzen... she's on our side."

The teen put away the AK-74SU Krinkov as Kaname stepped into the room. She picked up one of the indoor slippers from the doorway and clapped it over Sousuke's head. "We do not need the police to show up again."

Farzen laughed as Sousuke rubbed the back of his head and scowled. "I was worried the CIA had followed up and was inside."

"Fine." Kaname sighed. "You're right..." She dropped the slipper back beside the others and bent to remove her shoes.

Farzen chuckled as he began to unlace his boots. "You have a real lively one Kashim."

"She has to be to handle him." Melissa Mao's voice came from beyond the door. Tessa rolled her eyes as Sarah Miller hurried over toward Al.

"I'm sorry Al! I completely forgot, are you okay?" She asked as she ran over to the case.

"I am fine. It is not a problem Sarah." Al answered as Farzen stared at her.

"Who is she talking to?" He asked.

"Al... he's an AI." Sousuke said as he sat down and started to disassemble his pistol.

"A what?"

Sousuke rubbed his forehead and pursed his lips. "I guess there is no translation... he's a computer: a very smart computer."

"Thank you Sergeant."

Farzen rolled his eyes as he stood. "You are a rather strange bunch, do you know that?"

"Affirmative."

28 March 2000, 15:40 hrs

Chofu, Suburbs of Tokyo, Japan

Tamagawa Police Station

The other police officers cowered behind their desks and duties as Wakana paced behind her desk, a wild look in her eyes. They all remembered when the officer had gone wild after hearing of an attack on the Yakuza by Bonta-kun, grabbed a pair of P90 personal defense weapons, and sprayed the ceiling with a hundred rounds of 5.7x28mm ammunition.

They were all wary of a repeat now that an apparent criminal that she had a vendetta with had been let go without even a warning or complaint about his actions. Then the woman came to a stop before the door to the interview room and snarled in frustration.

"Damn... damn... damn!" She ran a hand through her hair and spun to the door. "I was so focused on the bloody super-commando I forgot about the spy!"

She banged through the door and stomped down the hall to the last interview room and wrenched open the door. The police officer in charge of this interview looked up and blanched. "Wakana?"

"Out!" She roared and the senior officer scurried away, unwilling to confront the wild woman of the station. As the door banged shut behind him the long-haired man looked up at her and stared. "Now... what do you want with Sagara and his... associates?"

The man stared silently at her before she slammed down the heavy binder full of Sagara's crimes onto the table.

"This is what Sagara has done in this country, crimes of all sorts that have been forgiven in the name of national security. What is he guarding, what do you want with him?" She wiped away a bit of spittle from her mouth before glaring at the CIA agent. "So... you're going to do the whole silen act? What are you Yakuza?" She scoffed before laughing. "Who am I kidding? A Yakuza would have pissed himself already!"

She pulled a black baton from her belt. "Now... time to get serious."

"You must be joking..." the long-haired CIA agent said quietly. "I've been trained to resist all sorts of torture."

"No doubt," She said and gave him a predatory style. "That just means I'll have to be a bit more inventive." Then she leaned toward him and tapped the baton to her shoulder. With a press of her thumb it extended out and electricity began to crackle along its length. "Now... what do you want with Sagara Sousuke?"

28 March 2000, 16:42 hrs

Chofu, Suburbs of Tokyo, Japan

Room 404, Mansion K Apartments

Farzen bent over the coffee table and flipped through the picture book, a smile slowly slipping across his face. "I am surprised... you found pictures of him from way back, Miss Chidori."

"Kazama found them... he's a bit of a military otaku like Sousuke, ran across them online." Kaname said as she sat down a mug of green tea at the table and pursed her lips. "There are not many pictures of him from the time he was with you in Afghanistan, are there?"

"No... we weren't the sort to have many pictures, in fact the supplies used to develop pictures are usually repurposed, to make cheap ammunition." Farzen said quietly. He stopped and a slight smile played across his lips. "I am actually in here... I... I'm stunned! I did not know this picture existed!"

Tessa leaned over the courier's shoulder and stared at the image that showed a cluster of men talking and joking with Ahmad Shah Massoud. Kaname handed her a mug of hot tea before joining Tessa in studying the picture.

"That is Massoud, Kashim, me..." His finger roved around the picture pointing to each person as he spoke. "Kashim was such a stoic fellow... he seems to have mellowed quite a bit thanks to you Miss Chidori." He glanced up at the girls. "Not that he isn't still a crazy military machine."

"Farzen... you best not be telling stories." Sousuke stated as he stepped into the room carrying a rag, which was covered with gun oil. In his other hand was the frame of one of the Glocks.

"Me?" Farzen laughed. "I doubt you told them anything did you Kashim." He stopped as he saw Sousuke flinch at the name. "Is there something wrong Kashim?"

"Please, do not call me that." Sousuke stated as he stepped toward the table and peered at the pictures. "Gauron called me that, it rather ruined the name to me."

Farzen's face fell slightly. "I apologize Sousuke, it's just that was the name Massoud gave you... it is the only name we heard you called except for when Kalinin spoke to you."

"I believe I can tolerate it if Ahmad chooses to call me that." Sousuke said before turning from the table. "I'll finish this and be right with you."

"He is still such a soldier..." Farzen observed before he sighed.

"Aren't you?" Kaname asked with a snort. "I noticed you have more than a letter in that satchel, don't?"

"Ah... well, I am a courier and sometimes even a courier must defend himself." Farzen ran a hand through his hair and laughed for a moment. "Admittedly... I would be in a great deal of trouble if the weapon was found on my person here, wouldn't I?"

Tessa took a sip from her tea and shrugged. Kaname nodded and sighed as a loud clack from a gun's action being worked echoed from another room. Sousuke reappeared with a fully assembled pistol in his hand and set the weapon on the end table before sitting down in one of the chairs.

"Sousuke..." Farzen flipped a page and heard Kaname snicker at the sight of one of the pictures. It showed Sousuke with an old AKM clasped in his hands and a gray cap topped his wild head of hair. The soviet rifle looked almost as big as he did in the picture. "What?"

"He looks cute." Kaname said brightly and grinned as she saw Kaname go red in the face and swallow. "What is that cap anyway?"

"It is a pakol..." Farzen said and grabbed his satchel. "I actually have one here..." He removed a grey pakol cap from the bag and showed it to the two girls. Then he glanced at Sousuke. "You have not been keeping your head covered."

"You know as well as I that I was never particularly fond of those traditions." Sousuke stated before shrugging. "I am not a very good Muslim."

Farzen snorted before Kaname grabbed the cap from his hands and walked up behind Sousuke. She pulled it down over his head, titled it, and smirked down at him. "It looks good on you, Sousuke."

Tessa giggled lightly as Farzen looked thunderstruck. "You can touch him?"

"Of course..." Kaname arched an eyebrow. "Is that weird?"

"Well... no one could touch him back home without... well... seeing the bonesetter afterward." Farzen said quietly. "You have truly worked a miracle Miss Chidori."

Kaname blushed fervently as Farzen snorted with laughter and leaned back on the couch. Tessa giggled as she sat on the end of the couch and stared at him.

"Kurz could not stop from touching me... I had to learn to hold back the impulse to strike him." Sousuke said still red in the face. "Kaname... accelerated the process."

"Well... as you guessed, I'm not just here for a social call." Farzen said with a sigh before closing the photo album and leaning back in his seat. "Majhid heard that you had died and that you had begun courting Miss Chidori..." Farzen's business like expression cracked as he smiled faintly at the two of them. "With Sousuke being... well Sousuke, Massoud took word of your death with a grain of salt. If you were alive, I was supposed to ask you to come home with me for a visit... Massoud is quite curious about the woman that tamed his cub."

Sousuke's expression darkened. "You are asking me to go back?"

"A family visit Sousuke, he does not say as much but I believe he misses you... It'll be nothing permanent of course." Farzen said quickly. "I can get you in and out no problem..."

"You understand you're asking me to bring Miss Chidori into a combat zone?" Sousuke ground his teeth together.

Kaname scowled. "It would not be the first time Sousuke, and you know I'd be safer with you there than here! Imagine if you were not here, would we even know the CIA was sneaking around?"

"Wraith could protect you." Sousuke said stiffly.

Tessa arched an eyebrow as Kaname snorted. "Really... she's done such a great job before? She's not you!"

Sousuke's gaze dropped to the tabletop and he took a deep breath.

"You just do not wish to introduce me to Massoud, do you?" Kaname said finally with a surprisingly calm voice. "You think he will not like me?"

"You..." Sousuke stuttered. "This is most difficult for me Kaname... You can only imagine just how different that world is... Not just how poor and... Desolate it is, but… How they treat women... I do not know if you could possibly be comfortable there."

"Sousuke..." Kaname groaned.

"You are as dangerous a female as the Aisha of the old stories." Farzen said with a smile. "A warrior in her own right, am I not right Sousuke?"

"She is not trained..." Sousuke growled. "I do not wish to risk her life, not again... I will not lose her again, never again!" He snapped and clenched his fists before taking a deep breath and tried to calm his nerves. "She is important... more important than me."

"Sousuke... and if I said I wanted to go?" Kaname said coolly and grabbed his hand. "There has been so much you have not told me, isn't there?"

Sousuke stared up at her, his pewter eyes glistening with pain and she caught a slight flicker of fear in his eyes, more than he ever seemed to display even in the heat of combat. "Kaname..."

"I would like to meet your father... this Ahmad Shah Massoud." Kaname said quietly. "I can handle deserts and soldiers now... how could I not after the last year?"

Sousuke gasped for breath and put a hand at his chest. Sweat ran down from his brow and he stared at her. "Kaname..."

"I am not the unmarred flower I once was... there is blood on my hands, more than either of us would ever wish to admit. I can survive in your world, maybe better than you can in mine." She smiled faintly at that and bent down beside him. She ran a hand through his hair and toyed with the pakol cap a moment before smiling at him. "Will you let me in?"

Sousuke's eyes flicked around nervously, reminding him of when the boy had been on the verge of a panic attack... She had seen that look before, the most blatant moment being when he'd been hunting down a perverted boy that had been posting images of her illegally on the internet. He really was afraid of how she'd react to his history, his world...

"Kaname..." He said in a broken voice and swallowed a lump in this throat. "Are you, are you certain?"

"Yes... Sousuke, I know you have a dark side... when I said I loved you, I knew it, and I have to admit... it was part of what attracted me to you." She sighed. "I will not be angry with you... okay?"

"Okay."

"Is it a problem?" She smiled faintly at him.

His eyes brightened for a moment. "No, it's not a problem."

28 March 2000, 20:00 hrs

Yokota Air Base, Western Tokyo, Japan

1st Special Forces Operational Detachment-Delta, Joint Special Operations Command

In a briefing room at the base eight members of Delta Force were crowded over a set of satellite images and a trio of pictures. One showed the a girl with platinum blonde hair and grey eyes staring up at them, another had a dark haired Japanese teen with brown eyes smirking into a camera, and the third was a mug shot of a Japanese teen with wild brown hair and dark grey eyes.

He had the look of a tired veteran in the eyes of the Delta Force Operatives. Still they listened to the briefing, convinced that the three children couldn't possibly be a challenge to their skills.

"The target building is four stories high with a flat roof allowing for direct insertion. Team one will..."

Lieutenant John Elliot scribbled down notes as the briefing officer pointed to the satellite image and the single point of bright white that was the infrared strobe. Beside him Warrant Officer Curt Saxton did the same while the Delta Force Operators watched.

"Jump off will be 09:40 hours tomorrow, go code is Tartarus." The briefing officer stated flatly. "Touchdown will be at 09:55 hours, total mission elapse time should be no more than forty minutes."

A slight chill ran down his back as he heard those words and Lieutenant Elliot chewed his lip. "Curt… did you just get a big dose of déjà vu?"

"No… why?"

Elliot shook his head. "Nothing."

"Lieutenant?" The briefing officer called. "Is there something you want to share with the rest of us?"

"No sir." He snapped immediately.

"Good…" The briefing officer chewed his lip. "Since you're up to talking, you can fly the pass later tonight to see if the infrared strobe is still active."

"Shit…" Curt groaned beside him and Lieutenant Elliot shook his head and sighed.

28 March 2000, 22:52 hrs

Chofu, Suburbs of Tokyo, Japan

Room 404, Mansion K Apartments

Kaname sighed and sat down on the couch beside Sousuke. She closed her eyes and leaned against him, exhaustion beginning to overwhelm her own sensibilities. Sousuke didn't shift away from her, he didn't even flinch, and in one of the seats Farzen observed the pair an amused smile played across his face before he stood.

"Well, I do not wish to intrude... so I'll be leaving." He said quietly.

Melissa glanced up from where she was washing one of the dishes and shrugged. "You have a place to stay?"

"Well... not exactly..." Farzen rubbed his neck and looked a bit disgruntled. "I don't exactly carry around money for that sort of thing... just enough to get to the contact, pass on the message, and leave. Since Sousuke doesn't have an answer yet... I'll be hanging around."

"We can get you a hotel room." Kurz said from where he stood beside Melissa drying dishes. "Our hotel is just across the river, even has line of sight on this place."

"Barely," Melissa said. "You can only see the place with one of your absurdly powerful scopes."

"Hey, they're not absurd!" Kurz snapped.

"Yeah... and you don't drift off watching the building to peek in windows, do you?" Melissa grumbled and Kurz flushed.

"Babe... please stop mentioning my flaws... I'm getting the impression you don't love me." Kurz said and yelped as Melissa swatted the back of his head.

Farzen watched the interaction in fascination and sat back. "What is it with the strong women around here..."

Tessa giggled quietly where she'd been whispering with Sarah and Al.

Melissa snorted. "You're not used to it Farzen?"

"Of course not... I'm from Afghanistan, the only women I fear are my mother and Sediqa." Farzen said with a slight smile.

"Everyone fears Sediqa," Sousuke muttered. "The Lion must sometimes yield to the Lioness after all."

"Who is Sediqa?" Melissa asked as she finished with the last dish and handed it to Kurz.

"General Majhid's wife," Sousuke said. "The only time I remember seeing him afraid was when she told him off for risking his life for something or another."

Kaname snuggled closer to him and Sousuke sighed, it seemed the girl had tuned out the conversation. Glancing at her he saw that she was on the verge of falling asleep. "Excuse me, it is late and Kaname seems to be struggling to remain amongst us." He shook her shoulder and watched her brown eyes flutter open. "You need to go to bed."

"No..." She grumbled and shook her head. "I'm comfortable here, is it a problem?"

"No." He answered before shifting slightly on the seat and letting out a sigh. "It has been a long day."

"CIA spies, a police interrogation, and Officer Wakana. Yeah, I'd say that's a long day." Melissa said from where she stood. "She's worse then the reports let on."

"She is rather insistant that I am a criminal." Sousuke shrugged.

"Well, you are..." Kurz finished putting away the last of the dishes and leaned against the counter. "How much property damage did you do to Jindai High School over the last two years?"

Tessa snorted. "The Finance and Legal Departments always wanted to burn you in effigy... you made their jobs so much more difficult."

Farzen arched an eyebrow. "I guess you have some good stories to share."

"Kaname could tell them better then we could, she was there for every one of them," Tessa said.

Farzen yawned. "I am sure they are interesting... I have pleanty of Kashim stories myself."

"We all do." Kurz said.

"Yes, you do enjoy telling tales of my ignorance." Sousuke grumbled. "I am not nearly as bad as I once was."

"Only you would tell us, you'd used a condom before and then proceed to describe how much water one could hold." Kurz snorted. "Melissa's reaction was hilarious though." He yelped as she elbowed him. "Hey!"

"We have pleanty of stories about you... Weber." Mao said with a smirk. "Or what happens when you and Sousuke team up. You two define SNAFU."

"But you love me!" Kurz said.

"So what, doesn't mean you and him don't make everday situations insane... or need I tell this group about the Onsen?" Melissa snarled. Kurz's face went white and Sousuke's lip twitched as if he was holding back a smirk.

Farzen arched an eyebrow. "A spa? What happened?"

"You promised not to tell!" Kurz snapped. "Please, don't tell in front of Tessa!"

"Tessa-chan already knows, you think she wouldn't have figured out what the explosions outside meant?" Melissa said.

"Uh..."

Tessa giggled from where she sat and Sousuke stared at Kurz for a long moment. "We're lucky that none of your accomplices were injured..."

"You kidding, I thought Kazama was scarred for life!" Kurz said as he ran a hand through his blond hair and then groaned. "Fine..."

Sarah Miller looked around the group. "I haven't heard this story."

"It's a good one." Melissa smirked. "During an overhaul two summers back Tessa decided it'd be a nice vacation to come here and spend some leave time as a typical high school student, in the same class as Sousuke and Kaname."

Sousuke sighed and looked at his hands while Sarah slowly smiled as she glanced at the group. Al's voice crackled from his speakers. "I sense a disaster in the making."

"I was supposed to arrive a few hours after Tessa to assist in the mission to keep Tessa safe and free Sousuke to concentrate on being Kaname's guard, outside of school anyway. A storm delayed my arrival and Sousuke, already stressed out from dealing with Kaname and Tessa fighting, the additional strain of guarding his commanding officer, and Tessa attempting to ingrate herself with the young Sergeant... well, he got himself sick with stress and collapsed in school. Kaname and Tessa fought over nursing him back to health and well... the pattern for the next few weeks was laid out before them." Melissa rolled her eyes. "I had to cuff Tessa to keep her from sneaking into Sousuke's bed."

Sousuke felt Kaname snuggled against him and declare in a rather sleepy voice: "Tessa... mine!"

Farzen snorted. "If she succeeded he might have killed her in reflex."

"Almost did, that first night she did sneak into my bed and scared the shit out of me when I woke up. Kaname was in the next room if that wasn't bad enough." Sousuke growled.

Tessa flushed a bright red. "I am sorry... I was being stupid."

"You were being a teenage girl with a crush." Melissa said before rolling her eyes. "After I got there things settled down a bit until the last weekend. Someone... who I believe all of you will guess the identity of, suggested that Tessa spend time at an Onsen while in Japan being the easily manipulated and naive teenager that she was... Tessa thought it was a great idea."

Tessa sat red faced and glared at Melissa.

"So she invited Kaname and Sousuke's friends for a weekend at an Onsen, and Sousuke being told a few days earlier scrambled to secure the place in his usual fashion." Melissa snorted at the last bit.

"It was an unsecure location." Sousuke stated dryly.

Farzen chuckled and glanced at Sousuke. "Let me guess... mines, by the hundreds."

"And military armor," Kurz grumbled. "In the divider between the men and women's pools."

Melissa rolled her eyes. "That was because he knew you!"

Sousuke nodded sagely and smirked. "It did keep you out."

"The sentry guns were overkill!" Kurz snapped.

Farzen burst into laughter as Sousuke's cheeks flushed. Finally, he smirked at the group. "I have told you several times already. There is no overkill, there is only open fire and I need to reload. They weren't lethal weapons anyway..."

Kurz glared at him as Melissa continued. "So you can imagine... Kurz Weber, voyeur and pervert extraordinaire arrives at the Onsen planning to observe his female superior officers..." Melissa smirked at Kurz who rolled his eyes. "And is stymied by the defenses Sousuke assembled... he recruits two of Sousuke's school friends: Ono-D and Kazama to assist him in penetrating the defenses and getting a good look at the girls."

Kurz put his hand in his face. "Just how many of those damn sentry guns did you put out there?"

"Seventy-two, they were available cheap after rejection from some country." Sousuke shrugged.

"And how many mines?" Melissa asked.

"Five crates full... I managed to get less lethal concussion types." Sousuke shrugged.

Kurz let out a growl. "If you didn't Kazama, myself, and Ono-D would have died you know!"

"You should not have tried to get a peek at the captain." Sousuke muttered.

"You sure I wanted a look at Tessa?" He asked before waggling his eyebrows.

Sousuke glared at him. "You just wanted to look at naked women. I suppose any women would do..."

"Nah... Mao would have been best." There was a smack as Melissa smacked the back of his head and he rubbed it. "What... it was a compliment Melissa!"

Melissa rolled her eyes. "Anyway, he and his two new buddies went around and tried to come across the forest grounds shooting the sentry guns and setting off mines as they went. Ono-D got knocked out by a concussion mine, and Kurz got zapped by one of the tripods in the ass." She snorted with laughter. "So it's just Kazama verses all of Sousuke's defenses. He's a bit of a military Otaku like Sousuke but... more otaku and less specialist."

"The fools..." Sousuke grunted.

"Kazama jumped the wall and got into the pool... but the women's and men's side switched after a certain point in the evening and... Kazama dropped on top of Sousuke."

Farzen snorted, "Typical Sousuke scenario."

"Kazama was rather mortified," Sousuke observed quietly. "I believe he was crying for most of the trip back."

"Now if I had an Angel Light back then..." Kurz waggled his eyebrows before Melissa smacked him again.

"I believe the girls will prefer not to be irradiated by the efforts of a pervert to see them naked." Sousuke said.

At that moment, the ozone monitor crackled suddenly to life and everyone froze. Sousuke bolted from the couch and ran toward the window. With him gone, Kaname fell from the couch with a yelp as she toppled over.

He stared up through the window into the night and pulled a radio from his pocket. "Uruzu Seven to Wraith, any visual? The Ozone monitor picked up something."

"Nothing at the moment..." Wraith answered shortly afterwards. "I'll keep watch."

"Sousuke?" Kaname grumbled from the floor before stumbling to her feet. "What is it now?"

"Ozone monitor picked up an ECS camouflaged vehicle passing nearby," Sousuke said. "It could be one of those AH-6 Little Birds we observed a while back."

The assembled group stared at the monitor as the crackling slowly died and Sousuke began to relax. He set the pistol on the end table and dropped back onto the couch. "It seems like they passed us."

"We'll have to be careful until Japan announces the Sword and Shield agreement or it's leaked the United States will probably continue to find an opportunity to snatch us away." Tessa said.

Farzen stood and brushed off his pants. "I think I better go, if that offer for a hotel room is still good."

"It is." Melissa said with a nod. "We'll leave as well in a moment."

"Perhaps we should all head to the hotel?" Sousuke suggested.

Tessa shrugged. "I doubt they'll strike tonight, a mid morning attack would make more sense in Japan as then the vast majority of residents would be at work and out of harms way."

"In that case, let's get out the sleeping bags. Sousuke can guard us out here again." Sarah said with a tired sigh. "When will the agreement be announced?"

"I don't know." Tessa said and took a deep breath. "Of course it would come out the moment the American's struck... but if it was announced before hand we might not even be attacked."

"Well, we'll be heading back to the hotel... call us if something happens." Kurz said before standing.

Farzen glanced around the group and smiled. "It has been an... experience meeting all of you."

28 March 2000, 23:12 hrs

Chofu, Suburbs of Tokyo, Japan

1,000 meters over the Tamagawa River

Curt Saxton flipped up the infrared goggles and leaned back in his seat. "Well… it's easy as hell to see at night, a flash every second like that."

Beside him, Lieutenant Elliot snorted before grabbing hold of the cyclic and breaking toward home base. "Let's just get back and hit the sack, it'll all be over tomorrow."

"Roger that." Curt said with a smirk.

28 March 2000, 23:43 hrs

Chofu, Suburbs of Tokyo, Japan

Tamagawa Police Station

"We don't want anything with Sagara!" the CIA agent yelled from his seat as Wakana gave him a leering grin. "I swear. He's just the targets' bodyguard!"

The metal of the table groaned as Wakana crossed her legs and pressed a combat knife into the steel almost as if bored. She arched an eyebrow at him while the sounds of J-pop echoed in the room. The CIA agent looked up at her half buried by Hello Kitty memorabilia.

Grinning she used a pair of chopsticks to lift the squid from her bowl of soup and slurped it, making the CIA agent shudder in disgust. It seemed the CIA hadn't prepared it's agents for this sort of bizarre interrogation. "I'll stop when you tell me who the target is and what your job was."

"Chidori, Testarossa, and Kudan are the targets! I don't know why we want them. I was just suppose to drop an infrared marker on the roof over their apartment, that's all!" He said.

"And this infrared marker… what's it for?"

"To mark a position for satellite photos, I don't know… that's all I can think of, just get rid of this stuff… it's giving me the creeps!"

Wakana smiled. "Why would you want a satellite photo with their apartment marked?"

"I don't know! Honest!"

"Fine…" Wakana stood and walked toward the door. I guess I'll stake out their apartment. "Keep my stuff company, will you?" She smiled as the man blanched beneath the Hello Kitty memorabilia. "Oh… and you should know, Chidori's father works for the UN in New York as a top level bureaucrat. I doubt the US would like the fact she's a target of yours get out."

The door shut with a clang.