Aruiteku Together Forever – Chapter Twenty
Kaname hummed happily, stirring the various pots of soup on the stove. Making sure everything was taken care of, she set to washing the rice before adding it to the rice cooker and turning it on. Wiping her hands off, she grinned, looking at everything set up. It had been awhile since she had tried to make a meal with many dishes, and she was feeling good, looking at how well everything was going. Next, she set to work preparing the tofu for frying. While she was squeezing out one of the blocks, her father and sister walked in, checking up on her.
"You look so happy, Kana-nee!" Ayame clapped her hands together, glad to see her sister looking cheery. Kaname smiled and wrapped up the tofu in paper towels to soak up the rest of the moisture.
Patting them down, she nodded, "Yeah. It's my first time cooking for this friend, so I'm hoping she likes it." She unwrapped the tofu and cut it into slices with practiced ease. It was a little disappointing that Sousuke would not be there to enjoy the meal she was making, but if everything turned out well then perhaps they could do it again. As it was, it had taken a time when Sousuke was gone for her to finally get Wraith to agree to eating a meal with her. Some time ago she had found out that Wraith was, in fact, a woman, and guessing by her food preference, she was probably Korean. Well, she would find out one way or another, that was her goal.
Ayame sidled up next to her and watched her dredge the tofu slices through flour and set them aside. "Can I help?" She still had a lot to learn about cooking, and Kaname hadn't shown her how to fry tofu before.
"Sure thing," she finished the slice she was on and stepped aside, walking her sister through the process. She heated the oil in a wok and then showed her how to fry them, flipping the slices over with a long pair of metal chopsticks. Ayame watched in awe, whimpering when the chopsticks were handed to her. "You got this, come on. Don't be afraid, if you're too slow and cautious you'll get splashed. Just do it like I did."
Shunya shook his head at the sight, then turned his attention to the front when he heard a knock. He left the kitchen to answer the door, opening it to find a woman who looked like she could have been anywhere from in her twenties to her thirties with straight shoulder-length hair and with a hostile expression seemingly permanently glued to her face. She wore a stylish tailored business suit that made her age seem even more ambiguous, adding youthful style with an air of maturity. The woman narrowed her gaze at him, seeming to size him up and he had the distinct feeling it was in the nature of a predator analyzing their prey. He clenched his jaw and returned the glare, oddly enough causing the woman to smirk at him. She reached out a hand, "Rhee Jung, you must be Kaname's father, Shunya."
He blinked slowly then grasped her hand and shook it, trying not to show his confusion. He had expected Kaname's friend to be someone from her school, someone her age. "Yes, I am. You must be the friend Kaname invited over for dinner then."
"That would be me," Wraith nodded along with her verbal confirmation. Shunya then invited her in and showed her to the kitchen, shaking his head again and reaching up to rub the bridge of his nose. The woman seemed to make everything into a challenge, giving him the impression that this would be another of those long nights full of headaches that all of his eldest daughter's acquaintances seemed to bring him.
"That's three down," Al voiced after a kill, reloading the shot cannon for Sousuke while he maneuvered towards the site where most of the action was taking place. Things were going surprisingly smoothly. Either the base had reduced their defense since three months prior or Amalgam was having a problem mobilizing their troops. Since they could no longer pay their men, it was quite likely many were abandoning the organization and fleeing into the forest. It was also likely that officers had killed men who indicated such an inclination. Either way, they weren't being met with much opposition, and those that were fighting seemed to be poorly coordinated.
It was more a massacre than a fight with how easy it was going. It was almost unnerving, being able to wipe out their enemy which they had been at such odds with for so long. Something would go wrong, surely, it was just a matter of time. Likely that strange AS would start working on the troops that had no defense against its formidable power and whittle down their numbers, since with the way things were going that AS would be the only one that could do it. He hoped that the AS was even at this base. If it was at another then they would have a problem. There would not be a complete wipe out of Amalgam if that were the case.
"Uruz Seven, we got another ECS cloaked machine coming up at our ten, take care of it?" the calm voice of Mao sounded in the cockpit, and Sousuke flipped open his communications to respond and head out. He was trying to take it easy and not display too much of his unit's power, he had reduced the power output to match an M9's early on, and now he ran towards the cloaked enemy at a reasonable speed to dispatch it quickly.
"Four down," he muttered at the same time Al announced it. "Al, don't you think this is a little easy?"
"Of course it is, Sergeant. Together we far outclass all of our enemies." Sousuke shook his head. It was really too much that the artificial intelligence had such a strong sense of pride that almost bordered on hubris at times. "We are even stronger than before. We can take on anyone here." Check that, he thought, Al was definitely displaying some hubris.
With a soft sigh, Sousuke turned his head to look around. "We are stronger, Al, but what about that other AS? The one that destroyed the Arbalest…," he trailed off, only vaguely recalling the event. That was a blessing, really, given what he was told about his condition.
"Are you afraid of it, Sergeant?"
Sousuke growled, "You're so irritating. I'm not afraid, Al, I'm just worried that you're overconfident." He could not believe he was admonishing a computer for having pride. Perhaps he had gone insane at some point over the years.
"You always say such cruel things. I do not believe I am being overconfident, Sergeant. I have studied the records from our previous encounters and believe that we are a match for it now."
"Do you really think it's safe to say that machine was not hiding any tricks like I have been in this?" he muttered, wondering why and how it was that he was considering more details than Al.
The AI was silent for a few moments and Sousuke took the moment of silence to draw in a deep breath and clear his mind. "Regardless, that unit relied heavily on the lambda driver. With the Fairy Feather we will be able to eliminate most of that unit's functions and take it out."
Sousuke tapped his finger on the joystick then gave a small shrug, "All right. I'll hold you to that, though. If we get defeated-."
"You'll scrap me. I know. Could you think of a more original threat, Sergeant?"
"I hate you," he muttered under his breath, "It'd be a lot easier to create new threats if you were flesh and blood," that he spoke louder, though he knew Al heard both comments.
"I see."
"Uruz Seven, we've got a problem over here," that was Mao again, and he picked up the faint trace of fear in her voice.
Sousuke flipped open the channel again, "On my way. What's the problem Uruz Two?"
"That unit that destroyed the Arbalest has shown up."
"Understood." Sousuke grinned. For all that he had been chiding Al for his confidence in their ability to take it on, he felt good about the prospective fight. There were very few times he could say that killing someone brought him personal satisfaction beyond that of a job well done. He would certainly enjoy this one. He hoped that the unit's appearance meant that the fourth Venom had been the last one. It would be good to drag the fight on just long enough to be sure the pilot had time to acknowledge his own mortality and feel fear.
Now, the hunt was on.
Ayame worked on setting the table while Kaname finished moving the food into their serving dishes and placed everything on the table. Wraith leaned against the wall, watching the girls move about and staying out of their way. Since the mission to guard Kaname had somewhat changed, and especially since Kaname had done some work for Mithril, she found it was okay to accept the invitation to dinner that Kaname had been trying to get her to take for the past year or so. She waited until Sousuke had left, though, since the two did not get along particularly well.
Once everything was on the table, Kaname crossed her arms over her chest and nodded approvingly, "There! All set!"
Shunya walked back into the kitchen when he heard Kaname, and the four took up their seats. Ayame helped serve the food in her sister's place, letting her rest after being up for so long cooking. Kaname smiled gratefully at the younger girl and let her fill up her plate, laughing when she put too much food on. "I know I'm pregnant Ayame, but I'm not eating that much, at least not yet!"
Ayame grinned sheepishly, filling up the guest's plate and then her father's before taking care of herself. Once they were all served she sat back and they started eating. "Mm, Kana-nee, you're such a good cook!" she spoke with her mouth still full with a rice grain on her cheek.
Giggling, Kaname reached over and wiped it away, "Ayame, you know better," she chided gently. Shunya watched the exchange and shook his head slightly in wonder. Since Shizu had died Kaname had taken over being Ayame's mother-figure, but even back then, when she was really trying at it, when Ayame had really needed it, she had not displayed it quite so well. It was obvious to him that her maternal instincts were already kicking in and he smiled in spite of himself. Seeing her act motherly with her younger sister helped to calm his fears about whether she was really ready to be a parent or not.
Wraith had to agree with Ayame. The food was excellent, and it had been a long time since she had Korean food that was so good. She was not much of a cook herself, so the meal was quite the treat. "Kaname, you said this was your first time making chige-nabe?"
Turning her attention back to her guest, Kaname nodded, "Yeah. Did it come out all right?"
"It's amazing," slipped out, and Wraith turned her attention back to her food objectively, pretending she had not let that happen. Kaname giggled at the behavior, recognizing a similar stoic shyness to Wraith that Sousuke had. It wasn't the same, his was caused mostly from not having been allowed to display his emotions most of his life, Wraith's seemed to be due to not wanting to display her emotions most of the time. She supposed a lot of it had to do with her job as a spy, since inadvertently showing an emotion could easily get her killed.
"Good, I'm glad. I wasn't sure if I was going to make it right or not. How did the kimchi come out? And the tofu soup?" she really was curious. She did not normally make Korean food so she was curious what a native thought. Kaname was happy with how it came out for herself, but it was different for Wraith, who was from North Korea. That would be an interesting story, she thought briefly, how Wraith managed to escape her position as a North Korean spy and end up in Mithril.
Wraith nodded shortly, taking a sip of her water to mask her resettling back into her usual demeanor. "It all came out quite excellent, Kaname. Tastes just like I remember it from home."
"Where is home for you, if you don't mind my asking?" that was Shunya, speaking in between bites.
"Daegu, South Korea," she answered, lying. Kaname sipped her water to cover a smile at the lie, knowing where she got the idea to say that place. Saying anywhere in North Korea would be bad, since it would lead to questions about how she had managed to get out, and in Mithril there was a soldier that was from Daegu. Kaname had met him a few times since he worked pretty closely with Sousuke, Mao and Kurz really being the only ones that worked with him more. Figuring Wraith had most likely read up extensively on everyone's files, she probably knew enough about Yan Jun-kyu's history and hometown by now to pretend it was her own. Aiming to steer the topic away from her, Wraith turned to Kaname, "Do you know what you're having?"
Caught off guard by the question, Kaname hesitated, before realizing what she was asking. Laughing lightly, she nodded, "Yeah. It's going to be a girl."
"I see. How does Sagara feel about that? I would think he would want a son to corrupt."
"He's excited, he really didn't care what the gender was, he's just happy to be a father. And you could be nicer to him you know," she shot Wraith a warning glare. Wraith just shrugged and continued eating, easily ignoring the look.
"We don't get along. Besides, tell him to be nice to me and I'll consider it."
Kaname tossed her hair, "Hmph. Don't think I won't. Besides, if you want to eat my home-cooked meal again, you better be prepared to spend dinner with him, too! You two need to get over it already, you're like children, I swear!"
Wraith stared at the food on her plate and weighed the pros and cons of suffering a dinner with Sousuke. Ultimately, she decided that the food was good enough, and screwing with Sousuke was fun enough, that she would do it. Damned if she would admit it at that moment though.
Sousuke decided that the time for hiding his power was over, "Al, maximum output."
"Roger, Sergeant, increasing output seventy-percent, eighty-percent, ninety-percent, maximum output reached," Al reported. As he was running to meet with Mao and the others to take care of that AS he felt the speed rapidly increasing. Mentally he cursed himself for forgetting just how powerful the unit really was, and had to keep himself from swallowing his tongue. He opted to remain silent at the time since talking would be difficult in the Gs he was experiencing.
They reached the hot spot quickly and Sousuke immediately dove in, firing a shot off that was easily blocked by the enemy's lambda driver. He was not concerned, however, only firing it to draw the attention to him and away from the others. He then sped forward, darting around the enemy unit in a taunting manner, essentially gloating about his superior speed and maneuverability. He led the AS away from the battle where their ground troops and a few M9s were subduing the enemy foot soldiers and the less advanced of the enemy's military technology. Sousuke noticed the high spot of the terrain that Kurz had used as a sniping point last time, and where he probably was at that moment. The spot he was in was the one where the Arbalest had been destroyed.
Fitting.
He felt as though his blood were singing in his veins and grinned, for once allowing himself to enjoy the adrenaline high at least a little. "All right you bastard, it's my turn now," he growled, tightening his grip on the joystick and turning to face the enemy. "Al, initiate the Fairy Feather."
"Roger, Sergeant. Fairy Feather initiated. Active," Sousuke was grateful that Al did not decide to remark on his comment. He got into enough fights with the AI as it was. When the enemy fired his weapon he rolled out of the way, and when he noticed it try to deploy its odd wings the hesitation made it clear that the pilot was thoroughly confused as to why his lambda driver was not functioning. Not wanting to prolong the battle too much, Sousuke darted in swiftly and tore off one of the enemy's arms.
The pilot clearly was not used to actually being put on the defensive, and Sousuke had the distinct notion that he had probably never piloted anything other than that shiny toy of his. Making him realize his own mortality would be all the more satisfying then. The next arm was torn off. When it tried to retreat, Sousuke blew out one of the legs with his shot cannon. He still tried to retreat, kicking feebly at the ground in an effort to propel the unit forward. Sousuke shook his head in disgust. The enemy was so afraid that he did not even realize that once he made it to the tree line he would no longer be able to advance. Too afraid or that lacking in experience. Regardless, he was beginning to feel ashamed for being defeated by such a miserable foe, and the game began to lose its fun. He kicked the enemy over and pointed his gun at the cockpit.
What happened next was a surprise to Sousuke. A rather pleasant one, in the way that a large wounded prey taking its last steps outside the lair of a predator is pleasant for the hunter. The joy found its way back into the moment for him and he found himself grinning menacingly. Yes, this was a life he would enjoy taking.
Kaname accepted Wraith's offer to help her clean the dishes, and shooed off Ayame and her father. She wanted to talk to Wraith alone. Grateful that the woman had taken the more difficult task of actually washing the dishes, she stood there with a drying rag in her hand and the worried expression she had been staving off all day, "Any news?"
Knowing exactly what the question meant, Wraith shrugged. "I was in contact with intelligence just after the initial strike. Everything went well, so it all depends on those storming the bases now. I could try to find out how it's going but unless it's over I doubt I'll get an answer. They'll be too busy keeping tabs on everything." She answered calmly and so matter-of-factly that Kaname giggled. Wraith reminded her of Sousuke sometimes, and she wondered if that was why they could not get along. As she had thought earlier, of Sousuke being like an eagle, if Wraith was one too then surely they would be trying to rip each other apart in the skies.
Predators did not do well with others of their kind in their territory.
She giggled again, closing the cabinet where she had just put away a pot. Predators fought over three things: Prey, Territory, and Mates. The prey were those that tried to attack her, the territory was wherever Kaname was living, and she herself was the mate. She was unable to bite back the laugh at the thought of Wraith fighting Sousuke over her. Wraith glanced over at her with her usual glare, "You just thought of something rude, didn't you?"
Kaname blew the bangs out of her face as she took the next dish to dry and returned the look, "Why do you and Sousuke always call me rude? Honestly, you think so little of me."
Wraith just shrugged and dove elbow deep into the warm water and suds, "If you feel that way then why are you with him?"
"It was a joke," she answered flatly. "You're even more clueless than he is."
"I am not!" she sputtered indignantly.
Kaname managed to hold in the laugh to grin and give Wraith a 'knowing' look, "Oooof cooouuuurse you're not. I mean, that simply isn't possible, is it? The world might end if there was someone out there denser than Sousuke."
Growling, Wraith attacked with the only weapon safe enough to use on the girl. Kaname's shirt was soaked and there were bubbles sticking to her chest and hair, as well as a few smatterings on her face. "Ooh, that does it! You're in for it now!" she reached over and pulled a pot from the sink and dumped its contents over Wraith's head. The woman spluttered, blinking away the water from her eyes and slowly reaching up her arms to push her soaked hair out of her face. Kaname stood with the pot over one shoulder, ignoring the water dripping down her shirt, and another hand folded up on her hip in a triumphant pose with an almost sadistic grin.
Wraith reached out quickly, cranking on the sink water and grabbing the sink hose to spray Kaname down with cold water. When Kaname shouted in surprise her father and sister burst into the kitchen asking quickly what was wrong. Upon seeing the state the two were in, Ayame burst into a fit of giggles and Shunya drew up to his full height with a long, suffering sigh. Kaname grinned sheepishly and 'hid' the pot behind her back. She knew it had already been seen, but that didn't stop her from keeping it out of view. Wraith, well, did not look any different from normal. She did not seem to be angry or embarrassed at the state they had been caught in, even though they had been acting like a couple of children. In fact, Kaname swore she saw the beginnings of a smirk on the woman's face. She really needed to get Wraith out more often!
Shunya took off his glasses, rubbed the bridge of his nose for what felt like an eternity, and then put the lenses back on. "Ayame, since you find it so funny, you can clean it up. It would not be nice to make our guest or your pregnant sister spend their time cleaning up any more than they already have, would it?" Ayame stared at her dad in shock, wondering just why she was the one being punished. "Kaname, you should shower and change, the last thing you want is to catch a cold. I'll finish up the dishes once Ayame has cleaned up the mess."
Kaname was also staring at her father, completely surprised. She had expected him to shout, or to at the very least demand that she clean up the mess. Hell, she would not have put it past him to demand Wraith help, regardless of the fact that she was their guest. She felt bad for Ayame, but she had to admit she really could use a rest. She would make it up to the girl later, she decided. For now, she said good-bye to Wraith so the woman could also clean up and change, quietly asking her to give a call with any news she could relay when it came in. She did not care what the hour, doubting she would get much sleep that night knowing that Sousuke was out there fighting at that very moment.
Leonard Testarossa decided he would prefer to survive, and had opened the cockpit to his Belial, exiting with his arms up in surrender. He was expecting the taser that the Mithril units usually had to knock him out, but instead the unusual AS drew back and seemed to size him up. Mithril always took prisoners where they could, they liked information, and besides, he was their beloved captain's brother. How could they kill him?
Sousuke debated opening his own cockpit and shooting Leonard down, but thought better of it. That would leave him vulnerable too. Sure, he had the high ground, literally and figuratively in this instance, but he did not want to give anything for Leonard to work with. Besides, what if there was a sniper and this was a trap? No, he would not exit his unit. He also would be taking no prisoners. Nor would any enemy he saw be running to freedom. He would, however, talk to the man, for just a moment. Sousuke flipped the switch for his external speakers.
"Leonard Testarossa."
The man glared up at the unit defiantly, trying for all the world to look as though he felt he was doing Sousuke a favor by offering himself up as captive. It seemed he did not recognize Sousuke's voice. That was fine. He would learn who was killing him, and why, soon enough. "You know my name. I should not be surprised, I am worth knowing after all. Pity someone like you could never hope to achieve greatness like me."
"You do not look so great from where I am standing," the shot cannon was still in Leonard's face.
"Of course not, what could an ingrate possibly understand of greatness? You will never comprehend my genius."
Sousuke wondered if the man really believed everything he was saying. He resisted the urge to shake his head, knowing the movement would be telegraphed by the Laevatein. The man was almost pitiful. "You will not survive this encounter, Leonard. Do you want to know why?"
He noticed the panic, having Leonard zoomed in on his screen in a window to monitor his actions. That panic felt good. Leonard composed himself quickly, and for that Sousuke had to begrudgingly give him some credit. Managing to look so haughty when staring down the barrel of a 57mm shot cannon took some amount of courage. Or an incredible amount of conceit. "Why do I care what savage creatures like you do?"
"I believe you'll recognize me when I tell you my name. Sousuke Sagara," at first Leonard seemed furious, likely because Sousuke was ignoring what he had to say. Next, he looked absolutely shocked. He did not know that Sousuke had survived their last encounter. "I will kill you because of what you have done to my wife," that got quite the reaction.
"Wife?! WIFE?! Who would marry someone like you?!" he knew full well who Sousuke was talking about. He did not want to believe it though. His Kaname was a better woman than that, she would not stoop so low as to marry an infidel, would she? No, she was too perfect, beauty, grace, strength, fire, intelligence, she was everything everyone could ever wish to be. Why would she marry someone with so many glaring imperfections? Why not someone like himself?
"You know exactly who I am talking about. Now, tell me, is there anything you wish me to tell her, or your sister? I'm feeling gracious enough to pass on a message," he decided to answer Leonard's arrogance with his own. It would make him so angry, and the red rapidly coloring Leonard's face confirmed it. This would not go much longer. He would give the man the chance to reply, and then he would be dead. He had wasted enough time.
Leonard growled, the sensitive mic picking up the sound, "You son of a bitch. How dare you touch someone like her. She was perfect! You ruined her!"
"I grow bored of this topic," he twitched the finger on the trigger theatrically. It was enough. The strong camera picked up the beads flowing down Leonard's face. The man had broken into a cold sweat. Good.
"You wouldn't kill me. What would dear Tessa say? Don't you think that's a little harsh, going back and reporting you killed her brother in cold blood?"
"Do you see anyone here? This is between you and me. But, well, since you seem so eager to stall and not actually answer me, I guess this is over. It'll be good to tell Kaname that the man that she fears and detests is gone and will no longer be able to hurt her or touch her."
"I would never hurt her! I love her, it's you that will hurt her, yo-!!"
Sousuke had heard enough. His own patience had its limits and Leonard had used it up. Implying that he would hurt Kaname, he growled and ejected the monomolecular cutter, and thrust it forward, cutting Leonard in half. The spinning blade grinded in the metal, vibrating heavily and causing a gory mess of blood and metal and sparks. He took in a deep breath and released it in a heavy sigh. A weight seemed lifted from his shoulder's with Leonard's death. Time to rendezvous with the group.
Kaname smiled at Ayame, walking the younger girl through how to make baklava. She figured the treat was something her sister would enjoy, and so she taught her how to make it as a silent apology for having to clean up her mess the other day. She was not being completely altruistic, however, as she intended to steal some of the dessert aside for Sousuke, who was returning that day. She doubted Ayame would mind, but she had chosen that particular dessert since she figured with the nuts and honey it would be something Sousuke would enjoy. There were not many sweet things that he did like, but honey was one of them.
Once it was in the oven they went into the living room to rest and watch television. Shunya folded up his paper and put it aside, looking at the girls huddled together under a blanket on the couch. "You said Sousuke is returning today, Kaname?"
"Yeah, I'm not sure what time he'll be back though. Could be anytime between now and after midnight."
"I see. You must be excited," the statement was unneeded. Since Kaname had gotten word that they had been successful she had been a bundle of excitement, having a hard time winding down during the day, though thankfully she was sleeping easy enough. Now that the day of his return had arrived she was even more jittery, unable to sit still for long. They all hoped that he got back on the sooner side so she could calm down. She had not been able to talk to him the whole time he had been gone, and it was driving her near crazy. It had been a very long time since she had not been able to see or talk to him for even a few days, let alone a whole week. The last time she had not been able to talk to him was because of his injuries. She did not want to think about that.
When a knock sounded on the door Kaname leapt off the couch, causing Ayame to yelp when the blanket flew off, and she ran to answer the door. Shunya shook his head, "She's going to feel silly if that isn't Sousuke." Ayame giggled.
From the excited shout they surmised that it was Sousuke, and they both relaxed, realizing for the first time that Kaname's anxiety had wound them up as well. They both walked in, Sousuke smiling at his wife's enthusiasm as she chattered excitedly about what had happened while he was gone, detailing the dinner with Wraith and the subsequent water battle. Sousuke stopped to greet Ayame and Shunya before he was herded into the bedroom. Once there, and with the door closed, he dropped his rucksack and drew Kaname into a tight hug, content to hold her and breathe in the delicate scent of her hair.
Kaname sighed happily, leaning into his hold. It felt good to be wrapped up in his strong arms again. He murmured something into her ear and she had to ask him to repeat himself. He hesitated, and then motioned for them to take a seat on the bed, citing the reason that he had much to talk about. They laid down and Sousuke rested a hand on her stomach, both staying still and silent for several long moments, enjoying each other's presence. Finally, he spoke back up, "I killed Leonard." There was no delicate way to say it, he had surmised. "He had been the pilot of the AS that nearly killed me last time," he hoped that bit of information would take some of the sting out of his words. He knew how she felt about death and killing, and was grateful she accepted him despite it.
Biting her lip, Kaname lifted one hand to settle partially on top of Sousuke's, taking a moment to let the information sink in. Leonard had been the face of her fears since she had met him, the one she thought of whenever she thought of the troubles she faced, and the troubles Sousuke faced. Gauron had been the first face, but when he had, as they all had thought, died on the TDD, things seemed easier to bear. She knew that there was still danger, but without a face to put to that danger it had seemed surreal. Leonard had added to her terrors when he had given her another face.
She felt herself relaxing, really relaxing for the first time in an extremely long time. With the death of this face of danger was also gone the source of the real threat posed to her. There were other groups, sure, like the KGB from before, but they were nothing compared to Amalgam. Still a danger, yes, but she felt she could breath far easier now. Amalgam was finally gone. As was the one that had nearly taken Sousuke from her. She could never forgive Leonard for everything he had done, and while she did not necessarily approve of the way things were done in the world Sousuke lived in, she had to admit that she was now part of that world. Leonard's death was a very good thing in that world. She heaved a sigh of relief, "Thank you."
"It is not a problem," he leaned over and kissed her, running his hands down her body. When a knock sounded on the door, he growled.
"Kana-nee, it's time to make the sauce!" Ayame's voice chimed from the other side of the door.
Kaname laughed at Sousuke's sour expression and gently rolled off the bed and stood. "All right, Ayame, I'm coming," she turned to Sousuke. "Do want to rest or do you want to come keep us company? We're making baklava."
At the mention of the treat, Sousuke stopped looking so angry, "Baklava? I'll come watch." Kaname laughed at him and left the room, leading the way to the kitchen with him following like a puppy dog. Sousuke poured himself a glass of water then took a seat at the table to watch the girls. He smiled in contentment, watching the two, thinking of what it would be like when their daughter was old enough to help in the kitchen. It would be nice to watch Kaname teaching their little girl how to cook. His smile broadened at the thought, and his eyes followed Kaname with a tender light.
Every so often she turned around to smile at him, thinking the same thing he was. Teaching Ayame was good practice for teaching Shizuko, and she hoped that her daughter wound up having the same enthusiasm for cooking that she did. It would be exciting to pass on the things her own mother had taught her. She only wished that Shizu was alive to do the passing on as well. When it was finished she handed a piece to Sousuke who took it enthusiastically. Kaname laughed at him and pressed a kiss to his cheek, narrowly avoiding dipping her hair in the sticky dessert, and told him to let it cool down some first.
She left to deliver a piece to Shunya, and Sousuke and Ayame both shared conspiratorial glances before lifting the treats to their mouths. When Kaname returned and saw the two chugging their cold drinks she laughed at them and shook here head, "That's why I said wait, you two! You're worse than children!" she laughed. The pair at least had the grace to look sheepish.
Once the baklava had a chance to cool down they tried again. "This is very good Kaname, Ayame," Sousuke praised in between bites. The girls both smiled at him, thanking him.
Ayame looked over at her sister, "Thanks for showing me how to make this, Kana-nee! This is so good! I'm gonna make it every week!" she laughed. She knew she wouldn't, at least not for long, but it was fun to dream. If Kaname showed her something else then she would likely latch onto that.
Kaname giggled and shook her head, "You don't want to do that, you'll get sick of it. If you have it too often then it's not a treat anymore."
When it was finished they all washed off their sticky fingers, and Kaname packed up the rest and put them in the freezer, telling Ayame that she better not find any more missing before dinner, and then she and Sousuke returned to their room to finish their talk. Sousuke had said there was more to tell her, he had just gotten distracted and then Ayame had called Kaname out. Once back in the room with the door closed, they resumed their position on the bed, Sousuke holding her close.
"I got a job offer."
"A job offer?" she looked up at him, confused. Why would he need a job offer? When had he gone looking for a job?
Sousuke nodded, "Yes. Kalinin told me about it on the way to the TDD, and then after the mission he gave me the rest of the information. I told him I would call back with my answer, but that it was most likely 'yes.'"
"What is it?"
"Well, it seems we have some debt to pay to the American military now. I would work at Camp Zama, in Zama, and we would most likely live in Sagamihara. It's not too far from Musashino so you would be able to see your family. What I would be doing is training the best of their soldiers to be even better, recruiting some for Mithril but mostly just giving the US Military some exceptional soldiers. It seems they're somewhat jealous of our skills," he said the last dryly. Getting the US Military to admit any jealousy would be like pulling teeth, but damn if they wouldn't jump on any chance they had to steal what made them envious. That was the way Mithril was viewing the situation, and he had to agree.
Kaname stared at him for a long time, before slapping his shoulder, "What are you waiting for you idiot?! Why didn't you just say you'd take the job?! Get on that phone right now mister!"
Sousuke stared at her in shock, doing his best impression of a fish on dry land, before finally shaking his head. Damned if you, damned if you don't. He sighed. "I wanted to run it by you before I accepted. I did not think you would like it if I made the decision without you."
She harrumphed and crossed her arms over her chest, glaring at him, "I still don't see you on that phone, sergeant."
"Understood," he gingerly extricated himself from the bed, careful not to hurt Kaname as he clambered over her. He retrieved his bag and dug out the phone he used for work and punched in a number to reach Kalinin. When the older man answered, Sousuke greeted him and told him he was taking the job. Kalinin was not in the slightest bit shocked to hear from him on the same day, having expected that Kaname would do, well, exactly what she had done. Beat Sousuke for not immediately accepting the position. He had heard stories of the girl's violence. She was legendary among the Merida Island soldiers, especially after the debacle with the scientists. That story had somehow not managed to stay private.
Once he had hung up the phone, he crawled back into bed with Kaname, pulling her close. She giggled at him, pretending to resist for a few moments before letting him win the battle. In between kisses she managed to get out, "I guess we should start looking for a house."
That only seemed to fuel the flames of his ardor.
AN: I picked a random Korean name for Wraith. No that is not her real name. From what I've read, in Semaru Nick of Time it's mentioned that her name is something like 'Kim Ok Huee' which in Korean is written something like 'gold, eggs, woman' but in Kanji (Korean names can be written in Korean, Chinese, and Japanese) it's something like 'men's nuts' ... basically, it's apparently read to mean men's junk. So like hell she would use her real name to Japanese people. This is what I've read on the animesuki boards, one of HunterSeeker's posts I believe. So, if it's wrong, forgive me. XD Either way, in the story, she's still not using her real name, so whether or not the info in this note is correct or not is moot. =P She IS without disguise though.
Also, sorry for the wait again. This was done and sitting there, dunno why I didn't post it sooner.