Disclaimer: Well...it still doesn't belong to me, but patience...I'm still working the negotiations with ADV films, Gonzo Digimation and Shouji Gatou.
Gatou is being a little stubborn on the price.I'm not a burden. I'm all right on my own. Even just seconds ago, I wasn't scared at all. ~FullMetal* Panic Episode 22
Chidori.
Her name sounded so far away.
She recognized the voice as her heavy eyes opened... was it real? Her composure remained, but she felt shaky after her seemingly continual descent into an abyss... was it over? The fear permeated her body. Her senses were still overwhelmed by the storm and her vision was still blurry as she glanced sideways, barely making out chestnut hair... she froze when she recognized the familiar gray eyes accompanying it.
Panicked, she evened out her breath and in a fluid movement hugged her knees to her chest. She did not look toward him as he approached, pretending she had been simply admiring the view the whole time. She tried to clear her throat; her voice still hoarse, she could not yet reply as she felt, rather than heard, his descent through the brush toward the beach.
"Chidori."
Sousuke arrived at the clearing, removing the last branch hindering his path with practiced precision. After watching his foot land on the sand he pulled his gaze up to fall on her profile. Her flushed cheeks caused him to pause. Captivated by them, he noticed how the depths of her brown eyes seemed to hold a clarity within them, their beauty enhanced by the sunset behind her. Only when he saw her eyes turn toward him did he realize his stillness.
"S.. S.. Sousuke." Mistaking her lack of voice, he dared to hope... was that nervousness he detected... was that blush for him? A single look over her tranquil composure and he simply brushed it aside. He reminded himself; she hated him.
... or did she?
He took a seat beside her admiring the sunset. "You came back." He smiled at her.
She could feel his eyes on her and her heart responded for a fleeting moment before his eyes returned to the sunset. She felt her palms go sweaty, the effects of his presense shook her existance much more than the vision she had just stepped out of. Yet she knew nothing about him, and the way he lived his life... was this what it was like to be in love?
What do I say?
Not receiving an answer, Sousuke recalled in the past how she had turned and told him she hated him and left him in silence... the same silence he received now.
He had his answer.
Sousuke straightened his posture. "Chidori, the base is worried about you." He told himself there was no other reason he was here, everyone else was worried. He was not. All she could see was his militaristic composure.
She briefly wondered about how long she had been on the beach when her thoughts were pulled back by his words. She felt like a burden as she heard them. She would not be his burden or anyone elses. I'm not a burden. I'm all right on my own. Even just seconds ago, I wasn't scared at all...
"Sorry..." she willed her tears away as her voice started to reflect her determination against being an incovenience. "I wanted to see the sunset." In keeping with her resolve, she rose to her feet much earlier than she should have. Her knees felt like jelly, but her athletic aptitude allowed her to endure the feeling without toppling ungracefully back to the ground. "Let's go back to the base."
Sousuke simply gave a curt nod as he found himself on his feet, his force of habit caused him to turn sharply to lead the way back. Behind his back Chidori stiffled a giggle at his rigid formalities.
He's so strange.
Movement proved to be difficult. Nearly whipped by the branches as she dodged over and under them, Chidori's legs were being rebellious, causing her to be almost desperate in an attempt to keep up with Sousuke's walking pace. The stained glass sunlight though the leaf canopy of the forest caused her head to throb; her eyes still sensitive to the light. Distracted, and at her hurried pace, her foot haphazardly found a root and she viewed the ground coming to meet her quickly. She held her breath - her defense against the inevitable impact.
"Careful."
She finally drew in a shaky breath as she realized where she was.
In his arms.
His scent invaded her senses, dull and throbbing just moments ago. Trace hints of gunpowder laced with the generic smell of military issue soap were concealed in his starched uniform. If I thought my knees felt weak before... She blushed as she realized she could not draw back as quickly as she would have liked to... indeed, she found that she did not have the strength to draw back at all. Her lower back warmed as his hands lingered there. His lips were so close to hers... all he needed to do was lean forward and...
"Here, eat this." Only when she was this close did Sousuke take notice of how pale her features were. Without hesitation he stood her up and reached into his pocket withdrawing a dehydrated grain bar. Bland, but sufficient for the situation. Just like the lack of his lips on hers... so like Sousuke. She felt her blood start to boil. Jerk!
"How are you feeling, Chidori?"
Then he had to go and be concerned about her. She couldn't stop the word before it left her mouth. "Jerk!" She felt the acute blush rush into her cheeks. "I... I'm fine." I don't need anyone. Her tone ending the conversation, Chidori pushed off his chest and took off at a quickened pace. It was all she could do to calm her wild heart, leaving Sousuke with his nutrient bar... and no alternative but to follow.
.o.o.o.o.
"Oh, you're back." Kurz's tone had a suggestive hint to it... and he had a gleam in his eye Chidori was sure she didn't like. "What took you two so long?"
Definitely didn't like. The blood rushed to her cheeks as she viewed Kurz elbow Sousuke jovially... too jovially.
Before Chidori could hear Sousuke's reply, or perhaps beat him with a retaliation of her own, Tessa approached her.
"Chidori-san." Tessa smiled from ear to ear. "I'm so glad you could make it. I do apologize for my delay in greeting you."
Chidori's suddenly distracted attention wasn't on Tessa but on the group of uniformed soldiers that accompanied her. They regarded her in a friendly manner, as if they had befriended her all their life. The foreign uniforms reminded her of her misplacement as she cast a slightly uncomfortable glance down at her civilian clothing.
"Ah, Kaname." Tessa giggled. "No need for formalities." She joked, watching Chidori's rigid posture begin to relax. "Everyone here knows who you are." The Captain tilted her head as she smiled, her eyes closed.
"Er... really..." Chidori's voice did nothing to hide her nervousness. She didn't belong here.
"Oh, the tour!" Tessa took Kaname's arm in a genial manner. "Sousuke," Chidori had not even noticed he had returned to her side, but there the soldier was at perfect attention. "You're dismissed." Sousuke saluted as Tessa proceeded to lead Chidori away. "Finally, I can properly welcome you to Melida Island!"
Chidori absolutely admired Headquarters, a fine building that stood proud and strong despite the years of chipping paint coating its abused existance. The equipment contained within was amazing, much more advanced than anything she had ever seen. Her briefing at 1800 hours consisted of staring at slides in the conference room regarding the rules and regulations of the secret island base and a blueprint of how it worked. Afterwards they had stopped at the grounds equipment hanger.
Tessa rambled off the weapons range of each of the ground force vehicles in an passionate tone. Chidori smiled lightly. Tessa was so dedicated to her job. Who would ever guess this petite girl was a ranking Captain and high commander of a base such as this? Everyone passed her with not only a formal salute, but an air of admiration that almost glowed from everyone they encountered.
"Of course, you've already seen Mithril's West Pacific Fleet." Tessa cast an admirable glance at her baby, the de Danaan. It seemed her voice didn't stop as she continued her monologue while exiting the facility. Chidori turned her eyes to view the slowly illuminating runway as dusk settled. They walked the soft line of lights opposite the submarine dock.
"And this," Tessa's voice reverberated off the walls of the hanger as they stepped in, "is where we store the Arm Slaves while in port."
Chidori gazed on the familiar face of Arbalest. She was entranced by how menacing the stoic face seemed, even without an operator, simply sitting there. She could see Sousuke in the cockpit... but he didn't seem quite right there... Chidori's eyebrows furrowed as she trained her eyes on the mecha examining it; searching for something, anything. No... something wasn't right...
Her concentration was broken as she heard the shouts and a dull, seemingly methodic pounding.
"Captain." A soldier saluted and led Tessa away to discuss some repairs on an M6 Bushnel, leaving Chidori to explore on her own. She took an uncertain look around before her curiosity of the earlier sounds, particularly those of voices, drew her deeper into the hanger.
"Sousuke!" She recognized Kurz's voice as it drew her nearer. Her attention fell from the voice to a basketball game, the net set up on an old M9. She heard the bounce of the ball as she slowly tiptoed over to peek around the Arbalest. Sousuke, Kurz, and a group of young uniformed members of Mithril were deeply involved in the game. But what intrigued her the most was Sousuke's shirt... or lack thereof. She stood transfixed, watching the muscles ripple beneath his skin, the scars hidden as his body glistened under the spotlights of the hanger. She was amazed at how fluid his movements were. But he's such a klutz at scho-
Melissa interrupted her thoughts, she looked on Kaname's transfixed expression with a knowing gleam. "Kaname." Chidori's startled expression immediately adapted the form of a nervous smile as she turned on heel. "You could make it work, Kaname."
"W.. wha... make what work?" Chidori's nervous grin exploded into fretful laughter. "I don't know what you are talking about..." Her eyes darted away. No matter how much as she willed it not to the red hue tinted her cheeks.
Melissa smiled. "He's just as alone as you are." She followed Chidori's gaze back to Sousuke. "You two are more alike than you think."
It was always like Mao to be straight to the point.
"Kaname!" Kurz couldn't help but take the opportunity to draw Sousuke's attention to the beautiful shadow watching him from the corner.
Chidori startled out of her staring just in time to avoid eye contact with Sousuke... and just in time to see the basketball flying toward her when she intended to turn and glare in Kurz's general direction. Her reflexes having returned to her, she caught the ball, but was not fully recovered from her earlier episode to hold her stance. She stumbled backward with the sphere, slamming less than gracefully against the cool metal of the Arbalest.
The echo originating from her head hitting the metal resounded off the walls and exploded in her mind at a magnified octave. In the darkness, a brilliant white light flashed and a rainbow of colors danced before her eyes, fading in and out as the foreign words weaved between the hues. A weight fell heavy in her chest as she attempted to raise a lead hand to her forehead, the other pressing the surface of the alloy. Something wasn't right. She didn't quite understand the words... they were moving much too quickly. She wanted to understand!
Her eyes shifted quickly underneath her lids in an attempt to keep up as she pressed a palm to her metallic pillow... there was no voice... only the words...
"Chidori-san?" Tessa's voice broke the haze as Chidori struggled up, embarrassed. Her eyes forced open, tearing the words away before she had a chance to interpret them, take hold of them and obtain some kind of meaning. She was met with the sight of Melissa punching Kurz hard. "What?" His teasing playboy tone took over after he had seen to it that Kaname was alright. "It just looked like she wanted to play..."
What does he mean ... play?
Slowly coming to a realization of what he was implying Chidori was sure if she had felt up to it, that she would have sent Kurz through the roof. In her current state she was reduced to merely watching as his well-practiced 'innocent' face winked toward her.
Melissa took a menacing step forward at the action. "Pervert!" She yelled as she shook a fist. "Jerk! She could have been seriously hurt!"
"Aw, she's alright... it... joke..." Kurz' voice faded away.
"Kaname?" Tessa's light voice drew her head to the left. "Are you alright?"
A pause. "Fine." Chidori stood from the mech, steadying her feet. At Tessa's persistant stare: "I'm fine... really. Let's continue." But in reality the color of her universe was still dull. She straightened her clothing and ignored the throbbing sensation that kept time with her heartbeat, replacing it with a smile.
"It's been a long day." Tessa cast a doubtful glance at her before nodding. "The final destination for today." Chidori took an uncertain look glance back at the mecha before following the sound of Tessa's heels as they clicked on the floor to a secluded destination, the padded boots of the group following. "The continuation of the Lady Chapel and the origins of the Toybox."
The door opened with a low moan on its hinges announcing their arrival as they pushed to enter the room. Chidori's nostrils were filled with the familiar scent of chemicals, the machinery buzzing with life in a hushed tone and her insipid senses were swallowed in the shallow light of the room. "This is the latest undertaking of Mithril." Chidori took a look at the faded lighting in the room and felt the urgent presence of someone unintroduced. She turned as she heard the gentle tapping of keys and her eyes adjusted to the lack of light.
"This research is headed up by Kalinin. You've met him already." Tessa informed her while pointing into the darkness Chidori squinted desperately to see in.
"Madam Captain." She heard the final key punched as Kalinin's deep voice turned around from behind a computer in a far corner, the soft glow irradiating behind him. "We've located him."
Over what seemed a short eternity of exchanged glances at the sudden news, all eyes ultimately found their way to Chidori. She shifted apprehensively as her vision allowed her to meet the pairs of eyes, unsure of why they were looking at her. " Located... who?"
"The final Whispered. "
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