I Couldn't Move On

Disclaimer: All rights to the Full Metal Panic! story and characters belong to Shouji Gatou. The following fanfiction does not represent the thoughts and views of the creator or the site this story is hosted on, and is not written for profit.

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I Couldn\'t Move On
(Part 3)

“Sergeant Sagara Sousuke reporting, Sir!” he saluted before Kalinin who was sitting at his desk.

“Yes, Sergeant, what may I do for you?”

Their formalities were almost unnecessary due to the long history they had with each other. But the rules of rank always applied within Mithril, and neither party took these formalities lightly by any measure. At this time, Sousuke presented the letter Kaname had written to Kalinin before going back to the full attention stance, “I received this letter via Major Melissa Mao at zero six hundred hours. The letter reflects the possibility that Miss Chidori might be in trouble.”

“What makes you think that, Sergeant?” Kalinin wasn’t so daft to think that his subordinate was taking things a little too far this time. Sousuke may have had legitimate concern for Kaname’s safety, but it was probably purposely misinterpreted by ‘outside forces’ that were taking advantage of the situation. He was very much aware of the secret bet going around the Danaan as well.

“I have reason to believe that Miss Chidori might be in trouble with someone, and that they might be forcing her to write in code in order to signal for help. It’s imperative that I go ashore and make sure that she is still safe.”

“It seems to me like it’s just a simple notation of affection, Sergeant.”

This was a foreign reaction that Sousuke wasn’t expecting, “Sir?”

The superior was about to reply when he decided that it would be moot point to get into a conversation over a matter that the boy clearly didn’t understand, “Perhaps this is a well-earned vacation.”

The sound of that gave Sousuke peace of mind that Kalinin was considering the grant to leave for a short break.

“As long as you can convince me that this trip is not directly affecting your current mission.”

“Affirmative. The orders to take the underground base in Moscow have been successfully captured and the identified contents destroyed. Currently I have no other assigned tasks to complete, and this excursion will only take a day or two at most. If the Danaan requests me to return to base during my stay, I will not object.”

“That’s not entirely what I meant.”

“Sir?”

“Nevermind,” again admitting defeat of the lack of understanding the youth had about a girl’s affections over the Mithril soldier, “Very well, I’ll put in a transport request so that you may…check up on Miss Chidori, and return when you are satisfied that her safety is still in tact.”

With this, Sousuke saluted, “Thank you, Sir!”

“At ease; you’ll be scheduled to leave in three days. Go make your preparations.”

“Yes, Sir!”

“Dismissed.”

When Sousuke left the office, Kalinin was at a loss of words. What really racked his brain was how Tessa was going to handle this bit of news. Eventually he pushed that thought out of his mind, as it wasn’t his business nor care to deal with trivial matters of the heart when mixed with military personnel.

“He’s checking to make sure Miss Chidori is safe?” the tone Tessa’s voice almost broke the cool captain’s exterior she worked so hard to perfect, “I think it would be apparent that she’s safe now. We haven’t had any kind of movement from the KGB in many months. I can assure him that she’s safe.”

“To him, her recent letter she sent him seems to tell him otherwise,” he handed her Kaname’s letter and the captain made quick reading out of it. She furrowed her brows and flicked the ends of her ponytail with her middle finger, “I get it.”

“I can always request that he remain stationed on the Danaan and have someone else sent to check on Miss Chidori for him.”

Tessa gave a small sigh that was hiding her disappointment the best way she could, “No. That won’t be necessary. Go ahead and have him ready for transport when we’re within reach of Japan.”

“Captain?”

“You know how Sergeant Sagara is about following through with his missions. He wants to make sure she’s still safe. Until there’s a one hundred percent certainty that Kaname’s life is no longer in danger, there’s always that slim chance of possibility.”

“Very well, Ma’am. I’ll make sure he gets on the helicopter immediately when we’re in range.”

You win on this one, Kaname. Though, I don’t find this to be a very fair method at all.

As Tessa continued to fiddle with her hair, she tried to block the feelings of defeat out of her mind. It was quite obvious who Sousuke’s affections belonged to, she just couldn’t come to terms with admitting it. No matter how hard she tried, he always found a way to wiggle away from her advances. It really perplexed her on what, exactly, made Kaname gain such an intense respect from Sousuke. Not that the young sergeant didn’t respect his captain, but it was a different kind of respect he offered the other girl that made Tessa envious. These things tended to cause a lot of self-inflicted doubt in her mind despite everything she had done since constructing the Danaan. It seemed to pale in comparison to the way Sousuke interacted with Jindai High School girl. If push came to shove, whose orders would he follow in the end? Hers, or Kaname’s?

“Begin heading northwest and surface to one hundred-eighty degrees down bubble,” she commanded to Mardukas. He obliged the request and repeated the orders to the rest of the navigation crew. Before long, the Danaan would be sending an unexpected package in Kaname’s direction.

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Chapter four to be posted shortly. Kurz teaches Sousuke the ways of the typical male mind.