Full Metal Panic Fan Fiction ❯ Full Metal Panic! Essay Assignment ❯ 1st Step: Brainstorm ( Chapter 1 )

Full Metal Panic! Essay Assignment

By Perpetual159

“Sousuke!”

My ears rung unbearably, not to mention, my head thumped mercilessly as I received yet another blow from the infamous harisen. Yet again, I have been assaulted by my charge, Kaname Chidori. Why she takes it upon herself to attack me for whatever mysterious reason I still fail to comprehend. At the same time, I also fail to grasp what it is that drives her to react the way she does. So... violently—for the lack of a better word... I suppose. But then again, deep down, I knew I would not have her be any other way.

Slowly, I became aware of my surroundings, and still on the ground, I took a helpless deep breath.

“Miss Chidori, that hurt...” I muttered unceremoniously.

“Shut up!” she barked. “You stupid, idiotic, clueless military maniac! Just how many times are you going to blow up the lockers or anything else at the school before you're satisfied, huh!”

“Miss Chidori, you must understand by now that I'm only carrying through with my mission... thus it is imperative that I thoroughly perform safety inspections to guarantee your safety, and furthermore, it is also my duty to—”

“Duty! Duty! Duty! It's that all you're ever think about? Will there ever be a time when you take a break and lay off the otaku syndrome for once?”

At that instant, I could have almost sworn I saw a glimpse of guilt flash through her eyes, before her shoulders sagged and she took a deep breath. “Really, Sousuke, nothing has happened in the longest time ever. Perform all the security checks you must or whatever to get it out of your system once and for all, but please try your hardest to not blow up things in the process.”

“Regretfully, Miss Chidori, I cannot guarantee that. Your safety—”

“Sousuke!” she snapped back. I had to admit... sometimes she frightened me more than the thought of facing 10 Venoms with an M-6—that's right, not an M-9 or the Arbalest for that matter—all at once!

“Miss Chidori, must you insist on making my mission more difficult than it already is?” I asked timidly, feeling a drop of sweat rolling down my temple. Yes, sometimes Kaname Chidori scared me out of my wits.

“Quiet! You're the one making this difficult!” she retorted back. “One more explosion or the tiniest of incidents, and you'll be wishing you'd instead be stranded in the middle of the desert without food and water as opposed to 'providing safety' for me, got that!”

“Uh—uh... un-understood, Miss Chidori!” Instinctively, I saluted her.

“Ugh!” Rolling her eyes, she turned around and stormed out of the room, leaving me to release one long breath that unconsciously I had been holding while getting reprimanded.

This was how it always was for the two of us. Unbeknown to me, I always failed at something, yet it was clear as day for Miss Chidori. It's almost been two years, and we—yes, myself included—neared our high school graduation. There is no doubt in my mind that Miss Chidori has worked very hard to be where she stands today, as have I, despite the fact that our grade results are in no way matching when it concerns average. Indeed, many things have taken place, and thankfully, any offenses triggered towards Miss Chidori have either been nonexistent or completely unrelated to my real reason for being at her side. Though I hate to admit it, the realization that technically I might no longer be needed to provide my services to Miss Chidori secretly despaired me. The truth of the matter was, I liked being here. The change of scenery—as opposed to the hardship and misery of the battlefield—had proved beneficial to my being overall. Additionally, Miss Chidori, though with an iron fist, had put up with all the mischief I have caused since my arrival. The thought has crossed my mind in more than one occasion that Miss Chidori could definitely be qualified as a saint, making so many miracles happening when it concerned me.

Taking another deep breath, I finally stood up and straightened the unintentional wrinkles off my uniform. I stood alone in the homeroom, being that school was over and thankfully most of the students had gone home for the day. As a result of the mishap with the lockers, I was assigned “eraser duty”, which entailed cleaning senior homerooms' erasers. Miss Chidori had decided to wait for me, taking advantage of the time and doing some homework in a different room. Personally, I would have preferred her to be in my line of sight, but at the time, I considered it unwise to insist on such personal desire. After being around Miss Chidori for as long as I have been, be it good or bad, I have learned a few thing along the process, one of them being not to “push her buttons” when she was in such foul mood. Though I would gladly die for Miss Chidori if the situation called for it, there was no reason to do so thoughtlessly or wrecklessly. Besides, what good was I going to be to her dead? Right?

Furthermore, I knew that beyond the tantrums, the anger spurts and explosions, there was a kind, warm and gentle girl that inexplicably had a way to melt my resolve. Many times I caught myself watching her, whether she was playing softball with her friends, or while she intently gathered as much information as possible during our class lectures. Perhaps this distraction can partly be attributed to my nearly failing grades. Indeed, her intensity and vitality simply... “rocked my world”—so the saying goes. But despite all this, when I happened to look towards her during class, sometimes I caught her secretly glancing at me—for what reason, it is beyond me I must admit. Miss Chidori logically had no reason to keep an eye on me or keep me in me in mind. After all, that was my mission... to look after her and myself as well. Perhaps she saw something I failed to see, like some unusual mark or item in my face. I should check my appearance when she looks at me like that, for when she does and I see her, she immediately turns around acting as if she was doing something she wasn't supposed to. In fact, sometimes I thought to myself it was a cry for help, seeing how her cheeks would stain with a red tint, showing symptoms of a fever. Yes, perhaps it was a cry for help... for me to take her to the infirmary. Mentally I wrote a note to myself to further investigate this phenomenon in the future should it occur again.

Efficiently, I cleaned all the erasers of our graduating class homerooms and instinctively went to find Miss Chidori. Before reaching the homeroom, I could already smell her unique scent, a scent, I might add, that proved to be distracting more times than I would have wanted to. Swiftly, I walked through the door, but being so engrossed in her studies, she failed to feel or perceive my presence. At that instant, my ability to adequately breathe diminished as I watched her. The truth was, at that moment—as with countless others—I found myself relishing her beauty, her diligence, her concentration, her... everything! To my eyes, even though I failed to entirely comprehend it, she was the most delectable creature they had come across. She continued with her undisturbed concentration; scribbling line after line, as if the pen almost had a mind of its own. Unconsciously I shifted and at that moment she took note of my presence. Lifting her eyes from the page she was writing in, she turned towards where I was and looked at me, her eyes intensely gazing into mine, making my heart thump loudly and almost painfully against my chest.

“Uhh...” I uttered stupidly. I had been caught red-handed almost leering at her.

She frowned, a light glimpse—almost invisible, but knowing her the way I did, it was hard to miss—of annoyance flashed on her eyes. “What...? Are you ready to go already?”

Internally I reprimanded myself. What was this ineffectiveness to control my actions and speech that occasionally overtook me when around her? Why was it happening more and more than I cared to desire? “Uhh... af-affirmative,” I stuttered.

“Great,” she said nonchalantly, closing her books, notepads, etc., and putting them away in her school bag. Standing up, she walked towards me, and unconsciously I sucked my breath in. She walked past me and seeing how I failed to follow after her, she turned around as I stood there, seemingly glued to the floor.

“Well...” she voiced with a questioning tone. “Let's go... I want to go home and take a warm shower.”

“Certainly.” My resolve had returned to me...miraculously.

Executing an 180-degree turn, I walked towards her, and we walked side by side, out of the school and into the street.

“Miss Chidori,” I began. She continued looking ahead.

“Yeah?”

“I would like to take the opportunity to apologize for my perhaps rash behavior earlier today after school—”

“Perhaps!” she repeated shocked... sarcastically. “Please, Sousuke... I think that 'perhaps' is a little understated, if you ask me.”

“Hmm...” I hummed thoughtfully. “I...”

“Sousuke—”

“Pl ease allow me to continue, Miss Chidori,” I interrupted. I wanted to get my point across. “Please accept my apologies... it is not my intention to cause you distress. By now you know that it is in fact my mission to actually make the complete opposite happen.”

“But that's just it, Sousuke!” she exclaimed exasperated. “You always end up doing the opposite!”

“Perhaps we need to come to an agreement,” I said with hope ringing in my tone.

“What kind of agreement?” she asked quizzically.

“Maybe it is best for you ignore when I follow my safety procedures on your behalf. As the saying goes, what you don't see won't hurt you,” I voiced, almost feeling proud after using a proverb commonly used by civilians. She should also feel proud of my advances to adapt to normal society.

“ah hahahahahaha...” That laugh. I knew that sarcastic laugh! “Sousuke, please!” she said shaking her head. “Trust me, even if I wanted to, that is practically impossible when I know exactly why you do the things you do!”

“But—”

“No 'buts', Sousuke! I can't pretend you're not there when even if you wanted to, your presence is very hard to miss.”

“Really?” I asked surprised, a hint of hope inexcusably escaping as I spoke.

“Yes, really!” she said chuckling.

I love when she does that! “How so?” I asked innocently. This, no doubt, would prove to be very important information that could possibly improve my performance.

“Umm...” she fidgeted with the schoolbag band that hung from one of her shoulders. “With all the explosions, and the incidents, and...”

“What else...?” I asked intrigued. I knew that the bombs and whatever else that involved weapons was a given, but I was really curious to find out if maybe something about me personally she also noted.

“Well, you know, Sousuke! You're practically my shadow,” she stated.

I took a deep breath, feeling... disappointed? “I see,” I voiced quietly.

“Hey...” she finally looked over to where I was as we walked towards the train station. “Are you okay?”

“It's nothing,” I replied. Hopefully she didn't notice as my shoulders slumped slightly. “It is not a problem.”

“Umm... okay,” she voiced with obvious uncertainty. Thankfully, she didn't press the matter.

“Miss Chidori?”

“Yeah?” she asked, almost a bit anxiously. Yes, I did notice... though she didn't press, she was still curious.

“You did not clarify if you accepted my apology for my 'misconduct' earlier.”

“Oh,” she said. “The way I see it, Sousuke, if you don't do something bad tomorrow, you will the day after tomorrow. So, like, there's no point in bothering to even asking for forgiveness.” She then smiled, to my surprise. “You'll never stop being the stupid, idiotic otaku that you are!”

“Hmm...” I hummed thoughtfully. “If that is the case, then I don't see a reason for you to then get mad at me if it happens so often.”

“Idiot!” she barked, and I flinched almost instinctively. By now it was second nature to either flinch, tremble or sweat or all at the same time when she snapped at me. “You don't get it, do you!”

“Get what, Miss Chidori?” I asked, obviously oblivious.

“Ugh! Never mind!” she said, anger tracing the fair skin of her angelic face.

“Hmm...” I hummed once again. “Very well. I should then disregard this entire conversation.”

Next thing I knew, my my forehead banged the curb of the sidewalk before I realized I was for the x-th time attacked by the wretched harisen. Seriously, by now, certain areas of my head should be calloused after being hit so often by her.

“Honestly!” she exclaimed, seemingly besides herself, walking along, leaving me slumped on the ground, the harisen disappearing as fast as it had hit me while she mumbled something to herself but that I did not miss: “I've never met someone so dense in my life...!”

Yes, indeed, Kaname Chidori had a way of keeping me on my toes.

===========

Seriously! He could be so dense sometimes! Wait... scratch that... all the time! He always starts by going down the right path, but then, out of the blue, he starts saying all kinds of silly things that I just can't comprehend how he gets from point “A” to point “67”... that's right! 67, because he skips the whole alphabet altogether and somehow ends up in numbers!

Another hectic day in the life of Kaname Chidori. Yep! That's me! All courtesy of one mindless moron named Sousuke Sagara, Sergeant of Mithril. It never failed to amaze me how an organization as strong and advanced such as Mithril actually hired him! He could be so clueless sometimes. But... with the density and all, there was something especial about him. Though Mithril looked no further than his outstanding skills as an AS pilot and soldier, I did... only to find a strong and kind man whose main priority was to always serve and aid those who couldn't help themselves. I looked over my shoulder as I continued walking towards the train station and saw as he painfully picked himself up from the pavement. Maybe I was a little hard on him... well, he should know better! Saying “semi-sweet” things and then completely screwing up with something otaku! Ugh! He could be so frustrating sometimes!

But... deep down, I couldn't help but to feel a little sorry for him. I should really learn to control my temper around him... one of these days, I might actually accidentally send him to the hospital. I stopped on the sidewalk and waited for him to catch up to me. As I waited I looked over my shoulder once again and saw that he was not moving.

“Are you gonna stay there looking stupid all day or what!” I asked, clearly annoyed.

“Uhh...” he stuttered.

“'Uhh' what?” I asked, still annoyed.

“The truth is, Miss Chidori, I'm afraid you might assault me again,” he said sheepishly, rubbing the lump that began forming on his forehead... damn... maybe I was being harsh.

I sighed guiltily. “Oh, c'mon, Sousuke... I'm not gonna hit you again, I promise.”

“Uhh... you promise, Miss Chidori...?” he asked timidly, though maintaining his face stoic like a stone as always. But... I knew him better than that!

“Well, I won't be able to keep that promise for much longer if you don't come over and at least walk next to me. I don't bite, you know!” I said hotly. That got him to move... faster than I had expected. Good...

I smiled triumphantly as he moved to my side and I began moving along with him once again. He still rubbed the now growing lump on a corner of his forehead and grimaced slightly. I might not bite, but apparently I did hit pretty hard for having stone cold Sousuke Sagara grimacing. I took another deep breath. “Look, Sousuke, I'm sorry for treating you so roughly, but it's just sometimes you really knock me off my rocker. I don't know how you do it, but you do, and sometimes I can't help it.”

He also sighed. “It's alright, Miss Chidori—”

“Look,” I said. “Who are we kidding... Maybe if we reach an agreement—like you said—things could get better.”

“You think so?” he asked.

“Umm... yeah, you stop doing stupid, otaku stuff, and I stop hitting you, how about it?”

“Yeah, but how long are you going to keep your end of the bargain?”

“As long as you do with yours.”

“Miss Chidori, you know I can't guarantee something like that.”

“Sousuke, please...!” I begged. Even that was out of character for someone like me. Kaname Chidori, begging... I really should check my temperature. “You're not helping when you tell me that kind of stuff!”

He looked at me, like I had something on my face.

“What?” I asked.

He shook his head and faced forward again. “It is not a problem.”

“Sousuke!” I exclaimed. He flinched, but remained quiet. Ugh...!

We reached the train station, got on the train that took us home, and reached the the street that separated my apartment building from his.

He looked beyond me, to what, I don't know, and then looked back into my eyes with usual empty yet mysterious stare. “Uhh...” He began perspiring.

“Sousuke...!” I gritted menacingly.

“How about we think about it overnight and then come up with a sensible plan. It is never a good thing to blindly jump into a mission without prior planning and coordination.”

There he goes with his otaku dribble again. I sighed. “Fine, but promise me we will talk about this tomorrow, because, seriously, this is kind of getting out of hand.”

“I promise to address it tomorrow,” he said stiffly.

“Good,” I said.

“Very well, Miss Chidori,” he voiced. “Please do not hesitate to call should you need anything or if you decide to go out later on tonight.”

“Yes, Mom...” I voiced cynically.

“Mom,” he repeated, confused. “Miss Chidori, based on the physiology books I've read in our science class, it is biologically and physically impossible for me to be your mom.”

I sighed exasperated. This time alone I will let it slide. “Never mind, Sousuke! Good night.”

“Uhh... good night, Miss Chidori. I shall walk you to school tomorrow again,” he voiced as I walked towards my apartment building entrance.

“You don't need to walk me, I'm not a dog, you know...” I muttered as I headed towards the entrance of my apartment building.

“Miss Chidori, that is not—”

“Good night, Sousuke!” I said over my shoulder. I entered the lobby of my building and secretly smiled. Yes, somehow, beyond all the otakuness, there was a sweet boy, even if he didn't realize it.

Author's Note: I hope you have enjoyed the story so far, though even I admit it starts pretty slow. But do not despair! Things are bound to get very interesting. By its nature, the story is a drama—with a little comedy here and there, but nothing outrageously hilarious—so don't sue me.

I also hope that you've found the idea of personal points of view—both from Sousuke and Kaname—as intriguing as I did. Writing a story this way proves to be quite challenging at times, I have to say, but it's been fun to think like Sousuke and Kaname. Personally, it's been a lot easier to write from Sousuke's point of view; he's a much straightforward character, unlike Kaname, who's personality is quite a handful. With Sousuke, my personal military experience really comes in handy, and makes my life a whole lot easier in writing this story! I can certainly relate more to him than any of the other characters... maybe that's why he's easier to write.

But enough talk... on to the next chapter!