Full Metal Panic Fan Fiction ❯ Resonance ❯ Part 1 - High School Headaches ( Chapter 1 )

Resonance - by Foxfire79

 

Disclaimer: Basically, I don't own the characters from the TV series' Full Metal Panic or Full Metal Panic? Fumoffu! As I may have mentioned in five million other disclaimers, if I owned any of these characters or story lines I'd be stinking rich and swimming around in a bank vault full of gold coins. That sounds like fun… (insert millionaire fantasy here).

 

Other stuff I don't own:

France

A dishwasher

The Chicken Payback

 

That is all. On with the show!

 

 

Part 1 - High School Headaches

 

The early morning sunlight glinted off the windows of the multiple storey building which housed Jindai High School. A resounding boom filled the air, spoiling the peaceful atmosphere. The hallways shook. Students panicked. Kyouko glanced over at a group of students across the quad, seemingly thrown back by some unseen force. She turned back to her friend Mizuki, her light brown pigtails bouncing.

 

“I wonder what Sousuke's blown up this time?” Mizuki yawned and ran two fingers through her hair, comb like.

 

“Five dollars says it's the faculty lounge.” Shinji trotted up to the two girls, sunlight reflecting off his round eyeglasses.

 

“Did you guys hear that? Was it Sousuke over-reacting to something again?” The boy danced from foot to foot, excited by the action. Kyouko took a baseball cap out of her backpack and put in five dollars. Mizuki caught on and added her money to the pool. Shinji looked on, confused. Kyouko grinned at him.

 

“Mizuki has five dollars on the faculty lounge. My five dollars is on the shoe lockers, seeing as it's one of Sousuke's favourite targets. Put five dollars in, name your target, and the winner takes all!” A taller, blond haired boy ran up, then bent over and rested his elbows on his knees, breathing heavily.

 

“Has anyone put five on the shoe lockers yet?” Mizuki smiled at Ono-D, then nudged Kyouko.

 

“Kyouko has, but I'm sure she wouldn't mind splitting the winnings with you, Ono-D.” Kyouko blushed, and continued smiling.

 

“Ok, what'd I miss?” A tall shadow fell across the group of friends.

 

“Oh, hey Kaname! Uh, you haven't missed anything! Nothing out of the ordinary anyway!” Kaname's eyes narrowed, and she tossed her long hair back.

 

“What's he done now?” Another shadow merged in beside Kaname's, almost silently.

 

“What's who done now?” Kaname turned to the newcomer, and reached down toward her school bag, not taking her eyes from her goal - the unfortunate boy's head. After a couple of reaches, success. She grabbed the object she was after and lifted it above her head.

 

“Sousuke!” Kaname brought her fan down with a resounding `thwack!' on Sousuke's head. He looked at her, slightly wounded.

 

“That hurts, you know.” Kaname smiled, but her eyes remained narrowed. She was about to speak when Shinji reached forward and placed five dollars in Kyouko's hat. He looked at Sousuke and Kaname and blushed.

 

“Amateur Karate Club.” Ono-D and Mizuki groaned, holding their heads in their hands.

 

“Why didn't we think of that!” They said in unison. Kaname looked at Kyouko, mystified. Kyouko chuckled, holding the hat out to Kaname.

 

“We're betting on where the explosion came from. Five dollars and your guess - whoever wins gets the jackpot!” Sousuke looked hard at Kyouko, then glanced around the group.

 

“And everybody's putting money in, correct?” Kyouko looked into the boy's serious grey eyes and nodded.

 

“I see. Very well then - five dollars on the girl's locker room!” Sousuke pulled out his wallet and dropped five dollars in the hat. The group's mouths collectively dropped open. Mizuki looked at Sousuke, clearly confused.

 

“But, you can't put money in! You're the one that set the bomb off!” Sousuke glanced at her, and shook his head.

 

“Not true. I haven't planted any explosive devices on school grounds for at least three weeks. Explicit orders from… my superiors.” Kaname shot him a look out of the corner of her eye. Those explicit orders had been hers. Sousuke's cheeks had reddened slightly. She's been quite adamant that there had been enough explosions and destruction at the school for one year. Every sentence she had shot at him had been punctuated with a `thwack!' from her fan. She figured the message had gotten through.

 

“So then… I wonder what…? Oh… ” Kaname's eyes widened, and she grinned maniacally to herself. Kyouko peered into her friends face.

 

“Kaname, what's up? You looked kind of crazy there for a minute.” Kaname shook her head, then grabbed the hat from Kyouko, tearing off to find more people to add to the pool. Rin and Senior Haya Shimizu were standing nearby.

 

“Hi Rin! Senior Shimizu, you're looking sharp today! Are you up for a little bet?” Rin, smiled, giving the girl a slight bow.

 

“Good morning, Kaname. Is that the betting pool for the origin of the explosion this morning?” Kaname stopped in her tracks.

 

“Huh? You mean this isn't the first time you guys have bet on this?” Rin smiled, shaking her head.

 

“Oh my, no. There's been a syndicate running for a while. Is it the usual five dollars?” Kaname ran a hand through her hair, looking bemused.

 

“Uh, yeah. So where do you think it happened?” Senior Shimizu reached into his pocket, removing his wallet and two five dollar bills, placing them in the hat. He replaced his wallet, then stroked his chin with two fingers as he thought.

 

“Student Council room.” Rin placed a hand on his arm, looking concerned. He smiled slightly at her.

 

“I doubt that it actually did happen there, but I'm keeping my bases covered. The student body president should always be concerned with his home territory first. Your turn, Miss Mikihara.” Rin smiled, thinking to herself.

 

“Chemistry lab. It might not have necessarily been our friend. I do not wish to lay the blame on anyone without any proof.” Kaname looked in the hat at the growing stash of money. I'm so going to win this!

 

“Thanks you two! See you later!” She ran back to her group, and thrust the hat back at Kyouko, then took out her own purse, all but throwing five dollars in.

 

“And my guess is… our very own class room!” Kyouko counted the money, folding it and placing it in the front pocket of her bag.

 

“All right! Whoever wins gets to take away… forty dollars!” The group smiled amongst themselves.

 

“Hey, that's not too shabby - we could buy a lot of junk food with that!” Shinji could almost taste the salty goodness. Mizuki shoved him aside, walking beside Kyouko as the bell rang and they headed inside the building.

 

“Who says we're going to spend it on junk food, stupid! We could hire a bunch of dvd's and have a sleepover!” Ono-D and Shinji stared at the girl, wide-eyed.

 

“A… sleepover!” Visions of pillow-fights danced through their heads. Kaname whacked both boys on the head with her fan, glaring at them.

 

“Stop thinking dirty thoughts, you two! The winner should provide a feast for everybody else, because it's an incredibly stupid thing to be betting on. Now get over yourselves, and let's get to class!” Kaname walked quickly, so she was soon ahead of the rest of her friends. Sousuke managed to catch up with her quite easily.

 

“Chidori, why are you so sure it's our classroom that's been affected?” Kaname smiled, turned and tapped Sousuke on the forehead.

 

“You gave me the clue yourself, just yesterday, when you said you had to create your architecture assignment out of less than usual modeling clay…” Sousuke closed his eyes, and groaned.

 

“Damn. I ran out of clay, and used plastic explosive to finish it off. What could have set it off though…?” Kaname pointed to the sky, then raised her face to the sun.

 

“Sunlight! Reflecting through the windows, and possibly igniting the cardboard walls, refracting off the glass windows and string you used to wire the whole thing up! So, what do you think? Do I win?” Sousuke sighed, and readied himself for another `thwack' from Kaname's fan. When it didn't come, he looked over at her. She was watching him hopefully.

 

“Um… yes. I believe that is the most likely scenario. Congratulations.” Kaname sighed and shook her head.

 

“You thought I was going to whack you with my fan again, didn't you? I only do it when it's called for, you know. I mean, if I knew you'd rigged your project to explode on purpose, that would have given me a good reason to smite you!” Sousuke chuckled, running a hand through his hair.

 

“I'm just so used to it now, anyway. My day wouldn't be complete without a fan induced headache.” Kaname looked away, watching the other students still milling aimlessly in the quadrangle, then looked back at Sousuke, a questioning look on her face.

 

“Hey, Sousuke? How come you're not worried about this random bomb blast? I would have thought you'd be running in there, all gung-ho army guy, trying to save the day.” Sousuke looked off into the distance.

 

“Chidori, I thought you of all people would know the security measures I have set up around the school would let me know if anyone else had decided to plant dangerous materials in the area. None of my counter-measures have been tripped. Therefore I know that the only things that could possibly be exploding are my own traps. I just wish people would stop tampering with them,” Sousuke sighed deeply, looking slightly put-out.

 

“Some of those things are very expensive - do you know how much flash-bombs cost?” He heard a slightly muffled sound come from Kaname, and turned to look at her. Kaname was trying, very unsuccessfully, to stop herself from laughing. She gave up and started cackling.

 

“Oh, Sousuke! You poor little melancholy military maniac! I know what'll make you feel better…” She put an arm around his shoulder as they headed into the school building, buddy style. He felt his cheeks warming slightly, due to her closeness, but otherwise he remained calm.

 

“What?” Kaname grinned at him and squeezed his shoulder.

 

“If, no WHEN, I win that forty dollars, I'll split it with you - I mean, you are the genius that blew up the class room, and I couldn't have won it without you. What do you say - will an extra twenty dollars help towards buying you some more flash-bombs?!” Sousuke looked at her, befuddled.

 

“You mean you're not mad? Generally when I blow things up, you try to hurt me. What's with the change of heart?” Kaname smiled, leaving her arm around his shoulder.

 

“Generally when you blow things up, I don't get money. Besides, if I actually am right about this, technically it was the refracted light from the sun that blew up the room, not you. Plus it's almost holidays, and I think I'm mellowing out in my old age! Ok, here we go…” The two students approached the class room, joining the mass of their class mates outside the door. Kyouko sidled up to Kaname and handed her the forty dollars. Mizuki fumed in the background.

 

“Congratulations Kaname! You're the lucky winner today! The teacher says we'll have to wait until they clean up all the mess and find some new desks and chairs for everybody! So I guess everybody wins!” Kaname couldn't help smiling at the always bubbly girl.

 

“Back outside then?” The group of friends started to head back down the hallway, then the school loudspeaker squealed from overhead.

 

“Sousuke Sagara, report to the faculty lounge IMMEDIATELY!” Kaname patted the suddenly sweating boy beside her on the back, just before the girls started down the hallway.

 

“Do you need me to come with you?” He hung his head, and sighed loudly once more.

 

“No. I'm almost as used to this as I am to getting whacked in the head by fans. See you in a while.” He turned and marched down the hallway.

 

“Way to blow up the class room, Sagara!” A generic male voice from the crowd bellowed. The rest of the class cheered. Sousuke lifted his head slightly as he continued marching. Kaname sighed, then looked back at Kyouko.

 

“All right - let's go!” The girls began walking down the corridor. Kaname reached into her bag for her water bottle, and discovered it was empty.

 

“Hang on you guys - I have to refill my water.” She stopped at the water cooler, unscrewing the lid and letting the refrigerated liquid fill her bottle. The crew cap fell from her fingers, rolling onto the floor. She knelt to retrieve it, and found Kyouko staring at the water in her bottle in a disturbing manner.

 

“What? What's wrong? Is there something floating in there?” Kyouko pointed at the bottle, looking puzzled.

 

“Look at those circles…” The water inside the bottle was behaving extremely strangely. Concentric circles were moving out from the centre of the bottle, breaking as they hit the edges. Mizuki peered into the bottle over Kaname's shoulder.

 

“Oh, I've seen this before! You know that dinosaur movie? Whenever the dinosaurs were approaching, their footsteps were so heavy they'd cause glasses of water, puddles, anything liquid really, to act weird like this!” Kaname looked at her friend, bemused.

 

“What are you suggesting, Mizuki? That Godzilla is approaching?” Mizuki huffed, then turned away.

 

“Not Godzilla. Just something really big - or really heavy.” Kaname blanched when she realized the only thing it could possibly be.

 

“Oh no…” The hallway started to reverberate beneath her feet. Lockers started to shake. Then the other students began to notice.

 

“What IS that?”

“Is it an earthquake?”

“Quick, stand in a doorway!”

 

Kaname, Mizuki and Kyouko were trapped in an open area, the stairwell behind them and windows all along the other side.

 

“Get down!” Kaname bellowed, pushing the two girls underneath the window sill. She braced herself against the stair railing and hoped for the best. The voices came after a couple of seconds, all in unison.

 

“GUNG-HO! GUNG-HO! GUNG-HO!” The new improved rugby club came belting down the corridor, three men wide, bulldozing everyone out of their way. Cries of pain and annoyance followed their progress down the hallway. Kaname couldn't take the flagrant lack of school spirit. She ran into the middle of the corridor to face them.

 

“Listen up, you bunch of hairy apes! I may have been your manager once, but…ooof!” Kaname had the wind knocked out of her as the team hit her full force. She pin wheeled backwards, her hips hitting the rail behind her, and her momentum carrying her over the top. She didn't even cry out as she fell.

 

“Kaname!” Kyouko yelled, reaching out trying to grab her hands. She grabbed nothing but air. Kaname's eyes widened as she fell down the two flights of stairs. I don't want to die… I just won forty dollars… She hit the base of the second flight hard, and heard a sharp crack come from her right wrist. As she bounced, her left leg buckled underneath her and she heard another crack come from that ankle. Help me… I'm breaking… She finally stopped bouncing, her head hitting the concrete floor that the stairs sprung from.

 

“My head…” Kaname croaked, trying to pull herself into a sitting position and failing miserably. She could hear voices off in the distance, and thundering feet running down the stairs toward her. A face hidden mostly by a massive pair of thick glasses peered anxiously into her eyes.

 

“Kaname? What happened? Did you fall down the stairs? Are you all right?” Isei took her right hand in his, and she sucked in a deep painful breath. He dropped that hand again, panicked.

 

“I'm sorry, I'm sorry!” He looked her over, finally taking in all the bumps and scrapes she'd sustained along the way.

 

“Does this have something to do with Sagara? Because if he hurt you in any way…” Kaname silenced Isei's rant by grabbing him with her left hand. She pulled him down to the level of her lips so he could hear her.

 

“Get Sousuke…” Kaname relaxed, knowing that she'd finally passed on her message. I think I'm just going to rest my eyes for a moment… She closed her eyes… What seemed like an eternity later a voice broke through, wakening her.

 

“Kaname! KANAME! Oh no…” She felt a hand on her shoulder, trying to shake her awake.

 

“Go `way…” She mumbled, trying to roll over… then was jerked awake completely by the excruciating pain coming from her ankle, wrist and head. She cried out in pain, and opened her eyes. Oh Sousuke… The boy looked so worried.

 

“Sousuke…? I got bulldozed…” Sousuke sat himself on the ground near her head, looking bewildered at the broken girl.

 

“Five minutes…” He was mumbling to himself, “I was gone for five minutes and this is what happens…” Sousuke composed himself and set his mind to the task at hand. He gently brushed the hair out of Kaname's eyes.

 

“Chidori, what are your injuries?” The girl's pain dulled eyes closed, and he was afraid she'd fallen asleep again, until she spoke.

 

“Left ankle, right wrist and my head.” Sousuke continued stroking the girl's hair, subconsciously.

 

“Ok, what's wrong with them?” Kaname opened her eyes and attempted a smile.

 

“All broken, I think…” She was hit by a pain spasm, and she closed her eyes again, grimacing and gasping. Sousuke glanced up at the crowd surrounding them.

 

“Has anybody called an ambulance?” Isei turned and ran towards the faculty lounge. Sousuke grabbed Mizuki's arm.

 

“Mizuki, make sure he dials the right number… Chidori! Wake up!” Kaname's eyes had slid closed again. Kyouko knelt down beside Sousuke, holding Kaname's left hand and fighting back tears.

 

“I tried to grab her, Sousuke, but I just didn't get there quick enough. I'm sorry! She's going to be ok, right?” Sousuke glanced at the girl, then back down a Kaname.

 

“I hope so…” Kaname slept on, oblivious to the fuss going on around her.

 

**** **** **** **** ****

 

The ambulance arrived fifteen minutes later, sirens blazing. The paramedics raced into the building, carrying the portable stretcher with them. When they arrived, Kaname was still unconscious. The rugby club had been rounded up and were on the edges of the crowd surrounding the injured girl and her protector. They looked genuinely sorry for what they had done. Sousuke had glared at them all, in turn, and this non-verbal threat had been enough to calm them down. The paramedics elbowed their way through the crowd, finally reaching Kaname.

 

“What happened?” The paramedic sounded so authoritative that Sousuke snapped to attention and started rattling off the chain of events which had led to Kaname's condition.

 

“Sir! Miss Chidori was pushed over the guard rail of the stairs two floors up by a rampaging rugby team! I have already evaluated her injuries! One broken left ankle! One broken right wrist! A possible wrenched shoulder! And…” Sousuke suddenly ran out of steam. He sank back to the ground, cradling Kaname's head in his lap. The paramedic leant down and placed a hand on his shoulder.

 

“What else, son?” Sousuke looked up into the kind eyes of the man he'd be handing his charge over to. He suddenly felt exhausted.

 

“And a possible head injury from sustaining a hard knock on this concrete floor, sir.” The paramedic squeezed his shoulder, reassuringly.

 

“It's all right son. She's in good hands now. Are you her boyfriend?” Sousuke blushed and broke into a slight sweat. What do I say? If I say no, they won't let me ride with her to the hospital. I might not even be able to visit her… What do I do? Kyouko broke the silence.

 

“Yes sir, he is.” Kyouko gave Sousuke a shove as the men loaded Kaname up on the stretcher and started to wheel her out to the ambulance.

 

“Go on, stupid! At least one of us should be with her at the hospital, and you're the only one that won't have family members wondering where you are at all hours of the night. Hurry up!” Sousuke looked at Kyouko in surprise, then his eyes softened and he smiled slightly.

 

“Thanks Kyouko. I'll call you when I find out what's going on. Oh, tell the president and Ms Mikihara what happened and where we are!” Sousuke took off after the medics and the stretcher. Kyouko sighed, watching him run away.

 

“Why can't he just admit that he likes her - it would be so much easier!” Mizuki elbowed her, and Kyouko looked over at the girl.

 

“It's not just Sousuke, you know. Kaname's never admitted to liking him either. Those two are ridiculous!” Kyouko looked sadly after the disappearing ambulance and its precious cargo.

 

“I just hope she's going to be ok.”

 

**** **** **** **** ****

 

The emergency room was a blur to Sousuke. He filled out the forms as well as he could, seeing as he knew Kaname's birthday, allergies (none) and most of her medical history from reading her files. He sat with her as the doctor's ran tests on her unconscious body. He sat with her as she had an MRI test and CT scan to make sure there was no permanent damage to her head and brain. He sat with her as they reset the bones in her wrist and ankle and plastered them both. And now he sat with her in her own private hospital room, waiting for her to wake up.

 

“Chidori? Can you hear me? Chid… Kaname? Please wake up. I'm… I'm sorry I wasn't there to stop this.” Sousuke leaned his forehead against the cool sheets tucked around her body.

 

“I feel like I've failed in my primary objective, which was to protect you. If I'd been paying attention, I would have been able to stop this from happening… I'm so sorry.” Kaname stirred slightly in her sleep, then woke up. Sousuke's head was still lowered, and he didn't notice the two hazel eyes gazing at him, groggily. She reached out her left hand and stroked his hair. Sousuke sucked in a breath, then looked up.

 

“Hey…” Kaname greeted him, smiling weakly. She looked down at her assorted casts and bandages, and grimaced.

 

“Wow… look at that… I'm all fixed…” Sousuke sighed, relieved that she sounded lucid.

 

“You've been unconscious for three hours. The doctors managed to do most of the bone setting and such while you were out. You're still going to be pretty sore though - don't try to move too much.” Kaname's hand was still resting on the boys head, but he didn't seem to notice, or mind. She curled her fingers through the dark brown strands of his hair.

 

“I heard you, you know. When you were talking before - none of this was your fault. And believe me, you haven't failed in your primary objective. I mean, you've stayed with me this whole time - that's what I'd call protecting someone. So thank you, Sousuke. Thank you for looking after me.” Kaname tried to sit up, to look at the boy more easily, then cried out as an extremely sharp pain shot through her head.

 

“Ahhh! Sousuke! It hurts so much!” She reached up to clutch her head with both hands, and swooned when she hit her right wrist too hard against her head-board. She dropped back to the pillows, losing consciousness again almost immediately.

 

“Kaname, no! You may have a concussion; you're supposed to stay awake!” Kaname's eyes fluttered open one last time before she returned to her oblivious state.

 

“I'll be back later, I promise… It just hurts so much…” Then Kaname was out for the count. Sousuke sat up, clearly puzzled by this last remark.

 

“She'll be back later? She can't even move - what's she talking about?” He continued his bedside vigil in silence.

 

**** **** **** **** ****

 

Kaname opened her eyes. She leaned back into the warm grey nothingness surrounding her and relaxed. Much better… I might just stay here until all my injuries heal up - I'm sure she won't mind…

 

Kaname cast about for any traces of other activity, but found none. Must be asleep…She curled up on the ground, not sleeping but merely resting. In this state she didn't need sleep. I'll just ask her in the morning… Kaname thought to herself, It's only polite…

 

**** **** **** **** ****

 

Teletha Testarossa, most commonly known to her friends as Tessa, awoke to a headache. She sat up in bed, then bowed her white-blonde head back into her hands.

 

“My head… It hurts so much. What happened?” She glanced at the alarm clock beside her bed, then did a quick double-take.

 

“Oh no - I overslept! What will Mr Mardukis think of me?!” Tessa leapt out of bed, and dressed in her usual captain's uniform. Then she bolted down to the bridge. Amazingly, she didn't trip over once. She did bang her shoulder hard on the doorway as she walked into the control room though. Tessa winced, then walked over to where her two secondary officers were sitting.

 

“Mr Mardukis, Mr Kalinin, forgive me for being late. I wasn't feeling the best when I woke up this morning.” The two men looked at the diminutive captain, then glanced back up at the large wall screen in front of them. Mardukis gestured for Tessa to do the same.

 

“We thought we could let you sleep for a while longer today, Madam Captain. As you can see, the `Tuatha De Danaan' has been in good hands.” Tessa looked up at the screen, smiling slightly. A familiar Japanese girl's visage flashed up, smiling, then was replaced by text.

 

Good morning, Tessa.

 

“Good morning, Miss Chidori.” Tessa twirled the end of her braid around one finger, gazing at the large screen. I wonder why she's here… She knows the consequences of using resonance too often…

 

Please call me Kaname, Tessa - we're beyond formalities…We've sung karaoke together, remember? Tessa smiled at the memory.

 

“Very well then. Kaname, just one question - would you be so kind as to tell me… why you're here and piloting my submarine?” Tessa heard a sigh, coming from inside her own head, then Kaname's voice echoing through her mind.

 

“It's a long story… Maybe you should call Sousuke and find out the details from him. My head injury is still making me kind of fuzzy…” Tessa's eyes widened.

 

“I think I'd better… Gentlemen, please excuse me.” Tessa turned and left the bridge. Kalinin stretched out a hand to grasp her elbow.

 

“Excuse me, captain - should we continue to take orders from Miss Chidori while you're out?” Tessa nodded.

 

“Yes that's should be fine. I trust her entirely.” Tessa hurried back towards her rooms. If Kaname, one of the only other people Tessa knew to be a `Whispered', had been seriously injured, she didn't know what the consequences would be. The only thing she knew was that Kaname couldn't stay in her head, or ship, for too long. As she walked, she thought hard about their last conversation.

 

“Milk and Tea… neither of us want that. We don't want to lose ourselves…” She continued walking and worrying all the way to the door. Then she smiled as she entered the room, heading towards the phone.

 

“The one good thing is… I get to talk to Sousuke!”

 

**** **** **** **** ****

 

Well, there you have it - part 1 of my full metal panic story. What do you think - is it crap? Good? Are you impartial? Do you have any opinions at all? Should I just give up writing altogether? Lol.

 

Please review me - if you like it, I'll write more! Promise! Thanks for reading!

 

Foxfire out!

catherineghreen@gmail.com