Full Metal Panic Fan Fiction ❯ The Art of Love & the Wisdom of War ❯ Lecture Hall 3, Tokyo University ( Chapter 1 )

TITLE: The Art of Love and the Wisdom of War

AUTHOR: TaleWeaver

DISCLAIMER: Sousuke Sagara and Kaname Chidori (and Mizuki and Ayame) were created by Shouji Gatou. I'm not profiting from this in any way. But the actual words used here are my own.

FANDOM / PAIRING: Full Metal Panic! Sousuke/Kaname

RATING / CONTENT: NC-17. M/F sex

SPOILERS: Background info only - AU

SUMMARY: AU Sousuke went to a military academy instead of joining Mithril; at Tokyo University he meets a science major named Kaname Chidori, who takes a class solely to get close to him. But six months with no result has driven her to breaking point...

AUTHOR'S NOTES: Written for 30_lemons #16 The Classroom. I had several ideas for this; one I'll probably write anyway, and the other was going to be part of the Castle of Fantasies series, but was instead adapted into this full-blown AU. I wound up liking this universe a lot more than I thought, and I've wound up with several other stories on the boil.

SOUNDTRACK: `Wicked Game' and `Rip out the wings of a butterfly', H.I.M.

 

******

 

Kaname Chidori shifted a little in her seat and suppressed a sigh. This was it - the final class of this course. If she didn't say something today, who knew when she'd get another chance? God knew, she couldn't take much more of this relentless, grinding need - she seriously wondered if she was on the verge of spontaneous combustion.

 

The instructor was notorious for being exactly on time, but she'd made a point of being early every class. She wanted to impress him with her diligence - and she wanted to get a prime position seat. Three rows up, aisle seat. It put her closer to the front of the class than anyone else - none of the boys in the class wanted to be closer than halfway to the sensei, which had the added bonus that none of them bothered her with their clumsy unwanted advances.

 

There was only one man whose advances she wanted. The man who stood at the front of the class.

 

Kaname doodled absently on the edge of the page of the open notebook in front of her, remembering how her near-obsession had started....

 

 

******

 

Kaname Chidori turned heads in her path she strode across the campus of Tokyo University, a gust of wind lifting her hair into the air and sending a torrent of cherry blossoms swirling in her wake. Kaname was oblivious as usual to the effect her beauty had on the male students (and a few of the female ones), she had far better things to do. It was the first day of winter semester in her first year of university, and she was going to rip someone's head off. And use the severed item as a soccer ball.

 

She was a Physics major, for God's sake! She understood the need for a well-rounded education, especially first year, but couldn't they have found the time to inform her earlier?

 

Storming into the admissions office like a Valkyrie descending from the skies, Kaname surveyed the room with narrowed eyes. Sighting the name that had been at the bottom of the letter that had ruined the last week of summer, she headed over to the desk.

 

The hapless course counselor behind the desk looked up, and promptly quailed. “C-can I help you?”

 

“The time for that was about two months ago, when you neglected to tell me that one of my chosen courses had been dropped. I need a single-semester Humanities course to fulfil my first year credits. But “Analysis of the works of Douglas Adams” was cancelled, and SOMEHOW I didn't get the notification letter until last week! Every other person in the course found a substitute before the end of last semester - and all the courses they moved to are now full! Exactly how am I supposed to fulfil my credits without needing a summer session just to finish the damn course?!”

 

“If you will pardon my intrusion,” a quiet voice broke in, “I may be able to be of assistance.”

 

The nearly colourless man behind the desk breathed a sigh of relief as the fire-breathing fury towering over him whirled in a storm of blue hair and flashing brown eyes, to turn on the person who'd dared to interrupt her rant.

 

Only to stare in shock, as her breath stalled in her lungs.

 

The man facing her didn't look any older than herself; a shaggy crop of thick brown hair was cut short on the back, but hung so deeply over his forehead that it nearly obscured watchful, serious eyes the colour of storm clouds. A scar in the shape of a crucifix was visible on his left jaw - somehow it suited him. He was only a few inches taller than her - she'd be able to look into his eyes wearing only moderate heels. The T-shirt and cargo pants fit fairly loosely, but the body underneath looked to be sharply honed in a way that spoke of more than just workouts in a gym - this was a man who used his body, not just admired it.

 

For one of only a few times in her life, Kaname Chidori was left speechless, by an emotional impact so great it bordered on a physical blow. She'd always scorned the notion of love at first sight, but she was currently reconsidering the idea. Part of her wished she had her old halisen, from her time as Class Rep in high school, so she could hit him on the head while demanding, “What the hell took you so long?”

 

“What would you suggest?” the course counselor suggested, desperate relief colouring his voice.

 

“Are you aware of Professor Fuyutski's sudden illness?” at the pair of headshakes, the young man continued, “In the middle of last week, the Professor was the victim of a car accident. He will make a full recovery, but he will be bedridden for the next three months. He's decided to use some of his leave and take a sabbatical the full semester, in order to finish his latest book. Given the late notice, all of the regular staff are booked full with their own classes. There are only a few substitute teachers who can work at the University level, and most of them are booked taking over Fuyutski's year-long courses. That leaves his sole semester-length course, Warfare in the Ancient World. It's the only course he didn't have a TA for, and they were originally going to cancel, when the Professor suggested me.”

 

Kaname frowned, her equilibrium returning. “Aren't you a little young to be teaching?”

 

The young man shrugged, “Affirmative - I'm only in my first year. But I signed up for the course first semester, and after my class participation in the first week, the Professor suggested I take the end exam. I passed with one hundred and ten percent, and I am an Ancient Studies major. But the Professor has offered to grade the midterms and finals from home - this course is a favourite of his. Of course,” the young man added thoughtfully, “It probably helped that I offered to teach the course for basic pay and course credits. Anyway, it is a Humanities course, and I've just been told that the class is barely past the minimum number of students - there are plenty of slots left open.”

 

Kaname raised her eyebrows in speculation. “Ancient warfare, huh? It's never really been a favourite, but...” her lips curved into a slow smile, “who knows? I might discover a brand new enthusiasm!” She held out her hand and said, “Kaname Chidori.”

 

Her new sensei firmly shook her hand. “Sousuke Sagara,” he replied, his lips curling up in the corners in a tiny smile of his own. “So I'll be seeing you in class?”

 

“Count on it,” Kaname replied.

 

******

 

Almost six months later, Kaname nibbled on her pen as she waited for Sousuke (while she was careful to call him Mr Sagara in class, she always referred to him simply by his first name, in her own mind) to walk in.

 

That first day, her initial attraction had been to the grave, handsome face, and body sculpted by need - and to something else she hadn't been able to define by anything more than instinct. During the past semester, she'd lost her heart as well, to the razor-sharp intelligence, the streak of practicality that bordered on sheer ruthlessness, and the compassion for the less fortunate that showed in the way he spoke of war atrocities. Not to mention the devotion to those under his protection - which, for this semester, included everyone in this class. When one of her fellow students had landed in major trouble due to a sports-team hazing prank, Sousuke had been instrumental in gaining the evidence that persuaded the administration not to expel him, after the boy had let the situation slip in class. She didn't just find him desirable, but interesting as well - and she'd only come across that combination in a man once or twice before now.

 

With every day she spent in Sousuke Sagara's presence, her heart ached for him a little more, and her desire increased another increment. At this point, every time she saw him, her heart twisted and her panties grew damp.

 

But she couldn't get a response from him. She was the only member of the class with a perfect attendance record - in fact, she'd been early for every class. Not only was she the highest-scoring on the tests, she'd repeatedly come to him for extra tutoring and done her best to give him stimulating conversation. When he'd told her she had an extraordinary mind, she'd floated around in a happy cloud for two days - she'd sensed from the start that Sousuke had a weakness for intelligent women.

 

But there was never any indication that he found her physically attractive. She'd double-checked with every person on campus that she could coax or intimidate into talking about him, and he didn't have a girlfriend, so it wasn't a fidelity issue. He didn't have a boyfriend, either, so it wasn't a sexuality issue.

 

She'd tried every trick she'd seen Mizuki, her boy-crazy friend from high school, pull off. Leaning close, touching his arm to get his attention, dropping something on the ground and bending over to pick it up; after midterms she'd started wearing tanktops with flimsy shelf bras to all their tutoring sessions - so not only could she flash a moderate amount of cleavage, but he could see the way her nipples hardened in his presence.

 

But nothing! He just kept wearing that damn business suit - he didn't wear a tie, but she'd never seen him so much as unfasten the buttons on the jacket - and his eyes barely flickered! He wouldn't even call her by her first name - it was always “Miss Chidori” no matter how many times she told him otherwise!

 

Kaname had never dreamed that she'd ever be so desperate - that she'd ever act this shamelessly over anything, much less a guy, but she'd had it. She was completely and hopelessly in love with this man. She was in knee-wibbling, one-look-sent-her-body-up-in-flames in lust with this man. If she didn't get him soon, she was going to start screaming and not stop until the campus health service took her away in a jacket with extra-long sleeves.

 

This was the last class, and Kaname was about to make her final gambit. Once the class finished, she was going to ambush Sousuke at his desk and tell him in plain words of no more than three syllables how she felt about him, and offer herself to him for the taking. If he didn't take her up on that offer, well...

 

She'd pick up the shattered pieces of her heart and try her hardest to move on. She'd survived her mother's death, and the fracturing of her relationship with her father. She'd spent most of her adolescence on her own, juggling high school studies, student government and the necessary time to take care of herself and her residence. She could survive this.

 

Kaname nodded firmly to herself and latched her eyes on the doorway, waiting for Sousuke to enter.

 

******

 

“Well, I think that's all for this course. Thank you for your attendance, and you should all congratulate yourselves on your efforts. I hope you found this course both educational and enjoyable, and I hope to see you elsewhere on campus - I doubt it will be as your teacher, though.”

 

As Sousuke gave a rare full-blown smile to the class, Kaname led a round of applause. All the students knew how swiftly and suddenly he'd been put behind the eight ball on this, and he'd not only covered the topics throughly but made them easy to understand. Heck, how many teachers would dedicate the final class to going over the exam, so that everyone could understand where they'd gone right - or wrong - and get a chance to voice any complaints?

 

As the other students filed to the doorway (she'd been the only girl in the class; it had been an interesting experience at times) Kaname packed her bag and licked her lips, deliciously surprised at Sousuke's appearance all over again. He'd actually foregone the ever-present business suit for jeans, combat boots, and a loose untucked shirt under the knee-length leather trench coat he'd hung on the coatrack. Kaname had had to repeatedly swallow to keep herself from drooling when he'd walked in.

 

The last student closed the door behind them, and as Sousuke started shuffling the papers on the desk together, Kaname stood and smoothed down her miniskirt - the shortest one she owned.

 

Taking a deep breath, she grabbed her bookbag and started down the stairs to the teacher's desk at the head of the room. Time to go all in and lay her cards on the table.

 

She dropped her bag by the desk, and Sousuke looked up with another smile. It did seem to waver around the edges, as his eyes met hers.

 

“Was there something you wanted to discuss, Miss Chidori?”

 

“Yes, Sousuke, there is.” She saw him flinch at the mention of his first name, without any of the customary honorifics. “You haven't spoken about yourself much in this class, but I get the impression that you're a pretty observant guy, aren't you?”

 

Sousuke nodded. “I spent the majority of my childhood and early adolescence in very dangerous circumstances. Without being observant to various hazards, it is very doubtful that I would have lived long enough to enter puberty.”

 

“So, it's just hazards, then? Not anything else? More to the point, you don't seem to have noticed that I've been romantically and sexually interested in you since the day we met,” as Sousuke's jaw dropped, papers falling to the desk from suddenly nerveless hands, Kaname's eyes narrowed in determination and she forged on. “I've done everything I could think of to make my attraction to you clear - in fact, for the past three months I've been downright throwing myself at you in a way that borders on shameless. Just about the only thing I haven't tried is getting naked in front of you, and I actually considered it, but I couldn't think of a single place I could get enough privacy with you to try it. I've given my best smiles and flashed cleavage, and done my best to impress you with my intelligence so you'd see that I wasn't some bimbo trying to sleep her way to an `A' - and I can't even get you to call me by my name or unbutton your damn jacket!

 

“So this is it, Sousuke. All or nothing; now or never. If you want me, for God's sake tell me. I want a relationship with you, but if all you're prepared to offer is a fling, I'll take it. If you don't want me, then just say it, so I can start getting over you.”

 

Breathing hard from the adrenaline rush, Kaname clenched her fists and waited. Sousuke seemed frozen in place, eyes wide and mouth slightly open in shock. She waited five heartbeats, ten, and felt her heart shiver like a mirror on the verge of cracking. Letting her breath out in a whoosh, she grabbed her bag, whirled and headed for the door. She damn well wasn't going to cry until she was back in her apartment with Bonta-kun, chocolate icecream and several shots of tequila - and maybe with her phone in hand to call Kyoko.

 

Just as her hand was reaching for the doorknob, a male hand slammed onto the door, keeping it shut.

 

Sousuke was standing behind her, so close she could feel the warmth of his body and his harsh breath stirring her hair. His arms surrounded her, one on each side of her body to block her movement.

 

The air had become charged, crackling with electricity, as Kaname stared at his right hand on the door frame. The one which was moving to flip the lock into position.

 

The familiar voice in her ear was hoarse with emotion. “I have long accepted that my worldview doesn't match with that of conventional society, but I have my own code of honour and I do my best to hold to it. Professor Fuyutski may have graded the midterms and final exams, but I still graded the quizzes and awarded the class participation grades - that would make it not only against the University code of conduct but unethical in my own eyes, to date a student in my class. No matter how much I wanted to. To counter your arguments, Miss Chidori; I have to reply that I couldn't use your first name in class, because I was afraid that my very voice would reveal the depth of my attraction to you.” Kaname gasped in reaction as the body behind her pressed close to hers, making contact from shoulders to knees. “And I haven't unbuttoned my jacket all semester because I was embarrassed by the thought of anyone else seeing the entirely inappropriate physical response I have to your presence, every time I'm in the same room.”

 

Kaname dropped her bag and leaned back against the hard body supporting her, her mind dizzy as she felt hot breath on her skin, and warm lips ever so gently moving against her ear. As his iron-muscled arms wrapped around her midriff, her heart was pounding like she'd just run a half-dozen laps of the stadium track. But it didn't drown out her sense of mischief or her need for a little gentle payback. She was rather proud of the fact that her voice was steady, if rather low and breathy.

 

“I must tell you, Mr Sagara, I appreciate how you are always willing to answer any enquries I have about what happened during the class. I know that I've put you to a great deal of trouble this semester; however I was hoping you could give me the benefit of a final one-on-one session.”

 

To her delight, he instantly picked up on her hint. Even as one hand slid up her torso to curve under and around her breast, his tone was the same matter-of-fact one he'd used in all the lectures.

 

“I wouldn't do this for any other student, Miss Chidori, but your class participation has been exceptionally... stimulating... and I've enjoyed the challenges you offer. I'd be happy to give you any extra help you wish. Given the circumstances, however, I would like you to do something for me, in order to start this session on the right note.”

 

Kaname pressed her thighs together to try and ease the throbbing ache between her legs, and replied coolly, “Certainly, Mr Sagara. I'd be happy to oblige you in any way.”

 

As his hands fell away from her body, she could hear him swallow, but his voice was as calm as hers.

 

“Then I'd very much like you to remove your underwear, sit on the edge of the desk, and spread your legs as widely as possible.”

 

Kaname drew a shaking breath as she moved to the desk, Sousuke only half a step behind her. As she reached under her miniskirt, she could hear the chair being pushed noisily out of the way. As she bent at the waist to slip her panties over her feet, she could hear a groan from her soon to be lover. It was the last confidence boost she'd needed; she was smiling hungrily as she hiked up the back of her skirt so her bare ass met the wood, eased back until she was just far enough not to lose her balance, leaned back and braced herself on her hands, and ever-so-slowly opened her legs to reveal the soaking wet place between.

 

Sousuke let out a noise that sounded surprisingly like a growl, and his eyes were fierce as he moved towards her. She'd always sensed that under the right circumstances, Sousuke Sagara could be a very dangerous man, and the idea that he hovered on the verge of that place now - that she had driven him there - sent another burst of heat running through her veins.

 

Sousuke didn't waste time; he promptly sank two strong fingers deep inside her and gently twisted, and Kaname gasped, her head lolling back as a small but intense orgasm rolled through her, and her inner muscles clenched violently around the penetrating digits.

 

As Kaname got her breath back, Sousuke absently licked his fingers clean - making her passage clench again - and observed hoarsely, “You're very tight, but so wet I don't think you'll need any real preparation.”

 

Kaname simply reached out a limp arm to grasp the front of his shirt, and pulled him nearly flush against her, before lifting her face and gently pressing her mouth against his. His mouth was warm against hers, and giving. He didn't push or grope or try to impress with technique. He simply kissed her back, his lips skilled without trying to be. Arousing without needing to try.

 

As they broke away for breath, Kaname told him, “I've spent months dreaming about what sort of body you've been hiding under those damn jackets. Shirt. Now.”

 

As her trembling fingers ran down the black buttons, Sousuke went to work on hers. As the tank tops didn't seem to be having much effect (she thought), she'd tried something different this time; a dark pink button-down shirt with three-quarter sleeves, fitted to skim over her hips, but not tight. It was a perfectly respectable garment, unless you stopped in the ladies' room right before class and removed your bra. Then flicked open an extra button during class to make sure the man at the front of the class couldn't miss the fact you were braless, though all the other students who sat behind you couldn't tell.

 

She couldn't suppress a moan as Sousuke's charcoal shirt slid to the floor, to reveal a lean frame covered in rock-hard, sharply defined muscle. “God, you're even more gorgeous than I thought.”

 

“I have to say the same,” Sousuke told her, his eyes locked on her heaving bosom.

 

Kaname had never been so glad that the American grandmother responsible for her little sister Ayame's blonde hair had bequeathed her curvaceous figure to Kaname - unusually so for an Aisan woman.

 

Licking her lips, she arched her back to thrust out her breasts suggestively. Sousuke responded instantly, and she arched back again as his hands greedily cupped her breasts. “Don't stop,” she panted, nearly screaming as his fingertips flickered over her nipples, “Whatever you do, don't stop.”

 

Lost to the sparks that danced through her veins, from nipples to groin and back, it took her some minutes to remember the hard bulge against her inner thigh. With a final moan, she placed one hand on his chest and pushed him back slightly. At his slightly bewildered look, Kaname let a wicked grin spread across her face as she reached for his belt. Her heart pounding in her ears, Kaname slid open the button and eased down the zip, the rasping sound seeming to echo.

 

“I knew you were a briefs man,” she breathlessly laughed.

 

Kaname felt Sousuke's intent gaze on her face as she slid her hands into the waistband, taking the opportunity to shape her palms around the taut curves of his buttocks, and she made no effort to hide her eagerness as the white cotton slid down his legs to join the denim bunched at his ankles. Without hesitation, she reached out to caress the large, hard length that she wanted inside her so badly. As her slim fingers wrapped around him, Sousuke gave a broken groan that made another tidal wave of lust flood her head to toe - the thought of the incredibly self-controlled Sousuke Sagara helpless and needy in her hands was an incredible turn-on.

 

“I don't have any protection on me,” he confessed, resting his hands on her gaping thighs.

 

Kaname shook her head. “I'm on birth control, and I'm clean. You?”

 

“My most recent physical showed no disease, and there has been no opportunity for me to contract anything since.” He slid a strong arm under her open shirt and around her back, then used his other hand to wrap her teasing fingers more firmly around his erection.

 

“Look at me,” he ordered, the helpless want turned to demanding lust. “I want to see your eyes as you guide me inside you.”

 

He placed his free arm on the desktop and used it to brace himself as he leaned her back at a slight angle, supported by the arm around her body. Kaname wrapped her right arm around his neck as the fingers of her left hand gripped his manhood, guiding it to the entrance of her body. Trying in vain to spread her legs further, she let her hand fall away, as Sousuke's eyes blazed so fiercely that Kaname vaguely wondered if her entire body was about to vapourise. Her left hand slid up his back, under his shirt to grasp his shoulder as his hips started to move.

 

Her body wracked by uncontrollable tremours, Kaname kept her gaze locked to his as he entered her, inch by delicious inch. Ever so slowly, he slid deeper, as a low throaty moan shuddered from her lips. He was a great deal bigger than anything she'd had before, and she could feel her inner passage stretch to hold him, but she was so wet he slid inside her to the hilt with no resistance.

 

When he was fully lodged inside her, he froze. They stayed locked into a crystalline moment, both unable to do anything as the onslaught of sensation crashed over them. This was too new to be lovemaking; but it was too intense to be simply sex and far too profound for fucking. This was mating; a connection made not only in the flesh but at the most primal levels of the psyche.

 

Sousuke took a deep, shaking breath, and started to slide back and forth inside her, each movement triggering a new wave of pleasure. As she slid her hands over his back, to feel the muscles that bunched and flowed, she felt both the strength and the steely control. As the hard flesh inside her rasped against a particularly responsive spot, she cried out and dug her nails into his shoulders, causing him to inhale sharply and his hips twisted, sending another bolt of ecstasy through her.

 

She'd heard stories and watched movies, but until now, she hadn't truly understood how intense it could be.

 

Was this what heaven was supposed to feel like?

 

She arched her back in surprise as she felt cool wood through the fabric of her shirt; she hadn't even noticed Sousuke lowering her to lie on the desk. His upper body stretched full length over hers, her hard nipples pressed and slid against his bare chest, and she instinctively lifted her knees high, so she could rest her heels on the edge of the desk. Sousuke was in the middle of a forward thrust and the change in the angle of her hips let him slide deeper than ever before.

 

Sousuke kissed her fiercely, arms tightening to clutch her so closely that a sheet of paper wouldn't have fit between them, before groaning, “You feel so good around me - I'm not going to last much longer, Kaname.”

 

“It's okay,” Kaname reassured him breathlessly. “I'm going to come again.” To her astonishment, a burst of warmth from between her legs spiralled through her body, and she realized it was true. She gasped out, “Almost... there...”

 

Sousuke groaned and unwound his arms from her torso, raising himself off her. Standing nearly upright, he angled his arms under her raised thighs to grasp her hips as he began to move faster. Unlike his previous long, smooth movements inside her, he now started to pump in hard, short strokes, pulling on her hips at the same time in order to deepen the impact of each plunge.

 

Kaname moaned, reaching above her head to grasp the furthest edge of the desk for leverage. The movement arched her back again and she heard her lover release one of those incredibly hot sounds that boarded on a growl. She looked up to see his grey eyes locked on her swaying breasts, and took note for the future as she arched her back again and another groan-growl echoed over her skin. Each of these hammering thrusts seemed to send the tip of his erection rubbing directly against one especially sensitive place, and Kaname yowled like a cat as white-hot pleasure exploded through her body. Blind and deaf to everything else, she could feel Sousuke continuing to pound inside her, but not for long - just as her orgasm began to subside, Sousuke shoved inside her as far as he could and cried out her name.

 

Even as she felt his body spill inside hers, Sousuke went limp. He managed to catch himself on one elbow with a bone-jarring thud, before the full weight of his body impacted on hers. As they both panted, trying to recover their breath, Sousuke turned his head to nuzzle against her cheek. Kaname creakingly opened her hands and brought her arms down to rest on his back in a loose hug.

 

After a few moments, Sousuke lifted himself upon his elbows, just high enough to kiss her deeply. Kaname sighed as their lips parted and looked into his eyes. His brows drew together and his mouth opened, but she gently laid her fingertips across his lips and smiled. Words would only spoil the moment. Anyway, his face said it all, really; while his eyes were focused on her own, his countenance was still glazed with bliss. All of Kaname's feminine and sexual instincts told her that no one had ever given Sousuke the pleasure she just had, and she was fiercely glad.

 

Another minute, and Kaname whimpered in loss as Sousuke slid from her body. A drawer slid open, and Kaname felt the softness of tissues against her center as Sousukes gently cleaned away the traces of their coupling. If she hadn't been so exhausted, she'd have become aroused again. As she levered herself into a sitting position, she saw Sousuke performing the same duty on his own body, and licked her lips in appreciation. Gingerly closing her legs, Kaname buttoned her shirt closed over her breasts as Sousuke pulled up his underwear and jeans.

 

“Did you really mean what you said before? About wanting to date me from the beginning?” Kaname asked curiously as she locked her knees and slid off the desk.

 

As he buttoned his shirt, Sousuke informed her, “Actually, if you hadn't been the last one to leave, I would have asked you to stay behind; when you came up to my desk, I was elated. If you hadn't been so eager, I was about to ask you to dinner.”

 

“Really?” Kaname asked in delight. “Where did you have in mind?”

 

“I wanted to gradually introduce you to some of the elements of my past - it really isn't pretty. Have you heard of Arabian Nights?”

 

Kaname wriggled into her panties, then shook her head thoughtfully. “Maybe we should save that for later. I'm not about to go pro by any means, but I am a better than average cook - what about my place? Six-thirty?”

 

“I'd love to,” Sousuke replied. As Kaname started to turn away, he tilted his head and asked tentatively, “Given what has already passed between us, would it be presumptuous of me to bring a change of clothing?”

 

Kaname's feral grin slowly crept across her face. “Actually, I think that would be a very wise idea, showing a true grasp of strategy.” She added an extra bit of swing to her hips as she walked to the door, bent to grab the bag she'd dropped previously, and as she flipped the lock, she tossed a grin over her shoulder and added, “Since the odds are excellent I'm going to rip your clothes off about a minute after you get in the door.”

 

Sousuke could do nothing but blink under the force of the images that cascaded through his mind, as his former student and new lover strolled away.

 

FINI