Dr. Wakinabe looked at his bust of Sigmund Freud. One of the receptionists had been kind enough to retrieve it for him.

"Well, you old charlatan, it would be entertaining to see what you might have said about those two." He puffed away on a big cigar, the type that Churchill used to like, and Freud as well. The smoke left through a nearby opened window.

"Your model of the mind may not be correct, old man, but there certainly seems to be a lot of things at war in the unconscious minds of those two. Repression of painful thoughts, and the like."

The psychologist looked out of the window. Opening the screen, he tried hard to catch the words of the two teenagers down below.

Sousuke and Kaname were buying drinks from a street vendor. As much as she smacked and berated the boy..... and as much as she acted as if she wanted him gone.... Kaname didn't allow him wander too far from her sight.

She had followed him outside, walking behind him as he strode along the avenue.

"Well, that wasn't entirely unsuspected," Dr. Wakinabe said to himself.

Sousuke had handed Kaname a drink. Kaname dumped it over his head. Sousuke just stood there taking the abuse, not moving, and not putting up any kind of a fight.

That pair. They are interesting as individuals, to say the least. But, when they are together! Charcoal is generally harmless. Sulphur as well. What about saltpeter? Saltpeter was once put in food by certain armies, or used to douse equipment and uniforms. People believed it would reduce the male ardor. Excess marching did a better job of that.

"Hmmm. Got to keep the thoughts from wandering too much."

Aside from being a minor irritant to eyes or skin, and something unwise to breath or ingest in large quantities, saltpeter---potassium nitrate---is not very dangerous. But, mix them all together in the right proportions? Be careful around sparks!

"Yes, old boy, I wager Sousuke is a mix of charcoal and sulphur." The doctor tapped his finger on top of the bust. "I figure Miss Chidori for the saltpeter. I'll go even further to bet that they will either be the salvation of one another, or the destruction of each other."

Looking out the window, Dr. Wakinabe had the cigar drop from his slack lips. He hadn't realized that Sousuke was armed.

"You don't see that every day, do you?" he asked.

Kaname's voice had echoed up to the psychologist's perch, the broken sound saying something about going home. She had thrown Sousuke in front of a speeding cab and shouted "TAXI !!!," stopping the car.

She was so busy with the taxi, that she didn't see the other car speeding straight for her from the other side of the street. From the ground, gunfire rang out. Tire fragments littered the sidewalk as the car swerved out of control, taking out a fire hydrant, a city mailbox, and a trash receptacle.

Remarkable.

Simply unbelievable.

"Should I let them back in my office, you old fake? They already put dents and divits in you. What do they have in store for me? Maybe I should have gone into combat psychology after all It would be safer."

Dr. Wakinabe smiled.

They have me talking to a bronze bust. Well that's alright, sometimes I think better that way. He listened again. Now Kaname was letting Sousuke have it for being so reckless to shoot a car.

Priceless.

His cigar smoldering on a ledge two stories below, the psychologist decide to close his window. He had heard enough. Walking over to a painting on the wall, he found another historical figure to talk to. Emil Kraeplin.

"Well Emil, I won't tell you what Sigmund said about you. I know the psychiatrists dismiss Freud out of hand, embracing your concepts of a biological and genetic basis for psychiatric disorders. It gives them justifications for all of their drugs and their talking. But what would you think if you saw that pair?

Could you rule out childhood trauma or parental relationships as a cause of their issues? Would you say that anyone who suspected major social and environmental causes was full of bunk? Just because Freud may have been a liar and a cheat in some ways, doesn't mean that everything he said was wrong.

Dr. Wakinabe stood there a few moments, lost in thought. He heard a number of voices approaching in the hallway outside his door. The voices were getting louder. It was Sousuke and Kaname.

Taking his empty water glass off of his desk, he put it against the wall, and his ear up against it.

"So, were you scared out there, Sousuke?"

"Scared, Kaname? I had no fear of the Taxi. They generally stop in time."

"No, Sousuke. Were you scared when you saw the car heading for me?"

"Kaname, as you noted, it was not headed for me."

"SOUSUKE!!!"

"Yes, Kaname."

"'Yes, Kaname what?"

"I was scared, Kaname."

"Oh."

The voices stopped getting closer. Dr. Wakinabe was taking notes again.

"So, you were scared for me, Sousuke?"

"Uh"

"Sousuke?"

"Uh"

"SOUSUKE!!!"

"What, Kaname?"

"Were you scared for me?"

"Ummm...."

"Sousuke, just say it."

"Errr...."

Dr. Wakinabe was smiling. It certainly had been an interesting session so far.

"Say it, Sousuke!"

"Kaname, please keep your voice down. There may be patients in these other rooms. It is time to go back in the office. We do not wish to leave Dr. Wakinabe with a bad impression."

As the door opened, Dr. Wakinabe said a short prayer.

His insurance agent had not been very reassuring.

Walking back to his desk, he shook his head.

Even if he were to tell someone else about all this, would they believe him?

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Sousuke sat quietly in his chair, politely waiting for Dr. Wakinabe to resume his testing. Kaname kept flicking glances his way, as if she was embarrassed by his condition. His hair and shirt were still damp from her soft drink. His black shoes were scuffed and asphalt marks streaked up and down his trousers. There was a superficial abrasion high on his left cheek.

She wondered just how Sousuke kept getting in so much trouble.

"So, did the two of you enjoy you stroll outside. Did the fresh air relax you?" The psychologist chided himself. This was serious business. He shouldn't be enjoying himself.

"Invigorating, doctor." Kaname looked very happy.

"It was nothing unusual, sir." Sousuke sounded as if someone had simply asked him about the weather.

Dr. Wakinabe's smile was forced.

Nothing unusual?

No wonder the principal had been so insistent.

I'll have to keep my eye on the newspaper for mention of Jindai Highschool. Then again, the disasters need not be exclusive to that building, would they.

Hmmm. Should I ask them if they were anywhere near the area where those snow-removal tractors caused so much property damage earlier in the year? Or those other things that were so out of the ordinary?

No.

Let's not resort to flights of fancy.

"Glad to hear that. Let's move on to the Rorschach Test, then. First off, have either of you taken the test before...... had the results explained to you...... or read about it on the internet? If so, that would invalidate the results."

"No." Kaname's look begged a question: why would I ever want to learn anything about that, and do you think I have ever been in a shrink's office before?!

"No." Sousuke was simply being factual.

"Very good. There are only ten real Rorscach inkblots. Attempts are made to keep them secret. There are a lot of fakes going around. As I implied, it is important that your responses be spontaneous. Your reactions may reveal valuable clues about your personality. Some of us view it as a cardinal tool, while others feel that it is hopelessly unreliable. Taken in context with other things I have learned about you Sousuke, I should be able to tell whether your answers carry any significance." Dr. Wakinabe reached into his cabinet and withdrew an large Manilla envelope.

"Doctor, does the environment matter? Should the subject being in a familiar or common setting when he responds? If so, we may need to take those inkblots with us into the middle of traffic, a gang fight, a smoke- filled gymnasium, or a war zone!" Kaname smiled sweetly.

"No, Miss Chidori. I assure you, we'll be fine here. I'm curious though, what would Sousuke's usual environment be?"

Kaname was too stunned to answer. She did not find the joke to be funny in the least.

Sousuke's mouth twitched. He came perilously close to grinning. He suddenly had the urge to salute Dr. Wakinabe.

"Now, I am certain that you may have questions about the process, and about the cards themselves. The things you are supposed to know, I will tell you. The things you are not, I will not. That is standard procedure, not any reflection of my personality. I'll need to pull up a chair and sit behind and to the side of you while you read the cards. I'll hand you one card at a time. While there are answers that are fairly common, there are not necessarily 'right' answers or 'wrong' answers. Don't be afraid of anything that seems too obvious. Just tell me what comes to mind."

"Is there a correct way to look at the cards, doctor?" Sousuke was a stickler for protocol.

"Yes, you numbskull...... with your eyes open!" Kaname laughed, unconcerned that nobody joined in her laughter. "I have to tell him everything. Sheesh."

"You may hold the cards however you like. It's up to you." Without letting Sousuke or Kaname see, the psychologist slipped his shirt sleeve off of a "tickless" watch. He was prepared to take shorthand notes of everything that was said.

Kaname pulled her chair over until it rested against Sousuke's.

This should be very interesting, Dr. Wakinabe thought. It's OK for him to be highly original, as long as he can justify what he sees. There's nothing wrong with originality, creativity, or unique intelligence.

I hope he doesn't use non sequiturs, or images that don't fit the blot. I really hope I don't see any signs of psychoses. And, he should see more than one thing on each card. I'm not anxious to find any signs of neuroses either.

I need to see how long it takes him, as well.

"Here, Sousuke. Ink blot A."

Black ink. A roughly triangular shape, point down, suggesting a broad foxlike face with pointed ears.

Sousuke held the card the way it was handed to him. His answer came almost immediately. "A bat. Or, perhaps a butterfly or a moth."

Good answer, young man. And very quick.

"Doctor, should there be any sexual connotations to these as well?" Sousuke sounded a bit sheepish asking.

"Yes, there may very well be. Do you see any in that blot?"

"Uh. Ah. Yes." Sousuke began to sweat. "The round shapes near the top could be taken for breasts."

"Please, Sousuke. What would you know about breasts anyway. They are not military issue. They don't have centerfolds in Jane's Defense Weekly or Arm Slave Quarterly." Kaname pushed her hair back. "You probably haven't even tumbled to the fact that I have breasts. Two of them. Hmmmmppff!"

Kaname grabbed the card out of Sousuke's hand. "Besides, this is not a bat. A bat? It's a spooky mask, or maybe a jack o'lantern. Butterfly? Geez, that's a girl's answer.... maybe I should buy some potpourri for your wittle weapons bag." She ended with her trademark loud and obnoxious laugh.

Hmmm. What about the girl's answer? It's OK. But in some circumstances it might indicate paranoia.

"You notice the breasts.... amazingly enough.... you sure you never read anything about these before...but you don't say anything about the woman in the center. Of course, I can see how you could miss that! Poor thing looks like she's trapped. Probably makes you feel guilty." Kaname tossed her hair. "Yes, that is a poor woman trapped by circumstances beyond her control.

Hmmm. The description of the central image is often a projection of the subject's own self-image.

"You mean that looks like a woman, or could be a woman. What it is, is an inkblot, Miss Chidori." Dr. Wakinabe jotted down more shorthand.

"I realize that, doctor. I'm not a nutcase, you know. He's the one you need to focus on." Kaname thumbed her hand in Sousuke's direction.

"I see."

More note taking.

"Sousuke, this is inkblot B."

Black and red ink. Two dark-gray splotches suggesting dancing figures. Red splotches at the top of each figure and at bottom center.

Again, Sousuke's response was quick in coming. "Two people. Perhaps women, or maybe clowns or mimes. I did not see a sexual image off hand. Is that a problem, doctor?"

Another excellent response.

"No Sousuke, only mention the things that come to you without too much thought. Do you see such an image, though?"

"Uh. Ah. Yes. The red area could be umm.......... a woman's private area."

"Vagina, Sousuke. The word is vagina. You won't burst into flames you know!" Kaname grabbed the card. "Where are there any mimes??? I don't see any people. A couple of funny looking statues, maybe. Get with the program, soldier."

No people? Just statues? She may have some difficulty relating to people at times. And what is her issue with mimes?

"Sousuke, here's ink blot C."

Black and red ink. Two obvious figures facing one another. Butterfly-shaped red blot between the figures. An elongated red blot behind each figure's head.

Sousuke was about to open his mouth, but hesitated.

"Is there a problem, Sousuke?"

"No sir. It is just that I saw one thing first, but then looked at it from a different angle and saw something different. Both figures have breasts, so I thought they must be women. But then, the red made me think of blood and battle, and I noticed that each figure had obvious maleness, and could instead be soldiers."

Well, had he said the figures were both male and female, some old examiners would have suspected he was homosexual. But, that interpretation is out of vogue. In any case, he noticed it separately, in different contexts. His first response was the correct one.

What will Miss Chidori say. She would no doubt feel compelled to offer her own interpretation.

"Sousuke, I can't belive it.. You got one right. Don't go getting my hopes up like that." Kaname was holding the card now. Her answer was well within the accepted limits.

Blots D, E, and F went well for the two students.

"Have a look at blot G, Sousuke."

Black ink. A U-shaped blot. Each side of the U resembles a female figure in a narrow-waisted dress. The mother card.

Sousuke's response to the father card indicated a feeling of uncertainty and loss. I suspect this one will as well. Kaname had positive feelings for her father. What is her relationship with her mother?

"It looks like two women, doctor. They look like they are fading away out of view. I can't say much more about them." Sousuke's voice had a touch of sadness.

"Here, Sousuke. Let me check up on you again. A gold star for Kaname's bright boy! It does look like women. And they are going away. It's not fair, but that's just the way it is. It will probably effect the men that we don't see in the picture." Kaname's voice was loud, insistant. Her eyes welled slightly with tears.

"But, you missed the thundercloud. That's to be expected, I guess. Everywhere you go, there's some kind of cloud. Before, during, or after."

Dr. Wakinabe marked down his observations.

Thundercloud? That would be a sign of anxiety.

Blot H was interpreted well by Sousuke and Kaname. Blot I would be a telling one.

"What do you see in ink blot I, Sousuke?" Dr. Wakinabe handed the next to the last card to the young soldier.

Green, orange, and pink ink. A very irregular upright rectangle. Orange at the top, protruding green areas at the center, and pink at the bottom.

Kaname was standing now, looking over Sousuke's shoulder at the card.

Sousuke struggled with this card. He turned it a number of ways, and then back again. "Perhaps I am too used to battle. But, all I can see is an explosion. That, and..." Sousuke shook his head and looked again.

"Yes?"

"Monsters, sir. Orange monsters or men fighting."

This is a hard one to find a definite image in. 'Explosion's was an appropriate answer. 'Monsters' though, and 'men fighting,' those are classic signs of poor social development. No surprise there. Any time now, Kaname should be grabbing the card. She'll probably bump into Sousuke in the process.

"Sousuke, give me that! Hey, next time move your head out of my way." It took her a while as well.

"I don't see any monsters fighting. But, if you hold the card this way, you can see a man's head. Or if you hold it this way, it looks like that bad modern art rendition we saw in the museum...... before you set off the smoke grenade afterwhen you seeing the old man with a large umbrella under his trench coat."

"It could have been a gun, Kaname."

Dr. Wakinabe jotted down more shorthand after Kaname gave her answer.

After the tenth and final card was done without any untoward responses or happenings, Dr. Wakinabe put his pad down and put the ink blots away. He stretched his arms out and moved his neck in a circular motion. He cracked his knuckles.

"I envy the two of you your youth. That was a rather long session. Sousuke, there are definitely some things from you past........ and from your entering your profession at so young an age........ that are affecting you greatly today. I must say, you are holding up better than anyone might have suspected."

"I am glad to hear that, Sir!"

"It's everybody else who's taking all the damage...." Kaname muttered to herself.

"It may well be that therapy sessions could help make your life easier for you. I cannot say, however, how the changes might impact your effectiveness as a warrior. My report to the school will be favorable. They should not require anything further. If you are interested in sessions, or in taking further tests, please do not hesitate to call me."

"Take him up on his offer, Sousuke. I will pay the bill for you. Or, You Know Who probably will." Kaname said, pulling her socks up.

"Kaname, the ones whom we will not name have no reason to pay. You have never queried me on the subject before and I had no reason to ever tell you..... their specialists have met with me in the past."

Sousuke nodded his head politely to the psychologist. "I thank you for a thorough examination, and for some thoughtful analysis. You are a true professional." He shook Dr. Wakinabe's hand and started to walk from the room.

"Finally. I can get out of this place. I can't believe he didn't see just how wacked-out you are, Sergeant Psycho! Walk faster, I'm ready to get back to school." Kaname was pushing Sousuke from behind.

"Miss Chidori," Dr. Wakinabe said, casuing her to stop and turn around. "Sousuke is free to go. I would like for you to stay behind for a couple of minutes. We should try and find a mutually convenient time on both of our schedules."

"Doctor???" Kaname's heart sank. Her pulse rate jumped up. Suddenly, her mouth felt dry.

"There are a number of tests I would like to have you do. I think you would benefit greatly from some therapy sessions. I will be writing that down in my report to Mr. Ichibara." The doctor was glad that Kaname had stayed.

Kaname froze.

Sousuke had to carry her from the room.