Disclaimer: FMP belongs to Shouji Gatoh, Shikidouji, KyoAni, etc.

AN: I've been sitting on this story for about eight months now. Since I finished Nozh, I figure I can finally bump this one up to the top now and actually work on it. Had most of this chapter written when I came up with the idea, though it's since been edited since my writing has improved, as well as needing to make some changes as I wasn't fond of the note it'd left off on previously. I hope you enjoy it as much as I enjoy writing it and plotting it out.

He glanced around the empty barracks, having the room to himself for some time it seemed. His team had just returned from a mission, and he valued these solitary moments he had to unwind. The other soldiers he shared the small room with were all attending to varying other duties, something that was done on purpose. Rooming with your squad mates was fine in theory, but being on the same schedule you would never get a break from each other. Or any time alone for that matter. So, they assigned bunks with personnel that were on different schedules.

With a sigh, Sousuke pulled out the latest issue of Jane's Almanac covering Arm Slaves and settled on his cot to read. Absently, he flipped through, not really paying to attention to what was on the pages. He already knew it all anyways, not to mention having read that particular volume several times over. Going through the motions, he had something of a comforting familiarity to stare at while getting lost in thought.

The mission he had just returned from he was finding irritating for some reason. It had been itching at the back of his mind, starting as something that gave him brief pause and had since grown into an intense annoyance. Mithril's tactics in general were giving him that feel those days. He had never understood sparing someone's life if they were not to be tortured for information or used for some kind of negotiation. He also did not understand the importance of the girl they had gone to rescue. Their mole had gone rogue and worked to free her on his own, getting killed in the process. But why did they have to try to save them? He was an idiot for blowing his cover like that, and the girl was just a girl. She had been used for medical experiments, and given the condition she had seemed to be in, wouldn't letting her die have been more humane?

With an aggravated sigh he dropped the magazine onto his face, letting the gloss pages cool down his heated face as he found his irritation mounting. Having been sent to Russia of all places was not doing much for his mood either. He hated that place. He hated the memories. People who knew bits and pieces of his history would probably think it had to do with how he was orphaned. That did not bother him at all. He hardly remembered his mother, just her smiling face as she fell to her death and told him to fight. No, the memories he hated were his Spartan upbringing. Having to survive in that frozen wilderness, the backstabbing tactics he and the other children used, all of it. Using teamwork to take down a large game animal and then killing each other so that it would not need to be divided, he growled at the memory and the gentle pulsing reminder a scar across his chest gave him.

There was a knock on the door which Sousuke ignored, and he heard the door open regardless of lack of invitation. That was another thing he hated, absolutely no privacy when on the submarine. At least on base there were places he could go to be alone. "Sergeant," the voice was stiff and authoritative, but there was a softness to it that few recognized. Sousuke pulled the magazine from his face to see Kalinin standing over him with a concerned expression. The older man lifted his hand to twitch two fingers in a 'follow me' gesture before turning to leave the room. Tossing the reading material onto the mattress – if you could call the slab he slept on anything that implied an amount of comfort – he followed the man that few others would call 'friend.'

It was not that Kalinin was an unfriendly person – it was just that he was a commanding officer and could not afford to be friends with his subordinates, especially since there were times he had to make distasteful decisions. Sousuke had known Kalinin long before joining Mithril however, and, while people looking at them likely would not see the relationship, they each were one of extremely few people the other would call a true friend and would trust in absolutely every situation. Kalinin led them to his own quarters, ranking a private room on the ship due to his place as third in command of the battle group. Once there he set some tea to steep on the small bolted down table, motioning for Sousuke to take one seat while he took the other.

"You're unhappy here," Sousuke's head snapped up at the words. Kalinin was not one to beat around the bush. He knew that, he had been subject to interrogation by the man before. Still though, hearing it put so frankly put him out for a moment. He settled down quickly though, knowing it was unlikely that anyone else had noticed. Kalinin was the only one that really knew him, and such a painful point of knowledge was safe only with that man. All he did was nod tersely in response, Kalinin returning the motion before filling their cups with tea and sitting back thoughtfully. "It's not surprising though. This really is not the place for you," he sighed and glanced over at a portrait of his late wife that he had on the wall, "it's not really the place for me either."

Lifting his head curiously, Sousuke took a sip of the hot drink before speaking up, "Sir?"

Kalinin smiled sadly and shook his head, "No, it's nothing. Anyways, I just wanted to speak with you on this matter. I'm sure anyone else would try to convince you to stay, but I can see you're restless. I'll pay for you to break your contract so you don't have to deplete your resources. I would say for you to try to live a normal life but," his face twisted in pain.

Sousuke knew he was remembering their second meeting six years ago, when they had been enemies. He was painfully aware that he would never be able to assimilate into society. He had been trained to be an assassin since he was – how old? – four or five it must have been, though he did not know his own age. No civilian would be safe around him. Very few highly trained and experienced soldiers were either, he thought predatorily.

"Well, that is not an option as we both know. Were it possible, I would have liked for you to experience a blood-free life. I suppose if you do decide to leave you will find your way as an assassin-for-hire or an independent mercenary once more. Do you still have contacts?" now that was a silly question. Sousuke just raised an eyebrow and took another sip, earning a small chuckle from the man. "Of course you do," he rose and opened a drawer, sifting through for some papers he then placed in the center of the table. "These are the resignation forms. I've taken the liberty of filling them out for you Sagara. All you need to do is sign them."

Sousuke set his cup down and reached for the pile, flipping them around so he could read the contents. He skimmed the forms, eyes tracing the words quickly and taking in all the important bits. Once finished he set his hands to rest on the table, paper still in hand, and tilted his head back to look up at the depressing grey of the ceiling. Closing his eyes and letting out a deep breath he cleared his mind before setting it to the task at hand. Did he want to quit Mithril? It was true he was unhappy. It was true he was getting restless. These goody-goody missions where they swept in and saved the day were extremely aggravating, grating on his last nerves. He vastly preferred to be veiled in darkness, silently approaching an enemy from behind and slicing open their throat before disappearing once again. As much as he enjoyed Arm Slaves and piloting them, they were not his preferred method of combat.

He dropped his eyes back down to what he held, studying them for just a few more moments before meeting Kalinin's steady gaze and nodding his head. A pen was placed before him and he signed the forms. Some of his annoyance seemed to melt away at that simple action. Never again having to do those irritating missions for a group that thought of themselves as defenders of justice or some such thing – that thought in itself was enough to put him at ease. "I'll submit these forms and the payment when we return to base and arrange a transport. Is there anywhere in specific you would like to be dropped off?"

"Somewhere in the Middle East," he answered quickly. Kalinin nodded in understanding. It really did not matter where exactly to Sousuke, the land was filled with varying strife and it would be easy for a talented killer as himself to find work there. It was also the land he was most comfortable in, and he spoke so many different dialects with ease that he could get on no matter where he was. The two sat in a comfortable silence as they finished their drinks. Kalinin offered Sousuke dinner which was accepted, and they spent what was likely to be their last night together talking for many hours before Sousuke retired back to his assigned barracks. With the way their paths had crossed so many times in the past however, it did not have a sense of finality to it. They would see each other again, that was the feeling.

But would they be friends or enemies?

Kaname sighed, pulling the thin airline blanket over head to hide her displeasure. Her friend Kyouko had been poking at her all day since the class had met up for their trip, asking her what was wrong. It was more than obvious to anyone that something had the class representative furious, not that it was a particularly unusual occurrence. The only part of it that was unusual was that no one was witness or privy to just what had her panties in a bunch that day. This was, of course, the exact reason that Kyouko just had to know.

Kyouko sighed at Kaname's attempt to run away from the situation. Well, since they would be on the plane for a couple hours she would have plenty of time to whittle away at her stubborn secrecy and learn what it was. Sometimes, making Kaname aware of that fact alone was enough to get her to open up, "So, Kana-chan. How much of this plane ride do you think it will take me to get you to 'fess up?"

Groaning, Kaname yanked the blanket away from her face to glare angrily at Kyouko. Used to this, the smaller girl just adjusted her glasses with a devious smile, grinning widely when Kaname's shoulders sagged in defeat. "Fine, fine, I'll tell you," she grumbled, leaning over to whisper in Kyouko's ear. "When I went to take my laundry in a pair of underwear was missing. I think someone stole it!" she hissed.

Kyouko covered her mouth and gasped, startled, pausing a few moments before she then giggled wickedly. Kaname's glare returned full force, demanding to know just what about the situation was so funny. "Maybe Kana-chan has a secret admirer?" she grinned.

"Not the kind I want!" the response was shouted, and the entire class turned their heads towards her. Their teacher stood up and asked her to be quiet, making her mutter unkind things to Kyouko under her breath as she sank into her seat in an effort to disappear.

Knowing better than to push her luck, Kyouko turned her attention elsewhere. It was several hours later when she piped up again, "Hey, Kana-chan, isn't Okinawa surrounded by water?"

"Of course," Kaname laid her book on her lap, calmer now that she had been allowed to simmer, and she slipped in a bookmark then shut it while looking curiously at her friend.

"Then why has it been nothing but mountains for over an hour?"

"What?"

Sure enough, when she leaned across to peer out the window she was treated to the view of a mountain range. She let out a disgruntled sound and looked around with mounting feelings of anxiety. That was when she realized that it had been awhile since any of the flight attendants had checked on the passengers and that there had been a suspicious lack of updates from the captain. She tensed up nervously. It couldn't be a hi-jacking, could it?

Little over an hour passed and the fear was confirmed. The plane had landed at a distinctly militant airport, and even she was able to recognize the Arm Slaves and tanks as not belonging to Japan. An exclamation from the class military buff, Kazama Shinji, confirmed their location as that of North Korea. A large Asian man with a scar on his forehead walked into the cabin with two imposing soldiers toting assault rifles, those men having sharply defined features which made it seemed they may have had some form of Slavic heritage. The man in front grinned as his back-up turned their view around the entire cabin, ensuring that everyone got a good look down a barrel. "Hey there you, pretty girl with the long hair," a large finger beckoned Kaname while the man flashed her a feral grin.

Kaname hung her head, glancing down at her legs and tugging the hem of her skirt nervously. When the large man stood beside her, unmistakably directing his conversation at her, she tried to ignore him. He had an imposing presence though, and she glanced up at him, trying not to let her nervousness show, though she was ashamed when her voice trembled just a bit, "What?"

Smirking, he rested an arm on the seat in front of her and leaned in close, "We're making a film to send to the media. I think you'd be the perfect hostage to show."

"Ah-hah, no, I'm just an ordinary student. No one would want to watch that kind of thing," she laughed anxiously, eyes darting about as she tried to collect her wits. Chuckling, the man disagreed with her and gripped her forearm roughly and started to tug her from the seat, "Ah, wait! Let go of me!"

"Stop that! What are you going to do with my student?!" the homeroom teacher, Eri, leapt to her feet, drawing the attention of three terrifying men to her. "Hi-jacking this plane and taking a child hostage, you're just a coward!"

The man holding on to Kaname did not seem too willing to allow that remark to slide. At the word coward he tensed, releasing his hold on her to fish something out of his suit jacket. A laser sight trained on the space just above and between Eri's eyes, putting a quick end to her tirade as she whispered something fearfully. Kaname's eyes widened in terror and her entire body shook, "Teacher…"

A bang resounded throughout the cabin and everyone flinched. Then they panicked. Many screeches were let out as the students ducked behind the seats, tears flying and muttered words of apology, pleading, or prayer drifted up before the other two men shot their guns into the ceiling to shut them up. Kaname found herself grabbed again, and this time she walked with them willingly, biting her lip to hold back tears as she was forced to step over the corpse of her teacher.

Sousuke sighed as the sun, wind, and sand all beat on him mercilessly. He pulled his makeshift hood tight at the bridge of his nose so that it shielded his eyes more effectively, scanning the horizon through squinted eyes as he looked for someplace to take shelter. The idea of being caught in a violent sandstorm did not much appeal to him. Just as he was about to growl with aggravation there was a blast of sand at his back that launched him forward. Recovering quickly, he hopped to his feet and spun around, aiming his AK-47 in the general direction of the blast.

A transport chopper sat there, and he realized he must have missed the sounds of the rotors due to the howling wind and sand. A man with short hair and glasses, a cigarette dangling from his mouth, stood there with hands held open to show he was unarmed. Sousuke kept the muzzle pointed at the man regardless and approached cautiously and curiously. The cigarette was discarded, flying away in the wind. The man shouted to him, though he could barely make out the words, "-you were out here! Hell finding you though when this storm kicked up!"

It took him a few moments, but he recognized the man standing there. He was someone that had been wanted during his time in Lebanon, there had been pictures passed around – 'If you find this guy kill him' – that kind of thing. That was years ago though, and this was not Lebanon. "You're Kurama!" he shouted back, stating the obvious.

The man laughed, barely being heard, "That's right! I feel honored that you know me. Come with me before this storm gets worse, we have a business proposition!"

Sousuke paused for a moment, looking around, then turned his attention back and nodded, dropping the gun to his side and walking forward. He would die if left out in the sandstorm regardless and so it was worth taking the shot. Anything he knew of Mithril that may have been of use would be obsolete now, and anyone with half a brain would know that things would change at the loss of a member of a mercenary unit. Not that there was much that didn't change on a regular basis that he had known anyways. So, it was likely Kurama spoke the truth. It was not as though they would take him to outright kill him, not when the sandstorm would do the trick without the risk of them taking any losses.

They clambered into the helicopter and got out before the wind got any stronger and made it impossible to operate the vehicle. Once the ride settled down, they got to business. Sousuke was a skilled soldier in all respects – he could infiltrate most points, assassinate a target and make it look like whatever his employer wanted it to look like, squad combat, command, varying tactics, Arm Slave piloting, the works – which made him someone to keep close and on one's side if at all possible. That, of course, was why Mithril would have wanted to do everything to keep him around. Kalinin had managed to field most of the efforts, much to Sousuke's relief. He did not necessarily mind the people he worked with. It was just Mithril's philosophy that made him feel the need to leave.

The job offer was sound. He would make so much more than he had with Mithril, not that the money was really a deciding factor, and he would not be given silly orders like 'take as many prisoners as possible' without there being a reason beyond preserving human life. He had no problems with the idea of taking prisoners if they had a use, but not killing to just not kill was infuriating. A dead man can't shoot you.

He took the job.

Kaname was taken by Jeep to a large vehicle with all sorts of wires running from it, the Japanese man roughly dragging her into the back without a care for how her arm was twisting. "Hey, can't you be more gentle, I'm cooperating," she uttered scathingly, not wanting to give this man the joy of seeing her afraid. He could probably smell it on her though. He had the feel of a predator to him, not anything like what she experienced from any humans before. A dangerous grin was flashed to her as she was shoved into the back where a woman in a lab coat stood with a clipboard in hand.

"Is this the girl?" the woman asked with a bored voice.

"That's right," Kaname was pushed forward again, "how long will it take to run the experiments?" Her head shot up and she looked at him with wide eyes, then at the – what was she exactly, a doctor, scientist of some sort? – with concern. Experiments?

The woman shrugged, "We should be done by tomorrow morning." She did not flinch when the laser sight was trained on her, instead looking at him as though he was a child throwing a tantrum, "If we're going to do this properly then that's how long it will take. We cannot rush this."

"Of course you can, all we need to do is find out if she is for now. Then we can take her with us and go on a treasure hunt," he smirked.

"You're going to have to change into this," her attention shifted away from him to thrust a paper gown at Kaname. "Your uniform has metal on it. Also, if your bra has hooks or wire that will have to come off too."

She awkwardly held the gown, not really understanding what was going on but she did not like the sound of any of it. Then she glanced up and saw that imposing figure behind her grinning in a way that made her feel dirty. Timidly, she looked back the doctor, shifting her eyes meaningfully towards the guy while clutching the gown close to her chest. Getting the hint and caring just enough to be mindful of her plight, the doctor flapped her hand dismissively "You can go now so we can get on with our experiments."

He scoffed and left the two girls alone, instructing men to keep guard before going off to see if there was any fun he could have elsewhere. "What kind of experiments are you doing, I thought I was making a video? This makes no sense, why did it have to be me, why not, well, anyone else?" she changed while she spoke, not wanting the woman to call any of the men inside to subdue her. She could bring herself to cooperate if it was a choice between that and being manhandled by men with questionable morals.

"It could be no one but you, and you'll see why soon enough. Now, get inside the device and put these on," she thrust an odd set of goggles into Kaname's hands and urged her into a cold looking cylinder. Swallowing thickly, Kaname got in, her body trembling slightly in apprehension. She then put on the strange mask and winced when a glass cover was put over her, her body shaking more violently now at the sense of being trapped. When seemingly unrelated words started flashing in front of her eyes, she wondered again just what kind of an experiment this was to be. At that moment, it seemed to be to see just how long it would take to drive her insane with boredom. Taking in a deep breath, she steeled her nerves and let her thoughts wander to her classmates. Just how were they faring?

A few hours passed and she found herself yawning, the doctor yelling at her not to fall asleep. She grumbled under her breath, wishing she could see to fix a glare on the woman. "What exactly is the point of this, this strange sleep learning technology or whatever? And why would you have to kidnap someone to do this? This is so stupid," she muttered. "If I see the word 'apple' one more time I'm going to lose it."

The woman laughed, an odd tone in her voice that made Kaname's hair stand on end. She seemed… unstable, "Learning? No, this isn't learning," she entered a few keystrokes on her computer and a new swarm of words flooded Kaname's vision. Words that should have been foreign but seemed too familiar. Why did she know this? "These are things you have known since you were born. You are going to be the one to teach us," she cackled again and Kaname shuddered, then started pounding on the glass.

"What?!" she screeched, hitting the glass with all her might, kicking at it, shaking her head despite the strap holding her down, she wanted out. "What is this, what kind of freaky nonsense is this, let me out, let me out now!"

"Relax! Do not screw up the experiment, unless you want me to use drugs!" the only thing keeping the doctor from using them anyways was that she did not want to affect the tests negatively.

Whimpering, Kaname settled back, not liking the sound of that. Suddenly, there were the sounds of explosions from outside. Both women lifted their heads anxiously, "What?" "-was that?!"

Some men with guns threw open the door and beckoned the two, "Let's get the girl out of here and go, we can finish this later!"

Scowling, the doctor let Kaname out of the unit and unstrapped her, pulling off the goggles and shoving her roughly towards the men who grabbed her by either arm and pulled her to another jeep. Shaking again from all the noise and excitement, Kaname turned around to see the airfield ablaze, Arm Slaves dancing about and far too many explosions in the direction of the airplane her classmates were on. Despite her best efforts, the tears spilled down her cheeks as she wondered if she would ever see them again, thinking back to the body of her teacher she had to so cruelly disregard. Would they be dead or would she?

Would any of them ever be the same again after?

A couple weeks later found Sousuke being escorted down the halls of one of the many facilities across the world owned by his new employer, Amalgam. He had been unhappy when he had told he was essentially being put on babysitting duty, but he understood the logic behind it. At that moment, many of their fights seemed to end up pitting them against Mithril, and since he was new and formerly a member of that organization, it was questionable just where his loyalties might lie. So he found himself being brought to his new assignment, a girl they had recently kidnapped and who seemed to warrant having a soldier as a guard.

They opened the door to the room, a girl lifting her head and fixing them with an irritated glare, "Haven't you ever heard of knocking!?"

"You don't have the luxury of privacy," one guard growled at her. "This man will be assigned to watch you twenty-four seven, so any cute ideas of escape you can forget now." The man turned to clap a hand on Sousuke's shoulder apologetically, "Sorry you have to put up with this bitch, good luck man."

"At least you'll get to look at a babe all day, even if she does have a major personality issue," the other spoke before the two left Sousuke and Kaname alone. Not saying a word, barely even acknowledging what they had said, Sousuke kept his eyes trained on the girl standing before him with her hands on her hips and her chin lifted defiantly. They both were sizing the other up.

Switching from awkward English to Japanese, she narrowed her eyes at him, "You're Japanese, aren't you?"

"Affirmative."

Groaning, she threw her arms in the air and then her body at the bed, flopping on it and pulling a pillow over her head as she screamed in frustration. Leaving her to the odd reaction, Sousuke paced the room, inspecting every corner, every object. When he went to open a dresser drawer a pillow connected with great force to the back of his head. Tensing, he turned to look at her with a calmness that was more terrifying than any anger he could have shown. Kaname froze in place, pillow raised over her head for another strike before she slowly lowered her arms to her side, biting her cheek to distract herself. The last thing she wanted was to show any of these people fear. They seemed to get off on it and she was not there for their pleasure.

Clearing her throat, she folded one hand on her hip and glared at him, pushing away the terror. "You do not go through a lady's drawers without permission! My underwear is in there!" not that it was anything she had bought for herself. When she had complained about the lack of clothes they had pried her sizes from her and got her some of the most atrocious articles they could find. It was obvious that she was someone who enjoyed looking good, she was an extremely attractive girl, and so they wanted to strip some of her confidence by supplying her with clothes that no one could feel good in.

For the moment, he would accede defeat and leave the drawers alone. Later, perhaps some time when she was taken away for the experiments they said they would be doing on her, then he would inspect them. This girl was clearly extremely stubborn and willful, and he did not feel like getting into a pointless argument with her. All that was in his job description was to keep her from escaping, being rescued, or hurting anyone including herself. He was not there to destroy her will, for which he was grateful. While he most certainly was not above torture, abusing an innocent civilian was not something that appealed to him. He was no sadist. In many ways, it was good for Kaname that it was he who had been assigned the position. There was a suspicious lack of 'don't rape the girl' in the job description, left open in a way to imply that it may even be preferred for him to do so without outright saying it.

Kaname glanced around the room nervously before turning her eyes back to Sousuke. She gathered up her courage to present her words in a confrontational way, not wishing to appear even the slightest bit submissive to him. "So, you're my permanent guard now? I guess that means you'll be sleeping here. Well, you better not get any funny ideas mister, you try anything and I'll make sure you can never use your equipment again!" it was a bold threat, but in a way that was what made him curious. She knew exactly what her position was, but she was not going to roll over and take it.

He had to admit to being amused. She was a civilian and already she was proving to be made of tougher stuff than many soldiers he had met before. "I prefer to sleep on the floor so there is not a problem."

Raising an eyebrow, Kaname shrugged and tossed her hair with an attitude. "All right, weirdo. I'm going to take a shower, you know what will happen if you try to sneak a peek," she looked at him pointedly before fishing through the dresser Sousuke was still standing next to, then she disappeared through a door opposite the one he had taken to enter the room. That door was locked in such a way that even Sousuke was a prisoner there, though he had the option of using a communication system on the wall beside the door jam to request to leave if he needed to for any reason.

Now that she was occupied, sooner than he had hoped, he fished through everything, searching for anything she might use to escape, any signs of bugs to let someone outside know of her position, anything at all out of the ordinary. Satisfied with his findings he grabbed a rough chair and began reviewing his personal inventory while letting his thoughts wander to his new charge. It seemed the reason the door was set up in such a way was because the girl was smart enough to figure out how to by-pass ordinary security measures. Or was it that she would become smart enough? That part had been unclear to him and was one of the things listed as not needing further explanation for him to do his job.

All he needed to know was that she was intelligent and feisty and he would likely have his work cut out for him, living trapped in a small suite with her. The treatment was odd to say the least. She was a prisoner and she had to cooperate with them or they would do something to her though he did not know what. As long as she did cooperate with whatever experiments they did on her then she was allowed to live in a relative comfort. She had changes of clothes, access to bathroom facilities so she would not have to live in filth, a bed though it looked uncomfortable to say the least, and a small kitchen to cook meals in if they would supply her with things to cook.

He had his rucksack, which he had tossed in the corner opposite the bed earlier while pacing the room. Finished examining his belongings, feeling naked having only one knife and gun that he kept on his person, he made sure they were where they belonged and properly concealed just as the girl came back in wearing a loose t-shirt that seemed about to hang off her shoulders and a pair jeans that could not have possibly been the appropriate size for her with the way they slipped down her hips. Her long black hair stuck to her skin and soaked her shirt as she looked at him angrily.

"I need a hair dryer," she demanded. Sousuke blinked slowly as he wondered at the statement. Would she make a habit of such commands? As he stared at her, looking at her fiercely determined expression he realized that she most certainly would be. Perhaps she would be an interesting assignment after all. Sitting back in the uncomfortable chair, he met her gaze neutrally, not responding as she continued to look at him. Twitching as she grew uncomfortable under his watch, she crossed her arms defensively over her chest, "Just what do you think you're looking at anyways? Pervert," unnerved by his seeming lack of emotion, she turned away from him. She grabbed a folder off her nightstand and reclined on the bed, propping up the pillows and leaning back against them as she reviewed the documents in hand, pointedly ignoring him.

Shaking his head, Sousuke watched her actions curiously, learning her behavior so he would know how to read when something was going on. It would be best if he came to know her body language, and though he could tell his staring was making her uncomfortable, he did it anyways. He was not one to let his job suffer just to spare someone discomfort. Or, at least, that was what he was telling himself.

Groaning softly, Kaname dropped her arm across her eyes as she woke up, her muscles straining as she stretched in place. Sighing as she fell back against her bed, she slowly moved her arm and blinked dazedly up at the ceiling she could hardly see. Honestly, would it have killed them to give her a room with a window? She couldn't remember the last time she'd seen the sun, having been trapped inside since her arrival there, going only between her room and the labs down hallways without a view of the outdoors. All the psychological warfare against her was putting a strain on her. How long had she been there? Days? Weeks? Months?

Years?

No, years didn't feel right, and neither did months. But how could she tell? Forced into a routine and no idea what seasons were going on, there was nothing to tell her what time of year it was, how much time had passed, nothing. Shaking her head to clear it, she slapped her cheeks and told herself to move on and deal with it, to fight it as she did every day since her arrival. They were determined to destroy her it seemed, but she would have none of that. Sitting up sharply and swinging her legs to the ground in a fluid motion, she yelped and jumped back, back slapping harshly against the wall. Breathing heavily, she fought for control of her panicked mind, rationalizing everything with herself. That was right, she had a permanent roommate now, one who didn't have a bed of his own. Why he had seen the need to sleep right beside her bed, she didn't have a clue, and right then she didn't care either.

She did not appreciate having a few years shaved off her life from fright.

Mostly recovered as she had finally explained to her nerves why there was a body beside her bed, she turned onto all fours and leaned over the edge of the bed, furious. "Just what the hell are you doing there you creep!? Couldn't you have picked anywhere but there!?"

Rubbing his ribs that had been so rudely stepped on, Sousuke stared up at her with his eyes narrowed slightly, keeping his expression neutral though he was feeling grumpy. He shook his head and sat up with a suffering sigh, "Negative. Here, if you were to move around in the middle of the night I would have known. Were I elsewhere you could have snuck past me."

"What in the hell could I do anyways!? I'm trapped here and you're stuck in here with me, and I swear to god if you pull any other stalker stunts like this I'm going to castrate you and they won't get in here in time to help you so help me...! Ugh, just, just can't you roll over just a bit, give me room to put my feet down at least?"

Shaking his head at her threat, he mulled over her words and rubbed the back of his neck. "Fine then, I'll give you some room next time. I'll wake up if you step over me, anyways," he muttered as he slowly rose to his feet, looking down at her indignant and exasperated face. "You're quite rude, you know."

Kaname stared at him for a long moment in shock. Getting her bearings back, she reached over and grabbed her pillow, growling as slammed it over his head, "How dare you!?" she screeched. Sliding off the bed, she stepped over his prone body and over to her dresser, yanking drawers open and slamming them shut as she gathered her things, "Stupid jerk, me, rude? What the hell? Here I am, sharing my room with him out of the kindness of my heart and he has the gall to call me rude? What a creep! If I wasn't-," she continued to mutter cruelties as she marched her way to the bathroom to clean up for the day.

Rubbing his sore head, Sousuke stared after her, wondering just what in the hell had happened. Closing his eyes, his shoulders slumped as he winced in pain. All his years of combat hadn't prepared him for suffering a woman's wrath. There was a sharp knock on the door and then it slid open, and he scrambled to his feet as a scientist walked in. "Where's the girl?"

"Showering," he stood at attention as he looked the man over, sizing him up.

"Hmph. She's running late. Yank her out of the shower if you must, we've tests to run."

Frowning at the thought of walking in on the girl, Sousuke nodded stiffly. "Understood. Just a moment then," turning on his heel, he made his way to the bathroom. Knocking on the door, he called in, "Time is out. You have sixty seconds to get out of the shower."

"Or what?" she shouted after him.

"Or I take you out myself."

"I'd like to see you try," she retorted, though he could hear the water turn off regardless. It seemed she knew her place after all, though she certainly liked to make it seem as though she had more control than she did. Sousuke kept an eye on his watch as he heard her towel off and the sounds of clothes rustling as she put them on. Her time was just about up when the door beside him opened and she glared at him. "There, I'm out. What?"

Sousuke just motioned to the scientist who nodded to her, "Did you forget about your tests today?"

Grumbling, Kaname slapped her hand down on a table and picked up a hair tie, pulling her hair back into a ponytail. "Maybe if I had a calendar it'd be easier to keep track of these things."

Smiling darkly, the scientist shook his head and then turned out the door. "You'll be escorting her, of course, Sagara."

"Yes sir," Sousuke walked beside Kaname as they followed the man to the labs. Kaname wrapped her arms around her chest, growing more and more withdrawn the closer they got to their destination. Watching her carefully, Sousuke wondered just what it was she had to look forward to once she got there. He wasn't to be privy to that information though, as the scientist used a retinal scanner then turned to them.

"Be back here in eight hours. Until then you're free unless you've been given other orders."

Nodding to the man, Sousuke blinked in confusion at the pleading look the girl gave him as she was led inside. The door closed behind her, leaving him with the image of her haunted eyes fresh in his mind. For that strong girl to have such a reaction, what were they doing to her. Shaking his head, he reminded himself it had nothing to do with him and he turned away from the door, intent on doing some much needed exercise. If nothing else, it should help to block the memory of Kaname silently begging him to save her from her fate.