Christmas was more a romantic holiday in Japan than a religious one, and even then, Sousuke had less experience with it than most. Christmas eve was, however, also Kaname's birthday. And with that in mind, he'd made sure to get her a nice gift (he may have called Mao and practically begged for help, but he wouldn't admit to that) wrapped in the overly precise way he had, and waiting for her.

Hopefully, he wouldn't screw this up...


(For whisperedblue and backdated. Don't worry about the news for this one.)

So, right. I'm working extra on Thursday night (I know someone volunteered to do the news for me, I just can't remember who right now) and then Sunday I have graduation (finally. Let's not talk about how long it took me to get this damned degree, okay?) and a big Chem final on the following Monday. Which means... I will be scarce. I'll probably be around some on Saturday (for once) but other than that, I'll be largely MIA until Monday afternoon. Will try to get my poor samurai tucked away somewhere safe before such time, so he's not still trying to sleep in the park with a festival going on. ;)

Yesterday had been nice. Neither he nor Kaname celebrated the holiday, so they'd passed the time quietly together, which had been nice. Today, however, she had class, and he'd had enough of the dorm, so he'd left a note for Kaname and gone down to the SURF and was currently engaged in some target practice. With the lack of a combat class this semester, he needed some way to keep himself sharp.

So there he was, pumping rounds into targets. Casual observers might have assumed he was upset about something, but really, he was just very focused.


((Open, should anyone want to watch or do a little target practice themselves...))

Sousuke stood with his cellphone in hand, looking out the window of his dorm room as he made his report to his superiors at Mithril. Due to the state of his shoulder, he'd been unable to type, and was thus forced to deliver the information over their secure line.

( Cut for Length )

((Open to whisperedblue, contents of phone conversation NFB, please, although the property damage is perfectly reportable.))

Sousuke had had a fairly busy day, considering his lack of classes, and a good portion of it had involved things he probably shouldn't have been doing. Now, however, he was just waiting to intercept Kaname on her way back from class. Given his current vantage point, the only way he could miss her was if she decided to climb in a dorm window instead of using the door, and he didn't think that was something she made a habit of, really.

((Open to whisperedblue))

Sousuke was in the park, in the rain, talking on his cellphone because he was fairly certain his room had been bugged somehow, and didn't want to give Leonard any further advantage. He was currently in the midst of a conversation with his superiors at Mithril.

( Read more... )

((Open to anyone who wants to stop by and ask what the heck is going on, and for the two volunteers I had. Contents of phone conversation NFB, please.))

Sousuke made his way towards his dorm building, hauling Kaname along with him, and vowing that the next time he decided to take his girlfriend out to All Souls, he was going to stand there and watch her drink being poured, because clearly, he and the bartender had vastly different ideas of what an 'iced tea' constituted. It was a good thing he'd just had water. With a sigh, he dug through his pocket trying to find his keys somewhere amongst the spare ammunition, folding knife, and mace, while keeping a hold on Kaname.

((Open to whisperedblue, All Souls visit handwaved.))

Sousuke was spending a quiet night in his room, catching up on various small details and going over his equipment. Currently, however, he was tending to the injuries he'd suffered on his last mission.

Which explained why he was shirtless and there was a medical kit spread out all over his desk.

(Open)

It was late when the Mithril helicopter, disguised with it's ECS, touched down outside the town of Milieux, and then took off again, leaving one very weary looking Sergent Sousuke Sagara to make the long walk into town, and back to his room.

His bag was dropped near the door. Normally, he was a neat person, but currently, he was far too exhausted to care. The mission had been, for all intents and purposes, a success. Unfortunately, they'd found very little evidence of Amalgam's involvement with the whole operation. Bringing in the Arbalest had been more or less unnecessary. The mission could have been accomplished just as well with the M9s.

And then there was the incident, as they were preparing to leave. The more Sousuke thought about it, the more it bothered him. One of the men from the piracy ring they'd taken down had somehow evaded capture, hiding somewhere on the island until Mithril was nearly ready to pull out.

Officially, it was decided that the RPG the man had fired was probably intended to take out his captured comrades, to keep them from talking about any possible Amalgam connections. Sousuke, on the other hand, had a sinking feeling it was meant for him alone. The man had waited until he was outside the safety of the ARX-7 before firing, and it had been a close call. He had several minor burns and bruises, as well as a deep laceration in his arm as a result of the explosion. If not for the warning from Kurz, he'd be dead now.

Of course, he'd kept that suspicion out of his official report. He had nothing with which to back up the claim, only the gut feeling that came from having been a soldier for most of his seventeen years. He knew when someone was trying to kill him--him specifically--and that was the feeling he'd had, crawling out of the burning wreckage of the transport vehicle they'd been loading at the time.

Kurz had made short work of the man with the chain gun on his AS. There would be no way to ever confirm that feeling.

With a sigh, Sousuke flopped down on the cot in his room, not bothering to undress.

The fact that he was even using the cot, instead of laying under it as he usually did, was a testament to his exhaustion. He closed his eyes.

(Open to whisperedblue, should she magically sense the boy is home.)

Sousuke was sitting at the communications equipment in his room, receiver held in his hand, a more serious look than usual on his face.

"Sergent Sagara, we've received information that Amalgam may be involved in the Spratly Island operation. As such, it will be necessary to deploy the ARX-7 as a precautionary measure. The enemy may have access to AS's equipped with the Lambda Driver. As such, you participation has become mandatory. Please be ready to rendezvouses with the chopper outside town at 1800 hours."

"I understand, sir. Sagara out."

With a sigh, he hung up the radio receiver, and quickly gathered the equipment he'd need. Before leaving, he wrote a short note written in Japanese, and left it on the table in his room, in case Kaname came looking for him.

( Contents of the Note )

That done, he picked up his bag, headed out of the building and down the road that lead out of town.

Gone to Dragon*Con for the weekend, will have internet access, but this is plot-y, anyway. Open to whisperedblue if she wants to find the note. Contents of the note and the radio conversation are NFB, although his leaving is fair game.

I'm working extra hours, so I'm not going to be around during the day Mon-Wed both this week, and next. Shall be around after 9PM CST, though, and Thurs. and Fri. as usual. And if anyone needs my attention, emailing me at 2icsection9 (at) Gmail.com will work wonders.

Sousuke had come back from class to find a package waiting for him outside the door (thankfully, for whomever had dropped it off). After ascertaining that the box posed no threat, he'd carried it inside, and opened it.

The contents were now spread out on his otherwise empty cot. Sgt. Major Mao had apparently taken his comment about not blending in to heart, and had sent him what amounted to a significant new wardrobe. It was true, the pressed slacks and dress shirts didn't seem nearly as normal here as they had in Japan (he highly doubted any of the other male students here did their own ironing), but he wasn't so sure these clothes suited him. Or were even the right size.

Looking at himself in the mirror on the back of his door, he decided he felt rather like he had when the girls at school had dressed him up to impersonate Mizuki's boyfriend.

Will be heading out to Wizard World later this morning, so my online time is going to be sporadic at best until some time Sunday. Harry and Dom are homebodies on the weekend anyway, and we'll just pretend that Sousuke is really wrapped up in his preparations for that New Orleans trip.

After falling asleep on the lawn last night (and having what he could only assume was one very odd dream) Sousuke had decided he needed to concentrate on getting himself back on track. Clearly, if he was out-of-sorts enough to fall asleep outside, he wasn't going to be of any use to Kaname. Thusly, he was spending the evening going through everything in his room, getting it back into order, and checking on the various security measures he'd put in place. It was routine stuff, but it made him feel a little more sure of himself, at least for the time being.

((Open to whisperedblue))

The rain had delayed the airdrop of supplies he'd requested until tomorrow. It had also precluded hanging out on the roof again, as he didn't currently have his rain gear with him. So instead he was sitting in his on the floor below the window, reading technical specs on the latest AS models Mithril was working on and trying not to think too much about anything. Every one in awhile, he caught sight of the containers he'd washed and neatly re-wrapped, waiting to be delivered back to Kaname. Just as well that the weather was keeping him indoors.

((Door is open.))

Sousuke was up on the roof. Brooding would probably be an apt word to describe what he was doing, although up until recently, there's been no room for 'teen' in his angst. Tonight, however, there certainly was. Enough so that when he'd called in his request for an equipment drop earlier in the day, Mao had asked him what was troubling him. He'd stammered out some excuse, ended the transmission, and eventually ended up on the roof. He was currently stretched out, arms behind his head, watching the stars and trying not to think about the consequences of his actions the previous evening.

He shouldn't have done it. He knew that much. He wasn't really a student, after all. He was still Sergent Sousuke Sagara of Mithril, and Kaname Chidori was his assignment. He was supposed to be looking after her, not doing what he'd done. He could be reassigned. He could be sent away, and they'd never see each other again. Forming this kind of connection with her was... not a good idea.

But for all his experience and training, he was still a seventeen year old boy, and now that the genie was out of the bottle it was going to be really, really hard to lock it away again.


((Open for all your rooftop brooding needs))

After discovering what was in his room the previous night, Sousuke had spent the evening camped out on the lawn, more convinced than ever that someone was using this town to test bizarre weaponry.

Today, he was setting about removing the chicken-squid corpse by shoveling it out the window and setting it on fire. There's a reason the dorm now smells like a mix of fried chicken and calamari. He's now busy clearing the room of the remains of its smashed, ink-stained furniture. All of that has ended up in the hallway.

((Open... should be around for a few hours before leaving to do family-related things.))

Drop me a line here. Comments screened.

"This is Sousuke Sagara. I'm out conducting surveillances. Leave a message."