Warnings: Please see the first two chapters for full warnings. Rated PG-13 for several reasons.

Disclaimer: Full Metal Panic and all characters and settings are the creative property of Shouji Gatou, Shiki Douji, Retsu Tateo, and are tortu—I mean, used without permission for no profit to this humble little authoress. X3 ADV currently has Season 1 of the anime and the primary manga series licensed in the US.

Chapter 4

A lone figure strolled through the empty park, taking to the shadows as he walked along. He had just received an e-mail on his mobile concerning a mission at this location, and he had seen nothing of his target so far. Of course, it was a rather large park, and there were plenty of benches about, so he wasn't concerned… yet. Besides, he only had orders for reconnaissance; they hadn't required him to kill anyone this time. Then again, they must not know about his relationship with the target if they were sending him on this particular mission.

The moon emerged from its cloud cover, illuminating the grass in a silver sheen as its light bounced off of the dew drops. Crisp air spoke of a chilly night yet to come, which would likely slow his target's movement down to seek shelter for the night. That's what he would have done, at least – he wasn't quite sure why the target would stop in such an open place like a park. If the target was truly as talented as his master had claimed, then he would have done a better job finding a place to hide. However, the Mithril soldier was wounded by all reports – he wouldn't be able to travel far in his condition, and probably was unable to think clearly. In fact, he was surprised that the soldier had gone this far already.

Unless… Unless he has help.

A smile cracked across his shadowed face as he keyed in a code on his mobile's number pad and pressed the send button. He would remind the soldier that he still existed, and that he hadn't forgotten. This could prove to be an interesting night.

Kaname sighed as she watched the stars through the gaps between the nightly cloud cover. She had a sickening feeling that Sousuke wasn't doing as well as he let on. The occasional pained grimace would cross his face every so often even in sleep. If she could have, she would have dragged him to a doctor immediately, but he was so insistent that they keep moving that part of her said to listen to him this time. It was insane, but she had to trust him.

What kind of a threat would make Sousuke so uneasy? She couldn't help but wonder and allow her mind to wander. Terrorists, most definitely, but Sousuke had dealt with terrorists before. Many times before, as a matter of fact. Something else had to have happened on his recent mission, and she wanted to know what it was. Badly. She hated seeing him like this.

Sousuke suddenly was startled awake, jerking to a sitting position and instantly regretting the movement.

"Sousuke!" Kaname exclaimed. "Be careful!"

He grunted, blinking as he seemed to re-orient himself. A blush colored his pale cheeks – he must have realized that he had been sleeping on Kaname's lap – before he cleared his throat. "I—I thought…" he began, but he grimaced and hissed, clutching his side, and then frowned. "We have to keep going."

Kaname frowned as well. Something was wrong. "What?"

Sousuke stood painfully, doubling over slightly with another wince. Kaname didn't like how he was clutching his side, nor did she like the sweat forming on his forehead as he tried to force himself to stay upright. Suddenly, he gasped and pitched forward. She ran forward.

"Sousuke!" she cried, just managing to catch him when he fell. She knelt, holding his shoulders and supporting him on his knees in front of her. He wouldn't look her in the eye. "Sousuke? Are you alright? What's wrong?"

For a moment, he didn't answer as he seemingly tried to catch his breath. His focus was fading in and out, and he still clutched desperately at his side. Something had to be wrong with the wound, she decided. He needed a doctor, and fast.

"Shit," he muttered, finally speaking.

Kaname shot him a surprised look. Sousuke didn't swear often. "What is it?"

"We've got to run, Kaname… now."

She raised an eyebrow at him. "Wha—"

"I… Just listen to me. Get up."

Kaname stood, and then hefted Sousuke to his feet and dragged his arm across her shoulders, becoming a crutch. Ignoring his startled protests, she forced him to start walking back in the direction of the TDD-1, back to where Mithril was.

"What are you doing?" Sousuke exclaimed through gritted teeth.

"I'm taking you back to where they can get the transmitter out, Sagara-kun," Kaname replied coolly. "And you're coming with me whether you want to or not."

The young soldier was seething. "We can't head back there – I'm already putting you, a Whispered, in danger as it is! I can't risk a whole fleet!" With that, he jerked out of Kaname's tight grasp and took a few staggering steps back.

She'd never heard him get angry with her before, and in her shock she nearly let him wander off. His eyes met hers briefly before he turned and began walking unsteadily in the other direction. It took her a moment to register what she saw in that steely silver gaze – he really was scared, and that he was only trying to protect her. And he was right – she was stubborn, and she wasn't going to let him get away like that, not when he could barely stand. She reached out and caught his shoulder with her hand.

"Kaname—!"

"Where do you think you could go in your condition, hm?" she calmly replied. "You can barely stand, let alone walk to whoever knows where and take on this enemy that not even the TDD could handle by yourself. I don't think so."

Sousuke's eyes widened in surprise. "Kaname—"

"I'm coming with you, or you're coming with me – I don't want to lose you!" Brown eyes widened in shock as she realized what she let slip.

The young Mithril soldier's eyes softened as he realized what she meant. "Kaname…" he began, but a bright flash cut him off. He lunged at Kaname, knocking them both to the ground. "GET DOWN!"

Kaname yelped reflexively as a loud explosion ripped through a nearby tree, sending bark splinters hurtling through the air above the pair's heads and creating a suffocating cloud of dust. For a moment, all she could hear was the blood rushing through her ears, and Sousuke panting heavily beside her. Grasping his hand in the haze, she tried to help him move to a sitting position, but paused when she heard footsteps approaching. Once the woody fog settled down, she saw a silhouetted figure mere meters away from where they were sprawled on the sidewalk. Sousuke muttered something that sounded suspiciously like a curse.

"Aw, well isn't this an adorable sight!" the figure's deep voice taunted. "Sagara-kun, I never knew you had it in you to seduce young women into following you."

"You leave her out of this, bastard," Sousuke coughed. "She has nothing to do with me."

"Ah, is that any way to greet your old friend, Sagara? Anyway, now that you brought her along with you, I'm afraid she's guilty by association." The man reached down to grab Kaname, but she wasn't about to let him touch her so easily. She rolled into a standing position, having grabbed Sousuke's Glock on her way up and leveling it at the strange man.

"What do you want with Sousuke?" she demanded angrily.

The man smirked. "So the girl isn't totally helpless. You really do have a knack for picking the ladies, Sagara-kun."

"Kaname, put the gun down," Sousuke warned. "This man… isn't someone you should be messing with."

"Answer me!" she growled, ignoring Sousuke and cocking the pistol expertly.

"I have a bone to pick with your Sagara-kun here. He was foolish enough to think we were on equal footing, and then he split too early. The young master wants him back, but I've got something to settle with him before I can let him leave."

Sousuke grit his teeth as he tried to stand, looking rather displeased. "You son of a bitch, I wasn't trying to compete with you."

"Stupid to try to leave before your wound closed anyway," the man continued, ignoring him as well. "In the end, it only slowed you down… and now I won't make the same mistake of letting run off so easily. Besides, I was the one who put that piece of wiring in you, if you'd remember…" A cruel glint sparkled in the man's eye as he spoke, sending chills down Kaname's spine.

"I've heard about enough of this!" Kaname spat; this man had done something to Sousuke, and she was not about to let him get away with hurting the soldier again. "You! Who are you working for?"

The man raised an eyebrow. "Come to think of it, missy, you do look somewhat familiar. Now when was the last time I saw your picture?" He paused for a moment to scratch his chin, and then he snapped his fingers, eyes shining with recollection. "Ah, yes! I remember now! It was in the same file as our master's…"

"Don't even think about it!" Sousuke hissed.

"Hm, it might be worthwhile to bring the girl back as well. I might have to thank you, Sagara Sousuke. The young master will be most pleased to find out that you have a friend like her." He paused again, and then added, "You know, I'm feeling pretty generous tonight, especially since you've brought her along. Let's make a deal – I can let you come back with me either the easy way, or the hard way. I'll leave it up to you."

Sousuke growled, pushing himself the rest of the way to his feet. "Retsuo, you asshole, I told you to stay out of my business."

"Huh, last time I checked, I still outrank you," Retsuo sneered. "Come on, now. Don't be such a spoil-sport. You seemed to forget that I still have something in my possession that you won't necessarily like. Shall I remind you?"

Sousuke's eyes widened, but before he could move, he suddenly cried out and clutched at his side, falling to his knees. Retsuo smirked, taking a few steps closer to the writhing soldier, but then stopped when he saw Kaname run into the path between them, gun barrel still trained on him.

"What are you doing to him?" she demanded, casting a worried glance back at Sousuke.

"It's just a little reminder of his position," Retsuo drawled. "Don't worry; it's nothing permanent, I assure you."

Sousuke yelped again. Kaname flinched. "Stop it," she hissed.

"Oh? And what will you do if I don't?"

The Mithril soldier curled in around himself, unsuccessfully trying to suppress a whimper. "Please, just stop," she cried. "You're hurting him!"

"I'm hurting him?" Retsuo sputtered. "Hah! You have no idea what this young man is capable of – do you, miss? If you knew what he could do – what he has done – with my master's help, you wouldn't be so protective of him now. In fact, you would probably beg me to—"

"I said stop it!"

A loud report echoed through the park, and the man fell over, a crimson shower from his forehead splattering on the sidewalk. Kaname couldn't help it, she gasped. Sousuke was breathing heavily behind her, trying desperately to gather air that he'd lost. She could feel his gaze boring into the back of her head, but she couldn't look at him. Not with a smoking pistol in her hands, and a bloody corpse at her feet. Her breath caught in her throat.

Wh-What have I done?

"K-Kaname…"

"Oh my God, I—I …" she whispered.

With a pained grunt, Sousuke shakily forced himself to stand. She felt his approach, but she couldn't move. Couldn't face him. "Kaname…"

"I killed him…" Her small voice was barely audible. He placed a hand on her trembling shoulder and calmly lowered her arms with the other. It took all her willpower not to flinch at his touch. Oh God, oh God, oh my God!

"Here, why don't you sit down for a minute…"

She finally whirled to face him, her heart racing and her breathing catching painfully in her throat. She locked gazes with him, searching for a visual anchor other than the bloody mess sprawled a few feet away, by her hands. Oh God! She let him guide her over to the park bench – around the corpse, and away from it – and pushed her to a sitting position on the bench's surface. She couldn't bear to look at the dead body any more and buried her face in his shoulder. Her stomach roiled; she wanted to throw up, to scream, to… take it back. Oh God, I've…

"Oh my God, Sousuke, I killed him…"

He stiffened beside her, and then put a shaking arm around her shoulders, letting her sob into his chest. She knew now that she was in far too deep; she should have listened to Sousuke, and this never would have happened. Murderer.

Oh my God…

.end chapter 4.

Sorry this took me so long to tackle. It had some major POV issues that I ended up trying to resolve (not quite the way I wanted to, but I needed more consistency…), and some other random plot stuff that I made some decisions on. So it's been changed a little more than I'd originally planned. :P And it hasn't been beta read. Ugh. I am of the opinion that this still isn't good at all, but meh, at least it's DONE.

Thank you to everyone who has continued to give this story support. As always, comments, feedback, etc. are highly appreciated.