Full Metal Panic Whispers in the wardrobe

**Whispers in the wardrobe**

I don't own Full Metal Panic or any of its characters.

Signs and symbols:

"Speech"

"_Thoughts"_

YELLING

**Scene change **

With this story I'm planning to enter the mediaminer's Maximum Challenge contest. I hope I'll manage to give the big guys a run for their money. I'd also like to thank Mr. Ted Bailey for beta reading this story, it's good to get some criticism other than a story is good or bad.

**

* * *

**

Two girls were sitting in the café enjoying the warm spring afternoon sun. Their day went strangely calm thanks to the fact that a certain covered operation soldier didn't attend school. There were no explosions, death threats, and shots being fired. All in all it was a peaceful day that provided a long needed rest for the students of Jindai high school.

Still, one of the two girls was nervous. She couldn't believe it. The day was too good to be true and she was awaiting a disaster that was soon to happen, and the price of the temporal calmness will be paid back with interest. Her face clearly told of that. Her features were sharp, and gave way that she was already prepared for the worst. As far as she knew, a nuclear war could break out at any second. It wouldn't have been a wonder if he was called away because of that.

"So, Kaname, how are things between you and Sousuke going?" asked the other girl giving her company. She was much calmer, and her mouth was curved up into a smile as if she knew something. Unlike the taller girl who had a similar face to some landlord in a little girlish way, she was completely carefree and happy. And the constant smile was starting to drive her friend wild.

Kaname's reaction was pretty typical, she immediately started to laugh nervously trying to hide her embarrassment. "What are you talking about Kyouko there's noting between me and that war-maniac otaku." she explained. Her friend didn't believe a word of it.

"Come on! I'm you best friend you can tell me!" whined Kyouko "You were looking at him differently ever since the plane-jack incident."

"I don't understand what you're talking about Kyouko." answered Kaname again while chuckling, trying to hide her nervous expression.

"Don't lie! I may be a little inexperienced with guys, but I'm not stupid. Even Shinji knew what's going on between you two after he saw you and Tessa fight over him. Only the blind didn't notice that you both fell for him hard." Kaname turned away from her friend to hide her embarrassed face; she came to talk about a field trip and not her love life. "Kaname I won't tell anyone I promise."

The dark haired girl almost laughed at this. She knew well that it wouldn't take long for a certain girl named Mizuki to get the information out of Kyouko. So she didn't want to answer, but then again she didn't want her friend to think that she's keeping things from her, so she continued denying. "Me tell what? Really Kyouko I'm not in love with that crazy guy."

"Here are your drinks ladies." said a waitress while placing their refreshments on the table. Both girls thanked for her service and Kyouko decided to make her final blow. She was determined that this day she'll put an end to Sousuke's and Kaname's problem.

"Kaname everyone is tired of you two denying it. We all believe it would be better for you two to spill the beans."

"Kyouko!" snapped Kaname "There's nothing to spill!"

"I wouldn't say that now. I heard about what you did when we had that incident with the cloth-eating bacteria. Sousuke brought you to the doctor's office and told you to undress. Even I would have given him a piece of my mind."

Kaname turned bright red at this and let out a few nervous laughs while looking away. Kyouko used her chance at this moment to spill the contents of a small vial into her friend's orange juice. She barely managed to do this before her friend turned back and took a long sip from her refreshment to still the laugh that was forming on her throat. Once Kaname had enough, she slammed the rest of her drink back down on the table and looked at her friend. "Kyouko back then I thought that I wouldn't live to see the morning. Heck, the entire school did. It's not an everyday thing that a weapon of mass destruction gets loose in our school!"

"But you would have still beaten him to a pulp, and not stand there wavering. You are not the type of girl who would bed with anyone, no matter what the situation is!"

Kaname leaned back into her chair while she lowered her head as if thinking about something really important. Noting was said for about a minute. Meanwhile Kyouko studied every movement of her friend's body trying to find out Kaname's thoughts and also waiting for the effects of the tranquilliser she mixed into her drink. "_What's taking so long? I thought Kurz said that that stuff can knock out an elephant within seconds."_ she thought and was almost ready to wave her hand in front of her friend's face to check if that is out cold, or not when Kaname looked up with a determined face.

"All right Kyouko, you win! I tell you a couple of things that I kept secret from everyone. I think you deserve to know. Just promise me not to tell anyone! I really mean it! This can be really, really dangerous for both me and you if it comes out."

"Kaname," responded the other girl in shock. "Did Sousuke threaten you or something."

"No nothing like that. Do you remember the Kanka incident?" Kyouko nodded and Kaname continued. "I have to tell you that the entire incident happened because of me. The guys who hijacked our plane were in fact after me..." suddenly Kaname came to a halt. She felt light-headed and her vision blurred, she wobbled a bit but she remained conscious. She fought the sudden nausea with all her might, and it seemed that she would prevail. Seconds later her head landed on the top of the table with a loud bang. Kyouko looked at her fallen friend with wonder in her eyes.

"Either the drug made her talk rubbish or Kaname was about to tell me something really scary," she said aloud to herself.

**Several hours later**

When Kaname woke up she found herself in a small dark room that had barely enough space for her and the person next to her. She looked up and saw a circular opening where some light came in that probably was only there to provide sufficient air for them. It didn't take her long to recognise the person who was sharing this small place with her. It was Sousuke who was obviously unconscious otherwise he would be already busy blowing the door open.

Things were looking really bad. She didn't know where the two of them were. For all she could guess they might even be outside their own county. Luckily she wasn't a girl who panicked easily, and she immediately formed a plan to flee. The first thing on her list was to wake the person next to her.

She shook the boy trying to bring him out of his slumber, but he simply continued to sleep. Soon she decided to use harsher methods. "Wake up Sousuke you militarist fool! I don't know where we are but I don't like the place." after saying these words she gave him a rather strong slap.

She was successful. The boy slowly came to and looked around. "Chidori, you here? What is our position."

"I'd also like to know that!" responded Kaname.

"I see you two are finally awake." came a voice from outside of the container. It belonged to non other than Kurz Weber the international sharpshooter and womaniser. "Calm down nothing bad is going to happen to you. probably just the opposite." Kaname's face went red with anger.

"Let us out of here or I'll tear down the door before I give you the beating of your life!" she yelled, making the door of the old wardrobe shake violently as she continued to hit and kick it. However, the piece of furniture held out partly thanks to the steel hardening that was built around it.

"I agree with Chidori. What's the meaning of this?" agreed Sousuke while searching for his weapons. He soon found out those were missing.

"We had enough of you two acting like little kids that are afraid of cooties and the like. We want you and Kaname to sort out things with each other. The sooner you do that the sooner you can come out." declared Melissa's voice. There were a few seconds of silence. Before Kaname started to scream and her hand came out on the ventilation hatch trying to grab something.

Weber was about to open a can of beer when Kaname's hand snatched it from his. He didn't even have time for a remark before she started to squeeze the can, and that crumbled under the immense pressure. The tasty brew flowed out of the squashed case on several spots. Soon she let go in the pursuit of a new target, letting the abused piece of metal fall to the ground. The only thing Kaname's hand could find was the wall That soon lost all covering as the girl stripped it right to the bricks of the house. Of course at the same time she quite loudly demanded to be let out.

"Calm down Kaname, we're doing this for your own good. Everyone in school knows that you and Sousuke care about the other and most of us can't stand the fights you have anymore. Just make up and we'll let you out," informed the young petite girl, known as Kyouko. Her style was in sharp contrast with the two soldiers in the room. She hoped that with her words she could calm down the rage in her best friend. She was wrong; she only made everything worse, much worse.

At first it seemed to be working. Then a huge roar came from the wardrobe that was similar to the roar of a tyrannosaurus rex, this was followed by loud hammering on the wardrobe's door. "Let me out of here!" hollered Kaname as she repeatedly tried to break down the door. Suddenly the wardrobe started to act as a kind of boom-box, because of the raging girl inside. Only that this "boom-box" was not making music, but giving out lethal threats that easily can become reality.

The three outside of the confinement started to back away from the temporal prison of their friends and comrade as the door was threatening to break out of its place. "Are you sure those steel plates are going to hold it out?" asked Melissa getting a bit nervous.

"They have to, or were dead. Besides if not her than Kalinin will be the one who kills us I used our spare M-9 armouring to strengthen the metal structure!" responded Kurz.

"Just wait till I get out of here!" hollered Kaname again even louder, and with every hit the door was getting closer and closer to breaking into pieces.

"Guys." remarked Melissa looking at the huge dents in the armour parts. "How are we going to explain those?"

"I don't know, but right now it would be better if we were saving our lives." responded the blond boy.

All three agreed with this and charged forward to help the crumbling material in keeping the enraged schoolgirl inside of the confinement. "Keep pushing!" yelled Melissa to the other two next to her. Sousuke may be able to forgive us, but Kaname WILL tear us apart without the smallest regret if she gets out now!"

About half an hour passed before things calmed down and Kaname wore herself out and quieted down. The only thing they could hear now was an occasional curse or warning. "Are you all right Chidori?" asked Sousuke after noticing that the girl had worn herself out during her attempts to break out of her current predicament.

"What!?" snapped the girl.

"If you had listened you would know that we have a good reason why they should let us out."

"And that would be?" yelled the girl again with her strength starting to return. Sousuke simply stretched his arm out of the air hole and reached to the back of the wardrobe and pulled out the weapon that was hanging on a nail just within his reach.

Melissa's eyes became horrified when she saw what Sousuke pulled out into the open. "Everybody! Take cover!" she yelled while doing so. Kyouko just stood there not getting what the woman meant, Kurz had to drag her behind the wall. Seconds later a shot could be heard. "Open the door immediately!" demanded the boy from within the confinement. To give emphasis to his will he also fired a second time.

The two soldiers outside of the wardrobe shuddered. "That's a togarev damn it!" cursed Weber.

Kyouko didn't really understand what was meant and was about to step out from behind their cover when she was forcefully pulled back by the teen soldier. "Don't even think about that gun in Sousuke's hand is made to kill! Many people shot by it even die when only their limb is hit." upon hearing this the girl gulped several times.

"How the heck can you be so stupid to overlook something like THIS!" swore Melissa on the other side of the door. She would be already beating her colleague it wasn't for the door's space between them that would leave her unprotected. Soon two more shots could be heard that was followed by the sound of breaking glass. "Damn my beer reserves!" shouted the woman.

"Guy's! I won't shoot you, but I will shoot the room to pieces if you don't let me out!" came the demand.

"Gimme that!" demanded Kaname's voice. Seconds later the sounds of a fight could be heard followed by the metallic sound of a weapon landing on the ground. At this the three in the hallway let out a sigh. However the sounds of the fight continued as Kaname was busy beating Sousuke to a pulp because he dropped the gun.

At the same time Melissa was doing the same with Weber.

It was another hour by the time things calmed down a bit, however, the two teens trapped in the heavily strengthened cloth storage item didn't get any closer to solving their problem. "Just wait till I get my hands on you Kyouko!" cursed Kaname again. In the last hour her list of discomforts grew. Now she was stuck in a small dark place with Sousuke, and she was also freezing.

Kaname couldn't imagine how Sousuke could take the cold so well. The only thing she really wanted was to snuggle into the boy, but she refused to show any sign of weakness in front of him. However her body soon betrayed her and she started to shiver. She was more than surprised about what followed. At first she felt the top of Sousuke's school uniform being placed onto her back, seconds later the boy pulled her to himself. Kaname was shocked to say the least, but before her instincts could command her hands to beat the boy to a pulp she felt a soft warm feeling emitting from his body.

"Better?" asked Sousuke.

"Yes, thank you." answered Kaname shocked by the gentle way the normally dangerous soldier was holding her.

"I knew it would work. This is how my comrades and I kept each other warm during the winter nights in Afghanistan." he explained.

"I see..." responded Kaname. "You must have been really good friends."

"Affirmative! In those lands the only ones you can trust are your friends. Even the strongest die there without help."

"So you think me as of a friend?" asked Kaname with a small blush on her face.

"Affirmative." When hearing this, Kaname saddened a bit. "Actually you're the best friend I ever had." added the soldier. When hearing this Kaname brightened up again, she knew that Sousuke saying this meant that he really liked her. However, no more words were said for the rest of the night and, finally the two fell asleep in each others' arms.

Next morning they were still stuck in their prison and both were sure that that day they wouldn't be able to attend school. Two soldiers were snoring on their tatami mats as the doorbell rang. Kurz reluctantly stood up and moved over to the door. Opening it he found Kyouko there holding her and Kaname's school bag. "So how is it going for our two lovebirds," she asked.

Weber shook her head. "No progress. They talked a bit admitted that they really like each other."

"But they didn't dare to say it openly." finished the girl while the soldier inspected her clothing.

"I suggest you change your clothes. Your uniform won't like to meet our last resort," he informed. Kyouko looked at the soldier not getting what was meant. "Do you remember the cloth eating bacteria incident?" The girl nodded. "We bought a serving of it. We tell them what's going on and if they don't comply we dump the stuff in."

"Is there anything I can borrow?" asked Kyouko, looking a bit embarrassed.

"Ask Melissa," responded the soldier, letting the girl inside.

At the same time Kaname was starting to wake up. she was snuggled into Sousuke's hold with her head resting on his shoulder. She looked up to see the sleeping boy's face and was shocked how peaceful he looked. She couldn't help but wonder what he was dreaming about. "Most be something really beautiful," she said to nobody.

"Kaname this is how people live in peaceful places?" he mumbled. "I prefer it to my old home but I'll still have to do my duty so everything here can remain the peaceful way it is." Kaname couldn't help but smile upon hearing this. "But I ask you one thing?" he continued mumbling. The girl had to bit her lip not to respond. "I want you to teach me how to be a civilian. Many things are so out of the ordinary, and I'd like to know why. People..." at this point Sousuke's words faded away as he fell back into a deep sleep.

Kaname groaned when recognising the mistake she always made while dealing with Sousuke. For him war was normal, and peace was completely unnatural. Then she remembered when he was introduced in her class. The places the boy had lived were all war-zones no wonder that normal things were abnormal to him. It was also this that made her remember that in fact he had no experience with women. So it was her who needed to take the initiative.

She slowly slid into a sitting position while keeping Sousuke's school uniform on her back she couldn't imagine why it was so cold in the room. If only she knew that their three friends had deliberately placed a huge freezer in the room and left it's door open while leaving the machine on maximum power.

Kaname reached forward with one of her hands and gently shook Sousuke, the soldier soon looked up at her with a question in his eyes knowing that the girl had a good reason for waking him up. "Umm..." she began while gathering her courage. "Sousuke were you ever in a peaceful land before you came here?" she asked while cursing her cowardice.

"Negative," answered the boy, not understanding the reason for the question.

Kaname suddenly found the side of the wardrobe strangely interesting while she continued. "D... did you ever have time for your feelings? You know umm... towards girls?" she asked barely able to emit the words. For once she was grateful for her current trapped situation; otherwise she would have long ago left running in embarrassment.

"Negative. Miss Chidori, it's a lethal mistake to dream about women when in battle," answered Sousuke like a robot. However, Kaname soon saw the signs of doubt on his face. "Well, not always." He corrected. "In the right time it can give you power and courage to go on," he admitted.

Kaname didn't know what or who he meant, but she for sure knew that it was now or never. "S...Sousuke... do you know what love is?" she asked. "Umm... did you ever feel yourself always wanting to be close to someone, wanting to do everything to keep her safe at all costs, and cherish her?" she stammered, praying for the doors of the confinement to suddenly break to pieces. But that never happened.

"Affirmative," answered Sousuke, also starting to get a bit nervous about which direction this talk was heading.

Outside in the room Weber, Melissa and Kyouko were grinning madly while listening to the conversation.

When hearing Sousuke's reply, Kaname got even more nervous her mouth was dry and screaming for water, and her legs were demanding to take her out of that place while her brain was in overdrive trying to find out who the person Sousuke just mentioned is. There was only one way out.

"S...S...Sousuke. C...could y...ou... Could you tell me who that person is?" asked Kaname while praying that she wouldn't hear a certain captain's name.

Now it was Sousuke's turn to sweat "Um... Kaname do I really need to tell you?" he asked with fear.

Kaname looked at the boy with pleading eyes. "Please!" she said trying to encourage him. The boy couldn't give out anything except for a couple of incoherent sounds.

"Just say it already!" snapped Kaname not being able to keep her temper in control anymore.

"D...don't take this the wrong way Kaname, but... but... the person that makes me feel like that..."

"Go on!"

"So the person is... you." He had to squeeze out the last word. And Kaname's brain almost went shutdown when it registered the meaning of the sounds. "Why did you ask me this. Do you bear similar feelings towards someone?" asked the boy starting to go back to his normal self.

Kaname nodded with her thoughts much more at ease. "Yes." she answered while feeling herself in heaven. "Sousuke I don't know when and how, but I fell in love with you. I know this is strange with you being..." Kaname's words were interrupted by Kyouko's squeal, and just in time since she was about to call the boy her bodyguard without knowing that her best friend is within hearing distance.

Sousuke went completely stiff when he heard Kaname's confession and only woke up when the girl placed a quick kiss on his lips. It was more like a quick peck but it this was what made him understand that his feelings for the girl were returned.

"Don't worry, I'll be right back I just have some things to do," she said to him when she started to hear sounds of the door's restraints being removed.

Outside a soldier better known as Kurz Weber was preparing for what he called the most dangerous thing in life, while his comrade and a schoolgirl were helping him with opening the numeral locks that held the wardrobe's doors closed. However, before they could finish their job, Kaname broke down the now weakened door and charged through the room as if she was shot from a cannon. Kyouko was right in her way, the girl was already preparing for death when Kaname charged passed her. She raced out of the room with full speed and a few seconds later a loud "Ahhh..." of pure joy could be heard from the direction of the toilet.

About five minutes later Kaname returned, cracking her knuckles. By then the others would have made a getaway if it wasn't for Sousuke and the gun he got his hand on before the others could flee. "Now then," she begun. "First of all, I'd like to thank you all for making us say those words we were afraid of. Secondly..." Kaname continued with a smirk.

The three match-makers in the room lost all colour from their faces as she and the specialist moved in one them.

That evening you could find the door of the wardrobe closed again. "Umm... hey... guys could you let us out? I kinda need to go to the bathroom." asked Kurz. his words were overheard by the couple snuggling on the couch while Kaname gave Sousuke his first lessons on civilian life.

"Kaname, it's really urgent!" begged the trapped soldier.

"Kurz for you own health I suggest you to keep from pissin' in here!" warned Melissa.

"Kanameee!" squealed Kyouko "Please let us out were sorry!"

"So that's why the girl didn't deliver the letter personally!" acknowledged Sousuke not even caring about the pleadings. In the meantime Kaname continued teaching him.


End file.
