It was the face of someone rejected by the object of his affection, the face of someone in more than physical pain, but who still had the strength to endure it. He clutched his injured side.
"My only concern is to get you home safely. I can't guarantee we'll make it. But can you trust me for now?" he asked meekly, unable to look her in the eye. And with these words, the humanity returned to his face.
"If we get out of this again, I'll leave you alone. I promise."
Even though he'd been injured in combat, he just wanted to save her. Kaname felt extreme guilt. Through intense pain, in the face of incoming enemies, his only concern was her safety.
She thought about his behavior at school—tailing her doggedly, suffering her angry looks and abuses, and the rest—all because he knew the danger she could have been in.
A tsunami of tenderness smacked her in the face.
Mired in emotional turbidity, she flushed. Her heartbeat sped up and the blood rushed to her head. Kaname couldn't recall ever feeling this inexplicable swirl of emotions.
Unsure how to express the intense flux of feelings, all she said was, "Okay."
"Good. Let's go, then." The hurt expression lingered on his face. Physically, however, he seemed greatly relieved to have the shrapnel out of his side.
Ten minutes later, Sousuke stopped in his tracks.
"What—"
"Shh!"
Pointing with the submachine gun in his right hand, Sousuke cautiously made his way toward some brush.
Kaname sensed the stifled breath and rustling of clothes, too. Were the pursuers there already?
Sousuke switched on his flashlight.
Near the back of the bushes, there was a man huddled against a tree.
Faintly breathing, the man sweated through his black clothes. Actually, they weren't regular clothes: He wore an AS operators uniform. His long blond hair was disheveled, his face smeared with coagulated mud and blood.
"Kurz."
"Took you long enough," Kurz managed a small half-smile before he fell limply forward.
As soon as the helicopter alit on the flight deck, Kalinin hurried down the passage to the command center. The muffled sound of the double-hull closing echoed through the corridor.
Melissa Mao caught up to him as he strode through the second deck passage.
"Master Sergeant Mao," acknowledged Kalinin without slowing down. "You should be on standby in the hangar."
"Were going to withdraw now?"
"Correct."
"Were just going to abandon Sousuke and Kurz, then?"
"It's all part of the enlistment contract."
"They're my men," Mao persisted. "I am responsible for them. Please, let me go. I can conduct a search. I just need two
"I can't put a five billion dollar ship with two hundred and fifty crew members in danger, even if you say 'pretty please.'"
"I know it's not the most reasonable request. However, if we employ ECS invisibility…"
"According to the weather reports, we're due for some showers—for two days."
Although ECS was the ultimate in stealth equipment, it was not perfect. For one thing, it did give off the distinct scent of ozone. On top of that, large quantities of water—such as rain—caused it to emit a lot of small, pale sparks. So, rather than causing invisibility in the rain, it resulted in something more comparable to a neon billboard.
"That's just the forecast. Seriously, when are they ever right?"
Kalinin stopped in front of a large door and faced Mao. "Sorry, Mao, only command center personnel beyond this point."
"How can you be so indifferent?"
"I can because I have to be." He turned his back to Mao.
After passing through several doors, Kalinin entered the command center. Perched in the captain's chair, Teletha Testarossa finished giving the orders to submerge. She addressed Kalinin without looking at him.
"You want to know how long we can wait," she said.
She continued, "Right now, we do not have a minute to spare. We've already spotted three enemy patrol boats fully loaded with mines. The sea here is shallow, without any real hiding places. It's imperative that we get out of here as soon as possible."
"Quite right."
Tessa grabbed the braid hanging over her left shoulder and poked at her mouth with it, tickling her nose. It was a bad habit she entertained in times of great stress.
"However, I do want to save Sagara and the girl."
"Yes, ma'am. There also is a chance that Sergeant Weber is alive."
If the destroyed M9 had been enough to kill Kurz, then Kalinin wouldn't have chosen him to be an SRT member.
"If I could manage to surface at the coast for a few minutes right before dawn… what strategy would you suggest?"
