fmp odbd ch04a, Light Novel, Full Metal Panic, 1. The End of Day by Day
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Full Metal Panic!
The End of Day by Day
Chapter Four, Part A
May 02, 2004
4 : Her Problem
October 20th, 2042 Hours (Japan Standard Time)
Choufu-shi
She was just thinking a little too much.
In the end, nothing had happened, and after she returned home,
Kaname thought this to herself.
She had gotten a fleeting glimpse of a strange person on the
rooftop of the Sengawa shopping center- it was crazy to be as flustered
as she was because of that one little thing.
Was it a warning? There was no reason to think that for certain.
(That's right...)
She had not been able to reach Sousuke on the phone. But what
did that mean? Hadn't there been similar cases like this up until now?
He would suddenly disappear from school for a day or two, and not come
back. The longest he had been gone was three or four days. And then
he always came back. And she was never able to get in touch with him,
either.
However-
"We're sorry, the phone number you have dialed has been
disconnected or is no longer in service."
This had not happened before now. For her to get this kind of
reply meant that Sousuke had contacted the telephone company and
intentionally cancelled his service. After the customer cancels, if
the phone company confirms, the line will be suspended for 10 minutes
without being disconnected.
She shouldn't have been able to reach him while he was overseas
in the first place, right?
(That idiot...)
Bothering me when I'm so worried. Next time I see him, I'm going
to let him have it.
Anxiety and irritation blended into drowning optimism, and her
thoughts became fuzzy without dying out.
Since she didn't feel like cooking, she ate instant curry for
dinner.
She turned on the television and flipped through the channels.
Commercial broadcast variety programs were on. The most recent popular
comedian teams would come out. They would cause problems for the
delicate newcomers and amateurs and knock them around. Because they
would only point and laugh at this, the subject matter seemed trashy.
She turned on her game console and resumed a game she had been
playing. It was an action game where you controlled one of the latest
and strongest ASes in a multinational force, and crushed terrorists'
rooms. Until recently, she really hadn't been interested in games
intended for boys, but she wanted to know a little bit about Sousuke's
normal work- so she bought it.
But then, after she bought it, she realized that there had been
no consultation for this kind of game. There were the obvious things,
but the developer of this game didn't know about things like the stress
of real combat, the sounds of bombs detonating or the feel of the hot
winds from the explosions. Or that... strained atmosphere. Or that
boiling enthusiasm just before the dread terror. Those terrible things
were things Kaname knew about.
She stopped playing soon after because she was bored.
She was feeling uneasy, and no matter what she did, she couldn't
concentrate. On the other hand, if she did nothing, she became
restless from the boredom.
Why was she so nervous?
(It would've been nice if Kyouko could have come over...)
About once a week, Kyouko would stay over at Kaname's apartment.
Usually, Kyouko was the one who asked, "Can I come over today?" Kaname
of course welcomed her, since it was lonely living by herself. They
would make dinner, watch television, lay out the futons and talk about
various things. Music, sports, dramas, rumors about friends, guys at
school, the future...
The phone rang.
When she looked at the clock, it was past nine. It was seven in
the morning in New York. Kaname remembered the face of her little
sister, who would call once every few days from overseas before she
went to school, and finally smiled. If she heard her sister's voice,
she might feel a little easier. She picked up the receiver and
answered in the brightest voice possible.
"Hello, this is Chidori."
She waited for a response, but no one answered. She could hear a
small noise coming from the other end of the silent receiver.
"Hello... Ayame?"
"..."
"It's Ayame, right?"
"..."
"...who is this?"
After a grinding noise, the phone cut off. Beep, beep, the empty
electronic tone repeated over and over again. An irrepressible anxiety
consumed her, and she called New York.
Her little sister answered the phone before she left for school,
answering Kaname's question in a confused voice, "Call you? No, I
didn't, but..."
"I see... nevermind then."
"Is something the matter? Are you okay, Kaname?"
"Hm? I'm fine, it's nothing."
"You wanna talk to Dad?"
"No, it's okay... well then, take care," she said as calmly as
possible, and hung up.
Strange.
She was really uncomfortable now. The silence of the room sank
in.
She had had prank calls many times before. A complete stranger
would call her PHS and say "What are you doing now? Wanna play?"
There had been one or two weird pick-up lines, as well. But that was
all. But to get a prank-call tonight, at this time, of all things?
She felt helpless. She felt like someone was watching her.
(Sousuke...)
She dialed his number again. And just the same as before, she
received no answer. Calling him wasn't going to work.
There wasn't some other way, was there... soon after she thought
this, she remembered that there was a radio transmitter in Sousuke's
apartment.
That's right. That radio.
She didn't know how to work it, but the way she was right now,
she would figure it out somehow. The satellite line that Mithril used
incorporated a widely-used spread spectrum method modulating process
with a distinct quantum code. During the incident aboard the Tuatha de
Danaan, Kaname was able to grasp a rough understanding of these
detailed systems and the frequencies they used. If she tried playing
with it, it probably wouldn't be too difficult to call Merida Island.
She wasn't aware of how weird it was that she easily thought of
this.
(All right then...!)
I'll use that transmitter. If I can do that, I'll talk to him.
Soon.
Kaname put on an old zip-up jacket, grabbed her key chain and
left her apartment. She had never used it before, but she kept a spare
key to Sousuke's apartment. "In case something happens," he said, and
handed it to her six months earlier.
Maybe it was because she was finally taking some tangible action,
but her mood had become a little lighter.
Her old lady sandals going pata pata, she walked across the main
street separating her building from Sousuke's. In the middle of the
fifth floor, room number 505. The surroundings were the same as ever.
Before she opened the door, she knocked just to make sure.
Just as she expected, there was no answer.
(That idiot didn't set up a bomb or something, did he?)
Oh well. If she got caught in some weird trap, she would return
the favor ten times over by hitting him and chewing him out good.
While Kaname thought about this, she turned the key and opened
the door.
There was no trap.
But that wasn't the only thing that wasn't there.
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