by Shouji Gatou
After all... Mao thought. Tessa’s birthday was December 24th. Kaname’s birthday was also December 24th. Nationality, history, personality, physical attributes... The two were polar opposites in every respect, yet they had this one thing in common. Was it truly a coincidence that these two people, both possessing powers that defied human knowledge, should be born on the same day?
25 December, 0130 Hours (Local Time)
Sydney, Australia
The bar was packed with Christmas revelers. Run-DMC’s Christmas in Hollis was playing, and drunk men and women sang, drank, and shouted. A man was sitting in the darkness near the back of the bar, illuminated only by a faint blue light. He was young and attractive, with ash blond hair and bluish gray eyes.
He was listening to a report about the operation in the Sea of Japan through his earpiece receiver. After brushing off a drunk woman’s attempt at making a pass, he took a drink from his glass, and then a large man in a suit sat down across the table from him. The man had long gray hair tied back in a tail, and a quiet way about him. He was said to be in his mid-forties, but he seemed to have prematurely aged, perhaps due to the harsh life he had lived.
“Did you wait long?” the man asked.
“Not especially,” the younger man replied. “What happened?”
“Admiral Borda’s secretary, Jackson—Mr. Zinc, as your people call him—has been captured. I didn’t tell him what my squad was doing, so he got sloppy.”
“Excellent work.”
“Was it? You could have helped him escape, if you had wanted to.”
“If I had, we’d be trying to kill each other right now,” the young man said jokingly, then sipped from his glass. “Still, I am tremendously honored that you agreed to meet me, Major Andrey Kalinin.”
“Leonard Testarossa-kun,” Kalinin observed thoughtfully, “I’ve heard all about you.”
The waiter brought vodka, and the two men raised a ceremonial glass.
Epilogue
The withdrawal went smoothly. Mao’s team hauled out the machinery hidden in the vault’s back room, carried it onto the helicopter, and then took off. Clouseau’s team apologized profusely to the crew and passengers, then quickly left the ship. They’d thought about taking a few of Harris’s co-conspirators from the security team with them, but decided against it; these men didn’t know much about Amalgam.
The Pacific Chrysalis was taken in by the coast guard in the wee hours of the 25th, and then entered the Port of Yokohama early that morning. When the press rushed them with cameras flashing, the students of Jindai High shamelessly flashed peace signs, earning scowls from those with better sense.
The only person with serious injuries, Commander Killy B. Sailor, was saved “thanks to swift first aid by the terrorists,” and quickly became a media darling. He asserted, “It wasn’t the terrorists; it was the captain who shot me!” and cruise line representatives struggled for an explanation before eventually sweeping it under the rug as being an ‘accidental discharge.’
An outraged Commander Sailor wanted to tell reporters about the mysterious girl he’d met and everything else, but the Navy brass stopped him: Don’t think about it. Just tell them “I did my best” and accept your hero title. Sailor tried to refuse, but they threatened to ‘promote’ him from his beloved captain’s chair to a desk job at the Pentagon, so he’d had no choice but to stay silent. The incident left a bad taste in his mouth.
Captain Harris, still missing, was savaged by the press. It was decided that, shaken by his “accidental discharge,” he’d taken a boat and tried to escape on his own, before going down somewhere in the middle of the ocean.
Sousuke and Tessa were taken right to the Tuatha de Danaan after the helicopter picked them up. He didn’t have time to return to the cruise ship and talk to Kaname.
Two days later, the squad held a late Christmas party on Merida Island, and celebrated Tessa’s birthday at the same time. She was genuinely surprised by the surprise party.
Mardukas, stoic in his party hat and Groucho glasses, handed her a bouquet. Kalinin, who arrived late from Sydney, gave her a red brooch, saying it was from an ‘acquaintance.’ Mao gave her Dior lipstick and said, “You’re becoming a beautiful woman. Cheer up.”
Tessa was delighted by her subordinates’ plan... but a part of her remained melancholy.
After finishing his debriefing, writing his report and participating in the party, Sousuke finally returned to Tokyo three days after Christmas. They were called to school on the morning of the 28th, and naturally, the seajacking was all anyone could talk about. A good portion of the class hadn’t taken part in the trip, so those who wanted to share their experiences didn’t lack for a willing audience.
Perhaps because there were no casualties, the newspaper coverage had been relatively restrained. Apparently, that same night, a member of the US cabinet had been assassinated with a bomb, so that was taking the lion’s share of the media attention. The students of Jindai High found that very upsetting.
Their homeroom teacher, Kagurazaka Eri, announced to the classroom, “Excuse me! Through some strange twist of fate, we ended up in another awful situation, but I’m glad you’re all fine! If, knock on wood, this happens a third time, I urge you to refrain from flashing peace signs to the media! Is that understood?!”
“Yes ma’am,” the students replied obediently enough.
“Fine. Have a happy New Year, then!”
The homeroom session lasted a little over ten minutes. “Why would you call us out here for that?” the students grumbled, and began noisily preparing to head home.
Kaname rushed out of the classroom to see to an errand, then returned ten minutes later to find everyone already gone—everyone except for Sousuke. He was leaning against the wall by the window, as if he’d been waiting for her return. “Did you finish what you needed to do?” Sousuke asked, with a strange stiffness in his voice.
“Yeah,” she said. “What about you?”
“I’m free at the moment. But... do you remember what I said on the ship?”
“Er... y-yeah...” she stammered. This was their first time seeing each other since the cruise. He’d said ‘I want to talk to you when this is over,’ and that was that. Kaname suddenly felt nervous all over. “So... what did you want to talk about?”
“Ah. Well...” Sousuke hesitated. “It’s just... what I wanted to talk to you about is... well...” He looked around nervously, head bowed, then wiped at his forehead and let out a big sigh. There was a faint flush in his cheeks. “Damn. A day really does sap the determination...” he whispered as if to himself.
“So, what is it?” she asked insistently.
“Ah, sorry... The thing is, I know I caused a lot of trouble for you the other day. I know it’s not the right time, but... this is for you.” As if to force a change in subject, Sousuke reached into his collar pocket and produced an unset stone. It was a round, smooth oval, reminiscent of the sea with its deep blue color. A striking spiral of black ran through it, as if it had the sea currents themselves sealed inside.
“What is it?” Kaname wanted to know.
“A lapis lazuli,” Sousuke said. “I got it when I was in Afghanistan. I want you to have it... if you’d like that,” he said haltingly.
“Th-Thanks. But... you already gave me a Christmas present—”
“Actually... it’s a birthday present,” he clarified.
“Huh?”
“This was supposed to be the main event,” Sousuke explained. “I’ve thought... for a long time... that it would suit you, I suppose.” It had probably taken all of his courage to say that. Trepidatiously, he took her hand and placed the stone inside it. “I’m sorry it’s late, but happy birthday.” The cold of the stone and the warmth of his hand made a wonderful contrast. “And... merry Christmas.”
“Uh-huh...” She couldn’t help but find his efforts terribly funny. “Thanks, though it is a little late. And a very merry Christmas to you!”
The End
Afterword
Sorry about all that. It’s been two years, but this has been the latest FMP! novel, Dancing Very Merry Christmas.
I said this would feature some lighter content, but... the main characters didn’t exactly get to have a merry Christmas at all, did they? I can’t apologize enough. Well... I don’t know if anyone wants to see Sousuke bouncing between multiple heroines like the protagonist of a typical love comedy, though I’ve thought about that.
To prepare for this story, I researched one of those luxury liners. I had to pay out of pocket, so it was the cheapest cruise available, a one-night one. It came with a suite, and it was chock full of luxurious food and concerts. I didn’t go drinking in the lounge, but I took some digital camera photos as references for Shiki-san.
But more than the luxurious stuff they showed the passengers, I wanted to see the machinery room and crew blocks. I asked the person at the front desk (though I know that’s not quite the right term) if I could check them out, but they refused me with a customer service smile, and said: “For week-long cruises, we offer a tour of such facilities, so you’ll have to sign up for one of them.” In other words, “Not this time.”
But a one-night cruise already cost 40,000 yen, so there was no way I could afford a seven-night one. Left with no other choice, I took matters into my own hands. Late at night, I slipped into the crew block unannounced. It was like a solo stealth mission; I was wearing a suit with a mini-camera in one hand, and felt just like James Bond.
Then, while I was sneaking to take pictures of the machinery room, I heard crew footsteps approaching around the corner. That had me sweating.
Oh no, I’ll be caught. What to do? Should I run? No, I should ambush them, break their neck, steal their clothes and ID cards? Those thoughts flashed in my mind for a second.
In actuality, I was discovered, scolded, and kicked out. Sadly, they didn’t grab me and strap me to some weird torture device, or throw me into a pool with killer sharks.
Setting all that aside...
The series is now entering its second half. I’m thinking I might end it in three or four books, but I’m not sure. Part of me thinks I should speed things up (though I always think that)...
I do suspect this will be the last of the “episodic” volumes. The reason I haven’t written side-stories about some great post-January events, like Valentine’s Day or the cherry blossoms, is not unrelated to the structure of the novels.
See, when I talk about future volumes, I end up setting myself out to dry, like I did this time. I hope it turns out okay. Hmm.
Now, other FMP!-related stuff...
Thanks to everyone’s support, the FMP! anime was a roaring success. (Much thanks to Chigira-san and everyone else who was involved.) We already have the next anime series in mind. This one will be a peppy comedy based on the short stories. The director is an up-and-comer, Takemoto Yasuhiro-san. He’s a nice guy who really knows his craft. I’ve humbly accepted their offer to work on the scripts. Hooray!
Around the time of this book’s publication, we’ll hit volume 5 of the comic version, Nagai Tomohiro’s Full Metal Panic! Overload. It’s a hilarious series. There are a surprising number of readers who haven’t read that, so I’m going to make a hard sell for it.
I think the collection for Retsu Tateo’s Full Metal Panic! manga adaptation will be out soon, too. This one’s also very fun, of course. They’re popular enough that they’re getting a Korean and Taiwanese release, too.
ORG-san’s TCG “Full Metal Panic! Card Mission” is also popular enough to get booster packs. Even if you’re not into the game, they have a lot of Shikidouji art you’ve never seen before. It’s just packed.
Too much advertising, you say? I guess it is. As always, when it gets to the afterword, I don’t know what to write. Ah, well.
Anyway, thanks again for all the support. I can’t thank you enough for your patience in sticking around with my talentless self. Thank you so much.
See you next time for another round of Sousuke in hell.
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Copyright
Full Metal Panic! Volume 6 Odoru Very Merry Christmas
by Shouji Gatou
Translated by Elizabeth Ellis
Edited by Dana Allen
This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual events, locales, or persons, living or dead, is coincidental.
Copyright © Shouji Gatou, Shikidouji 2003
Illustrations by Shikidouji
First published in Japan in 2003 by KADOKAWA CORPORATION, Tokyo
English translation rights arranged with KADOKAWA CORPORATION, Tokyo
All rights reserved. In accordance with the U.S. Copyright Act of 1976, the scanning, uploading, and electronic sharing of any part of this book without the permission of the publisher is unlawful piracy and theft of the author’s intellectual property.
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Ebook edition 1.0: March 2020