I Want to Protect You - Episode 2
We get brief fleeting highlights from the previous episode to open this episode. Afterwards we show up in Japanese waters viewing the Mithril home submarine. This time we go beyond the cargo repair hold and find ourselves in the control room with Lt. Commander Kalinin alongside a very young woman whom he refers to as Madam Captain. She appears to be Sousuke’s age and nervously swirls and pulls a tuft of hair between frail fingers.
Kalinin and the Captain discuss Sousuke’s progress on the mission with very different points of view. While she is worried, Kalinin refers to it as a good experience for him. She argues out that “he returned to safehouse chained to a chair with his firearms confiscated and was physically assulted by the mission objective and several others civilians” and is met with these falling within the allowable range.
This is the first time we are given a clue as to why Kaname is being guarded at all. She is mentioned as a Whispered candidate, a threat to all Whispered candidates has arisen.
We then promptly return to Jindai High School grounds where Sousuke attacks a plaster sculpture Kaname is carrying in the hallway. The plaster sculpture shatters creating a huge mess and a frowning Miss Chidori. She makes him sweep up the mess while supervising the work. Kyoko asks while taking photos of the scene “what got him running this time” and Kaname exasperated just doesn’t understand his strange behavior. Sousuke feels that simply saying it was an accident by slipping (when there was clearly sprinting and shouting) clears up the whole misunderstanding.
Radio correspondence between Kurz and Sousuke explain the true meaning behind the situation. The plaster sculpture cast a shadow such that Sousuke saw a person attacking Miss Chidori. His misled actions were in an attempt to save Miss Chidori from a percieved threat. Sousuke asks Kurz to cover for him since he now has to answer to the teacher for his reckless behavior, Kurz tells him not to worry about it. Sousuke says he’ll try not to, our first hint that Sousuke harbors more than just typical mission-based feelings; one should never become emotionally involved in the mission.
All of the team must make adjustments. Even Melissa can’t accept the amount the money Tokyo wants for simple staple foods. Kurz laughs at both of their circumstances, feeling glad for once that he isn’t the only one stressed out.
Returning to the school on another day, Sousuke spots a mysterious girl peering around the corner toward the staircase Kyoko and Kaname are coming down. The mysterious girl is poised ready to attack Miss Chidori! Sousuke pulls his gun, breaking into a heated sprint and cocks the Glock ready to attack the pseudo-terrorist. When it is simply a classmate jumping out to surprise the girls Kaname chides Mya for scaring them like that. The teacher, Mrs. Kagurazaka comes up the stairs and tells them to keep it quiet in the halls.
Sousuke, however, is still going full speed toward the scene. By the time the girls have struck up a conversation Sousuke realizes the danger is not as he thought it was and goes to divert his path. But not fast enough! He ends up crashing into the teachers instead of the percieved terrorist and falling down the stairs with her.
Tiptoeing horizontally across the screen we are now in the office with Mrs. Kagurazaka and our accident prone transfer student, whom is recieving a harsh reprimand, again, for his pocession of a ‘toy’ she had already warned him about. Sousuke snaps to attention as he tries to explain that it is not a toy. While he is silently recieving his punishment, Kyoko and Kaname are discussing Kyoko’s obsession of taking photos. Snapping away at the scene in the office, Kyoko hasn’t missed a shot. Kyoko answers Kaname’s questions in such a fashion as to get Kaname thinking on her real feelings for the boy.
Back at the safehouse Kurz tends to Sousuke’s wounds after confirming Kaname (codename Angel) is now safely asleep in her apartment. Kurz laughs and concludes that if this all happens in two days Sousuke should be dead in the end.
• Fall down stairs
• Broke window
• Knocked over shelf in library
• Masochism to a whole new level
This is the first time we are given a hint toward the backgrounds of Kurz, Melissa and Sousuke. Kurz says he thinks there is no use in kidnapping the girl, giving an air of misunderstanding as to why they are guarding her. Her background doesn’t pop up as unusual to her at all, she’s pretty and that’s all there is to her. Mao reminds him that a teenage mercenary is a serious thing, refocusing him on the mission objective. They are not there to think about the terms or why they are there, they are to protect her.
An important thing to note, when Kurz mentions the KGB Sousuke’s hands flex involuntarily in anger on his ankles. There is obviously a connection between the boy and the organization’s origin. That, or the fact that they are in pursuit of an innocent girl angers him. Or the pursuit of his girl.
Who is our invisible enemy? A musky bridge crossing the Amur River in the Soviet Union holds darkened shadows promising to reveal our dark antagonist. He’s speaking with gentlemen of Soviet descent refered to the KGB showing them photos of Mithril’s AS machinery. He sets the stage of Mithril coming in the middle of all current negotiations and describes them as “a secret mercenary agency that destroys illegal drug refineries and terrorist camps. In their spare time they defend nuclear weapons exports. Their equipment is roughly ten years ahead of the Americans and the Soviets. Their top brass also has a penchant for sorting out regional conflicts, you know like Champions of Justice or something like that.”
He is negotiating an increase in pay for “bodies for experiments” and talks their defense system against the Evil Mithril’s as weak and unable to handle. He kills one of the KGB men for becoming too forceful with his speak and threatening his life before sharing with the head man that he would like to kidnap a body to secure for experiements on the Whispered and hands him a picture of Kaname Chidori.
The classroom is quite talkative and uninterested in Kaname’s attempt to sort out responsibilities for an upcoming class trip as Class Representative, her agitation and irritation are smoothed by Kyoko’s cheering and her preparation in her personal memo. The students praise her enthusiasm, except for three students who realize that she tends to mood swing from irritation to elation much too easily.
Assigning duties leaves Sousuke Sagara as garbage duty since no one else signed up for it. She claims that its tradition for the new student, drawing off of militant tradition that the newest members get the least favorable jobs, but looks at Sousuke with an air of regret for doing that to him. The group of three and Kaname discuss it at a local cafe while eating, saying how low down it was of Kaname to assign the job to Sousuke while Kyoko takes strange photos of grease stains. Panning the environment, we spot Sousuke in the corner hidden behind a newspaper with a hole cut out. He’s reporting every move Kaname makes, while Kurz insists he take it easy.
Sousuke spots a mysterious man at the bar with a suitcase constantly checking his watch. Sousuke remembers this as a play in a field guide pertaining to a time bomb. Kurz argues that a kidnapping would fail with an assination and that he isn’t keeping his focus on the mission when the gentlmen suddenly moves to leave the cafe. Sousuke arms himself in case the gentleman noticed him and finds in letting his guard turn to protecting himself he lost sight of Kaname’s. What’s wrong with his attention span lately? Is he pushing himself too hard?
Refocusing he finds Kaname picking up the briefcase and pursuing the gentleman who forgot it! Sousuke turns over tables trying to reach an endangered Kaname. She’s calling after the gentleman so hard, she doesn’t realize she’s out in the street and a truck in coming down on her quickly! Kurz finds her going after the guy for the briefcase and moves to counter the truck but not before Sousuke throws himself onto Kaname to move her out of the way of the truck.
The deposited briefcase falls onto the sidewalk, where the gentleman retrieves it with his doll collection. Kurz catches the front end of the truck - smashing it horribly while in ECS mode and Sousuke pulls Kaname close into his arms. Kyoko, Mya and MyYuko run out to Sousuke and Kaname calling out their names. It isn’t until Kaname hear’s Sousuke’s name that she realizes that it is Sousuke who now holds her protectively in his arms after saving her. She stammers asking him what he is doing there and he answers with coincidence.
Sousuke answers after Kyoko and the two friends declare their admiration for Sousuke’s willingness to risk his life for her. The two of them are so close to one another, after a check of injuries and Kaname’s blushing at how he came to her aid so willingly, Kaname comes to find Sousuke’s hand on her chest! Out of nervousness Sousuke squeezes and sends Kaname into a fit of anger, slapping her hero a thank you. It’s difficult to discern if the referral to coincidence snaps her out of her feeling of bliss or if it is sudden realization of the squeeze that draws the blush from her face. Kurz laughs perhaps to see how smooth Sousuke’s moves are not turning out to be. Perhaps he’s happy his comrade has found the perfect woman for him.
On the train home Kaname spots Sousuke and decides to confront him. Is it a grudge? What’s with the expired newspaper? Stalker? Sousuke denies it all and tries to play it back onto Kaname. This coincidence bit, Kaname’s had enough of it. And for the first time we see our hero blush! When Kaname slams a foot onto the seat between his legs to get his attention that this is not coincidence but harrasment and not to try to beat around the bush. He sticks to his story and Kaname calls him on it. She exits the train before Sousuke has a chance to and waves goodbye to Mr. Pervent now stuck on the train and away from her.
Or so we think. Promptly he opens a train window and exits the train, clumsily summersaulting into park benches and now at the same station stop she’s at. Kaname’s eyes widen with surprise and her voice shakely while she tries to make sure Sousuke is ok. After he tries to play it off as nothing and she continually does not believe him they both take a seat on the upright bench left behind in the wave of the exit disaster.
If he is going to decide to sit next to her Kaname takes the opportunity to make the most of it. She brings up answers Sousuke made to questions in class for his introduction, suggesting that while she looked devoid of emotion she really was listening to his background. She asks if he is sad being separated from friends, however, she is in the same situation without very many friends especially given her background of moving remote distances and difficulty getting along with her personality type. Kaname also probes a little deeper… she actually becomes very brazen and asks if Sousuke has a special woman someone in his five homelands!
Sousuke goes into explanation that Kurz has once said that a woman who could be his lover doesn’t exist even in the least likely living environments. Kaname laughs understanding perfectly what Kurz said! This confuses Sousuke whom doesn’t really understand what that saying means. Kaname explains Sousuke to himself in a way he can understand, and then Sousuke turns her words against her in such a way that would make it seem that the two of them are a perfect match for one another. While Sousuke hasn’t a clue as to the implications of such an action Kaname promptly denies it, Sousuke promptly decides to disregard it and then we hear Kaname’s fretful, giddy laughter accompanied by a widespread blush.
In the cover of night we see the KGB affiliate on a park bench interacting with a little girl and her dog. The dog is barking fervently for some unknown reason. Unaffected he simply walks past the two, depositing the gum from his mouth on the side of Kurz’ M9 (unseen by the girl but seen by the dog whom is barking wildly at it). Kurz later finds the piece of gum and scrapes it off the machine, but does not report it to Mao. This is bad - the hidden enemy knows Mithril is there.
Kaname shares a phone conversation with Kyoko that night at her apartment. Kyoko knows right away from the way Kaname is acting that something happened between her and Sousuke. While Kaname denies it, the blush and laugh give her away completing. Confirming her answer Kyoko then moves onto the next topic of discussion, the big Kanji exam in the morning. Kaname is so taken aback by the news - what is happening to her concentration!? She completely forgot about the exam.
“Oh, you’ll alright.”
“No I’m not!”
Featured Specials
• Report Sheet for Kaname Chidori [complete]
• Episode 2 Complete Dialogue Script
Fave Episode Quotes
1. “Blind assumptions lead to trouble.” “And rapid obsession leads to stitches.”
- Sousuke Sagara, Kurz Weber
2. “Remember a teenage mercenary is not normal either.”
- Melissa Mao
3. “It’s just a coincidence.”
- Sousuke Sagara
4. “It’s not a problem.”
- Sousuke Sagara
5. “I would have to be unconscious not to notice this level of harrassment!”
- Kaname Chidori
6. “There’s no woman in the world who can be your lover, even in the remotest tundra.”
- Kurz Weber
Compiled by Miz
