Full Metal Panic! Short Stories Volume 8 [Parts 1 to 7] by Shouji Gatou

Author:Shouji Gatou
Language: eng
Format: epub

About thirty minutes later, they got out of the car and entered the studio.

Shinomiya-sensei, the photographer in question, stood before them. “Ah, so you’re Kira-kun,” he said enthusiastically. “You have a great look!” Then the photographer, an oily man in his 50s, clapped him on the shoulder while reaching out for a handshake. It was a fairly common gesture in the entertainment world, and Shinoyama was a major artist—the natural response would have been to put a professional smile on his face and return the gesture.

But the sight of an unfamiliar man—one who was shouting at him while rapidly approaching, and holding out both hands to reach for his shoulder—sparked Sousuke’s mercenary instincts, honed by his time in war-torn regions. As a result, he ducked out of the way with a grunt, causing the other man to stumble.

The photographer caught himself and then looked back at Sousuke, half in surprise and half in rage. “Wh-What do you think you’re doing?!”

“Force of habit,” Sousuke said stoically.

It was the worst possible first impression. Both the assistant and the magazine editor turned pale. His manager, Kotomi, also began pacing around in the studio in panic.

“Wh-What do you think you’re—” the flustered photographer started.

But Sousuke interrupted the impending tirade with a blunt question of his own. “Where have you taken pictures in the past?”

“What?”

“I met several of you in Afghanistan and Cambodia,” he continued. “I even saw some die from stray bullets.”

“What are you talking about?”

“You are a photographer, aren’t you?”

“Y-Yes, but...”

“The best place to get pictures right now is the Baliq Republic,” said Sousuke. “Their Civil War has been in a lull for a long time, but starting around next month, the government army will begin a wide-scale resistance.”

“What are you talking about?” asked the photographer.

“You don’t know about the Baliq Republic?”

“No!”

Sousuke looked genuinely taken aback. “What kind of battle photographer are you?”

“B-Boudoir photographer?!” Shinoyama shouted, misunderstanding him. “What makes you think you can talk to me that way?!”

“Well, I certainly seem to know more about the subject than you.”

“How dare you! How would a young man like you know anything? I’ve shot hundreds of stars!”

“So what? I’ve seen hundreds of bodies,” said Sousuke, who genuinely seemed to think he was bragging.

As the entire venue watched, frozen, Sousuke’s unproductive argument with the photographer continued on and on.

●

Kousuke, meanwhile, was in fourth period gym class doing the 1,500-meter run.

Despite what he told the world, Kira Kousuke was very bad at long-distance running. The notion that jogging was his hobby had been completely fabricated by his agency. Which meant that after about a thousand meters, Kousuke, third from the end, was reduced to walking—bowlegged, heaving for breath, and dragging his feet.

The students, who still thought he was Sousuke, couldn’t help but find it bizarre.

“What’s with him?”

“Look! He’s exhausted!”

“Maybe he’s really sick or something?”

When it came to long-distance running, Sousuke was unbeatable. In short sprints up to 100 meters, there were runners who were faster than him, but runs of 400 meters or more were Sousuke’s time to shine.

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