The small sphere of light flew across the back yard at great speed, appearing like a miniature comet to the casual observer. Its path was intercepted by a small hand which then hurled the ball back from whence it came with a flick of the wrist and a shout of effort. The tiny figure's grin faded to shock and irritation as its assault was caught and caught and sent right back.
Agito was so certain Zwei wouldn't have been able to catch such a fast return.
Indeed the two Unison Devices were playing a game of catch. Well, in a manner of speaking. Rather it more closely resembled a game of tennis or even pong. A pair of barriers had been erected behind each and both were attempting to hurl the sphere of magic past the other and into the wall they defended. A strike was worth a point and a broken barrier worth three.
It was a fun game which doubled as a training exercise for control and power. The former being something the fiery redhead appeared to be in considerable need of. Assuming the score of four to twenty-seven was to be believed.
A crash and a shout of indignation.
Thirty.
Rather than continue the clearly one-sided game, Zwei paused and called out to her friend. Normally she fared much better than this. Even in her most foul of moods. Whatever had the fiery girl's attention was clearly beyond anything which had come before. "Agito, are you okay?"
Agito stomped her tiny foot in midair as she snapped back, "I'm fine. I'm just having a bad day, okay!" She regretted using such a caustic tone as she saw the other girl visibly flinch and hide behind her hands. It wasn't Zwei's fault she was like this. No it was the fault of her Meister and the stupid librarian. And at the moment, she wasn't sure who she ought to be more irate with.
Zwei tentatively peeked out from behind her rather ineffective hiding place. "A-Are you s-"
She was cut off as the redhead flew over to her with a growl, "No. You know what? I'm not okay! I'm freaking pissed off and I don't know who at!" Agito swept her hands to the sides before placing them on her hips in a rough manner, a tongue of flame spouting from past her lips. A surefire sign she was truly in a foul mood. It had once been theorized she would spontaneously combust if angry enough. Something Vita had been sorely tempted to test.
"Wh-Who are you so angry at? I've never seen you like this." Well, the statement was not completely true. Zwei had seen Agito's fury reach the level of apoplectic, but never had it been directed at someone specifically. As for the question of who, she had a fairly good idea if she said so herself. Which she would have had it not been potentially hazardous to her current and future well-being.
"Who else? That damned librarian and Signum!" Rarely did she refer to Signum by her name aloud, perhaps one of the few acts of proper decorum she was able to follow with regularity. She began walking in circles in midair, frustrated and irate. "First he starts taking up her time with all these sparring matches without telling me. Then she doesn't even let me go with her because she wants to test her own strength. Bull! And what the hell kind of sparring match would make someone look that satisfied!?"
Zwei could have commented, but wisely decided to let her friend continue venting.
"If it was such a damn good fight, why couldn't I come along? We're partners, right? And then, oh fun of fun, they run off to an 'archaeological dig' together. Alone. To look at rocks and old bones! Rocks and old bones! If she wanted to do that, she could have gone to a damned museum! Not to mention when they get back, she had this supremely smug and pleased expression on her face" By now she was ranting and raving, waving her hands about while a heat haze followed her every move.
Zwei would definitely have to disagree on the 'supremely smug and pleased expression' comment. They had been looking at the same woman, right? Signum had appeared a little more happy than before she had left, not to say she was unhappy at the time. It was like there was a little more of a spring in her step. The sort which would pass the notice of any who weren't truly looking for it. Plus, there were brief moments where the swordswoman appeared a slight radiant. Usually when she thought no one else was looking.
But smug?
Hardly.
Agito wasn't quite finished, though she appeared to be winding down. "And now. And now..." There was a hesitance as her fiery voice turned more subdued and worried. Almost afraid to voice the rest of her thoughts. "Now she's hiding things from me."
This gave Zwei pause. The relationship between Unison Device and its Meister was a very open one. The very nature of it made such openness practically a requirement. It took a great deal of conscious effort to hide things from one another when unisoned. Such an action could easily be taken as a lack of trust. And for someone like Agito... "What do you mean, she's hiding things from you? I don't think Signum would do something like that so simply."
Agito shook her head and scowled. "She is. There's this... thing that stands out whenever we unison. If feels like a door or a treasure chest. All locked up." She turned to Zwei and clenched her fists in a helpless anger. "Yeah, there are things we don't talk to each other about, but we've never hid anything!" A dark gleam appeared in her eyes as her voice grew low. "I bet it has to do with that librarian. It has to. He did something."
Zwei could take no more of this as she placed her hands on the other device's shoulders in a desperate motion. "Agito! Calm down. Please... calm down." Something tells her she's going be having a word or two with her elder sister soon. Well, after helping clear up a few things her friend seems to be in the dark about at the very least. "First off, err..."
"Err, what?" Now Agito was glowering at her. This certainly was off to a fine start.
"You... did ask her about it, right?" Much like Signum, Zwei had long since realized Agito had the same problem about verbosity. It just manifested in different ways. For the redhead, it came in the form of assuming things and expecting more answers to be given to her rather than digging for the information she wanted. Even Vita was better at questioning things.
"Of course I did! What do you think I am? Stupid?" The manner of her heated reply only lent more credit to Zwei's observation. "I asked her what happened on the damned trip and she smiled and said she'd had a good time."
There are times when Reinforce Zwei truly worries about her friend's intellect.
This is one of them.
"And you just left it at that?" A nod indicating such a thing should be obvious made the powder blue haired girl sigh and hang her head in resignation. "Then you don't know Signum and Yuuno are..." She trailed off as she tried to find the best descriptor which would not reduce her to a blushing mess. "...lovers?"
You could hear a pin drop in the silence which followed. And the shocked expression on Agito's face was one which would have made for a painting of legendary composition.
"WHAT!?"
Zwei had to wait for her ears to stop ringing before she could put futilely try to put a stop to another session of ranting and raving. Most of it consisting of disbelief and remarks pertaining to the now deceased Zest and Lutecia's mother. Well, at least she knows who the father is now. Hayate will be pleased. Apparently her Master had money riding on such a pairing. Though many of the more colorful remarks turned her cheeks a cherry hue.
It boggled her how someone could know so much while being so blind.
Even she was not so blind in her innocence.
However one would argue the constant presence of Yagami Hayate and having seen deep into the woman's mind would corrupt even a saint. The eroge alone was enough to make the most hardened of individuals blush.
Now the hold was reversed as Agito had grabbed Zwei by the shoulders and was shaking her, demanding answers she could have had a long time ago had she merely inquired a little further. "How? Why? When? What is going on? Is that what she's hiding?!"
Prying herself from the fire pixie's grasp, Zwei took a few moments to make the world stop spinning. "It happened by chance I think. I think only Nanoha knows when it actually stopped being sparring and started being some kind of weird dating thing. Hayate said something about the 'UST' being thicker than Zafira's skull over the phone." Shaking her head to clear up the rest of her thoughts, she crossed her arms thoughtfully. "I think they told each other how they feel on the trip and that's why things are like this now."
Agito growled slightly as she ruffled her hair. "That doesn't explain why she's hiding it from me."
Zwei could only shrug helplessly. "Maybe she wasn't ready to share it? It must be a pretty personal moment for her. She and Yuuno haven't actually told anybody yet either." Open secrets were funny like that.
It was a decent length silence which followed as the redhead chewed on what she'd been told. "Dammit. Now I feel like an idiot... I should have trusted her. But... dammit!"
"You were worried. I'd feel the same if I were in your shoes. Are you... okay with this?" There was a hesitancy in her last words. Because if things panned out like she and more than a few other hoped, then...
A nod and a snort. "Of course I'm okay with it. I just hate being in the dark. Signum deserves to be happy. I do think she could have chosen someone better than a damn bookworm though. Especially that one. He's so puny and weak."
"I think both of them would disagree with you on that." Zwei couldn't help but laugh merrily as the tension in the air began to ease. She felt a measure of amusement imagining what sort of individuals Agito was comparing Yuuno to.
"Sh-Shut up! Until I see it for myself, he's a stupid weakling who is undeserving of my Meister's affection!"
Zwei could only continue to laugh as Agito spouted denials and attacks upon Yuuno's perceived manliness.
-SCENE BREAK-
She could not help the ominous chuckle which escaped her lips as she stalked her target. There would be no hiding from her. Especially not after forcing her to wait for so long. For nearly four weeks since his return she had plotted and planned. Every possible avenue of attack was considered and taken advantage of in her quest.
Yet all of it for nought as it seemed life was fully determined to get in the way of her inquisition at each and every turn. Whether against her or against him, something always seemed to get in the way.
It was enough to drive a woman mad.
Nevertheless, Nanoha Takamachi had finally managed to divine the proper time and place where there would be no escape. No convenient shield to protect him from her.
Yes, she would finally ferret out some answers from Yuuno.
Hopefully without the use of terrible puns.
Stealthy footsteps brought Nanoha to the massive doors of his office. She'd not risk him hearing her approach in any way. How else would she get the drop on him? While many would consider this course of action childish, many were not her. And she would thoroughly enjoy seeing the shocked look on his face.
She blames Hayate for this, she really does. Such a bad influence the Mistress of the Tome was. But who is she to complain now? Such teasing and sneaking was fun.
With years of experience, Nanoha gently nudges open one of the doors. Just a crack. Just a sliver so she might see inside and catch sight of her quarry. Lo and behold, there rests her target. The Head Librarian seemed fast asleep at his desk, head down upon an open tome and a pen still held in one hand.
It would seem he's overworked himself. Again.
Well, given what he's found recently and the general chaos which sprung up in the wake of his discovery, it’s to be somewhat expected. He was rewriting more historical data than anyone could have ever imagined possible. It was like he'd found the Belkan equivalent of the Rose Rock. Or something to like that. History wasn't her greatest subject, after all. Though if she didn't know Signum was just as busy as the snoozing blonde, she'd have given the swordswoman a piece of her mind about letting her boyfriend work himself to exhaustion.
Now there had been a fun little development.
From her initial discovery of what had seemed to be a brutal and sexually charged series of battles to her revealing talk with Fate, Nanoha could not say she didn't see such a development coming. It didn't make it any less of a shock, however. Theory, no matter how well founded, could still surprise you when it turned into reality. Especially when it came to the love lives of her friends.
Now if only those two weren't the only ones being interesting.
Everyone else in a relationship was becoming predictable. Is this the sort of irritation Hayate feels when nothing of interest is going on? Something tells her she's allowing the woman to have just a bit too much influence on her life.
However, she can contemplate these thoughts later. She has a duty to perform. The duty of the previous girlfriend and current best friend to tease, torment, and find good natured amusement in her former magic instructor.
The doors opened just far enough for Nanoha to slip in undetected and with as little noise as possible. A task made far easier considering how well taken care of they were. The doors made barely a sound as they moved. Had she a hat, she would have tipped it to the maintenance crews for a job well done.
Now then, she has a certain Scrya to wake~
Nanoha's light footsteps were barely audible as she prowled the room, stalking ever closer to the sleeping Yuuno whilst weaving through the piles of parchment and mounds of codices and tomes. It did not take her long to cross the distance and circle around to the other side of his desk. Though there was a close call when her hip bumped a particularly large stack of tomes, fortunately she managed to catch it in time. Fortunately for her, that is.
Fighting back a giggle, the White Devil leaned over to get a better look at Yuuno. His sleeping face was just as cute as ever. Taking the end of her long reddish brown tresses in hand, she carefully began to tease the sleeping man with it. Beginning with his cheeks, Nanoha began to tickle him ever more dangerously with her silky mane as she moved about from his nose to his ear.
She was not disappointed as Yuuno began to stir and mumble, vainly trying to ward off his assailant with meager movements and sleepy, unintelligible mutterings. This was always fun. Too bad she never really had a chance to do so lately. And now it might be considered inappropriate. Perhaps she ought to tell Signum about this little game. The knight certainly had the hair for it and such a fun technique shouldn't be lost to the ages. Yes, she would definitely give the pink haired woman proper instruction on this.
Well, she can't play with him forever.
Moving aside some papers and books, Nanoha hops up to take a seat on Yuuno's desk. The action produces enough noise and motion to finally wake the tuckered out librarian. She chuckles as he looks about for his glasses and the source of the disturbance. He didn't really have to look far. "Good morning sleepyhead."
Yuuno finally managed to secure his glasses and get a proper look at who was sitting on his desk. Granted, the voice alone was enough to tell him right off, but humans tend to be visual creatures. "Nanoha?" He blinked in slight confusion as he gathered his wits. He couldn't recall her saying she'd stop by. Then again, Nanoha does as Nanoha is wont to do.
"How many times have we all told you to stop overworking yourself?" The rebuke is stern, but well-worn and friendly. If she were to take the time and count up the actual number, it would easily exceed the hundreds. She crossed her legs as she smiled down at him.
The blonde yawned and stretched, feeling his back pop rather loudly, before grinning. "Far too many times to count. I've been so busy lately that I've barely had time to eat." Which is unfortunately, not exactly an exaggeration.
Nanoha nodded in a manner resembling a resigned agreement. "So has everyone else. Just the other day, Fate was called out not five minutes after walking in the door. It’s crazy." Her despondent expression turns to one of mirth and teasing, eliciting a slightly nervous look from her friend, but to her enjoyment. "However~"
"However...?" A raised eyebrow accompanied the questioning reply.
"That's no excuse for you to not be sweeping Signum off her feet, now is it?" A softness had joined her expression as she delivered the second rebuke of the day to Yuuno. She and Yuuno had stalled and hit a wall they could not overcome in their attempt at a serious relationship. The woman did not want to see a similar thing happen to him again.
Yuuno blinked before smiling with a mixture of resignation and amusement. No one could hide anything from Takamachi Nanoha. Well, perhaps Hayate. But Hayate is some kind of monstrous being, so he's not so sure it counts. He shouldn't be surprised Nanoha knows about Signum and himself. Even if they'd not gone out of their way to announce it, they hadn't hidden it either. The gargantuan piles of work they both suffered had made contact limited. It did not help their relationship was not exactly standard and neither were the most eloquent of individuals. How he longed for a chance to even just sit down with Signum for a short time and enjoy her company.
Loving glances and the brushing of fingers as they passed on another could only sate them for so long at this stage.
Theirs was a love borne from fire and battle. He supposed this would be the quenching process before it was returned to the forge. The thought did not make it much more bearable.
He shook his head before looking up at Nanoha. "No, it’s not. I just wish we had time. Even if one of us managed some free time, the other ends up being stuck with some task they can't get away from." It was truly maddening. A sentiment he had little doubt Signum shared. Yuuno set his chin on his palm with a grimace. "I haven't even had the chance to take her out on a proper date yet."
Nanoha gave a sympathetic wince. "And I bet even less of a chance for one of your battles either." A despondent nod confirmed her words. Ouch. Such was the downside of having such busy and high profile jobs. One might think Yuuno, being the Head of the Infinity LIbrary, could just take time off whenever. Unfortunately it was not so. He had so much on his plate there was little chance to actually use the accumulated vacation time. He, and many of their friends, was not one to simply drop everything on a whim for a little R&R or even some personal time.
No matter how much they wished they could at times.
The brunette adopted a melancholy expression as she looked up to the ceiling, her thoughts awash in memories. "Remember what happened to us? The proverbial wall we hit?" The wall they had struck and been unable to surpass had been one of their own making. There had indeed been a genuine love between the two. One which could have taken them to a great and wonderful future. But their nemesis had been time. A nemesis they could have surpassed had they not built the wall, brick by brick, with their own hands.
Yuuno looked down at the surface of his desk, recalling all too vividly what Nanoha was referring to. "Yeah... We were awkward childhood friends and tried to become something more. And that was even more awkward sometimes." It was a great understatement. Things had been clumsy and terribly confusing for the couple, but they had managed to persevere and take it as far as they had. "We just... didn't make time for each other. Not the right kind of time, anyways."
They'd set aside time which was convenient.
Not time which took effort and work.
"We were young, dumb, and workaholics. So we took the easy route." Nanoha's melancholy spread further into her voice. The easy route is rarely ever the good route. Especially in a relationship. "Well, we're still workaholics, but we should know better by now. I just don't want what happened to us to happen to the two of you. I don't want you or Signum to wake up one day next to someone you don't recognize."
Both would readily admit later on they had been running on the momentum they'd built up as children during the death defying escapades which had made up a good portion of their younger years. But momentum runs out. And by the time they started to lose it, neither were the same people they'd been when they'd set out on their path. People change as they grow up. Sometimes for the better and sometimes for the worse. But when it came down to it, Nanoha had still been in love with the young boy from her childhood and Yuuno the little girl from his youth. They hadn't grown to love the people they had become because they simply hadn't been able to make the time to do so.
They had worked and worked and worked, not seeing the changed they'd undergone whenever they'd met. Only seeing themselves still as the awkward and loving couple they had used to be.
Yuuno could only nod, knowing just how true Nanoha's words were. "At the very least we made some precious memories." But memories alone cannot give a couple the momentum to make a future.
The realization of the insurmountable roadblock had been a stunning one. One which had left them dumbfounded and heartbroken. There was no magic solution. No mystical fix-all. No special tape they could use to put themselves back together. There was still love. A great love between them which would never burn out. But it was not the sort of love which belonged to lovers, rather it was the sort which belonged to friends. Friends and nothing more.
Nanoha chuckled despite the somber mood. "We sure did, didn't we..."
They sat in silence for a short time, reminiscing upon their youth and the follies within. Neither would ever regret the time they'd had together. There was indeed some regret over how life had panned out afterwards, but they are only human. But they still had their own futures to look forward to.
The increasingly gloomy mood was shattered when Nanoha took it upon herself to get back on track and go about her original purpose. "So, what exactly happened on that little trip~?" Her tone was so catty, so teasing, Yuuno could not help but recoil slightly and blush.
"N-Nothing!" Yuuno's gut reaction did little to placate the White Devil. A statement made quite obvious by the playful narrowing of her eyes.
"Hmm~?" Yes, she's definitely been too greatly influenced by Hayate. "Nothing doesn't make a couple. Nor does it suddenly clear up a massive amount of... tension." She could tell quite readily what had happened on the excavation. It was hard not to. But she wanted her fun in making Yuuno talk.
Yuuno coughed and tried to compose himself. She was getting much better at throwing him off balance. And at a far faster rate than he could adapt, no less. Still, Nanoha wanted him to say it and she wasn't going to relent until he did. There was no place he could run or hide even if he wanted to. With a sigh and warm smile, he confessed, "We told each other how we felt. We love each other and we want to see where this will go. Even if we did get off to a really bizarre start." He chuckled at the end, feeling a lightness in his heart.
For her part, Nanoha looked rather pleased. But Yuuno wasn't done as he held her gaze. "But I'm actually a little concerned about how you feel about this whole thing."
The brunette tilted her head in mild confusion. "How I feel?"
A nod. "Yeah. Signum told me about that talk you had with her before we left. I wanted to speak with you about it, but, well..." He trailed off, gesturing to the piles of work splayed about the office.
Nanoha's mouth opened in an expression of recognition. "Ahh. Ahahaha... Yeah, I was pretty worried about you. No one had said anything and suddenly I'm watching you and Signum looking like you're trying to kill each other." She held up a hand before Yuuno could respond. "It was a side of you I'd never seen and I honestly thought Signum was trying to use you as some sort of plaything."
The shocked look on Yuuno's face told her he hadn't really thought about it in such a manner.
"I was afraid I was going to lose you. That she would break you or you'd go too far and never return." The smile on her face was a little awkward and embarrassed. "Even if we're not lovers anymore, we're still best friends."
Running a hand through his hair, Yuuno looked apologetic. "I'm sorry. I should have said something."
Nanoha waved him off with a more relaxed smile. "You didn't think you were doing anything wrong. And you don't have to be held accountable to me." Her expression turned stern for a moment as she continued. "But you do know who you do need to be held accountable to."
Yuuno nodded, a similar expression gracing his own features. "Myself. ...And Signum." If he could not hold himself accountable for his actions, then how could he do the same for Signum. He was responsible for his every action. They reflected upon himself and now the woman he had fallen in love with.
"So there is more than book smarts in that cranium of yours." The return of the brunette's amused smile eased the once more increasingly somber mood which had begun to settle. "Now use those smarts to figure out what you need to do next." Left unsaid was the reminder of what they'd lost. If he couldn't, he and Signum were doomed to share the same fate as he'd shared with her. Nanoha did not wish for one of her dear friends to suffer in such a way a second time.
"Yeah, I will. If I screw this up, a Starlight Breaker will be the least of my concerns." His grin was simple in its slight teasing, green eyes showing a sliver of mischief as he replied in a mix of good humor and warm sincerity.
Crossing her arms, Nanoha pouted even as she approved of his response. "I don't use that to solve all my problems, you know."
He didn't let the chance slide. "No, just most of them." The impotent growl she gave made him laugh. His grin sobered into a friendly smile. "Still, thanks for watching out for us and for kicking my head back into working order."
She smiled as she reached over and mussed his hair. "What are friends for?" With a hop off the desk, Nanoha stood and swung around behind Yuuno's chair. "Now..." Her slender arms snaked around the blonde's shoulder, holding him in his seat.
"Nanoha?" He did not like the tone she used. It sent a chill down his spine. And not the good sort. Not good at all.
The White Devil's grin became one fit to match her title. "Tell me~ Were you rough or gentle with her~?"
Even as the conversation devolved into sputters, laughs, and teasing, Yuuno was making plans. Plans for the future. He would not make the same mistake twice. Mistakes he surely would have repeated had Nanoha not made her impromptu visit and reminded of what had been lost.
This was not convenience. This was not simple R&R. He was in love with Signum Yagami and he would make sure to not let this chance slip from his fingers. No matter how hard he had to work to do so, he would do it with a smile on his face and in his heart.
He had to start somewhere. And the fact he'd yet to take the lovely Knight of the Sword out on a proper date seemed to be a good one. There they could talk. There they could do as he had not in the past. He refused to allow this to be lost without a fight. A fight he would put everything he had into it. He would bleed himself dry if needed and then some.
No longer would he sit by and wait for the first move. He could wait until the end of time for Signum to approach him and break this state of existence if she was so inclined. But not now. Not again. He would make the first move.
He wanted to be a sword.
It was time for him to act like it.
It looks like Arf is going to be pulling overtime again.
-CHAPTER END-
-OMAKE-
As her heart fights away the darkness and fear, she places a hand atop his and nods with a small smile. "I as well. I just... I need time. Time to come to grips with this. To understand everything." A rare sliver of mirth slips into her voice. "Unlike you who has plundered the innocence of so many fair maidens, I am still pure of heart."
Yuuno nearly fell over at the taunt. "I didn't 'plunder' anything!"
"Takamachi asked when you would next set sail for the high seas."
"Wha-?"
"And Testarossa said to be a bit more gentle the next time you shiver her timbers."
"I-!"
"Hayate showed me the eyepatch."
"..."
"..."
"...She really showed you the eyepatch"
"She was quite disappointed when you would not let her dress up in the cabin boy outfit."
"It wasn't done yet. Nanoha told her that."
"Understandable. Now then, I believe you have a first mate's booty to plunder?
"Eh?"
The return home was delayed for a few more days.