Heh, as RB said, it's cute that Lutecia's injuries immediately mark it as 'Verse...but Burning Glory should have been the immediate "tell"; he's RB's creation for Vivio's device in the Shadowverse stories (since this was back when ViVid hadn't come along and we writers had to all invent a Device for her in our "Vivio grows up and becomes a magical girl!" stories).
I still think it says something about me, though, when a clear mark of the Shadowverse isn't the fact that Burning Glory is Vivio's Device, but the fact that in the course of some action or mission, Lutecia ended up with an injury.
I'd remark for those of us who aren't parents could just as easily draw examples from our own parents, but then I remember that as far as I know, I'm the only person I know didn't have parent issues of single parents or divorce or the like. :k
I have no parent issues either. They've been married for 27 years and still going even after 5 kids. There are bumps but nothing particularly note worthy. Honestly I hold them as my standard for how I portray romantic relationships.
Anyways, one doesn't need to have experience in something to be able to write about it. I'm a 24 year old virgin who's never been kissed, never been on a date, and never even had a girl tell him she liked him yet that doesn't stop me from writing romance.
I’d like to take this opportunity to point out that you don’t need to actually have the experience to write about it. I mean, we are all writing about magical girls, and epic battles, and families with clones, etc. It just has to come across in a believable way, right?
I'm a 24 year old virgin who's never been kissed, never been on a date, and never even had a girl tell him she liked him yet that doesn't stop me from writing romance.:
Gourry shook his head as he looked at the destruction. "Damn, that's..." He trailed off as he saw a body next to his. What surprised him was that the woman looked a bit like Lina, but her chest was a bit larger. "This is..."
"The Knight of Cephied." A male voice spoke up and Gourry spun to see a tall being in a robe of some sort, a funny hat on his head and a miniature palm tree in his fingers. Behind him was a woman with short blonde hair and a traveling outfit as she held a lit cigarette between her fingers. "...I see..."
"It really was to be expected." The woman spoke up as she looked at the body. "Lord Shabranigdo wasn't going to let her live if he could help it. Though, to use a psychic attack..."
"When did this happen?" The man turned to the woman, who shrugged at him. "Zelas, you know, don't you?"
"Of course I know." She rolled her eyes. "Not all the Mazoku that were in that crowd were fighting, you know. Some of them were my spies." Zelas took a deep breath as she looked at the downed body of the Knight of Cephied. "After Gaav left her and she took off into the air, one of my spies noted that she fell to the ground rather fast and grabbed her head, screaming in pain..."
"So, Shabranigdo attacked her mind?" The man crossed his arms and sighed heavily. "I thought you Mazoku wouldn't attack humans like that, it's beneath you to attack weaker creatures after all."
"Valwin, if you wanted to break the truce because of this, I could understand, though, I'm not sure that..."
"Zelas, as angry as I am for losing another Knight of Cephied, I'm not going to break the truce over this." He turned to look at her. "Unless you, Dolphin or Dynast were responsible."
"Uh..." Gourry spoke up to the two. "Excuse me, but, who are you?"
"Beastmaster Zelas Metallium and this is the Air Dragon Lord Valwin." Zelas spoke up to him. "The dead woman is Luna Inverse, the Knight of Cephied."
Gourry's eyes widened. "Wait, Inverse?" He looked at her in confusion, frowning. "But, is she..."
"I believe that Miss Luna is Miss Lina's older sister." A familiar male voice spoke up as a purple-haired, closed eyed priest appeared in front of Zelas. "As for the power of Cephied, that will be reborn into someone else on this staff soon enough."
Gourry looked at Xellos and then back at Luna. "...Can't any of you bring her back? I mean, she is Lina's sister..."
"Even if Lina has done all of us great favors in the past," Valwin spoke up as he walked up to the downed body of Luna and took her sword from her, "we cannot just break the rules of reality all the time."
"Speak for yourself, we do it all the time." Zelas piped up, smirking at the Shinzoku. "But, he is right. We can't bring her back as a human. She'd be a Mazoku if I did it, or a Shinzoku if Valwin did it... And, to be honest, we don't like turning humans into Mazoku, they tend to be very rebellious."
Gourry frowned at them. "Oh, come on! Gaav's as strong as any one of you and look what he did! You're telling me that you can't bring her back to life?!" He pointed at Xellos. "You, especially, you owe Lina at least a couple of favors by now."
Xellos grimaced at that. "I do hate to owe people favors, though bringing her back just as she was, I doubt that I can pull that off completely..."
"Can't you just bring her back without the power of Celphide or whatever his name is?"
Zelas raised an eyebrow at him. "I'm surprised, I thought you didn't know her?"
"I don't. But it's for Lina's sake."
Xellos shrugged and looked at Valwin, who was looking the body over. "Well?"
"It's not too cold, perhaps we could. But I don't give any promises." Valwin spoke softly. "A god's soul quickly reincarnates, whether that god is Cephied or Shabranigdo." The human's soul that it's attached to generally cannot be brought back to life." Wind gathered around Valwin as he put his hands on Luna's body. "But, this goes against the natural cycle of life. All that lives must eventually die."
Gourry nodded. "I know that, but, Lina doesn't live anywhere near here anymore, yet she came to fight against Shabranigdo, can't you give her this one favor?"
"We'll see." Valwin muttered softly.
(---)
"Miss Miyuki!" Amelia gasped as she looked at the limping swords woman. "Are you okay?"
Miyuki gave her a flat look as she limped towards the healers. "I've got a broken left femur, my right ankle is badly bruised, my right hand feels like crap, I might have a concussion and I think that I've got some internal injuries from when Gaav punched me. So yeah, I'm just fine."
Miyuki sighed as Amelia put her hands to good use, concentrating healing magic onto her injuries. "You know, you never answered my question."
"What question?"
"How come you weren't affected by the miasma?"
Amelia blinked and sweat-dropped heavily. "Well, when going against Mazoku, it's a good idea to cast a quick spell so that you can recover from the effects quickly."
"That's it?" Miyuki blinked as Amelia nodded. "That's... Kind of a lame explanation." Amelia just shrugged at her.
(---)
Meanwhile...
Chrono rubbed his forehead as a healer worked on Zest at a nearby table. The man was more-or-less okay, just extremely exhausted from having his Blast Mode on for so long. "Yes, Admiral Leti, call off the strike. Shabranigdo's dead."
"You're sure?"
"Yes, I'm sure. You can call them and tell them that we don't need the Arc En Ciel to blow the planet up. But..." Chrono looked at the destroyed ground and shook his head. "But, this is going to be a problem, we're going to need some crews to help with reconstruction down here."
"But, they aren't..."
"We did kind of help destroy this castle and city, Admiral, the least we can do is clean it up for them." Chrono smirked slightly as Leti sighed and conceded the point. "How is Nanoha?"
"Finally resting, I think..."
"You think?"
"The security cameras can barely get a feed, but it looks like Nanoha's stopped screaming and she's not... Um, sorry, Chrono, I'll call you back."
Chrono just blinked as Leti cut the conversation off. "What the?"
(---)
On the ship...
Leti stared as Lina practically floated out of the sick bay. "Lina?"
"Call... Your people and tell them to stop coming, I need to... Bleed this off properly." Lina's hair was completely golden at that moment, as were both of her eyes and there was a powerful golden aura surrounding her.
When Lina held up a hand, the whole ship was rocked as powerful energy formed just outside of the hull. "What the hell?!" Leti gasped as Lina dropped her arm down and the ship shook again, this time tilting in the direction that Lina had dropped her hand.
"Chaos Orb. I tossed it into deep space where it will continue on until it explodes on its own. It's safer than sending it to the planet below." Lina took a deep breath as the aura disappeared and she was speaking in her normal tone of voice again. "As for Nanoha, she's alive..."
"And..?" Leti blinked as Lina's hair was closer to a golden sunset than the firey red it was before.
Lina looked at her, tears welling up in her eyes, they were at least normal, one red and one gold. "I don't know, okay?!" Lina turned to look back at the hospital room. "The only thing that kept her alive was the Chaos magic, but it was killing her at the same time, trying to rip her apart. You know how hard it was to keep her from turning into a fine red mist?!"
Lina blinked as Leti squeezed her shoulder. "What?"
"She's alive, that's all you can ask for right now. Let her rest and we'll try to heal her more fully." Leti was a mother as well, she understood Lina's problem at that moment. "Go and rest. They beat Shabranigdo."
Lina smiled softly and nodded. "I need a little rest... Ten minutes..."
Leti wasn't surprised as Lina walked back into the medical bay to sleep.
If their positions were reversed, she would have done the same. "You two, contact the fleet and let them know that we have the situation under control now."
The two hands nodded and went to work at sending the good word out.
Leti shook her head. 'Man, if people ever hear about this...' Her thoughts trailed off and she frowned. 'No... If they knew everything that happened..." Looking at the room where Nanoha and Lina were, she shook her head. 'Man, I must be getting soft. Lindy would never let me hear the end of it if something bad happened to them...'
It was always such a pain to hide stuff from the official reports after all.
(---)
"Mommy! Daddy!" Rein flew over to her parents and gave Hayate a kiss on the cheek, before flying up to Reinforce and kissing her cheek too. "You're alive!" She smiled, tears welling up in her eyes. "I was worried!"
Vita chuckled as she looked at Zwei, before frowning at the way Reinforce was holding Hayate. "...What's wrong?"
Hayate sighed softly. "Reinforce... To heal me so that I could help... Had to force my magic to overextend itself for healing... Right now... Um..."
"Hayate's as weak as she was when you came into her life." Reinforce said sadly as Vita's eyes widened.
"But..." Hayate shook her head. "Hayate!!"
"I'll be fine, Vita-chan." Hayate smiled at her. "It's like a really, really bad muscle tear. I'll recover, it'll just take a long time." Hayate chuckled softly. "Though... I have to admit, I wasn't expecting my muscles to feel so weak..."
"I told you, Hayate..." Reinforce sighed as she looked at the girl in her arms. "The magic was flooding your body at such a rate that when it left, most of your voluntary muscles shut down. You'll get your ability to walk back before your magic returns though."
Hayate sighed and nodded. "It's okay. At least it happened so I could protect my family from someone like that."
Reinforce sighed softly. At least Hayate was taking it better than she thought.
Then again, they both knew that there was a possibility that Hayate would never walk nor use magic ever again, having burned her magic out like she did.
Reinforce just hoped Hayate's positive outlook was correct and that she would be back sooner than expected.
Vita sighed softly. "Signum's out cold from blood loss, but she's getting treatment right now." She wouldn't say what Shamal had to do to make sure that Signum wouldn't try getting up again. "Zafira's fine, just tired. Everyone else is getting treated for injuries and exhaustion right now."
Hayate nodded and closed her eyes as Reinforce hugged her while carrying her bridal style. "Reinforce, can we find some place to relax?"
"Sure." Reinforce nodded to her.
Vita sighed as she went to find a place to sit down. She needed to digest all that happened in her mind before something else happened.
Downed by simple blood loss huh?
__________________
May 29 2010-2019
...9 years ago, the day after never would be the same
Two uneventful weeks have passed since the last pain-filled time.
Hayate and Vita returned safely back to the hospital, but the other Wolkenritters have long since sniffed out their little escapade. It didn't take a genius to realize an empty bed and the missing ill-humored voice. In fact, Hayate missed them by minutes after she left Nanoha's house. Later after she woke up, Zafira would inform her that Vita got a thunderous scolding by both Signum and Shamal and that they were that close to brandish weapons, but Vita kept unusually silent and absorbed all the abuse like a sponge. What's even more amazing was that she gave a full bow of apology to everyone in the family before finally walking away. Her unexpected change in attitude caught everyone by surprise, puzzling even the quiet guardian beast. When their anger subsided, Shamal had tried to ask exactly what happened during their short disappearance, but Vita wouldn't say anything except one line.
Ask Hayate.
Hayate later caught Vita during lunch and asked her why she didn’t just tell the truth, but the red knight laughed and said,
“I don’t actually know what really happened, since I wasn’t there. If that’s the case, then why would I tell something vague, knowing that it would only make everyone sad and angry? The matter’s over after all. I’ll be fine, Hayate, you just rest now.”
She had been stunned to hear such mature words coming from Vita. Her wide-eyed stare made Vita fluster greatly before running away with a terribly embarassed look on her face, but Hayate understood how hard it must have been for the proud little knight to just accept... everything. She smiled lightly at the great happiness welling in her heart.
My children have grown strong.
But because of the latest stunt she pulled, Hayate no longer have personal freedom. Her knights stayed by her side every day and second, sometimes in groups or pairs or ones but never away. While she was fine to be accompanied, there have been some hair-rising moments when the concerned Shamal offered to help in toilets during the first few days of Hayate's weakness. the commander had declined very tactfully, but she made a mental notice from then onwards to keep an eye on her nurse and caretaker. Shamal was law within the compounds of the hospital, and it would be terribly unwise to set her off carelessly like an unplugged grenade. Not unless she wanted to spend her life on bed forever.
Even Signum was riled up, her face scrunched into a worried frown every time she looked at Hayate. Such an open display of emotion from the quiet warrior was rare, if not downright unusual. When Hayate told her wryly that she didn't need to be so worried, Signum had worn a severe look on her face and explained just how deathly pale Hayate looked when she returned limp in Vita's arms. The commander winced, and since then made an actual effort to eat regularly to recover her health as soon as possible.
The swordsmaster was also the only one who confronted her about the obvious connection between her sudden leave and a certain brunette.
“Was it Nanoha?”
“It was my own choice, but yes. For her.”
She hadn’t lied, and in Signum in turn acknowledged her reckless decision under the condition that Hayate would never try something like that again. That was not something she could control, but Hayate promised, and the matter was over. Rein proved a lot harder to appease, especially since Agito and that deceitful little Reunion kept on fanning her anger, but the Unison Device had relented in the end. In fact, she came in on Wednesday night crying and apologizing, saying that it was her fault that Hayate suffered so much. Rein had known about Reunion’s magic and asked for his help when Hayate was still depressed, but she had never wanted to cause her so much suffering. And so Hayate comforted the little fairy throughout the night and slept not a wink, and on more than one occasion wondered if this was some sort of a strategy to punish her. But it was a fond thought full of smiles.
But the one she worried most for was Shamal. Her fury would be comparable to that of a cold, vengeful blade carving sushi out of a pig, but at the same time she was just much too empathic. Shamal often reprimanded herself at fault for the smallest of errors and simply would not listen to anyone until the terrible guilt has passed. She would offer her help limitlessly and often worked to the brink of collapse unless Hayate forced her to rest. It was the same now. The healer spent time around Hayate whenever possible, worried at the slightest cough and attending to every need. And, when she thought Hayate wasn't looking, Shamal pinched the top of her left hand as if to tear off a piece of frustration and helplessness. Had she been a different mistress, Hayate could not, did not want to imagine what would have happened to the gentle woman's heart. Right now, Shamal needed her help.
So every night, Hayate would ask for Shamal and said,
“Tonight’s a little cold. Could you hold me until I sleep?”
“Of course, Hayate.”
It sounded and looked childish; a fact Agito never failed to remind, but Hayate didn’t mind. Every night they would crawl into bed together, and Hayate hugged Shamal tightly as if to pass on those unspeakable words of comfort and warmth until she fell asleep. Sometimes Hayate would wake during midnight and listen to the soft, uncontrollable sobs beside her, wordlessly holding the blonde tighter.
She was a bad mistress.
-
“How are you still here?”
“Because I saved your life?”
“No, you murdered me and prayed to god that I’ll be resurrected, and don’t you dare deny it. Seriously though.”
Hayate’s fingers danced lightly against the tens of hangers, trying to decide which dress she to wear. Pink? No wait, this was the one she bought for Signum; she would dress it on her one day. Eventually. How about light blue?
“… You know, it’s pretty inhumane to be changing so cheerfully when you locked a totally innocent young boy in the toilet. And you didn't even finish your sentence. What do you want?”
Yes, the light blue would do. Now, to have a matching skirt, “I sincerely doubt that you were ever innocent, but putting that matter aside. You already know what I want to ask, so why waste my breath?”
Reunion muttered under his breath, “Too bad it wasn’t your last,” and replied, “No, I did not use my magic on the others the day you collapsed. Truth be told… I'm not sure why I'm still alive, much less living in this house.”
It was a good weekend. It has been three days since her discharge, and she finally had time to meet her certain someone. He has visited her a couple of times before in the hospital, but was successfully intimidated by the combined stares of all the Wolkenritters except Zafira. While everyone knew he was an epitome of pureness and innocence, it didn’t help that Hayate wore only a thin white shirt and baggy pants underneath the blanket. That she was smiling seductively and caressing the first few buttons of her shirt almost caused him to be smashed out of the window by Vita, despite the fact that he really wasn’t looking. Just begging really hard at Hayate to stop playing such scary jokes.
“I see,” She paused, her train of thought disturbed by the possibility of a ground breaking murder happening in her house. That can’t be good for anyone. If it had taken place elsewhere though…
“I. Hear. You.”
Hayate shrugged, quietly ticking another box in her mental checklist. The boy had powerful abilities, but he could be tricked. Reunion rarely applied his magic because there was a high risk that the other person’s heart could corrupt his own personality. What he usually does was to read the crumbs of emotions or ‘words’ leaking out of a person’s mind, then interpret their thoughts and actions. In that case, as long as she thought out loud and clear there was a very good chance to deceive his senses. Or hiding an emotion behind another.
“So you did. Although I could guess that they weren’t thinking quite right when they found me collapsed in front of your doorsteps. You are a kid. And –“
Oh fine, she’ll just take another light blue. Her interest in cosplay was one thing, real life dressing was another, “– You are also our family. Don’t forget that. Rein defended you, didn’t she? So trust us a little more… brat.”
Silence. Hayate finally finished changing her clothes, and looked confidently into the mirror. Today would be a very enjoyable day indeed. She picked up her handbag and headed for the door, but then slowed down as if forgotten something,
“And the toilet door was unlocked since ten minutes ago. My guess is that you’re now holding a pail of water waiting impatiently for me to come close. Just who are you trying to fool?”
“How –“
Slam. Gotta love solid, wooden doors; they have such amazing sound effects. And sweet, sweet victory.
-
The central park of Cranagan was one of the main attractions untouched by the terrible wrath of Grey Christmas. While not entirely massive that it would encroach upon the people’s living space, it was enough to take a busy person’s mind off the bogs and falls of reality. A huge man-made fountain sprayed multitude streams of pure water, constantly soothing and refreshing people’s hearts with a shower of natural coolness. Sitting on a bench placed directly beside the fountain was a pair of gorgeous looking couple, holding hands and playing a weird game that mysteriously drew the attention of all nearby visitors.
“Two.”
“Three.”
“Two circles and a knife. Say it!” The woman shook her partner’s arm like she would do to a broken twig. The young man panicked a little further and tried to pull, but it was a disastrous failure. He started begging.
“… Two please?”
“Pink petals. Aw, Yuuno! So you want to know that badly huh? I guess I could…” She gave a witch’s smile and deftly touched the collar of her shirt and unclipped one button, two…
The same trick worked twice, albeit it produced a totally opposite reaction from the surroundings. Men were swallowing down their saliva everywhere. Yuuno finally couldn’t take it any longer and swept Hayate into his arms princess style, and ran. He didn’t forget to glare down his girlfriend, but Hayate was laughing so hard that she didn’t even notice. She tried to squeeze in a couple of words between breaths, “So you… finally got… pfft! Used to doing this huh? Haha!”
“Better than to stay and let you make things worse!”
-
There has been some disapproval from her family when Hayate first announced her date with Yuuno the day before. Shamal for one looked unusually dark, an eerie smile peeking from her teeth as she began reciting surgical tools with a nonchalance that could chill the living, and with Agito flying around shouting, “Sex! Sex! Seeeeeeex!” the already dampened mood quickly transformed into a pitch black aura that leaked of murder and blood thirst.
Hayate whipped out her staff skillfully and shut Agito up with a quick bind to the mouth. She then said calmly, “Everyone. I know you’re still uncomfortable with Yuuno, and some of you might doubt his sincerity since we spent so little time together. I can assure you that they are utterly groundless fears, and that we love each other very much.”
She lowered her voice into a half whisper, asking their permission, “I love him, and I want to spend the rest of my life with Yuuno. From here on, and thereafter. So please… support me.”
What else could they say?
-
“Yuuno. What do you think about Nanoha?”
The young man handed Hayate a can of coffee and popped his own, a questioning look in his eyes. Discussions about Nanoha have always been cheerful and reminiscent, but Hayate’s attempt to sound casual was poor even to her own ears. She chose such a secluded spot in the park because the talk they’re about to have were rather confidential, unsuited for the public’s attention. Yuuno shrugged his shoulders and took a sip of coffee,
“Well, I guess I did like her once, but –“
Hayate smiled a little. Yuuno was giving her a last chance to back out of the discussion, but she needed to talk about this. He was the second after Rein to know about everything, or at least as much truth as she knew herself. It was ironic how everything to a person could mean nothing from another’s point of view. Such was the way of life.
“No, that wasn’t what I meant. I meant the her as of late. In the end… She didn’t visit me after all.”
“I would say that’s a rather unfair statement. Didn’t she send you messages?”
Hayate raised an eyebrow, and placed a finger on the weak spot of his palm, reading to dig, “Oh? How did you know? You couldn’t have gone through my phone, could you?”
But Yuuno continued to drink his coffee calmly and replied, “No, of course not. I simply guessed. It wasn’t a hard question.”
“Hah, you’re right,” Hayate sighed and chugged in her own drink, “It really wasn’t a hard question. There was the battle before; she thought she would give it a little more time, find a better opportunity to make peace with the others…”
Yuuno frowned, “It wasn’t just that. Hayate,” He squeezed Hayate’s hand a little tighter, those jade green eyes looking with terrible concern, “Don’t be so reckless. Jumping off a cliff… you’re making me worried all the time. The others too.”
Hayate smiled gently and returned the squeeze, “I know, sorry to make you worried. C’mon,” She pecked at his cheeks lightly, reassuringly, “Forgive me. Please?”
The young man reddened a little, but did not avert his eyes, “I guess I can, but… you’re not going to promise me, are you?”
Hayate paused, a hint of conviction slipping into her words, “I’m sorry, but I won’t apologize for the way I’ve acted. They were stupid and crazy and outrageous, but I would do it again if it meant saving Nanoha. Or you,” she combed a leaf out of her hair and began examining it, “Or anyone who needed my big smack talk of the year. Such is the path I’ve chosen, no?”
“Hah… So it is,” He emptied the can and threw it smartly into a nearby dustbin. His expression suddenly turned sad and he said painfully, “Nanoha was always so bright and cheerful. She smiled so well and strong despite the hardships, and yet… How did it turn out like this?”
“Perhaps it was our fault,” She released the yellow leave, and watching it sank soundlessly to the earthen ground, “Nanoha's actions have always been transparent. Clear. Honest. Her actions were not a lie, but sometimes they were not a reflection of her true feelings. And we the idiots just accepted it, never noticing. Blindfolding our eyes from reality. That's why we couldn't understand what's really going inside her mind.”
Hayate closed her eyes and thought regretfully for the millionth time: How could I have not noticed it earlier?
Yuuno squeezed her hand and pulled her back from the dwelling. Whenever she needed a touch, Yuuno was always right there with her. It was their way of supporting each other, to hold each other’s hands, squeezing a bit to remind.
“Even now I find it hard to believe that this is Nanoha we’re talking about. That incident was bad, but to change her like this... Really, just what had happened that day?”
Hayate shook her head, “I don’t know much about what happened inside, only those official reports lodged in by Nanoha. That day I could only hear voices, and the screens were all static. Only she and Fate could tell us. They probably never will.”
“Hayate…” Yuuno stood up and pulled her along. She leaned a bit at his shoulders, and dragged in a thankful breath. She really needed the change of scenery. Her eyes closed.
If only.
-
When she had opened them again, they were cocooned within a sea of blue, protected only by a thick sheen of glass. Aquatic organisms, different as they were from world to world have never ceased to amaze Hayate of their beauty and freedom. The sky might be wide and free, but they were always too empty for her as compared to the compact yet endless depth of ocean. She stared dazed in admiration at the wondrous blue world that was filled with life, hands reaching as if to touch a weird looking shark that above her, but there was a glass, and there was a world she cannot reach.
Once, I would have been able to touch it. The glass that isolates was meaningless and I could laugh and proudly declare so. But now…
“Yuuno…” Hayate leaned her full weight against her boyfriend, infinitely grateful for the strength he gave her, “Sometimes, just sometimes… I wish we were young again.”
Once upon a time, when our prayers and feelings transcended the guilt of responsibility.
Yuuno smiled wryly, “Perhaps you didn’t notice, but you are young. Very.”
She threw a playful punch at his shoulder and grinned, “That’s not what I mean, but thanks. I…”
Her right hand trembled slightly, and Hayate tried to will it stop. She had a bad habit of getting soft around people she trusted and loved, especially with Yuuno, and perhaps the aftereffects of Reunion’s tampering haven’t completely subsided. The latter felt it and wordlessly put strength into his own, soothing the tremors and bubbling emotions that threatened to surface. They have been together for many years, and yet Hayate still blushed at the increased physical contact, thinking just how lucky she was to have Yuuno.
“You’re a bad habit, you know that?”
“Really,” He raised an eyebrow, “Then how about treating me a little better from now on? You had your eyes closed since the park; doesn’t that scare you when we’re crossing roads?”
“No way and no, ferret boy. I once had an assignment here so I pretty much memorized all the routes here; you did well to choose the quickest and safest path. As for crossing the roads safe…” Hayate smiled sweetly and pushed a breast against his arm, “That’s your responsibility, no?”
“Y-You’re too close! I – Haa...” Yuuno gave up almost immediately and tried not to notice the demonic stares some people were giving him. If he hadn’t managed to resist since fifteen, there’s no reason to believe that he’ll make it at thirty. At all. Hayate giggled at his never changing reaction, and sneaked another longing look at the endless blue. A ten meters wide octopus thing floated by idly without a care for the world.
She suddenly remembered, “Do you still remember the boy I asked you to research, Reunion?”
“The child you took in – That one?” His tone softened so that no one could eavesdrop on the conversation, but not too soft that Hayate could not listen. His time spent in the library taught him a lot about secrecy. Hayate nonchalantly pulled Yuuno around the amusement park with a happy face, but her words clearly do not coincide her current expression, “Yes. Have you found anything in the Infinity Library?”
“I did. Wait a second,” Yuuno paused a bit to gather his thoughts before continuing, “Okay. I got a name and a vague concept, but nothing else. Do you want to wait longer or…?”
Her eyes darted around like a bouncing pin ball and at last found an empty bench. Gently breaking free from Yuuno, Hayate raced fifty meters forwards before plopping down on the seat with a happy sigh. The boyfriend could only look disapprovingly while buying two new cans of coffee, unconscious of his own actions.
Yup, she got him totally under control.
“It will do. In fact, that’s more than I expected,” Hayate crossed her legs elegantly and stared upwards towards the sea wrapped sky, seemingly searching for that soul’s melody, “The name first, please.”
Yuuno looked concerned for a second, but he held back the words of comfort and went straight to business. She looked as if she needed the… peace, “Okay, I found the information in a very old manuscript dated at least ten thousand years ago. And even then, there was only a single page that briefly mentioned about a legendary magic said to be the purest among all.”
Hayate suddenly felt a prickle on all of her fingers and she immediately recognized the signs. Not again. She curled a finger on her hair and began twisting. An icy snake began to nibble and swallow the back of her spine, but she bit her lips to forget the cold, “This Rare Skill – No, it was supposedly extinct – Its name is Heart Seeker. If my research is correct, then Reunion has it.”
“Heart… Seeker.” The shuddering whisper escaped her lips without Hayate even knowing it. Maggots now crawled on every inch of her skin and she couldn’t help but shudder at the unnaturally realistic illusions. But she held. She forced herself to focus on Yuuno and Yuuno alone, and held on.
Something was obviously not right, but Yuuno acted as if he didn’t notice and moved on, albeit on a much faster pace, “As its name would imply, this ability allows you to find and reach out to another being's heart or soul. The wielder basically knows everything about the person's life whose heart he touches. There's also a vague mention that a successful contract would allow the wielder to manipulate one's heart, but as to how –“
“The brat made me named him.”
“Huh?”
Hayate felt the chills leaving her at last and sighed with obvious relief. The lingering nightmares of that night still haunt her sometimes, but they were much more bearable. And given enough time, even nightmares would fade to nothing. Confidence rekindled in her voice as she answered Yuuno energetically, “That is the contract. When I first met Reunion he asked me to hold his hands, and give him a name.”
“Hmm, I see,” Hayate observed of the sagging of his shoulder and the fading tension from his voice, and determined that it was more of an expression of relief than an actual acknowledgment of her statement. So, he knew that she was going through one of those ‘daydreams’ again, but chose not to interfere with her inner battle. Hayate couldn’t help but smile. As usual, she could hide nothing from him, as he had never once doubted her, “But the condition of this contract sounds too easy. I mean, just physical contact and asking for a name and…”
“Because it is a curse.”
“Huh?” Hayate surprised both herself and Yuuno, but her reasoning caught up quickly with the instinctive reply.
“This magic is a double sided gun… It shoots both the wielder and target dead. Just like a curse,” Hayate replied softly, “Heart Seeker... Reunion made my heart whole when I was losing hope. I thought he healed my wounds, my fears, my demons, but no. He simply made me stronger that I could face them without wavering. But once he cancels the contract, the whole heart became broken once more, and…”
She raised a hand. It was trembling like a leaf, “This. Kinda like drugs, really. Lose it and the world crashes while old and new wounds alike stab you so hard you wish you were dead. The shock alone was probably enough to do just that. I can’t believe –“
Hayate stopped sharply, and this time Yuuno did not hesitate to embrace her into his arms and kept still. She accepted the warmth wholeheartedly, and only then she realized just how weakened she felt. How weary and scared.
But even so, I still…
“Hayate, are you really okay living with Reunion?”
She turned to look at Yuuno. Sincere worry and concern shone out of his eyes exactly the same as eighteen years ago, and with passing age etched a hardened determination into his face. It was a resolve to reject himself for the sake of someone else. For her. A budding sadness dug deeply into her heart, but Hayate shelved it away and leaned deeper against his chest,
“Mm…! You’re warm as usual.”
“Hayate?”
“Your girlfriend is strong, Yuuno. Perhaps I do feel a bit scared, unsure even now whether my feelings are real or just engineered to be real, but even so, Reunion is –“
“– Your family.” He helped finished her sentence, and hugged her tighter. Yuuno was still afraid for her sake, but he believed in Hayate as well. She smiled brightly as if to cast away the last vestiges of fear,
“That's right. And families care for each other equally, no? Well, there's a lot of discipline I’ll need to kick into the brat's head, but he's still young, and he understands. So someday, maybe... No. I'll definitely let him live a normal life.”
They stayed that way for quite some time, looking and occasionally pointing at a certain crowd of colorful fishes, until Hayate heard a sudden murmur into her ears,
“... This is exactly why I love you so much.”
Her entire face boiled red in a second, and she quickly turned around to face Yuuno looking incredulously happy, “W – What did you just say?”
“N – Nothing.” He stuttered and looked away, but Hayate would have none of it. She forcefully grabbed hold of his face and turned it,
“Ow! My neck, what are you doing?!”
“I command you to repeat that phrase immediately!”
To which Yuuno smirked knowingly, very determined to be the winner this time, partially motivated by the creaking pain burning his neck, “And what was it do you want to hear? Perhaps a massage would work out the answer…”
Hayate’s eyes narrowed. She let go coolly, and with an imperious voice demanded, “Alright then. Wallet.”
“No.”
“Phone.”
“No.”
“Car keys.”
“Just no!”
“Me.”
“No, no, no – Wait a second –“ Then he realized his mistake, but it was already too late.
“I see,” Hayate flipped open her communicator and immediately dialed for Shamal, her legs already beginning the flight away from Yuuno, “So, the great Archeologist and Chief Librarian of the almighty Infinity Library has finally decided to dump me. I don't mind it. I really don't.”
Panic crept into his voice as he began chasing after the escaping Hayate, but she was too damn slippery and blended perfectly into the crowd, “It was just a joke! A joke! And you tricked me! Hayate, who are you calling?!”
“Oh, no one in particular. Just a certain doctor whom I would like to cry this terrible, terrible injustice on. Ah, it’s connected. Hello? Shamal…”
Yuuno turned for the emergency exit and ran, but he suddenly fell unceremoniously to the ground as a reappearing Hayate timed and tripped him perfectly into a somersault. There was the unmistakable glint of wickedness in her eyes as she smiled infinitely cheerful at her trembling boyfriend,
“You are not getting away from me.”
Forever.
-
Night. An otherworldly realm of tranquility and silence that enveloped all in equal embrace deeper than light. Humans have long since learned to use fire to combat this ghastly mist that blinded all sight, and as they evolved certain places was no longer casted in darkness.
But there were far more shadows under the light than there were glows under darkness. Far, far more.
And now one such shadow crawled ever so quietly behind her unsuspecting victim, fangs and claws and fake blood dominant in the arsenals of doom, and she crawled oh so quietly –
“Hayate. You would make a great storyteller if you don’t add yourself in it. Don’t even try.”
“Ceh, spoilsport. And I was so looking forward to use this taser too…” She flashed out the item casually, and Yuuno jumped two steps away from Hayate as if repelled by an impenetrable shield. His footing was rather unsteady, and he almost fell down into a nearby drain.
“W-w-where did you get that thing?!” Yuuno’s voice came out a terrified squeak that he could not control; his nerves totally jarred from the terrifying chase Shamal gave him before. Of course he didn’t expect the medic to actually show up, and to actually be incited by Hayate… Was she having her period?
Yuuno remembered the needle, and immediately killed off the thoughts. It was entirely unscientific and realistically impossible for Shamal to read his mind – Not to mention that she went back for an emergency surgery – but just to be one hundred percent sure. Yeah.
“I bought in on Earth of course. Over there I can’t exactly blast bad guys with magic, so this was to compensate for my protection.”
“H-hah…” She wore an innocent look on her face, but Yuuno easily saw the devil smirking from behind that mask. But there would be even more consequences if he doesn’t man up and hold her hands now, so he sucked in a deep breath and jerkily reached for her right, and clasped.
Hayate looked satisfied and slipped the device back into her bag. She then looked upwards to the sky and began savoring twinkling colors called stars that illuminated the world.
Night.
Ten minutes was the distance between their slow walk to Hayate’s home. Neither wanted their precious date to end so quickly, to be reminded of the duties and responsibilities that kept them apart. The night was young, but their time was not. For them, time was expiring.
“Neh, Yuuno.”
“Yeah?”
“Have you ever wondered why we are still together?”
Yuuno pondered the question, not understanding as he asked, “Because we love each other?”
That got him another light punch to the body as Hayate blushed, “Don’t answer for me, idiot! I mean I do love you, but…”
The dark thought slithered roots into her mind, and her face was solemn once more, “Don’t you think that it’s strange? I can count with one hand the dates we go in a year. Relationships aren’t supposed to work that way.”
There was a look of apprehension on Yuuno’s face, and he began shaking his head wryly to Hayate’s surprise. The walk slowed to a turtle’s crawl as he smiled gently, “You may be right. That will be the case for many people, but...”
He stopped there with a thoughtful look, and Hayate felt annoyance. It had been a serious question that could significantly impact their relationship, but Yuuno didn’t even look remotely shaken. If possible, he looked calmed by her doubts. Just as she was about to speak her irritation, Yuuno suddenly asked, “Hayate. What do you think about our relationship?”
“I asked you a question first!” She didn’t bother to hide her emotions. Yuuno merely smiled and tried again, “Of course I’ll answer you, but first I need to know your thoughts. You don’t want a half-hearted reply, do you?” Her defense crumbled against his logic, but she kept on a tight face and didn’t speak for quite a while.
Five minutes passed, and she finally let out a sigh before shooting a piercing stare at her boyfriend. He simply glanced at her with a knowing look on his face, and she finally replied, “You and I are busy. Always busy. I am TSAB Commander of Special Duty Section 6, an elite group team formed to counter special level disasters and crimes. You are Chief Librarian of the Infinity Library, searching and processing near infinity amount of information for people every day."
“We didn’t choose our occupation by chance, did we? You discovered that the Infinity Library was your home, and I found the military as the way to atone for my sins. Either way, even if our jobs meant a degree of loneliness and separation with loved ones, we are content. Satisfied. I know I am.”
Hayate hesitated, “So maybe I enjoy my private space more than I thought. Occasionally I would love company, kind of like sudden craving for sweets, but sometimes I wished to be alone. If I have to eat them every day I probably could not stand it. I never had this problem with my family because of their respect for me as their mistress, hence a measure of distance, but you are different. Maybe…”
She unconsciously pulled at her sleeves as if to tear against the demonic doubts, “Maybe if we were never librarian or commander, if we have lived our lives normally, we will not be together. Maybe we’re together because it just happened to be convenient. And even if we are together, I would grow bored of you, tired of you, make excuses to keep you apart…”
“You and I are just too independent. We could live without relying on anyone… and certainly without each other too.”
Hayate’s head stooped down a bit, not daring to look at Yuuno’s expression. It had sounded too much like a request to break up. He stood very still and unmoving, and when he let go of her hand she flinched instinctively –
– And felt Yuuno draping his brown coat over her shoulders. Surprised, she forgot her fear turned to look, but he simply smiled at her and said, “It’s cold, isn’t it?”
“Eh, yes. Thanks.” She fumbled a little, but her bearings returned all almost too quickly. She still felt chilled, but this time it came from the heart. Why wasn’t he answering? Was she right on the mark after all?
Pok.
There was a light knock against her head, and Hayate looked at Yuuno in surprise. Again. This time he frowned slightly and spoke, “You really mean every word, don’t you? And you’re telling me that Nanoha’s the one who’s dense?”
“What!” She grew indignant and was about to bite back, but Yuuno cut her off swiftly with a totally unexpected flavor of surprise,
“My first crush was Hayate Yagami. I first noticed this when I was nine, just right before we sent off Reinforce.”
Hayate’s jaws fell wide open. Yuuno leaned against a lamp post and motioned her to do the same, and in the midst of disbelief and embarrassment she just followed without a question.
“At that time I didn’t understand about my own feelings, and I thought Nanoha was the one I wanted to be together with. So when I saw this brave girl pushing her wheelchair uphill with everything she got for Reinforce; someone whom she didn’t even know until the day before, I felt really surprised and confused. It was snowing pretty heavily, and yet she rushed here with absolutely no heed of her own health. Very reckless.”
“It happens that everyone in our group is crazy one way or another, you know,” Hayate said sarcastically.
“I really didn’t understand that sudden warmth blooming in my heart,” Yuuno thoroughly ignored her jab and continued, “I thought, like everyone else, that I was just moved by the strong bonds and belief you shared with Reinforce, but it wasn’t. I was just utterly fascinated by this strong girl, for the unconditional trust and love she would give to others despite her own misfortunes.”
Hayate wondered why was it so hot all the sudden. Must be the coat; there’s no other explanation.
Yuuno was far from finished, “The first time I truly recognized my feelings though was the moment Nanoha woke up from her coma, eighteen years ago. It was rather ironic, really. On one hand I prayed very hard that she would wake up and smile again. On the other, I held an anonymous fear that gnawed at my heart for many sleepless nights with no relief in sight. I dreaded every moment since Shamal reported her eventual awakening, but I couldn’t understand why.”
“She woke up. It was a very sunny afternoon, and Fate was holding Nanoha’s hand talking about daily life as usual. I was dozing off on a nearby chair trying to catch some sleep, and suddenly the room was silent. Fate began screaming Nanoha’s name, and I fell off my seat trying to scramble to her side. I quickly grabbed one hand with both, and Fate the other. Then Nanoha opened her eyes.”
With a casualness that Hayate did not expect, Yuuno stated simply, “She said ‘Fate’. It took me a few seconds to comprehend, and at that moment I was finally released from the biggest torture in my life. No words could describe the enormous relief I felt, that the demon that plagued for many months was finally gone. And since then, I found out that the one I truly wanted to be together with was… you.”
But Hayate’s thoughts were focused on what happened after Nanoha awoke. Amidst the chaotic torrent of friends and family that that came to visit Nanoha, Hayate alone had slipped quietly out of the room so as not to burden the just awakened brunette with unnecessary banter. Thankfully the lift here reached up to the rooftop of the hospital, or she would’ve needed to either try magic or asked someone else’s help to push her up. Both were situations that she was inclined to avoid.
Therefore she was surprised when she saw a young boy clad in green asleep behind the shadow and well hidden from the glaring sun. When she went up for a closer look; slowly pushing her wheelchair forwards so as to not disturb his sleep; she immediately recognized Yuuno Scrya as one of Nanoha’s friends that was involved in the Book of Darkness Incident. They never really talked much as Yuuno preferred to just stand by and watch the girls chat, maybe throwing in a comment or two but no more. It got her curious to be able to see a different side of this quiet, gentle boy, and so she had moved towards him for a closer look.
-
“Hmm, he looks really girlish, but I guess that’s what you call handsome?”
Hayate had both hands supporting under her chin as she leaned in closer to take a look. Up till now the only sleeping faces that she saw were the Wolkenritters, and she has never seen a boy’s. Perhaps that’s why she felt her heart fluttering for Yuuno with no apparent reason. There was an innocence and childishness that she really loved to see from these defenseless faces, as if she could regain something she never have since very young.
The thought didn’t sit well. She slowly pulled back to her seat and prepared to return downstairs, but not before casting one last gaze at the sleeping Yuuno. Her lips curled into a light smile, and she whispered, “Sleep well. Goodbye.”
His eyes flickered open. Pure green orbs pierced deeply into her soul, and she froze like a caught rabbit. Yuuno mumbled,
“Hayate…? So… pretty…”
And he closed his eyes and fell right back to sleep. Yuuno must have been really tired, but that was beside the point. Did he just call her… pretty? Her heart was racing so hard that she feared it would stop. Hayate quickly escaped from the scene, but the conflicting emotions boiling inside her heart didn’t subside until a very long time.
-
Warmth wrapped around her right hand, and Hayate saw clearly that Yuuno’s palm was gently holding hers. She didn’t resist, but she didn’t turn around either. He had certainly proved his point that they fell for each other way back when they were just kids, that it was a normal life that first tied them together. But still she wasn’t convinced. It still doesn’t explain how they managed to stay together with minimal contact, or the possibility that their current relationship was really because of convenience. Hayate knew that it was unsightly and immature to be feeling so insecure, but she couldn’t help the fear pounding through her veins.
The boyfriend sensed the distraught clear as day, and sighed. Hayate could be very, very stubborn with herself sometimes, but she almost never revealed her feelings because she didn’t want to impose on others in any way, so it was a good thing that she’s confessing now. Yuuno was determined to lift at least this one burden from Hayate’s shoulders.
“A year after that, I asked you out. Remember?”
“… As if I could forget.” She muttered ill-naturedly, but already her tone has softened to the point that it wouldn’t hurt. Yuuno couldn’t resist a big smile and continued,
“So I admit. I never knew I could be such a nervous wreck when it comes to love. Asking you out was the easy part, but after that… it was just one screw up after another. Everywhere we go bad luck plagued our backs like mosquitos that just won’t disappear. I mistook the wrong house, dropped my wallet, missed the bus, dropped an ice cream on your dress, which in turn caused us to be late for the movie –“
“Yuuno, if you’re trying to make me feel better, it’s not working.”
He laughed, “Okay, you’re right. Let’s skip the minor details. The thing is, after all that’s happened, I must say that I really gave up. I was considering digging myself a grave and just sleep in there unto eternity after all those blunders. I knew for certain that once we parted I would never see you again, unless it was a friendly gathering of sorts. ”
“But then you stopped me gently, and said the most incredible things I will never forget. Do you remember, Hayate?”
-
A Yuuno looked like he was barely holding back the angry tears, unable to forgive himself for messing up what would’ve been a wonderful and memorable day for the both of them. But he held on strongly so as not to embarrass her in public and asked quietly to walk her home. The solemnity in his tone suggested that this was the last time Yuuno would never see her again, and Hayate didn’t want that. It was really painful to watch him suffering like this, and there was still something important he didn’t say.
So she told herself that she needed to do something and grabbed his hands. Big, warm hands that reminded of the sun, “It’s just a bad day, Yuuno. Forget about it.”
Yuuno’s mask cracked a little, and he quickly bowed his head to hide a tear, “I’m sorry,” His voice thick with regret, “I gave you a bad memory today, and I can’t change that. But I’ll promise you this at least. I will not trouble you any –“
Pok.
“Yuuno.” She stopped him firmly with a light knock to his head, staring deep into his eyes as if to confirm her feelings. Hayate then clenched a fist for encouragement and muttered quietly to herself,
“Be a little braver… a little stronger.”
“Hayate?”
“I had lots of fun today, Yuuno.”
“What are you talking about? I –“
Hayate ignored him, “You mistook the wrong house, but that’s because you were helping out an old lady to carry groceries. You dropped your wallet along the way because you were watching out for her while crossing the roads. You came late and we missed the bus, but thanks to that we get to walk together and talk a lot of things. You secretly borrowed money from Shamal in the house thinking I didn’t notice, and bought me ice cream to apologize. Instead you dropped it right onto my dress, but it wasn’t your fault, a naughty kid accidentally bumped your back. You immediately apologized afterwards and bought me a new double-sized ice-cream, didn’t you? We were late for the movie, but it was just the first ten minutes. And oh,” Hayate rubbed her own head sheepishly,
“Vita has been following you since yesterday, if you’re wondering how I knew so much. I couldn’t stop her, sorry.”
Yuuno, predictably speechless, snapped out of his astonishment and began blabbering, “N-no, I er, you didn’t need to be, er, sorry, I, I am the one who –“
Hayate pressed a finger against his lips, blushing a little at the softness of the contact. Yuuno himself looked like a steam cooker about to explode.
“Putting that aside, Yuuno,” She let her arm down and said quietly, “I believe there’s something you haven’t tell me, right?”
The boy smiled weakly while feeling the same for his knees, “I – Yes, but –“
“I want to know,” Her own voice barely above a whisper, “Please say it. You’ve been trying so hard for this, so don’t… don’t give up now.”
“I – I…”
He drew in a deep breath. Exhaled. Yuuno returned Hayate’s grip and mustered a lifetime’s courage. He looked into those deep blue eyes, and said it.
“I really like you, Hayate. Can you… become my girlfriend?”
“… No.”
He looked as if he was struck silly by a hammer. Hayate hid a grin and shook her head, repeating, “No. I would love to return your feelings, but you have to admit that despite everything, this date was still a big failure. So instead we’re going to make a promise.”
“A promise?” Correction. A flying bulldozer hit him, and he totally forgot to shield.
“Yup. Promise me that you’ll ask me out again, and make sure that the date goes well. And when the day’s over, you could tell me your feelings one more time.”
“… But whether you’ll accept is still a question?” It sounded mixed with a hint of abandoned pride, but Yuuno did somehow get his wits back.
“You’re pretty smart, aren’t you?” She flashed him a devious grin, and for the first time Yuuno saw a glimpse of Hayate’s secret world that she would tell no one but herself. A side so personal that even close friends and family see only once in a blue moon.
He would be a real ferret if he wasn’t excited by the opening Hayate gave him. All his worries from before was blown away like a dream, and Yuuno said strongly, “I promise. I’ll ask you out again and again until the day you accept my feelings. Then I’ll continue dating you anyway, because I’ll be aiming at a higher goal. Even boys have the wish to get married, you know?”
The return ball fried her brain hotter than a full tank of wasabis. But before she could cool down her electrocuted senses, Yuuno has already snatched the next move, “Now then, a promise has to be an agreement from both sides. You have told me your condition, and now it’s my turn to propose… No?”
Intellectual debate. Knowledge. Reaction and flexibility. Get yourself together, Hayate! The girl prayed for rain to cool her head as she raised a burning face and replied, “O – of course. What is it?”
Yuuno said softly, “I want you to promise me that no matter what happens, you would not forget today. My failings, our promises, these feelings – Even those words you said to yourself.”
She froze, “Words?”
“Be, a little braver,” He tightened his hands, “A little stronger.”
“You heard?!”
“I did, and right now, your words, I want to...” Yuuno paused and stared intently at Hayate. He emanated with an aura of maturity that one shouldn’t possess at the age of thirteen, but that was only if she measured from Earth’s standards. Hayate felt herself pulled into a swirling chaos of emotions by puberty and Yuuno, but to her surprise she didn’t mind it one bit at all.
She closed her eyes.
"What is it?”
Their lips met, under the blessing of soaring winds and fading sunset.
-
Hayate woke up from her reverie, and found herself safe within the loving embrace of her dearest. Yuuno’s chest felt so warm she could just sleep like this forever. That being said, she has absolutely no memory when the hugging happened, and so she pouted a little and mumbled,
“Hmph. You two-faced trickster. Fake four eyes. Ferret.”
Yuuno grinned a little and held her tighter, “Just a little reminder.”
And they said nothing more. The couple stayed cuddled and listened to each other’s breathing quietly, peacefully, but her communicator suddenly beeped and Hayate reluctantly pulled free. She read the message and sighed, “Shamal. I should go back; it’s already midnight. C’mon.”
Hayate pulled at his hands, but surprisingly Yuuno did not budge but simply stood there like a statue. She asked enquiringly, “What’s wrong?”
Yuuno’s face suddenly broke into a cryptic smile. Without a word he suddenly leaned close and hugged her tightly, ignoring the tiny struggles and protests that squeaked out of his embrace. The Wolkenritter’s wrath could wait later. He whispered into Hayate’s ear,
“Hayate, I was thinking.”
“Whatever you want to say, just let me go first, it’s getting kind of hard to breathe –”
“Would you like to stay at my place tonight? No,” He added firmly, “I want you to come with me. Please?”
One second passed. Then two. Finally comprehension ticked in, and she felt steam boiling on top of her head.
“What? But it’s… I mean, the others…”
“Be, a little brave,” Yuuno smiled teasingly, “A little stronger.”
“… Damn you.”
Hayate sent back home a reply, and ran alongside Yuuno with a heart light as feather.
[Playback complete. Saving record to permanent memory, event designated codename ‘Love’. Next selected time year 0086 month 9 day 1 1201. Begin playback.]
... And we have come to the end of my reserves. Chapter 11 is not done as I am reading on some professional card tricks (Believe it or not, it is a pain to learn cheating), and figuring on the next few things I want to write on. At the moment I'm still trying to successfully start off the card fight itself, a bit of writer's block here...
I noticed my sentences tend to be a little blocky, or is it just my imagination?
Writing Chapter 10 has been a... pleasure I guess. Too bad I never got feedback from Aki on the final draft, I dunno why lol (Noo, please don't mention the first, it's too... lyrically embarassing!).
Writing Chapter 10 has been a... pleasure I guess. Too bad I never got feedback from Aki on the final draft, I dunno why lol (Noo, please don't mention the first, it's too... lyrically embarassing!).
Heh, sorry it's just that i guessed that it was a romantic comedy about Hayate(with all the Hayate x Vivio vibes ongoing the last weeks) i never imagined Signum had a significant part on it, probably i will give it a read and then give you my opinion(don't worry i'm not harsh on Signum on any other aspect aside of her portraying in battle).
__________________
May 29 2010-2019
...9 years ago, the day after never would be the same
Oh. Er, actually, I meant Eagle (Her nick is Aki). And er, I didn't focus on Signum. Maybe I should've added a 'Hayate Only' tag in front. My story was meant as a serious tragedy and not romantic comedy, although romance is introduced in this latest chapter. Hope I clear some of your confusion.
Gourry shook his head as he looked at the destruction. "Damn, that's..." He trailed off as he saw a body next to his. What surprised him was that the woman looked a bit like Lina, but her chest was a bit larger. "This is..."
"The Knight of Cephied." A male voice spoke up and Gourry spun to see a tall being in a robe of some sort, a funny hat on his head and a miniature palm tree in his fingers. Behind him was a woman with short blonde hair and a traveling outfit as she held a lit cigarette between her fingers. "...I see..."
"It really was to be expected." The woman spoke up as she looked at the body. "Lord Shabranigdo wasn't going to let her live if he could help it. Though, to use a psychic attack..."
"When did this happen?" The man turned to the woman, who shrugged at him. "Zelas, you know, don't you?"
"Of course I know." She rolled her eyes. "Not all the Mazoku that were in that crowd were fighting, you know. Some of them were my spies." Zelas took a deep breath as she looked at the downed body of the Knight of Cephied. "After Gaav left her and she took off into the air, one of my spies noted that she fell to the ground rather fast and grabbed her head, screaming in pain..."
"So, Shabranigdo attacked her mind?" The man crossed his arms and sighed heavily. "I thought you Mazoku wouldn't attack humans like that, it's beneath you to attack weaker creatures after all."
"Valwin, if you wanted to break the truce because of this, I could understand, though, I'm not sure that..."
"Zelas, as angry as I am for losing another Knight of Cephied, I'm not going to break the truce over this." He turned to look at her. "Unless you, Dolphin or Dynast were responsible."
"Uh..." Gourry spoke up to the two. "Excuse me, but, who are you?"
"Beastmaster Zelas Metallium and this is the Air Dragon Lord Valwin." Zelas spoke up to him. "The dead woman is Luna Inverse, the Knight of Cephied."
Gourry's eyes widened. "Wait, Inverse?" He looked at her in confusion, frowning. "But, is she..."
"I believe that Miss Luna is Miss Lina's older sister." A familiar male voice spoke up as a purple-haired, closed eyed priest appeared in front of Zelas. "As for the power of Cephied, that will be reborn into someone else on this staff soon enough."
Gourry looked at Xellos and then back at Luna. "...Can't any of you bring her back? I mean, she is Lina's sister..."
"Even if Lina has done all of us great favors in the past," Valwin spoke up as he walked up to the downed body of Luna and took her sword from her, "we cannot just break the rules of reality all the time."
"Speak for yourself, we do it all the time." Zelas piped up, smirking at the Shinzoku. "But, he is right. We can't bring her back as a human. She'd be a Mazoku if I did it, or a Shinzoku if Valwin did it... And, to be honest, we don't like turning humans into Mazoku, they tend to be very rebellious."
Gourry frowned at them. "Oh, come on! Gaav's as strong as any one of you and look what he did! You're telling me that you can't bring her back to life?!" He pointed at Xellos. "You, especially, you owe Lina at least a couple of favors by now."
Xellos grimaced at that. "I do hate to owe people favors, though bringing her back just as she was, I doubt that I can pull that off completely..."
"Can't you just bring her back without the power of Celphide or whatever his name is?"
Zelas raised an eyebrow at him. "I'm surprised, I thought you didn't know her?"
"I don't. But it's for Lina's sake."
Xellos shrugged and looked at Valwin, who was looking the body over. "Well?"
"It's not too cold, perhaps we could. But I don't give any promises." Valwin spoke softly. "A god's soul quickly reincarnates, whether that god is Cephied or Shabranigdo." The human's soul that it's attached to generally cannot be brought back to life." Wind gathered around Valwin as he put his hands on Luna's body. "But, this goes against the natural cycle of life. All that lives must eventually die."
Gourry nodded. "I know that, but, Lina doesn't live anywhere near here anymore, yet she came to fight against Shabranigdo, can't you give her this one favor?"
"We'll see." Valwin muttered softly.
(---)
"Miss Miyuki!" Amelia gasped as she looked at the limping swords woman. "Are you okay?"
Miyuki gave her a flat look as she limped towards the healers. "I've got a broken left femur, my right ankle is badly bruised, my right hand feels like crap, I might have a concussion and I think that I've got some internal injuries from when Gaav punched me. So yeah, I'm just fine."
Miyuki sighed as Amelia put her hands to good use, concentrating healing magic onto her injuries. "You know, you never answered my question."
"What question?"
"How come you weren't affected by the miasma?"
Amelia blinked and sweat-dropped heavily. "Well, when going against Mazoku, it's a good idea to cast a quick spell so that you can recover from the effects quickly."
"That's it?" Miyuki blinked as Amelia nodded. "That's... Kind of a lame explanation." Amelia just shrugged at her.
(---)
Meanwhile...
Chrono rubbed his forehead as a healer worked on Zest at a nearby table. The man was more-or-less okay, just extremely exhausted from having his Blast Mode on for so long. "Yes, Admiral Leti, call off the strike. Shabranigdo's dead."
"You're sure?"
"Yes, I'm sure. You can call them and tell them that we don't need the Arc En Ciel to blow the planet up. But..." Chrono looked at the destroyed ground and shook his head. "But, this is going to be a problem, we're going to need some crews to help with reconstruction down here."
"But, they aren't..."
"We did kind of help destroy this castle and city, Admiral, the least we can do is clean it up for them." Chrono smirked slightly as Leti sighed and conceded the point. "How is Nanoha?"
"Finally resting, I think..."
"You think?"
"The security cameras can barely get a feed, but it looks like Nanoha's stopped screaming and she's not... Um, sorry, Chrono, I'll call you back."
Chrono just blinked as Leti cut the conversation off. "What the?"
(---)
On the ship...
Leti stared as Lina practically floated out of the sick bay. "Lina?"
"Call... Your people and tell them to stop coming, I need to... Bleed this off properly." Lina's hair was completely golden at that moment, as were both of her eyes and there was a powerful golden aura surrounding her.
When Lina held up a hand, the whole ship was rocked as powerful energy formed just outside of the hull. "What the hell?!" Leti gasped as Lina dropped her arm down and the ship shook again, this time tilting in the direction that Lina had dropped her hand.
"Chaos Orb. I tossed it into deep space where it will continue on until it explodes on its own. It's safer than sending it to the planet below." Lina took a deep breath as the aura disappeared and she was speaking in her normal tone of voice again. "As for Nanoha, she's alive..."
"And..?" Leti blinked as Lina's hair was closer to a golden sunset than the firey red it was before.
Lina looked at her, tears welling up in her eyes, they were at least normal, one red and one gold. "I don't know, okay?!" Lina turned to look back at the hospital room. "The only thing that kept her alive was the Chaos magic, but it was killing her at the same time, trying to rip her apart. You know how hard it was to keep her from turning into a fine red mist?!"
Lina blinked as Leti squeezed her shoulder. "What?"
"She's alive, that's all you can ask for right now. Let her rest and we'll try to heal her more fully." Leti was a mother as well, she understood Lina's problem at that moment. "Go and rest. They beat Shabranigdo."
Lina smiled softly and nodded. "I need a little rest... Ten minutes..."
Leti wasn't surprised as Lina walked back into the medical bay to sleep.
If their positions were reversed, she would have done the same. "You two, contact the fleet and let them know that we have the situation under control now."
The two hands nodded and went to work at sending the good word out.
Leti shook her head. 'Man, if people ever hear about this...' Her thoughts trailed off and she frowned. 'No... If they knew everything that happened..." Looking at the room where Nanoha and Lina were, she shook her head. 'Man, I must be getting soft. Lindy would never let me hear the end of it if something bad happened to them...'
It was always such a pain to hide stuff from the official reports after all.
(---)
"Mommy! Daddy!" Rein flew over to her parents and gave Hayate a kiss on the cheek, before flying up to Reinforce and kissing her cheek too. "You're alive!" She smiled, tears welling up in her eyes. "I was worried!"
Vita chuckled as she looked at Zwei, before frowning at the way Reinforce was holding Hayate. "...What's wrong?"
Hayate sighed softly. "Reinforce... To heal me so that I could help... Had to force my magic to overextend itself for healing... Right now... Um..."
"Hayate's as weak as she was when you came into her life." Reinforce said sadly as Vita's eyes widened.
"But..." Hayate shook her head. "Hayate!!"
"I'll be fine, Vita-chan." Hayate smiled at her. "It's like a really, really bad muscle tear. I'll recover, it'll just take a long time." Hayate chuckled softly. "Though... I have to admit, I wasn't expecting my muscles to feel so weak..."
"I told you, Hayate..." Reinforce sighed as she looked at the girl in her arms. "The magic was flooding your body at such a rate that when it left, most of your voluntary muscles shut down. You'll get your ability to walk back before your magic returns though."
Hayate sighed and nodded. "It's okay. At least it happened so I could protect my family from someone like that."
Reinforce sighed softly. At least Hayate was taking it better than she thought.
Then again, they both knew that there was a possibility that Hayate would never walk nor use magic ever again, having burned her magic out like she did.
Reinforce just hoped Hayate's positive outlook was correct and that she would be back sooner than expected.
Vita sighed softly. "Signum's out cold from blood loss, but she's getting treatment right now." She wouldn't say what Shamal had to do to make sure that Signum wouldn't try getting up again. "Zafira's fine, just tired. Everyone else is getting treated for injuries and exhaustion right now."
Hayate nodded and closed her eyes as Reinforce hugged her while carrying her bridal style. "Reinforce, can we find some place to relax?"
"Sure." Reinforce nodded to her.
Vita sighed as she went to find a place to sit down. She needed to digest all that happened in her mind before something else happened.
Why does counting up all the injuries after battle make me feel ten times sadder about them, particuly Hayate's and what will happen to Luna. Not to mention Lina and Nanoha.
__________________
"The eyes are the windows that let us gaze upon the soul"
"When desperate there are two choices: Lock shields for the last stand or draw your sword for the final charge"
"There are no winners or losers, there are only the living and the dead."
It's been a while since I've done one of these.
But here we go.
ZA WARUDO! BACKLOG! BREAKKKKKKKKKKAAAAAAAAAA!
Quote:
Originally Posted by shiroi mahotsukai
I quite enjoyed this, it's a very interesting angle on events. I really liked the description of the empire, it's in stark cotrast to comman depictions of the Belkan empire and still manages to appear like a logical and efficient form of government... even if it was somewhat uninformed as to the concept of individuality. Oddly I don't see her as evil, I probably should but I don't. What are children reffered to as if they don't have names? Is it just a number or something. or their designation.
The way Childa became Mid-Childa would have amused me if it wasn't such a serious situation at the time. I did especially like the way all of these events influence events that we already know of. Also how is this being written from inside a prison on Jupiter anyway?
She's breaking the fourth wall, talking to the reader directly instead of actually talking to someone in her universe.
I mostly attended industry panels and wandered around the dealer's room; nothing outright amazing other than only one Nanoha cosplay (a pair of girls as Nanoha and Fate). Hearing loss never felt so good at the Mikunopolis concert, and I learned about a few future localizations that I will look forward to. I helped out at a few dealer booths, and got some nice freebies as a result.
All the while, I pondered things to write. Unfortunately, very few ideas could be used for Nanoha-related fics.
Wasn't the Hatsune Miku U.S. concert supposed to be at Animexpo?
Quote:
Originally Posted by Rising Dragon
Personally, I'm on the belief that Nanya made a pact with a Mazoku for such update speed.
It could just be Nanya's Inherent Skill: Unlimited Story Works
To put it very shortly, Hayate's spanking a spoiled girl's ass. Or should I say woman, but well, that sounds kinda weird so...
One more chapter left before I stop, as the Chapters after 10 will be the end. They're still in progress, and I had my hands full trying to write the epic card cheating war between Lutecia and Hayate. I'm sure the end product would sound lame (Like trying to write with a Death Star aiming at you), but I'm trying. =.="
I'm currently reading 'Kara no Shoujo' just to beef up some inspiration and to remind myself my favorite writing style: Gore and Torture. I enjoy nothing more but presenting body parts in creative ways, and the victims must be innocent idiots who are so full of confidence and hope and young and... Ah, sorry, here's your leg. Watch me stepping it flat and squishy, and oh, don't faint just yet, we're just halfway pulling out your intestines from your a***. AHAHAHAHA!
Jokes aside, I do hope my imagination of a unique, One and Only disaster does not fall short of expectation. A disaster as natural as body splitting disease...
And oh, Chapter 10 is Yuuno/Hayate's spotlight.
I liked that very much <3. Was hoping we'd see clone!Nanoha.
Quote:
Originally Posted by DezoPenguin
I bringeth ye a fic!
Spoiler for Take Your Best Shot:
*Snip*
Spoiler for VMOT!:
"Burning Glory, we need to talk."
"Yes, mistress?"
"I know you really like the new upgrade that Cia gave you..."
"Very much so!"
"And I know that you're eager to try it out in combat..."
"Yes, I am!"
"But you have to stop saying 'Draw, pardner,' every time we pass someone with a gun-type Device!"
That was entertaining. I miss some things because I'm not really up to date with the Nanofic community but I get it
Quote:
Originally Posted by Craxuan
Spoiler for The Two Goddesses:
Chapter 10
... And we have come to the end of my reserves. Chapter 11 is not done as I am reading on some professional card tricks (Believe it or not, it is a pain to learn cheating), and figuring on the next few things I want to write on. At the moment I'm still trying to successfully start off the card fight itself, a bit of writer's block here...
I noticed my sentences tend to be a little blocky, or is it just my imagination?
Writing Chapter 10 has been a... pleasure I guess. Too bad I never got feedback from Aki on the final draft, I dunno why lol (Noo, please don't mention the first, it's too... lyrically embarassing!).
Sooo.... GOOD END? :O Srsly though it was a good ending. Good job!
Alright, so here's the first scene of the first chapter of my fanfic. It's got a name now and everything!
I will lead my friends against all odds. Even if it kills me.
I will protect the one I love. I will sacrifice myself for her.
I will show everyone what it means to live. If I must die, then so be it.
I will protect she who brought me back to life. I will die for her.
I will return to life and take my rightful place as ruler. I will kill everyone to do it.
Magical Girl Lyrical Nanoha: The Ghost of Al-Hazared
"Extermination!"
Hayate laughed excitedly as she reloaded her DMR. She activated her jetpack and took flight, reaching up to the top of the cliff and taking an overwatch position as her fellow SPARTANs sprinted to their next position. An enemy unit came from behind, energy blade in hand. Hayate took flight again, scoping in and popping the enemy seven times, each hit hitting straight on the top of the head. The enemy fell; Hayate dropped to the ground and switched to her pistol, dropping it in favor of the sword.
Her motion sensors pinged a target directly ahead, and without wasting a thought she came around the corner and stabbed the nearest opponent, felling him in a single strike. Instantly, she turned toward the mid-range target and hurled a plasma grenade, sticking her target in the torso. She turned again as her target exploded, unable to do anything about it. She checked the number of charges in her sword and-
A bullet passed cleanly through her helmet. Hayate fell to her knees, then into a pathetic heap on the ground.
Meanwhile, in real life, Hayate stared at her screen in shock.
"Ehh!?" She exclaimed. "Enemy sniper!" Although with her English, it sounded more like "snaipa".
"I told you," Nanoha replied dispassionately, turning the page in her Iron Man comic. "The rifle respawned about fifteen seconds ago; I said you should have grabbed it." Nanoha's English was much better than Hayate's at this point; a result of her forcing herself to learn English due to how similar it was to Midchildan.
"But... but..." Hayate twisted her mouth to a look of annoyance. "And I was on a Frenzy too..." The brunette shrugged it off and began to play again, taking her newly spawned character back into the fray. Nanoha chuckled lightly to herself at Hayate's enthusiasm - the girl loved all types of shooters. The Halo series was her favorite FPS, and like many "huge nerds" she absolutely loved the Touhou series and was actually pretty good at them, something Nanoha couldn't attest to. The ponytailed girl was okay at shooters and the like, but she really preferred to read or, if anything, play RPGs.
Although, she had to admit with a grin, Master Spark and Starlight Breaker did share enough similarities for her to collect Marisa plushies.
Nanoha felt a shift on her side, and looked over to smile warmly at Fate, who had fallen asleep peacefully and rested on Nanoha's shoulder. Unlike she and Hayate, Fate wasn't really interested in any of that, preferring to be a more outdoors-type person, which was something they all shared, but really caused her to bond with Signum, and together the two had started a small flower garden. Fate was also getting really big into cars, and although she couldn't legally drive yet on Earth, on Midchilda she was quite the hot rod.
Nanoha put an arm around the sleeping blonde; Fate had a busy day at school, having joined the theater club in an attempt to become less shy. It was working, somewhat, but for all three girls their last year of junior high was something of an awkward social experience. Perhaps it was a side effect of being mages and putting up with a lot of Bureau issues alongside their "normal" lives, but the girls were quite a bit more mature than your average teenager. They also dealt with far more serious things than your average teenager to compensate. That said, they were still kids, and they still tried their hardest to "fit in", as it were. Not because of an overwhelming urge to, but because it was something they could do to forget about... well, their "ordinary lives" they supposed.
"You know Ichigo in Class 4 is madly in love with Fate," Nanoha chuckled, setting her comic aside. "You should see the way he stares at her, it's so adorable!" She made a face that could best be described as Konata's cat face and made a cute sound. "They'd be so cute together too!"
"Yeah till he embarrassed her and ended up in the stratosphere," Hayate replied, turning off her console. "Anyway, Fate-chan has her eyes set on someone else entirely,"
"What?!" Nanoha almost jumped out of her seat. "Who? I didn't know this! Tell me, Hayate, tell me!"
"Nnnnhh..." Fate mumbled and curled up closer to Nanoha. "Stop moving..."
Hayate giggled. "Maybe she should tell you herself Nano-chan,"
"But..."
"Maybe I'll tell you later, but lets just say its someone we all know very well, okay?"
"I... you're no fun," Nanoha mumbled, looking disappointed. She shook it off. "Speaking of having a love life, what happened with that man Signum was seeing?"
"Oh, Sei?" Hayate looked thoughtful. "I think they're doing okay... they seem to get along great, even though Signum can be difficult at times."
Nanoha grinned at that. It was true that Signum was hard to get along with unless you knew her well and knew her quirks. But Sei had risen to the challenge and on more than one occasion the two had come to the cafe on a date. Sei was a nice guy if a bit nerdy, but his own sense of personal honor was almost as great as Signum's, though they did clash on occasion; Signum's direct approach put her out of sync somewhat with the more passive Sei, but they were a good match regardless.
Hayate got up from her chair and nudged Fate on the arm. "Ne, Fate, time for bed. Use Vita's bed, she's going to be sleeping with me tonight, okay?"
"Mmmn," Fate mumbled. "Nnnnn, don't wanna move." Hayate sighed and looked at Nanoha, who only grinned and nodded. Nanoha slid herself off of the couch and gently picked up the small blonde. Nanoha was stronger than ever after her recovery, and though it still took quite a bit of effort, she carried the sleeping girl in her arms to Vita's room and laid her down on the Knight's bed. Fate rolled onto her side and bit her thumb in her sleep, mumbled something incoherent, and passed back into deep sleep. The violet-eyed girl smiled warmly at her friend before leaving the room and closing the door behind her.
"I don't know why Vita has a room of her own," she joked to Hayate as the short-haired brunette waited. "She sleeps with you so much I wonder if you're joined at the hip," Hayate laughed as Nanoha walked her to her room.
"Maybe we are," she said. "But I don't mind."
"I know... Vita's really one of the most kind people I know,"
"Only when she's not in tsuntsun mode," Hayate pointed out, and the two shared a laugh. "Well, here I am. Goodnight, Nanoha. Sweet dreams."
"You too," Nanoha said, and turned about.
"Oh, and Nanoha?"
"Hn?"
"The person Fate-chan is in love with... is you."
"...wait. What? You mean-"
"More than she's ever loved anything in her life. I know I said I wouldn't tell you, but I've decided its something you need to think about."
Nanoha looked down, thoughtful. "But why now?"
"Because soon Fate-chan is going to take that step, and when she does, she's going to expect a reply. And... I know this isn't my place, but... I love both of you to death. You're my sisters, and you mean as much to me as my Knights. I know you won't do it on purpose, but... if you end up not feeling the same, and you hurt her, then..."
Nanoha smiled. "I know where you're going with this. I'll think about it, Hayate."
"Thank you, Nanoha..."
-=-=-=-=-=-=-
Later that night, Nanoha stood out on the balcony of Hayate's home. She stared out into the city, her eyes watching lights that seemed to dance in the dark.
On her mind were Hayate's words and what she said about Fate. She loves me, she thought, a swirl of emotions coming over her. Not just love... but love. But... how do I feel?
Part of Nanoha knew all along, she had to admit. Fate had always been close to Nanoha, ever since the Jewel Seed incident. She had always looked after the quiet, shy girl who had been abused and tortured for most of her short life. She had not just rescued Fate, but she was the first person other than Arf to truly show her love. Genuine selfless, caring, sacrificing love. Before Chrono and Lindy took her into their family, and indeed, truly showed her what family was, Nanoha was there for her. She had become the center of Fate's life, willingly becoming her anchor to reality.
She remembered those long nights at her home, in her room, where Fate would cry uncontrollably, afraid to sleep for the nightmares. She remembered holding Fate as she shook, recalled when Fate would scream in her sleep and wake up everyone in the house. Everyone would be in Nanoha's room - her mother, father, siblings, Arf, all of them trying to comfort the broken girl as Nanoha tried desperately to piece back together a child who had been thrown in a situation no one should have to go through.
Nanoha felt tears as she thought about those nights. That one night, where despite everything, Fate couldn't take it anymore, and tried to do the one thing she swore again and again she'd never try to do again. Nanoha forgave her, of course, but she knew Fate still beat herself up over it again and again; that vivid night, that bloody razor, the emergency room... the streams of tears as Fate begged, begged for the brunette's forgiveness. "Please don't hate me... I'm so sorry... I'm so sorry..."
Nanoha gritted her teeth together not for the first time as that being the first moment in her life where she felt a rage so dark, so bitter that she promised herself that if she ever met Precia again, she would set Starlight Breaker to kill.
The girl took a deep breath. Could she fault Fate for falling in love with her? No... no she couldn't. In fact, she had done everything to ensure Fate would love her. How selfish, she mused, to make someone do that. So how could she say no when Fate would say those words, in that way, with her crimson eyes begging Nanoha to say I love you too.
Nanoha bit her lip. What should she do? She didn't love Fate like that... did she? She never saw herself like that, and she certainly didn't look at girls the same way she looked at boys (especially Chrono; she and Hayate loved looking at the older man)... but that didn't mean it couldn't work.
But what if it didn't work? What if her feelings about Fate didn't turn into anything else? But what if they did? Certainly no one was closer to Nanoha than the dark magic girl.
"Sleepless?" A voice behind her asked. Nanoha turned to see Signum, dressed casually and staring up at the sky.
"Just... thinking, Signum..." Nanoha looked down. "Say, what would you do, if you knew that someone loved you but you weren't sure if you felt the same way?" Signum tilted her head slightly at Nanoha, a frown adorning her face.
"I do not approve of being used as a theory machine," she accused. Nanoha blushed.
"Please... just... I need some advice."
Signum stared at Nanoha for a few more seconds and looked away, thinking.
"Love... is selfish, Nanoha-san," she said after a minute. "It demands to be satisfied, no matter the cost. Those in love lose themselves in it, just a little. You can't control that... that's just not how it works. I know that you are a wonderful, loving person, however... you should not give up a piece of yourself to Fate-san, just because you know how she feels about you," she nodded. "If you don't think that you can feel the same about her than she feels for you, then do not be with her. It will ultimately hurt her than initial rejection will."
"How did you-"
"I've known for quite a time, Nanoha-san. We all have... except you. But, I ask," Signum stared at Nanoha. "Please, do not wound her more sharply than you have to. Do not be with her for her sake. You must take a bit as well, and if you do not feel the same kind of love, then you will only hurt each other. Think about it... think a lot about it. If, and only if, you find you feel the same way, then you should be with her."
"But what if I decide I love her too, and it's too late by then?"
"Well, love is fleeting, Nanoha. Like dust in the wind, you can only perceive it for a short time. Once it's gone, it's hard to catch.
Nanoha chuckled. "All you need is love..." she smiled. "Thank you, Signum. I think I'll be able to handle it." Signum nodded, and went back in the small house.
...will I?
Spoiler for Author's Notes:
The colors refer to characters: Nanoha is Pink, Fate is Yellow, Hayate is Blue, Alicia is Green, and Morrigan is Red.
The first part of this chapter in which Morrigan talks is seperate from the actual prologue. Think of it as the opening dialogue before the story begins.
The literal translation of the fanfic is "Magical Girl Lyrical Nanoha: The Spirit of Al-Hazared". I chose to use spirit in the romanji because it flows better.
The chapter title is called Earthbound because it represents the fact that the girls are on Earth for much of the first few episodes.
Yes, I made the girls otaku for something: Hayate likes FPSes and shooters and anime, Nanoha likes Marvel Comics and Touhou, and Fate likes the outdoors, bikes, and cars.
The reason Fate is out of synch is because it would be too silly to have all 3 of them otaku for... "nerdy" things, I guess.
This story is going to be OC light, although I'm borrowing liberally from the OCT characters for certain things.
Nanoha's reaction to Fate's feelings is based off of conversations I've had with people who've been in similar situations. I certainly hope its realistic enough.
Yes, Nanoha quotes John Lennon when she says "All you need is love."
The reason this took so long is because I've planned out the entire damn fanfic from beginning to end.
One last thing: This story is brought to you by Miku Hatsune, because I've been listening to Vocaloid constantly while writing.
Finally got Kyrie's personality down [a contrast from Amitie]... airhead (yeah she has idiot hair), cool (I think Homura-like? or Mami-like? or a flirtatious girl with tons of experience in the battlefield?) and cynical (wait, what?)
Alright, so here's the first scene of the first chapter of my fanfic. It's got a name now and everything!
I will lead my friends against all odds. Even if it kills me.
I will protect the one I love. I will sacrifice myself for her.
I will show everyone what it means to live. If I must die, then so be it.
I will protect she who brought me back to life. I will die for her.
I will return to life and take my rightful place as ruler. I will kill everyone to do it.
Magical Girl Lyrical Nanoha: The Ghost of Al-Hazared
"Extermination!"
Hayate laughed excitedly as she reloaded her DMR. She activated her jetpack and took flight, reaching up to the top of the cliff and taking an overwatch position as her fellow SPARTANs sprinted to their next position. An enemy unit came from behind, energy blade in hand. Hayate took flight again, scoping in and popping the enemy seven times, each hit hitting straight on the top of the head. The enemy fell; Hayate dropped to the ground and switched to her pistol, dropping it in favor of the sword.
Her motion sensors pinged a target directly ahead, and without wasting a thought she came around the corner and stabbed the nearest opponent, felling him in a single strike. Instantly, she turned toward the mid-range target and hurled a plasma grenade, sticking her target in the torso. She turned again as her target exploded, unable to do anything about it. She checked the number of charges in her sword and-
A bullet passed cleanly through her helmet. Hayate fell to her knees, then into a pathetic heap on the ground.
Meanwhile, in real life, Hayate stared at her screen in shock.
"Ehh!?" She exclaimed. "Enemy sniper!" Although with her English, it sounded more like "snaipa".
"I told you," Nanoha replied dispassionately, turning the page in her Iron Man comic. "The rifle respawned about fifteen seconds ago; I said you should have grabbed it." Nanoha's English was much better than Hayate's at this point; a result of her forcing herself to learn English due to how similar it was to Midchildan.
"But... but..." Hayate twisted her mouth to a look of annoyance. "And I was on a Frenzy too..." The brunette shrugged it off and began to play again, taking her newly spawned character back into the fray. Nanoha chuckled lightly to herself at Hayate's enthusiasm - the girl loved all types of shooters. The Halo series was her favorite FPS, and like many "huge nerds" she absolutely loved the Touhou series and was actually pretty good at them, something Nanoha couldn't attest to. The ponytailed girl was okay at shooters and the like, but she really preferred to read or, if anything, play RPGs.
Although, she had to admit with a grin, Master Spark and Starlight Breaker did share enough similarities for her to collect Marisa plushies.
Nanoha felt a shift on her side, and looked over to smile warmly at Fate, who had fallen asleep peacefully and rested on Nanoha's shoulder. Unlike she and Hayate, Fate wasn't really interested in any of that, preferring to be a more outdoors-type person, which was something they all shared, but really caused her to bond with Signum, and together the two had started a small flower garden. Fate was also getting really big into cars, and although she couldn't legally drive yet on Earth, on Midchilda she was quite the hot rod.
Nanoha put an arm around the sleeping blonde; Fate had a busy day at school, having joined the theater club in an attempt to become less shy. It was working, somewhat, but for all three girls their last year of junior high was something of an awkward social experience. Perhaps it was a side effect of being mages and putting up with a lot of Bureau issues alongside their "normal" lives, but the girls were quite a bit more mature than your average teenager. They also dealt with far more serious things than your average teenager to compensate. That said, they were still kids, and they still tried their hardest to "fit in", as it were. Not because of an overwhelming urge to, but because it was something they could do to forget about... well, their "ordinary lives" they supposed.
"You know Ichigo in Class 4 is madly in love with Fate," Nanoha chuckled, setting her comic aside. "You should see the way he stares at her, it's so adorable!" She made a face that could best be described as Konata's cat face and made a cute sound. "They'd be so cute together too!"
"Yeah till he embarrassed her and ended up in the stratosphere," Hayate replied, turning off her console. "Anyway, Fate-chan has her eyes set on someone else entirely,"
"What?!" Nanoha almost jumped out of her seat. "Who? I didn't know this! Tell me, Hayate, tell me!"
"Nnnnhh..." Fate mumbled and curled up closer to Nanoha. "Stop moving..."
Hayate giggled. "Maybe she should tell you herself Nano-chan,"
"But..."
"Maybe I'll tell you later, but lets just say its someone we all know very well, okay?"
"I... you're no fun," Nanoha mumbled, looking disappointed. She shook it off. "Speaking of having a love life, what happened with that man Signum was seeing?"
"Oh, Sei?" Hayate looked thoughtful. "I think they're doing okay... they seem to get along great, even though Signum can be difficult at times."
Nanoha grinned at that. It was true that Signum was hard to get along with unless you knew her well and knew her quirks. But Sei had risen to the challenge and on more than one occasion the two had come to the cafe on a date. Sei was a nice guy if a bit nerdy, but his own sense of personal honor was almost as great as Signum's, though they did clash on occasion; Signum's direct approach put her out of sync somewhat with the more passive Sei, but they were a good match regardless.
Hayate got up from her chair and nudged Fate on the arm. "Ne, Fate, time for bed. Use Vita's bed, she's going to be sleeping with me tonight, okay?"
"Mmmn," Fate mumbled. "Nnnnn, don't wanna move." Hayate sighed and looked at Nanoha, who only grinned and nodded. Nanoha slid herself off of the couch and gently picked up the small blonde. Nanoha was stronger than ever after her recovery, and though it still took quite a bit of effort, she carried the sleeping girl in her arms to Vita's room and laid her down on the Knight's bed. Fate rolled onto her side and bit her thumb in her sleep, mumbled something incoherent, and passed back into deep sleep. The violet-eyed girl smiled warmly at her friend before leaving the room and closing the door behind her.
"I don't know why Vita has a room of her own," she joked to Hayate as the short-haired brunette waited. "She sleeps with you so much I wonder if you're joined at the hip," Hayate laughed as Nanoha walked her to her room.
"Maybe we are," she said. "But I don't mind."
"I know... Vita's really one of the most kind people I know,"
"Only when she's not in tsuntsun mode," Hayate pointed out, and the two shared a laugh. "Well, here I am. Goodnight, Nanoha. Sweet dreams."
"You too," Nanoha said, and turned about.
"Oh, and Nanoha?"
"Hn?"
"The person Fate-chan is in love with... is you."
"...wait. What? You mean-"
"More than she's ever loved anything in her life. I know I said I wouldn't tell you, but I've decided its something you need to think about."
Nanoha looked down, thoughtful. "But why now?"
"Because soon Fate-chan is going to take that step, and when she does, she's going to expect a reply. And... I know this isn't my place, but... I love both of you to death. You're my sisters, and you mean as much to me as my Knights. I know you won't do it on purpose, but... if you end up not feeling the same, and you hurt her, then..."
Nanoha smiled. "I know where you're going with this. I'll think about it, Hayate."
"Thank you, Nanoha..."
-=-=-=-=-=-=-
Later that night, Nanoha stood out on the balcony of Hayate's home. She stared out into the city, her eyes watching lights that seemed to dance in the dark.
On her mind were Hayate's words and what she said about Fate. She loves me, she thought, a swirl of emotions coming over her. Not just love... but love. But... how do I feel?
Part of Nanoha knew all along, she had to admit. Fate had always been close to Nanoha, ever since the Jewel Seed incident. She had always looked after the quiet, shy girl who had been abused and tortured for most of her short life. She had not just rescued Fate, but she was the first person other than Arf to truly show her love. Genuine selfless, caring, sacrificing love. Before Chrono and Lindy took her into their family, and indeed, truly showed her what family was, Nanoha was there for her. She had become the center of Fate's life, willingly becoming her anchor to reality.
She remembered those long nights at her home, in her room, where Fate would cry uncontrollably, afraid to sleep for the nightmares. She remembered holding Fate as she shook, recalled when Fate would scream in her sleep and wake up everyone in the house. Everyone would be in Nanoha's room - her mother, father, siblings, Arf, all of them trying to comfort the broken girl as Nanoha tried desperately to piece back together a child who had been thrown in a situation no one should have to go through.
Nanoha felt tears as she thought about those nights. That one night, where despite everything, Fate couldn't take it anymore, and tried to do the one thing she swore again and again she'd never try to do again. Nanoha forgave her, of course, but she knew Fate still beat herself up over it again and again; that vivid night, that bloody razor, the emergency room... the streams of tears as Fate begged, begged for the brunette's forgiveness. "Please don't hate me... I'm so sorry... I'm so sorry..."
Nanoha gritted her teeth together not for the first time as that being the first moment in her life where she felt a rage so dark, so bitter that she promised herself that if she ever met Precia again, she would set Starlight Breaker to kill.
The girl took a deep breath. Could she fault Fate for falling in love with her? No... no she couldn't. In fact, she had done everything to ensure Fate would love her. How selfish, she mused, to make someone do that. So how could she say no when Fate would say those words, in that way, with her crimson eyes begging Nanoha to say I love you too.
Nanoha bit her lip. What should she do? She didn't love Fate like that... did she? She never saw herself like that, and she certainly didn't look at girls the same way she looked at boys (especially Chrono; she and Hayate loved looking at the older man)... but that didn't mean it couldn't work.
But what if it didn't work? What if her feelings about Fate didn't turn into anything else? But what if they did? Certainly no one was closer to Nanoha than the dark magic girl.
"Sleepless?" A voice behind her asked. Nanoha turned to see Signum, dressed casually and staring up at the sky.
"Just... thinking, Signum..." Nanoha looked down. "Say, what would you do, if you knew that someone loved you but you weren't sure if you felt the same way?" Signum tilted her head slightly at Nanoha, a frown adorning her face.
"I do not approve of being used as a theory machine," she accused. Nanoha blushed.
"Please... just... I need some advice."
Signum stared at Nanoha for a few more seconds and looked away, thinking.
"Love... is selfish, Nanoha-san," she said after a minute. "It demands to be satisfied, no matter the cost. Those in love lose themselves in it, just a little. You can't control that... that's just not how it works. I know that you are a wonderful, loving person, however... you should not give up a piece of yourself to Fate-san, just because you know how she feels about you," she nodded. "If you don't think that you can feel the same about her than she feels for you, then do not be with her. It will ultimately hurt her than initial rejection will."
"How did you-"
"I've known for quite a time, Nanoha-san. We all have... except you. But, I ask," Signum stared at Nanoha. "Please, do not wound her more sharply than you have to. Do not be with her for her sake. You must take a bit as well, and if you do not feel the same kind of love, then you will only hurt each other. Think about it... think a lot about it. If, and only if, you find you feel the same way, then you should be with her."
"But what if I decide I love her too, and it's too late by then?"
"Well, love is fleeting, Nanoha. Like dust in the wind, you can only perceive it for a short time. Once it's gone, it's hard to catch.
Nanoha chuckled. "All you need is love..." she smiled. "Thank you, Signum. I think I'll be able to handle it." Signum nodded, and went back in the small house.
...will I?
Spoiler for Author's Notes:
The colors refer to characters: Nanoha is Pink, Fate is Yellow, Hayate is Blue, Alicia is Green, and Morrigan is Red.
The first part of this chapter in which Morrigan talks is seperate from the actual prologue. Think of it as the opening dialogue before the story begins.
The literal translation of the fanfic is "Magical Girl Lyrical Nanoha: The Spirit of Al-Hazared". I chose to use spirit in the romanji because it flows better.
The chapter title is called Earthbound because it represents the fact that the girls are on Earth for much of the first few episodes.
Yes, I made the girls otaku for something: Hayate likes FPSes and shooters and anime, Nanoha likes Marvel Comics and Touhou, and Fate likes the outdoors, bikes, and cars.
The reason Fate is out of synch is because it would be too silly to have all 3 of them otaku for... "nerdy" things, I guess.
This story is going to be OC light, although I'm borrowing liberally from the OCT characters for certain things.
Nanoha's reaction to Fate's feelings is based off of conversations I've had with people who've been in similar situations. I certainly hope its realistic enough.
Yes, Nanoha quotes John Lennon when she says "All you need is love."
The reason this took so long is because I've planned out the entire damn fanfic from beginning to end.
One last thing: This story is brought to you by Miku Hatsune, because I've been listening to Vocaloid constantly while writing.
Well okay, first thing first: Clean up your story. Sorry, but I just couldn't resist.
Second, apart from being OC the story also looked like it would be OOC. You have to be careful.
Third, perhaps it was just me, but my impression of everyone's age was that of StrikerS or post-StrikerS, even if they're not. I dunno why.
Fourth, Hayate's English was supposed to be better than Nanoha. A good reader doesn't equate a good speaker, but in Hayate's case the opposite is more likely.
Fifth, some of the sentences sounded downright lazy, that is unnatural. The beginning explanation on Signum/Sein especially struck me so.
Sixth, Signum having a boyfriend is like Nanoha having a sex change. You'll need a really, really compelling back story to cover that, or you could just ignore me since I'm thinking this from a non-OOC PoV. Lol.
Seventh, I'll be honest, you made me skipped sentences. Sorry.
Eighth, it would be adviced to break between long dialogues with something like 'she paused' 'she scratched her head' as they'll make it more readable and enhance your characters.
Nineth, the colored monologues of each character seemed off in my opinion. It sounded like you just rephrase the same concept over and over.
Tenth and last, sorry to be giving negative reviews when you ticked mine positive. I hope you don't mind.
... And we have come to the end of my reserves. Chapter 11 is not done as I am reading on some professional card tricks (Believe it or not, it is a pain to learn cheating), and figuring on the next few things I want to write on. At the moment I'm still trying to successfully start off the card fight itself, a bit of writer's block here...
I noticed my sentences tend to be a little blocky, or is it just my imagination?
Writing Chapter 10 has been a... pleasure I guess. Too bad I never got feedback from Aki on the final draft, I dunno why lol (Noo, please don't mention the first, it's too... lyrically embarassing!).
Uhhhhhh. Did you? I might have forgotten...
Actually, my inbox has been bombarded by emails the last couple days. So, uh...it may have slipped my mind, in between reformatting laptop and packing and then a flight back to hometown for a break. Connection here sucks too, if I don't seem to be around often.
And, I gotta go. Um...send me the entire file again with all the new revisions you made please?
Dude, do you have ANY idea how bad it is to get your side cut open?
Blood loss (from a hole in your side) doesn't take much to put you down.
Especially since that's about where your kidneys are.
Don't let the fact that people in anime (looking at you Zolo) can put out 25 liters of blood and still fight make you think that everyone's the same way.
*shakes head*
Gave blood once, my arm was numb for almost two days afterwords.
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My fics Due to certain things, I am not here, find me over on TFF.
Last edited by Nanya01; 2011-07-07 at 09:35.
Reason: That's what I get for trying to respond when I'm only partially awake.
Um....I'll probably write that first talk someday ........
*prods* NO! You have far more important things to write! Things that go Ka-BOOM!! and POWPOW!! O_O *crackles Files-whip*
Quote:
Originally Posted by Nanya01
Dude, do you have ANY idea how bad it is to get your side cut open?
Especially since that's about where your kidneys are.
^This. 20% of the body's cardiac output passes through the kidneys, add this with the blood that goes to the gut region (supply and drainage of the intestines) and we're talking about a serious amount of blood. Then of course, this is anime .
To be honest, both Slayers and Nanoha are fairly consistent with how injuries affect your ability to fight.
Don't forget, Aki, Nanoha was put out for a year because of a stab through her chest (there was more to it, I know, but she was still out hardcore).
If you saw the final battle of Slayers Evolution-R, you'll notice that the instant Zelgadis coughed up blood, he was out of the fight. Amelia was out the instant she broke her arm.
Back in Season 1 of Slayers, Lina took a shot through her gut from Copi-Rezo. Sylphiel had to get her out of there, get her heart pumping again and then cast Ressurection on her. And even then, it took a little bit of time for Lina to be back in fighting shape.
And back in Season 1 of Nanoha, Yuuno took a bit of time before he was recovered enough to turn back into a human.
Besides, Signum was out there, fighting for who knows how long before she got treatment, and even then she got back up to fight. I'd say that offsets a lot of your complaints, Aki.
Fate was being healed for a longer time than Signum was... And Hayate had to use specialized healing to be back in the fight after what she took. And she can't walk right now again.
So, yes, "simple blood loss" did defeat Signum.
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My fics Due to certain things, I am not here, find me over on TFF.
Gourry shook his head as he looked at the destruction. "Damn, that's..." He trailed off as he saw a body next to his. What surprised him was that the woman looked a bit like Lina, but her chest was a bit larger. "This is..."
"The Knight of Cephied." A male voice spoke up and Gourry spun to see a tall being in a robe of some sort, a funny hat on his head and a miniature palm tree in his fingers. Behind him was a woman with short blonde hair and a traveling outfit as she held a lit cigarette between her fingers. "...I see..."
"It really was to be expected." The woman spoke up as she looked at the body. "Lord Shabranigdo wasn't going to let her live if he could help it. Though, to use a psychic attack..."
"When did this happen?" The man turned to the woman, who shrugged at him. "Zelas, you know, don't you?"
"Of course I know." She rolled her eyes. "Not all the Mazoku that were in that crowd were fighting, you know. Some of them were my spies." Zelas took a deep breath as she looked at the downed body of the Knight of Cephied. "After Gaav left her and she took off into the air, one of my spies noted that she fell to the ground rather fast and grabbed her head, screaming in pain..."
"So, Shabranigdo attacked her mind?" The man crossed his arms and sighed heavily. "I thought you Mazoku wouldn't attack humans like that, it's beneath you to attack weaker creatures after all."
"Valwin, if you wanted to break the truce because of this, I could understand, though, I'm not sure that..."
"Zelas, as angry as I am for losing another Knight of Cephied, I'm not going to break the truce over this." He turned to look at her. "Unless you, Dolphin or Dynast were responsible."
"Uh..." Gourry spoke up to the two. "Excuse me, but, who are you?"
"Beastmaster Zelas Metallium and this is the Air Dragon Lord Valwin." Zelas spoke up to him. "The dead woman is Luna Inverse, the Knight of Cephied."
Gourry's eyes widened. "Wait, Inverse?" He looked at her in confusion, frowning. "But, is she..."
"I believe that Miss Luna is Miss Lina's older sister." A familiar male voice spoke up as a purple-haired, closed eyed priest appeared in front of Zelas. "As for the power of Cephied, that will be reborn into someone else on this staff soon enough."
Gourry looked at Xellos and then back at Luna. "...Can't any of you bring her back? I mean, she is Lina's sister..."
"Even if Lina has done all of us great favors in the past," Valwin spoke up as he walked up to the downed body of Luna and took her sword from her, "we cannot just break the rules of reality all the time."
"Speak for yourself, we do it all the time." Zelas piped up, smirking at the Shinzoku. "But, he is right. We can't bring her back as a human. She'd be a Mazoku if I did it, or a Shinzoku if Valwin did it... And, to be honest, we don't like turning humans into Mazoku, they tend to be very rebellious."
Gourry frowned at them. "Oh, come on! Gaav's as strong as any one of you and look what he did! You're telling me that you can't bring her back to life?!" He pointed at Xellos. "You, especially, you owe Lina at least a couple of favors by now."
Xellos grimaced at that. "I do hate to owe people favors, though bringing her back just as she was, I doubt that I can pull that off completely..."
"Can't you just bring her back without the power of Celphide or whatever his name is?"
Zelas raised an eyebrow at him. "I'm surprised, I thought you didn't know her?"
"I don't. But it's for Lina's sake."
Xellos shrugged and looked at Valwin, who was looking the body over. "Well?"
"It's not too cold, perhaps we could. But I don't give any promises." Valwin spoke softly. "A god's soul quickly reincarnates, whether that god is Cephied or Shabranigdo." The human's soul that it's attached to generally cannot be brought back to life." Wind gathered around Valwin as he put his hands on Luna's body. "But, this goes against the natural cycle of life. All that lives must eventually die."
Gourry nodded. "I know that, but, Lina doesn't live anywhere near here anymore, yet she came to fight against Shabranigdo, can't you give her this one favor?"
"We'll see." Valwin muttered softly.
(---)
"Miss Miyuki!" Amelia gasped as she looked at the limping swords woman. "Are you okay?"
Miyuki gave her a flat look as she limped towards the healers. "I've got a broken left femur, my right ankle is badly bruised, my right hand feels like crap, I might have a concussion and I think that I've got some internal injuries from when Gaav punched me. So yeah, I'm just fine."
Miyuki sighed as Amelia put her hands to good use, concentrating healing magic onto her injuries. "You know, you never answered my question."
"What question?"
"How come you weren't affected by the miasma?"
Amelia blinked and sweat-dropped heavily. "Well, when going against Mazoku, it's a good idea to cast a quick spell so that you can recover from the effects quickly."
"That's it?" Miyuki blinked as Amelia nodded. "That's... Kind of a lame explanation." Amelia just shrugged at her.
(---)
Meanwhile...
Chrono rubbed his forehead as a healer worked on Zest at a nearby table. The man was more-or-less okay, just extremely exhausted from having his Blast Mode on for so long. "Yes, Admiral Leti, call off the strike. Shabranigdo's dead."
"You're sure?"
"Yes, I'm sure. You can call them and tell them that we don't need the Arc En Ciel to blow the planet up. But..." Chrono looked at the destroyed ground and shook his head. "But, this is going to be a problem, we're going to need some crews to help with reconstruction down here."
"But, they aren't..."
"We did kind of help destroy this castle and city, Admiral, the least we can do is clean it up for them." Chrono smirked slightly as Leti sighed and conceded the point. "How is Nanoha?"
"Finally resting, I think..."
"You think?"
"The security cameras can barely get a feed, but it looks like Nanoha's stopped screaming and she's not... Um, sorry, Chrono, I'll call you back."
Chrono just blinked as Leti cut the conversation off. "What the?"
(---)
On the ship...
Leti stared as Lina practically floated out of the sick bay. "Lina?"
"Call... Your people and tell them to stop coming, I need to... Bleed this off properly." Lina's hair was completely golden at that moment, as were both of her eyes and there was a powerful golden aura surrounding her.
When Lina held up a hand, the whole ship was rocked as powerful energy formed just outside of the hull. "What the hell?!" Leti gasped as Lina dropped her arm down and the ship shook again, this time tilting in the direction that Lina had dropped her hand.
"Chaos Orb. I tossed it into deep space where it will continue on until it explodes on its own. It's safer than sending it to the planet below." Lina took a deep breath as the aura disappeared and she was speaking in her normal tone of voice again. "As for Nanoha, she's alive..."
"And..?" Leti blinked as Lina's hair was closer to a golden sunset than the firey red it was before.
Lina looked at her, tears welling up in her eyes, they were at least normal, one red and one gold. "I don't know, okay?!" Lina turned to look back at the hospital room. "The only thing that kept her alive was the Chaos magic, but it was killing her at the same time, trying to rip her apart. You know how hard it was to keep her from turning into a fine red mist?!"
Lina blinked as Leti squeezed her shoulder. "What?"
"She's alive, that's all you can ask for right now. Let her rest and we'll try to heal her more fully." Leti was a mother as well, she understood Lina's problem at that moment. "Go and rest. They beat Shabranigdo."
Lina smiled softly and nodded. "I need a little rest... Ten minutes..."
Leti wasn't surprised as Lina walked back into the medical bay to sleep.
If their positions were reversed, she would have done the same. "You two, contact the fleet and let them know that we have the situation under control now."
The two hands nodded and went to work at sending the good word out.
Leti shook her head. 'Man, if people ever hear about this...' Her thoughts trailed off and she frowned. 'No... If they knew everything that happened..." Looking at the room where Nanoha and Lina were, she shook her head. 'Man, I must be getting soft. Lindy would never let me hear the end of it if something bad happened to them...'
It was always such a pain to hide stuff from the official reports after all.
(---)
"Mommy! Daddy!" Rein flew over to her parents and gave Hayate a kiss on the cheek, before flying up to Reinforce and kissing her cheek too. "You're alive!" She smiled, tears welling up in her eyes. "I was worried!"
Vita chuckled as she looked at Zwei, before frowning at the way Reinforce was holding Hayate. "...What's wrong?"
Hayate sighed softly. "Reinforce... To heal me so that I could help... Had to force my magic to overextend itself for healing... Right now... Um..."
"Hayate's as weak as she was when you came into her life." Reinforce said sadly as Vita's eyes widened.
"But..." Hayate shook her head. "Hayate!!"
"I'll be fine, Vita-chan." Hayate smiled at her. "It's like a really, really bad muscle tear. I'll recover, it'll just take a long time." Hayate chuckled softly. "Though... I have to admit, I wasn't expecting my muscles to feel so weak..."
"I told you, Hayate..." Reinforce sighed as she looked at the girl in her arms. "The magic was flooding your body at such a rate that when it left, most of your voluntary muscles shut down. You'll get your ability to walk back before your magic returns though."
Hayate sighed and nodded. "It's okay. At least it happened so I could protect my family from someone like that."
Reinforce sighed softly. At least Hayate was taking it better than she thought.
Then again, they both knew that there was a possibility that Hayate would never walk nor use magic ever again, having burned her magic out like she did.
Reinforce just hoped Hayate's positive outlook was correct and that she would be back sooner than expected.
Vita sighed softly. "Signum's out cold from blood loss, but she's getting treatment right now." She wouldn't say what Shamal had to do to make sure that Signum wouldn't try getting up again. "Zafira's fine, just tired. Everyone else is getting treated for injuries and exhaustion right now."
Hayate nodded and closed her eyes as Reinforce hugged her while carrying her bridal style. "Reinforce, can we find some place to relax?"
"Sure." Reinforce nodded to her.
Vita sighed as she went to find a place to sit down. She needed to digest all that happened in her mind before something else happened.
oh boy... Luna's down... going to get revived one way or another.
hayate overexerted herself, Nanoha is in a some sort of a coma and Lina's out of gas. And for heaven's sake who in the world will not faint by blood loss while having one's side blown open by a magical attack?
Granted if the injury is small but it's a pretty big chuck of flesh near the kidneys...
someone needs a little update on common sense.
sorry for being a bit blunt on that one... i hope no one got offended.
and why do i have a feeling that a certain blonde is gonna become more special if Luna's power didn't get reborn at the red world.
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Darwin's nominee are best for laughs.
MGLN "Befriending" shows love thru superior firepower (Zenryokou Zenkai!)
Gundams are your worst nightmare in the battlefield.
SRW beats all foes.
JAM Project pwns all!!!
And I can't still make fanfic without restarting from the start when new ideas comes in...
2011-07-06, 22:36
Author
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