Nanoha FanFiction Discussion

[Evil Rick]

Originally Posted by Satashi

Wanted to do something I normally don't do...

Spoiler for something different:

They had started as enemies, fighting each other for their own reasons. The circumstances lead them to a few battles before a common ground was found. Then they fought as allies, on the same side for a shared cause.

It was later that they found a shared interest, something to make them spend a little more time together. It began small at first, then grew larger as they went through their lives.

Nanoha wasn't sure when it first happened. Maybe on a retreat, or on a free-day they had together. It hit her all at once, from a simple question that she never even considered. "What do you think of her?" was what was asked. The woman looked at her friend and blinked, confused at why the answer didn't come easily.

It started to eat at her constantly, clawing at her mind whenever she wasn't focused on something else. What do you think of her? A friend? No, then the answer would have been there. A sister? Again, she could have answered it.

As she looked at her friend, she racked her mind, struggling for the answer. It was when her partner turned and looked at her, with a small questioning glance as to why she was being looked at, that she finally figured it out. The wind was blowing softly, making her hair waft just right. The sun reflected off her eyes, almost making them shine before being covered with a small shadow from her hand. What got her attention the most, however, was the small smile on her lips.

A smile that only Nanoha saw.

Not a friend, not a sister, but more. A small crush that started off so faint that she never noticed it turned into something so much more. A desire to spend time with her, to talk to her, to generally be around the girl. With a smile, Nanoha simply sent her answer: I'm looking at you because I want to.

The red haired girl hummed lightly and looked away, tapping her hammer on her shoulder while watching their recruits train. Her eyes watched the students, but also looked off into the distance, focusing more on something else that had been bugging her since a few days ago...

What can I say? I love Vita

Originally Posted by TheShinySword

And here you are Rick

Spoiler for Mr. Long:

Thanks a lot Shiny!

[Knight of L-sama]

This bit had a lot of italics, including a flashback, but I was too lazy to even do my /slash/ stuffs. It's all italicized in my Word doc tho, so if this ever makes it to ff.net, it'd be correct there.

Angsty debatable NanoFate and HayaFate ahead...

Spoiler for Haya Fate! pt 3:

“Testerossa.”

A shudder went through Fate’s body as she was startled awake. After looking around in a daze for a few moments, her eyes landed on Signum. “Oh… ‘morning, Signum.”

Signum frowned, which wasn’t that far from her usual expression. “It’s the middle of the afternoon, Fate.”

“Oh… is it?” Fate yawned behind her hand as she leaned back to look out the window. The sun was high in the air. “So it is.”

There was silence, and then Signum asked bluntly, “Are you taking care of yourself?”

“What? Of course I am.” Fate smiled as she stood up to stretch before sitting back down at her desk. “I just dozed off for a bit. I’m fine, really. Did you need something, Signum? Oh, those folders… did the reports come in then?”

Even as Fate held out her hand to receive the folders, Signum made no move to give them to her. Her eyes stared hard at Fate, examining, scrutinizing, judging. “How much sleep did you get last night?”

“What…? That doesn’t really have anything to do with anything, now does it?” Fate smiled with soft exaggeration. “I might have lost a few hours of sleep doing overtime, but I had to finish up some rep-“

“You were never like this when you were with Hayate.”

The truth in that single statement hit a nerve, causing Fate to throw down her pen as she stood up. “Signum, please! This has nothing to do with Nanoha, okay? Please, just drop it.”

“I’m just concerned. As a friend.” Signum’s eyes trailed down to Fate’s shoulder, where her shirt had loosened enough that a hint of a bruise that was much larger than the bit that was visible.

Fate quickly adjusted her shirt, retying her neck ornament, a black ribbon.

Signum only continued to look at her, passive yet… full of an indignation that Fate could discern easily after spending so much time with the pink-haired warrior.

Before her silent accusation, Fate found that she no longer had any energy to defend herself. Though she did not sit down, she looked towards the floor off to the left. Meekly, she whispered, “I was careless in the last fight.”

“With Nanoha?”

“It was a practice spar.”

“Nanoha would never hurt you, even in a practice spar, unless she had cause to be mad at you.”

Fate knew this all too well, and found herself unable to defend once again.

Signum set the folders on the desk and turned to leave the small office. With her hand on the doorknob and her back to Fate, she stopped to say one last thing. “Testerossa… Even if it hurts, you have to remember to take care of yourself. You hurt more people if you don’t than if you do.”

Left alone, Fate slumped down in her chair, cupping her face with both hands. As she felt the tears well up, she felt the weakness seep into her system. She had loved Nanoha almost her whole life- certain for the majority of the time they had known each other. She was the main attraction, not Hayate. Hayate had just been a brief side show in their crazy experimental high school years.

That was over and done with. Back to the featured presentation.

Fate’s shoulder shook as she tried to keep herself from being too loud, despite knowing that her office was soundproofed. What had gone wrong? What had happened to make her feel this way?

It wasn’t Nanoha. It wasn’t. Fate refused to believe that. Nanoha was so sweet, so kind, so good. She had been the one to save Fate when her mother had left her to die. She had been the one to ask for her name, so that she might call her name, so that they might be friends. She had… had…

‘Had’ was past tense. Now was when she was dating Nanoha. Now was when she had finally gotten her hands on what she had coveted for as long as she could remember.

Now… she was as much in love with Nanoha as ever, right? Right?

Fate remembered a private sleepover, the last one she had shared with Hayate before they had broken up.

She remembered giggling together, making teasing remarks about each other and about their friends, all in good fun. They speculated on when Arisa and Suzuka had first fallen in love with each other.

Fate nearly choked on the laughter that bubbled up against the tide of grief.

She forced herself to remember that there were happy times with the White De- with Nanoha. They hadn’t been dating long in the grand scheme of things, but that didn’t really matter. They had known each other for so long after all.

They had always been best friends, and yet, something so much more than that.

They had history.

What history did she have with Hayate that Nanoha didn’t also have? They had met Hayate together. They had fought her together. They had fought with her together.

Together, they were the three Aces.

Fate threw her head back, staring lifelessly at the light fixture, with the back of her hand acting as a buffer. Nanoha had been nothing but kind to her. There was no reason to feel guilty or doubtful. They were the perfect couple.

Perfect… yes, perfect. When they were together, no one could contest that they were a few hairs short of unbeatable. They knew what needed to get done and what they could trust the other to take care of without even consulting each other. Their hearts were bonded in ways that were irrevocable.

It was constricting.

That’s what Hayate had going for her- that their relationship had been free. They weren’t bound at the hip. They never had to worry about tripping over each other. No one expected any of them, and there was freedom in that too.

Fate smiled softly, remembering how the ‘all-important confession’ had taken place.

“Hayate! What are you doing to that poor girl? Leave her alone!”

Hayate had turned to her, releasing the frightened lamb of a freshman to scurry away. She had pouted and said, “She was perfectly willing, I’ll have you know. Now you’ll have to take responsibility.”

Fate stepped back, unsure of what she had gotten into. “What do you mean?”

Hayate advanced. “I mean… God was very generous with you, wasn’t He?”

Fate blushed, crossing her arms in front of her chest. “Hayate…”

And then, with a single pounce, Hayate had trapped Fate between herself and the wall of the school. “I’ve always liked you, you know. You’re really my type.”

Fate looked away, not daring to see the truth in Hayate’s eyes. “You shouldn’t judge people by the size of their chests.”

“I’m not.”

Fate looked over then, stunned by the sudden drop of frivolity.

Hayate took a step back, freeing her. “I really like you, Fate-chan. We could have a lot of fun together.”

Fate sighed. Had she ever managed to say those words back to her? Hayate would probably remember. Fate had always been horrible at vocalizing her feelings. She’d always counted on her lovers to simply know that they were loved. Through her actions, if not her words.

Fate wiped her eyes and tried to shake off her emotions. She had work to do. For better or for worse, she was with Nanoha now, and whatever happened in the past was inconsequential.

She opened the folder Signum had left her. And stopped.

Attached to the first paper was a little pink post-it note and a note written with a very distinct style. Fate knew who it was from despite not having a name.

Fate- I have your ribbon. If you don’t want it back, I’ll keep it as a momento. Tie my hair with it maybe. Otherwise, you know where to find me.

Just then, Bardiche announced, “Sir, call incoming from Raising Heart. Connect?”

When Fate didn’t answer immediately, still staring at the note as if it would come to life as a hologram or something, Bardiche prompted, “Sir?”

Then, on the spur of the moment, Fate noisily stood up and grabbed her jacket off the back of her chair. As she threw it on she muttered under her breath, “Tell her I’m in a conference.”

[Hiria]

Originally Posted by Satashi

Wanted to do something I normally don't do...

Spoiler for something different:

They had started as enemies, fighting each other for their own reasons. The circumstances lead them to a few battles before a common ground was found. Then they fought as allies, on the same side for a shared cause.

It was later that they found a shared interest, something to make them spend a little more time together. It began small at first, then grew larger as they went through their lives.

Nanoha wasn't sure when it first happened. Maybe on a retreat, or on a free-day they had together. It hit her all at once, from a simple question that she never even considered. "What do you think of her?" was what was asked. The woman looked at her friend and blinked, confused at why the answer didn't come easily.

It started to eat at her constantly, clawing at her mind whenever she wasn't focused on something else. What do you think of her? A friend? No, then the answer would have been there. A sister? Again, she could have answered it.

As she looked at her friend, she racked her mind, struggling for the answer. It was when her partner turned and looked at her, with a small questioning glance as to why she was being looked at, that she finally figured it out. The wind was blowing softly, making her hair waft just right. The sun reflected off her eyes, almost making them shine before being covered with a small shadow from her hand. What got her attention the most, however, was the small smile on her lips.

A smile that only Nanoha saw.

Not a friend, not a sister, but more. A small crush that started off so faint that she never noticed it turned into something so much more. A desire to spend time with her, to talk to her, to generally be around the girl. With a smile, Nanoha simply sent her answer: I'm looking at you because I want to.

The red haired girl hummed lightly and looked away, tapping her hammer on her shoulder while watching their recruits train. Her eyes watched the students, but also looked off into the distance, focusing more on something else that had been bugging her since a few days ago...

awww... cute nanovita.

Originally Posted by Knight of L-sama

This bit had a lot of italics, including a flashback, but I was too lazy to even do my /slash/ stuffs. It's all italicized in my Word doc tho, so if this ever makes it to ff.net, it'd be correct there.

Angsty debatable NanoFate and HayaFate ahead...

Spoiler for Haya Fate! pt 3:

“Testerossa.”

A shudder went through Fate’s body as she was startled awake. After looking around in a daze for a few moments, her eyes landed on Signum. “Oh… ‘morning, Signum.”

Signum frowned, which wasn’t that far from her usual expression. “It’s the middle of the afternoon, Fate.”

“Oh… is it?” Fate yawned behind her hand as she leaned back to look out the window. The sun was high in the air. “So it is.”

There was silence, and then Signum asked bluntly, “Are you taking care of yourself?”

“What? Of course I am.” Fate smiled as she stood up to stretch before sitting back down at her desk. “I just dozed off for a bit. I’m fine, really. Did you need something, Signum? Oh, those folders… did the reports come in then?”

Even as Fate held out her hand to receive the folders, Signum made no move to give them to her. Her eyes stared hard at Fate, examining, scrutinizing, judging. “How much sleep did you get last night?”

“What…? That doesn’t really have anything to do with anything, now does it?” Fate smiled with soft exaggeration. “I might have lost a few hours of sleep doing overtime, but I had to finish up some rep-“

“You were never like this when you were with Hayate.”

The truth in that single statement hit a nerve, causing Fate to throw down her pen as she stood up. “Signum, please! This has nothing to do with Nanoha, okay? Please, just drop it.”

“I’m just concerned. As a friend.” Signum’s eyes trailed down to Fate’s shoulder, where her shirt had loosened enough that a hint of a bruise that was much larger than the bit that was visible.

Fate quickly adjusted her shirt, retying her neck ornament, a black ribbon.

Signum only continued to look at her, passive yet… full of an indignation that Fate could discern easily after spending so much time with the pink-haired warrior.

Before her silent accusation, Fate found that she no longer had any energy to defend herself. Though she did not sit down, she looked towards the floor off to the left. Meekly, she whispered, “I was careless in the last fight.”

“With Nanoha?”

“It was a practice spar.”

“Nanoha would never hurt you, even in a practice spar, unless she had cause to be mad at you.”

Fate knew this all too well, and found herself unable to defend once again.

Signum set the folders on the desk and turned to leave the small office. With her hand on the doorknob and her back to Fate, she stopped to say one last thing. “Testerossa… Even if it hurts, you have to remember to take care of yourself. You hurt more people if you don’t than if you do.”

Left alone, Fate slumped down in her chair, cupping her face with both hands. As she felt the tears well up, she felt the weakness seep into her system. She had loved Nanoha almost her whole life- certain for the majority of the time they had known each other. She was the main attraction, not Hayate. Hayate had just been a brief side show in their crazy experimental high school years.

That was over and done with. Back to the featured presentation.

Fate’s shoulder shook as she tried to keep herself from being too loud, despite knowing that her office was soundproofed. What had gone wrong? What had happened to make her feel this way?

It wasn’t Nanoha. It wasn’t. Fate refused to believe that. Nanoha was so sweet, so kind, so good. She had been the one to save Fate when her mother had left her to die. She had been the one to ask for her name, so that she might call her name, so that they might be friends. She had… had…

‘Had’ was past tense. Now was when she was dating Nanoha. Now was when she had finally gotten her hands on what she had coveted for as long as she could remember.

Now… she was as much in love with Nanoha as ever, right? Right?

Fate remembered a private sleepover, the last one she had shared with Hayate before they had broken up.

She remembered giggling together, making teasing remarks about each other and about their friends, all in good fun. They speculated on when Arisa and Suzuka had first fallen in love with each other.

Fate nearly choked on the laughter that bubbled up against the tide of grief.

She forced herself to remember that there were happy times with the White De- with Nanoha. They hadn’t been dating long in the grand scheme of things, but that didn’t really matter. They had known each other for so long after all.

They had always been best friends, and yet, something so much more than that.

They had history.

What history did she have with Hayate that Nanoha didn’t also have? They had met Hayate together. They had fought her together. They had fought with her together.

Together, they were the three Aces.

Fate threw her head back, staring lifelessly at the light fixture, with the back of her hand acting as a buffer. Nanoha had been nothing but kind to her. There was no reason to feel guilty or doubtful. They were the perfect couple.

Perfect… yes, perfect. When they were together, no one could contest that they were a few hairs short of unbeatable. They knew what needed to get done and what they could trust the other to take care of without even consulting each other. Their hearts were bonded in ways that were irrevocable.

It was constricting.

That’s what Hayate had going for her- that their relationship had been free. They weren’t bound at the hip. They never had to worry about tripping over each other. No one expected any of them, and there was freedom in that too.

Fate smiled softly, remembering how the ‘all-important confession’ had taken place.

“Hayate! What are you doing to that poor girl? Leave her alone!”

Hayate had turned to her, releasing the frightened lamb of a freshman to scurry away. She had pouted and said, “She was perfectly willing, I’ll have you know. Now you’ll have to take responsibility.”

Fate stepped back, unsure of what she had gotten into. “What do you mean?”

Hayate advanced. “I mean… God was very generous with you, wasn’t He?”

Fate blushed, crossing her arms in front of her chest. “Hayate…”

And then, with a single pounce, Hayate had trapped Fate between herself and the wall of the school. “I’ve always liked you, you know. You’re really my type.”

Fate looked away, not daring to see the truth in Hayate’s eyes. “You shouldn’t judge people by the size of their chests.”

“I’m not.”

Fate looked over then, stunned by the sudden drop of frivolity.

Hayate took a step back, freeing her. “I really like you, Fate-chan. We could have a lot of fun together.”

Fate sighed. Had she ever managed to say those words back to her? Hayate would probably remember. Fate had always been horrible at vocalizing her feelings. She’d always counted on her lovers to simply know that they were loved. Through her actions, if not her words.

Fate wiped her eyes and tried to shake off her emotions. She had work to do. For better or for worse, she was with Nanoha now, and whatever happened in the past was inconsequential.

She opened the folder Signum had left her. And stopped.

Attached to the first paper was a little pink post-it note and a note written with a very distinct style. Fate knew who it was from despite not having a name.

Fate- I have your ribbon. If you don’t want it back, I’ll keep it as a momento. Tie my hair with it maybe. Otherwise, you know where to find me.

Just then, Bardiche announced, “Sir, call incoming from Raising Heart. Connect?”

When Fate didn’t answer immediately, still staring at the note as if it would come to life as a hologram or something, Bardiche prompted, “Sir?”

Then, on the spur of the moment, Fate noisily stood up and grabbed her jacket off the back of her chair. As she threw it on she muttered under her breath, “Tell her I’m in a conference.”

oooooohhhh.... O.o mooooorrreeee...

[Akuma-sama]

Originally Posted by Knight of L-sama

I'll write something if you tell me what that paper actually says. :3 It actually brings to mind a lil story my friend told me about when she was lil...

Sukikirai shinai... I can't make heads or tails of the rest. It looks like rasagugi... (djisagugi? gunki? Ra doesn't have a " mode... And why's that "gu" in katakana? Never mind the reversed "su"...)

Essentially, it's "I will not be picky/choosy". I think.

Bad handwriting is baaad

[Evangelion Xgouki]

Current standings for Divided Destiny:

A) I
B) IIII
C)

[Satashi]

Spoiler for Vampie!Fate pt. 5a (Nanoha):

I couldn't believe how tired I was when my alarm went off. Slowly my eyes opened and I looked across my pillow to the clock. It was beeping at me steadily, demanding that I wake to get ready for my eight o'clock class. I felt completely drained of life and when I sat up, the world spun lightly.

As I moved to the bathroom, I stumbled once but caught myself on the sink. My breakfast was pulled out of the cabinets and after swallowing the handful of pills, I took out the syringe and prepped it before poking my arm and injecting the liquid. The feeling was almost immediate and I felt better just knowing that I would have the effects in a little bit.

I looked into the mirror above my sink and blinked at the mark on my neck before smiling fondly at it. Reaching up, I touched the bruised area and felt the tenderness of it. I knew Fate wouldn't be her when I woke up but it didn't bother me too much. She had Erio to think of.

Moving back to my bedroom, I dressed for the day sluggishly and grabbed my backpack to sling over my shoulder. On my way out of my house, I checked to make sure Caro was sleeping in the spare room and that she would have some breakfast. I took a bagel from downstairs and ate it as I walked down the street.

Almost an hour later I fell down into my seat and sighed out. "I'm too tired for this..." I spoke my thoughts aloud as a backpack fell down next to me and an energetic girl jumped into the seat next to me. Blue hair fluttered around her face and she grinned at me. "Morning, Subaru." I greeted her lightly.

"Yo, 'morning." She smiled. "Ready for the exam? Last day of classes!"

"Yes," I rubbed my eyes. "I had lots of time to study in the hospital."

Subaru leaned over and looked at my neck. "Your master have a drink last night?"

"Mas...oh!" I waved it off. "Don't worry, I'm okay." Even though I said that, I knew that my body was still struggling to recover from the amount of blood I lost. A normal person would have recovered by now but me...

I couldn't help but wonder about Subaru. She was like me: someone caught up in the whole vampire thing. She obviously knew a lot about it and didn't seem as hush-hush as I thought she would be. "Ne, Subaru?" She grinned at me. "How long have you and Tia-san been...um..."

"Since as long as I can remember." Subaru answered without hesitating. "Originally I was kind of like an orphen. My mother died before I even knew her. My father is rich but didn't want anything to do with me so he sent me off to a boarding school. From there I was chosen by the paladins to help out Tia."

"Wait," I shook my head. "I still don't get this whole vampire/ paladin thing?"

"Oh, well," Subaru motioned with her hands while she talked. "Paladins normally hunt vampires, but recently they have been experimenting. So Tia was turned when she was young and trained to fight against other vampires. She was given synthetic blood to make her survive but once she drank from a vampire, she couldn't go back. From then on, I was placed under her care."

"So you were just randomly chosen?"

"More or less. Nobody would miss me if I just suddenly vanished, you know?" She didn't really seem to mind the words she was speaking. "So, anyway, Tia just drank from me but eventually she started looking out for me as well. Later we became a couple and now she is more like my lover than anything else."

I blushed darkly hearing it. Just as Fate was bound to me, it seemed like these two girls also formed a type of bond. I wanted to ask more but our professor chose that moment to enter our classroom. We had exams today and that needed to come first. "Can we meet later?" I whispered to her, getting a happy nod.

~**~

When Subaru and I met once more it was at the end of our school day. She waved her hand over her head when she was withing shouting distance. I waved back, a little embarrassed by her loud shouting paired with it, and began talking once she was close enough. "How was your day?"

"Boring, but not bad. I think I did well on the exams." She fanned out her shirt lightly. "Let's get someplace cool."

"Want to come to my bakery? I'll treat you to some nice food."

"That'd be excellent!" She laughed and I smiled at her. This girl was really perky and fun to be around. I can't believe that I sat next to her in one of my classes all semester and never even became friends other than being desk buddies. "Hey, would you happen to know of any nice apartments or anything?"

I blinked at the question. "There is a complex across from my bakery, why?"

"Tia and I kind of moved out of our old place."

"Kind of?"

"Well it was burnt down."

I paused my walking. "Seriously? What happened?"

Subaru laughed nervously. "Um, well, some people came to kill Tia and well... Tia got a little upset."

"So they burned the building down!?"

"Well...Tia sort of...lost it when one of them hit me."

I caught the hint. "Tia blew everything up?"

"Oh yeah." Subaru stopped walking and her laugh halted as well. In front of two men wearing light clothing with golden crosses on their sleeves and around their neck. "Well, they just don't give up do they?"

I took a step back and brought a hand to my chest. "Those guys again..."

Subaru reached into her backpack and pulled out a black glove. She slid it over her hand as the two people started moving forward to us. "Don't worry," Subaru spoke casually to me. "They will cover the tracks of their attack, and I'll protect you." Reaching into her pocket, she took a small glass vial filled with black liquid. "Let's get this over with." The vial was slid into a slot into her glove and I noticed that a cover slid over it. "Load cartridge!"

A.) Nanoha
B.) Fate

[BPHaru]

Originally Posted by Satashi

Spoiler for Vampie!Fate pt. 5a (Nanoha):

I couldn't believe how tired I was when my alarm went off. Slowly my eyes opened and I looked across my pillow to the clock. It was beeping at me steadily, demanding that I wake to get ready for my eight o'clock class. I felt completely drained of life and when I sat up, the world spun lightly.

As I moved to the bathroom, I stumbled once but caught myself on the sink. My breakfast was pulled out of the cabinets and after swallowing the handful of pills, I took out the syringe and prepped it before poking my arm and injecting the liquid. The feeling was almost immediate and I felt better just knowing that I would have the effects in a little bit.

I looked into the mirror above my sink and blinked at the mark on my neck before smiling fondly at it. Reaching up, I touched the bruised area and felt the tenderness of it. I knew Fate wouldn't be her when I woke up but it didn't bother me too much. She had Erio to think of.

Moving back to my bedroom, I dressed for the day sluggishly and grabbed my backpack to sling over my shoulder. On my way out of my house, I checked to make sure Caro was sleeping in the spare room and that she would have some breakfast. I took a bagel from downstairs and ate it as I walked down the street.

Almost an hour later I fell down into my seat and sighed out. "I'm too tired for this..." I spoke my thoughts aloud as a backpack fell down next to me and an energetic girl jumped into the seat next to me. Blue hair fluttered around her face and she grinned at me. "Morning, Subaru." I greeted her lightly.

"Yo, 'morning." She smiled. "Ready for the exam? Last day of classes!"

"Yes," I rubbed my eyes. "I had lots of time to study in the hospital."

Subaru leaned over and looked at my neck. "Your master have a drink last night?"

"Mas...oh!" I waved it off. "Don't worry, I'm okay." Even though I said that, I knew that my body was still struggling to recover from the amount of blood I lost. A normal person would have recovered by now but me...

I couldn't help but wonder about Subaru. She was like me: someone caught up in the whole vampire thing. She obviously knew a lot about it and didn't seem as hush-hush as I thought she would be. "Ne, Subaru?" She grinned at me. "How long have you and Tia-san been...um..."

"Since as long as I can remember." Subaru answered without hesitating. "Originally I was kind of like an orphen. My mother died before I even knew her. My father is rich but didn't want anything to do with me so he sent me off to a boarding school. From there I was chosen by the paladins to help out Tia."

"Wait," I shook my head. "I still don't get this whole vampire/ paladin thing?"

"Oh, well," Subaru motioned with her hands while she talked. "Paladins normally hunt vampires, but recently they have been experimenting. So Tia was turned when she was young and trained to fight against other vampires. She was given synthetic blood to make her survive but once she drank from a vampire, she couldn't go back. From then on, I was placed under her care."

"So you were just randomly chosen?"

"More or less. Nobody would miss me if I just suddenly vanished, you know?" She didn't really seem to mind the words she was speaking. "So, anyway, Tia just drank from me but eventually she started looking out for me as well. Later we became a couple and now she is more like my lover than anything else."

I blushed darkly hearing it. Just as Fate was bound to me, it seemed like these two girls also formed a type of bond. I wanted to ask more but our professor chose that moment to enter our classroom. We had exams today and that needed to come first. "Can we meet later?" I whispered to her, getting a happy nod.

~**~

When Subaru and I met once more it was at the end of our school day. She waved her hand over her head when she was withing shouting distance. I waved back, a little embarrassed by her loud shouting paired with it, and began talking once she was close enough. "How was your day?"

"Boring, but not bad. I think I did well on the exams." She fanned out her shirt lightly. "Let's get someplace cool."

"Want to come to my bakery? I'll treat you to some nice food."

"That'd be excellent!" She laughed and I smiled at her. This girl was really perky and fun to be around. I can't believe that I sat next to her in one of my classes all semester and never even became friends other than being desk buddies. "Hey, would you happen to know of any nice apartments or anything?"

I blinked at the question. "There is a complex across from my bakery, why?"

"Tia and I kind of moved out of our old place."

"Kind of?"

"Well it was burnt down."

I paused my walking. "Seriously? What happened?"

Subaru laughed nervously. "Um, well, some people came to kill Tia and well... Tia got a little upset."

"So they burned the building down!?"

"Well...Tia sort of...lost it when one of them hit me."

I caught the hint. "Tia blew everything up?"

"Oh yeah." Subaru stopped walking and her laugh halted as well. In front of two men wearing light clothing with golden crosses on their sleeves and around their neck. "Well, they just don't give up do they?"

I took a step back and brought a hand to my chest. "Those guys again..."

Subaru reached into her backpack and pulled out a black glove. She slid it over her hand as the two people started moving forward to us. "Don't worry," Subaru spoke casually to me. "They will cover the tracks of their attack, and I'll protect you." Reaching into her pocket, she took a small glass vial filled with black liquid. "Let's get this over with." The vial was slid into a slot into her glove and I noticed that a cover slid over it. "Load cartridge!"

A.) Nanoha
B.) Fate

Voting "A" for more SubAru.

[Knight of L-sama]

Originally Posted by Akuma-sama

Sukikirai shinai... I can't make heads or tails of the rest. It looks like rasagugi... (djisagugi? gunki? Ra doesn't have a " mode... And why's that "gu" in katakana? Never mind the reversed "su"...)

Essentially, it's "I will not be picky/choosy". I think.

Bad handwriting is baaad

Sukikirai shinai... Love-hate... I won't... hmm... yeah, that makes sense. Tho no idea what it would canonically apply to... fufufu... *brain starts storming*

I should totally be studying right now, but what ev.

Spoiler for I'm not picky:

It was a nice day outside and no one was home but Viv-chan and me, so we were pretty much our own babysitters. Our neighbor was supposed to be watching us, but after striking a deal that we wouldn't tell our parents he smoked around us (Mama hates smokers and second-hand smoking with a passion), he would let us do whatever. But if we set fire to anything or caused anything irreparable damage, he would have to tell our parents anyway. Which wasn't such a bad thing, cuz then we didn't have to be the ones to tell them. Mama is sca~ry...

"Hey, Viv-chan. I'm bored." I rolled around on the carpet, not understanding how she could possibly amuse herself for hours "practicing her cali-whatsit". She was getting the newspaper underneath her all dirty too. Well, better the newspaper than the carpet, I guess.

"Then go play outside." She didn't even have the decency to look up.

I frowned and contemplated throwing a spitball at her. But I didn't have the equipment. "You're not going to come with me?"

"In a little bit. I want to finish this before my Mamas get home. You go ahead. I'll catch up."

I watched her for a minute and when it was clear that she really wasn't intending to budge anytime soon, I sighed and lifted myself off the carpet. "Then I'll be in the yard or something."

"Okay."

I was a little put-off by her lack of caring, but that just made me run towards the door faster. I slipped on my little blue shoes, all dirty from playing outside, and closed the door behind me. I surveyed my "playground" for something to do alone.

Seeing the Stop sign not too far off (we lived in a corner lot), I got an idea and ran towards it. 'I'll show that stupid Viv... I can have fun all by myself.'

When I got to the stop sign though, I started wondering if this was really going to be as fun as it seemed upon first thought. I put a hand on the pole and slowly started walking around it, as if I were a dog tethered to it. As I gained momentum, I started speeding up, seeing how fast I could spin around without getting super dizzy.

I got tired eventually though, and I had to stop, which was when the dizziness hit me. I grabbed onto the pole as if it were a lifeline, half leaning on it, half holding on for dear life. Several times I tried to crawl up the length of the pole, if only to right myself again, but my hold kept slipping. I was super duper dizzy. @_@

When the feeling finally passed, I looked around and perked up when I saw Viv-chan exiting the house. I stood by the pole, waving her over, but if she noticed, she didn't respond. I saw that she had a few papers in her hands, maybe her drawings she just finished, and a tin can. What did she need a tin can for? I got a little excited when I thought she might want to play kick-the-can (terribly addictive game), but her manner of walking towards me was very... not caring. She didn't even look at me directly.

In fact, even as I called out to her, planning to tease her about being late, she walked right past me.

Like I wasn't even there. She faced the street, just one step away from the start of the sidewalk, and placed the tin can at her feet. She was holding up her papers, as if it were a sign. Did she expect to get paid for her "art"?

I snorted in disbelief, called to her a few times, and eventually gave up on her. 'Fine then. If she's going to be like that, I'll /double/ the amount of fun I have alone. Right in front of her too.'

With that, I began my dance around the pole again, making a game of trying to do different poses around it.

It was Sunday, so there were a lot of joggers around the neighborhood. Whenever one approached, Viv would raise her papers, as if to display them more prominently. If one stopped to look, she waited a few minutes for them to look at the paper before flipping to another paper. And then another paper. Few failed to look at me straight afterwards. Some just shook their heads and kept walking, others took out their wallet and tossed some money into the can. Then they were on their way again and Vivio would start her act all over again.

By the time it was high noon, I was tired of this game and wanted to know what was up. So after recovering from another bout of dizziness (like my 10th one that day), I walked up to Vivio and turned her around to face me. I stared at the words she had scrawled on that paper, all the more so as she passively flipped the page for me as she had for all the others." And when I was done reading, she cracked a grin, picked up the can of money, and started running.

It took a moment for things to sink in before I started chasing her in earnest. "Vivio!!!!"

For what her message had been, what she had gotten money for, was:

(Page 1): I won't be picky... We're just two little girls.

(Page 2): Please donate to the Vivio and Syn Fund...

(Page 3): ... so that this little girl doesn't have to grow up to be a pole dancer.

(Page 4): Sin fee for staring at a little girl poledancing: 25 cents per second.

(Page 5): Thank you! ^_^

~End

Mostly based on a true story... I loved the story when my friend told me what her sister had done to her when she was young and innocent...

[dokupan]

Originally Posted by Akuma-sama

I can't make heads or tails of the rest. It looks like rasagugi... (djisagugi? gunki? Ra doesn't have a " mode... And why's that "gu" in katakana? Never mind the reversed "su"...)

LOL. It says, "Vivio."

/fleesbacktotheimagethread

[ThEJeDI6911]

Originally Posted by Knight of L-sama

This bit had a lot of italics, including a flashback, but I was too lazy to even do my /slash/ stuffs. It's all italicized in my Word doc tho, so if this ever makes it to ff.net, it'd be correct there.

Angsty debatable NanoFate and HayaFate ahead...

Spoiler for Haya Fate! pt 3:

“Testerossa.”

A shudder went through Fate’s body as she was startled awake. After looking around in a daze for a few moments, her eyes landed on Signum. “Oh… ‘morning, Signum.”

Signum frowned, which wasn’t that far from her usual expression. “It’s the middle of the afternoon, Fate.”

“Oh… is it?” Fate yawned behind her hand as she leaned back to look out the window. The sun was high in the air. “So it is.”

There was silence, and then Signum asked bluntly, “Are you taking care of yourself?”

“What? Of course I am.” Fate smiled as she stood up to stretch before sitting back down at her desk. “I just dozed off for a bit. I’m fine, really. Did you need something, Signum? Oh, those folders… did the reports come in then?”

Even as Fate held out her hand to receive the folders, Signum made no move to give them to her. Her eyes stared hard at Fate, examining, scrutinizing, judging. “How much sleep did you get last night?”

“What…? That doesn’t really have anything to do with anything, now does it?” Fate smiled with soft exaggeration. “I might have lost a few hours of sleep doing overtime, but I had to finish up some rep-“

“You were never like this when you were with Hayate.”

The truth in that single statement hit a nerve, causing Fate to throw down her pen as she stood up. “Signum, please! This has nothing to do with Nanoha, okay? Please, just drop it.”

“I’m just concerned. As a friend.” Signum’s eyes trailed down to Fate’s shoulder, where her shirt had loosened enough that a hint of a bruise that was much larger than the bit that was visible.

Fate quickly adjusted her shirt, retying her neck ornament, a black ribbon.

Signum only continued to look at her, passive yet… full of an indignation that Fate could discern easily after spending so much time with the pink-haired warrior.

Before her silent accusation, Fate found that she no longer had any energy to defend herself. Though she did not sit down, she looked towards the floor off to the left. Meekly, she whispered, “I was careless in the last fight.”

“With Nanoha?”

“It was a practice spar.”

“Nanoha would never hurt you, even in a practice spar, unless she had cause to be mad at you.”

Fate knew this all too well, and found herself unable to defend once again.

Signum set the folders on the desk and turned to leave the small office. With her hand on the doorknob and her back to Fate, she stopped to say one last thing. “Testerossa… Even if it hurts, you have to remember to take care of yourself. You hurt more people if you don’t than if you do.”

Left alone, Fate slumped down in her chair, cupping her face with both hands. As she felt the tears well up, she felt the weakness seep into her system. She had loved Nanoha almost her whole life- certain for the majority of the time they had known each other. She was the main attraction, not Hayate. Hayate had just been a brief side show in their crazy experimental high school years.

That was over and done with. Back to the featured presentation.

Fate’s shoulder shook as she tried to keep herself from being too loud, despite knowing that her office was soundproofed. What had gone wrong? What had happened to make her feel this way?

It wasn’t Nanoha. It wasn’t. Fate refused to believe that. Nanoha was so sweet, so kind, so good. She had been the one to save Fate when her mother had left her to die. She had been the one to ask for her name, so that she might call her name, so that they might be friends. She had… had…

‘Had’ was past tense. Now was when she was dating Nanoha. Now was when she had finally gotten her hands on what she had coveted for as long as she could remember.

Now… she was as much in love with Nanoha as ever, right? Right?

Fate remembered a private sleepover, the last one she had shared with Hayate before they had broken up.

She remembered giggling together, making teasing remarks about each other and about their friends, all in good fun. They speculated on when Arisa and Suzuka had first fallen in love with each other.

Fate nearly choked on the laughter that bubbled up against the tide of grief.

She forced herself to remember that there were happy times with the White De- with Nanoha. They hadn’t been dating long in the grand scheme of things, but that didn’t really matter. They had known each other for so long after all.

They had always been best friends, and yet, something so much more than that.

They had history.

What history did she have with Hayate that Nanoha didn’t also have? They had met Hayate together. They had fought her together. They had fought with her together.

Together, they were the three Aces.

Fate threw her head back, staring lifelessly at the light fixture, with the back of her hand acting as a buffer. Nanoha had been nothing but kind to her. There was no reason to feel guilty or doubtful. They were the perfect couple.

Perfect… yes, perfect. When they were together, no one could contest that they were a few hairs short of unbeatable. They knew what needed to get done and what they could trust the other to take care of without even consulting each other. Their hearts were bonded in ways that were irrevocable.

It was constricting.

That’s what Hayate had going for her- that their relationship had been free. They weren’t bound at the hip. They never had to worry about tripping over each other. No one expected any of them, and there was freedom in that too.

Fate smiled softly, remembering how the ‘all-important confession’ had taken place.

“Hayate! What are you doing to that poor girl? Leave her alone!”

Hayate had turned to her, releasing the frightened lamb of a freshman to scurry away. She had pouted and said, “She was perfectly willing, I’ll have you know. Now you’ll have to take responsibility.”

Fate stepped back, unsure of what she had gotten into. “What do you mean?”

Hayate advanced. “I mean… God was very generous with you, wasn’t He?”

Fate blushed, crossing her arms in front of her chest. “Hayate…”

And then, with a single pounce, Hayate had trapped Fate between herself and the wall of the school. “I’ve always liked you, you know. You’re really my type.”

Fate looked away, not daring to see the truth in Hayate’s eyes. “You shouldn’t judge people by the size of their chests.”

“I’m not.”

Fate looked over then, stunned by the sudden drop of frivolity.

Hayate took a step back, freeing her. “I really like you, Fate-chan. We could have a lot of fun together.”

Fate sighed. Had she ever managed to say those words back to her? Hayate would probably remember. Fate had always been horrible at vocalizing her feelings. She’d always counted on her lovers to simply know that they were loved. Through her actions, if not her words.

Fate wiped her eyes and tried to shake off her emotions. She had work to do. For better or for worse, she was with Nanoha now, and whatever happened in the past was inconsequential.

She opened the folder Signum had left her. And stopped.

Attached to the first paper was a little pink post-it note and a note written with a very distinct style. Fate knew who it was from despite not having a name.

Fate- I have your ribbon. If you don’t want it back, I’ll keep it as a momento. Tie my hair with it maybe. Otherwise, you know where to find me.

Just then, Bardiche announced, “Sir, call incoming from Raising Heart. Connect?”

When Fate didn’t answer immediately, still staring at the note as if it would come to life as a hologram or something, Bardiche prompted, “Sir?”

Then, on the spur of the moment, Fate noisily stood up and grabbed her jacket off the back of her chair. As she threw it on she muttered under her breath, “Tell her I’m in a conference.”

Need moar~!!

[Raging Heart]

Originally Posted by Satashi

Spoiler for Vampie!Fate pt. 5a (Nanoha):

I couldn't believe how tired I was when my alarm went off. Slowly my eyes opened and I looked across my pillow to the clock. It was beeping at me steadily, demanding that I wake to get ready for my eight o'clock class. I felt completely drained of life and when I sat up, the world spun lightly.

As I moved to the bathroom, I stumbled once but caught myself on the sink. My breakfast was pulled out of the cabinets and after swallowing the handful of pills, I took out the syringe and prepped it before poking my arm and injecting the liquid. The feeling was almost immediate and I felt better just knowing that I would have the effects in a little bit.

I looked into the mirror above my sink and blinked at the mark on my neck before smiling fondly at it. Reaching up, I touched the bruised area and felt the tenderness of it. I knew Fate wouldn't be her when I woke up but it didn't bother me too much. She had Erio to think of.

Moving back to my bedroom, I dressed for the day sluggishly and grabbed my backpack to sling over my shoulder. On my way out of my house, I checked to make sure Caro was sleeping in the spare room and that she would have some breakfast. I took a bagel from downstairs and ate it as I walked down the street.

Almost an hour later I fell down into my seat and sighed out. "I'm too tired for this..." I spoke my thoughts aloud as a backpack fell down next to me and an energetic girl jumped into the seat next to me. Blue hair fluttered around her face and she grinned at me. "Morning, Subaru." I greeted her lightly.

"Yo, 'morning." She smiled. "Ready for the exam? Last day of classes!"

"Yes," I rubbed my eyes. "I had lots of time to study in the hospital."

Subaru leaned over and looked at my neck. "Your master have a drink last night?"

"Mas...oh!" I waved it off. "Don't worry, I'm okay." Even though I said that, I knew that my body was still struggling to recover from the amount of blood I lost. A normal person would have recovered by now but me...

I couldn't help but wonder about Subaru. She was like me: someone caught up in the whole vampire thing. She obviously knew a lot about it and didn't seem as hush-hush as I thought she would be. "Ne, Subaru?" She grinned at me. "How long have you and Tia-san been...um..."

"Since as long as I can remember." Subaru answered without hesitating. "Originally I was kind of like an orphen. My mother died before I even knew her. My father is rich but didn't want anything to do with me so he sent me off to a boarding school. From there I was chosen by the paladins to help out Tia."

"Wait," I shook my head. "I still don't get this whole vampire/ paladin thing?"

"Oh, well," Subaru motioned with her hands while she talked. "Paladins normally hunt vampires, but recently they have been experimenting. So Tia was turned when she was young and trained to fight against other vampires. She was given synthetic blood to make her survive but once she drank from a vampire, she couldn't go back. From then on, I was placed under her care."

"So you were just randomly chosen?"

"More or less. Nobody would miss me if I just suddenly vanished, you know?" She didn't really seem to mind the words she was speaking. "So, anyway, Tia just drank from me but eventually she started looking out for me as well. Later we became a couple and now she is more like my lover than anything else."

I blushed darkly hearing it. Just as Fate was bound to me, it seemed like these two girls also formed a type of bond. I wanted to ask more but our professor chose that moment to enter our classroom. We had exams today and that needed to come first. "Can we meet later?" I whispered to her, getting a happy nod.

~**~

When Subaru and I met once more it was at the end of our school day. She waved her hand over her head when she was withing shouting distance. I waved back, a little embarrassed by her loud shouting paired with it, and began talking once she was close enough. "How was your day?"

"Boring, but not bad. I think I did well on the exams." She fanned out her shirt lightly. "Let's get someplace cool."

"Want to come to my bakery? I'll treat you to some nice food."

"That'd be excellent!" She laughed and I smiled at her. This girl was really perky and fun to be around. I can't believe that I sat next to her in one of my classes all semester and never even became friends other than being desk buddies. "Hey, would you happen to know of any nice apartments or anything?"

I blinked at the question. "There is a complex across from my bakery, why?"

"Tia and I kind of moved out of our old place."

"Kind of?"

"Well it was burnt down."

I paused my walking. "Seriously? What happened?"

Subaru laughed nervously. "Um, well, some people came to kill Tia and well... Tia got a little upset."

"So they burned the building down!?"

"Well...Tia sort of...lost it when one of them hit me."

I caught the hint. "Tia blew everything up?"

"Oh yeah." Subaru stopped walking and her laugh halted as well. In front of two men wearing light clothing with golden crosses on their sleeves and around their neck. "Well, they just don't give up do they?"

I took a step back and brought a hand to my chest. "Those guys again..."

Subaru reached into her backpack and pulled out a black glove. She slid it over her hand as the two people started moving forward to us. "Don't worry," Subaru spoke casually to me. "They will cover the tracks of their attack, and I'll protect you." Reaching into her pocket, she took a small glass vial filled with black liquid. "Let's get this over with." The vial was slid into a slot into her glove and I noticed that a cover slid over it. "Load cartridge!"

A.) Nanoha
B.) Fate

I go for A


i wanna know what will happen to these two, will Subaru able to beat these guys out and she and Nanoha will be safe?

i can't wait for update.

Hurry up Satashi.

[Evangelion Xgouki]

And the polls are now closed :3

The final count for Divided Destiny:

A) I
B) IIII
C)

I've got some time to kill before getting stuffed into the vehicle cab again...

[Laith]

Short this time

A

[Master Kosa]

Originally Posted by Satashi

Spoiler for Vampie!Fate pt. 5a (Nanoha):

I couldn't believe how tired I was when my alarm went off. Slowly my eyes opened and I looked across my pillow to the clock. It was beeping at me steadily, demanding that I wake to get ready for my eight o'clock class. I felt completely drained of life and when I sat up, the world spun lightly.

As I moved to the bathroom, I stumbled once but caught myself on the sink. My breakfast was pulled out of the cabinets and after swallowing the handful of pills, I took out the syringe and prepped it before poking my arm and injecting the liquid. The feeling was almost immediate and I felt better just knowing that I would have the effects in a little bit.

I looked into the mirror above my sink and blinked at the mark on my neck before smiling fondly at it. Reaching up, I touched the bruised area and felt the tenderness of it. I knew Fate wouldn't be her when I woke up but it didn't bother me too much. She had Erio to think of.

Moving back to my bedroom, I dressed for the day sluggishly and grabbed my backpack to sling over my shoulder. On my way out of my house, I checked to make sure Caro was sleeping in the spare room and that she would have some breakfast. I took a bagel from downstairs and ate it as I walked down the street.

Almost an hour later I fell down into my seat and sighed out. "I'm too tired for this..." I spoke my thoughts aloud as a backpack fell down next to me and an energetic girl jumped into the seat next to me. Blue hair fluttered around her face and she grinned at me. "Morning, Subaru." I greeted her lightly.

"Yo, 'morning." She smiled. "Ready for the exam? Last day of classes!"

"Yes," I rubbed my eyes. "I had lots of time to study in the hospital."

Subaru leaned over and looked at my neck. "Your master have a drink last night?"

"Mas...oh!" I waved it off. "Don't worry, I'm okay." Even though I said that, I knew that my body was still struggling to recover from the amount of blood I lost. A normal person would have recovered by now but me...

I couldn't help but wonder about Subaru. She was like me: someone caught up in the whole vampire thing. She obviously knew a lot about it and didn't seem as hush-hush as I thought she would be. "Ne, Subaru?" She grinned at me. "How long have you and Tia-san been...um..."

"Since as long as I can remember." Subaru answered without hesitating. "Originally I was kind of like an orphen. My mother died before I even knew her. My father is rich but didn't want anything to do with me so he sent me off to a boarding school. From there I was chosen by the paladins to help out Tia."

"Wait," I shook my head. "I still don't get this whole vampire/ paladin thing?"

"Oh, well," Subaru motioned with her hands while she talked. "Paladins normally hunt vampires, but recently they have been experimenting. So Tia was turned when she was young and trained to fight against other vampires. She was given synthetic blood to make her survive but once she drank from a vampire, she couldn't go back. From then on, I was placed under her care."

"So you were just randomly chosen?"

"More or less. Nobody would miss me if I just suddenly vanished, you know?" She didn't really seem to mind the words she was speaking. "So, anyway, Tia just drank from me but eventually she started looking out for me as well. Later we became a couple and now she is more like my lover than anything else."

I blushed darkly hearing it. Just as Fate was bound to me, it seemed like these two girls also formed a type of bond. I wanted to ask more but our professor chose that moment to enter our classroom. We had exams today and that needed to come first. "Can we meet later?" I whispered to her, getting a happy nod.

~**~

When Subaru and I met once more it was at the end of our school day. She waved her hand over her head when she was withing shouting distance. I waved back, a little embarrassed by her loud shouting paired with it, and began talking once she was close enough. "How was your day?"

"Boring, but not bad. I think I did well on the exams." She fanned out her shirt lightly. "Let's get someplace cool."

"Want to come to my bakery? I'll treat you to some nice food."

"That'd be excellent!" She laughed and I smiled at her. This girl was really perky and fun to be around. I can't believe that I sat next to her in one of my classes all semester and never even became friends other than being desk buddies. "Hey, would you happen to know of any nice apartments or anything?"

I blinked at the question. "There is a complex across from my bakery, why?"

"Tia and I kind of moved out of our old place."

"Kind of?"

"Well it was burnt down."

I paused my walking. "Seriously? What happened?"

Subaru laughed nervously. "Um, well, some people came to kill Tia and well... Tia got a little upset."

"So they burned the building down!?"

"Well...Tia sort of...lost it when one of them hit me."

I caught the hint. "Tia blew everything up?"

"Oh yeah." Subaru stopped walking and her laugh halted as well. In front of two men wearing light clothing with golden crosses on their sleeves and around their neck. "Well, they just don't give up do they?"

I took a step back and brought a hand to my chest. "Those guys again..."

Subaru reached into her backpack and pulled out a black glove. She slid it over her hand as the two people started moving forward to us. "Don't worry," Subaru spoke casually to me. "They will cover the tracks of their attack, and I'll protect you." Reaching into her pocket, she took a small glass vial filled with black liquid. "Let's get this over with." The vial was slid into a slot into her glove and I noticed that a cover slid over it. "Load cartridge!"

A.) Nanoha
B.) Fate

Nice development. I pray for A.

[Hiria]

Originally Posted by Satashi

Spoiler for Vampie!Fate pt. 5a (Nanoha):

I couldn't believe how tired I was when my alarm went off. Slowly my eyes opened and I looked across my pillow to the clock. It was beeping at me steadily, demanding that I wake to get ready for my eight o'clock class. I felt completely drained of life and when I sat up, the world spun lightly.

As I moved to the bathroom, I stumbled once but caught myself on the sink. My breakfast was pulled out of the cabinets and after swallowing the handful of pills, I took out the syringe and prepped it before poking my arm and injecting the liquid. The feeling was almost immediate and I felt better just knowing that I would have the effects in a little bit.

I looked into the mirror above my sink and blinked at the mark on my neck before smiling fondly at it. Reaching up, I touched the bruised area and felt the tenderness of it. I knew Fate wouldn't be her when I woke up but it didn't bother me too much. She had Erio to think of.

Moving back to my bedroom, I dressed for the day sluggishly and grabbed my backpack to sling over my shoulder. On my way out of my house, I checked to make sure Caro was sleeping in the spare room and that she would have some breakfast. I took a bagel from downstairs and ate it as I walked down the street.

Almost an hour later I fell down into my seat and sighed out. "I'm too tired for this..." I spoke my thoughts aloud as a backpack fell down next to me and an energetic girl jumped into the seat next to me. Blue hair fluttered around her face and she grinned at me. "Morning, Subaru." I greeted her lightly.

"Yo, 'morning." She smiled. "Ready for the exam? Last day of classes!"

"Yes," I rubbed my eyes. "I had lots of time to study in the hospital."

Subaru leaned over and looked at my neck. "Your master have a drink last night?"

"Mas...oh!" I waved it off. "Don't worry, I'm okay." Even though I said that, I knew that my body was still struggling to recover from the amount of blood I lost. A normal person would have recovered by now but me...

I couldn't help but wonder about Subaru. She was like me: someone caught up in the whole vampire thing. She obviously knew a lot about it and didn't seem as hush-hush as I thought she would be. "Ne, Subaru?" She grinned at me. "How long have you and Tia-san been...um..."

"Since as long as I can remember." Subaru answered without hesitating. "Originally I was kind of like an orphen. My mother died before I even knew her. My father is rich but didn't want anything to do with me so he sent me off to a boarding school. From there I was chosen by the paladins to help out Tia."

"Wait," I shook my head. "I still don't get this whole vampire/ paladin thing?"

"Oh, well," Subaru motioned with her hands while she talked. "Paladins normally hunt vampires, but recently they have been experimenting. So Tia was turned when she was young and trained to fight against other vampires. She was given synthetic blood to make her survive but once she drank from a vampire, she couldn't go back. From then on, I was placed under her care."

"So you were just randomly chosen?"

"More or less. Nobody would miss me if I just suddenly vanished, you know?" She didn't really seem to mind the words she was speaking. "So, anyway, Tia just drank from me but eventually she started looking out for me as well. Later we became a couple and now she is more like my lover than anything else."

I blushed darkly hearing it. Just as Fate was bound to me, it seemed like these two girls also formed a type of bond. I wanted to ask more but our professor chose that moment to enter our classroom. We had exams today and that needed to come first. "Can we meet later?" I whispered to her, getting a happy nod.

~**~

When Subaru and I met once more it was at the end of our school day. She waved her hand over her head when she was withing shouting distance. I waved back, a little embarrassed by her loud shouting paired with it, and began talking once she was close enough. "How was your day?"

"Boring, but not bad. I think I did well on the exams." She fanned out her shirt lightly. "Let's get someplace cool."

"Want to come to my bakery? I'll treat you to some nice food."

"That'd be excellent!" She laughed and I smiled at her. This girl was really perky and fun to be around. I can't believe that I sat next to her in one of my classes all semester and never even became friends other than being desk buddies. "Hey, would you happen to know of any nice apartments or anything?"

I blinked at the question. "There is a complex across from my bakery, why?"

"Tia and I kind of moved out of our old place."

"Kind of?"

"Well it was burnt down."

I paused my walking. "Seriously? What happened?"

Subaru laughed nervously. "Um, well, some people came to kill Tia and well... Tia got a little upset."

"So they burned the building down!?"

"Well...Tia sort of...lost it when one of them hit me."

I caught the hint. "Tia blew everything up?"

"Oh yeah." Subaru stopped walking and her laugh halted as well. In front of two men wearing light clothing with golden crosses on their sleeves and around their neck. "Well, they just don't give up do they?"

I took a step back and brought a hand to my chest. "Those guys again..."

Subaru reached into her backpack and pulled out a black glove. She slid it over her hand as the two people started moving forward to us. "Don't worry," Subaru spoke casually to me. "They will cover the tracks of their attack, and I'll protect you." Reaching into her pocket, she took a small glass vial filled with black liquid. "Let's get this over with." The vial was slid into a slot into her glove and I noticed that a cover slid over it. "Load cartridge!"

A.) Nanoha
B.) Fate

A cause subaru is going to fiiiight!!! XDXD

Originally Posted by Knight of L-sama

Sukikirai shinai... Love-hate... I won't... hmm... yeah, that makes sense. Tho no idea what it would canonically apply to... fufufu... *brain starts storming*

I should totally be studying right now, but what ev.

Spoiler for I'm not picky:

It was a nice day outside and no one was home but Viv-chan and me, so we were pretty much our own babysitters. Our neighbor was supposed to be watching us, but after striking a deal that we wouldn't tell our parents he smoked around us (Mama hates smokers and second-hand smoking with a passion), he would let us do whatever. But if we set fire to anything or caused anything irreparable damage, he would have to tell our parents anyway. Which wasn't such a bad thing, cuz then we didn't have to be the ones to tell them. Mama is sca~ry...

"Hey, Viv-chan. I'm bored." I rolled around on the carpet, not understanding how she could possibly amuse herself for hours "practicing her cali-whatsit". She was getting the newspaper underneath her all dirty too. Well, better the newspaper than the carpet, I guess.

"Then go play outside." She didn't even have the decency to look up.

I frowned and contemplated throwing a spitball at her. But I didn't have the equipment. "You're not going to come with me?"

"In a little bit. I want to finish this before my Mamas get home. You go ahead. I'll catch up."

I watched her for a minute and when it was clear that she really wasn't intending to budge anytime soon, I sighed and lifted myself off the carpet. "Then I'll be in the yard or something."

"Okay."

I was a little put-off by her lack of caring, but that just made me run towards the door faster. I slipped on my little blue shoes, all dirty from playing outside, and closed the door behind me. I surveyed my "playground" for something to do alone.

Seeing the Stop sign not too far off (we lived in a corner lot), I got an idea and ran towards it. 'I'll show that stupid Viv... I can have fun all by myself.'

When I got to the stop sign though, I started wondering if this was really going to be as fun as it seemed upon first thought. I put a hand on the pole and slowly started walking around it, as if I were a dog tethered to it. As I gained momentum, I started speeding up, seeing how fast I could spin around without getting super dizzy.

I got tired eventually though, and I had to stop, which was when the dizziness hit me. I grabbed onto the pole as if it were a lifeline, half leaning on it, half holding on for dear life. Several times I tried to crawl up the length of the pole, if only to right myself again, but my hold kept slipping. I was super duper dizzy. @_@

When the feeling finally passed, I looked around and perked up when I saw Viv-chan exiting the house. I stood by the pole, waving her over, but if she noticed, she didn't respond. I saw that she had a few papers in her hands, maybe her drawings she just finished, and a tin can. What did she need a tin can for? I got a little excited when I thought she might want to play kick-the-can (terribly addictive game), but her manner of walking towards me was very... not caring. She didn't even look at me directly.

In fact, even as I called out to her, planning to tease her about being late, she walked right past me.

Like I wasn't even there. She faced the street, just one step away from the start of the sidewalk, and placed the tin can at her feet. She was holding up her papers, as if it were a sign. Did she expect to get paid for her "art"?

I snorted in disbelief, called to her a few times, and eventually gave up on her. 'Fine then. If she's going to be like that, I'll /double/ the amount of fun I have alone. Right in front of her too.'

With that, I began my dance around the pole again, making a game of trying to do different poses around it.

It was Sunday, so there were a lot of joggers around the neighborhood. Whenever one approached, Viv would raise her papers, as if to display them more prominently. If one stopped to look, she waited a few minutes for them to look at the paper before flipping to another paper. And then another paper. Few failed to look at me straight afterwards. Some just shook their heads and kept walking, others took out their wallet and tossed some money into the can. Then they were on their way again and Vivio would start her act all over again.

By the time it was high noon, I was tired of this game and wanted to know what was up. So after recovering from another bout of dizziness (like my 10th one that day), I walked up to Vivio and turned her around to face me. I stared at the words she had scrawled on that paper, all the more so as she passively flipped the page for me as she had for all the others." And when I was done reading, she cracked a grin, picked up the can of money, and started running.

It took a moment for things to sink in before I started chasing her in earnest. "Vivio!!!!"

For what her message had been, what she had gotten money for, was:

(Page 1): I won't be picky... We're just two little girls.

(Page 2): Please donate to the Vivio and Syn Fund...

(Page 3): ... so that this little girl doesn't have to grow up to be a pole dancer.

(Page 4): Sin fee for staring at a little girl poledancing: 25 cents per second.

(Page 5): Thank you! ^_^

~End

Mostly based on a true story... I loved the story when my friend told me what her sister had done to her when she was young and innocent...

lol!!! XDXD

[OrderNorChaos]

Originally Posted by Satashi

Spoiler for Vampie!Fate pt. 5a (Nanoha):

I couldn't believe how tired I was when my alarm went off. Slowly my eyes opened and I looked across my pillow to the clock. It was beeping at me steadily, demanding that I wake to get ready for my eight o'clock class. I felt completely drained of life and when I sat up, the world spun lightly.

As I moved to the bathroom, I stumbled once but caught myself on the sink. My breakfast was pulled out of the cabinets and after swallowing the handful of pills, I took out the syringe and prepped it before poking my arm and injecting the liquid. The feeling was almost immediate and I felt better just knowing that I would have the effects in a little bit.

I looked into the mirror above my sink and blinked at the mark on my neck before smiling fondly at it. Reaching up, I touched the bruised area and felt the tenderness of it. I knew Fate wouldn't be her when I woke up but it didn't bother me too much. She had Erio to think of.

Moving back to my bedroom, I dressed for the day sluggishly and grabbed my backpack to sling over my shoulder. On my way out of my house, I checked to make sure Caro was sleeping in the spare room and that she would have some breakfast. I took a bagel from downstairs and ate it as I walked down the street.

Almost an hour later I fell down into my seat and sighed out. "I'm too tired for this..." I spoke my thoughts aloud as a backpack fell down next to me and an energetic girl jumped into the seat next to me. Blue hair fluttered around her face and she grinned at me. "Morning, Subaru." I greeted her lightly.

"Yo, 'morning." She smiled. "Ready for the exam? Last day of classes!"

"Yes," I rubbed my eyes. "I had lots of time to study in the hospital."

Subaru leaned over and looked at my neck. "Your master have a drink last night?"

"Mas...oh!" I waved it off. "Don't worry, I'm okay." Even though I said that, I knew that my body was still struggling to recover from the amount of blood I lost. A normal person would have recovered by now but me...

I couldn't help but wonder about Subaru. She was like me: someone caught up in the whole vampire thing. She obviously knew a lot about it and didn't seem as hush-hush as I thought she would be. "Ne, Subaru?" She grinned at me. "How long have you and Tia-san been...um..."

"Since as long as I can remember." Subaru answered without hesitating. "Originally I was kind of like an orphen. My mother died before I even knew her. My father is rich but didn't want anything to do with me so he sent me off to a boarding school. From there I was chosen by the paladins to help out Tia."

"Wait," I shook my head. "I still don't get this whole vampire/ paladin thing?"

"Oh, well," Subaru motioned with her hands while she talked. "Paladins normally hunt vampires, but recently they have been experimenting. So Tia was turned when she was young and trained to fight against other vampires. She was given synthetic blood to make her survive but once she drank from a vampire, she couldn't go back. From then on, I was placed under her care."

"So you were just randomly chosen?"

"More or less. Nobody would miss me if I just suddenly vanished, you know?" She didn't really seem to mind the words she was speaking. "So, anyway, Tia just drank from me but eventually she started looking out for me as well. Later we became a couple and now she is more like my lover than anything else."

I blushed darkly hearing it. Just as Fate was bound to me, it seemed like these two girls also formed a type of bond. I wanted to ask more but our professor chose that moment to enter our classroom. We had exams today and that needed to come first. "Can we meet later?" I whispered to her, getting a happy nod.

~**~

When Subaru and I met once more it was at the end of our school day. She waved her hand over her head when she was withing shouting distance. I waved back, a little embarrassed by her loud shouting paired with it, and began talking once she was close enough. "How was your day?"

"Boring, but not bad. I think I did well on the exams." She fanned out her shirt lightly. "Let's get someplace cool."

"Want to come to my bakery? I'll treat you to some nice food."

"That'd be excellent!" She laughed and I smiled at her. This girl was really perky and fun to be around. I can't believe that I sat next to her in one of my classes all semester and never even became friends other than being desk buddies. "Hey, would you happen to know of any nice apartments or anything?"

I blinked at the question. "There is a complex across from my bakery, why?"

"Tia and I kind of moved out of our old place."

"Kind of?"

"Well it was burnt down."

I paused my walking. "Seriously? What happened?"

Subaru laughed nervously. "Um, well, some people came to kill Tia and well... Tia got a little upset."

"So they burned the building down!?"

"Well...Tia sort of...lost it when one of them hit me."

I caught the hint. "Tia blew everything up?"

"Oh yeah." Subaru stopped walking and her laugh halted as well. In front of two men wearing light clothing with golden crosses on their sleeves and around their neck. "Well, they just don't give up do they?"

I took a step back and brought a hand to my chest. "Those guys again..."

Subaru reached into her backpack and pulled out a black glove. She slid it over her hand as the two people started moving forward to us. "Don't worry," Subaru spoke casually to me. "They will cover the tracks of their attack, and I'll protect you." Reaching into her pocket, she took a small glass vial filled with black liquid. "Let's get this over with." The vial was slid into a slot into her glove and I noticed that a cover slid over it. "Load cartridge!"

A.) Nanoha
B.) Fate

I am going for A too.

[NorthernFallout]

Death Rage Chapter 2

Spoiler for Text:

Inside the Containment Zone
Unknown location
MC 84, 12 July, 09:38 am

The search party moved through a forest that had been ravaged by a fire a couple of days ago. Burnt wood, grass and still steaming ground filled their noses as they flew through bushes and smoke. They had decided to fly at a low altitude towards the north, because of the risk of being detected if they had flown higher. What they really didn’t need was hundreds of infected chasing after them with their never ending rage.
The trip had so far been calm and without incident. Signum and Vita was flying a few feet ahead of Shamal and Zafira, scouting the area and looking for any sign of movement. They had constant radio contact with Hayate as they didn’t have time to establish a new link every time they found something.
They were currently four hours outside the capital and were close to the factory where the recording had been found. Their objective was to search the building for material or organic matter that could be used for research. Information on the biology of the infected was still mostly uncharted due to lack of data and Hayate had decided to combine their rescue mission with information gathering.

“I think I see the factory,” Signum said telepathically and pointed toward a small parting in the trees. “Be careful and look out for remaining infected, we don’t know if they are still here.”

“You don’t have to tell me twice,” Vita said and held Graf Eisen in front of her. “If anyone attacks us, I’ll smash them to a pulp. I will never allow that thing to happen again.”

Signum turned her head a little towards Vita and studied her for a moment. She was not the same as she used to be after that “thing”.
After the virus had broken out and at the same time, unknowingly to the others, infected Nanoha, Vita had worked hard together with her team members to contain it within the immediate area. Unfortunately, they hadn’t noticed that Nanoha was contagious and she managed to infect half of their team when they were about to leave. That was when the original containment broke and the administration decided to go on with their backup plan, Alpha CZ.
The Containment Zone was established in a wide area around the capital with military outposts at critical positions. The situation had been under control up until then, but after Camp Alpha was attacked, control had been lost and it was critical to establish it again.

Signum was drawn out of her thoughts when they finally reached the factory. It was an old building which hadn’t been used for quite some time and it showed on the area around it. Tall grass, broken poles, metal and glass was spread out all over the ground, together with blood and flesh from both infected and non-infected. The small group moved slowly towards the opening of the factory. So far they hadn’t heard or seen anything suspicious while they surveyed the area. It was quiet in the forest, not even the birds were singing.
The door to the complex was old and rusty. Hanging from its hinges, it let some sunlight inside which was reflected by the dusty machinery. Signum went inside before the others and checked the interior. It showed signs of a fight at the northern exit but aside from that it was untouched. She waved the others in who stood guard outside. Not willing to break the silence just yet, she made a few hand signals, telling her team to look for clues or research material. They spread out inside the complex and began searching.

== == ==

Inside the Containment Zone
500 meters from the Caranagan border
MC 84, 12 July, 09:40 am

A fence was blocking Vivio’s path as she walked along the highway. She studied it for a moment, looking for a hole or a breach. She found out that a part of the fence had fallen down some meters to her left. It looked like it had been trampled, its sturdy foundations ripped straight out of the ground. She assumed some infected had gotten through but she didn’t think about for long. She passed through the broken fence and continued down the road.
Cars, vans and buses were still crowding it, burning, tipped upside-down or just destroyed. It was the same for several hundred meters until she reached the first sign of inhabitation. The suburbs, Vivio remembered, was a small part of Caranagan, supporting a small population. Now all that was left was abandoned buildings.
As she walked down the silent and empty street, she began to think about her plan to get to the capital. Maybe it hadn’t been the best idea after all. She had assumed that the TSAB had set up the strongest defense there as it was an important strategic location. But as she continued down the deserted road, she began to think about the possibility that Caranagan had already fallen. The destroyed and silent suburb, the highway in flames. The signs were obvious. But Vivio decided to go on anyway as the stubborn child she was and had always been.
She increased her pace and moved through the suburb until she came upon a tunnel leading into the city’s subway system. The area around it was full of debris and burning fires. Her only choice was to enter it. It didn’t look inviting, the darkness looking back at her with hungry, empty eyes. A cold wind brushed her hair and she turned around, surprised, as if someone stood behind her. No one did of course. They were all dead.
Vivio shook her head and got rid of such thoughts.

No reason to stop now since I've gotten this far, she thought and moved towards the tunnel entrance. Her clothes were still ragged and smudges of blood covered them. She had tried to tie her hair in a knot but the fabric of whatever it was she had used began to break up, letting some strands of hair flowing freely in the air.
Just before the darkness cut off the sunlight, she took a nervous look at her surroundings. It was still as deserted as before, still as quiet and peaceful. The sparkling fires around her lit up some of the tunnel’s walls, showing blood smears and more junk. She let out a sigh, nodding to prove that she was ready and let herself become consumed by the darkness.

=== === ===

“Signum! Come over here, I found something,” Vita said and waved. She was standing in a corner in the factory, on a catwalk a few meters above the floor.
The others heard her and headed over. Vita was holding something up into the light coming from a broken window next to her. It was some kind of black cloth, smeared with dried blood.

“I recognize that,” said Signum with a hint of hope in her voice. “It’s from Vivio’s Barrier Jacket. I recognize the pattern.”

Vita held the cloth tighter and turned her head toward her right. That’s when she noticed more blood, leading up to the broken window. She moved in closer and noticed that the trail was coming from somewhere inside the factory. She started to follow it, with the others close behind her. It led down the staircase and towards a machine standing alone in the middle of the floor. It was a disposal unit, designed to crush metal objects.
Vita took a step towards it, but felt a hand on her shoulder, stopping her. She turned around and saw Signum shaking her head at her , telling her to stand back. Signum approached the machine with decisive steps and when she reached the edge, she looked into the machinery. The others saw her jolt back, bringing a hand to her mouth and shaking her head.

“Not Vivio,” she stuttered out as she tried to keep her lunch down,” but I think it’s the other girl in the recording.”

They looked at each other for a long time before someone spoke.

“We should get a sampl-“

“No!”

Signum held up a hand and wiped her mouth.

“No, no samples. We got enough for now. Let’s report back to Haya-“

“Signum, status report!”

They all jumped at the sudden noise that the communications panel did. Hayate hadn’t said anything for a good while, so they were surprised when she did.

“We can confirm that Vivio was here. We found a piece of cloth from her Barrier Jacket and we think she escaped through a window,” Signum said.

Hayate made a relieved sigh. “Good. How about that other girl in the recording?”

Signum looked at her team and delayed the answer. She thought about telling the whole story, but she decided against it. Hayate had enough to worry about.

“She’s dead,” was all she said.

Hayate nodded gravely and turned to something off screen. She sighed and returned.

“We have a bit of a situation. I am recalling you to the base. We need you.”

“But what about Vivio? The thing that happened here ca-“ Vita started but interrupted herself.

Hayate was looking at her with sad eyes.

“I have no choice but to call off the rescue mission. Two of our Level 1 bases are under attack and needs backup. Split into two teams and help them. Ignore the flight suspension, just get there as quickly as you can.”

Signum nodded and said: “Anything else?”

“No. I'll call you later.”

Hayate closed the link and left her knights in silence inside the factory.

== == ==

The chair groaned as Hayate leaned back and closed her eyes. Calling off the search for Vivio was another hard decision she had had to make, but with the current situation, and the pressure from other instances, she had to do it. She tried not to blame herself but it was hard. She had a feeling of betraying Vivio, not bothering searching for her. Rein was trying her best to keep Hayate going but to no avail. She began to feel more and more depressed. She knew she couldn’t keep it up much longer. She had to do something radical, something that would be risky but at the same time giving.
Hayate thought about it some more while Rein came into the room with a cup of tea. Hayate thanked her and sipped on it. She noticed it was her favorite and took her time drinking it, letting her problems disappear for a short time.

=== === ===

“They are breaking through, Sir! We can’t stop them.”

“Hold that position corporal!”

“Sir! We need your help over here!”

“Medic!”

One of the Level 1 bases was in chaos. The infected had appeared fifteen minutes ago, but the soldiers in the base had been prepared for them. The only problem was that there were too many. The infected fell as soon as they reached the fence, but together with the faint sunlight and the big pile of bodies, it was hard to fire at anything. They were beginning to climb over the fence, attacking the stranded soldiers inside.
The commanding officer was Colonel Achenhaum and he was doing his best to keep his troops in check. He did not want another massacre, like the one that happened at Camp Alpha when the infected first broke through Level 1. He had received word from HQ that backup was on its way, but he was already having doubts if they would make it in time.
Another infected broke through the fence and attacked one of the defenders. The colonel brought his own device to bear and fired a shot at it. It hit the infected in the side and threw it against the fence. It fell down to its knees, let out something resembling a scream and fell silent.
The colonel looked to his right and saw even more infected climbing. That area was temporarily undefended and they gained entry fast. The situation couldn’t be contained any longer.

“We can’t hold them! Everyone retrea-“

“Colonel, the backup has arrived.”

He was brought out of his shouting and looked down in surprise on a communications panel that had just opened. He recognized her immediately.

“Ma’am, am I glad to see you! We need help now and that fast! The infected are breaking through and-“

Signum nodded and smiled at the colonel.

“I am aware of your situation, Colonel Achenhaum. Just try to hold out for a while longer.”

He nodded and resumed his fire against the infected. He went all out, using the last energy he had. He was pleased to finally know, for sure this time, that the backup was on its way.

I am coming home, Marie. I’m coming home.

[Gespenst]

Originally Posted by Satashi

Bah, not enough time to scroll back to pick up exactly where I left off on my teaser, so here it is, pretty close lol!

Spoiler for Vampire!Fate pt. 3A(Fate):

I looked to the side and felt a little bit of disdain when I noticed that Tia was keeping up with me easily while rooftop jumping. We both landed at the same time onto a building and ran across it swiftly before jumping again. I cleared the three story jump but Tia almost didn't make it. She landed on the side of the building and kicked upwards so fast it broke of a small chuck of material from it. Her body lurched upwards and she landed next to me as if it were the simplest thing in the world.

"So," she asked me, stopping when she noticed I was no longer running. "Is this where you normally hunt?"

I pointed down at the bar entrance below me. "I have a few people in there that are regulars."

"I see." Tia leaped from the roof and landed with a swift roll to dissipate the force from the drop. I followed her shortly, landing in a crouch. "Fricken show off." She snarled at me, getting a smirk of satisfaction from my lips.

We were let in at once and Tia looked around for a moment before scanning the area seriously. I chose my target at once, a young man that came here often to forget about the work days. His blood was clean and delicious, reminding me at once of the blood currently in my stomach. Looking over at my ally, I finally spoke the question that was on my mind. "Why don't you just go to your donor?"

"She's studying for exams," Tia replied without interest. "If I drank from her tonight she wouldn't do well tomorrow."

I pondered this. It made sense to me, but I never expected her to consider it. Now that I think about it, I recall the two of them being on a type of date the time I told Nanoha about all of this... How long ago was that? A month? Two? I never considered time much so I couldn't really place it.

Tia and I sat down at the table where my regular was, smiling at him and his friend. The man perked up when he saw me and I gave him a flirting bat of my eyelashes. For all he knew, when I drank from him each time, I made him think that we had wild passionate sex. His friend was eyeing Tia, who leaned forward to show off her cleavage. Damn girl had no shame.

Then again.... I didn't either.

Three drinks passed by us before they were starting to get ready for a night with us. I could tell they were a little drunk, which would effect the taste of their blood, but overall it would be nice. Before we went, I exscused myself and made my way to the bathroom, where I put both hands on the sink.

I was feeling a little odd for some reason. A strange sensation in my stomach. I had felt it only a few times before, each time following a reaction that I didn't really care for. I felt it coming for a while now but I only just now caved in to it. Walking to one of the stalls, I closed the door behind me and fell to my knees. I barely had enough time to scoop my hair before I hunched over and threw up everything that I had just drank, including Nanoha's blood.

The sight wasn't pretty and I disposed it if quickly, wiping my mouth in the process. Mental note: Bad blood and alcohol don't mix.

I moved from the stall and back to the sink where I slurped water straight from the faucet using my hands. Not really elegant, but I didn't give a damn right now. All I wanted was for that horrid taste to get out of my mouth, and this was helping.

When I made it back to Tia, she had already swooned the man and was allowing him to dote over her while my victom was waiting with a smile. I grinned at him, allowed for him to put his arm around my waist, and went outside.

I don't think I could wait too much longer, I needed the taste of Nanoha's blood out of my mouth quick, lest I throw up again...

A.) Nanoha
B.) Fate

Wait... did I miss something?

Originally Posted by DigiGatou

Ow, poor Fate, having Nanoha's blood affect her like that. Wasn't Fate going to get dinner for Caro and Erio, though?

A

Yeah, that. Did something happen since then?

Originally Posted by TheShinySword

Knight:

Spoiler for interesting typo:

Instead, guilty as syn, she nuzzled Fate's chest and licked her cheek

Wouldn't be nearly as interesting if we didn't have the character running about. Sin is spelled with an i

I'm sure she's not exactly a little angel either. ;-)

Originally Posted by Satashi

Wanted to do something I normally don't do...

Spoiler for something different:

They had started as enemies, fighting each other for their own reasons. The circumstances lead them to a few battles before a common ground was found. Then they fought as allies, on the same side for a shared cause.

It was later that they found a shared interest, something to make them spend a little more time together. It began small at first, then grew larger as they went through their lives.

Nanoha wasn't sure when it first happened. Maybe on a retreat, or on a free-day they had together. It hit her all at once, from a simple question that she never even considered. "What do you think of her?" was what was asked. The woman looked at her friend and blinked, confused at why the answer didn't come easily.

It started to eat at her constantly, clawing at her mind whenever she wasn't focused on something else. What do you think of her? A friend? No, then the answer would have been there. A sister? Again, she could have answered it.

As she looked at her friend, she racked her mind, struggling for the answer. It was when her partner turned and looked at her, with a small questioning glance as to why she was being looked at, that she finally figured it out. The wind was blowing softly, making her hair waft just right. The sun reflected off her eyes, almost making them shine before being covered with a small shadow from her hand. What got her attention the most, however, was the small smile on her lips.

A smile that only Nanoha saw.

Not a friend, not a sister, but more. A small crush that started off so faint that she never noticed it turned into something so much more. A desire to spend time with her, to talk to her, to generally be around the girl. With a smile, Nanoha simply sent her answer: I'm looking at you because I want to.

The red haired girl hummed lightly and looked away, tapping her hammer on her shoulder while watching their recruits train. Her eyes watched the students, but also looked off into the distance, focusing more on something else that had been bugging her since a few days ago...

Dawwwwwwww.

Originally Posted by Satashi

Spoiler for Vampie!Fate pt. 5a (Nanoha):

I couldn't believe how tired I was when my alarm went off. Slowly my eyes opened and I looked across my pillow to the clock. It was beeping at me steadily, demanding that I wake to get ready for my eight o'clock class. I felt completely drained of life and when I sat up, the world spun lightly.

As I moved to the bathroom, I stumbled once but caught myself on the sink. My breakfast was pulled out of the cabinets and after swallowing the handful of pills, I took out the syringe and prepped it before poking my arm and injecting the liquid. The feeling was almost immediate and I felt better just knowing that I would have the effects in a little bit.

I looked into the mirror above my sink and blinked at the mark on my neck before smiling fondly at it. Reaching up, I touched the bruised area and felt the tenderness of it. I knew Fate wouldn't be her when I woke up but it didn't bother me too much. She had Erio to think of.

Moving back to my bedroom, I dressed for the day sluggishly and grabbed my backpack to sling over my shoulder. On my way out of my house, I checked to make sure Caro was sleeping in the spare room and that she would have some breakfast. I took a bagel from downstairs and ate it as I walked down the street.

Almost an hour later I fell down into my seat and sighed out. "I'm too tired for this..." I spoke my thoughts aloud as a backpack fell down next to me and an energetic girl jumped into the seat next to me. Blue hair fluttered around her face and she grinned at me. "Morning, Subaru." I greeted her lightly.

"Yo, 'morning." She smiled. "Ready for the exam? Last day of classes!"

"Yes," I rubbed my eyes. "I had lots of time to study in the hospital."

Subaru leaned over and looked at my neck. "Your master have a drink last night?"

"Mas...oh!" I waved it off. "Don't worry, I'm okay." Even though I said that, I knew that my body was still struggling to recover from the amount of blood I lost. A normal person would have recovered by now but me...

I couldn't help but wonder about Subaru. She was like me: someone caught up in the whole vampire thing. She obviously knew a lot about it and didn't seem as hush-hush as I thought she would be. "Ne, Subaru?" She grinned at me. "How long have you and Tia-san been...um..."

"Since as long as I can remember." Subaru answered without hesitating. "Originally I was kind of like an orphen. My mother died before I even knew her. My father is rich but didn't want anything to do with me so he sent me off to a boarding school. From there I was chosen by the paladins to help out Tia."

"Wait," I shook my head. "I still don't get this whole vampire/ paladin thing?"

"Oh, well," Subaru motioned with her hands while she talked. "Paladins normally hunt vampires, but recently they have been experimenting. So Tia was turned when she was young and trained to fight against other vampires. She was given synthetic blood to make her survive but once she drank from a vampire, she couldn't go back. From then on, I was placed under her care."

"So you were just randomly chosen?"

"More or less. Nobody would miss me if I just suddenly vanished, you know?" She didn't really seem to mind the words she was speaking. "So, anyway, Tia just drank from me but eventually she started looking out for me as well. Later we became a couple and now she is more like my lover than anything else."

I blushed darkly hearing it. Just as Fate was bound to me, it seemed like these two girls also formed a type of bond. I wanted to ask more but our professor chose that moment to enter our classroom. We had exams today and that needed to come first. "Can we meet later?" I whispered to her, getting a happy nod.

~**~

When Subaru and I met once more it was at the end of our school day. She waved her hand over her head when she was withing shouting distance. I waved back, a little embarrassed by her loud shouting paired with it, and began talking once she was close enough. "How was your day?"

"Boring, but not bad. I think I did well on the exams." She fanned out her shirt lightly. "Let's get someplace cool."

"Want to come to my bakery? I'll treat you to some nice food."

"That'd be excellent!" She laughed and I smiled at her. This girl was really perky and fun to be around. I can't believe that I sat next to her in one of my classes all semester and never even became friends other than being desk buddies. "Hey, would you happen to know of any nice apartments or anything?"

I blinked at the question. "There is a complex across from my bakery, why?"

"Tia and I kind of moved out of our old place."

"Kind of?"

"Well it was burnt down."

I paused my walking. "Seriously? What happened?"

Subaru laughed nervously. "Um, well, some people came to kill Tia and well... Tia got a little upset."

"So they burned the building down!?"

"Well...Tia sort of...lost it when one of them hit me."

I caught the hint. "Tia blew everything up?"

"Oh yeah." Subaru stopped walking and her laugh halted as well. In front of two men wearing light clothing with golden crosses on their sleeves and around their neck. "Well, they just don't give up do they?"

I took a step back and brought a hand to my chest. "Those guys again..."

Subaru reached into her backpack and pulled out a black glove. She slid it over her hand as the two people started moving forward to us. "Don't worry," Subaru spoke casually to me. "They will cover the tracks of their attack, and I'll protect you." Reaching into her pocket, she took a small glass vial filled with black liquid. "Let's get this over with." The vial was slid into a slot into her glove and I noticed that a cover slid over it. "Load cartridge!"

A.) Nanoha
B.) Fate

*hums* Su Su Su Su Su Su Subaru! Su Su Su Su Su Su Subaru! um... I was just thinking ...since people keep calling her GaoGaiGar-tan...

I mean A.

Spoiler for V!F Comment:

Ah creating bio-enginered super soldiers out of the very thing you keep trying to kill. A mark of any ethical organisation if I've ever seen one.

[markesellus]

Originally Posted by Evil Rick

The 'other' is not Vivio....

... THEN WHO IS IT!?! Gah! You always put out these mysteries.

Originally Posted by Satashi

Wanted to do something I normally don't do...

Spoiler for something different:

They had started as enemies, fighting each other for their own reasons. The circumstances lead them to a few battles before a common ground was found. Then they fought as allies, on the same side for a shared cause.

It was later that they found a shared interest, something to make them spend a little more time together. It began small at first, then grew larger as they went through their lives.

Nanoha wasn't sure when it first happened. Maybe on a retreat, or on a free-day they had together. It hit her all at once, from a simple question that she never even considered. "What do you think of her?" was what was asked. The woman looked at her friend and blinked, confused at why the answer didn't come easily.

It started to eat at her constantly, clawing at her mind whenever she wasn't focused on something else. What do you think of her? A friend? No, then the answer would have been there. A sister? Again, she could have answered it.

As she looked at her friend, she racked her mind, struggling for the answer. It was when her partner turned and looked at her, with a small questioning glance as to why she was being looked at, that she finally figured it out. The wind was blowing softly, making her hair waft just right. The sun reflected off her eyes, almost making them shine before being covered with a small shadow from her hand. What got her attention the most, however, was the small smile on her lips.

A smile that only Nanoha saw.

Not a friend, not a sister, but more. A small crush that started off so faint that she never noticed it turned into something so much more. A desire to spend time with her, to talk to her, to generally be around the girl. With a smile, Nanoha simply sent her answer: I'm looking at you because I want to.

The red haired girl hummed lightly and looked away, tapping her hammer on her shoulder while watching their recruits train. Her eyes watched the students, but also looked off into the distance, focusing more on something else that had been bugging her since a few days ago...

~Snaa! That's cute, I want moar! What was Vita thinking about?

Originally Posted by Evangelion Xgouki

DIVIDED DESTINY
Two People, Two Paths

Spoiler for Divided Destiny, pt. 08:

As they had expected, the cafeteria was crowded with people who were also on their break. Nanoha was usually a patient person but today she was really hungry so waiting in a long line was not an option. So she settled for grabbing a pre-made sandwich and salad from the deli. Her eyes darted around the sea of heads before spotting Yuuno near the middle of the tables.

"Here you go." She handed him the sandwich she had grabbed for him.

"Ah, thanks."

The pair engage in some small talk. Their topics hopped around from their families to their recent activities.

"Have you decided what you wanted to get your degree in yet?"

"Well, I was thinking about geology. This planet is far older than Earth was and I'm curious about what this world might have been like before."

"Before?" Nanoha took a bite of her sandwich.

"Um, I guess it would be best described as 'died.'"

"Died? What do you mean?"

"Well, not literally died. More geologically. From what I read from the records, Earth was a very geologically active planet. The plates that made the surface were constantly moving, its atmosphere was moist and produced all kinda of weather. They had thunderstorms, rain, snow, tornadoes, volcanic eruptions, and earthquakes happening all the time."

"Sounds a little scary to be living there..."

He chuckled. "I suppose. But the Earth was alive with activity which allowed life to flourish. New Terra, well, doesn't have any of that. All of its activity stopped long before humans arrived."

Nanoha leaned back in her chair, sipping her drink. "Mmm...but what about those earthquakes? We've been having a lot of them recently."

"That's true, which is very unusual." He crossed his arms over his chest. "The planet's plates shouldn't be moving at all. After being inactive for so long they shouldn't have just started moving again. Especially so quickly. Well, geologically speaking of course. A long time for us is like a a blink of an eye for the planet."

"You mean we shouldn't be having these quakes?"

"Exactly. I've been working with some scientists as part of my studies and it's quite a puzzle. Something happened or is happening to do all this. But we just can figure out what it could be."

Some of it was going over her head, but she understood the general idea. Her mind wandered back to Fate's last message. She had mentioned something about terraforming experiments back at Eden. Perhaps that could be the reason? Though she had no way to contact her friend anymore so all she could do was speculate.

A glance at her watched showed that her break was nearly over.

A) Start heading back to work
B) Take the long way back to try and work off some of lunch
C) Change to Fate's PoV

Please post your choices BOLD and in DarkOrange

Previous Installments
-Intro
-Chapter 01
-Chapter 02
-Chapter 03
-Chapter 04
-Chapter 05
-Chapter 06
-Chapter 07

Well I can't vote anyway but B because it won. Looks like Yuuno will be useful to have around since he is studying geology.

Originally Posted by Knight of L-sama

This bit had a lot of italics, including a flashback, but I was too lazy to even do my /slash/ stuffs. It's all italicized in my Word doc tho, so if this ever makes it to ff.net, it'd be correct there.

Angsty debatable NanoFate and HayaFate ahead...

Spoiler for Haya Fate! pt 3:

“Testerossa.”

A shudder went through Fate’s body as she was startled awake. After looking around in a daze for a few moments, her eyes landed on Signum. “Oh… ‘morning, Signum.”

Signum frowned, which wasn’t that far from her usual expression. “It’s the middle of the afternoon, Fate.”

“Oh… is it?” Fate yawned behind her hand as she leaned back to look out the window. The sun was high in the air. “So it is.”

There was silence, and then Signum asked bluntly, “Are you taking care of yourself?”

“What? Of course I am.” Fate smiled as she stood up to stretch before sitting back down at her desk. “I just dozed off for a bit. I’m fine, really. Did you need something, Signum? Oh, those folders… did the reports come in then?”

Even as Fate held out her hand to receive the folders, Signum made no move to give them to her. Her eyes stared hard at Fate, examining, scrutinizing, judging. “How much sleep did you get last night?”

“What…? That doesn’t really have anything to do with anything, now does it?” Fate smiled with soft exaggeration. “I might have lost a few hours of sleep doing overtime, but I had to finish up some rep-“

“You were never like this when you were with Hayate.”

The truth in that single statement hit a nerve, causing Fate to throw down her pen as she stood up. “Signum, please! This has nothing to do with Nanoha, okay? Please, just drop it.”

“I’m just concerned. As a friend.” Signum’s eyes trailed down to Fate’s shoulder, where her shirt had loosened enough that a hint of a bruise that was much larger than the bit that was visible.

Fate quickly adjusted her shirt, retying her neck ornament, a black ribbon.

Signum only continued to look at her, passive yet… full of an indignation that Fate could discern easily after spending so much time with the pink-haired warrior.

Before her silent accusation, Fate found that she no longer had any energy to defend herself. Though she did not sit down, she looked towards the floor off to the left. Meekly, she whispered, “I was careless in the last fight.”

“With Nanoha?”

“It was a practice spar.”

“Nanoha would never hurt you, even in a practice spar, unless she had cause to be mad at you.”

Fate knew this all too well, and found herself unable to defend once again.

Signum set the folders on the desk and turned to leave the small office. With her hand on the doorknob and her back to Fate, she stopped to say one last thing. “Testerossa… Even if it hurts, you have to remember to take care of yourself. You hurt more people if you don’t than if you do.”

Left alone, Fate slumped down in her chair, cupping her face with both hands. As she felt the tears well up, she felt the weakness seep into her system. She had loved Nanoha almost her whole life- certain for the majority of the time they had known each other. She was the main attraction, not Hayate. Hayate had just been a brief side show in their crazy experimental high school years.

That was over and done with. Back to the featured presentation.

Fate’s shoulder shook as she tried to keep herself from being too loud, despite knowing that her office was soundproofed. What had gone wrong? What had happened to make her feel this way?

It wasn’t Nanoha. It wasn’t. Fate refused to believe that. Nanoha was so sweet, so kind, so good. She had been the one to save Fate when her mother had left her to die. She had been the one to ask for her name, so that she might call her name, so that they might be friends. She had… had…

‘Had’ was past tense. Now was when she was dating Nanoha. Now was when she had finally gotten her hands on what she had coveted for as long as she could remember.

Now… she was as much in love with Nanoha as ever, right? Right?

Fate remembered a private sleepover, the last one she had shared with Hayate before they had broken up.

She remembered giggling together, making teasing remarks about each other and about their friends, all in good fun. They speculated on when Arisa and Suzuka had first fallen in love with each other.

Fate nearly choked on the laughter that bubbled up against the tide of grief.

She forced herself to remember that there were happy times with the White De- with Nanoha. They hadn’t been dating long in the grand scheme of things, but that didn’t really matter. They had known each other for so long after all.

They had always been best friends, and yet, something so much more than that.

They had history.

What history did she have with Hayate that Nanoha didn’t also have? They had met Hayate together. They had fought her together. They had fought with her together.

Together, they were the three Aces.

Fate threw her head back, staring lifelessly at the light fixture, with the back of her hand acting as a buffer. Nanoha had been nothing but kind to her. There was no reason to feel guilty or doubtful. They were the perfect couple.

Perfect… yes, perfect. When they were together, no one could contest that they were a few hairs short of unbeatable. They knew what needed to get done and what they could trust the other to take care of without even consulting each other. Their hearts were bonded in ways that were irrevocable.

It was constricting.

That’s what Hayate had going for her- that their relationship had been free. They weren’t bound at the hip. They never had to worry about tripping over each other. No one expected any of them, and there was freedom in that too.

Fate smiled softly, remembering how the ‘all-important confession’ had taken place.

“Hayate! What are you doing to that poor girl? Leave her alone!”

Hayate had turned to her, releasing the frightened lamb of a freshman to scurry away. She had pouted and said, “She was perfectly willing, I’ll have you know. Now you’ll have to take responsibility.”

Fate stepped back, unsure of what she had gotten into. “What do you mean?”

Hayate advanced. “I mean… God was very generous with you, wasn’t He?”

Fate blushed, crossing her arms in front of her chest. “Hayate…”

And then, with a single pounce, Hayate had trapped Fate between herself and the wall of the school. “I’ve always liked you, you know. You’re really my type.”

Fate looked away, not daring to see the truth in Hayate’s eyes. “You shouldn’t judge people by the size of their chests.”

“I’m not.”

Fate looked over then, stunned by the sudden drop of frivolity.

Hayate took a step back, freeing her. “I really like you, Fate-chan. We could have a lot of fun together.”

Fate sighed. Had she ever managed to say those words back to her? Hayate would probably remember. Fate had always been horrible at vocalizing her feelings. She’d always counted on her lovers to simply know that they were loved. Through her actions, if not her words.

Fate wiped her eyes and tried to shake off her emotions. She had work to do. For better or for worse, she was with Nanoha now, and whatever happened in the past was inconsequential.

She opened the folder Signum had left her. And stopped.

Attached to the first paper was a little pink post-it note and a note written with a very distinct style. Fate knew who it was from despite not having a name.

Fate- I have your ribbon. If you don’t want it back, I’ll keep it as a momento. Tie my hair with it maybe. Otherwise, you know where to find me.

Just then, Bardiche announced, “Sir, call incoming from Raising Heart. Connect?”

When Fate didn’t answer immediately, still staring at the note as if it would come to life as a hologram or something, Bardiche prompted, “Sir?”

Then, on the spur of the moment, Fate noisily stood up and grabbed her jacket off the back of her chair. As she threw it on she muttered under her breath, “Tell her I’m in a conference.”

THE ANGST! I love it. It looks like things are getty very interesting.

Originally Posted by Satashi

Spoiler for Vampie!Fate pt. 5a (Nanoha):

I couldn't believe how tired I was when my alarm went off. Slowly my eyes opened and I looked across my pillow to the clock. It was beeping at me steadily, demanding that I wake to get ready for my eight o'clock class. I felt completely drained of life and when I sat up, the world spun lightly.

As I moved to the bathroom, I stumbled once but caught myself on the sink. My breakfast was pulled out of the cabinets and after swallowing the handful of pills, I took out the syringe and prepped it before poking my arm and injecting the liquid. The feeling was almost immediate and I felt better just knowing that I would have the effects in a little bit.

I looked into the mirror above my sink and blinked at the mark on my neck before smiling fondly at it. Reaching up, I touched the bruised area and felt the tenderness of it. I knew Fate wouldn't be her when I woke up but it didn't bother me too much. She had Erio to think of.

Moving back to my bedroom, I dressed for the day sluggishly and grabbed my backpack to sling over my shoulder. On my way out of my house, I checked to make sure Caro was sleeping in the spare room and that she would have some breakfast. I took a bagel from downstairs and ate it as I walked down the street.

Almost an hour later I fell down into my seat and sighed out. "I'm too tired for this..." I spoke my thoughts aloud as a backpack fell down next to me and an energetic girl jumped into the seat next to me. Blue hair fluttered around her face and she grinned at me. "Morning, Subaru." I greeted her lightly.

"Yo, 'morning." She smiled. "Ready for the exam? Last day of classes!"

"Yes," I rubbed my eyes. "I had lots of time to study in the hospital."

Subaru leaned over and looked at my neck. "Your master have a drink last night?"

"Mas...oh!" I waved it off. "Don't worry, I'm okay." Even though I said that, I knew that my body was still struggling to recover from the amount of blood I lost. A normal person would have recovered by now but me...

I couldn't help but wonder about Subaru. She was like me: someone caught up in the whole vampire thing. She obviously knew a lot about it and didn't seem as hush-hush as I thought she would be. "Ne, Subaru?" She grinned at me. "How long have you and Tia-san been...um..."

"Since as long as I can remember." Subaru answered without hesitating. "Originally I was kind of like an orphen. My mother died before I even knew her. My father is rich but didn't want anything to do with me so he sent me off to a boarding school. From there I was chosen by the paladins to help out Tia."

"Wait," I shook my head. "I still don't get this whole vampire/ paladin thing?"

"Oh, well," Subaru motioned with her hands while she talked. "Paladins normally hunt vampires, but recently they have been experimenting. So Tia was turned when she was young and trained to fight against other vampires. She was given synthetic blood to make her survive but once she drank from a vampire, she couldn't go back. From then on, I was placed under her care."

"So you were just randomly chosen?"

"More or less. Nobody would miss me if I just suddenly vanished, you know?" She didn't really seem to mind the words she was speaking. "So, anyway, Tia just drank from me but eventually she started looking out for me as well. Later we became a couple and now she is more like my lover than anything else."

I blushed darkly hearing it. Just as Fate was bound to me, it seemed like these two girls also formed a type of bond. I wanted to ask more but our professor chose that moment to enter our classroom. We had exams today and that needed to come first. "Can we meet later?" I whispered to her, getting a happy nod.

~**~

When Subaru and I met once more it was at the end of our school day. She waved her hand over her head when she was withing shouting distance. I waved back, a little embarrassed by her loud shouting paired with it, and began talking once she was close enough. "How was your day?"

"Boring, but not bad. I think I did well on the exams." She fanned out her shirt lightly. "Let's get someplace cool."

"Want to come to my bakery? I'll treat you to some nice food."

"That'd be excellent!" She laughed and I smiled at her. This girl was really perky and fun to be around. I can't believe that I sat next to her in one of my classes all semester and never even became friends other than being desk buddies. "Hey, would you happen to know of any nice apartments or anything?"

I blinked at the question. "There is a complex across from my bakery, why?"

"Tia and I kind of moved out of our old place."

"Kind of?"

"Well it was burnt down."

I paused my walking. "Seriously? What happened?"

Subaru laughed nervously. "Um, well, some people came to kill Tia and well... Tia got a little upset."

"So they burned the building down!?"

"Well...Tia sort of...lost it when one of them hit me."

I caught the hint. "Tia blew everything up?"

"Oh yeah." Subaru stopped walking and her laugh halted as well. In front of two men wearing light clothing with golden crosses on their sleeves and around their neck. "Well, they just don't give up do they?"

I took a step back and brought a hand to my chest. "Those guys again..."

Subaru reached into her backpack and pulled out a black glove. She slid it over her hand as the two people started moving forward to us. "Don't worry," Subaru spoke casually to me. "They will cover the tracks of their attack, and I'll protect you." Reaching into her pocket, she took a small glass vial filled with black liquid. "Let's get this over with." The vial was slid into a slot into her glove and I noticed that a cover slid over it. "Load cartridge!"

A.) Nanoha
B.) Fate

A because Mach Caliber is win.

Originally Posted by Knight of L-sama

Sukikirai shinai... Love-hate... I won't... hmm... yeah, that makes sense. Tho no idea what it would canonically apply to... fufufu... *brain starts storming*

I should totally be studying right now, but what ev.

Spoiler for I'm not picky:

It was a nice day outside and no one was home but Viv-chan and me, so we were pretty much our own babysitters. Our neighbor was supposed to be watching us, but after striking a deal that we wouldn't tell our parents he smoked around us (Mama hates smokers and second-hand smoking with a passion), he would let us do whatever. But if we set fire to anything or caused anything irreparable damage, he would have to tell our parents anyway. Which wasn't such a bad thing, cuz then we didn't have to be the ones to tell them. Mama is sca~ry...

"Hey, Viv-chan. I'm bored." I rolled around on the carpet, not understanding how she could possibly amuse herself for hours "practicing her cali-whatsit". She was getting the newspaper underneath her all dirty too. Well, better the newspaper than the carpet, I guess.

"Then go play outside." She didn't even have the decency to look up.

I frowned and contemplated throwing a spitball at her. But I didn't have the equipment. "You're not going to come with me?"

"In a little bit. I want to finish this before my Mamas get home. You go ahead. I'll catch up."

I watched her for a minute and when it was clear that she really wasn't intending to budge anytime soon, I sighed and lifted myself off the carpet. "Then I'll be in the yard or something."

"Okay."

I was a little put-off by her lack of caring, but that just made me run towards the door faster. I slipped on my little blue shoes, all dirty from playing outside, and closed the door behind me. I surveyed my "playground" for something to do alone.

Seeing the Stop sign not too far off (we lived in a corner lot), I got an idea and ran towards it. 'I'll show that stupid Viv... I can have fun all by myself.'

When I got to the stop sign though, I started wondering if this was really going to be as fun as it seemed upon first thought. I put a hand on the pole and slowly started walking around it, as if I were a dog tethered to it. As I gained momentum, I started speeding up, seeing how fast I could spin around without getting super dizzy.

I got tired eventually though, and I had to stop, which was when the dizziness hit me. I grabbed onto the pole as if it were a lifeline, half leaning on it, half holding on for dear life. Several times I tried to crawl up the length of the pole, if only to right myself again, but my hold kept slipping. I was super duper dizzy. @_@

When the feeling finally passed, I looked around and perked up when I saw Viv-chan exiting the house. I stood by the pole, waving her over, but if she noticed, she didn't respond. I saw that she had a few papers in her hands, maybe her drawings she just finished, and a tin can. What did she need a tin can for? I got a little excited when I thought she might want to play kick-the-can (terribly addictive game), but her manner of walking towards me was very... not caring. She didn't even look at me directly.

In fact, even as I called out to her, planning to tease her about being late, she walked right past me.

Like I wasn't even there. She faced the street, just one step away from the start of the sidewalk, and placed the tin can at her feet. She was holding up her papers, as if it were a sign. Did she expect to get paid for her "art"?

I snorted in disbelief, called to her a few times, and eventually gave up on her. 'Fine then. If she's going to be like that, I'll /double/ the amount of fun I have alone. Right in front of her too.'

With that, I began my dance around the pole again, making a game of trying to do different poses around it.

It was Sunday, so there were a lot of joggers around the neighborhood. Whenever one approached, Viv would raise her papers, as if to display them more prominently. If one stopped to look, she waited a few minutes for them to look at the paper before flipping to another paper. And then another paper. Few failed to look at me straight afterwards. Some just shook their heads and kept walking, others took out their wallet and tossed some money into the can. Then they were on their way again and Vivio would start her act all over again.

By the time it was high noon, I was tired of this game and wanted to know what was up. So after recovering from another bout of dizziness (like my 10th one that day), I walked up to Vivio and turned her around to face me. I stared at the words she had scrawled on that paper, all the more so as she passively flipped the page for me as she had for all the others." And when I was done reading, she cracked a grin, picked up the can of money, and started running.

It took a moment for things to sink in before I started chasing her in earnest. "Vivio!!!!"

For what her message had been, what she had gotten money for, was:

(Page 1): I won't be picky... We're just two little girls.

(Page 2): Please donate to the Vivio and Syn Fund...

(Page 3): ... so that this little girl doesn't have to grow up to be a pole dancer.

(Page 4): Sin fee for staring at a little girl poledancing: 25 cents per second.

(Page 5): Thank you! ^_^

~End

Mostly based on a true story... I loved the story when my friend told me what her sister had done to her when she was young and innocent...

Lol! That's great. I'm glad my sister isn't that mean to me.

@AX forgot to quote. -.-' Anyways, I hope Cranagan can hold out so Vivio can find somewhere safe. It looks like she is going to meet up with everyone soon since they are all in Cranagan. Nanoha was infected? That's interesting. I can't remember if she was mentioned in chapter 1 but what about Fate?

[Satashi]

Originally Posted by Gespenst

Wait... did I miss something?



Yeah, that. Did something happen since then?

Nah, I skipped it 'cause I couldn't find my teaser part :P I won't makea habit out of it ^_^

pageclaim for pageclaims!