"Finally" Fate mused to herself "After 2 years, I finally get to go home. I wonder how Nanoha is doing? I hope she hasnt gotten herself into any trouble hehe~"
She stepped out of the taxi that took her home from the starport and paid the driver before looking at the building that she called home. She took a deep breath as if to reminice about all that happened, also to prepare herself to surprise Nanoha. She hadn't seen her lover in so long, it took all her power to keep herself from just busting through the door. She cleared her throat and slowly stepped into the house.
"Odd" the blond thought as she walked in
"I wonder why the house is unlocked if there is no one inside" she stepped in and looked around at the all-too-familiar building. She couldnt help but smile at herself when she looked at the pictures of all the fond memories.
She heard a noise coming from upstairs and grinned to herself thinking that it would be the best chance to sneak up on her lover with a surprise attack from the bedroom. She slowly crepped up the stairs and situated herself in front of the door, taking a deep breath before bracing herself and sliding the door open
"...!" Her eyes went wide with disbelief at what she had seen.
Nanoha was on the bed...with Yuuno
"...!" Nanoha gasped in surprise as Fate entered her view. She quickly got off Yuuno and stared back in utter shock
Fate slowly sighed deeply before turning on her heels and walked downstairs and out the door.
"Fate-chan!" Nanoha ran after the blond, but to no avail. By the time she had gotten outside the door, Fate had already taken to the air, despite the 'No flying in city limits' rule and was soon out of sight.
~She put him out like the burnin' end of a midnight cigarette~
~She broke his heart, he spent his whole life tryin' to forget~
"Come on, Tea!" Subaru called out as she dragged her friend "Its a nice bar I found while you were out on your mission! I promise it will be fun! We can even-" the energetic girl stopped when she saw a familiar face
"What is wrong Subaru?" Teana asked and followed the girl's gaze towards the table. There, siting all alone with numerous empty glasses surrounding her, was Fate
The two girls looked at each other
~We watched him drink his pain away a little at a time~
"Fate-san?" Teana walked up to the enforcer who was still in uniform
"..." Fate responded only by gripping her glass harder and tilted her head back far and literally inhaled the tall glass of alcohol that the bartender had given her.
"Fate-san!" Subaru tried to intervene and remove the bottle, but was only pushed back by the tears that fell from the blond's face during the quick struggle.
The blond got up when the music changed and walked over to the dance floor and started dancing herself away.
"Fate-san..." the two girls could do nothing but watch as the enforcer slowly got more and more bold with her techniques, getting her to borderline misconduct.
The bartender, noticing that she was going to cause problems, asked the drunk blond to leave. Fate only retaliated and started arguing. Eventually it got to the point where it took several people to throw her out of the club.
~But he never could get drunk enough to get her off his mind~
~Until the night~
Teana and Subaru ran up to the older woman and picked her up off the ground. The two took her to a nearby hotel and rented a room. They dragged her onto the bed and stood watch to make sure things were ok
"Fate-san...what happened?" Subaru finally broke the silence and looked down worried.
"Leave..." the blond held her head and forced herelf to sit up
"But-"
"Leave!" she barked out half in anger...half in despair.
"Subaru..." Teana tapped her friend's shoulder "let's go." She turned to the enforcer "We'll come back tomorrow to see how you are doing, Fate-san" she pulled her partner out the door and bowed before closing it lightly.
~He put that bottle to his head and pulled the trigger~
~And finally drank away her memory~
Fate opened the communicator to the front desk.
"Yes, may I help you?" the receptionist responded
"Get me all the alcohol you have" Fate ordered
"Are you sure? You look like you've had enough alrea-"
"Just do it!" she shouted "I just want a few more."
The receptionist paused a little bit before nodding slowly and sending several bottles to the door.
~Life is short but this time it was bigger~
Fate continued drinking the whole night. The image of what she saw forever haunting her mind. She tried to question herself: Was she lacking? Did she do something wrong? Was she not enough? Why?
"Keh" she spat out the cork of the next bottle before putting it to her lips and throwing her head back.
She tried to get angry at Nanoha. She tried to get angry at Yuuno. She tried to get angry period...but she couldnt bring herself to do it. She knew deep down, that no matter what...she would never be able to hate them.
"Its all my fault..." she told herself and continued pounding away at the alcohol. "Its all my fault..." she kept repeating the whole night.
~Than the strength he had to get up off his knees~
"Fate-chan" Hayate knocked on the hotel door several days later. She had gotten the report from Teana that her friend would be there after what seemed to be a bad night. It would have been ok, but the blond hadn't reported it at all. "Fate-chan?" she repeated when no answer came.
"How may I help you?" The receptionist answered when Hayate pressed the "Service" button
"I am Yagami, Hayate. Commander of Riot Force VI. I would like you to open this door so I can talk to one of my friends."
"One moment please"
The door opened and the short haired girl stepped in. She was stopped by the heavy odor of alcohol. She covered her nose and continued to walk in.
"Fate-chan?" she looked around and almost fell when she stepped on a bottle. The commander looked down and her eyes widened when the floor was literally covered in glass.
Her eyes scanned the room a lot more quickly as she made her way to the bedroom area. What she saw when she entered stunned her
"Fate-chan!!"
~We found him with his face down in the pillow~
~With a note that said I'll love her till I die~
"Nanoha-chan..." Hayate went over to the Takamachi residence just over an hour later. She didnt quite know how to break it to one of her best freinds.
"Hayate-chan?" The instructor welcomed her friend in and brought her to the couch. "What is it?"
The commander took a deep breath and looked her collegue in the eyes "Its about Fate-chan..."
The mention of the name made Nanoha's eyes widen and begin shaking. Yet, she remained silent and let her friend finish what was to be said.
"Nanoha-chan..." Hayate repeated "did something happen between you and Fate-chan?"
"..." she looked down at her lap and fought the tears back for several moments before finally maintaining enough control to speak "We...had a fight. I want to appologize to her today for it."
"Nanoha-chan..." Hayate grit her teeth as she steeled herself to break out the news. "Fate-chan..." she found herself about to cry, it took all her power to maintain herself as the brought herself to say the last two words "...is dead."
"...!" Nanoha's head rose with incredible speed at those words. Her jaw dropped as she stared at Hayate, wishing that the girl in front of her would soon say 'I'm kidding'
"I'm sorry..."
~And when we buried him beneath the willow~
~The angels sang a whiskey lullaby~
~xX*Xx~
~The rumors flew but nobody know how much she blamed herself~
Looking at Takamachi, Nanoha now made someone feel very sad. The girl was never the same since that day, she had lost a part of her that she could never replace...and she got rid of it...with her own two hands.
People began to speculate just exactly what happened. Rumors started to rise saying that she was cheating on Fate, saying that she was unsatisfied with how the enforcer was living her life, saying that Nanoha had just been lonely and offered herself to many others...
~For years and years she tried to hide the whiskey on her breath~
~She finally drank her pain away a little at a time~
"She is getting progressively worse..." Signum stated as she watched her friend and former Ace look around to make sure no one was around her before slipping a shot of alcohol to her lips.
"I didnt think the impact would last this long." Hayate rubbed her head "I tried everything I could, and I thought she was getting better." She spoke through a communication monitor "but I guess she was only fooling me."
"So it would seem, mistress..."
~But she never could get drunk enough to get him off her mind~
~Until the night~
Nanoha sat on her bed all alone that night with a bottle in her hand. Her home was the only place that she could drink in solitude without Hayate knowing about it. However the house was a double edged sword. Everything in the house held nothing but memories of the woman she loved with all her heart. Her eyes began to form tears as she reached over next to her bed and carefully propped up a picture that she had placed face down in years...
~She put that bottle to her head and pulled the trigger~
~And finally drank away his memory~
She walked over to her fridge and grabbed everything in it along with a single glass. Her heart continued to ache and all she could think of to help reduce the pain...was to drown it.
"I'm so sorry, Fate-chan..." she said aloud to the empty room between her tears "I'm so sorry..."
She hugged her knees tightly for several moments before reaching to the table and grabbing a bottle and bringing it to her lips.
~Life is short but this time it was bigger~
~Than the strength she had to get up off her knees~
She looked at the picture in her hand. The picture that had Fate smiling brightly...the picture that Nanoha herself had taken of Fate during their last christmas together. She couldnt hold back anymore. She broke down completely, letting go of the bottle in her other hand.
"Rhaaa!!!" she screamed at the top of her lungs and began to throw the bottles around hoping that it would quell her anguish in some way. She didnt care anymore...after several years of trying to fight it...she just had enough.
~We found her with her face down in the pillow~
~Clinging to his picture for dear life~
"Nanoha-chan?" Hayate called from the door the next day. Signum and Shamal accompanied thier master as a precaution. "Nanoha-chan?"
She nodded at Signum, who broke down the door and cleared the way into the Takamachi residence.
"Nanoha-chan?" Shamal called out as the rest of them stepped in. "Klarer Wind" she looked at her rings "Please let me know if anyone is here."
[No living beings detected] it responded
[However, there is someone else here]
Hayate's eyes widened "Signum!" she called out
"Understood mistress" the sword knight transformed into her armor and dashed upstairs at full speed.
"Did you find her?!" Hayate called out as the finally caught up.
Signum stood motionless at the doorway for several moments before slowly stepping aside to allow her master to look inside the bedroom.
"Nanoha-chan..."
~We laid her next to him beneath the willow~
~While the angels sang a whiskey lullaby~
"Nanoha-chan...Fate-chan..." Hayate looked at the two gravestones next to each other. "I wish this had never come to be. I wish I was able to prevent this. I'm so sorry." she bowed deeply "I have failed as your commander and as your friend. I dont think you could ever forgive me...but I am truly sorry."
She slowly raised her head and turned around to nod to her Guardian Knights. The Wolkenritter, understanding the meaning, moved away from earshot and stood guard around the area.
"I hope you two finally meet each other again and settle things properly. I miss you both already." She placed the flowers down on both graves.
"Good bye...my dear friends..."