~Prologue~
[Caveat Valley, Synthedonia: Planet Duraxyll 2] [May 30th, MC 077] [Early morning]
It’s still as beautiful as ever…
A lone figure can be seen standing on a barren field. Upon closer inspection, he is revealed to be looking at what seems to be the planet’s moon at first glance.
Even after what happened…
However, this is not the case as the celestial body this person is looking at is in fact the sister planet of the one he is currently in…
“Tche.” The person leaps down from his high perch, landing lightly on the ground. The wind blows, scattering his black hair and making his cloak billow. Azure, melancholic eyes scans the landscape he is currently in; noting the absence of any other form of life other than plants and the occasional small animal…
And just as they told me… It seems like the inhabitants of this planet weren’t left much choice of the matter either. Heh… Must have been troublesome…
“Hm?”
A data screen appears beside the person, showing the face of a beautiful young girl no older than 14 in appearance. Her long and shiny silver hair contrasted well with her deep, emerald eyes. She spoke with a charming lilt to her tone, “Grandis onii-chan.”
The person called Grandis turned to face the caller, showing a small smile in reply, “Lyriel,” he called the girl, “what is it?”
The girl smiled back, “Luozorl-sama is calling for everyone.” Her tone gained a light note of severity, “‘It’ will start soon…”
“I see…” is his reply, “Please tell them that I’ll be there shortly. Thank you, Lyriel.” He then smiles one more time at the girl and faces away, his feet starting to take short strides towards his destination.
“Hai.” The data screen vanishes.
“Heh. At last, huh?” Grandis sighs lightly, looks up into Duraxyll, his former home planet and raises his hand as if to grasp it, “Rest easy… For I will end it soon… Until then,” He clenches his upraised hand tightly, his blue eyes turning icy with cold fury, “I will not rest until I’ve avenged you…”
And only by doing so… My time can flow again…
~~~~~~~~~~~~~
~MGLN: GenerationS: Chapter One – Beginning~
[Meeting Room, TSAB Naval Base] [May 23rd, MC 077] [1030 hours]
Eight individuals can be seen gathered and sitting on the three benches in the room. Small chatter can be heard from them. Two small flashes of blue and red light can be seen zipping around the room, later revealed to be two six-inch tall minute girls.
“But really!” complained a red-haired child of around seven years old. But in fact, this little girl has already existed for several hundred years. Her name is Vita, the Iron Knight of the Wolkenritter, former components of the Book of Darkness, now the loyal guardians of the Mistress of the Knight Sky. “Why do we have to work with that old man again?”
“Maa, maa~, Vita-chan…” replied a motherly-looking blond woman. Her name is Shamal, the Knight of the Lake. “It’s not like he would be causing us any trouble during the mission.”
“But still,” Vita replied, “Couldn’t we just get anybody else? Yes, we’ve already known him for ten years already but I still don’t like him!”
“Vita…” interjected another woman who had her long, pink hair in a ponytail. She is the leader of the Wolkenritter, the Sword Knight/Blazing Flame General, Signum. “As much as you may not like a person, we are not allowed to be picky about who are to be assigned alongside us in our missions.”
“Hmph!” the small Knight didn’t reply and just reclined back to the bench with her arms behind her head.
“But what is all this fuss about?” inquired the small red blur, stopping beside Signum’s head, floating up and down with her wings flapping gently. This is Agito, Signum’s Unison Device, and the newest unofficial addition to the Wolkenritter. “While I understand that there’s something positively fishy about that old guy with the fake arm from the few times I met him, I don’t really get what’s there to hate.”
“There’s not really anything to hate, desuyo~.” piped in the other small blur, stopping and plopping on Vita’s head. Her name is Reinforce Zwei, better known as Rein. She is the Unison Device of the Mistress of the Knight Sky. She is also arguably the Wolkenritter’s sole mascot until recently, “Vita-chan just never took a liking to him.”
“Uruseyo.” Vita replied lazily while looking up at the little (literally) girl freeloading on her head. “Like you should talk. You’re still scared of him at times, right?”
As Rein’s vehement protests followed, a giggle resounds from the blue-haired girl beside Shamal, her sharp and calculative eyes switches from azure wolf, Zafira, the Guardian Beast of the Wolkenritter, whose hair she is currently grooming to Agito with an amused gaze. She is Tesla, the Knight of the Sky, tactician of the Wolkenritter. “Looks like we’ll get to know if Agito will end up liking or hating Ossan during this mission.”
“Hmm…” Agito crosses her arms and legs as she lands to sit on Signum’s shoulder. “I guess I’ll be the judge then…”
The idle chatter continued, as well as Agito and Rein’s little game of aerial tag. Shamal stood up after a few more minutes and approached the other person in the room who’s currently gazing out of the window into space. “Hayate-chan. How come you’re being so quiet all of the sudden?”
“Hmm?” the girl in question turned around and gazed inquisitively at Shamal. Her charming face framed by shoulder-length brown hair with a red cross-clip and two yellow clips on the left side. The Mistress of the Night Sky, Yagami Hayate; a silent and caring young woman who was the chosen host of one of the most fearsome Lost Logia TSAB has ever known, the Book of Darkness, twelve years ago. But after a long string of events, she is now a TSAB Special Investigator and a veritable celebrity in her own right; being the creator and leader of the now-defunct miracle unit, ‘Riot Force Six’ which was well-renowned for being the major force in solving the ‘Jail Scaglietti Incident’ just a year ago. “It’s nothing, Shamal.” Hayate says softly and then smiles lightly.
“Hayate~chan.” Shamal brings her face closer to Hayate’s with a convincing motherly glare, “Don’t tell me you’re being depressed again?”
Hayate’s expression changed to mock apprehension as she playfully shrunk away from Shamal, “O-of course not, Shamal-sensei! Let’s just say I’m excited about being able to work with Oji-chan in this mission.” She then giggled lightheartedly, prompting Shamal to do the same.
“Excited, eh? Well, you should be.” echoes a deep male voice from beside Hayate. At the same time, a tall man phases in like a ghost, leaning on the window directly adjacent to Hayate and Shamal.
“E-eh?” Hayate managed to blurt out as they gaped at the sudden appearance of their designated coworker. Shamal was covering her mouth in shock
Various shouts of “
EH?!?” resounded at varying times within the room, almost everyone except Tesla, Signum and Zafira appeared surprised.
Vita, who almost fell out of the bench, quickly scrambled up and pointed a finger at the new arrival, positively fuming, “TEMEE! Damn you old man and your flashy entrances!”
“What flashy entrance?” the man asked innocently and then pointing at the sliding door, “The door was opened so I let myself in.”
“Aurion-jiisan!” shouted a disgruntled Rein, “You didn’t have to surprise us, desu~!”
The man called Aurion only chuckled and straightened up, “Okay, okay. Sorry about that. It’s just that I missed you people.”
“S-Signum!” a flabbergasted Agito exclaimed as she floated shakily beside her partner’s head, “I guess I now know one of the reasons why Vita dislikes him!”
“Oji-chan!” Hayate cried out while glaring at her ‘uncle’, clearly not amused.
“Yo, Hayate.” Aurion cheerfully replies with a raised hand.
“Mou~! Do you have to do something like this every time we meet?!” And thus began a semi-long scolding from Hayate (with Rein joining in almost immediately) as Shamal shot the three unsurprised individuals doubtful glares.
As it is, Tesla was clearly not bothering to hide her amusement as she was already giggling so hard she had to muffle her laughter in Zafira’s thick fur (Zafira’s ears were twitching impatiently with Tesla’s actions). Signum arms and legs were crossed and her eyes were closed calmly all this time, but an amused smile later played along her lips as she opened one eye to glance at Vita, Agito and then Shamal,
‘What? Didn’t you three sense him?’ she inquired telepathically over the audible exchange of words currently occurring at the edge of the room.
‘Dauer isn’t exactly hard to track down once you’ve gotten used to his various exploits.’
‘Tche.’ Vita grumbled mentally,
‘I just let my guard down, that’s all.’
‘But still!’ Shamal complained exasperatedly,
‘You should have at least warned us!’
‘I never saw the need to.’ Zafira cut in just as he managed to detach himself from Tesla who was messing up his hair,
‘I sensed no ill intent. So the warning wasn’t really necessary.’
‘Sou, sou!’ followed up a slightly breathless Tesla, at the same time grabbing Zafira around neck and yanking him towards herself again (earning a choked grunt from the Guardian Beast) and started stroking his messed fur to straighten them out.
‘Besides,’ she glanced cheerfully at Hayate’s direction,
‘I think this is how Hayate-chan wanted things to go.’
‘Eh?’ Agito followed Tesla’s line of sight towards Hayate, Aurion and Rein’s direction. As it was, Hayate is already laughing happily as her head was being patted by the elderly man.
‘Well… I’ve seen Hayate-san as cheerful as this before, but she now seems different somehow… but why?’
‘Why indeed?’ Signum's smile widened as she gazed contentedly at their laughing Mistress.
‘Hmph. If it’s for Hayate’s sake…’ Vita reclined back at the bench,
‘I guess I could let this slip.’
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
[Admiral’s Office, XV Class Warship Claudia] [May 23rd, MC 081] [1030 hours]
*tap tap tap*
This is the only audible sound in the lightly decorated room. The solitary person in the Admiral’s table is in the midst of browsing a dauntingly high amount of data screens in front of him. His fingers flew like flashes of lightning across the keyboard as his green eyes moves almost just as quickly over the several details in all the current reports regarding several matters in the TSAB chain of command. After a few more moments of almost non-stop activity, he impatiently smacks the table lightly with both his hands with an exasperated sigh as he leans back and closes his eyes. His right hand rises up to hold the bridge of his nose, his eyelids twitching with stress due to long days of incessant deskwork. A part of him sorely misses working in the field alone or alongside the Aces instead of toiling away endlessly at this seemingly infinite pile of paperwork, and he is currently using up an unnecessarily high amount of willpower just trying to resist the impulse of leaving the desk, grabbing Durandal and going against any available mage or group of mages in a mock battle to lighten up his stress.
Chrono Harlaown, one of the youngest and most famous Admirals ever produced in the history of the TSAB. Unfortunately, his youth and prestige isn’t exactly helping him in his share of documents and files to plow through. If anything, it seems to be aggravating his already cramped work schedule. His hand automatically sought out the cup of coffee beside the documents on his table. Taking a long drink and almost emptying the cup in the process, he returns it on the small plate and thinks back on the recent events.
The Jail Scaglietti Incident certainly sent the entire TSAB command structure reeling from the losses. On top of the several follow-up investigations with anything that might have been left behind by the mad scientist and even inside the Bureau’s capital structure was currently taking up an extremely large portion of the entire TSAB’s Intelligence force. And by the speed things were progressing, he wasn’t satisfied at all. He secretly wished for anything else to happen just to stay away from the paperwork just a little longer. Anything!
And as if reacting to his half-hearted mental pleas, a communication screen opens beside him, bearing the identification of his best friend, Head Investigator Verossa Acous. Chrono had reservations about whether to be thankful or mad about the caller being Verossa or not. He tentatively chose the first option and received the call by pressing the ‘Receive’ button on the data screen.
“Yo, Chrono-kun!” greeted the green-haired man in his customary good cheer, “It seems like today is another fine day to unveil the hidden treasures inside the mountains of documents, isn’t it?”
“Verossa.” He greeted casually, “If there were indeed hidden treasures inside the mountains of backlog here, I’d have long hit pay dirt, retired from being an Admiral and would be relaxing with the rest of my family in a vacation planet far, far away from the TSAB and its affairs.”
“Hahahaha!” laughed the inspector, “Really now, Chrono. Can’t you take a joke?”
“Not now, mind you. Anyway, what business do you have with me? I’m busy.”
“Oh, nothing much. Just some extra reports regarding the results of the extra investigations facilitated by myself and the Saint Church.”
More work?! Chrono bit back on an exasperated groan and took a deep breath before replying, “Okay, thanks. Anything else?”
“My, my. Snappish aren’t we?”
“Don’t waste my time, Verossa. I’m trying to finish as much as I can today.”
“Haha! Sorry, sorry. I was just hoping for a little chat about Hayate.”
At this point, a spark of interest glinted in Chrono’s eyes, “What about Hayate?”
An enigmatic smile appeared on the lips of the man on the screen, “I’ve had a talk with her recently. It seems like she’ll be having some fun with her next mission.”
“Aah.” Chrono nodded, “So I’ve heard. Hayate and her group are going to be working with Magitech Weapon Researcher Aurion Dauer. Needless to say, things are never dull with that person around.”
“So I’ve heard from her stories about him.” Verossa smiled wider. “I must admit, the situation couldn’t have been better. It’s been a while since I’ve seen Hayate this excited about any operation.”
“That should come as no surprise.” Chrono replied as he rested his chin on his fist, “The same would apply for any of the other three Aces as well. I don’t know how, but those four have already grown an unusual sort of attachment for that man over these past ten years.”
“Amazingly so.” nodded Verossa, “It’s actually quite a mystery to Carym and myself. If anything, he is the only person I know that Hayate and her friends all have such an affectionate nickname for. Oji-chan, was it?” He grasped his chest in a mock grimace of pain, “It has finally come to the point that it sometimes even makes me jealous. Hayate never calls me Onii-chan even once.”
Chrono smirked, “Those are two different things. And I don’t see that happening anytime soon. Anyway, that’s not the sort of topic we’re supposed to be talking about. So quit it because you’re creeping me out.”
“Ahh, such ignorance for a friend’s feelings.” continued the green-haired inspector melodramatically, lightly holding his head with his right hand, “You have Fate-san calling you that as well, don’t you? What is there to blame on a big brother who just wants to be called as such by his cute little sister?”
Eyebrows twitching with the mention of Fate’s little habit, Chrono retorted with light vehemence, “Maybe that’s exactly why Hayate’s not addressing you that way.” mirth slowly crept into his tone, “With that creepy way you’re acting, I’d rather let the Aces stay with Aurion-hakase for a year rather than one day with you.”
“Ah, such cruel words!” His friend replied dejectedly. “Anyway, jokes aside, judging from Aurion-san’s track record, this is the best possible arrangement for Hayate right now.”
“Yeah…” Chrono replied thoughtfully, “If there’s anybody who knows how to talk some sense into people, or otherwise encouraging them, it’s him.” He smiled as memories came flooding into his mind. “Not just Hayate. Fate, Keroko, and of course… No. Not just.” one particular scene with the auburn-haired Ace covered in bandages came into his mind, “Especially Nanoha.”
“I see…” replied Acous just as thoughtfully. “In this case, the one with the most recent problem is Hayate, is it not?”
“Yeah.” Chrono’s expression turned serious, “I did not expect it, but she seems to be the one having the worst time when reminiscing about the term of RF6… Physically, Keroko's deteriorated condition due to the Blaster System is the worst thing that happened to them. But when it comes to morale, Hayate’s self-esteem took the biggest blow…”
“Despite myself, I couldn’t really blame her…” Acous replied with a serious expression to match that of Chrono’s, “If it was me, I’d most likely feel left out as well. While I completely disagree with Hayate’s claims that she wasn’t able to do anything, I couldn’t contend to the fact that she was severely tied down during her term as a leader when it came to fighting. And her tenure as a squad leader wasn’t exactly smooth-sailing all the way either.”
Catching on, Chrono continued on Acous’ monologue, “And with the earlier losses in Ground Command that lead to the Cradle’s resurrection due to insufficient planning, Nanoha and Keroko’s worsened conditions after the battle, and several other things, particularly being the one who’ve arguably done the least compared to everyone else during the final battle; and later on actually being another one who needed to be rescued in the end despite being one of the most capable at that time…” he shook his head dismally, “It’s no mystery she’d be feeling inadequate about herself. Being an Ace and a leader, she naturally would have wished she could have done far more than she was able to at that time.”
“True. She talked over the matter with Genya Nakajima-san… with me as well. Simply put, I think she’s afraid of leading again; with all the complications in her first unit alongside her terribly hurt sense of worth.” Acous smiled grimly “But regrettably, in my case, all I was able to give her was momentary comfort.” he chuckled ruefully, “Nakajima-san gave some sound career advice. And Aurion-san tackled the matter better than I could ever have regarding her doubts.”
“Heh.” Chrono remembered a particular conversation, smiling amusedly, “That man… He actually told me how he did it.”
“Hoh?”
“It was like this…” Chrono coughed and tried imitating Aurion’s voice, “The problem with what you’ve been doing is you’re making her depend on you. Don’t just give encouragement and words of comfort. Attack the problem itself! If it requires you to actually agree with their misgivings, provided that there’s truth to them, then do so. Just make sure you can later make them see the way out of their own problem in the end.”
“Oho~… quite an unorthodox method indeed... Though not exactly unheard of...”
“Yes.” Chrono chuckled, “I rarely try it because I fear I might make the people I’m trying to cheer up feel worse and be completely convinced about their failure. But apparently, that man has the necessary audacity and precision to actually stir up a person doubts and turn it upon itself with such a high rating of success; with only minimal use of any positive lines on top of that. In Hayate’s case, if we were saying,
‘It’s alright, you did well. And I’m sure you can do better in the future. We’re always behind you in this.’ for him, its,
‘Fine, you were horrible! Both as a leader and a mage; but at least you’re not hopeless. Now stop wasting time moping about your problem and do something about it instead!’ only executed several times better.” he shrugs, “From what I’ve seen, I guess that sometimes, a person wants somebody to agree with them in their unease. People offering only encouragement only serve to soothe the pain temporarily and does not help in easing their self-doubt, and even sometimes aggravates it. But once someone actually does so without pushing it too far and cementing the doubt, it helps in opening their mind in matters involving moving forward. And naturally, that person would listen to the one who agreed with them because of the perception of being in the same wavelength. Of course, this doesn’t apply to everybody.”
“I see… Amazing…” Acous smiles and strokes his chin, “Impressive discussion of that effective method, Chrono.”
“Risky as well. But I guess that’s why Aurion-hakase is the only one who uses such a method on an almost regular basis.”
“But it paid off. Carym and I can attest to that. We saw a new, stronger determination within Hayate after that supposed meeting. Carym was delighted that someone did that for our little sister out of the goodness of his heart.”
Chrono smiled widely, “Ah, but that might actually be not the case.”
“Eh?”
“Aurion-hakase said so himself. He’s just a person with too much time in his hands and has nothing better to do than intruding in other peoples lives as he sees fit.”
“Oh, hahaha, souka! An unexpectedly beneficial meddler, huh?”
“Right, hahahaha!”
Both of them laughed heartily for a few moments
“Anyway,” Chrono spoke up, still chuckling, “How’s Hayate been doing lately?” It has been a recent arrangement lately that Chrono would keep tabs on Fate and Keroko since they are both in the Navy. And on the other side, Verossa would keep an eye on Hayate, who’s also a key associate of the Saint Church; and Nanoha, who has Vivio, her adopted daughter attending school there.
“Ah,” Acous dropped his fist onto his palm, “She’s been progressing amazingly well.” He held his right elbow with his left hand and held his chin with his right. “While not unbelievably quick, her improvements in her abilities, both in combat and in the tactical sense have been steadily improving by the day. Our dearest little sister is quickly growing up to become a very capable lady!”
Chrono didn’t understand why, but an image of Hayate in her Barrier Jacket striking a pose with some extravagant background as well as the letters SSS+ beside her appeared in his mind. Shaking off the absurd vision from his mind, he said, “That’s fine and all. But at least make sure that she’s not overdoing it.”
“No need to worry about that, Chrono my friend.” Comes the reply, “She’s been listening to what Carym, you and I have been telling her about not letting her feelings about doing things take her too far. She’s very meticulous about it. Hehehe… You should have seen her determined face during one particular exercise she was having a hard time in. She looked incredibly cute by then!”
“Oh really?”
“Why yes! You can actually use her pictures to easily bribe people who have a soft spot for cuties like her!”
“…………”
“What?”
“Oi, masaka… Don’t tell me you have pictures of her stashed somewhere for bribing.”
“Ahahaha! What are you talking about? I do have pictures of her, yes. But not for bribing!”
Chrono planted his face on the palm of his hand and heaved an exasperated sigh. “Verossa, if it was a person other than you, I might have already called in my personal Enforcer Squad to track down and detain the stalker of one of my Aces…”
Acous only laughed cheerfully as he waved a hand dismissively, “Please don’t turn my words around, Chrono-kun. That’s not what I meant. You should know that!”
“I’d believe you completely if it weren’t for your tone…”
“Hahahaha! Anyway, you sounded rather possessive as well. ‘
MY Aces’, eh?”
Chrono didn’t take the bait and replied nonchalantly, “Well, aren’t they under my care after all?”
“Indeed. And speaking of being under your care, it seems like you were one of the people who vouched for that personnel arrangement, eh, Chrono?”
Chrono’s hand, about to reach for his cup, stopped midway, “Whatever could you be talking about?”
“No need to hide it, Chrono-kun.” Acous waved his hand to and fro, “As expected from the Aces’ big brother. Always looking out after them, eh?”
“Heh.” Chrono grinned as he went ahead and drank the rest of his coffee, “Busted.”
“Should I tell Hayate?”
“Nah. She’d probably guess, anyway.”
“I’m guessing this is for a little confidence boost, huh?”
“Exactly.” Chrono affirmed while setting his cup down, “Just like you said, she’s on the fast track to getting over her insecurities. And with this coming mission having a high probability of risk, having Aurion-hakase along can also provide for extra hands in combat when needed. The setup is just right.”
Acous nodded approvingly, “Heh~, I wish I could also make these kinds of arrangements for Hayate as well…”
Chrono only smirked and chided his best friend, “Leave the arrangements to me and focus on your job, Inspector.”
“I know, I know!” Acous dramatically raised his hands in defeat, “I have to thank you, though. This will most certainly have Hayate burning passionately with enthusiasm in her dreams for the future.”
“That she should. I told you before, haven’t I?” Chrono leaned back to his seat and glanced at the picture besides the one of Fate, Arf, Lindy, Amy and his two children, Makoto and Ai alongside him; a picture showing the four Aces, himself, Carym, Acous and Yuuno. Fate was on the left side, sitting on the grass with Chrono crouched beside her as well as having an arm around her shoulders. Yuuno was sandwiched between Nanoha and Keroko who were both clinging to one of his arms each while sitting down together on the right side. Little Vivio was also sitting in between the two Takamachi’s and leaning on Yuuno. His gaze lingered longest on Hayate, who was on her feet with her hands on her knees at the center, smiling brightly; with Carym and Verossa standing behind her as well as having a hand each on her shoulders. Rein was also floating beside her head. A nostalgic smile crept up his mouth as he remembered that scene, “If the Aces are the torches that will light up the path to the future, then I consider it my duty to keep them burning brightly and never waver.” he looked back at the screen, “That’s why, one way or another, they’re still under my care up to this time, right?”
“Hm-hm! Like I said. The Aces’ reliable Onii-chan, eh?”
“Hehe… I guess I really do act like the part, huh?”
“Indeed. And also a big brother who’s currently buried in deskwork.” Acous reminded teasingly.
Chrono grimaced upon the reminder, “Ugh. Thanks for reminding me.”
“Hahaha! The pleasure is all mine. Dewa, I’ll be taking my leave, Chrono.”
“Aah. Later.” Chrono saluted once, with Verossa returning the salute and logging out the communications screen. With a resigned sigh, Chrono turned back resolutely to his quickly mounting pile of paperwork. “All right then… Back to work…”
Just as he was about to begin typing, a knock sounded at the door to his office. Chrono just sighed and called out, “Come in!”
“Please excuse me…” a tall, ruby-eyed girl entered; her long blond hair swishing as she stood before Chrono.
A smile crept up Chrono’s face upon seeing who entered. It was Fate Testarossa Harlaown, his adopted sister.
Fate stood up straight and saluted. “Enforcer Fate T. Harlaown, reporting for duty, Admiral Chrono.”
“At ease.” He replied almost immediately.
And almost just as quickly, Fate lightened her stance to a more relaxed one. A gentle smile replaced her professional expression earlier.
“Fate.” Chrono said, smiling and gesturing his sister to come closer and take a seat on one of the chairs in front of his table. “What brings you here?”
“Well,” Fate walked towards and sat on one of the chairs, “Onii-chan, I-”
Chrono visibly flinched and made a small sound at the title, unintentionally cutting of Fate’s words, “Guzen dayo na? (This is a coincidence, right?)” he whispered to himself as her planted his face on his palm for a few seconds.
“Ano, Onii-chan?”
“Fate.” Chrono started, actually blushing lightly, “I’ve told you before, cut that out. We’re no longer kids.”
“And I’ve told you before,” Fate replied lightheartedly, “That has nothing to do with us being siblings, Chrono.”
Brushing off the feeling of déjà vu, Chrono asks, “Back on topic… So Fate, what brings you here?”
“Ah, that. I came to bring in some more reports about the latest cases for the several Enforcer Squads…”
Chrono couldn’t hold it this time and sighed heavily (Hey, at least it’s only Fate around), “More work for me, I guess…”
“Sorry…” Fate apologized soothingly.
Chrono waved a hand, “It’s alright. It just gets pretty tedious. It’s been several days with just this to do…”
“I see…” The two of them spent the following few moments in silence. Then suddenly, Fate’s expression suddenly brightened up as an idea hit her mind, “Ne, Onii-chan!”
Flinch! (From Chrono) “Geh! Fate-”
“Let’s have a short sparring match together.”
“Eh?”
“Come on, just for thirty minutes.” Fate said enthusiastically as she got up and went behind Chrono’s chair; beginning to push her brother from behind the shoulders.
Chrono began frantically dissuading his sister, “Wait a second, Fate! I still have plenty of work to-whoa!”
“It’s alright,” Fate insisted as she got him to stand up and began pushing him towards the door, “I’m free today so I can help you later.”
After a few more minutes of arguing, Chrono gave in to Fate insistences, “Oh well…” he pats Fate’s shoulder warmly, “You have my thanks for rescuing me from the excessive workload, Fate. But,” He grabbed Durandal’s card form from the table, grinning, “don’t expect me to go easy on you.”
Fate smiled softly yet confidently in reply as she held Bardiche’s portable form in front of her face, “No problem. And I’ll make sure to beat you this time, Chrono.”
“Don’t bet on it.”
The two of them laughed as they left the room, only receding sounds of their conversation can be heard…
“I heard Hayate and the others are going with Aurion-san on a mission…”
“Yes, that’s true.”
“Ahh… I want to go too!”
“Hahaha! I knew you would say that!”
And with regards to the mock battle that occurred later, who actually won is a story for another day…
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
[School Park Area, Saint Church] [May 24th, MC 077] [1543 hours]
Two people are sitting on a bench. The first is Hayate, who had Vivio, the Ace of Aces Takamachi Nanoha’s adopted daughter on her lap. She was currently reading a book which was several years ahead of Vivio’s school level along with the said girl. (A testament to Vivio’s high natural intellect)
“Hayate-san,” piped the small girl, “How do you pronounce this part?” while pointing at a particular part on the page they were reading.
“Oh this? It goes like…”
A few more minutes pass until a call can be heard.
“Vivio~! Hayate-chan~!” echoed a youthful female voice, its owner fast approaching. Takamachi Nanoha; also known as the Ace of Aces and a pivotal role in the resolution of the Jail Scaglietti incident a year ago. Her long, auburn hair held in a side-ponytail billowed in the air as she quickly came running towards Hayate and Vivio’s location.
The little girl instantly perked up upon hearing her mother’s voice. Quickly thanking Hayate, she jumped of the older girl’s lap and dashed towards her mother. “Mama~!” she called out in reply, later ending up snuggling in Nanoha’s embrace.
“Vivio~.” Nanoha cooed affectionately as mother and daughter rubbed their noses together. “Have you been a good girl today?”
“Hm!” Vivio nodded cheerfully before once again wrapping her arms around Nanoha’s neck in another embrace. “Hayate-san was teaching me several new words!”
“Really? That’s good!” Nanoha replied, gazing at the slowly approaching Hayate. “Hayate-chan. Thank you for looking after Vivio before I arrived.” She then smiles brightly.
Hayate smiled warmly in reply, “It’s no problem. I just happened to finish the arrangements ahead of time and am just waiting until I’m called back to base.”
“So I’ve heard.” Nanoha replied. The two of them sat down on the benches, “I heard you’re going in a mission with Aurion oji-chan.”
“Yes, we are. Along with my Knights.” Hayate affirmed with an enthusiastic nod.
“Hmm~…” Nanoha hummed as she reclined on the bench and watched Vivio chase after a butterfly. “Mou~, I want to go too!” she suddenly whined cutely after several seconds of silence, pouting jealously at Hayate’s direction. “Oji-chan rarely ever goes out in missions because of his job. And it’s even rarer that any of us gets the chance to come along. I just know it’s going to be very interesting! How come Hayate-chan and Vita-tachi are the only ones who can join?”
Hayate could only giggle at one of her best friends’ endearing complaints. “Dame ya~, Nanoha-chan.” She scolded her teasingly, “Besides, it should be quite dangerous. We can’t have you pushing yourself again.”
Nanoha sighed unhappily, her shoulders slumped, “Hai…”
Hayate almost said some more to tease Nanoha, but she paused before even speaking. Her smile left her face to reveal a solemn line on her lips. She looked down on her hands on her lap. “Ano na, Nanoha-chan…”
Nanoha’s expression showed surprise as she glanced sideways at her friend, “What is it, Hayate-chan?”
“I know it must be hard…” Hayate’s hands balled into fists on her lap, wrinkling her skirt in the process. “You shouldn’t even be going thru this… If only I went in sooner… You wouldn’t have had to- Ah?” she blinked in surprise as Nanoha’s hands settled on top of hers.
“Hayate-chan.” said Nanoha in a serious tone, “We’ve already talked about this in the past, right? The situation was really out of control. And besides, I don’t have any regrets for what happened.” She raised her left hand and closed it tightly in front of her, “We were able to protect everyone’s smiles as well as our own, haven’t we? Even if it was hard, even if I got weakened, even if it was very painful, I regret absolutely no part of it; nor do I blame any one of you for my case. It was my own fault.” followed by a reassuring smile.
“Nanoha-chan…” Hayate smiled wanly, “I know that… But still-”
“Zettai dame!” Nanoha interjected sternly, puffing out her cheeks as well. “Hayate-chan, if you begin blaming yourself for what happened, then that’s when I will genuinely become mad.”
“……” Hayate only averted her gaze.
“See here,” Nanoha moved closer so that she was sitting thigh-to-thigh with Hayate, quickly followed by wrapping both arms around the smaller girl, “I'm absolutely fine. So please, don’t take it heavily on yourself. You should also smile like the rest of us.” Her hug tightened, “And just like everyone else, you should also do your best so that Oji-chan won’t scold you when you’re already in the mission.”
“I…” Hayate sniffed lightly and rubbed the small amount of tears that built up in her eyes, “I understand.” She returned the hug while smiling, “Arigatou na, Nanoha-chan.”
“Hm~hm!”
And so, the two continued chatting as Vivio went back and was currently sleeping, using Nanoha’s lap as a pillow. Every now and then a giggle can be heard from the two.
“By the way, Hayate-chan…” Nanoha inquired, “What were you supposed to be waiting for again?”
“Oh…” Hayate, clapped her hands once as if remembering, “I almost forgot to tell you,” she faked an upset expression, “My devices were confiscated…”
“E-eh?!” Nanoha exclaimed, “Confiscated? Why?”
“Well…” Hayate smiled again, “Oji-chan is upgrading them so that I can fight better. But I currently have other things to attend to so I left them with him…”
“Ah!” Nanoha looked positively intrigued this time, “That sounds really interesting.” She then pouts cutely again, “And now you can actually get your devices upgraded. What about me, Fate-chan and Keroko-chan?!” she flails her right arm (her left was holding Vivio) indignantly, “It’s not fair!”
“Ahaha~!” Hayate raises her hands in pacifying gesture, “Don’t worry. Oji-chan did say he had plans for Raising Heart and Bardiche!” she scratches her head, “Artherion is a bit difficult, but he also has plans too…”
“But still, Hayate-chan gets her upgrade so much sooner!”
“Ehehe~…” Hayate paused for a bit, “By the way, Nanoha-chan. What are you and Vivio waiting for again? It’s almost evening.”
“Ahh.” Nanoha said as if forgetting about it. A small blush appeared on her cheeks. “Well, we’re waiting for-”
“Nanoha! Hayate!” resounded a familiar male voice, followed closely by the appearance of a ponytailed and bespectacled male around Hayate and Nanoha’s age. Yuuno Scrya; the Head Librarian of the TSAB Infinity Library and also the reason why Nanoha got introduced to the world of magic in the first place. Needless to say, the two of them were extremely close friends.
“Yuuno-kun!” exclaimed both Hayate and Nanoha simultaneously; the former with a surprised expression while the latter had a smile on her face.
And just in time, Vivio awoke from her little snooze, just as Yuuno reached them; she sat up and sleepily greeted him, “Yuuno-san, konbanwa.”
“Aah. Konbanwa, Vivio.” Yuuno greeted the small girl as he patted her head. He then turned to Nanoha, “Sorry I was late.” and then waved at Hayate, who waved back.
Nanoha shook her head, “It’s okay. Hayate-chan was here to keep us company anyway.”
“Eh? Nani, nani?” inquired Hayate, curiosity growing quickly, “Could this be…” her face suddenly lit up with excitement as her gaze shuffled around the three people with her.
“Well, Yuuno-kun said that he’ll take Vivio to that new amusement park.” Nanoha replied cheerfully with her head inclined.
“H~Hmm~…” Hayate hummed suspiciously, making Yuuno push up his glasses nervously and the mother and daughter Takamachis blink in confusion.
“Take Vivio for a trip?” Hayate began teasing them, “It sounds more like a dat-”
“N-no!” exclaimed Yuuno who was blushing with his glasses askew, “It’s just a friendly trip to an amusement park….”
“Dat-?” Vivio inquired confusedly as she rubbed her eyes.
Nanoha, also blushing, said “No, no. It’s not like that, Hayate-chan! It’s just a get-together with-AH! Vivio!” she suddenly cried out as Vivio disappeared from her side.
As it turned out, a now wide-awake Vivio was swiped away by Hayate and was now held in front of her. “Vivio-chan!” Hayate gushed out animatedly, “You should start practicing calling Yuuno-san your Yuuno-pa-MmmMPPH!” Nanoha muffled her words with her hands.
“Pa-?” Vivio asked again, inquiringly looking at Nanoha who was holding down Hayate, “Mama, what are you doing?”
“Ah, n-nothing!” Nanoha frantically replied as she tightened her hold on Hayate’s mouth with one hand and grabbed the smaller Ace’s wrists with her other, “Hayate-chan is just being naughty again.” She added, giggling nervously.
“Mmmpph! Mm~mmp~phhh~!!!” Hayate moaned indignantly as she squirmed futilely against Nanoha’s hold.
“Y-yeah!” Yuuno added as he picked up Vivio from the restrained Hayate’s lap and set her on the ground. “You go ahead and prepare for our trip, okay?”
“Hai!” Vivio nodded energetically and began running off.
Both Nanoha and Yuuno sighed as the former released Hayate from her hold. “Mou, Hayate chan! Don’t give Vivio weird ideas!” Nanoha complained.
Hayate, still giggling; only stuck out her tongue at her two flustered friends. “You don’t have to hide it, Nanoha-chan, Yuuno-kun!”
“Datte~!” Nanoha cried out, flailing her arms, “It’s not like that!”
“Hai, hai~!” Hayate responded, obviously not buying the denials. “Shouldn’t you get going?”
“Ah, right…” Nanoha knocked her own head, “I’ll follow Vivio. Mata ne, Hayate-chan.” She waved as she ran off, Hayate waved back, “At the gates, right, Yuuno-kun? Let’s go!”
“Ah.” Yuuno also moved to follow, “Huh?” Hayate was tugging his sleeve.
“Can we talk for a bit, Yuuno-kun?” Hayate spoke audibly, winking in Nanoha’s direction.
“Uh… Sure…” Yuuno glanced at Nanoha.
Nanoha paused in confusion, but then shrugged and said, “Alright. Don’t be late, Yuuno-kun~!” before running off after Vivio.
Hayate dragged him around a bit before settling behind a wall. She stood up straightly with her hands akimbo, a confident smile on her face.
Yuuno pushed up his glasses nervously, “What did you want to talk about, Hayate?”
“So you’ve finally made a first move, ne, Yuuno-kun?”
“Dakara…” Yuuno sighed, “Like we said, it’s just a-Wha?!” he jolted as Hayate’s finger was pointed directly at his nose.
“Whatever it is, you must do your best so as not to disappoint Nanoha-chan.” Hayate warned him with one eye close, her other hand rose to form an encouraging fist, “Okay?”
“Hai, hai.” Yuuno replied resignedly, patting Hayate’s head. “Do your best too. I heard you were going on a mission with Aurion-hakase. Be careful, alright?”
Hayate smiled and nodded, “Yes! Thank you, Yuuno-kun.”
“Hm.” Yuuno removed his hand from her head and waved as he turned around to go. “See you.”
Hayate allowed him to move several meters ahead before shouting, “I hope this ends with your first CHUU~!”
Yuuno completely tripped over himself.
Giggling, Hayate turned around towards her own destination.
Yes. Just like Nanoha-chan, just like Yuuno-kun… I’m going to do my best!
2008-01-04, 22:59
Author
It seems like it's a ten or so page backlog pile for me to handle.
I thought I fixed the crack already! 
. 
