Oh wow, great chapter Iron. Nanoha is all set to be slaughtered when she finds out that what she thinks of Scrya is only what she wanted him to be, thought he'll ever be, and that Signum was the one who reignited his passion in life.
Sex? XD Sorry I just cannot resist putting this down.
Nanoha trailed off as she took a deep breath, "Yuuno is a very important person to me, more so that you probably realize. If you don't fix this and end up hurting him because of it, there will be nowhere you can hide from me. Do you understand me, Captain Signum Yagami?"
The Knight felt the sincerity and power behind Nanoha's words and nodded, even if she did not truly know what to think about them. At the very minimum, she had far more to think about now than what her next bout would be like.
- Scene Break -
"Especially if that lady is my good friend and training partner's little sister," quipped Yuuno as he gathered his jacket and sent a message to Arf, explaining his sudden absence.
"You learn quickly," Zwei stated winningly.
Yep, there's going to be a lot of trouble for Yuuno becoming a shield & sword maniac...
...well now, Nanoha has her presumptions, Signum had her eyes opened to a bit more of what she was doing, though both seem to be assuming things incorrectly...somewhat.
Poor Yuuno, Zwei knows just what buttons to push to embarrass him. XD
Stretching as she stood up, Hayate groaned as her back popped softly. "Well, I have to admit, I was surprised that Zest finally joined us, but his reasons make sense at least."
"Indeed," Reinforce smiled as she walked behind Hayate. "Though, I wish it was under better circumstances that he wished to join us. Although..."
"Excuse me," Reinforce blinked as she was interrupted by one of the staff members.
"Yes?" Reinforce looked at the girl, who couldn't be any older than seventeen at the most.
She smiled at them a bit nervously, "well, uh, you wanted to know if that weird signal appeared again, and it seems like one just formed outside of Cranagan."
Hayate frowned softly. "Probably another red herring. Who's supposed to cover it this time?" She asked, sighing heavily and wishing that she didn't have to send people to go check it out.
"That is, ah..." The girl blushed heavily and looked down, "anyone who can are well, the trainers and, ah..."
"I'll go."
"Reinforce?" Hayate turned to the taller device, blinking owlishly. "Are you sure?"
"If it is just a red herring, then at least we won't waste anyone's time," Reinforce smiled at her, "if it's something more dangerous, I can handle it. But, I'll take Zafira along with me."
Hayate slowly nodded at that, it sounded reasonable. "Sure, just... Be careful, okay?"
"Aren't I always?" Reinforce asked rhetorically as she walked away.
Watching Reinforce leave, Hayate's pupils shrank and an utterly cold feeling came over her chest. Closing her eyes, Hayate wondered what that was. Opening them again, she reached towards Reinforce, only to see that she was no longer in the hallway. "...Is it natural to have a sudden cold feeling wash over you?"
"I'm not sure, maybe you should ask Shamal when she gets back?" The staff member said, chuckling softly, "also, Captain Takamachi wishes to speak to you about allowing a couple of family members stay here for a couple of weeks."
Hayate blinked in confusion. 'Why would Nanoha-chan's family need to stay here?' Still, it couldn't hurt to find out what was going on.
(---)
Elsewhere in an undisclosed location...
A small body slowly made its way through an underground passage, her hands were chained to a single box as she tried to walk forward, her unchained hand was pressed against a wall as she, dressed in a dirty shirt, no shoes or socks, tried to move forward. Her breathing was ragged as she stumbled forward. Looking up, she saw a ladder and tried to climb up. Her whole body hurt and was numb and she wasn't sure why she was down here. All she wanted to do was get out and find someone.
As she got to the top, she pushed the grate out of the way and climbed out of the hole into the air. "Mama..." She whined, wondering where her mother was.
"Woah!" A voice spoke up, startling her and causing her to spin around, gasping at the person. She didn't recognize the person, but he had short red hair, purple eyes and didn't look that much older than she was. "Are you playing hide and seek too?" She shook her head and whimpered as he moved close to her. "My name's Arashi, what's yours?"
"Vivio..." The girl whimpered before her eyes rolled up into her head and she fell to the ground, out cold.
"Wagh!" Arashi grabbed the girl and shook her. "Hey! Come on! You're not supposed to fall down when you play hide and seek! It makes it too easy to find you!"
"There you are!" Caro cried out as she found Arashi. "You shouldn't... Who's that?" Behind her, Erio and Fried popped their heads out, looking at the situation.
"Why are you copying Fate-san and Yuuno-san?!" Erio pointed at Arashi with a shaky finger. "I knew that something was up! Grandma taught all her kids how to find people and take them home with them, didn't she?!"
"Kuuuuu..." Shockingly, Fried actually fell out of the air and slammed his face to the ground, groaning not only at Erio's statement, but the fact that Caro was agreeing with him.
"Nah uh!" Arashi stood up and pointed at Erio, "she just came up and then fell asleep!"
Erio blinked and looked at Caro. "Think we should call back to base?" Caro shrugged and blinked as Arashi grabbed a case and was trying to open it. "Hey! Arashi, you shouldn't..." She trailed off as the case opened and a large metal ring hovered out of the case. "...Erio-kun, call the base, I think we've got something weird here."
Erio nodded and tapped his wrist watch. "Hey, Subaru-san, Teana-san, think you can come to where we are? I think something weird's going on here."
"Not a problem, we were kind of bored anyway."
Erio then punched a call back to base. "Excuse me, is anyone available right now?"
"Eh? Erio, what's wrong?"
"Captain Vita-san, ah..." Erio wasn't afraid of Vita, he was just surprised to hear her pick up the communication link.
"I'm not that scary, Erio. Is something the matter?" Vita's voice was rather amused as she spoke to him.
"Well, ah, Nanoha-san's brother found a girl, and..."
"You know, I think there must be something to that family, picking up girls at his age? Even I'm not that bad."
Erio's face went completely red and he shook his head. "No! It's not like that! He found her in an alleyway and she had some sort of box strapped to her wrist and there's this floating weird ring and..."
"Alright, calm down, Nanoha and I will head out there in a few minutes, we'll be arriving by helicopter. Is the girl okay?"
"She's out cold, but I don't think she has a family, she looks like an orphan."
"Alright, we'll bring her and the ring back here. Vita out."
Erio nodded and turned off his communicator as he looked at Arashi, Caro, the girl and then at the ring. "...This is going to get bad, isn't it?"
Caro nodded and looked at Erio. "Um, Erio-kun, where's your spear?"
"Huh?" The boy blinked before tapping his watch. "Shari-san and Mary-san were able to get this device to work with my spear finally, so I don't have to carry it around everywhere."
(---)
Grinning at the screen, Levi leaned back in her chair. "Quattro, make sure that you send enough of your sisters out to keep them busy."
'Yes, master.' Levi smirked as she pressed a few more buttons, causing a new screen to appear, revealing Kuma, Amitie and Kyrie as they rode in the car.
"Hello, you three, I hope that you're well." Levi smiled at them. "I have a little job for you today."
"Is it messy?" Kyrie asked, fidgeting in the back seat. "I mean, messy jobs are always so gross and..."
"Only if you want it to be." Levi smirked at them. "Not too long from now, there's going to be a little... Problem in the city proper, I'll send you some coordinates in a little bit. Deal with it as you see fit, but I need you to keep the Riot Force busy and distracted for me."
Amitie nodded at her. "Very well, leave us the coordinates and we shall deal with it. Anything we should know?"
"You'll be working with some cyborgs, Kuma's worked with some of them before." Levi grinned as she sent them some information before turning the screen off. "Now for my role in all of this." Laughing softly, she disappeared in a swirl of darkness. There was no need to wait any longer, everything was almost in place.
(---)
Several minutes later...
"Is this the place?" Zafira asked as he and Reinforce, both of whom were out in the country, as they looked at some caves.
Nodding at the blue wolf, Reinforce walked inside. "Yes, the scanners are getting the strongest signal from these caves here." Turning off the device, she and Zafira walked into the cave. As they walked in, the light quickly left the cave, though it wasn't a problem, as Reinforce merely held her hand up and a sphere of light snapped into being. "I don't know what I was expecting."
"Bats, perhaps?" Zafira asked as they moved deeper into the cave. "...Reinforce, does it feel like the darkness is moving with us?"
Turning to look at him, Reinforce had a confused look on her face, that turned to shock and horror as she saw that the shadows were moving. "Zafira! Look out!" She snapped her left hand forward, a black beam of magic lancing out and carving into the darkness.
Growling, Zafira shifted into his human form and curled his fingers, energy building up before he lashed out. A grim smile came to his face as his attack tore into the shadows with ease. "I guess there was something to worry about."
"Don't let your guard down." Reinforce said as she blasted at the shadows. The next thing that she knew, one of the shadow tendrils snapped around her neck and pulled her back, causing her to groan in pain.
"Reinforce!" Zafira turned to her, only for a body to form between him and Reinforce. "You!" His eyes widened in shock as he stared at who it was in front of him. "You're supposed to be ARRRRGH!" He screamed as she held out a hand and fire, point blank, a powerful red blast that sent him flying back against the wall hard, before he fell to the ground, twitching in pain.
"Dead? Yes, I get that a lot." Smirking, she turned to Reinforce, who had just broke free of the tendril around her neck. "Yes, I like this."
Reinforce paused and turned, her face paling. "A...Alicia Testarossa..?"
"It's LEVI now!" Levi narrowed her eyes as dark tendrils snaked around Reinforce's arms and legs, pulling her down. "But you'll learn soon enough." She chuckled as the shadow tendrils forced their way into Reinforce's mouth and down her throat. "Oh, you'll learn... So well." Levi threw her head back and laughed as lighting coursed through Reinforce's body, eliciting screams of pain from the device as her body jerked. Turning around and ignoring Reinforce's screams, Levi walked up to Zafira and put her hands on his shoulders. "I know you're still awake... Or alive, I'm not sure, so..." Her eyes flashed as she started pouring dark energy into his body, a gleeful look came to her face as he screamed from the pain that was searing him down to the bones. "I guarantee you, Zafira, that I'm a lot tougher than my clone thought I was. HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!"
After several minutes, when he could no longer scream, Levi pulled back, smiling as she saw Zafira's smoking body. "That's that for you." Turning, she grinned as she saw Reinforce slumped, out cold. "As for you," she smiled as her tendrils were sucked back into her body, depositing Reinforce onto her shoulder. Putting an arm over Reinforce's back, Levi started to walk deeper into the cave. "You and I, Reinforce, are going to be... Such close friends." She laughed as she disappeared with the silver-haired unison device.
__________________
My fics Due to certain things, I am not here, find me over on TFF.
The image elicited an odd, tightened sensation within Signum's core. Her hands balled into fists as she remembered being on the receiving end of that gaze.
"I've never seen him make that kind of expression before, not once. I've never seen him fight this way either. I've never seen that kind, gentle man act so..." Nanoha trailed off as words failed her. "I'll ask again, what is going on between you and Yuuno?" She paused as Raising Heart played back more and more of the battle. Nanoha nearly winced when the image of Signum driving her armored foot into Yuuno's face came around.
Silence reigned as Signum processed what Nanoha had laid before her. While the Knight had truly seen such shortcomings in Testarossa's capabilities, had it merely been an excuse to go further? She thought back to the feelings that bubbled up within her breast when Yuuno had decided to throw caution to the wind and fight with everything he had. It didn't matter that she severely outclassed him. He still fought on, trying to better himself with every blow he received and landed. Adapting himself to go beyond the limitations of his mortal frame. To become a sword, rather than a shield.
That feeling he had given her, that burning sensation… had she sought a similar feeling from Testarossa in their match? All her battles against Yuuno, however few they may have been, starting from the one which resulted from their chance meeting that fateful night had ignited such a heat within her. It was a high that only came about with the right mindset and the right stimulus.
Yuuno had kept her drunk on that high and she had savored it like a fine wine. He'd given her that life or death struggle and she'd pushed him on to further it. For a 'battle-junkie', there was no greater satisfaction. Was she even concerned about his original intent at this point, so long as he kept satisfying her primal urges?
The lack of an immediate answer disturbed the normally unshakeable General of Fire.
"Well?" asked Nanoha, having found the oppressive silence to have stretched on for too long.
"I..." For once, Signum did not have an immediate reply and she languished further in her concern. After a time, she opted to explain the beginning of things to Nanoha. "It began a few weeks ago..."
And so Signum told the tale of her unexpected late night rendezvous with Yuuno Scrya. She told of their first match where he made the initial decision to step beyond his limitations and strike out against her, culminating in their mutual decision to grow as warriors against one another. Her story flowed from there and Nanoha's expression seemed to waver between surprise and worry. The slivers of passion that slipped into Signum's voice on occasion did not soothe the brunette any.
"...it was wonderful. I can find no words to properly describe that feeling other than wonderful. Basking in the afterglow of such a vicious battle against someone with whom I can exchange blows with in earnest..." Signum's words sent a shiver down Nanoha's spine while the faint traces of red on the Knight's face seemed wholly out of place. "I have never known such a feeling... Against you, your drive was only to win, was it not?"
Nanoha felt herself nodding as the surreal nature of the situation continued to permeate her mind.
"Even against Zest, whom I shall always regard as a great and formidable foe, he did not draw out such a feeling." Signum subconsciously wetted her lips. "Scrya, however, fights like a man possessed. He is driven neither by ideals, nor by the approval of others, nor by something so fleeting as victory." A strange glint appeared in the Knight's eyes that did not go unnoticed by Nanoha. "He is driven by the singular desire to become strong enough to dominate his foe and relish in doing so..."
"Signum...," began Nanoha after the other woman had gone silent, a look of horror having taken residence on the brunette's face as she began to realize just how deep Signum's distortion ran, "Have you completely lost your mind? You said that you were going to help him improve himself, not turn him into a maniac and use him as a... a-a way to relieve yourself!"
Signum's eyes widened at Nanoha's accusation, but she was unable to retort as the White Devil continued on, "Yuuno is not that kind of person. He's a kind man who loves books and history, not battles!"
"Then explain to me what that is," demanded Signum harshly as she stood, pointing to the maddened look in Yuuno's eyes on the paused recording. "That does not look like a man who desires to sit down and turn the pages of ancient tomes. That looks like a man who would step up to the greatest of foes and do everything in his power to make them fight with their all."
Nanoha's eyes narrowed. "That, looks like a man twisted into something to fulfill your desires and nothing else. From my perspective, you may have started out with good intentions, but now you're just using him for your own benefit without a care in the world. You're toying with him. And with how things are going, I wouldn't be surprised if you tossed him aside the moment you got bored with him!" she finished with a raised voice that carried more anger than Signum had ever heard from the brunette before.
The Knight's hand twitched before balling into a fist. "You dare accuse me of that, Takamachi Nanoha? You would dare think I would sully both my honor and his by acting in such a manner?"
"I think you already have. Whether you realize it or not," stated Nanoha with a finality that shook the other woman.
Signum's fire left her and she fell back into her seat, an unusual and uncomfortable expression upon her face. "What would you have me do then? I may have sparked his drive, but he is ultimately the one who decides whether or not to follow it even if I push him towards it."
"That's... I don't have an answer for you. If I knew, I'd tell you. This is something you'll have to work out between yourself and Yuuno. But I'll tell you this right now...," Nanoha trailed off as she took a deep breath, "Yuuno is a very important person to me, more so that you probably realize. If you don't fix this and end up hurting him because of it, there will be nowhere you can hide from me. Do you understand me, Captain Signum Yagami?"
The Knight felt the sincerity and power behind Nanoha's words and nodded, even if she did not truly know what to think about them. At the very minimum, she had far more to think about now than what her next bout would be like.
Uhhh, so impressive, so grim, so.... lustful? Anyway, nice update is nice!
Stretching as she stood up, Hayate groaned as her back popped softly. "Well, I have to admit, I was surprised that Zest finally joined us, but his reasons make sense at least."
"Indeed," Reinforce smiled as she walked behind Hayate. "Though, I wish it was under better circumstances that he wished to join us. Although..."
"Excuse me," Reinforce blinked as she was interrupted by one of the staff members.
"Yes?" Reinforce looked at the girl, who couldn't be any older than seventeen at the most.
She smiled at them a bit nervously, "well, uh, you wanted to know if that weird signal appeared again, and it seems like one just formed outside of Cranagan."
Hayate frowned softly. "Probably another red herring. Who's supposed to cover it this time?" She asked, sighing heavily and wishing that she didn't have to send people to go check it out.
"That is, ah..." The girl blushed heavily and looked down, "anyone who can are well, the trainers and, ah..."
"I'll go."
"Reinforce?" Hayate turned to the taller device, blinking owlishly. "Are you sure?"
"If it is just a red herring, then at least we won't waste anyone's time," Reinforce smiled at her, "if it's something more dangerous, I can handle it. But, I'll take Zafira along with me."
Hayate slowly nodded at that, it sounded reasonable. "Sure, just... Be careful, okay?"
"Aren't I always?" Reinforce asked rhetorically as she walked away.
Watching Reinforce leave, Hayate's pupils shrank and an utterly cold feeling came over her chest. Closing her eyes, Hayate wondered what that was. Opening them again, she reached towards Reinforce, only to see that she was no longer in the hallway. "...Is it natural to have a sudden cold feeling wash over you?"
"I'm not sure, maybe you should ask Shamal when she gets back?" The staff member said, chuckling softly, "also, Captain Takamachi wishes to speak to you about allowing a couple of family members stay here for a couple of weeks."
Hayate blinked in confusion. 'Why would Nanoha-chan's family need to stay here?' Still, it couldn't hurt to find out what was going on.
(---)
Elsewhere in an undisclosed location...
A small body slowly made its way through an underground passage, her hands were chained to a single box as she tried to walk forward, her unchained hand was pressed against a wall as she, dressed in a dirty shirt, no shoes or socks, tried to move forward. Her breathing was ragged as she stumbled forward. Looking up, she saw a ladder and tried to climb up. Her whole body hurt and was numb and she wasn't sure why she was down here. All she wanted to do was get out and find someone.
As she got to the top, she pushed the grate out of the way and climbed out of the hole into the air. "Mama..." She whined, wondering where her mother was.
"Woah!" A voice spoke up, startling her and causing her to spin around, gasping at the person. She didn't recognize the person, but he had short red hair, purple eyes and didn't look that much older than she was. "Are you playing hide and seek too?" She shook her head and whimpered as he moved close to her. "My name's Arashi, what's yours?"
"Vivio..." The girl whimpered before her eyes rolled up into her head and she fell to the ground, out cold.
"Wagh!" Arashi grabbed the girl and shook her. "Hey! Come on! You're not supposed to fall down when you play hide and seek! It makes it too easy to find you!"
"There you are!" Caro cried out as she found Arashi. "You shouldn't... Who's that?" Behind her, Erio and Fried popped their heads out, looking at the situation.
"Why are you copying Fate-san and Yuuno-san?!" Erio pointed at Arashi with a shaky finger. "I knew that something was up! Grandma taught all her kids how to find people and take them home with them, didn't she?!"
"Kuuuuu..." Shockingly, Fried actually fell out of the air and slammed his face to the ground, groaning not only at Erio's statement, but the fact that Caro was agreeing with him.
"Nah uh!" Arashi stood up and pointed at Erio, "she just came up and then fell asleep!"
Erio blinked and looked at Caro. "Think we should call back to base?" Caro shrugged and blinked as Arashi grabbed a case and was trying to open it. "Hey! Arashi, you shouldn't..." She trailed off as the case opened and a large metal ring hovered out of the case. "...Erio-kun, call the base, I think we've got something weird here."
Erio nodded and tapped his wrist watch. "Hey, Subaru-san, Teana-san, think you can come to where we are? I think something weird's going on here."
"Not a problem, we were kind of bored anyway."
Erio then punched a call back to base. "Excuse me, is anyone available right now?"
"Eh? Erio, what's wrong?"
"Captain Vita-san, ah..." Erio wasn't afraid of Vita, he was just surprised to hear her pick up the communication link.
"I'm not that scary, Erio. Is something the matter?" Vita's voice was rather amused as she spoke to him.
"Well, ah, Nanoha-san's brother found a girl, and..."
"You know, I think there must be something to that family, picking up girls at his age? Even I'm not that bad."
Erio's face went completely red and he shook his head. "No! It's not like that! He found her in an alleyway and she had some sort of box strapped to her wrist and there's this floating weird ring and..."
"Alright, calm down, Nanoha and I will head out there in a few minutes, we'll be arriving by helicopter. Is the girl okay?"
"She's out cold, but I don't think she has a family, she looks like an orphan."
"Alright, we'll bring her and the ring back here. Vita out."
Erio nodded and turned off his communicator as he looked at Arashi, Caro, the girl and then at the ring. "...This is going to get bad, isn't it?"
Caro nodded and looked at Erio. "Um, Erio-kun, where's your spear?"
"Huh?" The boy blinked before tapping his watch. "Shari-san and Mary-san were able to get this device to work with my spear finally, so I don't have to carry it around everywhere."
(---)
Grinning at the screen, Levi leaned back in her chair. "Quattro, make sure that you send enough of your sisters out to keep them busy."
'Yes, master.' Levi smirked as she pressed a few more buttons, causing a new screen to appear, revealing Kuma, Amitie and Kyrie as they rode in the car.
"Hello, you three, I hope that you're well." Levi smiled at them. "I have a little job for you today."
"Is it messy?" Kyrie asked, fidgeting in the back seat. "I mean, messy jobs are always so gross and..."
"Only if you want it to be." Levi smirked at them. "Not too long from now, there's going to be a little... Problem in the city proper, I'll send you some coordinates in a little bit. Deal with it as you see fit, but I need you to keep the Riot Force busy and distracted for me."
Amitie nodded at her. "Very well, leave us the coordinates and we shall deal with it. Anything we should know?"
"You'll be working with some cyborgs, Kuma's worked with some of them before." Levi grinned as she sent them some information before turning the screen off. "Now for my role in all of this." Laughing softly, she disappeared in a swirl of darkness. There was no need to wait any longer, everything was almost in place.
(---)
Several minutes later...
"Is this the place?" Zafira asked as he and Reinforce, both of whom were out in the country, as they looked at some caves.
Nodding at the blue wolf, Reinforce walked inside. "Yes, the scanners are getting the strongest signal from these caves here." Turning off the device, she and Zafira walked into the cave. As they walked in, the light quickly left the cave, though it wasn't a problem, as Reinforce merely held her hand up and a sphere of light snapped into being. "I don't know what I was expecting."
"Bats, perhaps?" Zafira asked as they moved deeper into the cave. "...Reinforce, does it feel like the darkness is moving with us?"
Turning to look at him, Reinforce had a confused look on her face, that turned to shock and horror as she saw that the shadows were moving. "Zafira! Look out!" She snapped her left hand forward, a black beam of magic lancing out and carving into the darkness.
Growling, Zafira shifted into his human form and curled his fingers, energy building up before he lashed out. A grim smile came to his face as his attack tore into the shadows with ease. "I guess there was something to worry about."
"Don't let your guard down." Reinforce said as she blasted at the shadows. The next thing that she knew, one of the shadow tendrils snapped around her neck and pulled her back, causing her to groan in pain.
"Reinforce!" Zafira turned to her, only for a body to form between him and Reinforce. "You!" His eyes widened in shock as he stared at who it was in front of him. "You're supposed to be ARRRRGH!" He screamed as she held out a hand and fire, point blank, a powerful red blast that sent him flying back against the wall hard, before he fell to the ground, twitching in pain.
"Dead? Yes, I get that a lot." Smirking, she turned to Reinforce, who had just broke free of the tendril around her neck. "Yes, I like this."
Reinforce paused and turned, her face paling. "A...Alicia Testarossa..?"
"It's LEVI now!" Levi narrowed her eyes as dark tendrils snaked around Reinforce's arms and legs, pulling her down. "But you'll learn soon enough." She chuckled as the shadow tendrils forced their way into Reinforce's mouth and down her throat. "Oh, you'll learn... So well." Levi threw her head back and laughed as lighting coursed through Reinforce's body, eliciting screams of pain from the device as her body jerked. Turning around and ignoring Reinforce's screams, Levi walked up to Zafira and put her hands on his shoulders. "I know you're still awake... Or alive, I'm not sure, so..." Her eyes flashed as she started pouring dark energy into his body, a gleeful look came to her face as he screamed from the pain that was searing him down to the bones. "I guarantee you, Zafira, that I'm a lot tougher than my clone thought I was. HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!"
After several minutes, when he could no longer scream, Levi pulled back, smiling as she saw Zafira's smoking body. "That's that for you." Turning, she grinned as she saw Reinforce slumped, out cold. "As for you," she smiled as her tendrils were sucked back into her body, depositing Reinforce onto her shoulder. Putting an arm over Reinforce's back, Levi started to walk deeper into the cave. "You and I, Reinforce, are going to be... Such close friends." She laughed as she disappeared with the silver-haired unison device.
Me: You don't hold back on those cliffs and suspense do ya, Nanya?
Odin: Levi, Levi, Levi. *shook head* Nice knowing you, I'll award you with a darwin's award after a few dragon slave level spells vap your ass.
Me: *looks at Odin.* You're already jumping on the award? You can't be serious!?
Odin: Sirus and Riksfalto haven't left Mid-Childa yet as far the the story state. No doubt that they too will investigate the source.
Me: Oh boy. And now I'm the person who's asking somebody to ignore you, Odin. *sweatdrops.*
Mariemeia: Like I care about what Odin's have to say. I want MORE of this!!!!
Me:-_-"
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Darwin's nominee are best for laughs.
MGLN "Befriending" shows love thru superior firepower (Zenryokou Zenkai!)
Gundams are your worst nightmare in the battlefield.
SRW beats all foes.
JAM Project pwns all!!!
And I can't still make fanfic without restarting from the start when new ideas comes in...
Nanoha Takamachi had a great deal on her mind. She was seated in her office, re-watching the video feed portraying one of the most vicious battles she'd seen in recent memory. It was not the scenes of violence that bothered her, she herself had been party to more than a few bloody battles. No, it was whom the participants were that she had a problem with.
Never before in Nanoha's memory had the matches between Yuuno and Signum gotten so… intense. It was different from the times when both were at their best and putting everything into their efforts. Those matches never turned the pair into raging animals throwing themselves at each other in a mindless display of their baser instincts. Nor did they leave the battle broken, bloody, and half-naked at the end.
Well, on occasion, they did. But not to this degree.
As Raising Heart began playing the recording again, Nanoha felt something uncomfortable settle into the pit of her stomach and it lay right next to the simmering anger at what had been done to Fate the previous week. Signum was on her way to this very office at the brunette's request and she was certain the inevitable conversation would reveal things she would not be comfortable with.
She'd seen that battle hungry expression on Singum's face before, sometimes she had been on the receiving end of it. What had truly disturbed Nanoha, more than the ferocity of the battle, was that Yuuno had donned a very similar expression on his own face. It was unsettling to see such a look on her childhood friend and teacher. Why had he done it? What had prompted them to go so far? Those questions and more swirled about her mind in the empty office.
The only sound in the room was that of battle, and it was finally interrupted by three sharp knocks at the door.
Steeling herself for what was to come, Nanoha asked Raising Heart to pause the recording and then called out, "Come in." The door opened and into the office stepped the source of more than a few of the brunette's current concerns.
Signum stood in front of Nanoha's desk, stoic as ever. "You wished to see me, Takamachi," she stated without preamble. It was obvious from both her tone and her wording she knew some of what was to come.
Nanoha gestured to an empty chair, "Have a seat, Signum." When the Knight did so, the brunette continued with folded hands and a stoic expression similar to the woman across from her, "You probably already know part of why I wanted to talk with you." Nanoha's current look was perhaps more unsettling than the fake smile she usually wore when she was unhappy.
"You refer to my bout with Testarossa." If there was any sign of confusion on Signum's face at what Nanoha had said, she had either missed it or it was indiscernible at best.
Nodding, Nanoha's eyes narrowed as she spoke, "I want you to tell me exactly why you decided to beat Fate senseless."
The Knight maintained her stoic demeanor. "Testarossa allowed herself to become complacent. She gained only enough strength and skill to make use of Bardiche and nothing more. I was under the impression she was the kind of woman who strived for excellence." Signum paused, allowing her words to sink in before continuing, "I felt it best to show her what the price of such a mindset is."
There was no response from the brunette, only a stony silence.
"...I will admit that my actions may have been in excess, but I will not apologize for them. Better for Testarossa to learn of her folly here, in a sparring session, than in the field, where such a lesson could very well cost her life," Signum finished flatly.
Nanoha raised one eyebrow at the Knight's words. It was one thing to hear the explanation from Fate or one of the other Wolkenritter. It was another thing entirely to hear it from the General of Fire herself. "You really believe that? You couldn't have just pointed that out to her instead of beating her sensel-"
Signum cut her off sharply, "And how would you have me prove it to her otherwise? With sugared words and gentle taps?"
"You could have told someone about it. Hayate, Vita, anyone! Me!" Nanoha snapped back, "We could have taken care of her problem without landing her in the hospital or breaking her spirit!" A part of the brunette knew she was exaggerating severely, but anger at what the pinkette before her had done to Fate was clouding her mind. "Aren't you her friend?"
"I am her friend, and as such I could not allow this to continue when I realized the gravity of her situation," Signum responded just as sharply as before, but she maintained the composure Nanoha seemed to be losing.
Nanoha glared at Signum for a time as she worked to reign in her anger. She truly disliked losing her temper like that, but with everything that had been going on as of late it was unfortunately easy to do. "I'm not sure I can believe you," she eventually said in a somewhat concerned tone.
Those words hit Signum sharply, as though she'd been physically struck by the brunette. "What do you mean?" Though her expression did not betray her shock, the Knight's voice did. Even if it was only a slight sliver of the emotion, it was still noticeable.
"Signum, we've gotten into some absolutely vicious battles before. You remember our match a few years back? When everyone was wondering who was stronger between the two of us?" Nanoha waited until Signum confirmed the memory before continuing, "I don't think I'll ever forget the expression on your face. More than wanting to beat me, you wanted to fight to your absolute limit. No holding back. Maximum power. Am I right?"
"I did indeed desire to fight you to my fullest capacity at the time, however I-" Signum's reply was cut off.
"I've seen you enjoy fights. Its simply part of who you are. But I've only seen you with that look in your eye one other time and I'm pretty sure if got my hands on the footage from when you fought Fate, it would be three," stated Nanoha with some sense of finality.
"I would appreciate it if you would get to the point." Signum may be a patient woman, but she did not appreciate being led around as though she were a child.
Nanoha sighed, "My point is that for whatever reason, you wanted to fight Fate like it was a life or death struggle. And when she didn't deliver, you punished her for it. Whatever limitations you may have seen were just an excuse for you to try and push her into going all out."
Signum's eyes flashed dangerously at the accusation, "Takamachi, yo-"
Again, she was cut off, "What happened between you and Yuuno? Whatever it was, it was enough to drive you to go after Fate like you did, and..." A motion of Nanoha's hand bade Raising Heart to bring up a paused shot of the recording. It was zoomed in on Yuuno and taken just after he had stood from being hurled into a wall. He was broken, beaten, bloody, and exuded with such an overwhelming desire to fight, to strike down his foe and dominate her that it was almost palpable from the screen. "...It was enough for you to turn Yuuno into that."
The image elicited an odd, tightened sensation within Signum's core. Her hands balled into fists as she remembered being on the receiving end of that gaze.
"I've never seen him make that kind of expression before, not once. I've never seen him fight this way either. I've never seen that kind, gentle man act so..." Nanoha trailed off as words failed her. "I'll ask again, what is going on between you and Yuuno?" She paused as Raising Heart played back more and more of the battle. Nanoha nearly winced when the image of Signum driving her armored foot into Yuuno's face came around.
Silence reigned as Signum processed what Nanoha had laid before her. While the Knight had truly seen such shortcomings in Testarossa's capabilities, had it merely been an excuse to go further? She thought back to the feelings that bubbled up within her breast when Yuuno had decided to throw caution to the wind and fight with everything he had. It didn't matter that she severely outclassed him. He still fought on, trying to better himself with every blow he received and landed. Adapting himself to go beyond the limitations of his mortal frame. To become a sword, rather than a shield.
That feeling he had given her, that burning sensation… had she sought a similar feeling from Testarossa in their match? All her battles against Yuuno, however few they may have been, starting from the one which resulted from their chance meeting that fateful night had ignited such a heat within her. It was a high that only came about with the right mindset and the right stimulus.
Yuuno had kept her drunk on that high and she had savored it like a fine wine. He'd given her that life or death struggle and she'd pushed him on to further it. For a 'battle-junkie', there was no greater satisfaction. Was she even concerned about his original intent at this point, so long as he kept satisfying her primal urges?
The lack of an immediate answer disturbed the normally unshakeable General of Fire.
"Well?" asked Nanoha, having found the oppressive silence to have stretched on for too long.
"I..." For once, Signum did not have an immediate reply and she languished further in her concern. After a time, she opted to explain the beginning of things to Nanoha. "It began a few weeks ago..."
And so Signum told the tale of her unexpected late night rendezvous with Yuuno Scrya. She told of their first match where he made the initial decision to step beyond his limitations and strike out against her, culminating in their mutual decision to grow as warriors against one another. Her story flowed from there and Nanoha's expression seemed to waver between surprise and worry. The slivers of passion that slipped into Signum's voice on occasion did not soothe the brunette any.
"...it was wonderful. I can find no words to properly describe that feeling other than wonderful. Basking in the afterglow of such a vicious battle against someone with whom I can exchange blows with in earnest..." Signum's words sent a shiver down Nanoha's spine while the faint traces of red on the Knight's face seemed wholly out of place. "I have never known such a feeling... Against you, your drive was only to win, was it not?"
Nanoha felt herself nodding as the surreal nature of the situation continued to permeate her mind.
"Even against Zest, whom I shall always regard as a great and formidable foe, he did not draw out such a feeling." Signum subconsciously wetted her lips. "Scrya, however, fights like a man possessed. He is driven neither by ideals, nor by the approval of others, nor by something so fleeting as victory." A strange glint appeared in the Knight's eyes that did not go unnoticed by Nanoha. "He is driven by the singular desire to become strong enough to dominate his foe and relish in doing so..."
"Signum...," began Nanoha after the other woman had gone silent, a look of horror having taken residence on the brunette's face as she began to realize just how deep Signum's distortion ran, "Have you completely lost your mind? You said that you were going to help him improve himself, not turn him into a maniac and use him as a... a-a way to relieve yourself!"
Signum's eyes widened at Nanoha's accusation, but she was unable to retort as the White Devil continued on, "Yuuno is not that kind of person. He's a kind man who loves books and history, not battles!"
"Then explain to me what that is," demanded Signum harshly as she stood, pointing to the maddened look in Yuuno's eyes on the paused recording. "That does not look like a man who desires to sit down and turn the pages of ancient tomes. That looks like a man who would step up to the greatest of foes and do everything in his power to make them fight with their all."
Nanoha's eyes narrowed. "That, looks like a man twisted into something to fulfill your desires and nothing else. From my perspective, you may have started out with good intentions, but now you're just using him for your own benefit without a care in the world. You're toying with him. And with how things are going, I wouldn't be surprised if you tossed him aside the moment you got bored with him!" she finished with a raised voice that carried more anger than Signum had ever heard from the brunette before.
The Knight's hand twitched before balling into a fist. "You dare accuse me of that, Takamachi Nanoha? You would dare think I would sully both my honor and his by acting in such a manner?"
"I think you already have. Whether you realize it or not," stated Nanoha with a finality that shook the other woman.
Signum's fire left her and she fell back into her seat, an unusual and uncomfortable expression upon her face. "What would you have me do then? I may have sparked his drive, but he is ultimately the one who decides whether or not to follow it even if I push him towards it."
"That's... I don't have an answer for you. If I knew, I'd tell you. This is something you'll have to work out between yourself and Yuuno. But I'll tell you this right now...," Nanoha trailed off as she took a deep breath, "Yuuno is a very important person to me, more so that you probably realize. If you don't fix this and end up hurting him because of it, there will be nowhere you can hide from me. Do you understand me, Captain Signum Yagami?"
The Knight felt the sincerity and power behind Nanoha's words and nodded, even if she did not truly know what to think about them. At the very minimum, she had far more to think about now than what her next bout would be like.
- Scene Break -
To say that the Infinity Library was truly a massive place would be somewhat of an understatement. It was constantly growing, more and more tomes, scrolls, and data files added to its shelves every day. Unfortunately, this made navigating the halls a rather difficult task unless you either had a map or were a constant presence in the library.
"Mmm! Where is he?" grumbled Reinforce Zwei as she suffered that exact problem. Even if she usually came to the library with Hayate, who was a rather frequent visitor, Zwei was still not nearly so familiar with the layout as her mother.
It did not help that she was looking more for a specific individual rather than a specific piece of information. She'd have called him ahead of time, but she didn't want him to run away from her.
Right now, though, she was regretting her decision of conducting a sneak attack. At the very least she knew that Yuuno Scrya was near his office, assuming Arf's information was correct. "...I think I'm lost," Zwei said aloud as she pulled up the map again. Sure enough, her location was now further away from Yuuno's office than it had been ten minutes ago.
"Zwei?"
"Hya!" the Unison Device squeaked in alarm before whirling about to lay eyes upon the one who had snuck up on her. To her welcome surprise, it was the very man she'd been looking for. "Y-Yuuno! Don't sneak up on people like that!" she admonished after regaining her senses.
"Right, right. Sorry about that," Yuuno apologized with a smile, his arms carrying a stack of rather old looking tomes. "Anyway, what can I do for you Zwei? It’s rare for you to come by without Hayate."
Blinking as she remembered her self-appointed task, Zwei then flew up closer to Yuuno's face. "I have to talk with you about something important, Yuuno."
The expression on Zwei's face conveyed the seriousness of her words to Yuuno. "We should talk in my office then. It'll keep anyone else from overhearing," he replied before gesturing with his head for her to follow him.
Much to Zwei's consternation, it took all of three minutes to reach Yuuno's office. It had taken her nearly twenty just to get as far as he did and even then she had gotten lost in the end.
"Stupid map...," she mumbled while glaring at the holographic display.
"Ahh... Sorry about that. We're expanding some of the sections on Ancient Belka and the Nasuvians. The maps haven't been updated yet." The blonde's words did not do much to appease Zwei, who shut the large doors of the office behind her while Yuuno set down the heavy books.
Before Yuuno could offer Zwei a seat, she had assumed her fully grown form and now stood imperiously before him. Although the effect was slightly offset by the fact that she was still shorter than him and had to stare upwards to lock eyes. "Yuuno Scrya!"
"Y-yes?" he stammered in response to Zwei's sudden offense.
"What are your intentions towards my sister?" demanded the young, blue-eyed woman pointing a finger at his nose. She didn't care if she was the baby of the family, Zwei was going to do everything she could to look out for her mother and older sisters. Even if that meant going up against their longtime friend.
"Your sister? What's are you talking about?" asked Yuuno, blatant confusion evident on his face.
"Don't try to play dumb," Zwei retorted with some fire in her voice, "You know exactly what I'm talking about. And don't think you won't be hearing from everyone else either. We haven't even given you proper approval in the first place. I'll permit it only so long as you follow the proper laws for courting one of the Wolkenritter!"
Yuuno had gone from simply confused to flabbergasted and bewildered. Not to mention the embarrassment that was creeping up his spine. "Would you please explain what's going on and what you mean by 'courting'?" Last he checked, he wasn't in that kind of relationship with anyone.
Zwei gave a frown of irritation and placed her hands on her hips. "If you're going to be dating big-sis Signum, there are rules you're going to have to follow. I won't have you treating her badly or taking advantage of her kindness." She ignored the poleaxed look on the librarian's face as she continued, not letting him get a word in edgewise.
"Firstly, you will treat her well and with proper respect. She's a good woman who deserves it and I won't have you trampling all over her heart. Secondly, you'll have her home by curfew as set by Lady Hayate. No more mysterious late night funny business, got it? You're not even married yet! Thirdly, if you try to force her into something she doesn't want or make her cry, I'll make sure they never find your body! Fourthly...," Zwei seemed to be running out of steam, but did not stop.
"Fourthly... Err... You'll take her to nice places on dates. No dingy bars or the cafeteria on base. Make sure it’s the full deal. Full candlelit dinner, music, romance, the works! The whole nine yards! Fifthly... Um...," she paused and scratched her head as she tried to think of something.
"Zwei!" Yuuno called out, taking advantage of her stalling and causing the powder blue haired young woman to jump in surprise. "Zwei, please back up and explain why you think I'm dating Signum."
"Y-your're not? That's even worse! Taking advantage of her like that. How could you?! I-I thought you were a better man than that." Zwei looked truly distraught as she drew her own conclusions from Yuuno's words and her already limited knowledge of the truth about the situation between Signum and the blonde standing before her.
"What in the Kaiser's name has gotten into you? Signum's just helping me with my training," he explained quickly, trying to assuage Zwei's fears.
"T-Training?" she inquired slowly.
Breathing a sigh of relief, Yuuno continued, "Training. I've hit a wall where my own ability is concerned and Signum offered to help me with it. We're not in that kind of relationship." Though if he were to be honest, he would not deny the pull that Signum held over him. It was different from the attraction he had once harbored for Nanoha. It was more ...tangible, solid, if he were to describe it.
"Then why does Signum come home so happy from training with you?" Zwei pressed on, not quite ready to believe Yuuno's denial.
Yuuno crossed his arms and looks thoughtful for a moment, as though thinking of how to explain that. "Well... We don't train like how Nanoha or Vita train the new recruits. We just... fight. Trial by fire. She... seems to enjoy it. I'll admit that I do as well." He scratched his cheek in embarrassment as he recalled his own developing battle-lust going head to head with Signum's.
"It gets pretty vicious, but I can say that she's helped me far more with this method than by standard means. And we've only had three sessions so far," Yuuno admitted somewhat sheepishly.
The wind having been taken out of her sails, Zwei slumped over a bit. "Then... I was worried over nothing?"
Yuuno patted her head affectionately. "Hardly. Signum's lucky to have a little sister like you watching out for her."
"D-don't think I'm letting you off the hook that easily. Even if you aren't dating Signum right now, that doesn't mean you might not try to in the future. So I want you to remember what I've said," stated Zwei, trying to build up a stern composure as the heavier atmosphere lifted.
"I'll do that. But, you forgot one thing." Yuuno gave a small grin at Zwei's confused look. "You told me four of the rules, but not the fifth."
"Ah! I almost forgot. The fifth rule is that you must take Signum's little sister out for ice cream. Or she'll make things very difficult for you in the long run." Zwei maintained her stern look at least until Yuuno gave a sigh of resignation.
"I guess I have no choice then...," he stated in mock despair. "If I am to return to the good graces of the Yagami family, then I must find a nice ice cream parlor and treat their youngest to a frozen treat from it." He knew it was hammy, but he couldn't resist in the face of Zwei's demands.
Zwei giggled in response. "Then let’s go. It’s not good to keep a lady waiting."
"Especially if that lady is my good friend and training partner's little sister," quipped Yuuno as he gathered his jacket and sent a message to Arf, explaining his sudden absence.
"You learn quickly," Zwei stated winningly.
Dang, It's the violent yet dramatic scandal before the sweet teeth-crushing moe. You really should update more frequently (like Nanya), the action and drama are asking me to see more. It's killing me...
Oh yes, I can't wait to see your another fic, the one about Fate being raised by someone other then Rinith.
I'm glad you all have enjoyed chapter 4 and thank you for the comments.
Poor Zwei, she tries and is adorable when she does so. Though its Yuuno who needs protection from Signum, not the other way around. *cackle*
Quote:
Originally Posted by Mr Coin
Oh yes, I can't wait to see your another fic, the one about Fate being raised by someone other then Rinith.
Regretfully, the idea hit a major roadblock and I'm unable to do anything with it without scrapping it and starting over.
I will tell you that the person to raise Fate was none other than Ryoma Nagare of Shin Getter Robo: Armageddon fame. Let that roll around in your heads for a while.
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The Art of Shipping is as profound as it is dangerous; not for the faint of heart nor the weak of will, it makes gods and devils out of us all.
Getting out of the chopper, Nanoha made her way over to the group. "Alright, so... Why is there a ring floating in the middle of the air?"
"No clue," Teana shook her head, "we don't want to touch it."
Nanoha nodded, pleased at that. "Good call. Alright, here's what's going to happen, we're going to get her onto the helicopter, I want you four to secure the area, Arashi, you're going to go with her," she knelt down next to her brother as the Forwards shifted into their barrier jackets, "it's very important that you keep her safe, okay?" Arashi nodded and went with the girl as she was put on a stretcher and loaded into the helicopter. "What about this one?"
"Here's the case it was in." Vita said as she picked up the two halves of the container. "I think if we..." She blinked as she put the bottom of the box under the ring and it stopped hovering and fell into place. "...Weird." She closed the box before taking it over to the helicopter. "Get these back to base safely, Vice!"
The pilot turned and saluted them. "Not a problem, Vita."
Nanoha nodded to Vita as the chopper took off. "Well then..." There was an explosion that happened in the streets, causing people to start running for cover. "Raising Heart!"
"Graf Eisen!" Vita yelled as they transformed into their outfits.
"Limiter Release!" They called out at the same time, a quick flash of energy later and they rushed out of the alley way, expecting the worst.
(---)
Teana was the first to notice and react to the explosion that caused several cars to turn into flaming wrecks. "Who!?" Her eyes widened as she saw two figures walk through the fire before coming into view. "Nove?!"
The redhead looked at Teana before looking at Subaru and narrowing her eyes. "You two really shouldn't be here." She said calmly before looking at Cinque, who was standing next to her calmly.
"Nove! What's going on?!" Teana called out to the younger girl. "Come on, you can tell me. Why are you, Wendi and Sein fighting us now?"
Nove narrowed her eyes as she looked at Teana. "We were never on your side!" She threw her hand out to the side, growling. "What made you think that we'd ever work for the Bureau? The same Bureau that makes weapons like us and then turns its agents against us!"
Teana took a step back, stunned at the outburst. "Nove, I don't..."
"Enough, Nove," Cinque said quietly, calming the redhead down almost instantly. "The fact is, we don't like the Bureau too much, for forcing our creation, and for forcing us to become what we have." Pulling out some knives, she narrowed her eye at Teana before turning her head and looking up to see Subaru on the roof top.
"You're outnumbered!" Erio yelled as he stood on a parked pickup while Caro rode on Fried's neck. "The captains are here as well, you don't have a chance against us!"
Nove smirked and looked up at the helicopter. "Maybe..." Her smirk became a grin as several pink beams started pelting the ground around them. "Maybe not!" Pointing her gun knuckles at the group, a freezing cold liquid was shot out at them, turning into vapor that instantly froze anything that it came into contact with.
"Don't try to hit them too hard." Cinque muttered as she threw a few knives into the ice. With a snap of her fingers, the knives exploded, sending metal and ice shards everywhere.
"You know..." Nanoha said as she walked forward, a protection barrier around her body, "that stuff doesn't hurt me."
"How well does it block out gas?!" Nove asked as she put her hand on her right gun knuckle and turned a dial. Taking aim, she fired right in front of her as a yellow gas was launched at Nanoha at high speeds.
"Diem wind." Nanoha whispered as she held her hand up, the wind blast scattering the fumes to the breeze. Nanoha's pupils shrank when she no longer saw Nove in front of her. "Where did..?"
"Above you!" Vita called out as she sent a few flying swallows at Wendi, who was laughing while shooting them down. "Knock it off, girl, before I get mad and hurt you."
"HA!" Wendi laughed and snapped her fingers, causing a huge array to appear under Vita, who stared as it exploded upwards in a towering inferno of energy.
"Vita-chan!" Nanoha turned to look, only to blink in surprise as Nove was right in her face, grinning. "Strike..." Nanoha held a palm out in front of her.
"Sorry, not her!" Nove punched into and through her barrier and let loose another blast of those gas fumes.
"ACK!" Nanoha stepped back, coughing as her eyes watered heavily. 'What is..?' She wondered, not seeing the knives that sunk into the ground around her feet, at least until they exploded, shattering her shields and causing her to cry out in pain.
"That takes care of them," Wendi grinned, only to stare in shock as Vita flew out of her eruption to slam her head into Wendi's nose. "GAH! You!"
"Raketenform!"
The next thing Wendi knew, Vita was spinning around a couple of times before slamming the spiked end of that hammer into her ribs and sending her sprawling to the ground below. "I'm a LOT tougher than that, kid!"
Nanoha let out a scream and the explosion abruptly ended as she stood there panting, her eyes red and watery.
Nove growled and was about take another shot at Nanoha when the a red flame passed through in front of her. Turning, her pupils shrank as she saw Teana, Subaru, Erio and Caro glaring at her, Cinque and Wendi, who was still on the ground, clutching her ribs.
"We told you, you're out numbered." Vita said calmly. "Now then, just give yourselves up and we won't press charges for attacking us."
"Nove, stand back." Cinque spoke up as she moved her left hand to her eye patch. "Allow your big sister to handle them."
Nove looked at Cinque in shock. "You can't!"
Cinque smiled lightly. "I have gotten some control over this power, not much, but I can draw out just enough to cause them trouble." She was about to pull off her eye patch when Quattro's voice was heard as a large screen appeared near them all.
"My my! This just won't do!" Quattro shook her finger as she spoke to them all chidingly. "Nove, I told you, didn't I? Direct combat against superior beings is pointless, especially when they have superior numbers." Quattro chuckled while grinning. "Anyway, we're going to be shooting down that helicopter now."
"What?!" Nanoha turned to look and shook her head. "Raising Heart?"
"Dangerous power is detected."
"What the hell, Quattro?!" Nove yelled as the glasses wearing cyborg sighed heavily.
"You failed, Nove, so, we're doing this my way... We'll shoot down the chopper and send in a Megah to pick up the remains." She smiled until she saw Wendi and raised an eyebrow. "Huh, someone hurt her, well then, I probably wouldn't want to be around, oh well, tah tah..."
Nanoha frowned and took off to the air. "Vita-chan, deal with this, I've gotta protect that thing!" She rushed forward, putting on as much speed as she could. Sure, her eyes still hurt and it was a little hard to breathe, but whatever Nove had blasted her with wasn't too bad, just irritating. 'But if she had stuck one of those explosive knives into me after blasting me in the face...' Nanoha's line of thought trailed off and she had to admit, she was impressed by the vicious little redhead.
"Flash move!"
Zipping forward, Nanoha gasped as she saw a red and black beam the size of a Buick rushing for the chopper from the other side of the chopper. "I won't make it..." Even with as fast as she was going, she didn't know if she could make it to the chopper and block that attack.
Moments before it could hit, a large yellow beam intersected the red beam, causing it to explode harmlessly away from the chopper. Turning her head, she smiled as she saw Fate there. "Fate-chan..." She sighed in relief, though part of her wondered where Fate had been all day.
"Sorry I'm late, I was in town at meetings, Hayate gave me a call about what's going on, and since I was close, I thought I'd help out."
Nanoha nodded and smiled softly as she saw the helicopter fly away safely. "Alright, let's..." She blinked as a girl with red hair, green eyes, white ankle boots, a blue skirt, blue and white shirt and a blue jacket appeared in front of her. "You are?"
"Amitie Florian, your opponent," Amitie pulled out a couple of small guns, "and I'm sorry, but I don't have a choice in this matter."
Not too far from them Fate was staring at a pink haired, pink eyed girl who was wearing light pink shoes, a pink skirt, white and pink shirt and a pink jacket while holding a fairly large sword down to the side. "...You must like pink."
The girl shrugged and grinned at Fate. "Maybe, my name's Kyrie Florian, and I have to say, you look good in black, but I need to fight you for now." She giggled at Fate's weird look. "Don't worry, I don't want to kill anyone, but I've got my orders to fight you." Giggling, she grabbed the hilt of her sword and split it right down the middle. "So, come on! Let's have some fun!"
Fate narrowed her eyes. For some reason, she didn't think that this was going to be easy.
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My fics Due to certain things, I am not here, find me over on TFF.
That was shock-type horror ("terror?") done RIGHT.
Though I'm not sure if it's ridiculous or in-character for a teenage girl to think it would be worse for a woman's hair to be messy than for all the woman's joints to be horribly twisted.
Nanoha Takamachi had a great deal on her mind. She was seated in her office, re-watching the video feed portraying one of the most vicious battles she'd seen in recent memory. It was not the scenes of violence that bothered her, she herself had been party to more than a few bloody battles. No, it was whom the participants were that she had a problem with.
Never before in Nanoha's memory had the matches between Yuuno and Signum gotten so… intense. It was different from the times when both were at their best and putting everything into their efforts. Those matches never turned the pair into raging animals throwing themselves at each other in a mindless display of their baser instincts. Nor did they leave the battle broken, bloody, and half-naked at the end.
Well, on occasion, they did. But not to this degree.
As Raising Heart began playing the recording again, Nanoha felt something uncomfortable settle into the pit of her stomach and it lay right next to the simmering anger at what had been done to Fate the previous week. Signum was on her way to this very office at the brunette's request and she was certain the inevitable conversation would reveal things she would not be comfortable with.
She'd seen that battle hungry expression on Singum's face before, sometimes she had been on the receiving end of it. What had truly disturbed Nanoha, more than the ferocity of the battle, was that Yuuno had donned a very similar expression on his own face. It was unsettling to see such a look on her childhood friend and teacher. Why had he done it? What had prompted them to go so far? Those questions and more swirled about her mind in the empty office.
The only sound in the room was that of battle, and it was finally interrupted by three sharp knocks at the door.
Steeling herself for what was to come, Nanoha asked Raising Heart to pause the recording and then called out, "Come in." The door opened and into the office stepped the source of more than a few of the brunette's current concerns.
Signum stood in front of Nanoha's desk, stoic as ever. "You wished to see me, Takamachi," she stated without preamble. It was obvious from both her tone and her wording she knew some of what was to come.
Nanoha gestured to an empty chair, "Have a seat, Signum." When the Knight did so, the brunette continued with folded hands and a stoic expression similar to the woman across from her, "You probably already know part of why I wanted to talk with you." Nanoha's current look was perhaps more unsettling than the fake smile she usually wore when she was unhappy.
"You refer to my bout with Testarossa." If there was any sign of confusion on Signum's face at what Nanoha had said, she had either missed it or it was indiscernible at best.
Nodding, Nanoha's eyes narrowed as she spoke, "I want you to tell me exactly why you decided to beat Fate senseless."
The Knight maintained her stoic demeanor. "Testarossa allowed herself to become complacent. She gained only enough strength and skill to make use of Bardiche and nothing more. I was under the impression she was the kind of woman who strived for excellence." Signum paused, allowing her words to sink in before continuing, "I felt it best to show her what the price of such a mindset is."
There was no response from the brunette, only a stony silence.
"...I will admit that my actions may have been in excess, but I will not apologize for them. Better for Testarossa to learn of her folly here, in a sparring session, than in the field, where such a lesson could very well cost her life," Signum finished flatly.
Nanoha raised one eyebrow at the Knight's words. It was one thing to hear the explanation from Fate or one of the other Wolkenritter. It was another thing entirely to hear it from the General of Fire herself. "You really believe that? You couldn't have just pointed that out to her instead of beating her sensel-"
Signum cut her off sharply, "And how would you have me prove it to her otherwise? With sugared words and gentle taps?"
"You could have told someone about it. Hayate, Vita, anyone! Me!" Nanoha snapped back, "We could have taken care of her problem without landing her in the hospital or breaking her spirit!" A part of the brunette knew she was exaggerating severely, but anger at what the pinkette before her had done to Fate was clouding her mind. "Aren't you her friend?"
"I am her friend, and as such I could not allow this to continue when I realized the gravity of her situation," Signum responded just as sharply as before, but she maintained the composure Nanoha seemed to be losing.
Nanoha glared at Signum for a time as she worked to reign in her anger. She truly disliked losing her temper like that, but with everything that had been going on as of late it was unfortunately easy to do. "I'm not sure I can believe you," she eventually said in a somewhat concerned tone.
Those words hit Signum sharply, as though she'd been physically struck by the brunette. "What do you mean?" Though her expression did not betray her shock, the Knight's voice did. Even if it was only a slight sliver of the emotion, it was still noticeable.
"Signum, we've gotten into some absolutely vicious battles before. You remember our match a few years back? When everyone was wondering who was stronger between the two of us?" Nanoha waited until Signum confirmed the memory before continuing, "I don't think I'll ever forget the expression on your face. More than wanting to beat me, you wanted to fight to your absolute limit. No holding back. Maximum power. Am I right?"
"I did indeed desire to fight you to my fullest capacity at the time, however I-" Signum's reply was cut off.
"I've seen you enjoy fights. Its simply part of who you are. But I've only seen you with that look in your eye one other time and I'm pretty sure if got my hands on the footage from when you fought Fate, it would be three," stated Nanoha with some sense of finality.
"I would appreciate it if you would get to the point." Signum may be a patient woman, but she did not appreciate being led around as though she were a child.
Nanoha sighed, "My point is that for whatever reason, you wanted to fight Fate like it was a life or death struggle. And when she didn't deliver, you punished her for it. Whatever limitations you may have seen were just an excuse for you to try and push her into going all out."
Signum's eyes flashed dangerously at the accusation, "Takamachi, yo-"
Again, she was cut off, "What happened between you and Yuuno? Whatever it was, it was enough to drive you to go after Fate like you did, and..." A motion of Nanoha's hand bade Raising Heart to bring up a paused shot of the recording. It was zoomed in on Yuuno and taken just after he had stood from being hurled into a wall. He was broken, beaten, bloody, and exuded with such an overwhelming desire to fight, to strike down his foe and dominate her that it was almost palpable from the screen. "...It was enough for you to turn Yuuno into that."
The image elicited an odd, tightened sensation within Signum's core. Her hands balled into fists as she remembered being on the receiving end of that gaze.
"I've never seen him make that kind of expression before, not once. I've never seen him fight this way either. I've never seen that kind, gentle man act so..." Nanoha trailed off as words failed her. "I'll ask again, what is going on between you and Yuuno?" She paused as Raising Heart played back more and more of the battle. Nanoha nearly winced when the image of Signum driving her armored foot into Yuuno's face came around.
Silence reigned as Signum processed what Nanoha had laid before her. While the Knight had truly seen such shortcomings in Testarossa's capabilities, had it merely been an excuse to go further? She thought back to the feelings that bubbled up within her breast when Yuuno had decided to throw caution to the wind and fight with everything he had. It didn't matter that she severely outclassed him. He still fought on, trying to better himself with every blow he received and landed. Adapting himself to go beyond the limitations of his mortal frame. To become a sword, rather than a shield.
That feeling he had given her, that burning sensation… had she sought a similar feeling from Testarossa in their match? All her battles against Yuuno, however few they may have been, starting from the one which resulted from their chance meeting that fateful night had ignited such a heat within her. It was a high that only came about with the right mindset and the right stimulus.
Yuuno had kept her drunk on that high and she had savored it like a fine wine. He'd given her that life or death struggle and she'd pushed him on to further it. For a 'battle-junkie', there was no greater satisfaction. Was she even concerned about his original intent at this point, so long as he kept satisfying her primal urges?
The lack of an immediate answer disturbed the normally unshakeable General of Fire.
"Well?" asked Nanoha, having found the oppressive silence to have stretched on for too long.
"I..." For once, Signum did not have an immediate reply and she languished further in her concern. After a time, she opted to explain the beginning of things to Nanoha. "It began a few weeks ago..."
And so Signum told the tale of her unexpected late night rendezvous with Yuuno Scrya. She told of their first match where he made the initial decision to step beyond his limitations and strike out against her, culminating in their mutual decision to grow as warriors against one another. Her story flowed from there and Nanoha's expression seemed to waver between surprise and worry. The slivers of passion that slipped into Signum's voice on occasion did not soothe the brunette any.
"...it was wonderful. I can find no words to properly describe that feeling other than wonderful. Basking in the afterglow of such a vicious battle against someone with whom I can exchange blows with in earnest..." Signum's words sent a shiver down Nanoha's spine while the faint traces of red on the Knight's face seemed wholly out of place. "I have never known such a feeling... Against you, your drive was only to win, was it not?"
Nanoha felt herself nodding as the surreal nature of the situation continued to permeate her mind.
"Even against Zest, whom I shall always regard as a great and formidable foe, he did not draw out such a feeling." Signum subconsciously wetted her lips. "Scrya, however, fights like a man possessed. He is driven neither by ideals, nor by the approval of others, nor by something so fleeting as victory." A strange glint appeared in the Knight's eyes that did not go unnoticed by Nanoha. "He is driven by the singular desire to become strong enough to dominate his foe and relish in doing so..."
"Signum...," began Nanoha after the other woman had gone silent, a look of horror having taken residence on the brunette's face as she began to realize just how deep Signum's distortion ran, "Have you completely lost your mind? You said that you were going to help him improve himself, not turn him into a maniac and use him as a... a-a way to relieve yourself!"
Signum's eyes widened at Nanoha's accusation, but she was unable to retort as the White Devil continued on, "Yuuno is not that kind of person. He's a kind man who loves books and history, not battles!"
"Then explain to me what that is," demanded Signum harshly as she stood, pointing to the maddened look in Yuuno's eyes on the paused recording. "That does not look like a man who desires to sit down and turn the pages of ancient tomes. That looks like a man who would step up to the greatest of foes and do everything in his power to make them fight with their all."
Nanoha's eyes narrowed. "That, looks like a man twisted into something to fulfill your desires and nothing else. From my perspective, you may have started out with good intentions, but now you're just using him for your own benefit without a care in the world. You're toying with him. And with how things are going, I wouldn't be surprised if you tossed him aside the moment you got bored with him!" she finished with a raised voice that carried more anger than Signum had ever heard from the brunette before.
The Knight's hand twitched before balling into a fist. "You dare accuse me of that, Takamachi Nanoha? You would dare think I would sully both my honor and his by acting in such a manner?"
"I think you already have. Whether you realize it or not," stated Nanoha with a finality that shook the other woman.
Signum's fire left her and she fell back into her seat, an unusual and uncomfortable expression upon her face. "What would you have me do then? I may have sparked his drive, but he is ultimately the one who decides whether or not to follow it even if I push him towards it."
"That's... I don't have an answer for you. If I knew, I'd tell you. This is something you'll have to work out between yourself and Yuuno. But I'll tell you this right now...," Nanoha trailed off as she took a deep breath, "Yuuno is a very important person to me, more so that you probably realize. If you don't fix this and end up hurting him because of it, there will be nowhere you can hide from me. Do you understand me, Captain Signum Yagami?"
The Knight felt the sincerity and power behind Nanoha's words and nodded, even if she did not truly know what to think about them. At the very minimum, she had far more to think about now than what her next bout would be like.
- Scene Break -
To say that the Infinity Library was truly a massive place would be somewhat of an understatement. It was constantly growing, more and more tomes, scrolls, and data files added to its shelves every day. Unfortunately, this made navigating the halls a rather difficult task unless you either had a map or were a constant presence in the library.
"Mmm! Where is he?" grumbled Reinforce Zwei as she suffered that exact problem. Even if she usually came to the library with Hayate, who was a rather frequent visitor, Zwei was still not nearly so familiar with the layout as her mother.
It did not help that she was looking more for a specific individual rather than a specific piece of information. She'd have called him ahead of time, but she didn't want him to run away from her.
Right now, though, she was regretting her decision of conducting a sneak attack. At the very least she knew that Yuuno Scrya was near his office, assuming Arf's information was correct. "...I think I'm lost," Zwei said aloud as she pulled up the map again. Sure enough, her location was now further away from Yuuno's office than it had been ten minutes ago.
"Zwei?"
"Hya!" the Unison Device squeaked in alarm before whirling about to lay eyes upon the one who had snuck up on her. To her welcome surprise, it was the very man she'd been looking for. "Y-Yuuno! Don't sneak up on people like that!" she admonished after regaining her senses.
"Right, right. Sorry about that," Yuuno apologized with a smile, his arms carrying a stack of rather old looking tomes. "Anyway, what can I do for you Zwei? It’s rare for you to come by without Hayate."
Blinking as she remembered her self-appointed task, Zwei then flew up closer to Yuuno's face. "I have to talk with you about something important, Yuuno."
The expression on Zwei's face conveyed the seriousness of her words to Yuuno. "We should talk in my office then. It'll keep anyone else from overhearing," he replied before gesturing with his head for her to follow him.
Much to Zwei's consternation, it took all of three minutes to reach Yuuno's office. It had taken her nearly twenty just to get as far as he did and even then she had gotten lost in the end.
"Stupid map...," she mumbled while glaring at the holographic display.
"Ahh... Sorry about that. We're expanding some of the sections on Ancient Belka and the Nasuvians. The maps haven't been updated yet." The blonde's words did not do much to appease Zwei, who shut the large doors of the office behind her while Yuuno set down the heavy books.
Before Yuuno could offer Zwei a seat, she had assumed her fully grown form and now stood imperiously before him. Although the effect was slightly offset by the fact that she was still shorter than him and had to stare upwards to lock eyes. "Yuuno Scrya!"
"Y-yes?" he stammered in response to Zwei's sudden offense.
"What are your intentions towards my sister?" demanded the young, blue-eyed woman pointing a finger at his nose. She didn't care if she was the baby of the family, Zwei was going to do everything she could to look out for her mother and older sisters. Even if that meant going up against their longtime friend.
"Your sister? What's are you talking about?" asked Yuuno, blatant confusion evident on his face.
"Don't try to play dumb," Zwei retorted with some fire in her voice, "You know exactly what I'm talking about. And don't think you won't be hearing from everyone else either. We haven't even given you proper approval in the first place. I'll permit it only so long as you follow the proper laws for courting one of the Wolkenritter!"
Yuuno had gone from simply confused to flabbergasted and bewildered. Not to mention the embarrassment that was creeping up his spine. "Would you please explain what's going on and what you mean by 'courting'?" Last he checked, he wasn't in that kind of relationship with anyone.
Zwei gave a frown of irritation and placed her hands on her hips. "If you're going to be dating big-sis Signum, there are rules you're going to have to follow. I won't have you treating her badly or taking advantage of her kindness." She ignored the poleaxed look on the librarian's face as she continued, not letting him get a word in edgewise.
"Firstly, you will treat her well and with proper respect. She's a good woman who deserves it and I won't have you trampling all over her heart. Secondly, you'll have her home by curfew as set by Lady Hayate. No more mysterious late night funny business, got it? You're not even married yet! Thirdly, if you try to force her into something she doesn't want or make her cry, I'll make sure they never find your body! Fourthly...," Zwei seemed to be running out of steam, but did not stop.
"Fourthly... Err... You'll take her to nice places on dates. No dingy bars or the cafeteria on base. Make sure it’s the full deal. Full candlelit dinner, music, romance, the works! The whole nine yards! Fifthly... Um...," she paused and scratched her head as she tried to think of something.
"Zwei!" Yuuno called out, taking advantage of her stalling and causing the powder blue haired young woman to jump in surprise. "Zwei, please back up and explain why you think I'm dating Signum."
"Y-your're not? That's even worse! Taking advantage of her like that. How could you?! I-I thought you were a better man than that." Zwei looked truly distraught as she drew her own conclusions from Yuuno's words and her already limited knowledge of the truth about the situation between Signum and the blonde standing before her.
"What in the Kaiser's name has gotten into you? Signum's just helping me with my training," he explained quickly, trying to assuage Zwei's fears.
"T-Training?" she inquired slowly.
Breathing a sigh of relief, Yuuno continued, "Training. I've hit a wall where my own ability is concerned and Signum offered to help me with it. We're not in that kind of relationship." Though if he were to be honest, he would not deny the pull that Signum held over him. It was different from the attraction he had once harbored for Nanoha. It was more ...tangible, solid, if he were to describe it.
"Then why does Signum come home so happy from training with you?" Zwei pressed on, not quite ready to believe Yuuno's denial.
Yuuno crossed his arms and looks thoughtful for a moment, as though thinking of how to explain that. "Well... We don't train like how Nanoha or Vita train the new recruits. We just... fight. Trial by fire. She... seems to enjoy it. I'll admit that I do as well." He scratched his cheek in embarrassment as he recalled his own developing battle-lust going head to head with Signum's.
"It gets pretty vicious, but I can say that she's helped me far more with this method than by standard means. And we've only had three sessions so far," Yuuno admitted somewhat sheepishly.
The wind having been taken out of her sails, Zwei slumped over a bit. "Then... I was worried over nothing?"
Yuuno patted her head affectionately. "Hardly. Signum's lucky to have a little sister like you watching out for her."
"D-don't think I'm letting you off the hook that easily. Even if you aren't dating Signum right now, that doesn't mean you might not try to in the future. So I want you to remember what I've said," stated Zwei, trying to build up a stern composure as the heavier atmosphere lifted.
"I'll do that. But, you forgot one thing." Yuuno gave a small grin at Zwei's confused look. "You told me four of the rules, but not the fifth."
"Ah! I almost forgot. The fifth rule is that you must take Signum's little sister out for ice cream. Or she'll make things very difficult for you in the long run." Zwei maintained her stern look at least until Yuuno gave a sigh of resignation.
"I guess I have no choice then...," he stated in mock despair. "If I am to return to the good graces of the Yagami family, then I must find a nice ice cream parlor and treat their youngest to a frozen treat from it." He knew it was hammy, but he couldn't resist in the face of Zwei's demands.
Zwei giggled in response. "Then let’s go. It’s not good to keep a lady waiting."
"Especially if that lady is my good friend and training partner's little sister," quipped Yuuno as he gathered his jacket and sent a message to Arf, explaining his sudden absence.
"You learn quickly," Zwei stated winningly.
For some reason I get the feeling Nanoha's little talk is going to backfire on her with Yuuno.
For some reason I get the feeling Nanoha's little talk is going to backfire on her with Yuuno.
For some reason I feel the dialogue will go:
Nanoha: Yuuno.... kun... is there something wrong with you?
Yuuno: Nanoha, I'm FINE.
Nanoha: Aren't you becoming violent?
Yuuno: No I am not, I'm still the same old-
Nanoha: Stop going with Signum.
Yuuno: WRYYYYY~ *pushes her* I'm fine dammit!
*5 seconds later*
*Yuuno gets blasted out the doorway with a level 3 Divine Buster.*
Nanoha: I hate you!
Location: Place of rocks and trees, and trees and rocks...and water.
Age: 33
Quote:
Originally Posted by Akiyoshi
Also there are works here that i'm actually following with a smile and waiting for them to be continued(deathcurse, i'll be eternally waiting for the continuation of little Seagull's story xD).
Quote:
Originally Posted by Shigan
*facepalms so hard she rattles the seas*
Aki... if you're refering to the Signum story called Father's Knife where little Signum is called Seagull, I think you'll have better luck with elbowing me.... ^^;;
*wanders off in a cloud of gloom*
Hey, I don't see a problem in getting a fabulous fic falsely attributed to me! (j/k Shigan, love ya!)
Quote:
Originally Posted by Craxuan
Lol? They are like, the TSAB's three most powerful mages in the world. Any single one of them can wipe out an entire army, and Hayate probably could shoot down a few spaceships on her own given the time and opportunity.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Shigan
I see potential in this idea...
Deathcurse, if you see this, you gave me armies. Now, you give me spaceship blasting Hayate, please
.........spaceship blasting Hayate? That may give me incentive to dig up my "Hayate takes over the world" story ideas .
I believe there was debate in the past about if Hayate could actually take down a space-orbiting object, with very realistic physics calculations about how it can't be done, so we may be out of luck XD.
Nanoha Takamachi had a great deal on her mind. She was seated in her office, re-watching the video feed portraying one of the most vicious battles she'd seen in recent memory. It was not the scenes of violence that bothered her, she herself had been party to more than a few bloody battles. No, it was whom the participants were that she had a problem with.
Never before in Nanoha's memory had the matches between Yuuno and Signum gotten so… intense. It was different from the times when both were at their best and putting everything into their efforts. Those matches never turned the pair into raging animals throwing themselves at each other in a mindless display of their baser instincts. Nor did they leave the battle broken, bloody, and half-naked at the end.
Well, on occasion, they did. But not to this degree.
As Raising Heart began playing the recording again, Nanoha felt something uncomfortable settle into the pit of her stomach and it lay right next to the simmering anger at what had been done to Fate the previous week. Signum was on her way to this very office at the brunette's request and she was certain the inevitable conversation would reveal things she would not be comfortable with.
She'd seen that battle hungry expression on Singum's face before, sometimes she had been on the receiving end of it. What had truly disturbed Nanoha, more than the ferocity of the battle, was that Yuuno had donned a very similar expression on his own face. It was unsettling to see such a look on her childhood friend and teacher. Why had he done it? What had prompted them to go so far? Those questions and more swirled about her mind in the empty office.
The only sound in the room was that of battle, and it was finally interrupted by three sharp knocks at the door.
Steeling herself for what was to come, Nanoha asked Raising Heart to pause the recording and then called out, "Come in." The door opened and into the office stepped the source of more than a few of the brunette's current concerns.
Signum stood in front of Nanoha's desk, stoic as ever. "You wished to see me, Takamachi," she stated without preamble. It was obvious from both her tone and her wording she knew some of what was to come.
Nanoha gestured to an empty chair, "Have a seat, Signum." When the Knight did so, the brunette continued with folded hands and a stoic expression similar to the woman across from her, "You probably already know part of why I wanted to talk with you." Nanoha's current look was perhaps more unsettling than the fake smile she usually wore when she was unhappy.
"You refer to my bout with Testarossa." If there was any sign of confusion on Signum's face at what Nanoha had said, she had either missed it or it was indiscernible at best.
Nodding, Nanoha's eyes narrowed as she spoke, "I want you to tell me exactly why you decided to beat Fate senseless."
The Knight maintained her stoic demeanor. "Testarossa allowed herself to become complacent. She gained only enough strength and skill to make use of Bardiche and nothing more. I was under the impression she was the kind of woman who strived for excellence." Signum paused, allowing her words to sink in before continuing, "I felt it best to show her what the price of such a mindset is."
There was no response from the brunette, only a stony silence.
"...I will admit that my actions may have been in excess, but I will not apologize for them. Better for Testarossa to learn of her folly here, in a sparring session, than in the field, where such a lesson could very well cost her life," Signum finished flatly.
Nanoha raised one eyebrow at the Knight's words. It was one thing to hear the explanation from Fate or one of the other Wolkenritter. It was another thing entirely to hear it from the General of Fire herself. "You really believe that? You couldn't have just pointed that out to her instead of beating her sensel-"
Signum cut her off sharply, "And how would you have me prove it to her otherwise? With sugared words and gentle taps?"
"You could have told someone about it. Hayate, Vita, anyone! Me!" Nanoha snapped back, "We could have taken care of her problem without landing her in the hospital or breaking her spirit!" A part of the brunette knew she was exaggerating severely, but anger at what the pinkette before her had done to Fate was clouding her mind. "Aren't you her friend?"
"I am her friend, and as such I could not allow this to continue when I realized the gravity of her situation," Signum responded just as sharply as before, but she maintained the composure Nanoha seemed to be losing.
Nanoha glared at Signum for a time as she worked to reign in her anger. She truly disliked losing her temper like that, but with everything that had been going on as of late it was unfortunately easy to do. "I'm not sure I can believe you," she eventually said in a somewhat concerned tone.
Those words hit Signum sharply, as though she'd been physically struck by the brunette. "What do you mean?" Though her expression did not betray her shock, the Knight's voice did. Even if it was only a slight sliver of the emotion, it was still noticeable.
"Signum, we've gotten into some absolutely vicious battles before. You remember our match a few years back? When everyone was wondering who was stronger between the two of us?" Nanoha waited until Signum confirmed the memory before continuing, "I don't think I'll ever forget the expression on your face. More than wanting to beat me, you wanted to fight to your absolute limit. No holding back. Maximum power. Am I right?"
"I did indeed desire to fight you to my fullest capacity at the time, however I-" Signum's reply was cut off.
"I've seen you enjoy fights. Its simply part of who you are. But I've only seen you with that look in your eye one other time and I'm pretty sure if got my hands on the footage from when you fought Fate, it would be three," stated Nanoha with some sense of finality.
"I would appreciate it if you would get to the point." Signum may be a patient woman, but she did not appreciate being led around as though she were a child.
Nanoha sighed, "My point is that for whatever reason, you wanted to fight Fate like it was a life or death struggle. And when she didn't deliver, you punished her for it. Whatever limitations you may have seen were just an excuse for you to try and push her into going all out."
Signum's eyes flashed dangerously at the accusation, "Takamachi, yo-"
Again, she was cut off, "What happened between you and Yuuno? Whatever it was, it was enough to drive you to go after Fate like you did, and..." A motion of Nanoha's hand bade Raising Heart to bring up a paused shot of the recording. It was zoomed in on Yuuno and taken just after he had stood from being hurled into a wall. He was broken, beaten, bloody, and exuded with such an overwhelming desire to fight, to strike down his foe and dominate her that it was almost palpable from the screen. "...It was enough for you to turn Yuuno into that."
The image elicited an odd, tightened sensation within Signum's core. Her hands balled into fists as she remembered being on the receiving end of that gaze.
"I've never seen him make that kind of expression before, not once. I've never seen him fight this way either. I've never seen that kind, gentle man act so..." Nanoha trailed off as words failed her. "I'll ask again, what is going on between you and Yuuno?" She paused as Raising Heart played back more and more of the battle. Nanoha nearly winced when the image of Signum driving her armored foot into Yuuno's face came around.
Silence reigned as Signum processed what Nanoha had laid before her. While the Knight had truly seen such shortcomings in Testarossa's capabilities, had it merely been an excuse to go further? She thought back to the feelings that bubbled up within her breast when Yuuno had decided to throw caution to the wind and fight with everything he had. It didn't matter that she severely outclassed him. He still fought on, trying to better himself with every blow he received and landed. Adapting himself to go beyond the limitations of his mortal frame. To become a sword, rather than a shield.
That feeling he had given her, that burning sensation… had she sought a similar feeling from Testarossa in their match? All her battles against Yuuno, however few they may have been, starting from the one which resulted from their chance meeting that fateful night had ignited such a heat within her. It was a high that only came about with the right mindset and the right stimulus.
Yuuno had kept her drunk on that high and she had savored it like a fine wine. He'd given her that life or death struggle and she'd pushed him on to further it. For a 'battle-junkie', there was no greater satisfaction. Was she even concerned about his original intent at this point, so long as he kept satisfying her primal urges?
The lack of an immediate answer disturbed the normally unshakeable General of Fire.
"Well?" asked Nanoha, having found the oppressive silence to have stretched on for too long.
"I..." For once, Signum did not have an immediate reply and she languished further in her concern. After a time, she opted to explain the beginning of things to Nanoha. "It began a few weeks ago..."
And so Signum told the tale of her unexpected late night rendezvous with Yuuno Scrya. She told of their first match where he made the initial decision to step beyond his limitations and strike out against her, culminating in their mutual decision to grow as warriors against one another. Her story flowed from there and Nanoha's expression seemed to waver between surprise and worry. The slivers of passion that slipped into Signum's voice on occasion did not soothe the brunette any.
"...it was wonderful. I can find no words to properly describe that feeling other than wonderful. Basking in the afterglow of such a vicious battle against someone with whom I can exchange blows with in earnest..." Signum's words sent a shiver down Nanoha's spine while the faint traces of red on the Knight's face seemed wholly out of place. "I have never known such a feeling... Against you, your drive was only to win, was it not?"
Nanoha felt herself nodding as the surreal nature of the situation continued to permeate her mind.
"Even against Zest, whom I shall always regard as a great and formidable foe, he did not draw out such a feeling." Signum subconsciously wetted her lips. "Scrya, however, fights like a man possessed. He is driven neither by ideals, nor by the approval of others, nor by something so fleeting as victory." A strange glint appeared in the Knight's eyes that did not go unnoticed by Nanoha. "He is driven by the singular desire to become strong enough to dominate his foe and relish in doing so..."
"Signum...," began Nanoha after the other woman had gone silent, a look of horror having taken residence on the brunette's face as she began to realize just how deep Signum's distortion ran, "Have you completely lost your mind? You said that you were going to help him improve himself, not turn him into a maniac and use him as a... a-a way to relieve yourself!"
Signum's eyes widened at Nanoha's accusation, but she was unable to retort as the White Devil continued on, "Yuuno is not that kind of person. He's a kind man who loves books and history, not battles!"
"Then explain to me what that is," demanded Signum harshly as she stood, pointing to the maddened look in Yuuno's eyes on the paused recording. "That does not look like a man who desires to sit down and turn the pages of ancient tomes. That looks like a man who would step up to the greatest of foes and do everything in his power to make them fight with their all."
Nanoha's eyes narrowed. "That, looks like a man twisted into something to fulfill your desires and nothing else. From my perspective, you may have started out with good intentions, but now you're just using him for your own benefit without a care in the world. You're toying with him. And with how things are going, I wouldn't be surprised if you tossed him aside the moment you got bored with him!" she finished with a raised voice that carried more anger than Signum had ever heard from the brunette before.
The Knight's hand twitched before balling into a fist. "You dare accuse me of that, Takamachi Nanoha? You would dare think I would sully both my honor and his by acting in such a manner?"
"I think you already have. Whether you realize it or not," stated Nanoha with a finality that shook the other woman.
Signum's fire left her and she fell back into her seat, an unusual and uncomfortable expression upon her face. "What would you have me do then? I may have sparked his drive, but he is ultimately the one who decides whether or not to follow it even if I push him towards it."
"That's... I don't have an answer for you. If I knew, I'd tell you. This is something you'll have to work out between yourself and Yuuno. But I'll tell you this right now...," Nanoha trailed off as she took a deep breath, "Yuuno is a very important person to me, more so that you probably realize. If you don't fix this and end up hurting him because of it, there will be nowhere you can hide from me. Do you understand me, Captain Signum Yagami?"
The Knight felt the sincerity and power behind Nanoha's words and nodded, even if she did not truly know what to think about them. At the very minimum, she had far more to think about now than what her next bout would be like.
- Scene Break -
To say that the Infinity Library was truly a massive place would be somewhat of an understatement. It was constantly growing, more and more tomes, scrolls, and data files added to its shelves every day. Unfortunately, this made navigating the halls a rather difficult task unless you either had a map or were a constant presence in the library.
"Mmm! Where is he?" grumbled Reinforce Zwei as she suffered that exact problem. Even if she usually came to the library with Hayate, who was a rather frequent visitor, Zwei was still not nearly so familiar with the layout as her mother.
It did not help that she was looking more for a specific individual rather than a specific piece of information. She'd have called him ahead of time, but she didn't want him to run away from her.
Right now, though, she was regretting her decision of conducting a sneak attack. At the very least she knew that Yuuno Scrya was near his office, assuming Arf's information was correct. "...I think I'm lost," Zwei said aloud as she pulled up the map again. Sure enough, her location was now further away from Yuuno's office than it had been ten minutes ago.
"Zwei?"
"Hya!" the Unison Device squeaked in alarm before whirling about to lay eyes upon the one who had snuck up on her. To her welcome surprise, it was the very man she'd been looking for. "Y-Yuuno! Don't sneak up on people like that!" she admonished after regaining her senses.
"Right, right. Sorry about that," Yuuno apologized with a smile, his arms carrying a stack of rather old looking tomes. "Anyway, what can I do for you Zwei? It’s rare for you to come by without Hayate."
Blinking as she remembered her self-appointed task, Zwei then flew up closer to Yuuno's face. "I have to talk with you about something important, Yuuno."
The expression on Zwei's face conveyed the seriousness of her words to Yuuno. "We should talk in my office then. It'll keep anyone else from overhearing," he replied before gesturing with his head for her to follow him.
Much to Zwei's consternation, it took all of three minutes to reach Yuuno's office. It had taken her nearly twenty just to get as far as he did and even then she had gotten lost in the end.
"Stupid map...," she mumbled while glaring at the holographic display.
"Ahh... Sorry about that. We're expanding some of the sections on Ancient Belka and the Nasuvians. The maps haven't been updated yet." The blonde's words did not do much to appease Zwei, who shut the large doors of the office behind her while Yuuno set down the heavy books.
Before Yuuno could offer Zwei a seat, she had assumed her fully grown form and now stood imperiously before him. Although the effect was slightly offset by the fact that she was still shorter than him and had to stare upwards to lock eyes. "Yuuno Scrya!"
"Y-yes?" he stammered in response to Zwei's sudden offense.
"What are your intentions towards my sister?" demanded the young, blue-eyed woman pointing a finger at his nose. She didn't care if she was the baby of the family, Zwei was going to do everything she could to look out for her mother and older sisters. Even if that meant going up against their longtime friend.
"Your sister? What's are you talking about?" asked Yuuno, blatant confusion evident on his face.
"Don't try to play dumb," Zwei retorted with some fire in her voice, "You know exactly what I'm talking about. And don't think you won't be hearing from everyone else either. We haven't even given you proper approval in the first place. I'll permit it only so long as you follow the proper laws for courting one of the Wolkenritter!"
Yuuno had gone from simply confused to flabbergasted and bewildered. Not to mention the embarrassment that was creeping up his spine. "Would you please explain what's going on and what you mean by 'courting'?" Last he checked, he wasn't in that kind of relationship with anyone.
Zwei gave a frown of irritation and placed her hands on her hips. "If you're going to be dating big-sis Signum, there are rules you're going to have to follow. I won't have you treating her badly or taking advantage of her kindness." She ignored the poleaxed look on the librarian's face as she continued, not letting him get a word in edgewise.
"Firstly, you will treat her well and with proper respect. She's a good woman who deserves it and I won't have you trampling all over her heart. Secondly, you'll have her home by curfew as set by Lady Hayate. No more mysterious late night funny business, got it? You're not even married yet! Thirdly, if you try to force her into something she doesn't want or make her cry, I'll make sure they never find your body! Fourthly...," Zwei seemed to be running out of steam, but did not stop.
"Fourthly... Err... You'll take her to nice places on dates. No dingy bars or the cafeteria on base. Make sure it’s the full deal. Full candlelit dinner, music, romance, the works! The whole nine yards! Fifthly... Um...," she paused and scratched her head as she tried to think of something.
"Zwei!" Yuuno called out, taking advantage of her stalling and causing the powder blue haired young woman to jump in surprise. "Zwei, please back up and explain why you think I'm dating Signum."
"Y-your're not? That's even worse! Taking advantage of her like that. How could you?! I-I thought you were a better man than that." Zwei looked truly distraught as she drew her own conclusions from Yuuno's words and her already limited knowledge of the truth about the situation between Signum and the blonde standing before her.
"What in the Kaiser's name has gotten into you? Signum's just helping me with my training," he explained quickly, trying to assuage Zwei's fears.
"T-Training?" she inquired slowly.
Breathing a sigh of relief, Yuuno continued, "Training. I've hit a wall where my own ability is concerned and Signum offered to help me with it. We're not in that kind of relationship." Though if he were to be honest, he would not deny the pull that Signum held over him. It was different from the attraction he had once harbored for Nanoha. It was more ...tangible, solid, if he were to describe it.
"Then why does Signum come home so happy from training with you?" Zwei pressed on, not quite ready to believe Yuuno's denial.
Yuuno crossed his arms and looks thoughtful for a moment, as though thinking of how to explain that. "Well... We don't train like how Nanoha or Vita train the new recruits. We just... fight. Trial by fire. She... seems to enjoy it. I'll admit that I do as well." He scratched his cheek in embarrassment as he recalled his own developing battle-lust going head to head with Signum's.
"It gets pretty vicious, but I can say that she's helped me far more with this method than by standard means. And we've only had three sessions so far," Yuuno admitted somewhat sheepishly.
The wind having been taken out of her sails, Zwei slumped over a bit. "Then... I was worried over nothing?"
Yuuno patted her head affectionately. "Hardly. Signum's lucky to have a little sister like you watching out for her."
"D-don't think I'm letting you off the hook that easily. Even if you aren't dating Signum right now, that doesn't mean you might not try to in the future. So I want you to remember what I've said," stated Zwei, trying to build up a stern composure as the heavier atmosphere lifted.
"I'll do that. But, you forgot one thing." Yuuno gave a small grin at Zwei's confused look. "You told me four of the rules, but not the fifth."
"Ah! I almost forgot. The fifth rule is that you must take Signum's little sister out for ice cream. Or she'll make things very difficult for you in the long run." Zwei maintained her stern look at least until Yuuno gave a sigh of resignation.
"I guess I have no choice then...," he stated in mock despair. "If I am to return to the good graces of the Yagami family, then I must find a nice ice cream parlor and treat their youngest to a frozen treat from it." He knew it was hammy, but he couldn't resist in the face of Zwei's demands.
Zwei giggled in response. "Then let’s go. It’s not good to keep a lady waiting."
"Especially if that lady is my good friend and training partner's little sister," quipped Yuuno as he gathered his jacket and sent a message to Arf, explaining his sudden absence.
"You learn quickly," Zwei stated winningly.
Hey Nanoha, I think you should rewatch that battle you had with Signum.
Quote:
Originally Posted by deathcurse
.........spaceship blasting Hayate? That may give me incentive to dig up my "Hayate takes over the world" story ideas .
I believe there was debate in the past about if Hayate could actually take down a space-orbiting object, with very realistic physics calculations about how it can't be done, so we may be out of luck XD.
Fate: Poor Yuuno, he’s become our logistical support completely.
Nanoha: Yeah, but a peaceful place like a library or an archaeological excavation site suits Yuuno more than a battlefield/battle-torn sky.
Fate: Yeah, I guess that’s true.
Nanoha: I’ve told Yuuno-kun so many times to leave combat to me.
I supposed I read too much into before, because it felt like saying that Yuuno had no place on the battlefield.
My own interpretations of the canon, as well as Yuuno's revealed and expanded capabilities in Gears of Destiny, would not agree with that idea. Nanoha herself even says that Yuuno's (deviceless) defense is much better than hers, and that she (powerhouse that she is) cannot penetrate his defenses without going all-out with an attack.
Of course, she may just be saying that Yuuno is happier and more at home being a scholar than a soldier, and I can't disagree with that at all. It's true, for all that Yuuno actively throws himself into danger to protect others, he's happier when he doesn't have to fight.
Indeed, it's even possible that he doesn't particularly like friendly sparring, or feel any inclination to engage in martial sport.
But while possible, that's never been conclusively stated or shown. Perhaps Yuuno does have some pride and competitive spirit in regards to his combat ability.
How much is the "canonical" Nanoha relegating Yuuno "to the kitchen" in her conceptions? How much is your version of Nanoha doing that?
Would either of them be thinking that way after knowing that Yuuno could defeat the likes of Stern the Destructor (an event that did not happen before the Sound Stage was made or your story was begun, and thus had no impact on their "canon")?
Would Nanoha be as upset about this development if it were anyone other than "kind, gentle Yuuno"?
How much of her displeasure stems from disaproval of the character trait itself? Did she previously feel uncomfortable about the trait in Signum? Does she feel that NO ONE should fight with such urges?
In short, I'm having trouble forming an opinion on who is "right", and what I personally feel is "best" for Yuuno.
And how much of this is a previously undeveloped part of Yuuno's personality, and how much does it derive from his usual drive to give others what they want? Is he doing this because he wants to, or because it is something within his power to give to Signum?
Quote:
Originally Posted by ZeroIchiNi
Hey Nanoha, I think you should rewatch that battle you had with Signum.
Signum addressed that; she was fighting for victory. Nanoha wanted to win.
Yuuno is trying to defeat and dominate Signum.
Domination is more concerned with the opponent, whereas Victory is more impersonal. For example, Victory can be achieved through time-out, or a judge declaring a technical victory, or achieving some other sort of goal.
Domination can only be achieved by knocking the opponent unconscious, forcing them to surrender, or killing them.