Nanoha FanFiction Discussion

[mega1987]

Originally Posted by Nanya01

Been slow around here...

My muse woke up early...

So, here's the next part.

Peek's Mini-Arcs:

Yagami Mid Four Dwell Takamachi Scrya Fatherhood Harlaown Dreams Dance Healing Twins Advice History Onwards Mr Snuggles Omake

Cycle Start

Spoiler for Blood That Flows - Peek - Cycle 2:

It was getting late as the sun started to sink over the horizon. "To be honest, I expected you here a lot sooner." He said as he looked out of his office window to the skyline, not even bothering to turn around as the other person walked into the room. He turned around to see Hayate Yagami standing on the other side of his desk, her body was bathed in the orange-red light of the setting sun. "I suppose I should congratulate you, Colonel Yagami for your promotion."

Hayate blinked several times and winced as he moved and the light hit her in the eyes directly. "For some reason, I suppose I shouldn't be surprised that you know, General Gaiz." She sighed when the window darkened and the light dimmed, allowing her to see more clearly. "Though, why don't you have the lights on?"

"Takes away the view of the sunset." He chuckled as the lights on the inside of the room turned on. "Now, sit..." He nodded to her as he sat down himself. "Tell me something, Yagami, what is the reason that you joined the Bureau?"

"I wasn't given much of a choice, considering the past my family has with the Bureau, and what they did behind my back. Even so, I still wanted to help people, especially after the incident that happened on Lina-san's home world."

"Yes... That incident..." Regius looked at her, his eyes narrowed as he fixed her with a piercing glare, one that she managed to return to him with ease. The two held their looks for several moments, before Regius broke it off and grinned at her. "You're good, most kids, even those that have risen up through the ranks would flinch."

"I've stared death in the face more times in my life since I was nine than most people lose weight with fad diets, no offense, General, but compared to facing down a Mazoku Lord, you aren't too intimidating." Maybe she was pushing her luck, Hayate wasn't sure, but she wasn't going to back down.

Regius suddenly chuckled softly. "Interesting, you're not afraid that I could ruin your career?"

"If you wanted to do that, you could have stopped me from getting any rank higher than a captain. Please, can we stop beating around the bush, I want to go and meet with my friends and I want to know what you want from me." Hayate was mentally thanking Lina for her stories on how she handled diplomacy. Granted, Hayate thought that making idiots explode wouldn't work with the Bureau, no matter how much the option might have appealed to her.

Regius smirked at her. If it wasn't for her criminal history, he might have said that he liked the girl. "Before I continue, I wonder, did you know that after the incident that put you into a wheelchair again..."

"My family and myself earned a full pardon for taking on a X ranked threat." Hayate nodded to him. "The whole mission should have been rated a triple X mission, in my opinion." Though, if Hayate thought about it long enough, people might think that was a mission for porn or something equally silly. "Not only going against several X ranked threats and getting nearly killed in the process, but we managed to come out of it alive and recovered from the experience. However, despite that, there are threats at that level even in this universe, and I do not wish to sit idly by while threats such as those exist."

"Then, tell me, Yagami, do you know about the problems that the Bureau faces, even from the inside?"

"Besides the fact that the Ground Forces, the Navy and the Airforce generally stay out of each others affairs?"

Regius nodded, pleased that she had listened to people, at least the ranting people had done. "Yes, that's the problem. If there's a Ground Forces problem, the Air Force and the Navy, even if their people are closer to the problem than the Ground Forces are, will not help out. So, I make a proposal to you, Colonel Hayate Yagami," Regius took a moment to collect his thoughts before continuing, "I have been in talks with leaders of the Ground Forces, Navy, Air Force and even the leaders of the Saint Church... To create a group that can move independently of all branches of the military while still being loyal to the Time-Space Administration Bureau."

She blinked at him in confusion. "What does that have to do with me?"

"Simply put..." Regius gave her a knowing look. "It will not work without strong mages and knights to be the prototype and lay the ground work, if you will, for the future. And, so, Colonel Yagami... I want you and your family, as well as your friends, if possible, to be a part of this."

Hayate stared at the older man, shocked at the offer. "You..."

"Take your time to think about it, I still need to get the Air Force behind the idea, but... If you do agree, I'm fairly certain that the Bureau will support you and your friends, the "heroes of Mid-Childa" after all."

Hayate nodded and left the room shortly after that, her mind still in shock.

"It's your move." Regius said to no one in particular.

He wasn't sure who he was talking about at that moment.

Me: Yup... Looks like a partnership is starting to come out now.

Odin: Hm... That group almost sound like ours, Val.

Val: Independent from any factions yet loyal to a certain cause.

Mariemeia: Ditto!

Elane: Motion carried!

Sarah: I wonder whom Regius trying to outmaneuver...

Reia and Iris: The Brain Jars...

Amy: At least he's a bit concerned about the organization he's in...

[shiroi mahotsukai]

Originally Posted by Nanya01

Been slow around here...

My muse woke up early...

So, here's the next part.

Peek's Mini-Arcs:

Yagami Mid Four Dwell Takamachi Scrya Fatherhood Harlaown Dreams Dance Healing Twins Advice History Onwards Mr Snuggles Omake

Cycle Start

Spoiler for Blood That Flows - Peek - Cycle 2:

It was getting late as the sun started to sink over the horizon. "To be honest, I expected you here a lot sooner." He said as he looked out of his office window to the skyline, not even bothering to turn around as the other person walked into the room. He turned around to see Hayate Yagami standing on the other side of his desk, her body was bathed in the orange-red light of the setting sun. "I suppose I should congratulate you, Colonel Yagami for your promotion."

Hayate blinked several times and winced as he moved and the light hit her in the eyes directly. "For some reason, I suppose I shouldn't be surprised that you know, General Gaiz." She sighed when the window darkened and the light dimmed, allowing her to see more clearly. "Though, why don't you have the lights on?"

"Takes away the view of the sunset." He chuckled as the lights on the inside of the room turned on. "Now, sit..." He nodded to her as he sat down himself. "Tell me something, Yagami, what is the reason that you joined the Bureau?"

"I wasn't given much of a choice, considering the past my family has with the Bureau, and what they did behind my back. Even so, I still wanted to help people, especially after the incident that happened on Lina-san's home world."

"Yes... That incident..." Regius looked at her, his eyes narrowed as he fixed her with a piercing glare, one that she managed to return to him with ease. The two held their looks for several moments, before Regius broke it off and grinned at her. "You're good, most kids, even those that have risen up through the ranks would flinch."

"I've stared death in the face more times in my life since I was nine than most people lose weight with fad diets, no offense, General, but compared to facing down a Mazoku Lord, you aren't too intimidating." Maybe she was pushing her luck, Hayate wasn't sure, but she wasn't going to back down.

Regius suddenly chuckled softly. "Interesting, you're not afraid that I could ruin your career?"

"If you wanted to do that, you could have stopped me from getting any rank higher than a captain. Please, can we stop beating around the bush, I want to go and meet with my friends and I want to know what you want from me." Hayate was mentally thanking Lina for her stories on how she handled diplomacy. Granted, Hayate thought that making idiots explode wouldn't work with the Bureau, no matter how much the option might have appealed to her.

Regius smirked at her. If it wasn't for her criminal history, he might have said that he liked the girl. "Before I continue, I wonder, did you know that after the incident that put you into a wheelchair again..."

"My family and myself earned a full pardon for taking on a X ranked threat." Hayate nodded to him. "The whole mission should have been rated a triple X mission, in my opinion." Though, if Hayate thought about it long enough, people might think that was a mission for porn or something equally silly. "Not only going against several X ranked threats and getting nearly killed in the process, but we managed to come out of it alive and recovered from the experience. However, despite that, there are threats at that level even in this universe, and I do not wish to sit idly by while threats such as those exist."

"Then, tell me, Yagami, do you know about the problems that the Bureau faces, even from the inside?"

"Besides the fact that the Ground Forces, the Navy and the Airforce generally stay out of each others affairs?"

Regius nodded, pleased that she had listened to people, at least the ranting people had done. "Yes, that's the problem. If there's a Ground Forces problem, the Air Force and the Navy, even if their people are closer to the problem than the Ground Forces are, will not help out. So, I make a proposal to you, Colonel Hayate Yagami," Regius took a moment to collect his thoughts before continuing, "I have been in talks with leaders of the Ground Forces, Navy, Air Force and even the leaders of the Saint Church... To create a group that can move independently of all branches of the military while still being loyal to the Time-Space Administration Bureau."

She blinked at him in confusion. "What does that have to do with me?"

"Simply put..." Regius gave her a knowing look. "It will not work without strong mages and knights to be the prototype and lay the ground work, if you will, for the future. And, so, Colonel Yagami... I want you and your family, as well as your friends, if possible, to be a part of this."

Hayate stared at the older man, shocked at the offer. "You..."

"Take your time to think about it, I still need to get the Air Force behind the idea, but... If you do agree, I'm fairly certain that the Bureau will support you and your friends, the "heroes of Mid-Childa" after all."

Hayate nodded and left the room shortly after that, her mind still in shock.

"It's your move." Regius said to no one in particular.

He wasn't sure who he was talking about at that moment.

Different beginings, this is a major change really. If Regius is behind the idea from the start it will get rid of several administrative problems that our heroes will face later and make life generally easier for all concerned.

What will go wrong?

[Tiresias]

Something light to read. Don't expect much, since the last half was written halfway to dreamland. Probably gonna need major rewrites later. If I can gather the will

As a reference, this occurred between A's and StrikerS

Spoiler for [INSERT TITLE HERE]:

It was a clear and shiny day. Normally Captain Takamachi Nanoha would enjoy such weather, but for conducting air missions she had found cloudier skies to be more tactically beneficial. It’s a pity that large-scale weather manipulations could have adverse long-term effects to the environment, not to mention that such spell would be too large to be casted by a mage and too costly to be artificially generated by machines.

On the bright side, since she was conducting Combat Air Patrol the clear visual meant less chance for a bogey to sneak up on her.

[Master, incoming call from Minerva.]

Interesting. What would this be about?

Minerva was one of the two aircrafts assigned to routinely patrol this province. Like its sister, the aircraft had originally been a frigate serving the Midchildan Dimensional Navy. The MDN had originally wanted to scrap the majority of their frigates after switching to long-range cruisers better suited for their new, interdimensional role, but the Air Forces from several worlds had found it as a waste of perfectly constructed vessels. Instead, the Air Forces had bought and put on several modifications. The heavy anti-ship guns had been replaced with point-defense weapons which allowed them to fend off enemy flyers, complementing the air-mages protecting them. Their aging sensors had been too outdated to be used and had been replaced with the models used in newer cruisers which could better detect, locate and keep track on ground and air units as well as having more powerful scrying ability. Since frigates were smaller than cruisers, they had had to free extra space by using the rooms formerly used for the ship staff and marines, which was not of much problems – their new roles were solely to be airborne early warning, command and control aircrafts attached to an air force base, which meant they do not need as many crew or cargo as their original role.

“Novas, this is Minerva. Your squadron commander has agreed to temporarily lend you to us for the duration of this mission.”

It was not surprising. Their squadron was to be a rapid reaction unit to support other forces after all, and even though they were not fully ready yet she didn’t mind fulfilling that task if her commander gave the green light. “Understood, Minerva. What’s the mission?”

“A ground force squad, Coral, has encountered unforeseen resistances to their mission and now requires air support.” Raging Heart received the feed and forwarded them to her mind. The sub-routine which she had casted in her brain for enhanced data-processing instantly reacted and managed the new input from Minerva as well as the ground squad along with all the other data she had been receiving from her sensor spells. The information was then forwarded to the heads-up display spell in her eyes, which presented them to her in a simplified display to ease her in making split-second decisions.

Analyzing what her map was showing, she raised a brow.

“One question, Minerva - why us? What about Nevarrin?” She was referring to Nevarrin Air Force Base, located approximately 100 kilometers northeast here. While it was much farther from Coral Squad’s current position, Nevarrin AFB was a very large base, currently housing three air force wings –much larger than her current post- and therefore also maintained two teleportation-gateway complexes which permitted faster mobilization of reinforcement across the globe, though unless there’s a major part that capability would be limited to this province. “Wouldn’t they be able to send a larger support?”

“The commander supervising Coral’s mission wanted to, but from the looks of it he’s being stonewalled by bureaucracy; teleporter-use needs high-level authorization. He’s still lobbying, but time are wasting so he made some calls to Dragon’s Lair – asked if he can borrow you guys.”

Well that cleared things. There were still some questions but those would have to wait. “Understood, Minerva. Just tell us what to do.”

“Standby. We are going to patch you to them for battlefield coordination.”

Moments later, the connection was on.

“Coral Squad”, addressed the ground team she was assigned to support. “This is Nova 1. What’s the situation?”

“About time you showed up!” Sounds of shots and explosions sparsely echoed in the background. “Are you receiving the data from our devices?”

She gave a confirmation, and they continued with the sit-rep. “As you can see, we’re in a tight situation. The enemy air mages are circling the building we’re on, probably looking for a blind spot in our defense, while their ground troopers are licking their wounds, though some are still firing at us – we’re expecting their groundies to re-attack any time soon.”

It was true. In her map were dots showing friendlies concentrated on a structure, while seven hostiles tagged as Target 21 to 27 hovered near it. Presumably, the enemy ground troopers Target 1 to 20 were regrouping inside the surrounding building.

“How did it come to this?” Nanoha queried without any hint of accusation in her tone. She had no interest in casting blames, just wanting to get a better grasp on the situation.

“Faulty intel.” The man sighed. “Our mission was to ambush two groups of Blue Sand dealers who were going to make a transaction in this abandoned town. The report said all of them are ground fighters, most of them C-rankers with two or three B plusses – turns out they hired seven extra mercs for this deal, all flight-capable A-rankers. Most of my men are melee specialists; there’s also two air mages assigned to us but they got taken out first - priority ambush target, I reckon. The rest of us could barely return fire at their shoot-and-run flyers, and now we’re stuck here surrounded by all sides.”

“Understood.” She analyzed the hostiles using data gathered from her multiple sensors; the thermographic, magic and optical detection spells passively listening incoming signals, the active detection spells launching pings of radio, laser and magical signals from six separate points surrounding her, Raging Heart’s own built-in detectors, and the additional inputs from Minerva and Coral Squad. “They’re almost within our range; what do you want us to do?”

“Hit the fast-movers - get them out of our asses!” Nanoha winced at the language but decided to pretend she didn’t hear it; Coral had enough stress already. “Leave their groundies to us - we’ve already did them good before the extras showed up!”

“Copy that. Hang in there, Coral.” The connection ended.

Nanoha analyzed her targets. They’re still too far from her for an accurate visual, but the rest of the gathered data gave her a good read on her preys. As reported the enemy flyers were all A-rankers but those were power ranks, not mage ranks – she still had no idea just how skilled they were.

She then considered her wingman. Nova Two was a ranged air-fighter like her but lacked the high-powered spells she usually employ, a personal preference influenced by his lower power rank, though his standard issue combat-staff had been modified with the cartridge system. But most importantly, he’s still green by her standards, having only been involved in low-level missions before being assigned under her.

All things considered, it was better to tread this cautiously.

[Orders, Nova 1?] It was a telepathic communication, which was more direct and secure. Not every mage could do it, but telepathy was one of the several prerequisite skills for a combat mage to enter Selection.

[We’re going lure their fast-movers away from Coral Squad.] She marked a target on the map, Target 23, one she judged as the least protected if the barrier-jacket design was any indication; the blurry image feed showed the outfit only covering half of the body or less. She would have to take extra aim since the skimpiness usually also indicated a preference for speed, but if she could down the target with one hit that would instantly mean one less opponent to worry about. [I’m going to Divine Buster one of them. After that you’re weapons free but make them count; sure-shots only.]

[Playing it safe, Ma’am?] Nova Two replied.

[Just for now.] She corrected. [We’ll see just how good they are. Ready yourself.]

[Copy that, One.]

Despite the advanced assortment of sensors she had, both from her own spells and Raging Heart, targeting a flying mage was a delicate task due to their size; simply put, a mage was much smaller than an aircraft and was thus harder to aim. The best way to acquire a target was by looking for magical signatures since unlike a foot soldier an air mage couldn’t cease active spellcasting whenever they want to reduce detection; their Flight must always be active, and taking the magic trail generated as an example that particular spell could leave quite a mark. To get a good lock, though, other modes of detection were necessary to polish her aim, and visual imageries had the extra function of better identifying the enemy by their actual appearances instead of just a collection of numbers.

Thankfully they were being supported by Minerva, giving considerable boost to their accuracy and range. This gave her one chance to sneak one shot beyond visual range.

Noticing that in a few moments she would have a good lock on her intended target, Nanoha began allocating a good amount of power to her device while also making it consume two cartridges. She had intentionally held from arming her spell, not wanting to prematurely alarming her target; even a Divine Buster could be dodged by a combination of early warning, battle-honed reflexes, and a hefty dose of luck.

Moments later Target 23, still flying low near the besieged building, seemed to notice the impending attack but it was too late; Nanoha now had a precise lock and a spell armed-and-ready.

[Divine Buster!]

The compressed magic formed into a stream as it was launched at incredible velocity, moving so fast many its victims had mistook it for a laser attack. Nanoha wasn’t clear whether her target had or had not attempted to evade but it didn’t matter since it was a direct hit. Her attack struck its prey so heavily the unlucky mercenary was slammed into a tower half-a-kilometer away, and the building soon collapsed; it was a good thing the city was abandoned so no civilians got hit. Considering Target 23’s barrier-jacket design and the severity of the crash, that person won’t be rejoining the fight anytime soon.

One down, six to go.

The rest of the mercenaries caught the bait and began flying towards her position, away from Coral Squad. Interestingly, while their speed was impressive most of them were flying in an uncoordinated fashion, rushing at their own velocity and not bothering to keep close with each other; there was no semblance of a formation. Nanoha was beginning to suspect that her opponents were amateurs who rely more on brute strength rather than teamwork.

There were two exceptions though – Target 26 and 27, who flew in pairs. Her wingman also noticed the contrast. [Lead, those two at their rear – ex-military?]

[Maybe. They know the basics, at the very least.] She replied while preparing some Axel Shooters. A Divine Buster packed more punch but takes more time to prepare while the Shooters could be armed faster and rapidly shot, a better choice against the multiple targets rapidly closing in.

[Longbolt!] Now it was her wingman’s turn to fire, having got a good lock on the nearest target flying way ahead from the rest of the fast movers. Unfortunately Target 25, a speedster from the looks of it, managed to somewhat evade in the nick of time and the shot only skirted the side of his barriers. Though since the side impact still managed to severely smack the target off course and greatly disrupted his defenses, Nanoha considered it a good shot.

She was about to finish the enemy with a salvo of Axel Shooters but Target 24 put himself between her and Target 25 and began firing at her, so Nanoha shifted her priorities. While preparing a Protection, she launched seven Shooters at her assailant. All were set to fire-and-forget since she had difficulties on directly controlling them all the way from her to their target and fly at the same time, but she kept a faint connection on them should there be a need for mid-course redirection.

Her Protection was solidly withholding the enemy shots, though Nanoha belatedly realized that she could have just dodged them; her assailant didn’t aim, he sprayed.

Meanwhile, her Axel Shooters had traversed great distance and were now nearing Target 24. In response, the mercenary placed a Protection of his own. Too bad for him the timing was premature - noticing the extra defense, Nanoha steered the guided bolts and managed to have four of them bank in time while three hit the Protection. The remaining four then abruptly stopped midair, realigned their course, and dashed. The mercenary never had the chance to react as the Shooters assailed him through his barely protected rear.

[Storm Bolts!] Nova 2 fired at the shaken merc and this time his target went down. Two down, five two go.

Target-25, which her wingman had fired at earlier, seemed to wise up and was now flying close to two others, Target 21 and 22 – a few hundred meters behind them, specifically. Now roughly seven kilometers away from her, the two in the front then split up and aimed for each Nova’s, the point of their devices covered with magic rings as attack spells were being armed. At the same time, Nanoha and her wingman were preparing their own Axel Shooters and Storm Bolts.

A brief exchange of magical projectiles decorated the skies as both sides opened fire. Then there was chaos, as with the exception of the Target 25 all of them frantically tried incoming blazes of arcane fury. None of them were fully successful, as while some of the attacks were neutralized the rest managed to disrupt their barriers. Even Nanoha got struck; she was able to dodge for a while but was then overwhelmed by the sheer number and a few shots went through before she managed to raise a Protection. Thankfully for her, there had been no direct hits.

The two mercenaries had passed them during their evasive maneuvers. As expected they suffered heavier damage – their defensive spells had been clumsy and their accuracy poor. But now without the immediate need to escape any missiles they made a tight turn and were preparing to attack the Nova’s from behind.

Nanoha was very tempted to turn and face them, but there was a more immediate threat. Target 25 had been untouched during the skirmish and had exploited the chance by taking free shots on Nova Two. Nanoha decided to finish the speedster, cueing her wingman to boost his speed and reallocate power to the rear barriers while she did the same.

[Two, prepare to bind him.] Since 25 was speed-oriented, binding and then shooting him was deemed more efficient then having both of them fire shots that could be potentially evaded. [Now!]

Nova Two hastily materialized more than twenty thin binds along the speedsters course, designed to slow the target; thicker, more powerful binds that could immobilize their prey were inefficient against targets moving at high speed since they took longer to prepare and the power build-up at the materialization spot could alarm the target. Sure enough, the mercenary were slowed to way below subsonic, and as he struggled free three Axel Shooters rammed into the already wounded man.

Four more left.

It was then that Nanoha recalled some strange details when they had come into very close range with their enemies. Despite the shortened distance their accuracy had not improved much though the rate-of-fire had been impressive, and…

…were those bloodshot on their eyes?

Then it occurred to her. Blue Sand was a component for Theron, an experimental drug Shamal had mentioned once. Originally developed as a performance-enhancing drug for the military, the project had been cancelled and the drug banned despite showing promise in momentarily boosting linker-core magic capacity and regeneration rate due to several fatal deficiencies, most prominently long-term health issues, emotional instability and temporary degradation of situational awareness during use. Unfortunately, some disgruntled employees had then sold the formula to the underworld where the drug found popularity among low-level hired guns looking for ways to boost their powers, evidently believing the tradeoff between power and finesse as fair exchange.

She’s going to have to ask Shamal for details. Later, since right now there were two mercenaries firing at their tails. The poor accuracy of the hostiles combined with the extra power Nanoha and her wingman had put to the rear-barriers mitigated the damage, but nevertheless the Novas’ defenses were failing and with Target 26 and 27 closing in ahead of her Nanoha knew her pursuers must be dealt with now.

[Two, short-split and weave, on my signal.]

On her cue, they then slightly turned away from each other – Nanoha to the right and Nova 2 to the left. As expected their pursuers tried to follow their maneuver, and when that happened the Novas suddenly took an extremely tight turn the other way, changing their course so that now they were heading towards each other. In the confusion the attackers were barely able to follow suit, only to realize belatedly that it was a trap – both Novas now had the chance to aim and fire at each others’ pursuer.

A few Shooters and Bolts rocketed away, and the enemy count went down by two. But there was no moment of respite, as the last two hostiles were now starting to fire at them.

They were still normalizing the power allocation on their barriers when the Novas were dragged into another dogfight. Nanoha found herself fighting against Target 27 in a battle of will; even though magic projectiles can be fired at any directions guided by the all-aspect sensors, magically enhanced sight remained vital especially in close combat, and so the two moved in a spiral as they tried to outmaneuver each other with two things in mind, to keep their sights on their target while trying to get into their rear blindside, all while trading explosive blows. She watched in horror as 27 tried to compensate for his inferior magic power by burning through his cartridges like crazy –twelve of them in six seconds- and subjected his body to great strain, all which eventually end in vain. In the end one of her Shooters caused him to fumble his tight turn, and a second later she was hot in his tail.

The mercenary still didn’t give up, though, as he eschewed making more attack bolts –he still had three of them armed leftover from the last exchange- to power his rear barriers and tried to shake her of by making sharp turns. He also performed a brake, hoping for her to overshoot. Fortunately Nanoha saw through it and reduced her speed before breaking, maintaining herself behind him and fire with impunity.

But the overall situation was unfavorable as Nova 2 was failing to elude his pursuer, his situation practically a reverse of her own. If she kept tailing and firing at Target 27 he would soon fall, but she worry that her partner wouldn’t last that long especially since both Novas were exhausted compared to their last entry opponents.

An idea came to mind, and she telepathically relayed orders to Nova 2.

Target 27 tried another sharp turn, but this time instead of following suit Nanoha climbed up. She then took advantage of the temporary maneuverability boost, created by the speed decrease as she gained altitude, to make a sharper turn while better positioning herself and correcting her aim. Her target realizing that she was no longer behind him he scanned his map, looked up…and was greeted with the alarming sight of nine Axel Shooters raining down.

Racked by the explosions, the mercenary was punched downward. Impressively, he regained control less than a hundred meters above the ground but his achievement was short-lived. At Nanoha’s instruction, Nova 2 had made a dive just as she was preparing to fire, daringly ignoring the threat from his rear, and now intercepted her staggered prey with a series of Storm Bolts.

As his last colleague fell, Target 26 wisely decided this battle was no longer winnable for him and tried to run.

[Two, offer him a chance to turn himself in.] Nanoha requested.

[Are you sure, ma’am?] Her wingman seemed to consider it a waste of time. [He won’t listen.]

She didn’t believe it too, personal experience considered, but placed a tiny hope anyway. [Who knows? If he accepts, that means more cartridges to spare.]

[If you say so.] Nova 2 radioed the target and announced the chance to surrender, all while arming an attack for the predictable response.

The reply was a sonic boom as Target 26 went supersonic, flying further away. Nanoha sighed. After all that happened, he honestly thought he could make it?

[He’s all yours, Two.] She gave the go. As a Long Bolt splashed the last fast-mover Nanoha flew into Coral Squad’s position, her wingman following suit. They then provided some limited air support by sniping any grunt caught in their sights, though they didn’t get much since most of the fighting occurred inside.

The reinforcement from Nevarrin teleported 10 kilometers away from their position, just as someone from Coral Squad punched the last drug dealer into another building. Late. For the umpteenth time in her life, Nanoha found herself hating how bureaucracy prevented soldiers from doing their jobs. Judging by the loud swearing looks like Coral Squad shared the sentiment. Even Minerva sounded displeased.

Ah well. Rapid response was one of the main duty of her squadron, so at least they had done things right. And taking all into consideration, this mission hadn’t been too hard.

She didn’t have to Starlight Breaker anyone, for one.

[Old_Iron]

Originally Posted by Nanya01

Been slow around here...

My muse woke up early...

So, here's the next part.

Peek's Mini-Arcs:

Yagami Mid Four Dwell Takamachi Scrya Fatherhood Harlaown Dreams Dance Healing Twins Advice History Onwards Mr Snuggles Omake

Cycle Start

Spoiler for Blood That Flows - Peek - Cycle 2:

It was getting late as the sun started to sink over the horizon. "To be honest, I expected you here a lot sooner." He said as he looked out of his office window to the skyline, not even bothering to turn around as the other person walked into the room. He turned around to see Hayate Yagami standing on the other side of his desk, her body was bathed in the orange-red light of the setting sun. "I suppose I should congratulate you, Colonel Yagami for your promotion."

Hayate blinked several times and winced as he moved and the light hit her in the eyes directly. "For some reason, I suppose I shouldn't be surprised that you know, General Gaiz." She sighed when the window darkened and the light dimmed, allowing her to see more clearly. "Though, why don't you have the lights on?"

"Takes away the view of the sunset." He chuckled as the lights on the inside of the room turned on. "Now, sit..." He nodded to her as he sat down himself. "Tell me something, Yagami, what is the reason that you joined the Bureau?"

"I wasn't given much of a choice, considering the past my family has with the Bureau, and what they did behind my back. Even so, I still wanted to help people, especially after the incident that happened on Lina-san's home world."

"Yes... That incident..." Regius looked at her, his eyes narrowed as he fixed her with a piercing glare, one that she managed to return to him with ease. The two held their looks for several moments, before Regius broke it off and grinned at her. "You're good, most kids, even those that have risen up through the ranks would flinch."

"I've stared death in the face more times in my life since I was nine than most people lose weight with fad diets, no offense, General, but compared to facing down a Mazoku Lord, you aren't too intimidating." Maybe she was pushing her luck, Hayate wasn't sure, but she wasn't going to back down.

Regius suddenly chuckled softly. "Interesting, you're not afraid that I could ruin your career?"

"If you wanted to do that, you could have stopped me from getting any rank higher than a captain. Please, can we stop beating around the bush, I want to go and meet with my friends and I want to know what you want from me." Hayate was mentally thanking Lina for her stories on how she handled diplomacy. Granted, Hayate thought that making idiots explode wouldn't work with the Bureau, no matter how much the option might have appealed to her.

Regius smirked at her. If it wasn't for her criminal history, he might have said that he liked the girl. "Before I continue, I wonder, did you know that after the incident that put you into a wheelchair again..."

"My family and myself earned a full pardon for taking on a X ranked threat." Hayate nodded to him. "The whole mission should have been rated a triple X mission, in my opinion." Though, if Hayate thought about it long enough, people might think that was a mission for porn or something equally silly. "Not only going against several X ranked threats and getting nearly killed in the process, but we managed to come out of it alive and recovered from the experience. However, despite that, there are threats at that level even in this universe, and I do not wish to sit idly by while threats such as those exist."

"Then, tell me, Yagami, do you know about the problems that the Bureau faces, even from the inside?"

"Besides the fact that the Ground Forces, the Navy and the Airforce generally stay out of each others affairs?"

Regius nodded, pleased that she had listened to people, at least the ranting people had done. "Yes, that's the problem. If there's a Ground Forces problem, the Air Force and the Navy, even if their people are closer to the problem than the Ground Forces are, will not help out. So, I make a proposal to you, Colonel Hayate Yagami," Regius took a moment to collect his thoughts before continuing, "I have been in talks with leaders of the Ground Forces, Navy, Air Force and even the leaders of the Saint Church... To create a group that can move independently of all branches of the military while still being loyal to the Time-Space Administration Bureau."

She blinked at him in confusion. "What does that have to do with me?"

"Simply put..." Regius gave her a knowing look. "It will not work without strong mages and knights to be the prototype and lay the ground work, if you will, for the future. And, so, Colonel Yagami... I want you and your family, as well as your friends, if possible, to be a part of this."

Hayate stared at the older man, shocked at the offer. "You..."

"Take your time to think about it, I still need to get the Air Force behind the idea, but... If you do agree, I'm fairly certain that the Bureau will support you and your friends, the "heroes of Mid-Childa" after all."

Hayate nodded and left the room shortly after that, her mind still in shock.

"It's your move." Regius said to no one in particular.

He wasn't sure who he was talking about at that moment.

I really liked this chapter. It gave us a good setup for future chapters and the establishment of Hayate's unit. I like how you're writing Regius. He's got a good feel to him.

Huzzah! Hayate passed her exam.

*pops some champagne, nailing a random passerby with the cork*

Originally Posted by Tiresias

Something light to read. Don't expect much, since the last half was written halfway to dreamland. Probably gonna need major rewrites later. If I can gather the will

As a reference, this occurred between A's and StrikerS

Spoiler for [INSERT TITLE HERE]:

It was a clear and shiny day. Normally Captain Takamachi Nanoha would enjoy such weather, but for conducting air missions she had found cloudier skies to be more tactically beneficial. It’s a pity that large-scale weather manipulations could have adverse long-term effects to the environment, not to mention that such spell would be too large to be casted by a mage and too costly to be artificially generated by machines.

On the bright side, since she was conducting Combat Air Patrol the clear visual meant less chance for a bogey to sneak up on her.

[Master, incoming call from Minerva.]

Interesting. What would this be about?

Minerva was one of the two aircrafts assigned to routinely patrol this province. Like its sister, the aircraft had originally been a frigate serving the Midchildan Dimensional Navy. The MDN had originally wanted to scrap the majority of their frigates after switching to long-range cruisers better suited for their new, interdimensional role, but the Air Forces from several worlds had found it as a waste of perfectly constructed vessels. Instead, the Air Forces had bought and put on several modifications. The heavy anti-ship guns had been replaced with point-defense weapons which allowed them to fend off enemy flyers, complementing the air-mages protecting them. Their aging sensors had been too outdated to be used and had been replaced with the models used in newer cruisers which could better detect, locate and keep track on ground and air units as well as having more powerful scrying ability. Since frigates were smaller than cruisers, they had had to free extra space by using the rooms formerly used for the ship staff and marines, which was not of much problems – their new roles were solely to be airborne early warning, command and control aircrafts attached to an air force base, which meant they do not need as many crew or cargo as their original role.

“Novas, this is Minerva. Your squadron commander has agreed to temporarily lend you to us for the duration of this mission.”

It was not surprising. Their squadron was to be a rapid reaction unit to support other forces after all, and even though they were not fully ready yet she didn’t mind fulfilling that task if her commander gave the green light. “Understood, Minerva. What’s the mission?”

“A ground force squad, Coral, has encountered unforeseen resistances to their mission and now requires air support.” Raging Heart received the feed and forwarded them to her mind. The sub-routine which she had casted in her brain for enhanced data-processing instantly reacted and managed the new input from Minerva as well as the ground squad along with all the other data she had been receiving from her sensor spells. The information was then forwarded to the heads-up display spell in her eyes, which presented them to her in a simplified display to ease her in making split-second decisions.

Analyzing what her map was showing, she raised a brow.

“One question, Minerva - why us? What about Nevarrin?” She was referring to Nevarrin Air Force Base, located approximately 100 kilometers northeast here. While it was much farther from Coral Squad’s current position, Nevarrin AFB was a very large base, currently housing three air force wings –much larger than her current post- and therefore also maintained two teleportation-gateway complexes which permitted faster mobilization of reinforcement across the globe, though unless there’s a major part that capability would be limited to this province. “Wouldn’t they be able to send a larger support?”

“The commander supervising Coral’s mission wanted to, but from the looks of it he’s being stonewalled by bureaucracy; teleporter-use needs high-level authorization. He’s still lobbying, but time are wasting so he made some calls to Dragon’s Lair – asked if he can borrow you guys.”

Well that cleared things. There were still some questions but those would have to wait. “Understood, Minerva. Just tell us what to do.”

“Standby. We are going to patch you to them for battlefield coordination.”

Moments later, the connection was on.

“Coral Squad”, addressed the ground team she was assigned to support. “This is Nova 1. What’s the situation?”

“About time you showed up!” Sounds of shots and explosions sparsely echoed in the background. “Are you receiving the data from our devices?”

She gave a confirmation, and they continued with the sit-rep. “As you can see, we’re in a tight situation. The enemy air mages are circling the building we’re on, probably looking for a blind spot in our defense, while their ground troopers are licking their wounds, though some are still firing at us – we’re expecting their groundies to re-attack any time soon.”

It was true. In her map were dots showing friendlies concentrated on a structure, while seven hostiles tagged as Target 21 to 27 hovered near it. Presumably, the enemy ground troopers Target 1 to 20 were regrouping inside the surrounding building.

“How did it come to this?” Nanoha queried without any hint of accusation in her tone. She had no interest in casting blames, just wanting to get a better grasp on the situation.

“Faulty intel.” The man sighed. “Our mission was to ambush two groups of Blue Sand dealers who were going to make a transaction in this abandoned town. The report said all of them are ground fighters, most of them C-rankers with two or three B plusses – turns out they hired seven extra mercs for this deal, all flight-capable A-rankers. Most of my men are melee specialists; there’s also two air mages assigned to us but they got taken out first - priority ambush target, I reckon. The rest of us could barely return fire at their shoot-and-run flyers, and now we’re stuck here surrounded by all sides.”

“Understood.” She analyzed the hostiles using data gathered from her multiple sensors; the thermographic, magic and optical detection spells passively listening incoming signals, the active detection spells launching pings of radio, laser and magical signals from six separate points surrounding her, Raging Heart’s own built-in detectors, and the additional inputs from Minerva and Coral Squad. “They’re almost within our range; what do you want us to do?”

“Hit the fast-movers - get them out of our asses!” Nanoha winced at the language but decided to pretend she didn’t hear it; Coral had enough stress already. “Leave their groundies to us - we’ve already did them good before the extras showed up!”

“Copy that. Hang in there, Coral.” The connection ended.

Nanoha analyzed her targets. They’re still too far from her for an accurate visual, but the rest of the gathered data gave her a good read on her preys. As reported the enemy flyers were all A-rankers but those were power ranks, not mage ranks – she still had no idea just how skilled they were.

She then considered her wingman. Nova Two was a ranged air-fighter like her but lacked the high-powered spells she usually employ, a personal preference influenced by his lower power rank, though his standard issue combat-staff had been modified with the cartridge system. But most importantly, he’s still green by her standards, having only been involved in low-level missions before being assigned under her.

All things considered, it was better to tread this cautiously.

[Orders, Nova 1?] It was a telepathic communication, which was more direct and secure. Not every mage could do it, but telepathy was one of the several prerequisite skills for a combat mage to enter Selection.

[We’re going lure their fast-movers away from Coral Squad.] She marked a target on the map, Target 23, one she judged as the least protected if the barrier-jacket design was any indication; the blurry image feed showed the outfit only covering half of the body or less. She would have to take extra aim since the skimpiness usually also indicated a preference for speed, but if she could down the target with one hit that would instantly mean one less opponent to worry about. [I’m going to Divine Buster one of them. After that you’re weapons free but make them count; sure-shots only.]

[Playing it safe, Ma’am?] Nova Two replied.

[Just for now.] She corrected. [We’ll see just how good they are. Ready yourself.]

[Copy that, One.]

Despite the advanced assortment of sensors she had, both from her own spells and Raging Heart, targeting a flying mage was a delicate task due to their size; simply put, a mage was much smaller than an aircraft and was thus harder to aim. The best way to acquire a target was by looking for magical signatures since unlike a foot soldier an air mage couldn’t cease active spellcasting whenever they want to reduce detection; their Flight must always be active, and taking the magic trail generated as an example that particular spell could leave quite a mark. To get a good lock, though, other modes of detection were necessary to polish her aim, and visual imageries had the extra function of better identifying the enemy by their actual appearances instead of just a collection of numbers.

Thankfully they were being supported by Minerva, giving considerable boost to their accuracy and range. This gave her one chance to sneak one shot beyond visual range.

Noticing that in a few moments she would have a good lock on her intended target, Nanoha began allocating a good amount of power to her device while also making it consume two cartridges. She had intentionally held from arming her spell, not wanting to prematurely alarming her target; even a Divine Buster could be dodged by a combination of early warning, battle-honed reflexes, and a hefty dose of luck.

Moments later Target 23, still flying low near the besieged building, seemed to notice the impending attack but it was too late; Nanoha now had a precise lock and a spell armed-and-ready.

[Divine Buster!]

The compressed magic formed into a stream as it was launched at incredible velocity, moving so fast many its victims had mistook it for a laser attack. Nanoha wasn’t clear whether her target had or had not attempted to evade but it didn’t matter since it was a direct hit. Her attack struck its prey so heavily the unlucky mercenary was slammed into a tower half-a-kilometer away, and the building soon collapsed; it was a good thing the city was abandoned so no civilians got hit. Considering Target 23’s barrier-jacket design and the severity of the crash, that person won’t be rejoining the fight anytime soon.

One down, six to go.

The rest of the mercenaries caught the bait and began flying towards her position, away from Coral Squad. Interestingly, while their speed was impressive most of them were flying in an uncoordinated fashion, rushing at their own velocity and not bothering to keep close with each other; there was no semblance of a formation. Nanoha was beginning to suspect that her opponents were amateurs who rely more on brute strength rather than teamwork.

There were two exceptions though – Target 26 and 27, who flew in pairs. Her wingman also noticed the contrast. [Lead, those two at their rear – ex-military?]

[Maybe. They know the basics, at the very least.] She replied while preparing some Axel Shooters. A Divine Buster packed more punch but takes more time to prepare while the Shooters could be armed faster and rapidly shot, a better choice against the multiple targets rapidly closing in.

[Longbolt!] Now it was her wingman’s turn to fire, having got a good lock on the nearest target flying way ahead from the rest of the fast movers. Unfortunately Target 25, a speedster from the looks of it, managed to somewhat evade in the nick of time and the shot only skirted the side of his barriers. Though since the side impact still managed to severely smack the target off course and greatly disrupted his defenses, Nanoha considered it a good shot.

She was about to finish the enemy with a salvo of Axel Shooters but Target 24 put himself between her and Target 25 and began firing at her, so Nanoha shifted her priorities. While preparing a Protection, she launched seven Shooters at her assailant. All were set to fire-and-forget since she had difficulties on directly controlling them all the way from her to their target and fly at the same time, but she kept a faint connection on them should there be a need for mid-course redirection.

Her Protection was solidly withholding the enemy shots, though Nanoha belatedly realized that she could have just dodged them; her assailant didn’t aim, he sprayed.

Meanwhile, her Axel Shooters had traversed great distance and were now nearing Target 24. In response, the mercenary placed a Protection of his own. Too bad for him the timing was premature - noticing the extra defense, Nanoha steered the guided bolts and managed to have four of them bank in time while three hit the Protection. The remaining four then abruptly stopped midair, realigned their course, and dashed. The mercenary never had the chance to react as the Shooters assailed him through his barely protected rear.

[Storm Bolts!] Nova 2 fired at the shaken merc and this time his target went down. Two down, five two go.

Target-25, which her wingman had fired at earlier, seemed to wise up and was now flying close to two others, Target 21 and 22 – a few hundred meters behind them, specifically. Now roughly seven kilometers away from her, the two in the front then split up and aimed for each Nova’s, the point of their devices covered with magic rings as attack spells were being armed. At the same time, Nanoha and her wingman were preparing their own Axel Shooters and Storm Bolts.

A brief exchange of magical projectiles decorated the skies as both sides opened fire. Then there was chaos, as with the exception of the Target 25 all of them frantically tried incoming blazes of arcane fury. None of them were fully successful, as while some of the attacks were neutralized the rest managed to disrupt their barriers. Even Nanoha got struck; she was able to dodge for a while but was then overwhelmed by the sheer number and a few shots went through before she managed to raise a Protection. Thankfully for her, there had been no direct hits.

The two mercenaries had passed them during their evasive maneuvers. As expected they suffered heavier damage – their defensive spells had been clumsy and their accuracy poor. But now without the immediate need to escape any missiles they made a tight turn and were preparing to attack the Nova’s from behind.

Nanoha was very tempted to turn and face them, but there was a more immediate threat. Target 25 had been untouched during the skirmish and had exploited the chance by taking free shots on Nova Two. Nanoha decided to finish the speedster, cueing her wingman to boost his speed and reallocate power to the rear barriers while she did the same.

[Two, prepare to bind him.] Since 25 was speed-oriented, binding and then shooting him was deemed more efficient then having both of them fire shots that could be potentially evaded. [Now!]

Nova Two hastily materialized more than twenty thin binds along the speedsters course, designed to slow the target; thicker, more powerful binds that could immobilize their prey were inefficient against targets moving at high speed since they took longer to prepare and the power build-up at the materialization spot could alarm the target. Sure enough, the mercenary were slowed to way below subsonic, and as he struggled free three Axel Shooters rammed into the already wounded man.

Four more left.

It was then that Nanoha recalled some strange details when they had come into very close range with their enemies. Despite the shortened distance their accuracy had not improved much though the rate-of-fire had been impressive, and…

…were those bloodshot on their eyes?

Then it occurred to her. Blue Sand was a component for Theron, an experimental drug Shamal had mentioned once. Originally developed as a performance-enhancing drug for the military, the project had been cancelled and the drug banned despite showing promise in momentarily boosting linker-core magic capacity and regeneration rate due to several fatal deficiencies, most prominently long-term health issues, emotional instability and temporary degradation of situational awareness during use. Unfortunately, some disgruntled employees had then sold the formula to the underworld where the drug found popularity among low-level hired guns looking for ways to boost their powers, evidently believing the tradeoff between power and finesse as fair exchange.

She’s going to have to ask Shamal for details. Later, since right now there were two mercenaries firing at their tails. The poor accuracy of the hostiles combined with the extra power Nanoha and her wingman had put to the rear-barriers mitigated the damage, but nevertheless the Novas’ defenses were failing and with Target 26 and 27 closing in ahead of her Nanoha knew her pursuers must be dealt with now.

[Two, short-split and weave, on my signal.]

On her cue, they then slightly turned away from each other – Nanoha to the right and Nova 2 to the left. As expected their pursuers tried to follow their maneuver, and when that happened the Novas suddenly took an extremely tight turn the other way, changing their course so that now they were heading towards each other. In the confusion the attackers were barely able to follow suit, only to realize belatedly that it was a trap – both Novas now had the chance to aim and fire at each others’ pursuer.

A few Shooters and Bolts rocketed away, and the enemy count went down by two. But there was no moment of respite, as the last two hostiles were now starting to fire at them.

They were still normalizing the power allocation on their barriers when the Novas were dragged into another dogfight. Nanoha found herself fighting against Target 27 in a battle of will; even though magic projectiles can be fired at any directions guided by the all-aspect sensors, magically enhanced sight remained vital especially in close combat, and so the two moved in a spiral as they tried to outmaneuver each other with two things in mind, to keep their sights on their target while trying to get into their rear blindside, all while trading explosive blows. She watched in horror as 27 tried to compensate for his inferior magic power by burning through his cartridges like crazy –twelve of them in six seconds- and subjected his body to great strain, all which eventually end in vain. In the end one of her Shooters caused him to fumble his tight turn, and a second later she was hot in his tail.

The mercenary still didn’t give up, though, as he eschewed making more attack bolts –he still had three of them armed leftover from the last exchange- to power his rear barriers and tried to shake her of by making sharp turns. He also performed a brake, hoping for her to overshoot. Fortunately Nanoha saw through it and reduced her speed before breaking, maintaining herself behind him and fire with impunity.

But the overall situation was unfavorable as Nova 2 was failing to elude his pursuer, his situation practically a reverse of her own. If she kept tailing and firing at Target 27 he would soon fall, but she worry that her partner wouldn’t last that long especially since both Novas were exhausted compared to their last entry opponents.

An idea came to mind, and she telepathically relayed orders to Nova 2.

Target 27 tried another sharp turn, but this time instead of following suit Nanoha climbed up. She then took advantage of the temporary maneuverability boost, created by the speed decrease as she gained altitude, to make a sharper turn while better positioning herself and correcting her aim. Her target realizing that she was no longer behind him he scanned his map, looked up…and was greeted with the alarming sight of nine Axel Shooters raining down.

Racked by the explosions, the mercenary was punched downward. Impressively, he regained control less than a hundred meters above the ground but his achievement was short-lived. At Nanoha’s instruction, Nova 2 had made a dive just as she was preparing to fire, daringly ignoring the threat from his rear, and now intercepted her staggered prey with a series of Storm Bolts.

As his last colleague fell, Target 26 wisely decided this battle was no longer winnable for him and tried to run.

[Two, offer him a chance to turn himself in.] Nanoha requested.

[Are you sure, ma’am?] Her wingman seemed to consider it a waste of time. [He won’t listen.]

She didn’t believe it too, personal experience considered, but placed a tiny hope anyway. [Who knows? If he accepts, that means more cartridges to spare.]

[If you say so.] Nova 2 radioed the target and announced the chance to surrender, all while arming an attack for the predictable response.

The reply was a sonic boom as Target 26 went supersonic, flying further away. Nanoha sighed. After all that happened, he honestly thought he could make it?

[He’s all yours, Two.] She gave the go. As a Long Bolt splashed the last fast-mover Nanoha flew into Coral Squad’s position, her wingman following suit. They then provided some limited air support by sniping any grunt caught in their sights, though they didn’t get much since most of the fighting occurred inside.

The reinforcement from Nevarrin teleported 10 kilometers away from their position, just as someone from Coral Squad punched the last drug dealer into another building. Late. For the umpteenth time in her life, Nanoha found herself hating how bureaucracy prevented soldiers from doing their jobs. Judging by the loud swearing looks like Coral Squad shared the sentiment. Even Minerva sounded displeased.

Ah well. Rapid response was one of the main duty of her squadron, so at least they had done things right. And taking all into consideration, this mission hadn’t been too hard.

She didn’t have to Starlight Breaker anyone, for one.

That was pretty cool. A nice shot of military action and good fighting. I've been on an Ace Combat trip lately and this was most welcome.

Also, Blue Sand. Shout Out to Mass Effect?

[vic-vic]

Originally Posted by Nanya01

Been slow around here...

My muse woke up early...

So, here's the next part.

Peek's Mini-Arcs:

Yagami Mid Four Dwell Takamachi Scrya Fatherhood Harlaown Dreams Dance Healing Twins Advice History Onwards Mr Snuggles Omake

Cycle Start

Spoiler for Blood That Flows - Peek - Cycle 2:

It was getting late as the sun started to sink over the horizon. "To be honest, I expected you here a lot sooner." He said as he looked out of his office window to the skyline, not even bothering to turn around as the other person walked into the room. He turned around to see Hayate Yagami standing on the other side of his desk, her body was bathed in the orange-red light of the setting sun. "I suppose I should congratulate you, Colonel Yagami for your promotion."

Hayate blinked several times and winced as he moved and the light hit her in the eyes directly. "For some reason, I suppose I shouldn't be surprised that you know, General Gaiz." She sighed when the window darkened and the light dimmed, allowing her to see more clearly. "Though, why don't you have the lights on?"

"Takes away the view of the sunset." He chuckled as the lights on the inside of the room turned on. "Now, sit..." He nodded to her as he sat down himself. "Tell me something, Yagami, what is the reason that you joined the Bureau?"

"I wasn't given much of a choice, considering the past my family has with the Bureau, and what they did behind my back. Even so, I still wanted to help people, especially after the incident that happened on Lina-san's home world."

"Yes... That incident..." Regius looked at her, his eyes narrowed as he fixed her with a piercing glare, one that she managed to return to him with ease. The two held their looks for several moments, before Regius broke it off and grinned at her. "You're good, most kids, even those that have risen up through the ranks would flinch."

"I've stared death in the face more times in my life since I was nine than most people lose weight with fad diets, no offense, General, but compared to facing down a Mazoku Lord, you aren't too intimidating." Maybe she was pushing her luck, Hayate wasn't sure, but she wasn't going to back down.

Regius suddenly chuckled softly. "Interesting, you're not afraid that I could ruin your career?"

"If you wanted to do that, you could have stopped me from getting any rank higher than a captain. Please, can we stop beating around the bush, I want to go and meet with my friends and I want to know what you want from me." Hayate was mentally thanking Lina for her stories on how she handled diplomacy. Granted, Hayate thought that making idiots explode wouldn't work with the Bureau, no matter how much the option might have appealed to her.

Regius smirked at her. If it wasn't for her criminal history, he might have said that he liked the girl. "Before I continue, I wonder, did you know that after the incident that put you into a wheelchair again..."

"My family and myself earned a full pardon for taking on a X ranked threat." Hayate nodded to him. "The whole mission should have been rated a triple X mission, in my opinion." Though, if Hayate thought about it long enough, people might think that was a mission for porn or something equally silly. "Not only going against several X ranked threats and getting nearly killed in the process, but we managed to come out of it alive and recovered from the experience. However, despite that, there are threats at that level even in this universe, and I do not wish to sit idly by while threats such as those exist."

"Then, tell me, Yagami, do you know about the problems that the Bureau faces, even from the inside?"

"Besides the fact that the Ground Forces, the Navy and the Airforce generally stay out of each others affairs?"

Regius nodded, pleased that she had listened to people, at least the ranting people had done. "Yes, that's the problem. If there's a Ground Forces problem, the Air Force and the Navy, even if their people are closer to the problem than the Ground Forces are, will not help out. So, I make a proposal to you, Colonel Hayate Yagami," Regius took a moment to collect his thoughts before continuing, "I have been in talks with leaders of the Ground Forces, Navy, Air Force and even the leaders of the Saint Church... To create a group that can move independently of all branches of the military while still being loyal to the Time-Space Administration Bureau."

She blinked at him in confusion. "What does that have to do with me?"

"Simply put..." Regius gave her a knowing look. "It will not work without strong mages and knights to be the prototype and lay the ground work, if you will, for the future. And, so, Colonel Yagami... I want you and your family, as well as your friends, if possible, to be a part of this."

Hayate stared at the older man, shocked at the offer. "You..."

"Take your time to think about it, I still need to get the Air Force behind the idea, but... If you do agree, I'm fairly certain that the Bureau will support you and your friends, the "heroes of Mid-Childa" after all."

Hayate nodded and left the room shortly after that, her mind still in shock.

"It's your move." Regius said to no one in particular.

He wasn't sure who he was talking about at that moment.

Regius seems somehow cool in this chapter. So, this is the establishing a new unit.

[Old_Iron]

Originally Posted by Craxuan

I am so torn. On one hand I'm trying to learn a new programming language so I could work, on the other I just wanted to say screw it and get on with my final chapter. Getting used to writing at working hours~ So~ Bad~ Gah~

Yes, it is bad. I'm just a guilty. Writing during boring college lectures.

Much as want the last chapter, you should probably nail that language... What language is it by the way? If you say Assembly, you have my condolences.

[Nanya01]

I have NO idea what my muse is on lately.

Nanya-muse: I was given an omake and it's too short! *Runs to DC-muse* Waaaahhh! People don't write enough.
DC-muse: *Glaring* Not everyone can write like you can!
Nanya-muse: *Sniffle* Why not?
DC-muse: SOME of us get writer's block!
Nanya-muse: Is it tasty?
DC-muse: ARRRGH!

Peek's Mini-Arcs:

Yagami Mid Four Dwell Takamachi Scrya Fatherhood Harlaown Dreams Dance Healing Twins Advice History Onwards Mr Snuggles Omake

Cycle Start

Cycle 2

Spoiler for Blood That Flows - Peek - Cycle 3:

"Hey!" Nanoha smiled as she saw Hayate walk up to their table. "Here's to your new promotion and our new status."

Hayate blinked as she sat down at the table. In front of her friends were almost a dozen empty plates each. "New status?" She asked, hoping to get this done quickly, she was pretty hungry too!

Fate was blushing softly. "We were recently accepted as privates to the Bureau."

"Other than learning military protocol, we've been given the go-ahead to join the active service as soon as possible." Yuuno nodded at Hayate's surprised look. "Considering that Nanoha, Fate and myself had training a few years ago and with the records of our daily sparring matches, it was determined that basic training would be useless for us."

Vita grinned as she looked at the three of them. "Which means, for now, I'm in charge of all three of you on missions."

"You're going to enjoy that, aren't you?" Nanoha said flatly as Vita nodded, her hair flopping around while her grin threatened to split her face.

"Oooh yeah!" Vita was chuckling as she thought about the things she could make Nanoha, Fate and especially Yuuno do for all the stuff they did to her in the sparring matches.

Hayate sweat-dropped and grabbed a plate. "I'll be right back, I need food."

"Same here." The other four at the table said at the same time and stood up to go get more to eat.

Watching them, the manager of the buffet shook his head and sighed. "I swear, if we have big eaters come here again, we may just go out of business."

The servers looked like they were about to say something, but decided against it. The last time this had happened, it was just too weird to try and explain to people and they decided to just try and pretend it didn't happen.

Though, the way these kids were eating, they might have a new record.

Hours later...

"So, Hayate..." Yuuno said as he and the other four finally walked away from the buffet building. "What was that meeting about?"

Hayate covered her mouth as she let out a small belch, blushing lightly at that. "Hmm? Oh!" She clapped her hands together and chuckled softly. "It seems that the General, well, he wants to make a new unit and he wants us to join."

"Why?" Vita frowned at that. "I thought he didn't like us."

"He wants to be able to deal with threats that pop up, and he wants a group that can move freely and independently of the other branches of the military." Smiling at her friends, Hayate took a deep breath. "I'm thinking of accepting the offer. If I do..."

"We'll join you, Hayate-chan." Nanoha nodded to her. "We'll help you as much as we can."

Hayate rubbed the back of her head and chuckled nervously. "Good, because I have no real idea what I'm doing."

Vita stifled a yawn. "Dunno about you guys, but I'd like to hit the hotel and crash for the night."

"Well..." Hayate stretched her arms above her head and blinked as she felt her back pop. "I think it's a good idea." She was thankful it was a weekend.

"Just hope something crazy doesn't happen." Yuuno muttered as he scratched the top of his head. "Like a giant airport fire."

"Boss, if you say something like that, it'll come true."

"Nah!" Hayate grinned as she and the others walked towards the hotel. "If something like that happens I'll... I'll..." She blinked, trying to think of something.

"Give boss your panties and go the whole day without any on?"

"THOTH!" Yuuno's face was red as he looked at his device.

Hayate blinked, her face flushed, but nodded after a few moments of thinking it over. "Very well, if something like a fire breaks out, I'll give Yuuno my panties and not wear any for the rest of the day."

Fate and Vita both sighed and palmed their foreheads. This kind of stuff may have been normal for them, but it was both amusing and annoying at the same time.

"Raising Heart..." Nanoha intoned, her hair covering her eyes.

"Yes, my master?"

"Make sure to record what Hayate's bet is, we don't want her weaseling out on her bet." Nanoha looked up, a mischievous smirk on her face that had Hayate blanching slightly. Still, Hayate was certain that a fire wouldn't break out.

After all, what were the odds of something like that happening?

[LostSome]

Originally Posted by Nanya01

Spoiler for Blood That Flows - Peek - Cycle 3:

"Hey!" Nanoha smiled as she saw Hayate walk up to their table. "Here's to your new promotion and our new status."

Hayate blinked as she sat down at the table. In front of her friends were almost a dozen empty plates each. "New status?" She asked, hoping to get this done quickly, she was pretty hungry too!

Fate was blushing softly. "We were recently accepted as privates to the Bureau."

"Other than learning military protocol, we've been given the go-ahead to join the active service as soon as possible." Yuuno nodded at Hayate's surprised look. "Considering that Nanoha, Fate and myself had training a few years ago and with the records of our daily sparring matches, it was determined that basic training would be useless for us."

Vita grinned as she looked at the three of them. "Which means, for now, I'm in charge of all three of you on missions."

"You're going to enjoy that, aren't you?" Nanoha said flatly as Vita nodded, her hair flopping around while her grin threatened to split her face.

"Oooh yeah!" Vita was chuckling as she thought about the things she could make Nanoha, Fate and especially Yuuno do for all the stuff they did to her in the sparring matches.

Hayate sweat-dropped and grabbed a plate. "I'll be right back, I need food."

"Same here." The other four at the table said at the same time and stood up to go get more to eat.

Watching them, the manager of the buffet shook his head and sighed. "I swear, if we have big eaters come here again, we may just go out of business."

The servers looked like they were about to say something, but decided against it. The last time this had happened, it was just too weird to try and explain to people and they decided to just try and pretend it didn't happen.

Though, the way these kids were eating, they might have a new record.

Hours later...

"So, Hayate..." Yuuno said as he and the other four finally walked away from the buffet building. "What was that meeting about?"

Hayate covered her mouth as she let out a small belch, blushing lightly at that. "Hmm? Oh!" She clapped her hands together and chuckled softly. "It seems that the General, well, he wants to make a new unit and he wants us to join."

"Why?" Vita frowned at that. "I thought he didn't like us."

"He wants to be able to deal with threats that pop up, and he wants a group that can move freely and independently of the other branches of the military." Smiling at her friends, Hayate took a deep breath. "I'm thinking of accepting the offer. If I do..."

"We'll join you, Hayate-chan." Nanoha nodded to her. "We'll help you as much as we can."

Hayate rubbed the back of her head and chuckled nervously. "Good, because I have no real idea what I'm doing."

Vita stifled a yawn. "Dunno about you guys, but I'd like to hit the hotel and crash for the night."

"Well..." Hayate stretched her arms above her head and blinked as she felt her back pop. "I think it's a good idea." She was thankful it was a weekend.

"Just hope something crazy doesn't happen." Yuuno muttered as he scratched the top of his head. "Like a giant airport fire."

"Boss, if you say something like that, it'll come true."

"Nah!" Hayate grinned as she and the others walked towards the hotel. "If something like that happens I'll... I'll..." She blinked, trying to think of something.

"Give boss your panties and go the whole day without any on?"

"THOTH!" Yuuno's face was red as he looked at his device.

Hayate blinked, her face flushed, but nodded after a few moments of thinking it over. "Very well, if something like a fire breaks out, I'll give Yuuno my panties and not wear any for the rest of the day."

Fate and Vita both sighed and palmed their foreheads. This kind of stuff may have been normal for them, but it was both amusing and annoying at the same time.

"Raising Heart..." Nanoha intoned, her hair covering her eyes.

"Yes, my master?"

"Make sure to record what Hayate's bet is, we don't want her weaseling out on her bet." Nanoha looked up, a mischievous smirk on her face that had Hayate blanching slightly. Still, Hayate was certain that a fire wouldn't break out.

After all, what were the odds of something like that happening?

I can just imagine Vita`s grin. Scary !
"Like a giant airport fire." I`m speechless.
You shouldn`t make bets on such things...

[Filraen]

Originally Posted by Nanya01

Been slow around here...

My muse woke up early...

So, here's the next part.

Peek's Mini-Arcs:

Yagami Mid Four Dwell Takamachi Scrya Fatherhood Harlaown Dreams Dance Healing Twins Advice History Onwards Mr Snuggles Omake

Cycle Start

Spoiler for Blood That Flows - Peek - Cycle 2:

...

I like Regius not being against Hayate this time around.

Originally Posted by Tiresias

Something light to read. Don't expect much, since the last half was written halfway to dreamland. Probably gonna need major rewrites later. If I can gather the will

As a reference, this occurred between A's and StrikerS

Spoiler for [INSERT TITLE HERE]:

nothing here

Nice piece.

Originally Posted by Nanya01

I have NO idea what my muse is on lately.

Nanya-muse: I was given an omake and it's too short! *Runs to DC-muse* Waaaahhh! People don't write enough.
DC-muse: *Glaring* Not everyone can write like you can!
Nanya-muse: *Sniffle* Why not?
DC-muse: SOME of us get writer's block!
Nanya-muse: Is it tasty?
DC-muse: ARRRGH!

Peek's Mini-Arcs:

Yagami Mid Four Dwell Takamachi Scrya Fatherhood Harlaown Dreams Dance Healing Twins Advice History Onwards Mr Snuggles Omake

Cycle Start

Cycle 2

Spoiler for Blood That Flows - Peek - Cycle 3:

tempting fate, anyone?

Oh, Vita knowing they'll be under her command is the best news in a lot of time

Hayate is going to get it... this will be the last time anyone takes a suggestion from Thoth. I hope she's carrying a pair of pants.

I got reminded on Hayate's fire-extinguishing methods on certain Nanoha GamerS chapter.

[mega1987]

Originally Posted by Nanya01

I have NO idea what my muse is on lately.

Nanya-muse: I was given an omake and it's too short! *Runs to DC-muse* Waaaahhh! People don't write enough.
DC-muse: *Glaring* Not everyone can write like you can!
Nanya-muse: *Sniffle* Why not?
DC-muse: SOME of us get writer's block!
Nanya-muse: Is it tasty?
DC-muse: ARRRGH!

Peek's Mini-Arcs:

Yagami Mid Four Dwell Takamachi Scrya Fatherhood Harlaown Dreams Dance Healing Twins Advice History Onwards Mr Snuggles Omake

Cycle Start

Cycle 2

Spoiler for Blood That Flows - Peek - Cycle 3:

"Hey!" Nanoha smiled as she saw Hayate walk up to their table. "Here's to your new promotion and our new status."

Hayate blinked as she sat down at the table. In front of her friends were almost a dozen empty plates each. "New status?" She asked, hoping to get this done quickly, she was pretty hungry too!

Fate was blushing softly. "We were recently accepted as privates to the Bureau."

"Other than learning military protocol, we've been given the go-ahead to join the active service as soon as possible." Yuuno nodded at Hayate's surprised look. "Considering that Nanoha, Fate and myself had training a few years ago and with the records of our daily sparring matches, it was determined that basic training would be useless for us."

Vita grinned as she looked at the three of them. "Which means, for now, I'm in charge of all three of you on missions."

"You're going to enjoy that, aren't you?" Nanoha said flatly as Vita nodded, her hair flopping around while her grin threatened to split her face.

"Oooh yeah!" Vita was chuckling as she thought about the things she could make Nanoha, Fate and especially Yuuno do for all the stuff they did to her in the sparring matches.

Hayate sweat-dropped and grabbed a plate. "I'll be right back, I need food."

"Same here." The other four at the table said at the same time and stood up to go get more to eat.

Watching them, the manager of the buffet shook his head and sighed. "I swear, if we have big eaters come here again, we may just go out of business."

The servers looked like they were about to say something, but decided against it. The last time this had happened, it was just too weird to try and explain to people and they decided to just try and pretend it didn't happen.

Though, the way these kids were eating, they might have a new record.

Hours later...

"So, Hayate..." Yuuno said as he and the other four finally walked away from the buffet building. "What was that meeting about?"

Hayate covered her mouth as she let out a small belch, blushing lightly at that. "Hmm? Oh!" She clapped her hands together and chuckled softly. "It seems that the General, well, he wants to make a new unit and he wants us to join."

"Why?" Vita frowned at that. "I thought he didn't like us."

"He wants to be able to deal with threats that pop up, and he wants a group that can move freely and independently of the other branches of the military." Smiling at her friends, Hayate took a deep breath. "I'm thinking of accepting the offer. If I do..."

"We'll join you, Hayate-chan." Nanoha nodded to her. "We'll help you as much as we can."

Hayate rubbed the back of her head and chuckled nervously. "Good, because I have no real idea what I'm doing."

Vita stifled a yawn. "Dunno about you guys, but I'd like to hit the hotel and crash for the night."

"Well..." Hayate stretched her arms above her head and blinked as she felt her back pop. "I think it's a good idea." She was thankful it was a weekend.

"Just hope something crazy doesn't happen." Yuuno muttered as he scratched the top of his head. "Like a giant airport fire."

"Boss, if you say something like that, it'll come true."

"Nah!" Hayate grinned as she and the others walked towards the hotel. "If something like that happens I'll... I'll..." She blinked, trying to think of something.

"Give boss your panties and go the whole day without any on?"

"THOTH!" Yuuno's face was red as he looked at his device.

Hayate blinked, her face flushed, but nodded after a few moments of thinking it over. "Very well, if something like a fire breaks out, I'll give Yuuno my panties and not wear any for the rest of the day."

Fate and Vita both sighed and palmed their foreheads. This kind of stuff may have been normal for them, but it was both amusing and annoying at the same time.

"Raising Heart..." Nanoha intoned, her hair covering her eyes.

"Yes, my master?"

"Make sure to record what Hayate's bet is, we don't want her weaseling out on her bet." Nanoha looked up, a mischievous smirk on her face that had Hayate blanching slightly. Still, Hayate was certain that a fire wouldn't break out.

After all, what were the odds of something like that happening?

Me: Did Hayate TRYING to INVOKE Murphy's Law!?

Odin: She did.

Val: This aint gonna end well for our mistress of the night sky.

Amy: She's screwed in this one.

Mariemeia: ROYALLY SCREWED!

Val: Do I need to equip my Aqua Blaster?

Reia: Don't bother, uncle. TSAB will take care of it.

Iris: And by the way, Nanya-muse. Writer's block is not very healthy to Muse like yourself.

Sarah: It might slow your writer's pace or worse, ran out of Idea and motivation and good bye story.

[Craxuan]

ASP.NET. The hard part was getting into mood though. >_>

[Old_Iron]

Originally Posted by Nanya01

I have NO idea what my muse is on lately.

Nanya-muse: I was given an omake and it's too short! *Runs to DC-muse* Waaaahhh! People don't write enough.
DC-muse: *Glaring* Not everyone can write like you can!
Nanya-muse: *Sniffle* Why not?
DC-muse: SOME of us get writer's block!
Nanya-muse: Is it tasty?
DC-muse: ARRRGH!

Peek's Mini-Arcs:

Yagami Mid Four Dwell Takamachi Scrya Fatherhood Harlaown Dreams Dance Healing Twins Advice History Onwards Mr Snuggles Omake

Cycle Start

Cycle 2

Spoiler for Blood That Flows - Peek - Cycle 3:

"Hey!" Nanoha smiled as she saw Hayate walk up to their table. "Here's to your new promotion and our new status."

Hayate blinked as she sat down at the table. In front of her friends were almost a dozen empty plates each. "New status?" She asked, hoping to get this done quickly, she was pretty hungry too!

Fate was blushing softly. "We were recently accepted as privates to the Bureau."

"Other than learning military protocol, we've been given the go-ahead to join the active service as soon as possible." Yuuno nodded at Hayate's surprised look. "Considering that Nanoha, Fate and myself had training a few years ago and with the records of our daily sparring matches, it was determined that basic training would be useless for us."

Vita grinned as she looked at the three of them. "Which means, for now, I'm in charge of all three of you on missions."

"You're going to enjoy that, aren't you?" Nanoha said flatly as Vita nodded, her hair flopping around while her grin threatened to split her face.

"Oooh yeah!" Vita was chuckling as she thought about the things she could make Nanoha, Fate and especially Yuuno do for all the stuff they did to her in the sparring matches.

Hayate sweat-dropped and grabbed a plate. "I'll be right back, I need food."

"Same here." The other four at the table said at the same time and stood up to go get more to eat.

Watching them, the manager of the buffet shook his head and sighed. "I swear, if we have big eaters come here again, we may just go out of business."

The servers looked like they were about to say something, but decided against it. The last time this had happened, it was just too weird to try and explain to people and they decided to just try and pretend it didn't happen.

Though, the way these kids were eating, they might have a new record.

Hours later...

"So, Hayate..." Yuuno said as he and the other four finally walked away from the buffet building. "What was that meeting about?"

Hayate covered her mouth as she let out a small belch, blushing lightly at that. "Hmm? Oh!" She clapped her hands together and chuckled softly. "It seems that the General, well, he wants to make a new unit and he wants us to join."

"Why?" Vita frowned at that. "I thought he didn't like us."

"He wants to be able to deal with threats that pop up, and he wants a group that can move freely and independently of the other branches of the military." Smiling at her friends, Hayate took a deep breath. "I'm thinking of accepting the offer. If I do..."

"We'll join you, Hayate-chan." Nanoha nodded to her. "We'll help you as much as we can."

Hayate rubbed the back of her head and chuckled nervously. "Good, because I have no real idea what I'm doing."

Vita stifled a yawn. "Dunno about you guys, but I'd like to hit the hotel and crash for the night."

"Well..." Hayate stretched her arms above her head and blinked as she felt her back pop. "I think it's a good idea." She was thankful it was a weekend.

"Just hope something crazy doesn't happen." Yuuno muttered as he scratched the top of his head. "Like a giant airport fire."

"Boss, if you say something like that, it'll come true."

"Nah!" Hayate grinned as she and the others walked towards the hotel. "If something like that happens I'll... I'll..." She blinked, trying to think of something.

"Give boss your panties and go the whole day without any on?"

"THOTH!" Yuuno's face was red as he looked at his device.

Hayate blinked, her face flushed, but nodded after a few moments of thinking it over. "Very well, if something like a fire breaks out, I'll give Yuuno my panties and not wear any for the rest of the day."

Fate and Vita both sighed and palmed their foreheads. This kind of stuff may have been normal for them, but it was both amusing and annoying at the same time.

"Raising Heart..." Nanoha intoned, her hair covering her eyes.

"Yes, my master?"

"Make sure to record what Hayate's bet is, we don't want her weaseling out on her bet." Nanoha looked up, a mischievous smirk on her face that had Hayate blanching slightly. Still, Hayate was certain that a fire wouldn't break out.

After all, what were the odds of something like that happening?

Hayate, I'd like you to meet my friend. His name is Murphy.

Still, that was pretty funny. Pretty soon all of the buffets on Mid will have warnings issued about them. I'm looking forward to seeing what kinds of payback Vita will get on Nanoha, Fate, and Yuuno. Heck, I'm looking forward to everything that's coming.

...If Yuuno does wind up with Hayate's panties, what will Eins do to him?

Originally Posted by Craxuan

ASP.NET. The hard part was getting into mood though. >_>

Can't say I'm familiar with that language. I never got beyond some more advanced Java and rudimentary Assembly. Good luck though.

[Tiresias]

Originally Posted by Old_Iron

I've been on an Ace Combat trip lately and this was most welcome.

Lucky you. Considering the state of my console, I won't have a chance to play Assault Horizon for a while.

Also, Blue Sand. Shout Out to Mass Effect?

Less shout-out and more of 'I'm not in the mood of making names and is currently having a Mass Effect kick'

[Old_Iron]

Originally Posted by Tiresias

Lucky you. Considering the state of my console, I won't have a chance to play Assault Horizon for a while.

Haven't gotten around to playing Assault Horizon. I've been going with Zero and 5, my two personal favorites.

Less shout-out and more of 'I'm not in the mood of making names and is currently having a Mass Effect kick'

Makes sense.

Be kinda interesting to see an Ace Combat or Mass Effect crossover story with Nanoha. That A's Combat Zero AMV makes me weak in the knees.

[Sunder the Gold]

Originally Posted by Old_Iron

Be kinda interesting to see an Ace Combat or Mass Effect crossover story with Nanoha. That A's Combat Zero AMV makes me weak in the knees.

Did you see the Touhou Project/Ace Combat videos on youtube?

I see the Scarlet Sisters and the odd pair of Youmu and Tenshi fighting back to back, and I can't help but want to see more.

[MeisterBabylon]

Sorry for the lack of updates guys, exam season and won't blow over till 3 weeks from now...

[Kaijo]

Finally completed one of my random one-shots. It's the smackdown you all wanted to see, but were too afraid to ask! It takes place during A's...

The Greatest Fight Never Animated

Spoiler for The Greatest Fight Never Animated:

Magical Girl Lyrical Nanoha
The Greatest Fight Never Animated

Xx~~*~~xX

It started rather straight forward and innocently enough; Yuuno had left a meeting at the Harleown's new apartment, and was heading back to Nanoha's house. Nanoha herself was currently staying over at Fate's place in a girl-only slumber party (and for protection, due to the whole linker core drain thing). But there was a dark secret he'd never admit: he actually liked the attention the Takamachi family gave him as a ferret, and thus he was looking forward to being spoiled.

Not to mention Miyuki's famous (to him) belly rub.

Meanwhile, Shamal's initial plan was to pick up some groceries to try and create a bountiful and delicious feast as a way to offset how they had let Hayate down recently, by not being there. The fact that Shamal still tended to somehow turn water into charcoal whenever she entered the kitchen, didn't discourage her from her mission. Not knowing how to cook, or even how to turn the stove off, was a minor inconvenience at best.

And then she spotted a homeless man in an alley way, and her magical senses told her he possessed a linker core. Not much of one, but it might fill half-a-page. While knowing Signum's warning about not draining people in this area for awhile due to the Bureau's presence, Shamal visually scanned the area, and noted that no one else seemed to be around. And in the alley, no one should notice her quickly draining the sleeping hobo. If anyone found him later, they'd just assume he passed out.

Making up her mind, Shamal stepped into the alley and summoned her rings, preparing to drain the man's core. If she hurried, she could be done and be home within the hour, plenty of time to whip up a meal!

She just didn't count on someone actually seeing her and knowing what she was up to.

"You!" Yuuno exclaimed, just having glanced down the alley while walking past. "You're one of them!"

"No, I'm not..." Shamal started to say, then realized denying it would be pointless. She couldn't exactly explain away the green threads protruding form her rings. Lacking attack magic, she decided to try another tactic, and smiled innocently. "Can't we just say this never happened?"

"Sorry, but I can't let you continue attacking innocent people," he stated. However, inwardly, Yuuno was quickly debating his course of action. [Hmm, I can't seem to contact anyone, telepathically or through normal communication channels; she must be jamming me, which means I'm on my own here. I don't have any attack magic, so how can I stop her? Wait, I just need to capture her, and I know plenty of binds! I just need to wait for her to make a move, then counter with a bind...] "But if you come with me, I can assure you won't be harmed."

Shamal bit her lip. [He's going to attack... well, then, I just need to wait for him to make the first move, then I can bind him and teleport away!] She took her position. "I'm sorry, but I can't do that."

"I figured you'd say that," Yuuno said, readying his spell.

Shamal narrowed her eyes, waiting.

Yuuno calmed his breathing and calculated the angles of attack.

Shamal examined possible escape routes.

Yuuno scratched an itch on the back of his neck.

Shamal fidgeted slightly.

The sleeping homeless man mumbled something about alcohol.

Finally, both got tired of waiting, and in the next moment, dozens of chains and threads exploded outwards, seeking to ensnare their quarry from every conceivable angle...

*ping* *ping* *ping* *ping*

... but bounced harmlessly off barriers and shields.

"I see you're particularly skilled in the use of defensive magic as well," Shamal noted appreciatively.

"Thank you, it's one of my specialties," Yuuno replied with a slight nod of his head.

[This makes things much more difficult, if he can block my binds,] Shamal realized with worry. [Perhaps a dimensional barrier? Trap him in it, giving me time to escape? No, takes too long to cast. I'll have to teleport away first...]

[What else can I do?] Yuuno wondered. [I could trap her in a dimensional barrier, but she could possibly teleport away before it hits her, and then I'd lose her. Perhaps if I surprise her with a teleport of my own to a place she doesn't expect.]

They readied their spells once more, magical circles flaring to life as they sprung at each other... and vanished moments later.

"He'll never find me up-" "I can surprise her up-"

Both paused, staring in shock at each other from the top of the building they had both teleported to, and had the same, near identical, thought: [He/She's good.]

[Looks like combat is inevitable,] Shamal thought with a small sigh, realizing she was beginning to eat into her meal prep time; she needed at least two hours in order to extinguish the fire and clean the kitchen before Hayate returned from the park with Vita.

[I can't fool around anymore,I'll just have to give it everything I've got.] Yuuno decided. He was running out of time before Miyuki went to bed and he missed his belly rub.

Both showcased determined gazes, knowing that playtime was over, and things were going to get serious. Both had incredibly important issues at stake, and thus neither would back down. They readied their next spells, while planning out their next move, and the move after that, each knowing that if they messed up, it would be the end.

And then, as if by unspoken signal, they leapt into the air, chains and threads exploding outward once more. But Yuuno didn't both shielding, instead dodging through the sky with another teleport to cast a second bind from behind. However Shamal was already in motion, increasing speed to climb higher into the sky while raining threads down on him.

He was counting on that, though, and activated the delayed bind he left in that area, which snagged her ankle. But he dallied a bit too long, and thus one of Shamal's threads managed to ensnare his wrist. Both mages quickly worked to free themselves, and then the chase was on once more.

Shamal dove to the ground, arcing between buildings and then disappeared around a corner at street level. Yuuno followed her around the bend and landed, and then froze.

Shamal was nowhere in sight.

In fact, the only person here was an old lady pushing a baby stroller, who glanced at him, and then continued on her way. Yuuno scratched his head, and then a thought hit him as his gaze swung back to the woman slowly walking away: [Hmmm... I wonder...]

"Struggle Bind!" Yuuno chanted as he thrust his hand out, green chains wrapping around the woman. "Got you! ... huh?" The woman vanished and the chains fell to the ground.

And then the baby zoomed out of the carriage, growing in size as it sped into the sky. "How did you know?!"

Yuuno blinked as the baby turned into Shamal. "You didn't seem particularly bothered by the fact that I had just flown around the corner!"

Shamal inwardly cursed, wondering if she'd have to call up the Book of Darkness and use a spell from it to get away. She dismissed it almost immediately as that would only delay Hayate's treatment. She could try sending a telepathic call for help, but how could she face the others? If she couldn't handle one mage on her own, she wasn't qualified to be a member of the Wolkenritter!

[I'll charge right at him, and then teleport to safety, where I can use my mirror of portals to snag his linker core!]

As the pair dueled in the sky with threads and binds once more, Yuuno decided to shift strategies, too. Ranged spells just weren't cutting, but if he got close enough, he could force teleport her somewhere she wouldn't expect and then capture her while she was disoriented. Taking the risk, he began to maneuver closer and closer. Her sudden and rapid shift of flight to his direction almost caught him off-guard, but he had a teleport prepared and shifted behind her, reaching out to try and physically grab her.

Shamal realized too late where he was, turning and panicking, while throwing up her own teleport and binds, and the two promptly vanished in mid-air. The pair then promptly reappeared, binds finally snapping into place.

[Got her!] Yuuno thought jubilantly. And then he attempted to move... and found he couldn't.

[Got him!] Shamal exhilarated, before her mind belatedly realized she was caught as well. [Uh oh...]

Yuuno glanced at Shamal.

Shamal glanced at Yuuno.

The homeless man from earlier finally woke up and noticed both. "Yaaaaggot aaany sssaaake? *hic*" he asked with slurred words, before passing out again.

"Look, mommy!" a little girl noted, pointing down the alley. "Those people are all tied up like daddy was with that other lady!"

"Just ignore the shotacon, dear," the girl's mother stated gruffly, taking her hand and yanking it down the street, her voice trailing off. "And we don't talk about your father anymore...."

That's when Shamal's mind slowly took note of the way she had bound her opponent.

"This is... I don't believe I've seen this bind technique before..." Yuuno stated, more curious that anything, and then grimaced. "It's a... bit uncomfortable though."

Her cheeks reddened considerably. She realized that, in her rush, she hadn't quite specified the form of the bind, and so her subconscious mind had picked a design from one of her favorite videos, that she tended to watch while alone. Which reminded her that she needed to get her trench coat and sunglasses disguise and return that video sometime tonight, too... And fortunately, it seemed Yuuno hadn't quite realized the significance.

"Yeah, um..." Shamal tried lamely, wishing she could just disappear.

Yuuno sighed, somehow embarrassed to be seen like this, but not sure why. And also embarrassed he couldn't quite seem to handle this on his own. If Nanoha saw him like this...

"So, uh... cancel our binds together and forget this night ever happened?" Shamal suggested hopefully.

"...I can live with that."

And so they did, and went their separate ways.

Sure, he felt a bit guilty about letting her go. But on the plus side, he managed to get home in time for that belly rub.

Xx~~*~~xX

Author's notes:

I figured such a fight would be fairly lame if animated, so I tried to give it a bit of a bent that the anime obviously wouldn't. :P Hopefully, it was good for at least a chuckle or two...

I have another short almost completed which will be my next release. But it's a 2-part Halloween fic, where one character faces a night of terror that they didn't see coming...

[Sunder the Gold]

Originally Posted by Kaijo

I figured such a fight would be fairly lame if animated

Nah, I imagine it would alternate between Awesomely Cool and Hilariously Silly.

so I tried to give it a bit of a bent that the anime obviously wouldn't. :P Hopefully, it was good for at least a chuckle or two...

It was, but short of the ero-bind, I don't think there was anything the series wouldn't use.

...Except for Yuuno giving up. Especially because he's prioritizing a belly rub over stopping the people who hurt his friends and are threatening the world. It's funny for a funny short, but it would be bad if canon.

If handled canonically, I'd have Shamal win through superior experience, and perhaps have Yuuno join the ranks of the core-stolen. Assuming that Shamal does suddenly find a reason to flee before finishing the job.

I have another short almost completed which will be my next release. But it's a 2-part Halloween fic, where one character faces a night of terror that they didn't see coming...

Interesting.

[Nanya01]

Hey guys! It's been 1 year (yesterday) since I started Blood That Flows!

Hooray!

Nanya-muse: WHEE! *Glomps DC-muse* I'm SOOO HAPPY!
DC-muse: ... Well, this time, I think you did good.
Nanya-muse: YAY! *HUGS*
DC-muse: AAAAAIIIIRRR!!

Peek's Mini-Arcs:

Yagami Mid Four Dwell Takamachi Scrya Fatherhood Harlaown Dreams Dance Healing Twins Advice History Onwards Mr Snuggles Omake

Cycle Start

Cycle 2

Cycle 3

Spoiler for Blood That Flows - Peek - Cycle End:

Hours later...

Staring at the large fire that had sprung up not too long ago, Vita, Nanoha and Fate all had flat expressions on their faces as they turned their heads and stared at Hayate and Yuuno, who were looking on in shock. "Yuuno-kun..." Nanoha muttered softly. "Since this is yours and Hayate-chan's fault, we're all ganging up on you the next time we spar. I'll even get Signum-san and Zafira-san to join us."

"How is it MY fault," trembled out Yuuno. He knew things were going to get hectic. He was relieved by only one fact. Reinforce wasn't involved. She easily got jealous when it came to Hayate.

"It's your fault, boss, you said that a fire might happen, and what did I tell you?"

"Not now, Thoth." Yuuno sighed, though, he had to admit, he was probably asking for it this time. "Anyway, we should probably just cast a bunch of ice magic and..."

"I wouldn't." A voice interrupted him and the five of them turned to see an older man in a military outfit looking at the fire. "If you manage to cast ice magic that can put the fire out, or even create enough water to do so, you'll put hundreds, maybe even a couple of thousand people in danger of being killed by your efforts to save them."

"Major Nakajima." Hayate nodded to the older man. "What's the situation?"

Genya sighed and rubbed the bridge of his nose. "My family and myself were getting back from a vacation when the fire broke out. My wife ran inside to help get people out, I turned to make a phone call to get the 108th Ground Forces Division out here," he let out a heavy sigh and looked at the fire blearily, "and my daughters disappeared."

"You don't think..?" Hayate started and winced when he nodded.

"I've searched as best I can, but without magical abilities, there's no way I can get close to that fire without serious risk to myself."

"Alright, we'll do what we can." Hayate nodded and looked at the others, her face serious. "You heard him, get in there, find any survivors you can, but keep yourselves safe." They nodded and took to the air before flying straight at the fire. "Be careful and make sure to let us know what's going on!"

"Right!" The others nodded as they disappeared into various directions.

(---)

Graf Eisen was imbued with a light blue color as ice and cold magic flowed around it. Vita grinned as she swung it down and a blast of cold air and water erupted from the head of the device and washed over the flames, cooling and extinguishing them instantly, leaving only embers behind. There really was no need for it to be in Gigant form, as the base form was strong enough to smash walls down and it made it pretty easy to swing around. "Anyone here?! Bang on something if you can hear me!"

Sighing as she didn't hear anyone respond, Vita continued on. Turning the corner and letting out another wash of cold air, she blinked as she saw some children in a barrier. "You okay?" They nodded at her. "Good, hold on, I'll get you out of here." Vita mentally cursed when they said that the girl who put the barrier around them had run further in. "Nanoha, where are you at?"

"Just mopping up on the East side, found Quint-san and a few elderly people. Why?"

"Can you get over to where I am? Looks like some kid wanted to play hero and ran in further. I got a bunch of kids to get out of here before the walls collapse."

"Give me a minute, put up a beacon for me."

"You got twenty seconds." Vita cut off the communication before grabbing the kids and picking them up. "Now, hold on, kids, I'll get you out of here." Returning Graf Eisen to its pendant form, she picked up all three of the children and held them in front of her before turning and flying out where she came from.

As she flew out, she made a note that holding three kids was hard, especially when they were squirming and pressing their heads against her breasts.

(---)

Yuuno frowned softly as he walked through the flames. "Being fire proof really isn't as interesting as I thought it would be." He was really thinking of taking a trip in the future to go see Vrabazard and see if there was a way to make it so that he could feel most heat and cold normally again. About the only good things he could see was that he didn't have to dress really warm in winter and he didn't need to change much for summer either. But taking a hot bath was almost out of the question, unless he wanted it literally boiling.

"Hey, boss, there's someone here."

Blinking, Yuuno held up his hand at the fire and smirked as it instantly cooled and muted itself. As much as he didn't like not being able to feel hot water outside of it boiling, he had to admit, being able to suck the heat out of the air and fire was awesome. He tilted his head as he saw a young girl with short purple hair pinned under some debris. "Hey!" As he ran over to the girl, several chains snapped into being and wrapped around the debris, pulling it off of the girl. "You okay?"

"Ngh..." The girl pushed herself to her knees and looked at him. Yuuno's eyes widened as he saw the blood running over her forehead. "Was trying to help mommy..."

Yuuno felt like rubbing his forehead as he cast a quick recovery spell on the girl. "You shouldn't be in here. Are you part of the Bureau?"

"Ngh..." The girl shook her head slowly. "I'm going to join soon though!" Her eyes sparkled in joy. "Then I can be like Gin-nee, mommy and daddy!"

Yuuno nodded at that. Well, at least it made some sense, if the rest of her family was a Bureau member, she probably would want to be one as well. Oddly enough, even with her dirty clothes, bloodied head and how dirty her skin and hair were, he had the feeling that he had seen her before somehow. "What's your name anyway?"

"Subaru Nakajima!" The girl blinked several times as he pulled his hands away from her head. "Wow! You can heal?"

"Yeah, but it's not my primary ability." Picking the girl up and cradling her in his arms, he smiled at her. "Just hold on, okay?" Subaru nodded and clung to his shirt as Yuuno rotated his arm and brought Thoth, who was in his active form and looked almost like a sentai transformation item on his wrist. "Thoth, what's the quickest way out of here?"

"Straight up, but if you don't want to have to crash through the ceiling and maybe bring the whole place down around you, I got a map for you."

Yuuno nodded as a holographic 3-D miniature map appeared just above his wrist with a red line that showed him the quickest way out. "Alright, hang on tight, Subaru."

She nodded and squeezed tightly. Oddly enough, to her, the heat of the fires around them felt surprisingly cool.

Yuuno blinked and looked down at the girl. He wasn't sure if it was his imagination or not, but it felt like she was snuggling up to him.

(---)

Nanoha sighed as she rounded another corner. "Hello?!"

"Ack!" A young girl yelled out ahead of her and spun around to look at her, her long purple hair flowing around her. "You!"

Nanoha blinked as the girl pointed at her. "...Yes?"

"You beat up mommy before!" The girl had a determined look in her eyes.

Nanoha rubbed her forehead. "You can try to beat me up for that later, and I don't know what your problem is, and I don't really care, but let's get out of here for now."

The girl frowned, before nodding. "Okay. I couldn't go any further, and I was trying to find my sister before she did something stupid."

Nanoha just shook her head and grabbed the girl. "Come on, if you stay here any longer, you'll likely get hurt." It was like dealing with her younger brother... Or Val when he wanted to do something that he shouldn't be doing. "What's your name?" Nanoha asked as she picked the girl up and took off the way she came in. "Nanoha here, I think I found the girl."

"My name's Ginga Nakajima." The girl said as she and Nanoha flew down the hallway and out of the building.

Nanoha sweat-dropped heavily. "Oh..."

"She seems mad, my master."

"I think she is." Nanoha dead-panned as she left the burning building behind.

(---)

A bit later...

"So..." Fate looked at Genya. "You're certain?" He nodded and she turned to Hayate and Nanoha, both of whom were preparing spells. "It's clear, let it rip!"

"Divine..." Nanoha started to speak as a pink circle spun under her feet while a blue ball of energy formed at the tip of Raising Heart.

"Cross Freeze..." Hayate held her staff up, a triangle formed in front of her as three balls of blue-white energy formed and pulsed softly while lightning like whips crackled around the balls.

"Sea..."

"BUSTER!" Both girls screamed at the same time.

Everyone watching sweat-dropped heavily as torrents of water erupted from the spells and washed over the airport. The sheer amount of water was almost comical in its amount as it rushed out and consumed everything in its path.

"Are you sure that spell is a modified Sea Blast?" Fate asked Yuuno, who nodded slowly.

"Yeah, but for some reason, I think I was wrong." Yuuno muttered as the water from the spell subsided. When the building became visible again, Yuuno face-faulted. "Note to self, don't let Nanoha ever water the garden, she'd wash it out to the sea."

Next to him on the ground, Fate could only agree silently.

(---)

Later...

"Ugh..." Nanoha groaned as she lay on her back in the hotel room. "So tired..." She was in an over-sized shirt, her panties, which no one could see unless they were looking, and nothing else. "I could sleep for a week."

"You and me both." Fate muttered as she slumped on a chair in nothing but a robe. She blearily looked at the door as Hayate walked in from the bathroom, her face was slightly damp from washing it off. "Hayate?"

"Soot is gross." She rubbed her forehead and sat down on the bed. "Where's Vita-chan?"

Nanoha pointed to the other part of the large hotel room. "She crashed on her bed and fell asleep." Her voice was drowsy and she yawned. "I want to do the same."

"Master, what about the bet?"

Nanoha blinked and perked up. "Oh yeah!" She grinned at Hayate, who was gulping. "Yuuno-kun, could you come to our door?"

"Huh? Sure."

Nanoha grinned at Hayate. "Nope!" She stopped Hayate who was reaching under her shirt. "You're going to wait until Yuuno-kun gets here!"

A moment later, there was a knock on the door and Nanoha walked over and opened it up, revealing Yuuno in just shorts. "Yeah?"

Nanoha grinned, stepped back and pushed Hayate forward. "Your bet!"

Yuuno's face went completely red as he remembered that 'bet'. "Well, ah..." His eyes widened as Hayate reached down, hiking her shirt up, revealing that she was wearing black panties before hooking her thumbs under the waistband of her panties and pulled them down.

"Whoo! What a view, huh, boss?"

Yuuno could only nod slowly as Hayate pulled her panties off and shoved them into his hands before turning to go back to the bed, before tripping over the clothes that were right in front of the door, leaving her to land on her hands and knees.

"Boss, I was wrong, this is the best view ever."

"EEEK!" Hayate, who's mind had basically shut down when she handed her panties over to Yuuno, grabbed her shirt and pulled it down, trying to hide her ass while scrambling away from the door. Snapping a hand out quickly, she cast a quick spell that sent Yuuno flying across the hallway and into the wall, where he slid down slowly.

"Hayate-chan!" Nanoha yelped and scrambled to get to the door, closing it as she apologized to Yuuno and tended to the embarrassed girl. Oddly enough, as Yuuno looked up, he could have sworn that a flash of irritation crossed Fate's features as the door closed completely.

Seeing Hayate's bare ass and other goods on display in his mind after the door closed, Yuuno could only slowly stumble back to his room.

That wasn't a sight that was going to leave his mind any time soon.

Especially when Thoth revealed that he had taken pictures.

For once, Yuuno wasn't complaining about it.

-Cycle End

Spoiler for Comments:

I think the bet went rather well.

[mega1987]

Originally Posted by Nanya01

Hey guys! It's been 1 year (yesterday) since I started Blood That Flows!

Hooray!

Nanya-muse: WHEE! *Glomps DC-muse* I'm SOOO HAPPY!
DC-muse: ... Well, this time, I think you did good.
Nanya-muse: YAY! *HUGS*
DC-muse: AAAAAIIIIRRR!!

Peek's Mini-Arcs:

Yagami Mid Four Dwell Takamachi Scrya Fatherhood Harlaown Dreams Dance Healing Twins Advice History Onwards Mr Snuggles Omake

Cycle Start

Cycle 2

Cycle 3

Spoiler for Blood That Flows - Peek - Cycle End:

Hours later...

Staring at the large fire that had sprung up not too long ago, Vita, Nanoha and Fate all had flat expressions on their faces as they turned their heads and stared at Hayate and Yuuno, who were looking on in shock. "Yuuno-kun..." Nanoha muttered softly. "Since this is yours and Hayate-chan's fault, we're all ganging up on you the next time we spar. I'll even get Signum-san and Zafira-san to join us."

"How is it MY fault," trembled out Yuuno. He knew things were going to get hectic. He was relieved by only one fact. Reinforce wasn't involved. She easily got jealous when it came to Hayate.

"It's your fault, boss, you said that a fire might happen, and what did I tell you?"

"Not now, Thoth." Yuuno sighed, though, he had to admit, he was probably asking for it this time. "Anyway, we should probably just cast a bunch of ice magic and..."

"I wouldn't." A voice interrupted him and the five of them turned to see an older man in a military outfit looking at the fire. "If you manage to cast ice magic that can put the fire out, or even create enough water to do so, you'll put hundreds, maybe even a couple of thousand people in danger of being killed by your efforts to save them."

"Major Nakajima." Hayate nodded to the older man. "What's the situation?"

Genya sighed and rubbed the bridge of his nose. "My family and myself were getting back from a vacation when the fire broke out. My wife ran inside to help get people out, I turned to make a phone call to get the 108th Ground Forces Division out here," he let out a heavy sigh and looked at the fire blearily, "and my daughters disappeared."

"You don't think..?" Hayate started and winced when he nodded.

"I've searched as best I can, but without magical abilities, there's no way I can get close to that fire without serious risk to myself."

"Alright, we'll do what we can." Hayate nodded and looked at the others, her face serious. "You heard him, get in there, find any survivors you can, but keep yourselves safe." They nodded and took to the air before flying straight at the fire. "Be careful and make sure to let us know what's going on!"

"Right!" The others nodded as they disappeared into various directions.

(---)

Graf Eisen was imbued with a light blue color as ice and cold magic flowed around it. Vita grinned as she swung it down and a blast of cold air and water erupted from the head of the device and washed over the flames, cooling and extinguishing them instantly, leaving only embers behind. There really was no need for it to be in Gigant form, as the base form was strong enough to smash walls down and it made it pretty easy to swing around. "Anyone here?! Bang on something if you can hear me!"

Sighing as she didn't hear anyone respond, Vita continued on. Turning the corner and letting out another wash of cold air, she blinked as she saw some children in a barrier. "You okay?" They nodded at her. "Good, hold on, I'll get you out of here." Vita mentally cursed when they said that the girl who put the barrier around them had run further in. "Nanoha, where are you at?"

"Just mopping up on the East side, found Quint-san and a few elderly people. Why?"

"Can you get over to where I am? Looks like some kid wanted to play hero and ran in further. I got a bunch of kids to get out of here before the walls collapse."

"Give me a minute, put up a beacon for me."

"You got twenty seconds." Vita cut off the communication before grabbing the kids and picking them up. "Now, hold on, kids, I'll get you out of here." Returning Graf Eisen to its pendant form, she picked up all three of the children and held them in front of her before turning and flying out where she came from.

As she flew out, she made a note that holding three kids was hard, especially when they were squirming and pressing their heads against her breasts.

(---)

Yuuno frowned softly as he walked through the flames. "Being fire proof really isn't as interesting as I thought it would be." He was really thinking of taking a trip in the future to go see Vrabazard and see if there was a way to make it so that he could feel most heat and cold normally again. About the only good things he could see was that he didn't have to dress really warm in winter and he didn't need to change much for summer either. But taking a hot bath was almost out of the question, unless he wanted it literally boiling.

"Hey, boss, there's someone here."

Blinking, Yuuno held up his hand at the fire and smirked as it instantly cooled and muted itself. As much as he didn't like not being able to feel hot water outside of it boiling, he had to admit, being able to suck the heat out of the air and fire was awesome. He tilted his head as he saw a young girl with short purple hair pinned under some debris. "Hey!" As he ran over to the girl, several chains snapped into being and wrapped around the debris, pulling it off of the girl. "You okay?"

"Ngh..." The girl pushed herself to her knees and looked at him. Yuuno's eyes widened as he saw the blood running over her forehead. "Was trying to help mommy..."

Yuuno felt like rubbing his forehead as he cast a quick recovery spell on the girl. "You shouldn't be in here. Are you part of the Bureau?"

"Ngh..." The girl shook her head slowly. "I'm going to join soon though!" Her eyes sparkled in joy. "Then I can be like Gin-nee, mommy and daddy!"

Yuuno nodded at that. Well, at least it made some sense, if the rest of her family was a Bureau member, she probably would want to be one as well. Oddly enough, even with her dirty clothes, bloodied head and how dirty her skin and hair were, he had the feeling that he had seen her before somehow. "What's your name anyway?"

"Subaru Nakajima!" The girl blinked several times as he pulled his hands away from her head. "Wow! You can heal?"

"Yeah, but it's not my primary ability." Picking the girl up and cradling her in his arms, he smiled at her. "Just hold on, okay?" Subaru nodded and clung to his shirt as Yuuno rotated his arm and brought Thoth, who was in his active form and looked almost like a sentai transformation item on his wrist. "Thoth, what's the quickest way out of here?"

"Straight up, but if you don't want to have to crash through the ceiling and maybe bring the whole place down around you, I got a map for you."

Yuuno nodded as a holographic 3-D miniature map appeared just above his wrist with a red line that showed him the quickest way out. "Alright, hang on tight, Subaru."

She nodded and squeezed tightly. Oddly enough, to her, the heat of the fires around them felt surprisingly cool.

Yuuno blinked and looked down at the girl. He wasn't sure if it was his imagination or not, but it felt like she was snuggling up to him.

(---)

Nanoha sighed as she rounded another corner. "Hello?!"

"Ack!" A young girl yelled out ahead of her and spun around to look at her, her long purple hair flowing around her. "You!"

Nanoha blinked as the girl pointed at her. "...Yes?"

"You beat up mommy before!" The girl had a determined look in her eyes.

Nanoha rubbed her forehead. "You can try to beat me up for that later, and I don't know what your problem is, and I don't really care, but let's get out of here for now."

The girl frowned, before nodding. "Okay. I couldn't go any further, and I was trying to find my sister before she did something stupid."

Nanoha just shook her head and grabbed the girl. "Come on, if you stay here any longer, you'll likely get hurt." It was like dealing with her younger brother... Or Val when he wanted to do something that he shouldn't be doing. "What's your name?" Nanoha asked as she picked the girl up and took off the way she came in. "Nanoha here, I think I found the girl."

"My name's Ginga Nakajima." The girl said as she and Nanoha flew down the hallway and out of the building.

Nanoha sweat-dropped heavily. "Oh..."

"She seems mad, my master."

"I think she is." Nanoha dead-panned as she left the burning building behind.

(---)

A bit later...

"So..." Fate looked at Genya. "You're certain?" He nodded and she turned to Hayate and Nanoha, both of whom were preparing spells. "It's clear, let it rip!"

"Divine..." Nanoha started to speak as a pink circle spun under her feet while a blue ball of energy formed at the tip of Raising Heart.

"Cross Freeze..." Hayate held her staff up, a triangle formed in front of her as three balls of blue-white energy formed and pulsed softly while lightning like whips crackled around the balls.

"Sea..."

"BUSTER!" Both girls screamed at the same time.

Everyone watching sweat-dropped heavily as torrents of water erupted from the spells and washed over the airport. The sheer amount of water was almost comical in its amount as it rushed out and consumed everything in its path.

"Are you sure that spell is a modified Sea Blast?" Fate asked Yuuno, who nodded slowly.

"Yeah, but for some reason, I think I was wrong." Yuuno muttered as the water from the spell subsided. When the building became visible again, Yuuno face-faulted. "Note to self, don't let Nanoha ever water the garden, she'd wash it out to the sea."

Next to him on the ground, Fate could only agree silently.

(---)

Later...

"Ugh..." Nanoha groaned as she lay on her back in the hotel room. "So tired..." She was in an over-sized shirt, her panties, which no one could see unless they were looking, and nothing else. "I could sleep for a week."

"You and me both." Fate muttered as she slumped on a chair in nothing but a robe. She blearily looked at the door as Hayate walked in from the bathroom, her face was slightly damp from washing it off. "Hayate?"

"Soot is gross." She rubbed her forehead and sat down on the bed. "Where's Vita-chan?"

Nanoha pointed to the other part of the large hotel room. "She crashed on her bed and fell asleep." Her voice was drowsy and she yawned. "I want to do the same."

"Master, what about the bet?"

Nanoha blinked and perked up. "Oh yeah!" She grinned at Hayate, who was gulping. "Yuuno-kun, could you come to our door?"

"Huh? Sure."

Nanoha grinned at Hayate. "Nope!" She stopped Hayate who was reaching under her shirt. "You're going to wait until Yuuno-kun gets here!"

A moment later, there was a knock on the door and Nanoha walked over and opened it up, revealing Yuuno in just shorts. "Yeah?"

Nanoha grinned, stepped back and pushed Hayate forward. "Your bet!"

Yuuno's face went completely red as he remembered that 'bet'. "Well, ah..." His eyes widened as Hayate reached down, hiking her shirt up, revealing that she was wearing black panties before hooking her thumbs under the waistband of her panties and pulled them down.

"Whoo! What a view, huh, boss?"

Yuuno could only nod slowly as Hayate pulled her panties off and shoved them into his hands before turning to go back to the bed, before tripping over the clothes that were right in front of the door, leaving her to land on her hands and knees.

"Boss, I was wrong, this is the best view ever."

Seeing Hayate's bare ass and other goods on display, Yuuno could only nod again and slowly stumble back to his room as Nanoha closed the door.

That wasn't a sight that was going to leave his mind any time soon.

Especially when Thoth revealed that he had taken pictures.

For once, Yuuno wasn't complaining about it.

- Cycle End

Spoiler for Comments:

I think the bet went rather well.

Amy: I bet you two learned a VERY valuable lesson today.

Yuuno and Hayate: *looks at the ground* Yes ma'am.

Mariemeia: And that's never, EVER tempt Fate.

*Everyone looks at Fate Testarossa Inverse.*

Mariemeia: NOT FATE T. INVERSE, YOU SHORT-SIGHTED FOOLS!

Elane: And NEVER TRY invoking Murphy's Law together with it.

Odin: For once, I agree with the twins' opinions.

Me: Well, they're NOT nuts about maiming/killing/slaughter(Mariemeia) or about firearms and using them in the most extreme way(Elane) all the time Odin.

Val: Everyone got a way to cope up with your parents loss, Odin. *mumbles about not finding out the truth before HIS death.*

Reia: From the looks of things. *looks at Subaru and Ginga* A new Fan and Rival is born from this one.

Iris: I agree with you, Rei.

Sarah: Excuse me while I hunt some perverts who still wishing that Nanya do a lot more HOTTER scenes after this one.

*Draws Haeryongdo and leaves the room.*

Me: Oh well... Anyways, Happy Anniversary on Blood That Flows fanfic!

Odin: Bring out the booze and hard drinks!

Reia: I'll drink to that! *Drinks a glass of Kusuha Mizuha's Health drink.*

Iris: Same here! *Also drinks a glass of the said health drink.*

Val: I wonder did those two inherits HIS stomach.

Me: I DONT want to figure HOW in the world they can stand THAT health drink...