I was never one to wait impatiently for a phone call because normally it meant that someone was hurt in one way or another. This time, however, I have been waiting for three days while holding my breath every time a monitor appeared in front of me. The moment I finished taking photos of Nanoha's eyes and released her from in infantry I contacted one of my friends who specialized in visual care. Ironically it was the same person who I spoke to when getting Nanoha's glasses made. Back then I only gave him the prescription since she refused to let me do anything other than get her what she needed. I was told he would examine the pictures for me and tell me more details as soon as he could. Although honestly I wanted him to get back to me in a day's time or so because I was extremely worried but I also knew that he was a busy man and was already going out of his way for me. With a sigh I closed my eyes and took a long drink of the hot spiced tea in my mug. A familiar beeping sound caught my attention and I turned to look at the floating monitor next to me, displaying the name 'Claude C. Kennedy'. It took everything to not spill my drink on myself when I hastily went to answer the call. “Claude-kun!” I greeted, barely containing myself. “Do you have any news about the patient I sent images of?” I felt bad for not greeting him properly but Nanoha was already gone to Earth now and the time I had to make sure she was ready for battle again was already wearing thin.
6th Mobile Division: Redemption IV
By: Satashi
Claude smiled without humor. “Shamal-kun, you said that this girl was recently blinded in an attack?” After getting a nod he continued while sending several images towards the female at the same time. “Yes, it has confused all of us. I had to get a second and third opinion, we've never seen anything like this before.” On the woman's side several monitors appeared around her, each displaying some of the images and X-rays of Nanoha's eyes. “What you sent me clearly revealed damaged rods and cones, the very things that makes the eye perceive color and light. However... It also shows that this has been damaged for several years now, not recently done.”
“But she could see just fine up until this incident?”
“Yes, that's what you said in your report and that's what confused all of us. You see, right here,” A specific image went in front of both of them and he pointed. “This shows that the cones are dead, having been destroyed. There is scar tissue around them, but at the same time, there is something else, something we can't place. Compare your patient to a healthy eye,” Several more images came up. “Notice anything?”
Shamal leaned forward, observing. “Yes, Nanoha-chan's eyes have some type of fog all over them... I thought that was just my equipment?”
“No, this is something that none of us have ever seen. It's highly resembles magical healing on eyes, which you know was banned by the health government because of the risk of causing brain damage...”
“I didn't do anything,” She defended herself. “I don't even know how.”
“I wasn't implying you was, I was just saying,” Claude soothed her. “The point is, this girl has been blind for several years. Whatever allowed her to see seems to be gone now, as if it was moved away from her.”
“Moved...” Shamal went silent a moment, recalling the operation on her. “...The Jewel seed moved inside her body...” She gasped. “Back then, when she was healed!”
“I'm sorry?” The man looked confused.
“It's a dreadfully long story, and classified top secret... Can I ask for you to stay quiet about this from now on? Don't let anyone else know please.”
“...Okay, Shamal-kun. I'll cover myself, should I keep investigating?”
“Yes, please, by all means... I will as well, I'll contact you as soon as I find out something. But tell me this, if she stays the way she is, will she recover normally?”
“It's a miracle she could see at all, so unless the miracle comes back I'm sorry to say she will be blind for life.”
“...I see, thank you for your time. I'll get you a budget increase for helping me...”
“Shamal-kun, this girl obviously means a lot to you. I don't need a bribe to continue researching this. All you need to do is ask.” He smiled at her. “I'll stay in touch.” With that the screen cut off.
The doctor put her forehead against her palm and leaned forward. “She lost her vision back then...Skeith was allowing her to see by grafting herself into her eyes... If the jewel seed is no longer able to do that...Does that mean it died while trying to heal Nanoha during the operation? Or maybe just out of magic?” Shamal bit her thumbnail on her free hand. “The only way to know is to get her to phase shift into her Skeith form but not even Nanoha can do that on her own; she has to have her life threatened before Skeith awakens inside her... This just got a lot more complicated.”
“It'll be okay Sweetheart,” Fate soothed her as best she could. “You'll feel better once we get to Suzuka's house.”
“Where are we?” She asked for the tenth time since they boarded the bus.
“Ummm, almost there, we've been out of the city for a bit now so it shouldn't be too much longer.” Fate looked out the window. “Actually, I see her house, we're going to get off in just a moment.” Just as she started, Hayate reached up and pushed the request stop button. The vehicle slowed down as per request and soon stopped outside of the gates leading to the mansion. “Come on, let's get off.” Standing, she allowed both of her hands to move behind herself and felt each one being taken by her friend. “Stepping down, three times. There you go.” As soon as the bus took off she allowed Nanoha to stand beside her and felt very proud of her for not clinging at her side like she thought would happen. “Wow, havn't been here for a while have we?”
“You said it,” Yuuno replied absently. “I keep forgetting how rich our friends are...”
“Have I ever mentioned I feel awful doing things like this?” Hayate pondered aloud as she pushed the intercom button next to the gate. Seconds passed before she pushed it again, this time getting a response. “We're friends of Suzuka-chan,” She spoke into the device. “We're here on a surprise visit.” The gate opened to them and the four made their way down the long driveway. “Walking for five minutes just to reach the door. I wonder if I'll ever get a house like this.”
“A forward room is all I need,” Yuuno spoke his thoughts aloud.
Nanoha laughed at that. “Yeah but you stay at everyone else's place all the time so it doesn't really matter.”
“Hey,” Hayate came to his defense. “I invite him over all the time, he's not just lounging.”
“Sure, sure,” Fate smirked at her friend, getting a quick blush before Hayate turned on her. “I wonder what she will say when we get there?” Upon reaching the door they only had to knock once before it was opened by a maid. The small group was ushered in and only had to wait a few moments before a startled cry met their ears. “Suzuka!” Fate smiled brightly at her friend and opened her arms when she was ran to and hugged. “I missed you too!”
“What are you doing here?” She asked happily, quickly going to the others for a hug as well. “It's been half a year! And oh my god, Fate you cut your hair!”
“Some things have come up,” Hayate told her nervously. “We're half here on business, half for fun...”
“We'll get to business later!” She waved it off. “I understand how hard it must be sometimes. Nanoha, stop standing there, come hug me!”
“... How about you come hug me instead?” She asked, a smile still on her face as she held out her arms. “Come on!” Her wish was granted and the two life long friends gripped each other tightly.
“How are you?” She asked her softly. “Staying out of trouble right? Nothing dangerous?”
Nanoha thought back on the question. The abduction of her forward along with the forest set up. Matching it came her almost breaking Fate's neck while she hung herself. To top it off they had done a mission with a two percent chance of survival. Fate was thought dead and ended up losing all her memories for a while. Finally she had her butt kicked by some un-known assassin who was trying to kill them all. “Nothing out of the ordinary,” She told her friend shyly. “But there's one small thing...”
“What?” She seemed to lose the cheerfulness at the sudden silence. “Nanoha? You're scaring me, what's wrong?”
“She's blind,” Fate whispered, feeling her heart tighten at the sudden shock on her friend's face. “For a few days now.”
“Please don't make a big deal,” Nanoha asked of her friend as she was hugged again. “I can handle this as long as I don't have to repeat the same thing over and over and over...”
“Okay, okay.” Her voiced sounded as if she was anything but okay with not asking her questions. “You said half business? Is something going on?”
“Actually...” Hayate began, looking ashamed at what she was about to ask.
“Fate-san said they used it as a base for several years for any activity happening around this area. Actually, didn't she say that she lived here for a long time?”
Elio nodded. “I've been here before, we used it as a summer house for vacation time.” Walking up to the house he kneeled down and lifted a small fake rock to take out a key from under it. “There's a special way to get in, to protect it from being robbed while it's not in use,” He explained to them, slipping in the key and pressing his palm against the large doorbell. After a moment the door clicked open and allowed them entrance. “A key to turn on the program and once activated it swaps to Midchilda style locks.”
“A hand scanner,” Tia mused, inspecting it. “This planet is only bottom mid-level technologically right? This kind of thing isn't normal around here is it?”
“Mm,” He agreed as they walked in. “Wow, it's amazingly clean.”
“Because I cleaned up,” A new voice stated, making everyone turn to a small girl with dog ears and tail. “You got here sooner than I thought, I was napping and heard you come in.”
“Arf-san!” Caro and Elio ran forward to greet the child excitedly. “How have you been!?”
“Great,” Arf hugged the each in turn before greeting the others, who she had only met twice before. Despite having to ask Lutecia's name again she still welcomed the purple haired one into the house and started leading them. “This is really just a summer house used for gatherings, so make yourself right at home since you're not 'invading' anyone's house.” She pointed around. “Kitchen is over there, living room here, obviously, over there is a half-bath. Dining room through there,” She moved her small hand as she spoke, guiding them to the stairs. “I'll show you your rooms for now so you ca get unpacked. Fate's room is here, Stars members here next to it, Lightning is here, and Hayate's is across the hall.” The puppy-girl crossed her arms and nodded to herself. “You can stick to that or change if you wish. Sorry to crowd you like that but we're jamming several people in this house. Lindy is coming as well so probably end up using the fold down couch as well.”
“Cramped, as always.” Elio clamped his hand over his mouth quickly.
“See!?” Subaru declared while pointing at him. “His voice cracked again!”
“It did not” Elio protested, falling prey to his voice squeaking again. “Ugh...”
“Aw, Elio is becoming a man!” Tia leaned over and grinned at him. “Congratulations.”
Elio looked away in embarrassment. “Don't read too far into it...”
Subaru put a finger to her chin. “But isn't eleven years old too early for that? He just had his birthday...”
Arf laughed. “Guess he matures fast for his age.”
Elio walked into a room and flicked the switch on. “Many memories here...” He spoke aloud, trying to change the topic onto anything but him hitting puberty.
Caro followed him in along with Lutecia. “How many times have you been here?” She pondered, liking the chance to learn something new about her knight.
“Probably been here a good two months total. Few days here, few days there. Lots of swapping before a steady home.” he tossed his duffel bag down and started unloading it into the empty drawers. “As Arf-san said, no one lives here so everything is empty. Claim a spot and go with it. I'll sleep on the floor you two can have the bed.”
“No!” Caro instantly countered him. “Elio can have the bed.”
“Caro-hime...” He was going to protest but Lutecia eyed him, clearly telling him her thoughts before he could speak his own. “...How about we take turns...?”
Across the hall Tia looked around the empty room after dropping her bag onto the ground. “Not too shabby,” She mused. “About the same size as the forward rooms really, maybe a little smaller, but for a actual one person room it's really nice.”
“Ah, a water bed!” Subaru yelled out, startled as she fell back onto it. “How cool!”
“Ugh, I'm never going to get any sleep.” Tia face-palmed.
“Why is that?” She wondered as she made waves and giggled as her body rocked.
“Because you can't stay still for a minute when sleeping and I'm going to get seasick from the motion...”
“Hayate-chan!” Suzuka looked offended. “You know good and well I don't need anything in return! What can I do for you? Lodging? Need money? Transpiration? All of the above?”
“I would love to stay with you but even if the risk of us being tracked here are less than one percent we can't take that chance...”
The purple haired girl waved it off. “Don't worry, you can't stay here but we can still be together as long as you're not seen going in and out of my house at night, got you. Well then, let's get this out of the way so we can have fun.” Reaching into her purse, she took out her checkbook. Her pen hovered slightly above the pages. “Actually...” Looking up she smiled. “This could actually work out really well for me. You see, I'm planning on going into college soon but the best places for engineering aren't in Japan. I need to learn a new language and once you go so far you have to fly anyway to come back home...” Her voice trailed off with a light smile on her lips.
“What, come to Midchilda?” Nanoha asked quickly. “But your family, your friends, your-”
“My family isn't home much you know that Nanoha-chan. As for my friends, my only close one is Arisa-chan and she wants to move there as well. I want to reclaim you four as my close friends again, no more of this seeing each other three times in... how many years?” Suzuka frowned. “I miss you. All of you.”
Fate softened, moving over to hug her. “We miss you too, but the paperwork and things needed... and your money can't transfer because this isn't a T.S.A.B governed planet.”
Hayate finally caught what was going on. “You want to trade money with us on earth for Midchilda credit don't you!?” She received a peace sign, making Hayate laugh. “And as a collaborator your terms are permission for you and your friend to move to our planet?” Again another happy nod. “Mou... What am I going to do with you?”
“Preferably say I can transfer a lot of money so I can get a good start on a new planet.”
The brown haired girl laughed, getting in to drive after touching the door handle before Fate could to claim it. “Government gives a certain amount of money for issued protection and since we're all military it's higher. Add in the fact there are nine of us and we have a large amount we can draw from. That and the fact that a twelve pack of soda cost almost five dollars here and only two on Midchilda, she basically doubled her investment. She won't be rich anymore but she will have more than enough to move and start her college on Midchilda... Although the sheer amount of paperwork I'm going to have to do to allow the transfer is already giving me a headache.”
“Anyway, where to now? Arisa won't be home until late tonight.” Nanoha thought aloud. “Back to the house?”
“Don't you want to see your family?” Yuuno turned around to look at the couple in the middle row of seats. “It's been half a year since you two last saw them.”
Nanoha turned her head, appearing as if she was gazing out the van window. “We have more important things to set up right now.”
Fate closed her eyes a moment before speak. “Hayate, head to Nanoha's house. Drop us off please.”
“Fate, I just said-”
“Nanoha be quiet.” Fate spoke firmly. “We're going and that's final. I'm not going to let you avoid your family after you told me not a week ago that you wanted to ask for leave time to see them again.”
“But-”
“No buts. It will be hard at first but after it's over and you can be with them every day while we're here it will be worth it.”
Hayate smiled to herself, driving them back into town. “I guess that's what they call 'tough love' huh?” In the back seat she heard Nanoha mutter something about Fate being mean. “Those two... I swear, they never change do they?” Several minutes passed by in comfortable silence with the radio filling in for the lack of conversation. After what seemed like no time at all Hayate pulled up to Nanoha's old house and looked at it with fond memories of after school snacks and sleepovers. “We're here. Should we pick you two up later after everything is situated?”
Fate looked over at Nanoha and gripped her shaking hand. “We'll probably end up staying the night. I can use Bardiche to contact you at the house since it has the M2D installed, I have the frequency stored already. Take care of things for me all right? Tell Arf that I'll spend tomorrow with her as well if you would?” She got two nods before the sliding door opened, allowing the two to slip out of the van and look at the quiet house. “Nanoha, sorry to do this to you, but you'll thank me, I promise.” The brown haired girl nodded her head nervously and swallowed. “Wow you look really nervous...”
“Gee Fate, telling my family that worries about me all the time about being military that 'Hey! I'm suddenly blind and helpless but still going to work there!' wouldn't make anyone at all nervous would it!?” She shook as she heard the van pulling away. “Fate I can't do this; I just can't! I can deal when I don't have to talk about it but when people start asking questions it just hits me all over again and-”
“Shhh,” Putting an arm around the girl she lead her to the gate and through it. “You can't avoid your family Honey.” Reaching up she rang the doorbell.
“I hate you...” She was already starting to cry. “Fate how can you do this to me...?” Before the blond could reply the door opened and the familiar voice of her mother greeted the two. All at once she was pulled into a hug and was fussed over happily. “Mom,” She couldn't continue, instead hugging her mother closer and trying not to cry. Momoko looked over at Fate questioningly a moment before getting an answer.
“Can we come in? Everyone needs to be together for this.” Fate was ushered inside while Nanoha still clung to her mother. “Hello, Shiro-san.” She bowed lightly to the older man before getting a hug for herself. “Sorry to drop by unannounced.”
“You're always welcome!” He told her happily. “What brings you two to this planet? Hey, What's wrong with Nanoha?” Moving over to the two females he hugged his daughter. “Nanoha?”
“Um,” Fate got their attention back on her. “Miyuki-san and Kyoya-san?”
“At the coffee shop,” Momoko guided Nanoha over to the couch and gave her an odd look when she stumbled after almost tripping over the small table. “Did something happen?”
Fate, seeing her lover about to lose anything she had left, took the matter into her own hands. “Well, you see, Long story short we turned down a merger offer with some really cruel people. After this they sent assassins after us to be sure we couldn't be used against them if we weren't going to be with them,” Holding up her hand, she cut off any interruptions. “Nanoha fought one of them and well... lost. She was hit by an attack and as a result she lost her vision.” The silence that hung in the air was thick.
Nanoha spoke first as she pulled away from Momoko. “I'm making it all right,” She told them as she tried her best to steady herself. “My friends are there with me and-” She was cut off by a sudden hug again from both parents. Several words mixed together and questions running in on each other.
“Um!” Fate spoke loudly to get them to look at her again. “Please, I know it's hard but let me answer the questions for you. Nanoha get upset when she has to talk about it... I don't want to see her cry...”
“We're not lost!” Tia denied furiously. “We can call and get directions back!”
“Our devices rely on the M2D for communications between each other.”
“Then we'll contact the M2D at the house!”
“Did you store the frequency number while we were there?”
Tia looked dejected a moment before trying again. “We can ask for directions to the house itself.”
“I don't know the address, do you?”
“You're not helping!”
Subaru winced. “Don't yell at me...”
With a sigh the gunslinger looked around. “Sorry, I'm just annoyed. I told them I didn't want to go shopping. We don't even know what a few of these things are. Seriously... Why didn't they just let the Lightning members do it, Lutecia asked Elio on a date anyway.” The girl looked down at the plastic bag she was carrying and sighed once again. “I felt so embarrassed having to ask a clerk for the items. He looked at us like we were stupid and when we told him we weren't originally from this planet it only got worse.”
Her partner laughed uneasily. “Sorry, I forgot that this place didn't have inter-planet transportation.” Looking around some more she grinned. “Hard to believe that three Aces of the T.S.A.B all came from this run-down little planet isn't it?” The two shared a laugh at the thought. “Hey look! A cake shop!” Without waiting for a response Subaru ran ahead and looked in the window. “Midori café huh?” She mused at the different things in the window. “Tia-Tia! Let's have some!”
“Subaru, you know we shouldn't. We will have lunch when we get back to the house and besides, eating too much strange food will give you a tummy ache.” They didn't even have any earth money as it was anyway.
“It's cake, it's not foreign!” She protested. “We have similar things on Midchilda it can't be that different!” Moving to walk into the store she smiled at her friend. “Besides, what could go wrong with a little cake?” Just as she pushed open the door three figures turned around and ran at her with knives. Her body acted before her mind even took in the situation by grabbing the first man's arm to lead the knife away from her vital points. With a slight turn she threw him over her shoulder and onto the ground before slamming her fist into his stomach roughly. “What the hell!?”
“They just robbed the store!” One of the people cried out as a male from behind the counter leapt over the separator and over to them.
“Subdue him I'll get the others!” Tia darted out the door and gave chase to the two men running from her. “Stop running!” She warned them as cross mirage came to her right hand. “Last chance! Stop running or you'll be persecuted to the full extent of the law!” The two men continued to run from her despite the protest. 'Ugh, fine we'll do it the hard way.' The gunslinger doubled her pace as she pushed through the streets crowded with people. The two seemed to be running almost side by side but still one of them was starting to fall behind slightly. With the slower one in sight a plan formed inside of her head. Leaning forward she prepared herself before jumping and used a boost from what little flight she could muster. Her barrier Jacket flared to life as she went on the offensive, one foot lashing out and catching the man on the back of his knee. Tia grabbed the back of the man's head as he fell and went with him, slamming his forehead onto the concrete and rendering him unconscious. Not stopping there she sprang into a forward flip from her one handed cartwheel and landed her her feet once again. “I'll shoot if you don't stop!” Her words clearly scared the man as the gun trained on him. “Cross mirage, civilian mode!” She received a confirmation and narrowed her eyes, firing once. The man fell all as the stunning bullet slammed into his back. Once she caught up to him she slid down and grabbed the back of his neck to haul him to his feet. “Just had to run didn't you?”
“What's going on here?” A uniformed policeman ran onto the scene and looked at the girl holding a man. Seeing her weapon he pulled his own and trained it on them. “Stand with your hands above your head.”
“These people robbed a store.” Tia told him casually as she holstered her gun at her waist. “There's one more behind me and another at the store itself, my partner has him.” Reaching back, she took out Cross Mirage's card and showed him her I.D. “Tiana Lanster of Riot Force Six here on vacation.” Before he could fully inspect the card she flipped it shut and slid it into her pocket. “I'll show you back to the other, can you handcuff them?”
Subaru looked up as Tia entered the café and waved to her. “Ya-ho! Get them both?” She seemed happy despite what had just happened. “Tia-Tia, they offered us all the cake we could eat for stopping them, isn't that great!?”
“Stop with the pet names,” She protested lightly as the officer cuffed the third and final man. Seeing the man who had given chase she tossed him the bag of money. “Here, It's all I saw on them.”
“Thank you,” He looked in it and nodded. “Looks like all of it. Sorry, I was going to try and stop them myself but I was afraid they would hurt some of the people here...” His eyes looked to the side where a few elderly people were sitting, obviously shaken from the ordeal. “Please, stay and have something to eat?”
“I could go for a drink if you don't mind? Oh! And if you could, could you give us directions? We're kind of lost...” Tia scratched her cheek and left it to the man to get them their request after putting the money back into the cash register. His female work partner wrapped the rest up with the police before coming over to them as well.
“Hello,” She greeted them with a small bow. “Thank you very much for the help.” The two tried to wave it off as part of their job. “You two are police?”
“Military,” Subaru told her without thinking about it. “We're the forwards of Riot Force Six under Nanoha Takamachi.”
The girl gasped. “Section Six!? Nanoha!?” She pointed at them, trying hard to remember their names. Having only met them once before it took her a moment to recall the information. “Subaru-san and Tia-san!?”
It clicked for both of them at the same time. “Miyuki-san!?” The orange haired one spoke first, getting a nod. “Midori Café... Nanoha's family's store... What are the odds...”
“Apparently really good.” Kyoya joined in, setting down a plate that had several sampler pieces of cake as well as iced tea for both of them. “What are you two doing here?”
Miyuki nodded. “And is Nanoha here as well!?”
The two looked at each other, wondering just how much they should reveal.
“Installing the M2D device for this house,” She replied absently while looking at the instructions. “Yuuno was supposed to do it but was caught up at our house so I'm doing it instead.” After nodding to her self she pushed a few more buttons on the suitcase sized box. “I think this should work... We will be able to route the transmission through patrolling warships and contact Midchilda now but there will be a five to ten second delay and bad signal quality. At least that's what Yuuno said. At least while we're here we can contact the house and back any time we want with no ill effects.” She closed the device and slid it under the bed before raising her hands up. “Computer, display main menu.” To her call a screen came in front of her requesting the specifics of the house and profiles. “Good, I'll show Momoko how to handle this later on. Computer, close windows and set up upon next opening.” A small beep greeted her and she sat on the bed behind her fiancée. “How was your bath?”
“Horrible,” She spoke softly, rubbing her hands together. “Mom freaked out about my injuries and I tried to hide the scars on my back but she saw them anyway. I hate when they worry about me. I'm a-”
“Tough cookie,” Fate finished for her with a smile. “They will learn that eventually don't worry.” Moving around, she placed her hands on Nanoha's shoulders and removed the towel. “They are healing nicely actually. I packed the healing bandages I requested from Shamal, so let me wrap you up right fast okay?” Without getting a reply Nanoha simply lifted her arms. Fate slowly moved them around Nanoha's body and snipped the end to snap it together. “There, it's a little cold I'm sure, but stick with it okay?” She was answered in silence again, making her nervously try and bring up a new topic. “So, here we are on Earth again... want to get some ice cream tomorrow?”
“Fate,” The word came out softly but it was enough to make the blond stop rambling. “I'm sorry.”
“For what?”
“I said such a hateful thing to you.” Closing her eyes, she looked down. “Now that I'm here and have been with my family for a while...Even though it was hard at first and the hugs my brother and sister gave me really hurt... I'm glad I did it... so glad... I was going to stay here the entire time and not let them know I was hurt but... You know me so well and forced me here even though you knew I would be mad at you for it... and I said that earlier... I'm sorry. I love you.”
“I know,” Fate sat down next to her and placed an arm around the girl's shoulders. “You was just upset-”
“That's not the point!” Her words got harder, once again making Fate go silent. “I said such a bad thing.”
“It's not the first time either of us said that, silly.” Fate comforted her with a gently squeeze. “Remember that time when we first started living together and I was so mad at you for leaving your stuff everywhere after I just finished cleaning? And you were mad at me because I picked out curtains and matching things without consulting you?” Nanoha smiled to herself at the memory. “I threw that pillow at you and you tossed one back and we ended up screaming at each other how it wouldn't work out living together... Oh man that sucked. I slept on the couch that night and we both said we hated each other before turning out the lights... And what happened the next morning?”
“It was the first time I made you breakfast,” Nanoha recalled it. “And we apologized for what we did...you took back what you bought even though I said not to...”
“And the world goes on and we got closer for it, huh?” Fate leaned over and kissed Nanoha's cheek.
“Fate... I'm so sorry. I'm fine one moment and the next I break down and you comfort me just to do it over again. I'm like a broken record but I don't mean to be.”
“Shush. I understand. Just tell me anything you want to.”
Nanoha leaned over against her. “Am I unfit to take care of Caro-chan?”
“No,” the enforcer shook her head despite Nanoha not being able to see her. “For various reasons that I could list off but you wouldn't really listen to them anyway right now. Just know that you wouldn't be a bad mother. You being worried about it is proof enough.” A small silence passed by yet again. “Anything else?”
The brown haired girl shook her head. “No, I'm okay. I want to get over this, it's been a few days now already. Let's get some sleep?” She felt her hair be freed and finger combed lightly. “Thank you.”
“I'll get your night shirt, lift your arms up?” Nanoha did as requested and was clothed a few moments later. The covers were pulled back and the two slid under them, curling up against each other. “You know,” Fate spoke up again. “We don't cuddle near enough in bed.”
“Because you always move away from me.”
“Because you snore.”
Nanoha smiled to herself, for once not denying it. “I love you Fate.” She heard her friend reply in kind and closed her eyes, drifting off peacefully in the rare treat of being embraced from behind.
“I don't mind,” She told him as she sat on the bed and looked out the window. “It's healthy for a boy.”
Closing the door he stepped into the room. “But still... sorry. I thought you was already asleep.”
“I decided to shower first,” She informed him as if he couldn't guess from her slightly damp mass of hair. Currently it was frizzy and wild, straying all over the place without a care. “Come,” She pet the bed next to her and leaned against him when he sat on the bed. “We havn't been alone together in a while, have we?”
“I guess not. It's weird thinking back on it. You stayed in my room all the time to keep me company then.”
“Mm...” Lutecia looked over at him. “I still can't believe you stayed with me after everything...”
“I told you I would,” He informed her with a light smile. “How could I just leave you, Lutecia?”
“Elio...” She moved slowly, placing her hands onto his shoulders and pushing him down onto the bed. “Can I... still not get a pet name from you?” She looked at him with sad eyes. “Can I not be your princess?”
“Lutecia,” He closed his eyes and thought. “Lulu.” He declared at her finally. “I'm going to call you Lulu.” He felt her breath close to his face and suddenly had a strange desire creeping up from his stomach. “Um,” He opened his eyes to look right into hers as she rested her forehead against his. “Lulu...?”
“Yes?” She laid her body on top of his. “What is it, Eli-chan?” She came up with a cute name for him on the spot.
“This... I don't really...”
“Do you want me to move?” The male looked at her a long while, not being able to find an answer to the simple question. “Can I... kiss you?” Again he couldn't seem to answer her, allowing the girl to close her eyes and lean over the rest of the way and awkwardly put her lips on his. Not sure about how to go about it, she pulled back enough to collect herself and try again, this time almost doing it properly.
A loud gasp made them both pull apart and look towards the door where Caro had a hand over her mouth. “Caro-hime!” Elio looked at her a moment before looking back at Lutecia. “This is...”
“Elio you idiot!” With those words she turned and slammed the door.
“I...” He looked away sadly.
“Go,” Lutecia told him softly, making him look at her. “I want you to myself,” She began her explanation, falling back into the habit of touching his cheek gently. “But Caro-chan is my friend and you are still unsure... So please, talk to her and tell her I was the one who did it.”
“Lulu?”
“Go, before I change my mind.” Moving off of him, she gave the boy a small nudge. Taking the chance he ran away from her and through the door, calling out to his princess. 'Stupid...' She scolded herself as she touched the warm spot on the bed where he just was. 'Why can't this just be simple...? He belonged to her first.' She fell onto the bed and buried her face into the pillow sadly. 'Am I just an annoyance to them both? But he kissed me back...' With a small sigh she curled up on the bed and faced the wall. 'I wanted you to stay with me instead of chasing her...'
Elio opened the sliding door leading out to the balcony and stepped into the warm night. “Caro-hime?” He asked softly, walking over to her. “I...”
“You can see stars here,” She spoke up suddenly. “It's kind of weird isn't it? Earth only having one moon I mean. It makes the nights a lot darker so there are more streetlights around here. I wonder if that's why there is a weird feeling in the air on this planet. So much power being ran everywhere by such weird methods.”
The red head stood next to her and leaned onto the rail as well. “Could be.”
Standing in silence, the two looked around the sky. “Do you like her?” She finally spoke up on the topic he had come for. “I understand, she's very pretty.”
“I don't know,” He told her truthfully. “I feel something for her, but it's there for you too. I think of you each the same.”
“Oh?” She turned to look at him and almost made the boy jump back at the sudden gentle look. “Then will you kiss me too?”
“Kiss?” He looked nervous. “Caro-hime, that in there just happened and” He growled as his voice broke yet again.
“I don't mind,” She told him while stepping forward and reaching her hands up behind his neck. “Is this how it goes?” Leaning up on her tiptoes she flecked his lips lightly in a testing manor. Once done she kissed him fully, leaving her mouth on his for a full four seconds before pulling back. “Wow, it really does make your heart beat fast.”
Elio swallowed, feeling the strange sensation in his gut again. “Caro-hime...?” She looked up at him happily.
“Yes, my dragoon?” She whispered, feeling her heart beat faster than it currently was. “...Another?”
“I...” Moving down, he wrapped his arms around her waist and pulled her closer a moment before stopping and moving away. “I... don't know what I'm doing.” He confessed to her. “I feel strange, my body is trying to get me to do things that I- I don't even know how to do!”
“It's okay, I don't want anything else.” She smiled up at him happily. “I feel safe now, just knowing you kissed me. Strange isn't it? How such a simple act can make you feel all funny inside?”
“Y-yeah. Strange, huh?”
“Ne?” She met his eyes again. “Between Lutecia-chan and myself... I can wait until you're ready. I'm not even sure about what's going on right now but Lutecia-chan seems to... So... So I'll try my best! I like Elio-kun, so I'll find out what I'm feeling!So please... Please think about me too? I want to explore this with you. I want to find out what is going on... I know we're young but we're already living in an adult life.”
“Yeah,” He nodded at her. “I'll find out what's going on, what it is I'm feeling as well. Someday I'll be sure of myself but right now I'm just learning. Please wait for me as well?”
“I will.” She blushed up at him. “Wow, I feel so grown up all of a sudden.” The remark made Elio crack a smile at her. “Well then... I'll go talk to Lutecia-chan. Give me five minutes to settle things?”
“Sure.” Elio walked with her back into the house and gave Subaru a small wave when she passed by him. “Hey Subaru-san,” He greeted nervously at the look he was getting.
“Hello Elio,” She replied in kind while bending over to be on more eye level with him. “I thought you was going to bed?”
“Yeah well, I just thought-” With a grown he looked to the floor as Subaru cheered out at his high pitched word. “Subaru please stop teasing me.”
“No way,” She ruffled his hair as she passed by on the way to her room. Once there she gave him a small little wave before disappearing behind the door. “Hey Tia-Tia.”
The girl changing for bed groaned. “ 'Tia' is already a nickname, why do you need to make it into a pet name?”
Subaru smiled at her while stripping down. “Because everyone calls you Tia now, I need something else.” Once in her pajamas she fell onto the water bed and giggled happily as she swayed with it. “Ah, it's nice and cool...”
“Mou.” Tia turned off the lights and soon joined her. “I guess we're sharing a bed while we're here, huh?” Her answer came in the form of Subaru pulling her against her chest and cuddling the girl. “S-Subaru... I can't sleep like this.” She blushed lightly in the dark, feeling the girl's breath ruffle her hair.
“If you want me to stay still,” Subaru protested as she took full advantage of the small bed. “Then you will have to hold me.”
“But...” Tia felt her resolve weaken when her back was stroked. “It's embarrassing...”
“You said that last time,” Subaru countered her in a whisper. “But we made due, didn't we?”
“We-well, after we made love I wasn't about to leave you...”
“Then let's make love.” Subaru reached down to grab Tia's butt and squeezed just hard enough to make her gasp out before claiming her lips in a kiss.
“Mmnn!!? Mm?!! Mnn!... Mm...Mmmmnnnn...”
“Two months ago,” Arisa sighed out while waving it off. “He was a real creep anyway; I don't know what I saw in him.” Her watch caught her eye as she did the motion and looked at in in shock. “Wow, already three in the morning? Time sure flies, no wonder I was getting so sleepy.” The girl rubbed her eyes and yawned out loudly. “Ack, just saying it actually made me tired.” To her relief Suzuka also yawned out. “You guys don't seem that tired?”
Yuuno took the question. “It's only about eleven our time,” He glanced at his watch to confirm this. “We're sectioned off in twenty-four hour days as well but our hours last seventy minutes.” The man grinned at their sleepy faces. “What say we call it a night here and pick up tomorrow?” The group of them nodded and stood up. “Since Fate and Nanoha are spending the time with their family we have a room.” The group moved up the stairs in a mass, cutting off the lights once they reached the top. “Do you two mind sleeping together?” He already knew the answer but asked it anyway to be polite. After they confirmed that they didn't mind at all they were ushered to the master bedroom that would also be the bunny couple's room. A quick goodnight later and the two were free to continue down the hall. “Well, I guess I'll say my goodnight here.”
“Eh?” Hayate waved one arm out while holding onto a sleeping Arf-puppy with the other. “I can't take the only bed left, that would be rude. You sleep here and I'll sleep on the couch downstairs.”
“Nuh-uh,” Yuuno cut off her escape path. “You have a lot on your mind, I can tell. You get in bed and sleep well; I've spent countless nights sleeping on the ground during digs so a couch is still a step up.”
“But you've been sleeping in a bed for the past few months, you're not used to it anymore,” Hayate retorted, once again trying to move past him. “Mou, Yuuno, I'm not taking your bed!”
Arf stirred in Hayate's arms and opened her eyes lazily. “Both of you take the bed, I'll sleep on the couch.” With that she hopped from Hayate's hold and walked a few steps before changing into a small child and rubbing her eyes. “Some of us are trying to sleep after all...”
“But...” Hayate looked at Yuuno but quickly turned her gaze. A small silence hung over them before the girl finally nodded. “I...don't mind.”
“Eh!?” Yuuno looked at her in the dark hallway. “But...”
“It's okay right?” Hayate tried again as she slowly opened the door and walked into the room with him in tow. “I mean...we're best friends right? Best friends sleep together don't they?” Her face colored at her words. “But, I mean sleep together as in sleep, not sex! We wouldn't do that after all, because, you know, we're just friends...” Her rambling slowed down when he laughed lightly at her. “Sorry. I said something weird.”
“Don't mind, I like it when you ramble.”
“Why?” Hayate turned to look at him over her shoulder. “It's embarrassing.”
“I don't know I just do.” A small moment passed between them before Hayate spoke again.
“Um, I'm going to change for bed so could you... turn around?” Nervously she swapped her clothes after he did as requested, putting on a light purple silk nightgown that went clear to her ankles. Once done she sat on the bed and faced the opposite wall to allow him to change as well. “So...” She smiled at him in the dark room. “It's a fairly large bed, right?”
“Compared to the ones we have it's rather small,” He disagreed with her lightly as they both got in and went back to back, not helping but to touch lightly. “Sorry I can't sleep with a shirt, it chokes me and I stay up all night pulling at it...”
“I don't mind.” She flushed feeling her heart beat faster. “Is this the first time you've slept with a girl? Besides Nanoha I mean?”
“With Fate a few times but that's about the same...”
“Wow,” Hayate giggled nervously. “I'm the odd one out huh?” Shifting, she felt her back press against his but she didn't feel the need to pull away.
“Silk?”
“Huh?”
“Your nightgown.”
“Oh! Yes. Silk. It was a gift from Vita-chan.” Recalling the memory made her calm down a little. “We still share a bed and she liked the way it felt instead of my cotton pajamas so she bought it for me to wear.”
“She cling to you?” His voice was amused.
“I cling to her,” She suddenly realized. “Um, This may not be a good time to bring this up but I get clingy when I sleep... I'm sorry if I do anything weird...”
“Ah, no, don't worry,” Yuuno shifted to scratch his cheek. “Rather, I'm sorry if I accidentally brush against you...”
Hayate took confidence in his nervousness. “So if your hand slides against me, I shouldn't freak out?”
“I-I wouldn't!” He stopped protesting when her soft laughter came to his ears. “Hey, don't tease me.”
“Forgive me,” The girl stuck her tongue out despite him not being able to see her. “Well, we should get some sleep then... Tomorrow is going to be busy.”
“Yeah. Lots to plan.”
“So... sweet dreams, Yuuno.”
“Back at you.” The two closed their eyes and tried to get comfortable without bothering the other person too much.
Fate: Tia is on the news!
Nanoha: Huh? What for!? She didn't say anything did she!?
Hayate: Calm down, there's no way they would know we're here, her being on the news won't effect us at all.
Carim: Someone hacked into our database and retrieved the teleportation logs! They're probably already on their way to Earth!
Subaru: How... How did they find us?
Elio: How can we fight something that can beat Nanoha fully powered up...?
Fate: I have to get to them! They won't last five seconds against someone that powerful!
Lutecia: Next time on Magical Girl Lyrical Nanoha's 6th Division: “The Forward's decisive battle.”
???????: There are those who call us Balmung... of the Azure Sky.
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