A/N: Haru-chi mentioned that a TeanaXSubaru centered story could be interesting, so here we go! I'll try to keep the gore to a minimum in this, and instead try to focus more on the interactions between the characters in this apocalyptic world I've place them in. NanoFate will also be present as always :)
Disclaimer: I do not own the characters from or the Magical Girl Lyrical Nanoha anime, nor any other movie, actor, song, or character referenced or stated in this story.
UMINARI WASTELAND
by : ~Nissanity~
Prologue
~Flashback, 3 months prior~
"...and recent reports of influenza compounded with the rabies virus has created a health scare that has caught the attention of world leaders..."
Teana hummed to herself as she stood sipping her coffee in her living room. She was warily watching the morning news report as the latest health scare warnings flashed across her screen. The word 'rabies' struck a nerve deep within her, though . She was reminded of her times spent on missions in the poorest parts of Asia, when she watched countless animals and humans die from the horrific and fatal virus. It was also the disease that changed her life as she knew.
"...authorities recommend that if you see anyone with these symptoms, do not try to assist them. Instead call local law enforcement..."
"Ah, damnit! Which symptoms did she say?" she yelled at the television. She picked up the remote to rewind the DVR ten seconds back.
"...severe aggression, inability to feel pain, foaming at the mouth..."
"Ugh, disgusting," she groaned. She turned away from the television to face the kitchen and smelled death now approaching her screened-in window by the couch. She heard clanging on the stairs next as something began to clamber up them. The sound of moaning drifted up the stairwell soon after.
Teana calmly brushed her burnt orange bangs away from her face and walked to her kitchen. She slid open the far right drawer of the kitchen counter to retrieve her 9mm with it's silencer already attached. She closed the drawer quietly and made her way to the open window to look outside. A bloodied teenage boy with several broken limbs was now stumbling around on the balcony outside of her apartment door. She recognized an emptiness to his eyes that she had seen before in the past, when the rabies virus had completely consumed someone and was about to claim another life.
The sound of the television still playing inside her apartment drew the boy's attention. He made his way to the open window, and when he saw Teana studying him from inside he let out a wail and started flailing himself against it to attack her. She took one last sip of her coffee and set the mug down before raising her pistol to aim between his eyes.
"...I repeat, do not use deadly force against these individuals. Call the police if you see..."
Teana laughed a little to herself. "Yeah, right..." she muttered and pulled the trigger.
oOOOo
UMINARI WASTELAND
CHAPTER 1 – What is Left Will Walk Again
~Present Day~
The smell of death. It was an obscene, sickening hell that burned your nose and made your eyes water. It was something you never got used to, nor could erase from your memory completely once you were engrossed in it. Fighting in it. Living in it.
She heard the sound of the rooftop door open and close behind her quietly. When she turned her head slightly from her position against the edge of the roof, she felt assured the person behind her was not about to attack. Feeling confident in her safety, she refocused her vision through the scope of her marksman rifle again.
"Wow, who pissed them off?" a voice beside her asked as they came to stand beside her near the ledge.
"I don't know," Teana replied as she shot another zombie in the head. "I came up here after whoever it was went into the store."
"How did you know I wasn't one of them, by the way?" Fate asked. She pointed down to the group of zombies who were all aggressively attacking the front door of a small grocery store across the street. She was casually eating a small bag of chips as she spoke.
"I knew you weren't one because you didn't smell like death," Teana said as pulled the trigger again.
"I could have been freshly turned, though? I wouldn't smell like them."
"They always smell like death, Fate." She concentrated on taking out the last five on the street before she spoke to her again. "You shouldn't go downstairs without me, you know?"
She shrugged. "It was safe. We took all the necessary precautions this time."
"So what do you want to do about this?" Teana then asked her.
"What do you mean?"
She extended the rifle to point to the store below. "That's our store. Someone could be inside taking all of our stuff as we speak. There's still a lot of beef jerky I want in there."
"That is a problem," Fate acknowledged. "I really don't want to get shot again, though."
"If they ended up being chased in there like that, I highly doubt they are armed. At least not to where it's dangerous for us."
Fate looked down at the street again to assess the situation. She then held out the chip bag towards Teana. "Here, trade me. One more just showed up."
Teana rolled her eyes a little but passed Fate the rifle in exchange for the bag. She pulled out a chip and studied it while Fate took aim at the zombie on the street below.
"Where these still fresh?" Teana asked her.
"They weren't too bad," she replied. "Not for being three months old, at least."
Teana put the chip back in the bag. "I'm not really hungry anyway. It smells out here. It kills my appetite."
Fate exhaled and pulled the trigger on the rifle. Teana watched the zombie's head explode half a second later. It slowly crumpled in a heap beside a few others that had previously been taken out.
"The smell is only going to get worse," Fate said as she swapped the gun for the bag again.
"So, should we go through the building or down the fire escape?"
Fate pointed to the rooftop door. "Through the building. I need to pick up the rest of my weapons before we head out."
"Sounds good." Teana leaned the rifle against her shoulder and picked up the box of extra ammunition from the roof's edge. Fate held the door open for her to let her go first to take her usual position as lead. They walked quietly down the stairs and listened intently to make sure none of the undead had made it inside their building.
Teana gave a thumbs up to Fate behind her that the coast was clear. They rounded the corner from the stairwell and into the hallway, creeping silently along the wall with both their weapons drawn in opposite directions. The door to the apartment was unlocked as always, and they reentered it and quietly shut the door behind them. Fate secured it with a large piece of wood they used to keep the door from being broken down easily.
"I wonder when's the last time we've even seen another human?" Teana mentioned as Fate began to collect the pistols and ammunition from the table.
"I wouldn't know, honestly."
"Hopefully none of these people are bit. Mercy killings are the worst."
"We will just have to see how it goes," Fate said as she strapped a leg holster to her thigh. She slid the magazine out of a pistol and checked the ammunition before clicking it back into place. She put a shoulder holster on next and repeated the process with that pistol as well.
"You ready?" Teana asked when she was done.
Fate grinned. "Yep! Let's try not to die doing this, shall we?"
"Always the optimist," Teana replied. They both carefully removed the wood securing the front door again and cracked it open to peak outside. The two had been successful in keeping any zombies from entering into the building for the week they had been staying there, but they were always vigilant in case that had changed at some point.
Fate removed her pistol from her shoulder holster and held it by her side as she guarded the rear. Every weapon they used had silencers attached to dissipate some of their noise. Loud, unsuppressed gunshots could draw in swarms of the undead from even a mile away.
Teana took the lead down the hallway, crouching along the walls and peeking around the corners to make sure their path was clear in front of them. She leveled the rifle after every turn down flights of stairs and through new hallways, and lowered it only when she was sure there was no threat in their vicinity.
When they reached the double doors at the front entrance of the building, they slowly removed the wood they had used to secure them as well. They both pressed their ears to the door to listen for any moans or growls that would signal an aggressor on the other side. When they heard nothing, Teana cautiously opened the door to look outside.
The street still appeared deserted from her vantage point, so she pulled open the door and exited onto the sidewalk with Fate following close behind. They walked steadily across the street towards the grocery store with their weapons now pointed in both directions. Teana was first to reach the side window in the alleyway they had previously left unsecured. She slid it open before ducking underneath to listen for movement inside. Fate glanced inside the window quickly and then leaned against the wall again. Giving the signal that it was okay to enter, they both climbed inside and secured the window behind them.
"Did you see anybody?" Teana whispered.
"No," Fate replied quietly. "If they are in here, they are probably in the back."
"Why didn't they lock it behind them, I wonder?"
"They probably panicked."
Teana glanced over to her right and saw that the beef jerky she had dibs on was still intact on the shelf. She motioned for Fate to follow behind her through the middle aisle. They crept quietly through the store towards the back hallway where the office and restrooms were.
When they approached the closed door to the office, Teana heard what she thought was muffled crying coming from within. She reached down to the door handle, but just before she could turn it the door swung open. She then found herself with a pistol pointed straight at her head.
"Put your weapon down," Fate growled at the person wielding the gun. "If you kill her, then I will kill you."
The blue-haired girl immediately dropped her gun to her side. "Oh, thank god!" she cried. "I thought you were one of them!"
Teana and Fate did not lower their weapons. "What are you doing in here? This is our store," Teana said through clenched teeth.
"We were being chased. We found an open window on the side and jumped inside," the girl replied and pointed towards the front of the store.
"We? Who else is with you?" Fate asked.
The girl stepped away from the door so that Teana and Fate could see her companions. The windowless office was pitch black inside, so Teana turned on the flashlight on her scope and pointed it into the room. The light bounced across the walls until she discovered a woman and a young girl huddled in the corner.
Fate immediately lowered her gun at the sight of them. "Who are you guys?" she asked.
"I'm Subaru," the blue-haired girl replied. "She's Nanoha, and the little girl is Vivio."
"Can they come outside of the office, please?" Fate then requested.
Teana turned off the flashlight and lowered her weapon. Stepping back, she turned to scan the store to ensure no unwanted visitors had noticed them from outside. To her relief, the street in front of the store remained empty. She walked away from the office area to begin collecting supplies, while Fate stayed behind to talk to the strangers.
"Are you guys okay?" she heard her ask.
"Um-hmm," the woman named Nanoha replied, but the little girl suddenly began to cry again. Teana glanced back and watched Nanoha hug the girl close to muffle her cries against her shoulder. "Shhh, Vivio. It's okay," she said as she rocked her back and forth.
Teana was concentrating on gathering provisions, including all of the beef jerky she could stuff into her cargo pockets, when a voice from behind startled her.
"Thank you, by the way," Subaru said, causing Teana to flinch. She whipped around to see the girl grinning broadly at her.
"Yeah, right..." Teana muttered and turned to the shelf in front of her again.
"What's your name?"
Teana groaned a little, now realizing the girl probably wasn't going to be leaving her alone anytime soon. "It's Teana. She's Fate, by the way. Before you ask."
"Is she hungry?" Fate asked Nanoha from the next aisle over. Nanoha asked Vivio if she was and received a nod in response.
"How do you two know each other?" Subaru then asked.
"We were in the Marines together. And we've been together since the first day this all started."
"Together, huh?" Subaru repeated. "That's nice. You guys are cute together."
Teana slammed her fist against the shelf. "Are you fucking joking?! Do you really think any of us have time for that kind of shit right now?"
Subaru held up her hands defensively. "God, sorry! I was just making conversation is all. Really, I'll just leave you alone." She turned to leave the aisle and head back to where the others were standing as Teana watched her walk away.
"Ugh, wait," she then said to stop her. "Just... come back here."
Subaru returned to her side again. "Yeah?"
"I'm sorry," Teana said reluctantly. "Look, Fate and I give each other what is necessary to get through all of this. Let's just leave it at that, okay?"
"No problem. I won't ask any more questions about it."
Teana glanced up again at the other aisle. She watched Fate pick up a package of chocolate donuts and hold it up in the air, to which Nanoha shook her head and mouthed 'no' in response. Fate placed the package back on the shelf and continued searching for something else for Vivio to eat.
"Are you with that Nanoha woman?" Teana then asked.
Subaru shook her head. "Nope. She was married before this. She lost her husband in the beginning. I don't think she's really into girls, honestly."
Teana watched Nanoha's eyes look Fate up and down repeatedly while the blond continued to search the shelves. Fate was dressed in a tight black muscle shirt and cargo pants that complimented her slim and muscular build well, with various tattoos adorning her arms and back. It was hard to argue her attractiveness, even in the middle of the hellhole they were currently living in.
"Maybe she's just not into you?" Teana mentioned.
"Wow, that was pretty harsh!" she replied and looked over to Nanoha as well. She then noticed the way she was looking Fate over in front of her. "Ah... I see."
"Does that upset you?" Teana asked.
"No," Subaru answered casually. "I actually don't even know her that well. Maybe a week? The rest of our group was killed a few days ago."
Teana hummed. "I'm sorry to hear that," she said.
Subaru paused. "Does that upset you?"
"What, them being killed?" Teana asked. "No, I didn't know them."
"No, the way Nanoha is already looking at her?"
Teana shook her head and laughed a little. "It's not me you would need to be worried about getting upset in that situation."
"I don't understand what - ?" Subaru began.
"Hey, Teana! Are you about ready to go?" Fate called from the next aisle over.
"Yep," she replied and turned away from Subaru. She picked up her rifle that was leaning against the shelf and began walking to the window with Fate close behind her.
"Wait, you're just going to leave?" Nanoha asked them.
"Can't stay here too long. Too much visibility," Fate replied.
Nanoha held Vivio closer to her. "Well, yeah but... Can't we go with you?"
Fate opened up the window to look outside to the street and then shut it again. "Not my decision," she said as she retrieved her pistol from its holster. Subaru and Nanoha both looked to Teana next.
"The child will just slow us down," Teana told the two. "I'm sorry, but you will have to find someone else to team up with."
Subaru came to block her path before she could reach the window. "That's pretty heartless, Teana."
"We've already saved you once. I think we have been more than generous," she replied coldly.
Teana was allowed to pass with Subaru only staring at her in disappointment. Nanoha closed her eyes and turned away to head back into the office with Vivio while they prepared to leave.
"She's a researcher, you know?" Subaru then said to them. Teana and Fate both turned around to look at Subaru in surprise. "That's why everyone has been doing everything possible to keep her alive. She might be able to fix this."
"Is that true?" Teana asked Nanoha, who still had her back to them. "Or is she just lying so that you can come with us?"
"Mama, why is everyone angry at us now?" Vivio asked over her mother's shoulder when she saw the three women staring at them.
"Nobody is angry at us, sweetie," her mother replied. "We just can't go with them is all."
Vivio pulled back to look at her. She began to play with the strings of Nanoha's hooded sweatshirt. "But why not? I like Fate."
Fate glanced over at her partner and gave her a questioning look. Teana gritted her teeth and turned her vision to the ground. "Alright, you can come with us. But if we find out Nanoha isn't who she says she is - - it's over."
Nanoha turned around to face them again. "Thank you," she said sincerely. "What do you say, Vivio?"
The little girl spun around in her mother's arms to face forward, but suddenly became bashful. "Thank you," she said quietly.
"You are going to do exactly what we tell you to, though," Teana told them. "When we walk outside, I will be in the lead and Fate will follow behind. You three stay in the middle and don't make a sound."
"Got it," Subaru said seriously.
"Vivio?" Nanoha began. "I need you to be brave for me, okay? And no matter what happens, don't say anything. We are going to play the quiet game now."
Vivio nodded earnestly. "Okay! I'm good at the quiet game, Mama."
"Yes, you're very good at it. So we are going to start... now!" Nanoha reached her hand up and pretended to zip Vivio's lips shut. She then moved her hand to her own mouth to repeat the gesture.
Teana slid the window open again and looked outside one more time. She first assisted Vivio out of the window with Nanoha close behind her. Subaru exited next with Fate being the last out. She closed the window quietly and proceeded to walk out of the alleyway with everyone else into the street.
The five walked slowly across with Teana pointing her weapon down the right of the street and Fate pointing hers to the left. They were about halfway across when Teana heard a moan come from the corner of a nearby building. She held her hand up, signaling them all to stop moving. She waited until the zombie made it's appearance by stumbling into the street from an alleyway. It groaned louder as it began to walk towards them.
"Shit..." Teana muttered under her breath when the zombie recognized that they were uninfected and began to run in their direction. It let out a piercing wail and bit at the air wildly as it started to gain speed. Teana steadied her aim in the scope and squeezed the trigger of her rifle, sending the bullet directly into its forehead. She breathed a sigh of relief when she saw it crumple to the ground.
"See anymore?" Teana asked the group quietly.
Subaru pointed to a nearby rooftop. "Right there," she whispered. Teana looked up and saw another zombie now noticing their presence as well. It began to scream and wailing frantically at them from its perch on the ledge. Movement all around them could now be heard in the alleyways as the undead began to stir at the noise.
Teana raised her rifle and shot the screaming zombie in the head to quiet it. It staggered at first and then fell off the rooftop towards the street, landing with a loud crash onto the windshield of a nearby car. The security alarm was immediately triggered, and the echos of the siren began to fill the streets all around them.
"Oh, fuck!" Teana shouted and started running to the building in front of her. She glanced behind her to see that everyone was still close behind.
"Inside or outside?" Fate asked as the sound of screams and wails began to reign down all around them. It took only seconds for the first of the undead to make their appearance from the alleyways, being lured there with the sound of the alarm and now beginning to chase after their retreating figures.
"Fire escape!" Teana decided when she realized their entry into building was going to be cut off by a few of the infected. She ran into the alleyway and jumped up to pull the sliding ladder down to access their escape route. Fate expertly took out the first zombies that were starting to get closer to them on the street.
Teana was the first to climb up two stairs at a time. "Hurry up!" she yelled as she reached down for Vivio on the first landing. Nanoha climbed up the ladder next with Subaru only two rungs behind her.
Fate, realizing she wouldn't be able to get up the ladder in time, climbed onto the dumpster next to the fire escape and began shooting at the hoard that were now only feet away from them. Once they were crowded around her feet, she jumped up from the dumpster and onto the railing. She was about to pull herself over the top rail when she felt a hand grasp her ankle to start pulling her down towards the street again. She struggled to get it off, eventually using her other boot to kick the attacker in the face to get it to release her.
Subaru was climbing up the first flight of stairs as Fate made it over the railing and fell onto the first landing. She continuously fired shots down the ladder at the hoard now trying to climb up it. More zombies started jumping up to hang onto the steel base, and as Fate made it to the second landing the group felt the entire fire escape move as it started to come away from the building.
Nanoha nearly lost her balance and toppled over with Vivio when the shift occurred, but Subaru caught them both and kept them on their feet. Teana was first to the rooftop and turned to grab Vivio again. She placed her hands under her armpits as Nanoha raised the girl above her head. Teana set her down next to her on the roof once she had cleared the ledge.
"Come on, Nanoha!" she yelled next and held her hand down to her. Nanoha wrapped her hand around Teana's wrist and jumped up. She planted her foot against the brick wall for leverage as she was assisted up onto the roof.
Subaru reached up for help next, but the fire escape shifted down again with the weight now pulling it further away from the wall. Fate was positioned on the second landing, still trying to shoot off as many zombies as possible.
Teana and Nanoha both held out their hands to Subaru. "Use the rail!" Teana told her. Subaru jumped up and placed her feet onto what used to be the top railing to propel herself upwards. She grabbed the ledge of the roof in her hands while Teana and Nanoha both grabbed near her shoulders to help her up.
"Go make sure the rooftop door is secured, Subaru!" Teana shouted once she was safe. Subaru ran across the roof and first ensured that the door was locked. She then began searching around the roof for heavy objects to set in front of it.
"Fate-chan, please hurry!" Nanoha called out. Fate looked up to the ledge and ran up the last flight of stairs when she saw it was her turn. She placed her weapons back in their holsters in preparation of the jump as Nanoha and Teana reached down to her. The fire escape shifted one last time and started to fall away from the building completely. She stepped onto the top rail and pushed herself off of it during its decent, all while reaching for their outstretched hands at the same time.
"We've got you!" Teana assured her once she felt Fate grab her around the wrist. Nanoha concentrated all her strength on making sure she didn't let to go of her grip on the blond. Fate used the wall as leverage for her feet to climb up while Teana and Nanoha pulled on her arms. The heavy tangled steel fell onto the hoard of zombies below.
"That... sucked..." Teana gasped as the three collapsed on the roof next to each other. Vivio ran up to them and jumped onto Fate, eliciting a small grunt from her.
"Are you okay, Vivio?" Fate asked as she sat up with the little girl still clinging to her around the neck. Vivio pulled back to face her and nodded happily.
Fate hummed a little."You really weren't scared?" Vivio said nothing in response to her next question, only frowning and puffing out her cheeks as an answer instead.
Nanoha sat up beside Fate. "You have to unzip her lips," she told her.
"Ah, I see," Fate replied. She reached her hand up to pull open the pretend zipper across Vivio's mouth.
"I'm not scared when you're around, Fate!" the girl exclaimed and hugged her again.
Subaru came up to the group. "I think I heard some movement coming up the stairs. We need to get off of this roof."
Teana groaned. "Fuck. I really liked that apartment, too," she grumbled.
"I'll get the boards," Fate said as she stood up. "Want to give me a hand, Subaru?"
The two walked over to the edge of the roof where Teana and Fate had previously placed long pieces of wood against the ledge. They worked as a team to stretch the first one across the span between their roof and the one next door. Vivio was standing close by, watching Fate work intently.
"Thank you for helping us, Teana," Nanoha mentioned as they both looked on at them.
"Uh-huh," Teana replied distantly.
"You know, if this is a problem we can just leave?" she then added a bit more heatedly. "We aren't going to hang around where we aren't wanted."
Teana turned to face her. "Let me make one thing clear, Nanoha. I will not be wasting energy forming emotional attachments to people who are probably going to die anyway. I suggest you don't bother doing so with Fate or me, either. This is strictly a business arrangement between us."
"Fine, whatever you want," Nanoha replied and threw up her hands in the air. She walked away from Teana to join the group on the other side of the roof instead.
Teana retrieved a duffel bag full of ammunition and extra weapons that she and Fate had stashed in one of the corners of the roof, in case of a situation like the one they were currently in. Fate and Subaru had just finished placing the second board across the span of the two rooftops when Teana met up with everyone again.
"Ready to cross?" Fate asked Nanoha first.
"I guess," Nanoha replied warily. "Got any advice? Don't look down, maybe?"
"W-Well, no... You should look down at where you are walking?" Fate answered with a bit of confusion.
Nanoha laughed and reached down to pick up her daughter. "Okay, I got it. Vivio, I want you to close your eyes and be perfectly still, okay?"
"Okay, Mama," she replied.
"Wait, I'll go first," Subaru then volunteered and grabbed the duffel bag from Teana. "In case the boards don't hold."
"Thanks, Subaru. I appreciate that," Nanoha said.
Loud banging suddenly starting coming from the rooftop door behind them. "Well, somebody fucking go! We're out of time here!" Teana yelled.
"Oh, right!" Subaru stepped gingerly onto the first board to test it out. She then put her foot on the other board. Feeling comfortable with their strength, she walked across the boards as quickly as she could while still keeping her balance. She jumped down onto the nearby rooftop and turned to hold the boards steady for the others.
Nanoha held Vivio close as she walked across them next, with the banging on the door behind them now increasing. Teana pointed her rifle at it in anticipation of it bursting open at any second.
"You go first, Fate!" Teana yelled as she watched the door begin to crack open.
"Alright, I'll cover you after!" she replied. As Fate started to run across the boards, the rooftop door opened fully. Several of the hoard poured out and started sprinting towards Teana once they saw her. She began firing at the zombies while walking backwards, doing her best to steady her aim while moving.
"Teana, go!" Fate yelled as soon as she reached the other side. Teana felt a hand grab her on the shoulder as she turned to run, but Fate shot the attacker in the head in the very same instant. As she ran across, she felt the wood begin to move under her feet as the hoard followed her out onto them. Fate took each of them out before they could cross, but the bodies piling up on them caused the boards to shift across the edge of the roof.
Subaru stood near the ledge with her hand outstretched. "I'll make sure you don't fall!" she told Teana. One of the boards suddenly gave away completely under her feet. Teana clung to the remaining one to keep from falling into the alleyway below, but she somehow managed to hold on to her rifle in one hand. She regained her balance and ran the last few feet, grabbing Subaru's hand right before the other board fell away as well.
Both women lost their balance completely as she stumbled onto the rooftop, sending them crashing to the ground with Teana landing on top of her. She pulled away to hover over her and was met by a huge grin.
"You made it!" Subaru said happily.
Teana growled lowly and rolled back onto her feet. She grabbed the front of Subaru's shirt in her hands and helped her stand back at the same time she did.
"I just barely made it," Teana told her.
"Yeah, but you still did!"
Teana looked across the alleyway to the next rooftop now swarming with the undead. "How well can you shoot, Subaru?" she asked.
"Not at all, honestly."
Teana walked to the duffel bag and retrieved one of the extra pistols inside and a box of ammunition. She returned and placed them both in Subaru's hands. "Well, you're going to learn. You too, Nanoha."
"Aren't you worried about wasting ammunition?" Nanoha asked.
Teana pointed to a separate duffel bag in the corner of the new rooftop, which had been stashed there previously as well. "We're fine," she assured her. "You guys need to practice."
Fate walked over with a weapon for Nanoha next. "I've never fired a gun before," Nanoha told her.
"Can I have one too, Mama?" Vivio asked as she pulled on her pant leg.
"Well, I don't see why - ?" Fate began to say before Nanoha quickly covered her mouth with her hand.
"NO, Vivio," Nanoha told her daughter. "You are never to touch a gun. Do you understand?"
"Yes, Mama..." Vivio reluctantly replied.
Nanoha then laughed a little and pulled her hand away. "She's four years old, Fate-chan! What's up with you?"
"I don't know much about kids," Fate replied with a shrug.
"Just aim for their heads," Teana instructed Subaru as she began to take aim at the other rooftop. "Body shots only slow them down. Work on accuracy first before speed."
"Got it," Subaru replied. "One eye closed or no?"
"It's up to you. I always keep both open, but it may not be what works best for you."
Fate came to stand directly behind Nanoha next, pressing her body against her back as she helped her aim the weapon. Nanoha's eyes grew wide at the unexpected action and she couldn't help but blush a little. She glanced over her shoulder at her, but Fate did not seem to register the reaction.
"What?" she eventually asked as Nanoha continued to stare back at her.
"N-Nothing," Nanoha stammered. She returned her vision to the rooftop next to them and tried to steady her breathing as she took aim.
"Don't be nervous," Fate said softly next to her ear. Nanoha dropped the weapon to rest in front of her in slight frustration as a wave of goosebumps raised across her arms and neck.
"Fate! Give her some space, man," Teana told her as she looked over at them.
"Oh, right!" Fate replied and immediately backed away from Nanoha. She then turned her attention to the little girl. "Vivio, how are you doing?"
Vivio rubbed her eyes. "I'm sleepy."
Fate picked her up in her arms. "Alright. Let's go find a place to rest over there while your mom practices, okay?"
"Okay!" she replied happily.
Nanoha watched them walk away at first and then shook her head. "Really, what is with her?" she asked herself quietly.
Subaru glanced over at Nanoha, who had now raised her weapon again to fire at the hoard across the alleyway. The recoil surprised her at first, but after a few shots she seemed to anticipate it better.
"So, what is it with Fate?" Subaru asked Teana.
Teana tapped Subaru's raised weapon with her finger. "Don't worry about that. Just focus on getting better. I've got to go make sure our equipment is ready for the morning."
"What happens in the morning?" Subaru asked.
"We figure out where Nanoha is supposed to go to fix this."
Subaru lowered the weapon. "And where is that at exactly?"
"I have no fucking clue," Teana replied. "But I do know one thing for sure - - it sure as hell isn't up here on this roof."
A/N: First chapter down! See you next time ~Nissanity~