Originally written as a challenge from James Ray Edwards. While I wrote the bare bones of the story, James went through and added a lot of meat to it (he wrote most of the ending too), so consider this a collaboration fic from us. Enjoy.
"You. Me. Training ground. Mock battle. Now!" Vita declared, pointing Graf Eisen at her chosen foe.
"Um… what?" was all Yuuno could say in reply.
X-X-X
Vita was always one to hold a grudge. She was the Iron Hammer Knight. There was nothing she couldn't destroy! Except that one time… That one time when that boy appeared in front of her. He looked weak, far weaker than the girl she had just defeated. It should have been a piece of cake.
But it wasn't.
Sure, he never once laid a finger on her, but that wasn't the problem. The problem was that she couldn't get a hit in on him! None of her attacks could penetrate his barriers. Didn't even make a crack in them for that matter. It was unacceptable!
Vita was always looking forward to a rematch, but the opportunity never arose. The boy was either absent from the battlefield, or Vita was too busy handling Takamachi something or other.
After the Book of Darkness incident, she had seen that boy, Yuuno, around often. She always tried to provoke him, tried to push him so she could get a chance to fight him. It never seemed to work on him though. Most of the time he'd just give her a stupid smile and be on his way. Did he not have a spine? Did Vita really fail to defeat a wimp like him?
The way he always treated her so nicely… Did he not see her as a threat? Did he only view her as just some kid?
For some reason, that really pissed her off.
She'd make him acknowledge her!
X-X-X
"You heard me!" Vita said. "It's time we settled this!"
"Settled what?" Yuuno asked. Still clueless as ever, or was he just acting dumb?
"You've got some nerve, forgetting!" Vita growled. She grabbed his hand and dragged the aspirant librarian away. If it was the latter, the redhead swore she would teach him a good lesson for trifling with her, the Iron Knight!
X-X-X
When they got to the training grounds, Vita set up her knight armour, immediately, eager to start smashing the wily ferret into the dirt. With no else in sight, she was going to all out against him, period.
"Hurry up and get ready!" She demanded.
"Um… ok…" still confused, Yuuno activated his barrier jacket. "I still don't know why…"
"Enough talking! Let's go, Graf Eisen!" Vita wasted no time in summoning several metal balls.
"Hey, wait a…" Yuuno tried to say.
"Schwalbe Fliegen." Graf Eisen called as Vita sent the balls flying.
Yuuno threw up his hands. "Round Shield!" He said. The shield formed just in time to block Vita's shots. "If you just wanted to practice, that's fine, but…"
"Shut up!" she snapped. "This time for sure I'll get through your defences! Eisen!"
"Raketen form!" The device changed into its secondary mode.
"Raketen Hammer!" Vita swung her rocket powered hammer around a few times before charging at the irritating boy. Yuuno put up his hand again and put up a barrier. Graf Eisen collided with the barrier, its thruster going at full power.
Yet the spike didn't pierce.
"Damn it!" Vita cursed. "Load cartridge!"
"W, Wait, that's going too…"
"Explosion!" The thruster's flame grew bigger. Yuuno could feel his feet sliding back.
"If you're going to go all out, then…" frowning, the boy threw his other hand forward. Another layer was added to the barrier.
'It still won't break through!' Vita mentally growled. She pressed down on Eisen with more force.
(Un)surprisingly, Graf Eisen gave out first. The spike couldn't take the pressure and shattered. Vita jumped back. "Damn it!" She swore. "You ok, Eisen?"
"Ja."
"That's enough isn't it?" Yuuno asked her, a hesitant, diffident smile on his face. "I still don't get what you're so mad about, but…"
"Shut up, shut up, shut up!" Vita yelled back. On the contrary, his smile had only infuriated her even more. How dare that clueless snob make fun of her? "I will break your barrier!" Graf Eisen loaded more cartridges. "Just watch me!"
"Gigant form!" The device changed into its enormous form.
"Oh boy…"
Vita leapt up into the sky, and held the humongous hammer high, neatly blotting out the sun. "Take this: Gigant! Crusher!" Vita swung down and its ominous shadow fell. When it made contact, the loud crushing impact kicked up a large cloud of dust, breaking the earth beneath its great mass.
"How… Do you… like that?" she panted. Surely, this time…
There was no reply.
"Hey… can you hear me?"
Still no answer. Vita felt a pang of worry. Did she get too carried away?
"Hey… are you alright?" Vita returned Graf Eisen to normal and approached where Yuuno had been. There was nothing in sight save for the broken crater on the empty field. "You're…. You're still alive, right?" Vita was getting increasingly more anxious. She just wanted to break his barrier; she didn't mean to hurt him!
When the impetuous redhead felt the binds wrap around her, she was both relieved and aggravated at the same time.
"That was close…" Yuuno coughed as he emerged from the dust behind her. "If I didn't transfer out of the way, I would have been in trouble…"
"Don't scare me like that you idiot!" Vita yelled at him. Yuuno blinked.
"That should be my line!" The boy breathed with a hapless sigh. "Just what were you trying to prove, anyways?"
Vita looked away, suddenly, feeling hot in the face. "To make you see how strong I am."
Again, Yuuno blinked, releasing his binds on her, "It's not necessary."
"O, Of course, it is!" she insisted, not looking at him.
"But…"
"Is too!"
"Er…"
"Is too; is too!"
"I'm not…"
"Is too; is too; and that's THAT because I said so!" Vita breathed deeply.
She had raised her voice quite a bit, to make her point clear, but by yelling at Yuuno, she had rounded on him, impulsively so. His eyebrows rose and his mouth open in an "Oh", stupefied, at her fierce expression, beet red and haggard. Now, it became clear that he did not think much of their match at all, but instead of making her madder, Vita felt, suddenly…very small. She had been trying so hard, almost killed the…ugh.
"Hmph, I'm going home!" Vita declared. Dispelling her knight armour, she turned about sharply, with her head held high imperiously, and made to leave. Bah, what an utter waste of her afternoon.
It should have been over right there, a confirmation of hard experiences she had attained from lives long past, memories distant and faded. She would have nothing more to do with him, and that would be the end of this misadventure in her long life. The last thing she had been expecting was for, that Yuuno idiot…
"Alright, I'll walk with you then," he invited himself along just like that!
"Wh, What!" Vita spluttered.
"Ah, s-sorry, I didn't mean to impose."
"I, st-stupid! Do what you want, hmph!"
Argh, the nerve of this, this runt! The girl trembled. How could he be so dense?
"I know how powerful you are."
Ah.
"You did manage to beat Nanoha pretty badly."
Maybe… Maybe he isn't too dense…
"… I still can't beat you though…" Vita pouted, sullenly, before turning a baleful evil eye at the boy. "You're just a weakling that doesn't even have a device!"
"Geh… did you really have to insult me?" Yuuno gave a lopsided grin. He ran a hand sheepishly through his hair, embarrassed, as he should be in her opinion. "Though it is true that support magic is all I'm good at. That's why I need strong people like you to fight on the offense."
"That… that's not something you should tell an enemy!" Vita sputtered, comically, standing on edge like a defensive hissing cat.
"But we're not enemies, remember?" Yuuno laughed. Then he noticed her hands. "You're bleeding!"
The Iron Knight looked down and saw that her hands were indeed bleeding. She must have been gripping Graf Eisen too hard.
"Tsk, this is nothing. I'll be…" Vita tried to say, but Yuuno surprised her by taking her hands into his own.
"I'll treat them right away," he told her. His hands began to glow as he cast a healing spell.
"I-I, I told you I'm fine!" Vita protested with an unusual stutter, and tried to pull away, but Yuuno's grip, contrary to his still immature youth, was strong. She felt the blood run to her face. "I said it's fine… stupid…"
Despite her inner raging indignation, the tomboyish girl couldn't deny that the warm gesture, the sensation, that sincere human connection felt - nice. Having lead such a solitary and unfeeling existence for so long, she was, in her opinion, rather "weak" to being treated like a human: a person with feelings and desires, just like anyone else. The fearsome immortal knight she was, truly, should not have cared for such trifles; only her duty mattered, but her time with Yagami Hayate and meeting these other children…
…well, it appeared the Iron Knight had grown soft in her old age.
"There, all better," Yuuno chirped when he finished, a satisfied smile on his face.
"Uh… yeah…" Vita couldn't bring herself to look him in the eye. Her, her pride as a knight could not…ohhh, darn it all! "L-Look! If… if you think this means I've given up, then don't kid yourself, squirt!"
The proud Iron Knight ran off the field, leaving a confused, blinking Yuuno behind. Oh no, it was not as if she was running away from him. This - this was a tactical withdrawal! Living to fight another day, yeah!
Next time for sure she'd defeat him, Vita vowed. And when she did… maybe… just maybe… she'll ask if they could hold hands again…
"Okay! If you're feeling lonely or bored again, I'll be happy to play with you anytime, Vita-san!"
Gah! D, d, d, darn him! She definitely, definitely, definitely won't let him off for this…this humiliation!
"Uuuuuu! Idiot! Stupid! Bakayarou! I'll get you next time, Yuuno the Dense, my newly sworn arch-nemesis; on my honor as Vita, the Knight of Iron! Just you wait!"