Lonely No More
by Cyberchao X
Disclaimer: You know, I don't think these things are even necessary anymore, but old habits die hard.
Chapter 1
…Yes, Chapter 1. Why not? There's always a niche to be filled, and while the trials and tribulations of the major cast and their love lives are certainly interesting enough, I feel that they are not really my calling, and that these side characters who were all but completely gone from the series by StrikerS are. So I'm going to explore, in a bit more detail, how we got from the flashback portion of "Last Christmas" to the present-day relationship. Let's pick it up from, say, somewhere in the week between Christmas and New Year's, the year that Nanoha, Fate, and Hayate left for Mid-Childa. Enjoy!
Arisa Bannings sighed heavily. "Couldn't they have at least waited until the new year to ship out? I mean, who starts anything on the last week of the year, anyway?"
"They're going to another world, Arisa-chan," her friend, Suzuka Tsukimura, reminded her. "They probably don't even use the same calendar we do."
"Yeah, yeah…"
"Disappointed that you won't get to kiss Nanoha-chan at midnight?" Suzuka teased, dodging a punch from her friend. "Or is it Fate-chan you're after?"
"Like they'd kiss anyone but each other." Arisa was indeed very much in love with both girls, but she recognized the intense feelings they felt for each other and put her own feelings aside. "And what about you? You had only just gotten up the courage to confess to Hayate-chan."
Suzuka blushed. "Ha…Hayate…chan…"
"I'm sorry, Suzuka-chan; I shouldn't have brought it up. L-let's talk about something else, okay?"
"…No, I'm fine. I should've said something earlier, but…it's just Hayate-chan, you know? The consummate lover—"
"You mean 'shameless pervert'," Arisa corrected.
"Well, yeah, but I think what I said was more polite—anyway, she was always so 'hands-on' with Nanoha-chan and Fate-chan, and Vita-san and Signum-san and Shamal-san, and even with you! I always figured I'd have my chance…"
"I think it's because she valued you as a friend, too much to risk losing you by imposing her own feelings onto you. It's just too bad she thought you were…"
"…Straight? Ha, like I'd stand a chance around all of you. I'd have found a new set of friends a long time ago if I didn't love you all so much."
"Well, Suzuka-chan, it's easy to understand why one could make that mistake."
"Why? Just because I'm not a tomboy like you or Nanoha-chan? …I always did wonder why you fell so hard for her. She doesn't seem right for you; too boyish in her own right."
"Hardly. Besides, even with that short haircut, Hayate-chan's still pretty girly. By your reasoning, shouldn't you have been chasing after Nanoha-chan?"
"We all want Nanoha-chan, Arisa-chan; that's just her nature. She's…magnetic. We all met because of Nanoha-chan."
"…One can only imagine that a large group of lesbians is amassing in this 'Mid-Childa' as we speak," Arisa joked.
"Oh, come on, Nanoha-chan doesn't only draw in lesbians! Hell, Yuuno-kun isn't even a girl!"
"…True. You make a good point, Suzuka-chan. Still…I'm really going to miss her. All of them."
"Me too, Arisa-chan. Me too." Suzuka gently put her arm around her friend's shoulder. It was seen as a comforting gesture, nothing more. In reality, she had warm feelings for Arisa as well, though they had mostly been suppressed for the past few years because of her overwhelming desire to experience Hayate's molestations first-hand.
"…Anyway, regarding your earlier observation, as a 'tomboy' who never backs down from a fight, I admire strong, powerful women like Nanoha-chan and Fate-chan."
"That's…understandable. I guess one of the other things I look for in a woman is strength not of body but of spirit. Hayate-chan and Nanoha-chan both have that in spades." "As do you, Arisa-chan," she thought.
"…So you did like Nanoha-chan as well!"
"Like I said…everybody wants Nanoha-chan. When all's said and done, she could become a modern-day Helen of Troy."
"Who?"
"Geez, Arisa-chan, pay more attention in classical literature class!"
"…Will you tutor me over the break?"
"Sure. You couldn't have asked me this yesterday?"
"Wasn't feeling totally up to doing homework yet…and even if I was, I didn't want to risk you still being mopy."
"Why would I be mopy?"
"Hayate-chan," Arisa said, then prepared to hug Suzuka at the first sign of moping.
The moping never came. "Yeah, well, I guess I was still just flying a bit too high from that wild night of ours…"
"Wait…just what went on that night?"
"A lady never tells," Suzuka said, walking off and leaving Arisa fuming behind her.
A fine start, if I do say so myself. Cyberchao X, signing off.