Some how, the song was not leaving Yagami Hayate's head. Of course for Vita's sake, who snored asleep beside her, Hayate avoided the instinct to jump out of bed scratching her head and screaming bloody murder.
Still, it wasn't making things any better, as the chorus in her head reached its peak for the hundredth time this week.
...GOOD-BYE-BYE FIRST LOOOOOOVEEEE!/
And then it fell into the grating Guitar Solo. Yagami Hayate gritted her teeth and settled into another sleepless night.
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Person With Many Aliases Presents:
"RE-Sounds Fall Into My Head"
A Mostly Spiritual Sequel
"Magical Girl Lyrical Nanoha" Series property of Seven Arcs
Original Characters Property of Author "Person With Many Aliases"
Various Indiscreet References property of Likewise Trademarks.
For Sheo Darren, because he wanted Hayate-chama, and I haven't written with her yet. So there.
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How the Beginning of This Inopportune Tale Begins:
The summer months finally began to lazily pour into school, marking the end of Freshman year for a particular group of students. It was a well deserved and horrendously late break, in their opinionated sighs of relief. Even with enough magical firepower combined to put several armies shame (not to mention since the age of nine), it did little to defend against the constant barrage of homework.
"Still, Midori-ya's pretty popular during the summer. I'll have to help my family run the place, with all the extra customers." Takamachi Nanoha explained to her two friends presents as they all sat on a bench at the perimeter of their school, enjoying the unhurried lull that celebrated the end of school.
"Well, I won't be really busy, unless Work comes up for all of us again, so I can visit whenever I can." Fate Testarossa guilelessly smiled.
"Everyday?"
"Probably!"
"Fate-chan! You're the best!"
Nanoha thus found her opening to throw herself onto Fate with a hug that was also returned.
Yagami Hayate, who was also beside them on the same bench and witness to the daily and regular ritual, gave an unnoticed look and wondered again for the thousandth time how "friendly" the two mages really were.
"Good GOD! Hugging again? Just get a room already!" A voice snorted from behind, making the embarrassed pair jump off each other. The three turned around to find Alisa Bannings with a cheeky look, hands on her hips, with Suzuka Tsukimura not far behind.
"A-Alisa-chan! You shouldn't tease like that!" Nanoha tried to vainly defend herself. It vainly died in front of Alisa's million-dollar price tag smile.
"Well, you're always asking for it, hugging at lunch, and before PE, and during breaks, and now THIS."
A pathetic, sheepish laugh was returned. Hayate, having no relevance to the jab, changed the topic, "Do you have any plans for this summer, Bannings?"
"Actually, I was coming here to ask you about that. You guys free tonight?"
"Probably..."
"Great! You guys wanna come to the Midnight Carnival concert tonight?"
Nanoha brow beated the awkward and very English name, "Mednightow... Calrnivaru?"
"Suzuka, you tell them. It's your idea."
Purple hair shifted, "Well, I heard this band's on a tour through Japan, and it's stopping here in Uminari for a few days. I figured it'd be a good way to start the summer."
"But these guys, I never heard of them... are they good?" Hayate asked. Suzuka leaned forward with the passion of a zealot.
"Are you kidding! These guy are crazy popular in the Indie scene!"
Silence on account of the realization of one of Tsukimura's new found loves and usage of a word only one in five people know the definition to.
Suzuka coughed, "I mean... they're popular... and I think it would be nice for all of us to enjoy the experience..."
Inevitably, it broke down into good hearted laughter, all of them agreeing, yes, they would come to enjoy the experience.
The Road to Hell is paved with Good Intentions:
Five girls were dolled up for a night out, and reaching the largest park in Uminari City, they found a sizable number of people gathered too. With their punched tickets, the girls were allowed to also get crushed by them, too.
One could not call Midnight Carnival a band more than a group that had an incessant obsession with doing covers of every other song in existence other than their own. On the other hand, it wasn't fair to say that it was arguably the best cover any body would hear in their entire life. So the crowd enjoyed the songs, the guitarists that wore red and very little else, the keyboardist with robot costume, the broody looking fellow on the percussion, and danced and moshed the night away.
Sometime during the production Hayate bumped into Nanoha and noticed something.
"Hey, what's that in your pocket... Is that one of those...?"
"iPod! It's great, I got it for my birthday from my parents! Fate was saying she wanted to get one to match mine!" Nanoha managed to giggle over the loud noises of Midnight Carnival's take on Tribute (To The Greatest Song in The World)
Of course, it'd be practice for your wedding rings. Hayate couldn't help but deadpan mentally. Sometimes the way those two fawned over each other was a bit too much.
Up upon the temporary concert stage, the DJ, Person With Many Aliases, on his hanging turntables and synthesizers, jumped atop his machines, yelling to the crowds through his hand held microphone.
"Yoooooouuuu out there! Zettai Daijobou? EH?"
Everybody cheered, whether they understood or not. Person With Many Aliases abbreviated his following words with various ludicrous body motions.
"You may or may not know, but Midnight Carnival's got ourselves a new guitarist! Some... crazy musical prodigy... whose talents composed us our following song! Fear her! All hail the god on the horizon, Suzumiya Haruhi!"
Hayate raised an eyebrow at the girl that silently came onto the stage, one who couldn't have been any older than her yet...
Is that a bunny girl suit she was wearing?
Those sorts of thoughts were cut short as "Haruhi" gave a quick nod to the drummer, and everyone was suddenly dancing to jumping to Pop Rock.
I pretended to watch nothing and watched your back/
I became hard and ran away/
I miss you baby!/
The love I knew from it is only vexation of jealousy/
I left it and have escaped/
Already, Good-bye-bye FIRST LOOOOVE!
Well, obviously this girl was a piece of work, a bright sort of confidence that shined through the bunny girl's eyes and she dared anyone to take on her talent as she sang out into the crowd, catching their hearts immediately.
Of course, for this song, it would be catching more than just a little of Hayate's attention, in the days to come.
How Things naturally Fall Apart from There:
Hayate holla'd her triumphant return home to her "children". The others gave as much enthusiasm for their miester's arrival from the concert.
"Did you have fun, Hayate?"
"Yes I did, Vita. It's really too bad, though, I wished that all of you would have come as well."
"Your friends only invited you. It would be rude if we took advantage of your friend's hospitality."
"Still, Signum..."
"Besides, I think it's good of your to spend your time with your friends!"
"Alright, alright, since you're all ganging up on me about this."
With that, Hayate called it a night because she had decided very early on i her life she was a morning person, and since mornings are of such value to her, she needed her sleep. So she tucked herself in and prepared to gently shut her eyes and find herself in a happy dream which may or may not consist of rabbits, daffodils, sunny fields, and the color pink-
Love is inconvenient comparatively/
Hayate's eyes shot open.
They are not put in order, in reason/
Ringing in the mage-knight's ears with perfect clarity and recitation was that song she heard just tonight, blaring complete with drums, bass, and Haruhi's spitfire.
Till I get possible to enjoy that/
Get many, many TIIIIIIIIMMME!/
Hayate gagged.
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Somewhere else, Fate and Nanoha were sharing a drink in ways that did no help in their hectic defense of being just "friends". Outside of that, the ice-cream float tasted hella awesome. This was why Nanoha was more than upset when a menacing tall figure decided to casually bump into the pair, knocking an arm ajar of the drink and sending much soda and the vanilla sphere slapping onto the pavement.
"Hey! Watch where're you're going!" Nanoha whined to the man that just passed them.
The menacing figure demoted himself to mostly-disgruntled, as the man turned about with an irritated gaze.
"What?"
"You! Our drink! You're really mean, you know!" Nanoha exclaimed. Somehow, what with the supposedly imposing trench coat and his weird crooked hat, the mage had some strange notion she'd seen him before in the concert... who?
"Well, what the hell do you expect me to do? Get on my hands and knees and lick up the mess for you?" The man snorted, before drowning himself with a bottle of aspirin.
Nanoha gagged.
Fate took her friend by the wrist, "Forget about it, Nanoha, he's just a trouble maker."
As the pair quickly distanced themselves from the man, he turned around and lightly tossed a device that should have been better placed in Nanoha's purse.
Hell is Other People:
A bedraggled Hayate slammed her face into the outdoor cafe table of Midori-ya, much to the surprise of Fate and Nanoha.
"Hayate-chan... are you alright?" Nanoha asked. Whether the question was honestly meant or just for rhetorics sake, the world will never know.
"Song..."
"Huh?"
Hayate turned up with very red and tired eyes, "There's a song stuck in my head. I can't sleep."
"Song? You mean from that concert the last night?" Fate asked.
"The same one..."
"But it couldn't be that bad, I mean... it's just a song!"
"Tell that to this guitar solo that's been repeating in my head for the billionth time in these few hours."
Everybody considered this dilemma very seriously. After all, it wouldn't do for Hayate to be raining on any parade with nonsensical pop rock tunes reverberating in her brain.
Nanoha was elated when she came up with a solution first, "I know! Why don't I play you some music! Maybe if you listen to a softer song, you'll forget easier..."
Hayate raised an eyebrow, "You can do that?"
Nanoha winked, and dove into her purse. "Silly, who's the one who got an iPod-"
A hiccup of shock.
"Nanoha, what's wrong?"
"...I can't find my iPod!"
Fate was already beside herself and next to Nanoha. "What! Didn't you just forgot it at home?"
Trust significant others to overreact more than the one the problem affects directly.
"No! This is the same purse as yesterday and... Fate-chan! That weird stranger stole my iPod!"
Hayate just stared and realized she somehow had left the conversation against her will.
"What? Who took it, Nanoha? Let's find that man!"
Takamachi Nanoha and Fate Testarossa ran off.
Yagami Hayate remained slumped on the table.
"Oh yeah, don't worry about me, guys... I've got it all handled here..."
The Mandatory Meeting of Evil Villains:
In a word, Suzumiya Haruhi was bored. Damned bored.
"Come on, Person! You said there were all these awesome magic people and stuff! I don't see anything here!" This girl whined, clad in casual and currently shoving a foot into the side of Person With Many Aliases head, who himself was in various pieces of mostly-despair across the hotel suite room.
"Sorry, Haruhi. I passed by here a season or two ago, and believe me, there were GUNDAM beams flying around everywhere! Patience, grasshopper, and the world will be yours!"
"That's so totally dumb, Person! You need to grab the things you want now, otherwise you'll lose to the competition!"
Another voice snorted in, "Besides, the last person who believed that the world was his died simultaneously from an overdose of cocaine, various bullet injuries and a shot gun to the back. Murphy's Law victorious, once again."
Nanoha's weird stranger dropped onto a couch to continue watching Haruhi futilely discipline Person for what she called "Brigade Incompetence". She instead turned to the new face.
"Jeremy Colt! And where have you been?"
"Around." Was the curt response.
"And you were supposed to be doing that with me! I was so anxious about finding something interesting in this city, and the only two people who visited were either not there or completely useless! You shame the brigade!"
"Quiet. You're giving me headaches." Colt snorted, along with a good bottleful of aspirin.
Haruhi blew a raspberry at that comment, "You always have headaches anyways... what's that?"
'That' was directed at a metal tab Colt pulled out, "iPod."
"And what would you, of all people, be doing with that?"
"Pictures."
"What kind of pictures?"
"You're being nosy."
"Well, I can't expect to find more aliens, time travelers, or espers if I'm not nosy!"
"Fine, I got this so I can hold stills of snuff films of little kitten, puppies, and rabbits, got it?" Colt lashed back.
Annoyed silence, for about five second, before queen Haruhi decided on the next course of action.
"Well, since my plans have been temporarily foiled due to the uselessness of my subordinates, I'll just have to readjust to the situation! Colt, take me out for a date!"
"The hell? Don't you have a boyfriend for that already?"
"I do, but since he's not here, you're going to be my substitute monetary supply! This is punishment for your previous rebellious remarks!"
With that, Haruhi walked by the taller man and proceeded to grab him by the back of his collar, literally dragging him off the couch and out the door.
Person jovially saluted, "Take care, Colt! Haruhi!"
The female tyrant shared no such mercy, "Don't think you've gotten off easy, either! Since you lied to me about there being interesting stuff in this city, instead I demand you return here tonight with many souvenirs! Or heads will roll!"
"...Hai... Haruhi-sama..."
Add Nitroglycerin to Defuse Situation:
Given that Hayate's household consisted of mothering hens otherwise known as sentient programs dedicated to protecting their miester against all and any possible threat to her happiness, it didn't take long for said hens to pick up on the fact that Yagami Hayate wasn't exactly fond of music bouncing around in her head continuously for a week.
Thus being the good guardians they were, they decided to over exaggerate.
"This condition is not normal. This stuck music is obviously the work of some malicious mage attacking our miester through covert means!" Signum announced to her bretheren, Levantine raised into the sky.
"Yeah! Let's find him and kick his ass so that Hayate will be fine!" Vita quickly agreed.
"Mistress Hayate collected this symptom only after this concert she mentioned off. Obviously, this 'Midnight Carnival' is the perpetrators of this plot." Analysis courtesy of Zafira.
"Hopefully we can find one of them before dinner" Shamal murmured to herself. She used all the good excuses a while back, and she didn't think "running out of olive oil" would suffice again.
"Very well... Wolkenritter, GO!"
Graf Eisen suddenly speared into the air, "AHHOOOO!"
Silence. Everyone looked at the Vita.
"...Shut up! I liked the movie!"
With that, the four Guardian Knights shot into the sky, filled with much righteous fury and desire to hand out sorely unrequired justice.
Never mind That, just Throw the Frying Pan into the Fire:
For reasons Jeremy Colt would never understand, Haruhi seemed incredibly excited over the fact that everything other than them and the buildings had disappeared in some warped aura.
"A supernatural phenomenon! So you guys weren't lying about this city being interesting!" Haruhi exclaimed.
"You're rather calm about everybody suddenly disappearing."
"What do you expect me to do? Run around hysterically like some boring normal person?"
Colt decided not to justify with an answer, instead moving for the iPod, "I suppose it'd just be best to sit here till-"
"Hey! You!"
The pair of musicians turned around to gawk at a pair of magical girls that dropped from the sky in contrasting colors.
Nanoha pointed at Colt, "Give me back my iPod!"
The felon in question choked. Haruhi didn't seem so pleased either.
"WHAT? You stole from a girl? A magical girl?"
Colt turned to his captor whilst pointing an indignant finger at Nanoha, "I didn't know she was a magical girl... I didn't know there were magical girls!"
"You can't steal from magical girls! It ruins their mystique! What if you accidentally stole their transforming device and left them helpless in the face of an alien attack?"
Colt raised an eyebrow, "...That's an episode cliché..."
"...Oh."
"Hey! Stop ignoring me!" Nanoha shrieked.
Fate also pointed her 'magical wand' at the evil duo in front of them, "Give back her iPod."
Colt's shoulders slumped as he dully replied, "Let me think about it-no."
Three girls suddenly found themselves eating dust as a man ran off into the distance.
"Colt! Don't leave me behind!" Haruhi yelled after her minion. Nanoha and Fate had better ways of catching up to their evil-evil man.
"Raising Heart!"
"READY."
"Bardiche!"
"GET SET."
"N AND F MID -RANGED ANNIHILATION COMBINATION! AIR ATTACK: BLAST CALAMITY!"
How to Prove Malicious Intent:
"Barrier? Fuzetsu? What is this, Shakugan no Shana or something?" Person With Many Aliases muttered as he looked over the exploding skyline from a safe and high distance from the roof of a building.
A few blocks into the distance from where Person stood, he could see the street kicking up plumes of smoke and debris at various intervals, interjected with cries of giving iPods back and refusing with various fingers representing birds, or vocal oaths of various kinds.
"Those two seem to be enjoying themselves. I wonder if Mina would like this place too, then... or Mika..." The bandanna-masked man pondered obliviously, white-blanked eyes closed and fingers rubbing his chin.
A silver sphere exploded the roofing behind him, causing beads of sweat to run down his head as he slowly turned his head around.
He was met with the sight of the Wolkenritter.
"Hey! You! You're one of those punks who's hurting Mistress Hayate, right?" Vita exclaimed pointing her Device at Person.
In response, the man posed with outstretched fingers, "GYAH-HA! It's you team of Cosplayers!"
"What do you mean by that?" Signum barked back.
"I don't know! In fact, can one of you tell me what I just said?"
Silence. Once again, Person showed his skills at being able to kill any conversation. Any.
"...Is this guy crazy or something..." Shamal couldn't help but whisper from the back.
"I am legally and clinically diagnosed, 'half-insane', thankyouverymuch." Person sniffed back, obviously insulted in some manner.
"Whatever! Shut up! You're obviously one of the bad guys from that Midnight Carnival, right?" Vita accused.
"Yes, I am a Carnivalist- Hey! Wait-"
Person yelped as he dodged to the side, while a long chain of blades ripped past where he just stood.
"Wait, wait, wait! Do you not see the seal I hold- I mean, what on earth made you think I'm a bad guy? I mean, sure, Midnight Carnival are bunch of uninspiring, unoriginal group of hacks, but we're good ones!"
Vita snorted, "It's so obvious you're a bad guy."
"Prove it!"
"How you're standing."
Person looked down and saw he was, the entire time, standing perfectly balanced on the thin edge of the chain-link fencing that ringed the perimeter of the roof.
"You were ominously observing that battle from the distance, while standing on a high and windy location, and purposely on something that gives you very little footing. Bad guys always do that."
"That's not true, I'm sure somewhere out there, there's some hero that stands the same way I do! A purveyor of justice, an emblem of peace! GO, PLANET!"
"Oh yeah? Give me one example!"
"Easy! There's... uh... that... er... that... nnhhh... him, that... guy... buhbye!"
Person fell off the roof, which was punctuated shortly by a following Signum and Zafira. Shamal stayed behind for just the slightest.
"Vita-chan! You're so smart!"
"Of course. Mistress Hayate's TV shows hold the truth of the universe.
Extended Chase Sequence:
"Colt! Just give the stupid thing back!"
"I am not! That's like admitting defeat! And I'm not going to lose to a bunch of transforming freaks with pink wands! And don't whine, you're always telling me that you always left the track team in the dust back at your old school! Prove it!"
"I don't need to prove it to a subordinate! Especially one who got us into this mess, and is refusing to absolve it! I ought to take your head as compensation!"
"Shut up! You're the one who decided to run with me!"
"Can it, you stupid-"
"DIVINE BUSTER. EXTENSION."
Haruhi and Colt screeched to a halt, conversation included, at the sight of the massive pink particle beam passing over their heads to vaporize a lobby of an office building down the street.
Colt twitched his head to Haruhi, "It would really help... if we stopped running next to each other..."
"Me? You stop running next to me!"
"What- you know what, whatever, fine!"
Behind them, Nanoha yelped at the sight of the pair running into opposite alleyways on either side of the main street.
"Fate-chan!"
"Never mind the girl, follow that man!"
Even though they chased the audible trail of Nanoha's Strange Man cursing every five second about how come all he was still being chased by both mages, eventually they rounded a corner and found nothing of him.
"Eh? Where did he go?"
"He can't have gone far! Let's keep going!"
"Right!"
Eventually, the alley was empty.
A trashcan shifted. Dull, irritated eyes shone out.
"Yeah, Sol, laugh all you want, but you aren't the one being chased by a bunch of magical freaks..." Colt muttered to himself as he craned his head higher and cautiously spun his vision about for an All Clear.
Person's grin in another trash can met him. "Wai!"
"THE FUCK!?"
"Shush. You're not being a realistic trash can."
"What. Are you doing here?"
"Hiding. The Matrix has me."
"...What?"
"I'm being hunted by Agents. Quite obviously we are close to the truth that the Matrix has us."
"Stop talking Idiot for five seconds and explain with an analogy that does make sense."
Vita's voice cut in suddenly, "THERE HE IS! AND HE'S GOT AN ACCOMPLICE!"
Four silhouettes closed in on two trashcans.
"Person..." Colt growled.
This is Supposed to be a Climax:
ALLREADY GOOD-BYE-BYE FIRST LOOOOO-
Hayate smushed her face into the side wall of the toilet stall she was in. Anymore of that song's incessant wailing and she was ready to go insane. Or maybe she already was, since she was ready to admit that she was ready to be insane... wait, that didn't make sense-
Hayate smushed her face harder, "Please tell me I'm not the only one who had to go through this..."
(In another universe, a pair of ninjas sneeze.)
At any rate, Hayate wasn't sure where everyone went, nor did she know why there was a barrier over most of the city, and frankly, she was too busy turning insane to care.
She tried listening to music, from Bach all the way to whatever the Americans called him... Fifty Yen or whatever. It didn't help. She tried reading her favorite books. Apparently her imagination was on hiatus, and the prince and princess found themselves producing a mental image of how Haruhi's Song went. She tried blasting her ears out with movies. Even War ones with bombs going everywhere, or Slashers, where the girls attempted to deafen their assailants with incessant wailing.
Saving Private Ryan apparently had a tempo parallel to Haruhi's Song. The girls in the Slashers, instead of their standard fair of "AIIIIIIE" (Stab), sounded more like "Good BAIIIIIEEE BAIIIIEEfirstlove! (Stab).
All options failed, Hayate booked it to the first available public toilet stall so she could proceed to smush her face into the stall walls. However it would provide a curative to the Mistress' condition, she had no idea, but...
Hayate smushed her face. Harder.
I'm tempted to say so... but... oh whatever, it's not like this week can get any worse, right?
The entrance door to the women's bathroom slammed open, making way to two very male voices.
"Why the hell are we hiding here, Person? This is the girl's bathroom! If anything, going into the male bathroom should stop them!"
"No, Colt! Reverse logic! Since they're so angry, they'll probably barge into the boy's bathroom, regardless of taboo, however, they won't suspect us being in the girl's bathroom!"
"Why?"
"I dunno, it just makes sense to me."
"...You don't think there's anybody else in this bathroom, right?"
"I dun think so. Fuzetsu takes out any normal, people right?"
"Normal? What's that make us and Haruhi, then?"
(Hayate could feel a tic rising up between her smushed forehead and the stall wall)
"Ea-sy! We're Midnight Carnival! Plus, I'm extra special because I taught Haruhi everything."
"What, does that include how to annoy people to death with bad music that somehow gets stuck in people's head?"
"Of course not! Haruhi's compositions are completely different than mine! Her stuck music can be classified as anti-matter oscillations being perceived as sound waves. Mine's just an over-worked sense of inspiration."
"It's the SAME THING!"
(The tic, for some reason, seemed to be growing in size.)
"Besides, Colt, what are you in here for?"
"iPod."
"You said it was yours."
"I never said that. I just took it out. Apparently the owners happen to be some flying freaks with particle beam weapons."
(A hand clutched a necklace rather dangerously)
"You really have a way with wimmens, Colt."
"Shut up."
"Come on, were they at least cute-"
"No, because magical girls has been, is now, and will always be the most retarded thing exported out of Japan."
A stall door creaked open ominously. Colt and Person With Many Aliases hearts were frozen solid at the sight of a girl limply shuffling out of a stall, head hung down,, fingers wrapped about a necklace.
"Omoi..."
"HAI?!" Person squeaked.
"It's your fault... it's your fault..."
Colt decided right then and there if he was about to die from paranormal forces, he might as well get the last word in, along with a good swallow of aspirin.
"Alright, whoever killed you in a past life by drowning you in a toilet bowel, he didn't look like me, and he probably hated you anyways."
"EXCUSE ME? REINFORCE! SET UP!"
Digression is Bad, Now for God From The Machine:
Two bodies strapped together seemed fairly human, though you couldn't really tell due to the hundreds of tight binds that wrapped from from head to toe, leaving little articles of cloth or fingers to jut out.
All around, and celebrating their catch were a wholesome variety of mages and knights, finally successful in catching the most hideous villains they had seen yet.
"Now make Hayate better before I kick you into a pit!" Vita spat into Person's face.
"Better? From what?"
"Your stupid song! She's got it stuck in her head!"
"Really? She got Canned Heat stuck in her brain?"
Hayate frowned through her tired eyes, "What are you talking about? I got First Goodbye stuck in my head."
"Then why you got me? I only played Canned Heat while I was here."
"There's a difference?"
"Of course! Is your song sung in bold captions or italics across your head?"
"Uh..."
"Pick! NAO!"
"Italics!" Hayate blurted out at random.
"Oh. Then that means you got anti-matter oscillations perceived as sound waves. I can't help you with that."
"WHAT!?"
Vita put a foot to Person's head. Luckily he was already practiced in that.
"You're lying!" Vita accused, meanwhile accentuating this with a few forceful nudges with her boot.
"I – am – not – ly-ing!"
"You're the bad guy! Bad guys always lie!"
"Actually, he's more like stupid. I'm more like a bad guy." Colt offered at random, just for clarification's sake.
"I still think you're more disgruntled than anything." Person objected.
Hayate fell to her knees in over dramatic despair and clawed at her head. "Then what am I supposed to do now!?"
"Just play the song."
Every one turned around.
Behind the crowd of hunters and hunted, Haruhi stood, while dispassionately slurping on a soda through a straw.
"And where have YOU been?" Colt snarled through his binds.
"I was taking a break from all the running. I leave that to my subordinates."
"You little-"
"Language, Jeremy."
Colt snorted and looked away. Haruhi smirked. 'Chloe tone' always worked.
"What do you mean, play the song?" Nanoha asked hopefully.
"Simple. Just put a guitar on the girl and let her rip on my song. When it's over, she should be fine."
"And this works?" Signum asked with very appropriately placed furrowed brows.
"Of course, leave it to the god to fix all the mistakes caused in the first place."
Hayate's eye narrowed un-amusedly. This girl has way too much ego.
"Of course, I'll have to get a suitable compensation for my actions..."
"And what would that be?" Vita snorted.
"Well... I was hoping to add a few magical girls to my Brigade..."
Indulgence Encore Epilogue:
A few hours later, Hayate was bouncing out of a studio that was commandeered by Haruhi's sheer force of personality, smile a little too correctly placed on her face, considering that there was also an orange band was pinned to one of her sleeves denoting her as "SOS Brigade Subordinate, First Class".
But never mind that, Hayate was free. Free and happy and finally rid of that damned song know as First Goodbye.
"Hayate! You've got a good singing voice! Since you're also now one of my minions, I'll be having you sing this song again sometime in the future!" Haruhi announced from behind.
Hayate blanched.
Else where, Nanoha and Fate death glared a strange man.
"Give back the iPod."
Colt snorted, but acquiesced, tossing the metallic tab their way, "Fine. Here, I didn't want it anyways."
"Then why did you steal it in the first place!?"
"Hmph. What made you think I stole it anyways?"
"Because you had it!"
"What if I said I found it on the ground? Does that make me a thief?"
Nanoha faltered, "Well... um..."
"Ha! So just because I looked suspicious, you decided to be biased and prejudiced! How cruel you are!"
Fate quickly came to the rescue, "Then what about you? You should have returned it, or tried to give it to the police, at least."
"Oh yeah? And what makes you think I wasn't about to? I was on my way to the first copper I saw, when you guys came out of nowhere and started shooting laser beams at me! And you think I'm a bad guy just because I had your precious hundred dollar iPod! You two should be ashamed of yourselves."
With that, Colt swirled around and left to dilapidated pools of teary mages behind him, snorting the word "magical girls" contemptuously.
As Haruhi caught up, followed by Person With Many Aliases, the girl whispered, "But you did steal it, didn't you?"
"Yeah, but just because I gave it back doesn't mean they have to feel good about it."
Haruhi stuck his tongue distastefully, "You are evil."
"Disgruntled." Person corrected.
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Yagami Hayate slept soundly.
Takamachi Nanoha and Fate Testarossa? Not so much for the next week.
"Fate-chan, we didn't really over react, did we?"
"I'm sure we... didn't..."
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END