Summary: Even when you lose something precious, you may end up gaining something even more special...
Genre(s): Romance/Drama
Character(s): Sanya L., Eila J., M. Sakamoto, Minna-D. W.
Pairing(s): Sanya x Eila
Story Type: One-shot
Disclaimer: I do not own Strike Witches.
* It's My Duty *
The shining early morning sun reflected off the green magical antennae of the lone girl floating lazily through the sky towards the hangar of the Strike Witches' base. Sanya Litvyak stifled a yawn as she landed in the hangar and dismounted from her Striker Unit. She absently set her Fliegerhammer aside and headed out of the hangar, sleepily swaying from side-to-side occasionally.
Sanya made her way through the base's dim corridors until she arrived at what she exhaustedly assumed was her room and pushed the door open. She slowly walked through the room, stepping on a stray tarot card as she discarded her uniform. Sanya reached her destination and flopped down onto the bed, already fast asleep before her head even hit the pillow. However, the force of her impact startled awake the bed's original occupant.
'Again..?' Eila thought drowsily as she looked the sleeping girl over. 'Just for today...' she told herself, though it felt like she had made that same resolution more than once before.
Eila got out of bed, making sure not to wake the sleeping girl, then draped the sheets over her. She smiled warmly as she watched Sanya snore cutely before busying herself with getting ready for the day's duties.
After Eila slipped her uniform on she glanced back at Sanya once more, who was still sleeping soundly, as she opened the door and took a step out. The moment her foot met the floor, however, the Neuroi alarm blared throughout the base, causing her to jerk her foot back as if the offending limb had been the cause. She looked back and saw that Sanya was already awake, her ears and magical antennae having appeared on her head. The Orussian girl sat up in bed and rubbed her half-open eyes, then yawned widely.
"Sorry, Sanya," Eila said sadly as she went over and helped Sanya up out of bed.
Hastily, she pushed Sanya towards the door, grabbing the bits of the pale girl's uniform that covered the most and helping her into them. When Eila was satisfied that Sanya was modestly clothed she exited the room towards the briefing room, half-pushing, half-dragging the exhausted girl along.
All eyes were on Sanya and Eila as they were the last to enter the briefing room. They took their usual seats as Sakamoto began the briefing.
"A Neuroi was sighted flying on a direct path towards Gallia," she stated as she tapped the board, which had the Neuroi's flight path mapped out, with her wooden training sword. "Liberion spy planes have confirmed that, though this Neuroi is very slow moving, it is also very heavily armored," she continued.
"Which is why all Witches with heavy weapons will be critical in this battle," she said as she looked over at Lynette, which caused the shy girl to startle slightly. "Lynne, your armor piercing rifle will be vital to this operation," Sakamoto said as Lynette blushed.
"Yes ma'am," she replied quietly as Yoshika held her arm comfortingly.
Sakamoto turned her gaze over to Sanya, who by this time had woken up enough to keep her head up without assistance and her eyes half-open.
"Sanya, your Fliegerhammer will also be critical in this operation," she said as Sanya nodded her head from fatigue which Sakamoto mistook as an acknowledgement of her order and began to turn her gaze towards Barkhorn. Eila noticed this and stood up with her hand in the air just to reaffirm her objection.
"Major!" she said to grab Sakamoto's attention. "Sanya is in no condition to be a critical part of this operation, much less fight at all!"
Sakamoto closed her eyes and nodded. "I know she just returned from night patrol, Eila, but we still need her, she's one of the few Witches trained to use heavy weaponry."
Eila's expression turned to frustrated dejection as she slowly sat down in defeat as Sanya turned her attention to her.
"I'll be ok, I can do this," she said softly in an attempt to reassure Eila, but Sanya was so obviously exhausted that it only made her feel worse.
After the specific orders were assigned the briefing was quickly dismissed as the girls all rushed to the hangar, with Sanya and Eila lagging behind. Eila was starting to get a very bad feeling about the whole operation, but she could not quite put her finger on exactly why.
"Are you sure about this, Sanya?" she asked again as she helped Sanya along the corridor.
"Really, I'll be ok," Sanya replied as she tried to pep herself up a little to sound more reassuring. Eila did not buy it this time either and the bad feeling persisted.
By the time they reached the hangar it was filled with the hum of magical turbines as the rest of the girls were already in their Strikers and ready to go. Sanya left Eila's care with a sudden forced burst of energy and equipped her own Strikers. Eila followed suit and as soon as she was locked into her Strikers, Sakamoto looked down the line at the battle ready faces of her fellow Witches. She then turned her gaze forward.
"All Witches, taking off!" she called out as she leaned forward, accelerating out of the hangar into the open air before lifting into the sky.
She was followed in strict formation as every girl down the line unbuckled from their Striker mounts and flew down the runway. Eila watched as Sanya was slow to react and took off out of formation. Eila frowned before taking off herself as she was last in formation. Once the girls were all airborne they clustered together in an interception formation and moved to engage the Neuroi.
Even during flight Eila had to keep Sanya from nodding off and falling out of the sky. More than once, Sanya's eyes closed and her magical rotors began to fade, causing Eila to frantically wake her up. When the girls were nearing the projected location of the Neuroi, Sakamoto lifted her eye patch and focused her magic eye.
"Neuroi sighted!" she reported as she placed her eye patch back.
The girls sped up to get to the Neuroi quicker and when the clouds cleared most of the girls stared in astonishment. The Neuroi was massive, almost like a flying fortress, and its armor plating was thicker than any they had ever seen.
"Sanya, Lynne, Barkhorn, we'll be counting on you!" Sakamoto yelled out as the girls scattered according to their assigned orders.
The battle was the toughest any of the girls had ever fought. Even Barkhorn was having trouble at close range and Lucchini's Sunlight Strike barely made a dent in the Neuroi's heavy plating.
"This isn't good," Eila said to herself as she dodged a Neuroi beam. "And that isn't good either..." she said as she glanced at Sanya, who was very obviously struggling.
Despite the adrenaline of the battle her aim was sloppy, her shield response time was slowing, and on top of that her shields were weakening quickly. Eila's bad feeling was growing as she watched Sanya slowly block beam after beam. Every time, Eila's heart would skip as she worried that Sanya would fail to raise her shield in time.
Eila was about to fire another barrage at the Neuroi when the unsettling feeling she felt grew exponentially until she realized that it was not just her nerves, but an arcane warning. She came to a dead stop and clutched her head as her premonition activated in a way she had never felt before. Images and sounds bombarded her mind's eye: she saw the Neuroi charge a double beam, she saw Sanya fail to raise her shield in time, and saw her chest pierced by the beams. Reality came rushing back to Eila and she saw the Neuroi charging the beams from her vision.
'Sanya!' She whirled around in mid-air to see Sanya distracted by another beam. Eila shot from her position like a rocket, heading straight for Sanya as the Neuroi charged its dual beams.
"Sanya!"
Sanya looked up at Eila but then noticed the beams charging on the Neuroi. Eila channeled every ounce of magical energy she had into her Strikers, the engines whining as they were forced past their limit.
Everything that came next happened in slow motion: the Neuroi fired the beams and the pulsating energy rushed at Sanya, who was in too much of a state of shock to raise her shield. Just before the beams would have struck, however, Eila reached Sanya and pushed the pale girl out of the way, sending her skidding back through the air.
Eila did not have enough time to dodge out of the way herself and was struck by the beams, the first one piercing through her chest and the second shredding her right Striker. She only got a glimpse of Sanya's stunned face before she began to fall. Eila felt her ears and tail retract as she lost focus on her magic, causing her left Striker to slip off as she spun through the air in a downward spiral.
'Sanya...' she thought weakly as the ocean sped up to meet her with a crash.
* Strike Witches *
Eila slowly cracked her eyes open only to be met by a dull, gray stone ceiling. The last thing she remembered was sinking into the deep, dark abyss of the ocean. She looked around the room and noticed that the rest of the Witches were crowded around her bed.
"She's awake!" Lucchini said happily, as if the other girls had not already noticed.
"Thank goodness," Lynette and Yoshika said in unison as Sakamoto and Minna smiled.
"What happened..?" Eila asked weakly as she tried to sit up.
"You were shot down by the Neuroi and Miyafuji-san healed you, but not before Sanya-san dove into the ocean and rescued you," Minna answered as she motioned her hand towards the still soaking wet girl, who was fast asleep with her head on Eila's lap. Eila smiled down at the sleeping girl before turning her gaze back up to Minna and Sakamoto.
"What about the Neuroi..? Did we win?" Eila asked which caused Sakamoto and Minna to exchange a look that worried the Suomus girl.
"We...don't know," Minna finally replied after a moment's silence.
"When you were shot down the Neuroi just vanished, almost as if it had completed some kind of mission," Sakamoto continued for Minna.
"I...see," Eila said slowly before looking back down at the girl sleeping soundly on her lap.
"We'll leave you two alone," Minna said as she and Sakamoto shooed the other Witches out then left themselves. Once the two girls were alone, Eila began to stroke Sanya's damp hair.
'I'm glad she's ok...' she thought then raised her free hand to her chest where the Neuroi beam had pierced through. The wound had completely healed; there was not even a scar to show it had ever happened.
The feel of Eila's hand on her head was too much input for Sanya's sensitive antennae and they slowly appeared as she awoke.
"Eila..?" Sanya asked sleepily as she peered up at the pale blonde, who simply smiled in reply.
"So you're ok? I'm glad..." Sanya said softly as she sat up and a light flush touched her cheeks. Eila blushed in return.
"Thanks for saving me, Sanya," She replied happily.
"Eila, no I-" Sanya started but was cut off by Eila.
"But I'm ok now," she said as she threw the sheets off herself. "You, on the other hand, still haven't slept!" Eila continued with a slight joking tone to alleviate the tension of what happened.
Sanya smiled at the Suomus girl's ability to change the tone of a situation so easily. Eila gave her a sly look then hopped up out of bed and quickly dressed herself.
"C'mon, I'll help you to your room," Eila offered which Sanya happily, though tiredly, nodded in acceptance to. Eila gladly assisted the gray haired girl in getting to her room as she was thoroughly exhausted from the day's battle and her night patrol.
'It's amazing that she's still awake after everything that's happened, even more so that she was able to dive in and save me...' Eila thought as she glanced over and smiled at Sanya.
When they reached their destination, Eila pushed the door open with her knee and carried the tired girl over to her bed. She set Sanya down and helped her out of her wet clothes then caringly tucked her into the warm sheets.
"Night, Sanya," Eila said sweetly as Sanya stifled a yawn.
"But it's almost noon," Sanya replied jokingly.
"Shut up and go to bed," Eila replied with a smirk then quietly left the room, but not before giving one last glance at Sanya who had already fallen fast asleep.
Eila decided to head to the mess hall for some lunch, as Sanya had been correct in that it was nearly noon. Just as she turned the corner of one of the many interconnecting corridors, she heard an ominous laugh echo throughout the hallway which caused her to stop dead in her tracks and quickly scan her surroundings.
"Ehehehehe~" the laughter continued, yet Eila was unable to locate its source.
"Eila!"
Lucchini suddenly leaped out of nowhere and slammed into Eila, knocking the older girl to the ground.
"I'm so glad you're ok, Eila~" Lucchini said with much glee as she unabashedly groped Eila's breasts through her uniform. Lucchini squeezed for a few moments then slowed in her assault as she felt no resistance from Eila.
"Eila?" Lucchini asked curiously as she turned her gaze from the pale blonde's chest to her face and leapt off the girl as soon as she saw her expression.
"What's wrong?" Lucchini asked in an uncharacteristically serious and concerned tone. Eila's expression of total shock did not change as she blankly stared up at the ceiling.
"I...didn't see you coming," she said slowly which caused Lucchini to cock her head to the side in confusion.
"So? I was pretty sneaky," she said with a self-satisfied grin. Eila slowly rose to her feet.
"No, I didn't see you coming," Eila repeated.
* Strike Witches *
"Are you sure about this, Eila-san?" Lynette asked nervously as she leveled the sights of her rifle at Eila.
"Just do it Lynne," Eila replied firmly.
Lynette gulped nervously as she slowly squeezed the trigger of her rifle and fired a round at Eila. The bullet whizzed by Eila's head, taking a few locks of blonde hair with it.
'I didn't see that one either...' Eila thought as she looked down at the ground in despair.
"Do you want me to do it again, Eila-san?" Lynette asked timidly. Eila simply shook her head.
"It won't make any difference..." she mumbled as she solemnly walked off of the hangar runway and back into the base.
'Maybe the Major or Commander can help me,' Eila thought as she aimlessly wandered through the base's corridors.
"You can't see into the future anymore?" Sakamoto asked once Eila had finished explaining what had happened with Lucchini and Lynette. She simply nodded in reply.
"This is bad..." Minna said to herself as she looked deep in thought.
"You're still young, your magic shouldn't even be at its peak yet, yet you've lost your unique ability…" Sakamoto said more to herself than Eila, then she glanced over at Minna who was still deep in thought. "Magic can be unpredictable. Strange things can happen," she continued as she returned her gaze to the Suomus Witch.
"Eila-san, I'm grounding you until further notice, you can't fight without your premonition," Minna said suddenly as she came out of reverie.
"But...I need to protect Sanya!" Eila protested but Minna simply shook her head.
"That's an order," Minna replied firmly.
Eila opened her mouth to protest further, but no words came so she simply closed her mouth again and fell into silence as she looked at the floor in despair before turning and leaving Minna's office.
After her diagnosis by Sakamoto and Minna, Eila wandered aimlessly throughout the base, barely being seen by the other Witches. Finally she settled into her room and sat at her small table with her tarot card deck, desperately trying to predict the future. After a few hours, Eila gave up and threw the tarot deck across the room out of frustration.
'I still can't see even a few seconds into the future…' she thought in despair as she held her head in her hands for a moment before looking up and glanced out of her window.
She had not noticed that the sun had nearly set by then and was barely a sliver above the horizon.
'Sanya will be going out for night patrol soon...' she thought then got up from her table, a small smile growing on her sad features as she left the room.
Eila intercepted Sanya in the hallway just as the Orussian Witch was leaving her room. The pale girl had just woken up and was heading to the mess hall for a late dinner.
"Morning, Sanya!" Eila said energetically as her dark mood dissipated at the sight of the gray haired girl.
"But it's evening," Sanya replied softly which caused Eila to giggle.
"Sometimes it's hard to tell if you're serious when you say stuff like that," Eila said with a smile.
"Everyone says the same about you," Sanya replied with a small, wry grin.
The two girls entered the mess hall together, which was empty except for some leftover food from dinner earlier. Eila dished up a plate for Sanya and the two girls conversed lightly as they ate. She carefully avoided the topic of what had happened earlier that day and the loss of her magical ability; she did not want to make Sanya worry.
"I need to start my patrol," Sanya stated softly as she set her fork down and stood up from the table.
"I'll come with you to the hangar," Eila replied as she too stood from the table.
The girls carried on their conversation as they walked down the corridors and finally came out into the open hangar. Sanya climbed up the steps of her Striker mount and hopped into the magical engines. She then turned her attention to Eila after she magically synced with the machine.
"Eila, what's wrong? I know you've been hiding something from me," Sanya inquired softly though bluntly. Eila was taken aback by Sanya's candor but quickly shook her head with a jokingly exasperated sigh.
"I should've known I couldn't hide anything from you," she replied, which caused Sanya to smile. Eila's expression fell as she looked down at her feet.
"I've been grounded," she answered so quietly that even Sanya had to strain to hear her.
"Why?" Sanya asked which caused Eila to shift her gaze back up to her.
"I...can't see anything anymore," Eila replied, though Sanya instantly knew what she meant. "It all started after the Neuroi attack this morning," she continued.
"Maybe you just need to fly a little," Sanya suggested as an uncharacteristically mischievous smile grew on her features.
"But I'm grounded..." Eila trailed off as Sanya's expression changed from slight mischief into a look of longing, her eyes seemed to plead with Eila to come.
"Alright," Eila gave in, which elicited a small but joyous smile from the pale girl.
Eila skipped up her Striker mount's stairs and hopped into the machines. Her ears and tail came out as she magically fused with the engines and revved them up several times. The hangar was filled with the loud hum of the two Witches magical engines and rotors. Eila glanced over at Sanya and nodded.
"Sanya Litvyak, taking off!" Sanya called out as she unbuckled from the mount and sped along the runway.
Eila quickly followed behind her, having to suppress the habit of calling out her take off as well. The sun had nearly set as both girls soared up into the sky and towards the clouds. They flew up through the clouds and were momentarily blinded until they burst out from inside the clouds into the upper atmosphere. Eila smiled as she looked up to see the young moon and stars shining down on them as the vast void of space stretched out before them.
Despite the glorious display, Eila was unusually silent, which Sanya found rather upsetting. She always looked forward to the night patrols that she and Eila shared.
"Eila."
Eila perked up slightly as Sanya called out her name, causing her to glance over at the younger girl. The glow from Sanya's magical antennae ringed her face in glorious light in the cloudless night sky. It made her look even more beautiful than she normally did, almost like an angel. Eila was momentarily speechless as a blush began to grow on her cheeks until she noticed Sanya's outstretched hand. Eila clasped Sanya's hand in her own, lacing their fingers together, and her face reddened even more as the two girls soared above the clouds hand-in-hand.
"Your premonition will come back to you, Eila, don't worry," Sanya said comfortingly as she squeezed Eila's hand gently. Eila did not reply and instead looked down at the clouds passing by beneath them.
'Maybe she's right, maybe it'll just come back to me,' she thought as she squeezed Sanya's hand back.
Eila felt a warm tingling sensation run through her hand and up her arm which caused her to look back over at Sanya. The young Witch's antennae were now glowing light pink and her eyes were lightly closed as her magical aura outlined her body. Eila allowed Sanya's magical energy to flow into her and happily embraced the warm, comforting sensation. After a moment, Sanya opened her eyes again, her antennae having returned to their usual green color.
"…And you'll always have me, Eila," she said even more timidly than usual as a heavy blush slowly spread across her face. Eila's breath caught in her throat at the adorable sight.
'Yeah...' she thought as she stared into Sanya's eyes, which conveyed a comfort in and of themselves. Silence reigned between the two girls, though it was a comfortable one as they simply enjoyed the presence of one another.
"Sanya, what if we end our patrol early tonight?" Eila asked slyly which broke the silence that had overtaken them. Sanya closed her eyes again tightly and concentrated, her antennae growing slightly larger and shining more vibrantly.
"I don't detect any Neuroi near or beyond the horizon," she stated factually after she opened her eyes.
"I'll take that as a 'yes'," Eila said with a playful wink as she slowed down and pulled Sanya around to her other side, facing back towards the base. Eila smiled playfully as the two girls flew back on a return course.
* Strike Witches *
"Everyone except for the Major and Commander should be asleep, let's go take a bath," Eila suggested as she hopped out of her Strikers. Sanya hopped out of hers as well and nodded happily. The two girls made their way to the base's large indoor bath, trying not to be caught by Minna or Sakamoto.
The two Witches arrived at the bath and stripped off their uniforms, all the while Eila did her best to respectfully avert her gaze from Sanya. They each grabbed a towel to cover up and entered the bath. The Strike Witches left the water running at all times so that anyone who may want to take a bath whenever they pleased could do so, so a warm cloud of steam always hung around the large bath.
"I've never taken a bath so early," Sanya said with a blissful sigh as she discarded her towel and slipped into the bath.
"And I've never taken one so late," Eila replied with a grin as she slipped in as well.
Sanya sat directly across from Eila and laid her head back against the side of the bath, closing her eyes as she embraced the blissfully warm sensation. Eila, however, had other things on her mind, namely trying to hide the reddening blush on her face. She was trying to keep her gaze from drifting to Sanya's body but was having a difficult time of it; lately she had been feeling awkward around Sanya in the bath, yet she did not know why.
'I don't feel like this around the other girls...' Eila thought as her gaze slipped to Sanya's naked form for a split second which caused her cheeks to heat up.
'She's so beautiful…' she thought as she gulped hard.
Her gaze slipped again, yet lingered on Sanya's bare chest for a few moments as she was reminded of the Neuroi beam that would have pierced and marred that delicate part of her body. Eila's awkward expression faded slightly as she stared down at her reflection in the bath.
'How am I going to protect Sanya if I can't fight anymore..?' she thought as her thoughts turned depressed.
"Eila?"
Eila turned her gaze upwards to see that Sanya had managed to get right up to her without her noticing. She was startled by the proximity of the naked girl and her cheeks lit up instantly.
"Are you alright, Eila? You're quiet and flushed," Sanya asked with concern as she peered worriedly at Eila.
"I-it's nothing! Just...the heat..." Eila offered lamely. Sanya seemed to accept that answer, except instead of returning to her original spot, she sat down next to Eila and laid her head on the blushing girl's shoulder.
"It's about your premonition again, isn't it?" Sanya asked after a few moments of silence.
"Yeah," Eila answered after the initial awkwardness of Sanya's new proximity wore off, at least she could easily keep her gaze averted now.
"How can I protect you if I can't fight?" Eila admitted. "What if another Neuroi attacks and I can't be there that time?" she continued. "I feel so vulnerable, so helpless, I can't see anything anymore-" Eila was silenced as Sanya pressed her finger against her lips. Eila turned to look at Sanya and saw her smiling at her.
"You worry too much, Eila," Sanya said softly. "You act like I'll just disappear just because you can't protect me," she continued as Eila stared at her in silence. "Even if you had never had any magic, I'd still care about you," she said as she took her finger off Eila's lips.
"I care about you," Sanya finished as she clutched her hands over her heart and peered down at the water. Eila sat in stunned silence for a moment.
"Sanya..." she finally managed to say.
"You never let me thank you for saving me," Sanya added suddenly as she looked back up at Eila.
"Because you didn't need to thank me, it's my duty to protect the one I care about," Eila confessed as she looked off to the side, the blush on her face deepening.
Before Eila knew what was happening, Sanya leaned forward and pressed her lips against Eila's. She was shocked by Sanya's bold action but soon found herself returning the kiss in earnest. An electrifyingly blissful sensation surged through her body that she was sure must have been magical. Eila leaned her head to the side and parted Sanya's lips with her tongue to deepen the kiss as she wrapped her arms around the younger girl's waist and pulled her closer, causing their bodies to press tightly against each other and their bare chests to rub together.
After an intense few moments, Eila pulled back from the kiss, panting heavily. Sanya gazed into Eila's shimmering eyes then her usually small smile grew into a wider, happier one.
"Eila, I-" Sanya began but was cut off by Eila.
"I love you too."
A stunned expression washed over both Eila and Sanya's features.
"Your premonition came back," Sanya said as her shock melted into joy.
"Yeah...I guess it did," Eila replied with a smile in return before leaning in for another kiss.
END
Author's Commentary: Yay! My first Strike Witches story! This was a lot of fun to write and evolved into this complex plot from a very simple idea. I hope everyone can forgive me for any errors in my details or facts and especially in the girls' speech patterns. After all it's hard to keep up with the way eleven different girls refer to each other. Also I don't know military ranking honorifics so I just used the English for that. I hope you all enjoyed reading and all feedback is happily welcomed!