Crimson Love (NanohaxVita)
This chapter is, in fact, over a year old. I just hadn't posted it, since I'd planned on releasing all chapters at once. However,
with the lack of progress with the aforementioned chapters, I decided to just post this now. The rest will come once I finish writing it.
One thing I noticed while going through this is that the quality of the writing is hardly up to my current standards. It is possible that I will one day revise the chapter, but for now, I just don't feel like doing it.
Also, as this fic concentrates on Nanoha/Vita pairing, the future chapter(s) will have the yuri-theme quite visible. This first chapter doesn't have anything more than subtext implications, though.
Chapter 1: Just Another Day
"Hiyaa!" The blue-haired girl's fist came down crashing hard, but was stopped by a barrier.
Knowing what would follow, the girl quickly jumped backwards barely avoiding the repulsion from the barrier.
"Haah-haa..."
They had been going on it for what must have been hours and the blue-haired girl was now panting hard.
She knew she was nearing her limits, but her pride wouldn't let her stop - not before she'd fall down from exhaustion.
"What's wrong? Tired already?" The petite girl, who had just repelled her attack as effortlessly as knocking down a stuffed animal, inquired her looking slightly disappointed.
"As if!" The other girl replied preparing for another charge, even if she knew it wouldn't make much of a difference at this point. "Then show me what you're made of, girl!" the red-haired instructor shouted, fortifying her footing for the coming attack.
- - -
- - -
Nanoha took a quick glance over her shoulder after hearing a loud boom from the direction where Vita was giving Subaru melee-training. Taking advantage of her instructor's distraction, Teana secured her footing and launched a suprise attack on Nanoha's back.
Nanoha, still looking towards the earlier noise, merely raised her other hand and conjured up a barrier, completely nullifying Teana's attack.
"Teana..." Nanoha turned back to her student, "it is acceptable to take advantage of your opponents' weaknesses, but..." She frowned a little. "This is only training, so no more attacking from the back, okay?" Teana shrank under her instructor's stare, turning her eyes down. "Yes..."
Nanoha's frown quickly returned back into a smile. "Then everything's fine." Just then, another huge boom split the air. Nanoha sighed deeply "Aa-ah, Vita-chan really has to learn to hold back some..."
"Well, let's just wrap up today's practice for now." She slowly started walking towards where she knew Vita was...along with the probably unconscious Subaru.
"Didn't I tell you to work on your barrier magic?!" Vita was questioning the girl lying on ground breathing heavily. Subaru would've wanted nothing better than to give this little girl a piece of her mind, but as she was, she was just too out of breath to say a thing.
"Vita-chan!" the voice came from the side, making both Vita and Subaru turn towards it. Incidentally, Vita also seemed to shrink down just a little from the tone of the voice. "Nanoha..." She seemed to lose all her obstinacy when faced by her dear friend, who also happened to be her superior.
"Haven't I told you to take it easy on the forwards, Vita-chan?" Vita turned her eyes downwards, but didn't back down in any other way. "I was holding back..." the red haired girl mumbled under her breath. Nanoha sighed. "Well, I guess that's it for today's practice, then. Dismissed." She waved her hand, signaling the training was over for the day.
As the Stars' forwards started leaving the training grounds, Nanoha stayed behind
to organize the data from the training. Vita stayed, too, but she was starting to get increasingly nervous with each passing moment. "Um...Nanoha?" She called out quietly. "Are you...angry?"
The usually arrogant and prideful girl was acting all nervous and tense. "..." No answer. Vita was now fidgeting,
trying to come up with something to lighten the mood.
Then, having finished her work, Nanoha turned back to Vita, smiling.
"Angry? There's no way I could be angry with my cute little Vita-chan, is there?" she said white petting Vita's head.
Where Vita would normally have voiced her objections at being petted, this time there was only a small sigh of relief,
and a flush of redness to her cheeks.
"Well then," Nanoha gave the training grounds one last look, "Shall we go get something to eat?"
Vita was all too eager to accept the invitation. "Yeah, let's!"
- - -
- - -
When Nanoha and Vita finally made it to the cafeteria, they found the forwards already chatting cheerfully over their meals. As usual, Subaru and Elio had extra-large servings, while Teana and Caro had normal sized.
From the way Subaru stuffed food to her mouth, it was hard to believe she had been pounded by Vita just earlier.
"See?" Vita nodded towards the girl, "She's as good as new, already."
Nanoha couldn't argue the point so she merely nodded, eyes searching for a place to sit down. The cafeteria was surprisingly full, despite the fact it was not yet time for the usual lunch rush.
As Nanoha and Vita we're still looking around trying to find any free space in the packed cafeteria, they heard a familiar voice: "Nanoha, Vita-chan, over here!"
They followed the voice and found Hayate waving at them from one of the corner tables. After arriving at the table Nanoha and Vita were greeted with welcoming smiles. "Hey, it's been a while, Nanoha!" said Vice, who was sitting on Hayate's left. Nanoha nodded to him. It had been a while.
"Well, well, you two sure seem inseparable these days!" Signum's teasing made Vita turn slightly red and start an argument with her. Nanoha gave the two an amused look, and sat down opposite of Hayate.
"Any news about that?" she asked, while picking up the fork and knife. "Nothing. Which just makes it even more suspicious. Fate's still investigating it, though, so we might have some new clues soon." Hayate replied looking troubled. "It could be just me thinking too much, but..." She slightly brushed her forehead with her fingertips. "If it's not, then..."
Nanoha could only nod at that, given how her mouth was full of spaghetti at the moment. Meanwhile, Vita and Signum were still going at it, too busy with each other to even touch their food, much less to notice the serious tone the conversation next to them had taken.
"Well, let's just hope it's nothing serious. Although, we should probably still take some precautions..." Hayate smiled weakly at Nanoha's words. "Yeah. It never hurts to be prepared, right?"
Suddenly, Vita brought her fist down on the table, shouting, "That's because you're an idiot!" at Signum, causing Nanoha to nearly choke on her spaghetti.
"At least I have some manners, unlike certain kid here," Signum calmly retaliated, causing Vita's anger to flare up even more.
"Vita-chan. Signum." Hayate's tone was firm, reprimanding. She glanced at the two quarrelmongers, both of whom flinched under her intent stare. "I'm waiting..."
"We-we're sorry!" Vita and Signum apologized simultaneously, bowing their heads.
"Good. No more quarreling during meals, understood?" The two nodded in unison and reluctantly returned to their meals.
Vice, in a desperate attempt to lift the mood, returned to an earlier topic, "But, really, Nanoha and Vita-chan sure get along well these days."
Hayate – always the peacemaker – was quick to follow, "True, true, remember the first few years after we joined the Bureau?"
Vice grinned, "I do, too. Those two were at each others' throats all the time!"
A grin had also formed on Signum's face, as she recalled those distant days.
"W-we were not!" Nanoha objected, then thought for a moment and added, "W-well...maybe we were, but-!" The whole table laughed merrily.
"Ever since that accident, though, you two have been together practically all the time." A sudden realization hit Vice right after he'd finished the sentence. A look of terror appeared on his face as he realized his mistake.
"..."
Silence. All the eyes in the table were fixed on Vice.
"Uh, I, um," Vice was desperately trying to come up with something, all the while shrinking down on his chair under the intensive stares.
"It's okay, really. I don't mind," Nanoha said, feeling bad for poor Vice.
"But-!" Vita's voice was the first to object. Hayate and Signum were nodding in agreement.
Even Vice knew he'd crossed the wrong line.
Ever since the incident, it had become an unspoken rule to never to mention it, much less in Nanoha's presence.
And that rule still applied, even if Nanoha herself had declared countless times that she didn't mind.
They all knew she still carried the scars of the past with her.
"It's fine...So, let's just forget it, okay?" Nanoha's voice betrayed only a slight hint of pain, back from the time when she had had to struggle even for a single step. After that, the lunch continued in silence until the time came for all of them to go their own ways.
Nanoha didn't have any more training left for the day since Vita had volunteered to do it with Signum, something that had never happened before. Nanoha knew it was probably because of what had happened during lunch, but since she was suddenly feeling pretty exhausted, she hadn't argued the arrangement much.
Not quite sure what to do with the sudden free time, Nanoha ended up wandering Section Six's premises, eventually arriving at the park.
It was a small park with a pond at the middle. There were only two benches, situated at the opposite sides of the pond.
At this time, when most of the personnel was still working, the park was very quiet. It seemed almost...deserted. Or perhaps, isolated would be a better word. Regardless, the quiet calmth was soothing the ache in the her heart.
She slowly walked to the other bench and sat down. She sat there for a long time, motionless, watching the water's surface. It brought back memories she'd thought gone and buried.
The mirror-like surface of the pond turned into a window to the past. Through it, the girl could see the image that she no longer even remembered outside of occasional nightmares that still sometimes woke her up in the night covered in sweat and shaking, clutching her chest in fear, yet without a single memory as to why.
The snowy image turned into a new one, something she recognized as the dimly lit, white hospital room that had been her prison for months. And along with it returned the anxiety she had felt there and then eight years ago.
While absorbed in the memories, the girl had started shivering, and not just because of the wind. She had unconsciously put her arms around herself in an attempt to repel the coldness that was seeping in from the wound in her heart which had reopened after all this time.
The images kept changing, bringing with them even more of the feelings she'd thought she would never have to experience again. She could almost feel her legs ache, and the tightening feeling in her chest was getting stronger.
Suddenly, a warm coat was placed on the girl's shoulders and even warmer voice addressed her, "Nanoha? What are you doing out here dressed like that? The wind's pretty cold, you know."
The girl winced in astonishment, and turned her head to see the tall man standing behind her. A surprised cry escaped her lips, follow by a bright smile, "Galder! How? Why?!"
The man in question returned the smile, walking over to the front and asking, "May I sit down?" Nanoha quickly nodded, moving so that Galder could sit down. After he'd settled on the bench, Nanoha repeated her earlier question, "Galder, why are you here?"
A playful glint appeared in the older man's eyes as he asked, "What, are you saying I'm not wanted here?"
"Of-of course not! But..." Nanoha knew Galder was a highly sought-after doctor within the Bureau. There was no chance he'd have been recruited into Section Six. So why was he here?
Galder decided he'd had enough fun, explaining to Nanoha, "Just a check-up. And no, I cannot tell whose." Nanoha nodded, it was possible Hayate could've arranged for Galder if there was need for his skills.
"But still, what were you doing here? It felt almost as if you were in a world of your own. Something happen?" There was concern in Galder's voice. They'd known each other for eight years now, ever since that incident. Galder had been appointed as Nanoha's doctor back then, and it was also much thanks to him that she had recovered.
Since then, they had kept contact with each other, and eventually become close friends. Nanoha knew she couldn't lie to him. So she honestly told him about how she'd suddenly recalled all those feelings and emotions from so long ago.
"I see...Even after all this time, the scars still remain." Nanoha hung her head, but Galder continued, "However, there's something you should remember at times like this." Nanoha looked up at Galder. "Something...I should remember?"
Galder smiled. "Yes. That you're not alone. The scars may still hurt at times, but in the end, they're nothing but ghosts of the past. If you can just believe in those close to you, they can shield you from that pain." The words touched Nanoha's very soul, and the warm kindness in those bright, blue eyes was conveyed over.
"Galder...Thank you."
"Don't mention it. Anyway, I'm sure you'll be fine. That's just the kind of person you are, Nanoha." The man slowly rose to leave, waving goodbye with his hand as he left.
After Galder left, Nanoha was left sitting alone on the bench. Yet all of the earlier exhaustion was gone. In fact, she felt extremely refreshed.
"Friends, huh?" She said to herself, looking back into the pond. This time, though, the image reflected was very different. The child-like face and the blue, glimmering eyes that always seemed to shine with mysterious light whenever she looked at them. It was a face she was very familiar with.
She ended up spending quite a while looking at the pond, or more precisely, at the image of a small, temperamental girl with braided, flaming red hair. It was a very dear image to her, had been for years now. A source of strength at times, a source of warmth at others.
With renewed strength, Nanoha rose up smiling and headed back towards the training grounds to join up with Vita (and Signum) for the rest of the training session.
A/N:
There. As I said at the beginning, I might revise this chapter at some point, but that'll have to wait at least until I get chapter 2 (originally chapter 3) written. Also, for those who do not know Galder, he is an OC I first used in my very first fanfic 'Crimson Phoenix' (also Nanoha fic).