Written by gonzotheanime
Oh, God...Why Was I Watching "Fantasia 2000" While Writing?Why the hell? Am I so stressed out nothing makes sense anymore?
Or is it the heat?
Or hunger?
Eh...
Nothing belongs to me. Don't sue me. I have no life or job so don't bother.
Don't you think the StrikerS Hayate is very convincing?
Now Where Were We?All Hayate had to do now is wait.
She had the setup nicely done and going well on track. Her pal Tsubasa has been plagued with headaches that she knows is something inside her wanting out. The only thing she remembers dreaming about constantly is a cat trying to come out. She had to be unconscious and to get that with no injury is a simple sleep aid and a spell, all consensual. After falling asleep on the couch, the girl was binded in case of the worse case senario.
Sure enough, after a few minutes, Tsubasa's long black hair changed to white, and a pair of cat ears popped out. Then she began thrashing about.
"Hey! What gives nya?" spoke the cat-girl.
"So my research was right!" beamed Hayate. "A Meddlesome Cat! I have to admit, you're very cute but you're still gonna be binded."
All the cat could do is try to wiggle.
"You're a tailless cat. One with no tail to pull, who releases your master's stress and create havoc wherever you go."
"Er...You got everything but that last part right nya."
"Oh?"
"Nyah, I just target the people who stress the mistress out."
"So you went after her parents not too long ago, did you? But you think by draining the life out of her parents will ease her stress?"
"Nyeah-aha!"
"Wrong, my friend. Or I guess I can call you Black Hanekawa."
The catgirl became a little befuddled. "Say what?"
"Well, you're like an evil side of her, so I'm gonna call you Black Hanekawa."
"No, no, human. Before that. Why did you say I'm wrong nya?"
"You think trying to cause havoc and trying to kill her parents will ease her suffering?"
"Yeah, and step parents."
"Right. She's awfully young, isn't she?"
"Yeah."
Hayate decided to drive the nail where it hopefully hurts. "If her parents die, wouldn't she be really stressed? So stressed she could kill herself?"
It worked. The cat was astonished. "So wait. She'd skip me and go kill herself nya?"
"Yeah. And if she ends it, she ends you."
Now the cat felt kinda bad. "Why do you have to do that to me nya?"
"I'm merely concerned of your mistress. Shouldn't you a bit more concerned? You are sharing the same body."
"You're very good at convincing nya..."
"Not very well..."
(==)
The TSAB hospital in Midchilda.
Shamal looked like someone just ran over her with a car.
Another mage lost due to an unstable Linker Core from gunfire in a mission gone awry. She could only thank the gods it's not one of Hayate's friends or their former students.
Otherwise it would've made matters worse.
All she could do is plop on the chairs of the waiting room and think.
How could so much damage be done? He wasn't a defense mage. Could it be he didn't get his shields up in time? And wait...how many extra shifts did she pull on this mage? And when was the last time she seen Hayate?
A red-headed female doctor came into the waiting room and darted to Shamal.
"Another freak accident, Dr. Yagami?"
She sat there, silent.
"You just couldn't get his Linker Core stabilized or the bleeding to stop. You're a healer, for God's sake."
A menagerie of thoughts and doubts began to clutter the poor Knight's mind. It's becoming dark to her...
The doctor grabbed her collar. "This is your second slip-up this week! Are you paying any attention?" Furious, she shoved the mage into a wall hard enough to produce a loud thud when head met wall. Sadly it was too late to undo that mistake. It seemed Shamal was unresponsive.
"Uh-oh..." She got a bit close to examine if there was any sort of injury. "Hey, it happens to the best of us. Not everything's normal."
She then heard a slight giggle from the Knight. "Shamal?"
The mage sprang up, eyes to the floor and covered with her bangs. The only visible facial feature was a unpleasant smile.
"Of course," Shamal whispered, still giggling. "Nothing is normal." She started to walk to the front entrance down the hall.
The woman doctor grasped Shamal's shoulder. "Hold on a sec!"
Shamal grabbed the hand and tossed the woman over her entire self. As soon as she landed hard, the woman took another look at Shamal's face. The blonde's iris looked distorted and her smile was almost out of place. Even the giggle was unnecessary.
The Knight hopped onto the down doctor's stomach, and hopped off to trot straight through the doors while la la-ing a tune.
The doctor could only think she had destroyed Shamal's last nerve. Or her last shred of sanity. It's kind of unclear what can produce giggling and prancing around in a meltdown.
(==)
Meanwhile, at the Yagami house on Earth, Hayate felt something is wrong.
Black Hanekawa noticed as the binds finally disappeared. "Cat got your tongue nya?"
"I have a very close family, and if I feel something wrong with me, then it means that something horrible happened to them." Even if they are on distant planets, Hayate could felt them like they're close by.
A semi-transparent screen popped up, startling the catgirl. She hid behind the arm of the couch as Hayate found a familiar face on there.
"Shari? What's wrong?"
"Not sure," spoke the long-haired brunette on the screen. "I heard from the hospital in Midchilda that Shamal launched a doctor flat on her back when she got touched, but I also heard she was laughing and dancing around. She hasn't hurt anyone else but she went missing. This happened after someone knocked her noggin around."
An upset expression slowly formed on Hayate. "I kept tell them that they won't last too long."
"Hayate?"
"Shamal had done 2 weeks nonstop at that hospital. I tried persuading them to let her go on a vacation, but then some guy got a major injury and she stuck around. They kept her around on constant watch while this guy kept going up and down."
"Easy, Hayate. You could ask.."
"Admiral Lindy is out on a mission, and so are most of the others. And you know the higher-ups won't even listen to me much." Suddenly an idea popped into her. "Can I bring some outside help into finding Shamal?"
The catgirl looked over the arm of the couch, as Hayate was looking at her while she spoke the last sentence.
"If it'll help, I guess. I dunno, I'm not a general; I'm just a technician."
"Gimme a sec." She scooted on the couch to the end next to the catgirl. "You gotta have some of a cat's abilities, do you?"
"I can smell and hear better than normal people."
"Cool!" She turned to the screen. "I think this'll work out."
(==)
Midchilda. Some distance from the hospital.
The cat was kinda scared. "Where the hell are we nya? And what's with all those sci-fi gadgets and thing-ama-bobs?"
"I can firmly believe your mistress won't know this, so I brought you to my other world to help locate a family member."
"OK..."
"Shari told me she got a head injury and she was covered in blood from a patient. Hopefully shouldn't be too hard."
"Just get me where she was last and I might pick up a trail nya." Hayate touched Hanekawa's head. The catgirl felt a slight jolt. "What the hell nya?"
"A simple tracking spell," replied Hayate. "That way, you won't try to run away."
"I don't wanna run! I don't think I wanna get lost and never get home, or Mistress might be mad!"
"Well, it also works when you do get lost, don't ya think?"
The catgirl can't help but be amazed at the human girl's thinking.
They arrived at the hospital. Only a few mages were there and a red-headed female doctor stormed to them.
She wasn't pleased, and neither was Hayate.
"Well, Commander Yagami, come to see the mess your Knight did?" spoke the doctor.
Hayate glared. "I'm just here on a personal visit."
"Well, you're gonna need to talk to her on efficiency."
Now the brunette snapped. "Utter one more remark, Dr. Agassi, and I will erase your existence. And that's a promise!"
The catgirl followed, despite that outburst. "Yikes, what's with her?"
"Dr. Ritsuko Agassi. She's basically head of the ER, where Shamal goes. I don't have a clue why but she's been on Shamal's behind ever since the Medical Staff of Riot Force 6 merged with this hospital. And frankly, she pisses me off."
"Must be some ego-maniac nya."
"I rather not talk about her anymore..." The two arrived to the beginning of Shamal's strange rampage in the waiting room. Hanekawa managed to sniff out a scent.
"She went out the front, right nya?"
"Yeah?"
"We can start from there. I got a good ID on her nya!"
After coming outside, Hayate pulled out her device and produced her magical garments while the catgirl looked in shock and amazement. Then again, if the girl casted a sort of tracking spell, it's because she's a magical girl.
"I'll take the sky, and you track on the ground. And if you behave nicely, you'll get a nice bowl of milk."
Black Hanekawa sweat-dropped. "You can just serve it in a glass..."
(==)
Several minutes went by after they decided to split up and search. While in the sky, Hayate continued trying to call Shamal by telepathy. No success yet.
Meanwhile on the ground in an alleyway, Hanekawa continued to sniff around. While the trail was still fresh, it's felt like she's been going in circles. Either this Shamal girl's really messed up or she's aware of me, she thought.
Sooner or later, she saw Hayate soaring to her. "Gotta get back to the hospital, Shamal came back and got a hostage!"
Messed up, she thought.
(==)
The rooftop of the hospital.
Hayate noticed Dr. Agassi on the roof, binded heavily, and a disoriented Shamal. She landed with Hanekawa in tow as Shamal look at them. "It's oh so simple," she spoke, scarily gleeful. "No one's normal. Not me, not her, and not you. And who's this specimen?"
The catgirl knows Shamal was referring to her. "I guess this human calls me Black Hanekawa after my mistress."
"Heh," chucked the Knight. "Not normal. As I thought."
"Listen, Shamal," pleaded Hayate. "It's alright. You could only do so much."
"Well, let's see if you had to do several days nonstop and then still hold to that statement."
"But...!" Hayate was stopped as Black Hanekawa held up a hand.
"I have an idea nya."
Hayate made the gamble, and let Hanekawa continue.
The catgirl walked up to Shamal, who didn't make any notion of trying to stop her or Agassi gets killed. Maybe she was fascinated of the catgirl, who doesn't seemed to have a tail.
"My, you cause quite a stir."
"Say, what's your real name?"
Hanekawa was a bit befuddled, but she kept her expression constant. "My mistress is Tsubasa."
"And is she normal?"
"Not with me."
"I knew it. Then you would probably agree with me."
"On what?"
"No one's normal, yet I'm expected to fix everyone up like they're the same person, only with a different problem. They're acting as if I'm some technician in an auto shop."
Hayate doesn't know why, but the word technician had a different meaning and a different use. Hanekawa hasn't a clue on anything of that last part.
"You're wired out, I get it. Maybe you just needed a hug." The catgirl held out her arms.
Shamal was confused, as well as Hayate.
"C'mon. A hug works wonders!" She signals for Shamal to come into her embrace.
Shamal went for the hug, and soon after the embrace, a few sparks literally flew for about a minute. The Knight then collapsed while still in her embrace, and the binds wore off of the hostage doctor.
Hayate had completely forgot about it. This cat drains of people's energy with her touch. She basically conned Shamal into a hug to drain her energy so nothing else happens.
"It worked!" shouted the catgirl, excited. "And I didn't have to kill anyone!"
Hayate couldn't believe it, but then again, this is a cat with no tail to pull, and not easy to fool.
(==)
Shamal wakes up in Hayate's living room. "What happened?" she asked.
Hayate was giving her coffee. "You don't remember?"
"I could only remember everything becoming black. I tried to escape it, but I couldn't, then...here I am." Shamal turned to see Black Hanekawa drinking a glass of milk at the dinner table and became shocked. "What the hell? Am I still dreaming?"
Hayate chuckled. "No, you're not. It's a long story, but you caused some trouble when you lapsed out."
The Knight felt guilty. "Did I kill anyone?"
"No, but you still caused quite a stir. I'll probably be having to ensure you don't have too severe a punishment. But you first need to rest."
Shamal agreed, as she overheard the catgirl asking for more milk while lying her head down.