Notes – Changes made to better reflect the ending of StrikerS, while this story is still an AU, some things have been left unchanged while others have been added.
Two years later…
Usa Dimension, Vizan Planet, Eisen province.
A gentle wind blew through the city of Utina, located on a tropical continent. The city was quite small, with only a population of roughly twenty thousand. It was considered the smallest city in the province, with only a couple schools and hospitals.
On a hill, overlooking the city was a medium sized home with two floors; each room had its own balcony. On one of those was Nanoha, she looked out at the distant ocean, a water bottle in her left hand and a book in her right.
"Such a beautiful ocean," someone said from behind. Nanoha turned to find Hayate standing in the doorway; she wore a full military uniform.
"How long has it been?" Hayate asked Nanoha, whom sighed.
"Two year's now…" Nanoha said and sat on a chair near a table.
Around her neck was red ball, it pulsed every now and then. "I see they still haven't had much success in taking Raging Heart from you," Hayate smiled and took a seat on a chair across her Nanoha.
"How is she doing?" Hayate asked.
Nanoha smiled. "Saku? She's doing fine, although she's been in a couple fights though…" she said and placed her book on the table and took a sip from her water bottle. "The headmistress said it was a reputable school and yet there are students who are starting fights with her on a monthly basis now… I may have to pull her out and find another city…" Nanoha sighed.
"How's Vita-chan?" Hayate said, glancing toward the ocean. In the distance several fishing trollers could be seen making their back to the docks, while beyond them a few tankers were making their way out to sea.
"Vita's doing ok, Saku seems to trust her more than anyone else," Nanoha said. "Right now I think Vita is at the school watching over her, I don't know why though… since that incident two years ago Vita's been… rather strange," Nanoha said, her expression full of worry.
"Well, Signum did say that Vita some-how feels responsible, but I don't know why since she wasn't involved in the battle… she was just a part of the evacuation group," Hayate said and got up. "Coffee?" she asked.
"No thanks," Nanoha said and set the water bottle down on the table.
Several minutes passed before Hayate returned with a cup of coffee. "How's Rein?"
"Busy, as always, the TSA keeps us busy now-a-days… they still however won't honor my request," Hayate said and took a sip from her coffee cup.
Silence fell over the two for several minutes before Hayate spoke up. "How are you doing?" she asked.
Nanoha sighed. "Since I was forced to retire I've been able to live just a normal life, well, about as normal as you can come with reporters sometimes knocking on your door and asking for interviews…" she said, grumbling at the thought of another showing up.
She was about to say more when the phone rang, she looked at the caller ID and sighed. "Her school," was all Nanoha said before picking up. "Takamachi Residence, Nanoha speaking," she said into the phone.
After about a minute, she sighed. "I'll be right down," she said and hung up. "It seems Sakuya's been in another fight…" she said and walked into the home and down the stairs, grabbing her coat in the process.
"Nanoha," Hayate said from the stairway, Nanoha stopped in the doorway and looked up at her. "We've have been able to confirm that the necklace that is around her neck is, in fact, an intelligent device…" Hayate said and walked down the stairway and pulled out a report from her bag and handed it to Nanoha.
She opened it up and looked through it, "but you're unable to determine what 'type' of magical system it uses…" Nanoha said as she flipped through the pages. "No.. plus the only time we can actually examine it is when something happens, like what occurred a few months ago…" Hayate said.
"Don't remind me," Nanoha said and handed her back the folder. She then left for the car and soon drove off, "but there's more to her necklace than meets the eye…." Hayate said with a heavy sigh before putting her cap on and leaving.
Seshitonen Private Elementary School
Headmistresses' office
In the headmistress office a young girl was crying, her eyes read and face full of tears. "Sakuya, please calm down," the nurse said but it was no use, the girl continued to cry. On her right cheek was a red brush, her uniform was partially torn apart.
Sakuya was wearing a light blue dress with a white collar and light blue trim, her cuffs were also white but had two light blue trims. On her right sleeve was her grade, fifth grade class two, on her left was the school name and it's emblem.
Another room over yelling could be heard as the headmistress was lecturing the student who had started a fight with her.
The nurse sighed; she was unable to address Sakuya's brush. She was frustrated, if not angry, both at the student and her Sakuya. The nurse decided to stop trying and just sat down next to the girl, two of her friends were also, with her trying to calm her down but it was to no avail, she kept on crying.
Finally, a knock came to the door and the headmistresses' secretary walked over and opened it. "Ms. Takamachi," the woman said and stepped aside so Nanoha could come into the room.
Sakuya, the moment she heard Nanoha's last name, instantly turned to her. Tear's still ran down her face, Nanoha smiled at her and walked over to the sofa she was sitting on. Nanoha knelt down in front of her, removing a handkerchief from her pocket and wiping away the tears.
In a dark corner, Vita stood, watching everything. Nanoha briefly turned toward her but didn't address her, she then turned her attention back to Sakuya. "Sakuya, let the nurse tend to that bruise," she said and placed her hand around the bruise. Sakuya visibly winced when she touched it.
"O… ok…." Sakuya managed to say, she was still crying but not as much as before. "This will sting a bit," the nurse said and wiped a cloth that had a foul smelling liquid on it over the bruise. As expected Sakuya pushed away from the nurse, but not because of the pain but because of the foul smell.
To that, the nurse just smiled. "It's already on," she said and placed the cloth in a container to be washed. She then closed up her medical kit and sat there. Nanoha smiled at Sakuya and was about to say something when the door on the far end of the room opened, the headmistress walked out, rubbing her temples. "Ma'am, Ms. Takamachi is here," her secretary said.
"Ahhh, I'm glad you came," she said and walked over to her desk. Nanoha stood up and walked over to her and stared out the window, "what's the reason 'this' time?" Nanoha asked irritation present in her tone.
The woman sighed and removed her glasses and took out a cloth from her pocket to clean them. "Student claims she 'looked at him wrong,'" she said, but it was obvious the headmistress didn't believe the kids story.
Nanoha shook her head. "Uh huh.." she said and pressed her back against the window, her arms folded over her chest.
The headmistress shook her head. "It's his word against her's, but I don't find it plausible to start a fight just because someone looked at another person 'wrongly'," she said and put her glasses back on.
"In any event, what's going to happen now?" Nanoha asked, curious what the headmistress would do. "You know I don't talk about punishments when it involves another student," she said and turned away from Nanoha. "Your daughter is upset, so I think it's best you take her home. Today is the last day of school before summer break, perhaps take her out to the various amusements located across the planet," the headmistress suggested.
Nanoha smiled. "I actually plan on having her visit Hayate at TSA HQ," she said and pushed off the window. The woman nodded and then looked toward the corner of her office, "are your people always so quiet?" she asked, it was obvious that she was nervous with Vita standing there watching and observing.
"Why not ask them? They aren't 'my people' anymore, just friends and family," she winked and walked over to Sakuya. The eleven year old had stopped crying but was still wondering what the nurse had placed on the bruise, whatever it was, was quickly healing it.
"Come on Sakuya, let's go home," Nanoha said.
"Ok…" Sakuya said in a low tone. Nanoha had always found it odd that Sakuya likes school, especially since every other child she had witnessed since she had graduated always hated school. "Ruri, Rena," Nanoha said, turning to two of Sakuya's friends who had come with her to the headmistresses office. "If you two want to visit her you may, in fact, when are your parent's home?" she asked.
Ruri and Rena are both twins; having met Sakuya in their third grade orientation class two years ago. They quickly became her best friends though when Sakuya began to gradually open up to them about what had happened to her biological parents.
Ruri looked at her twin sister and then back at Nanoha. "They should be home in a few hours, why?"
"Well I'd like to ask if you want to go with my daughter and I to Mid-Childa," Nanoha asked.
The twins looked at each other once more. "We can ask, but I doubt they'll let us go…. Mother doesn't like it when we are away from her for too long," Rena said. The little girl folded her arms over her chest and made a sideways glance at the wall.
Vita laughed and came out of the corner, her arms also folded. Her laugh caught the twins off guard, resulting in them backing up a few steps when they saw her. "Parents are always over-protective," Vita said and walked over to Nanoha and Sakuya.
Sakuya smiled and ran over and hugged Vita. Vita blushed slightly, then smiled and placed her hand on Sakuya's head, ruffling her hair. "Shall we go?" Vita asked Sakuya whom nodded. The two of them headed for the door and were soon out of the headmistress's office.
Nanoha sighed and rubbed her forehead. "I'm rather tired of students starting fights with my daughter," she said to the woman. The woman shrugged her shoulders, "there's not much I can do since the fights are isolated incidents, I can only give those students detention and warning," she said. Nanoha stared at the headmistress for a few before leaving her office; she found Vita and her daughter down the hallway and on the second floor staring out the hallway window.
She hadn't really given much notice, but Sakuya's uniform was partly torn. The back of her collar, which extended almost to her waist, was torn along the left side. There was still discoloration from the bruise on her face but it wasn't very noticeable.
"Sakuya…." Nanoha softly said. Sakuya had her hands on the window when she heard her name; she turned her head toward her mother. "Let's go, I'll take you to the children's park ok?" she said. Sakuya smiled and walked away from the window and followed her down the stairs, Vita in tow.
They stopped at the entrance when Sakuya realized she had forgotten her school bag. "Sakuya!" Sakuya blinked when she heard her name, she turned to find Rena at the stairway holding her school bag. Sakuya rushed over to her friend and smiled, "Thanks Rena," she said. Rena smiled, giving her a thumbs up before heading back up the stairs.
Nanoha walked over to Sakuya and gently took her school bag. They then made their way out of the school and to a nearby parking lot. Nanoha opened the passenger side door of her car and placed Sakuya's school bag on the seat, then closed it and opened the back door so Sakuya could get in. Vita opened the door on the other side of the car and also got in.
Within minute's they were gone. Nanoha drove out of the parking lot and down the street, stopping at a light until it was green and then going. "We'll stop at home first," Nanoha said. Sakuya nodded and laid her head on Vita's lap.
Nanoha smiled when she noticed this in the rearview mirror. Soon Sakuya was asleep, "or perhaps we'll just head home and let her rest for a few hours," Vita suggested.
They drove for several minutes until they got the double gates leading up to the house, they stopped at the gates for a few seconds; Nanoha placed her hand over the dashboard and typed something into what appeared to be a keypad. Then the gates opened and she drove onto the property.
She parked the car in front of the house, then exited. Vita sat there and waited until Nanoha was able to pick Sakuya up and carry her into the home, Vita got out of the car and looked around. The air was clean and the sky was turning ugly, dark clouds had started to roll in from the ocean.
As she watched the clouds, she saw bolts of lightning impact the water, then after ten seconds she heard the sound of thunder. "Ten miles away…." Vita said and turned back to the house.
The house was surrounded by a large garden, just a few feet from the house was a small area of the garden that had vegetable being grown. Vita could barely make out a figure tending to the vegetable garden.
Inside the house, Nanoha had placed Sakuya in her bed and pulled the sheets over her. Sakuya's room had a single large bed, with a desk located near the window where she could work on her homework.
As Nanoha watched her daughter, Vita had entered the room and was standing near the window. "Vita, I appreciate you being with Sakuya every night," Nanoha said, not turning toward the girl.
Vita smiled and walked over to Sakuya's bed. "It was a surprise when we discovered that Sakuya can't stand not having someone near her at night… I don't know what really happened before I found her, but she must've been terrified to be away from her mother," Vita said and sat down on the bed. "She's unable to sleep on her own; she has to have someone to sleep with her in order for her to get any rest,"
For several minute's the two of them stayed in the room until Vita got up. "You're going to take Sakuya to HQ?"
"I'd like to, but the TSA won't let me near the facility, they are even overriding Hayate's authority there. I can only drop her off at the airport from there you'll have to take her, and if her friends come, to HQ," Nanoha said.
Vita grumbled. "I still don't like how they just placed you in front of all those admirals and didn't let you voice your opinion," she said, trying hard to keep her voice down. She was generally upset, and had been since that day.
Nanoha smiled and placed her hand on Vita's shoulder. "That's in the past, there isn't anything we can do now," she said and walked out of the room. Vita just watched her leave and shook her head, How can Nanoha say that? She knows just how unfair the ruling was…
Later that day, Night time
Weather: Stormy
The sound of thunder outside her bedroom window caused Sakuya to awake. She pressed her hands against her ears to try and block out the sound, but the flashes of light were still there and still frightened her.
"I'm here," she heard Vita's voice to her right side. She turned to find Vita laying there reading a book, Sakuya only partially smiled before another boom caused her to grip Vita's clothing and bury her head under Vita's waist.
Downstairs Nanoha was finishing up with dinner when a phone call came. She walked into the living room and looked at the ID and smiled, picking it up she said. "Nanoha here,"
Nanoha? This is Rena, uhhour mother said it was ok but she wanted to talk to you Rena said on the other end. Nanoha nodded, even though she knew that Rena couldn't see it. "No problem, put her on please," she said to Rena.
The line was quiet for a few; the only discernable sound was the obvious handling of the phone as it switched hands.
Hello?Nanoha?This is Ms. Takena, can you assure me that my daughters will be safe? Ms. Takena asked.
Nanoha sighed; it was always the same conversation with her every time she had invited Sakuya's friends to spend time with Sakuya. "They'll be safe ma'am; they'll be going to a military facility. No safer place than that," Nanoha said, smiling.
Uh huh… Takena said, not sounding too convinced. I'll take your word for it, but if anything happens to them, I'm holding you directly responsible
Nanoha merely nodded. "No problem ma'am," she said and waited until Takena hung up before placing the phone back on its holder.
She walked back into the kitchen and continued to clean up the table until she heard something at the kitchen doorway, she turned to find Sakuya standing there rubbing her eyes. "Hungry?" Nanoha asked. Sakuya nodded and walked over to the table and sat down, she was still wearing her school uniform.
Nanoha looked into the cabinet and pulled out a can of soup. She opened the can and poured it's contents into a pot and began to cook, "after dinner you'll need to go to bed as Rena and Ruri will be coming here before you three leave for the air port," Nanoha said while stirring the soup.
"You're not coming?" Sakuya asked, still partly tired.
"You know I can't," Nanoha said and turned to her daughter. "However, Vita will be going with you so," she said and noticed her daughter nodding; she placed her hands and arms on the table and buried her head.
She smiled and went back to cooking. After a few minute's the soup was ready, she poured it into a bowl and placed it in front of Sakuya, Sakuya lifted her head and sniffed. Then took her spoon and tasted the soup, after a few seconds a glitter came to her eyes.
"I'm glad you like it," Nanoha said and watched as her daughter started on her soup. She then walked over to the refrigerator and poured a class of milk and juice and placed both next to Sakuya's bowl.
Nanoha sat the trouble, watching her daughter, it was a quiet dinner. Sakuya didn't say a word while she ate, instead just concentrating more on her food, when she was through she picked her bowl up and placed it in the sink along with her two glasses. "Thanks mother," Sakuya said.
"No problem, now get changed into your pajamas and into bed ok?" Nanoha said. Sakuya nodded and walked out of the kitchen, as she did her mother blinked and rubbed her eyes. "Huh?" she said and shook her head, "I must be working too hard…" she said and got up to pour herself a cup of coffee.
As she stood there in front of the coffee maker, thoughts rushed through her head. She was thinking about what had happened two year's prior. "I just hope a visit doesn't bring back memories, I'd hate for a repeat of last year…" she said and took a sip from her cup.
She then walked over to the glass door and looked out. Every few seconds a bolt of lightning lit up the sky, followed quickly by a loud clap of thunder. The rain that was falling assured Nanoha that she would probably be tending to her garden the next morning after dropping her daughter and Vita, along with Rena and Ruri off at the airport.
"Well, I can't stay up all night," she said and finished off her cup and placed it in the sink and then headed to bed.
Author Comments: Not a very good chapter but like the prologue, I'll update it with improved grammar/spelling over time. Revised two times, last revision was 11/22/2007
