...damn. And here I was hoping to upload nice, small chapters. *sigh* Well, this one stole my ideas and wouldn't give them back until I finished. This is about 2x what I was planning on writing...Well, enjoy!
Disclaimer: Don't own, never will.
"…was just an overreaction. The blood tests showed that her medicine is flowing through her system as it's supposed to, so it was likely an accident, just like she said. She's been cleared for release, so as soon as you sign out at the front everything will be fine." The doctor concluded his report with a weary smile, bowing slightly and turning to leave. He tried to not listen as he heard the mother start sobbing. It was work policy to offer condolences, but to keep a respectful distance regarding the emotional reactions of family members. Turning a corner, he passed off the clipboard with the patient's file off to a nurse, and retreated quickly to his office. He sank heavily into his chair, rubbing his temples and switching his computer's monitor on. Staring blankly at the screen for a few moments, he cursed softly, reviewing the patient's profile. The picture, nearly a year old, showed a smiling girl with her eyes full of life.
Patient File #0747558
Name, Last, First:
Takamachi, Nanoha
Scrolling down, the doctor's eyes briefly took in information that he had long since memorized by heart.
First Admittance to Residential Treatment:
September 23rd, 20XX
Diagnosed Symptoms:
Severe depression, periodic hallucination, reluctance to interact with the present
Update as of October 18th: Patient has been placed on emergency 24-hour suicide watch. Reason: severe risk of further self-injury; patient is currently undergoing radical medication modifications. Visits are limited to mother or father. Thorough psychological testing is advised.
Note: November 4th. Patient has been reported to respond abnormally for periods of time measuring from 5 minutes to 16 hours. Observations from work colleagues/friends state that the patient will be under what appears to be a self-induced hallucination, specifically imagining the existence of the patient's former lover, F.T. Harlaown. Patient will not respond to reasoning and will go through daily activities, convinced that said person will "come home soon." Patient's actions suggest a case of PTSD and delusions. Patient is suspect to anorexia, see attached testimonial for details.
He hovered over the attached file link, grimly recalling an unpleasant scene.
November 5th, 2:00PM Earth Standard Time
"So, Vita-san, if you would please face the camera and speak in a clear voice, we can get started," the nurse said, smiling reassuringly at the small girl. The girl's chaperone, a matronly blonde woman, stood restlessly by the door. Vita bit her lip and faced the camera.
"She…Nanoha," she began, rubbing at her eyes. "I…yesterday, I went to Nanoha's room to check on her, and—"
"I'm sorry to interrupt, Vita-san, but could you state the time, please?"
Vita sniffled and nodded. "It was around eleven o'clock, at night. She was…sitting on the couch, reading a cookbook. I asked her what she was doing, and she said
"Vita-chan! What brings you here this late?"
"Nanoha…what are you doing?"
The combat instructor chuckled. "Silly, I'm looking up new recipes to make. I don't think Fate-chan really liked the stew I made yesterday, so I thought I'd surprise her with something new."
Vita bit her lip. "Nanoha, Fate is…" She trailed off, spotting the dinner table, set for two. The food had long since gone cold, and was starting to smell. "What the hell?" Quickly making her way to the kitchen, Vita saw neatly stacked piles of used dishes in the sink, and a rotting smell coming from the garbage bin.
"Oh, I've been meaning to clean up. Fate-chan gets upset when the dishes pile up like that. Sorry for the mess, I'll clean everything tomorrow." Nanoha grinned sheepishly. The Hammer Knight's blood turned cold.
"Nanoha, why haven't you eaten dinner yet?" Her voice trembled.
"Well, Fate-chan hasn't come home yet, and I promised her that we'd eat dinner together." The reply was so nonchalant, so full of utter conviction
"I checked the garbage, and it was full of food scraps. I asked her, 'What's the meaning of this?' and she said, 'Vita-chan, have you been listening to me?' and then she laughed, and then…" Vita choked back a sob, wiping furiously at her eyes in a vain attempt to stop the tears from flowing. "…and then, she told me, 'Fate-chan didn't really like the stew, so I threw it out. No sense in keeping it if we can't eat it together!' But when I looked closer, there was way too much food in there for one person's leftovers. I asked her why there was so much, and
"Nyahaha, I guess that lately my cooking hasn't been very good. I feel kind of bad about it, but I end up having to throw it all out, you know? Sometimes she doesn't come home until really late, so I go to bed first and leave everything out for her, but…" A flash of pain in once lively slate-blue eyes. "She leaves for work before I get up. Maybe I should ask Caro if I can give the leftovers to her dragons?"
"I didn't know what to do! I…got really scared and went to Hayate, and that's when we—everyone, I mean—decided that Nanoha should get help. I just wish…please, you've got to help her! Make her realize the truth! I don't…I don't want to s-see her like that…"
Shamal left her post by the door and embraced the girl, her own eyes glistening with unshed tears. The nurse shut off the camera.
Latest Entry: February 14nd, 20XX
Case update and progress report
Patient has had a brief relapse – family brought her in after finding her surrounded by broken glass and with several cut wounds on the hands and fingers. Upon hospital staff questioning, patient admitted to dropping and breaking a glass container while attempting to make chocolate. Patient said something along the lines of forgetting about Valentine's Day and having to rush to make chocolate for "Fate-chan." This poor, poor girl…all I can do is advise her friends and family to remain supportive and loving. Perhaps a new medication is required…
Colors of the Sky
Chapter One
Reality/Grief
"Walking through a winter night,
Counting the stars
And passing time
Snow dances with the wind
I wish, I could be with you again"
--Scorpions
Takamachi Nanoha lay in the hospital bed, staring at the white plaster ceiling. Bored, she started counting the water stains for the umpteenth time while absently picking at the bandages around her left hand. She was still a little woozy from the anesthetics and didn't notice when the door opened softly.
"Nanoha, we've come to pick you up," Shiro said. His daughter turned her head and smiled, though her eyes were slightly unfocused.
"Hi, dad." Her mother, Momoko, moved from Shiro's side and helped the girl sit up. "I can go home now?"
"Anytime, sweetheart," he replied, flashing a reassuring smile. Slowly, with her mother's help, Nanoha stood and put her shoes on. Soon the three were walking through the sterile hospital corridors, passing the occasional nurse or visitor. Momoko struck up a mostly one-sided conversation with Nanoha, falling silent as they reached the main entrance. Shiro went ahead to start the car while the women followed at a more leisurely pace. Nanoha barely noticed anything the entire ride home, and immediately retreated to her room upon arriving. The rest of the afternoon passed uneventfully; Kyoya was busy managing the Midoriya Café, Miyuki had left after a brief lunch with Nanoha to return to school, and their parents went about daily business.
By the time it was dinner, Nanoha had succeeded in exactly one useful thing: she had sent a video-mail to Hayate to ease the small ruckus she was sure her hospital visit had sparked over on Midchilda. As much as she had tried, she had been far too distracted to do anything other than sleep, stare into space, and watch old drama reruns. She once again retired to her room shortly after eating dinner with the family and proceeded to take a shower, carefully avoiding getting her bandages wet.
The combat instructor fell onto her bed with a sigh, flipping onto her back and closing her eyes. If she closed her eyes, she could hear her voice, see her beautiful face, feel her loving embrace. Twin trails of tears were soon traced along her face, followed by the familiar burning in her throat. Nanoha stifled her cries in her pillow, curling up into a fetal position after the grief had passed.
"Fate-chan…" her voice, still heavy and wavering, sounded like a stranger's. "I thought we promised. You said you would always come back…to me." She fell silent, clutching the sheets for comfort. "So why…why did you break that promise…?"
"You go back first. I'll be right behind you, so don't worry."
"…Liar."
"I love you, Nanoha. Always and forever."
"Fate…-chan…"
Unspecified planet 104
Night, 0200 hours
Underground complex
Hear my voice, child. Burgundy eyes opened hesitantly, dull and void of life. An arm reached upward, pressing against the glass container's thick walls.
I'm afraid you're not quite ready to go out into the world yet. Slowly, the girl floating in the tank focused on her surroundings. Her view of the world beyond the glass was tinted and warped by the thick, greenish substance that kept her suspended in space. Faintly, in some deep corner of her half-awake mind, she expressed surprise. Though she had no breathing apparatus, the substance, certainly thicker than water, was easily drawn in through her nose, filling her lungs with oxygen.
Rest for now. I'll call you again later.
Name…
Oh, I forgot. Do you know who I am?
Name…who…?
I suppose it can't be helped. Listen, how about I come and visit you in person? We can have the formal introductions then.
Who…who…
Ah, ah, ah. Let's not get ahead of ourselves, shall we? It might upset your memories, after all. Go to sleep now, child, and we'll talk more in the morning.
Nanoha awoke to the sunlight streaming in through her bedroom window. Someone had come to her in the night and tucked her in. A bitter smile found its way to her lips. Standing, she padded down the hall to the bathroom, splashing water onto her face and brushing her teeth.
"…"
As she closed the door behind her, Nanoha stopped dead in her tracks. That voice…it can't be?
"…would like to borrow her…"
Nanoha burst into the living room, nearly tripping over her own feet in her haste.
"Good morning, Nanoha. Did you sleep well?" Momoko smiled. Her daughter was frozen in shock, disbelief mixed with hope and despair at the same time all over her face.
"Nanoha-chan, it's been a while."
Nanoha exhaled heavily, and when she spoke, it was in a voice so small that she herself didn't fully realize she'd spoken. "…Hayate?"
To be continued.
Closing Notes:
And there's chapter one! I hope I didn't ramble as much as I think I did...also, sorry for the slow pacing halfway through and the crappy filler scenes (can't write time passing to save my life, lol). I even included *gasp* foreshadowing. A big THANK YOU to the four of you who reviewed:
:n_n I'm glad you liked it. I'm flattered, really...Well, you'll have to wait to find out "what happened" ;). Bulls-eye with recognizing the voice. Maybe I should try to disguise it more? And cliffhangers are the lifeline of all fanfic writers, are they not? :3
BPHaru: OMG! It's you! Ahhh! *runs around in circles* I'm a fan, hehe....It's a small relief to know that it wasn't as bad as I thought it was! Don't know where I'm going with the plot? What plot? Neither do I! *jk jk* I'll accept that challenge, but...don't expect anything in the near future XD
hazumu-kun: Hahaha, hope this is long enough for you! (Or at least, closer to the length you want ^^)
Black-Rose-Of-Night: Ahh, I wish I could pump out chapters like some of the fanfic greats out there...I'll do my best!!
Now then, I thought I'd let y'all know that I ENABLED ANONYMOUS REVIEWS *coughcough winkwink nudgenudge* so even if you don't have a ff account, you're ABLE TO REVIEW. Ahem. Expect updates to be once or twice weekly. If I'm lucky and get lotsa inspiration over the weekend, then maybe 3...
Read and Review, please!!