The White Devil
Magical Girl Lyrical Nanoha © Masaki Tsuzuki
All Characters © Respective Owners.
Lyrical Record 3: Did the Earth Shake (nano)?
Signum was grateful that for once there wasn't a major arms trade that needed to be busted or some over-the-top supervillain robbing banks. The most trouble that was happening in Uminari City was the occasional jaywalker and litter bug. And best of all, she had not seen hide nor pink death beam of the White Devil. Signum was in a good mood for a change; the Chief of Police – a man Signum held with great respect – had insisted that Signum take the day off after all her hard work. Signum wasn't about to complain; she was always saying how she had Hayate never spend time together.
Signum's eyes wandered over the menu in front of her, still trying to decide what she wanted. She and Hayate chose to have lunch at the family restaurant they had frequented before Signum joined the force. Signum peeked over the menu at her sister. People always said they looked nothing alike and that couldn't be any more true. Signum had a tough, rigid face and long pink hair while Hayate was naturally soft and a bob of chestnut hair topping her head. Another difference that her co-workers liked to point out was Hayate's vast intelligence compared to her sister, already having two degrees in both mechanical and computer sciences.
Signum hid her face behind her menu so that Hayate wouldn't see big sister pouting.
"You know, it's nice that we get to spend the day together," Hayate piped up. "It's been way too long since we had a sister's day out. What with you working long hours at the UCPD and me working on my latest patents – "
"How many does that make, anyway?" asked Signum curiously.
"Uh…somewhere between forty and fifty," said Hayate, shrugging her shoulders nonchalantly.
"I get the feeling I should be ashamed that my little sister makes more money than I do," said Signum.
"Not everyone can have an IQ of two-twenty," Hayate said smugly. "But look on the bright side: being a police officer has some benefits that being a child prodigy doesn't. Like…you can drive a car, tackle people to the ground, find out who the White Devil is, get free donuts – "
"What was that?" said Signum sharply.
"Get free donuts?" said Hayate, feigning innocence.
"Before that," said Signum. She sighed tiredly, rest her forehead in had palm. "Hayate, I told you before, I don't want you to get involved with that White Devil girl. It's dangerous."
"It's not dangerous," Hayate argued pointedly. "I'm trapped in the house for most of the day, so the most I can do is watch through the television or computer screen. It's not like I'm going to go off running in the middle of a firefight when the White Devil's name is mentioned...As if I could run anywhere in the first place."
"I'm just worried that if you stick your nose in where it doesn't belong, you're gonna get hurt," said Signum. "There are a lot of people who would want to know who the White Devil is and wouldn't be afraid to beat a little crippled girl for answers. I'm worried that your obsession will get you into more trouble than it's worth."
"It's not an obsession," said Hayate, pouting. "I'm just naturally curious. All geniuses are."
"All right, Professor Amari, figure out what you want," said Signum, dropping her eyes back on the menu. "It's my day off and I'd rather not spend it talking about – "
CRASH!
Almost as if on cue, the White Devil came crashing through the window the family restaurant, falling flat on her back on Signum and Hayate's table. The White Devil moaned painfully; her left sleeve had been ripped off and the dizziness in her eyes might have been signs of a concussion. Signum and Hayate only stared at the downed superhero, both at a loss for words. After a moment, the White Devil shook her head free of the dizziness and became aware of her position. She stared awkwardly at Hayate, turned her head, then stared awkwardly at Signum, chuckling nervously.
"Hey, Siggy…," said the White Devil anxiously. "Heard it was your day off. So, how's it going?"
"It was fine until you showed up," said Signum blandly.
"Gomen, gomen," the White Devil apologized.
"Whoa, it's the White Devil!" said Hayate, starry-eyed. "Devil, I have so many questions to want to ask you."
Before the White Devil could say anything, a hand appeared through the broken window and grabbed her by the ankle.
"I'll have to get back to you on tha – WHA!" screamed the White Devil.
The White Devil was ripped back outside, shattering any remainder of the window; Signum and Hayate leaned forward and stared.
The White Devil flew across the street, breaking through a steel lamppost before smashing into the wall of the building behind it. Her vision was fuzzy; she could hear the screams of the people on the streets running away. She blinked a few moments to restore her blurred vision, slowly lifting her head, and gasped as her enemy lifted her off the ground by her collar and slammed her into the wall again.
Grimacing, the White Devil looked down at the man. He looked no different than the usual common street crooks she caught on a daily basis: black jeans and combat boots with a matching ski mask. Though he made an effort to stand out from the rest by wear a bulky, dark purple coat that was clearly made to be extra padded. But his gloves were the most unnatural part about him: they looked like an ordinary pair of black gloves, but there each had a purple crystal on the back of the hand and sent neon-purple lines down each finger….They almost looked like….
The criminal slammed the White Devil into the wall again, leaving her imprint in the bricks, then threw her over his shoulder into the street, smashing her into the side of a parked car. The White Devil groaned and rubbed her head as the crook stood over her, laughing smugly.
"Yeah, that's right, feel it, Devil!" The criminal boasted. "You think you're so tough, but you ain't tough! You know why? 'Cause I'm better than you! You hear that, Devil! Better!"
"You sure talk big for a guy who got busted robbing a convenience store," said the White Devil.
"Shut it, twerp!" said the criminal. "I'ma gonna pound you into the ground! Then everyone in this city'll know that Seismic is the big boss 'round here!"
"Seismic? That's what you're going for?" said the White Devil teasingly. "Sure, it's better than what most villains come up for
\\themselves, but it seems a little…half-baked, don't you think?"
"You…you…shut up!" Seismic yelled defensively.
Seismic kneeled down and slammed his palms into the street. The jewels on the back of his gloves glowed; The White Devil winced as a high-pitched whistle filled her ears. The street suddenly cracked beneath Seismic's hands and large slabs of concrete started to stick out from the ground in a perfect line towards her. The White Devil shot up out of the way; the rising fragments pierced through the frame of the car, which exploded into a great ball of fire.
"I'm not paying for that!" shouted the White Devil.
"Master, the enemy's weapon emits a powerful vibrational resonance," said Raising Heart. "Barrier Jacket stability estimated to withstand direct assault for sixteen seconds. Evasion is advised."
"So just stay out of the way; got it," said the White Devil simply. "Not a problem. If I can't beat him up close, then I'll nail him from here. Divine Shooter!"
The White Devil wove her Intelligence Device in an arc, shaping an even dozen pink Mana balls sent flying to street level. Seismic shot up to his feet and held his hands to the sky; the jewels of his gloved glowed and the same whistling sounds filled the air. To the White Devil's shock, her Mana sphere became distorted and erratic shortly before they exploded, several feet in the air from Seismic.
"He can shoot them in the air, too?" The White Devil gapped.
Seismic raised his head to the White Devil – obvious mirth shining in his eyes – and cupped his hands together. The White Devil pulled back and threw up a barrier between them as soon as the high-pitched whistle reached her ears. Her Round Shield quivered from the vibrations pounding repeated against the surface; The White Devil pushed back to stabilize it. But with one fist hand shooting for the White Devil, Seismic slapped his free hand on the street. His gloves whistled; a jagged crack ripped through the concrete, making its way towards a small business office on the other side. The crack climbed up the wall until it reached to the roof and ripped off the corner piece of the building, dropping down on top of the few civilians who had not cleared the area.
"NO!" The White Devil cried.
She knew that Seismic was setting her up, but she didn't care; her first priority to the people. The White Devil dropped her barrier and dived to the street, narrowly dodging the vibro-blast with only a nick in her shoulder.
The people were scattering like cockroaches; every one of them pushing each other out of the way. One unfortunate businesswoman was shoved to the ground her co-worker; her ankle twisted to an awkward position and fell down on the sidewalk. She flipped around as the roof fragment came closer and closed her eyes, waiting for the moment of impact. She heard a loud crash, but she didn't feel hurt. She opened her eyes slowly and, to her immense relief, the White Devil was standing right next to her, her arms raised to the air with a magical barrier separating them from the falling debris. With a grunt of effort, the White Devil tilted her barrier sideways and dropped the roof chunk onto the curb. The White Devil bended over, her hands on her knees, panting hard.
"Hey…you all right?" said the White Devil. The woman couldn't speak, only nod. "Well, that's g – "
A loud whistle cut her off; the White Devil was suddenly hit with the force of a speeding train, smashing her throw the wall. The White Devil groaned weakly, buried underneath a pile of dust and concrete slabs. Her vision blurred and her ears still ringing, the White Devil tried to push the debris off of her, but Seismic suddenly appeared and pressed his foot on top of the pile, pinning her down. Seismic chuckled darkly with one hand directly in the White Devil's face; she could hear the jewels of his gloves charging up.
"You know the problem with you hero types?" said Seismic arrogantly. "You care about people and look where it got ya. I always look out for number one and only number one. Now then – " he turned the jewel on his glove; the neon lights glowed brighter " - ever wonder what happens when you vibrate a person's skull at eight thousand Gs?"
White Devil glared at Seismic as the charge reached its highest pitch. Seismic stretched out his hand and –
BANG!
A gunshot pierced the atmosphere; Seismic cried out, falling over to the side, clutching his right leg. The White Devil took the opportunity to push the rubble off of her and focused her attention to the hole in the wall. Signum was standing outside with a smoking pistol in her hand and a menacing leer that the White Devil had come to familiarize herself with. The White Devil turned over to Seismic. It looked like Signum had shot him in the calf; blood was trickling down the leg of his pants.
Seismic glared at Signum and held his hand out at her. The White Devil responded quickly and ducked out through the hole, grabbing Signum before Seismic released another vibro-shot. She and Signum collapsed in the middle of the street and turned around sharply, propping themselves up by their arms. Seismic had dropped the second floor over the hole in the building, most likely meaning he had escaped already. Signum swore loudly; innocent little Nanoha pretended not to hear it.
"Thanks for the help back there, Lieutenant," said the White Devil, standing up and brushing herself off. She offered a hand to Signum, but the police lieutenant stood up on her own, holstering her weapon. "Do you always carry a gun when you're off-duty?"
"For protection," said Signum. "You can never be too safe, especially in a strange city like the one we live in. So – " she crossed her arms, giving the tiny hero her signature scowl "- are you going to explain what that was all about?"
"The guy calls himself Seismic – a half-baked name if I ever heard one," said the White Devil. "He uses some kind of advanced tech in his gloves that manipulate vibrations, both in the ground and in the air. I was doing patrol a couple of blocks down the road when I caught him trying to rob a convenience store. A convenience store!Can you believe that? That kind of firepower and he's robbing teenagers with acne problems for seventeen hundred yen."
"With that kind of technology, do you think he's working for the Leviathan?" asked Signum.
"Not unless Leviathan is hard for cash that he would knock over mini-marts," said the White Devil. "No, the Leviathan wouldn't just hand out advanced tech to petty street thieves. I want to say that Seismic is on his own, but the technology he used is way too advanced for anything made on Earth – it's way too precise. Someone must have given the tech to him. But who?"
"What about that guy Tailwind was working for?" The White Devil and Signum looked over as Hayate rolled up to them in her wheelchair. "That is his name, right? Tailwind? He was packing some major tech and he definitely wasn't working for the Leviathan. Maybe the same guy who hired him also hired Seismic."
"You're Signum's little sister, aren't you?" said the White Devil. "Hayate Yagami, right?"
"You heard of me?" said Hayate, grinning brightly.
"You've been trying to hack into my systems for seven months," said the White Devil dryly. "You're the reason I have to reset everything once a week to make sure you have wormed your way into anything. I won't hold back in saying you're a regular pain in my butt."
"Aw, thanks," said Hayate brightly like she had been complimented. "I've been dying to meet you for so long; I have so many questions I want to ask. For starters – "she snatched Raising Heart despite the Devil's protests – "everyone thinks that this is just a magic wand. But I think differently. I think this is actually an omega-level advanced supercomputer through which you input high-level mathematic equations that form the basis of you 'spells', so to speak. Am I right? Am I?"
"Yes…and it's a little frightening how well you figured that out," said the White Devil, taking back Raising Heart. "Look, thanks for your view on the situation, but I don't think you should get involved in this."
"I was thinking the same thing," said Signum sternly.
"I'll look more into any possible connection between Seismic and Tailwind," said the White Devil. "But from now on, try minding your own business before you end up getting hurt, Hayate."
And with that being said, the White Devil kicked off the ground and took off into the sky, flying out of sight over the Uminari skyline. As Hayate watched her hero fly off, Signum walked around her sister, grabbing the handlebars of her wheelchair and pushing her down the road.
"I don't normally agree with the White Devil on a lot of things," said Signum, "but whereas your safety is concerned, our interests align. Please, Hayate, for your sake, try to curb your curiosity before you find yourself in a situation you can't get out of."
"Mou, fine," said Hayate, pouting with her arms crossed.
"Don't act like that; I'm just worried about you is all," said Signum. Hayate continued to pout; she sighed exasperatedly. "Just…try to be careful is all I'm saying. Spend your time with other things than chasing after the White Devil…like….You made a new friend yesterday, right? Suzuka Tsukimura? Maybe you two could do something together."
"Well….Suzuka-chan did invite me to meet some of her friends at this little café tomorrow," said Hayate.
"Perfect," said Signum, smiling. "What's the name of the café?"
"Midori-ya."
Nanoha's ears were still ringing when she went to work the next day. Disappoint filled her mind when she remembered how she spent the entire afternoon yesterday looking for Seismic and she hadn't seen hide nor tacky coat of him. Seismic must have been born and raised in Uminari City, Nanoha thought; it was the only way she could explain him escaping without leaving a trail. To think that a guy like him would….Nanoha shook her head and slapped her cheek lightly. She needed to give the White Devil business a break for a while; Nanoha Takamachi needed to go to work.
Nanoha brushed the flour off her apron as her dad started clean the bowls and pans, grabbed the basket of freshly made bread, and backed her way out to the front of the store. There were only a handful of customers today; most of them were regulars that Nanoha had seen from time to time.
The café that her family owned, Midori-ya, was a small shop away from Uminari's commercial district, so they didn't get a ton of customers, but a lot of people around town knew Shiro Takamachi, Nanoha's father and the owner of the shop, so business was never terrible. With the exception of her older brother, who was attending university, everyone in Nanoha's family worked the shop. Her mother, Momoko, would always work the register while her dad would work in the kitchen. Nanoha's sister, Miyuki, would always insist on working in front, claiming her feminine appeal would draw in a new crowd….If she were in her White Devil persona, Nanoha would be very tempted to poke fun at that.
As Nanoha started loading the bread inside the display case, the bell above the door rang and she winced; her ears were in a sensitive state right now. Nanoha looked over the counter; Alisa had walked in.
"Hey, Nanoha," said Alisa.
"Hey, Alisa-chan," said Nanoha. "Suzuka-chan's not with you today?"
"Nah, she had to stop somewhere first," said Alisa. "She said she was bringing over a new friend she met at the library the other day."
"She made a new friend?" said Nanoha. "Who am I kidding? Of course she did; Suzuka is too ice not to be friends with. Of course, some people are too insensitive to see how sweet she is at first."
"I said I was sorry, all right!" snapped Alisa. "You slapped me anyway, so I think we're even. Speaking of which – " she looked around shiftily, leaning close so that only Nanoha could hear – "you hear about what happened downtown yesterday? The White Devil got slammed around by some street thug calling himself Seismic; smashed my favorite family restaurant."
"The White Devil did get slapped around!" Nanoha said defensively. "I mean….She was probably just luring him into a false sense of security; examining his strengths and weaknesses before making a big comeback."
"Yeah, that does sound like something the White Devil would do," said Alisa thoughtfully; Nanoha sighed in relief.
The bell over the door rang and Nanoha instinctively turned to greet the customers.
"Welcome to the – GERK!" Nanoha choked.
Alisa stared at her strangely for her reaction. It was only Suzuka, smilingly brightly as she always did, pushing a wheelchair carefully through the door. It was the person inside the wheelchair that concerned Nanoha. Hayate Yagami looked around Midori-ya with a placid sort of interest, taking in the different sights and smells the small café had to offer. Nanoha quickly ducked her head and went back to putting bread in the display case when Hayate's eyes wandered in her direction. The last thing she needed was for Lt. Yagami's intellectually superior sister to deduce her identity just by looking into her eyes; maybe she should consider wearing colored contacts from now on.
"Hello, Nanoha, Alisa," said Suzuka sweetly. "I want you to meet my new friend."
"My name is Hayate Yagami," said Hayate politely, bowing as head. "It's a pleasure to meet you. I hope we can become good friends."
"Hello, Hayate," said Alisa kindly. "My name's Alisa Bannings."
"Er…Nanoha Takamachi," said Nanoha, purposely not looking at her. "It's a pleasure to um…meet you."
"Yagami…Yagami…," Alisa hummed thoughtfully. "Hey, you aren't related to that police woman that's always chasing after the White Devil are you?"
"She my big sister," said Hayate, chuckling. "Yeah, she has a thing against the White Devil, but I don't think she hates her as much as she says she does. She knows that the White Devil is just trying to help out, even if she doesn't always play by the rules. I personally think the White Devil is a great person."
"I know, right?" said Alisa eagerly. "The White Devil is the best thing that ever happened to Uminari City! She's so cool and mysterious and those little pink things she shoots at the bad guys are so cute!"
Nanoha sweatdropped. Did Alisa just call her magical pink beams of death cute?
"Well, we should probably find a table," said Suzuka, wheeling Hayate's chair around. "Are you going to get off soon, Nanoha. We'd really like for you to join us."
"Ooh…I'd really like to, but…" said Nanoha, looking for an excuse, "but I have a ton of work I need to be doing. You know, doing the dishes, wiping the tables, making sure papa doesn't cut himself – "
"Don't be silly, Nanoha," said Momoko. "We can handle ourselves fine without you. Take the rest of the day off; spend some time with your friends."
Curse you, mama, Nanoha thought, dreading the idea of spending any time with Hayate Yagami. Of all the people Suzuka could have possibly met at the library, it had to be the girl with a supercomputer for a brain. With a soft groan, Nanoha dutifully took off her apron and hanged it up on the hook on the wall, walked around the counter, and made her way to Alisa and Suzuka's favorite table at the front of the café. It seemed that Hayate had just finished telling a funny joke because Suzuka was giggling behind her hands and Alisa had flattened herself on the table, banging her fist on the surface.
"Hey, I have to clean those, you know!" said Nanoha.
"Gomen…gomen…" Alisa apologized, wiping a tear from her eye. "Hayate…Hayate was just…just telling us…about the fight from yesterday. You know, the one with the White Devil and that Seismic weirdo."
"Oh…and what did she say exactly?" said Nanoha straight-faced.
"Just about how the White Devil busted him for robbing a mini-mart," said Hayate, snorting behind her hand. "I mean, what kind of a supervillain steals from the same place I buy my lunch? That's like trying to…well…like trying to rob this place – no offense intended or anything, Nanoha. And then the White Devil…she made this joke about his name, but I can't remember what she said exactly. Man, I wish I had brought Rein with me."
"Who's Rein?" asked Alisa.
"Oh, that's right, I haven't introduced you yet," said Hayate with a sudden realization. "Hang on a moment, let me just…."
Hayate leaned over and reached underneath her wheelchair, pulling out a computer tablet. She fiddled with the tablet for a moment before setting it down on the table; Nanoha, Alisa, and Suzuka leaned in curiously. One moment, the screen was black. Then the next, a sky-blue background appeared and a girl appeared on the screen. The girl reminded Nanoha of a pixie – small and impish-looking, long silvery-blue hair with one lock in clips like Hayate, and dressed in a white and blue dressed that, oddly enough, bared a striking resemblance to the Belkan armor Nanoha had seen in Lindy's history books. But that was just a coincidence, right….Right?
"Hello," said the girl on the screen, waving up at them. "I am Reinforce Zwei, Mistress Hayate's personal Artificial Intelligence program. Please take good care of my mistress – " she bowed on screen – "and I hope we can all become good friends."
"Whoa, that is so cool!" Alia shouted excitedly. "Where'd you get it?"
"First off, Rein isn't an 'it', Rein is a 'she'," said Hayate sternly. "And second, I didn't buy her. I made her myself."
"NO WAY!"
"Hayate, you must be super genius," said Suzuka admirably.
"Well, I wouldn't call myself a genius," said Hayate, obviously enjoying the praise. "But you can say it if you like. Feel free to tell your friends."
"It's nice to see all that talent didn't go to your head," Nanoha said sarcastically. "But I got to admit, it's pretty cool how you were able to build your own A.I. program by yourself. I think it's a safe bet to say that you might be the only preteen girl in the world who could do that. So, Rein – " she leaned down over the tablet – "what do you do for Hayate-chan?"
"Oh, I do lots of things for my mistress," said Rein happily. "I sort through all her e-mails, back-up all her data on a daily basis, double check all of her thesis papers, monitor for viruses and malware, keep track of all her patents, and regularly update her White Devil files."
"Her what?" said Nanoha, shocked.
"You have files on the White Devil?" Alisa gasped. "Do you know who she is?"
"Not yet, but I'm getting close," said Hayate, spinning the tablet around to face her. "Rein, bring up all basic profiling pages on the White Devil. Nothing too much, just enough to give everyone a good idea what we know."
"Hai, Mistress," said Rein, saluting.
The little pixie AI floated around the screen of the tablet, stopped next to a folder in the background labeled "WHITE DEVIL" in bold print. Rein pulled the folder out of place and started leafing through the information inside as if she were searching through a file cabinet. Whenever she found one of the pages she was looking for, she toss it out and the page would rapidly expand into a window filled with a few pictures and a ton of notes, all meticulously categorized and dated. When she was done riffling through the folder, Rein was floating around three pages worth of information, all pertaining to the White Devil.
"This is all the information Mistress gathered over the past ten months," said Rein, floating over to the first window. "The White Devil was first officially reported in August of 2014 after she prevented an attempted kidnapping against Miss Tsukimura, but no photograph evidence was proved until October of 2014 when a group of high school students happened to get a picture of the White Devil breaking up a group of Leviathan henchmen smuggling weapons into Japan. Police denied any reports of the White Devil, citing her to be an urban myth, until Christmas of 2014 when an American terrorist named Anarky attempted to destroy three densely populated sites with illegal bombs, including the Uminari City police station. The White Devil successfully defused all three bombs and detained Anarky. The report was made by Sgt. Yagami, who received a promotion to Lt. shortly after."
Rein closed the window and moved over to the next page, which had mugshots and information of several familiar faces.
"This is the information of the White Devil's 'Rogue Galley', so to speak," said Rein. "The White Devils has apprehended more than a hundred criminals over the past year, but Mistress removed any data on the common criminals such as purse snatchers and car thieves. All the information present are people who Mistress feel are worth noting, such as – " she scrolled down to Ravager's picture "Rose Wilson AKA Ravager – mercenary/hired killer – daughter of the late Slade Wilson AKA Deathstroke – impaired vision in left eye – physically and mentally augmented to human capacity – " she scrolled down to Gregory Gordon's picture – "Gregory Gordon, no alias – former lieutenant coronel of the German military – dishonorably discharged for desertion and murder of innocent civilians – currently employed as an enforcer for the Leviathan – " she scrolled down to Tailwind's picture " – Gabriel Ciel AKA Tailwind – former aerospace engineer fired due to – "
"I think they get the idea, Rein," Hayate interrupted. "No need to go into every little detail."
"Oh, sorry, Mistress," said Rein, blushing in embarrassment. She closed the window and floated over to the last page. "This is a detailed profiling of the White Devil that Mistress believes will help identify the White Devil. As you can see by these notes, the White Devil is able to coordinate through Uminari City without losing track of her position, leading Mistress to believe she was born and raised in the city. Given her height, weight, and vocal pitch, she is estimated to be around the age of nine and twelve. Her uniform bears many similarities to the girl's uniforms of Seishou Elementary School with a number of altercations, leading to the possible conclusion that the White Devil may be a student."
"Wait, that's our school," Suzuka gasped. "You think she might be one of our classmates?"
"Based on all the data I gathered," said Hayate, "there is a 78.46 percent chance that it is possible."
"The White Devil goes to our school," said Alisa giddily, unnecessarily shaking Nanoha by the shoulder. "Maybe she's even in the same class as us. Wouldn't that be so cool?"
"Yeah…cool," said Nanoha, biting her lip anxiously.
She knew that Hayate was getting close to finding out her identity, but it wasn't until now that she realized just how close she was. Everything in the reports was true: she lived in Uminari her entire life, she was ten years old, and she was a fourth grader at Seishou Elementary School. Nanoha had hoped for a year that no one would make the connection between her Barrier Jacket and her school uniform; she would have made it differently, but she was in a state of emergency back then and didn't have time to think about what to wear. Now that was coming back to bite her in the butt. As she thumbed Raising Heart through her shirt, Nanoha had a thought. Maybe if she could ask Raising Heart to hack into Hayate's tablet, then –
Her father suddenly came hurrying out of the kitchen with a cell phone to his ear. Nanoha and her friends, along with her mother and sister, turned and stared as her father reached for the remote to the small TV in the corner of the café, which they hardly ever used except when big news was on. Nanoha had a bad feeling."
"Yeah, I got it, just hurry home, all right," Shiro said before hanging up. "That was Kyouya. He said to turn on the news right away."
Shiro pressed the remote and everyone in the café turned their heads to the TV screen as the Uminari City News came on.
" – activity at the Uminari City Financial Bank as yet another costumed criminal is attempting to attack our fair city. This masked menace, calling himself Seismic, attacked the bank in broad daylight and has taken hostages. The UCPD has made attempts to rescue the hostages, but the police have been unable to enter the building due to them – and I am reading an actual quote from the police in question – literally getting the wind knocked out of them. We go live to – "
"Looks like Seismic's back again," said Hayate. "Guess he decided hitting up mini-marts wasn't worth the effort. Hopefully the White Devil shows up soon….Hey, Nanoha, are you okay? You looked kinda nervous."
Of course Nanoha was nervous; she was in a precarious position. She needed to get out of the shop and put on her Barrier Jacket, but she couldn't think of an excuse to give on such short notice. If she didn't make it sound good, then Hayate would definitely know something was up. And then it would be a hop and a skip away from figuring out she was the White Devil. She needed to think of something…something like…"
"Hey, Nanoha," Shiro called from across the café. "Do you mind running to the market from a little while? I ran out of yeast and I need to make a fresh batch of bread for tomorrow. Make sure to bring back the receipt this time, okay?"
"Er…yes, papa!" said Nanoha; a feeling of relief washing over her. "Sorry to cut today short, but I really should get back to work. It was nice meeting you, Hayate-chan."
"Yeah…," said Hayate slowly, watching Nanoha run out the door with a brow raised. "Nice meeting you too…"
The UCPD were in a very complicated dilemma in Signum's opinion as she pressed herself against the wall next to the Financial Bank's now shattered glass doors. The UCPD had surrounded the building with squad cars, blockaded the streets, and positioned a sniper on the roof, hoping to get a good shot through the bank's skylight. They had sent a squad in through the back entrance five minutes prior, but they were all quickly incapacitated and added to the growing number of hostages. Signum had dealt with bank robbers before and they were usually armed with guns and bombs – one shot to the knee was all it took to incapacitate them. But she was pretty sure they had never covered loud-mouth narcissists with futuristic vibro-gloves back in the academy.
One of her co-workers crawled along the wall on the opposite side of the door, leaning in around the busted window. Signum hissed loudly and gestured him to pull back, only to face-palm herself a moment later; the idiot had been knocked out by another vibro-blast. Taking a deep breath, she poked her head around the corner and pulled sharply back a second later, narrowly avoiding the shockwave. She managed to get a small peek of the inside. Seismic was inside – like there was any doubt before – and the hostages were all huddle into a corner. The bank vault was open, but it didn't look like Seismic was making an effort to steal anything; this was grandstanding.
"What's the hold up, ya cotton candy-haired pig?" shouted Seismic. "Poke that pretty little head out so I can blow it off!"
"You know this isn't going to end well for you!" yelled Signum. "Let the hostages go and surrender while you have the chance! I'm not going to ask twice!"
"Ooh, I'm shakig in my boots," Seismic said mockingly. "Tell ya what, I owe ya for shooting me yesterday, so I'm gonna make a deal. If you throw away your gun and step out, nice and easy-like, I'll let these losers go in exchange for you. I'm betting you're worth a lot more than some idiot clerks and a couple cop-pigs who don't even know where the front end of a gun is."
"You're not really going to let them go, are you?" said Signum.
"Who knows?" Seismic answered, laughing. "But can you afford not to trust me?"
Signum swore under her breath. She need from the start that Seismic had no intention of letting the hostages go – the police would shoot him down in an instant and Signum was fully prepared to go down with him. But if she didn't do what he said, there was the likely possibility that he would hurt them. Signum swore again; sometimes it sucked being the good guy.
Signum unloaded the clip in her gun and held it out outstretched for Seismic to see before tossing it inside. She cautiously stepped through the broken widow with her hands raised in surrender, ignoring the yells from the police captain outside. Her eyes were firmly locked on Seismic, conscious of her his hands were. Signum started to think fast. Maybe if she got close enough to him, she could….Signum stopped sharply in her tracks as Seismic held up his hand to her. She waited for a moment, expecting to be thrown on her butt by a vibro-blast. Seismic laughed.
"Why so twitchy, eh?" said Seismic. "Nothing's gonna happen….Not as long as you do what I say."
"You have me now," said Signum seriously. "Now let the hostages go."
"Yeah, I was just thinking about that," said Seismic in mock thought. "You see, I got like – what? Twenty plus hostages – and I'm gonna trade them all away for one pig-cop. I never went to University, but I know bad odds when I hear them, so…no deal."
"You son of a – " Signum snapped angrily. "You're just making this worse on yourself. Give up while you have the chance."
"Yeah, right," said Seismic, chuckling. "Who's stupid enough to jump in the middle of this?"
CRASH!
Signum and Seismic's heads shot up; the White Devil had smashed through the skylight and was diving towards them. Seismic automatically raised his hands to her, but Signum spotted a broken piece from one of the statue and kicked it, hitting Seismic in the gut, causing him to briefly double over. The White Devil hit the ground at a crouch and slammed her fist into the floor, creating a shockwave of pink energy that knocked Seismic and Signum on their backs. Seismic started to sit up, but the White Devil quickly dashed around behind and grappled him around the chest with Raising Heart, pinning his arms to his side.
"It's like hugging a fluffy pillow," said White Devil, referring to his thick coat. "You take care of the hostages, Siggy, I'll hold the human couch cushion."
"Will ya now?" said Seismic mockingly.
Though his arms were pinned down, Seismic was still able to touch the floor with his fingers. His vibro-gloves whistled loudly, making the White Devil wince, and suddenly two slabs of stone erupted from the floor at an angle and slammed against either side of the White Devil's head. That kind of attack would normally kill a man, but the White Devil's Barrier Jacket cushioned most of the blow and only making her mildly disoriented, but also loosed her grip around the villain. Seismic broke out of the White Devil's hold and spun around, hitting her point blank in the chest with her vibro-gloves and sending her flying over the clerk's counter. Standing up, he noticed Signum running for the hostages out of the corner of his eye and shot a quick vibro-blast in her direction. Signum saw them and quickly pulled back, ducking behind a desk that immediately shattered, showering her in splinters.
The White Devil grabbed the top of the counter to pull herself up; her head throbbing like a heavy metal drummer was beating against it. She rubbed her head and looked up; Seismic was leering down at her from the other side of the counter.
"Er…welcome to the Uminari City Financial Bank," said the White Devil. "You want to open a new account? You get a free toaster for the first sixty-thousand you deposit."
Seismic slammed his hands on the counter; the marble and wood crumbled into a pile of dust.
"Whaddya got against toast?" said the White Devil.
Seismic tried to grab her in a bear hug, but the White Devil ducked under his arms and kicked him in the back of the leg where Signum had shot him yesterday. He dropped down to one knees as the White Devil swiped her staff around, but Seismic blocked the swing with her glove; she was rebuffed by the resonating vibrations and slid back several feet. Once gaining her footing, the White Devil moved Raising Heart in an arch, creating a handful of Mana balls, but Seismic already had his hands up and his gloves were fully charged. But before Seismic could release the shockwave, Signum ran up from behind and smashed a wooden chair over his head. Shouting, "Divine Shooter", the White Devil skillfully coordinated the Mana shots to hit Seismic at the thickest points of his upper body so as not to hurt him, but put enough force to send him flying across the room.
"Nice assist, Siggy," said the White Devil.
"Don't take your eye off him just yet," said Signum seriously. "I could tell you weren't trying to hurt him, so that means he's going to get back up. He's a tough one to deal with on your own."
"Tell me about it," said the White Devil. "His gloves are effective at both close- and long-range, plus he can manipulate the vibrations of his gloves so precisely that he can manipulate the molecular structure of any surface, including the ground. If he wanted to, he could rip open a hole in the Earth and drop us in it."
"Then let's not give him the opportunity," said Signum. "His gloves might be impressive, but we also have an advantage: he can't keep track of both of us at the same time. So while I attack him from close-range, you hit him from a distance with those magic beams of yours. He won't be able to keep up with both of us at the same time."
"Are you suggesting…a team-up," the White Devil gasped dramatically.
"Don't tell anyone," said Signum.
"You – stupid – little – Pig!" Seismic shouted furiously as he stood. "Nobody makes a fool o' me, you hear? NOBODY!"
"I don't know, we seem to be doing a good job so far," said the White Devil jokingly.
The White Devil could just imagine the throbbing veins underneath the ski mask as Seismic quiver with obvious rage. He punched the air with a quick vibro-blast; Signum and the White Devil jumped to opposite sides. Signum sprinted a full circle around the bank, jumping over benches and sliding under tables as the shockwaves ripped them apart in her wake. But while Seismic's eye was following the police lieutenant, the White Devil floated over the battlefield directly above Seismic; chunks of concrete orbited around her in bubbles made from pink energy.
"Stardust Fall!" said Raising Heart.
The concrete fragments shot down like bullets and Seismic, who had looked up at the last second, threw his arms over his head as the rocks relentlessly beat him down to his knees; his coat able to absorb most of the impact. When the rocks stopped falling, Seismic immediately shot a vibro-blast to the ceiling, which was a bad call as the White Devil moved out of the way and pieces of the ceiling started falling down on top of him. Seismic threw himself out of the way of the debris, tucking and rolling into a kneeling position with his hands aimed for the White Devil. Before he could take the shot, Signum surprised him by appearing directly in front and lifting him to his feet by the collar of his coat. The first things she did was push his hands away before he could use his gloves, then kneed him in the stomach, making him double over, and finished the combo with a strong uppercut that threw Seismic on his back.
Leering underneath the eyeholes of his mask, Seismic slammed his fist into the ground and forced the ground to lift directly underneath Signum's right hood, throwing her off-balance. Seismic sat up while Signum tried to regain her footing and pointed his palms at the police lieutenant, when pink chains of energy dropped from the sky and constricted themselves around his wrists like snakes. Seismic's head shot to the roof; the White Devil was holding the ends of the chains.
"Hey, Shocker-wannabe, listen to this tune, I think you'll like it!" said the White Devil.
The White Devil pulled the chains away from each other before pulling them together to overlap. Seismic could not stop himself as his hands were thrown out at the command of the energy chains and then clapped together, releasing the changed up shockwave directly in his face. Everyone inside and outside the bank threw their hands over their ears as an ear-splitting screech filled the air for several agonizingly-long seconds; the White Devil, who was still recovering from yesterday, fell and smashed through a table. Then everything went silent. Signum rubbed her throbbing earlobes as the White Devil stumbled across the floor, looking very dizzy.
"Well…that was unpleasant," said the White Devil. She shook her head, but quickly stopped. "Nope, that just made it worse."
"Is everyone all right?" asked Signum, looking over to the hostages. They complained about their ears, but were otherwise all right. "Looks like everyone's fine."
"I wouldn't say everyone," said the White Devil, pointing.
The White Devil and Signum carefully stepped around Seismic, who was lying flat on his back. The shockwave of the gloves colliding with each other had ripped apart Seismic's ski mask and most of his padded coat; his short dark hair was sticking up every direction, his mouth was hanging open like he was in the middle of a silent scream, and his eyes were rolled so far back into his skull that they could see the white in his eyes. Signum kneeled down and turned his head to the side; there was a heavy about of blood dripping from his ear canal.
"I think you might have busted his eardrums," said Signum. "He's going to need to be taken to the hospital immediately. Not that I'm complaining or anything – you did save a lot of live today – but you really need to be more careful about your approach. People can get really hurt if you're not careful, Devil….Devil?"
She looked up, but the White Devil was nowhere to be seen as the police started charging through the doors.
"That girl just pulled a Batman on me," Signum muttered. "That's actually kind of impressive."
Hayate Yagami sat at the computer desk in her room, her chin resting on her hand, staring at the computer screen with avid fascination. Normally around this time – that is, after another criminal had been arrested – Hayate would be searching for detailed information of the criminal in question ad hijacking security footage of the event. But not this time. This time Rein's screen was filled with dozens of windows, all of them filled with pictures and data on the girl from Midori-ya, Nanoha Takamachi.
There was just something about the way Nanoha refused to look at her directly during their short meeting and how quick she was to run an errand for her father. And the fact that her father sent her alone was another red flag; normal parents don't send ten year old girls to the market alone when there are criminals roaming the street. She the minute she came home, Hayate wheeled herself in her room and started searching for anything pertaining to the youngest Takamachi: birth certificate, school ID, citizenship, school records, even a brief note of participation and a local junior kendo tournament.
Nothing seemed out of the ordinary; she was just a normal little girl. That was until she suddenly started missing classes at random intervals and her grades slipped below average for two months before bringing them back up. And it all started around August of last year….The same time that the White Devil first appeared in Uminari City. There was a good chance it was only a coincidence and Hayate was just overthinking things, but…
Hayate's cellphone rang. She quickly reached underneath her wheelchair, pulled out her phone, and sighed in relief as she recognized the number before answering.
"Signum, thank god," said Hayate. "I was worried you might be hurt."
"I'm fine, just a little banged up," said Signum. "We caught Seismic from yesterday, but we have to take him to the hospital first before we can bring him in; the on-site doctor said there's a good possibility that he might be permanently deaf after tonight. Then I have a ton of paperwork to fill out, so I'm going to be home late tonight. You okay for dinner?"
"I'm fine," said Hayate. "I picked something up at Midori-ya when I went to visit with Suzuka-chan."
"That's good," said Signum. "So you and Tsukimura are getting along?"
"We're great," said Hayate happily. "Suzuka-chan is super nice and she introduced me to her friends, Alisa-chan and Nanoha-chan. Alisa-chan is a little loud and hot-headed, but she's really funny and excitable. Nanoha-chan…well, I don't really know a lot about her. Her dad sent her on an errand after we got there."
"Yeah, I remember Nanoha," said Signum. "Her father was my personal trainer when I was still in the academy, so I spent a lot of time getting to know the Takamachis. Nanoha is a sweet kid, but she seems to be a little…withdrawn. She seemed kind of lonely every time I saw her, but I hear she's perked up lately. Hey, maybe we could go visit Midori-ya for lunch some time and say 'Hi'."
"As long as they were no superheroes flying through the window," Hayate said jokingly.
"Well, I have to get off soon," said Signum. "I'll see you tonight."
"See ya tonight," said Hayate.
She hung up and set her phone on the desk. She went back to staring at the computer screen with her chin in her hand, her mind now awash with new thoughts. After a long minute of silence, Hayate finally leaned forward and grabbed the mouse. She created a new folder and opened a new file, dragging two pictures into the center, side-by-side. She typed a caption underneath the pictures
NANOHA TAKAMACHI = THE WHITE DEVIL (?)
Yukari Tamura: A dishonored soldier. A shamed man. After suffer defeats on and off the battlefield, one man is being given the chance to redeem himself and the chance to take revenge. With a new strength given to him, that man will take his life back in exchange for the life of one child. Next time on the White Devil
Are You Shocked (nano)?
Nanoha: Magical! Lyrical! I'll do my best!