Author's note: Thanks for all the reviews :) I made Mid-childa the country where they'll be flying to.

Lyrical Academy

Chapter Ten
~Graduation Trip Part 1~

A melodic tune of dings and dongs reverberated across the vast lobby of Uminari Airport before a pleasant-sounding female voice was heard through the PA system.

"Attention to all passengers of Uminari Airways Flight 123: The flight from Uminari City to Mid-childa has been delayed on suspicion that a stowaway is onboard the plane. Security checks are being carried out at the moment to ensure that the plane is safe for takeoff. There is no cause for alarm. Repeat: There is no cause for alarm."

"Don't you think people would be even more distressed after hearing that announcement?" Hayate chuckled as the broadcast ended with another sequence of dingdongs.

"I can't believe you can still laugh," Nanoha reproved. "If you haven't notice, that's our flight being suspected of a suspicious character onboard. Do you know the seriousness of it? That person might be a hijacker!"

Hayate pointed a finger at her. "See! You're overwhelmed with anxiety already."

Their conversation was interrupted when a familiar blonde figure came rushing toward them in high speed. Nanoha's face immediately brightened as all fears and worries that had brewed in her chest from hearing the announcement faded away.

"Thank God you guys haven't takeoff yet," Fate gasped as she placed her luggage on the floor while hunching over to catch her breath.

"We would've if the flight wasn't delayed," Hayate said and offered to hand the luggage to Lindy for check in purposes. She hefted the blonde's suitcase and stumbled at its heavy weight. "Whoa!" she exclaimed as she steadied herself. "I reckon everyone's smuggling gold bars in their bags, not that mine isn't this heavy as well," she joked and waddled away with the case like a penguin.

Fate thanked the girl and averted her attention to Nanoha. A tinge of pink spread itself across their faces when they met each other's gaze with shyness as they were still a little awkward of their newfound relationship; both promoted from being the other's best friend to girlfriend just a week ago. They hadn't gone on a date yet as they were busy with the graduation trip preparations for the past week. There weren't much communication between them either except for normal activities such as chit-chats and lunching with friends. It was as if nothing had changed other than their status. Hence, deep in their hearts, the girls secretly wished that the trip would make up for their lack of time together and maybe take them a step forward in their relationship as a couple.

The girls fidgeted as they stole glances of each other, both waiting for the other to speak. After what seemed like a minute, Nanoha decided to make the first move.

"Why the lateness?" she inquired, twisting the tip of her ponytail between her thumb and forefinger.

"I woke up late this morning. Couldn't sleep last night; too excited," Fate replied as she scratched her cheek sheepishly. "And then Mother had to go on and on about travel safety when I was about to leave the house."

"I see," Nanoha said as she continued to play with her ponytail. "I was worried why you were late and tried your cell phone but you didn't pick up."

"You did?" the blonde asked, surprised. She was absolutely sure that not a beep came from her cell phone. Nevertheless, she took out the mobile device and checked, just to be sure. An 'oh' escaped her lips when she discovered that it was turned off.

"I've forgotten to on it," she said as she flashed her cell phone for the girl to see and promptly switched it on by pressing down on the button with a symbol of a green receiver on it. The black screen lit up and a short melody began to play. Her eyes widened in disbelief when a notification of fifty-six missed calls and ninety-one unread messages popped up soon after. Fate bit her lip as she contemplated on how to respond to her girlfriend's unintentional spamming so that the girl wasn't offended. Don't be mistaken; she's really happy that Nanoha was concerned about her. But the number of miscalls and messages was a tad exaggerated.

"Nanoha-chan! Fate-chan! Roll call!" Hayate called out from a distance, unwittingly saving the blonde from her dilemma.

"Correct me if I'm wrong but is it just me who realized that Signum, Shamal and Vita aren't around?" Fate asked Nanoha as she examined the clusters of schoolmates while they made their way to where their own class was gathered.

The brunette sighed. "Yeah. They aren't going on the trip; saying that it's dangerous not to have anyone looking after the house."

"Wouldn't it be enough to have just one of them staying behind?"

"It's kind of a chain reaction thing. Signum said that she'd stay and Shamal said that she'd stay too if Signum stayed."

"What about Vita?"

"She stayed because Signum and Shamal stayed."

"Oh."

Fate wondered if it was some kind of a joke and whether or not she should laugh at it. She asked the next question that was on her mind.

"Is Hayate disappointed?"

"Not really. She's grateful towards them instead," Nanoha said with a smile and continued when the blonde gave her a look of confusion. "The leaving-the-house-unattended thing is just an excuse. Truth is that they could only afford to pay for three persons' air tickets. Hayate-chan had offered to stay behind but they knew that she had been looking forward to the trip so Signum volunteered to stay behind instead and this is where the chain reaction took place. In the end, they gave up the trip so that Hayate-chan can pay the travel expenses and still have extra cash to spare."

"They really dote on her huh," Fate said as she digested the information. "And you knew about it from way back?"

The brunette shook her head. "I got to know today."

"The two of you sure took your time to get here," Hayate complained when the couple finally reached the gathering spot.

"Alright everyone," Lindy said in a loud voice as she clapped her hands to get the class's attention. "All your baggage had been sent safely to the check point. And as for when we will actually board the plane, we will have to wait for the announcement. Please refrain from wandering anywhere from now till boarding time. I wouldn't want any of you to lose your way or get left behind when we're given the clear-to-go."

Fate was puzzled. "Our flight's been delayed?"

"I remember telling you that when you just arrived," Hayate said and Nanoha nodded in confirmation. "The flight that we'd be on was held back on suspicion that a stowaway was on board. But now that I think about it…" the chocolate haired girl trailed, deep in thought. She eyed the blonde. "Where is your sister when you left your house?"

"Are you saying that Alicia-chan is the stowaway?" Nanoha asked, incredulous.

"Impossible. It's too absurd even for someone like Alicia," Fate said with a wave of her hand. "And as for where she was at the time I left, she's sleeping on her bed, in her room and snoring away like a piglet."

The melodic dingdongs cut through the air once again as the same sweet female voice spoke through the PA system.

"Attention to all passengers of Uminari Airways Flight 123: We're glad to inform you that the plane is now safe for takeoff and that there is no suspicious character onboard, except for a stray cat. We don't have the slightest clue on how it got itself on the plane but not to worry; Security had since removed it from the premises. We apologize for the false alarm and inconvenience caused. No animals were harmed during the security procedures. Repeat: No animals were harmed during the security procedures."

-o-o-o-o-o-

"I don't mean to be rude but… do you think you could… um… take the other seat?"

"No."

Hayate crossed her arms and looked away from the disheartened Fate. Nanoha switched glances from the blonde girl to the chocolate haired girl. "Hayate-chan…" Nanoha began in a whiney tone and pulled on said girl's sleeve. "Let Fate-chan have the seat. Please?"

A dark brown brow twitched before Hayate sighed in mock frustration. "Fine, you two lovebirds can seat together and do God know what," she teased and shifted to the empty seat beside her. Fate blushed and settled herself in between Hayate (who was now occupying the aisle seat) and Nanoha (who occupied the window seat).

They were finally onboard the airplane with their classmates, schoolmates and teachers after it was delayed for almost an hour and unlike the other classes, instead of assigning seats to her students, Lindy chose to let them seat freely since the school was magnanimous enough to reserve the entire aircraft just for the sole purposes of the graduation trip and transportation (yet not generous enough to sponsor the air tickets too), thus leading Fate and Hayate in a tiny dispute as to who shall be the one seating beside Nanoha.

The seat belt symbol located at the twin corners of the wall upfront lit up as a monotonic male voice cut through the air.

"Can all passengers please buckle up your seatbelts as we will be flying off in… a few minutes? Please switch off all mobile devices and laptops and other gadgets like radios etcetera, etcetera. Thank you."

Fate laughed nervously as she belted herself. "Somehow, I hope that he's not the one in charge of flying."

"Oh. I almost forgot. I am Captain Forty-Winks and together with my co-pilot, we'll be steering this flight with guarantee that you'll be on safe hands."

The blonde just paled several shades of white.

There was a low rumbling noise and the airplane started to maneuver out of the large parking lot. A man dressed in a blue jumper suit guided the way by waving two light-sticks. "We're moving! We're moving!" Nanoha said excitedly as she plastered her face on the window. The airplane made a few turns along a curvy path as it drove onto the stretched runway. It stood still for a minute before moving again, running down the airstrip in a steady pace and picking up speed slowly.

Nanoha turned toward Fate. She was about to open her mouth and speak when she noticed the blonde gripping the armrests so tightly that her knuckles had turned white. With a soft smile, she placed her hand on the girl's. Fate tensed at the contact but relaxed when she saw the gentle look on the brunette's face.

"Thank you," she said and interlaced their fingers together. A content smile graced their lips as they relished the warmth of each other's hand. Hayate, who had been secretly observing them, grinned.

It wasn't long before everyone onboard sank into the back of their seats as the airplane lifted off the ground and into the clear blue skies. The girls made a face of discomfort when they felt an invisible blockage in their ears due to the change in air pressure. The seat belt symbol returned to its unlit state when the airplane had steadied itself. An air stewardess appeared from behind the cabin door located upfront and spoke through the microphone of her headset. "Thank you for flying with Uminari Airways. We would now brief you on lifesaving tactics in case of emergencies which of course won't happen. At least we hope not. All passengers please put on the headphones located at the side of your armrests."

Everybody did as they were told and the built in mini TV at the back of the seats in front of them lit up as a lady appeared on the screen.

"Welcome to 'Lifesaving Rules and Tactics' and I will be your host- I mean guide on what to do when you're feeling unwell or when the plane is in danger and in need of an emergency landing. If anyone of you happens to feel sick, there is a brown paper bag located in the compartment below every seat. All you have to do is to retrieve the bag and you're ready to puke into it. But if you're truly unwell, it's best that you inform our friendly staff onboard. Next, I would like to touch on what to do in case of an emergency landing or super strong turbulence while flying. When either one of it happens, please make sure to buckle your seatbelts and bend all the way down so that your head is touching your lap with your arms wrapped under the knees. Last but not least, in case of a severe drop in air pressure, oxygen masks will be provided. Make sure to place it over your nose and mouth…"

The video clip went on and continued in several other languages before it ended.

Fate slipped off her headphones. "Please let this flight be a smooth sailing one…"

"Nyahaha," Nanoha chuckled as she placed her own headphones back to its spot by the armrest. "It'll be fine."

"Hey! Look over here!" Hayate said and snapped a picture of the couple when they turned to face her. "Gotcha!"

The blonde asked, "You brought a camera?"

"Yup! You didn't?"

Both Fate and Nanoha shook their heads. "You should've brought one you know," Hayate said with a wriggle of her finger. "Even though our cell phones can do the job as well, there won't be enough storage space for all the pictures that we'll be taking on this trip."

Nanoha pouted. "Now I regret not bringing mine."

"Me too," Fate quipped.

"Don't worry your little heads off," the chocolate haired girl said cheerily. "You can always buy those disposable ones over at Mid-childa."

The flight was filled with laughter as the girls continued to take pictures using Hayate's camera and chatting with their classmates when they came to join in the fun. They played some mini games like checkers and mastermind that they had found in the plane-given necessities bag along with wooly blankets, bottles of water and packets of biscuits. When evening came, trolleys packed with heated food were pushed down the aisles as air stewardesses handed them their dinner wrapped in aluminum foil.

Night came soon after and the airplane interior was almost pitch-black save for some spots where the lights were still lit.

"It's funny how it's all quiet now when it was still rowdy just a moment ago," Fate commented.

Nanoha yawned. "Guess the tiredness finally caught up with everyone."

Hayate took off her headphones and switched off the mini TV. "Let's turn in too," she said with a stretch.

The brunette pulled down the window blind as the blonde turned off their lights. After they said their goodnights, the girls covered themselves with the wooly blankets and went to sleep.

Or they tried to; to be precise.

"I'm not used to sleeping upright," Hayate said as she tossed and turned.

Fate groaned. "I can't stretch my legs."

"I have a feeling my back will be sore in the morning," Nanoha grumbled and shifted, apologizing when she accidentally jabbed the blonde's arm with her elbow. "Sorry!"

A loud 'SHHH!' came as everyone else shushed them up and the three friends sank into their seats in embarrassment. The brunette and blonde sent each other a look and giggled.

"They sure are touché," Fate whispered.

"Don't you know that people tend to be grumpy giants when they're sleepy?" Nanoha said in an equally soft voice.

The blonde smiled and took hold of the brunette's hand from under the blankets.

"Goodnight."

"Goodnight, Fate-chan."

Nanoha placed her head on Fate's shoulder and they fell asleep together.

-o-o-o-o-o-

It was night time, Mid-childa time, when their airplane had landed at Mid-childa Airport the next day, putting them two days into their weeklong trip and leaving them approximately three days of actual fun and games before they had to leave the country on the sixth day. They were currently on an excursion bus headed for the hotel that they would be residing in during their stay.

"How are you feeling?" Nanoha asked as her forehead creased with worry.

"I'm fine. It's just a headache," Fate replied weakly.

Hayate plopped her elbows onto the headrest of the blonde's seat from behind. "Jet lag?"

The ill girl closed her eyes. "Probably."

Fate rested through the entire bus ride. She sighed with relief when they finally arrived at the hotel after an hour of rocking in the motor vehicle as it drove along a cobble stone path. The students formed a neat line and entered the hotel through the revolving glass doorways, marveling at the majestic interior and polished marble floors. There was even a chandelier made of crystal hanging in the middle of the ceiling.

"Alright class," Lindy said after she read out the different room numbers that her students would be staying in. "Your baggage has been brought to your rooms. Please have a good night's sleep as tomorrow will be a busy day. And girls, no sneaking to the boys' level and the same goes to the boys. I, along with the other teachers, will be doing room checks so you better not let us catch you breaking the rules. With that said, class dismissed!"

"I envy you two, being assigned to the same room," Hayate said to her two friends as they rode the lift with a group of their classmates. She sighed. "Why am I the only one without a roommate?"

The lift door opened with a ding when it reached their floor.

"At least our rooms are beside each other," Nanoha said as they walked down the carpeted corridor in search of their rooms. "Ah! Found it!"

"Good, because I don't feel really well," Fate said and leaned against the wall.

"Fate-chan!" Nanoha exclaimed and held her partner in her arms.

Hayate turned to the brunette. "Pass me your cardkey. I'll open the door for you." She took the cardkey from the girl and swiped it through the secured card reader. A click was heard and she pushed the door open before stepping aside for the brunette and blonde to enter. She then closed the door, almost bumping into the suitcases on the floor as she made her way to their sides.

After they had settled the blonde on one of the two single beds, Nanoha asked. "Did you bring any aspirins?"

"Yes. It's inside my suitcase in one of the little pockets," Fate replied.

"Is this the one?" said a voice and the girls almost jumped out of their skins when a figure appeared before them in a quick movement. They blinked rapidly before their minds registered who it was and they chorused.

"Alicia?!"

"Uh-huh," the girl said and handed the medicine and a bottle of water to her stunned twin.

Nanoha was bewildered. "But how…?"

"I snuck into the plane before it was due to fly. I evaded those guards by hiding in the deepest area of the aircraft where people normally wouldn't go to. I think it was somewhere at the stomach, the base. I then got off immediately after it landed before anyone found out," Alicia answered the brunette's unfinished question. "Then I hid myself in the storage compartment underneath your tour bus and of course made my escape the moment it arrived at the hotel. I overheard Lindy announcing your rooms at the lobby so I came here first."

"Did you see a cat while you were on the plane?"

"What cat?"

"And how in the world did you get yourself into the room?" Hayate asked, waving off the brunette's previous question about the animal.

"Nothing like a little sabotage couldn't handle," Alicia replied haughtily and picked up the screwdriver and wire plugs that had dropped from her pockets. "Man, I'm good."

Fate held her head as she felt her headache getting worse with the information her sister was feeding them. "You're using your brains the wrong way, Alicia. Hold on… wait…" she drawled when she remembered something. "But you were still sleeping when I checked on you."

"No. I had already left. You didn't actually step into my room but just took a peek at the door, right?" Alicia questioned with a playful grin. "I never knew it was this easy to trick you. All I did was put my pillows under the blankets and played some snoring sounds on the cassette player."

"What about Mother? Does she know you're here?" Fate asked and took an aspirin as the pounding in her head worsened further.

"I left a note on my table. And don't worry about the assessments and stuff. I already completed more than a week's load just to make up for my time here."

'Mother's probably pulling her hair off back home,' Fate thought.

The group then decided that Alicia would reside in Hayate's room during their stay and the two girls left, leaving Nanoha and Fate alone for the first time since the trip began.

"You sure you're not showering first?" the brunette asked. The blonde shook her head. "I'll take my bath then," Nanoha said as she grabbed her change of clothes from her suitcase and padded to the bathroom.

Fate sighed and laid her head on the soft and fluffy gigantic pillows. She instantly jolted upright when she heard a yell and a thud coming from the bathroom. "Nanoha! Are you alright?" she said as she placed her hand on the doorknob and twisted. Luckily for her, the brunette had forgotten to lock it.

"Ah! Fate-chan! Don't come in here!"

But it was too late. The door swung open, revealing a naked red-faced Nanoha on the floor with her legs spread open. A bar of soap with what looked like a footprint imprinted on its surface laid suspiciously in a corner.

Fate gaped as she stared with saucer eyes. A deep blush crept its way up her neck and into her hairline. Her knees buckled and she slumped to the floor, feeling dizzy.

"Fate-chan!" Nanoha screamed and covered herself with a bathrobe before she scrambled to the blonde's side, forgetting the fact that the girl had just seen almost every part of her body. "What is it?" she asked when the girl whispered something.

"I think I need more aspirins…"

Author's note: Alicia is dangerous lol.

Updates will be slower as I got a feeling that I'm about to be working soon.