Last Chance

by RatSkie

AU. Slight OOC. Nanoha Takamachi has just transferred to the prestigious TSAB Academy, where she meets a carefree, irresponsible, sarcastic girl who infuriates her to no end, but still manages to capture her heart. NanoFate.

14. Your Promise of Alcyone's Days

A/N: NanoFate's still alive! And so am I! That's all.

Another long chapter but not as long as the previous one. But it's still pretty long... And thus, my sincerest apologies if you encounter any typos, grammatical errors and the like along the way. I be a humble human.

Disclaimer: I do not own anything as usual. References used are at the end of the chapter. Credits given to their rightful owners. Seriously, AGAIN. I. Don't. Own. Anything.

Bon appétit!

---

I looked at my curtained windows and saw the world outside slowly turning bright, announcing the arrival of an inevitable morning of another school day.

And the inevitable morning that I'd see Fate again.

I turned to bury my face in my pillow I hugged since last night. I was hoping to finally have a more decent good-night's sleep before returning to school.

But that failed. The entire time, my mind was wide awake and never permitted me to sleep. Tossing and turning, and just thinking.

Remembering, seeing what had happened behind closed eyes when I tried multiple times to succumb to slumber.

We kissed.

My mind would say those two words, as if it were in a daze itself, reluctant to consider it a part of reality.

'I love you.'

That blissfully wonderful and vivid memory. Such simple words spoken in her soft voice played on repeat.

Despite the cool morning and complete lack of sleep, my face had gone warm as I remembered Fate that night.

She was still playful, and yet so gentle all the same. And was really just so beautiful and wonderful, easily stealing my breath away.

She was the only one who could stir my heart into a crazy jumping fit.

Just her holding me in her embrace, being surrounded by the faint yet sweet scent of lavender, I felt like I could melt.

I didn't want to be apart from her.

I wished time froze during that simple moment. Of us just being close, wrapped in each others' arms and warmth. If permitted, I would never let her go.

I almost thought that it would be good that I didn't have to go home that soon and be away from her. I wanted to stay longer.

Fingertips touched my lips, making my heart squeeze and my stomach clench with that same memory.

But when I thought about it more, everything seemed too good to be true, so surreal that it was scaring me. Making me anxious.

That there might be a possibility that it was all fake, a dream. From the soft 'I love you' to the shared kiss.

I wanted to see her.

But at the same time I didn't.

This ambivalence wasn't helpful at all.

I wasn't sure if it was because of the lack of sleep, but it seemed like these troubling feelings had yet to completely subside. In fact, they were more uncontrollable than ever, confusing me, and I was ignorant on how to calm them by the time I got out of bed to get ready for the day.

---

My head felt weird, as if it were lighter than usual. And my eyes stung and felt heavy, making me feel uncomfortable.

With my lack of sleep and my mind filled with a certain carefree blonde, it worried me that I might not be able to pay attention in class.

"Nanoha-chan?" Hayate slipped her head in my field of vision from the side.

"Ah, sorry," I apologized, feeling bad that I hadn't paid attention since we got on the bus. My mind had been drifting off elsewhere and my body had apparently been on autopilot. "I kinda spaced out and didn't hear you. I'm sorry," I said again.

"No worries," smiled the girl beside me. "Vita and I were just talking about last week and how short it was. The school should really make it into a full-week event," Hayate whined. "If they did, the festival would be even more epic!" She turned to the redhead who was in the middle of a long yawn. "Am I right, Vita?"

"I don't think some of the students would appreciate that," the redhead beside her deadpanned. "I, for one, barely lasted a day," she droned as if she were still exhausted from the days prior.

Hayate rolled her eyes, "Oh please, Vita," and flapped her hand once at the idea. "Don't be such a killjoy."

"I wasn't."

"But you were so cute in your cave girl outfit! See?" Hayate whipped out a picture of her cousin. "Such a scrumptious feast for the eyes!"

The shorter girl shrieked, "DON'T TAKE THAT OUT!" waking some students who were still half-asleep on the bus as she tried to snatch the photo from her relative in futile attempt. "Give it back, damn it!" she roared.

"Don't wanna," Hayate sang as she teased her cousin and held the coveted photo further away from her reach.

The glossy paper appeared to slip out from Hayate's fingers and gently landed on my lap.

Picking it up and looking at it, I broke into a grin, cooing at how adorable the shorter girl looked. "Aww, Vita-chan, you really do look so cute!"

"I know, right?" Hayate grinned.

"GIVE IT BACK!"

The girl in the picture was holding a wooden club and wearing an authentic-looking, tiger-patterned cloth. Some of her hair wildly sticking out but still fashioned in her signature twin braids, with both ends decorated with bone-shaped accessories.

The redhead posed by a prop their class made that was designed to look like a stone wheel, which had a hole big enough for a small child to comfortably fit in. A mother was standing at the other side while her child poked his body through the hole as they took the souvenir photo together with Vita.

Looking at the picture, the redhead looked popular with the visitors and students.

Vita seized the chance and swiped the picture from me, making Hayate whine in dismay as the girl crumpled the photo with both hands.

"You're so mean, Vita," she complained. "And I was even thinking of showing it off to class. I did make yours and your classmates' costumes after all."

"Like hell I'd let you get away with that!"

My eyes widened at what I heard. "Really? Hayate-chan, you made 1-C's costumes too?" I couldn't believe what I was hearing. And she even still had the time to make our class' maid uniforms?!

The brunette gave me a proud, toothy grin. "Yep, Alisa-chan's class too. It was a bit hard to make the right design for them though," she informed me seriously. "I wanted people to think they're from a different world or country or something. Like when the visitors enter the room, they'll say… 'Whoa! We're in the Fire Nation!' Cool, right?!" She beamed at her own idea. "Fire World would've been nice but it sounds too… obnoxious?"

"Like you?" Vita pointed sourly at her cousin.

I didn't really know how to react. Hayate looked so happy talking about it that I lost my words. "You really like making clothes, don't you, Hayate-chan?"

"You bet I do!" The petite girl answered enthusiastically, leaning her face near mine. Her big blue eyes glimmering with newfound eagerness, her head surely coming up with all sorts of fresh ideas. "Ah, I can't wait for next year! I already know what we're gonna do by then," she exclaimed as she now looked up at the heavens, which were fortunately obscured by the bus' ceiling and hopefully whoever was looking over us would turn a blind eye and not grant any of the strange ideas Hayate was thinking of. "I'm all fired up!"

Vita frowned at her. "Just make sure you don't overdo it and get arrested."

"You're still worried about that, my dearly beloved cousin? Worry not. I'm way ahead of you! I didn't even pay much."

"That doesn't actually make me feel better," the redhead grumbled. "And Uncle's really tempted to upgrade our insurance plan, too."

Hayate laid her hands over her heart, a saintly smile on her face. "Bless him," she said gently and sweetly. "Uncle is such an angel."

"Tough luck that he's related to a demon."

"Anyway," Hayate rummaged through her bag and brought out a thick envelope, already moving on from the previous topic. "I brought all the pictures I took during the festival and after-party. If you want, I can send you copies, Nanoha-chan. All of the data are saved in my computer and online accounts and drives though." She turned to Vita, whose mouth was already gaping at the realization. "Told ya I was way ahead of ya!" she winked and cutely stuck her tongue out at the corner.

"Your computer's dead by the time I get home."

Hayate wagged a finger playfully at her. "Ah, that might possibly happen but it's too bad you can't kill the internet, yes? The pictures will live on 'til the next generations to come. Technology is the awesome, isn't it?"

Vita smacked her hand on her forehead and dragged it over her face upon hearing the grim news.

I really felt bad for the redhead and held back any futile words that might unexpectedly deal a lethal blow.

While Vita was silently muttering some incoherent things, possibly dreading the possible consequences of what her cousin said, "Speaking of pictures living on…" Hayate trailed off as she opened the envelope and searched through the number of pictures in it, as if looking for a particular one she had in mind. "I have one that I forever consider my absolute and all-time favorite and it just makes you wanna go 'Aaaaw,' I tell ya!"

I hoped it wasn't another picture of her cousin. Vita looked ready to murder her.

"Hayate…"

I heard the redhead growl, warning the excited brunette.

"Fear not, Vita," her cousin held up her hand in defense. "As much as I want to tease you more, this picture doesn't have anything to do with us," she pointed at herself and her cousin.

Vita and I both scowled at the brunette sitting in between, confused at what she meant. Hayate really did love keeping people in suspense.

But realization slowly dawned on me when Hayate's widely smiling face kept looking at me, making her cousin direct her confused gaze my way as well.

I was confused even more. "W-What're you talking about?" I tried to ask and yet afraid to know the answer.

And with that question, the brunette's smile spread wider, her eyebrows wagging in mischief. She expertly flipped the photograph towards Vita, whose frowning face changed into surprise, realization, then finally mirroring an almost exact copy of her cousin's grin after her dark blue eyes took in the entire image the picture showed one-sidedly.

My worry grew even more. The two Yagamis were on the same page. I actually gulped, not liking the strange nervousness I felt.

Hayate was one thing but when Vita, who usually keeps her cousin in check, showed an expression more or less the same as the playful girl, it was most likely that it wasn't anything good.

Especially when they were both looking at me!

The bus shifted gear and had slowed down, telling us that we've almost arrived at TSAB.

I mentally prayed that the vehicle would get there now to stop whatever Hayate was trying to show—

"Nanoha-chan, Nanoha-chan!" With a flick of her wrist, Hayate then showed the photo towards my direction.

It took me one second to realize what the image was. Then, I felt my eyes widen and my jaw slacken, shocked at what I saw, realizing why Hayate and Vita were looking at me the way they were.

And my face instantly overheated when I realized one more thing.

The picture was taken after the after-party, outside the Yagami's front gates.

Fate and I were standing close, facing each other. I remembered that we talked for awhile and somehow ended up holding hands. Then Fate stepped closer, looking so cute and charming as usual.

At that time, I didn't move back. I was greatly tempted to close the gap between us, to lean up and stand on my tiptoes and kiss her again.

But decided not to at the last second, since I remembered where we were that night.

I felt the bus lurch into a stop and had the frantic urge to jump out of the vehicle, run in the opposite direction towards home and bury myself in a deep hole in my backyard.

As students started to slowly get up from their seats and file out of the bus, Hayate let out a giddy squeal, still showing me the picture while I was petrified from shock and panic. "You and Fate-chan look like a couple here. It's almost as if you two were about to kiss!"

---

After the festival, our routine fell back into normalcy.

Class, lectures and awaiting schoolwork were dreadfully mourned by most of the student population on the first school day back after a long period of preparation for the festival, having changed our regular schedules to squeeze in more time to set up everything in time for the school-wide event of the year.

Everything was back to normal again. Postponed schedules had now resumed to their regular periods. Most of the students were either groaning, dragging themselves to their classrooms or even wishing that the period of the days before had prolonged a bit more.

But some things were never gone. In fact, I had already considered them a normal part of school.

To the point that it would worry me a bit if a scene such as this one wouldn't happen.

Though I said that… I somehow could never seem to feel at ease when such things did take place, and I was even more nervous about this particular morning.

"You never tell me anything anymore! You never call, you never text! I hate you! Let's break up!"

A girl angrily sobbed, clutching her hands over her heart, as if the pain of being hurt and betrayed by a loved one was almost too much to bear. She covered her face with her hands and cried harder, drawing the attention of confused onlookers around and a scowl from a clearly-irritated blonde, who just walked in and was the unfortunate target of such an out-of-the-blue outburst.

Maintaining a rather impressive glower, her burgundy eyes blinked slowly as she stared at the sobbing girl in front of her, not too sure on what to do.

I, for one, was safely in my seat with Suzuka, Vita and Alisa, who visited us for the morning, away from a possible area of calamity.

With loud and throaty sobs filling the air, Fate then directed her confused glare at us while holding up a closed fist, a murderous intent looming over her head. "You don't mind if you're one friend less, right?"

"Nope, not at all," Vita and Alisa answered flatly, without even looking away from their phones.

"Just be sure to clean up afterwards," Suzuka said, not taking her eyes away from the pictures she was looking over.

"You guys…" I tried to say something but didn't exactly know the right words to fill in next.

"This wasn't part of our plan!" Hayate switched from her crying form to a face of frustration as she whipped her finger at our group. Absolutely no tears in sight. "We were supposed to pressure Fate-chan into spilling everything!"

"Obviously, your plan sucks," Alisa looked bored and so studied her nails next.

Vita hopped on a table and stretched her arms. "You should be thanking us instead that we saved you from getting killed."

"Let's go to Plan D, then," Suzuka offered after she was done with the second stack of pictures. "Since Fate-chan's here, we can ask both of them."

Alisa's forest green eyes blinked, confused at what her close friend said. "We're already in D? What happened to B and C?"

Suzuka tapped her finger on her chin and looked up thoughtfully from the new set of pictures with a hum. "Hmm, if I know Fate-chan—which I do—I don't think she would appreciate us if we follow through Hayate-chan's plan of teasing Nanoha-chan until she panics and gives in into telling us what happened."

I froze, wide-eyed. "Y-You guys were planning that?!" Shocked at the extent they'd actually go to get the information they wanted since I had avoided most of their (mostly Hayate's) questions about the picture.

"And C's a no-go too," Vita informed after a yawn. "Though I get the feeling the principal would agree to helping us out in a heartbeat in interrogating Nantoka, I think Fate and President Chrono wouldn't like it either."

Homeroom hasn't even started yet and I was already exhausted. Mentally and emotionally. "A-All of you really thought this through, didn't you?"

"We're only looking out what's best for you, Nanoha-chan," my seatmate gave me her brightest smile. She shrugged daintily, "That's why we chose D. Plan E would've been illegal, anyway."

I paled. "…What's E?"

In a grim tone, Alisa and Vita immediately directed a quick "You don't wanna know" at me.

My survival instincts were crying on the inside. I wanna go home!

"Then, Plan D it is." Suzuka clapped her hands to end the discussion.

Hayate booed. "But that's so boring! I wanted some over-the-top drama, monstrous dropkicks and apocalyptic mayhem!"

"The dropkicks can be arranged though," Fate told Hayate who was still blocking her way. "Early in the morning and you're already being a huge pain."

The brunette sneered, "No use in distracting me, Fate-chan." She puffed out her chest in a defiant pose and pointed a finger at the blonde. "I'm already onto you."

Burgundy eyes gave Hayate's finger a death-glare as if it had gravely offended her. "What're you talking about?"

I really didn't know what to tell them or if Fate wanted to keep it a secret from everyone, including her childhood friends. "Hayate-chan," I begged her. "It's not like we look anything like that at all."

"Yeah, you do," the three other girls startled me when they answered in sync.

Fate studied us for a second and arched a slender blonde brow, now sending out a suspicious stare. "All of you are acting weird. Well, weirder than usual actually."

I wasn't really sure yet how to go about what happened the other night. If anything changed or if it was something big that they needed to know as our friends.

If someone were to ask, it would be a dream come true for me, that the girl I liked since my transfer in spring and the one I had hopelessly fallen in love with somewhere after that had confessed to me and that our feelings were definitely mutual.

And that we kissed.

Remembering that moment again just made my face warm. Surely the tips of my ears were bright red.

But I still didn't know what I was after everything that had happened or where we were in our relationship.

I mean, this was the first time I confessed to a girl and getting kissed by the same one at that!

"Nanoha?"

"Y-Yes?!" My voice cracked as I sat straighter and looked up to meet the same wine-red eyes that had glared at Hayate but had now softened into gentle and concerned ones.

Her hand brushed aside some of my hair framing my face and touched my cheek tenderly. "What's wrong? You don't look so good," she told me softly. "Are you not feeling well?"

I sat frozen. My mouth wouldn't move although it had already opened slightly. I was caught unprepared at how close Fate was right in front of me. I didn't even notice her walking past Hayate.

"R-Really? I'm fine though," I managed to stutter out lamely, feeling my face growing even hotter that my ears started to ring.

"Hey, Fate-chan," Hayate stomped after Fate and looked right into her face. "Don't tell me you were being mean to Nanoha-chan again! You really shouldn't bother her so much. Can't you be a more decent human being for once?"

The blonde narrowed her eyes and peered down at the shorter girl. The air had begun to grow ominous. "Hayate," she began lowly, almost sounding like a growl, making the brunette shrink back and gulp. "That should be my line. You didn't think I didn't hear any of your plans from where I stood earlier, did you?"

I heard teeth chattering and saw Hayate's forehead slowly beaded with sweat. "F-Fate-chan," Hayate let out a high-pitched but obviously nervous laugh. "Your usually gorgeous face is looking really, really scary right now. Much scarier than the one I've seen before!"

Fate leaned forward with a menacing look, never breaking her eye contact with Hayate. "And whose fault do you think this is?"

Hayate's eyes shifted to the side. "Uh… Alisa's?"

"Hey, leave me out of it."

Seeing as how… pale the brunette was, I had to do something to break up the tension. Tugging her sleeve, I said, "Fate-chan, it's okay, really. Hayate-chan and the others didn't do anything to me. So… don't be mad at her anymore… Okay?"

Fate turned to look at me with a calmer face while Hayate was silently crying and thanking me for being her savior.

She frowned a bit and sighed. "Nanoha, you're too soft on her. If you keep spoiling her, she'll just keep bothering you."

"Hey, I resent that! And why only me? Vita and the others were curious too!"

"We are curious," the redhead admitted from afar. "But I wouldn't actually want to get killed because of it."

Her cousin harrumphed and placed her fists on her hips. "You girls have no sense of adventure at all."

Alisa snickered and replied to the brunette, "Unlike you, plain and normal common sense would suffice. But now that you mentioned it…" Alisa stepped forward and eyed her green orbs at me and then her fellow blonde.

I felt nervous for some reason. Fate looked calm but still had a frown marring her beautiful face.

"Seeing as how Fate is now, something really is fishy with you two," she concluded after her observation.

"Spill it!" Hayate grabbed Fate's shoulders and shook the girl back and forth. "Something happened, right?! Something really did happen! I can feel it when you were talking to Nanoha-chan!"

"Hayate—Stop—Stop shaking me!"

"No way!" Hayate insisted, still shaking the taller girl to and fro. "You did something to her, didn't you?! Admit it! What, did you two fall in love with each other or some—"

It was almost something, cracked somewhere.

All activities and movements stopped.

Like the world had come to a screeching halt.

It almost felt like déjà vu.

With how loud Hayate was, it wasn't surprising that everyone in the room heard.

Some stopped on their tracks. Others gaped and just froze. Everything became still. My friends around me were speechless. Even Hayate.

And Suzuka, who was usually the calmest of all of us, and was the least likely to lose control of her emotions, couldn't hide her astonishment. If the pictures slipping from her fingers didn't give it away.

My mind was already on overdrive. All the blood in my body rushed up to my head. With how my heart was pounding rapidly and loudly, I feared that it could leap out to its escape.

I knew all of those present, all those who heard Hayate's unfinished line, before she shocked herself with her own realization, realized the same thing.

I carefully glanced up at Fate, who glued her eyes on the floor and whose face was tainted with red, almost the same shade as her burgundy orbs.

My eyes trailed down and saw her hands balled into tight fists, shaking slightly at how tight it was.

I didn't know what Fate was thinking but then this came to mind: Maybe Fate was just as anxious as I was.

But I could be wrong too. And that everything was just a misunderstanding on my part.

It really would've been helpful if I could read minds.

My mind suddenly went back to that previous night. This isn't a dream was the first line of the text message Fate sent me the night after the party. When I went home with Alisa and Suzuka, it was surprising to receive a text message from her for the first time. I didn't even think that she had my number to begin with.

I had thought that I was the only one who kept the other's contact detail after we exchanged it sometime between last spring and summer, seeing as that I had already liked her so much back then.

I'm in love with you, Nanoha were the next line written below the first, and the one to be blamed for leading my mind to think nonstop about the blonde girl who sent them, as well as her confession and our first shared kiss. Thus, partially making Fate at fault for my lack of sleep since that night.

Alisa and Suzuka even thought something was wrong when I suddenly covered my face with my hands, while I was felt embarrassed and very happy at the same time. I was scared that my feelings would overflow into tears during that car ride home and that would cause my friends to worry unnecessarily.

And just like that, I was spellbound. No, I was already under her magic for a long time already.

But I wouldn't have it any other way. I wouldn't want anyone but her. Just thinking of those things made me want to be with her more.

Gathering my courage to let her know that I was there for her and that she wasn't alone, my hand reached out to grab hers.

Only for it to be clasped by the same one I wanted to hold and support.

I looked up to see Fate still looking forward, calmer and more collected than she was earlier, as if she already knew what to do and what to say.

"Yeah, that's right." The blonde's firm voice filled the air, reaching clearly to all sides.

The hand I was holding felt a bit cold to the touch. Though she looked more confident, there was still some nervousness that remained.

Our hands were hidden but may have been seen by those who were near enough. I gave the hand I was holding a gentle squeeze.

"I like Nanoha. That's not a problem, right Hayate?" She may have only spoken to Hayate but her words clearly reached whoever was around.

There was a long, heavy pause afterwards.

Before the entire class was thrown into utter mayhem.

And having prior knowledge to the undisputed communication network of high school students, I knew it wouldn't also take that long for the news to once again spread to all the nooks and crannies of TSAB Academy.

---

"Spill. Like, right now. Spill. Everything."

"We're in class right now, Yagami-san," Fate told Hayate in monotone, keeping her uninterested eyes forward. "I advise you to not be a total idiot and pay attention to morning homeroom."

The brunette towered over the seated blonde and ignored her words. "Since when did you start caring about homeroom?" she challenged.

"Just two minutes ago when you started bugging me."

"But this is more important than homeroom!" she insisted.

Fate looked up this time and frowned a little. "If Carim heard you say that, she'd cry, y'know."

Hayate considered it for awhile and let out a sigh as if the subject was bothersome. "Let's worry about her later. It's for the best."

"I know, right?" Fate drawled out after a small yawn.

The class watched as the exchange continued, as if it were the most normal thing to do in that very instant. We were both amused and nervous as we listened. They looked so calm about it that none of us made the move to interrupt them.

Or remind them that said homeroom teacher who they had mentioned and casually dismissed had been present all this time and had been listening to their conversation since the beginning.

"You two over there! Miss Harlaown, Miss Yagami!" Professor Carim Gracia called out from her table. "Just what do you think you're doing, talking while your homeroom teacher is still here in front of you?!"

Fate and Hayate calmly followed where the sound of the outburst came from.

The brunette of the pair spoke first. A blinding smile, she wore. "Oh, Carim!" The class flinched as she airily called our teacher by her first name with terrifying confidence. "Long time no see! I didn't see you there. Don't mind me and Fate-chan. Carry on with your passion for teaching."

"Miss Yagami," the grown woman gripped the sides of her table, obviously trying her best to keep her calm. "I suggest that you go back to your seat and I'll overlook this… situation as much as I possibly can."

From where I sat, I could see her shoulders shaking a bit. Somehow, Professor Carim looked like she was about to lift the heavy furniture above her head and toss it with a very uncharacteristic roar.

The brunette whined childishly. "But aren't you curious, Professor? How Fate-chan and Nanoha-chan got together?"

The professor's right eye twitched as the corner of her lips tipped up into an unnaturally edgy smile. "Wouldn't it be better to be patient until break time arrives and ask her then instead?"

"Professor, you should know…" Hayate spoke seriously. "Patience is not my virtue!"

"Don't say that so proudly!"

The class stifled their laughter while the woman looked like she was about to surrender.

She let out a dejected sigh and finally turned to the blonde of the pair, as if she were her last hope. "Miss Harlaown, why don't you just tell Miss Yagami what she wants to know? That way, we can proceed with homeroom. In peace," she added the last part with a trembling voice.

"I refuse," Fate answered instantly. "Professor, you're too lenient on Hayate. That's why she keeps bullying you."

"That's 'cause Carim's secretly masochistic," Hayate giggled.

Fate muttered under her breath, "So you admit you're sadistic?"

"Plus, she needs attention and I have plenty to give her."

"You ignored her when she came in for homeroom though," the blonde pointed out, maintaining a blank face.

There exchange went on for a bit longer. Our teacher was still trying to convince Hayate to go back to her seat. Hayate still kept on insisting that they should extract valuable information from Fate. Their topic had strayed several times and some of our classmates decided to join in along the way.

Eventually, homeroom was completely forgotten.

As for Fate… She looked somewhat relieved but still looked bored and expressionless as the class began to shift their attention to our teacher after Hayate coerced her into talking about her love life, which surprisingly flustered the grown woman, and many other things, except homeroom.

After what happened earlier, after Fate said that shocked everyone, Hayate and our classmates started bombarding me and Fate with questions, squeals and congratulations. It was like I was thrown into a raging whirlpool, caught unprepared by the strong and inescapable current.

As cliché as it may sound, I was saved by the bell and when Professor Carim walked in, telling everyone to settle down. Alisa and Vita reluctantly went back to their respective rooms.

Well, almost everyone settled down. Hayate was very persistent though. Suzuka could only give me a helpless smile and a sympathetic pat on the shoulder.

The time for homeroom was running out. Professor Carim would just have to announce it again in a later time. By then, I hoped it would be successful.

---

The bustle of lunchtime was louder than usual. Students were gathering outside. Some tried to stealthily take a peek inside our room while others were more conspicuous about it. The reason behind the ruckus seemed familiar, but not quite.

The students crowding the corridors looked more disconcerted than last time. And I knew the very reason that caused the storm within their young hearts.

It was as if we were all reliving a similar scene a second time. Though there was a bit of a difference between the last one with the current one.

Blue eyes narrowed in deep thought, as if she could find the answer hidden behind one of the many grains of rice in her lunch. "Hmm, in times like these, I remember the wise words of a well-known yet grumpy squid who displays an unjustified air of superiority. His words describe my present situation that I am experiencing a certain feeling that this moment has happened before."

Suzuka chewed and swallowed before she said, "Ah, you mean, déjà vu?"

"Oh! You watched that show too, Suzuka-chan?" Hayate looked happy to find a comrade. "How surprising!"

"Sometimes," she shrugged daintily. "My sister and I watch it for a change of pace. And by the way, he's actually an octopus. But I could understand that his name is quite misleading."

"Of all the shows you could've watched out there, you had to pick that?"

Suzuka turned to Alisa. "It has its charm. It's pretty amusing at times."

"I like it 'cause one of the characters reminds me of Vita," the brunette eyed her cousin with a knowing grin.

"Just what are you implying?" the redhead glared right back before she could take another bite of her food.

"Hmm… Anyway, don't you guys find this scene weird?" Hayate looked up in thought. "I know we had this before…" She scratched her chin and scrunched up her nose in deeper thought.

The others did the same, seriously concentrating as if they were searching their mental archives for a specific memory they had shelved for safe-keeping.

I kind of knew that they were just pretending, dancing around the subject, and waiting for a certain someone to explode.

Then the brunette faced her blonde friend, who was frowning more than usual and was almost at her limit. "What do you think, Fate-chan?" The question almost sounded innocent.

"The only thing weird here are you guys!" she snapped, almost using her fork to stab the brunette in front of her. "And why are Alisa and Vita eating lunch here? This isn't their classroom!" she yelled at them.

"We thought it'd be nice to have a change of scenery," Alisa answered matter-of-factly, ignoring the hostility in front of her. "So, we decided here would be a good place."

"Plus," Vita chimed in. "We also wanted to have lunch with you once in a while. And I wanted to talk to Nantoka. Nothin' wrong with that," she smirked deviously.

"No, you don't! You two are clearly lying!" Fate accused.

"It's okay. I don't mind." I told her, hoping it would calm both sides. "It's fun for all of us to eat together so I'm happy to be with everyone right now."

The blonde looked exasperated. "Nanoha, you're really too soft on them," she sighed out tiredly.

"Nanoha-chan's so nice, right?" Suzuka cooed before letting out a pleased sigh.

"I know, right?" Hayate drawled, mirroring the same pleased smile as Suzuka. "She's really too good for a barbarian like Fate-chan."

"By the way," Alisa glanced at the hallway filled with students when some of the boys were sobbing loudly. "Something similar to this happened before, right? What do you think, Fate?"

"Alisa, you're really enjoying this, aren't you?" her fellow blonde growled. "And more importantly," Fate turned to Vita. "Aren't you supposed to do something about those?" she cocked her head at the direction of the noisy hallway before drinking her tea.

"Don't wanna. I have the right to enjoy my lunch, too." Vita answered flatly, turning to the opposite direction. "It's a pain to deal with students."

"Says a member of the student council," Fate muttered dryly.

Though it was really enjoyable to eat our lunch together, it was a bit unsettling to know what all of them wanted to know and were just waiting for either Fate or me to finally tell them.

But most likely, I think they just enjoyed making fun of Fate and seeing her stressed reactions.

Not that I didn't want to tell them, but for them to just wait while deliberately teasing us, it was a bit worrying.

I could only wish the juice I was drinking would drown the worries I had.

"So," Vita began after drinking from her juice box. "Are you two dating?"

Fate and I both choked on our respective drinks.

"Amazing!" Hayate's eyes shined with admiration. "Even when they're choking on their drinks, they're perfectly in sync."

"My, how dedicated. Is that what couples normally do nowadays?" Suzuka asked innocently.

But the brunette only shrugged. "Who knows?"

"Vita!" Fate coughed violently. "You did that on purpose!"

The redhead was trying not to laugh. "Did not." But her crooked smile said otherwise and that annoyed Fate even more.

"Nanoha, are you okay?" Fate asked worriedly as she rubbed circles on my back.

I drank again to relieve the spasms in my throat. "Y-Yeah, I'm fine. What about you?"

"Ooh!" Hayate studied us with shining eyes again. "Even their concern for each other is mutual!"

"My, how admirable," Suzuka responded. "We should use this as reference for the future."

"You four are clearly making fun of us, aren't you?!"

"Vita's timing was just perfect," Alisa sneered at the angry blonde, dodging Fate's menacing scowl coolly. "Looking at how you two reacted, I'd say she hit the nail on the head, eh?"

Hayate whipped out a thumbs-up. "Good job, my dearly beloved cousin!" The playful brunette turned to Fate and me with a straight face. "Now, it's about time we move on to our main agenda."

"You can't touch the agenda without a prelude, can you?" Fate deadpanned.

"So, who liked who first?" Alisa started, leaning forward with a knowing grin.

"Let's try to guess what happened." Suzuka suggested sounding like it was the best idea ever.

"I bet it was Fate," Alisa snickered.

Hayate cackled, "I can totally see that happening! The stone-hearted delinquent who softened up after falling for the kind and beautiful transfer student. You can't beat a classic like that."

"So the delinquent confessed first but was shot down and was even meaner to the transfer student." Vita added before laughing hard. "Something cheesy like that, right?"

"Or…" Alisa burst out into a laughing fit before she could continue. "Or the delinquent did all these sappy and mushy stuff to get the transfer student to like her before she confessed again!"

The three of them were on a roll.

Fate's thumb was beginning to bend her fork forward.

"Or!" Hayate was out of breath from laughter. "The delinquent hired a bunch of thugs to attack the transfer student so she'd come to her rescue and that she'd fall for her afterwards!"

"Good one!"

It was hard to tell them when they were laughing so hard. Hayate was even holding her stomach and Vita's feet were stomping the floor.

"Nanoha…" Fate mumbled. "You don't mind if I kill them right now, do you? Don't worry, I'll help you make new friends who are less prone to stupidity."

I smiled nervously. She looked pretty serious. "I don't think that's a good idea though."

"Are we getting close, Nanoha-chan?" Hayate asked between giggles. "Fate-chan fell for you first, didn't she?"

"Eh? Well, that's…" I really want to make them stop before Fate-chan snaps.

"Who cares about that anyway?" Fate cut in. "It doesn't matter who liked who first."

"What are you saying?!" Hayate gasped loudly, looking offended. "The first confession is like the eye-opener! It plays a very a crucial point in all relationships! It's like the most fundamental rule of law in all romantic comedies ever humanly created!"

Burgundy eyes narrowed suspiciously after hearing such a strong and passionate delivery from the girl. "You just made that up, didn't you?"

"Doesn't matter if I made it up."

"What about you, Suzuka?" Alisa asked her, who hadn't thrown in her own idea yet. "What do you think happened?"

The purple-haired girl tapped a finger on her chin and hummed in thought. "Hmm, let's see… I think Nanoha-chan confessed first."

No laughter followed.

"No way. That's impossible." They confidently dismissed Suzuka's guess without a second thought.

Which was actually the right one.

"How could Nanoha-chan be the first to like someone as foul-mouthed, rude and harsh as this one?" Hayate asked in disbelief, pointing condescendingly at her childhood friend. "Plus, Fate-chan had always been mean to her since they met. I should know, I was there. I'm like, omnipresent or something," she said matter-of-factly.

"Well, you have a point," her cousin agreed. "Though not the part about being omni-whatever. I mean, seeing how they were when they first met, it's hard to believe that they're actually together now. That's why, Nantoka, tell us what happened already."

"Yeah," Alisa drawled as she glanced at her watch. "Lunch is almost over and you two haven't said anything. And Fate looks like she's about to kill Hayate."

"Why only me?!"

I swallowed, feeling a bit nervous. "Actually… Suzuka-chan's right."

Hayate, Alisa and Vita blinked.

"About what?" The brunette asked while the two waited.

My face soon grew warm. I answered, feeling their heavy stares, "I liked Fate first."

There was a long pause before the next scene played out at lightning speed.

I flinched at the screeching sound of their chairs suddenly being pushed back.

"You're lying!" The three shouted as they shot on their feet.

"You don't have to lie to us, Nanoha-chan!" Suzuka cried.

"Huh?! Wait, I thought that was your guess!" Her unexpected outburst was shocking and confusing.

Alisa asked darkly, "Did Fate blackmail you? Did she force herself on you? She did, didn't she? Should we get a rape kit ready?"

"Wah, seriously?!" Vita gasped. Her face turning grim when she looked at Fate. "What a creep."

"How the hell did you get to that idea?!" Fate roared back as she shot out from her chair too.

"Wait! You got it all wrong!" I told them frantically. "I really was the first to like her!"

"Don't worry, Nanoha-chan!" Hayate quickly wrapped her arms around me protectively. "We'll protect you from that filthy animal!" She threw a look of disgust at Fate.

"I told you, it's not like that! You got it all wrong!" I whined, and struggled in Hayate's misguided protectiveness.

"Hayate! Get away from her right now!" Fate demanded, trying to pry the small brunette off me.

Suzuka got up from her chair as well and followed Hayate's action, securing my other side. "Fate-chan, how could you! I thought you were better than this! This is beyond low even for you!"

"You lot just want to mess with me from the very beginning, didn't you?!" Fate looked like she was about to pull out a good amount of her hair.

Alisa looked absolutely shocked, her face grim like a zombie. "Since when did you turn into such a creep, Fate?"

"Shut up!"

"Would everyone please calm down?!"

"We should get a restraining order to protect Nanoha-chan!" A dramatic command was given, "Vita, tell Chrono to make one on the double!"

And was well-received along with a fine salute. "Aye, sir!"

A surprising wail was heard. "Why can't you idiots ask us normally like normal friends do?!"

In the end, lunch break ended without any of the misunderstandings cleared up or even the details of how Fate and I got together.

But whether they had planned it or not, I had a feeling that they were happy for Fate nonetheless.

---

Thanks to the school chime, things calmed down a little bit.

Our little yet chaotic scenario caused a lot of confusion from the ones who were watching from the sides, from both classmates and schoolmates alike. They actually thought we were fighting, seeing at how out of control it turned out.

The students littering the hallway all throughout lunch dispersed, albeit reluctantly, to return to their respective classrooms. Alisa and Vita went back to their rooms as well, but not before telling Fate that they weren't done just yet. Of course, Hayate and Suzuka implied the same thing as the first two. The blonde looked a cross between nauseous and annoyed at hearing such things from her friends.

Just imagining the coming days was both fun and tiring to look forward to that a sigh escaped reflexively. I wondered if things would get noisier, was what I thought while carrying the stack of notebooks to the staff room. I was actually on class duty. Thankfully, a classmate covered for me in the morning, understanding the situation I was in. Returning the favor, I offered to at least bring the notebooks on my own.

"Nanoha!"

I turned to the owner of the familiar voice calling my name as she briskly walked towards me. "Fate-chan? What's wrong? Do you need something?"

"Well…" She took most of the load I was carrying before I had the chance to protest. "I thought I'd help you out," she answered, her smile looking as cute as ever.

Somehow, it was hard to look at her directly. "Thank you, but you don't have to. I'm the one who's on duty today. Besides, they're not that heavy to carry," I honestly told her and continued my way.

Fate fell into step beside me. "Yeah, that's true," she replied simply. "But I still want to help you out. Plus, you still look tired from this morning. You even have shadows under your eyes."

"R-Really?!" I quickly searched for anything that would show my reflection and settled for the window, though they didn't clearly show what I wanted to see. I didn't think that my lack of sleep would be so obvious on my face.

"Did you have trouble sleeping last night?"

I didn't want to lie to her, especially since it was already so obvious. "Y-Yeah, something like that." But I really didn't want her to know that I couldn't sleep well because I kept thinking about her. "I kinda stayed up late since I wasn't sure if I prepared everything for school today."

She chuckled as we neared the staff room. "Well, it's good to be ready for school but if you're tired, you shouldn't push yourself too hard. I don't want you to get sick again, okay?"

"O-Okay…"

It was weird. We were already talking normally and Fate told everyone about us earlier.

"Excuse us," Fate greeted as she slid the door open.

And yet, it was still strange how she could still affect me, even with the smallest of things, the simplest of gestures, in our most normal everydays.

"Harlaown?" Our history teacher looked up from his laptop, peering over his frameless glasses as if he couldn't believe who he was seeing. "It's rare for you to visit the staff room on your own volition."

Fate gave him a strained smile, "Is my reputation really that bad, Professor?" which made the adult laugh good-naturedly.

"Good afternoon, Professor Nakajima," I showed him the stack of notebooks I was carrying. "Here are Class 1-A's homework."

"Ah, thank you, Takamachi-san," he smiled gratefully. "You can put them over there," he gestured to a vacant spot on his desk.

Fate wordlessly put the remaining notebooks on top of the first stack.

Our professor raised a graying brow at her. "You're on duty today as well, Harlaown?"

"Nope," she answered. "Just wanted to help out, Takamachi."

The grown man sighed and rubbed his temple, looking a bit troubled. "Don't do anything to trouble her, understand? Takamachi-san, if she causes you any problems, you can tell her brother about it."

The blonde's frown deepened even more. "Now hold on, it's like you're really saying I'm that evil."

"I don't think that's necessary, Professor," I told him politely with a small laugh before Fate said anything more. "She's actually very reliable. She helped a lot during the committee meetings for the school festival."

"See?" Fate grinned smugly.

"Is that so?" His eyes widened slightly, his face cracked into a toothy grin. "So you're not a lost cause after all, Harlaown."

"Wha—What's that supposed to—"

"W-We'll be going back to our classroom now, Professor Nakajima." I interjected before their exchange continued and grabbed her shoulders from behind, gently turning her to the direction of the exit. "Please excuse us," I bowed and nudged her forward.

"But, Nanoha, I'm not done talking to Nakajima yet—"

"Yes, you are!"

Fate was as rebellious as ever, addressing a teacher like that.

With one last glance back at the, fortunately, near-empty staff room, I saw our teacher chuckling and waving pleasantly at us as we exited.

Outside, I was able to breathe more easily. "Fate-chan, you shouldn't talk like that to a teacher," I chided as we made our way back to our classroom before break time was over.

"But he started it," she defended. "It's like he's saying I'm a delinquent or something."

I held back in saying that she really was one. "Just try not to get into too much trouble, okay?"

"Okay! Anything for you," she replied with a bright smile.

There it was again. The throb I felt whenever she gave me one of her smiles. Instead of answering or smiling back, I chose to watch my steps as we walked the remaining distance back to our room quietly.

"By the way, Nanoha…" Fate began when we were only a few steps to the door.

"Yes?"

"Don't forget, you have to go to the Student Council after school."

"Eh? What for?"

"I knew you forgot," she giggled. "The committee reps have this post-festival meeting with the Student Council. It's nothing major though. Just go there, hand in the reports and maybe discuss if there are some improvements needed to make the next school festival better."

"Oh," was all I could say, a little overwhelmed that there were still some things needed to be done even though the event had already passed. "Wait, did you say something about reports?"

Burgundy eyes blinked twice before exhaling and giving me a patient smile. "So you really were spacing out that time, huh? Chrono told us to make something like a documentation of some sort about the highlights of our class attraction and he actually expects them all today."

Blood immediately drained away from my face. "He did?!" For forgetting such an important task, "I-I totally forgot! How could I forget something as important as that?!" I entered into a state of panic.

Even though I was right in front of her, Fate was laughing.

"Why are you laughing?!"

"Nanoha, you look so cute when you're panicking like that."

I grabbed her by the shoulder like my life depended on it. "This isn't the time for you to be saying that!" I cried, clutching my head with clammy hands, simply horrified for being so irresponsible. "W-What should I do? What should I do?!" My mind was swirling with quick options on how to put together the forgotten assignment before the meeting later.

As I was slowly sinking into the depths of despair, Fate placed her warm hands on top of mine and slowly pried them off the sides of my head.

"Nanoha, calm down. Remember, I was in that meeting too. I kinda knew that you'd forget about it, so I took care of the reports and everything."

It felt like the dark clouds had slowly parted to let the sun shine through.

"Though I kinda had to make some stupid deals with Hayate and some other people in exchange for the photos and details I needed," she said with an annoyed face, probably remembering what she had to do to get the job done. "But other than that, the reports are ready. You just need to hand them over later to any council member. Except Hayate, of course." She smiled ruefully after looking at me for a moment. "Sorry I didn't tell you right away."

I was relieved beyond words and stayed silent for a little while longer, taking in all the things she just told me.

When I still didn't say anything, Fate looked uncomfortable. "Y-You're not mad, are you? Sorry, I didn't think you'd actually be upset over it."

I shook my head wordlessly, still looking at her in a daze. She looked so cute when she was sincerely apologizing. "Thank you," I said more quietly than I intended.

Fate's mouth gaped slightly and shifted her eyes warily to the side. "Um, the way you said it, it kinda makes me feel guiltier for not telling you sooner."

That' right. I wanted to know. "Why didn't you tell me about it? We could've worked on it together."

Burgundy eyes looked up in thought before answering. "You were already busy preparing for the café. And well…" She guiltily looked the other way. "…at that time, I wasn't really the most approachable person on the planet, being a jerk to you and all. I just didn't want you to have more things to worry about when you just recovered from your fever." She shrugged with a sheepish smile, "Call me a hardcore worrywart for you."

Fate was still holding my hands in hers. I could feel them slowly warming up. My stomach was clenching just thinking about her being kind and thoughtful. My heart was beating so fast. "Then… Let me make it up to you. As a thank you."

She looked a bit surprised but then gave me a small smile. "It's fine. You don't have to."

"I want to," I corrected her, holding her hands firmly. It felt a little unfair that she did all those things without receiving anything in return. "I'll do anything."

"Is this like my… reward?" she asked carefully.

When she put it like that, I unexpectedly felt embarrassed that I lowered my gaze shyly, before meeting hers again. "Yeah… something like that."

She opened her mouth and closed it again. "So… a-anything?"

I nodded. "Mm," I smiled, feeling my gaze soften looking up at her. "Anything."

Looking somewhat relieved, her lips tipped up into a toothy grin. "Okay," she nodded her head in understanding yet still looking a little dazed herself. But a second later, she suddenly grew excited. "Then, don't forget all the things I told you earlier. Attend the meeting and submit the reports, alright?"

I deflated a bit at what I heard. "O-Okay…" I was a bit thankful that she didn't ask for anything difficult. "That's all?"

"Yep!" She bounced on her heels with an awfully cute smile.

"Oh." But somehow, I felt a bit disappointed at such a simple request.

I wondered if I was secretly expecting something more.

"And, as for my reward…" Fate took a step forward and leaned in close, whispering in that low sultry voice of hers next to my ear. "Let me take my cute girlfriend out on a date later, okay?"

I simply froze at how her warm breath touched my ear, sending shivers throughout my body.

When I could only imagine how dumbfounded I look, Fate just easily gave me a cute smile in return.

Ah, geez! I was squealing like crazy on the inside.

Somehow, that fever I had supposedly recovered from came back ten—no, a hundred-fold! My body, mind, everything about me was screaming giddily at what just happened. I felt hotter but the dizzying feeling was way better and much more welcomed.

And the cause this time wasn't stress or overworking or any of that sort.

Just as our class with Professor Scaglietti was about to start, Fate told me that we'd go on a date later.

Though I was expecting a different kind of request from her, I didn't think that she'd say something close to a date.

I was so happy that I stood stock still, thinking my mind was being mean and had decided to play a trick on me, disguising itself in Fate's beautiful voice and letting me hear something that could cause me such an insurmountable feeling of happiness.

But it was real. Everything was real. Fate said all those things in reality.

Since I had lost the function of my legs, Fate had to drag me back to our classroom after she somehow spotted our teacher approaching from his previous class. I could only slightly recall that she led me back to my seat and ignored Hayate's demanding curiosity.

How can she say those things so easily? So unfair! She's so unfair!

And the best part was that she herself called me her girlfriend.

It felt like a heavy weight was lifted off my chest. I think that's what I was really worried about.

Despite everything that had happened, even after Fate's early morning announcement, I was still unsure what I really was to her, and I didn't want to wrongly assume what I was or was not.

It was very stupid. I'm well aware of that. But the heart of a maiden in love is complicated, right? And whoever was the first to conclude that fact should receive some medal or something similar.

Finally! With that one-sided problem resolved, I felt more at ease with everything. The emotional and mental burden I unnecessarily gave myself was all obliterated just by Fate's soft voice, her gentle touches and her cute smile.

Just thinking about her made me feel like I was floating on soft and puffy clouds. My body and mind felt lighter than ever.

I was so, so relieved that even my sleepiness had caught up with me before I knew it.

A date…

A real date with Fate-chan.

I didn't know what to do.

---

My eyes snapped open and realized that I had actually fallen asleep.

I must've been in such a deep slumber that I practically missed the rest of afternoon classes.

And that I was the only one left in the room.

"Everyone already went home…" I stated the obvious when only a vacant and quiet classroom greeted me. Then I remembered I was supposed to be at the student council meeting. How come nobody woke me up?!

My mind soon thought of two people who could've easily shaken me out of my nap. But Suzuka and Hayate were nowhere to be found.

"Fate-chan?" I called out, quickly turning to where her seat was, hoping that I would see her there waiting.

But my expectation was instantly shot down as the desk was as empty as the rest of the classroom.

Soon, a dreadful thought occurred. She left too. I glanced at the wall clock and saw that it was almost an hour since the last school chime rang. The meeting is long over and also…

With that, the date I had been excited for was something impossible to happen, since there was no sign of her anywhere.

I felt even lonelier knowing that she had left without trying to wake me up or, at the very least, wait for me. What made me even more pathetic was that my eyes slowly began to sting.

The sound of the classroom door opening made me look up to see Fate step inside. "Ah, good morning," she greeted with a smile as if it were the most normal thing to do. "So Princess Aurora finally woke up," she chuckled as she approached. "Did you sleep well?"

Why's she still here?! "Y-You're still here?"

The question clearly caught her off guard but she recovered from it to crack a toothy grin. "Why wouldn't I be?" she asked instead of answering. "Of course, I'm still here. I attended the meeting in your place and handed our report to Amy. After that, she told me to go to the school newspaper's office to see if they had some pictures of our class during the festival; they actually need our approval before they publish anything in their next issue. I approved about three or four. And also…"

She opened the notebook she had been carrying and held out a single sheet of paper.

"This is the Statistics Club's survey form. The Student Council's working together with them this year to help evaluate the festival. We need to make copies and tell the class to fill them out. They ask to turn the forms in by next week."

Then she placed the notebook on my desk.

"Oh, and I wrote down notes for you. The council outlined the rest of the events for this year. Apparently, we're still the committee reps for the rest of the events this year too. The council told us in advance so it'll be more efficient when meetings and stuff like that come up…" Fate trailed off from her explanation and blinked. "What's wrong?"

When she asked that, it was then that I noticed my mouth was slightly open and I had been staring openly at her since she began.

From what I heard, and looking at her serious face, Fate was clearly on top of things and showed that she knew what she was doing. Confident, capable and reliable. It was as if she was suited to do such things. She looked so cool. Not to mention, her serious face is really good-looking.

Opening the notebook she placed in front of me and flipping through the notes she wrote in neat detail, I asked her, "You went in my place?"

"Um, isn't that what I just said?"

And to be honest, it was a little unbelievable. Fate could be relied on at times, but it had to happen after several attempts of convincing her to go or that she would just tag along since she was coerced in playing the job of the assistant. No one would think that she would freely go on her own.

I carefully peered up at her, a bit hesitant of what I was about to ask her and afraid that she might take it the wrong way. "Did Hayate-chan tell you to go in my place?"

Fate pulled up a chair and sat down before answering. "It was more like I dragged Hayate to the council office and away from you."

My face must've shown my utter confusion since Fate explained further.

"She was trying to sing to you."

"Sing to me?" I repeated, thinking I must've heard her wrong the first time.

But the blonde nodded, confirming that I heard her right. "Yep. Suzuka did try to wake you but you must've been pretty tired to sleep through the rest of our afternoon classes. Then, Hayate had this brilliant idea of singing to you to wake you up." Fate looked to the side and furrowed her brows. "Of course, since you were fast asleep, I think she tried to sing Sleeping Child by Michael Learns to Rock."

"She did?" I tried to imagine the scene and how it must've played out. Knowing Hayate, it might've been a crazy, spur-of-the-moment thing while I was sleeping in blissful ignorance. "How does that song go?"

"Hmm, Hayate probably has that in her phone. You can hear it from her tomorrow if you want."

"You can sing it for me," I said without thinking.

But I didn't regret the casual request I made when Fate's face instantly dropped into a frown as she defiantly crossed her arms. "Please don't ask me to sing that or any song for that matter."

I bit my lower lip to keep myself from laughing. "Why not?" Though I couldn't help but crack a grin at how strongly she disliked the idea. "I'm sure you have a lovely voice, Fate-chan." And how adorable she looked.

"Nanoha," she warned. "Don't make me regret not drawing something on your face while you were having your nap."

I gasped, pretending to be offended by the revelation. "You were planning that?" I tried to hit her with the notebook she handed to me.

Chuckling, Fate deflected my attacks and used her arms as her shield. "Not my fault you're such a heavy sleeper!" she teased. "I could practically hear you snoring all the way to my seat."

I gasped again and, this time, flustered at the possibility of what she just blatantly told me. "I was not snoring! You're lying, Fate-chan!"

But she neither confirmed nor denied the allegation and just continued to laugh with such a carefree air.

And then for a moment, I thought I wouldn't mind experiencing such an embarrassing scene if it could make her smile so brightly like that.

"You look much better now."

Gentle words brought me out of my thoughts.

Reaching over, she stroked her slender fingers through my hair. "You really had me worried."

I felt her fingertips on my cheek, caressing it as delicately as she could. It made my heart race. The beats pounded loudly inside my chest. "I'm sorry." And yet it was strangely warm and calming. "Thank you, Fate-chan."

It was just the two of us inside that classroom. The empty hallways, the distant voices of students immersed in their club agendas, the last rays of the sleepy sun dyeing the afternoon in an orange hue before it turns in for the day. Everything seemed quieter, calmer and much gentler. And more fragile.

It almost felt like Fate and I would never have such a time like this again.

I felt a presence nearing and realized Fate's face was very, very close to mine. Upon fast yet unintentional reflex, the notebook I was still holding came into rough contact with her cheek, letting out a loud smacking sound echoing inside the four walls.

"OW!" Fate howled as she quickly leaned away, rubbing the sore spot on her face.

"I'm sorry!" I really was. "I-I didn't mean to—It just happened!"

Watery burgundy eyes squinted and tried to blink the tears (and shock) away. "Th-That actually hurt, Takamachi-san," she whimpered.

"I'm really sorry!" I apologized again, more sincerely this time, thinking that I might have really hurt her. But then quickly stopped when a thought occurred to me. "W-What were you trying to do anyway?!"

She groaned. "Well, obviously, I was trying to kiss you."

"Wha—" I couldn't believe what she just admitted. "Y-You can't do that!"

"What?!" She actually screeched. "Why not?!" And looked absolutely appalled by the idea, like she was grounded and her most favorite toy was taken away from her. "Can't a girl kiss her girlfriend when the mood calls for it? And lemme tell you, Nanoha, the mood was clearly using an industrial-sized megaphone for that specific call."

"It has nothing to do with the mood!" I told her. "We're still at school!"

She frowned, "So?" as if I was the one not making sense.

"Fate-chan, somebody might see us." I tried to calmly reason with her while making sure I didn't have an untimely heart attack.

"I think I, and the ever-reliable high school gossip network, made it crystal clear to practically everyone that I like you, Nanoha. I don't see the problem."

There was no reasoning with this girl. "Still…" I continued on. "I don't think that we should do it here."

Fate looked to be seriously considering my words. She reluctantly held up her finger. "Not even one kiss?"

"Fate-chan!"

"I'm kidding, I'm kidding," she laughed, as if our heated argument never happened, clearly amused at how she wound me up so easily. "Wow, and here I thought Chrono was uptight. I almost forgot I'm dating the White Devil."

I grumbled "Don't call me that," and sighed heavily, feeling tired from such a short time of being flustered. "You're just too carefree, Fate-chan."

She chuckled, pushing back the chair to its original place before gathering the items on my desk and handing them to me. "But you love it."

It's true. That much was true. There's not a trace of doubt in my thoughts when I heard those words.

I loved everything about her, from her rich laughter, to her kindness, to her beautiful yet sometimes sad eyes. Even in moments when she was childish, infuriating and prone to sarcastic and cold words.

"Cool, we still have some time. So…" Fate swung her bag after checking her phone, and held out her hand. "Ready for our date?"

But they were all sides of her. Different and clashing. She was a big contradiction that no one could ever hope to understand no matter how hard one tried.

And we were different. So much so that we almost, always never got along in the past.

For some reason, she wouldn't let anyone reach her. She hides her emotions a little too well that it was worrying at times.

But here I was, holding her hand, our fingers embracing each other, leaving no gaps in between.

My heart raced as my stomach formed nervous knots at what I was about to do.

"Nanoha?" Fate cutely tilted her head to the side while I contemplated it over and over. "You okay?"

That maybe I shouldn't go through with what I was about to do.

It was unfair how she was still half a head taller than me even after summer. I was sure I grew a few centimeters taller over that time.

"If you're still tired, we can put off the date some other—"

At the moment, there was nothing more I could do with the difference between our heights.

But, oh well. It was just the two of us inside the classroom anyway.

Stretching up a little, standing on my toes and placing my free hand on her shoulder for balance, I continued what she had started before the notebook suddenly smacked her right on the cheek.

If my old self saw me, she would no doubt be speechless and be a beet-red, stuttering mess.

It was a bit clumsy and felt awkward that I was the one to initiate it, but when I stopped Fate's words, the world seemed a lot quieter and my sense of time momentarily broke. I didn't see or hear anything. All I could feel was a loving warmth whenever I was with her.

And when it was over, when my feet landed back from such a heavenly cloud-nine moment, Fate's face was a shade pinker than ever and her eyes looked so dazed, as if she just awoke from a pleasant dream.

"Wow…" Then she suddenly blurted out, "We should totally go to my house."

Taken aback, I asked, "W-What about our date?"

"We'll have it there," she explained simply. "In my room, to be more exact."

I rolled my eyes and shook my head, giggling at the hopeless side of this girl. "C'mon." I pulled her by the hand and walked out of the room together.

"I thought you said we can't kiss at school."

"J-Just this one time is fine."

"Oh, I know! Then, how about making it multiple times instead?"

"Fate-chan!"

More than anything, more than anyone, and beyond any known contradiction, I would always, always love her.

---

"They're having a sale soon," I said my own thoughts aloud before I could stop myself.

Fate looked at the poster displayed on the store's window from top to bottom. "You wanna buy something?"

"N-Not really," I answered before we continued on our way inside the mall. "My parents are kind of strict with my allowance, especially my dad. He wants me to learn how to spend it well and just to buy things I really, really need, I guess."

"Oh," Fate nodded in understanding. "Isn't your dad a doctor?"

"Mm, he was asked to fill in a position at the hospital here in Mid. That's why we had to move from Uminari."

Fate hummed in understanding. "So, your dad works at Mid-Childa General Hospital now, huh?"

"Yeah, Dad talked to us about it but, to be honest, I haven't visited him at work yet. Do you know where it is?"

"Of course, it's the largest hospital in Mid." A wide grin appeared on her pretty face. "In that case, I should go there and thank whoever's in-charge."

"What for?"

She smirked, "'Cause I got to kiss an awfully cute girl at school today."

I hit her arm but she just laughed it off, declaring her advocacy against violence as she jogged ahead, escaping any further attack. "So where are we going?" I asked as Fate led the way.

"To the movies."

"Oh." I tried to recall how much of my allowance I had with me. There were the tickets to buy and maybe some snacks—

"My treat, of course."

"What?"

"It's my treat," she said again when we arrived in front of the ticketing booth. "So you don't need to worry."

She did something like this last time too. "This isn't right," I told her, remembering last summer at the park. "Didn't we agree that I would pay next time we go somewhere?" But maybe she didn't remember what she said to me then.

"I know," she pulled out her wallet. "You'll pay when you take me somewhere. That was our deal, right?"

It was surprising that she knew what I was talking about. "You remember?"

"Of course, I do. Why wouldn't I?" she asked simply before paying for our tickets. "I think you'll like this one," she pointed to the movie title. "The rating's awesome when I looked it up."

"Really? I didn't know you like movies."

She shrugged as we walked to the snack bar. "Uh… yeah, you can say that," she said distractedly when she closely looked at the selections of snacks lined up behind the glass counter. "But what I like about it most is that we can do other stuff in the dark, like holding hands."

I rolled my eyes and chuckled. "I think you miss the point of the whole movie thing, Fate-chan."

"Ah," she groaned like she was just struck painfully at the heart. "My honey is so harsh."

It was clear that Hayate was influencing her without her notice.

"Nanoha, you want popcorn or something to drink? I think you should go with both. Popcorn's a staple when watching movies."

It was cute when she was acting silly. "It's okay. I'm not that hungry."

Her brows came together when she pouted. "You don't have to act so reserved," she said. "Let me spoil my girlfriend to my heart's content."

"Wha—Fate-chan!" It was kind of amazing that she could say something like that so freely when there were other people around us.

"What?" she lifted her shoulders, feigning innocence with wide eyes. Again, Fate chuckled in amusement at my reaction before asking me again what I wanted, and not to hold back with anything.

"Well, I think I'll have…" So, I complied, happily thinking that, despite how Fate could spontaneously blurt out something embarrassing, I would never get tired how she proudly called me her girlfriend.

I had to pull Fate away from the snack bar since she wanted to buy more than we could possibly manage to eat with only the two of us. She kept on insisting that I should eat more and it was her duty to treat me well. We were already attracting the attention of some people there, so I had to quickly drag her away while trying to hide my red face and reassuring her that I honestly was fine with the few snacks we had.

With our drinks, a large bucket of popcorn and—just to settle her down—a small packet of Skittles, I looked around when we were seated in the dimly-lit theater. "There aren't a lot of people."

"Well, it is a weekday," Fate said without looking while she set her phone to silent. "Most people normally don't go to the movies on a weekday, especially on a school day."

"Then why are we here?"

"Because we're not most people," she answered confidently. "We're Nanoha and Fate. Plus, I'm not that eager to torture myself while I painstakingly wait for the weekend to come just so we could have our date."

Even though the movie hadn't started yet, I stifled my laughter as much as I could. "What kind of logic is that, Fate-chan?" And though I should be embarrassed again by what she said or react differently, my stomach actually hurt just trying to contain myself from laughing.

"The NanoFate logic." Even in the dark, I could clearly see Fate's mischievous grin as she leaned in to whisper as if she were plotting a conspiracy. "It's gonna be a big thing soon."

I was about to say something else when the lights were completely turned off and the friendly reminders of movie courtesy and manners to be observed while inside the theater started playing on the large screen in front.

"Nanoha," Fate's voice dropped into a whisper. "I'll leave half the space for you, okay?"

I looked down at the armrest between us. "Uh, okay, thank you." I nodded, though not entirely sure why she told me so.

Fate seemed excited about it before facing forward to watch the previews. I couldn't really ask her what she really meant. Not after seeing how happy she looked.

The movie started like any other, showing a happy and content couple. But early in the story, they began to disagree about their future. The female lead wanted to pursue her career in another country yet her boyfriend didn't want her to, since he was anxious of the distance that might come between them. But she was determined to go and didn't listen when he tried to stop her. Their relationship ended on a rainy night, leaving them both heartbroken and without proper closure. Years later, the two of them met again but the guy had a new lover and looked like he had moved on.

Oh, they're meeting each other again after so many years. His greeting was so… cold!

But then, the girl slowly realized that she was still in love with him.

The setting was not uncommon but it did make me curious on how the two main characters would progress and get back together by the end of the story. My mind immediately came up with possible ways on how they could fix their relationship.

From the corner of my eye, Fate was shifting in her seat. Her profile seemed a bit uninterested at what was showing. "Enjoying the movie?" she asked when she glanced my way.

"The girl's funny," I told her. "Do you think she'll get back together with her ex?"

"Too soon to tell," she shrugged after drinking from her soda. "Oh, and you can rest your arm on here if you want." She patted on the armrest where her own arm partly occupied the space, still leaving half of it empty.

"…Okay." I answered while paying close attention to the conversation onscreen when the main girl was now eating dinner with her ex and her ex's new lover. What an awkward situation! I felt sorry for the female lead.

The other viewers and I laughed at the actress' funny antics. I glanced at Fate if she found the scene amusing as well. Instead, she was looking at me.

"What's wrong?"

She looked forward again. "Nothing," she answered and raised her hand, flexing her fingers in and out. "Just doing some hand stretches."

Sometimes, Fate would say the most random things. Almost as random as Hayate. But I think she would sulk if I told her that so I decided to keep that to myself.

Subtly, I looked down again at the armrest between us where she still diligently kept her arm on her half of the narrow space, her fingers drumming absently.

I giggled, my shoulders shaking almost uncontrollably when I finally realized why she was so determined on sharing the armrest with me.

"Nanoha?" Fate whispered. "I don't think you should be laughing when the actress is crying her heart out about her ex."

The scene showing was the girl admitting to her friend that she was still in love with the guy and that she regretted how their relationship ended because she prioritized other things over him.

"Sorry." But I wasn't sorry at all. I let out a pleased sigh, recovering from my giggling fit. Thankfully, I didn't disturb the other audience. No offense to the movie and the people involved in its production, but I couldn't really pay attention to the rest of the story when Fate was being so cute. She kept telling me how cute I was when she was the one having such moments as well.

As the movie went on, my attention was no longer on it. Not when the girl beside me was being downright adorable.

And so my hand left the spot on my lap and innocently rested on the vacant space Fate thoughtfully spared for me, our arms brushing lightly against each other.

From my side, I knew she was a little surprised by my action but I continued to pretend as if nothing out of the ordinary happened.

So while the movie continued to engross the audience with its story, giving them reasons to have mixed reactions, from squealing at how handsome the male lead was, to wiping away some stray tears during heart-wrenching moments, to staying perfectly still as they listened intently to the serious words of the new lover, Fate and I still pretended that we weren't thinking of the same thing.

But at some point, where the movie and audience had come close to nonexistence, our hands found each other at last. And we just couldn't help but silently and secretly smile until the very end.

---

"Wasn't it surprising that they didn't get back together in the end? I was sure they would!" Though the movie delivered such an unexpected ending and the overall feeling of the story was satisfying, it still bugged me that the couple didn't get back together. My hand hovered over our shared pile of french fries when a thought occurred to me. "Or they could at the very least let the girl find a new boyfriend."

In contrast to my criticism, Fate giggled while drinking from her straw. "I'm sure the writers had their reasons for ending the movie with the girl remaining single."

We decided to grab a bite to eat at a fast-food restaurant, sitting at a table at the corner away from most of the early evening crowds.

"But it wasn't a happy ending at all," I insisted.

The blonde shrugged after she picked up a french fry. "Maybe they were aiming for something more realistic. Or relatable."

"Well, you were right about the movie though. It was pretty good."

"The power of the internet and online movie reviews are amazingly omniscient as always," Fate dramatically remarked after dipping the stick of fried potato in ketchup and tossing it in her mouth.

"I really like the actress. She's so pretty. And funny, too. Her acting and sense of humor are amazing."

Fate narrowed her eyes at me, looking suspicious. "Should I be worried that this famous and absolutely gorgeous actress would come between our relationship?"

I laughed and lightly kicked her foot under the table. "You know what I mean. So, what was your favorite part of the movie?"

She grunted excitedly as she finished swallowing a bite from her burger. "The part when we were holding hands."

The side of my lip twitched. "That's not part of the movie, Fate-chan."

"I know." She ate the last bit of her burger, chewed and swallowed. "But it's the only thing I like about the whole experience."

I still wasn't used to Fate's teases. "I thought you said you like going to the movies."

"I don't, actually," she admitted so honestly. "I'm not really a movie theater fan. I'm more of a download-from-the-internet-and-watch-it-from-my-laptop-in-the-safe-quarters-of-my-room kind of fan."

I furrowed my brows at what I just heard and stared at her. "Then why did we go?"

"Because it's a nice feeling to hold hands with my girlfriend while having a date at the movies."

Giggling, I threw the crumpled burger wrapper at her, which she easily dodged with an amused cackle.

We ate the rest of our food in comfortable silence while the busy sounds of the other customers filled the restaurant.

Fate had always been playful but sometimes she could be pretty serious too. Our relationship had been rocky and uncertain from the beginning, and it was just recently that we admitted our mutual feelings and started dating. And we only came to this point because we made things clear and simple in the end.

"Hey, Fate-chan?"

"Hmm?" She looked up from swirling the ice inside her cup.

"Why didn't you tell Hayate-chan and the others when they asked about us?"

She stopped playing with the ice inside and didn't say anything for awhile. "It's not like I should tell them everything."

"But they're your friends," I reasoned out.

"I know," she agreed. "And they're your friends too. But you didn't tell them either."

She had a point there. "I just didn't know how to tell them. I mean, I want to tell them. I really do. But if I told them, things might get awkward and I really didn't want that to happen."

"By awkward…" She placed her cup back on the table while pondering about it for awhile. Then she had a horrified expression on her face a second later. "You're not thinking that me and Hayate were a thing before, are you?"

I almost choked on air. "What? No!"

"Oh, thank God!" Fate exaggeratedly slumped in relief on her seat. "The mere idea that I was romantically involved with that raccoon is revolting enough. I seriously do not want my girlfriend to even consider the traumatizing possibility."

"Fate-chan, I'm being serious here!"

"So am I! That raccoon is un-dateable."

"We're seriously getting off topic here!" I pointed out strongly, almost jumping out of my chair. "I just thought that if they knew, looking at how we were around each other, you and Hayate and the others might…" I didn't really know how to say it. "You and Hayate and the others know each other since you were kids. Anyone could tell that you're really close though you fight a lot. Last time, when Suzuka and Hayate ran after me, they were really angry although they didn't know yet that I like you. So it might be egotistic for me to say this but… I'd feel awful if I'm one of the reasons to cause a rift between you and the others. And I don't want that to happen at all."

It felt like I had sat there for hours. I didn't look at her when I spoke, keeping my eyes glued to the empty cup in my hands. I felt nervous about telling her, feeling that the conversation might lead to a small argument between us.

Carefully lifting my eyes back at her, I saw Fate wordlessly staring outside, wearing such a faraway look on her face. She looked so lost in her thoughts as if there was something heavy weighing on her mind.

As if Fate was bearing a secret.

"And that's exactly why I didn't tell them."

"What?" Even though it was only a minute or so before she spoke, I thought I was hearing things.

She looked at me as if our conversation never had a long pause in between. "Our reasons are more or less the same," she explained. "Probably."

"Probably?"

"Well…" She breathed in and out, looking as if she was looking for the right words to say. "I think I unconsciously thought that, in the long run, you'd feel guilty if the others would attack me if they found out about what happened between us. Much more if they knew that you somehow confessed and I somehow… initially rejected you, and that we began to act a lot more weirdly after that. So in the end, I couldn't tell them because I kinda knew you'd somehow blame yourself for it. So, you could say I didn't want you to worry or cause you any more trouble than I already had."

When I listened to her, my mind was almost a blank. "That's a weird reason, Fate-chan."

The girl staggered slightly before giving me a strained grin. "You're not one to talk, Princess."

So, we basically thought of the same thing. I felt relieved at that discovery. "I still feel bad that I didn't tell them anything yet."

"You don't need to worry about that," she said when she busied her hands in folding her straw into something. "They're the type who'd get really curious about such things, but know when to stop pushing at the end of the day. They'll be there to listen when you think the moment's right to share it, and even if you made them wait, they'll easily be just as supportive and caring even without asking. That's just how simple-minded those idiots are."

I let out a weak laugh at the way she explained it. "That's not a very nice thing to say, Fate-chan."

"Is it?" She plucked the straw from my cup and began to do the same thing. "It's what I really like about them the most though."

I listened to how Fate sounded so sincere. To hear her speak about her friends with such high regard. Wearing a calm smile on her face while telling me something whole-heartedly and with great certainty. "You really are good friends with them."

She scoffed, "They're more like an endless, walking supply of migraines to me. Here," she finished with whatever she was doing and placed them in front of me.

She formed our straws into two small hexagons. "These are?" But what they really were I wasn't sure yet.

"Earrings."

I raised a brow and inspected the cleverly folded plastics. "Earrings?" I repeated, looking back at the small things skeptically.

"They're clip-ons. Here, I'll put one on you," she picked one and leaned forward.

I tensed up when she brushed aside some of my hair and carefully held my earlobe to slip it on. It was a bit surprising to have her suddenly leaning over the table and touching my ear inside a public place like the fast-food restaurant we were in.

And it was the first time I realized that I was actually sensitive in that area when I felt her fingertips touch it.

"There," she said and sat back, satisfied with her accomplishment. "Looks good."

I checked it on the window glass beside us. Fate gave me an earring made of fast-food plastic.

"Look, Nanoha."

While I was looking at my reflection, Fate had slipped on the other one as well.

"We match!" she proudly grinned like an excited child.

My smile turned into a giggle. A little embarrassed at the silly gesture but nevertheless, it still made me happy. Fate made me happy.

"They're your friends too, y'know."

When I didn't say anything right away, she continued.

"They're idiotic and crazy sometimes but they're good. Really good," she said again, more to herself this time, smiling at a thought she only knew, a memory from a past unfamiliar. "And they'll definitely be there for you when… when you need them most, Nanoha."

I didn't know why. But my insides suddenly clenched painfully as I watched Fate from across the table.

She looked the same; silky, long blonde hair, vibrant wine-red eyes and soft skin of alabaster. She sounded the same; voice low and quiet yet gentle, warm and very loving.

But for some reason, something was different, like a different person was sitting across from me instead. A stranger.

This nagging feeling made me think that she was someone whom I had just met for the very first time.

And not the girl I fell in love with.

I wasn't sure if my chest throbbed because she slightly faltered on her words or because I received such a tender but lonely smile. I didn't have a single reason to feel so uneasy but still…

Or maybe it was just my imagination. I didn't know yet.

"My girlfriend's still the best, of course!" Fate declared abruptly, drawing me out of my reverie and driving away any heavy feelings not welcomed in our date.

And when I recovered from the depths of those strange thoughts, the two of us, wearing matching plastic straw earrings, laughed and exchanged playful retorts while I tried to kick her under the table again.

---

"Are you sure your parents won't scold you?"

"Mm, I'm sure," I told her for the fifth time since we got on the bus.

After we left the fast-food restaurant, we went window-shopping in some stores around the mall but got carried away while trying on some funny hats and sunglasses and ended up staying for almost an hour longer. So we decided to just take the next bus ride home.

"I could at least walk you to your house," she offered. "And apologize to your parents if it turns out bad."

I couldn't anymore hold back from giggling. "Thanks but really, I'll be fine. I already told Mom that I was with you."

"I-Is that so?" She looked a little relieved to hear that.

The bus smoothly turned a corner before she spoke again.

"W-What about your dad then? He's not mad at you for not coming home right after school, is he?"

"As long as I tell either of them beforehand, they're okay with it. You worry too much, Fate-chan," I told her when she still looked unconvinced.

Fate frowned and looked away. "Your dad scares me," she admitted under her breath. "I think I'm on his blacklist or something after what happened last time."

She must've meant when they first met. Looking back, Fate did something that usually made the boys from my old school run for the hills after seeing Dad's stone-hard expression. He wasn't exactly the most friendly when it came to my male classmates, except for Yuuno, of course. "Well, Dad's strict and scary-looking sometimes but he's really just a big softie."

"It's only natural for fathers to dote on their cute daughters, I guess." She shrugged a little and said, "That's just how things are."

When Fate said that, she looked like she was imagining her own father. She told me once that he died some time after she was born and that she never got to meet him.

And it made me wonder if it were possible to miss someone you have never even met or formed a bond with before.

Without thinking, I let my head fall on her shoulder and hide my face. I heard Fate asking if I was sleepy or tired. But my feeling was far from either of those.

I felt guilty. I didn't mean to make her remember something sad like that. And I didn't mean to make her put on such an unreadable expression just so she could hide behind it.

"You're just like Dad, Fate-chan."

She cleared her throat. "Nanoha-san? I think you shouldn't compare a girl to a grown man. Even if he is your dad and a smart doctor to boot. Or maybe you have an Electra complex that I should know about—"

"That's not it!" I squeezed her arm to make her stop from talking, which made her squirm and say a long chain of apologies in one breath. "I mean, you can be cold, scary-looking, harsh, prone to acerbic sarcasm, rude, stubborn, arrogant—"

"Takamachi-san, is this even going anywhere nice?" she whimpered weakly, flinching with every word. "'Cause I don't think my heart can go on and take any more verbal lashing from the girl I'm dating."

"Ah, sorry, I guess I went a little too far." I gave her a sheepish smile as I apologized. "My point is… you're those things but you're a really big softie, too. And I'm sure that your father would also dote on you too since you're his really, really cute daughter. I'm sure of it," I said again.

Fate looked dumbstruck when I finished. Her cheeks colored brightly red and her mouth agape. "Um, w-wow," she stuttered. "Like, wow… Um, t-thanks? Yeah but still, y-you're a lot cuter, Nanoha. Like super. I mean… if I was your dad, I would totally dote on you too—Ohmygod, okay! I should stop talking now."

A grin widened across my face and it soon turned into laughter, light and free. A completely embarrassed and blushing Fate was really adorable.

When my stop was close, I was almost tempted to not press the button for the bus to slow down. I wanted the ride to continue on, so I could still be with her. I actually wished that I didn't have to go home just yet.

But in the end, I did it anyway. "Thanks for today, Fate-chan." Holding my bag in my suddenly weak hands, I bid to her "See you tomorrow" when the vehicle fully stopped. My supposed cheery goodbye sounded feeble and pathetic.

Fate watched and didn't say anything, and just grunted something inaudible as I stood up and walked to the exit.

I stepped out onto the quiet and empty pavement and turned to wave at her. She waved back just as silently as the bus continued on its route. The cool autumn air around me grew colder when I watched the bus moving further away. And when I was just about to take the first few steps towards my house, I heard frantic running from behind.

"Nanoha!" My name reverberated in the deserted streets.

I whirled around, to see her sprint in great haste to where I stood utterly baffled. Why is she here?!

"What's wrong?! Shouldn't you be on the bus?" I asked, unable to contain my worry when she stopped right in front of me, her hands on her knees as she panted heavily to catch her breath, some of her hair sticking out in a disheveled state, her bag had slipped from her shoulder, landing floppily on the ground.

"I got off the bus…" She stated the obvious, gasping for air in between. "Good thing… they let me… after I convinced them to."

She wasn't making any sense at all. "W-Why did you do that?" I demanded, thinking that something bad must've happened after I got off. "Are you all right? D-Did you forget some—"

It was sudden. It was again a little clumsy and awkward. The logical part of me was to gently push her away and tell her that it wasn't right since we were outside on the streets and that someone might see.

But it was warm and it made my chest flutter. So that side of me yielded. It lasted for only a few seconds, it was nothing but a touch. And yet the prolonged connection felt absolutely wonderful, that I couldn't care less about anything else.

We parted and our breaths mixed as our chests pounded in a rapid beat. Blood rushed to my entire face. My ears felt like they were burning. I was still immersed in that surprise kiss. My mind clouded, my gaze fogged with the being named Fate. I still wasn't used to it, but I had the strange feeling that it wasn't going to change any time soon, of how it could still easily stir my emotions into a storm.

But that kiss. It almost felt different from our previous ones. It was as if Fate was uneasy and troubled. Her hands cupping my cheeks were slightly shaking and felt cold. Our foreheads pressed together, her face close to mine still looked flustered and a little winded.

What made you run and have such an unbefitting expression on your face? I wanted to ask her.

"Nanoha."

"Y-Yes?"

"I…" She swallowed and breathed out. "I'll walk you home," she finally said.

How could anyone be this cute and adorable but still manage to be just as beautiful and charming, even after she had just lost her composure from running back to me?

A small voice told my head to nod. "….Okay." It was a good thing that Fate's kiss didn't eradicate all my brain cells and that I was still capable of speech.

She nodded as well, with a soft smile gracing her face. And we silently walked together hand in hand.

I would be lying if I said I wasn't at all happy that I could be with her even if it was just a minute longer.

---

The next morning, I hurried more than usual to get to the familiar bus stop, ignoring the fact that the air was getting colder. Not because I wanted to get to school sooner so I could see Fate—well, yes, that was mostly the reason, but that wasn't it.

I decided to tell my friends all they wanted to know, if they were going to ask me again, of course. And even if they wouldn't, if they seemed upset that I had kept it from them, then I would apologize until they forgave me because I wanted to tell them, not only because I was ready to share it but, most importantly, because they're my friends.

When I arrived, I first spotted Vita and was about to greet her a good morning but had to stop since I saw, standing beside her, in an unusually grim air, Hayate wearing a black veil over her head, a dark square curtain of lace covering her face, and a pair of black lacy gloves over her hands.

"Um, good… morning?" The standard greeting came to sound like an uncertain question instead.

"Yo," Vita greeted normally in return. "You look mighty happy today, Takanashi," she remarked as if everything was positively normal.

The TSAB students and I, and some other citizens of Mid, around felt otherwise. It was so puzzling that I even completely ignored correcting Vita about mispronouncing my family name again.

Hayate slightly turned to my direction after she heard her cousin address me. "Why, hello there, Nanoha dear." Her voice sounded uncharacteristically proper and calm and… lady-like? A complete opposite from her usually jolly and bubbly pitch. "Isn't today a lovely day for black?"

Okay. Yeah. So even I considered that to be weird. Even if it was Hayate.

Watching her cousin with an indifferent gaze, Vita's dark blue orbs shifted to me from Hayate. "Do you wanna know?" she asked, almost considerately.

I kept my own blue sets on her cousin. "Um, I'm not entirely sure…" I was completely honest about it too. "D-Do I?" It was a stupid question, directed at myself rather than to Vita or to any onlooker around. But I really didn't know what to do or say in such a situation, where your friend suddenly became… weirder. In a whole new level you did not even want to know the details of.

"Alas," Hayate started to speak. "Today is a day of mourning." Her hands came together as if she were reciting a prayer. "Why?" She lifted the question for all to hear, as if we were asking the same thing—which we weren't. Not really. "It is because a pure and innocent soul had crossed over to the dark side and I," she emphasized the pronoun rather dramatically, "was powerless to stop her from being tainted and sullied. Aah," she moaned painfully. "I have failed you, Nanoha-chan! Forgive my human weakness! Curse my inability to detect the extent of the dark witch's crawling reach when it was my sole duty to do so!"

I was completely lost.

So I turned to Vita to translate. Thankfully, the redhead knew what I was asking without the use of words.

"She's upset that she didn't notice right away that you liked Fate first as more than a friend," she explained. "She kinda has this knack or sense when someone starts to like someone and wanted to at least play matchmaker to spice things up."

"Correction, Vita," Hayate momentarily lifted the veil from her eyes and reverted to her usual self. "I am a matchmaker," she proudly declared. "I just didn't expect that Nanoha-chan would be the first one to like Fate-chan after all the hard work did. A common miscalculation, I would say."

The shorter girl rolled her eyes and raised her hands in surrender. "Sorry," her cousin drawled uncaringly. "Only human here."

Then Hayate sobbed at that. Her lips trembling as she said, "Isn't that just the saddest truth of them all?"

I almost forgot why I wanted to get to the bus stop sooner.

The students around us were stunned and amused. Hayate was quite known for her… eccentricity, after all. Even only knowing her for a few months, it wasn't surprising that she could do something like this. But at the same time, I was getting used to it in a much quicker rate than in the past. And that was the scariest part of all.

Our regular bus had arrived and we slowly boarded the vehicle.

"My good driver," Hayate, her veil back in place, addressed the familiar middle-aged man behind the wheel. "Are you perhaps taking me to Nirvana?"

Vita and I wanted to pull her away and take her with us to our seat.

The man just scratched his head under his cap and grunted. "Uh, no," he answered, his confusion clearly showing. "Our next stop is TSAB Academy. And you shouldn't skip school, little lady."

Hayate quickly turned her face away, as if she were slapped on the cheek. "Ah, what a shame. I seek enlightenment and yet it eludes me still." She wiped an invisible tear from her eyes. "However, you will remain in my prayers. Bless you, driving man."

Driving Man scowled and blinked, mumbling a "But I didn't even sneeze" when Hayate walked past. Ignoring the TSAB student's bizarre behavior and being a public servant for years might've helped him cope so nothing seemed to surprise him much in his line of work. He closed the door when the last passenger boarded and carefully steered the bus back on the road.

Hayate continued down the middle of the bus until she was met halfway by Vita, who grabbed her by her sweater vest.

"What the heck were you trying to do?!" Vita hissed when she practically tossed her veiled cousin beside me.

"Seeking peace of mind from this disappointing world," the brunette withered next to me and let her head fall on my shoulder. "Unlike you, Nanoha-chan understands me and the torment I am quietly enduring, yes?"

I'm getting there, I wanted to say. If only there was a right way to respond. I settled for a neutral one. "I-I guess."

"I need some peace of mind from you," the shorter girl groaned as she plopped ungracefully, occupying the remaining space. "Would you get over it already? You've been moping since we got home yesterday. Just accept the fact that Fate and Nantoka are dating."

It's Nanoha, my mind instinctively corrected. "Um, actually, I wanted to talk to you guys about tha—"

"How can you say that, Vita? After all these years of nurturing Nanoha-chan into a fine, blossoming maiden of purity, it just breaks my heart that she had fallen into the grimy paws of a villainous she-wolf like Fate-chan!"

Vita sighed heavily, sounding a little frustrated. "Y'know, if Fate were here, she's not gonna like it when she hears that from you. Especially from you. Plus, the part about knowing Nantoka for years would just make your situation worse."

The two of them were clearly not listening to me.

"True," Hayate instantly agreed. "But she's not here. So no need to fret when there's no threat. Ooh! That rhymed, Vita!"

"Aren't you supposed to be all dark and mope-y or was it, erm… mourning the loss of Nantoka's virginity?"

"I-I haven't loss anything like that!" I interjected quickly, simply mortified that they thought of such a thing. They obviously forgot I was with them with how their conversation was flowing.

"That would just be disastrous indeed," Hayate gasped and embraced herself.

"Whacha gonna do about it then?"

Hayate replied with a determined air. "I mustn't let Fate-chan corrupt her any further."

"Would you two just… STOP!"

As if on command, the bus came into an abrupt halt, causing most of the students to yelp in surprise when their bodies suddenly swayed forward.

My simple request for my two friends to keep quiet was delivered unexpectedly in a much louder voice for the rest of the passengers, including the bus driver, to hear.

Luckily, there weren't a lot of cars in the morning and I didn't indirectly cause an accident in the middle of the road. But I was unlucky enough to embarrass myself in front of many TSAB students.

Feeling all eyes on me, I gave a quick apology for the disturbance and sat back down, keeping my head low in remorse and sheer embarrassment. I could even feel the tips of my ears burning.

Thankfully, the bus carried on while the driver gave a neutral, mandatory reminder about public safety on the overhead speakers.

"Okay, Hayate," the redhead said between gritted teeth. "You had your fun. Now, apologize to Takanashi and be done with your stupid drama."

"My drama isn't stupid," her cousin answered in a similar way but sighed moments later. "Okay, fine. My prelude is officially over."

She really doesn't touch the main agenda without a prelude.

Hayate removed her veil, making some of her chocolate locks stick out. She gave a sheepish smile. "Really sorry, Nanoha-chan. I didn't mean to go that far. I hope you're not mad. You can even hit me in the head if you want."

"No, that's not it…" I managed to say.

I knew Hayate and the others cared a lot about Fate. Their relationship, how it started and how it grew, even though I could ask them stories and the details, I somehow knew that I could never fully understand it no matter what.

It wasn't just about their unconventional behaviors, especially Hayate's. I felt there was a lot more than what I was seeing. The brunette beside me was a good example for that.

Maybe as life-long friends, Hayate and the others must've been hurt since they were kept in the dark until much recently.

"Oh my god!" Hayate gasped as she leaned away horrified. Her image mimicking the famous painting of a screaming figure. "Nanoha-chan's mad at me!"

"W-Wha—No, I'm not!"

The Yagami cousins paused, and scowled in confusion. "You're not?" was their question.

I knew it was the right time to tell them. "Well, to begin with, this is kind of my fault anyway. I should have told you sooner about Fate-chan and I. I just didn't know how to tell you. I thought it would be awkward if I did. I mean, as someone who just suddenly transferred to your school, I didn't really want to cause trouble for anyone. For one thing, I'm just an outsider and you were kind enough to let someone new join your group."

I paused to glance up at them, and saw that they remained quiet. Their faces close to impassive. Seeing them like that made me all the more anxious that my fingers started to fiddle restlessly. "Fate-chan and I… well, our relationship was confusing at first. And when I thought that we were friends, I found out that I liked her as something more than a friend should. I think that's when everything started to go crazy. And then that thing at the cafeteria happened and all of you were really… upset with how she acted. I never even thought Suzuka-chan could look so scary…"

"You ain't seen nothin' yet," Hayate commented.

"What?"

But before she could explain, Vita elbowed her side. "Go on," she casually gestured, ignoring her cousin's groans of pain.

"So yeah, I thought if you were angry at something all of you only thought of as a fight between two classmates or two common friends, how much more it would be if you knew there was really something that happened between us that didn't at all had anything to do with being friends? Like one of us happened to have feelings for the other? So I just didn't want to be the cause of ruining a friendship among longtime friends, I guess."

That was only part of what I was going to say to them but I took a moment to look at them again. The two cousins looked to be weighing my words in their heads.

And after a while, Hayate was the first to speak. "Vita," she gestured, as if she was granting the redhead permission. "If you please."

"Okay," her cousin nodded with a serious face. "Nantoka, could you lean over here for a bit?"

I was surprised and confused but did what the shorter girl asked. "Uh, okay." I slowly leaned towards her and expected that she would whisper something in my ear so that other people wouldn't hear.

"OW!" What I felt next was a stinging pain on my forehead that made me yelp and lean away instinctively.

Vita had swiftly flicked my forehead like an expert. The impact against my skull was loud enough for my own ears to hear.

I groaned and rubbed the sore spot. The pain actually made my eyes water. "V-Vita-chan!" I whimpered. "What did you do that for?!"

"'Cause if Hayate did it, I would have to explain to Chrono why his sister is sent to juvenile hall. Filling out incident reports is too troublesome," she admitted tiredly, sounding as if she had done it in the past. "While if I did it, Fate would think I did it for a good reason and let me off with a glare and a warning not to do it again."

"Y'know, I could never get this logic and difference of treatment," Hayate remarked conversationally. "It's unfair and, at the same time, reasonable. How is that possible?" she asked curiously but her cousin just shrugged.

I wasn't sure if I should be angry or not. "Guys, I know it was wrong of me not to tell you and I won't blame you if you're angry at me, but you didn't have to flick my forehead so hard."

Vita crossed her arms. "Well, I didn't flick your head because you didn't tell us."

Okay, I was sure I was confused. "What?"

"We're angry that you called yourself an outsider," Hayate answered. "I'm surprised that you think so badly of us that we would even consider you something like that. It's like we're in a high school setting or something."

"We are in high school, you idiot," Vita pointed out.

A hand in front of Vita's face silenced her. "So not the point."

Hayate looked at me seriously. Her usual playfulness in her blue eyes were gone. They looked a little angry and a little hurt. An expression that I rarely saw her wearing.

"Point is, Nanoha, you didn't stop to think that we never once considered you an outsider since you transferred. Sure, you were new but isn't that always the case when it's just the first day when you don't know a thing about each other? But after we knew each others' names and got to know each other little by little, that was the end of your role as the new transfer student. And we didn't hang out with you because of something lame like 'We should be nice to the new girl.' We wanted to be friends with you because we wanted to. So have a little more confidence about yourself, Nanoha."

"But I didn't want you and Fate-chan to fight—"

"That's a different matter." It was Vita's turn to speak. "To be honest, that girl has issues. Well, a lot, actually. But that's not the point here. Even if we did find out that you liked Fate, we'd still do the same thing after all the awful things she said to you. Nothing much would change. Whatever the reason may be, anyone would be mad if someone hurt their friends. Even if the culprit was another one of our friends."

"Yeah," Hayate chimed. "Oh, but maybe we'd tease you from time to time about your crush on her—" A hand covered her mouth and muffled the rest of her words out.

"What we're trying to say is nothing much would change in our friendship. We'd most likely get angry at her as usual and may even give her our own sets of punishments but eventually we'll make up, apologize and things would get back to normal. We'd all still be friends, including Fate. Trust me, Fate and Hayate had much bigger fights before you transferred. So it's really nothing for you to worry about."

"Oh," Hayate spoke up as if she understood what her cousin meant. "You mean the custard pudding incident? Ha! Looking back now, that was freakin' hilarious of us. That happened, like, years ago, right?"

"Hayate," Vita deadpanned. "It happened three days before we started high school."

Her cousin looked stunned and didn't say anything close to three seconds. "Really?!"

I didn't know if it was right for me to feel relieved. It was the first time I heard Hayate use my name without the usual honorific. It was odd to hear her use it when she was talked so seriously. I suddenly felt like I had been scolded. Well, actually I was. But strangely enough, I didn't feel the least bit offended or hurt.

But I did feel bad that I upset both of them, and most probably Suzuka and Alisa felt and thought the same way too.

"I'm sorry," I said quietly, stopping them in the middle of their banter about the proper labeling of pudding. "Somehow, I hurt your feelings and made you angry. I'm really not that confident about myself so I tend to think that things like this are a little too good to be true for me. Ah, but it's not like anything bad happened back in my old school and I had friends there too. It's just… Everything's just been crazy since I transferred and met everyone. It was beyond anything I imagined and it was a kinda overwhelming, to be honest. But I'm really happy I have you as my friends now. And for that, I want to change for the better."

Somehow, I genuinely felt that way that even my chest felt warm and light, like a bothersome weight had finally been lifted.

Hayate and Vita didn't say anything for awhile, and embarrassment gradually sank in when they just openly stared at me after everything I said.

And the next thing I knew, arms quickly encircled me and pulled me into a tight hug. "Aaaww!" Hayate cooed and squealed, "How could anyone stay mad at such a cute thing like you?! Early morning group hug!" she cheered and pulled her cousin from the side as well.

And despite her initial protests, the usually grumpy redhead also scooted closer, wearing a shy smile.

"Hayate-chan, I can't breathe," I chuckled, unable to control the giddiness I felt. Happiness was a lot more contagious than I thought.

"We should do this more often," Hayate happily said, squishing our cheeks closer to hers from both sides. "It's way better than coffee!"

"Ha, no wonder you stopped growing," Vita mumbled. "I heard caffeine inhibits your growth."

"But remember, dearly beloved cousin, our genes came from the same pool."

Hayate still had her arm around my neck until we neared our school. The position and our slight difference in height made me lean forward a bit awkwardly while we talked more about trivial things. Somehow, the trip felt longer than usual. Normally, when you're so immersed in a conversation, things tend to move a lot quicker and you wouldn't notice the span of time that passed. But there were times when the minutes or even hours didn't exactly matter.

I was with my friends. And whether we were sitting together quietly, slightly half-asleep, or discussing about the ways of successfully labeling your food, or even matters of more profound topics that wrenched our hearts, I always got off the bus with a smile on my face.

---

"She did what?!"

I shrunk further in my seat, dreading that escape was impossible to happen. "It's not as bad as it sounds. I'm sure she had her reasons at that time," I tried to explain when they frowned even deeper and the annoyance in their glares intensified.

"Nanoha," Alisa sighed, closing her eyes and pinching the bridge of her nose. "You can't possibly believe that. I mean, there's a limit to how stupid someone should be."

"But isn't it for the better though?" Suzuka suggested beside me. "Knowing Fate-chan, nothing much would've changed. And she most probably would've treated Nanoha-chan far worse than we previously seen."

I wanted to say something in Fate's defense since she wasn't with us yet. "I don't think she would do that either. She apologizes when she's wrong and she really goes out of her way to help me out."

"Well, that's true," Hayate agreed with a nod after she rapidly typed a message on her phone. "We're only speaking hypothetically. But if you did start dating when you first confessed, the writer wouldn't have any more material and the story would've ended just like that," she finished with a snap of her finger. "It really is for the best that Fate's awesome at being a jerk."

My brows drew together, "Huh?" pausing if I heard what I thought I heard.

"And with that," Hayate ended the discussion while altogether ignoring the confused stares directed at her. "We move on to the next question!"

Our faces clearly showed that there was something weird with what Hayate said but we shook it off and didn't say anything more to follow it up.

When we arrived earlier, Suzuka and Alisa were already inside our classroom. So we decided to talk about what they wanted to know. And I started telling them what happened from the beginning. Even after such time had passed, I still remembered what happened that day. It was a bit nostalgic to remember when they asked me questions and details.

"By the way, where is the celebrity jerk?" Vita asked as she craned her neck to look at the door. "She should've been here, like, half an hour ago."

I had been wondering the same thing and it was kind of worrying me that she didn't reply after I answered her message this morning. I looked at my phone again and it was as silent as it was five minutes before.

"Nanoha-chan, do you know something?" Suzuka asked.

I shook my head. "She did text me this morning."

Alisa also took out her phone and checked. "Did she say anything?"

"Erm…" I hesitated and considered not telling them. "She just greeted me good morning…" I said rather quietly, hoping that they wouldn't catch it, and looked away while I started to fiddle with my phone. "…and that she couldn't wait to see me at school."

A pause.

"Oh. My. Gasp!" Hayate stood all too suddenly, rattling her chair behind her and startling me in the process. "Since when did Fate T. Harlaown, resident delinquent and diabolical scalawag, turn into such a sappy, love-sick teenager without my notice?! The world has gone mad, I say!"

"Well, she is a teenager," Vita pointed out while focusing on her game. "But weirdly enough, I get what you mean." She made a fist pump when she accomplished another high score.

"It can't be helped," Alisa shrugged. "Couples are supposed to be all lovey-dovey with each other. I bet Nanoha said the same thing and put lots of hearts at the end of her text," she sneered at me with a teasing look.

"I-I didn't!" It was true. I only put one heart by the end since Fate did the same. "Though I did reply to her, she didn't send any messages afterwards. I just thought she was on her way to school too."

The others finally seemed to consider what I said seriously.

"Maybe she's with Aunt Lindy now?" Suzuka thought out loud. "Or maybe with Chrono-kun?"

Our discussion didn't go any further when we heard the door open in a loud rattle. And capturing our attention instantly was a rather disheveled blonde leaning against the door frame, heaving raggedly in a breathless state.

I instantly got up from my chair, immediate surprise and worry took over. "Fate-chan?! What happened to you?!"

"Hayate!" she roared, stomped her way to our small group. "You told Amy and Shari, didn't you?!"

The target of her rage smiled widely and looked to the side. "Whatever do you mean, Fate-chan dearest? I have absolutely no idea what you accuse me—"

Hands gripped the collar of the vice president and pulled the culprit close to her displeased face. "Don't play dumb with me," she growled. "Or else I'll knock some sense back into you!"

"She actually doesn't need to play dumb," I heard Vita mutter under her breath, which made Alisa snicker and which earned her a small glare from Suzuka.

"You told Amy and Shari to ambush me. Thanks to you, I've been chased around the school for almost half an hour!"

Hayate rolled her eyes at her blonde friend's over the top reaction. "Oh please, it's not like they've chased you around the country, Fate-chan. You need to loosen up. Like me," she ended with a flash of her pearly white teeth.

Fate wasn't at all impressed, if her blank stare didn't give it away. "And you need to go to rehab," she spat, still annoyed.

"They tried to make me go to rehab but I said, 'No, no, no.'"

Hayate sang in a low, jazzy voice.

Which… actually caught us all off guard.

Fate most especially.

The blonde shook her head quickly and raised a brow, not believing what she just heard. "Did… Did you just sing to me?"

Hayate acted confused, her lips quivering, her eyes showing fear. "I don't knooooow that I come running home when I fall down." This time the tone was somewhat softer but parts were emotionally drawled out. "I don't knoooow…"

"What?" That reply, song, whatever… didn't make sense at all. Everyone seemed to agree with how stunned they looked.

Alisa recovered first from the shock. "Yep," she confirmed from the side, referring to Fate's confused query. "She actually did."

Hayate tried to pry Fate's hands from her shirt but it didn't budge. "I want to break free," she sang again. "I want to break free!" This time stepping from side to side, despite still being held by Fate, while spreading her arms wide open and lifting her face up. "I want to break free from your lies. You're so self-satisfied. I don't need you." She narrowed her eyes at Fate's. "I've got to break free."

"Is this some sort of a continuation from that game we played at the after-party?"

I heard Suzuka ask.

"Nah, I don't think so," Alisa disagreed easily with slight disinterest. "The last and first words don't match. And she's just singing what she wants to say using lyrics."

"Let me go! Let me go!" Hayate squirmed again, "Turn away and slam the door!" with emotions of struggle showing on her face as she sang again. "Let me go! Let me go-oh!"

Curious, I looked at them. "What game?"

"Ah, you weren't with us when we played it in Hayate's living room during the after-party. I think you were with Fate that time acting all lovey-dovey," Alisa snickered and looked at me teasingly.

"W-We weren't doing that!" I denied as my face started to heat up at the accusation. Though Alisa wasn't entirely off the mark.

Clearly weirded out, Fate instantly let go of her grip on Hayate's uniform and stepped away, looking as if the fabric actually burned her.

"What, I thought you were going to clobber some sense into her?" Vita asked when Fate maintained her distance, looking quite disturbed.

"Well…" Fate frowned at the redhead. "I change my mind."

Hayate pointed at Fate, "You change your mind," and started shaking her hips to a cheery tune she only heard. "Like a girl changes clothes."

"What's Hayate-chan doing then?" I had to ask. I needed to ask.

"She's spontaneously singing," Vita deadpanned. "She calls it her 'Song for Everything' moment. Instead of answering normally, she sings."

That still didn't make any sense at all. "Like a musical?"

"Yep," Alisa nodded. "Only dumber."

"Hayate, stop."

An open hand shot in front of Fate's face. "Stop right now! Thank you very much,"and she decided to add some choreography with her hands."I need somebody with the human touch. Hey you! Always on the run—"

"Oh my god, stop, you stupid raccoon!" Fate turned away and covered her ears and tightly shut her eyes. "Enough already!"

"Ready or not, here I come! You can't hide from me. Hide and seek—"

"You didn't even start with the right word!"

"Ha la la la la, l-listen closer to the words I lay. Ha la la la la, it's all about the wordplay." She ended that one with a wink.

It was like a damaged mp3 player skipping randomly with one weird song after another.

Little did they know that every one of our classmates was already watching the unusual show, and that Professor Carim entered and witnessed and, unwillingly, heard most of the songs Hayate sang in earnest.

"Excuse me but… the final bell already chimed. So could you all please return to your seats and respective classrooms? I'd like to begin homeroom," she muttered the last part as if she were losing all hope for a more normal start of another day. "I beg you."

And that was the much awaited signal everyone, including Alisa and Vita, had been looking for, finally unfrozen from their oddly static positions for the last few minutes.

"I'm… too sexy for this class. Too sexy for this class! So sexy it huuurts."

It earned a few stifled laughs from us when Hayate still went on with her one-woman concert.

"Yagami-san," Professor Carim called at her desk, her pleasant face visibly showing that she was holding back her annoyance. "That includes you, too. You're already inside the classroom so please behave like a proper TSAB student."

"Teacher, teacher, my name is Linda Blair. And the ghosts are everywhere. I can feel it in the air."

"Now, please."

Hayate obediently stopped as commanded, pouted and looked heartbroken. But she did start to walk to her desk, albeit glumly and still dramatically done. After she sighed once, Hayate put on a rather melancholic expression. "I'm so tired of being here…" She once again sang in a low and deep voice but this time, it sounded… sad, which made a lot of our classmates snicker and stifle their laughter in their seats. "Suppressed by all my childish fears—"

"And, please, no more singing."

And when silence finally reigned, that was true music to everyone's ears.

---

"I… I love you."

A gasp. Eyes tearing up, awash with waves of emotion from the soft words confessed. "But I thought…" 'She' heard 'her' own 'girly' whisper, 'her' lips quivered. "I thought you didn't feel the same way about me."

The face before 'her' looked away. Ashamed, guilty. "That was…" Eyes shut tightly, lips formed a thin line. "That was then! This is now. I'm… I've hopelessly fallen for you!"

Tears brimmed 'her' eyes. "No!" She cried, "You liar!" and turned 'her' back swiftly to get away.

"Wait!" A hand reached up for 'her' before 'she' managed to take two steps, and grabbed hold of 'her' arm. "Please!"

"Let go of me!" 'She' struggled to escape from her embrace.

"Believe me, please!" She pleaded strongly. "Believe my love for you!"

"Why now?!" 'She' demanded, whimpering from the hurt 'she' felt. "After all this time… why now? This is cruel of you. Too cruel!" Hands covered 'her' face, 'her' muffled cries heard, 'her' 'small' shoulders shaking.

"That was…" She was hesitating. But decided to be brave from now on. "That's because I didn't know you that well back then, and I was such a coward. I… I thought someone like me, who is calloused, immature, aloof, self-centered, barbaric, foul-mouthed, hot-tempered, prone to excessive mood swings—"

A throat clearing stopped the list from continuing further.

"But I've changed! For you!" She reached for one of 'her' hands from 'her' face and held them tightly. "And as the seasons passed and we spent our days together, you showed me how to love and cherish another human." She looked at 'her' eyes fondly. "Unless…" Then doubt managed to seep in. "Unless… there's someone else now." Worry filled her voice all the way up to her eyes.

'She' smiled down at her and shook 'her' head gently. "No, there has never been anyone. It's always been you… I love you, too, Fate-chan."

And indeed, 'Fate's' entire being, "Nanoha…" was overflowed with 'Nanoha's' love. "Nanoha!" She embraced her, standing on her tiptoes.

"Fate-chan!" 'Nanoha' cried softly, hugging the shorter girl in 'her' arms.

"I will never let you go, Nanoha!"

"Me too, Fate-chan!"

"And they lived happily ever after… The End," Suzuka ended her narrations with a pleased smile beside me, and dabbed a hanky at the corner of her eye.

"And cut!" Alisa shouted through her notebook rolled up into a cone, using it as a makeshift megaphone.

Vita held open a folding fan, which she borrowed from…somewhere, and closed it with a snap, like what people involved in filming usually do.

"And that's a wrap!" Alisa still shouted through her fake megaphone.

Our classmates around us clapped and whistled after the performance had ended.

Sighing dreamily as Suzuka said, "Such a great love story, that was."

The two main performers faced their satisfied audience. One bowed, while the other did a scarily perfect curtsy.

"Thanks for the support, everyone!" Hayate exclaimed brightly before giving her partner a high-five. "Splendid acting skills, Vice-kun. You can totally win an award!"

The dark-haired boy flipped his long wig of a hair and grinned proudly at that. "I know, right? Maybe I should join the Drama Club next year, huh?"

"Well, how was that, Fate, Nanoha?" Alisa calmly asked and turned to look at us from where she sat beside Fate, who was too shocked and speechless to even react properly.

It was yet another free period. Normally, students use this time to study, prepare for the next class or finish their homework. Or maybe even gossip or play board games to pass the time. Some might even use it to catch up on their sleep after a few extra hours of playing video games or surfing the net the night before.

Before my transfer, I always thought that serious and diligent students from prestigious schools like TSAB Academy would use this time to be productive; to further hone their knowledge so they could achieve the grades and merit they need for a bright future.

There really were times when our class behaved normally like any other regular high school.

But sometimes, they could actually come up with something as bizarre and weird and just downright random as the short play presented in just a short amount of time. Amazingly, they could even secure the props as well. Costumes were optional though since it was too much of a hassle to change in and out of our regular uniforms every time something similar happened.

Alisa and Vita came over to our class again that day. And Hayate… Well, Hayate never seemed to run out of the interesting ideas where the little play was borne from. At all.

And somehow, she managed to wrangle up a few of our classmates to set up this… mini-play in such a short amount of time during free period.

"Um…" Feeling a strange sense of embarrassment and dread filling me up, I managed to ask, "Was Vice-kun supposed to be me?" even if I wasn't the one saying the lines. And of course I wouldn't say them in real life either.

"Yeah!" Vice confirmed without hesitation. "I was trying to go for the 'cute, meek and gentle, hopeless romantic, girl in love with the jerkiest person on the planet' persona. So did I pull it off, Takamachi? I think I did pretty well if I do say so myself."

"Er…" It led me to wonder if that was how everyone viewed me.

"Vice…"

I flinched when I heard Fate quietly seething beside me, speaking for the first time since Hayate and Alisa convinced us to sit down at the sidelines, telling us that they had prepared something special to commemorate our new relationship.

Fate had her suspicions but was reassured by the energetic brunette that it was something good and that she wouldn't regret it at all.

I also felt a nagging feeling about their true intentions, but since they both sounded serious, I managed to convince Fate to at least give them a chance. Fate was still reluctant but agreed in the end.

Vita was there using the fan as a clapperboard, to mark the beginning of the scene. Alisa shouted 'Action!' so she acted as the director. And Suzuka started with the classic line of 'Once upon a time…' so she played the narrator.

But once Hayate and Vice stepped in at the center of the cleared out space in our classroom and started their acting, my jaw dropped open at what they were doing in front of me. To be more specific, with what they were supposedly reenacting.

To say that Fate and I were horrified after just a few seconds in, was clearly an understatement.

And I tremendously regretted agreeing to sit through it.

Fate's face began to twist sourly since the beginning, but was obviously trying to control herself.

"Vice… what the hell was that?" the blonde asked him darkly.

Not seeming to notice the murderous air around the girl beside me, our male classmate grinned innocently and rubbed the back of his neck. "Well, Yagami told me that she had some fun idea in mind and that she needed my help. And I just couldn't say no when our vice prez personally asked for my help, right? So I thought, why not? I'm free anyway, so… Whacha think, Harlaown?"

"Go die with Hayate now," she ordered. "Do it now! Right this very instant!"

"What?!" Hayate jumped in. "That's no way to treat someone who worked hard for your sake, Fate-chan!"

"I never asked you to!" the blonde barked back. "And I wouldn't in a million years ask you and Vice to play as me and Nanoha! There were just so many things wrong in your short presentation; I don't even know where to start!"

"What are you saying?! There was nothing wrong with it at all!" Hayate turned towards me with pleading eyes, "Right, Nanoha-chan?"

I tried to give her a smile. "Um… It could've been a little different."

"A little?!" Fate exploded. I squeaked when she grabbed my shoulders. "That was nowhere near a little, Nanoha. There is no way in hell that I'd let them make fun of you like this!"

Sensing the need to calm her, I tried to give her a nervous smile. "Well, it's not like they mean anything bad by it."

"You don't know that. First of all," she pointed at the boy with a hard glare. "Why the hell is Vice playing Nanoha?! Couldn't you at the very least get a different girl, who didn't have to change their voice to sound so creepy and gross?"

Yes, that was actually what I wanted to know very much.

"Hearing Vice change his voice into a girl's and calling my name using it actually made me cringe the whole time!" Fate continued, rubbing her forearms rigorously.

"Oi, Harlaown," Vice called out with a small frown. "Your words are kinda hurting me right now."

"Well, about that," Vita raised her hand. "We did actually think of casting Hayate as Nantoka, then Vice as you, since the height matched well. But then again, seeing Nantoka's character played by someone who's as impure-minded, perverted in action, prone to suffer and babble multiple delusions in rapid successions—"

"Vita," Hayate interrupted gently, her expression showing the effects of her cousin's nonchalant verbal blows. "You can stop now."

"—as Hayate, felt kinda off to us. Plus, we didn't want Nantoka to think that we hated her or anything—"

"Thanks, Vita-chan." I told her. "I think." But added the last part a tad bit more quietly.

"—so we decided to switch the roles instead."

"…So you asked Vice-kun to play as me in the end?" I managed to let out, feeling drained for some reason.

"Pretty much, yeah," Vita nodded.

"Like I said, why couldn't you ask another girl to do it?" Fate interjected, clearly not satisfied with the explanation.

"Well, Suzuka's always been great with flowery narrations. Plus, she's a safer choice compared to Hayate's overly dramatic and possibly unsafe ones."

Fate nodded. "Can't argue with that."

"Argue with it! Argue for me, Fate-chan!"

"As for me," Alisa chimed in. "While Vita's in charge of the clapperboard, I don't think I'd get either of your characters down, so I opted for the director's role instead. Plus, someone had to draw the line if Hayate went overboard."

"You girls aren't bullying me on purpose, are you?" Hayate whimpered. "Are you?"

"That's supposed to be our line!" Fate glared at Hayate. "I don't even wanna know why you people are doing this."

"'Cause you wouldn't tell us what exactly happened when you two were alone in my house," Hayate blurted. "You were all being secretive and mysterious about it. Plus, even though Nanoha-chan wanted to tell us a little about it, you wouldn't let her. So we thought, why not try to guess what happened!"

"By putting on a play?!"

"It was either that, or a sock puppet show." Alisa paused and thought about it more. "Actually… the sock puppet idea isn't half-bad."

"No, Alisa, no matter what media you use, it'll definitely and always will be a terrible idea."

"We could always sing our guesses!" Hayate offered as if it was the most brilliant idea she had ever thought of. "I know a few more songs that would be perfect and give it a more musical feel. For Nanoha-chan's first meeting with Fate, she could go 'I came in like a wreeeecking ball. I never hit so haaaaard in love. All I wanted was to breeeeak your walls—'"

"No, Hayate," Fate cut in sharply. "I am not just gonna sit by and to let you make a musical out of us just so you'd have an excuse to spontaneously sing again and have more of your 'Song for Everything' moments."

Said brunette gasped, her lower lip quivering, seemingly offended by her blonde friend's remark. "Why, I never!" she said in her aristocratic tone using one of her weird accents. "To think I was planning to make you the star, Fate-chan. You could've kissed Nanoha-chan to your vile heart's content! Such an ungrateful child you are," she huffed.

That caused me and Fate to choke on air, "H-Hayate-chan!" and fumble for the right words to, at the very least, stop the girl from carrying out her plan.

"Dude, what the hell's wrong with you?!" Fate screeched. Her face colored in hot pink.

Blue irises rolled up heavenward as Hayate gave a small scoff. "Oh, please. I know you want to. It's perfectly natural for lovey-dovey couples to do those sorts of stuff." Chocolate-colored brows wiggled playfully as she looked at me and then at Fate with her usual mischievous smile. "Just make sure not to do anything inappropriate in front of the audience. I don't really know how to do those mosaic censorship thingies in real life—"

Before Hayate could finish, she was silenced by a quick hand over her mouth and was dragged outside the classroom by her scary-looking blonde friend. Even I didn't try to stop her when I saw the murderous shadow hovering over her rather calm and smiling face.

"Where's she taking her?" I asked, both out of worry and curiosity.

"Somewhere far away, I hope," Vita answered almost instantly.

"Well, Fate-chan better hurry back after she's done," Suzuka said after looking at the time on her phone. "Free period will be over in two minutes."

"Okay," Alisa addressed all the students in the room who had immediately gone to her serious Enforcer mode. "Thanks for today, everybody. It's back to normal for all of us. Everyone, please prepare for next period."

Alisa didn't even need to say anything more as everyone from my class went back to their seats while continuing to talk amongst their friends and classmates, while a few of those who visited obediently followed the flow as well and exited the room to return to their respective classes.

"Should I go to the pool area and check?" Vita asked after she stretched up her arms.

"Good idea," Alisa started to head for the door. "And try to remember to actually save your cousin this time and not just stand there and watch while she drowns."

"Hey, I was just trying to make sure that Fate wouldn't punch me out of blind rage."

My eyes widened at what the two just casually exchanged. "What?!"

"Don't worry," Suzuka laid a gentle hand on my shoulder and smiled, as if she expected that I was going to react the way I did. "They got there on time before Hayate-chan turned completely blue so there's nothing for you to worry about, Na—"

I bolted for the door.

"Nanoha, wait!" I heard them call out after me. "We were just kidding!"

I used to like free period. But after transferring to TSAB Academy, I sometimes wished it didn't give its students too much freedom.

---

It was again a time when the leaves changed color. What was once a luscious green bursting with life from the not so distant season of summer made way for the reds and deep oranges of somewhat melancholic fall.

Taking part as well, the sky slowly matched the theme of the times. Clouds seemed to look much higher and farther away. Winds and early mornings grew cooler and biting.

My companion beside me let out a small sneeze.

Hayate sniffed and shivered, "It's getting colder, isn't it?" and rubbed her hands together.

"It's only gonna get worse once winter's here," Vita remarked.

"Keep me warm, Vita!"

"No."

That's right. Soon, autumn's enchantment on the world would also come to an end, as it prepares for white winter's arrival.

"I hope we'll have a white Christmas this year," I said, trying to brighten the conversation.

"You like snow, Nanoha-chan?" Hayate asked as she snuggled against Vita, who was vainly pushing her cousin away.

I nodded, "Of course I do! Don't you?"

"On the very contrary, I love snow!" The brunette beside me proclaimed proudly. "It's like my magical element or something if I lived in an alternate universe. Plus, another winter wonderland scene isn't bad at all. A few weeks from now, Christmas will be here! I wonder what Santa will give me. Christmas really is the most wonderful time of the year, isn't it? I love Christmas!" She squealed with childish excitement.

Her cousin didn't seem to share the same sentiment. "What are you, five?" Vita mocked with a snide grin. "Didn't think you still believe in that stuff, Hayate."

The jolly brunette smirked, a knowing look in her sparkling blue eyes. "You say that with such confidence, Vita, but just last year, who was it that prepared a glass of warm milk and a plate of chocolate chip cookies next to our Christmas tree, as well as a cute little 'thank you' note to go with the yummy treats?"

The redhead gasped at what had been shamelessly disclosed. Her face copied the color of her fiery hair. "F-For the last time, that wasn't me!" she shrieked, her voice cracking audibly, betraying her claim.

"Aaw, no need to deny it, little cousin," the brunette cooed. "Don't worry, Santa will bring you lots and lots of gifts this year since you've been a good widdle angel all year long."

"Stop talking to me like I'm a baby, you idiot!"

"Okay, if you don't want Santa to give you gifts anymore, I'll be happy to do it in his place! There are some new toys I want you to have."

"Somehow, I don't like how you said the word 'toys' just now."

It was the usual morning banter that had become both amusing and comforting. The two Yagami cousins never failed to make me laugh as I listened to their friendly fights.

It became a norm for me. An unconventional yet pleasing reassurance that this day was just like any other.

But their topic did make me think of something rather important.

Christmas was coming.

Though it was still a few weeks off, wasn't it common knowledge that it was a season of gift-giving? If that was the case…

"What gift should I get?"

"I'm sure she'd love anything you give her, Nanoha-chan."

My head snapped to the side and saw Hayate and Vita smiling knowingly. "D-Did I say that out loud?"

"Sure did!" Hayate confirmed immediately. "But like I said, she'll love anything you give her. So you and your pretty little head shouldn't worry too much about it."

"Yeah," Vita agreed. "If it's from you, even a rock can make her jump for joy."

"Wait," Hayate straightened and frowned. "Fate-chan likes rocks?" she asked, shocked at the new piece of information.

Vita smacked her forehead. "Hayate, the concept of figurative speech escapes you, huh?"

"Well, I'm glad that she'd be happy with anything I give her. But maybe I should get her something more special since this would be our first Christmas together. So, I guess I want to go all out this year..." Fiddling my fingers together, I strangely felt nervous. My words slightly fumbled about, growing softer and softer.

It was still embarrassing to say out loud. My heartbeat hastened out of my control.

The thought, along with the words spoken, was something I never expected would happen when I transferred to a new school like TSAB Academy, and when I met her amidst the gentle spring storm of falling pink snow.

After all, she was my first love.

Hayate writhed as if she were enduring an excruciating pain and clutched the spot over her heart tightly. "LISTEN TO THAT, VITA!" she screeched. "Listen to those sweet maidenly words of love! It's like rubbing a sack of salt and dousing a barrel of lemon juice on a gaping metaphorical wound! Is this how single people feel when listening to couples show off and gush about their significant other?! I'm beginning to hate Christmas already!"

"I wasn't gushing or even showing off!"

"Didn't you just say how much you love Christmas?" Vita wasn't the least bit helpful at all.

"The heart is a fickle thing, Vita!" Hayate cried and buried her face in her hands, her words drowned by her whimpers.

Her cousin and I could only sigh.

"You are such a pain," Vita groaned.

And while Hayate continued to go on about how Christmas had begun to disappoint her to Vita, I silently continued to wonder what gift would help these feelings of mine reach Fate.

---

"I'm starting a campaign," Hayate announced during break time, her arms crossed against her chest. A determined expression in place. Her bright blue eyes already envisioning the goal in mind.

Alisa stopped drinking from her juice box to ask an annoyed "For what?"

"To ban Christmas!"

No one said anything for a few seconds.

The short-haired blonde turned to Vita, who was busy playing on her phone to pay her surroundings any mind. "So what rank are you on?"

"113," the redhead answered, keeping her eyes on the screen.

"Oh, you're over 100 already? How much gems did you use?"

"Oi! You two are completely ignoring me!" Hayate cut in between them. "What's more important to you two, me or some stupid rhythm game?!"

"The game." The two, without even sparing a momentary glance, answered with their usual blunt honesty.

Hayate moaned and staggered back as if she were shot through the heart.

I didn't really want to be in the way of my friend's goal, so I silently watched them from my seat while flipping through a magazine I borrowed from Suzuka.

Said heiress handed me another one that she had kept under her desk. "How about this, Nanoha-chan? It's the latest issue."

"Thanks. I didn't know you read these kinds of magazines, Suzuka-chan."

"Really? Why's that?"

"Mm," I gave her a sheepish smile. "I thought you were more the bookish type." I really wasn't expecting an elegant and refined girl like her to read trendy and girly magazines focusing on fashion, cosmetic and even relationship articles.

My friend giggled at my reply. "Well, actually they're my sister's but I guess I understand what you mean. When I first asked her for some other reading material, she just handed me these. I was also surprised that she owns several copies already."

"So your older sister likes fashion?"

"Well, she's not against them. So," Suzuka leaned in closer and peered at the opened page, "why the sudden interest?"

"N-No reason," I blurted and eagerly pretended to look over the pictures across the glossy paper. "I just thought maybe something would catch my eye."

"Is that so?"

Fate came out of nowhere and successfully made me jump from my seat with a small yelp. "You were there?!" My heart pounded fiercely against my chest.

Fate carefully blew up a pink bubble and chewed it again after it burst. "I was here for awhile now actually."

"That she was," Suzuka confirmed beside me.

"R-Really? Sorry, I didn't notice." I must've been too focused on the magazine and finding something for her that I didn't even know she was close by.

Fate showed me a toothy grin. "No problem," she reassured as she faced forward, silently chewing her gum again.

Stealthy and silent. I honestly didn't notice she pulled up a chair beside my desk. It almost felt like she came out of nowhere. Like a cat.

Sometimes, Fate would just sit right next to me without saying a word. She'd just sit there unannounced, without joining in any conversation. Not unless it caught her fancy or Hayate and the others provoked her into one of their usual exchanges.

Her sitting beside me suddenly made me feel all self-conscious.

Just judging from her profile, Fate would look good in just about anything. Any style would fit her and she also seemed the type to have a trendy fashion sense.

Unlike me. What if she won't like my gift, I began to think such thoughts. Choosing a gift for someone like Fate wasn't exactly my forte. And I didn't want to give her just any gift either.

When I took another moment to glance up at her, she laughed at something Hayate and the others said.

The image of her happiness shown through her laughter and smile was something I wanted to see when the time came to give her my gift for Christmas.

But for that to happen, I had to choose the gift carefully.

"Uh, Fate-chan, is there anything you want for Christmas?"

The pink bubblegum popped before she flashed one of her usual dashing smile. "Nanoha-chan."

I laughed. "Very funny," I told her. "But seriously though, I want you to answer me properly."

I didn't know why Fate suddenly turned quiet and hung her head low in defeat for the rest of our conversation.

---

"You want me to help you choose?"

"If you're not busy, of course. With the council or anything."

"Of course I'm not busy. I'll always make time for my most favorite transfer student so count me in!" Hayate reassured with an excited smile.

I asked Hayate the next morning if she could help in finding a gift for Fate. Vita had left earlier since she was on class duty so it was just the two of us that day.

"I'm more than happy to go shopping with you, Nanoha-chan. So it's for our ever lovely delinquent, right?"

"Yeah," I nodded, amused at how the brunette casually mentioned Fate's infamous reputation. "I'm not really sure what she'd like so I thought I should ask someone who knows her better for some advice. I think Fate-chan is pretty fashionable and I sometimes see her wear accessories to school so I thought maybe I could give her something similar. Ah, but then again, accessories aren't really allowed when we're in our uniforms, right? But I was kinda hoping I could give her something she could wear or use everyday so..."

I trailed off when I noticed Hayate not saying anything and just looked at me as I talked.

Feeling a little awkward after saying a lot with her just quietly staring, I began to feel uncomfortable on my seat. "What's wrong?"

That seemed to snap her out of her daze. She shook her head a bit to focus. "No, uh…" Hayate cleared her throat for a moment. Before suddenly laughing, surprising me that I had to lean away a bit.

"D-Did I say something weird?"

"No," she giggled some more before continuing. "You didn't say anything weird at all. Actually, it made me happy. Seriously happy."

"Huh?" Did she misunderstand something? Maybe she assumed I was planning to give her something. Though I did plan on giving the rest of the girls their gifts too, we were currently talking about Fate's, so what Hayate just said confused me greatly.

"Oh, I know you're talking about giving Fate-chan a gift. I'm not that stupid."

I strangely felt relieved to hear that. Amazed that the girl was pretty sharp at times. "T-Then why…"

"Why I said what I just said?" The girl more or less filled the remaining part of my question. But she just smiled and replied, "It's quite simple really. Can't a girl just be happy for her friends?"

There was always more to something than meets the eye. Even more so, when it comes to people.

I looked at the smiling girl sitting beside me. She was the same bubbly and playful brunette she was yesterday, and truthfully speaking, there was nothing wrong with what she just said earlier, as well as her answer to my question. "That's all?" But sometimes, there were some things beyond the façade of simple answers.

Sometimes, Hayate was very good at what she does. In some way, she and Fate were very similar.

Blue eyes instantly turned playful during the time I fell silent. "Oh, what's this? Did you suspect that I'm in love with Fate-chan and we're having a hot, steamy affair behind your back?"

"Wha—That never came to mind at all!"

"Just kidding." She waved her hand teasingly in front of me. "Your reaction was so cute, Nanoha-chan! Are you sure you don't want to just dump Fate-chan and run away with me instead? I have a pony!"

"No, thank you," I answered with a small frown, regretting for getting myself caught in her pace again. "I'm happy with Fa—wait, you have a pony?"

"Actually, he ran away around nine years ago. He's either now part of the wilder side of life or he's made into one of those kiddie pony rides down at the town fair. Not really sure, which one it is, but I just hope Ferrari's okay."

I burst out laughing. "You named your pony after a car?"

"A sports car, to be more specific. I thought if I named him after something fast, he might run fast too. Though Vita and Signum thought it was stupid," the brunette pouted and sulked. "They wanted to name him with something boring like Rocky or Snoopy. I actually got Ferrari's name with Fate-chan's help."

"Really?" I was surprised. "She suggested naming your pony after a car?"

"Actually, I got the idea from her old name. And she seemed to agree that the name was cool."

Smiling as I shook my head, I told Hayate, "You two must've been a handful when you were kids."

"Oh, please," Hayate cocked her head to the side. "I was terribly well-behaved. Fate was way worse though."

"Worse?" That one actually didn't surprise me at all. "You mean she was already causing trouble when she was younger?"

"What?" Hayate laughed again. "Hell no. Far from it! When I said worse, I meant, she was a lot more shy and quieter than what she is today. I mean, it took her a long time to get used to meeting other people. She even used to hide behind her mom's skirt a whole lot too. She was a real cry-baby."

I pictured a cute and small and oh so shy version of the blonde girl she spoke of. "All of us were like that once upon a time."

"Yeah, that's true. But she was seriously on a whole different level when it came to shyness. Good thing she grew out of it. It would've been a lot of trouble otherwise if she remained what she used to be."

Was it because of Alicia-san? I wanted to ask. But felt it would be wrong of me to do so.

I wanted to know more about Fate and I would be lying if I said I wasn't jealous of Hayate and the others for knowing a lot more about her. It was only natural for them to have such a deep relationship.

But it was strange. I started to feel angry at myself. I knew since the beginning that they were all close.

It felt as though I was being inadequate.

"Nanoha-chan?" I heard Hayate call out to me. "You suddenly got quiet. Something on your mind?"

"Oh, no." I gave her a sheepish smile. "It's nothing important. It's just that… I don't really know much about Fate-chan," I admitted quietly while looking down at my hands. "Sometimes, it made me think that it would've been nice if my family and I had moved here much sooner so all of us would know each other from the beginning or… something like that."

Thinking these pointless things again unconsciously brought me down. Most especially since they were things that can't be changed and impossible to accomplish no matter how hard I wished for it to happen.

"Sorry, just forget what I said just now. I'm just being silly."

I felt the girl regard me for awhile in silence before opening her mouth to speak. "You really are something."

That made me frown slightly and look up at her. "What do you mean?"

She giggled before adding, "Well, of course, it would've been nice that all of us grew up together. We'd be an epic bunch of childhood friends. And, naturally, you'd know a lot more things about Fate. I have no doubt that you two would be inseparable if you knew each other before now. And of course, most definitely, you two would still end up together as the idiot couple we all know and—"

"We're not—"

"Oh, please, Nanoha-chan. If you could only see what we see since you two started going out, I'm telling ya, give it time and we could actually write hundreds upon hundreds of stories about you two in multiple genres and alternate universes with you two as the main characters."

I frowned again at what I heard. "What?"

"Nothing." She looked away sharply and sighed. When she faced me again, she shrugged a shoulder. "Getting back on the topic, though it would seriously be nice if we knew each other since kindergarten or even earlier than that, there's nothing much we can do about the sad reality that we didn't."

An arm slung over my neck and Hayate pulled me closer to her, rocking me from side to side as she giggled while I tried to keep us from falling from our seats. "Silly, Nanoha. Did you think that I didn't notice? I know you sometimes feel jealous or frustrated that we know Fate a lot longer and know more stuff about her, but that doesn't mean much when we see how you care for her as deeply as we do. Plus, compared to more than a decade of knowing each other to just a few months after you just moved here, it's only natural that things still seem superficial between you two. Trust me, after awhile, you two would know each other so well, you'd finish each other's sentences or find out your most embarrassing stories."

"I'm not sure I like that last part, Hayate-chan."

"Why not?" The clinging girl squealed and gushed, "Could it be you have an embarrassing story to share?"

My face burned at what her words made me remember. "Like I'd admit that!"

"Eh? Why not?" she whined. "Tell me! Everybody has something embarrassing that happened to them. Oh, but I bet you're gonna tell Fate about it, huh? How unfair. I wanna know too."

"I'm not telling her either." I tried to push the girl off me and silently thanked my lucky stars that we'd finally arrived at our usual stop. "C'mon, we should hurry to class," I told her, ignoring her ongoing pleas.

"We're not even late yet!" Hayate got up and followed. "Aw, don't be so stingy. Okay, fine. Let's trade. I'll tell you Fate-chan's most embarrassing story if you tell me yours."

I stopped on my tracks and turned to her. The shorter girl returned my odd look that seemed to wonder why I reacted the way I did.

"I don't think that's such a good idea, Hayate-chan," I told her carefully, as we fell into step again.

"Why not? I think it's a fair trade."

"Yes, but… if Fate-chan finds out that you told me, she might kill you."

We arrived at the gates and, despite the season getting colder, the familiar sounds of morning greetings filled the air, each student engrossed in their own pleasant conversations.

"Hmm," Hayate hummed as she held her chin in thought about what I just said. "Yeah, I have no doubt she will," she concluded rather seriously. Her voice calm and even, she continued, "So, before we go shopping, remind me again why you're in love with such a violent and brutal person?"

Though a bit unconventional, and probably troubling to casual onlookers, to me, my conversation with my friend was as normal as those of our schoolmates and classmates.

---

"I dare you to say that again!" was what Hayate and I heard when we climbed the last steps that led to the first year's floor.

The voice that gave the angry command sounded familiar. We hurried towards where it came from and saw that a crowd had already gathered in the hallway. Looking at each other, Hayate and I shared a similar look of confusion and worry, silently thinking of only one person who had such an angry, sharp voice when angered.

"That's enough. Let it go already," a different yet familiar voice reprimanded the first.

Hayate and I wordlessly weaved our way through the students, slipping past them to reach the center.

When we broke through the wall of students, we saw Alisa holding the arm of a glaring redhead as the blonde continued to convince the growling redhead to back down.

With her dark blue eyes aflame with silent rage, Vita looked ready to pounce on two other female students in front of her, who had gone deathly pale and looked ready to turn in the opposite direction and run as fast as their feet could carry them to safety, putting a good distance away from the angry discipline committee enforcer's impending wrath.

"What's going on here?" Hayate's voice rose over those in the area, her usual playful demeanor replaced by a more serious and authoritative air as she walked closer while I stayed behind with the rest of the 'civilian' students.

The central students' attention shifted from each other to the approaching council vice president. Whispers of hushed acknowledgement of Hayate's name and title slowly spread to everyone watching.

In the few months that I had known Vita, though a bit hot-tempered, a bit violent and somehow a little abrasive, she wasn't one to like causing trouble and attracting unnecessary attention to herself—unlike a certain blonde I knew.

I could tell that Vita performed her duties as a council member well. She proved it enough, especially when she had to go against Fate and her shenanigans, and also when her cousin—the student council vice president—didn't fulfill her own sets of duties seriously enough and just played around.

A situation like this terribly made me worry for my small friend.

"W-We have done nothing wrong, Vice President!" One of the two girls decided to bravely start her defense. Her earlier pale expression replaced with a look of feigned pride.

"That's right!" followed the other. "Yagami suddenly approached us for no apparent reason in her most foul temper and started threatening us with such vulgar words, you wouldn't believe she's part of our great school's student council."

Fury ignited with the nonsense she heard. "Huh?! Don't even try to act dumb!" Vita snapped, making the two visibly flinch on their spot. Her hand now tightly formed into a fist but was pushed back by Alisa, who quickly placed herself between her and the other two students.

"Oi, Yagami! Calm down!" grunted Alisa as she tried to subdue the redhead from committing public murder.

"You know the hell why I'm in my most foul temper!" she mimicked the last words with venomous mockery. "And why I want to break your skinny little necks—"

"Enforcer Vita," Hayate said in a commanding voice that seemed to affect everyone in the area, including myself, who was just with her not too long ago, talking playfully and excitedly making carefree shopping plans. "If that is the case, would you care to explain what really happened then?"

Vita was a bit taken aback by the order and seemed to have an internal debate whether to obey and give the requested explanation.

By chance, Vita's eyes wandered over the faces of the crowd, until her dark blue eyes inevitably met mine. I saw surprise coloring her orbs when they landed on me, and as quickly as it came, she concealed the emotion by quickly looking away. It was a brief moment before she broke eye contact, but in that single moment, it was enough for me to know that, whatever the cause may be, Vita considered it important and would not tell it unnecessarily.

The few moments that passed felt like hours. In the end, the small girl visibly relaxed her tense stance but still didn't permit herself to meet Hayate's eyes. "It's nothing," she grumbled and made to walk away but was stopped as the vice president spoke up again.

"Vita Yagami," her cousin said her name in a low yet most stern voice. "As you know, student council members are given the duty to maintain order and discipline to protect the academy's integrity, as well as its students. And whenever TSAB students are involved in conflicts that could disrupt that peace, as council members, we perform certain protocols to handle them in the most reasonable and dignified way that can help the involved parties reach a compromise. Isn't that correct, discipline committee enforcer?"

When Hayate finished, heavy silence flooded the hallways as the students and I waited in bated breath for the other's turn to reply, act or do nothing at all.

I looked at Hayate, who had not taken her eyes off her cousin since she spoke. Staring at her in silence, the brunette seemed to wait for her relative's choice of action. Though unnoticeable to anyone because of the serious persona she had donned in response to the current situation, I could tell in Hayate's baby blue eyes swirled growing concern for the shorter girl. It was only natural, understandable, that you'd be in a state of unease when someone you cared so much for was involved in something that could get them into trouble.

Breathing in and out, Vita made her sigh audible and a bit exaggerated, as if she was annoyed that she was left with no choice other than to comply to her superior's orders or face the consequence of insubordination. "Fine," she grumbled with a scowl, and turned to her fellow enforcer. "Take me away, Alisa."

"Alright," the blonde nodded after her soft response. Green orbs directed themselves to the remaining party. "You two as well." She called out, startling the cowering and speechless girls. "Please come with us to the student council room. You'll have to explain your side too. We will settle everything there."

"The rest of you," Hayate faced the rest of the students around. "Carry on with your usual matters and prepare for class. The morning chime will go off in a few minutes."

With that final instruction, the students wordlessly obeyed and began to leave the premises to head for their respective classrooms, slowly dispersing individually or in smaller groups.

I, on the other hand, hesitated, whether I should obediently follow my classmate's order and proceed to our classroom and prepare for morning homeroom like the rest of the student population, or stay behind to make sure that my friends, especially Vita, were going to be okay.

As the flow of students brought back the atmosphere of our usual bustling hallway, Alisa led Vita and the two girls to the direction of the council room.

Before Hayate joined them, she called out to Alisa. "You go on ahead. I'll catch up with you in a sec," she told her.

To which the blonde nodded without a word and continued on her way.

The brunette turned on her heel and approached where I stood with a sheepish smile. "Sorry, Nanoha-chan," she held up her school bag in front of me, "but can I ask you for a favor and put my bag in my seat for me? I feel that this will take awhile so I'll probably miss some of Carim-chan's homeroom. Sorry for the trouble."

"Of course," I accepted her bag without a second thought. "It's no trouble at all. And if there's anything I can help you with, just tell me."

She beamed brightly. "I really love you! Thanks, Nanoha-chan! You're a doll!" The usual Hayate had returned. "Seriously," she groaned and scratched her head in annoyance, "first thing in the morning and this happens. I mean, Suzuka and Fate aren't even here yet so you can really tell that it's still too early for this sorta stuff." She whimpered and slumped her shoulders. "Honestly, what the hell did my adorable Vita got herself into? It's really unlike her."

"Mm," I tightly hugged her bag against my chest and gave a small nod, wondering the same thing as to what could've caused such an odd behavior from her. "It really isn't like her at all," I agreed quietly, the scene replaying in my mind in a loop. "What will happen to Vita-chan?" I asked. "She won't get suspended or anything serious like that, will she?"

Hayate scrunched her face and groaned. "I'm mostly certain it won't lead to that, but it really depends. Since the student council's generally autonomous, Chrono gets the final say on things like this. But there are rare occasions when teachers need to supervise more serious matters, especially if it could get the entire school in trouble. But for this incident, I think it won't come to that," she concluded with confidence. "I think," she repeated the two words in a quick whisper.

Though I knew she tried to hide it, I heard that last part well enough. "I really hope it won't come to that." I prayed that that really wouldn't be the case.

"Don't you worry your pretty little head," Hayate rest a hand on my shoulder and gave me a thumbs-up. "The least Vita and the other girls will get is community service, additional schoolwork or detention for a few days. I'll make sure no one gets suspended. I promise you that."

I smiled when I saw how brightly Hayate shone with that promise. Despite her ever mischievous nature, she was one you could truly rely on when the situation called for it. "Okay, thank you, Hayate."

---

It was a few minutes later that Suzuka and Fate arrived. They had noticed the effects of the earlier incident, hearing traces of gossip and speculations here and there as they passed by on their way to our classroom.

"Nanoha-chan, what happened?" Suzuka asked upon seeing me by myself. "Where's Hayate?"

"She's in the council room with Vita and Alisa," I answered. "Vita kind of… ran into some trouble."

"I've been hearing things that she got into a fight with two upperclassmen," Fate said as she stood by my desk. "Is it true?"

I relayed to them what we saw the second Hayate and I arrived, telling them what I knew. "Well, they were arguing about something. But I don't know what it is. Hayate asked her earlier but she wouldn't say anything, so they decided to talk things out in the council room instead. Vita looked really angry earlier too."

"Well, I guess that is for the best," Suzuka agreed but her face remained worried and troubled. "But I wonder what in the world happened that could upset Vita like that."

"I don't know…" I really didn't. The morning felt suddenly unfamiliar. It just wasn't the same as the mornings before. It was weird that Hayate, Vita and Alisa weren't here with us before the start of another usual school day.

I felt useless but it was also not my place to meddle in other people's business. My eyes turned downcast, as if they too felt the burden of my helplessness. "I wish there was some way I could help."

"It's best if we leave things in Chrono's hands," Fate said. "He may not look it, but he is council president for a reason. Same goes for Hayate and the others. I'm sure they'll solve whatever the problem is. So you don't have to worry about them, okay Nanoha?" She ended with a reassuring smile that somehow eased my mind.

"I hope it's nothing serious though." Suzuka sat down behind her desk and just when she was about to peek at the door, three familiar faces walked in, turning the heads and garnering curious glances from other students as well as our classmates.

"…You should've just ignored them."

I heard Alisa say to the redhead, who was walking a step ahead of her with her hands casually behind her head, looking as if she didn't care to listen to any more lectures from the blonde.

"If you heard what I did, you wouldn't be saying that," she replied. "And don't even try to convince me otherwise. I know you're as hot-headed as me, Bannings."

"Yo! G'mornin,' Suzuka, Fate!" Hayate greeted, walking past the other two. "Lovely day, isn't it?"

"Are you three all right?" I asked.

"Of course!" answered the bright brunette with a wide smile."Why wouldn't we be?"

Fate crossed her arms and eyed her. "You're surprisingly cheerful," she observed with a raised brow. "I take it you worked out everything at the council room?"

"Of course everything worked out," Hayate said with confidence. "Who do you think you're talking to? Well, sparing the tedious details, Vita and the other two girls were let go with a warning from Chrono for now."

"Still," Alisa mirrored Fate and turned to Vita who hadn't spoken since she arrived. "To think that you'd actually go against two upperclassmen all on your own. I know, you're as bad as Fate when it comes to controlling your temper—"

"Hey!"

"—but you should've just walked away and saved yourself the trouble."

"Like I said," Vita said with exasperation. "If you were there instead of me and heard everything I did, you'd most probably feel the same way I did and would do a whole lot worse too. Plus, Alisa, you're no better than me and Fate when it comes to handling your temper either."

"While I'm still gonna ignore that," Fate growled. "You haven't told us what happened yet."

"Now, now," Hayate stepped in when Vita closed her mouth and looked away. "Let's not smother our most adorable redhead with all our attention, okay Fate-chan? Mornings like this in high school settings pop up every once in awhile and shouldn't be treated any differently from our usual early rituals."

Suzuka and I stayed silent from our seats as Fate eyed the other three with suspicion, her piercing ruby orbs narrowed into sharpened gems.

"Are you three hiding something from us?"

"Of course not!" the brunette answered with a small frown. "If it were something major, we'd tell you right away. I'm telling you, it's nothing important," she said matter-of-factly. "And you and Nanoha and Suzuka have absolutely nothing to worry about. Trust me, Fate-chan." Hayate ended with her own fist softly pounded on her puffed up chest, a smug grin gracing her face that showed her overflowing confidence along with the words she spoke.

"Yeah," Alisa agreed coolly. "What she said. Don't worry about it, Fate."

Alisa and Vita stood by and said nothing more, unreadable and skillfully blank. Neither of their faces showed any signs of supporting Hayate's reason nor did they hint any form of antagonizing it.

It was as if they expected that this would happen and somehow wordlessly orchestrated what to do on the spot.

I glanced at Suzuka who kept her gaze on the emerald-eyed blonde. Almost as if the heiress was waiting for the girl to slip and reveal an opening that would tell her something, anything of what happened.

The air was a lot more awkward and tense than it had been earlier. How in the world did we all come to this?

I was curious; I wanted to know what could've provoked Vita and make her so angry enough to show such hostility towards our seniors.

But at what cost? As much as I want to know what happened to my friend, if it would cause such an awkward and uncomfortable tension among us, then I'd rather stay ignorant and oblivious of the matter.

"Maybe it really was nothing, Fate-chan?" I told her when the blonde continued to glare at our petite friend who stood unmoved in her proud stance.

Fate glanced at me before relaxing her tense stare and sighed. "Fine," she yielded. "I'm just letting this go 'cause Nanoha said so and you told me to trust you, Hayate."

"Why, Fate-chan, I'm hurt." This time, her hands formed into fists and planted themselves on her hips. "It's like you're implying that I'm lying to you through my teeth."

Fate tipped her head to the side. "Are you?"

"Of course not," Hayate answered, a bit more seriously this time. "I would never do anything that would cause you all to lose your trust in me. We're friends after all. And that's far more important to me than anything else. You can count on me on anything at anytime."

As if in a trance, we were awakened by Hayate's words. The faces of the others visibly relaxed as the message sunk into their system, realizing and agreeing to what had been said by the brunette.

"Hayate…"

Her cousin smirked as a reaction. "Why are you saying something mushy all of a sudden?"

"Yeah," the blonde nodded with a chuckle. "This isn't some drama on primetime."

"But it was kind of touching," Suzuka giggled. "Of course, Hayate-chan and I feel the same way."

It always amazed me how words could sometimes reach in and touch one's heart and soul in the most mysterious of ways. Simple as they may be, I honestly felt the genuine feelings my friend conveyed through the words she spoke, as if they had awakened something new and meaningful in me. And I realized that they rang much deeply and had more value because a friend said them whole-heartedly.

"Well, y'know, except when my game's having an event and my favorite girl's the prize so I have to totally pour in all of my undivided attention, willpower and gems onto every single match and waste no millisecond until I win my 2D wife and hear her flirt with me!" She ended with an enthusiastic cry, her eyes glowing with animalistic excitement, panting heavily with her mouth agape.

The touching moment of friendship was instantly obliterated just a second after it was built.

"So I'll be blocking all of your texts and calls and disappear from society for several days. So on those special occasions, don't count on me if you have any troubles. I'd just be ignoring you."

The rest of us simultaneously hung our heads low. I could hear all of us audibly groan and knew that we all internally facepalmed together, regretting the momentary carelessness.

Fate didn't bother to hide her frown from the brunette. "You just had to ruin it."

---

Fate appeared right beside me while I packed my things after our last class. "Nanoha, wanna go grab something to eat in town? There's this cool little tea shop Chrono and I went to before."

I looked up at her and saw how gentle her eyes were and how bright her smile was. And realized that I was oddly feeling nervous, so I carefully looked away and pretended to busy my hands. "I'm really sorry, Fate-chan, but I can't today. Is it okay if we go some other time?"

"Oh," she deflated. Her shoulders slumped and the brightness on her face slowly fading. "Of course, it's okay and you don't need to apologize. I should've asked first if you were free before inviting you."

Her disappointment showed though she tried to reassure me with her smile. I almost backed out from my own plans. "I… I'm really sorry."

"Again, what are you apologizing for?" she said as she placed her hands on both my arms. "I told you it's fine," and squeezed them softly. "There's always next time. So don't worry about it anymore, okay?"

"Okay. Thank you. I promise I'll make it up to you." Simply with just her words and kindness, I felt my chest filled with warmth. But I knew I didn't deserve them.

After all, I lied to her.

"Mm," she nodded. "Then I look forward to it. Shall we go?" She gestured to the door and I quickly came to her side before we exited the classroom together.

It was really something simple. But it secretly made me happy that whenever we fell into step beside each other, my right hand and Fate's left would naturally, almost always reach out for each other at the exact same time.

I wasn't sure if the girl beside me noticed it too. But it was small things like this, happy yet trivial memories that I cherished the most.

Walking side by side next to Fate in comfortable silence was something I never would've pictured myself doing. The me from last spring would surely be surprised. That the first person she met in her new school—the one who easily won the title of most infuriating girl she had ever met—was holding her hand, with a warmth that made her heart clench with joy.

"About what I asked you before…"

"Hm? What was it again?"

"What do you want for your present? Of course, me or other living things don't count, okay?" I added quickly, remembering what happened the last time we had this conversation.

Burgundy eyes glanced at me with a silent intensity for a moment before facing forward again. Fate didn't answer me immediately and just continued walking in a relaxed pace. "I don't need anything really."

"Eh? Don't say that," I mumbled.

She chuckled and gave my hand a gentle squeeze. "I really appreciate the thought but I don't want you to get in trouble with your dad."

It was a bit surprising. "Y-You remembered that?" I told her once about my father's strictness when it came to my allowance. Well, it wasn't like Dad was absolutely against the idea.

In middle school, there were a lot of times I bought things out of sheer impulse. All because I found them cute or because they were popular back then. Dad would just scold me for a bit but it was only limited to a few minutes. The longest, I think, was five. Though I didn't recall ever sharing this additional to Fate.

I recalled telling her something so small, but I didn't think that she would remember and watch out for me.

"Of course I remember," she said matter-of-factly. Fate added, shrugging a nonchalant shoulder, "I like you. So of course I'll pay attention."

Oddly feeling embarrassed after hearing such straightforward words from her, I subtly ducked my head. But I couldn't deny that they made me happy.

"All that matters is that you're here with me, Nanoha."

They really were just the simplest of things. But whenever I was with her, I started to notice how they transformed into such beautiful and treasured memories, and how they constantly kept piling up day after day.

Fate flinched and laughed at herself. "Woah, that was cheesy!"

"I-It was?"

"Well, it was pretty embarrassing. Oh my god, I can't believe I just said that."

I scowled at the girl beside me for ruining such a good mood between us. Even though she was the one who started it in the first place.

"So, Suzuka left early, huh?" she began casually. "Cram school, right?" Doing her best to dodge the first topic.

Deciding to go along with it, I answered, "Mm, but I don't really get why she needs to go to cram school. She gets better grades than I do and we're still a long way from our college entrance exams."

"Well, that's what you get when you're born into a high-class family. It had already been decided that she takes over one of her family's businesses in the future. So, she's preparing for it, I guess."

"What about her older sister?"

Fate hummed in thought for a moment. "Last time I heard, she's already in training for a high position in one of their companies even though she's still in college. I forgot which one though…"

It was a bit surreal to hear something that I thought only happens in the movies. "Somehow, it kinda feels like we're in a television drama or something. It kinda feels weird to be honest."

Fate laughed. "Well, I don't blame you. Since you've only transferred this year, it's no surprise that you don't know. Most of the kids here are from really prominent and influential families. But the school's really keen on raising the students in a normal and stress-free environment. So that's why TSAB feels like any other normal school… though I wouldn't really know for sure since I've never gone to other schools before... You get what I mean?"

"Not really," I giggled, finding it cute how she tried to explain what she wanted to tell me.

"Then, why are you laughing at me?" she playfully bumped our shoulders together.

"I wasn't. It's just that I already heard from my dad that students here are really rich, talented or intelligent. So in a way, TSAB really has amazing students."

Fate didn't say anything for a second and wore a scowl the next. "Well, I'm not sure about that 'cause one of the things that strongly contradicts every one of those good qualities is heading our way."

My eyebrows furrowed close together at what she said. "What?" I followed her line of sight, faced forward and understood what she meant when I saw the familiar figure of Hayate, energetically waving her hand over her head as she ran and shouting the question, "WHY ARE YOU LEAVING WITHOUT ME?!"

"'Cause you're a pain in the neck," Fate answered instantly when Hayate was near enough while I just laughed weakly at their somewhat endearing interaction.

The running brunette stopped in front of us and braced her hands on her knees, trying to catch her breath. "How could you! But we always go home together!" she reasoned out in between gasps of air.

"No, we don't," the blonde retorted flatly. "And anyway, don't you have council work to do after school?"

Hayate straightened up with a snap. "That, my dearly beloved blonde, is where task delegation comes in. Plus," she crossed her arms defiantly and pouted, "I already finished my parts so Chrono let me go earlier."

The blonde sighed and maintained a passive look. "Yeah, right. I bet Chrono just wants you out of the way 'cause you annoy the hell out of him."

"And I couldn't agree with you more, Fate-chan—"

"So you really do admit you're annoying."

"—but right now, I'm totally free from council work until the morrow! Isn't it great, Nanoha-chan?"

"Mm, it really is," I nodded, mirroring the wide grin my friend wore.

"Yipee," Fate said in monotone.

"Okay, okay, settle down, Fate-chan. I am well aware of your burning love for me so no need to get so excited about it."

"Trust me," Fate frowned. "I can barely contain my joy."

"Wonderful!" the brunette clapped, clearly ignoring Fate's sarcastic remarks. "Now, I'll just get my bag and we can be on our merry way—just the three of us!"

Hayate was about to skip her way in the opposite direction when I called out, "Wait, what about Vita-chan?"

She stopped and looked over shoulder. Her expression as normal as it could be. "Oh, I almost forgot to tell ya. She'll be doing more work as a sort of punishment for what happened this morning. But it's nothing big. Just helping Shari and Amy with some alphabetical filing and stuff."

And with that, the cheerful girl went her way with a happy spring in her step, leaving Fate and me in the hallway.

"Worried about Vita?"

I nodded.

Not much had happened after the small commotion that morning. Right after Hayate and the others came back from the council room, things went back to normal and followed the same pattern of classes, in between breaks, lunch and more classes. Same as the days before.

Though there were still some hushed questions and curious looks, the rest of us chose to ignore them. Since Vita seemed to not want to talk about it, and Hayate mentioned that it had been neatly resolved, we didn't push the matter for any further discussion.

Though I would be lying if I said I wasn't curious at all, of what started all of it.

"Don't be," Fate reassured. "Vita may be small, but she's a lot tougher than you think."

Words are such curious things. Without proof, without a show of action, they're just sounds or letters put together. They just seem so empty, useless and sometimes mistrusting.

But seeing Fate speak so fondly about a friend, telling me not to worry, vouching for a hidden strength I had yet to witness, I believed in them right away. Just like that.

"Vita's not going to be happy that you called her small."

The blonde gave a short, amused laugh. "But I meant it in the most endearing way."

I laughed and shook my head fondly at her childish way of justifying herself.

"Well, don't tell her that part, okay? It's our secret, Nanoha."

But it wasn't a secret at all, I wanted to tell her. Of how kind she was. And how she cherished those who were important to her. I knew her playful smile was as bright as her intentions. I believed the words that had been spoken, the genuine feelings conveyed.

And it was because Fate said them.

---

Hayate hopped through the open doors and onto the bus. "Fare thee well, my love," she addressed to Fate. "Weep not!" she exclaimed dramatically. "For our paths are destined to cross again on the morrow."

"Just get inside the bus and go away please."

The brunette pouted and scrunched her face at the indifferent blonde. "Geez, you really don't have a shred of Shakespearean soul in you, stupid Fate-chan." She stuck out her tongue before she turned to disappear inside the waiting vehicle.

I weakly laughed at their never-ending comedy show. One never seemed to run out of ideas on how to annoy the other while the other had an abundant supply of sharp comebacks for her counterattack.

"Call me if she does anything stupid to you," Fate told me gravely, still holding my hand as if she was hesitant on letting me go with a crazy person for a companion.

I knew she was joking though. "You know she won't do anything like that."

"That's true," she replied instantly. "But still call me anyway if anything comes up."

"Okay." The quiet answer slipped through my lips as I continued to stare. Fate's burgundy eyes were gentle and soft as she silently returned my gaze.

Usually, after a short exchange of goodbyes, one would leave and get on the bus with the rest of the passengers, and be on their merry way towards their planned destinations.

But somehow, Fate and I stayed where we were, our hands still connected, fingers wrapped in their own embrace.

It was like the two of us each made an untold decision of not wanting to walk away from where we stood.

Somehow, a bold thought ran through my mind. 'I want to kiss her,' was what I thought. But I knew such a daring act shouldn't be done in public, in broad daylight where people were still walking past us.

It made me wonder if Fate thought of the same thing as well.

"Oi, Fate!" A loud voice burst our tiny bubble. "Stop being so clingy and melodramatic and let Nanoha-chan go home already! You incredibly pathetic excuse for a clingy girlfriend!"

Hayate, undoubtedly waited for me to finish but had her patience run out, open the window beside her seat and stuck her head out, garnering the attention of those inside the bus and those within earshot.

"Sh-Shut up!" The flustered blonde barked back. Her face flushed with a healthy pink tinge. "I wasn't being clingy!"

"Yeah, right!" Hayate scoffed noticeably. "And I'm a perverted old man!"

"Well… you kinda are," Fate grumbled the retort.

While Fate and Hayate went on, I stayed quiet where I was. I felt the tips of my ears heat up, knowing full well that they had turned bright red and that my face was undoubtedly no different.

Such thoughts, of wanting to do such a thing with Fate, surprised me.

I glanced at Hayate, who was sticking her tongue out again, then at Fate, who looked absolutely annoyed.

Since when did I become this… daring?

Even if it were just in the confines of my mind, this new side of me was very surprising.

"I think it's best if I go," I told her so the scene wouldn't take an odd turn for the worse; knowing Hayate had a knack of provoking the blonde.

Fate smiled ruefully. "Okay, sorry if I held you up. See you tomorrow."

It was when I let go of her hand that a strange feeling took its place. Like something was missing.

It was hard to ignore but before I knew it, I was already hurrying to enter the bus.

I gave a small wave and smile before I got on, following another passenger from behind. Fate returned the gesture as well and I kind of knew that she was still standing where she was even after the bus door closed.

---

Big blue eyes studied the stuffed bear she held high then closely inspected its beady dark-brown eyes. "It's like you two have some sort of abandonment issue or something."

"I don't think it's something as serious as that," I said as I picked up a cap with cute, floppy dog ears on it.

She placed back the stuffed bear and stepped in front of another display of cute and plump yellow chicks with tiny wings. "I mean, I know you two are totally lovey-dovey and completely new to the whole dating thing but, at the very least, try to remember that other people exist around you too. Most especially me."

"I'm sorry," I laughed as I hung the cap back to its original place. "But I think you're exaggerating. Fate-chan and I aren't like that."

Though I couldn't see it, I kind of knew that Hayate rolled her big blue eyes behind me. "Oh please, you're only saying that 'cause you don't see what me and the other girls see. It's like every time you two look at each other, you're inevitably stuck in your own little world of rainbows and butterflies and the rest of us feel like ugly, out-of-place aliens from outer space. It's cute, no doubt about that, but I feel like I'm being abandoned or something!"

"Then doesn't that mean you're the one with the abandonment issue?" I giggled, deciding to tease the brunette for a change.

Said girl opened her mouth but closed it a second after. Baby blue eyes narrowed at me. "Ooh, you're learning, Nanoha-chan. But I don't know whether that's a good thing or not."

When we went our separate ways from Fate, Hayate and I didn't get off at our usual bus stop and went to town instead.

It wasn't that long that we started with our plan of finding a gift for Fate but it was definitely a lot harder than I thought. Though it was still the third store we visited, there wasn't any item that caught my attention that felt like the perfect gift.

I picked up another cute stuffed animal that looked like a wolf-puppy. "I kinda feel bad."

"Hmm? About what?" Hayate asked as she looked at herself in front of a mirror, wearing a weird pair of glasses with springing eyeballs. Then she realized a second later who I meant even without a reply. "Ah, you mean, Fate-chan? I don't think there's anything you should feel bad about though," she said when she took the funny accessory off and put it back on its original place. "I mean, you're doing this for her, right? It's not like you're cheating on her or anything of that sort. I highly doubt that would happen anyway," she added confidently.

"Of course I wouldn't do that," I told her and went back to look at the cute face of the white and gray puppy. "It's just…" But even with the adorable looking toy in my hands, it couldn't disperse the unknown heaviness in my chest. "I have never been in a relationship before," I admitted. "Sure, I had a few crushes in the past but this time… It's the first time I've felt this intensely for someone. And I'm beyond happy that she actually feels the same way…"

"But?"

I heard Hayate prod when silence followed my words. "…But I feel uneasy," I finally named the unknown heaviness. I always do, I wanted to add. "I'm sure, even without Fate telling me, she was deeply hurt in the past." And most likely, even now.

She, after all, lost two important people, whom she deeply cared about and loved. I couldn't possibly imagine the agony she went through.

"I'm sure a lot happened that she can't tell me. Maybe she doesn't want me to pity her or make me worry. I don't want to think that she doesn't trust me but sometimes, I feel like the two of us are walking on eggshells around each other. Like we're too cautious around each other. It might not be happening now but I'm scared that someday, somehow, the two of us will unintentionally hurt each other because we're thinking too much of trying not to hurt one another. And the scariest part is that we might not be aware of it ourselves. I just don't want to mess this up."

Hayate looked at me with intense blue eyes, silent yet unreadable.

"Did… Did that make sense to you?"

This time the brunette blinked. Her eyes widened slightly as if she had come to a realization. "Yeah," she nodded. "It did." She placed her hands on her hips and shifted her weight on one foot. "Something tells me that this is beyond keeping this gift-shopping thing a secret."

"Uh, well, no. Not really…"

"But I really do get you. It's true that Fate went through a lot. And there might even be more you and I, or anyone else for that matter, don't know yet. It's like an annoying habit of hers or maybe you can call it like her 'hero's flaw.' That idiot just doesn't like sharing her burdens to anyone, not even those close to her. She actually waits 'til she's filled to the brim or pushed to the edge before she realizes she can't solve it on her own."

Somehow, it felt like we were talking about a different person, that just so happened to have the same name. But strangely enough, it was also something Fate might actually do.

"But don't worry too much about it," Hayate flashed a wide toothy grin. "Take it from someone who basically knows that idiot inside-out. After all, when it comes to things like these, you also have to consider the timing. She'll eventually let us know when she's ready. Hopefully though, it won't be too late."

"Huh?"

"Nothing."

There was something about Hayate's words, most especially the last part, where she spoke in a wistful and subtly distant tone. As we spent more time in each other's company, along with the rest of the girls, I was convinced more and more that Hayate and Fate were a lot more similar.

Then a small thought came to me. It was like a whispered question at the back of my mind, Just like her, are you carrying a burden as well, Hayate?

"But you know, we're not really one to talk about all this," the girl in front of me continued, fortunately oblivious of the inner workings of my thoughts. Grinning and weaving her fingers behind her head, she started walking down the aisle where knick-knacks and other random things were.

I followed behind her and looked at the items displayed. "What do you mean?" I asked her without absently.

"Well, we didn't exactly tell what really happened between Vita and those upperclassmen since it involved you and Fate—"

My hand stopped from reaching a star-shaped picture frame, "What?" and stared wide-eyed at the other equally surprised girl who took a second later to realize what she had just blurted out. Her body clearly frozen stiff.

"Forget what I just said." She quickly told me with a strained smile, turned on her heels and began to walk in brisk strides.

Luckily, I had a bit of an advantage. Being a bit taller meant I had longer legs which made catching up to her very easy. "I can't just forget what you just said. You mentioned that it had something to do with me and Fate-chan."

She abruptly stopped that I almost ran into her. She twirled around and looked up to me with hopeful blue eyes. "I'll treat you to ice cream afterwards if we drop the subject?" Hayate offered her supposed bribe in a sugary-sweet voice, batting her lashes for added effect.

"It's close to ten degrees outside."

"I consider ice cream to be an all-season, almighty and all-okay food for us high school girls." She proudly declared with her arms crossed and her chin held high. "Shouldn't we continue our search for Fate's perfect gift from her cute and beloved wifey?"

"Now, you're just dodging the subject."

She instantly dropped to her knees and clung to me like a terrified koala. "By the power vested in me by all the known and unknown deities of this universe and several others more in parallel alignment, I beseech you to please ignore what you just heard!"

"Hayate-chan!" Regretting that it led to a scene that caught some of the other customers' attention, I tried to pry away her arms from my waist and pull the girl up from where she was on the floor. "Just tell me already!" I whined, almost cried actually. My face was clearly warm from the embarrassment I felt, knowing a lot of unfamiliar eyes watching me.

"Okay, fine!" Hayate threw her hands in exasperation and got up from her position, clearly unfazed by the strange looks other people were giving us. "That was unfair of you, Nanoha-chan. Putting on such a cute face like that."

My heart was racing and I was slightly out of breath. "Trust me, I wasn't trying to be cute." It was not a good feeling at all.

"Ugh, that's what all the cute girls say."

I scowled at her and pouted. "Don't try to change the subject again."

The brunette leaned away when I glared at her. "I-I wasn't," she lied. Letting out a defeated sigh, she took a moment to fix her hair that didn't need any fixing. "I think it's best if we talk about this over some tea."

---

Fate liked snow.

That was the impression I saw as I watched her sitting quietly on the bench, her face turned towards the ashen-colored sky above. Not minding how the snow settled on the sleeves and hood of her thick winter coat. Her breath, visibly white from the cold, puffed and disappeared, matching her calm and even breathing.

Before any of us noticed, everything was blanketed with the soft color of silent white.

Winter came much quickly.

---

"Well, the thing is…" Hayate started. "Remember when Vita went ahead of us since she was on class duty? Well, in the washroom, she kinda overheard these two upperclassmen—I think they were second-years—talking and gushing about Fate. Your wifey is so popular, isn't she? Even among the older students she makes their hearts flutter," she added with a snicker.

I gave a weak laugh as a reply.

"Anyway, they didn't notice Vita there though and she usually ignores stuff like that but when they started talking about you and Fate in a different tone… well, let's just say, she got curious and stuck around to hear the rest."

"She was eavesdropping?"

Hayate shrugged. "She was in the cubicle and she told me that it was way too awkward to just suddenly come out after what had been said out loud. And Vita's pretty well-known in school too. Being who she is and that she's related to the Board Chairman, the upperclassmen would know that and they'd stop whatever they started. Not as famous as me or as infamous as Fate, of course, but well… you get the picture." Hayate paused to lift the tea cup to her lips, taking a sip of the warm liquid.

"Right…" I did the same while waiting for her to continue. "Am I going to like where this is going?"

Hayate put the cup back on its saucer with a soft clink. "Well, that's up to you. Want me to stop?"

I shook my head. But something told me that I should've done the opposite.

"Well, you know how girls are and the stuff that happen inside public washrooms when they come in packs of two or more. They become more honest, I think. Acting on their own instincts over reason. When you think about it, it's like watching something on Discover Channel or Animal Planet."

"Hayate-chan, did you just compare high school girls to wild animals?"

"What?" She looked at me with wide, innocent eyes. "Don't you find the comparison to be a little bit accurate? Don't worry though; boys are a lot more spot on."

"But we're high school girls too!" I pointed out, thinking maybe she somehow forgot that she was, by default, part of one of the groups she mentioned.

But the girl across from me just reacted with an amused laugh. "I know, I know. I'm just messin' with ya."

I thought the reason why we decided to postpone our gift-shopping and looked for a nice café was to have a serious conversation.

"But… Fate is pretty popular, isn't she?" she said again.

The way Hayate repeated that known fact caught my attention. She wore a somewhat amused smile.

"There are those who envy her for her looks but still gush openly about how she could easily be a model. Others look up to her in terms of her athletic skills, sometimes asking her to play with them just to test out their game play before an official competition. Some admire her for her surprisingly brilliant brain. Like they'll say, 'How could someone be so good-looking and still be that smart?' or something along those lines." The brunette leaned back and propped her elbow on the armrest, cradling her cheek in her hand. "Then, there are others who are, somehow, in some way, a bit similar to you."

My hands on my lap clenched involuntarily. I had a general idea of what those girls probably said that could make Vita angry. "What did those upperclassmen say about me?"

Blue eyes blinked. Maybe surprised that I wanted to know that part. She just gave me a small smile. "Well, you don't have to know that part."

"Maybe I want to."

Taken aback again, Hayate chuckled weakly. "You're not secretly a masochist, are you?" When I didn't answer and just continued to lock my blue eyes with hers, resignation finally reigned over her as she let out a long sigh. "You sure are stubborn. Well, let's just say that one of the upperclassmen voiced out her objection towards your and Fate's… union."

"Y-You make it sound like we're married or something."

Hayate tilted her head to the side. "You're not?"

"Of course, we're not!"

Hayate scoffed, "Oh please" and flicked her wrist at the absurdity of my claim. "Like I'll buy that."

"Buy it 'cause it's true, Hayate-chan!"

"Huh? So you don't want to get married to Fate?"

That stopped me from forming any coherent words after. "I—Well… tha-that's… See, um…" And made me shrink to a stuttering mess. "That's not the point!"

But Hayate just laughed at my expense. "Oh my god!" she groaned after laughing so hard. "You're so cute, Nanoha-chan!"

"Please be serious, Hayate!"

"I was," she breathed and laughed. "But you started being cute so I just couldn't help myself!"

I almost forgot who I was talking to.

---

"Nanoha?"

"Hm?"

"You're staring."

"Eh? S-Sorry…" I didn't even notice.

Fate gave a small smile. "You don't have to apologize. Something on your mind?"

"It's… um, it's nothing." I tried to reassure her and myself. Of course, that wasn't entire truthful.

"Really? Come sit next to me then." She gestured to the empty spot on the bench and thoughtfully dusted off the thin layer of snow that piled there.

I remained where I stood and continued to watch her.

Fate really was kind.

---

"Well, getting back…" Hayate breathed in and out to calm her laughter. "Those girls didn't really take it well that you're dating Fate-chan. Vita thought that she could just ignore that. She knew that there would be some people who would say stuff like that. So, for Vita, it was understandable that people felt jealous. But…"

"But?" I prodded when she paused to take another sip of her tea.

Hayate shifted on her seat, putting one leg over the other. "Um, they started to call you names. Thankfully, I don't know what they are since Vita insisted they were not important. But bottom line was that they were insulting you and said stuff like Fate has bad taste in women. That's when our little redhead burst out of the cubicle in her tiny fit of anger. Good thing she didn't have Graf Eisen with her."

I could imagine a very upset Vita and I was thankful for her standing up to the upperclassmen to come to our defense. "I feel happy that Vita would go out of her way to do something like that."

"Don't be silly. It's only natural to do that for a friend. You didn't think that she would turn a deaf ear after what she just heard, did you? And she's right, if it were any of us, I think we would do way worse than talking back. I mean…" Hayate put on a dark smile, clearly one that calmly masked her bubbling rage deep inside. "They actually have the gall to call you 'ugly'?"

"T-They did?"

She continued to scare me with her misleading, innocent smile. "Wait 'til they see themselves in front of the mirror after I'm done with them."

Shivers ran down my spine. "Even if it's for my sake, please don't resort to any violent or criminal activities, Hayate-chan," I practically begged her.

The girl hit her fist on the table. "But even if they were totally jealous of you, that doesn't excuse them to say such mean things like that behind your back! They should be ashamed of themselves acting so immaturely even though they're a year older than us—No, maybe they thought they could get away with what they said because they're a year older than us. Cowards, that's what they are!" she huffed in frustration.

It was honestly touching to see how a friend would get mad for you when someone did or said something bad against you. Though I wasn't happy that there were actually a few people who were unhappy that I was with Fate, seeing a friend—a real one—taking your side, defending you and feeling angry for you swelled up my heart.

"Well, there's nothing we can do about it. So just calm down, okay?" I whispered when her voice was getting louder inside the café.

"What the—Nanoha, you, of all people, should be angrier about this!" The spot between Hayate's brows wrinkled even more. "How can you be so calm when someone clearly insulted you?! They're either totally blind or completely idiotic! Gah!" She vigorously rubbed her hands over her face. "I knew I should've just been the one to give the punishment instead of Chrono! That baldie is just way too nice just like her sister—" She stopped and frowned in thought. "Uh, but then again, if Fate knew what happened, she'd seriously march right up to those girls' in a heartbeat and go on a wild, violent rampage. All hell would break loose for sure…" She stayed quiet, contemplating with her arms crossed. "Okay, it's decided! I'll go tell Fate everything I know and then add some more for flair!"

Panic and flustered were the words to describe me after hearing her plan. "Please don't tell any of this to Fate-chan!" I cried, reaching over the table. "And don't add anything inaccurate that could put the upperclassmen's lives in danger!"

---

Well, the conversation went downhill after that and we strayed away from the topic even more.

But, more or less, I managed to get the gist of it.

"Fate-chan…"

"Hmm?"

Words really are curious things. You'd think they're just mere sounds or letters put together. They're intangible and invisible.

"What do you like about me?"

She met my eyes and held her gaze for awhile. "What brought this on?" she asked with a small smile.

When I didn't say anything, her expression showed how she gradually realized the weight of my question.

"You're cute, Nanoha."

Snow silently fell around us. Drowned in such stillness, every whisper made and heard seem louder than it should.

I didn't know how to gauge her with the answer she gave or if it filled the void I felt within.

"Then… would you still like me if I weren't?"

If I didn't pay close attention, I wouldn't think that my question elicited a reaction from her. I wouldn't see how Fate's eyes widened a fraction. It was subtle, barely noticeable even. But she held onto her indifference. Her face passive and unreadable. Just like how she was before.

It was such a silly thing to ask. It only showed how weak and insecure I was. It felt like I doubted Fate after all that had happened between us.

Fate sat straighter on her seat and looked at the ground for awhile. "Come closer, Nanoha," she finally said and motioned for me to leave the spot I stood.

I complied and towered over Fate when I was in front of her, wondering where she was going with her earlier request. She hadn't even answered my last question.

"Show me your hands."

Albeit a little confused, I did what she asked. Fate and I looked at each other, not saying a word in the lingering moment that felt longer in the middle of a quiet and gentle snowfall.

Hands reached out to hold mine, bringing them together in the middle. Warmth quickly embraced my chilled fingers. Whenever Fate touched me with such warm hands, my heart clenched with happiness at the simple act.

Fate had closed her eyes, still not saying anything and very oblivious to the things she had done to my heart.

Then I sort of understood why those upperclassmen said what they said. I was already in a position where people would feel jealous of me. And it's not just those girls, I'm sure a lot of those who have feelings for Fate cried and got their hearts broken.

Maybe that was why I couldn't bring myself to be angry at them. If our places were switched, and a different person was by Fate's side instead of me, I would feel the same. Jealousy. Anger. Heartbroken.

"I've decided what I want for my Christmas present," Fate said. Eyelids revealing stunning burgundy irises. "Give me a promise."

"…A promise?" I repeated lamely, wondering if it were a joke. But when I saw how solemn Fate's face was, how intense her gaze felt, I stayed quiet and waited for her to continue.

"Promise me that you'll never leave me."

I never expected her to say something like that.

"Promise me that absolutely no matter what, you'll always be by my side. Never give this place beside me to anyone. It should always be you. I only want you beside me, Nanoha."

I knew from stories told by Hayate, by Fate herself, on what happened in the past. But still, no matter how I tried, no matter how hard I wished it to be, I would never be able to fully understand the pain and loneliness Fate went through.

"To be completely honest…" She spoke quietly, looking off to the side. "I thought I would never recover and let anyone in again; let alone fall for someone. I was… in a really dark place, Nanoha. Everyone, everything became dull to me. I reached the point where I didn't feel the need to feel anything. After what happened… everything was bleak. It felt like the world turned its back on me. Shutting everyone out, and shutting myself away seemed like my only option to get by. It's not like I don't appreciate Hayate and the others nor do I love Mom and Chrono any less but… it's just different, I guess. Everything became different and strange, and grossly unfamiliar."

I watched Fate as she laid her feelings, herself bare. She spoke in a voice so vulnerable and fragile that listening to her made my throat tighten and chest heavy. It was like she was struggling to come to terms with something she had been fighting against for a long time.

"It's like I'm this weird alien that suddenly got stranded on a different planet. The dead has that kind of effect on you, I guess," she cracked a wry grin that I rarely saw on her. "Funny, right?"

I shook my head. My eyes suddenly began to sting just by listening to the words spoken in Fate's gentle voice. Despite her small smile, in my eyes, Fate looked so broken.

She continued as she looked at me. "And it's not like I lost a lover nor had a bad breakup with one in the past either. After all, Nanoha-san's my first," she beamed and playfully swayed our hands from side to side. She really was trying hard. "But still… I did lose someone. Two of them actually." The momentum slowed into a stop. Her playful smile disappearing as she stared at our hands. "I regret what I said to Alicia. And I regret not trying harder for Mother. So, I guess that's why they left me. And I lost them." Fate looked at me again, laughing humorlessly. "Pretty weird for a promise, right?"

I wordlessly disagreed again. My emotions were already beyond my control and it was inevitable that they would show themselves as moisture in my eyes.

Fate gave a sad smile that broke my heart. "Over something so small like that."

Something so small?

Not at all. Fate shouldn't have said that. Should never have thought of that. I wanted to tell her not to brush off the things that hurt her.

I may not have been there for her in that certain time. I may never be able to completely understand the pain and loneliness she went through. But I knew that much that whatever she went through, whatever her reason behind such a promise, it would never be considered small to me.

"My heart broke when Alicia died and I wasn't even given enough time to fix it before it happened again soon after with Mother." Fate chuckled humorlessly. "I just couldn't catch a break. I guess what I'm trying to say is… if I lose someone important again—if I somehow, in some way, lose you too, I think I won't be able to survive next time."

The emotions within filled me to the brim. They overflowed and took form as tears running down my cheeks.

I saw Fate's forlorn face. I watched her feeling vulnerable. I heard her broken voice. And listened to her quietly crying on the inside.

How could anyone bear to see the one they loved like that and not feel anything?

Fate stood, not looking away nor letting go of my hands. "I don't want to go back to that dark place again."

Warm tears amidst the cold air made more trails down my face. "Y-You won't," I breathed out. The answer came out as a shaky breath but I didn't care. Fate didn't ask a question but I felt the need to answer her still. I reached for her and gathered her in my arms, drawing us closer. "I won't let you." The words muffled on her shoulder sounded like a small whimper. Embracing her and gripping her jacket tightly, I promised her truthfully with everything I had. "With me… is right where you belong. I won't let you go anywhere else." I could feel Fate's warm breath as she buried her face deeper in the crook of my neck as she pulled me even closer, sparing no empty space between our bodies.

We stood in the midst of winter and snow. Inside the silence and stillness of the season.

In my fifteen years of living, it was the first time I understood the meaning of loving someone, of having the will to protect them, of wanting to cherish them, of wishing for their happiness.

It was the first time I ever held someone so tightly to my heart, as if I didn't want them to go anywhere. Feeling all sorts of emotions to the point of being overwhelmed and pushed to the brink of insanity.

And yet, when I held Fate close to me, silently crying and loving her more and more, I felt an indescribable warmth and gentleness that I didn't think I could possibly feel for anyone.

Beloved. It was in the winter of my fifteenth year that I understood its meaning.

Along with my own wish, that I wanted to be with my beloved Fate and no one else.

---

A/N: Late for over a year?! Wow, a new record. As mentioned, I don't own anything again, most especially the songs and lyrics used here. The lyrics from their respective songs Hayate spontaneously sang are as follows:

Rehab - Amy Whitehouse (she was awesome)

Warrior is a Child - Gary Valenciano (changed the lyrics a bit. Weird, I know. But this one was used by a friend and I laughed when she used it to appease her sister's wrath)

I Want To Break Free - Queen (Well, it's Queen. Why would I not use this? Plus, the lyrics fit perfectly)

Let It Go - Idina Menzel (perfect fit as well. Changed the lyrics a bit too. Until now, I can still hear this everywhere. Mostly at the kid's department. Don't ask)

Hot N Cold - Katy Perry (actually used the same line Hayate used in this chapter IRL. Still do.)

Stop - Spice Girls (I was in a phase growing up)

Ready Or Not - A1 (another one of my many phases growing up)

Wordplay - Jason Mraz (it's Jason Mraz. Nuff said)

I'm Too Sexy - Right Said Fred (I think if Hayate comes in with her own BGM, this would definitely be it. Or her very own obnoxious ringtone in full volume)

Linda Blair - Tanya Markova (This was the song Hayate mentioned last chapter. It's sung by a local band but it has some English lyrics. I think someone asked about this? Tremendously sorry for the late reply.)

My Immortal - Evanescence (I love the two lines. I sing them when I'm at school, work or anywhere that fits)

Wrecking Ball - Miley Cyrus (couldn't help myself. Had to use it)

And in case I forgot:

Last Chance - MYMP (This is the song Nanoha and Fate danced to. This isn't the original version but I like this one better)

I have more for spontaneous singing but that would make the chapter too long and I don't want Fate to murder Hayate. And my attention span is not very amazing.

I am an avid, spontaneous singer. I know… I have weird taste in music. WIPE THAT JUDGEMENT OUT OF YOUR EYES!

Welp, see ya all next year! ;d