Chapter 14

Just Jealous?

Fate's eyes opened quite suddenly. She could tell by the light in the room that it was quite late for her to arise. She had slept long and well after her adventures the evening before – her adventures with her beloved Nanoha. And she felt absolutely wonderful about those adventures, for now she was sure that Nanoha really loved her. Now she could leave behind all of the pain and fear and darkness. She had thought herself restored and fulfilled when she had been healed by that wolf-girl, but now she knew that was not so. She had needed her Nanoha, and now she had her. She smiled as she turned onto her side to see her beloved.

But Nanoha was not there; her side of the bed was empty. Fate wondered where she was; it was not like Nanoha to be getting up early, although as the perfect little girl she had done so. Now, as a teen-ager, Nanoha liked to sleep in. But the bed was empty, and Fate wondered why.

Fate sat up in the bed, stretched, and put her feet on the floor. She would need to use the bathroom, and now was as good a time as any. So she went to the closet where she had been keeping her things, threw a robe around herself, and stepped out of the bedroom door, heading for the bathroom.

But that door was locked, and Fate guessed that Nanoha must be using it. This was rare; Fate almost always got up before Nanoha, almost always got to use the bathroom first. Not this morning, apparently; and so Fate retraced her steps to the bedroom. She thought of getting dressed, but she wanted to bathe; she normally bathed every evening, but the previous evening she had been… busy. She smiled as she thought of that.

She sat on the bed, and had to wait many minutes; but finally the bedroom door opened, and Nanoha came in. She was wearing a pink robe, and it struck Fate that the color pink did not bother her any more. Her own robe, of course, was black. In the past she would have cringed at that pink robe. But now pink made her think of the cat-girl, of Ichigo, and that to Fate was a pleasant thought. For a few seconds she indulged herself with the thought of doing with Ichigo what she had done the previous evening with Nanoha. It was a very pleasant – and exciting – thought, but by this time Fate knew enough to keep it to herself. She rose from the bed and half-whispered, "Nanoha." Then she stepped up and kissed her lover gently.

It startled Fate that at first Nanoha seemed to be surprised by the kiss; but eventually the kiss was returned. Fate smiled, then, and Nanoha returned the smile. All was good, it seemed, so Fate stepped back, and asked, "All done with the bathroom? I want to shower, too."

After a short hesitation, Nanoha responded, "All done." But as Fate started to step by her, she spoke again. "Ah, Fate-o, I was thinking, I'll be here for a while, now. Why don't we do something tonight? I was thinking that we could go to the chocolate place."

Fate was taken aback by those words. Going to the chocolate place meant the real possibility of running into Ichigo, and Nanoha hated Ichigo. So Fate thought for a second before replying, "I suppose we could. Why don't we invite Alisa and Suzuka to go along? That would really be fun."

Nanoha smiled slightly, and said, "Really, Fate, I wanted to have a date with you. Just you."

On hearing those words, a sudden smile creased Fate's lips, but it passed just as quickly, and she said, "But what about the cat-girl? She might be there. We could go somewhere else."

Nanoha looked Fate fully in the eyes. "Well, to tell you the truth, I was thinking… if you and I are going to be lovers, then I suppose I have to be able to get on with your… friends, the way you get along with mine. I'll have to make peace with the… cat-girl."

"Really?" Fate challenged her. "I thought you hated her."

Nanoha shrugged. "If I'm going to love you, well, she's a part of you, and I'll have to get along with her, one way or the other." She turned away for a second, and then spun back. "But – no kissing her any more, OK? I love you too much to share you with her."

Fate smiled now, and nodded. "OK, I kiss only you. And it's a date." Then she kissed Nanoha again, and left the room. A smile was on her face, but in her heart she remembered the thought of doing to Ichigo what she had done to Nanoha.

Momomiya Ichigo lifted one more load of dishes from a table to bus them to the kitchen. It had been a very busy evening, with a really big crowd coming in after school and another good-sized crowd at suppertime. But now it was getting later, and the crowd had really thinned out. Maybe they would let her go early tonight, she thought. Then she could get her homework done. She grimaced at that thought; maybe she would have to stay late, and she could put her homework off for another hour or two. She shrugged and stepped toward the kitchen.

Near the kitchen door, Ichigo saw Ringo standing. Ringo's mouth said nothing, but her eyes were wide as she stared at something toward the front of the room. Ichigo stopped suddenly; she did not want to look. She was sure of what the young girl was starting at; Fate must have come in again. She hesitated; but she knew she had to look. Slowly, she turned. And she stared, just as Ringo had.

Fate was there; but not only Fate. Standing next to her was the auburn-haired girl that had been with her before: her supposed lover, her Nanoha. Ichigo would never forget that face. They were whispering to each other, and taking occasional glances across the room – at Ichigo.

"I'll go wait on them, if you want me to," Ringo's voice said quietly.

Ichigo cringed. She would love to let the other girl wait on those two, she knew.

"I said, I could go…" Ringo began again, a little louder; but Ichigo shook her head, without taking her eyes off of the two girls near the door.

"No, Ringo-chan. I have to take this one. You… you keep as far away from those two as you can. Always, OK?" Ichigo said, without looking at the younger girl.

"OK," Ringo answered doubtfully.

Then Ichigo swallowed hard, and gave the tray of dishes to Ringo. She grabbed some menus from the supply beside the door. Then she pulled herself erect, squared her shoulders, and started walking toward the two girls at the door. She was trying very hard not to look frightened; but she knew that she was failing utterly.

As she approached the two girls, they both turned to face her. The auburn-haired girl just stared, but Fate smiled broadly. "Ichigo!" she said.

"Fate-o," Ichigo responded, half-choking on the name. She swallowed again, hard, and continued, "Would you ladies like… a table? We have a lot of chocolate…" Her voice died.

"Yes. A table," the auburn-haired girl said; and Ichigo led them to the same small table they had used when they had come the first time. There they sat, both looking up at Ichigo.

Ichigo laid menus on the table before the two girls, and then began turning away. But she took only one step before Fate's voice called her back. "Ichigo…"

Ichigo turned back with fear in her eyes. Her hands trembled, no matter how hard she tried to still them. She took that one step back toward the table. "Is there anything… you… want?" she muttered, half-choking on the words.

"Actually, yes, there is," the auburn-haired girl answered. "I need to talk to you." Ichigo made no answer, so the girl continued, "Fate-o says that you're her… friend. Is that true?"

Ichigo spoke very slowly in return. "You're… Nanoha, right?" The girl nodded, and Ichigo continued, "Fate-o says wonderful things about you, about how you saved her and befriended her when she had nothing." She was silent for a few seconds, and then went on, "Why are you here – really? Just for chocolate, or…" Her choked voice trailed away.

"You seem… frightened," Nanoha said. Ichigo thought she heard a hint of sarcasm in the girl's voice.

"Shouldn't I be?" Ichigo came back, somewhat too loudly. "You two tried to kill me."

Nanoha stared at Ichigo for several seconds before responding, "Well, Fate-o says that you're a friend of hers, now. That you and some others here healed her destroyed linker core. True?"

Ichigo stared at the girl, wondering just where the conversation was going. "Yes, that's true," she said.

"But everyone knows a linker core cannot be restored, once it's been completely destroyed," Nanoha went on.

"Then everyone's wrong," Ichigo snapped back. "Fate-o is healed. Her power is restored." Nanoha gave a sour look, but said nothing, and so Ichigo spoke again. "You still haven't told me why you're here."

Nanoha sighed, and said, "Well, if you're Fate-o's friend now, I suppose I have to get along with you, one way or the other. So – I guess I have to get to know you, and all. That's why I'm here."

"To get to know me?" Ichigo asked.

"Yes!" Fate broke in. "Now we can all be friends together!"

Ichigo stared at the two girls. "Friends? Really?"

And Nanoha responded, "Sure, I guess. You're a part of Fate-o's life now, and so I guess I'll have to make you a part of mine." She actually smiled a little when she said it.

"All friends together," Ichigo said, repeating Fate's words. "I guess I would like that. It's almost too good to be true."

"Well, I suppose I would like that, too," Nanoha said.

"Yes!" Fate said, too loudly. "We'll all be friends!"

"Then that's settled," Nanoha said with a half-smile and a sigh. Then suddenly her lips twisted, and her words did as well. "Of course – there is that little matter of you submitting to the Bureau. You'll have to do that, of course." She stared into Ichigo's eyes.

Both Ichigo and Fate stared back, their mouths hanging open. Then the both came back at the same time.

"Nanoha!" Fate gasped.

"Never!" Ichigo barked.

Nanoha paused for a second before continuing. "Really? Then you'll have to be… rendered harmless."

"Nanoha!" Fate gasped again; but the other two ignored her.

Ichigo's face was turning very red in anger, though she was still keeping her voice low. "Rendered… harmless?" she said. "Yeah, right! I suppose that means killed?"

"That's your choice," Nanoha said. Her voice was level, but her lips were twisted into a sneer.

"Nanoha!" shouted Fate, more than loud enough to be noticed by everyone in the café.

Nanoha refused to even look at her blonde companion, but simply raised her hand to silence her. She kept her eyes on Ichigo as she went on: "If you don't submit to the Bureau, you'll have to be rendered harmless."

"Get out of here!" Ichigo growled, her voice barely under control.

Nanoha ignored the command and said in her too-level voice, "I see you won't submit. I could destroy you here, but that probably would mean the death of several innocent people. The policies of the Time-Space Administration Bureau do not allow such harming of innocents."

"Get out!" Ichigo growled more loudly.

Nanoha ignored her and went on, "So… I will meet you, let's say, at that place in that park where you fought Fate-o. Let's make it tomorrow, say… nine in the morning. That'll give you one more night to think things over, and maybe come to your senses."

Ichigo just stood there, her mouth hanging open; so Nanoha continued, "You might try to run, but we will find you. We always do."

"Get out! Now!" Ichigo screamed. The few patrons who remained were getting up from their chairs and crowding toward the back of the room, away from the three girls near the front. They were not sure what was happening, but it clearly was not good.

Nanoha looked around the room. She could see what was developing; and so she stood. "Tomorrow. In that park. 9:00," she said.

Ichigo gritted her teeth. "I'll be there!" she growled, one last time.

Nanoha nodded , and then looked down, where Fate remained in her chair, tears streaming from her eyes. "Come on, Fate-o," she said, her voice still too level.

But Fate did not move. So Nanoha took her by the arm, and half-dragged Fate to her feet. Then she turned her back on Ichigo, and pulled the blonde girl toward the front door.

But before they could leave, Ichigo stopped them with her voice. "Fate-o!"

Although Nanoha kept pulling, Fate stopped, and turned back to Ichigo. And Ichigo said, strongly, "Fate-o, just remember your promise: no one hurts Ringo. No one!"

Fate did not answer with any words, but she nodded before she turned away and allowed Nanoha to drag her out through the door.

Ichigo stood for many seconds, staring at the door. It took a while for her to truly realize what had just happened. It took her longer to realize that almost certainly she would die the next morning. And the thought did go through her head: she could submit, whatever that meant. But no!, she thought. That Bureau… needed to be stopped. And she would never submit!

For a second, she wondered why she should not. Was it the cat in her that could not really be tamed? Maybe, she thought. But she was a Momomiya. Her mother had been a fighter before her; and she was her mother's daughter. She would fight. As she had faced Deep Blue, so she would face that creep from the Bureau.

She looked up and saw that all of the patrons had crowded to the back. She realized that she had been much too loud, and the patrons were all frightened. And so she said, loudly, "Our apologies… to you all. Those two girls… they have made trouble here before. I had to ask them to leave." She took a deep breath, and went on, "I am sorry that this situation disturbed your evening. So… you can all go without paying tonight. Again… our deepest apologies." She bowed deeply, and then headed for the kitchen.

Several of the patrons tried to speak with her as she passed them, but she said noting. She forced her feet to move until she finally reached the kitchen door. It seemed to take forever, but she made it, and passed through the door; and it closed behind her. Then she collapsed against the wall and burst into tears.

Tomorrow, she would die. She felt so completely alone, so desperately empty. She so ached for her Aoyama-kun, but he was half a world away in England. She needed his arms around her, needed his love. But he was not there. She would never see his smile again, never hear his voice. She could try to call him on her cell, but most likely his phone would be turned off – it almost always was. She would send him an email. To say good-by. Her heart ached more than all the world could hurt.

Tomorrow, she would die. She thought of her parents; her death would hurt them so. She was an only child. She was a teenager, and things had not been smooth between her and her parents for the last year or more. She needed to make up with them, to say she was sorry for so many hurtful things, for so many careless words. But there would be no time for that now. And she could not tell them the truth. They would not let her face that Bureau whore tomorrow. And she had to face her. She would not run; she would not submit. Her tears fell from her cheek and splattered on the floor.

Tomorrow, she would die. And she would never see her friends again. She wanted to say good-by to Moe and Miwa; she would do it that evening, to be sure. They, at least, would answer their phones. She could not tell them what was happening, of course; she could not tell them what was going to happen tomorrow. And what of the other girls at the Café, the other Mew Mews? Would those Bureau fiends come after them? Maybe even after Ringo? She would not be able to defend them, after nine o'clock tomorrow. Maybe, they would all die; and it would be her fault.

Her friends – her thoughts went to the guys at the Café, Ryou and Keiichiro. It crossed her mind that Ryou must not have noticed that there had been a disturbance in the dining room. He was probably in his office again, with headphones on and the music turned up too loud. Those two would miss her, she supposed. But it was their fault that she was a Mew Mew…

And she thought of herself. Tomorrow, she would die. She was only fourteen, and there were so many things in life she had never seen, never experienced. She felt sorry for herself, and more tears dripped down her cheeks. So many things…

Her thoughts returned to Shirogane again. He would be really angry that she had sent the customers home without having them pay. Her boss was a notorious cheapskate. She almost cracked the slightest smile as she thought of the tantrum he might throw when he found out. And she would have to tell him.

And so she headed for his office. Tomorrow, she would die. That thought kept spinning through her head. There were so many things that she had never experienced. One special one…

But she had never cheated on Aoyama-kun! Never, not once! But then she realized: that didn't matter anymore. Tomorrow, she would die.

She didn't even knock, but just threw the door open. Her boss was sitting at his computer, as usual; and indeed, he was wearing earphones. Ichigo hesitated just inside the door. Should she approach him? She had always suppressed any feelings she had toward him. But tomorrow, she would die. Those feelings, those desires were welling up inside of her again. She slowly crossed the room, until she found herself standing next to him.

"Shirogane…?" she began, with a low voice. But he was absorbed in whatever was on his computer screen, and his earphones blocked her voice. So she spoke louder: "Shirogane!" But still he made no reply.

And out of the twisted anger and fear that filled her soul, she suddenly took him by the shoulder and shouted, "Shirogane!"

He was startled, and his head jerked around suddenly. Then, seeing only Ichigo, he relaxed, and removed his earphones. "Momomiya… is there something that you want?"

Her dark eyes stared into his blue ones. "Something… I want?" she said; and then suddenly she took his arm, pulled him to his feet, and threw her arms around him. He was quite a bit taller than she was, and so her right arm encircled his neck and pulled his face down to hers; and then her lips engulfed his.

She held him there, her lips pressing their passion into him, her body working so sensuously against his. It took a few seconds for the man to realize what was happening, and then for a few more he returned the kiss; but then he gently but firmly pushed her away.

"Ah, Momomiya… what's this about?" he asked. She just stared at first, so he continued, "Ah, maybe a fight with Aoyama?"

Ichigo's mouth fell open for a second, and then she closed it. She started at the floor, and then back into his eyes. And then she muttered, "No. No fight…"

"So then, again, what's this about?" Ryou asked again. "Let's face it, you never wanted my… attentions. Then suddenly you jump on me like this and come on full bore."

Ichigo stepped back away from the tall man and tried to put some words together. "I… well, I'm only 14, and there's so many things I haven't been able to do, and…"

"Does that mean what I think it means?" Ryou asked, mystified. "Hey, like you said, you're only 14. Did you think that I would… Just what do you think I am?" His voice died, and he stared into her eyes.

Ichigo stared back for a second, and then the tears began to come. She didn't want him to see those! So without another word, she turned and ran out the door, leaving the man staring after her.

Ryou shook his head, mystified. He had seen the tears start to come but had no idea why. He would ask the other girls, he thought. Maybe they would know why Ichigo was behaving as she was; but he doubted it.

Fate allowed Nanoha to lead her away from the Café's front door for a few dozen steps. Then she stopped, and no amount of pulling from Nanoha could get her to move. Nanoha turned to the blonde.

Fate opened her mouth, then closed it, then opened it again, and she gasped out her words. "Nanoha… how could you…?"

'How could I… what?" Nonoha asked.

Fate's mouth dropped open, and then the tears began pouring from her eyes. "What? What's happened to you, Nanoha? You know what I mean! You said you would be her friend! Then you… tomorrow, you're going to kill her!"

Nanoha stared for several seconds, and then spoke with a vague air of superiority. "It's just that some of us aren't traitors." She emphasized the word some.

"So I'm a traitor?" Fate came back. "I'm not the one who threw anybody out! The Bureau threw me out! After nearly dying for them more than once, they threw me out! Don't you call me a traitor!"

Nanoha snorted quietly. "They're the ones who send you that pension every month, in case you forgot. I'm sure you send it back, because you hate them so much?"

"I earned that pension. They owe it to me," Fate came back. "But that's not the point! You're going to kill my friend tomorrow! You came with me as a friend, and now you're going to kill her!"

Nanoha's voice also began to rise. "Your friend? Let's try your lover!" she sneered. "Is she really that good in bed, that you'd turn traitor over her?"

Fate's responded through gritted teeth. "You're just jealous! I never went to bed with her!"

"You admitted that you cheated on me with her! " Nanoha shouted back. "Or are you trying to deny that now?

"I kissed her once. That's all!" Fate answered angrily. "I didn't go to bed with her, no sex or whatever. One kiss!" She took a breath. "OK, I shouldn't have. I admit it! But that's no reason to kill her!"

Once again with the air of superiority, Nanoha lectured her lover. "She's a danger to the fabric of space-time. Don't you get that? Just like your mother! And just like your mother, she won't submit. She has to be stopped."

"She never hurt anybody with her magic, just defended her world from aliens," Fate objected. "She's no danger to anyone."

"No danger?" Nanoha came back. "She nearly killed you."

"So did you, Nanoha!" Fate objected angrily. "But remember, she almost killed me because I… because I tried to kill her first. And then she got me healed, when no one else could."

Nanoha, hearing that Ichigo had done something for Fate that she could not, ground her teeth in anger. "So that makes it OK for you to turn on the Bureau, and cheat on me?" She looked down for several seconds, her face turning very red. Then she looked up again, but choked on her words.

Fate's red eyes were ablaze with anger. "Tomorrow, in that park – I'll be there!"

"So you can help her fight me – kill me?" Nanoha gasped. "You damned traitor…"

But Fate shook her head, and after several seconds, she spoke in a much lower voice. "No, Nanoha. I love you far too much for that. But be sure, if I can defend her, keep her alive somehow, if I have to, I'll shield her, or whatever…"

"You traitor!" Nanoha shrieked. "You love her instead of me! You take her side against me! You…" In her exploding anger, she choked on her words. But then words burst forth once more: "Don't you dare come to my house tonight, you stinking traitor! I'm sure her bed will be warm enough for you!" And then she suddenly turned and stalked away.

"You're just jealous!' Fate shouted after her. But Nanoha did not stop.

Fate watched her until she turned a corner and was gone. And then suddenly Fate fell to her knees, and burst wildly into tears.