A/N: I followed the timeline of the most recent movie of Les Miserables when writing Fate and Nanoha's part of the story. It's really different from the book, but I prefer it when writing this particular story. To SapphoSensei, you touched on a very important subject in your review with the rippling effect. The loss of the original timeline for Romeo and Juliet did in fact change history ~^..^~

Disclaimer: I do not own the characters from or the Magical Girl Lyrical Nanoha anime, nor or any other movie, actor, song, or character referenced or stated in this story.

PRACTICE MAKES PERFECT

by : ~Nissanity~

Chapter 14 – Shame the Devil

~June, 1831, Paris, France~

Fate POV

I slowly retrieved the case I had previously hidden beneath my bed, running my hand over the smooth, polished cherrywood before opening it. The case contained two pistols I had bought a few days prior, in anticipation of the rioting in the streets of Paris that night, to overthrow the monarchy. As I began to check the weapons and arm myself, the ring containing my family crest on my finger shined momentarily, catching my eye. I recalled the conversation with my grandfather a few minutes prior, who had seen me on the streets in the middle of a protest.

"Fate, have you any idea of the shame you bring upon our family?!" he had shouted, before turning his back to me and returning to his carriage.

"Shame?" I now thought to myself. "What more noble a cause to fight for than one's country and common man?" I shook my head, trying to rid myself of the thoughts of my now distant family, before removing the ring and placing it in the case instead.

"Hello, Fate," I heard a voice call from behind me. I turned, seeing Ginga standing in the open doorway, watching me carefully. I smiled at her briefly before returning to look at my weapons.

"Still plotting to overthrow the state, then?" she asked me. "Is there a reason why you pretend to be poor, and continue to fight with us? I know your grandfather is rich. I just saw you speaking with him."

I stood up and passed Ginga in the doorway. "I haven't earned that money, so I refuse to accept their handouts. Besides, those bridges are burned, " I replied, reaching the top of the stairwell.

As I walked down the stairs, I heard her following me closely. I found her presence comforting in some unknown way, and she made a good comrade in the fight. I made my way to the street and attempted to cross, not seeing the horse-drawn buggy making it's way down the middle of the road quickly. I pulled myself back in time to avoid being struck.

As I was attempting to cross again, a movement caught my eye from across the street. It was the color blue - - a brilliant sapphire as bright as the sky itself. I was immobilized as I saw a beautiful young woman passing out alms to the poor. I paid no attention to the guardian figure next to her side, as the blue-eyed girl suddenly saw me across the street in return.

I walked along the street as they did, and stopped as they stopped, my eyes never leaving her. She would occasionally glance at me, her expression towards me that of intrigue and a bit of amusement. I was completely entranced, and I knew I was smiling foolishly in her direction but was unable to stop.

Before I could make any attempts to approach her as they crossed the street in front of me, a fight began between a large group of citizens. I was unable to see much through the crowd, but it appeared that the girl's guardian had been involved in the skirmish. My path was blocked so I could be of no assistance, and looking to my left, I spotted a constable heading in their direction. Her guardian looked panicked as the officer approached, and quickly led the girl down the street and around the corner, out of my line of vision.

I exhaled the breath I did not realize I had been holding and looked down at the ground, still grinning foolishly. Never in my life had I felt my entire consciousness being overtaken by a single person, as if reality did not exist except for her and I. After I recovered, I made my way back to Ginga, who was leaning against a pillar outside a building. She was watching the constable interrogate the people originally in the tussle, seemingly worried that some of her friends may be in trouble.

"Ginga... who was that girl?" I asked, my eyes still searching the street, hoping for her return.

"A member of the bourgeoisie, I imagine," she replied.

I took out a few coins from my pocket. "Would you please find out who she is for me? Discover where she lives?" I asked her.

Ginga refused the money. "I don't want your money, Fate," she told me.

I nodded my head. "Thank you. I... I somehow feel lost without her now." I began to walk in the direction I had last seen her, just in case I could find her again before it was too late.

"I'll do my best," I heard Ginga behind me. "I'll just have to rely on some of the connections I know."

oOOOo

A few days later, I was attending an emergency meeting regarding the death of General Lamarque. With the only sympathizer to our cause now deceased, we were gathered to discuss where the revolution was headed next. I had been distracted during the entire meeting though, thinking of nothing but the girl who's brief entrance and exit from my life had consumed my thoughts these past few days. I suddenly saw Ginga enter into the room to stand behind the crowd.

"Did you find her?" I asked her desperately, after I made my way over to her. She nodded, and then quickly turned to exit from the building. I immediately followed behind her, forgetting formalities with my fellow comrades and leaving without saying farewell to anyone in the room.

She led me silently across the streets and through many alleyways, behind the buildings and homes of the city. I stumbled a few times, unable to see the obstacles in my path. Ginga never once faltered, seeming to know these back paths and alleyways well.

We followed along a solid stone wall until we reached a rusted gate, which was overgrown with ivy and other vines. Ginga held back, allowing me to approach the deteriorating entrance by myself. I glanced back at her in confusion, before I turned to look closely through the foliage. I spotted sapphire, the color seeming to be as bright in the moonlight as it was during the light of day. The girl was standing in the rear doorway of her home, looking across the garden in my direction.

I remain transfixed as it appeared she had seen me, as she smiled and started across the garden. I walked a few steps closer, placing my hand on the gate and lacing my fingers around the cool iron railings as I watched her. She paused next to a pillar along the path, leaning against it as she studied me in return.

"My name is Testarossa," I said to her. "Well, no. I mean, that's not my name. It is, but not..." I paused. "I'm doing this all wrong," I then said helplessly, laughing at myself.

Her smile broadened as she removed herself from beside the pillar and approached me. "That's fine," she replied. "I'd much prefer a genuine introduction like that, instead of one full of formalities."

"My name is Fate. And pardon me, but I don't even know your name."

"It's Nanoha," she replied softly, turning her head slightly as she studied my eyes.

"Nanoha!" I repeated, my face becoming a bit brighter after I said her name. It seemed to exit from my lips naturally - - effortlessly, almost.

Nanoha glanced up at my hand on the gate, and then raised hers to hover over it. I released my fingers from around the iron and place it flat against the curved bars. She laid hers flat against them as well, our fingertips now lightly brushing against each others.

"I felt like I had been lost before..." I whispered, and then instantly shook my head, regretting the thought being allowed to slip my mind.

She raised her eyebrows. "And it appears that now you are found?" she replied.

I made an attempt to speak, but a voice came from her house behind her. "Nanoha!" the voice called.

Nanoha quickly turned away and headed back up the garden path. I pulled away from the gate as well, hiding behind the stone wall close to me.

"Nanoha, what were you doing? I told you to say inside," the voice scolded. I then heard someone approaching the gate quickly to inspect where she had previously been. I remained perfectly still behind the wall, halting my breathing and squeezing my eyes shut.

"I should just be brave!" I tried to will myself. "I should confess my love, and ask permission to court her. She is who I truly want, after all!"

Before I had the chance to summon my courage, the figure turned away from the gate, leaving me to my own regrets. I pulled away from the wall in frustration and walked silently past Ginga, leaving Nanoha behind for another day.

oOOOo

~Present Day~

Fate POV

I shut the book quickly and placed it in my backpack, as the bell signaling the end of class had just chimed. I had been secretly reading my portion of Les Miserables all through the class lecture, unable to leave the story behind. I felt inexplicably drawn to it, especially regarding the blossoming love between the two characters who barely knew the details of each others lives, yet seemed to understand each other completely.

Subaru had come to deliver a message for me before lunch, saying that Nanoha had to leave school early to meet her parents, who were returning home that afternoon from a short business trip. She informed me that Hayate had canceled the club meeting, saying she had something important to do as well. She also wanted me to know that the new book for next week would be Anne of Green Gables.

"I haven't read that one in quite some time," I had told Subaru, smiling a little at the memory.

"Yeah," she said with her goofy grin that I was starting to notice the more we spoke. "She said something about taking it easy next week, considering how heavy this week's material was." I agreed, thinking how much I had read of Les Miserables so far, and recalling how many hours of sleep I lost in the process the night before.

I made my way out of the classroom and walked down the stairs after class, exiting into the courtyard in search of Ginga and Teana. I then sent Ginga a text message, and she informed me that she and Teana had already started on their way home. I didn't really mind the chance to be alone with my own thoughts that afternoon, so I made my way to the front entrance to the school, beginning my journey home as well.

I reached the intersection where I could either turn left and continue on my way home, or I could turn right... in the direction of Nanoha's house. I opted for the latter path, although I wasn't quite sure why, or what I would do exactly when I got there. I just felt compelled to be in the same proximity as her at the moment, even if stone walls and parental figures stood in our way.

I walked slowly along the mansion walls, running my fingertips across them lightly, enjoying the rough texture of the concrete under them. I knew I was hidden from view from anyone who may be looking in my direction from the mansion, although I did sacrifice my view of the home in return.

As I neared the wrought iron gate at the entrance to the property, I was shocked to hear shouting coming the mansion this far away on the street. I knelt down with my back against the stone wall, and peeked my head around slowly, to see if I could observe what the commotion was. I saw Nanoha and Momoko Takamachi, whom I recognized as her mother, standing on the front porch. Their bodies were tense as they continued to argue.

"Nanoha, just listen!" her mother plead. "It isn't the end of the world!"

"This isn't your life that is being controlled here!" she screamed back. "How could you accept that from him!" she continued, pointing in the direction of the open front door

Suddenly, Shiro Takamachi appeared in the doorway. "What is this all about?" he asked loudly. "Is she not grateful for the opportunity?!" he asked his wife heatedly.

Momoko looked down, and then walked away from Nanoha and her father. I gripped my hand against the stone wall, ready to act if I felt like she was in physical danger in any way.

"You do not respect me, or my own choices in my life," Nanoha yelled her father. "I may be your daughter, but you cannot force me to do anything I do not wish to do!"

"This is not up for discussion!" he shouted. "If you live under my house, you will follow my rules! And you will NOT embarrass me. Do you understand me, young lady?"

Nanoha shook her head angrily and backed away from her father, turning to run down the porch steps and across the yard. I saw her run in the direction of the large garden on the grounds, one that I figured provided her sanctuary many times in her life similar to this situation.

"Nanoha!" her mother pleaded after her.

"Let her go," Shiro told her. "She shall see soon enough that it is for the best." Shiro and Momoko then walked back through the open doorway, shutting the door behind them.

I quickly ran around the outside of the mansion along the stone wall, coming to a stop where I gauged the garden must be on the other side. Without hesitation, I jogged away from the wall and then turned to face it. I sprinted and jumped, scaling the wall and landing next to a large rose brush. I was grateful for my luck to have not landed directly in it.

Nanoha was seated in the white gazebo in the middle of the garden, and I could hear her crying and gasping. She had not heard my entrance, so I crawled over as quietly as I could, eventually leaning back against the gazebo pillar. My back was directly to her, where she was sitting above and behind me.

"Are you okay?" I finally asked.

"Yeah..." she replied, not crying as much now. She must have heard me as I approached her, I assumed. "I just received some bad news is all," she then told me.

"Do you want to talk about it?" I ventured.

"No. Not now," she responded. I then heard her moving around, so I lifted my head up to look above me. Nanoha was now leaning over the railing, her face upside-down in my vision. I saw her smile a little, and I felt a bit relieved.

"I want you to take me away from here instead," she stated.

I nodded. "Now?"

"Um-hmm," she confirmed. She then pointed to the mansion wall. "I'm not as talented as you, though," she teased.

"I've just had plenty of practice is all," I joked back. "I'll give you a boost up, okay?"

She looked back at her house, making sure no one had returned outside. Ensuring that the coast was clear, she exited the gazebo and made her way to the wall. I stood next to it, cupping my hands so that she could step into them.

"Fate-chan... don't use this as an opportunity to look up my skirt or anything," she said, punching me a little in my arm.

I felt myself blush a little. "You have absolutely no faith in me!" I replied, pretending to be wounded.

She gave me a weary look before prepping herself to scale the wall. She stepped onto my hands and jumped up as I lifted her, and she grabbed the top of the wall and pulled herself over, accidentally kicking me in the shoulder in the process. I knew she wouldn't have noticed, so I just looked up to make sure she had made it up and over safely. I heard a thud on the other side of the wall soon after, as I then grabbed my shoulder in pain and rubbed it.

"Are you okay?" I asked her over the wall.

"Yeah," she replied. "That wasn't too bad. Can you make it over okay?"

I nodded in confirmation, and then shook my head when I realized she couldn't have seen my response. "Yes, I'll be right over!" I finally responded.

Ensuring that the coast was still clear for me with a glance back at the mansion, I quickly sprinted toward the wall to scale it. I was mid-air when I heard a click come from the wall beside me, and a previously unnoticed gate in the stone wall opened inward. I crashed into the wall awkwardly in surprise, as Nanoha then walked through it.

"Oh, um, oops!" she exclaimed, scratching the back of her head nervously as she saw me now leaning in pain against the concrete. "I didn't notice this gate before. Did you?" she asked me.

Figuring there was no response I could come up with that wouldn't sound sarcastic, I just shook my head instead. "Let's just go," I said with a smile, grabbing her hand in mine and walking through the gate, closing it behind us.

We walked hand in hand down the various streets in silence mostly, with Nanoha occasionally giggling and pointing at something she found amusing along the way. We stopped by a bookstore, picking up copies of Anne of Green Gables for the club next week.

We eventually made it to the backside of my house, as I had led us there through an alleyway that ran outside my bedroom window. I pointed to the ladder that was resting against the wall, just underneath the base of the window.

"Sometimes it's easier for me to avoid my mother if I come and go with that," I explained to her.

Nanoha looked at me, her face showing obvious confusion at my modest house. "Fate-chan, I hate to say this, but I'm a little - " she began.

"Surprised?" I interrupted. "Yeah, the family doesn't really spend their money on material possessions, I guess."

"If they don't care about money, then why...?" Nanoha continued, alluding to the feud between the families.

"Someday I'll explain it to you, I promise," I replied. "But for tonight, let's just pretend like none of that exists, okay?"

She smiled at me. "Okay. I can do that," she responded.

We quickly made our way through the back gate of the fence from the alleyway, and I climbed up the ladder outside my window as quietly as possible. I slid the window open and climbed inside silently, then turning to see her climb up the ladder next. As she made it through the window frame she slipped a little, and I caught her in my arms, hugging her close to me.

I pulled back from her and put my index finger to my lips, a motion to ask her to be quiet for a moment. She nodded, and I listened for my mother outside my bedroom walls. I heard the familiar tapping of the keys of her keyboard in her office faintly, signifying that she was currently occupied in her own world.

"We have to be quiet," I whispered to Nanoha.

"I'll try my best," she responded softly, and then suddenly pulled me down to kiss her. I was taken aback for a moment, before giving in and kissing her in return. It was slow and deliberate, our lips gliding across each others as we relished the taste and sensations that came from our connection.

She then pulled back, guiding me to her neck as she leaned her head to the side, allowing for better access. She giggled a little, feeling my breath tickling her neck, as I bit at her lightly before kissing each spot afterward. Her hands where gently in my hair, holding my head against her.

"I want to show you that I belong to you, Fate-chan - - no matter what happens in the future," she told me quietly. I slowly pulled back to look at her, surprised and a little confused by her words.

"Nanoha, I - " I tried to begin, but was halted when her lips pressed against mine again. I then felt her pushing me backwards, and I sat down on the bed when my knees ran into the side of it. She followed me down in one motion, straddling my hips as she still continued to kiss me.

Our kiss began to escalate from there, and I wrapped my arm around her, maneuvering her to lay on her back with her head on my pillow. She wrapped her arms firmly around my neck, not allowing me to break our kiss again. I fumbled with the desk lamp beside my bed without looking up, trying to find the power switch by memory. I finally just pushed it off to the ground and the bulb broke, and darkness filled the room as Nanoha and I then gave ourselves completely to each other that evening.

oOOOo

Third Person POV

"Hmmm, where is it?" Hayate murmured to herself in frustration, looking through the network drive on one of the computers at the Takamachi Laboratory. It had not been difficult for her to sneak into the front office area, having swiped her aunt's spare keys from the family safe in the library at home. She had interned at the lab the previous summer, so she knew her way around the facility, and she was grateful to find that none of the passwords had been changed in her absence.

The difficulty came when she actually went to look for more information on the name that had haunted her dreams the night before. An internet search at home the previous evening came up with nothing on 'Alicia Testarossa', as if she had never existed. This unsettled Hayate, believing that there should have been at least a birth or death record on the young girl.

"I know Ginga wasn't lying, though," she thought to herself, inexplicably trusting the words of the blue-haired girl she had only recently met in person.

Hayate continued to search for records on the company's computers but came up short. Even the files on Precia Testarossa seemed incomplete, as if they had been deleted or hidden in areas not accessible to her. She turned her attention then to the incident that occurred when she was around four years old, the one that Precia had been solely responsible for with her negligence. Or at least, so she thought.

As Hayate began to search through the company's physical records that had been scanned into the database, it did not take her long to recognize inconsistencies in the reporting of the events leading to the tragedy. In some records, statements from Precia following the tragedy were completely blacked out. In another report, Hayate read of an original timeline for the planned testing of the reactor that exploded, killing hundreds of people. She then ran the dates of the tragedy through her mind, seeing that the testing occurred six months sooner than the original timeframe had planned for.

Hayate printed out a copy of the timeline, intending to head to Nanoha's house directly afterward to confront Shiro on the issue. She did not care if it angered him that she broke into the facility that night, or how she managed to obtain the information. She had made too many decisions in her life regarding her animosity for the Testarossa's, based solely on what the family had told her about the tragedy throughout the years, and she wasn't about to make any more decisions without knowing the full truth.

"Oh, my god..." Hayate then whispered to herself. There was a folder listing casualties of the explosion, with their photos, in the last report in the main file. She double-clicked the folder with a shaking hand, immediately seeing a sub folder labeled 'Alicia Testarossa'. She hovered her mouse over it for a moment, before squeezing her eyes shut and double-clicking the folder.

As she opened her eyes, she observed three photos contained within. If she didn't know that the little girl's name was Alicia, she would have guessed her to have been a young Fate. One photo she recognized was Alicia's official company picture, as the Takamachi Corporation took photos of the children of employees. Hayate had several of herself taken over the years. The next photo was a personal one, with Alicia smiling as she attended her first day of school.

Hayate's eyes trailed over to the last photo, and her hand flew to her mouth in horror as she screamed into her palm, with tears immediately falling from her eyes. It was Alicia's death photo, and she was almost unrecognizable with the burns and gashes to her body after the explosion. It took everything Hayate had to not vomit as she quickly closed the file on the computer. She then hunched over in the chair, reeling from the enormous grief she felt for a girl she never knew existed before yesterday evening.

Hayate eventually composed herself, retrieving the paper from the printer than contained the original timeline. She was heading for the front door when an enormous explosion came from the next section of the laboratory, immediately causing the lights to go out above her and the sprinkler system to come on. The wall to Hayate's right exploded almost instantly afterward, and fragments of concrete crashed into her and propelled her across the room.

She fought the blackness trying to overtake her senses, before finally succumbing to unconsciousness, the paper with the timeline still firmly gripped in her hand.

oOOOo

Fate POV

I awoke to the sound of pounding on the front door of my house, and as I opened my eyes I saw flashing red and white lights outside my window. I looked over to my right, seeing Nanoha still asleep beside me, curled up against my arm.

"This is the police! Come to the door!" I then heard, followed by the sound of more pounding on the front door. I quickly disengaged Nanoha from my arm and began getting dressed as fast as I could. She woke up with my movements.

"Stay there, Nanoha," I requested of her. "I'll be right back." She nodded silently, and I ran out my bedroom and flew down the stairs. I observed my mother opening the front door as I reached the base of the stairwell.

"Precia Testarossa?" the officer on the other side of the door asked when it was opened. My mother said nothing, only glaring and crossing her arms at the man in response.

"You are needed for questioning down at the station," he continued. "Please come with us."

I quickly ran in front of my mother, who was motionless to the request from the officer. "What do you want from her?" I demanded. "She has done nothing wrong! She has been here all night."

The officer looked a little annoyed at my presence. "There was an explosion at the Takamachi Laboratory this evening. Shiro Takamachi has been gravely injured, along with a few others. His youngest daughter Nanoha is also missing." He turned his attention to my mother. "Based on your previous history with the family, we need to speak to you about the incident."

My mother's face remained emotionless as she absorbed the news. She silently turned towards the kitchen to retrieve her purse, before returning to exit out the front door past the officers.

"My...father...?" I heard in a trembling voice behind me. I turned to see Nanoha standing at the base of the stairs, leaning against the wall for support. My throat immediately clenched and I was unable to speak, knowing she had just seen my mother leave with the police, to be questioned of her involvement in the situation.

The officer perked up at her statement. "Are you Nanoha Takamachi?" he asked quickly. Nanoha nodded in response.

"All units, please be advised that Nanoha Takamachi has been located," he said into the mic of his police radio. "All units searching for Nanoha Takamachi, please stand down."

He then turned to Nanoha, his voice softening. "We need to get you to the hospital immediately. Please come with us."

Nanoha removed herself from the wall and walked towards the front door in a daze. I was paralyzed as I watched her, an overwhelming sense of despair overtaking me that she was about to exit my life forever, coupled with the notion that I wouldn't blame her in the slightest if she did.

She paused at the doorway as the police officers began to lead her to their vehicles. She looked over to me, and I held my breath awaiting her words, tears falling from my eyes as I studied her face carefully.

"I told you, Fate-chan..." she said quietly. "I belong to you, no matter what happens." She then exited the doorway and began following the officers down the front walkway. I fell to my knees, watching her until she entered the police vehicle and they drove away. I fell back against the wall of the hallway after they were gone, curling myself in a ball while I tried to figure out what to do next.

I wasn't sure how long I sat in that position, until I observed Ginga's face in front of mine. Noticing my stunned reaction to her sudden appearance, she grabbed my hand in hers. "Fate, you need to get up," she told me. I looked closer at her face, and I noticed she had been crying.

"Hayate was hurt too," she explained further, "and I need to go see her. Please, come with me, Fate!"

I paused for a moment, realizing that this was the first time Ginga had ever asked for my help with anything in her life. I looked down in shame for a moment, remembering all the times she had selflessly been there for me and never asked for anything in return. I then stood up and took a deep breath, gathering all the courage I could.

"You're right, Ginga," I replied. "It's time for us to go."

A/N: Was anyone surprised that I didn't make Ginga and Hayate to be Valjean and Javert after all? I felt that Shiro and Precia made more sense as the two, which is why I wrote Ginga and Hayate as only relating to the characters in the previous chapter because of the family feud. Hayate was actually Fantine, which was why she was so moved by the performance in the movie, although I didn't really want to get into that too much in the story.

Okay, enough story notes! I have been getting some incredible reviews the past few days and I want to say, it is so humbling for me to hear those thoughtful and encouraging words about the story. And to CryingLeo, I will put Das Resultat Sagt Alles on my to-read list. It looks very interesting. Until next time! ~Nissanity~