Hidden in the Night Sky
Chapter 25: Betrayal
"We might be in trouble," Chrono stated, somewhat sourly.
"YOU THINK!?" Arf screamed, as her wide eyes focused on the second sun that floated directly above Naruto's right pointer finger. "W-What is-"
"Did you know I can alter the spells and abilities that I have absorbed from others?" Naruto asked, tilting her head as the sphere grew in size. "It's really nifty. I can do all sorts of things that go from altering basic properties such as the amount of shots that can be fired, movement properties, the color of the spell, the elemental composition that goes behind it and even the functionality."
Yuuno frowned. "I gathered," he admitted, "as much from your use of modified versions of spells Nanoha used."
"Yeah, well... that's really basic stuff. Any device can do that. I can take it to the next level," Naruto spoke, smiling brightly. "This is called a Bijuudama. It is one of the abilities of the Kyuubi no Kitsune, and in fact, the default ability that all tailed beasts share, as its name implies. It is the Tailed Beast Ball after all."
"Why are you telling us this?" Arf asked, somewhat taken aback.
"It's a distraction," Naruto said.
"A... distraction?" Yuuno asked, frowning.
"Yep! While I was talking, I was also completing the spell. I'm kind of making it up as I go, so, I had to hammer out a few kinks before I threw it or it would've blown up in my face and killed us all instead of, you know, only you guys."
"Oh," Yuuno said, frowning.
"Nanoha-chan came up with a really interesting spell when she made the Starlight Breaker. Really, it has such an interesting mechanic..."
"I see. Then you combined the properties of a Bijuudama with those of a Starlight Breaker, enabling it to syphon energy from the environment," Chrono stated, frowning. "But a spell of that power... should be uncontrollable."
"It should be, yeah. Fortunately for me, NachtWal knows more about magic than both of us combined, and knows a way to do it without killing me. So that's good. For me anyway," Naruto said. "You guys, though? Well... you're sort of boned."
"I figured," Yuuno said, frowning. "We can't convince you not to throw it at us, can we?"
"I'm sorry, guys, but you want to take away my Fate-chan, so..." Naruto said, shrugging with her free hand.
"It was worth a shot," Yuuno said.
"Say, don't you run the risk of destroying a great deal of real state with that spell?" Arf questioned. "Just asking."
"Don't be silly," Naruto countered. "I can aim," she said. "Mostly. I hope. Anyway, even if I can't, all I'd blow up would be the ocean, right?"
"That much power would cause a big enough splash that you would ruin at least a few people's days," Yuuno said.
"Huh. You got a point," Naruto admitted. "Uh... can you go up so you're above me? That way, I can fire it up so it goes into space and explodes harmlessly."
"... But that would help you kill us," Arf said, "and that's kind of not how it works."
"Shoot," Naruto said. "Guess I can't use it then... But then again... I don't really care. Konoha's very inland, so I have nothing to fear."
"Also worth a shot," Arf said, looking at Yuuno, who nodded.
"Giver of life, star shining in the sky, gather your bright light upon my command. Star of life, star of warmth, burn all with your awesome might!" Naruto incanted, the sphere beginning to glow more ominously.
"By the way, you're not the only one who can make time talking while you prepare a spell," Yuuno said.
As he did...
A gigantic green wall appeared in between him and Naruto, so thick it was opaque. While it appeared smooth when looked at from afar, a closer look would reveal it was composed of thousands of smaller barriers.
"You think that little barrier will stop my baby star! How cute!" Naruto said, giggling. The red sphere pulsed. "Let there be light! Supernova!"
She gestured forward with her pointer finger, the one seemingly holding the ball up.
It crashed against the super massive green wall.
And after a second of resistance, it crashed through.
"Huh. Clever," Naruto noted. "You know, in all the excitement about breaking through the barrier to make a point, I forgot they could just, y'know, dodge it," she muttered to herself. The sphere, which had launched at a diagonal angle and would eventually hit water, abruptly seemed to change its angle of descent until finally becoming a parabola, beginning to head upwards. It began to fly away. "That was harder than I thought," she added, wiping nonexistent sweat from her forehead and sighing. "Also... I seem to recall there being only two of them towards the end. Weren't there three worms I was going to stomp?"
"Really. Losing track of your enemies. For all the power and skill you've acquired, you're still an amateur," she heard a voice chime in through telepathic communication. "By the way, I never left the battlefield."
Naruto turned around and came face to face with a blue and white staff. It was glowing. "Oh, you clever boy," she said, pouting.
"Thank you. By the way... Stinger Snipe."
Just as the Stinger Snipe's blue beam impacted Naruto's nose, the red sphere exploded, painting the sky red for a full minute.
Nanoha massaged her neck.
"Phantom pains?" the Avatar of the Tome asked, frowning a bit.
"Yes," Nanoha admitted, frowning herself. "I can still feel it- the moment her neck broke..."
"W-What!?" Fate seemed scandalized. "You didn't-"
"Oh, I didn't tell you that, did I?" Nanoha asked, sighing. "I told you I feel everything Naruto felt during those memories, right? That includes... well... I know enough to tell you that death through a broken neck is a horrible experience, at least."
Fate paled. "What- but- but how-"
"Mistress is... very resilient and difficult to kill, when the push comes to shove," the avatar said.
The slums around them seemed to shift with the dirty wind, the wind that managed to be both comforting and at the same time smell of burning trash. Which was odd, because despite the state of disrepair, Nanoha didn't see any of the stereotypical flaming barrels you normally saw in slums in tv shows and movies.
"... Ninja turtles..?" Fate muttered, "That's a thing?"
"You'd be surprised," the avatar said, a hint of amusement in her voice. "I know of at least one ninja who can summon turtles, and it's very likely at least one of them is a ninja."
"Hm... explains the graffiti, at least," she muttered, gesturing to an elaborate painting on the street of four turtles with stereotypically ninja weapons facing a man armored like a samurai.
"By the way, this part of Mistress' mind is mostly fictitious. There is no such slums in Konoha. The only slum there is... well, it used to be the Uchiha Clan Compound, and nobody lives there," the avatar said. "This part of Konoha does not actually exist, it's a combination of Mistress' image of Konoha after the invasion as well as her own perception of how it should be."
"I see... Uminari's poorest district looks much worse," Nanoha said, idly.
"Unfortunately, this also means that Mistress can actually build a maze here, as she has no memories of this place for me to peruse in any way, so it could be a long time before we find the memory we are-"
"This?" Fate asked, gesturing to a glowing sphere she could see just barely peeking out of a window.
"I... see. I hadn't expected that. As this is a fabrication of her mind... She can actually create interiors for the buildings," the Avatar noted. "Be careful nonetheless. Her mind is still likely to play tricks on us... For your sake, I recommend that you both step into the memory together. Just grab it at the same time. Having someone to support you would be best."
Nanoha nodded. "It's basically the same thing I'm trying to achieve with Naruto-chan, right? We can cheer each other up better if we know what the other went through from experience," Nanoha said.
Fate nodded.
The avatar smiled. "You're smart. Yes, of course," she said. "Now, brace yourselves... I don't think you're gonna like this one very much. Don't worry about the glass. It does not actually exist, and as such, you should be able to go straight through it."
Fate and Nanoha nodded at each other.
Their hands moved slowly, tentatively, towards the glowing sphere, passing harmlessly over the threshold of the window, almost as if the glass wasn't more than a thin curtain of water...
It was raining.
It was a welcome reprieve, all things considered, from the scorching heat of the last few days, not at all helped by the high levels of humidity in the air preceding rain. Fate sighed and looked out the window, wishing she could be like the water and slip through the thick iron bars that covered her window. It would be really nice to go out and play in the rain, feel the cold, refreshing water against her skin.
Her fists clenched on her bedsheets and she grit her teeth.
"Are you comfortable?"
Nanoha turned to meet her grandfather, and blinked. "Why are there so many people with you?" she asked, tilting her head. "I don't think they like me very much."
"They don't like anyone," her grandfather said. "It hurts, doesn't it?"
"Yes," Fate replied. "It hurts lots."
"I can make it go away," her grandfather said. "Do you want it to go away?"
Nanoha paused. Did she want it to go away?
It hurt. Every moment of her life, it hurt. But... but...
Whenever she had ignored it... she'd been hurt. And not the kind of annoying little ache in the back of her head, that she'd grown used to. No... when she ignored it, she felt worse, far, far worse. When she let herself open, she was hurt much more, each and every time.
She hadn't paid attention to it before... she'd thought that it was wrong. That she didn't need it. But she did. She needed it. She needed it bad.
The constant headaches were nothing. Fate would've accepted each and every second of her life being in constant, ceaseless migraine, if it meant she could avoid that feeling in her chest, when it hurt and nothing she did or said could make it better, when she would just lay in her bed clutching at it, clawing at her own body just so she could feel something, anything, any kind of pain that would blot out and drown out the coldness growing in her chest.
Permanent headaches were annoying, but it was something she could live with. She could push it down and ignore it if she wanted to... but every time she had...
"No," Nanoha finally decided. "I need it..."
"It's bad for you, Naruto-chan," her grandfather said, sitting on a wooden chair next to her bed. "It's hurting you. It will make you unable to ever trust anyone again... that's bad, Naruto-chan... it means you'll never be able to get friends or fall in love..."
"I don't care... I'd rather not have any friends or anything!" Fate nearly shouted. "I don't care for friends! What do I need them for anyway?! Nobody likes me, nobody will ever like me, and they can all die and go to hell for all I care!" she did begin shouting in earnest. "All... all I need is-"
"Naruto, you can't just rely on us for companionship. You should- you must have friends your own age," he said.
"I don't wanna!" Nanoha shouted petulantly. "Don't need 'em..."
"I see... you've been hurt so much, for one so young... For what it's worth, Naruto-chan, I'm sorry," the Hokage said, drawing back and standing at his full height. He raised his hand and snapped his fingers.
Two of the aggressive black shadows crept on her and, before Fate could even blink, she felt someone seize her arms, and another person her legs. "Wha- What is going on!? Grandpa, what's going on!?"
She was nearly suffocated by their hostility, and when she directed her eyes, her mind, her feel towards her grandfather, she saw nothing but sadness, nothing but anger and regret and anger and sadness and regret and-
She recognized the other shadow. The ever present, calm and collected blue that she associated with the one of her masked guardians she tended to see the least, the one with the really long hair.
"S-Save me," she pleaded, "they're trying to hurt me! HELP ME! HELP ME PLEASE! THEY'RE GOING TO TAKE IT AWAY!"
"This is for your own good, Naruto-chan," her grandfather said. "This ability of yours... it's harming you. It's made you unable to even go outside... Such an useful ability for a ninja, for someone in your unique position, it's... it's not helping."
"It's helping! It's helping me! They can't fool me, nobody can fool me! I know, I know I know I know!" she shouted, "why!? Why!? You don't hate me, you don't dislike me, so why!? WHY!? WHY ARE YOU DOING THIS TO ME!?"
"I'm sorry, Naruto-chan... but for your own good... Your empathy has to go. It's caused you much harm... it's turned you bitter and angry... I can't bear to see you so deeply disturbed."
"No... please," the anger faded, and she was left solely with her own grief. Why was he doing this to her?
Why?
He... he loved her, didn't he?
But he was sad. Sad and angry and regretful. He was all of those things!
So why?
WHY?
What had she done to him?
Why would he betray her like this?
Was that just her lot in life?
Was she just... destined to suffer like this?
Red hot anger filled her up.
Why was it her lot in life? What had she done to deserve it? What reason was there for her to suffer like this? Was it for their amusement? Did they just enjoy watching her suffer? That was why.
Yes. That was why.
Everyone hated her. Everyone had always hated her.
Even the people who told her that they loved her... even they, were deceivers. They were usually sad or angry when around her. She'd thought that they were sad or angry for her... but she was wrong, apparently.
She struggled a bit, but she was a weak little girl, held down by the elite shinobi force of Konoha. She spat in the old man's face, and he seemed to take it in stride. She bit her lip until she drew blood, gathered it up, and spat it as hard as she could at him, but he just stood there.
"I hate you! I HATE YOU HATE YOU HATE YOU!"
Her voice erupted from her without her consent as she tried to break free.
"It's nearly done," Pretty Hair said.
"Good. Do it... seal it all up... And we'll all forget this ever happened," the old man said.
Tears flowed freely down her cheeks as Pretty Hair performed a few handsigns before hitting her forehead with two fingers, and then everything went black.
Nanoha's hand rubbed her forehead. "W-W-What... what was... that?"
Fate took a deep breath. "Was that..."
"Yes... What you saw was as you saw it," the Avatar said, closing her eyes solemnly.
"Naruto-chan is... Naruto-chan is an empath?" Nanoha asked.
"Was is more the correct term," the avatar said. "It... was not a good thing. In a village who can't help but remember the disaster that followed her birth... Empathy just meant she could not avoid the people's hatred, anger and sadness. Even when she refused to look at them, plugged her ears and deliberately ignored their existence, it was always there, in the back of her mind."
Fate frowned. "I... I can see how that would be a problem... I can see their stance..."
"But it's not right that they did it against her will," Nanoha said. "It's her choice... and they took it away from her..." Nanoha added, looking at Fate, who nodded.
"Even if it was for her own good? Mistress was constantly assaulted by feelings she could not cope with," the Avatar said. "Her mind was under constant pressure. I cannot deny that what was done to her saved her from much suffering."
"Maybe," Fate said, "but I can understand her... I can understand how much it hurts to let someone in your heart, only to be betrayed by that person..."
"Even so," the Avatar said, shaking her head, "Your heart is not closed, your arms are still open to welcome others. Even though you've been hurt..."
"That's because... That's because I had someone to show me that not everyone is like that," Fate said, "I had people who loved me and who would never betray me..."
"So did she," the Avatar said, shaking her head. "But even the people who would never betray her, in her mind, betrayed her that day. Someone she thought loved her unconditionally sealed away her only means of defense against those who would deceive her..."
"Her memory was sealed," Nanoha said, frowning. "Wasn't it?"
"It was, yes," the avatar said, nodding, "but what they couldn't seal away was the sense of betrayal that lingered even after all was said and done. Deep inside her, she's always carried that feeling, never been able to know why it's there, or what exactly it is..."
Nanoha frowned even deeper. "That's horrible... To feel like you've been betrayed like that, and never knowing why..."
Fate took a deep breath. "She's not alone. Not anymore..."
"That's right," the avatar said. "She knows that the knights won't betray her, ever... but she also believes that it's only because of the Tome's security protocols. The knights make her happy, content... but they can't heal the wound in her heart, the wound that was left open to fester so long ago."
Fate put a hand on Nanoha's shoulder. "We can... we can do this."
"We must do this," Nanoha said, nodding as her voice became chaged with determination.
"Let us move..." the avatar said.
Before they began to walk, Nanoha rubbed her forehead. "I still have phantom pains," she admitted.
Fate nodded.
"I wouldn't be surprised. That seal caused fifty four seconds of agony to the mistress before she fainted from the pain," the avatar said.
Without much more in the way of words, they began to move back towards the center.
"That might've been a mistake," Chrono muttered as he saw Naruto pull herself out of the water, where his Stinger Snipe had thrown her.
"We really should stop making her angrier," Arf said, cracking her neck a little.
"You're still full of energy?" Chrono asked.
"Yeah," Arf noted, "it's weird, actually. Normally, I can only use a fraction of Fate's mana for myself, but... Now it's like I'm drawing from an infinite well. All that I take is instantly recovered."
"Makes sense," Yuuno noted, as he swept down and stopped next to them. "You're still connected to Fate's Linker Core, and she is at the same time probably connected to the Tome," he explained. "So what you spend from her core is filled back up by the Tome," he added, seeing as she was gesturing for him to continue.
"So, let me get this straight. She's throwing around more power than we have in our entire bodies with every spell. Everything I do is draining her reserves. And she's also most likely supporting Nanoha as well."
"That would be correct," Yuuno mused. "Linker Cores are always draining a very slight amount and only really recover with food or sleep."
"What monstrous reserves of energy," Chrono muttered. "This must be the power of the Book of Darkness, the power that has devastated worlds..."
"Are you quite done with the conversation?"
The three turned around and noticed Naruto floating in front of them with her arms crossed.
"I don't care how cool your outfit is," Naruto said, pointing at Chrono, "and it is really cool by the way," she added.
"Thank you," Chrono said, dryly.
"You're dying first," Naruto added.
"That's not very nice," Yuuno quipped.
"Yes, well, I am not very nice," Naruto replied, flatly.
"You're surprisingly calm after I hit you in the face with a spell," Chrono said, idly. "Particularly since I'm pretty sure you hate that spell."
"I'm pretty surprised myself," Naruto admitted. "I thought I'd be angrier, what with this annoying headache, the fact that you managed to break my nose with that shot, and the whole 'resisting me when I'm trying to kill you' thing."
"Can't say I'm not glad you're not shooting bombardment spells at us," Arf commented.
"This... is actually kind of creeping me out," Yuuno admitted. "Gibbering insanity and mad rage is kind of easy to understand, but this is weird."
"So... you're over the anger now?" Arf asked, somewhat hopefully.
"If things were ever this simple, I would be retired from boredom," Chrono said, rolling his eyes.
"The first corpse of the night is right," Naruto said, nodding. "So here's the situation, I think by this point you guys know my motivation, given my reputation in pretty much every nation at this point. No one's ever made me feel the way that you do. Please excuse me, I don't mean to be rude, but tonight? Tonight I'm killing you," Naruto said, pointing her finger at Chrono.
Chrono's eyes widened for a second when she launched a familiar pink beam from her fingertip at him, and he had barely an instant to tilt his head to avoid it.
It left a noticeable gash on his cheek.
It was undeniable proof that the kid gloves were off. Literally, as her bare knuckles hit his cheek, making his world explode in pain.
When Yuuno and Arf pounced on her, she seemed to lean back for a second, and when their attacks would connect, she snapped into motion, catching Arf's leg and Yuuno's fist.
They only had a moment to realize the situation had gone to crap again before they were smashed against each other and thrown aside like discarded trash. In a mere instant, Naruto launched forward, leaving only the sound of the sonic boom that signified her crashing through the sound barrier. Chrono hadn't had a chance to regain his bearings before she pounced on him again, raining attacks on him.
Before he knew it, Chrono was on the border of consciousness, barely hanging onto it, as her hand squeezed his neck.
"Before you die, I really want to say that you're the most annoying person I've ever met," Naruto said.
"Thank you," Chrono said, dryly, rasping as her hand was preventing his proper speech. That, and the fact that his entire torso felt like it'd been used by Aria and Lotte to practice some of their more violent katas.
"That wasn't a compliment," Naruto said, frowning. "Defiant to the end, I see," she said, her free hand waving and summoning the Tome of the Night Sky to her. "Any last words?"
"Just four," Chrono said.
"Well, let's hear them, then," Naruto said.
"Staff to the Head," Chrono said.
"What the-"
And then Naruto was sent flying as an interloper cut her off, smashing a massive adamantine staff on the side of her head, which sent her flying.
"I've been briefed," Sarutobi Hiruzen said, as he caught Chrono, who could no longer support himself in the air.
"Good to know," Chrono said, as they landed on the open water. Of course, they didn't sink, even as the ocean raged around them. "Ninja abilities are really useful. Maybe I should learn some."
"Maybe," Sarutobi said, before making a handsing. A black shadow blurred into view, bursting out of the water and taking the form of a human in armor. "Take him to shore, and get me Kakashi and Gai."
The shadow nodded, took Chrono and left, running at a rather impressive pace over the water.
Yuuno and Arf descended to the water's level.
Naruto rose from the water.
"So you got your memories back, didn't you Naruto?" Sarutobi said, closing his eyes. "I take it you're angry."
"Angry?" Naruto asked, tilting her head. "Yes, a bit," she said. "But then again, I think you said it best yourself."
"A Hokage must always be calm and collected," Sarutobi said, "and must not succumb easily to anger. But if you do succumb, then your anger must be thorough, must be methodical, and most importantly," he said, trailing off as he looked at Naruto.
"Your anger must be apocalyptic," Naruto finished. "Let me show you just how angry I really am, traitor," she spat.
Sarutobi winced.
That single word had hurt more than any spell she could possibly throw at him.
He readied his staff. Enma had as many misgiving about this fight as he did.
But... Once again, he reminded himself.
This was for the best.
For her own good. Even if she hates him for it... she would be protected. She would be protected from the world. She'd be protected from herself.
"Come at me, coward!"
The Wolkenritter gathered.
"So then... what do we do?" Vita asked. "We... What are we supposed to do?"
"I... is the mistress we've been following up until now a lie? A fabrication created from the seal on her memories and powers?" Shamal asked, frowning deeply. "The possibility is frightening."
"The possibility that she could turn out to be just as cruel as all our other masters... It is a frightful prospect indeed," Zafira said, evenly, closing his eyes and crossing his arms over his muscular chest.
Signum, however, seemed to have had enough. She stabbed Laevateinn on the ground before her. "Nonsense!" she said, glaring at her fellow knights. "Listen to yourselves!"
Vita seemed to be similarly angry. "But what can we do!? She doesn't need us anymore, and Mistress... the kind mistress that treated us like human beings, that was always a lie wasn't it!?," she shouted, stomping the ground, growling slightly, "we've always been serving a mere fabrication, nothing but an illusion, and I- I-"
"I understand," Shamal said. "It hurts. I don't want it to be true. I want to go to sleep and wake up and find out that all of this was just a horrible nightmare, but..."
"I'll kill- I'll kill the Old Man! He did this! He caused all of this!" Vita yelled, swinging Graf Eisen madly.
"Calm down," Zafira said. "This is not a moment in which we should lose our heads," he said, taking a deep breath, "as angry as I am myself, I will stop you if you want to go out half cocked and without any sort of plan."
Shamal nodded. "I agree... We must think before we act, now more than ever. Acting without thinking was what created this mess in the first place, and it's not going to get Mistress out of it."
"S-Shut up!" Vita said. "I don't care... I don't care about any of that shit!" she yelled again. "If you try to stop me, I'll fight! I'm going to go get Mistress back, back to the way she was, and then- and then-"
"And how, pray tell, do you intend to do that?" Signum asked, tilting her head. "Reapplying the seal to bind her memories and powers away?" she asked.
Vita deflated, letting herself drop and ignoring the sting of her butt hitting the underbrush of the forest they'd chosen to have a discrete meeting in. "No... I..."
"We... we should talk to her," Shamal suggested. "I'm sure Mistress is very angry right now, and she's probably feeling lost and very, very alone..."
"We should," Zafira said.
"It is the only option we have," Signum agreed.
"We'll get her back," Vita said, taking a deep breath and looking up. She noticed Signum's hand in front of her. Without wasting a second, Vita grasped it firmly and allowed herself to be pulled to her feet. "Even if it's the last thing I do..."
Signum nodded.
Shamal and Zafira nodded as well.
As a group, they turned to glance towards the direction they knew their mistress to be.
"Soon, mistress..." Signum said, "I swear, on my honor as a knight... that we'll save you."
"Can we have... a status update, of sorts?" Fate asked. "I'm worried, because I don't think Chrono and the others have much more left in them to keep fighting..."
The avatar nodded. "I have a certain degree of accesss to outside information, as I am still connected to the book," the avatar said.
"Would you?" Nanoha asked, turning to her as the three took a moment to breathe, trying to recover their bearings after the harrowing experience that was Naruto's memories of betrayal.
"Ah... As it stands, so far, nothing irreversible has been done. I have to admit that... mistress came pretty close to succesfully murdering Chrono Harlaown," the Avatar explained. "She did recognize him as the significantly bigger threat and moved to neutralize him first. I- I'm sorry if-"
"Don't be," Fate said, shaking her head. "I don't hold it against Naruto. I don't think Chrono would either," she said, taking a deep breath. "And I can at least feel a little pride in my elder brother knowing that he was such a big threat that the Master of the Tome of the Night Sky decided that he was the most dangerous one... even if she tried to- to-"
Nanoha patted her shoulder.
"Something's not quite right," the avatar said. "Mistress had plenty of chances to do the did. I can read the intention to do so clearly. Yet... each and every time, even when she could have killed all three of them with very little effort... she seems to still be playing around. Even after she intended to get serious... she has not yet used the full extent of her powers, and she has only really made a semi serious attempt at killing Chrono once. She... delayed it..."
"Maybe Naruto-chan just can't bring herself to be that cruel, to kill in cold blood," Nanoha said. "Maybe some part of her, even in her crazed state brought from fear, still doesn't want to hurt anyone."
The avatar frowned. "I wish... but I can't read her very well. She's clouded by the corruption, and her behavior is erratic at the best of times."
The blonde nodded. "I too, believe that Naruto is stronger than that," she said.
The three nodded.
"There's just one chain left..." Nanoha muttered. "And then, this nightmare will end."
"And when we wake up, it's gonna be a brighter tomorrow, isn't it?" Fate asked.
"... Thank you," the Avatar said, smiling and closing her eyes.
"Hm... what for?" Nanoha asked, tilting her head.
"Nothing in particular. Just for being you, I suppose," she said.
Nanoha grinned.
"Let's go... I want to save Naruto-chan," Nanoha said, a determined smile on her face as she jumped to her feet.