WARNING: This fanfiction is NanoFate and it is rated M for strong, disturbing, violent, and explicitly sexual, content and situations, as well as intimate scenes between women. If this type of content is not to your liking, or if you are underage, please do not read it.

DISCLAIMER: MSLN Characters belong to their rightful owners. All the situations and characters presented in this work are fictitious, any similarity with real, historical, or present situations or individuals, is not intentional.

AUTHOR'S NOTE: Guest-starring characters: Yuri Natsume, along with other characters from Canaan. Yakushiji Ryōko-san from Yakushiji Ryouko no Kaiki Jikenbo.

TRANSLATOR'S NOTES: Always grateful for all the readers following the story.

The Shadow by Aleksei Volken

Chapter 3. The shadow of the past.

— X —

"The only devils in the world are those running around in our own hearts, and that is where the battle should be fought."

—Gandhi

— X —

TSAB's Headquarters, Section 6-9 offices, Special Unit of Violent Crimes
Midchilda City. Day 16, Tenth Month, 2044 - 08:00 hrs.

"What were you expecting?" Hayate asked, comfortably seated in the elegant and long leather-covered couch she kept in her office for those informal meetings. "That she would jump to your arms at the mere sight of you?"

Agent Fate Testarossa Harlaown, sitting in another cushioned chair next to the one Hayate was occupying, frowned at her boss.

"I was expecting you to tell me what was going on."

"You didn't know what was happening, so you couldn't be expecting that," Hayate rebutted as if it were obvious.

"You know what I mean, Hayate!" Fate exclaimed standing up. The cup of tea in front of her was getting cold without even being touched. She had not had a good night. In fact, Fate had barely been able to sleep, thinking about Nanoha, in what she would have been doing all those months they had been apart and in everything she wanted to talk with her, and when she was finally able to fall asleep, her dreams were a succession of nightmares in between the passionate moments she had lived with Nanoha and the moments of horror when Nanoha had been in Yuuno's power for several days.

In the end, she had ended up waking up, sweaty and distraught, to call Hayate and ask her boss and friend for an urgent meeting.

Hayate let Fate get up and walk through her office without saying a thing.

Finally, the Enforcer stopped in front of Hayate.

"Why did you let her do this?" Fate asked with a tormented look.

Hayate gave Fate a slight nod to sit down again. Much to her regret, knowing that Hayate wouldn't speak until she did, Fate agreed.

However, Hayate's response was not what Fate expected.

"Don't you think that Nanoha is perfectly capable of deciding what she wants to do, without anyone letting her… or not?"

Fate clenched her fists.

"What happened with Scrya was still very recent when she decided to leave, Hayate. Also, there's her family… The Takamachis didn't want anything to do with the Bureau. All of this is happening way too fast and it can't be good for her."

"Who gets to know what's good for Nanoha, Fate? Her family? Her friends? You? ... All of us who suffered with her?" Hayate asked while sitting serenely with one leg properly crossed over the other looking at Fate with parsimony.

Fate remained silent. Hayate wasn't telling her anything specific. As always with her friend, it was simply impossible to make her say something she didn't want to say. All Hayate had done was answer her questioning with more questions.

"Hayate…" Fate said, propping her elbows on her knees and tightly clasping her hands in front of her as she looked at the soft carpet of Hayate's office, and tried to find the right words to convey her concern to the Colonel, "The case that we have on our hands is going to be extremely difficult… maybe more than the Scaglietti-Scrya… Nanoha… I…"

"I understand, Fate, believe me, I do," Hayate said when Fate raised her face to see her. "Shamal and Signum talked with me last night. I know this case is going to be goddamned hard. I know… and you will have to accept whatever Nanoha decides to do or you will not be able to support her when she needs you to and you won't be able to properly do your job either. If Nanoha decides to face her demons alone, just as you have faced your own when you have had to, the most important thing is that she is not and will not be alone… You know she won't be alone. And you will have to trust her… as I trust you."

Fate deeply stared at her friend before asking the question that had been slowly eating at her since the night before. "But, Hayate… Nanoha… does she still trust me?"

Hayate held Fate's gaze and wished she had an answer for her friend, one that was what Fate expected and needed. But she didn't have it either.

She was not even certain that Nanoha herself had it.

— X —

Suburban area of Midchilda City. Altseim South District.
Day 16, Tenth Month, 2044 - 08:00 hrs.

The soft rays of the autumn sun filtered through the half-closed wooden shutters that kept the Takamachi family dojo in a slight morning gloom. Various weapons and scrolls hung on the neat wooden walls. Some of those panels were actually doors that concealed cabinets where Nanoha's father kept the various items needed for his classes and training.

There, the only noise to be heard was the light gliding of bare feet on the polished wooden floor.

Nanoha had gotten up very early that morning to exercise. She still refused to say that she 'trained', although, during her months of training as a TSAB Agent in Vaizen, various types of martial arts and self-defense had been required subjects.

And Nanoha had strived and distinguished herself in them as in all the other subjects of her training.

Her siblings, Miyuki and Kyoya, were still looking at her in surprise even though she had seen her follow the same routine for a few days since her arrival in Midchilda.

Since Nanoha had announced her irrevocable decision to become a TSAB agent, her father had not said a word for or against it. Shiro Takamachi had locked himself in a fortress of silence regarding the issue, which Nanoha had not been able to enter since then.

Momoko, who had done her best to dissuade her daughter from that decision prior to her departure to Vaizen, had welcomed Nanoha back with exultant joy and open arms, and all those days she had behaved as if her daughter still was in the University and that was an inter-month vacation visit.

During the entire time she was in Vaizen, even though she was always in contact with them, Nanoha did not make a trip to visit her family, not even during the holidays. For as long as possible, Nanoha had devoted herself to thoroughly preparing to become a TSAB agent.

However, in her family, no one said a single word about it.

The day before, when Nanoha had worn the black TSAB agent uniform for the first time and sat at the table to eat her frugal breakfast, it seemed to be invisible to Momoko. Her mother had wished her a great day and she had kissed Nanoha goodbye at the door as if she were going out for a picnic. For the red-haired, it was hard to bear the jovial mood of her mother.

But the hardest thing to bear was that crushing silence that had nestled in the middle of her and her family.

That silence that enclosed all the things they hadn't talked about.

And Nanoha did not know if there would come the day when they would be able to talk about them. Sometimes, she was not even sure she was able to 'talk to herself' about them.

"Aren't you running late for your office?"

Nanoha, who deep in thought had remained motionless in the middle of the dojo for several minutes, turned towards the door to find her sister leaning against the door frame; Miyuki Takamachi wore her training uniform, an old baggy black gi that was her favorite and was looking at her younger sister with a penetrating and searching gaze.

Until that moment Nanoha looked at the time. It was after eight in the morning already. Shamal had asked Nanoha to take things easy those first few days. Hayate's team, especially Signum, Fate, and Hayate herself, used to be in the office very early even though their official check-in time fluctuated between eight and nine in the morning.

Nanoha, who also liked to arrive very early to the university, to the laboratory, and then to her classes at the TSAB academy, still did not feel with all the confidence to arrive so early to Section 6.

Partly because she was still afraid of running into Fate. With Fate's crimson gaze that she had missed so much and that held so many questions that Nanoha didn't know if she could answer.

Her first day of work at Section 6 had not been as easy for her as she had originally thought it would be.

"Not yet," Nanoha said, staring at the floor.

Miyuki took off her sandals and barefoot entered the dojo.

"How are you?" Miyuki asked at last.

Nanoha looked at her sister in sudden surprise and then smiled as cheerfully as she could.

"Very good! ...It was very exciting to come back! ...Everyone welcomed me very well and immediately made me feel part of the team."

Miyuki didn't say anything for a few seconds.

"Was it that hard to see her again?" she said at last.

Nanoha sighed and the smile on her lips disappeared. She must have known that it wasn't going to be that easy to fool Miyuki.

The redhead sat on the wooden floor of the dojo and bending her legs, she hugged them against her chest.

Miyuki sat next to her without saying anything. Slight rays of golden light fell on them and no noise was heard around. The dojo was a small haven of peace that embraced the turbulence that churned inside Nanoha.

"I never thought that coming back… would be so… hard," Nanha said at last. "When I was in Vaizen, training, studying… everything that we went through, all that situation with… Yuuno-kun… looked so… unreal… almost as if it had happened to someone else… but now…"

"You should maybe take more time then," Miyuki said cautiously, wary of her sister's reactions.

"Taking more time will not change what I have to face," Nanoha replied, hardening inside once more.

"There are some encounters that are inevitable, Nanoha. It's not that we are avoiding them or running away from them, it's just that we need to get ready and wait for the appropriate time for those encounters; with certain enemies, we cannot rush in…"

"Fate-chan is not my enemy… but…"

Nanoha interrupted herself sighing.

Miyuki waited a bit before saying what had been going on in her head since her little sister had returned as a brand new government agent.

"I don't mean that she is… We can always change our mind Nanoha… The reasons why you decided to join TSAB may have changed. No one is going to judge you for it."

Nanoha gently shook her head.

"I don't regret my decision, Miyuki… Even though I never thought about it before collaborating with Section 6, after working with them, becoming a TSAB agent is what I've wanted the most and what I want to do… What I don't know is what to do about Fate-chan," Nanoha said with sadness.

Miyuki looked at her little sister with pain in her heart. She, who had lived the same nightmare with Nanoha and the rest of their family, understood and found herself wishing, for the very first time, that love wouldn't be so complicated.

— X —

TSAB's Headquarters, Section 6-9 offices, Special Unit of Violent Crimes
Midchilda City. Day 16, Tenth Month, 2044 - 09:00 hrs.

"Where did you say my office was?"

Fate and Signum looked at each other trying to hold back a sigh. Ryōko Yakushiji had arrived less than ten minutes ago and they were both already on their nerves.

The three women were, at that moment, in Fate's office trying to organize; that would be the first day of their joint work in an operational way… or at least what they were trying to achieve.

For a best 'collaboration' with Section 6, Ryōko had demanded to have an office where she could work the case and also keep informed of what was happening in Cranagan during her absence.

Fate looked at Signum and the latter knew it was inevitable. She was the only one on Fate's team, without counting Fate herself, that had a small private cubicle.

Signum didn't mind losing her small office… she minded what she was getting herself into when Shamal found out, especially after the drama the doctor had raised the night before, and that had ended up with Signum sleeping on the couch of their new apartment.

"Signum..." Fate said, nodding to her second in command, "Could you please lend your office to the Superintendent? For the time being, I need you and Zafira in fieldwork, you can work from my office when necessary."

"Oh..." Ryōko said, looking at Signum with a guilt she was far from feeling, "I don't mean to take your office like that, dear, surely we can share it without any problem at all."

That was exactly what Signum feared the woman would say.

"Don't worry, Superintendent…"

"Ryōko…" the other one insisted with a suggestive tone.

"... Ryōko…" Signum gave in, already impatient to start her workday without any more interruptions. "Just as Fate said, I need to coordinate several activities for the team and I will spend most of my time away from the office, so it's all right."

Signum then gestured outside Fate's office to guide Ryōko to what would be her new office in Section 6.

"Oh…" Ryōko said, slightly pouting, before leaving Fate's office. "That will be a shame."

Signum looked at Fate almost like saying "You owe me one, Testarossa," before leaving behind Superintendent Yakushiji.

The offices of Hayate's three team leaders, Fate, Griffith, and Verossa were located on the second level, along with the smaller meeting rooms and Hayate's massive office, while on a double-height lower level, was found the common work area for the agents of the three teams, the offices of the second in command, Signum, Misato, and Ellis respectively, as well as the huge main conference room.

With this distribution, any of the group leaders could go out from the second level and, from the corridor, see the entire work area where various individual modules made up the action area of each agent.

Unlike what happened in many government offices, Hayate had ensured that the work areas of her agents, although modular, were spacious, functional, and perfectly equipped with all the computing and communication devices they might require.

At the center, a couple of large digital work tables, allowed them to organize and present the information from various databases and even display holographic information from different cities and geographic regions.

The only exceptions to that assignment of positions were Shamal, who in addition to being part of Fate's team was the head of the Section 6 science team and therefore had her own office in the science wing of TSAB; Laguna Granscenic, who was the scientific liaison for Griffith's team and also assisted Verossa in these tasks; and most recently, Nanoha.

What Signum feared the most about how the situation was playing out was that, in that order of things, all of her colleagues would witness her interactions with Ryōko Yakushiji. And eventually, Shamal would find out all the details that her colleagues observed.

After opening the door to her private office and having the lights come on automatically; Signum gallantly stepped aside to let Ryōko pass and handed her a small control device.

"As a rule of thumb, we usually don't lock doors, but given that you will be handling your own documentation, you can keep control. Fate has a copy of this one and Colonel Yagami for all the offices, but I don't think there will be any need to use them while you are here," Signum explained.

As if she had not heard a single word of the explanation, Ryōko entered the office but stopped directly in front of Signum and asked a completely unexpected question.

"Colonel Yagami and you don't share the same last name by sheer coincidence, right? Although I don't see much familiar resemblance between you two."

Signum swallowed thinking that Ryōko was standing in front of her, perhaps a little closer than she should.

After clearing her throat slightly, Signum avoided answering and entered the office, pausing in the center of it to explain to Ryōko her layout and other details; However, she did not let her continue and approached her again.

"I think I can find everything I need Signum… Does it bother you that I ask you about your relationship with Colonel Yagami? I like to familiarize myself with the environment where I am going to work, that's all."

Ryōko was looking at her with a smile and a suggestive look that Signum endured before answering.

"The colonel is my sister," she said with the greatest indifference that she could. It wasn't a secret and anyone Cranagan's Superintendent asked would give the same answer.

More than her uncomfortable questions, what worried Signum was the brazen insistence with which Ryōko had sought her since the day before.

That very insistence had already caused her some trouble with Shamal.

And she was afraid that wouldn't be the last.

"Let me know if you need anything… Ryōko. The intercom that Fate gave you has a direct line to me and Fate… now, if you'll excuse me, I have to attend to some things with our team," Signum said with the same indifferent tone and headed out of the office.

"I'll see you in the afternoon then," Ryōko said when Signum was almost out of the office.

The pink-haired turned slightly, just enough to see that the Superintendent seemed very comfortable in the space and she was already seductively sitting on her desk with one leg crossed over the other.

Signum nodded slightly and hurried to follow her path.

She had too many things to worry about with the case at hand to worry about Ryōko Yakushiji's interests or intentions.

Perhaps it was because of this that she did not notice the unusual silence that surrounded the common work area and the inquiring looks that some agents such as Alto, Lucino, Isis, Misato, and Ellis directed her as he marched out towards her duties.

— X —

"When did they find the last limb?" Fate asked.

Before anyone could even realize, it was already five o'clock, the time scheduled for the team's daily meeting where they would all present their progress.

At the main conference room, all of Fate's team was gathered and ready to report what they had found. Ryōko Yakushiji, along with her invisible assistant, was, of course, among the attendees.

"One week ago," Alto replied, standing up to explain the charts she and Lucino had compiled. "It has been quite an intricate job correlating the Cranagan and Midchilda data but finally it seems that we have found at least a way to sort it. Although the case remains a puzzle."

"What do you mean?" Zafira asked, who was attending one of those meetings for the first time, was already up to speed with all the details and didn't want to lose any angle of that guy escaping from him.

"Yes, as I was just saying, the first limb found did not correspond to the first victim identified, Kaori Makimura… That limb, in fact, although we know it's from a female, has not been able to be correlated with an identity," Alto explained. "That one along with others."

"That's right," Lucino intervened. "The limbs found, so far, correspond to different body parts, non-vital so to speak, of twelve women. Only two of them have been identified thanks to the DNA samples provided by the relatives of the missing victims."

At that moment, the photos of two attractive young girls appeared on the screen. One blonde and the other brunette.

"Lucy Heartfilia and Rei Miyamoto," Lucino said. "Their records have been added to your devices."

In the information that Lucino sent them, everyone could read in addition to the general information of the girls, the dates on which they had been reported missing, the dates on which part of their bodies had been found, and which parts had been.

"Can we assume they are still alive?" Ryōko asked seriously.

Lucino and Alto made an ambiguous gesture at the same time, but it was Shamal who answered.

"Until we find conclusive proof that they could not be alive... as in the case of the other seven victims, yes; we could hope they are still alive," said the Doctor.

Ryōko nodded but made no further comment.

"What is the time range between the victims who have been identified were reported as missing and the findings of their limbs?" Vice asked, rummaging through the jumble of data on his device.

Lucino and Alto took a deep breath.

"That is another puzzle, Vice-kun," Nanoha said, standing up to get close to Lucino and Alto. She had been working with them on that topic to try and organize the data. "We have not been able to find a correlation that makes sense. There is no pattern. The first victim confirmed as reported to be missing was Sylia Stingray and that goes back two years, as you can see in the table of data we integrated. Nothing was heard from her, nor any limb associated with her was found until the discovery of her head, three months ago."

"Then that lunatic had her in his power for TWO YEARS?" Vice asked with a deep frown.

Fate almost sat up at that moment to reprimand Vice but realizing that she would have done the same at another time, she restrained herself.

It was impossible for Fate not to remember that Nanoha had only been in the hands of Yuuno Scrya for a week. Although she could understand Vice's frustration and helplessness imagining a woman in the hands of a madman for two years, her heart sank by the thought of what Nanoha had to be feeling when faced with that case.

Despite what she had argued with Hayate that morning, she felt again the pressing need to talk to Nanoha, to make sure she was okay, to protect her from that horror.

Nanoha, who had already responded sadly but affirmatively to Vice, continued with her explanation.

"The case of Sylia Stingray is the one that elapses the longest period of time between the report of the disappearance and the confirmation of her death. The case with the shortest period of time corresponds to Miss Lacus Clyne," Nanoha said, displaying the photos of both women on the screen.

"Isn't she the other victim whose only the head was found?" Signum asked in a sullen voice.

"Correct, Signum-san…" Nanoha replied, nodding. "The two of them, along with the case of Kyoko Tokiwa, the girl of the torso, are the ones that intrigue me the most. Miss Clyne was reported as missing seven months ago in Cranagan, but her head was found in Midchilda's jurisdictional zone, barely a week after the report of her disappearance."

"One week… and two years," Signum mumbled almost to herself. "That doesn't make any sense."

Nanoha continued, "In all the cases of the murdered victims, there is no pattern between the date they were reported missing, the discovery of the limbs, and the confirmation of their deaths. In a pair of cases, there is no certainty either in what moment or where they went missing. It could have been a day or two before a relative or a friend reported to the police."

"It's a fucking puzzle," said Zafira, who just like Vice, was trying to make any sense out of the data in his device. "It's just way too much disconnected data."

Fate agreed with that, but couldn't let that stop them.

"What do you think… Nanoha?" she asked, staring directly at the redhead.

Nanoha took a deep breath, looking at the screen where the pictures of the nine women identified so far were displayed; seven were no longer alive, but they, along with others, still waited for justice.

"There is something that triggers the moment," Nanoha said. "The subject clearly selects them as something worthy of his collection and there is a moment in which his ritual leads him to mutilate them. Something triggers that change. Then something triggers the final mutilation that leads them to their death… I don't have anything conclusive yet, but I suspect his cycle evolves in those three stages."

Nanoha paused and then added, "I am compiling information on each of the women that have been identified to draw at least a general profile of his personality; given there is not an identifiable pattern among them, I am exploring the hypothesis that the component of the victims personalities will allow me to define a more concrete profile of the killer."

"Have any of you found any correlation among the victims?" Fate asked.

"None yet," Lucino answered.

After the presentation of the girls, Zafira and Vice showed the geographical location of the findings and the disappearances.

As with the previous analysis of the victims, there was no geographic pattern to follow.

"We did not find a correlation, Fate, it seems as if this subject did not care whether it was night or day and could move freely wherever he wanted. We have found almost a thousand miles between the potential site where one of the victims disappeared or at least its movement zone… and the points where her limbs were found," Vice explained, who had the turn of standing in front. from the huge screen displaying a map of the metropolitan area of the twin cities of Cranagan and Midchilda.

"I've never been a case where a subject would have such a large range of action," Signum said, trying not to let her frustration show in her voice. "How can he move like that?"

Everyone was silent trying to find alternatives.

"Vice, Zafira… I need you to answer that question," Fate asked, "We need hypotheses for his mobility. All possible ones. Please note that he is not transporting whole bodies. This entails a factor of greater flexibility than in the cases of other subjects that we have faced. Although we cannot establish a geographic correlation, we have to find potential sites at least where it can converge. There has to be a logic, we just haven't been able to see it."

Vice and Zafira nodded.

"Fate," Nanoha said, attracting the attention of the Enforcer. "I will need to interview the relatives and friends of the victims and missing girls that have been identified, to profile them."

"Okay," Fate said nodding. "Signum, you will be with Nanoha at all times for that."

Signum slightly raised an eyebrow.

Nanoha frowned much more than just slightly. "That will not be necessary, Fate… Signum-san already has a lot of work assigned like everyone else and in any case, the help I need is from Alto or Lucino… between the three of us we are trying to give structure to the data we have."

Suddenly, the atmosphere in the conference room became tense. Ryōko observed with curiosity at the staring duel that had unleashed between Nanoha and Fate.

"Signum will go with you, Nanoha… that's an order," Fate said with a serene yet very serious voice.

Nanoha did not back down.

"That's not necessary," she repeated with the same serenity and seriousness as Fate.

Fate's gaze hardened as she stood up.

"What if one of the relatives or friends is the individual we are looking for?" Fate asked with a voice barely contained looking intensely at Nanoha.

No one in the room questioned Fate's argument. Ryōko didn't know what was happening but it was evident that there was a conflict unfolding in front of her.

"Now I have the training to know what to do," Nanoha replied unfazed under Fate's gaze.

"Now?" Ryōko asked, looking from Nanoha to Fate and then to all the team members.

"Signum," Fate said, turning to look at her second in command, ignoring Ryōko's question, "You will go with Nanoha wherever necessary and will keep me posted on her position at all times. Is it clear?"

Neither the tone nor Fate's look gave way to any further discussion.

"Perfectly, Fate, it'll be like that," Signum answered confidently. She could understand Fate's apprehension and needed her leader to be calm in that sense.

Nanoha was going to protest again but a hand on her forearm stopped her. When she turned around, she found Shamal looking at her and shaking her head gently.

"Fate is right, Nanoha," Shamal said with an understanding look. "That is the procedure we always follow. The safety of our team should not be compromised and by doing those interviews, you will be more exposed than any of us."

Shamal knew that everyone was exposed to danger in the work they did, but she also knew the kind of warrior Signum was and like her wife, she understood Fate's concern.

Nanoha didn't agree with Shamal but at least she didn't continue the discussion either.

After Fate gave a few more instructions, they all stood up, ending the meeting.

Before Fate or anyone could approach her, Nanoha walked out of the meeting room with a determined step without saying a word and without looking at anyone.

Ryōko was tempted to ask again but in the end, she decided that it would be better to investigate on her own afterwards what the secrets of the elite team of Section 6 were.

— X —

Barely ten minutes had gone by since Nanoha had arrived at the scientific wing of Section 6 when the door to the research area she shared with Shamal opened and Fate entered.

Nanoha, with her back to the door, could guess who had entered and did not stop what she was doing in her terminal, nor did she turn around to look at the newly arrived.

"I cannot let you take that risk alone," Fate said, looking at Nanoha's back.

Without turning around, or stopping from typing, Nanoha replied serene but distant. "It's fine, I understand."

Fate took a breath.

"Why do I get the impression that you are upset then?" Fate asked.

"I am not upset," Nanoha replied, still without turning around or stopping her work. "We have a lot to do, we had said so in the previous meetings."

Fate grabbed Nanoha by the shoulders and made her turn around to see her.

"Why?" Fate asked, looking at her with pain. "It's been months since the last time we saw each other. After the last conversation we had, you just left to return now, here, as a TSAB agent and we have to work together in a case like this one… Why are you avoiding me? Why are you behaving like this? …And more than that, why do you insist on putting yourself in danger?"

Instead of answering, Nanoha stood up to ask Fate deadly seriously, "If it was any other person on your team… Alto, Lucino… even Shamal, would you put Signum, your second in command, almost as their personal bodyguard?"

Fate clenched her jaws, and grabbing Nanoha by the arms, she pulled her closer.

"I can't allow you to expose yourself like that... not after…"

Fate was very close to Nanoha, looking at her as if she wanted to go through her soul and her heart and understand what was happening, but even so, Nanoha felt light years away from Fate.

"We all suffered with Yuuno's case, Fate…" Nanoha said with serenity, without avoiding Fate's gaze and without recognizing that the grip of the blonde on her arms was hurting her. "I was not the only one, it's a miracle that Lucino is alive, for instance… Alto was also attacked… Shamal was in the hospital far longer than I was… You showing such deference to me is an insult to them."

"None of them were held captive for a week by a madman," Fate rebutted, tightening her grip on Nanoha's arms.

Nanoha wanted to ask Fate if that was the only reason she put Signum as her guard, but she knew that if she asked that question, Fate could ask many other questions that she wasn't ready to answer yet.

As Nanoha didn't answer anything, Fate loosened her hold on the redhead and tried to hug her but Nanoha's firm arms kept her away from her.

"Let go of me, please," Nanoha asked, averting her gaze from Fate's. "I don't think this is appropriate behavior for our workplace… Enforcer Testarossa."

Nanoha's tone and attitude, especially her addressing her like that, made Fate feel a hole in her chest, but she had to admit that the scientist was right. Fate was getting carried away for reasons that were more personal than from the job. Something that had never happened to her before.

They were in the office, with an extremely difficult case to solve, and in more ways than one, many eyes were on the team, Hayate, and Nanoha herself.

Regardless of what she was feeling, Fate had to maintain control and serenity.

Swallowing heavily, Fate released Nanoha and took a step away from her.

Nanoha still wasn't looking at her.

After a pause in which various thoughts swamped one after another in Fate's mind, the blonde finally spoke.

"You're right," Fate accepted firmly, "I can't assure you that I would put Signum as a backup if it were someone else… but I'm not going to risk anything happening to you… ever again."

Nanoha looked at her then.

"I am an agent and a member of Section 6, just like any other. I can't allow you to make a difference between the others and me," Nanoha said, staring at Fate with determination.

"You are a member of Section 6…" Fate corroborated, "But you're also a rookie and it's my responsibility to ensure the safety of all my team members as I deem appropriate."

"If that's the case…" Nanoha said, "maybe I should request Colonel Yagami to reassign me to another unit."

Fate felt her stomach drop to her feet and she was about to approach Nanoha again but her gaze stopped her.

"I cannot believe we're having this discussion, Nanoha," Fate said looking at Nanoha with powerlessness. "You've been a TSAB agent for a day and I hadn't seen you in months… This is not how I imagined us meeting again would look like."

Finally, Nanoha blushed at Fate's comment and looked away again.

She hadn't imagined them meeting again like that either.

She had hardly even allowed herself to think of Fate in any way. During her months of training, she had consciously and conscientiously avoided thinking about Fate and immersed herself in one single goal: graduating as a TSAB agent.

"Nanoha…" Fate called her with a soft voice, different from the pressing tone she had before, "I know this is not the best place, nor the best time… but we need to talk… I need to understand what's going on…"

"I'm a TSAB agent, Fate… yes, it's true I'm a rookie, but I'm an agent just like any other," Nanoha said looking at Fate again. "And there is a lot I can do for this case and to capture this killer."

"I don't doubt that," Fate replied with sadness. It was clear Nanoha did not want to talk about anything but their job. It hurt, but she had to accept it. Her mother, in a way, had warned her the night before.

But even if Nanoha wouldn't or couldn't talk yet about what was going on between them, Fate was not going to let her put herself at risk in the case. She had to protect her at all costs.

" ...I don't doubt that," Fate repeated and then added with the intention of a decision taken that she was not going to discuss. "But I'm the leader of this team, Nanoha, and until we have more elements to understand this subject, Signum will be working with you."

Before Nanoha could protest again, Fate added something with a pleading look that almost melted Nanoha's determination not to give in.

"... Trust me this time, Nanoha… please…"

The crimson and the blue of their gazes fused for a moment in a silent understanding that went farther beyond what they had gone through months before and the scars that it had left on them.

Nanoha could not deny what floated in Fate's eyes when she looked at her.

"Trust me to solve this case," Fate continued. "Your designation as part of my team is temporary. Things can change afterwards."

The sadness in which Fate said the last sentence could not be denied either.

Nanoha quenched the emotions accumulated within her before speaking.

"I had already accepted your determination, Fate. Like it or not, you are the team leader and Colonel Yagami asked me to follow your instructions, whether I am officially part of your team or not ."

Fate accepted the pain of that comment as she had accepted the different pains that that conversation had caused her and settled, at least with knowing that Nanoha would be safe with Signum by her side.

"Thank you, Nanoha," she said, trying for her voice to sound serene again. "We need your help with this case. I don't want us to be at odds… in any way."

Nanoha nodded and suddenly the silence nestled between them, heavy and uncomfortable.

Fate wanted to tell Nanoha so many things and wanted to ask her even more, but in the end, even if she didn't understand what was happening with the woman she loved, she had understood that she could not pressure her.

Just like Hayate had told her, she was going to have to trust her. She had to keep by her side, support her… and trust that Nanoha would talk to her when the time came.

But even if Nanoha didn't want it, she was going to protect her too.

"See you later," Fate said as nonchalantly as possible, turned around, and left the room.

Nanoha watched her leave without turning around and when she sat down to continue with the task she was doing, she noticed with surprise that her hands on the keyboard were shaking uncontrollably.

— X —

Midchilda Suburbs
Day 16, Tenth Month, 2044 - 22:30 hrs.

Fate was sitting on the couch in the living room of her apartment, with all the lights off and a glass in her hand.

Only the distant lights in the surroundings cast slight bursts of illumination into the gloom around her.

She had never enjoyed alcohol. She rarely ever had it.

It had been barely ten minutes since she had arrived at her apartment and had looked everywhere in her cupboard until she found an old bottle of bourbon that her brother had given her for the end of the year, two or three years ago.

"A glass of bourbon is always the right choice when you invite a girl over to your apartment," Chrono had told her that time.

She had never opened it to seduce a girl but now she was drinking because of one.

When Nanoha had been in her apartment months before, she had never even remembered that bottle. She didn't even know if Nanoha liked bourbon or any other spirit.

Fate sipped some of the amber liquid and felt a slight warmth extending through her chest. It was not the warm feeling she was expecting to feel but at least… it made her feel.

Nanoha.

She had missed her for months, she had longed for her in a way that was almost physically painful. Not like when she had been missing… but different.

Fate had the inexplicable certainty that sooner or later, Nanoha would come back, but she never imagined she would return as she did. As a TSAB agent. Distant.

Without wanting or being willing to talk to her.

For dozens of nights, Fate imagined how it would be like when they finally got to meet again.

For dozens of nights, she went to sleep imagining she would wake up and Nanoha would be next to her.

At last, they had finally met again, but nothing had been as she had imagined.

More than anything, she was starting to realize that the woman she had met and who had left looking for something had not been the same one that had returned.

Fate thought that in the long days in which Nanoha had worked so many hours in TSAB as an external consultant, she had gotten to know her and deeply love her, but she felt she didn't know the woman that had returned as a TSAB agent.

The day they had said goodbye, although she had not said it with words, Fate was sure that Nanoha loved her.

At this moment, Fate was not sure of anything.

She felt as if the floor was cracking under her feet, along with all the temperance with which she had waited for Nanoha's return.

There, sitting in the darkness and in silence, she felt frustrated and helpless.

Nanoha had come back.

But she had not come back to her.

The sudden ring of her mobile device sounded strange and vulgarly intrusive, so strange that for a few seconds Fate couldn't tell it was her device.

Heavily, without turning on the light, she stood up and walked over to the table where she had left it before laying down on the couch.

"Fate… you finally pick up," Hayate's voice said with a slight metallic tone.

"Yeah," was Fate's plain greeting. The only reason Hayate would be calling at that time would be for a work emergency. Under normal conditions, Fate would be lucid and alert. But right now, her heart weighed too heavily.

"You're going to have to gather your team as early as possible tomorrow morning," Hayate asked her, going straight to the point. "Your case may have an unexpected complication."

"More unexpected than Superintendent Yakushiji?" Fate asked somewhat numbly.

"Much more," Hayate explained. "Do you remember General Bassanius from the Northern Command of the Army Tactical Division?"

"Tactical Division...?" Fate replied with a little more interest. "I think my father mentioned once having worked in a joint operation with them…"

"Precisely," Hayate said. Fate heard her boss breathe in deeply on the other side of the line. "The daughter of General Bassanius was reported as missing yesterday in Midchilda. During the day, several sources close to the general were pressuring Midchilda's police. Genya called me just a little after you left the office."

Fate pressed her lips together. She understood the desperation that the general had to be feeling.

And the one all the families of the missing girls were feeling.

"We cannot claim that our guy has every girl that goes missing in Midchilda, Hayate…" Fate said cautiously. It was hard for her to say it, but the monster they were after was not the only one loose in the world.

"I understand Fate… But the General does not want to confirm that suspicion when her daughter starts appearing in pieces," Hayate said. "Not especially after everything Genya told him… also Fate, if there is at least a slight chance that Miss Bassanius is a victim, it is a recent trail that maybe we can follow."

Fate considered it. It was a possibility.

Had that man really been so careless to not know who the father of that girl was?

Or maybe he had done it precisely because he knew.

Fate had a new perspective on those monsters ever since her last case, that one that had almost killed her and had destroyed Nanoha and her family.

"I will have everyone for seven a.m., Hayate," Fate assured her boss. "If in fact our subject is involved, we will find it out."

"Good," Hayate said. "One more thing, Fate."

"What is it?"

"General Bassanius's other daughter will be at Section 6 very early tomorrow to give us all the details," Hayate paused before adding, "Make sure Nanoha is also very early at the office, after the interview with Miss Bassanius, Verossa needs her to also review the profiles he has compiled on the Huckebein organization."

Fate felt a pit in her stomach but confirmed Hayate's request. After a couple more indications, Hayate said goodbye and hung up.

Fate remained motionless for several minutes, again plunged into darkness and silence.

Suddenly with Hayate's call, she had realized a fact that she had refused to accept.

Fate wanted to protect and take care of Nanoha, even despite herself, but she had taken the decision to become a TSAB agent. Without telling her anything and without asking for her opinion. Nanoha had faced alone the decision, the training, and had decided to enroll with Section 6.

The ones hunting monsters like the one who had destroyed her life.

At last, Fate understood why Shiro Takamachi did not want her near his daughter nor did he want Nanoha having anything to do with TSAB.

Despite what she had decided a few hours earlier, Fate realized that no matter how hard she could try… she would not be able to protect Nanoha from everything that entailed being an agent.

— X —

Main Transfer Station of the Midchilda Underground Urban Transport System
Midchilda City. Day 17, Tenth Month, 2044 - 00:00 hrs.

The metropolitan area of the twin cities of Midchilda and Cranagan was interconnected with each other through an extensive network of high-speed underground trains.

Although they operated twenty-four hours a day, at times, especially from midnight to early morning, some of the lines were closed for service and maintenance.

Those activities were, in turn, that day for the main transfer station. Seven of the main subway lines converged on that station and every month, general preventive maintenance was carried out on the control systems, sensors, and tracks due to the amount of traffic it controlled and its nature as the main hub of the system.

That night, the usual workers looked with some surprise that also another maintenance to the urban infrastructure had been scheduled together with that of the transport system. These jobs were usually done independently to avoid any incidents.

Both crews had found themselves at the confluence section of lines 1 and 2, which at that time was deserted. The station had closed and the last train had left ten minutes earlier.

When the main supervisor of the subway maintenance crew requested his IDs and documents from the Midchilda city hall crew, a tall, handsome man with very white-blond hair, almost reluctantly handed him the requested documentation.

"Yeah… it's quite a drag," he said, crossing his arms casually, "Apparently locals have reported an unusual infestation of rats in the area. The bosses want us to check the drainage, water system, and ventilation systems and get the pest under control before the infestation gets out of hand. I had to cancel my date with my girlfriend today because of the damn bugs."

"And does it have to be today of all days?" the supervisor asked, who, after reviewing the documents the man had given him, handed them back to him with equal annoyance. "We're going to be getting in the way of the other all night."

The station was gigantic, but if both crews ended up in the same tunnel they were going to be stepping on each other's toes for room to move.

"Do me a favor and call the mayor and the director of works, I would prefer a thousand times to spend the night with my head tucked between my girlfriend's legs and not in some smelly hole full of disgusting bugs ... if you know what I mean," the blond man said before spitting cheekily on the floor.

The supervisor looked at him disapprovingly.

"Try to keep your men from getting in the way of mine in the tunnels," the supervisor said seriously. "We will start with the facilities of Line 1, if you can go in the opposite direction and not cross with us it would be the best."

"Whatever you say, boss," the man said as the supervisor walked away to the maintenance office.

A suppressed giggle made the blond man turn around with a frown.

A young man with wild auburn hair, dressed in a dirty cap and loose, worn overalls, chuckled.

As he took off his cap, a long reddish mane spilled over her shoulders and back.

"You suck at acting, Veyron, nobody will picture you with your head between the legs of a girl... you look too much of a fag for that."

"Keep your opinions to yourself, Arnage..." the man said without flinching, the girl always tried to annoy him with that and many other stupid arguments, too many for him to worry about them. With a cold gaze, he scanned the surroundings, comparing them with the plans of the facilities that his contact had obtained for them, "Better do something useful with your ass and tell the others to hurry... We have a lot of work and only a couple of hours to finish it."

— X —