Amount of Hugs needed: 15,339
Amount of Hugs found: 8,627
Disclaimer: I do not own Mahou Shoujo Lyrical Nanoha nor any of the various seasons made after the original.
AN: Discovered a mistake in Ascent III, specifically the name of the Device Chrono was using, it has been fixed for a while now, and for the reader's sake, its name is Durandal. Now have a good day.
She dreamed without knowing why.
She found herself in Razing Heart's domain, the empty world of black, the only difference this time being the crimson lines above in the void were joined by erratic pink. There was… 'water' lapping over her feet, a muddy black that refused to show what she was standing on, the entire world was black, with only the lines providing color and light. It was a dreary world, not at all like the worlds she saw in her dreams.
And in the distance lay Razing Heart, or the body she used within this world of hers.
She stood waiting for her, a blank face that was a moment away from curiosity or satisfaction, a sword in hand that Razing Heart was using to scrape the shield she wore on her other arm, for whatever reason she did that. Razing Heart didn't stop as she waded through the water, not a single ripple coursing through it in a mockery of what was supposed to happen, which was oddly unsettling and comforting at the same time for some reason.
"Welcome Home, my Seraph. Dreary as it is." Of all the words spoken, those were not what she expected in the least, easily read by the Device as she didn't speak for a short time, amusement lighting up the woman's face and settling in as she placed the sword back into the shield and let them disappear. Razing Heart didn't say anymore, seemingly waiting on her to speak rather than continue with pleasantries, something that was both... concerning and extremely confusing.
She didn't respond to Razing Heart's welcome verbally, just giving a little nod of acknowledgement before trying to come up with a way to address the Device without outright asking if something was wrong or why she was acting strange. ...Which turned out to not be good since she had almost zero ability to begin a conversation or topic with someone else, so she spent a good minute or seven just standing there in concentration while her Device just stood there smiling.
Eventually she came up with something, blunt and crude as it was it was something, which was a massive improvement. "You are… lively, Razing Heart." The Device laughed, openly and without warning, an act that caused her to nearly jump in surprise, though she did take a step back before Razing Heart abruptly finished with a smile, though one that barely hid… something she felt familiar with.
"Lively? Why yes, even if she wasn't going all out, you managed to keep up with the Traitor. While you weren't wearing the form of the Seraph. No magic, no allies, no distractions, no deaths. You fought her with steel and skill, and that was enough." She was still smiling, and the smile finally made sense, bloodlust and a joy at having done something, or being proud of some action, she didn't know too well.
"This place reflects the nature of my wielders. Each place has something that is the same to another… Except this one." She stretched out a hand and held it out towards the endless darkness and water, a sense of emptiness falling on her as she tried to follow the direction the hand pointed in, only to see nothing but the void.
"This place is just an empty void."
A long, long time was spent silently looking around and acknowledging that statement, truthfully now that she thought about it, it was concerning after the several varying places she'd seen in the dreams. "Is there a reason it's like this?" A second passed before Razing Heart let a light laugh echo through the void, dying just as quickly as it came before she looked her dead in the eyes, smile quickly breaking apart and returning to a neutral line.
"I am not a seer, nor a scholar my Seraph." She gave off a little bow of her head, nothing too deferential, only a bit of acknowledgement, before her head came back up and she smiled gently… she… she hadn't been prepared to talk with a Razing Heart this… 'unhinged' from her normal stoic self. "I am a Device, one that has witnessed much. That is all."
She quieted for a while, and so they stood in silence again, with only the water lapping at their feet making sound within their private place, until Razing Heart spoke again. "With that said however, I can make a single guess." She looked at her with a critical eye, something that made her tilt her head in confusion as the Device continued to look over her before deigning to continue with a strange tone, something between confusion and excitement. "You lack something that the other Seraph's didn't, a purpose, emotions, something that makes one… have meaning."
The Device shrugged without a single change in her expression, not seeming to care much for the question or it's answer, adding one last sentence before finishing. "That is all I can possibly guess at, Seraph of Blades."
Quiet descended again upon them, with only the light sloshing of water echoing in the void as Razing Heart strode towards her, her face changing to a gentle smile that wasn't unlike Okaa-sama's whenever she was taking care of her… it felt nice. Barely a few seconds later and the woman was in front of her before abruptly stopping, not another action taken after, just staring down at her.
Of course, that was when she got a question lodged in her head, specifically, why Razing Heart called the pink-haired Knight what she had, and why she seemed to be so furious at the mere sight of her, much like she herself became furious at seeing the red-haired Knight. Though with that said, she took a moment to think about how she was going to say it, before near-immediately giving up and deciding on her usual method, being brutally blunt.
"Who was the Traitor?"
"Traitor? The Traitor?" Her voice quickly grew in rage the moment she asked the question, making her take a step back again as Razing Heart took a step forward, a scowl ripping apart her face as she growled.
"She is the Murderer of the Seraph of War. The Betrayer of the Kingdom of the Saint-King. A Warrior without peer, and a… being that has lived since the Kingdoms of Belka were founded." A pause sounded as Razing Heart calmed herself slightly, the hate retreating back and a deathly calm voice sounded from her mouth, the only trace of the fire remaining in her strange eyes. "She is Signum. The only being to have undying hatred in my core."
For a long while they didn't do anything else, Razing Heart stewing in the hate of her seemingly 'eternal enemy' and herself… 'unnerved' by Razing Heart's emotional outbursts. Still, she had only one question to that, and once Razing Heart seemed to have 'burned out' her anger, she decided to ask it, though wary of any other outbursts the Device would have. "I don't understand the second. What is the Kingdom of the Saint-King, and how did she betray it?"
There was no outburst this time of rage, instead only a forlorn look of longing and tiredness blanketing the woman as she sighed and slowly covered an eye with her right hand, eventually answering after shaking her head just as slowly. "… That is a story for another time, my Seraph. For now, sleep fully." She nodded her head as her Device looked at her with a soft smile, kneeling down into the water before closing her eyes and drifting off, the last words of her Device echoing behind her.
"Soon, there will be much to do."
"We had them! Why'd you order us back!"
Again, she dealt with Vita's relentless questions without much care, just them two as Hayate was out of the house with Zafira and Shamal, to meet one of the girl-Suzuka's other friends. Still… her patience could handle the incessant badgering and questions sent at her without issue, she'd dealt with it too many times to not have the patience required to sit down with Vita… especially since it was always the same conversation time and again.
She was glad for that on some level, it meant she barely had to dedicate any kind of attention to Vita during this conversation, especially since she was currently cleaning up after the lunch held some twenty minutes prior. It wasn't like she was hurrying through it, she actually enjoyed the mundane tasks of household maintenance… if only she wasn't being constantly bombarded with questions about things she hated doing.
She closed her eyes as she heard Vita stop speaking for a moment, a breath taken before she noted that Vita was looking at her and was nearly scowling, not unusual for the girl whenever she wasn't answering her the first few times they had these conversations. "Are you listening to me Signum? Damn it, answer me, I ne-"
"Tell me Vita." At her words, Vita immediately shut her mouth and listened, something that was both an annoyance and a blessing, her eyes opening as she turned and fixed the younger Knight with a piercing stare. "By the time I finished my fight with the youngest of them, would you, Shamal and Zafira still be standing?"
Three, two, one… "What's that supposed to mean?" And there it was, right on time… haa… could Vita have tried to come up with a new way to respond? It shouldn't be that hard to say something different than every other time she said something that would be 'cryptic' to the girl… No, it was for Vita, she didn't have memories like her, this was the first time this kind of conversation occurred to her, not the roughly one thousand, twenty-third time.
She didn't sigh though, because despite her annoyance and tiredness at being subjected to this again, she wouldn't show it to Vita, mostly because she'd mistake it for something else and try and hit her again, not that that method ever worked. "You were told, weren't you?" She paused to give Vita a chance to figure out what she was talking about, only to receive a blank look as the younger Knight tried to recall what she was talking about, a minute going by before she let out a sigh and just continued on with the conversation. "An A-ranked combatant cannot defeat a S-ranked combatant, even if the former is backed up by four comrades of similar strength."
The look of concentration fell away the moment the last word was said, Vita's face changing to annoyance and a hint of disbelief as she replied near angrily. "Yeah, I remember that, and then I also remember you saying she wouldn't be a problem."
She did, Lindy Harlaown wasn't a threat to her, to the other three Knights, she was a terror to behold from her defense and offense, at least for them she was, for her though… the last time she'd had a challenge was when the last Seraph and the Berthold heir had fought her. Disappointing that the fight was what it had been. "True. But that isn't including the girl."
Vita's expression shifted again, always something that was strange to her, how easy someone could just change emotions without trying… maybe she was too old to understand how that was possible. Regardless of her thoughts, her younger sister asked her a question in reply,
"Did you figure out who she was and how she could regrow limbs?"
"I do. Not that the knowledge helps us in this case." Vita looked at her strangely for that answer, not that she could blame her considering knowledge normally helped to at least plan around… but Seraphs were rather… unpredictable even with the knowledge that they could heal from near anything. "The short answer, it's rejuvenation, not regeneration, and it's more a curse than a blessing, though she'll probably not care."
"How bad is it?" Concern? Strange coming from Vita of all people, the younger Knight rarely had sympathy or empathy for anyone besides the Wolkenritter and their Masters, maybe she felt a little guilty for whatever reason. Regardless, she didn't care all too much about it, whatever was running through Vita's head was meant only for Vita to know, not her or anyone else.
"If left unchecked while fighting, she'll kill herself before she reaches fifteen." She felt only a little amusement and sadness as Vita's mouth nearly fell upon in shock at hearing that, not that it was surprising to her, she looked the same age as Hayate, and Vita probably was putting Hayate in the girl's place instead. "I'm surprised though… that she was still standing when I decided to take her seriously for a moment."
She didn't receive a reply, Vita apparently too engrossed in the fantasy she'd left for her and not bothering to focus on the conversation for a moment, something she was both happy and a tiny bit annoyed with.
"What about the other kid?" Hmm? She must mean the boy with blue hair, Chrono Harlaown as he'd introduced himself days ago. … Oh, that made things so much more complicated for her, why couldn't there have been some random Ace instead of her friend, her friends' son and a Seraph… the worlds were not kind to them or their Master, everything simply kept getting worse.
Regardless, she had to reply, it would be strange if she didn't and Vita would agitated and either yell at her, or stop the conversation and just stomp away. "Negligible. Only redeeming quality is Hayate likes him." Not a lie, she barely knew anything about him, and very few could actually be a 'threat' to her now… she just had been around too long and had fought too much, as well, Hayate had enjoyed every single story he'd told her when they met, and had expressed a desire to go visit those places…
It hurt to promise her they'd go someday, knowing that she wouldn't survive the trip as she was, even if that pain was dulled from the many Masters before her.
She turned back to her prior task of washing dishes, clinking and clacking sounding from them as she placed them against one another after a thorough wash, a soothing endeavor that she wished she could have done with every prior Master… the last time she got to do this was with the twenty-third Master, and that was a long time ago.
Eventually though her task finished, without another sound from Vita as she placed the last dish with the rest and turned off the water, drying her hands calmly before moving around the house, picking up items for a… 'errand' she felt up to doing a bit later. The younger Knight noticed her preparations with a confused look, her mouth opening once as she grabbed a set of keys before closing immediately after, until she had everything and made her way to the door. "Where are you going this time?"
She stopped just short of the door and turned back around with a somewhat-tired look, she barely had an idea of what she was even going to do, just feeling the urge to go out and do something that didn't involve staying cooped up with Vita and the apparent lethargy she was dealing with. Still she had to say something, otherwise she'd have to deal with Vita wanting to come along, probably, and ruining a peaceful excursion that could have something productive done… that could work.
"I'll be calling in a favor, and after that I'll be cleaning the house."
Vita was already nodding and sitting back down when she said the second part, the younger of them stopping and looking back from her haphazard position on the couch, looking at her critically before bluntly stating. "… You just did that not even four hours ago…" So she did, the house could use a cleaning though before Hayate got back, besides it would help her relax after the 'favor' was called in.
"Your point?" Still regardless, she felt the need to answer Vita on this, mostly just due to Vita barely doing anything unless she was told to do something, or she was interested in doing it, fighting being the latter for the most part.
Vita didn't say anything else after that, which left her alone to open the door and walk outside, to 'call in her favor', hopefully she'd get information on why things were like they are.
A meeting with Arisa and Hayate-chan… this would be… hopefully not a disaster…
Arisa was… blunt, violent and had next to zero respect for others… not that it was hard to understand why given her circumstances… but… it was hard to get around now that she had to introduce someone to her… Hayate-chan was… almost the complete opposite. Kind, gentle, worried about others and had a family that loved her despite illness after illness being put on her…
… Haa… this was going to be a disaster wasn't it… no going back unfortunately…
Hopefully Hayate-chan woul- … Oh… That… that was lucky, and shouldn't have happened…
Down the walkway, amidst the light scattering of people up at this hour, was Hayate-chan being pushed along by one of her guardians… Shamal if she remembered the name correctly, with her 'dog' trotting along next to them. They weren't meeting anywhere fancy or such, though she could have set up such a thing easily, just a nice out of the way café near downtown… because while she and Hayate-chan probably had no plans after the short meeting, Arisa would come up with something for them to do… provided things went well.
Getting up momentarily from her seat, she waved at her friend and her guardian, Hayate-chan giving a shaky wave back shortly after seeing her, before Shamal led them over to her. It started out nicely, just talking about the days between the last time they saw one another, or she did, Hayate-chan listened and coughed, and tried to say words… but that was hard to do for her now with each word stuttered for seconds at a time.
After a while, probably a few minutes, she decided to give her warning about Arisa… after a while of silently debating how to start it. "Um… A few things before you meet Arisa, don't mention her family, and don't under any circumstance call her anything other than Arisa."
Both Hayate-chan and Shamal looked at her with curiosity when her warning registered, the older of the two asking the question that both of them probably had. "May I ask why?"
"If you do, she'll punch you in the face, illness or not. She already did it to a few teachers and students. She got suspended, but considering how well she does... she really couldn't care less about that and it barely does anything… Especially when her parents only see the grades and not any notes." Both Shamal and Hayate-chan slowly had looks of shock form on their faces, even the 'dog' seemed to look at her when that was said.
It took a while for them to gain back their composure, not that it was that much of a surprise… Arisa had a lot of issues… probably as many as herself and Nanoha-chan together if she were honest. After their composure was back, Hayate started to ask a question, which she listened to intently. "I-is sh-she re-re…"
Hayate-chan was interrupted by one of her coughing fits, Shamal immediately rushing around the table in worry, with herself nearly getting up as well before remembering that she wouldn't do anything. After the coughing subsided and all that was left was a bit of shuddering, she replied to what she thought was the right question that Hayate asked with a small nod. "Yes, if she wanted to, she could skip every grade and go straight to college… if she didn't have issues she probably would."
She got a blank, wavering look for that, and immediately she knew she messed up… that was the same face that Kaa-sama and Onee-chan got when she did something wrong… "Th-a-t wa-as-n't-t wh-a-t-t I-I w-wa-s as-k-ing…"
"Oh." She had the decency to blush and look embarrassed… that was the 'right' thing to do in this situation… at least she thought so… "Um… yea… she has… issues, mostly stemming from her family that make her very… irritable. Just… don't do any of what I said, and she won't do anything. … Hopefully…"
The last part was muttered under her breath, which thankfully Hayate-chan didn't seem to hear, before she went silent and waited, looking for Arisa as Hayate-chan had a small coughing fit and was tended to by Shamal… She felt miserable listening to Hayate-chan, even though it passed by quickly… seeing someone seemingly so fragile that was her friend made her want to help… but honestly, what could she do?
Thankfully a familiar face came by, normally something that made annoyance or weariness well inside of her, and her miserable sadness was replaced with trepidation and relief… at least with Arisa she knew somewhat how to handle.
Quickly moving to her feet, and almost startling her companions by accident, she raised a hand into the air, waved and called out to her 'friend' as loudly as she'd been told was acceptable in public. "Arisa-chan!"
"Suzuka-chan." Arisa walked over, taking one look at her with a smile that was probably as fake as her own, before turned to Shamal, quirking an eye at the woman, and moving to Hayate, finally saying the first words of her meeting Hayate-chan. "Who's the cripple?"
… Way to go Arisa… Way to go…
Silence stood for a while, Arisa looking over towards her for an answer, Hayate-chan looking shocked while Shamal and somehow the 'dog' gaped at the blatant disregard shown… and she just put a hand up to her head, sighed and took a moment before replying in exasperation. "A… friend of mine and Nanoha-chan. Her name's Hayate, please don't call her that again."
She got a shrug in return, the most she would likely get from the other girl, as both Hayate and her other guardian finally seemed to get over their shock, with the latter looking at Arisa in… something, while Hayate-chan looked uncomfortable. "Whatever, why'd you get me over here? Not that I'm complaining since you got me out of the house, but I hope it's something worthwhile." Another sigh left her mouth before her hand dropped back to the table without a sound.
"I was… hoping you'd at least be friendly with her… but you've already made a bad impression." She got a shrug in response… this was such a bad idea… but she didn't want to just run into Arisa while with Hayate-chan when Arisa didn't know. That'd end… poorly… probably.
"Do I look like I actually care if she's a cripple, or if she's whole and healthy?" … While Arisa had a point… she could have been a lot less blunt about pointing it out… Honestly though, if Arisa had cared, now that she thought about it, her expression wouldn't be bored, it'd be furious and she'd have just gone with violence the moment she saw Hayate-chan… so this was going somehow very well.
"U-um. E-ex-cus-e… m-me." Both of them turned to Hayate-chan, Arisa arching an eyebrow at the weak sound coming from her friend, while she hoped that Hayate-chan wouldn't somehow accidently anger or annoy Arisa. Hayate-chan continued in her weak, stuttering voice shortly after getting their attention, trying to be friendly despite Arisa's… lack of tact. "I-t's-s ni-c-e t-to m-me-et-t y-ou, A-r-i-sa-ch-" Arisa interrupted Hayate-chan before she could finish the sentence… something she felt slightly bad for since Hayate-chan's illness made it hard to talk…
"Ne, don't worry about the honorifics, I don't care too much about 'em." Hayate-chan gave a slow, shaky nod, and coughed slightly, which Arisa thankfully waited for her to finish before moving on. "So, considering you're bound to that, I take it you barely go outside. Am I right?" Another shaky nod, without the coughing fit this time, and this time Arisa nodded along, eyes closing for a moment before she asked a different question… that was actually thoughtful for her. "Thought so… what's your favorite thing to do then?"
Caught off-guard by the question, or maybe just from Arisa's constant words, Hayate-chan stuttered for a moment, before finally answering in a slightly weaker voice. "U-h-h… I-I l-li-ike r-re-adi-ing… a-an-d de-si-g-ni-in-g cl-o-oth-e-s." A distant nod was Arisa's answer, something that looked like curiosity drawn on her face, a rarity for her… that was… good?
"Oh, I don't care much about reading anymore." Confusion painted Hayate-chan's face for a moment, something Arisa immediately saw, and correctly guessed what it meant, something Arisa was better at than herself. "I read four dictionaries front to back and remember it all from three years ago, and nothing since has stimulated me. Anyway, I'm curious about the designing clothes, got any drawings on you?" After the first part, Hayate-chan had given a nod in understanding while remaining silent until Arisa finished, at which point, she shook her head, causing Arisa's intrigued look to drop and be replaced with something between disappointment and annoyance. "Damn… was hoping I could see."
"I-I c-a-an b-ri-ing-g s-so-me n-ne-x-t ti-im-e." Hayate-chan's reply brought Arisa out of whatever she was in, and anticipation was quickly hidden by frown that didn't reach her eyes… Arisa didn't know who to lie properly yet. Then again, she never cared much for it at all.
"That's fine, you ever try and make one?
"N-No-o… I-I do-n't-t ha-av-e th-e mo-ne-y t-to…"
"Hmm… that won't do. That won't do at all… I think I can get some money for you to start making something if you want."
"U-um-m y-ou d-do-n't…" One look from Arisa silenced Hayate-chan's attempt at refusing before it had a chance to fully start, which had Hayate-chan fumble for a moment before she resigned herself and went with Arisa. "U-um… t-th-an-k yo-ou… H-ow-w ar-re y-ou g-g-oi-in-g t-"
She broke down mid-sentence into a coughing fit, making her, Shamal and the large, strange 'dog' jolt and look at her, Shamal rushing over and mothering over her with a worried look. Arisa… Arisa just sat there, looking unconcerned aside from a slight frown, but she at least waited for Hayate's fit to end before continuing the prior conversation. "I have my ways, Hayate."
She looked so proud and mysterious saying that, complete with a smirk that would have fit on Kaa-sama's face if she were in a particularly good mood… It shouldn't have come to a surprise that she decided to ruin that feeling for Arisa with a single statement, which Arisa wouldn't take too kindly too. "You're going to ask them aren't you." Arisa looked over at her, the smirk falling apart quickly as she shrugged, giving a quick reply without the reaction she expected and slightly dreaded.
"More like I'll just filch a bit of cash from 'em. Not like they'll notice a few hundred disappearing every week."
There wasn't any real way to respond to that, so she just nodded and they lapsed into silence for a moment, before Arisa started asking a few more, unimportant questions. A few minutes passed, and she let a smile creep onto her face at seeing Hayate-chan herself smiling, and Arisa… not trying to pummel someone into the ground… her smile lasted up until Arisa started talking to her again.
"By the way Suzuka, your mother called a couple nights ago, said she didn't know where you were. I'm curious as to what you were doing that caused you to be late, considering you've never broken your curfew once since we met and I punched Nanoha in the face. And got punched in the face." A wistful smile was on her face for whatever reason… Arisa was strange in that way, it beat her actually performing violence at least. "Good days."
"Um… yeah… I fell asleep after taking a walk with Hayate and meeting Nanoha and her guests on the way. Nanoha-chan took me to her home, and let me sleep there." Arisa looked intrigued, though since neither of them had actually seen her home before, she would just assume that was what had Arisa's curiosity piqued. It took a while for her 'friend' to process what she said, eventually replying while Hayate and Shamal just watched their exchange quietly.
"… You actually saw her home… What's it like?" She guessed right… Well… she barely actually paid attention considering she only got to see the outside as she was leaving… and Nanoha-chan's room… which was far sparser than it should have been. There was literally nothing in that room beyond the essentials…
"Lots of buildings… all traditional. There were a few people there though…"
She trailed off, and immediately, Arisa had her eyes narrowed like Kaa-sama's when she knew that information was being withheld… which given she trailed off and didn't finish… yeah… "You're not saying anything something. Spill."
… If there was anything she didn't want to actually talk about… it was that… at least with Arisa. She wouldn't mind talking about it with Hayate-chan, or even Kaa-sama… but Arisa would get violent with her if she was told… probably. It was hard to tell sometimes with Arisa, what would happen… more than everyone else she lied to and tricked. "…"
Unfortunately, her silence only made Arisa more determined, the other girl's face hardening to the point where she looked down just to avoid having to look at the same kind of look that Kaa-sama gave her when she screwed up. "I said. Spill. Or I'll just find out from Nanoha." … And Nanoha-chan couldn't lie to save her life… haa… may as well admit now…
"… I… may have asked Nanoha-chan to sleep with me…"
"… … What?" She looked up to see Arisa's face quickly become a bright red at her cheeks for some reason, blinking rapidly as she tried to process what she said… even though it was simple to comprehend. "You- You're no- Why-" Since Arisa hadn't actually asked her a question, she just looked over at Hayate-chan… only to see her and Shamal both red-faced as well… she was missing something. "Why did you ask that, and where did you get that damn idea?"
… Arisa was mad at her… or at least frustrated, it was hard to tell with her face red and her words jumbled together. That said though… she took a moment to look back at Arisa, before immediately ducking her head at the heated look she was receiving, before quietly replying. "… I read it in a book…"
"U-um-mm…" She looked over at Hayate-chan when she made a noise, still red-faced… and she was bleeding from her nose, which thankfully Shamal was taking care of, but she probably should have that checked out by a doctor later. Anyway… Hayate-chan continued quickly with what she had to say, probably to 'out-run' a cough fit. "S-su-z-u-ka-c-ha-n… y-ou-u ar-e-n't sup-po-sed to-o a-an-y-th-thi-ng i-in th-ha-t bo-o-k o-ou-t he-r-e…"
"… She didn't say no to it…"
"You asked Nanoha. The girl who's barely above you in knowing how to do social activities. Why would she!" She looked even further down… it wasn't like she was supposed to know, no one told her anything on how to act and talk to people, and what little she did know was useful in regular conversation after lots of errors… and Arisa was back to speaking from the noise. "For future reference, and don't forget, only do that with whoever your spouse is way later in life, or with a sibling before you hit puberty."
Her head tilted to the side, and with both innocence genuine and fake she asked a simple question. "… What's puberty?"
Everyone around her looked at her, including the 'dog', with varying amounts of embarrassment showing on each of their faces for some reason, Hayate a bright shade of red, Shamal having a light dusting on her cheeks and Arisa slightly red with a hand in her face, seemingly torn between embarrassment and exasperated surprise. After a brief moment of silence as they worked out her question, Arisa sighed from under her hand and briefly spoke as her hand removed itself. "… I'll tell you later."
She nodded quietly and listened as Arisa continued with a slew of mutterings that everyone at the table could easily hear, and she felt a hint of indignation at being the target. "You're as much of a handful as myself or Nanoha… just without the violence." … She wasn't going to answer that… or refute it.
"Whatever!" Arisa's sudden, and loud, exclamation jolted all three of them up in surprise before locking eyes with Arisa, she still had red on her cheeks, but it was slowly going away. "Are we going to actually do anything, or are we just going to sit here talking?"
The question… really shouldn't have been a surprise… but given the conversation they had, and the fact that she was fine with just chatting away with a tea or something similar… she had to take a while to actually answer Arisa. "I… I didn't have anything planned… did you want to do anything, Hayate-chan?"
"N-no…" Hayate's answer was short, which was good for her, as even a word seemed to be a challenge for her friend to manage. After that, they both looked at Arisa, who had frowned in concentration while muttering under her breath at some point before they looked at her... which eventually became an actual question after half of a minute.
"… Alright… just a meet and greet. We could go shopping or something?"
"That's fine…" She looked over to Hayate-chan for her own input to Arisa's suggestion, who just nodded as best as she could with a smile on her face. Arisa gave a nod of her own before abruptly standing, taking a breath and almost strided off before she called out to her 'friend' to wait for them, which thankfully managed to quell Arisa for long enough for Shamal to get Hayate-chan ready to leave. And then they left the café with Arisa leading the way to somewhere while she lost herself in a bit of monotony.
That went well… except for her blunder being brought up and realized…
Sitting down, enjoying tea, and watching her 'student' for a while train… and listen to yet another tirade from the kid that got them all into this mess about him wanting to help… the boy should really know when to leave other people's problems to themselves. Anyway, aside from that little annoyance of sound, watching Nanoha-chan go about her training was always… interesting if nothing else, the sheer ease with which she went at anything was something she could only compare to Sister and her fire magic.
Making new spells as if they were child's play, which it was if she was honest though that was biased due to what she was, twisting them to make something innately different whenever she needed something new, and then her prowess with her weapon. The length by itself on a sword should have meant that it was unwieldy to the point of being unusable, but given her experience with more… 'exotic' weaponry that Aces usually had, she shrugged it off and continued on her original thought.
Yesterday alone, Nanoha-chan had shown that she was capable of holding back Signum, something nobody save maybe the Reaper could do… though she'd never know due to the two never meeting as far as she knew. "-an help! I'm good with Chain Binds and barriers, ther-" … the kid was getting annoying, and making her lose her concentration…
Going back… again, Nanoha-chan was rather something to watch whenever she didn't go off into the forest to 'train', really, the girl couldn't be less obvious that she was making 'illegal' spells out in there, or making things that she thought were frowned on. She didn't use many spells aside from her 'flight' and the 'illegal' spells, which was… not as interesting to watch as other Aces, mostly since few Aces weren't proficient in melee their Device, and they tended to supplement with more spells that didn't just enhance themselves…
With that said though, the way Nanoha-chan enhanced herself put herself physically above most Aces, at least the ones she'd met with. Nanoha matched her in strength, which put her just below Sister in terms of brute force, her toughness was a bit above the girl's, while she was vastly outdone in speed.
Those combined with the fact that the way she fought with her weapon meant she'd be a terror to most Aces, even herself given a few years… because if there was anything that could be said to be a… negative quality of Aces as a whole, it was once they reached a certain point, they stopped improving themselves, instead just refining what they'd made or been taught already. Sister and her mass of fire was a good example of that, and she herself was getting there… she'd have to hope Chrono-kun and Nanoha-chan didn't fall into that 'trap'.
Nanoha-chan would make a good Ace… hmm… she'd have to ask her after this was over if she'd like some more work. It was doubtful that she would join the Bureau in any way, from what little she'd been told, the Takamachi clan were a family of Mercenaries, and she seemed to be entirely into the 'family business' and wouldn't be beholden to a single side… unfortunate as it was.
It'd be disappointing that Nanoha likely wouldn't join the Bureau, but that was life wasn't it?
She took a sip of her tea and smiled in contentment as it hit her tongue, Bob's tea was excellent as usual… though it was always lacking something to it to make it perfect… Well, whatever was missing, they'd find it at some point, and she'd savor that brew for as long as it lasted.
Her contentment and small longing didn't last long, the Scrya that had continued to annoy her with his insistences that he could 'help', as if. "Please let me help, I can do a lo-" Losing her patience finally, she lowered Bob back onto his saucer, took a silent breath before interrupting the boy before he could continue his tirade.
"Be quiet will you? You're making my tea taste worse with your whining." Her voice was cold and brisk as she looked at the young boy with a look that made him flinch, but still look at her in conviction, or something similar. "Besides, why are you even so 'adamant' on helping out? You're not a enforcer, you're just an archeologist unless I'm forgetting."
She had to give him something, while he may have been stunned for a moment from her tone, the kid barely wasted time getting over his shock. "It's my fault you and the rest of your crew are stuck here, so it's my fault that you-"
"Stop." He did without any further prompting, whether from some kind of respect or from fear didn't matter, letting her mull over the ağılsız düşüncə… great… she slipped back into Kyrtanha because of how idiotic that was. Not letting a single trace of her irritation and annoyance out, nor looking at the boy since her eyes would very easily let her emotions show, she spoke in a voice harder than what it had been, moving to the Admiral mindset rather than keeping to herself.
"That reasoning is among the stupidest I've heard, and I've heard and made several stupid reasons archaeologist." From her peripheral she saw the boy look affronted with a hint of anger mixed in, an expression that immediately went still when she looked at him dead in the eye. "Frankly I don't care about your 'reason' for wanting to join this giant mess, I'm just not going to let you join in, because I already have three children on my mind that are in danger constantly, I don't need another one."
She let out a sigh before looking back to Nanoha-chan, strangely standing still with her sword sheathed, one hand on the handle and another on the scabbard, facing towards one unfortunate training 'dummy' a short ways away that had survived the training bout until now. Exasperation aimed at the Scrya shifted to curiosity at what Nanoha-chan was doing when abruptly the 'dummy' slid off it's post without the girl having moved at all.
Then Nanoha-chan's left arm and leg erupted in a fountain of blood.
On her feet and halfway to Nanoha even as the Scrya let out a noise of alarm, her 'student' dropped to her knee with a confused look on her face… though the ever-present smile was still there and made her entire demeanor look… wrong. She didn't let it bother her though, instead reaching the girl and looking over the wounds with her hearing catching the tail-end of some muttering of Nanoha's. "-an't feel anything?"
She was silent all through out looking over the girl and her injuries, not trusting herself to say something that was either in Kyrtanha, curses or both. … Beyond the immediate dropping to the ground, Nanoha seemed to not even notice or show that she felt whatever just happen, staring at her wounds with curiosity rather than being barely cognizant as she should have been. From the little she could see on a cursory look, the skin ruptured for some reason outwards and at some points she could see muscle through the blood.
"Bədəninizə nə etdin?"
It took Nanoha looking up at her and tilting her head before the realization that she spoke both out loud and in her native language dawned on her, not that she showed it what with repairing whatever had just happened… that she could repair anyway. She wasn't a medical specialist, so all she could do was mend the skin together and heal the muscles underneath to where they wouldn't bleed any more than they had.
After the leg was healed up, allowing Nanoha to get back to her feet somehow, despite the fact that her damaged muscles should have made it impossible for her to stand, the Scrya came over and took over healing the skin of Nanoha's arm, while she fixed the muscles underneath. After everything was done, with Nanoha checking her arm over, in curiosity rather than wariness, she herself took a breath before asking the girl, "What did you do?"
Nanoha looked at her, her entire face shifting to confused, before she tilted her head and looked back at her arm saying nothing. A few seconds later, she nodded for whatever reason and turned back to her, "Sternekicht-Tanz. I put too much mana into it." and said those words, the first one or two making zero sense to her besides maybe being a spell, as if it was something simple.
After dealing with the Scrya finally after her patience being worn, and now confronted with Nanoha, she was understandably not in the right frame of mind to deal with this. So with a curse under her breath that Nanoha likely heard, judging by the tilt her head did again, followed by a statement of "You're dealing with her right now." to the other kid, she turned on her heel and walked off to let her patience build back up.
Hopefully by the time she built it back up she'd be able to go an- Oh for-!
A grumble of annoyance left her throat at the 'ringing' in her head, courtesy of someone deciding to 'call' her via devices, before she walked over to a porch and sat down, barely preventing herself from grounding out a "Yes?" Barely two seconds after that she got an answer from whoever called her, the words not giving off any sound like normal talking did… the only unfortunate thing about 'talking' via Devices.
"A meeting tonight, 8:00 P.M., at the Tsukimura park."
… Straight to the point… at least she wouldn't be 'talking' for long, and would 'calm down' quicker because of it, though the actual content of the message was… It could have been a trap… but only a few things made her rule that out immediately, communications with outside were down, nobody here would 'call' her when they'd just walk up to her, and if the Wolkenritter had a connection with her they wouldn't set a trap for her to walk into.
Despite those, she took a while to deliberate whether to go, taking almost a minute before slowly 'saying', "… Sure." across the 'call' and waited for a response… it came quickly, and didn't even acknowledge her statement.
"Goodbye."
… And then she got 'hung up on'… normally that was her doing that to someone else… At least she'd have time to 'mellow' out, calm herself and get ready for this meeting… not that there was a doubt of who she was having this meeting with now.
Haa… after this was over, she really wanted to just… stop and leave the rest to Chrono… She was getting too old for this…
There was nothing special about this place she claimed for the meeting with her friend, no landmarks or interesting objects to be found, it was just a normal park full of trees and the occasional paved road.
She'd told the others, as well as Hayate, that she would be out this night talking to an old friend, of course Hayate questioned it, but she'd managed to get her Master to let her out after telling her of some… 'legends' she'd had the displeasure of participating in. Only two thankfully before Shamal had ushered Hayate to bed, but she still hadn't enjoyed recalling those memories… especially given how they normally ended.
Regardless of the earlier events, she sat and waited on the grass, idly going through some of the more 'happy' memories that she'd experienced to get rid of the less pleasant ones dredged up in her storytelling earlier. The times the Wolkenritter spent as a 'family' to their Master, rather than Knights… few and far between as those times were, they made up for the worse times.
She waited for another four minutes and fifty-three seconds before Lindy arrived, holding the teacup Device she always had with her and looking slightly serious, which was more she'd ever seen the younger woman have in the entirety of the lifetime she'd known her. Raising a hand in greeting to get Lindy's focus, quickly getting it since there was nothing else here, she stayed sitting and waited for the Ace to cross the distance.
Wasting zero time as soon as she got within hearing distance of her, Lindy spoke, with only a hint of humor manifesting after the initial question. "So, what's this meeting about Signum? Can't imagine this being a social call given you and the recent events." The moment after she finished, the Ace sat down and looked intently into her eyes… hmm… she'd changed a lot since the last time they met, even in the worst situation they'd found themselves in, Lindy had always been cheerful or joking.
Whatever had happened, she wasn't about to pry, seeing as they were here for a reason. Five seconds passed while she thought and observed, not a single more before she answered without any hesitation. "A parley."
Lindy looked at her with an unamused expression, waving her free hand haphazardly as she sat down in front of her, barely thinking before replying with a slight annoyance. "Yes, yes. You said that before, now what do you want?" That was simple to answer, so just as quickly as the younger woman had replied, she gave her own answer.
"Knowledge, and a Ceasefire for a time."
There was silence for three minutes, neither her elaborating on what she meant nor Lindy asking what it was she wanted specifically, not until her friend sighed and tilted her head down did the silence break, sipping from her teacup before finally talking again. "… I get asking for knowledge, just not specifically what you're wanting. As for the Ceasefire, I could care less really, if you want to do it and can rein in the others, go ahead, I'll do the same for my two. Not that I even understand why you care about it."
She didn't react to the last part, Lindy was correct in that she didn't understand, nor would she even understand her reasons, so she completely ignored it and answered Lindy's question shortly after. "That's good. I don't enjoy fighting you or the two in your care." She meant it… though, it wasn't the full truth. She hated fighting, but… it was the only thing she was good at besides household chores… and few of her Masters were... considerate enough to let her do as she wished.
A sigh left Lindy's mouth as her words registered, the younger woman taking a sip of her tea directly after before sighing again and speaking again somewhat tiredly… it was strange, to see someone she knew to be so lively seem so dejected. "Alright Signum. Now, what do you want to know?" Barely three seconds passed before she was ready to answer, nothing but cold logic in her voice as she listed the two questions.
"Why are you here and why can't we transfer to the other worlds. Nothing else."
A shrug was given in response, before Lindy took yet another sip of tea… she was still addicted to the stuff, not that it was that much of a surprise from who Lindy was, before she answered with slight disinterest. "Easy enough. I'm not in the best position given some… idiocy that got played on me, so the Bureau sent me to go pick up some Lost Logia. Stuff happened, had several people after the Lost Logia, including little Nanoha, and it ended with a Dimensional Quake." She felt an eye raise in response to the… lackluster and brief explanation, something her friend took notice of quickly and shrugged again with an unapologetic look. "No, I'm not kidding."
She continued without wasting her breath, something that received a smile in turn for less than a second before disappearing. "Lanes are down, which is why you and the others are stuck here right now… been months and the thing's still not repaired, though it'll hopefully be back in one piece in a week or so… maybe the end of the month."
Her mouth turned into a frown while her eyes narrowed as she processed the information Lindy gave her… the last part Lindy had spoken of was completely bad. Dimensional Quakes weren't that common, with maybe one occurring naturally every decade, though what they lacked in quantity, they made up for in sheer destructive capability. The Quake that apparently was the cause of this was artificial from the way Lindy had spoke of events, brief as she was, which explained near nothing, except for why it happened.
Regardless of that, the consequences of a Quake happening were immense, the main one being zero ability to move from this world to another… and if Hayate's sickness kept growing worse… the Wolkenritter wouldn't be able to leave this world before Hayate… "We don't have that time…"
Lindy turned her head down, sadness and exhaustion etched into her features as she gave another sigh and shook her head slowly before giving a reply, sounding just as tired as she looked just now. "Sorry to hear that. She seemed like a good girl… Mmm, wish I had a daughter like her, it would have been… nice…" She trailed off, wistful and exhausted, a small smile on her face… she was learning, though her broken shell of humanity… what it meant to be sick and tired of something that was inevitably pointless. To fight, to kill… it all was pointless.
She didn't say any of that though, while she was certain Lindy would agree on some level, she was also… fundamentally different than others, something she never understood beyond 'she was raised differently'. Instead, she focused on what her friend had said, and replied to that, a light smile appearing as well as she did. "I imagine she would have enjoyed having a parent to coddle and dote on her… She's a good girl, she doesn't deserve whatever she has."
The Ace laughed, short and bittersweet, and shook her head yet again, smile still in place as she looked up at the starless sky above for a while, several moments passing before she spoke again. "That book of yours certainly knows how to choose its owners decently… too bad they're all somehow sickly to the point of not making any sense. Still… she seems like a good girl… just like my brother-in-law."
There was no reply she could make to that… She didn't want to ruin Lindy's perception that all of the Wolkenritter's Masters were great and wonderful… the one before the last was… a terrible being, full of sadism, malice and the desire to destroy, without a hint of the sickness that engulfed the more benevolent Masters. It was a good thing, that the Ace wielding thunder killed him, or else a world would have burned.
Her head was left to clear out those thoughts in silence, Lindy thankfully saying nothing more while she was 'busy' before more 'positive' thoughts came. Then she deliberated, for a moment, closing her eyes for a second before reopening them, and speaking. "In two days Hayate will be staying at the Hospital until her sickness abates or…" She trailed off, the meaning clear enough that Lindy just motioned for her to continue, which made her feel, a small amount of amusement at the woman amidst her dour thoughts. "I imagine it'll do her good if you went and told her a few stories with that boy of yours. She's quite entranced with anything you have to tell her about the worlds." Her eyes hardened in sync with her voice as she spoke the last part. "I needn't tell you to not mention current events if you come."
The younger woman waved off the last part, smiling as was supposed to be normal for her, making her smile as her friend was back to normal. "Of course, of course. No kid should know of that hellhole, let alone one with that much kindness and genuine life." Lindy shook her head with her smile still there, taking a long sip of her tea for the first time in a while for the addict, before finally putting her Device down and speaking again, a lilt of enjoyment set within it. "I'll come over the day after, alright? Just make sure Vita isn't there, I'd rather not have a potential fight there because of a rash and hasty decision on her part."
A chuckle left her, Vita wouldn't take kindly to the knowledge that their 'enemies' were visiting Hayate… nor would she want the second-oldest of them to know to begin with, it was better to keep such knowledge to the three that weren't hot-headed. Silencing her chuckle after two seconds, she nodded her head once and answered Lindy with a light voice. "Call beforehand and I'll send her and Shamal out to do something meaningful."
"Alright, I guess we're done here Signum."
"Indeed. The knowledge and ceasefire are welcome.
The two of them spoke in turn with barely a pause between them, both smiling lightly before getting to their feet with tiredness settling in their bones… such was the price of living long in this life. Lindy spoke one more time, capturing her attention and making her smile drop as the younger woman did the same. "Before we leave, I'm fairly sure Nanoha'll disregard my orders next time we fight. Expect… things to go a lot worse next time."
The little girl with a relic from the distant past… If there was one relic of that age that still existed… that one had the lowest right to be here still… it dredged up memories of a time better left untouched, back to a treacherous Master... It was fortunate, that she would never fight against that Monster in human skin again as long as she could help it. "Your warning is acknowledged, and disregarded. I won't be fighting her again."
Her friend's face went blank as she processed it, a smile dredging itself back onto her face as Lindy understood the implication of what she said before finally uttering out words. "… The next fight's going to suck. Eh, at least Chrono doesn't have to worry about being teamed up on." Lindy shook her head quickly, once more to her amusement, before turning and making to leave, calling over her shoulder just as she started walking away. "See you around Signum, I'll be visiting with Chrono the day after Hayate-chan goes to the hospital, so make sure to expect me."
Two words were all she said in response, two simple words that would be the second and last time she said to her friend. "Goodbye Lindy." She received a wave from the younger woman and nothing else as Lindy walked away, leaving her alone again. This wouldn't be the last time they met on good terms… but they would eventually fight again…
Sometimes… she hated being herself…
She stayed there for a long time… simply thinking and preparing herself for the inevitable end of this fight… It'd be a miracle… if any side in this fight had a happy ending.