"What's up doc?" Volvo said as he pranced into the room.
"Will you stop saying that?" The doctor in questioned frowned.
"Spoil sport." He shrugged.
"So, what is it?" She turned back to checking the data on her screen. "I take it something nice happened during your latest outing?"
"Sure did." He said as he studied one of the metallic forms lined up on the wall. "I mourn the loss of my awesome helmet, but had I thought this face would have had such a fun impact, I wouldn't have bothered with it. How about you, doc? Maybe it's time you ditched that cloak of yours."
"I've told you before why I wear this. After what I've done I couldn't bear to let her see me like this."
"Yeah, yeah, hiding your shame or whatever." Volvo shrugged again. "But speaking of, I ran into her."
"… Seeing as how she's not here," She turned back to him. "I take it you failed to uphold your end of the bargain."
"She put of more of a fight than I had anticipated, but don't worry. I didn't harm her… much."
"You…"
"She'll be just fine so chill out already." Volvo casually put his hands behind his head. "And there'll be plenty of other chances. She will be brought before you in one piece, I promised that."
"Do not disappoint me."
"Same to you. How are these guys doing?"
"They'll be online soon enough." The doc said.
"Did you incorporate the trinkets that Jail left for us?"
"As much as it disgusts me to rely on that man, yes, they function as the main power source."
"Show a little gratitude, doc." Volvo flashed a lopsided grin. "Remember that without those toys you'd still be stuck in that prison."
"… Be that as it may, I know full well how unstable these items can be, so I'd like to run further trials and tests to make sure everything is functioning properly."
Volvo seemed to consider that for a moment. "How long do you want?"
"One week at the most."
"A week, huh…" He gazed thoughtfully until he broke out into a smirk. "I think I'll use that… Okay, you got your week."
"Where are you going now?" She asked when he made to leave.
"Oh I'm just going to play with Carim for a bit and after that I'll take a nap." He threw a curt wave over his shoulder. "Keep up the good work, doc."
"Just remember," she muttered. "That I'm only doing this for her sake."
X-X-X
"That bastard, how low is he willing to go?" Hayate cursed as she rammed her first into her palm.
"He struck exactly where it hurt the most…" Fate murmured as she gently stroked the sleeping woman's hand. Nanoha had been placed in their bed at the dormitory. Hayate and Fate figured their side-tailed friend would much rather wake up there than a hospital bed again.
"Well, knowing that Volvo is in Yuuno-kun's body explains a lot." The commander mused. "It also tells us what kind of abilities he has, and unfortunately those barrier and teleportation spells will be lots of trouble."
"But at the same time there's a chance we can get Yuuno back." Fate looked up hopefully. "Despite what Volvo says, I'm sure Yuuno's still in there somewhere!"
"Maybe, but Fate-chan…" Hayate stopped when the other brunette let out a groan.
"W-Where am I this time?" Nanoha muttered as her eyes fluttered opened.
"You're in our room." Fate told her with a reassuring squeeze.
"Wha… Volvo! What about…" Nanoha shot up and immediately winced, her free hand going to her bandaged forehead.
"Take it easy, Nanoha-chan." Hayate said. "He left after you were knocked unconscious. What all do you remember?"
"I… I remember going home for some things… and then he was there… We fought, and Fate-chan arrived and then…" Her eyes widened. "Yuuno-kun! Yuuno-kun was… Volvo was Yuuno-kun and he… He said he hates me… he said everything was my fault! Yuuno-kun said…"
"Stop, Nanoha!" Fate pleaded. "That was Volvo speaking, not Yuuno. You can't believe what Volvo tells you, he's just lying to hurt you."
"R-Really?" Nanoha let out a sigh of relief. "You're right… it must have been a lie. There's no way Yuuno-kun could have been in love with me." She laughed weakly. "That's just silly, right?"
Nanoha turned to her friends, but they both looked away and remained silent.
"… Fate-chan, Hayate-chan, what's…?"
"… Nanoha-chan," Hayate spoke slowly. "That part was true. Yuuno-kun's had a thing for you for a long time now."
"W-What? No that can't… If he was I would have… I mean I should have… Why didn't you tell me?"
"Yuuno didn't want us to tell you because he was planning on confessing someday…" Fate bit her lip. "We all tried to give you both little pushes, but…"
"N-No way…" Nanoha looked at the sheets blankly. "So everyone knew except me? All this time and I didn't realise… No… No, if that part's true then… Then Yuuno-kun really has been suffering all this time! I never noticed and it's all my fault! Of course he'd hate me!"
"Nanoha, he doesn't…!"
"How would you know…?" Nanoha yanked her hand free from Fate's. "… Leave." She whispered.
"Nanoha!"
"Leave me alone!" Nanoha snapped. "I'm a horrible person, just like he said! Who knows how many other people I've harmed over the years! So just go!" She pulled the covers over her head and turned away. "I don't deserve to have you concerned about me."
"Nano…" Fate stopped when Hayate put a hand on her shoulder.
"Let her be." She whispered, leading the blonde out of the room.
"But Hayate!"
"It's just too much of a shock to her right now." Hayate shook her head. "First she had to deal with his death, then she learns he's alive, he's possessed, he was in love with her, that he hates her and its all her fault… Not to mention that conk on the head's left her brain all rattled. Let's just give her some time to calm down, pull herself together."
"… Okay." Fate sighed. "But I can't stand knowing that she believes Volvo's lies."
"Trust me, I don't like it either, but…" Hayate resisted the urge to punch the wall. "What we need to do is prepare ourselves for what needs to be done. If we have to fight without Nanoha-chan, so be it. If we can't free Yuuno-kun from Volvo, then…"
"Wait, Hayate, you can't mean…!"
"Fate-chan, if what Volvo says is true and Yuuno-kun is no more… If we're unable to capture him, we have to be ready to stop him by any means."
"But…"
"I need to know, Fate-chan." Hayate put both hands on her friend's shoulders. "If it comes down to it, can you kill him?"
"Hayate, you can't expect me to…"
"Can you do it, Fate-chan?" Hayate asked again. "I don't want to resort to that if I can avoid it, but if we can't… You know that Yuuno-kun would rather die than allow his body to be used in such a way."
"I know…" Fate closed her eyes and tried to gather her resolve. Sometimes the job required the use of lethal force, but if persuasion, capture, and rehabilitation weren't options, did she really have to kill that person? But if it could finally bring them peace…
"Yes." Fate opened her eyes and looked into the other girl's. "If I have no other choice, I'll do it."
"Okay." Hayate let her hands drop to her sides. "And that goes for the rest of you too." They turned to the corner to see Subaru, Ginga, and Teana shuffle sheepishly into view. "Understood?"
"Yes m'am." The three said.
"Good. Dismissed." Hayate made her exit.
"… So how is Nanoha-san doing?" Subaru asked Fate.
"She's… She'll be okay but we need to leave her alone for now." Fate smiled sadly. "This business with Yuuno is just taking a toll on her, so she needs her rest."
"Oh…"
"Why don't the three of you go get something to eat and unwind?" Fate suggested. "Tomorrow is sure to be another busy day."
"Sure thing, Fate-san." Teana nodded. "Let's go, Subaru."
"… Okay…" Subaru's attention lingered on the door behind which her idol was behind as she followed the other two away.
X-X-X
Teana and Ginga both knew something was wrong when Subaru only ate nine plates of food.
"It's still ten years too early for you to worry about Nanoha-san." Teana said.
"I know that, but still…" Subaru poked at her meal. "I wish I could do something… Do you guys know anything about this Yuuno person?"
"There isn't anyone in the investigative arm of things that doesn't know of Professor Yuuno Scrya." Ginga said. "He singlehandedly organized the Infinity Library and has helped many with finding information relevant to cases."
"If it involves Lost Logia, he's the one to see." Teana added. "I've worked with him briefly a few times before. He was a nice guy and was childhood friends with Nanoha-san, Fate-san, and Commander Yagami."
"I guess it's no wonder they're taking this so seriously." Subaru looked down into her plate. "But to go so far as to kill him…"
"In this line of work sometimes you need to use extreme measures." Teana said sadly.
"I joined the Bureau because I wanted to help people, not kill them…" Subaru studied her hand. It would be so easy for her to kill some one with it and that knowledge terrified her. She had been faced with death many times before and had vowed never to be the cause of it.
"Fighting to save some one is a lot harder than fighting to kill them."
The three girls turned to the new arrivals.
"Vice captain Vita, vice captain Signum, and Zafira too!" Teana noted. "You're all here?"
"Of course." Zafira said. "Did you not think our mistress would call us all in on this?"
"Couldn't help but overhear your little chat." Vita said, zeroing in on Subaru. "If you want to avoid killing that much, there's only one thing you can do."
"What's that?" Subaru blinked.
"Simple! Train, train, train, and train some more! Become stronger so you'll be able to take your opponent down before you have to resort to a fatal blow. You got that?"
"Y-Yes!" Subaru shot up, sparkles in her eyes.
"That's the spirit." Vita lightly gave the taller girl a shot in the hip. "Now that's you're all pumped up, let's get started on that training!"
"Yeah!" Subaru thrust her first into the air.
"… She's so simple, isn't she?" Teana grinned.
"That's my sister for you." Ginga smiled back.
"You girls should come as well." Signum said. "We have a long, hard battle ahead of us. It would be wise to train as much as possible, so I think I shall particulate with you as well."
"It would be an honour to train with you vice captain Signum…" Teana chuckled nervously.
"Then let us go."
As they all went to the training grounds, Ginga and Teana both wondered if they'd survive to actually get to the coming battlefield.
X-X-X
"Na… ha… Nano… ha… Nanoha!"
"Huh?" Nanoha blinked as she frantically searched her surroundings. She saw that she was walking down one of the corridors of the training center.
"Is something wrong? It's not like you to just space out like that."
"No, I'm okay." Nanoha shook her head and smiled. "Sorry about that, Yuuno-kun."
"So long as you're fine…" The boy smiled back. "Anyways, like I was saying earlier, it's been awhile since the two of us were able to hang out together so I was wondering if you'd like to get some dinner after this. Maybe we could even catch a movie or something?"
"Thanks for the offer Yuuno-kun, but I'm afraid I can't." Nanoha smiled apologetically. "I'm going to get a head start on the regimen for the next batch of recruits that will be here next month. But next time for sure, okay?"
When he didn't respond, Nanoha noticed the haze in his eyes.
"Yuuno-kun, what's…?" When she reached out to him, he eyes rolled back and a trickle of red fell from his lips.
At that moment Nanoha felt something cool in her hand. When she looked down she saw that it was the handle of the blade that had pierced into Yuuno's chest.
"What? No, I…" Nanoha tried to pull the knife out, but instead it just sunk in deeper.
"This is what you've been doing for so many years." Something whispered into her ear. She looked to the side to see a mass of shadow grinning at her. "Well, thanks for the opening."
The shadow floated away from her and converged on the open wound, disappearing into it. Yuuno's eyes rolled back, one of them now red, and he flashed her a wicked smirk. His hands shot out and took hold of her throat.
"How is it?" He asked as he squeezed. "This is the kind of suffering you've been subjecting him to. Yuuno wanted so badly for you to have a taste of your own medicine, and I'm all too happy to oblige."
"N-No…" She croaked. "Stop…"
"Not going to happen. You're getting exactly what you deserve."
"NO!"
Nanoha found herself in utter darkness, but the weight of the sheets told her where she was.
"… Just a dream…" She panted, absently rubbing a hand over her neck. "Lights on."
The lights flickered on at her command, further reassuring her that she was still in her dorm room. Before she could even ponder what to do next, she felt the other presence in the room.
"Who's there?" She asked, tentatively putting one foot to the floor.
"It's me, Nanoha." The person emerged, causing Nanoha to jump out of bed.
"V-Volvo!" She clenched her teeth and stood at the ready.
"No, Nanoha, you're wrong!" He waved his hands in front of him. "It's me, Yuuno! Volvo went to sleep so I was able to take control away from him for a bit."
"Like I'd believe…" Nanoha stopped when he was close enough for her to see into his eyes. Both of them shone with the gentle emerald she had always associated with him. If eyes were the window into the soul, then surely the one before her was…
"Yuuno-kun!" Relief washed over her and before she realised it she had ran and embraced him. "It's you! You're okay! When I thought you were dead, I… You came back but he… and then…!"
"Calm down, Nanoha." Yuuno flushed before gently putting his hands on her shoulders. "I'm here, it's okay now…"
"It was awful…" Nanoha said, tears now streaming down her face. "He used your body and he…" The memory finally cut through the rush of happiness and she tried to pull away from him. "I… I've been causing you to suffer for so long and I had no idea… I'm so sorry Yuuno-kun! I didn't mean… I don't want you to hate me…"
"I know what he told you…" Yuuno pulled her closer. "But he was wrong. I don't hate you, Nanoha. I lo…"
As she listened to his words, Nanoha felt this overwhelming feeling inside her. When she had been told he was dead, she felt as if her world had been shattered and that there was a huge hole in her heart. But now he was right in front of her, holding her close, telling her reassuring words and everything felt right. For the first time in a week, she felt whole again. Now they just had to get Volvo out of Yuuno's body and everything would go back to the way it used to be.
"…athe you."
"Huh?" Nanoha's thoughts were shaken by the quick shove. It sent her to the floor where her back slammed against the bed.
"That's right! I don't just hate you, I absolutely loathe you!" Yuuno growled, his calm eyes now blazing. "So many years of my life wasted on you, but what do I have to show for it? Nothing! I've done so much for you, but what have you done for me? Nothing, you ungrateful bitch!"
"Y-Yuuno-kun? What…"
"Just shut up!" He spat. "I toiled away for you all while you played the little 'happy family.' You never gave any thought to me, you never cared at all and I got sick of it! I was just shoved off into the background where no one gave me a second thought, but not any longer! Because Volvo came to me, I finally have power! It's really quite amazing how intoxicating it is to see others fall before me! Thanks to Volvo I'm not inconsequential anymore! I'm not just some extra, now I'm the main character! Together we'll stand on top of the world and I'll finally get the attention that I deserve!"
"And you, you who has taken advantage of me for so long…" Yuuno crouched before the shock stricken girl. "You'll finally know how I felt, being absolutely nothing. All the suffering you caused me, you'll feel it a hundred fold while I just laugh and laugh. But I will offer you a bit of thanks. If it wasn't for you, I wouldn't be in this amazing position. So thanks, Nanoha. This is all because of you."
"No… no…" She muttered weakly.
"Deny it all you want, it doesn't make it any less true." He scoffed. "Such a horrible woman, what the hell was I thinking, falling in love with you? I'm so looking forward to what Volvo has in store for you…"
"Nanoha? The lights were on so I thought…" Fate walked in and froze when she witnessed the scene before her. "Volvo, you!"
"Oh hey Fate, it's been awhile." Yuuno smiled. "Put Bardiche down, there's no need for that. I'm not Volvo right now. It's me, Yuuno."
"I won't fall for your lies! Get away from Nanoha now!"
"But I'm not lying. It's really me." Yuuno shrugged helplessly when the other blonde kept staring at him. "Believe me or not, but could you please leave? I really have no beef with you, but this is between me and Nanoha."
"I said get away from her!" Fate made to charge, but a bind appeared around her.
"I thought you'd be more understanding, Fate." Yuuno shook his head. "After all, you know better than anyone how it feels to devote yourself to some one, only to have them turn around and cause you nothing but pain."
The memory of a whip flashed through Fate's mind as she undid the bind. "That was different."
"Fine, I guess I'll have to save this for later." Yuuno sighed. "I didn't come here to fight anyways, I just came here to deliver this." He pulled an envelope out of his pocket and tossed it at Fate who made no effort to catch it. "And with that I'll be seeing you two later. Bye for now." The man disappeared in a flash of light.
"Nanoha!" Fate quickly dashed to the other girl's side. The brunette had pulled her knees up to her chest and held her head in her hands.
"What have I done?" Nanoha sobbed. "This is all my fault!"
"Nanoha, get a hold of yourself!" Fate grabbed her shoulders. "That wasn't him!"
"Because of me, he's been twisted like that! Everything's my fault…"
"That's not true, Nanoha! He's being forced against his will! We just need to save him!"
"But he doesn't want to be saved! He hates me and wants to make me pay!"
"Nanoha!" Fate was on the verge of pulling out her hair. It was clear that her words weren't reaching the other girl but she needed to do something. The thought that occurred to her was something Fate never thought she'd need to do in a million years, but this situation called for it.
"This is going to hurt me a lot more than it hurts you." Fate muttered before she slapped Nanoha across the face.
"F-Fate-chan?" Nanoha's sobbing ceased at the surprise action.
"I'm sorry, but it had to be done." Fate said, gently cupping Nanoha's cheeks. "I know things have been hard for you lately, but you have to pull yourself together. There's no way that the person who was just here was Yuuno. It was just more of Volvo's lies."
"You can't know that…"
"Maybe, but think, Nanoha. You've known Yuuno longer than anyone else and you've been through so much together. Do you honestly believe that he could ever turn into something like that? That he could ever bring himself to hate you, or anyone else for that matter?"
"I… I thought I knew, but…"
"Stop doubting yourself. Even if you've been apart for so long, there's still that strong bond that connects you. That's what it means to be friends, right?"
"Yeah, but…"
"I just know that Yuuno is still in there somewhere, crying out for us to help him."
"Really?" Her eyes implored Fate for answers, but the blonde shook her head. She wanted to keep reassuring Nanoha, but she knew that Nanoha would have to figure that one out on her own.
"You can't just take my word for it." She said. "Look inside yourself and I know you'll find your answers."
"Okay." Nanoha rubbed at her eyes. "Thank you, Fate-chan."
"It'll all be fine. Even if Yuuno doesn't want to be saved what does it matter?" Fate gave a slight smile. "The Nanoha I know would save him anyways using an excessive amount of force."
Nanoha managed a pouty little smile. "Why does everyone always say that…?"
X-X-X
"I've increased security and set up a jamming field that should block teleportation signals, but…" Hayate sighed as she rubbed her eyes. "Why is it so hard to keep that guy away from her?"
"I've moved her to another room for now so even if he decides to come back, hopefully he won't be able to find where she is." Fate said.
"Well then, let's take a look at what he left for us." Hayate held out her hand to receive the envelope that Fate gave her.
"I had it scanned and there was no sign of anything dangerous."
"Okay." Hayate broke the seal and took out the letter. She read it out loud. "Dear members of the Bureau, this is Volvo, the one who shall soon rule you all. Before that though I thought I'd be generous and give you a chance to fight back. I hereby cordially invite you to send Nanoha Takamachi, Fate Testarossa Harlaown, and eight of your finest combatants to my place of residence. The contest shall be held exactly one week from today, so do prepare yourselves. Further instructions will follow. I'll see you then. Love, Volvo."
"It's a trap." Fate frowned.
"PS. It's not a trap." Hayate tossed the paper across her desk. "Awfully cocky of him isn't it? If that's the way he wants to play it, we're just going to have to follow along."
"You can't be serious, Hayate!"
"The best way to deal with a trap is to spring it." Hayate stood and went to her window. "But his style is far more direct than that. If he wants to face us all in a final showdown, then it's our best chance to take him down. He underestimates us, and that will be his downfall."
"I guess you're right…"
"The question now is if we can count on Nanoha-chan to be ready for it."
"Don't worry about Nanoha." Fate smiled. "I think she'll be just fine."
"I hope you're ri-" Hayate was cut off when an emergency screen flashed into existence in front of her. "What the hell is it this time?"
X-X-X
Nanoha stared intently at her reflection in the mirror. Perhaps she was taking Fate's advice to look into herself a little too literally, but it couldn't hurt.
"Do you honestly believe that he could ever turn into something like that? That he could ever bring himself to hate you, or anyone else for that matter?"
At one time Nanoha would have immediately replied that she didn't believe it, but she had never believed he could have been in love with her either…
'No, I can't think that way…' Nanoha shook her head.
"You've known Yuuno longer than anyone else."
What was the Yuuno she had known for so long been like? Nanoha closed her eyes and thought back. It had all started with a voice inside her head, calling out for help. She vividly remembered carrying that wounded ferret in her arms to the vet, remembered when he first spoke to her, when he gave her Raising Heart, and the events that followed. He had always apologised for getting her involved, had always said how he wished he could handle it on his own but was grateful for her help.
He patiently watched over her, taught her how to use magic, and helped her seal the Jewel Seeds. There were moments when she had screwed up, but he would always lick her cheek to cheer her up.
She was pretty shocked when she learned of his true form, but things settled quickly enough. She was able to learn more about him and she was easily able to confide in him. He always listened to her with plenty of understanding.
When Nanoha desperately wanted to save Fate, it was Yuuno who helped her disobey direct orders and sent her down to the surface. She had gotten a stern lecture from Lindy afterwards, but he was right there to take the heat with her.
He was still by her side in the coming battles, whether it was supporting her from the sidelines during her battle with Fate, or being her shield when they raided the Garden of Time.
After that he had gone away for a bit to help Fate during her trial, but he had come back to help her when she was attacked by Vita. He gently supported her then, using a healing spell on her before he went off to face Vita himself.
It was during that incident that the distance between them began to grow, Nanoha realised. Yuuno had spent most of his time researching at the library, so they didn't get many chances to see each other. They still spoke on the phone and ran into each other occasionally so Nanoha didn't think their relationship had changed very much.
The years had gone by but they had remained friendly. Even if they hadn't seen each other for months, she could always chat with him easily and had no problem inviting him along on her hot springs trip with Fate and Hayate. He had declined though. Was that an early sign that he didn't want to be around her anymore?
But that didn't seem right. A few years later when they had met up during that auction, he looked genuine happy to see her, if a tad awkward about it. And later he was right there with her, spying on Vivio's first day of school.
If he hated her back then, he showed no signs of it. But what about after that? People could change pretty quickly, so it was possible…
Nanoha sighed. She only had Volvo's word for it but she didn't want to believe him. She wanted to believe what Fate was saying, but… If only there was some sort of definite proof. Something…
As she stared at herself, Nanoha realised it and laughter burst from her lips.
"So that's it…" She said between fits. "I really am dense aren't I? It was right in front of me all this time…"
It felt so good to laugh again, even if it was self derisive. The darkness in her heart was blown away by the sound and she felt strength well up. When she finally settled down she wiped away the tears that had gathered and looked into her own determined eyes.
"Okay." She smiled. "I've got work to do."
X-X-X
"What's the situation?" Hayate asked when she and Fate entered the command room.
"A large tremor has been detected in the old city district." Shari reported. "Putting the epicentre on screen now."
Displayed were the long since abandoned buildings that began to crumble from the vibrations. The ground tore open and consumed the white objects before they were pushed out again by the ascent of a large silver structure.
"What the heck is that?" Hayate gaped as the building continued to rise. When it finally came to a halt, it towered over everything around it, casting a long shadow that blanketed the city in darkness.
"Incoming transmission broadcasting on all wavelengths," Shari said. "It's coming through by itself."
"Greetings everyone!" Yuuno's face popped onto all the screens. "You might not recognise the new look, but it's me, Volvo, that guy who's gonna subjugate you all! If you direct your attention to the outskirts of town, you'll see my castle that's been burrowed underground since ancient times. It's amazing how people fail to find what's right under their noses. Well anyways, I thought I'd give you all an update on my conquest. Everything will be over in exactly one week from today, I promise you this. I've extended an invite to the Bureau to send their best mages to face me at that time, so we'll have to wait to see who comes out victorious."
"For all your sakes you better hope it's the Bureau because only then will you get the antidote to the virus I've released in all the major cities. It takes a bit more than a week for this virus to kill you horribly but you'll be fine with the vaccine. Symptoms of infection include sore throat, runny nose, coughing, sneezing, loss of appetite, and vomiting, just to name a few. Of course I'd be willing to cure you all now if you unconditionally surrender to me. The choice is yours. See you all in a week."
X-X-X
"You never said anything about a virus."
"That's because there isn't one, doc." Volvo smirked. "Just a little psychological warfare. Now the Bureau has to deal with panicked citizens who will all try to rush to the hospital when they have even the tiniest of colds. It should keep them out of our hair for awhile. Heck, we may even get lucky and they'll convince the Bureau to surrender. I doubt it, so be sure you're ready in a week."
"I will be."
"The one you're waiting for will just walk through the front door and into your arms, so it works out for both of us. Now I just need to find something to do for a week…" Volvo stroked his chin as he walked out the door. "Oh Carim!"
X-X-X
"People are already rioting in the streets." Hayate said to the group gathered in the briefing room. "The ground forces have their hands full dealing with them, and the navy is keeping their eyes on other worlds. I imagine this is just what Volvo had in mind when he made that lie."
"Um…" Subaru raised her hand. "How do you know there is no virus?"
"It's not his style." Fate explained. "He is very direct in his desire to harm others. Using a virus would greatly reduce the number of people he could kill personally, and he wouldn't want that."
"I've explained this to my superiors, so surrender won't be considered." Hayate continued. "In a week's time we'll be sending a team to accept his little invitation. This team will consist of myself, Fate-chan, Signum, Vita, Shamal, Zafira, Teana, Ginga, and Subaru. We'll use this week to its fullest and prepare ourselves for anything. It's up to us to stop him, no matter the cost."
"You forgot about some one, Hayate-chan."
"Nanoha-chan?" Hayate turned as the instructor entered. "I think it's best you sit this one out."
"Please let me go on this mission too." The resolve in her eyes were clear to all those present. "I'm sorry I haven't been myself lately, but I'm okay now. I can do this."
Hayate studied her intently before nodding firmly. "It's good to have you back, Nanoha-chan. All right, everyone dismissed."
"Nanoha-san, are you really okay now?" Subaru immediately asked the older woman.
"Yes, I'm just fine." Nanoha smiled and put a hand on Subaru's shoulder. "Sorry for worrying you."
"No, it was nothing…" Subaru sniffed.
"Geeze, you'll always be such a cry baby." Teana nudged her friend.
"I'm not crying…" Subaru wiped at her eyes.
"It's okay to cry when you're happy." Ginga smiled as she put her arm around her sister's shoulder.
"Yeah, yeah, let's quit with the blubbering already." Vita snorted. "We got better things to do than stand around all day."
"You're right Vita-chan." Nanoha said. "I hope you're all prepared for a full week of training. I don't intend to hold back!"
"Yes m'am!" The younger girls saluted, silently wondering if having her back wasn't entirely a good thing.
"Nice to see her back in form." Signum nodded.
"I knew she would be all right." Fate smiled. "Volvo probably thinks he crushed her spirit, but won't he be surprised when he sees her in a week."
I guess my biggest concern is that Nanoha is too out of character. Her being out of character was intentional, but depending on your milage it might be too much. We all know how much Nanoha values her friends, so what if she found out she hurt one of them? She's certainly blasted her fair share of them, but that was for their own good. What if she found she'd been constantly causing a dear friend intense pain that was nothing but harmful, and she had no idea that she was actually doing it? And it caused said friend to head down a bad path? I certainly think she'd be quite hard on herself, so couple it with some other stuff, I personally think things are justified.
Well, in any case now Nanoha will be back to her old self and ready to kick some ass! Expect more action orientated chapters in the future!
