AN: I got this done way faster than I thought. Then again I couldn't stop thinking about how this chapter would go. Even at work, all I did was write notes for this story! The minute I got home I began typing up the rest of the chapter for everyone. Haha, I guess the excitement of a new story is keeping the juices flowing. I was also very happy with the positive response everyone had for the first chapter. I hope to continue to hear from everyone as the story progresses. Now to answer some reviews!
kaito kenshin- I think this chapter will answer questions about Fate's introduction.
Zona Rose- I really haven't decided how far into the future this is. I figure it'll be far enough into the future that the Earth had a restart. As you can see I haven't quite thought that through. It's fiiiine~
Kiruchi- Its going to be a normal school life…with a twist. You'll see what I mean.
Fate T. Harlaown- She's dreaming of her past life so whatever she dreams has already happened.
Sammie-chan89- You guessed correctly.
Closetotaku711- I'm not going to lie; there have been ideas for a second chapter to Someone Like You. I got them jotted down somewhere and I'm really tempted to just write it.
That's it for now. I hope you all enjoy this chapter!
Disclaimer: I don't own this amazing cast of characters. Sad, I know.
Safe and Sound
"Don't let them get away!"
Lindy Harlaown gave chase to the two girls in front of her, like had been for the last three years. This case happened to cross her desk when rumors of twin assassins reached her ears. Normally, this wouldn't raise any eyebrows. It wasn't anything new that assassins worked in the shadows of their society. It was a reality a lot of people were not aware of. Assassins lived more in the realm of myth and legends in the minds of normal people. Lindy was one of the few who knew the truth and tolerated this bitter fact. There was one thing though that she could not let slide. That's why she was chasing these two girls. She chased them for one simple fact: the rumored assassins were children. Even in the assassin community, children assassins were taboo. Almost no one would try to produce such young killers. Almost. There were some who were not afraid of the stigma that came with the risk of raising ones so young to kill. The woman her squad had just captured was one of those people.
Precia Testarossa did what most dared not to do. She raised twin assassins, some of the best in the business if Lindy was to believe all the rumors. As if Lindy wasn't disgusted enough, these two girls were Precia's own daughters. She turned her own flesh and blood into merchants of death. The green haired woman thought of her own child and couldn't help but wonder how a mother could do such a horrible thing.
She brought her focus back to the two girls attempting to escape. Lindy had chased these two mysterious twins for a few years now. Ever since she first heard about them, she could not let got of the case. Something inside her told her to keep chasing, to keep fighting for them. Today, all her hard work would pay off. She just needed to capture them first.
"Vice, they're heading your way. Be careful, they're just as dangerous as the rumors say." Lindy spoke into her earpiece.
"Understood. My team and I are ready to capture."
Lindy clicked off her communication device and watched the girls run right into their trap. They had grown so much. The now 12 year olds were starting to shoot up in height. They would be real beauties when they got older. In an odd way, she felt like she had watched them grow like she had her own child. She remembered the first pictures she received of the two. They had been 9 years old and already heavily indoctrinated into the life of an assassin. Alicia and Fate Testarossa were almost identical. Even she had a hard time telling the two apart. It took her awhile to find little things to distinguish one from the other.
While they had looked almost identical as children, their appearances changed as they grew. The older of the two, Alicia, kept her hair shorter than her younger twin. She also liked ribbons and in a morbid way, that became her calling card. After she completed an assassination, she'd tie a long red ribbon on the pinky of her victims.
Fate on the other hand, grew her hair out well past her butt. A black ribbon held it together near the end. Unlike her sister though, Fate left no calling card, at least not one that she was conscious of. The only sign that she was the one that committed a kill was when the bodies were examined. The younger blonde had a habit of using knives and preferred killing up close. Specifically, she liked to get close enough to quickly stab the vital points of her victims. Her speed and precision were so good that sometimes victims didn't even realize they'd be stab until it was too late.
Fate and Alicia also both had different dominant hands. While Alicia was left handed, Fate used her right. Another thing Lindy had come to discover was in their eyes. It was barely noticeable, but the two girls eye colors were different. Where Alicia's were more maroon pools of red, Fate's were burgundy. It was little discoveries like these that caused Lindy to feel attached to them and only fueled her need to save them from a life they had not chosen.
"Give it up girls. We have you surrounded."
The blondes were breathing heavily. Wounds covered their bodies, but her team wasn't doing much better. The only thing they had going for them were their numbers and even that was barely giving them an advantage. It'd taken half her squad to take down Precia with her aid. The twins were proving to be just, if not more, difficult than their mother. It was obvious they were trained well. Part of her had to wonder, were they just as lethal when they were younger?
"I ask that you give yourselves up peacefully. If you do, I can promise we'll help you."
For the first time in her life, Lindy heard the voice of Fate.
"Help?"
It was quiet. Something she hadn't expected of such a dangerous girl.
"Help with what?" Alicia questioned.
Alicia's voice sounded so hollow yet she sensed the confusion as well. Why wouldn't they be? It's not like anyone had offered them anything different than the life they led. Their mother, if she could even be called that, certainly made sure to keep them on a tight leash. She was more of a handler than a mother to these kids. Did they even know what it was to feel love? To know what kindness was? Lindy knew it was a long shot, a dangerous one, but she was going to put everything on the line for them. Why? She still didn't know, but she was hoping to find out what was driving her to reach out to the blonde girls.
"A second chance."
-SafeandSound-
3 Years later…
"Nanoha! You'll be late for school!" Momoko hoped that would get her daughter up. She'd told her not to stay up too late but she had forgone her mothers warning and stayed up watching a movie.
"I'm up!"
Momoko smiled as her youngest came bounding down the stairs. Her little girl was growing up to be a very beautiful girl. Today was a special day; she'd be starting her first year at TSAB Academy. It was a prestigious school where a lot of important families sent their kids, but this wasn't your average private school for rich kids. TSAB Academy was special because it was also a school for kids who wanted to work as bodyguards or in any aspect of the security industry. Most of these prospective kids went for the chance to work for the families who sent their children to the school. TSAB also did a lot of recruiting for those who showed promise and if they were not able to afford the high tuition, they would be offered a scholarship. The main goal was to get the best of the best to attend. So far, their methods have been successful. There was a high probably that one seeking employment as a bodyguard would be hired while they attended the school, if not then they still had a good chance to be hired somewhere else simply due to the fact that they graduated from the academy.
It was thanks to this that, over the years, the school became the place where political figures, multi-millionaires, and business moguls sent their kids. After all, what better place for your kids to attend than a school that had a small army of trained and armed bodyguards?
Nanoha bound down the stairs followed by her older sister Miyuki and her older brother Kyouya and his bodyguard Shinobu Tsukimura. Out of her three children, Kyouya was the only one with a personal bodyguard.
The Takamachi family may not seem like it, but they were a family of great influence. When Momoko had first met Shiro, he was only a boy with a plan to own his own business someday. Early on, Shiro had seen the benefit that could come from starting up a business in the security industry. Everyone wanted to feel safe and there were people out there, people with money, who'd be willing to pay any amount just to have that feeling. With this thought in mind, Shiro worked hard to create the most sought after security business in the industry. Not only did he offer affordable home security for middle class families, but he also trained some of the best bodyguards in the business. Political figures in particular were some of his most frequent customers.
"Do I have to have find a bodyguard at this school mom?" Nanoha whined.
"You know it would ease your father's mind if you did."
Nanoha groaned. "But I can take care of myself. It's not like dad didn't train us in self defense."
Momoko chuckled. "I know dear but you know how your father is."
"Extremely over protective?" Miyuki joined her family at the breakfast table. "He does realize we're not children anymore right? I don't see why he's suddenly pushing us to have one when we never did as kids. I mean why did Kyouya even have to have one? He's a boy! He can take care of himself."
"I already made that argument before. He didn't care." Kyouya sighed. "Well it's not like it's that bad guys."
Nanoha grinned evilly. "That's only because you're in love with Shinobu-san."
Kyouya promptly spit out his orange juice.
"N-Nanoha!"
Shinobu Tsukimura did a magnificent job of keeping the blush off of her cheeks. This was one of the reasons that Shiro accepted Shinobu as Kyouya's bodyguard. That and a thorough investigation of her family background convinced him he made the right choice. Shinobu was from a family that practiced the long forgotten art of ninjustu. Only those who were part of the Tsukimura clan were allowed to learn the secret art. It was definitely rare to have someone, much less a family, know such rare skills. Shiro felt fortunate that Shinobu and Kyouya met at TSAB and hoped that his two daughters would also find the right person to look after them.
"Kyouya and Shinobu sitting in a tree!" Miyuki added in.
"S-Shut up!" Kyouya tried to feebly defend himself. "Arg! I'm going to school!"
It wasn't all that unusual that relationships would develop between bodyguards and the people they protected. In fact, some looked at this as the way to find their future wife/husband. Love didn't always develop but it was undeniable that a special bond was formed between the two people.
Momoko shook her head. Sometimes she wondered how her children hadn't killed each other yet.
"Alright, you girls need to stop picking on your brother. You know he's still in denial of his feelings for Shinobu-chan." Nanoha and Miyuki giggled. Even their mother could see there was something going on there. "At least he's one step ahead of you girls. Now if only you two could find your future wives."
It was Nanoha and Miyuki's turn to spit out their orange juice.
"W-Wife?" Nanoha coughed.
"I thought we were suppose to be finding bodyguards!" Miyuki exclaimed. "And what makes you think I like girls!"
Momoko smiled mysteriously. "That is what I said, but you never know. You may find yourselves falling for a special young woman. As for how I know…mother's intuition."
"I-I'm going to school." A blushing Nanoha stammered.
"M-Me too!" Miyuki followed.
Momoko chuckled at her daughter's reactions. They could be so silly sometimes. Her smile faded slightly thinking about how she discovered that Nanoha had a special preference for girls.
It had been years since her dreams about being a magical girl began. After they'd weathered the onslaught of nightmares for one month, Nanoha started to tell them about the strange dreams she'd have. It would've been hard for Momoko or Shiro to take Nanoha's dreams seriously had they not been through the anguish of her nightmares. Nanoha always gave them lots of information about her dreams. That wasn't normal. Not with dreams anyway. It was more common to wake up and almost immediately forget what it was that had happened except for a few vague details, but not Nanoha. She'd give very specific descriptions of people and even names. It was almost scary how much of her dreams she could recount.
Because Nanoha was giving them so much information, Momoko decided to keep a journal of the things her daughter dreamt. Every time something new came up, she'd bring out the journal and jot down everything. After all this time, she began to think that maybe there was more to these dreams than she'd originally thought. What did they mean though? She wasn't sure yet but she felt that the least she could do was document what she could. Momoko was just glad the nightmares weren't as prevalent.
The one-month after Nanoha had turned 9 had been a living nightmare and one she hoped to never repeat again. During the month of May, her daughter still had the nightmares but not quite as much. Usually, she'd have the dream once and it would not bother her for the rest of the year. Momoko suspected this was so because Fate died in that particular month.
Momoko finished her breakfast and walked to her study. She sat down and opened up a particular drawer. In it was a leather bound journal, the one she used to record Nanoha's dreams. She pulled it out along with various other folders. Each one had a picture of a girl of varying ages. Nanoha did not know it but Momoko had taken the names of the girls Nanoha dreamt of and looked to see if they might be real people. She'd started doing this when Kyouya met Shinobu Tsukimura, one of the girls her daughter had seen in her dreams. To say Shiro and Momoko had been shocked was an understatement. When they'd met the girl, it was even more mind-boggling. The description Nanoha had originally given them about the dream Shinobu was so accurate it was scary. Thanks to this event, they both began to search for the other girls and they'd found them.
They also found Fate Testarossa Harlaown.
She reached for that particular folder and couldn't help but frown. From the things her daughter had said about her, the girl sounded like an angel. This though, was not what she had expected.
An ex-assassin?
There was no such thing in her mind. Once someone had been through the indoctrination to become an assassin, it was almost impossible to undo the damage. They could not have a normal life even if they wanted. The things they did would always haunt them after they'd have a taste of what a normal life was like. Most did not endure living with the guilt of the things they'd done before taking more drastic measures to end the suffering.
She wished this Fate were more like dream Fate because she knew the meeting between her daughter and Fate was inevitable.
Momoko sat back in her chair and was reminded of the original reason she thought of all this.
One night, she happened to be walking by Nanoha's room and decided to check up on her. It was a habit she'd gotten into since the dreams began. She sat by her bedside and watched for few minutes as she slept, making sure that all was well. Then she heard it. It was faint and she thought she'd imagined it until Nanoha repeated it again.
"Fate-chan…. I love you."
After the shock had passed, she began to wonder just what these dreams really were. So far, the people Nanoha had dreamed of proved to be more than just imaginary. Her worry now was what role Fate would have in her daughter's life, especially since Shiro and Momoko wanted nothing more than to keep them from ever meeting each other. She was broken out of her thoughts when her phone rang.
"Hello?"
"Nanoha is in danger." Shiro answered gravely.
"What? How?"
"Harlaown succeeded in enrolling Fate at TSAB Academy."
-SafeandSaound-
Nanoha waved to their driver as she and Miyuki exited the car.
"Are you ready Nanoha?" Her sister asked.
"I guess so. Anything I should know about this school?"
"Hmm." Miyuki went into her thinking pose. "There's a lot of weirdo's here."
"What?" Nanoha asked in disbelief.
Miyuki shrugged. "Well you know what they say about rich people. They can be an eccentric bunch."
The two girls walked through the school gates, following the crowd of students who all seemed to heading in the same direction. If Nanoha remember correctly, they were going to the auditorium for the opening ceremony. It was customary for all the students to attend so Miyuki had no choice but to sit through the new student orientation again. Although she hoped that something interesting would happen this year. Her own opening ceremony had been such a snooze fest.
"Are we considered to be one of those weird people?" Nanoha asked her sister.
"I don't know. We seem pretty normal to me, but who knows how "normal" people view us."
"Then we're probably weird."
The two sisters entered the auditorium and took their respective seats with their classmates. Nanoha looked around nervously. This was the first time she would be attending a normal school. Her father's paranoia had kept her at home most of the time and she understood why. Because he provided political figures with bodyguards from his company, he had formed enemies from people that his employees had foiled. It was no shock that these people would go to great lengths to somehow get back at the man who they deemed an enemy. Still, it did little to scare her. She wanted to do this. She wanted to be just like other kids her age.
She continued to look around and couldn't help but notice that a lot of the students walked in with bodyguards that were definitely not students. She wasn't surprised thought. This school allowed for families to choose to hire their own guards or find one at the academy. If they chose to hire one on their own, they had to make sure to inform the school and disclose everything about the person they chose in order to gain permission for them to attend.
Nanoha sighed. She wondered if she'd be able to find someone her father would approve of.
-SafeandSound-
"Must we attend?"
"I agree. This seems pointless."
Lindy sighed. Sometimes she hated how in sync Alicia and Fate seemed to be.
"Yes you have to attend and there is always a point to the things we do."
The two girls in front of her frowned. Even though they were having this argument, she couldn't help but smile. Three years ago, the girls would never have even tried to. Not that they could if they'd wanted. The girls were under such heavy surveillance that Lindy feared they'd never be given a chance to change their life around. Three years ago, the girls would've just silently nodded with whatever plan she had for them, not once questioning why. This rebellion in them was a good sign. A very good sign.
"I do not want to attend." Fate stated.
"Agreed."
"And why is it that you suddenly don't want to go? You guys agreed when I suggested you attend school with kids your age."
"Yes, but you failed to inform us that this school isn't normal." Fate crossed her arms over her chest.
"Who told you it wasn't normal?"
"Chrono." Alicia mimicked her twin's pose as they stared at their adoptive mother.
"That little…"
"Alright, I will admit that this school is not normal per say."
"What's abnormal about it?" Alicia asked.
"Well…this school is for kids of the elite."
"The rich?" Fate's eyebrow shot up.
"The rich, the famous, and those with political power. This is where the cream of the crop send their kids."
"Then I fail to see why we should attend. We already have almost nothing in common with others our age as it is. You expect us to fit in with these "privileged" people?" Fate argued.
Lindy sighed again. At least no one could say that Fate and Alicia were dumb blondes. The girls knew how to twist arguments in their favor.
"Very well, I'll be straight with you. The reason I want you to attend this school is to introduce you to the kinds of people you'll be working with."
"Work?" Alicia asked confused.
"Yes, as you girls know, I do not want you to use your assassin training for killing or at all really. For the last 3-years I've been trying to get rid of the mindset you two have been living most of your lives. It hasn't been easy, but we're still here and still fighting. That's why I know sending you to this school is what is best. I know you will find what you need here."
"What is it that you think we lack?" Alicia asked genuinely curious.
Lindy smiled. "Someone to protect."
"Huh?" both blondes questioned.
Lindy took both of them in her arms and hugged them as tightly as she could.
"My sweet, semi-innocent children. You've spent most of your lives learning how to end life rather than protecting it. You've grown up not knowing what love is and I know that even now, that concept is still foreign to you." Lindy pull away and vaguely wondered if they would ever discover what love was. "I can only teach you so much by keeping you with me like this. That's why I'm sending you there. I'm preparing you for your future professions as protectors. So please, give this a chance?"
It took a few minutes but the girls awkwardly returned the hug their adoptive mother had given them. Lindy knew that meant she won the argument. She quickly rushed them off to change into their school uniforms. They were already incredibly late as it was. The girls would definitely be missing the opening ceremony. She hoped the chairman of the school wouldn't be too upset by this. Then again, it helped that Lindy was friends with the chairman so she wasn't overly worried about it.
-SafeandSound-
Nanoha was doing her best to stay awake during the opening speeches and other ceremony activities. So far, the school seemed like any other really. Then again, it's not like she had a reference point to what a normal school was but since nothing seemed to have blown up or gone awry, she assumed this was normal.
"And now, please welcome your class representative for the freshman class, Yagami Hayate!"
"No way…she's real." Nanoha was stunned. The brunette mage in her dreams was real. After having confirmed that Shinobu Tsukimura was a real person, she began to wonder if all the other girls she dreamed of were real or not. This was reinforcing the thought that perhaps they were.
"Does that mean Fate-chan is real too?" she couldn't help but feel hopeful at that. Out of all the people she'd dreamed of, she knew Fate was special. In what way, she wasn't sure yet, but if they met, she knew she'd figure it out.
"Did she say Yagami?" some of her classmates began to whisper.
"Isn't that the Prime Minister's granddaughter?"
"I heard she's adopted."
"She must think she's special because someone took pity on her."
Nanoha frowned at the whispers that followed the brunette girl as she walked to the podium. The auburn haired girl never understood why people talked badly about someone they knew nothing about. She guessed it couldn't be helped when egos such as the ones in the room were together in one place.
"Good morning fellow classmates. As your class representative, I look forward to making this year a memorable one. That being said, it is my personal goal to ensure that everyone knows the joys of cosplaying!"
"Eh?"
"That's right! What better way to bond as fellow students than to share our love of dressing up as fictional character from…Wait a minute Vita! I'm not done!" the entire student body was unsure how to react to anything their supposed representative said, much less to witnessing her being dragged away from the podium by a red haired girl that was shorter than her.
"Well that certainly wasn't normal." Nanoha thought. Maybe this school wasn't going to be as normal as she thought.
One of the teachers took this opportunity to move things along.
"Ah, well, it's time to head to your classes for home room. If you are a new student please head to the tables on the right side of the auditorium. Schedules are organized by last name so please make sure you are in the correct line when retrieving your class schedules."
Nanoha stood up with the rest of the students. Making her way over to the other end of the room, she looked for the correct line to get her class schedule. It only took a few minutes to make it to the front.
"Name?"
"Takamachi, Nanoha."
"Takamachi… Ah here it is." The short brown haired girl smiled. "If you have any questions feel free to ask any of us."
"Ah, thank you, umm…"
"Limietta Amy." The girl smiled again.
"Limietta-san, I appreciate it." Nanoha's eyes quickly glanced at the imposing young man standing behind her. She quickly diverted her eyes and walked away. She deduced that he was probably her bodyguard. She frowned at having to think of such things again. She still had to find one of her own. Miyuki didn't have one and she'd been at this school one year already. Kyouya got lucky and found Shinobu on his first day.
"Even if I find someone, dad still has to give the okay." She dreaded that part of the process since Shiro tended to be more over protected when it came to his daughters. If she knew her father, then the chances of him approving anyone on the first try was almost zero. It was going to be a long road for sure.
Nanoha had not been paying attention to where she was going, as she was about to turn a corner. Neither had the person that slammed into her.
Fate was in a hurry to get to the auditorium to get her class schedule. She and Alicia had already missed the opening ceremony but they weren't really concerned about that. What she was more concerned about was having to be around so many people all the time. The two girls hated being around that many people. Being with Chrono and Lindy was one thing, but this was completely out of their element. She didn't know how they would get through school.
Then it happened.
She hadn't been paying attention to her surrounding, something she was usually very diligent at from being an assassin, but since they were in a rush, she had sacrificed her awareness for instead concentrating on her speed. Being the faster of the two, she had pulled ahead of Alicia. Her twin though had been paying more attention and she'd tried to warn her twin of what was about to happened, but Fate did not hear what she'd said.
It's why when she turned the corner, she was caught off guard that there was someone there. Without thinking, Fate shifted the girl against her so that when they fell, the blonde would receive the brunt of the damage from the fall.
It happened so fast that the only reason Nanoha realized she had fallen was because she felt the pull of gravity on her body. The auburn haired girl suddenly became aware that she was lying on top of someone, someone very feminine. Slowly, the two girls opened their eyes. Nanoha was almost speechless to see the pair of burgundy eyes that haunted her dreams.
"Fate…chan?"
AN: Phew, I wrote a lot. Hope you all enjoyed this chapter. I tried my best to paint a picture of what kind of world they live in but I do realize this it's probably a lot of information I'm throwing at you. If you guys still have questions please feel free to ask. Remember to review and thanks for reading!
