AN: It's time for another chapter! I was working on the next one for My Life Would Suck Without you but as you can see, I got distracted with this story. I do have 10 pages written up for the other one though so I'll be going back to that soon. In the meantime, I hope you enjoy this chapter.
Also, thank you for all the reviews! 72? For just 3 chapter? I'm blown away. There's only one other story of mine that has a crazy number of reviews and that's Someone Like You. Seriously, you guys are awesome. Speaking of reviews, here are some answers to your questions.
K-n1n3- They will eventually remember. As for Vivio…let's just say I have a lot planned for Safe and Sound. I may need to split it up into two or three separate stories.
Anonymous- I don't plan for Alicia to break up anyone. I like writing her as the good sister for once and I want to do something different for her.
Yukiyuuki- The way I think I'm going to work the school rankings is as follows: kids of famous people (mostly those in the entertainment industry) are top tier although certain kids of political and business figures can fit into this category as well. Kids of political and business figures are medium tier, and kids of everyone else are bottom tier.
Kanazaki - I will indeed be adding Amitie and U.D.
That's it for now. Enjoy the chapter!
Safe and Sound
"I hate school." Fate grumbled as she sat at the breakfast table with Alicia and Lindy. Chrono had moved out to live with Amy a year ago after he became her official bodyguard. Even now, it still felt a bit odd without the older boy there to tease them. That teasing, although annoying, helped get them to break out of their shells after they'd moved in with the Harlaowns.
"What happened this time?"
Alicia smirked. "Fate is just upset that there's a girl stalking her."
"What?" Lindy was shocked to hear that. She never thought that either of them would ever acquire anything like a stalker. She was more certain that everyone would be avoiding them now that someone at the school had revealed her daughters past.
Her thoughts darkened. She'd done her best to make sure that that particular piece of information would be kept under wraps so that they may have a semi-normal school experience. Yet, by the end of their first week, everyone knew. She was still trying to figure out who it was exactly that leaked the information but she'd had no luck. Either it was someone higher up who did it or someone with enough money to cover their tracks. It would be difficult to find out who was responsible since everyone fell into those two categories. Still, the girls hadn't complained about anything happening to them since the reveal. She knew however that they were more than likely being ostracized and bullied. Yet the girls did not talk about anything of the sort happening. This was the first time any discontent was voiced and it didn't even have anything to do with them being ex-assassins. It was good to know that they were stronger than the people trying to break them, but Lindy was still worried. All it took was one thing to break someone, just one crack in the armor for everything to come crumbling down.
She was just happy that the girls weren't forced to leave the school. To her shock, Shiro Takamachi vouched for them and that convinced all the other concerned parents to withdraw their demands of expelling the twins. It was proof of how much of an influential person Shiro was. She doubted the man realized just how much his word was trusted.
"Yeah, this girl has been following her around since the first day of school." Alicia said breaking Lindy out of her thoughts.
"It's annoying. She's annoying." Fate stabbed her eggs as she said that.
"Isn't that a bit harsh?" Lindy asked as she spread some butter on her toast.
"No, she makes me uneasy."
Alicia took a sip of her orange juice. "Not that I blame you. She's the daughter of Shiro Takamachi. We wouldn't want to get involved with her anymore than necessary."
Lindy almost spit out the coffee she was drinking. "She's the daughter of Shiro-san?"
Alicia nodded. "Yeah, she always makes these weird eyes at Fate and is constantly sighing. How she's even passing our classes is a mystery since she's always staring at Fate during our lessons."
"I wish she'd just leave me alone."
"Now, now Fate-chan. I'm sure she means no harm. She probably just wants to be friends with you."
"I don't need friends."
Well that was a bad sign. Maybe the isolation was getting to them. Not that she could blame them. Who would want to be friends with people who were making their lives harder? She would feel a bit better if they would actually talk to her about the hardships they were facing, but she knew she shouldn't push them about it. Patience was a virtue with these girls, although it didn't hurt to let them know time and time again that she was there for them if they needed it.
"She can't be all bad if she does Fate-chan. It wouldn't hurt to be nicer to her. You'll never know unless you give her a chance."
Fate grumbled something unintelligible. Lindy smiled. If Nanoha was getting to her this much, then it was probably a good thing. Better than her not feeling anything towards her peers. She turned her attention towards Alicia.
"So, have you acquired any stalkers Alicia-chan?"
"No, please don't jinx it Lindy-san."
The cyan haired woman giggled. If Alicia had one it would be too funny. The girls finished their breakfast without their mother picking on them anymore. Lindy drove the girls to school, just as she always did. She'd begun to drive them ever since their secret had been leaked. Not only did this give her a chance to bond with her girls more, but it was also a good chance for her to keep an eye out for any suspicious activity. One could never be too careful.
"Have a good day at school girls. Remember if anything happens…"
"We know." Fate smiled. "We'll call you if we need you."
Lindy smiled back before driving off to work. Few people knew what she actually did, but if she had to describe her job, she'd say it was akin to that of the secret service. She worked for a branch of the government that supposedly didn't exist. They handled matters that most of the general public didn't know threatened them. Their division was known as Riot Force 6 or RF6 for short. It was one of the reasons she was aware of the assassin community. She was in charge of trying to figure out their hierarchy and how they worked. Although they usually worked solo, that did not mean there wasn't an over all organization that handled their business, however it was difficult to find the headquarters of the Assassin Guild.
Her phone suddenly went off.
"Harlaown speaking."
"Ma'am, Testarossa wants to speak with you."
Lindy's eyebrows furrowed. In the three years they'd captured the woman, she hadn't spoken one word to any of them. Why now?
"I'm on my way."
-SafeandSound-
Nanoha watched with concern as Alicia and Fate entered the classroom. Ever since it's been revealed they were ex-assassins, it seemed that almost everyone was trying to make their lives a living hell. Everyone in the class had scooted their seats away from the two girls with the exception of Hayate and herself. Not to mention all the horrible things everyone else would write on their desks and lockers. The girls didn't seem to be affected and that worried Nanoha even more.
"Maybe it has something to do with their training."
This morning though, there had been a vase with a single white flower on both their desks along with a note telling them to do the world a favor and to kill themselves. Nanoha had been so mad. So furious. She'd wanted to yell at everyone and make them apologize for all the weeks of bullying they'd put Fate and Alicia through. She calmed herself, however, and instead of doing something drastic, she took the offending items on the desk and slammed them into the garbage can. It definitely startled everyone in the classroom but they dared not say anything, especially after she glared at her classmates. She'd barely sat down when the twins entered the classroom. Her heart skipped a beat seeing her blonde crush walk to her seat like she'd done every morning since school began. It didn't get old watching her and Nanoha thought it never would.
"I'll do it today."
In all those weeks since they became classmates, Nanoha had yet to utter a word to the blonde. So far, the only thing she'd done was admired the girl from afar or as Hayate called it stalking. Nanoha didn't quite believe she'd descended to such a level but her brunette friend begged to differ. Nanoha had also taken to ignoring a lot of Hayate's comments, especially if they had nothing to do with helping her talk to the blonde beauty sitting in front of her. She took a deep breath. This was it. She was finally going to talk to her. She was finally going to make her acknowledge her existence.
"G-good morning Fate-chan."
She saw the blonde tense, like she was waiting for something more to happen. Nanoha grew nervous as the silence stretched. Was she going to be ignored like on the first day she tried asking her to join Hayate and herself for lunch? She noticed Alicia was looking at her oddly. This only caused her anxiety to rise.
Fate turned in her seat to get a better look at the girl behind her. She hadn't bothered to look twice at the girl since their little run in on the first day of school. Not like she wanted to anyway. She preferred not to encourage her stalker in anyway, yet she found herself turning to look at the girl. She had no idea why. It was like she did it on instinct. The two stared at each other for what seemed liked hours. The bells rang breaking them out of their trance. Fate was tempted to turn back around without saying anything, but she remembered what Lindy said that morning. Was there really any harm to giving this girl a chance? It's not like she had to worry about her safety around her. She looked harmless enough.
"Good morning Takamachi-san."
Fate turned back around, saying no more. Nanoha's eyes widened in shock. The blonde had spoken back to her. She actually spoke! And that voice! That quiet yet clearly powerful husky voice. It was exactly like she'd dreamed it was. She wanted to hear more. Curse the fact class had begun.
Alicia looked confused at Nanoha's clearly joyful reaction to Fate saying a simple good morning to her. She still did not understand why this girl was so…desperate to get close to her sister. It made no sense, especially now that no one wanted to associate themselves with them. This prompted her to looked at the girl who sat behind her. Yagami Hayate grinned at Alicia and waved at her. Alicia didn't greet back and instead began taking her things out to take notes. Hayate was almost as odd as Nanoha. She was probably even odder now that she thought about it. Still, these two girls were the only one's that bothered to treat them normally.
"Why? For what purpose?"
This whole socializing thing was more difficult than she thought it would be. It's why she and Fate hated being around people. Their actions were always so confusing. Acting on emotions rather than logic. She didn't think she'd ever understand how that worked. Alicia shook her head. Now was not the time to be dwelling on the finer aspects of human interaction. She had class to worry about. Regardless of the difficulties they were having with their peers, it was more important to graduate from this school with flying colors. Nothing would make Lindy prouder and she did not want to be the one to disappoint her adoptive mother.
-SafeandSound-
Lindy walked down the empty hall leading to the interrogation room. Her team had scrambled and every available agent was working security detail for this interrogation. Well, it was less of an interrogation really and more of a confession. At least she hoped it was. This was one of the reasons they'd kept Precia alive so far. They needed to get the whole story behind what Precia did. Lindy was more interested in the why she did what she did. What drove to do that to her daughters? What was the purpose?
"Ma'am. Everything is ready for you."
"Well done Vice-kun. Now tell me, what prompted her to ask for me?"
"It was really odd. She asked for the date. Then she said she wanted to speak with you and only you."
"Hmm, this could be a trick."
"It's what we thought as well. Maybe today has some sort of significance?"
"Still, we can't be too careful."
"Don't worry Lindy-san. Everything in the room is bugged and cameras are placed in vital points. We have a team observing through the two-way mirror and the team inside of course. If anything is out of place, we'll take care of it."
"Good."
They reached the door. Vice and Lindy nodded to each other before the older woman opened the door and stepped into the room. The room was dark for the most part. This was done on purpose so that Precia wouldn't be able to see the four-armed guards in black that stood in each corner of the room. The only viable light was from a hanging light bulb in the middle of the room, right under the table she and Precia would be sitting at. The other woman was already there, looking as if she wasn't in a straight jacket and bound to the chair. Not once had this woman complained about her treatment or said much of anything.
"Testarossa."
"Harlaown."
Lindy sat down, staring at the woman across from her.
"You wanted to speak with me?"
"Yes." Precia smiled, although it looked more arrogant than anything else. "How are my daughter's doing Harlaown-san."
"They're fine."
Lindy was not about to give any information to Precia about the twins. If she did, she felt like she'd be giving Precia a place in their lives again. She was not about to do that. Precia had lost that right a long time ago.
"Ah."
Silence. Lindy was growing impatient but didn't show it. She couldn't show any kind of weakness in front of her. Precia may seem harmless in her state but looks were always deceiving. After all, she wasn't just a trainer; she was once an accomplished assassin herself although she'd fallen off the map years ago. Obviously it was due to the fact that she was busy "raising" kids.
"Do you know what's so special about today, Harlaown-san?"
"I do not."
Precia smirked. "My girls began their training today. It was the proudest moment of my life."
Lindy did everything in her power not to try to choke the woman in front of her. There were still a lot of things they hadn't found out about Alicia and Fate, like their date of births for one. Precia had kept plenty of paperwork, but most of it was about jobs the girls would go on. No birth certificate of any kind was ever found for the twins. Even now, they still didn't know and so Lindy had chosen to give them a birthday on her own. January 21st was the day they were rescued, a day signifying the birth of their new lives.
"I think I'm done for today." Precia announced.
Two guards from the corners came into the light and prepared Precia for her trip back to her holding cell. As they blindfolded her so she would see the layout of the headquarters, her eyes caught Lindy's.
"Tell my girls I said hi, Lindy-san." She said with a smirk
The blindfold fell into place. The guards hauled her up and led her out of the room. Lindy didn't know what to think of this meeting. It made no sense. Nothing important was shared, at least nothing that her superiors could use. She stood up and made her way out as well. She'd just have to be patient until Precia wanted to open up again. This may have been brief and it seemed useless but it was a good sign. She was willing to open up, even if it was only to her. She just wished she could get rid of the uneasy feeling she had about the whole thing.
-SafeandSound-
"Eat lunch with me, I mean us!"
Fate blinked twice at the girl blocking her exit. She had all the intent to leave with Alicia, like she always did, and have a quiet lunch outside. Then just as she was about to leave, Nanoha had spread her arms across the door, and shouted that in her face. Quiet frankly, she didn't know what to make of it. She looked around her classroom to see that everyone had more or less gathered at the door since Nanoha was blocking the only exit out. Her classmates were keeping a safe distance away from her and Alicia though. Turning back to Nanoha, she regarded her options. She could decline and move on or accept and have to deal with not just Nanoha but Hayate as well. The two girls were odd enough as individuals, but she couldn't imagine how she'd be able to handle them together. She was about to reject her offer when someone else decided to voice their discontent at having their lunch time delayed.
"Move out of the way Takamachi!"
Arisa Bannings stepped a little closer to the twins so that Nanoha would be able to see who was yelling at her.
"Listen freak, I don't care if you're dumb enough to want to be friends with the murderers but the rest of us want to get out of here for lunch."
Alicia was extremely tempted to say something back not for her sake but for that of the girl trying to befriend her sister. She and Fate had been putting up with their stupid little pranks and acts of "bullying" with no complaints mainly because if they retaliated in any way it'd somehow lead to them being dangerous and unfit to attend the school. Now that not only her adoptive mothers name was on the line but that of Shiro Takamachi's as well, she felt more inclined to watch her actions at school. This girl though, was pushing her luck because Fate looked like she wanted to murder the girl for what she had said to Nanoha.
"Don't call them that!" Nanoha growled. "You don't have a right to do say things like that when you don't know anything about them!"
"Are you seriously that stupid? What's there to know?" Arisa shrugged. "It's what assassins do right? No mystery that they're just a bunch of heartless murderers. They have no right to walk among us."
Fate was about to seriously punch the girl in the face, not for what she said about her and Alicia. As sad as it sounded, she was use to it by now and to some degree she agreed with what Arisa said. It was what they did. For all intents and purposes they were murders, but she couldn't let go of the insults that the blonde was throwing at Nanoha. Out of everyone in the school, the auburn haired girl did not deserve to be degraded like that. Just as Fate was about to step closer to the girl and teach her a thing or two, she felt Alicia pull her to her side. That's when she saw strands of auburn hair flow past the corner of her eyes.
Smack!
The blonde twins could barely believe what had happened. Nanoha had actually slapped Arisa across the face. Fate gained a new respect for her stalker. To think she believed the girl was harmless. Maybe she should watch her back around the auburn haired girl.
Nanoha glared at the girl before her. Never in her life had she felt so mad, scratch that, so blindingly furious at the hurtful words that were coming from her classmate. This anger though had been building up from having to watch as day after day the twins were treated like they were less than people. She'd had enough.
"You shouldn't judge someone so quickly when all you do is go by second hand accounts. Alicia-chan and Fate-chan have never done anything to any of you for the things you've done to them. If they're the horrible murderers you make them out to be then why are you all still alive? Don't you think they'd just get rid of you if they wanted instead of putting up with all of this? But they haven't, have they? They've proven to me that they're more human than the rest of you. To me, the real monsters here are all of you."
Nanoha turned away from her gobsmacked classmates. With more confidence than she'd ever had, she took one of Fate's hands and tugged her out the door. Alicia followed suit along with Hayate, who'd been strangely silent through the whole thing. The two walked in silence behind Fate, who kept looking between her and Nanoha's joined hands like a confused puppy, and Nanoha who looked like she was the happiest person on earth.
"She's quite amazing isn't she?" Hayate asked out of the blue.
"I suppose she is."
Hayate grinned. "I wouldn't have believed it myself, but she really is an amazing girl."
"Why do you say that?"
"I'll tell you if you promise not to tell Fate, at least not yet. I think she'd be more scared of Nanoha is she knew."
Alicia contemplated the offer. Whatever it was, maybe it would help explain things about the girl's odd behavior.
"Alright then, you have my word."
Hayate nodded in acknowledgement before beginning.
"Nanoha's had dreams about Fate since she was 9."
"What?"
"Yeah I know. Very weird."
"Not possible." Alicia stated firmly. "Dreams are nothing more than a succession of images, ideas, emotions, and sensations that occur during the stages of sleep."
"It's what I thought too, but how can it be just a dream when she knew her name before they even met?"
"Impossible."
"Ah, but that's where you're wrong. Want to know why Fate-chan was so freaked out after their initial meeting? It's because Nanoha called her by her name."
That solved that mystery. No wonder Fate was so scared of this girl. Just hearing that Nanoha might have known about them before they met was making her uneasy.
"I can't believe this without further proof." Alicia stated firmly. The impossibility of it was just staggering. Her mind couldn't wrap around it.
"I guess you'll just have to wait and dream."
"Dream?"
"Yup! I didn't believe her at first either, but not too long after we met…I started having similar dreams as her. Maybe you and Fate will begin to have them as well."
Alicia looked at her skeptically. This had to be the most illogical thing she'd ever heard of. As if dreams could tell you anything. Hayate grinned as she linked arms with Alicia.
"Don't look so serious Alicia-chan! It doesn't matter what these dreams mean. I want to get to know you as you are now."
Alicia felt odd to have someone that wasn't her sister be so close to her. She found it even more odd that it wasn't an uncomfortable thing.
Back in the classroom, Arisa and the rest of her classmates were getting over the shock of what had just happened. The blond turned to their pink haired teacher who was busy reading a newspaper.
"Yagami-sensei!" Arisa yelled.
"Yes?"
"Did you see what Takamachi did!"
Signum carefully folded her paper on her desk and gathered her own things to go to lunch.
"I'm afraid I was too busy reading my paper."
"She hit me!"
"Ah, well perhaps next time you shouldn't be so insulting to the daughter of the man who they call the Black Devil. Enjoy your lunch little monsters."
For the second time that day, the class was left with their jaws on the ground.
-SafeandSound-
Lindy waited patiently for her daughters to exit the school. It had been a rather odd day over all, but she was just happy to be able to go home and be a mother again. Her eyes spotted the two blonde girls in the distance.
"Now what do we have here…"
A smile formed on her lips. Fate and Alicia were walking with Nanoha Takamachi and Hayate Yagami. Alicia seemed to be having some sort of debate with Hayate while Nanoha seemed to be trying to get Fate to say more than a few words to her. Seeing Lindy's car, the twins said their good byes to their classmates before walking to Lindy's car. The cyan haired woman resisted the urge to say anything until they began moving.
"So…did anything interesting happen?"
"Fate's stalker slapped a girl for bad mouthing us." Alicia commented off handedly.
Lindy giggled. That sounded like something a Takamachi would do. Always fair and just but if you crossed them you'd better watch out.
"You don't say. Anything else I should know about?"
Alicia and Fate looked at each other like they were trying to figure something out.
"I think they have become our friends." Alicia answered unsure.
"Really?" Lindy looked at Fate through her rear view mirror. "I though you didn't need any friends?"
Fate crossed her arms over her chest. Lindy could've sworn she had pouted for just a second.
"I'm giving them a trial run." Fate answered.
Trial run or not, Lindy was just glad that there was someone willing to go through the trouble to get to know the twins better. That by itself was worth more than any riches in the world.
AN: I'm stopping there for now. I hope you all enjoyed and as always, reviews are welcomed and appreciated. Until next time!
