Hello! Sorry this took so long, but I was on a trip to... JAPAN! The land of Anime-ness and manga. So, yeah. I'll be trying to make this a weekly thing though. So enjoy. And review. But enjoy. And re-. I guess I'll stop now.

Flashes of light. The multitude of colours blur my vision.

Harsh explosions ring out one after the other, leaving my ears deafened.

Even so, I can hear your voice. I can see your azure eyes.

And I can also see her.

Schlangenform.

The metal chain snakes around me. Sonic move. I re-appear behind her, strinking down with Bardiche. Already she has turned, blocking with her scabbard. I dodge back. Photon lancer. She dodges but one of them catches her on the shoulder, throwing her off balance. I see my chance. Using sonic move I close the distance, swinging Bardiche. Then I see the uncharacteristic smirk on her face.

Oh damn.

Hiryū Issen. The force of her attack sends me plummeting to the ground.

"Owww." I groan.

"My win, Testarossa." I look up to see Signum pointing Laevatein at my throat.

"Okay, okay, I give up. Geez." She smirks, sheathing Laevatein and offering me her hand. I take it, pulling myself up and brush off the dirt.

"You're getting better," she says. "Almost at your usual standard." I glare at her.

"If I was almost at my usual standard I would beat you."

"No you wouldn't."

"Of course I would. Not counting the past three days, I been beating you for seven straight matches."

"That's because you cheated."

"I did not." She glares at me.

"You did."

"Arf is my familiar. It's not cheating."

"It is when you say one on one."

"Then the other six?"

"So even the great Signum is reduced to childish bickering when faced with Fate Testarossa." We both turn at the sound of the familliar voice.

Hayate POV

"Mistress Hayate."
"Hey Hayate."
"Hey," I greet them, smiling. "So, how you doing, Fate?"
"Getting better," she replies, returning Bardiche to his sealed form.
"That's great! Oh, yeah, there's a meeting later about our next mission."
"So soon?"
"Don't worry we don't actually have to do anything. It's mostly up to the forwards. Speaking of forwards, let's have lunch."
"What does that have to do with the forwards?" she raises an eyebrow at me.
"Dunno," I shrug. "I'm just hungry." Cue the sigh and facepalm.

I can barely contain my glee as we walk to the meeting room. Come on, gotta act natural. If you act normal, Nanoha can't accuse you and there won't be Starlight Breakers flying around. I shudder at the thought. The last time that happened...

For the past three days I have successfully kept both of them out of each other's sight. Don't ask me how I did it. I am a genius after all. Now is Step 2: seeing their reactions. To be frank this is the fun part. I know how Fate will react, more or less, but I can't predict Nanoha. The things I do for love.

I know the moment Fate walks in is going to be seriously dangerous for me. Nanoha is sure to give me a death glare followed by... Anyway, I put the forwards there to make sure she doesn't start firing Starlight Breakers. And if she does...well, everyone needs a human sheild.

We stop at the door to the meeting room. Placing my palm on the scanner, the door slides open and we walk in. Well, I walk in. Fate stands at the doorway, half in, half out. She is frozen in place, eyes fixed on the love of her life. A grin starts to appear and I struggle to wipe it off my face.

"Hello, Nanoha." I greet her casually. She looks up.
"Hayate, this mission will-" Her voice trails off when she sees Fate. Their eyes lock.

Utter silence. 1...2...3...4...5...6...7...8...9...10...11- Wow this is an awkward silence...21...22...

"Um." Subaru breaks the silence. Not that either of them care. "Hayate-san?" she asks when nobody reacts.

"Oh, this is Enforcer Fate Testarossa Harlaown. She is the Lightning Captain." Subaru looks confused.

"Isn't Signum-san the captain of Lightning Team?" she asks, confused.

"Yes, Hayate," Nanoha looks at me. Well, glares at me. "Isn't Signum the captain?" she repeats in a dangerously low voice.

"Ahaha," I laugh nervously, sweat dropping. "It was only temporary. She'll be Vice-Captain now." The two Stars forwards nodded.

"Then why does Nanoha- san look like she's going to murde-" Teana quickly stops Subaru, interrupting her by covering her mouth.

"It's nice to meet you, Testarossa-san." She bows respectfully. Good save.

"A-ah, it's okay to call me Fate." She stammers politely.

"Well, let's get this meeting started." I take my seat at the head of the table and gesture for them to sit. Hesitantly, the forwards take their seats. Followed by Vita and Signum. Nanoha and Fate don't move. Sighing, I get out of my chair, my nice, comfortable leather chair and stride over to Fate. Grabbing her wrist, I pull her over to her chair on my left and push her into the seat. Turning around I do the same to Nanoha dragging her to the chair on my right. With that done, I return to my chair.

Caro is glancing between them anxiously while Erio stares blankly in front. The Stars forwards, on the other hand, look confused. My Guardian Knights are expressionless. Fate seems to have recovered and both are staring at a spot just above the others shoulder.

Well, this is awkward. I clear my throat. "As you know, tomorrow..."

Fate POV

This is harder than I thought it'd be. I try concentrating on what Hayate is saying but, wow, those eyes are hard to ignore. Even if she isn't looking directly at me, I can still feel the coldness in her eyes. I suppress a shiver. Well, it is my fault. After what I did. Or didn't do... A sharp pang of guilt pierces me. How could I have done that? She trusted me. They all did and I...betrayed them. Their trust. "Fate."

"Huh?" I ask, startled. Hayate sighs. I realize she's been calling me for a few minutes. "Sorry." Hayate sighs. Again. I feel bad for her. She's been really busy the past few days. Working late into the night with all the reports. Add that with the criticisms from the Ground Forces and you wonder how many cups of coffee she's drinking just to keep awake.

"I was just checking if you understood the plan."

"Oh...and it was about..." *Thunk* Her forehead meets the table. I let out a nervous laugh. Oops.

"Well maybe if Enforcer Testarossa wasn't listening she shouldn't be on this mission." Nanoha speaks for the first time since the meeting started officially. I meet her gaze. Those gorgeous slate blue stare into mine. The same hard stare that I've seen her give to the criminals we encounter. The murderers... Remembering how she used to look at me so gently...hurts.

"Is everyone clear on the mission?" Hayate continues as if nothing happened. "Other than Fate of course." she shoots me a dirty look. I smile sheepishly as everyone nods. "Good. Dismissed. Signum, fill Fate in on the details."

Nanoha POV

I waited until the forwards exited the room. Then I turned to Hayate. Out of the corner of my eye, I see her leave the room with Signum. I relax a little.

"Well, I'd better go train the ground forces." Vita says, making her way out.
"A-ah, I'd better go too." Hayate stutters and tries to get away before I grab her collar. She yelps. The doors close.
"Not so fast," I say. She whimpers as I drag her back to her chair. Sitting her down, I grab her shoulders and look directly into her blue eyes. "Why didn't you tell me that Fate was here?"
"Well, uh, I tried to, but-"
"But?"
"You were busy training the forwards." I stare at her. Unamused.
"Hey, Fate-chan has every right to be here. It's her dream as much as ours."
"Not anymore. She doesn't have that right anymore.""And why is that?"At her question, I flinch and let go of her. I turn away, to avoid her question. "After all this time, you still haven't told me -or anyone- why."

That's true. But it's because I can't bring myself to tell them. They don't have to know. They don't have to know that she-

"Fate-chan! Help-!"
She doesn't move. Why? Why isn't she- Her burgundy eyes clash with mine. I see the emptiness in them. And something else. No. This can't- She can't mean-

"Nanoha?" Hayate's worried voice brings me back to the present. I feel a gentle touch on my shoulder and turn to face her.

"Look," she says. "I don't know what happened. What Fate-chan did that made you mistrust her, but what I do know is-" she takes a deep breath, "Fate-chan," she states with utmost conviction, "Is my best friend. Our best friend. She deserves a second cchance. And whether you like it or not, I'm giving it to her." With that, she turns and leaves. She pauses at the door. "Please. Both of you are just hurting yourselves." And she departs.

I wander back to my room after training the ground forces. I smile to myself as I realise that the forwards are at the same -if not higher- standard as the ground forces which mostly consist of A-rank mages. After showering, I flop down on my bed. 11.00. Might as well get a good night's sleep for tomorrows mission.
"Raising Heart, Lights off." Yes, my master.

The room is plunged into darkness. Ahh... I stretched, feeling my bones pop. It's been a long day. I close my eyes. Just as I'm about to fall asleep though, a familiar sound drifts to my ears. My eyes fly open. It can't be...

Fate POV

I feel so restless. Staring up at the ceiling and waiting for sleep to come. But it's useless. There are so many thoughts running through my head. All of them are related to her. I glance at the clock. 11:47. I sigh. I've been trying to sleep for an hour. This isn't going to work. I need to clear my head.

"Bardiche, Lights on." Yes, sir.

Instantly, the room is illuminated. I roll over to my right and get up. I examine it's glossy surface intently before gently lifting of the cover. Carefully removing the velvet dust cover, I sit down on the bench. My hands hover over the keys before selecting one. Closing my eyes, I calm myself. Then I start to play.

Hayate looked up from her paperwork, smiling. She tilted her head and listened to the soft notes that had drifted all the way from the accommodation block. Fate never seemed to realise just how beautiful her music was. Right, then. She cracked her fingers. Time to get this over with.

Erio lay awake, troubled. He knew about the incident that happened a few months ago. Roughly. He knew that because of something Fate-san did, or didn't do, something had happened. Something bad. And Nanoha-san had blamed her for it. For the past month he had tried to treat Nanoha-san fairly, but...it was hard to look at her the same since he knew she was the one that made Fate-san so...upset. He sighed. Fate-san needed to trust herself more. He turned on his side and closed his eyes. And just before he fell asleep, he heard the notes of a familiar song.

Fate-san... he fell asleep with a smile.