a/n: wow... 4k+ words... ohwell.. thanks for all those who read my update and i present you with a new one. well this one has a little more Nanoha/Fate, a slight hint of a rival and some Nanoha/Vita. Hope you like it. :) cheers~

Now to personally thank the reviewers...

EXpERieNCed : yeps, opted to put the Testarossa family alive since this disregarded the Jewel seed incident. About the prophecy, i'll make it a little different than in the anime :)

floire: Well, Hayate is addicted to cosplay when you read the strikers manga omake :) really funny.

BunnyxGirl : Thanks for your review. well we do like Nanoha alot.

MangamanZX : Thanks Mangaman,, it's an honor that you found my last chapter with few flaws.. though i hope this one too but i doubt it.. :D anyway, Alicia as second Hayate,, hmm maybe? but am planning Alicia a little different than Fate. and nope, no crossover but a little cameo in future chappies.

Honulicious :All i can say is that the J.S incident had only been 'remembered' by those who were at the incident. no confirmation yet on how Nanoha will fit in there :D thanks for liking the family setting of Fate.

ZonaRose : thanks for the review. Yeah, it seems that way. Nanoha is the type who will put everything in teaching her students and still have time to protect her family.

Lily Testarossa : Hello, thanks for reading my fic and giving time to review. Well i already have an idea how will Nanoha react to the twins when they will meet. hope you will continue to read this. thank you.

hmm... now on with the chappie~

Chapter 7: Like a Knight

The rescue team reported of no serious casualties in the recent attack and no injuries from any of the civilians. They ensured that the security of the place has been kept up to date and put up a precaution by a certain radius incase the same incident happened again. The team members left the area, leaving Shamal, Zafira, Vita and Nanoha who is currently lying on the stretcher.

The said captain, barrier jacket disabled and dressed in her normal aerial uniform, laid resting on the white stretcher. Her body showed no pain nor injury and Shamal just finished giving Nanoha some medicine to keep her linker core recover and her body to regain its natural flow of strength. She made sure to the other Wolkenritter knights that Nanoha was alright and might need a few days rest. Naming the weekend.

"I'll tell Hayate." Vita mumbled, looking at Nanoha's comfortable expression. It was a relief to her that the woman was much stable now than before. Walking towards the stretcher, she secretly held Nanoha's hand and squeezed it lightly. This action made Nanoha stagger a bit and turned to look at her. Purple eyes, looking both sleepy and weak, looked at her blue ones.

Shamal took this chance to pull Zafira and leave the two alone. All her time with the red knight and the instructor, she knows when to give Vita space to express herself to Nanoha. "Vita-chan, I'll be checking on Vice with Zafira. We do need to secure our flight back to the base. Make sure Nanoha doesn't do any drastic movements." She informed the chibi knight and left the area with the blue wolf.

"How long was I out Vita-chan?" Nanoha asked weakly, slowly getting up but failed as she fell back on the stretcher. She chuckled, knowing her body must've been under Shamal's medicines again. "Sorry…"

Vita huffed and let go of Nanoha's hand. "Baka, stay in bed for a few more minutes. You were out for a good 15 minutes. Improvement I might add than your usual hour." She said in a stubborn manner. "You're lucky you held on until your daughter went and play with her friends."

"Nyahaha… Sorry about that. I wasn't thinking when I saw the attack." Nanoha forced herself to laugh again. She took a deep breath and look at the sky. "I don't want to quit flying. I don't want Vivio to feel alone again." She said in a low tone. Reaching her left hand to the unreachable blue sky, a small tear escaped her facade smile.

Vita couldn't help herself but look away, seeing how her friend must've remembered aswell. She took the oppurtunity to keep silent and let Nanoha rest. 'You'll never fly alone. Even if the world will keep your wings down, I'll be your wings so that you can fly again to your sky.' she mentally said to herself, clenching her hands for her lack of courage to comfort her friend.

"Nanoha!"

The two StarS members heard the sudden shout and turned to see a blond enforcer, running towards them. Vita blinked a few times and couldn't believe how Fate addressed her friend. Nanoha on the otherhand felt her heart sank and hastily tried to sit up but failed in her attempt.

"Baka! Don't go moving so sudden!" Vita scolded her superior, giving her a light punch on the arm. She heard her friend apologize and steadily sat up. This gave her the impression that Nanoha didn't want the blond enforcer to see her in a weakened state, thus she opted to assist her friend to sit up properly. {If you are so much afraid to let her see your weakness, don't hesitate to ask!} she scolded her friend through telepathic link. Nanoha smiled weakly and apologized to her friend.

Fate panted and sweat ran down from her temples as she was bent down to Nanoha's level, face shows of concern and panic. She saw no sign of injury or even a single bruise from the purple-eyed woman before her and that's enough to let herself calm down a bit.

"Mou! Please don't lie down in that thing ever again! I had enough seeing comrades on those things and I don't want to see you in that too!" Fate said in a worried tone. Though her voice was low, her eyes showed how worried she was seeing Nanoha in a stretcher.

The aerial captain forced a smile yet again to show she's alright. It was odd for her that the blond captain was so worried about her well-being. 'Well she is in the force a lot longer than I am, so I guess she just scared like any other soldier would be.' She assumed. "Really Fate-chan, I'm fine. I was just tired." She half lied which caused Vita to give her a stern look. {Play along please.} She pleaded the chibi knight via telepathic link. She received a silent nod from Vita but somehow, she can feel the slight tension from the red knight.

"Fate-taichou I assure you that Nanoha is fine." Vita said stubbornly with her arms crossed.

With a nod of her head, Fate finally smiled at Nanoha and thanked Vita for her hard work. She got a brief (and filtered) report from the two StarS team members regarding the incident and hearing Nanoha tell her about Vivio being safe and currently training with her friends finally made her feelings more organized. She was calm again. The thought of Vivio caught up in all the attack was too much for her to handle, and adding up the mystery regarding the combat instructor was nowhere near collected thoughts. "Ne, may I know where Vivio is?" she asked, hoping to see the bundle of energy again.

Vita pointed the inner part of the school using her right thumb and a grin etched on her face. "Back. By the school gym together with her friends." Her wryly smile just gave Nanoha a nervous feeling and hoped her daughter and her friends were not having too much fun or serious enough regarding their 'playtime'.

Fate found this rather interesting. Vita having a playful look must mean something amusing and sensitive to make Nanoha flinch for a second. "Shall we go and see them?" She asked, standing up and offering her hand to Nanoha without thinking of her actions.

When Nanoha took Fate's hand to her own, not having any other choices as Vita already left them and went ahead, she felt the slight recoil from the blond's hand. She looked up to Fate, hands still holding on each other, and she saw the slight redness in the blond's beautiful face. Tilting her head a bit, she stared at those red irises and she found herself drawn to the deep expression and feeling that they radiate.

Her red colored eyes stared at purple and the soft hands on her own gave her heart a few skip of a beat. She found Nanoha's hand quite soft and warm even though the said woman is a fierce combat instructor. Her face heated pup upon realizing she was straing at Nanoha's eyes aswell, drawn to the cheerfulness yet with a hint of darkness they show to her.

They stared at each other, not moving an inch and breaths in sync. As if they are reading each other's mind and body movement. Waiting on what would happened next.

"Oi! If the two of you are going to melt each other with those gazes, I think you shouldn't do it here!" Vita shouted.

The iron hammer knight's voice snapped them out of their gazes. Blond blushing madly while the honey-red haired captain let out a nervous laugh. Nanoha let herself be pulled by Fate up and she stood infront of the lightning captain, faces inches apart and bodies almost touching each other aside from their uniforms.

Doki doki!

Doki doki!

Doki Doki!

As if, their hearts beats as one…

Doki doki…

[Incoming derbis 12'oclock my master] raising heart alerted its master and Fate.

With the sudden alert from the red device, both captains jumped out of the way. Well the blond captain that is with Nanoha carried on her arms, bridal style. This is due to her reflexive instinct in protecting someone first than her own. Her actions, without knowing, caused Nanoha to blush madly as she held onto Fate's neck and buried her head on her chest.

With a loud crash of a 5 feet boulder on their previous spot, Fate landed safely a few meters away from the crash site. Her breathing was heavy and she turned to look around, checking if there are any more attackers from the previous raid of the drones.

"What was that? We heard a loud crash!" Shamal shouted in concern. She was running towards Fate and Nanoha with Zafira, in human form, running beside her, when they heard the loud crash. She stopped when she saw the boulder and the two captains in a very interesting position. "Oh my, I think this place maybe under control." She said to the white haired guardian who silently nodded his head.

Still oblivious to her recent action, Fate scanned around, searching for any signs of threat. She looked at the boulder, saw a circular hole by it, and gave her an impression that it was toss to them like a ball from a baseball field. It's her instinct to do an area search and see if there are any threats. That was the basic in being a mage.

"Anyone got hurt?" shouted by Nove who came from the school gate together with 4 children and Vita with Graf Eisen materialized. She was looking scared rather than worried. "Sorry! Vita-san hit the boulder a little harder. I hope no one was hurt!" she shouted again. Voice full of fear considering the crash site is where the 'White Devil' is. She had enough pink blasts yesterday and she hoped none of it today.

Hearing the former number's words made Fate to realize that there was no enemy. She looked at Nove who was panting heavily as if she had run in a 50KM dash.

"Mama! Are you okay?" it was Vivio, sounding very concerned. She was with Einhart who was trailing behind her and 2 other children which looked like her age. One of them had a purplish hair with a yellow ribbon tying it down, moss green colored eyes and a uniform that's the same as Vivio. The other child has a light brown hair, close to silvery brown that's tied into twin ponytails, blue eyes and the same uniform as Vivio. The two showed same grade as the honey-blond Takamachi.

But all of those who ran to see the effect of Vita's strike came to a complete halt. Their eyes stared at the two RF6 captains.

"Oh! Hello Vivio!" Fate greeted happily, still not realizing the weight on her arms.

"Umm hello Fate-san." Vivio greeted back. She continued to stare at her mother who clung on to Fate as if her life depended on it. "Fate-san, why is mama hugging you?" she asked, curious to what is infront of her.

A grin from the Wolkenritter ladies though Vita's was more sarcastic, a confused look with the 3 fourth graders, a stoic expression from Nove aswell as Zafira and a slight blush from Einhart. Those were the expression present while looking at both Fate and Nanoha.

Then Fate finally felt it. The small weight on her arms, the soft body pressed on her torso, and the warm arms around her neck. She didn't dare to look at her arms and she stood stiffly still. Her face was blushing madly and her mind ran in overdrive. "u-umm…" Even words cannot escape her lips as she can feel Nanoha's cheeks over her chest.

"You know, you should really hold on to Nanoha." Vita said. She approached Fate with an expression no one can really decipher. It was neither angry nor annoyed. She looked at Nanoha, sleeping soundly at Fate's arms. "Hey squirt, mind showing Fate your house? Your mama is really tired from today." She told the young Takamachi and left them.

Everyone watched Vita as she flew away. Shamal can only sigh and give Zafira a silent notion to contact Hayate regarding the situation. She then turned to check on Nanoha's condition and just gave Fate a warm smile. "Nanoha-chan's vital signs are stable. As Vita-chan said, she needs rest. Then, please take care of her Fate-san." Shamal gave Fate a quick bow before dragging Zafira away from them.

"O-kay? Well kids, I'll see you tomorrow? I'll have my siblings train with you guys." Nove said, bidding her own farewell to everyone. She hurriedly ran from the scene with only the thought of 'SAFE!' filling her mind.

The blond enforcer sighed heavily and steadied her arms to carry Nanoha gently. She looked at the four kids and left out a weary smile. "Hi." She said meekly, still feeling embarrassed at her situation.

The girl with twin ponytails tugged Vivio's blouse and pointed at Fate. "Ne Vivio, is that who I think it is?" she asked her friend.

"Yep! Fate Testarossa Harlaown! She's mama's friend…" Vivio paused and placed an index finger over her chin, as if thinking deeply. "I think?"

Vivio's two classmates looked at Fate with stars in their eyes. They couldn't believe they are actually infront of the famed 'black goddess', Enforcer Fate T. Harlaown. With excitement bubbling from them, they didn't hesitate to introduce themselves from the blond.

"Hi! I'm Rio Wesley! Am soo one of your admirers!" the girl with purplish hair said excitedly.

"I'm Corona Timil, nice to meet you in person Harlaown-san." Corona, the girl with twin ponytails said in a polite manner. "Vivio told us about you and your sparring match yesterday."

Vivio found it amusing how her friends were enthusiastic to introduce themselves to Fate. Well she has to admit, she too was very excited when she met the blond for the first time and to spend some time with her was a dream. Well anyone would think the same if you are with the famed Fate T. Harlaown.

"Nice to meet you too kids. I'm Fate T. Harlaown. Please call me Fate." She said to them. She looked at the four kids and noticed that the one with silvery-green hair has the same eye condition as Vivio. This struck her as odd since the girl just looked at her in a stoic manner. "Umm… Hello to you?"

Einhart knew the greeting is pointed to her. Still with a stoic expression, she curtsied to show her respect for the blond Enforcer. "Einhart Stratos. Pleasure to meet you. I heard from Vivio how much she admires you and how strong you are." Her voice was soft but still no emotion carried from it. It was as if she saw the blond as a rival.

With a nod of her head, Fate acknowledged Einhart's greeting. "Same here Stratos-chan." She then looked at her arms and decided it was really time to give the aerial mage on her arms some comfortable place to lie down to. "Vivio, shall we take your mama home? I'll take your friends home aswell." She offered them with a small smile. But her offer was declined as the three kids had their own plans, thus having the two Takamachi with her. Hearing that the three will be safe, she agreed to them and she took Vivio to her car.

Safely securing Nanoha beside her and asking Vivio o sit at the back, she started her car and drove towards the direct that Vivio instructed her. it took her thirty minutes to find a house that looked exactly like how Vivio described it. She pulls up by the driveway and went out in a hurry to carry Nanoha inside the house. With Nanoha, resting comfortably in her arms, she asked Vivio to lead the way inside the house.

The child happily agreed and she skipped towards the door with Fate following behind her. When she reached for the door knob, the door suddenly opened from the inside and a guy with a long blond hair tied in a single ponytail and wearing a crisp cream colored shirt and brown pants. He looked at Fate, carrying Nanoha in her arms and down to Vivio who stared at him like he's a stranger.

"Welcome home?" he said to them. He pointed his index finger at the sleeping Nanoha. "She over did it huh?" he asked.

Vivio nodded her head, answering the man's question. "Un! Vita-chan said mama's really tired. Can we come in now?" she asked the man who stepped aside and let them go inside.

"Sorry for the intrusion." Fate said, walking inside the house. She was amazed how the house is totally organized and clean. Still looking around, she felt Nanoha shifted her position in her arms, wounding her arms around the neck. This made Fate blush madly and the blond haired man noticed it.

"You can take her upstairs. Her room is the first one to your left." the man said, giving Fate a genuine smile. His green eyes turned to look at Vivio and he reached out his hand. "Shall we go and prepare some dinner Vivio?" he asked and was given a silent nod as response.

Fate took the guy's advice and carried Nanoha to her room. Her mind raced, thinking of who was the guy downstairs. She knows that the guy looked familiar but she can't remember where or when she saw the said guy. And the thought of what the guy's relationship with Nanoha irked her. Shaking the thoughts aside, she entered the room with an automatic door and found the room to be organized aswell. "She must like it clean." She stated, proceeding towards the large bed in the middle of the room.

Placing Nanoha in bed, she made sure the woman was comfortable. It was amusing how Nanoha can sleep very soundly even after the car ride and being carried around. A light chuckle escaped her lips when Nanoha unconsciously patted the empty spaced around her, as if looking for something. "Cute." She chuckle again. Turning to look at the side table, she saw some pictures of the aerial mage with Vivio. One of them showed Hayate and her knights with the two Takamachi, behind them is a small café that read 'Midori-ya'. People whom fate didn't know accompanied them in the picture aswell. Beside the picture were Nanoha and Vivio. The picture showed Vivio a little younger than she is now and Nanoha aswell. She smiled seeing how happy looking they are in the picture.

She took a quick glance at the sleeping woman beside her ad she couldn't help but amire her. It was strange. She never admired anyone other than her family and a certain Ace, yet seeing Nanoha, meeting her for the first time yesterday, left her quite an impression. She wondered, who was the lucky person to be with Nanoha. She sighed and turned to look at the pictures once again. But when she looked at the last picture on the table, it gave her heart a few stinging pricks. "I see… he must be Vivio's father." She said coldly.

With the wheeze of the hydraulics, Fate exited the room, proceeded to head downstairs, and hoped to bid her leave to the Takamachi family. By the end of the stairs, she saw the blond haired man, waiting for her patiently.

"Enforcer Harlaown, am I correct?" he said in a rather cheerful voice. "Care to have dinner with us?" he offered, gesturing his hand over the hall towards the dining area.

Fate shook her head and politely declined. "Am sorry, but I have some business back at the base. Please take good care of Nanoha." She said with the feeling her heart in a rather strange beating. She couldn't understand what she is feeling regarding the situation and all she knows is she wants to either beat someone out or just get away from Nanoha's house.

The blond male nodded his head, acknowledging Fate's decision. "I see. Then shall I walk you to the door? I'll explain to Vivio why you already left."

"I'm sorry." Fate whispered and she walked towards the front door with the man walking behind her. When she bid her goodbye and went straight to her car, she looked at the tranquil house for a few more seconds before driving back to Long Arch.

It only took her ten minutes to drive back to the base and she took a few more minutes inside her car when she arrived at the parking area. Not leaving the vehicle while she tried to compose herself. She has her head laid at the steering wheel as her left hand clenched the fabric above her chest. Her heart beats painfully when the thought of the picture she saw. The picture of Nanoha and Vivio sitting on what seemed like a booth and looking happily while the blond guy was with them, smiling and hugging the two girls. A small inscription at the lower end of the picture is the main reason Fate's heart sank. 'Family' is what it was inscribed in it. "Why…?" she asked to no one, painfully thinking to what she is feeling. "Bardirche..."

[Yes Sir.]

Back at the Takamachi residence, the blond haired male looked pale when she saw Vivio glaring at him. He backed away from the child, his back now leaning at the fridge. "N-now now Vivio, calm down." He said with both his hands raised to the level of his chest.

"Mou! Uncle Yuuno you let Fate-san go home without eating the food I cooked!" Vivio whined. Yuuno sighed and tried to reason out that Fate had t go back to the base. It took him quite a long time to keep the young Takamachi to calm down and not break down in tears.

After a few more arguments and Vivio on the verge of tears, the soft sounds of footsteps halted their small bickering and both of them looked at the sleepy look of Nanoha. "Um, how did I end up at home?" Nanoha asked as the other two occupants. She was replied by a weak laugh from Yuuno and a cute pout from Vivio. She looked around hoping to find someone other than the two. "So, anyone will answer my question?" she asked again, now with a raised brow.

Vivio ran to her mama and clung on the slender legs. She looked up to her mama, eyes gleaming of tears. "Uncle Yuuno didn't stopped Fate-san for having dinner with us!" she whined. She really prepared some food for the blond enforcer but her efforts were wasted when Yuuno told her that Fate left.

"Fate-chan?" Nanoha blinked.

"Un! Fate-san carried mama to her room. You fell asleep on her arms back at school," Vivio explained, tears now forgotten. "You know mama, Fate-san is sooooo cool! She carried you like one of those 'knight in shining armor' that you, auntie Hayate and Uncle Yuuno tell me about." She said with a childish smile. She was feeling giddy when she remembers how Fate carried her mama.

What Vivio told her made her blush wildly. She remembered now why she passed out when they were at Vivio's school. It was due to the fact how Fate held her gently and the scent of the Enforcer was enough to lull her to sleep. And now the experience was enough to make her blush wildly and her heart beats faster. "Uhh, I think I need to lay down for tonight. Yuuno-kun, can you takecare of Vivio for a while?" she asked weakly. She asked Vivio to let her go and she walked right back up to her room.

Vivio looked at her mama, confused to what had happen. "What's wrong with mama uncl Yuuno?" she asked her uncle who just sweatdropped. Her uncle approached her and took her in his arms. "Not until your older Vivio." He explained as he took her back to the dinning area.

a/n: umm like it? hate it? please tell me,, i'll try my best on the next chappie... :) snow-shuriken, signing out~