A/N: Oh My flip! I just got a lot of idea for this chapter, somehow. Ahhh…. I didn't mean to end it like I did, but I just went with the flow and ended up like that. I feel like it's a bad way to end my chapter. Please read and review and tell me what you think. oh right! Reviews and some characters are coming out in this chapter. Enjoy!
Naru-san: Again like all you peeps who are looking for a NanoHayaFate love triangle, I'll try seeking an opportunity for that. Thanks by the way.
UhyoKage: Welcome, though it's kinda hard to reveal info on them.
Disclaimer: I don't own anything but the story.
Warning: If you're not so much of an Arisa fan as i am, well heads up, cause this is somehow focused on her, but do stick aroung. A lot of characters are going to be popping out so please read.
~Shintori Khazumi
"Good morning Nanoha-sama." Arisa greeted playfully as soon as she saw her friend walk in through the door. She could've sworn she saw Nanoha's eyes sparkle a bit, probably with unshed tears, but this thought was quickly confirmed once Nanoha had engulfed her in a bone-crushing hug, knocking the wind out of Arisa.
"Aaarrriiiissssaaa!" Nanoha wailed, burying her head in Arisa's chest, sobbing like a child. Arisa could only rub her back to get her to quiet down.
"Ssshhhh… Nanoha-sama, that isn't very ladylike." Arisa joked as she cupped Nanoha's face and made the girl look at her. "I'm alright now, so stop crying?" She offered Nanoha one of her best smiles.
"B-but… but! I was so worried! You were… what did you do? I thought you were hurt so badly, I just…" Nanoha was crying so hard Arisa had to laugh at her face.
"Nanoha, a crying face doesn't suit you at all. Here, how 'bout you sit there and we can talk, yeah?" Arisa pointed to a nearby chair and Nanoha complied, Fate drying her tears with her spare hanky.
"By the way, where's Suzuka?" Fate asked. Arisa held her index finger to her lips in a 'keep quiet' motion as she lifted her blanket to reveal a sleeping Suzuka positioned comfortably beside Arisa.
"She fell asleep after crying so hard. I thought she would never stop." Arisa chuckled lightly as she stroked Suzuka's hair in what Fate could only describe as a 'Loving Manner'. "I had to go through a lot to quiet her down." The girl beside her sighed pleasantly.
"You sure do care about her a lot, huh?" Fate asked Arisa who was still too preoccupied with playing with the soft purple locks to comprehend the words that came from her own mouth.
"Yeah… I really do." Fate quirked an eyebrow at Arisa, but did not say anything further while Nanoha just watched with a smile on her face.
A few moments of comfortable silence went by and no one said a word, just basking in the others' warmth, that is, until Fate decided to ask some things that intrigued her. Deciding it was safe since Nanoha and Suzuka were asleep, she let her curiosity out.
"Ne, Arisa…" Fate turned to her fellow blonde.
"Hmmm?" She replied with a quirk of her brow.
"What happened back there?" Fate said quietly, her voice low as Nanoha rested on her shoulder. "Nanoha… what's wrong with her? And you… what did you do? I cast a spell like you asked me to, one of my safe sleeping spells to calm her, but… what did you do back there?" Fate furrowed her brows when Arisa just shrugged.
"I don't know. Just a normal spell, I had a small hunch that if I cast it, it might help. No biggie." She replied, not letting anything slip past her well founded mask of indifference. Fate thought it was unnerving, even for someone like herself who was known for keeping a calm composure.
"That was no ordinary spell, and you know it Arisa. If it was, you wouldn't be this drained, nor do I think that Nanoha would be safely sleeping like this." Fate replied. "And as much as I hate to admit it, I think if I were in your position, I wouldn't be able to do anything about it." She looked Arisa in the eye as she said this. Arisa seemed to waver a bit and Fate thought she saw just the tiniest flicker of change in Arisa's facial features, but was quickly covered up as she replied.
"Nonsense. Anyone could've done that. I was just able to deal with it properly at the time." Fate didn't know why, but that just seemed to piss her off. Arisa was surely underestimating herself and Fate knew that that spell was a spell unique only to Arisa and to be used only for Nanoha. 'Just who exactly are you guys?' Fate sighed audibly, blaming the tension between them on the fact that they were tired due to the recent incident.
"Anyway Fate, now that we've got free time, I'd like to ask you about a couple things." Arisa said, shifting the topic as she felt like the previous one was a bomb waiting to explode.
"Yes?" Fate replied but was also worried if in case it was about her and her background.
"About the upcoming Inter-school battles, aren't there elimination rounds in each school to determine the representatives? And I heard some say that the date's pretty close."
"Oh… oh! I totally forgot!" Fate stood up abruptly, waking Nanoha up as she jumped into a battle stance.
"Wha-what's wrong? Are we being attacked?! Arisa, Suzuka Positions!" Nanoha yelled still half-asleep with her eyelids drooping.
"Pfffttt… Ahahahaha…hahaha HAHAHA." Fate and Arisa laughed as Nanoha's mind was slowly entering its right and conscious state. "C-calm down… ahaha… Nanoha. Everything's fine." Arisa told her friend as the girl turned a dozen shades of red.
"M-mou… why'd you have to wake me up like that? I panicked y'know." She directed a glare at Fate who only found it adorable with how the girl's face was tinted with red.
"Sorry. I just remembered that the TSAB are about to start soon. Time-space Academy Battles are usually pretty competitive. Each year there is the team brawl and the individual brawl to decide the representatives, but this year, they decided to put in a new section. The doubles. A brawl for partners. Usually, I'd choose Hayate for this but…" Fate looked at Nanoha with a blush. Nanoha also seemed to turn a little redder. "Would you-"
"Hi everyone! Arisa are you okay now?" Hayate suddenly burst in the room. Fate sent a glare Hayate's way. "You…"
"What?" Hayate asked, she clearly didn't know what she did wrong.
"Hayate-sam-… Hayate, Fate was about to…" She gestured towards Fate who was holding Nanoha's hand and Nanoha who was attentively looking at her.
"Oh. Sorry. So," Hayate paused looking at Fate then Nanoha. "You were confessing,huh? Sorry 'bout that."
"What?! What no!" Fate shrieked.
"Huh?" You weren't?"
"NO damn it… Nanoha I was gonna ask if you wanted to be my partner for the brawl." Fate told Nanoha, unable to look her in the eye.
"Eh? But what about me Fate-chan?" Hayate groaned.
"You can find another partner." Fate answered coldly. "And besides, you wanted to be paired up with that upperclassman… who was it again?"
"Ah… no she's not interested she said." Hayate replied waving her hand.
"Then someone else then. Someone from the lower years or other classes, you've got a lot to choose from, Hayate." Fate suggested.
"More importantly," Hayate diverted the topic. "The team battles. The requirements have already been posted. You can choose whoever you want on your team. The number of members you need are ten members. We already have five, unless you guys are planning to abandon me." Hayate looked at everyone who shook their heads. "Good. Now…"
"Hmmm… what's everyone talking about." Suzuka said as she sat up, having just woken up from her slumber.
"We were talking about the upcoming battles and were thinking about forming a team." Arisa said as Suzuka rubbed her eyes. Arisa took a brush from the table beside her and started to softly brush Suzuka's disheveled hair.
"Mmm… thanks. So where were we?"
"Ah, right. We need ten members. We have five right now so we need five more. Although…" Hayate pondered for a bit.
"Yes?" Fate asked.
"I already know who would be good for the remaining five." Hayate smiled. "But we have to actually ask them if they're willing to join our team. It might be hard, since I know a lot of people want to recruit these people."
"Hmmm? So who are they?"
Fate stared at the two cousins having a fierce stare off. "No. Hayate, my answer is still NO." The small first year middleschooler said clearly. At the same time, Fate also felt a pang of jealousy as she watched Nanoha hug the little one a little too closely in Fate's opinion. Hayate decided to go retrieve her members, as she put it, after classes that afternoon.
"She's so cute! Hayate-chan, why is she so adorably cute?!" Nanoha squealed as she hugged the younger student.
"Please Vita-chan! Come on. I'm already begging you here, and what's more, since the battles are by school in the long run, teams can be an assortment of students disregarding what year they are in. Pleeeaaaasseeee." Hayate told her younger cousin, Vita Yagami who just scowled at her.
"Come on, even Nanoha wants you in." Hayate said, knowing that her little cousin admired the transfer student in more ways than one.
"Ugh… If you don't let me go, I'm telling Signum-nee on you." Vita replied.
"Signum-nee? Vita-chan, Vita-chan are you and Signum-sensei related?" Nanoha asked.
"Oh…" Vita realized her slip, nodded her head since she knew she couldn't take it back. "She's my older sister and Hayate's our cousin." She said.
Arisa stepped closer and looked at Hayate and Vita, shifting her gaze and observing them closely. "Well, for one thing, the three of you have the same eyes, so I guess it makes sense." She pointed out the similarities among the three, the most obvious one being their baby-blue eyes.
"Ugh, to be related to someone like Hayate is troublesome in a lot of ways." Vita said.
"Hey, that's not very nice." Hayate mumbled, but then showed a soft smile. "So are you in?"
"Do I have a choice? You'd bug me 'til I'd agree, wouldn't you?" Vita looked at her cousin and returned the soft smile.
"Yey! One down, four more to go. Let's go!" Hayate cheered taking Vita's wrist and gesturing for the others to follow her.
"O-oi! Where are you taking me? Class isn't over yet!" Vita called to her cousin.
"Uh, yeah it is? The bell rang while we were talking." Hayate told her cousin pointedly.
"What?! You mean I missed my last period session?!" Vita yelled at her cousin.
"More importantly, Arisa-chan" Hayate quickly ignored the younger girl, causing her to fume more. "Are you sure it's ok for you to be up and walking around with us? You could rest more, you know. Don't worry we'll take care of the recruiting. Nanoha-chan too." Hayate looked at the two girls.
"It's fine, it's fine. I want to meet the people who are going to be our teammates anyway." Arisa said, although she laughed nervously and Hayate smirked at the reason why. "So I think I can walk without your help Suzuka?" She turned to the purple-haired heiress who just shook her head like a child and pouted.
"Not until I'm sure you're fine." She replied.
"And when will that be?" She said as she squeezed Suzuka into her since her arm was wrapped around Suzuka's shoulder.
"Nyahaha… I'll be fine as well, besides." Nanoha approached Hayate and Vita who was still fuming. "I got lots of power from Vita-chan!" Nanoha cuddled the girl again. "Ah… this is so calming."
"Na-nanoha! You can… cuddle me too." Fate said as she blushed. Everyone stared at her. "N-nevermind."
"Okay?" Vita looked surprised.
"Anyway Hayate-chan, who's next?" Suzuka asked.
"Well…"
"The archery club? We're recruiting someone from the archery club?" Vita said.
"Well not exactly. He used to be in the archery club, but because of some accident, he quit." Hayate explained looking for someone in the room.
"If he quit, why is he still here then?" Suzuka asked.
"He loves the sport so he just watches it." Hayate replied. A member came trotting to Hayate and she whispered something in her ear and she gave Hayate a thumbs up, gesturing to the bench where a brown-haired male was seated, taking pictures of the athletes.
Hayate approached him first with the others following closely behind. Nanoha, Suzuka and Arisa noticed that everyone was looking at Hayate, Fate and Vita in awe and whispers could be heard all around. The activities even were halted in favor of watching this scene unfold.
'Just what is going on in this school? Hayate is pretty popular!' Arisa thought, and she knew the other two thought the same as they speculated the scene in front of them.
"Vice Granscenic." Hayate addressed the male. "Seventeen years old, second year in highschool, member of the photography club half Japanese, half German and used to be ranked sixteenth in the whole school. Reported to be the best sharpshooter in the whole school." Hayate spoke.
"Student Council Vice President, what brings you here?" Vice asked not meeting the eyes of the said vice president.
"Hayate is the Student council's vice president?" Nanoha quietly asked Arisa who just nodded, having only realized this information now.
"Hey, don't call me that, but anyway, Vice-kun... Please lend us your strength. Join our team won't you?" Hayate asked the guy.
"Why would I?" He asked. "What good would someone like me be to you? And as you've probably heard, I don't even fight anymore. I can't be the best sharpshooter if I can't even shoot an arrow again." His voice sounded strained, like he was carrying a burden they could not relate to. "I can't risk hitting someone again. I can't." He stood up and walked out of the room, leaving everyone quiet.
"Hayate-chan, are we still going to try to recruit him?" Nanoha asked the following day during lunch.
"Of course we are. It'd be a shame if we gave up and… I want him to know that he has a second chance." Hayate finished with a solemn smile.
"Hmmmm."
"Anyway, we can get back to Vice later. Right now, let's try to recruit an old friend of mine. That genius spends too much time in the intelligence section. When will his brain pop?" Hayate said as they stood up after finishing their lunch."
"Wait a minute Hayate. You're gonna recruit Him?! Last time you tried doing that for the middleschool team battles, he told the professor to ban you from the intelligence classes for a month!" Fate said. True this guy was their close friend, but they hadn't seen each other since the entrance ceremony.
"He's been cooped up with that professor for too long. I wouldn't be surprised if they suddenly eloped."
"Hayate!"
"Just kidding. I told him beforehand to think about it. He said he would, so let's go see him." Hayate walked towards the library of the school. "I think he'll agree to this proposal in a heartbeat." Those words left everyone wondering what Hayate meant by them.
"Yuuno-kun? Yuuno-kun! Hayate-chan, you should've told me it was him!" Nanoha ran to the male happily and embraced him.
"So this is where you've been schooling Yuuno-kun." Suzuka smiled. Yuuno did not tell any of them his whereabouts when he left, but he made sure to communicate with them and they respected his privacy and wishes.
"Yo, Nanoha. Doing well? My cousin hasn't been a bother to you, has she?" He laughed as he saw his old friends and cousin.
"Oi, oi, don't say that. I'm a better friend than you at least. You left us to study here when we were thirteen and only come home once every five months. And you haven't come home these last two years!" Arisa sighed. "I'm glad to see you anyway." She smiled.
"Eh? Am I missing something here?" Fate asked. Vita just shrugged not knowing either.
"Ah, sorry 'bout that Fate-chan. This is Yuuno Scrya and-"
"I know who he is, Nanoha. What I'm asking is how do you know him?" Fate was wondering how two of her friends knew each other.
"Yuuno-kun is my best friend. He's also like my big brother. Hehe… he used to buy icecream for Suzuka and me all the time and Arisa would often comment how it was so unfair. Oh! Yuuno-kun and Arisa-chan are first cousins. Their moms are siblings and are both Japanese. Their fathers though aren't. They took after their dads I guess. Yuuno-kun is half Russian though." Nanoha explained.
"Ah. So you guys are just like siblings, right?" Fate asked.
"Yeah."
"Ok. Just confirming." Nanoha looked confused at that.
"Fate, don't worry. I know you're aiming for her, but if you hurt her in anyway…" Yuuno's face became dark. "Onii-chan's gonna get you." He looked at Fate who gave a curt nod in reply.
"Still, you call yourself Onii-chan?" Vita couldn't help but point out.
"A-ah! I thought it would sound cool and I am two years older than some of you." Yuuno covered up his embarrassment. "Anyway," Yuuno regained his composure. "I'd love to join you guys."
"Yes!" Nanoha cheered as she hugged Yuuno. "Thanks."
"Yeah, yeah. Still, I've missed you guys a lot." He beckoned Suzuka to join the hug. The three then looked at Arisa expectantly.
"What? You're not expecting me to be all mushy with you guys too, right?" She said as she raised an eyebrow at them.
"Eh? Even if you and Suzuka always do it?" Yuuno grinned.
"We don't!" Arisa retorted but approached them nonetheless and gave her cousin a hug. "I guess I have missed you a little bit, Yuuno-nii." She gave him a tight squeeze as she smiled.
"Heh. Tsundere."
"Am not!" Arisa replied as she punched Yuuno's arm hard to which Yuuno began to call Arisa names such as 'Tsundere' and 'Tomboy'.
"So who are you recruiting next, Yagami?" Yuuno asked as he rubbed his sore arm.
"Oh. The next one is…"
"No. No way. Hayate, No!" Fate rejected even the thought of being teamed up with this person. Sure she loved him from the bottom of her heart, but how would you feel if you had to be teamed with your own older step-brother?
"It probably feels the same as being teamed with your older cousin." Vita and Arisa said simultaneously and nodded at Fate, as if they had read her thoughts.
"Fate." Chrono acknowledged the presence of the newcomers who came into the student council's room. "Vice president and-" He looked behind the two. "…Friends"
"Onii-chan, you're still too serious." Fate whispered to her brother who immediately blushed and bowed.
"Ah, sorry 'bout that. I guess dealing with students got me used to it. How is everyone, Yuuno?" He smiled at his close friend.
"I think everyone's fine." He replied. "Oh by the way, have you met the transferees?"
"No I haven't, but I've heard a lot from Fate and Hayate."
"Well, we hope they've only been good things." Nanoha spoke up, and Chrono took a good look at the three.
"Of course. Hey Fate, come here a sec." He beckoned his younger sister closer and leaned in to whisper in her ear. "Is Nanoha the brunette beauty in the middle?" He asked Fate to which she replied with a nod. "Oh? Good luck then." He pushed her away and smirked.
"Oh! Where are my manners? I am Chrono Harlaown, Fate's older brother. As you can see, we look nothing alike since we're only step siblings, but we're closer than blood… I think." He laughed at Fate's embarrassed state.
"So, what business do you have with me Hayate? I've heard rumors that you have been collecting teammates for the tournament. Are you going to submit a form or… are you asking me to join?"
"Student Council President, Chrono Harlaown. We are requesting that you join our humble team for the tournament." Hayate bowed as the rest copied her gesture. "Please consider."
"Raise your heads." They did so. "Well, first of all, I'm the SCP so I don't think students will find it fair if most of the school's top 10 are on one team, am I right, Takamachi-san?" Chrono turned to Nanoha.
"EH?"
"You really don't tell them anything, you guys." Chrono turned to said people. "Yagami Vita, ranked 6th strongest student, despite her age Defeated the previous holder of said position after she entered the school. Yuuno Scrya, one of the schools 'Ouji-five'."
"Ouji-five?" Suzuka asked.
"Ouji-five is the top five most handsome charmers on the campus, of course they are also powerful magic users in order to not shame themselves. Each month the rankings are voted for. Yuuno-kun, Vice-kun and Chrono-kun have never dropped out. Neither have the remaining two. Come to think of it, the monthly voting isn't needed if no one can actually beat them, these five." Hayate chuckled.
"Oh?" Arisa looked impressed.
"Anyway, Yuuno is ranked 7th, though his gap with Vita is very small."
"It's only because I rely on my tactics more than strength, and I can't help it if Vita's instincts as a fighting prodigy are better than mine. Her tactics are done on impulse, like her body was already conditioned for those movements."
"Yeah, that and you don't really fight or exercise as much as before." Hayate commented.
"What happened to the family's next pillar?" Arisa scoffed.
"I'm just focusing on studies, okay?" He said.
"Now Yagami Hayate…" Chrono cut in. "Ranked 2nd and holds a tie for that place with Fate Testarossa-Harlaown. And I hold the place currently for first, though that's a miracle since I'm pretty sure Hayate and Fate could beat me anytime." Chrono smiled. "Do you understand now, Takamachi-san?" Chrono smiled at Nanoha.
"Un. Our team is too overpowered?"
"Well, pretty much I guess, but we're not complete yet, right Hayate? Although there are other strong teams to oppose us like the N-numbers."
"N-numbers?"
"The Nakajimas and some friends. They pulled together a few members. Nove-san, a 3rd year middleschooler is ranked 5th along with her sisters Ginga and Subaru who are ranked fairly high. Subaru's best friend is also quite the sharp shooter." Chrono continued.
"Chrono's girlfriend, Amy-senpai is ranked the 4th too." Hayate said with a smirk to which Chrono blushed.
"A-anyway, Hayate I'm guessing that we're not yet complete and I have a sickening feeling that the next person you bring in won't please Fate very much." He said.
"Huh? What do you mean?" Fate asked.
"Well, seeing the pattern of Hayate's recruitment, the next person she is going to is…"
"So you're Nanoha-chan, huh? How cute. Hey, how 'bout the two of us go out for a date, yeah? We can ditch Fate and ride off into the sunset." A charming blonde with familiar burgundy eyes, flirted. Though looking exactly like Fate, she somehow seemed older and was a few inches taller.
"A-Li-CIA! Don't go taking Nanoha to god knows where!" Fate fumed.
"Hayate-chan, who is this?" Nanoha asked as she sweatdropped.
"Oh. Alicia Testarossa-Harlaown. Seventeen and a second year. Ranked 3rd over all and as you may have guessed, she's Fate's older sister." Hayate introduced Alicia who shook Nanoha's hand. "She's also a member of the Ouji-Five."
"Eh? But-"
"She is charming, right? And i never once mentioned that it was only for males."
"Ah." Nanoha was silent.
"Fate is also part of the Ouji-Five. They are the five irreplaceable members." Hayate grinned.
"Once again Hayate, Why?! I can stand Chrono, I guess, but Alicia too?!" Fate was now grasping at Hayate's neck, threatening to end her right there. It was after the afternoon classes when they decided to approach the last person that Hayate had in mind.
"F-fate… hah… you see, Alicia-chan is too good for some and she doesn't really join any tournaments, except the individual one, so I thought "Hey why not try to convince her by putting her siblings on the team?" Hehe…he?"
"Hayate…" Even Chrono sighed. "You know we're somewhat okay with it, but how do you think others will react. Our team having ranks first, second and third on it. It will cause an uproar and you know it."
"EH? But Chrono-kun, if we manage to win in the school, we won't be so powerful in the interhigh, you know. The teams there are like boss!" Hayate told the male.
"Still, I don't think this is fair." He replied.
"You say that, but you've already agreed on joining." Yuuno smiled at his friend. "Hayate really has her ways of persuasion, huh? I expected nothing less from the princess of Belka." Yuuno laughed out but suddenly quieted when he saw Hayate and Vita looking at him seriously.
"Princess of Belka?" Nanoha asked. She turned to her friends for answers, but neither of them looked at her. "I think I've heard of it before. Ne Suzuka-chan, Arisa-chan."
"Nevermind that Nanoha, right now… um… Harlaown-senpai." Arisa tried to change the topic.
"Yes?" Chrono and Alicia replied. "Oh who do you mean, me or…" They pointed at each other.
"Oh, Sorry," Arisa said realizing her mistake. "Alicia-senpai, are you going to join us?" Arisa asked the second year student.
"Hmmm, I'd love to, but as Chrono said, won't our team be unfair? I mean look…" She pointed to the members and Arisa nodded as she remembered Chrono's explanation. "See my point? And anyway, I'm not interested this year eit-"
"We're trying to convince Vice." Hayate said. Alicia stopped from walking away.
"Hmmm? So your motive was to bring the gang back together?" Alicia stated quietly, though her cheery tone was replaced with a cold one as she turned to Hayate. "That middleschool dreamteam of yours was highly looked upon but also despised by most." She pointed out. "Are you sure you want to try it again? I could name a few people who would kill to be invited into your group, princess." Alicia told Hayate what Fate mentioned earlier. She had a lot of people to choose from.
"Don't call me that, princess." Hayate replied to Alicia. The hall was silent as they could only hear the breeze blowing outside and the signal of the soft rain that had just begun. The school bell rung.
"Hear that? It's time for club. If you're not in one, you should go home. I heard the rain's going to be coming down hard." Alicia grabbed her bag from her classroom and left the group speechless.
"I can't believe Alicia would reject the idea so strongly." Hayate sighed as she lay down on the couch situated in a very comfortable room hidden deep in the forest. "I thought she'd be excited about it too."
"Well, what she said was true, though right?" Carim said as she poured some tea into a cup before offering it to Hayate.
"Still, Carim! She shouldn't have just walked away, not to mention she called me princess." Hayate said with slight distaste.
"It's true, isn't it?" Schach inserted. "So why not let it be?" She was confused to why it was such a big deal. Normally, Hayate would just let things slide, so what made this so different.
"Because Nanoha was there!" She burst out, slamming her palms on the table.
"Oh." There was silence until they heard someone call out.
"Oi! Carim, you here?" The unmistakable voice of Arisa was heard.
"Arisa? What is she doing here this late?" It was around the dorm's curfew time and Arisa, who was a resident there should've been inside.
"Yagami-hime." Arisa addressed Hayate. "Didn't expect to see you here." Surprise was evident on her face.
"Neither did I. So, what brings you here, Arisa? Shouldn't you be with Nanoha and Suzuka?" Hayate asked.
"I left Nanoha to Suzuka. They should be asleep by now." She sighed as her hand went through her hair. "Carim." She turned to the older woman. "I thought you said you had removed Nanoha's spell. She asked me about it earlier, you know. The attack just the other day, there shouldn't have been any." Arisa pointed out.
"Ah. Right, I was wondering about that too since I was sure I had removed it, but I guess only partly and Nanoha was only able to remember so much." Carim replied, offering Arisa a seat as she served her some tea.
"Thanks. So how do you explain it? I can't keep doing that thing all the time. It would be troublesome if I drained my magic when needed."
"So Father taught you, huh?" Hayate spoke up, her tone suggesting that she didn't fully agree with that. "Frankly Arisa, only I can remove the spell completely since I am the one who cast it. Carim or Schach can remove bit by bit, but not too much." She explained.
"Then why not just remove all of it? It hurts her a lot, Yagami-hi-"
"Don't call me that. Not in front of Nanoha, not in front of anyone. Don't call me that here, Bannings. You may be a chosen attendant, but you can only do so much."
Arisa gritted her teeth. True as she was only a noble, her position was no higher than Carim or Schach. She could only speak against Hayate so much. "I understand. But then what do you propose we do for the meantime?" She refused to meet Hayate's gaze.
"We reveal it little by little. And only when the situation calls for it, yes?" Hayate said as she stood up to leave. "And Arisa..." Hayate's gaze was as cold as the time she left them all those years ago. "I'm counting on you to heal her during those times. Now, get back to the dorms if you can. If not, Carim please take care of her." And she left without any more comments. Arisa wanted to scream, she wanted to lash out and yell. She wanted to cry, but her eyes, her throat, they were dry. She couldn't say anything. Once again, Hayate had told her she was wrong and she could do nothing about it.
"Arisa… I think you should sleep here for the night." Carim put a comforting hand on the girl's shoulder."
"Thanks. But…" She stood up. "I think I'll stay out tonight." She then ran out of the entrance of the cave and disappeared into the night.
The next morning, Hayate noticed that Nanoha and Suzuka were running around the school grounds asking questions. Curious, she approached them and put on a mask of cheeriness.
"Yo Nanoha-chan, Suzuka-chan. What's wrong? You both look tired." She noticed the tiny traces of tears on Suzuka's face.
"Hayate-chan! It's Arisa-chan. She didn't return to the dorms last night, neither did she come back this morning!" Nanoha exclaimed. "We've been so worried. Have you seen her Hayate?"
The said girl stiffened as she realized what happened. 'That idiot. I thought I told her to go back or to stay with Carim. If she did leave, she wouldn't have forgotten to go back in the morning, right?'
"I'm sorry Nanoha-chan. I haven't." She hid her expressions well. "Maybe she got locked out of the dorms and stayed with a friend, or maybe she's already in class."
"Maybe. I guess you're right."
"Yeah? So let's head to class now. We might be late." Hayate started walking to their class. Nanoha followed reluctantly.
"I think… I'll look around a little longer." Suzuka said and ran away Nanoha realizing it was a bit late to stop her.
"I never took you for the type to cut classes, Bannings." A student approached a tall tree in the forest where a figure lay on one of the branches.
"I could say the same thing to you, Alicia-sama. What about your fans?" She chuckled as the said person plopped down on the branch beside her.
"Meh, they won't really care. So what gives? It's unusual to see you alone and not by Takamachi's side. Something go wrong?" Alicia asked.
"Hmmm… No not really. I just" Arisa opened her eyes and stared at the blue sky as the breeze passed through her hair. "Needed a time to cool off." She breathed in the scent of nature and relaxed.
"Trouble with Hayate?"
"I guess. Hey Alicia, how does it feel to not be chosen to be the next heir to Mid-Childa, even if you are the supposed rightful heir? The 'Next in line'" Arisa suddenly asked with air quotes making Alicia amused at the gesture.
"Well someone did their research." Alicia sighed. "It's… upsetting and disappointing. I grew up trying to learn all the etiquette for nothing. I was molded to be the next heir until they just pop up and say I'm not the one who my own father chose. It isn't Fate either and… they won't really tell us who." She then turned to face Arisa. "Though I have a gut feeling I know who. You aren't going to tell her yet? I know you've already found out."
"And jeopardize my position beside Nanoha? No way. Yagami-hime will kill me." She laughed an empty laugh. "I want to stay by her side forever."
~0~
"Please stay by her side. You are all that girl has."
"Carim, Yagami-sama, that is not true!"
"Is it? Arisa, Suzuka, promise me you will never leave her, the little princess." Shuuichiro felt the tears cascade down his cheeks as he watched his daughter erase her friend's memories. Arisa felt Suzuka's grip on her hand tighten. She renewed her resolve.
"Even if my soul is forced out of my body and the body itself is burned to ashes, I pledge on my knight's honor that I will forever protect the princess." She spoke loudly.
"Thank you, my brave, young knights."
~0~
A/N: So I guess this is it for now? See you in the next chappies. Yes I find Vita totally adorable! I wish I could hug her myself! Please leave a review and tell me what you think. Thanks to everyone who has read this story. I'm at 1,606 hihihi… thank you for the support and see you again! Also will Alicia and Vice join? Did they have a fallout or something? WHo knows? Right? Also I'm thinking about adding Dearche and Levi... hihihi
~Shintori Khazumi.