Lonely No More
by Cyberchao X

Disclaimer: Despite the abundance of original characters, this is still a fanfic and should be treated as such.

Chapter 20

*the next day*

"You're still here…"

"Of course I'm still here."

"…Why?"

"Why wouldn't I be?" Suki asked.

"It's not…awkward?"

"Not at all. I had a feeling it would happen eventually…and I was kind of hoping. You're really pretty, you know that? Oops, there we go again. I really should try to stop making you blush so much."

"That might not be easy…" Katsura said, mumbling, "and it'll probably only get worse…" Before Suki could press her on what she'd just said, she added, "Imouto-chan was happy you stayed the night, too."

"Does she know that your feelings for me might not be the same as hers?"

"Of course not. She's 10, remember? I don't think she's even thinking about romance yet, let alone the idea of… of two girls being romantic together."

"You don't sound terribly certain about it yourself."

"I'm not. But that's just it. I'm not certain."

"Yeah, I get it. You're getting to that age, and you're curious, and then you meet a cool sempai who is interested in girls and is willing to teach you, and…yeah."

"How did you know?"

"Because I went through the same thing."

"No, I meant how did you know that you liked both boys and girls?"

"I didn't. Didn't I just tell you that? I was in the exact same position you're in now just last year."

"Right. So it was Bannings-san…" Suki nodded. "I'm…a little nervous."

"Don't be. It's not like I jumped right into having a full-blown relationship with Ari-chan. Heck, at one point I called her my girlfriend and she said she felt more like a mistress than a girlfriend. …That probably sounds worse out of context. Our relationship didn't start out quite like that."

"Should you really be telling me all of this? You still have feelings for Bannings-san, don't you?"

"Of course. I love her. But…I love you, too."

"And Hayama-san?"

"Yes, him too."

"Hey, not that I don't like Shina-chan, but wasn't this trip going to be just the two of us?" Arisa asked.

"This is a public place, right? So it's not like you two were going to be getting all touchy-feely."

"T-true…" Suzuka said, "although there would always be a chance that we'd be invited in, in which case it is a private residence."

"Yeah, but you're still theoretically keeping your sexuality a secret," Arisa said.

"Given who my friends are, it wouldn't surprise me if the Takamachis always just assumed I was in the closet anyway."

"Oh? Now I'm even more intrigued as to why Ari-chan was disappointed that I'm here too. Why did you invite me, then, Suzu-chan?"

"Why the hell do you think? You're my friend, and I wanted to treat you. I know it's a day early, but…"

"What's a day early?" Arisa asked.

Kanna grinned. "Tomorrow's my birthday."

"Oh, well then, happy birthday!"

"And now to answer your questions," Suzuka said. "I'm sure you've heard the two of us talking about our friends who moved away last year. The Midoriya is owned by Mr. and Mrs. Takamachi, the parents of our dear friend Nanoha."

"Wait, your friend's parents still live in Japan?"

"Yeah, the three of them left for…it's not really a foreign exchange program, but I guess it's sort of like that…"

"Right. The three friends whom you both miss so dearly yet are strangely evasive about their current whereabouts."

"Eh?" Both Arisa and Suzuka seemed surprised by this assessment.

"That's why Ari-chan was disappointed that I'm here. You won't be able to speak freely about this big secret with me around."

"You're imagining things, Kanna-chan," Suzuka said.

"Table for three, please!"

"Oh, my, Arisa-chan!" Momoko Takamachi said happily, "I don't think I've seen you since Nanoha-chan left! And Suzuka-chan…I don't believe I've met you, though."

"Shinamori Kanna," she introduced herself. "Pleasure to meet you, Takamachi-san. Arisa-chan and Suzuka-chan talk about your sister a lot."

The other three laughed. "Thank you for the compliment, Shinamori-chan; I think you mean my daughter." Kanna looked summarily stunned. "What can I get for you?"

Suzuka ordered for both herself and Kanna, allowing Arisa to choose for herself because she had been there before and also because Suzuka wasn't paying for her food—not that money would really be much of a concern. "That's your friend's mother? She looks like she's about 20!"

"I think she has the same 'affliction' that Miki-san has, but was fortunate enough to reach adulthood before it took effect. She looked exactly like that when we first met her almost a decade ago," Suzuka said.

"For someone to look eternally ten years old is an affliction. For someone to look eternally twenty years old is, well, magic."

"…Magic?" both girls asked nervously.

"Yeah, you know, like those silly TV shows with all of the flashy lights and transformation sequences where for some reason nobody seems to recognize the girls after they've transformed even though they look exactly the same aside from having cooler clothes?"

"Yeah, that's so unrealistic," Arisa said. "If someone you knew was a magical girl, you'd still recognize them if you saw them transformed even if you didn't see them transforming, right?"

"Of course. But that's all just fantasy. Speaking of which…what's with all the secrecy?"

"What secrecy?"

"Okay, how about I ask you directly then: just where is Takamachi-chan?"

"…That's a…very interesting segue," Suzuka noted.

"Well, we were talking about people with secret identities—and, I suppose, the people who keep their secrets."

"Were we?"

"I can't imagine a trio of high schoolers doing something so cloak-and-dagger, though. And it doesn't seem as though something bad happened and everyone is just trying to talk like they just went away for awhile, although I don't know for whose benefit that would be. But on the other hand, it would be easy enough to lie and give an actual location, so the vagueness only makes it seem…like they really are gone for good."

"They're not gone for good! Nanoha-chan and the others will come back!" Arisa fervently returned, and Suzuka grabbed her arm to try to calm her down.

"That sounded more like you were trying to convince yourself. What's wrong?"

"It's…like you said. There's really no way for us to know how they're doing. They're…let's just say they're far, far away from here."

"…You said you've known Takamachi-chan for nearly a decade. What about Yagami-chan and Testarossa-chan? About…seven years?"

"Y-yeah…a bit less with Hayate-chan, but that's about right. How'd you know?"

"That's all I need to hear. There are some things in this world you just can't explain." Momoko returned with their food, and they dug in.

"So what now?"

"You tell me, Katsu-tan. Obviously there won't be any locker room shower groping like there was with me and Ari-chan." Katsura turned red again, and Suki made a face. "I don't want to do anything you're uncomfortable with."

"Then…I'll let you know if you do anything wrong." She buried herself in Suki's chest, the older girl gently stroking her hair."

"Heh…I guess you liked my hug yesterday, then?" Katsura merely nodded, and Suki tried not to laugh as she felt Katsura's response. "I'm glad. I'd hate to think that I'd made an empty threat—even if it was a meaningless one."

Katsura looked up. "Aren't they the same thing?"

"Well, I told Ari-chan that if she cheated on me, I was going to do, pretty much that, to try to pique your interest in girls if you didn't have one already. But of course, you do. Maybe."

"Aren't you cheating on her, then?"

"…Probably. Though to be honest, I'm more worried about Tatsu-kun finding out. It was hard enough to get him to accept having to share me with Arisa."

"…Maybe this was a mistake."

"You're not happy?"

"You're not happy. Maybe I'm just trying to be noble, but I feel like I'm just getting in your way. You and Bannings-san…I'm jealous of the way you two are. I can tell…she's really special to you. Moreso than I ever could be."

"Don't say that. You don't know that. I guess maybe at the moment, she and I have more between us because we've been together longer, but that could change."

"Do you want it to change?"

"…I don't know how to answer that. I don't want to grow apart with Ari-chan, but I can't say that I don't want to grow closer to you, so…I don't know."

"…Just go. Let it play out as it will."

"Yeah. That's probably for the best."

"Ah, Shina-chan! I didn't expect to see you here. This place isn't really well-known except with the locals…"

"Well, then, it's a good thing I'm friends with a pair of locals, Chi-chan. Suzu-chan and Ari-chan are from around here and are good friends with the owner's daughter."

"Ah, right, yes, I think I remember seeing you around. We didn't really cross paths, though, being in different years. You're friends of Nanoha-san?"

"You know her?"

"No, I've never met her, but working for her parents, I hear a lot about her. They really miss her…something about studying abroad?"

"Yeah, something like that."

"Hey, Chi-chin!" a male voice called out.

"Kenichin, stop calling me that! Geez, why do you have to bother me at work? If you and your friends weren't paying customers, I'd have you thrown out."

"Yeah, well, we are. I even brought a date today."

"This isn't a date. This is me doing a favor for some friends."

"You just had to find the most cynical one possible, didn't you, Tatsu-kun?"

"Maybe you should be more careful what you wish for, Kengo," Tatsuke replied.

"…Tatsuke-san? Wow, small world…and you I've met before as well."

"You most certainly have. You also took my brother to a school dance back in May," Hanna replied.

"Ah. So you're Watagami-chan."

"Yep."

"You know my brother's friends?" the waitress asked.

"Just a couple of them. Tatsuke-san's dating another close friend of mine," Arisa replied. "I should introduce myself; I'm Arisa Bannings."

"Keigo Chiharu."

"Well met, Keigo-san." She returned to the table. "Okay, Shina-chan, how is it that you know someone who went to our school better than we do?"

"She's a cheerleader too."

"Of course."

Tatsuke made an excuse to leave his table and sat down in the booth with the three girls. "So what happened yesterday?"

"What do you mean?"

"Suki-chan just sort of disappeared. I thought maybe she'd hooked up with you."

"You didn't know? Himiya-chan confessed to her last night."

"…She told you?"

"No…I was there. I left after the emotions started pouring out…she started to follow me, but…she didn't."

"She…stayed with Himiya-chan." Arisa nodded. "So when Watagami-chan said she was doing a favor for some friends…she wasn't referring to me or Suki-chan. She was talking about Himiya-chan. This timing wasn't coincidental; she wanted to keep me occupied."

"…What?"

"Kengo is…nominally a friend, but when he asked me to try to set him up with one of Suki-chan's fanclub… She knew that I wouldn't trust him enough to give him a solo date, and she volunteered to keep me from looking into Suki-chan's location."

"She doesn't like you?"

"No, that's not it. But it's obvious that she's only part of Suki-chan's group because Himiya-chan is. She puts Himiya-chan's happiness ahead of her own."

"And that means supporting Himiya-chan's relationship with Suki-tan?"

"…I don't think her feelings for Himiya-chan are romantic. I don't know what they are, but they're not romantic."

"…So how are we going to deal with this new threat?"

Tatsuke grinned. "I was hoping you'd have an answer to that, but I'm glad to hear you say 'we'. I'd better get back to Kengo, though, before Watagami-chan starts suspecting something."

CCX: It only seemed right to add a new character there rather than re-using an existing one, and this was a good way to bring a little-used existing one back into the narrative, as well as allowing Tatsuke a little character development of his own; he's been more or less a satellite character to Suki thus far. 20 chapters and we're still only in August; I'm pretty sure that this will go at least to another New Year's. This is CCX, signing off.