Nanoha StrikerS: Pursuit of Perfection 4
Subaru was the only one in the waiting room. It was just as well because of her current condition. Her legs were curled up against her chest as she sobbed in pain. Her berserker rage had taken a hold of her for a second time, and this time, she had done what she feared would happen the most; she hurt the people closest to her.
As she relived the moment again behind her eyelids, she didn't notice someone enter. "That's enough, Subaru." The girl's eyes opened in shock and she lifted her head. A young face with dark blue eyes and long brown hair looked at her past her bandages. "I'd smile, but the novacaine hasn't worn off just yet." Her left cheek and eye was covered by a soft bandage, and she had stitches going through her eyebrow, but even past the wounds she gave no signs of suffering.
"Nanoha… san…." Subaru fell to the floor and began bawling. "I'm sorry! I'm so sorry! I hurt you of all people, the one I look up to the most! That's not something a human would do! What… what am I?! I'm not human!"
Nanoha wrapped her arms around the girl and pressed her good cheek against the bluenette's head. "Anyone that can cry that much over something that is already forgiven is most definitely human." Subaru opened her eyes again. "You're forgiven, Subaru. So don't cry." The older girl's lower lip quivered as a wet spot appeared on her left gauze patch. "Damn novacaine, it's making my eyes water!" She tried to wipe it off to no avail.
"Nanoha-san… your face… is it….?"
"A broken cheekbone, three stitches on my eyebrow, and a half-black eye. I've had exponentially worse that I've come back from. To be honest I hardly even feel it. The burn Soran-kun gave me stings more than this." Her mouth twitched. "Again smiling is failing me. It just doesn't feel normal to not be smiling."
"Why would you want to smile? I… I was the one that…. I ATTACKED you!"
"You were defending him, that's all. I think we can all understand what it means to defend the person you love. You should know that already." Subaru nodded as she sat up. "You remember my desperation with Vivio? I've already felt how you feel, and I would again, for her or for Fate-chan, and yes, even for you." She put a warm hand against her cheek. "Besides, no one is seriously hurt. Fate-chan has a cracked rib, but that's it. Honestly, that girl can be so reckless, going out in Riot Form like that." She rose. "Stand up, Subaru. Stand up and look me in the eye. I won't be so forgiving if you don't!"
The girl rubbed the tears from her eyes and stood, clenching her fist tight, forcing back all the rest of her tears. "Ma'am, yes Ma'am!"
Nanoha closed her good eye happily. "Good girl. Now let's go see Soran."
Subaru stopped in mid-step. "S-Soran…."
"Don't worry. I don't think he's mad either."
Soran sat in his hospital bed, staring at the bandage on his left shoulder. His arm itched like crazy. "How the hell can it itch when it's not even there?" A knock came on the door. "Enter."
Subaru peeked in, gasped, covered her mouth, and closed the door in that exact order in five seconds. "Come on now, Subaru! Get a hold of yourself! Go IN!" The door opened again, as Nanoha pushed the girl forward. She lost her balance and fell onto the bed at the boy's feet. "Morning, Soran-kun. Sorry to barge in like this." Soran balled his fist underneath the blanket.
"Soran… your arm…." Subaru had stood up and reached to touch it, but pulled away. "I can't believe I did that to you. Can you ever forgive me?"
"Forgive you, Su? I should be thanking you." He smiled weakly. The other two girls blinked. "You knocked me back to my senses." He turned to Nanoha. "I was so engrossed in winning that I probably would have done a suicide attack to defeat you if it wasn't for Subaru. I'm sorry things got out of hand."
"Unh. Me too." Nanoha was slightly engrossed in the mysterious scar on his chest. "And don't worry about the burn. It will heal."
"Soran… I used my IR and totaled your arm. I'm so sorry. I just used it instinctively."
"So I take it you knew about that part, Subaru?" Nanoha stared at the girl. "That he was a cyborg?"
"Sorry to disappoint you, but I'm not." He rotated his good shoulder. "My arm was the only thing cybernetic. I lost my real one a long time ago."
"And how'd you manage to get a new one? That kind of technology is hard to come by."
"The day I lost my arm, a man found me and rescued me. It turns out he was the president of a company that specialized in the independent research of Lost Logia. 'In exchange for your new arm, I would like you to become bodyguard to some of my most loyal business partners.' And the rest, they say, is history."
"I see. Well, our mechanics will do what they can to fix it, but I don't think we can do much. I hope you have a couple of favors you can call in from those sources of yours. Mmh?" She pressed her hand against her ear. "Sorry, I'm needed elsewhere. I'll leave you two alone. Now don't do anything I wouldn't while I'm gone!" She waved as she went to the door and closed it.
The room was silent for a moment. "So…." Soran finally spoke.
Subaru looked down at his sheets. "Soran, I hate to ask this, but can I crash at your place for a while? It's just until I get back on my feet, then I'll be out of your hair."
Soran blinked. "Well, I don't mind, but I'm not quite sure what brought that on."
"I… I disgraced Section 6 and hurt two senior members. There's no doubt I'll be punished, and probably discharged. So when I see Hayate-daichou next, I'll be tendering my resignation."
"WHAT?!" Soran stood. "No way! No way in hell! You can just rethink that right there!"
"But… Soran!"
"But nothing! What do you think you're doing right now? Sparing people by leaving? Think again! Look around you. How many people hate you right now? Well aside from the occasional quip from Teana, no one! What you did was wrong, yes. Will you have to be punished for it? Yes. But no one, and I mean no one that has taken the easy way out has made a good life for themselves!"
"Soran…"
"Look at me, Su. I'm living proof. I've done jail time for a few mistakes I've made. I didn't take the easy way out. I took my punishment, and I'm better for it. And look how strong I am! Subaru, you've told me so many times that you want to go and save people, to protect those that can't do so themselves. How can you do that if you leave now?"
"But you don't understand!"
"No, YOU don't understand! If you want to fulfill your dreams, then you have to stay right here, right now, and think about just what is really important to you!"
"But you're the one that's really important to me!"
"Then maybe I should leave and let you mull it over for a bit." Soran went to the door and slammed it shut.
"And? What was it that you had to pull me away from them? He had just put out some rather interesting information." Nanoha crossed her arms as Vita, Signum, and Hayate gathered around Fate's bed.
"We've been going over the records of the battle, and we've come up with an approximate level for him." Signum crossed her arms.
"That little bastard is pretty powerful." Vita paced, looking at the video once in a while.
"Almost to scary proportions, at that." Fate sighed.
"Nanoha-chan, we've ranked him as a Triple S." Hayate bit her lip. Nanoha gasped hard. "We thought you might react that way. All indications point to it though. He's a mage at your level from that age."
Nanoha had to sit down, and Fate drew her close. "A mage that's at the same level as I was at 15? But he's untrained, right?"
"Correct." Signum pulled up his profile. "As far as we've seen he's had no official training. He's an unrefined jewel."
"Then… if he were ever trained properly…" Nanoha just stared at the monitor.
Fate placed her hand in the other girl's. "Hex S. Dark Type."
Nanoha's eyes became gigantic. "H-Hex S?"
"Ah." Hayate keyed her terminal. "We've kept your true power level hidden from the files as S+ like the rest of us, but the fact that there is another mage that has the potential to reach your true level disturbs us. Especially the fact that he's a Dark Type." A male shadow stopped in front of the door.
"He's already used some of the dark methods, like the elemental attacks and the practically-unuseable Trinity Buster. He might become as powerful a black mage as you are white."
"I'm just glad I didn't have to use Burst Mode on him. He almost pushed me that far." Nanoha pressed her hand against her chest.
"Yeah. We don't want that trump card revealed to anyone. Especially knowing the toll it takes on your body."
Soran turned away from the door and crushed his soda bottle. 'She wasn't at full power! Why are my devices so useless?!' He gritted his teeth as he walked.
"The question is now, what do we do with him?" Nanoha looked at the others in turn.
Hayate spoke. "It goes without saying that we have to report such a powerful mage to the government. Inevitably it's not up to us to decide, but we should brainstorm some possible options."
"I say we train him. If we do that, then we don't have to worry about him being a loose cannon." Nanoha said quickly.
"But would he submit to that? If he is already this powerful without training, why would he join us? Plus didn't Subaru mention he had some prejudices about the military?" Fate asked.
"Everyone, I'm sorry, but I suggest we kill him."
"VITA-CHAN!"
"I said I was sorry! Look, if we leave him unchecked, he could be very dangerous in the future. And we're not the only people around that can train a strong mage. Plus I don't think he has such a kind nature as Nanoha. Better take care of the problem now before it gets too dangerous."
Nanoha bit her lip hard. "There's one problem with that plan, Vita-chan." Hayate answered quickly before she could. "The only one strong enough to do that job would be Nanoha. And we already know what her answer would be."
"Never!" She whispered.
"I say we lock him down. With no chance to train and extra high AMFs, he wouldn't be able to become stronger." Signum's answer was cold.
"You guys, you're forgetting something with all of this." Fate spoke in her thoughtfully muted tone. "Whatever we decide with him will also affect one of our own. Subaru's feelings should also be taken into account. I think we should consider Nanoha's option of bringing him into TSAB."
"But what about those prejudices that you spoke of, Fate-chan?" Hayate brought up the wrinkle. "We don't even know what they are."
"Let me do some digging then." The blonde spoke up. "I'll get the investigative unit together to hunt for an answer. If we can alleviate his anguish, he may concede into joining us."
"Everyone, your thoughts?" Hayate played with her hair band.
"I still think we will have to axe him in the end, but for Subaru's sake, I'm with you." Vita nodded.
"We'll need to keep tabs on the boy until then. It will be a drain on resources, but I suppose it's worth the effort." Signum sighed. "I'll get to work on the preparations."
"Oi, Signum, I'll help too." Vita rushed to catch up with her.
"Hayate-chan, please! That boy needs to have a chance! I won't kill him, and I won't lock him away! Please, make this happen!" Nanoha begged.
"I'll spin it that way with the higher ups." Hayate smiled, but it became serious again. "But I don't know how much time they'll give us. Fate-chan, whatever you do, work fast."
She nodded. "If you want speed, then we'll probably have to call Ginga in on it. Although that may be a little difficult with her new job at the cyborg rehab facility."
"Do whatever you need to. I need to get working on the report. I'll let you know what HQ decides the moment I get it." Hayate excused herself.
"Soran-kun…." Nanoha whispered to herself.
"You seem to be rather protective of him, Nanoha-chan." Fate smiled softly. "Is there a reason for that?"
"Eh?" It was a question that took her off guard. "I just… well I saw his injuries. The cut in his chest was horrible. I was surprised that he could survive something like that. And his arm…. If our military caused those wounds on his body and psyche, then we're indirectly at fault. We have an obligation to take care of him, at least that's what I think."
"Plus you had your share of people you couldn't save." She pulled her lover into a tight hug. "Don't overdo it Nanoha-chan. You can't go back and rescue them. There's no way to save everyone in the universe."
"Unh. I know. But saving just one is enough."
Soran trudged through the halls until he hit the waiting room. He hit a button for the terminal and a window popped up with a news conference. "Sub-commander Zwei, what is Section 6's reaction to the recent verdict to the Jail Scallietti case?"
"There's nothing really to say desu." Rein spoke into a microphone twice her size. "We had been on his tail for a long time, so it goes without saying we believed he was guilty desu."
"Will you or anyone from Section 6 be there for his sentencing?"
"Though I cannot speak for the individual members, none will be there representing Section 6 desu. We have done our duty, and brought him to justice desu. It's up to the judicial system to decide his fate desu."
"How do you feel about the human rights violations he had committed?"
"I cannot make comments about such matters until after the trial is over desu."
"About the incident at Section 6 HQ yesterday, how are the victims faring?"
"All are doing extremely well desu. The doctors expect all to make full recoveries desu!"
"What about the punishment for the actions…."
The screen canceled. "Hey, I was watching that!" Soran growled as he turned towards the hand that did it. "Oh…."
"Why are you over here?" Teana placed her hands on her hips. "Shouldn't you be in your hospital bed? And where the hell is Subaru?"
"Okay, since you were so kind as to not give me time to answer all three, I'll do the same to you. Hi, guys." He said to Erio and Caro as they entered as well. "One, I was thirsty for some sugar so I went in search of a soda. Two, I'm missing an arm, not half my blood. My only complication is that it itches like you wouldn't believe!"
"How can it itch when it's not even there?" Erio asked.
"That's what I want to know! As for Subaru, she's thinking things over in my room." He opened a link to Tea after narrowing his eyes. 'Did you know about her plans? That she's trying to resign?' Teana paled in amazement. 'All I needed to know.'
"That idiot!" Tea gritted her teeth and slammed her fist into the wall.
"Relax. I gave her a stern talking to already." Soran waved it off. "I told her to sit there and think about it for a while and…." Tea walked past him in a huff. "And as usual you're not listening to a word I'm saying."
"Subaru!" She burst into the recovery room only to find her sitting on the bed, watching the news.
"Ah! Tea! Good timing! I was hoping that…." CRACK!
Teana panted hard, hissing from the pain. "Don't you dare do it, Subaru! After all the trials and toils we've been through, don't you dare throw it away!"
"I tried telling her Su!" Soran called from the doorframe. "As usual she wouldn't listen." Teana whirled around and sent a glare his way that would have killed him ten times over. "Okay, backing out of the room."
She whirled back and turned on her mental link. 'If you betray me like that Subaru, I swear…!'
'Tea, stop. Stop! I'm not resigning! Soran already pointed it out, I just needed to clear my head.'
'You don't get it at all, Subaru. I wouldn't be here if it wasn't for you! I don't hold any illusions otherwise. I would never have become stronger, or even team leader if it wasn't for you always taunting me, and pushing me, and teasing me, and hugging me, and… damn it, Subaru! How could you even think about throwing that away?! Everything we've done?!'
"Tea…." Subaru spoke aloud, unable to hold her concentration on the telepathic link. "Gomen ne, Tea. I won't do it again, I swear. I never wanted to throw away all our memories. Soran kinda beat it into my head that all I'd be doing was hurting everyone, and this proves it. He was right. I'm sorry Tea."
"Kgh!" Teana's rage was still boiling. She raised her hand again for another strike. Subaru closed her eyes and waited for it.
"Okay, that's enough." Soran spoke. Subaru opened her eyes to find the boy grasping Tea's wrist tightly. "You've done enough damage as is."
"Let go of me, you perv!" Tea struggled against him.
"Teana, you've already broken a finger, haven't you?" He stared into her eyes. "This one right here." He poked her ring finger and she yelped. "Get that taken care of instead of standing around here."
He dropped her arm and took a half step between her and Subaru. Teana gritted her teeth as her brow quivered. "You do know I dislike you, right?"
"We love you too, Lanster-sama." Soran smirked.
"Kgh! If I hang around here anymore, I'll probably be tempted to use Cross Mirage. I'm outta here!" Tea walked off, heading for the nurse's station. Caro and Erio looked to each other, then back to Soran and Subaru, and then at Teana. They both bowed before heading to keep an eye on the orange-haired girl.
Shari walked past them and blinked in confusion as she rounded the corner. "What was that all about?" She asked as she entered the boy's room.
"Oh Tea-san was just confessing her undying love for me." He leaned back in bed.
"Hmm? Then why did she look so mad?"
"Classic tsundere character."
"Ooooooh. Gotcha!" Shari gave him a thumbs up and a wink.
"Geez, Soran!" Subaru clonked him on the head. "Stop being mean to Tea, and spreading ridiculous stuff like that to Shari-san! By the way, Shari-san, why are you here?"
"Oh, right!" She placed a shoebox down on the bed and opened it. "It's not as good as the original, but we managed to salvage some of the parts to reform the arm." She lifted a pale-pink limb out. "At least it will look like the original. It should suit you until you can get it fixed properly."
"Hmm…" Soran examined it in his lap. He tapped it three times on the middle knuckle, and the hand closed. "What's the reaction time on it?"
"About 34ns. That's all we could get out of it."
"The grip seems a little weak, but I won't be using it that much anyway. Thank you for everything you've done."
"Soran, hold on!" Subaru ran up to him in front of the taxi and gave him a quick kiss on the lips. "They demoted me and put me on probation, but I'm not fired."
"Good for you, Su." He patted her with his left hand. "Hmm… numb. I'll have to fix that too."
"Be careful, okay?" Subaru sighed as he climbed into the back of the cab.
"Don't worry about me, Su. Now get back so you can get promoted again." He waved to the senior members standing outside waiting for her. "Okay, we can go." The driver started down the parking lot.
The rest waved after him. "You managed to get the tracking devices in properly?" Signum spoke to Shari without turning.
"Of course. I put three in. The only way we'll lose him is if he gets a completely new arm."
Soran got out of the taxi and shut the door behind him. As it drove off, he looked up at the skyscraper in front of him. He sighed as he went through the door, stonefaced. He walked through the security gate, which beeped in alarm. "Code Yellow. Code Yellow."
"I'm sorry, sir, but you're going to have to leave your devices at the sign-in closet." A security officer walked up to him.
"You're new here, aren't you?" Soran looked through him.
"Y-yes, sir."
"Let me tell you something to remember. The only way I'm leaving my devices behind is if they're taken up your ass!" Soran snarled. "Hey Mitch!" He yelled in his face.
"Yes? Oh, Soran-sama!" Another security guard rounded the corner.
"You responsible for hiring this bozo?" The other man scratched his head. "Whatever. Hey, educate him, would you?! If this keeps up, I'm not gonna want to come around here no more, comprende?"
"Yes, sir. I'm sorry, sir!"
"Good!" He glared at the first guard. "What are you still doing in my way? Disable the security field!"
"S-Sir!"
Soran slumped and sighed as he walked through again. "Man, that's all I needed to completely ruin my day." He rolled his shoulder as he entered the elevator. "PMB. Express override."
"Javohl." The elevator shot up, and within seconds he was at the top floor. "PMB."
He stepped out, and a young woman of all of about 20 stood up at the desk. "Soran-kun, welcome! Did you finally dump that annoying TSAB girl?"
"Just give it up already and open it. Knowing him, he's already expecting me." He didn't even give her a look as he walked forward.
"No fair. I have so much to offer too." She pouted as she hit the release button.
Soran entered a lavish office with wide windows and a high ceiling, filled with artwork and gilded statues. Once the doors shut behind him, he spoke up. "You really need to fire that gold-digging receptionist out there, you know."
A slightly heavy set man with a salt and pepper beard turned his chair around at the desk. His small, pure black eyes gazed at Soran quietly, as if pondering his next statement. "It's all for show anyway. I need something for my visitors to look at while they wait. What happened out there, today, Soran?"
The teen hopped onto the couch and reclined, not caring where he put his feet. "You already know what happened. I'm sure your spies have already given you the whole scoop."
"Tell me anyway."
A toothy smirk appeared. "I found her, the one from five years ago. " The authoritative man in the business suit put his hands on the table. "I finally found her, Father!"