StrikerS: Pursuit of Perfection Chapter 13, a magical girl lyrical nanoha fanfic

Nanoha StrikerS: Pursuit of Perfection 13

In her office at Section 6 HQ, Hayate picked up her phone. "Yagami." Her eyes expanded from what she heard. "Vita-chan! Zaphila!" A window opened with the two of them. Vita's eyes widened, and Zaphila's jaw dropped.

Within seconds, they were galloping towards the morphing field, as the forwards participated in their morning training. "Egh!" Vita jumped off of Zaphila's back and over the obstacles. "Nanoha! Subaru! Everyone!" She slammed Eisen over a building to get more altitude, so she could be seen by all of them as they looked up. "They found him! They found the brat!"

"Hah?!" Fate gasped, nearly getting speared by Erio in the process.

"You're kidding, right?" Tea lowered her weapons in her duel with Nanoha.

"Please let her mean that…" Nanoha turned her face to the girl in the red armor.

The bluenette had her head sunk as she sat underneath a simulated tree, supposed to be observing the duel. "You hearing me, Subaru?! SORAN'S ALIVE!" Subaru twitched, then looked up into the sky, seeing Vita's smiling face. "Your boyfriend's come home!"

"Hah hah hah." Practically all of Section 6 was running through the halls of Earth's TSAB Hospital, Subaru and Nanoha leading the way.

As they rounded the final corner, they saw a little silver-haired girl in a medical smock hovering in front of the window. "Rein-chan!" Hayate exploded with a stunning burst of speed, enveloping the little girl in a hug.

"Hayate-chan." She smiled, a tear running from her eye. "Everyone."

"Soran?! Soran is…?!" Subaru was desperate. "WHERE IS HE?!"

"Shhh!" The little girl pulled away from the hug and placed her hand on the glass. "He's right here." She motioned to the bed, where he was on oxygen and IVs. "He's suffering from exhaustion, starvation, and oxygen deprivation, but he'll recover desu."

Subaru placed her hand on the glass. "Soran…" Her forehead tapped the barrier, and she began to sob.

Nanoha placed her in a warm hug. "Isn't that great, Subaru?" She sniffled back her own tears.

"Unh… unh!" She nodded, reaching for her neck, taking out her necklace, Mach Caliber enveloped by the cuff of Soran's Barrier Jacket. "It's been three weeks since we agreed that I wouldn't use you until I saw Soran again, Mach Caliber." She unwrapped the cloth. "Thank you for dealing with my selfishness. But it's okay now. He's come home." The pendant blinked in response. She smiled a bright smile through her tears. "He's come back to me."

Rein told them all about what happened. How they met Gillium, and about Soran's plan to escape Slipstream.

"Gillium, there's something I'm wondering about desu." Rein said as she fluttered around the bridge while Soran was on another dig. "When you said Soran's mother was the interface, what did you mean? Is there something similar between her and me?"

"Well, it would take some time to explain, but it would be best explained that she was born to be on this ship. I would recommend that you try it for yourself. Though I doubt you'll be as compatible." The round hatch on the floor opened up.

"Huh?" She looked into it. "What is that liquid stuff?"

"No one knows." The girl put her hands on her hips. "I'm being serious, it's classified so much so they didn't include it in my memory banks. All I know is that I need to keep it purified and at a certain temperature constantly."

"Fine, whatever desu." She dove in headfirst and felt a warm, inviting hum. Her orientation returned to normal. 'Stardrive… connected. Navigation… connected. Tactical… connected. Salvage arms… connected. Salvage Arms?' The cylinder rose to the deck and the protective shield opened so she could see outside.

"You interfaced further than I expected. I applaud your resilience."

'This system is to tie all the ship's functions into one managing entity… me… or… Soran's mother. I have administrative access to all systems including overrides. Perhaps I can…' She spread her arms out.

Outside of the ship, Soran wiped his brow, shoving Kiryu and Garyu into yet another hole. Suddenly the ship moved, two pieces of the hull breaking away and extending into long three-fingered arms. 'Soran.' Rein echoed in his head. 'I found a way to help you dig.' The little girl began to move the arms to dig a ditch above the ship's nose.

"Rein… Way to go Rein! All right!"

They kept digging, for three more days they kept digging, taking shifts on and off. The fatigue was beginning to get to them, only a couple of days worth of rations left to eat. "DAMN IT!" Soran slammed his fist onto the galley table. "We're running out of time, and I can't find a type zero anywhere!"

"I did warn you that it would be hard to find."

"Don't say it like I don't know it! As a matter of fact, why don't you not say anything at all?! Put a sock in it for once in your operational life!"

"Stop it desu!" Rein yelled at the both of them. "We're all feeling the stress, and I'm tired of having to be both of your mothers desu! Grow up already!" She panted. "Look, we're never going to get anywhere by fighting. Any energy wasted on that could be used for digging. Soran-kun, we need to figure out a backup plan just in case we run out of time desu."

"There is no backup plan. The only way out of here is a type 0. If we can't dig it up in the next two days, we're out of food."

"Maybe we can find a way to dig faster then?"

"Dig… faster? Rein, if you had a big enough cheek, I'd kiss you!" He ran out and returned with a Caster shell, putting it on the table. "I was going to save this, but this type 1 might be exactly what we need. I can set it to destroy the rock up to 100 feet in. It won't destroy the Casters, or any other thing in there for that matter, but just the rock."

"Then let's use that desu!"

"It's not that easy, Rein. Out of all my digging, this is my only type 1. We need to find a bunch of unexpended Caster shells within 100 feet of the surface before I use it to dig."

"So that's our target desu! Gillium!"

"I'll need some help if we are going to cover the entire asteroid."

"I'll link up and help you. Don't worry, Soran! We'll find that vein desu!"

Barrage beeped. "80 percent charge."

Soran sighed. "Back into the field again."

'Su…ba….' A voice called to Subaru as Rein told the story in her recovery room. 'Suba… ru…'

Her eyes went wide as she stood. "Soran! He's awake! He's calling for me!"

"Then what are you staying around here for? Go, you goof!" Tea pushed her.

She rushed into Soran's intensive care and knelt down next to him. His eyes were still shut, he was still on oxygen, and his tongue was still swollen. "Did I imagine it?" She whispered to herself.

'Nope… no you didn't. It just really hurts to open my eyes right now.'

"Soran." She put her hand on his.

'I knew you'd be here. That's why… I called out.'

'You don't know how much I've missed you, Soran. I was dead inside.'

'I have a few dates… to make up with you. There's also some stuff I want to show you.'

'Concentrate on getting better first. We have all the time in the world, Soran.'

"Is this our only option?"

"I don't think we can ignore it. It involves some risk, but I think it's our best chance."

Soran entered the bridge. "Morning you two. Today's the big…."

"GYAAAAHHH!" Rein screamed as the cylinder closed up and receded. She came out of the floor portal with a soaking wet towel. "Can't you knock desu?!"

Soran blinked. "Would this be a good time for me to ask what you were doing in there naked?"

"I find it easier to interface with the Star desu. My digging productivity went up eight percent because of it."

Soran shook his head. "Whatever. Today's the last day. Give me the coordinates."

"Well, about that, Soran…."

"We seem to have found a veritable spring of Casters about 106 feet in from the far side of the asteroid. So you will have to do some digging. However there is some risk."

"The risk being?"

"The stuff you have to dig through is basically Caster free desu."

"What?! I told you to find me a vein within 100 feet! What about that pocket you found at point D6?"

"To use a simile, it's like choosing a squirt gun instead of a shower to bathe with."

"He's right, Soran. The pocket at D6 will run dry faster than the one we found. You'll need at least five crates to take all the Casters back desu."

Soran pinched the bridge of his nose. "All right. I survived off of risks until now, what's one more? Besides, if we don't try our best option, then we won't get anywhere anyway."

The boy hurriedly flew to the other side of the asteroid with his weapons already in Gillium Form. He planted his feet firmly in the ground and pointed it at the target, ensuring the angle with his visor. "Load number 1."

"Loading 1." Kiryu and Garyu spread their wings again.

"Confirm target substance."

"Dark rock matter, target confirmed."

"Pagua sunfa, pagua sunfa, pagua sunfa." The cartridge began to glow as the wings began to rotate.

Back on the Star, Rein smiled. "The expended cartridges are reacting, but the unused ones aren't. We're getting a practically zero reaction from the vein. We might hit the mother load."

"Pagua sunfa, pagua sunfa, pagua sunfa." The wings turned at a blinding speed. "Pagua sun faire!" A black and purple tornado entered the rock, burrowing and chewing it up, sending pieces flying everywhere. Once it reached 100 feet, the energy dissipated, and the wings locked up. Barrage ejected the cartridge, and Soran caught it before it disappeared from sight. Eight exposed shells fell to the bottom of the newly created tunnel, all of them used. "Kiryu. Garyu." Soran rushed into the tunnel and drove his drill into the wall. He gritted his teeth. "Come on! Come on!"

"Come on! Come on!" Rein echoed.

Suddenly, the drill halted, both Kiryu and Garyu blinking like mad. "Uh?" Soran yanked it out, and within seconds he was up to his ankles in golden cartridges. "They're unused! Woohoo! Rein, Gillium, you did it! We're rich boys! We got the mother lode!"

"Yes! Yes desu!" Rein grabbed the pink Gillium and pulled it into a hug, spinning it around.

The rest of the day, Soran spent hauling the crates of Casters back to the Star. Rein and all the Gillium bots went one by one and sorted them all by number. "Here it is."

"Eh?" Rein reconfirmed. "Soran-kun! We have it! We found the type 0! Get back now, and we can go home!"

The lights flicked off in Soran's hospital room. Visiting hours were over, and it was time to let him sleep. Subaru understood even before the nurse had come to get her, as Soran had fallen asleep very early on in their conversation.

Rein was released into Shari's care, and after receiving a bit of an adjustment and a big plate of food, she stood on the table of the lounge, surrounded by her peers. "Before I continue on, did anyone get the chance to speak with Soran's doctor before we left desu? I never found out his recovery time desu."

Nanoha nodded from her viewscreen. She and Fate had to go home to Vivio, but still didn't want to miss any of the story. "From what he said, he'll be in intensive care for at least two weeks, and then he'll be moved into a standard recovery room from there. After that, it's discretionary when it comes to his release."

"What I want to know is how it got so bad." Caro sat next to Subaru, gripping her leg in a show of support.

"Unh. I can understand the starvation because of the food shortage, but what about the exhaustion and oxygen deprivation?" Tea agreed. "And why are you still okay?"

"That's best explained through the rest of the story desu." Rein took a deep breath as everyone turned their attention towards her. "After Soran-kun confirmed that the…."

After Soran confirmed that the Caster was indeed a type 0, he went back to mining the Caster Spring with new hope in his eyes. "We might as well get as much as we can while the getting is good, and take off tomorrow morning." He had said before he left. Before the day was over, he had returned with three more crates of Casters, leaving Gillium to sort through them all. That night, the both of them slept soundly, smiling softly as they snored.

The next morning…

'Connected. Connected. Connected. Final connection lock release.' Rein curled up into a ball as the interface cylinder rose onto the bridge. The metal paneling slid out of the way and she opened her eyes, seeing the viewscreen. 'I'm ready.'

"Barrage Zwei. Set up!" Soran's barrier jacket coalesced upon him and he flew out of the airlock, towards the surface of the asteroid. When he landed, he looked up at the ship's bridge. "Rein, activate Salvage Arms. Gillium, I want you to relay any stress points to me so I can dig them out. We'll try to avoid a hull breach."

"Understood, Soran."

'Yokhai.' Rein said as she activated the arms, stretching the fingers out wide. 'You know, I just realized that when I'm in this thing, I don't say "desu". I wonder why that is.'

"We'll worry about that another time. Give it a nudge." The red and black arms smacked the rock and pushed against it. The ship moved slightly. "Gillium?"

"Minor stress levels. Easily within tolerable range."

"Rein, give it more juice. Increase pressure slowly and keep an ear out for Gillium's warnings. When you hear one, hold and back off just slightly."

Reinforce pressed her hands against the glass and began to push. After a few rumbling minutes "Alert, Alert. Stress in nose armor is reaching the toleration limit. Location, starboard section C."

'Backing off.'

"So we've got a barb. I guess we'll have to burn it out." Rainbow Zwei popped out of Barrage and expanded into its staff form. He pointed it at the hull of the ship in that section.

"Inferno." Flames poured forth from the staff, entering the crack between the ship and rock.

"External temperature rising."

"Try it now, Rein!" The metal creaked, but they managed to get further out. "Gillium, try using the reverse thrusters in the nose. We'll try popping it out all at once."

"Understood." A burst of force emerged from the cracks, shaking up the rocks as half-melted globs flew past Soran.

Soon, the entire nose had emerged. "We're clear!"

'Yay! I'll right the ship and prepare for the jump.' Rein used the arms to drag the ship away from the bore hole and flipped it over so that its engines were on the surface.

As the shadow moved away from the hole, a glint of gold caught Soran's eye. "Uh? Barrier Jacket, Active Guard." He dove into the tube and reached his hand into the darkness. He gripped something and brought it back to the surface. In the light he opened his palm. "I don't believe it. It was here all along. A type 0, quite literally right under our nose."

'At least we have a spare now.'

He pocketed the three shells and landed on the nose of the ship. "Let me just remind you now that this will not completely rescue us. I'm aiming to get into open space only. Dark Trinity weapons, full limiter release! Maximum power!"

"Gillium Form."

Soran twirled the Caster-formed staff and pointed it straight towards a cleared area. "Hatch open." Barrage opened the loading hatch and belched some steam. "Load number 0."

"Loading 0." The hatch closed and the shell hit the barrel. Kiryu and Garyu flipped over, extending their black wings forward in the shape of a Y.

Soran concentrated on his target, the open space in a dimension, and closed his eyes. "Pagua sunfa. Pagua sunfa. Pagua sunfa. Pagua sunfa."

'Pagua sunfa. Pagua sunfa. Pagua sunfa.' Rein was chanting with him, praying for his success.

The Caster glowed bright as the barrel started to spin. "Pagua sunfa. Pagua sunfa. Pagua sunfa." As he continued to chant, the long black wings stretched out further and thinner, until they were tiny black strings, whipping around so fast that it looked like a giant cone had spread out in front of the ship. A black spot swelled on the tip of the gun. Soran opened his eyes. "Let us breach the unknown. Pagua sun faire!" The cone became solid black in color, and Soran fired the shot. The black spot flew out to the cone's focal point and halted, drawing the walls together until it became a swirling black disk in the middle of slipstream.

'Engines online, all ahead half!' Rein commanded, and the retros came to life, pushing the ship forward.

'I will make it home.' Soran thought to himself as they closed in. 'With this piece of my family's legacy, I will make it home!' The ship was swallowed by the swirling blackness. In slipstream, the singularity shrank and disappeared in an explosion that sent the walls rippling.

"Soran-kun. Soran-kun! Mou, wake up desu!"

Soran gasped as his eyes snapped open, sitting up in a flash. "Rein? What…?"

"We warped into open space." Gillium spoke from his pink cylinder.

Soran looked around, realizing he was in the airlock. "How did I get here?"

"The jump was probably too much for you even in your jacket desu. You passed out. I was able to grab you before you were out of range though desu."

"Okay then." Soran grunted as he stood. "Stellar cartography. Gillium, where are we?"

"That was normally your mother's department. Unfortunately I have no star charts for this dimension."

"Rein?"

"Can't help you desu."

Soran sighed. "Well we can't fly anywhere without knowing where we're going. Besides we don't have any maneuvering unless I get out and push. That leaves only one thing. Gillium, take a recording, please."

"Recording."

"Mayday! This is TSAB Second Lieutenant Soran Berkt to any vessel within the sound of my voice! We have lost maneuvering and navigation and are adrift. We have no more supplies. Please send help immediately!"

"Recording stopped. I will broadcast this through the ship's communications system. Is there any certain frequency you wish to use?"

"Just make it general. I have no idea if any TSAB ships are around."

"Understood."

Soran sighed. "And now we wait."

For three days, they drifted. Rein stayed in the cockpit, constantly searching for anything within sensor range, only taking breaks to sleep. For Soran, all he could do was sleep, and drink. Water was the only thing left aboard. Though Gillium had found a way to fortify it with vital nutrients, it was nearly impossible to gag down, and Soran's stomach ached from the lack of food. To take his mind off his pain, he slept, as that same message replayed in space over and over again, as the red ship from another dimension slowly turned and drifted.

On the fourth day, Soran made his way up to the bridge and fell forward at Rein's floating feet. "I'm sorry. I should have dug faster. I didn't give us enough time." He whispered.

'It's not your fault, Soran-kun.' Rein shook her head. 'It was a team effort, and we've done what we could. It would have been no better had we stayed in Slip….' Her eyes went wide. 'Sensor contact! One, two, three, no, five small ships heading towards us at intercept speed!'

"Uh?!" Soran turned around and looked at the screen as Rein brought it up. "That's strange. Those aren't rescue ships, those are two person shuttles. Why are they out here?"

The lead shuttle unfolded a pair of claws which clacked together. "Oi, is anyone still alive in there?"

'Soran-kun, should I….'

"DON'T ANSWER!" He whipped around quickly. "They're scrappers. They knew we were dying and waited, the bastards!"

"I'm going to ask again, is anyone still alive in there? If not, I'll be taking possession of that pretty ship of yours." A video screen popped up in front of the man's face. "Oh?" A boy was hunched over the cockpit, and there was a naked sprite floating belly up in the tank to his left. "They bit it. The message is on auto. Whale Hunters, move in. We've got a nice prize this time! Team four, move in and board her. The rest of you surround her."

The pods engaged their grappling arms as the fourth in the formation flew to the airlock. "We're docking now." The seal held as they hit. "Capture complete. Proceeding to secure the interior." The two men in the pod opened the airlock door. "Uh?!"

In front of them was a boy with enraged purple eyes. "Buster." The orange light enveloped them and their ship, sending it flying before it exploded in space.

"Lasse!" The leader gasped. The Star stretched out its arms and grabbed two of the shuttles, crushing them. "It's a possum!"

A bright flash of light came from the hatch and rose into battle. "Haaaaaaahhhh!" Soran yelled as he came upon the leader, his axe at the ready.

"Kgh!" The enemy grunted as he caught the weapon barehanded. "So you're that TSAB scum, huh?!"

Soran didn't respond, other than putting Barrage against the glass and pulling the trigger. "You bastard!" The other vectored in on him, engaging cutters on the claws.

He looked backwards. "Variable Bullet." Soran squeezed the staff, and the shuttle was rent through.

"Don't touch my ship." Soran snarled.

'Soran-kun! Another wave is heading this way. These ones are armed!'

"Kgh!" He turned towards the sparks of light.

"Barrier Jacket charge, 70 percent."

"They've stained their hands with the blood of our crew! We won't let them escape!" Five assault shuttles vectored in, their weaponry glowing hot. "UTEI!"

Soran landed on the hull and raised a hand, putting up his magical barrier, which took all of the shots. He looked up at them in a glare. "Crossfire Shot."

Balls of glowing energy appeared around him, and he raised his staff up. "NERAI WA UTZ!" They all hurtled forward. The two in the rear broke off before the attack punctured the other three. "Tch!"

'Your reaction time is way too slow. Soran, you're exhausted. I'm coming out to unison with you.'

"Negative, stay in there! I need you to pilot the Star! I can handle this!" He jumped off as his three other keys formed on his left arm. The two remaining enemies swooped in from the sides. "Egh!" He jumped off and opened the dragon's mouth. "Thunder Rage!" Ropes of lightning lashed out at the closest one, detonating the fuel cell.

'I don't have any maneuvering though!'

"Then I'll just have to rectify that!"

The other craft rammed him hard. "You prick! Why couldn't you have just starved to death?!"

"Look who's calling who a prick!" Soran snarled as he smashed his left arm through the window, gripping the man's waist. "You sat there for three days and waited for us to die! You guys are no better than murderers!" He tossed him out the window, where he perished. Soran got in the cockpit and steered it into the salvage arm's path, putting the engine on full burn. "Rein, catch!" He bailed.

The ship slammed into the Star's hand, and the arm manipulated it so the ship could turn with the engine. 'Good thinking, Soran! Uh?! Oh no, they're really serious! Heavy weapons craft incoming!'

"Destroy the Bloody Demon of the Stars! Salvaging the ship doesn't matter anymore! Junk it!" Three larger ships with beam cannons bore down on them, firing in intervals.

"Where do they keep coming from?!" Soran rushed in and blocked a shot with his shield as Rein rolled the ship to dodge another. The third shot was aimed at Soran, and he took it in the dragon head. He dropped down to the deck again. "Haah… haah…" Soran forced himself up. "HRUNH!" He crossed his arms and his triple shield appeared above him, deflecting the shot. "Rein, try to stay under the shield!" He leapt through the barrier and dove for the enemies.

"Barrier Jacket charge, 50 percent."

"Choke on this!" One of the pilots grunted as two torpedoes launched from the underside of the craft.

Soran tilted between them and they just kept on going. "Missiles?! Rein!"

"Activating anti-air defenses." On the hull a machine cannon extended its barrel and fired, shooting down the first attack. Rein slid the ship to the side to evade the second, detonating it in the engine backwash.

"KISAMA!" Soran snarled as he dove under and planted a strong uppercut in the middle of the gunboat. He flipped Barrage into the hole and unleashed hell. The explosion blew him away. "Haah… haah…."

"It's the mage! Target the mage! He's trying to pick us off!"

Both of the gunboats targeted him from opposite sides. They each fired their cannons, Soran's armor taking the blow. "Eguh…." Soran grunted as his head slumped.

'Soran-kun!'

"Now! Ram him! Crush the bastard!"

Soran smirked. "Cyclone." His elemental wall went up, sending them spiraling above him.

"GeeeAAAHHH!" He slashed the cockpit of one open as he ascended to attack. He punched his weapon through the other's armor and opened the dragon's mouth. Sparks flew and the ship blew seconds after he removed his fist. Soran's body went limp as he floated there.

'Soran… AGH!' Rein cried and his eyes snapped open. A shell had detonated just inches in front of the armor. 'I found their battleship. It's coming up on us right now! It's got massive shielding and weapons loadouts. We can't beat this thing!'

Soran reached into his pocket and pulled out the shells. "Zero, two, and eight."

"Barrier Jacket charge, 35 percent."

"Full limiter release. I'm going to use type 8, Rein!"

"Gillium Form!"

'Type 8? Wait, Soran, you can't do that! You'll be too far away!'

The wings spread. "Pagua sunfa. Pagua sunfa. Pagua sunfa. Pagua sunfa."

'Don't do it, Soran-kun! Gillium, cut all power and give me overboost on engines! Even life support!'

"Acknowledged. Rerouting all available power to the engines."

"Tch. This is TSAB Military ve…." The communications cut out.

Soran grabbed both bars tightly. "Feel the wrath of the stars! PAGUA SUN FAIRE!" He and his weapons soared forward in a beam of dark light as it shattered the battleship's shield and burrowed deep into the heart of the vessel. Laying the quantum singularity, the rest of the momentum cut him through the other half of the ship. As the metal demon collapsed in on itself, he looked back over his shoulder. "I told you. Don't touch my ship." The singularity exploded, destroying every trace of the battleship. "Uuuhhh." Soran went limp.

"Warning. Warning. Barrier jacket charge at 3 percent. Return to base. Return to base. Oxygen synthesization system failure. Warning. Warning."

"Aaahhh… Uuuuhhh!" Soran's hands went to his throat and chest.

'Soran-kun!' Rein rushed for him, tears dissolving in the liquid. 'SORAN-KUN!'

As he fell unconscious, he saw a bright flash of turquoise light.

Everyone was wide eyed, leaning forward, holding their breaths. "Um… um…." Rein sweatdropped. "Y-you're scaring Rein desu."

"WHAT THE HELL HAPPENS NEXT?!" Hayate was the one who exploded, taking everyone off guard.

"Um… um…. That turquoise light was a TSAB vessel that jumped dimensions after hearing our transmission. I didn't know it was coming because the comm. system went down. They scooped up Soran right away, and Rein soon after, since I had cut life support. Two days later, we were here."

Caro fainted in relief, or maybe it was because she was still holding her breath. Either way, she collapsed onto Erio, who then collapsed from shock. Subaru sighed, pressing her hand to her heart. "Soran…"

Nanoha sniffed and wiped a tear from her eye. "It's cruel how many times we've almost lost him."

"I was so scared." Fate pulled out a handkerchief and blew. "I'm going to need a lot more snuggling tonight, Nanoha-chan."

"Me too, Fate-chan."

"Nanoha." Signum pulled up her terminal and started typing. "Did you say he will be moved out of intensive care in two weeks?"

"Unh. Why?"

"If things go as scheduled, a date of certain significance to that boy occurs then."

"Eh?" The entire room blinked.

"Okay, let me go in and make sure he's not asleep." Vita said as she whispered to the people behind her, carrying balloons, flowers, cake, and presents. "Uh? Hey! Where's Subaru?"

"She must be at the bathroom or something." Tea shrugged. "There's no way in hell she'd miss Soran's birthday. She'll catch up."

"Yeah, you're right." Vita opened the door a crack and peeked in. Her green eye went wide as she shut the door again. Turning around she scratched the back of her head. "Found her."

"Tch! How'd she get ahead of us?" Nanoha clucked.

"Well, for the next couple of hours, I have a feeling that it's going to be a private party." Vita sweatdropped as she looked back at the door. "There's nothing to see here, so let's move on. We'll try again later. Now shoo, shoo!" The others groaned as she ushered them out. 'Subaru…' She thought. 'It may be Soran's birthday, but I know it's a special day for you too. Enjoy it.'

In the closed room, Subaru and Soran were locking lips as she leaned over him. "So how do you like your get well soon present?"

"I'm enjoying it quite a lot. Oh yeah." They kissed again.

"Now for your birthday present." She winked.