/AN : A huge heap of heartfelt thank yous for SakraDevanamWR, Bardiche3, tsjayanti, and the nameless guest, for the reviews, as well as everyone coming to follow or favorite this humble work. Your support is appreciated, please do continue to do so *bow*
The selected completely random song featuring here this time (besides the 'theme song') is Ariana Grande featuring A$AP Ferg - Hands on Me.
And, oh! This just in! The wnb author known locally as InnocentRaccoon had blundered on the very first chapter's 'sneak preview' and is now publicly apologizing for the inconvenience :
"So yeah, I'll get around revising it soon enough to match this, as it so just kinda happened I had to snap this in two to three parts with the extra scenes just kept on coming and coming in between and swelling up, but ey, y'know as with every other cloud there's a silver lining here, given it also means there's already half ready material for me for the next two 'episodes'."
Now, leaving random notes aside, please do sit back and enjoy another awkw*ahem* awesome episode of Strike Love.
Disclaimer : I possess zero rights on MSLN multimedia franchise or any other work mentioned or included within this work, I just write this stuff.
Did you know that some people tend to be, and do, just the opposite of the common sense, despite the fact that they, in fact, are not lacking on it, except when a certain someone pops up in front of you with a stupid expression igniting some kind of weird spark fueling even stranger flame within that compels you to do all things you had been more than a hundred percent certain you just do not wish to take any part in whatsoever?
They say you can go all kinds of crazy when in love.
I didn't used to think too deep on it. I mean, you don't exactly associate the word love with someone you hate, with passion.
Well, not usually anyway.
~Fate T. H.
MSLN FF – Strike Love
May 6th – Midday
Central Midchilda – Cranagan
TSAB Academy – Inner Yard
"HAHAHAHHAHAHAHHAHAHAHAHAHHAHAAHA!"
"It is NOT funny! Nanoha is not amused!"
"Okay, okay, okay, The *chuckle* Truth behind The *chuckle* Testarossa shake down, is HAHAHA! so fucking funny!"
"You mean not funny!?"
"I mean *huff* *huff* you two accidentally out of nowhere just fell on top of a toilet seat and rolled down and, and as you tried pulling up, oh, oh, oh and this is the best part - you somehow ended up swapping tongues with Testarossa and THEN pheeew~ sprang up confused, heating red and while everybody thought you were raging mad, you were in fact just dazed blushing and very much aroused! How is that NOT funny!"
"Don't go adding in your own interpretations, that's not what I said that happened.."
"Yeah, but it's the truth, right? And I know you were burning up in heat like there was no tomorrow. I could smell it the way you fidgeted through the gym class *chuckle* especially in the locker room."
Nanoha frowned at the memory kicking her legs in the air and collapsed to lean back at the wooden bench.
Despite all the yesterday's efforts in shifting the shorter girl's focus on American made gangster movies, she had been teased – a lot – by Hayate throughout the whole day, all the more when she did not feel like explaining what had really happened. It was all too recent then. Truth be told, she did not feel like saying a word about it even now, but the all too perceptive brunette had somehow guessed most of it already.
She had not – obviously – mentioned all the unnecessary little details of the incident. It was enough to admit to being kissed by the blonde. The very idea of speaking about the rest was.. Not going to happen. No, Takamachi Nanoha would take her secret to her grave. Which was not very far in the future if her heart kept beating the way it did..
*Sigh*
"But uh, don't think too hard on it okay? We all need to experiment a little. Though, usually that age'll come at college, but hey who cares if you're a day early."
The taller brunette turned facing right with her trademark side ponytail swinging along as she stared at the smirking girl sitting beside her.
"I – do – not – want to hear about 'starting early' from you of all people.."
"Ay C'mon~!" Hayate stood up on the bench spreading her hands "I'm a Belkan hot mama, hey, we do it our way, hun~ we – spare – no – single – day – from a night of fun!" She swayed her hips singing her words.
Nanoha rolled her eyes and tried to ignore her uninhibited friend, shaking her head a few times sideways.
"Speaking of that.. We got a match coming up so we'll camp out at Augusta and train the whole weekend. Captain's already booked up the fifth floor for us so no say nos."
Ignoring the anime style conversation opening Nanoha focused her point on another aspect that raised a question.
"Your reasons aside, why am I going? Buchou is not going to just take a senpai out to give us a chance in our first official match here, you know?"
It was a well known fact that the current captain favored experience over natural talent, especially in an official match. While the Winners' Cup - that placed the champions of the previous summer tournament against the winner of the whole past season - was basically just an exhibition match opening the Midchildan high-school sports season, it was, however, treated seriously by many avid fans. To some it was not just sport, it was more than life.
Nanoha had been overwhelmed by the popularity of volleyball, especially women's, in Midchilda, as it could even rival most men's competitions and was thoroughly scouted even at a high-school level to secure the best talents for future, there were even sponsors and real money at the top level. Something that still was too far out for her to grasp. The sport that, while connected the former trio of friends, was ultimately still a mere hobby and now that it had suddenly taken on a professional aspect, she did not know how to feel about it.
She did however still enjoy the feel she got when she played. It felt relieving working hard with your team mates towards a common goal and it was a good way to make friends. There were no enemies on the field, just girls doing their best and having fun. Even the people who did not get along on the outside could play together with a smile on their faces, or that was how it had been in middle-school and back in Japan. Things worked a bit differently around here.
"Nice inner monologue, and that is precisely why we got to go. You know our current team's no match for Belkan High."
The shorter brunette clapped her hands and jumped down to meet the eyes of the taller of the pair who had been too obviously trying to ignore her friend's excited antics. She thought her choice in movies might have been a mistake after all, given all the weird influence the other girl sucked in from yesterday's home held film festival.
"So~! When the seniors get trashed n' cry for their mamas, who you think gon' come save tha mothafudgin gaem, huh?" Hayate stopped to pose attracting a lot of attention with not only her excess gestures but with her loud voice as well. Yes, a definite mistake.
"WE baby! You – me – and.. well maybe Testarossa. Anyhow, we gots to shine, and shining means diving," Nanoha briefly blushed abashed at the hand signals that left no room to misunderstand what Hayate had meant, and after resisting the imminent urge which involved a face and the palm of her hand, the taller girl stood up, took a deep breath and looked at her device just to shift her attention. The free period was still not over, unfortunately.
"It's get not gots.. *sigh* Okay, whatever, let's say I'm in. I suppose you're not telling me this just because?"
"Ka-ching! We have a quest for thee, my humble noble minion heroine.." Hayate paused to wait for reaction, and seeing as Nanoha only turned to leave, she decided it was better to just resume like a normal person. "..Go get Testarossa, we'll be making some fun surprises for the par- *ahem* training camp, after school."
Nanoha raised an eyebrow at the 'blunder' Hayate let slip, before proceeding to the more pressing matter.
"Why me?"
"Because~" Drawing out the word the shorter brunette raised her hands in circular motion and stopping to point her taller friend she continued "you as my faithful minion, are supposed to do the stuff and people I can't be bothered with, like Testarossa, for example."
Nanoha was just about to turn to leave, again, when she heard her friend pressing on in a more serious tone.
"You fucked up, bad, yesterday – in a whole lot of ways, and now you need to make it up, especially for yourself." Hayate made sure her friend took in her words before she lifted the sudden heavy air around the two with her usual playful tone. "Besides, I'm off to student council to ask Chrono to abuse his power and get me a special leave for the day. Got stuff to ready and all."
Nanoha shook her head in doubt. She knew Hayate had some weird power over the student council president that bent him to her will with just uttering the letters A and L with a smirk. It would still hardly be believable that she could get a special permission to leave though, the student council is not that conveniently allpowerful, especially given as the girl wasn't only not a part of it, but also on a 'watch-list' of half the teachers. And the teachers held much more say in school matters than any group of students.
Well, arranging that was their problem, not Nanoha's. Hers was.. Speaking, civilly, to a certain stupid blonde she had been avoiding since yesterday morning's incident and drag her along, civilly. Now that – was a problem.
Nanoha was – already – so not amused.
She popped her headphones on, hit the play text on the screen and started swinging her hips along her way inside as she danced to her new found 'theme song'.
MSLN FF – Strike Love
EPISODE 2 : Gonna Join The Club
(It's never just sports in Midchilda)
May 6th – Near the End of Free Period
Central Midchilda – Cranagan
TSAB Academy – High-School Section 3rd floor
A small crowd of students were gathering curiously with a hint of, well, with a lot of fear mixed in, as they tried their best to remain unnoticed by the two first years whose 'countless epic battles' have become overtly famous despite the fact that one of them had attended the academy for only one and a half day, which was such a minor detail nobody cared to pay attention to.
They, however, were all too eager to pay attention to the clash of 'ice and fire' on the floor above.
"So now you've come, when I wanted to be left alone." Fate crossed her arms. She had been trying to reach the other girl ever since she had returned from her trip to the infirmary and had had a chat with the nurse who seemed to know a little bit about the circumstances around the changes in Nanoha's character.
She had not been told anything specific, just asked to give her former friend some time and another chance, if at all possible. However, as much as the blonde would have liked to comply, it was easier said than done. Especially with the way the girl was acting in front of her.
"Yeah, that's just the way things roll, get over it." Seeing the manners of the other party, the brunette followed the suit adding a shrug on the mix.
It's not like I really want to be here either, you know? She could not understand why the blonde had been so persistently pursuing her ever since their.. last encounter, and she felt a bit weirded out. She would need some time to figure out what was going on with herself before she was ready to face her former friend again.
This and that were different things, however. Nanoha was professional enough not to let her own feelings influence official matters. Or so she would have liked to believe. Reality - can be a bitch. Just like a certain blonde.
"Whatever, I know you're just following your mistress's orders like a good little puppy," Despite Fate's initial intentions, it was not easy to be nice to someone who did not even bother to hide how much she was having issues with her company.
The brunette rolled her eyes and took deep breath to calm down to try and keep her voice and manners as calm, collected, and professional as she could.
"This is.. club related. I am only doing my part as a member of the team.." Which turned out to be much harder than it should.
"Besides, the one who'll be following and who is you – me." Circling her finger emphasizing the end of her sentence, Nanoha managed raise a small giggle out of the girl that had been staring at her. Which had not been her intention and certainly did not help her own mood.
"I'm sorry, I know you're trying hard to be serious, but it just doesn't suit you, miss delinquent."
"Says someone who doesn't even know how to wear her uniform properly." Nanoha took a few steps closer to point directly to the breaches in the etiquette, if the school's instructions were to be taken to the extreme. Luckily for the girl who now seemed irrationally hung up on them, with the exception of Ms. Gainz's classes, they usually weren't.
"First of all, the pantyhose you wear is indecent." This was what she considered to be the biggest issue, it was obvious it had to be against the school rules somehow, the way she wore them was all too sexy to be legal. And it totally did not bother for personal reasons, none whatsoever, it was all for the public safety.
"First I've ever heard." Fate shrugged, but when she did not miss the way the brunette looked at her legs she couldn't help but continue in a slightly seductive tone "You want me to.. take them off?"
"Yes!" The brunette realized what she had just blurted out. "No! I mean yes take- No not now! I mean-"
*Huff* *Huff*
Fate had all too much fun watching the flush rise on Nanoha's face and could only smirk to herself with the way the brunette began fidgeting trying to correct herself. Despite, or because, all the other not so pleasant changes in her former friend, watching her act like this really warmed the blonde's heart for some reason. Yes she so was having fun making the brunette squirm in front of her.
"Ju-just as you r-remember the next time." Great, now I stuttered. Aw gee, cool down girl, it's just a stupid blonde. Stupid sexy- *Ahem* "A-Anyhow, moving on, your jacket is only halfway buttoned." Nanoha had to avert her eyes from where she had pointed the blonde's second 'offense'.
"It's too tight"
Tch! Show off!
"Your chest is not that big. ..well it shouldn't be.. and even if it were you shouldn't go around shoving it in who-knows-what-kind-of-people's faces. I'm just looking out for you as a class representative. Nothing more. ..You may thank me later," Nanoha puffed to herself while explaining with her voice slowly heating up.
Fate rolled her eyes and laughed to herself as the girl in front kept losing her cool more and more and more. It just might turn out to be a good day after all.
"Not to sound like I was ungrateful about your generous advice, but.." The blonde paused to make sure if the flustered brunette was actually listening. "..I haven't exactly gotten the best examples on.. proper attire."
Nanoha raised her eyes, now more focused. She knew she had been bending, just a little bit, the school rules every now and then with the way she wore her uniform, but at least it wasn't immodest. Not much, not that much anyway, so it was okay, and it had nothing to do with this context, ergo going off-trail the blonde is just admitting her loss. HA!
"The lame way youwear your jacket tied on your waist aside."
The brunette frowned at the words and at the gestures the taller girl was showing as she spoke.
"By wearing the already short skirt higher than meant, you are giving away quite a lot of free service, particularly with the way you sway your hips along the way." Emphasizing the point with an excess parody the blonde could almost see fumes rising from Nanoha's head.
"If that jacket was meant to cover them up, you should've tied it over your hips not waist, you know?" Fate could only barely contain her laughter as the other girl began adjusting the jacket a bit lower as inconspicuously as possible, trying to appear unfazed as if she would not have heard anything she already would not know or realize.
"Aaand the so-called absolute territory your white high socks form with your short skirt could,by some,also be seen as.. lewd. Just in case you didn't know, it is a fetish," The blonde winked at the end causing the brunette to bite her lips as she scowled knowing that there was a point she could not entirely refute.
This was so not going well for Nanoha. And it did not make her happy.
"Well you're wearing mascara."
"You have a lot more than mascara on your face," The blonde copied the manners of the girl she found irritatingly expressive. "In fact, I'm not even sure if I'm talking to a person, or did I just walk into an art's class.. at the elementary section."
Nanoha blinked agape and for a moment Fate thought she had gone too far, but the brunette assumed her familiar snappy frown faster.
"You have a hickey. On a visible place." How's that? But the joy was short lived when she realized the subject she had just touched upon.
"Oh, and just who's fault is that? And it is not that visible if you don't stare too close.." Fate was no expert in wearing make-up, not the way Nanoha was, but she did know how to cover one hickey. Her frequent bruises and minor injuries from overt practice made it an essential skill. She was a member of a prominent family after all, and as such, she had to able to look presentable at corporate dinner parties and other boring events. "..but you like to stare me quite close, don't you."
The brunette blinked and gasped at the audacious claim, but given their positions at the moment she couldn't refute. However she was not going to give in to the blonde, no not here, and no no no not in that way, never in her life!
The girls kept leaning in their faces, pink flushes rising up their cheeks as their breaths met each other in their intense battle of stares that only coincidentally resembled a kissing scene from an outside perspective. Lips almost touching their eyes grew wide with a sound from Nanoha's I-Dev.
*Groan~!*
"Was that..?"
"Yes.. She must have changed it.. Again.."
Both girls sighed loudly and turned to look at the message Nanoha had received.
[Hayate bae:
make up not out (·~_^·)
no lezzing in school w/o me! ( °w°)-~(_Y_)
b nice while Im out
U2 Testarossa]
Various questions ran through Fate's head having read the message in the heat of the moment, but the most pressing had to be.
"Bae? Really?"
"None of your business." Nanoha smirked seeing that the tables had turned on her favor again. She even briefly almost considered thanking her friend for it. Key word = almost. It was the same friend who kept messing with her phone after all. Time after time.
"How much does she know?" Fate's concerned face was matched by the tone in her voice. This could be another very pressing issue.
"Enough to see you're not only stalking my profile, but my messages as well." Nanoha did not feel the need to give a proper answer and kept it intentionally vague. She was busy suspecting that Hayate had cameras installed in the school hallways somehow.
"So you tell her everything?"
"Well.. She is 'my mistress' after all so.." Nanoha did not understand just why and what to the blonde reacted so, but it was obvious she sounded a bit jealous and she found it very amusing.
Without wanting to give the other girl her time to make a comeback, the brunette spun around theatrically and started walking towards and down the stairways.
"You coming?" She asked at the girl left behind. "Stalker." She just had to add.
The blonde hurried after the smoothly swaying girl who every now and then stopped to twist her head a bit to take a glance behind. Fate did not know what to think of it, or of anything for the matter, she had been out of it since she had unintentionally taken a look at the brunette's message. Nanoha's attitude and composure had changed right after all too quickly and she could not think of a reason for it. Not a one she would be ready to accept.
Although her former friend showed quite a bit of emotion on her face, a lot in fact, Fate did not find her easy to read. She felt too off, somehow. Masked. Barred. A facade or something. And there were too many of them to form a clear picture. And the image she had gotten from the other students about the erratic girl in front of her, was not helping at all. Despite most people appearing to fear her more than their own deaths, not many actually disliked her. While not a lot students claimed to know her all that well, the general opinion had been definitely positive. And not just while remarking on her looks.
Given the brunette's general attitude, that was a mystery. The whole girl was a one big riddle and a one that Fate felt compelled to solve or it would come to haunt her and being haunted by an unstable bitch officially known as Takamachi Nanoha, was the very last thing she wanted.
"By the way, where are we going?"
"Were off to fill out your form, if you haven't done it already. You need to be official member to join the camp."
Fate's thoughts were interrupted suddenly as they neared the end of the left turn on the first floor hallway, right by both, the infirmary she had already gotten acquainted with, and the door out to the side of the schoolyard that held most of the buildings and facilities reserved for sports clubs, and P.E. class, including the gymnasium women's sports teams practiced at.
"The what?"
"The club form."
She was genuinely at loss. The brunette did not often make sense, and now, even less so.
"You join a club, you fill the form. And become official member of the club and become viable to participate on official stuff. Like the weekend training camp." Nanoha explained as a matter-of-factly.
"What camp?" Fate blinked genuinely at loss. Either she had missed something, or the other girl just liked spouting nonsense..
"The weekend training camp we're going to take part. At hotel Augusta. We'll be training for the upcoming match and camp out."
..And the more she spoke, the less sense she made. It shouldn't have shocked the blonde that much, but it raised a certain suspicion she wasn't entirely sure she wanted confirmed.
"Okay.. And how it's relevant to me?"
"Huh?" Now it was the brunette's time to be at loss. "You did mean to join our team, right?"
The girls traded question marks that kept popping out their heads for a while.
It was true that Fate had thought about joining a club at least in name if the school for some inexplicable reason required the students to participate in extracurricular activities and the vb-club had been among the candidates. However, she had been more interested in seeing what kind of music clubs, or better yet, bands, were in the academy. Volleyball had been a fun hobby at a time, when it was a hobby. In Midchilda, it was never just a hobby. Not at this level. So, she felt it was a good chance to find something else to pour her passion into, like playing guitar for example.
"You did enter our school specifically to join our volleyball team, right?"
"No."
"I see.."
Fate felt a shiver coming up as she watched the brunette cross her arms biting her lip and tap the floor with her foot while the glaring the door wearing a very irritated expression. The blonde felt a bit frightened how her childhood friend was so serious about the sport. She had not been as passionate as a child.. Then again she had changed in many other ways too.
"I wonder why.." Nanoha was already immersed in her own thoughts and had stopped paying attention to the girl beside her.
"It's not that I can't join.." It was not entirely insufferable thought for Fate. She could always just drop out if she found the whatever she was looking for. There was no need sweat about minor details, as a first year, as athletic as she might have been, there was hardly a chance for her to play a serious role in the actual team.
The problem was, the real problem, that whenever Fate Testarossa put an effort into something, it was always going to be 119 percent, if not more. If she was about to do this, she knew she wouldn't hold herself back. On a more positive light.. In the unlikely outcome that she did make her way out in to the team and succeeded, she would have more options for her future than the ones laid out for her at birth.
"Whatever, it's not like it makes a difference.."
That did it. The hesitation was no more. Like it never were.
"Oh, we'll see about that. We will see."
The brunette shrugged her shoulders. She could not understand what had gotten the blonde so riled up while she had been busy accusing her friend of scheming against her and decided to simply ignore the taller girl swinging her head aside. That way she wouldn't have to worry about accidentally taking sneak peaks on the too exposed cleavage that was so not drawing her gaze in.
Fate..was having none it. No, no no no. You're not gonna get away with that attitude.
Nanoha felt her chin cupped, grabbed, and pulled back up, forcing her gaze the meet the burgundy blazing in a myriad shades of anger. Feeling the need to respond in kind she took the hold on the blonde's arm with her right and the infirmary door with her left. The bitch wasn't just going to do whatever she pleased even if it was a Japanese flag day or some other lousy excuse she would come up with that wouldn't ever hold in court. And she wasn't certainly going to let her push her down and start molesting her again, on a public space, or anywhere for that matter. No. Never in her life.
"Shamal~ there's a pat-"
Her words were cut off with the blonde pulling the brunette along with her inside the room, tripping them both, spinning, in an awfully familiar fashion, landing right on the floor by the bed.
"Ouch! Go see a doctor if it's that bad, don't take it out on me! It's not my fault you're PMSing!" Nanoha screamed at the girl topping her. She wasn't only not happy about the close proximity, she was also feeling a lot of frustration, some of it even carried a strange sexual nuance.
"You pushed me, and I'm not on my period. Is that really the best you could come up with!?" Fate didn't feel especially exhilarated either, she however was more focused on the manners of the girl beneath her than whatever rose from within. She knew better than to put too much thought on it, it wouldn't make much sense in any case.
"Well stop being a bitch and shut up then! And get off me! Pervert! Stalker!" The brunette tried to push the bigger girl aside but couldn't move her arms, and feeling as vulnerable as she did, she came close losing her mind, in various ways..
"Pervert? I'm not the one burning up in heat."
..and the stupid blonde just had to go and blurt on them out. Not that she was right, no no no, no effing way...besides, just how she came to that conclusion, if the blonde wasn't a pervert herself? Yes, that's exactly how it must be. If anything, Nanoha excelled in self-deception and redirecting her own attention. And right then and there, she desperately needed those skills. However, with her device starting to play Ariana Grande's Hands On Me, she felt an immerse sense of irony and as her mental escape route came locked, it was attention back on the groping blonde again, who didn't seem to be that intent in stopping her advances.
"Just.. Where the fuck you think you're touching!?" The brunette's shout had a curious hint of excitement mixed in, and her expression carried a not that vaguely aroused elements under the what was meant as a threatening glare.
"I'm just.. returning a favor from the other day. You may thank me later."
Feeling the hand pressed between her legs, Nanoha groaned out loud with a gasp. She indeed was feeling should offer her gratitude, with a fist and a boot. Although, that would have to wait. She was all too busy moaning to start going violent.
"My, what sweet sounds you make~"
"It's an*groan*guish, not uhmmmmnn~"
"Ahnguish? Now that's a word I haven't heard, is it your new slang?"
"Ahh... Shut up, shut up, shudduhhhnn~" Fuck you, stupid sexy blonde, I hate you, ah~! Don't stop!
"*ahem* Girls.. This is not the kind of treatment this infirmary's here for. Now matter what kind of games you've played with Hayate."
Despite the turn in Nanoha's inner pleads, Fate pulled her hand away with the appearance of the smirking blonde nurse she recognized as the same who attended her wounds from yesterday's trip to the bathroom with the girl beneath her. Luckily, for both, the only thing hurt now was their public image, and the older blonde didn't believe any of it in the beginning. Still, the flustered brunette couldn't help but voice out her feelings about being discovered like this.
"Oh shit.."
"I was just.. checking miss Takamachi's temperature, it seemed a bit high so I'm worried.." Fate's effort deceiving the nurse standing right by the doorway fell short, and even she knew it. It didn't stop her from trying, however. At least she wouldn't admit out loud what she had been actually doing, and just where she had been checking the other girl's temperature. Much less on how she herself felt doing so.
"Oh please dear, you don't have to explain, I do know a thing or two about raging hormones, I'm not that old."
The girls blushed at the words of the mischievously grinning nurse who didn't fail to add a wink after. And having embarrassed the teenagers trying to rise casually from the floor, Shamal stepped in barely holding in the laughter as she shared a common trait with the younger relative she shared a household with, they both loved seeing people in awkward situation, especially if there were sexy elements included.
"However, I must still play the part of a spoilsport. Mister Harlaown would like to request you two to pay him a visit, so I'd like to suggest you keep your panties on for the now. It's not that kind of summon after all. After that, you're free to continue, in someone else's office."
"Yes, I mean no, not to be continued, no never in my life again, so stop molesting me!"
"M- Wh- Ju- Th-! Fuck!"
Fate had troubles forming intelligible words, and resorted into a simple but effective way of conveying her most inner thoughts.
"No fucking, not me anyhow, go do yourself if you have to. I will attend the president's summons in the mean, so have fun!" Nanoha shook her head letting the ponytail swing and bounce on the side of her head, until she assumed a more graceful posture and began heading out the infirmary, trying obviously too hard to hide the flush on her face every time her eyes landed on the blonde standing all too close to her, again. Didn't she know anything about personal space? She felt the answer to be a definite no.
"A What!? Just wait a bit here!" Fate was shocked, again, even as she already had deduced that everything the other would do would be about pissing her off, or just about how the brunette seemed awfully fond on making no sense whatsoever. It takes some time to get used to things you aren't even sure want to get used to in the first place, she trying pleading in her defense at the court in her head about to give a verdict she knew to be guilty of lunacy.
"Ah.. Oh yeah, the student council also have the applications to join any official clubs with the academy, so after you're done, just head there. No need to clean up before though, I'm sure he'd actually preferred if you didn't."
"Yeah, me too.." However, there were also, these kind of mishaps, where the brunette said something that held a clear truth in it. It made things unnecessarily harder brush all her words aside without a single thought. And on that thought, she might as well practice ignoring the girl by going with her to hear out what Chrono had to say. "In any case, I'm coming with you."
"Fine, whatever, just keep your hands off me, for at least wh- forever!"
Fate couldn't bother with a response, and felt a bit smug at the more adult display she was putting on compared to the brunette puffing and huffing taking obvious glances while averting her gaze the second she felt close to being caught looking at the blonde.
The short and silent journey felt going on forever, but it allowed the girls to put most of the experience just now at the back of their heads until there would be a more suitable time to process it, which was never, if you asked them out loud. That was something they had very much in common.
*Knock knock*
Without giving the blonde a chance to suddenly grab her and do who knows what kind of harassment just out of the blue again, Nanoha knocked on the door of the student council's office.
"Come in," A stern male voice spoke behind the door and the girls stepped in taking a note of the presence of a familiar short brunette wearing an uncharacteristically serious expression.
"You wanted a word?" Nanoha jumped right to the topic while giving a quick bow. She had no intention to participate in any idle pleasantries. It was not that she had any qualms with the boy with short hair that was dyed navy blue. In fact she kind of liked Chrono Harlaown and without his habit of taking his responsibilities too seriously, he could even be good bf-material. In case there was anyone interested. Nanoha had had enough of that already, at least for the time being. And that – brought her to the real reason.
"Cold as ever," Green eyes turned to look at the brunette who tried hard not to acknowledge his presence. "You're breaking my heart, Nanoha."
Nanoha rolled her eyes for the blond boy who had gotten way too possessive after she had kissed him once, on the cheek – as a dare. Nanoha had not minded it at first. Yuuno was not that bad looking and he was nice, a bit too nice for his own good to be honest, but it made it all the more easier to keep him around at bay whenever she needed a solid reason to turn away any unwanted suitors. Not to mention that the Scryas were affiliated with the Harlaowns, so not many wanted to risk a conflict with a prominent family just to approach her.
Although, the effects of having a boyfriend affiliated with the high society was a bit scaled down by her low treatment of him and the fact that her relationship status changed a few times a week from 'in a relationship' to 'it's complicated' to 'single and not looking' to 'single and looking' to 'in a complicated relationship' depending on her mood.
"Can we, like, not do this right now, Yuuno-kun?" Nanoha was so not in the mood of 'having a talk'. "I thought there was something that actually mattered."
Yuuno whimpered hearing the cold cruel words of his on/off girlfriend raising small chuckles from not only Hayate and Fate but from the usually stern serious president as well.
Times like these when everybody seemed to gang up on him Nanoha almost felt sorry for the boy. Almost, after all, it was his fault for being such a push-around.
"*ahem* Yes, my apologies, for the.." The deep blue eyes took a glance to his side trying to hide the amusement when they hit on the sulking blond boy. "..inconvenience. I will have to remind my assistant to keep personal matters apart from the official. He is still somewhat new to this, I hope you find it in your heart to forgive his rudeness."
Having apologized on behalf of his assistant, the student council president assumed his authoritative stance, rose from his chair, placed his blue I-device on the white wide sturdy desk, looked both Fate and Nanoha deep in to their eyes, and spoke in a highly serious tone.
"I assume that you both are aware to what exactly I am referring to with the words; concerning rumors," It was not a question. It was a statement and both girls realized that it would be pointless to feign ignorance. They just hoped they would not have to go into details.
"While I do not doubt your abilities to act like decent civil human beings, I am also painfully aware of how you two share, let's say, not entirely friendly history and given the reputation miss Takamachi has – no doubt unjustly – earned herself, I have little choice but to take on a serious approach and investigate these matters thoroughly for official conclusion. I hope you do understand."
Fate gave a small nod. She might not have liked it, but she did understand the predicament Chrono was in as the one responsible for the students' safety. She was already familiar with how the student council worked at TSAB Academy through her connection to the one leading it.
Nanoha took a look around herself in her search for allies only to see that the usually cheerful Vice had assumed a serious face among all the other members she vaguely remembered having met but could not place any names on them. Turning on her left she tried to seek help from Hayate, but the short brunette wore, if possible, even more austere face than the blue-haired president. Even Yuuno tried to look stern and intimidating. It pissed Nanoha even more off. She so did not have the time and the patience to deal with any of this.
"Now if you could, please do alleviate any concerns that these could be more than baseless accusations," Chrono gave a nod at the two girls and sat down on his chair.
Fate took a glance at the girl on her left that seemed ready to explode. While she would have liked nothing more than to see the brunette embarrass herself, she realized that the girl would drag her down with her. She had to act before the countdown reached zero.
"It was an accident, a misunderstanding if you will."
All eyes turned on the blonde as Chrono motioned her to go on.
"We were.. having a conversation while miss Takamachi was trying to copy Picasso using her face as a canvas.." She took brief glances to watch the reactions of the other girl in question as she continued "..and as much as I love art, it was too abstract for me, so I decided it was better to just up and leave when-" Fate was cut off by the brunette.
"I saw miss Testarossa making funny moves which now that I think about it might have been her idea of dancing, I turned around and.." Nanoha stopped to glare to the girl on her right. Like I'd let you put it on ME, stupid.
"-I fell, and I tried to reach out for support from the erratically moving Takamachi when-"
"I jumped. What would you do if somebody just grabbed you at a bathroom all of a sudden. I panicked."
"-so we fell down and a.."
"Testarossa pulled me through a stall door..there's one with a broken lock, by the way."
"..I hit somewhere, I don't know how and where, all I remember was the stupid look Takamachi had."
"You hit a frickin toilet seat! And your face was stupid!"
"..whatever, but yeah, that's just about what happened."
The girls stared at each other puffing in their heated breath, until the blue-haired boy pressed them on.
"And the blood on miss Takamachi? And her lip?"
"I might have bitten it when we fell down," Nanoha glanced at her feet briefly with a shameful expression, before she shrugged it off and lifted her eyes up again. "What can I say, it's just a habit."
"She might have also caught some of my blood on her when we..*ahem* tried to get up, yeah, tried to get up," Fate filled in when the other girl fell silent. Now that they had to come face their incident, she just wanted to get it over be done with it. And never look back. For the moment it felt more important than humiliating Nanoha.
"It must have been quite a sight to see." The girls did not miss the amused look behind the serious tone of the student council president as he pressed his device a few times. "I presume there is also a valid explanation behind the what was referred to as final warning or declaration of war depending on the source and I believe I also may have heard the term 'excessive tsundere love confession' on the mix."
Two girls standing next to each other blinked, simultaneously, in the silence that filled the meeting room of the student council. The stern serious president was smirking. And so was Vice. As well as the other members whose names were not important enough to mention. Hayate was the only one with a poker face. Yuuno's expression did not really matter as he was ignored by both.
"..."
"..."
Nanoha's face went from appalled to blushing to confused to depressed to expressionless to furious to gaping. Fate found it too funny to take anything seriously at this point anymore and started laughing out loud.
"I'm sorry.. *phew* Okay, you can drop the act now Chrono. It was nothing more than our usual fight. Nothing new, nothing too bad, it just looked like it 'cause well the circumstances." Fate let out relieved breath. For a moment she had seriously thought she was in trouble. The boy had learned to act all too well.
The brunette raised an eyebrow for the blonde she thought had gone completely insane..
"Good! It was starting to get too serious. But you do understand that I had to go through with it, right? I had to make sure there is no need for official report, especially given as my fiancee was involved."
..and dropped her jaw nearly to the floor hearing something extremely ridiculous.
"Just to be sure.. Who is engaged to who?"
"Oh, I thought you knew. Me and Chrono are engaged, have been ever since childhood," The blonde explained like it was no big deal. Truth be told, it was not, not for the people in question. It was just something their mothers had once come up at a certain after party just to be funny.
"I don't happen to have stalking habits, unlike some people," For the brunette it was a total shock. For.. Reasons.. That she did not really care, other than it pissed her off that the blonde had it all laid out perfectly for her without even having to bother to try. Yes that was it, that was definitely the reason. It could be nothing else.
She turned to the blond boy who was still sulking at how cruelly he was not only dumped but also ignored.
"Yuuno-kun~" Hearing the sickly sweet purring of Nanoha the green eyes had never been lit with more fire. "I am sorry, for that from before, but I just maybe willing to give you another chance."
The blonde shivered at the display. Yuck! Eww! Ugh! The worse part was the happy face of the blond boy that seemed to dance from joy while the brunette was obviously just using him. Even if he was an idiot with a face that made Fate hate ferrets, he wouldn't.. Tch, Whatever. They both deserve each other. In fact they might just fit well together, and it is so none of my concern goddamnit!
"Well.. Now that this shit is dealt with, the permission to par- the totally necessary leave, please~?" Hayate walked next to Chrono with her right hand extended. The boy gave her a questioning stare in return.
"Oh, fine. Here's your goddamn number," The brunette pressed a few buttons on her I-Dev and the blue device started to vibrate on top of the desk.
*WOHOO~!*
Hearing the message tone the president had recorded for himself, everyone in the council room fell silent and decided to forget about it. Even Yuuno.
"*Ahem* Yes.. You are hereby authorized by the student council to leave the school premises in order to.. whatever it is that you do, just say you're on an errand for me if anyone asks," Chrono signed a note laying on the council desk, watched it taken by the excited shorter brunette and waved his hand motioning the girls to leave the room.
Yuuno tried to run to his maybe-to-be-girlfriend, but was stopped still by a glare from Hayate who had already stolen one of Nanoha's arms starting to drag her along outside, and as the girl in question gave him a look of her own, the blond boy fell back down whimpering on his chair.
"Later~ Yuuno-kun. Much later.." The taller of the brunette pair spun around eccentrically, and continued with her back turned to the boy. "Let's catch up again. Someday.."
Chrono turned to look at the dejected boy as the two girls left whispering heatedly to each other.
"You know you need to grow a pair to actually get her?" Then he proceeded to take a glance at his fiancee who in turn had been trading glances with Nanoha during the whole meeting. "Or is it the other way around..whatever.." He mumbled to himself, shrugged the thought off and gave Fate a form for joining the volleyball club that was already halfway filled by Hayate judging by the handwriting.. and by the contents.
"Go through it with Granscenic, he's the council's new club liaison.. Now, if you'll excuse me, I have a boo- *ahem* an important call to make."
Fate shook her head in disbelief at her fiance, shrugged it aside, and took the form to the tall frighteningly cheery freshman. And with her mind screaming alerts she completely ignored, she began to correct the information on the paper claiming her address to be the 'sexy street 69, Lavish Valley', and other suspiciously written parts, while calmly filling out the rest. For all that could go wrong with it, staying the weekend at Augusta, did sound like it could be fun. At least it would be an experience..
Yes, it was to be an experience.
/AN : So, this starts to have a plot from hereon, and it carries some heavy undertones, but with the style I chose to go about this, I hope the comedic elements balance it out enough. Also random service scenes coming up as always, nothing especially juicy just yet.. but we'll around to it sooner than later ;)
(and with the name right this time) Stay tuned for our next episode! MSLN FF - Strike Love : Surprises, Secrets & Shrugs (It's never just sports in Midchilda 2)
"You totally win as an ogler."
"With this crew right here, nothing can go wrong."
"Sankt Kaizer Girls' School, right?"
*Innocent Raccoon throws a victory pose, before bowing politely, and retreats in a hole hiding the embarrassed blush*