/AN : Hello guys, sorry it took this long to update this, but things are picking up with this one again, and it shouldn't take two months for the next update.

Also, many a thanks to jaylesmis and SakraDevanamWR for your encouraging reviews, and once again sorry I took my sweet time writing this, hopefully it'll turn out to be worth the wait ;)

The random song referred to here, besides the themesong is ; Paloma Ford - Ménage à Trois. (don't ask me where and how I come up with these)

Disclaimer : I still haven't gotten the rights for MSLN-franchise, and doubt I ever will so I won't pretend or claim I hold them, and just stick to fantasizing about the stories I'd make with them.

Previously on Strike Love :

Fate Testarossa was ambushed by petty wannabes who lured Takamachi Nanoha in with secretly taken sexy photos of her blonde teammate, and as the girls fell in the dreadful trap, they had to keep each other warm to get through the cold night, and to prevent such things from happening ever again, they decided to train wrestling – naked. Oh, and it was hot!

That's not how it went.

Actually, some of that really did happen, just in a different way..

Just, shut up! Shut up! Both of you! I'm so not speaking to either of you, never in my life again.

Oh, that 'never again', really brings me back. How many nevers you've repeated, Nanoha?

One more word, Fate, one more word and we're so through...I mean it. This time!

Seeings how I got nothing to lose here, it's fine if I pick up where I left off, just the keep the beast in leash meanwhile. Aight, Ladies, Gentlemen, and those with a little bit of both, here we go.

You know how they go on about building your dreams, getting you excited and planning it all more thoroughly than you evading taxes, it's all about tight scheduling, making schemes, getting insurances, everything listed down to the point of how many minutes you're allowed to pee, all just to ensure you'd have a happy ending to share with your closest friends.

But the catch is this ; where's the time to enjoy the moment you've been building up, and just what are you going to do when you look at the bucket list on your final moments and the last thing to strike is 'Love'?

Carpe diem, seize the moment's the easy answer.

Just make sure you're aren't trying to get the wrong fish on the hook as you do.

~Yagami Hayate

MSLN FF – Strike Love

May 15th – Midday

Central Midchilda – Long Arch

Residential District – Takamachi Residence

Auburn hair flowed unevenly from side to side, glistening still damp from the shower the teenage girl had taken earlier, as the brunette hurried to find something to cover up her body better than her lime green thongs with a cute monkey face on the behind and the black and gray bra with green string ties and a smiley face on the left breast, and having finally settled on a light gray over sized shirt she mostly used as her nightwear, she pulled it on, and stepped to open the door ignoring the sound from her I-Dev that told her she had gotten a response from the girl she had been chatting with.

"Nice day to ditch school, huh."

"Tell me one reason, one good reason, not to slam this door in your face."

"I have a handout," The blonde guest pulled out a paper sheet from her bag and waved it in front of the brunette, who wasn't all that convinced it was a valid reason to let her classmate in. School wasn't that important, or it was, and should've been even more, considering her parents would have already gotten another notice, this time for unauthorized absence, or skipping school as everybody besides Ms. Gaiz would have called it.

Unless she could come up with a valid excuse, her parents would be forced to travel all the way from Japan to attend a parent teacher meeting to discuss the troubling improper behavior of the youngest daughter of the Takamachi family. Or worse, she would be shipped right back home. She so didn't want it, just as she had no intention of actually correcting her conduct, but had only been searching ways to circle the strict confining rules she felt belonged in an ancient history.

She also didn't want to see the face that had haunted her dreams ever since they were locked away in the dark hotel room one week ago.

"Please, just.. hear me out, okay."

"Just no funny business.. Okay?" Nanoha snapped as she turned around swinging her head exaggeratedly, and headed on to the small kitchen to brew some tea. Even as much as she hated the girl visiting her, she couldn't disobey the manners or habits instructed deep in her core right since her early days.

"O-kay~! *Tch!*" Fate stretched her response in a mocking manner, as she stepped in the small 1LDK, and stopped to ponder if it wouldn't be too rude to not remove her shoes as she glanced around the chaos on the floor. It wasn't a common custom in Midchilda, but having different footwear for in and outdoors had been a rising trend. Not to mention the brunette did come from Japan, after all, even if it felt a bit inconceivable at times given her lively, and untimely, mannerisms.

"It's not that messy.." Nanoha spat insulted as she threw pink fluffy slippers with a bunny face at the blonde, who almost couldn't catch the balls of fur flying at her face.

"Uh... I hate to break your little bubble, but for normal people, it kinda is," Fate's disdained gaze fell on the back of the lone mistress of the small household who wasn't all that keen to hear any complaints and went back to checking the temperature inside the teapot.

Having put the fluffy little bunnies on her feet, the blonde stepped inside the apartment, and finding no other safe place to sit, she maneuvered through the piles of clothe left lying on the floor, and fell on top the soft full-sized bed with a comforter colored with different orange shades laid atop the pink and white sheets, and the pillows with a matching pillowcases.

The way the pink device jumped in the bed as she crashed down on it, turned her curious attention to draw in it in a way she knew to be improper.

*Buzz*

The screen flashed with the slight vibration when the device's owner received a new message.

"Maybe I should serve you some bubuzuke instead."

"I wasn't gonna take a look," Fate's eyes went round with the implied accusation that was so uncalled for, even if she had, once, taken a peek at the brunette's message before. But that was totally different, and an accident.

"Yeah, right. Keep telling that to yourself, stalker.." Nanoha rolled her eyes, smirked to herself seeing she had thrown the blonde off balance once again, before handing the other girl a cup of freshly made lemon flavored green tea, and sat down on the floor a bit apart from the blonde to take a small sip from her own cup.

"So.. Um.. Are you, like, okay? I mean, you're not sick or anything?" Fate flinched at the way she seemed to stumble on her words as she tried to make her question come out friendlier than their usual recent exchanges had been, utterly failing in making it sound natural. Oh that she did, she felt herself failing so bad even random people who could care less about her would feel ashamed for just hearing it. Even if it weren't the time to start berating herself.

"Depends.." The brunette took another sip, and sighed after, resuming with her gaze lowered. "..Could you just get to the point? Well, assuming you had a point."

"You don't really have to be so.. mean all the time, it's getting kinda old," The blonde shook her head and frowned at the girl who didn't even bother to look at her guest.

"Oh, so~ How should I be, come on please tell me, I'm dying to know."

"Just, I don't know.." Fate rose up, placed her cup on the small desk by the bed, and leaned closer to the girl refusing the meet her gaze, and continued with an annoyed tone. "..If you can't be nice, just.. can't you just act civil, you know, like a decent human being."

"Huh?" Nanoha lifted her gaze, and turned her eyes gleaming intense irritation up, letting them fall on the red right above. "Stop, trying – to – come – on to me.. Stay outta my way, and stay outta my sight, and I'll be so goddamn civil you can't even imagine," Finishing her words with a click of her tongue, the brunette stood up, and turned away, waving to the girl behind her, as she stepped towards the kitchen. "Thanks for the printout, now I'd like to get a get out."

However, her getaway was stopped short by a strong pull of the girl grabbing her arm, almost tripping the girl about to make her escape.

"Not so fast, not before you hear me out," The blonde spun the brunette around and stared right into her eyes.

"You have nothing to say that I'd wanna hear, so how about no," Nanoha glared right back at the girl holding her still, and the faces of the both girls started heating, for various reasons, mostly anger, and maybe some weird sickness, she did feel a flu or something coming up, and all the hormones running, yes that must've been it, there could be no other explanation, surely.

"Stop trying to brush me off! For fucks sake, Takamachi, you've been avoiding me for a whole week, even at Hayate's little party, ever s-" Fate's outburst was cut short with a finger pushed on her lips, followed by a glare even meaner than the one the brunette wore on her face before.

"Don't say a word."

"We need to talk, and I am so gonna talk, and you're damn well gonna listen what I have to say," The blonde shook off the finger from her lips and leaned closer to the heating face than either of girls felt comfortable, but as she felt it to be the only way to make the other girl pay attention, she brushed any probable inconveniences and uneasy feelings aside, and only drew in ever closer.

"What gives you the right to tell me what to do or not, you're not the boss of me," The brunette was, however, much more unfazed with the sudden approach than she had previously been, and felt too irritated, and frustrated, to let her to be controlled by the other weird feelings emerging. Not to mention she had no intention on having sex with the blonde, no not today, nor ever again for that matter, but especially not today. She closed her eyes for a moment, and opened them with a renewed vigor powered by her immense irk and raging hormones. "Just because we had sex, it doesn't mean you get to own me. *Tch* It's all about you, always all about you and what you want. Well, I don't care what you want, I – want you – to – fuck off! Get off me!"

Nanoha tried to shake herself off, but her efforts only made Fate grab her tighter, dead set on making the other girl listen..

"Oh, you sure you didn't mess up the word order?"

..Or so she had planned, however, her mouth thought things otherwise, and so did the rest of her body.

The blonde drew closer to the brunette, faces all but touching, they could feel each other's breaths on their faces on each quivering exhale. Both girls grew hotter the deeper they gazed in the eyes of the other, and couldn't help but recall the evening from a week ago. Add in the vivid dreams the brunette had been having, even just this morning, and she was so half ready to pounce on the dumb blonde who obviously didn't know what's best for her.

Nanoha grabbed Fate by the collar, pulled her in even closer, and..

*Ding dong dong ding*

..threw the girl on her back with the sound of doorbell.

The blonde could only blink lying half atop the bed, as she watched the other open the door, and slam it on the face of whoever was on the other side.

"OW! What the fuck Nanoha!?"

"Nice timing, really, too much to be a coincidence."

The blue gazes collided, the other a bit stunned for the hit and the sudden accusation, the other more stunned by the myriad emotions running through.

Nanoha turned around, went beside the bed Fate had watched the weird scene in front of her playing out from, pushed the blonde again, and grabbed her phone from atop the covers. Not wanting to spend another second at the taller girl's presence, she spun around in a very hurried fashion, typed 'sounds good, luv ya!' with a few, and a few more, extra hearts at the end of the message she sent to the azure haired little girl who had invited her to the movies, and proceeded to pop on the headphones while twisting her head to take a final look at the second visitor who had now made her way inside the apartment.

"There's a gift for you on the bed, it's not exactly a threesome, but I guess you can still have fun all the same.." The brunette stomped her way through the messy floor, and stopped right at the bathroom door to take yet another, final glance at the bewildered girls left behind. "..You can harass each other all you want, I'll just be in the shower, alone," And before she could hear any complaints, she hit the play button, and drowning the background noise under her very own 'theme song', she stepped inside the bathroom, and locked the door.

MSLN FF - Strike Love

EPISODE 5 : Fucks Me, Fucks Me Not

(Winners' Cup 1)

May 15th – Afternoon

Central Midchilda – Cranagan

Seat Sports Center – Parking Lot

Loud choir of engines starting up, tires screeching, and people yelling over the pop songs played out from their cars' radios, echoed around the parking lot of the sports center the TSAB Academy had affiliation with. A blonde teenage girl wearing the TSABA High-School Section's uniform looked around, cringing for all the noise and hassle around her as she approached the large building with her short brunette teammate slash classmate slash childhood friend, who had once again borrowed her outfit from her slightly taller friend.

This time the former kid of gangsta rap had chosen herself a purple halter top that showed the short girl had stripped off her red push up bra and left it lying on her friend's pillow, and a black miniskirt that was almost short enough to reveal if she had, in fact, left without putting new panties on as the brunette had hinted she was going to do while throwing her strings right beside the bra. The blonde rolled her eyes, shook her head, and giggled a bit at the memory, while imagining Nanoha's reaction to all of it when the girl would eventually come out of her hiding place. She really wished she could be there to witness it.

Fate had no idea what had gotten her former friend that agitated, and as all her efforts in engaging any kind of conversation with the unstable girl had fallen short, she decided that she shouldn't even try to understand, or care. Thinking about her would just result in fucking her up, in various meanings of the word.

*Chi-ching*

"HAHAHAHAHAHA!"

The blonde's thoughts were interrupted with the exaggeratedly loud laughter the short brunette let out while waving her silvery device around in the air and stomping her white and lilac skate shoes on the asphalt. Was there a connection between brown hair and lunacy, or was it just the blue eyed ones? The taller of the two teens wondered by herself as she watched the girl beside her go just as bonkers as the girl whose apartment they had left a while ago. She also saw that the girl had stolen a pair of black thongs from her friend, after all, despite having claimed otherwise. Not that the blonde cared. No, it was between the brunettes, and the thought of them starting the share their underwear was too icky to think about in any case.

Between her bursts of laughter, Hayate tried to motion Fate to come closer, and as the blonde obliged, stepping beside the uncontrollably giggling girl, the brunette offered her device showing the picture she had just received from Nanoha, who also was saved as 'bae' with a heart attached to the name just the way she saw it had been with the other party as well, and it so didn't bother the taller girl at all, or so she vehemently insisted inside her head.

The blonde took the phone, took a look at the screen, and saw a pillow set on fire. It took her a while to understand the funniness of it, until she realized it was the pillow the short little weirdo had thrown her undergarments on, and scrolling down below the photo there was a one brief sentence emphasizing the meaning that read 'u owe me new one'.

Rolling her eyes while wondering if she should be glad she was still far from being friends with the two girls who seemed to have misunderstood that friendship equals violence, she tried to offer the short girl her device back, but saw the girl had already stepped a few steps further to greet a girl Fate recognized as 'Zwei' even with the long azure hair tied up and rid of her Belkan High uniform wearing a white shirt faintly visible under a sapphire blue blouse, a short light and sky blue skirt layered with frills, and a pair of mint green ballet flats instead, while the other girl chatting with the short brunette had chosen herself a black corset, a layered black high low skirt, and black pumps that made her long smooth silver hair and an imposing, strong, and tall figure stand out that much more. The blonde knew she had seen the silver-haired girl somewhere, a sight like that isn't easily forgettable, even if she couldn't place a name on the face.

Seeing the three girls immersed in a loud exchange, she felt a spur of curiosity emerging within, and before she could realize that she actually had started to behave like a stalker Nanoha claimed her to be, she placed her finger on the screen of the silvery device, and scrolled the conversation a bit up.

[Nanoha-bae:

kay, later (:]

*TCH!* It's not a goddamn honorific, and nobody sane uses it anyway! She didn't really care if she sounded a little bit too hung up on the way the brunettes addressed each other, but she didn't forget she was peaking on another peoples' private conversation, and as she was about to swipe the app aside from tempting her to breach the girls' privacy any further, her eyes fell on the time stamp. It was right before they left the other brunette's apartment. So it WAS her she kept messaging with after all..

Torn between weird irritation and her sense morality, which she had already went against enough as it was, the blonde stopped staring at the screen, and with a puff turned her attention on the three girls a bit apart from her again. Either the short brunette really didn't care about her device, or she had simply forgot about it. The oddly jealous blonde never even considered the possibility that the other girl could have trusted her. She, however, didn't want to give any more reasons for her ex-friend to call her a stalker, so she swiped the app aside, pushed a button from the side to lock the screen, and started walking towards the lively trio.

"Good read?" Hayate winked at the approaching girl.

"What?" Fate blinked at the question, until she realized the girl must have meant the message log left open in her hands. "Nah, kinda boring to be honest," She decided to shrug it off. She hadn't actually read that much, but as the other party didn't seem to mind too much, she had no real need to try to deny it either.

"Oh~?" An extremely amused expression rose on the short brunette's face, causing the blonde to feel confused, and having her wonder if she should have, in fact, read further after all. "Okay, sorry for the assumption, I honestly didn't believe you could contain your curiosity, but hey, I was wrong, sorry," The short girl threw her apology in a rather non-apologetic manner, and assumed more a familiar commanding tone right after. "Now, gimme my I-dev."

Having grabbed her phone, Hayate turned to introduce the blonde to the girls she had been chatting while Fate contemplated between stalking and not.

"So yeah, here she is. Guys, this is Fate Testarossa, our school's newest superstar, and Testarossa, these here are my cousins," Throwing her hands around lazily in a not that interested manner, the short brunette left the girls to make their acquaintances on their own, and turned her attention on the silvery device.

"Oh, hello," Fate waved at the girls unsure on how to react, and decided to not give the situation much thought while hoping that the cousins would turn out to be more reasonable characters than the girl who didn't seem to be able to stand still when not doing something mischievous, sexually harassing people, or just making random parodies. She frowned at her childhood friend, before turning her attention on the taller of the two cousins, with a mild expectation.

"Reinforce Eins Yagami," The imposing athletic beauty nodded calmly, acknowledging the blonde's presence, before adding a few words after, speaking with a cool voice and posture. "Call me Eins, or it can get confusing," With a faintly amused expression on her face, Eins turned her eyes on the other Reinforce, who didn't look as happy as the other two Yagamis.

"Zwei.. I don't care what'cha call me, in fact, better not refer to me at all," The azure haired girl received a slap on the top of her head from her twin for her rude conduct. "*Tch!* What you on about? Just cuz blondie's from a same team as Hayate, it don't mean I gotta be all buddies with her. There ain't a rule sayin' I has to be friends with all 'em motherf- OW!" The shorter Reinforce got slapped on the head again before she could finish her sentence. "Would you stop that shit already!?" This time she managed to dodge the oncoming hand of her taller sister, and stepped outside the reach of the twin showing her tough love.

If there was one thing Reinforce Eins Yagami was dead set on, it was to root out to weird influence that had slowly started to creep up on her sister, and especially her speech. The once, and even still at most times, polite, well-mannered, articulate, and a bit shy little girl had picked up too many habits from around her that could do her an ill service in the future, hindering job opportunities and the like, when the girl would one day spread her wings and set out to a world outside Belka. People on and from other parts of Midchilda were suspicious, or at least reserved, about dealing with Belkans as it were, there was no need to go and hand them more ammunition to be used against her.

"Okay.. I get it, calm down. *sigh* Stop hitting me. It's not fair.." Zwei knew exactly why her sister was so strict with her, but it didn't mean she approved it. The painful bumps aside, she felt it unfair how she was the only one scolded. In the cases of Vita, and Agito – who weren't really related even if they were part of the 'family' – she could let it slip by, but the taller girl never berated Hayate for her conduct, no matter what their cousin did. And with Sein and many more other former schoolmates from junior high becoming wilder, or rougher on the outside, the short azure haired girl had begun feeling more and more like an outsider among her friends, and only wanted to be noticed and feel included with the bunch. Even if meant acting against her true character. It wasn't a big deal anyway, it was just the way things rolled around her, and she wasn't doing anything bad to anyone.

Watching the twins' exchange, Fate remembered just where she knew Eins.

"Wait! You're that Reinforce Eins Yagami? The Ragnarok Reinforce Eins Yagami?" Eyes filled with amazement, the blonde stared at the girl she recognized as the current, and the youngest ever, Midchildan Martial Arts under 19s champion right there, live, in front her eyes, and now that she got a good look at the girl, it was nearly impossible to see her as someone her age, as the silver-haired girl probably even towered Signum, in various ways.

Eins nodded, and frowned with a faint blush rising on her cheeks with the nickname she had received from media. While she wasn't all that fazed with the recognition she received from her accomplishments in the ring, she still sometimes got embarrassed with the public attention. She didn't mind the fame, as long as people left her be, but it had never been her aim, as she had only trained to become strong enough to protect her loved ones.

"You can fangirl her all you want, go ahead and jump in the bandwagon, that's hot now after all.." Rolling her eyes, the shorter twin chimed in the blonde's moment of astonishment. "..Then you can stop bothering people who don't want to be bothered," And spat her next words in a manner that was so totally copied from Nanoha that the girl being shouted at couldn't help but chuckle to herself involuntarily.

Having recovered from her small fit, Fate shook her head and turned her eyes again on the girl who had now stepped right in front of her wearing an expression that made the blonde a bit cautious, despite the amusing resemblance to the other girl she had seen making such faces. As far as taller of the glaring pair knew, she hadn't done anything to make the shorter one mad, not this infuriated at least, and didn't know how to react to it. While the azure-haired girl hadn't been that friendly, or approachable, to begin with, she had now become outright hostile without any real reason.

"Want me to give you a mirror so you'd see what's really hilarious?"

This time Eins stood silent, only watching by the sides having assumed another cool pose. Unlike the blonde, she knew what had gotten her sister that much on the edge, and if the girl wouldn't start acting out again, or fall inarticulate, that especially was important, as long as her sister kept speaking proper Midchildan, there wouldn't be any real reasons to intervene, and she would stay out of the matter. No matter what else happened.

"Cat got your tongue, huh? *Tch!* Okay, let's skip the foreplay and get straight to business," Zwei stared right into the bewildered red eyes. "What you want with Takamachi, blondie!?"

It was right then and there that Fate knew exactly what, or who, had gotten the short girl raging mad, and she got just as ticked off with the realization. Not to the girl who appeared ready to assault her, well a little bit, after all it didn't feel nice being accused of actually wanting something from the unstable brunette referred to who was the true target of most of her fuming.

"I don't really want anything with, or from, Takamachi," The blonde clicked her tongue, closed her eyes with a frown, and shook her head. "If I had to want something, it would be to get along as a classmate and a teammate. Honestly, not – really - that much else," Despite the way she formed and spoke her words, something about them didn't quite ring true, not even to the speaker herself, but she couldn't place a finger on just what part she wasn't being entirely honest about..

..but it seemed apparent that the other girl had an idea, or at the very least, a guess.

"Just one thing, blondie," Zwei stepped a few steps back still keeping a firm stare, and went on to warn the girl who claimed something she didn't really believe. "Best treat her with respect, or you know just what excruciating pain means, letter to letter, mark my words. She's been through enough without some dumb blonde coming to fuck things up," Having finished she glanced at her side ready to dodge if her sister was in a mood of 'instructing some manners', and receiving no slap or a strike, she assumed a more natural and collected posture, before turning to take a final look at the blonde stunned at the sudden threat. "Good luck tomorrow, you're gonna need it."

"Not really, you forgot who she's teamed up with?" Hayate lifted her attention away from device to cut into conversation now that it had turned less intimidating and more on the point she felt comfortable with. All three other girl's however weren't that impressed with her claim, and rolled their eyes in perfect unison. "I – meant – Nanoha. Gee, talk about disrespect.." It was the brunette's turn to roll her eyes at the others' conduct.

"She alright?" Eins asked her cousin with proclaim that the taller of the brunette duo was going to participate in the match.

"Yeah.. It's only that bad for the first few days. She'll be fine tomorrow.. And I left her a little something from Shamal just in case. So, who's ready to go watch a real team play?"

Fate blinked at the question. She had completely thought they had come here for a practice, as there had been some talk about it at the club yesterday, although she had forgotten about the location they were supposed to gather, which is why she had been following Hayate in the first place.

"You can throw balls around in a men's bathroom at a truck stop if you want, but getting to see real pros in action will get you a better picture on what you actually need there on the court," The blue eyes glowed with mysterious passion, and the blonde felt confused, again. It seemed everything about today was just about throwing her off balance. The no work all play girl had suddenly gone serious, and made a point. That is, until she opened her mouth again. "Besides, you seen the Cats' setter? Hot damn!"

Fate rolled her eyes, and berated herself for actually starting to have faith on the short brunette, and after having scolded herself enough for the next few minutes, she shrugged it off and just went on with the flow.

"You mean Avensis?"

Hayate nodded at the question.

"Big sis of one our seniors from the team, in case you missed, and that's why we're getting free seats," The brunette winked at the blonde who couldn't help but shake her head at the memory of the two girls slipping off somewhere during yesterday's practice. Once again, she had troubles knowing just how to react, if at all, and did what she could do best, ignore the comment.

"Right...So, what's the other team?"

"Altena. So that kinda pits us against each other.." Hayate remarked how the opposing team came from near Fate's hometown, even if the blonde lived now far closer to Anberse where the Wild Cats came from. And nobody really paid attention to the fact that the 'home teams' for Hayate would have actually been the academy affiliated Cranagan Stargazers or the M.A. Red Queens that had their home venue at the coastal North right outside Belka, instead of the team only borrowing the arena for this particular match. "..Just don't start rioting, even if this is Midchilda, it's still volleyball and not soccer.." She grinned at her own cleverness without a single care about the fact that no one else found her that amusing.

"No promises.." The blonde smirked at the short brunette, and felt compelled to add a little detail right after. "..And it's football, not soccer."

For most Midchildans the sport was called football, and Fate didn't care how it's inside Belkan Region, or Japan, or anywhere, but right here on the proper Midchilda it was football, and like a proper Midchildan she wasn't going to back down on it. Even if all the three other girls stared at her shaking their heads in disbelief at the other girl's pettiness.

"Yeah, whatever.. Just keep your eyes on Altena's Sakoda, she plays the same role as Signum," Hayate winked, again, at the blonde who had tried to restart the 'good old' football vs soccer word war that got people raging a decade ago but had subsided in recent years when people started to pay more attention to the happenings on the pitch than off it. While she loved to argue with Nanoha for just the sake of it, every once in a while, she had better things to do and think about at the moment. Like finding a way to approach the older of the Avensis sisters.

"Oh, and uh.." The brunette leaned closer to the blonde and spoke with a voice almost too quiet for the other girl to hear over the background noise. "..Don't worry about Lil' Rein, she's just gotten some weird misunderstanding, probably. I'll talk to her, alright," And having said what she wanted, the short girl gave a quick friendly tap on the taller girl's back and stepped a bit apart right after.

"Uh.. Thanks? Just don't expect me to feel like I owe you anything for having my back, or whatever.." Fate rolled her eyes, and puffed faintly as she shook her head while gritting her teeth irritated by the reminder the other girl had thrown at her just as she had started to forget about it. Even if she felt she should feel grateful if she didn't have to get into that topic again, she felt the help uncalled for, and wasn't ready to start trading favors with a girl she had troubles figuring out.

"I'm not saying I'd mind it, but it's not me whose feet you even should be kissing, least of all in this case," Hayate glanced at her side, and seeing the question marks in the blonde's eyes, she shook her head as she continued.. "Oh, *chuckle* you know nothing, Testarossa, you know nothing. *sigh* You really don't.." ..And decided to end the discussion then and there, moving further apart from the girl, before she could ask about any kind of meanings for the words. And having stepped between her cousins, the brunette gave a nudge at the taller twin to go entertain the now lone blonde while stealing the company of the shorter one.

This way, there were less chances for any sort of spontaneous arguments or fights emerging that could keep them from doing what they were originally set out to do. Which was to get a chance to pay a visit to the local star player, in private if possible. And see an educating and entertaining match at the same.

The four girls marched inside the arena, each with their own expectations, worries, and hopes. Fate took a quick look at her device, wondering if the brunette snubbing her would answer better online than in real life. Despite all the time she tried to convince herself that she just didn't want to fight anymore, she had a hard time leaving things just at that. But, first there were other matters to attend. She put her phone back in her uniform pocket, turned her attention on the tall silver-haired girl beside her, who turned out to be much more friendly than her looks led on.

Shrugging all the unnecessary thoughts away, the blonde started chatting with her new friend about random topics, and got ready to enjoy the game.

MSLN FF - Strike Love

May 15th – Night

Central Midchilda – Cranagan

Hotel Augusta – Hotel Room

Faint moans resounded around the boringly plain white room for two as a short brunette in her silky see through rose pink nightgown sat on a single bed watching a pay per view channel and the erotic film it showed. A taller brunette, wearing gray college pants and a simple white top her hair laid free from her usual ponytail, stepped by the edge of the bed and pushed the silvery device lying on it a few times to crank up the volume on the music playing out on the portable speakers her friend had brought along this time.

The song of choice didn't help the girl change the mood, however, as the device's owner's playlist jumped right on to start playing Paloma Ford's Ménage à Trois.

Just what the- Ugh! Sometimes, I just so don't get her.. Nanoha shook her head and giving up she jumped on the bed beside the girl immersed the pornographic scene that had just nearing it's climax.

"Popcorn?" Hayate offered the girl sitting right beside her, receiving a deadpanned look as an answer. "Suit your self, you gotta start on working that ass anyhow. It's not as tight as it used to. Seriously, you been slacking off girl?"

"Pfft! I still gots a lot more a go if I'ma reach your levels, my lil' plushie~" Mimicking her friend's antics, the taller brunette crashed on the legs of the shorter and squeezed them while smirking at the girl obviously displeased and embarrassed of the attention her soft thighs were getting...and just maybe a bit aroused, to her surprise, after all as sexy as the other girl was, she hadn't been thinking about her in that way, all threesomes excluded.

"You trying to seduce me, the me?"

"Hmph! Who's the one watching porn here?"

"First of all, I'll have you know it's art, not porn. Secondly you're already my little ponytailed wifey, and I would've picked a one with sexy blondes if it were for you my dear. Still want no popcorn?" With the question out, the taller responded with taking a one from the lips of the girl offering. "Hey! I was about to have that!"

"Too late~" Nanoha turned to her friend sticking her tongue out holding the popcorn on top of it. "Or is it?"

"You're a fucking tease you know that? I love you girl, but you gotta learn how to behave.." Hayate sighed as her eyes turned on the television again. "..Seriously, you're outta control, and I don't mean it a good way, nu-uh, you a mess girl."

"Look who's talking, I ain't a one messing up this place," Nanoha poked on the cheek of her friend and pointed at the chaos around the girls as soon as she got the attention of the other. "Besides, I hate control. And you know it goddamn well, so just shut up and sit there looking cute, and soft. God knows I need that.."

"Yeah.." The shorter only sat silent and patted the hair of the girl occupying her lap, before she felt compelled to add her two cents in. "..but we missing a blonde here, so don't get too comfortable."

"Ugh.. You just had to remind.." Nanoha sighed and turned her eyes away from the girl showing concern behind her raccoonish smile. "..seriously, why cou- why can't it be you. It'd make things hella easier."

Hayate stopped to think about the words of the friend mumbling to herself and felt a strange stir. The word 'love' hadn't really been part of her lexicon 'till now. While she did love her cousins, Shamal, and the rest of the gang, and even more the sweet childhood friend pouting in her lap, it was all different kind of love, and all her endeavors had fallen short on the romantic front while compensating with the rise on the erotic side instead.

True, looking at her don't give me the best example on fluffy feels, but I still gotta wonder if I'm missing out on something I shouldn't.. Contemplating on the girl crush of her friend since the early days from years back that seemed to have re-emerged and amplified with the appearance of the prodigal heiress, she started petting the auburn hair again in her hopes of finding the words alleviating the other girl's pain, the mental one that is, her physical agony wasn't something that easily dealt with, even with all the tonics gotten from the blonde nurse in training she shared an apartment with. That would only pass in time, hopefully by tomorrow. It was going to be a tough match anyway, and without the ace of aces on the court, it would be an onslaught, and damn if the short brunette hated losing, even against her friends, or especially against her friends.. Shit, why'd I gotta make a stupid bet. Now I has to win this bitch, for real. Well that aside..

"Um.. Testarossa's not really a bad guy, y'know?" The shorter girl caressing the hair of the one in her lap smiled a friendly smile as the taller of the pair turned her blue eyes with a scowl so not wanting to hear her friend starting to 'defend' the blonde giving her so much headache. "Look I'm not saying is all good now all of a sudden, but cut the girl some slack and give her a chance. It's been a while since we're all back together and we got a real shot at achieving things. Not just sports, anything we aspire a change, we can do it."

"Don't try to feign innocence - no way, you're so not getting your threesome that easily," Nanoha waved her finger in front the girl trying to help the girls patch the cracked relationship. She didn't feel the need of it. As long as the dumb blonde wasn't dumb enough to come around her, there was nothing needing soothing over. She didn't really give that much thought to the fact that as they were not only classmates, but teammates as well, they would run into each other, frequently, whether the girls wanted or not.

"That obvious, huh?" The shorter didn't pay much attention to the details either, her plans had been discovered, and that was all that mattered. Now, she had to make new ones, more subtle it seemed. It wasn't just about the fantasy she had gotten irrationally caught up in, but she also desired to get the girl in her lap to stop moping whenever no one else was around. It felt good to be trusted, and relied on, but she was a future superstar with countless lovers, not a goddamn shrink. Not this often at least, no. Which was why she almost missed the next words mumbled right below her pondering little head.

"Seriously, even your...nightwear's less transparent, besides it was you who said we were better off without blondie anyhow. Don't go three sixty on me now."

"So that's where she picked it up after all.. Nanoha my love, I don't wanna bury you just yet, so take care what you teach or how you speak around Lil Rein. Her sister's dead set on straightening the little girl's act no matter what it takes."

"Isn't she-" more like copying off you was what the taller brunette was about to say before her words got cut off as the shorter one continued.

"And we were better off then, but this and that are totally different matters, and different times. She's back now, and there's nothing we can do about it, so get over it. I don't care if it ain't easy, life sucks in the big picture anyhow so we gotta make the most outta smaller ones, eh?" Having said what she wanted, Hayate thought to put an end to the whole conversation and shifted her focus back on the erotic film that attempted to imitate something close to a plot between the steamy scenes. It could hardly be called interesting, but at least it gave out a lot less headache. The friend occupying her lap had given her too many weird thoughts she didn't want to dive too deep into.

Thoughts like, getting an actual – healthy – relationship, stability, someone to curl up to while watching Orange Is The New Black after feeding the cat they had just adopted. That.. could be considered a life, right? But it wasn't the life the short brunette had her sights set on.

And to be fair, it wasn't the kind life the taller one aimed to live either. At least not with the girl whose legs she lied on top of in a manner that could've been easily misinterpreted from the outside. Or with any other girl for that matter. And especially not with anyone named Fate Testarossa.

*BZZZ!*

Nanoha turned lazily to pick up the buzzing device lying on top the covers, and flipped open the message she had just gotten. Speak of the Devil.

[Blondie:

What's up?

How are you feeling?

I heard you were sick so I wanted to check up on you]

How persistent, God Damn! The brunette shivered reading the message, even more for the creepy way the blonde had seemed to change her attitude entirely. It so did not sit in with the image she had in mind when thinking about her childhood friend, not that she spent a lot of time thinking about her, no she so did not, and never would. This has just got to be one of the other girl's ways of messing with her head like she appeared to be dead set on doing the moment they were reunited.

[~Blondie:

good

watching porn w/ hayate

u?]

It didn't mean she would go on to ignore the girl who kept trying to crawl under her skin, and apparently under her somewhere else as well. No, Takamachi Nanoha would not let a chance to mess back at the prodigal daughter by when she found one. She wasn't sure why, but it was clear as a day that the blonde wasn't happy about how close she was with the other brunette. Almost as if it was possessive jealousy, or something, not that it really mattered. The important thing was that there was an easy way to fuck with the high and mighty princess in her ivory tower, and not just in the literal sense of the word. Definitely not in that sense. Never in her life again.

[Blondie:

I'm fine as well.

Chrono just left, I had him help me with schoolwork.

Also, no porn here.]

[~Blondie:

;_;]

[~Blondie:

LFMAO]

[~Blondie:

so u want sumtn?

im kinda busy]

[Blondie:

Busy? Watching porn? Seriously?]

[~Blondie:

getting sleep stupid!

we got game tomorrow icyf]

[Blondie:

Right..

I just wanted to check up on you, nothing special.]

[~Blondie:

k.. thnx

gn (:]

[Blondie:

night :)]

Nanoha threw her I-dev lazily on the bed and turned her eyes back on the TV only to see her short friend having shut it while she was messaging with Fate.

"So, d'ya kiss and make up?"

"Fuck you, I'm going asleep, good night," The taller brunette pushed the shorter, and turned to lie down on the bed crawling under the blanket they were sitting on top of.

"You really staying here?"

Nanoha deadpanned at the question, was her friend blind, or just stupid? Perhaps both? As if she hadn't seen the attire the girl being asked had changed into. No way had she just stripped to appease the fantasies of her all too perverted friend.

"I got no money for a cab and I'm so not gonna walk home.." She replied from under the covers. "And seeing how senpai just up and left, there's no way I'll leave you here sulking alone."

Eh...Isn't it the other way around? True, the older girl Hayate had shared the room had suddenly left as things had gotten to 'warm up' when she had gotten a text from her boyfriend, or so she had claimed, but the one doing the sulking and in need of a friend was the taller of the brunettes who had popped by a little after the older teammate had sprung off.

Dear God, I may not believe in You, but please make tomorrow go well.. I'll leave a cookie at the church if you do.. Or a candid shot of Nanoha, if that's what you prefer.. Having made her pleads to the Heavens, Hayate played around with her friend's device, took the promised shot of the girl who had already fallen asleep on her own, and turned to lie down next to the girl who was completely unaware how her friend had just now messed with her, again..

..And neither was the short brunette aware of the consequences her actions just now, or their sleeping posture, would spring forth. Or how her Karma called for a Divine Punishment, if you believed that sort of thing.

/AN : No, this won't be another Love Left Unspoken, I'm satisfied with just one (: but there's gonna be so much messing with the characters still.

The next part's already on the way, and hopefully be done soon enough. No promises, but now that I got the story properly planned out, and got a lot more time to write stuff, I should be able to start making steady updates once again. Hopefully.

Stay tuned for our next episode of MSLN Strike Love : Belkan High Five (Winner's Cup 2)

"You going down, blondie, and I don't mean just down on me."

"Ibiza's down, we need a sub in. Now, where the fuck is Testarossa."

"What the-!?"

*Innocent Raccoon bows politely, and retreats to caress the keyboard*