Greetings everyone. Sorry about the delay, things have been busy over here and I haven't been able to write nearly as much or as quickly as I would like to. I assure you that Leave of Absence and Aftermath have not been abandoned nor am I dead. I've just been on a Signum/Yuuno kick and the ideas are flowing a bit easier for this story than the other two at the moment.
This one took quite a bit of work to get done and certain sections had to be rewritten. One thing of note was the manner of Signum's speech in how she addresses people outside her family. I'll be going back to chapters 1 and 2 to fix this as well.
I'd like to thank the good people of the Nanoha Fanfiction board on Animesuki who helped me out greatly.
As per the norm, I own nothing and comments and criticisms are always welcome.
- Chapter Start -
Erio Mondial had seen and done a great many things in his short life. He had been part of the legendary Riot Force 6 during the conflict against Jail Scaglietti and fought alongside legends such as the White Devil, the Black Lightning, and the Wolkenritter. A beautiful young mistress of dragons had declared him to be her Dragon Knight, who would protect her in battle and possibly forever into the future.
Right now though, that mattered little compared to the scene before him. The teenager had been training against drones in one of the numerous fields that the TSAB maintained for use by mages. He'd had a good run of things in his opinion. Erio wasn't about to get a swelled head about it, but he felt that he'd improved to some decent degree. That opinion shattered when he laid eyes upon the bout that had drawn his attention most violently.
One of the combatants was recognized instantly. Captain Signum Yagami, the General of Fire and his direct superior officer during the Scaglietti Incident. Her pink hair whipped about like the flames that filled the arena as fought viciously against her opponent.
The second was far harder to place, but eventually a name slid into place. Yuuno Scrya, the Head Librarian of the Infinity Library. Admittedly, Erio knew very little about the man, having heard only stories about him from his adopted family and their friends. Still, if he was capable of going toe to toe with the legendary Knight of the Sword, why wasn't he more well known? Or part of the military forces? And what was he doing with those shields?
Such thoughts faded as his mind and vision were drawn into the battle. The teenager found himself short of breath with each exchanged blow. Blood and sweat flying through the air in slow arcs, seemingly ignorant to the flow of time. He had never seen Signum fight in such a manner before, so consumed by a visceral desire to engage in personal warfare for the sake of warfare alone. Her power flowed without mercy, like a raging current of lava.
There had been stories about Signum's love for battle, but he never knew it extended so far. He had not been present for the legendary bout between her and Captain Takamachi. He had considered the tales to be slightly exaggerated, but no longer.
It was amazing, so absolutely awesome to see the clash of power before him. Erio would have stayed to the end of the match, but after half an hour had passed without either side looking like they would give in, his device intervened with a series of loud vibrations that broke the teenager's concentration. Strada informed the redhead that he would be late returning home after his errands if he remained.
While he did not want to leave such a sight, the teenager knew that if he were late in getting home, his adoptive mother would not be a happy person. While Fate was an extremely kind woman and would likely forgive him if he were a little late, he didn't want to run the risk of disappointing her. Especially when he had promised to help with preparations for dinner by picking up the needed groceries after he was done training.
With heavy footsteps, Erio tore his gaze away from the battle and began walking. For the entire trek home and during the errands he'd promised Fate that he would do, the redhead bore a slightly glassy-eyed and awestruck expression. It drew more than a few confused and curious looks from those he passed by.
It was hours later when Fate arrived home to the combined Harlaown-Takamachi household. She was looking forward to dinner as nearly everyone would be home for a change. Dinners with the entire family, or at least most of them, were not as commonplace as she would have liked. If it wasn't her own work, it was someone else's. Be it Nanoha's duty as a trainer, Arf's duties and the Infinity Library, or Erio and Caro's work off-world with the wildlife preservation. It didn't help that Vivio was growing into a teenager with her own responsibilities and had also been spending a lot of time with her own friends as well.
Unfortunately, Arf wouldn't be home for dinner as she'd had a sudden influx of workload that would be keeping her at the library till late.
There was no one to greet her at the door, but the three sets of shoes at the entrance told the blonde that her three children were home at the very least. Caro and Vivio's carefully places shoes sat next to Erio's hastily tossed off ones. She hoped that at the very least that he'd remembered to get the groceries like he had promised.
After shedding her own shoes and uniform jacket, Fate called out to her three children to let them know she was home. A loud crash answered her before the thumping of rapid footsteps indicated the rather loud approach of at least one individual, likely her son as Caro was far more reserved and Vivio was more likely to approach with leaps and bounds if not outright flying.
Her suspicions were confirmed when the redheaded male came into view, a wide grin on his face. "Hey, Fate. Welcome home." Though she was his mother on paper and she referred to the three of them as her children, he had a hard time seeing her as anything other than an aunt or older sister.
"Hello, Erio. Did you get the groceries, like you promised?" asked Fate as she gave the teenager a hug. "And where are Caro and Vivio?"
Erio returned the familial embrace. "I remembered. Everything is in the fridge. Caro's taking a nap and Vivio's holed up in her room trying to finish her homework." He seemed to be most eager about something. "But listen to this: I saw the most incredible thing today."
Fate raised an eyebrow at her adopted son's words as she entered the kitchen. "I'm listening..." She leaned against the counter and looked at the young man.
"When I finished my training for the day, I saw Captain Signum at one of the other fields. She was fighting some blonde guy and really going all out against him." Excitement began to creep into his voice as he told the tale of the vicious life and death battle that Signum was involved in. The shaking ground, the broken field, the fire and blood everywhere.
The Enforcer listened intently to Erio's words. He was not one to exaggerate often, but so far the image he was weaving seemed to be a bit farfetched. Still, his mention of 'some blonde guy' clicked something in her mind. "Erio, that man you saw fighting with Signum, did he seem familiar to you at all?" she asked during a break in the teenager's tale.
He blinked, the question forcing him to pause for a brief moment before replying. "I think it was Professor Scrya. That guy you and Nanoha told me about. He runs the Infinity Library, right?" Signum was of more importance to him in the first place, so it wouldn't have been too out of the ordinary to place the male's supposed identity on the back burner.
"Yuuno was the one?" questioned Fate with some skepticism. She knew that at his absolute best, her blonde friend could really push Signum to claim her inevitable victory. Yuuno's mastery over defensive spells and binds would certainly be classified as legendary by some and he was no slouch in the area of teleportation either. Still, Erio's exaggerations didn't quite fit the librarian's style of combat. In fact, it seemed more of the polar opposite.
The image of Yuuno entering the range that Signum thrived in with the intent of engaging in a vicious melee was a very hard one to picture. Particularly with the brutal descriptions that Erio was giving her.
"Yeah, Yuuno Scrya," confirmed Erio with a confident nod.
Fate was fairly certain that Erio had mistaken Signum's opponent for someone else. She would still file it away to try and ask Signum about during their scheduled match on Wednesday. Asking Yuuno was another possibility, but calling him up out of the blue to ask if he had gotten into a supposed slugging match with Signum just to sate her curiosity seemed a little rude.
She'd accept Erio's story for now. At least until she could verify the story in one direction or another. "You can tell us more during dinner, now give me a hand." she said with a smile.
Erio's slowly growing excitement faded a little at Fate's command, but he wouldn't dare refuse. Soon the two were hard at work on dinner. Since Fate was the one in charge, they were cooking a Mid-style of meal. Nanoha's food was often drawn from the cookbook her mother had gifted to her, meaning a plethora of Japanese meals that Vivio seemed to enjoy greatly.
While Fate was stirring the steaming contents of the large pot and Erio was pulling the biscuits out of the oven, the front door opened. "I'm home!" called out Nanoha Takamachi, looking rather happy at finally being home.
"Welcome home, Nanoha," replied Fate from the kitchen, which was echoed by Erio. "Dinner should be done soon, so why don't you have a seat."
"I think I'll do just that." The brunette sat herself down at the table and let out a long sigh. "What a day. Those kids needed a ton of work..." There was a soft thud as Nanoha planted her head on the dinner table. "I think the TSAB is getting desperate."
"I'm sorry to hear that. I'm sure you and Vita put them through their paces," commented Fate before sending Erio off to wake up Caro and collect Vivio for dinner.
Nanoha would have nodded if her forehead wasn't on the table. "Vita seemed pretty into it today. A lot more than she usually is, actually." The Iron Hammer Knight had been raring to go from the start and gave no mercy to the newbies. Well, she usually was pretty merciless, but even more-so today.
Fate gave no reply other than to turn off the stove and carry the large pot of stew she and Erio had made over to the dining table. Nanoha stood from her seat and gathered the bowls and other utensils for the family to use. Erio soon returned with a sleepy Caro in tow and an energetic Vivio leading them. Fried hovered nearby Caro's shoulder and seemed far more awake than his Mistress.
Greetings were exchanged and Caro was teased lightheartedly about having bed-head at dinner. Bowls of steaming beef stew were passed around to everyone by Fate while Vivio took it upon herself to divvy up the biscuits and hand them out. Once everyone had settled in, talk of the day's events became prominent.
Since Vivio's school had classes on Saturdays, she had spent the early part of the day there. History and magical theory were her favorite classes. Unfortunately, the girl had neither that day and the short day had seemed to drag on far longer that it actually had. After being freed from clutches of class, VIvio had spent lunch and part of the early afternoon with her closest friends.
Everyone had gotten a laugh out of hearing about Einhart's reaction to being told by a boy that he liked her. According to the blonde girl, the silver haired upperclassman had turned bright red, grabbed VIvio, and then fled fast enough that the youngest Takamachi had resembled a banner flying behind Einhart.
Fate's day had been rather dull by comparison. There had, fortunately, been no major cases requiring her attention at the time and she had spent much of the day filing reports. Hayate was right, paperwork was the bane of all existence. She did make a note to remind everyone that she would be participating in a sparring match with Signum later in the week and not to worry if she was late or absent for dinner. The blonde knew that she'd probably have to remind everyone against, but it never hurt to give more of an advance warning.
Caro had been busy for much of the day off-world, much to Erio's surprise. Apparently, one of the dragon's at the preserve had injured itself and the team in charge had placed a last minute call to the summoner. While still learning the ropes, Caro was the one to call when you needed to calm an angry dragon. It had been an exhausting day for her and explained why she had been asleep.
On the plus side, they had managed to heal the dragon's wound and released it back into the preserve grounds. Fried gave a cry of happiness at the tale of their success.
Nanoha's day was so far, the most frustrating. She had met with Vita at the Southern Ruins and was looking forward to an exciting and rough day of training the new recruits. Certainly, the newbies had shown a lot of promise initially. But that had rapidly proved to be all that they had.
Their maneuverability was terrible and their spatial awareness was so bad that even a truck could have snuck up on them. So many bad habits had to be broken that it would almost have been better to send them back to basic training. Vita had taken particular joy in breaking a few of the recruits' hubris. The brunette would have gone into a full on rant had Fate not intervened with a hand on her shoulder.
"Nanoha, you're doing it again," the blonde admonished gently.
"Ehehehe... Sorry about that. I guess today got me a little wound up," she apologized to everyone present, who accepted it with ease. They too noted the decreasing quality of new recruits into the Bureau's forces, particularly Fate.
"On the note of training... Erio, didn't you have something you wanted to tell us about?" Fate directed the conversation towards what the teenager had claimed to have seen earlier in the day. Everyone's attention turned towards him.
The redhead's eyes brightened as he nodded. "It was really amazing," he began. Erio began telling the tale as he had told Fate earlier. The ferocity, the power, the clash between perceived titans. Vivio seemed enthralled by the story, taking it mostly as that. Caro seemed somewhat horrified at the idea of two friends fighting in such a bloody and deadly way. She knew that some people liked to fight like that, but had never really connected it to anyone she knew.
Fate simply listened and filed away details of the story. There were a few inconsistencies, but that was to be expected when someone gave an account of what they had witnessed multiple times. They were minor and did not change the overall picture Erio was painting.
Nanoha listened with rapt attention, soaking in every detail no matter how surreal it may have sounded. Signum was the one person she had never managed to defeat in any manner of combat. Certainly, she'd come close during their legendary battle of attrition that had come from what was supposed to be a simple sparring match, but it had ended in a tie after a mutual knockout.
Much like Fate had noticed, while the blonde man described by Erio certainly seemed like Yuuno, the combat style was all wrong. Nanoha found it hard to imagine the kind man who had brought her into the realm of magic to be so brutal. Still, the teenager had very sharp eyes and the details he was giving were not to be dismissed lightly.
When Erio's tale had reached its end, Vivio peppered the redhead with questions that he did his best to answer. Nanoha interjected with a few of her own as well. Some were serious, others were less so. No one was any closer to determining the identity of Signum's mysterious foe by the time they were done, but the possibility of it being Yuuno had not been ruled out. Particularly after Erio mentioned that the magic was of a green hue. This did not alleviate any confusion in the slightest.
After a time, the table had been cleared and each member of the family went about their own business. Caro and Vivio were playing with Fried while Fate and Nanoha were watching some television. Erio had holed up in his room with a few digital books about combat theory. The battle from before had reinforced the knowledge that individuals like Signum were leagues beyond him. He couldn't properly train his body a this hour, but he could train his mind.
-Scene Break-
Located within the confines of the massive TSAB Headquarters was the home of Yuuno Scrya. On a Sunday afternoon, the man in question would normally have been curling up in an armchair with a good book, preferably one about ancient civilizations. This day however, he could not seem to concentrate on the historical literature that lay open in his lap.
Rather, his mind was focused more on the events of yesterday. Even getting home had been a bit of an adventure. Since he had activated his transformation magic to speed with the recovery of his mana stores and would be in that form for a few hours to come, Signum had left the battered training field with a rather tired and embarrassed ferret stowed away in the inner pockets of her large coat.
It had taken both of them at least half an hour to gather their wits enough to make the journey to to Signum's car. Even then, they had to take the time to patch their wounds from their bout. It was a task made more difficult owing to Yuuno having to rely on what little mana he had been able to recover and what he had been able to draw from Signum. Not to mention that Signum was not the most capable individual with healing magics. Battlefield first aid and makeshift bandages, that she could do, but not the regenerative spells that Shamal was so skilled with.
They were fortunate that the wounds received were superficial or minor for the most part. It had been a case of looking and feeling worse than it actually was. A dislocated arm had been his worst injury while Signum's broken arm had been the most serious wound overall. Yuuno had repaired that himself using mana from the dazed General before shifting to his ferret form and crawling onto her lap. He would never admit to just how comfortable Signum's lap was.
When Signum was good enough to drive, she had taken him home. The trip had been relatively silent. It was not an uncomfortable silence, but it was not a comfortable one either. The quiet was somewhere in between, as both adults' minds were more focused on the battle that had just occurred. Though, Yuuno did recall the radiant look on the General's face as they drive.
After being dropped off a his home, Yuuno had spent the rest of the day resting. It was not the first time that he was thankful for the benefits granted by his shapeshifting abilities. The increased mana regeneration was certainly useful when he was younger. Now that his core had fully matured, the regeneration was even more useful. If he'd exhausted himself to the same degree as he had ten years ago, it would have taken him a week or more to recover. Now it only took a good night's rest as a fuzzy little rodent and he was nearly back to full power.
Still, his thoughts were more directed at the individual with whom he had exchanged blows the day prior.
He had known Signum Yagami for years. Despite that, she was still somewhat of a mysterious individual to him. it was not due to lack of interaction, but more owing to the fact they lived in vastly different worlds. Yuuno was an intellectual, someone who thrived on knowledge and the pursuit of it. He could spend hours discussing the intricacies of Ancient Belkan masonry, Ancient Nasuvian texts, or even whether or not the legendary Al Hazard used a particular type of reagent.
Signum, on the other hand, was a warrior. She was most at home in combat, on the battlefield. That much was plain to see by anyone. The General carried herself like a soldier at all times and her loyalty to her Lady Hayate was reminiscent of the most legendary and noble knights. When Yuuno was younger, that he had found her attitude to be rather intimidating was an understatement.
Her prowess in combat was the stuff of legends. Certainly, the other members of their group of friends, family, and acquaintances were also legends in their own right. There was enough power and skill collected in such a small number of individuals that they could theoretically take on entire armies. Nicknames like 'The White Devil' were not handed out so freely.
Many knew of Signum's status as a 'battle junkie', but it wasn't until truly taking the fight to her that Yuuno began to understand what that meant. By definition, it was easy to know what that was. A 'battle junkie' was one who lived for the fight. They thrived in the scant millimeters that separated a blade from tearing out the jugular, the power that could reduce them to ashes with the slightest error, the feeling that arose when trading blows with someone in earnest. Their existence revolved around the feelings of dominating someone and being dominated in combat. It was a flow that brought both closer to the brink. That edge where the border between life and death became so close that one misstep would be the end of everything. The ultimate climax.
It was an addicting feeling. So raw and primal that it seduced even the most peaceful and level headed individuals into going further and further. Now, Yuuno had experienced that pull for the first time. He had been in life or death situations before and none of them had drawn out this feeling. Was it his venturing into Signum's domain that had brought this knowledge to light? The stepping out of his comfort zone? The fact that Signum had come closer to killing him than ever before?
Still, regardless of how he had discovered the feelings, he now knew them. Now that he knew them, he had gained a new insight into that particular facet of Signum's person. Yuuno knew that she loved battle, desired it, craved it. He knew that it was the fine line between life and death that came from the most intense bouts that she wanted to experience. Now he knew why.
Yuuno knew why, because he wanted to experience it again. It was a desire that disturbed him on some level. Yes, he had wanted to become a more effective mage and more useful to his friends in the event that they found themselves embroiled in battle again. But discovering the draw that labeled Signum as a 'combat junkie' was not something that he had expected. Could he remain in Signum's world and not become so addicted to the battlefield like her?
He wasn't sure if he could. Still, a small voice in the back of his mind wondered if that was truly a bad thing.
Turning his head to the side, Yuuno discovered that evening was approaching and he'd been ruminating on his revelations for a large portion of the day. Setting aside the mostly untouched tome, the librarian stood from his chair with a groan. The stiffness from sitting still for so long was not a pleasant feeling. "I should work out more..." he mused to no one.
"Well, I should at least set up a schedule for the week." Arf had done such a good job yesterday handling the sudden workload he'd dropped on her that he felt comfortable in giving her more frequent and important tasks. Maybe he should try to extend that to some of the other librarians? They seemed to have quite a bit of free time more often than not. Plus, it would give him more time to research and fine tune what he was learning from his duels with Signum.
"I hope Fate doesn't mind too much," Yuuno said as he went over to his desk and set to writing up work assignments, thinking about how Arf's Mistress would react to her familiar's increased workload.
-Scene Break-
Fate T. Harlaown had been looking forward to this day for a while now. Ever since Arf had suffered a sudden influx of work at the library, her familiar's stress level had increased dramatically. That unfortunately had led to a rather unfortunate proportional increase in headaches for the blonde woman. She had attempted to contact Yuuno about it, but he was unusually unavailable according to Arf and the other librarians who had suffered at the hands of Yuuno's newfound ability to delegate.
A high end spar was just what the doctor ordered. Venting those frustrations and any worries she may have accumulated always went better when crossing blades with someone, particularly Signum. Fighting Signum had always been a good test of Fate's capabilities, as the General was quite possibly the most skilled swordswoman in the TSAB's Air Force, if not the entire organization. She regretted not doing it more often.
Arriving at the designated sparring area, Fate scanned the field for her pink haired adversary. The field was one of many arenas set aside for the upper echelons in the power scale to use so that the common fields wouldn't be completely demolished in the event that a match got out of hand. Signum's match against Nanoha came to mind, as did the General's supposed bout against the man that Erio claimed had been Yuuno.
There was unfortunately no evidence to support or deny Erio's words as Signum had not offered any details and the field's data recorder was damaged during her bout with the man. Still, it would have been nice to find out who he had been. And if had indeed been Yuuno, to ask what was going through his head at the time.
"You are early, Testarossa," spoke Signum from the blonde's side, breaking her out of the musings that had briefly distracted her.
"I did not want to make you wait, Signum," replied Fate with an earnest smile. "Besides, I have been looking forward to this for a while now."
Signum only nodded, giving Fate a feeling of approval from the action before walking to one end of the field. It could have just been her imagination, or did the pinkette seem just a bit too eager. She knew that Signum enjoyed her fights a great deal, almost to an overwhelming degree at times. Still, she could not recall a time where even a high power sparring match would put a... bounce? into Signum's step.
Fate decided to prod a bit before they got started. "You seem to be a good mood today." It was a simple poke at Signum's attitude and one that wouldn't be seen for any more than it was.
A single raised eyebrow returned Fate's query and then a brief silence. "Yes, I suppose I am. Things have been going well as of late," Signum finally spoke. She then withdrew the resting Laevatein from where it had been covered by the folds of her uniform.
Bardiche found itself in Fate's hand rather quickly after that. While Signum's response hadn't really answered anything, the Enforcer would not prod any further just yet. She would sate her investigative urges at a more appropriate time.
Two flashes of light briefly illuminated the field, one bright yellow and the other a fiery light purple. Signum's Knight Armor was imposing as ever while Laevatein was held in one hand at the ready. Fate had foregone Bardiche's axe form and the device shifted directly into its massive zamber mode. The blonde's Barrier Jacket was already in Sonic Form as she knew that none of her jacket's defenses would be of any use against the General's powerful offense. Speed would be the game, as per usual.
Settling into her battle stance, Fate spoke. "Ready?"
"Always..." Signum flashed the barest hint of a smile as she stared down her opponent.
That response was the only warning Fate received before Signum sprung into action. A flash of steel was blocked by a gleaming golden blade mere inches from her throat. The blonde saw a fire in her opponent's eyes, something that rarely ever appeared during their sparring matches.
Already, Fate was being forced on the defensive, pulling everything she had into evading or blocking the flurry of blows raining down upon her. There was a brief opening when Signum went in for a low cut that would have struck the shapely blonde in the thigh. She took that opening to get away from the General in a burst of speed.
This was not going as usual. Even when Signum began to really get into her matches, she was rarely so vicious. Fate would have attempted to ask her foe what was going on, but was forced to hurl a barrage of Plasma Lancers at Signum to keep their distance.
Signum merely plowed through the projectiles, following closely behind a Sturmwinde that devoured all of the lightning spells in its path.
The General burst through the flames like an angry dragon, bringing Laevatein down upon Fate in a merciless arc. The blonde was able to block the strike, but unable to deal with the force behind it. She was blasted straight down into the flooring of the field, sending up a cloud of dust and debris with the impact.
Fate pulled herself upright and rolled to the side before Signum could land a falling stab that would have pinned the blonde to the ground through her stomach. "Signum, wha-," her words were cut off as the pinkette began attacking in earnest, switching between one and two handed blows that kept Fate trapped in her rhythm.
By now, the Enforcer was becoming a little terrified of the Wolkenritter set against her. It brought up memories of when they had first fought and she had been completely dominated. What was going on?
The fire in Signum's eyes was dimming slightly as the two women exchanged blows, though it was more Signum loosing a storm and Fate attempting to weather it, even burning a few cartridges to assist in escaping. No amount of speed seemed to be helping against such a pressing assault. What made it worse to the blonde was that it almost seemed like Signum was becoming bored or dissatisfied with their match.
After another powerful blow that opened up the distance between the two, Fate was panting and while Signum was drawing in deep breaths as well, she seemed far more fresh by comparison. "What is going on, Signum?" Fate finally managed to ask.
Signum merely sighed as though disappointed. "Soft."
"What?" came the confused reply.
Neither moved for a moment until the Knight of the Sword did something that Fate would never have expected. Signum drove the razor tip of Laevatein's blade into the field's reinforced ground and began marching towards the blonde with a flat stare. The magically reinforced metal that covered the General's forearms and hands glinted in the light.
"I will show you exactly what I mean. Prepare yourself," warned Signum as she took a pose that Fate recognized as being a Strike Arts stance.
Fate almost called for Signum to stop the fight. However upon seeing the determined and displeased look in her eyes, she knew that dissuading the General would be extremely difficult. Still, she had to try. "Signum, what is going on? Tell me!" she demanded. This was an extremely bizarre turn of events, one that Fate had to address here and now.
"Do not hold this against me, Testarossa." The Knight's eyes narrowed and she went into motion, giving the blonde no choice but to defend herself. Signum lashed out against the blonde and her metal clad fist impacted against the haft of Bardiche's long grip with a burst of sparks.
What disturbed Fate to a degree was not the strange attitude or the unusually violent actions taken by the General, but that said woman was still holding her own without the aid of Laevatein. It was obvious that handicapping herself like that should have given Fate the upper hand and allowed her to end the match. That was not the case so far. Certainly, the blonde had landed her fair share of hits in her efforts to halt Signum's offense since her opponent had taken to using Strike Arts, but the General still soldiered on.
Every blow that Signum landed was like being struck with a sledgehammer. An armored fist blew through her guard to land squarely between the blonde's breasts, centered on the woman's sternum, and nearly drove the air from her lungs. The follow up was no less powerful as Signum's leg snapped upwards viciously. Her armored foot was nearly a blur as it reached for the sky. The kick connected harshly, forcing Fate's teeth together with a grinding force that filled her vision with stars and would have rendered her unconscious had she not been clad in her Barrier Jacket.
It did not take long for the battle to reach its anticlimactic end. Fate's eyes were narrowed in concentration, confusion, and a degree of anger. Her body bore markings left by Laevatein first and then scuffs and bruises from Signum's hands that threw and struck her most forcefully. When the opening presented itself, Fate drove the lightning blade into the ground between them and held up her hands in a sign of surrender.
"Stop, Signum! Kaiser, what has gotten into you! And what did you mean, when you said 'soft'?" queried Fate between ragged breaths, her legs feeing weak and mana supplies low. Bardiche's physical body was cracked in places, reflecting the damage it had taken in defending it's master.
Signum lowered her guard and narrowed her eyes at Fate. "Your edge has grown dull. Is this truly the best you can do?" she spoke evenly.
"Explain," demanded the blonde. There had better be a good reason for her opponent to turn a sparring match into something requiring deadly force.
"Look at yourself and consider this: In the past, you drove yourself to exhaustion improving yourself. And now?" Signum's words brought confusion to the Enforcer's face.
There was no verbal response from Fate as she considered Signum's words. She was still one of the TSAB's three Aces, and had maintained that title over the years.
"I see a woman who has become reliant more on the technology available to her than the skills that made her so dangerous an opponent. Someone who has stopped reaching for their full potential. You spit on the efforts of all who strive to give their very soul to their art. You improve yourself for your device, not for yourself, Testarossa." The General turned her back on Fate and began walking back to Laevatein, standing next to the blade when she reached it.
Fate slowly moved a hand towards Bardiche in the event that Signum tried to start the fight again. Her mind still processing everything coming out of the pinkette's mouth, an anger growing at the words her friend was stabbing her with.
Signum stared at the handle of her device. "I was taking you apart with my bare hands. What does that tell you about where you stand? At this rate, you will never be able to protect anything again." She took up the blade reverting it to its sealed form as the armor she wore was replaced with her uniform. "If you hate what I have done, what I have said, then learn to better yourself rather than to keep up with Shari's technology. I assure you that next time, I will not be so gentle."
"Wait!" called out Fate to no avail as Signum left the arena, leaving the blonde alone with the harsh words and her battered self. While Fate still had questions unanswered and still no good reason for Signum's vicious actions, she now had something to chew on. Had she really grown so reliant on Bardiche to carry the fight? Was that really where she stood? Her legs finally gave out from underneath her and Fate collapse to the floor.
Feeling sore and exhausted, all she wanted to do was go to the infirmary and lick her wounds. That, and consider further what Signum had said. Something had happened in the fight that Erio told her about, something that had caused a dangerous shift in Signum's attitude.
-Scene Break-
Signum Yagami was not in a pleasant mood. That much was obvious to anyone who happened across her path. Her bout with Fate T. Harlaown had not gone as expected. Rather, it had revealed rather unpleasant things to the General that she felt should have been obvious. Especially after knowing the woman for so long. In the end, Signum was irritated, disappointed, and more than a little frustrated.
It had admittedly been a while since Signum had crossed swords with the blonde, but that did not change the fact that the pinkette had utterly destroyed Fate in their match. Instead of following the usual pattern of events: starting off with testing one another and escalating from there, she had tried upping the ante to try and push Fate a bit. It wasn't much, but it should have been enough to get more of a fight out of the blonde woman. Things had not gone as she had hoped.
Certainly, Fate had managed a few counters, but they were few and far between with very little damaging power to them. Signum had realized during the first half of their match that she had managed to keep the Black Lightning sealed. The blonde had been unable to shift into any of her various combat modes beyond the standard, nor able to make use of Bardiche's various forms. It had driven home a very unsettling fact about Fate. That fact being that she had never truly grown beyond what was required to make use of the device in a given situation.
Fate had come to rely on what Bardiche brought to the fight rather than what she was bringing. Unless you improved yourself beyond what your weapon required, you would never truly grow into your strength or be able to adapt when things did not work in your favor.
They had all been too focused on the results that Fate put out with the highly advanced device to notice that the skill of those around her was beginning to outstrip her technology. Today had been the day that skill had ultimately outstripped science as Signum recalled the feeling of her armored fists and boots making violent contact with Fate's shapely body. To have overcome her with only Strike Arts... Just how far had Fate fallen behind?
"Why would you let yourself fall into that trap, Testarossa?" inquired the General to her empty office. She did not for one moment think that she had been too harsh in the second half of their match, though others may think so. The impromptu lesson and lecture would serve as a much needed wake-up call for the Enforcer. "That is most unlike you."
Oh, there would likely be Hell to pay once Fate got home to Nanoha. One did not get away with tenderizing anyone close to Nanoha Takamachi, physically or mentally. Especially when it came to Fate. Even after all this time, no one was really certain what their true relationship was, but that mattered little to the General at this time. A part of Signum's mind secretly hoped that she would come as the White Devil for reparations in the form of combat, demanding satisfaction for the violence enacted upon the blonde.
Maybe that would make up for the frustrated feeling that sat most uncomfortably in her belly. Beyond her feelings of irritation and disappointment that her eye opening match with Fate had elicited, it had also brought about a great deal of frustration. Even after handicapping herself greatly by removing Laevatein from the equation, Signum still had been unable rekindle the flame that burned deep within as she assaulted the Enforcer. A good sparring match, including those at lower levels, could at least elicit some of that flame. This battle just left her feeling cold, and she hated it.
Nanoha could give a good fight, her stubborn refusal to give up had led to one of the most violent sparring matches in TSAB history. Not the most violent, but certainly one for the books. Vita even more-so. Her fellow Knight's drive to win was perhaps even greater than Nanoha's and the redhead's ability to properly channel rage made her all the more dangerous. Even Vice could give a proper challenge when he corralled you into his optimal range.
Up until today, Signum had considered Fate to be among those who could light that fire. Now that an unfortunate reality had been revealed, she doubted that the blonde would be able to do so anytime soon unless she pulled herself out of the hole she had fallen into. It wasn't just power that pushed Signum to the brink, it was skill and drive.
Perhaps it was the recent situation she found herself in with Yuuno that brought about this realization. He had been a known quantity for so long, much like everyone else. Now, he was becoming an unknown. The image of Yuuno Scrya as anything other than a kind man with a near obsession for ancient knowledge and who held a mastery over defense magic was bizarre. Signum had most certainly seen him in the heat of battle, but he was still that same kind soul.
During their bout on Saturday, Signum had seen that kind soul strike out against her with the intent to cause harm, to destroy her, to dominate her. In all other battles that she had bore witness to, whether against him or as a spectator, Yuuno had always gone for the same strategy. That strategy being to bind his foe or make them break themselves against his fortress-like defenses. Now he had actively tried to break someone, break her. Deep down, she wanted him to try his damnedest to do so.
Even though she had handicapped herself against him, he still brought that line so very close with his drive and experimental skills. That he would only continue to try and improve himself brought a determined look to Signum's face. She would push him, so very hard. And he would push back with everything he had.
The General leaned back into her chair and stared upwards, one hand outstretched towards the ceiling as her thoughts began to calm. Why had Fate never tried to improve herself beyond what Bardiche required? Was she even conscious of her self imposed lack of growth? Why was Yuuno trying to enter the world of warfare that she so thrived in. Some things did not make any sense to her, but they would be dealt with as they came along.
"Wait a moment..." Signum's mind began racing again as the question about Fate's status shifted tracks to other members of their group. What if others had fallen into the trap that Fate had? More importantly: What of Mistress Hayate? While it was unlikely for her Lady to do so, there was always that slim chance and it worried her greatly.
Still, even if Lady Hayate had maintained herself to the very edge of her capabilities as a bombardment mage, that still left a problem that should have been addressed some time ago. It was on a very similar vein as Yuuno's situation. That being a crippling overspecialization in one field of combat. It had not been an issue before, mostly due to the fact that no one had been able to capitalize on her weakness and had been pushed into the back of everyone's minds for the most part as time went on. Close range was still a weakness of Lady Hayate's. One that she even admitted to on rare occasion. A past comment about Caro lu Rushe being able to deal defeat to Lady Hayate at close range seeped out of memory and to the forefront of Signum's mind.
Suppose someone with deadly intentions managed to close that gap, there would be nothing that Lady Hayate could do. That thought left a sickening feeling in Signum's gut and she vowed to do something about it once and for all. Now that Yuuno had given her a new perspective on things, much would have to change.
Eyeing the date circled on the calendar in red ink for her match with the librarian, Signum considered the possible repercussions of what she was about to do and found them most worth it. "Yuuno Scrya, you had best be prepared for the consequences of your actions." The General of Fire then reached over to her office's vid-phone and dialed a number that would undoubtedly draw her Lady's ire for pursuing this line of action without her consent.
A familiar face answered the call with a smile. "Signum? What a pleasant surprise. What can I do for you?"
Steeling herself, the Knight of the Sword replied, "Knight Carim, I have a favor to request of you..."
-Scene Break-
Nanoha Takamachi was not sure what to expect when she entered the infirmary. She knew that Fate and Signum were scheduled to have a high level sparring match today and that usually involved more than a few bruises if not a broken bone or two on both ends. This time, apparently only Fate had been admitted and Signum was nowhere to be seen. The medic that had contacted her had not given any details other than Fate's admission.
Pulling back the curtain, Nanoha was shocked to see Fate's condition. The blonde woman looked like she'd taken quite the beating. "Fate, what happened?" she asked with a great deal of concern in her voice.
"Hey, Nanoha," greeted Fate softly, her body still feeling a little sore even after being subjected to the healing powers of the medic on duty. Truthfully, she looked worse than she felt and much of the minor bruising would be gone within the hour. "Signum, she was acting very odd."
The brunette blinked in confusion before narrowing her eyes in displeasure. "Odd or not, she shouldn't have gone overboard like this. It was just a sparring match, she had no reason to go all out."
Fate's eyes lowered slightly. "She didn't, Nanoha."
"Eh?" The anger towards Signum was replaced so quickly with confusion, that one may have thought it was never there to begin with.
"She may have started off more fiercely than usual, but it was in the end that things became strange," confessed Fate, "She handicapped herself in a very blatant manner." Turning to face the brunette, the red-eyed beauty looked very concerned. "Signum used Strike Arts, Nanoha. She took me apart with her bare hands..."
That threw Nanoha for a loop. While she knew that Signum was well versed in hand to hand combat, the General never used them beyond physical conditioning. Not when she had Laevatein at her side, and she was more dangerous with that blade by an exponential degree compared to her fists.
Fate's eyes narrowed slightly. "I was able to stop the fight eventually and ask her what was going on. She said that I was soft and dull. Reliant on Bardiche for what I am able do." It was a hard pill to swallow, but Fate would find out whether she really had to or if the battle on Saturday had affected Signum's judgement. Either way, the General's words had hurt.
Nanoha moved to sit next to Fate and carefully held the woman, not wanting to cause pain but still wanting to comfort her. "It's okay, Fate, I'll talk to Signum about this. I'd say she might have just had a bad day, but she's not the type to let that affect her, not like that." Regardless of the reason, she wasn't going to to let anyone do this to Fate and get away with it. Not on her watch.
Sinking into Nanoha's warm embrace, Fate shook her head. "I don't think so. She appeared happy, eager. Like things had been going well for her. Once she disarmed herself, she seemed angry and disappointed. Something happened in the match that Erio told us about..." The blonde's eyelids began to droop as comfort and medication eased her into a restful state.
Nanoha would have said something in response, but Fate seemed to have drifted off to sleep. Weariness of the body and mind combined with medicine were a particularly good combination for drawing a person from the word of the waking. Pulling the woman closer, Nanoha brushed a stray lock of hair from of Fate's face and took on a serious look as she considered the implications of what she had been told. One way or another, I will be having words with you, Signum Yagami.
-Scene Break-
The rest of the week up until Saturday had been rather eventful for Signum. Carim had contacted her the following day stating that the favor asked could be done, although SIgnum would owe her one in return. The General did not mind in the slightest, not with what her favor could do for Lady Hayate.
Between her duties involving the Air Force and family, she had precious little time to prepare for her third match with Yuuno. She had made that time count though. Combined with the fact that she planned to place less of a handicap on herself this time, Signum was looking forward to it. After the disappointing yet still eye-opening battle with Fate, she hoped that the blonde librarian had prepared himself to give everything he had. The fire deep within her demanded it.
Fate's situation had created a stir amongst everyone, but Signum had yet to meet with Nanoha or Fate about it. The same reasons that had prevented her from preparing more properly for the match with Yuuno were the same ones that prevented her from speaking with Nanoha.
Reactions to what Signum had done varied from person to person. Vita and Zafira felt that if Fate had allowed herself to get into such a situation, it was her own fault. But they did chastise Signum for going about it in the manner she had. Shamal had been rather unhappy with her actions, stating that she had gone overboard in her 'lesson'. The children of the Takamachi-Harlaown household had been rather displeased, particularly Vivio, who seemed ready to go on a rampage at first.
Lady Hayate had been particularly irate with the physical and mental beat-down that Fate had received at Signum's hands and had said as much with a fair amount of anger, something that stung the General no matter how much she understood her actions and their repercussions. They had patched things up, as family ought to do, but the pinkette decided to tread softly around her Mistress for a few days, at least until the time came to reveal Carim's favor. Others had given mixed reactions, depending on how much they heard of the situation.
Yuuno had not been in contact since before the bout in question, but Signum was certain that she'd hear from him about it when she arrived at their chosen arena.
The place of battle this time was not the training fields used by so many. Rather, this time they would be making use of a field identical in purpose as the one Signum had given Fate her wake-up call. It would suit their needs far better than the prior battlefield.
As she approached, her desired foe began to come into view. Yuuno was facing away from her direction, apparently looking over something on a holo-display as he leaned against the hood of his car. The anticipation began to grow as he heard her vehicle's approach and turned to face her.
She parked her car next to his, running a finger over Laevatein's sealed form before disembarking. Signum turned to face him. "Good afternoon, Scrya. I hope you have not been waiting long," she greeted.
"Only a few minutes. How has your week been?" he asked as they began the short trek from the parking section to the combat field.
"Eventful would be a rather severe understatement. Things have been... changing, since our last match." That they would continue changing and hopefully for the better was left unsaid.
Yuuno raised an eyebrow. "Changing?"
Signum nodded. "You made me look at things from another perspective and I found many things to be... unacceptable."
"You're talking about what happened with Fate, aren't you." It was a statement rather than a question, one that brought a hardened look to the pinkette's features for the briefest of moments.
"That and more." She paused as Yuuno unlocked the door leading to field with his ID. The double doors slid open with a faint hiss. "Do you disapprove of what I did to her, Scrya?"
The blonde took a moment to formulate his response. Eventually he let out a breath. "Honestly? I thought you were way out of line going about it how you did and wondering just what in blazes could have possessed you to do so. But that was only based on what I heard from Nanoha when she called me. Vita told me the whole story later." Their footsteps echoed in the empty arena.
"And now?" Signum asked without ever changing her expression.
"Now? I still think you went overboard and it probably could have been handled some other way. But if Fate was really in that kind of situation, she needed to see it," he explained before coming to a stop at the center of the field. "I just wish we could have realized before it came to that..."
"Thank you for your honesty." Signum took her place opposite Yuuno. A slight grin graced her lips as she took the sealed Laevatein in hand. "Now that we are here, I believe the time for talk is over, Yuuno Scrya." Faint purple light shone about the General's body for a short moment as she spoke. As it faded, the light revealed Signum now clad in her Knight Armor and with Laevatein at the ready. "Do not disappoint me." Her eyes flashed dangerously.
A brief burst of green hued light signaled the activation of Yuuno's Barrier Jacket. He settled into a ready stance. "I don't intend to." Multitudes of small shields sprung to life along the man's arm, overlapping from fist to shoulder as though they were plates of armor.
There was no signal to start the battle, but both acted at the same moment. The collision between their offenses made a sound comparable to two cars being crushed together. Yuuno broke from the locked engagement and lashed out with his right fist. The shield encased appendage zeroed in on Signum's midsection and she redirected the blow away from her with Laevatein's pommel.
The action came with such force that Yuuno nearly spun out of control. Instead he moved with the motion and hurled his body forward, using the shields on his left arm to prevent himself from being disemboweled by Signum's deadly blade. He collided with the General with enough momentum to knock her back a distance, but not nearly enough to topple her and it left him slightly off balance.
Signum capitalized on this brief moment and lunged. The scene began to resemble the beginning of her match against Fate. Yuuno was kept on the defensive, unable to launch a proper counterattack from the barrage that the General was assailing him with. Still, Signum did not find him wanting as Fate had been. He did not falter, rather he looked for any opening that would give him a way out. A way to return each strike against him.
No opening would be given, Signum would not allow it. She wanted to see what he would do, how he would cope with the situation. His solution came quickly and without preamble. As Laevatein rebounded off one of the numerous shields running down the man's arm, the other arm gasped the long cape and hurled the cloth into Signum's vision.
While it did not give nearly enough of an opening to go on the offensive, it did allow Yuuno to break away. As the momentum carried him backwards, Signum responded to his escape with a large gout of flame that chased after him, biting at his heels with searing teeth. She was somewhat impressed with his means of breaking away, but it wasn't enough.
She pursued him with great fervor and he did everything he could to keep the battle driven woman at bay. As they exchanged blows, each strike became more violent, more driven to conquer. They left the ground and took to the air, expanding the field of battle.
As they ascended, trading fist for sword and foot for flame, Yuuno was finally able to capitalize on a brief opening. Whether Signum left it there as a test or he had genuinely broken through mattered little. He would take it. One hand snaked through her guard and grasped the fabric of the pinkette's Knight Armor just below the metal gorget. Using his shields as a foothold and as propulsion, the blonde hurled Signum towards the ground with terrific force, tearing open her armor in the process.
Signum landed with a mighty crash, sending a plume of dust into the air. She rolled to the side as Yuuno's fist impacted where she had been only moments before. A vicious grin graced the General's features as a dribble of blood ran down her cheek. She kicked away from Yuuno while reaching for the tassets of her armor. From it, she withdrew a set of knives and hurled them at the man. One missed completely while a second bounced off of the shield that he had placed in from of him.
The third buried itself into the ground, pinning Yuuno's long cape to the ground without his realizing it. He lunged after Signum and was nearly strangled as the fabric around his neck pulled taut, forcing him off of his feet and back to the ground. Signum did not let the opportunity pass her by and the librarian's face was soon met with a merciless kick from the woman's metal encased foot. Yuuno felt his nose break upon contact.
He rolled from the impact as his cape was torn free, blood poured down his face from the broken nose Signum had given him. The blonde viciously tore the cape from his body and cast it aside. A single distraction had not been worth nearly being strangled. Losing the cape would hinder his maneuverability in the air, but right now it was in the way more than anything.
From there their exchanges began in earnest once more. Further driving each closer and closer to the edge. The violence the two adults were inflicting upon one another was becoming more and more brutal. At one point, Signum had managed to wrap Laevatein's Schlagenform around Yuuno's leg and swung him about like a morning star. He collided with the far wall with such force that he nearly crumbled beneath the damage inflicted upon him. The General's face heated when he picked himself up and charged.
Yuuno knew that he was taking a beating and that defeat had a far greater probability of occurring than victory. His Barrier Jacket looked like it had been assaulted by a lawnmower and the numerous wounds adorning his body ranged from minor bruises to a broken nose and at least two broken ribs. Still, he wanted to go on. He wanted to fight her. To become better. To go closer to that seductive line she so often sought...
As Yuuno charged again from his battered position, Signum felt her heart swell. He wouldn't give in. He wouldn't let being outstripped by her deter him from his drive. While her foe had not managed to reach the same levels of offense that he had in their previous match, Yuuno was still giving everything he had to her. As she parried a punch aimed for her face, Signum saw the look in his eyes. He wanted to conquer her.
They continued to push each other, one more than the other, but still with everything they had. By the end of the battle's second hour, both were running out of power. Yuuno's attempts at grappling Signum had borne occasional fruit. He had even managed to mount her and deliver a flurry of blows before being bucked off. Signum had repaid the maneuver later, blow for blow in the same fashion, before being yanked off by an array of chains summoned by the man.
In the end, the bout ended with Yuuno on his back with Laevatein at his throat and Signum's knee upon his chest. Both were battered and bruised, skin slick with blood, and their clothing and armor had taken enough damage to render them indecent from more than a few angles. They remained in that position for some time as the blonde tried to see any way out that would not cost him his head.
Finally, Yuuno gave. "I yield, Signum." The surrender had come between ragged and heavy breaths that matched Signum's own.
She held him there for a few moments longer. "I accept," she spoke before rolling off of him. A satisfied smile graced her glowing, if not bloody, features. The pinkette lay next to him, basking in the after battle glow. Their heavy breathing being the only sound on the now silent battlefield.
It was some time before either spoke, but it was Yuuno who broke the silence. "Should I call for some assistance?"
"Wait a few moments more..." Signum requested as she stared upwards, "I would like to savor this a bit longer."
"Sure," Yuuno acquiesced softly, silently doing the same as she. All the while, neither noticing that they had an observer.
From just beyond the boundary of the combat field stood a certain brunette wearing a cross and confused expression, a very recognizable red jewel hovering by her shoulder. Nanoha had arrived hoping to have a well overdue chat with Signum, but had unfortunately shown up too late. She stood there for a time, watching the two lay next to one another and stare upwards at the sky. Various emotions warred deep within Nanoha, not quite certain how to place what she had just witnessed. In the end, she turned at left. There was much she now had to think about.