Story Title:
Bound by Regret

Genres/'Tags':
Mystery / Supernatural / Romance / Yuri / Alternate Universe / Ghost

Summary:
Walking home from school, Takamachi Nanoha sees a mysterious blonde girl in the park. Entranced by the girl's mysterious air, Nanoha walks up to her and asks her who she is. The response she gets is not quite what she expected: "Y-you can... see me?" ::AU & Nanofate::

Disclaimer:
I do not own Mahou Shoujo Lyrical Nanoha. Mahou Shoujo Lyrical Nanoha and all related trademarks are owned by Seven Arcs.

Author's Note:
I don't expect to have many Author's Notes, but I just wanted to remind you all that I am still looking for a beta-reader to help me proof-read this story. If you're interested just send me a PM. Only serious applications please; I need someone capable since English is not my native language.

*~-[ Chapter #3: Private Eye, Takamachi Nanoha ]-~*

Fate POV:
It turned out first period was maths. I followed the lessons looking over Nanoha's shoulder. I found the class very interesting as the teacher was going over basic algebra to refresh the students' minds on the matter.

When a problem was written on the whiteboard as an example I found myself solving it rather quickly while the rest of the students were busily scribbling in their notebooks or pressing buttons on their calculators.

"X=1.6" I said out loud.

Nanoha slightly turned her head in my direction and whispered: "You sure Fate-chan?"

"Mn-hm!" I hummed confidently.

At my response Nanoha raised her hand.

"Yes, Takamachi-san." The teacher said.

"X=1.6?" Nanoha answered carefully.

"Correct. Well done Takamachi-san. Always glad to see a student keep up with their studies!" The teacher smiled proudly.

"You did that without writing it out or using a calculator Fate-chan? That's pretty amazing!" Nanoha whispered to me when the teacher continued explaining how to handle certain problems.

"It's nothing special." I tried to wave off her praise.

"But it is! Fate-chan is a genius!"

"Mou, stop teasing me Nanoha!" I said, feeling my face heat up considerably. In all honesty, I was pretty happy with the compliment.

*~-[ X ]-~ *

During lunchtime I followed Nanoha and her friends to the roof. Once there, Arisa-chan and Suzuka-chan pulled out some very expensive looking bento's.

I was impressed enough to let out a small 'wow', causing Nanoha to start giggling.

"Hm? Is there something on your mind Nanoha-chan?" Suzuka-chan asked.

"Oh, no. Nothing." Nanoha answered with a short chuckle.

"I bet she was daydreaming again." Arisa-chan said while chewing her food.

"Nyahahahaha!" Nanoha only laughed with slightly flushed cheeks, scratching them with slight embarrassment.

"I'm sorry for that Nanoha." I apologized. "I made you look like a fool in front of your friends."

Nanoha closed her eyes and slightly shook her head, as if telling me not to worry about it.

During the rest of lunch Nanoha and her friends were just having some small talk. Everything was peaceful as the three girls in front of me were either complaining about certain teachers or, conversely, talking about how cool that and that teacher was. I liked listening to them talk about these mundane things; it helped me to not think about my current situation.

Near the end of lunch break Suzuka-chan seemed slightly unnerved for some reason.

"Um, Arisa-chan? Nanoha-chan? Do you also have the feeling it's not just us here?" She asked, shifting her eyes around a bit as if looking for another person to be there.

Arisa-chan blinked a few times before taking a look around herself. "Now that you mention it… I actually do. Eh, it's probably nothing, right Nanoha-chan?"

Nanoha took a quick glance at me. I shrugged and flew a quick round around the roof but found no one. As far as I knew, the only people on the roof were Nanoha, Arisa-chan, Suzuka-chan and…

"Wait… you think she's picking up on me?" I asked surprised.

Nanoha shrugged, both in response to Arisa-chan as well as to me.

"I don't know." She said as casual as possible.

*~-[ X ]-~*

Nanoha POV:
It was a few hours later when classes had ended for the day. I saw Arisa-chan and Suzuka-chan off. When she saw the limousine Fate-chan let out another 'wow', making me giggle again.

Once they were gone I led Fate to the school library. Once there I saw a familiar face with blonde hair, tied in a long ponytail and green eyes behind glasses.

"Hey Yuuno-kun!" I greeted him enthusiastically. Yuuno-kun's full name was Yuuno Scrya. He had a part-time job in the school library and also tutored some of our fellow students. He was especially good at history. I met him about three years before in junior high, when he tutored me and helped me pass my history class. I considered him a good and reliable friend.

"Hello Nanoha, what brings you to the library?" Yuuno-kun asked me with a smile.

"Well, I wanted to take a look at the newspaper archive; I'm kind of researching something." I explained.

"Well that shouldn't be a problem. Is there anything I can help you with?"

I cast a quick questioning glance at Fate.

"If you trust him then I will as well." She spoke with a small smile.

"Sure Yuuno-kun. That's very much appreciated." I smiled at him.

*~-[ X ]-~*

"Alright, so what're you looking into exactly?" Yuuno-kun asked when we found ourselves in front of a number of shelves filled with stacks upon stacks of newspapers.

"Well… Um… this may sound a bit weird but I'm looking for… Well, there's this girl who died and I kind of want to know how…" I explained rather awkwardly. It was kind of a weird story.

"Alright…" Yuuno-kun looked at me a bit surprised but didn't question it. "Do you know this girl's name?"

"Uh yeah, it's Fate Testarossa." I told him.

"Testarossa… Strange, that name sounds familiar…" Yuuno-kun seemed lost in thought for a moment but shrugged it off. "Anyway, do you know anything else? Like, a date of death, or at least the year in which she died? That would narrow our search down tremendously."

Fate-chan, who had positioned herself behind Yuuno-kun, closed her eyes and seemed to be deep in thought for a second.

"I'm sure I was still alive this year…" She said after a moment. "I'm sure of it."

"Um, she died this year. In fact, it might've been fairly recent." I told Yuuno-kun.

"Alright." Yuuno-kun grabbed a stack of newspapers from one of the shelves and laid them down on a nearby table.

Both of us took a seat at the table next to each other. Fate-chan 'laid' down on her stomach next to where I sat.

"These are all this year's newspapers. We don't have the most recent ones though as they're at least a week old, nor do we have all newspapers. We only the more reliable ones since they're for studying purposes." Yuuno-kun explained to me.

I nodded and grabbed a few of the newspapers and started skimming through them, looking for anything that could have something to do with Fate-chan's death.

*~-[ X ]-~*

A yawn escaped my mouth as I stretched my stiffened limbs.

"You holding up there Nanoha?" Yuuno-kun asked with a short chuckle.

"Mou, not all of us are able to read for hours on end without taking a break Yuuno-kun." I huffed.

"Fair enough." Yuuno-kun laughed.

I took a good look at the table. We had ploughed through almost half of the newspapers and it was getting late. I felt a bit bad towards Fate-chan but it was about time for me to go home.

"Ne Yuuno-kun? I think I should start heading home." I said while looking at Fate-chan apologetically.

"Sure Nanoha, you go ahead and I'll clean up here." Yuuno-kun chuckled at the second yawn that escaped me. I decided to ignore his laughter.

"Thanks for your help Yuuno-kun. If you have time, can I come back tomorrow?" I asked.

"Sure, I'll see you tomorrow then, detective Takamachi." Yuuno-kun laughed loudly at his own joke.

I just rolled my eyes. "Mou, Yuuno-kun…"

*~-[ X ]-~*

"Sorry we didn't find anything." I apologised to Fate-chan as we walked back home together.

"Don't worry about it Nanoha," Fate-chan said gently, "Rome wasn't built in a day either right?"

I smiled. "That's true. Still, I wish we'd found something." I lamented.

"Like I said, don't worry Nanoha. It already means a lot to me that you're willing to help me. Yuuno-kun as well. I wish I could thank him personally." Fate-chan cast her gaze at the ground; she still seemed to struggle with her current state of being.

"Yeah…" was all I could say.

The rest of the trip home passed by in silence.

*~-[ X ]-~*

That evening before it was time to get to bed, Fate-chan was staring out the window again, looking up at the moon. The only source of light in my bedroom was the lamp on my desk as I was finishing up my homework, so there was barely any light to obstruct the view from the window.

Once I was done with my homework I switched my desk lamp off. I turned around towards my bed and my eyes fell on Fate-chan. I couldn't help but notice how beautiful she looked as the moonlight shone down on her golden tresses. The otherworldly glow she has as a ghost only seemed to intensify.

For a moment, I felt like I was gazing upon an angel. Just what is this feeling? I've never looked at anyone else like this before...

I shook off the unfamiliar feeling, quietly made my way to my bed and lied down.

"Ne, Fate-chan?" I tried to get her attention.

It seemed I was successful as she slowly turned towards me. Her eyes looked especially sad and melancholic at that moment. I felt the urge to cry the tears that she looked like she was about to, but didn't.

"Can you come here for a moment?" I asked, fighting back the lump that had formed in my throat.

Fate-chan floated over slowly and carefully. Once she was within reach I grabbed her arm and pulled her onto my bed.

I laid her down to the left of me, making her lie down on my left arm while I stretched my right over her, pulling her into a hug.

I pulled her head to my chest and gently stroked her soft hair.

"Please don't be sad Fate-chan," I whispered, "I promised you we would figure out what happened to you didn't I?" I said softly.

It took a moment but eventually I felt her nod her head.

"And I will tell you right now, Takamachi Nanoha is a woman of her word!" I assured her confidently.

Fate-chan took a moment to let this sink in before she nodded again, more confidently this time. I couldn't see her face but I was sure she was smiling that genuine smile I had come to love.

"Thank you, detective Takamachi." Fate-chan chuckled softly.

"Mou, et tu Fate-chan?" I sighed. Though I was glad Fate-chan felt good enough to make a joke. Even if she had just as bad a sense of humour as Yuuno-kun.

*~-[ End of Chapter ]-~*

Please leave me a review telling me what you think; I love getting feedback and I don't mind people being critical. In fact, I welcome it!

*~-[ May we meet again, fare thee well! ]-~*