The helplessness and fear that accompanied the loss of sight made a few steps feel like a hundred. Left on her own, Hayate found it very difficult to make any progress through the mansion at all. Pushing forward into the unknown, constantly feeling as if you were going to bump into something, plagued by thoughts of what this could mean for the future...For the first time since she had woken up, Vita wasn't there to help her. Instead, the Guardian Knight had been taken up ahead into the dining room whilst protesting all the way, with Arisa assuring her that Hayate had "arrangements" to take care of first.
Arisa. Hayate found the side of the wall at last and leaned against it to take a breather, frustrated with being left in the dark like this. An alternate version of the Arisa they knew. I'll believe it when I see it, she thought darkly, mindful of the irony of such words. Vita had been right to question her actions earlier. She could see it now: this wasn't the same house she had grown up in. Even without being able to see, she could sense changes going on all around her, and they weren't necessarily good ones.
Dining room? Reception? Security area? Hayate didn't know whose house she had just walked into, but it definitely wasn't hers. From what she remembered, her home had been relatively cosy with only a few simple comforts, complete with a kitchen, living room and bedroom upstairs. This place had the feel of a millionaire's mansion, especially when she took Vita's descriptions into account. Just the size of it was enough to create a sizeable hole in the Bureau's treasury.
Yagami must be made of money if she can afford a place like this, she thought. The faint smell of polish and air freshener around Hayate was further proof of that – there certainly had to be maids and servants employed around the entire residence to keep the whole place clean, and they couldn't be cheap either. I wonder what she does for a living?
"Miss Hayate?"
It wasn't a voice she recognised, and she immediately stiffened upon hearing it. The light touch on her shoulder made her increasingly suspicious of whoever was there in front of her. Where was Vita? Why had they been separated again? She had nobody else.
"Yes?" she answered, forcibly suppressing a great urge to shove the hand away from her. "What is it?"
The irritation in her voice must have shown, because the unknown speaker now kept their distance from her, though not by very much.
"Miss Hayate, I'm Dr Kaizen, the medical professional at the House of Yagami. I understand that you are having a problem with your eyes. If you will allow me to guide you into the room next door, then I will see if there's anything I can do for you." The doctor, if that was what they was, cleared their throat. "Lady Yagami usually prefers for her guests to be able to look back at her."
Hayate relaxed a little. A medical mage? They were going to try and heal her eyes for her? She knew Vita would be against these people using any magic on her, but if her blindness could be cured right here and now...It would take a tremendous load off her mind. Whatever else might happen afterwards, Hayate knew that she could deal with virtually anything that the new Mid-childa might throw at her. It was only the loss of her sight which had driven her into a corner like this. Nevertheless, there was still one thing that didn't add up.
"I don't sense any magical energy coming from you, Dr Kaizen," she said. "How can you be a medical mage when you don't use any magic?"
"I didn't say I was a medical mage, Miss Hayate," came the curt reply. "I said that I was a medical professional. My magic is secreted in my use of alchemy and chemical reagents. Please come this way, Miss Hayate."
She felt the soft touch shift to her elbow, and decided to follow the doctor as they guided her forward. It was difficult to tell what their gender was by the sound of their voice alone, and the lack of a face to put to a name was also quite frustrating. It made it ever more important for Hayate to get her sight back - how was she going to be of any help to Nanoha and the others as she was now? Perhaps she may not know these people at all, and their intentions were vague at best, but they were still offering to help her. What did she have to lose?
Within a few minutes of putting her trust in the doctor, Hayate found herself gently pushed onto a soft chair. Two fingers were pressed at her temples from either side, and she winced from the uncomfortable sensation. She still felt no sign of any magical field at all, so there was no danger from that side at least. As far as she could tell, she was alone in the room with the doctor.
"I will need you to open your eyes for me, Miss Hayate," Dr Kaizen said helpfully.
She could hear the rustling of trays sliding in and out, along with other noises that she couldn't quite decipher. The unscrewing of a bottle, a running tap which sounded for just a few moments...no, it was difficult to make out much more than that. Hayate was still suspicious of her surroundings, but she didn't feel too threatened by what her senses were telling her. After all, nobody had attacked her or anything – if anyone had, they would have quickly regretted doing so.
With some reluctance, the brown-haired mage opened her eyes for the doctor to see. For a brief, hopeful moment, Hayate felt as if light would rush in to illuminate the world before her again, but she was only greeted with the same darkness as before. Her heart plummeted: this was exactly why she had wanted to keep her eyes closed.
"Hmm," the doctor muttered. Hayate could feel them move very close to her skin, and assumed that they were peering into her eyes at close range. "Internal scanning. G9T5. Elbaziform. Composition of eyes appear to be perfectly intact. For a third-degree scan..."
There was a faint whirring sound from just in front of her face, and Hayate was startled for a moment before realising that Dr Kaizen must be using some kind of medical device on her. She waited with baited breath for a few seconds, but nothing untoward happened and she soon found herself able to calm down again.
"Third-degree scan reveals traces of magical interference," the doctor was saying quietly, apparently speaking to themselves. "Pupils are filled with a strange red and orange vapour, almost certainly caused by the aforementioned interference. Retina, iris and all other parts of the eyes remain intact. No, wait...the vapour is greatest within the retina. This suggests internal suffocation within the optic nerve...if the interference can be removed from there, then the vapour should dissipate..."
Hayate was beginning to get impatient. How long was she supposed to remain like this? She fought down the urge to ask Dr Kaizen if they were going to do anything to help her at all, or if they were just going to sit there muttering to themselves about her eyes all day. Could they cure her blindness or not? Mindful that the doctor was deep in concentration, however, Hayate decided to hold her tongue, not wanting to agitate them. If her sight could be restored, she could wait a little longer still.
She heard more movements going around her, then the sound of a bottle being unscrewed.
"Close your eyes, please, Miss Hayate," Dr Kaizen said. It sounded like they were rolling something out between their hands, perhaps tape or a similar material. "I am going to bandage your eyes and apply a remedy through the material. If you would kindly tilt your head back at that point, your body should be able to absorb the chemicals directly."
"How do I know I can trust you with doing that?" Hayate replied, unwilling to place her trust completely into the doctor's hands just yet. "There could be poison in those chemicals and I wouldn't know until it was too late. Why should I let you continue?"
She wished again that it was a medical mage seeing to her, somebody like Shamal with whom she was familiar with. Hayate felt comfortable with magic – whether transformed or not, it was relatively easy for her to be able to sense whether somebody was using restorative magic on her or not. There was a very noticeable difference. When people decided to get scientific, however...you didn't know what they were going to do to you.
"Miss Hayate," the doctor said patiently, already pulling out a large length of bandage between their hands, "you are a guest of Lady Yagami in this house. I have been instructed to make sure that you are able to regain your sight for the duration of your stay. The mistress is very strict about the rules concerning how any of her guests are treated. If anything were to happen to you, Miss Hayate, if you somehow left this room in a worse state than when you walked in...Lady Yagami would be very angry at me. And believe me, I do not want that to happen, not in any instance."
Hayate shrugged and relaxed in her chair with her eyes closed, allowing Dr Kaizen to wrap the bandage around her head several times until it was snug against her eyelids. For the moment, at least, the doctor had convinced her to go along with them. There had been a note of anxiety in their voice, an indication that they were doing this partly out of fear. Fear of what? Hayate wondered. What kind of a person was Yagami to command such emotions in the people under her? This was the woman who she was about to have dinner with, after all.
If Yagami is regarded with such fear and loyalty, what must her people think of me, as a guest of hers? Are they afraid of me too? Or are they just waiting in the shadows, biding their time, until they're given the order to strike at me? I still can't know what's going to happen to me...it feels like my name is the only real protection I have in this world...
She tipped her neck back slightly as the doctor began to pour several drops of an unknown liquid onto the bandages, positioned right in the middle of each eyelid. Hayate felt the material across the bridge of her nose go faintly damp as the "remedy" oozed out across the length of the makeshift blindfold. The sides of her eyes began to sting mildly, but she resisted the temptation to rub them. Was this really going to work?
To her surprise, Hayate realised that she could sense the presence of magic now. It hadn't been there before, but now the entire bandage was soaked in it, just like a great big sponge of quivering energy. A tingling spread across the mage's eyelashes, and she shook her head to try and dispel the feeling. As she did so...Hayate felt a flash of light seer across her vision.
Light?
The brown-haired mage moved her head against the bandage again, shifting the knot against her temples. Blurry yellow dots passed across her eyes, and the darkness receded by the tiniest fraction.
If there's light coming into my eyes, then that means...
"Wait," Dr Kaizen said urgently, as she began to untie the knot around her head. "I must ask that you keep the bandage on for at least ten to fifteen minutes longer. Your eyes will need time to adjust, and your muscles will still be weak." They paused for a moment, evidently watching her. "How do you feel, Miss Hayate?"
Hayate left the bandage alone, breathing a sigh of relief out in one go. Light. If light was getting into her eyes, then that meant...she would be able to see again. But without taking the bandage off entirely, she didn't know how much of her vision might have returned to her. Maybe she would be only to make out blurry colours in the distance. There could even be side-effects.
"I don't know," she said reservedly. "I can't tell if it's worked or not..."
Even as she said the words out loud, however, Hayate could make out more colours and shadows beyond the snug material. She turned her head as the lights grew brighter in her head, and one of the shadows was moving. It was Dr Kaizen, she realised – she could see their movements as the doctor began to slide shut the trays of a cabinet beside them -
I can see things. I'm beginning to get my sight back again! It's very gradual, but whatever the doctor put on my eyes, it worked!
"How...how did you do that?" Hayate whispered in awe, impressed despite her initial feelings. "I – I think you might have cured me! Without magic!"
The bandage had loosened around her head, and she blinked underneath the strip, feeling more and more lights around her taking colour and form. A vast ceiling above her, the figures of the door and the walls around her...with luck, she would be able to get her bearings back in no time at all...
"It seems you are beginning to recover very quickly indeed," the doctor said, and Hayate could hear the smile in their voice. "I will convey this news to Lady Yagami at once. Miss Hayate, please rest here a little longer and allow your eyes to heal as much as possible. When you feel you are ready, one of the maids will be waiting outside to take you to the dining room."
The trays snapped shut as Dr Kaizen left the room, their footsteps fading away down the hall within moments. Happily, Hayate noted that she was able to make out the outline of the doctor as they exited, although she still didn't had a definite picture with the bandage still on. Perhaps it would be better if she kept it on for just a few more minutes – the last thing she wanted was for her eyes to start suffering again before they'd even finished healing.
Hayate squeezed her eyelids shut, then let them spring open again as the pleasant light filled her senses. The tingling from before had disappeared, along with any former pain around that area of her face. Filled with confidence, Hayate stood up from her chair and cast her arms around in a circle. She found that she was able to reach out and touch practically every object in her vicinity, whilst being able to see exactly where everything was. For the first time since waking up in Grylmark's hospital bed, Hayate was able to experience her surroundings with all of her senses at once.
Unable to resist the temptation anymore, the brown-haired mage pulled the bandage off completely, opening her eyes up wide to the room around her.
The images and colours of the room around her came into sharp focus, forming concrete objects in the world around her. She could see again, perhaps even more brilliantly than before. She touched her eyes again and felt tears welling up, feeling absolutely fantastic.
I'm back. I can see again. I'm not blind anymore!
Yes, everything was as clear as day now, just like she always had in the Mid-childa from before. Hayate had never been so relieved to see the inside of a medical examination room before. The room was filled with cabinets and lots of shelves and equipment lining the walls, not too different to how she had imagined it whilst stranded in the darkness. A desk and computer was set tightly in the corner, and the place seemed a little cramped.
It might have seemed a bit dull to anyone else, but Hayate didn't think so. It was the first sight that greeted her after such a lengthy period of total blindness. In fact, she considered herself lucky to have been able to see anything again. What had Grylmark done to her to blind her like that in the first place? It must have been something really terrible.
I can see again. I don't need to rely on someone else just to be able to find the way down the street, or to know who's talking to me, or to know whether there's food in front of me on the table or anything like that...I can see. Whatever happens now, I'm back to my usual self! It doesn't matter what anyone throws at me anymore!
Even better, she was able to fight again. Hayate's thoughts immediately went to Vita – the Guardian Knight had exhausted all of her energy just to get the two of them out of Grylmark's hospital safely. It hadn't occurred to her before, but Hayate realised that Vita may have been relying on her as surely as she had been relying on the Velka Knight for support. She was still the Mistress of the Night Sky and the leader of Riot Force 6 in one.
Vita was taken up to the dining room before me. If anything's happened to her, she won't be able to fight back very much, not when she's unable to transform...
A small part of her doubted that Vita would have been attacked like that, however. They were both guests in the mansion, weren't they? It was more likely that the Velka Knight was just sitting in the dining room looking extremely bored and glaring at all of the other strangers in the room. She would probably be worried about her, Hayate thought with a smile, even though she wouldn't openly admit it.
Unless, of course, if Vita had been attacked already and this whole premise of being invited to dinner was actually a trap...
Quickly, Hayate bolted out of the room, fearful of what might have happened already. The staff of Reinforce was readied in her other hand as she stormed out a little too quickly and ran right into the maid dutifully waiting outside for her.
"Oof!"
The corridor was fully-lit in front of her, with richly-painted walls and a well-scrubbed carpet which seemed almost brand new. Electrically-powered chandeliers hung from the ceiling at regular intervals, intricately-designed along with the rest of the woodwork near the ceiling. They seemed to glow brighter as Hayate appeared, leading the mage to wonder if there was a motion sensor set into the floor to save energy at night.
Despite already knowing what to expect, Hayate had not been prepared to see this amount of grandeur with her own eyes. It was her first real look at the interior of the House of Yagami, and once again she wondered where such money came from. Motion sensors, beautiful architecture, portraits hanging by the wall...and this was only the corridor. My double must be living such a perfect life here, Hayate thought. Everything here feels so elite. If this is just the corridor, what must the main rooms of the house be like?
"Are you okay?" she said to the maid who she had just knocked over. It was ironic how within minutes of regaining her sight, Hayate had just rushed out into the corridor blindly. Quickly, she pulled the dazed young girl back to her feet. "I didn't mean to startle you like that."
"I'm, I'm fine," the maid said faintly, swaying a little on the spot. She seemed a little taken aback that Hayate had any concern for her. "Ya - Yagami-sama is waiting for you in the dining room, my lady. If you'd like to follow me..."
"Is Vita all right?" Hayate said, her worry creating a sharper tone in her voice than she had initially intended. "What have you done to her? She isn't hurt, is she?"
With a shock, the Bureau mage saw that the young girl was almost shaking on the spot, staring at her in wide-eyed fear. The two of them had never met before, and yet the maid was clearly terrified of her. Why? Hayate thought, feeling quite uncomfortable. Because I look identical to her real mistress? Why would Yagami scare her so much?
Vita had mentioned before that the executors had seemed frightened of her as well, but Hayate hadn't been able to see their faces. She hadn't been able to sense the reaction coming off their bodies as they backed away from her, the anxiety and shock that had such a sudden effect on them. Strangely, Hayate didn't recall anything of the sort happening with Dr Kaizen: the doctor had had no trouble in holding a simple conversation with her.
But that's different. The maid here probably doesn't know who I am, only that I am Yagami's guest. Maybe she even thought that I was her mistress for a moment, since the two of us must look identical.
"Never mind," Hayate said quickly, not wanting to unnerve the poor girl any more. "Just lead on." She would be able to establish what had happened to Vita soon enough.
The maid almost tripped over her own feet trying to guide her down the corridor, and Hayate slowed her own steps down until she was a respectable distance behind. Usually, she would probably have tried to calm the girl down with a reassuring hand on her shoulder, but the maid's already oversensitive behaviour in her presence convinced her that this could have the opposite effect. The mansion also felt strangely quiet right now, as if everyone else had decided to vacate the area at once. Hayate didn't like the silence – hadn't she heard lots of people talking and chattering around her when she had Vita had first come in through the front door? - but attributed it to the late hour. The household staff had to sleep some time, after all.
The short-haired mage walked past several doors on either side as the corridor widened out into a series of interconnected rooms with vast ceilings and beautiful tapestries mirrored on either side. She passed by two great staircases which must lead to the upper levels of the House of Yagami, continuing to follow the maid onwards. With every new room, Hayate struggled to contain her astonishment at the lavish appearance of the mansion. To think that the house she had grown up in had been transformed into a luxurious place like this? It was mind-blowing just to know that this was what the alternate version of herself was living a normal life here...and this was just the ground floor. She couldn't begin to imagine what it must be like upstairs.
Soon, however, Hayate began to hear voices up ahead, and from that direction only. She couldn't make out what any of them were saying from this distance, but there were definitely quite a few people talking to each other at low volume.
"Here, my lady," the maid said, stopping outside a grand archway positioned just beyond the staircases. She came briskly to attention, a thin bead of sweat present on her forehead. "The, the dining room is just inside...Yagami-sama is waiting for you..."
Hayate inclined her head courteously towards her. "Thank you," she said simply, and then, wanting to give the girl some kind of relief, "You can go now, if you want to. You don't have to stay here."
"Yes, my lady," the maid stammered, bowing and edging away from her.
Turning her attention away from her, the leader of Riot Force 6 stepped through the archway and into the dining chamber beyond. The voices grew clearer and more audible in her ears as Hayate moved closer to them, and she was able to pick up bits of stray words and pieces of sentences that came her way.
Before she could try and piece any of it together, however, Hayate found herself face to face with a smaller red-headed girl who stood on the other side of the archway, looking thoroughly fed-up with everything.
"Where have you been?" Vita said furiously. "They made me wait here for ages without telling me anything! Hayate, are you all right? Did they do anything to you?"
The brown-haired mage shook her head and took hold of the Velka Knight by her shoulders, gazing straight at her. "Vita, it's okay," she said. "They healed my eyes. I can see again."
"What?" Vita seemed more stunned than anything else. "Just like that? That was a bit fast."
"I guess so, but I'm not complaining." Hayate waved her hand in front of the other girl's face and grinned, walking around her in a perfect circle. "Don't you believe me? I can see again, Vita. I can see everything!"
The Guardian Knight looked at her doubtfully. "It's great you can see again, Hayate," she said. "But how did they cure your blindness so fast? Even Shamal's magic would take several hours at least..."
"It wasn't a medical mage who helped me," the Bureau mage replied, though not without a shade of unease. "They...they used some kind of ointment on my eyes. And I know what you're going to say," she said, raising her hands up as Vita opened her mouth to protest. "It was risky to let them do it without any magic. But what does that matter? I've got my sight back now, and that's the important thing."
"What do you mean, "what does that matter"?" Vita demanded angrily. "I don't believe you, Hayate! If it's not done with magic, then you've got no way of knowing what they did to you!
What if they had been pouring poison onto your eyes? What if there are side-effects, or if it doesn't last? You're lucky that you're able to see again at all!"
"I was aware of the risks involved," Hayate snapped irritably. "I took that chance, judging it to be the right thing to do. I'm no good to anyone if I'm walking blind, Vita – not you, not Nanoha, not Fate, not anyone. I'm not going to slow you down anymore." Her face softened, however. "But I'm glad you're so concerned for my welfa- "
"Because you've all I've got left!" the Guardian Knight practically yelled at her, her eyes burning. "I'm cut off from the rest of the Wolkenritter, and Nanoha and the others could be anywhere! Subaru and Caro are still trapped in Grylmark's monster-filled hospital! We're caged away in a different universe completely!" She felt tears welling up and fought them off with everything she had. "Hayate, I can't afford to lose you too!"
Her words echoed loudly in the silence of the dining room, a sudden empty silence which had not been there before. The voices from inside had stopped talking, so that the conversation of the two girls had been heard clearly and cast in the spotlight. Self-consciously, Hayate and Vita quickly stepped apart from each other and faced forward, an uncomfortable atmosphere permeating throughout the whole room. This wasn't the best of first impressions as dinner guests.
"Hayate?" a woman's voice called out to her from within. "Is that Hayate?"
The leader of Riot Force 6 hesitated a moment longer, concealed in the shadow of the archway. She didn't have to go out there and have dinner with these people from another universe. Her blindness was cured, leaving her no obstacles at all – she could simply take Vita away and fly out of the mansion with the power available to her through Reinforce, safe in the knowledge that nobody would be able to stand in her way. They could quickly escape this place and get on with searching for their lost friends.
And yet...she didn't. After coming so far, Hayate had become increasingly curious as to what Yagami was like. Why was everyone so afraid of her? Did she know anything about time travel – was that why she had invited Hayate to dinner here in the first place? The people at the mansion had been good to Hayate so far, and there could still be more that she and Vita could learn from this.
"Come on," Hayate whispered to Vita, pulling her along with her as the two of them stepped out into the open at last.
The revolving hologram was the first thing she laid her eyes on. Two of them, turning round and round to mark the corners of a hemispherical table. Two chairs were already laid out for herself and Vita. There were plates of food on the dinner table, but...none of them were real. They, too, were holograms, turning on the spot in a surprisingly realistic imitation as they shifted around the table every few seconds, just like a moving buffet.
Hayate had thought she'd seen it all by now, but she had never had dinner in four dimensions before. Or was it three and a half? Did that count?
There were four other people already at their seated positions around the table, all of which were women of varying appearances. As Hayate entered into their midst, each of them looked up towards her expectantly.
Almost immediately, the Bureau mage felt her survival instincts kick in. She'd practised enough times at the TSAB, both in training and on the field. Magical field detection and evaluation of the threat that a single individual could pose to you – both were equally important. For the moment, Hayate didn't concentrate on what the four women looked like – she was looking deeper, into their skills in combat. She still had to keep her guard up: better to be safe than sorry.
That's strange. I can sense a magical field from only one of them, an extremely powerful one...and yet, it feels suppressed. Is she trying to hide it? With her magic concealed like that, I can't tell how strong she is, but this suppressed form of power is already at a very high level – above the magical capabilities of the Wolkenritter. That isn't good...what if this woman suddenly chooses to stop suppressing her abilities? Who knows how high it would go?
Unnerved by her discovery, Hayate attempted to focus on the other three women instead. She could barely sense any magical prowess from any of them, and yet...they made the hairs on the back of her neck stand up. Hostility, aggression and a very real threat. Why was that? Hayate wondered. How come she didn't feel anything like this from the first woman, who radiated out such intense magical power?
I have to avoid violence at all costs. Vita can't fight properly as she is now, and even though I can fight at near to full strength, Rein isn't here to combine with me. I'm still limited in many of the techniques I can use. If these people start getting hostile – and almost all of them already are – then even I can't take all of them at once. Especially not that...mage of theirs, whoever she is. I don't know enough about them, not any of them -
Hayate blinked as the faces around the table came back into focus. The sudden surge of magic died away, along with all of the overwhelming feelings of hatred billowing out towards her. Everything went quiet in her head, and she was no longer able to tell which of the women had been the source of the high magical field. It could be any of them.
New faces swam into the front of her vision. On the far left sat an attractive grey-eyed lady with curly brown hair and a freckled face, dressed in an elegant maid's uniform. Opposite from her was a serious-faced woman wearing glasses with her light green hair tied up in a short ponytail. Hayate had never seen either of them before in her life.
She definitely recognised the other two, however. One of them was...Suzuka. How could Suzuka possibly be here? Hayate had become close friends with the purple-haired girl in her childhood, even before she had come into contact with Nanoha and Fate, and it was a shock to see her here in person...
An alternate version, just like with Arisa, she decided. It has to be: I can see it in her eyes. She's not the Suzuka I remember from my world – her entire demeanour is different from before, although the changes are really subtle.
The last woman at the table, however, sitting right next to Suzuka...was her.
The other Hayate of this world. Her double. Short-cropped brown hair, blue eyes and slimness of figure, completely identical in appearance to the Bureau mage. Hayate stared in complete amazement - it was like looking into a cracked mirror, only to find that her reflection had a mind and a will of its own. She had tried to prepare herself for this, knowing that such an encounter would turn out in this way, but when they were face-to-face at the final moment...
Yagami? Is this Yagami? She's me. She could be...she could be my twin.
There were still marked differences between the two women, however. A long scar ran down from the side of Yagami's cheek down to her neck, and there was a hard and forceful look in her eyes. The muscles in her face seemed strangely tense, lined with pain and the evidence of past hardships. Even her hair was considerably wilder, cut unevenly in places as if to match her body language.
She's in a wheelchair, Hayate noted with some interest. Just like I used to be...except that I was able to walk again, thanks to Nanoha and Fate. Something very different must have happened to her.
Yagami had been gazing at her for nearly a minute without blinking, and continued to do so as Hayate and Vita took their seats at the table, holographic images of food swirling before them. The mistress' stance wasn't one of aggression, but she didn't seem completely relaxed either; it was difficult to tell what she was thinking at all. Hayate returned the stare, but soon found that dwelling on Yagami's features for too long started to make her feel a little uncomfortable. It was still her face, after all.
"Are you real?" the mistress of the House of Yagami said suddenly.
Hayate was startled by the question. It had seemingly come out of nowhere. She could feel Vita pulling at her arm, trying to get her attention, but she couldn't take her eyes off the other woman.
"As far as I know, yes," she offered. "Why shouldn't I be real?"
Yagami broke her gaze, blinking several times as tears formed in her eyes from staring so long. She held her hand out to her left, and Suzuka promptly deposited a tissue into her palm.
"My librarian, Lideri, told me about you," she said, rubbing at the corners of her eyes. "She predicted that you would come here. I knew about time travel, but I didn't think that you would really exist. Stay away!" The exclamation came out as a half-shout, making the two Bureau mages jump. "You can't touch me. We can't touch each other. There was a reason for it." Yagami craned her neck painfully, squinting off to the side. "Dr Kaizen? Refresh my memory."
"Of course, Lady Yagami," said the woman with her green hair in a short ponytail. "Two versions of the same object or person cannot occupy the same space at the same time. The result would be catastrophic, and would certainly remove both yourself and Hayate from existence." She looked thoughtful for a moment. "Actually, this may not apply to us. Hayate is not a past or a future version of yourself, Yagami-sama. She is from a different universe altogether, and despite being your "double", she has no connection to your timeline. It may be that the two of you can make physical contact without fear of backlash from - "
Yagami cut her off with a sharp gesture of her hand. "No. I will not risk it." Her eyes shot back to Hayate, and she spun her wheelchair backwards a notch to put some more distance between herself and the dinner table. "Stay away from me, Hayate. You may be my guest, but are not to touch me." Her other hand clamped down onto the arm of her wheelchair. "Noriko. Don't let her come near me!"
"Okay, let's try to relax here," Hayate said quickly, as the woman in the maid costume started to turn towards her. She edged her chair away from the table as well, her face an open mask of innocence. "I'm not going to touch you, Yagami - I don't want to have my existence wiped out either. Can we all just calm down for a moment?"
What a night this was turning out to be, Hayate thought, her mind spinning. To start off with, everyone she had met had been scared of her because they had mistaken her for Yagami. And now that she had finally met the mistress of the house in person, it turned out that Yagami herself was frightened of her, and all because of the differences between them in time and space?
The woman on the right – Yagami called her Dr Kaizen. So she was the one who cured my blindness! I hadn't recognised her voice, but it makes sense now. She definitely isn't a magic-user, that's for sure. I wonder who the last woman is, however – she's probably just a maid.
"All right," Yagami muttered, gradually coming back to the table again. "All right." She glanced around the rest of the room furtively, seeming to panic a little. A sudden darkness was beginning to rise up behind her eyes, but she quickly clamped her hands around her temples to try and dispel it. Dr Kaizen and the maid, Noriko, exchanged brief glances of anxiety as their mistress attempted to regain some self-control. "Suzuka," Yagami hissed out of the corner of her mouth. "What happens now?"
"Yagami-sama?" the steward said in surprise.
"I don't understand small talk. What do I do? What do I say?"
Quickly, Suzuka drew herself up with a dazzling smile at the two guests in front of her. "We haven't introduced ourselves yet," she said. "Lady Yagami, the mistress of the house. Dr Kaizen, our medical professional at the House of Yagami. Noriko Saikouji, the head maid. And finally, myself, personal steward to Yagami-sama, Suzu - "
"Suzuka Tsukimura," Vita said, speaking up next to Hayate. "Yes, we know."
The purple-haired woman frowned in mild confusion, her smile faltering. "That's strange. We have never met before."
"The Suzuka in my world is a good friend of mine," Hayate said to her, not without a tender ache in her heart. She had not had the opportunity to talk to Suzuka for some time, not the Suzuka that she knew. Back then, she had been too pre-occupied with work at the TSAB, almost feeling as if she were being isolated from everyone she wanted to be with. To talk with Suzuka again, and discover that she was an alternate version who knew nothing of their friendship..."It doesn't matter," she said quickly. "You're a different person than she is."
Yagami had leaned over to whisper something into Noriko's ear, with a cautious glance in Hayate's direction. The head maid nodded and stood up from the dinner table, clearing her throat.
"Devina has sent word that the dinner preparations are all ready," she announced. "Without further ado, we should all place our orders now in the usual fashion."
The others nodded and began gesturing at the moving holograms in front of them as Noriko sat down again, talking in hushed whispers among themselves. For several seconds, Hayate and Vita watched in quiet incomprehension, wondering what was going on. Orders? Was this some kind of tradition in this universe that she wasn't aware of?
"I'm sorry, what are we doing?" she said to the maid in confusion. "What are we ordering?"
Noriko smiled warmly. "Why, that's up to you. Just choose anything you like." When it became clear that the two Bureau mages still didn't fully understand, she explained, "The holographic interface, Hayate. Our cook, Devina, has set in place a menu of dishes which are delivered to the table electronically. We use the touchscreen to select which meal we want. As soon as everyone has ordered, the program sends the relevant data to the server and sends the food to us as digital output. It takes a matter of seconds for all of the dishes to be processed, meaning that the meals of the House of Yagami can be created almost instantaneously."
Was she serious? It really did sound like something out of another world, Hayate thought. She would have never known that such a thing existed. Curious to try it out, she moved her hand forward and was surprised to see that the holographic images of food responded to her touch. They shifted from one dish to the next as if part of a conveyor belt, flickering round in a circle until she selected her chosen dish. The Bureau mage touched the edge of the hologram softly – or at least where she assumed it was, since it was still only a three-dimensional image – and the interface flashed once to confirm her selection.
"That's amazing," she whispered, leaning back in her chair again. "Vita? What are you going to have?"
The Guardian Knight scowled, her eyes narrowed as she made no move towards the holograms. "Nothing. Don't trust them for a minute, Hayate. When I was captured by Red Scorpion, I definitely heard Yagami's name mentioned. There's a connection between the two, and until I work it out, I'm not eating anything they give me." Vita's jaw clenched, dropping her voice so that the other women wouldn't hear her. "These could be the people that want you dead, Hayate! If you're going to let your guard down like this and fall for it like you're doing now..."
"I have not let my guard down," the brown-haired mage snapped back irritably. "I have already analyzed the combat skills of everyone in the room. Only one of them presents any real danger to us, even if I can't tell which one she is yet. You think I can't handle this, Vita? If they wanted me dead, then why haven't they tried anything yet?"
Vita shook her head, seeming uncertain. "Maybe Yagami wasn't sure about you. Maybe she wasn't fully in touch with Red Scorpion, or maybe this is where she wants you to be, just to make things easier for her..." She sighed heavily, clearly unhappy with the whole arrangement. "I don't know, Hayate. But if something happens to you here, I won't be able to protect you. And I'd prefer that both of us survive the night, if that's all right with you."
The short-haired mage sighed. She had tried to gauge the magical prowess of the other four women for a second time, in an attempt to locate the source of suppressed power that she had sensed before. So far, however, she had had no luck – all magical signs had been smothered completely. There wasn't a lot she could do about that, not without causing significant aggression within the rest of the group at the table, and that was the last thing Hayate wanted to do. On the other hand, none of them seemed to be armed at all, although the same was also true for Vita.
"I'm not eating because I'm hungry," she replied. "I'm Yagami's real dinner guest for the night and if I start saying that I'm going to refuse her food, she's just going to get suspicious." Hayate noticed that Suzuka and Dr Kaizen were deep in conversation at the moment, but that Yagami was showing signs of growing impatient. Swiftly, she decided to concentrate more on keeping up appearances. "None of them are watching you, Vita. You can still keep an eye on them and see if anything starts happening whilst I'm distracted with Yagami. Just don't start a fight in here, okay?"
"A fight?" The red-haired Velka Knight snorted. "It will be at least another hour before I can transform again, and we're out numbered. You better hope that this is just an ordinary dinner meal."
The holograms moving along the dinner table suddenly shut down, blinking out of existence as in the internal program began to calculate their orders. As Hayate and Vita watched in astonishment, a full set of plates, cutlery and napkins began to take shape at each of their positions. Even more extraordinary was the formation of food particles on top of the partially-formed plates – Hayate could see her chosen dish gradually materialising out of the air before her. The whole process felt incredibly surreal.
How is this possible? she wondered, as the other four women keenly started on their own meals. Hayate hesitated, and then took a spoonful of rice into her mouth. It didn't feel like pieces of digital code. It tasted as real as any rice she'd ever eaten before – and it was piping hot, as if it had literally just finished cooking. Instant delivery, the maid had said.
Watching everyone else eating away like there was no tomorrow, Hayate swallowed what she had in her mouth. Nobody was paying any attention to her, and she felt no immediate ill-effects. With a great feeling of relief, the Bureau mage set about eating up the rest of her meal. She was aware of Vita watching her like a hawk, and gave a shake of her head towards the Velka Knight. No, it didn't look like anyone had been trying to poison her after all.
"You look like you're enjoying your meal, Hayate," Yagami said after some time, wiping a trail of sauce off her mouth with her napkin. "This must be your first time in a House of Mid-childa."
Hayate shrugged. "It's my first time hearing that phrase, too." She chewed the piece of crab meat in the side of her mouth for a moment, mulling the words over in her head. "Can I ask you a question, Yagami?"
The woman in the wheelchair shot a vicious look towards Suzuka. Quickly, the steward leaned over to whisper urgently into her ear, her face blanching somewhat by her mistress' reaction.
"You may," Yagami said stiffly. "So long as it is not too personal."
The Bureau mage leaned forward expectantly. "Who are you really?" she asked. She didn't need Vita's warning nudge on her arm to know that Noriko and Dr Kaizen had already begun to tense up at her question. No, Hayate realised, it wasn't so much the nature of her question as the fact that she had asked a question at all. "What happened to you, Yagami, to make you like this? And why did you want to see me?"
For an instant, the woman in the wheelchair looked like she wanted to hit her. There was savage violence behind her eyes, and Hayate was in on the verge of bringing her hands up to protect herself. Then she realised that Yagami was too afraid of physically touching her to do such a thing. What just happened there? Hayate wondered. Did I say something she didn't like? Were those kinds of questions too...personal?
As Suzuka's hand settled on Yagami's arm, the mistress of the house seemed disorientated, shaking her head as her face quickly returned to normal. For some reason, the purple-haired steward seemed to have a calming effect on her.
"I'll agree to answer some of those questions," Yagami said quietly, "after you tell me who you are, Hayate. You're dressed like a mage from the TSAB, but the Bureau doesn't exist any more."
Hayate didn't need reminding of that. "Well, in our world, the TSAB is still going stronger than ever before with many worlds underneath its influence," she said easily. "I'm surprised at this version of Mid-childa. We don't have "executors" on our streets or any kind of curfew. The Mid-childa I know allows its people to live freely and in peace, not in fear and terror like I've seen tonight."
The woman in the wheelchair seemed unconcerned. "Fear and terror has its uses. It brought survival to Mid-childa after many generations of war, and that's why we have the Harlaown Program. So many Sinners..." She seemed distracted by such thoughts, but then pushed them away from her mind. "It's useless to think there could be any other way, and trying to persuade me otherwise will get you nowhere, Hayate. I've long grown used to this life, and your world sounds like such a pure and detested heaven for me."
Hayate could feel subdued hatred rising off Yagami even from this short distance. She didn't understand it: where did such hatred come from? It wasn't directed towards her or Vita. Maybe that's why the woman had reacted so violently earlier – perhaps because it wasn't something that she was able to control. Even before that, Hayate had noticed that Yagami had had trouble with controlling certain aspects of herself.
I've got to tread lightly here, she told herself. Nothing's really happened so far. Yagami's like a ticking time-bomb ready to go off if you push her the wrong way for even a second. I can see it in Noriko's and Dr Kaizen's faces. They're virtually on the edge of their seats everytime her mood changes.
"Fear and terror isn't a solution to anything," Hayate said instead, her voice calm. "It isn't a way to treat other human beings. Love and kindness are what people should open their hearts to."
"Don't preach such morals to me, Hayate," Yagami said savagely. "I'm not the kind of person who will ever be touched by such ill-constructed concepts. Neither emotion has ever been of any use to me."
Bitterness, too. "What about friends?" the Bureau mage said sympathetically. "Negative feelings alone won't bring you lasting friendships."
"I've never had any friends. I fail to see the importance of them. What I have are contacts, along with my Family to devote myself to." The mistress of the house raised her head slightly, her blue eyes like ice. "You asked me who I really am, Hayate. I am a businesswoman, no more, no less. I always have been, ever since I inherited this house from my parents. As head of the House of Yagami, the contracts and operations of my Family are my primary concern. These "feelings" of yours don't really come into play here."
Yagami cupped her cheek in one hand, stroking down the scar that ran down onto her neck. Her eyes flared as she did so, perhaps without her noticing. "Who do you think you are, Hayate, that you can talk so easily of such things? Who are you?"
Hayate could sense the danger in the woman's voice, but was careful to maintain the calmness in her stature. That was the important thing to do, not to make any sudden movements that Yagami would interpret in the wrong way. Staring at a twisted reflection of herself which had embraced such negativity in the world, Hayate found that she could now look at Yagami without having to turn away. She now had some understanding of what the woman was like inside. It was harsh to experience, and it might be terrifying, but Hayate didn't shy away from it. All she could think about when she gazed at Yagami was how lost the woman must be.
Lost, just like I used to be, she thought inwardly with an element of sadness. Two Hayates who deviated in our separate universes; one of us found their feet again, but nobody was there to stop the other one from falling...
"Watch yourself, Hayate," Vita muttered at her side, eyeing their host apprehensively. "Don't try to befriend her. Don't mention Red Scorpion. And don't give out too much information about us."
"I know," she whispered out of the corner of her mouth, before turning her attention back to the dinner table. "I have a few names," she said to Yagami. "Lieutenant Colonel Hayate of the Time-Space Administration Bureau is my official rank. Commander of Riot Force 6. But otherwise I have told you who I am."
For some reason, Hayate didn't want to explain her connection with the Wolkenritter and the Book of the Night Sky. It wasn't as if anyone here would know what she was talking about, anyway -
"No," Yagami said suddenly in a low hiss. "No. No." One hand curled into a fist, but Suzuka's touch on her clothes made it unclench again. "That's not who you are, Hayate," she said in a near-whisper. "Who are you? Who should I see you as?"
To one side, Noriko had risen from her seat dutifully to collect up all of the empty plates. The head maid seemed only too glad to leave the table, working quickly to gather up all five plates in one hand with a professional touch. Not looking at her mistress, she made haste to leave the dining room at once.
"Me?" Hayate smiled reassuringly. "Maybe you could see me as a friend."
She felt Vita's hand squeeze painfully around her arm. No, the Velka Knight was trying to tell her. Don't say that!
Yagami's face dipped in a look of disapproval. "I have no need for friends. Everyone I have met in my life falls into two set categories: servant or Sinner. You don't seem like a filthy Sinner, Hayate. But I don't see why I should make another category just for you."
"Then maybe you should try and put other people into that friend category," the Bureau mage suggested, ignoring Vita's frantic messages to her. "Or, alternatively, you could just forget about categories altogether and just see everyone as people."
"How pitiful." The mistress of the House of Yagami held her hand out to her side, and Suzuka obediently dropped another tissue onto her awaiting palm. The danger signs from before seemed to have evaporated, and Yagami had lapsed into an environment that she was apparently accustomed to. "This is certainly an interesting conversation, Hayate, if nothing else. Our moral views lie on completely different sides of the spectrum. And here I was, thinking that I had found a like-minded person to myself."
Hayate raised an eyebrow. "Disappointed?"
"Strangely, no. I should have expected something like this. We are still from two different universes, and..." A thoughtful expression passed across Yagami's eyes. "Why did you come here in the first place, Hayate? It wasn't to see me. What is your reason for being here?"
The leader of Riot Force 6 nodded slowly. This still wasn't something that she understood entirely. "That's a good question. I didn't come here of my own free will."
Unnoticed by the pair of them, Noriko returned from the kitchen to take her seat again, laying her hands in her lap. Vita watched her for a few moments, but there didn't seem to be anything different about her. The head maid had probably just come back from cleaning the dishes.
"Grylmark," Yagami said, turning away in disgust. "The bane of all our troubles, as usual." Seeing the surprise in Hayate's eyes, she said, "I am aware of his strong connections to time travel, though very little is known about him personally. Dr Kaizen has informed me that you were blinded as a result of his...experiments."
"I don't know how or why I was blinded," Hayate replied. "I only know that I woke up without being unable to see, in a hospital facility that was being run by him, with deformed mutants running amok in the corridors. I barely got out alive." She closed her eyes momentarily, not wanting to remember what that had felt like. "There are friends of mine who are still being kept captive in that facility, but I don't know how long they'll last without help."
Stop trying to appeal to her, Vita hissed to her urgently. She's in league with Grylmark! You shouldn't even be having this kind of conversation!
The woman in the wheelchair didn't look at Hayate, her expression unchanging. "Help?" she repeated. "You are asking me for help? Help is not something that Sinners will ever be worthy of." The muscles in Yagami's shoulders clenched up uncomfortably as she hunched forward in her chair. "Who do you think you're talking to, Hayate? I'm not you. I'll never be you."
Hayate shrugged and gave her a half-smile. Maybe she had pushed the stakes a little too high, but it had been worth a shot. She needed more allies to get Subaru and Caro out of Grylmark's hospital, and if she could get Yagami to warm up to her...But no, it had probably been a bad idea anyway.
"I'm not asking anything of you, Yagami," she said easily, keeping her voice diplomatic so as not to agitate her any more. "I'm just answering your question."
"That's strange, Hayate, that's really strange. Because I don't recall asking you anything." The darkness had returned to the mistress' cold blue eyes, a speckle of blood forming on her lower lip where she must be biting down unconsciously. "Did I ask you? Did I? Suzuka, did I say anything to her?"
"Of course not, Yagami-sama," the steward said brightly.
"Noriko. Dr Kaizen. You were listening, weren't you? I'm sure you were both listening loud and clear, really loud and clear. Did I say anything? Am I talking? Are we having a conversation here?" With a suddenness that was disturbing, the mistress of the house bashed her tightly balled fist onto the arm of her wheelchair, sending a tremor through the entire material. Her voice began to rise uncontrollably. "Will somebody just tell me? Am I just talking to myself?!"
Hayate hadn't noticed it before, but she was gripping the staff of Reinforce so tightly that her knuckles had turned white. She was unconsciously starting to protect herself, and Vita was reacting in a similar fashion to bring her fists up. No, she decided. We can't fight here. Everything had been going so well...
Her mood changed so abruptly in three seconds flat. Should I ask if she's okay? Or would that be the wrong thing to do?
"Yagami?" she said gently.
Her double held her hand out to one side again, and Suzuka quickly dropped a few more tissues into it, more than the usual amount. There was panic in the mistress' face, panic and fear as she clamped half of the tissue onto her mouth and ripped the rest into shreds. Turning away from the table as everyone watched in fearful silence, Yagami squeezed her eyes shut tightly until tears formed.
When she spun around to face Hayate again, however, the mistress seemed to have reverted back to her usual self. The calmness had returned to her eyes, just like that, her body much more relaxed. As one, Noriko and Dr Kaizen breathed a sigh of relief, bringing their chairs back to the table.
"I would like this conversation to finish, now," Yagami said, the tone of her voice brooking no argument. "I'm not used to talking to myself. If you have any other questions, Hayate, you should ask them right now whilst you still can."
I'm not sure I want to ask about anything else, Hayate thought warily. She...she doesn't look well at all. Even the doctor looks frightened.
"Just one question," she said. "But you don't have to answer it if you don't want to."
"Tell me what it is." Yagami's gaze on her was unnaturally intense. "I'll answer it. I don't care what you ask me."
The Bureau mage took a deep breath. Was it really all right to ask her this?
"What happened to you, Yagami?" she said seriously. "What happened to put you in a wheelchair?"
Immediately, the looks on Noriko's and Dr Kaizen's faces as they looked at her in abject horror told her that this was probably the worst possible question to ask. Even Suzuka, who had kept her smile on for the past hour or so, froze in her seat. But the words had already been said: it was too late to go back on them now.
"I used to be in a wheelchair, too, Yagami," Hayate went on, pushing ahead heedlessly. "I wondered if you went through the same thing as me."
The mistress of the house frowned at this, curiosity burning deep in her eyes. She picked up one of the remaining tissues left on the table and dabbed at her forehead, keeping her gaze downcast.
"What do you mean?" she said harshly. "You can't have gone through the same thing as me. Not even you. Don't try to play false, Hayate - just make sense."
The leader of Riot Force 6 brought herself forward, despite Vita's whispered warnings. "Is that so?" she asked. "So your disability is nothing to do with the Book of Darkness incident?"
The other woman's reaction instantly told Hayate that she had was on the wrong track after all. Nobody at the dinner table seemed to understand what she was talking about, except for Vita, of course. This was a different universe, after all. Such things probably didn't even exist here.
"I have no idea what you mean by this "Book of Darkness"," Yagami said finally, after a long silence. "The reason I am the way I am now is because of an unfortunate incident that happened to me when I was little. We are not alike in any way, Hayate. Accept it!"
I see, Hayate thought. The Book of Darkness never existed in this universe – either that, or the Bureau was never able to discover it. It's not too hard to believe, considering that the TSAB was destroyed. But the fact that Yagami is in a wheelchair, just like I used to be...is that really just coincidence? Surely that can't be right.
"Enough of your questions," the mistress of the house said without emotion, moving her wheelchair back to grind against the carpet. "As I said, this conversation is over. Regarding your circumstances, Hayate, I am prepared to put you up for the night. I have no love for Grylmark either, and he will not be coming anywhere near here if he knows what's good for him. As long as you stay within these walls, you will be safe from his influence. One of the guest rooms upstairs has already been made available for you."
Nothing bad had happened so far – nothing really bad. No one had attacked or threatened them in any way, although Yagami's behaviour had been a little difficult to deal with at times. And now they were being allowed to stay here for the night?
Hayate didn't know if accepting her invitation would be the right thing to do. With her sight returned, she should surely be able to fly up above Uminari City with Vita and find another place to sleep for the night. But she was also mindful that a curfew was in effect outside, and that night had fallen many hours ago...
I keep telling myself that we're constantly in danger, but it doesn't feel like that anymore. Yes, Yagami and her servants are dangerous to us, and Yagami herself isn't exactly in the most stable of minds...but no one's made a single move against us. If she still wants me dead, then why is she offering to let us stay for the night? There would be so many missed opportunities.
"I'd be glad to accept your offer, Yagami," she said with a small smile. Refusing her help probably wouldn't go down very well. "Thank you for your generosity." She inclined her head towards the green-haired woman to her right. "Thank you as well, Dr Kaizen, for curing me."
For some reason, the doctor looked incredibly uncomfortable upon hearing that, and quickly averted her gaze away from Hayate. The Bureau mage found this a little baffling, but let it go.
"This is not generosity I am giving you, Hayate," Yagami said thickly. "It is just common sense and simple-minded convenience. Noriko?" The curly-haired maid rose from her seat. "Take Hayate up to her room. See to it that all of her needs are met, as an esteemed guest of the House of Yagami."
"As you wish, Yagami-sama," Noriko said obediently, bowing her head. She gestured to Hayate and Vita. "Please follow me, Miss Hayate."
As one, the two Bureau mages stood up and followed the head maid out of the dining room, taking a path that led towards one of the great staircases which they had passed earlier. Vita's presence had gone largely unnoticed by everyone throughout the whole of dinner – apparently, they had eyes only for Hayate. For the most part, Hayate decided that it worked to her advantage.
With Noriko leading from some distance ahead of them, Hayate and Vita climbed the stairs up to the first floor, the silence of the night surrounding them. The entire mansion seemed to have been laid to rest, and only a few of the lights were on anymore. It had to be close to midnight.
"So," Vita said in a low voice, once they were completely clear of the dining room and the head maid was out of earshot. "Now what?"
Hayate combed back at the back of her hair, walking forward confidently. "What do you think?" she replied. "We keep ourselves safe tonight. Tomorrow, we can start looking for the rest of the Bureau." She smiled. "You probably think Yagami still wants me dead, don't you?"
"Well..." The Velka Knight hesitated. "We still shouldn't stick around."
"We made it through all of dinner. I think we can make it through the night as well." Hayate tucked her arm around Vita's shoulders. "I'm still thinking ahead, you know. There's defences we can put in place around our room in case anyone comes whilst we're sleeping. If keep myself transformed, I can detect them. Happy now?"
Grudgingly, Vita let her hug her around the neck. "I guess you think of everything," she admitted.
Back in the dining room, Yagami sat in silence at the table, mulling over her memories of the past hour and a half. To be able to meet and chat with her double from an alternate universe...it had really been an extraordinary experience. She hadn't felt like this in, oh, not for a very long time. It was refreshing to know that people existed out there who didn't fall into the category of servant or Sinner. Yagami had been surrounded by servants every day for the past several years, and to her knowledge, everyone else in the world was just a Sinner. It was their fate, after all. Sooner or later, they would all fall to the Harlaown Program.
Despite herself, she struggled to find the right word to describe Hayate. Most of the words that Yagami was familiar with spoke purely of negativity. Somehow, that wasn't what Hayate seemed to her. The Bureau mage had smiled at her, spoke honestly and from the heart, and even seemed to have enjoyed her company. Yagami couldn't remember the last time that anyone had ever enjoyed talking to her. Except for Lady Testarossa, of course, but that was an entirely different story. Even Suzuka smiled at her like she did because she was paid to.
It was strange, really strange. On almost every occasion in which Yagami had had guests in her house – and such people were few and far-between, especially in the present – she had ended up losing her temper with them. People had often been hurt, and not to a minor degree. Maybe it was their fault, Yagami thought to herself. It probably was their fault for asking her something that made her react like that. Quite a few of them had had to be put to death soon enough, but that wasn't her responsibility. People simply had to be more respectful of her moods.
But Hayate? The dinner conversation with her had been remarkable. Yagami found that she had gained a lot of interesting information out of it – both of them had. Nobody had been injured. She had become a little irritated at one point, but then again, everything in the world irritated her after too long; that was why she craved silence so much, for silence was golden. So it was strange that a girl from another world could make Yagami feel so at home, even if that girl was herself...
I guess it's true. The best conversations I have are with myself.
"Suzuka?" she said mildly. "Was that Hayate?"
The steward nodded. "Yes, Yagami-sama. We just had dinner with her."
"I know that. I know that," Yagami said irritably. "I know that was Hayate. Of course I know. What I'm asking is...is that the same Hayate that I mentioned before? The Hayate that I told Exoria about?"
"Oh, yes," Suzuka said approvingly.
"The same Hayate that I told Exoria was to be her assassination target?"
"Definitely."
Yes, she had told Exoria to kill Hayate. This Hayate, the one from another world. The one she had just had dinner with. Back then, Yagami hadn't been entirely sure that she had been serious. With Grylmark's first arrival at the mansion, and the concept of time travel only just settling in along with Oguba's magnificent powers...the thought of there being another Hayate out there seemed quite far-fetched to her, no matter what Lideri said.
I started detesting Exoria. I gave her this assignment so that I wouldn't have to look at her anymore. For her to assassinate a woman who looked exactly like me...it would be like killing myself, wouldn't it? Everyone wants to do that at some point in their life. You're lying if you're saying that it never crossed your mind.
But now that she had met Hayate in person, it occurred to Yagami that here was a woman who seemed to enjoy her company. A woman that she did not instinctively want dead. As dinner had progressed, any thoughts in her mind of ordering Hayate's death had soon dissipated. She didn't have to kill her, did she?
Still, the assassination contract she had given to Exoria still remained unfinished. A contract was a contract, and it had to be honoured. That was how business went in the House of Yagami.
"Dr Kaizen?" she said suddenly, as a completely different thought arose from the back of her mind. "Tell me, in your own time, how you screwed up."
The green-haired doctor's face turned white. "Lady Yagami - " she said quickly.
"No, no, no." Yagami waved her hand at her face, as if to send her away. "I don't want your excuses. I don't want to hear about how you did everything wrong, just like another Sinner. Noriko did a good job. She cleared up the plates and did everything perfectly. She's perfect, isn't she? Suzuka, I can't remember what you did. I'm going to assume that you were also perfect."
"Thank you, Yagami-sama," the purple-haired steward said with a sigh.
"Yes. So, Dr Kaizen?" The woman in the wheelchair snapped her fingers. "Eyes. Something wrong with her eyes, Dr Kaizen."
"Lady Yagami, I did the best I could!" the doctor protested, wide-eyed in fear. "Your orders to me were to make sure that Miss Hayate was able to see for the duration of her stay, and that was exactly what I did."
Yagami held her hand out for another tissue, and then ripped up the one which was offered to her.
"How long does it last?" she snapped, her anger rising. A guest in her house had not been treated right. A guest that she had taken an interest in personally. "How long does your "treatment" last?"
Dr Kaizen looked down at her feet, her pulse racing.
"Until tomorrow morning," the doctor muttered. "You have to understand, Lady Yagami. The damage that Grylmark did to Miss Hayate is not something I can reverse. I'm afraid to say that it is beyond my power, and - "
"Then what use are you?"
The last sentence came out as a near scream, and the green-haired woman slid back in her chair in frightened silence. A split second later, however, Yagami had calmed down tremendously, just like before.
"I did the best I could," the doctor said again in a low voice. "This is the truth, Lady Yagami. When Miss Hayate wakes up tomorrow, she will find herself blinded for good – that is to say, permanently, for the rest of her life. This is not something that I can change. Only Grylmark could have any possible idea about - "
"Do not talk to me about that man," the mistress hissed. "He entered my inner chambers where no male is allowed. He is to never set foot here again, upon pain of death." She pushed herself away from the table, wheeling around across the floor. "Exoria. Somebody remind me where I put her again."
"The basement, Yagami-sama," Suzuka said right on cue. "With..." She faltered a little, but quickly mastered her features to keep the smile on her face. "You put Exoria in the room next to Felicity, Yagami-sama."
"I did?" Yagami frowned. "So I did. I take it she must be a little hurt by now. Dr Kaizen, go to Exoria and inform her that Hayate is here. If she really wants to prove herself to me, if she really wants to see her dead...then this could prove interesting. Heal her wounds whilst you're down there, because she probably won't be able to walk otherwise." She scratched her head, trying to think. "I may have starved her a little. I can't remember. Ask Devina for some scraps of food to bring down to her in case she's hungry."
The doctor stared at her in disbelief. "Lady Yagami," she said at last, "you want me to go down there? With...with Felicity in the next room?"
"Of course," the mistress said savagely. "Don't be such a coward. Felicity won't bite your head off if you ask her nicely."
Dr Kaizen turned to exchange a very worried look with Suzuka, but the steward wasn't even looking at him.
"With all due respect, Lady Yagami," the doctor said meekly, "I am of the opinion that she would bite many of my limbs clean off, if not my head - "
Yagami struck the table with her clenched fist. "For crying out loud!" she said angrily. "You don't have to go near her! Just go around when she isn't too hungry!" The mistress held her head in her hands as Suzuka patted her on the arm lightly. "Get yourself down there and stop complaining about it for one second! Is there no one here who isn't full of fear all the time? Is this what I founded this Family on?"
With Bardiche held tightly in her hand, Fate struggled to her feet as she fought for breath. The House of Testarossa was far behind her, and nobody had given chase. For the moment, she was safe out of reach. Her vision was blurred with exhaustion and the stress of everything she'd endured up to this point, but Fate knew she couldn't stop. She had to keep going. She had to.
The sky of Mid-childa shone down on her from above, but the buildings were those of Uminari City. How could she be in both places at once? Was all this still real?
"Ma'am?" came a voice behind her. "I'm sorry, but you are in breach of curfew."
Fate whirled around and grabbed the executor by the throat. Her other hand was grasped tightly around Bardiche, but transformation wasn't what was on her mind right now. She could only think about one person.
"Where," she breathed into the man's ear as he struggled in her grip, "is Nanoha?"
There were more of them, more executors coming at her from all sides, but Fate barely noticed them. She relaxed her grip on the gunman's neck to let some more air into his lungs, desperation in her eyes.
"Tell me!"
"I...I don't know..." The executor gasped for air, his arms batting at his sides uselessly as he tried to grab a weapon. "I don't know...who Nanoha is..."
Emotion burning across her face, Fate dropped the man to the ground as three whole squads of executors surrounded her with their weapons raised and armed. She was angry, fed-up, and tired. She just wanted to be home with Nanoha and Vivio again. Was that too much to ask? Was that really too much to want for yourself?
"Get out of my way," Fate warned, not caring how many of them there were. "Leave me alone!"
Green gas hissed out of the multiple weapons behind her, drenching the area in a single second, choking through her lungs before she could initiate her transformation. The energy was rapidly sapped from her body and her eyelids began to close, quickly taking her away into unconsciousness.
Too many of them. Too dark to see where the attack was coming from. Too tired to care about anything than finding Nanoha again, tired enough that she'd been caught unawares like that. In her last fleeting moments, Fate wondered if she even cared anymore...
With a strangled cry, she plunged to the ground, grasping at the earth. Her blonde hair tumbled down across her shoulders as Fate crumpled before the gunmen silently.
Nanoha...
"Whew," said one of the executors, as the sleep gas cleared the air. "Strange for a civilian to put up such a fight. Hey, you!" He called towards the man who Fate had attacked. "You okay? Did she hurt you too much?"
"She has no HX chip," another of the gunmen grunted. "What's the procedure again? Chrono wants to see all aliens who aren't affiliated with - "
"She's no alien, you idiot," said the leader of one of the squads. "She looks pretty human to me. We'll treat her the same as all the others." He called over to two more of his teammates. "Give us a hand with her, and get busy on your communicator uplink. We're going to need some transport to get her to the detention facility. After that..." He sighed. "Shame, really. I'm not looking forward to seeing her getting executed..."
A/N: I know, the last bit is a bit rushed. Finally I've finished the long segments with having dinner. Next, the second day of the new Mid-childa begins.