"You want to do what now?" asked Dean. It had been two months and Hayate's birthday was coming up and he wanted to make it special.

"We know that whoever created those familiars that abducted Hayate will likely try again soon. So we want to complete the book since it only needs a hundred pages to be finished. That way they can't harm her or do anything to her," said Signum.

They had discussed this with Hayate a few days ago, and Reinforce was all for it, provided that they get permission to drain the cores first. The last thing they needed was for the TSAB to be drawn into this before Hayate became the permanent Master of the book and it's contents.

Especially considering the fact that once she was complete, Hayate would be safe from more than just an organization that had been haunting Reinforce for years now. Boy, were the Wolkenritter and the TSAB going to be in for a shock when her form changed!

"How long would it take you to complete, and is this going to bite us in the ass later?"

"It shouldn't take too long, and Hayate was very firm on the conditions we had to meet before we finished the book. We have to get permission before we drain anyone so that the Bureau can't come after us for attacking their mages," said Signum immediately.

It was a distinct change from their former masters.

"What will Hayate gain once this thing is complete?"

"According to Reinforce, once complete she will be able to keep Hayate safe from anything trying to possess her, and she'll be able to use her linker core without damaging it. Another thing is that this will keep her safe later once the TSAB realizes that the 'book' will no longer go out of control once it's completed."

"Does she have to do it now?"

"No, but the sooner it's done the better off we'll be later," said Signum.

"Then it can wait until after her birthday at least," said Dean firmly.

They could go 'core hunting' as Dean privately called it after Hayate celebrated her eighth birthday.

There were a surprising number of hunters at Hayate's birthday party. Then again, most of them were regulars at Ellen's bar and had become smitten with the innocent girl who knew about the supernatural and was willing to hear their (slightly edited) stories about what they did.

Finding out Hayate not only knew what Dean and Sam did for a living but was okay with it had made it easier on the hunters at the bar.

So long as they didn't tell her stories that were too scary, they could quit hiding around her. And Hayate admired them for doing a job most people wouldn't even consider without being paid a lot of money first...plus hazard pay.

So yes, the hunters were partial to the little girl who looked up to them.

Hayate's classmates were there as well, while Vita played the discreet bodyguard.

Everyone just loved Zafira, who despite his large size (and thankfully removable gauntlets), was perfectly gentle around the kids. The adults made sure to stay within eyesight of the large wolf-like dog though, for their own peace of mind.

It was the best birthday Hayate had since her mother and step-father died.

The best part of the party? Hayate didn't have to use the crutches once.

Nanoha Takamachi was a normal girl with a secret. She was a mage. Just recently she became friends with a strange boy named Yuuno who opened up her world and even managed to save another girl her age named Fate, along with her familiar Aruf.

So the thought of others like her on Earth at the time never crossed her mind.

Naturally she was very surprised when a few weeks after Yuuno left to testify for Fate's trial as a witness, a girl with red hair and grumpy looking eyes showed up asking her for help.

"Who are you?"

"Call me Violet. Are you a mage?" she asked bluntly.

Nanoha was surprised the girl new. She didn't recognize her and she was always so careful to keep her practice secret. Yuuno had been firm on that point.

"I am. Why?"

"It's hard to explain, but the one I serve needs to borrow some of your linker core in order to keep the TSAB from coming after her again. The sooner we complete a certain book, the less chance they'll have to come after her later," said Violet.

"You need to borrow some of my core? How does that work?" asked Nanoha. She wasn't outright saying no, which made 'Violet' looked relieved.

"The book that my master inherited absorbs a portion of the linker core to add to it's spell arsenal. Unfortunately it's also a Lost Logia, so the previous users weren't very nice about the absorption process. The TSAB doesn't want it to be filled again because of past users, but we want them to quit coming after her. They've even kidnapped her once just because they were after the book," said Violet.

"That doesn't sound like the TSAB."

"Do you know all the members of the Bureau?" said Violet. Nanoha shook her head. Her only experience with them was the crew of the Arthra. "Then how can you know how they would react to what is classed as a dangerous Lost Logia?"

Nanoha blinked.

"Well the ones I know wouldn't target your master just because she happens to own a Lost Logia."

"But they're not the only ones in the Bureau are they?" countered Violet.

"What exactly will happen if I let you absorb a portion of my core exactly?"

"The process is a lot less painful if it's voluntary from what I heard, but the worst that would happen is that you would be unable to exercise your core for about a week. Our master had hers drained by something we managed to get rid of and it took her very little time for her core to recover. And she's about your age," said Violet.

"And if I said no?"

"She was very firm that we only take voluntary cores, and not attack people. She doesn't want the TSAB to have more reason to come after her," said Violet immediately.

Nanoha thought it over. While the request was unusual, the girl had been upfront about why she needed to borrow some of her magic and a week wasn't too big a downtime. And she had asked politely instead of attacked her outright.

"I can send Sharon back here to make sure you're actually recovering properly," offered Violet.

"Fair enough," said Nanoha.

Violet's absorption of her core was a little uncomfortable, but it didn't feel too painful. Nanoha decided to head home and she went straight to sleep.

A week later, after getting another video letter from Fate, a blond woman with green eyes visited her to insure that she was recovering from the absorption. Sharon looked relieved that Nanoha was recovering just fine and would be practicing magic again in two days at least.

Nanoha thought nothing of it after that, and continued her daily magic practice once she was given the clear.

"Wow... that red head we found in Uminari had a lot of magic. There's over fifty pages in here," said Vita.

She had been extra careful to hide her real name from the girl, who was at least amicable to having her core drained.

The TSAB couldn't exactly complain when they asked first and made sure that the ones letting them absorb their cores made a full recovery. It was sure to confuse the hell out of them, which amused the Wolkenritter greatly.

"Which means we only need about sixty more to complete the book," said Signum.

"Didn't Hayate say that she absorbed that Trickster's core before he brought her back?" said Vita.

"I think so. Why?"

"So shouldn't it stand to reason we could do the same to the other creatures? It wouldn't be the first time we filled the book with the core of non-humans," said Vita.

"That would be piecemeal," said Signum. Most creatures couldn't fill more than one or two pages.

"But it would mean that the TSAB couldn't come after us for attacking dangerous creatures that are known to attack humans indiscriminately," said Zafira, catching on to Vita's idea.

"And the draining process would give Sam and Dean all the chance they would need to take the monster out," said Shamal.

"Let's ask Hayate if she's alright with it first," said Signum.

So they did. Hayate was fine with them draining the monsters her family went after, especially since it meant they would be keeping her dad and uncle safe as a side effect.

Even if it was slow going, it was worth the time it took to find a new hunt as long as it kept the TSAB from coming after Hayate once it was complete.

Fate Testarossa was glad to be back on Earth. Even if it meant she might not get to stay, she at least got to see Nanoha again.

However the chance that she might have to leave again soon was quickly stalled when Nanoha mentioned her strange encounter.

"Let me get this straight. A red haired girl about your age with pigtails and angry eyes asked to absorb your linker core...and you let her?" said Chrono.

"She was rather polite about it and she sent someone a week later to make sure I was recovering properly. She said she didn't want the TSAB to kidnap her master again just to get at the Lost Logia she had inherited," said Nanoha.

Considering the girl had at least asked first and made sure she recovered, Nanoha honestly didn't see what the big deal was.

Chrono however was very twitchy. A Lost Logia in the form of a book that absorbed linker cores? That was far too familiar. The only oddity was that the one absorbing it into the book had asked first and insured that her victim recovered after.

"Could you recognize her if you saw her again? Or her friend."

"I'm pretty sure, why?"

Chrono went over to a display and brought up a series of pictures. It took Nanoha two minutes to find the two she had encountered.

"Here they are! She introduced herself as Violet and this is her friend Sharon."

"Shamal and Vita. Is this the book the girl had with her?" asked Chrono.

"That's the same one she had! But it didn't look nearly as ominous," said Nanoha.

"You had a run-in with the Book of Darkness and didn't think it was worth mentioning in your letters?" said Chrono upset.

"Actually Violet... Vita... said that the device's name was Reinforce. Though Vita made an odd comment when she found me."

"What comment was that?"

"She said that the TSAB had kidnapped her master before, but that she had escaped back to her family. And that they tried a second time but they were stopped before they got close. I'm sure if they come here again we can ask them what they meant," said Nanoha reasonably.

There's a TSAB cruiser parked outside Earth. This might be a good time to bring those idiot cats to justice, said Reinforce.

Hayate blinked. She was helping Ellen in the kitchen while Jo tended the bar. Ellen had been pleasantly surprised Hayate knew the basics of how to cook and prepare food. She wasn't allowed to be near the knives without an adult with her, but at least now Ellen had someone to share recipes with. Jo was more of a tomboy and didn't like anything too feminine. She could make something just barely edible, but that was it.

Why don't we wait until Signum and the others return first? Hayate suggested.

Signum and Shamal were out on a hunt with Sam and Dean. It made gathering pages and information on hunts easier, because they could split the jobs. More often than not, Dean was paired with Signum as some form of official police presence while Shamal and Sam acted as reporters.

Between two groups asking for information, it made narrowing things down so much easier. And that was before the two added magic into the mix. So far though, the most they had done on that front was absorb the cores and give Sam and Dean time to take the monster out.

Hayate heard the Impala drive in and grinned. Ellen nodded and let her rush out to meet her father and uncle.

"Dad! Uncle Sammy!"

Dean lent down and let Hayate pull him into a hug. Loki had one thing right about his daughter...she was very huggable. And she didn't mind initiating a hug either. Sam chuckled at the sight. No matter how often he saw it, it was always fun to see his annoying older brother turn into a giant softie whenever he was around his daughter. Sam had no illusions about it either, he knew that Hayate had them practically wrapped around her finger and didn't seem to care.

Hayate then turned to an amused Signum and Shamal.

"Welcome back Signum, Shamal," she said.

"It's good to be home," said Signum.

"Reinforce said that there's a TSAB cruiser orbiting the planet. Maybe now we can get those cats to leave us alone," said Hayate.

Signum didn't look happy about it, but this meant a higher chance they could finish the book and be done with it. This time she was going since they were more likely to listen to an adult, with Shamal as support.

"Who knows, maybe I can finally have some friends to talk to in Japanese," continued Hayate.

While she didn't mind speaking English, she missed having someone to talk to in her native tongue. Sam and Bobby didn't mind keeping their foreign language skills in practice, but it would be nice not to have to switch to English.