A Saga of Tanya the Evil/The Irregular at Magic High School crossover.
I do not in any way, shape, or form lay claim to either of these works.
This is just a work of admiration from one fan, to those others that share the same interest.
The only characters or places I lay claim to are those solely of my own creation.
Tuesday June 10th,1:31 am, 2094
Tanya tossed in her sleep, soft, almost unheard whimpers and half spoken words slipping from the restless figure as she faced the horrors of what she had done in the one place she could not evade them, the confines of her sleeping mind. The events of the last few days of their involvement in the war continue to play themselves out once again, without the escape to this new world and time. She cries out softly in her sleep "Visha..N..No..D..don't go...Don't leave me alone….again…"
It's this that causes Visha to finally stir, having lain and watched her restless companion for some time before she slips silently from her bed, padding over cautiously towards her roommate. She has to be careful, she knows all too well that the Argent doesn't react well when being woken suddenly. She hesitates, unsure of what to do for a moment then remembers what her mother used to do for her, when she was little and struck by nightmares.
Visha settles gently on the edge of the bed, running a gentle hand through the messy hair of her former commander, leaning down to whisper softly in her ear. "It's ok, Tanya. I am here. I am not going anywhere. You saved me. You saved us. You're a good person, my little Argent. My friend." She continues to whisper soft, soothing words as she gently strokes the hair of the one person who means the most to her, in this or any other world.
Tanya starts to settle, moving closer in her sleep towards the beacon of warmth, light and comfort that seems to call to her from out of the darkness of her dreams. She settles in close, her breathing starting to slow, to ease back into a more restful pattern.
Visha smiles softly, an ache in her chest that is unrelated to the mechanical heart that no longer can skip a beat. In the stillness of the night, in the quiet of their shared room, she finds herself confronted with things that she doesn't understand, that she can't quite grasp and as always, she pushes them away. With what was to be one final fond gesture she brushes Tanya's hair before trying to get up. Trying, that is, because with a little whimper of protest she finds herself suddenly being pulled into her former commander's bed by surprisingly strong arms and embraced tightly. She freezes for a moment, and that is all it takes for her to be firmly stuck in the iron grasp of the Argent.
Wide eyed, Visha stares into the beauteous face of her former commander, feeling the iron grip tighten whenever she attempts to move. 'Well,' she thinks to herself 'there are worse places to be stuck, as long as she can extract herself before Tanya wakes in the morning.' No need to cause a commotion, after all. That is what she thinks to herself before giving in and settling back in close, letting Tanya have her way in this.
The pair of them sleep well for the rest of the night.
Tuesday June 10th, 6:00am, 2094
It is a very relieved Visha that watches her friend, dare she say friend? Yes, friend finish her breakfast before they make their way to school. She was lucky that she had woken up first, as usual, and managed to extract herself from the Argent's bed. How she ended up the big spoon to Tanya's little spoon, she wasn't sure and she certainly was not going to examine those thoughts at this moment. Maybe not ever.
The pair of them make their way to the school, using this chance to once again work on their mage craft, both moving along at a good clip. Not as fast or convenient as flying, but they would do what they could with what they had on hand.
Visha stands at the front of the class and introduces herself, no need for fake names just a made up background, after all. "Hello, all. I'm Viktroriya Serebryakov, but please, just call me Visha. I am looking forward to learning with you all. I apologize that I missed the beginning of the year, but I was just recently released from the hospital." She smiles warmly with just the slightest tilt of her head.
Tanya smiles happily as she watches her friend. Friend, right? She frowns just a bit, chewing on her bottom lip as she mulls this over. She guessed that since they were no longer comrades in arms, or members of the military, or even superior and adjutant that she might have to reevaluate just what their relationship was to each other. Not that they HAD a relationship with each other, or anything, it just was more convenient if there was an accurate label to define them. Already, she had seen many benefits to their new, closer understanding. The quality of her coffee and breakfast had improved, and last night was probably the best night's sleep she had had in years, if ever. She nods to herself, catching Visha's eye for a moment before looking away. Yes, friends.
Visha for her part blushes slightly as she locks eyes with the Argent, then nods once more to her teacher before striding quickly and purposefully to her seat, conveniently next to Tanya's, and settling in for the rest of homeroom.
After class, the new girl was, of course, mobbed by her new classmates. They seemed intent to ask a million questions to the overly polite former officer. Inwardly, Tanya was by stages amused, anxious and then finally at the end agitated. Perhaps it was the presence of the overly loud boys that seemed to be now congregating at the edge of the mob, looking at Visha in a way that she found hardly polite in decent society.
With a quick step forward, she presses her way to Visha's side, looping her arm through the other girls in an almost possessive manner, if one were to squint just a bit. "Come along, Visha, we had best not be late for your next class."
Visha nods, all her attention instantly on the Argent, before turning back to the gaggle of girls. "I'm sorry, we really should be moving on to the next class. It wouldn't do for me to start being late on my first day, after all!" She says in that manner that is so innocent, bright and cheerful. Not that Tanya would think that, of course.
They move quickly to their next class, only breaking their impromptu formation when the next classrooms door proves to be an obstacle. Neither girl looks at the other for a moment as they make their way to their seats, and prepare for history. A very convenient class for the two temporal refugees.
Classes proceed in a manner that works to soothe the nerves of Tanya, even if the amount of attention that Visha constantly gathers proves oddly vexing to her. Lunch is a bit of a reprieve, neither of them having established themselves in social circles so they are left to their own devices while Tanya eats a reasonable amount of food, watching with a sense of amusement as Visha sets to her plate like a battlefield, laying copious waste to the arrays of foods on her tray.
"You know that you can eat like that every day. But if you do, Visha, we might need to find you a new regulation uniform to handle your increased mass." Tanya says as she watches her over the rim of her cup.
Visha pauses long enough to take a drink, swallow, and reply. "But I'm practically skin and bones. I'm a growing young woman, after all. And it's good, maybe even better than the K-brats we had outside of Berun." She says in that intense manner she tends to get when food is the matter of discussion.
Tanya chuckles and shakes her head, taking another drink of her bitter black brew. "Only you would compare some of the better food we have had outside of that little inn we visited outside of Parisee to K-brats." She gives an amused little shake of her head and continues to eat, quick furtive glances cast towards Visha throughout their shared meal.
The classes on magical theory and application are some of the more difficult for the two of them, since they not only have to master a new style of mage craft, they have to undo years and years of conditioning. It's proving to be a task that will take some time to master, even if some interesting results already show some possibilities, at least to the devious little mind of one former Devil of the Rhine.
After classes, they gather their things and move towards the sports and club areas of the school to meet the other first years that will be part of the upcoming competition. Tanya's initial impression is less than favorable as she takes in the varying levels of pompous and incompetent that she sees arrayed before her. She catches herself reaching for a cap that hasn't been there for six months and instead brushes the hair out of her eyes. Out of the corner of her eye she catches Visha's amused little grin, knowing full well where that habit usually led.
The older students that are to take this gaggle of teens under their wing's finally make an appearance, only managing to continue to ruffle the feathers of one diminutive former aerial mage. The fact that it's Lutz might be part of the agitation, yes.
"Hey there! Glad you could all make it! I'm Lutz Lergen, and this is Hans Sieber." He motions to the handsome golden blond next to him. "We will be managing you this year and getting you ready for the Seven Schools Competition. Now, before we announce who we want to be doing what sports, I was hoping that we could see who wants to participate in what? It's always best to have an idea where you think you are before we find out if your a good fit or not, of course." He rambles as Tanya watches him, and especially this Hans who seems, at least to her, to be sizing up the students. The fact that he seems to spend a bit more time on each of the girls than the boys doesn't go unnoticed, either.
Tanya clears her throat. "As enlightening as all that is, Mr. Lergen, wouldn't it be best to know what you think we are suited for before we cast our votes. Seeing as you are more familiar with the format that we will be using, after all." She says, locking eyes with him in a subtle challenge.
Lutz chuckles and rubs the back of his head, then smiles. "Well, maybe, but I only know what your records have to say. I haven't seen most of you in action, after all. I mean, there are some that already are well suited for one event of another. Now, there are some that are mysteries, of course." He fixes her with a pointed look, then is the first one to look away.
Hans, for his part, has started to circulate and talk to the other students. Once again, the fact that most of them are female does not go unnoticed by Tanya. She clears her throat again, barely keeping herself from dropping into parade rest. "I was hoping that I might partake in either speed shooting or crowd ball. Perhaps Icicle break, as well. The chance to test out theories in that format could be most educational."
Lutz nods, watching Tanya intently. "Well, for your two events, we had one in mind, but if you think you can handle either crowd ball or speed shooting better than the others that will want to attempt them, we can see what can be arranged."
"And what is the other competition you had me tagged for, if I may ask?" Tanya says, already getting an oddly bad feeling about this.
"Well, why don't we find out what your lovely friend would like to do first?" Hans says as he intrudes on the conversation. He seems to be impervious to the dark glare that Tanya casts his way, the murderous look only faltering at the gentle touch of Visha's hand on her arm.
"As much as I would like to participate, my recent hospital visit has left me unable to use anything but a highly specialized CAD for now." Visha says in an easy manner, sticking to the story that Doctor Schugel had laid out for her.
Hans frowns a bit. "I see, well, that is a shame. I thought that you would be perfect for Mirage Bat, if we can't get our first choice to sign up."
Visha beams a bit, clasping her hands together in that earnest way of hers. "Oh! That is a real shame, I enjoy watching it! I've been re-watching the previous competitions, and the combination of aerial grace and tactical sense is impressive. The costumes are cute, as well, so perhaps that does help." She gets that thoughtful look on her face, as Tanya feels the inevitable gears of fate starting to close on her for some reason.
"And who, praytell, is your first choice?" She asks, afraid that she already knows the answer.
Needless to say, the double grins she gets from the two boys does not set her heart at ease.
She warily casts her gaze towards Visha, and feels her shoulders fall as she sees that beaming, hopeful look in her friend's eyes.
"Fine, I will try it." Tanya says, sensing defeat. Those eyes are going to be the death of her one of these days.