Chapter 2

Administrative Planet Number 69

A few weeks later…

"That's it, Fate! Try to find the source of the energy!"

Sasuke looked at his son and Fate training in the preparation area. In the last few days, they had seen why Fate was a brilliant Enforcer, her skills and the way she conducted it were a product of years of training, a natural ability, and her connection to her device. It was incredible and Sasuke personally understood why there were people against her.

Power was scary and Fate had enough power to make some people uncomfortable.

Sasuke never understood politics and that's why he thought differently. Fate was a gift not only in her abilities but also in how gentle she was when she wasn't in battle. She had a soft smile despite everything she went through and she took care of Fenrir as if he was her child. She also brought him the memories of his wife, thinking about her and how proud she would be if Fate were their daughter.

It was weird how even if they weren't related, Fate was a perfect mix of him and his deceased wife and how well she got along with Kaito. The boy has been smiling more and even he started to call Fate, 'little sister' because she was just a couple of years younger. It also helped that Kaito was the only one with abilities to help Fate in her training, which brought them closer.

Kaito could sense energy, like his mother, and thanks to that, he was able to teach Fate how to move and fight sensing the movement and the energy of her opponent. That gave her a sense of security and confidence that helped to improve her humor and her mental stability.

Sasuke knew there was still a long way to go but this improvement was important and he was happy with this for now. He chuckled as he saw Kaito being forced to use his barrier when Fate almost hit him with her weapon then, she jumped back with elegance and smiled towards the location where she was hearing her 'brother's' ragged breath.

"Alright. I think I need a break." said Kaito.

"Was it too much for you?" asked Fate, chuckling.

"I admit I wasn't prepared for this kind of training, little sis." said Kaito.

Fate laughed and using 'Bardiche' to guide herself, she walked with Kaito towards the door. The bond was growing with each passing day but Kaito still remembered the moment where he felt Fate open up to him. It was the day he brought her a little wolfdog he found only days before he rescued her.

Kaito still remembered the day he brought the little animal, and how sad he looked. The little animal refused to eat and didn't seem to react to any word Kaito told him but the day they brought Fate, the wolfdog reacted, wanting to be out of his cage, and despite his worry, Kaito chose to follow his intuition and brought the wolfdog to Fate.

Since that day, the wolfdog was Fate's guide, partner, and keeper of her deepest secrets and his presence allowed Fate to open up to others, knowing she had someone who loved her unconditionally.

"Woof!"

Fate's smile was brilliant when she heard her wolfdog and they heard his steps, running towards them. The wolfdog stopped right in front of Fate and lowered his head until Fate's hand touched him, letting her know he was right beside her. Kaito smiled softly, the animal was still a puppy but his connection to Fate was so strong that he knew what she needed before she voiced it.

"Hi there, boy." said Fate.

"Woof!"

The wolfdog then looked at Kaito who also welcomed him with a big smile.

"Have you been a good boy, Fenrir?" asked Kaito.

"Woof!" said the wolfdog, proudly.

"He has been a good boy, most of the day." said Sasuke, not far from them.

Kaito looked up to her father and Fate moved her head towards the voice while Fenrir sat in front of Fate, looking as happy as he felt. Sasuke wasn't fond of animals but he had to admit that Fenrir was giving him a new perspective, even if he still had a lot to learn.

"Another pair of shoes?" said Kaito.

"He was so excited when he saw Fate winning that he sent my shoes through the window before running here." said Sasuke, chuckling. "I think one of my new lab scientists almost had a heart attack when he saw a small shadow running here but I can't blame him, not every day we get to see Captain Toshiba asking for a timeout."

"Father, we were training." said Kaito.

"Well, you did ask for a timeout." said Fate, amused.

"Woof!"

Kaito raised his arms in defeat while Sasuke and Fate laughed and it was at that moment that Sasuke found himself thinking again about the idea that had been plaguing his mind for the past days.

"Alright, I'm going to leave now with the rest of my dignity. Have fun." said Kaito, laughing.

Fate and Sasuke chuckled as Kaito walked toward the men's locker room. Once they were alone, Sasuke took a moment to look at Fate, thinking about his idea and if this was a good moment to talk to her about it. He already talked to Kaito about it and the young man was more than happy to agree with his father that this was a good idea but Sasuke still needed to know Fate's opinion since her answer would be one of deciding if he go through with his plan or not.

"Fate, do you have a moment?" asked Sasuke.

Fate nodded, walking with Sasuke and Fenrir towards his office and once inside. She sat down with her loyal wolfdog beside her while Sasuke tried to come up with a proper way to talk to her. He was nervous because he didn't want to push her away but he felt as if this was the right choice.

Fate was family now and with each passing day, Sasuke couldn't think of any other outcome.

"Is something wrong, sir?" asked Fate, sensing his nerves.

"Yes…" said Sasuke, looking at the young woman in front of him and her wolfdog. "I wanted to ask you something, Fate… something important."

"Alright." said Fate.

Sasuke could hear the tension in her voice and almost wanted to hit himself for making her nervous. He had to remember that she used to think that nobody needed her and that if he wanted to do this, he had to be as direct as possible.

You can do this, Sasuke. I know you can.

The sweet voice of his wife gave him a sense of peace that he didn't know he needed. He knew she was with him no matter what but knowing that she also agreed with his choice by giving him permission was all he needed.

"Fate… I wanted to know if you, well… if you wanted to become my daughter." said Sasuke, nervous. "You get along with Kaito and to be honest with you, my wife and I always wanted to have a little girl, a sister for Kaito, someone that would be there for him if we couldn't, and you… since you came here, he smiles more and I have been thinking that we look like a family and I wanted to make it official if you want, of course, I…"

"Sir." said Fate, interrupting Sasuke.

Sasuke took a deep breath, looking at those empty burgundy eyes and wondering if he just made the worst mistake of his life. She was so fragile and had gone through so much that maybe this was the last thing she needed, maybe she wanted to leave when this was over, maybe this was nothing but work and she still had trouble trusting others.

Not that he could blame her if that was the case. He sighed, getting ready for the worst-case scenario when he saw her smile at him.

"It would be an honor to become your daughter, Sasuke Toshiba." said Fate.

Sasuke didn't know how much he needed to hear those words until Fate said them. He chuckled to hide how much he wanted to cry when she took a step towards him and put a hand on his arm, giving him a soft smile.

It was like his wife's smile. Fate truly was a weird mix of him and his wife even if she wasn't their biological daughter and he couldn't help but feel happy because with her by their side now, it wouldn't be only him and Kaito. Now it would be Fate too.

"Good." said Sasuke, using his free hand to hide his emotions. "Welcome to the family, Fate."

"Woof!?"

Sasuke chuckled, this time happy as he looked down at the small wolfdog that was looking at them, trying to make his presence known. Sasuke knelt in front of the animal and touched his head tenderly as the animal tried to lick his hand.

"Of course, Fenrir. You are part of our family too." said Sasuke.

Fate smiled when the small animal barked and jumped to the arms of his master while Sasuke got up. They didn't realize that Kaito was watching the whole scene from the male locker room, unable to hold back the tears as he saw his new family smiling at each other, happy to be together.

And in that moment he realized that he would do anything to protect this family and Fate. They would be there for her every step of the way. Kaito made that promise as he closed the door that he would never betray the frail trust his new sister was putting in him and his father.

He wouldn't let her down because she was his sister and he would always protect her.

"No one is left behind." said Kaito, closing his eyes. "I promise you that, mother."

He smiled, as he felt the ghost of his mother's touch on his cheek, knowing that somewhere, she would be watching over them.

Unit 6 (Mid-Childa)

Commander Yagami's Office

She sighed looking at the files in front of her. At first, she didn't believe the rumors but now, looking at all the evidence her Enforcers have gathered about the matter, she had no choice but to think that her worst nightmares were real.

Scaglietti was still alive and that was something Hayate Yagami didn't know how to deal with. She closed her eyes, feeling a headache when she heard the phone and without looking at it, Hayate answered.

"Commander."

Hayate opened her eyes to see Shari, an Enforcer assistant and for the past few months the person in charge of dealing with the press when Hayate was unable to do it. Shari looked tired but still, she acted professional.

"Yes, Shari."

"The press is here again. They want to know if the rumors about Scaglietti are true." said Shari.

"We don't have anything to confirm that information yet. Tell them I will call for them when I have real evidence." said Hayate.

Shari didn't end the call like Hayate expected and looking at her, Hayate could tell that Shari had something else to say but in total honesty, the Commander was not in the mood to deal with the press or with personal thoughts about matters she couldn't solve.

"Commander, they want…"

"Shari." said Hayate, firm and so out of character that Shari looked away. "I won't talk to anyone until I have evidence, if they want to say something against us, let them but now I have put a team together and find out if that man is still out there or not."

Hayate ended the call feeling horrible for being like that to the poor girl but right now she had other things to take care of and the tension she had been feeling for weeks, only got worse when her eyes landed on the name written in one of the documents.

Fate T. Harlaow.

The pain that name caused her was so big Hayate was forced to move her chair back and look away as if the document with that name burned her. She hadn't seen that name in months and yet, Hayate couldn't stop the feeling of missing something regarding that name and the events that made her unable to look at it.

The evidence against her was clear but Hayate's heart didn't want to believe it. Fate was her best friend, a good person, and yet, the evidence against her put Hayate in a place she never thought she would be.

And then that other event happened and Hayate was left with no choice but to believe that everything was true.

Flashback

"Commander Yagami, there is no mistake, here, look at the results."

Hayate looked at the document Officer Marcus Kyo gave her, worried that his words meant the only thing she was refusing to believe but as she read the document, her worst fears came true.

Her hand was trembling as she read the report of an attack that happened a few days ago. The victims, Momoko and Shiro Takamachi, parents of her best friend and Instructor Nanoha Takamachi, were attacked in their house. Fortunately, they both suffered minor injuries and apparently, their memories were erased but that wasn't the reason why Hayate was shaking.

It was the name of the responsible for the attack that made Hayate feel like she was going to faint at any moment.

"Are you sure about this?" asked Hayate.

"Yes, Commander. The marks we found in Takamachi's household are the same as we found in the evidence room of this building where we found the body of one of your officers. It was Fate T. Harlaow."

Hayate took a deep breath, closing her eyes. She knew that the attack and Fate's escape from prison were related but she wanted to think that Fate was there for any other reason. Her heart didn't want to believe that Fate would do this.

It was a nightmare. Hayate knew Fate loved Nanoha more than her life and she and Nanoha's family were close so she could not believe that Fate was responsible for the attack but the evidence… 'Bardiche' marks were all over the place.

She had no choice but she hated herself for it.

"Tell them I will put together a team to look for Fate T. Harlaow as soon as possible." said Hayate.

The officer nodded and left her office while Hayate closed her eyes, trying to stop the tears that wanted to fall. She couldn't cry now. She had to make several calls and start an operation to arrest her other best friend. It was her job as Commander.

But as a friend, Hayate could not stop the tears from falling from her eyes as she reached for her phone to give the orders that would break her heart.

End Flashback

Hayate only remembers a time when she felt so hopeless and that was the first time they arrested Fate, several weeks before the Takamachi were attacked. She painfully remembered Fate's red eyes going from confusion to a red void that felt like a knife to Hayate's heart when Fate realized that any of her friends or even Nanoha were trying to help her.

Once she was sent to prison, Hayate became a coward who chose not to push for more information when the TSAB told her that they were too personally involved to know about the investigation. Only Erio and Caro tried to find more information but they were too young and did not have enough rank to ask for these questions.

Hayate as Commander was the only one with that rank and she walked away not wanting to give more trouble to Unit 6. She knew that other cadets like Teana didn't fully believe the evidence but Hayate didn't move, just like her Wolkenwritten, Lindy, Chrono, and Nanoha.

They choose to believe the evidence and with that, they seal Fate's destiny by walking away from her.

Nanoha and Vivio also let go of Fate, especially after the Takamachi was attacked. It was hard to believe but with no more evidence of those marks, Nanoha refused to allow 'Fate's' name to be told in her presence and Vivio wasn't sure if she wanted to keep the name of her Fate-mama. Hayate understood this was their defense mechanism but watching Nanoha and Vivio break down and refuse to acknowledge Fate's presence created a void in the team Hayate didn't know how to repair.

Hayate sighed, right now all she could worry about was to get a team to find Fate and find out more about those rumors regarding Scaglietti. If that man was out there, Vivio was a target and Nanoha would be even more paranoid, besides, Hayate had the feeling that if all the information she was getting was real, Fate also could be in danger.

If he got Fate or for some reason, she agreed to join forces with him, Hayate would have to aid Nanoha in taking down Fate, since they were the only people able to do so and if that happened, Hayate was scared she would end up destroying both her friends in the process.

She tried to push that thought away by looking at the reports when she heard the sound of an incoming call from her phone. It was Signum, her loyal guardian and the only person Hayate could trust to launch the investigation that could clarify the rumors.

"Hayate."

"Signum, did you find something?" said Hayate.

"I believe so."

Signum didn't say more but looked to the say where Carim was standing. By the look on her face, Hayate knew this wasn't good news and when Carim showed her a clear picture of a half-destroyed ship disappearing, Hayate knew this was the only evidence they needed to confirm Scaglietti was still out there.

We have the worst luck…

"This picture was taken months ago here, in Mid-Childa." said Signum with a sigh. "But since it was disappearing and it was taken by one of Carim's new students, she wasn't able to get a look at it properly until we started to look with Scrya for information."

"I'm so sorry, Hayate. The quality of the picture wasn't good enough to show it to anyone, it was Signum who pointed out it could be Scaglietti's ship since she talked about it with Fate in the past." said Carim.

Hayate almost chuckled at the fact that somehow and despite everything, Fate was still helping them one way or another but her smile quickly fell, as she realized the danger they were all in right now and, looking at the screen, she knew Signum was thinking the same.

They could protect Nanoha and Vivio but Fate is all alone and vulnerable.

She's fine, Hayate… He would not dare to go after her if she is being chased by the whole of Unit 6, right? At least not without a plan.

There was no way to know that for sure, of course, but Hayate had to trust in her instincts that were telling her that she needed to ensure Vivio's safety first and hopefully Nanoha's, or at least, she needed to convince Nanoha not to try and go after him, herself and as far as Hayate knew, there was only one way to do that.

"Signum, bring everyone except Nanoha to my office as soon as possible." said Hayate. "We need a plan."

If Signum had something to say against her orders, she didn't do it, giving Hayate a moment of mental peace while she felt an incoming headache and tried to think how to keep everyone alive and safe. Even if she couldn't stop thinking that she would not be protecting everyone because one of them was missing and there was nothing she could do to protect her from Scaglietti or the dark future awaiting her.

Because despite everything, Hayate knew this time, there was not a happy ending waiting for them.