A/N: I decided to go with a more lighthearted chapter this time around, since the last two were pretty heavy on the emotional roller-coaster scale. I've been dying to use the song WILD STARS in this fic, as it is one of my favorites to come across my MP3 player in my daily routine.

Disclaimer: I do not own the characters or the MGLN anime or any lyrics, songs, or bands referenced throughout the story.

Song Reference: WILD STARS – Love Live! School Idol Project

Idol Project: Riot Force 6

by: ~Nissanity~

Chapter 8 – Rags to Riches

Nanoha POV

"Who is the Deputy Prime Minister?" I asked, a grape in my hand positioned above my girlfriend's mouth.

Fate and I were on the couch of our apartment, my legs currently straddling her lap as she sat against the back cushion. We were currently conducting our version of last minute studying before our flight left later that evening for Tokyo. Our instructor, Shari, was going to administer a quiz for our government class during the plane ride there tonight. She often had to find ways to squeeze in our education during our busy schedules.

Fate looked up at me and opened her mouth slightly, indicating for me to feed her. I complied, and as I placed the grape past her lips she skillfully grabbed my index finger into her mouth, slowly beginning to suck on it and moving her tongue around the tip. Her burgundy eyes then looked into mine suggestively, and she slowly shook her head as if to say, "You can't make me answer."

My voice caught when she began to move her mouth down the length of my finger more, her tongue still gliding around it gently. "F-Fate-chan, you know the punishment if you don't answer the question..." I responded unevenly, beginning to move my legs from around her waist.

She quickly grabbed my hips to return me to my place. "Taro Aso," she said after removing my finger from her mouth. She then smiled as she bit down on the grape, which she had been holding to the side in her cheek. I quickly kissed her so that I could sample it too, mixing it with the taste of her intoxicating lips.

This method of studying together began three months prior, when I had just returned from my promotion tour in Tokyo. I was laying naked on my bed next to Fate, breathing heavily after the third time she had brought me to the peaks of ecstasy within an hour.

"So now what, Fate-chan?" I asked her, still facing the ceiling.

I saw her quickly turn to face me from the corner of my eye. "I think I could use a break for a minute, Nanoha," she said, smiling at me.

I turned my head to look at her in return and rolled my eyes slightly. "No, Fate-chan! I mean... how do we go about this from here on out? Our relationship? It's not like we have a lot of time to do anything besides work as it is."

Fate thought for a minute. "That's true," she replied. "I guess we could just live the way have been before during the day, but at night..." she trailed off, her face beginning to blush furiously.

"Nyahaha, what were you thinking right now about Fate-chan, making you blush like that?" I teased.

Her face turned a darker shade of red. "Um, well you know..." she tried to start.

I slowly crawled closer to her, positioning my body to lay on top of hers. "Nope, I don't actually. I guess you'll just have to show me," I said before taking her mouth into my own again.

The next day, Fate and I were sitting on the floor around our living room table after school. We were trying to take as much advantage as we could of our three hour study hall, before we had to be at dance rehearsal at six that evening.

I had my algebra homework in front of me, the worksheet completely empty, despite the fact that I had been "working" on it for an hour. I had found myself glancing up at Fate across from me, and then staring back down at the sheet of paper, trying to contain my thoughts that kept returning to our previous night together.

Fate was engrossed in her homework, occasionally placing her pen in her teeth to chew on the cap lightly, before returning it to her sheet in front of her. I was both excited at watching her movements, and frustrated that I could do absolutely nothing about it at the moment.

The following day, despite our second night of passion in a row that took my breath away and left her with more than a few marks and bruises, I was again finding myself unable to focus during study hall. I had hoped that our frenzied love-making the night before would have sated my desires throughout the day, but it seemed to only further fuel my need to hear her moans and gasps in bliss again.

By the third day of this repeated pattern, I had given up. I had one arm stretched out across the table, my head lying on the top portion of it, my lips formed into a pout. I had read and reread the same sentence in my world history book a dozen times, and had retained nothing. Fate, patiently observing my childish behavior, finally called out to me. "Nanoha, is something the matter?" she asked gently.

"No," I whined, my voice indicating that something was indeed wrong.

Silently, Fate stood up from her side of the coffee table and walked the few feet over to me. She sat down behind me, pulling me off the table towards her. She placed my body between her legs as she wrapped her arms around my stomach. "Let's try this," she said, her chin now resting on my shoulder.

"Fate-chan, we can't," I tried to protest, but made no motion to move from her arms.

She didn't respond, instead pulling my textbook on the table closer towards the two of us. She turned one page back to where she had been in her own book and began to read. I looked up at her face now close to mine, and then returned my gaze to the book in front of us. Now safe and warm in her arms, I was able to fully focus on the text before me, retaining almost everything I read.

We came to an agreement that we were allowed to be affectionate with each other outside of our bedroom walls, as long as we were being productive at the same time. We would reward each other with touches, kisses, and embraces whenever either one of us did well at a task.

A sudden knock on our front door interrupted our current study session on the couch, and Fate and I quickly made our way to answer it. Vita was standing outside in the hallway, her bored face looking up at the two of us.

"You guys ready to go yet? Zafira has the SUV waiting," was all she said.

The plane ride was uneventful, as we had all paired up and were using each other as pillows as we slept through most of flight. It was early morning before we touched down in Tokyo and began our 48-hour trip, which would conclude with our first official concert as 'Riot Force 6'.

We had a long day ahead of us, our schedule packed with media events, interviews with radio stations, and autograph sessions with our fans. Despite the fact that we had yet to hold a formal concert or release an album, the production company had been heavily promoting us the past three months. Our group had built up quite a respectable following due to the company's efforts.

"So where are we off to first?" I asked Lindy, looking down at the event schedule she had just provided. We had just dropped off our suitcases in our hotel rooms and prepared our appearances for the day ahead, with Reinforce and Arf's assistance.

Lindy began to discuss the radio interview we were scheduled to do first as we began our journey, and through the morning we quickly changed from one location to the next. The pace was chaotic, as we had to constantly switch gears between interviews, to greeting fans, to posing for pictures with important figures in the music industry.

By lunch, we were all relieved to hear that we could take a break from the social blitz that we just endured to visit the stadium of our first concert. As we exited our vehicles in front of the stadium, the 10-story advertisement displayed on the side of it did not escape anyone's attention. It was a promotion picture with us as a group in the center, and information regarding the date and time of the concert was all around the ad.

"Whoa, look how big we are Tea!" Subaru cried out while looking up at the building.

Ginga was standing next to Hayate, taking a picture of the monstrosity with her cell phone. "Geez, you could see us from space," she muttered under her breath.

"Hey Ginga... does my face look weird to you?" Hayate asked, head slightly tilted to the side while looking up.

Ginga lowered her cellphone to look closer, and then immediately bit her lips to suppress a laugh. She glanced between the building and Hayate, not able to contain the humor in her eyes.

I turned my attention to Hayate's face on the building as well, and noticed she looked almost unrecognizable on it. It was then that I realized they had manipulated her face digitally to have much more prominent cheekbones and fuller lips. It was a glimpse into what could go horribly wrong if she ever attempted plastic surgery.

"Come on, girls, let's go!" Lindy quickly said behind us. We all started making our way to the front of the building, but Signum and I both stopped at the same time to retrieve our cellphones from our pockets. Standing side by side, we each took a picture of the ad, focusing on Hayate's face. With a nod, we both silently agreed that this could provide plenty of opportunities to tease Hayate with in the future.

Spending about an hour familiarizing ourselves with the stadium's backstage areas, we were again whisked all around Tokyo for the rest of the afternoon and into the early evening. We were finally attending our last meet-and-greet with fans in a department store in Akihabara, with cameramen still making every attempt to get pictures of us. I wondered if the day would ever end, my cheeks hurting from the smile that had been on my face all day.

Things were beginning to finally slow down at the event when a voice to my right instantly caught my attention, despite it's low volume compared to the noise of the crowd still in front of us.

"Subaru, have you gotten my letters?" was all the monotone voice asked.

I turned and spotted a young woman in front of Subaru, the girl having just reached the front of the line. Her hair was dyed an odd shade of blue, chunks of it jagged and cut at weird angles. She was wearing thick glasses that had swirls in the lenses, something I had seen quite a few times already in this section of Tokyo. She was also wearing a trenchcoat, and her face appeared emotionless as she stood before Subaru, who looked unsure on how to react.

I instantly walked over and stood slightly in front of Subaru. "What's your name, sweetie?" I asked politely, hoping to defuse a potentially dangerous situation.

"Quattro," she replied, and then began to smile. "I'm your biggest fan, Subaru!" she said, peering around me.

Suddenly, Subaru's clueless voice answered. "Oh okay! It's always nice to - " she began to say cheerfully, extending her hand forward.

Wendi, Subaru's bodyguard, caught her arm before she could reach out further. "Subaru and the others have to leave now. Thank you for coming out tonight," she said firmly but quietly to the girl. We were all doing our best not draw attention to the situation, although a few people in the crowd had begun to notice the odd girl and our tension around her.

Our bodyguards began making hand signals to each other, silently giving each other instructions to start moving the group towards the rear of the building to exit. We had all turned our backs to the crowd when the girl's voice suddenly emerged again.

"I'VE ALREADY NAMED THE BABY, SUBARU!" she screamed.

With her outburst, everyone in her vicinity froze in place to stare at her. The cameramen, once frantically moving and snapping picture, had all lowered their devices as they tried to make out the strange character in front of them.

Our group turned to face the girl again, and observed that she now had her hands in front of her trenchcoat, quickly unbuttoning it. In one grand gesture, she pulled both sides apart to reveal a t-shirt with Subaru's face printed on it. Underneath the shirt, I could see what looked like a large protruding belly, and it did not take me long to realize that the girl had stuffed a pillow under her shirt and part of her jeans.

"Oh come on, that's just ridiculous!" Teana exclaimed, the first one to break the silence.

Immediately, the cameramen roared and returned their cameras to their upright positions, furiously taking pictures of the girl and our shocked faces. They began throwing out questions at the same time as their shutter lenses clicked and flashes erupted. The questions were not aimed at Subaru as I had anticipated though - - but to her red-headed companion standing next to her.

"Teana, Teana, did Subaru cheat on you?!"

"Have you ever met this other woman before, Teana?"

"What's the future for you and Subaru after this?!"

Teana reacted in horror at this sudden turn in events and the nature of the questioning, before she turned to look in our manager's direction. Lindy was staring straight ahead blankly at the cameramen at first, before she turned her head slowly to meet Teana's eyes, a smile plastered on her face.

"Teana," she began, "there comes a time in every performer's life -"

"AHHHH, not now Lindy! Things are starting to get bad here!" Vita interrupted. I turned and was shocked to see our bodyguards beginning to become overwhelmed by the cameramen and the crowd, now being pushing closer to us. Usually our security was impenetrable, but this time there were just too many people to hold back.

I felt someone grab my hand, and I turned to meet Fate's concerned eyes. I looked around quickly and noticed a doorway leading to the back part of the department store off to my right.

"Teana! Hayate!" I yelled, meeting their eyes. They nodded back at me, instantly grabbing Subaru's and Ginga's hands in theirs. I began moving, pulling Fate with me as I made my way to the doorway, the other four girls following closely behind us. We burst through the door, scanning the area quickly before turning right down a hallway, running past shelves of stored merchandise and closed office doors.

I heard the sound of some cameramen and fans come though the door behind us, asking each other which way we might have went. I did not slow our pace as we ran, although I had no real plan other than what I was currently doing.

"Over there!" Hayate yelled, pointing to a door with an exit sign above it. I could feel the sense of relief wash over all of us as we ran towards the door and pushed through it. That was, until, the sound an emergency alarm rang out above us as it opened, alerting our pursuers to our new location.

"Oh, come ON!" Teana cried out in frustration, but then I watched as she stumbled down the steps outside the door and into the alleyway were were standing in. I was concerned that she had re-injured her ankle, and I began to panic as I could make out the forms of a large group headed toward our direction from the back of the department store.

Teana sat up and grabbed her ankle, moving it in circles quickly. "I think it's okay, I don't think - " she started, but was immediately interrupted when Subaru bent down to grab her. She had picked Teana up by the waist and flung her over shoulder, and then started running down the alleyway.

"Damnit wait for us, Subaru!" Hayate screamed, and we all began to chase after the blue-haired girl and her companion, whose head was now bobbing up and down the alleyway.

We all caught up with her and turned down a few more alleyways, before we finally exited onto a busy street. It took me less than a second to realize that we had just ran onto Chuodori, the main street of Akihabara. Next to us was a large crowd of people, and I just waited for the scream that I knew was coming next.

"Oh my god, it's RIOT FORCE 6!" it announced, and all heads turned in the direction the person was pointing in. I groaned in frustration and began running away from the new crowd that started to pursue us, not really sure what to do next.

To my surprise, Fate suddenly jerked my arm to the right and we made our down another dark alley. The girls had all seen Fate's sudden turn and followed suite. We were all running as fast as we could with the exception of a very defeated looking Teana, whose arms were now hanging loosely behind Subaru's back, bouncing around with every step.

Ginga stumbled a little bit over a trash can, and Hayate was able to catch the lid before it could make a sound. This seemed to give her an idea, and she quickly dragged her girlfriend over to a large dumpster across the alley. Fate, seemingly on the same wavelength as Hayate, broke away from my hand and quickly raised the lid up, holding it open for us.

"Everyone in," Hayate commanded as she quickly helped Ginga climb up into the dumpster. Now inside, Ginga turned to help Hayate in as well, who then awkwardly fell in headfirst next to Ginga's feet.

"Oh baby, are you okay?" I heard her say as she ducked down to check on her.

Subaru was next to act, removing Teana from her shoulder and depositing her into the dumpster. She then grabbed the side as leverage and hopped in herself. She stood up after her entrance to take over holding the lid open so that Fate and I could enter next.

"I don't know if I - " I tried to start, but suddenly Fate's hands were around my waist. In a surprising show of strength with her adrenaline racing, I was airborne before I knew it, finally landing on my back on a somewhat soft pile of garbage. I watched Fate quickly jump in after, managing to land on top of me. We were almost immediately surrounded by darkness as Subaru quickly but quietly closed the lid above her and sat down.

We all remained silent, barely breathing, as we listened to see if anyone had seen us enter the dumpster. I silently looped my arms around Fate's shoulders, using her warmth to calm my nerves from the unbearable anticipation of possibly getting caught.

We had heard approaching footsteps occasionally throughout the next ten minutes, although they always ran past where we were without slowing down. Eventually, seeing that we might not be caught after all, Hayate began to move and speak quietly.

"I'm going to stick my arm out of the dumpster with my camera phone, and I'm going to take a picture to see if anyone is still around," she whispered to us. I heard her move slightly to lean forward, and then she started to slowly raise up. The dumpster lid cracked and I saw her hand stick out of it, phone in hand.

She faced the phone to one side to take a picture, and I was horrified to hear the loud 'click' of the digital shutter ring through the alley when she pressed the button.

"Are you trying to get us caught, Hayate?" I heard Teana's sarcastic voice whisper next to me.

"Like I knew that would happen!" she hissed back as her hand returned to the inside of the dumpster. The light from her cellphone was now illuminating the six of us inside.

I smiled up at Fate, whose was still on top of me, as she had looked down to meet my eyes now that she could see me. She smiled back and gave me a quick kiss, before returning her attention back to Hayate.

"Interesting.." Hayate finally said after studying the picture on her phone. We all waited in anticipation for her to tell us what she was seeing. Eventually, she turned the phone screen to face us. "It's too dark, the camera won't work," she concluded.

We all let out quiet, exasperated sighs at the brunette. Suddenly, Hayate had another brilliant idea. "I'll send Lindy a text message to tell her where were are at!"

We all nodded in excitement as Hayate started typing. She quickly hit send, only to frown at the screen after a few seconds. "I don't have service in here, it seems" she mused while looking around.

"How can you not have service in here, Hayate?!" I asked in an angry whisper, growing tired of the cell phone's presence in our situation.

"I don't know, Nanoha? Maybe because we're in a giant metal box or something?!" she replied irritated, making a sweeping gesture around us.

"Shhhhhh!" Ginga quickly hushed us, hearing something move outside. We all froze, not sure if we had just been caught because we had been talking too loud.

To our horror, we witnessed the lid to the dumpster open and close quickly, with a small thud landing inside near my feet. As the unknown object began to shuffle around, I whined desperately in Fate's ear, not knowing what was currently moving around our legs.

Hayate slowly turned the screen towards the direction of the noise, and then dropped her cell phone in horror when she witnessed two eyes shining evilly back at her in the light. "Nanoha... don't... move," she warned me. I squeezed Fate even harder in fear for my life.

"Meow?" suddenly rang out inside the dumpster.

"Oh, a cat!" Ginga exclaimed happily. Hayate had managed to recover her dropped cell phone, and pointed it back towards the direction of the sound. Ginga immediately reached over and scooped up the adolescent feline, snuggling it to her face.

Hayate looked at her girlfriend with skepticism. "You sure about that, Ginga? It could have mange, or something..." Ginga pretended to ignore her, instead making kissy faces at it as she held it up in front of her.

Hayate then began her second attempt to save us. "Alright, I'm going to stick my cell phone out again so I can send the text to Lindy, okay?" After resetting the phone to the previous message that had failed, she held the phone out again from the dumpster. I watched her press the send button, and we all waited a few seconds so that it could finish transmitting.

"Hello?" Lindy's voice suddenly called out from the cell phone, echoing loudly throughout the alley. "Hello? Hayate, where are you guys?!"

"Oh, COME ON!" Teana yelled, finally fed up with the entire situation.

Hayate tried to pull the cell phone back and just talk to Lindy, but her cell phone reception immediately cut out when the phone reentered the dumpster.

"Okay guys, new plan," I finally said. Fate removed herself from on top of me so that I could sit up. "It seems like we are safe for now, so let's get out of here and head towards the street to try calling Lindy again."

Everyone agreed, and Subaru was the first to stand up to exit. As she went to raise the lid up quickly, a voice had called out at the same time from the other side. "Subaru, I finally found - !" was all we heard as the sound of the dumpster lid came in contact with something with a loud 'thunk'.

We all stood up and saw Quattro, the girl claiming to be pregnant with Subaru's child earlier, now laying on her back in the alleyway unconscious.

Fate immediately exited the dumpster to tend to her, kneeling down to check her vital signs.

Hayate looked at Subaru in pretend horror. "You killed her!" she cried, to which Subaru's face began to crumble. Teana reached around me to smack Hayate in the back of the head.

"She's still breathing," Fate announced, much to Subaru's relief. Fate then reached down and pulled out the pillow that was still tucked under Quattro's shirt, gently placing it under the unconscious girl's head.

"Hey, Lindy, it's Teana. Yeah, we're okay. We are at..." I heard Teana's voice come from behind me as she was speaking into her cellphone, giving directions for our manager to come pick us up.

Quattro began to open her eyes, squinting them in pain as felt a throb in her forehead. "What happened?" she asked.

"Subaru kissed you, and you fainted," Hayate said. We all turned our heads to look at her in horror, and even she seemed to instantly regret joking about that.

"Yeah, right," Quattro said with a smile. She then raised her hand to her head to feel where the dumpster lid had hit her, and finally recognized the softness of the pillow behind her head. "I lost the baby, huh?" she asked, sadness in her voice.

I could only bite my lip and nod, my eyes filling with tears at how hard I was trying not to laugh at her last statement.

Eventually, Lindy pulled up in one of the rented SUV's with Vita, Zafira, Wendi, and Sein inside. Not able to fit all of us into the one vehicle, we were told we needed to walk back to the main street of Akihabara with the bodyguards escorting us there.

"We have to make it to Laox," Vita was explaining to us. "Nove and Dieci are up on the roof, keeping an eye on the crowds from above. We are going to meet them up there to regroup with everyone, before heading back to the hotel."

Beside me, I noticed Hayate approach Ginga from behind to give her a hug around her waist. As she was holding her girlfriend close, I saw her silently remove the cat from Ginga's grasp, which was still cradled in her arms. Hayate placed the cat on top of a closed trash can next to them, and then grabbed Ginga's hand to lead her down the alley. Ginga complied, just before scooping the cat up again in her free arm as soon as Hayate had turned her eyes away.

We all walked in pairs silently towards our destination, with Zafira now carrying the still dizzy Quattro bridal style. I recognized a look in her eye, as her affections had now turned to a different blue-haired prince. He didn't seem to notice and I figured that with some time, and maybe a few restraining orders, the situation would resolve itself eventually.

I was enjoying the city lights, casually strolling with Fate as I held onto her arm with mine, our hands clasped together. I saw the blue and orange "Laox" sign ahead, and we eventually made it to the rear of the building. We were led to a back entrance, and we used the elevators to reach the top floor where Nove and Dieci met us to allow us access to the roof.

The wind blew our hair around slightly as we made our way to the edge of the building's roof to look down on Akihabara. Fate and I were standing next to Teana and Subaru, as we all enjoyed the sights of the lights and people below us.

"I can't believe Lindy," Teana suddenly began after a few minutes. "Telling the media that Subaru and I are together! That's crazy, right?" She glanced over at Subaru to gauge her response.

Subaru continued to look down at the street with her chin resting on her hand, seemingly lost in thought. "Would that really be so bad, Tea? Being together with me, I mean?"

Teana's face formed an immediate blush with the response. She looked away, her eyes trained on something imaginary on the floor to her right. "I-It wouldn't be so bad, I guess. I mean... I wouldn't hate it or anything..."

Subaru turned to look at Teana, and finally just smiled at her with a silly grin. Fate and I decided to leave them to their moment together, and we moved to a different section of the roof that no one else was at.

"This day didn't turn out quite as I had expected it would," I said with a small laugh as I leaned on the edge of the building, looking down at the street.

"Would you have done things differently if you could?" Fate asked from my side.

I thought back to all the events of the day, from waking up next to Fate on the plane as it landed to the recent incident with the dumpster, and I smiled to myself before answering.

"Nope... it was perfect," I decided.

The next day we were not given a structured event schedule like the day before, to allow us to rest and have a dress rehearsal before the concert tonight. Lindy asked each of us to pick a place in Tokyo we have always wanted to visit. It was still a chance for photo-ops for the production company, as they immediately leaked all the places we would be attending once we had decided. None of the group protested though, as the four group members new to being famous had grown accustomed to the presence of cameras in their lives.

Around noon, we were all exiting the rented SUV's at Ginga's destination choice, a popular karaoke bar in the heart of Tokyo, when I saw something that instantly infuriated me. Someone in the crowd awaiting our arrival had a sign that shouted 'TEAM FATENGA', alluding to the recent trend that had popped up on the internet and idol scene the past few weeks.

The production company, seeing how popular my assumed relationship with Fate had become, decided to inject a little controversy in our fan base for publicity. I was standing outside the school's dance studio before rehearsal, next to Fate and Ginga, the day I discovered their plan. We had been casually chatting and enjoying the feel of the fall when Hayate approached us with a magazine in her hand, a familiar look of mischief on her face.

"Now what?" was all I could groan, and she turned the magazine cover to face me. I recognized it as one of the more popular idol magazines that liked to speculate about the love lives of singers and other people in the industry. I scanned the cover, and spotted Fate and Ginga's pictures next to each other in the bottom right corner. The phrase "The New Love in Fate's Life?" was printed underneath the two of them in bright red letters.

I roughly clawed the magazine out of Hayate's hands while glaring at Fate, who had quickly become wide-eyed and panicked. Her skin was very pale as she threw up her arms defensively toward me, as if to block the metaphorical daggers I was sending her way.

"Nanoha, when would I have had time to - " she began, but quickly stopped speaking when she realized there was probably no good end to that sentence at the moment.

I found the article in the center of the magazine. Fate and Ginga's pictures were again next to each, with a smaller picture of my unhappy face in between the two. I scanned the article, catching key phrases like "an undisclosed source" and other terms that indicated this was a fake story to generate attention. Fate looked visibly relieved as she read the article over my shoulder.

This realization did not stop me from pouting at my girlfriend for a little longer, though. I shoved the magazine back at Hayate while still looking at Fate, allowing my jealousy to get the best of me. Fate patiently waited for me to ride out my temper tantrum, until finally I sagged my shoulders and began clinging to her, allowing her to soothe my wounds.

"Sorry, Fate-chan..." I finally muttered into her chest. She didn't say anything in return as she held me, although I could feel vibrations a little, as she was trying not to laugh too much at my childish tendencies.

The article, however, did create a small niche' in our fan base that decided they could justify that Fate was better paired with Ginga and not me, for silly reasons such as were the same height or that they both had an exotic beauty about them. Some of those fans also concluded that I was better off with Yuuno instead of her, which was the only time I saw Fate react in frustration at the situation.

Hayate and Ginga found it all amusing, with Ginga occasionally teasing her girlfriend that she needed to step up her game. Hayate never once considered that Ginga was going to leave her though, leaving me with a new respect for the level of trust they had in each other.

Fate had walked up beside me outside of the karaoke bar I was still standing in front of, as I was trying hard not to glare at the person holding the sign up in support of 'Fatenga'. Fate saw the sign too, as well as my darkened face trying not to react to it.

Catching me completely by surprise, Fate leaned over and kissed me gently on my cheek near my lips, which caused a huge roar in the crowd as cameras clicked and flashed at the moment. I looked at her in shock as I raised my fingers to where her lips had been. She just smiled at me in return, proud to have declared her choice openly to the world. She grabbed my hand and led me inside the building, my hand never leaving my cheek as we entered the front door.

"Ladies and Gentle, please welcome to the stage... RIOT...FORCE...SIXXXXXXXX!"

The announcers voice boomed after the lights in the stadium had be lowered, allowing us to enter the stage in front of the hushed crowd. When the intro music to the first song began, our silhouettes were illuminated by the soft background lights behind us. Our body's movements could be seen clearly by the crowd, although the lighting trick kept our details shaded from view from the crowd.

We began our choreography as the jagged electronic beats in the intro played across the stadium. We were lined up across the stage evenly spaced, each with our individual steps to perform to the tempo, the lights and fog dancing behind us.

(Kakushite→ Hiraite→ Kakushite Mada kore wa koi ja nai no)

(Hide→ Open→ Hide, This isn't love yet)

(Hiraite→ Kakushite→ Hiraite Kakugo kimete oikakete/ Hajimaritai…WILD STARS)

(Open→ Hide→ Open, Prepare yourself and chase after it/ I want to start…WILD STARS)

The lights of the nearly sold-out stadium came to full illumination as we began singing the first lyrics to the song together in perfect harmony. We all continued to perform independent steps as we moved our way downstage toward the crowd.

(Kimagure na hikari de Anata wo mitsukeru yo/ Shigeki ni sarawarete shimae Konna yoru wa)

(With a whimsical light I'll find you/ Let yourself be swept away by the stimulation on a night like this)

I was the first to sing solo, taking center stage and singing the first two verses to the song.

(Taikutsu wo kakaeta Boku no mune wo yurasu/ Totsuzen no arashi wa atsui yasei no kaze datta)

(Suffering from boredom, It sways my chest/ The sudden storm was a passionate, wild wind)

Fate came beside me, giving me a smile as she sang the next two verses. I gave minor background the last part of her portion.

(Deau tame no basho wo Zutto zutto sagashiteta/ Koko ni kimi to watashi kita yo/ Ima kara futari Ima kara Kagayaku yo)

(I searched forever and ever for a place to meet you/ You and I came here)
(From now on the two of us, From now on we'll shine)

Hayate began the next verse, then she was joined in by Ginga, Teana, and Subaru throughout the remaining lyrics, their voices blending together beautifully.

(Kakushite→ Hiraite→ Kakushite Mada kore wa koi ja nai no)

(Hide→ Open→ Hide, This isn't love yet)

(Hiraite→ Kakushite→ Hiraite Kakugo kimete oikakete/ Hajimaritai…WILD STARS)

(Open→ Hide→ Open, Prepare yourself and chase after it/ I want to start…WILD STARS)

We repeated the opening verses, the stage lights now dancing wildly around us, a few cannons of glitter bursting across the stage in front of us.

(Seiza wo nukedashite Anata to odoritai/ Yasashii sono egao Watashi dake ni misete)

(Break free of the constellations, I want to dance with you/ Show that gentle face only to me)

Subaru was the first to sing solo after the chorus, causing a loud roar among her female fans in the crowd.

(Hitomi ga moeagaru Dare ni mo yuzurenai/ Kanjita shougeki ni boku wa kanari mucha na kibun)

(Fire grows in my eyes, I can't yield to anyone/ The shock I sensed made me feel quite reckless)

Ginga sang her portion next, her sultry vocals causing her own section of loyal fans to react in cheers.

(Deaitai to negau Kitto Kitto Tsutawaru sa/ Soshite kimi to watashi kita yo/ Ima da yo futari Ima da yo kagayaite)

(I want to see you I wish, surely, surely it'll get through/ And then you and I came)
(Right now the two of us, Right now we shine)

Teana's strong and practiced voice came in last for this portion of the song, and I couldn't helped but be awed by how much talent exuded from our youngest member, as she led us all into harmony with the last portion of her lyrics.

(Ugoite→ Hiraite→ Ugoite→ Saa kore ga koi ni naru no/Hiraite→ Ugoite→ Hiraite→ Koi no tobira no mae da to/ Sasayaitara…WILD LOVE)

(Move→ Open→ Move, Come, this is turning into love)
(Open→ Move→ Open, We stand before the gates of love/ If I whispered that…WILD LOVE)

During this round of chorus, I noticed a sign in the audience that read "Fate + Ginga 4Ever!" Making a split second decision, I covered my mic and quickly whispered to Hayate, "Sing Fate's portion next." She looked confused but nodded in agreement.

(Kodoku no sora wo hanaretai/ Anata to nara dekiru to wakaru)
(Yami wa kieru yo Yami no mukou ni/ Mabushii basho ga aru Aru Aru Mieru)

(I want to distance myself from the lonely skies/ I know I can do it if I'm with you)
(The darkness will vanish, Beyond the darkness/ There's a dazzling place, it's there, it's there, I can see it)

I was the last one to sing solo in the song, and instead of performing my normal choreography I moved in front of Fate and danced my back against her - - basically using her as my personal stripper pole during the verses. Fate froze in shock, and Hayate sang accompaniment in all the places Fate had missed in her stupor.

"Fate-chan... sing," I gently reminded her in her ear afterward.

(Ugoite→ Hiraite→ Ugoite→ Saa kore ga koi ni naru no)
(Hiraite→ Ugoite→ Hiraite Koi no tobira no mae da to/ Sasayaitara dou suru? WILD STARS)

(Move→ Open→ Move, Come, this is turning into love)
(Open→ Move→ Open, We stand before the gates of love/ If I whispered that what would you do? WILD STARS)

Fate recovered enough to finish singing the lyrics with us, blushing furiously and beaming at me with a wild grin.

After the last verse was finished, we returned to our original positions on stage, the lights dimming again to show our silhouetted forms dancing as we performed our last steps to the tempo of the song. The crowd screamed in excitement as the final beat rang across the stadium.

The rest of the concert went flawlessly, the audience never once leaving their feet. I couldn't help but cry a few tears as our final song concluded, an end to the most incredible experience of my professional career so far in my life.

Omake: Nanoha POV

Hayate was sitting on the edge of her hotel bed, petting 'Grocho Bodangles-sama' on her lap, as she hit the rewind button for the tenth time on the DVR in her room. The cat that had been discovered the night before in the dumpster, and subsequently kidnapped by Ginga, had taken a liking to the brunette as the two quickly became inseparable.

Fate and I were standing next to Hayate by the bed, my chin resting firmly against my chest, and Fate could do nothing more than stare at my shoes next to her. Both of our faces where painted bright red as Signum had her arms crossed in front of us, peering at the two of us.

"Care to explain what was going on there?" she asked me, gesturing with her head towards the television screen.

Hayate had programmed the DVR in her hotel room to record our concert as it aired live on one of the syndicated stations that night. She was now replaying the moment when I had danced erotically against Fate for the eleventh time in a row. I glanced at the screen and then quickly squeezed my eyes shut, unable to do anything else.

"Signum," Hayate finally broke the silence, "when two girls like each other, sometimes - "

Her response was halted by her cousin's hand in the air. Signum sighed, closed her eyes, and raised one eyebrow before speaking again.

"I am definitely going to have to review the basics of choreography with you two tomorrow," she informed Fate and I before walking away.

A/N: That chapter was a lot of fun to write. As much as I love delicious angst, comedy seems to be the genre that comes easiest to me when I'm writing. There is a good chance that the next chapter will focus on Hayate, since her backstory is pretty crucial to the direction of the story now (well, after I finish writing that one-shot I'm in the middle of now. You guys know the one)

Speaking of updates though, mine for this story will probably come a bit slower in the future. School started for me today and that, on top of a full time job, makes finding time to write a little more difficult. No worries, of course! I still plan one to two updates per week, as there are a lot of chapters already mapped out yet to be written. Lucky for all of us, I'd rather work on this story than sleep like I probably should, lol

Thanks again to all the wonderful supporters of this story. Until next time! ~Nissanity~