Her horse whinnied as a stranger stopped her track, the small wagon slide slowly into a halt. Nanoha sized up the man who was now blocking her way, noting his dishevelled state and torn clothes. The bags below his eyes revealed that he had not sleep peacefully for a few days as well. Looking around, Nanoha couldn't find any trace of camp either. He was also wobbling on his legs, traces of blood apparent on his trousers. Out here in the wilderness, he could have been hurt by coyotes or worse, wolves.

The man seemed relieved that she stopped before him. She could spare him some of the deer meat she had gotten a day back. The plan was to sell it in a market at her town, but if she could save a life with it, she would choose the latter anytime. If he was there to ask for fresh garments however, she's afraid she would not be of help. After all, the only clothes she had on her wagon were her own and her daughter's.

"Would you be kind enough to give me a lift to the nearest town, Ma'am?" the stranger spoke.

Turned out it was neither food nor clothes he wanted. Leaning back on her wagon, Nanoha thought about it. She was going to pass it in her journey to her home, so she didn't see why she shouldn't. The stranger looked harmless, she noted earlier, with his sleepless and wounded state. After a while of thinking, she decided she'd help out the poor stranger. He would need proper treatment and some precious hours of sleep on a comfortable bed. She waved him over, and cleared the other seat from her belongings to give him space to sit.

She spoke too soon about him being harmless. Before she knew it, she was shoved out of her wagon and landed painfully on the unforgivable ground. Groaning, she sat up and watched helplessly as the stranger rode her wagon away from her sight.

She was going to let out a long sigh when she heard hooves beating past her, and she stared at the lone cowboy on the horseback rushing towards her stolen wagon. Stunned, Nanoha started to finally chase after the cowboy. Soon enough, she saw the cowboy reached for the fine rifle behind him and aimed before disappearing out of Nanoha's view. A shot rang out and horses whinnied. Nanoha had her hand clasped anxiously on her chest as she waited a while before walking again.

Did the cowboy shot the man who stole her wagon?

Answering her question was the sight of the cowboy driving her wagon back to her. He slid into a stop right beside her and whistled for his horse once he disembarked. It was then that Nanoha noticed the blonde hair tucked in the cowboy hat and ample chest her saviour had. The cowboy she thought was a gentleman was actually a woman. As the cowboy's horse rounded up, she turned her attention towards Nanoha. Plastered on her features was a tender smile, her striking wine-red eyes glimmered against the scorching hot sun, complimenting her smile.

"Are you alright, Ma'am?" she spoke softly; Nanoha could barely hear the small, soothing voice. "You're not hurt, are you?"

Now that she had said that, Nanoha could definitely feel her left arm throbbing. She lifted it to take a look at the damage and noted several long scratches along the length of her arm. She must have gotten hurt when she fell off her wagon. Warm hands clasped her arm then, and she glanced up to see her saviour's troubled gaze.

"U-um, I'm fine…" Nanoha stuttered, nervous.

The female cowboy was having none of it. "Did you fell into the gravel? These are quite deep cuts."

Nanoha shook her head. It all happened too abruptly, she was not quite aware of where she had fall when she was shoved off her wagon, only that it was rather painful. Seeing that the worried stare from her saviour was now on her face and looking for answers, she voiced her uncertainty. "I'm not sure. It all happened too fast."

The cowboy hummed. She let go of Nanoha's arm reluctantly and made her way to her horse, looking for something in her knapsack tied to it. Once she found a bottle of red liquid, she pulled Nanoha towards the wagon by her good arm and sat her down. She then brandished a small piece of fresh cloth. She scanned Nanoha's injured arm before smiling sheepishly. "I apologize, this will hurt a bit."

True to her warning, Nanoha winced as the cowboy started to wipe her wounds with the piece of cloth.

"We need to clean off the dirt first," she spoke again, and Nanoha nodded evenly. Better than getting infected, she concluded. "Hang in there."

Satisfied that Nanoha's wounds were clean, she turned the cloth to its other side and poured the liquid she took earlier from her knapsack on it. Looking at the bottle's label, Nanoha saw that it was alcohol. She noticeably gulped and the cowboy chuckled softly, her eyes twinkled at how edgy the person she's treating was. Nanoha let out a nervous laugh in reply and said, "I like your laugh."

Understandably, the cowboy was taken aback. Nanoha blushed, finally gaining the realization of how embarrassing her statement was. She was about to brush it off, when the cowboy started laughing again. She then wiped the cleaned wounds with the alcohol as Nanoha dumbly watched, before she spoke with her soft voice again. "Thank you. It's the first time ever someone complimented my laughter."

Nanoha giggled embarrassedly. As the cowboy was dressing her wounds, Nanoha remembered that she had yet to thank her saviour for getting her horse and her wagon back. "Thank you for getting my wagon back. I'm still ways away from home, and I don't think I'd be able to survive out here without it. You saved my life."

The cowboy smiled and nodded, her attention still on Nanoha's cuts.

"Nanoha."

She looked up questioningly.

"My name," Nanoha murmured, loud enough for the other woman to hear. "It's Nanoha Takamachi."

Again, she nodded.

"May I know yours?"

Silence enveloped the two women. Nanoha gazed at the cowboy nervously. Did she make a mistake for asking her name? Could she have hurt her? Nanoha was about to tell her that she's fine without knowing her name before the latter spoke, almost quietly. "…Fate."

"Fate…" Nanoha repeated fondly. She liked that name. "Well, Fate. Thank you so much for helping me."

Fate released her grasp on Nanoha's now dressed arm and tipped her hat grimly. "Just doing what I should, Nanoha. Robbing off of unarmed women is the worst."

Nanoha smiled at that. Fate seemed like a saint at the time when women were treated like animals. Nanoha guessed Fate being a woman herself was the reason. "Is there anything I can do in return?"

Standing up and gazing towards the barren land, Fate answered, "Could you lead me to Fort Vertway?"

Nanoha's eyes darkened at the mention of the place. Fort Vertway was the army's stronghold before it was raided by the cruellest gang of bandits, the Testarossa Gang. She wondered what business the fine woman who saved her could have there. She glanced at the subject of her thoughts, and she noticed the menacing look donned on her otherwise stunning features. Nanoha decided then and there that she did not have the right to know.

The worst case was the woman who saved her was a bandit herself.

"Of course," Nanoha answered. "In fact, it's near my town. Why don't you ride with me? You can tie your horse to the wagon and perhaps take a nap. I think you could use one."

And Fate did just that.

Fate woke up to Nanoha shaking her shoulders slowly. She groggily observed the surroundings and noted the tall walls visible from their current position over the hills. Fixing her hat, she bowed slightly to the brunette woman beside her. "This will do. Thank you, Nanoha."

Nanoha was still uneasy, but nodded nonetheless. She sorted through her rucksack and took out a few dollars, handing it to the blonde woman. "It's not much, but please take it. As thanks for helping me out earlier."

To her surprise, Fate shook her head, turning down the money offered. "There is no need. I don't have any use for it."

Blinking, Nanoha looked at the money in her hand before she reluctantly deposited it back into her rucksack. She spared no time to ask the question that had been going around her mind all the way to Fort Vertway. "Why? You could get some drinks out of it."

Fate looked thoughtful for a moment before replying helpfully in a sombre tone. "I might not be able to survive tonight."

It would have been a surprise to Nanoha if she didn't know better. "Surely," she started, eyes trailing down towards the ominous walls that held a group of bandits. "Marching right into a fortress that's littered by bandits is a great way to die."

"I won't have it any other way," Was the reply. "I have scores to settle."

"With the cruellest bandits in the vicinity?" Nanoha exasperated. "Fate, certainly you'd know better."

"You know of them?"

Nanoha nodded, her eyes darkening again as she recalled the tragedy. "They raided my town and killed my family before they took control of that fortress. My daughter and I are the only ones left as we were out of town then."

She did not notice before, but Fate had her arms held gently in hers, and her touch had lingered. Closer now after Nanoha divulged her personal tale.

"I'm sorry," Fate's voice was sickeningly guilt-ridden; her shoulders were hunched and shaking slightly. Nanoha's dread that the woman beside her was a bandit herself seemed to grow larger. "I'm so sorry."

"No, Fate. It's nothing you should be sorry for," Nanoha smiled, holding the now trembling arms of the blonde woman. "If there's someone who should be blamed for their deaths, it would be me. I've plans to move them to another town after we were burdened with..." Nanoha hesitated, "Bandit troubles... but I didn't have enough money to start up a life away from our hometown. So they were stuck there, always worried that the town would be raided by bandits next. And it happened, oh, it happened so suddenly. No one could have stopped it."

Fate wanted to say she could've stopped it but seeing how that would not be of help to sooth the kind brunette woman of her sufferings, she did not say anything and only nodded, albeit rather painfully. Gaining her composure, she stared into the eyes of the woman who had suffered so much, only to find certain strength that could overthrow even the most hardened criminals.

Such as herself.

And a smile befalls on her face. "Well," she started. "I guess this is where we part ways, Nanoha."

Nanoha harrumphed before she winked playfully. "You better stay alive. I'd need to repay my favours to you, don't you think?"

Another one of those chuckles Nanoha was so very fond of resonated. "Of course."

With that, Fate got off the wagon and walked to untie her dark, sizeable horse. She stroked the horse's neck and it neighed in delight. Nanoha watched silently as Fate climbed on her horse and trotted towards her.

"Nanoha," Fate called after her. "Since this is a bandit's territory… Do you happen to know how to shoot?"

The brunette nodded, uncertain to what Fate was trying to do. The latter unbuckled her belt that had a revolver fastened to it and handed it to Nanoha. Nanoha accepted it, her eyes still searching for an answer despite knowing it herself.

"Keep yourself safe," Nanoha listened attentively to Fate's words, fearing for the worst of goodbyes before Fate threw her idea out of the window. She had a small smile on her lips when she said, "I'll come back for it."

Hopefully, she added in her mind.

Nanoha was beaming, and Fate was glad she made that empty promise. She would not want the brunette to worry and throw herself into danger because of her. Fate guessed Nanoha was the kind of person to place other's well-being above her own, from what she had said about her family dying to be her fault when it was clearly not.

Just like Alicia.

Brushing off the thought from her occupied mind, Fate looked on until Nanoha's wagon was no longer in sight and pounded her boots on her horse, spurring them into a run towards Fort Vertway.

Nanoha arrived at her home without running into any trouble. She trailed her fingers on the fastened revolver Fate had left her, wondering if the blonde would really come back for it. She could only pray that she was indeed safe, despite the fact that she just went to the place everyone avoided, a place of hatred and cruelty. A place someone would go for a certain death.

Sighing, she carried the deer she had gotten from her hunt off of her wagon to be sold in the market. It would bag quite a price since the demand for deer meat and its hide was considerably high at the moment. She could live off of the money for quite a while with her daughter before she needed to go on another hunt.

It was getting dark, so she hurried to the market and set up her booth. With the deer properly skinned, a little slowly since her arm was hurt, town people and outsiders alike bustled around her, looking at her catch and giving her prices for certain parts of the deer. A gentleman offered her a price she couldn't refuse for the whole deer, and so he rightfully owned it. Goods and money were exchanged and Nanoha breathed out a relieved sigh. All in a good day's work. She started cleaning the booth after her smaller hunts, a few rabbits, were all sold to her happy customers.

Her mind was still engaged with the well-being of a certain blonde cowboy, but she needed to address another problem first. She needed to see her daughter. It had been three days since she left her house to go on a hunt, so she missed the love of her life terribly.

Before she could head home though, a horse's cries reached her, and she snapped her neck to see the now all too familiar dark horse bounding towards her. It whinnied again as it ran past her in a frenzy, and Nanoha had to chase after it with her lasso in her hand. She skilfully threw the loop of ropes towards the frantic horse and restrained it as it tightened around its neck when Nanoha pulled.

"Calm down, boy!" Nanoha exclaimed as it tried to get out of the ropes' tight grasp. Within a short while, the horse had quiet down and Nanoha had approached it carefully before taking off the lasso. "What's wrong? Where's your owner? Where's Fate?"

It whinnied again at the mention of Fate's name and Nanoha unconsciously gulped, remembering the path Fate had set for herself. She hurriedly mounted the horse and let out a small yelp when it immediately sprinted away from the market and out of the town. Nanoha looked back helplessly as she was not in control of the beast and decided meeting her daughter could wait.

Fort Vertway was coming to view and Nanoha couldn't help but think of the worst that could happen. She tugged the reins, finally getting some handling of Fate's horse and it slowed, trotting quietly along the road towards the fortress' entrance. Her eyes fell on a stationary form with blonde hair splayed around lying near the fortress' entrance, and she quickly dismounted and took out the revolver Fate had given her. Nanoha slowly but surely neared the unmoving owner of said revolver while looking around. The fortress was quiet and Nanoha concluded that the bandits had rode out, considering that it was always loud whenever she was close enough to the fortress on her travel to and fro of her town.

Taking the chance, she knelt beside Fate and grimaced when she saw the blood pooling around the blonde woman. She was shot on her stomach, it seemed. Nanoha held her ear on the blonde's chest and immediately sighed in relief. It was still beating strong. She needed to hurry though, or else there was a possibility that Fate would bleed out to death. She took out her knife now, and tore her right sleeve, cutting it to make it two long strips of cloths before deftly wrapping it around Fate's stomach to stem the bleeding. She wished she had taken her wagon with her. It would help a lot in transporting the wounded woman, but she was afraid she'd be too late if she were to get it from the town.

"Sorry, Fate…" Nanoha murmured, taking no mind that the woman she was holding and talking to was completely out. "This will be uncomfortable, but please bear with me."

Struggling a little with Fate's weight, the latter was surely heavier compared to her; she carried the blonde and placed her with much difficulty on the dark horse that was quietly waiting nearby. She fastened Fate on the horse with her rope, making sure the horse was not uncomfortable by it. Once finished, Nanoha mounted the horse carefully since it was now bearing two weights and spurred it into action, taking careful note of her surroundings for possible attacks from the bandits. Having none of such attacks, she held onto Fate's back, giving great attention not to strain the gunshot wound any further.

A painful throb on her stomach was the first thing that greeted Fate when she woke up. A curious pair of mismatched red and green eyes was another. She groaned in pain and the eyes that were set on her blinked timidly. Small hands reached out for hers and Fate found herself encased in warmth similar to Nanoha's. The child that was holding her hand did remind her of the brunette she saved, but she did not have the kind and strong violet eyes; neither did she sport the brunette's brown tresses, so Fate wondered why they had the memorable similarities.

She heard footsteps nearing from the wooden floor and so she directed her attention towards what she assumed to be the door of the room. And sure enough, Nanoha emerged from the door with a basin of water and a few towels. There was a look of severe relief washing over her, Fate noted, before it was immediately replaced by a mix of anger and worry.

"You're an idiot," Nanoha muttered, placing herself beside her bed and the child holding her hand.

Fate couldn't help but chuckle, though it was stopped short as another wave of pain swept over her. A painful wince was let out and another set of warmth held her through it, stroking her bangs that had covered her sweaty face. A wet towel followed, and Fate could finally open her eyes again to see Nanoha tending to her.

"And you're beautiful," Fate murmured hazily. She did not know where that came from, but it was the only thought occupying her mind at that moment and she did not waste any time to make the other occupants in the room hear it. It was true though, Nanoha was beautiful. She was clean then, void of dirt that clung to her body from her days out at the wilderness, her hair was free and there was an enchanting twinkle in her pretty violet eyes now that she was home, reunited with the child Fate had woken up to, who could only be her daughter, the only one she had left in the world.

A rosy blush quickly littered the brunette's face, and Fate felt warm again at the sight. She was way too out of it to care of the things she had said or will. "Thank you," she started again, chest heaving out desperate and aching breaths. "For saving me, Nanoha…"

"Just doing what I should." Nanoha replied, a little playfully. It was what Fate had said to her when she was the one getting helped. "Now, sleep. The doctor just got the bullet out a few hours ago. You need to rest."

Fate nodded slowly and her eyes fell to the child who was still holding on to her hand. Nanoha noticed Fate's questioning gaze and said, "I'll introduce you to my daughter later, alright?"

The next time Fate woke up, she was feeling so much better. She was a little sore, but give or take a few days and she'd be as good as new, with only a patch of new scar donning her stomach. Still, she groaned as she sat up and looked around. The room was small, with two cupboards and another bed near the other end of the room; Fate figured it belonged to Nanoha's daughter. She hoped she didn't cause too much trouble sleeping in Nanoha's bed.

Fate traced the dressing around her stomach, bits of dried blood still visible around her wound. As she was taking in the damage, the door of the room opened and a dark blonde head popped in. Seeing Fate was awake, the child grinned and strode in with a tray of food in her hands. She set it down and went out again before returning to the room with a basin of water and towels this time.

"Hello, Ms. Fate," she bowed happily. "Nanoha-mama asked me to clean you, but since you're awake, would you like to do it yourself? It'd be lovely if you can eat too, even a little."

"Ah, thank you so much," Fate replied in gratitude and accepted the towels. "I'm sorry for causing so much trouble… I can clean myself fine. How many days has it been since I was shot?"

"Three," the child answered helpfully, giggling. Her giggles were like Nanoha's, Fate noted happily. "Truth to be told, the doctor told us you wouldn't wake in at least four days, but here you are, awake a few hours after the treatment and again now. You even said my mama is beautiful."

Remembering the incident where she had made Nanoha blushed furiously, Fate too flushed in embarrassment. Up until now, she still had no idea where that came from, only that she finally noticed how beautiful the brunette woman was. Guess being under medications made her say things she shouldn't. She awkwardly brushed her hands behind her neck. "Wh-where is your mother, by the way?"

"Out hunting, she just left. We're in need of extra money since she blew up her previous sale for your treatment."

"I-I see. I apologize. I didn't mean to impose."

The child smiled at that. "Not at all! In fact, you being here are giving my mother enough reason to go out hunting more often. She was a renowned hunter around here, but she stopped hunting to take care of me after the bandits raided this town."

"Oh…" Fate sang, impressed. "Do you think I could catch her if I ride now?"

Fate almost snorted at the look Nanoha's daughter was giving her. "It'd be alright. My wound is nothing to be fussed about," Fate reassured the petrified child. "Have you seen my hat anywhere?"

The mention of her hat brought the child back to the land of living. "Yeah, it should be on the table outside. It was a little torn, but Nanoha-mama fixed it up with her talented hands." She puffed out her chest proudly, making Fate chuckle. "I'll get your horse ready while you clean up."

"Thank you, um…" Fate trailed off, finally noticing that she has yet to know Nanoha's daughter's name.

"It's Vivio, Ms. Fate. Pleasure to meet ya!" Vivio yelled once she's out of the room.

Now alone again, Fate stood up, popping her back as it protested the abrupt movement. Her wound throbbed a little, but Fate ignored it. "Ow… phew. Can I really get back on the saddle like this?"

She laughed a little at her stubbornness, cleaning her torso with the wet clothes before buttoning her shirt in a rather careful manner. She got out of the room and approached the small table right outside the room for her hat. She also found her rifle alongside her hat, and quickly clasped the belt around her back.

Once she was outside the humble house, she saw Vivio riding her horse with no difficulty, surprising her a little. Usually the boorish beast would fling other riders away, even Alicia, but Vivio was riding it like it was nothing. Fate whistled when Vivio stopped in front of her. "Oh? You can ride it?"

Vivio hummed as she dismounted. "What? Like it's special?"

"Kind of," Fate replied. She went over and mounted her horse, her partner for a long time now. She winced as she tried to settle on the horse, making Vivio furrow her brows.

"Are you alright, Ms. Fate?"

"Yeah, it's a little sore, but nothing major," The words were spoken softly. "Well, which way?"

Vivio pointed towards the entrance of the town. "Just outside of the town actually, to your left."

"Oh, good," No matter how strong Fate thinks she was, there's no way she could ride so far away . "I'll be on my way now."

"Mm! Be careful!"

Nanoha was setting up traps for rabbits when she heard footsteps closing in on her. She drew her revolver towards the would-be-assailant, only to meet the blonde woman who had caused her so much turmoil in the past few days. "Fate!" She exclaimed. "What are you doing out of bed? You should be resting."

"I'm fine," the blonde smiled sheepishly. "I feel like I should help you out with your hunt, considering you used up your money for my treatment."

Nanoha crossed her arms once she had put the revolver back to its holster. "And the only compensation I got out of that treatment is you walking around with a hole in your stomach. Some help you are."

"W-well…" Fate stammered timidly.

Giggling, Nanoha closed their distance and patted the back of the stuttering blonde cowboy. "Since you're well enough to be up and about, I could use your help."

"Like…?"

"Let's see how good of a shooter you are," Nanoha grinned. "I missed the chance to see it for myself last time. This land is littered with rabbits. A farmer back in town paid me to kill some of them since they're damaging the corps. We can get some extra money with their meat too. Why don't you kill some of them?"

"Sure," Fate smiled and took her rifle from her back. Walking away from Nanoha, she surveyed the surroundings and immediately found her target.

Nanoha followed closely after her. "My plan was to set traps for them and come back tomorrow, but since you so conveniently made yourself useful, I'll just have you shoot them."

"Thank you," Fate laughed at Nanoha's statement. She then remembered that she had lent her revolver to the brunette and wondered why she didn't just shoot the rabbits herself. Aiming carefully at both the rabbits and the topic she was about to brought up, Fate said, "I guess you didn't have to use my revolver at all?"

"No," Nanoha answered, almost quietly. "And that is a good thing."

Fate successfully shot two rabbits before continuing, "I see. Well, I need you to keep it for me."

Nanoha glanced at Fate before watching another rabbit getting shot. "Keep it?"

Fate nodded. "Can't?"

"I can, but why?"

"It will keep you safe?" Fate questioned back helpfully.

"From what?"

Letting out a small sigh, Fate lowered her rifle and studied the revolver holstered on Nanoha's hips. "It's very important to me. It belonged to my sister, Alicia."

Nanoha faltered then. Belonged. It was Alicia's in the past. "Why would you give it to me?"

"You saved my life."

"You saved mine first."

Fate pondered at this. "It's just," she started, a little agitated at Nanoha's reply. "You remind me a lot of her." Seeing Nanoha was silent at this, she continued. "And you'd need something to protect yourself now that you know me."

Nanoha could feel her heart dropped at Fate's statement. "Fate… who are you?"

"I'm Fate, Fate Testarossa."

Instantly, Nanoha drew the revolver and aimed it at Fate.

Fate chuckled lightly and threw her rifle away. "If not by my mother's guns, it would be my sister's, huh."

"W-what do you mean?"

"My mother was the one who shot me at Fort Vertway, Nanoha. You should've left me there to die," Shrugging her shoulders, Fate continued. "I completely understand if you want me dead. My family was the one to kill yours, after all. Isn't this a wonderful opportunity for you to kill one of the Testarossas?"

The revolver still trained towards Fate, Nanoha recalled the blonde's guilt-stricken voice. Could she be responsible for her family's deaths after all? There was only one way to find out. Nanoha calmly questioned, "Why would your mother want to kill you?"

"I wanted her to stop living this way. I came to her as a messenger of the government," Fate trailed off, her eyes flickered intently towards Nanoha's. "…as well as her daughter, to stop her movements."

"You're… not working under her?"

Fate shook her head. "Not anymore. You could say I'm an exile."

Nanoha glanced at her revolver before asking, "And your sister?"

"Dead. The gun in your hands is the only thing she left behind."

"Were you there when your gang invaded my town?"

Again, Fate shook her head. "I was already detained by the government after a failed bank robbery. Alicia perished in that operation and my mother left me to die with my sister."

With that, Nanoha lowered the revolver. Fate slowly followed with her hands. Silence befall the two women, both thinking what they could do to recover their poise. Nanoha spoke up first, "I'm sorry about your loss."

"As am I," Fate responded, walking slowly towards her deserted rifle. "You don't deserve such things. Tell me, Nanoha…"

"Yes?"

"If I was there, in the bandit attack at your town… Would you shoot me just now?"

"I would."

"Would you shoot others who are involved in it?"

"I would."

Fate let out a breath she didn't know she held. "Then, would you help me hunt them down?"

Well. Picking up writing after almost two years without it is tough. I'm super rusty and I hope it doesn't really show. *nervous laughs* Here is a really random idea, a cowboy AU for the ever lovable NanoFate. I guess I should be happy, it's been forever since I last wrote a fic. This won't be long, only a two-shot. Expect the next part to be out soon enough!

Oh, and if anyone wants to see it, I doodled NanoFate for this AU too. It's over at my tumblr, same username.