WARNING: This is a Nanoha-Fate Fic and it is rated M for strong or violent content and sexual encounters between two females. If this kind of content offends you in any way, if you are easily upset by explicit violent or sexual scenes or if you don't have the age for reading M content, please don't read.

DISCLAIMER: Magical Girl Lyrical Nanoha's characters belong to their authors. Plot belongs to Aleksei Volken & Galadan. All the characters and situations described in this fic are fictional. Any similarity with real people or situation is not intentional and purely coincidental.

This chapter's soundtracks, "Soul Creation" by Cinder and "Chemicals React" by Aly & AJ.

-X-

The Legacy (English Version by Aleksei Volken and HikariFate)

Chapter 8. Bonds.

SOUL CREATION

I can't bite the hand that's gonna feed me
You'd like to see me try
This appetite of mine
And lie
And lie
I lost sight of things you wanna show me
Your fingers scratched my eyes
This time I'm going blind
And lie
And lie!

You want it!
You need it!
You love it!
You hate it!
Soul creation
You see it!
You feel it!
You touch it!

Believe it!

X

CHEMICAL REACT

You make me feel out of my element
Like I'm walkin' on broken glass
Like my worlds spinnin' in slow motion
And you're movin' too fast

Were you right, was I wrong
Were you weak, was I strong?
Yeah, both of us broken
Caught in the moment
We lived and we loved
And we hurt and we joked, yeah

But the planets all aligned
When you looked into my eyes
And just like that
The chemicals react
The chemicals react

We cannot deny, how we feel inside
We cannot deny

-X-

From afar, on one of those few occasions when you decide to come out of that damn building, I watch you. You've been very busy lately, hunting me. [Hunting us] You barely go home, you don't see anybody, you don't sleep, I'm pretty sure you barely eat, [I like having her concentrated solely on us] I would've loved to see your face when you saw the little 'gift' I left at your friend's home… but I saw you when you came out of your office, Ah! What a wonderful expression! Your eyes were on fire, I wish I had been there, right in front of you, to see them from just inches away and have you all to myself…[We'll have her, all to ourselves… soon] but it's not time yet. You need to know about me [about us] a little more. Let me guide you for a little longer, through this love dance that we're preforming, let me seduce you… Be patient, let me prepare the perfect meeting you deserve… Fate.

-X-

Midchildia's Residential University Suburbs, 25th Day, 12th Month, 08:00 hrs.

After four whole days at the TSAB offices, Nanoha could finally return to her apartment. Never in her entire life had she ever felt so tired. So, even though it was still early and her friends were not home yet, she went straight to her room and gave in to exhaustion; taking off her clothes as best as she could and without putting on some pajamas she dropped on her bed and remained like that until well into the next morning when a scream woke her.

"Nanoha!"

Through the mist of sleep, Nanoha opened her eyes to find Suzuka looking at her with wide eyes.

"I didn't think you'd be back yet, when did you get here? Are you okay?" asked the girl worriedly, looking at the clothes on the floor and the suitcase abandoned in a corner.

"You look like a truck ran over you," Arisa said looking over Suzuka's shoulder, "I hope the driver was at least cute."

"Ah… Arisa-chan, please don't start with that." Nanoha managed to say covering her face with the pillow.

While hiding under the pillow, Nanoha realized that her association with the word "cute" was very long blond hair and crimson eyes. "What's happening to me? Can't I stop thinking about her for even a minute?"

Reluctantly, Nanoha had to get up, horrified when seeing how late it was, according to her regular standards that is, although it wasn't much considering how many days she had spent working in the Section Six for up to more than fourteen hours a day.

By then, she was already seriously considering talking to Arisa and Suzuka about what she was truly doing; she couldn't continue on keeping it a secret form her friends. But she didn't want to make that decision without first discussing it with Hayate or Fate, so once again she had to dodge her friend's questions as best as possible, assuring them that she was fine and that she would explain everything soon. In the end, she decided to tell them that Scaglietti had been hired by the government and that he had chosen her to help him with a very important project and therefore she couldn't give them too many details at the moment. It was the closest to the truth she could think of.

Not truly convinced once again, Suzuka and Arisa dropped it. Both in their own way, loved Nanoha and care about her. They could see how tired she was, but especially noticed her somewhat… different.

And that's what they were discussing after Nanoha had run out of the apartment to head to the university.

"You really think so?" Suzuka asked trying to remember Nanoha's expressions.

"For sure. There's someone in her life or at least there's someone who interests her and for whom she's doing all this crazy stuff. And surely they interest her a lot." Arisa was one hundred percent convinced and had spent the last few minutes telling Suzuka she'd never seen Nanoha act that way, and much less, keeping them so out of what was happening.

"But you heard her Arisa-chan, Nanoha explained that she can't talk about it yet."

"Oh, yeah, I don't doubt that, but did you notice the way she talked? At times she seemed to remember something and her eyes lit up, but then she immediately got sad and tried to hide it."

"What do you think it is Arisa-chan?"

"As I see it, there's only two possibilities," after a sort of dramatic pause, she said "either he's married…"

"Or?"

Arisa considered it a bit before answering "Or… it's a woman."

-X-

Rigelian University of Midchilda, Laboratory of Applied Neuroscience Research. 25th day, 12th month. 15:30 hrs.

Nanoha was concentrated checking the work that had been done during her absence and basically catching up after Dr. Scaglietti had literally interrogated her for three hours about what she had been doing at the TSAB all those days.

Technically, she only had to give explanation for the two previous days and not for the whole weekend, (that had been HER time and HER decision) so she tried to keep her explanation as simple as possible despite all the questions. She wasn't sure why, but she didn't want to give him all the details. A part of her brain told her that if Colonel Yagami had wanted him there, she would have called him directly; so she didn't feel with the right to give out the information she had been given, what she had heard and all she had done. Especially the details that had to do with the murderer.

What she tried to talk more about, and which actually was all that should concerned Scaglietti, was Vivio.

The little girl had responded very well to her treatment of neuronal stimulation and had successfully awakened. But had found out soon after that the shock still had its aftereffects. Vivio still wouldn't say a word. There was no physical reason that didn't allow her to talk but maybe a part of the psychological trauma she had suffered was still affecting her. It may affect her for a long time.

Nanoha thought that perhaps Scaglietti could help with that and that was what she had talked about.

Finally Scaglietti had been called to the dean's office, so he had no choice but to let her go… for now.

She had just been a couple of hours catching up on her work when one of the assistants told her that someone was asking for her outside of the lab. Scaglietti was particularly strict with not letting anyone in who had nothing to do with his lab; he had agreed to let the TSAB agents enter almost by force; but now that he wasn't there, no one, absolutely no one other than his staff, could enter, so Nanoha straightened her coat and headed for the door.

Once outside she stood with her mouth open when seeing a pair of pale green eyes and long blond hair. Unfortunately, that wasn't the blond hair she wanted to see.

"Yuuno-…kun"

"Hi, Nanoha, how are you?" asked the young man smiling in that way that had many university girls (and boys) captivated.

"Very well, thank you" she said a little embarrassed. "Now what are you doing here?" Nanoha thought.

"I had to come see you," he said, almost as if reading her mind. "Do you have time to take a break?"

"Ah, I'm… not sure Yuuno-kun, Dr. Scaglietti is out on a meeting with the dean and he's a bit strict with what we're allowed do when he's not here."

"Let's just get away a little, just to the building entrance." The green eyes were almost pleading her so Nanoha didn't have to heart to refuse.

Yuuno walked with her through the building's hallways all the way to the main entrance, where you could see the green of the gardens and the different groups of students who had already gotten out of class or were taking a break between them. Nanoha sometimes missed those days and could still see herself with her friends, laughing under those same trees without any care in the world. Under that golden sun and with the background sounds and laughter around the university, it was hard to believe that such darkness could exist.

"Nanoha?" Yuuno's voice interrupted her thoughts, apparently she had missed one sentence of the conversation.

"I'm…" Nanoha was about to apologize but suddenly remembered Fate again and stopped, "I got a little distracted Yuuno-kun. You were saying?"

"I was just telling you that you looked very deep in thought. Are you sure everything's okay?"

"Not him too," thought Nanoha, who already had enough with Arisa and Suzuka asking her questions she couldn't answer, like to also have Yuuno make the same question.

"I'm sure, Yuuno-kun, I've just had a lot of work lately. How are things going for you in the Infinite Library?" she said trying to move the conversation to a safer subject, which preferably had nothing to do with her.

"Fantastic, you should stop by my office one of these days. Apart from getting the pleasure to see you, I could give you a tour of the new facility and show you the new technology we have. We can practically look at any book on any subject you can imagine. Although not all students can do that!" he said very pleased with himself, "there's search privileges that are reserved strictly for the director!"

"How's that?" Nanoha asked, suddenly interested in what Yuuno had said.

"Yes, we've finally integrated the whole content of the Infinite Library into a centralized database, hundreds of thousands of books integrated and linked through a smart relational database. As you can imagine there's a lot of information there and the real complexity of it all is to actually be able to establish relationships and organize the information to find what you're looking for."

"Right," Nanoha said, "so basically it's a gigantic digital haystack."

"That's right!" he said, excited to see his friend's interest, "since I started working in the Infinite Library, my main goal was to find a way to search in that haystack in a smart and efficient manner. The information we have there is the most extensive in the world, plus it's linked to many other knowledge banks. Now it seems I've succeeded."

"That's incredible, Yuuno-kun!"

"Would you like to see it?" he asked hopefully but wasn't able to hear Nanoha's answer because at that same moment another person approached greeting them.

"Hello, good afternoon."

Nanoha knew that voice. And she couldn't believe that that person was right there at that exact moment. She turned around quickly to meet long golden hair (which this time WAS the one she wanted to see) and a pair of crimson eyes. To her surprise, Fate wasn't wearing her TSAB uniform but was rather dressed in civilian clothes. Nanoha was shocked, now realizing that she had never seen Fate in anything but her black uniform. She looked much younger and relaxed, almost like any other student.

"Fate!" she almost yelled.

"Hi," Fate replied with a more reserved attitude and, with a slight smile she turned to Yuuno. "Fate Harlaown." She said stretching out her hand.

Yuuno looked at her curiously. You could almost say he wasn't uncomfortable by Fate's interruption in his conversation with Nanoha.

"Yuuno Scrya." He said stretching his hand to shake the blonde's as he looked at her now with more appreciation.

"It's good to see you Fate," Nanoha was happy to see the Enforcer, but now that the initial shock had passed, she wondered what could have brought her to the University.

"Yes I… was around here and since I have a few things to discuss with Dr. Scaglietti, I thought I'd say hi." She said after a brief pause.

"Ah, so she came to see Scaglietti," Nanoha thought, a bit disappointed. For a moment, her heart wished that she had come to see her.

"He's not in the building at the moment but it shouldn't take long for him to come back, do you want to go to the lab for the time being? I'll send him a message to let him know you're here," even though Fate wasn't there to see her, she was still happy to see her and didn't want her to leave so quickly.

"That would be nice," replied the blonde smiling.

"Well, I'll leave you two be then," said Yuuno, who suddenly felt a bit left out. Nanoha hadn't invited him into the lab.

"Nice to meet you, Scrya-san," Fate said.

"Yuuno's fine, it was also nice meeting you Fate, can I call you Fate as well?" he said smiling at the blonde.

"Sure," she said, shaking his hand again.

Nanoha almost felt jealous, Fate had never been that nice with her the first few times they met.

While Yuuno was leaving, after making Nanoha promise that she would visit him at the Infinite Library, Fate and Nanoha remained standing outside the building for a little longer, Fate was looking around and when Nanoha turned to head inside, Fate suddenly stopped her.

"Wait, Nanoha"

The other girl turned back around puzzled.

"I really didn't come to see Scaglietti," said Fate, suddenly looking a little embarrassed, her eyes on the floor.

Nanoha stared at her not knowing what to say, her heart starting to beat faster.

Fate gathered her courage and lifted her head, looking straight at the redhead, "I… came to see you."

If Nanoha hadn't known what to say before, now she could barely swallow. She had to make an effort to remember to breathe.

"Is there somewhere we can sit and talk for a moment?" Fate asked.

At that moment Nanoha didn't care that Scaglietti wasn't there or that she had work left at the lab and quickly took Fate to one of her favorite indoor gardens inside the science building. It was private and they could sit in the middle of the vegetation and talk privately, only researchers could enter those areas so there would be no unwelcome students and at that time it was usually very quiet.

Sitting there, Fate felt the same thing Nanoha had felt earlier; inside that peaceful and bright place it was hard to believe that the darkness she saw every day could exist. She took a few seconds to enjoy the moment before gathering her courage again to look at Nanoha in the eyes. She wanted her to be one hundred percent sure of the sincerity of what she would say.

"I wanted to talk to you to thank you for everything you've done in the last few days. You really did a fantastic job with Vivio and the ideas you gave us… well, what can I say. I never thought someone outside the TSAB could have that kind of… penetration capability in a case like this."

Nanoha felt a pleasant warmth spreading through her chest and all the way to her face. She never thought that blushing could fell so nice.

"And," Fate continued, "I… I'm sorry I didn't thank you earlier and even more, for not having properly recognized all the work you've done."

Now Nanoha's surprise was pretty evident. In all those days she had spent along with Fate, she had realized that the agent wasn't the type of person to apologize. She remembered perfectly how she had practically yelled at her for apologizing too much. Hearing her now, apologizing, gave her a pretty good idea of how serious this was for Fate.

Nanoha looked at her not knowing what to say, still too shocked, until Fate asked her "could you forgive me, Nanoha?"

"Of course!" she quickly answered, "Don't worry, I… understand, Fate. Now more than ever, I understand exactly what your job entails and I… really admire you."

After saying that, her blush intensified.

"And I also appreciate you coming all the way here to tell me this, you have no idea what it means," "to me" she kept the last part to herself.

"I also came for another reason," Fate said smiling, "Colonel Yagami… Hayate wants us to have dinner with her family."

Nanoha's eyes widened in surprise, "Me… as well?"

"Of course, that's what I meant by 'us'."

Nanoha was speechless. The Colonel in charge of Section Six, one of the most important units in the TSAB, was inviting her to have dinner with her? It was too much to take in.

"She also wants to thank you in her own way for all of your help." Fate explained still smiling, "Hayate and I have known each other for a long time, we were friends before we started working together, and I must say that she really likes you."

"Wow, I'm a little surprised but yes, I'll be delighted to go. Thanks a lot for coming personally to tell me all this."

Nanoha would have preferred that Fate was the one inviting her to dinner, but she would still be able to see her in a way that wasn't work related or that was part of an argument (she hoped), so she was happy.

Fate told her how to get to the place where the dinner would be held and even offered to pick her up at her apartment. Nanoha stared at her surprised and was about to ask her if she was really Fate or an alien who had taken over the agent's body, but chose not to test her luck and instead decided to enjoy that "alien Fate" for as long as it lasted.

And Fate, who actually didn't want to see Scaglietti in the least, declined Nanoha's invitation to walk with her to the lab, and instead left to take care of other stuff while Nanoha was left in a daze for the rest of the afternoon. The only thing she could think about, was what she was going to wear that night for the dinner.

Curiously, while leaving the Neuroscience building with a slight smile on her face, Fate was thinking about the same thing. And even though she couldn't see it, her face was as bright as her hair in the soft light of the afternoon sun.

-X-

[That idiot was with her!] What are you doing here, Fate? And what happened to your shining armor? Wearing those clothes is not worthy of you. [She talked to him, touched him… she even smiled at him!] Smiling like that is also not worthy of you. The way you're smiling now… Tsk, tsk, tsk… No, Fate. It's not good to get distracted from your objectives. [Now she's not thinking about us] No, she's definitely not thinking about us now. […she can't let herself loose from our control] That's not the look you get in your eyes when thinking about us, Fate and that's very dangerous, it's not good to get distracted from your objectives. When you get distracted… people die.

-X-

Midchildia's Residential University Suburbs, 25th Day, 12th Month, 18:50 hrs.

It was almost time for Fate to arrive at Nanoha's place, and although she was more than ready, she was pretty nervous.

Her friends were very surprised to see her arrive earlier than usual that evening and even more, when they saw her frantically searching for something to wear. According to Nanoha, for some reason she failed to mentioned, she needed a combination that was elegant but not overly formal, sensual but discreet, 'subtly provocative' but innocent, fashionable but not overly fancy, feminine but simple… and many other things that she said without even looking at them as she took out almost everything she had in her closet that was fairly 'elegant' and 'presentable'.

Arisa and Suzuka only exchanged a look of understanding; unintentionally, their friend's behavior was starting to confirm Arisa's suspicions.

Finally, Suzuka showed her redhead friend the dress her mother had bought for her for the end-of-the-year reunion they'd have at her house, and offered it to her.

"But Suzuka-chan… I can't do that, that dress is for you, for your annual reunion with you family. I can't wear it before you do!"

"Nonsense Nanoha, I'm actually happy that it can be used more than once. I honestly don't know if I'll ever wear a dress like this again." Said Suzuka trying to convince her.

She and Nanoha were about the same height and with the appropriate shoes, the length of the dress wouldn't be a problem, so finally, after many arguments, Nanoha accepted.

So at that moment she found herself wearing a sapphire blue dress, long and sleeveless, with no more embellishment other than the fabric falling over her body, highlighting her curves in all the right places. The blue of the dress enhanced the color of her eyes making them shine brighter.

Suzuka had also helped her fix her long hair into something different than her usual ponytail, so this time it was mostly loose but tided on the sides with carefully braided strands that met in the back of her head. This way she could show off her long hair but keep it clear from her neck, which was also enhanced by the neckline of the dress and where it lay, as her only personal accessory, a pendant with a single red jewel, a gift from her mother.

Suzuka and Arisa stared at her impressed.

"Whoever's your date today, they're going to have a heart attack." Arisa told her when she was ready.

"Arisa-chan!... please stop it!" she complained, although deep down she hoped other people would appreciate how she looked.

Before her friends offered themselves to take her down to the first floor, Nanoha slipped away to wait for Fate directly at the main entrance and so that, if possible, she didn't even had to get off the car. The last thing she wanted was any more awkward questions from her friends.

While waiting she couldn't help wondering, seriously for the first time, what was happening to her with agent Testarossa… with Fate. She had never felt like she was feeling right now when she used to date guys, although, in reality "this" wasn't really a date, after all… it was almost like a work dinner… but Nanoha's heart was beating as if it really was date with someone she cared about… a lot. She had never wanted to get to know someone so much, to be close to someone, to be important to someone, as she wished with Fate. She didn't want to put a name to what she was feeling but she wasn't naïve, something was happening to her that wasn't some simple fleeting interest. Never, had the idea of pulling away or distancing herself from Fate crossed her mind. Instead, she wanted to be closer and closer to her, whatever it was that it all meant.

"And… what is she feeling? She thought, "Is it possible that I'm the only one who's feeling… this?" whatever it was that "this" was.

But she couldn't continue with her train of thoughts since at that exact moment, Fate's black car, parked in front of her building. Nanoha was quick to step outside, but having to be more careful with the dress and high-heels, it took her longer than usual to turn and close the door, so when she turned back around to head towards the car, Fate was already standing almost right in front of her.

The one who almost had a heart attack at that moment was Nanoha.

Fate had also chosen a long dress, of a black satin, strapless, with a simple and straight cut, that accentuated the delicacy of her body in a way Nanoha had never seen.

"Hi," Fate shyly greeted her and it wasn't until then, after hearing the agent's voice, that Nanoha realize she had been frozen in place with her mouth hanging open.

In fact, both women were looking at each other appreciatively. Fate noticed Nanoha looked very different from how she usually did… "Like a goddess", was actually what crossed her mind at that moment. Nanoha's hair, usually tied in a ponytail, fell free in the hairstyle Suzuka had done for her, framing not only her face but also her body all the way down to her small waist. "Like a goddess of fire," was what Fate thought after a few seconds of admiring the image before her.

"That dress looks… really good on you." Fate said to finish her greeting, and then Nanoha realized Fate was looking at her appreciatively and blushed a lot more then she usually blushed at a compliment.

"God, with that blush she looks even more… attractive(sexy Fate, admit it!)… Careful Fate, goddesses of fire burn, and that's not a luxury you can allow yourself."

Nanoha's response rescued her from her own thoughts before they confused her even more.

"Thank you Fate-san, but in truth, you're the one who looks spectacular," said Nanoha, still flushed and nervous, but at least operational enough.

After that they remained standing still looking at each other in silence; as if they couldn't get tired of looking, and with each second, they could appreciate a new detail they hadn't seen before. Until one of the neighbors leaving the building brought them back to reality.

Nanoha feared for a seconds that it was her friends, but was relieved when she saw that they weren't. If her friends had seen Fate, she would no longer have any excuses to explain herself.

"Shall we?" Fate asked pointing to the car.

"Yes, of course."

Just like the last time she got into her car, Fate opened the passenger door for her and when Nanoha got in, their eyes met again, close, very close, so close that they could each smell the scent of the other. To Fate, Nanoha exuded a slight combination of jasmine along with something more sensual, stronger and equally stimulating to her senses, which she recognized as orange blossom.

While Fate went around to get in the car, inside Nanoha breathed deeply to try and calk her wildly beating heart after that intense look. "Calm down Nanoha, she just looked at you! What would happen if she…?"

Nanoha tried to quell those thoughts, she didn't want to think of any "If's…" at that moment. Of any kind. They were not on a date. They were basically going to a work meeting with Fate's boss. She had to calm down.

Fate took two deep breaths before entering the car, her senses still a bit overwhelmed with the smell of the other girl's aroma. "Control yourself Fate, yes she looks beautiful, but she's NOT on a date with you or anything. You don't even know if she…"

Fate forced herself to think about something else while getting inside and starting the car, letting Nanoha know that they would be going to the TSAB Officers Club since the Yagami house was still closed after the last incident.

From the seventh floor of Nanoha's building, the windows of her apartment looked dark. However, from the car they couldn't have been able to see two figures moving away from the windows at that moment.

"See? I told you," Arisa said.

"Wasn't she the TSAB agent who helped us the other day?"

"I could swear it was the same one. I don't think there's many women with a hair like that," Arisa, now far away from the window where they had been watching Nanoha, turn on a lamp. Before Nanoha left, they each pretended to head to their respective rooms while their friend took the opportunity to leave hurriedly; but soon after they were on the lookout. They had to know.

From the seventh floor it was a bit far away to really see the face of the person who had come to get Nanoha, but it was clear it was a woman, gorgeous and blonde.

"But why isn't Nanoha telling us anything?" Suzuka, more than angry, was worried about her friend.

"Who knows, but we'll find out," Arisa said determined.

-X-

Officers Club at the TSAB Wolkenritter Military Grounds, Midchilda Residential Suburbs, 25th day, 12th month, 19:30 hrs.

Nanoha was impressed by the TSAB Officers Club. It wasn't inside the TSAB building she knew but in a special field where besides the club there were other facilities for entertainment and sports and family activities. The TSAB was very serious about taking care of their members and especially, their families.

When they reached one of the main restaurants on the complex, they were taken to a private section where Hayate was expecting them, dressed in simple long white dress that made her look much younger and fragile than she commonly looked in her military uniform at the office. With her were Zafira, in a very elegant and impeccable black tuxedo, and Signum, also wearing an impeccable navy blue suit.

"Ah! Girls, good thing you're finally here," Hayate greeting them, smiling broadly "You both look amazing today, did you know that?"

Nanoha and Fate blushed with an impressive synchronization as they entered and greeted everyone.

The table that had been prepared for them in the private room, which was intimate yet spacious, was round, at Hayate's request so everyone could talk with each other. Fate noticed that there were still some empty seats and wondered who else was coming.

Before they could choose where to sit, Hayate stood and sat Nanoha beside her, so she was left in between her and Fate.

Their conversation for the next few minutes revolved around very general issues, mainly about how the researcher's day had been after going back again to her 'normal' life.

"I have to admit it has been a bit strange" Nanoha said shyly.

"It has? How come? Don't tell me you miss these pair of exploiters?" Hayate laughed, she and Fate had kept Nanoha working for more than fourteen hours a day during her stay at the office. Fate just growled a bit when called an exploiter, so Hayate had to friendly scold her.

"Fate, growling is not sexy, and totally incompatible with that outfit you're wearing."

Signum took the opportunity for tease Fate as well, "That right Testarossa, you'll ruin your makeup."

Fate shot her a warning look; yeah, she'll definitely need that sparring session soon.

"Honestly, working with you has been quite an experience," Nanoha said trying to get back to the previous subject and turning the conversation away from a topic that obviously bothered Fate. "It was very hard and stressful, yes, but it was also very…"

"Exciting?" Hayate completed with one of her enigmatic smiles.

"Yes, but more than that, it was rewarding. It made me feel like what I'm doing has a meaning and purpose. Returning to the lab after the time I spent at the TSAB with you guys, has been… gray." A color was the best adjective that Nanoha could think of to describe how she felt that day.

"Well, you'll have the chance to return to our "colorful" office soon Nanoha," Hayate said, "But we'll talk about that later."

At that exact moment, the door opened for the last guests to join them. A very stunning looking Shamal dressed in a light green dress entered arm in arm with Verossa Accoss wearing an elegant white suit.

Signum clenched her fists under the table upon seeing him, she was sure Shamal would arrive with Vita; they were supposed to have dinner with family and friends. The last person she wanted to see there at that time was exactly Verossa Accoss. She'd had enough with watching him hover around Shamal the last four days in the office, bringing coffee or tea in the morning, chatting animatedly with her during breaks or when they were in the hallway or even going out to eat with her. Signum had noticed everything perfectly since the guy had the perfect timing of doing it exactly whenever she was around. Or maybe she had been closer to Shamal lately? Although that really didn't matter, in her opinion anyway. What mattered was, what the hell was he doing there.

Verossa sat Shamal between himself and Zafira as he "graciously" greeted Signum.

"Hello Lieutenant, the dark color suits you well," he said and without waiting for an answer smugly sat, "extremely similar to your everyday uniform."

"Our uniform is black Verossa, in case you don't remember," Signum couldn't understand how Shamal could stand this guy for more than two seconds. He had just arrived and she already wanted to kill him.

"You should try some other color… with a bit more life, you know. Look at Shamal for example, doesn't she look amazing?"

"Ah, Verossa! Please. He's been like this since he first saw me." Said Shamal a bit flushed looking at Signum.

"Yes, like always," Signum replied a bit too quickly and a bit more sharply than she'd really wanted, realizing too late her bad phrasing; in truth Shamal looked stunning in Signum's eyes. "No, what I mean is that Shamal always… looks good, and today… tonight, I mean," Signum paused her babbling to try and look directly at Shamal without being hindered by Verossa.

"… tonight you also look great Shamal. I had never seen that dress." "Stupid Verossa, it's his fault for making me angry so fast!"

Shamal had felt a little disappointed when hearing Signum's first sentence, but had to admit that she had tried hard. Perhaps she's tried a bit too hard to acknowledge that she looked good.

"Well, it's understandable Shamal, maybe your sister can't see you with the same admiration as me," Verossa said, smiling at Shamal, "At least she noticed your dress is new."

Signum's hand moved dangerously close to the knife on the table but Hayate intervened miraculously.

"I'm glad we're all finally here. I'd like to say that the reason for this dinner is to thank you all and to honor our two experts from the scientific field of the Section Six: Nanoha and Shamal, you've done a truly remarkable job girls."

In recent days, the days that Nanoha as well as the others, had been virtually cloistered inside the TSAB offices; the whole team had been working hard on various tasks, but the main ones were to try to get Vivio to recognize the possible murdered of the Alpine family, as well as establishing the final profile of the enemy they faced. Nanoha had been fundamental in both tasks along with Shamal.

Although Vivo, after four days of being awakened, still hadn't said a word. Nanoha had managed to get Fate, Hayate and the other team members to be able to approach her and talk to her. Gradually, the four of them, explained to her what had happened and were able to confirm what the girl had seen, not everything, but at least a part of what had happened to the Alpine family. Through silent tears, Vivio nodded or shook her head as the questions that were being asked. It was a long process in which they had to take several breaks so Vivo could recover; nor Nanoha or Shamal wanted Vivo to close off again like she had done when she was first rescued. Both women took turns either to watch Vivio when she slept or to interact with her in different rehabilitation activities and during sessions with other team members. It was exhausting for the little girl and for them.

During the last rehab sessions, through the girl's drawings, Nanoha managed to confirm that Vivo had in fact seen the murderer of the family, which the same girl later confirmed to Hayate and Fate in another session of questions.

But the greatest disappointment was when Vivio didn't identify the murderer in any of the photographs shown to her, even when she was shown the one of Zest Grangaitz specifically. If that was correct, then Dr. Grangaitz was not responsible for those deaths.

The result left Fate very dismayed, but that was no reason to lower the level of priority they had on finding Grangaitz. Fate was sure the man knew something. It was too unlikely that he had been just passing by, right where the Yazawa were killed, just by chance. Plus, it was pretty clear that the man was hiding and was doing a very good job at it, since despite all their efforts, they hadn't been able to locate him.

Besides all that work done, Nanoha had given them, the day before, a preliminary profile of the murderer, which was fairly detailed about the murderer they were looking for, and with which Alto, Lucino and Shari were already going through all possible databases to try and find any matches. It would take time, but they at least had a trail to follow.

So taking advantage of that small time of "freedom" they finally had, Hayate had invited them all to dinner.

Throughout the evening, the Colonel devoted most of her attention to Nanoha and Shamal, her special guests. When she wasn't talking to the Colonel, Nanoha would greatly enjoy a relaxed chat with Fate as a normal human being. They talked, laughed and she found out that Fate and Hayate had known each other since they were six, when they started elementary school, and had been inseparable friends since then. Hayate had decided to attend the officer's school while Fate has decided for the field investigation as an Enforcer with excellent results. It had been four years since they had started working together on the same unit.

Hayate embarrassed Fate in front of Nanoha a couple of times, telling stories about their childhood and teenage years, and Nanoha couldn't help feeling a little jealous. It was pretty obvious that Hayate knew Fate very well, her whole life, literally. As well as many, if not all, of her secrets. It wasn't like she wanted to be in Hayate's place, but she did want to know everything the other girl did.

During their talk, while Fate returned some of Hayate's jokes and laughed openly, like she had never done with her, Nanoha wondered if at some point there had been "something" more than just friendship between the two women. Or if their relationship could evolve into something more in the future. Although young, they were both very successful and attractive women, they spent a lot of time together, they knew and respected each other.

"It would be the perfect relationship," Nanoha thought, feeling a knot in her stomach. "But in any case, why are you thinking about this right now?" she scolded herself. From their conversation she gathered that neither Fate nor Hayate were involved with someone at the time, and while Hayate had made a couple of ambiguous comments while maliciously watching Fate, Nanoha was unable to figure out with certainty if Fate was interested in guys or girls… or both.

"And you're a hundred percent sure that you're interested in her?" That was another question that had been nagging at her the last couple of days, especially every time she came across a very tall, blond and red-eyed agent.

During their time working together, especially after her last encounter with Fate, Shamal had been talking to her, telling her about the agent and how difficult she could be at times but also about the great person and friend she was. "Some people are stubborn by nature." She had told her, "but that's no reason to love her any less"

Shamal hand been extremely kind and friendly with her during work and during their talks, Nanoha also noticed that she seemed to be interested in someone but wasn't exactly sure on whom. While it was true that Agent Verossa frequently visited them and had the habit of bringing them some tea and coffee in the morning, Shamal had ended up confessing that it wasn't him who caused her sleepless nights. One afternoon, to Nanoha's surprise, Shamal suddenly told her that the person who had her captivated was a girl and then, with great sadness, said that she had no chance with her. It was then Nanoha's turn to try to comfort Shamal, but the doctor didn't say much more, so she didn't push.

Now, watching Shamal again with agent Verossa, made her think that perhaps the doctor was trying to move on, to recover, and although they made a cute couple, Shamal didn't seem entirely happy. Despite the dinner also being in her honor, at time she looked distant.

Nanoha on the other hand, wasn't sure of anything. She wasn't sure of what she was felling or if what she was felling was really what she thought it was. Was she really felling herself attracted "that way" to another woman?

"A penny for your thoughts?" came the question from a voice she knew very well.

Smiling a bit provocatively, she replied without looking at her listener, "Is that all you're willing to pay?"

Looking up from her plate she found the crimson eyes of Fate, who was looking at her with a gentle smile on her lips. Her gaze was intense and penetrating, but warm. Every time she looked at her like that, Nanoha felt like Fate was touching her deep inside her being and had trouble breathing.

She only needed to let herself get lost in those eyes to answer the question she had been thinking about earlier. Not only did she feel very attracted to another woman, but that other woman was also Fate Testarossa.

-X-

Midchildia's Suburbs, 25th Day, 12th Month, 21:30 hrs.

A man walked down the dark, narrow streets of the shabby area in which he was in. It doesn't matter how beautiful a city is, or how modern or advance they were, those place always existed. Every city has at least one, even Midchilda with its illusion of peace and prosperity. The place where all the garbage, unspeakable desire, every outcast and deprived person ended at. It wasn't AS ugly as many others he had seen before, but it was what it was. And it was the only place where he could hide, in a smelly basement that could only be reached through a maze of narrow and dangerous streets.

He was sure. He was being followed. And it wasn't the TSAB.

The TSAB did things differently; they had been pretty close on a couple of occasions but not enough, although, the two women who were tracking him were very good, so he couldn't let his guard down.

But this was different.

The TSAB tracked him with everything at their disposal; technology and human elements, but unfortunately for them, he knew them well. He had developed many of the techniques and devices used now. Making them lose track of him was hard but he managed.

Whatever it was that was following him now, kept a low profile and was deceptive, but dangerous none the less. And it was in its element, inside that place he was hiding at. He thought he was good but whatever followed him, was even better.

It was only a matter of time before he could no longer get away from them, and they would reach him.

He slipped into his hovel and sealed all entrances, activating the monitoring system that he had placed around the perimeter of his hideout. Even if a cockroach approached within a hundred yards he would know.

Sitting down on the floor, surrounded by darkness, the only light coming from his devices, he finally decided to turn on a very dim lamp. From the pocket of his jacket, he pulled out a photograph, somewhat worn out after so much time and so much hiding. On days like that one, he gave himself the liberty to look at it and remember, to not forget what it was he was doing. For his anger to stay intact.

He was running out of time.

-X-

TSAB Headquarters Residential Area, 26th Day, 12th Month, 03:00 hrs.

Signum was sitting in the darkness of the living room of the place they had been given at the TSAB headquarters. It had been a little over three hours since they got back from the dinner and after a while of wandering around the living room, kitchen, balcony, and her own room on several occasions, pretending to be busy with something, she had ended up sited alone and in the dark, on the couch. She was doing something, actually. Waiting. Shamal had yet to return.

After dinner, when Fate and Nanoha said their goodbyes and they were heading towards Hayate's official van, Shamal told them she would return later to their rooms in the TSAB. And so without further explanation, she left by the arm of Verossa.

The next few hours were hell to Signum, who felt she couldn't stay still in one single place and with the sensation of something burning inside her. And she still felt that way.

"Can't sleep?" Hayate's voice came from the darkness.

Signum was a bit startled. More by the sudden interruption than by the question. Hayate wasn't the kind of person to ask unnecessary questions and was too perceptive for her own good. Maybe that's why she had made it to Colonel at such a young age.

"Hmm."

She preferred not risking saying anything more.

Hayate moved and sat beside her on the couch.

"It's hard not being home, isn't it? At times I wake up in that room and suddenly forget where I am."

"Yeah, it's strange. When can we go back home?" Signum relaxed a bit, the topic was safe and it was something she wanted to talk about.

"They're already done with all the necessary forensic tests and the cleaning process we ordered. Virtually within a couple of days, it'll only be a matter of when we decide to do it. Regardless of that, I honestly think we should stay here a while longer. At least until we make some progress on the investigation."

Signum didn't quite like the idea but understood what Hayate meant. The murderer had gotten inside their home and had left a very clear message. A threat. At headquarters they would at least be covered, although they didn't think the murderer would dare infiltrate there, there was always the possibility that the guy went more insane that what he already was.

"Are you going to let Verossa take her away that easily?"

Signum was thankful they were sitting in the dark, because she was sure she had turned paler than ever in her life at the question. Hayate had ambushed her and she had fallen completely for it.

"I… don't… know what you mean," she was able to say after a few seconds.

"That's the problem Signum. You'd rather not know." The friendly tone had disappeared from Hayate's voice.

"I've seen it, you know. That time you almost got killed, I saw it. I don't mean to diminish the physical pain you had to go through with that wound, but you don't even have the slightest idea of what she had to suffer. I had thought there couldn't be anything worse than seeing her like that, but there was… and it was when you left again after you miraculously recovered."

Signum was frozen looking at Hayate as she spoke.

"Always, even since the first time she came to my parent's home so many years ago, you've been important to her Signum, in a different way. I know it, Zafira knows it… even Vita knows it. The only one who hasn't wanted to see it or acknowledge it, is you."

"Hayate, what you're saying is…"

"It's the truth Signum. For her you've been everything, her protector, her hero, her accomplice, her friend… and much more; but in reality, you've never been her sister."

Signum didn't know what to say, her heart was about to pop out of her chest at Hayate's words. She never thought her youngest sister was capable of seen through them in such a way and much less to be able to express it out loud. Signum felt like she was violating the very principles of her family by merely having 'impure' thoughts when she sometimes watched her sister. What did Hayate want to achieve by telling her all that, putting into words what she had wanted to bury in the depths of her being for so long?

Apparently Hayate had reached her limit of tolerance with her that night, after the evening they'd had. While Nanoha and Fate had barely noticed, Signum had been particularly annoying with two people at the table.

"If you don't want or can't see her in a different way, it you can't overcome your own fears; then let her be happy with whomever she decides to and however she decides. If you can't see her as a woman and not as your sister Signum, you should better stop hurting her,… you should better get off this couch right now and go to your room before Shamal arrives."

"I…" Signum wanted to say something, to which Hayate didn't interrupt; she just stared, waiting. "I never wanted to hurt her."

"That's hasn't stopped you from actually doing it."

Signum felt wretched. Hayate's words put a great weight in her heart. Almost, but not quite as much as the feeling of drowning, of despair, of loss, which she felt at the mere thought of Shamal, in those very moments, in Verossa's arms.

Without another word, she stood up and left the living room on her way to her room.

-X-

Midchildia's Residential University Suburbs, 25th Day, 12th Month, 21:50 hrs. Three hours earlier.

Fate had drove her back to her place after dinner, at around midnight and Nanoha found herself wishing that the night wouldn't end there.

Along the way, the mood that had awakened during dinner still remained. Fate smiled most of the time as they talked about Nanoha's experiences through college and about her friends.

And for the first time ever, Nanoha cursed at not having a place of her own, because she couldn't ask Fate if she wanted to go up "for some coffee" (besides the fact that they had already had some after dinner) and despite how "overjoyed" she felt, she was way far from asking Fate to invite her to her house, already knowing (thanks to Hayate) that the agent lived alone.

"What were you expecting to get Nanoha Takamachi? You already knew from the beginning that this wasn't date."

The fact that her rational mind didn't know it, didn't mean her stomach (and other parts of her body) weren't well aware of it.

The streets were almost deserted, and it wasn't long until they reached her building. And very reluctantly, Nanoha would have to say goodbye to that night.

"It has been an incredible evening Fate. Thank you very much… for everything." She finally said, trying to shake away the knot in her chest.

"I'm glad you enjoyed yourself. We wanted to thank you for everything you've done," Fate said, and looking at her a bit more openly, she added, smiling, "And it's been… different talking to you without arguing."

"Yes, I told you before it was nicer talking to your human side, Fate-san." Nanoha smiled also looking at the blonde.

Fate parked her car in front of Nanoha's building and turned it off.

For several, long seconds, neither said anything in the darkness and silence, neither moved; as if that movement was so fragile and precious that with any movement, any sound, it would disappear; they just looked at each other, crimson lost in blue, combining.

Nanoha found herself looking at Fate's lips, she wanted to kiss her at that moment.

Fate followed Nanoha's longing gaze and watched Nanoha part her lips, she just had to lean forward and those lips would be hers, she could feel it with her whole being. There was no need to ask anything to the redhead beside her. Her eyes and parted lips told her everything she needed to know. Fate's gaze fell from Nanoha's eyes down to her neck all the way to her cleavage and she imagined herself slipping that dress down to see the skin that was underneath; while her eyes were met again by those blue orbs, she imagined Nanoha looking at her in that same way, breathing deeply like she was doing right now, laying on her bed while she stripped her of that dress.

The wave of desire that Fate felt, made her tighten her hold on the wheel to not do what her body was screaming her do to.

Summoning all her strength and all her self-control, the agent looked away and removing her seatbelt, she got out of the car without saying a word.

Nanoha was left motionless, blinking a few times to recover from the shock. During the few seconds they had remained in silence inside the car, she could swear they both had look at each other the same way, she could swear that Fate had wanted to kiss her just as much as she had wanted her to do it. Why had she gotten out of the car like that?

The cool air of the night let her know that Fate had opened the door and was waiting for her to get out.

With her heart still beating wildly in her chest, she stepped out. Fate walked her to the door of her building and Nanoha couldn't help feeling a bit… disappointed.

"Nothing's going to happen to me if I walk two meters on my own… Fate-san."

Fate wasn't deceived easily, Nanoha's voice sounded resentful… hurt. But there was nothing she could do more than she'd already done. Taking what Nanoha had offered her a few minutes ago was out of the question. It had been a fleeting moment, nothing more. The doctor would've regretted it later, and their working relationship would've been damaged forever. And even if Nanoha didn't regret it, Fate still had nothing to offer. She couldn't offer anything, not to her or to anyone else. She couldn't be swayed by the sudden outburst of desire precisely with her, it was just something she couldn't do.

"One never knows Nanoha, remember…" "the night we met", she was about to say but stopped herself.

"Yes, one should always call the police. I remember. Well, I don't have the police right now but I guess you're good enough," Nanoha said with sad eyes, and with the building door already opened.

Fate waved good-bye, but Nanoha stopped her taking her by the arm.

"Thanks for taking care of me, Fate-san… but, who's taking care of you?" There was Nanoha again, looking at her in that way that melted her defenses.

"Don't worry," she said in a strangled voice, "I'll manage something with these shoes!"

Her poor attempt at a joke didn't have the expected effect on Nanoha, who was still staring at her and wouldn't let her go.

"I…" Nanoha had started to say.

"I'll be fine," Fate stopped her, smiling in a way she hoped was reassuring and gentle.

"No," Nanoha said, moving closer without letting go, "I…wish you would let people who care about you… get closer to you."

Fate felt her stomach drop when after saying that, Nanoha leaned and placed a gentle kiss on her cheek, then turn around and walked inside the building.

Fate stood frozen by the door for a few seconds, feeling particularly miserable and not relieved, like she was supposed to.

With a heavy heart, she returned to her car and stayed there for some time watching the empty street, before starting the car and heading to her house and bed, alone, as her rational mind told her was right.

-X-

[No…No…No… No… It's not possible!]… [She's only ours, right?]… [That… bitch… can't be of any interest to our Fate!]… [Right?]… [Right?!]… Fate is getting distracted. Fate can be… can be dazzled by her, but… Why do you look at her like that, Fate? Why do you let her distract you? Why are you forgetting about what is truly important?... Why?! After everything we've done for you. You have to remember. We'll... have to remind you. We'll have to remind you about what happens when you get distracted. And you'll also have to remember… who's really in control. [Those bitches and bastards… must pay]

-X-

T/N: Fist of all, I'm really really sorry for taking sooooo long to update, specially since I've had this chapter for a couple of months now, but I was waiting, and still am, for my beta-reader/original author to sent me the proof read chapter, but as I said I still am waiting and since it's been quite a while I decided to just post it, I don't know if she'll want to make any changes to this chapter but if she does I'll let you all know.

I don't know when I'll update again, and I'm sorry because I'm pretty sure you're all desperate to see what happens next, but I don't think I'll update until I hear for the author, I don't want to post any more chapter without her approving them first since she said she might want to make some changes to the story, so yeah... sorry. But anyway I hope you liked this chapter, thanks for reading and please leave a review, they are very much appreciated. See you all soon... I hope :)