Disclaimer: Magical Girl Lyrical Nanoha belongs to Seven Arcs and all respective license holders. The Persona Series belongs to ATLUS. I only own this fic and nothing else. I also own all the mistakes too.

Warning: A few reviews have brought to my attention that quite a few people will probably have not finished Royal at this time, so this is a warning I am issuing now. This will go into spoiler territory for Royal's new content. If you have not finished Royal and wish to do so with minimal spoilers, it is best for you to wait until after finishing Royal's new content before moving forward and reading the following chapters. It will take a bit of time for me to really dig into those spoilers, but better safe than sorry. I hope you enjoy the new content and I await your return.

Chapter 20: Faith and Consultation

"Wait you were attending Shujin last year as a second year? My apologies then. I hadn't realized you were my senpai!" Kasumi said as she went into another bow though it was a bit awkward seeing as they were both seated at a table in a diner with plates of their recently finished meal. Ren opted to ignore the large number dishes that sat on her side, and also let go of any questions related therein.

"Did you hear about Shujin on the news?" Ren asked, trying to come up with a way that made sense for her to know about the school.

"Actually, I was slated to attend Shujin even before the scandal with… um… Kamoshida was it? Anyways I was supposed to attend before that all went down, but… those plans kind of fell through…" Kasumi's voice trailed as a frown formed on her lips.

"What happened?" Ren asked.

"Well… let's just leave it at that, if that's alright with you senpai," Kasumi pleaded with a weak smile trying to keep a brave face.

"Sure, we can leave it at that, though Shujin is in Tokyo. What are you doing here in Uminari then?"

"Right… that is something… you're pretty inquisitive, aren't you?" Kasumi let out another weak giggle.

"You don't have to answer if you don't want to," Ren doubled back, not wanting to make her feel any more discomfort.

"No, it's okay. I'm the one who brought up the fact that I was supposed to go to Shujin. It would make sense if you had questions about that." Kasumi took a deep breath to calm herself. After a few seconds, she looked Ren in the eye and began to speak once more.

"So, you see, I actually do gymnastics, despite my clumsiness from earlier, but I've hit a bit of a slump. My parents and coach decided it would be best for me to take a break. To help with that I've been staying with some relatives here in Uminari for the time being. So that's why I'm here instead of Tokyo," Kasumi tried to laugh it off with a giggle at the end, but it sounded a bit forced in Ren's opinion. Still at the very least it seems she's being taken care of.

"By the way senpai, why are you here in Uminari instead of back in Tokyo?" It was Kasumi's turn to ask.

"Uminari's my… it's where I was originally from. I only was in Tokyo for the year," he explained to her, hoping she didn't catch his hesitation.

"Ah, so it's kind of the opposite from me then. Hmmm…" Kasumi lost herself in her thoughts.

"What is it?" Ren asked, when she stopped speaking.

"Sorry if this sounds a bit weird, but this is the first time in a long time I've felt… at peace. There's something about you senpai. Talking to you makes me feel a bit better. Because of that I couldn't help but wonder… what if I did go to Shujin at that time? What if I did meet you there? Maybe I wouldn't be in as bad a slump as I'm in now."

"Maybe…" was all Ren could reply. There was no way of really knowing what could have been. "I can always lend an ear now though if you want it." Though the past can't be changed, the future always can. Kasumi's eyes lit up at his offer.

"Oh, I couldn't possibly dump all my problems on you senpai. Although…" Kasumi took a moment to think, hand on her chin before nodding to herself and looking right back at him. "You know what? Maybe I will take you up on your offer. But it wouldn't be fair for me to just so one-sidedly take advantage of you…" she began to trail again.

Ren found it strange, like talking to two different people. One moment she was this bold, bubbly girl, the next she was like the definition of a shrinking violet. Perhaps it was just an indication of how bad her problems were.

"You said you were into gymnastics, right? How about in exchange you teach me some moves? I've been interested in getting into a new workout routine and gymnastics sounds interesting," Ren offered to try and move the conversation along.

"Really? You're not just saying that? Well you don't look like it. But you heard what I said earlier. I'm not supposed to practice right now," Kasumi said, dejection setting in.

"Just a little shouldn't hurt though," He said as soon as he could before her expression could fully succumb.

" Well… maybe if I practice with you, it'll help me get out of my slump. Though that sounds like that still helps me way more…"

"I don't think that's a problem," Ren spoke up, causing Kasumi a bit of surprise at his willingness to indulge her, her eyes wide open as they stared back at him.

"You know senpai, has anyone ever told you that you might be too kind?" she asked, a smile coming on once more.

"Well I've been called a nosy busybody before," He admitted while scratching the back of his head.

"That sounds about right too. I think I'll take you up on your offer nosy senpai. I teach you gymnastics, and in exchange you lend me your ear. Sounds like a deal." At her word, the world shifted in a familiar way. The world dimmed and slowed until it all stopped. Words rang in his head:

I am thou, thou at I…

Thou hast acquired a new vow.

It shall become the wings of rebellion

that breaketh thy chains of captivity.

With the birth of the Faith Persona,

I have obtained the winds of blessing that

Shall lead to freedom and new power…

The moment the words echoed their last, he saw it in his mind, a card he'd never seen before. Depicted upon it was some skeletal religious figure, a noose around its neck held be demons. Only something was off in its appearance. It was torn at its edges and blackened, and the peak of its power felt smaller. However, the world returned to color before he could give it any further thought.

"Then let's trade info then," Kasumi said bringing out her phone.

"Right," Ren replied, bringing out his own phone before they swapped information.

"Alright then. If you don't mind, maybe we can start tomorrow early in the morning?" Kasumi said with an excited smile.

"So soon?" Morning wouldn't be that big a deal. He was already helping Nanoha train at that time every now and then. It's just that he didn't expect it to be tomorrow.

"Oh sorry. I was just so excited that I might have jumped the gun a bit," Kasumi apologized.

"No, it's okay. Mornings work," Ren said as quickly as he could before Kasumi could bow again.

"Really? Great I'll see you tomorrow then! At the park at 6:30." Kasumi got up from her seat and gave one last bow. "I've got to get going now. Make sure you sleep early tonight."

"I will. Take care."

"Bye!" And like that she left, walking past the other patrons, and disappearing out the door.

"Her gymnastic ability would have been useful to learn when we were still at Shujin," Morgana said as he popped his head out of the bag now that the coast was clear. "Though better late than never I suppose. We should probably get going too." Ren nodded in response and soon left the diner as well. Still though he couldn't help but wonder why the card was torn like that…

-0-0-20-0-0-

Signum shifted about on the couch, trying to find a spot that was just a bit more comfortable. However, try as she might, she couldn't find a way to fall back asleep. For as comfortable as the blanket was in the cold weather, there was this sound of something simmering and a knife making contact with a cutting boa-

"Hmm?" Her eyes opened fully awake when she realized that someone was cooking.

"I'm sorry. Did I wake you?" Signum whipped her head around to find Hayate in the kitchen.

"Oh, not at all," Signum said while trying to hide any tiredness on her end. Getting up from the seat, she could see Zafira on the floor with a similar blanket draped over him, who was also beginning to wake up.

"You should really sleep in your bed. You'll catch a cold like that," Hayate advised while continuing to cook breakfast. Signum couldn't help but wonder who was taking care of who in this family every time she saw Hayate like that.

"Sorry about that…" Signum apologized while folding the blanket that was given to her.

"That's okay," Hayate said with a giggle. "Signum, did you stay up late last night again?"

"Ah… um… just a little," Signum answered back as she grabbed a remote to turn the light on. With just a click the room's lights turned on. As she did so-

"Here you go, Signum," The woman turned around to see Hayate right next to her holding a small tray with a cup of warm milk sitting in the center.

"It'll warm you right up!"

"Thank you very much…" Signum said with a wry smile as she gratefully took the cup in hand. Happy as she was to receive her kindness, she couldn't help but feel inadequate to be looked after like this by Hayate, when it should have been the other way around. Still, she wanted treasure that kindness.

"Here Zafira, you too!" Hayate offered the same to the wolf who happily barked in reply.

"I'm so sorry! I overslept!" Shamal rushed into the room, her hair disheveled and her clothes wrinkled here and there.

"Good morning Shamal," Hayate greeted with a calm demeanor

"Good morning!" Shamal said back, but in far more of a rush than Hayate. "I'm really sorry, Hayate-chan!"

"It's fine," Hayate tried to say while Shamal finished putting on her apron.

"Mornin'…" Now it was Vita's turn to appear, dragging her bunny doll in with her. She walked into the room, only to stumble a bit, walk back, close the door, then proceed in a still half-asleep state. The display earned a small sigh from Shamal.

"You look really tired," Hayate noted, seeing that Vita was still rubbing her eyes that weren't even half open.

"I am," Vita answered honestly, too tired for any sort of witticism.

"Come on, go wash your face," Shamal scolded her from behind the kitchen counter.

"After I've had my milk."

"Alright, but right after," Shamal said, handing a cup over to the sleepy girl who sat down at the table to drink it, her eyes fully closed now that she no longer needed them open.

"She's right you know. What if Ren were here? He'd want to make sure your face was clean." All the Knights attention came to a jolt at Hayate's mentioning of Ren. They'd all frozen, unsure of what to say next. Signum could feel her heart beat louder, and in response deepened her breath to try and calm it.

"O-of course. Come on Vita, you heard Hayate-chan," Shamal was the first to recover. Hayate's giggle hopefully meant that she didn't catch wind of anything wrong. Signum looked down at her own cup, still warm in her hands. Soon this whole thing would all be finished, then they could enjoy mornings like this as much as they wanted. They just had to make sure they didn't make another mistake like that again.

Deep in her heart though, she felt worry. She hoped that Ren was okay, wherever he was.

-0-0-20-0-0-

"Wow Senpai… are you sure you haven't done this before? You almost have all the basics down already," Kasumi asked now that they were done with the preliminary stretches. Despite her praise though, Ren's hands were on his knees as he struggled to regain his breath.

"That was… nothing…" he maintained a strong front, but a strong wind would be enough to knock him down. At the very least he was thankful that he wasn't sprawled out on the floor.

"Really now," Kasumi held back a giggle. "Still though, I was surprised by how agile and limber you already are. It's still nothing compared to a trained gymnast, but it's very impressive for someone just starting out. Have you done anything athletic in the past by chance?"

"Kind of. I had a hobby I shared with a few friends that kept us pretty active, though it wasn't an outright sport or anything. Well I also ran a bit with one of those friends too," Ren told her, which earned a nod from the red-haired girl.

"I thought so. You really seem like you know your body's limits and I can tell underneath your clothes that you've probably got some good definition under there. I see it all the time in male gymnasts." Ren couldn't help but look at himself trying to see what she saw, a response that earned another small fit of laughter. "How about we take a break now? We shouldn't do too much in one go and risk something."

"Sure," Ren replied as the two sat down on a near by park bench. After taking a drink from a water bottle, Kasumi spoke up while stretching her arms above her.

"I really missed practicing like this. The harmony between the internal and external oblique muscles… even just watching it is enough to excite me!" Kasumi mused with a gleeful expression. "Even just stretching is making me happy. Oh I say that but stretching very important to expert level gymnastics. So you shouldn't ignore it."

"I'll be sure to remember that," Ren replied, making a note of her statements.

"For now let's stick to the basics. It's been a while since I've really gotten a good work out myself so I probably can't manage anything too strenuous," Kasumi admitted, her expression dropping again.

"There's always next time," Ren said, hoping to keep her mood from dropping any further.

"Thank you for understanding." A sigh left Kasumi's lips as she brought her hands together as if trying to occupy herself with something. "Hey senpai, would it be alright if we talked for a bit?"

"Of course," Ren replied with a nod, earning a smile from the girl.

"So… it's about that slump I mentioned yesterday. To be honest, it wasn't just a 'bit of a slump'. I've kind of been stuck for a while now. It started right before I was supposed to go to Shujin, and no matter how much I've practiced, and no matter how long I've waited for it to pass, it just doesn't seem to be getting any better," Kasumi told him.

"I see," Ren said to affirm to her that he was paying attention.

"It's gotten bad enough that my coach told me to not come back at all until, according to her, I think about who I really am."

"And how has that gone?" Ren asked.

"It's… I just don't get it honestly. I've thought about it over and over, but I still don't understand what she means by 'who I really am'. I know that I'm Kasumi Yoshizawa. I just don't get what else she could be getting at," Kasumi's voice cracked in frustration, one eye was even closed from her growing emotions. "I used to think that she might have been referring to how she used to describe my gymnastics."

"And what was that?" Ren asked.

"Well she used to say that 'Kasumi's greatest weapon has always been her boldness.' Based on that, I tried to do things to get back my confidence, mainly through practice and trying new routines. But no matter what I did it just seemed to make things worse. My practice yielded poor results, and the new routines just weren't sticking. Combined with the changes in my height that made me feel like my body wasn't my own, and it just kept getting worse and worse."

"Has that last thing at least gotten any better?"

"Honestly, no. Like everything else it just seems to be getting worse. Every day I feel like my body is just becoming more and more foreign to me. Dropping my ID like that yesterday? That's been happening more and more. I actually did it again this morning before coming over here. And not just that but I've been falling more and dropping things that are right in my hands. I just can't seem to control my body anymore."

"That's… that seems pretty bad."

"Yeah… Senpai, you seem pretty confident in yourself," Kasumi said all of a sudden, catching Ren off guard with the sudden shift in focus towards him.

"I suppose so, if that's what it looks like," He answered, though unsure of where she was going with this.

"Well that's what it looks like to me," Kasumi told him with smile flash of a smile before it regressed back to the dour expression she wore prior. "Well the reason I bring this up is because it's part of why I wanted to make that deal with you. You just seem to exude this confidence and fearlessness, something that I've been trying to get back all this time. I thought that maybe watching you, I'd be able to get some of it back. So if you wouldn't mind…"

"If it helps you out, I don't mind hanging out some more if that's the reason," Ren told her right as her voice trailed off, only to swing into a smile upon hearing his answer.

"Thank you, Senpai… It means a lot to me that you're willing to go along with my selfishness," Kasumi said, a bit embarrassed to admit to her faults.

"Just glad I can help."

"If it's not too much trouble, even if we're not doing gymnastics, will you still keep going out with me?" Ren blinked at her wording for a second there.

"Uh, romantically?" He jokingly asked, not taking it all that seriously.

"No," she shot down without delay. The quickness of it kind of hurt, but he didn't dwell on it long. "I just want to watch and see your confidence in action in places other than when we're working out. Of course I'll try to teach you all I can when we actually are working out to make up for it."

"Alright then. Leave it to me."

"Thank you… Well to go back to my part of the deal, we've already gone through most of the basics today. Next time, let's focus on-"

"There you are!" Whatever Kasumi was about to say was interrupted as a voice Ren didn't recognize sounded out. Whoever it was sounded haggard and weary, forcing out the words with a wheeze. Only a bit after the words had reached them, a man with messy brown hair and glasses in a lab coat appeared before them, heaving, and gasping for air. "Hold on… just… give me a second… guah…" It took a moment but eventually the man was able to compose himself. "Whoo… I'm out of shape…"

"Maruki-sensei!" Kasumi called him. "What are you doing here?"

"I…" He took another deep breath. "I received a call from your relatives earlier. They were wondering where you'd gone this morning and called me, asking if I knew where you were. In a panic, I kind of ran off trying to find you. It's only now I'm realizing that it was kind of a bad idea…" He chuckled a bit, the tone of which made it clear that the target was mainly himself.

"Oh right! I forget to tell them that I was going out this morning to get some exercise," Kasumi said with a bit of embarrassment. "They've been kind of overprotective recently, so I guess I should have expected that."

"Well it's good to know that you're okay. Just make sure to call them once you're done… Oh and I see you're with a friend. I'm Takuto Maruki," the man finally introduced himself, hand outstretched.

"Ren Amamiya." He grabbed the offered hand, giving it solid shake before breaking off.

"Ren-senpai, this Maruki-sensei. He's a therapist at a nearby hospital here in Uminari. I've actually been seeing him for a while now," Kasumi explained.

"Uh well… it's been a little over a year and a half now. She originally came to see me about something else, but recently we've been trying to tackle a different issue," Maruki told him, now fully back to life.

"It's okay Maruki-sensei. He already knows about my slump. In fact that's what I'm having him help me with," Kasumi said to let Maruki know.

"I see. That isn't a bad idea to try and tackle an issue via a different angle. You must be quite something if you can keep up with an athlete like Yoshizawa-san. Even though she's been having issues as of late, she's still a talented individual," Maruki said, a little impressed.

"It's nothing much. I've just done some intense stuff in the past," Ren explained as he twirled a lock of hair with his finger. However in the corner of his eye he noticed something off about Kasumi's expression, but couldn't pin down what it was before she seemed to cheer up without warning.

"Oh speaking of the past," Kasumi butt in. "Get this, Ren-senpai actually attended Shujin Academy last year."

"Really? Talk about coincidences." Maruki's eyes lit up upon hearing Kasumi tell him as such. "I was slated to actually go to Shujin last year as well, as staff I should say. I was going to come in in order to help improve the mental health of the student population due to the… well… incidents surrounding…" Maruki hesitated to say.

"Kamoshida?" Ren finished for him.

"Right, just didn't want to bring up anything unnecessarily painful," Maruki said with a hand scratching the back of his head. "Unfortunately, we weren't able to finalize a transfer, so I didn't end up hired. Instead of hiring me, they decided to use the funds to hire a replacement PE teacher instead… Wait did you say your name was Ren Amamiya?" Ren didn't like the way he asked that, crossing his arms and legs, he sat back into the bench.

"I did," he replied, waiting for how Maruki would respond.

"Oh I didn't mean anything bad by it," Maruki tried to wave off both metaphorically and physically with his hands. "You probably guessed already but your name came up during the discussions for my working at Shujin. I was just curious about the so called 'Problem Student' is all. In fact out of all the students there, you were the one I wanted to meet most."

"Problem student?" Kasumi asked, not understanding what Maruki meant by it.

"It's nothing now. His record is clean last I heard; false accusation apparently," Maruki brushed aside with his explanation.

"Ah I see. Ren-senpai doesn't seem like the kind of person who'd do something to warrant such a moniker," Kasumi said, content with the explanation. Maruki then turned to Ren before speaking to him directly.

"I know it's quite late, and that I was never actually hired, but if you're ever wanting to talk about anything, you can find me at Uminari City University Hospital. I'm currently working there as a therapist." The name of the hospital caught Ren's ear. That was the same hospital that Hayate went to.

"Why the offer?" Ren hid his surprise at the coincidence, instead opting to ask about his intentions.

"I guess it's sort of like atonement in a way, or maybe instead I should say more like making up for lost time… that's not it either… I wanted to help the students at Shujin to deal with what happened at their school, but I wasn't able to go through with it. What happened there was… no student should ever have to go through with that, and if I remember correctly you were more directly involved than most. I guess I just can't let go of a chance to help someone if I can help it…" Maruki said to him. Ren knew that feeling, he still felt it at times.

"I'll think about it…" Hearing Maruki ramble, Ren couldn't help but feel some camaraderie with the therapist. Still though, that didn't mean he had much use out of seeing him.

"I suppose that's all I can ask. You can come to see me anytime. My door's always open… or it will be once I get back there. I've got to get going. Yoshizawa-san, make sure you contact your relatives as soon as possible, alright?"

"Of course, I'll do it as soon as I can," Kasumi answered back with a dutiful smile.

"Alright well I'll be going now. Both of you, take care of yourselves. Good-bye!" Maruki walked away from them, his pace far more at ease than it was coming over. Once he was far enough away, Kasumi turned to Ren.

"He really is a good therapist. He's helped me out a lot in the past. If you need someone to talk to, he's always open and honest," Kasumi tried to tell Ren. "Of course, I'm happy I've been able to talk to you. Anyways we should get going. We can't be late for school after all." Ren nodded and grabbed his bag. "I'll see you next time, okay?"

"Yeah, see you." They both waved to one another and went their separate ways. It was still early morning, so there weren't many people in the park. Once they were clear of people, a black furry head popped out from his bag.

"A therapist huh… I'm not sure how much use we could have from something like that…" Morgana mused as he thought about Maruki's offer. "Perhaps his experience with different approaches to more delicate issues could be useful, but I don't see how at the moment. Still it's better to have an option and not need it, rather than need it and not have it."

"Yeah…" was all Ren responded with as he made his way back home. He still had school he needed to attend… hopefully Fate's first day at school would go well.

-0-0-20-0-0-

"Man, what a day. Running around first thing in the morning, then having back to back patients one after the other," Maruki said whilst trying and failing to suppress a yawn. He quickly shook off any sleepiness on his part, as the busy hospital would be a hotbed for accidents if he didn't. "At least I have some time now to myself." He was finally through the worst of it for the day, just paperwork left.

"But then again, there haven't been any bad side effects, either…" Maruki's ears perked up hearing what seemed to be a doctor speaking to a patient through an open door he was passing by. It was Ishida-sensei's room, and if he remembered correctly, she was currently seeing…

"Right…" he let out before he walked into the room.

"…so why don't we continue with this treatment a little longer? Oh Maruki-sensei how are you? I was certain that Hayate-chan didn't have a session scheduled for today."

"Maruki-sensei, how are you?" Hayate greeted him.

"Hello," Signum greeted him as tersely as usual. It was still a bit awkward for him, seeing as he was far more talkative, though not by choice, but he'd gotten used to the woman's curt replies. Some people were just like that in his experience.

"Sorry to interrupt. I was just passing by and couldn't help but overhear you all. Just wanted to say hi since I was right here. I hope I'm not intruding."

"Just a little, but you are her therapist so I suppose it's fine," Ishida-sensei replied back to which Maruki couldn't help but laugh a bit at himself. "I was just about to ask for Hayate-chan's opinion about continuing her treatment. Well? Are you fine with proceeding as before?"

"I'll leave it to you, Ishida-sensei," was Hayate's only reply, though it left the doctor at a bit of a loss.

"To me? This is your treatment so why don't you think about it more on your own?" Ishida said, hoping to receive a more robust response.

"Um… well…"

"I mean isn't it fine for Hayate-chan to place her trust in you. I think it's great that she believes in you and your abilities that much," Maruki said when he saw Hayate struggle to answer. "When it's too tough for someone, it's fine for them to turn to others for help. Isn't it our jobs to help people when they can't do it themselves? At the very least it's better than the alternative."

"That's true in a way… Hayate-chan would it be alright if I could speak to your guardian and Maruki-sensei?" Ishida-sensei said with a dour smile.

"Um sure… It was good to see you again Maruki-sensei. I still can't thank you enough for the counseling you've done for me," Hayate-chan said with a bow.

"Oh, it's nothing. You're the one who was strong enough to overcome your problems like that. I didn't do anything… especially not this time…" Maruki whispered that last part.

"Well then, I'll be in the hallway if you need me." Hayate took one last bow and rolled out the hall in her motorized wheelchair, Signum closing the door behind her while making sure no mishaps occurred. With the door closed, Ishida-sensei took a deep breath before continuing to speak.

"How's Hayate-chan's daily life?"

"Besides the paralysis, she's the picture of health," Signum answered truthfully. Ishida huffed a bit, a little frustrated for not receiving a more elaborate answer, but she let it go.

"If it's important as well, I can vouch for her mental health as well, especially these past couple of months. She tells me about some new friends she's made who I think have been a great help to her, though she hasn't really given me any sort of specifics," Maruki added, to help Ishida-sensei get a better picture of Hayate's health. For a second though, he swore he could see something of a grimace appear on Signum's face.

"It does… I know it must be difficult for you and your family, but we're doing the best we can, Signum-san," Ishida-sensei said to start.

"I understand…"

"We're moving in a direction to try and ease the paralysis. However, it's possible that more serious treatment will be necessary in the future, which will require further hospitalization. Maruki-sensei, I understand what you're about to say but perhaps it would be best to hold off on that," Ishida said, noticing the expression on Maruki's face had turned more serious.

"I… you're right… sorry…" Maruki said as he placed a hand on his face and tried to wipe away previous his expression.

"It's alright. Anyways, Signum-san, please give it some thought."

"… I'll discuss it with her and the rest of our family," Signum replied.

"That's all we can ask. You can bring Hayate-chan back in if you want," Ishida said to her, turning back to her desk to review a couple of documents before the girl returned.

"I'll go get her. My break's pretty much up at this point anyways," Maruki said as he stretched before moving again.

"Thank you," Signum replied.

"It's no problem." Maruki walked out the door and saw Hayate sitting by the window. "Hayate-chan, you can come back in now."

"Ah, thank you!" She replied as she then rode her wheelchair over. Maruki slid to the side, holding the door open. "See you later Maruki-sensei."

"Yeah, see you at the next session," he said with what he hoped was a passable smile before she went into the room. Closing the door, he let out a sigh now that he was out of sight from them. Maruki lifted his glasses and pinched the bridge of his nose.

"I'm so close… I just need one more piece of the puzzle…then I can…" his voice whispered and trailed off as he lazily wandered through the hall, though there wasn't anyone else there who could have heard him.

-0-0-20-0-0-

"Sorry I'm late. I only looked at my texts once school ended," Ren let out between haggard gasps as he jogged over to the bench that Fate and Nanoha were sitting on. It was the same ocean facing bench that he found Nanoha at all those months ago after her second loss by Fate. How the times change.

"That's okay. It's our fault for suddenly asking you to see us," Nanoha said, not wanting him to feel guilty. "Where's Morgana?"

"He went out for a walk. Said he needed some time to himself, or something like that," Ren explained.

"Ah alright," Fate said to him as she slid to the side to allow him to sit between the two of them. "Here, go ahead."

"Thanks…" he said, taking them up on their offer without any fuss. "You look good in your uniform," he complimented Fate.

"Oh… um… thank you," was all she could say as she proceeded to blush and fidget a little in place.

"See Fate-chan, I told you, you look fine!" Nanoha jumped in to say before turning to Ren. "You should have seen what it was like at school today. Everyone was all over her! It got to the point where Alisa-chan and Suzuka-chan had to form a line for all of them to talk to Fate-chan."

"Well being well liked is better than the alternative." As he would know. Better to be loved than feared, though better that then hated. Still didn't make his time at Shujin any better. Doesn't make his time here better either. "It seems like things are going well in school."

"It's all new to me but I think I like it," Fate said with a small, happy smile. "Everyone's so nice, and learning new things is really fun. Best of all, I get to be with Nanoha and the others."

"That's good."

"Though it would be better if you were around too…" Fate mumbled.

"Please spare me…" Ren said with a sigh.

"Ren goes to a high school, Fate-chan. He can't be with us at school," Nanoha tried to explain to the other girl.

"I know that, it's just that I'd like him to be nearby, even though I know that's not possible," Fate said. "It'd be the same if you weren't nearby either, Nanoha-chan."

"Oh I uh… me too…" Nanoha stammered out before wallowing in her mad blush. Eventually she shook her embarrassment away and started speaking again. "Oh yeah, Chrono sent me a message earlier during lunch today. He said that it will take a bit more time for our devices to repaired so we should take our time to relax until then," Nanoha explained to him, giving Ren a decent time table of what to expect down the line.

"You should heed his advice. You won't always have time like that so you should make the most of it while you can," Ren advised them, making sure they were listening to him. "So what else did you call me over for? When you texted me, it seemed to be a bit more important than just to let me know what Chrono said."

"Oh right, well Fate was the one who had something to say and wanted you to be here for it as well," Nanoha said, the spotlight now shinning on the blonde girl.

"Yes, I was the one who wanted to talk to the both of you. Specifically I wanted to talk about those Knights we fought," Fate explained. At the mention of the knights, Ren sat back, arms and legs crossed, but still poised to listen to her.

"What about them exactly?" Ren asked.

"Well, it might sound a bit strange but, Nanoha do you remember what you felt as you were fighting them?" Fate began.

"To be honest, not much. I was taken out of the fight fairly quickly. I wasn't really able to speak with the girl who attacked me very much. But you talked to that female swordsman a bit, right?" Nanoha replied, trying to recall the events of the night, though avoiding the end of it as much as she could.

"Yeah, there was something mysterious about her. I can't really explain it, but I didn't sense anything like malicious intent behind her actions," Fate explained further. Her words caused Ren to relax, though the girls didn't catch that.

"I see… I wish they'd just tell us their reason for wanting to complete the Book of Darkness… After hearing Admiral Graham explain what it is, I just don't understand why they'd want to complete it. Still it wasn't a situation where we could just discuss it…" Nanoha mused, taking Fate's words into consideration.

"There's probably more to the Book of Darkness than just what Graham's told us. I can't imagine that the TSAB know everything there is to know about something apparently older than their current history," Ren said, trying to think if there was anything amiss about what he'd so far been told. Try as he might though, nothing came to mind. He needed more information.

"That's also true, but we can only work with what we have now," Fate responded in a practical manner. "However when I remember what they were like, fighting so desperately for their goal, I can't help but see a bit of myself in them." Nanoha and Ren focused their attention on her words without saying their own, waiting for her continue.

"When you wrap yourself in such strong intentions, it becomes difficult to listen to those you think are on the outside. You believe so much in your convictions that doubts, pain, and worries can't sway you. You just simply believe that it's the right thing to do. When I believed in my mother that way, nothing anyone said mattered to me. No matter how much pain my mother put me through, no matter how much I began to doubt her, I just kept going with my beliefs." Nanoha's expression fell as she listened to Fate. Ren leaned back, his eyes distant, yet focused. Neither were able to respond.

"But speaking to someone and expressing your feelings isn't useless. Even though I was so sure of what I was doing, the things the both of you said to me… I still remember them, and I always will. Your words were able to get through to me, even though I was so sure they would never reach me. If it weren't for the both of you being willing to talk to me, even when I didn't want to listen, I don't think I or my mother would still be here."

"Fate-chan…" Nanoha let out unable to contain herself any longer.

"If we need to fight and win to get our words across, I won't hesitate. The both of you were the ones who taught me to have a strong heart, and I want to be able to show that," Fate finally said.

"I… I wouldn't say that."

"It just needed a bit of a push," Nanoha and Ren said one after the other, the girl embarrassed by Fate's praise, and Ren as modest as ever.

"I would say it was more than a bit," Fate responded as she leaned back into the bench, though Ren noticed she was leaning a bit closer. A rustle at the other side made him notice that Nanoha had done the same, getting just a bit closer.

"It might take just a bit more than that to get through to them." The question was what. He knew them more than anyone currently on their side. They were family, and unlike with Fate and her mother, this was a family that was unified as one in their convictions.

"Still, we should get stronger so we can meet them head on."

"We'll become strong enough so that our words will reach them," Fate and Nanoha told him, but he couldn't see Nanoha's and Fate's words reaching them until it may have been too late. There had to be another way, but he couldn't see it right now. He didn't have that ability… but maybe someone else did.

"Well, since getting stronger isn't in the cards for me at the moment, I'll see if I can find another way to reach them," Ren said as he mentally made plans for an appointment.

"Just promise not to do anything dangerous okay?" Nanoha said as she finally committed to leaning on him.

"Let us take care of you this time," Fate followed as she did the same as Nanoha and placed her weight into his side.

"I promise not to do anything I can't handle," Ren said as they saw the sun fall beneath the waves. Darkness fell, and lamp light flickered on above them.

"You say that, but you're probably planning something, aren't you?" Nanoha accused him, poking a finger into his side while still leaning on him.

"We know you Ren. You aren't going to just let things go as it is." Fate started doing the same, poking him from the other side.

"I can't say anything about it when it doesn't exist yet," he told them truthfully. He didn't know if anything would come of it yet.

"Just… if you ever need something, let us know," Nanoha said, finally putting her hand down.

"We're here for you Ren, no matter what," Fate said as she leaned harder onto him.

"Thanks," was all Ren could reply as his words become lost to the wind, and his mind started working ever so quietly.

-0-0-20-0-0-

Suzuka looked through the shelf. She'd been looking for a little while now, but she was so far unable to find the book she was looking for. The library's vast size didn't make matters easier either.

"Ah there!" Finally, she'd found it. It had taken the better part of an hour, but she'd finally found it. Without a moment's delay, she grabbed the book and was about to make way towards the front. However, she spotted a familiar girl in a wheelchair while she was there.

"Hayate-chan!" Suzuka called out to the girl and her guardian.

"Oh, Suzuka-chan! How are you!" She greeted back, as Suzuka ran up to them.

"I'm doing fine. How about you?"

"I was just at the hospital and wanted to come to the library before going home," Hayate answered. The pink haired guardian behind her stepped back, giving the two girls some space. "What do you have there?"

"Oh this? Just a book of fairy tales. I love these kinds of stories that touch the heart," Suzuka answered, holding the book up for Hayate to see.

"I love fairy tales, too. It sounds pretty interesting."

"Want to read it? There were some other copies of the first volume where I found it."

"Thanks, I'll take a look later."

"So, you also like fairy tales?"

"I love them! What kind of stories are in that one?" As the two continued to talk to one another, Signum stood at a distance watching over them. As their voices faded, her mind drifted into her own thoughts. Inevitably they drifted towards a boy who also gave Hayate the same smile that she had now with Suzuka.

Ren's linker core was extraordinary. Even now Signum couldn't believe that it alone supplied over a hundred pages. Even the best mages usually could only give maybe twenty. The exceptional nature of Ren's linker core became more apparent last night when they went to take magic from giant beasts in other worlds: only to get two pages at best. If they could just tap into that power one or two more times…

Signum shook that small thought in her mind away. No, they couldn't do that. Ren was precious to them, even if he was associated with the TSAB. Those times he had over at their home didn't feel like lies. She and the others would have found it far sooner if all that had been a ruse to trap them Once this was all over, then they could apologize to him. He may not forgive them, but that was a price they would have to pay for their carelessness.

Signum looked over, to find Hayate was still speaking with that Suzuka girl. A reminder that they were running out of time for such small happiness. They had to fill the remaining pages and to have another boon like that again would be hoping for too much. Tonight would be another long night.

-0-0-20-0-0-

"I have to say, when I asked if you could lend me your time for a talk, I didn't expect it to be the same day," Maruki admitted, rubbing the back of his head, as he and Ren stood in the lobby of the hospital. Visiting hours were soon going to be over. Still that didn't stop Maruki from coming down once he'd received the news someone had come to see him.

"You did say to come by anytime," Ren replied, throwing the doctor's own words back at him. A self-denigrating chuckle escaped the doctor's lips before he could compose a response.

"That is true. I suppose I should take what I say more seriously, huh? Well you came at the right time. My schedules pretty open right now. How about we go to my office before we take this any further? I've got snacks there too," Maruki said with a silly grin, pointing a thumb down a hallway further in.

"Tell me more about these snacks," Ren replied, getting a laugh from the doctor from both how frank and serious the young man seemed to be.

"Ah, interested are we? Well you'll just have to wait to find out. Come on, let's go." Ren followed Maruki's lead into the halls of the hospital.

Author's Notes:

Finally having time again to do this now that I've gotten all the Thieves Den Awards and received the two items from Jose. That took about 200 hours, and three playthroughs. Now I can go through my backlog and play Mary Skelter 2.

Alright, things will slow down a bit, kind of like how the Persona games have those lulls in the action between major events. It will be maybe another chapter or two before any real action shows up again. This time period existed in Nanoha's show as well, so I'm just taking advantage of it when I can. Besides you really only need a month or two to finish any given Social Link anyhow.

So yeah, here's Kasumi and Maruki. Like I said I'll be trying to explore the idea of how their SL's might go if their problems festered for far longer. At first it might start the same, but there are plans to deviate as problems continue.

As for Nanoha's side of things, who knows (okay I know) what Ren's thinking on how to deal with the Knights. Hopefully it's something that works out for all parties involved.

Anyways that's all I have for now. As always I hope you had a good time. If you have anything you'd like to say, leave a review. I always take them into consideration no matter how scathing. Thank you for stopping by, and I hope you a great rest of your day.