A/N: My apologies for the time it took to get this chapter out. I had to rewrite it several times to get it right.

Disclaimer: I do not own the characters from or the Magical Girl Lyrical Nanoha anime, nor any other movie, actor, song, or character referenced or stated in this story.

UNBREAKABLE

by : ~Nissanity~

Chapter 8 – Losing an Illusion

~Day 18~

Nanoha accidentally typed the incorrect answer into the text field for a third time in a row. The daily statistics she was entering had to be completed before she could analyze the recruits' progress for that week. Once the information was accurate in the system, she could revamp the training plans for all twenty of her students.

However, her progress at the training field that afternoon was slowed due to her own exhaustion. Her eyes were burning and beginning to cross as she continuously stared at Raising Heart's screen. She blinked hard and shook her head to try to focus her vision again.

After witnessing her make a fourth mistake, Vita came to stand beside her. "Nanoha...?" she tried.

"Hmmm?"

With a loud sigh, she turned off the screen by pressing the 'X' button in the upper right corner. "This is getting ridiculous," she said. "You need to go home and get some rest."

Nanoha immediately brought her screen back up. "No, I need to finish this," she countered.

"You look like shit."

"I feel fine."

Vita shut down the screen once more. "You can finish this tomorrow. It won't even take you that long if you're not making all these stupid mistakes."

"Maybe..." the instructor responded thoughtfully. "If I left now, it would give me time to stop by the grocery store before I pick Vivio up."

The fiery red-haired assistant crossed her arms and sighed again. Her eyebrows drew in and began to twitch with irritation. "I said go home and rest, not do other work instead. Damnit, you're so stubborn sometimes!"

Nanoha couldn't help but giggle at the irony in the statement. "Look who's talking," she replied and patted Vita on the head.

"Just go," she grumbled. "I'll tell Hayate what's going on."

Begrudgingly, Nanoha left the instructors' platform and started the long journey back to headquarters. She hated how heavy her legs felt as she walked. Her body was breaking down like it had weeks prior, back when she and Fate had first gotten together. Exhaustion had gotten the best of her during that time and made her sick. She was close to reaching that limit again, only this time Fate wouldn't be there to take care of her if she pushed herself too far.

She eventually made it to her office to retrieve her purse and car keys from her desk. The idea of allowing her body rest that evening was something she accepted, but only with the trade-off that she would be back to her usual self to next day. With her health restored, she knew she could accomplish even more work in the following days. She still planned a trip to the grocery store that afternoon though, whether Vita liked the idea or not.

The trip to her usual market was uneventful, although there were a few times Nanoha noticed herself dozing off at the wheel. An energy drink was added to the grocery list she created in her mind. As she walked through the front doors of the grocery store, she grabbed a small hand basket and headed towards the produce section first.

While browsing the selection of apples, she spotted a familiar face entering the store. Vivio's school teacher saw her at the same time and waved hello.

"Ms. Takamachi!" she said warmly. "It's so good to see you! I feel like it's been ages."

"Hello, Ms. Sugawara," Nanoha replied. "It has been a while. How are things?"

"Oh, hectic as always. How about you?"

"Yes, about the same for me," Nanoha replied. She then looked down to her watch. "Wait, aren't you out a bit early on a school day?"

"Who, me?" the teacher said in surprise. "Did Vivio not tell you? I'm no longer her teacher at school. I was offered a position elsewhere. I'm leaving Mid-Childa very soon, actually."

"Oh, that's right. Vivio did say something about having a new teacher."

The sincere smile the teacher had faltered at the mention of the new teacher. "Hmm, yes..." was all she said.

Nanoha sensed her reluctance and immediately became concerned. "What? Is there something I should know about her?"

"No, not at all!" she replied quickly with a new, nervous smile. "I'm probably being a little sensitive. I was with the children for so long. I'm just a little protective of them is all."

"I see..." was Nanoha's only reply. That's all she could say at the moment. Her heart had jumped into her throat with the ominous feeling that had overcome her.

Ms. Sugawara looked past Nanoha's shoulder. "I'm so sorry, Ms. Takamachi, but I do have to run," she said. "I only popped in to get some drinks for the movers. If you'll excuse me?"

"Yes, of course. It was good seeing you again. Take care of yourself."

Nanoha waited until Vivio's teacher had left the produce section and entered another part of the store. Once out of her sight, she returned the few items in her basket to the shelves and headed for the exit. At the front doors, she nearly threw the hand basket back onto the stack and hurried to the parking lot. With what she had just been told by Ms. Sugawara, she wanted to confront Vivio's new teacher herself as soon as possible.

oOOOo

"Hey, Ginga? What time is my meeting downstairs again?" Hayate asked.

Pulling up the scheduler on her screen, Ginga toggled over to the events section and scrolled down to the current date. "Um... In about thirty minutes," she replied.

Hayate hummed as she stood in front of her desk and searched the paperwork on top of it. Her left hand absently moved across the top of the uniform jacket to smooth it, a gesture that Ginga recognized as nervousness. The commander always became flustered when she had to give a presentation to a large group of people.

"Ah, here it is..." Hayate said after a minute. With a stack of paperwork in hand, she crossed the office to Ginga's desk. "These are the objectives for the presentation. You'll need to make copies for everyone."

Ginga rose from her desk and took them from her. "Do you know how many people will be there today?"

"I'm sorry, I don't. You will have to find out from the assistant coordinator downstairs."

"No problem," Ginga replied. Before leaving, she moved to the other side of her desk to stand in front of her supervisor. "Hey, you don't have to be so nervous. You're going to do great today."

The comment seemed to take Hayate back a bit. "I-I'm not nervous," she tried. After her failed attempted at confidence, she looked away to the floor and gave a weak shrug. "Well... maybe a little."

Ginga couldn't help but smile at her reaction. A small piece of lint on the right lapel of Hayate's blazer then caught her eye. "Hold still. You have something right here," she said while gently pulling it off.

"Thank you, Ginga," was her supervisor's quiet response. Hayate continued to look down at the spot where Ginga's hand had just been, a small blush beginning to pepper her cheeks.

Their shared moment was interrupted by the sound of footsteps approaching the office door. Hayate moved towards the center of the room to see who was paying her a visit. Nanoha knocked twice and hovered just inside the doorway.

"Can I speak with you, Hayate?" she asked.

Hayate gestured with her hand for her to enter. "Yes, of course. Vita told me you left early today. I'm surprised to see that you're back. What can I help you with?"

Nanoha walked across the office to stand directly in front of Hayate. The air of tension surrounding her did not escape Ginga or Hayate's attention. They both shared a look of concern just out of her sight.

"I need to know more about the teacher who took over Vivio's class," she announced.

"The teacher?" Hayate repeated in confusion. "Why don't you go talk to her yourself?"

"I tried, but she's out sick today. I know the Bureau runs a security screen on all new hires if it involves the school. I want to see it."

Hayate raised her eyebrows high. "You can't be serious right now!"

Nanoha crossed her arms and took another defiant step forward. "Does it look like I'm joking?" she replied. "I have a right to know who is teaching my daughter."

"You know I can't give you that sort of information," Hayate said with her hands raised defensively. "Privacy laws exist for a reason."

"I don't care about that. I'm her mother and -"

"Hey, Ginga?" the commander interrupted and turned to her assistant. "Could you please take that paperwork to the office for me? I'll be downstairs in a bit."

Ginga nodded and headed towards the door. "Yeah, sure," she replied. As she made her way to exit the office, she glanced over her shoulder and met Hayate's eyes once more with concern. Once in the hallway, she moved towards a partition beside the door and stood in its shadow. It wasn't the first time she had used that spot to eavesdrop on a conversation that didn't directly involve her.

"Nanoha, we can't keep having discussions like this," she heard Hayate say, her voice turning stern. "The school's security is at the highest level possible. Both the Church and the Bureau are guarding it. You have to stop worrying so much."

Nanoha's voice raised higher. "That's the best answer you're going to give me? Don't tell me how I should or shouldn't feel, Hayate! You have no idea what it's like to have worry about the people you love like this. "

"You think I'm not worried?!" Hayate shouted back. "My name is on that stupid list, too. And so are the rest of my family and friends. Everyone I care about could be in danger. So don't pretend like I don't understand!"

"If you understand, then why are you holding back information from me?!"

"Because I have to! Just because we don't like certain rules doesn't mean we can break them whenever we feel like it."

"Whatever," Nanoha seethed. Ginga could hear her now walking back towards the office door. "I'll get the information I need, with or without your help."

Nanoha exited the office and flew past Ginga without noticing her standing in the shadows. When she had made it halfway down the corridor, Ginga pulled away from the wall and began to follow behind her. Nanoha sharply turned the corner to return to the elevator. When Ginga reached the second hallway a few seconds later, she witnessed Nanoha impatiently pressing the down button several times.

Ginga closed the distance between them and grabbed her above the elbow to get her attention. "Nanoha...?" she tried.

Nanoha nearly jumped out of her skin at the contact. She pulled her device from the necklace around her neck so that she could transform. "Raising Heart –!"

Ginga used her other hand to try to block the motion. "Whoa, calm down! It's just me."

The bright sapphire eyes flashed with a sense of anger behind them. "You scared me half to death, Ginga!" she nearly yelled.

"I'm sorry," she replied sincerely. "I swear, I didn't mean to scare you. I was just trying to get your attention."

Nanoha exhaled a sigh and relaxed a little. Her eyes glanced up at the indicator above the elevator several times. The cab still had a few floors to pass through before it would arrive at their floor. "Is there something you wanted?" she asked.

Ginga took a step closer and quieted her voice. "We should talk," she simply said.

"Talk?" Nanoha repeated with her head turned slightly. She searched Ginga's eyes and seemed to recognize the seriousness behind them. "Um... Yeah, sure. What is it?"

"Not now," Ginga shook her head. "It can't be here at headquarters."

"Okay. Do you want to call me later?"

"No, it has to be in person. There can't be any record of it."

The elevator chimed and the doors open beside them. Nanoha seemed visibly torn as she looked inside the empty cab and then back at Ginga. "I have to pick Vivio up and take her home now," she said. "You can come by my house later, if you want."

"Alright. I'll stop by your place after work then."

Nanoha entered the cab and pushed the button to take her to the lower level lobby. She gave Ginga a small, tense smile as the doors shut between them. Once she was gone, Ginga looked down at the papers in her hand and realized she still had to get herself downstairs. The stairwell to her right would be her fastest option now.

A voice from behind stopped her in her tracks. "Man, those anger management classes really work miracles, don't they?" the familiar voice said. Ginga turned and found Hayate now approaching her in the short hallway.

"Um, yeah... Apparently so," she responded as casually as possible.

"I was going to try to catch up to Nanoha to reason with her," Hayate continued, "but it looks like you beat me to it."

As Hayate approached, Ginga noticed she has a new, unfamiliar expression on her face. Her jaw was flexed and she appeared to be swallowing hard, her eyes filled with mixed emotions. She could usually read Hayate like an open book, but now...

"Why are you going to Nanoha's house, Ginga?" Hayate then asked, her voice laced with contempt.

Ginga nearly recoiled at the tone the of question. "Excuse me? I don't see how that is any of your business, Commander."

Hayate narrowed her eyes at her. "You can drop the 'commander' act already. This is my business. Nanoha and Fate are my best friends. I won't let you do anything to jeopardize what they have between them now."

"And how would I do that exactly?"

Hayate pointed towards the elevator doors. "You know that Nanoha isn't making the best decisions right now. There are a lot of things you could do to take advantage of her tonight."

The insinuation caused Ginga's heart to sink in her chest. "That's what you really think of me?" she said quietly. "After all this... I'm still just some sort of bad guy to you?"

Silence was Hayate's only response as she steadily held her gaze. That was all the confirmation Ginga needed. She pushed past her supervisor and headed back towards the office with the full intention of packing her belongings at her desk. She just hoped she could get through it without breaking down completely.

When Ginga felt Hayate's hand suddenly grab hers, she stopped walking and look back at the gesture with surprise. The two had never shared any sort of physical contact before like that. Hayate's eyes were now shadowed beneath her bangs and cast down toward the floor.

"Hayate...?"

"I don't think of you like that. I really don't... a-at all," she said with a cracking voice. "I'm sorry I said it. I don't even know where it came from. Please forgive me."

Ginga was stunned. She had never seen Hayate leave herself so open and vulnerable before. There was a pause while Ginga regained her own composure. She eventually squeezed Hayate's hand in return to reassure her.

"It's okay," she told her. "I get it."

Hayate nodded and let her hand linger in Ginga's for a second longer before pulling away. She turned and pressed the button to call the elevator back to their floor. She then pointing to the documents in Ginga's hand.

"I won't keep you from taking those downstairs," she said.

"Yes, of course. Thank you."

The elevator soon chimed and the doors opened once again. Ginga stepped inside the empty cab and turned back around. Hayate was already walking back down the small hallway to return to her office. Ginga watched her retreating figure until the doors slid closed between them.

oOOOo

The sound of rustling papers echoed against the walls of the conference room. Fate sat alone in the room and slowly scanned the pages that lay on the table in front of her. The autopsy reports of the ten most recent victims stared back at her, all murdered in cold blood just three days prior. The hostages had been executed within minutes of each other, beginning with the man who looked like Subaru and Ginga's father. Their time of death were estimated to be a few hours before Fate's team had arrived at the fallout shelter to rescue them.

When Fate received paper copies of the reports that morning, she instructed Teana and Subaru to go to lunch early while she reviewed the documents. It was unusual for her to receive hard copies of anything, let alone something like autopsy reports. Updates were usually sent electronically to all of her team members' devices. She wanted to find out the reasoning for the change in protocol before she discussed the findings with her team.

She had just finished rereading the experts' analysis for a third time when the door opened to the conference room. Signum entered and quietly shut the door behind her. She approached the table in the center with a classified manila folder tucked under her arm.

"Good morning, Testarossa," she said.

"Good morning, Signum."

The pink-haired knight took the seat directly across from her. "Are those the autopsy reports?" she asked while gesturing to the paperwork on the table in front of her.

"They are," Fate replied. She slid the folder in her direction. "You're welcome to take a look at them."

Signum set her own folder down on the table before examining the reports. She first scanned the summary page that Fate had just been reviewing. About halfway down the sheet, she took note of the Bureau's official reasoning for the manner in which they were executed.

"...killed all at once to help conceal whereabouts..." she read in a half-mumble. "...disposing of the bodies over several days more of a risk..."

"Um-hmm," was Fate's only response.

Signum lowered the paper and looked across the table. "Do you think that's why they killed them all at once?"

Fate paused as she weighed the question. Her opinion of their motives was drastically different from the experts' conclusions. They took one life per day, a symbol of the Enforcers' consistent failures. But they were killed mere hours before their arrival, their lives slipping away just out of their reach. If her team had just responded a bit faster, figured it all out a bit sooner, perhaps the victims would still be alive today.

"No," she eventually replied. "I think they were sending us another message. We didn't move fast enough to save them. In a way, it's our fault they died."

"That's probably a more accurate assessment," Signum said. "After all, nothing Kannon Sao does is without a meaning or purpose."

The unfamiliar name instantly caught Fate's attention. "Is that –?"

Signum slid the classified folder across the desk. "Yes, we finally learned his real name and more about his background. He couldn't remain anonymous forever."

Fate opened the folder and found a profile picture of the leader staring right back at her. The photograph, taken several years prior, showed him to be a clean-shaven and well-dressed citizen when he registered with TSAB. His professional record was pristine and thorough, all until he disappeared from the Bureau's radar over a decade prior.

"He has ties to TSAB..." Fate mused as she read on about his history.

"He had ties," Signum replied. "It seems he collaborated with the Enforcers on a few cases. He's an expert in wilderness survival."

"But we never worked with him ourselves, right?"

"No, that was almost two decades ago."

Fate closed the folder and sighed. "I don't understand why he is specifically targeting us then."

"I'm sure that will come to light soon enough," Signum responded. "Our informants have helped us this much so far. Now we can track down his territory and get more information on his motives."

"Yeah, that's great..." Fate said, her voice beginning to grow distant.

Signum couldn't help but give a small chuckle with her lack of enthusiasm. "Of all people, I was expecting you to be more excited about this."

The blond gave a weak smile. "I'm sorry, Signum," she said. "I think your team has been working very hard. It really shows."

"Ah, I get it," the knight responded knowingly. "You know, it's difficult for your team to complete your mission if you don't know who you're looking for, much less where to find them. No one is faulting you for that."

Fate could feel her frustration beginning to grow. "It's easy for you to say that, Signum. My team has contributed nothing to the mission so far. We might as well have not come here at all."

Signum took a patient breath and pointed to Kannon Sao's closed folder in front of her. "Well, if that's how you feel, here's your chance to change things."

"Maybe..."

"After all, we aren't going home until this is over," Signum added, her voice turning stern. "You might as well suck it up and keep moving forward. I'm pretty sure Nanoha would be kicking your ass for being so unmotivated when we're this close. Am I right?"

Fate's head snapped up at the mention of her lover's name. The comment was blunt and realistic, a characteristic move on Signum's part. Her mentor often used Nanoha as some sort of trigger to keep Fate on track over the years, and it always seemed to work without fail.

"You're right. She wouldn't be happy," she nodded seriously. She flipped open the classified folder once more to study the details of Kannon Sao's profile in depth.

As the two worked in silence, the door to the conference room unexpectedly opened. Both Signum and Fate rose and stood at attention when they realized the captain of the ship was entering the room. Teana and Subaru trailed into the room a few steps behind her.

"Good morning, Ma'am," the two team leaders said in unison.

The captain took the empty seat at the table between them. She gestured for them to return to their own chairs. "Good morning," she said to them both. "Enforcers Lanster and Nakajima were kind enough to show me where you two were. I hope you don't mind me dropping in on your meeting unannounced?"

"Yes, of course," Fate responded politely.

"What can we help you with this morning, Captain?" Signum asked.

"I'm afraid I received some disturbing news this morning from headquarters," she said gravely. "The IT department has concluded that the Bureau's database was not hacked by anyone externally."

"What do they think happened?" Fate asked.

"They believe the intelligence the group has about our Enforcers originated from someone with authorized access to the system."

Signum visibly tensed. "Someone inside the Bureau is giving the terrorists our families' information?"

The captain nodded solemnly. "It appears so. This is why you two received hard copies of the reports this morning. We would like to keep new intelligence off the mainframe for now. The less the group knows about what we know, the better."

Fate looked to her teammates seated beside her. Teana looked dumbfounded and Subaru devastated with the news. The last thing anyone could imagine was one of their own providing such treason. For many members, TSAB was the only family they had to call their own.

"Is it someone here on the ship? Or are they at headquarters?" Signum asked.

"Again, no one is sure. We are now asking all teams to be extra vigilant of their surroundings and to report any suspicious activity at once."

Fate nodded. "Absolutely. We will do our best."

"On that note," the captain continued, "I'm lifting the communication restrictions for all non-essential personnel during evening liberty hours. There's no reason to continue concealing our whereabouts. If someone on the inside is feeding the group our information, they mostly like already know where we are. They always have."

With the announcement, Fate could feel her spirits begin to lift significantly. She did her best to contain her excitement with the prospect of speaking to Nanoha that evening without restriction. "Thank you, Captain," she said in the calmest voice she could muster.

"Is there anything new you two wish to report while I'm here?"

Both Fate and Signum shook their heads. "Not for now, ma'am," Signum said. "We'll let you know if we discover anything of importance."

The captain stood from her seat. "Well, I'll let you continue what you are doing," she said. "I must inform the other team leaders of this. Please update me with any new developments."

The four Enforcers stood at attention as the captain exited the room. After she had departed, Teana patted Fate twice on the shoulder and gave her a thumbs up. Subaru looked as if she could jump out of her seat with giddiness.

"You must be happy with the restrictions being lifted?" Teana asked her team leader.

Fate couldn't contain her elation. "Yes, very much so," she smiled broadly.

Subaru stretched her arms over her head. "Me, too!" she nearly squealed. "I want to say hi to everyone back home tonight. I want you to be there with me too, Tea."

Teana nodded and looked away. It was obvious she was trying to contain her excitement with the idea. "Well, I guess that would be alright..." she mumbled.

"We still have some time before liberty is called tonight," Fate mentioned. "Let's make sure we work as hard as we can until then."

"I must agree," Signum said. "We have a lot of research to finish this afternoon."

"Of course!" Subaru replied happily.

"Hey, you know what this means guys?" Teana added. "We've finally hit a turning point in the mission. Things can only get better from here on out, right?"

Fate smiled at the notion. "I think you're right, Teana," she said.

oOOOo

The knock on the front door came around 5:30pm that evening. Nanoha rose from her seat at the dining room table so that she could greet her guest. Vivio heard the knock from the living room and came barreling into the entryway at the same time. When Nanoha witnessed her daughter put her hand on the doorknob, she felt herself nearly have a heart attack.

"Get away from there, Vivio!" she scolded. "Don't ever answer the door before me!"

Vivio immediately removed her hand from the knob and backed away from the door. Her eyes grew wide and misted over, her feelings wounded by her mother's sudden outburst. Nanoha instantly felt remorse for her overreaction. A second knock rang out. She knew she would have to find a way to make it up to Vivio later that evening.

When she opened the door, she was surprised to see both Ginga and Nove standing outside their home. She then remembered that Nove had picked Ginga up from work the previous evening as well. She wasn't aware that the two shared a vehicle, but with so many people living in the Nakajima household, it would make sense.

"Nove, it's great to see you," Nanoha said while gesturing for both to enter. She turned her attention to her other visitor. "Hello again, Ginga."

Nove hugged Nanoha warmly. "It's really good to see you too, Nanoha!" she said.

Vivio stood back and studied the visitors to her home with curiosity. Nanoha wondered how much her daughter remembered of the JS Incident, as well as everyone's involvement in her kidnapping during it. Although Nove had proven herself completely rehabilitated from that situation, there was still a possibility that Vivio would not understand all that right away.

"Vivio, you remember Nove, of course?" her mother asked.

Nove walked across the entryway to stand in front Vivio. "Whoa... You've grown so much!" she exclaimed. "How old are you now? Eighteen? Nineteen?"

"No!" Vivio replied with a giggle. "I'm only nine now!"

Nanoha and Ginga's eyes met briefly before they both adverted them away to the floor. It was awkward and tense between them, although that was nothing new. Nanoha led her guests to the dining room with Vivio following close behind. Before they had arrived, she had prepared tea and coffee to welcome Ginga into her home as best as she could.

"What are you learning in school right now, Vivio?" Nove then asked her.

Vivio grinned brightly. "Our substitute taught us about sparring today!"

"Hey, I'm learning about sparring too!" Nove said with matched excitement. "Maybe you can show me what you learned? I'll show you some things I know, too."

Nanoha smiled at Nove, knowing the gesture she was making was to give her and Ginga privacy to talk alone. "You two can use the backyard outside to practice," she offered. "There's plenty of room out there."

Vivio grabbed her new friend by the hand and drug her towards the sliding glass doors that led to the backyard. "Come on, Nove!" she nearly shouted.

Once the door was shut behind them, Nanoha turned her attention back to Ginga. "Would you like some coffee or tea?" she asked. She gestured to the beverages on the table between them.

Ginga sat down in the chair across from Nanoha. "Yes. Coffee, please," she replied.

While Nanoha poured coffee into two separate mugs, Ginga shuffled through the black messenger bag she had brought with her. She pulled out a few papers and dropped on the table in front of Nanoha.

"Here," she said bluntly.

Nanoha picked up the stack with curiosity. "What's this?" she asked.

"The background check and work history of Vivio's new teacher. Don't worry about what Hayate said. It's all public information if you look hard enough for it. I'm just saving you the time."

"Oh...!" Nanoha said in shock. "Um... Thank you. I hope this will help put my mind at ease a little."

Ginga finally met Nanoha's eyes. "Is there a reason why you're worried about her?"

Nanoha gave a little shrug, an attempt to not appear as concerned as she truly was. "Well, I ran into Vivio's former teacher at the store. Her name is Mrs. Sugawara, by the way. She didn't say it outright, but I could tell that she isn't comfortable with the new teacher around the children."

"She isn't?" Ginga remarked with a solemn nod. "That's good information to know,".

Nanoha scanned over the paperwork while Ginga added milk and sugar to her coffee. Nothing she read seemed out of the ordinary. "I don't see anything bad on here," she mentioned.

"You're right," Ginga replied. "Everything checks out with her on paper."

Nanoha sighed and felt deflated by the news. She began to felt foolish for her overreaction, as well as the way she had spoken to Hayate earlier regarding the subject. "I guess I don't have anything to worry about then?" she said quietly.

Ginga shook her head. "I wouldn't say that so soon if I were you," she said.

Nanoha nearly spit out her coffee with Ginga's comment, a mixture of new emotions overtaking her. After all the doubt and brushoffs she had experienced – she finally had some confirmation that her maternal instincts weren't wrong. But at the same time, she didn't want her fears to be justified. It meant there was a legitimate reason to worry for her daughter's safety.

She also had a hunch that Ginga was taking a risk by saying even the little she had. "You could get in trouble for telling me that, couldn't you?" Nanoha asked her.

"I'm not telling you anything specific. I'm just advising you to trust your instincts. If you're worried about Vivio's teacher at school, it must be for a reason."

Nanoha stared hard at Ginga. "Why are you doing all this?"

Ginga met her gaze with equal intensity. "Why are you asking a question that you already know the answer to?" she countered.

Nanoha did not look away, nor did she back down. "You think this will win Fate-chan over?" she asked, her words turning venomous. "That she'll come back and pick you over me? Is that your reason?"

Despite the words that had just been hurled in attack at her, Ginga remained remarkably calm. "I'm not doing this with any sort of expectation from her," she replied evenly. "She has saved my life more times than I can count. I would do anything to repay her for that."

With that reasoning, Nanoha backed down and began to regret the words she had just chosen to say to Ginga. She was attacking the one person on Mid-Childa who was there to help her when she needed someone the most. It was almost as if she couldn't control her reactions or words at this point.

"I'm sorry, Ginga," she eventually said. "I don't even know why I said that."

Ginga sat back fully in her chair again. "It's alright. I'm getting used to people saying things like that to me at this point."

"You still don't deserve it."

"It's fine. You probably won't believe me when I say this," Ginga then added, "but I'm not here to ruin your relationship with Fate. If, or should I say when that does happen, it won't have anything to do with me."

Nanoha visibly flinched. "Wait, you think Fate-chan and I aren't going to make it?" she asked.

"It's nothing personal against you two. It's just that relationships with Enforcers never work out. Everyone thinks they're different and that they can overcome the odds. And then they don't."

"Well, we will," Nanoha told her matter-of-factually. "I know we will. We wouldn't have made this commitment if we didn't think we could do it."

Ginga could help but chuckle at her defiance. "Of course you say that now. You have to. But have you looked at yourself in a mirror lately, Nanoha? You look like you haven't slept in about, let me guess, two weeks now?"

Nanoha gripped her mug tightly and did not responded to the observation, mostly because she knew it was the devastating truth. She had been running on fumes for days now. Every time she tried to rest, she found peace to be elusive. Either she couldn't quiet her mind long enough, or when she did, her sleep was fitful and plagued with nightmares. It was usually easier to stay awake than face what waited for her behind her closed eyelids.

"Can you really say you're happy now?" Ginga pressed on. "Or that you can sustain this pace for years to come?"

"This isn't going to work on me. You can't manipulate me into doubting my relationship with Fate-chan."

Ginga sighed loudly and stood from the table. After slinging her messenger bag over her shoulder, she said, "I didn't come here to have this conversation with you. I just wanted to bring you the information about Vivio's new teacher. I'll get Nove and we'll get out of here."

Nanoha quickly stood and walked in front of Ginga to block her path. "Wait! No, you don't... You don't have to do that."

"Look, Nanoha – " she began.

"You can have dinner here," Nanoha interrupted before Ginga could finish. "You should stay for dinner, I mean. There's more than enough food for everyone."

The back sliding glass door suddenly opened with a bang. Nove and Vivio nearly tumbled back inside the house in a fit of sweat and giggles. "Mama, Nove taught me so many cool things!" Vivio gleefully informed her mother.

Nove looked away in embarrassment. The blush forming on her cheeks nearly matched the hue of her hair. "It's nothing much..." she mumbled.

Nanoha smiled at her daughter. "That's great, sweetie! I can't wait to see what you learned. But for now, will you please go get cleaned up for dinner?"

"Okay!" she replied. Vivio left down the side hallway to use the spare bathroom to wash her hands.

"Nove, would you and Ginga like to stay for dinner?" Nanoha then asked.

Nove look back and forth between Ginga and Nanoha. "Um... yeah, sure," she shrugged. "I'm starving and it smells really good in here."

"Okay, good. Please help yourself to some tea or coffee for now. Dinner should be ready in a few minutes."

"Thanks, Nanoha." Her eyes turned to the direction Vivio had just headed in. "If you don't mind, I think I'll go wash up before dinner first."

Nanoha nodded. "Sure, no problem." Both women waited until Nove had disappeared down the hall before turning to face each other again. Once she was out of earshot, Ginga sighed and shook her head.

"You really don't... have to..." she started to say. Her protests were cut off when Nanoha unexpectedly wrapped her arms around her shoulders and hugged her tightly. Ginga didn't dare move an inch. She was too stunned by Nanoha's action to react to it.

"Thank you, Ginga," she said over her shoulder. "It really means a lot to me that you guys are here."

Nanoha pulled away from Ginga just as abruptly as she had embraced her. When she exited the room to go check on dinner, she purposefully made sure to avoid any eye contact with her. Once she reached the middle of the kitchen, she stopped short and sunk her face into her hands. With all her uncharacteristic actions and behaviors that evening, she had to wonder if she was slowly losing her mind.

oOOOo

As Fate settled into her rack, she calculated the time difference between her location and Mid-Childa. Although it was still early evening for her, it was almost ten o'clock at night back home. She knew that Nanoha was most likely still awake at that time and busy adjusting training protocols for her recruits. On Bardiche's transmitter, she selected Nanoha from her favorite contacts list. It took several seconds for the call to begin transmitting, but once it did, Raising Heart connected to Fate's device right away.

The infrared camera in Nanoha's device sensed darkness on her end and automatically turned on. Fate could see that she was already lying down in their bed for the evening. Even with the grainy resolution of the video, she could tell that Nanoha was near exhaustion.

"Fate-chan..." she greeted her quietly.

The smile that formed on her lips was sweet and sincere, and a feeling of warmth washed over Fate with the sight. This call was already so very different from the rushed communication they had together three days prior.

"Hello, Nanoha," Fate said. "I'm sorry, did I wake you up?"

Nanoha slowly shook her head. "No, I've just been laying here. I was thinking about you, actually."

"You were? Is Vivio in bed already?"

"Um-hmm," she replied, her voice still low. "She's pretty worn out tonight. Nove and Ginga came over to the house tonight. Nove showed her some sparring tips."

The news regarding Nanoha's evening caught Fate by complete surprise. "Wait, did you just say that Ginga was there at the house?" she asked.

Nanoha hesitated before answering. "Yes, she was," she eventually replied. "I was worried about some things at Vivio's school and she helped answer them. They stayed for dinner after since they were already here."

Fate couldn't help by feel mixed emotions with the idea of Ginga helping protect her family in her absence. Even though she was grateful to her ex-partner for fulfilling her promise, she still has lingering guilt about not being there herself to protect her own daughter.

"I'm sorry, Nanoha," she apologized. "It should be me there helping protect Vivio. Not Ginga."

Nanoha's expression didn't change. She only sighed a little and met Fate's eyes on the screen. "You know that's not something you need to worry about right now," she said. "How much time do we have tonight, by the way?"

"We have all night," Fate replied. "The captain lifted the communication restrictions during liberty hours."

"Good. I needed to see you like this. I've missed you so much."

"I've missed you, too. Is there anything you want to talk about tonight?"

A pause, and then a mischievous grin began to form on Nanoha's lips. "I don't know... Are you alone right now?"

Fate sat up in her rack and looked around to confirm that no one had walked into the room without her noticing. After ensuring she was still alone, she leaned her back against the headboard of her small cot again. "Yes, I'm alone. What's up?"

"Hmmm," Nanoha murmured. "You tell me."

Fate watched her girlfriend bring her middle finger to her mouth and lightly bit on its tip. She then raised her eyebrows in her direction and winked. Fate knew that look all to well. Her eyes grew wide and she could feel the heat begin to burn her cheeks.

"I can't do anything like that here, Nanoha," she said just above a whisper.

Nanoha giggled seductively. "Well, that's too bad, isn't it? I guess you'll just have to watch me then."

"Oh... Um, I-I think I could do that," Fate stammered.

"I'm glad to hear that. If you were here, Fate-chan... Where would you want to touch me first?" Nanoha asked.

Fate's eyes fluttered slightly. "Your stomach," she replied with an unsteady voice. With every second that passed in this conversation, she was finding it more difficult to breath.

Nanoha reached for Raising Heart floating beside her and turned the screen away from her face. Her device now showed her torso and the upper part of her legs in frame. Fate watched Nanoha slowly unbuttoned the bottom half of her pajama top to expose her abdomen.

"Here?" she asked, lightly running her fingers along stomach.

"Yes," Fate breathed out.

Her hand slowly traced the taunt lines of her abdomen first. It traveled up to unbuttoned the rest of her top next, and she pulled the lapels apart to expose her breasts. "Where else would you touch me, Fate-chan?"

"Your chest," she said. "I would touch the top of your breast next."

Her hand moved slowly until she reached her right bared breast. Fate unconsciously licked her lips as she watched her nipple grow hard under the fingertips brushing against it. Nanoha closed her eyes and leaned her head back into her pillow, focusing solely on the stimulation she was giving herself.

"You should do it harder," Fate suggested next. Nanoha grabbed her breast with her hand and caressed it. A moan escaped her lips, a sound that echoed sweetly in Fate's ears.

"More..." she heard Nanoha murmur. "I want more, Fate-chan..."

Fate gripped the sheets on her bed in her hands. "Now both."

Nanoha did as she was instructed and grabbed both her breasts in her hands. Fate could see body beginning to rock back and forth on the bed, her legs twisting just out of frame. The overwhelming urge to touch her own self took over. Fate groaned as she pinched her own nipple between her fingers, a sound Nanoha's body reacted to even more.

"Fa...cha..." she gasped. Her right hand traveled back down her body until it reached the waistband of her pajama bottoms.

"Do you want to?" Fate asked her.

"Please, I want to..." she begged. "I need to. Please..."

Fate could hardly breathe. "Touch yourself, Nanoha."

Nanoha moved her hand into her pants below her underwear and moaned loudly. Fate watched fixated as her hand stroked while the other continued to still fondle her breast. She soon began to tremble and shake, a sign that she was close to climaxing.

"I need... to..." she begged.

"Show me, Nanoha. I want to hear you when you come."

Every muscle tensed and her back arched, the request sending her over the edge. Involuntary cries of pleasure escaped her throat with every wave. Fate witnessed her through all of it, motionless. Breathless. Satisfaction lay beyond any sort of physical release for her. She had given Nanoha what she could with the distance between them, and their shared connection comforted her. Fulfilled her.

While Nanoha attempted to calm herself, she turned Raising Heart's screen back show her face again. Although she looked completely drained and exhausted, there was also an air of peace surrounding her now. Fate couldn't help but smile at the sight.

"You should get some sleep."

Nanoha shook her head a little and closed her eyes. "No, I don't want you to go..." she said quietly.

"I won't," Fate assured her. "I'm promise, I'll stay right here with you all night."

"Okay..." she nodded, her voice just above a whisper. "I love you, Fate-chan. You make everything... better..."

Fate laid down in her rack and placed Bardiche on the bed beside her. She could see that Nanoha's breathing had slowed, indicating that she had already fallen asleep.

"I love you too, Nanoha..."

oOOOo

Fate awoke to the sound of the door banging loudly against the wall. She wasn't sure how long she had been asleep, perhaps a few hours at most. She looked at Bardiche's screen and found Nanoha still sleeping peacefully. Fate pressed the mute button so that no noise could be heard on her end and wake her. When she sat up in her rack, she found Teana standing in the middle of their shared room. She looked to be in a panic, her eyes darting all around the room.

"Teana..?" Fate groaned, her head still foggy. "What's going on?"

"Have you seen Subaru?"

"I'm sorry, I haven't," she replied. "I've been asleep this whole time."

Teana became more distressed. "We were supposed to meet up to call her family together after dinner, but she disappeared. I can't contact Mach Caliber either."

"What do you mean? That's not possible." Fate grabbed Bardiche from beside her on the bed and swung her legs over the side of the bed. After closing the transmission with Nanoha, she pulled Subaru up in her contacts list. She pressed the 'Ping' button several times, and each time she received an error message back claiming the device was offline.

Teana covered her mouth with her hand and paced the floor anxiously. "This can't be happening..." she whispered.

Fate jumped out of bed and put her shoes on as fast as she could. "When was the last time you saw her?" she asked.

"Fifteen minutes ago. Maybe a little more?" Teana responded with uncertainty. "She just said she had to use the restroom."

"Let's go talk to the captain right now," Fate said.

The two raced out the door and climbed the nearby stairwell towards the bridge of the ship. When they burst through the doorway and entered the large room, the captain stood from her seat on the second tier. She recognized the look of panic on both of their faces.

"Yes? What is it, Enforcer Harlaown?"

Fate stood directly in front of her on the lower level. "Captain, we need to muster everybody immediately," she announced. "One of our team members is missing."

A/N: It looks like I have about three months left of school here at the naval base I'm stationed at. Once I get to my next duty station, I'll probably have more time and can update my stories more frequently. I do want to return to my older stories at some point to finish them. That's my hope, at least!

Until next time, take care of yourselves and be safe! ~Nissanity~