Alone with her sleeping boss, Fate gave in to the urge to brush aside the unruly bangs shading the woman's closed eyes, the soft auburn hairs clinging to her fingers from the static. She was certain such liberties didn't exist between them in their working relationship, yet it did not seem odd for her to be doing it. Right now, this was just a person who was gravely hurt and in need of care.
The woman's chest barely rose with each breath, so firmly had her torso been bound, and Fate wondered what all the woman had suffered. Shuffling to the foot of the woman's bed, she retrieved her patient's file and began reading through the printouts. Soon, Fate's hand had flown up to cover her mouth as hot tears began staining the paper on her lap.
A gunshot wound under the left clavicle, narrowly missing the heart but nicking a major artery. Another in the waist, to the right of her abdomen, causing intestinal perforations. The hairline fractures in multiple ribs and her forearms due to severe impact wounds seemed the least of the woman's injuries and Fate couldn't imagine anyone surviving so much and still wanting to sit up after waking from what had to have been major surgeries.
"Oh my, I did not know she had visitor." Fate looked up at the strange, heavily accented voice, and blinked. A woman greatly resembling the executive she had seen in Inoue's video stood before her, a basket of fruits in one hand, a food thermos in her other.
Hastily brushing away her tears, Fate quickly closed the executive's file and made to rise but the strange woman lifted a hand to stop her, "Iye~ Please stay. I am sure my daughter appreciate company." The woman's english was credible and Fate had no trouble understanding her thick accent.
It heartened Momoko to see someone with her daughter. The usually vibrant woman seemed dwarfed by all the tubes and wires surrounding her, and very, very alone. This was far from the first time Momoko had made treks to the ICU, only this time, all of her daughter's usual circle of friends were quite unfortunately in another country.
Puttering around her daughter's bed, she neatened the blankets tucked around Nanoha, refilled the sippy straw cup with fresh water, and arranged the basket of fruits she had brought on the side table by the head of the bed.
Fate had quietly put Nanoha's file away, still sniffling and wiping away the tears that had sprung up for no good reason that she could think of. She never cried reading about others who were hurt in the news, why now?
The Takamachi matriarch smiled warmly at the blonde, easily seen under her surgical mask. She had heard from Ueda about the woman's memory loss. That the blonde would still be here spoke volumes about her fine character, Momoko thought. "You look well," she complimented the woman. True, she seemed pale, but compared to what her husband had shared about her condition, it seemed far better than anyone could have hoped in such a short amount of time.
"Th-Thank you," the woman mumbled, eyes of shadowed red studying the bandaged form lying in repose. "I wish she was, as well…"
"Maa~ If wishes were wings, we would all be flying, ne? Am Takamachi Momoko; Nanoha is my youngest child. Call me Momoko-san, hai? And you?"
Remembering her manners, Fate stood and bowed to the woman, "Testarossa Fate, please call me Fate."
Momoko beamed at the beautiful woman. What a polite gaijin. She bowed back. "Feito-san, is good to meet you. I know you have bad time. Thank you for visiting my girl anyway."
"I… it is the least I can do." Again, Fate's eyes were drawn to the face so obscured but still familiar, "I wish I could remember knowing her."
"Perhaps in time," Momoko agreed lightly. "Nanoha is boss, hai? You will get to know one another again at work." Fate knew the woman was trying to comfort her, but it felt so hollow to think that would be the only facet by which she would interact with this reportedly stubborn executive.
How had they agreed on the presentation Fate had made? Emails? Video call? Over coffee? What was her voice like? Did she have an accent like her mother did? Did they get along? She had so many questions wrapped up in this mystery of a woman, yet to push now would be so wrong, the woman was in the ICU for gods' sake.
Momoko could see the questions swirling in those crimson pools that were the windows into the blonde's soul. She drew in a long breath, knowing any answers could only come from Nanoha herself. About to ask if the blonde had eaten, Momoko felt her cellphone buzzing and excused herself, leaving Fate alone with Nanoha again.
She glanced at her phone, it was a group video call. Answering, she could see the familiar faces of her daughter's closest friends. Hayate, Vita, Signum and Shamal all hovered within view of the webcam, their faces twisted with worry.
"Momoko-san? How is Nano-chan doing?" Hayate asked in japanese, wringing her hands unconsciously while she faced the haggard-looking mother of her oldest friend.
"Haya-chan," Momoko meant to give the woman a breezy reply, but the lump in her throat had other ideas. "She's in the ICU. There is no danger to her life but… They had guns, Haya-chan!"
"Oh my gods, those fucking bastards." Signum had shot out of her chair, the furniture toppling over from the force of her moment as she stalked to the back, a string of German swears colouring the air around them blue.
Vita leaned closer to the camera, her eyes burning, "Her enemies?"
"Shiro says she broke the knee of one. Her throwing knife nearly got another in the heart. The apparent mastermind, she almost killed. It took Kyo-chan and Mi-chan all of their combined strength to pull her off of him. She had already been shot multiple times by then," Momoko wiped away a stray tear. As many times as she consoled herself that this was the clan's duty, she still had a difficult time when it was one of her own lying on the hospital bed.
Vita's eyes burned in vindication. She knew Nanoha would never have let those people off. "And Fate-san?"
Momoko shook her head sadly, "She doesn't remember anything. She was still in Midchilda at her last recollection."
Hayate and the Wolkenritters exchanged grave looks. "The police commissioner wants them both in Singapore once it's safe for Nanoha to travel."
"I'll arrange everything." Hayate assured their friend's mother, "Sig-chan, can you get in touch with your friends in the security business?" The head of HR nodded curtly.
"I asked the ryokan to send everything in their room to the Takamachi compound, you'll want to help return the rented car though," the redheaded E.A. added for Momoko's benefit.
"Thank you, Vita-chan."
Shamal had remained quiet all this time. Shifting her chair, the blonde doctor moved closer to the camera, "I contacted my old friend in St. Luke's, I'll arrange to have their primary care transferred to me. The charts she sent about what they found in Fate are very worrisome. We're fortunate the loss of memory seems the worst of it."
Momoko nodded with no little relief. She felt much better to know Shamal would be watching over Nanoha and Fate's recoveries. "The Takamachi clan will pay for a housekeeper for her in the interim…"
"Nonsense, Momoko-san. TSAB will cover this, it's part of her insurance coverage." Signum nodded gravely in the background and Momoko gave the quartet a shaky smile. "I wish you were all here to be with her," she mumbled thickly.
"She will be with us soon, Momoko-san. If she tries to overwork herself, I'll get Sig-chan to sit on her. Er, with Shamal's permission." Trust the tanuki to find ways to make the group laugh, even if it was laughter laced with intense worry and accompanied by a few tears.
"Oh Haya-chan, I've missed your crazy sense of humour." Bowing to the four, Momoko formally intoned, "I will leave Na-chan in your care. Yoroshiku onegai shimasu~" All four bowed back, intoning the proper response before cutting the call.
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The call with Momoko ended on a sombre note and Hayate and the Wolkenritters sat quietly, absorbing the dire news that Nanoha's mother had shared with them. Hayate saw Vita staring at the gothic lolita costume she had been ordered by Nanoha to wear to the bash. It hung on a clothes rack while Vita aired the mothball smell out of it.
"I'm postponing the party until christmas," Hayate said quietly, "I'm not in a very celebratory mood right now." Vita nodded glumly, not even caring that she had to work with Granscenic for the foreseeable future.
Signum grunted and left to find her phone, she had people to call.
Galvanised by her wife's actions, Shamal stood as well, "I'll get in touch with St. Luke's and start the process of having their records forwarded to my office."
"Good evening, Eins, are you free? I've got a long term contract you may be interested in. How long is long? Um…" Signum turned, one pink eyebrow raised at her cousin, "Three months with an option to extend by another three," the CEO told Signum.
"You heard that? Yes, effective immediately. It's a double, they're both TSAB employees." Signum's pacing paused and she threw Hayate a glance, earning the CEO's undivided attention, "Is Nakajima your only free agent? I see."
Hayate facepalmed, "Tell her to assign Ginga to Fate-san, at least they'll be strangers." Nodding, Signum informed Eins of the preferred arrangement. "Draw up the contracts and send them to Yagami Hayate's office. We'd like you to report to them posthaste. Both are currently in Tokyo, but will end up in Singapore before too long. I'll forward further details shortly."
Ending the call, Signum sighed, "She said the rest of her agents were taking the holiday period off, so it's just her and Ginga who're free agents right now."
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Hayate pinched the bridge of her nose, "Give me this Eins person's contact. I'll need to make it clear to them that they know the history one of their clients has with Ginga."
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"Test… a… ros… sa… -san," The low, harsh rasp of her name had Fate glancing up from one of the tech rags Inoue had kindly gotten her. Mouth opening and closing for some moments, the blonde finally found her voice, "Please, just Fate is fine. I believe we're colleagues?"
The woman's startlingly blue eyes were guarded, perhaps she didn't like being seen in such a state. Eventually, she gave Fate a short nod. "Your mother had to answer a call, I can go get her…" Nanoha shook her head slightly, "S'o... kay," the woman's voice was muffled by the ventilator mask, and she lifted the hand that was not in a sling to paw at it, "Thirs… ty," she mumbled, voice a dry rattle.
Tossing aside her magazine, Fate quickly figured out how the apparatus attached itself and helped the woman peel the thing off. Remembering the cup Momoko had refilled, she slipped a hand under the woman's head and helped the executive take a few sips before gently laying her head back down. Making to cover the woman's mouth once more, Nanoha closed curiously calloused fingers around her wrist to stay her intentions. "La… ter." The blonde gave her boss a dubious look and nodded.
The silence was awkward, and the blonde could feel the executive's rapidly clearing gaze studying her from head to toe and back up again. Fate got the impression that little escaped the woman who was her supposed superior in TSAB and she met the woman's eyes, expression open, not bothering to hide the confusion and disquiet that still plagued her since she woke.
Nanoha's head was pounding as her body fought against the lingering effects of anaesthesia, powerful antibiotics and opioids. Cracking open her eyes, she was disappointed to see the familiar ceiling of St. Luke's ICU wards and when her head lolled to the side, as much as her ventilator would allow anyway, the one person she most and least wanted to see was there, in the flesh.
She recognised the signs of Fate having recently been crying, and was puzzled. The blonde should have no recollection of her or their friendship. The lead weight in her heart grew heavier and she wondered if her difficulty in breathing had anything to do with the bandages around her, or the woman she wanted nothing more than to hold and beg for forgiveness from. She needed to get in touch with Hayate, or Signum. They needed to know not to startle Fate into another episode of catatonia.
Nanoha had used the long moments before the blonde knew she was conscious to greedily drink in the sight of Fate. Aside from the light gauze on her arms, the woman looked no worse for wear and Nanoha fiercely blinked away any tears of relief. It wouldn't do for Fate to think they were more than work acquaintances. Certain she had her mask firmly in place, she addressed the woman, surprised at how… shit, she sounded. 'At least there's no aphasia this time,' she thought with gallows humour.
It felt so wrong to be addressing Fate by her detested family name, but appearances had to be kept up. Fortunately, the blonde was her usual gracious self and asked her to refer to her by her given name. The feel of those hands tending to her while she drank almost had her breaking down and she felt her mask threatening to slip. It had only been a few minutes.
Her eyes scanned the woman again of their own volition, until she met Fate's own, easily reading the fear and uncertainty within her. "All… right?" She asked, flummoxed when her simple query brought forth more tears.
Pale fingers clutched at the bedclothes. How was this woman bothering to ask after her, when she herself was in such a state?! If she had jumped ship to TSAB, it had to have been partly because of this woman's giving nature. So caught up in the riot of emotions the executive's question had roused in her, that Fate didn't catch the woman lift her cast-encased arm to brush away the tears that were falling incessantly down her face.
"I-I'm sorry, I don't know what's gotten into me…"
Nanoha studied the distraught woman sadly, certain her lateness in stopping whatever had been done to Fate was the cause for the woman's emotions being so volatile. "My… fault," she rasped, and found her hand caught in both of Fate's. The blonde was shaking her head, still weeping silently.
Through eyes blurred with tears, Fate could see her boss looking frustrated with the effort it was taking her to communicate, "Care… less," the woman emphasised, squeezing what she could of Fate's hand, "My fault," she repeated, more firmly. Beads of perspiration were dotting her brow now, and she was beginning to pant, out of breath from the effort.
"Shh, no, I'm being stupid." Fate snatched up a tissue to dab away the sweat. "We can talk more when you're better. Please, try to rest." Azure eyes shadowed with pain refused to release the blonde's gaze. "Be… lieve." Again, she squeezed the hand she could reach, punctuating physically in a way she was unable to, verbally.
Swallowing back a sob, Fate gave the emphatic woman a jerky nod. "I… I'll try."
Feeling absolutely drained, Nanoha dropped her head back to her pillows. "Try… hard," she implored the blonde in a raspy whisper. Fate had no idea why this stranger was fighting so hard on her behalf. Nothing added up. The woman's hand in hers felt… comfortable, however, as if it belonged there, which again, made no sense.
The executive seemed to be resting more easily after Fate's assurance that she would try, and that was how Momoko found them. Nanoha, her hated ventilator unclasped and skewed to one side, her one useful hand in the blonde's while she rested with eyes closed. Momoko worried whether her daughter was able to breathe, but her colour seemed better and her expression seemed peaceful.
The blonde was leaning into the side of the bed, eyes soft while she watched her youngest child rest, and the mother in Momoko couldn't resist taking a clandestine picture of the pair. Tucking her phone away, she pretended to enter noisily. Fate immediately released Nanoha's hand and shifted her chair back to make space for the executive's mother, eyes glancing to the side, unable to meet anyone's own.
It was then that a nurse peeked in, "Testarossa-san, there you are," she scolded quietly in deference to the ICU patient, "You're late for your lunch and next dose." Reluctantly allowing herself to be led back to her own room, Fate's eyes promised that she would be back to visit when she could.
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"Kaa… san," Nanoha rasped, "Call… Ha… ya."
Momoko put her hands on her hips, "Na-chan! You just got out of surgery!"
Eyes so much like her own stared her down, silently pleading.
"Oh my kami, you are eating every spoon of my porridge after, yes?"
Momoko sniffled, the heartbreakingly wistful smile her youngest gave her made the woman wonder how her girl could still be alone after all this time. "Miss… it." Cupping her daughter's too cool cheeks, she made the call and propped the phone next to Nanoha's face.
"Momoko-san, is everything all right?" Hayate had just returned to her hotel room, her laptop booting up while she changed into some home clothes.
"Ha… ya."
"N-Nano-chan?! Why aren't you resting?!"
"Lis… ten," the executive urged, breaking out in perspiration again, "Fei… to, re… mem… bers noth… ing."
"We know, Nano-chan, you didn't have to…"
"Don't… tell." Momoko bit her lip at the stark bleakness in her daughter's eyes.
"What? Nano-chan, shouldn't we be helping her get her memories back?"
Nanoha coughed painfully and her mother hurriedly gave her some water to sip on. Casting a grateful look up to her parent, the executive laboriously soldiered on.
"No… shocks. Only… col… leagues."
"Nano-chan! You can't…" Hayate's voice was strained. The women's bond shone incandescent even in the brief time she'd spent with them, and Nanoha wanted to kill it in its infancy?
"HAYA!" Nanoha half-yelled, then groaned and Momoko gasped at the trickle of blood leaking out of her daughter's mouth. She grabbed her phone back, pressing the hospital's emergency call button whilst doing so, "Haya-chan, Na-chan's coughing blood. Just follow what she says, all right? It's important to her that we don't overwhelm Fate-san with information she isn't ready to process."
Nanoha clutched at the burning sensation in her waist as Momoko hurriedly repositioned the ventilator mask over her daughter's nose and mouth. "Tell… rest." Nanoha gasped out before losing all grip on consciousness.
"Na-chan? NA-CHAN! Haya-chan, I must go, please let the rest know of Na-chan's wishes."
Hayate stared at her phone, the dead tone a match for the heaviness in her heart. "That's not fair, Nano-chan," she whispered, blinking back tears. She punched in the contact for her family with a leaden finger, "Vita? Get the rest on the line…"
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A tall woman with long silver hair and red eyes paced silently about her apartment, clad in nothing but her underwear and a starched shirt. A drawer had been pulled open, revealing a selection of small but deadly weapons that ranged from yawara of differing materials, to utilitarian knives of various sizes and styles.
She'd planned to take some time off touring the various prefectures of Japan, but a job had come up and from someone whom she owed a favour to. Her assignment partner was currently making her way to an airport to rendezvous with her. Until then, she'd prepare herself and make contact with her client early since she was already in the neighbourhood.
Running an elegant finger over her tools of trade, she picked out a slim knife that fit perfectly into the sheath strapped to her non-dominant forearm. A longer dagger with a thin hilt was slipped into the sheath located on the inside of her calf, something she could call up in a pinch if an offhand weapon was required. Pulling on a pair of black, straight cut pants, she checked her silhouette in the mirror, confirming that the contours of her garments concealed anything she had equipped.
She secured the pants with a sturdy belt that held a built-in waist pouch, barely large enough for an inhaler, except what she slipped in was a mini-pepper spray. A freshly charged ear-bud and an expandable baton were her final accoutrements, the latter slipping easily up her other shirt sleeve and secured with a simple pop-button clasp. Two more percent and her cellphone would be fully charged, then she would set out.
But it was buzzing. It was already past nine in the evening, and the number was not in her contacts. Still, she answered, in case it had to do with her new account.
"Miss Eins? This is Yagami Hayate speaking…" And so it was.
Voice smoothly urbane with a hint of her south-east asian heritage colouring her vowels, Rein Eins replied, "Greetings, Miss Yagami, please, call me Rein. To what do I owe the pleasure?"
Hayate paused, wondering why the woman's voice was sending gooseflesh skittering across the back of her neck. Then she shook it off, she had urgent things to attend to.
"I understand that you'll be partnering with one Nakajima Ginga for the purposes that TSAB has contracted your firm for."
Rein found the lilting hints of the Kansai prefecture in this Yagami woman's voice intriguing as she mmhmm'ed a confirmation to the woman, "She is second only to myself in effectiveness, I assure you that she will meet all expectations placed upon her." She began buttoning up her crisply ironed shirt.
"Yes, well, here's the deal. She and client #1, Takamachi Nanoha, have a history." Rein's hands paused, "Indeed?" Ginga had made no mention when she had forwarded the info package to her. She was going to need to have words with her subordinate.
"Yes, they were uh, back in high school. She studied at the Takamachi dojo, y'see." The Yagami woman sounded terribly embarrassed to be talking behind anyone's back like so. "This is valuable information, Miss Yagami. I thank you for sharing it with me."
Hayate shifted, feeling a little warm under the collar. "It was necessary, I feel. I won't demand anything unreasonable, only that you speak with Ginga, er, Miss Nakajima, to behave herself. They didn't part on good terms and Miss Takamachi… She's in a fragile state right now, and I don't mean just physically."
Rein made a sound of assent while tucking her shirt in, "I shall have words with Nakajima. I assure you that the utmost professional standards will be upheld."
The Yagami woman sounded relieved over the line, "Thanks, Miss Eins, er, Rein. Takamachi and Testarossa are very, very valuable employees. I am entrusting you with their safety."
"Understood, Miss Yagami." Her reply was as crisp as the collar she was slipping a thin black tie through now. "Call me Hayate. Please update me if anything comes up. Good night."
"Of course, Ma'am. Good night." Tying her tie with fingers that could do it in her sleep, Rein pulled up the terse information her past associate had provided her with, re-reading the blurb about this Takamachi woman.
On paper, the first client seemed like the last person who would need a bodyguard. Something must have come up for this Yagami Hayate to sound so frightfully worried for her friend. Oh, the woman certainly sidestepped saying that much, but it was obvious to the keenly observant professional that they were friends.
The portrait provided showed an auburn-haired beauty with incredible deep blue eyes. The second page held some sparse information about the second client, complete with another head shot, and Rein smiled. At least these clients would be easy on the eyes.