Climbing up the stairs with her doctor's bag, Shamal rapped on the wooden railing, "Doctor Shamal, here to see Fate Testarossa? I'm taking over for Doctor Kobayashi of St. Luke's."
Fate gave Alph an apologetic look, "Sorry, I did not know a doctor would visit today."
"It's fine, I wanted to ah, get to know your boss a little." Standing, Alph eyed Edel who did not seem to be moving from her spot at the dining table. "You both are coming with me," the scientist declared, not liking the look in the strawberry blonde's eyes whenever she stared at Fate.
Grabbing Edel by the ear, Ginga dragged the woman after her, the lavender haired woman moving to the top of the stairs to greet the blonde doctor, "Hi, Shamal."
"Oh, right. Um, hi, Ginga. Good to see you." Ginga could make an educated guess just what her reputation was like with the Wolkenritters and merely smiled faintly, nodding to the doctor, "She's all yours. We'll be below." And down she went, still pulling Edel with her, the younger woman quietly going 'ow ow ow'.
Smiling, Shamal crested the top of the stairs, "Apologies for the lack of warning, Miss Testarossa. I wanted to catch that stubborn git below before she could hide or run from me."
"I heard that," came Nanoha's mildly accusing voice.
"You were meant to," Shamal called back down to the woman. Turning her smile back to the blonde, her eyebrows hiked up to see the woman swaying slightly and sitting heavily onto the side of her bed. Footsteps silent over the cushioned flooring, Shamal quickly pressed the diaphragm of her stethoscope to the royal's back. Fate's heartbeat was elevated, the woman stubbornly clutching at her bed covers in fisted hands. Her elbows were locked, possibly the only thing keeping her upright on the bed.
"Are you remembering something?" Shamal whispered, sitting behind the blonde and wrapping an arm around the woman for support. Blinking the tears out of her eyes, Fate nodded, gulping down big mouthfuls of air to catch her breath, "Sh-She's said that to you before…"
A sharp intake of air told Fate that she was correct. "Nanoha was right, these memories cost you." Fate wondered wildly what all else the executive had shared with the doctor about her.
"I… I don't care about the cost," the blonde mumbled, "I just want to remember." Desperately grabbing the hand on the arm that was supporting her, she turned with effort to stare pleadingly into the doctor's worried gaze. "How?"
Helplessly staring at the pleading woman, Shamal felt caught between a rock and a hard place. Above all, her vow to do no harm dictated her decisions, and she thought hard if this small revelation would hurt the woman. Fate could see the conflict in the doctor's eyes and tightened her hold on the woman's hand infinitesimally, just enough that the woman would feel how much she wanted, needed to know.
Exhaling slowly, Shamal stood and gently drew Fate up to sit at the head of the bed. Perplexed, Fate complied, leaning back against her headboard as directed by the doctor. Pulling the bedside lamp closer, Shamal shone the light brightly at the blonde's middle, and taking her right arm, she slowly turned so that Fate's elbow was illuminated. Peering curiously at what the doctor was shining a light to, the royal inhaled sharply, seeing a healed gash she had not even known was there. It was fairly long and showed evidence of having been stitched.
Her head shot up, eyes wide as she stared at the doctor. "That was the first and only time I met you," Shamal whispered. "You were hurt and she brought you in one Friday evening. Before you joined TSAB." Fate had no need to ask who this 'she' was, the sober expression on the doctor's face made it clear as day that she was talking about the executive below. "It seemed like you were strangers. I don't know what the story was. Your ankle was badly sprained, too. She had to help you into my clinic and there was a fair amount of your blood on her blouse."
The sensation of being held up securely, a solid warmth against her side, invaded Fate's senses, seated as she was on her bed, and she closed her eyes. That maddeningly tantalising scent of cinnamon and vanilla tickled her mind's senses once more. She dug the heels of her palms into her eyes, rubbing impatiently before staring back up at the doctor, "Th-Thank you."
Giving the woman an encouraging smile, Shamal patted the woman's hand, relieved to see the lack of a bad reaction from the blonde, "Come, let me check that pretty head of yours, yes?" Nodding, Fate submitted to the doctor's competent administrations.
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Lunch had been delivered in the time the doctor took to head up to begin her examination of the royal. The scent of sweet and sour pork, scallop and broccoli stir-fry, cereal fried prawns, hot plate egg tofu and vegetables, butter-roasted pork ribs and egg drop and spinach stew filled the apartment. The soft clink of plates and utensils could be heard, the bodyguards helping with setting the table while Nanoha paced out of everyone's way.
"Alph," Nanoha greeted the woman in mid-pace, "We ordered enough for everyone. Help yourself." The executive herself was refusing to get a serving, much to her bodyguard's annoyance. "I'll wait for Fate-san and Shamal," she told the silver haired woman quietly, eyes constantly flickering to the stairs leading up to the second level.
"Thanks, Nanoha," Alph said warmly. Glancing at the bodyguards, she cleared her throat, "Could we talk for a bit?" She asked delicately. Unperturbed by the scientist's request, Nanoha nodded and stepped out onto the large shaded porch looking out over the nearby ocean. The humid heat of noon slammed into both women despite the shade, something that could not be helped if they were to have a little privacy in the executive's suddenly crowded living space.
Inviting the guest to have a seat, Nanoha awkwardly lowered herself stiffly into one of the chairs on the porch. Gaze shuttered, she watched the blonde's friend, offering up nothing but silence for the woman to fill. The door leading out from the apartment opened to admit the silver haired bodyguard who drifted to the edge of the fenced area, the woman alertly scanning the area while her client had her chat out of hearing range.
"Can I hear from your perspective, about what happened?" The woman was straightforward and Nanoha appreciated that.
Considering for long moments, she let out a soft breath, "I don't want anything getting back to Fate to upset her."
"How about I list what I know and you help fill in what's missing?"
The scientist was being dogged in a frankly very tactful way, something the Japanese woman was thankful for. "All right," Nanoha cautiously agreed, "But I reserve the right to withhold sensitive information."
Nodding, Alph began, "The call I received from TSAB's CEO was very sparse on details. Miss Yagami simply said that Fate had been kidnapped and had lost all memory of her time in Singapore. She added that at your request, I should act like Fate and you are just work associates and nothing more, because there's a risk of extremely negative reactions to her regaining her lost memories."
Eyes reminiscent of the sparkling waters stretched out before them studied the various crafts dotting the horizon while she listened to Alph lay out what Hayate had shared with her. The TSAB CEO was as good as her word, and Nanoha sent a prayer of thanks up to the kami for blessing her with such a good friend.
"That is all correct." Expression pinched, she finally faced the ginger woman, "In the process of getting Fate back, there was a moment when she screamed from inside the room she was being held in." Nanoha's eyes closed momentarily against the fist closing around her heart, squeezing hard at the recollection, "It was the sound of someone seeing another dying before their eyes. By… By the time I could get to her, she was staring, shell-shocked into space, it was as if there was nothing behind those eyes."
Refusing herself the luxury to wallow in her utter failure, Nanoha simply glanced down at her arms in casts. "When she… came back to herself, she couldn't recognise me," the woman's voice hitched, betraying the stabbing pain of the dagger still buried in her heart, the blade constantly being twisted slowly.
Alph watched the woman while she recounted what was clearly a very redacted version of what had happened. This was not the countenance of someone enjoying a new fling with her hot bodyguard, but that of one in deep mourning for a recent loss.
"What's this about you and…" The ginger's eyes flickered over to where the guard was. She was out of earshot but it still felt wrong to bring it up so blatantly.
'So they did hear.' "She'll have less reason to seek out any memories we may have shared if it seems that I'm involved with someone else," Nanoha stated evenly. That it helped deflect Ginga's intentions as well was just an added bonus.
'Seems?' "...So you're not…?" Sighing, Nanoha levered herself back up to her feet, "Not that it's anyone's business, but no." Pausing, her eyes hardened to chips of flint, pinning Alph where she sat, "Fate-san need not know that." Not like it mattered, she and the guard had agreed to drop the little pantomime. Nanoha was not above milking preconceived notions for all it was worth, however.
Alph's hand closed around the woman's casted right arm, "Nanoha, everything seems geared towards wrapping her in that bubble wrap we agreed she wouldn't appreciate."
Halted by the woman's hand, Nanoha glanced down at the scientist who seemed genuinely concerned not just for her friend, but her as well, "I know." She ground her teeth slightly, fighting visibly with herself, "I… will be upfront with her, if Doctor Shamal thinks she is ready. I do not think it will help, but I made a promise."
"For what it's worth, I think you were good for her."
Looking through the glass panels into the kitchen where Fate had arrived with Shamal to get lunch, the executive's expression softened. "She was for me, too," the woman revealed in a startling moment of honesty with the scientist. "I just want her safe and living her life the way she wants. Far from anyone who would harm her."
Alph could tell that Nanoha had classified herself as someone harmful to the princess. Stymied, she did not know the Japanese woman well enough to muster a credible objection to that notion. Instead, she asked, "Can I share what I know with my mother, Linith? I know she would never have agreed to what was done to Fate." Remembering Fate's warm opinion of the woman, Nanoha nodded.
"Come, lunch is getting cold." Nanoha offered the woman a tight smile and tried to open the door for her. This time, Rein was prepared and was there before her client. "I'm not made of glass, Rein."
The silver haired woman merely lowered her head, giving Nanoha a meaningful look to say, 'Neither is Fate.' Nanoha rolled her eyes and made her way in, her pace kept carefully slow to not jostle the cast around her person.
Fate's clean bill of health from Shamal, along with the little revelation the doctor had shared, had served to cheer the blonde perceptively. Seeing her friend and Nanoha out on the porch, Fate figured Alph was asking the woman permission to share what had occurred with Linith. Instead, she took a plate and began piling it with significant helpings of each dish, laid over a fragrant bed of jasmine rice.
At Nanoha's arrival with Alph, Fate offered the plate she had prepared to the executive, who blinked in surprise. "D-Doctor Shamal said you had to eat more."
Nanoha slid a narrow-eyed look towards the doctor who feigned ignorance to what Fate was saying. Damned tanuki was infecting everyone.
Awkwardly accepting the heaping plate of food, Nanoha's stomach growled in response to the delicious smells emanating from the plate. Cursing her traitorous tummy, the executive cleared her throat, cheeks warm, "I… appreciate it. Please, take more. We ordered extra." Happy that the woman was not rejecting the plate, looking adorably bashful in her oversized shirt, Fate's eyes glowed a warm crimson and she nodded, moving to fill her own plate with what appeared to be typical local cuisine.
Seated around the table, the bodyguards took turns simply keeping watch of the various entry points into the condominium while one of them ate. The other women kept conversation to light topics about the oddity of having a tropical Christmas, and various attractions around town and on the resort island. Soon, lunch was over and the guests were gone, leaving Nanoha and Fate dangling around the first floor dining area.
"Let me help," Fate ventured, emboldened by the knowledge that apparently, Nanoha had helped her first. In the process of stacking the plates with one hand, the woman had not expected the offer. Rein continued to remain on guard while Ginga and Edel helped clear their side of the table. "Uh, sure. Thank you." The blonde was distracting in her slim cut, floral print dress and Nanoha tried not to look too hard at how appealingly the skirts flared and hugged the woman's curvaceous figure in time with her movements.
Left to her own devices, she seemed at a loss as to what she should be doing, "Don't you have medication to take?" The melodious voice broke Nanoha out of her reverie and she jerked a stiff nod, "Right, I do."
This narrative has been purloined without the author's approval. Report any appearances on Amazon.
Clumsily struggling with a bottle of pills, her cast not helping, Nanoha cursed under her breath when she used too much strength to force the child-safe top open. "Stupid, gods be damned thing…" The clatter of pills over the kitchen countertop drew everyone's attention, but it was Fate who was closest, the blonde carrying a stack of dishes to deposit into the nearby sink.
"Don't touch them," she instinctively ordered the auburn haired woman who was just about to start picking the pills up to stuff them back into the bottle they had fallen out from. Washing her hands thoroughly, Fate dried them on a paper towel and began picking up the pills with her clean hands. "You don't want to get them dirtier, Nanoha. What if you caught a bug?"
Flummoxed at Fate's suddenly bossy turn, blue eyes just stared at the blonde going about as she pleased, and Nanoha simply did not have the wherewithal to stop her. Hell, even the bodyguards were keeping a wide berth, leaving the women to their own devices once the table was cleared and whatever trash that had to be taken out was.
Remembering the woman had directed a question at her, Nanoha gave an impression of shrugging without doing so, "Wouldn't be the first time," she admitted.
Fate sighed, "These are supposed make you feel better, not worse. What else are you supposed to take?"
This Fate felt so much like the old Fate that Nanoha could only step away from the counter to gesture weakly to the other bottles that had been sitting behind her elbow. Studying the woman reading the labels on the bottles, the Japanese woman felt an unwilling sliver of hope that Shamal's visit had brought the woman's memories back. Completely improbable, but that yearning refused to listen to the logical side of her.
"How…" She licked her lips nervously, "How was Doctor Shamal's examination?"
Fate glanced at the nervous woman and felt her heart twinge, Nanoha seemed miles away from the woman in her camera's images. Smiling instead, she held out the requisite pills palm up to the woman, her other hand offering Nanoha a glass of water to wash them down with.
Smiles meant Shamal's diagnosis had been good, right? Accepting the pills, Nanoha threw all of them into her mouth, washing them down with a few gulps of water. Fate felt the woman's eyes on her the entire time she was doing this, azure gaze heavy with questions. Grabbing her own doubts firmly by the reins, Fate lifted her arm to show Nanoha the healed gash on her elbow.
Reluctantly, Nanoha tore her eyes from that crimson regard to glance down at what the blonde was showing to her. Fate watched the woman's eyes widen, and she knew that Nanoha understood. "I asked the doctor how I had met her," Fate said quietly.
Nanoha's eyes darted around, feeling trapped by that steady, wine-red regard. She had to applaud Shamal's cleverness. The doctor had skirted around Nanoha's request while still giving Fate information she had requested for. In the moment she spent cursing the doctor, Fate had closed the distance between them, fairly locking Nanoha in against the kitchen counter. She felt the blonde's skirts brushing against her bare legs, long arms braced against the counter's edge on either side of her.
Head tilting in honest curiosity, Fate added, "She said it happened before I joined TSAB. So what was that about, Nanoha?" The blonde kept her voice low and calm. She did not want to spook the woman but refused to let Nanoha wiggle out of a perfectly reasonable question.
The initial urge to use the same excuse she had first given Fate back then died on her lips. The blonde deserved better than spurious excuses. "Uh… You were… were hurt by some joyriders. I happened to be there. I couldn't j-just leave you." Heartened that the woman was actually giving her some information, Fate dared to push, "Because you were obligated? For duty?" She remembered the reasons the woman had given her in the early days, when Fate had asked why Nanoha had extracted Fate from her captors.
"I…" Fate could see Nanoha swallowing, the woman clearly debating with herself about what to say, "I had to."
Fate felt her heart leap, but refused to claim victory just yet. "Had to?" Her lilting soprano rose in query, encouraging the executive to elaborate.
"We had… just met in Testarossa Inc's offices. It didn't go well. I think you were tired. I had upset you and… I felt like it was my fault you didn't hear the speeding bikes that were approaching you."
Grasping at whatever the woman was willing to share, Fate took the proverbial bull by the horns and prayed. "So you helped me, feeling it was your fault?" A nod, the executive looking anywhere but at the suddenly assertive blonde. "Did I try to stop you?"
"N-No…" Wondering what the blonde was getting at, those azure eyes settled back onto the royal currently keeping her prisoner in her own kitchen.
"Then I'm going to help you, because I think it's my fault you're hurt," Fate concluded with satisfaction.
The executive's mouth dropped open, "I… You…"
The blonde was too close, making it difficult to think or form a coherent argument, worse, she was smiling, and Nanoha's heart was trying to hammer its way out of her chest.
"Yes, Nanoha. You helped me, so I get to help you." Nanoha needed to stop licking her Cupid's bow lips, thought Fate. They were far too close and delectable looking.
"You… You don't have to…"
"On the contrary, I do. Just like you had to back then. Or will Clan Takamachi's heir deny me the courtesy of returning an owed favour?" Puppy dog eyes assaulted Nanoha at close range and the executive was helpless to resist.
"Playing tit for tat?" Nanoha husked, and Fate could feel the woman capitulating inch by reluctant inch.
"I'm a very petty person, when it comes to favours I owe…" The blonde confessed, suddenly wishing it was kisses she owed the executive. Those brilliantly blue eyes held hers, the Takamachi heir searching the blonde's, and Fate stared back openly. It was not guilt, that much Nanoha could tell, nor was she lying. Everything the woman had just told her was the truth. This was not old Fate, but it was still quintessentially, Fate.
"I would be… remiss as heir to show such a lack in manners," the auburn haired woman ventured hesitantly.
'Yes, yes, YES!' Fate yelled her triumph internally.
There was a curiously familiar glow in eyes shaded in the finest wines, and Nanoha was taken back to the time visiting Yuuno's grave, when her soul felt whole and absolved of all her sins. What power did the blonde hold to give her such a feeling of warmth, of home, even while lacking her memories of them?
Stepping back a pace to free Nanoha from her temporary prison entirely of the blonde's making, Fate feigned absolute calm and dipped her head, every inch the princess. "Thank you," she said graciously. She hoped to the gods that Nanoha could not hear the erratic tattoo of her heartbeat.
Rein eyed the two women standing around awkwardly in the kitchen and muttered under her breath about useless lesbians. Clearing her throat to get both of their attention, she gestured to her laptop, "Nanoha, I need to get some work done. Can I trust Fate to help with your hair?"
"Certainly!" Fate's swift reply prevented Nanoha from responding. To contradict the woman now, right after putting her clan's honour on the line, would have been rude beyond belief. Throwing her bodyguard a Look, Nanoha turned and gave Fate an uncertain twitch of her lips, "If it's not too much trouble…"
Fate knew it would take time for that uncertainty to go away, time she was willing to spend. 'Whatever it takes.' Somehow, she could feel an echo of her previous self repeating those same words back to her. After what her family had pulled, Fate knew she owed them absolutely nothing. Her time was her own and she would willingly spend all of it on helping Nanoha now that she had the executive's permission.
"Show me where's your hairdryer?"
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Over the weeks, Fate proved herself as good as her word, displaying an uncanny prescience in anticipating when her help was needed. The first day, Fate had spent most of it on the lower level to remain close enough to help. The risk of her memories sending her into a faint was something she was willing to take, and Nanoha had been proven unsuccessful at persuading the blonde to stay on the upper level.
Exasperated beyond belief, Nanoha had given the stubborn blonde a glare and called the TSAB CEO to request for similar padding to be installed in the lower level, something Hayate had been more than happy to help with. Now with both levels secured for the blonde's safety, Nanoha could rest more easily during the times when the woman was aiding her below.
It was the most difficult thing for Fate to maintain professionally detached whilst helping the woman with her daily tasks. Somehow, she succeeded by sheer force of will and it was paying off in spades. Without the threat of messy emotions, the Takamachi heir was much more amenable to the blonde's help, and with a sudden bolt of inspiration, Fate understood now why Nanoha had Rein helping her so much at the start. The woman had been deemed 'safe', and since she was being paid a fee, the Japanese woman did not feel bad bothering her.
"When Na-chan feels she's being a bother, she does whatever it takes to not be one." Miyuki's explanation made so much sense to Fate now. It hardly explained why the two had been kissing and… other things, but neither seemed invested in continuing since Fate had stepped in with her own offer of help that the heir could not turn down.
The woman had even unbent enough to accept Fate's company during her morning walks. The first time the blonde had shown up on the porch in shorts and tee, Nanoha had attempted to baulk. Rein's bland explanation that she and the rest of the bodyguards would have an easier time guarding them if they were not worrying about Nanoha tripping or Fate fainting forced the executive's hand. Fate quietly adding that she could use the daily exercise was just the nail in the coffin.
This was wrong. Nanoha could not, should not, enjoy the blonde's quiet company this much. Yet, it was a hallmark of their early friendship that made the executive realise that words were not always necessary when it came to communicating with Fate. This still held true despite the woman's memory loss, and Nanoha was helpless to reject the immense comfort Fate's presence offered her.
It did not help that the burgeoning feelings she had for Fate before the incident stubbornly refused to subside, no matter how she tried to keep her distance. On top of that, it felt like a betrayal of old Fate for Nanoha to feel any attraction for this Fate. Still, here she was, and as easily able to control how she felt as it would have been to part the Red Sea. There was nothing the Takamachi heir could not perfect without practise, however, and she felt she had done a good job hiding her feelings for the blonde. A good thing, too, since the woman was clearly just fulfilling what she felt she owed Nanoha.
"She looks at you the way your Kaa-chan used to look at me." Nanoha snorted to herself. As if the princess would want to saddle herself with her beat-up self when the sweet blonde could have just about anyone she wanted. If only the thought of Fate moving on with her life after everything blew over did not put such a horrible taste in her mouth.
Ordering herself to focus and stop being distracted with thoughts of the blonde beauty, Nanoha gave Shamal a tight smile. Today was a banner day for the auburn haired woman. After weeks of chafing, itching and cursing, Shamal had finally deemed her healed enough for the casts to come off. In the interim, the woman had undergone yet another reconstructive surgery and the scars on her shoulder and waist were slowly healing and evening out to blend in more closely with her natural colouring.
Fate was upstairs going through the luggage Edel had stuffed with whatever she found in the kitchen, trying not to wince at the sound of the little electric hand saw being applied to Nanoha's person below.
She pulled out a generic calendar showing tourist attractions around Singapore and gave Edel a curious glance. The strawberry blonde was hovering by to obey her boss' instructions about always keeping the royal in sight. Not a difficult task, when the woman was looking extra adorable in her oversized baseball jersey with hook buttons, shorts and knee-high sports socks.
"It h-had extra stuff behind so I th-thought it might be important," Edel stammered, trying not to stare at the porcelain skin not covered by shorts or socks. "I see. Thank you, Edel." Fate smiled and the younger bodyguard flushed, "S-Sure, Ma'am, happy to help." Bowing formally even though Fate had repeatedly informed the young woman it was not necessary, Edel distanced herself to afford what privacy she could give the woman. Ginga was currently out doing a grocery run for both women.
Attention on the calendar, Fate frowned slightly, looking for this extra stuff Edel mentioned. Flipping through the months, she blinked, finding a second calendar stapled to the back of the first. This one was full of nature pictures featuring leopards, and large red circles drawn around every Saturday stretching back a few months. There were days other than Saturday that had been circled, and as far as she could tell, they had only begun after she had begun working in TSAB.
Curious, she flipped through the pages wondering if there was more to tell her what this was all about, and something fluttered out from between the pages of November and December. Frowning, Fate chased after the slip of paper that had slid its way across the floor and under the bedside table. Reaching for it with one long arm, she sat herself down onto her bed to get a better look at it under the reading lamp.
What she found had her gasping loudly, hand too slow to cover her mouth, though it did so now. Edel glanced over, "Miss Fate?"
Shaking her head, she waved Edel's concern off and angled herself to face the bed's headboard to hide her face from casual eyes. Lips trembling, she drank in the garishly pink strip of stickers. Five forgotten images of herself and Nanoha, over an obviously fake backdrop of a beach and coconut trees. The smiling woman was in a casual dark grey tee, her bottom hidden because she had her arms wrapped around Fate who had been dressed in an off-shoulder floral print dress.
She wondered how the woman had persuaded the old Fate to take a picture with her, since the blonde normally detested being in pictures at all. Then one of the pictures told her how. Nanoha's hand was on her chin, the two of them looking into each other's eyes, herself smiling shyly. Right away, she knew the old Fate would never have been able to resist anything the Japanese woman asked for. She studied the auburn haired beauty's smile. Was it her imagination or did the woman seem to be regarding her old self with more than a cordial warmth?
Regardless, this was tangible proof they had been friends at the very least. Why then, was the woman being so formal now? Had she hurt the woman in some way, to the point where she was just being tolerated because she had forgotten how their friendship had died? And then it came to her. It HAD died. With the old Fate. The woman was struggling now because she did not know how to approach or be with a Fate who did not remember a thing about them, and she felt hot tears tracking down her cheeks.
"Smile at the camera!" Closing her eyes, more tears escaped the prison of her lashes to drip onto her thighs, the flashes of the photo-booth's camera blinding her in the memory that had come roaring up to engulf her. Flashes of them in her now-trashed apartment, the executive in a red and black flannel shirt, her hands on Fate's bare back, working out the hurts and aches there. Another flash, and the sight of the woman sprawled in all of her earth goddess glory over the couch in the living room. The same woman curled up in her arms, shuddering and weeping, and the final flash had Nanoha laying over her own prone form, Fate's wrist pinned easily under one calloused hand while azure eyes shimmering with wicked humour shone down at her.
Fate shivered as she tried to process the flood of information, clutching a pillow hard to herself while taking care not to damage her precious find. Studying the pictures more closely, she could see kitty ears being drawn on the Takamachi heir, herself sporting doggie ears. The style of the ears on her matched that of the TSAB organisational chart Nanoha had made for her, and she knew the woman had been behind those scribbles. That meant she was the one who put the cat ears on Nanoha's image. Was that why the second calendar was all about leopards?