47AN: Never thought I'd be doing another story here again, but this one of many ideas took my fancy simply because of how… interesting it was to me. Ahh, before I ramble on and forget, this is a challenge that was made by NHunter that I decided to take up, one that is very self-explanatory all said. A close-combat Nanoha. I will let all know though, I am not a kind author, I take joy in suffering as much as helping and everything I have thought up is of a darker nature than most. One last thing, I am currently watching Nanoha as I write this so, please forgive me for doing… mistakes if they occur. That is all I will say on the matter, so let the story begin after a short disclaimer.
One last thing before the disclaimer, according to both myself and the precious little kitten I call little brother, every ten words is a hug that Nanoha will need, and every 'Starlight Breaker' that gets used will need 132.
Disclaimer: I do not own Mahou Shoujo Lyrical Nanoha nor any of the various seasons made after the original.
It was always cold and dark when Nanoha awoke. Though given where she woke up and the time she did, never later than three in the morning, it was expected really. Still she dragged herself from her bed and dressed herself in her morning attire, soon Otou-sama would collect her and they'd start their morning rituals.
Onee-sama and Onii-sama kept to themselves for the most part, never really spending time with her or Otou-sama except at dinner and breakfast, or even with each other now that she thought about it. They would always be away in separate places from her and Otou-sama when the entire family was home, which she could understand somewhat, Otou-sama was rather harsh in training. They probably didn't want to see their precious Imouto being hurt so badly.
Her door quietly opened with barely any noise as her clock near-silently chimed three times, with herself looking back from the single dresser to find Otou-sama standing at the door with a passive expression. He waited for her to put on the last set of bandages around her hands before she skipped over to his side with a smile, not a word spoken between them as they headed out through the home to the dojo.
They kept to the same path as they always did, her smile brightening a tiny bit when they reached the grass in-between the two 'traditional'-styled buildings before it dimmed back to a regular smile as they made their way into the dojo, she was always happier with the grass beneath her. She had no idea really why beyond it just felt nice.
Otou-sama retrieved a bokken without any words as was customary between the them, she herself following about two steps behind and grabbing one for herself without much thought behind it. Directly after, she moved to take her place in front of Otou-sama before taking her beginning form and began her routine without any prompting from him.
Her Otou-sama was better than her, he always moved so much more gracefully than her, faster, and deadlier than her. But he was her kind Otou-sama, and he would always keep her, Onee-sama and Onii-sama safe, because that was Otou-sama's duty once Okaa-sama passed. "Nanoha."
The first word of the day caught her attention, but did little to distract her from her routine, continuing to slash downwards twice, once diagonally upward and back downwards before answering her Otou-sama. "Yes Otou-sama?" Neither paused, lagged behind or speed up, perfectly in sync as they often were now, though Nanoha knew her Otou-sama could easily leave her in the dust if he wished simply from the practical experience he had.
"Your wounds from last night will likely open again when we train tonight. You will not stop until we are finished." She gave no visible sign of agreement, focused as she was on keeping her movements as perfect as humanly possible, Otou-sama wouldn't accept anything less from her after so long, even if it reopened her wounds she would continue perfectly until she was finished.
Finally after a short pause between his words and now, she quickly gave an affirmative reply of "Yes Otou-sama." before continuing on silently. They continued for the rest of an hour, whereupon she left towards her room to change out of her home clothes, a simple kendogi consisting of a white uwagi and black hakama, nothing special, and into her school uniform, another simple white robe with some black details.
She took care not to aggravate any of the fresher wounds while still going quickly enough to do her morning chores, that would make Otou-sama mad if she didn't do her chores before the next hour turned. Because of that, she rushed across the grass of the compound to her home, then through the wooden hallways to her room and entering it again and heading directly over to the dresser.
With grace that she assumed was common among her peers, she took off her home clothes and replaced them with her school uniform, neatly folding the former before placing it back on her bed to be worn later. Humming quietly to herself, she turned about, and still with the smile she'd had throughout the morning, walked out the door, and tried to recall what her chore was for the morning.
For a good minute she tried to remember what exactly she was supposed to be doing before recalling, nodding her head and walking in the opposite direction to fetch a broom, humming as she did.
Breakfast arrived roughly another two hours after her chores were done, Onee-sama and Onii-sama waking up shortly after she had finished and beginning their own morning rituals, Onee-sama cooking while Onii-sama went and practiced for a while. Breakfast was a bit livelier than the rest of the time spent at home, a bit less lively than dinner but still better than the silence that usually dominated since Okaa-sama left.
Onee-sama and Onii-sama talked with one another and occasionally with Otou-sama whenever he asked them a question while she just ate and listened to the conversation. Otou-sama was a kind man, always looking out for his children and helping them whenever possible, always helping his students whenever they were brave enough to ask him for assistance, it was always funny to see them afraid of Otou-sama.
Today's conversation wasn't that interesting, but she listened anyway since it wouldn't be a good idea to not know what the conversation was about on the off-chance that one of them asked her about whatever was being talked about. Onee-chan was talking about something she didn't fully understand, probably another attempt to 'find a hobby' as she put it. "-ry to do calligraphy. It's nice but, it's really hard…"
As always, she finished first, getting up from the table, moving her dishes to the sink and cleaning them while continuing to listen to the conversation behind her, Onii-sama was talking now, exasperated given the sigh but otherwise deadpan and blunt. "Miyuki, you should really stop trying so hard to find something you like doing in your spare time. It will come eventually, you can't expect to just try something and find you love it on top of being good at it."
"I'll be leaving now." With a single interjection, just like always, she bid goodbye to her family, the reply from Onee-sama the only thing she was given and heard as she walked out of the house, through the gate and onto the side of the road, and then heading towards the bus stop. She wasn't in any particular hurry there, as she was always early to the bus despite the distance she had to walk, Otou-sama had drilled it into her head that she should always be early and always finish correctly early.
Though in this case, like almost always, every time she would wait for the bus to arrive for a half-hour or longer, she debated with herself if she should stay a little while longer at home and do another chore before leaving or stay as she was currently doing. The latter always won as Otou-sama's teaching were always were better than her own whims.
And as usual she stopped the internal debate as the bus drove up, her smile in place as she climbed in before it brightened slightly at the call of her name before moving towards Arisa-chan and Suzuka-chan at the back. The two happily welcoming her with cheer and smiles, even as several people she passed started shifting for whatever reason, people's reactions were strange most of the time, especially the ones where no sound accompanied the actions.
Few among her schoolmates wanted to be her friend… actually only two really, Arisa-chan and Suzuka-chan were the only two that weren't really uncomfortable with her always smiling or her tendency to overperform when called upon… Well there was one kind of subject she wasn't good with no matter how much time she spent studying… that being languages…
Either way she enjoyed having her two friends, even if they were closer to one another than with her, they were nice, made her laugh, Arisa-chan kept her in line and Suzuka-chan managed to always keep her happy and calm, they kept her grounded like Okaa-sama once did for Otou-sama.
School went as it always did, she studied, she did her work, Arisa-chan got mad at her again for some reason and they tussled with one another, Suzuka-chan tried to get them away from one another and she hit others with a dodgeball in P.E.. That was fun, especially since she was on Suzuka's team.
The walk home went the same way as well, aside for her finding an injured ferret with a black jewel with a red ring around its neck while taking a shortcut Arisa-chan suggested. That was such a nice little path, she'd have to use it again sometime.
She had decided to take the little thing in and help it recover without any prompting from either of her friends after taking it to the veterinarian's, Otou-sama wouldn't mind it so long as she kept good care of the animal and didn't let the care of it distract her from any part of her routine.
She arrived home as the dark was setting in and Onee-sama was finishing making dinner, so she quickly made her way to her room and switched to her home clothes before making her way back and sitting across from Otou-sama.
Dinner was about as lively as breakfast, perhaps a bit more than usual considering she spoke up for once, "Otou-sama?" which despite her never talking at the table caused the conversation to pause and her family to look at her, only Onee-sama looking curious. Shortly after the pause she continued while looking at Otou-sama next to her, "I found a ferret on the way home today. It was injured and I took it to the veterinarian's office. Can I go by tomorrow afternoon to pick it up and bring it here to take care of it?"
When she finished her request, she quickly looked at the reactions, Onii-sama was looking slightly confused for some reason, Onee-sama had soft joy in her expression, and Otou-sama as always she couldn't tell. Otou-sama took a couple of seconds before nodding and returning to his food, stating as he did so, "So long as you keep with your training and studies, there is no reason you can not." Her smile brightened slightly as she bowed minutely to Otou-sama.
"Thank you Otou-sama." Other than that, nothing else out of the ordinary took place, and so they returned to normal and finished their meals at their own pace, with herself and Otou-sama finishing first and stating to clean up. Onee-sama and Onii-sama finished a few minutes after and gave their own plates to her and Otou-sama, as was the custom they shared.
It didn't take long to finish, and soon she was following Otou-sama outside towards their dojo, skipping happily at the thought of holding her blade again, even if it wasn't really the one she would be using after the year ended, it was hers for now, and it had special meaning to her.
They entered the building and her smile didn't dim the moment her feet left the grass like it had ever morning prior, immediately making her way over to the far wall, reaching up to take the sheathed sword off the wall and holding it gingerly between her fingers. It only took a moment to put it at her waist and tie the sheathe into her obi, facing around after she was done and marching to stand opposite Otou-sama, who forwent the sheathe and simply held his blade loosely at his side.
The blade Otou-sama had given her for these nightly practices was longer than most, the blade itself being roughly about 84cm long, her own would be longer, about 91cm, an odachi rather than a katana like Otou-sama and Onee-sama or a tanto like Onii-sama. Supposedly it was because she was the only actual Takamachi by blood in the family, but given she was the only one still around in her branch, and there weren't and books or scrolls on the subject, she had no idea.
Gingerly she took the sword from the sheathe, drawing it out smoothly and holding it in both hands as Otou-sama instructed her, a single breath in, a clang of metal upon one another before separating, a breath let out, a breath in, two clangs sounding, a breath out. Like always whenever this training occurred, she lost herself in the calm of their spar, letting her instincts take over for the most part as she had in the beginning since a few months prior.
She savored the calm and rings of metal with a bliss-filled smile and slightly closed eyes, before she was abruptly removed from the rapture with a single hard blow.
Her smile brightened just a miniscule amount, Otou-sama's blade sliding along her own's length, a simultaneous clack whispering through the night air as both father and daughter moved away from the other, swords moving from one-handed grasps back to the normal two as they came to a rest. Then without any given signal, they closed again and descended into the calm yet again,
She felt a wound wrench itself open, followed by another as she deflected Otou-sama's aggressive strikes with a bit of effort, a small red blotch appeared on the fabric at her right shoulder and left hip, she paid it no heed and continued with the practice. A semi-successful deflection sent her father's blade far off to the side at the cost of another slash mark etching itself into her left side, only a few centimeters above her reopened wound, but the cost was worth it as the move allowed her to make a single counterattack.
Her attack was easily deflected away, but it allowed her to take the offensive for a while, specifically only three and a half strokes before Otou-sama swung into her developing swing, and thus did the dance begin again, a dance that would last until the clocks chimed nine times.
In not quite perfect sync they brought their swords to rest, and then their swords were at their side as they bowed to one another, a bright smile on Nanoha's face while Otou-sama had a small smile on his own. Otou-sama as usual sported no cuts, either on his skin or his own kendogi, she fared only a little worse off compared to him, a total of 5 small cuts, two on her left arm, the one at the side, one larger one across her back and a vertical line etching itself from her chest to the tip of her shoulder.
"You are getting better, Nanoha. Perhaps you'll manage to beat me before you get your actual sword." She beamed under the praise and challenge Otou-sama gave her, joy coming to the forefront of her while she smashed any sense of pride she gained. Takamachi were never proud of their skills. With those words said, Otou-sama went over to a small desk littered with maintenance supplies, one which she also went to wish a skip in her step.
It was probably bad that she hardly registered the wounds at all, it didn't matter much to her though, little cuts like those would heal by the morning with nothing more than bandages and a bit of disinfectant. Her body ran on autopilot for the minute she thought and observed, cleaning the blade with oil, paper and cloth as she had countless times before, after so long it was a instinctual habit that Otou-sama approved of, one that he himself as well as Onee-sama and Onii-sama had ingrained in them.
Otou-sama had said that she would be among the youngest of their family to get her blade. She wouldn't be the youngest, that honor belonged to one of her distant ancestors who was an accomplished swordmaster at her age and had earned his blade three years before she would, though that was likely due to it being the Sengoku period.
Still, she was the first in almost a century to have earned her blade before her first decade had come to pass, and that gave her a bit of pride that almost immediately was quashed, pride had no meaning to those of the Takamachi line. That was the first rule Otou-sama had taught her, and it was reinforced each and every spar they had. Pride was for the samurai and soldiers, it was not for the bodyguards, shinobi and assassins, such was the fact of their occupation and history, Otou-sama had learned that the hard way when Okaa-sama was killed.
She continued to think until she finished her cleaning, putting away the two cloths and oil back on the desk before gently sheathing her blade, standing and making her way back to the spot on the wall that would always hold the sword, placing it back in its proper place. Before she walked out of the dojo to get cleaned up herself, she noticed that Otou-sama had already left sometime in her musings and cleaning, not that it was unexpected.
Walking out, she closed the screen to the dojo and started heading back to the house, looking from the porch to see if there was anything that needed to be addressed around the building before nodding to herself and beginning the walk back. The moment she reached the grass though, she lingered, looking up at the night sky and seeing the little stars gleaming dimly in the darkness, the moon looking rather sleepy hanging above the buildings in the distance.
She looked away after a few minutes of simply basking in the pale light and walked quietly through the house, taking the time to go to the bathroom and wash up, then mend her torn clothes to the best of her… rather poor ability. Onii-sama was much better at it then her or Onee-sama, which was rather amusing. Lastly she changed her bandages again, and as the clock chimed ten times, she made her way into her room, curled up under her few covers and promptly went to sleep.
It was a normal day, it would be one of the last normal days for a while.
"Please… Help me!"
And of course, she would immediately be woken up by the strange voice from the night before, one again asking for help, only this time they were asking for her to help specifically. So immediately upon becoming awake, she threw off her covers, dressed herself in her home clothing, and rushed over to the dojo as quietly as she could so as to not disturb her finally, and quickly ran off in the direction of the voice, towards the veterinarian's office.
Shortly upon arriving in the area she heard a very high-pitched chime that hurt her ears, followed by all the color being muted to grey, except strangely herself, and the ferret that just jumped out the window after a crash… and some black… foggy… thing with antennae came rushing after it, only to hit a tree and get stuck under it. And somehow she found the ferret in her right hand, it felt strangely appropriate to just talk out loud then, "I have no idea what's going on…"
"You came for me?" …Why not have the ferret talking, after the black… thing… she was a bit numb to 'shock'. If such a thing existed, why not a talking animal? Either way, she looked down for a moment, simply stating blankly with a somewhat strained smile, "You talk." before immediately bolting out of the yard around the office and into the streets.
They ran, or she ran with the ferret in hand to be precise, and she repeated what she had first said, with the ferret explaining the situation… somewhat. "You have talent." She looked down and tilted her head in question at the last word, not really wanting to speak and waste energy that would probably be useful to keep for running. It looked up, saw the question in her expression and continued on with whatever explanation was this was.
"I came here from another world, in order to search for a certain something." … That did not help at all to understand what was going on, but she looked up to continue running and not trip herself due to a lapse of concentration. The Ferret continued talking after a pause, hopefully he would actually answer her this time. "But I'm not able to fulfill that goal with my own powers alone."
Was it… asking if she'd take a job for it? "So, I know this will be a burden on you, but I want a person with talent to help me." Yes he was… well, Takamachi never declined a job unless they were already on one. With a start, the ferret started moving in her hands, causing her to stop before it jumped to the ground, turning around on landing and facing her. "I will reward you, I'll make sure to no matter what happens!"
Her smile twitched slightly in amusement, all jobs had a reward proportional to their difficulty, and saying that he would pay her later meant she had the freedom to tell her price when this was over. That was… unexpected. The ferret must be young if he was making that mistake.
With that said, though it was a bit rushed and cryptic, which was somewhat expected given circumstances, her first job would be helping to collect some item or items for a 'magic' ferret. That would be an interesting tale to talk about after all was done regardless of what happened.
Before the ferret had a chance to continue, whatever it was that they were fleeing from somehow flew and crashed directly into the ground in front of them… it's magic, you don't question magic, you can hate it or curse it later, but you never question it. Without any warning the ferret tossed her the jewel around its neck which she caught on instinct, strangely warm and glittering a bright pink, while saying, "Hold it, close your eyes, and open your heart. Repeat after me."
She gave a nod, though quickly became confused as to why the thing hadn't gotten up and attacked them yet… maybe it was stuck like with the tree? Who knew, and now wasn't the time to dwell on such things, two voices rang out softly, one following the other within barely a few seconds between them,
"Grant me power, so that my duty may be done. Sing for the world. Darkness engulfing the deep, Light bathing the sky. Unfurl your wings and take flight. Guide this blade, wielder of Magic and Steel… Razing Heart, wake up!"
And then she was in the center of a pink beam of light that apparently was piercing the clouds above, and both the ferret and thing were shocked, or the thing was still stuck, with the ferret regaining its composure and calling out to her, "Now imagine yourself a weapon to channel your magic, and armor to protect you!" … Umm…
Well… the 'armor' was easy enough to think of, a white kimono with detached red sleeves that went to just above her hands bound together with rope, little blue flowers dotting both with wild abandon, a black hakama dotted with pink flowers and no shoes or sandals. Being without shoes or sandals was impractical, but she enjoyed being without them and frankly, magic should help out. The wand though… oh… who said she needed to make one?
With a quickness a child her age shouldn't have possessed, she half-drew her sword from its sheathe and brought her left hand holding the pulsing jewel directly next to the blade, quickly and firmly forcing the jewel into the metal. Strangely for some reason, the grey steel turned white as the last of the black-red jewel sunk in somehow, the handle turning to pink cloth over a dull gold wood from the original black on brown.
… She would never describe what happened after she inserted the jewel, only saying simply that she changed clothes from what she had been wearing to what she imagined on the spot without any warning or consent. Her eyes took a very hard gleam and her smile almost dropped to a thin line as she turned to the ferret for a moment, said animal freezing the moment he looked at her, before her smile returned after a deep breath in and out.
The thing came out of its daze and tried to pounce on her while she was breathing, but she simply side-stepped it moments before it came down to smash her, with her sword flashing out a bit faster than she was used to. What happened next was … for lack of better word, the thing imploding on itself somehow after a quick and loud shriek of pain that sent pieces of itself flying as shrapnel.
She backed away from where the creature once stood something telling her that it wouldn't die the same way a normal animal or human would, and whatever it was confirmed not only by it reforming, but also by the ferret stating as such. "It's a thought entity, created from one of the items I'm seeking. To stop it you have to seal it inside your weapon."
"How do I seal it?" Her question was asked shortly after the ferret was done explaining, the creature having reformed halfway back to what it had been before it imploded by the time she stopped speaking, her blade having moved to have the hilt by her head, blade pointing downward and edge up.
He, the ferret had sounded like a he so she would refer to him as such unless told otherwise, answered just as quickly as she asked "To use magic at higher levels you have to use spells. To get the spell to work, you need to find an incantation in your heart that resonates with you." She took her time, stilling herself and trusting her instincts to see her through as her eyes closed for the few moments it would take to find her words.
Faintly she heard the thing's roar and the lumbering gait it somehow had despite being without visible legs, her body stepping forward and sword swing out into a block against something, a whisper barely heard but not understood, as she finally found the words she was looking for.
"Ensnare and choke."
She opened her eyes and beheld the thing only a few meters ahead, the remnants of something of it fluttering down in front of her. Her blade came to rest in front of her, and from the little black and red jewel sitting only a few centimeters above the guard came several streamer-like pieces of pink light, that darted through the air towards the thing. When they reached the creature, they twisted around its form and bound it, whereupon she rushed forward with her sword nearly scraping the ground.
Vaguely she saw the roman numeral XXI appear on its forehead, but she paid it no mind, once more stating brightly, "Ensnare and choke." before adding on to it with things she knew she was probably something instinctual within the jewel she was given, "Jewel Seed, Serial 21, Seal!"
The blade came back, and she dashed forward with a speed she knew wasn't hers, slashing horizontally as she passed and hearing the creature roar in pain, then roaring again as something else tore into it. For whatever reason, it felt… 'right' to flick her blade to the side as if something was coating it before turning around to find it simply gone… leaving only something sparkling within the ruptured pavement.
She waited for the ferret to tell her what to do next, which came swiftly "That is a Jewel Seed. Touch it with Razing Heart to seal it." The name he gave for the object seemed appropriate as it did somewhat look like a seed and it glimmered like a jewel. She didn't really do anything for this part, it just… sort of happened automatically. Which was fine thing since she had no idea what she was even supposed to have done during that other than a vague 'touch it with Razing Heart'.
Once the little seed had managed to reach and be absorbed by the jewel in her sword, a machine-like monotone whispered in her ear, calmly stating 'Receipt: No. XXI.' before dying away into silence a moment before she was enveloped again in a layer of pink light. Thankfully it left her with her original clothing when it faded, as well as leaving Razing Heart in her right hand and her sword back to normal in her other, so she sheathed the latter without any further thoughts. "It's over."
It was a statement rather than a question, softly spoken yet loud enough for the ferret to hear, at which point he gave a relieved reply "Yes… all thanks to you. Thank you…", before falling to his side as what she assumed his prior injuries finally caught up. She crouched down to make sure he was alright before she heard sirens starting up… and immediately came to the conclusion that it was time to leave, and leave quickly.
So, after gently picking up the ferret, she bolted from the area, her smile turning smaller and somewhat sheepish as she left when she noticed the damage caused by the creature… and herself… not stopping until the sirens had dulled to almost nothing. She did not want to be thrown in jail for a misunderstanding… somewhat of a misunderstanding, Otou-sama would kill her if she was caught after this, especially since it wasn't even her fault. … Mostly.
She and the ferret found themselves in the middle of the woods in some park by the time the sirens faded away, which one she had no idea since they all looked the same to her, herself only now noticing where they were and letting her smile turn gentle at the sight of so many trees and grass. "I'm sorry." She blinked twice before looking down at the little ferret and giving him a smile as she continued walking through the forest, getting lost somehow wasn't possible for her when it came to forests, so she was free to wander for however long she liked while they talked.
"Did you have a nice nap little ferret? Are you still hurt?" Her first question was answered with a simple nod, while the second was answered by with a simple 'I'm not' and shaking off the bandages to reveal he was physically fine… That ability or 'spell' would be quite nice to have considering how much she tended to get hurt with Otou-sama in practice, she'd have to remember to ask him about it when it came time for payment.
It was probably time to introduce herself to him, given that he was technically her employer since she had accepted his request for help and he promised her payment. That wasn't even mentioning the fact that she was taking him home now in the off-chance there was another thing that went after him, it wouldn't do to get contracted only for the employer to die. "I'm Takamachi Nanoha, my services are yours until the contract is done."
The little ferret blinked once, then twice before shaking his head lightly, probably to clear his head or similar, his response being a simple introduction of "I am Yuuno Scrya." Afterwards he bowed his head and once more gave an apology of "I'm sorry for dragging you into this.", at which point she held him up to look her in the face before tapping him on the forehead and letting out a little laugh.
She didn't give that last part any verbal response, not when she was full of happiness for getting her first job already, simply continuing to wander until she felt it was long enough for them to safely return home. Casually she walked through the dark woods until finally reaching the compound, passing through the gate and entering the lightless home without hesitation, then finally making her way through the three corridors needed back to her room.
Entering the dark room that she called her own, she immediately shed her clothing except for the bandages set around pretty much all of her body besides her forearms, lower legs, and neck before changing into some basic white nightwear. After she was finished, she sat on the edge of her bed, watching as Scrya-san ran around the room trying to find somewhere to sleep himself, before she went back under the covers and let herself sleep for the second time tonight.
Otou-sama said nothing about Scrya-san when he came to collect her the next morning and saw him lying on top of her dresser, even when the latter woke up at the sound of her dressing and saw a few of her scars. Scrya-san hadn't said anything about them, though had look… 'disturbed' by them, even though he likely should have seen them last night, but he'd come along to watch morning training with Otou-sama.
The training started as it always did, with her and Otou-sama each grabbing a bokken and starting at rest before moving on into their routine, Otou-sama following her for once which was somewhat strange compared to their usual, but she paid it no mind, it was just a distraction from her practice.
And then her Otou-sama spoke and she almost stumbled once the words registered, key being almost since she caught herself and kept going, "Was your excursion last night fruitful, Nanoha?"
She said nothing for a moment, thinking over the question before deciding to reply honestly. It was better to confess if Otou-sama knew something, it was less trouble for her and she likely would get some useful piece of advice out of it, Otou-sama had a lot of advice to give from his many jobs. "It was Otou-sama, I retrieved Scrya and killed the creature that wounded him. It looked like a big fox."
Otou-sama simply nodded once as Scrya-san looked over at her strangely, she paid the magic ferret no heed for the moment, she needed her full attention to deal with Otou-sama. Speaking of… she just now noticed something out of place as she looked past Otou-sama, or rather missing from the wall. "I forgot to put it back since I was so tired…"
Once more Otou-sama simply nodded his head, though a small smile was adorning his face as she came to the realization, himself stopping his routine to look over at her as his smile faded back to a thin line, "Are you certain that was the only reason you took the sword?"
At this point she stopped her own set and turned to stare at her Otou-sama, bowing lightly before straightening to her full, very unimposing height, taking a light breath and stating simply, "You told me to never be outside in the dark without a weapon of some kind to protect myself Otou-sama. I just followed your advice and it saved Scrya and myself from the fox."
He gave a light laugh for some reason, something which unnerved her a bit before he clarified the reason for his laughter with a blank voice, "If I didn't know your tells, I wouldn't know better that you were hiding something from me…" For a few moments Otou-sama was silent, which gave her small amount of time to lessen her smile somewhat as she tried to think about what 'tells' she had… She'd need to fix that.
Otou-sama finished his impromptu silence without any actual reaction gracing him, instead simply continuing exactly where he left off. "Very well, I will not pry and should whatever it is need you to take your temporary weapon with you, you have my blessing to take it, so long as you don't get caught."
Her smile grew a tad bit brighter before she ran and hugged her Otou-sama tightly, something he didn't reciprocate, before backing off and putting her practice sword away in its spot. She ran out with a spring in her step, followed shortly by a frantic Scrya-san outside, across the yard with a happy smile and into the house again, through the hallways again and back into her room.
She quickly and efficiently changed out of her current clothing and took a swift shower then put on her school uniform, set her hair into a single side ponytail before putting on new bandages. Upon becoming done with those morning rituals, she moved out of her room to begin her chores with gusto normally absent from her, followed faithfully by the still-frantic Scrya-san trying to keep up.
Scrya-san was very tired by the end of those chores, having run himself ragged trying to keep up., it was slightly amusing, and she didn't keep it out of her smile and she picked him up and headed over to the breakfast table. It took a while for everyone else to arrive, but she spent that time content to bask in her current mood.
Onee-sama was the first to arrive, immediately walking over and commenting on Scrya-san the moment she saw him after arriving, gently picking him up and holding him out to look at him, uncaring for any discomfort she was unintentionally causing. "He's quite cute, Kaa-sama would have loved to hold him. Even if she accidently was too rough." After a little bit longer of holding Scrya-san, Onee-sama put him down on the table, before walking over to the kitchen and started cooking, without anything else said or done.
Otou-sama and Onii-sama both didn't react at all to Scrya-san's presence when they walked in and took their seat, though Onii-sama did look between her still her happy mood and Scrya-san still dazed from Onee-sama for a moment before simply shaking his head. Onii-sama took a moment to look her in the eye and catch her attention before stating, "Nanoha, please make sure to keep your 'ward' well-treated. It would look bad on you to promise to take care of something, only to fail in taking care of it."
She gave a nod of acknowledgment before turning to regard Onee-sama as she placed the meal before them with a gentle smile and took her place at Onii-sama's side. Then with the customary blessing, they began the meal, and it proceeded as normal.
Once again, she was the first one finished and after saying another goodbye, walked along to the bus, calmly listening to Scrya-san explain several things about the Jewel Seeds from the safety of her room as she waited for the bus, examining the little gem he had gifted to her last night as he did. "Jewels Seeds are ancient treasures to my people, named as a set of Lost Logia for the power they contain in them. They were just magic stones at one point, capable of granting wishes for their owners, only in an erratic method."
"Occasionally they'll go berserk on their own, and cause damage to the environment while they search for a new user. In addition, they'll also be accidently used by a random bystander or animal that happens to find them." She didn't say anything in response to that… mostly because she was still trying to grasp how to actually send messages via 'telepathy'. Unsurprisingly the thing was rather hard, especially since the ferret had forgotten to tell her how.
"… I'm sorry for involving you Nanoha. As soon as I get strong enough, I'll return to hunting the rest of the twenty-one and leave you alone." It was a bit… annoying to have him apologize for getting her involved and then try and leave her after she had accepted the contract, well that wouldn't happen. A Takamachi had never failed a job yet in the six centuries they had existed, and she wouldn't be the first because of her employer simply up and leaving to continue on his own.
Thankfully, she thought she could reliably use the 'telepathy' that Scrya-san was using to talk to her, which she immediately tried to cut him off from making another apology, and apparently succeeded in doing if him cutting himself off was an indication. "I won't allow that. The contract is set and until it is fulfilled I will not leave you alone in your task. I won't tarnish our reputation simply because you walked away before the job was finished, Scrya-san."
He didn't give a response to that for a long while, and so she continued on with a last sentence before quieting for a while, "And even if I'm not good right now, you can teach me to use magic as you said you would in payment." He gave a soft agreement before leaving her to her own devices, shortly before the bus proceeded to drive up, and another day of school began without any incident so far.
School went just like it did yesterday, and every other day before then, had gone, she did well in every class besides language, she and Arisa-chan tussled while Suzuka-chan tried to get them to stop unsuccessfully, and they ended school without anything noteworthy.
It took little time for her to return home given no one came this way unless they were leaving town, with her just entering the house before another high-pitched chime sounded through her head, immediately making her run through the halls yet again to her room and enter. Just as fast as she'd entered the room, she made the decision not to change to her other set of clothing in her haste and simply took her katana and Scrya-san with her.
She did wrap the sword in a random piece cloth to hopefully fool others on what it was, it wouldn't do for someone to call the police on her just because she had a sword in her hand. The result was patchwork, but it was the best she could do given the lack of time and resources she had at her disposal, hopefully it would serve her enough this one time before she found something to replace it.
Pretty much she followed Scrya-san to the site of where the Jewel Seed was located, garnering a few looks because of the long object almost her height held in her hands and seemingly chasing after a ferret through the outskirts of town, but thankfully no one saw fit to stop her. The two of them went up a long flight of stone steps leading to… she thought it was a temple… there was torii at the top so she thought it was likely that. What they found at the top of the flight of steps was something that would likely haunt her for a time, and judging by Scry-san's reaction, him as well.
There was a black, wolf-like or panther-like thing with four red eyes, two tusks, two red antler-like growths and two blue orb like growths above its eyes ripping apart a woman's corpse, its muzzle stained red and blood dripping onto the stone. The creature paused in its meal to look at them with murderous intent, growling and starting to ready itself as she untied the cloth from around her sheathe.
As soon as the cloth was off, she drew her sword from its sheathe, and dropped the sheathe to the ground, causing it to clatter against the stones and startle Scrya-san from his stupor as Razing Heart found itself in her hands. "How do I get it to work again?"
A low growl carried over from the creature, a paw moving forward and narrowly avoiding crushing the corpse into paste, its teeth bared as Scrya-san spoke as deathly calm as he could given the situation. "Say the boot up spell, starting at 'I am the one who has been given a mission'." The wolf/panther-like jewel seed began padding forward the moment he finished speaking, continuing to growl with bloody teeth bared before suddenly bolting forward with an unexpected quickness given its size…
She wouldn't have time to say the full spell like before… so she just rammed Razing Heart into her sword and called out the last line in the hope it would work. "Razing Heart, wake up!" Quickly she positioned her rapidly shifting katana in a block, instinct guiding her more than actual thought before she was sent flying by creature down the steps, skidding to a stop just as it leapt from under the torii towards her, vaguely hearing Scrya-san yell something about armor… not the priority currently.
This time she brought up her sword deliberately, watching the beast for a second before side-stepping as fast as she could out of its path, barely managing to avoid one of its claws cutting her shoulder as it passed. A pink light engulfed her for a few seconds before fading, leaving her with her 'armor' as it faded, another side-step made as it tried to jump again, this time though her blade swung out and elicited blood from it, sending it crashing down at her side before it struggled to get back to its feet.
She decided to do something rather… uncalled for as it came close to getting back to its feet, she walked up to the Jewel Seed, reared back her fist and punched it back into the ground. The action hurt far too much to be anywhere remotely effective, but it served as a distraction long enough for her to call the ribbons out again and tangle it.
"Ensnare and choke, Jewel Seed, Serial 16, Seal." Only instead of like last night, she held her blade in reverse and raised it above the creature's head, now sporting the numeral XVI on its forehead, the thing giving a half-hearted growl at its predicament a moment before she plunged the blade through it. The beast went still, then fell limp to the ground as it began to disappear and leave behind the jewel… and a corgi still impaled on her blade whimpering weakly…
Gently she took her blade out of the little thing, moving it a few centimeters to hover over its neck before plunging downwards again, ending the suffering corgi quickly and with as little pain as she could.
She flicked as much of the blood off as she could, not really reacting much beyond her smile being sad, before walking back up the steps to the cloth and scabbard left at the top of the steps next to Scrya-san. Gingerly she picked up the former and wiped the remainder of the liquid off her sword before sheathing it and covering both in the now blood-stained flower-print of white and pink.
Calmly she placed the bundle against her right shoulder and started to leave the area, Scrya-san bounding up her clothing until he reached her shoulder, it would be better not be around when someone eventually found the sight behind her. Knowing how people would overreact, they'd blame her for what happened, and trying to explain 'magic' wouldn't be… a good defense.
A sigh left her for a moment, the ferret looking at her from his place, before she simply shook her head and continued walking calmly down the stairs. A hollow-feeling smile crept into place and stayed there until she returned home, whereupon it became lively again. She'd tell Otou-sama during nightly practice about what had happened, but otherwise she would keep that event to herself, Onee-sama and Onii-sama already worried enough…
Two days later saw her learning… or rather trying to learn how to fly… she had found a second thing she was quite terrible at… Apparently, she was so terrible that Scrya-san was shocked… which made her… somewhat ashamed since it was her thirty-seventh try…
She was a bit bruised and battered, having been thrown into a few trees and been 'exploded' for lack of better word by her failures to fly, thankfully it didn't hurt as much since she had tried to make herself a bit tougher… it somewhat worked? All she did was circulate mana through her body, centered mostly in her skeleton and skin to increase their density and harden respectively, she'd really only know if it worked well when it came time to use it in a fight.
Now the reason she was learning flight… yesterday… yesterday was supposed to be a relaxing day at the pool with Arisa-chan, Suzuka-chan, Suzuka-chan's Onee-chan, Onee-sama, and Onii-sama … instead a Jewel Seed decided to show up and ruin it for them… That Jewel Seed had gained her 'anger' rather easily because of what it had been doing…
She blew up again from the lapse in concentration, Scrya-san twitching as she broke through yet another tree in her failure, needless to say she didn't like that Seed very much, especially since she couldn't hit it properly with her sword due to it being made of water… Quietly she mumbled "Stupid… perverted… Seed…" before getting back up and walking back to where Scrya-san was quietly thinking and muttering to himself. She was quickly becoming frustrated with her lack of progress, so she tried to make the spell in a slightly different manner, only to gain the result of it not happening again… "Isn't there any other spell for flight Scrya-san?"
She looked over in time to see him shake his head lightly, making her turn a little crestfallen before perking up as he clarified a moment later, "That's the Midchildan system's version of the flight spell, however I don't know any of the other systems' version of flight. Your issue with it may stem simply from Flier Fin not being compatible for you. You may have to just make your own at the rate your failing though."
She gave a nod at the last part, from what he had just said and her current failures, it would appear she would be making her own version of flight… She had a feeling this would either go extremely well or she would be hurting for the rest of the day from the result of this… no sense wasting time though.
So first she had to try and visualize what she was wanting, or at the least have a very clear thought of what she wanted as was the case in her currently unnamed defensive spell, since intent and 'wishing' was what made things happen in 'magic'. That was simple enough, just her standing on air was fine, actual flying wasn't that big of a deal to her.
Next was also simple, simply channel mana to what felt like the natural point to make the spell work, the case for this one probably being to let it pool at the soles of her feet. The third and last was to try and make it work… please let this work… and so she jumped up, and immediately felt her feet touch something the moment she should have sunk back to the ground.
Looking down saw her standing on thin air and Scrya-san looking up in shock again, only a barely noticeable ripple appearing from the lowest point of her foot signaling anything that she was standing on… something… probably mana. Her smile brightened at finally being capable of 'flight', before one of her feet failed her in standing while the other tried to compensate… Needless to say she went flying into the upper branches of one tree again.
Well… she should have considered the possibility that both options would happen as well as neither… it was too late to consider seeing as she was now stuck in a tree… The pain from her accident finally set in as she tried to climb out of the tree, a dull ache going through almost all of her body before she got out and hit the ground with a thud. She had the restraint to not let out a groan of pain, instead just getting back up and checking over herself, noticing a few areas that were slowly bruising over through the bandages.
Well, the good news was at the very least she knew how to 'fly'… even if it wasn't fine-tuned just yet, she had the time today to practice this and the other spell she wanted to make, she wasn't needed for anything today except nightly practice much later.
And so went her day, spent refining her 'flight', trying to make a spell to gather mana together in order to strengthen her strikes before moving on to practice her swordsmanship. The only time she stopped was to go eat lunch with Otou-sama, Onee-sama and Onii-sama, which was a nice, calm affair with nothing happening beyond the usual.
Four Seeds were currently sealed, another seventeen to go from what Scrya-san had said and her first job would be complete. Otou-sama would be so proud of her when she told him she had finished a job already and got a practical payment, hopefully Otou-sama would give her another smile and then praise her for doing good.