"So that's the situation…" Lindy said, eyes closed. "Why did you two go off on your own? You should have taken Arf along for protection," she said, her tone disapproving and chastising.
"We had a guard, of sorts. We were accompanied by a ninja," Nanoha said, though her wince at the start of her second sentence wasn't very safety-inspiring. "Besides, the ninja police keeps people safe."
"Ninja… police?" someone asked.
"Magic Ninja Police," Fate supplied.
"That is the coolest thing I've ever heard in my life," the same voice said.
"Regardless," Lindy interrupted, "I believe we can make your situation a little… better. My negotiations with Jiraiya have been more than succesful. He is a very reasonable man," she said, frowning a little, almost as if refusing to pay a higher compliment for some reason, "and has seen our side of the situation. He will be going to Konoha to speak with their leader soon. If all goes well, we may be able to solve this situation."
Nanoha nodded. "Thank you for your hard work," she said.
"I should be saying that to you," Lindy replied. "Oh, and don't worry. I will inform Chrono and Arf."
"Thank you, again. We'll be spending the night here, so…"
"Yes, yes, we will cancel your hotel bills," Lindy said.
"You know, if you just wanted to have a slumber party, you could have asked," a new voice stated, entering the conversation. "Too bad you're still too young for my kind of slumber party. I can already tell you two are going to be beautiful in a few years… Anyway, you two go and sleep tight for the night."
"Yes, Jiraiya-san," Nanoha said. "Good night, everyone!" she added, echoed by Fate and then a general chorus from the ship's side, before the conversation ended.
Fate sighed. "That went a lot better than I thought it would," she admitted. "Anyway, we're done," she said, looking at the two who were waiting in the shadows.
Vita and Zafira nodded.
"I'll take you two to a pair of guest rooms… or do you prefer sharing?" he asked. "The beds should be big enough…"
Fate blushed, but Nanoha didn't even think for a moment before choosing to share a single room.
***
Naruko smiled. "Hiya, pretty lady!" she said, grinning eagerly as she was greeted by a now fairly familiar sight.
"Hello, my beloved mistress," the pretty lady replied, opening her arms wide.
It didn't take long for Naruko to jump into her arms. She was the most comfortable seat in the vast void of nothingness. Admittedly, she was the only seat, but Naruko wasn't one to sweat the small stuff.
"Have you thought of a name yet?" the woman asked.
"Not yet," Naruko admitted. "It's pretty hard! And I haven't had any time to do it, since I've been unconscious a lot and all. But it's okay, I'm sure I'll come up with something properly cool for you!"
The woman giggled. "Any name you choose to give me is fine. It will be your gift to me, and I will treasure it all the same," she said.
"No, that's not right! It has to be something that fits! Otherwise, it's no good at all," Naruko said, nodding as if signalling the end of that thread of conversation.
"How have you been lately?" the pretty lady asked, adjusting Naruko so she rested comfortably against her chest.
"I had lots of fun!" Naruko commented. "I made two new friends today! Their names are Nanoha and Fate!" she said, happily.
"Oh, really? What are they like?" she asked.
"They're both really nice! They're new to the city, and have probably never seen a ninja vilage in like, ever. Anyway, they're both mages! How cool is that?" Naruko asked, gesturing wildly with her hands, squirming in her woman shaped seat.
"Mages?" the pretty lady asked, tilting her head.
"Yep! They can do magic! They showed me and everything! I bet that they're very strong with their deceives!" Naruko said, nodding her head and stroking her chin.
"Devices," the pretty lady corrected. "And… you've been pretty confused, right?"
"Actually, yes! How did you know?" Naruko asked, clearly shocked.
"I have my ways," she replied, chuckling.
"Do you know what's happening then? Why I know so much stuff that I didn't before? And… do you know how I do that flying thing?" she asked.
"As a matter of fact, I do," the pretty lady replied, patting her head. "You see, my beloved mistress, those are all things that I, and by extension, you, can do. Because we are connected," she explained.
Naruko tilted her head. "Connected? How?"
"It's really long and tedious to explain… and it's not really all that important," the pretty lady said. "But you know who I am, so it should be pretty self explanatory to you."
"Right, right," Naruko said, shaking her head.
"Anyway, don't worry about it for now. For now, all you need to do is rest and relax so you can recover, okay?" the pretty lady said. "If you don't, you'll worry everyone…"
"I know, that's why I'm trying not to make trouble!" Naruko said, shaking her head. "Oh, but, I'm being rude! How have YOU been, pretty lady? How do you spend your time anyway?"
The pretty lady giggled a bit. "I've been… sad and happy, I guess, since I was watching you."
Naruko blinked, her confusion clear. "How can you be sad and happy at the same time?" she asked, tilting her head.
"Well, I'm happy when I watch you, because you're my beloved mistress," the pretty lady explained. "Even… even though we took away your dream, you've been so kind to all of us… I can never repay you, for everything you've done for us, and yet… I'm sad, because it's because of me that you've been in so much pain… it's because of me that you've lost your dream…"
"What? What dream?" Naruko asked, seemingly confused.
"It's because of me… you can never be a ninja because of me, Naruko. Something happened when the link was first stablished, and… your chakra coils were destroyed then. It's because of that…"
"Oh. That," Naruko said, shrugging. "Who even needs to be Hokage anyway? I've got what I've always wanted… I don't need anything else," Naruko said, bringing a hand up to pat the pretty lady's head. "So stop thinking about that stuff, okay?"
"But… my mistress, I—"
"Don't…" Naruko said, shaking her head. "You have nothing to apologize for… You've given me what I've always wanted. You've given me a family. You've made me happy… truly happy… That's why I don't mind…" Naruko blinked. "Huh… why are you crying? Are you sad again?"
"No… not at all, my mistress. I'm crying because I'm happy. I'm happy that you are happy."
Naruko was confused. "Eh? You can be sad and happy and you can cry from happiness… you're weird," Naruko said, almost as if she'd come upon some life changing conclusion.