"nanoha guro" By robblu (https://pastebin.com/u/robblu) URL: https://pastebin.com/VAMdQMB0 Created on: Saturday 22nd of October 2016 02:41:18 PM CDT Retrieved on: Saturday 31 of October 2020 03:24:40 AM UTC At the Takamachi residence on the planet Midchilda, a group of seven were gathered. All were friends who served together in the Time-Space Administration Bureau, and some of its top mages. Although today, they had a different purpose in mind than TSAB business... “Everyone got everything?” Nanoha asked. “You all brought the cards and the... whatever stuff needed?” Fate nodded, lifting the envelope with her name written on the back. “Yes. I’m ready to do this, Nanoha.” “I’m set,” Hayate said. “I’m glad to be doing this with all of you.” “I wouldn’t miss out, Nanoha-san,” Subaru revealed her own envelope. “And I wouldn't want to live without Subaru,” Tia added, brandishing her card. “No way I’m backing down.” Signum simply nodded, pushing her envelope forward. “I’m ready,” Shamal confirmed, placing her letter atop Signum’s. Nanoha put her envelope in the box in the middle of the table, as everyone else followed suit. “OK, everyone remember the rules. One at a time, if you get your own put it back and draw again otherwise you do whatever the card says. If you need someone to help you, you get to pick.” “Simple enough,” Fate said as everyone else nodded, “Why don’t you draw first, Nanoha?” Nanoha smiled. “Good idea, Fate-chan. I came up with this, may as well go first.” After shaking up the box, she reached into it to draw the envelope that would decide her fate. “This one's yours, Hayate-chan.” Nanoha opened the envelope, reading the name on it, then smiled as she saw the contents. “That's definitely something you would dream up.” She placed the card on the table for everyone to read. *** Death via sepukku, nude. One assistant to pleasure you as you disembowel yourself, and a second to decapitate you when you come. “I was hoping you'd be the one to draw that, Nanoha-chan.” Hayate almost squeed as Fate frowned a little; she had been hoping for the very same thing. “Um, thank you.” Nanoha actually blushed a little as she stood up and started undressing. “You're welcome.” Hayate replied with a lecherous smile. “Who're gonna be your assistants?” Nanoha already knew the answer to that. “Fate, will you be the one to pleasure me?” “Of course.” Fate smiled lovingly as she got up, and couldn't help but pull Nanoha into a brief but passionate kiss. “And Subaru-chan, I'd like you to be my second.” Nanoha continued as their lips parted. “Eh? Me?” Subaru's eyes widened in disbelief. “But S-Signum-san is a much better swordswoman and-” “Relax.” Nanoha placed a hand on her student's shoulder. “I have faith in your abilities, Subaru-chan, you can do it.” “Th-thank you, Nanoha-san.” Just like that, Subaru was on the verge of tearing up as she wrapped her arms around her superior and teacher in a grateful hug, and Nanoha returned the gesture for a moment before slowly pulling back. “Then let's get started.” She said, taking off her bra and panties to leave herself completely naked. “Hayate-chan, which one is-” “Here.” The brown-haired girl picked up one of the packages lying in a pile next to the table; everyone had had to bring whatever utensils their chosen method required, but keep them wrapped up as to not spoil the surprise. Hayate opened hers, procuring a dagger she handed to Nanoha, and a katana, which Subaru hesitantly accepted. “Thanks.” Nanoha went to the middle of the living room where they had cleared a large space, and knelt on the floor, Fate following suit right behind her, leaning against her lover's back, while Subaru nervously took position beside her. “This is it. Goodbye, everyone. I hope we'll meet again in the next life.” As Fate reached around Nanoha, one hand caressing her breasts and the other starting to tease her pussy, Nanoha grabbed the knife in both hands, placed it against the side of her stomach and steeled herself – then in one motion drove the blade deep inside her. Nanoha grit her teeth in pain and drew in a sharp breath, but she managed not to scream while Subaru cast her a concerned glance and Fate continued working her clit, the growing pleasure dampening the searing pain just a little as a stream of blood trickled down her belly and began pooling in between her legs. It took Nanoha a few moments to compose herself before gripping the knife once more, bracing herself, and dragging it all the way across, opening up her belly as blood gushed all over her legs and she let out a strained whimper, her eyes tearing up. Nanoha was no stranger to injury and pain in combat, and she'd had her fair share of both, but this easily beat everything she'd ever suffered before. However, as her lover, Fate knew perfectly how to touch Nanoha and continued heedless of the blood splashing around her fingers and even entering Nanoha's pussy. But in fact the thick, hot liquid inside her actually served to yet intensify the sensation and as her pleasure kept growing, Nanoha's breath sped up even as every gasp sent another spike of pain through her abdomen. Everyone else was watching intently, knowing that it would be their turn soon enough. Signum was masking her thoughts behind a pointedly neutral expression, Shamal was clearly sharing Nanoha's pain, as a medic she probably could empathize much better than the others, one hand subconsciously clutched over her own stomach, Tia was visibly concerned, if in actuality more focused on Subaru and the role she was supposed to play, and Hayate was ostensibly enjoying the spectacle, not at all subtly rubbing her crotch through her skirt. Feeling her strength begin to wane from the loss of blood, Nanoha allowed herself to slightly fall backwards into Fate's embrace, who in turn wrapped one arm around her chest, the other doubling its efforts to stimulate Nanoha's most sensitive spot. And she clearly was on the right track, as Nanoha's gasps of pain began shifting to those of pleasure more and more, and before long even through the massive, throbbing pain in her stomach she felt an equally powerful orgasm approaching... Nanoha came, her voice rising as she moaned, all but screamed out in both pain and pleasure, shuddering under the ripples of pleasure as Fate pressed close to her from behind, her other hand still rubbing Nanoha's clit. However after several blissful seconds her climax slowly subsided and Nanoha grimaced in agony as all the pain from her wound came washing back over her. She gingerly pulled away from Fate and leaned forward a little, presenting her neck to Subaru. “S-Subaru-chan... Do it.” “Nanoha... I-” The blue-haired girl hesitated for a moment, but she managed to gather her resolve, gripping the katana in both hands and positioning it right above Nanoha's neck, trying to get a good aim despite her mentor's trembling in pain, try as she might to suppress it, raised the blade, and struck, cleanly decapitating Nanoha. As her head fell to the ground, Nanoha's body started twitching and jerking around, spurting jets of blood all over, including everyone but Fate. Subaru was still in a bit of a daze and didn't quite notice, but Tia and Shamal moved out of the way to avoid getting too much on their clothes, while Signum just stayed stoically unmoving, it wasn't like she hadn't been splattered with blood before, and Hayate seemed almost delighted at the red painting her. Fate noticed Nanoha's head still moving her eyes and picked it up, to find her blinking, focusing on her and trying to say something but only mouthing inaudible words. After a split second's deliberation she brought Nanoha's head closer to hers, giving her a deep kiss, and Nanoha returned the gesture for a few seconds before her final bit of strength vanished and Fate moved her back, just in time to see the life fade from her lover's eyes for good as she mouthed her final words, what could have been a 'love you'. “I love you too, Nanoha. Farewell.” Fate brushed Nanoha's eyes closed and placed her head on the knees of her body, that somehow had actually remained sitting, before getting up, noticing how her stockings were soaked in blood, but it wasn't like that really mattered anymore. “Subaru-chan, come on.” Fate nudged the younger girl who was standing almost perfectly still, the katana still in her hands, trembling slightly. “It's over.” “Yeah, you did well, Subaru.” Tia added, uncharacteristically serene, while Signum just nodded in approval at her technique, the cut had been almost perfect. Seeing as Subaru was visibly fighting back her tears, Fate wrapped both arms around her in a comforting hug, only now realizing her own eyes were filling with tears, too. After a few seconds Subaru relaxed enough to let go of the katana, the blade clattering onto the ground as she returned Fate's hug and they both held each other for several seconds until they had calmed down enough, and Fate led her back to the table to continue. “Why don’t you draw the next card, Subaru-chan?” Fate asked as they took their seats at the table. Subaru blinked. “B... but Nanoha-san was your lover!” she protested. “R-really, you should be the next one who-” “Of course,” Fate replied, “and I look forward to being with her again. But given that you’re the one who actually ended her life, I can only imagine just how you’re feeling right now... You go next, I insist.” After a moment, Subaru nodded. “Al-alright...” She reached into the box and drew out a new envelope – before almost immediately dropping it back in. “Sorry. That one was mine...” And it would be more appropriate towards the end, too. “It’s fine,” Fate said. “Just shake the box up, and try again.” Subaru nodded, shaking the box vigorously to ensure that her envelope was not at the top, before drawing another. “I... I drew Tia’s!” “Then open it already, you dolt,” Tia said, blushing and looking to the side. Subaru giggled. “Alright, alright.” She opened the envelope, and pulled out the card. “Aww, how cute.” she remarked, before letting the others read it. *** Have sex one last time as your partner strangles you to death. “She’s right,” Fate smiled. “It is very cute.” “I-it’s not like I p-personally wanted to do that, at all,” Tia tried to protest. “I- I just thought this would be a good way to die in your lovers’ arms. And I certainly wasn’t hoping Subaru would draw it...” “Oh, Tia...” Subaru said smiling. “I’m glad I drew yours... and I’d be honored if you would be the one to kill me.” Tia blushed. “Well, alright... because it's you asking.” Subaru squeed in joy, hugging Tia for a few seconds and deeply kissing her before shedding what clothes she hadn’t discarded already for being soaked in Nanoha’s blood. Tia let the slightest of smiles cross her face as she took off her own clothes, the two soon completely naked. Subaru went back to the open clearing, laying down beside Nanoha’s body, ignoring the wet bits of blood on the thick carpet staining her back. “Thank you so much for this, Tia.” “Anything for you. I love you so much, Subaru...” Tia whispered as she straddled her lover. Subaru smiled. “I love you, too, Tia.” she said, guiding Tia’s hands to her neck. “Farewell.” That was as good a cue as any. Tia tightly closed both her hands around Subaru's neck, shifted her position until their pussies were touching, and began moving back and forth, rubbing her labia over Subaru's clit. After just a handful of seconds, Subaru's face began turning red and her smile grew a little strained, but she kept moving her hips counterpoint to Tia's, one hand even reaching up to fondle her lover's breasts. All other sounds slowly became slightly muffled, Subaru's vision started dimming at the very edges, and there was an odd pressure inside her head, and she could clearly hear her own heartbeat. Yet all other sensations seemed almost intensified, most of all her pleasure. She had read about people using oxygen deprivation to get high or have better sex, yet she and Tia had never tried it, but it looked like there was something to it after all. Subaru's body was aching for air by now, but she suppressed the urge to struggle, instead focusing on her pleasure and the image of Tia above her, panting and her face flush in arousal, as she hit just the right spot and made Subaru open her mouth into a voiceless gasp that would have been a moan of pure pleasure, had she had any air. After a few more minutes Subaru's head was pounding, her lungs were burning, blackness was swiftly creeping into her vision, but she almost felt her pleasure better than ever – and her orgasm fast approaching. “I- cum...ming...” Barely audible as they were, Tia heard Subaru's words and sped up for one final push – as well as reinforcing her vice grip around Subaru's neck. Just as dark spots began blooming all over her vision, Subaru came, letting out a choked gasp that would have been a loud moan as her climax flooded over her, rhythmically shivering as the waves of ecstasy briefly made her forget her massive pain. But after several long seconds she slowly wound down from what may have been her best orgasm ever, and the hammering in her head and searing pain in her lungs returned, and Subaru's eyes suddenly filled with tears as the more base part of her started to panic, but she forced it down; this was what she wanted, to die in the arms of her lover, to fully submit her life to her. Instead she focused on Tia, and how they would be together again soon enough, and as the blackness closed around her mind for good, Subaru found the strength to mouth a final 'farewell' to Tia, before everything went dar The moment Subaru went limp, her eyes rolling back, and that final 'farewell' was enough to send Tia over the edge too, and she came, bucking and moaning over her lover's body, until the pleasure filling her mind slowly subsided and, sapped of all strength, she let herself fall forwards onto Subaru. Embracing her lifeless body and giving her one final kiss, Tia's own eyes were filling with tears too. Farewell, I'll be with you soon. After cooling down for a few seconds longer and – not very successfully – trying to wipe away her tears, Tia returned to the table, not even bothering to put on clothes, the others had just seen her have sex, what did it matter if she showed her tits a bit longer. “A-alright, who's next?” she asked, her shaky voice betraying the cool facade she was trying to maintain. “You can draw next if you'd like to, Tia-chan,” Fate said with a smile. “A-are you sure? It’s not like I want to go next, or anything... And you’re already keeping Nanoha-san waiting.” “I am sure,” Fate replied. “Even if we all agreed to this beforehand, I think I can understand how you must be feeling. So I... I can wait a little longer.” “Then... thank you, Fate-san.” Tia smiled, drawing the next envelope, then silently reading the name over and over. “Well?” Fate finally asked. “Which one did you draw?” “I drew... Nanoha-san’s...” Tia replied, causing Fate’s face to fall in slight sorrow at neither her nor Nanoha drawing each other’s cards. “I- I can put it back if you want...” “No,” Fate shook her head. “I would have liked to have Nanoha draw my card just like Subaru-chan drew yours, or failing that, me drawing hers... But rules are rules, and I’m- I’ll be alright. Go ahead and open it.” “Fate-san... thank you.” Tia half whispered, opening the envelope and pulling out the card. “You know,” she said after reading it, “This... this actually seems fitting.” *** Death by suspension hanging. “You’re right, it does, in a way,” Hayate remarked. “You killed Subaru-chan via strangulation and now you get to die in a similar fashion.” She smiled. “Mind if I assist you with this one?” “I-if you want, Hayate-san...” “Great!” Hayate cheered, and almost jumping up, went to grab Nanoha's package and unwrap it, revealing a rope with a hangman's noose already tied. “Well, we should get set up. “Right,” Tia followed Hayate back to the center of the room, Hayate using a little magic to thread the rope through a hook in the ceiling. After a few moments, it was at the proper height, and Tia stepped forward, slipping it around her neck. “Would you like your hands bound or unbound?” Hayate asked as she pulled the noose tight. “Unbound,” Tia replied instantly. “Subaru died with the chance to struggle against her fate, no matter how futile.” Even if she didn't make much use of it. “I would like the same...” “Alright,” Hayate gripped the loose end of the rope. “Are you ready?” “I am...” Tia replied. “P-please begin, Hayate-san.” “Then up you go.” Hayate started pulling at the rope, and after a moment the noose started pressing against Tia's neck, forcing her onto her tiptoes until even that wasn't enough, and as Hayate leaned into the rope with her full weight, Tia was lifted off the ground for good. At the sudden pressure in her neck, she let out an involuntary gasp, but resisted the reflex to try to loosen the rope, it would be pointless anyways, and instead tried to relax best as she could, hoping to hasten her death. Meanwhile Hayate was having an entirely different issue, her knuckles white and her palms sweaty from clutching the rope. “This is... much harder than I thought,” she panted. “Signum, would you... mind taking over?” “Of course, Mistress.“ Signum walked over to Hayate and took the rope, wrapping the end around her right hand a few times before turning slightly sideways to adjust her position, easily holding Tia airborne. “Thanks, Signum.” Hayate flexed her hands and rubbed her palms a few times. “This was much tougher than I expected. ...Not that I'm saying you're heavy or anything,” She hurried to add as Tia just gave her a – somewhat strained – smile as if to say 'it's okay' “It's just that I'm not all that strong.” By now Tia's face was turning red and despite her best efforts she couldn't suppress her legs lightly starting to kick as she was swaying in the air, and the image reminded Hayate of another good reason to have her hands free. After what the others had already done, it wasn't like propriety or whatever even mattered, and Hayate had never been shy about this around her friends anyways. Discarding her jacket to leave her in a plain white shirt, Hayate sat on the ground in front of Tia, one hand reaching under her skirt – which she wasn't wearing any underwear under – to find her pussy predictably wet and starting to finger herself, the other hand rubbing her breasts through the thin fabric of her shirt. This rather blatant display made Fate almost unconsciously start rubbing herself through her skirt too, seeing as this was the method Nanoha had come up with, maybe intended for her, and how Tia's pussy had ended up at almost the perfect height to lick it, something Nanoha most certainly would have done for Fate. But Fate didn't quite dare to step in and do the same thing to Tia as a twinge of sadness hit her, but she pushed it aside; everything was only up to random chance, no point complaining about it, what mattered was the end result anyways. The least she could do was stop moping around and pay attention to Tia's demise, and so Fate did, even if she did not stop her fingers from moving, secretly hoping to get a chance at relief before her death too. A relief Hayate was quickly headed towards to, if her rising voice and flushed face were any indication, supporting herself on one hand as she leaned backwards to get a better view of Tia's struggles, the orange-haired girl's self-control broken as she was wildly kicking and flailing about, desperately reaching for any kind of reprieve she would never get. Tia's head was pounding, her neck was burning where the rope cut into her flesh, her lungs were on fire and there was an odd stinging feeling all over her body, and Tia wondered if Subaru had felt like this in her last moments too. In which case it was only fitting for her to endure the same. Regardless of the finer points of karmic balance, at this point Tia wanted nothing but for the pain to end, by now only vaguely aware of her legs still pointlessly thrashing, her hands clawing at the rope only to leave bloody marks on her neck, and bits of saliva gathering in front of her lips amidst choked gasps before dripping onto her bare chest. Yet it took another small eternity, which much more likely was but a minute, of agony until Tia finally felt blackness encroaching her vision and her consciousness. Subaru... Wait for me, I'm coming to join you... And then everything faded. Tia's struggles had been slowly weakening for a while now, and Hayate getting closer to her climax at the same time, as she finally went limp with one final drawn-out rattle. When only moments later her body twitched once more, releasing her bladder as a trickle of urine ran down her legs before dripping onto the carpet, the scene was enough to make Hayate come, closing her eyes and arching her back as she announced her orgasm with a series of loud moans, lasting for several seconds before winding down, panting. As Hayate slowly composed herself and Signum let down Tia's body, gently placing it right next to Subaru's before returning to the table, Fate found her panties were noticeably wet from the show just now, and she more than ever hoped she was going to get that same opportunity before her death. With a smile, Hayate sighed contently as she retook her seat at the table. “That was fun.” “I'm glad you’re enjoying yourself, Hayate-chan,” Fate said with a smile of her own. “Do you want to go next, or-?” “You can go next, Fate-chan. You’ve waited long enough, go ahead and join Nanoha-chan.” Fate smiled, blushing a little. “Th... thank you, Hayate-chan.” “No need to thank me,” Hayate waved it off. “Just go ahead and draw.” Fate nodded, drawing the card, before her blush deepened. “I... I drew mine...” .Hayate giggled. “Just draw the next one in there, before you put yours back. I’d like to go after you, and would love to die with the method you suggested.” Fate nodded, drawing the next envelope before returning hers. “I got Signum’s this time.” Signum nodded. “Go ahead, Testarossa.” Fate smiled, opening the envelope. “...Definitely something you would suggest,” she remarked after reading it, placing the card down. *** Decapitation by sword. Laevatein can be provided for use if desired. “She’s right, Signum,” Hayate chuckled. “It’s very you. It also fits for Fate-chan’s death, considering how Nanoha-chan died.” Fate nodded. “You’re right, it does. And I... think it’s only fitting that Signum be the one to kill me.” Signum nodded, standing up. “Very well, Testarossa,” she said, taking hold of the pendant around her neck. “Laevatein?” “Jawohl!” Signum’s Device activated, taking the form of the longsword that she had used for centuries in combat, ready to take one final life. “Um...” Fate started as she got up “I know it's not on the card, but would you mind if I- ...if Hayate did the same for me I... um, did for Nanoha?” “I was almost hoping you'd ask that.” Hayate giggled. “I totally saw what you did during Tia's hanging too.” At that, Fate blushed a little, as Hayate continued. “Of course we don't mind. Right, Signum?” “If that is your wish.” “Perfect. Then let's get started, Fate-chan. You gotta undress of course.” “Of course.” Fate echoed her with a slightly dubious tone and started stripping as Hayate watched the scene with a thoughtful expression before she perked up. “Oh, I know! Signum, why don't you take off your top too?” “Why?” “Because it's much hotter that way, duh.” “That... If you say so, Mistress.” Briefly placing Laevatein on the table, Signum took off her jacket, shirt and deep red bra, while Hayate followed suit, pulling off her shirt to leave her breasts completely bare too – and eyeing Signum's slightly larger ones with the smallest hint of envy. Fate actually found herself getting wet again, both from the scene in front of her and the undeserved attention she was getting, as Hayate took her hand to lead her to the low coffee table they had moved to the side of the room. “Here. Kneel down and put the back of your head on the table.” “Hm? What for?” “Well, I need to get to your pussy somehow, don't I? And having an exact repeat of Nanoha would just be bo~oring. You can work with that, Signum, right?” “Of course.” “Alright, then.” Truth be told, Fate had to admit she did prefer seeing the face of her one-time rival and now chosen killer until the very last moment, so she did as Hayate had told her, leaning back and spreading her legs a little to give her access to her pussy. “I'm ready.” Signum took position next to her, Laevatein at the ready, but Fate could only barely make out Hayate's movements at the edge of her vision. But to her surprise, instead of her – admittedly very skillful – fingers, she felt Hayate's hot breath on her pussy before her tongue followed suit, slowly running up the length of her labia before before briefly teasing her clit, already eliciting a loud moan from Fate. Thanks to the work she'd already done on herself, and Hayate's expert technique, gentle and caressing, but with just the right amount of force if called for, Fate's breath very quickly turned to gasps of pleasure, her cheeks hot and red, and she could have sworn she saw Signum rubbing her thighs against each other in a very suspicious fashion too, but surely that had just been imagination, right? Soon enough Fate was closing her eyes, focusing purely on the feeling of Hayate's tongue and lips on her pussy as she felt her climax approaching. “Ah- Hayate-chan... I'm cumming...” However instead of going for the finish, Hayate briefly paused “That's it. Signum, do it!” “Yes.” Wait, what? Fate opened her eyes just in time to see Signum take aim and strike, her breasts rather beautifully following the motion of her body a split second later, and then Laevatein hit her and there was a brief, sharp pain in her neck, then her body went numb as Fate's vision rolled to the side, getting a good view of the other three bodies already gathered in the middle of the room. Suddenly she started moving as Hayate picked up her head and before Fate could protest she hadn't quite finished yet, held her face close to her own pussy. “Fate-chan, you just have the unique opportunity to eat yourself out, hurry.” She wasn't actually wrong there. Fate traced her tongue over her completely drenched pussy, noticing her own taste. Nanoha had told her she tasted very sweet, but Fate had never dared to try; but now it turned out her girlfriend had been perfectly right. She had been so close to the edge before, it took Fate but a few seconds of licking her clit before her body did hit an orgasm, clenching and bucking as it came, her pussy squirting all over her face. “Wow, that's so hot.” Hayate turned Fate's head around and lifted it to give her a deep kiss, savoring the sweet taste on her lips, before placing it down atop her body's pussy. “Farewell, Fate-chan.” And as Fate felt her consciousness begin to slip she managed to form one final thought. I'm coming, Nanoha. Signum and Hayate took their seats at the table again, both somewhat splashed with Fate's blood. “Ah, that was good,” Hayate grinned. “I... I guess it’s my turn now.” “Well, don’t keep us waiting, Mistress,” Signum said. “Let us see what Testarossa wrote down.” “Yeah... let’s,” Hayate nodded, drawing the envelope, confirming Fate’s name on it, and tearing it open to get at the card inside. *** Vivisection, with your killer presenting your still beating heart to you. “That’s fairly unusual... but it does seem romantic,” Signum remarked. “Yeah, it does,” Hayate replied. “I can almost imagine Fate doing that to Nanoha...” she smiled. “Which of us do you want to kill you, Mistress Hayate?” Shamal asked. “I’d like Signum to do it,” Hayate answered after a moment's deliberation, beginning to take off her skirt and thighs. “You can talk her through it if there's any problems.” “Very well,” Signum replied, retrieving Fate’s package from the pile and unwrapping the scalpel within– and a device that looked not unlike an electric drill, but with a short saw blade instead of the drill bit. “...What's that?” Signum presented the device to Shamal with a quizzical expression, who only briefly had to inspect it. “That's a sternal saw. Fate-chan really did her research, I wonder where she got this from.” “Probably the internet.” Hayate giggled, completely undressed by now. “I'm ready, now what?” “You should lie on the table,” Shamal said “There's only two cards left, and one of them is mine, so we there's no need for a real drawing anymore, Signum has to take mine and I get whoever is left.” “Subaru-chan's.” Hayate took the remaining two envelopes, handing Signum and Shamal their respective ones. “But no opening yet.” She added as she laid down on the empty table. “Now come on, let's go.” Signum eyed her Mistress' body – free of desire, purely professional. She knew perfectly well how to strike one's heart with a variety of weapons, which included knives not too unlike the scalpel she was holding right now, but removing the heart intact... “What do I do, Shamal?” “Well,” the medic briefly paused to think “This isn't really an operation in the closer sense, and we don't have a lot of the tools we'd need, but I think the start is the same. Just make an incision along Mistress' sternum, the entire length, if not a little more.” Signum nodded, visualizing the cut and tracing the line with her finger, then placed the scalpel and in one measured motion pushed the blade into Hayate's flesh and pulled it downwards all the way to her solar plexus, the cut opening not only the skin but also the fatty layer beneath and the wound gaping wide open to give a relatively clear view of her sternum. The scalpel was sharp enough for Hayate to first only feel a tugging sensation on her chest before the full extent of the pain hit her and she drew in a sharp breath, her eyes tearing up. This was definitely way up there for painful deaths, and the worst probably was yet to come, that saw looked scary. “Use the saw. Normally this part requires a lot of precision, but in this case just cut through the entire bone.” With a nod Signum took the sternal saw, though with the blood gathering in Hayate's wound, it took a moment for her to find the proper placement for the sawblade and angle it just right before activating it. Hayate screamed. While she wasn't above suffering a bit of pain for her pleasure, that cut had already been treading the line, but this was far and beyond anything she even could have imagined, so as the jagged metal mercilessly ate through her bone, Hayate just screamed out her excruciating pain at the top of her lungs – until Signum finished cutting, completely parting her sternum, and Hayate's scream died off into a low gasp. “Without the pressure around her lungs she's going to asphyxiate within minutes, so you’d better hurry.” Shamal prompted Signum, leaning forward to get a better look. “You need to cut the pericardium and all of these vessels to take out the heart.” She indicated a set of five large blood vessels surrounding Hayate's heart. Oddly transfixed by the beating of her mistress' heart, Signum had to blink a few times to regain her focus and get back to the task at hand, expertly cutting where Shamal had shown her, even as every vessel she cut produced another massive gush of blood and Hayate winced and shuddered at Signum's very literal intrusion inside her. There. That was the last one. It only took Signum a little pulling until with a squishy sound the organ came loose and suddenly she was holding Hayate's heart in her hand, in fact still rhythmically beating, even if there were only small drops of blood left for it to splash around. Even through the massive pain in her chest, Hayate could clearly feel the hole inside her, the sensation of something missing, as her heartbeat seemed to stop. Gathering what strength she had left, Hayate raised her head to see Signum holding her heart and showing it to her; it somehow looked bigger than Hayate had expected, and not at all like she imagined a heart, but much more bloody and gross. She weakly reached out to touch it, and found it was just as squishy as it looked, but still pulsing with the last bits of life it had left, the pattern somehow perfectly recognizable to her as her own heartbeat. Cool. However she also felt blackness quickly closing in on her mind, and Hayate managed to give Signum and Shamal one last smile and mouth a 'Thanks. Farewell' before her last bit of strength left her and everything faded to white. As Hayate's hand dropped down and she went limp for good, Signum brushed her mistress' eyes closed and placed her heart on her chest, before turning to Shamal. “I suppose I should go next.” “That works. I know for a fact my method will require an assistant, let's just hope Subaru-chan's is something that can be done alone, or I'll have to be a little creative.” If she absolutely had to, she would just go with hanging too, but she'd much rather Subaru's idea not be left out. “I see.” Signum opened the envelope and of course didn't have to show it to Shamal, who obviously knew what she'd written. *** Strangulation by Klarer Wind Shamal blushed a little as Signum set the card down. “I never actually used Klarer Wind to take a life this directly, even back during our time with the Book.” she said. “So I... part of me felt I should do it at least once before...” She trailed off as Signum just nodded. “Very well. And what better victim than me, in fact.” She stepped into the middle of the room before turning towards Shamal. “Do it.” With a nod Shamal activated her Device, the crystals separating from the rings and drawing strings of energy between them as Klarer Wind took its Pendelform, and it took but a flick of her wrist to send the crystals flying, arcing around Signum once, twice, before returning as the threads of energy pulled taut around her neck. Signum knew the strings were just energy, and they felt appropriately warm and slightly buzzing on her skin, but the pressure on her throat was very much solid nonetheless and made her gasp in surprise. Over the years Signum had gathered some experience on choking and strangulation, both on the giving and receiving end, and she had seen Shamal fight before, so she knew for a fact any kind of resistance would be pointless anyways. So she did her best to remain calm, even as the pressure in her head seemed to increase and she began distinctly hearing her own heartbeat, maintaining her stoic facade as Shamal's expression slowly became more and more concerned. Even as Signum tried to keep her cool, her face was completely red and her eyes becoming bloodshot, and Shamal could see the small telltale twitches that told her Signum wouldn't be able to keep it up much longer and either start struggling, reflexively attack her, or both. And true enough, just a little later Signum was visibly straining to keep her composure, clenching her hands and gritting her teeth. But before long the pain was too much and as her vision started to fade around the edges, Signum couldn't help but reach for Laevatein around her neck – only to find that after decapitating Fate she had returned it to a pendant and then left it on the table, way out of her reach. Yet when Signum suddenly moved and stepped towards her, Shamal quickly stepped back and with a motion of her hand further tightened Klarer Wind's strings, and the red-haired woman stumbled and fell to her knees with a strangled sound. Against her better knowledge, moments later Signum's base instincts kicked in and she started gasping for breath and futilely clawing at the strings around her neck yet only succeeding in digging her nails into her own flesh, desperate for any bit of oxygen she could get as her vision started swimming, black spots appearing all over it, and her entire body burning for air. Through the haze and pain Signum heard Shamal's voice, low and muffled as if through a cloud of cotton “It will be over soon, Signum. Just give in.” As Klarer Wind increased the pressure around her neck once more, in her final moments Signum managed to call upon all of her discipline and force her body to stop fighting, sitting in an almost dignified position and looking up to Shamal with a thankful expression before all faded to white. As Shamal eased Signum’s body to the floor, she looked at the envelope holding the last card. Her card. No need to get back to the table to open it. *** Death by poison “Oh, my.” That was not something she had expected. Taking the last package from the floor, she opened it to find a small vial with a clear liquid in it, and opened it to carefully smell the contents, the vaguely but not-quite almond-like smell giving her a pretty clear hint to their nature. “Subaru really did her research on that one.” A lot of poisons would take hours or days to kill, but not this one; unless she was greatly mistaken, Shamal was in for an equally fast and painful death via what was commonly called 'internal asphyxiation'. “Oh well.” There wasn't really anything else to do, was there? After thinking for a moment, Shamal just sat on the floor cross-legged, brought the vial to her lips, and swallowed. The liquid was extremely bitter and she shuddered at the taste, but at first nothing else happened. Of course it didn't, the poison needed time to take effect, this didn't work like it did on television, so Shamal waited. It took mere minutes before her face and chests started feeling hot, and when Shamal wiped the sweat off her forehead with her sleeve and opened her jacket, she also realized her breath had been slowly speeding up without her noticing, and by now she was on the border of hyperventilating. Shamal was starting to feel quite lightheaded too, and even though she was already sitting a sudden wave of vertigo hit her and she had to lean forward, supporting herself on her hands to not fall over. She kept gasping for air, but to no avail, her chest was beginning to burn and splitting pain grew inside her head; Shamal knew that by now the poison was taking full effect and it would be over within minutes, so there was no point in fighting it, but she didn't have Signum's caliber of discipline, so she couldn't help her body continuing its futile struggle for air – although, technically she got all the air she could need, her body just couldn't make use of the oxygen. Suddenly her arms gave way and Shamal doubled over with a retching sound as she fully lost control and her body started shuddering and convulsing, foam gathering at her mouth between coughs and her hands reflexively reaching for her neck. A little later a spreading warm wetness between her legs told her she had soiled herself too; at least she was somewhat lucky that none of her friends were still alive to see this undignified display. As her agony continued minute over minute, her body completely out of her control, Shamal wished for nothing but her pain to end, and when she finally felt her strength wane and her vision close in, she welcomed the relief, embracing the nothingness At the Takamachi residence on the planet Midchilda, seven bodies were gathered.