It was morning at the Takamachi residence. Nanoha woke up, opened the curtains to let in the light, and took a bath. With the help of their housekeeper, Aina Triton, she prepared breakfast for herself and Vivio. Fate was currently staying at Nanoha's house, though she was away on a sailing mission with Chrono as an enforcer; she would only return once the ship was docked for maintenance.
"Vivio, breakfast is ready!" Nanoha called out.
"Coming!" Vivio responded.
Vivio sat down to enjoy her favorite meal: an omurice that Nanoha had prepared just for her, reminiscent of the first time they had met. After finishing their meal together, Vivio headed to school while Nanoha made her way to TSAB Headquarters. At the entrance, Nanoha spotted Arc. Even though he no longer stayed in the dorms, he was there as usual, wearing a Navy uniform provided by Hayate.
Arc was finally no longer wearing a helmet. Instead, he wore a special custom visor designed by Shario and Mariel. While his new look drew curious glances from those who didn't recognize him, Nanoha approached him warmly, as their morning meetings had become a routine.
"Morning, Arc-kun," Nanoha greeted him cheerfully.
"Nanoha-san, good morning," Arc replied, and they began to walk together.
"So, you're wearing a visor now," Nanoha noted. "What happened to your helmet?".
"I just want people to know that I'm human, Nanoha-san, not a robot from Daranza," Arc explained. "That's why I asked Shario and Mariel to make this visor, though it still becomes a full helmet when I'm in Barrier Jacket mode".
"I see. It looks good on you," Nanoha said. "And you know, even though you aren't in the dorms anymore, I'm glad I can still meet you at the usual time".
"It's all thanks to Schera," Arc admitted. "She's the one who wakes me up, makes me breakfast, and prepares my uniform".
"So, what kind of breakfast did you have before moving to your parents' house?" Nanoha asked curiously.
"Protein bars. I used to eat those every morning," Arc replied.
"Eh? Don't you get tired of eating protein bars for breakfast?" Nanoha asked.
"Sometimes," Arc confessed. "That was back when I first started changing my identity to Archibald Enzo. But now, Schera ensures I have a proper meal in the morning".
"I see. Ah, I just remembered—can I borrow you for a second?" Nanoha asked.
Nanoha took Arc to her office and explained that she wanted to borrow him as a special instructor for her cadets starting today. Vita had already discussed the idea with Nanoha, and Arc agreed to the role since he had no investigation duties at the moment. However, he noted that he needed to inform the investigation staff about his new look first, before everyone started wondering who he was.
When Arc returned to the investigation room, the staff looked on in confusion until Signum and Shamal approached him. The personnel were in disbelief that the man who always wore a full helmet had switched to a visor that revealed his hair and mouth.
Later, at the training ground, the cadets were practicing "wall acts" under Vita's supervision. Nanoha arrived with Arc to help push the cadets' skills and performance.
"Vita, I've brought Arc here," Nanoha said as they approached.
"So, Arc really agreed to be an instructor for a day," Vita remarked, looking at them. "And it's unusual to see you wearing a visor".
"I just want people to know I'm not a robot from Daranza—that I'm human," Arc repeated.
"Anyway, he has agreed to be a special instructor," Nanoha added. "This time, we need to be strict with our lessons".
Vita then turned to Arc. "By the way, Kai, you should consider choosing one name. Sometimes it's Arc, sometimes it's Kai—it's confusing. It reminds me of the first time I met Nanoha as a little girl; I couldn't spell her name right either". Nanoha giggled nervously at the memory.
"I can't help it, Vita-san. General Lindy ordered it anyway," Arc explained. "Here's the easy way to remember: I'm Arc when I'm on duty, and Kai when I'm off duty".
Nanoha formally introduced him to the cadets as Archibald Enzo, or "Arc," their special instructor. She explained that he was a human from Earth, not a robot, and was the only member allowed to wear a visor due to facial injuries and partial blindness sustained during a mission. Nanoha added these details to the truth to prevent other members from becoming jealous of his custom gear.
Training with Arc was far more intense than the comedic style of Renjou. In his "Arc" persona, he exerted total pressure on the cadets, acting like a true opponent. The exercise was a simulated terrorist attack: Arc played the terrorist, and the cadets had to hunt him down while Nanoha and Vita observed and gave instructions.
Using his stealth abilities, Arc easily tricked the cadets, who attacked recklessly. Even when Nanoha gave instructions on how to trap him, the cadets fell for Arc's clones and were taken down by the real Kai. Despite this, they showed more improvement than ever before. The training continued until nearly lunch.
"Good work, everyone. It's almost lunchtime. Go change your uniforms," Nanoha commanded.
"Thank you very much, Instructor Nanoha!" the cadets shouted in unison.
As the cadets headed to the dorms, Nanoha landed near Arc and Vita. Everyone deactivated their Barrier Jackets and returned to their normal uniforms.
"Good work, Arc. Having you as an instructor wasn't a bad decision after all," Nanoha said.
"Great job," Raising Heart chimed in.
"Those newbies have a lot to learn, Nanoha-san," Arc said. "They were too naive, chasing me down recklessly. I took them down without breaking a sweat".
"They would be killed in real combat if they stayed that reckless," Raging Brando added.
"You're right," Vita agreed. "Some of them are as reckless as Teana was back when she and Subaru faced Nanoha in Riot Force 6, right before Signum punched her".
"I'm just glad Teana learned to control herself after the JS Incident. Now she's an enforcer with Fate," Nanoha remarked.
"Let's head to the mess hall. I'm starving," Vita said, leading the way.
In the mess hall, Arc sat in the corner as was his habit. However, instead of being alone, Nanoha and Vita sat with him. Nanoha was grateful for the progress the cadets had made, but she wasn't satisfied with having Arc for just one day. She asked to borrow him for a week or even a month, and Arc agreed, noting that his current non-Adamatron investigations could be handled by others.
After lunch, Arc returned to the investigation room, while Nanoha and Vita went to the office to prepare materials for the next training session. Nanoha also sent the instructor materials to Arc.
Meanwhile, in the helicopter garage, Signum was chatting with Vice and Alto about Kai. They discussed how he had used the Archibald Enzo alias to hide his identity from Hayate.
"It's good to know that Archibald Enzo is actually Izumi Kai. Your curiosity was right all along, Nee-san," Vice said.
"To be honest, I was afraid to talk to him at first," Alto admitted. "He was so quiet when he was with Captain Vita and Captain Nanoha".
"That's just his personality," Signum explained. "Hayate helped him change for the better during Riot Force 6, at least until the JS Incident hit him so hard".
"I saw him during that last mission when he went berserk and attacked you, Nee-san," Vice recalled. "My shot hit him, but he didn't even care because he was so far gone".
"But he did it to protect Commander Hayate, even at a great cost, like Subaru said," Alto added.
"If Commander Hayate hadn't picked those three for Riot Force 6, I'm sure Auris Gaiz would have snatched them up for black ops," Vice mused. "They would have been our opponents, along with the traitor Regan Rivian. Thankfully, that didn't happen".
"Signum-san, what do you plan to do with Kai next?" Alto asked.
"I want to spar with him," Signum replied. "But for now, Captain Takamachi and Captain Vita have borrowed him".
Elsewhere, on a Sailing Force vessel, Hayate and Reinforce finished a meeting with Chrono and Verossa. They ran into Fate as they were leaving the room and began walking together.
"I'm glad, Hayate," Fate said. "Kai is finally able to face you after trying to hide for so long. You're the one who changed him back then".
"Yes," Hayate replied. "To me, he isn't just like Reinforce Eins; he's like a brother. Everyone I chose for Riot Force 6 is like family to me".
"But Kai-kun's emotions still need time to recover," Reinforce noted. "That's why Hayate-chan is letting everyone borrow him—to help fix his heart".
"I'm sorry, Hayate," Fate apologized. "Nanoha and I lied to you to keep Kai's secret. He was just afraid to see you because you are so important to him".
"It's okay. I already heard his reasons," Hayate said kindly. "Vita told me that Nanoha and she are borrowing Kai as an instructor today".
"Really?" Fate was surprised.
"Yes. Vita was frustrated that the cadets' skills weren't improving, so she asked Nanoha to bring him in," Hayate explained.
"I see," Fate said.
"You can borrow him too, Fate-chan," Reinforce suggested. "Lindy is okay with it after Hayate-chan discussed it. Lindy-san heard about Kai from Chrono-kun".
"You can borrow him just like Nanoha and Vita," Hayate added. "He's the only one with a specialist rank that I allow to be borrowed like this".
"Sure, Hayate. I'd like to have him as an enforcer if I need help," Fate said. "But right now, the investigation team wants Kai to rest from the Adamatron cases. He pushed himself way too hard before".
"I understand. I heard that from the team and Signum as well," Hayate replied.
As evening fell, everyone headed home. Nanoha arrived at her house, followed shortly by Vivio returning from school. Nanoha stepped back into her role as a mother, eating dinner with Vivio and helping her with homework while Aina handled the chores.
Suddenly, Nanoha decided to call Kai to check on him.
"Nanoha-san, is something wrong?" Kai asked.
"I just wanted to make sure—are you really okay with being a special instructor again tomorrow?" Nanoha asked.
"I'm fine with it, Nanoha-san," Kai reassured her. "Besides, I can use the sessions to test my Raging Brando Zephyr now that it has been upgraded to a new model".
"I'm glad to hear that. See you tomorrow, Kai," Nanoha said.
"Yes, see you tomorrow, Nanoha," Kai replied before hanging up.
Nanoha felt relieved. Just as Hayate had said, Kai was available to help, and Nanoha was determined to make the most of it.
The next day, the new lessons began. The cadets were split into three groups—shooters, defenders, and attackers—and their goal was to successfully attack Instructor Arc. Vita was impressed by how well Arc could train them in a standard, professional manner.
For Arc, this was the perfect chance to test his fully upgraded Raging Brando. It was now lighter and featured a faster transformation speed. Additionally, Hayate and Reinforce had upgraded his flight abilities with "Sleipnir". As he taught alongside Nanoha and Vita, Arc provided the cadets with both motivation and tactical tricks.
Under the strict guidance of the three instructors, the cadets showed surprising and rapid improvement. Nanoha realized that borrowing Arc had been a fantastic decision.
After a week of training, everyone gathered on the field for Arc's final day as a special instructor.
"You've shown great improvement, cadets," Kai told them. "You've finally learned to push yourselves to your limits. I'm very impressed".
"Thank you very much, Instructor Arc!" the cadets replied.
"All right, everyone! Now we move on to disaster prevention with Instructor Lamia!" Vita commanded.
As Vita led the cadets to a different location, Arc and Nanoha deactivated their Barrier Jackets. Arc took off his visor as they watched the group depart.
"They really have improved. Thank you, Kai," Nanoha said.
"It was my pleasure, Nanoha-san. I'm just glad I could help," Kai replied.
"So, what are you doing next, Kai?" Nanoha asked.
"Since the investigations aren't Adamatron-related and the others can handle them, I have some free time," Kai said. "The Adamatron haven't attacked in a while".
"Now that you mention it, you're right," Nanoha mused. "They haven't made a move since the last mission. It's really weird".
"It is weird. But... we have peace for a moment," Kai noted.
"You're right. But we can't let our guard down," Nanoha warned. "The worst-case scenario is another imposter appearing because of Soul Edge".
"I know. I'll take my leave now, Nanoha," Kai said, putting his visor back on.
"Arc! I'll let you know if I want to borrow you again!" Nanoha shouted as he walked away.
Arc gave her an "OK" sign and continued on. Nanoha was satisfied; the cadets were better for the experience, and Arc had gained his first experience as an instructor. She could sense that Kai was slowly changing, and she felt he might even be capable of becoming a permanent instructor for S.A.F.A alongside her and Vita.
Meanwhile, at the Saint Church, Fuji received a message on his device in the library. It was from the DSAA committee announcing that a competition was about to be held.
"It's time, huh?" Fuji muttered. "I'd better get these kids ready for the tournament".
To be continued.