Nanoha FanFiction Discussion

[mega1987]

and no Picoha allowed....

[Shigan]

Originally Posted by yuiseppe

*slips Shigan a bottle of VSOP* Inspiration?

My dear sir, you sure know how to make a girl rawr for you. o_o

Keep'em coming, one can never have to much of VSOPs, especially if the label says Hennessy. Now! Nanoha huh? =D

[00-Raiser]

So I had an inappropriate thought at work today... Remember Deathcurse's Spread Thin fic? Well here's an alternate ending.

Spoiler for Spread Thin Alternate Ending:

The bottom of the skyscraper was partitioned off by police tape, keeping the gawkers out of the way of the investigators. Calls had come in of a woman who had jumped to her death and was currently splattered all over the sidewalk. The height from which she jumped caused her body to bust like a water baloon on impact, giving the surroundings a fresh coat of red.

Two man observed the carnage with eyes of pity.

"Looks like a typical suicide," one of the men said. "Such a shame. I wonder what made her do it."

"Well, I guess you could say..." The second man put on a pair of sunglasses. "She was spread thin."

... Please don't hurt me too much

[shiroi mahotsukai]

Originally Posted by 00-Raiser

So I had an inappropriate thought at work today... Remember Deathcurse's Spread Thin fic? Well here's an alternate ending.

Spoiler for Spread Thin Alternate Ending:

The bottom of the skyscraper was partitioned off by police tape, keeping the gawkers out of the way of the investigators. Calls had come in of a woman who had jumped to her death and was currently splattered all over the sidewalk. The height from which she jumped caused her body to bust like a water baloon on impact, giving the surroundings a fresh coat of red.

Two man observed the carnage with eyes of pity.

"Looks like a typical suicide," one of the men said. "Such a shame. I wonder what made her do it."

"Well, I guess you could say..." The second man put on a pair of sunglasses. "She was spread thin."

... Please don't hurt me too much

Ouch, my brain... and that is all I have to say.

[RadiantBeam]

Originally Posted by Shigan

Back to school and back to work do not hot stories make -_-.

*flips through half-written manuscripts, sighing dramatically*

In my case, going back to school might do the trick. I have two full days off before our classes officially start, so that's a lot of free writing time I didn't have while home.

[DKN117]

This is more of a plot idea that I'm tossing out for any competent writer who wishes to take it:

During her hunt for the Jewel Seeds, shortly before she would have first encountered Nanoha in canon, Fate Testarossa encounters a mysterious old woman, clad in a brown cloak, who can somehow "see" despite being blind, and decides, for whatever reasons she may have, to take Fate under her wing.

Said old woman wields an emerald energy-blade and calls herself "Kreia".

Seriously, think about how things might unfold with her as Fate's "mentor"; for that matter, imagine the eventual meeting(s) between Kreia and Precia.

Just a plot-bunny I'm tossing out, to see if anyone wants to pick it up.

[Craxuan]

Originally Posted by DKN117

This is more of a plot idea that I'm tossing out for any competent writer who wishes to take it:

During her hunt for the Jewel Seeds, shortly before she would have first encountered Nanoha in canon, Fate Testarossa encounters a mysterious old woman, clad in a brown cloak, who can somehow "see" despite being blind, and decides, for whatever reasons she may have, to take Fate under her wing.

Said old woman wields an emerald energy-blade and calls herself "Kreia".

Seriously, think about how things might unfold with her as Fate's "mentor"; for that matter, imagine the eventual meeting(s) between Kreia and Precia.

Just a plot-bunny I'm tossing out, to see if anyone wants to pick it up.

Since this involves an original character, I think you should write it yourself. From your description we're not sure what to expect, and at least for me I don't feel inspired. Could be summarized as 'Fate meets blind woman before beginning canon'. The simple statement 'Fate meets blind woman' might be better since there's more freedom.

[SilentOutlaw]

Originally Posted by Craxuan

Since this involves an original character, I think you should write it yourself. From your description we're not sure what to expect, and at least for me I don't feel inspired. Could be summarized as 'Fate meets blind woman before beginning canon'. The simple statement 'Fate meets blind woman' might be better since there's more freedom.

I think by 'Kreia' he means a character from a Star Wars video game.

[Justin_Brett]

A very overrated character who would be very mismatched with Fate. She specializes in having mature conversations with an adult, what the hell is she gonna do with an infant like Fate? Or really, anyone in Nanoha - all of them are fairly simple characters.

[deathcurse]

Originally Posted by Shigan

My dear sir, you sure know how to make a girl rawr for you. o_o

Keep'em coming, one can never have to much of VSOPs, especially if the label says Hennessy. Now! Nanoha huh? =D

Gender confusion strikes again!

Originally Posted by 00-Raiser

So I had an inappropriate thought at work today... Remember Deathcurse's Spread Thin fic? Well here's an alternate ending.

Spoiler for Spread Thin Alternate Ending:

The bottom of the skyscraper was partitioned off by police tape, keeping the gawkers out of the way of the investigators. Calls had come in of a woman who had jumped to her death and was currently splattered all over the sidewalk. The height from which she jumped caused her body to bust like a water baloon on impact, giving the surroundings a fresh coat of red.

Two man observed the carnage with eyes of pity.

"Looks like a typical suicide," one of the men said. "Such a shame. I wonder what made her do it."

"Well, I guess you could say..." The second man put on a pair of sunglasses. "She was spread thin."

... Please don't hurt me too much

Witty.

Originally Posted by DKN117

This is more of a plot idea that I'm tossing out for any competent writer who wishes to take it:

During her hunt for the Jewel Seeds, shortly before she would have first encountered Nanoha in canon, Fate Testarossa encounters a mysterious old woman, clad in a brown cloak, who can somehow "see" despite being blind, and decides, for whatever reasons she may have, to take Fate under her wing.

Said old woman wields an emerald energy-blade and calls herself "Kreia".

Seriously, think about how things might unfold with her as Fate's "mentor"; for that matter, imagine the eventual meeting(s) between Kreia and Precia.

Just a plot-bunny I'm tossing out, to see if anyone wants to pick it up.

Like Craxuan said, this is a really specific idea. You'd probably be better off writing it yourself, since you'd know best what kind of story it would be like . Plot prompts that are vague and allow an author to bring their own imagination and take to the story would be more likely picked up. But who knows, maybe someone will write it?

[Shigan]

Originally Posted by deathcurse

Gender confusion strikes again!

Like Craxuan said, this is a really specific idea. You'd probably be better off writing it yourself, since you'd know best what kind of story it would be like . Plot prompts that are vague and allow an author to bring their own imagination and take to the story would be more likely picked up. But who knows, maybe someone will write it?

Oooh right, Yui is a girl. I forget details when work is burying me with paperwork!

I miss Kreia of SW: the old republic. There was a time when I wanted every video game antagonist to be like her. Though, I wonder her school of two-faced, ambiguous I-kiss-the-darkside dance with the force will do Fate good xD.

Someone should write a Nanoha fic set in the Star Wars world of the Old republic. That would be fun, heh.

[RadiantBeam]

Originally Posted by Shigan

Someone should write a Nanoha fic set in the Star Wars world of the Old republic. That would be fun, heh.

Wasn't there a parody fic based off that concept? I definitely remember reading it. That, or I recall that for a few pages way back when the idea was very discussed.

[al103]

--------------
- I did many things in my long life... but to be my own clone...
- Ugh. Try to think about being clone of a clone... which essentially I am. Now THAT is mind-boggling.
- I could say that you were at least prepared.
- Not really. So... What is your name?
- ... Actually... I don't have one. And even my original didn't. As for all the names He was called through times... I am me and not Him, even if we share the Vision. I think I'll go with Alexander, good name, meaningful one too... and He wasn't called by it even once, though some ass-lickers did try to put deeds of one Alexander on Him, like there can only be one glorious figure in history. You?
- I like my name... but it's her name and I hope she is all well, so taking it is out. I think I will go to roots and claim Olivie. So, Alexander, what we'll do now?
- Survive. Grow. Learn. Find who is responsible for this. And I'm not actually pleased the state my home universe is in, so I'll try to do something about it. Are you with me Olivie?
- Like I do have a choice here and now... and even if I did... I really don't want to intrude in they lives, I know that they'll readily accept me but it's all so complicated already... So I'll go with you, at least for now.

[Nanya01]

Red

Peek's Mini-Arcs:

Yagami Mid Four Dwell Takamachi Scrya Fatherhood Harlaown

Dreams Start

Spoiler for Blood That Flows - Peek - Dreams Part 2:

Something was touching her hand. Not too unusual, but she wasn't used to having it cupped without her knowing who was doing it. There was also this immense feeling of weakness that her body had.

"Hey, Nanoha," she could hear Yuuno's voice, was she still dreaming? "I wanted to introduce you to Caro, but you're still out cold and..." Caro? Who was that?

She could hear him sigh. "Arashi misses you too. He keeps shaking the bed and hopes that you'll wake up. I think your mom's taking it the hardest, Nanoha." Yuuno stopped there and gave her hand a squeeze. "She doesn't show it, but I think she misses you more than the rest of us do." Why couldn't she open her eyes? Her body felt so weak, her eyes so heavy and her chest hurt. What was wrong with her?

Yuuno sighed again. "Well, Nanoha... We'll see you soon." No, she couldn't let him leave.

'Move... Body, MOVE!' She screamed at herself as his hands started to move away from hers. Concentrating everything she could to her hand, she hoped, wished, prayed and begged mentally for her fingers to do something, anything.

"Huh?" Yuuno's voice came through confused. "...Did you just..." He squeezed her hand again. "Nanoha, if you moved your fingers, please, do it again.

It was easier this time, but her fingers just barely moved. "Nnnngh..." There was a gasp as her eyes slowly opened up. The blinding white light nearly made her pass out in pain. As her vision started to clear, she saw his worried face. "...Hi..." She whispered, smiling softly. "I'm awake."

"Nanoha!" Yuuno's eyes had tears in them as he suddenly lunged forward and hugged her. "You're awake."

"Yeah..." Her throat was a bit raw. "Thirsty."

Yuuno pulled back, nodding as he got up. "Sure! Just don't pass out on me!"

Nanoha smiled as he ran to get some water. Taking a deep breath, she felt a lot better. She was back, and as soon as she got better, she was going to have to make up for lost time.

(---)

A little later...

"Nanoha!" Nanoha and Yuuno turned as Fate, Arisa and a little pink-haired girl and some sort of small, white-scaled creature on the pink-haired girl's head looked into the room. "You're awake!" The two girls were shocked as Nanoha weakly raised her hand and wiggled her fingers at them.

"Hey..." Nanoha smiled at them softly. "At least I know this isn't a dream this time." The two of them looked at Nanoha in confusion. "If this was one of those weird dreams, Fate-chan would have jumped to my bed and kissed me already."

Fate blushed at that. "I would not! I would at least wait until you could sit up on your own!" Her face turned bright red at those words. "I said that out loud?"

The others in the room nodded, though the pink haired girl looked on in confusion while the small creature chirped lightly.

"Don't worry about it, Nanoha." Yuuno spoke up, grinning softly. His hair had finally gone back to normal that morning, so he didn't have to explain the different colors in his hair. "If Fate's going to kiss anyone, it'll be Arisa."

"Really?" Nanoha blinked and Yuuno nodded.

"Yuuno!" The two yelled at him and he just smiled at them.

"What? I'm not the one who had you two kiss each other without your shirts on."

Nanoha looked at Fate and Arisa and blinked a few times. "So... Fate-chan and Arisa-chan are girlfriends then?"

"NO!" They yelled at the same time, their faces red.

"Yuuno's just being mean to us!" Arisa pouted as Yuuno chuckled at them.

"But you two did kiss each other. I still have the video."

"I'll want to see that." Nanoha mumbled softly. "Where's everyone else?"

"Erio doesn't like hospitals." Fate told her. "Arf and Miyuki are watching him and Arashi. Mom and dad will be here soon. I think Hayate and Reinforce will be here later. Signum, Shamal, Zafira, Rein Zwei and Vita are off planet for some reason."

"Oh." Nanoha nodded slowly. "So, about that kiss..." She blinked as Arisa and Fate face-faulted. "Nyahahahahahahaha..."

"Nanoha!" The two yelled at her, their faces red. "That's not funny." When Yuuno chuckled at them, they just groaned and gave up.

The pink haired girl walked up to the bed and tugged on Nanoha's arm. "Hello."

Nanoha smiled at her. "Hello. What's your name?" The girl was really cute, if a touch on the small side.

"I am Caro Lu Ruche and this is my Dragon, Fried."

"Ku!" The white Dragon flapped his wings as Caro pointed to him.

Nanoha smiled at the small girl. "My name is Nanoha Takamachi, and I'm pleased to meet you." She sighed and leaned her head back.

"What's wrong?" Yuuno looked at her in confusion.

"Oh, just wondering if I'm still dreaming and hoping that I'm not. If I am, I can just see a crazy cat-rabbit spaceship thing is going to race across the sky, firing lasers at everything, mom's going to turn out to be some sort of mad scientist and reveal that I'm an alien or something."

Everyone in the room just sweat-dropped. "Nanoha?" Nanoha looked at Arisa, who was twitching. "What are you smoking and why haven't you shared it yet?"

Nanoha smiled at the blonde girl. "Thanks, Arisa-chan. I needed that."

[mega1987]

Originally Posted by Nanya01

Red

Peek's Mini-Arcs:

Yagami Mid Four Dwell Takamachi Scrya Fatherhood Harlaown

Dreams Start

Spoiler for Blood That Flows - Peek - Dreams Part 2:

Something was touching her hand. Not too unusual, but she wasn't used to having it cupped without her knowing who was doing it. There was also this immense feeling of weakness that her body had.

"Hey, Nanoha," she could hear Yuuno's voice, was she still dreaming? "I wanted to introduce you to Caro, but you're still out cold and..." Caro? Who was that?

She could hear him sigh. "Arashi misses you too. He keeps shaking the bed and hopes that you'll wake up. I think your mom's taking it the hardest, Nanoha." Yuuno stopped there and gave her hand a squeeze. "She doesn't show it, but I think she misses you more than the rest of us do." Why couldn't she open her eyes? Her body felt so weak, her eyes so heavy and her chest hurt. What was wrong with her?

Yuuno sighed again. "Well, Nanoha... We'll see you soon." No, she couldn't let him leave.

'Move... Body, MOVE!' She screamed at herself as his hands started to move away from hers. Concentrating everything she could to her hand, she hoped, wished, prayed and begged mentally for her fingers to do something, anything.

"Huh?" Yuuno's voice came through confused. "...Did you just..." He squeezed her hand again. "Nanoha, if you moved your fingers, please, do it again.

It was easier this time, but her fingers just barely moved. "Nnnngh..." There was a gasp as her eyes slowly opened up. The blinding white light nearly made her pass out in pain. As her vision started to clear, she saw his worried face. "...Hi..." She whispered, smiling softly. "I'm awake."

"Nanoha!" Yuuno's eyes had tears in them as he suddenly lunged forward and hugged her. "You're awake."

"Yeah..." Her throat was a bit raw. "Thirsty."

Yuuno pulled back, nodding as he got up. "Sure! Just don't pass out on me!"

Nanoha smiled as he ran to get some water. Taking a deep breath, she felt a lot better. She was back, and as soon as she got better, she was going to have to make up for lost time.

(---)

A little later...

"Nanoha!" Nanoha and Yuuno turned as Fate, Arisa and a little pink-haired girl and some sort of small, white-scaled creature on the pink-haired girl's head looked into the room. "You're awake!" The two girls were shocked as Nanoha weakly raised her hand and wiggled her fingers at them.

"Hey..." Nanoha smiled at them softly. "At least I know this isn't a dream this time." The two of them looked at Nanoha in confusion. "If this was one of those weird dreams, Fate-chan would have jumped to my bed and kissed me already."

Fate blushed at that. "I would not! I would at least wait until you could sit up on your own!" Her face turned bright red at those words. "I said that out loud?"

The others in the room nodded, though the pink haired girl looked on in confusion while the small creature chirped lightly.

"Don't worry about it, Nanoha." Yuuno spoke up, grinning softly. His hair had finally gone back to normal that morning, so he didn't have to explain the different colors in his hair. "If Fate's going to kiss anyone, it'll be Arisa."

"Really?" Nanoha blinked and Yuuno nodded.

"Yuuno!" The two yelled at him and he just smiled at them.

"What? I'm not the one who had you two kiss each other without your shirts on."

Nanoha looked at Fate and Arisa and blinked a few times. "So... Fate-chan and Arisa-chan are girlfriends then?"

"NO!" They yelled at the same time, their faces red.

"Yuuno's just being mean to us!" Arisa pouted as Yuuno chuckled at them.

"But you two did kiss each other. I still have the video."

"I'll want to see that." Nanoha mumbled softly. "Where's everyone else?"

"Erio doesn't like hospitals." Fate told her. "Arf and Miyuki are watching him and Arashi. Mom and dad will be here soon. I think Hayate and Reinforce will be here later. Signum, Shamal, Zafira, Rein Zwei and Vita are off planet for some reason."

"Oh." Nanoha nodded slowly. "So, about that kiss..." She blinked as Arisa and Fate face-faulted. "Nyahahahahahahaha..."

"Nanoha!" The two yelled at her, their faces red. "That's not funny." When Yuuno chuckled at them, they just groaned and gave up.

The pink haired girl walked up to the bed and tugged on Nanoha's arm. "Hello."

Nanoha smiled at her. "Hello. What's your name?" The girl was really cute, if a touch on the small side.

"I am Caro Lu Ruche and this is my Dragon, Fried."

"Ku!" The white Dragon flapped his wings as Caro pointed to him.

Nanoha smiled at the small girl. "My name is Nanoha Takamachi, and I'm pleased to meet you." She sighed and leaned her head back.

"What's wrong?" Yuuno looked at her in confusion.

"Oh, just wondering if I'm still dreaming and hoping that I'm not. If I am, I can just see a crazy cat-rabbit spaceship thing is going to race across the sky, firing lasers at everything, mom's going to turn out to be some sort of mad scientist and reveal that I'm an alien or something."

Everyone in the room just sweat-dropped. "Nanoha?" Nanoha looked at Arisa, who was twitching. "What are you smoking and why haven't you shared it yet?"

Nanoha smiled at the blonde girl. "Thanks, Arisa-chan. I needed that."

And Finaly! The White Devil awaken. *hears a scuffle of footsteps, fleeing from the Hospital.*

Oh Kyubee, Nanoha WANTS to BEFRIEND you REALLY BADLY.
Oh Please Come after you made your FUNERAL preparation.

and tenchi Muyo reference...

Oh GOD!!!! we're all doom!(from Washu-sama's experiments)

[staplesdex2]

Tenchi reference? Seems a bit bland. Then again I'm a bit biased against it.

[Nanya01]

Originally Posted by staplesdex2

Tenchi reference? Seems a bit bland. Then again I'm a bit biased against it.

*Shrug* Weird dreams are weird.

[DezoPenguin]

Short fic from me. The (The Way) at the beginning of the title is because fanfiction.net's 40-character limit means I had to shorten it, so that part's going to get chopped off when I post the chapter there...

Spoiler for (The Way) To Her Heart is Through Your Stomach:

"Dinner's ready!"

Meals in the Yagami household were a happy occasion, as a rule. The Mistress of the Night Sky, Yagami Hayate, had grown up alone, and she loved nothing better than to be surrounded by her Guardian Knights—her "kids," as she called them. The Wolkenritter, for their part, had gone centuries knowing only pain and battle as the warriors of the corrupted Book of Darkness. The idea of family life was more like a dream to them, one they still couldn't quite believe was real.


That was most of the time.


Tonight, though, ten-year-old Hayate was having a sleepover with several of her school friends at the Bannings house. That meant that it was the eldest of the Wolkenritter, the blonde and buxom Shamal, who brought the dishes from the kitchen to the table.


"Y'know, it's not too late to order takeout, while we still have our stomach linings," childlike, red-haired Vita actually came out and said.


"Vita, that isn't nice," chided Signum. The elegant leader of the group, though, was not making any move towards the food. Indeed, the expression on her face was reminiscent of the look she got when preparing herself to take on a particularly daunting foe in battle. Vita, of course, did not miss this.


"Oh yeah? Well, let's see you dig in, o fearless leader."


Something happened then that an entire generation of warriors would have sworn was impossible: the Knight of the Sword flinched.


"That is...well, I..."


"Oh, not you too!" Shamal exclaimed. "I'd like to see how you'd have done, with unfamiliar recipes and ingredients and seasonings. This world's cooking is nothing like ancient Belka's! I'd expected Vita to be a brat about this, Signum, but you—"


"I'm sorry, Shamal, but the truth is your food was wholly inedible," her leader told her flatly. "Were we actually dependent on food for all of our energy, we could have been seriously incapacitated, to say nothing of the effect it would have had on Mistress Hayate. I agree that Vita's comments were a bit sharp, but you cannot blame me for being wary of your rather...explosive...efforts."


"I still don't get what that Montezuma guy Arisa mentioned had anything to do with it," Vita mumbled.


"You two are being ridiculous," Zafira cut in. The only male of the Wolkenritter was in his human form, which was somewhat unusual. He generally found his natural wolf shape more comfortable and was adept at using it to do things one would have thought required opposable thumbs. Arms did, however, give him enough reach to snatch a fajita off the tray without waiting for it to be passed. Without a hint of a pause, he bit down, chewed, and swallowed. "This is quite tasty, Shamal."


The blonde gave a happy little gasp.


"Zafira..."


"Are you sure about that?" Vita asked dubiously.


Signum reached for a fajita of her own.


"It doesn't seem quite believable, but..."


"Maybe he'd been spending so much time with Arf that her taste is rubbing off on him."


Zafira scowled.


"I never thought the two of you would be so addicted to making offensive comments that you would stoop to insulting additional people just so you could continue to mock Shamal," he chided. Vita winced, and Signum's eyes dropped.


"Sorry, Shamal," Vita mumbled. "That last crack went too far."


Signum nodded, though she hadn't actually said it.


"We did not mean to hurt your feelings."


Shamal sighed.


"I know. And I know I had some pretty serious incidents in the past, but...I'm really working hard to improve my cooking so I can help Hayate-chan. We're supposed to be the ones taking care of her, not the other way around! It's one thing when we accompany her on missions, but when we're living here and she's going to school normally, there's not much for us to do but make sure she has a comfortable home to come back to each day."


Signum nodded solemnly.


"I agree completely, and if those are your reasons I'm twice as sorry for doubting you and thinking of myself first."


"Yeah, me too. Sorry for being so snotty."


"Thank you," Shamal accepted their apologies. After all the time they'd been together, that was easy enough. "But, I really want to thank you, Zafira, for having faith in me without hesitation." She walked around the table to him, hugging him tightly and even gave him a quick kiss on top of his head.


Only when she'd spoken did he realize that she'd made a mistaken assumption, for there was no faith or trust involved in his decision. Even in human form his wolf's nose was much sharper than Signum's or Vita's and had given him all the information he'd needed. He'd been about to correct her and explain, but the softness of her arms around him convinced Zafira that it was better kept as his secret.


One of a man's most important skills, after all, was knowing when to keep his mouth shut.

Spoiler for Author's notes:

A/N: As those of you who are long-time readers of my stories already know, Shamal/Zaffy is my crack-pairing OTP. ^_-


About Shamal's cooking...it's definitely canon (A's Sound Stage 1, Track 8, and A's manga chapter 6), that she's Not Good At Cooking (Signum, of all people, is the one who calls it "explosive"). Even by StrikerS Sound Stage 1, they're still giving her grief over it. Since the A's Sound Stage track which introduces her poor cooking also indicates that she's getting better, I'm assuming that she does in fact improve to "adequate" and that later-in-time references are more of a running gag by which the others tease her instead of an actual reference to her still being bad for no apparent reason.

[00-Raiser]

I think "Through Your Stomach" would be the better choice for a shortened title, or the entire title period. Most people know the saying, so you don't need to use the whole thing. Since the 'your' part is different, it's all that needs to be said.

[deathcurse]

Originally Posted by DezoPenguin

Short fic from me. The (The Way) at the beginning of the title is because fanfiction.net's 40-character limit means I had to shorten it, so that part's going to get chopped off when I post the chapter there...

Spoiler for (The Way) To Her Heart is Through Your Stomach:

"Dinner's ready!"

Meals in the Yagami household were a happy occasion, as a rule. The Mistress of the Night Sky, Yagami Hayate, had grown up alone, and she loved nothing better than to be surrounded by her Guardian Knights—her "kids," as she called them. The Wolkenritter, for their part, had gone centuries knowing only pain and battle as the warriors of the corrupted Book of Darkness. The idea of family life was more like a dream to them, one they still couldn't quite believe was real.


That was most of the time.


Tonight, though, ten-year-old Hayate was having a sleepover with several of her school friends at the Bannings house. That meant that it was the eldest of the Wolkenritter, the blonde and buxom Shamal, who brought the dishes from the kitchen to the table.


"Y'know, it's not too late to order takeout, while we still have our stomach linings," childlike, red-haired Vita actually came out and said.


"Vita, that isn't nice," chided Signum. The elegant leader of the group, though, was not making any move towards the food. Indeed, the expression on her face was reminiscent of the look she got when preparing herself to take on a particularly daunting foe in battle. Vita, of course, did not miss this.


"Oh yeah? Well, let's see you dig in, o fearless leader."


Something happened then that an entire generation of warriors would have sworn was impossible: the Knight of the Sword flinched.


"That is...well, I..."


"Oh, not you too!" Shamal exclaimed. "I'd like to see how you'd have done, with unfamiliar recipes and ingredients and seasonings. This world's cooking is nothing like ancient Belka's! I'd expected Vita to be a brat about this, Signum, but you—"


"I'm sorry, Shamal, but the truth is your food was wholly inedible," her leader told her flatly. "Were we actually dependent on food for all of our energy, we could have been seriously incapacitated, to say nothing of the effect it would have had on Mistress Hayate. I agree that Vita's comments were a bit sharp, but you cannot blame me for being wary of your rather...explosive...efforts."


"I still don't get what that Montezuma guy Arisa mentioned had anything to do with it," Vita mumbled.


"You two are being ridiculous," Zafira cut in. The only male of the Wolkenritter was in his human form, which was somewhat unusual. He generally found his natural wolf shape more comfortable and was adept at using it to do things one would have thought required opposable thumbs. Arms did, however, give him enough reach to snatch a fajita off the tray without waiting for it to be passed. Without a hint of a pause, he bit down, chewed, and swallowed. "This is quite tasty, Shamal."


The blonde gave a happy little gasp.


"Zafira..."


"Are you sure about that?" Vita asked dubiously.


Signum reached for a fajita of her own.


"It doesn't seem quite believable, but..."


"Maybe he'd been spending so much time with Arf that her taste is rubbing off on him."


Zafira scowled.


"I never thought the two of you would be so addicted to making offensive comments that you would stoop to insulting additional people just so you could continue to mock Shamal," he chided. Vita winced, and Signum's eyes dropped.


"Sorry, Shamal," Vita mumbled. "That last crack went too far."


Signum nodded, though she hadn't actually said it.


"We did not mean to hurt your feelings."


Shamal sighed.


"I know. And I know I had some pretty serious incidents in the past, but...I'm really working hard to improve my cooking so I can help Hayate-chan. We're supposed to be the ones taking care of her, not the other way around! It's one thing when we accompany her on missions, but when we're living here and she's going to school normally, there's not much for us to do but make sure she has a comfortable home to come back to each day."


Signum nodded solemnly.


"I agree completely, and if those are your reasons I'm twice as sorry for doubting you and thinking of myself first."


"Yeah, me too. Sorry for being so snotty."


"Thank you," Shamal accepted their apologies. After all the time they'd been together, that was easy enough. "But, I really want to thank you, Zafira, for having faith in me without hesitation." She walked around the table to him, hugging him tightly and even gave him a quick kiss on top of his head.


Only when she'd spoken did he realize that she'd made a mistaken assumption, for there was no faith or trust involved in his decision. Even in human form his wolf's nose was much sharper than Signum's or Vita's and had given him all the information he'd needed. He'd been about to correct her and explain, but the softness of her arms around him convinced Zafira that it was better kept as his secret.


One of a man's most important skills, after all, was knowing when to keep his mouth shut.

Spoiler for Author's notes:

A/N: As those of you who are long-time readers of my stories already know, Shamal/Zaffy is my crack-pairing OTP. ^_-


About Shamal's cooking...it's definitely canon (A's Sound Stage 1, Track 8, and A's manga chapter 6), that she's Not Good At Cooking (Signum, of all people, is the one who calls it "explosive"). Even by StrikerS Sound Stage 1, they're still giving her grief over it. Since the A's Sound Stage track which introduces her poor cooking also indicates that she's getting better, I'm assuming that she does in fact improve to "adequate" and that later-in-time references are more of a running gag by which the others tease her instead of an actual reference to her still being bad for no apparent reason.

I oddly liked how Shamal's protest for her bad cooking is attributed to her unfamiliarity with Earth style ingredients . I'm not sure whether or not to believe her!

It's sweet to see the Wolkies want to be Hayate's support .

I LOL'd at the last line . I can think of many strong-willed women with a sense of humour I know in my life who'd agree with that statement!