Crunch crunch crunch.
Ahh, Pocky. The quintessential Japanese snack known throughout the world and
extraordinarily popular amongst western otaku and eastern teens alike.
Crunch crunch crunch.
Chocolate, almond, strawberry, these were the original flavors, but they were soon
followed by more exotic ones such as honey, kiwifruit mango, grape, banana, coffee, green
tea, even Kobe wine. Today’s snack was good ol’ chocolate, enjoyed out of a red cardboard
box filled with the snacks.
Crunch crunch crunch.
A taste of home in a place far far away… Midchilda was nice and all, but some times even
battle-hardened veterans longed for something familiar. Thus it was with great pleasure
that Keroko Takamachi enjoy each and every stick.
“Lady Keroko, good afternoon. You seem to be in a happy mood,” a familiar voice from
behind her caused her to whirl around. There, walking down the hall, was the blind knight
Noland Reiniger, still clad in borrowed Belkan priest-wear. Huh. How’d he know she was
there? “What is it that you have there?”
Usually she would horde the snack, a precious commodity, but today she was feeling
pretty good.
“Pocky!” she replied with a big smile. “Want one?”
“Pocky?”
“Oh, right. You’re not from around here.” Or this time period…
“Is it a local delicacy?”
“Hmm, in a way,” Keroko looked at the box. “It’s a snack from Earth, my home planet.
More specifically, Japan. Pretty much, a cracker stick dipped into chocolate. Want to try
it? They’re pretty good.”
“I would, thank you,” Noland nodded, a stick of Pocky soon deposited into his hand.
Carefully he nibbled the treat, though soon he chomped down on it with more energy.
“Hmm, I see why such a snack would be popular,” he again nodded, in approval this time.
Somehow, they came to simply walking down the halls, chatting about random things all
the while snacking on Pocky. From the weather to women, of rumors and rocket launchers,
their conversation jumped all over the place in topic. Strangely, Keroko did not hesitate a
single moment to part with her beloved snack, though it was it not long before they only
had one stick of the tasty luxury left, one that Noland was quick to claim.
“Hey! That’s the last one!” Keroko cried indignantly, immediately reaching for the
pilfered snack.
“And I thank you for your generosity, Lady Keroko,” he held the Pocky high above his
head, far out of reach of the much shorter girl.
“You bastard! Don’t be so mean!” Alas, he had her trumped.
“First come, first serve,” he admonished with small smirk on his face, sticking the snack
into his waiting mouth.
Ah, so the knight did have a sense of humor! Well, two could play at that game!
Keroko darted in, her mouth clamping down on the other end of the Pocky stick.
Immediately, she began to munch away. Noland countered by biting into his own side, the
two of them gradually eating away the stick… and getting ever so closer.
Ten centimeters became eight, then six, until finally at four centimeters did Keroko realize
just
how close the two of them were. She froze, a rosy haze threatening to engulf her entire
head. And somehow, it seemed the knight detected the girl’s hesitation.
“Why do you pause, Deathwing?” Noland spoke around his endpiece, still sporting that
small but aggravating smirk. The ace could feel his warm breath, smelling like chocolate,
deepening her blush even more.
Wait, he wanted this?!
By now, Keroko was as red as her hair, from her toes to her top of her head. Since when
did Noland become the aggressor?
He pushed his head forward, the Pocky leverage. Unable to do anything else, the redhead
was forced to move with him, until her back was stopped by the wall. So close, Noland
was; so close… their lips were mere moments apart…
Pock!
The Pocky stick broke in half.
“Hmm… Unfortunate,” slowly, Noland pulled himself away, drawing the last bits of the
snack into his mouth. “When you get more, be sure to find me. Perhaps we can finish what
we started.”
He stepped away, his long priest’s coat swooshing over the floor as he turned around. Still
leaning against the wall, a bright red Keroko could only stare at the departing Knight, her
Pocky end still hanging from her mouth.
Spoiler for Special Ending for Aaron:
Oh HELL no! It was NOT going end this way!
“Oi, Reiniger!” her voice was oddly powerful, a hint of rage behind her words
“Yes, lady Keroko?” Noland gracefully turned around at the sound of his name, ever calm
and collected. That goddamn smirk was still there, however.
God, how she wanted to rip that off his face.
A rekindled fire blazed behind her blue eyes, a fire that equaled the girl’s brightly blushing
face in intensity. She grabbed Noland by the lapels of his jacket, pulling his head down to
her level. “You’re just going to leave it like that? Be a goddamn man and finish what you
freakin’ start!”
Noland’s smirk grew into a small smile, “Hah… as you wish, lady Keroko.”
Chocolate, Keroko decided, was great by itself, in cookies, brownies, Pocky, and on lips.
Omake! This one is dedicated to TheShinySword
“Zaffy! Ne, Zaffy!” the ever cheerful daughter of Nanoha tugged at her friend’s blue robes.
“Hmm? What is it, Vivio?” Zafira peered down at the girl, though he knew already what
she was so excited about.
“I got Pocky!” she proudly held up her box of snacks. “They’re strawberry!”
“Ooh, that’s nice, Vivio,” the wolf, currently a man, smiled and ruffled the girl’s hair. “I
wonder if Hayate got me a box too…”
“Don’t worry, you can have one of mine!” gleefully, Vivio popped the box top and fished
out one of the strawberry Pocky treats.
“Here!” she held out the sugar covered stick.
Smiling his thanks, Zafira reached down to pluck the snack from her hands, only to have it
retracted with a shake of her head. She opened her mouth and made an “ahh!” sound,
suggesting that he do the same. Ahh, how troublesome, this child was. With a sigh, he
consented and crouched down, mouth moving in for the kill.
And suddenly… damn. Maybe he was getting slow with his age, or maybe Vivio was
getting
reeeaaalllly fast, but somehow she managed to flip the stick around and chomp
down on it at the same time he bit into his end. As a result, a bridge was formed. Ten
centimeters now separated them.
A bright flash grabbed his attention, his eyes darting over to the source. There, by the door,
certain hammer knight grinned cheekily as she looked up from the digital camera in her hands.
Winking, she flashed a V sign before dashing out of the room.
Vita, you traitor!
Oh god, Vivio was starting to eat her end.