Nanoha FanFiction Discussion

[RadiantBeam]

@Raiser: Hope this helps for what you thought Vivio would be called in Japanese:

Oh, and something I noticed while lurking: the Japanese phrase Raiser is looking for is enjo kosai. Literally, "compensated dating," it's a social phenomenon where school-age girls...well, date men for money, gifts, or favors (a case of Exactly What It Says On The Tin). It may include actual prostitution, but doesn't have to. You'll see enjo kosai in a variety of anime series, both seriously and in subversions. For example, Nao in My-HiME is apparently involved in enjo kosai, but instead she ties up and robs the men whom she arranges to meet. Eriko in Maria Watches Over Us is suspected of doing enjo kosai, but it turns out the men she's being seen with are her father and brothers.

[00-Raiser]

Originally Posted by RadiantBeam

@Raiser: Hope this helps for what you thought Vivio would be called in Japanese:

Thanks RB. That's precicely what I was thinking of. Well, I'm currently in the process of 'flushing out' a bunch of ideas I had. I'll post them all in one go when I've gotten them done. Will include a hopefully 'less easy' version of telling the grandparents, and a revised, extended version of 'Sacrifices.'

[AdmiralTigerclaw]

So anyway, if you've read MSLN Test Dummies, there's a few spots where I've done makeshift vids for it...

Today I reworked an old vid using freshly shot footage fresh and as I had intended to visualize it.

Now aces, time to go:

Spoiler for Ride on the Deep Sky:

MSLN Test Dummies, transition from chapter five, to chapter six.

Spoiler for Spot Plane Photo:

Spoiler for Scene transition point from the story.:

"Quite," Martin stated. "However these orders are authenticated. Ground Command is quite serious."

"When they care enough to send the very best," Crash rolled his eyes. Roland put his hand on his chin has he skimmed the tasking orders again, his brow furrowing as he did so.

"What City was that again?" Nanoha asked. Martin pointed up at the MSM, the red dot blinking ominously.

"Selene."

Nanoha's jaw nearly hit the floor. Something Fate admitted she never had really seen.

"SELENE?!" she asked incredulously. "That's on the other side of the planet. Even at our best speed, it'll take over twelve hours to get there by helicopter, and that's the best we can do short of a transfer!"

"Without a ship in orbit, that kind of Transfer's too tiring," Shamal frowned. "They can't expect us to get there quickly and be ready for a fight."

As if he'd only just heard Nanoha's last comment, Roland looked up.

"Other side of the planet?" he asked, as if it was somehow not a concern. Everyone looked at him. "I can get you there fast."

Nanoha looked to him in surprise, but quickly hid it with scrutiny. "Like, HOW fast?"
Even Crash, at the back of the room, crossed his arms and waited for the answer. The General seemed to have something up his sleeve. It was that smug 'I know something you don't know!' voice.

"How does thirty minutes sound?" Roland asked. Fate's head snapped around, and they all looked at the General like he was crazy.

"And how do you plan to do that?" the blond asked, clearly not believing it.

"I have my ways," Roland stated, now so fully smug it was disturbing. He then hardened his gaze and turned to his second.

"Hey Martin!"

"Sir?"

"Ready the Deep Sky for takeoff," he ordered. "We're going for a ride."

Nanoha and Fate blinked.

"Yes SIR!" Martin responded with enthusiasm. In the back of the room, Signum looked at Hayate.

"Deep..." she began.

"SKY?" Hayate finished.

As they shared a look, Crash's head snapped up, and he slapped his fist in his palm. Of COURSE!



-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

CHAPTER SIX: "You can't Hide from me child"
2:30 PM
120 Miles Northwest of Selene
Onboard TSA B.E.S.T. FORCE Aircraft: DEEP SKY
Altitude: 40,000 ft

As it would turn out, to Fate's mild amusement. The Deep Sky was Roland's biggest, and leanest callback to his home on Earth. The scrapped B-1b Lancer had been taken from the Boneyards located in the Southwestern United States one very foul day when the weather made it impossible for the local forces to notice a large TSAB transport Circle being used to haul it up to a cruiser. Roland still owed Admiral Lindy a good number of large favors for the whole stunt. Back at the base, Roland, Don, Martin, and a swarm of Mechanics in on the little project spent upwards of eight months overhauling and upgrading the aircraft. In fact... The list of work was so extensive that Roland admitted the vehicle was essentially completely replaced. And that the only thing it really had in common with the original, was the shape, the copilot's seat, and a plate on the ceiling inside that had originally been part of the vertical stabilizer fin that held the aircraft number. (It had been kept out of respect for the original vehicle.) But it was still an order of magnitude cheaper than trying to design a new craft from scratch and have it built.

All in all, it was a completely new and advanced aerospacecraft compared to the hulk they'd started with. The hull had been pressure sealed and replaced with materials that could withstand the stresses of leaving the atmosphere and vice versa. The engines were replaced with TSAB cruiser heavy thrusters. It even had modifications to use a moderately efficient magic generator for power. The most important overhaul however, was the bomb bay, or lack there of. The bomb-bay doors had been removed and the hull sealed there. The deck there had been replaced with a command and control suite not too far from what the AWACS were carrying, and the extra space accommodated for hauling people rather than bombs. The back had been cut open and turned into a sealing boarding ramp. Since he couldn't use it as a bomb truck... Roland had turned the craft in the fastest Light Mage Deployment Vehicle in the TSAB. A glorified transport. His decision to name it the Deep Sky stemmed from a CD of a band with the same name, and that he'd even picked the song RIDE as the vehicle's theme song out of the fact that's what he'd be doing on it most of the time.

And when Roland said thirty minutes, he meant it. No sooner were they clear of the runway and the landing gear retracted did the pilot pull the nose back hard and threw the drives right to max. He had essentially thrown the entire aircraft into a long sub-orbital arc, clearing the atmosphere for a few minutes at the top. Reentry was smooth, with the help of TSAB standardized barriers for such trivial issues. In fifteen minutes, they'd cleared well over seven thousand miles and crossed over into the southern-hemisphere of MidChilda. As useful as a JF-704 helicopter was for light deployment, it was just a snail compared to a craft who's original intent was, as Roland put it... 'A deep penetrating high speed killing machine'.

Why the General had such a craft? He'd shrugged off the question. Things could be done with transport circles and cruisers, or point to point via fixed facilities. In the end, it was Nanoha who suspected correctly. It was just plain COOL. And all Generals had their toys. Regius had his Einharijar project, at least until it had been totaled by the numbers and Gias himself killed. It was reasonable that Roland's 'cool toy' would be something both useful, and nostalgic to him. Of course, in retrospect, it didn't help the Archipelago’s transport facility was a pile of rubble.

After leveling off at forty thousand feet, the Deep Sky had participated in a series of shallow S turns, bleeding off speed systematically until they'd dropped down to the more respectable low mach threshold. It had only taken twenty minutes for the initial sub-orbital arc, but they were still a few hundred miles out, and the General didn't want a sonic boom from hell causing all kinds of trouble as they approached the populated areas on the Southern Continent.

[Tabasco]

So that's what you've been doing lately instead of writing.

Given the video is nifty as all get out, I can live with that. Nice use of the Duke, by the way.

[RadiantBeam]

I want to write. I feel the urge to write...

But I have to study for finals. ;__;

Plus, my beta work is starting to pile up...

[Dark Knight Gafgar]

More Mirror Nanoha, now featuring Mirror Hayate...

Spoiler for Mirror Universe Nanoha:

The Holy and Serene Empire of Belka
Her Divine Majesty's Servants, the Imperial Ministry of Military Intelligence
Threat Analysis
------------------
Threat: Belka Class-5 Infernal Device, Type Tome
Name: Tome of the Night Sky
Aliases: Book of Darkness, Book of Death
Threat Level: EXTREME
Status: CONTROLLED
Hosted?: Yes
Host Name: Hayate Yagami
Host Aliases: Mistress of the Night Sky (present use), Mistress of Darkness, Destroyer of Worlds, Pale Wind
Host Status: Controlled Possession
Host Threat Potential: SSS-O
------------------
Summary: Produced prior to the Belka-Alhazred War, the Tome of the Night Sky was an encyclopedia of magic, produced as a training aid for members of the Imperial bloodline. Modifications to the Tome at the war's beginning transformed it into a powerful Class-5 Infernal Device, first wielded by Kaiser Ixpellia against the Alhazredian forces at the Battle of Loum. Unfortunately, as is the case with all IDs, the Tome of the Night Sky - now known as the Book of Darkness - eventually overwhelmed the Kaiser, resulting in her possession and death. Attempts by Kaiser Ixpellia's successor Kaiser Olivie to seal the Book of Darkness failed - though the ID was damaged during the attempt and forced to regularly consume souls and magical energy to maintain it's power - and the former Tome of the Night Sky escaped to prey upon the general population.

In the years after the Belka-Alhazred War, multiple attempts by both the Empire and the Alhazred Republic to capture and seal the Book of Darkness failed, often with severe casualties. The Book of Darkness changed hands repeatedly during this time, often consuming its host's soul within only a year's time , then laying dormant for periods of time ranging from days to decades before contracting another host. (Reports that the Book of Darkness was involved in the Midchilda Uprising a century ago remain unconfirmed.)

This situation was changed nine years ago when the Book of Darkness forged a contract with a Terran girl, subject Hayate Yagami. Subject Yagami reportedly sought the Book of Darkness' power to cure her ailing parents, assisting the ID in the gathering of magical energy in order to fulfill this desire. Imperial attempts to recover the Tome of the Night Sky were repulsed, including several attacks staged by a Crusader Team from the knightly Wolkenritter order and the assistance of the Testarossa family. Unfortunately subject Yagami was ultimately successful in gathering the magical energy desired by the Book of Darkness, which then took full possession of her and unleashed a devastating magical attack upon Terra (note: see report on Terra for further information on the effects of this attack upon a largely non-magical developing world).

Subject Yagami and the Book of Darkness were ultimately captured by the combined efforts of the Wolkenritter order and the Testarossa family. The Book of Darkness proved too powerful to completely seal, though it's destructive potential was vastly limited. As a punitive measure for her unlawful usage of the Tome of the Night Sky, which ultimately resulted both in the death of her parents and near destruction of her world, subject Yagami was collared and sentenced to lifelong penal service to the Empire. The Tome of the Night Sky was then re-contracted to subject Yagami in a controlled possession, and knights of the Wolkenritter order assigned as the subject's overseers.

Subject Yagami has thus served in this capacity for over eight years, and is expected to retain control of the ID for another four or five before termination will become necessary to prevent full possession.

[Nanya01]

Hey, hey guys!

RadiantBeam and I just finished another Omake special for "Day in the Life".

Just a typical day in the Takamachi household.

Hey, it's another Omake special from myself and RadiantBeam. This, like the last one, is a possible future that explores what the children might be like and what they go through. Not to say things won't change by the time we get here, but that's the way things go.

Spoiler for Omake Special 2 PT I:

Looking out of the window as the sun bathed her front lawn, Nanoha smiled softly. It was a good day already. After getting breakfast ready to go and turning down the temperature, she looked at Raising Heart. "It's a bit quiet this morning, huh?"

"Yes, my master. The decibel level is nearly half of what it usually is at this time in the morning." The pink gem stated as it floated next to Nanoha.

Frowning softly, Nanoha started to walk to the back yard, hoping everything was alright.

She stopped and grabbed the wall as she heard a large explosion and some yelling. "Ah... Much better." She giggled as it was obvious that Vivio was just training her siblings again.

Thud.

"Ow! Sis, no fair! You promised not to use your Strike Arts!"

Crack.

"I lied!"

Nanoha winced. Apparently, Vivio had inherited her mother's training mantra to a T.

Ah well, at least things were going good.

Nanoha did want to be out there training them herself, but she promised to let Vivio train her siblings.

Mostly because Nanoha knew that Vivio wouldn't hold back in her training of them and because Vivio would stop herself before actually hurting them.

Still...

"What do you think, Raising Heart?"

"Master?" The device sounded confused as Nanoha took off her apron and giggled softly.

"Think I should have a quick match with them?"

"You definition of 'a quick match' tends to vary wildly from other people's definitions, my master," Raising Heart replied.

Nanoha laughed and nodded as Raising Heart floated to her hand. "Oh, I know." She walked out of the house and headed towards the dojo that her father, Miyuki, Vivio, Yuuno and herself had built. Fate had been away during the time that they had built it, but it worked well for training. Plus they had built in several seals into the walls to keep collateral damage to a minimum.

It was something that Chrono, Hayate and Nanoha herself had agreed on.

Opening the door, she nearly laughed as she saw Isamu ducking under a kick from his sister while Vivio blasted Alicia away and Sora came down from above, actually managing to hit Vivio before she grabbed him and slammed him to the floor.

"Oww..." The short-haired boy grimaced and rolled with the blow. "Mom?!"

The others stopped and turned to the door as Nanoha waved at them.

"Mama? What's wrong?" Vivio asked. "Time for breakfast?"

Nanoha laughed again and shook her head. "No, not yet. Still some time before that. I was just wondering if maybe I could join the training session."

Reactions were as expected.

Sora looked slightly nervous at the thought, while Alicia gave her mother a happy grin. Vivio smirked, clearly enjoying the thought of going against her mother for a one on one, while Isamu's eyes positively lit up at the idea.

"I guess that means you four are okay with the idea?" Nanoha chuckled as three of the four nodded, while Sora gulped softly. "So... All four of you against me? Or free-for-all?" Nanoha asked as she willed Raising Heart to its staff form.

"I say free for all," Vivio murmured, giving her siblings a look. Alicia simply shrugged, while Sora gulped again.

"Aww..." Isamu pouted. "I wanted to fight Mom."

Nanoha chuckled softly. "Well, you can, but watch your back, Vivio might snipe you."

"I would not." Vivio pouted before ducking as Nanoha took a shot at her. "Ack!"

"I'm sorry, I thought we were starting." Nanoha said, a pleasant smile on her face as her children scattered across the dojo.

Sora whimpered. He wasn't afraid of Nanoha hurting any of them, but he knew from stories and from looking at the books just how powerful his mother was.

Alicia smirked and zapped her brother with a small lightning bolt, getting him to jump and rub his butt as he glared at her. "Wanna team up on them?" She thought to her brother, knowing that neither of them could actually win against Vivio or Nanoha in a straight-up fight.

"Sure, what about Isamu?" Sora asked, before shaking his head. "Forget it, he'll provide enough of a distraction."

Alicia snorted. "That's a little cruel."

Sora blinked, then shrugged. "Fine, you want him to help us? It could be a three against two scenario."

"I said it was cruel, not that we shouldn't do it."

Sora smirked softly. "So, who should we gang up on?" He thought as he dodged a stray shot from Nanoha who was dodging Isamu and Vivio's attacks, before the younger boy was kicked away by Vivio.

Sora nodded as the two moved forward when both Nanoha and Vivio had their backs turned.

Vivio's eyes widened as she felt a blow to the back of her legs and one to the back of her head, causing her to grimace. She was just so lucky that she had that Saint Armor always on, otherwise she'd be hurting.

After landing on the ground, she pushed off and slid into a stance before smirking at her younger brother and sister. "Not bad, brats."

Sora pointed at Alicia. "She did it."

Alicia pointed back at Sora. "He put up the barrier so you wouldn't hear us coming."

Vivio chuckled and her fingers twitched, causing her siblings to jump away as several small magic blasts crashed into where they had been moments previous. "Less talking, more fighting." She smirked and dashed forward, sweeping Sora's legs out from under him, only to have to block as Alicia struck at her head.

Alicia grimaced as Vivio grabbed her leg and tossed her towards Nanoha, who was dodging backwards from Isamu's attacks, just seeing how his skills had improved since the last time she had seen him fight. She grimaced as Nanoha put up a pink barrier, causing her to crash into it.

At least it was a barrier designed to dampen kinetic forces, so she wasn't hurt from the crash.

"Why did we do this again?" Alicia asked Sora.

"Because we both know how badly Isamu wants to fight Mom?" Sora guessed.

Speaking of Isamu... where had he gotten to?

Nanoha chuckled as she blasted at Alicia, who barely got a barrier up in time to block. "Tut, tut, Alicia, distracted?" Her eyes widened as a red flash appeared, lighting up the dojo and causing her to spin around and put up a quick barrier to block her son's attack before she felt some binds wrap around her arms and legs and snap them tightly against her body.

"You're one to talk, mom." Sora chuckled as he tried to avoid Vivio's fast punches and kicks, only to grimace as one of her attacks got through and sent him flying across the dojo.

"Vivio!" Nanoha yelped.

"It's fine, Mom." Vivio rolled her eyes. "I didn't do anything to him, he'll be fine--"

The next instant she yelped as she was tackled from behind in an attack that was more physical than magical. Alicia groaned. Leave it to Isamu to bulldog his own sister when he could just use magic.

Sora shook his head as he cleared the stars in his vision and grimaced as he saw that his mother had already broken the chains that had been binding her. It was always so freaking hard to do anything against her, she was just so experienced, skilled and powerful that any of their matches against their mother was nearly impossible to win.

Nearly impossible, not completely. But it still required a lot of luck.

"Hey, Alicia?"

"What?" The blond girl asked as she used an electric chain bind on Vivio, getting her older sister to gasp out slightly as she felt an electric current running through her body.

"We can't win like this." Sora stated the obvious as he put up a few barriers to block his mother's attacks. "We need a new plan."

Alicia canceled the binds on Vivio before she hurt her sister too much. The small girl's eyes widened as Vivio seemed to get up before she could react and kicked her in the stomach, sending her into the wall and dazing her enough to keep her out of the fight for awhile.

Well, that sucked. Sora grimaced as his mother seemed to disappear before reappearing behind him and put him in a headlock.

"You kids lose." Nanoha said softly as Sora saw Vivio putting Isamu under her foot and keeping him down.

The boy pouted and sighed. "Drat."

Laughing softly at her son's pout, Nanoha released Sora and motioned for Vivio to get off Isamu. Honestly, she hadn't expected any differently, but the kids had done relatively well...

Or at least, Sora and Alicia had.

She sighed softly.

"Sora, Alicia, Vivio, go inside, okay?" Nanoha released her Barrier Jacket. "Breakfast should be ready, so you won't have to do anything difficult."

Alicia and Sora blinked. "But...."

"Come on, brats." Vivio grabbed the pair gently and dragged them out of the dojo as Isamu sat up and shook his head, rubbing the back of his neck sheepishly.

When her other children were gone, Nanoha sat down in front of Isamu. "What's wrong, Isamu?"

Of all the things that he expected his mother to say, that wasn't it. "Mom?"

"How come you weren't in on their plan? If you had taken a shot at Vivio with magic you could have helped Sora against me."

The young boy sighed and slumped. "They didn't tell me about any plans."

Nanoha blinked. "They didn't?"

Isamu shrugged. "Yeah. They do that a lot. It isn't so bad because most of the time I can just pull something off myself, but they never let me help them."

Nanoha blinked again. "Do you know why?"

"No, not really."

"I see..." Nanoha frowned softly. "Isamu, why don't you run in, I need to have a talk with Sora and Alicia."

The long-haired boy gulped slightly and nodded as he ran into the house.

As her son left, Nanoha sighed, just why would Sora and Alicia keep him out of any plans? Sure, he was more hot-headed than they were, but something wasn't right here. "Vivio..."

"Yeah, mama?"

"Send Sora and Alicia out here, will you?"

"Sure."

Nanoha waited for several minutes before she saw her children walk into the dojo, both looking at her sheepishly. "Why didn't you include Isamu?"

The two looked at each other nervously before turning back to their mother again. Sora cleared his throat and hoped the punishment wouldn't be too painful. "Well, we... uh... because..."

"Because we don't want the idiot to get hurt again," Alicia muttered, looking away.

Nanoha looked at Sora as her son gulped and nodded. "So, you two decided it would be better to work together and leave your brother out of it because you didn't think that he could help you out?"

"No!" Alicia snapped, finally losing her temper as her mother just didn't get it. "We do it because the dummy always charges into things without thinking because he wants to save people like you do! I'd rather not see my brother run through by an android again, please!"

Nanoha nodded and walked up to Alicia before kneeling down to look her in the eyes. "I know that it was hard, but, Alicia, if you don't keep him in the loop against superior opponents, don't you think that it's just inviting him to get hurt even worse next time?"

"We could always just find a way to keep him from fighting in the first place," Sora mumbled.

Nanoha sighed and shook her head. "That won't help, Sora. He's too much like me. But, you two, you aren't being fair to Isamu. If you two don't include him in with any plans you make, how can you keep him alive?"

Alicia bristled slightly at that. "We can protect him! We're both strong enough!"

"Perhaps you are." Nanoha shrugged slightly. "But don't you think that it would be easier to protect him if he was strong enough to protect himself?"

"Not really." Sora's voice was soft. "He's always throwing himself in the way to try and protect everyone."

Nanoha sighed, it was getting obvious that her children were all pretty stubborn. "Alright, let's try it this way... If he's going to just jump in the way to try and protect everyone, then at least make sure that he's strong enough to survive those times he does."

"But..."

Nanoha stood up and stared at the two with narrowed eyes. "I can understand you two wanting to protect him, I can. I feel the same way with your father and Fate-chan. But you have to realize that your brother is strong too. He might act rash, but he just wants to live up to his potential. And it's not fair to him if you don't at least try to include him in your plans."

"He wants to be like you," Alicia muttered.

"I know." Nanoha sighed softly as she started to walk towards the house. "Come on, let's get some food... Then we'll talk about what I'm going to do to you two after we're done eating."

Alicia and Sora both nodded and followed their mother inside.

---

Shaking his head as he finished putting on his shirt, Yuuno looked at Fate, who smiled at him as she pulled up her skirt. "Those kids sure are lively, huh?" Yuuno chuckled as Fate laughed and nodded.

"Oh yes. You can almost set an alarm clock to them being loud in the morning." She chuckled and blinked as the door opened. "Ah, good morning, Nanoha."

"Breakfast is ready." Nanoha said as she walked in and closed the door, causing the two to blink at her.

"Nanoha?" They asked at the same time.

"What's wrong?" Yuuno asked her.

Nanoha grimaced and walked across the room to sit on the bed, rubbing the back of her neck. "I sparred with the kids," she said at last. "Sora and Alicia have a bad habit."

"A bad habit?" Fate frowned. "Like what?"

"They keep Isamu out of their battle plans."

Yuuno frowned softly. "I thought they were better than that." He walked to the bed and sat down next to Nanoha. "What were you planning to do about this?"

Nanoha shook her head helplessly. "I don't know. It isn't because they think he can't fight, it's because they're scared. They remember what happened to him..." She trailed off and shuddered.

Fate was silent as she looked at Nanoha and Yuuno, both of which were obviously remembering what happened back then. "...You're scared about him too, aren't you?" She wasn't surprised when Nanoha nodded at that question.

"What should I do about it?" Nanoha asked, her voice trembling. "I know where they're coming from, it's so hard for me to actually tell them to include him when I just want him to stay home and safe as well."

Yuuno hesitated before clearing his throat. "For you, Nanoha... what scares you?

"He's like me." Nanoha rubbed her eyes. "Isamu is practically a carbon copy of how I was when I was nine, only more reckless and more determined to protect people."

"I think it's safe to say that we both remember how stubborn you were back then." Fate said softly, getting a chuckle from her spouses. "But, if he's as stubborn as you were, Nanoha, you won't convince him to stay home. If Alicia and Sora are leaving him out of their plans, that puts him in more danger than what he's in when he jumps into the fray blindly."

"I know that." Nanoha shook her head. "And I know that if he keeps doing that, he might end up hurting Alicia and Sora, too..."

Yuuno frowned softly before squeezing Nanoha's hand. "Explain it to them then. That what they're doing is going to hurt them in the long run."

"I tried, but they're as stubborn as the three of us combined." Nanoha sighed heavily. "I don't know how to explain it to them any..."

"How about having Teana give them a talk?" Fate suggested, getting a blink from both of her spouses. "If there's anyone who would know what it's like to be in Isamu's position, it's Teana."

Nanoha frowned thoughtfully. "I hadn't thought about that..."

"They have a similar problem," Fate replied. "Think about it. Teana was always trying to prove herself when she was a Star Forward, not all that different from Isamu's determination to charge in with all he has. I think you'd be surprised at how easily they'd get along."

"Well, do you two think it would help all three of them or just Isamu?"

"Maybe just Isamu." Yuuno said as he thought about it. "Why not send Sora and Alicia to Shamal?" He smiled at their slightly confused looks. "Who better to tell Sora and Alicia about what it's like to care for someone who does something incredibly foolhardy and crazy other than Shamal?"

"What about Hayate-chae?" Nanoha asked, curious as to why her husband didn't suggest Hayate, since her friend would know how it was with people always willing to try and protect her.

Yuuno shook his head. "Hayate-chan has people who put themselves at risk for her, but Shamal can relate to just how stubborn your family tends to be when it comes to protecting people. She's experienced it herself firsthand, so she could relate to Sora and Alicia."

Fate nodded and smiled lightly. "Plus, they might actually listen to our friends if they're being that stubborn with us." It both annoyed and amused her that her daughter was like that. Guess stubbornness just runs in the family when you're related to a Takamachi somehow. She thought to herself.

Nanoha sighed softly. "I guess it wouldn't hurt if I talked to Isamu and Sora a bit, too," she murmured. She'd always suspected her boys harbored some luggage from what had happened, but she hadn't thought it would go this far.

"I'll ask Alicia about it," Fate offered. "Yuuno can help me if he wants. You tend to bring out her stubborn side, Nanoha."

"Mou, you say that like it's a bad thing!"

The three adults shared a chuckle before they left and went downstairs for breakfast.

"Mou... I thought you three weren't going to show up." Vivio smirked at her parents. "I was just about to call Arf, Zafira and Uncle Chrono to authorize a fleet to go searching for you."

The three younger children all shared a laugh from that.

"Sorry Vivio, important adult discussion." Yuuno lightly ruffled his daughter's hair as he sat down at the table. "We lost track of time."

Vivio pouted. "What, I'm not an adult?"

"You're tall enough to pass as one," Isamu quipped, causing Alicia and Sora to snicker.

Vivio rolled her eyes. "Fine, fine... So, what took so long?" She blinked as Fate gave her a fairly sharp, though neutral look. "Mama?"

"Sorry, just thinking..." She looked at Alicia and Sora. "I heard about what happened this morning when you four were sparring with Nanoha."

At that, all three children in question cringed, and amazingly enough, Isamu inched closer to his siblings. "It isn't their fault," he muttered. "I'm not always the best when it comes to plans, anyway."

Fate didn't say anything but she nodded as she looked at him. "If that's the case, Isamu, I want you to go talk to someone today."

"Huh?" Isamu blinked as Fate smiled softly at him.

"Nanoha's former student, Teana."


Isamu blinked, then shrugged. "Okay, Fate-mama."

"Same goes for you two," Yuuno added, glancing at Alicia and Sora. "Sora, Alicia, would you mind paying a visit to your Aunt Shamal?"

The two shook their heads.

Nanoha nodded as the trio agreed and went to eating.

"Hey, mama?"

"Yes, Vivio?"

"What's wrong?" Vivio was confused as the family ate normally.

"I'm worried about your siblings, hopefully this can help them."

"Um... okay." While still confused, Vivio figured her parents had a good reason for their odd request, and went back to eating, occasionally glancing at her younger siblings.

---

Later on, Isamu found himself knocking on the door of the building that Teana shared with Subaru. "Ah, Subaru!" He grinned as he saw the purple-haired woman grinning at him. "Is Teana in?"

"She's discussing some strategies with Teela, actually." Pushing the door open wider, Subaru gestured for Isamu to come in before leading him down the hall. "They're still trying to figure out how to handle that time limit of hers, but no luck so far."

"Still hurts them a lot?"

Subaru nodded and sighed softly. "If they go too long, yeah."

Entering the study room, the young boy saw Teana and Teela, the latter was able to take a larger form these days with no problem, wearing a yellow sundress with green flowers on it while Teana was wearing black pants and a loose-fitting t-shirt.

"Tea!" Subaru grinned as her lover jumped. "We got guests!"

Teana blinked and glanced away from Teela, smiling when she saw Isamu. "Hey. Fate-san called and said you'd be coming by."

"Yeah." Isamu smiled nervously. "She wanted me to talk to you."

Teana nodded and spun her chair around. "Fate-san didn't tell me much, but I hear that you've been left out of plans by your siblings lately."

Isamu shrugged, scuffing his foot against the floor as Subaru made a strategic exit stage left, knowing this was something Teana had to do on her own. "I don't see the problem. I can understand why they do it. I don't do well with plans."

"You don't huh?" Teana quirked an eyebrow at the young boy. "What happens if something goes wrong like it did a few years ago, Isamu?"

Isamu flinched at that. "I'll just do what Mom does all the time," he mumbled.

Teana chuckled softly. "Wow, it's like I'm seeing a mirror here." She sighed and looked at Isamu seriously. "Even if you're as strong as your mother, Isamu, she never recklessly jumped into battle without having help if she could help it."

"That's not how it sounds from the way everyone talks about her." Isamu's shoulders slumped. He could still remember what Nanoha had been like when he'd been injured while trying to save Alicia; what kind of son made his mother cry?

Teana chuckled softly. "Your mom might be one of the strongest mages in history capable of fighting alone, but I can't recall a single time that she went into battle alone. She might have ended up fighting someone alone, but she never started a fight by herself." Teana took a deep breath and laughed at the look on his face. "Trust me, as strong as she is, she's always had help. Everyone needs help when it comes to stuff like fighting... or even life."

"... I made her cry."

Teana blinked, before understanding dawned on her. "You hate that you did that, don't you?" When he nodded stiffly, she sighed. "Isamu, you were six at that time, you really couldn't help what happened."

"I made mama cry!" Isamu cried out. "I... I should be stronger than that!"

Teana sighed again. "Isamu, you were six. You fought tooth and nail, you and Sora both, to keep Alicia from being taken away, and then you snuck back on to help again. Nanoha-san didn't even do that much when she was six."

"I... I know but..." Isamu blinked as Teana put her hands on his shoulders. "Teana?"

"Why is it, Isamu, that you're so much like I used to be?" She asked rhetorically, knowing that he had no answer to that. "Wanna know something?"

"What?" Isamu blinked as she smiled at him.

"Did you know that I was a lot like you? Always striving to prove myself to everyone around me that I didn't care if I hurt myself as long as I could prove myself. I nearly ended up hurting Subaru on several occasions because of that."

At that, Isamu snickered. "Yeah, she told us about those."

"Oh?" Teana lifted a brow, the look on her face enough to have Teela squeaking nervously and flying down the hall to find Subaru. "Did she? I never knew that, I'll have to talk to her later..."

"Besides..." Isamu shrugged. "Sora and Alicia aren't stupid. They'd be okay without me fighting with them."

"Now that, I don't believe." Teana frowned softly. "Why do you think that they'd be okay without you?"

"Because they're both really smart. Sora knows how to find an opponent's weakness and build a plan, Alicia's patient enough to be guided through it."

Teana nodded as he explained his sibling's strengths. "What about you?"

"Huh?" Isamu blinked a few times.

"Here you are, explaining what makes them so great as a team that you aren't telling me why you deserve to be fighting along side them."

"... I don't?"

Teana was silent and stunned as she looked at the boy. "...You... You don't?"

"I'm not as smart as Sora, I'm not as tough as Vivio, I'm not as skilled as Alicia." Isamu was looking down, trembling as tears welled up in his eyes, he didn't want Teana to see him cry. "I might be able to make things explode, but so what? Anyone can do that, and..."

A moment later he found himself in a hug as Teana held him. "Whaa?"

Teana sighed. "If you were a few years older, I swear I'd slap you for that."

Isamu blinked. "You would?"

"Yep, but you're still young and I'm afraid of what Nanoha-san would do to me if I hit one of her kids." Shaking her head with a chuckle, Teana pulled back slightly to look at the boy. "Isamu, have you ever talked to Nanoha-san about any of this?"

Isamu hesitated, then shook his head slowly.

"Why not?" She asked gently, rubbing his cheek gently. "She's your mother, she'd listen to you."

"What if she hates me?" Isamu swallowed hard. "What if she hates me for making her cry? What if she thinks I'm weak?"

....

Teana wondered how the heck Nanoha had missed this for so many years.

She needed to try another approach here...

"Say, Isamu, do you think that I'm weak?"

He slowly shook his head as he looked at her in confusion. "No... Why?"

"Because when I was young, I was a lot like you were," she said. "I doubted myself just as much as you did. Maybe more so."

Isamu blinked a few times. "...But, but you're so strong and smart and really, really good. Fate-mama keeps telling telling me that you're one of the best Enforcers around!"

Teana chuckled. "That's nice to know, but the truth is I wasn't always that way. It wasn't until Signum punched some sense into me and Nanoha-san actually took me under her wing that I gained confidence in my abilities and was able to build off of them."

Isamu blinked several times as Teana patted his back. "But..."

"You want to know something, Isamu? I was always comparing myself to Subaru, Erio and Caro, I never thought I was that good. I wasn't as strong as Subaru, I didn't have a unique skill like Caro and I wasn't good in combat like Erio and Subaru were." Teana shook her head softly. "That held me back, a lot."

Isamu scuffed his foot against the ground. "You never made Mom cry."

"No, I didn't. At least, I don't think I did." Teana chuckled. "But Isamu, how do you know she thinks you're weak? Have you ever asked her?"

"... No..."

She smirked softly and whacked him lightly on the head. "So, silly boy, why do you think you're weak? Because you can't blast a hole through a trans-dimensional warship? Because you couldn't do everything that your mother can do these days when you were six years old?"

Isamu shrugged helplessly. It wasn't something he could explain, not properly; it was just a feeling he had.

Teana shook her head. "So, Isamu, if you think you're weak... I want to tell you this, you aren't."

He blinked a few times at that.

"You're just reckless, that's all." Teana giggled softly. "Subaru was a lot like you are now. So reckless and crazy at times."

Isamu blinked again. "What happened to her?" he asked softly.

"She got hurt a long time ago." Teana shook her head and let go of the hug and patted his shoulders softly. "She's still reckless at times, but she's tempered with experience now."

"Oh..." Isamu nodded slowly.

"Yeah." Teana nodded and sighed softly. "Just tell me, why didn't you talk to Nanoha-san, Fate-san or Yuuno-san about your fears?"

"It's not Dad or Fate-mama's fault." Isamu shrugged. "And it seemed like a stupid thing to talk to Mom about. I didn't want to bring back bad memories."

"Bad memories make up who we are, kiddo." Teana couldn't help but chuckle at him. "If we don't face them, they tend to corrode our bodies and minds until there's nothing left."

Isamu's shoulders slumped. "What if she won't talk about it?"

Teana sighed softly. "Isamu, I think that if you talked to Nanoha-san about your problems, she would take the time to talk to you about everything." When the boy didn't respond, Teana closed her eyes. Even if that event was major, it was so long ago...

"Did you know that your mother blew me up?" Teana cracked an eye open as Isamu stared at her stupidly. "Yeah, it was a long time ago, but she did. I was hurting myself and Subaru at that time. After that, she sat me down and explained things to me."

"She did?"

Teana nodded.

Isamu frowned, scratching the back of his neck. "Subaru never mentions that. All she ever says is that Mom blew you up."

Teana blinked and narrowed her eyes at him. "So, what was with the shocked look when I said it?"

"...I didn't think you'd tell me?" Isamu said, chuckling softly.

Teana rolled her eyes. "Kiddo..." She sighed softly. "But, yeah, your mother sat down and talked to me about things, why she trained me the way she was, why she got upset with me, and why I needed to listen to her."

"... So you don't think she'd be mad at me?"

Teana gave him a flat look. "Isamu, if she got upset, she'd be more mad at herself for missing this, or for you not telling her sooner. But if I know your mother, she doesn't see you as weak." When Isamu asked her what she meant, Teana chuckled and leaned back in her chair. "Hey, she saw something in an emotionally upset and bull-headed teenage girl who didn't have any real skills. She didn't have to, but she did. And she's your mother."

Ismau blinked several times. "I... I guess so."

Teana looked at his nervous expression. "What's wrong, Isamu? Why are you so nervous about talking to your mother about this?"

"She doesn't really talk about it much." He shrugged. "Even when it was over, it wasn't something she brought up a lot."

"...I can guarantee you that she talked to Fate-san and Yuuno-san about it, a lot."

Isamu looked down and sniffled softly. "I made her cry. Sora and Alicia told me that mom cried all the time when I was hurt. I... I'm not a good son."

Teana groaned. "Isamu, has Nanoha-san ever implied that she thinks you aren't a good son?"

"No..."

"Has she ever said to your face that you're a failure?"

"No!"

"So what's the problem?"

The boy trembled and sniffled. "I... I made my mom cry because I wasn't strong enough to save Alicia! Maybe it would have..."

"Stop." Teana said and frowned as she hugged him again. "Stop right there, Isamu. Your parents would hate themselves if they heard you talking like this."

Once again, Teana wondered how Nanoha had managed to miss this; heck, how Yuuno and Fate had managed to miss it. Apparently, Isamu was better at hiding his emotions than everyone gave him credit for.

"Why? Why do you care so much?" Isamu asked as he cried into her shoulder.

Teana sighed. "Because believe it or not, I do care about you a lot. And I know how it feels to not tell someone you love how you truly feel. It hurts."

Isamu clung to her. "...I'm scared." When Teana did nothing more than rub his back, he whimpered. "I heard rumors... About how mom looked when I got hurt, I... I'm scared that I'll hurt her if she remembers, or that she'll look like that to me."

Teana's heart ached. "Isamu, you know you weren't the one she was looking at, right?"

"But... I..." Isamu stopped as Teana put a finger on his lips.

"Your mother loves you very much, Isamu. She's always talking about how brave you are and how she's so proud of you, Sora and Alicia for all that you've done." Teana smiled as his eyes widened a bit. "If there's one thing she's not... It's upset with you. Even if Nanoha-san gets upset, she's most likely worried about you. So, you need to talk to her about how you feel, okay? And you need to work with Sora and Alicia too. Would you have preferred that Alicia or Sora got hurt like you did?" When he shook his head and stiffened in her arms, Teana nodded. "Even though Nanoha-san cried when you were hurt, she's glad that you, Sora and Alicia are alright and healthy now. It wouldn't be that way if you weren't there."

Isamu blinked, then swallowed. "What do you think it would be like?" he asked softly. "If... if I asked her about it."

"I can't tell you, I'm not her." Teana shook her head. "However, if I was your mother, I'd hold you and tell you that the fact that you're still alive means so much to me." Teana chuckled as Isamu turned red slightly. "If I was your mother, I'm not."

"No, you're Teela's mother." Isamu said, laughing softly as Teana broke into laughter.

"I guess I am." Laughing, Teana ruffled Isamu's hair gently. "Just talk to her. I can promise you it won't be as bad as you're making it out to be."

Isamu smiled softly. "Thanks, Teana."

"No problem." The older woman hugged him again. "You're a sweet kid, Isamu. Regardless of what crazy things you and your siblings get into."

[Nanya01]

Spoiler for Omake Special 2 - PT II:

"I got it!"

Alicia and Sora heard the sound of nimble feet darting down the hallway to the door and exchanged amused looks; even at her age, their aunt was prone to moving as if she was still a teenager. Shamal often claimed she still acted like one.

Their reverie ended when the door opened and Miyuki smiled down at the two, her long black hair undone and falling freely down her back. "Sora, Alicia, hi," she said, gesturing for the two to come in. "Nanoha said you'd be visiting."

"Hi, Auntie." Alicia smiled softly and waved as the two were let in. "We were told to talk to Aunt Shamal."

"She's in, if you were thinking of getting out of that talk." Miyuki smirked as the two flushed in embarrassment.

"Awww..." Sora sighed.

"Aunt Miyuki?" Alicia frowned. "Do we really need to talk to Aunt Shamal about this?"

Amused, Miyuki gently flicked the blond on the nose. "Yes, really."

The three walked into the living room where Shamal was sitting on the couch and smiling as she looked at the trio. "Welcome to my parlor, said the blond spider to the flies." She nearly laughed as the kids looked like they were about to run away in fright.

Miyuki smirked. "Shamal, you promised you'd leave your dominant side in the closet."

"I'm sorry. I saw the looks on their faces and couldn't resist."

Alicia pouted at that. "Not funny, auntie."

"It was to me." Shamal said with a laugh. "So, what's the problem you two have been having with Isamu lately?"

"...Fate-mama doesn't keep a secret, does she?" Sora said with a groan.

"Not when it can be important." Shamal said, shaking her head. "Not including your own brother in your battle plans? Why?"

Sensing this conversation was going to take awhile and wasn't something she needed to hear, Miyuki slipped away quietly and made herself scarce.

Alicia sighed. "Because he's a dummy who just wants to protect other people. He never thinks of himself."

Shamal raised an eyebrow and shook her head. "I thought that was a quality that your family enjoyed."

"Not when he goes and gets hurt stupidly!" Alicia yelled at Shamal. "Not when he'd go and throw his life away so easily!"

Shamal sighed. "Alicia, this isn't news to me. I've seen it happen first hand."

"You mean... you've seen Isamu fight, too?"

The older woman shook her head at Sora's question. "No, not Isamu directly. But I've been your mother's doctor for years. I was there through the worst of your mother's injuries, when she needed to recover from pushing herself too hard, when she saved Vivio and you two when you were younger. But even then... It's not her that I'm talking about. It's Miyuki."

Sora and Alicia exchanged startled looks. "Aunt Miyuki?" Alicia said at last, slowly.

"Seriously?" Sora sounded stunned. It was no secret to the children that at one time Miyuki had been just as active as their mother in terms of fighting, but she rarely ever told stories about it, and she had mellowed out over the years (a fact Shamal was always willing to challenge).

Shamal chuckled and nodded. "Oh yes. I swear, she was trying to send me to an early grave through sheer worry." Smirking at the looks on their faces, Shamal sighed softly. "Does that sound familiar to you two?"

Alicia scooted closer to her aunt. "What did she used to do?"

Shamal sighed and chuckled softly. "You mean besides fighting against people who grossly out-powered her in terms of magic with just her skill alone? Or wanting to push herself to exhaustion and keep going simply because she can?"

"...Are we talking about the same aunt Miyuki?" Sora asked, confused.

Shamal chuckled again. "I'd like to think we are, otherwise I don't know her half as well as I like to think I know her."

"But... but..." Alicia was stunned. "Aunt Miyuki never does that! I mean, sure, sometimes she pushes her limits a little and Nanoha-mama scolds her for it, but she's never been that bad!"

"I wish she wasn't that bad." Shamal shook her head and sighed. "But, no, your aunt, she was very, very active when she was younger. Made me worry a hell of a lot."

Sora gulped slightly. "How did you handle it?"

"I didn't." Shamal sighed and leaned back against the couch. "Quite honestly, I wanted to tie your aunt to a bed and leave her there until the dangers had passed..."

"What stopped you?" Alicia asked, now fully intrigued.

Shamal chuckled and had a small grin on her face. "Momoko did."

"Grandma?" Sora blinked as Shamal nodded.

"Yeah. She told me that either you let them go or you don't, they're going to show up anyway. At least if you let them go, you know where they're at."

"But weren't you scared?" Sora burst out.

Feeling like they were starting to make some progress, Shamal's small grin became a soft smile. "Scared of what?"

"Scared of..."

When Sora faltered, Alicia picked it up for him. "Scared that she'd get killed," she murmured. "Scared that if something went wrong, she'd never come back."

"What makes you think I wasn't?" Shamal asked them softly. "Don't you think that Nanoha, Fate and Yuuno worry about each other when they go on adventures, missions and deal with the various crisis that happen?"

"Then why did you let her go?" Alicia was desperate to understand; she couldn't comprehend willingly letting Isamu go to fight, after what had happened. "Why do Mom, Nanoha-mama, and Dad let each other do that?"

"Because we love each other, and part of loving each other means that we trust each other to stay alive and come through dangerous missions." Shamal smiled at them softly. "I'll admit, I was worried sick about Miyuki so many times that I finally asked her to stop and stay home to help me." Not that Miyuki ever gave up fighting or training, since she trained Alicia and even gave Fate some pointers on how to use her Zanbar forms.

Sora blinked. "And she listened to you?" Somehow he found that hard to believe; then again, he sometimes had a hard time believing all the stories about how crazy Nanoha had been when she was younger, too. He just couldn't imagine his mother or his aunt being as people once described them.

"No." Shamal shook her head. "It took years before she finally relaxed enough to even consider settling down here. And, trust me, if it wasn't for Vivio and later you three, I don't think Nanoha would have ever started to calm down." Actually, now that Shamal thought about it, Nanoha was probably worse these days when it came to combat, since she had so much more to live for after each mission.

"Then... how did you get her to settle down?"

Smiling at Sora's question, Shamal shook her head. "It wasn't easy, it wasn't quick, and it was annoying, but, if anything, I think Miyuki only settled down because she was sick of me fussing over her all the time."

"Um, Auntie?" Alicia gulped slightly. "What if Miyuki was still fighting, then what would you do?"

Shamal lifted a brow. "Why do you ask?"

"Well... if she never settled down, if she kept doing what she was doing before.... what would you have done?" Sora was nearly dying of curiosity, as was Alicia about all of this.

"I... I honestly don't know." Shamal sighed. "But, if I had to guess... It would involve some yelling at her, some of her yelling back, some making up, and me supporting her and making sure that when she came back all broken down and beaten up that she had someone who could patch her up and take care of her." The older blond smiled softly. "It's partially why your grandparents never minded your parents, aunt and uncle going out and fighting the way that they did."

There was a moment of silence as the brother and sister shifted awkwardly from foot to foot, trying to figure out how to ask their next question.

Finally, Alicia just sighed and said it. "What if... what if Aunt Miyuki was killed because she kept fighting?"

"Boy, you two keep asking difficult questions, huh?" Shamal couldn't help but marvel at them slightly. "You two really are Yuuno's children aren't you?"

Sora laughed sheepishly. "We're just curious," he said softly. "It... it scares us, to think that Isamu could die. It isn't something we like to think about."

"I never liked it when Miyuki went out to fight." Shamal said with a soft sigh. "And death?" Shamal shook her head. "It's not something any of us like to think about, even if it's something that we have to face eventually."

"Yeah..." They murmured at the same time.

"But, do you think that it would be better if you left your brother at home?" Shamal asked them. "Do you think that he'd stay at home and wait for you two to get back peacefully?"

"...We were kind of hoping..." Alicia trailed off as Shamal shook her head.

"If Nanoha and Miyuki taught me anything, the instant you're not looking, he'll slip out of the house and get mixed up in trouble and most likely get badly hurt simply because he was by himself instead of with help."

"But that means you tried to do the same thing," Alicia mumbled. "At least once or twice."

"With both Nanoha and Miyuki." Shamal chuckled softly. "It didn't work out with either of them. The most I could do was make sure to fix them up and tell them to take it easy."

"But mom's not..." Sora trailed off. "Are you sure we're talking about the same person?"

Shamal laughed. "Oh, definitely. Believe it or not, your mother used to take some wild risks when she was younger, and she actually got worse the older she got. It wasn't until she adopted Vivio that she got the hint and started to settle down."

Alicia stared at Shamal. "...I think you're talking about someone else..."

Shamal chuckled softly. "Oh really? Doesn't Nanoha talk about it?"

Sora shook his head. "Not really, no. All we're ever told is that she used to save people. It's part of the reason why Isamu..." He faltered, then promptly slammed his mouth shut.

"Really?" Shamal raised her eyebrow. "Nanoha told Vivio about what she and Fate were like when they were little kids. I'm surprised she hasn't said anything yet."

Alicia shook her head. "Sis never mentioned anything like that to us. All she ever said was that she and Nanoha-mama got into a bad fight when she was kidnapped."

"I guess with the way that Isamu is, maybe Nanoha was worried what you three would do if you found out what she was like." Shamal sighed softly. "Do you know what your mother's favorite saying when she fights is?"

Sora and Alicia both shook their heads.

"Really?" Shamal blinked before rubbing her forehead. "Oh right, Vivio, Miyuki and Vita train you two and Isamu because Nanoha's worried about going easy on the three of you." She chuckled softly. "Nanoha's favorite saying is Full Power, Maximum Destruction when she fights."

"EH?!" The two stared stupidly.

"Why don't you two ask Nanoha to give you a full training session sometime, you'll understand then."

"Ne, Aunt Shamal..."

"Yes?"

Alicia looked at her hands. "What would you do if Aunt Miyuki went back to being like that? Always pushing herself and trying so hard to save others?"

Shamal sighed softly. "If I said I would take it laying down, I'd be lying." She shrugged helplessly. "Your aunt is nearly a decade older than Nanoha is, she doesn't heal as fast as she used to, which is why she finally decided on giving up fighting as hard as she did."

"Wasn't it because she got hurt that one time and almost died?" Sora asked, then blinked when he noticed Shamal's stunned look. "What? Aunt Miyuki talks about it all the time when we ask her why she stopped fighting and went back to just training us and Sis."

"There is that." Shamal shook her head slightly. "But even Nanoha and Fate, when they were little, were like Isamu is."

"You say it like it's a good thing," Alicia mumbled.

Shamal chuckled softly. "It makes them who they are. I'd say it's a good thing." Seeing the dubious looks on their faces, the blond shook her head. "Tell me something, what has Nanoha and Fate told you two about themselves?"

The two were silent for a moment before looking at each other and sighing softly.

"...Not much, huh?" Shamal sighed softly. "Alright. I won't tell you much myself, but you have to realize that when they were about your age, your mothers were nearly crazy sometimes when they fought."

"...Now you're just messing with us, mom and Nanoha-mama are nowhere near crazy, unless we're hurt."

Shamal shrugged good-naturedly. "If you're ever curious, ask Hayate about it. She has tapes."

Sora was silent for awhile before he cleared his throat. "Auntie, are you... Are you serious? Was mom like Isamu when she was young?"

Shamal nodded at him. "Yes, she was. I don't know why Nanoha hasn't told you about what she was like yet, but I'm sure she has her reasons."

Sora sighed and looked at Alicia. "...Alicia..."

The blond girl nodded softly. "We need to apologize to Isamu when we see him again." She looked at Sora sadly. "You think he'll forgive us?"

Shamal chuckled. "You're really afraid he won't?"

Timidly, both children nodded.

Sighing, the medic smiled at them. "He loves you both. Why do you think he fights so hard? He just wants to protect you. He won't hate you for trying to do the same thing for him."

Alicia took a breath before closing her eyes. "Auntie... Do... Do you think that it would be good for us to have Isamu join us? Knowing that he's like he is?"

Shamal nodded and smiled softly as she looked at the small children. "Trust me, Alicia, Sora... It's never easy, knowing that he'll push himself so hard. But it's always better to know where he's at, instead of worrying that he's where he shouldn't be." Shamal tapped her chin before smiling softly. "When Vivio was six, she was kidnapped by Lutecia, Otto and Deed, and Nanoha had to go get her back."

"We know that." Sora said softly. They didn't get a lot of details from their friends too often, since so many of them didn't like what they were before they became friends with each other.

"I figured." Shamal chuckled at them. "Did you know that Hayate told me later that the only reason she allowed Nanoha to go was because she was worried that Nanoha would go anyway, with or without permission?"

"Seriously?" The children just stared at their aunt, disbelieving. They knew their mother had a habit of chapping at the bit when she felt she was being held back, but they'd never known her to disobey direct orders.

Shamal nodded. "Seriously. Your mother was frantic when Vivio was taken away... not even Fate-chan could calm her down. Hayate knew it was better to send her along then keep her home, because she would have gone out anyway and might have gotten seriously injured."

The two looked at each other before Sora turned to Shamal. "...Can we go home?" They had too much to think about.

Plus, they really wanted to talk to Nanoha.

Shamal nodded and smiled at them. "Go ahead. I'll tell her that you're coming."

The two couldn't bolt out of there fast enough.

Chuckling, Shamal opened up a view screen to call Nanoha. "Hello, Nanoha."

"Shamal." The other woman was smiling at her doctor and friend. "How'd it go?"

"Pretty well, actually. But, I need to ask you something, Nanoha." When the brunette blinked at her, Shamal frowned softly. "Why didn't you ever tell them about what you were like?"

Despite having a melancholic look cross her face, Nanoha didn't hesitate to answer. "Shamal... Even though myself, Fate-chan, Yuuno-kun and Vivio were all very mature when we were little... those three... They're normal kids, despite having magic. When Isamu heard about how I helped and saved people..." She shook her head. "I was worried about telling them the full story until they were older."

"Kind of late to be worrying about that, don't you think?" Shamal lifted a brow. "Isamu already wants to be just like you, and he doesn't even know the truth."

Laughing softly, she nodded at Shamal. "I know. But I've worried about it for years now, Shamal."

Seeing her sigh softly, Shamal shook her head and smiled. "I think it's time to tell them, the full truth, Nanoha. How you, Yuuno and Fate first met and what happened, how you three were when you were younger." Seeing Nanoha grimace slightly, she laughed. "Plus Sora and Alicia just don't believe me when I told them what you were like."

"I've settled down a lot since then, Shamal." Nanoha rolled her eyes at that.

"Oh, I know you have." Shamal nodded. "I just find it strange that you never mentioned your childhood to them at least once or twice. I still wonder how Hayate never slipped up and mentioned to them."

From the hallway, Miyuki stuck her head into the room. "Can I come back in?"

Nanoha chuckled softly. "I don't know either, Shamal." She took a deep breath. "Guess I have to tell them now, huh?"

Shamal nodded and chuckled. "That might be for the best." She looked at Miyuki and smirked at her. "Do you need to ask?"

Miyuki blinked innocently. "Hey, I wasn't going to walk in while you were telling the kids about my wild days of youth with Nanoha..."

"Onee-chan!" Nanoha yelped. "I wasn't that bad!"

Miyuki gave her a look.

"... I was only as bad as you were!"

Miyuki laughed softly. "Still, it's probably best to not hide it anymore, sis. They were so confused about it."

"Is it really that hard to believe?" Nanoha mumbled. "It wasn't like I was a wild kid when I was young."

Shamal chuckled. "Nope, you were perfectly well behaved, you just liked to blow people up."

"I was not that bad, Shamal, you know that." Nanoha rolled her eyes. "I just couldn't get Fate-chan or Vita-chan to listen to me until I blew them up."

"Got that from us, I'm afraid." Miyuki chuckled softly. "Kyou-chan and I could never make our opponent see our way of things until we gave them a good beating."

Shamal rolled her eyes. "Makes too much sense to me." She cleared her throat. "Anyway, Nanoha, you might want to get ready and tell those two and Isamu everything."

Nanoha winced. "They're going to have questions?"

"Lots of them."

Sighing, Nanoha nodded and closed her eyes. "Shamal, tell me... Why didn't they want to include Isamu when they made their plans?"

Shamal winced. "Because they were scared. Scared that he would charge in trying to protect them and get hurt, like he did before. He has a bad habit of running in before he thinks." She smirked. "He reminds me of a few people I know."

"I have no idea what you're talking about, Shamal." Nanoha said with a completely straight face.

It lasted until Shamal gave her a flat look, causing her to break out in laughter.

Miyuki laughed softly. "Well, for what it's worth, sis... I think that your children should be able to handle it... Plus..." Her eyes softened. "I know that talking about what you, Fate and Yuuno went through as children isn't easy, but they need to know."

"It would help Isamu too, I think," Shamal added. "You know how much he idolizes you, Nanoha."

"I know." Nanoha smiled softly. "Shamal... Thank you... For talking with them." She started to look a bit depressed as she continued. "I just wish that it was easier for me to talk with them sometimes."

Shamal chuckled. "It's only hard because you love them so much, Nanoha. It isn't a bad thing. You're afraid that if you tell them how you were, they'll see you differently. It's natural."

Nanoha chuckled softly. "Maybe I was a bit worried about them turning out like Vivio did for awhile."

"You mean a battle maniac?" Miyuki smirked as Nanoha got a weird and funny look on her face. "Sorry to say, sis, but Alicia's already a battle maniac."

"No she isn't." Nanoha was genuinely baffled.

Miyuki snorted. "Come by our sparring sessions sometime. You'll see differently. It drives Shamal insane at how bruised up we get just from practicing."

"Sad but true, Nanoha." Shamal sighed. "Your sister hasn't calmed down one iota, even since she's "retired"." Shamal had her hands up and in quotation marks as she said retired.

"Hey, it's not like I go on missions and get shot at anymore," Miyuki muttered.

"No, you just train your niece until you're both black and purple." Shamal grumbled. "I swear, you and Signum have some sort of running bet on who can train Alicia harder and better." When Miyuki started whistling innocently, Shamal sweat-dropped and developed a slightly pleading look in her eyes. "...Please tell me that you don't have a running bet with Signum on who can train Alicia better."

"That's a secret we both swore to take to our graves."

Shamal scowled at her lover. "Tell me, or you're sleeping on the couch for a year."

Miyuki sweat-dropped slightly. "...Would you be joining me on the couch?" Seeing Shamal's scowl increase, Miyuki sighed and gave up. "...Would you be upset if I said "yes"?"

Shamal's eyes narrowed. "Define 'upset'."

Miyuki sighed again. "Upset enough to give me the death glare you're currently giving me?"

"Onee-chan..." Nanoha narrowed her eyes and tapped her arms. "Please tell me that you are not putting Fate-chan's daughter through hell in the name of training to one-up Signum?"

"...Boy, you two sure take the fun out of it, don't you?"

"Onee-chan!"

"What? It's not like she's complaining!" Miyuki snapped. "If anything, she's the one who asked us to push her harder! You can't baby them forever Nanoha, they have to grow up and learn how to fight sometime. Signum and I figured it would be better to be rough on Alicia sooner rather than later."

Nanoha sighed and took a deep breath. "Even so... I asked Vita, you, Signum and Vivio to train them because I know that you four wouldn't hold back on them. But, onee-chan..." She narrowed her eyes at Miyuki. "You still should have at least told us about the training methods you were going to use."

"Would you have stopped me?" Miyuki asked flatly.

"...I would have at least wanted Shamal to sit in and watch to make sure that nothing happened." Nanoha admitted after thinking it over for a few minutes. "Because both Fate-chan and I would have stopped you if we watched it."

"Nanoha." Miyuki's tone was flat and left no room for argument. "Alicia was six years old. She saw her own brother stabbed in front of her, and felt it was her fault because she wasn't strong enough to protect him. She's always been honest to Signum and I about how hard we push her. If we honestly thought we were going too fast, we would slow down. You don't give her enough credit."

Nanoha sighed and chuckled. "I'm a mother, Miyuki. I guess worrying about my children comes naturally when my eldest daughter was kidnapped from her home and forced to fight against me and my son was badly hurt trying to save his sister and twin brother..." Her voice was getting louder and more forceful with each word. "Yeah, I admit, I might not give them enough credit, onee-chan, but I still would have liked to have known what you were putting them through." Taking a deep breath, Nanoha closed her eyes and continued. "Regardless of my own feelings for them, Miyuki, I'm still the top combat instructor on Midchilda. I could have at least given my thoughts on what you were doing."

"Would it have been "you're going too hard on her"?"

Nanoha shook her head. "No. I trust you and Signum to know when to stop. Fate-chan trusts you two as well, even if she worries about Alicia as much as I do. But you don't trust me enough, if you bothered keeping this from me."

"Just like you kept your past a secret from your children, sis?"

Nanoha winced. "That isn't..."

"Don't you dare say it isn't the same thing, Nanoha." Miyuki frowned. "It's about the same as what could have happened if Dad never told Kyou-chan and I what he did for a living when we chose to pick up our swords. You're hardly in any position to comment on what Signum and I do when you don't even give your children the best you could in a warm up mock battle."

Nanoha winced and sighed. "...You're right. It isn't that I don't trust them, Miyuki. I just worry that I might either push them too hard or that I'll push myself and hurt them by accident."

"Stop you two." Shamal rubbed her forehead. "Nanoha, you do need to trust your children more, tell them the truth and explain things in detail. And, you, Miyuki." The way she narrowed her eyes at her lover got Miyuki to gulp in slight fright. "You and Signum should have at least told me. I wouldn't have told anyone unless Alicia got hurt badly. But at least I would have been there right away to make sure that she wasn't horribly injured."

Miyuki cringed. "Would you believe me if I honestly told you we both know our limits?"

Shamal sighed and shook her head. "You're a Takamachi. So, no, I don't believe you." She turned to Nanoha and sighed. "Just tell them the truth, Nanoha. It's better that they learn it now, instead of listening to all those rumors about you."

Nanoha sighed. "I guess you're right. They're on their way home?"

"Right now? Yes. Isamu should be done with Teana, too."

"All right." Nanoha smirked. "Don't be hard on Onee-chan, Shamal-san."

With that, the screen closed. Miyuki sighed. "... So, how long am I on the couch?"

"Depends..." Shamal narrowed her eyes and tapped her finger on her arm. "What other secrets are you keeping from me?"

Miyuki smiled weakly. "I swear to you that's the only secret." Here, at least, she had some momentum: it was the honest truth.

Shamal got off the couch, walked over to Miyuki and looked her straight in the eyes. After a few moments of looking and Miyuki's growing nervousness, Shamal leaned forward and kissed her on the lips gently.

"...Not that I'm complaining, but..." Miyuki was silenced by another kiss on the lips.

"Two weeks..." Shamal said softly as she pushed Miyuki against the wall. "But on top of that... I'm going to... Punish you."

There was no doubt in Miyuki's mind that she would be a whimpering, quivering mess when Shamal got done with her.

There was also no doubt in her mind that she could stop it... If she wanted to.

----

Nanoha sighed as the screen cut out. Perhaps she'd ended the conversation prematurely, but she'd seen the look in Shamal's eyes; and while she knew quite well that Miyuki had an active sex life, she didn't need to see it for herself.

The irony here being that in the end, SHAMAL-SAN was the one who became dominant...

Shaking her head, Nanoha grimaced. She had more important things to worry about, now.

"Master?" Raising Heart spoke up, its voice sounding worried. "Are you alright?"

"...I don't know, Raising Heart, I just don't know."

"Do you need advice?"

Nanoha chuckled quietly "If you have some, yes please."

"Your sister did not trust you nor Fate to not get involved and try to stop her training of Alicia. Just like you do not trust yourself to not go easy on your children in training, and how you do not tell your children about how everything truly was when you were younger."

Nanoha sighed, even Raising Heart was criticizing her now?

"But, master, if you do want to tell your children the truth, show them what happened to you as a result of what you did when you were little."

Nanoha grimaced. "You mean like Shari-san did with Tea when she was still a Forward?"

"Yes, exactly like that." Raising Heart's mechanical voice almost sounded approving.

"Mama? We're back!" Vivio's voice was heard as she walked into the house.

Smiling, Nanoha wiped her hands off and walked to the entrance way as she saw Vivio with Sora, Isamu and Alicia. "Welcome home, everyone."

While Sora and Alicia both looked at their mother, partly with awe and partly with the childish disbelief that Nanoha couldn't be anything except what they knew, Isamu looked completely uncomfortable as he shifted from foot to foot, not meeting Nanoha's gaze.

"Don't everyone talk at once now." Nanoha chuckled softly. The chuckling died out as her children didn't say anything. "Sora, Isamu, Alicia..." She walked over to them and knelt down, pulling the three of them into a hug. "I'm sorry."

Taking her cue, Vivio made her exit stage left.

Despite everything that had happened, the three children instinctively returned their mother's embrace. "What are you sorry for?" Alicia asked softly.

"...For not trusting you three enough." Nanoha said softly and held them to her. "...For not telling you the things that I, Fate-chan and Yuuno-kun went through, for hiding things from you."

Alicia and Sora accepted that for what it was and happily snuggled closer to their mother, enjoying a moment to just be with her before the stories started. Isamu, on the other hand, started to squirm in his mother's arms.

"Isamu?" Nanoha frowned softly and let the three go. "What's wrong?" There was a concerned look on her face as she looked at her son. "...Did I do something wrong?"

The boy shook his head rapidly, but he still wasn't meeting his mother's gaze and looked ready to run if she gave him the slightest opportunity.

"What's wrong, Isamu?" Nanoha asked him, cupping his chin so that he would look at her. "Please... I can't help if you won't talk to me."

The look of care, concern and worry on his mother's face did it. Whimpering softly, Isamu grabbed Nanoha tightly and clung to her for dear life. "I'm sorry, I'm sorry."

Nanoha blinked a few times and looked at Alicia and Sora, both shrugged helplessly. "About what, Isamu?"

Isamu snuggled. "You don't hate me, do you?"

Nanoha had a stunned, shocked and horrified look on her face. "...Hate you?" She asked in a stunned whisper. "...Why do you think I hate you?"

"Because." His voice trembled. "I made you cry. I was weak, and because I was I made you cry, so I thought..." His voice finally broke. "I thought you'd hate me."

Nanoha shook her head and held him tightly. "Isamu..." She whispered, kissing him on the temple gently. "Let me make it clear, I can never hate you. And, Isamu, you never made me cry. I cried for you, not because of you. There's always a difference." She whispered as she rubbed his back.

Isamu clung to his mother, unashamed now as he finally gave in and cried. "But if I was strong, if I'd protected Sora and Alicia, you wouldn't have cried in the first place."

Nanoha had tears falling down her face silently as she held her son. "Isamu... You were six. Even Vivio, when she was six wasn't that strong." Nanoha chuckled mirthlessly. "You should have seen Vivio when she was that age, she cried when she fell down. When I was six, I was a normal girl who wasn't special at all."

Isamu just shook his head, sobbing on her shoulder. Now that the old fear had been let out, he couldn't stop crying.

"Isamu..." Nanoha murmured and held him tightly. "No matter what you think or anyone tells you, I will and can never hate you for anything you did. You tried to save Alicia and Sora, that's all I could ask from you."

He sniffled again. "I'm sorry," he choked out. "I'm sorry."

Suddenly Isamu found himself surrounded by the arms of his siblings. "Dummy..." Alicia said affectionately. "None of us hate you. I... I'm sorry too."

Isamu blinked. "For what?"

"Leaving you out of our plans." Sora shrugged. "Aunt Shamal explained it all to us."

Nanoha pulled back and smiled at the three of them. "I think it's time... Vivio?"

"Hmm?" The taller blond teenager stuck her head out of the kitchen, a sandwich in her hands as she finished her bite food. "What is it, mama?"

Nanoha smiled softly. "Wanna sit in while I tell them how Fate-chan, Yuuno-kun and I met?"

Vivio swallowed a mouthful of her snack. "Ah, Mama, I already know the truth about that, remember? I kept bugging you and Papa and Fate-mama until you finally gave in and told me."

Nanoha chuckled at that. "Well, why not just sit in anyway?" She asked as she moved back to the couch and sat down. "Let me tell you three... I met Yuuno-kun when I was nine, Fate-chan not too long after I met him." She smiled as the three sat on the floor, entranced by her story. Despite what Vivio had said, she was standing by the doorway, listening in. "It was a magical time in my life, when I met Yuuno-kun, when I discovered magic, and set down a path that lead me to today."

Spoiler for Notes:

This is a POSSIBLE future for "Day in the Life". Things may or may not change, depending on how things happen in canon. Keep that in mind when you read this. Whether or not this happened before or after the last Omake special in terms of time, I won't say.

[TheShinySword]

It's time.

You've been waiting with bated breathe for two months.


FORCE?! Chapter 3
What the Hell is a Huckebein?
http://www.mediafire.com/?z5md4mjthdn

How do you make jokes about dead nuns? DX

Previously on Force?!

Chapter 1
Chapter 2

[RadiantBeam]

Originally Posted by TheShinySword

It's time.

You've been waiting with bated breathe for two months.


FORCE?! Chapter 3
What the Hell is a Huckebein?
http://www.mediafire.com/?z5md4mjthdn

How do you make jokes about dead nuns? DX

Previously on Force?!

Chapter 1
Chapter 2

Shiny, my love for you burns brighter than a thousand suns. :3

[Nijiru]

@Nanya: Nice showcasing the family dynamic, and how everyone still carries the scars of their respective pasts. Keep it up.

[Jimmy C]

Originally Posted by Nanya01

Nanoha smiled softly. "Wanna sit in while I tell them how Fate-chan, Yuuno-kun and I met?"

Vivio swallowed a mouthful of her snack. "Ah, Mama, I already know the truth about that, remember? I kept bugging you and Papa and Fate-mama until you finally gave in and told me."

Might not be neccessaary, they probably watch the 1st Movie all the time.

[Tabasco]

Possible future or not, I like it. Any chance of expansion on the 'incident' or will that forever remain a mystery?

[Nanya01]

Originally Posted by Tabasco

Possible future or not, I like it. Any chance of expansion on the 'incident' or will that forever remain a mystery?

Now the answer to that question...

Is a secret...

[Tabasco]

Wouldn't have it any other way.

Still, if you're considering a starter for a new series, I think you've got some material to work with here.

[deathcurse]

Originally Posted by Nanya01

Spoiler for Omake Special 2 - PT II:

"I got it!"

Alicia and Sora heard the sound of nimble feet darting down the hallway to the door and exchanged amused looks; even at her age, their aunt was prone to moving as if she was still a teenager. Shamal often claimed she still acted like one.

Their reverie ended when the door opened and Miyuki smiled down at the two, her long black hair undone and falling freely down her back. "Sora, Alicia, hi," she said, gesturing for the two to come in. "Nanoha said you'd be visiting."

"Hi, Auntie." Alicia smiled softly and waved as the two were let in. "We were told to talk to Aunt Shamal."

"She's in, if you were thinking of getting out of that talk." Miyuki smirked as the two flushed in embarrassment.

"Awww..." Sora sighed.

"Aunt Miyuki?" Alicia frowned. "Do we really need to talk to Aunt Shamal about this?"

Amused, Miyuki gently flicked the blond on the nose. "Yes, really."

The three walked into the living room where Shamal was sitting on the couch and smiling as she looked at the trio. "Welcome to my parlor, said the blond spider to the flies." She nearly laughed as the kids looked like they were about to run away in fright.

Miyuki smirked. "Shamal, you promised you'd leave your dominant side in the closet."

"I'm sorry. I saw the looks on their faces and couldn't resist."

Alicia pouted at that. "Not funny, auntie."

"It was to me." Shamal said with a laugh. "So, what's the problem you two have been having with Isamu lately?"

"...Fate-mama doesn't keep a secret, does she?" Sora said with a groan.

"Not when it can be important." Shamal said, shaking her head. "Not including your own brother in your battle plans? Why?"

Sensing this conversation was going to take awhile and wasn't something she needed to hear, Miyuki slipped away quietly and made herself scarce.

Alicia sighed. "Because he's a dummy who just wants to protect other people. He never thinks of himself."

Shamal raised an eyebrow and shook her head. "I thought that was a quality that your family enjoyed."

"Not when he goes and gets hurt stupidly!" Alicia yelled at Shamal. "Not when he'd go and throw his life away so easily!"

Shamal sighed. "Alicia, this isn't news to me. I've seen it happen first hand."

"You mean... you've seen Isamu fight, too?"

The older woman shook her head at Sora's question. "No, not Isamu directly. But I've been your mother's doctor for years. I was there through the worst of your mother's injuries, when she needed to recover from pushing herself too hard, when she saved Vivio and you two when you were younger. But even then... It's not her that I'm talking about. It's Miyuki."

Sora and Alicia exchanged startled looks. "Aunt Miyuki?" Alicia said at last, slowly.

"Seriously?" Sora sounded stunned. It was no secret to the children that at one time Miyuki had been just as active as their mother in terms of fighting, but she rarely ever told stories about it, and she had mellowed out over the years (a fact Shamal was always willing to challenge).

Shamal chuckled and nodded. "Oh yes. I swear, she was trying to send me to an early grave through sheer worry." Smirking at the looks on their faces, Shamal sighed softly. "Does that sound familiar to you two?"

Alicia scooted closer to her aunt. "What did she used to do?"

Shamal sighed and chuckled softly. "You mean besides fighting against people who grossly out-powered her in terms of magic with just her skill alone? Or wanting to push herself to exhaustion and keep going simply because she can?"

"...Are we talking about the same aunt Miyuki?" Sora asked, confused.

Shamal chuckled again. "I'd like to think we are, otherwise I don't know her half as well as I like to think I know her."

"But... but..." Alicia was stunned. "Aunt Miyuki never does that! I mean, sure, sometimes she pushes her limits a little and Nanoha-mama scolds her for it, but she's never been that bad!"

"I wish she wasn't that bad." Shamal shook her head and sighed. "But, no, your aunt, she was very, very active when she was younger. Made me worry a hell of a lot."

Sora gulped slightly. "How did you handle it?"

"I didn't." Shamal sighed and leaned back against the couch. "Quite honestly, I wanted to tie your aunt to a bed and leave her there until the dangers had passed..."

"What stopped you?" Alicia asked, now fully intrigued.

Shamal chuckled and had a small grin on her face. "Momoko did."

"Grandma?" Sora blinked as Shamal nodded.

"Yeah. She told me that either you let them go or you don't, they're going to show up anyway. At least if you let them go, you know where they're at."

"But weren't you scared?" Sora burst out.

Feeling like they were starting to make some progress, Shamal's small grin became a soft smile. "Scared of what?"

"Scared of..."

When Sora faltered, Alicia picked it up for him. "Scared that she'd get killed," she murmured. "Scared that if something went wrong, she'd never come back."

"What makes you think I wasn't?" Shamal asked them softly. "Don't you think that Nanoha, Fate and Yuuno worry about each other when they go on adventures, missions and deal with the various crisis that happen?"

"Then why did you let her go?" Alicia was desperate to understand; she couldn't comprehend willingly letting Isamu go to fight, after what had happened. "Why do Mom, Nanoha-mama, and Dad let each other do that?"

"Because we love each other, and part of loving each other means that we trust each other to stay alive and come through dangerous missions." Shamal smiled at them softly. "I'll admit, I was worried sick about Miyuki so many times that I finally asked her to stop and stay home to help me." Not that Miyuki ever gave up fighting or training, since she trained Alicia and even gave Fate some pointers on how to use her Zanbar forms.

Sora blinked. "And she listened to you?" Somehow he found that hard to believe; then again, he sometimes had a hard time believing all the stories about how crazy Nanoha had been when she was younger, too. He just couldn't imagine his mother or his aunt being as people once described them.

"No." Shamal shook her head. "It took years before she finally relaxed enough to even consider settling down here. And, trust me, if it wasn't for Vivio and later you three, I don't think Nanoha would have ever started to calm down." Actually, now that Shamal thought about it, Nanoha was probably worse these days when it came to combat, since she had so much more to live for after each mission.

"Then... how did you get her to settle down?"

Smiling at Sora's question, Shamal shook her head. "It wasn't easy, it wasn't quick, and it was annoying, but, if anything, I think Miyuki only settled down because she was sick of me fussing over her all the time."

"Um, Auntie?" Alicia gulped slightly. "What if Miyuki was still fighting, then what would you do?"

Shamal lifted a brow. "Why do you ask?"

"Well... if she never settled down, if she kept doing what she was doing before.... what would you have done?" Sora was nearly dying of curiosity, as was Alicia about all of this.

"I... I honestly don't know." Shamal sighed. "But, if I had to guess... It would involve some yelling at her, some of her yelling back, some making up, and me supporting her and making sure that when she came back all broken down and beaten up that she had someone who could patch her up and take care of her." The older blond smiled softly. "It's partially why your grandparents never minded your parents, aunt and uncle going out and fighting the way that they did."

There was a moment of silence as the brother and sister shifted awkwardly from foot to foot, trying to figure out how to ask their next question.

Finally, Alicia just sighed and said it. "What if... what if Aunt Miyuki was killed because she kept fighting?"

"Boy, you two keep asking difficult questions, huh?" Shamal couldn't help but marvel at them slightly. "You two really are Yuuno's children aren't you?"

Sora laughed sheepishly. "We're just curious," he said softly. "It... it scares us, to think that Isamu could die. It isn't something we like to think about."

"I never liked it when Miyuki went out to fight." Shamal said with a soft sigh. "And death?" Shamal shook her head. "It's not something any of us like to think about, even if it's something that we have to face eventually."

"Yeah..." They murmured at the same time.

"But, do you think that it would be better if you left your brother at home?" Shamal asked them. "Do you think that he'd stay at home and wait for you two to get back peacefully?"

"...We were kind of hoping..." Alicia trailed off as Shamal shook her head.

"If Nanoha and Miyuki taught me anything, the instant you're not looking, he'll slip out of the house and get mixed up in trouble and most likely get badly hurt simply because he was by himself instead of with help."

"But that means you tried to do the same thing," Alicia mumbled. "At least once or twice."

"With both Nanoha and Miyuki." Shamal chuckled softly. "It didn't work out with either of them. The most I could do was make sure to fix them up and tell them to take it easy."

"But mom's not..." Sora trailed off. "Are you sure we're talking about the same person?"

Shamal laughed. "Oh, definitely. Believe it or not, your mother used to take some wild risks when she was younger, and she actually got worse the older she got. It wasn't until she adopted Vivio that she got the hint and started to settle down."

Alicia stared at Shamal. "...I think you're talking about someone else..."

Shamal chuckled softly. "Oh really? Doesn't Nanoha talk about it?"

Sora shook his head. "Not really, no. All we're ever told is that she used to save people. It's part of the reason why Isamu..." He faltered, then promptly slammed his mouth shut.

"Really?" Shamal raised her eyebrow. "Nanoha told Vivio about what she and Fate were like when they were little kids. I'm surprised she hasn't said anything yet."

Alicia shook her head. "Sis never mentioned anything like that to us. All she ever said was that she and Nanoha-mama got into a bad fight when she was kidnapped."

"I guess with the way that Isamu is, maybe Nanoha was worried what you three would do if you found out what she was like." Shamal sighed softly. "Do you know what your mother's favorite saying when she fights is?"

Sora and Alicia both shook their heads.

"Really?" Shamal blinked before rubbing her forehead. "Oh right, Vivio, Miyuki and Vita train you two and Isamu because Nanoha's worried about going easy on the three of you." She chuckled softly. "Nanoha's favorite saying is Full Power, Maximum Destruction when she fights."

"EH?!" The two stared stupidly.

"Why don't you two ask Nanoha to give you a full training session sometime, you'll understand then."

"Ne, Aunt Shamal..."

"Yes?"

Alicia looked at her hands. "What would you do if Aunt Miyuki went back to being like that? Always pushing herself and trying so hard to save others?"

Shamal sighed softly. "If I said I would take it laying down, I'd be lying." She shrugged helplessly. "Your aunt is nearly a decade older than Nanoha is, she doesn't heal as fast as she used to, which is why she finally decided on giving up fighting as hard as she did."

"Wasn't it because she got hurt that one time and almost died?" Sora asked, then blinked when he noticed Shamal's stunned look. "What? Aunt Miyuki talks about it all the time when we ask her why she stopped fighting and went back to just training us and Sis."

"There is that." Shamal shook her head slightly. "But even Nanoha and Fate, when they were little, were like Isamu is."

"You say it like it's a good thing," Alicia mumbled.

Shamal chuckled softly. "It makes them who they are. I'd say it's a good thing." Seeing the dubious looks on their faces, the blond shook her head. "Tell me something, what has Nanoha and Fate told you two about themselves?"

The two were silent for a moment before looking at each other and sighing softly.

"...Not much, huh?" Shamal sighed softly. "Alright. I won't tell you much myself, but you have to realize that when they were about your age, your mothers were nearly crazy sometimes when they fought."

"...Now you're just messing with us, mom and Nanoha-mama are nowhere near crazy, unless we're hurt."

Shamal shrugged good-naturedly. "If you're ever curious, ask Hayate about it. She has tapes."

Sora was silent for awhile before he cleared his throat. "Auntie, are you... Are you serious? Was mom like Isamu when she was young?"

Shamal nodded at him. "Yes, she was. I don't know why Nanoha hasn't told you about what she was like yet, but I'm sure she has her reasons."

Sora sighed and looked at Alicia. "...Alicia..."

The blond girl nodded softly. "We need to apologize to Isamu when we see him again." She looked at Sora sadly. "You think he'll forgive us?"

Shamal chuckled. "You're really afraid he won't?"

Timidly, both children nodded.

Sighing, the medic smiled at them. "He loves you both. Why do you think he fights so hard? He just wants to protect you. He won't hate you for trying to do the same thing for him."

Alicia took a breath before closing her eyes. "Auntie... Do... Do you think that it would be good for us to have Isamu join us? Knowing that he's like he is?"

Shamal nodded and smiled softly as she looked at the small children. "Trust me, Alicia, Sora... It's never easy, knowing that he'll push himself so hard. But it's always better to know where he's at, instead of worrying that he's where he shouldn't be." Shamal tapped her chin before smiling softly. "When Vivio was six, she was kidnapped by Lutecia, Otto and Deed, and Nanoha had to go get her back."

"We know that." Sora said softly. They didn't get a lot of details from their friends too often, since so many of them didn't like what they were before they became friends with each other.

"I figured." Shamal chuckled at them. "Did you know that Hayate told me later that the only reason she allowed Nanoha to go was because she was worried that Nanoha would go anyway, with or without permission?"

"Seriously?" The children just stared at their aunt, disbelieving. They knew their mother had a habit of chapping at the bit when she felt she was being held back, but they'd never known her to disobey direct orders.

Shamal nodded. "Seriously. Your mother was frantic when Vivio was taken away... not even Fate-chan could calm her down. Hayate knew it was better to send her along then keep her home, because she would have gone out anyway and might have gotten seriously injured."

The two looked at each other before Sora turned to Shamal. "...Can we go home?" They had too much to think about.

Plus, they really wanted to talk to Nanoha.

Shamal nodded and smiled at them. "Go ahead. I'll tell her that you're coming."

The two couldn't bolt out of there fast enough.

Chuckling, Shamal opened up a view screen to call Nanoha. "Hello, Nanoha."

"Shamal." The other woman was smiling at her doctor and friend. "How'd it go?"

"Pretty well, actually. But, I need to ask you something, Nanoha." When the brunette blinked at her, Shamal frowned softly. "Why didn't you ever tell them about what you were like?"

Despite having a melancholic look cross her face, Nanoha didn't hesitate to answer. "Shamal... Even though myself, Fate-chan, Yuuno-kun and Vivio were all very mature when we were little... those three... They're normal kids, despite having magic. When Isamu heard about how I helped and saved people..." She shook her head. "I was worried about telling them the full story until they were older."

"Kind of late to be worrying about that, don't you think?" Shamal lifted a brow. "Isamu already wants to be just like you, and he doesn't even know the truth."

Laughing softly, she nodded at Shamal. "I know. But I've worried about it for years now, Shamal."

Seeing her sigh softly, Shamal shook her head and smiled. "I think it's time to tell them, the full truth, Nanoha. How you, Yuuno and Fate first met and what happened, how you three were when you were younger." Seeing Nanoha grimace slightly, she laughed. "Plus Sora and Alicia just don't believe me when I told them what you were like."

"I've settled down a lot since then, Shamal." Nanoha rolled her eyes at that.

"Oh, I know you have." Shamal nodded. "I just find it strange that you never mentioned your childhood to them at least once or twice. I still wonder how Hayate never slipped up and mentioned to them."

From the hallway, Miyuki stuck her head into the room. "Can I come back in?"

Nanoha chuckled softly. "I don't know either, Shamal." She took a deep breath. "Guess I have to tell them now, huh?"

Shamal nodded and chuckled. "That might be for the best." She looked at Miyuki and smirked at her. "Do you need to ask?"

Miyuki blinked innocently. "Hey, I wasn't going to walk in while you were telling the kids about my wild days of youth with Nanoha..."

"Onee-chan!" Nanoha yelped. "I wasn't that bad!"

Miyuki gave her a look.

"... I was only as bad as you were!"

Miyuki laughed softly. "Still, it's probably best to not hide it anymore, sis. They were so confused about it."

"Is it really that hard to believe?" Nanoha mumbled. "It wasn't like I was a wild kid when I was young."

Shamal chuckled. "Nope, you were perfectly well behaved, you just liked to blow people up."

"I was not that bad, Shamal, you know that." Nanoha rolled her eyes. "I just couldn't get Fate-chan or Vita-chan to listen to me until I blew them up."

"Got that from us, I'm afraid." Miyuki chuckled softly. "Kyou-chan and I could never make our opponent see our way of things until we gave them a good beating."

Shamal rolled her eyes. "Makes too much sense to me." She cleared her throat. "Anyway, Nanoha, you might want to get ready and tell those two and Isamu everything."

Nanoha winced. "They're going to have questions?"

"Lots of them."

Sighing, Nanoha nodded and closed her eyes. "Shamal, tell me... Why didn't they want to include Isamu when they made their plans?"

Shamal winced. "Because they were scared. Scared that he would charge in trying to protect them and get hurt, like he did before. He has a bad habit of running in before he thinks." She smirked. "He reminds me of a few people I know."

"I have no idea what you're talking about, Shamal." Nanoha said with a completely straight face.

It lasted until Shamal gave her a flat look, causing her to break out in laughter.

Miyuki laughed softly. "Well, for what it's worth, sis... I think that your children should be able to handle it... Plus..." Her eyes softened. "I know that talking about what you, Fate and Yuuno went through as children isn't easy, but they need to know."

"It would help Isamu too, I think," Shamal added. "You know how much he idolizes you, Nanoha."

"I know." Nanoha smiled softly. "Shamal... Thank you... For talking with them." She started to look a bit depressed as she continued. "I just wish that it was easier for me to talk with them sometimes."

Shamal chuckled. "It's only hard because you love them so much, Nanoha. It isn't a bad thing. You're afraid that if you tell them how you were, they'll see you differently. It's natural."

Nanoha chuckled softly. "Maybe I was a bit worried about them turning out like Vivio did for awhile."

"You mean a battle maniac?" Miyuki smirked as Nanoha got a weird and funny look on her face. "Sorry to say, sis, but Alicia's already a battle maniac."

"No she isn't." Nanoha was genuinely baffled.

Miyuki snorted. "Come by our sparring sessions sometime. You'll see differently. It drives Shamal insane at how bruised up we get just from practicing."

"Sad but true, Nanoha." Shamal sighed. "Your sister hasn't calmed down one iota, even since she's "retired"." Shamal had her hands up and in quotation marks as she said retired.

"Hey, it's not like I go on missions and get shot at anymore," Miyuki muttered.

"No, you just train your niece until you're both black and purple." Shamal grumbled. "I swear, you and Signum have some sort of running bet on who can train Alicia harder and better." When Miyuki started whistling innocently, Shamal sweat-dropped and developed a slightly pleading look in her eyes. "...Please tell me that you don't have a running bet with Signum on who can train Alicia better."

"That's a secret we both swore to take to our graves."

Shamal scowled at her lover. "Tell me, or you're sleeping on the couch for a year."

Miyuki sweat-dropped slightly. "...Would you be joining me on the couch?" Seeing Shamal's scowl increase, Miyuki sighed and gave up. "...Would you be upset if I said "yes"?"

Shamal's eyes narrowed. "Define 'upset'."

Miyuki sighed again. "Upset enough to give me the death glare you're currently giving me?"

"Onee-chan..." Nanoha narrowed her eyes and tapped her arms. "Please tell me that you are not putting Fate-chan's daughter through hell in the name of training to one-up Signum?"

"...Boy, you two sure take the fun out of it, don't you?"

"Onee-chan!"

"What? It's not like she's complaining!" Miyuki snapped. "If anything, she's the one who asked us to push her harder! You can't baby them forever Nanoha, they have to grow up and learn how to fight sometime. Signum and I figured it would be better to be rough on Alicia sooner rather than later."

Nanoha sighed and took a deep breath. "Even so... I asked Vita, you, Signum and Vivio to train them because I know that you four wouldn't hold back on them. But, onee-chan..." She narrowed her eyes at Miyuki. "You still should have at least told us about the training methods you were going to use."

"Would you have stopped me?" Miyuki asked flatly.

"...I would have at least wanted Shamal to sit in and watch to make sure that nothing happened." Nanoha admitted after thinking it over for a few minutes. "Because both Fate-chan and I would have stopped you if we watched it."

"Nanoha." Miyuki's tone was flat and left no room for argument. "Alicia was six years old. She saw her own brother stabbed in front of her, and felt it was her fault because she wasn't strong enough to protect him. She's always been honest to Signum and I about how hard we push her. If we honestly thought we were going too fast, we would slow down. You don't give her enough credit."

Nanoha sighed and chuckled. "I'm a mother, Miyuki. I guess worrying about my children comes naturally when my eldest daughter was kidnapped from her home and forced to fight against me and my son was badly hurt trying to save his sister and twin brother..." Her voice was getting louder and more forceful with each word. "Yeah, I admit, I might not give them enough credit, onee-chan, but I still would have liked to have known what you were putting them through." Taking a deep breath, Nanoha closed her eyes and continued. "Regardless of my own feelings for them, Miyuki, I'm still the top combat instructor on Midchilda. I could have at least given my thoughts on what you were doing."

"Would it have been "you're going too hard on her"?"

Nanoha shook her head. "No. I trust you and Signum to know when to stop. Fate-chan trusts you two as well, even if she worries about Alicia as much as I do. But you don't trust me enough, if you bothered keeping this from me."

"Just like you kept your past a secret from your children, sis?"

Nanoha winced. "That isn't..."

"Don't you dare say it isn't the same thing, Nanoha." Miyuki frowned. "It's about the same as what could have happened if Dad never told Kyou-chan and I what he did for a living when we chose to pick up our swords. You're hardly in any position to comment on what Signum and I do when you don't even give your children the best you could in a warm up mock battle."

Nanoha winced and sighed. "...You're right. It isn't that I don't trust them, Miyuki. I just worry that I might either push them too hard or that I'll push myself and hurt them by accident."

"Stop you two." Shamal rubbed her forehead. "Nanoha, you do need to trust your children more, tell them the truth and explain things in detail. And, you, Miyuki." The way she narrowed her eyes at her lover got Miyuki to gulp in slight fright. "You and Signum should have at least told me. I wouldn't have told anyone unless Alicia got hurt badly. But at least I would have been there right away to make sure that she wasn't horribly injured."

Miyuki cringed. "Would you believe me if I honestly told you we both know our limits?"

Shamal sighed and shook her head. "You're a Takamachi. So, no, I don't believe you." She turned to Nanoha and sighed. "Just tell them the truth, Nanoha. It's better that they learn it now, instead of listening to all those rumors about you."

Nanoha sighed. "I guess you're right. They're on their way home?"

"Right now? Yes. Isamu should be done with Teana, too."

"All right." Nanoha smirked. "Don't be hard on Onee-chan, Shamal-san."

With that, the screen closed. Miyuki sighed. "... So, how long am I on the couch?"

"Depends..." Shamal narrowed her eyes and tapped her finger on her arm. "What other secrets are you keeping from me?"

Miyuki smiled weakly. "I swear to you that's the only secret." Here, at least, she had some momentum: it was the honest truth.

Shamal got off the couch, walked over to Miyuki and looked her straight in the eyes. After a few moments of looking and Miyuki's growing nervousness, Shamal leaned forward and kissed her on the lips gently.

"...Not that I'm complaining, but..." Miyuki was silenced by another kiss on the lips.

"Two weeks..." Shamal said softly as she pushed Miyuki against the wall. "But on top of that... I'm going to... Punish you."

There was no doubt in Miyuki's mind that she would be a whimpering, quivering mess when Shamal got done with her.

There was also no doubt in her mind that she could stop it... If she wanted to.

----

Nanoha sighed as the screen cut out. Perhaps she'd ended the conversation prematurely, but she'd seen the look in Shamal's eyes; and while she knew quite well that Miyuki had an active sex life, she didn't need to see it for herself.

The irony here being that in the end, SHAMAL-SAN was the one who became dominant...

Shaking her head, Nanoha grimaced. She had more important things to worry about, now.

"Master?" Raising Heart spoke up, its voice sounding worried. "Are you alright?"

"...I don't know, Raising Heart, I just don't know."

"Do you need advice?"

Nanoha chuckled quietly "If you have some, yes please."

"Your sister did not trust you nor Fate to not get involved and try to stop her training of Alicia. Just like you do not trust yourself to not go easy on your children in training, and how you do not tell your children about how everything truly was when you were younger."

Nanoha sighed, even Raising Heart was criticizing her now?

"But, master, if you do want to tell your children the truth, show them what happened to you as a result of what you did when you were little."

Nanoha grimaced. "You mean like Shari-san did with Tea when she was still a Forward?"

"Yes, exactly like that." Raising Heart's mechanical voice almost sounded approving.

"Mama? We're back!" Vivio's voice was heard as she walked into the house.

Smiling, Nanoha wiped her hands off and walked to the entrance way as she saw Vivio with Sora, Isamu and Alicia. "Welcome home, everyone."

While Sora and Alicia both looked at their mother, partly with awe and partly with the childish disbelief that Nanoha couldn't be anything except what they knew, Isamu looked completely uncomfortable as he shifted from foot to foot, not meeting Nanoha's gaze.

"Don't everyone talk at once now." Nanoha chuckled softly. The chuckling died out as her children didn't say anything. "Sora, Isamu, Alicia..." She walked over to them and knelt down, pulling the three of them into a hug. "I'm sorry."

Taking her cue, Vivio made her exit stage left.

Despite everything that had happened, the three children instinctively returned their mother's embrace. "What are you sorry for?" Alicia asked softly.

"...For not trusting you three enough." Nanoha said softly and held them to her. "...For not telling you the things that I, Fate-chan and Yuuno-kun went through, for hiding things from you."

Alicia and Sora accepted that for what it was and happily snuggled closer to their mother, enjoying a moment to just be with her before the stories started. Isamu, on the other hand, started to squirm in his mother's arms.

"Isamu?" Nanoha frowned softly and let the three go. "What's wrong?" There was a concerned look on her face as she looked at her son. "...Did I do something wrong?"

The boy shook his head rapidly, but he still wasn't meeting his mother's gaze and looked ready to run if she gave him the slightest opportunity.

"What's wrong, Isamu?" Nanoha asked him, cupping his chin so that he would look at her. "Please... I can't help if you won't talk to me."

The look of care, concern and worry on his mother's face did it. Whimpering softly, Isamu grabbed Nanoha tightly and clung to her for dear life. "I'm sorry, I'm sorry."

Nanoha blinked a few times and looked at Alicia and Sora, both shrugged helplessly. "About what, Isamu?"

Isamu snuggled. "You don't hate me, do you?"

Nanoha had a stunned, shocked and horrified look on her face. "...Hate you?" She asked in a stunned whisper. "...Why do you think I hate you?"

"Because." His voice trembled. "I made you cry. I was weak, and because I was I made you cry, so I thought..." His voice finally broke. "I thought you'd hate me."

Nanoha shook her head and held him tightly. "Isamu..." She whispered, kissing him on the temple gently. "Let me make it clear, I can never hate you. And, Isamu, you never made me cry. I cried for you, not because of you. There's always a difference." She whispered as she rubbed his back.

Isamu clung to his mother, unashamed now as he finally gave in and cried. "But if I was strong, if I'd protected Sora and Alicia, you wouldn't have cried in the first place."

Nanoha had tears falling down her face silently as she held her son. "Isamu... You were six. Even Vivio, when she was six wasn't that strong." Nanoha chuckled mirthlessly. "You should have seen Vivio when she was that age, she cried when she fell down. When I was six, I was a normal girl who wasn't special at all."

Isamu just shook his head, sobbing on her shoulder. Now that the old fear had been let out, he couldn't stop crying.

"Isamu..." Nanoha murmured and held him tightly. "No matter what you think or anyone tells you, I will and can never hate you for anything you did. You tried to save Alicia and Sora, that's all I could ask from you."

He sniffled again. "I'm sorry," he choked out. "I'm sorry."

Suddenly Isamu found himself surrounded by the arms of his siblings. "Dummy..." Alicia said affectionately. "None of us hate you. I... I'm sorry too."

Isamu blinked. "For what?"

"Leaving you out of our plans." Sora shrugged. "Aunt Shamal explained it all to us."

Nanoha pulled back and smiled at the three of them. "I think it's time... Vivio?"

"Hmm?" The taller blond teenager stuck her head out of the kitchen, a sandwich in her hands as she finished her bite food. "What is it, mama?"

Nanoha smiled softly. "Wanna sit in while I tell them how Fate-chan, Yuuno-kun and I met?"

Vivio swallowed a mouthful of her snack. "Ah, Mama, I already know the truth about that, remember? I kept bugging you and Papa and Fate-mama until you finally gave in and told me."

Nanoha chuckled at that. "Well, why not just sit in anyway?" She asked as she moved back to the couch and sat down. "Let me tell you three... I met Yuuno-kun when I was nine, Fate-chan not too long after I met him." She smiled as the three sat on the floor, entranced by her story. Despite what Vivio had said, she was standing by the doorway, listening in. "It was a magical time in my life, when I met Yuuno-kun, when I discovered magic, and set down a path that lead me to today."

Spoiler for Notes:

This is a POSSIBLE future for "Day in the Life". Things may or may not change, depending on how things happen in canon. Keep that in mind when you read this. Whether or not this happened before or after the last Omake special in terms of time, I won't say.

Wow, I see what you mean by drama!

No massive thoughts, just that I'm glad the drama was resolved . I like how all the kids have distinct personalities, you guys did a really good job on that.

[Alavon]

@Nayna and RadinatBeam:

...

I LOVE YOU GUYS!!!! GO, ISAMU, GO! You wanna know something weird? If it wasn't for the fact that the fic if fanmade, I would have actually believed that Isamu, Sora, and Alicia were canon...

[Satashi]

Originally Posted by Alavon

If it wasn't for the fact that the fic if fanmade, I would have actually believed that Isamu, Sora, and Alicia were canon...

That's because official Nanoha characters have as much personality as charcoal. I skimmed Nanya/Beamer's ficcy. I looked for a part that would make sense and read Nanoha talking to RH, which was cute. I then say Vivio sparring with people, family I gathered, and they were all really different. It was nice I read from where Nanoha went outside to when the fight started, after that it got too difficult to follow since I picked a random part of a story I haven't read lol. Too bad 7arcs can't understand that when they introduce 15 new characters they all need to do something besides add to the background.

I was writing about Rio and Corona (that right?) and I realized that they have absolutely no character at all. I wanted to have them shop with the girls for my Christmas fic, but they're so.......background fodder.... that I have no idea what to do with them. I think I'm going to leave them out and just have Vivio, Einhart, and Syn together.

BTW is Einhart's hair silver or green? I got messages when I said it was green that it was actually silver, and image tags say silver... but when I changed it, I got even more tells telling me it was green... It looks green to me!

[Rising Dragon]

I think the official description used in the translation of the manga is "silver-green" for Einhart's hair.

[RadiantBeam]

All of the art I've seen depicts Ein with silver hair.