SonicANIME2010 here, bringing in the third chapter to Sonic: Lyrical Familiar. Well, so far I've been liking how this story's started; got some good action, serious parts, and who can forget Sonic's wit? Well anyways, in case anyone hasn't noticed, this story's going to cover the Nanoha arc from the beginning.. So if there's a lack of familiarity from the Sonic fanbase; it's kinda by design and so far, Sonic's the only one present. Eggman's been referenced, but that hasn't appeared.. and yes; this is the young/classic Sonic (specifically CD) in the series, but I still use Eggman; NOT Robotnik! And don't be trying to correct me with something like "oh this is classic Sonic so it should be Robotnik or Robuttnik". Wrong! That's the Fleetway/Americanized continuity. I am NOT following that version. In the Japanese version he's always been Eggman. I'm choosing to follow that version; also in which there's no mention of a specific home world, so it can be speculated that the worlds in the crossover are the same; none of that "Mobius" stuff. To make it clear again, this is young Sonic, but from the Japanese continuity. That closes my rant, now back to the story. Any canon characters belong to their respective companies and not to me. Everyone probably knows that by now, but my legal team of vampires and their robotic maids tell me I have to say it anyways. Here we go!

[Uminari City, Japan]
[Seishou Elementary School]
[Time: 8:15 am]
[BGM: "Luca" Final Fantasy X]

True to Sonic's word, the blue hedgehog got the trio of Nanoha, Suzuka and Alisa to their elementary school safely; and with some time to spare too. While it can't be said that the three elementary third graders didn't take their first time riding at speeds near Mach one too well; at least none of them got sick. They did have to stand for a moment to fight off a spell of dizziness from the whole trip from the initial acceleration to the final stop.

"Sugoi, Sonic-kun..." Nanoha breathed out in awe, while she had seen a decent sample of her familiar's speed last night, to experience it in person was another thing entirely, "You really are fast."

"Of course" the young blue hedgehog smirked a bit in pride and, in an attempt of coolness, though it appeared more cute than cool, wagged his right finger, "Fastest thing in South Island"

"I have a question" Suzuka said after she was able to establish a standing equilibrium with the ground, "How'd you know where the school was?"

"It was actually the first place I found when I got here" Sonic shrugged, "Wasn't easy, this city's big, and I think I got here at around the lunch period"

"And how could you tell?" Alisa sent a bit of a suspicious look at the hedgehog, who almost jumped in surprise and nerves, "Hmmm?"

"Well... um..." Sonic nervously pat the back of his head, "I could um... see kids eating lunch on the rooftop..."

"And you saw us too" Alisa added with a bit of a knowing smirk that further got to Sonic's nerves, "Ne?"

"M-maybe..." the hedgehog's nervous expression was becoming more obvious, 'She d-didn't see me, did she?!'

"You did see us… and you followed us after school too." The dirty-blonde girl had a victorious expression on her face as she continued to stare down the hedgehog, who was a bit shorter than her in comparison, "And don't try to deny it, I saw you through the bushes on that shortcut we took to Cram School."

"B-busted…" the young blue hedgehog realized he was caught. The cracks of the ground must have looked awfully interesting to study, because that's where Sonic stared in attempt to avoid their gazes, "You got me… I was following you three yesterday."

"Why?" Nanoha asked in concern when she noticed the hedgehog look glum. Her concern was turned to surprise when she saw a small, gloved finger point directly at her, "M-me?!"

"Nanoha-chan?" even Alisa was shocked, and even more so when she saw the boy hedgehog nod his head softly. Though she was quick to recover from her shock and ask her next question, "It's not a crush, is it?"

"N-no! Nothing like that!" Sonic vigorously shook his head in denial and shot down that theory, and tried his best to explain why, "I d-don't know how to explain this, but when I saw her yesterday, I suddenly felt some tug-thing in the back of my head. A-and I wanted to follow her until I figured out what that feeling was. I was hoping I wouldn't get caught."

"Well you got caught" Alisa scolded him, "That kind of stuff gets you in trouble."

"Sumimasen" the blue hedgehog, in a rare show of regret, apologized to Nanoha, understandably thinking he might have offended her, and hoping she'd forgive him.

"Iie, it's alright. I wasn't hurt or anything." Nanoha shook her head and calmly placed her hand on his shoulder. Oddly enough, it seemed like the only one who was surprised by her action was Sonic, himself.

"Uh…Thanks" Sonic awkwardly "scratched" his head quills with his gloves, "Nanoha-san"

"Good, but if we're going to be friends, drop the "-san" and just call me Nanoha." Nanoha corrected her not-quite-friend-but-getting-close, "Do you still feel that "tug" you mentioned now?"

"Yeah, it's a lot stronger too, though that's probably because of the familiar thing" Sonic shrugged and turned to take his leave, "Well I think I'll go rescue the Tutorial Ferret from your mom. See if he can tell me more about this whole "magic" thing."

"You can probably get some training in too" Nanoha added, "Onee-chan's not the best cook in the café, so whenever she isn't reading, she's in the dojo."

"Ja ne!" The hedgehog once again got into his Super-peel-out and used it to launch off into a burst of speed in the direction he came.

"Ja ne!" Nanoha called out and back after him. Only a few seconds passed though before she suddenly realized something, "ACK!"

"What?" Alisa asked, curiosity taking her over.

"E-eh... it's just something I forgot to warn him about" Nanoha, in embarrassment, rubbed the back of her head, "Onee-chan's almost as bad as okaa-san with cute things… Yuuno-kun might be in trouble."

[OP: "Innocent Starter" Nana Mizuki]

Sonic the Hedgehog: Lyrical Familiar
Chapter 3
Link and Adjustment

[Midori-ya café]
[Dojo]
[No BGM]

Somehow, Sonic had managed to rescue Yuuno from the clutches of Momoko Takamachi, though he learned a lesson from doing so: Don't separate Nanoha's mother from cute things unless you had a good reason. Luckily, training and the fact that Momoko had to cook for her café took more precedence, if only a little, over her fondness for cute things. Despite that, the blue hedgehog had a sinking feeling that he would be the next one under the crosshairs if he wasn't careful.

For Yuuno, it was one hassle after another, and he wasn't sure if it could get any worse; not only was he forced to reveal some secrets about his world's magic, but in front of civilians of a world in which a low cover was required. The easy way to settle his mind would have been to just blame everything on the blue hedgehog, with which he has been in something of a perpetual argument with since they met, but he couldn't do that; it was his own responsibility since day one.

'If I didn't get him involved, Sonic would be living on his own and not as Nanoha-san's familiar. And I can't blame Nanoha's family and friends for knowing… I had to tell them because they would've been concerned for her safety otherwise. I'm just glad I didn't have to tell them about…' Yuuno Scrya was pulled from his thoughts by a few taps of a gloved finger. Poor ferret was jolted alert, "Uwah!"

"We're here," Sonic said as he gestured to the center part of the dojo that they had arrived to. The hedgehog also noted Miyuki Takamachi, the older sister of Nanoha, who was reading a book until the two had arrived, "And unless you want to share your thoughts with the rest of the class, I'd like to get my training started."

"H-hai, I think we can start with your physical training. Because familiars, at least in theory, have access to all the spells their mages can use; we don't have to focus on that aspect yet." Yuuno nodded and let out a brief sigh of relief, 'Yeah, I don't think I'll need to inform anyone about "Them" yet, they haven't gotten involved here and I'm probably going to be in enough trouble with them already because I nearly broke cover about magic.'

"What about Nanoha-chan?" Miyuki asked, while she understood how important Sonic's status as her sister's familiar was, she also hoped that Nanoha wouldn't be too unprepared to deal with the threat, "Will you handle the magic teaching with her?"

"A-actually... there was a reason Raising Heart, her device, only allowed me to be a "guest" user to her. I'm not that good at combat magic." the Tutorial Ferret hung his head low, "I can teach her some of the basic middle and long range shooting spells, but so can Raising Heart."

"Eh?" Both Sonic and Miyuki stared at the ferret; they apparently either missed something, or Yuuno's explanation might have been a bit too technical, "Come again?"

"Oh right, I forgot to explain how our magic works. There are a lot of factors in our spells including power input, type and range. Raising Heart's going to be going over this with her master too. No doubt she's already teaching Nanoha the basics I'm going to go over with you right now via image training." The ferret explained a bit further, hoping he was understood, "There is a method that mages can use to communicate between one another; that same method can be used between a mage and their device and their familiar as well; most mages call it "Mindspeak". Raising Heart's probably using that method to run training programs with Nanoha in her mind with image training"

"Hee hee hee..." Sonic suddenly giggled a bit in youthful amusement; he quickly explained when he caught the two staring at him, "I think Nanoha just found out that her device thing can do that. Because of that mindspeak thing the ferret's talking about, Nanoha might be accidentally broadcasting me some things; and judging by the squeals I'm hearing right now, I think she just went through her first program. Ouch, yup! If that was the real thing, she'd probably be feeling that in the morning."

"Right…" Yuuno had an anime-style sweat drop fall from his head in exasperation while Nanoha's older sibling giggled a bit herself. The ferret shook it off and went back to Tutorial mode, "Anyways, for our magic; there are many factors that are calculated in our spells. The Mana is the main source of a spell's power, and it comes from a false organ we call the "Linker Core"; mages, and the familiars they create, rely on their Linker Cores for magic power. The familiar also relies on their mages Linker Core for life as well."

"Like a battery?" Sonic asked, drawing the comparison

"That's one way to sum it up" the ferret nodded, "Next factor is the spell's type; it is determined by what the spell does when it's used. Types are a further classification of a spell's category. For example: spells under the "Attack" category have types that include but aren't limited to: shooting, bombardment and melee. Other categories include Defense, Capture, Support and Force Field, each has their own types."

"So, say, and I'm probably going to feel stupid for trying this connection" the blue hedgehog attempted to draw another comparison, "In RPG video games, some magic was used to heal, boost up stats or lower them, is that kind of true here?"

"Sort of, some mages are taught healing spells and they can be useful in a combat situation, but it depends on what the mage wants their spell to do." Yuuno nodded again in confirmation, "Lastly, the "Range" is the distance for in which spells are effective. The closest distance is between a mage and their target is called "Cross Range" (Kurozu Renji in Japanese), this is the best range for close combat; after that there's "Middle Range" (Midoru Renji), "Long Range" (Rongu Renji)."

"I assume each range has its own perks?" Miyuki asked, slowly understanding the concepts, "Like some of your spells have more effect when you're closer or farther from your foe?"

"Yup; the middle range is for high-speed (and aerial) shooting spells while long range focuses more on bombardments and wide-area spells. Raising Heart will focus on the middle and long range spells with Nanoha-san. That said, as her familiar, you'd best focus on the cross range. Most familiars should be able to cover for the weak points for their mages…" the ferret hung his head low and let out a long sigh; he certainly talked a lot, and it wore him down. His weak state didn't help much either, so, hopefully he made his explanation clear, "Understand?"

"Got it" Sonic nodded as he and Miyuki were able to understand the majority, "Alot of focus on combat, though."

"Maybe so, but that's kind of how it goes. Anyways, close combat…" Yuuno shrugged a bit; he then quickly changed the topic, he went through enough with them for one day and the more time he spent explaining left less time for training and preparations for the next inevitable Jewel Seed to reveal itself. The ferret awkwardly gazed up at Miyuki Takamachi, "Um…"

[BGM: "Paradigm Shift" Final Fantasy XIII-2 OST]

"I guess it's my turn then" Miyuki stood up and removed her glasses; she was already dressed in the appropriate robes for the dojo anyway. She took out four wooden training swords from a nearby rack and tossed two of them to Sonic, "Here! Take these and hold them like you were holding your own last night. We're going to first work on your stance. A solid stance is the first thing you should focus on in a fight because it sets your foundation."

"Right!" Sonic caught the wooden swords and held them in each hand with their respective normal and reverse grips, much like last night. He then bent his knees a little bit and tried to settle into a stance, though he noticeably looked a bit rigid and fidgety, "Like this?"

"It's not bad for a start, but, you still need work" Miyuki calmly walked close to the hedgehog and knelt down so she was at a good level to work with him, "You want to be comfortable in your stance, otherwise it's no good. Here…"

Yuuno watched as the girl worked with the hedgehog's stance and adjusted it so he could have a comfortable slight bend of his knees and his hands were adjusted so that they were a fair distance from one another and the two blades wouldn't get crossed and interfere. The ferret couldn't help but notice that the hedgehog, despite his attempts to hide it, didn't appear to be very comfortable being so close to the human. Despite that, however, if the discomfort interfered with the lessons Miyuki was teaching, neither she nor Sonic were showing it.

'I don't think I've seen someone so reserved around humans, but at least he's giving this one a chance.' Yuuno thought to himself in observation, 'He said earlier that he didn't have a good impression about humans and he was hoping Nanoha would help it improve. I know that something happened to his home and a human is involved, but what happened? If whatever happened can be considered criminal, what am I supposed to do when I find out?'

'Okay, she's helping me… and she doesn't expect much in return for her help' Sonic thought as Miyuki went through the different stances suited for offensive and defending actions. It was a slow start, but he was starting to accept the human's help, 'She only wants me to protect her sister, and I think that's fair.'

"There we go" Miyuki gave the hedgehog an encouraging and mature smile, "Aren't you learning fast?"

"Well I'm not just fast on my feet" the blue hedgehog grinned in his slowly-building confidence, "What's next? I'm ready for anything"

"Come at me" Miyuki settled herself into a defensive stance with the wooden swords she had, "Watch what I do to block and counter your attacks; don't worry about getting hurt either, I'm not going to be hitting you hard enough."

The hedgehog was reluctant at first, but he eventually rushed in and tried to engage Miyuki with the wooden swords. Much as expected, he awkwardly missed most of his strikes and was countered at every angle, and though Miyuki held back, she still finished her counters and pointed out the weak points that she noticed in the hedgehog's form. Many times throughout the session, Sonic would either attack or defend, and Miyuki would usually knock him to the floor while pointing out a specific weak point that she, and others after her, would be able to capitalize on and show him how to correct it.

The training continued throughout the first part of the day with breaks permitted and soon the first training session had come to a close. To summarize all that happened, Miyuki had covered most of the basics with Sonic, but she, respecting his inexperience, only covered the basics until he could adjust to using two swords. The hedgehog's ability to be a quick study added to Miyuki's calm and patient personality helped to make the first session a solid success. But they both knew that Sonic still had a long way to go.

[Seishou Elementary School]
[No BGM]

Much like Sonic had a few failures to start his training, Nanoha also had gotten off to a less than stellar start with Raising Heart and the image training, but she managed to adjust quickly like her familiar did. Her device's explanation of the magic basics was clear, to the point, and easy to understand, allowing Nanoha to just absorb it all. The only issue that came up was the initial adjustment to multi-tasking between taking notes of her elementary school classes and the basic magic lessons.

She accomplished a few things from her first magic lesson in the image training before school was over. She and her device agreed on a schedule of when lessons would be less of an inconvenience. While she can multi-task between the lectures of her device and schoolteacher, when a test came around, all of her attention must be focused on it, so it would have to hold. In addition, during her cram school, she wouldn't be as available either because of the content she was learning.

That also extended to her assistance with the Jewel Seeds. It would be impossible for her to help out during regular school and cram school, but after that, she would be free. That information also helped Yuuno on the front with training Nanoha's familiar. Because Sonic needed just as much training, he'd be able to get the most training while Nanoha was in her regular school and cram school. Other than that, he'd be free to help Nanoha in their Jewel Seed hunt.

The sound of the bell signified the end of the school day. Nanoha, feeling satisfied for the success she got out of the day with her multi-tasking taking notes in her regular school and her image training with Raising Heart, stood up from her chair and stretched with a cute yawn. Though, in doing so, she also had left herself wide open for a little surprise, and Alisa Bannings was not one to let the opportunity fall by the wayside.

Alisa, in a mischievous manner, pulled on one of Nanoha's long pigtails and was granted by the cute and comical sight of Nanoha flailing her arms and whining in surprise. All Suzuka could do was watch and giggle softly, not that she had much intention of interfering, she, like Alisa, did enjoy having fun and messing with their best friend. As a bonus, when Alisa finally released the tail of hair, Nanoha glanced at the two with an expression that was a cute, little mix between pouty and exasperation.

[Route from the school]
[No BGM]

A nice round of tea and sweets following a long day of school was what the trio of elementary third graders agreed to, on multiple reasons. For Nanoha, it would let her check on Sonic and Yuuno to see how the training went on their side, plus make sure they left her house in one piece while she was out. As for Alisa and Suzuka, while they both had mansions they lived in and Suzuka's family had maids that she respected, there was something about the Midori-ya café that had an appeal of its own; the appeal may have been helped by its two new residents.

"You think Sonic-kun and Yuuno-kun would like if we brought them some sweets?" Nanoha asked, "It might help them both and save okaa-san the time to make them herself so she can work the café more."

"That sounds good" Alisa agreed as they passed a small store with a window that had a boutique of fancy jewelry and an elegant dress on display. Nanoha couldn't help but sneak a glance at the display.

"I think we may be a little bit too young to be wearing that, Nanoha-chan" Suzuka softly teased, "and they look expensive too."

"Mou…" Nanoha pouted a bit and stepped back to join her friends. However, as she walked she suddenly had to stop in her step as a sudden jolt got to her and time seemed to stop for a moment or two "Ah?"

[BGM: "Inflexible Determination" Final Fantasy X]

"Nanoha-chan?!" Alisa, the first to notice her friend's stop in movement, asked in concern, "What's up?"

"I just felt something" Nanoha looked up and around for a bit as if to determine what that feeling was; she had also reached out to the ferret and hedgehog, "Yuuno-kun?! Sonic-kun?! Did you both feel that too?"

"Yeah, I felt something. It was like a sudden feeling that something's going on." Sonic answered back via the mindspeak, "And so did our Tutorial Ferret."

"Another Jewel Seed has activated" Yuuno confirmed, and as much as he'd like to deny it, the well-deserved, albeit a joke of a title was starting to grow on him, "It's close by too! Head towards the source, we'll meet you there!"

"Hai!" Nanoha nodded and blinked a bit to recollect her surroundings. To her surprise, Alisa and Suzuka didn't turn tail and run, instead they gave her a questioning look. The question unneeded to be asked was answered, "Yuuno-kun said a Seed was activated, and it's close by. I'm going to take care of it."

"You're not going alone" Alisa stopped short of jumping in front of her best friend's path, "We're coming with you!"

"It could be dangerous" Nanoha cautioned them, though she knew full well that she couldn't physically stop them from tagging along. She started to run toward the source of the feeling she found.

"Nanoha-chan, that's even more reason for us to come" Suzuka countered with a valid point, as she was easily able to keep up with her friend, "We're your friends, and if you get hurt doing this, then we couldn't forgive ourselves for not being there to help"

"You could get hurt too…" Nanoha made her last argument, but again didn't break stride as she got closer, "Are you okay with that?"

"We'll do our best to stay out of the way" Alisa grinned a bit, completely honest, "Plus I'm kind of excited to see what you can do for real."

"Mou...you two are stubborn" Nanoha sighed, fell silent and continued to run.

[Temple Steps]
[BGM: "Inflexible Determination" Final Fantasy X OST]

It took them five minutes to arrive at their destination, but when they did. The trio was greeted by Sonic and Yuuno; both of them, for once, had agreed on something. They were both disappointed in the girls, though for different reasons, and Sonic's was more comical while Yuuno's was more serious.

"You're late!" Sonic pouted a bit with his hands on his hips and his foot tapping in comical impatience, "I could've zoomed over to the coffee shop and pick up a cup before you girlies got here."

"Well sorry for not having the great gift of super speed" Alisa snarked in retort and, in a fashion that made the obvious size difference between the two known, looked down at the blue hedgehog, "Like most people, we're not as fast as you, so we had to run at normal speed."

"Touché" The blue hedgehog shrugged with no effort to argue, "But something's got the Tutorial Ferret's panties in a knot."

"W-wha?! I don't wea- ugh! Why am I arguing with you again?!" Yuuno sighed in exasperation, once again unable to take a joke from the blue hedgehog. He focused his attention on Nanoha and gave her a rather disappointing look, one that easily predicted his upcoming lecture, "Why did you bring your friends here? We're here to seal a Jewel Seed, not go on a picnic."

"Sorry, Yuuno-kun" Nanoha looked down, "They wanted to come"

"Ha… fine, but they are your resp- Gack!" Yuuno's lecture was cut short by a gloved hand grabbing him by the fur, "What the?! Hey?!"

"I think Nanoha's friends are well aware of the dangers, thank you very much Tutorial Ferret-kun. Now let's get going, I'll even give you a head start" Sonic softly threw the ferret up a few steps and that gave him the message to move on. The blue hedgehog followed suit, though slow enough for the other girls to keep up. Oddly enough, he was surprised to see Suzuka, despite her appearance, had a sizeable lead on her friends up the stairs; though he also refrained to comment on it and just passed it off as a better start.

After the long stairway climb, the group was greeted to the sight of a familiar pink-haired jogger on the wrong end of a glare by a very vicious, demonic looking dog with two extra eyes above where the normal ones should've been at, razor sharp teeth with multiple fangs on both sides of its jaw; and it also sported a tall and intimidating build.

The teen looked scared out of her mind and tried to step back while seated flat on her butt. All it took was one small step forward from the dog and the girl lost consciousness in pure fright. The sudden familiarity of the girl was noted by Alisa Bannings first.

"Oy! That girl! She's the same one we saw yesterday" the dirty-blonde Anglophone pointed to the girl and her dog in recognition, "That means the dog is the same one that was yapping at me yesterday too."

"H-how did it get so big?!" Suzuka asked in surprise and probably some fear

"A lot of kibble?" The hedgehog offered a brilliantly-timed quip

"It's been possessed by a Jewel Seed" Yuuno quickly explained

"That too" Sonic added calmly

"And even more bad news, it's a lot tougher when whatever the seed possesses has a stable form." The ferret pointed out as well, almost as calm, his experience paying a factor in the calmness.

As if it smelt new prey, the seed-possessed-dog focused its attention on the group of new arrivals. However, once its glance caught the sight of Alisa Bannings, it growled out loudly and started to approach her.

"I think he knows you" Sonic frowned as he moved into a defensive position, but didn't call his Barrier Jacket or weapons yet.

"Nanoha! Use Raising Heart" Yuuno quickly and sternly instructed the new mage, "Recite the password to use her!"

"E-EH?! The password?!" Nanoha blinked, "B-but it's too long, and I can't remember it..."

"You'll be fine, just rep…" Yuuno was again about to say something, but for the umpteenth time, he was interrupted by a gloved hand over his little ferret mouth, "Mmmph!"

"Yeah, I don't think Fido over there's going to give us time to recite a soliloquy" Sonic quipped as he noted the dog getting closer to Alisa, almost within the range of a pounce, "Nanoha, if that device is as intelligent as the Tutorial Ferret says, I think you might be able to get away with just asking it nicely."

"I'll give that a try!" the girl nodded and held Raising Heart in her left hand. Just before the dog could pounce on her friend, she quickly stepped in front of her, "Raising Heart, Onegai!"

"Alright, Standby ready!" The device chimed and under the cover of a well-timed barrier, it changed Nanoha's school uniform to her Barrier Jacket and also shifted to Device form.

[Vs Jewel Seed: Dog possession]
[BGM: "Crimson Blitz/Blinded by Light" Lightning Returns: Final Fantasy XIII OST]

"Whoa…" Alisa let out a breath that she didn't even know she had held, "Thanks Nanoha"

"And now it's my turn!" Sonic grinned, quickly shifted to his own Barrier Jacket and wielded the twin kodachi blades that came with the jacket. It wasn't hard for him to do so as he remembered the feeling he had when he became Nanoha's familiar and how the jacket and weapons just appeared on him during the time. As a sample of his fleet feet, he quickly forced the demonic dog away from the magic barrier with a simultaneous strike from both blades.

'She changed without having to recite Raising Heart's password… She didn't even take damage from absorbing its attack head on either… She has a lot of potential in her' Yuuno stared at the girl in awe. His awe was replaced by confusion when he noticed that instead of focusing on the new mage and familiar, the Jewel Seed beast still had its sight locked onto Alisa, "Ano... why is it still after your friend?"

"I kind of shut it up yesterday when it was just a small little guy" Alisa admitted in some guilt, "And I think it wants payback."

"Well I'm about to send it to the pound" the blue hedgehog smirked and shouted out to the mutt, "Bad dog! No biscuits for you!"

On another roar from the possessed dog, Sonic primed his blades up and rushed in to engage the dog. He struck hard and fast with the twin swords in a four-slash combo with two slashes for each blade. His combo ended with a solid upward kick that sent the dog up into the air, he chained it with a downward kick that grounded the mutt. Though, for all his work, the dog wasn't nearly as strong as it looked and it went down barely within a minute.

"Awe... down already" the blue hedgehog bent his wrists against his hips in a sort of impatient/waiting gesture while his foot tapped, "I was expecting more..."

'It only went down so fast because he never let up from his attack, such speed and strength' Yuuno mentally observed, almost as amazed of Nanoha's familiar as he was of the new mage herself, 'I can see why they are both of the proper nature. They have so much potential.'

"All I have to do is seal it" Nanoha noted in observation, "Right?"

"H-hai!" Yuuno nodded after Nanoha's voice woke him from his amazed stupor

"Canon Mode!" As if reading its master's mind, Raising Heart shifted its form. The near-circle that encased the large gem representing the device was replaced by a square shaped holder with two prongs holding the orb-like gem inside; in addition, the neck of the staff also gained a trigger grip.

Much like the night before, streams of pinkish mana surrounded the dog and held it in a bind. Upon the beast's forehead appeared the Roman numerals "XVI". Sonic, to make sure the mutt wouldn't be going anywhere, kept a close eye on it. In doing so, he also noted the Roman numerals and translated them, though he probably didn't need to do such as the girls plus ferret could all understand it easily.

"XVI… that would be number 16" Sonic noted and shouted back to Nanoha, "Seal it up!"

"Lyrical Magical! Jewel Seed Serial 16" Nanoha recited the seal incantation, twirled her staff a bit, probably for show, and pointed it right at the dog, "Seal!"

"Sealing!" the device declared and the streams tightened their grip on the beast until it disappeared into a bright flash of light that had Sonic, Yuuno and the girls covering their eyes from the brightness. In seconds the monster was gone, replaced by the Jewel Seed that had possessed it. Now inactive, it was easily able to be stored within a device; Raising Heart automatically did such.

"Receipt number 16" The intelligent device chimed out.

[Boss Cleared]
[Jingle: "Act Clear" Sonic CD (US)]

Much to Yuuno's chagrin, he had to watch as Sonic celebrated the victorious seed seal with a cool pose that was the same as last night's but because he was still in his Barrier Jacket, he adjusted by sheathing his kodachi away in the sheathes that were positioned on his back in a manner where the straps don't get cut or interfere with the spines on his back.

Nanoha, feeling a bit inspired by her familiar, tried her own hand at the post-battle-victory pose, she cutely twirled her staff around in her left hand and put it to the ground in a vertical position, still held in her left hand. She also had a cute wink and a smile, "Nipaaa~!"

"Ugh!" Alisa suddenly had to grasp her nose and turn away from the pose; though her reasons for doing so were unknown to Sonic, Yuuno and Nanoha, they weren't unknown to Suzuka.

"Alisa-chan!" the mentioned girl with purple hair helped out her friend. Within almost a minute, whatever she did must've worked because Alisa looked much better, albeit maybe a bit tired for some reason.

"Well… uhm…" Yuuno awkwardly tried to put an end to the fun for the moment, "That's another seed sealed"

"Buzzkill" Sonic sighed again and once again, "Okay, Tutorial Ferret, how many are left?"

"There's 21 of them in total, so, doing the math we're left with 19 unaccounted" Yuuno quickly replied after a calculation or two; his reply came with a small glare in the hedgehog's direction, "Now you're calling me that just to annoy me, right?"

"Nah, you really are giving us a tutorial" the blue hedgehog, not missing a beat, shrugged in response.

[Late Afternoon]
[BGM: "Besaid Island" Final Fantasy X OST]

Less than an hour had passed and the sun was about to set. The small group of girls plus hedgehog and ferret had decided to stick around the area to make sure that the jogger was okay after she passed out, though they watched her from a discrete spot in the area. Sure enough the jogger teen woke up, though she was a bit disoriented.

"Huh?" The girl with pink hair said as she woke up and looked around, "I wonder if I tripped and hit my head…"

The girl looked around in search of her faithful little dog. In a matter of seconds, her dog ran up to her, its lack of a leash apparent. The dog just sat in front of her, letting out a few friendly barks. With a small shrug as if nothing happened that she should be worried about, the girl picked up her dog and walked down the steps and off towards their home in the city.

The group of kids, to reflect on their eventful long day, had a nice, peaceful chat on the top step of the stairs, just underneath the red arch. Sonic and Nanoha both were out of their respective Barrier Jackets by that point as well, since there was no need for them at the time.

"So is it safe to say that we did a good job today?" Nanoha asked Yuuno innocently

"Yeah I guess, considering all that has happened" the ferret nodded in agreement, "A few more people know about out magic than I would've liked, but, at least they were the ones you could trust."

"I won't tell anyone" Alisa assured him with an honest tone.

"Me neither" Suzuka nodded in agreement

"Please… The less people who know about this, the better" Yuuno requested, "I've already put everyone in danger here by getting you involved. One of you almost got killed last night too."

"Again with the guilt…" the small blue hedgehog shrugged, "Don't worry about it. I made the choice to get involved."

"So ends our first…" Nanoha said aloud in thought, as if to change the topic and get Yuuno from his little guilt phase, "My first day as a mage, and Sonic-kun's first day as my familiar. I think it turned out great, don't you all agree?"

"Yeah" the blue hedgehog gave the girl a thumb-up gesture, "I actually had some fun with that last seed monster thing."

"You looked better with your swords in this fight too" Yuuno complimented in observation, "Are you starting to get used to this? Being a familiar and the magic"

"Yeah; I mean it is different, suddenly living off someone's magic/energy thing" the blue hedgehog shrugged, "But I'm a fast study, so I think I can get used to all of this real quick. How are you feeling about all of this, Nanoha?"

"I'm kind of happy; I got to make new friends with Sonic-kun and Yuuno-kun" the girl replied, explaining her feelings slightly. She was the first to stand up after a brief silent moment had passed, "Well, a lot sure has happened."

All of a sudden, to the embarrassment of everyone except Alisa Bannings, a collective grow from their stomachs was heard. The blushes that adorned their faces added to a cute moment that had been made.

"Looks like we sure all hungry from all of that" Alisa cheekily grinned, "Who's up for snacks at Nanoha-chan's house?"

"E-eh?! Why me?" Nanoha cutely argued back, "You both have houses of your own to go home to."

"That is true" Suzuka nodded, not disagreeing with Alisa, "But I think yours will be more entertaining, and my onee-chan also works at your family's café so I can always go home with her."

"Um, what about Sonic?" Yuuno curiously brought up a point of his own, "Wouldn't his presence at the Nanoha's café raise questions with the customers and staff?"

"Not really" Alisa shrugged, "It's not like Sonic-kun's from another world."

"If anything, they might be relieved that someone from where he's from was willing to come here, considering…" Nanoha added but left the statement hanging for her friends plus hedgehog to draw their conclusion. She also sent a reassuring smile at the mentioned hedgehog, 'But, considering our usual type of customers; they might try to take him home with them. I hope I don't grow up to be like those teenage girls.'

"If it helps, we'll let Sonic be the one to decide where we go" Suzuka offered and drew attention to the hedgehog, "What do you think?"

"Well…." Sonic had a lot to think about, and that played into his silence throughout the conversation. On one hand, Nanoha could be right and he'd be given a bit of a warm welcome to the café, but on the other hand it could go south. Eventually, he decided to go with his gut feeling of confidence, and his growing hunger, "I'm up for it, let's go"

"Okay!" The trio of girls chimed in agreement and led the way for Sonic and Yuuno to follow en route to the Midori-ya.

'I need to find out what I am missing here' Yuuno thought as he followed, 'I didn't research this world enough before I came here, that's a mistake I need to fix.'

[Midori-ya Café]
[No BGM]

Within a matter of minutes, the girls plus hedgehog, along with the ferret who had opted to ride on Alisa's shoulder, had arrived at the Midori-ya café. Either by mistake or design, but they all entered from the front door, the telltale bell ringing alerted the few customers inside to the new arrivals. There was a bit of a brief silence throughout the café when everyone saw the hedgehog, but, much like what Nanoha said, they didn't pay him any ill will and instead just happily went about their business and the peaceful atmosphere was kept intact.

"See, I told you" Nanoha told Sonic as they all took a seat at the bar of the café, "Have a little more faith"

"I'll try" the hedgehog nodded reluctantly

"Suzuka-chan!" a familiar voice and figure approached the young girl called out to. The 18-year old girl who had approached was her older sister, Shinobu, dressed in the appropriate uniform for the café, "I thought you'd be home by now"

"Well we thought it would be a good idea to have tea here after school" Suzuka explained, leaving out the magic incident entirely, "But we kinda got distracted at the mall and we lost track of time."

"Ah, and this is the Midori-ya's latest tenant, at least that's what Momoko-san told me earlier" Shinobu glanced at the hedgehog. Taking into account the nervous feeling she could tell he had, she calmly addressed him with a kind and polite bow, "It's nice to meet you, Sonic-san; I'm Tsukimura Shinobu, Suzuka-chan's older sister. I work here at the café so you'll probably be seeing a lot of me while you're here. Momoko-san's probably going to put you to work here to, so if that happens, don't be afraid to come to me for advice."

"T-thank you very much." Sonic timidly, but with a small smile of growing confidence, "It's nice to meet you too."

Calmly, the girl passed out tea and sweets to everyone but the ferret companion, whom she assumed Momoko would feed later. After he watched her leave, Sonic let out a sigh of relief and was nudged by Nanoha again.

"Like I said; most humans are kind and considerate to strangers, even those like you." Nanoha explained, "So long as you don't do anything to offend them, but you're a bit careful with that too so you should be fine. Just don't try to be too careful otherwise you'll unintentionally cause more harm than good, Understand?"

"Yup!" the hedgehog nodded and took a taste of the tea. To his own surprise, it didn't taste bad and was actually a bit sweet, though he still had a lot to think about after Nanoha spoke to him, 'Nanoha's right… I'm going to be spending a lot of time with her from now on, so I need to trust her. It won't be easy, but I'll do my best!'

'I don't know what lies ahead for me and Sonic-kun as mage and familiar' Nanoha thought to herself as well as she enjoyed the time with her friends, 'But I'm going to try my best to help Yuuno-kun with the Jewel Seeds and help Sonic-kun open up to humans too.'

[Ending: "Little Wish ~Lyrical Step" Yukari Tamura]
[End of Chapter 3]

Author's note: Well that's about a good 6.8k word count, opening rant set aside. All the solid work that I could do without the word count limit, it's amazing, and I'm liking how this one's developing. Getting a lot of content in and doing great with the details. Reviews please! I love opinions! Canon mode is the combination of Raising Heart's sealing and shooting mode, exclusive to Nanoha MOVIE the 1ST… And, about the Jewel seed possess dog first going after Alisa, I had a bit of thinking when I saw the scene in the anime, same dog as episode one and Alisa did shout at it loudly; could've taken it a bit hard. By the way, for those who were wondering how some humans can simply take Sonic's presence in stride, considering that the islands that Sonic is from is set here all on the same planet, it's most likely that they've seen some of his kind before, either in the news or something like that and just got used to it. They would've had more issue if he was causing havoc, of course, but since he isn't; who is anyone to care what he does? On another note, the Tutorial Ferret is still holding something back, what could it be that Yuuno hasn't said that he's all nervous about?