Once again, it was morning. Yesterday, Nanoha and I spent the day once again hunting for Jewel Seeds under the directions of Yuuno. While I had a bit more stamina, spending the days only doing combat and hunting can put a strain on most people. For Nanoha, that's especially starting to show as she's becoming increasingly more and more worn out as the days go by. Since I don't have a magical device or a staff like Raising Heart, I can't exactly seal the Jewel Seeds, so I try to make an effort in supporting Nanoha but even then, she's slowly getting burnt out. Today, she wasn't even waking up from the usual alarms that she sets on her phone, nor the multiple insistences of Yuuno. 

"Nanoha, it's morning, you should get up soon." Yuuno says as he stands on top of Nanoha in the form of a ferret. "Today's Sunday, so let me sleep in just a bit more." Nanoha mumbled to Yuuno. "Nanoha!" Yuuno exclaimed sternly like a parent would do, to no avail as she still lay in bed. If you're wondering what I was doing at that time, I was of course already awake and putting on an outfit of casual clothes that I bought from one of my shopping trips with Nanoha. After a bit of effort, Nanoha was finally able to wake up, unconsciously pushing Yuuno aside from the bed as she sits up in her stupor. 

"Nanoha, maybe for today you should rest a little." I suggest to her with an awkward smile, seeing how much she's already struggling. "And didn't you already make a promise to Suzuka and Arisa that you'd hang out with them? Now's your chance to do so." I say with a shrug. "I..." Nanoha hesitates as she stares at me for a few seconds. "Alright, then today we'll take a break from the search for Jewel Seeds." Nanoha declares. "See? You already know how to take care of yourself. That's more than most people could say, I know, it's unbelievable, isn't it?" I joke to Nanoha with a soft chuckle. 

"You're right about that, Kuro." Nanoha replies as she stands up from the bed and proceeds to reorganize it. "I might as well relax, and I did promise Suzuka and Arisa that we'd watch the Soccer (Football) game of the team that otou-san is coaching." Nanoha adds. After the both of us got ready and finished with our breakfast for the morning, Nanoha and I waited in Shiro Takamachi's car with Nanoha sitting in the front seat while I sat in the back. It's different from the limousines I'm used to sitting in but that might be because I've been hanging around Luvia-san far too much. Of course, we also can't forget about Yuuno who was sitting on Nanoha's lap.

"Everyone ready?" Shiro Takamachi asks as he steps inside the car and takes his place on the driver's seat. "Umu!" Nanoha and I reply in unison to Nanoha's father. As Nanoha's father reversed the SUV out of the driveway, we slowly drove towards one of the public areas of Uminari city, a recreational sports field that's often used by many people. "Kuro, what's your family like? Or your friends? What's your home like? I don't know that much about you even though you know a lot about me and I'm kind of embarrassed." Nanoha asked to me before giving a nervous laugh, an indication of her hesitation for asking this question to me. "It's... well..." I pause.

"I did say I was born in Germany, and I've lived overseas for quite a while." I answer to Nanoha, using an excuse that was similar to the explanation Miyu gave to Illya. Was it just my imagination or did Nanoha narrow her eyes at the answer I gave her? "I lived with my mama and papa as well as my onii-chan, our maids Liz and Sella, my sister Illya and my... half-sister Miyu. I also had- no, Illya had quite a bit of friends and Miyu and I often tagged along with her to join them in their antics." I answer to Nanoha with a nostalgic smile. "If you guys ever have any free time or another vacation, you could come with me to my hometown!" I say to Nanoha with a lie as easily as I would breathe. "You and Illya would get along." I comment with a playful smirk. 

"I'd like to see it someday. Fuyu- I mean Germany, I've always wanted to go to another country." Nanoha mused with a wistful smile. "Don't forget to invite us too!" Shiro Takamachi joked to me with a grin. "Of course, I wouldn't forget to invite you, old man, you'd be one of the first on the list." I joke to Shiro Takamachi with a less formal way of address due to the fact that my bonds with the Takamachi family have grown closer. "Well, we should be arriving just about now, and the team members of the football game will come soon too. Why don't you guys wait here while I get ready?" Shiro waved a hand to Nanoha and I before he ends up stepping outside of the SUV. 

"It's not a bad idea, Arisa and Suzuka should be arriving soon anyways." I comment as Shiro Takamachi closes the door behind him. Multiple other cars began pulling up and began parking besides ours, filling up enough for a large crowd of people to arrive. Nanoha and I stepped out of the car with Yuuno sitting on Nanoha's shoulder. I wonder if Yuuno ever showed Nanoha his human form? How would she react to the fact that her dear partner was a boy this entire time? Should I tell her? Maybe Yuuno wants to show her his form when he's ready, I may as well respect his wishes.

"Nanoha! Kuro!" Arisa called out from the distance, waving in our direction as she approached us with Suzuka by her side. "Oi! What's up!" I wave back in response. "Arisa! Suzuka!" Nanoha greeted to the duo as the two of them joined us. "Since we're close with otou-san, I'm glad we're allowed to watch the game from the bench." Nanoha says, leading our group over to the empty bench near the game where both of the teams would be playing. From here, we'd get a far better view then we'd ever get if we were in the stands. 

After a bit of preparation, the game between the team that Shiro Takamachi owns and coaches versus the opposing team begins in earnest. Football, the international name of the game, though in the United States and a handful of other countries we call it Soccer. I'd probably be skilled enough to play with them even if they are boys soccer teams. Illya and I both had a natural talent for athletics after all. Our eyes were practically glued to the focus of the soccer game, Suzuka and Arisa were both cheering loudly while Nanoha and I were silently focused on the game.

"This is one of the sports in your world, right?" Yuuno asked curiously via telepathy. "Yup, that's right. It's called Soccer!" Nanoha replies. "You kick the ball with your feet, and you score a point when you get it into the opponents goal. Only the one in front of the goal is allowed to use their hands." Nanoha explains to Yuuno. "I see, it looks fun!" Yuuno replies. Eventually we were able to witness a highlight from the goalie of the team coached by Shiro Takamachi. "That's an amazing goalie!" Arisa exclaims. "Really!" Suzuka adds in agreement. The goalie proceeds to toss the ball back into the field. "Get upfield! Get upfield!"One of the teammates on the Midoriya cafe's side eagerly shouts out. A girl the same age as the members of the team was sitting on the bench too, she most likely the team manager. She reminded me quite a bit of a supportive girlfriend watching the performance of her boyfriend in a comedy stand or a music concert. 

"Are there sports like this where you come from, Yuuno?" Nanoha asks to the ferret. "There are, but I was so engrossed in research and excavation that I didn't play much of anything." Yuuno answers to Nanoha. Out of all people, I'm not one who would be able to judge Yuuno on that either since most of my life was spent sealed away inside Illya's soul, only getting to experience an actual childhood because of a magical war fought for Class Cards that allowed me to break free due to special circumstances. "Just like me, I'm not good at sports!" Nanoha admits to Yuuno with a sheepish smile. 

Eventually, the whistle is blown after some time and the winner of the game was declared by the referee. "Game set! Midoriya JFC wins, two to zero!" The referee shouts, announcing the results of the game. The members of the team began to cheer to themselves along with the audience members watching the game. The manager smiled and gave a thumbs up to one of the team members, most likely from my observation the one that has a crush on her. "Alright! All of you did a great job! That was a great game, just like in practice." Shiro Takamachi proudly announced to the team. "Yes sir!" The boys replied in unison. "Then to celebrate the victory, let's have a feast!" Nanoha's father said. The boys began to cheer loudly at the proclamation. 

After that, we proceeded to wrap everything up and headed to the Midoriya cafe that the Takamachi family owned. While the members of the soccer team were celebrating on the inside of the building, Nanoha and I along with Suzuka and Arisa sat on the outside of the building. Taking a bite from the slice of cake I received, I began listening to the conversation between Nanoha, Suzuka, and Arisa. "You know, upon a second look, don't you think this guy's a bit different from a ferret?" Arisa asks staring at Yuuno who was sitting on the table. Nanoha began sweating nervously at Arisa's question.

Yuuno was of course, a human to begin with. "Come to think of it, maybe you're right. The vet also said he was a bit different than usual." Suzuka ponders aloud. "He might have belonged to some rich person that collects rare animals. Maybe you'll have someone knocking on your door pretty soon wanting their dear Yuuno back. What would you do then, Nanoha?" I tease to her despite knowing full well the truth of the actual situation. "Well I'd try really hard to see if I could keep him!" Nanoha pouted to my attempts at teasing her. "But he's different from other ferrets. See, Yuuno, shake!" Nanoha says, putting out her hand towards Yuuno. Yuuno obliges and places his hand on Nanoha's, Arisa looks on in amazement. 

"Kawaii!" Suzuka says as she watches on. "He's so smart!" Arisa fawns, petting Yuuno on the head with Suzuka also joining in. Nanoha nervously smiles at Yuuno with an apologetic and guilty expression on her face. "I'm sorry Yuuno..." Nanoha says through telepathy. "It- it's fine..." Yuuno responds to Nanoha via telepathy. 

The celebrating of the soccer team concluded as the doors to the cafe opened. "Thanks for the meal!" The voices of the team members shouted in unison as everyone began to walk outside and assemble together in front of Shiro Takamachi. "Everyone, today you did a really good job! Let's practice hard again for next week and win the tournament just like we did today!" Shiro Takamachi announces to the team with the expression that a proud teacher would make to their students. Rin-san and Luvia-san would sometimes look at Illya and Miyu like that, wouldn't they? 

I'm not jealous. "Yes sir!" The members of Shiro Takamachi's team replied in a swift and orderly manner. "Then that's it for today, all of you be careful on your way home!" Nanoha's father declares, wrapping up the gathering of the soccer team in the end. The team members began dispersing and going their separate ways from one another. Nanoha let out a gasp as it turned out she was also watching the members of the team. Wondering what she was seeing, I reinforced my vision and focused on one of the boys that were seemingly holding a Jewel Seed, promptly placing it into the pocket of his jacket. The girl who was with the team caught up to the boy with the Jewel Seed. "Good job today!" The girl praised to the boy. "You too." The boy says with a casual smile in response to her. 

He has a long way to go if he wants to attract girls like onii-chan does but he's getting there. Wait if the boy is holding a Jewel Seed, why are Nanoha and I just sitting here and doing nothing? Just as I was about to approach the boy- "Here, Nanoha!" Arisa calls out, snapping both of us out of our stupor, Arisa hands a dizzy Yuuno over to Nanoha. "Now, I guess that's it for us today as well!" Arisa says to us as she grabs her bag. "Yeah, I think so!" Suzuka agrees, grabbing her own bag too. "That's right, you guys had things to do this afternoon, right?" Nanoha asks. "I'm going out with my sister." Suzuka giggles in reply to Nanoha. "I'm going shopping with papa!" Arisa boasts with excitement. What would I be doing in a time like this? 

I'd probably be hanging out with Illya and Miyu and tagging along with them as a third wheel. Although there's a group of four of us, it's not so different from what I'm used to doing. "That's great! Tell me all about it on Monday!" Nanoha says to Arisa and Suzuka as she carries Yuuno on her hands. "Oh, you guys are calling it a day as well?" Shiro Takamachi asks as he heads over to us. "Oh! Otosan!" Nanoha smiles as he arrives at our table outside. "Oiiii, jii-san! Today was really fun." I greet to him. "Thank you so much for inviting us today!" Arisa says to Shiro Takamachi. "The game was so cool!" Suzuka says. 

"Thanks to both of you, Suzuka-chan and Arisa-chan for cheering us on. And Kuro-chan, I'm not even that old." Shiro Takamachi says sending a pretend glare in my direction. "If you're going home, would you like me to drive you?" He asks to Arisa and Suzuka. "Oh no, I'm getting picked up." Suzuka replies. "Same here!" Arisa says. "I see, what about you guys, Nanoha, Kuro-chan?" Shiro Takamachi asks turning to us.  

Nanoha pauses to consider before answering her dad. "I'll go home and relax!" Nanoha answers. "I see." Shiro Takamachi replies with a chuckle. "Well, your father's going to take a quick bath at home and then it's back to work." Nanoha's father says, using the tone of "your father" or "your mother" that most parents would say when referring to themselves upon talking to their kids. I would know, mama and papa have done that a few times as well. Is it just a parent thing? "Would you guys like to come home with me?" Shiro Takamachi asks to Nanoha and I. "Umu!" Nanoha and I reply to his question in unison. 

"Jaa ne!" Arisa and Suzuka wave to us before heading their separate ways from us. "See you tomorrow!" Nanoha calls out as she waves back to them. "Later!" I call also shout to them and wave. "Nanoha, did you grow taller again?" Shiro Takamachi asks to Nanoha. 

"Otosan, you just asked me that the other day! I don't grow that quickly!" Nanoha pouts. "I see!" Nanoha's father replies with a sheepish smile while scratching his head. Papa has asked a similar question to me too.

Maybe it is just a universal parent thing.