Set during Chapter 6 - "Moving Day", when Nanoha and friends are modifying their Devices to include the new weapon forms.

This omake has been declared canon by the author!

EXPERT OPINIONS

Ruby formed a list in her head. "Okay, I've helped Nanoha, Lindy, Amy, Hayate needs to wait for some reason, and Arf. Chrono, Fate, and the Wolkenritter took care of themselves, so that leaves... Yuuno!"

"Yes?"

"Have you picked out a weapon yet?"

"Uh, no."

"And you don't have a Device, either, like Amy?"

"No."

"Okay! So we need to start from scratch! Let's go!"

"Um... Sorry, Ruby, and thank you, but I'll be fine."

"Oh... you want to do it yourself? I understand! Can I watch, though?"

"No, I mean, I'm not getting one."

"...Not getting one what?"

"I'm not going to use a weapon."

Ruby made a series of noises befitting a person being strangled before she recovered enough to use human speech. "Y-you can't not have a weapon! My dad and Yang punch the Grimm to death, and even they use weapons to help them do it! Zafira and Arf do the punching thing too, but Zafira is getting a new gun and Arf at least picked a chain!"

Yuuno shrugged. "Zafira has to try something different, and Arf is substituting for the chain-bind spell. I don't have Arf's muscle, so I'm doing something different."

"Yeah," Ruby said with rare sarcasm, "because 'getting eaten' is certainly different. Look, Amy didn't have anything either, and she got a weapon!"

"Amy already had basic training with Bureau-issue weapons and got something to complement that. I've never really used any kind of weapon."

"...What, really? Why not?"

"Remember, I told you that I'm an archaeologist. When I'm working alone, the things I find, I want to take back in one piece. When that's not an option, I call in the people who shoot things for a living."

"Well, you're hunting Grimm now, so you need a weapon!"

"I... actually kind of don't."

Ruby looked at him funny, with particular attention to his scalp and backside. "...You're not a familiar like Arf and Zafira, right?"

"Of course not!" he snapped, eyes blazing.

Ruby eeped and shrank back, and Yuuno immediately looked sheepish. "Sorry," he apologized. "It's a sore subject."

"No, no! I'm sorry. It's just... they're the only others of your people I've seen who fight without your Device thingies."

"Familiars and Guardian Beasts are designed to function without Devices. As for humans like me... Devices cost money, and my clan..." His expression became complicated, before he shrugged it off. "We had other expenses. I just learned to do without."

"Oh yeah. You said something about 'freelance' archaeology not paying real well, or something. Not enough to hire protection? What did you do when the Grimm... or anything else came along?"

"I learned to do really well without."

"...Okay. But you work for the Bureau, now? And they pay you?"

"Yes. By now I could easily afford something like Chrono's S2U, but at this point I'd honestly have more trouble trying to use a Bureau-issue Device than not. A Storage Device could come loaded with stronger shooting spells than the one I know, and even a buster, but I don't have any experience with casting those, much less using them in a fight. Spells like that would also require the Device take the form of a staff, or maybe a rifle, and I wouldn't know what to do with those since my self-defense skills are entirely empty-handed. Rather than devote the time to learn how to use an all-new Device to cast all sorts of new spells, I feel that what little time I spend training is better spent improving what I already do well."

Ruby looked thoughtful. "Devices seem to come in all sorts of forms, though. Isn't there anything good for what you do?"

Yuuno considered it. "Nanoha tells me that Shari is working on something called a 'Boost Device'. Something designed specifically for support-focused mages like myself. A Device that could function with the outward form of a pair of gloves, and that only magnified my spells rather than providing additional control I don't need or options I wouldn't make the time to learn... that sounds like it would be best. Whenever she figures out how... and whenever we can get back to the Bureau."

Ruby looked downcast at reminding her new friend of his current state of exile, but gamely tried to change things by getting back to the original topic. "Well, as long as you're not working at the library, maybe now is a great time to learn something new!"

"Oh, I am. I'm researching plenty about your planet's history and culture."

"But you're supposed to be a hunting student!"

"But I'm actually an archaeologist." He grinned teasingly, before smiling kindly. "Look, Ruby, I appreciate it. But I'm not like the others. Amy needed a weapon. Arf and Zafira are picking up new weapons, but neither of them needed them. I really don't care to learn how to use a weapon at all. I may not hit as hard as Arf, but I'm confident I can take care of myself."

"Maybe you could, if you used magic. Or at least Dust! But you're limiting yourself to just Aura, and you don't even know how to use it!"

"These Imaginary Devices are pretty new to me, and I've got much to learn about them. But I might just have an advantage that the others don't have."

"What do you mean?"

He held a hand in front of his face, examining the back and palm alternatingly. "Aura lets me use magical energy in ways that I never could before, but ultimately leaves me to figure out what to do with it, without any active assistance or guidance. And like I said..."

A solid disk of light flashed between his fingertips.

"...I learned to do really well without."