Of Assassins, Samurai, and Magic
A/N: And the next chapter is up! I know some of you have been waiting for the story to get back to NanoFate. They'll return next chapter. I still have to introduce a few characters, so for the time being, enjoy this one!
Disclaimer: The characters and the worlds I write in do not belong to me. The stories that I write are intended for entertainment purposes. I do not make any money from them.
*** ~ Chapter 10: Unspoken Burdens ~ ***
Mid day. The middle district.
A figure cloaked in grey stood outside of the Midori-ya Café, staring up at the second floor. Ten days had passed since the Takamachi dojo exploded into splinters. The incident had rocked the middle district to its very core. The Takamachi family was well known in the area, being one of the kindest set of siblings one could ever meet. Such was a rarity nowadays, especially with the escalating fights between clans and factions over Spirit Seeds and power. The Midori-ya Café had been closed since that day, with no hints that it would be opening up again anytime in the future. The lone figured sighed.
"Subaru?"
The cloaked figure jumped, spinning around to face the owner of the voice. "Tea…"
A second hooded figure walked up to the first one, and pulled back her hood. Orange locks of hair swayed in the soft breeze blowing past. "Here again?"
Subaru pulled back the hood of her cloak, running a hand through her short navy coloured hair. "Yeah…" She chuckled. "I just..." Subaru hung her head.
Teana gave Subaru a sympathetic smile. "I miss this place too." Teana's gaze moved up to the second floor of the café.
"Do you think…" Subaru bit her lip. "Do you think they'll be okay?"
"Of course they will, baka!" Teana smacked Subaru upside the head. "Think about who you're talking about it!" Teana scowled.
Though, as much as she scolded Subaru for her lack of faith, Teana couldn't deny that her own heart was clouded in doubt. The Takamachi dojo still lay in ruins. Two people were dead. Many injured, including Miyuki and Kyouya who would be forever scarred for life. Nanoha was devastated.
Subaru laughed wearily. "Sorry Tea…" she said rubbing the back of her head. "You're right. They'll be just fine!" Subaru flashed the red head her signature grin.
"After all, Scrya-sama got Miyuki-san transferred into the imperial hospital just a few days ago."
"E-eh?" Teana gawked at Subaru.
"W-what?" Subaru pulled at her collar nervously. "Y-you didn't hear?"
The red head shook her head furiously. "Where did you hear that?"
"O-oh…" Subaru scratched the back of her head, thinking. "I heard Otou-san and Gin-nee talking about it last night. I thought everyone had heard about it by now..."
Teana crossed her arms over her chest and sighed. Teana wasn't mad at Subaru. Sure the girl could be ditzy and uncoordinated at times, but that was part of Subaru's charm. While the two of them shared a dwelling together, as Subaru wanted to be more independent from her family, the navy haired girl would often visit her father and sister frequently. And with both Subaru's father and Ginga working for the city guard, Subaru often got news about the inner dealings of the city before she did.
"So?"
"Huh?" Subaru looked at Teana in confusion.
"Is that it?" Teana tilted her head to the side and continued to stare at her partner.
"What do you mean?"
"What about Kyouya-san?" Teana clarified. "Is he in the imperial hospital too?"
Subaru shook her head. "He went home."
"Home?" Teana looked up to the second floor of the Midori-ya again.
Subaru nodded, doing the same. "He refused to leave Nanoha-san alone and insisted to come home." Subaru's expression dropped. "I was coming here to see how they were doing, but the place was all locked up."
Teana frowned.
"I didn't want to disturb them" Subaru said quietly. Her gaze fell upon the locked door of the Midori-ya Café. "Nanoha-san has been through a lot these past few weeks. I didn't want to bother her with an unexpected visit…"
"Who's there!" The two samurai currently guarding the burnt remains of the Takamachi dojo reached for their weapons.
There was a small whimper before two small forms emerged from the shadows of the alleyway opposite the wreckage.
"Children?" The two samurai relaxed. "I'm sorry, but this area is off limits. Please move along."
The smaller of the two children, a girl with cherry blossom pink shoulder length hair, bit her lip, the beginnings of tears forming in her eyes. The white cloak she wore had seen better days, dirt and grim making it look grey with the hems frayed and torn. In her hands was a small bouquet of wild flowers. Blue eyes looked pleadingly at the closest samurai.
The man looked between the girl's face and the flowers in her hand, scratching his head reluctantly. With a quick glance to his partner, who gave him a small nod, the samurai sighed. "Is that for them?"
The little girl nodded.
The samurai sighed again, running a hand through his long brown hair before nodding over her shoulder. "Go on then" he said. "Make it quick and be careful."
The little girl's face lit up and she took off running past the samurai, smiling at the man as she did so. The samurai's partner trailed behind the young one to make sure she didn't seriously harm herself on the debris. The Empress would have both their heads if something happened to a civilian, far-a-less a little girl at that. Turning his head back to the street, the samurai was surprised to see the little girl's friend had not followed her.
"You're not going in yourself?" he asked the red headed boy.
The boy, who was a good head taller than his friend, merely scowled at the samurai. The samurai raised an eyebrow at this but said nothing further. Only when the patter of feet reached their ears, did the boy move his harsh gaze past the older man. The brunette frowned, his eyes watching as the young girl ran over to her friend and his partner return to his post.
The hatred in the boy's eyes was unmistakeable. The fact that it was there bothered the samurai greatly. No one so young should be filled with such pain and sorrow, but most of all, such hate. Something had no doubt happened to these small children, of which the samurai would never be able to find out. But still…
Before the samurai could ask them about their parents, two youngsters had already disappeared down the alleyway they originally came from, leaving the man to wonder just what had happened to them.
A/N: For those of you unfamiliar with the non-English words, I have translated them below.
Baka = Idiot
Otou-san = Father
Nee-chan/Onee-chan = Big Sister
Gin-nee = Ginga nee-san = Big Sister Ginga
For an explanation of Japanese honorifics (eg. [name]-sama), please check out: http:/en[dot]wikipedia[dot]org/wiki/Japanese_honorifics