A Samurai's Pledge
A/N: Thanks to everyone who participated in the poll! It was close, flipping back and forth at times, but the majority has spoken! My next story will take place in this world, the world of "Of Assassins, Samurai and Magic" and "A Samurai's Pledge". With that decided, I now have a new poll up, to determine who the story should be about. Have a look and vote. :)
I've tried to keep everyone as close as possible to their characters in the anime though I'm sure there will be a few OOC moments.
For those of you who left unsigned reviews, see my replies below:
Guest – Thanks for the comment. ^^ I with you, no anti-climax. And no, I guarantee you, there is none of that. You'll see what I mean in the following chapters. Hehe.
trumm12345 – Thanks for the review. ^^ Signum can be a bit hard headed at times, yeah. Lol. I'm all for a beat down myself. I can't really say if it will or will not happen, but I believe this chapter will hint at what's to come. Lol.
Sammie-chan89 – Thanks for the review! ^^ It's a tricky one with Signum, right? Lol. I believe this chapter will help put that indecision to rest. If not cause some more. XD
love thus story – Thanks for the review! Oh my! I hope you're feeling much better and that you take time to recover. This story will still be here for a while yet. Thanks for your continued support. :)
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 12: Honour and Love ~ ***
CRASH!
"SU-BA-RU!"
"It was an accident Tea! I swear!"
Shamal sighed heavily. Here she sat at her favorite table (it was only her favorite table because it was Signum's favorite table) in the Midori-ya Cafe, drinking tea. The slice of Triple Chocolate Fudge Cake she had ordered earlier remained uneaten on her plate. Next to her sat her travel bag, the bag itself filled to the brim and as heavy as a sack of rice.
"How many times now have you dropped things today?"
"Umm... a few times?"
"Subaru!"
Sorrowful violet eyes stared at Shamal's reflection in her mug of tea, the former Head Healer and Attendant of the Empress sighing audibly yet again.
It hurt.
It hurt so much.
There was still an hour to go before Shamal was to meet Victoria at the southern most gates of the city, soon after leaving the city for good. Having nothing better to do during that time, she decided to pay one last visit to her favorite cafe. Thinking about it now though, that was probably a mistake. There were too many good memories here. Too many reminders of all that she would be leaving behind. It hurt.
"Ahhh..."
An exasperated whine.
Shamal jumped in surprise when a blur of blue and black dropped into the booth chair directly opposite her.
"I'm sooooo tiiired!" Subaru moaned.
Shamal blinked momentarily before a giggle erupted from her throat. "A busy day today?"
Subaru's forehead hit the table, the server groaning again. "You have no idea."
A small smile stretched across the blonde's face. "That must be tough."
Subaru's head popped up and she grinned. "Ile," she said. "It's not so bad. Tea's with me. So it's alright."
The bluenette's cheeks flushed a noticeable pink as Subaru glanced at her serving partner.
Teana's with you, huh? Shamal felt the beginning of tears sting her eyes.
"Subaru!"
"Eek!" Subaru exclaimed, cringing backwards against her seat as a certain redheaded server walked up to the table, glaring at her. "Hehe... How's it going, Tea..."
"Ah mou! What have I told you about slacking off and bothering our customers?" Teana's hands were on her hips, the other server leaning forward menacingly at Subaru, her blue eyes narrowed.
Subaru swallowed uncomfortably. "Ehehehe... Sorry...?"
Teana sighed. Subaru was so thick sometimes. Teana turned to Shamal. "I'm really sorry, Shamal-sama, about this one," she said, nodding to her delinquent serving partner. Reaching over, Teana grabbed Subaru by the cheek and yanked her to her feet.
"Itai! Itai Tea! Itai!" Subaru pouted at the redhead, rubbing her red cheek after being released.
"You're going to hurt a lot more than that if you don't get back to work." Teana gave Subaru a stern look, making the blunette cringe again. "Again, Shamal-sama, I'm really sorry."
Shamal forced a smile, looking down at her tea again. "It's no problem at all," she said. Kami-sama, she was going to miss times like this.
"Ano... What's that next to you, Shamal-sama?"
Shamal snapped out of her thoughts, quickly rubbing away tears when she realized she was being addressed. Looking to her bag next to her, the blonde blinked again.
"You mean this?" Shamal gestured to her bag.
"Are you going somewhere, Shamal-sama?" Subaru looked between Shamal and her bag curiously.
"Oye! Subaru! That's none of your business!" Teana hissed, not all too pleased with her serving partner.
Shamal smiled sadly at the pair, a look that neither missed. "It's alright Teana-san," Shamal said.
Teana and Subaru glanced at each other in concern.
"I'm actually on my way out of the city," the former Head Attendant revealed.
"Eh?"
Shamal's disheartened look and tone of her voice made Teana wonder if this was a willing departure.
Shamal forced another smile. "You see, it's been quite some time since I've last travelled. I thought I'd do that a bit while I was still young."
A laugh with no mirth.
"Sugoi Shamal-sama!" Subaru exclaimed. Though, somehow this exclamation didn't hold Subaru's regular excitement. Like Teana, Subaru could definitely tell something was bothering their guest.
"Where are you going?"
Shamal looked down at the now cold mug of tea in her hands. "I'm not sure yet," she said, gritting her teeth as tears pooled in the corner of her eyes again. "But that's what makes it exciting, right?"
A pitiful excuse for a laugh.
"Shamal-sama-"
"Oh look at the time!" Shamal said quickly. As stealthily as she could, she wiped away the tears before they fell. "I need to get going before it turns dark."
"Shamal-"
"Gochisosama deshita" Shamal said before either server could protest. Rising to her feet, she set some coins down to pay for her dessert and tea.
"Ne," Subaru said as Shamal walked passed her, her travelling bag hanging off of her shoulder.
Shamal paused, but didn't turn back to look at the pair.
"You will be coming back, right Shamal-sama?"
The trio stood in silence for a few seconds before Shamal looked back over here shoulder and gave the servers a watery smile. "It's been fun Subaru-san, Teana-san. Hasn't it?"
Then Shamal turned back forward again, and continued out the door. Subaru and Teana could only watch her go.
The walk from the Midori-ya Cafe to the southern most gates of the city took only a few minutes, but to Shamal, it felt like it took forever. The sun was high in the sky, indicating mid afternoon, the citizens of the capital city out and about doing their daily tasks. A hooded figured waited for her near the city gates, Shamal slowing down as soon as she spotted them. The person's back was to her, but she knew who it was nevertheless. Shamal made a fist.
This was it.
Looking back to the capital city behind her, a tear rolled down the blonde's cheek as she took in the sights for the last time. It had been her home all her life, and now... now would be the final time she'd ever get to see it again.
That was alright, though. Not really, but this was what she had chosen.
"Shamal-san."
Shamal froze, her violet eyes widening in shock. She spun around to face the hooded person again. "S-S-Signum-san?"
The cloaked figure turned around, pulling off their hood to reveal long locks of pink hair, held together by a yellow ribbon. Signum's expression was unreadable, the pinkette taking in the sight of the blonde before her gaze drifted over to the bag hanging off of Shamal's shoulder. They were less than five feet apart.
"So it is true," Signum said, a tightness to her voice. "You are leaving."
Shamal's lips pressed into a fine line, her gaze darting to the samurais standing guard at the gate behind the captain of the samurai before falling to the ground.
Signum turned her head in the direction of her fellow swordsmen. "Leave us," she said. "Just for a little while."
The unit of samurai bowed respectfully, all four of the walking past the pair of women to stand fifteen feet away. They were still within sight of the gate, but too far away to actually hear the conversation.
"Shamal-"
"This is not fair," Shamal said, clenching her fist as the tears threatened to fall.
Signum remained silent.
"After I made up my mind to leave, you come and do this now?" Angry violet eyes glared at the samurai, the beginning so tears rolling down Shamal's cheeks. "That's not fair Signum!"
Signum looked away, ashamed. "I know," she said quietly. "But I couldn't just let you leave."
"Why not!?"
"Perhaps..." Signum swallowed uncomfortably, the words getting stuck in her throat. "Perhaps if I had explained things to you sooner, we wouldn't be in this situation."
Silence.
Then Shamal laughed. It made Signum shiver. Such an agonized sound should have never come from the blonde.
"I hate you."
Signum looked at Shamal in shock, her surprise soon turning to regret. She looked down at the ground again. "I expected as much," the samurai said thickly. "And that is nothing less than I deserve."
A hand clenched at Signum's side and shook.
"Even so, I ask you not to leave."
Shamal wanted to sob.
Signum was not supposed to agree with her! The samurai was supposed to argue with her, yell at her, scream at her. Hell, Shamal half wanted Signum to slap her. Of all the things she could have done, instead Signum chose to accept the role of the villain and was begging her to stay. That wasn't fair.
Shamal gritted her teeth, her resolve wavering. "Why should I stay?" she asked, forcing her voice to remain level. She regarded the samurai with cool detachment, in spite of the tears running down her face. Signum would not meet her gaze.
"The others," the samurai said. "Your family." Signum still focused on the dirt at her feet. "Are they not reason enough to stay?"
The Empress' former Head Healer and Attendant gave the swordswoman a long, hard look.
"And what of you?"
Shamal was trembling. This was the question she'd been waiting to ask for a long time now, but couldn't find the courage to do so before. It was the type of question that left her vulnerable, leaving Shamal open to heartbreak or bliss depending on Signum's answer. Due to circumstances as of late, Shamal feared hearing the answer to this question. Because the answer would most likely not be the one she was looking for. And Shamal couldn't handle that. But now, enough was enough. She would get her answer today, even if it killed her.
Signum's head sunk lower, pink bangs shrouding her eyes in shadow. For a long while, silence was all that enveloped them. Then Signum raised her head and stole Shamal's breath away. Tears rolled down the samurai's cheeks, the smile she wore a heartbreaking one.
"I have made many mistakes in my life," Signum said, swallowing thickly. "But never have I made such an error as to drive you away."
Shamal's hands went up to her mouth, the blonde shaking even more than before. Her bag slipped off of her shoulder and thumped to the ground, going unnoticed by both of them.
"I know I could never possibly ask for your forgiveness for this, but for the sake of the others, I ask that you stay. They love you, Shamal."
Signum's heartbreaking smile widened. "And I love you, too."
Shamal felt like her knees would cave out under her at any moment.
"I was just too much of a coward to admit that to myself," Signum continued, her voice getting softer. "And to you."
A tortured laugh. Signum's gaze dropped to the ground again.
"But that matters little now, doesn't it?"
A pause.
"If you must leave, then so be it. Just please, don't leave and punish the others because of my misdeeds. Hate me if you wish, loathe me, curse my name if that will help. I will accept that. I just ask that you don't hate the others because of me."
Shamal could barely breathe. She didn't know if she wanted to scream, laugh, or cry. Maybe all three if that was possible. To say this was a shock would have been putting things mildly. Shamal was frozen with indecision, to go, to stay, yet even as her mind fought to process all of this, in her heart, she already knew what she wanted to do.
Signum's heart sunk. Shamal just stared at her, saying nothing. Perhaps she was already too late. Surely if she still had a chance, Shamal would have reacted by now. But as it was, the blonde just... stared at her.
Signum swallowed down the lump in her throat. Doing the best she could to ignore the pain emanating from her chest, a pain worse than having a sword driven through her heart, the samurai closed her eyes. She took a deep breath before brushing away her tears with the back of her hand.
"I guess it's too late for that, huh?" Signum met Shamal's gaze again, but her smile held no mirth.
She failed.
More tears fell unbidden down the samurai's cheeks as she lowered her head in shame. Fists clenched tighter at her sides, nails threatening to rip through the skin of her palms. Forcing her legs to move, Signum started to walk back towards the Imperial Palace. Hayate was going to be heartbroken. And the others? They'd probably hate her. This was all of her fault after all.
"I am sorry, Shamal," the pinkette whispered as she passed the stunned blonde. She clenched her jaw. "For everything."
Signum managed to walk only three steps past Shamal before a hand clamped down on her armored wrist making her freeze in her spot. The samurai went stiff as a board when arms wrapped around her waist from behind and she felt Shamal press up against her back.
"You silly, silly samurai," Shamal chided, but there was no malice in her voice. "Did you really think I'd let you go after you saying all of that?"
Signum swallowed, Shamal's blonde locks tickling the back of her neck. "It is no less than I deserve," the pinkette said, looking down sadly at the arms locked around her waist.
"And just why do you get to play the villain in all of this?"
"Eh?"
"You are not all to blame for this."
"But Shamal-"
"Please let me finish."
Signum held her tongue as was told of her and waited. She focused on the ground as Shamal spoke.
"I love you too, Signum."
Signum's eyes widened before her head snapped to the side, the samurai seeking to meet the blonde's gaze.
"For a long time now, I have loved you." Shamal smiled, resting her head against Signum's shoulder and closing her eyes. She held the pinkette tighter.
A chuckle.
"Did you really think all of those... accidents... between us were just that? Accidents?"
Signum quickly flushed, recalling some of the more close calls the two of them had since the JS incident. The smile on Shamal's face widened.
"I was so happy when you didn't push me away, but..." The blonde swallowed, her grip on the samurai turning near vice-like. "But then the things with my itoko happened..."
Shamal could feel Signum tense up, even through the armor the samurai captain wore. She pressed her face into Signum's cloaked shoulder.
"It was all my fault," the former Head Healer wept bitterly. "I didn't know, I couldn't see, and when you got hurt and almost died..."
Shamal shook, Signum gritting her teeth when she felt it.
"I didn't know!" A sob. "All I knew, was that if you died, I would have joined you in the afterlife soon afterwards."
Signum lowered her head as she held back tears. It hurt so much to hear this. But she had to. They both needed this.
"I could never hate you, Signum," Shamal continued through her tears. "I didn't mean it when I said it before. I was angry and scared and lonely, but I could never hate you. Instead, you have every reason to hate me-"
Shamal gasped in surprise when something cool and wet hit her hands, the ones clutching at the front of Signum's armor. The blonde immediately raised her head and sought the pinkette's face, her heart aching when she realized the taller woman was crying again.
"I'm sorry, Shamal," Signum said, her voice trembling. "I'm so sorry! I never meant for things to happen this way."
A genuine smile stretched across the blonde's face, Shamal pressing her cheek against Signum's shoulder again. "I know," she said. "And I forgive you."
Those words only made the samurai sob harder. Turning Signum around in her arms, Shamal pulled the pinkette's head towards her, Signum resting her head against Shamal's shoulder. The samurai clutched at the fabric of Shamal's robe back with white knuckled fists as she shuddered.
"Shhh Signum, it's alright."
Shamal kissed Signum's forehead, stroking her hair gently. It was so easy to forget that Signum was younger than her. It was so easy to forget the samurai's rough upbringing. While she didn't know the finer details, Shamal knew for a fact that Signum's life had been one death defying fight after another. Yet even so, Signum pushed on, defied her limits over and over again and became the best thing to happen in Shamal's life. Had there been anyone at all who truly loved the tortured samurai before now?
"My dear Signum," Shamal said, pulling back to look at Signum again. "Why do you always try so hard to be invincible?"
The former Head Healer brushed away Signum's tears with her thumb, resting her forehead against the samurai's.
"That's because if she didn't, things like this would happen."
SPLAT!
Blue eyes widened as crimson stained Signum's chest. "S-Shamal...san...?"
"Sig...num...?" Shamal watched as red rolled down the front of Signum's armor. "Your... armor..." Her focus then shifted to the blade protruding from her chest, the tip of it flush against Signum's chest plate. The blade did not penetrate the samurai's armor. A streak of crimson spilled from Shamal's lips and down her chin.
Cypha grinned, her sole amber eye alight with triumph. She stood just feet behind Shamal, blades in hand, one impaled through the other blonde's back. "Surely you two didn't forget all about me?"
The blonde swordswoman withdrew her sword from Shamal's back, licking her lips at the squelching sound it made. Shamal collapsed into Signum's arms with a whimper, the former Head Attendant struggling to breath as her strength slowly drained out of her. Behind the duo was the crumpled, lifeless bodies of the samurais who originally stood watch over the southern most gates to the city.
"S-Signum..." A trembling hand reached up towards the samurai's face.
This couldn't be happening.
This couldn't be happening!
Signum stared wide-eyed at the growing crimson spot on Shamal's chest. The samurai was in shock, holding onto Shamal frailly, as if she would break if she held her any tighter. All the while, the red grew bigger and bigger on green garb.
This was not happening!
"What's the matter, Knight?" Cypha mocked, licking some blood off of her blade. "You just going to sit there while I sully your honour, and the honour of your master?"
That got the desired reaction Cypha wanted. Furious blue eyes rose to meet her gaze, the blonde swordswoman grinning at the sight. "Those are the eyes I was looking for," she said, twirling her long blade casually in her grip.
"Kisama."
Signum began to rise.
"Careful," Cypha chuckled. "If you're too rough, you might actually kill her."
That statement made the samurai freeze in her spot again. Signum's gaze darted back to Shamal in her arms again.
"Not that she'll die right away mind you," Cypha taunted.
Signum glared at the cursed woman.
"I made sure she'd live long enough to see this. But don't get me wrong, if she doesn't get some help soon, she will die."
A shaking hand cupped Signum's cheek, drawing her gaze downwards again. "It's... okay... Signum..." Shamal said weakly. "I'll... *cough* ... be fine..."
Signum gritted her teeth, shaking. Cypha, on the other hand, just smirked more.
"So what will it be, Knight?" Cypha asked. "Your honour, or your love?"
A/N: For those of you unfamiliar with the non-English words, I have translated them below.
Ile = No
Ano = Umm
Itai = Ouch
Sugoi = Amazing
Kami = God
Gochisosama deshita = Thanks for the meal
Itoko = Cousin
Ne = A word, when used in certain contexts, gets the attention of someone.
Kisama = You (usually used to show the speaker's extreme hostility / outrage towards the addressee)
For an explanation of Japanese honorifics (eg. [name]-sama), please check out: wiki/Japanese_honorifics