A Samurai's Pledge

A/N: Wow! A huge thank you to everyone who participated in the last poll. I think that's the most people so far! I watched the numbers flip flop over the weeks and never did I think it would turn out the way it did. Taking number one was Vita, followed by Shamal and Signum. Fate, Hayate and Nanoha (in that order) rounded out the top six, while the Vivio, Zafira, Subaru and Rein rounded out the top ten. Now, with the main and secondary characters decided, I have another poll up. Tell me what kind of story you want the third instalment to be. Vote now! :)

Just to note, if the new poll isn't up yet, it will be soon.

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. :) Cypha was one of the bad guys in the Force manga for the MGLN series. She actually did fight against Signum in epic battles and that's why I picked her. They're arch rivals. Hehe. I'm glad you enjoyed the chapter. :)

Sammie-chan89 – Thanks for the comment. :) Yep, you know how it is. ;) Bad guys always mess up awesome things at the worst possible moment. Darn bad guys! XD This next chapter is epic. ;)

love thus story – Thanks for the review. :) Stick a spear through them, huh? Lol. You had me laughing at that comment. I know, I'm mean like that to our favorite characters. XD I think this chapter should more than make up for that. But I don't know for sure. Let me know. ;)

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 13: More Precious Than Honour ~ ***

It is said that your entire life flashes before your eyes as you die. The good, the bad, and everything in between. All of the moments you hold most dear. All of the moments you wished to forget. All of the moments you didn't remember. But what if, when the time came, it was not you lying on the cold, hard ground bleeding out, but the one you cherished the most in the world instead, dying in your arms?

"So what will it be, Knight?" Cypha smirked. "Your honour, or your love?"

When that happens, what you do, truly shows what's most important to you.

Blood covered fingers curled around the shuddering form in their grasp, Signum biting her lip hard enough to draw red. Her opponent leered at her from less than ten feet away, the other swordswoman twirling her blades leisurely at her sides.

"Can't fight without a weapon?" Cypha raised an eyebrow at the motionless Captain of the Samurai, only now realizing Signum was unarmed. "Here, let me fix that."

The one-eyed Eclipse Weapon wielder walked past the pair of women for a moment, nonchalantly humming as if she hadn't just killed four people and wasn't responsible for the dying Shamal bleeding out in the pinkette's arms. A moment later, something clanked to the ground in front of Signum, the shell shocked samurai's gaze narrowing in on a sword. It belonged to one of her guard.

"That sword should do," Cypha said. "Though, nothing will ever come close to replacing a Legendary Weapon, will it?"

A wet cough drew Signum's gaze downwards again, Shamal struggling to keep her eyes open as more time passed.

"Sig... num..." Shamal weakly reached up with a trembling hand, cupping the pinkette's teary, agony twisted face. "It's... okay..."

But it wasn't okay, Signum wanted to tell her. Tears fell freely from her eyes, the Captain of the Samurai gritting her teeth with indecision. Nothing about this was okay.

This was no longer about honour.

This was no longer about revenge.

This was about life.

If Signum didn't fight now, they'd both die. But if Signum did fight, Shamal would die. As unflinchingly confident as she was in her abilities, Signum simply didn't have enough time to defeat Cypha and to rush Shamal to a healer afterwards. The only chance Shamal had was for Signum to find a healer now, but the samurai highly doubted Cypha would let her do that.

The pinkette bowed her head, her hair covering her eyes in shadow. She didn't know what to do!

Cypha watched with growing boredom as her opponent still refused to take action. Was Signum really going to watch the one she loved die? That just made no sense. Perhaps all it took was one more nudge.

"I have to say," Cypha said, casually. "I honestly didn't think I'd ever see you again in my lifetime."

Signum didn't move.

"After you killed my master and took my eye, I was ready to hunt you down, to make you pay for all of the pain you caused. But then König found me, and that didn't matter anymore."

"Then... *cough* ... why?" came Shamal's soft voice.

Cypha almost laughed. "Why?" she asked. "Why? Thank your dear itoko Victoria for that one."

"But-"

"I'm not your itoko, Shamal-san," Cypha said, a malicious grin stretching across her lips. An amber eye twinkled. "My name is Cypha of Hückebein. The true Victoria Dahlgrün died just over a year ago, by the very same sword I currently hold in my hand."

Shamal's eyes went wide, Signum's head snapping up in shock.

"That's right," the blonde swordswoman said. "I killed her."

"Iie..." Shamal choked out, tears rolling down her cheeks.

"After that, it was so easy for me to take over her identity."

"IIE!"

A coughing fit quickly took hold of the dying former Head Attendant, Signum holding Shamal upright to help her breath easier. Icy blue eyes narrowed at the one-eyed Eclipse wielder.

"Kisama!"

"I met her just months after König found me," Cypha said, paying no attention to the pinkette's glare which threatened a horrible death. "She was a sweet thing, so innocent. She told me all about how she was travelling here, to reunite with a cousin she hadn't seen in almost a decade. But that was not all that she told me."

"Stop it," Signum said, gritting her teeth. Shamal was shaking horribly in her arms now, the bloody wound she sported not the only source of her pain now.

Cypha continued on, unflinching. "She told me stories of the wonderful Capital City of Japan, where the people were happy and protected by the Empress' faithful samurai."

"Cease talking!"

"Leading those samurai was said to be the strongest warrior out there, a knight with pink hair and a mystical blade of fire. I couldn't believe my luck when it turned out to be you. If I'd known all I had to do was kill Victoria, take over her identity, and find my way here, I would have done it sooner."

"I said be quiet!"

CLANK!

Blade met blade in a spark of light and the screeching of metal. Cypha grinned as she spied Shamal on the ground behind the now properly infuriated Signum.

"Was it something I said?" Cypha asked, smug.

Signum pushed the woman back on her heels, before separating momentarily to gain leverage to slash at her again. The noise the blades made when they connected again could be heard for miles around, the tremors from the impact shaking Signum to her bones. A whimper was heard behind the samurai, Signum gritting her teeth harder as she fought not to look behind.

"Oh?" Cypha murmured, noticing this. "Not going to save your precious loved one? You surprise me, Knight. And here I thought all of you were valiant, saving your damsel in dis-"

Cypha was cut off by a flash of steel, the one eyed swordswoman startled by the surprise attack. Signum had yet to display such prowess before, and speed, Cypha just narrowly ducking an attack which would have separated her head from her body. Only because of König's power was she able to parry that move, in the process, snapping the samurai's sword into two. But as her eye darted back to the now defenceless knight, Cypha gawked. Signum and Shamal were gone, only a trail of blood left to greet her. It was all a feint.

The samurai captain had turned tail and run.

An amber coloured eye narrowed in anger.

This embarrassment would not be forgiven.

For the first time in her entire life, Signum ran. In her arms was a barely alive Shamal, the blonde fading in and out of consciousness throughout their flight. Shamal was putting up a good fight, hanging on for as long as she could, but even she could only do so much. Having killed as many people as she had, Signum gauged Shamal's remaining time to be just under ten minutes. She had less than ten minutes to make it back to the Imperial Palace, to round up all of Shamal's Deshi to heal her. It was possible, as Signum was in near tip top shape, yet in spite of getting a good lead on her opponent, Signum could already feel Cypha closing in from behind them. Gritting her teeth, she forced her legs to run faster, leaping to the nearest rooftop to avoid getting bottle necked in the alleyways.

"Found you!"

Signum stumbled forward, crying out when a burning pain tore across her lower back. Staggering as she did, somehow the samurai managed to keep upright, quickly pivoting on her heel and dashing to the right to avoid another slash.

"This is the end for you, Knight!"

Signum gasped as a cursed blade sliced through her left gauntlet and arm, the samurai captain having raised that arm up to deflect the attack away from the dying woman in her grasp. The force of the blow knocked her off of her feet, both she and Shamal tumbling over the edge of the rooftop they were on to the ground below. At the last moment, Signum turned in the air, making sure to hit the ground first, cushioning Shamal with her body. The blonde let out a whimper upon impact, Shamal shuddering slightly before falling still again.

"Ku... so...!"

Signum bit back a cry of pain, wincing hard as she forced herself to sit up. The pain in her back was near blinding white, her left arm numb and hanging limp at her side. With her remaining good hand, she gently pulled Shamal closer to her, wobbly getting to her feet and shifting the blonde to her back. Just as she turned to run away again, Cypha touched down on the ground in front of her.

"I'm disappointed in you, Knight," Cypha said, all the playfulness from her voice gone. All that was left was cold fury.

"You ran away, and for what?!" the blonde swordswoman spat out. "For her?"

Cypha sliced through the air in front of her in aggravation. "What happened to your vows as a samurai? What happened to your honour as a knight!?"

At the sound of screaming, Shamal weakly lifted her head, just able to see over the top of Signum's shoulder. While her vision swam horribly, and the muffled sounds around her left her very confused, Shamal was happy. Signum was with her. And that was enough. She loved Signum. And Signum loved her back. That was enough. Smiling tiredly, she closed her eyes again, succumbing to the darkness completely.

Gritting her teeth and narrowing her eyes, Signum's voice was strangely calm. "There are some things more important than honour and revenge," she said.

A pause.

"How could you, you who have never known what I have, ever understand that?"

Silence.

An amber eye glared. Cypha sneered at the samurai, aggravated and disgusted with her words.

"I see," Cypha said after the samurai finished. She gripped her cursed blades even harder.

A hysterical laugh.

"I was wrong about you, Knight," the Eclipse wielder said. Oh yes, the embarrassment of being beaten by this... weakling... would be rectified.

Now.

"There was nothing special about you, or your blade. I was mistaken before."

A snarl.

"But I shall fix that mistake now."

The grip on Shamal tightened as Signum lowered her stance, getting ready to dodge again. She was not entirely certain she'd be able to dodge the next attack completely, but somehow or another, it would get done. Even if it cost her very life, Signum would ensure no more harm came to Shamal. Ever again.

Cypha took one step forward before lunging at the Captain of the Samurai, her blade spearing forward in a blur.

Signum closed her eyes for a moment and took a deep breath.

"Minarai..."

A pillar of white shot up into the sky directly between Signum and the charging Cypha. Unable to dodge, the cursed blade wielder was thrown backwards away from the Signum and Shamal by an invisible force, crashing into the nearest building back first over twenty feet away. Sapphire eyes widened in shock, Signum's breath catching in her throat when a form materialized within the pillar of light before her very eyes.

"Sen.. sei...?"

~ 10 years ago ~

The rain was blistering cold.

But she couldn't feel it.

The wind howled in fury.

But she couldn't hear it.

Crimson spilled from her lips, teeth having bitten through her lip.

But she couldn't taste it.

Their enemies had long fled from the scene, many of the fallen still littering the area around them.

But that mattered little.

Not now.

"S-Sensei...?"

Signum collapsed to her knees in the mud, beside her dying master. The man wheezed harshly, liquid life spilling from a wound in the middle of his chest.

"M-Minarai..." he croaked.

Signum felt off balance, blackness starting to creep up around the edges of her vision from exhaustion and injury. Yet even so, she crawled up to the man, closing the short distance between them with wobbly movements.

"I'm here... Sensei..."

Signum swallowed down the bile rising in her throat.

A smile. "I am glad you are unharmed."

But Signum wasn't unharmed.

She bore gashes and bruises all over her body, though none were as fatal or extensive as the man in front of her. He couldn't see that though. Signum's master was almost completely blind at this point, his left eye having been cut out from a brutal slash to the face. His right eye was red with blood from the wound on his forehead.

A hand went up to Signum's cheek, the pinkette squeezing her eyes shut as a sob escaped her lips. "But Sensei," she said in a weak, pathetic voice. "You're not..."

A violent shudder ran through the apprentice samurai, Signum clenching her jaw in a feeble attempt to hold back her sorrow.

"Do not... cry for me... Minarai..." the man said. The light from his eyes was starting to fade. "This is how... all things end... even us..."

A wet cough sounded in Signum's ears. Her master's hand shook against her cheek.

"I'm going to kill them!" Signum screamed, an almost feral roar clawing its way out of her throat. "Every last one of them!"

Levantine, the mystical blade lying beside Signum in the mud, chimed in response to its master's rage. And pain.

"Iie... Sig... num..."

The hand that was on her cheek moved to the back of her neck and pulled her head down. Signum's forehead was now flush against her master's shoulder.

"There are... more important things... than revenge and honour..."

The grip on Signum was starting to falter, her master's voice getting softer and softer. There was not much time left.

"What could be more important than that!?"

The man smiled again, even as his apprentice struggled. He had taught her well, the ways of honour and the ways of the samurai. It saddened him to see such a wonderful student falter like this. He hoped she would be strong enough in the coming days.

"You will... understand someday..."

And then the hand from Signum's shoulder slipped to the ground, limp.

"Sensei?"

Signum would receive no reply.

~ Present ~

"Sen-"

"I'm proud of you, my Minarai."

There was a flash of light and the man disappeared, leaving one sole form in his place.

"You finally understand."

Signum swallowed thickly. "Levantine..."

"Jahowl!"

When Signum left the Imperial Palace earlier in search of the wayward blonde healer, her beloved weapon was still in pieces on the side table next to her bed. To see it here, complete and whole, brought tears to her eyes.

"Thank you, Aniue."

The pillar of light faded, leaving Levantine to float up to the samurai, waiting.

A growl.

"So you got your precious blade back," Cypha hissed. She dusted herself off, only now having pulled herself from the crater in the wall. "Have you forgotten what happened the last time we fought?"

"It will not happen again."

"Oh?" Cypha looked thoroughly amused. "Why not?"

"Mode Two," Levantine chimed. "Gladiator."

Levantine exploded into a mist of colour and light, one form quickly separating into two. From the near blinding light emerged a long curved sword, heat vents running the length of the dark purple blade down the middle. The grip of the sword was protected by a curved knuckle guard of white, the pommel of the sword a hollow golden disc with a fist sized violet magatama jewel spinning lazily inside of it.

Also emerging form the light was a shield, small enough to fit over Signum's gauntlet. Oval in shape, the centre of it was white and gold, the edge lined dark fushia. At the front of the shield, on either side of where Signum's wrist would be, were two large golden spikes running parallel to the length of the shield, underneath it.

Cypha smirked at the sight. This was going to be interesting.

"Signum-san! Shamal-san!"

The Eclipse Weapon wielder snarled at the entrance of the White Devil and the Thunder Reaper, both assassins dashing into the scene in streaks of pink and yellow magic.

"Kami-sama..."

A pair of violet and wine coloured eyes widened in shock at the scene which lay before them, their gazes bouncing between Signum, Shamal, the woman known as Cypha of Hückebein and the newly reformed Levantine.

"You two," Signum said over her shoulder. "We're leaving." Signum turned around and stepped towards the assassins to leave. Levantine followed behind her, floating in the air.

"W-what!?"

As much as she wanted to put her old nemesis in her place, especially now that Levantine had been reunited with her, that battle would take too long. Shamal didn't have much time left.

Shamal was not going to die. Not if Signum had any say about that matter.

A dark laugh.

Signum froze in her spot, repressing the shiver which ran up her back at that sound.

Cypha licked her lips, watching the pinkette like a predator staring down prey.

"Do you really think I'd let you leave like that?"

The White Devil and the Thunder Reaper tensed, both assassins just a split second away from calling forth their strongest long range attacks.

"Even if I did let you go this time," Cypha continued. "Do you think that would be the end of it? Iie. I would keep hunting you. But not just you. Your friends. Your family. Everyone that you hold dear. I wouldn't stop until all of them and you were dead!"

The White Devil growled. "You think you could take us?!"

Before anyone else could say anything, Signum laughed, surprising all of them.

"You're right," the samurai said. "How foolish of me to think otherwise."

Looking down at Shamal in her arms, blue eyes softened for a moment.

I promise to fix this.

"Take care of Shamal," Signum said, leaving the unconscious blonde in the Thunder Reaper's hands.

She just needed one shot. That's all it would take. Signum just needed one shot to end it all.

"But Signum-"

"Please," the samurai captain said, looking at the two assassins.

The White Devil pursed her lips together but then nodded. "Alright."

Signum smiled slightly, nodding her head in thanks as she turned towards Cypha again. With the two assassins here, Shamal would be safe. Signum no longer had to worry about her dying. While Shamal was the best healer in all of Japan, she wasn't the only one who knew healing magics.

Walking over to her newly transformed weapon, Signum felt the hairs on her skin rise as she reached out for it. The moment she gripped the blade, the shield automatically latched onto the gauntlet of her left arm, filling the samurai with a thrill of power. Signum glanced down at the blade in her hand.

Unbelievable.

This was her Levantine?

Blue eyes rose to meet an amber coloured one.

"Lay down your weapons and surrender."

"Surrender?" Cypha almost laughed. "I refuse."

Signum pointed her weapon at her opponent.

"Then I guess we shall settle things the regular way."

The two swordswomen stared at one another for a silent few seconds, neither moving. Then in a blur of movement they charged.

Blades of legendary proportion clashed, creating a sonic boom which shook the entire area. While originally surprised how well the newly renewed Legendary Weapon fared against König, Cypha quickly shifted her stance to pull back slightly, lashing out at Signum a split second later. Signum, her speed even faster than before, brought up her shielded arm to block the blow. Jerking her shielded arm upwards, Signum deflected Cypha's blade aside, opening up the one eyed Eclipse wielder for a strike to the torso. Levantine slashed a shallow wound across the blonde's chest a moment later.

Cypha was ecstatic. It was battles like these which made her truly feel alive.

The cursed blade wielder slashed horizontally at Signum's face, the samurai captain raising her blade to block it. Twisting her wrist and pushing forward, Cypha would have impaled the pinkette through the face had Signum not jerked her head backwards, raising her blade higher to prevent the cursed weapon from slipping past her guard.

"I see," the one-eye blonde said, smirking. Their blades screeched against each other. "This is the true power of a Legendary Weapon. How-"

Signum brought up her shielded arm to gain some leverage against Cypha's twin blades.

A whisper. "Shoot."

Cypha gasped, soon after choking up blood as pain exploded across her midsection. A wide amber eye peered downwards to see two golden spikes impaled through her stomach, having come from Signum's shield as the buckler was now in line with her stomach.

"A needle shooter!?"

In a bout of inhuman strength, Cypha pushed Signum backwards on her heels ten feet before dropping to one knee. In a roar of rage, the Eclipse wielder lunged forward, slashing the pinkette across the stomach before Signum could defend herself. But just as she was about laugh in victory, taking a killing blow, Signum's shield arm came up again, this time in line with her face, two golden spikes rocketing her way at point blank range.

It was a trap.

The Captain of the Samurai had intentionally left herself open to lure her opponent in.

Cypha stumbled backwards, shaking, a hand on her against her face where one of the golden spikes had torn through the flesh of her cheek. She had just barely dodged the other one by a hair.

"Kisama!"

Before Cypha could say anything more, flames sparked to life, engulfing all of Levantine's blade in a hiss and crackle of heat. Signum pulled back her sword arm and glared.

"Fire Dragon Flash!"

Cypha was thrown off of her feet and tossed through the nearest building by a blast of fire. Just as she sat up amongst the wreckage, Signum was in front of her again slicing through flesh. Somehow, Cypha managed to raise König up in time to stop the attack from beheading her.

A hand reached up and grabbed at Signum's shielded arm.

Blue eyes narrowed.

"This ends now."

A massive explosion rumbled through the Middle District, crumbling houses and tearing up the ground. The Thunder Reaper and the White Devil fought to maintain a protective barrier around themselves, along with Shamal and the others who had finally caught up to them. By now, Signum's samurai had finally arrived to the scene, along with some of Shamal's Deshi. Rein, Agito and Vita were there too, all of them staring with wide eyes as Signum's fight concluded.

From the smoke of the explosion, a battle tired and bloodied Signum trudged towards Shamal and the rest. She barely made it within five feet of them before collapsing forward. Vita scrambled forward to catch the samurai in time.

"Signum! Signum!"

Signum resigned herself to unconsciousness, a smile on her face in spite of Vita's worried cries, the redhead shaking her shoulders roughly.

"Oye Signum!"

It was done.

In the crater left behind by the massive explosion was a severed arm, and the remnants of what was once the cursed Eclipse blade König.

It was finally over.

A/N: While all Wolkenritter in the manga and anime have the ability to use Dimensional Transfer, I have chosen to exclude that skill from their regular abilities. This is because that skill stems from the Book of Darkness, and in this fanfiction, Hayate does not wield that but the Tome of the Night Sky instead.

Gladiator is heavily based on Signum's real AEC weapon as seen in Mahou Senki Lyrical Nanoha Force chapter fight between Signum and Cypha is also heavily based on their fight in the same chapter.

For those of you unfamiliar with the non-English words, I have translated them below.

Hai = Yes

Iie = No

Itoko = Cousin

Kami = God

Kisama = You (usually used to show the speaker's extreme hostility / outrage towards the addressee)

Deshi = Apprentice/Pupils

Kuso = Damn it

Sensei = Master/Teacher

Minarai = apprentice

Aniue = Elder Brother

For an explanation of Japanese honorifics (eg. [name]-sama), please check out: wiki/Japanese_honorifics