A Samurai's Pledge
A/N: While the main story has ended, there were a few moments, smaller moments I wished to capture but couldn't. Until now. And here they are! Seeing as how I got a really great reception for my OMAKEs in "Of Assassins, Samurai, and Magic", rather than tack these on to the end of a chapter, I felt it better for them to be their own chapter.
On another note, see my notes at the end of the story for updates on other things.
Enjoy!
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:
trumm12345 – Thanks for the review. ^^ I really enjoyed writing this story. When I first started it, I wasn't sure how it would end up. But in the end, it turned out great. Thanks for all of the 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.
*** ~ Extra 1: Lazy Afternoons ~ ***
It was a normal day in the capital city of Japan. The sun was shining. The city folk were out and about doing their daily tasks. And there was no fighting of any sort within a hundred kilometre radius of the city walls. All in all, it was a pleasant day.
A little too pleasant if you asked Shamal.
The Empress' Head Healer and Attendant was still coming to terms with how... peaceful... it was right now. Before, she would have relished the peace and quiet. But with the JS Incident only ending just months before, and the recent drama involving Cypha of Hückebein, the peace and quiet now felt like a bad omen, like the calm before the storm. What further treachery would befall them all? Who else would-
"What are you thinking about, Shamal-san?"
Shamal almost jumped a foot in the air at the sound of another, the blond having forgotten she wasn't alone.
A chuckle.
"Perhaps I should leave you and your thoughts alone," the other continued, amusement evident in their tone.
"Absolutely not!" Shamal said, giving her companion a chastising look. "Whatever gave you that idea?"
Signum's smile was brilliant. "Well," the swordswoman said, maintaining a slow pace beside the Empress' Head Healer. "When you're so focused like that, in your own little world, it makes a samurai kind of lonely."
To Shamal's utter surprise and delight, Signum decided to throw in the kicked puppy look for added effect to her statement. Shamal felt her heart melting.
It had only been a week since the final confrontation with Signum's arch nemesis. A day after that debacle, Signum and Shamal learned of the cursed swordwoman's death, an eye witness account which came from both the White Devil and the Thunder Reaper. Had the two assassins not reported that in person themselves, neither Hayate nor Signum would have believed it. But they did, which finally gave Signum her long overdue closure.
Shamal also.
All those years ago, during the Garden of Time Incident, no one knew what happened to Victoria Dahlgrün. While saddened and angered to learn of her recent death, it was nice to tie up that loose end once and for all. Shamal could only pray to the gods that her cousin found rest, now that her killer was dead.
"Oh don't give me that look," Shamal said, giving the samurai captain a look of her own.
Neither of them had been cleared for active duty yet, Signum's arm still in a sling, Shamal still walking with a cane. In spite of their injuries, today they chose to take a peaceful walk around the imperial grounds. They used to do that before all of the madness started, just not as frequently. With nothing but time on their hands now, they figured this would be as opportune time as any. Besides, what other time would Shamal get to see the mighty Signum, Captain of the Empress' Samurai, defender of the good, wielder of the Legendary Weapon Levantine, act so adorably? The swordwoman wouldn't be caught dead doing something like this in the presence of other people.
Only with Shamal.
Only for Shamal.
"Oh?" Signum said, an eyebrow raised. Amusement glinted in her sapphire blues. "So you did remember I was here after all. My life is complete."
Shamal rolled her eyes. Very rarely did Signum's playful (and obnoxiously over dramatic) side come out like this. But for Shamal, it seemed the samurai let go of her inhibitions, let down the walls she put up to protect herself over the years. The blonde felt was truly humbled by this action, knowing that Signum bared all to her, the samurai captain leaving herself completely vulnerable with no defense. This gave Shamal the power to break the pinkette should she choose to. But Shamal could never do that. Even if Signum told her to. Shamal just loved the samurai too much. And Signum loved her back.
"You silly, silly, samurai," Shamal said, a smile stretching across her lips. She raised a hand to Signum's cheek, stroking it lovingly.
"Only for you," Signum said. The samurai took her hand and brought it up to her lips to kiss the knuckles.
"Charmer," Shamal said, flushing. No matter how many times Signum did things like this, showered her with open affection, every single time Shamal blushed.
Signum smiled again. "Would you rather I stop?"
"Iie," Shamal said, leaning in and silencing anything else the pinkette would have said with a deep and passionate kiss.
Today was a wonderful day to be outside, if the Thunder Reaper could say so herself.
After having made her regular rounds of the city without coming across even a mugging to report about, she and the White Devil decided to take a leisurely stroll around the imperial grounds for the rest of the afternoon. The cherry blossoms were in full bloom currently, and seeing as they didn't have any emergencies to attend to, what better way to spend the day than with your loved ones?
"Ne, Fate-mama, Nanoha-mama?" Vivio said, walking between her two mothers. She was holding each one of their hands in both of hers.
"Hai Vivio?"
Both the Thunder Reaper and the White Devil looked down at their little girl.
"Why are you still dressed like that?" the little blonde asked, referring to their assassin garb.
"Nyahaha..." the White Devil giggled. "I wonder why..."
The Thunder Reaper smiled.
One of these days, when Vivio was older, they'd explain it all to her. The reason for them maintaining their secret identity. The truth about the JS Incident. And why their friends and family couldn't know they were still alive. But for now, they'd continue their peaceful walk through the imperial gardens, just like this.
A gentle wind blew past the trio, loose cherry blossoms filling the air in a wave of pink. Vivio, awed by the sight, let go of the assassins' hands, giggling in childish glee as she ran ahead twirling. The pink petals danced in the air all around her. The two assassins watched Vivio run ahead, both of them content in continuing their leisurely pace. Reaching out a hand, the White Devil intertwined her fingers with the Thunder Reaper.
"It's nice to be young, isn't it?" the White Devil said, sighing wistfully.
The Thunder Reaper leaned over to kiss the White Devil on the cheek. "You make it sound like we're so old, by saying that."
A chuckle.
"Aren't we?"
The Thunder Reaper gazed at her partner. "Well..." the black assassin said, looking contemplative. "Maybe you are, but I'm still very much a child."
A nod.
"Oh my," the White Devil said with another giggle. "A child, huh? Does that mean I can send you to your room when you've done something bad?"
The Thunder Reaper almost forgot to breath. The look her white companion was giving her was just-
"N-Nanoha!" the Thunder Reaper exclaimed, flushing slightly. "Not here! Vivio is just... Vivio?"
Vivio had all of five seconds to panic.
In her childish wanderings, without meaning to, Vivio had come across an interesting scene. It was such an interesting scene that it stopped her dead in her tracks, the smaller blonde gawking in surprise. It was only due to the many trees around the imperial gardens that her parents hadn't seen what she was staring at yet. And that left her five seconds to figure something out before it was ruined for good.
Vivio spun around to face the pair of assassins, the scene in question still out of their view. She smiled sweetly. "Ne, mama," she said. "Where do babies come from?"
Operation Redirection was a go!
"E-Eh!?"
The Thunder Reaper's face went scarlet in an instant. Between the look the White Devil gave her just a few moments ago and now Vivio's innocent question, how could she not? Both of them led to... well... yeah...
"Nyahaha..." the White Devil said, scratching her cheek nervously. "Where did that come from all of a sudden, Vivio?"
While both assassins knew they'd have to explain the whole birds and the bees spiel to their daughter eventually, now was certainly not the time to do it. Vivio was much too young for that.
"You don't know?" Vivio asked, all innocent and child like. There was no disappointment in her voice. "That's alright," she said with a huge, beaming smile.
The White Devil and the Thunder Reaper breathed in relief.
"I'll just ask Hayate-sama to explain it to me then." And with that said, Vivio took off running, back the way they came, in search of a certain mischievous brunette of an Empress who was clearly not the greatest influence on a small child.
The White Devil and the Thunder Reaper looked at each other in absolute terror for all of two seconds before they maniacally chased after their daughter.
"Vivio! Wait!"
Vivio's only response was to giggle as she continued to run.
Ohhhhhhhhhhh! Signum-san and Shamal-san were so going to owe her for this! Maybe she'd be able to weasel some extra cookies out of them. Or maybe she'd get less chores. Either way, they owed her big time for this.
After all, who wouldn't want to hear all the juicy details about Signum curled up like a kitten, napping with her head on Shamal's lap?
A/N: For those of you unfamiliar with the non-English words, I have translated them below.
Hai = Yes
Iie = No
Ne = A word, when used in certain contexts, gets the attention of someone.
For an explanation of Japanese honorifics (eg. [name]-sama), please check out: wiki/Japanese_honorifics
Other updates:
For all of my MGLN fans, I'm sad to announce my hiatus from the MGLN fandom. Over these past few months, I have struggled to continue writing in this fandom. My inspiration is no longer there. That being said, my third story, the sequel to "A Samurai's Pledge", is now cancelled. I'm sorry to disappoint you all with that news. On the upside, there are still two other extras left to post for "A Samurai's Pledge", both of which will come out in November. Thank you so much for all of the support, for the comments and reviews, the follows and favorites, but most of all, for reading my stories. Once again, I'm sorry to be the bearer of bad news.