Of Assassins, Samurai, and Magic

A/N: And the next chapter is up! 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. Comments and reviews are much appreciated. Thanks to those who have already done so! Enjoy!

Warning: A bloody battle is described below. If such things upset you, do not read any further.

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 2: That Night Two Years Ago ~ ***

"Good afternoon Otou-san, Okaa-san. Are you doing well?" A small smile graced her face, brown hair dancing in the soft wind. The edges of pink sleeves were brown, having brushed against muck covered stone when she dusted the gravestones off with her hands. But the violet eyed girl paid no attention to such things. Even as bouquets of white roses were placed in front of the stones, she did not notice their beauty.

"Things are going great at the cafe. Miyuki-nee-chan has mastered your favorite sponge cake Kaa-san." Nanoha bit her lip, tears welling in her eyes. But she refused to let them fall. "It took two years, but she has finally mastered it. It's a big hit at the café. And don't worry Otou-san, Kyouya-nii-san is taking good care of the dojo. He-"

Hands went up to her face as the first tear fell. And then another. And another. And another. "He's got s-s-some new students." The sobs were coming, no matter how hard she forced them down. "Teana-chan is really good with a bow. S-she'll be a master archer in no time. And Subaru-"

She was shaking now. And she couldn't stop. But she continued anyhow. She had to be strong. For her sister. For her brother. She had to be strong. "And Subaru-chan…" Nanoha laughed, hoping it would drown out her sobs. But it came out more as a sobbing, strangled cry. "Subaru-chan is such a klutz sometimes. Just before I left, she dropped a whole tray of mugs filled with tea. She and Tea-chan help out in the café sometimes. Sometimes when-"

Vita turned away the moment Nanoha started to cry. And not just tears cry. But the cry when one could no longer speak. The cry when the agony in your chest was too much and it felt like your heart was being ripped out. The cry when no matter how loud you screamed, the nightmare you hoped and wished was not true, was still reality. And that was the cry Nanoha was doing now. And it wrenched at the little Wolkenritter's heart.

Signum herself was not immune to such suffering. She had seen it flicker in Nanoha's eyes before she left. And it was such sorrow that made her follow after the girl. Just to make sure she would be okay. In some ways too, the captain of the samurai wanted to be there for the bubbly girl. So at the very least, she would not be alone in whatever darkness she faced. Even if she didn't know it.

The grip on Levantine's handle tightened, knuckles white. Signum gritted her teeth, refusing not to turn away from the weeping girl within her sight. No matter how much she wanted to shut out the sobs and close her eyes from the brunette's pain. She could not and would not do such a thing. To do so would deny the very existence of the pain and the loss that Nanoha felt.

It was easier to turn away. To turn a blind eye. To pretend you could not hear her cries. And most people, took the easy way out. But that was something Signum refused to do. It was dishonorable. As a samurai and personal body guard to the Empress, Signum valued honor greatly. It was a part of her. It was what she was all about. And so the pink haired samurai stood there, rooted in her spot, her eyes never leaving the shuddering form of the girl in the pink kimono with a white sash.

"Vita…"

The smaller girl dressed in her signature red dress and hat, all of which was hidden under a plain grey hooded cloak like her counterpart, turned her head slightly towards her companion.

"Tell me what happen two years ago."

Vita closed her eyes and hung her head. Gloved fists squeaked as hands clenched harder. Nanoha's sobs were unmistakable in the silent air of the graveyard. It was dead quiet here. Not even the birds dared to sing. Like they knew what this place was. And to sing would desecrate the memory of those who laid here.

"I had snuck out again…" Vita said softly. "The maids were… doing their thing… trying to dress me up and I couldn't stand it. So I went to the one place they wouldn't think to look for me. Outside the palace."

~ | 2 years prior | ~

"Welcome to the Midori-ya Café! Ara?"

A dripping wet, drenched to the bone Vita blinked at a somewhat confused Nanoha. She had been running in the rain for the past ten minutes, trying to evade the ones following her. That was a very hard thing to do considering most shops were closed at this time of the night, leaving her no place to escape into a crowd.

Vita, known only to those closest to her as one of the Wolkenritter and wielder of Graf Eisen, had snuck out of the imperial palace in order to escape the clutches of over zealous maids looking to dress her up in the latest fashion from the west. Vita hated the fact she looked so young, not to mention the short stature that came with being young, especially because it gave the maids the impression she was their dress up doll. No matter how many times she yelled and scowled at them, they would not leave her alone. So rather than exert her true strength and beat them to a pulp like she could, Vita opted to leave the palace in secret to avoid capture. Honestly, Signum was rubbing off on her too much.

While sneaking out seemed to be a really good decision, the moment Vita found herself in the middle district of the city, things took a turn for the worse. First off, it started to rain. Out of nowhere, dark storm clouds condensed overhead and rain dropped from the sky with no warning.

In her haste to find cover, Vita stumbled across a skirmish between two factions of assassins, their prize being one of those magically imbued magatama jewels, also known as Spirit Seeds. Vita was perfectly happy with running by the two factions at war, vowing to report this to Signum when she got back to the palace later, but having seen something a 'little child' shouldn't have, she soon found herself being chased down by both factions whose intention was to silence her for good.

Darting down alleyways and pulling hard corners around buildings did little to lose her trackers. And with almost all the stores closed at this time of the night, Vita's options were numbered. In her haste to leave the palace, she had left her beloved Graf Eisen behind, not thinking once that she would need it. She was regretting that decision now.

Literally sliding around the next corner, she saw light coming from one of the stores at the far end of the roadway. Pumping her short legs as fast as she could, Vita made a beeline for what turned out to be the Midori-ya Café. The small Wolkenritter practically bashed open the wooden doors with her shoulder, spun on her heel and immediately locked the door with shaking hands. The moment she turned around, she was greeted by a very bubbly Takamachi Nanoha.

"Nanoha" came a voice from the kitchen. "It's time to close up for the night."

"But Okaa-san" Nanoha said looking over her shoulder as her mother emerged from the back room. "We have a customer."

"A customer? At this hour?" Takamachi Momoko wiped her hands on her apron as she approached them. "Ara? I guess we do. Welcome to the Midori-ya Café chibi-chan." The older Takamachi smiled at Vita sweetly.

Before anything further could be said, Vita tackled both women to the floor as the door to the café exploded, sprinkling them all with wooden splinters.

"What in the-" Momoko was the first of the three to recover, already on her feet in a daze as she tried to figure out what was happening.

"No!"

But Vita called out her warning too late. Momoko cried out, a moment later hitting the floor with an audible thud. Crimson pooled around her still figure, a trickle of red running down her chin from parted lips.

"OKAA-SAN!" Nanoha had finally gotten her wits about her and was staring pale faced in absolute horror at her mother's body. Violet eyes widened as the red stain on Momoko's shirt got bigger and bigger and bigger. She couldn't breathe. She couldn't move. She couldn't think. Nanoha didn't even notice the man garbed head to toe in black standing over her, sword raised above his head about to strike her down.

"NANOHA!"

A gurgling sound brought her attention back to the current situation unraveling around her. Her assailant crumpled to the ground in a heap, a steak knife protruding from his throat. The brunette flinched at the sound his sword made when it hit the ground next to her. A roar drew her gaze to the entrance of the kitchen.

An enraged Takamachi Shiro, still donning his apron and white bandana threw another knife, striking a second assassin smack between the eyes as the second man ventured too close to his still shell shocked daughter. Shiro was in the process of cleaning their sharper utensils in the back room when the commotion first broke out. The next two assassins that busted through the broken door turned their attention to Shiro, he being the most dangerous one at the moment.

"Otou-san!" Nanoha screamed as she watched two men in black race towards her unarmed father, swords out and ready to cleave him in half.

"Hey you!" Vita yelled, catching Shiro's attention. "Catch!"

The girl in red tossed the older Takamachi a sword, the blade belonging to one of the fallen assassins, just as the dead assassin's companions were upon him. Snatching the blade out of the air, he brought up the sword just in time to block both blades surprising his attackers. "You…" Shiro said through clenched teeth. The garbed men were trying to overpower him with their blades. "Will… not… hurt… my daughter!"

Shiro jumped back a step, the two assassins in front of him suddenly lurching forward as their blades no longer met resistance. In the split second they fumbled, Shiro struck. The short haired man took a quick step forward, bringing up his foot and kicking one assassin in the face with his heel. The man's head snapped back with such force, Shiro was sure the guy's nose was broken, if not his neck as he slumped to the ground. And before the second assassin could do another swipe, Shiro sliced horizontally across the man's neck severing his windpipe.

Shiro breathed heavily as he surveyed the scene. Long ago he vowed to give up this life, the life where death followed you home. But while he was no longer a body guard protecting high ranking officials in the high court, his skills and senses did not falter. He made sure of that by opening up a dojo a few blocks away from here, where thankfully his older son and daughter currently practiced. They would not be caught up in this current mess. The rest of the family however…

Two bodies lay at his feet and two bodies lay next to his stunned daughter. Shiro could feel tears prick at his eyes when he realized the body of his wife was also there on the floor as well. Nanoha looked at her father with wide eyes. He had just killed two men in front of her. And though she knew he had previously worked as a body guard, it never occurred to her that he may have had to kill people or that he even knew how to kill people.

Shiro's heart ached as tears streaked his daughter's face. Her mouth hung open, but she made no sound. Millions of things ran through his head right now. He wanted to tell her how sorry he was for hiding this from her. He wanted to hold her in his arms and tell her that everything would be okay. He wanted to tell her that he loved her. But he would never get the chance for a bright light from the entrance blinded him before he was completely engulfed in a magical explosion.

"OTOU-SAN!"

A fifth assassin stood two steps in from the doorway, in his palm a pulsing blue magatama jewel.

"You bastard!" Vita was beyond enraged at this point. Two innocent lives had been lost this night. Another shattered. Because of those stupid Spirit Seeds! Because of that stupid power struggle over magic! Because she was so stupid to leave the imperial palace without her Graf Eisen!

Vita screamed, tears rolling down her face as she picked up the closet thing to her, one of the tables used for dining, a table triple her size and triple her weight. Yet even so, the Hammer Knight lifted up the object like it was a toy and with all her might launched it at the fifth assassin like a missile. The assassin's eyes widened at the feat just as the table smashed him into the wall.

"You bastard…" Vita said gasping heavily, the tears continuing to fall. "Na…no…ha…" she said turning to the girl sitting next to her.

The brunette turned to her, such pain in her eyes. Vita made a fist. That pain was her fault.

"I'm… I'm…"

Vita's words caught in her throat as a flash of light flickered in front of her. Her eyes widened in horror when a white beam of light soared towards her at an insane speed. There was no way she could evade the magical attack from such a close distance. And just when Vita closed her eyes and resigned herself to her fate, she was tackled from the side.

"Watch out!"

"Nanoha tackled me to the ground and… and…" Vita bit her lip.

"And she blocked the shot for you" Signum said.

Vita nodded. "Zafira had followed me out of the palace without me realizing. But by the time he caught up to me, the damage had already been done."

Signum frowned. Two years ago when the incident with Vita occurred, she was on the other side of the city cleaning up a similar incident. The parents of two families were lost, leaving behind their young, much too young children all alone to fend for themselves in this cruel world. That incident too had been a result of two factions of assassins fighting with each other. Their fight spilled over into civilian areas with the Spirit Seeds mixing in. The Empress was doing all that she could to stop this mindless bloodshed and for that purpose the ranks of the samurai were formed. But even with this power, Signum's power, it still wasn't enough.

Since the formation of the samurai ranks, the number of incidents like these had gone down. Substantially in fact. Probably by about half as the samurai patrolled the streets and from time to time, incepted those magatama jewels before the assassins and thugs did. But even so, people were still dying. Innocent lives were still being lost. People were still suffering. And Signum, she couldn't but feel responsible for it somehow.

"It wasn't your fault."

The samurai's words stunned Vita. Of all the things Signum could have said, those were not the ones she was expecting. The younger girl turned to her pink haired companion. "Signum, how-"

"You should head back to the palace before the Empress starts to worry."

Vita had her mouth open to say something but quickly shut it and turned away from the swordsman. "You can go back" she muttered.

Signum's eyes still remained on Nanoha's sobbing form. The girl had quieted down at this point, but the tremors were still there. The tears were still there. "And what are you going to do?"

"I'm going to watch over her… for a bit longer…" Vita said quietly. She turned back to look at Nanoha.

"Ah…" was all Signum could say. "Then I shall watch over her with you."

Vita glanced at the taller woman but said nothing. The two companions stood in silence, unmoving, unflinching, as they watched over the girl in pink. It would stop. Both of them vowed that silently. They would make it stop. One way or another. So there would be no more tears. No more victims. And most of all, no more suffering.

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

Otou-san/Tou-san = Father

Okaa-san/Kaa-san = Mother

Onee-chan/Nee-chan = Big Sister

Onii-san/Nii-san = Big Brother

Chibi-chan = short person or small child

Ara = typically means 'oh my', though at times interchangeable with 'really' or 'is that so'

Wolkenritter = Cloud Knights (German)

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