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. Enjoy!

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 4: Lingering Memory ~ ***

SPLAT!

Nanoha reached up to feel a cool wetness roll down her cheek. And then another. And another. And another. But not only on her cheek. Everything around her was getting wet, the sky having darkened without her realizing. Wet locks of brown hair hung in front of her eyes, her pink kimono turning a darker shade of pink under the water assault. Nanoha turned her face skyward, no longer having the strength to cry anymore. Was this the same rain that fell that day two years ago?

Nanoha remembered that day so vividly. She was working that night, helping her mother and father at the cafe. The sky darkened, thunder rumbled, and lightning lit up the night sky. Most of the customers left early to avoid the rain. And for a time, the cafe was empty except for the three of them. And then everything happened so quickly.

A little girl in red rushed inside, dripping wet. Nanoha greeted her like she would have any other customer. And before she knew what was happening, she was on the ground, the door to the cafe exploding into splinters. And then... And then...

BOOM!

Nanoha flinched at the sound of thunder. She shivered, hugging herself tightly, only now feeling the chill of the cold rain even though she had been soaked for a while now.

And then...

Nanoha shut her eyes tightly, jaw clenched shut in an attempt to stifle the sobs that followed fresh tears. Her tears had stopped half an hour ago. At least, that's what she thought. It seemed she still had more tears to shed. A shudder ran through her body, the soaked-to-the-bone brunette falling forward in exhaustion. Arms wrapped around her from behind, preventing her from smashing face first into her father's grave stone. Half hooded violet eyes looked back to the face of the one who held her.

"Fate... chan...?"

Burgundy eyes twinkled at the sound of her name. "Nanoha."

The day that Precia Testerossa died was the same day the blonde with red eyes was born. Fate, born of magic but still very human, had no memories from before that historical day. The interruption of Precia's attempt to open the supposed second door to Al Hazard caused a rip in the fabric of reality, distorting the world for a brief moment of time. And it was in that time that Fate Testerossa came into being.

"Fate-chan..." Nanoha repeated, as if to convince herself that her friend was real.

"Nanoha." Fate smiled, pulling some of the brunette's wet hair from her face. She too was getting wet, but not to the extent as her friend as she wore a thick black cloak. "Let's get you out of the rain before you get sick."

"Fate-chan!" Nanoha half tackled her friend, hands clutching to the back of Fate's clothes. "Fate-chan! Fate-chan! Fate-chan!" Nanoha buried her face in Fate's shoulder.

The blonde held her best friend gently around the shoulders, one hand stroking the brunette's head. "Shhhh..." she cooed. "It's alright. I'm here Nanoha."

Fate pulled Nanoha closer to her, wrapping them both up in her thick black cloak. Wine coloured eyes wandered from the brunette in her arms to a third gave stone further down the row. White lilies sat in front of it, soft petals splashed by the onslaught of the rain. Burgundy coloured eyes closed. Are you crying as well?

The door to the Harlaown residence slid shut.

"Fate-chan? Is that you?" A teal haired woman popped her head out from the living room. "Fate-"

The cloaked and drenched figure stiffened at the door.

"Oh Fate..."

Lindy Harlaown walked up to the shrouded figure, peeling off the wet outer garment from them. Maroon eyes glanced at the woman before looking away. "Sorry Kaa-san. I couldn't just leave her like that."

"I know Fate" Lindy said. "I know."

The older woman looked down at the sopping wet bundle of pink in Fate's arms. An exhausted Nanoha shivered slightly, clutching to Fate's black kimono with white lotus flowers printed on it. The brunette unconsciously nuzzled closer to Fate, closer to the warmth as the cloak that once kept both of them warm and dry had been removed.

Days after the Garden of Time incident, Fate was adopted by Lindy Harlaown, wife of the deceased Clyde Harlaown, the captain of the city guard who lost his life trying to defend it and his family from Precia Testerossa. Originally it was argued that Fate should be killed. Many feared the power Fate held, despite the fact she was the failed attempt to revive a normal, human child. They feared that the power Precia Testerossa wielded had somehow been transferred to her. And no one should have that kind of power.

But Lindy Harlaown would not agree to such things. In spite of knowing her name, Fate had no memories of anything else. She did not have a past, nor did she show any knowledge or recognition of the sins of her maker, Precia Testerossa. Always wanting a daughter of her own, Lindy went ahead and adopted the small child and that was that. Anyone who tried to stop her or take Fate away from her, would face the wrath of the captain's wife. A very scary thing Clyde would attest to, if he were still alive.

"Why don't you head upstairs and get her dried off?" Lindy said. The green haired woman looked sadly at exhausted girl. "I'll make some tea."

"Hai Kaa-san."

Fate slowly padded her way up the stairs to her room with a sleeping Nanoha in her arms. Lindy watched her adopted daughter until she disappeared out of view. The older woman then moved to the kitchen and set a full kettle of water over the wood burning stove. She sighed, settling down at the kitchen table.

Today was a haunting day for many people. It was a day full of memories, many of which people wished never to remember. It was the day that all of the pain came back, sometimes in waves and sometimes without any warning at all. The day Japan was nearly destroyed forever. The anniversary of the Garden of Time incident. Japan might as well have been destroyed, for the agony of losing loved ones tore greatly at her heart. And the hearts of many others as well.

Lindy clenched at the fabric of her own shirt, her knuckles white as a lone tear roll down her cheek. "Clyde..."

Even after all this time, the pain was still there. And as luck would have it, if you believed in such superstitions, this was also the day Nanoha's parents died. Though unlike Lindy's memories, Nanoha's was much more fresh. And still very raw, her parents having been murdered in front of her only two years prior. Lindy had learned to deal with her pain over the time, but Nanoha was still stuck reliving her scars of that day, over and over again. She hadn't quite found a way to break that vicious cycle yet. But at least she wouldn't be alone going through it.

Fate set Nanoha down gently on her futon and pulled up the covers on the brunette. Nanoha murmured something inaudible before snuggling deeper into the blanket. A small smile curved up on Fate's face at that. After watching Nanoha to make sure the girl was still asleep, the blonde rose to her feet and gently tiptoed around her friend, making her way to the window. She pulled the drapes shut.

"Sorry Fate-chan."

Fate nearly jumped out of her skin when Nanoha spoke, but she quickly recovered and turned to face her friend.

"I always seem to trouble you on this day. Nyahaha..."

Fate smiled. She made her way over to Nanoha and sat down next to the futon. "You're no trouble at all Nanoha. Far from it."

Violet eyes twinkled. "You say that, but I know I am." Nanoha pushed herself up to sitting position. The blanket crumpled to her lap.

"Nanoha-"

Nanoha shook her head, cutting Fate off. "I can't keep crying every time something bad happens..." Nanoha looked down at her hands. "It's been two years since... it happened. I have to be strong. For Onii-san. For Onee-chan." Nanoha closed her eyes. "For everyone else."

"But you are strong" Fate said, taking one of Nanoha's hands between two of her own. Maroon eyes gazed at violet ones.

"You make me strong" Fate continued, the intensity in the blonde's eyes causing Nanoha to blush. "Without you, life would have no meaning."

"Ah mou..." Nanoha said, scratching her cheek with her finger. "Fate-chan always says the most embarrassing things..." Nanoha's blush darkened.

"Eh?" Fate's eyes widened. Shimatta! Did I say that last part out loud? "I-uh... I mean-"

The blonde froze when Nanoha wrapped her arms around her and cuddled against her shoulder. "You're important to me too Fate-chan" Nanoha said softly. "I don't know what I'd do if I lost you too..."

Fate relaxed, wrapping her arms around the brunette gently. "Don't worry about that" she said, a blush colouring her cheeks. "I'm not going anywhere."

"Promise?" Violet eyes searched wine coloured ones in desperation.

"Promise." No matter what happened, Fate always kept her promises.

Nanoha smiled and hugged the blonde again. "Fate-chan."

"Hmm?"

"Happy birthday."

Lindy Harlaown padded softly away from her adopted daughter's room, humming to herself softly. A tray holding two mugs of steaming hot tea sat just in front of the sliding paper door to the blonde's bedroom. A smile formed on the teal haired woman's face as one particular promise came to her mind. From a special someone. Lost in her own memories of past promises, the green haired woman failed to notice a flutter of movement dart behind her and into the shadows lingering by Fate's bedroom door.

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

Okaa-san/Kaa-san = Mother

Onee-chan/Nee-chan = Big Sister

Onii-san/Nii-san = Big Brother

Hai = Yes

Shimatta = Damnit!

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