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 15: Welcome to the Imperial Palace! ~ ***

"Uwah…"

Violet and burgundy eyes went wide. Atop one of only three onyx bridges which led into the imperial palace from the Upper District, stood Nanoha and Fate. Intricate designs were carved into the handrails of the bridge, the black onyx having been excavated from the deepest pit of Mount Fiji hundreds of years ago, after the volcano had gone silent. The palace itself sat at the bottom of Mount Nantai, protected by the natural barrier of the mountain at its back with Lake Chuzenji at its right. Nanoha couldn't but feel astounded by the black glass bridge, the brunette feeling rather sheepish when she realized the focus of her attention was just a bridge and they hadn't even made it to the palace yet.

"Taichou-sama."

Signum, having lived in the palace for many years now and was used to its grandeur, continued walking across the onyx bridge without pause. She nodded to the samurai stationed there as they saluted her when she passed. At every bridge, on average, was a unit of ten samurai standing guard. That had since been doubled with the increase of violence lately, as the clans were becoming bolder in their battles over the Spirit Seeds. Signum increased the number of samurai patrolling all districts as well, the trek from Midori-ya Cafe to the palace now overlooked by three units of samurai under Signum's direction. Many of them were hidden out of sight however, as the last thing the pink haired captain wanted was to draw unnecessary attention to Fate and Nanoha.

"Taii-san." Signum greeted her second in command with the nod of her head. The man waited for her on the other side of the bridge. Similar to her own garb, the samurai's armor was a different colour from the rest, his armor tinted bronze instead of the regular silver the other samurais wore.

Large circular beams of red wood supported massively decorated archways of dragons and phoenixes hundreds of feet in the air. Walls made of white marble, shot up into the sky, tens of feet thick, with black spikes of onyx layering the top of it. The massive man-made wall took almost a hundred years to construct, lining the perimeter of the imperial grounds with its almost impenetrable blockade. Should anyone be foolish or bold enough to attempt climbing the towering wall (somehow miraculously evading the numerous samurais guarding it), they would meet a rather painful if not fatal end at the top trying to climb over the 'black thorns of death' as they were commonly known as.

"Everything is prepared." Signum's lieutenant pulled a stray lock of brown hair from his blue eyes. "You may enter whenever you're ready." Lieutenant Vice Granscenic bowed.

A curt nod. "Thank you Taii-san."

Beyond the marble wall were the imperial gardens. Here trees, shrubs and flowers from all over Japan decorated the land. The most familiar ones were the cherry blossoms trees, which were currently in full bloom. Small pink petals showered the air in a dance of grace and beauty. Further beyond the imperial gardens was a second wall, similar to the first, except this one fenced off the inner courtyard of the palace where the samurai trained. And finally, beyond the inner courtyard itself, lay the imperial palace.

A hushed murmur. "Ne, ne Fate-chan…"

A reluctant reply. "H-hai?"

"This is… real… right?" Nanoha's gaze was now on the massive wall of marble towering over the entranceway into the imperial grounds. The brunette felt rather small looking up at the white monoliths.

"Hai." Wine coloured eyes were glued to the cherry blossom trees, the blonde wanting nothing more than to settle under one of them and snuggle with Nano- Fate shook her head to clear her thoughts. She shouldn't be thinking about those things right now! A soft blush lingered on her cheeks.

Red cherry wood tiles layered the roof of the palace with white limestone decorating the walls. Four guard houses were built at the four corners of the palace for maximum surveillance coverage. The palace itself was made of multiple smaller buildings of similar design, connected together by covered passageways and inner hallways that intertwined with each other. Zen gardens made of sand and rock dotted areas between buildings, providing a soothing atmosphere to the place. Floors were made of bamboo, and doors were made of paper. Though for the more important rooms, like the inner rooms to the Empress' chamber for example, massive wooden doors which could easily kill someone by the sheer weight of it, kept the unwanted eyes out.

"A word of warning Taichou-sama…" Vice leaned closer to Signum, keeping his voice hushed.

Signum merely raised an eyebrow at this.

"Shamal-sama was looking for you."

Signum's eyes widened slightly. "I… see…" Signum swallowed. "Thank you Taii-san. You are dismissed."

"Hai!" The brunette left Signum and her charges, to make his rounds.

Signum sighed, massaging her eyelids with her thumb and index finger. Shamal knew about the fight from earlier. The Captain of the Samurai dreaded the moment she came face to face with the blonde. In her rush to verify Nanoha's well being after they were attacked, Signum hastily shoved a hand kerchief in between her ripped armor plating and wound in the hopes it would staunch the bleeding until they got back to the palace. The wound pulsed painfully in reminder that her efforts were a rough patch job at best.

Signum blinked. It was then she realized that she hadn't heard the scuffling of feet behind her for a few minutes now. Turning around, blue eyes searched for the pair she was escorting. What could possibly be- Oh. A smile stretched across the samurai's face. How cute was that? Seriously.

Nanoha and Fate were still on the onyx bridge trying to take in all the sights around them. The pair were like newborn kittens seeing the world for the first time. Every cherry blossom petal that whooshed passed them in the air. Every ripple of water below the bridge. Every sway of the tall grasses. They couldn't but stare at everything in such childish awe and wonder.

Make no mistake, Nanoha and Fate had seen the imperial palace before. Many times in fact. There was not a district that one couldn't see it. In all its glory as an add-on to the backdrop of the horizon. But never had they actually seen it up close. And in person. Towering over them. Like Mount Fiji. Until now that is. And what they saw was… incredible to say the least. A muffled cough broke the pair out of their silent reverie, Signum smirking slightly behind her fist.

"Takamachi-san. Testerossa-san. We should continue onwards."

"H-hai!" the girls both replied in nervous unison.

They soon fell in line behind the Knight of the Sword, silently glancing left and right at the scenery passing by around them. Samurais on patrol nodded in acknowledgement of them as they passed. It would take the trio another twenty minutes to reach the inner walls of the palace at their current pace, not that the younger ones would notice as they were too engrossed in the gardens and other visual delicacies the imperial grounds offered them.

Walking into the main hall which branched off into three different directions, Signum stopped before turning to face them. "Just wait here a moment and I'll-"

"Signum-sama."

Signum immediately stiffened, her face paling slightly. That didn't go unnoticed by Fate and Nanoha who immediately looked at the samurai in concern. Neither of them had ever seen Signum so… nervous… before.

Movement to the left caught their attention, Nanoha and Fate turning to see Shamal approaching them with a rather large blue demon wolf walking next to her. Nanoha's hand immediate sought Fate's hand, grasping it tightly as the girl trembled at the sight of the demon beast. The brunette put on her brave face and called to Shamal in greeting.

"S-Shamal-sama! G-good morning!" Nanoha waved at the green robed attendant.

"Good morning" Fate said with a smile, albeit much softer than her best friend's greeting.

"Fate-san! Nanoha-san! Good morning!" Shamal marched up to the pair beaming brightly. "Excited for your big day today?"

Nanoha laughed wearily, scratching the back of her head. "H-hai…" she said hoping the tremble in her voice wasn't noticeable.

Shamal chuckled, inwardly noting how cute Nanoha acted when she was shy. Violet eyes lowered to the intertwined hands between the pair but said nothing. Shamal put a hand on both Fate's and Nanoha's shoulders. "Don't worry" she said soothingly. "I'm sure everything will go wonderfully today."

"Hai." Fate said, gaining some courage in Shamal's encouragement. She glanced over to Nanoha, giving her hand a squeeze. Violet eyes met her gaze and Nanoha flushed slightly.

"So Shamal-sama" Fate said turning back to the other blonde. "I didn't expect to see you here today. Did you have business with the Empress as well?"

Shamal looked to Signum, who merely blinked. The blonde chuckled. "You could say that. Being the Empress' head Otomo keeps me rather busy." Another brilliant smile.

"EHHHHHHHH!" Both Nanoha and Fate gawked at her.

"Didn't Signum-sama tell you?"

Both girls shook their head, causing Shamal to send Signum a sly grin. "I see."

Signum swallowed.

"No matter. I was actually coming here to escort you to the kitchens now that Signum-sama has graciously guided you here." Violent eyes glinted with mischief as Shamal looked to the pink haired captain. "However, it was brought to my attention earlier that I need to speak to her about a few things first."

"Shamal-san, that is not necessary" Signum quickly interjected. "We don't want to keep the Empress wait-"

"Signum-sama." That effectively shut Signum up. "I'm sure Zafira wouldn't mind escorting our guests to where they need to be."

"But Shamal-"

"Would you Zafira?" The blonde kept her gaze on Signum.

Zafira merely looked at the pair in mild amusement before speaking. "It would be my honour" he said.

Nanoha yelped, jumping behind Fate, clutching to the back of her kimono tightly. "I-i-i-i-it talked!" The brunette fearfully peered over Fate's shoulder at Zafira.

Everyone had jumped at Nanoha's outburst. All except Nanoha knew that Zafira could talk. It was understandable however, why Nanoha didn't know this fact. It wasn't common knowledge that demons could talk. The samurai often dealt with the demons that ventured into the three districts before anyone could realize the truth. Fate's knowledge of this however, came from some previous experience when it came to demons.

Zafira chuckled. "My apologies Nanoha-sama" he said. "I thought you already knew."

Nanoha furiously shook her head, earning a giggle from Fate. Nanoha stared at her best friend incredulously before she pouted. "Mou! That's not funny Fate-chan! Why didn't you tell me he could talk?"

"I didn't realize you didn't know."

"Mou!" Nanoha pouted more, Fate chuckling at her antics.

Seeing that Shamal's attention was elsewhere, Signum felt this the best time to make a speedy exit. She took one step away from the blonde before she felt something loop around her arm and pull her back.

"And where do you think you're going?" Shamal's face was an inch away from her own.

Signum started to sweat. "Umm… I-"

"It was great to see you two again!" Shamal said smiling at Fate and Nanoha. "I look forward to your meal today. Until then, you two have fun! And Zafira, be nice to them!" With that said, Shamal dragged a reluctant Captain of the Samurai with her in the opposite direction.

Nanoha and Fate could only blink at the pair in confusion.

Zafira shook his head. "Kids."

"Uwah…" Both Fate and Nanoha found themselves gaping for the second time of the day as Zafira led them to the imperial kitchen. The blue demon wolf pushed open the double wooden doors with ease, the light from within blinding the pair of girls momentarily. When their eyes adjusted, their jaws almost hit the floor. The kitchen itself was huge! Bigger than all of Midori-ya!

"T-this is… the kitchen?" Fate was stunned. Flabbergasted in fact. Nanoha on the other hand, was ecstatic. A pure hyper embodiment of joy and happiness.

"This is the kitchen!" the brunette squealed, startling the Imperial Hands already waiting idly there for them. Nanoha zoomed past Fate in a blur of motion to examine the inner workings of the imperial kitchen.

Zafira stared at Nanoha, trying to comprehend just where she kept all of that energy. Looking over to the amused blonde at his side, he spoke. "Is she always like this?"

Fate chuckled. "Do you really want to know?"

Zafira frowned, turning back to see Nanoha chatting animatedly with one of the Imperial Hands. "It's just a kitchen" he muttered, shaking his head again.

Signum inhaled sharply. She was in her chambers now, Shamal attending to her gash from earlier. The attendant sat behind her on her bed, Signum not having the courage to face the blonde right now. She hated when Shamal fussed over her. She hated it even more when the blonde worried about her. The samurai scowled. She should have been more attentive earlier. That way, she would have saved Shamal from all this grief.

"And just when were you going to tell me about… this?" Shamal's brows furled as she continued to wrap the bandage around the captain's ribs.

Signum said nothing.

"If you're going to be like that, then…"

Signum grunted when the bandage pulled a little too tightly around her wound, earning the blonde healer a glare. "Shamal, that hurts."

"Don't you think I hurt too when you try to hide these things from me?" Violet eyes met blue.

Signum looked away. "It wasn't anything for you to concern yourself with."

"Vice-kun tells differently."

"He-"

Shamal raised a hand silencing the strawberry blonde. "He didn't tell me directly. But it's not hard to piece things together from the reports and the murmurs of the other samurai."

Signum grumbled. "I think some discipline is in order. They talk too much."

Shamal smiled, having finished binding Signum's wound. Her initial magic had closed up the bloody mess, but even so, it would still take time to heal completely. Enchanting the bandages with healing and purifying magics, that ensured Signum's wound staved off infection and healed faster. Signum was their best swordswoman, and leader of Hayate's knights. She couldn't falter now. Shamal wouldn't allow it.

"Why do you always try so hard to be invincible?" The blonde rested her head against the back of Signum's bare shoulder.

"It is my duty to protect the Empress and her citizens" was Signum's reply. It was a well known fact that Signum had an aversion to bodily contact of any kind. Yet, the blonde attendant had somehow gotten past that barrier with her, Shamal being the only one allowed to get this close to the samurai.

"You haven't changed one bit" Shamal said chuckling quietly. "You're just like you were when I first saw you that night. Reckless and hard headed. And stubborn too."

Signum smiled. "Speak for yourself" Signum said. "Who's the one who's pushy, unrelenting and just plain annoying?"

"Annoying?"

For that comment, Signum received a poke to the ribs causing her to jolt upright and squirm from the feather light touch. The Captain of the Samurai bit her lip to stifle a laugh. Signum was rather ticklish, that fact unknown to most.

"You-"

A knock on the captain's bedroom door interrupted their moment.

"What is it?" Signum responded gruffly. The interruption miffed Signum greatly. Shamal backed up to give her space to shrug on a new set of armor.

"A message for you Taichou-sama" the samurai on the opposite side of the door shouted through. "The Empress' guest will be arriving within the hour."

A/N: Mount Nantai (also called Futarasan) is a stratovolcano in the Nikkō National Park in central Honshū, the main island of Japan. You can find more information about it here: http:[doubleslash]en[dot]wikipedia[dot]org/wiki/Mount_Nantai

Just a disclaimer, I know nothing about how the real imperial palace was built in Tokyo. I'm just making stuff up based on pictures I've seen. All in all, the palace was very challenging to describe, and I can only hope as you were reading, you had a picture of what I was thinking of. For those of you having trouble envisioning the place, check out the link below for the picture I based the palace on.

http:[doublelslash]en[dot]wikipedia[dot]org/wiki/File:Tokyo_Imperial_Palace_pic_08[dot]jpg

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

Hai = Yes

Taichou = Captain

Taii = Lieutenant

Otomo = Attendant

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