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!

For those of you who left unsigned reviews, see my replies below:

kris-tim - Thanks for the review! ^^ I'm glad you like that chapter. :) Signum is awesome, I have to say. She always surprises people like that. Hehehe. I have ideas for a Signum x Shamal story, but that won't happen until after this story at the earliest. Fear not, Carim and Hayate will be showing up, I promise you that. It will just be a bit longer before that happens. ;) Until, you'll just have to keep guessing about other things. :P

Unknown - Thanks for the review! :) I'm glad you like that OMAKE. It was a bit of a last minute addition based on everyone's feedback from the previous chapter. I was worried I rushed it too much, but in the end things turned out great. ^^ The next chapter will be posted in the next few weeks. I do hope in the new year to speed up the posting schedule, but for now, it will remain at every two weeks. Thanks for the review!

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 23: Speak of the Devil ~ ***

"Scrya Yunno."

The said man jumped out of his chair and crashed to the floor with a clatter. Rolls of parchment drifted to the ground around him, his ink brush still clutched tightly in his hand. The imperial scholar had just returned from dinner a few minutes ago, and was in the middle of settling in at his desk for a rather long night of research. The last thing he expected was to see a white garbed figure in the far shadowed corner of his office.

"W-w-w-who are you? W-what do you want?"

"Is it true you're working on a seal to neutralize the Spirit Seeds?"

Green eyes widened. "I-I don't know w-what you're t-t-talking about." Had Yunno been of a clear mind, he would have noticed the unusual rasp in the forced deep voice of his intruder. But as it was, he was scared out of his mind and didn't register such a thing.

The figure in white stepped towards him, a weapon now clearly seen strapped to their back.

"I-is that-"

"It would be in your best interests to tell the truth Scrya-sama."

A red magatama jewel the size of one's fist pulsed faintly near the top of the white staff on the intruder's back. The staff itself seemed to be made of a white marble, lined with gold and pink quartz on the ends. Never before had Yunno ever seen such a magnificent weapon. And for good reason too. The size of the magatama jewel was the biggest hint. It was one of the weapons from legend.

Violet coloured eyes narrowed at the scholar in green. "I will not ask you again," the figure in white said. "Is it true that you are working on a seal to neutralize the Spirit Seeds?"

Yunno bit his lip. "H-hai…" he said in a shaky voice.

This person was dangerous. Yunno knew it. It wouldn't be a good idea to piss them off. The weapons of legend, unlike most Spirit Seeds, could not be wielded by just anyone. Only a specific person could use them. And only that person would know the name of their weapon. The weapons themselves chose their masters with their only distinguishing feature being the size of their magatama jewel. They were the size of one's fist unlike the Spirit Seeds, which were the size of a marble. They were also said to hold incredible power. According to the ancient texts, only the gods could wield such weapons...

"How close are you to finishing that seal?"

Yunno snapped out of his thoughts. "Uhh…"

"Scrya-sama," the figure in white said again.

Yunno went ramrod straight in his spot, sweat rolling down the side of his face.

"I don't like repeating myself. It annoys me." The assassin garbed in white moved closer, pulling the white staff from their back and pointing it at him. "This is the last time I will ask again. How close are you to finishing that seal?"

"S-s-s-s-still a l-long way off f-f-f-from finishing it," the scholar managed to say. Yunno could almost see his life flash before his eyes.

"Why is that?" The staff inched closer to his face, the red magatama jewel glowing brighter.

"B-b-b-b-because I can't s-s-study the S-S-Spirit S-Seeds up close. T-too dangerous they said." Yunno really shouldn't have drunk so much tea at dinner. It was now posing a big problem for him. "I-I-I can only work off of t-t-the reports written b-b-by the m-m-m-mages who originally s-s-s-sealed them."

"I see." The white garbed figure strapped their staff on their back.

Yunno breathed in relief. He looked up at the assassin nervously. They now stood in front of him, separated by a few arms lengths. For someone so powerful, they did seem a bit on the small side.

"If you could study the Spirit Seeds up close, could you complete your seal faster?" Violet eyes regarded him intently.

"M-maybe…" Yunno said quietly.

"Maybe?" Violet eyes narrowed at him.

"It's n-n-not what you think!" he said waving his hands frantically in front of him. "Not all the Spirit Seeds are the same!" Yunno exclaimed. "Which is why they have to be sealed individually."

"So then it's impossible to make a seal for them all?"

"N-no… Not impossible."

"Explain." The figure in white crossed their arms over their chest. Yunno could tell the assassin was quickly losing patience with him.

"I-it's true that all the Spirit Seeds are different. They are unique from each other. But they all are connected together just the same."

"I'm listening."

Yunno swallowed, pulling at the collar of his green robe. "W-well, you see… When two or more of them are close together, they somehow synchronize with each other, boosting each other's power. The more of them together, the more powerful they are as a whole. I'm not sure how they connect to each other, but if I can get my hands on a lot of them to study, I think I can find that connection and use it to make the seal to neutralize them all at the same time."

The assassin in white regarded the blonde silently for a minute. A feeling of dread slowly crept up inside the scholar. What if the assassin didn't believe him? What if they thought he was making stuff up? If so, Yunno's life would end very shortly.

"Start with these."

Yunno yelped in fear, bringing up his arms to his face to defend himself as something small was thrown at him. The item bounced lightly off his arm and tumbled to his lap. After a moment with no further movement, Yunno opened his eyes to find a small pouch on his leg.

"I shall retrieve more for you later."

Yunno jumped when he realized the white assassin was no longer in front of him, but behind him making their way to the door of his office. "R-retrieve more? More of..."

Yunno opened the small pouch, emptying its contents into his hand. Three blue magatama jewels fell into his open palm. Yunno's eyes went wide. "These are-"

"Spirit Seeds," the figure in white finished for him.

"You stole them from the Empress!" The scholar gaped at the intruder by his door.

A chuckle. "Not from the Empress," they said, turning their back on him. Three blue stars came to view, under their white staff. "Other ones. Be careful with them. They're very volatile if not handled properly."

As if to attest to that, the blue magatama jewels in his hand started to glow. Yunno yipped, quickly shoving the Spirit Seeds back into the pouch to prevent anything further from happening. "I can't keep these!" he said in absolute panic. "What if the Empress finds out I have them?"

"I highly suggest that she does not find out about them Scrya-sama. I would hate to have to... clean up after you..." The white garbed assassin opened the door to his office. "I shall see you again Scrya Yunno-kun, when the moon is at its fullest." And then they were gone.

"When the moon is at its fullest?" Yunno moaned, hanging his head. "Why me?"

The scholar went rigid.

The insignia on the person's back. Three blue stars. There was only one person rumoured to wear that insignia.

"The White Devil…" Yunno groaned, hanging his head.

OMAKE

Minutes passed silently as the figure in white jumped from rooftop to rooftop, away from the imperial palace. They had almost been caught on their way out by a patrol of samurai, but luckily managed to avoid a full out confrontation. Signum would not be happy with those two samurai when they were found sleeping on the job. Oh well. They couldn't do anything about it now.

Stopping on a rooftop in the middle of the middle district, the white garbed assassin couldn't hold it any longer. They threw back their head and hollered. Anyone on the streets below scurried for cover, thinking a demon was nearby from the hysterical laughter. Violet coloured eyes held so much mirth, the assassin in white holding their stomach as they doubled over gasping for breath.

"By the gods!" A fit of giggles. Just the thought of Yunno looking ready to pee his robes made the white garbed assassin laugh more. "I should play a bad guy more often! Who knew it could be so fun?"

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

Hai = Yes

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