Of Assassins, Samurai, and Magic
A/N: And we finally come to the end of this story. It's been a lot of fun writing this and I hope everyone enjoyed reading it. :) Due to real life circumstances, I've decided to post this final chapter up a few hours early rather than a few hours late. I'm sure no one will object to that. And if you do, my apologies. :P
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love thus story - Thanks for the review and the support of this story. It really means a lot when readers stick with a story, especially one as long as this one. I will be writing another MGLN story and probably more than one, but for now, just see my Author's Notes at the end of this. In the future, keep an eye on my profile page. I'll be updating my progress on future stories and current stories there. Thanks for the reading my story! :)
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*** ~ Chapter 39: Epilogue ~ ***
~ Japan. One year later. ~
It was a quiet, calm walk through the local cemetery. Having sustained major damage a year ago, in what would later be dubbed as the JS Incident, one wouldn't have known it if they weren't here when the catastrophe struck. The capital city of Japan had since then recovered from that incident, most of the damage repaired at this point. For those sections of the city not yet complete, the rebuilding was almost done. Yet none could forget the death toll which came with the horrible tragedy, just like the Garden of Time Incident ten years before.
"Why are we doing this again?"
Tsukimura Suzuka looked at her best friend and smiled. "I think you know why we're here, Arisa-chan." Suzuka's gaze wandered down to the bundle of flowers in her hand. Arisa carried a bundle too.
Arisa Bannings scowled, staring straight ahead. The two tombstones they were coming to visit were within sight. "But this is all a lie, isn't it?" the blonde replied gruffly. "No bodies were even found! They could still be alive somewhe-"
A hand on her shoulder made Arisa bite her lip, stifling back another outburst. Suzuka squeezed Arisa's shoulder gently before both of them turned and stopped in front of the two they came to visit. Resting down the bundles of flowers before the tombstones, Suzuka knelt down in front of the one before her, bowing her head. Arisa remained standing, looking sorrowfully at the tombstone in front of her.
"Hi Nanoha-chan, Fate-chan," Suzuka said with a tearful smile. She dusted off the tombstones with her hand. "It's been a while."
"Miyuki," said a soft voice.
The said person moaned softly before burying her head deeper into her pillow.
A sigh. "Imouto," Takamachi Kyouya said with a chuckle. "If you don't wake up soon, the wonderful pastries our guardian angel left us in the oven this morning will burn."
"What!" Takamachi Miyuki bolted upwards from her futon and immediately raced downstairs to the kitchen.
Kyouya could only laugh at that. A year had passed since the horrible turn of events which nearly left the entire Takamachi family dead. Thankfully, the disaster was averted and things had returned to normal for the most part. For him and Miyuki, that is. Both of them had since recovered from their grave injuries, Kyouya even recovering his sight. The Takamachi Dojo was rebuilt better than ever and the Midori-ya Cafe was still going strong.
"Uwah!" Miyuki exclaimed the moment Kyouya made his way downstairs. "So much!" the brunette said in childish awe.
On all counter top surfaces were trays of freshly baked pastries, Miyuki having just pulled the most recent one out of the oven. Since the repair of the Midori-ya after the JS Incident, and the loss of their smallest sister, it had become quite routine for the Takamachi siblings to wake up in the mornings to find a kitchen full of freshly baked treats. While known to most how horrible of a pastry chef Miyuki was, with the help of these pastries and Kyouya's new girlfriend and new Midori-ya cook Tsukimura Shinobu, the Midori-ya Cafe maintained its reputation as one of the best eateries in the Middle District for both desserts and otherwise.
"They really out did themselves today," Kyouya said with a whistle. He picked up a steaming cinnamon bun from the closest tray only for it to be snatched out of his hand by Miyuki.
"That's for the customers Nii-san," Miyuki said shaking her head.
"Oh come on Miyuki," the eldest Takamachi whined. "I'm sure no one will miss one or two of them."
"You know the rules Kyouya," Miyuki stated, hands on her hips. "If you don't like them, learn to bake these yourself."
Kyouya hummed in thought, stroking his chin. A smile. "You think our guardian angel would teach me?"
"Subaru. Subaru!"
A groan. "Five more minutes..."
Teana Lanster sighed. She stood beside the bed she and Nakajima Subaru shared, with her hands on her hips, tapping her foot impatiently.
"Subaru!" the redhead repeated. "If you don't get up soon, we're going to be late for work! You know how the Midori-ya is first thing in the morning."
"Just five more minutes..." Subaru repeated, obviously not hearing a word her partner said.
Teana face palmed. "I don't know why I put up with this every morning."
With another sigh, the redhead climbed onto the bed and crawled up to her friend. "Subaru," she said again, shaking the blue haired girl by the shoulder. "It's time to get up-S-S-Subaru!"
In under ten seconds, Teana found herself flat on her back in bed, with Subaru cuddled up flush against her. The blue haired teen had her head on Teana's shoulder, nuzzling against her neck while one arm draped across Teana's stomach, hugging her closely. Even Subaru's legs were intertwined with the redhead's. Teana stared at the ceiling, her face beet red.
"Tea..." Subaru murmured, snuggling closer to her partner.
Blue eyes darted back and forth between Subaru's smiling face and the girl's hand on her stomach. Teana swallowed nervously, her cheeks burning from the compromising position she was currently in.
"Love you... Tea..." came another soft murmur.
Teana's expression softened, a smile forming on her lips. "You're such a child," she said quietly. Reaching over, she pushed some stray locks of hair out of of Subaru's face. "I suppose I could give you give more minutes," she whispered.
Then Subaru's hand wandered upwards and grabbed at her breast.
SMACK!
"Gah! Tea! What was that for!" a now fully awake Subaru exclaimed, tears in her eyes. She held her head, where a fresh bump throbbed.
"B-b-b-baka!" Teana shouted, already off the bed and standing with her back to her partner. She hugged herself. "What the hell were you dreaming about!?"
Harlaown Lindy sat in her kitchen, drinking tea.
"Good morning, Kaa-san," Harlaown Chrono said, walking into the kitchen. He leaned in to kiss his mother on the forehead before nabbing some toast off the table and downing a gulp of tea.
"Just popping in before work I see," Lindy said, her lips curling in amusement.
This was a daily ritual for the former Co-Captain of the City Guards.
"Hai," Chrono said, in between bites.
"You'd swear Amy-san never feeds you or something," Lindy commented.
Since the JS Incident, it wasn't unusual for Chrono to pop by in the mornings on his way to work. As the main Harlaown's residence was on his way to work, Chrono saw no harm in checking in on his mother and the City Guards' Co-Captain.
"You know it's not like that," Chrono said with a grin. Licking his lips, he quickly finished the last of his tea and set the mug down in the sink.
"I wonder what it could ever be." Lindy gave her son a lopsided grin. "Could it be my cooking perhaps?"
The City Guards' Captain laughed. "It could very well be that," he said. Chrono quickly straightened out his uniform to make himself more presentable. "Amy and the kids are looking forward to trying out your secret recipe tonight."
"Oh?" Lindy feigned surprise. "Is that so? And what of my musuko?"
Chrono gave his mother a hug. "Why, I'll be the first one to taste your new dish," he said with a smile.
"Such a good shounen," Lindy said with a laugh. She patted Chrono on the cheek. "Now off to work you go."
"Hai!"
After watching Chrono leave, Lindy's attention went back to her half full mug of tea. She took a sip. Over the past year, she'd gotten Caro into the habit of drinking it, though Erio didn't seem to care much for the liquid drink.
A sigh.
This was always a moment of the day she would share with Fate, prior to the events last year. The teal haired woman really missed the blonde, Lindy still remembering the day when she first got news of Fate's-
Lindy closed her eyes, setting down her mug on the table.
"Good morning, Lindy-san," came a soft voice.
Lindy smiled before turning to look at the doorway to the kitchen. "Good morning Caro-chan, Friedrich-kun. Did you both sleep well?"
"Hai," Caro responded with a smile. Friedrich crooned happily.
"I'm glad to hear that," the teal haired woman said.
"Was that Chrono-san I saw leaving just now?" Caro inquired. She sat down at the table next to Lindy.
"It was," Lindy said. "He-"
"Lindy-san!" Erio exclaimed, racing into the kitchen full of excitement.
"Good morning Erio-kun." Lindy chuckled. The redhead was always so energetic in the mornings, especially when a certain someone dropped by to visit.
"Erio-kun!" Caro scolded her friend for his lack of manners.
"Ah! Good morning!" Erio quickly added before looking behind him. "You have a package!"
Both Lindy's and Caro's gazes strayed to the tiny one padding into the kitchen after Erio, their tongue wagging. On the furry one's back was a package secured to her collar. Another smile graced the teal haired woman's face as an orange puppy demon fox walked up to her. "Good morning Arf-chan."
The Empress sighed. She currently sat at her desk in her main chambers, staring at the stack of papers she had to read through for today. While this was nothing out of the ordinary for the brunette, there were times, like this, where she wished she could be doing something else aside from boring paperwork. While the amount of Spirit Seed incidents had dropped dramatically since the JS Incident, every now and a then, a Spirit Seed would show up, causing havoc for the districts.
"You look like you could use this, Hayate-sama." Shamal placed a hot mug of tea down on the desk in front of the brunette.
"Thank you Shamal," Hayate said with a smile. "You're a life saver." The Empress took a long sip of tea from her mug, sighing happily as she slouched back into her chair.
"Another request?" Shamal said, looking down at the document in front of Hayate on the desk.
"Hai," Hayate replied, less than enthusiastic. She looked down at the message. "Someone by the name of Tredia Graze wishes an audience with me to discuss some... things..."
"I certainly hope he's not another alchemist," Puppy Zafira said speaking up. The demon wolf currently lounged on the ground in front of Hayate's desk.
Shamal jumped with a shout. "Z-Zafira-san!" the blonde attendant exclaimed with a hand over her heart. "I didn't see you there."
Puppy Zafira laughed. "My apologies Shamal-san. I meant not to frighten you."
"It's alright," Shamal said with a giggle. The Empress' attendant was still not used to seeing the blue demon wolf in his smaller form (something he learned to do from Arf), but in her opinion, it suited him better when he wasn't fighting. But Shamal would never tell Zafira that.
"I should have been more observant of my surroundings," Shamal said.
A pause.
"Vita-chan's not with you?"
"Sleeping," was Puppy Zafira's reply.
"Not anymore," came a grumble.
Everyone looked up to see a half asleep, frizzy-haired Vita walk in from the side room. "How can anyone expect me to sleep when there's people screaming first thing in the morning? I don't know how Rein and Agito sleep through that."
Hayate laughed at her disgruntled cousin.
"I'm really sorry about that Vita-chan," Shamal said in embarrassment.
"Whatever," the redhead replied. "I'm going to look for breakfast." And with that said, Vita left the Empress' chambers, rubbing her eyes.
"I should probably make sure she finds the kitchens without incident," Puppy Zafira said. He rose to his feet and followed after the sleepy redhead.
"Thank you Zafira," the Empress said chuckling.
Shamal and Hayate watched quietly as the puppy demon wolf padded out of the room, before returning to their previous duties.
"How is the wrap up of the JS Incident?" Shamal inquired.
"Most of the Numbers assassins have been reunited with their rightful families," Hayate said, turning back to her paperwork. "Many of them have no recollection of their time under Jail-san's command, but that's not surprising considering many of them were under mind control at that time. There hasn't been any sightings of that summoner assassin who was also working for the alchemist, but from what I've been told, I don't think she'll cause problems for us if she does return."
Hayate set aside the current document she looked at and picked up another one off of the pile of papers to her right. "Of the Numbers assassins who did work for the alchemist willingly," Hayate continued. "They, along with Jail Scaglietti, are being imprisoned in various imperial prisons all over the country. Signum's samurai will be keeping a close eye on them. His Logia Relicia have also been sealed away to avoid them being misused in the future."
"That's a relief," Shamal said after the Empress finished her report. It relieved the blonde that the horror of last year's events was finally over and that they could now move on with their lives.
BANG!
The doors to Hayate's chambers banged open, startling the pair. Instinctively, Shamal took up a defensive posture in front of the Empress, just about to call on Klarer Wind when the sound of childish laughter reached their ears. A split second later, a small blonde girl ran inside the room, giggling.
"Vivio-san!" came a scolding shout after the child. "No running! Especially into Hayate-sama's room when she's trying to do her work!"
Both Hayate and Shamal raised an eyebrow at each other before smiling. A moment later, Signum darted into the room, chasing after the small blonde in a frazzle.
"Oya?" Hayate said grinning madly. "It's Signum's turn to babysit today, huh?"
At the sound of Hayate's voice, Signum immediately froze, the samurai's eyes widening as they met the brunette's. "H-Hayate-sama!"
Signum instantly dropped down to one knee, bowing her head. "I apologize for the interruption, Hayate-sama."
"Interruption?" Hayate said humming. The smile on her face widened. "It's no interruption, is it Shamal?"
The Empress' attendant shook her head. "Ile," Shamal said with a smile. "But Signum-san chasing after little Vivio-chan is rather cute." The blonde attendant quickly found herself laughing at the noticeable blush creeping up the samurai's cheeks.
"Signum-san," Vivio said, having realized her pursuer had stopped. She walked up to the still bowing samurai and tugged on the pinkette's armor. "Why is your face red?"
"N-no reason..." Signum mumbled, not meeting the gaze of either Shamal or Hayate. Both women laughed even more.
"Empress!" came a shout. A messenger rushed into Hayate's chambers, bowing immediately while trying to catch his breath. "A Spirit Seed!" the boy exclaimed after a quick inhale. "There's a Spirit Seed going wild in the Middle District!"
Shamal turned to look at the Empress, a sly smile on her face. "Are you going to ask them to take care of it?"
Hayate grinned back, turning back to her paperwork. "Well, you know how they are."
Shamal giggled. She did know.
"So that's where you've been hiding," a soft voice said. A black clad figure walked over to the white clad figure lying on the roof of the Imperial Palace's south wing.
The White Devil groaned. "Not so loud Fate-chan," she grumbled. "I was up early this morning and am trying to catch up on some sleep now."
The Thunder Reaper raised an eyebrow. "Why out here and not in our room?"
"Because it's warmer out here," the White Devil replied.
"Ah."
Silence.
The Thunder Reaper grinned. "So... baking again, huh?"
"Hey now!" the White Devil protested. "You know how bad Miyuki-nee is with pastries. She couldn't make one to save her life!"
The black garbed assassin chuckled.
"I couldn't let her poison the customers." A pout.
The Thunder Reaper sat down on the red tiled roof next to her counterpart. The sun was now high in the sky, and both assassins could make out the morning rush of citizens in all districts from where they were on the Imperial rooftop.
"How many did you make this time?"
The White Devil huffed, rolling onto her side, putting her back to her partner. "Who do you take me for Fate-chan? Hmpf!"
The Thunder Reaper grinned even more now. "How many Nanoha?" The black assassin leaned to the side, peering over the White Devil's prone form.
A mumble.
"What was that?"
Another mumble.
"Hmmm?"
"Fifty trays!" the White Devil exclaimed, sitting up to glare at the Thunder Reaper.
The black assassin whistled. "Fifty trays," she said. "You certainly overdid it this time, Nanoha. That must be a new record." A laugh.
"Ah mou!" the White Devil huffed and looked away. She crossed her arms over her chest. "What did you expect Fate-chan? I was using the Imperial Kitchens and forgot how big the oven was."
The Thunder Reaper laughed again.
"It's not funny!" The White Devil pouted again, turning her face away. "It's not any different from you sending those packages to Lindy-san."
"Of course it is," the Thunder Reaper countered. "Those packages don't take over the entire kitchen."
The White Devil huffed more and turned away.
"Aww, come on now Nanoha," the Thunder Reaper said. "Don't be mad. You know I didn't mean it that way."
The White Devil said nothing, still looking away from her companion.
"Nanoha," the Thunder Reaper said. "Would you look at me, please?"
Still no response. The White Devil closed her eyes.
The Thunder Reaper hummed. "It seems I'm going to have to make it up to you somehow, huh?"
Before the White Devil could even retort, her face mask was pulled down and another pair of lips met hers. Violet coloured eyes shot open in surprise before closing again, the White Devil losing herself in the kiss. It would be the Thunder Reaper who pulled back first, licking her lips as she did so. The black assassin smiled.
"So you'll forgive me?" The Thunder Reaper gave her partner her best puppy dog eyes.
The White Devil looked at the Thunder Reaper dazed and dreamy. She nodded limply, earning her another brilliant smile from the black assassin.
"I love you, Nanoha," the Thunder Reaper whispered.
"I love you too, Fate-chan," the White Devil replied back.
As the pair leaned in for another kiss, a burst of blue magic shot up into the air from the Middle District, to the sounds of screams and yells.
The assassins sighed, resting their foreheads together.
"And it was just getting to the good part," the Thunder Reaper said wistfully. "Darn Spirit Seeds interrupting our fun." The Thunder Reaper pouted.
It was the White Devil's turn to chuckle. "You do know, Fate-chan," the White Devil began. "That the faster we take care of that, the faster we can return to our... fun..."
Smouldering violet eyes locked onto burgundy ones. The Thunder Reaper suddenly found herself very hot and her mouth dry.
"R-really?" came a questioning whisper.
"Really..." the White Devil replied.
The Thunder Reaper smiled. "Good," she said. She leaned in for another kiss.
The White Devil smirked, also leaning in. But before their lips could meet again, the white assassin pulled back.
"Race you to it!" the White Devil shouted before jumping off the roof of the Imperial Palace.
The Thunder Reaper blinked. "Wha..." Then she blinked again. "Ah mou! That's not fair Nanoha!" she exclaimed, chasing after her partner. "That is so cheating! Get back here you!"
The White Devil laughed.
END
A/N: Thanks for reading everyone! By no means is this the end of me in the MGLN world. Don't forget to check out the sequel to this piece, called A Samurai's Pledge, when it comes out in a few weeks!
For those of you unfamiliar with the non-English words, I have translated them below.
Hai = Yes
Uhn = A noise of affirmation. Similar to 'yes'.
Onii-san/Onii = Big Brother
Nee-san/Nee = Big Sister
Imouto = Little Sister
Kaa-san/Okaa-san = Mother
MusukoSon
ShounenBoy
For an explanation of Japanese honorifics (eg. [name]-sama), please check out (replace commas with periods): en,wikipedia,org/wiki/Japanese_honorifics