A/N: So, I've decided to dedicate a chapter to each of their pasts. This one is for Anya. Naturally, she'd be first. I appreciate any comments you have!

I was ten years old and taking on the occasional contract on my own. My master seemed to praise me more when I worked harder and harder for the Brotherhood. It was hard though. I wasn't quite comfortable with being alone. It was always so lively in the food hall and around the guild. I'd had enough of being alone. My friend Yao had just suddenly left me while we were on a walk. He'd only said, "I can't be around a monster," and left. I was too shocked to react.

It made me angry! I'd always tried to spend time with thim between training and missions. I didn't understand why he left me. 'Katyusha did it too!' I thought as I punched a straw dummy, 'She cried and said that I was too dangerous to be around. She forbade Nicholai to see me too. But he's a weirdo, so it doesn't matter.'

My brother and sister hadn't seen me in three years. I was tougher and a better country than they could imagine! Even though I was so young, I was taller than most of the kids my age. They were mean to me too... because I was already an Assassin and they were still in training as recruits.

"You need to hit it harder medvezhonok. You need to feel the pain run through your body. Only then will you be able to withstand being a true master of the Assassin Brotherhood," said Master Makar. He was the one who took me in when I had no one. He had taught me everything to survive and become strong. I owed him my very soul. There was nothing I wouldn't do to make him proud. So, I hit harder and quicker. The skin on my kuckles started to split open, but still I hept on hitting.

The cold air stung my skin hours later. And finally my Master nodded for me to stop. "You did well, little bear. You've earned your rest. See to your hands and do what you will for the rest of today," he ordered nto unkindly.

I bowed in respect and ran off into Masyaf castle. We'd rebuilt it as a training sanctuary for the recruits and new Assassins. It was peaceful here, but lonely still... That is, until a scrawny recruit named Lukas came strutting over. "Hei Anya. What's with all the blood? Did you get in trouble again?" he asked. Lukas was the only one that really talked to me. The others said I gave off a creepy aura. Lukas defended me and said it was my 'assassin skills' and everyone was just jealous.

"No Lukas. Master Makar just wanted me to," I said simply. He made a weird face and shook his head. He'd thought Master Makar was creepy and everything I said about Master seemed to reinforce Lukas' opinion. I started walking again; it was time to eat! Lukas ran to catch up with me.

"Wait, wait! It's not fair that you're so much taller than me! You sure you're a girl?" he whined. I smiled and shook my head. He was always saying things like that. Someone overheard his teasing and muttered, "No, Anya's a demon spawn." Lukas' face went dark as he spun around to face the assassin. I'll admit that it still stung a little when people said things like that to me, but... "Lukas, leave it alone. You'll get in trouble again. Besides... he's right." The light in my eyes fade and I feel them widening. I grin ear to ear at the man Lukas is now yelling at.

"Don't say shit like that! I'll smash your ugly fucking face in!" Lukas screams. The man isn't even looking at him; he's too busy staring at me.

"Are you even listening o me, damn it?!"

A giggle escapes from my throat. I don't even know what's so funny. Just the look on this guys face probably. He's so scared. It makes me feel more powerful. Lukas turns around and looks at me with worry. "Teddy Bear, you need to stop making faces like that," he says with a bored on his face, "It'll get stuck like that, idiot."

I close my eyes and frown again. I swear I heard a voice in my head... They're all fools! They should be on their knees begging for your forgiveness! With a sigh I turn around and start walking again."C'mon Noru. I'm hungry," I say with a flip of my hair. It's almost as if I can hear the tension in his body go lax; and then he's right beside me again. Though his heartbeat is still racing. Was he scared of me too?

Three Years Later

I had just gotten back from a contract in Roma. It was an old habit of mine to stop by Makar's study afterwards to tell him how things went. If he was happy, he'd give me some kind of reward like a new knife or a new pair of boots. How he always knew before I told him, I had no idea. I'd never thought too much of it.

I'd stopped before knocking on the window because I'd heard yelling. Yes, I was at the window. I always scaled the building to see if I could catch the Master off guard. He'd applaud my silence, but was never surprised.

"Master, we can't just let them take her!" a familiar voice argued.

"We have to. It's for the sake of all of us," Makar's tired voice fought back.

"Who knows what they could do to her?! If you let those plauge-ridden Templars have her, I'm going too." It was Lukas! I hadn't seen him in a couple years... The last contract I'd had required me to act as the daughter- and bodyguard- of an important scholar in Roma. But, the Templars? What was Master Makar thinking?!

Just then Makar sighed and answered Lukas' rage with, "I know Anya well, and I know that our little bear can take them down blindfolded. What I'm afraid of is that rage of hers making the situation worse. I know you've seen it Lukas."

I've heard enough and climb down to the ground again. "Noru. You're still defending me," I whisper sadly. Pat of the reason I got sent away was because I'd beat the living hell out of one of my brothers that had called Lukas my lackey. I didn't want to control anyone! Lukas could do whatever he wanted... So, I'd stabbed that guy with my fork a few times. And broke his nose... and a few of his ribs... and his right arm just to get the point across.

I walked past the gates with my head held high, eyes straight forward. People were staring and avoiding me more than usual. On top of that, I spotted unfamiliar faces in very familiar clothing. Templars. They were already here. And it didn't seem like they had forced their way in. "So it's already been decided. Heh. Figures," I mutter. One of the bigger Templars stands up and takes a few steps my way. I shoot him an icy glare.

"You Anya Braginski?" he asks.

I raise my chin and smirk, "I might be, suka. What of it?"

His eyebrows furrow angrily. I guess he understands a little Russian. "Watch what you say or I'll be removing your tongue, girl." It was deathly quiet in the courtyard when Lukas and the Master walked out. My eyes shot over to them. I know my smile said to Makar. It softened when I looked over at Lukas. Don't worry it said to him. I removed my hood and kept looking at Lukas. He'd grown so much. He was as tall as I was now and he looked so strong. "Someone's threatening my family and I want to know why. You can go after me directly and I'll deal with it. I'll survive. But when you go after my brothers and sisters... I'll fucking kill you!" I yell.

The large Templar steps a little closer. "The name's Sadik Adonan. You'll come with me unless you want everyone here to die."

"Hah... Hahaha... HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!" I laugh with that now signature look on my face. I could only tell that because of Lukas' terrified face. "You think a handful of TEMPLARS can take down an entire guild of Assassins?"

In one swift motion, I throw three knives at the Templars standing right behind Sadik and unsheath my sword. He pulls out a hammer and runs my way with a grunt. That's what I thought would happen. Lukas starts to move to come help me, but Makar stops him. "This is her fight." I hear him say. Seeing how no one else is moving, it really is. Not even any of the other damned Templars are moving.

Sadik swings at my stomach, but I lide under his legs easily and stab his thigh with my hidden blade. He snorts in pain and swings again. Thinking that I've outsmarted him, I feign left. As I go to the right again, he clips my left leg wich makes me lose my balance.

'God it hurts! I-I can't let him hit me again!'

Leaning more on my right leg, I tense for him to swing again. As the steel gets closer, I push up and flip over the Templar's head. My landing is a bit rough, but I manage to slash his back with my sword. He lets out a cry of pain. Blood starts to flow down his back and legs... The bright red color makes my pulse quicken.

I'm knocked out of my daze as he backhands me with his metal gauntlent and go flying back. A stupid mistake on my part. Now my head is throbbing and it's harder to see. Blood. There's blood all over my face and I can't open my right eye. I'm not going to win.

Kill him. You need to move quicker. The voice in my head is back... only this time it's different. This one is more calm.

No! You need to tackle him and beat his skull in! The only way to end it is blood! Glorious blood! They will all become your subjects after they see your power. They'll all be one with the Russian empire. The crazed angry voice is back. I can't help but to agree with the second voice...

My body starts to move on its own. I feel drained and dead inside. Both of my feet are firmly back on the ground; the pain is all gone. Sadik looks surprised that I'm up again, but rushes forward again and hits me in the stomach with the hilt of his hammer. I jump onto it then onto his shoulders. He needs to feel the pain that I felt. He needs to be punished. Someone starts to scream as Sadik thrashes around.

It takes me a minute to register that I'm clawing at him and he's the one screaming. He's dropped his weapon and is trying to throw me off of him.

"Shh... If you keep that up, I'll just rip your tongue out," I whisper in his ear. his screaming gets louder. I jump off of his back and kick him in the back of the knees. His cries of pain make me laugh. He's just so pitiful. The other Templars rush in then, but I don't really remember what happened. It was all really blurry and really bloody.

The last thing I remember is screaming for Master Makar to stop... Lukas was holding me as the Master did something... It hurt again. Everything hurt. The calm voice in my head was trying to sooth me as was Lukas. But, it was his fault that I was in pain! He let Makar do it!

When I woke up, I was in my room with bandages everywhere. I was sore and grouchy. Where were the Templars? What happened? One of my sisters walked in and told me that the Master would like to speak with me as soon as I was able to walk. It pissed me off. In my mind he was acting too high and mighty to come see me.

"Anya, you awake?" Lukas calls. Our sister excuses her self and hurridly leaves the room. I waved to Lukas and sat back in my bed. I was still mad at him.

"Hei. Um... I've heard the Master talking and, uh... he's still talking about sending you to the Templars. Sadik got away and now they're pissed," he mumbles miserably.

I sigh, "It figures that asshole got away. I refuse to be handed over though."

Lukas opens his mouth to say something, but just nods. Something's bothering him. In fact, it seems that the same something must be bothering everyone because the girl who was just in here had that same look on her face.

The silence fills the room as we look at each other.

"Noru, I'm leaving Masyaf. It'll be safer for you all. I know everyone thinks I'm a monster," I say as gently as possible. Lukas had been my only friend all these years, so naturally it was hard to let him go even if I was mad at him. He closed his eyes and shook his head.

"Let me go with you. Who knows how many of those guys are looking for you? You'll need help," he pleads. I can't let him leave with me. He'd only get in trouble. Plus, this is his home. It never felt like home to me.

"No way, Noru. You'd get in the way," I tease, "I'm going to Novosibirsk. There's no need to worry." Inside I'm sad that I won't see him everyday. It was hard enough going out for a contract sometimes. But it had to be this way. He stood up and walked over to my door.

"Should I tell the old man or are you going to?" he asks me looking at the ground.

I pull some paper and some charcoal from the nightstand, "Net. I will leave him a note. He's angry enough as it is... Before you go, will you hand me my bag? I got something for you on my last mission."

He hands me the bag and sits by my side. I can tell he's curious about what I got him, but he's also fighting his anxiety about me leaving. I'd ended up getting into more trouble in the last two years than he ever did. It was more of the fact that I had a wicked temper.

"Close your eyes!" I demand with a smile. I see the corners of his mouth turn up a little as he does what I say. Quickly, I pull out a cross-shaped barret and slide it into his hair. He'd always had a fasination with crosses for some odd reason. When I saw this in one of the shops, I just couldn't pass it up! Lukas opens his eyes and puts his hand up to his head.

"Now, how am I supposed to see it?" he asks exasperatedly. With a giggle I point to a mirror on the wall.

"Oh."

He walks over and examines himself for a moment. I watch him and see a tender smile on his face. It disappears as soon as he faces me again.

"I suppose this'll have to do!" he says with a mischevious smile.

"It had better!" I pout. He comes over and pats my head like he's comforting a child.

"Come see me before you leave, ok?" he says, once again sad.

I can't say anything to him... I didn't plan on saying goodbye. How can I tell him that? Without another words, he leaves me to my thoughts.

Later that night, I creep over to the door of the Master's study and hold the note up to the door. 'Hmm... one knife should do nicely,' I think as I pull one out and stab through the papaer and into the wood.

Master,

I believe the time has come for me to explore this world on my own. I couldn't dream of leaving the Brotherhood, so do not worry. I'll still take contracts and try to make you proud of me... Please take care of Lukas. He's an idiot sometimes, but he's got a good heart.

Even though I don't sign my name he'll know it was from me. Who else would be leaving? Who else would worry about Lukas? If that didn't give it away, then my knife would. I'd had them made so that the handles all looked like bears. I'd always liked when Makar and Lukas called me 'Little Bear' and 'Teddy Bear'. There was nothing left for me to do. No reasons good enough for me to stay. I had to leave so that my brothers and sisters could be safer. So Lukas could be safer. It was time for me to be lonely once again.

A/N: So, the whole time I was writing the ending with Lukas and Anya, I was listening to Gackt's 'Last Song'. I need to make a soundtrack to this chapter!