Endless Waltz

By: Daishi Prime

-32 – Empire-

Staring at the gate of the fortress, Noriko wavered, then shook her head. "I'm... not ready to go back yet, Laura."

Laura glanced at her, then slid an arm around her shoulder again. "Okay. But we can't stay here. They're probably worried about us."

Noriko shrank a little, then shook her head, "Not back to school. I... I can't believe I yelled at her like that."

Laura rolled her eyes where Noriko could not see, but her tone was as understanding as she knew how to be. "Anyone would yell at that news, Riko-chan. I'd've done worse."

"It can't be real. I can't believe it."

Laura almost said something quick, then thought it over for a second and rephrased it. "Then let's go find out. If something had happened to them, where would they be now?"

"A temple, an Imperial temple, being... prepared."

Laura nodded, "So, we hit up the palace staff, find out where, and pay our respects. Sound good?"

"Kyoto, then," Noriko murmured, "I can reach Kyoto from the school." Then she stiffened, giving Laura a concerned look, "But what about you? You said..."

"I said you surprised me," Laura interrupted, "and I don't think you really meant to bring me here, but being me I didn't let go. See, I'm like a limpet mine," She grinned, grabbed Noriko with her other arm, and started mock-wrestling her, "I'll never let go! Once I'm locked on we're stuck until I go boom!"

"Laura!" Noriko tried to sound offended, but was mostly giggling when Laura stopped spinning them around.

"See? If you mean to bring me along, it won't hurt at all."

"Okay, okay," Noriko said, shifting free of Laura's grip. "Give me a minute to make sure I know what I'm doing."

Luara nodded and stepped back a bit. They had been in this place, by her watch, for seven hours or so, and she was getting hungry. Richly appointed though the place was, there was no food – nothing Laura recognized as such, at least – and Laura was more than a little starving. But Noriko had spent almost that entire time crying, sleeping fitfully, or talking about nothing at all. Hunger could wait until Laura was sure Noriko was not going to fall apart again.

"I think I found it," Noriko said, extending a hand, "hold on tight."

Laura took her hand, and was very glad Noriko kept her eyes closed. The painful pinch she had felt in Noriko's first teleport was just as bad, and she could not help grimacing. Her face was smooth when Noriko opened her eyes, though, finding them once again in the converted workroom. Laura put a finger to her lips before Noriko could say anything, and called up Paradox. Wrapping both of them in the Cloak of Shades, she kept a grip on Noriko's hand as she opened the door.

There was no sign of Hidan or anyone else in the hallway, so Laura led them to the stairs, then all the way to the roof. Before stepping out, she whispered, "The teleport barrier's thinnest going up. We fly straight up, but carefully – don't want to lose the Cloak – then you teleport us once we're clear. 'Kay?"

Invisible even to Laura, Noriko squeezed her hand, and Laura pushed the door open carefully. The class building's roof was not one of the campus' popular hang-out spots, but she would not put it past Hidan or one of the volunteers to have co-opted it as such. It was high enough to see over most of the trees, flat, and open to the sky so it was well lit. Caution proved worthwhile, as there was one of the volunteers standing at the corner closest to the dorms, looking down at the campus. They took to the air without a word, Laura watching the volunteer carefully for any sign he noticed them. But he continued to watch the ground.

00000

Vita watched the two signatures float up from the classroom building, and did not know whether to be relieved or annoyed. The wayward pair had returned, which was good, but they were just as plainly trying to sneak off campus again.

'Hayate-sama? Noriko and Laura are back, but they're trying to leave again.'

Hayate's response was quick, 'Are the trackers still in place?'

Vita needed a moment to verify that, 'Yeah, still there. I've got a teleport lock on them again, as well, but we'd have to bring the teleport barrier back down to use it.'

Hayate was silent for a few seconds, before ordering, 'Track them, let me know where they go, but for the moment don't do anything. I think I know where they're going, and I will meet them there.'

'Okay, I'll let you know... they just teleported, like you do. How'd she do that this soon? You didn't give her anything from Sara's library, did you?'

Hayate chuckled, 'No, I did not give her anything, but there's a certain instinctive element to Deva magic, and Noriko has been studying it since last year. Besides, the teleport in and out of the pocket dimensions are the same, basically, as teleporting around a planet. Besides, Laura is with her and you know how she is. Just let us know where they end up.'

00000

Laura managed not to lose her lunch when Noriko teleported them to the Kyoto palace, but she did not manage to keep Noriko from noticing this time. Shaking her head, she silently pushed Noriko towards the people – mostly security, from the pistols – already responding. Noriko hesitated only a moment, then sighed and nodded.

Noriko held up a hand when the first security woman reached them, "Please, I have only a little time. Where is my family?"

The woman hesitated just a moment, glancing back towards the building. Then she turned back, bowed, and answered softly, "Kiomizudera, Heika. They will be transported to the Imperial Palace in Tokyo to lie in state tomorrow. Heika... we were told you would be remaining on the campus until Parliament needed you."

Noriko shook her head, "I will be, but... I need to see them. I will return to the campus within the hour."

Noriko did not ask this time, but Laura was half expecting the teleport. It still was not pleasant, but the repeated teleports did not appear to be making her feel worse, each was a discrete event. When the shimmer cleared and they were in front of Kiomizudera, Noriko said, "I'm sorry, Laura-chan. I know I'm not doing it quite right, but..."

"There's no time," Laura said. "Don't worry about it, Riko-chan, I'll be fine. For now, they don't look happy."

A pair of shrine-maidens were stepping under the ropes across Kiomizudera's gate, and they were, in deed, frowning softly. "Hime-sama," the closest said, "you honor us with your presence."

Noriko returned the woman's bow, "Thank you, shrine-maiden. I am here to see my family."

The woman hesitated, almost turning to the younger woman behind her, then bowed deeply. "I am very sorry, Hime-sama, however the shrine is closed. The Emperor..."

"Please," Noriko said, "I need to see them, need to... know."

"I am sorry, Hime-sama, but it is not permitted."

Laura put a hand on Noriko's shoulder, seeing tears about to start. "Lady," Laura said, "We're going in, we're going to see her family. You can either keep things clean and friendly, or you and your fellows can watch from out here."

The shrine-maiden did not bother bowing, glaring at Laura, "You have no standing here, gaijin. This is holy ground, Japanese only, and only those cleansed and prepared for the rights..."

"My paladin goes with me," Noriko interrupted, all trace of hesitance gone. Laura twitched in surprise and looked at her, finding Noriko's face set just short of glaring. "I am going in to see my family. With your cooperation, or without it. Move."

The shrine maiden stared at her in surprise for a moment, then shivered and bowed, stepping aside. Noriko swept past her, magically untying the rope with a gesture, and proceeded into the shrine. Laura took up position behind Noriko, wondering where and how Noriko had heard about her plans. Just short of the main building, a man in priest robes stepped out, placing himself in the center of the stairs. He waited there for them, then bowed deeply when they arrived.

"Hime-sama," he said, "if you could please indulge me, it would be most beneficial if you could wait outside for a few minutes."

Noriko paused, obviously considering him, then asked, "Why?"

"The preparations and rights are private, out of respect for the dead, Hime-sama. Please, a few minutes to preserve their dignity."

Noriko nodded, "A few minutes, then."

The man finally rose from his bow, and gestured to the side, "It would be my honor to show you about the grounds, Hime-sama."

While they walked, at a painfully slow pace by Laura's standards, she telepathically asked Noriko, 'So I'm your Paladin, huh?'

Noriko flushed a little and gave her a brief, guilty smile. 'Sorry. I just remembered what Szash called you, and it fits you so well. You try to do the right thing, but you never will admit when you're wrong. Then she had to go and make me mad.'

'I don't admit I'm wrong because I'm never wrong, you people just don't appreciate my genius,' Laura replied, sticking out her tongue just a little through her grin. 'You got it from Szash, though? Not sure I like that.'

'Respect from an enemy is not necessarily a bad thing, though I admit, I can do without any of this enemy's opinions. But 'paladin' does fit you, Laura. Where else would I have gotten it from?'

'Snooping around in my head, or my PDA,' Laura replied. She fished out the item in question, woke it, and brought up one of her private documents. 'This is what I was going to talk to you about yesterday when we had our little disagreement. It's what I want to do with my class, those of us who don't fit in Yussef's Myrmidons, but aren't as enlightened as Cid-chan and Didier.'

Noriko took the PDA, quickly scanning the document. The more she read, the more surprised she looked, and Laura was actually starting to get a little worried. It was not really the time for this sort of thing, after all, but maybe Noriko could use the distraction...

'This is you all over, Laura-chan,' Noriko said after a moment, 'Twilight Paladin... I like it, it's a wonderful sentiment, but people will see it as meddling, vigilantism, won't they?'

'Probably,' Laura agreed, shrugging, 'but I sort of realized some people will always assume the worst about us. Look at the Revenants. Heck, look at the Rich-Witch. But the creed gives us a standard, a purpose, and the next tab has the two oaths. I figure, I'll match training levels to the oaths – when you're skilled enough to live up to the first oath, you take it to get any further training. Those will be the control.'

Flipping to the next tab, Noriko asked as she read, 'How do you hold someone to an oath, though?'

Laura grimaced and shrugged, 'Yeah, well, never said it was perfect. I trust myself, mostly. I would trust you to keep them, and Allison and Juliet, maybe the twins, Kaemon definitely. But yeah, internal rules still need some work. But it's where we're starting, and it'll satisfy Sensei's requirements, and gives us a goal to work towards, a standard. Something other than just "I want to be the strongest". Something other than just power.'

Noriko was silent for a time, following the priest quietly. Laura let her think, focusing her attention on their surroundings to make sure the priests did not try a fast one. She was half worried they would try to take the bodies out while Noriko was distracted. When the silent shrine maiden from the front gate appeared, however, the priest changed their course and led them into the main building, deep into the private areas visitors were not supposed to see. When he told them Noriko's family was just beyond the next door, Noriko paused, and silently told her, 'I'll take those oaths, Laura, and I'll hold you to them, if you promise me the same.'

Laura had no idea how to respond to that, so she tried to keep her face neutral, just nodded, and followed Noriko in. Hayate was standing against the wall to one side, with a number of priests whose expressions ranged from neutral to sour. Arrayed on tables, everything but their faces covered by heavy white sheets, were Noriko's family – her mother and father, her sisters, her uncle and cousins, her grandparents. Seeing all of them lying there, so still and pale, was a shock, despite knowing about it beforehand. It was too disturbing for Laura to look at them for long, only a few seconds to identify them, before she had to find something else to watch.

She turned her attention to Noriko, and almost fell apart anyhow. Watching her best friend crumple into herself was as painful as seeing her family was disturbing. Laura followed her as Noriko stumbled to her mother, kneeling next to her and resting a hand gently on Noriko's back. She was Noriko's Paladin, and her friend. 'I'll watch over you, Riko-chan,' Laura promised.

00000

Cidela had no idea where she was, or how she got there. She remembered stepping back from a wounded soldier, frowning as another soldier she had healed ten minutes before forced his way back out of the hospital to return to the lines, then a touch on her back. Now she was standing in darkness, with nothing around her but endless black. There was a tugging, an odd sensation of being pulled, gently, in a particular direction. The only problem was, that direction kept changing every time she noticed it.

"I can't reach Rafiq or Okaa-chan," she said, looking around for the least little hint, but there was still nothing. Shrugging, "I guess I see if that pull ever leads me somewhere. Where is it... that way," she decided, turning a little to her left. She started walking, though she could not see anything beneath her feet. She felt like she was standing on something, but there was nothing there.

That brought up something else strange – she could see herself perfectly well. She was wearing her barrier jacket, though she had no idea where Hippocrates was, and she could see herself quite clearly. There was no source of light that she could see, just the endless dark, but she could see herself fine.

She had no idea how long she walked, following the tugging as it changed direction again and again, and thought that it quite likely that she was going in circles. But there was nothing else, so she continued walking. Eventually, though, she did see something – a hazy object appeared, a wavering glow in the nothingness. Setting aside the tugging, she headed for that glow.

As she closed, it resolved itself into a scene, like one of the scrying windows her mother created with Klarer Wind. Through it she could see what looked like the inside of a tent roof – there was a pole from one side, with panels of heavy fabric curving up to it, and she could see part of a wall where shorter poles were joined by ropes and more heavy fabric panels. The image rippled, then a face appeared in it. It was a woman's face, structured like her own but paler than anyone Cidela knew. The woman looked concerned at first, then her face shifted to an annoyed frown.

"You again," she said, making Cidela jump a little. "Tche, you told me I'd see you again, but I really hoped you were wrong."

Cidela hesitated, then asked, "I'm sorry, but... I do not remember you?"

The woman's lips twisted in a grimace, "Of course you don't, this is the first time you've encountered me, the second time I've encountered you. Don't bother trying to understand it, you don't have the mindset to comprehend the Void. No, you just cast yourself into it without a thought and only the barest of anchors."

"I did not send myself here," Cidela tried to argue, "I don't know how I got here."

"I've seen it, girl. You ran and hid from something scary, and you picked a piss-poor place to do it. Regardless, you need to get moving. The sooner you do, the sooner you'll find your way back. You will, I've seen that, to." The woman grimaced, looking at her distastefully, "You're going to destroy almost every nation on Homeworld if you return, blood and fire under pitiless light. The sad part is, anything I see without your return is worse. So get to walking, kid, just remember never to tell anyone who you are or when you're from. Oh, and next time, do me a favor, and turn the glare the down."

The woman gestured, and the wavering of the portal became more pronounced. Cidela reacted, afraid of being left alone in the nothingness again, seizing control of the portal somehow and trying to go through it. There was an odd stretching sensation, the world swirled around her, and then she was standing on water, in a wide bowl, as the woman she had been talking to tumbled backwards.

Surprised and falling or not, the woman still managed to make her opinion known. "Gods above! Don't do that! The world's unstable enough as it is thanks to my idiot brother, it doesn't need you punching holes in it!"

"I… I'm sorry," Cidela said, feeling a little guilty, "but I have no idea where I am, or how to get home." She tried to step down to help the woman to her feet, but found that her feet could not leave the water.

"You're in the Void. Just follow your body back to it."

"You can't help me?"

The woman grimaced, rolling to sit up again, "I don't even like you, girl, or anything you're going to do. You're going to undo everything I've ever done, everything my so-called allies have fought for. Why would I help you? You may be the best of bad options, but you're still a terrible option."

Cidela rocked, taken aback by the woman's vehemence. "I... I'm sorry. I... how can you know that? I don't even know who you are?"

"I'm Kessenra Elasesh, third Forecaster of the Free Circles, former Keeper of the Futures for the Masters of Vision." She sneered, "I'm also skilled enough to get rid of annoying children. Go back to yourself, girl, and leave me alone."

Kessenra gestured, power trailing from her fingers, and Cidela abruptly found herself back in the blackness, with no transition. Blinking in surprise, she looked around, finding no sign of the portal, then sighed. "Now what am I supposed to do?"

Her only response was a resumption of the tugging, leading her off in another direction.

00000

Sitting in Signum's office, video-conference up but waiting, Hidan could not keep from drumming his fingers impatiently. Hayate had gone to fetch Noriko, had told him where the girl was, but it had been too long since he saw her. Noriko was all that was left of his charge, and he was failing that charge letting her go wander around unguarded.

People began filing into the room at the far end of the video conference, and the three smaller windows at the bottom lit up with faces. Hidan knew them all, though most of them did not know him. Technically he had no place in this conversation, he was merely a 'private employee' of the Imperial Family. But the Emperor had issued several orders before he passed on. Simply passing the Regalia into Hidan's keeping had been a pointed break with tradition, and now Hidan found himself in de-facto command of Noriko's security, and thus of all security for the Imperial Family.

The Prime Minister and his most critical cabinet members were present, though their usual retinues of staff and aides were absent. More unusually, there were two priests present. The screens at the bottom showed the ranking officers of the Air, Sea, and Ground Self Defense Forces. Fifteen people, in total, to decide Japan's future.

It had been impossible to keep word of the deaths secret, though the reason had so far been held very close. Too many ambulances had appeared at the Imperial Compound, and remained there too long for the not to catch wind of it. Still, it was only a day after the event, not even a full twenty-four hours, and the public was still stuck in disbelief and denial. The Prime Minister had already declared a week of mourning prior to the state funeral, and large portions of his staff and the entire city government of Tokyo were working together to hastily throw together a funeral plan. The Prime Minister would probably declare a further month of formal mourning, and the country would no doubt mourn longer.

But the people were currently still unbelieving, though Hidan doubted that would last until the funeral. Soon, he knew, they would believe, and by then the government had to have some sort of plan, some sort of response. It was not a matter of their jobs, not even for the career politicians. It was not even a matter of honor or law. It was simply true – without a plan, even if that plan required their lives for failing to protect and preserve the Emperor, Japan would collapse. That thought brought its own pain, as several members of the Imperial Family's security detachments had already taken their own lives, and he could not blame them for it. Many more members of the security staff had resigned, or fallen apart, and again, Hidan could not blame them. It was, in microcosm, what would happen to Japan without some sort of coordinated response, especially once word leaked that the deaths had been deliberate murder.

Hidan only half listened to the formalities that opened the meeting, knowing it would be some time before they got around to the business at hand. Most of his attention was given over to the phone on the desk, waiting for it to ring to tell him Hayate had retrieved Noriko. Not knowing the girl's status was driving him insane with nerves.

Sure enough, it was a good twenty minutes before the conversation finally turned to the most pressing matter. The Interior Minister was discussing politics in the Diet, shaking his head, "The fact is, despite the critical nature of the situation, there are not enough votes to amend the constitution before March, at the earliest. It will take at least that long to convince the less stringent 'no' votes to change their minds."

"We cannot wait that long," the Prime Minister said, shaking his head, "we cannot go so long without an Emperor in the current circumstances. Symbolic or not, the Emperor is the head of our nation."

"There are also other considerations," one of the priests said, just loud enough to be heard. "Japan's safety is dependant upon an Emperor in possession of the Regalia. The Kamekaze cannot be sustained without one of divine blood to call it."

"Then we must find a male blood relative, far enough removed to have survived, but still close enough to inherit," the Prime Minster said.

That made Hidan start, and he said without thinking, "Noriko is the Imperial Family. By order of the Emperor." The entire room stared at him for a few seconds, but he remained silent. He had not even meant to say that, though it needed saying. He was attending the conference only to monitor it.

The Prime Minister gave him almost a minute, then sighed, and raised his hands in a hopeless gesture, "Then we are at an impasse. Jinichiro, please continue working with the Diet. We need those votes as quickly as possible. Riku," the Law Minister looked up, "please dig deeper into the legal side of things, perhaps renewing some statute from the pre-War era, or a regency. Hidan, can you make the princess available for an appearance? It would reassure the people greatly to see her."

Hidan nodded, "I will speak with the school's headmistress, we can probably arrange something here."

The Prime Minister started to say something, but the Law Minister interrupted, "How technical can we be? What I mean is... we all know there are sometimes shocking differences between the letter of the law and its intent or execution. So, in that sense, how technical can we be? How much legalistic maneuvering and reinterpretation of words can we undertake?"

"That would depend on the outcome," the Prime Minister said, frowning in thought, "what were you thinking?"

Riku shook her head slightly, "just a thought, technicalities can often be surprisingly useful, though it would depend on the judge. But..." she shook her head, "nothing solid, but if we're willing to be a little legalistic and technical, we may be able to get some working room. I'll look into it."

The Prime Minister nodded, "If it resolves this situation, be as 'technical' as you like. For now, while we wait we are going to have to do something to reassure people. The funerals are well in hand, but what else can we do? Ideas, people."

The meeting continued on for another half hour, most of which Hidan paid little attention to. Once again he found himself waiting at the phone, actually catching himself drumming his fingers again, at one point. Eventually, the meeting broke up, the various players filing out to begin carrying out the few decisions made.

When Hidan reached to turn off the video, however, the Prime Minister and Minister of Justice both gestured for him to wait. They saw the others out politely enough, then settled down again. "Hidan," the Prime Minister said, "I need to ask you a question that is... presumptuous. But I need to know, to hold the government together."

That set Hidan on guard, half-expecting the question and resenting it already. "I'll answer it if I can, sir."

"Can she handle this?"

Hidan jerked a little, and almost snapped back an unthinking 'yes'. But he was too professional, despite his perturbed emotions, to do that. Frowning just short of glaring at the Prime Minister, he admitted, "I do not yet know. Before this, I would have said yes. She is intelligent, strong-willed, well trained. But now... I will not be able to answer your question until I see her, and she has refused all visitors since being informed of the attack. She has only talked to Hayate and to her best friend here at the school. Nothing unusual, she deserves a chance to mourn privately. But I cannot answer you yet."

"Let me know as soon as you can, please," the Prime Minister said, then turned to the Minister of Justice. "Ruki?"

She nodded, "The technicalities thing I mentioned, I've got another question for you, Hidan-san. The Imperial Family's staff is fully occupied, so I am hoping you can help me. Do you know where Noriko-hime's birth certificate is?"

00000

While Noriko was willing to give Hidan a few minutes after she returned to the campus, and accepted the Relics with due gravity, she spent the rest of the day surrounded by her friends and teachers. No one actually told him, or the volunteers, that their presence was unwelcome, it was simply clear that anyone attempting to intrude would be redirected. With so many losses piled atop one another so soon, the children were drawing very tightly together.

As it turned out, the best part of the day was a conversation he had with Laura, a somewhat longer conversation than he had with Noriko. Most of it consisted of artfully phrased questions and hints, but just before returning to the Girls' Dorm common room and her classmates, Laura told him bluntly, "Where she goes, I go. Not that I don't trust you, but I'm responsible for protecting her now. She asked me to, and I'm not going to let her down. I'm not going to tell you how to do your job, but where ever she goes, I'm going to be right there with her, so plan for it, 'kay? 'Kay."

Hidan considered that statement very carefully, following her into the common room to observe. It only took him a few minutes to confirm the gist of Laura's statement. Laura was not in proper body-guard position, not at a wall or corner, but right next to Noriko. She still behaved like the hyper-active kid she was, but there was no mistaking the watchfulness. Every time someone entered or left the room, Laura watched them. Anytime anyone approached Noriko, Laura watched them. She patently did not have the skills and training, but she had the will and desire.

Slipping back out of the common room, Hidan exited the dorm completely, walking out onto the quad, thinking. Laura's statement – half offer, half challenge – was too good to pass up, he knew that. But she needed training, beyond Signum's, and he had no idea if any of the Wolkenritter had the skills a bodyguard needed. Thinking of that reminded him of the ever-growing hole in the Imperial Family's security service. Even those who did not resign in shame, or worse, would need time to recover, something to restore their confidence. Then there was the fact that, even with the Imperial Family reduced to just Noriko, Hidan knew he would have to bring in many new faces, faces nearly as untrained as Laura.

He knew several ways to train them, from security corporations to experienced retired veterans that could be talked into returning. The problem was, Hidan trusted very few of the people who would be involved. He had been entirely honest with the Prime Minister – Noriko was the Imperial Family, and he would take no chances with her that he was not forced to. He needed the best teacher he could find, the best he could trust.

He had little time to dwell on that, however, as a colleague arrived shortly after his conversation with Laura. The man had secure communications gear, the security plan for Noriko's press-conference, and a draft of her speech, written for her by the Prime Minister's staff. Noriko and Hayate had agreed to the press conferences, on the condition that they handle all transport and that no questions be taken. Hidan had no problems at all with those conditions, though some of the Prime Minister's staff had grumbled at the second requirement.

Even with Hayate handling the transport, there were still security arrangements to be made. Despite Laura's statement, Hidan made no alterations to the security plans to include her, beyond a blanket order not to interfere with her. He had another idea for her, and rather preferred that she remain somewhat disconnected from the formal arrangements.

They left the campus as the sun was descending. Noriko's statement would be carried live, followed by a shorter statement by the Prime Minister, who would take questions. Given Hayate's willingness to assure magical security, and the difficulty of setting up a media presence at the school, the decision had been made to have the press conference at the Imperial Palace in Tokyo. Out of respect for the staff, and to avoid disrupting the ancient wards on the Palace, Hayate teleported them to a secluded street-side entrance, which was nonetheless thronged with cameras.

Those cameras were mostly disappointed in their attempts to get pictures of Noriko. Hayate, Signum, Nanoha, Fate, and Laura surrounded the princess before the teleport began, and between them managed to physically block the cameras until the gate had closed. The staff tried to whisk Noriko away to prepare her, only to find their polite insistence on Imperial Privacy laughed off by Laura and serenely ignored by Hayate, who insisted that all of them accompany her, save Fate who insisted on reviewing security with Hidan. An hour later Hidan passed off checking the arriving press personnel to the Palace's regular security staff, and slipped off to intercept Noriko's party on their way to the waiting area.

While the Prime Minister spoke with Noriko, expressing his own personal condolences, Hidan pulled Laura aside. "I'm taking you at your word," he told her, "but you need training to do this seriously. I'll arrange that with Yagami-san, but for tonight, here's what you do. Call up your armor, and you stay right behind the princess's right shoulder. Arm's length behind, no more, and just far enough to the side to leave her arm and yours clear. If anything does happen, your first and only responsibility is to get her out of the line of fire, then out of the area."

Laura frowned at him, "I thought security was supposed to stay out of sight?"

Hidan shook his head, "Generally, yes. But your presence will be a pointed statement. Also, there's the old adage of 'begin as you mean to continue'. You said you would be at her back wherever she goes. Live up to that now, and it will be harder for anyone to prevent in the future."

Laura was still frowning, but nodded. "Right, I can do that easy. Anyone I should be watching?"

"Us," Hidan said, then grinned at her confusion. "You don't have the experience to recognize a hidden threat in a crowd. We do. There will be five security personnel in evidence in the room, one in each corner, plus myself at the rear door. We will watch the media. You watch us. Study how we keep an eye on the crowd, but mostly be aware of who we monitor closely. If we notice something amiss, we will try to deal with it, but if something does happen, we will probably spot it first, and then you will have to act. Understand?"

"Watch you and your people, and if one of you spots trouble, hit it fast and hard, then get Riko-chan out of here," Laura replied, nodding, "Got it."

It was not quite accurate, and the professional in Hidan dreaded what Laura would do to someone unfortunate enough to be labeled 'trouble' tonight, but he let it go. Laura was new, after all, and at least he could be certain that anyone who did cause trouble around Noriko in the near future would never do so a second time.

All too soon, it was time for the conference to begin, and Hidan took up his station behind the press crews, trying to keep an eye on everything at once. He watched Noriko walk out on stage, noting her slight tremors, and feeling a bit of pride as she controlled them. He could tell she did not want to be there, but was carrying through. Then the moderator signaled her to start, her face changed, and Hidan saw her eyes.

They were no different from the eyes he had seen the night before, the last sight he remembered of his Emperor.

00000

Noriko could feel herself shaking as she walked out onto the stage, feeling the eyes of not just the press, but her entire nation, on her. She did not want to do this at all, certainly not now, but she recognized that her people needed to see her. They needed that reassurance more than she needed privacy or time to grieve, and the threat of Al Hanthis meant none of them had the time.

Making her more nervous was the Prime Minister's probable reaction when this was over. She had read the speech his people provided, even the last-minute final version they had given her while the staff helped her change into formal clothes and television makeup. For what it was, it was a good speech, but it basically amounted to a request for patience while the government figured out what to do. Noriko had read it, found it insufficient, and then written her own, with Hayate's and Vita's help.

Japan did not need to be patient, and did not have the time to consider. Al Hanthis was an extant and vicious threat, and the city's actions required an immediate and thorough response. As much as Japan was watching, the entire world would be watching, and the more Japan hesitated to respond, the more other nations would see surrender as the safest option. Just as China had no choice but to defend Hong Kong against a foe they knew they could not fight, Japan had to respond to this attack to prove that it could be done, to prove that Al Hanthis was not all powerful.

She knew how to say that, what she wanted to communicate, but the fact was, she was about to drop a massive political and social bombshell on her country, which was already reeling. Still, as she set her hands on the podium, and Senbonzakura faded the teleprompters out of her vision and replaced them with her own speech, she knew this was the right thing to do. It was not until she scanned over the crowd that she realized Laura had followed her out on stage. She had to work not to react, but after a few seconds found her friend's presence comforting, helping to still her shaking fingers.

Focusing on the cameras, as the Prime Minister's press liaison cued her to start, she took a deep breath, schooled her face from a blank mask to a determined stare, and began, "People of Japan, my people. Last night, with malice aforethought, the city-state of Al Hanthis committed a cowardly, vicious act of murder. Last night, agents of the city-state of Al Hanthis, by means of magic most foul, reached around the planet and..." she had to pause and forced herself to continue, "... and murdered my family, the Imperial Family."

Noriko could almost hear the Prime Minister having an aneurysm off stage to her right, but she ignored that. There was no way he would interfere with her now, not with the cameras on her and the entire country watching. "When the city-state of Al Hanthis appeared, Japan remained neutral. When Al Hanthis attacked Cairo and Hong Kong, Japan remained neutral. Japan's only involvement in Al Hanthis' predations has been to allow Yagami Hayate, a private citizen, to operate in support of China's People's Liberation Army in defense of Hong Kong, and in defense of the city of Cairo. My family's only involvement has been my own, again private, assistance to the PLA, again in defense of Hong Kong, under Yagami-sensei's leadership. That assistance was mine, not my family's. Yet Al Hanthis chose to strike at my family.

"At Hong Kong, the People's Liberation Army demonstrated to Al Hanthis that, however powerful they think they are, however justified they think their assaults and predations, Terran nations and peoples will oppose them, and will do so successfully. At Hong Kong, Yagami-sensei demonstrated that we Terrans have the power to face and defeat Al Hanthis' vaunted mage-soldiers. Because of that, I could understand such an attack on Yagami-san, on her people, even on myself and my fellow students.

"But Al Hanthis did not attack my teachers, or my fellows. They attacked me, and through me, they attacked my family. They attempted to kill me, and by targeting me, to kill my family. I could understand arguments that, by allowing me to assist Yagami-sensei in defending Hong Kong – a city whose inhabitants had done Al Hanthis no wrong, in a nation that had done Al Hanthis no wrong – my father, my uncle, and my grandfather and Emperor, they could be considered legitimate targets. That I could understand, though I could never forgive it.

"But Al Hanthis did not limit their assassinations to my father, my uncle, or my grandfather. They attacked my mother, other aunts and uncles, close cousins and cousins who have never been part of the Imperial family. They murdered my sisters, and my uncle's children, in cold blood, deliberately, knowingly. They chose to kill children, innocent children, because my family allowed me to follow the dictates of my honor and defend an unjustly attacked nation from a threat that nation had never conceived of."

She had to pause again, blinking away tears, remembering the still faces of her sisters, remembering her inability that morning to do more than look at them before she had to turn away. Even with Laura and Hayate with her, that had been too much for her. She needed a few seconds to regain control of herself and her voice, but when she continued, her voice was harder, steadier.

"Al Hanthis took this action, committed this atrocity, because it is entirely in keeping with their philosophy and the only methods they have to enforce that philosophy. They are a lone city-state, which seeks dominion over an entire planet. They have a population of thousands, hoping to rule over billions. Even with their magic, they do not have the population to begin to dominate Earth through civilized means, through economics and diplomacy. They do not even have the numbers to conquer. So they have only fear. In Cairo, in Hong Kong, and now in Japan, they have shown that they welcome, and even revel in, the fear of their enemies. They attacked Hong Kong to prove they could attack and destroy wherever they willed. Now they have murdered my family, Japan's Imperial Family, our Emperor, to prove that they can reach anyone, anywhere, anytime. They think this attack will terrorize us, and the rest of the world, into kneeling before them. They think to terrorize us into a mistake, into collapsing, into fleeing before their so-called might.

"They are right, to some extent. They can murder anyone, in horrible numbers, at their merest whim. This does not make it right, or just, or even necessary, for such action is none of those things. Yet Al Hanthis turned to these methods at the slightest provocation, seeking to impose their will upon us through fear that they will use these methods again. They seek, as many before them have, to conquer Japan, to rule Japan, indirectly and directly. They will fail in that goal!"

Noriko could hear her heart pounding now, and struggled to keep her words steady, but not emotionless, letting just enough show to demonstrate her resolve. "Japan has stood for a thousand years and more. In that time, we have made mistakes, hateful and terrible mistakes often enough. We have our own records of atrocities that shame our memories. But we learned from those mistakes, from the mistakes of our neighbors and allies. We have learned the folly of foisting our will on other nations through force of arms and fear of reprisal. We have learned the error of believing our way to be the only way. Al Hanthis has not learned those lessons, and seeks to commit those same errors – the same errors they made in facing the Circles before their city was banished to the Void. Japan has been down that road, seen where it leads, and we will not go there again.

"We are the oldest continuous nation in human history! No invader, no conqueror, has ever set foot on these islands, save that we permitted them. The Mongol hordes were swept away, the Chinese never dared attempt a landing. Even the Americans, with their Marines and their planes and their atomic bombs, set foot on our islands only after we allowed them here. They remain here only because we deign to allow them to remain.

"To Al Hanthis, I say, we will not deign to allow this! We are the Empire of the Rising Sun! Our nation is old beyond your understanding, stable beyond your comprehension. We will neither repeat our own mistakes, nor allow you inflict your own folly on us or our neighbors. We will oppose you wherever you go, wherever we find you, and you will rue the day you chose to attack us in such a cowardly and spiteful manner. You have proven yourselves utterly without scruple, honor, or redeeming feature, and we will see you pay for your crimes!

"To my fellow Terrans, neighbors, former enemies and current allies alike, I say, Japan will stand with you against Al Hanthis. We will provide whatever we may to aid your battles, teach your people, arm your soldiers. We ask only that you extend the same aid to any nation that opposes Al Hanthis, any nation suffering under their iron heel. Japan will stand with any who stands against Al Hanthis, and when this travesty is over, when the battles finish and the killing finally stops, we will still stand, with all Terran nations, victorious!"

She found herself shaking again, but not from fear. It was adrenalin, now, and she realized only after she paused for breath that she had lost control, her voice had rose far more than she intended. She had not, quite, been shouting, but she was demonstrating far more emotion than she should have, more than her people were used to. So she took a few seconds again, calming herself, regaining her equilibrium.

When she spoke again, her voice was fully calm, collected. "To the people of my own beloved nation, I would say this. I know I am not the Emperor's son, or even his grandson. I can only apologize for an accident of birth. But I am all that is left of my ancient and noble bloodline. I do not ask you to follow me as you did my grandfather, as you would have followed my uncle, but I ask that you give me a chance, in this war thrust upon us, to preserve my family's legacy. Give me that chance, and I will prove your trust well placed. I will never betray Japan, I will not allow any stain upon our nation's honor. Our ancestors have made many mistakes, but we have learned from them. I ask you now to show me, to show the world, to show those cowardly monsters in Al Hanthis, what we have learned. We are the Empire of the Rising Sun. Let us bring the world a new day."

She stepped to the side of the podium, bowed slightly to the cameras, then turned and, spine straight as an arrow, head high, marched off the stage behind the curtain. She was vaguely aware of motion amongst the audience, but all her attention was focused on Hayate, standing waiting in the wings. Noriko marched straight to her, barely slowing, before falling against her in silent tears. Only Hayate's arms about her kept her from collapsing to the floor.

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As he listened to Noriko's speech, it required every ounce of self control and professionalism Hidan had not to burst into relieved laughter, to limit his expression a slight smile. It was far from the most polished speech he had ever heard, and he knew there were any number of ways people could and would object to it in the future. But the flaws made it all the more effective, all the more powerful.

This was not some falsified politician scoring points with the voters, some manipulative bastard pretending to be more than she was. This was a hurt and grieving young woman, who knew the source of her pain, of her country's pain, and was calling that source out. She was being completely honest, and everyone who heard that speech would understand that.

Hidan knew no decisions had been made, no plans finished, but listening to that speech, he knew none of that mattered. Noriko, last member of the Japanese Imperial Family, had just declared war on Al Hanthis, and after that speech, in such circumstances, her nation would follow her without hesitation. He had no idea how it would work out, in legal or practical terms, but that night, Noriko became Japan's Emperor. There was still trouble ahead, there was every possibility that Japan would still fail and fall, but they would not be leaderless.

As Noriko left the stage, every line of her bearing determined pride, Hidan's smile grew. Despite precedent, despite their own petty pride, every man and woman among the media crews rose to their feet and bowed to her. A few went further, fully prostrating themselves before their princess.

Hidan waited until Noriko disappeared behind the curtains to the right, before saying softly, "Rise."

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Author's Notes: 'Heika' translates, roughly, as 'Your Majesty' or 'His Majesty', used to address or refer to the Emperor. The woman who said it above was technically (and legally, I believe) incorrect in using it to refer to Noriko, but could be forgiven in the circumstances. I also just realized on the first complete read-through just how much Cidela's situation mirrors that of Hayate in On The Path of Vengeance, a repetition that escaped me in planning this. I'd apologize for being repetitious, but it won't turn out the same way, and it's useful for making a couple of particular points towards the end of the story.

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phily: Blood Penance is a catalyst for several events, most of them negative, yes. Regarding your guesses as to who gets what title, 'Reborn' would work for Cidela, thanks to the Deva magic, and would also work for Noriko for the same reason, but both girls wind up with other titles. The Dark Witch is Natalia, largely due to her betrayal. With the Black Dogs, while I've only mentioned it in passing, the team was put together as part of, and draw their collective name from, Project Cuchulain. The new teams will still be the same project, and will retain the Black Dog label (much as the various SEAL teams are all SEALS). Whether or not they pick up devices, or Natalia repeats her betrayal, or Hayate 'awakens' is all speculation, though, and the answers would ruin the plot, so I'm afraid you'll have to wait and see:). Killing Noriko's family is going to have all sorts of repercussions, both for Al Hanthis and for everyone else, initial stages of which will be worked out over the next few chapters. Things are definitely personal for the entire student body now, Yussef's anticipation in the last chapter is just the first expression of that. The reaction to Szash's offers were actually calmer, with two exceptions – Natalia snapped, and Szash's attitude grated on Laura's nerves. Everyone else was offended by collected. Noriko is already taking power – whether she legally can or not is one thing, but she's taking it all the same. Her reactions above indicate some emotional instability, which will have its place, and that speech of hers was certainly supposed to be angry. Hayate could eventually snap, with terrible consequences – beyond her own power, remember that if she lets go, there goes any active restraint on Takashi, as well. But again, that's a plot point for later. The firsties will have parts to play, I haven't forgotten about them, but they would have been badly out of place in Hong Kong, and everything since has been 'high level' and/or personal. They'll show up again, but won't be central. Thanks for the review!

Lady Sekhmet Ka: I'm not sure just how 'divine' Noriko's going to be, but she's definitely going to be out for justice, of several sorts. Yussef's planning session was mostly a way for him and his boys to distract themselves, though the planning won't hurt. He learned his lesson about excluding people during Operation Nimrod, and this is part of him going the other way. I realized when I started last chapter that, young as he is, he has more training for plannign a military assault than anyone else at the school. Hayate and her Knights are well trained for Bureau-style assaults, with full barriers and small numbers of mages going after criminals. But there's a world of difference between a police action and a military assault. That puts Yussef in a rather unique position, knowledge-wise, which will come into play later. The firsties will show up again, I promise, especially the twins. But there's a lot going on in just a couple days of in-story time here (it's still less than a week since Hong Kong), so it'll be a couple chapters.

Skyfall v2.0: Something like Blood Penance could be done to all the other families of the students, and even to any extended family Hayate may have on Earth. There will be some problems with a repeat of the spell, repercussions showing up elsewhere, but this chapter was about Noriko and Japan reacting. Hayate's response and plans will take a while to come together, but as I mentioned to Lady Sekhmet Ka, it's less than a week after Hong Kong. It will take time to put together plans and take action. I have plans for another couple scenes showing Chrono's situation, one of which should show up in the next couple of chapters, but that situation won't resolve until a specific point (cavalry's nice, but Bureau cavalry would pretty much end the story). Nanoha, Yuuno, and Fate have their parts to play, never fear. Nanoha, especially, has at least one more encounter with Szash.

Kell Shock: Actually, for me, 'to hand' is the proper form of the expression, and 'close to hand' is the sort of needlessly wordy approach stuck up lit-crit types use:). I learned it without 'close' first, then encountered the full form, and tend to use both naturally. If anything, I need to go back and swap out one use of the expression for something else, I hate repeating phrases. As for Yosho's catspaws getting away with it, it just happened. Depending on who you were talking about, they could be 'brought to justice' fairly quickly, if Yosho decides to turn them into sacrificial pawns – but more on that next chapter. Regarding what was revealed to Japan, originally just that 'something happened, it's a tragedy'. Noriko, of course, just blew that can of worms wide open. Fear can convince people to back down, but when those who are afraid have someone else to hide behind, they tend to do that instead of capitulate. Natalia is anchored to reality, but how and why is less important than the fact that she is – and she was incredibly lucky. The Blood Penance spell is limited in its effect by the targeting information it is provided with, and by the targeting protocols built into the ritual, which effectively locate anyone with a genetic connection to the bloodline of the 'prime target' going back five generations. The spell could, if the targeting protocols were removed without destabilizing the spell, and enough power put in it, kill every human being on Earth. The only thing stopping Al Hanthis from using it again is their own decision not to, but that will be covered by their reactions in the next chapter or two. Kusunagi is somewhere safe. I thought about having Noriko do something violent, but lashing out just isn't in her character. Even at Laura's worst provocation, she got mad and started to yell at Laura, but did not 'lash out'. She's also still on a roller-coaster of greif and anger at present, with some repercussions all its own. Yussef's planning was something of a distraction for him and the Myrmidons, but it is serious, and as I mentioned to Lady Sekhmet Ka, he's in a unique position as far as knowledge and skills.

Alucius Dawn: Blood Penance is brutal and vicious, everything the Warlords and the Circles are, according to Al Hanthis (and everything Al Hanthis is, according to the Circles, and so on and so forth). Cidela's actually wandering the Void... sort of, but that'll play out in the background for a while. The war's already escalated far beyond what Hayate ever wanted, and now beyond what Szash or Hughes would have wanted, but their reactions are coming up. With the 'to hand' phrase, I mentioned it to Kell Shock, but that's how I learned to use it originally – 'close to hand' is too wordy:). Thanks for the review!

Canis Black: Glad you're enjoying this, and that I can still surprise. Sorry about the time between chapters, it's a factor of how I go from notes to text. Some scenes (like the last couple chapters) are fully or mostly worked out in my head and just flow onto the page, others are more difficult to get to behave than my cats. Thanks for the compliments and the review!

Rathmun: Blood Penance is a relatively quick death (unless you're partially protected, like the Emperor was). Mostly that is due to the fact that, given the range over which the spell works and the difficulty of sorting the targets from the general populace, there isn't much 'room' left in the structure of the ritual/spell for specific methods of murder. Like drug interactions today, what causes severe to fatal effects in one person might be nothing but a bad day for someone else. So Blood Penance gets its horror from the breadth of its victims, rather than the viciousness of its method. I will say that you have some very good guesses for who the Goddess of Light is, and I'm wondering if this chapter or next will change your mind. Laura's bolt drones are very effective weapons, for what they are – a single cartridge (same as the Velka devices use), the components to accept targeting from Paradox, trigger that cartridge, and focus the power into a buster spell, a basic levitation spell, and some very simple camouflage spells. Since Academy Blues, Laura has improved the drones so they will survive use and can be re-used, but they are still very inefficient – fifty to seventy percent of the power in the cartridge is simply released randomly, instead of going into the drone's buster spell. Thirty going off at once almost created a dimensional instability due to the wasted power, so any large scale use would need a way to handle that energy, though Laura has an idea I have yet to unveil for that. If Cloak of Shades suffices to get through one of Al Hanthis' portals (and that's a bigger 'if' than people think), an adaptation of it would be excellent for the drones. The big problem with your suggestion of leaving them free to float to attack at random, even if only in specific areas, is 'collateral damage' – Al Hanthis is a city, with a population of millions, only a handful of whom are Guard or Protector. For Hayate or Laura to use that, it would reduce them to the level of Yosho with his Blood Penance, so it's unlikely. Laura does have a rather berserk use for large numbers of bolt drones, but that'll have to wait for the right time:).

Templar Prime: Welcome aboard and thanks for the review! Feel free to guess about the Emperor, there have been plenty of good ideas so far, even if I won't say who's right just yet:). The political and social fall-out, especially in Japan, is going to be complicated, and you can see the start of it above. Not the least of the problems is the fact that Noriko just took any possibility of calm and reasonable discussion and tossed them out the window. As for 'from whence', I generally use 'whence' when I'm parodying pompousness, and 'from whence' does that better. It creeps into the writing sometimes, sorry.

GeshronTyler: Japan's reaction was going to be bad, and thanks to Noriko, it's probably going to be worse. At the least, she may very well need a new Prime Minister. Blood Penance could be considered a WMD, a terrorist weapon, or both. I still haven't decided if the US president in this story has a spine or not, so US response could go either way. Blood Penance does effectively eliminate any possibilty of negotiations, sneak attacks on beloved targets tend to do that – and yes, the analogy to Pearl Harbor is deliberate. Cidela is going to be out for a while, but Noriko's back in action – whether or not she should be. It's only been a few days since Hong Kong, so the counter-strike is still being set up.

The Sandman: The way Al Hanthis powers their mages is a massive vulnerability, like any army's supply lines. The problem with going after the power generators directly is two-fold. Once a force gets into the city, if they don't get the shield down, there's no way to reinforce them. The second is, the city's power generators are known Lost Logia that are known to go 'boom' very easily, so Hayate and Co. will be very leery of going after those. The shield generators may or may not be Lost Logia, but bringing down a few will create an opening, allowing reinforcement and resupply of the attacking force, which can then go after other targets with secure supply lines. The connections from generator to mage could be dealt with, but its less like severing a network connection than daming a river – it's doable, but difficult, and once you figure out how, you have to figure out how to do it to twenty, thirty, or a hundred mages simultaneously. A stronger version of the Bureau's combat containment barriers will do it (assuming there is not a generator within the barrier), which is why the Guard put an entire platoon on preventing Hayate from raising such a barrier at Hong Kong. The Allina in Al Hanthis is going to pop up a few times, though how and why should be interesting. Al Hanthis does have AI, but they approach it differently from how the Bureau does, and especially from how Allina and Niranjana look at it. It won't make much difference in combat, as the Guard's implants fulfill a lot of the same multi-tasking functions as a mage-device, but it will give Hayate's people an edge. The Circle mages Hughes sends along after Maunders will have their own spin on things, but for device mages, a wolfpack would be nasty in terms of raw power, but keeping control of that plus a device would probably overwhelm any but the best mage. Hayate could manage it – as could Takashi, Nanoha, Fate, and Yuuno – but why would they when they're just as dangerous without it, and someone else could use that power more efficiently elsewhere? Laura has not yet had time to have any reaction of her own to the Blood Penance spell, and she probably won't have a separate reaction – by the time Noriko recovers from it, Laura will have recovered from it. Blood Penance did serve its purposes, but are you certain those purposes were Al Hanthis'? It is definitely serving Yosho's purposes, though it may still backfire on him. There are two big problems with using nuclear weapons against Al Hanthis. The first is where the city is currently located – over Cairo, a city of nearly seven million people who are as much victims in this war as Japan. Al Hanthis' city shield covers Al Hanthis, not Cairo, so any attempt to use WMD to breach the shield will destroy Cairo and everyone in it. The second problem is the fact that the vast majority of Al Hanthis' population are civilians, and no one has any idea how much input they have in their government. Slaughtering them wholesale would be worse than Blood Penance. If Hayate and Hughes were willing to undertake that sort of cold-logic 'greater good' approach, she would have already used the Armageddon spell to simply eliminate the city. Basically, it sucks being the good guys, because it removes all the easy options. Thanks for the review!