A Samurai's Pledge
A/N: And the final Extra is up! Thank you all so much for all of your support! It truly means a lot to me. While I am taking a hiatus from this fandom right now, I am hopeful that in the future I will return. Until then, thank you so much again!
Due to the subject matter of this chapter, the characters may seem a bit OOC.
For those of you who left unsigned reviews, see my replies below:
trumm12345 – Thanks for the review! ^^ Hayate is definitely not a good influence on little Vivio. Hehe. As for Vita, yeah, that scene had been on my mind for a while now. Like yourself, I'm happy she finally got her resolution. :)
Final Chapter replies:
trumm12345 - Thanks for all of your support over the years. It really a means a lot to have a steady reader/reviewer like yourself. Thanks! :)
Shizu54 – Thanks for the comment. :) I'm glad to hear you enjoyed this piece. While I won't be writing in this section for the next while, feel free to check out my other stories from my profile. Thanks again! :)
Disclaimer: The characters and the worlds I write in do not belong to me. The stories that I write are intended for entertainment purposes. I do not make any money from them.
*** ~ Extra 3: Family ~ ***
Shamal was not worried.
Concerned as she was that Signum hadn't shown up for her regular morning patrol today, she was not worried. Even when rumors were viciously swarming about for some reason this morning, she was not worried.
"Did you hear?" came a giggling voice.
Shamal paid little heed to the gossiping lesser attendants as she continued her journey towards Signum's quarters. Why there was so much gossip so early this morning was beyond her.
"What?"
"The Taichou of the Samurai has taken a lover!"
Muffled squeals quickly filled the hallway as Shamal rounded the corner. She rolled her eyes.
Shamal hated gossip.
While she knew it was a normal part of daily living, especially here at the Imperial Palace, that didn't make her hate it any less. Most of it was complete rubbish, nonsense made up from the minds of who knows who. Though, on occasion, there was some truth to the murmured whispers between apprentices and attendants alike, but most never knew what was truth and what was not.
What really irked Shamal the most about gossip was the fact that it was often about either the Empress or the Wolkenritter. And not things like what they ate for breakfast or other menial stuff like that either. Gossip, when it came to them, usually focused on their love lives. The absurdity of it all!
"Did you hear?"
Shamal forced down the urge to roll her eyes again as she passed another giggling pair of gossiping attendants. Kami-sama, do they never shut up?!
"Our beloved Taichou is no longer single!"
Of course she's not single anymore! Shamal grumbled audibly, upping her pace to leave all the idiots behind quicker. She's mine! Shamal couldn't but smile at that thought, her heart beating just that bit faster as she thought about a certain pink haired samurai.
"I know!"
The gossiping attendants continued, much to Shamal's annoyance.
"And she's with her right now! How scandalous!"
Shamal stopped dead in her tracks, her eyes wide.
Wait, wait, wait, wait. WHAT!?
"How do you know that?" came a hushed exclamation of surprise.
"Because I saw her enter the Taichou's room hours ago. And she hasn't left yet."
A shadow loomed over the two gossip attendants. Correction, gossiping attendant and healer.
"Good morning Finieno Shari-san, Atenza Mari-san," Shamal said, a strained smile on her face. "You both look... well... this morning."
Shari and Mari jumped, neither having heard their superior's approach.
"G-G-Good morning Shamal-sama," Shari said with a gulp. The brunette was completely taken by surprise by Shamal's entrance, the Empress' Head Attendant not usually known for her stealth, nor her interest in gossip. And while it wasn't unusual for the blonde to greet people with a smile, her current smile felt anything but warm and friendly right now. In fact, it was rather creepy.
"G-Good morning Shamal-sama," Mari said in a small voice. The moment violet coloured eyes turned to her, she flinched, shrinking back slightly. "Y-you look very well t-this morning."
Shamal's smile widened noticeably, causing both women to shiver unintentionally.
"Both of you are rather... lively today," Shamal said, slowly looking between the two in front of her. "It seems the whole palace is abuzz this morning also. I wonder why..."
"W-well..."
Shari and Mari looked at each other nervously.
"Hmmm?" Shamal leaned forward towards her subordinates, causing them to take two steps backwards in fright.
"W-well you see... Hehe..." Shari was starting to sweat. Never in her life had she felt so nervous before, even when having to meet the most powerful woman in Japan (the Empress) the first time when she started working here.
"Hai...?" Shamal turned her full attention to the brunette.
Shari's mouth opened but only a squeak came out.
"W-well S-Shamal-sama," Mari stuttered, coming to her friend's aid. "Rumor has it that the T-T-Taichou!" The moment Shamal turned to look at Mari, she could have sworn her life flashed before her eyes.
"Hmmm?" Shamal said, urging the young woman to finish.
"T-T-Taichou has app-p-p-arently taken a lover!" Mari's words came out in one whooshed breath.
Shamal remained silent, staring deeply at Mari.
The silence was deafening.
"U-Umm... Shamal... sama...?" Shari hesitantly questioned.
Shamal burst out laughing, startling both women. "Oh Mari-san," the blonde Head Healer said. "That is the most ridiculous thing I have ever heard."
"I-I know," Shari said, forcing herself to laugh as well. Mari reluctantly joined in the laughter also, but it wasn't willingly. Not after the look Shamal gave her.
"Isn't it?" Shari continued. "I mean, I could have just been imagining things when I saw that redhead sneak into the Taichou's room earlier."
Shamal quieted immediately, leaving her subordinates to do the same. She turned to Shari again, with that really creepy smile.
"Ne, Shari-san, Mari-san," the blonde began. "You know it's not nice to spread rumors, right?"
"H-hai," both women responded in unison.
"I mean, I bet you wouldn't like it if someone started a rumor about you having a certain fetish involving frilly pink underwear with tassells, now would you Shari-san?"
Shari went pale. How did she-
Shamal's smile widened.
"I-Iie!" Shari exclaimed, feeling ready to faint. Kami-sami, if she survived this encounter, she was never, ever, going to gossip again.
"Mari-san-"
"I swear I won't spread rumors ever again!" the green haired woman blurted out before Shamal could say anything further.
This seemed to please Shamal, the blonde nodding twice at her response.
"Good," Shamal said. The Empress' Head Attendant turned to leave. "Carry on."
Shari and Mari watched with bated breath as Shamal made her way down the hallway and disappeared out of sight down the next corridor. Once they were sure Shamal was gone for good, Mari slumped to her knees in exhaustion.
"I thought I was going to die," the healer said wearily.
"No kidding," Shari said, a hand on her head and the other on the wall holding herself upright. "Remind me never to get her bad side."
"Hai."
Silence.
"Shari-san."
"Hai?"
"Is it true you have a fetish for frilly pink underwear with tassells?"
Shari's face went scarlet.
"Shut up!"
Shamal was not worried.
She was not worried in the least bit. And because she was not worried, she sprinted down the inner hallways of the Imperial Palace, with not a care in the world of all the eyebrows she raised along the way.
Redhead. Redhead.
In the sparse few minutes it took to reach Signum's room running full tilt, Shamal was doing all that she could to narrow down the suspects. Was it a healer? Was it an attendant? Shamal knew all of the healers and attendants by heart, she being the main person in their selection. For every single one of them, she had to ensure they wouldn't become a risk and danger to the Empress. Yet of the ones she knew that were currently serving, none of them had red hair. That is, not naturally. Had one of them dyed their hair red recently? That seemed to be a growing trend in the west as of late, Shamal scoffing at the vanity of it all.
Violet eyes went wide as Shamal slowed to a halt in front of the Captain of the Samurai's bedroom door. What if Signum's new lover was someone from outside of the Imperial Palace? She would be a complete unknown and next to impossible to track!
A deep ache developed under her breast, Shamal clutching at a fistful of green garb over her heart. The thought of Signum being with another, it hurt. It hurt a lot. Had she done something wrong to anger the samurai? Was she not enough? But Signum seemed so happy with her. Just yesterday they were laughing and kissing and...
A tear rolled down Shamal's cheek. Suddenly she didn't want to be here anymore. She wanted to turn tail and run. After all they had been through, for things to end this way-
"Shamal-san?"
Shamal's head popped up at the sound of the familiar voice coming through the door.
"Is that you?"
"Ah, hai," Shamal said, sniffling quickly before wiping away her tear. Blasted Signum and her super sharp senses. It was like Signum wasn't even human at times, but then again, was she? Not just anyone could wield the weapons of legend after all.
"Is everything alright?"
Well, so much for running away. To do that now would only incite Signum to chase her down and Shamal wasn't really in the mood for that right now. Shamal swallowed thickly.
"Can... Can I come in?"
The samurai's response was immediate. "Of course."
Time to face the music.
With a heavy heart, Shamal pushed open the massive wooden door to Signum's chambers and entered. The room was mostly dark expect for the few stray beams of sunlight peeking through the crack in the blinds. As she passed the threshold of the doorway, Shamal's greatest fears were verified when she just barely made out another form joining her beloved in bed under the blanket.
Shamal felt sick.
"Good morning, Shamal," Signum said warmly.
Shamal almost cringed at the gentle tone of the samurai, the pain in her heart increasing. When Signum got no response, she became concerned.
"Shamal?" Signum repeated. "Is everything-"
"G'mornin Master," came a sleepy voice near the foot of Signum's bed. "G'mornin Sham-ACK!"
Having heard her master's voice, as soft as it was, Agito awoke from her slumber and began her regular morning routine. That entailed a morning greeting to her master, and also Shamal as her master's girlfriend was also in the room. But as she proceeded to the bath, in her half asleep state, she inadvertently flew into the curtains having miscalculated the path around the broken hearted blonde. Flailing about in surprise, the fire sprite quickly got herself lost amongst the cloth of the floor to ceiling curtains, pulling them wide open.
Light spilled into the room, temporarily blinding all occupants, the trio blinking rapidly while their eyes adjusted.
"Shamal?" Signum was the first to recover, the samurai quickly noting the expression of hurt on her girlfriend's face. "What's wrong?"
"I..." Shamal's gaze immediately darted to the person slumbering on Signum's lap. The samurai was currently sitting up in bed with her back against the head board. What Shari had said before was correct. The girl occupying the pinkette's bed did indeed have red hair, along with... Wait. Was that a stuffed bunny?
Shamal blinked.
"Shamal?" Signum repeated, on the verge of springing off of her bed to hold her girlfriend.
"Vita... chan...?"
Shamal blinked again.
"Ah," Signum said looking down at the smallest Wolkenritter. Vita was still sound asleep, cuddled on the samurai's lap, her prized stuffed bunny clutched to her chest.
"It seems," Signum continued. "That she was awakened by a nightmare. But as Hayate-sama wasn't around, she-"
"She sought you out... instead...?" Shamal finished for her.
Signum smiled, making Shamal's heart melt. "Apparently I was the next best person."
A sob escaped Shamal's throat.
"S-Shamal?"
Unbeknownst to the samurai, Shamal's sob was one of great happiness, happiness that she had been so terribly, and utterly wrong. Having lived her life growing up with Vita, she would recognize the redhead anywhere, in any state of dress. To those who didn't know the hammer knight all that well however, it would be easy to mistake her for someone else, especially when her hair was down and when she was not in her typical garb.
Shamal wanted to smack herself. Really, what was she thinking? Getting herself worked up for this, and for what?
"Shamal-"
Signum frowned, looking down at the hammer knight, torn between leaping off of her bed to race over to her girlfriend's side and staying still so as not to disturb Vita's sleep. Thankfully, the samurai didn't have to choose for Shamal closed the distance between them in three strides. Half jumping, half sitting on the Signum's bed (without disturbing the smallest Wolkenritter), she wrapped her arms around Signum's neck and kissed her.
"I love you so much," Shamal whispered after they pulled away from each other to breathe again.
Signum brought up a hand and stroked Shamal's cheek with her thumb. "I love you as well, Shamal." Another smile, before a frown.
"What happened?" Signum asked, not liking the tears still pooling in the corner of the blonde's eyes. Signum leaned in and kissed them away.
Shamal blushed at the open affection, soon after resting her head on the samurai's shoulder, snuggled up against her. "Don't worry about it," Shamal said softly. "It's all over now."
"Are you sure?"
A warm hand rubbed Shamal's shoulder. Shamal smiled as she looked down at the still slumbering Vita. "Hai," she said, reaching out to tuck a lock of red hair behind Vita's ear.
For the next few minutes they enjoyed each others presence in silence, the pair of women chuckling softly to Agito's grumbles as the fire sprite finally untangled herself from the curtain.
"Geh!" Agito grumbled, now free from her material prison. "Damn curtains..."
"You know," Shamal said watching the little fire sprite glare at the curtains. "I think Signum would make a very good Kaa-san."
"E-Eh?"
Shamal couldn't but laugh at the way the samurai stiffened up. And Signum's expression! Oh boy.
"Hai," Shamal said, smiling happily. "Just the way you took care of Vita-chan, you're a natural."
Signum almost snorted. "I disagree," the samurai captain said, earning her a raised eyebrow. "If there's anyone more suited to be a Mama, it would be you."
Signum kissed Shamal on the cheek.
"Oh?" Shamal said, flushing a bit more. "Mama huh?"
Signum nodded.
"Sounds like you've been spending a lot of time around Fate-chan and Nanoha-chan," the Empress' Head Healer said smugly.
Signum had the decency to blush.
"Or perhaps was it little Vivio-chan who's been rubbing off on you?"
Signum huffed, refusing to answer her. Shamal giggled before resting her head back down on Signum's shoulder again.
"You know..." Shamal said, looking down at Vita again. "If I'm the Mama, would that make you Signum-papa?"
"Papa?" Signum blinked.
"What?" Shamal said, lifting her head to meet her girlfriend's gaze again. "Just because you're female doesn't mean you can't be a papa."
"Well no," Signum began. "It's not that-"
"Then it's settled," Shamal said with a brilliant smile. "Signum-papa, it is!"
Signum opened her mouth to protest, but seeing how happy Shamal was right now, she decided to stay quiet. After all, what the blonde had said was true. Why couldn't she be a Papa? She certainly wasn't womanly enough (by society's standards) to be a Mama. Then again, who cared what society thought of her? Signum was in love with the most beautiful woman and person she knew (except for her extended family). What more was there to think about?
Soft lips pressed to her own, snapping Signum out of her thoughts.
"What is Signum-papa thinking about?" Shamal asked, her voice husky.
Signum had to swallow down the sudden desire which welled up inside of her at that tone of voice. The samurai knew full well the Empress' Head Healer was doing this purposely to tease her.
"Well..." Signum said, licking her lips. "I-"
"Please don't start making out right now," came a grumble from below.
Both Signum and Shamal started, looking down at the once slumbering hammer knight.
Vita rubbed her eyes groggily. "At least not while I'm still here," the redhead said with another grumble.
"Please," Agito echoed, the fire sprite finally having glared enough at the curtains. She now moved to the adjoining washroom.
Both Shamal and Signum blushed at being caught, by Vita and Agito no less. Thankfully, those two weren't known for spreading gossip, so the pair felt relatively safe when it came to Imperial Palace gossip.
Deciding that she didn't want to get caught between the two lovers when their restraints broke and they finally went at it, Vita sleepily rose from Signum's bed, mumbling a thanks to the samurai, before she went back to her own room for some more rest.
With just the two of them now, once they were sure they were alone, Signum and Shamal burst out laughing.
Papa, huh? Signum smiled as she gazed at her still laughing girlfriend. Yes, she could get used to that.
END
A/N: Oh Shamal, you're so scary when jealous. Lol. I really had too much fun with that scene. XD
Shari's full name is actually Shario, but as with the anime, I've referred to her via her nickname. Mari's full name is Mariel, but like Shari, I've referred to her by her nickname as seen in the anime.
For those of you unfamiliar with the non-English words, I have translated them below.
Hai = Yes
Iie = No
Ne = A word, when used in certain contexts, gets the attention of someone.
Taichou = Captain
Kami = God
Okaa-san/Kaa-san = Mother
Otou-san/Tou-san = Father
For an explanation of Japanese honorifics (eg. [name]-sama), please check out: wiki/Japanese_honorifics