On The Path of Vengeance

By Daishi Prime

Epilogue – Renewal

Two Years Later, Spring

The Midori-ya Cafe was closed for the day, but it was still a mad-house. People rushed in and out, to and fro, in a manic display of orchestrated chaos. Pausing to one side to catch her breath, Hayate shook her head in amazement. Somewhere between twenty and thirty people had been rushing about the shop since early morning, striving to make sure everything was ready for that afternoon and evening, but no one had been injured.

Chairs, tables, china, silverware, glasses, all of them were flying about the place, under the watchful gaze of Lindy Hallaoun. Some were even moving with no one touching them, a blatant violation of Bureau regulations regarding the use of magic in a non-mage civilization. Of the handful of Bureau officers on site, no one really cared – they were too busy, too happy, and most of them were the ones breaking the rules, anyhow.

"Gah, I'm exhausted," Vita collapsed into a chair next to Hayate, draping herself over the back dramatically and dropping one arm over her eyes. "Wake me when food gets here."

Hayate grinned at her Knight, and nudged her gently, "Come on, Vita-chan, it's not that bad. And you've known this day was coming for years, haven't you? You should be happy, enjoying the thrill!"

Vita pushed herself upright, "Tche, would've been here sooner if ferret-boy had gotten his act together."

"Vita!" Shamal glared down at her compatriot as she passed, a stack of china balanced in her hands. "Don't say things like that today!"

"She's right," Hayate said, giving Vita a one-armed hug as she sulked, "Today's their day, so be nice. Please?"

"Hai, hai," Vita grumbled, "It's not like either of them is here."

"Yuuno's already at the chapel, you're right." He and Chrono were making sure everything there was ready. It had been ready since the night before, but Yuuno had been a twitching mess since he woke up this morning, and it had been quietly agreed by those orchestrating this carnival that he needed to be someplace quiet. "Nanoha is in back, though, talking to her mother and sister. Please, Vita?"

"I already said I'd behave," Vita grumbled.

Hayate was about to respond, when she felt a shiver of magic, a slight probe that was more acknowledgement than examination. Raising her head, she looked about confusedly, but the magic had borne no traces of her many friends here. Tracing it took her a few moments, and then she nodded. "Vita, please help Lindy-san. I need to go check on something else. Please tell everyone to go ahead without me, I will meet you all at the chapel."

Vita was immediately clinging to her, "Please take me with you! This place is insane! I'm too short, someone's going to run me over, I know it!"

"No one is going to run you over," Hayate reassured her with a grin, disengaging Vita's grip on her shirt, "they're too afraid of having you yell at them again. Please, Vita, I won't be long, and I won't be in any danger. Umm, but please don't tell Signum until later?"

"Hah! You are going to do something dangerous!"

"No, not dangerous," Hayate shook her head, "just something necessary."

She slipped into the back of the shop, then up the stairs to the roof. Once there, she looked around to be sure no one was watching, then held her hands out to each side. "Reinforce, Sword of Light, awaken please." The staff and sword which had become her signature appeared, followed a moment later by her white and black armor. The Sword of Light remained its immutable self, but Reinforce still looked strangely odd to Hayate, without her halo of gemstones.

"Going somewhere?"

Hayate flinched, then turned slowly, "Ah, gomen, Signum, I didn't want to worry you." The purple-haired woman leaning against the doorframe just quirked an eyebrow. Hayate sighed, slinging the Sword of Light's scabbard over her shoulder, "Someone just arrived on-world. I wanted to go talk to him."

"Who?"

"A friend."

Signum's look flowed easily from gravely curious to repressively annoyed, "What friend? I'd like to meet him."

"No, Signum," Hayate shook her head, "Momoko-san and Lindy-san need all the help they can get to prepare for tonight. Stay here. I'll be back before the wedding begins, I wouldn't miss that. But I need to talk to him before he disappears. I couldn't track him down last time, I don't want to risk him getting away again."

Understanding washed over Signum's features. "He's dangerous Hayate-san," Signum then shook her head and sighed, "but probably not to you. Go ahead. I'll let everyone know."

Hayate smiled and nodded, "Thank you, Signum. I'll be back shortly."

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Hayate came out of the teleport twenty meters from the monument. It stood in the center of a small hill, overlooking the ancient plinths of Stonehenge and newly re-grown fields around the ancient site. Its base was a cube of granite, a meter and a half on a side, planed smooth, each face carved with the likeness and names of two ships. On top of the base stood a life-size statue in bronze of Shimazu Sara, the Sword of Light in her hands, held at mid-guard, a determined look on her face as she stared out over the remains of one of her favorite magical sites.

Standing in front of the monument, staring up into Sara's face beneath a grey English sky, Shimazu Takashi showed no emotions to the world. His hair was longer now than it had been after she freed him, almost long enough to pull back in a tail, and somewhat wild despite an apparent attempt at keeping it under control. All she could see of him from the side was hidden under a long brown duster, the Hellblade slung at an angle across his back.

"I had it made based on the first image I ever saw of her," Hayate offered, moving slowly to stand beside him, joining him in looking up at the statue. "In the Hellblade's pocket dimension, a stone slab carved with a bas relief of her. There are two more, at Angkor and T'ai Shan."

"I know," he said softly, "I'll visit the others eventually, but England was her homeland."

Hayate nodded, and for a few minutes the two of them simply stood together, observing the statue, remembering the past. "Are you ready to talk about it?"

"No. I don't think I ever will be."

"In time, hopefully," Hayate let the subject drop, unwilling to push when he was still so depressed. "It's good to see you have your form under control again."

He snorted, though she could not tell if the sound was derisive or amused, "yeah, I only turn into a ravening engine of destruction when I'm unconscious, now, instead of every time I try to use magic."

"You were never that bad. The dragon form Sara's binding left you with could be quite useful, if you ever gain full control of it. Can you use your magic normally again? I felt your probe, but..."

"It's back, all of it. I don't have to rely on the Hellblade alone anymore. Aoi's greatest discovery is mine once again."

"Iie," Hayate shook her head, "she never considered magic to be her greatest discovery. That was always you, Takashi-san. I don't think you ever understood just how much you fascinated her. Everything she did at the end, was to protect and preserve you."

He sighed mournfully, finally looking away from the statue to stare at his feet. "I know. I just can't help thinking it wasn't worth the price."

"It never is," Hayate replied, remembering the original Reinforce, and her own parents, "but we cannot honor their memories by surrendering. If we lay down and die, we render their sacrifices worthless, ne?"

He looked up at her, and changed the subject again by asking the question she had expected to be first. "What happened to Wilhelm?"

"How much do you remember from before you left?"

"He was on trial, a conviction was expected. Whether it happened or not, I don't know. My people's home-world is a little short of news services."

The flash of humor, small and morbid though it may have been, was a good sign, and Hayate welcomed it as such. "Kriegsen was convicted on all charges. Out of consideration for his family, he was permitted to take his own life rather than suffer the indignity of a lifetime imprisonment. He... proved unable to do so, and is currently incarcerated near Alin Sydra, tasked with cleaning up the physical damage he caused. The guards report he is thoroughly broken in spirit. Destroyed, as I promised Akira."

For a few moments, he hung his head, eyes closed as he contemplated. Hayate was curious about what his reaction would be, considering what Sara had remembered of her husband in her journals, and how thoroughly Kreigsen had betrayed them. "I suppose I should be happy to hear that," he said after a moment. "I should hate him, shouldn't I?"

"I am surprised you don't, Takashi-san. You have all the reason in the world."

"I don't. All I can feel is this sick, sad emptiness. He destroyed both his own world and mine, for petty jealousy."

"Jealousy is never petty," Hayate countered, "it is always destructively dangerous. Jealousy summons and activates more Lost Logia than any other emotion, because it incorporates and warps so many other emotions. Admiral Lindy Hallaoun told me that, shortly after I joined the Bureau, and I have seen it demonstrated too often to doubt it."

"Still. There is nothing left, not even hatred for someone I should justifiably despise for the rest of my life." His voice dropped to a whisper, so soft she was not sure he intended to speak at all, "Nothing left but the loneliness."

Not caring for the direction this conversation was heading in, Hayate cast about quickly for a way to change it, and found something better. "Would you mind making a slight detour with me?" Reaching across the world, she asked, Nanoha-chan, would you object if I brought a last-minute guest?

Nanoha's response was distracted but immediate, Of course you can, Hayate-chan. Who is it?

For a moment, Hayate almost decided to side-step the issue, as she had with Signum. But Nanoha did not deserve to have her wedding disrupted, so a warning was required. It's Shimazu Takashi. He came here to visit Sara's memorials, and I wanted to show him something positive, instead of a reminder of his loss.

Of course he can come! Hayate was glad when Nanoha did not even hesitate. Is he still a dragon, though? I don't think he'll fit in the chapel, and if we break the building…

Hayate smiled at her friend's see-sawing emotions. She had been on a roller-coaster ride for days, deliriously happy one minute, terrified the next. She was in better shape than Yuuno, but neither of them was even close to their usually collected selves. He's fine. We'll stay in the back so we don't distract anyone.

She turned her attention back to Takashi, and found him staring at her. At her questioning look, he told her, "I didn't want to interrupt your discussion."

Hayate grimaced, surprised he had noticed, "Gomen. I was making sure that my friends would not be offended if I brought you."

"Brought me where?"

"You'll see. Will you come?"

He looked back up at the statue of his wife, then nodded, slowly. "Not like I've got a schedule to keep. Sure, I'll come."

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They arrived shortly before the ceremony began, and Hayate breathed a sigh of relief. However important her reason, Nanoha would have been upset if she had missed this. Letting Signum know she was there, she pushed Takashi into a seat and sat to block his path to the aisle and escape. He gave her an amused look, but did not say anything about that.

"Scrya Yuuno," he said after a moment, looking over Yuuno. "He looks about as bad as I felt when..." He trailed off, face hardening into an emotionless mask again.

"Poor Yuuno's been a nervous wreck ever since he asked Nanoha to marry him," Hayate told him, grinning at the memory. "She hasn't been much better, but at least she's been cheerful about half the time. It would be hilarious, if they weren't driving the rest of us to distraction. It's just funny, instead, something we can tease them about later."

"I didn't have time to be nervous," Takashi related, smiling fondly as he remembered. "I was too busy organizing the whole thing. Sara never could get her nose out of a book long enough to make any plans, so everyone just brought their questions to me."

"Why doesn't that surprise me? Yuuno didn't have that escape, though." As they waited for Nanoha's entrance, Hayate found herself giving a brief history of the couple's courtship, from how they met to their discussions following the Akira incident when the two finally actually talked about how they felt, through Yuuno's stammered proposal. From there, she moved to the odd almost-relationship that had grown between Fate and Chrono, a relationship both of them vehemently denied, but neither ever quite gave up.

"Why aren't you up there with Testarossa," Takashi asked at one point.

Looking up to where Nanoha had just taken her place, Hayate smiled. "Nanoha was originally going to ask all of us. Fate, Arisa, Suzuka, her sister Miyuki, her mother Momoko, my Wolkenritter and I… the list goes on. Look at that dais. We would've been smashed in like sardines. Fortunately, her mother warned us, and we talked her into just Fate, Arisa and Suzuka." Hayate giggled, "Poor Nanoha, she was terrified for a while there that none of us wanted to stand by her, because we kept suggesting she ask the others. This is the best way to handle it, though. I'd rather be watching it all than be caught up in it, anyhow. That's Nanoha's brother, Kyohya, and one of Yuuno's friends from the Infinity Library, behind Chrono."

When the ceremony began, she only listened with half an ear. The rest of her attention was on telepathically continuing her stories for Takashi, telling him anything and everything she could think of regarding her friends. Funny and serious, missions and daily life, she painted for him a picture of the world she lived in, in all its fabulous complexity, trying to draw him into it and make it real for him, a part of him. Takashi offered very little, but he listened to all of it, and she even saw a miniscule smile on occasion, and took hope from those small signs.

As the crowd filed out, headed for the Midori-ya Cafe and the reception, Hayate pulled Takashi to one side. For a while, they watched the happy crowd congratulating the newlyweds, standing as mutual mute witnesses to the obvious joy of all involved. "You know why I asked you here," Hayate said, deliberately making it a statement, rather than a question.

"To show me that life goes on, ne?"

She shook her head. "Only in part. Look around, Takashi. How many mages do you see here?"

He frowned, and spent a moment counting. "Twenty-two, and six familiars. What of it? A Bureau officer's wedding is always well attended by mages. There were thirty at mine, though no familiars that I remember."

Hayate smiled, picking out the major members of her family and friends. "I'm thinking of ten of the mages, and four of the familiars. The rest are friends Nanoha and Yuuno made at Headquarters. But not that long ago by your standards, maybe nine years, Nanoha and Fate were enemies, fighting to gain possession of a cluster of Lost Logia: Nanoha sought to seal them, Fate sought to give them to her mother to use. Chrono and Lindy-san almost arrested both of them, and did arrest Fate, eventually. Less than a year later, my Wolkenritter fought them, to complete the Tome of the Night Sky. When they did, and my powers woke, I set the Tome to destroy them before I realized what had happened. Yet look at us now. We had to convince Nanhoa not to include all of us in her wedding party. At Headquarters, the ten of us are called 'Asura's Pride', a reference to our skills, our power, and our loyalty to one another. Admiral Graham once compared us to a pride of lions, and the name stuck.

"What I wanted you to see, Takashi, is that no one will blame you for Kriegsen's actions, or Akira's," she paused, then added, "or for Sara's." Takashi froze again, then turned to glare at her. "What she did was not wrong, it was a great and noble thing, sacrificing herself as she did. But it seems you cannot accept that she saved you. You blame yourself for not saving her, when she was the one with the knowledge, the experience, and the power. But no one else blames you, and blaming yourself, punishing yourself, as you have, is as bad as suicide would have been. Sara did not save you so you could wallow in guilt, Takashi. She saved your life so you could live it. You need to stop hiding from yourself, and from everyone else. Go do something other than mourn, meet people who don't know you, won't pity or fear you, and live a life worthy of her sacrifice."

His face remained emotionless, as he turned back to study the wedding party once more. A few minutes passed in silence, then he asked, "What of you, Lady Yagami? I noticed you did not have anyone special waiting for you. Should you not follow your own advice?"

Hayate was surprised, but as she considered his question, had to admit he was partly right. She shrugged, "I suppose I should. Mind you, there isn't a direct parallel, since I haven't spent the last two years alone on a dead world."

"It's not dead. Things live there again, however different they are from what once called that world home, and in time it will be colonized again."

"That is good to hear," Hayate said, feeling a thrill of joy. She never liked witnessing the devastation left behind by Lost Logia, and hearing that someplace that had been damaged was recovering was always wonderful news. "But in my case, I am not alone. I know what it's like to be alone, Takashi, which is part of the reason I'm arguing with you over it. I lost my parents young, and until the Tome of the Night Sky woke and gave me my Knights, I was alone. Because of that, I do have a fear of losing people, have difficulty letting myself get close to new people, and am over-protective of those I do love. That is what was used to get me to release the Tome of the Night Sky – I thought I had lost my Knights, my new family, not a year after I found them.

"But I do talk to people, Takashi, I do live my life. I live a life I think my parents would be proud of, one I know my Knights are proud of. I have people who have proven to be the best possible friends time and again. I have my Knights, who are protectors, comrades, parents and siblings all at the same time. Who do you have, Takashi? The Hellblade? Akira? Anyone?"

"Akira is gone. Once Kriegsen was put on trial, he erased himself. Left a message saying his purpose was fulfilled, and he did not want to burden me with his crimes. I still can't find any record in the Hellblade of what he did, precisely, just references. What about your hologram, Reinforce, wasn't it? I don't see her around."

"She has a capacity for independence equal to my Knights, but has so far refused to take up the responsibility. She insists she will always be my device. I offer her freedom every few months, and she keeps turning me down." Hayate held the staff in front of her, smiling at it fondly, "She's rather obstinate about it."

"Devices can be. I sometimes think the Hellblade has deliberately avoided achieving full sentience. Every so often it seems to be right on the edge of it, but then..."

"So you are alone."

"Back to that... and you call your staff obstinate." He shook his head, "Yes, I'm alone, and I probably always will be. It's safer that way, for everyone."

"No, not safer," Hayate told him sadly, "just easier."

"And that's what I need right now. Easy." He shoved himself off the wall and strode with remarkable determination towards where Nanoha and Yuuno were getting ready to get in the car that would take them to the Midori-ya Cafe. The crowd parted for him without seeming to notice, flowing away from his path quickly, but smoothly.

Nanoha noticed him first, and moved slightly in front of Yuuno, an unconscious protective gesture. "Shimazu Takashi-san," she whispered, smiling hesitantly, focusing everyone's attention on him.

For a moment, he simply stood in front of the two of them, matching their surprised looks with a studying one of his own. Then he bowed, deeply, to the pair of them. When he was upright again, he held out a hand to each of them, palm up, cupping nothing. "I'm afraid that, when I arrived, I was not expecting to attend a wedding. As such, I'm my gift to the new couple will have to be somewhat simple." There was a swirl of dark energy in each hand, and when it cleared, a clear purple sphere rested there. "Take them. Keep them with you always. If you ever have need of assistance, and do not wish to rely on the Bureau, for whatever reason, provide your gem with a small amount of power, and speak my name. I will hear, and come to you as soon as I can safely arrange it. If it is a crisis, use your power to break the gem, and I will arrive as soon as magically possible. Congratulations on your union, may it be as long and fruitful as mine was not, and as happy as mine was while it lasted."

Once Yuuno and Nanoha had taken the gemstones, without waiting for their replies, he turned and marched back through the silent crowd towards Hayate. He stopped about halfway, as the crowd began to merge behind him, and looked back over his shoulder. "Have I ever apologized to you for what Akira did?"

Yuuno answered for both of them, "Ah, no, Shimazu-san, but..."

Takashi cut him off, saying thoughtfully, "I'll have to get around to that… one of these days." He turned back around, and continued his course until he stood staring at Hayate for a few moments, then, "The Bureau changed my personnel file from dead to retired. You're doing?" She nodded, and he continued, "I owe you even more, then, for not letting them put me back on active duty. There is no way I can go back there right now. As such," he held out his hand, and there was another gem cupped there, "I'll give you one as well, on one condition."

Hayate took the gem without looking, trying to discern what she was seeing in his eyes. "What condition?"

"Two, actually. First, Reinforce holds it, and has the use of it." Hayate nodded, that made sense to her, but he continued, "Second, never put yourself in a position where you have to break it." He actually grinned, a lopsided, pained expression. "You are all that is left of my Aoi in this world, the only trace of her that is not sterile and un-living. You are not her, I know that, but you are something akin to her daughter, and I would not have her child put herself at risk. If you ever need to break that gem, I will come to your aid, then ensure you are never placed at such risk again." The grin became almost vicious, "much as Aoi ensured I would come to no harm."

Hayate chuckled, "That is not what I meant about 'doing something'."

"I am not Aoi, I am not you, or your friends. I have always lived my life by a policy of one warning, followed by maximum consequences. Just don't break it. You shouldn't need to, given the arsenal that's now aimed at my back." Indeed, behind him she could see all four of her Wolkenritter watching them, devices out and ready. "For now, there are still some places I must visit, ghosts to put to rest. I'll be in touch, Mistress of the Night Sky, Wielder of the Sword of Light."

He faded out, like a bad special-effect from an old movie, a wavering and fading into translucence, and Hayate decided to let him go. She had made her point, and knew he had understood it. She could still sense his magic, so he had not gone far, and after a few moments, she found him back in England, though not where she had met him. When she came out of the locator trance, all of her friends were gathered around her, a single question on every face.

Hayate reached out and took one each of Yuuno's and Nanoha's hands. "I'm so very sorry to disrupt your wedding like that," she apologized, "but he was so close to suicide. This should have been your day, but I had to do something..."

"It's fine, Hayate-chan," Yuuno told her, squeezing her hand. "I just hadn't expected... how much he looks like Akira." Yuuno had recovered fully from the Soulbreaker, but it would take someone more than human not to harbor fear of that face, after such a traumatic experience.

"He's nicer than I expected," Nanoha said. "From your description, I thought he wouldn't say a word."

"I'm working on him," Hayate said, "now that I know where he is."

Arisa laughed and shoved Hayate's shoulder gently, "Are you interested in him, Hayate-chan? I didn't think you'd go for an older guy."

Hayate flushed slightly, but Arisa had been making jokes like that for years now, despite having more boyfriends than anyone else, so she just pushed back. "No, I'm not interested in him. But Sara gave me many gifts, all so that I could save him. I'm just making sure the job is done right. I don't want her to think I'm ungrateful, or lazy."

"No one would think that of you, Hayate-chan," Nanoha reassured her. "Now come on," her smile became blazing, "I've got a husband to show off!"

Yuuno flushed a brilliant red, but managed to avoid stammering by not saying anything. He took Nanoha's arm, and the two of them walked over to the limo arranged for the day. Smiling, feeling her family of Knights surround her, Hayate followed along, aiming for the station-wagon Shamal still insisted on driving. I'll see you when you're ready, Takashi, she thought, rolling the gem he had given her between thumb and finger, and you will talk about it one of these days. Sara saved you, and I'll make sure of it.

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Fin

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DreadnoughtVV – Glad you've enjoyed this, hopefully the epilogue continued to live up to expectations. The complicated nature of the 'bad guys' in both seasons of this series (especially the Nanoha A's) is one of the major reasons I love it. I've always preferred complicated villains, and complicated heroes, for the realism, and for the fact that real people (and realistic people) do the strangest things, making it easy to be unpredictable.

Sheo Darren – Now that it's done, I can honestly say thank you for sticking with it throughout. There is always a bit of a let-down when a story concludes, whether reading it or writing it, but, as the saying goes, 'all good things...'. Akira's nature as a hologram was something I never quite settled on until last chapter. He was originally supposed to be a case of split-personality, if memory serves, but the hologram idea fit much better with the Nanoha universe and style. I do like Shamal's trick, it's the sort of sneaky underhanded move no one ever looks for and I've loved it since the first time she used it in the show – that scene still gives me the creeps. As far as Nanoha noticing Hayate's hair, it was more a matter of who was talking – Nanoha's the most talkative character in the series, so... It's also not so minor a detail – Hayate was the only one who's personal appearance changed when she summoned her device, everyone else it was strictly a clothing change, so physical changes are (I'm guessing) indicative of drastic power levels. Anywho, many thanks for your reviews and encouragement, and thank you again for staying with this all the way through.