A/N: Another one-shot! My first story that isn't romance! BE HAPPY PEOPLE! Anyway, I want to thank Demon Ragna for giving me the idea, so as thanks, I dedicate this one-shot to you! Hope you like guys!
Note: Sorry if it's a bit off; I've only just started playing BBCS so I don't know much about the Bloodedge, only that Ragna has his jacket and sword… so I'm making a bit of it up! XD Hope you like!
The Master's Tale
"…Master?"
The creature turned his head towards the young boy who stood at the edge of the trees, staring intently at his Master with heterochromic eyes; one a blood red, the other a pale green, like splintered emerald.
"Yeah? What ya need, kid?"
The boy walked forwards, to stand in front of his Master, before sitting down in front of the fire that had been lit not too long ago. The boy sighed, before looking up at his master yet again.
"Master…I had that nightmare again…"
The boy's face suddenly turned very sad and reserved, as if he was trying to hide something from his Master.
The creature sighed, before placing a hand on the boy's shoulder. Or rather, a paw.
"What did I tell ya, Ragna? It was just a nightmare; it ain't real," it said, sighing loudly as the boy named Ragna shook his vigorously from side to side.
"But it was real, Master Jubei! Jin and Saya…the church…everything's gone…" Ragna whispered, refusing to look his Master in the eye.
Jubei sighed, before patting Ragna on the head.
"Listen here, Ragna…why don't I tell ya a story? Of when the Six Heroes were still around, I mean. It'll take your mind off things for a while," Jubei stated, watching as Ragna's face lit up a little at the mention of the Six Heroes.
"Okay, Master," he nodded, and got himself comfortable. With a clear of his throat, Jubei began his tale.
"Alright, this story isn't about the Six Heroes as such, but it does include all of us at some point. You see, it was around the time that the Black Beast was roaming around the world, killing and eatin' everything in sight," Jubei started, watching as the muscles in Ragna's right 'arm' flexed instinctively.
"Bastard," Ragna hissed, and Jubei smirked slightly at the boy's reaction.
"Easy there, kid. Yeah, so it was around that time. The humans were starting to give up hope. Hell, even us, the Six Heroes, had given up all hope of survival. We had no time left to think of anything to stop the bastard. That was…until The Black Beast stopped moving," Jubei explained, and Ragna's expression turned from interested to confusion.
"It…stopped?" Ragna questioned, thinking that the idea of the huge monster just stopping for no reason was odd. Jubei nodded, before continuing.
"Yeah. Thing just shut down, like it was on standby or something. Humans tried everything at that time to kill it. Hell, they even used nuclear weapons and all that. But, the bastard was harder than diamonds. Nobody could break through its body. Not even a scratch was left on it," Jubei sighed, recalling that time like it was yesterday…
"It's stopped?" Jubei yelled, watching as a man nodded.
"Yeah. The bastards just stopped. Not moving at all," the man confirmed.
"This is our chance! Let's end this now!" another man yelled, and was greeted by a chorus of yells.
The men went off to gather their weapons, and Jubei sighed.
"It ain't gonna work, y'know. The things too powerful to be defeated… you ain't got a chance…"
"It…couldn't be defeated when it was down?" Ragna pressed, watching as Jubei came back to reality.
"Nah. The thing was made of something that the humans had never encountered before. Seithr," Jubei stated, and Ragna glanced around him nervously.
"You mean…the same seithr that's scattered around the world now. That seithr?" Ragna asked, his eyes darting around him fearfully.
The world as it was now; covering from head to toe in seithr. A sightless and scentless substance, that could cause death to any human that inhaled too much of it.
"You're catching on kid. This ere' seithr is the remains of the Black Beast from over a hundred years ago," Jubei said, his single eye glittering in the moonlight.
"T-The remains…of the Black Beast?" Ragna stuttered, turning slightly pale.
"That's right kid. Deadly, toxic stuff, this seithr. Normal humans can't live in it. It would infect their system and eventually cause their organs to shut down. Aka, death," Jubei explained to his student, watching with an amused smirk as Ragna shivered slightly.
"Wait…you said that humans can't live in it. How can I then?"
"I said normal humans can't live in it! Pay attention!" Jubei sighed, smacking Ragna on the back of his head, causing him to winch in evident pain.
"So you're saying I'm not normal? You're nice!" Ragna muttered, pouting at his master.
"You're not normal, because you have the Azure Grimoire with ya! You're not affected by the seithr if that thing is attached to ya arm!" Jubei grunted, and Ragna nodded his head in understanding.
"So, I'll continue now. Yeah, so while The Black Beast was in a coma of some sorts, The Six Heroes came together, and tried to think of a way to stop the monster from killin' anymore people," Jubei continued, watching as Ragna smiled.
"We tried everything. Brute strength. Tactical attacks. Teamwork. We did it all, but the prick wouldn't go down," Jubei growled.
"And that's around the time…that the Beast started to move again," Jubei sighed, clenching his paws into fists.
"Didn't know how or why, but the Beast seemed to have gotten stronger. The humans were gettin' killed even quicker than before. And that's when…that man turned up," Jubei whispered, and Ragna stared at his master in confusion.
"That man? Who?" Ragna questioned, and Jubei gave him a bitter smile.
"That's just it. Nobody knew who he was. Just that he was an excellent warrior, and that he went by the name….of Bloodedge," Jubei answered, and Ragna's facial expression turned into one of amazement.
"Bloodedge…" Ragna smiled, and Jubei chuckled.
"Seems like you like the sound of him already! Yeah, so, he went by the name of Bloodedge. Nobody knew where he had come from, or what his purpose was. But I knew when I first met him…that he was gonna help turn this War around," Jubei smirked, feeling a sudden amount of pride leak into his voice.
"The boy had talent. A whole shit-load of it, and he knew how to put that talent to good use. He gave us time. The time we needed to turn the War around," Jubei explained, and Ragna sensed a hint of sadness coming from his Master.
"Master…what happened to him?" he asked, although, he already knew the answer. Jubei gave him a sad smirk, before continuing.
"In the end, he was only a human, like the rest of em'. He was killed by the Black Beast a few years after his appearance. But, Ragna, don't forget, he gave us the time we needed, to think of the possibilities. And, in the last few months of his life, we thought of something we hadn't even registered in our heads before. Magic," Jubei stated, staring up at sky; a full moon shining brightly, surrounded by its children, the stars.
"Magic?" Ragna pondered, "But, how did Magic help you win?"
"It helped us create the Ars Magus, of course. With Ars Magus on their side, the humans finally beat the Black Beast. Made it explode, to put it blankly. And that's how seithr managed to scatter around the entire world," Jubei chuckled, looking at Ragna's face as he sat there, bemused.
"But, don't forget, Ragna. Ars Magus isn't a good thing. Far from it. Just 10 years later, another War arose," Jubei growled, showing his tiny fangs off.
"The Ikaruga Civil War," Ragna whispered, his voice slowly turning into a snarl.
"Now that the NOL has control over Ars Magus, they use it in all the wrong ways. They're killin' their own kind with it. I'll always regret giving the secret of magic away to the humans," Jubei ended in a sad tone.
The silence Ragna had endured afterwards was slightly terrifying, so to break it, he yawned, causing his Master to laugh.
"Go on, kid. Get some rest. We're training again tomorrow!" Jubei chuckled, watching as Ragna's face fell.
"Training? Aw…. Master?" Ragna muttered, looking the cat creature in the eye.
"Yeah kid?"
"…do think that if I train really hard, I'll become as strong as Bloodedge?" Ragna asked, a hint of his child side showing itself.
Jubei patted his apprentices head, and chuckled.
"Ya sure will, kid. Ya sure will. Now, off to bed!" Jubei sighed, pushing Ragna towards the cover of the trees. Ragna nodded, and jogged back into the forest, towards where he was sleeping.
Jubei gave one last look at Ragna, before sighing sadly.
"For everyone's sakes, Ragna… I hope ya do become stronger…"
End!
Hope you enjoyed! Sorry if anything is off; like I said, I've only just started playing BBCS! Anyway, have a happy New Year guys!