"RAGNA THE BLOODEDGE!"

"TERUMI!"

The two blades clashed with each other, sending off a shower of sparks in every direction. One man's sword was almost as large as himself, his coat a deep crimson red, while the other wore a jet black suit, wielding a butterfly knife deftly in each hand. They were small but lethal.

The man clad in the black suit couldn't help but give a knowing grin.

"Give it up, Rags. Didn't the shitty vampire and Hakumen tell you? There's no way in hell you'll be able to beat me! So be a good dog and just DIE ALREADY, WOULD YA!"

The man dressed in the black suit, his green hair spiked up, lunged forward in an attempt to stab the man with the large sword. The colours of red and black seemed to blend together in their supersonic exchange. They were fighting with such ferocity that each became a blur, too quick to seen by the naked eye. They were fighting as though they were two moths over a flame.

Finally, both men's weapons clashed once more and sparks of destruction skipped over each other's metal. The black suited man pushed back and jumped just as the man in red slashed through the space where he once stood.

"TERUMI! I'LL NEVER FORGIVE YOU!"

"Forgive me? Like I give a damn!" countered Terumi.

His blade was stained with absolute hate for this man. It was because of him… Jin and Saya… He lost it…Everything. Ever since that day, the church, no, the world, burned in front of his very eyes. This man taught him how to truly despise someone. Death for him was doing him no justice for all the deeds he had committed. Day by day, this was the sole thing in his mind that drove him forward, to make this man suffer for all his sins.

Ragna the Bloodedge roared in anger and charged towards the man known as Terumi.

"I am sorry. But I have no other choice. Forgive me. I'll make it up to you… someday."

Chapter 0: Prologue

"Ding… Dong…"

"All passengers please remember to bring your belongings with you. The next stop is Shin Tokyo City. I repeat the next stop is Shin Tokyo City", chirped the voice over the intercom. A boy sitting next to the window sighed exasperatedly for the billionth time; he was getting sick of listening to the same announcer in the intercom saying the same things repeatedly. If he had to stay any longer, wouldn't it make him crazy?

He scanned his surrounding slowly, hoping for something that might amuse him. There was a couple at the other side of the carriage; both wearing happy expressions on their faces, apparently just satisfied by each other.

Must be nice, thought the boy.

Just sitting across them was an elderly man, snoozing loudly, his walking cane by his side.

There was also another person sitting at the opposite end of the aisle from the boy as well. This particular passenger was very noticeable. No young, normal school teenager's hair could possibly turn into such an abnormal shade of white, or was it silver? He couldn't tell; silver is just a shinier white, that was all he knew. He was wearing some very stylish and casual clothes. The name tag on his breast pocket read "Narukami Yuu".

'Yuu' started fidgeting about in his sleep. His closed eyes were rather scrunched up. However, other than his clear signs of discomfort, there wasn't anything else that indicated that the silver haired boy was in any sort of pain or danger.

Deciding that he shouldn't care, the boy yawned. He was also getting tired from looking at the same people who boarded the train at the same stop as him. He had scrutinized their facial expressions during the first half of the train ride to remember their faces just to kill some time.

The second half of the trip was healthily invested in sleeping.

If it was one thing he was good at, it was sleeping. Hell, he was the god of sleep. Just plop him down on any flat surface and he'd drift off in two seconds flat. He could even do it while standing up. Truth to be told, it was the only good trademark he had (if you even consider it good).

He would pay little interest in the people around him. The only exception he did this was only during the train ride as it was his last resort of anchoring his consciousness into reality. Even sleeping was taking its toll on him. He wasn't a fan of doing the same things over and over again. He considered sleep his greatest asset, therefore the best was saved for last. He felt that he wanted to preserve the wonderful falling into the dark abyss.

No one bothered him, he didn't bother anyone. It was a favorable win-win situation. Complicated people had complicated problems and he didn't like complicated stuff. Something short and sweet befitted someone like him. He had lost his spirit a long time ago. He had such dull cognitive senses that ever since he was a kid, people used to pick on him often. Such was the typicality of surviving; it was to eat or be eaten. The kids and teachers in his previous schools were such stuck up pricks who think they own the world. No one wanted that weird thing in their lives; they wanted him to disappear from their line of sight. No one understood him. He was just different, that's all.

He held his thoughts there, it wasn't pleasant to rake up old memories; there were no good ones, just a living hell. He didn't like the way people looked at him, nor their actions towards him.

He didn't like it.

Nope.

Not. One. Bit.

Maybe he should have remembered the horrified look on their faces when they saw the breathing mass of garbage that used to be one of his classmates. The steel pipe did his job to ensure the guy didn't have a face anymore, just a disfigured 'mask' of what used to be his face on his pathetic excuse of a living creature. Of course he didn't get caught; he took care of that problem at the bud. He was lazy, but he wasn't stupid.

With a bored look on his face, he decided to look out the window for a change. He rested his hand on his chin as he stared out the window. The lush green meadows of the countryside of the previous day were replaced by industrial, modern buildings that tower menacingly above all others in the city.

Shin Tokyo City… Where his new life begins… It wasn't always enough. His mom had sent him to countless towns. She had hoped for her son to have a better future, a better environment. She gave him numerable chances, but he just had to mess everything up. Even before this, he had practically travelled all over Japan by now. It was just another year.

Another period of time that was meant to be wasted. He was so sick of it. Why did she have to try so hard for? She doesn't own him anything. She was becoming weary of it. So instead of sending him anywhere else, she sent him to live with her sister, where he would still be cared and looked after. Even after her death, she still cared.

The boy simply shook his head. What a foolish person, she should have left him as he was when she found out what he did to all those people, no, they didn't deserve to be called as such things; they were monsters, he was the lone wolf, the badass anti-hero of his own little imaginary story. And he took care of those monsters. He was how he should have been... by himself.

Suddenly, his vision started distorting. The boy clutched his head. It was a deep, dull throbbing sensation that gave him a mild headache. The normal scene was suddenly replaced by an unknown darkness. The darkness obscured anything that could give a hint of what was happening to him. There wasn't a space that was unoccupied by total darkness.

That was when it appeared in front of him.

A blue butterfly started fluttering his field of vision. It was a Papillion butterfly which was unlike anything he had ever witnessed before. It was emitting a deep, warm sapphire light, resembling a bright gem in the sunlight. The eerie glow not only scared him, but it also… fascinated him in a strange, nostalgic way.

Finally, the mystery reached its climax and the shining butterfly burst into a dazzling array of color which almost blinded him. The boy instinctively closed his eyes and shielded himself with his arms. Finally, when the light died down, he heard a voice speaking to him.

"Welcome, to the Velvet Room."

The boy opened his eyes, only to be greeted by a sight that left him dumbstruck. He wasn't in the train anymore; he was enclosed in a room with walls on all four sides. There were no existing windows and the boy felt as if the walls were on closing on him as though they were suffocating him.

Furthermore, the sudden change in scenario came about as a shock to him. Thankfully, when he looked up, the black abyss above him gave him some short respite to this seemingly tightening space.

Across him sat a stout man with a peculiarly long nose. It wasn't the structure of the place that freaked the boy out anymore; it was this man in front of him that had a nose that shouldn't be that long! Once again, the boy was completely stunned. How can anyone's nose grow so long?

The boy settled the most logical answer he could come up with; the man was a fairy. Yes, that was it, he was short, had weird facial features and a magical spark about him. His receding hairline didn't make this encounter any easier.

The boy was lost in his own thoughts and would have continued to do so if it weren't for the strange old man that cleared his throat. The boy snapped out of his train of thought and became immediately aware of the predicament his was in. The funny thing was the walls were painted a deep blue, not any other colour but blue, giving it a rather monotonous place if it weren't for the soothing aria that was being sung in the background.

The long-nosed gentleman began to speak in a calm manner, "It looks like we have another guest. In such a small period of time and the same place as well! How intriguing! "

The man kept his grin the entire time the boy was there. He didn't mind it as long as the stranger in front of him kept his hands to himself. He wasn't very keen on people touching him.

"Could this person be…? Ah, my apologies for my rude behavior. I have not introduced myself yet, have I? My name is Igor, proprietor of the Velvet Room and I am delighted to make your acquaintance. I am sure you have many questions going through your mind. I will be sure to put those unanswered questions to rest. But first, I will need a name to address you by, don't I?" chuckled the Long-Nosed man named "Igor".

His name? Why would this creepy old man want his name for? To stalk him? The boy hadn't spoken a word in years after that incident. But for some reason, he can't help but move his lips. The man exuded power, power that indicated that this person was not to be trifled with. His pleasant stature made the boy feel as though no lie could go unnoticed by this man. He felt like he could entrust this man with his deepest, darkest secrets. There was no reason; it was simply pure instinct that he felt he could do it without a moment's hesitation. He had better play along for now, lest the man decided to do something worse than kill him.

And for the first time in years, the boy spoke.

"My name is …"

"Kurosai Shin."