BlazBlue: Rising Stars

by Genis274

Forced into a fate he never wanted, Akira Shimotsuki attends the NOL Military Academy. What happens there will shape the struggles that will unfold in the years to come, and he will have to fight for what he values most.

The first day of school. For many it's a chance to meet up with friends new and old. For others it's a chance to test their minds and bodies. But there always seems to be a constant for a majority of students. Nervousness. That nauseating feeling in your stomach as you contemplate all of the ways things can go wrong. Today there was one student in particular who was feeling this pressure more than any before him. This student... is not the focus of our story.

"Man... that flight took forever..." A young man yawned.

Enter our protagonist: Akira Shimotsuki. He was a man of an average build and had short blue hair that was swept to the side. Like everyone else exiting the airship, he was wearing the blue uniform of the NOL Military Academy. Stepping off the gangplank, he took a moment to stretch out his tired limbs, grateful to be able to walk on solid ground.

"So this is the academy, eh?" He said as he looked around at the grandiose entrance.

Akira hefted his bag of personal belongings, making his way with the other students to the inside to the Ars Magus elevators that ran the length of the 'Academy City'. Akira let out a sigh.

"Can't believe I have to go to this stupid academy because of my family..."

It was the burden of those born into the Duodecim. Due to their positions in the NOL, children of the 12 families are expected to attend the academy in order to serve the family name. All Akira wanted was a normal peaceful life, but now he was shackled to a fate he never wanted.

"Hey, you okay, man?" A voice asked him.

Akira looked up from his melancholy and spotted another young man with a slightly worried expression.

"Oh, yeah. Just a little bummed out." He admitted.

"Hey, no worries man! This place is gonna be totally fun!"

The other guy had spiked up black hair, and an expression that seemed to say that he just took everything in stride.

"The name's Guy Bernard." He said as he extended a hand to shake.

"I'm Akira. Akira Shimotsuki." Akira responded as he accepted the gesture.

"No way! I was looking at the room assignments earlier, and it looks like we're roommates!" Guy beamed.

Well, I suppose my roommate will be nice at least. Akira thought to himself.

The elevator came to a halt as it reached the level of the city dedicated to dormitories.

Akira and Guy walked alongside each other, having some small conversation while they navigated the halls to their room.

"Oh wow! This place is awesome!" Guy exclaimed as he began darting around to inspect all of the luxurious features of the room.

"Ohhhhh... These beds are crazy soft... And we've even got an Ars-Vision!"

"No kidding. The screen dimensions are pretty big too." Akira added.

"Well, I guess we'd better get going to the orientation."

"You go on ahead, I'll catch up later." Akira said to Guy.

"Alright. Meet you back here, bro."

Tch. I don't wanna listen to them give us some generic speech and tell us rules we already know. Isn't there a park around here?

Akira began to walk around, sulking about having to even attend the academy. After minutes of searching, he found what he was seeking.

"Finally, something good about this place." Akira muttered as he climbed into a tree, finding a limb suitable for laying on.

"Shinatsu may not have been wealthy, but at least it had a nice park."

Akira found himself comforted by the nostalgia of home, and allowed himself a nap in the shade of the tree.

"Man, I didn't know they were starting up a zoo in this place!" An obnoxious voice jeered.

Akira began to mumble as he stirred from his nap.

"Nah, I hear she's the only one. Just a one-man freak show!" A second voice taunted.

Akira had now sat himself up, sufficiently annoyed by the sound. He looked down from the tree and saw two male students harassing a brown haired female student. The girl seemed to be silently enduring their taunts, as though she had dealt with this before.

"Wait a sec. Those ears... and that huge tail. She's a beastkin?"

Beastkin weren't exactly uncommon in Shinatsu due to the local economy, hell, Akira's dad would say the place was infested, but it was strange seeing one in an academy of such prestige as the Military Academy. Students from the Duodecim and influential families are common, but other students are often scouted for their talents.

"What? Got nothing to say, squirrel bitch?"

Akira jumped down from the tree into the center of the three students. He sent a serious glare at the two who were harassing this beastkin.

"Apologize to the lady, now."

"What lady? It's just this smelly animal here." The second one chided.

"I said..." Akira brought his face inches away from theirs. "Apologize to her, now." He practically growled.

"Oh man, it's a beastkin lover!" They chuckled. "Tell ya what: we're gonna beat the tar out of you, then we'll put her in a cage where she belongs!"

The first one took a swing at Akira, one he easily avoided. Grabbing the arm of the first student, he used the momentum and threw him into the second, who was about to try a grapple.

"Are you gonna say you're sorry?" Akira half taunted, half threatened.

"You little fuck!"

The first one got to his feet and went in for a kick. Akira grabbed the leg and smothered it in his chest, nearly breaking it.

"Ahhhh! My fucking leg!" He cried.

"Dude, what'd he do to you?!"

"Just get me to the infirmary, you idiot!" The first, blonde student yelled at the second, brunette.

"You! This isn't over yet! I'm gonna tear you to shreds, you beastkin hugger!" He shouted as he limped away.

"Sheesh. My first day and I'm already making such great friends." Akira sarcastically muttered.

He turned to face the squirrel beastkin. "You alright?"

The girl's brown and white hair fluttered slightly in the breeze, and she seemed dumbstruck by Akira's actions.

"Why did you help me?" She asked.

"You say that like I had a reason not to help. Those guys were being jackasses." Akira extended his hand to shake. "I'm Akira Shimotsuki."

"Wait, of the Duodecim?" The girl asked, even further shocked.

"Yeah... of the Duodecim." He sighed. "Please don't start treating me special or some crap like that."

"Don't give yourself so much credit. Now tell me, why would you bother helping out a beastkin like me?"

Akira was starting to become confused. "What do you mean? You're a person too. It doesn't matter what those idiots say."

The girl hesitated for a moment, then slapped away the hand with a scowl.

"Don't think I'm going to fall for that. I've been set up for a fall before." She turned away before Akira could react and began walking away, but not before muttering one final message. "All you humans are the same."

Akira stood in the center of the park, trying to figure out what had just happened.

What was with that girl? She must have serious trust issues.

With a shrug, he decided to go to the mess hall to get some food. Heading back to the ars elevator he punched in the floor he was looking for and leaned back against the wall. Something about the girl he saw struck him as familiar, but he couldn't place his finger on it. Soon enough, the elevator reached the floor he wanted. After grabbing some food, he began looking around for a spot to sit.

"This place is packed. I guess I almost napped through dinner."

Out of the corner of his eye he spotted a table with three male students sitting in it, with one empty chair.

"Hey, is this seat taken?" Akira asked the blonde one of the trio.

"Hmm? Oh, not at all. Feel free to take it." He responded in a friendly manner.

The blonde one of the group had his hair in a styled short cut, and wore rectangular glasses that had thin frames. On his left, there was another student with black hair and a darker complexion, while the one on his right had shoulder length chestnut hair which was worn half up.

Akira began to dig into his beef udon, satisfied with the taste and mentally chalking up another positive for this place.

"Hey man, you might want to slow down there." The darker haired one chuckled.

"Like you have room to talk, Taro." The chestnut haired one giggled.

"Lighten up, Akane." Taro shot back. "I was just celebrating that JinJin made such a great speech during the ceremony." He said, gesturing to the blonde one.

"Taro, how many times do I have to tell you to stop calling me that?"

"A million and one." He chuckled.

"So you're the Student Body President?" Akira asked.

"Yes. I'm Jin Kisaragi. This is Taro Zazagae, and Akane Teruhito."

"Wait a sec. Kisaragi? As in the Duodecim family?"

"Correct." Jin responded.

"Small world. I'm Akira Shimotsuki, of the Duodecim."

"Wow JinJin, That makes three Duo's that you know." Taro observed.

*Beep Beep*

Jin fished into his pocket and took out his Ars-phone. After reading a message, he gave Akira a serious look.

"I suppose it really is a small world. Akira, I've just gotten a message telling me you nearly broke another student's leg. While normally we would discuss this in the student council room, it's not open at this time, so I suppose we can be a little informal. Tell me exactly what happened."

"*Sigh* I was taking a nap in one of the trees in the park, and I woke up hearing these two guys harassing one of the female students. I jumped down from the branch and told them to apologize. They decided to pick a fight, so I defended myself against them."

"Hmm. I see. Who was the student they were harassing?" Jin asked, being sure not to break his poker face.

"I didn't get her name, but she's got brown hair, hazel eyes, and she's a squirrel beastkin."

After a few moments of mulling it over, Jin gave his response.

"Well, it seems like you were in the right this time, but try not to get confrontational in the future. I'll discuss this with the rest of the student council during our meeting tomorrow."

Taro wrapped his arm around Jin's neck.

"That's our JinJin! Always looking out for the rest of us."

"Taro... would you mind letting me go?"

The next few days were fairly uneventful for Akira. Just a bunch of boring classes and a reminder about the upcoming Ars Magus training, and sparring. It was already looking like it would just be one unwanted hurdle after another. Guy was a welcome distraction thanks to his uplifting mood, but Akira knew it would only last for so long. His thoughts began to drift back to his life back in Shinatsu.

Feels like my whole life was dictated by my dad. All that training and studying... I never even had time for a normal childhood, except those times when I managed to sneak out.

Akira let out a sigh as he looked back on fond memories.

I would always go to the park and go stargazing from up in that huge tree. And then there was that one time I met that girl.

The memory became more vivid as Akira closed his eyes. He was up in a tree way back when he was only ten years old. He was smiling as he could glimpse at all of the constellations from the park in the lower area of the city, closer to the sea.

*Sniff*

Akira perked up as he heard a girl crying from below the canopy of leaves. He swung from the branch and landed on the ground to investigate. At the base of the tree, a young girl was sobbing into her knees. She wore a large winter jacket, despite it being spring, and she had a cap on her head.

"What's wrong?" He asked the girl.

Suddenly the girl jolted and looked up, but she shied her gaze from his eyes.

"G-go away..." She murmured.

Akira really felt bad for this girl, so he decided to sit down and try to talk to her.

"C'mon, you can tell me." He said with a reassuring grin.

The girl used the oversized sleeves of her jacket to wipe away her tears.

"Everyone hates me..."

"Why would they hate you? Did you do something wrong?"

"O-of course not! They just all hate me!" She buried her head into her chest after her outburst. "You probably hate me too..."

"I don't hate you at all." Akira simply responded.

The girl sniffed as she looked up at him.

"You... you mean it?"

"Of course!"

"You wouldn't say that if you saw what I really look like."

Akira shook his head. "Nuh-uh! I promise!"

The girl slowly took off her jacket and hat, revealing her squirrel ears and tail.

"Whoa... those are so..."

The girl braced herself for another series of insults to come her way, just as there had been earlier that day.

"Cute!" Akira finished.

"H-huh?"

"Aww, your tail is so fluffy!" He giggled.

"You... don't think they're strange?"

"Of course not. They're awesome!"

The girl allowed herself to smile, finally feeling that she had found a friend in this city.

"My name's Makoto Nanaya. What's yours?"

"I'm Akira Shimotsuki."

"Isn't that the important family at the top of the city?"

"Yeah, but I hate it there. It's always study this, train with this... I can't stand it! I always have to sneak out at night just to have any kind of fun."

"That sounds pretty bad. Oh no! I'd better get back home!" She panicked as she looked at a nearby clock.

"Hey Makoto, do you want to be friends? We can meet like this all the time."

"Yeah, every night." She held out her hand with the pinkie extended. "You have to pinkie promise."

"Alright." He answered, wrapping his own pinkie around hers.

"Cross my heart, and hope to die. Stick a thousand needles in my eye." They recited.

But unfortunately, Akira couldn't keep his end of the promise. That night, his father figured out how he was getting out of the house at night, and cut down the tree next to his room. It was a whole week before Akira managed to find another way out, but when he went to the park, Makoto was gone. He kept going for every night that week, even during a terrible storm that got him pneumonia.

Akira rose out of his bed in a hurry when he realized who he had met the other day.

"Makoto! I have to find her! I have to tell her I'm sorry I couldn't keep the promise!"

He ran outside his room.

*Thud*

Only to bump into a young woman with blonde hair.

"Oww..." She groaned.

Akira got to his feet and was about to apologize...

"Ah! I-I'm sorry!" The girl said.

"What are you talking about? It was all my fault. You've got nothing to be sorry for." He said as he helped her up.

"Oh... Uh, sorry then..."

Akira rolled his eyes.

"Hey, you wouldn't happen to know a certain female student, would you? Big bushy tail, squirrel ears, you can't miss her."

"Oh, you mean Nanaya?"

"Nanaya? Er, yeah. Makoto Nanaya."

"Her name's Makoto?" Another female voice asked.

This one had long red hair and wore a longer skirt than most female students.

"Yeah, so do you know where she is? It's important." Akira told her.

"I'm afraid not. We're actually looking for her ourselves. She ran off and we're worried about her." The red haired one responded.

"Well, let's look together. My name's Akira Shimotsuki."

"I'm Tsubaki Yayoi." The red haired one responded.

Huh, another Duodecim. Akira thought to himself.

"A-and I'm Noel Vermillion." Said the blonde one.

The three students began looking all over the school grounds for Makoto. Nothing turned up, so they went out towards the forest near a cliff in the city.

"Makoto! Where are you?!" Akira yelled out.

"This is bad. It's starting to get dark out." Tsubaki noted. She turned to Noel. "Hey, Noel. I wanted to talk to you about something."

"Huh? What is it?"

"Why do you keep talking to me like I'm your superior?"

"I-I'm sorry."

"And that's another thing. You keep apologizing to me. You don't have to always say you're sorry. It makes it sound like you've done something wrong and need to repent."

While the two girls were having their discussion, Akira headed for the edge of the cliff, looking out on the horizon.

We've gotta find her. I have to at least tell her I'm sorry about all those years ago.

*Crack*

"Huh?"

"Akira! Get back!" Noel shouted, darting for the male student.

"Wait, Noel!" Tsubaki cried, following her roommate.

Suddenly the edge of the cliff gave way, and all three students began falling towards the lower abandoned area of the city.

"Owww... That was really stupid..." Akira chastised himself.

"N-Noel? Tsubaki? Are you two okay?"

Tsubaki raised her head. "I'm fine. Noel?"

"I-I think I'm okay."

"How are we all fine? That was a hell of a drop." Akira wondered.

"Ugh... Could you three... get off?" A voice groaned.

The three students looked down to see Makoto flat on her back, with her tail tucked beneath. They quickly scrambled off and let out sighs of relief.

"Oh thank goodness you're alright, Makoto. We've been looking everywhere for you!" Noel beamed.

"You used your tail to cushion the fall? I'm truly grateful Makoto." Tsubaki thanked. "But you've had us worried sick."

"Tch. I don't need you worrying about me."

"Makoto, we're not angry, we just wanted to know why you ran off." Tsubaki assured.

"Because I don't have a place here. It'd be better if I just disappeared."

"That's not true at all, Makoto. It wasn't true seven years ago, and it sure isn't true now." Akira assured her.

"Seven years ago? What are you talking about?" She wondered.

"You probably don't recognize me. Heck, I didn't recognize you when we met. It's me, Akira Shimotsuki from Shinatsu. I guess you don't remember my name since you didn't react before."

"Akira... from Shinatsu..." Makoto pondered. "Ah! You mean THAT Akira? The one I met in the park?"

"Your tail and ears are still pretty cute." Akira chuckled.

*Smack!*

"You broke the promise, you jerk!" Makoto shouted.

"Makoto!" Tsubaki yelled.

"No, it's okay." Akira said to Tsubaki. "I'm sorry about that Makoto. My dad figured out I was using the tree outside my room to climb out of the house, so he cut it down the next day. It took me a week to find another way out. I went to that park every night after that for a week, even during that huge storm. I was in bed with pneumonia for a while because of that. I came looking for you because I wanted to say I'm sorry. I must have been your only friend back then and I let you down."

Akira bowed his head in shame. And the air between them was silent.

"You... You waited for me even out in that horrible rain?"

"Yeah, but I've always hated myself for not trying harder to find you and put things right."

Akira was suddenly wrapped in a tight hug.

"I'm sorry too!"

"Huh?"

"After that day, I hated your guts. I kept thinking about how I wanted to beat you up for betraying me, but I didn't know the truth."

"So, are we still friends?" Akira asked.

"Of course you big dummy!" Makoto responded, tightening her grip.

"I'm glad to see the two of you have repaired your relationship, but Makoto, you don't have to feel like you're different." Tsubaki told her.

"What are you talking about? Of course I'm different."

"How's that?" Noel asked.

"It's... well..."

Makoto thought for a long time, but couldn't find an answer to such a simple question.

"I'm not... I'm..."

Suddenly overwhelmed by the emotions she had kept bottled up for years, she began sobbing uncontrollably.

"I'm not different! I'm not! I just wanted to be the same..." She cried out.

Akira hugged Makoto to comfort her. "Hey, it's alright. Just let it out."

Makoto continued to let her tears roll freely. All the years of being discriminated and ostracised were finally getting their emotional response. After a while of Makoto's sobs, she regained her composure.

"A-achoo!" Noel sneezed.

Suddenly Akira and Tsubaki noticed the biting cold as well.

"W-we must have fallen through the artificial ecosystem." Tsubaki noted through clattering teeth.

"Wait, if we're this far down, what about... Oh, thank goodness. The seithr isn't too thick here." Akira sighed with relief.

"But it's just gonna keep getting colder." Makoto observed.

"I don't think... I'm going to make it." Noel murmured.

"Get a hold of yourself, Noel." Tsubaki scolded, Clearly worried about her friend.

"Uh, why don't you come over here? My tail is pretty warm." Makoto offered.

Noel didn't hesitate to shuffle over to the beastkin, cuddling up to her bushy tail.

"Oh wow, it's really warm." She moaned.

"You three wait here. I'll go look for a way out." Tsubaki said.

"The heck you are! You've got a sprained ankle, right?" Makoto asked.

Suddenly Akira could hear noise from above them.

"Hey, is that... HEY! We're down here!" He shouted up.

"Akira?! Is that you?!" Jin called down.

"Jin?!" Tsubaki replied.

"Tsubaki is down there too? Hang on, I'll get help!"

"OK...!" Tsubaki called back.

Soon enough, help arrived and all four students were brought back to safety. However, it was not without punishment.

The next day...

Jin adjusted his glasses as his stern gaze washed over the four students before him.

"I will now give you your punishment. Don't try to appeal, because the entire student council decided on this."

"Huh? They have to be punished too? But it was my fault for running off. Just punish me." Makoto interrupted.

"No way, Makoto. We're in this together. It was my fault for walking to the cliff anyway."

"Did you not hear me? You're all guilty and there are no appeals. Now, your punishment is to handle the dormitories cafeteria duties for the next week. Be sure to help each other out, OK?" Jin finished.

"Y-yes...!" The four of the answered.

"So Noel, how skilled are you at cooking?" Tsubaki asked once all of them had exited to the hall.

"Umm... Well, I guess I'm a little confident."

"That sounds... promising." Makoto shuddered slightly. "What about you Tsubaki?"

"A little. I have a bit of an interest in it. How about you?"

"Trust me, when you live in a cramped house with half a dozen other mouths that need feeding, you pick up tips from your mom. Akira, you're the last one."

"Well, I've read up on cooking all the time back in Shinatsu. I never got close to a kitchen, but my head is like a culinary encyclopedia."

For the next week, the four of them shared laughs as they performed their punishment. Also, there was a rise in infirmary cases from those who at Noel's cooking. It was since dubbed in secret: Noel's death cooking.

During the next week, the Ars Magus training had begun. Akira was only above average in his aptitude test, but he was learning basic Ars Magus fairly well. All students began by learning barrier Ars to be used in combat, a basic skill that could decide life and death. After their ars training, Akira's class was to meet with another for sparring.

"Akira! How's it shaking?"

"Makoto! Glad to see you're in this class."

"Me too. Hey, you wanna be sparring buddies?"

"Sure! I'd like that."

Akira walked over to the practice weapon rack and grabbed a wooden practice sword. After giving it a few swings, he found the balance to be perfect.

"Makoto, aren't you grabbing a weapon?"

"I've got two weapons right here." She said, presenting her fists with a grin.

"If you say so."

Both friends entered the ring, taking a stance apart from each other.

I should go easy on her. She's unarmed and probably has less trai-

Akira's thoughts were interrupted as Makoto dashed forward and threw out a punch faster than Akira could trace. Only by sheer reflex did he manage to dodge the first punch.

Her reflexes are insane! I couldn't even see her shoulder movements!

Another punch swung out, this time hitting it's mark and causing Akira to spin in place. After a moment he got his bearings and brought his sword into a guarding stance. This time Akira could see the third punch coming, and he swept it to the side with one hand, while the other swung out with the sword. It managed to catch Makoto in the side, but she certainly wasn't going to be finished by one hit.

Makoto crouched low and went into an uppercut. Akira bent back to avoid it, but got a glancing blow that still managed to lift him off the ground. Thinking quickly, he recovered and landed on his feet, jumping in the air and flipping for an overhead strike. Makoto managed to block it, but the impact rattled her bones. Both combatants jumped back to create distance, Then they both went forward for a strike with all their might.

"Haaaah!"

"Spoon!"

"Owww... What happened?" Akira asked as he finally woke up.

"Ah, I see you're awake." The school nurse noticed.

"Wait, I'm in the infirmary?"

"Yep, both of you are. You and that beastkin girl knocked each other out during the sparring session. I hear that news is really making waves through the school."

"So, where is Makoto?"

The curtain placed for dividing beds was drawn aside, and Makoto could be seen murmuring in her sleep.

"Don't worry, she's fine. Beastkin are built tough, and she's no exception."

Akira let out a sigh of relief.

"I hate to do this, but I have to go and run an errand. It shouldn't take too long, but keep an eye on her, alright?"

"Sure."

With that, the nurse left the infirmary, leaving Akira alone with Makoto.

"Hey Makoto, are you feeling okay?" He asked her.

"Chestnut parfait..." She murmured.

"Yeah, you're gonna be fine."

"Akira... I was... so lonely before..." She trailed off in her dream.

"Hey you've got me and Noel and Tsubaki too. You'll never be alone again." Akira assured her.

"Huh...? Where am I?" Makoto asked.

"Oh, you're awake. Looks like we both clocked each other when we sparred." Akira explained.

"Heh, I knew you'd be tough to take down." Makoto laughed.

"Oh please, it was all I could do to avoid getting owned by you. That's the last time I consider going easy on you." Akira responded.

"And they say chivalry is dead."

The two friends shared a hearty laugh at their teasing, unaware of the trials they would face within the academy.

It had been a few weeks since the sparring incident, and two new friends had been added to the group of girls. Mai Natsume, a timid girl who had the misfortune of only being able to enjoy Noel's cooking, and Cajun Faycott, an eccentric, but intelligent girl. Things had been going normally at the academy, that is, until today.

"A-achoo!" Akira sneezed.

Akira and the others had bundled up today due to the mysterious cold and snow that was afflicting the school.

"Sheesh, you're such a weenie." Makoto teased.

"Not all of us have a tail that gives us +10 warmth."

Makoto snickered at his response. "Did you seriously just give my tail an RPG stat?"

"Games were the only thing I had except for books back in my house. Besides, don't you play games too?"

"Yeah, but I'm not the one giving people stats. You sound like you belong in a Tales game."

"Har har." Akira sarcastically laughed.

"A-ahhh!" A female voice cried out.

"Hey isn't that..." Akira began.

"Mai, you alright?" Makoto asked the blue haired girl that had slipped on a patch of ice.

"Y-yeah. Thanks, Makoto."

"What's with all this cold? Shouldn't the artificial climate be making it nice and warm?" Akira asked.

"Well, that's the thing..." Another voice began.

"Good morning, Jin." Akira welcomed.

Tsubaki, Noel, and Cajun followed. The light violet haired girl had the good fortune of having a long coat to help deal with the cold weather.

"Good morning to you too. But like I was saying, all of Torifune is being affected by this weather."

"The entire city? If the artificial climate has failed, it could easily get worse." Tsubaki worried.

"Perhaps. We'll have to discuss this with the student council. For now-"

"Goooood Moooorniiing, JinJin!" Taro called out.

Taro went to wrap his arm around Jin, but wound up slipping and bringing both of them down on the rest of the group. A snowball effect took place and the three men and four girls began sliding down the hill without any hopes of stopping. In the chaos, Taro managed to catch a glimpse of Akane, who had finished making a snow hut.

"Outta the way! Outta the way!"

Akane quickly sidestepped, and the group hurtled past and launched off of the snow hut.

"Huh. They sure went far." Akane nonchalantly noted.

"Where are we?" Tsubaki asked.

Jin adjusted his glasses seriously. "We're in a place where we have no jurisdiction."

Jin glared at Taro, who immediately began to gesture an apology. "I'll have to deal with many things after today is over."

Akira finally dug his head out from the sand. "Ah, yuck! Sand in my mouth! Wait, sand?"

Soon everyone in the group began to notice the unbearable heat.

"It's so hot!" Makoto complained as she undid her school tie.

"There's no way we went completely out of Torifune." Akira sniffed the air. "Hey, do you guys smell that? It smells like..."

"The ocean!" Mai exclaimed.

"Amazing! There really are a lot of places in Torifune." Noel admired. "I've been wanting to swim for a while, but..."

"Yeaaah... If only we had swimsuits!" Makoto whined.

"He he he. I thought something like this might happen..." Cajun giggled.

"Wait wait wait. You thought we would get sent flying to the ocean today?" Akira butted in.

"Of course. It was completely obvious."

Obvious how?!

Cajun fished into her jacket pocket and pulled out a small bottle of a gel like liquid.

"Tadaaaah! Indeed."

"What is it?" Taro asked.

"This is Golden Angel. They're a selectively bred form of gel-like creatures. Once you rub it onto your skin, it sticks to it and becomes a swimsuit. And don't worry, it originally thrived on the shore, so there's no chance of it breaking easily."

"Should we really be playing around in a situation like this?" Tsubaki wondered.

"I just got done talking to Akane. He said that they'll be able to arrange an airship to look for us soon. For now, feel free to play." Jin informed the group.

The rest of the group cheered as the girls ran off to put on their Golden Angel.

"It's been a couple of minutes. Think they're almost done?" Akira asked Taro.

"Wanna snag a peek?" He asked with a mischievous grin.

"I don't feel like dying just yet." Akira deadpanned.

Right after Akira had said that, the girls walked out from behind the rock where they had applied their Golden Angel. Mai seemed to be blushing really hard, but she seemed to have a pleasant air about her. All of them were in swimsuits that were tailor made for them, right down to the very color.

"You girls are looking great!" Taro said, without a hint of subtlety as to what he really meant.

"That's the wonder of the Golden Angel! Speaking of which..." Cajun trailed off.

She tossed the bottle over to Taro, who sprinted off behind the rock before Akira could protest. With a sigh, Akira turned back to the girls, and found Makoto looking into his eyes.

"Pretty neat, huh?" She asked, taking a few poses.

Akira blushed from the view he was given. "Y-yeah. Hey Makoto, don't you think that's a bit... revealing?" He asked, modesty forcing him from looking her in they eye.

Makoto had a very amused grin on her face. "Oh ho! you're not embarrassed about... this are you?" She said, leaning in and pressing her breasts against his chest.

Not sure if I should be counting my blessings or cursing at the heavens.

Fortunately for Akira, Taro returned to show off his new set of swim trunks. Seeing his opportunity, he grabbed the Golden Angel and darted behind the rock.

"Oh man, that was a better reaction than I could have hoped for!" Makoto laughed.

Back behind the rock, Akira was applying the Golden Angel, and plotting his revenge.

"Maybe it's time I tried out that ars. Heh heh heh."

After he had made his own pair of trunks, Akira went back out to find Makoto was swimming in the ocean.

"Perfect."

With a bit of concentration, Akira managed to focus his Ars to create a huge wave directed straight at Makoto.

"Huh? H-holy crap!" She exclaimed as she caught sight of the wall of water.

Makoto tried to swim faster in an attempt to escape it, but she had no such luck. Soon the wave overwhelmed her and sent her crashing below the water.

"Ha ha ha! Revenge is sweet." Akira snickered.

Makoto crashed onto the shore, coughing out sea water. As she raised her head up, she noticed a small book laying in front of her.

"The heck is this?" She wondered.

Akira found his curiosity get the better of him, so he went over to the beastkin in order to investigate.

"What'd you find?" He asked.

"We'll see in a sec. Hey Mai, can you examine this?" She asked her blue haired friend.

Mai nodded in response and took the album from Makoto. She then proceeded to lick the outside of it.

"Uh... Why is she licking something that's been laying around in the ocean?" Akira asked Makoto.

"Oh, right. I never got around to telling you. Mai has this awesome super taste. She can tell all sorts of stuff just from tasting something. Heck, she can even tell how people think by kissing them."

"H-how do you know that last bit?" Akira nervously asked.

"Awww, are you jealous?"

Akira turned away, flustered. "I-I am not!"

"Oh my god, you totally are!" Makoto laughed.

"I... Dammit, you're right."

"Ha Ha Ha! No need to keep deny- Wait, wha?"

"I admit it. I'm jealous Mai got to kiss you. Then again, I'm pretty sure most guys would." Akira admitted.

Caught off guard by his honesty, Makoto found herself blushing. "Uh, gee thanks."

"This is a Grimoire!" Mai blurted.

"O-oh! That's awesome!" Makoto quickly responded, glad for a distraction.

Was Makoto just embarrassed? That's a first.

"Well, what can you tell about it?" Cajun asked.

"Well... The taste isn't perfected yet, almost like it hasn't gained its full power." Mai analyzed.

The inside of the album had four spots for pictures, each with a label. Joy, Anger, Grief, and Comfort.

"I'm not sure what powers it has, but it's possible this is the Azure Grimoire." Cajun proposed.

"Azure Grimoire? Isn't that the legendary one that's said to be the most powerful Grimoire of all?" Akira asked.

Jin suddenly bolted up from where he sat, still donning his full school uniform. He faltered in his step, prompting Tsubaki to rush to his side.

"Jin!"

"I'm sorry. The seithr levels are unstable here. It seems that's beginning to make me ill."

Suddenly Jin caught Noel in the corner of his vision, and sent her a malevolent glare. None of the others noticed, save for Noel herself and Akira. As Jin was laid down to help him recover with his head resting on Tsubaki's lap, she found herself smiling in true bliss. Makoto and Cajun noticed and shared a sly smile. Cajun produced an instant developing camera and took a picture.

"What are you doing?" Tsubaki asked.

"You just looked so happy, Tsubaki." Makoto said with a smile.

"Indeed, this is Joy." Cajun added.

"W-what?! How could I be happy when Jin is in pain?!"

*Click*

Another photo was taken by the pair.

"And this one looks just like Anger!" Makoto laughed.

Cajun placed both photos into the Grimoire.

"They both fit perfectly."

"Welp, we're leaving Jin to you!" Makoto said before darting away with Cajun.

Akira awkwardly chuckled as he shuffled out of Tsubaki's sight, following Makoto and Cajun.

"So the next one we need is Grief." Makoto observed.

"Kyaaah! Bugs! Get them away!" Noel screamed.

Akira had to squint to see the small bug she was panicking about.

"That's really sad..." Akira muttered.

*Click*

"Huh, it fits great." Makoto noted.

The photo was of Noel screaming in horror and clutching onto Mai out of fear.

"So all we need now is comfort, right? How about a picture of us lounging around or something?" Akira suggested.

"That could work." Cajun agreed.

Akira and Makoto found a comfy spot on the ground and laid back. Cajun took the photo of the two and tried to put it in the Grimoire.

"Odd. It doesn't seem to work." Cajun said.

"Hey! There are tide pools in this cave!" Noel shouted to the group.

Makoto quickly ran over to join Noel in the fun, while Akira and Cajun followed behind. Cajun noticed something dripping from the ceiling, and gasped in realization.

"Stop! Those aren't tide pools!"

"Huh?" Makoto wondered.

Suddenly a large amount of water fell on Makoto and Noel, turning their swimsuits into gel.

"Hyaaah!" Noel shrieked.

Makoto glimpsed at Akira, and her face turned beet red.

"No looking!" She shouted.

Suddenly she darted straight at Akira at blinding speed and punched him right in the face, knocking him out cold.

"You see, that water dripping from the ceiling is snow that's melted. So it's a freshwater pool."

"What does that have to do with it?" Mai asked.

"The base of Golden Angel is made from a Sea Cucumber's stickiness, so it can't survive in fresh water."

"Seriously...?" Makoto asked in annoyance.

"Mai! The water's about to-." Noel tried to warn.

More water fell from the ceiling directly on Mai, causing her swimsuit to be destroyed as well. Cajun took a photo of the chaos, and found that it fit the last spot perfectly.

"A perverse Grimoire, indeed."

"Owwww..." Akira moaned from the sickbay on the airship.

"So you're up now, huh?" A familiar voice asked.

"Guy? What are you doing here? Wait, we're on an airship?"

"Yeah. When I heard what happened, I asked Akane if I could tag along. I couldn't very well leave my roommate hanging." Guy explained

"Thanks man. I appreciate the thought." Akira suddenly felt a terrible pain in his face. "Ah! What happened?!"

"Beats me, man. Looks like you got hit in the face with a cinderblock. Want a mirror?"

"Is it really that bad?" Akira nervously asked.

"Nah, but doesn't it make the pain seem insignificant?"

"Kinda. Wait, I think I remember what happened. We were in a cave... And then there was something about water... And the last thing I remember is Makoto rushing at me."

"I don't know what to make of that, dude. Better ask her yourself."

"I'll ask her after I get hot cocoa at the Academy. It's gotta be frozen over by now."

"Actually, the climate control's fixed. Nobody knows how, but the ars glyph just reappeared in the sky all of a sudden."

"I guess I'll have to ask Makoto about that too." Akira said to himself.

Later, after the airship had returned to the Academy, Akira managed to catch up with Makoto.

"Hey Makoto, wait up!"

"Huh? Oh, A-akira. H-how are you doing?" She asked, suddenly flustered.

"Fine except for the pain in my face. I wanted to ask you about that. What happened?"

Makoto blinked her eyes in disbelief. "You... don't remember?"

"Not really. I just have a few details I remember."

Maybe I can work this to my advantage! Makoto thought.

"Oh yeah, you got hit in the face by a stalactite. Yep, that's what happened."

"Makoto... I distinctly remember no stalactites in that cave."

"R-really? Isn't that just the darndest thing? Ha ha... ah..."

Makoto hung her head in defeat.

"Okay, look. You saw me naked, and I kinda freaked out and punched you in the face."

"I... saw you naked?" Akira asked with a blush.

"Y-yeah... I don't know why, but I completely freaked out because you saw me. A-anyway, it's been a long day, so do you think maybe we can just forget this ever happened?"

"Forget what ever happened?" Akira asked.

"You know, that you saw-" Makoto stopped as she saw the grin on Akira's face. "Oh, duh."

The two friends shared a laugh at their silly antics and went their separate ways to bed.

The next day Akira went to the park during his day off. Finding the tree he had napped in the first day, he climbed up and allowed himself to daydream.

Things have been going better than I ever thought. I'm making great friends, and having so much fun. I doubt anything could ruin this.

"I knew you'd come back here." A male voice said in a rather sinister tone.

Akira looked down to see the student whose leg he had nearly broken on the first day.

"Of course I had to tempt fate..." He muttered.

"I told you I'd rip you to shreds, you little Beastkin Hugger. Now get down here so I can do it."

"You know what? I've had enough of your crap. How about we settle this in the ring and make a wager on it?"

"I'm listening..."

"Hand to hand. If I win, you apologize to Makoto."

The other student's grin grew wider. "Alright, but if I win, you leave the Academy, forever."

Normally only a fool would risk such an uneven wager, but Akira had already beaten his opponent once, and he was confident he could do so again.

"Deal."

Both men had made their way to the sparring ring, and were donning white gi's for the battle. Akira bowed to his opponent, while the other student simply spat at his feet.

"I'm gonna bloody that face of yours!" He shouted.

"How profound." Akira deadpanned.

The other student charged in for a very unprofessional grapple. Akira simply kicked him in the abdomen, and followed it up with a roundhouse to the face.

"You might want to start thinking about that apology." Akira taunted.

"I'm not through yet!"

The other student got to his feet and took a different stance.

He's using Muay Thai. I guess that's what he's trained in.

The other student ran in and delivered a rising knee to Akira's face. Akira doubled over in pain, and the other student almost hit him with an axe kick. Akira was fortunate enough to anticipate the follow up and move out of the way.

"Damn... That hurt."

The other student charged in with an elbow strike. Akira managed to catch it just in time, and delivered a double palm to knock him back.

What the-? Did I feel something in his gi?

The other student gave Akira a malicious grin and charged in for a right hook to the face. Instinctively, Akira blocked with both hands.

*Splutch*

"Graaah!" Akira cried out in pain.

He looked to his left side to see the top part of a practice arrow stuck in it.

Bastard must have broken it off earlier and snuck it into his gi!

Suddenly Akira was barraged with a series of punches and kicks, one of which hit the bottom of the arrow shaft, forcing it deeper.

Akira collapsed from the damage he had sustained, barely managing to stay conscious.

"Ha ha! Looks like I've won! And that means..."

The other student was silenced by Akira hitting him with a spinning uppercut.

"Shoryuken, you son of a bitch!"

Akira struck out in blind rage at his opponent.

I will not lose! I'm not going to leave! I won't leave my friends! Not Guy, or Mai, or Noel! And certainly not Makoto!

Akira finally knocked his opponent to the ground with a leg sweep, and proceeded to straddle him and punch him in the face.

"Do you give? Do you give?!"

"Ahhh! Stop! I'm sorry! I'm sorry!" He begged for mercy.

"Heh... Good..."

Akira finally passed out from exhaustion and blood loss, but he was content that he had secured his victory.

Akira woke about an hour later in the infirmary. The smell of antiseptics coated the air, and he felt the warm sensation of morphine entering his body.

"*Sniff* Akira..." A voice cried.

Akira then noticed Makoto sitting in a chair, crying into his bedside.

"Heh, you should see the other guy." Akira chuckled.

"Y-you're okay! Makoto cheered before wrapping her arms around him. "Wait, this happened from a fight?!"

"Yeah, that guy from the first day had a bone to pick with me, so I told him we would settle it in the ring and put a wager on it. If I won he was supposed to apologize to you. And if he won, I would leave the Academy for good."

"You idiot! You risked being able to stay here for me?!"

"I couldn't stand what he said to you. I wanted him to atone for it. During the fight, he used a broken off arrow tip to stab me. I nearly blacked out at first, but then I thought about you. I didn't want to just leave you and the others and that gave me the strength to beat him."

"You could have died or something!" She yelled, tears in her eyes.

"If it makes you feel any better, I'm sorry for worrying you Makoto."

Akira suddenly found himself taken off guard as Makoto pressed her lips against his.

"Just don't do anything stupid like that again, okay?" She asked.

Akira needed a moment to get over the shock of what had just happened, but soon his expression softened to a smile.

"Anything for you."

Later that evening, Makoto was asked to leave by the nurse, but if there was one thing Makoto was good at, it was being stubborn. She was allowed to stay, and offered the use of the empty bed next to Akira.

"Hey, Makoto?" Akira asked.

"What's up?"

"I've been thinking... Why did you enroll in the Academy?"

"Because the pay in the NOL is good."

"Seriously?" He snickered.

"Hey, I didn't finish. I want to use the money to support my family. We weren't exactly well off back in Shinatsu." Makoto leaned back in her bed. "Why are you asking this all of a sudden?"

"Well, everyone has their reasons for joining the Academy. Everyone, except me. You and Noel want to help your families, Guy told me he wants to give back to the city that raised him, heck, even the other Duodecims have plans. Tsubaki wants to serve the Imperitor to make a world of peace. But me? All I've ever done is complain about being sent here."

"Akira..."

"Did you know that once I graduate I'll be given the rank of First Lieutenant? It happens to all children of the Duodecim. But I never gave any thought as to what I could do with that power. But you... You've given me the answer Makoto."

"I have?" She asked in confusion.

"I want to make a world where it doesn't matter what race you are or what family you were born to. A world where your actions decide your station." Akira stopped and laughed at the idea. "You probably think it's stupid. I wouldn't blame you for it. I mean, what could one guy really do?"

Makoto leaned over and pecked him on the cheek.

"It's not stupid at all. I think it's the best idea I've heard of in a long time."

"Thanks, Makoto." Akira shifted slightly in his bed. "Well, since we're both gonna be here awhile, I guess we should catch up for lost time. What's your family like?"

"Oh, now there's a great question. Well, I guess I should start with my dad. He's super tough and strong. He fishes for us in the summer and hunts in the winter, plus he's always training his body. His motto is 'I'll rest when I'm dead, dammit'. He kicks so much ass."

Akira suddenly thought of what it would be like to meet this man.

I'm really hoping he's friendly.

"Then there's my mom. She's really sweet and loving, but if you get on her bad side..." Makoto made a motion across her throat to illustrate the point.

"That bad?"

"I once hid in that park for three days because I played a prank on her. I bolted as soon as I heard her yell my name."

Yikes.

"I've also got a ton of brothers and sisters, but you'll probably meet them during family week. So what's your family like?"

"There's not much to tell. I'm an only child. My dad's been ordering me around since I can remember. He says it's to ensure the family way lives on, but he wants me to be cold, calculating, and hate the beastkin that 'have dragged our city into despair'."

"He sounds like a jackass. Doesn't your mom try to keep him in line?"

Akira cringed at the word 'mom'. It was like opening an old wound.

"My mother... died after I was born."

Makoto covered her mouth in horror. "I-I'm sorry. I just assumed that-"

"It's fine. You didn't know. I never knew her myself, but I kept hearing the maids gossip about how kind she was. They would go on and on about how she would give her money to just about any poor beggar she saw, and how she once gave up her umbrella on a rainy afternoon to a little boy that had lost his in a gust of wind." Akira said, smiling fondly as he pictured the scenarios in his mind.

"She sounds even nicer than my mom. How the hell did she wind up with your dad?"

"Beats me, but I've always tried to follow her example. That's why I keep going out of my way to help out my friends." Akira took the initiative to give Makoto a kiss instead of waiting for her to do it again. "And that's why I'm going to change this world. For you, Makoto."

Makoto snickered at his words.

"What's so funny?"

"You're so sappy. But, it's a good kind of sappy."

The two of them chuckled as they kept each other company. They could no longer be known simply as friends, for their bond had grown much deeper.

The next day, Akira was admitted from the infirmary and was able to resume normal classwork, though he would have to be careful about how he exerted himself. His day had been going smoothly, but on his way to lunch, he noticed something different. All of the other students were glancing at him and making whispers. Some would snicker after hearing the gossip, while others gasped in shock.

"Yo! Akira!" Guy called out as he jogged down the hall to catch up with him.

"Hey, Guy. Have you heard anyone say something about me? I feel like something's up."

The spiky haired boy rubbed his chin in thought. "Well, now that you mention it, I overheard some guy talking about some kinda gossip. Something about one of the male students probably being in a relationship with a beastkin."

"What?! How the hell did that spread around so quickly?!" Akira asked in shock.

"Whoa! Calm down, man. I don't know a thing. Wait... Are you saying it's true?"

Akira was uncertain about how Guy would react.

"And if it was?" He cautiously asked.

"Then I'd have to give you a congratulatory punch in the arm." He said with a grin.

Good to know my roommate is level headed.

"Alright, but make it later, would ya? I'm still a bit sore from my injury."

"Oh yeah, I was gonna tell you about that too. The other student got expelled. I even heard that they're placing charges on him and everything."

Akira huffed. "Serves him right. Well, I've gotta meet up with someone at lunch. We'll catch up later?"

"Hey, no problem. Good luck with everything." Guy said.

Akira increased his pace so he could be sure to meet up with Makoto as soon as possible. Something told him he had to talk about this as soon as he could. After grabbing a sandwich from the line, he found Makoto sitting outside with Noel and Tsubaki. As he approached, he could hear Makoto ranting on to her friends.

"I'm such a complete idiot! Why wasn't I more careful about it!"

Tsubaki tried her best to reassure her friend. "It's not your fault, Makoto. Besides, wouldn't something like this have gotten out eventually?"

"Yeah, but with things like they are now, we're both gonna be freaking pariahs." She moaned.

"Who's going to be a pariah?" Akira asked now that he had sat down with the trio.

Makoto nearly jumped out of her skin the moment she saw him. "H-hey, Akira. How's my GOOD FRIEND DOING." She said with a nervous grin, her eyes darting around at the other students.

Akira let out a sigh. "Makoto, I already know about the rumour. So what happened?"

Makoto hung her head in defeat. "Well, you see... during breakfast while you were still getting checked out, I kinda let it slip to Noel and Tsubaki."

Akira raised his brow. "So?"

"Well, I may have been overheard by those girls who picked on me during the first week. I guess they were still pissed so they spread it all around the school."

Akira shrugged. "I'm still not seeing how this is making us pariahs."

"You're a Duodecim! And... I'm just a Beastkin... Our kind get treated bad enough as is. If this kind of stuff goes around, they're gonna start saying all kinds of things, like that I'm after you for your status or that I'm a whore. And then there's what will happen to you!"

Akira shook his head in confusion. "What would happen to me?"

Tsubaki decided to answer for her friend. "She's worried that this kind of news would slander your family name, and that you would become an outcast because of it."

Noel meekly added her thoughts. "Umm... If it makes you feel any better, I still think you too are great together."

"Look, I'm sorry Akira. I'll do whatever I can to clear this up-"

Akira pressed his lips against Makoto's in the middle of the small park, earning gasps and various other responses from the other students. Makoto quickly pulled herself away with a look of pure shock.

"Clear what up? It's out in the open now." Akira said with a smirk.

Makoto took a moment to process what had just happened, and when she did, she allowed herself a smile. "I guess we're both screwed now, huh."

"Maybe, but if we are, I'm glad it's together." Akira said.

"Aww, JinJin, doesn't that make you just want to cry?" Taro asked as he wiped away his tears.

"I can't say I'm being drawn to tears, but it is touching." He admitted.

"When did you guys get here?" Akira asked.

Jin adjusted his glasses. "To be honest, I saw what happened after hearing everyone gasping. I'd just like to say it's good to see you're both happy. Just let me know if anyone gives you any trouble." Jin assured with a smile.

Taro beat his chest in agreement. "Yeah, that goes for me too!"

While many of the other students began to whisper ever louder as the taboo couple gained open support from the two male students, the couple itself began chuckling and thanking their close friends.

Akira's eyes burst open from where he sat on the airship. As he looked around he noticed the other passengers getting up to disembark from the vehicle.

Akira let out a disappointed sigh. "Just more reminiscing..." He quickly got to his feet and put his long coat back on with a flourish. Times had changed from his simple academy days. Graduation brought with it the loneliness of being separated from his friends as they all followed their own paths. From what he had heard, Jin had managed to become a Major after his heroics in the Ikaruga Civil War, and Noel was his secretary. He wasn't sure what happened to Tsubaki, but he knew for a fact that his old friend Guy was stationed in Kagutsuchi, the very city he had just arrived in.

"The NOL sure has a funny sense of humor. Who sends someone on a base transfer on New Year's Day?" Akira complained to no one in particular.

Akira had previously been stationed back in Shinatsu after certain... complications that occurred during his career in the academy. He still found himself unintentionally touching the silver bracelet on his right wrist every time he thought about it.

"Dad..." Akira shook his head in frustration. "This is no time to be mourning him. Get it together!" He admonished himself.

As he made his way down the gangplank, his long midnight blue coat whipped in the wind, revealing the black pants and white shirt he wore beneath. As he looked around, he noticed there wasn't a guard detail to meet him for the transfer.

"I guess the festivities last night must have made it slip their minds."

With a shrug, he walked further into the city, glancing at the NOL building that sat at the highest point of the city.

"Well, if they're gonna be late to meet me, I'll just return the favor and take care of those errands ahead of time. Still, I'd better make it quick so I can meet up with Guy."

Making a detour, Akira began heading for the lower districts of Kagutsuchi, being sure that he was not being followed. After taking a longer roundabout path, he came upon his destination.

"Not sure I like this kind of thing being in such a public area, but I don't have much of a choice."

Akira made his way inside the building, soon finding his gaze drifting between each display. The Kagutsuchi museum certainly did a good job of arranging the displays in the entrance to keep people interested. After spotting a massive skeleton he stood there and leaned on the rail. Soon enough the person he was expecting came along.

A woman clad in a long black coat with the hood up slowly made her way to the display, feigning interest in other ones along the way to avoid suspicion.

"So then, what brings you to the museum?" He asked the woman, now identifying her coat as one from the NOL intelligence department.

"Oh, I was looking for this old creature, the Gnu. I remember hearing that these things were massive a little while ago." She said, her eyes facing the display.

"I guess you learned something gnu yourself, eh? Or perhaps... you are gnu?" Akira said, turning to face the woman.

"So you're the guy I'm giving the intel to, huh? I-" The woman stopped mid sentence as she took note of Akira's face. "Well, I'll be damned."

"That voice..." Akira muttered to himself. Suddenly he gasped as he managed to place the strangely familiar voice. "No freaking way..."

The woman tossed off her coat, revealing her face. "Long time no see, my knight in shining armor." Makoto teased.

Overcome with emotion, Akira went in and pulled Makoto into a hug.

"Oh, Makoto! You have no idea how much I've missed you over the years!" As Akira pulled away from the embrace, he noticed Makoto's revealing attire.

"Whoa." Was all he could manage.

Makoto had her trademark mischievous grin on in an instant. "Oh, so you like the new look?"

Akira was left staring at Makoto's new combat outfit, an orange half top that left a fair amount of underboob, and an extremely short orange 'skirt' that easily gave sight to the thong she wore.

"Did you somehow know I was coming and did this to mess with me? Because it's certainly working." Akira said as he did his best to control his gaze.

"You always were fun to tease, but no. This is just what I wear whenever I need to get my hands dirty. It lets me move real easy so I can take out my opponent real quick." Makoto took a moment to observe Akira's new attire. "Nice getup. I thought members of the Armagus soldier units had to wear the same gear?"

Akira allowed himself a smirk. "Not if you manage to become a Captain."

"Whoa! Congrats on making it that high! I'm a Lieutenant myself, but I do know a Captain."

Akira took a moment to think. "Yeah, the Captain from Intel I keep hearing about. Captain... Hazama?"

"Yeah, something about that guy just plain gives me the creeps. Maybe it's the swallowing hardboiled eggs whole thing."

"What, like a snake?" Akira asked.

"Yeah! He's even got this weird vibe about him. Something about him just doesn't sit right with me."

Akira turned to look back at the skeleton again, his face becoming serious. "So... when did you become a spy for Sector Seven?"

"I've been with them for about a year now. After I actually worked with the Library, I could see that they were crooked. I wanted to help take them down, but making some money from both sources at the same time was too good to pass up."

Akira chuckled softly. "Still thinking about your family, huh?"

"Of course. They're everything to me. So how about you?"

"I'm still in a bit of a probationary period. Kokonoe isn't too keen on trusting a captain from the NOL right out of the gate. Honestly, I can't blame her, but I'm with her if it means a good shot at shutting down the Library."

Makoto shifted uneasily before next speaking to Akira. "Hey, Akira? I just wanted to say... about that time at the academy..."

Akira turned to Makoto and looked her sternly in the eye. "That wasn't your fault. Don't blame yourself for it."

"B-but I-"

Akira let out a sigh. "We should probably head our separate ways. Wouldn't want anyone to start eavesdropping."

Makoto's ears drooped. "Right..."

"Oh, I almost forgot."

Akira quickly pulled Makoto in for a kiss.

"I promised I'd kiss you when we met up again."

Makoto managed to smile again before punching Akira playfully in the arm. "You always have to be so cheesy, don't you?"

"Hey, I can't help it if I'm a hopeless romantic."

Makoto chuckled. "Keep telling yourself that, Romeo."

With that final exchange, the two bade each other farewell, but neither of them could be aware of the events that would transpire in the days to come.

Making his way towards Orient Town, Akira kept the data disk safely in his coat pocket. As he rounded a nearby corner, a digital beep sounded within the confines of his mind, and a holographic display appeared before him. Within the display was Kokonoe, the usually agitated half beastkin scientist of Sector Seven. She had pink hair, cat ears, a cat tail that split into two, and she wore a modified labcoat with red capris.

"Kokonoe, what's up?" Akira asked. Fortunately he wouldn't have to worry about anyone hearing the other half of the conversation as Kokonoe was using an ars that tapped directly into his mind.

"Status report." She simply said, her eyes darting between other monitors.

"I've got the disc, just as promised. What do I need to do for retrieval?"

Kokonoe tapped a few keys into her console. "Hang on, I'm sending someone over to pick it up. She should be showing up right about..."

*Krzzshmmm*

Suddenly the area in front of Akira began glowing with a crackling energy. Akira shielded his eyes as it began to intensify, but it quickly died down.

"What the? Who's that?" He asked.

Standing, or rather hovering, before him was a young woman with a black bodysuit and strange armor covering her legs, arms, and eyes. She had small blades floating behind her that almost appeared to be in the shape of wings.

"Temporal displacement complete. Scanning area." She said in an emotionless voice.

"Ha! Looks like the Idea Engine is working nicely. Akira, meet Lambda. She's our newest little toy, but she's still in the testing phase."

"What... is she?" Akira asked as he examined the strange girl.

"Well... She's a Murakumo unit, or at least what we could salvage and rebuild of one. We had to use another unit's soul in the activation process, so we have to keep an eye on her."

"Wait, a Murakumo unit? Just what are you talking about?" Akira asked in confusion.

Kokonoe rolled her eyes and sighed. "Look, I don't have time to explain all the what's and why's, but here's the short version: She's a weapon made by the Library, and a damned effective one at that."

Akira found himself speechless as he processed this new information.

The Library made that? Just what the hell are they up to?

Akira was removed from his thoughts when he saw Lambda's arm outstretched to him, her palm facing upwards expectantly.

"Well, don't just stand there like an idiot." Kokonoe barked. "Hand her the data disc."

Akira complied and handed over the disc. Lambda nodded before wrapping the disc in a temporal field similar to the one she arrived in. Back at the display from the ars, Kokonoe had successfully received the disc, completely intact.

"Well, now that that's taken care of, let's resume with the test."

Akira raised his brow in confusion. "Test? What are you talking about?"

"Releasing power restrictions. Battle mode engaged." Lambda said in her monotone voice.

"Wait, you want me to fight her?"

"Well, think of it this way: I'll be getting some nice battle data on Lambda, and you'll be proving your loyalty even further." Kokonoe said with a smirk.

Akira let out a sigh. Bringing his right arm before him, he focused his mind on his bracelet. "Arise: Suijin!"

Suddenly the silver bracelet glowed brightly and transformed itself into a silver katana with similar intricate markings.

"Ohhhh, so that's the Nox Nyctores of the Shimotsuki family. Vicissitudinis Telum: Suijin. Looks like I'll be getting some interesting data." Kokonoe purred. "Lambda, engage!"

"Acknowledged."

Lambda raised her arm and created a small round portal before her. From this portal shot out a red energy blade straight towards Akira. With a quick motion, Akira moved the katana to a sheath position and withdrew the sword using all the strength in his wrist. When the two blades made contact, Suijin managed to slice through, dissipating the energy.

Akira went on the offensive and began to rush at Lambda, dodging and slashing at the barrage of energy blades. Just as the distance was getting closed, Lambda released a circle of energy onto the ground. As soon as Akira placed his feet on this circle, he could feel a sudden force begin to weigh him down and make his movements sluggish. Lambda capitalized on his momentary confusion and slashed at him with the blades floating behind her.

*Clang*

Lambda's blades were blocked by a silver staff covered in the same markings as Suijin. Akira forced the blades off his guard and quickly spun to put power behind his horizontal strike. Lambda was knocked back several feet from the impact, giving Akira the breathing room he needed.

"So that's why it's called the Shifting Nox. Still, other Nox Nyctores have transformation abilities, so what makes Suijin here special?" Kokonoe spoke to nobody in particular.

Akira transformed Suijin into a bow and began loosing arrows at Lambda, all the while dodging any blades she returned.

"Suijin is capable of transforming into several weapons other than the one it's based on. Notice how I can turn it from a sword into a staff?" Akira explained. "It even has the ability to replicate another Nox, though it's only an imitation of its power."

Kokonoe began typing down notes, her scientific genius beginning to formulate several hypotheses and tests which could be conducted. Akira let out three arrows at once, changing Sujin into a pair of gauntlets immediately afterwards. While Lambda was focused on dodging the last few arrows, Akira charged in and delivered a flurry of punches.

"Damage to all systems at 20%." Lambda stated in her typical monotone.

Thinking this to be his opening, Akira went in for an axe kick, but failed to notice the movement behind Lambda.

*Splutch*

"Aaaugh!" He cried as the blade at the end of Lambda's braid shot forward and cut into his left shoulder.

With the pain coursing through him, Akira fell to the ground clutching at his wound.

"Lambda, go to standby mode." Kokonoe ordered.

"Acknowledged."

Akira stumbled to his feet. "Damn... She's certainly built tough."

"Hmm. She still needs a few adjustments before she's ready. You did a good job managing to keep up with her, though that injury should get looked at."

Akira removed his hand a moment to feel it sticky with blood. "Yeah, you wouldn't happen to know if there's a doctor around here, would you?"

"I know of one. She's good at fixing people up, and she used to be a promising scientist in Sector Seven, but that was a long time ago. Her name is Litchi Faye-Ling. She's on the opposite end of Orient Town."

"Just my luck. I'll be knocking over trash cans by the time I make it there, and that's assuming I don't cause a scene." Akira moaned.

"If you're going to whine about it, why don't I just have Lambda send you there?" Kokonoe deadpanned.

Akira sighed. He knew Kokonoe's offer was advantageous, and she probably wouldn't take no for an answer if only to satisfy her need to test Lambda's ability to teleport.

"Fine. Let's give it a whirl."

Kokonoe cracked her fingers as she began typing the coordinates into her console. Lambda floated over to Akira and wrapped her arms around him, creating a temporal field for him to warp in. Suddenly the crackling reached its peak, and Akira vanished.

Akira reappeared in midair, falling to the ground in a heap.

"Ow! Dammit, right on my bad arm!" He groaned.

Slowly rising to his feet, he fought the urge to gag as a horrible smell assailed his nostrils. His surroundings were dark, but he could hear the sound of water, and that led to one conclusion.

"Am I in a fucking sewer?!"

*Beep Beep*

"Alright Akira, how did the trip go?" Kokonoe asked as her image returned to Akira.

"Is this some kind of joke?! Or are your coordinates off?!" Akira yelled.

"What the? The coordinates are right, so where are you?"

"I'm in a sewer..." Akira said through gritted teeth.

"The sewers?! Oh hell! You need to get out of there, now!"

"No kidding! I'm going to have to shower at least three times to get this smell off me, and I'd better not get lockjaw!" Akira continued to vent.

"Lockjaw should be the least of your worries! Get out of there before he shows up!"

"He? Who are you talking about?"

Kokonoe began frantically typing away at her console.

"Shit! It's no good! Some kind of anomaly is interfering with the temporal displacement. Look, I'll explain later, but for now you need to run."

Akira had never seen Kokonoe this panicked, and that alone convinced him running was the best option. Following what little light he could, he began searching for some kind of access ladder. He kept noticing strange things as he continued running. Strange seithr evolved insects, books laying everywhere, and eventually he passed a white mask that was laying on the ground. Akira could only assume he was passing through the living place of whoever this he was. Not wanting to linger, he looked for a way to continue.

"Y u nt ude my oma n. I ill d our yo nd all t kn le e o s!" A garbled voice shouted incoherently.

Akira turned towards the sound, and was blindsided by a claw of bone raking him across the chest.

"Glugh!"

Akira slid across the ground, grabbing at his newest wound. The bleeding wouldn't stop, and he was already feeling the impact from his fight with Lambda. He looked at his assailant, and saw the mask from before attached to a black blob.

Am I going to die here? Am I going to die where nobody will know, and for such a stupid reason?

His life was flashing before him, and one of the images he saw was...

"!" Akira gasped as he found the will to go on.

No, dammit! Not here! There's still so much I have to do! Things I need to say!

He transformed Suijin into a revolver, and let out a barrage of bullets on the black blob, desperate to stay alive. For every hole he punched through it, the blob managed to plug it back up.

"Ehehehehehe!" The blob maniacally laughed.

Akira was at the end of his rope. "It's... no good... I'm sorry... Makoto..."

Just before he lost consciousness, he saw a flash of beige crash into the blob. After that, there was only darkness.

The Military Academy Family Week was a time for students to have a break and tell their parents and loved ones all about the experiences they were having and the friends they were making. That is... most families visited. Akira sat on a bench in the courtyard staring out at all the happy reunions occurring before him. He silently wondered if such a thing could even happen for him at this point. He and his father rarely saw eye to eye, so what happiness could come from the two of them sharing the same space?

His thoughts were interrupted by a certain squirrel beastkin grinning inches from his face.

"What's with that sad look, you big downer?" Makoto asked in her usual chipper mood.

Akira couldn't help but feel a grin creep across his lips. Makoto's attitude always seemed to have that effect. "Hey Makoto, I've just been thinking about all the lucky students who actually have a family worth having a happy reunion."

Makoto bonked Akira on the head. "No. No gloomy thoughts on my watch. So what if your dad is a jackass? You shouldn't let him drag your mood down."

"I guess you're right." Akira admitted as he rubbed his head where Makoto bonked him. She may not have intended it, but she certainly made him feel that one.

"C'mon. I want you to meet my family." She said before dragging Akira from his seat.

"W-wait! M-meet your family? Already?"

"I told you they'd be coming for Family Week. Don't act so surprised."

Before Akira could think of some kind of excuse to forestall meeting her parents, she had navigated through the crowd to two squirrel beastkin. One male, and one female.

Akira gulped.

"Mom? Dad? This is Akira, the guy I told you about. Go easy on him, he's being a little wimp today." Makoto chuckled.

Makoto's mother let out a soft giggle, the kind that could calm you from just about anything. Her father on the other hand...

Akira had to crane his neck slightly due to the height difference between himself and this behemoth of a man. Even by beastkin standards he was monstrously well built. He shuddered slightly as he got the impression her father was sizing him up.

"So... you're the one who kissed my daughter in front of the whole school?" He asked in a tone that sounded as though there was only one outcome, regardless of the response.

"Y-yes sir." Akira stammered. He realized that he might as well show some backbone. "She means a lot to me. You have a wonderful daughter."

Makoto's father raised up his hand, and Akira braced himself for perhaps the worst attack by a protective father in history.

*Smack*

Akira lurched forward from the solid pat on his back.

"Ha ha ha! It's about time she found a good man! And one with a pair of brass ones to boot!" He laughed.

"Ha ha... So I'm not dead meat?" Akira asked.

"As long as you don't break her heart, I won't break you."

Akira gulped again. "Duly noted..."

"Honey, don't scare him too much or he'll be running from Makoto on sight." His wife scolded.

"Oh c'mon! Scaring the boyfriend is something I've been waiting to do as a father since Makoto popped out!" He defended with a hearty laugh.

Makoto blushed and punched her father in the arm. "Daddy! Don't say something so weird!"

He simply continued laughing, and Akira found himself snickering a little at Makoto's expense.

"The young ones are off playing games at all the stands. We should get back to them before they accidentally tear one down." Makoto's mother said.

"Akira, you've gotta come meet my brothers and sisters! There's Mokoto, and Mukoto, and..."

Makoto was cut short by someone clearing their throat behind her. She turned around to see an older man with blue hair glaring at her from behind his glasses.

"Move aside." He commanded.

Makoto did as she was told, finding herself intimidated by this individual. Akira simply glared back, his entire demeanor souring.

"Akira." He said.

"Father..."

Akira slowly began to open his eyes, but immediately found his vision to be blurred and his hearing muffled.

I'm... alive?

He began to blink away the spots in his vision, and as soon as it cleared he found himself face to face with two red eyes and two rows of sharp teeth.

"Meow?"

"Ahhhhh!" Akira screamed in fear.

The face seemed more confused than startled by his outburst.

"Why are you screaming, Blue Guy? You're safe neow!"

Akira tried to scramble away from the strange face, but he groaned in pain as soon as he tried to move.

"Whoa! You shouldn't try that, Blue Guy! Squiggly really beat you up, meow!" She said again.

"W-who are you?! Where am I?!" Akira asked in a panic.

"Tao is Taokaka, meow. And you're in the Kaka Village!"

Taokaka finally moved from being so close, allowing Akira to see his surroundings. He was in a small hut that was in need of repair. Getting a better look at her, Taokaka was a teenage girl wearing a beige hoodie with cat ears and long paw sleeves, and beige heeled boots. Akira couldn't seem to get a good look at her face save for the ever present red eyes and sharp teeth.

"So could you explain what happened... Taokaka, was it?" Akira asked.

"Sure thing, Blue Guy! Tao was having a really nice nap at her super secret napping spot, when all of a sudden Good Guy fell on Tao. He was really beat up, so Tao decided to take him to the village, but then Black Squiggly showed up and Tao beat him up! Squiggly got away, but Tao got Good Guy back and brought Boobie Lady here to help him."

"Wait, Boobie Lady?" Akira asked, completely confused.

"Yep, she's really good at fixing people up, plus she has the best bouncy boobies, meow!" Tao explained without hesitation.

"Right... So then what happened?"

"Well, Tao decided to go try and catch squiggly before he got too much better, but then she found Blue Guy getting beat up by him. Tao managed to beat up the Squiggly again, but he got away again, meow!"

"So you're the one who saved me from that thing. Thanks a lot Taokaka."

"Tao is just doing her job as the bestest guardian of the village ever, meow!" She beemed.

"Wait, who's that 'Good Guy' you kept mentioning? What happened to him?"

Tao simply pointed to a bed on the other end of the room. Occupying it was a man with white hair clad in a red coat. A massive blade lay propped against the frame of the bed.

Akira gasped and shuddered as soon as he recognized him. "Tao, are you insane?! That's no good guy, that's Ragna the Bloodedge!"

Tao tilted her head in confusion. "What are you talking about, Blue Guy? Good Guy isn't Rawrgna. He's way too nice to be him. He even fed Tao lots of food once, meow!"

Is she really this naive?! He looks just like the want- Well, I guess he doesn't look like the poster in the face department, but the rest of him fits the bill!

"Hmm. Maybe Blue Guy hurt his head. Tao will go get the Elder, she should know how to fix you!"

"W-wait! Don't leave me with-"

*Slam*

Taokaka had bounded out of the hut, leaving Akira alone with the most wanted man in the world.

"This day has just gone to hell... No wait, is there anything worse than hell? I guess maybe the ninth fucking circle of hell, but that's the same thing."

Akira took another look at Ragna.

"So that's the Grim Reaper, huh?"

"Nnng. Uhnnn." Ragna winced.

Akira froze up at the first sign of Ragna waking.

Shit shit shit! I'm in no condition to fight him! Even if I was healthy I might not stand a chance! He's wiped out so many NOL bases by himself, it makes me dizzy!

Ragna groaned as his eyes began to part. Akira noted the strange heterochromia he had, his left eye being green while his right one was red.

"What the? Where the hell am I? Dammit Nirvana..."

Ragna turned his head to the side, and locked his gaze with Akira's. Neither one of them said a word, and the silence only made things more tense.

"Who the hell are you?" Ragna finally asked.

"Akira Shimotsuki... And you're Ragna the Bloodedge?"

"And if I am?"

Akira hadn't really thought about that. What would he do about Ragna? He couldn't possibly fight him, and running seemed impossible in his current state.

"Not much I could do, even if I wanted to." Akira responded, trying to play things cool.

"Not much dedication to arrest coming from an officer of the NOL." Ragna snarked.

"They only think I'm still working for their corrupt asses. One way or another, they're going down."

Well, that's not really a lie. I just hope he doesn't think I'm still with the Library and decides to go a round with me.

Ragna flashed a grin. "Tch. Keep dreaming. If anyone's bringing them down, it's me."

Hard to believe I'm holding a conversation with Ragna the Bloodedge himself. Still, it's better than winding up on the business end of his sword.

"So how did you wind up here?" Akira asked.

Ragna groaned in annoyance. "I got in a fight with a vigilante. The kid had a nox called Nirvana, the bitch got a cheap shot on me after I'd beaten the kid. After that, I guess Tao found me. So what's your story?"

"My idiotic boss was supposed to transport me to a doctor after I'd had a sparring match with her latest addition. Something went balls up and dropped me in the sewers, and then I got attacked by some kind of blob wearing a mask. I passed out, but I guess Tao saved me too."

"Yeah, I've had a run in with that freak too. The one who probably patched us up seems to think he can still be saved. I just hope she stops denying the truth before it's too late."

So many questions were bouncing around in Akira's mind, but they would have to wait as a new arrival entered the hut. She was an older member of the Kaka clan, and much more frail looking than Tao. Not even her eyes or teeth were visible behind the mask she wore.

"It seems the two of you are even more stubborn than you look. It's only been two days and you're already awake."

"Two days?!" They blurted in unison.

"Yes, well, both of your injuries were quite serious. You'll both have to stay here until you've recovered." The Elder turned to Taokaka. "Tao, keep an eye on these two. Make sure they don't try to leave until they're better, meow."

Tao gave a salute. "You've got it Elder! Tao will keep Good Guy and Blue Guy in bed!"

"Well, things could be worse." Akira reasoned.

Things got worse. As soon as Ragna and Akira were at 100% a few days later, Tao insisted she get rewarded with some food. Akira thought it innocent enough, and decided to take her to a nearby restaurant in Orient Town. Ragna, however, bolted at the first mention of buying her food.

Now I see why he ran...

Tao had somehow managed to devour plate after plate, and bowl after bowl of her meal without so much as pausing. Akira had only needed about two bowls of udon to satisfy him, but she was scraping up everything as though she hadn't eaten once in her life. Finally, Tao patted her stomach in satisfaction.

"Hmm. Tao's not feeling really up to it today. Usually she'd eat at least another ten bowls."

Just where does she put it all?!

Their waitress came over to the table with the bill, and Akira tearfully paid the hefty sum.

"That was almost an entire month's salary..." He moaned.

"Don't be so sad, Blue Guy! At least we got to have yummy food!" Tao tried to cheer him up.

Akira let out a sigh. "I guess so. Besides, you saved my life, so a meal is completely fair... Even if you did turn out to have a black hole for a stomach."

Akira stood up from his seat. "Well Tao, I guess this is where we say goodbye for now. I need to get back to the NOL base. Lord knows they're already freaking out since I've been missing for a week."

"Tao will see you later, Blue Guy! Tao needs to go back to the village neow."

Akira and Tao went their separate ways, Akira heading further into Orient town.

The guys at the NOL probably think I'm dead by now. Wait a sec... I haven't seen a single NOL soldier since I got here, much less a search party. Something doesn't feel right...

*Bang Bang Bang*

A series of gunshots were heard nearby, and Akira instinctively rushed into action. After rounding a few corners he found the source of the disturbance. A young woman with blonde hair wearing an NOL uniform was panting from exhaustion holding two large handguns. Standing on one knee opposite of her was a large red skinned muscular man who clearly wasn't the victor of this fight.

Akira recognized the woman and reflexively blurted her name. "Noel?!"

Noel jolted from the voice and caught a glimpse of Akira. As soon as she locked eyes with him, she bolted for the higher levels of Kagutsuchi.

"Where are you going?!" Akira called out.

Noel didn't reply and was soon lost in the crowd of spectators for the recently finished skirmish.

"Dammit... What's going on around here?"

"Ugn... Akira? Is that really you?" The red skinned man asked.

The man had spiked black hair with a streak of white on one side. He wore a skintight shirt and baggy pants of a darker red than his skin, and had metal armor plates on his hips. His hands were encompassed by two huge metal gauntlets that sparked with electricity, and his eyes were completely yellow under his glasses.

"So you got deployed out here too, huh Tager?" Akira asked.

"That's right... Kokonoe sent me on a top secret mission. One I've just failed."

"Do you have a line to Kokonoe right now?" Akira asked.

"Of course. Why?" Tager wondered.

"Patch me through."

After a moment, Akira heard the familiar beep of Kokonoe using her ars.

"Akira?! I thought for sure that you were-"

"Dead?" Akira interrupted. "I nearly was. To which I have two questions. First: WHAT?! Second: THE FUCK?!"

"Look, something directly interfered with the temporal displacement so you wound up-"

"I know that! Why the hell didn't you try to contact me?!"

"I thought you were dead! This ars may be able to tap into your mind to communicate, but that's only when you're awake. Two days without contact kinda gave me a distinct impression that Arakune devoured you."

"So that's what that thing is called? Arakune?"

"He wasn't always like that. He used to work at Sector Seven, but the idiot meddled with things he shouldn't have, and he payed the price." Kokonoe explained.

Akira felt a pang of guilt. It was horrifying to imagine that monstrosity was once human. "Poor guy... Anyway, what just happened here? Why was Tager fighting Noel Vermillion?"

Kokonoe folded her arms. "I can't tell you that."

"Bullshit! That's one of my friends that just walked away from a scrape with one of your subordinates. If you really want me to keep helping you, I need to know what's going on." Akira demanded.

Kokonoe let out an exhausted sigh. "Look, Noel has inherited the true Azure. She's become the Eye."

"The... Eye?"

"Yeah, she's basically gained the true power of the Boundary, and we need to make sure she doesn't fall into the hands of the Library."

Akira found all these revelations difficult to believe. First he fought a weapon made by the Library, and now he's been told that one of his friends has an incredible power.

"This is just... All of this is crazy." Akira admitted.

"Crazy or not, it's true. Tager needs time for his self repair unit to get him back on his feet, so see if you can't track down Noel." Kokonoe ordered.

Akira crossed his arms in distaste. "And if I find her?"

Kokonoe groaned in annoyance. "Just make sure she doesn't get caught by the Library, alright. What's with you people and being obsessive about Noel?"

Akira could only guess she was referring to Makoto. Makoto always had a strong loyalty to her friends, and hated it whenever they argued.

"It's a little something called friendship. Science will never be able to quantify it."

"Ugh... That was so corny I actually gagged. Just get moving." Kokonoe barked.

Akira ignored her and began making his way through the crowd after Noel.

I am SO punching her when I get to Sector Seven.

Being forced to go through the crowd put Akira just far enough behind Noel for her to get away. Akira cursed under his breath as he looked high and low for any sign of the meek blond. Thinking it wise to continue his ascent, he made his way to the hanging gardens of Kagutsuchi, a park surrounded by beauty.

"Wonder where she went off to... Maybe the HQ?" Akira wondered to himself.

"My my. An interesting soul, indeed."

Akira spun on his heels at the voice. He turned to see a blonde man clad in a golden half mask, a magenta cape, white pants, and a violet long sleeved shirt underneath. Akira froze up as he recognized the man, and all the rumors that followed him entered the forefront of his mind.

"R-Relius Clover!"

Relius rubbed his chin with a glove covered hand.

"Hmmm. You are the child of the Shimotsuki family, correct?" He asked.

Akira found himself quaking as he stared into the blank white eyes of Relius' half mask. The void of white only served to reinforce the impression that he lacked any fiber of empathy.

"Y-Yes sir." Akira answered, cursing himself for his current cowardice.

"I've heard a great deal about you. You graduated with high marks from the academy. Ah, but there was that one incident. The one that got your father killed."

Akira suddenly clenched his fists in rage.

"...Shut up..."

"A shame, really. He still could have proven useful to us."

"Shut up..!"

"Your own father or a beastkin. I can't say I would have made the same decision."

Akira transformed Suijin into a pair of gauntlets, leaping forward with unbridled rage.

"Shut your damned mouth!"

Akira could feel his punch connect, but it wasn't with Relius. A massive automotan wearing a maroon metal dress and hat blocked the punch with a clawed arm. Out of the corner of his eye he could see the other one beginning to swipe for him. He transformed Suijin into a shield to absorb the blow, but he skidded backwards on his feet from the impact.

"It seems I've touched a nerve there. No matter. If you're so eager, then we can begin the test." Relius said in a sadistic, yet calm demeanor.

"Fine then, class is in session!"

No matter how scared Akira may have been earlier, he was not going to back down from this fight. Relius was right about one thing: he touched a nerve.

Akira didn't like his father being here. Not one bit. The entire day had passed with him showing his disapproval at every turn, and making not-so-subtle remarks about the beastkin population. It was finally past dinner when he managed to sneak off to the park with Makoto.

"So... Your dad certainly lives up to his reputation." She nervously giggled, hoping to break the tension.

"Sorry I have to share the same blood as that guy." Akira quipped.

Picking a pair of apples from the tree, he handed one to Makoto. Both of them eagerly began snacking on the fruits.

"Still. I get the feeling something's off about him." Makoto said.

"Off? What, like he's crazy? I could have figured that one out."

Makoto flicked Akira on the forehead. "Har har. What I'm getting at is that he doesn't seem to be acting normal. Like someone's pulling his strings."

"Pfft! I've known him all my life, and this is pretty normal. What's telling you otherwise?"

Makoto rubbed her chin for a moment in thought. "Well... you ever notice how his eyes seem to tremble when he says anything really nasty?"

Akira thought back on it. Every time his father had said a terrible thing to him.

"I'm... not sure. Every time he said something like that I'd usually look away in spite. I'll have to see for myself."

"Akira! I know you're up there."

Speak of the devil...

Akira and Makoto jumped down from the tree, and sure enough his father was glaring at them.

"I want to speak to you both... in private."

Akira tensed up, but he was in no position to make an objection, so he simply nodded in compliance. The pair followed his father across the campus, and they eventually entered the sparring building. Weapons were still neatly organized by name and type, but there wasn't a single soul besides them occupying the building.

"Now then... I want to know the full details of the relationship you share with my son." He said as he glared at Makoto.

Makoto flinched for a moment, but slowly found her footing. "Well, uh, Akira was my first friend years ago back in Shinatsu, and he became one of my closest friends in the Academy."

"Is that all?" He asked, clearly knowing that Makoto was hiding something.

"I... We fell in love, and-"

Makoto was cut short when she noticed the blade poised at her neck.

"What the hell are you doing?!" Akira shouted.

"I can't have a son who would dare associate himself with a beastkin, and this relationship you have is nothing short of disgusting."

Akira tensed up, but for a second, he swore he saw his father's eyes tremble, just as Makoto said.

"So what are you going to do?" Akira asked.

The tip of the blade inched closer to Makoto.

"I'm going to protect the Shimotsuki lineage."

Akira's father reared back his arm to thrust the blade, and in that same instant Akira slammed his hand down on the ground. A jet of water shot up in between his father and Makoto, sending the sword into the air.

"Tch."

His father produced a knife from the sleeve of his coat, prepared to complete the task. Akira ran forward, catching the sword midway.

"RRRRAAAAAAAAHHHHH!"

*Splutch*

Akira panted labored breaths. His legs were shaking and his arms were trembling. He had used his own father's blade to run him through.

"W-well... Well done... My son..." He barely managed to speak.

"What?"

"I'm sorry... For all those years you must have thought me a monster... I'd like to tell you why it had to be done... But I can't risk them coming for you..."

His father vomited blood from his injuries. For once in his life, Akira cared for his father, and was horrified that he was now dying.

"Who? Why did this happen?!" Akira begged.

"I can't say who... But I can at least tell you... All those years of training... I was preparing you for the day... You would have to fight... And now I know... You're willing to fight for what you believe in..." His eyes slowly began to close. "Goodbye... Akira..."

Akira let his tears roll freely. "Dad... DAAAAAD!"

After that event, Akira and Makoto had to face a military tribunal. Without any other witnesses or evidence, the only thing that saved them were the testimonies of their friends. Tsubaki, Noel, Mai, Cajun, Jin, and their newest friend, Carl Clover, all attested to their character. The only thing Akira had left to remember his father was the bracelet he wore on his arm. His Nox Nyctores.

Akira transformed Suijin into rifle and began taking shots at Relius. Anything that wasn't dodged was blocked by a massive puppet arm that came from under his cloak.

"Id Naiads."

A shadow suddenly appeared over Akira, and it was only thanks to pure instinct that he rolled out from under the twin drill feet Ignis had spawned. Midway through his roll, he transformed Suijin from a rifle to a shotgun, peppering Ignis with buckshot the second he finished his dodge.

"Id Lauger!"

While his attention was focused on Ignis, Relius closed in and launched Akira into the air with a giant mechanical fist.

"Id Haas!"

Ignis closed in with her arms spinning with such speed that her claws appeared to be chainsaw blades.

*Clang*

Akira changed back to gauntlets and caught the blades, straining against Ignis' strength.

"I've had enough... of your... bullshit!"

Using his water ars, he sent a jetstream of water out from the bottom of his boots. With this added momentum, he flipped several times before slamming Ignis into the ground. Jumping back into the air, Akira shifted Suijin into a warhammer while he used his ars to create a water whip around Relius' legs.

"Riptide!" He shouted as the whip yanked him up towards him.

Just as Relius finished his journey, Akira slammed him to the ground with the hammer.

"Tidal Crash!"

Relius slumped for a moment, but he dusted himself off and returned to the offensive.

"Vol Tedo!" Relius shouted as he snapped his fingers.

Ignis reappeared behind him and charged forward with her hand extended. The moment she made contact with Akira, a sphere completely encased him. A helix of ars glyphs were circling around him, and they accelerated in speed as they gained energy. Finally that energy was expelled, exploding Akira straight out of the sphere.

"Auuuughh!"

Akira was far from finished. He transformed Suijin back into a katana and focused his ars for a big technique. Coating his blade in water, he charged forward, weaving past the claws of Ignis, and landed a single hit on Relius.

"...Gotcha."

The water erupted from his blade and launched Relius off a fountain and into the air. Using his ars to propel himself again, he delivered a series of lightning fast slashes as he dashed around Relius. The final strike sent Relius into the ground by a jet of water.

"Monsoon Fury!"

Both combatants were neck and neck, and there was no room for error at this point.

He's tough... Not sure if I can hold out against him for much longer.

Suddenly a figure clad in a purple cloak and hat shimmered behind Relius. He simply dusted himself off nonchalantly.

"Well, it seems I have business to attend to. We'll continue this examination another time, once I've finished compiling this data."

Both Relius and the strange figure that appeared before him teleported away in an instant, leaving Akira to ponder what had just happened.

Temporal displacement? But how?

Whatever the answer, it didn't matter. The fight was over, neither of them being the true victor.

"Next time I'll crush him..." Akira muttered as he sealed Suijin.

He had more important matters to attend to himself, namely finding Noel before the Library.

Just hang on, Noel. We're all getting out of this one. Mark my words.

*Beep Beep*

Kokonoe's image appeared before Akira as she contacted him directly with her ars once again.

"Akira, our other agent has managed to find her. I'm sending you coordinates to the rendezvous point." She stated as she tapped in some commands on her console.

Looking at the data he was sent, he managed to surmise it was one of the spires outside the main cathedral of the NOL base.

"Alright, heading there now."

The stairs to the spire weren't built with a guard rail, a fact that made Akira wonder just how many accidents occurred because of this. Suddenly he caught the scent of something in the air. Something soothing.

"*Sniff* Roses?"

A flurry of rose petals dispersed before him as a young girl clad in a gothic lolita dress appeared before him. She had crimson eyes and her blond hair was done up in twintails.

"My my, so you're still managing to carry yourself about, are you? I must admit, I'm impressed." She spoke.

Akira wasn't quite sure if the statement was more of her complementing him, or more of her being condescending.

"I... beg your pardon?" Akira asked.

"I suppose I'll have to explain if you are to comprehend. I'm simply surprised that you've been able to get around after I nudged you in the right direction just a few days prior."

A few days...? Wait...

"You're the reason I wound up in the sewer?"

"I sense a lack of gratitude, though I suppose you can't help it, being so blissfully ignorant."

"Ignorant?! You nearly got me killed!" Akira blurted.

"Mind your tone." The girl snapped back. "Had I not intervened, the course you would have taken would result in not only your death, but the deaths of those closest to you."

That sounds... ominous.

"Who are you?"

"My name is Rachel Alucard, a name I'm sure you won't forget."

Akira's curiosity began eating away at him. He needed to know more about what she was talking about.

"So how did getting attacked by Arakune change things? Why do you talk like you know what's going to happen?"

"I suppose I have seen these things, though I cannot do so anymore. The point is: you have a part to play, just as everyone does, but that was not your moment to walk the stage."

"Then when is my time?"

"Right now." Rachel answered.

Rachel then teleported away in a gust of wind and rose petals. Akira continued up the steps, and began to hear voices.

"You saw it didn't you? You should have perceived it! A world where you don't exist! That that is the truth!" A voice taunted.

"It's a lie... It's a lie... This can't be..." Another voice whimpered.

Akira could recognize the second voice. It was Noel Vermillion.

Something's wrong!

"The Azure Successor. The Calamity Trigger. It's you. It's your existance that's throwing this world out of whack!" The other voice continued to taunt.

Noel could only let out small whimpers. Akira looked around to find the source of the noise. High up above at the top of the spire, he could see someone wrapped in a glowing green chain in midair.

"That's..."

Akira's heart stopped as he saw the unmistakable squirrel tail and orange fighting outfit of Makoto Nanaya.

"Now... This might be a good time to wrap up the chitchat."

The second voice approached the ledge Makoto was hanging over, and Akira finally got a glimpse of the assailant. He wore a black long coat and vest with a black fedora to top it off. He had green hair and his eyes were shut as he wore a friendly, yet malicious grin.

Hazama!

"Are you alive up there?" He playfully asked the battered and broken Makoto.

Makoto couldn't even find the strength to speak, only managing to exhale in her agonized state.

"You are a tenacious one."

The chains around Makoto loosened, allowing her to plummet to her doom.

"MAKOTO!" Akira screamed.

It was never meant for long distance, but screw it!

Akira charged up his ars as Makoto fell closer to his elevation. Timing his shot, he released the energy and rushed forward on a jet of water. He began closing in on Makoto, but he realized he wouldn't make it at his current speed.

Just a bit more... Just a bit more power!

Using every ounce of skill he had, he increased the strength of the ars, and barely managed to catch Makoto in time. Akira spotted a lower spire that he could land on and began aiming for it, praying he could maintain this long enough. A few feet from the spire, the jet of water sputtered and died, leaving Akira to the mercy of his momentum. He hugged Makoto close and turned to land on his back, hoping to shield the impact for her. Akira landed with a dull thud and continued to skid along the hard ground due to the speed he had built up. He stopped a moment later, and began panting from the exhaustion of pushing his limits like that.

"Makoto... Are you alright?" He asked, pleading she had survived.

"A... A... kir... a?" She barely managed to ask.

"Thank God... I was terrified."

"N... Noel... Save... Noel..." Makoto begged.

"Makoto, we need to get you help. Your injuries are too severe."

*Bzzshoowww*

A massive ars glyph appeared at the spire where Makoto had fallen, and the sky turned an eerie gold. Something emerged from the glyph and opened up, pulling someone inside.

"N... Noel...!" Makoto cried as she reached out towards the sphere.

"What in the world?!" A man exclaimed.

Akira turned to the new voice, spotting a man with spiky brown hair tied back and an X shaped scar on his face. He wore an olive green ninja outfit that exposed much of his chest, and a long red scarf that carried a giant 55 inch nail on his back.

"You're from the Ikaruga Federation." Akira observed.

"Ms. Nanaya! What happened?" He asked.

"Do you know this guy, Makoto?" Akira asked.

"He's... Bang..." She weakly responded.

"I found her like this. She was dropped from that spire, and I barely managed to catch her." Akira explained.

"She needs to see a doctor right away. I can take her back to Ronin-Gai." Bang offered.

"Bang, I'm trusting you with her life. Get her to help." Akira told him.

"Don't worry! I, Bang Shishigami, will take her to safety! And what will you do?" He asked.

"I'm going to kill the bastard that did this to her." He growled.

"Akira... Don't... Hazama is... too strong." Makoto begged.

"I'll come back. I promise."

After I put his head on a pike!

Walking the halls of the NOL base, Akira found it to be completely devoid of any other personnel. Usually a base had around a hundred people working inside at any given moment, but he could hear his footsteps echo as he made his way to the highest point of the base.

Is this Hazama's doing as well? Where could everyone have gone?

Akira finally cleared the final step to the roof, and found a sight that shocked him to his very core. In the very center, a giant black slab with streaks of glowing blue lines stood, and above it was a spherical Cauldron, the same one he saw grab Noel moments ago. He could make out Ragna the Bloodedge locking blades with Hazama nearby, but the Captain looked different from before. Without his hat on, his green hair was spiked straight up, and he glared at Ragna with golden snake eyes and a twisted grin.

"Damn you, Terumi! Stop smelting right now!" Ragna demanded.

"You think that's going to stop me?" He countered.

Both of them jumped apart, sending spark flying from their weapons. Ragna raised his right arm in front of him, and the red shell on the back of his glove opened.

"Restriction 666, released. Dimensional Interference Field, deployed. Blazblue, activate!"

A large glyph of a dragon-like beast projected behind Ragna, and he began surging with energy.

"Ah, 'BlazBlue', huh? How'd you do that? It almost sounded like... Restriction 666, released. Dimensional Interference Field, deployed. Code S.O.L. BlazBlue, activate!"

A glyph of a snake eating it's own tail projected behind Hazama, and a green circle of runes began circling around him. Ragna was shocked as the aura around him dissipated and his own Azure Grimoire was deactivated.

"H-How did you?! No way...!"

Hazama began laughing with delight.

"You don't get it? Oh, this is rich! C'mon, work those brain-cells! Nothing? This is why you can't beat me, Rags! Write this down, because it's gonna be on the test later: I'm the one who created the BlazBlue!"

Just seeing that twisted grin of his, the sadistic look in his eye, sent Akira over the edge. He didn't care how strong Hazama was, he was going to make him pay in spades for what he did to Makoto. With a flick of his wrist, he produced a knife hidden in his sleeve and tossed it straight at Hazama's head.

*Clang*

A metallic snake head with a glowing green chain for a body suddenly appeared from out of Hazama, intercepting the knife and crunching it to bits.

"What's with you guys trying to rain on my parade lately?" He taunted.

"The hell are you doing here?" Ragna asked.

"I'm here to rip that green bastard to shreds, same as you, I assume." Akira explained as he walked forward with Suijin as a spear.

"Awwwww! I didn't know Lil' Rags here had friends! It just goes to show that even garbage can find company." Hazama sneered.

"Shut your damned mouth!" They replied in unison, much to their mutual surprise.

"I'm going to make you pay for what you did to Makoto... No matter what it takes!" Akira proclaimed.

"Makoto... Makoto..." Hazama pondered on the name. "Oh! That stinkin' beastkin I tossed off the spire! Did she make a good splat? I bet people will mistake her for roadkill."

"Hate to disappoint, but she never hit the ground." Akira shot back.

Hazama frowned. "Sheesh. Way to cockblock me, buddy. What's the fun in torturing an animal if bleeding hearts like you spoil the mood?"

That comment was the last straw. Akira darted forward to plunge his spear right through Hazama.

"Ouroboros!"

The snake chain appeared once more and wrapped itself around Akira's leg. With its grip tightened, the chain whipped Akira into the air only to slam him back into the ground.

"Glughaaaaa!" He cried in pain.

Ragna charged forward next, swinging his blade overhead to crush Terumi. Terumi simply parried the attack with his butterfly knife and hit Ragna with an overhead axe-kick.

Akira got back on his feet and changed his weapon to a pair of giant handguns.

"Bolverk? You're going to imitate those sad little toys?" Hazama taunted.

Akira let out a flurry of high caliber rounds. They may not have been the real Bolverk Noel used, but they still packed a punch. Hazama began ducking and weaving past each round, but failed to notice Ragna charge him with a right hook to his face.

"Little shits!" Terumi shouted in annoyance.

Hazama planted one of his knives into Ragna and kicked him back, turning his attention to Akira. Akira slammed his hand on the ground and summoned a geyser that launched Hazama into the air. Changing to a bow, he charged up an arrow with compressed water.

"Lunar Flood!"

The arrow loosed and blasted Hazama with a torrent of water. Ragna saw his opportunity and followed up by swinging his sword like a bat at Hazama as he fell towards him. After recovering from the attack, the look on Hazama's face was one of pure joy.

"Ha ha... Ha ha ha ha ha ha ha! Oh man, I think that tickled a little! It's so cute how you think you're actually putting up a fight against me! It's more like... angrily flailing." He dusted himself off and glared at Akira. "As much as I'd like to keep toying with you..."

His Ouroboros shot forward and grabbed onto nothing, pulling him straight to Akira. The kick to the abdomen Akira received easily knocked the wind out of him, but coupled with his previous injuries there was no way he could stand.

"I have more important things to take care of." He finished.

"Terumi!" Ragna shouted.

With a sigh, Terumi easily countered Ragna's attack and tossed him to the ground. Before Ragna could try to get up, Terumi ground his heel into his right shoulder.

"Aww, what's the matter? Something wrong with that arm? Oh wait, that's right! I guess I cut that one off, didn't I? Well, you've got two of them, so just switch hands!" He taunted.

"You son of a bitch... Are you trying to resurrect the Black Beast?" Ragna asked.

Akira remembered learning about the Black Beast. It was a pure black multi headed behemoth that appeared suddenly one hundred years ago. In order to fight the Beast, humanity developed several weapons, including Ars Magus, Nox Nyctores, and even the beastkin. But it was the Six Heroes who led humanity to victory against the Beast. In the end the Dark War cost humanity half of the world's population, and seithr generated from the Beast coated the land, forcing humans to live in the Hierarchical Cities.

"The Black Beast? What the hell would I want with that failed experiment?"

"Failed?" Ragna asked in confusion.

"Yeah. A huge failure. Real pain in the ass to keep the Cauldron under control. But hey, we learned all sorts of shit in the process, so, you know."

"The Cauldron?"

"Yeah. What did I mumble? The Cauldron is the Grimoire's original form. It gathers souls and smelts them inside its body. That was our little pet, the Beast. But things kinda went bat-shit crazy."

Smelting souls? Is... is that what happened to the NOL personnel? Then... Guy...

"You... Bastard..." Akira muttered.

Terumi ignored Akira and continued. "You see, the Murakumo unit is incomplete. It needs the power of the Grimoire. The 13th sample wouldn't shut up about it, remember? But this one's different. This thing possesses the true Azure!"

Terumi stepped before the Altar and raised his arms towards the Cauldron.

"Now... Murakumo it's time to awaken! This world is nothing but lies lies lies lies lies lies! But don't worry... I'll show you the truth. The truth called despair! In the name of Susano'o, I command you: awaken Murakumo!"

The cauldron began to open, exposing a blinding blue light.

"No! Not Murakumo! Kusanagi! The Sword of the god-slayer! Your blade will cut away the lies that cover this world!"

From out of the Cauldron came Noel, but transformed greatly. Her blond hair was a paler shade, and her green eyes had changed into blue. She was clad in a more revealing white bodysuit and cloak with spell cards on the tails. Floating behind her was a massive sword of blue, gold, and silver.

"Just try and stop me now, Master Unit... Amaterasu!"

Terumi was now laughing maniacally. "I'm going to stick this sword right through your throat! Ha ha ha ha!"

Ragna got onto one knee. "Noel, is that you? Noel, answer me!" He said, desperate to try and break through to her.

Terumi backhanded Ragna back to the ground. "Oh, just shut up! That's enough barking out of you!"

"You son of a bitch..."

"C'mon, hate me. Hate me some more. Hate me lots LOTS more, you adorable little puppy of a man, you!" He taunted.

"Hey, Kusanagi, get over here."

Noel remained silent and floated over to Hazama.

"Noel!" Ragna cried.

"Aww, who's a good little sword, it's you! Oh now, don't get jealous, Rags, but this sword's all mine now. Isn't she nice though? She wasn't cheap, but I figured 'Hell Hazama, you deserve it! Spoil yourself! Spring for the Ragna's little sister model'."

That last comment enraged Ragna. "I'm gonna rip your goddamned head off!"

"Oh ho! Now we're cooking with gas! I'll play with you for a bit. It'll be like... fetch or something. C'mon! C'mon!"

Both of them raised their hands forward.

"Restriction 666, released. Dimensional Interference Field, deployed. BlazBlue, activate!" The chanted in unison.

Ragna's Grimoire flared for a moment, but the power dissipated once again. He didn't seem to care, as his rage wouldn't allow him to back down.

"Let's do this, Terumi!"

"C'mon, Ragna the Bloodedge! Let's dance!"

Ragna rushed forward and began swinging wildly, but his injuries made his movements sluggish, making it even easier for Terumi to dodge. Charging up his energy, Terumi sent forward a ghastly green snake of spectral energy at Ragna.

"Venom Sword!"

Ragna managed to block the attack, but he began panting from the exhaustion. Terumi flashed a confident grin before deciding to wrap up the fight.

"Eternal Coils of the Dragon Serpent!"

Three rings of green energy trapped Ragna as Terumi pulled him closer with his Ouroboros. After a series of slashes with his knives in a practical dance of death, Terumi laughed sadistically and launched Ragna back with three more spectral snakes.

"Gaaaahhhh!" Ragna cried out in pain.

"Awww, poor little ol' Rags! Isn't he just pitiful! Eh, this is getting boring. Hey, Kusanagi, get over here."

Once again, Noel complied without a word.

"Why don't you head over to the Cauldron and... Kill the SHIT out of Amaterasu!"

"Acknowledged." Kusanagi replied.

Ragna reached out in desperation. "Wait, Noel! Don't go!"

A swift kick to the abdomen silenced him.

"You're being a bit pushy there, Rags. Also, she's got a name, you know. Kusanagi! Not Noel. Noel's just a puppet. Just like you, Rags! She's just somebody else's puppet!"

Ragna simply glared at Terumi in rage. "Bastard..."

"Oh, those eyes don't lie, do they? Guess the cat already told you. Shoot. Just like him to steal my thunder." Terumi paused to punch Ragna in the face. "Still, at least that self righteous bitch of yours is off napping in the dark somewhere."

Ragna's eyes widened in surprise. "What did you do to Rachel?!"

Terumi began digging his heel into the knife wound he produced earlier, causing Ragna to cry out in agony. Akira began trying to get to his feet, but he only managed to get on his knees for the time being.

"This is getting boring... Oh, not fighting you. That's... I mean, it's not even a challenge. But that's kind of the problem. No matter what you do, I know you can't beat me, so this is just... kind of boring. and Takamagahara... Man do they get my shorts in a knot."

Ragna defiantly rose to his feet once more. "Screw that... I... I can still fight. I swore to myself... that I'd fight... as a human... until the very end. UNTIL THE VERY END! So Terumi... it's time to 'play'. Bring it on!"

The aura around Terumi darkened in anger. "Ouroboros!"

Ragna began getting pummeled by Terumi's attacks.

"So YOU'RE going to play with ME, huh?! I don't think you understand how this shit works! DIE DIE DIE!"

Ragna began coughing up blood from his injuries.

"Yeah, that's it. Go ahead and beg for mercy. Fat lot of good it's gonna do ya, but I do so love to hear you SCREAM."

Ragna finally fell to his knee from the brutal onslaught.

"Ragna... it's time to say goodbye. Now DIE." Terumi said as he sent a final Ouroboros at Ragna.

It's over...

*Splutch*

"Rag... na..." A familiar voice said.

Akira opened his eyes and saw Lambda had intercepted the Ouroboros. Blood was spraying from her back as evidence of that.

"Nu...? What?" Ragna said in surprise.

"Dammit... You godforsaken puppet, just get the hell out of my way!"

Terumi brought back his hand for another attack.

"Go ahead and die together!"

Lambda took the impact once more, and the armor over her eyes shattered from the force.

"Hey! Nu!" Ragna shouted.

"Ragna..." Lambda smiled as she recognized Ragna. "Ah! Ragna! It's been a long time."

Ragna caught her as she fell into his arms. Her injuries were too severe, Akira could tell even from this distance.

"For... so long Nu was all by herself. Out in the Boundary. I... I kept dreaming about... you. That's why... Nu wasn't lonely."

Ragna held her closer as she began to fade away.

"I'm so sorry, Nu."

"Nu will... forever be... by your side... Ragna."

Nu finally disappeared, and Ragna could not contain his sorrow. He began sobbing uncontrollably.

"This is bullshit! Why the hell did you die for me?!"

Ragna suddenly looked surprised.

"Kokonoe? How did you get in my head? Idea Engine? Hey, Kokonoe!"

Terumi was finally beginning to get annoyed by the side story.

"Uh, guys? It kinda hurts when you just forget about me like that. I mean, I know you've got your own shit going on, and I'll admit, that little soap opera was a real hoot to watch, but..."

Terumi stopped dead in his tracks as Ragna began rising to his feet.

"Whoa... What's this feeling?"

"Terumi... Terumi... I will never forgive you!" Ragna shouted in rage.

Terumi scoffed at his words. "You won't forgive me? Like I give a damn! Shut up and die already!"

Ragna raised his right arm before him once more.

"Restriction 666, released."

Terumi only grew annoyed at Ragna's attempts.

"We went through this! Are you stupid or what?!"

"Dimensional Interference Field, deployed... Now engaging the Idea Engine."

This new command made Terumi pause.

"What?"

"It's time I showed you... The true... power of the Azure! BlazBlue, activate!"

Ragna's Grimoire let loose a faint purple aura around him, but it did not deactivate like before.

"Time to die... you degenerate son of a bitch!"

Akira finally found the strength to get to his feet. Inspired by Ragna's will to continue fighting, he transformed Suijin one last time. This time he took the form of a pair of cross shaped tonfas that were secured to the back of his wrists.

Makoto's going to help me finish this bastard.

Ragna took to the offensive and began mercilessly barraging Terumi with seithr based attacks.

"Dead Spike!"

A head of the Black Beast was projected from Ragna's blade, sending Terumi straight for Akira. Akira replied with a jumping uppercut.

"Corona Upper!"

He followed up with a punch that sent Terumi straight for the ground.

"Meteor Dive!"

Ragna ran over to the crumpled Terumi and lifted him up, punching him backwards once he was on his feet. Suddenly Ragna's right arm transformed into a black and red claw.

"Terumi!"

Grabbing hold of Terumi, he lifted him in the air as seithr spikes barraged him.

"You're gonna love this!"

Crushing the claw dispersed the energy and sent Terumi crumpling into a heap.

"W-whoa. Whoa whoa whoa. What the hell?! What the... hell is going on here?! Hurghh!"

Terumi was now vomiting blood from the severity of his wounds.

"Terumi..." Ragna muttered.

"Ah ha... ah ha ha ha ha!" He began laughing.

"What now?" Akira asked.

"This... This is it! This is what I've been looking for! C'mon Tweedle Dee and Tweedle Dumb! I haven't had enough yet! Give me more! Entertain me!"

Akira cracked his knuckles.

"Gladly..."

As he swung back to begin mercilessly beating Terumi for all he did to Makoto and for killing Guy, he was stopped by Ragna.

"What the hell are you doing?!" Akira shouted.

"Trust me, I'd love nothing more than to tear him to shreds myself, but he's got a life-link with Noel. He won't stay dead this way."

Akira reluctantly lowered his arms and sealed Suijin.

"Dammit..."

"We've gotta take care of Noel, so let's just leave him to suffer." Ragna suggested.

"Ha ha... You're just... Chicken..." Terumi taunted before passing out.

"Shut up you pathetic little worm..." Ragna muttered.

With Terumi defeated, the pair made for the basement in order to give chase to Noel.

After rushing down into the Cathedral, Ragna paused as he spotted something in the air.

"She's okay..." He sighed with relief.

He ran over to where a red spell glyph was floating in the air, binding Rachel Alucard and two others. Ragna used his Grimoire to shatter the spell, allowing Rachel to float down with grace. The other two trapped with her were a large black cat, and a pudgy red bat.

"Hey Rabbit, how the hell'd you get yourself captured?" Ragna asked.

"The only man who fails at nothing is the man who doesn't do anything at all." Rachel shot back.

It seemed her two companions weren't as collected as she was.

"I was so sure..." The cat began.

"That we were going to die..." The bat finished.

Okay, talking animals. It's kind of strange when THIS surprises me at this point.

"Whatever, we have to go after Noel." Ragna said.

Akira nodded in agreement. "Yeah, I promised Makoto I'd come back, and I'll be damned if it's empty handed."

"Ragna, do be careful." Rachel warned.

"I don't need you to tell me that."

Ragna and Akira continued their sprint for the basement, while Rachel simply floated behind them, not needing to exert herself. Upon reaching the elevator, Akira hit the button once all of them were inside.

"So how big of a threat is Noel right now? Hazama was going on about her being a 'god-slayer' or something." Akira asked.

"Terumi certainly wasn't bluffing. That girl has inherited the true Azure, and now that she has been tempered, there may be no stopping her at all." Rachel explained.

"So what? We're doomed?"

"I merely said we could not stop her. I'm afraid the only way to save her is for Ragna to shatter her soul using his BlazBlue."

Akira tensed up. "But... that would mean..."

"She wants me to kill her." Ragna stated.

The elevator came to a halt at the bottom of the base. Following the hall to the Cauldron, three figures could be seen in the main chamber. One was clad in white armor and a faceless mask that gave off a chilling aura. His sword was as long as he was tall, and the red eyes on his armor seemed to move as if they were his own. He was Hakumen of the Six Heroes. The other was a blond man clad in the blue uniform of the NOL Praetorian Guard. He wielded a katana with a blade made of ice and a personality to match. It was Nox Nyctores: Yukianesa, and Akira's former classmate, Jin Kisaragi. The third was Kusanagi, though her outfit transformed to be even more revealing and had armor along her legs and hands similar to Lambda, with wing blades to match.

"This is pointless." Hakumen sighed.

"N-no! I can still..." Jin struggled.

"Pointless." Kusanagi said.

Both Hakumen and Jin were battered from their battle with Kusanagi, and she was just finishing with Jin. She swung her blades into him, causing him to stumble back from his injuries. Ragna caught him as he backed into him.

"You're late... brother." Jin said with a smirk.

They're brothers?!

"Well, I was just waiting for you to get the crap kicked out of you." He replied.

"That's so cruel of you... my dear brother."

"Yeah, you think? For now just stay back."

Ragna looked to Hakumen and sneered for a second, but softened his expression.

"Hey, masked freak. Take care of this idiot for me."

Hakumen merely stared back, unmoving.

"Please, Mr. Hero." Rachel implored.

"If I must." He begrudgingly accepted.

Hakumen carried Jin away from Kusanagi and the Cauldron to sit out the fight. Ragna stepped forward to face her alone.

"Target identified as the Azure Grimoire."

"Noel, you idiot!"

Kusanagi was stunned for a moment.

"What the hell were you thinking going down to that level?! Kusanagi?! The god-killing sword?! Screw all of that! You're Noel Vermillion, aren't you?!"

Kusanagi didn't respond, it seemed his words were having some impact on her.

"Look, I'm sorry about what I said before. So now, let's talk."

"Indefinable energy detected within target."

"But before we do, I'm going to have to do something about that armor. Bring it on!"

Akira stepped forward to join Ragna.

"Noel! It's me, Akira! I promised Makoto I'd get you out of here, and I'm going to make good on that promise!" He turned to Ragna. "She's my friend, so if it has to come to that... It's only fair that I help."

Ragna flashed a grin. "You've got guts, Akira. Alright, let's do this!"

Ragna unleashed the power of his Grimoire, while Akira transformed Suijin into a katana. The two rushed forward to attack Kusanagi head on, but she summoned two prism shaped drones from thin air. The drones split open and began firing laser beams at the pair, forcing them back. Akira grunted as one grazed his leg, lowering his mobility. To deal with the new threat, he changed Suijin into Bolverk and began firing on the drones.

"I'll handle them! Take care of Noel!" Akira shouted to Ragna.

Ragna charged in with a fist coated in seithr.

"Hell's... Fang!"

A second wave of seithr was swept forward, sending Kusanagi careening into the wall. Akira saw his opportunity and jumped forward pelting Kusanagi with a barrage from Bolverk. He then transformed the twin guns into a rocket launcher and let loose the explosive.

"Zero Gun: Thor!"

Kusanagi recovered from the onslaught and charged straight for Akira, grabbing him and trapping him within a sphere of energy. She then teleported above him and created several energy spears, all poised to run him through.

"If the world dies, so will I!" She shouted.

The instant she swung her arms, the spears all impacted Akira turning him into a human pincushion.

"Graaaahhhh!" He cried in pain.

Akira was bleeding profusely from his wounds, and he saw no way to keep fighting.

"Carnage...!" Ragna shouted

He dashed forward and slammed Kusanagi off the ground with his sword. Using his momentum he swung forward with a seithr coated blade.

"Scissors!"

Kusanagi floated upright, her armor was beginning to crack in several places.

"I... I... I'm... a doll. A doll. A doll. The world... hates me..." She began saying in her erratic state.

"Hatred hatred hatred hatred."

Ragna's brow furrowed in anger. "So what if you're not human! I'm just like you. God only know whose soul this actually is! But it doesn't matter. I'm still a person! A human being!"

Kusanagi calmed down for a moment as the words reached her.

"Invert Idea Engine connection!"

"What?" Rachel blurted in surprise.

"Noel, this is going to hurt A LOT. But it needs to be done."

Summoning two more drones, Kusanagi began firing on Ragna, who parried each blast with his sword. He soon sheathed the blade and rushed in, jumping into the air to get to Noel. A final blast from the drone pierced his right shoulder, dangerously close to his heart. Ignoring the wound, Ragna grabbed hold of the armor on Noel's head.

"Wake the hell up! You idiot!"

Ragna's left arm began to glow a bright blue and the output of energy began tearing it apart.

"Rrrraaaaaahhhh!"

Once the energy subsided, Noel collapsed into Ragna's right arm, as his left one had been destroyed in the process.

"Man, the things I do for you..."

Ragna collapsed to the ground, unable to fight his injuries. Slowly Noel began to stir from her unconscious state, and she became horrified at what she saw.

"Why?! Why did you do this for me?!" She cried.

Ragna grunted at her cries. "Not so loud..."

"But your arm! Your arm!"

"Yeah... It's gone for good this time, but I still have one left, so it's not a problem."

"That's not the problem! That's not the problem at all! Kyaaaahhh! You idiot! Idiot idiot idiot idiot!"

Rachel walked over to Ragna, her own expression soured. "What in the world made you think that reversing the tempering was a good idea? You big idiot. Idiot idiot idiot idiot."

"Now you're calling me that?" Ragna growled in annoyance.

Akira sat himself up and clutched at his injuries. Noel managed to spot him and her eyes began to water again.

"Akira? What are you doing here? What happened?" She asked.

"I told you before, I promised Makoto I'd save you, and I did."

Hakumen made his way over to Ragna, and the Grim Reaper rolled his eyes.

"Ugh... Hey, c'mon cut me some slack."

"I have no desire to kill a man so close to death." He replied.

"So, I'm off the hook?"

"Do not mistake mercy for forgiveness. When next we meet, I will destroy you." Hakumen threatened before walking away.

"Noel Vermillion..! Damn you!" Jin shouted.

Akira put his hands up defensively. "Calm down, Jin! The fight's over!"

"Wait... You called Ragna your brother." Noel remembered.

"That's not the issue here!" Jin shouted in anger.

"I know right? She's not very bright, but seriously, people, that's not the issue here."

All eyes turned to identify the source of this new voice, and all were equally shocked.

"Terumi!" Ragna shouted.

"Noel! Get behind me!" Rachel commanded.

Akira stumbled to his feet as well, changing Suijin into a bowie knife.

"What are you here for, you bastard?" He growled.

"Awww! I thought you'd be happy to see me. You guys are mean..." He feigned offense.

Noel defiantly glared at him. "I will... no longer... obey your orders!"

"Oh, my dearest Noel. That hurts, right here." He said, gesturing to his heart. "Well, the truth is I don't need you anymore. So, guess who just shut down Takamagahara? This guy!"

"Takamagahara?" Akira asked.

"Three devices meant to observe the possible events of time and try to lead the world to prosperity, though they sought to make things quite boring." Rachel explained.

"Well, you've all been thorns in my side long enough, so I think I'll just take this time to off all of you!" Terumi shouted as his aura flared.

"Hazama! That's enough." Relius Clover ordered.

"Shut up! You're not the boss of me!"

"The Imperator Librarious... has arrived."

The cloaked figure Akira saw before reappeared again, but with a girl clad in a purple robe and long purple hair. She had crimson eyes and an authoritative demeanor about her.

"Begon, Terumi." She commanded.

Terumi closed his eyes and returned to his Hazama grin. "You must excuse me." He placed his hat back upon his head. "Guess I got a little crazy there."

"Saya... Saya, what the hell?!" Ragna shouted as he rushed to his feet.

"Ragna, no!" Noel cried.

Hakumen and Jin rushed forward in an attempt to attack Hazama, but were intercepted by a woman in a red chinese dress that exposed her bra wielding a staff, and another clad in black clothes with red hair and red eyes. Her weapons consisted of a book styled shield, and a red quill sword.

"Tsubaki!" Noel, Jin, and Akira shouted in unison, recognizing the woman in black.

The Imperator let loose a massive blast of energy on the strange unit that emerged from the Cauldron, not destroying it, but indeed damaging it.

"Now, the world shall return to the way it is destined. A world of death." She turned to face Rachel. "Rachel Alucard. Your efforts are for naught."

"So sure that you have secured your victory?"

She gestured to Ragna. "A man at death's door can do little, save knock."

In an instant, the Imperator and all of her followers were teleported out from the Cauldron area. Ragna pounded the ground in rage.

"I knew it! Dammit, I knew it!"

Jin walked over to his brother, a serious expression on his face.

"Brother, I think it's time I told you the truth about that one time. The one who gave me the Yukianesa was... Saya."

"What...?"

"That time? What am I missing here?" Akira asked.

"Ragna's home was destroyed years ago by Terumi and his manipulated brother, Jin. That's the day he lost his right arm and the Azure Grimoire replaced it." Rachel explained once more.

"I... I never knew..."

"This is why he walks a path of revenge. He has lost everything, so he seeks to kill Terumi for destroying his life."

Akira felt sympathy for Ragna. He knew all too well what it was like to lose a family. Looking at the blood soaking his clothes, Akira began to realize how lightheaded he was.

"We should... Get Ragna to a doctor." Akira suggested.

"Do not neglect your own health. It would be a shame for you to die now." Rachel chided.

"Right. We should head for Ronin-Gai. I need to meet someone there."

With that, Jin, Noel, and Akira made for Ronin-Gai with Ragna in tow.

"She's in here. She's past the worst of it, but she won't be ready for anything strenuous for a few days." The doctor spoke to Akira.

"Thanks, doc."

"You sure you're feeling alright yourself? Your injuries were rather severe." He asked in a worried tone.

"I'll be fine." Akira assured.

After a day of recuperation, Akira had to check on Makoto. The truth was that it hurt to simply walk, but nothing could keep him apart from her considering the state she was in when they last met. Akira opened the door and got a look at Makoto. She was laying in her bed, a medical robe being her current attire, and bandages all across her body. Akira took a seat next to her bed, gently taking her hand in his.

"Makoto, can you hear me?"

She stirred from her slumber and opened her eyes. She gasped in surprise when she saw who it was.

"Akira!"

To his surprise, she managed to spring up and grab him in a fierce hug.

"Ow! Uncle! Uncle!" Akira cried.

"Ouch! Heh, sorry about that." Makoto chuckled as she remembered her own injuries.

"Sheesh, I guess nothing can keep you down for long, huh Makoto?"

Makoto began tearing up. "You had me so worried. I thought... I thought you might not make it back. I could barely do a thing to Hazama."

"Yeah... I was terrified myself during that fight. If it wasn't for Ragna, I'd probably be dead."

"Whoa whoa whoa! Ragna the Bloodedge helped?!" Makoto blurted in surprise.

"I know, but he's on our side, and he saved my life. Besides, all that matters to me is that you're safe."

"I... Thanks Akira..." She said, suddenly depressed.

"What's with you all of a sudden?" He asked.

"Why do you keep helping me? It's my fault that... I'm the reason your dad had to die... So why do you keep helping me?"

"Makoto... That was never your fault. My father was manipulated, and I made my own choice that day. I swore to myself that I'd protect you no matter what. The reason I keep helping you is because I love you. It's because I can't imagine life without you."

"Akira..."

With all they had been through, their emotions finally overcame them. Words became meaningless, as they could only express their feelings through that one kiss.

"Akira... Thank you. We're going to face this together, right?"

Akira nodded. "We'll put an end to them together, Makoto. And when it's all over, we can be together in a normal life."

"Well, first we have to get better. You know what might help with that?~"

"What?"

"Chestnut parfait!" Makoto cheered.

"That's what I love about you. Always so upbeat."

A few days later, the members of Sector Seven were back on their feet and preparing to head back to base.

"We're heading out." Tager informed.

"Noel! Hurry up, slowpoke!" Makoto called back.

"J-just a minute!." She pleaded as she talked to Jubei of the Six Heroes. Jubei was considered the strongest being on the planet for many, though you wouldn't get that impression by looking at him. Jubei was a large cat that could walk upright and speak the human language.

"Still the same Noel. Though, I'm glad being Kusanagi didn't change her much." Akira admitted.

"Kusa-who?" Makoto asked.

"I'll tell you about it later."

The two of them walked the gangplank onto the airship Sector Seven sent for them. Makoto turned back to the docks and shouted back to Noel.

"Noel! We're leaving!"

"Ah! C-Coming!" She said, fumbling to run up the gangplank.

"This is it! Starting today, we bring the fight to them!"