Author's Notes: The story takes place after the events of Continuum Shift, on the long road to Ikaruga.


Crimson Azure

The sharp pain I was feeling before is gone now. It's dulled out, and something is washing over it...pleasure. This is actually really…nice. I can feel him sliding in and out of me. It feels like little tendrils of tingly electricity are winding around my body. Is this what making love feels like? I can feel my hair sticking to my face. A hand brushes it away. I open my eyes and look away immediately. I can feel my face burning. He was staring straight at me…with those eyes.

Heterochrome.


I'm lost and panicking. This is bad; I can't be lost in this forest. I keep crying out for Makoto and Tager, but there's no response. I can feel tears running down my face. Isn't anyone out there? Anyone at all? Suddenly, I hear some rustling nearby. I fall backwards in fright and stare at the source of the sound. I'm going to die.

"What the hell? You, of all people?" says a voice. Spiky silver hair poked out of a bush, followed by the red-jacketed body and face of Ragna the Bloodedge. "Oh great," he moaned, "It's you."

"I-I'm lost," cried Noel, "I can't find Makoto or Tager."

"What the hell were you doing with them anyway?" asked Ragna.

"We were on our way to Ikaruga," explained Noel, "But I got separated from them when the path started twisting through the trees."

Great. She's going to Ikaruga too. Fan-fucking-tastic. I don't need another damn thing to worry about. Well, she seems to just gravitate towards me, so it can't be helped. I guess I can't tell her to shove off. Damn. Alright, fine, just this once, I'll let her follow me. Until we find Tager and Makoto, anyway; then, I'm getting as far away as possible.

With a heavy sigh, Ragna rolled his eyes and tried to calm her, "Hey, stop crying will you? I lost track of Tao, but that's hardly a reason to start with this waterworks shit." Noel nodded feebly and wiped her eyes; she mumbled an apology. "And don't apologize for everything. God, this is just like last time," muttered Ragna, "Come on, let's go find the Red Devil." Noel sniffed and mumbled her thanks.

I can't believe he actually offered to let me come along with him. Maybe he's changed. I want to ask him how he's doing…what he's going to Ikaruga for… Actually, I think the most pressing question I have for him is…

"Why are you being nice to me?" asked Noel. She covered her mouth immediately and blushed a brilliant crimson. The question hadn't formed in her mind so much as formed on her tongue.

Ragna looked at her, an eyebrow raised. "Look, if you want to wander around this forest alone and figure out how to get to Ikaruga by yourself, then let me know. God knows it'd be much less of a pain in the ass for me if you did that," he said sharply. He pointed to a dark path in the forest. "If you want to get out alone, you're free to go. Trust me, I won't stop you." Noel looked on the verge of tears again. She shook her head repeatedly and spoke no more. Ragna sighed and rubbed his forehead. "Just keep up and there won't be any problems. I won't hesitate to leave you behind," he said more evenly, "Alright?" Noel nodded sadly. The two walked in silence for the next hour, with only the sound of their dampened footfalls sounding out into the forest around them. Ragna held his arm out in front of Noel, and she quickly bumped right into. Confused, she looked wildly around.

What happened? Is there someone around? Should I summon Bolverk? No, wait, Ragna doesn't look tense or anything. He's actually pretty calm. Hmm, this is kind of like a romance story; some helpless girl gets saved by her hero and they fall in lo- OH! What am I thinking? That wouldn't happen in real life. ESPECIALLY if Ragna's the hero. Well, maybe…I mean, he did save me from being…that…thing. Oh God…just thinking about it makes me feel sick.

"Hey! Stupid! You awake or what?" called Ragna from some place far away. Noel perked up immediately and looked about. Ragna was standing right next to her. "Uh, right here Noel. I haven't moved. I said we should call it a day. Were you listening at all?" he asked, annoyance flitting across his face.

"Um, no…sorry, I just got lost in some thoughts about…um…" mumbled Noel. She looked on the verge of tears again.

"What the hell are you gonna cry about now? We're not lost. I know where we're going. I've travelled on foot enough to know how to get around," said Ragna almost defensively.

"No, it's not that…I was just thinking about what's happened…" she responded.

With another great sigh, Ragna turned Noel to face him proper. "Look, stop dwelling on it, alright? Everyone's got shit wrong with them, but at the very least, you're fine now. I don't have my real arms anymore, and you don't see me crying," he said sternly, "It won't help you at all if you keep dwelling on what's happened; you'll just keep sliding back into sadness." Noel stared into Ragna's face for a second before dropping her gaze and nodding in a morose sort of way.

Ugh, I hope we find Tager and Makoto soon. I can't imagine what I'll do to endure the entire trip to Ikaruga with just her and her bad memories for company. At least Tao was cheery.

"You're right," she said quietly, "I need to cheer up, or else I'll never get over this." With significantly more strength in her voice, she said, "Alright, if we're going to stop for the day, we need to set up camp and find some food."

Ragna looked away. "I don't set up camp Noel. I just sleep on the ground," he said; he was trying his best not to smirk, as the thought of Noel roughing it was somewhat humorous.

With a rather shocked expression, Noel said, "Wh-what? You didn't pack anything? At all?"

"Did you?" asked Ragna smugly.

"Well, no…Tager was carrying what we needed; it wasn't much, just a tent and some canned food until we found a town to buy more food from," she said defensively.

"Then you'll get your first taste of what it's like to be the Grim Reaper today," he responded, "It's not glamorous, it's not fun, and if you feel something crawling on you, leave it alone, because you're better off not disturbing it."

BUGS! Oh God! Oh God! Nononononono! Anything but bugs!

"Aaaagh, don't you have a blanket or something? Anything at all?" squealed Noel.

"Nope. My jacket is usually enough. If it's cold, well then, sucks to be me," he said. With that, he walked a few feet over to a patch of ground covered with a thin bed of leaves and plopped onto his back. With a smug smile, he put his arms behind his head and closed his eyes. "Well, good night stupid," he said snidely.

Noel looked around for a similar patch of leaves, but all she could find was cold, hard ground. After wandering around, she realized that she couldn't see Ragna. Panicking, she sprinted randomly into the forest and stumbled upon him. Literally.

"OUCH! WHAT THE FUCK NOEL?" shouted Ragna sitting bolt upright. She was lying spread-eagled on the ground face-first. "What the hell do you think you're…" He stopped and stared directly at Noel's lying form. His mouth dropped open.

WHY DON'T YOU WEAR PANTIES? WHAT THE FUCK. WHAT THE FUCK. .

Ragna looked determinedly away and mumbled angrily, "What just happened?" From behind he heard her getting up. He could feel his face growing very hot. He hazarded a glance and looked back almost immediately; full moon was still out.

"Ouch," cried Noel, "I wandered off too far looking for a patch of leaves to sleep on, but then I found out I walked a little too far so I panicked and ran where I thought camp was…and…I'm sorry." She inclined her head; her body was covered in dust, dirt and debris. Ragna still didn't face her; he had no idea how much light was playing on his face, but he couldn't risk Noel seeing his reaction to a rather…unusual revelation. She dusted herself off and wrung her hands. "C-can I share this spot with you?" she asked timidly.

Ragna laid flat on his back and rolled off the patch of leaves. "Take it. Don't wander off, because I won't go looking for you. Good night," he said abruptly.

Did you really have to ask me that? Jeez, I know what I'm dreaming about tonight now.

With a small muttering of thanks, Noel laid down. She rolled around on the spot, trying to get comfortable and finally realized her beret was keeping her from this goal. She took it off and rolled it up into a small pillow. After a few more minutes of rolling about in search of a comfortable sleeping position, Noel stopped, staring at Ragna's back. Her hair was everywhere, and her attempts to blow it out of her face did little but make it flutter lazily. With a small pout, she brushed it aside and laid there.

He'll kill me if I do that! Ohhh, but I'm scared of the woods. And the bugs. Maybe if I check to see if he's asleep, then wake up early so I can pretend that nothing happened!

"Rag…na?" said Noel quietly. She winced when he saw him shuffle slightly and grunt. After a few moments of trepidation, she inched closer to him. He was snoring quietly.

I guess he is asleep…Oh man, please don't wake up.

Tentatively, she rested her face against his back. He twitched once and then shuffled again before continuing to snore softly. Noel breathed a sigh of relief and nuzzled her face against his back. She clutched her hands together next to her chest to keep them warm. "Thank you, Ragna," she whispered.


Ragna awoke fairly early next morning and almost sneezed; something was bothering his nose. It smelled vaguely like flowers.

The hell? I didn't go to bed in a field of flowers. Not unless I managed to sleep walk into one.

He opened his eyes and looked blearily down at what was bothering his nose. It was blonde hair. He brushed it aside and closed his eyes again. Then, he tore them open so quickly it hurt.

That's Noel! What the hell is she doing?

Ragna focused his eyes down on Noel. Evidently, she had fallen asleep against his chest last night.

What the hell is she playing at? Was it that cold last night or something? Hmph. Or something. Wait. No. No way. Noooo way. Just roll away and pretend this little scene never happened. Wait…what the hell? Why can't I move? What's this thing on my back? Oh God damn it. Her arm. She put her arm around me at some point. Damn it, let go of me Noel!

Noel stirred and opened her eyes slowly. She yawned and focused on what she was nuzzled against. Black. White stripes. She blinked, looked up and immediately blushed a brilliant scarlet. Ragna was staring down at her, and his expression shouted but one thought: I am not pleased. "Agh!" she squealed when her voice seemed to force itself to work again, "Oh God, I'm sorry! I'm sorry!" She let go of the back of his jacket which she must have clutched at one point in the night, scooted back several inches and sat up nervously.

"You mind telling me what exactly it was you were doing sleeping on my chest?" asked Ragna in a dangerously low tone.

Noel twisted her beret nervously in her hands. "I didn't fall asleep on your chest!" she said, "I fell asleep on your back last night! I was…scared and cold. I was hoping I'd wake up and move before you did so you wouldn't know but…" She shifted guilty on the spot.

"Yeah, I can guess the rest: you were too stupid to remember you don't wake up without an alarm clock or something?" muttered Ragna through clenched teeth. Noel averted her eyes and looked down at her beret. She mumbled a string of apologies. This only exacerbated the problem. "Damn it! Stop apologizing!" he said harshly, "If you were cold you could have said something! Don't you have an overcoat that everyone else in the damn NOL wears?" Noel shook her head sadly and mumbled something about "misplacing" it. Ragna gaped at her. "You lost the damn thing? How big an idiot are you?"

Why is he being so mean to me? I already apologized…what more does he want?

Ugh, I'm chewin' her out really bad. I need to let up. Fuck, how can I? She reminds me of Saya, and after all that's happened, I think that's made it even worse. God damn it. I'll try to let up, otherwise she'll just start crying again. Or worse, she might run off.

Ragna sighed and rubbed his face in a weary sort of way. "Whatever. It doesn't matter. If you get cold, tell me, will you?" he said, his voice calming.

Noel looked up at him. "What? Why?" she asked.

Ragna felt his eye twitch in annoyance. "Because, you idiot, I have a jacket you can borrow, you know," he said through grit teeth.

Don't get the wrong idea Noel, because if you do…fuck, I don't even know anymore.

Noel blushed slightly and shook her head. "You don't have to do that," she said timidly.

"Alright, so go throughout the nights cold," said Ragna shortly.

"Ah! But…I mean, won't you get cold?" asked Noel.

Ragna sighed. "Look, do you want it or not? Because if you say no, you better not ask me tonight when it gets cold and you wanna snuggle up like a cat or something," he said sharply. Noel nodded and looked away. "Good. Now let's get going." Ragna got up, stretched and started walking without a backward glance.

Ah! W-wait!

Noel got up and dusted herself off as she jogged to catch up to him. "Thanks for that," she said after a short while.

Ragna smirked. "What, chewing you out? If you liked it, I can start again," he said, "I didn't know you were a masochist."

Noel pouted. "No, I mean for offering me your jacket for tonight," she said.

I guess he can be sweet when he wants to be.

"Oh. That," responded Ragna with mild distaste, "Don't get the wrong idea. I don't want you bitching or getting all friendly at night is all."

Noel smiled broadly, to Ragna's surprise.

Type A? I knew it.


Author's Note: There we go, chapter one is done, adding a third story to my list of stories I'm psychotically juggling! Yay! I do believe quite a few of you will catch that little reference I ended the chapter with.