BlazBlue: A delightful sensation
Here is my awful attempt at a pairing that barely anyone has done. Now I can see it is for a good reason. It was difficult to capture Ragna's personality as a adolescent given that before he was the Grim Reaper, he was a bit more of a curious kid and wasn't as gruff.
Summary: Mai has been thinking about the man she met down on the lowest level of Torifune, now that same guy has enrolled in the Academy and is quickly a friend of hers and her friends. How will Ragna and Mai develop if they ever had more interactions?
Chapter 1: A new student? First guy member.
The azure canvas containing a sphere of bright candescent rays that fell upon the higher levels of Torifune, the Academy city and its residents. It was a strange sight to those who've never conceived the thought of an entire city being an Academic playground, but here it was, almost everywhere one went, they'd would see people all dressed in blue and white uniform shirts/jackets paired with black lower garbs.
Not to mention the buildings all resembled something you would have expected from an old library building which was constructed somewhere before the early 2000s. On the inside however, they were more luxurious and modern than most of the City's brothers and sisters. It was here that a certain boy-turned-girl, on the seventh level, the student-dormitories, was in her dorm laying on her bed deep in her thoughts.
This girl was considered very cute by her friends and some other people who gave her a once over every now and then. She had a slender, yet curvy and athletic figure; sporting wide, shapely hips, long toned legs, a narrow waist, a very sizable bust. Her blue hair done in a high ponytail with yellow ribbons, came down to her lower back, two hair antennae and two side-locks in her hair, striking magenta eyes and a small, rounded, yet narrow face.
She was currently dressed in the standard Military Academy uniform for girls; a blue and white shirt and jacket, a black skirt accompanied by black thigh-high stocking and white shoes with a yellow outline.
She was thinking back on the time when she and her friends were exploring the ninth level of Torifune, for the Grimoire that supposably had the cure for her 'Super taste'. She had ended up falling to the tenth floor where she had encountered the Adsequi Grimoire, with the soul of the first student who desired to be with her beloved. But, with Mai's super taste and Grimoire power that had turned her into a girl in the first place. She was about to tell the soul possessing the Grimoire that her beloved was right next to her the whole time.
However, what, or rather who was on her mind was that man who had helped down there. The man didn't seem to be that much older than her, but she doubted he was a student, or even a senior student at the Academy, or else everyone would have known who he was due to his skills. Coming from a family with a strong background in martial arts, she was absolutely blown away by the level of skill the white-haired man dressed in red and black possessed. She figured that in a straight up fight, she'd lose in the first second.
Who was he? Is he a student? If so, why doesn't anyone in the Academy know who he is?
These were the types of thoughts that came to her mind as she tried to figure out the identity of the white-haired man. If he had been a student, then the NOL Academy would have been bragging about having produced a once-in-a-life prodigy.
Mai sighed, 'Oh well, no point trying to figure out who he is… for now...' she drew on the last part of her thoughts as her gaze fell upon the lunchbox that Noel made her. She had some eating to catch up on.
10:30AM, Armagus Basics Advanced Theory Class.
Mai and her roommate Kajun, a girl with light-purple hair that she wore with a crown braid and had it combed straight down her back. Along with her other friends, Noel Vermillion, Tsubaki Yayoi and Makoto Nanaya, who was using her big bushy tail to her advantage by using it like it was a cushion to keep herself from overloading during class.
This class was the one most people including herself focused most on, as most people weren't born with a ridiculously high affinity for Ars Magus like Noel, who has the highest affinity in the Academy's history. However, Mai couldn't fault the ones falling asleep, since not even the cool teacher, Miss Estella McKenzie, could save the lesson. Everyone already knew what Armagus was, how it can be used and how to use the basic barrier spell.
Thankfully the first break arrived only a minute later, to every students' joy.
Mai lifted her arms above her head, stretching out her torso, making her chest almost launch a button off her shirt. As she got up, her best friend Kajun came up to her.
"Hey Mai, anything you are planning on doing?" Kajun asked with a smile.
Mai smiled back, "Well, ah… I might just go to Gym room and build up a sweat, hahaha." She told her.
Kajun sighed, "Really? Out of all things you could do, you choose that? You are too boyish for your good, what a shame, a cute girl like you should be doing other things." She told her.
Mai began to sweat, that word 'boyish' hit a little too close to home.
"Um… like what Kajun?" Mai asked. Kajun smirked.
"Like seeing if there are any cool mysteries in the old parts of the Academy buildings, you know, more hidden rooms like the one where we found the Truth Grimoire." Kajun told her.
Mai nodded, "Oh yeah! I forgot Ms McKenzie told us that there were some rooms sealed off during the construction of new rooms. Alright, then, let's find them." She ended with reinvigorated enthusiasm.
Mai and Kajun then marched towards there other three friends.
"Hey girls, what are you three up to?" Kajun asked.
Makoto leaped right up, "Well we're going to the cafeteria on the double! The limited-edition Walnut parfait is going to be ours! Come on ladies! Chop chop!" Makoto told them, about to speed off until Noel reminded her.
"Makoto, it's only morning break, the parfaits are available yet. Hehe!" Noel told her, Makoto's face spelled doom.
"NOOO! Why… how could the world be so cruel as to keep my parfait away from me? To come so far… My life is a tragedy…" Makoto exaggerated.
The girls had a good laugh at their squirrelly friend's antics. Tsubaki also told her.
"And besides, a parfait this early during the day can't be good for you. Why not just get one of those granola bowls instead? Has just as much nuts and it's very sweet." Tsubaki told her.
Makoto's eyes lit up, "Really!? You go Tsubaki! I knew you were one of my friends for a reason!" she said.
They all laughed again, Mai spoke up.
"It's like we're only your friends because of the food we bring." She joked making everyone laugh louder.
Makoto then suggested, "Well hey! Eating with friends makes everything taste even better, come on girls! On we go!"
All the girls agreed, except Tsubaki.
"Oh, you can all go on without me, I have something to do."
Noel whined, "Oh! Really Tsubaki? Are you sure?"
Makoto then said, "Ya know… you study way too much, has anyone ever told you that?"
Tsubaki nodded, "Yes Makoto, you have, but I'm not studying, the student council told me to show the new student around the school and their dorms."
Everyone blinked.
"Huh? We have a new student? At this time of the year? Who is it?" Mai asked.
Tsubaki shook her head, "I don't know, I only know that he was put into the senior level based on his statistics. As for his name, I only heard that his last name is Mr. Mitsuyoshi." She replied.
Kajun looked deep in thought, "A senior as soon as they enrolled? Wow, who ever he is, he must be a very talented individual to have been given his level. I wonder if this Mitsuyoshi is easy on the eyes?"
Makoto grinned, "Yeah! But I hope it's a guy who likes Beastkins, that's a damn rarity these days! You know what I'm sayin'? she commented.
Noel cutely looked down, "I just hope he's a nice person… who also enjoys my cooking as much as you do Mai." She said.
Everyone within hearing radius, turned blue when Noel said that.
No one besides Mai will ever like her cooking!
Tsubaki scolded them, "Ahem! You three stop, the new student isn't someone to eye, he's someone to welcome with open arms."
"Or wide. Open. Legs. Tsubaki~" Makoto snuck in, making Tsubaki glow as red as her hair.
"Makoto! That's so inappropriate!" Tsubaki told her off.
However, the group of girls shared one more laugh before Tsubaki excused herself.
Mai then turned towards Makoto and Noel, "So what are two going to be doing?"
Noel replied, "Oh! We wanted to head over to the Cafeteria to try out their new deserts. Wanna come!?" Noel asked.
Mai and Kajun nodded, "Sure, might as well get something to eat before exploring the mysteries of the school library." Kajun said.
Makoto's eyes gleamed over, "Oh! You were going to do that too! Why don't we all do that after we eat!?"
"Yeah! Let's!" Mai replied.
The girls all cheered in agreement as Makoto and Noel skipped towards the Cafeteria with Mai and Kajun in their grubby little paws.
Cafeteria Area
As always, the dining tables were bustling with students after first period as most students don't have breakfast before class either due to working all-nighters, or just having way too much fun every night… that came out so wrong.
However, on one of the tables somewhere closest to the food counter. Noel and Makoto were going crazy on the sweetest and tastiest options they could find, with the later grabbing extra nuts. Mai was always taken back by how big of an appetite girls had for deserts, she wondered often that maybe she would be the same way if her taste buds weren't jacked up. She spared a glance towards her best friend, Kajun, who was simply munching on a fruit salad. Figures, she did like to eat whatever was good for her looks.
It was at this moment that Kajun told Mai, "Mai, I know you can't really enjoy normal foods, but you've got to have something, you can't always wait for Noel to cook for you."
Mai laughed a little, "I know Kajun, but I'm just trying to get myself really hungry to the point I'll eat absolutely anything." She told her.
Kajun then suggested, "Why not just have Noel season everything like last time? It'll be as if she made herself."
Mai's and Noel's eyes lit up, how did they forget something so important like that. Noel immediately knew what to do, she grabbed any food item that was left on the counter, mixed in some… 'toxic' ingredients and god knows what else she did to it before serving it to Mai with a bright smile.
"Here you go Mai! I did my best to make it look nice, please enjoy!" Noel told her.
The students surrounding her all shifted away, in fear of inhaling whatever toxic fumes that came from Noel's concoction.
Mai's eyes sparkled, "Thanks a bunch Noel! I love the stuff you make!" she told her before happily munching down on what was meant to be a nutty 'n' fruity porridge. As soon as all the girls were close to finishing, they caught wind of an interesting conversation from one of the other groups of students.
"Hey, you hear about the new student in our school?" a student A asked another.
They other guy nodded, "Yeah, the student council and my homeroom teacher wouldn't shut up about him! Something about having abnormally high scores or whatevs!" student B recited.
Then another female student also added, "Guys, you know what it means when a new student comes during the middle of the year, right? Mr. Hot. Shot. Uzuki has to 'welcome' them." Student C reminded them.
They all groaned at the mention of his name.
"Of course, Kazaki Uzuki, thinks he's all that just because his Ars Magus levels are higher than most, comes from a family part of the Duodecim and most of all, thinks he's so tough just because he picks on new juniors each year." Student B spat out with venom, why? This student hated bullies more than anything, being a bullied kid himself.
Student A and C nodded.
"Yeah, I get you! If I had the chance, I'd kick his ass, he really needs it." Student C told them.
"Are you nuts? He may be a show off, but he's still the real deal. He's got private lessons every semester break. Only people like Jin can get him to behave." Student A reminded her.
Noel, Mai, Kajun and Makoto all frowned at the memory of Kazaki Uzuki.
"Oh, that guy, he really disgusts me. What's so fun about picking on others?" Mai asked. They all shrugged.
Noel then recalled, "I remember that one time he tried to get all close on me." She said as she shivered.
Makoto huffed before tell them, "Hm! That guy ain't nothing! Just gave him a little squirrel power, and he knew to keep his hands off Noellers! Serves that sexist and racist bastard right." She said.
Kajun frowned as she nodded. Mai looked between her friends before suggesting.
"Hey, why don't we go off exploring for those hidden rooms in the old part of the Library now?" Mai suggested to forget the sour mood that the name Kazaki Uzuki brought up.
Noel and Makoto's eyes instantly shined, whilst Kajun smiled like she normally does.
"Alright! Time to go on an adventure! RUB BA DUB DUB DAB everyone!" Makoto exclaimed as she lead the way.
With Tsubaki
As for the girls' red-headed friend, she was finally ending the new student's tour of the seventh floor, where the students' dorms were. She and the new student, Mr Mitsuyoshi, stopped in front of a room numbered 666.
"And here's where you'll be staying for the rest of your school days. Unfortunately, you don't have a roommate due to the unexpectedness of your enrolment and the odd number of senior students." Tsubaki told her.
Mitsuyoshi replied, "Yeah, whatever, it's fine. I prefer it that way, wouldn't want to deal with space and rules and all that other shit." He ended up pausing at the end of his sentence.
"Um… I meant 'all that other stuff'! Yeah, that's what I…" he tried to correct himself. But Tsubaki instead giggled in the new student's slip-up.
"It's okay Mr Mitsuyoshi, everyone has their quirks and shortcomings. I make it a habit of mine to accept everyone for who they are, or at least respect them. So, I don't mind your language much, but do please keep it to a minimum." Tsubaki told him with a smile.
Mitsuyoshi nodded, "Ah… right, I'll do that. Anyway, that's the end of the tour, right? You got some things you need taking care of?"
Tsubaki nodded, "Yes, I do. I do hope we can get along in the future Mitsuyoshi. Take care." She bid him farewell.
Left to his own devices, he entered his dorm and gave it a clean sweep.
"Damn! This is fancier than most hotels, well, ones I could afford, but yeah. And I get it all to myself." Mitsuyoshi commented on the high-end wooden furniture, queen sized beds, a wooden study desk with books all prepared for his use, a TV and even a sparkling white bathroom.
Mitsuyoshi then eyed the uniform before tossing back down.
"Like I'd wear this crap." He critiqued the article of clothing harshly.
Finding nothing to do, he decided to venture out of his dorm and do some more exploring since he technically had the entire morning off until someone would come along and show him his Armagus Lab class.
His stomach growled.
"Great. I should have asked that chick where the cafeteria was again, I'm hungry. If I remember, she said it was between the courtyard, in front of the Sophomores' building" Mitsuyoshi recalled.
He began to retrace his steps into his little journey to find the cafeteria.
A solid 20 minutes in, he managed to find the gate which he and Tsubaki passed when they entered the Senior's dormitory grounds.
As he walked passed however, the bell rang which suggested that first break was over, and the other students had to attend class. Mitsuyoshi sighed, hopefully the Cafeteria was still open. He checked his watch, it told him the time was 11:00AM.
"Just an hour and a half til my first class here. Now where was the Cafeteria? Oh, that building there." Mitsuyoshi began heading towards the section of a building where a bunch of students were coming through.
However, a rather mocking and smug voice got his attention.
"Hey you! Never seen you around here! You lost newbie?" the guy asked.
Mitsuyoshi turned to see some guy with slicked back, black hair. His uniform was worn with his buttoned-up shirt open revealing his chest muscles and his sleeves rolled up.
He asked, "Well, kinda, who are you?" Mitsuyoshi asked.
The guy grinned, "Me? I'm Kazaki Uzuki, you're a new student and I'd like to welcome you. What cha looking for, newbie?" Kazaki asked with a tone that screamed fake.
"Well, I'm just trying to find the Cafeteria, haven't had anything since yesterday." Mitsuyoshi told him.
Kazaki grinned, "Well follow me then, I'll show you where the Cafeteria is!"
Mitsuyoshi thanked him but had to ask.
"Hey, thanks, but uh… aren't you meant to be going to class?" he reminded him.
Kazaki blew his lips, "PFFT! As if, I already know everything! Come on, I'll show you where you can find the grub."
Kazaki began to lead Mitsuyoshi to the open courtyard where everyone could see from almost all the buildings.
However, one student saw them.
"Oh no! This is bad! I gotta tell everyone!" this student ran off.
With Mai, Noel, Makoto and Kajun
The girls had returned from their little adventure in the Library disappointed. They barely had any time to explore and not to mention, they hadn't found any of the secret rooms that they were hoping to find in the Library.
"Oh man! This sucks nuts! Nothing interesting was even in there!" Makoto exclaimed.
Noel nodded with a bit of a miserable whine.
Mai also sighed, she also wanted to find another room, hopefully with the Azure Grimoire.
Kajun told them, "Now, now, we still have next break and tomorrow even. We'll definitely find the secret rooms later."
The girls all nodded in agreement, they still had plenty of times.
As the girls made their way to class, they met up with Tsubaki who happened to be in the same class Noel, Mai and Kajun for Advanced Armagus lab; where not only theory is learned, but is applied, experimentation is encouraged.
Makoto knew this was where she parted ways with them since her Ars Magus levels weren't as high as theirs.
"Well looks like I'm gonna be so lonely in my class, seeya next break!" Makoto told them until a certain student ran through the halls screaming.
"EVERYONE! KAZAKI IS AT IT AGAIN! HE'S AFTER THE NEW STUDENT!" this guy informed everyone.
Everyone was in disarray, they all wanted to know where this 'beatdown' was happening.
The girls looked frightened.
"Mitsuyoshi!? No! I just showed him his room! And Kazaki is already picking on him? Why hasn't his family done anything about him?" Tsubaki questioned.
Noel looked frightened and felt bad for the new student, "Oh! I hope he's okay. Should we help him?"
Mai agreed, "I think we should, this has gone on long enough. We can't just stand by and let this happen all the time."
Makoto pumped her right fist in the air.
"Yeah! Mai's right! We gotta give him another taste of Squirrel power again!" she cheered.
The girls nodded. Kajun asked the boy where the fight was being held.
He told everyone that it was in the courtyard.
All the students who heard about this fight were now headed towards the courtyard.
As soon as everyone got there, they all tried to push through to get a better view. In the process, the girls were pushed to the front.
Tsubaki gasped, "Huh! There they are, Kazaki and… oh no… it's Mitsuyoshi!"
"Huh? Mitsuyoshi? Isn't that the name of the new student you showed around?" Kajun asked Tsubaki, to which she responded with a yes.
Noel was flailing about, "WUAH! What do we do!? He's in trouble!" Makoto then placed a comforting hand on Noel's shoulder.
"It's gonna be alright, Noellers! I'm gonna give Kazaki a taste of Squirrel power!" Makoto told her.
As everyone was wondering if they should intervene or not. Mai wasn't saying anything. In fact, staring at this Mitsuyoshi took her breath away. She couldn't see his face but could recognise that hairdo anywhere, even if she only saw it once before.
"White, spikey hair… could it be him?" Mai wondered out loud.
Kajun caught it, "Hm? Is that someone you know Mai?" she asked.
Mai stuttered, "Wah! No! I just thought I've seen him somewhere before."
Makoto was then getting ready to bomber dive straight into Kazaki and his goons. But Tsubaki stopped her.
"Makoto! Don't! We're not going to resort to violence to fix this!" Tsubaki told her.
Makoto tried to argue, "But Tsubaki! How else are we going to stop him?"
Tsubaki suggested, "We're going to do this the diplomatic way. Even when you hit him last time, he didn't learn his lesson. Maybe a threat about reporting his true behaviour to his family will work."
As the girl discussing ways in how they could resolve this matter. Mai simply told them.
"Hey girls, there's no need to worry." Mai said.
Her friends looked at her like she was crazy.
"Huh!? Are you nuts? The new student's day is about to pooped on! And you're saying there ain't nothing to worry about!?" Makoto said.
Mai nodded, "Yeah, but I can tell based on the way that Mitsuyoshi moves, that he'll definitely come out okay."
The girls were still unsure about his, but trusted Mai as she had a background in Martial Arts. Everyone began to watch the fight between Kazaki and Mitsuyoshi unravel.
With Kazaki with his goons and Mitsuyoshi
The courtyard was a rather spacious area, about the same size of a basketball court, there were two footpaths that were parallel to each other, only a perpendicular pathway joined them together, which had a fountain in the middle with four benches surrounding the fountain. Of course, there were even some gardens on the edges.
Before they arrived at the courtyard, Mitsuyoshi had realised that Kazaki was misleading him. Even he knew that the Cafeteria was way back at where he started. He had a feeling this guy wanted a piece of him.
'Is this guy trying to pick a fight with me? Fine by me, I want to see what this school has to offer.' Mitsuyoshi thought to himself.
Kazaki stopped and turned around, with four guys behind him appearing.
"Where the heck did you take me? This is way off from where I was told the Cafeteria would be, what are you playing at?" Mitsuyoshi asked.
Kazaki began to laugh like an evil villain.
"HAHAHAHAHAHA! Oh, you newbies are so gullible! Always listening to everybody like a lost little puppy! So, I'm gonna give you two choices, 1: Kneel and lick my shoes like the puppy you are, or 2: I'll show you how I welcome those who don't follow orders." He smirked cockily with his goons chuckling evilly.
Mitsuyoshi could see a crowd in the upper floors gathering.
'Great! First day and I'm already making headlines! How fantastic!' he thought sarcastically.
"Lick your shoes? That's some kinky shit you're into! Not exactly a fan of that kind of fetish, but I'm not judging! So, what do those boys of yours take care of? Your 'needs'?" Mitsuyoshi emphasised the word 'needs' in a rather suggestive manner.
A few gasps and 'oohhh's could be heard from the crowd upstairs.
Kazaki was gritting his teeth, "Well, we got ourselves a clever one here, but I wonder how long you'll keep saying things like that when I'm through with YOU!" he shouted as he charged Mitsuyoshi.
Mitsuyoshi was just staring at Kazaki with an indifferent look on his face, as if he wasn't even concerned and simply tilted his head to dodge Kazaki's punch.
Kazaki then began trying to mix up his attacks using his Muay Thai skills to try land a decent blow on Mitsuyoshi, but to no avail as he was just dodging way too easily for his taste.
"HIYAH! Damn it you little! Hold still!" Kazaki screamed at him.
Mitsuyoshi replied as he stepped back, "Why? You can't hit anything unless it's not moving? Fine, here you happy?" he taunted as he stood still.
Kazaki looked red faced with anger and humiliation. Never had he been this outmatched and underestimated. His anger clouding his judgement, he used Ars Magus to boost his speed whilst launching himself forward into a flying knee to Mitsuyoshi's face.
However, Mitsuyoshi, true to his word, didn't move but waited for Kazaki to come close enough for him to send out a left jab to his face. Kazaki in mid-air, flipped backwards as he went forward and fell on his face. He got up, nose broken and bleeding, his once handsome face, now a hideous scowl due to Mitsuyoshi scratching his head as if he was taunting him.
Kazaki charged forward again, this time aiming for a low kick but was countered by Mitsuyoshi's spinning roundhouse to his gut that blew him back a few meters and before he could recover, Mitsuyoshi started his own attack this time.
He leaped into the air with his left fist smashing into Kazaki's skull.
"GAUNTLET!" Mitsuyoshi began as he struck Kazaki's skull. Cracks could be heard by everyone, making a few lose their lunch.
Then Mitsuyoshi span before he used his right knee to kick into his sternum.
"HADES!" Mitsuyoshi blew Kazaki into a wall that shattered from the force.
Mitsuyoshi dusted himself off before saying, "Had enough?" in a gruff voice.
Kazaki then spat out some blood, he ordered his goons.
"What are you guys doing!? Get him!"
One by one, his goons charged at Mitsuyoshi, who tackled the first one into a throw he aimed at the next one coming. The one who was targeted caught his comrade but Mitsuyoshi used this to his advantage by delivering a solid left straight through them both into a wall, knocking them both out.
Then Mitsuyoshi set his sights on the third one who was in the middle was throwing a Cobra punch at him. But Mitsuyoshi ducked underneath it and threw a left uppercut into the guy's chin, putting him into next week.
After that, Mitsuyoshi glared down at the last goon who he was pretty sure had wet his pants.
"What's wrong? You scared? Well, you should be! This is what it's like being the victim, not a nice feeling is it?" Mitsuyoshi told the last goon who could do nothing but nod.
Then he heard Kazaki charging at him again, but this time, he was holding a special great sword that was glowing with Ars Magus power.
"You are mine!" he shouted as he raised his sword.
Up with the spectators
Gasps and awes were heard as this new student mopped the floor with Kazaki, admittingly one of the greatest fighters that the NOL was hoping to enlist in their ranks.
But when Kazaki brought out the sword, Tsubaki screamed.
"No! He can't use that! It's too dangerous!" Tsubaki shouted in horror.
Noel asked her, "W-What is it Tsubaki? Why is that sword so dangerous?"
Tsubaki explained, "That's the Uzuki family's special sword, it's said to be light than a dagger, but its attacks deliver at least a ton of force, but most importantly, it's able to be able to amplify a user's Arsmagus 10-fold. If he uses that, Mitsuyoshi and that friend of Kazaki's will die."
The people who heard this all gasped in horror. How will Mitsuyoshi escape this one.
Then they saw Kazaki unleash an energy wave full of blue energy at Mitsuyoshi and his old goon. When it hit, nothing but smoke could be seen.
Mai looked on with a firm grip on the rail.
'No… I know that man survived… I can still feel his presence.' Mai told herself.
Back to the fight
Kazaki was huffing and puffing, he was laughing slowly thinking he had won.
"HEH! That guy's not so tough now! Hahaha!" He laughed maniacally until he heard.
"YOU IDIOT!" Mitsuyoshi screamed at Kazaki as he slugged him in the gut.
Kazaki tried to attack Mitsuyoshi with his sword, but Mitsuyoshi saw this and decided to make short work of the weapon.
"Someone like you shouldn't even be wielding a weapon." Mitsuyoshi said as he shattered the Uzuki family sword into pieces by punching straight into it.
Kazaki's eyes grew wide, "T-T-T-That was my family's… DO YOU REALISE WHAT YOU HAVE DONE!?"
"Yeah, I kicked your ass." Mitsuyoshi replied as he tripped Kazaki then picked him up by the throat in his left hand leaving many bewildered by the level of strength he had.
"You're too weak to stand in front of me." Mitsuyoshi told him before slugging him through the gut one last time into the wall, this time, he was buried underneath a pile of bricks.
He sighed in relief as he was finished, then walked to the last conscious goon who was cowering in fear.
"Hey, are you alright?" Mitsuyoshi asked.
However, the goon kept mummering on and on about Kazaki's actions.
"He attacked me as well? Why?" the goon said.
Mitsuyoshi growled in frustration, "Look, that guy obviously cares about no one but himself, you might want to consider making some real friends." He told him.
The goon nodded, "You won't hurt me too, right?" he asked fearful of Mitsuyoshi.
"I won't, unless you want to try me, or else scram!" he shouted making the goon run away.
Mitsuyoshi then cracked his neck.
"Damn, I wanted too much time, barely have time to eat before class." Mitsuyoshi muttered as he walked back to where that Tsubaki chick had told him where the Cafeteria would be.
With the girls
All the girls, no… everyone had their jaws unhinged.
"Oh my god… girls! Did you see how he manhandled that little turd! He was WHAM! THEN BOOM! Hoho! Holy cow that was awesome!" Makoto exclaimed along with many of the other students saying the similar comments.
Tsubaki and Noel nodded to their tailed friend.
"Yeah, I guess that's why the school was so excited to have him in our school. They did mention him being a very capable individual now that I think about it." Tsubaki replied.
Noel nodded with a smile, "Wow, he was so strong! And I didn't sense him using any Ars Magus the whole time!"
Kajun was deep in thought about this new student until she commented.
"I'm going to place my bet that he has probably been trained by some super elite teachers before he was enrolled. After all, it's not uncommon for wealthy families to do that." Kajun theorised.
The girls nodded.
Mai then commented, "Well, who knows, I could tell that he was strong just by his posture. He was really relaxed, yet firm in his posture."
The girls just nodded, "Well, just leave it to the Martial Arts girl to check out someone's strength." Makoto said.
Then a bunch of teachers and the student body came telling everyone to get back to class. Amongst them, was Jin Kisaragi.
"Everyone, please get back to your classes. What's done is done, we'll take care things from here!" Jin told them.
Tsubaki's eye lit up, "Oh! Jin, where were you? Did you see what happened?"
Jin shook his head, "No, I didn't see. But for where I was, I was in the Library, studying during my free period. What happened here?"
That was when Makoto came in, "Oh boy! You missed out on the beatdown of the century! The new guy was like 'come git sum' then went all KYA! WHOA! HIYAH! KNOCKOUT! DING DING DING!" she recited the fight in a way that made her friends laugh.
Jin smiled a bit, "Really? I guess the new student shows some promise… more than a certain someone in this vicinity…" he ended coldly as he glared at Noel, who flinch at his gaze.
Tsubaki noticed this, "Jin, please, what did I say about this?" she asked.
JIn sighed, "I know, but this is none of your concern Tsubaki." He told her.
Mai not wanting for another fight to happen, stepped in, "Well then, how about we all get back to class, nothing interesting is happening anymore." She suggested.
They all agreed and went to their long-awaited class.
With Mai
Half an hour had gone by, with everyone eager to pair up with someone and do some experiment that involved using Ars Magus to create some rudimentary spell that created a light. It would be a very handy ability to learn in situations where light sources weren't readily available.
But the cool part about this experiment was that if two people used this spell together, they could use the light a form of self-defence. If one was powerful enough, like Noel by nature, then they could turn this simple torch spell into a deadly laser beam. As the lesson was halfway through, they could hear some outside the room shouting obscenities and struggling.
"OW! Hey, the hell you do think you're doing!? I didn't even get to touch my Udon!? What!? My class started how long ago!? Why the heck didn't you guys mention that to me in that fricking letter you gave me!? Ouch! Hey, stop pulling so hard you asshole!" a gruff voice sounded.
Then the door opened, revealing Miss McKenzie.
"Sorry to interrupt your class, but I needed to bring one of your new students in today. Mr Mitsuyoshi." She called.
He got up rubbing his neck, "Ow, did you have to pull me by my hair!?" Mitsuyoshi asked.
The teacher of Mai's class told everyone to stop and listen to the new student's introduction.
Mai's eyes widened. This man was dressed in a black uniform shirt and baggy Hakama, with black, steel-toed boots. His narrow face looked as if he was in a constantly bad mood and his spiked back hair was white, but what really stood out were his heterochronic eyes, his right eye was crimson whilst his left was an emerald colour.
Mai had no more doubts that this was the man she met down in level 10.
Mitsuyoshi introduced himself, "Well, ah… Hey guys, my name's Ragna… Mitsuyoshi. You know, the guy who you saw beat the shit out of someone earlier, you guys see that? Um… and please to meet you all and hope you all… take care of me?" he ended unsurely of his introduction.
The whole room was silent for a minute, making Ragna feel as if he had messed up his introduction badly.
'Shit! Did I mess up? No! I practiced that speech all night! FFUUU!' he thought.
Then the whole class clapped for him.
"Nice to meet Ragna!" A student greeted him.
"Hey, Ragna~ Want to get to know each other after class?" a girl seductively asked him.
"Mate! You kick ass Ragna! You can sit next to me next break!" another dude called.
Ragna blinked a few times at the round of applauses until the teacher shouted.
"Quiet! You're going to make Ragna feel nervous! Now, who to pair you up with?" the teacher looked around for any empty spots.
Then he pointed towards a table with one seat left.
"Over there! You can be partnered up with Mai for this assessment, she can help with you catch up on any details you need and don't be afraid to ask questions and that all goes for all of you lot! Don't be ashamed to admit you don't understand or know something, teachers are here to help, capeesh!?" the teacher ended with all the students responding with a synchronised "Yes!"
Ragna then slowly made his way to the empty seat passed many other students, who all commented on how much taller he was than everyone in the class and a few shifted uncomfortably at how intimidating his aura was.
Ragna eventually sat down and turned to greet his partner for his assessment.
"Hey Mai, it's nice to meet you and all that, hope you can guide me through this class." He told her without really acknowledging her.
Mai shifted a little uncomfortably, did he not remember who she was, or did she have the wrong guy? Oh well, it wouldn't do her harm to confirm.
"Yes, it's nice to meet you to Mr Mitsuyoshi…" Mai replied, but Ragna cut her off.
"Just Ragna, all that Mister stuff makes me feel all weird, you know." Ragna told her.
Mai apologised a bit before telling him, "Alright Ragna, but um… it's nice to meet you again, I didn't get to thank you for last time!" she told him, this got his full attention if him taking a good look at Mai didn't say enough. Mai grew a little pink at the attention he was paying her.
"Oh! You're that woman I met the other day, I remember! So, you made it out okay! That's a relief!" Ragna replied as he recalled their earlier encounter back down in Level 10 of Torifune.
Mai smiled brightly, "Yeah! That's right! Thanks a bunch for helping me out that time, I couldn't have made it without you." She thanked him.
Ragna smiled, "Heh! Don't mention it, I couldn't just leave someone to fend for themselves, anyone would have done what I did." He told her.
Mai nodded then began to compliment about his skills, "Yeah and by the way, you are a really strong individual! I can't believe how easily you too care of Kazaki, one of the best in our school." She told him.
Ragna shrugged, "Really? That was one of the school's best? He sure went down easily?" he stated bluntly.
Mai giggled at Ragna's blunt manner of speaking, it was for some odd reason very entertaining to hear him make comments like the one he just made.
However, the teacher called out to the two of them.
"Hey Ragna, now isn't the time to be flirting with one of the girls! Get to work!" the teacher shouted across the room.
People giggled at the two causing Mai to look down in embarrassment.
'F-Flirting with me? Come on! I'm a guy at heart! I shouldn't be so affected by that statement?' Mai kept telling herself.
Ragna looked miffed, "What the heck are you on about? She's the one who wanted to talk to me." He responded.
The teacher responded, "Oh! So, you're saying she was hitting on you, ay!?" The students began to laugh at their interaction.
Ragna shrugged, "If that's what it's called, then yeah."
Mai looked down even more embarrassed, 'Like I kept telling myself, I'm still a guy at heart!'
After a few minutes, Ragna and Mai finally went to work on their assessment.
"Alright, please teach me how to do this spell Mai." He asked gruffly.
Mai nodded and directed him about how to create a light ball. It was just a bunch of trial and error attempts, eventually, Ragna managed to create a ball of light, in fact, he was the second one in class to create it, the first one being Noel.
"Woah! You already got it down, you're good at this! I haven't even managed to make a spark!" Mai said.
Ragna played it off, "It wasn't as hard as the instructions make it out to be, you just think about something bright, not my future, that's for damn sure." He joked. Mai giggled again, it's been a while since she was able to hang out with another dude like this.
"But back on track, you think of something bright, then let it flow into a ball and you should get something like this. You try it out now" he told her.
Mai nodded before doing what he suggested, she thought of the brightest thing she could, first it was a light bulb, but nothing happened, then she recalled Ragna's little joke about his grim future. Maybe it didn't literally have to be a bright object, a memory perhaps.
She thought about her friends, all the time they have spent together and how they made her feel. She began to feel very warm in both her chest and hands. Slowly, her eyes fluttered open to see that she had managed to create a ball of bright light.
"Wow!" she said quietly in amazement.
"Wow it is, now we can get on with the last part of this assessment." Ragna said quickly obviously wanting to just get this over and done with.
Mai complied, but the two for some reason struggled with this second part, they both kept checking the instructions over and over, but they couldn't figure out what they were doing wrong.
Then finally, class ended meaning lunch began.
Ragna got up and stretched his back whilst Mai did much the same.
"God damn it, I don't get why they have to write this shit so complicated. It's like they want us fail of something." Ragna said.
Mai nodded, "Agreed, even I don't understand why they do it."
Then eventually, Mai's friends came up to them.
"Hey Mai and Ragna, was it? Please to meet you, I'm Kajun." She offered her hand.
Ragna replied, "Nice to meet you too, Kajun. So… you're Mai's friend, huh?"
Kajun smiled at him and said, "Well, you don't seem to be scary as you were during that fight, that's a nice bonus if I ever seen one."
Ragna looked confused, "Huh? Bonus? The heck are you on about? Wait! Do I really look scary?" he asked.
Kajun just nodded with her usual smile making Ragna grumble about insensitive bastards. Then Tsubaki came up to the three.
"Hello Mr Mitsuyoshi, we meet again." Tsubaki greeted Ragna.
"Ragna spared a glance towards her, "Oh! You again, thanks again for showing me around earlier, I really appreciate it." He thanked her.
Tsubaki bowed slightly, "It wasn't much, by the way, impressive fight earlier, with how you dealt with Kazaki, I don't think even Makoto hurt him that badly last time."
Ragna blinked before asking, "Um? Who's Makoto?"
Tsubaki apologised, "Oh! My apologies, she's a friend of ours, not many people really respect her, but she's a good person if she likes you." She informed Ragna.
"Okay, I'll keep that in mind… and can you just call me Ragna, all the Mister and Misses stuff makes me feel weird." Ragna requested.
They all kept his request in mind, however, one last person in the room needed introduce themselves.
Tsubaki looked behind her and edged her blonde friend on.
"Noel! Come on, don't be shy. Introduce yourself." Tsubaki told her.
Noel fidgeted before managing to tell Ragna.
"H-Hello, R-R-Ragna! It's n-n-nice to meet you! I'm Noel Vermillion." She stuttered, still being nervous around new people who weren't her friends.
Ragna smiled, "Yeah, please to meet you too! No…. el….." he ended slowly whilst his voice left him.
The girl in front of him had made him remember so many memories from his childhood, those better days he wished never ended, with him always running about trying to keep his siblings together and doing his best to make them happy even if he was unwell himself.
His gaze lingered on Noel's face for what seemed like ages. There was no doubt, if she was a little older, she would have looked just like that.
"Um… excuse me Ragna? D-Did I s-say something wrong?" Noel asked making him snap out of it.
Ragna blinked, "What? No, I just spaced out a little… yeah, anyway, nice meeting you too Noel." He said rather quickly.
The girls blinked a little at Ragna's demeanour around Noel, it was as if he was frightened by her.
Kajun then used this opportunity to say, "Well, now that introductions are out of the way, why don't we meet up with Makoto for lunch?"
Noel then suddenly lost her nervousness and cheered, "Yay! Now we can finally have some of that Walnut parfait that Makoto was talking about!" Mai, Tsubaki and Kajun all giggled at Noel.
"When it comes to dessert, you always get so excited." Mai commented.
Noel then replied, "I can't help it! Sweets never fill me up!" she replied.
Tsubaki giggled, "Oh Noel~ You need to learn some self-control." She told her.
The girls went on and on about dessert. Ragna however was subconsciously comparing and matching Noel's features and traits to his lost younger Sister.
'She even acts just like Saya… Damn it all! Why does the world have to mess with my head like this!?' Ragna raged in his mind.
Then he heard Kajun call out to him, "Excuse me Ragna, aren't you coming with us? You're falling behind."
Ragna blinked, "Oh, yeah, just thinking to myself that's all, okay girls, lead the way."
The girls and Ragna then marched onwards towards the Cafeteria, on the way, a certain fluffy cannonball flipped many people over as she slid to a stop in front of the group.
"Hey! I'm back! Oh god! I missed you guys! UWAH! HAHOH! Class was so boring!" Makoto sobbed into Tsubaki's shirt.
"H-Hey Ma-Makoto! Your getting my shirt wet!" Tsubaki flailed with her friend in her embrace.
Noel giggled at her friends, "Hey Makoto! Long time no see! You ready to get that parfait you were talking about?" she asked her.
Makoto suddenly sprung back to life from her 'sobbing'.
"HECK YEAH! That's what I have been waiting for all my life! Let's go!" Makoto pointed down the corridor where there was a congregation of students being swallowed inside by a door leading to the cafeteria.
Tsubaki then reminded her energetic friend, "Um, Makoto, I believe you have someone to introduce yourself to."
Makoto then paused before turning to see Ragna, the new student.
Makoto's energetic and happy-go-lucky personality toned down a bit before speaking to Ragna.
"Okay, I'm Makoto, a squirrel Beastkin, nice to meet you Ragna." She greeted whilst eying him as if she was trying to figure out what kind of person he was.
Ragna looked at her for a bit, making all the girls feel a little uncomfortable, was the new student a Beastkin-hater too?
Ragna grinned, "You're a Beastkin? Cool! I didn't think I'd ever get to meet one here out of all places!" he said with some excitement.
The girls were all taken back, none more so than Makoto.
"Wait! Aren't you gonna go like 'Ew! Beastkin! Keep your fleas away from me!' or something like that?" Makoto questioned the new student.
Ragna looked confused, "Why would I bother to do that?" he asked.
Mai then took over, "Well… not many people like Beastkins and Makoto had to deal with some racism against her kind." She told him.
Makoto deflated at the mention of that, those weren't memories she wanted dug out.
Ragna hearing this clicked his tongue in barely restrained disgust and anger.
"Tch! Stupid! Judging someone based on what they couldn't help having. What a load of crap." He spat.
The girls were surprised by just how passionate this seemingly cool and bad-boyish guy was about the whole Beastkin topic.
Makoto then asked in a rare timid voice, "Y-you really don't mind Beastkins?"
Ragna then bluntly replied, "No, I don't, in fact, I… kinda wish I had a tail too." He admitted.
Makoto then returned to being her usual energetic self.
"Then you're a one of my pals already! Come on Ragna, we got some munching to do! Yeah!" Makoto then raced off towards the Cafeteria.
Noel then tried to keep up with her, "M-Makoto, wait for me!"
Tsubaki called out to the two of them, "Hey! No running in the halls!"
But they didn't listen, meaning Tsubaki had to power walk to catch up. Ragna looked impassive at the three best friends, whilst Mai and Kajun looked at him curiously, which eventually got his attention.
"The hell are you two staring at?" Ragna asked quite roughly.
Mai flinched whilst Kajun smiled.
"Well, it just seems that we'll be getting along just fine. I thought you'd be another delinquent. But you actually have a pretty big heart." Kajun told him.
Ragna scratched his head nervously, "I wouldn't say that about myself, but I ah… I guess I could kind of relate to Squirrelly."
Kajun nodded, "I see, but regardless, I accept you as a friend of ours, right Mai?"
Mai nodded in agreement, "Of course! I think you're a good person, I would like to have you as our friend!" Mai told Ragna.
Ragna grinned a little, "Friend, huh? Well I guess school isn't so bad. Alright, let's grab a bite, I haven't had anything cos that bitch earlier dragged me away from my Udon." He ended with a slightly bitter after tone.
However, Kajun and Mai just giggled at him.
In the Cafeteria
Noel and Makoto were in the middle of demolishing every limited edition Walnut Parfait there was, with Tsubaki barely eating a bite per minute.
"Oh man! This is so good! The sweetness of the hazelnut ice-cream, combined with the salted walnuts and caramel~ It's heavenly! This is what I live for!" Makoto described her parfait.
Tsubaki and Noel smiled at Makoto.
"Everything looks tasty when you eat it Makoto. But slow down, you're going to have a brain freeze." Tsubaki warned her.
Too late, Makoto began to hold her head in pain.
"What did I say?" Tsubaki told her.
Makoto eventually recovered and replied, "Worth it."
Tsubaki giggled again, however, she noticed Noel looked quite upset.
"Is anything the matter Noel?" Tsubaki asked and Makoto looked towards Noel, "Yeah, you haven't eaten your fourth parfait yet, you'd usually be smothered in your seventh by now Noellers."
Noel slumped, "Oh, it's nothing… actually, it's about Ragna."
Tsubaki asked, "What about him?"
Noel began to explain, "The way he looked at me and how he acted after I introduced myself, it was the same as when I first met Jin. I don't think Ragna is going to like me." She ended solemnly.
Tsubaki and Makoto frowned, they did notice that Ragna did act a little weird around Noel, but they hoped that it wasn't the same case as Jin's where he absolutely dreaded Noel.
Tsubaki reassured her, "Don't worry Noel, it's still too soon to say that. Maybe things will work out."
Noel asked, "You think so?" Makoto supported Tsubaki.
"Heck yeah! If not, I'll give him a taste of my raw power! No one upsets my friends and gets away with it!" Makoto told her.
Noel began to laugh, forgetting any anxiety.
Then Mai, Kajun and Ragna arrived on scene.
"Hey guys! Sorry for keeping you three waiting." Mai apologised.
They said it was no problem and let them have a seat.
The girls began to talk about anything they could think of, eventually Ragna spoke their conversation.
"Hey, I don't mean to interrupt, but I'm hungry, you guys mind telling me how I get food around?" he asked a little bit annoyed.
Makoto then looked over at the food counter, then back at Ragna.
"Oh crud! Tough luck! Everything is all sold out!" Makoto told him.
Ragna's eyes went wide, "Seriously!? For real!?"
Makoto nodded, Ragna slumped, "Great, first day and here I am, starving… I blame that chick who dragged my ass away from my Udon…" he lamented and cursed McKenzie.
Noel then made him an offer, "W-Well, if you don't mind, I'm willing to cook something for you." She offered shyly.
Everyone in the dining area turned pale. They hoped that the new student wouldn't fall victim to the 'Death Dinner' on his first day.
Ragna surprisingly, turned pale as well, "Um… I'm not too sure…" however, Mai cut him off.
"Really!? Then you'll make me something as well!? I love the food you make!" Mai told Noel.
Noel beamed and nodded at Mai's request.
Ragna looked towards Mai who was sitting across from him, next to Kajun.
"Really? Is her food that good?" Ragna asked Mai.
Mai nodded like a mad-woman.
"Yep! It's heavenly! I can't eat anything else!" she literally meant that.
However, Ragna thought she meant it figuratively.
"Okay, then sure Noel, I'll have some of your food, give me your shot." He told her.
Noel then grinned widely, "Okay! I'll make sure to make enough for you, Mai and you three as well!"
Tsubaki, Makoto and Kajun already told her they were full and not to bother.
Noel nodded, though a little disappointed.
Noel skipped towards the kitchen where she began to create her 'death dinner'.
Ragna looked at everyone in the area who were all praying to some god, then he looked back at Mai who was humming happily.
"You sure are happy, is Noel's food really something to get that excited about?" Ragna asked.
Mai nodded, "Of course! I literally can't eat anything thing unless she cooks it! I would have starved to death if it wasn't for her."
Ragna blinked before smirking at Mai, "Oh! So, you're a really picky eater, then that must mean Noel's food is good, now I can't wait to see what the fuss is about." He said a little excited.
Kajun then tried to warn Ragna, "No… that's not the case, her taste buds are…"
"Here you go! Chicken curry with Rice! Enjoy!" Noel told them as she set down the two plates of what was meant to be curry and rice.
Mai's eyes sparkled, "Wow! Thanks for the meal!" she said before digging in.
Ragna was just staring at his plate.
'It looks… like… actual shit…' Ragna thought as he eyed the black and green sludge emanating a black miasma. Then he looked up at Mai who was already half way done.
'Meh! Why the hell not! If she's enjoying, then so will I!" Ragna thought.
However, when he stuck his spoon in and pulled it out he ran into a dilemma.
"Um, Ragna? Aren't you going to eat my cooking?" Noel asked.
Mai then looked like a kid on sugar, "If you don't want it, then I'll have it!" she offered.
Ragna replied, 'What!? No! It's just that… my spoon melted." As he eyed his not useless cutlery.
Everyone on the table blinked, that was new and possibly… very dangerous.
"Wait, how come Mai's spoon isn't melted yet? She's been gouging at it for a while now!" Makoto questioned.
Kajun then theorised, "Maybe her spoon is different… Hey Mai, let Ragna use your spoon for a second."
Mai looked reluctant but gave it up. Ragna took it from her hand and thanked her.
He tried scooping the 'curry' out again, but the new spoon melted as well.
"Huh? The hell!? Did you put something different in mine Noel?" Ragna asked.
Noel flailed and told him, "What!? No! I didn't I swear!"
Ragna then took another spoon from one of Makoto's pile of parfait bowls and experimented with it by trying to get some of Mai's, but the same thing happened. The spoon melted.
"Are you kidding me? I can't even use a spoon!?" Ragna questioned.
Everyone on the table were blessing whatever gods were at work for saving the new student from certain horror.
However, Noel came up with a great idea.
"I know! How about Mai feeds Ragna herself!"
Mai's face lit up whilst Ragna turned a bit pink.
"Yeah! That's a great idea Noel! I wouldn't what him not to realise how good your food is!"
"It isn't, really, it's not." Tsubaki said quietly.
Ragna however, was a bit embarrassed, "W-Wait a sec! You're going to feed me!? I'm not a kid!?"
Mai brushed it off, "Don't worry! I just want you to see how good Noel's cooking is! Here! Say ahh!"
Ragna turned a little more red. But he rationalised, it was just a method of getting around the melting spoon situation, not only that, his first day, he made friends who all happened to be a bunch of pretty girls and now, one of those pretty girls were offering him food in a way that's seem as affectionate. What did he have to lose?
"*Groan* Alright, ahh." Mai put the spoonful of 'curry' into Ragna's mouth.
Three.
Two.
One.
"AARRRHHHH! NO! I'M TOO YOUNG TO DIE! AHHHH!" Ragna howled in pain.
The students praying to the gods were now hoping for the new student to rest in peace.
Ragna was managing to recover, but was about to make another comment that involved seeing his life flash before his eyes until his eyes met Noel's, which were slowly starting to well up with tears.
Ragna sweat dropped, he felt a little ashamed as he realised what he had done.
"So… is my cooking… that terrible? *Sob*" Noel was slowly beginning to cry.
As Ragna saw this, he remembered seeing this from somewhere back in his younger days.
A 13 year old Ragna was on the verge of throwing up the dish that Saya had made. But she was about to cry for being such a terrible cook.
Back to the present, Ragna did the one thing he did then, that he never would have thought that he do now.
"Mai, I'd like to have another bite." Ragna asked shocking everyone in the dining hall.
Noel looked surprised.
Mai offered Ragna another bite, which he took and chewed, his face glowered, but he didn't have such a big reaction this time.
Then he asked for another one, which he took without so much as a wince.
Tsubaki, Makoto and Kajun as well as the entire dining hall had their jaws on the ground. Was this really happening?
Noel then asked, "Huh? Why are you?"
Ragna swallowed, then took a huge gulp of water to wash the taste away.
"Why I'm eating it, well, sure it doesn't taste good, to be honest, but you know, I can tell you put a lot of effort into this, it'd be a waste to not eat it." Ragna told her.
Noel's eye lit up, "You mean…" Ragna nodded.
"Yeah, it's still edible, but you know what, just keep practicing and eventually you'll get good at it. As long as you put your heart into it, okay." Ragna told her as he put his left hand on her head.
Noel looked up at him, for a second, she saw a memory of hers flash of a boy who did exactly what Ragna was doing now. She smiled and hugged him.
"Thank you." Noel said as she cried happily into his shirt.
"Hey, hey! Don't go all water fountain on me! Hey, are you listening!?" Ragna said.
As Ragna struggled to get Noel off him. The girls on the table as well as everyone in the dining hall began to see who this Ragna was.
He may act like a delinquent and say things that were rather unpleasant, but he looked out for others all the same.
However, the moment of Noel hugging Ragna came to an end, when the delayed effects of Noel's death dinner made Ragna foam at the mouth and pass out.
"Huh? WAH! Ragna! Are you okay!? Ragna please wake up!" Noel shook his unconscious body.
Everyone sighed, despite all that, even Ragna couldn't defeat the power of the death dinner.
5:30PM, the First Aid room.
Ragna could be seen in a bed in the first aid room, recovering from what the nurse said he was suffering from 'stomach acid' courtesy of Noel's death dinner.
He was feeling much better than he did before due to his Azure Grimoire allowing him to a faster recovery time if he offered it human souls. Looking to his left side, he took notice that Mai was visiting him.
"Hey man, sorry for not warning you about Noel's cooking…" Mai apologised.
Ragna looked kind of annoyed, "Yeah, no shit, how the hell do you even find that stuff tasty?" he asked her quite expectantly.
Mai looked sheepish and told him, "Well, you see, a while ago I kind have touched something that became apart of my body, it then changed my sense of taste, so I could now taste the feelings, thoughts and all other kinds of things that I taste. Ever since then, I couldn't really eat anything other than Noel's cooking since, you know, she puts a lot of care into her cooking."
Ragna simply nodded, "Okay, I get you on that last part, she really did put her all into it, even if it did look and taste like death." He agreed.
It was at this point Mai wanted to ask Ragna about why he kept eating Noel's cooking.
"If that's the case, why did you keep asking me to feed you more? You could have just given the rest to me." Mai said. Ragna closed his heterochronic eyes and began to explain himself.
"Hm… I'm not too sure really. Looking at Noel putting so much effort in her cooking and almost crying about not being good at it, kind of brought some weird sense of Déjà vu. For some reason, I didn't want to see her cry and all that other sensitive kinds of things." Ragna replied.
"Déjà vu? You mean this isn't the first time you did something like that?" Mai asked.
However, she immediately regretted asking when Ragna glared at her.
"Oh! I'm sorry, I didn't mean to offend you! I didn't know it was a sensitive topic for you!" Mai tried to state her case.
Ragna lightened up, "Whatever, it's cool. Anyway, I'm much better now, I can walk now." He stood up and put his shoes on.
Mai smiled at him, "That's good! The girls and I wanted to introduce you to something later."
Ragna shrugged, "I don't see why not? I don't have a damn clue about what I should even be doing here." He admitted.
The two exited the first aid room, it was at this point Ragna asked, "So that thing you touched, it wouldn't have happened to be a Grimoire?" Ragna asked. Mai looked surprised and she had to ask him.
"What? I uh… what makes you think that?"
Ragna replied, "Well, for starters, I have been around Grimoires often enough to know that they attract bunch of seithr in some way. And you kind of give off that feeling, so I'm going to take a guess and say you merged with a Grimoire."
Mai was dumbfounded and shocked, "Wow, I mean, that's exactly right! I didn't think you would have figured it out so easily!"
Ragna looked a little miffed, "What? You thought I was that stupid?" he asked as if he was offended.
Mai flailed, "Wait! No! I didn't mean to…"
Ragna chuckled, "Hey, relax, I'm just kidding! Man, has anyone ever told you that you're easy to be around?"
Mai blinked, "What do you mean?" she asked. Ragna replied, "It's not so awkward talking with you. It's like I'm speaking with another guy. Not that there's anything wrong with that, its… I'm just saying."
Mai paled a bit, that hit a little too close to home, but to be honest with herself, hanging out with Ragna, even for just a short while, it brought out the inner guy she still longed to return to being and the feeling of being able to talk to another dude without them leering you was refreshing.
"W-Well I like to get along with others and try to be on equal grounds, you know?" Mai told him. Ragna accepted this.
For now, Mai was showing Ragna the way to her dorm, where her friends were waiting.
Mai's and Kajun's dorm
During sleeping hours, Guys can never on any grounds, enter the female dormitories and vice versa. But, since it wasn't curfew yet, there were a couple of male students wondering about with either their girlfriends, or friends who happened to be girls.
Kajun was adding the finishing touches of her make-up whilst Tsubaki, Makoto and Noel were setting out batches of cookies and other sorts of cakes, with Noel's cookies being stored in a bag for Mai.
"So, are you sure about this? I mean, I thought our group was meant to be only girls?" Noel asked her friends.
"I know, but after seeing how nice he actually is, I figured maybe one guy wouldn't be so bad." Tsubaki reasoned.
Makoto nodded and exclaimed, "You betcha! Not only is that guy freakin' tough, he's not a racist or a jerk! He's already my type of guy!"
Noel nodded whilst blushing a bit, "I understand, I mean, even though he said my cooking was terrible, he still ate it, even when it made him sick. I want to thank him properly." She said.
Kajun then appeared out of nowhere behind Noel, "So, how are you planning on thanking Ragna? Are you going to give your body to him?" she jested making Noel turn beat red as well as Tsubaki. Makoto just let out a little snort to hide her laughter.
Noel screamed, "What!? No! Not like that! I just wanted to tell him how grateful I am for saying something so nice and… talk to him about something."
The girls blinked, Tsubaki asked, "And that would be?"
Noel explained, "When he touched my head and said those things about my cooking, it felt like he's done this for me before. But I'm sure I never met him before, yet, I feel like I've known him from somewhere, but I can't recall."
The girls were thinking about what Noel said, until Kajun theorised with her usual smile, "Well Noel, you did tell us how you don't remember your life before your parents adopted you. Maybe he does know you but thinks you may be a different person."
Noel looked up at her, then Tsubaki added to Kajun's theory, "That makes sense, after all, he did seem to space out when he first saw you."
The girls nodded, then Makoto shouted, "Alright! Let's make it our undercover mission for us to find out if Ragna knows Noel!"
The girls cheered in agreement.
Then someone unlocked the door. When it opened, Mai stepped in.
"Oh, hey Mai, how's the new student doing?" Kajun asked and the others warmly greeted her.
Mai nodded, "Hi girls! He's doing fine, in fact he's right behind me."
"Yo, what is it that you all want with me again?" he asked seemly annoyed.
Undeterred, Kajun told him, "Well, after the short time we spent welcoming you to our school, we wanted to official recognise you as a friend our ours."
Ragna blinked and scratched his head, "Come on, didn't you all tell me that earlier, or is there some kind of ritual that I never heard about?" he asked confused.
Makoto then patted a seat next to her.
"Hey Ragna, come and sit down next to me!" Makoto called him over.
"Well alright, let's get this over with." He said as he sat down and noticed Noel fidget next to him.
"Oh, hey Noel! I survived, the heck did you put in that curry anyway?" Ragna asked.
Noel flinched and turned red, "Um? I'm not too sure, I just throw in a bunch of ingredients hoping that I'd make the recipe better." She admitted. Ragna face faulted.
"Just follow the damn recipe next time okay. Takes things slow, and ease your way up, so maybe the next time you cook, I won't almost reach heaven." Ragna told her.
Noel nodded, a little ashamed and felt a little depressed.
"Ragna! How could you speak like that to her? Apologise now!" Tsubaki scolded him.
Ragna flinched, "Whoa okay! Scary… I didn't mean to come off like that, I'm not used to speaking to people. I meant to say that she should probably understand the recipe, so eventually, she'll know what's she's doing, I mean, I could still eat it so that means there's still hope for her."
Noel brightened up and the girls were taken back, that was possibly… the nicest way of saying her cooking was bad, but she'll improve.
"Okay, if you say so, now where were!?" Makoto clapped her hands.
All the girls besides Mai, had a twinkle in their eyes. Ragna looked quite scared at the moment and Mai was unsure of what to do.
"H-hey, hey! If you guys are planning to perform paranormal shit! I want out!" Ragna informed them.
The girls didn't listen instead, they revealed a huge banner and a bunch of cookies, not made by Noel of course.
On the Banner, it said what they all chanted in unison.
"Welcome Ragna! The first guy to be part of Remix Heart!" the girls chanted.
Ragna blinked, "Huh? Remix Heart? The hell is that?" he asked.
Makoto took the honours, "Oh! It's our name for our Girls-only group! We set it up to look for a cure for Mai's super taste!"
Ragna nodded, "Oh… yeah right, she did tell me about that. Wait! Girls-only group!? I'm a guy!" he remined them.
Noel reassured him, "D-Don't worry Ragna! You're officially the first guy who has ever been welcomed into Remix Heart!"
Kajun then told him, "Yes, you didn't seem to be the scary, cold-hearted person you act like, so we decided to invite you in."
Ragna then muttered, "Wait! Don't I get a say in this…? Actually… that's kinda cool. First guy what not."
Tsubaki then told him, "I'm glad you think so. I'm happy to know that I was right when I said we'd get along."
Mai then smiled at Ragna and her friends before saying, "Well, looks like we'll be hanging out together quite a lot then, right Ragna?"
Ragna grinned, "Urgh! What the hell, of course, I'm looking forward to spending time you all." He said.
They all cheered and began to dig into the cookies.
Whilst they were eating, Ragna had to ask, "So, you girls mentioned that you started to group to help your friend Mai out, right? How?"
Makoto then 'corrected' Ragna, "You mean 'our' friend Mai. Your our friend now too! Or did you just forget buddy?" she gave him a weird look.
Tsubaki scolded Makoto, "Makoto? Be nice."
Makoto told her she was just kidding.
Kajun then answered Ragna's question.
"Well, you see, there are a lot of undiscovered Grimoires right here in the Academy. With the Truth Grimoire being one of them. What we hope to find if the strongest Grimoire…"
Ragna froze when she said that.
"That would be?" he asked.
Kajun finished, "The Azure Grimoire. With that, we'd be able to help our friends in need, and most of all, cure Mai of her super taste."
Ragna thought about this, he wasn't too keen on people wanting the Azure Grimoire, but then he looked at Mai and remembered her words back when he first met her.
'I want to have the power to help my friends.'
Ragna told them, "Alright, I'll help you out!"
The girls all cheered again.
"Oh man! I knew you were a good guy!" Makoto then linked her arms with Ragna's right making him go on the defensive.
Makoto began to become tired, "Woah! I'm getting so sleepy."
Ragna threw Makoto off himself.
"Don't touch that!" Ragna shouted.
Makoto ended up falling on the ground. Noel and Tsubaki were already by her side.
"Makoto! Ragna! How could you?" Tsubaki questioned his harsh reaction.
Ragna had the decency to look a shamed, but told her, "Look, I'm sorry, but my right arm is kind of sensitive. I didn't mean to be so rough."
The whole room was silent for a while.
Ragna excused himself, "Anyway, thanks for accepting me as your friend, but I gotta go back to my room. I have a lot of things to catch up on." He told them as he left for his room in the Senior's dormitories.
As soon as they couldn't hear his footsteps, Noel had to say.
"Oh, what is his problem? All Makoto did was touch his arm."
Tsubaki was also wondering maybe her perception of Ragna's character was wrong, which she didn't want to admit.
But Makoto then saved face for Ragna, "No! It's okay, I shouldn't have been so touchy with him. After all we only just met him. Besides, I think he was trying to save me."
They girls looked confused, they asked how?
Kajun took point, "Well, for started, did you all hear Makoto say she was getting sleepy after she touch Ragna's right arm?"
They nodded until they realised it.
"Oh! Maybe he has something on him that makes touching him dangerous. But couldn't he have just told us about it?" Noel wondered.
Tsubaki shook her head, "Maybe it's something he doesn't like to talk about."
As the girls were talking, Mai was pondering about the sensation she felt when Ragna's arm touched Makoto.
'What was that feeling? It was like his arm was taking Makoto's life by force.' Mai wondered.
With Jin
Jin had taken the day off because of a certain feeling that was building up in him.
Lately, he had been thinking about his 'dead' brother and Yukianesa had been giving him the same bloodlust that he felt whenever something about the Black Beast was nearby.
"What is this feeling? Why do I feel like destroying him? He's already dead? Oh, brother…" Jin said as he fell asleep dreaming about his life before being adopted by the Kisaragi family.
Flashback
Jin was ill, but he didn't want anyone to know that because he didn't want to be a bother to his brother Ragna and their little sister Saya who was out with the Sister for some wild vegetables and what not.
Jin and Ragna were playing 'Swords', Jin's movements were more sluggish than usual, normally, Jin would be winning only because Ragna was going easy on Jin. But Ragna felt something was off.
Suddenly Ragna disarmed Jin and dropped his wooden sword.
"Jin! You're sick! How come you didn't tell anyone!?" Ragna asked.
Jin looked away, "I-I-I didn't want to be a bother to anyone…"
"Stop it Jin! You are our brother! You don't bother anyone! So please, if you're sick, tell us! You have to tell me these things!" Ragna stressed in frantic worry as he gave Jin a piggyback towards the rooms.
Flashback end.
Jin fell asleep, "Bro….ther…."
With Ragna
Ragna was now in his room laying in his bed.
So far, he was enjoying his first day of school and already made a few friends.
But meeting that Noel girl really threw him off.
"Noel… God damn, she's so much like her, her cooking too…" Ragna blanched at the memory.
However, his thoughts slowly drifted to Mai, she was the first one out of everyone in Torifune that he met. Now here he was, making friends with her in the place he least expected to.
He remembered her innocent intentions for what she had planned if she acquired the Azure Grimoire and couldn't help but smile.
"Mai… a weird girl, but she's pretty cool. I think I can help her and our friends too." Ragna smiled.
Ragna eventually began to fall asleep due to his upbringing with the Sister and Master Jubei.
He might as well sleep, the learning can come tomorrow.
Until he caught the scent of roses.
'Fuck.' Was all Ragna thought before he opened his eyes.
Omake: EAT SHIT!
The black beast was on a rampage, somehow, the Black Beast was created without Ragna's body. Noel in her Mu form was fighting the beast alongside her brother Jin, her friends Makoto and Tsubaki in her Izayoi form. Hakumen was up in the air doing his work against the Black beast along with Jubei and Valkenhayn.
Kagura Mutsuki was doing his best to fend off the beast himself, but the Black Knight may have met his match.
"Damn, it's no use! That thing ain't going down no matter what we thought at it! Kokonoe! What the kell are we meant to do!?" Kagura asked panicked.
Kokonoe responded, "Shut up! I don't have anything left to use against the Black Beast! It's over. Sorry to say that." before she cancelled the transmission.
Everyone heard that, they were all about to give up until a certain red jacket man came about.
"Well, I got something to say about that. Step aside, I got something that'll work against it."
Everyone looked at Ragna with hopes and doubt.
Hakumen scoffed, "We did all we could against the Black Beast, Dark One. What makes you so sure you can defeat it?"
Ragna scratched his head, "Hey, shut up masked freak! I got something that'll help me."
Ragna then stepped up close to the Black Beast, it's main head staring at Ragna head on. They both charged at each other whilst screaming.
Then Ragna threw a plate of something that gave off a black, purple and green miasma. Noel managed to recognize it.
"Wait! Isn't that my?" she wanted to ask but Ragna's shout put her voice aside.
"EAT SHIT AND DIE!" Ragna shouted. The object that Ragna threw was swallowed by the Black Beast.
It paused in it advance and began to scream in agony. It's body began to pulsate in an ugly manner and eventually, the Black Beast turned into crystallized seithr.
Everyone cheered as Ragna had brought them victory, Hakumen went up to Ragna and questioned him, "Dark One. What did you do? How did you defeat the Beast?"
Kagura came up next and asked, "Yeah man, what did you do? I saw you throw something into it's mouth. How?"
Everyone around them wanted to know, but Noel floated closer towards Ragna.
"Oh hey Noel baby. You're looking fine, how about we hang out somewhere, ay?" Kagura tried to hit on Noel, but was ignored.
Noel then stopped in front of Ragna.
"Ragna..." Noel asked. Ragna replied, "Yeah, what is it Say... I mean Noel."
"That thing you threw... that was my cooking..." Noel said.
Ragna nodded, "Yeah... so?"
"You told the Beast, 'Eat shit and die', is my cooking that terrible?" she asked with venom slowly coating her words.
Ragna began to sweat, "Uh! No! Well... yeah, I mean, goddamn it I didn't have a choice, we needed to save humanity!"
Then another girl popped in, her hair was purple, done in a high ponytail with a yellow ribbon.
"Oh you! You're that girl I met a while back, what's up?" Ragna asked.
However, Mai muttered, "You stole my lunch... and threw it away... I won't forgive you." she said as she brandished her staff.
Noel and Mai in unison charged at Ragna, "Take this you big jerk!"
Ragna jumped out the way.
"Whoa! Hey! Watch it! I didn't have a choice! Noel's cooking was the most powerful weapon I had! I didn't have a choice!" he screamed at the two girl continued catching him.
"Get back here, Big Brother!" Noel yelled.
Mai shouted, "My lunch! You theft!"
Ragna in the distance yelled, "Just have Noel make you another one!". However, Mai replied.
"You don't understand! Every dish that Noel makes is special, and you through that away you bastard!"
Ragna shouted, "How does that logic make any sense!? and he dodged another one of their attacks.
Everyone watching was either laughing or feeling bad for Ragna.
Tsubaki and Makoto just agreed on one thing.
"Ragna the Bloodedge does have a point. Noel's cooking was the only thing that could have stopped the Black Beast." Tsubaki agreed with Ragna for just this once.
There the first chapter of my Ragna X Mai fanfiction. A lot went into it, but I'm happy with how it went. Sure, it could have been better, but oh well, I go along with the flow.
Anyway, hope you guys enjoyed.
Praise the Sun!
