BGM: Stardust Memory

Hours later...

"Oh what I wouldn't give for a camera right now."

A familiar voice roused Noel from her slumber; her best friend, Makoto.

"Makoto!" Noel's outburst woke Saya, who just gawped at the squirrel girl for several awkward moments, "T-tail..." She reached her handed out.

"What? You wanna fondle my tail too? Never seen a beastkin before, huh." Makoto flicked her favoutite extremity out for Saya to play with. "My name's Makoto. I'm a friend of Noel's. You're Saya, right?" Saya nodded. Despite the fact it had long gone dark, Noel could clearly see all the cuts and bruises that covered Makoto's body.

"Is everyone alright?" Noel asked

Makoto grimaced. "We won, but..."

"Tsubaki!?"

"Tsubaki's okay. Well, physically okay. But she's a bit of a mess right now."

"What happened?" Noel didn't like where this was going. "Did something happen to Jin?"

"No, Jin's okay too. A bit beat up, but he'll live." A glimmer of recognition lit up on Saya's face. "But we...Hakumen...didn't make it." Well no wonder Tsubaki was so upset. He was her hero. "Tsubaki'll tell you more when she's up to it."

"What about my brother? What about Ragna?" Saya was getting worried.

Makoto knealt down, "Ragna's okay, he's just getting patched up, then he'll be on his way here." Saya looked so relieved. "Everyone else's on their way here too, so you can get the full details as and when they show up." she stood, "I had no pressing reason to stay, hence why I'm first here."

"You must be hungry, miss Makoto." Saya was pulling at the hem of her loincloth' "Sis has made a real yummy beef dinner."

"Errr...I think I'll pass, thanks all the same." Makoto yawned, "I could do with catching some Z's though."

"Go ahead", Noel motioned. Makoto went inside, "Makoto's a big kid at heart. I think you'll really like her." Noel said to Saya. "Uh-huh" came the reply. Several minutes past before a high pitched whine, like an idle jet engine, announced the arrival of another; an exhausted looking Tsubaki. Her Izayoi form faded aa she landed. She staggered to Noel, who took her into her arms.

"I'm so...so sorry" she whispered. Tsubaki just nodded. There were evident tear streaks down her grubby cheeks, which Noel thought slightly out of character for Tsu; sure she hero worshipped the guy, but to be so upset over someone she hardly knew. Even Jin couldn't get her this bad.

"Sorry Noel. It's just...(sniff)...Sir Hakumen revealed something to me. I guess things make a lot more sense now." She looked ready to break down again. Noel held her face, "Tell me."

"Well, as he...lay dying...oh god I can't" she sobbed again. Noel did her best to try and calm her down. "He...he...told me who he was...it was...it was Jin all along. And he...told me he...loved me." The sobbing turned into full blown wailing that carried on for a good couple of minutes. Clearly she'd been bottling her grief up during the battle just so she could keep going, and now she was letting it out. Noel considered trying to make Tsubaki get a hold of herself, but decided it was better in the long run if she just let her grieve. After all her idolising, to find out he was really the guy you crushed on, and this one actually expicitly returned your affections and you could never share a moment with them, that was a hammer blow to fell anyone. Why he did it to her was a mystery. Maybe it was to push her to actually try and confront Jin about his feelings. Or just to pass on with no regrets. At least that's what Noel thought. They'd never know now.

Once she'd calmed down a little, Noel gave her a sad smile, "Go and get some rest. Makoto's already inside, so she'll keep you company if you want it." Tsu nodded and lurched her way inside, clearly fatigued. She spoke to Saya, "My other good friend, Tsubaki. Just be sure to be on your best behaviour around her. She's normally very strict. She's had it rough recently, so don't be too upset if she's a bit short tempered with you." Saya nodded before heading inside, Noel following.

"Hey Tsu." Makoto had just climbed into bed. Frankly, she was just too tired to bother with a bath or shower; she'd deal with that in the morning. She pulled the quilt to one side. Tsubaki was silent as she plonked herself down on the bed. She managed to unbutton her jacket and kick off her boots, her trousers and undershirt not worth the hassle, before flopping in a disorganised heap. Makoto wasn't too familiar with the 'thousand yard stare', but the fact that Tsu hadn't blinked or even turned to face her had a few alarm bells ringing.

Please, stay strong Tsubaki...


They spent the next couple of hours sitting watching late night TV, which, needless to say, was utter shash. Tsu joined them, not being able to sleep, so Noel got out some chocolate from the fridge in the faint hope of making her feel better; if her favourite food didn't improve her mood a little, nothing would. Thankfully, it seemed to help a little.

Tsubaki couldn't help but dwell on what happened. With time quickly running out for the world, Rachel had gathered everyone she could vaguely call an ally together for one last throw of the dice; a mass assault on Izanami and her underlings. Tsubaki, Jin and Celica had been tasked with subduing Ragna the Bloodedge, if possible trying to restore him. Jubei and Kokonoe had been sent after Phantom, while Hakumen and Valkenhayn were assigned to destroy Nu. Rachel went on to investigate the Embryo with Platinum and Noel, while everyone else, under Kagura's leadership, was to keep Izanami herself busy. A high stakes game of Divide and Conquer. She couldn't help but feel that it was a deeply flawed plan to begin with, but on the other hand it was better than no plan at all.

Ragna's portion went off without a hitch. Celica 's healing and ability to nulify the Azure Grimoire made her an obvious choice. Tsubaki was chosen as a teleporter, giving them greater versatility, and to offer support fire, leaving Jin to handle mist of the fighting; Rachel had to take a leap if faith that Jin and Tsubaki wouldn't just kill Ragna, hoping Celica could offset that threat. With Celica nullifying his Azure Grimoire, and with Ragna displaying no control, finesse or even an urge to defend himself, it wasn't that difficult for Jin to find an oppurtunity to lop it off with Yukikaze, thus removing any influencel Izanami may have had over him. A bit of Celica's magic and he was back in the fight. And more to the point, he had a plan...

Phantom proved to be more of a challenge. Her greater experience and power over her daughter was enough to offset the versatility Kokonoe's technical wizardry provided. It took Jubei's Sekigan to break the deadlock, being able to 'see' the difference between Phantom and Nine, and managing to strike at 'the ties that bind'. Tsu had teleported Celica and the rest there in time for Konoe to say goodbye to her loved ones. There wasn't anytime to mourn though. Her body had been teleported back to Halloween. They could arrange a more fitting send off later.

Nu, however, was a complete disaster. Hakumen knew going in that this would probably be the last thing he ever did. Rachel almost certainly chose him for this task with that in mind, and to keep him away from Ragna, who she wanted taking alive if possible, and knew Hakumen would not stick to the plan. Haku soon proved to be a liability; he had lost far too much power by then, meaning Valk had to deal with Nu by himself for the most part. When they got there, Ragna and Tsu did step in to help, and did enough to open her up for Haku to decapitate her. Ultimately, it proved too much for the old warhorse, and while the rest moved on to Izanami, she insisted on staying behind to give him some comfort in his final moments. He passed on in Tsubaki's arms, taking the chance to tell her who he really was and where, or rather when, he came from. What was a shock was a Chronophantasma of another Tsubaki briefly materialising out of the boundary.

"Huh? Tsu...Tsubaki?"

"Yes, it's me Jin...You've done enough..you don't need to fight anymore."

Hakumen sighed, "I can...finally...rest."

"Yes...I never blamed you for what happened. Let go."

One Tsubaki smiled at the other, "Thank you. For everything."

She took the Susano'o unit in her arms, "Come on Jin, let's go home."

"Yes...home..."

They faded away. And the Susano'o unit lay still.

While her heart was yelling at her to just break down and cry, she knew she still had a job to do, and mourning would have to wait.

As for the Embryo, Izanami had a little surprise, in the form of simulacrum's of Relius and Terumi, to guard it. Thankfully, they were cheap imitations of the real duo, My and Rachel disposing of them eventually, and Rachel dispersing the souls contained within.

Having already retrieved Nu's Eye of the Azure and confirming the feasibility of his gambit with Rachel, Ragna faced Izanami, who had reactivated Take-Mikazuchi in the interim; while far from beaten, the rest of the gang had done a pretty good job of wearing her down. Ragna insisted on doing it alone, to everyone's bafflement. However it all became clear when Ragna was on the ropes, and tricked Izanami into letting him see Saya one last time; arrogant as she was, she obliged, allowing Jin to use the Power of Order in combination with Platinum's matter creation and Mu's observation to sustain them as seperate entities, kind of like what the Six Heroes did with Terumi, which in turn allowed Jubei to slash the ties again, freeing Saya from the possession, and forcing Izanami to retreat inside Take-Mikazuchi. Ragna had ordered Noel to retreat with Saya to keep her safe, while they finished the fight. Activating the Eye of the Azure, Ragna and the rest could stop holding back, and a barrage of Astral Heats softened the Goddess of Death up sufficiently for Ragna, The Godslayer, to erase her from existence with an overclocked Black Onslaught.

With his goal achieved, Ragna had given up the Eye; he no longer needed it, and it was high time he just started living. The time at Kokonoe's was to have another prosthetic fitted. He couldn't wait to see the look on Saya's face when he walked through the door.


A click at the door signalled the arrival of Jin. He definitely looked worse for wear, sporting a black eye, some scar worthy cuts on his cheek, and a very noticable limp. Saya's face fell when she saw him; memories of how nasty he'd been came rushing back.

"Saya..." Jin was impassive as ever. He staggered towards her. Saya, scared, skittered behind Noel. Seeing 2 people he instinctively despised, he glared, but his look softened when he saw Tsubaki, who hadn't even registered his arrival.

"Tsubaki, I..."

"Jin...I need to...to know." Jin didn't like where this was going, "Sir Hakumen told me about himself and you. He told me about..well...me...Jin, do you..love me?"

Damn. Put on the spot with a question he'd hoped she'd never ask. "Honestly, I can't answer that right now. I'm still trying to figure that out myself." That seemingly upset Tsu even more; if he wasn't certain by now, then chances were it wasn't meant to be. "I see..."

"Maybe I'll have an answer for you soon. After all, I have time now" he said before heading to the kitchen.

No sooner had he departed then the front door opened again...

"Looking for me, little lady?"

"Raaaaaagnaaaaaa!."


Part 2 fin.

We all know Musashi can cut that what cannot normally be cut, so that could potentially include slightly more abstract stuff, kind of like how Kuma's powers can work in One Piece