Once Taokaka and Litchi are out of commission for weird reasons, Rachel drops us back to the clinic, giving me some cryptic quotes before going her way. Noel and I look at each other, not knowing what to do with the apparently drunk duo. And hey, looks like I have some cash in my pocket now.
"Well, just tell that brat Linhua or something to watch them. Let's go."
"Y-yes." Noel has that look on her face. Now that's weirder.
"What's wrong? Ya hungry or something? Oh well, guess I will buy you some buns too."
Her mood lightens up immediately. We head to the restaurant in Orient Town and luckily, nothing bad happens. The waitress looks perplexed and annoyed when seeing me though.
"You again." She looks at Noel, who flinches at the recognition. "And a Library soldier too. Urgh, I swear I'm going to kick your ass for real if you cause a ruckus this time."
"Chill out lady. Me and little Noel here just want a peaceful dinner, probably." I wink at Noel, who becomes a stuttering mess trying to deny whatever misunderstanding the waitress may have about us. The woman giggles.
"Oh dear, who ever thought that the most notorious criminal can date a Library chick. Alright, welcome to our restaurant."
"Thanks."
I give Noel a shoulder nudge to snap her out of whatever fantasies she is having and go inside. I choose a table just short away from the door, in case a fight happens and we can bolt out. I look at the menu and let Noel make the call. Nothing fancy, some Asian dishes, dumplings, yakisoba and desserts like ice creams.
While waiting, Noel decides to ask me some questions regarding my personal hobbies and shits. I answer them truthfully and she nods furiously. Now I may be overthinking but isn't this kind of talk you should be asking about your crush –
"Ragna-san, I have been wondering lately but…" Noel fidgets, a blush creeping on her cheeks. Oh god what now? "You are not as bad as everyone says. So why are you so hell-bent on destroying NOL?"
"Now that's a good question. I don't know." I answer truthfully. Noel looks puzzled but I continue. "I don't have a grudge towards the NOL but I do have a beef with some of its top dogs, namely Terumi. Bastard cut off my arm and kidnapped my siblings."
"S-So it was true. When I heard that in the Kagutsuchi HQ, I thought Captain Hazama was just joking. Wait, you called him Terumi right?"
"Yup. Can't tell you why though, too many ears nearby." I notice the waitress earlier and some waiters with the meals coming our way. "It's complicated and you won't like it a single bit. For now, let's enjoy our dinner."
After saying 'itadakimasu', we dig in. Well, now I know why Taokaka loves dine-and-dishing this place. The foods are genuinely delicious and Noel seems to share my thought with that expression whenever she takes a bite. I stay cautious for the rest of our dinner, watching for any funny looking dudes, or Platinum. Speaking of the brat, now should be the moment she appears and snatch my dishes…
Well yeah, nothing happens. Fewh!
I pay for our dinner and we leave the restaurant. I tell Noel to go first while I deal with some unresolved issues. She is skeptical at my tone but agrees nonetheless. After she is gone, a rift of space and time appears behind me.
"About time. What took you so long?" I give Lambda a grin, Blood-Scythe drawn. The Murakumo stares at me with the single eyeball on her visor for a while without moving. She is probably scanning for the Azure Grimoire, which is still inactive.
"Azure Grimoire signal… not found. Requiring further instruction…"
She is communicating with Kokonoe, no doubt.
"Understood…"
Lambda is interrupted by screams behind her. People are running away from a big blob of flesh that looks familiar...
"Lambda, dodge!"
She jumps out of my way as I smash Blood-Scythe into the massive blob behind her. It does little to faze the monster however.
"A ure, ke heh he! A u e, s mine! AZURE!"
"Aren't ya a broken record there, Roy." I allow a confident smirk on my face and turn to Lambda. "Kokopuff, are you there? This little shit is aiming for my arm and your Lambda. Care to help?"
"Ragna… Help Ragna…"
"That's a good answer." I switch my sword into Scythe mode and charge at Arakune, who is now spitting out blobs of acid. "Let's go, you sonnuvabitch!"
Hakumen silently glares at the vampire who has just released him and used his moment of weakness to electrocute him. Actually, he is thankful to that attack as it removes the block in his head, allowing a surge of memories to return to him.
'So, he has failed… yet still succeeded.'
He has been sent back in time with all of the 'forbidden knowledge' intact. At this point, Hakumen can pretty believe in whatever this new Dark One says, especially when there are new pieces of memories in his mind. An existence similar to the false Ragna appeared during the Dark War, warning the yet-to-be Six Heroes of almost every threat they would encounter. He looked quite different from Ragna but the Hero is certain that Mephisto and not!Ragna are the same person.
Aside from Celica A. Mercury and Mitsuyoshi, Mephisto is the only person Hakumen feels comfortable to communicate with and he considers the unsung hero his sworn brother, or Kyoudai as Mephisto constantly reminded him. A Ragna from a peaceful world with no Master Unit, no Yuuki Terumi, no Black Beast. Just a very normal world. This Ragna also has a Jin Kisaragi counterpart as his brother, albeit not related.
How interesting and, intriguing… Wait, is he channeling his inner Relius Clover? Ridiculous!
"Mr. Hero, if you have done thinking out loud, let us depart to Kokonoe's lab. We will need her assistance to come up with a solution against Terumi and his weapon."
"If I must…"
"Damn he is strong! Lambda, slow him down!"
"Understood…"
Lambda throws a force field at Arakune, temporarily sealing its movement. I leap into the air and slam Blood-Scythe upon the monster, cleaving it into half. Even so, it does little to no damage to Arakune as two halves are now spitting deadly poisons and insects to us. Lambda fends them off by opening two portals of Legacy Edge while I recite the activation chant of the Azure Grimoire again. To my surprise, the red shell opens a bit and black mist is oozing out from the hole.
"Thank God it works now." I smirk, stabbing Blood-Scythe on the ground. "Eat this. SAVAGE FANG!"
A massive Dead Spike head rises up from the ground and attacks Arakune with its maw and tendrils. The former human shrieks in pain and is distracted long enough for Lambda to end this by summoning the Calamity Sword, sending it into the underground. Once the fighting is over, the Azure Grimoire shuts off again, kinda reminding me of how Blood Kain operates in the first two games. I crack my neck and arms as they immediately become sore afterward.
"Ragna, here…" Lambda pokes my shoulder cutely to get my attention and presents the walkie talkie to me when I turn around.
"Huh? Oh right, thanks." I take the device, not forgetting to pat her head. "Kokopuff? Ragna here."
"Calling me that again and I will force Lambda to stick her blades into your ass." Comes the grumpy voice. "Ragna, what happened to the last shift? I put Lambda on standby mode in case you needed some help and bam, we are back in time."
"Terumi used lil Noel to distract me and had his snakes piece my chest twice. Bastard is getting crafty, be careful." I tell her what happened while omitting the main detail of how I returned.
"Tch, a slippery snake that asshole is. Alright, I will leave Lambda on you as you will need transportation when things get real bad. 'sides, she wants to meet you so bad. Have fun, kiddo. Don't knock her up too bad though."
"Eh, what happened to the almighty, grumpy Professor Kitty? Tell me now!" I jest. A low chuckle comes from the other side and she ends the call. I look at Lambda, who has disabled her armor and now is staring back at me with her innocent red eyes. I store away the walkie talkie in my jacket and ruffle her hair, causing Lambda to tilt her head in confusion. Oh god everything she does is so freaking CUTE! WRYYYYYYYY.
"Well, if she says so, guess I will stuck with you from now eh. Let's go, people are flocking here."
"Acknowledge… Ragna. No… Faust …"
Urgh, my head! Just like back then, when Terumi called me that name, my entire body stopped working for just a brief moment. Now, it evolves to headache. Faust, what does it mean? Does someone manage to figure out who I really am? It still doesn't explain the nickname though.
"Faust, huh…" I ponder for a second before shrugging. "Sure, you can call me whatever you want."
I check my wallet and count the Platinum Dollars inside. It seems that this shift's Ragna didn't get emptied to the last cent by Tao or Platinum, thank god, so I still have a sizable amount to rent a room for tonight. Our stroll is relatively nice with me asking her lots of basic questions like habit and all. She doesn't know how to answer most of them so I drop the topic early. I still learn something though; she retains a small fragment of her memories in the previous cycle, specifically my promise to take her on a date. The way she says that makes me sound like Relius with her interpretation of 'date' being 'examination' and 'experimentation'.
"No. Just, no."
"Faust?"
"I ain't Relius or any of the scientists that tortured you to death. No, Lambda, I won't examine you or anything." I look at her eyes, my head playing images of her flashbacks in Continuum Shift. They are not pretty to look at, at all. I then sigh, putting those uneasy feelings away. "Since I'm stuck with you, I will teach you how to be a human. Just the basic stuff though, don't expect me to tell you how to make babies and all…"
"How to make a baby, Faust…?"
"WHAT DID I JUST SAY?!"
Noel meets up with Makoto, who is wandering around aimlessly. They spend time chatting and reminiscing about the past.
"Hey Noelle, I heard someone mentioning that you are travelling with Ragna the Bloodedge, the SS criminal. He didn't do anything to you, did he?"
"N-No! Ragna-san is very kind, a little grumpy sometimes but he is nice!"
"Hmmm~" Makoto inspects Noel's face for a long awkward moment before smiling mischievously. "Do you like him, Noel? Never thought you're into bad-boy type."
Noel predictably becomes flustered.
"I have just met him for two days max! Besides, if I did like him that way, he wouldn't reciprocate me."
"I smell drama. Care to explain?"
"Well, he didn't talk much but I can deduce from his expression and tone that he had some bad experience with girls in the past." Noel says, remembering the sudden sad face of Ragna back in the restaurant. "I would say that his past girlfriend or two broke his heart enough to make him wary around girls like us."
"Wow, never expected to hear that about the infamous Grim Reaper." Makoto then slaps her best friend's arm, causing her to yelp. "Alright, if you have that much of good impression about him, I guess I will treat him friendly from now on. Oh, it's late now so let's find some motel, Noelle."
"Um, let's."
They go to the downtown district and look around for half an hour until they see a big neon panel saying 'Rogue Jade Motel'. Makoto eagerly drags her towards it when a couple bumps into them. Noel scowls at her beastkin friend and is about to apologize when she recognizes one of them.
"Eh, Ragna-san?!"
"Oh it's you, little Noel."