Makoto finally has the chance to meet the notorious Grim Reaper in person and man isn't he handsome. His scorning face fits the bad-boy type, the white spiky hair and heterochromic eyes to boost! She already has trouble calming down and now he is staring at her.

"Is there something on my face?"

"…You remind me of someone, that's all."

"She is Makoto Nanaya, one of my best friends back in the Academy. Makoto, don't be shy, Ragna-san won't bite."

Ragna snorts at that and extends a hand.

"'sup. Ragna the Bloodedge, SS-class criminal, NOL's self-proclaimed Greatest Enemy of Mankind, blablabla, nice to meet ya."

"Makoto Nanaya, former Intelligence Officer. Glad to meet Noelle's crush."

Noel becomes a stuttering mess trying to explain to Ragna that it does not sound like that and scold Makoto for causing this misunderstanding. The beastkin then notices a quiet girl in weird garment standing behind Ragna, munching a bun. She looks familiar to Makoto for some reasons.

"Ragna-kun, who is that girl behind you?"

"Huh? Oh, this is Lambda –"

"Ragna-san, did you tell me to go away earlier so you could go pick up your girl?! Answer me, Ragna-san!"

Ragna makes an 'oh god not this shit again' expression and slaps his and Noel's faces to stop her from screaming further and him from the building headache.

I don't know whether this squirrel woman is bullshitting with me or she genuinely doesn't know about Lambda. Fuck, this is why I hate time-travelling shenanigans. So, with my headache gone and Noel seems to calm down a little, I explain to them everything.

"O-Oh, so you are the only Professor Kokonoe keeps telling me not to fight. Man, if only you said that from the beginning."

"And your squirrel brain needs to stop overthinking." I tiredly flick her forehead and then look at Noel, who tries to cover hers. It isn't effective.

"Ow! Ragna-san, you meanie."

"And you, little Noel, need to stop watching dramas. Fuck, you are reminding me of that girl." I won't tell them I am referring to Tsubaki of course, not when they still have no clue about what happened. Next thing I do is to teach Lambda how to greet people and sadly, it seems that Kokonoe taught some naughty bullshit.

"Hello… My name is Lambda Eleven, Ragna's… woman and... personal toy."

"Jesus NO!"

"Ah, my mistake." Lambda makes a cute bonk on her head. She then corrects it properly and Noel drops that jealous pout. Heh, if only she knows they are basically sisters. Leaving them at that, I turn to Makoto, who has been frowning since I hit her head.

"Uh, Nanaya?"

"Ragna-kun, why is Noelle still here? And where is Colonel Relius?"

Damn, never once expecting that to work.

"It's… a long story. For now, let's act like normal until we have some privacy."

"Alright."

Makoto looks scary when she is serious, man. Like, she is going to 'Big Bang Smash' you if you tell a lie or harm her friends. We head inside the motel and have the receptionist arrange our rooms. Noel keeps eyeing me while pouting when I tell her that Lambda will sleep in my room. Makoto sends a knowing smirk at me.

"Keep your damn mind out of the gutter."

…

Next day, I wake up early, much to my annoyance. On the bed next to me, Lambda is already up and now looks at me intensely. That's creepy yo.

"Uh, good morning Lambda."

"Good… morning, Ragna."

We stare at each other, the awkward level keeping rising. Eventually, I break the silence with a sudden yawn and tell her to stay in the room while I get something to eat. I go to the lobby and to my surprise, Makoto is there. She seems troubled with her tail wiggling left and right.

"Ah, Ragna-kun."

"Morning. So, you want to talk about it now?"

"Yes, please. I keep having nightmare about that masked creeper so the sooner I understand the gist, the better."

"Well…"

I tell her the summary and she looks more terrified when I mention that Relius takes a liking to her, more specifically, her soul. Can't blame her for that. I continue with the whole Kusanagi business and she glares at me so hard her gaze can kill.

"What do you mean we can't do anything?! You want Noel to die?!"

"Shh, not so loud! I tried that before, got two snake heads poking out my chest. What I mean is, we need a countermeasure for Mu-12. I'm considering asking Kokonoe to make something that can reverse the progress once we secure Noel. You can't stop Terumi; he and Relius have planned this since the beginning and if we try, they will just kill us and kidnap Noel anyways."

"But…"

"Just listen to me. I will try to leave a trigger in Noel's mind that may help her resist Terumi's influence while in Kusanagi form. That may buy us some time or, even better, allow her to take control and use that power to defeat that snake. Contact your boss and tell her my plan while remaining close to Noel."

Makoto looks conflicted but reluctantly agrees and takes out her phone. She speaks to Kokonoe for few minutes and turn to me again.

"Well, Professor Kokonoe has already figured out your idea and the reason why she left Lambda to you is to monitor Noel. Urgh, I don't like the implication of 'modifying' my best friend in her tone."

"Heh, maybe she can upgrade Noel's assets. You know, her cups –"

"RAGNA-SAN NO BAKA!"

Out of nowhere, an Optic Barrel hits my face.

"UNGAH!"

We go to a nearby food stand and have our breakfast. It takes five cotton candy sticks to make Noel look at me again. Jesus, I know she is very sensitive about her body but who ever thought that she could detect people talking about it from afar? Lambda is curious about the candy so I buy a pair for her to taste. Luckily, her sweet tooth is not as bad as Noel's so I can assure she won't empty my wallet for sweets.

Of course, when it comes to food, Tao is bound to be nearby. The Kaka girl jumps from a manhole and goes to fondle Makoto's ta-tas, headlights, sweater puppies, whatever you want to call her boobs. The squirrel girl moans as Taokaka massages faster. Noel bites her lips in jealousy, glaring dagger at me.

"Ragna-saaaaan…!"

"What? I'm a healthy, straight dude. Don't worry, yours may be small but your thighs are top tier." I smirk at her, much to her further frustration. To my left, Lambda tilts her head at the scene and pokes my cheek to get my attention.

"Faust, is this what you call… yuri?"

"Wut?" I genuinely don't remember saying that before.

After a while, Tao lets go of Makoto, who falls into Noel's arms while panting, and snatches my bread.

"Tao, what the hell!"

"Good Guy, Tao is hungry! Can you buy more foods for Tao?"

"Hell no, I'm broke." Technically no but knowing her, she will empty my wallet like in the previous shift. Tao makes a sad face but then finishes my bun and says something among 'I will go pestering Booby Lady. Later, Good Guy' before disappearing in a 'poof'. I'm trying to process what have just happened.

"Ragna has some… interesting companions." Lambda remarks. I sigh in exaggeration and pat her head twice, earning a satisfying smile from the artificial girl. I then come to check on Makoto.

"Seriously woman. Knock that out and let's go, you are attracting people with that moan alone."

"I can't… It feels so good…"

"Gah! Noel, do something!"

It eventually goes down to Noel hugging Makoto's fluffy (damn I want a piece of it too) in a very inappropriate manner to snap the squirrel beastkin out of her lewd fantasy. Now it's my turn to look at Noel skeptically before glancing at Lambda.

"Lambda, dear, this is indeed yuri."

"Acknowledged…"

"RAGNA-SAN!"

I laugh at her embarrassment and go on ahead with Lambda, leaving Noel with a dazed Makoto. We continue to wander around the Orient Town until I notice that people are eyeing the girl next to me nervously. Must be her outfit. I consider taking her to a clothes shop but she shakes her head when I look at her, as if reading my mind.

"Unable to… remove the cloak… Apologies, Ragna…"

"Heh, no big deal. We will just ignore them, okay?"

Tsubaki finishes the paperwork at the Kagutsuchi Station and now doesn't know where to go next. She considers surveying the city to look for her friends but the people seem to hate her and the fact that her headache is getting worse the more she tries to remember the voice in her head, which constantly warns her against coming to Kagutsuchi.

After a long moment of thinking, she decides to start from the residential area right next to the station, trying her best to gather intel as much as possible. At first, the citizens are as hostile as she expects but after using a trick Major Matsunaga taught her, she gets some useful piece of information.

Apparently, there is also a Sector Seven beastkin agent around in Intelligence outfit. She was last sighted tagging along a female, mistaken as male at first glance, NOL officer and, interestingly, the Grim Reaper at downtown Orient Town yesterday. She thanks the kind florist and moves to the location displayed on her PDA and to her surprise, she sees the Reaper chatting with a shorter girl in weird-looking cloak. Being a loyal Librarium soldier, she decides to apprehend the criminal and his potential accomplice.

'What is this unnerving feeling?'

When she is just shy ten meters away from Ragna, Tsubaki feels like someone is watching her so intensely that she is stripped to her soul. Nonetheless, she forces it down and takes the initiative.

"Excuse me. Are you Ragna the Bloodedge?"

"Huh? Yeah, it's me. Who are you then? A bounty hunter or Library dog?"

It is this moment I recognize who is talking to me. A person in Zero Squadron outfit and mask.

"Oh great, you." Despite the reply, Tsubaki can see Ragna's hesitation and unwillingness to draw weapon or run away. Still, he pushes the other girl to his back and assumes a fighting stance. "I don't know why we keep bumping into each other but I ain't gonna let a Library dog kick my ass again."

"…Have we met before?" Tsubaki inquires, taking off her disguise and activating Izayoi. Ragna shrugs in response

"Gotta hit you hard enough to make you remember. Lambda, don't fight her." He smirks viciously. "She is mine."

A man in an overly decorated NOL uniform is standing atop a tall building, seemingly gazing the blue sky. In truth, he is watching the rematch between Ragna the Bloodedge and Tsubaki Yayoi. A smile creeps on his face as Ragna's fist is covered in purple aura, suggesting that he is starting to control the Azure Grimoire more and depend on him less.

Speaking of the Grimoire…

"I can hear you, Red Devil. Your boosters are loud as heck."

"Hmm, I knew this is a bad idea…" Tager sighs and lands on the concrete floor, probably leaving a deep dent. "You are… Faust, yes?"

"Maybe, maybe not." The man addressed as Faust smiles knowingly and then suddenly stops smiling as if he has schizophrenia. The look he is giving at Tager now is full of killing intent.

"Kokonoe has many questions for you. You must come with me, willing or not."

"I can't say I know someone named Kokonoe, must be related to an incarnation of mine." An old-fashioned katana comes into existence via blue flames and Faust draws the blade from its black scabbard. Tager brings up his fists, electricity crackling. Faust clicks his tongue and holds his sword up, fully intending to kill the cyborg.

"Leave, before I reduce you to scraps."