Arc One: THE CALAMITY
Fate I: A New Life
There was silence in the Kagutsuchi port. Larry, the official passport checker, yawned to himself. It had been a relatively slow day at the port and the ships that did arrive had been fairly empty. He'd joined the NOL so that he'd get a high salary, but no one had told him how boring his job would be. He'd imagined himself in the law enforcement front taking down crime and wrong doers, not constantly working behind a desk and listening to every excuse of why someone forgot or lost their passport.
Larry rested his head on his hand and closed his eyes. The only decent part of the job was the guys he drank with after every shift. They were good people and great for a laugh, but he didn't see them much outside the bar, and he'd never met anyone interesting at work… so much for an exciting life.
His eyes still closed, Larry heard footsteps approaching him. 'Great,' he thought. 'Someone must have overslept on the last vessel. With my luck they'll have lost their passport too. "Passport, sir," Larry said to the traveler, holding out his free hand.
"Here," the man said simply, pressing the passport into Larry's hands.
Larry finally opened his eyes to look at the passport; they grew wide when he noticed the name. He looked up from the passport, his mouth gaping, it was the person in the passport all right. 'What's he doing here!?' Larry thought astounded.
"Uh, certainly. Did you enjoy your trip sir?" Larry asked trying not to lose himself.
"I guess. Thanks for asking," the man said taking his passport back.
"Right, well enjoy your day Mr. Bloodedge," Larry said, attempting not to embarrass himself.
"You too," Ragna said before walking away.
Larry leaned over the counter for a better view as the 'Grim Reaper' made his way out of the port station and into town. Once the man was out of sight, Larry leaned back into his chair. 'Never meet anyone interesting on the job, huh?' Now he couldn't wait for his shift to end. This would be a hell of a story for him to tell the guys at the bar.
*Kagutsuchi street's*
Ragna made his way down the street, his red coat flowing with the breeze. He twin Ars Magus katanas rested in the sheaths above his giant sword, Blood-Scythe. His Ars Magus Sub-Machine gun and Shotgun were set between his katanas.
"Hey, is that who I think it is?" he heard from around the corner.
"That's him alright, Ragna the Bloodedge."
"What's the greatest bounty hunter in history doing in Kagutsuchi?!"
"I don't know, last I heard he was in Ikaruga until not too long ago."
"Look at him! He's armed to the teeth with all of those weapons!"
"From what I hear, to him weapons are really just a precaution. He's been known to take an entire criminal organization with nothing but his bare hands and get out without a scratch."
Ragna shook his head; he'd heard all of the rumors of his reputation, the good and the bad. There were only two facts everyone knew was true, Ragna's perfect record and his record of the most bounties collected in a year that remained unbeaten to this day.
'So this is Kagutsuchi,' he thought to himself. 'I should get started, there's no telling how long recon is going to take here.'
*Castle Alucard*
Rachel sat in her garden, sipping her tea out of her priceless china set, while Hakumen stood across from her, his arm folded as he impatiently waited for her to speak. Finally, she set her finished cup down and regarded the White Susanooh.
"You said that you had something important to tell me?" she said to the Hero.
"It seems that my apprentice has arrived in Kagutsuchi and is currently attempting to do reconnaissance. It won't be long for he decides to attack the cauldron."
"Oh, that's all? I thought you once told me yourself that you are not my messenger, yet here you stand now delivering to me the simplest of messages, and one that I already know."
"Cease these games! You and I are both well aware of the importance of this cauldron! This was where he fell so many times before!"
Rachel allowed herself a small giggle. "Is this coming from the man who claims to care nothing about his apprentice?"
"If he dies, all I will have lost is a significant investment of my time," Hakumen said, unrelenting.
"But he won't die, will he? After all, you were the one who trained him… and even you acknowledge he's far exceeded your expectations. Admit it, Mr. Hero; Ragna was the closest thing you have ever had to a son, and now, after all these years of denying it, you paternal instincts are causing you to worry."
"I have no son," Hakumen replied, his tone even. "Though I am worried; Terumi has yet to reappear. And now that we're approaching the point of the calamity trigger, it seems more likely that he would intervene. Unlike a decade ago, you and I both now know the almost never ending cycle that ensued in Kagutsuchi during the alternate timeline."
"Indeed," Rachel acknowledged. "But don't forget, you played a role in that cycle as well. How many times did you slay Ragna then I wonder?" Hakumen remained silent. "More to the point, what would you suggest we do about it? You and I can't intervene, and there are no individuals we could place in the hierarchal city who could make that difference without destroying the flow of events and causing larger scale interventions."
"…I may have one in mind," Hakumen said mysteriously.
*Kagutsuchi Merchant Sector*
Ragna continued doing reconnaissance though out the city. I've checked most of the midsection already; tomorrow I'll check the lower levels and the branch. He let out a yawn and stretched. Now I need to find a place to spend the night. Ragna began searching through the street for an inn, but they had "No Vacancy" signs on them. Something else did catch his eye; a Blue NOL uniform, but more importantly, the person wearing it.
"Noel!" Ragna called out. The officer in question looked back in confusion, but once she noticed who called her name her face brightened.
"Ragna!" the Noel yelled as she ran to him, her smile never leaving her face. "Long time no see!"
"Yeah, it has been awhile," the Grim Reaper said with a grin. "So what are you doing in Kagutsuchi?"
"I was repositioned here for work, but I'll be moving back to headquarters in another month," Noel told him. "What about you?"
"Taking a break from bounty hunting," he said truthfully. "How's Makoto been?"
"She's been doing really well! Her new post is making her travel a lot, but we still see each other every now and again."
"Glad to hear it."
While Ragna may have been against the NOL in secret, he'd never seen Noel or her beastkin friend Makoto as his enemies. The three had meet on one of his jobs years ago, and after a rocky start, quickly became close friends. They had meet on several occasions after that, all of them one of Ragna's bounty contracts. The Reaper had been slightly offset by the fact that Noel looked exactly like Saya, but he'd chosen to see her as her own person, not as someone from his past. As for Makoto, she'd been a great sparring partner and someone to share a good laugh with.
"So," Ragna began, "Are you in the middle of something right now?"
"Not really," Noel responded. "Why do you ask?"
"I was wondering if you wanted to find a nice restaurant and grab some dinner, my treat."
Noel felt her cheeks flush. 'Is this really happening? Is he really asking me on a date?' "I'd love to!" the officer replied hastily, and a little louder than she'd meant.
Ragna gave a small chuckle. Typical Noel. "Come on then, let's go."
Noel nodded as she and Ragna headed off. Ragna tried to keep his eyes peeled for a restaurant, but wasn't having much luck. "So, where do you like to go to eat?"
Noel thought to herself for a moment. "Well there's this restaurant a few streets down that serves a really good curry, maybe we could try there?" Ragna nodded and Noel beamed.
"Is that really Ragna the Bloodedge?" the two heard a voice say. It had come from a group of women sitting on a street bench.
"He's even handsomer than I've been told!" another voice said.
"And so tall!" a third one noted.
"I wonder if he's still single?" a fourth chimed in.
Ragna sighed; he didn't exactly enjoy this kind of attention, sometimes it became a full-on nuisance to him. He noticed a tugging sensation on his arm and noticed Noel had protectively grabbed it, almost as if to let anyone know he was hers.
Ragna smirked, 'Someone's clingy.' "Don't worry about me Noel," he said reassuringly. "I'm going out to dinner with you, not them." Noel nodded, blushing slightly. "And frankly, I don't think there's any way they can compare with you."
Noel felt her face go deep crimson. "R-R-Ragna! Don't joke like that!"
Ragna let out a laugh. "What? I'm being serious here!"
Noel put her lip up in a pout, but on the inside she was happy he'd said it. She'd always been fond of Ragna and… she'd been thinking about him a lot recently. 'Before we part I'm going to confess how I feel to him. I promised him last time that I'd have more confidence, so I'm going to show it to him!'
They arrived at the restaurant not long after that. After ordering their food (curry and rice for both of them), the two decided to further discus what they've been up to.
"So Makoto finally got that promotion she's been doing extra shifts for since last month," Ragna said. "Well good for her."
Noel nodded. "She just got it yesterday and had to call me about it. She was planning this big get together with me and Tsubaki once the three of us managed to meet up again. You should come too; I know Makoto would love to see you again and Tsubaki's interested in meeting you."
"Count on it," Ragna accepted. "I'll make sure to keep some time open from bounty hunting; just let me know when you're thinking."
"Sure thing," Noel grinned before her smile deflated somewhat. "But the real problem will be finding a time that'll work out for the three of us."
"Have thing's been busy at work?" Ragna asked.
Noel nodded. "Yeah, with all of the branches being destroyed the NOL is shifting all of the resources to find out who the perpetrator is, but we don't have any idea who could do something on this scale. Pair that with the disappearance of Major Kisaragi after the Ikaruga civil war and you've got everyone working triple shifts."
"Sounds tough," Ragna said before their food arrived. He thanked their waiter, and the two started to eat. Noel hadn't been exaggerating, it was good.
"So how long are you staying in Kagutsuchi?" Noel asked, trying to change the subject.
"About a week," Ragna said. "Then it's right back to work. The only problem I have now is finding an open inn. The ones I've come across are all booked."
"My apartment has a guest room in it. You could stay there," Noel offered.
"I don't want to impose-" Ragna started.
"You won't be imposing, trust me. I wasn't using that room for anything anyways."
"Heh, thanks Noel," Ragna said as he continued eating his food. 'Leave it to Noel's kind heart to have a solution for almost anything,' he thought.
*The Forest Surrounding Kagutsuchi*
"Thank you for meeting here on such short notice," Hakumen said to his contact as he held an old fashioned briefcase given to him by Valkenhayn.
"The message said I was supposed to be contacted here by someone named Peter Gilman… but I can see why you lied." Hakumen's contact gave a small laugh. "Still, you know that the NOL executes anyone who commits identity fraud, don't you?"
"You think that is an issue for me?" Hakumen questioned. "Regardless, I have all one thousand Platinum dollars with me here as an upfront payment," he said setting down the suitcase.
"That's awfully trusting of you. What's to stop me from taking the money and never seeing you again?"
"Besides the fact that I would hunt you down?" Hakumen suggested without bravado. "There's your record to consider, not including the fact that I know you won't turn away from this mission."
"What even is the mission?" the contact asked. "The personal message you sent me told me next to nothing except for the fact that you wanted me specifically. What's with all the secrecy?"
"A calamity is about to fall Kagutsuchi. I am unsure of the specifics, but they will no doubt involve the NOL and my apprentice. He will never admit it, but he will need your help if he's to survive this advent. Your job is to find him and stay with him."
The figure scoffed. "If he's your apprentice, I'm sure he can handle himself. I'm not interested in a job that gives me so little to go off of. I'm also not about to challenge the Librarium for a measly one thousand platinum dollars." Hakumen's contact proceeded to make their way away from Kagutsuchi, but that was before he played his trump card.
"Not even if your cooperation saves the life of Ragna the Bloodedge?"
The contact halted. "What are you-?"
"I know the bond shared between the two of you and the respect you have for one another. I also know that you won't let him die without proving yourself to him." His questions were rewarded with silence. "I'll leave the money here, farewell."
The figure stayed silent in the clearing, before laughing to herself.
"…So Ragna's the apprentice of one of the six heroes? That explains so much!" Still chuckling, she walked over and grabbed the briefcase off the ground as she started heading for Kagutsuchi.
"Ragna, what the hell are you getting me into?" Bullet asked herself with a smirk on her face.
Authors Note:
I don't own BlazBlue.
IdeaPerson1097: Thanks for the concern, I feel like I'm probably overworking myself, but let's just hope it doesn't affect my work.
keyz05: Thanks, I hope that you enjoy the ride.
tremenvan: I hoped someone would say that. The first chapter was made only to set the stage and leave the reader with a sense of awe in that final scene.
: Well look no further. Glad to hear you enjoyed it.
Blackace70: Not to disregard your comment, but we already talked over PM. Glad to see I've caught your attention though.
For those of you that wanted to see the training, all I have to say is have patience; all good things will come to those who wait. I know I seem to be focusing more on these chapters than my scheduled ones, but I just had an idea for those two that couldn't wait. If you want to, leave any ideas for new weapon names in the reviews, I may use them toward my story.
Anyways, rate, review, and I'll see you next chapter.
