Fate II: Friends and Family
BEEPBEEPBEEPBEEPBEEPBEEPBEEPBEEPBEEPBEEP!BE-!
Noel groaned as she slammed her fist down on the devil tool known as an alarm clock. 'Thank god for Fridays' she thought to herself before getting out of her bed. Since she worked at the NOL, she had to start work at six in the morning, meaning she woke up at 5 am every morning. She made her way out of her bedroom before pausing in the hallway next to her guest bedroom. She slowly creaked the door open. The bed inside was empty, it didn't even look like it had been slept in.
'I guess that would be too good to be true,' she thought to herself, depressed. 'I've been thinking of Ragna so much lately I'm even dreaming of him... I guess he'd never really-"
At that moment, she heard a light sizzling sound coming from the kitchen, immediately her nostrils were filled with the scent of bacon. Surprised she rushed to her kitchen and was shocked at what she saw. Ragna was wearing his casual red sleeveless shirt, which showed both his natural arm and the BlazBlue (Noel's one of the few people to know what it is), and a white apron, as he cooked scrambled eggs, hashbrowns, and bacon in the frying pan.
After adding a dash of pepper to the eggs, he dished out breakfast for two on white plates. "Mornin'," he said to Noel as he put the plates on her kitchen table. Noel was speechless before Ragna added, "Nice pajama's," with a smirk.
Noel blushed as she realized that she was wearing the bright red pajama's Makoto had gotten for her a long time ago... the ones with little panda's on them chewing bamboo stalks. "Well I-!" she was about to defend herself before she noticed Ragna's attire and grinned. "Well, what about your apron?"
"Damn it,' Ragna thought, now blushing himself. The apron he was wearing had the saying 'Cookin' AND Good Lookin'' on the front in pink cursive (she'd gotten that one from Makoto as well). "Yeah, well... you really need to get a different apron set; the rest of them had Sailor Moon designs on them."
"Hey! Don't diss Sailor! You've never even seen the show OR the movies!"
'If only she knew...' Ranga thought to himself grimly. "You gonna eat breakfast or what?"
"I'm not about to let this go to waste! Thanks for cooking, I usually have to skip breakfast for the NOL branch," Noel said before she seated herself.
"How the hell do you deal working with those backbreakers?" Ragna asked before sitting down himself and digging in to his eggs. "I'd go crazy after only a week of doing it."
"You start to get used to it after a while, and the pay's really good so it helps my family out. I almost have enough to pay for their retirement."
"Then what?" Ragna had to ask.
Noel stopped eating. "What do you mean?"
"The last time we saw each other you and Makoto said that you were only in the NOL to help your families. You're almost done with that, so what comes next?"
"I-!" Noel was about to say something before stopping herself.
"What?"
"I can't say it..."
"Come on Noel, it's probably not that bad."
"You'd laugh."
"I swear I won't," Ragna said looking her in the eyes. "You can trust me."
Noel gulped and took a deep breath. "I wanted to be a... bounty hunter, like you."
Ragna grinned as he leaned back in his chair. "And you thought I'd laugh at this why?"
"Well, IWANTEDWORKWITHYOU!" It was obvious Noel was forcing herself to say this before she lost courage.
"Well, I could always use so extra help, so sure," Ragna said before resuming his meal.
Noel looked at Ragna with her dear-in-the-headlights expression. Had Ragna just accepted working with her? "What?"
"It's a pretty dangerous job, but I know you can hold your own in a fight. Plus, you don't have to wake up at 5 AM every day, so that's a plus."
"Great!" Noel said cheerfully. She beamed at Ragna, but that was before she noticed the time. "Oh no! I'm already running late!"
Noel quickly scarfed down the rest of her food before running into the shower. Ragna smirked as he finished his own breakfast, put his hamaka and jacket on, and set out his last surprise for Noel. "I'm heading out!" he shouted over the running shower. "I'll see you later tonight!"
"Bye!" Noel called from inside the shower.
Ragna headed out of Noel's apartment for his day of reconnaissance. So Noel wants to work with me of all people... Could she really say that if she knew what I was?
Noel exited the shower and put on her NOL uniform and her overcoat. She was about to leave, until something on the table caught her eye; a small brown sack with her name on it. She smiled as she opened it; inside was a sandwich, some fruit, and a can of juice. Ragna's even willing to make me lunch as a surprise... Can he feel the same way about me?
*Castle Alucard*
Hakumen knelt in Rachel's garden while he meditated. Even if he'd retained a normal body, he doubted it would be possible for him to enjoy the pleasantries of sleep. Even in some of his waking hours, nightmares from the past hounded him, but he would never give these hounds the satisfaction of deterring him from his goal. Meditation throughout the night gave him a chance to clear his mind, gather his thoughts, or give him peace, sometimes all three.
He did try to meditate during the day, but for whatever reason, the apprentice he was training at the time would always deem that as 'Annoy Master Hakumen' time. Ragna had taken a few times, but he'd learned not to disrupt the White Susanooh if he didn't want to endure a 12 hour sparring session. Though after awhile Hakumen had started deeming those sessions mandatory if he wanted his apprentice to progress.
Platinum, well that was another story, she still hounded him during his meditation to this day. He'd remembered the obnoxious child from the alternate timeline, but for whatever reason there had been an alteration to the Muchorin. Now there were only two souls; the soul of his friend Trinity Glassfield, and the soul of a young lady who only called herself Platinum.
The girl's personality had become a mix of the two previous souls. While she carried Luna's hardheadedness and energy, she had also was also very respectful to him, not unlike Sena. The child had shown a strong aptitude for Ars Magus early in training, and even her form was different. Her appearance was almost the same as that of Platinum the Trinity, save for she was now in her late teens and was already wearing glasses (loaned to her by Kokonoe).
While training her, Hakumen had begun to worry about his current state of mind. It was true that he still focused on his goal of eradicating Yuki Terumi, but he felt that he was becoming... soft. No longer did he feel that Terumi's eradication was necessary no matter what cost, but now he felt that his real goal was to make sure Platinum was alive by the end of this... and a very small part of him wished that the Black Beast could've been anyone other than his first apprentice.
Snapping out of his meditation, Hakumen heard the sound of light footsteps behind him and heard the almost inaudible clink as a tea set was placed on the gardens' table with the grace and skill of someone who had done it for centuries. "Valkenhayn..."
"Oh, pardon me, Master Hakumen. I did not wish to interrupt your meditation. Perhaps these old bones of mine are finally starting to catch up with me." The former king of beasts was a perfectionist when it came to his work. Everything he did for his Masters would be done only with the greatest precision, nothing less.
"I was already done," Hakumen assured his comrade. "Where is Platinum?"
"Still sleeping in the guest room and Madame Rachel is currently bathing. Do you still plan to depart after she awakens?"
"Indeed. There is still the matter of her training... I will also need to observe Kagutsuchi from a distance should Terumi decide to strike."
"I had thought you had already prepared for that when you brought Miss Bullet into the events. Surely that will be enough?" Valkenhayn adjusted the flowers in the pot by the slightest of touches, but in his mind it was the difference between mediocre and perfection.
"We lost Jubei, Nine, and Trinity because we had underestimated Terumi, a mistake we cannot make again. I have provided my former apprentice with the means to avoid causing a never ending continuum, but Yuki Terumi must fall to my hands alone. Only I am able to completely destroy him."
"As you insist my old friend, but you do know you are not the only one to carry this burden?"
Hakumen said nothing as he rose. 'If I carry this burden, I carry it alone. That way if I fall, I fall alone.'
*Kagutsuchi: NOL office*
Noel sat in her office overlooking her papers regarding the last attack on the NOL's branch. Eyewitness reports confirmed nothing; there were no two that agreed with each other. Analysis of the branches remains, well there weren't enough remains to analyze. And for survivors... any NOL guards left in that city were far away from the branch when it had been destroyed.
Noel sighed to herself as she checked the time. Only 11:30, I still have four and a half hours left... Time for a lunch.
Noel was about to leave her office and head straight for the cafeteria, but that was before she remembered that a certain someone had made lunch for her today. She smiled as she grabbed the brown sack and headed off for the cafeteria.
The cafeteria was only occupied by a few people now, but Noel cringed as she saw that her co-worker Jill was there with her flunkies Trish and Illia. Jill was a few years older than Noel and a position behind her in overall rank. She had scarlet red hair that went to her waist and a very slim hourglass frame, but what Noel found most infuriating was that Jill would practically wave her 'assets' in her face. Not only did Jill remined Noel about the difference in their cup sizes verbally, she had insisted on wearing a skin tight outfit to show her clevage off, needless to say this got her a lot of attention from all of the men at the base. Noel had tried to make friends with her when she first arrived at the branch, but Jill only saw her as a rival due to their difference in rank.
Noel sat down as far away from Jill as she could, but she could still hear the comments tossed her way from the vixen.
"Uh-oh, looks like Noel brought her own lunch today... Hey, Trish, I think I might've found out what killed the other NOL branches. A new bomb call 'Cooking a la Vermillion.' The three laughed after the rude joke, each shooting a mocking gag to Noel. Noel shook her head as she bit into the sandwich; herb roasted turkey with mustard on whole wheat bread, her favorite.
"Mind if I join you?"
Noel looked up and saw Clark, one of her co-workers with a tray of food in his hand and a yellow folder under his arm. Clark was a few rank below Noel, but the two were able to make fast friends despite their difference in rank. He had cropped blond hair, brown eyes behind his glasses, and had a very scrawny build. He'd invited her over to his place for dinner with him and his girlfriend May. It also didn't hurt their friendship that Clark was literally the only guy in this NOL branch that was immune to Jill's charms. Noel smiled at her co-worker and motioned for him to sit with her.
"Taking a break a little early today?" Clark casually asked. Noel nodded. "Well, with the threat to the NOL and so little to go off of, I think the stress is starting to get to all of us."
"Yeah, but we're going to have to find a conclusion sooner or later."
"Well I certainly hope it's sooner rather than later... I'm going to have to start taking Paternity leave pretty soon."
Noel's eyes grew wide as she regarded her co-worker. "You don't mean-" Noticing Clark's small smile Noel gave a happy scream. "Congratulations! How far along is May?"
"Only two months, but we've already started visiting the doctor's office. It's an amazing feeling, knowing I'm going to be a father to the greatest little girl in history."
Noel cocked her head to the side. "I thought that you could only determine the gender after five months."
Clark gave a small chuckle. "It's a small argument I'm having with May; she's convinced that it's going to be a boy, but I know it's a girl based on intuition."
Noel giggled. "I guess that'll make the 18 week ultrasound a little more interesting."
"True," Clark admitted. "But I think we'll hold off on knowing until she gives birth. Everything has a date... speaking of which Christmas is only four days away, you have any plans?"
"Yes actually," Noel told him. "I'm planning on spending the entire day with someone who just came into town. It's pretty sudden, but I don't think he'd have any other plans."
"Oh, so little Miss Noel's found her special someone?" Clark said giving a small teasing grin.
"Oh please, who could flatness have found?" The two turned and saw that Jill and her two followers had rudely come up from behind. "Come on, she's only telling you that so she doesn't need to cry herself to sleep every night."
"Don't you have somewhere else to be?" Clark questioned. "I thought you'd have a report to file in to headquarters."
Jill gave a smug smile. "Yeah, well unlike you losers I was able to find out that Sector Seven was behind the attack. Yep, you looking at the next NOL major right now!"
Noel groaned as she grabbed her forehead in a headache. Jill was convinced that Sector Seven had some sort of takeover plan or was planning a military coup. This meant whenever a problem arose she'd always point the finger at either them or the Ikaruga federation.
"But enough about my soon-to-be promotion, tell me more about this imaginary boyfriend Noel."
Noel glared at Jill before taking a long sip and finishing her juice and putting the rest of her lunch in the brown sack, she'd eat the rest in her office. As she made her way away with Clark she heard Jill continue to throw insults at her.
"Don't let her get to you, Noel?" Clark said beside her smiling. "I'm sure that she's just jealous you might be able to put yourself in a lasting relationship."
"Thanks Clark," Noel said to her friend. "We should get back to work."
"More backbreaking labor... I'm looking forward to that Paternity leave. By the way, I know you said you had plans for Christmas, but do you think we could meet on the 24th? You can bring your friend if you want."
"I'll have to check with Ragna, but I don't see why not."
"Sounds good," Clark said as Noel walked into her office. After working at his desk for about ten minutes he realized something. 'Wait, did she say RAGNA?'
*Merchant District*
'Great, now I have an overview of the middle section in Kagutsuchi. That took longer than I thought it would, but maybe I can get the entire lower district and slums taken care of tomorrow.' To Ragna, planning his attacks on the NOL was an art, and a delicate one at that. By getting a precise layout of the town, he could come up with a way to infiltrate Kagutsuchi, make his way up to the branch, wipe out the cauldron, destroy the branch, and slip out without anyone else knowing he was even there.
'Maybe I can head over to the branch now and check it out while Noel's working there,' he thought, right before his phone started ringing. 'Or not.' He groaned as he recognized the number. Ragna went into an empty alleyway and opened the phone, putting the device to his ear.
"What do you want Kokonoe?" he asked curtly.
The voice on the other end of the line laughed. "Is that any way to say hello to your big sis?"
"I haven't called you that in years!" Ragna defended. "Are you calling with an actual message or just to annoy me?"
"Just checking in," Kokonoe said casually. "I wanted to make sure you were still breathing Mr. Never Calls Even Just to Say Hi."
"Sorry, mom," Ragna shot back. "I've been busy lately with my work. Speaking of which, shouldn't you be working right now?"
"I finished early so I thought I'd try your phone since you never want to talk face to face. Aren't you going to put the video call up now?"
"No thanks," Ragna said rudely. "I'm kind of in the middle of something right now..."
"Planning out another attack? And here I thought we could at least see each other for Christmas..."
"If you want to waste a hundred platinum dollars for transport fare to Kagutsuchi, feel free."
"You're in Kagutsuchi? I thought you would stick around in Ikaruga. Two branches in only one month seems pretty balsey."
"I'm only here to make the plan; I don't want to attack this place until a friend of mine gets transferred out."
"You have a friend in the NOL?" Kokonoe asked speculatively. "Does he know what you're doing?"
"I have a two friends in there, they're both girls, and they don't know that I have another job." Ragna narrowed his eyes as he heard his adopted sister giggle. "What's so funny?"
"Two girls, huh? Never thought my little brother would be such a charmer!" Kokonoe said, trying hard not to laugh. "If only Hakumen could see you now!"
Ragna thanked god that he hadn't turned the video call on, his face was turning crimson at Kokonoe's accusation. "Hey! It's not like that at all! They're my friends, okay!?"
"If you say so," Kokonoe said before losing it. Ragna was forced to endure the Grimalkin laughing at him for two full minutes, at the same time he was becoming more and more tempted to crush the phone in his hand. After Kokonoe was done she caught her breath. "Ha... ha... Well, that's interesting and all, but have you heard from Hakumen recently? He usually tries to stop by close to Christmas, but I haven't seen him in months"
"I haven't seen my old master since the day he gave me my red coat. You've probably seen him more recently than I have..." Ragna was about to say something else when he heard a loud crashing sound from a nearby restaurant.
"SAY THAT AGAIN YOU SPINELESS PERVERT!" a feminine voice yelled from inside. Ragna thought he recognized the voice as his mercenary friend Bullet, but it couldn't be her, she was taking care of a string of bounties in Ibukido.
"THE HELL DID YOU CALL ME YOU HOT PANTS BITCH!?" a thug's voice sounded from inside.
So Bullet is here, Ragna thought to himself as he sighed. "Sorry Kokonoe, something just came up, I gotta go."
"Alright, just try to call me soon alright?" Kokonoe said in a rare soft tone. "You're the only family I have left. And make sure you come visit me again, I miss seeing you."
"I promise to visit you soon," Ragna assured. "Love ya big sis." 'That wasn't too bad. She didn't even-'
"Great! Next time we see each other we'll do another Sailor Moon marathon! See you."
'-...Shit not again,' Ragna thought with a sigh has he made his way into the restaurant.
*Sector Seven*
Kokonoe gave a huge grin as she ended her call with Ragna.
"Kokonoe," Tager started. "You've completely watched the entire Sailor Moon series over a dozen times with Ragna now. Aren't you bored of it?"
"Eh, I got bored of it after the second time," Kokonoe admitted.
"So why-?"
"I love having him cringe when I say we're going to watch it again," Kokonoe said with an evil laugh.
'No wonder Ragna never visits,' Tager thought to himself grimly. 'His sister's a sadist. A sadist that I have to work for...'
Author'sNote: I don't own BlazBlue or Sailor Moon.
Well, another chapter up for the story with the most dramatic changes. In case you have trouble keeping up, PM me and I'll get back to you.
Return Comments:
Blackace70: Sorry for stealing your idea, it just seemed original. Thanks for the weapon names though, I might have to use 'em.
IdeaPerson1097: Overkill in regular BlazBlue, probably. Overkill here... wait till you see what Ragna's fighting. I'm not going to let him one shot everything.
: Pairings are going to be a secret for right now, but you'll all have a really good idea after the next chapter.
Guest: Thank you, I try hard to keep my idea's interesting.
Anyways, thanks for the continued support for this fiction. Be sure to review and I'll see you next chapter.
Ciao.
