Fate III: Competition
Bullet walked into the Ryuken's Dragon Restaurant. The place had been in Kagutsuchi for two and a half generations, so it was relatively well known and already crowded with patrons. Bullet wasn't particularly hungry, but it was getting close to lunchtime and she hadn't eaten anything since breakfast early that morning. Her search for Ragna had come up with a few people claiming to have seen him, but that had been yesterday.
As the Mercenary walked inside the somewhat rundown restaurant she heard a high-pitched whistle directed her way. The table that it came from had several men sitting there, all of them with pipes and chains they all gave Bullet a dirty sneer and some suggestive looks.
'Just another group of pervs in a second rate thug gang. Not even worth my time,' Bullet thought to herself as she sat down and waited for a waitress to come over and take her order. Unfortunately, she could hear the gang making comments in the background.
"She's got a nice set of leg's, don't she?" one thug commented.
"Yeah, decent sized top too!" another one said while eyeing Bullet's chest.
'I'm calm, I'm ignoring it, I'm in control, I'm-' Bullet thought to herself.
"What I'm really wondering," the largest one, probably the leader, started, "Is how much she charges you to get under that stripper outfit."
The next instant the gang leader was creamed in the, well, everything by a flying chair. "SAY THAT AGAIN YOU SPINELESS PERVERT!" Bullet yelled.
The leader turned out to be a durable man and crushed the chair before getting out of the wreckage. "THE HELL DID YOU CALL ME YOU HOT PANTS BITCH!?" he shouted as he took out a metal chain. The two thugs he was with took out their metal pipes.
"NO!" the waitress said running to stop the man. "Please… don't start a fight. This place is already-!"
She gave a small shriek of pain as the leader backhanded her in the face and set her sprawling to the floor. "This ain't your concern bitch! We'll wreck this place as much as we want!" he commanded at the waitress. "Hope you said your prayers you cu-!"
With that the man reeled back the chain and whipped it forward to strike Bullet. The Mercenary was prepared to go on the offensive and finish this quickly… but she was surprised when the end of the chain merely smacked the man's wrist.
"Uh! What the-!?" the man shouted before he looked at what he was holding. The four meters long chain he'd been carrying earlier had been reduced to what he held in the palm of his hand. Looking around he saw that his two partners were giving each other worried glances; their metal pipe gone from their hands.
"Are you alright?" a voice said. The thug leader turned and saw a man wearing a red coat with spikey white hair helping the waitress that had been slapped earlier up. Right behind the man laid a collection of torn chain links and several shattered pipe pieces.
"I'll be fine," the waitress said to her rescuer. "Thank you…"
"No problem."
"Hey buddy," the thug leader said… okay from now on I'm calling him Thug 1 and his minions are Thug 2 and Thug 3. Anyways, Thug 1 continued, "I'M the one with the problem here. You the bastard that done broke our weapons?"
"You called those things weapons?" the man asked rising, his back still turned. Thug 1 was too pissed to notice the assortment of weapons the newcomer carried.
"Yeah, and ya better compensate us! Or do ya like pain!?" Thug 2 shouted.
"What're you gonna do!? You gonna pay us or are ya gonna die!?" Thug 3 asked mockingly before cracking his knuckles.
"Tell you what I'm going to do… I'll make a prediction, then I'll turn around," the man said. "My prediction is that after I turn around, you three are going to run out of here as fast as you can. But you're also going to leave every cent you have on the table for payment for the trouble you caused."
"The hell are you-!?" Thug 1 started, but he was interrupted when the man put his right hand out and pointed right at him.
"I wasn't finished yet," the man in red said, his back still facing the thugs. "After you leave, you're going to turn yourselves in to the first NOL cop you guys come across. The charges being vandalism, assault, and disrupting the peace. Make sure you don't forget any of those. Okay?"
"Please," Thug 1 said. "Why the hell would we listen to you?"
*Outside*
Henry was walking down the street in the merchant district minding his own business. He'd been working as a street cop here for over a decade; he knew the people well and was on good terms with everyone. Well, almost everyone; there was a new group of thugs that had come in just the other day. They were trouble makers, but he could tell they were tough. He'd sent out a public warning about these three and he hadn't really seen them since that'd happened.
'There's Ryuken Dragon,' Henry thought to himself. 'I wonder if Mika's encountered those three. I certainly hope not. That girls been through too much without those three making her life worse.'
Suddenly from inside he heard three fright filled screams as three thugs he was just thinking about rushed outside. The leather from inside their pockets were sticking out as if they had emptied everything as fast as humanly possible. Once they saw Henry, they ran to him and immediately got in the fetal position.
"We're sorry!" Thug 1 cried out. "We're guilty of disrupting the peace!"
"And vandalism!" Thug 2 wept.
"Don't forget assault!" Thug 3 moaned.
Henry honestly had no idea what was going on. He shrugged; they admitted themselves, might as well arrest them. Still, what the hell could scare three grown men into turning themselves in? He smelt a foul odor in the air, causing him to hold his nose. AND they wet their pants!?
*Back inside*
"Guess my prediction was right," Ragna said simply before he grinned. "Maybe I'm psychic."
Mika the waitress on the other hand was gapping at what she'd just witnessed. She then turned her attention to the table the thugs had been sitting at. The table was covered in platinum dollars, stolen golds chains, and other goods that the thugs had on them. She then heard applause and saw that Ragna the Bloodedge had taken his bow.
"Thank you, thank you! You're all too kind! Want another show, look me up; I'll be in town all week!"
Though there was still some applause, Ragna grinned to himself as he left the restaurant. That'd been the most fun he'd had in quite a while. He turned and walked into the abandoned alleyway he was in before when he was talking to Kokonoe on his mobile, and leaned against the walk. He didn't have to wait long.
"So you were waiting for me," Bullet said smirking as she regarded the Reaper. "Thought you were about to leave before even saying hello."
"And leave my best friend out to dry?" Ragna returned with his own grin as he spread his arms out wide. "C'mon Bullet, you know me better than that."
"Yeah, I guess I do," Bullet said before embracing her old friend. Ragna returned the hug and the two embraced for a moment. "It's so good to see you again, Ragna. One thing though…" she said before flicking the Reapers forehead.
"Ow!" Ragna exclaimed as he held the spot. "What was that for?"
"For starters, not telling me about Hakumen."
Ragna narrowed his eyes. That hadn't been what he was expecting to hear. "What did he tell you?"
"To keep an eye on you," Bullet answered.
"That doesn't sound like him," Ragna said shaking his head.
"Well deal with it, because now I'm sticking with you."
Ragna groaned. "Fine, but listen, I'm staying with this friend of mine. Try not to inconvenience her, okay."
"Fine… so how about we grab lunch?"
"Sure, I'll treat."
*NOL Base*
Noel hadn't been able to make much progress on the case for the NOL's unknown threat, but she had managed to rule out several factions and submit supporting evidence. For the heck of it she decided to look into the possibility of Sector Seven committing the attack. Her word against Jill's, should take an interesting turn. She glanced at the clock, only 1:30.
"Officer Vermillion," she heard from outside. She recognized the voice as Harsk, the branch commander.
"Oh, come in sir," Noel said formally.
Harsk entered the room looking a bit surprised. He was an elderly man with faded black hair who lost his right eye in the Ikaruga civil war and had a few scars to go along with it. Despite his wound he was friendly enough. Anyone who respected everyone at the branch he respected in turn… except Jill, he didn't exactly care for her, she tried to give him a little TOO much respect.
"I've got to say, I'm liking the new confident Noel Vermillion. What caused the new change if you don't mind my asking?"
"Well, I wanted to prove myself to someone. So I'm trying to start by being more confident at work."
"Huh, really? Well I won't pry. Anyways, just wanted to let you know that a friend of yours is here to see you in the lobby. She seems pretty eager to see you."
'She?' Noel thought, realizing it couldn't be Ragna. "All right, I can take my break now and-"
"Sorry to interrupt you," Harsk started. "But I think you've put in more than enough hours this week for some off time. After all, you managed to examine over 20 organizations that couldn't be behind the attack. I'd say that more than warrants some time off."
"Are you sure?" Noel asked.
"Well you've got a friend of yours in town, so why not? I'll see you back here after New Year's."
"Yes Sir!" Noel said standing from her desk and saluting, before realizing something. "Actually, could you give my time off to Clark? I have the feeling he needs it more than I do." She knew that she could use this time to see Ragna and her other friend, but Clark deserved to be with his girlfriend, especially now.
"You mean because of Mia and their soon-to-be kid?" Harsk said. "Don't worry, I already gave him some time off as well, but you always think of others, don't you kid?"
"Sir!" Noel said saluting again.
"At ease, Officer," Harsk said chuckling as he turned to leave. "Merry Christmas, oh and happy birthday."
"Thank you sir," Noel said before packing up her stuff.
When she entered the lobby she was immediately tackled by a blur of brown. "Hey Noellie!"
"M-Makoto!?" Noel said completely surprised. "What are you doing here?"
"I had a couple of days to take off before the end of the year, so I thought I'd visit you for Christmas."
"Are you sure?" Noel asked surprised. "What about your family?"
"Already saw 'em," Makoto said happily. "I visited with them for a few days, but we all agreed that you need someone to keep you company on Christmas."
"So you'll be here too," Noel tried to say under her breath. That was AFTER she realized she was talking to a Beastkin, Makoto still had enhanced hearing. "U-uh I mean-!"
Makoto smiled as she put her arm around Noel and guided her out of the branch. She kept that ever so sweet smile on her face, even while uttering two words that some people could find fatal. "Spill. Now."
Noel gulped audibly. "Well, I actually have some company with me right now," she said as the two exited the branch.
"You're stalling," Makoto said playfully. Makoto might as well have been Noel's personal interrogator; she knew where Noel was super ticklish when she wanted answers. "So who is it?"
"Well, it's Ragna…" Noel said nervously.
Makoto dropped her arm around Noel and looked at her close friend in shock. The Beastkin hadn't been expecting that one, not at all. "Well… huh… wow…"
Noel looked at her friend, concerned. "Are you alright Makoto?"
"I-I think so, but can we sit down for a second?" Noel nodded as the two sat down on a park bench. "So… how did that happen?"
"Well, I offered after he took me out to dinner. He's staying in town for the next week, so I thought this could be a good chance to see each other."
Makoto nodded while paying attention. "So are you two, you know, dating?"
Noel shook her head. "No, but I was going to confess how I felt to him. He's just always been there for us since we met. Ever since our first mission together he's been looking out for us. Not to mention he's been helping me with my self-confidence issue."
"Yeah? Well… cool."
Noel grabbed her friends hand comfortingly. "What's wrong Makoto?"
"Noel, It's just… I… I have a crush on Ragna too…" Makoto shook her head to correct herself. "No, it's more than just a crush. I mean you seen the way he sees me. I'm his friend, not a freak of nature, not some guns blazing girl, he sees me as a great friend… And he's always been there for me too. He's stood up for me in public on several occasions and… he once called me beautiful."
Noel nodded. "Tell you what, we'll make this fair for each other. Ragna gets to choose who he wants to be with. Neither of us will interfere with other, and we'll still be friends by the end of this. Deal?"
"Deal," Makoto said with a smile as she shook her friend's hand. "Guess I'll have to step it up though, you already have a head start on me."
"Yeah, well Ragna said he'd be looking around town today, so how about we make something for dinner as a surprise?"
Makoto tail became frazzled as it sensed the incoming danger. "Noel…"
Noel looked at her friend. "Oh, maybe I can try remaking that curry from the Academy. Everyone was thanking me for that after they had it."
"Y-yeah," Makoto said sighing to herself. 'What Noel doesn't know is that all of those people got to skip the final exam due to stomach cramps. That's why they were thanking her.'
Authors Note: I don't own BlazBlue.
IdeaPerson1097: Magical Girl Kokonoe is something I came up with on the fly, but I still like the end result. Truth is, she got tired with that series a LONG time ago, but she uses torturing Ragna with it as an excuse to spend time with her little brother.
General Ironox: Wasn't really too sure about Ragna x Platinum, but if enough people like the way I show the new Platinum, I may consider it.
LG: You know who you are, for some reason your name never shows. Anyways, thanks for the support.
BlackLace70: Cool, and I promise to stop stealing your ideas *laughs*. But you've been giving me a lot of support, so thanks for that. As far as your idea for Platinum… I'll think on it, sounds interesting.
Another tie in chapter, but I think this one had some good elements to it. Next chapters going to be pretty chaotic, just a fair warning. Rate, Review, and I'll see you next chapter.
Ciao.
