Trial I: Training under a Hero

"Argh!" Ragna screamed as he was sent flying into the air and landed on his back with a painful thud as his practice sword fell to the ground beside him. Hakumen gave a sigh and shook his head as his apprentice tried to rise off of ground for the tenth time since they'd started.

"Is that really your best?" the White Susanooh said as he rest his sheathed sword Okami on his shoulder. "You'll have to do better than that if you wish to take your revenge on the man that ruined your life."

"I know dammit!" Ragna swore as he slowly made his way to his feet and gripped his side. "All you did was give me a practice sword and told me to not die! Can't you even bother to tell me how to use it before we fight!?"

"I told you, I would inform you of how to fight only while training," Hakumen told him. "If your entire training regimen did not feel hopeless I'd be doing something wrong. Remember what I said; your body or your limits, you decide what breaks."

"I get that," Ragna said as he tried to shake the painful feeling in his ribs off. "But why the hell did you spend an entire week teaching me Ars Magus if I'm not allowed to use it now?"

"Because then you'd only be proficient in using Ars Magus, not a practiced sword style. There will come times where you'll have to rely on one or another so you must master both of them equally," the former hero readied his sword into a battle stance. "Ready yourself, we resume our sparring now."

"I got it, I got it," Ragna groaned as Hakumen quickly advanced on him. While he tried his hardest to survive his sparring match with his master, they were watched from the treeline by a seemingly innocent little girl sat with a cup of tea in her hands.

"So much complaining…" Rachel sighed to herself as she sat on a cloth covered stump with Nago and Gii sitting beside her. "Does he actually mean to acquire his revenge or is he going to simply hope to gripe his way through training?"

A dull thwack was heard from the two dueling as Hakumen scored an overhead hit on Ragna's head with his sheathed sword. The youth didn't even have time to groan at the pain of the blow inflicted on him before Hakumen brought his sword back and stabbed hit forward, leaving Ragna to barely block the attack before being sent skidding back on the ground.

"He managed to block an attack princess," Rachel's black cat umbrella, Nago, said to her. "Do you think there's hope for him yet?"

"I very much doubt it," Rachel said. It was then that Hakumen brought his sword around his head and attack with a massive sideswipe at his apprentice. Ragna tried to bring his sword up to block the attack, but the force was so great it sent him off his feet and flying into a tree thirty feet away. "You see? He still hasn't any grasp of when to guard an attack and when to avoid one."

"But princess, you almost never dodge attacks; you always use us as shields so you don't get hit," Gii, Rachel's pig-bat said, earning himself a slap from Rachel that sent him soaring into the air. "WHAT DID I SAAAAAAAAAAY!?"

"Have you anything to add Nago?" the Alucard asked her other companion.

"Nothing princess! Nothing at all!" Nago shouted, fearing for his life.

Across the field, Ragna groaned as he once again attempted to stand after being knocked on his ass, this time after hitting a tree. Grabbing his practice sword as he rose, he barely had time acknowledge the Okami swing was coming right for him from the side. Knowing he couldn't block the strike he quickly dived out of the way, as the attack missed him by a hair breadth. Rolling on the ground and raising his sword he was about to retaliate when he realized that the tree he'd been leaning against fell to the ground with a dull thud.

'What the hell?' Ragna thought to himself in fear as Hakumen turned and performed another slash which he again barely dodged. This caused another tree to fall, a clean slice right through the base. 'He can cut through those trees like it's nothing when his sword's sheathed!? How the hell am I supposed to fight that!?'

Hakumen performed another down slash with his sheathed sword and while the attack missed Ragna, when it hit the ground in front of him it sent the youth flying backwards from the shock wave it created. While Ragna rolled backwards on the ground he managed to quickly make it to his feet, but then he noticed the giant crater that the attack had caused.

"Are you trying to kill me!?" Ragna demanded as Hakumen rushed forward before he could react. His master performed another slash, which Ragna tried to guard against, but the slash that followed cleanly cut the practice sword in two leaving Ragna unprepared and defenseless as the force of the winds the slash gave off knocked him on his rump.

"Your limits or your body," Hakumen reminded darkly as he raised his sheathed sword and brought it down in a lethal arc. Ragna tried to brace himself for the hit, but he didn't have any idea what kind of damage it would deal.

Clang!

It happened so fast that Ragna didn't even realize what happened at first, but he saw that a blond haired girl in a black gothic dress that was shorter than him and smelled of roses was standing in between him and his master with a barrier raised to hold back Hakumen's sheathed sword.

"Harlequin," Hakumen noted before he brought Okami away and the mystery girl let the barrier drop. "I thought I told you not to interfere, so why are you defending him?"

"Oh do be quiet, lest I gain a migraine from your unintelligible questions Mister Hero," she responded cooly, surprising Ragna. Did this chick know who she was talking to? "I thought you were going to train this poor excuse for a child, not murder him while he fumbles about helplessly."

"Whatever wounds I inflicted would have healed easily with the BlazBlue's power, even if I am using the Okami's sheath," Hakumen said to her. "You had no place to interfere."

"Maybe not how I doubt that your apprentice will ever amount to much if you keep striking him unceasingly with that sheath of yours. He likely only has a few brain cells left so try not to destroy them, his idiocy is already unbearable as it is and I doubt his arm can heal that damage."

"Oi! What the hell did I do to deserve this!?" Ragna shouted as he angrily stood. "First my own teacher tries to carve me in half and then I'm saved by some stalking gothic loli who's insulting me for no good reason! Who the hell are you anyways!?"

'Stalking gothic loli,' Hakumen thought to himself as Rachel's narrowed as the words against her sunk in. "Apprentice…"

"Yeah what is it?" Ragna asked curtly before he was struck with a pink lightning bolt from the heavens. He gave a pain filled shout as electricity corsed throughout his entire body before he fell flat on his back.

"...She also happens to be a vampire countless years older than you are with a firm mastery of sorcery," Hakumen told the shocked (pardon the pun) form of his pupil.

"Coulda told me that before…" came Ragna's weak response.

'Also?' Rachel thought bitterly as Ragna tried to make his way to his feet. "Oh, you're still able to stand after that? Perhaps you can take a bit more punishment than I thought."

"Well it certainly hurts like hell," Ragna admitted as he rose. "Did you really have to hit me with effing lightning?"

"Coming up with an unflattering description for a lady is a serious offense," came the voice of black cat next to Rachel that a surprised Ragna swore wasn't there before.

"Uh… who the hell is that?"

"Oh, do you really want to know?" Nago asked with a suggestive tone that clearly sent shivers down Ragna's spine. "You can call me Nago, personal servant to her highness. Well one of them anyways, Gii should be around here some-"

"AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!" came the sudden scream from above. Startled, Ragna quickly turned his head up before a red pig-bat fell from the sky, used his skyward directed face as a landing pad, and sent him sprawling to the floor.

"This just isn't his day is it?" Nago said, shaking his head as to groaned from where they lie on the ground.

Ragna again groaned as he slowly had to rise off of the ground glaring daggers at the girl in front of him. "What about you? What the hell's your name?"

"You wish to know my name?" Rachel responded seeming slightly surprised at the thought. "Impudent child, you think I'd give it to something as vulgar and unsightly as you? You must be a foolish being if you think that you can get my identity while you need to rely on my charitable nature to survive a mere sparring match."

"Shut it!" Ragna shouted, surprising Nago and Gii. "If you're going to be a stuck up little brat then get the hell out of my face! I've got better things to do than listen to you!"

"You forget your place," Rachel said to him as the two glared directly into one another's eyes. Hakumen knew Rachel wasn't using her sorceries, but he could still see the sparks flying between the two. "Nago, Gii, we are leaving."

"Yes princess," Nago said with a somewhat forced smile on his face.

"Okay…" Gii groaned as still lay on a head on the floor as he began flapping his wings to rise off of the floor.

"See that you don't interrupt us again," Hakumen said to the vampiress. "I don't want apprentice to think that you'll save him every time."

"Who needs her saving? I'd rather have died," Ragna grunted, earning yet another glare from Rachel. "What're you still doing here? Aren't I too mortifying to look at or some crap like that?"

"...You know I may reconsider giving you my name," she said to him as she picked the two pieces of Ragna's broken practice sword. Ragna raised and eyebrow as Rachel smiled cruelly and connected the two pieces before tossing the sword to Ragna. He caught the wooden blade which had been repaired as if Hakumen had never broken it. "But only if you actually manage to impress me, so I might as well never tell you…"

"Whatever Rabbit," the youth said as he rolled his eyes and gave the practice sword a quick twirl.

"I'm sorry, what did you call me?" Rachel asked with venom in her tone. Now Hakumen was unsure if he'd still have an apprentice before she left.

"I called you Rabbit 'cause you look like one and you're too stuck up to give me your real name," Ragna explained before smirking. "It suits you."

Rachel did nothing but glare for several moments before she teleported, taking her two servants with her. The youth smirked to himself for a small moment before he felt the hairs of on his body stand straight up. His mind didn't have time to react as his body flung itself to the side, watching in seemingly slow motion as another pink lightning bolt plunged from the heavens and tore the grounds he'd been standing.

"WHAT THE HELL WAS THAT FOR!?" Ragna shouted all around him though he figured Rachel couldn't hear him. He gripped his fist in anger for a moment before he realized something important. 'Did I just dodge lightning?'

"I wasn't planning on the two of you meeting so soon," Hakumen said to Ragna, his voice void of emotion as usual. "With all of the chaos we've just witnessed this seems like a good enough time to break for lunch."

"Forget it, I don't need any rest," Ragna said as he brought his sword up to resume dueling his teacher. "Come on, let's keep going."

"Don't tell me you want to know the harlequin's true name that badly?" Hakumen said to his pupil. "If you want I could simply tell it to you."

"Who wants to know her name? I just want to knock that smug look off her face!" Ragna shouted as he held his sword at the ready.

Hakumen said nothing before swinging his sword with such speed and force at his apprentices head it would've cracked it wide open and Ragna was unable to defend himself and was sure it would have… had Hakumen not stopped the attack before it hit. A second later the master still delivered a strong whack to his apprentices head, but not nearly as lethal as it would've been.

"You need to develop an eye that can see attacks before they strike you otherwise you'll never be able to keep up with the Harlequin or I," Hakumen told his apprentice. "Watch your opponent's body movements, see their attack trajectories, and know when it's better to avoid the attack."

"That sounds like a lot of watching, probably really hard to do," Ragna said honestly.

"Then we'll fight until it turns to natural instinct," his master told him as he brought his sword back and the two resumed their spar.

Castle Alucard

Valkenhayn stood at the ready next to the table he'd prepared for his master's return. The table was prepared with a steaming pot of tea, a basket full of scones, and plate of cheesecake, all of which were crafted by his expertise. He did not wait long as Rachel Alucard appeared on the walkway with Nago and Gii. Valkenhayn gave the proper bow as his master walked towards a table. After pulling out her chair to help seat her and pouring her a cup of tea, the Princess was ready to begin her meal.

"Was your observation of Lord Hakumen and his apprentice as interesting as you'd hoped milady?" Valkenhayn asked as he expertly set a small plate with a fruit-filled crepe on it in front of Rachel.

"I hadn't hoped it to be interesting at all, I went there only with the intention of having a humorous time watching the apprentice stumble around to survive. He was so rude and with terrible reason, I saved his life after all."

"You and he… met?" the elderly butler questioned, his facial features narrowing in a frown.

"Indeed we did, though I did not intend for that to happen," Rachel said as she took a knife and fork in each hand and began cutting a small piece of the crepe. "The Hero had planned striking him with a blow which might've have proven fatal to anyone without the BlazBlue's power of regeneration. Wounds like that would slowed his training even further and stop his non-existing progress." The young vampiress paused. "Perhaps I've done nothing but acted foolishly and brought an unbearable annoyance to my intention."

"Nonsense, I would say that you are the very pinnacle of mercy Madam, that brute is simple too unobservant to see it," Valkenhayn said with a smile. "Had he known of the legacy and history of the Alucards his response to you would have been much different."

"I doubt that very much," Rachel said after she'd finished her bite of the crepe. 'Even if he'd known of my name and house I he'd never give me any proper amount of respect."

"He does not know of your name? Then how would that buffoon address you?" the werewolf questioned.

"The same way as his master," Rachel said, her eyes narrowed. "With unflattering nicknames."

-Two Months Later-

'It seems like it's that time again,' Hakumen thought to himself late one night. His apprentice had already gone to sleep, clearly exhausted after a long day of training the campfire was currently little more than embers and the meal Ragna had eaten everything he'd cooked for himself. He certainly wasn't a master chef, but he seemed to be working hard at it.

Rising from where he was meditating, Hakumen headed out of their camp grounds towards the treeline, he walking in the foliage for several moments before arriving to his intended location.

"Mister Hero," Rachel said as she stood in the treeline. "It appears you are ready… the both of you."

'Both of us?' Hakumen thought before realized he could now sense a presence behind him, hiding behind a tree. "Apprentice…" he said with clear aggression in his tone.

Ragna stepped out from behind the tree, with a face that looked pleased to Hakumen. "Never thought that would work so well," he said, staring at his arm with a grin.

'A Stealth Ars and given its potency, a high leveled one at that,' Hakumen thought to himself. "How did you learn to use that technique?"

"I've sort of been practicing it," Ragna said with a smirk. "It helps to hide me from whatever I'm hunting for dinner. Pair that up with a little bit of my own stealth and I'm able to catch something without them ever knowing I'm there."

"How embarrassing mister hero," Rachel said as she smiled spitefully. "It appears you've allowed yourself to be followed by a rabid dog… no dog is too kind a word, what would be better?"

"Shut it Bunny Leech," Ragna barked before turning to Hakumen. "So you head out around the same time every month and you only do it when I'm asleep so I wouldn't pick up on it… Why?"

"It has nothing to do with you," the White Susanooh told him. "Head back to the encampment, tomorrow's training is going to be unlike anything you've faced so far." 'He learned an entire Ars without my assistance or knowledge? He's growing stronger on his own, this could be a problem… or maybe...'

"Whatever," Ragna said as he shrugged and was about to walk off, knowing that a 'new level' of training had been happening since he'd started learning from Hakumen..

"I doubt that there's any need for that," Rachel said, causing Ragna to stop. "With only your Master for company it's not a wonder why you haven't learned a single thing about socializing, this could be a good opportunity."

"Socializing?" Ragna repeated. "So you're meeting someone, who is it?"

Rachel said nothing before opening a portal of darkness so that Ragna couldn't see what was on the other side. She gave a glance and a coy smile to Hakumen and who clearly wasn't amused.

"Do what you will," he said plainly before stepping through the portal and disappearing out of sight.

"Are you going too?" Ragna questioned the vampiress in front of him.

"I have no intention of going and-" Rachel didn't even have time to finish before Ragna stepped through the portal and disappeared as well. "...Perhaps I should instruct Hakumen to teach him some manners, he could certainly use them."

On the other side of the portal, Ragna found himself in this strange laboratory room that was filled with sets of beakers, test tubes, and other scientific gear.

"Where the hell are we?" Ragna asked his master.

"Sector Seven," Hakumen answered. Seeing the confusion on his apprentice face he decided to elaborate. "The person we're here to see happens to be a daughter of the the Great Sage Nine and the One-Eyed Lotus Jubei. She lost her parents to Terumi shortly after the end of the Dark War, so I've been checking on her frequently."

"That so?" Ragna repeated as he continued looking around the room, his eyes eventually setting on the desk. "For the daughter of two of the Six Heroes she sure eats a lot of candy."

"It helps me deal with the stress that I keep getting from the idiots here," a sudden curt voice said. Turning, Ragna saw a woman that looked older than he was with pink hair, cat ears, and twin tails. She was wearing a white lab coat, red sweatpants, and slim glasses. "Hakumen, I thought I said you weren't needed here."

"Old habit," Ragna's master said, his tone was more casual than he'd ever heard from him.

'I see… and this is the apprentice that you barely brought up last time," she said before turning her yellow eyes to Ragna. "Call me Kokonoe."

"Ragna," he said in response, giving. "So you're some big shot scientist then?"

"If you want to call it that, then yes," Kokonoe said as she headed over to her desk and took out a lollipop, and began enjoying it while looking at Ragna's arm. "So that's the BlazBlue."

"Do you wish to take it?" Hakumen questioned, causing Ragna to grow worried as he was unsure whose side his master would take if Kokonoe's answer was yes.

"I don't have any use for a fake like that," Kokonoe said causing Ragna's eyes to grow wide as he stared at his arm. "What, Hakumen didn't tell you? That's not the real BlazBlue; it's a replica. A strong replica sure, but still not the original."

"Seriously?" Ragna said as he lift his hand and stared at the back of his palm. "Damn, that's a real let down."

"As much of a let down that it was created by Yuuki Terumi?" Kokonoe offered and Ragna swore there'd be no end to the surprises. "And get this, Terumi has one of his own and a special code that can shut yours down easily."

Ragna was silent for a few moments before he gave a heated glare to hit his master. "WHEN were you planning on tell me this?" At Hakumen's refusal to look at him Ragna began getting even angrier. "What else are you not telling me!?"

"Calm down, I'm sure he had his reasons," Kokonoe said as she took a seat in a nearby bean bag. "Still, that should probably save you a bit of pain if you ever meet the green haired bastard… but keep this in mind, that monster's mine."

"Fat chance," Ragna said with a glare directed at the Grimalkin. "The bastard's taken too much away from me."

"And he killed both of my parents and screwed over plenty of other people, so I suggest you get in line," Kokonoe said return the heated glare, causing sparks to fly between the two.

'I didn't think he'd be THIS bad with women,' Hakumen thought to himself as he realized his apprentice had a knack for pissing off members of the opposite sex. "I think that's enough from the both of you." His words were simple, but his tone was filled with power and authority, showing that he wouldn't move on this. Eventually, the two dropped their glares. "Good."

"Okay dad," Kokonoe said, her tone dripping with sarcasm before she stretched her arms. "Make yourself at home, grab some sweets, do whatever the hell you want, I'll be in my room watching anime."

"Anime?" Ragna repeated cocking his head. "The hell's anime?"

"...You're kidding me," Kokonoe groaned as she shook her head. "What kind of backwater home did you… Oh, right." Letting out a sigh Kokonoe started walking to a different room. "Follow me, but make sure you don't make too much noise. There are far too many asshats here that would try to kill us both for that arm of yours."

Ragna hesitated before shrugging and following the pink half-cat to the other room leaving Hakumen alone for the moment. The Hero crossed his arms before leaning back on the wall and remained silent.

"Do you really intend to have me wait?" Rachel demanded from where she'd teleported in, her eyes narrowed in a glare. "Vampires may be the sovereign rulers of the night, but a lady still has several things that requires her attention."

"I might consider apologizing if you hadn't brought this upon yourself Harlequin," Hakumen said cooly in response. "She's telling him too much, what if she informs him-?"

"All facts of what you fear will never come surface by her words, she knows to keep quiet with that much…" the young Alucard said. "Those two will both play a prominent part in the drama that is the world's fate, I'd hope that they receive at least some time of enjoy themselves… especially Ragna since he must deal with you as his teacher."

"...Should I pass along your words of concerns to him?" Hakumen asked with a hint of whimsy in his words. Rachel glared at him once more, but said nothing.

-Some Time Later-

Ragna was sweating as he delivered strike after strike to the air, practicing his form and technique. It was early in the morning and Hakumen had yet to come to him to begin their training so he was currently practicing what he'd learned. In the time Ragna had been with Hakumen, he'd become much stronger; his body had become completely toned with muscles, his reflexes and training instincts were helping him to see through and avoid some of his masters attacks, and he'd even mastered several types of Ars Magus arts, including Gain, Defense, Combat, Ranged, and Stealth.

However, that didn't make his training with his teacher any easier. As Ragna had continued to progress, Hakumen began pushing him harder and harder. Though it'd become routine long ago, every day was still a fight to survive for Ragna and he couldn't allow himself to drop his guard for a second. In fact the only time he was truly allowed to relax was when he spent time with Kokonoe, but that only once a month.

The two of them had started to get along a little better, Ragna had someone that he could spend time with instead of his Master and Kokonoe (deny it as much as she could) had some company when she wanted to watch anime with someone… though now Ragna was having theories that the vampire stalking him was a Sailor Scout in disguise.

Back to his training, he sent out a straight jab with his right arm before following with a swift roundhouse kick and lunged forward with a powerful haymaker with his left arm. As Ragna went to follow the attack though with an uppercut, his arm gave a painful throb before an attack of shadows emerged from the ground, sailing forward and striking a tree a short distance away. Once the attack faded, Ragna saw that he'd managed to shred quite a bit of the tree away despite him using that technique by accident.

"Whoa! What the hell was that!?" he shouted in surprise, staring at his arm that was still giving off black, shadow, flames. "That definitely wasn't like any other Ars I've used, I've never attacked with whatever that darkness was… how'd I pull it off anyways?"

Realizing he didn't have much of an idea of how he'd pulled it off the first time, the hero's apprentice decided he'd just keep trying to work with it until he got something that looked like what he'd just done.

"Alright, wave of darkness… wave of darkness…" Ragna said to himself as he tried charging his power and flung his arm upwards. He managed to get a sort of shadowy attack, but the attack was more of a slowly moving wall in front of him that didn't seem to have that much power behind it. "Well that sure as hell wasn't it…"

Sighing to himself, Ragna got back into a ready position before rushing with the same combination that he had earlier; first a solid jab followed by roundhouse kick before rushing with another haymaker from his left arm before channeling his power in his right arm and swiping it upward, again sending the wave of darkness out, though with less power than before.

'Looks like this is still going to need some work, but at least I got it this time,' Ragna thought to himself before readying himself before this time starting with a more simple haymaker before swiping his arm upwards and unleashing the dark attack. 'So it looks like the attack comes out much better if I through another attack first… Okay, let's work with this for a while until I get it down.'

For the next better part of an hour Ragna worked on developing his recently learned technique, trying to combine it use with different attacks and in different combinations. Using the ability by itself was difficult, it almost felt like it needed to be combined with an already established action. Letting out a deep breath as he finally managed to complete one of his strikes, Ragna glanced around before realizing Hakumen still hadn't come for him.

"Damn it! Where is he!?" Ragna shouted as he looked around. "He'd never wait this long before coming to find me, so what the hell gives!?" Storming out of the foliage, the silver haired youth traveled before finding his master kneeling peacefully underneath the shade of a large oak. "Oi! Master! We getting started soon or what!?"

'He's acting very childish…' Hakumen thought to himself while he continued to kneel in meditation. 'If I don't teach him patience now, he's never learn.'

"Oi Master! Master!" Ragna continued to shout in front of his face with no response. 'Is he asleep?' Ragna was kneeling right in front of Hakumen's helm. "...Fine, be that way. Maybe I'll just keep shouting and-"

"AND DO WHAT?" came the powerful voice of the six hero's leader, whose very words were enough to send Ragna sprawling backwards. "Tell me apprentice, what is so important that you'd spend the entire time shouting right in my face!?"

"I-I was only joking!" Ragna quivered from where he panicked on the ground. "I-I've even been practicing and-!" He started sweat as the ground itself began to shake as his master allowed more and more of his powers to be unleashed. "...You're mad at me, aren't you?"

"Mad? Don't be foolish; I'M LIVID!"

Seeing the powerful punch coming for him Ragna rolled out of the way and quickly leapt to his feet, only to be struck in his gut by Hukemen's knee and sent flying a full thirty feet back landing on his back with a powerful crash. Gripping his rib cage in a deep wince as he raised his head, he noticed his master walking towards him with a slow, menacing walk.

"...Goodbye cruel world…" Ragna whimpered. "You've been a real dick to me."

Around three hours later, Rachel teleported into the training field with her accomplices, Nago, Gii, and for the first time Valkenhayn R. Hellsing. The werewolf was currently present because Rachel had decided she would enjoy herself in a picnic and had brought a basket along with several masterfully made sweets and teas.

"This seems to be a good place," Rachel noted as they came to a small clearing. Valkenhayn nodded and quickly laid down of cloth for the vampiress to rest on and began putting out the sweets for her to enjoy. Within a minute the Alucard princess was enjoying an exquisite scone and had a spread of other magnificent food to enjoy at her leisure.

"Are you enjoying yourself milady?" Valkenhayn asked from where he respectfully stood off to the side.

"Indeed I am Valkenhayn," Rachel said with a very pleased smile. "The setting is perfect, the food is your best work as of yet, and your quick service has put me entirely at ease.

'Thank you for such praise, but it was a simple matter," Valkenhayn said, though he carried a very proud smile. "If I couldn't help arrange the perfect picnic and prepare the proper food for her highness then what kind of butler would I be?"

"I suppose there is some truth to that," Rachel said before setting her scone down and instead bringing a cup of tea to her lips. She'd only taken a single sip when Ragna when sailing by her, screaming as he went before smashing in embedding his body in the side a tree. "Oh? It seems our entertainment has arrived."

"Damn... it…" Ragna groaned as he painfully pulled himself away from the tree and feel to the ground. He panted for several moments and tried to regain his breath, his clothes were already torn in several places and he was entirely covered in deep, slowly healing bruises. Though strained he slowly raised his head where he saw Rachel looking at him in contempt and scowled.

"My, it seems that we may have a stray rodent attempting to steal food from our humble gathering," Rachel said plainly causing Ragna to scowl and overflow with rage.

"Dammit Bunny Leech! What the hell are you doing here!?" he shouted at Rachel, causing Valkenhayn to grit his teeth at the unflattering nickname to his master.

"Bunny Leech? How dare you, I'm simply here enjoying a well deserved picnic and to observe the nature around me. Unfortunate that the scenery has to be outright plagued by the likes of of you."

"Oh, well deserved picnic? That's a laugh! All you ever seem to did is sit on your ass and watch while I get the shit beaten out of me!" Ragna yelled, apparently having much more energy in his current enragement.

"Madam…" Valkenhayn began respectfully as he adjusted the cuffs on his suit. "This unintelligent punk has disrespected you and has earned a death penalty countless times over. Have I your permission to take out the trash?"

"Try it when I'm not busy you old fart!" Ragna shouted as he quickly glanced around before speaking in a much softer tone. "There's no telling when my master's going to catch up to me."

"Leave him be for now Valkenhayn," Rachel instructed her butler. "He'll need everything he has left is he wants to survive against Mr. Hero, despite how little he actually has to use."

"Wait a minute, Valkenhayn? You're THE Valkenhayn!? One of the Six Heroes!?" Ragna shouted with surprise. "But why on earth are you working for that little-?"

"When did I ever say you could rest?" Ragna heard Hakumen's voice come from directly behind him, indicating that he'd allowed the Susanooh to sneak up on him.

The youth swiftly dodged to the side to avoid Hakumen's initial jab, and ducked to avoid the powerful overhead swipe, but Hakumen's uppercut was fast enough to send a high pitched scream as it sailed through air before smashing Ragna in the face with and sending off an impact sound resembling a powerful cannon. Ragna then realized, with a gut full of terror and a face filled with pain, that the clouds that had been high above him an instant ago seemed to be far below him. Soon, he was watching as the ground race towards him until his entire body was filled with unimaginable pain the instant he made contact.

"Enjoy your flight?" he heard Rachel ask with whimsey as he painfully groaned from the crater he'd created upon landing. Ragna was both bloody and filthy, not exactly the best mix to have. Using every bit of strength he had the youth tried to rise out of the ground, but he was too overwhelmed by the pain and collapsed back into the dirt. "Oh my, is that really all you can do? I was expecting you to have at least a little bite to go along with that rather annoying bark of yours."

Ragna gritted his teeth as he continued to lay on the floor, the soil beginning to turn a sickly shade of crimson as his own blood seeped into it. He didn't appear to be moving, he just continued to lay there, too beaten to even curse. Hakumen mercilessly approached and grabbed his apprentice by his shirt's collar, Ragna was too beaten to even resist.

"Fight back," Hakumen demanded his apprentice, but he received no response. "I said said fight back!" Ragna continued to do nothing, just lay there limply and struggled to breath. "This isn't how I trained you thus far! I told you that I could break under the intensity, now fight through it!" Ragna's only response was a shallow groan. Realizing he wouldn't get anywhere with him, Hakumen let the energy he'd produced fade and roughly threw Ragna to the ground in front of him.

"...Shall we stop him Milady?" Valkenhayn asked, though his face remained passive. Rachel merely watched the following scene unfold with narrowed eyes, though she seemed to have her attention solely on the master and apprentice duo, not even appearing to have heard her werewolf butler.

"I expected better of you," Hakumen said as he stared down of the still form of his pupil. "All the training I gave you, all the tests you've struggled through… but you just give up, you give up and complain, such is your path…" Valkenhayn raised an eyebrow as his old comrade's right arm slowly went for the Okami before grabbing the god slaying blade by the handle. "But now it is time I end this attempt to change fate…"

'This is all he truly amounts to I suppose,' Rachel said as she let out a soft sigh. 'Well what more could one expect from a beast like him? ...But I doubt his story should end just yet.'

The Vampiress was about to tell her butler to stop his old companion, she heard a grunt filled with surprise and pain. Turning her eyes to the source of the voice, her face became one that she was rarely wore; one of confusion. The White Susanooh was a good ten feet back from where he'd been a moment ago, he still had yet to pull his sword and currently appeared to be off balance as was evident shown between the deep skid marks on the ground between where he'd been standing and where he was now.

Ragna was now on his feet, still breathing heavily as most of his body emitted a dark black flame. His right arm was high in the air and the ground in front of him was badly torn, showing that he'd sent out some form of a darkness based attack. He slowly returned to a strained, barely standing position and Rachel saw that his wounds had slightly healed from his sudden burst. Ragna then gave a pained smirk with his blood and dirt covered face.

"When did I… ever say anything… about… giving up?" he said to Hakumen as his wounds continued to slowly close, leaving his master staring at him. "I… just needed a moment to catch my breath… Now…" Ragna got into a brawler's position, ready to begin the next round of fisticuffs between the two. "LET'S GO!"

'He's continuing his foolish struggle, even in THAT condition?' Rachel thought to herself before giving off the smallest of smirks. "What an idiot…"

Nine Hours Later

In total, the two spent a full twelve hours of sparring with each other… well sparring is a rather generous term. Ragna spent almost all of the time being struck repeatedly by Hakumen, having little to no control over the situation at hand and struggling to survive.

By the time sparing had finally ended Ragna was lying on the floor, all of his bones had been broken several times, he'd suffered attack most others would find fatal, and Hakumen had beaten in ways he'd never thought were possible, without so much as drawing the sword he used.

Rachel Alucard now sat on her picnic blanket, she'd watched the two spar the entire day and now was enjoying the last of her nighttime tea as Ragna laid on the ground in pain. Hakumen towered over his pupil and looked down on him. Even if it was near impossible to see the slightest hint of emotion from someone in armor, Hakumen seemed to be making his thoughts that much harder to read.

"...You pass," he said as he slowly turned and walked away to meditate. "Barely."

"It would seem that Mr. Hero is giving you more credit than where it is due," Rachel said to Ragna with her usual hint of whimsy. The Grim Reaper on the floor could barely growl at her with the state he was in. "You've somehow managed to escape death."

"How can you say that?" Ragna groaned from where he lay on the floor. "If I'd stayed down maybe then I wouldn't have gotten the ever living shit beaten out of me…"

'He didn't see his master go for his sword?' Rachel thought to herself with perplextion, as she'd assumed Ragna had been fighting so hard just so that he wouldn't have died. Eventually, she decided to satisfy her curiosity. "If that's your opinion then do tell, why did you stand?"

"And let you continue to talk shit about me? I'd rather have died," Ragna said curtly as he tried to get up; only managing to sit up. Rachel and Valkenhayn glared at him and his tone before he continued. "I don't know, giving up just looked like the easy way out, but it wouldn't get me what I needed. If I want to get revenge on that bastard, maybe I will have to fight through hell… might as well get used to it now."

'...Perhaps he actually knows his position better than I would've guessed, and yet he refuses to back down,' Rachel thought to herself as she stared at Ragna, trying to get a better understanding of the slowly healing boy in front of him.

"What the hell are you staring at Bunny Leech?" Ragna asked with a curt scowl.

Rachel shook her head at his behavior. "I refuse to be with such an appalling and uncreative nickname any longer. Henceforth I demand that you call me 'Lady Rachel Alucard' and for your sake you'd do well to remember that."

"Rachel, huh? So that's your name," Ragna said as Valkenhayn finally finished picking up all of the supplies. It took him a moment, but then he realized an important detail. "Hold on a second, you told me that you'd only give me your name when I impressed you, so does that mean…?"

Rachel's smile was unnerving to Ragna, but it was unnerving in the way on how different it was than what he'd expected of her. All of her other smiles had cruel, haughty, and very, very condescending, making him feel like she didn't see him any better than the dirt she walked on. But this smile seemed… warm, almost with a tone of approval in it. Ragna didn't really know what to say, but he slowly began to give an awkward smile back to the-

"Valkenhayn, do you have any idea what the cretin is referring to?" Rachel said causing Ragna to choke on his own breath for a moment.

"Not a clue milady," Valkenhayn said with complete dignity. "Perhaps Lord Hakumen managed to rattle the fools remaining brains a bit too harshly this time."

"Yes, that seems like a rather valid hypothesis," Rachel admitted. "After all, what on earth could I possibly be impressed with, a young man flailing about while Mr. Hero doesn't even use a sliver of his actual power? I was much more impressed by Valkenhayn's meal and he's made nothing but perfection since I've met him."

"You are too kind Madam."

"What the hell is this for!?" Ragna shouted enraged as he finally managed to make it to his feet. "You said that if I managed to impress you you'd give me your actual name didn't you!?"

"Accusing me of something I said? My how deluded you're proving to be, implying I did something you most likely dreamed in one of your perverse fantasies," Rachel said to him condescendingly.

"Like hell I did!" the youth shouted, his face now crimson with the deep that he was giving.

"Well regardless I feel that it's my duty to inform you," Rachel began before giving the smile Ragna had come to know very well. "You'd make a terrible consort."

"Y-You-!" Ragna began to shout, his face turning so red it was nearly the color of blood, but it was at that instant that Rachel and Valkenhayn teleported back to their castle and disappeared from his view. "STUPID BLOODSUCKING RABBIT!"

Watching from a distance, Hakumen observed as his apprentice continued to shout to the heavens; every syllable a curse out at the Alucard while shaking his fists in his rage. Hakumen very clearly remembered Rachel's offer to his apprentice as a witness and knew he could take his side the next time the issue came up… but what fun would that be?

A Long Time Later

Ragna leapt to the side to avoid Hakumen initial punch to his chest before ducking to dodge the horizontal slash his master sent his way. He approached his teacher while crouching to close the distance and begin the attack, but at Hakumen sent a familiar uppercut that would send him sky ward, he instinctively leapt back and felt the harsh breeze as the attack barely missed him.

Hakumen then slid forward with a sliding attack lower kick, but Ragna had prepared a new move for a situation like this. Channeling his BlazBlue's power in his leg, he leapt into the air to avoid the attack and brought down a powerful kick that managed to glance off of his masters armor. Upon landing, he swung his sword at his master, but Hakumen managed to catch the blade with a single hand.

Keeping a firm grip on the practice sword, the White Susanooh swung his sheathed Okami is a harsh arc with a single hand, but Ragna managed to prepare for the attack and quickly raised a barrier to defend him from the strike. Then, while Hakumen sword, Ragna leapt in the air and delivered a roundhouse kick to his master's helm which was blocked by Hakumen's sheathed sword.

The master threw the apprentice back, letting go of the practice sword as he did. Ragna managed to stick the landing and skidded back a minimal distance. As Hakumen approached with a quick and vicious slash, Ragna managed to deflect the attack, but his wooden sword shattered as a result. Dropping the broken weapon, Ragna roared as he he channeled power into his arm and rushed forward while Hakumen was open from the last attack. His master tried to reverse the blade for a second strike, but it was too slow as Ragna managed to get a solid hit on his side before being stuck in the face by the sheath and being blasted back.

Hakumen took a look at where he'd been hit before reverting his attention to his apprentice, who wasn't down for long before leaping to his feet. The attack left a swell on his face and had broken his nose, but that was nothing new to him. Ragna raised his fists to resume the spar, but Hakumen held his hand out and indicated for him to stop.

"Wait, we're done?" Ragna said with confusion. "Come on, we barely started!"

"True, but like you just said, we're done," Hakumen said as he reset the sheathed sword on his back. "You're free to do whatever you want for the rest of today, but I'd suggest bathing; you look filthy."

"Not arguing there, been a while since I could take a simple bath," Ragna said as he looked at his dirt and sweat covered person before snapping his nose back into place. "But did I screw something up? You've never let me go after just a half hour of sparring."

"...I simply felt we were done and decided as such," Hakumen said before unleashing more of his power. "Do NOT question my judgement or there will be consequences."

"All right! All right! I got it…" Ragna said. "I'll see you later then, might as well get clean."

"And make sure you do good job," his teacher said. "You're meeting her tonight aren't you?"

Ragna gave a small shrug before leaving Hakumen by himself. The White Susanooh gave a glance to where he'd been hit earlier, straining to see the tiniest of hits on his armored body before he allowed it to instantly heal.

'...Two percent,' Hakumen thought to himself. 'He's managing to survive against me at two percent of my real power…' He wasn't feeling proud of his apprentice, nor was he disappointed, he was simply focused on the short half hour spar that had taken place. '...I'm becoming less of a teacher and more of a superior sparring partner with the few techniques I'm tutoring him with… So what now?'

Hakumen then went to his shade covered tree and began to meditate and think on these events. As was usual now, during his meditation his apprentice refused to come anywhere near him out of fear of being sent into yet another 12 hour round of sparring.

That Evening

Ragna leaned against one of the trees as he waited for Rachel to arrive so that she could teleport him to Sector Seven and he could spend some time with Kokonoe. He was freshly bathed and he'd managed to mend and wash his red vest and black pants so he was ready to go and at least looked presentable (his hair still had that good-bed-hair style to it however).

Hakumen was also present and was in simple mediation as the two waited, making Ragna do his best to stay completely silent so that his master wouldn't demand that the two engage in another round of sparring before leaving. Eventually Rachel showed herself and Hakumen stood.

"I see the two of you are ready to depart," Rachel didn't question it, for she saw that the two were already present.

"I am afraid I will not be leaving," Hakumen said to Rachel as he stood surprising Ragna. Noticing the look of confusion on his apprentice's face, he asure his apprentice. "Do not worry, you'll still be going, I only have a few… issues I must attend to."

"Um… okay?" Ragna said with further confusion. Normally even if all Hakumen did was lean against the wall, he'd always gone with Ragna anytime he'd gone to Sector Seven to ensure that nothing went wrong. Of course nothing had, but with something as dangerous as Ragna's BlazBlue at stake it was better safe than sorry.

"I suppose you'll ask that I retrieve him when the time is right?" Rachel asked and Hakumen nodded to the question. "Very well then, off with you." Ragna didn't even have time to react before being teleported by Rachel's power. "You seem more reserved than usual Mister Hero, is there something wrong?"

"...I'm not making much progress with him," Hakumen began to explain. "I've managed to improve his combat prowess somewhat, but even that has been slow as of late…"

"Yet he used a new form of an attack on you when you were sparring earlier," Rachel noted, making Hakumen aware that she'd been watching the two of them. "I take it you did not teach him that technique."

"No, he created it himself… as he did with his last technique," Hakumen admitted. "Therefor I doubt that he's the one at fault for this… perhaps I've overestimated my abilities as a teacher."

"No need for self pity Mr. Hero, the image never seems to fit you," the vampiress said as she gazed skywards at the full moon. "Bear in mind without your tutelage I doubt he'd ever have amounted to anything this day… despite how little that truly is."

Hakumen was silent for a good moment as he carefully thought about what he would do moving forward, he'd considered several possibilities including having Rachel and Valkenhayn spar with his pupil, but he didn't feel like troubling them would be enough. Ragna needed something new, something unexpected, something meaningful, something…

"Rachel Alucard," Hakumen began, calling her by her actual name for a rare occassion. "I'm afraid I'll need your help, I have something planned for when my apprentice returns."

"You're planning something?" Rachel questioned, remember that neither master nor apprentice were known to think things through especially thoroughly as of late. "And what pray tell do you have in store for that sad excuse for a form of life?"

"I have very little left to teach him, so it's time I gave him his final test," Hakumen told her before looking up to the moon. "His survival is anyone's wager…"

Sector Seven

Ragna blinked as he observed his new surrounding of Kokonoe's personal quarters; he was the only one in the room (thankfully), and it was obvious that the Grimalkin hadn't lost her sweet tooth since he'd last been here.

'A LITTLE warning Rabbit?' Ragna thought to himself with a scowl as he headed over to Kokonoe's bean bag and seated himself comfortably as he waited for her to show up. Glancing at her desk he noticed Kokonoe's had already laid out tonight's entertainment.

'Sailor Moon huh?' Ragna thought to himself. 'Well we still haven't finished the first season yet and Kokonoe really wants to move on to Crystal, whatever that is… Can't believe she's so fond of some ancient video series about magical girls.'

"I told you I'm not interested!" Ragna heard Kokonoe shout from outside snapping him out of his thoughts. Figuring it would be better safe to be cautious in case someone entered her room, Ragna cast a powerful stealth Ars around his so he couldn't be seen or heard. Normally that'd mean that someone could still see a sag in the beanbag, but Kokonoe had used them enough when she was playing her video games that it already was already sagging.

"But don't you want to come out for drinks Professor? You always shut yourself in your room anyways! Spending some time outside would be-"

"Forget it!" Kokonoe shouted as the door automatically opened before closing in her coworker's face. She let out a groan before glancing to the beanbag where Ragna was sitting as he let the Ars drop. "So you already showed up?"

"Nice to see you too sis," Ragna said mildly, calling Kokonoe by his nickname for her. "Rachel was way too happy to get rid of me… Speaking of which Hakumen's not gonna show today, had something he wanted to take care of."

"Big deal, he's usually a killjoy when we meet up anyways," Kokonoe said gruffly as she took out a bare lollipop stem and tossing it in the trash before grabbing another one from her desk as well as the Sailor Moon DVD. "Ready to finish the first season?"

"As I'll ever be," Ragna said to her as Kokonoe began putting the video inside a small player. "So some guys from earlier wanted to go out with drink with you, did I screw up some possible plans with your coworkers?"

"More like you gave me plans," Kokonoe said gruffly. "Would've rejected them anyways if you weren't coming over to watch anime with me. Could've caught up on some of the games I've been meaning to get to." The Half-Cat put the video into the player before noticing that her guest was giving her an incredulous look. "What the hell are you staring at?"

"Just sort of surprised someone that's got all this high tech science stuff like you do is just a completely obsessed Otaku," Ragna said earning a harsh glare from Kokonoe. "I mean think about it; you watch anime with me, you play Japanese RPG's, you keep a stash of manga hidden away, sounds like an Otaku to me."

"Yeah, well who's the one watching the anime with me every time?" Kokonoe demanded as she put her hand on her hip. "And who said you could sit in my bean bag chair? Get out!"

"No way! You make me sit on the floor every time! I'm sitting here for once!" Ragna demanded as he stayed where he was.

"Who's the one that's letting you watch this in the first place!?" Kokonoe shouted, continuing their back and forth.

"Yeah, like what else are you going to do, go out with your coworkers and be social for once in your enclosed life?" Ragna didn't shout that comeback, and with Kokonoe's pause he was under the impression that he'd won.

"...Fine," Kokonoe groaned as the video went to the title screen. "Move over."

"Move ov-?" Ragna only managed to begin as Kokonoe to a seat on the beanbag and proceeded to roughly shove Ragna off to the side, leaving the each closely trapped on half of a beanbag. "Hey!"

"Oh quit whining, or do you want to be on the floor after all?" Kokonoe grunted as she used her remote and started playing tonight's entertainment. Ragna was thinking that he might try shoving the Grimalkin odd the seat, but as she nonchalantly leaned back on his shoulder and crossed her arms he decided it would do much good to argue when she was acting this stubborn.

A good way into their binge, Ragna watched as Sailor Moon activated her magic powered by her friends to finally strike down the evil Queen Beryl when he heard a soft crunching sound, seeing that Kokonoe started chowing down on potato chips and the crumbs were mostly spilling onto him rather than her.

"You're getting food all over me," he growled, but Kokonoe continued snacking and kept her eyes glued to the show.

"Quit your complaining and watch the show," Kokonoe grunted, before offering him the bag. "They're not bad, you should try some."

"Gonna have to pass," Ragna refused. "According to Hakumen, snacks are for the weak willed and I don't need him getting pissed at me."

"Oh, well if Master Hakumen says that you shouldn't then I'm sorry for even offering them to you," Kokonoe said with obvious sarcasm as she continued snacking. "Come on, are you going to listen to everything Hakumen tells you to do?"

"You're not the one that has to spar with him for a literal half day whenever he gets pissed at you," Ragna reminded as he tried to brush the crumbs off of him.

"Please you're over reacting, it's not like a snack or two isn't going to piss him off; I've called him some pretty unflattering names and he hasn't said shit to me. What'd you do to piss him off?"

"...Let's just say it didn't take a lot after the first time," Ragna said, appearing to shiver and unable to face Kokonoe. "But lately... I dunno, he's been acting different, especially today. I mean he's never talked to me much, but since I last seen you he's said about two sentences to me. And today when we were training he let me go after we'd barely gotten started…"

Kokonoe eyes narrowed as she grabbed her remote and paused the show. "Has he tried to kill you then?"

"No more than usual," Ragna told her truthfully. "And if he really was disappointed with me I get the feeling I wouldn't be here talking to you right now. All I can really say is that everything about him has seemed off lately, in fact the only time he ever seems to be acting like his old self is when we're training together and that's it."

"That so…" the scientist said, still appearing deep in thought.

"Jeeze, what's with you today? Aren't you the type that would normally shrug this stuff off and tell me not to worry about it?" Ragna grunted, before he grabbing the remote and resuming the show.

"...Promise that you'll be careful," Kokonoe said, seemingly out of character from the cold, stubborn, researcher that Ragna thought he knew. "There's no telling when Hakumen's going to get drastic and try to kill you."

"He's always trying to kill me," Ragna scoffed. "It's part of my training, remember?"

"I don't mean threatening to kill you for failing your training, I mean he wants to outright murder you," Kokonoe said darkly. Ragna was about to protest and question her further for details, but noticing his surrogate older sister as the adjusted herself to lean on his shoulder, he knew it wasn't exactly comforting for Kokonoe to talk about this.

"I'll be careful, I promise," Ragna told her as it looked like Sailor was finally about to triumph. He tried to shake his thoughts of a murderous master out of his mind, but it was then that Rachel teleported in and appeared before the two blocking the view. "Wha-? Rabbit, what the hell are you doing here now!? It hasn't been that long!"

"I'm aware of that, but this is actually a request from your master," Rachel told him causing Ragna's eyes to narrow. "Apparently he's calling this your Final test, I'd suggest you return now lest he become impatient."

Ragna nodded as he got up from the beanbag and the show's finale continued to play in the background. "I guess this is it then," Ragna said with little emotion. "Take care of yourself sis."

"Idiot, don't tell me that when you're about to deal with god knows what Hakumen has planned," Kokonoe told him. "Well catch up on the show another time, alright?"

"It's a da-" Ragna began before getting interrupted by Rachel's teleporting send off. Kokonoe blinked a few times at the sudden disappearance before glaring at the young Vampiress.

"A long goodbye would not have served well for either of you, this was a mercy," she explained before teleporting off herself, leaving Kokonoe alone in her room with the looming feeling of dread for her brother's safety.

The Church Ruins

"-te," Ragna finished before glancing around and observing his surroundings. He was now standing just outside the charred ruins of his home. His master Hakumen was standing a few feet in front of him, holding what looked like a large, curved blade. 'Won't even let me finish Rabbit?'

"Catch," Hakumen said bluntly before tossing the sword to Ragna who managed to catch the blade despite its weight. Giving the blade a few practice swings Ragna decided tried to get a proper feel of the sword he was using. A minute later he brought the sword into a ready position. "At ease apprentice; you won't be facing me a second time today."

"I won't? Then why the hell did you give me this sword?"

"Truthfully this wasn't mine to give, your caretaker was actually keeping them safe for a late ally of ours… It belonged to man who was an old friend of Jubei, Kokonoe's father. Someone who, to my understanding, played a vital part in the Dark War."

"A vital part? So he fought in the final battle," the apprentice assumed, remembering some of the stories of the horrors and struggle again the being that could only be classified as death itself.

"He didn't, he actually died long before our final encounter with the Black Beast. But his sacrifice was what allowed us to achieve our victory. His battle with that monster resulted in its slumber for a full year, giving Nine the time she desperately needed to create Ars Magus. I personally had never met him, but he meant quite a bit to several of the Heroes."

"...No kidding," Ragna said as he continued holding the blade he'd been given. It was strange; now it felt heavier, not from it's own weight but the weight of something else, something deeper. "What was his name?"

"...Bloodedge." Ragna couldn't explain it, but just hearing his master speak that name sent a cold shiver down his spine. "That sword's one of the two remaining pieces of his legacy, treat it well."

"I will, but where's the other piece?" Ragna questioned.

"...You'll receive that when you're ready for it, not before. Even saying that you've earned the right to even hold Blood-Scythe is feat that very few could honestly claim," Hakumen promised ominously. "Though I doubt anyone outside of our circle would know of Bloodedge or his actions."

There was a small gust of that blew through the area, carrying the scent of roses with it. Master and apprentice turned and saw Rachel Alucard being accompanied by here butler, Valkenhayn. The werewolf was carrying a set of black leather straps with a metal brace on it and well as a strange black glove that looked similar to Ragna's BlazBlue.

"These might've been hastily made, but I do hope they meet your liking Lord Hakumen," Valkenhayn said politely and Hakumen nodded. The Butler then walked over to Ragna and handed him the set of straps. "Put these on and it shall give you somewhere to keep that blade when you have no need to swing it around aimlessly."

"Swinging around aimlessly he says," Ragna muttered at the phrasing, but started putting his arms through the straps and starting to equip it. It took a moment to figure out how to put it on right and another moment to adjust the length of the straps but he managed to equip it. Taking he put the sword on the metal buckle with managed to hold the blade vertically (not horizontal yet).

"And this glove, it obviously goes on your left arm," Valkenhayn told him as he handed Ragna the other piece of black cloth. Ragna put it over his left arm, realizing that it even copied the length that his BlazBlue took up of his arm and the fit was pretty dang snug.

"So… what's the point of having this?" Ragna questioned.

"Fake or not, there are several people that would like nothing more than to take your BlazBlue and utilize its power for their own desires," Rachel told him. "That glove will give you a slight alibi on your journey, making it seem that your arm simply has another glove on it instead of a Seither prosthetic."

'On my journey?' Ragna thought to himself. 'This must be my final test.' "Where am I going?"

"...That's up to you," Hakumen told him, further confusing Ragna. "My final test for you, Ragna the Bloodedge, is to send you into the world on your own. You will have support from none of us, you will be solely accountable for whether you succeed or die."

"Ragna… the Bloodedge?" Ragna repeated before nodding. It sounded like a good title, one that would fit him. "So that's it then? My final goal is to survive in the world on my own?"

"No, surviving the world is meaningless; I want you to live in the world. I want you to grow stronger in your own path; train your body, sharpen your skills, learn new techniques. I want you to be strong enough when I see you again, this is your mission."

"...And that's it?" Ragna asked, he didn't feel overwhelmed by the idea of going off on his own, but it still felt like a big change from all of the time he'd spent with Hakumen.

"Almost, I have only three rules for you in your journey. The First Rule, do not abuse your power and use it to incite anarchy and ruin. Failing this will lead to my finding and killing you where you stand," Hakumen threatened. "The Second rule, you will not attack the Librarium branches; the time for your revolution has yet to come and you are still too young. Leave them be. Third and lastly, you are forbidden from entering the 13th Hierarchical city."

"Kagutsuchi? What's wrong with going there?" Ragna knew that Kagutsuchi was still incomplete, in fact construction had been delayed countless time and it didn't sound like there'd be anything that'd change that fact.

"...It is not as it appears; many hidden dangers lie in that town, dangers that you must to confront another time," Hakumen told him. "Return here when I summon you, then we shall discuss your true path moving forward.

"Return? Return when?" Ragna had to ask.

"You'll know when, I guarantee it," Hakumen said ominously before turning to leave. "I pray that you don't disappoint me, otherwise-"

"I get it, I die where I stand, you'll kill me and move on. I've been with you long enough that I know how you think," Ragna muttered.

"And apprentice?" Hakumen began, with his back turned as he continued to leave. Ragna cocked his head, fully expecting a last minute lecture. "...I wish you luck on your journey."

"Wha-?!" Ragna sputtered out as Hakumen continued to leave, not even turning to address his flabbergasted apprentice. "So he spends almost all of my training kicking my ass and only when I'm about to go does he say something remotely nice to me!?"

"I thought you just claimed you knew how your master thinks," Valkenhayn said with a small chuckle. Ragna glared at the elderly butler, but in the end he knew he had little ground in that argument. "I'd advise you simply take the kind words and move on; thinking about something mysterious your master said won't assist you or he at this point."

"...Yeah, I guess you got a point," Ragna admitted before turning to Rachel. "This looks like goodbye for now."

"Please, don't fake sentimentality to me, your acting skills are appalling," Rachel told him with her classy insults. Normally she would have expected him to start yell at her or cursing her out, but at the moment he only appeared to chuckle. "You are a strange creature Ragna, I doubt that I'll ever understand you not that I'd wish to."

"Figured you'd say something like that before I leave," Ragna admitted, failing to hide the smallest of bittersweet smiles on his face. "You always needed to have the last word."

"You're talking to me like you have a strange sense of familiarity," Rachel noted before allow herself a soft smile that Ragna didn't see as he'd begun to walk off. "Are you trying to say that you'll actually miss me?"

"...Maybe a little," Ragna could only admit as he walked off, heading for an unknown destination as Rachel and Valkenhayn stayed where they were in front of the church.

"Shall we return Madam Rachel?" Valkenhayn asked with all the courtesy a man in his position would use.

"Yes, we shall watch until the time is right… when Ragna has proved himself the true Bloodedge."

Author's Note: Don't own BlazBlue or the Sailor Moon references I brought up.

Sorry to bring this up again, but… NO SPOILERS!

I've been playing the CF Demo and I've been having fun with it (Ragna's Nightmare Edge and Blood-Scythe taking long to adapt to than I thought), but I don't want a SINGLE thing spoiled for me about the ending. I want to see it for myself on the November 1st and bask in the glory… LET. ME. BASK.

Quick FYI, if you have a PS4 and want to play the Demo, go onto the Playstation Network and preorder the game; you get to play the Demo until the full game comes out.

Anyways, MY story was more of another tie-in chapter. I may have rushed the training, but I decided I'd do this where we'd have a main chapter for a general summary of the training and the occasional flashback when needed. It might only be the second chapter of Arc 2, but I've got a lot I want to cover before we get back to the present and since A Reaper's Awakening takes up most of the updates, I felt like I needed to get the story going.

Review response time.

Mythfan: Should I be concerned?

Shirosaki Kizuro: Good to hear.

Blazeking: Lot of things happening down the road… STAY TUNED.

Yuuki Terumi ouroboros master: It will be regular chapters, we won't cover the aftermath of the first Arc for some time.

Ad: That's going to be a lot of what this Arc entails.

Well that's all for now!

Ciao!