(A New Canon has begun. What will see unfold in this series of events? Will they be as pleasant as last time or will something else happen to ruin all of that? Only one way to find out.)

Bold = English Conversations

Bold + Italics =Japanese Conversations

Canon 14

Makoto was seated in a park bench, feet waving in the air as she had a lot of thoughts running through her mind. But before she could begin to think of what is going on, Makoto immediately heard the sounds of footsteps coming her way. "I'm back Makoto! I got you that energy drink you like to drink back in the Academy." Noel said as Makoto raised her head to look at her friend. Her hair was hidden underneath a beret as she wore the NOL coat around her body.

"T-Thanks Noellie. I appreciate that." Makoto said as she took the drink off Noel's hand and opened it. "So... What brings you here to Kagutsuchi of all places Makoto? Didn't you say you would be busy with work?" Noel asked as Makoto couldn't help but chuckle hearing that. "What about you Noel? You said you were in big trouble yourself. Did you do something that you ran to Kagutsuchi? Hmmm?" Makoto questioned, trying to be playful in an attempt to cheer herself up as Noel remained quiet for a bit before sitting down right next to her.

"Well... I'm not running from somewhere to Kagutsuchi but something happened while I was here that caused me to stay here." Noel explained as Makoto couldn't help but raise her eyebrow hearing that. "What do you mean by that?.. you don't sound happy for some reason Noellie." Makoto questioned as Noel twiddled her fingers for a little bit around her bottled water as she closed her eyes for a brief moment, thinking about what she should say to Makoto at this point.

"W-Well... I was given orders by the NOL to apprehend Ragna the Bloodedge who's still here in Kagutsuchi... but something happened while I was here..." Noel said as Makoto couldn't help but feel something was wrong while she spoke those words. "I...To put things simply... I have been through a lot and I don't know what I should do anymore..." Noel said as Makoto simply listened to her as she twiddled her thumbs around her drink.

"Well...if there's anything on your mind right now Noellie... you can just say it to me. I don't mind listening to what you have to say. We are friends after all right?" Makoto asked as she noticed Noel smile hearing that as suddenly she felt Noel hug her tightly. "I...I will I promise...it's just... I'm still trying to digest everything myself so I don't know how I am going to say what I want to say." Noel explained as Makoto placed her chin on her can before realizing something.

"Say Noellie, did you happen to see that big beam of light to hit Kagutsuchi?" Makoto questioned as Noel looked surprised to hear that. "A big beam of light? What do you mean by that?" Noel questioned as Makoto was able to piece together some things from that. "Well... apparently, a huge beam of light struck Kagutsuchi and is causing an uproar with NOL command..." Makoto said as she made up the part about the NOL being thrown into chaos by a beam of light though if she had to take a guess, they were most certainly were.

"N-No not really... I was underneath the city when it all happened..." Noel said as Makoto was beginning to see a bigger picture build in front of her. "You don't think it's Take-Mikazuchi Makoto with the way you're describing how powerful that blast of light was?" Noel said as Makoto's eyes widened hearing that. "You mean that Nox Nyctores which was so powerful it got sealed as quick as it was used during the Dark War?" Makoto questioned as Noel nodded her head at that.

"Looks like the lessons that Tsubaki taught us are still in our heads after all these years." Noel said as Makoto couldn't help but smile at that. "Yeah... Tsubaki's lessons alright. When it was just me, you, Tsubaki and... Hunter..." Makoto said as Noel couldn't help but smile sadly hearing the name Hunter. "Yeah... to think that life was so simple back in those days..." Noel said as both her and Makoto began to reminisce about a different time...a time where things were much simpler...

...Where their paths were much more clear...

FLASHBACK

In the hallowed halls of the Academy, students were expected to study as much as they can before they become fully fledged soldiers of the NOL academy. Thus, in order to make sure their student's minds are sharp, first year students are given an exam after one months worth of studying in the Academy. Thus this first exam was not really well received by the students... especially with Makoto and Hunter as they groaned on their seats in the Library.

"Can you two not moan so loudly? We are in a library after all." Tsubaki said with a stern voice as Makoto and Hunter looked at her with a bit of despair on their faces. "But what kind of school makes their students do an exam one month into their education?! That is so messed up!" Makoto whined loudly as that earned her a couple of hisses at her direction as Tsubaki looked at her sternly. "I mean..I get that it's a general exam to test how much we know but still...isn't that a bit too extreme." Makoto said as Tsubaki sighed and nodded her head.

"Rules are rules Makoto. Now then... have you been taking notes?" Tsubaki asked as this immediately made Makoto whistle a little before shaking her head. "I kinda need a refresher Tsubaki-sensei... So can you..." Before Makoto could finish her sentence, she felt a paper fan immediately descend down upon her head as Tsubaki's eyes immediately narrowed. "You better make sure you study hard for this quiz otherwise I will make sure that you don't get any chestnut parfaits for the next month." Tsubaki threatened as Makoto's face immediately turned to that of terror.

"Noellie! You got to help me! Tsubaki's being a demon again!" Makoto said, hoping Noel would be on her side but noticed that Noel herself was kind of busy with Hunter herself. "This...This doesn't make any sense...how on earth does this equate to this?" Hunter bemoaned, doing mathematics with Noel who was trying her best to help him. "Well.. I noticed that you aren't using the equation correctly... so maybe try changing a few things to get the result you are looking for?" Noel questioned as Hunter placed his head onto the table.

"Hey Makoto want to change topics with me... this math has me all confused." Hunter asked as Makoto simply shook her head hearing that. "Sorry Hunter. If I tried to do those questions myself, I don't think I will survive myself... I am struggling to understand what Take-Mikazuchi is." Makoto complained as Noel immediately picked up her book to try and see if she could find out what Take-Mikazuchi is for Makoto.

"Take-Mikazuchi, The most famous Nox Nyctores, Said to be used during the dark war by the Six Heroes in order to slay the Black Beast. However it's power was too strong and thus it was sealed away somewhere, the knowledge of it's location wiped from existence." Tsubaki explained as Makoto tilted her head hearing that. "Nox Nyctores... There was more than just Take-Mikazuchi right?" Makoto questioned Tsubaki nodded her head.

"Yes, though we don't know the exact number, various Nox Nyctores were created during the dark war but only 9 have been documented so far. They take a massive number of resource, said resources now lost in History." Tsubaki explained as Makoto placed her forehead on the table trying to digest all of what she was hearing. "Besides, these are the general kind of questions a kid at elementary school are expected to know." Tsubaki continued as Makoto nodded her head at the table.

"I know Tsubaki, But I was not put on a scholarship for my smarts but for my physical abilities so give me a break." Makoto complained a bit as Tsubaki simply shook her head. "Why do you think I am giving you a special lesson as a result?" Tsubaki explained as Makoto couldn't complain about that. "You're right Tsubaki... I'll just continue trying to study to the best of my abilities." Makoto said as this briefly took Noel and Makoto out of their little time thinking about the past to talk more about their current predicament.

Noel: Now that I think about it, we spent a lot of days studying at that Library.

Makoto: Yeah... we sure did until the Black Lotus showed up.

Noel: That is true... but for the longest time, life was simple back then. We were just trying to study for an exam and pass it. After that we would have a bit of a break before we would study once again.

Makoto: Yeah... all while me and Hunter died in the process trying to keep up with you two.

Noel: Hehehe. That is true... Hey do you remember when Jin-sempai came to see us while we were studying.

As Noel said those words, Makoto couldn't help but feel a sense of shock suddenly come into her as she remembered that while Jin did show up that day, he was not the only one who did so. "Yeah... and how Tsubaki spent so much time talking with him from time to time?" Makoto said, trying to mask her sadness as she had to remind herself that her memories would be different from her friends... after all, everyone else at this point has forgotten about Sora... Sora Minakaze as the flashback continued from Makoto's perspective.

FLASHBACK

MAKOTO POV

As Noel had said before, Jin would sometimes come to the library to see how we were doing with our studies. This all started when we were first studying for our first exam when we heard him walking towards our desk in the first place while we were studying. "Jin Nii-san!" Tsubaki said with happiness in her voice as she walked up to him and started having a conversation with him. "Hehe, talk about eager to meet with someone huh." I said as I turned to see Noel and Hunter quietly discussing something with each other, probably questions.

As I sighed a little, I looked to see a white haired man, Sora Minakaze, looking through a couple of books as I decided that a little break from the studies was needed. Since this was our first month, we were basically starting to build a friendship as he placed a book back onto the shelf. "What are you doing here Sora?" I questioned as Sora looked at me with a surprised look before scratching the back of his head.

"Well... I am trying to find books about the Dark war. Even though I am a late attendee, I am still being made to attend the exam so I thought it would be good to read up on it." Sora explained as I couldn't help but chuckle and scratch the back of my head hearing that. "Well what do you know, we are doing the same thing... Say, do you want to study with us? It would be better if you had someone you could bounce that knowledge with." I suggested, trying to at least get him acquainted with the others.

Unfortunately, this was when we first me and well... Sora was dealing with his own problems back then... mainly a small bout of Amnesia caused when he caused chaos at the Black Lotus base back then before passing out from blood loss. He was trying to recover from it at the time... not that me or the others were aware of it until much later but that is not important... the important this is that he was a bit reluctant to make friends with us as a result.

"Maybe not... I notice that everyone else is well...busy doing their own studies. I am pretty sure I can manage on my own." Sora said to me as I sighed before looking back at the others before I gathered my books. "Hey you guys don't mind if I do some personal studying for a bit?" I asked as Noel and Hunter simply looked at me with a small smile on ther faces and nodded, understanding that I was probably trying to give them some personal time as I walked back to Sora.

"Well, I am free now, Want to study together?" I suggested as Sora scratched his head before picking up a couple of books from me. "Well at least let me carry some of them for you... so you don't break your back doing so." Sora said as I was about to say something witty in return before I paused, thinking about what that actually meant as he simply shook his head. "Trust me... maybe consider some back training. I noticed in our fight that you had a bit of a habit of having a hunched back while you attack... Something I thought you should know." Sora explained before he walked towards an empty table while I tried to shake my embarrassment away.

"I don't need you to tell me that..." I mumbled as I took my seat next to him as we began to study together.

As Makoto finished recollecting her thoughts, that was the same time that Noel had done so. "Still...I cannot help but apologize for the times we left you alone... we didn't mean to do so..." Noel explained as Makoto could guess what she meant by that. "It's alright Noellie, I mean you had Hunter and Tsubaki had Jin. You both had guys to spend time with after all." Makoto said as Noel shook her head at that.

"I still have to apologize for doing so... I mean... we left you by yourself in the process..." Noel said, Makoto secretly biting her lips at how she wanted to scream at Noel about a person named Sora Minakaze that she had spent time with. She however had to show restraint as she doesn't know what is going to happen if she tried to force Noel to remember who Sora was. What would be the consequences of doing such an action in the first place.

"It alright... Really Noellie... what's on your mind lately? You seem...rather shook for some reason." Makoto said, having noticed the fact that Noel has yet to open her bottle of water as Noel gulped hearing that. Noel spent some time staying silent before she finally found the courage to say what she wanted to say. "Makoto... a few days ago... I saw Hunter... He changed a lot but it was Hunter! I know it was him!"

It took a little while for Makoto to realize what Noel had said before she immediately began to think about what to say. 'Hunter's alive?.. No that can't be... Hunter's been dead for 2 years now... yet Noel sounds so sure of herself...' Makoto thought as Noel looked at her, her eyes wanting an answer as Makoto knew she had to give that answer to her. Fidgeting a little at her seat, Makoto wondered what she should say as she took a sip of her drink.

"...Are you sure it was him Noel?.. You and me both know he's been dead for two years now..." Makoto said, trying to remain calm and diplomatic as Noel tried to keep her composure around Makoto but was struggling to do so. "I...I know I sound crazy for saying this and I know you probably think that this is all just one big hallucination or dream from my side... but I saw Hunter Makoto! He's alive and well!" Noel said, firmness in his voice as this made Makoto think even more.

'What am I going to do... Noel's probably been dealing with the grief of losing Hunter the longest out of all of us... but what if she's telling the truth? Do I just go with her and confirm that she's not hallucinating?.. But what about Sora in that case? I still have to find him...' Makoto thought as her dilemma began to grow above her. What should she do at this very moment, believe her best friend that one of her other friends that she thought was deceased is actually alive somehow... or dismiss her and try to continue her search for Sora.

'In any other case...I don't think I can make a decision without making sure of everything first...' Makoto thought as she decided that instead of trying to rush for a decision, she should first try and see what is Noel's goal going to be. "So...if Hunter's alive... what are you going to do exactly?" Makoto asked, trying to see what Noel's response would be only for her to remain silent and twiddle her thumbs.

"I...I honestly don't know... I've just recently come to terms that Hunter was dead and suddenly he shows his face to me once again... Honestly how is anyone supposed to react to that?.. I don't know why I feel so...paralyzed by this..." Noel said, clutching her bottled water tightly before opening it and gulping it's contents as quick as she could, trying to relax herself as Makoto didn't try to stop her except pat her back when Noel began to cough a bit from drinking too fast.

"Maybe it's because I am scared of what you are saying is the truth... that I may have hallucinated seeing Hunter in the first place... it felt so dream like in the first place so I don't really know what's true and not anymore... yet at the same time I know it's the truth... I can't deny that truth Makoto..." Noel continued, her words slowly stuttering as she felt fear creep up her neck as she didn't know how she should feel at this moment.

Normally, one should feel joyful that a loved one is actually alive but for Noel.. she didn't feel that way. She had spent the last two years mourning and grieving over the lost of one of her closest friends and boyfriend. For him to suddenly appear out of nowhere when she had finally managed to overcome said grief was not fair in her eyes. It was as if god himself was trying to punish her with the memories of the one she holds dear to her heart and now that fear was leaving her at an crossroads.

Makoto could see the dilemma that Noel was in... in fact it was quite similar to her own dilemma. They both had people that they truly care for yet they didn't what they should do for them. In Noel's case, it was that she had seen Hunter but no one else knows if she's telling the truth. Meanwhile, Makoto has to deal with a similar problem of hers. "Hey Noel... you know Sora right?" Makoto said out loud, hoping to confirm that she was truly the only person who knows about Sora.

"Sora...I'm sorry Makoto who is that?" Noel simply replied as that was all Makoto needed to know as she simply shook her head. "It's nothing Noellie... just a slip of the tongue that's all." Makoto explained, knowing that trying to explain things to her friends would only bring even more confusion her way...and even more questions that will need answers for, answers that she has yet to receive herself.

And just like Noel... Makoto was not sure if her memories are true. If it wasn't for the pendant, she would have started to question Sora's existence just like how Noel was right now. 'Oh who am I kidding. I can't leave Noellie like this... even if I got my own problems.' Makoto thought as she took a deep breath before putting a hand on Noel's shoulder. "Why don't you go and find out?" Makoto said as Noel looked at her with curiosity in her eyes.

Noel: Huh? Go and find out?

Makoto: Yeah. There's no point sitting around here and doing nothing. If you believe Hunter's alive... then you should go and find him straight away and make sure of that.

Noel: But what about you Makoto? Are you going to be alright while I do that?

Makoto: hehe. Don't worry about good old me. I always keep my eyes out. Besides, I got my own thing to do anyways so it's better if we split up to do our stuff

Noel: Sure... so where do we meet exactly?

Makoto: How about here at the same time right now? It's the most obvious spot since it's near the port and we can just head here straight away.

Noel: I see... should I tell Tsubaki about this?

The moment Noel mentioned Tsubaki, Makoto felt a chill crawl down her neck. "Maybe don't contact her right now... All I can say is, Tsubaki's here in Kagutsuchi... but she's here with Meifang LapisLazuli." Makoto warned as Noel immediately froze hearing that name. "You don't mean the leader of the Zero Squadron... then that means Tsubaki's..." Before Noel could finish her sentence, Makoto simply nodded her head as she stood up.

"If you're in trouble just like me, chances are, they will be together at all times and if they are, while Tsubaki might hesitate... I don't think Meifang will... I am saying this as your friend... if you see Tsubaki or Meifang... run away alright. You do not want to fight against either of them..." Makoto warned as Noel understood the meaning behing the warning. 'Tsubaki's still our friend... we can possibly talk it out with her... but if she's with that woman I should be very careful not to meet up with her.' Noel thought as she stood up as well.

"Alright Makoto I think I know what I must do now Makoto..." Noel said, her voice still a bit shaky but a determination simply burned within her. "That's good to hear Noellie. You better take care of yourself now. I don't want to come in and see you crying again like the old times." Makoto joked, trying to lighten the mood as Noel blushed a bit hearing that. "I've grown up you know... I am not the same Noel you once knew, I am a completely different and changed person I swear." Noel retorted as the girls simply giggled as Makoto was getting ready to head off first before Noel placed her hand on her right shoulder.

"Huh? Is something the matter Noellie?" Makoto wondered as she turned around to see Noel... standing still for a brief moment as her eyes glowed blue, terrifying Makoto a bit as she swore that Noel's eyes were bright green. Worse yet, she couldn't help but be reminded of the pictures she saw of Noel in that test tube with Relius in the picture, something she still cannot forget no matter how much she tried to do so as Noel simply continued to look at her before snapping to her senses, her eyes returning back to the green hue.

"...If...If there's anything wrong...Anything at all that I or anyone else can help you with... please don't hesitate to call out for us. I swear that we will help you regardless of how busy we are." Noel explained as Makoto wondered if this was Noel's attempt to try and give her some comfort. "I...I will Noellie. Don't worry... I promise if there's anything on my mind... unless I can't do so, I will let you know." Makoto said, giving Noel relief as with those two words, they silently walked away from each other, no longer needing to say any other words to each other as much was already said at that point, they both knew what they had to do and their respective tasks...

...As soon, night slowly turned to light.

As Night turned to Morning, Sora slowly rose from his slumber. How much sleep did he manage to get in the first place? That did not matter however as Sora knew he had a busy day ahead of him. 'First of all, find Makoto Nanaya... after that who knows but I should at least focus on that.' Sora thought as he stretched a lot, trying to relieve himself of any unnecessary stress that he might have gained from sleep. Looking at the window, Sora wondered if he should take a look at what is going on outside.

'I probably should take a look outside. I mean it would not hurt to do so.' Sora thought as he slowly stood up, his hand slowly reaching out to open the window as he felt something strange hit him for a moment as it was a sickening feeling, as if something was trying to trap him in the first place. The feeling he had in his gut simply refused to leave as he stepped away from the window, coughing heavily to expunge the sick feeling he was feeling at that moment.

As soon as he did that, a loud shriek could be heard outside as Sora immediately looked outside to see what was going on. What his eyes saw next... was something he couldn't believe he was seeing. 'What...the fuck.' Sora thought as immediately, his blood ran cold and sweat dripped down his forehead as his feet trembled at what he was seeing. Sora Minakaze...just bore witness to Jin Kisaragi... being stabbed in the chest by Tsubaki Yayoi.

"J-Jin...Nii-san." Tsubaki said in a near monotone voice as Jin struggled to register what had just happened to him as he placed his bloody hand right on the wrist that held the blade of the Izayoi... the blade that the Yayoi family has used for years was not used to stab the heir of the Kisaragi family, owner of a Nox Nyctores as Jin struggled to remain on his feet. "Tsu..Baki." Jin said before his feet finally gave way and he dropped to the ground, a pool of blood forming where his body laid as Sora immediately went into action, running towards the Rev Blade resting on the table as he hastily readied his equipment and rushed downstairs to confront Tsubaki.

As His feet touched the top of the stairs, another strange sensation struck him. His stomach felt like it was getting knots turned around as he fought through the sensation and allowed his feet to continue on true, walking towards the front door to confront Tsubaki about what she had just done. Just what had she done? Why would she stab the person that she clearly had feelings for? Why would she shun away her feelings of love just to murder him in cold blood.

"Just why would you do such a thing...TSUBAKI!" Sora screamed inside as he opened the front entrance of the candy store as had as he could but the scene was completely different from what he was looking at just a few minutes ago. Gone was Jin lying on the ground in a pool of his blood but him sitting down on a bench next to an Ikarugan with an interesting scar on his face, a 55 inch nail with a red cloth strapped behind his back as their heads turned towards his direction as time for that moment simply paused for Sora.

'What...the fuck am I even witnessing.' Sora thought, unaware he had just experienced phenomena intervention and he was unaffected by it. To him, he thought that he was simply under a powerful hallucination ars magus spell casted onto him by someone. But the longer he stood still, the more he realized that this was reality he was looking at... not a dream as if what he saw was going to happen, he had to stop it from happening.

"Jin! You and your friend need to get the hell out of here right now!" Sora yelled, only to be taken by surprise when Jin looked at him confused rather than the usual calm and cool expression he normally gave him. "Umm... is something the matter sir? I would suggest putting down your weapon and maybe getting yourself something to eat. It's rather early in the afternoon and lunch is coming soon." The 55 inch nail man said as Sora looked at him even more confused before looking back at Jin.

"Come on Jin! You and your friend need to go right now!" Sora yelled, trying to get the severity of the situation in Jin's head, trying to warn him of his sudden and impending death. However Jin simply continued to look at him with confusion as he stood up from his seat, allowing Sora to see that he had a bit of a limp in his form as he simply stared at him in the eyes. "I'm sorry... Who are you?" Jin said, a coldness in his voice as Sora couldn't believe what he had just heard.

"Are you kidding me right now Jin? It's me! Sora!" Sora yelled, walking towards Jin as Jin simply continued to look at him with the same confusion given to him. "I apologize, I do not know a Sora in my whole life." Those words that Jin said cut straight through Sora's heart as he couldn't believe what he had just heard. "Are you serious right now? Jin! We have no time for games right now!" Sora yelled, simply shocked by the way that Jin was treating him like a damn stranger.

Even if he and Jin have not talked to each other in the past two years, they still knew each other well enough that Sora had expected at least some sort of friendly gesture from the man, not this cold reception he was currently recieving as he shook his head, ignoring the treatment he was receiving. "JIN! YOU NEED TO GET OUT OF HERE RIGHT NOW! TSUBAKI'S COMING HERE TO KILL YOU!" Sora yelled, shocking Jin when he heard those words.

But before either men could say another word. Another pair of footsteps approached their direction. Sora could feel his blood chill the moment his head turned and he saw who was approaching their very direction. "No... Not right now..." Sora simply uttered as he was staring at a red haired woman who wore a bizarre white uniform with a large hat that had an eye right in the middle. This was the last thing Sora wanted as the woman... Tsubaki Yayoi simply said a few words.

"Jin Nii-sama?"

GREETINGS LOST SHEEP OF FANFICTION!? HOW IS EVERYONE DOING IN THIS FINE DAY!? And I know... a cliffhanger? Really? At the one moment that you would not want a cliffhanger. It may be writing 101 but it's writing 101 for good reason... that and I have recently just finished with my assignment work so I have been trying to take it easy as a result.

IN ANY OTHER CASE!? WHAT IS GOING TO HAPPEN NEXT!? WHY DID TSUBAKI YAYOI STAB JIN KISARAGI IN THE CHEST!? WILL SORA REALIZE WHAT ON EARTH IS GOING ON IN THE WORLD!? AND JUST HOW WILL HE ACT WHEN HE COULDN'T PREVENT TSUBAKI FROM MEETING WITH JIN!? Well... in any other case, all we can do is simply watch on and see where the path goes next.