Ok before I even get into the recap I need to get something off my chest. What I'm about to say may contain spoilers to Central Fiction, but I'm pretty sure you all already know. That ending for Central Fiction was so bittersweet. Like come on man all the crap he's been through and you let everyone forget about him and then leave a cryptic ending. Come on Mori…
I mean sure Ragna and Rachel had their little moment all be it that they needed it, but they were cock blocked afterwards. Hell I mean the game ended with Ragna forgetten, Nu comatose, Rachel crying and his sword vanishing. In all seriousness even though I knew Ragna had a one in a million chance of surviving I wish he did survive. They should've pulled that Blazblue magic and found someway for him to stay. They have a saying that somethings are just best left forgotten, but damn that was brutal. Well at the end Rachel said she'd see him again and I just hope that comes to pass, because my god her crying was a bit hard to watch. Well before people get pissed off for my rambling it's time to get started!
Saya: I hope brother is ok.
Makoto: Ah don't worry about him. Celica's with him I'm sure he's fine.
Saya: Maybe I should've stayed with him.
Rachel: Do not fret over that idiot. His own stubbornness led to this.
Kagura: Damn that's brutal. I thought you loved the guy.
Rachel: Say that again and no healing magic alive will fix what I do to you.
Kagura: Damn your scary…
Jin: Let's make this quick and continue.
Tsubaki: We finally entered one of those fractured worlds and fought Terumi.
Kokonoe: But that bastard was much stronger than I thought he'd be.
Noel: Your right about that. I felt helpless, I'm sorry.
Saya: No don't apologize Noel it's ok.
Tsubaki: We weren't ready that's all.
Makoto: Yeah! Next time we'll knock that son of a bitch right on his ass.
Izanami: So I see that you all could not win against him.
Kagura: Holy shit where did you come from!?
Izanami: I just arrived here. So Ragna is still resting?
Saya: Yeah. Celica is taking care of him right now.
Izanami: I see. Well I wish you all the best of luck.
*she disappears*
Rachel: Alright then. I think we've talked for long enough.
Makoto: Start the chapter!
Chapter 9: A free week
Ragna opens his eyes to find himself floating in a pitch black void. "So I'm here again." Ragna sighed and closes his eyes. His eyes soon open as he hears a girl laughing. He looks behind to see a girl with blond hair smiling at him. "It's you again."
"Yep, the one and only!"the girl says with in a happy go lucky tone. "Well it seems like it didn't go as planned."
Ragna sighs. "Yeah, so you saw all of that obviously."
"Yeah I saw it all. Well you all did better than I thought you would."
"We did better? We got our asses handed to us." Ragna groans.
"Well it's not like you all could've defeated him with the strength you poses right now."Ragna scratches his head. The girl stares at him as Ragna raises a brow.
"Um, you ok?"
"Yeah I'm alright. I'm just happy to see you after so long."
"What do you mean by that? Oh yeah, how do you know me?" Ragna asks.
"I think that's something you'll find out later on." The girl smiles.
"Your being as cryptic as that stupid rabbit." Ragna sighs.
"A girls gotta have her secrets!"the blond says.
"Really now…?" Ragna face palms. "I can't believe this…"
"Well I think it's time you wake up now. So I'll see you later Ragna."
"Alright then, I'll see you later then." He waves goodbye to the girl as her image becomes faded and distorted. Next thing he knows he's in a dark room. He blinks a couple times and looks over to his right and sees some moonlight coming in from the curtains. "So it's night time? But who's house is this?" Ragna gets up and walks downstairs.
As he walks down to the kitchen he realizes who's house he was in. "This is Celica and Kokonoe's house. That's right, they brought me here." Ragna goes into the fridge to get some water. He takes a small glass from their cabinet and pours out some water and puts the water back. He turns around as he hears someone coming downstairs.
It was only Kokonoe wearing pink pajamas with cats on them and white cat paw shaped slippers. "So you finally decided to wake your ass up and your raiding my fridge?"
"Listen," Ragna groans. "I was thirsty. Bug off."
"Whatever. Anyway you feeling alright? You got your ass handed to you and was severally injured." Kokonoe asks.
"Yeah I feel much better. Gotta thank Celica later. But what are you doing up?"
Kokonoe walks over to the cabinet and takes out a coffee cup with a cat on it. She goes into the fridge and takes out a jug of milk and pours it into her cup. "I couldn't sleep, so I thought I'd get my ass some warm milk and I swear to god if you say "Is it because you're a cat?" I'll kick your ass."
Ragna scratches his head "I wasn't going to. No need to be so defensive." Kokonoe sighs as she enters two minutes onto the timer of the microwave.
"Yeah sorry about that. I'm a little defensive about my beastkin blood."
"A reason for that or are you just naturally bitchy?"
"No. First of all, shut up. Second of all, I got picked on so much in school as a kid so it's kind of second nature to me now."
"You were picked on?" Ragna asks. 'Welp shit, now I feel like the biggest dick on the planet. No pun intended.'
"Yeah, as soon as they saw I was a beastkin they treated me like I was some freak. It didn't matter if I belonged to one of the few families that can use magic or my father was a famous bounty hunter. All that mattered was that I was a beastkin." She takes out her warm milk and sits at the table. Ragna follows her and sits right next to her as she asks curiously. "What are you doing?"
"Well I figured you want to talk a little. I wouldn't mind hearing your story you know." Ragna says as Kokonoe chuckles.
"So what you want to hear it cause you pity me?"
"No I don't pity you, I want to help you."
"Why do you want to help me? Doesn't make sense, like you should care about me." Kokonoe sips her milk.
"Is it wrong to help a friend?"
"To help a friend huh?"
"Yeah and also, I can understand what your going through a little."
"You understand? How?" Kokonoe raises a brow. "Were you bullied?"
Ragna shakes his head. "No I wasn't, but Jin was."
"He was? By who?" Kokonoe asks.
"His family."
"His family bullied him?"
"Yeah. When I first joined the Kisaragi house I was placed in the same house as Jin and Saya. How the two were treated was completely different. Saya was treated like some princess while Jin wasn't even acknowledged as a person. Saying it was hard to watch is an understatement." He continues. "One day I saw his cousins bullying him and it made me sick!"
"So what did you do? Even though I can guess what it is you did." Kokonoe says with a slight chuckle under her breath.
"Yep, I beating the ever loving shit out of them." Ragna says with a chuckle. His smile soon faded as his voice lowered a little. "But do you know what hurt after that?"
"What did?" Kokonoe asked curiously as Ragna says.
"He asked me "Why did you help me? It's not like I'm worth anything.". When he said that I felt like I was about kick their asses again."
"So he wasn't always like he was now. But why did they bully him?" Kokonoe asks.
"Back then, Jin didn't have much aptitude for arsmagus like he does now and his parents looked down on him for that. But Saya, unlike Jin, had an amazing aptitude for arsmagus so she was treated with more respect leaving Jin to fend for himself." Ragna groans. "The Kisaragi family doesn't care about family ties. All that want is power."
"Damn, that had to be tough." Kokonoe says.
"It was…" Ragna sighs. "So I decided that I was going to keep him safe. I didn't want to see him cry anymore."
"You just met the kid and you wanted to protect him? Look at you, already acting like a big brother. So looks like you act tough on the outside but you're a big old softy on the inside."
"Yeah… I just couldn't see family acting like that towards each other."
"Is there a reason for that?" Kokonoe asks.
"Yes there is. After my family died I was lost and alone. Then Jubei came along and saved me. Even gave me a new family. But when I saw how they acted towards Jin I couldn't stand it. Family is important, you don't treat them like shit!" he clenches his fist as Kokonoe starts to get the bigger picture.
'He saw his family die. So now he can't stand to see family fight amongst themselves. I guess that makes sense, he knows how it feels to truly lose everything.'
"So I told you a story, now it's time for you to share." Ragna says.
"You really want to hear me out?" Kokonoe grins and looks into her cup. "This shit could take all night, it's kind of a lengthy story and not very entertaining."
"Kokonoe," A warm smile comes onto his face as he says in a tender tone. "I've got all night."
"Alright you asked for it jackass." She let out a chuckle as she began. "As you know, beastkin aren't really well liked by a lot of people. We're considered monsters and freaks by others and not even human by some people's standards. But let me tell you, school was a living hell."
"Where did you guys live at the time?" Ragna asks.
"Kagutsuchi." Kokonoe answers.
"Why would you all live there? I mean Kagutsuchi is…"
"I know, it's a dangerous rat infested piece of shit. Still, that's where the Kaka clan lived and where my mother and father got married."
"What!?" Ragna's eyes widen. "Are you serious!? They got married there?"
"Yeah, so they bought a house and soon after that Celica and I came along." Kokonoe continues. "When we enrolled in school Celica was alright. She had no problems, but of course since I inherited my father's beastkin blood I got the full brunt of those racist assholes."
"So what did you do?" Ragna asks as Kokonoe sighs and takes another gulp of her milk.
"Nothing really. I tried to ignore them. I would get into fights all the time and always come home with scrapes and scratches."
"Did you tell Nine or Jubei?" Ragna asks in a concerned voice.
"No I didn't."
"Why? I'm sure they would've done something." Ragna says.
"Oh they would've done something alright…"
Ragna heard her rather sarcastic tone as he thinks about it and realizes why she didn't tell them. "Oh wait, I see why you never told them."
"Yep." Kokonoe nods "If they found out they would've burned the whole school to the ground and massacred all the students and teachers there. It would've turned into a bloodbath."
"Did they ever find out?" Ragna asks.
"Yeah. Years later they found out, but it was too late so they couldn't do anything."
"Bastards!" Ragna grits his teeth. "The hell do they know!? I hate racist fucking assholes like that!"
"This world…can be a very cruel place to live in." Kokonoe says.
"Hah," Ragna sighs. "Your tellin' me. This world of ours is a messed up one." Silence
Silence takes up the two as all that was heard was the occasional winds knocking on the window. Ragna and Kokonoe both knew that this world was far from perfect and down right cruel. Just living is a matter of survival is one way to put it. "Well the past is the past. As fucked up as it might be, it's my life."
"Hey Kokonoe, can I ask you something?"
"Yeah sure, what is it?"
"Well it might be a little off topic, but it's about your mom, Nine. You act a little distant from her, unlike Celica it seems like you almost resent her when you speak to her. Do you hate her?"
Kokonoe shakes her head. "Of course not you idiot. I could never hate her. She's my mother."
"Then why?"
"It's because of her magic."
"Her magic? What's the problem with it?" Ragna asks.
"No, not hers in particular just magic in general. I hate it, all of it. All it does is cause destruction." Kokonoe says.
"Even healing magic?" Ragna asks sarcastically. Kokonoe lightly punches him in the arm and groans.
"Don't be a smart ass."
"Alright, but still why do you hate magic so much?"
"When I was in elementary school I got into this huge ass fight with a bunch of kids. They started to provoke me so I tried my best to ignore them. Then they started to make fun of Celica and I lost it." Komonoe sighs and closes her eyes. "I severely burned them all and they were rushed to the hospital." She puts her head down and opens her eyes. "They were then rushed to the ER… God knows what could've happened if the paramedics were even a second late."
"Hold on you can use magic?" Ragna asks. 'You'd think I'd know about that…'
"Yeah I can, I just don't. I'd rather science over magic or even arsmagus."
"Why?" Ragna asks curiously.
"Do you remember the Naobi port incident?" Kokonoe asks.
"Yeah," Ragna nods. "I think a generator exploded and killed over three hundred people. I heard it rained for days on end because of something in the machine went up into the air. I didn't really get it."
"Yeah… I was there when the explosion happened and I barely survived."
"What!? Kokonoe are you serious!?"
"Yeah I am. We went there to visit a friend, but I got separated from my family. While I was walking this lady helped me out and took me to an NOL reception station. As soon as we reached the station the generators that powered the arsmagus weather controls blew up. A bright light engulfed the whole port, but I felt something push me." Kokonoe says.
"Something?" Ragna asks.
"I guess in this case it wasn't something, it was someone." Kokonoe's clenches her fist and continues. "The explosion came from the port all the way up to the central district. I was knocked unconscious. When I came too, the entire port was on fire and the woman who helped me was crushed under a mountain of rocks and rubble. She was lying in the same spot I was standing in…"
"She saved you…"
"Yeah, she saved my life, but at the cost of hers. I wasn't in good condition though... My right leg was broken and I had a large gash on my right arm. All the blood came rushing down and I started to pass out again. Before I could though I felt my energy coming back to me. I turn to see Celica healing me and my mother and father trying their best to keep me awake." Kokonoe sighs. "Afterwards I was admitted into the hospital. Of course it hit the news and arsmagus vessels were put on hold. I later found out that I was the only survivor…"
"Kokonoe…"
"If only I just listened to my mother's instructions! Now because of me that woman is dead."
"So that's why you…"
"It's hard to get over and one hell of an experience. Magic and arsmagus, even though they are powerful has a shit ton of risks to its use. Those faults can't be fixed by just turning a wrench, you have to rewrite the entire sequence and that could take weeks. Imagine if one of the city power generators just stopped working. It would be weeks till we would get some damn power. Hell, the barrier protecting the lower levels so that seither doesn't get in, what happens if that fucked up?"
"I guess I see your point."
"So anytime I see my mother use magic I just get worried something will happen. Even Celica I can't look at without distain. It's pretty pathetic right?"
"It's your beliefs Kokonoe, I won't call you out on what you believe in. You can't think the same as everyone else. There wouldn't be a point in living if that how society worked." Ragna says as Kokonoe's expression turns into that of shock hearing what he said. "So don't feel guilty about it. We've all got our own problems."
"I guess your right…" Kokonoe breathes. "So I guess that's all really. Thanks for listening to this boring ass story of mine."
"Don't worry, I was happy to listen." Ragna says as they put their glasses in the sink. Kokonoe's expression turns into that of a sadder one. She looks down to the floor and closes her eyes. "It should've been me damn it…" the beastkin grits her teeth. "I should've been the one not her..."
"Don't say that to Kokonoe." Ragna says as he hugs her which causes her cheeks to grow pink.
"H-Hey! What the hell are you doing!?"
"Just shut up and listen." Ragna says. Kokonoe was about to speak as she opened her mouth, but soon closed it back and went silent. "If you believe you should've have been the one to die then all that means is that woman died for nothing. She wanted you to live, so live. Besides… Celica would be crying to this day for you if you weren't here with us. Nine and master too…"
"Thanks Ragna, I appreciate it."
Ragna let's go of her and walks out. Before he reached the door he turns to Kokonoe. "Don't hold your feelings back. I promise you it only hurts you in the end." He sounded serious, like he knew that from experience. She felt the weight of the words he spoke. "You know, if you want to talk about anything just come and find me. I'll be willing to listen to you." Ragna smiles.
"I think I'll take you up on that." Ragna waves to her as he starts to walk out. Kokonoe run to catch him and grabs his shirt. Ragna turns to her and raises a brow.
"What's up? You need something again?"
"No," she shakes her head. "I just want to show you something. I've been working on something and I want to show it to you. You said I can come to you for anything so I…" she feels her face starting warm up as she slowly let's go of him. "No, never mind it's nothing." Kokonoe starts to walk off, but was stopped before she even took a step. She felt something grabbing her hand as she turns to see it was Ragna's hand. His hand was nothing like she expected. It hand was warm, soft and comforting.
"You said you wanted to show me your invention right? So let's go, lead the way."
Kokonoe was stunned and at a loss for words. All she could do at that moment was nod and motions him to follow her to the basement. They walked down the seemingly normal stairs into a huge workshop filled with half finished projects and tools. Ragna takes a look around. "This place wasn't always so big. I had to increase its size for my own personal use." Still in shock that this is actually a person's basement, but it was Kokonoe so anything was possible with her. The beastkin motions him to follow as she opens a large hatch leading further underground. It was like something out of an exploration movie as the characters go deeper into the ruins to find lost treasure.
"Well come on Ragna." Kokonoe starts walking down the steps as Ragna follows. They finally reach the end of the stairs as Kokonoe flips the light on. He stares in awe and what was before him. It looked like a devil with human properties. It was large, red and had large fangs. "I call him TR0009 Tager. You can call him Iron Tager as well, but just call him Tager."
"You built this? How…?"
"Who do you think your talking to?" Kokonoe says proudly. "This shouldn't be a surprise for you coming from me. Feast your eyes on the work of a goddess."
"I thought pride was a sin…" Ragna groans under his breath.
"I heard that smart ass." Kokonoe groans. He walks closer to see the robot had on glasses instead of eyes and he was at least four times his size. His muscles alone is enough to smash his head open.
"This is a good way to make men feel inadequate." Ragna says.
"Sadly I don't have enough power to turn him on. The causality weapon I placed in him needs a shit ton of power to start up." Kokonoe sighs.
"Did you say a causality weapon!?"
"Yeah, I got it from my aunt after I showed her this on my fifteenth birthday."
Ragna thinks of what kind of person would give a fifteen year old a weapon with the destructive power of a nox nyctores, but then remembers who it was. He smirks and looks at his arm. 'I really shouldn't be talking about destructive force when I've got the azure.'
"Well this is what I wanted to show you. It's a little nerdy but I've been working on this shit since I was ten and I will get this baby powered up!"
"Not really nerdy. More like impressive. This is a skill probably nobody has at such a young age but you." Ragna praises.
"Well flattery will get you nowhere with me." She walks passed him as Ragna smirks.
"Oh you don't need to tell me."
Kokonoe hits the light switch as the two head upstairs. Ragna and Kokonoe walks to their rooms. "Well at least I was able to show it off to someone."
"You seem really proud when you said that." Ragna says.
"Of course. Every genius needs to show off their creations." Kokonoe smiles. "Thanks for hearing me out. I appreciate it." Kokonoe says in a much softer tone.
"No worries. It was actually kind of cool how you have a giant robot in your basement. I hope you get it to work soon. I'd really like to see how it acts. Wait, but does Nine or Jubei know about that Kokonoe?" her smile fades as her legs started to shake. "No fucking way…"
"Ragna…don't you dare tell them." Kokonoe's face was filled with worry.
"Do you have any idea to what master will do to you!? Oh crap if Nine found out about this she'd…!" fear took them both over. They both shiver as they remember what Nine did to them the last time they tried to hide something from her.
"I couldn't walk straight for a week…" Kokonoe groans.
"You got it easy! I couldn't SEE straight for three weeks! Your mom is crazy!" Ragna sighs. "Well still, if there's anything I can help you with then ask."
"Well you've helped me clear my head. So there's nothing else I need to ask you for."
"See, so you did want to talk." Ragna chuckles.
"You could say that. Not very good at conveying my emotions remember." They stop in front of his room door as Ragna says.
"This is where I get off. I'll see you tomorrow Kokonoe."
"Wait!"
Ragna turns to her and raises a brow. "Something else?"
"Yes. I wanted to thank you for tonight." 'Oh god what am I saying!?'
Ragna's eyes widen in shook as he stares at her carefully "Your thanking me? Who the hell are you and where's Kokonoe?"
"Shut up asshole!"
"You don't have to thank me alright. It was my pleasure."
"Well I still need to thank you." 'Oh come on just do it Kokonoe! Oh fuck it all!' Kokonoe gulps and grabs his shirt. "Ragna!" she brings him closer to her and smashes her lips against his. Ragna's eyes widen to the sudden contact and as quickly as she pressed her lips on his she separates just as fast. Kokonoe slowly let's go of his shirt as she down as she began to fidget with her fingers. "Well I've never kissed anyone so I'm not sure if that was alright."
Ragna shakes his head. "No that was fine! Your lips were nice and very soft!" Kokonoe didn't say anything as Ragna got a good look at her face. Her cheeks were flushed and he could hear her groaning slightly. "Your actually really cute…"
"W-Wha—!? Don't say that you idiot!"
"Oh shit! Sorry I was just saying what was on my mind! I mean your blushing and acting like this it just reminds me of how cute you can be and I've gotta say it's working wonders!"
"What!?" Kokonoe's face turns blood red as she shouts. "You damn moron!"
"Damn it, my bad! I'm not trying to make this awkward. But…"
"But what?"
"Why did you think that the best way to thank me was to kiss me?"
"That's what came to mind alright! I didn't know what else and that just popped in my head!" when she said that all that did was make the situation more awkward as an awkward silence took them up. With a forced laugh she waves. "I'll just go to bed now! See ya later haha!" Kokonoe turns to walk away leaving a confused Ragna.
"What the hell just happened…?"
Kokonoe opens her door and heads inside the room. She closes it and throws herself on the bed and stares up at the ceiling. As she lay awake her thoughts go to one man and how she kissed him "Why did I do that…?" her thoughts ran a thousand miles a minute in her head as she remembers his warm embrace, his words and gentle touch. Her heart started to beat faster and her face became hotter. "No freaking way! Am I…?" she shakes the thought out of her head "No, I couldn't have fallen for that idiot." Kokonoe sighs. 'That dumbass! Had to go and say all that!' she closes her eyes. "Idiot..."
Morning comes by as Ragna wakes up to the sunlight entering his room. He gets up and stretches as Celica walks in all dressed in her school uniform. She runs to him and hugs. "Ragna are you ok!?"
"Don't worry I'm alright. Thanks for the healing Celica."
"No problem! Glad I could help." Celica smiles wide.
"Hey um question but, where's my clothes?" Ragna asks as Celica point to the closet.
"Don't worry Saya, Ms. Rachel and Mr. Valkenhayn washed them and came over and dropped off your clothes and your sword. But in the meantime go get ready. There is a spare toothbrush in the cabinet in the bathroom."
Ragna nods and thanks her as he walks out to the bathroom. He opens the door to see Kokonoe brushing her teeth. As soon as she sees him her face turns bright red as she starts to choke. "Kokonoe are you alright?" Ragna asks as Kokonoe washes her mouth.
"You just scared the shit out of me! Don't do that crap." Kokonoe snarls as Ragna rolls his eyes.
"Ok now," he turns his head both ways. "Where's that cabinet?" He looks around the bathroom, wondering where it was. Kokonoe points to the cabinet and gives him the toothbrush and toothpaste. He takes them and slivers some on his brush and begins to brush his teeth. Kokonoe looks at him and remembers what he said to her. 'Damn it. What's wrong with me?'
Ragna spits out the toothpaste and washes his mouth to see Kokonoe staring at him. "Kokonoe, the hell are you doing?" Ragna asks as Kokonoe is snapped back to reality.
"Nothing why?"
"You're staring at me." Ragna says as Kokonoe blushes.
"I wasn't staring at you! I was staring outside."
Ragna squints his eyes. "Oh really now?"
"Yes really! Now move, I gotta get ready." Kokonoe says as she starts to walk out and trips on a piece of the rugs that hung up from the floor. She trips as Ragna tries to catch her and ends up falling right along with her.
Ragna groans as he tries to get up and ends up touching something soft. 'The hell is this?' Ragna thinks to himself. He squeezes it a couple times as he hears a moan. 'Holy crap this is pretty soft…' he squeezes it again and heard another moan. 'Wait a minute…!' He breaks out in a sweat and looks to see himself on top of Kokonoe. 'Oh shit… Wait…' he takes a look at her face and noticed something was wrong. 'Hold on, normally she would have started to kick my ass right now.' As Kokonoe looks up at him Ragna thinks to himself. 'She really is cute.'
Kokonoe looks into his emerald, ruby eyes as her cheeks turned dark pink. 'What is going on with me!? I should've kicked his ass by now! But…' they just stare at each other as they said nothing. Kokonoe groans and says in an embarrassed, soft voice "Um…you can get off me anytime now Ragna." Ragna is snapped back to reality as he quickly gets up.
"Oh shit! My bad Kokonoe I didn't mean to do that!" she gets up after him as she covers her chest with her arms
"Ragna…"
"Uh…yeah?"
"You're a fucking pervert."
"What!? How in the HELL does that work!?"
Kokonoe walks out, leaving Ragna stunned and confused. She walks into her room and takes a couple of quick and deep breaths. "Ragna…you're an idiot…"
Ragna gets ready and meets Celica and Kokonoe downstairs at the door to head off. As they made their way to school Ragna asks Kokonoe "Why the hell are we walking to school so early?"
"My father broke us into the habit of if the sun rises, get your ass out of bed." Kokonoe sighs.
"It comes in handy when we're rushing to go somewhere. So gotta thank him for that one." Celica says.
"But to wake up at the ass crack of dawn. I understand, but damn this isn't the wilderness." Ragna sighs. "He really lives the outdoors…"
They finally make it to school to see a bunch of kids still waiting outside. "Shit, we are way to early."
Celica shakes her head. "No, this is the time we always get here. We've got twenty minutes so let's just go up to class and relax for now."
"So you guys always get here this early in the damn morning?" Ragna asks as Kokonoe nods and starts to shiver.
"Besides…it's not like she can give you an ass whopping if your late."
"She does that!?"
"Yes." Celica nods. "One day in middle school we both didn't want to get up and father found us still sleeping. He tried to get us to school as fast as possible and shield us from mother when we got home, but the school called."
"I have never been so scared to look at her in my entire life. I heard father begging for help all night that night. It was fucking terrible…"
"So that's why you two don't lie or keep secrets from her. If you do she'll kill you."
"Let's just get to class. I don't want to think about that right now…"
They make their way to their class to see some kids talking in the back as Nine prepares herself for class. Nine looks at them enter. "Well, I guess someone finally decided to wake up. How you feeling?"
"I'm alright. Gotta thank Celica for that." Ragna says as Celica smiles.
"Alright, well take a seat. Class will start soon."
They nod and goes to sit in their respective chairs. Ragna hears the door slide open as he turns around to see Saya running towards him as she tackles him. "Brother your ok! Thank god." Saya starts to squeeze him tighter.
"S-Saya…I…c-cant breath…!" Ragna chokes out.
"Oh!" Saya gasps as she quickly let's go of him. "Oh I'm sorry! I'm just so happy!"
"Brother are you sure your alright?" Jin asks.
"Yeah I'm fine. Just a few broken bones by Saya but I'll be alright." Saya pouts as Ragna pats her on the head.
"Why does the commotion start with you?" Nine sighs.
"How the hell are you blaming me right now!?" Ragna asks in a irritated voice as he hears the bell. Kids start walking into the classroom and up and down the halls.
"Alright get your asses in your seats so we can start." They all go to their respective seats as all the kids take their seats. Nine picks up a piece of chalk and says. "Alright. Today we'll be discussing the history of Ikaruga."
Nine begins writing a bunch of notes on the board as the class starts to discuss the topic. But Ragna's mind was somewhere else as he kept thinking about that strange girl. He rests his hand on his chin and sighs as Rachel takes notice of him. 'Now what is he thinking about.' Rachel thinks to herself as she notices Ragna is wearing a slightly confused expression on his face.
'That girl, just who is she really?' Ragna thinks to himself as he remembers how the girl looked. She looked exactly like Saya and Noel, but with red eyes instead of emerald. Those eyes reminded him of someone he once knew. Memories of her come rushing in as he smirks 'She was always smiling and laughing. Clinging to me and acting like a damn idiot.' His focus goes back to that strange girl as class drones on. He can't seem to get her out of his head. 'Is that girl really suppose to be some kind of monster?' Ragna shakes his head. 'No use bitching about it now.'
"Ok so after the war and the leader of the federation, Tenjo was slain the NOL basically wrapped the war up and claimed victory over the federation." The bell rings signaling the end of class. Nine puts down the chalk "Alright everyone break. Since it's Friday I won't be giving any homework."
"Yes!" one of the boys says as she walks out. Ragna, still in his own little world doesn't even realize class has ended. Celica walks up to him and knocks on the desk. Ragna jolts a little and looks up at her.
"Ragna, are you ok? You seem kind of out of it today."
"Don't worry I'm alright. Just thinking." Ragna says.
"Has the heavens finally blessed you with the ability to think? My word, looks like your mind has finally developed enough for that. Next you'll be using the proper spoon." Rachel says.
"I don't need your shit right now rabbit. Piss off."
"Well while you two shoot the shit, I'm getting something to eat." Kokonoe waves to them and walks out.
"Alright come on guys. You know how grumpy she can get when she's kept waiting." Kagura says as they all walk out after her. They walk into the cafeteria to see the line shorten "Alright. I guess I don't need to go to the store this time."
"I shall return shortly." Rachel says.
"Ms. Rachel, where are you going?" Noel asks. Rachel turns to her "I am going to my house to pick up something. No need to wait for me." Ragna walks off onto the line "No need to tell me twice."
Rachel teleports as the rest follow him on line. They all get their foods and finds an empty table to eat at. "Well, at least the food here isn't complete shit." Ragna says.
"Yeah," Makoto nods in agreement. "I remember in elementary school that the lunch was gross. They just slapped a huge ball of mystery meat on your tray and called it lunch." Makoto shivers at that memory as Tsubaki laughs.
"Yeah, she tasted it and threw up. Not gonna lie, the food was awful."
They turn their head as they look to see Rachel walking in. Celica waves at her as she sits next to Ragna. "Where the hell did you go?"
"I went to get some food from Valkenhayn. Of course he went a bit overboard." Rachel opens her lunch box. It had mutton roast and some other foods that he's never seen before. It was something you'd probably see in a five star restaurant.
"Your telling me he made that for your lunch!?"
"Yes. He has the tendency to go a little overboard at times. His effort is most appreciated however. His cooking is amazing and he is very loyal and unlike a certain slave he has class." Ragna knew who she meant. A vein popped up on his forehead.
"Listen here! I'm not your damn slave!"
"Oh but you are." They all just watch the two argue. Makoto just sighs at the two. They were like an old married couple as Tsubaki could do nothing but laugh. Ragna raises a brow to her as he smelled something very familiar. He looks at Rachel's lunch to see udon at the side. His eyes widen as Rachel looks at what he was staring atm "Why are you staring?"
He puts his hands on her shoulders as the whole table gasped. Rachel blushed a little as Saya pouts. "Rachel I need a favor!"
"Does that favor involve why you are staring at my udon?"
"Yes," he nods his head frantically. "Yes it does! Can you have the old man make me some!? I don't know why or how but you've got these ingredients in your house that I can't get my hands on. You'd be doing me a real solid." He claps his hands together and starts to beg. "Please Rachel!"
"I didn't know he liked udon that much." Jin says.
"Well I guess it wouldn't hurt. It seems you like udon a lot for some odd reason, but since you asked for the first time in your life I shall oblige." Ragna's face lights up in joy. He hugs her tightly as they all watch. She was stunned as Ragna quickly let her go and pumped his fist.
"Ah hell yeah!"
Rachel was still a bit stunned. She felt like her heart was about leap out of her chest. 'Maybe I should bring udon more often…' Her face was bright red as Saya puffs her cheeks. Celica just giggles as she looks at Ragna. It was like he got a new Christmas present. She looks to see Nine walk in and walk towards them.
"What's wrong Nine?" Tsubaki asks.
"Well after everything that's happened Jubei suggested we take you all on a little vacation. So we're planning to go to Kazumotsu for the week." Noel's face lights up in joy. Makoto pumps her fist "Ah yell yeah I'm in!"
"The tourist city hm? I hear they have a wide array of delicious food. I hear their pizza is especially well known." Kagura smiles "Yep! The cheese just melts in your mouth!"
"So you've gone there before?" Kagura nods.
"I've also went there. It's an amazing place! The whole city is basically just one big hotel if you think about." Noel says.
"So you've gone there that many times?" Kokonoe asks.
"No I've only gone their once."
"That's a little hard to believe…" Makoto says. She turns her attention to Nine and asks. "So when are we going?"
"I've was thinking we could leave Sunday at 8:30 in the morning. There's less traffic so we should he able to get there in about two days."
"Doesn't it only take a day by ars magus carrier?" Kokonoe asks.
"Well Jubei wants to drive." Nine says.
"Nice I'm cool with that." Kagura says.
"Road trip!" Makoto pumps her fists.
"We'll just meet in front of my house. Get your things together for Sunday you all." Nine says. With that decided she makes her way out the cafeteria. The bell soon rings as they all go to their separate classes. The day passes by rather slowly as all they could think about was Sunday. They walk home and part ways like usual as Ragna thinks back to the girl in his dreams.
Rachel looks at him as she sees that he was in deep thought as she raises a brow "What are you thinking about Ragna?"
"Huh?" he looks at her as he was snapped out of his trance.
"You were thinking about something in class today and it seems like you were in deep thought. Just what is on your mind?"
"Nothings on my mind. I'm just thinking about what I'll do while I'm there."
"Fine then, don't tell me."
Rachel begins to speed up as Ragna sighs. "That girl… I can never read her." Ragna speeds up to try and catch up with her as Jin and Saya speed up as well. They make it home as Ragna begins dinner. It was nothing fancy really just something quick and easy. The afternoon passes them by as Saturday flies by as well.
The day of the trip arrived as they all meet in front of Nine's house. They look to see a trailer as they walk into it. It was large, nice and clean. The seats look like they were brand new as Kagura looks around surprised "You know, I thought trailers were suppose to be dirty but this place is nice and clean."
"Even though it was already used it seems like the person who drove this took very good care of it." Nine says as they all start to take their seats. Saya sits on Ragna's lap "Um…Saya. You do know there is a seat next to me right?"
"I know, I just want to sit on you brother." Saya makes herself comfortable as he sighs. Rachel, Celica and Kokonoe sit next to each other as Makoto, Noel and Tsubaki sits next to each other. Noel dives it Makoto's tail as she sighs. Kagura and Jin sit next to each other as Jubei gets into the trailer.
"Well are ya kids ready to go?"
They nod as Jubei sits on Nines lap as she blushes a bit. "You DO know there are seats in here right?"
"I do, but your thighs are the best seat a man could ask for." She groans and starts to trailer. "Well just in case you all get hungry I have asked Valkenhayn to prepare some food for us."
"I got to thank him for that later on. Makes this trip shorter, now we don't gotta stop." Nine begins to drive down the block. They turn a couple corners as they finally turn onto the interconnecting highways. The drive was smooth as talks and conversations filled the trailer. "So Nine when we get there how about we continue our session from this morning."
"Why are you so damn horny all the time!?"
"Well Nine it seems like you really want me to finish. We didn't get to since we had to leave so soon, but don't worry, I'll make it up to ya." She said nothing as she continued to drive. Jubei just smirked as he got her right where he wants her.
"My hero." Kagura says in awe.
"Really…" Makoto face palms. The trailer was filled with random conversations and such as night time catches them. It was 10:30 as Nine could hear the snoring in the back. The only ones who seemed to be up were Ragna, Saya and Celica. Noel was sleeping comfortably in Makoto's tail as Tsubaki was sleeping soundly as well. Kagura was out cold as Jin was snoring at the top of his lungs.
Nine goes of an exit and pulls over. She turns the car off and says "Alright I'm gonna catch some sleep. You guys should too."
"Alright then. I'm going on the bed, goodnight." Saya gets off of him and walks over to the bed. Saya joins him as she snuggles up close to him. The trailer erupts in snoring as Ragna fell asleep as well. Saya was still awake however as she turns her head slightly to see Celica. Celica bends down and kisses Ragna on his forehead.
"Goodnight Ragna." She walks back over to her seat as Saya pouts and snuggles closer to him and closes her eyes.
"Well I guess this is interesting." A woman with large breasts wearing a large purple hat and gown with the front of the gown opened up revealing her large cleavage. A man wearing a suit and black vest walks up to her.
"Didn't I tell you I wasn't lying. If only Relius wasn't so stubborn."
"Well he can't help it. I mean he hates you to the center of his soul or whatever's left of it anyway. I mean I hate you too just gonna put that out there." The woman shrugs.
"Wow… I guess sharp tongues run in the family." He sighs as he walks off. "Well I'm gonna go relax. The red light district is just calling my name."
The woman sighs and looks up towards the sky. Memories run through her mind as a slight smile comes across her face "I wonder how my sisters are doing? Haven't really been able to chat with them." She starts to walk off "That mans actions will either lead this world to ruin or redemption? He might be interesting, but the imperator might have stretched it a bit. But either way you've caught my interest..." the woman starts as a smile comes to her face.
"Ragna the Bloodedge."
"Uh…" he blinks his eyes a couple times. He looks to see everyone awake and talking. The sun was up high in the sky as Ragna put his hand in front of his face to block it's gleam. He yawns and gets up. "Well damn I slept late…"
"Oh, your awake now." Ragna turns to see Celica walking over to him. "Hey there sleepy head."
"Hey Celica… Do you know the time?"
"Yeah. It's a bit passed noon." Celica answers.
With a tired grunt he sits up and notices that they weren't moving. He looks to see a lot of cars where backed up. "We've been stuck like this for about ten minutes…" Nine says as she looks ahead to see all the cars have stopped.
"It seems like something happened up the road. By why now damn it." Kokonoe says as Jin sighs.
"Well I guess we'll be here for a while with this traffic." Ragna says as he gets up and goes into the bathroom. As Rachel goes over to Nine, Kokonoe taps on Celica.
"Hey, Celica I gotta tell you something."
"Tell me something? What is it?" Celica asks curiously as Kokonoe's face turns red. She fidgets with her fingers and sighs.
"I think we may have a…problem."
"Are you ok Kokonoe? Your not really the one to beat around the bush like this." Celica says.
"I think I might…"
"Might what?"
"I think I'm starting to like him too…" Kokonoe says as Celica raises a brow. She thinks about it for a while until she finally gets who "he" is.
"Are you…talking about Ragna?"
"Yeah." Kokonoe nods her head. "When Ragna woke up the other day him and I talked a little and during the conversations he said some things that just made me feel so…I don't even know how to describe it. I guess happy would be the best description. Now I can't stop thinking about him. It's getting me so annoyed and for once I don't know what the hell I'm suppose to do."
"Well, why ask me…?" Celica asks still shocked to hear it.
"I wanted to tell you because I'm not sure how long I can keep these feeling bottled up. I know you like him, but I'm starting to have feelings for him as well."
"O-Oh, that's what you mean." Celica says as she stutters through her words. "Don't you worry Kokonoe! I just want to know that he's happy. If he rather have you, than I'll except it."
"Celica don't be an idiot I know you don't mean that." Kokonoe says as Celica looks down.
"I guess lying to you won't help will it?" Celica sighs "I've had these feeling for him for a long time. I just want him to myself and I can't stand it when others get close too him."
"Celica you…"
"So not only you like him but Saya and even Ms. Rachel. It's getting a bit hard to handle all this." Celica sighs.
"That's why I wanted to talk to you. Your my sister and I don't want that to get between us." Kokonoe says.
"Kokonoe…"
"Sorry I even brought it up. I'm such an asshole." Kokonoe sighs.
Celica shakes her head "No don't worry! I'm glad you told me. At least I know your feelings and you know mine." As determination fills her eyes she says. "Even though we're sisters, I won't lose to you."
"I won't lose to you either." Kokonoe smiles. She switched the topic and asks. "But why do you act so hesitant towards your feelings for him? You know you have to be a bit direct."
"Yeah, I know. But still Ms. Rachel has feelings for him too and I can't stop thinking about what would happen if I take him away from her." Celica says.
"You have to stop worrying. I know what you mean though. That idiot might not realize it, but he has strong feeling towards her. That fight with Terumi basically proved it." Kokonoe says as Celica recalls how Ragna protected her and what he said.
"I guess you have a point there."
"Well I just don't want it to come between us is all I wanted to say."
"Like I said no worries!" Celica smiles.
Jubei gets out the trailer and starts jumping on top of other cars as he soon went out of sight. Jin looks at the beastkin go and asks. "Where is he going?"
"He's going to see what's going on in front." Rachel says. "So let us be patient and wait a little for him."
"Alright." Makoto looks down at Noel as she's still cuddling her tail. "Noel…"
"Well she seems to be having fun." Tsubaki says as Noel says with a huge smile across her face.
"Yes, I'm in heaven right now."
Ragna gets out the bathroom and looks to see Jubei not in the trailer as he walks to the front and asks. "Where the hell did master go?"
"He went to check what's going on in front." Kagura says as he sees Jubei coming back. As the door opens Ragna asks the beastkin.
"So what's going on?"
"Some of the cars going out into one of the smaller towns seems to have gotten into an accident so it took a bit of time to clear the wreckage."
"Are they ok?" Noel gasps.
"Don't you worry your pretty little head about it everything's fine. We should be moving in a bit." As he says that the cars start to move.
"Finally, damn." Jin says in relief.
"Keep your pants on Jin. Patience is key." Makoto says as Jin groans in agitation. "You are the last person I want to hear that shit from."
"Just fuck already." Kagura says.
Makoto shakes her head and smirks. "No, that's not gonna happen. Right Tsubaki?" She says in a teasing tone.
"Why in the world are you asking me!?"
"You know why."
"I don't know what's up with you two. How about you two just fuck and get it over with." Jin groans.
"I'm up for it! Come on Makoto." Kagura says as Makoto snarls.
"Oh, hell no! You are the last person I'd date. Freak that!"
"Well Kagura I guess that's your answer." Ragna says as Kagura flips him off.
"Alright everyone calm down. We still have a long trip ahead." Nine says.
"Alright fine, but I need something to do…"
"So Jin…" Makoto grins.
"Oh fuck me side ways…" Jin face palms
"You gonna ask Tsubaki out or what?"
"Makoto!" Tsubaki's face turned red as Makoto continues. "I mean come on Jin. Just admit your feelings."
"Huh. Never knew you had a thing for Tsubaki, Jin." Ragna says. Makoto turns to him as her smile turned a bit more sinister.
"Oh he's not the only one whose got my attention."
"What the hell does that mean?" Ragna asks.
"There has to be something going on between you and Rachel. Come on you can tell me." Makoto chuckles a bit.
"How many times must I tell you. I have no attraction to this ragamuffin." Rachel sighs.
"Oh really?" Makoto grins.
"Yes really."
"Ok then Celica. You've got the green light." Makoto says.
"No she does not!" Saya wraps her arms around Ragna and pulls him in tight. "He's mine and only mine."
"Oh I've gotta see how this ends." Kagura laughs.
"Not fucking funny!" Ragna snarls.
"Well I guess that settles that." Makoto says.
"No it doesn't! Nobody ever said Ragna was yours." Celica says in disagreement.
"Nobody said he wasn't. Besides it's not like he's taken." Saya sticks out her tongue out.
"Come one guys he's not an object." Noel says, trying to control the situation.
"Hey Makoto how about you! Do you like someone!?" Ragna asks.
"Nope." Makoto says bluntly.
"I know you've got feelings for Kagura over here." Ragna says in a mocking voice.
"Hell no! Why would you even think that!?"
"Aw come on." Ragna smiles. "If your acting like that I know it true."
"You are waaaaay off! If you think I like this pervert here then your as dumb as bricks."
"No need to be shy Makoto. I'm always opened for beautiful ladies like you." Kagura winks at her.
"Not in your life you damn pervert!" Makoto snarls.
"Do I see someone blushing?" Ragna asks. Makoto shakes her head and slams her fist on the seat. "Your eyes need to be cheeked cause there is no way I'd ever date this guy!"
"You know you like him so just say it." Jin tries to imitate Makoto's voice. A vein pops up on her head.
"Haha real funny assholes."
"Aw man," Ragna chuckles "This great! Now I see why you always do this, this is fun!"
"Yes," Jin nods in agreement. "I think it is time you get a taste of your own medicine."
"Don't you fucking even!" Ragna and Jin both had evil grins on their faces that made her tremble a bit "Ok…quick words of wisdom. Do not piss them off…"
Unknown to them Izanami was floating in the sky above them. 'Do you wish to join them.' A voice says as she shakes her head and crosses her arms. 'You seem to be a bit angry. You aren't one to show emotion.'
"I am not sure what you mean?" Izanami says as the voice asks.
'So what is it? The state of the world?' he got no response from her 'Or is it the man of azure?' The voice says as Izanami's arms move a little. 'Do you really worry over him that much?'
"I am not worried about him in particular. I'm worried about what they will do. They seem to not take this seriously, even Rachel Alucard seems to be lying back and doing nothing along with Ragna." Izanami sighs.
'So your jealous that your not with him right now?'
"I told you that is not it." Izanami says as a vein appears on her forehead.
'I do not know why you feel the way you do about him. Sure he has his strong points but…'
"Let's stop talking about that for now and move onto something far more important. You know that Terumi and the imperator are on the move. Why not tell them?" Izanami asks as the voice says.
'He seems to be tempering with the cauldron and the boundary. We can't send them to him yet, I don't want them to die and have him gain the azure. We need Ragna to win.'
"Ragna… Ragna the Bloodedge." Izanami says as the voice says.
'You can join them to keep a closer eye on him.'
"Do you think that is wise to make myself known?"
'Yes, it will make keeping an eye on him easier.'
"I see. That does make sense..."
"Is everything ready for the smelting?" a woman asks. She had long platinum hair and azure blue eyes with a katana with a red and black handle was sheathed in a black sheathe by her side.
"Not yet," a man with a yellow mask and purple cape shook his head. "I have not been able to identify the suitable vessel as our current one is inadequate."
"I see… So what is he up to?"
The man knew exactly who she meant by that and sighs. "Ah yes I meant to tell you. He believes he's found a vessel and went to investigate, he has not returned since. Most likely he's up to his usual antics. Frankly I would rather him not return."
"I don't want to be near him anymore than you do, but he is a valuable asset."
"Well I shall head back and continue my work." He bows and turns and walks away. The woman looks up to the ceiling. A smile comes to her face as she chuckles a bit.
"Ragna… I can't wait to see you again."
The chapter is complete! Hope you all enjoyed since I don't need to say anymore. I've said my peace at the top. Well anyway review and give me your thoughts and ideas like always. See ya! Here's the preview for the next chapter:
Noel: I guess you and Ragna are sharing a room.
Jin: Ok so what's going on?
Ragna: Damn, your really tight. I've really gotta loosen you up.
Kokonoe: What the fuck is going on in here!?
Rachel: Do you…hate me Ragna?
Tsubaki: I want to walk around. With just the two of us, alone.
Ragna: No way! That couldn't be…!
Saya: Relius…Clover…
Next chapter 10: Long time no see
Be at peace now Ragna. You've earned it.
Revised