Chapter IX: New Beginnings
Ragna groaned to himself as he walked down the street of Kagutsuchi. "Okay, I know that I agreed to do something fun with you two-"
"You three," Linhua reminded him as she walked alongside Noel and Makoto.
"Right, so why the hell are we going clothes shopping?" Ragna complained shaking his head.
It was the next morning after he and Makoto had revealed their feelings for one another and Ragna had decided to make true on his promise to do something fun. They'd had breakfast an hour ago and were making their way to the merchant's area of Kagutsuchi. The problem, like most men, Ragna didn't find clothes shopping at all fun. He'd tried shopping for a new outfit once before, almost got himself killed by a Vigilante in the changing rooms. Yeah… that'd been fun.
"Well for one thing," Makoto began. "Concealment Ars or not, you stand out way too much in that coat of yours. That Ars drops for a second and everyone knows who you are and is screaming for their lives. The rest of us are going to need disguises too if we want to avoid trouble."
Ragna shrugged at Makoto's response. Most of time when it had dropped in the past people had known enough to ignore the Reaper and keep their distance.
"Second thing," Makoto said smiling. "I think a new look would be good for all of us. It's been to long since I've found the time to shop for a new outfit. And I want to see you in something other than that coat all the time."
"Ugh, fine," Ragna admitted reluctantly. He noticed Linhua giggling at him and shot a glare at the young girl. "Grow up…" he said agitatedly. He was about to continue, but noticed a familiar feeling coming from the shadows. "You again."
"I see you're as adept at finding me as ever, Ragna the Bloodedge," a young voice said from the shadow. From the alley emerged young Carl Clover, Nirvana following closely behind him as usual. "You seem to have recovered from our last encounter fairly well, but no matter. This time I'll be taking that Azure Grimoire of yours."
"Yeah," Ragna said, cricking his neck. "As much fun as that sounds, don't really think that's going to work out. Kinda in the middle of something." He gestured to his travelling companions.
"Miss Noel? Miss Makoto?" Carl exclaimed surprised. "What are you doing with him?"
"Ragna saved our lives, and we're against the NOL now," said Makoto. "Carl, why are you after Ragna's Azure Grimoire?"
"I'm afraid that's my business alone," the young vigilante stated. "If you're going to get in my way, I'm afraid I'll have no choice but to go through all of you." Carl assumed a battle stance as Nirvana started to activate.
Ragna could clearly see Carl's attitude and curt words were crushing both Makoto and Noel. He must be one of their friends' from the Academy. I can't let things escalate here. "Not happening," he commanded firmly.
"Wha?"
"You said you wanted my BlazBlue, right? Tell me why and I'll do what I can to help you. I can't make any promises about it working, but I don't think it'll work out to anyone's favor to start a fight here. Don't do that to you own friends."
Carl pondered Ragna's words for a moment. "Very well then," he decided.
He then proceeded to tell Ragna and the girls the story of how his father, Relius Clover, had put his sister's and mother's souls into the weapons known as Nirvana and Ignis. He told them the reason he was after Ragna's Azure Grimoire was that it held the key to transferring their soul's to more human bodies. After the young lad's story was over, Ragna decided to give his input.
"Sorry about your mother and sister," he started. "But using my BlazBlue isn't going to solve anything."
"What do you mean?" Carl asked suspiciously.
"My BlazBlue may be able to take souls, and possibly change them, but moving them is another story. It's likely that my Soul Eater would make a meal out of their souls. In the end, even if you could complete the transfer, the energy taken from the souls would drastically reduce their life span, maybe as much as thirty years. Sorry, but you'd be giving them an early death."
"No…" Carl said completely deflated. The one hope he'd had for putting his sister back wouldn't even work. Ragna sighed, he hated having to go out on a limb for people he barely knew.
"Look, if you want, you could try asking Professor Kokonoe," he advised.
"The Professor?" Carl asked.
"Yeah," Makoto chimed in. "She's done a lot of studying involving the Boundary, maybe she knows a solution that could help you out. We were actually going to meet up with her in Ikaruga. You could come with us!"
"Thank you for the offer," Carl said with a genuine smile, "but I'm afraid I'd prefer to travel alone to find her. I fear that I might be tempted to take another shot at obtain the BlazBlue."
"If it makes any difference,I'm pretty sure this thing's a fake." Ragna stated before realizing something. "You said that the soul inhabiting Ignis was your mothers."
"Yes," Carl said, noticing the Reaper starting to look guilty. "Is that important?"
"No, no, it's just," Ragna exhaled. "I fought Relius Clover yesterday and… I kind of… used Ignis… as a club… to clobber him…"
Awkward Silence.
"Beating a man with his own wife," Linhua commented. "Not something to be proud of."
The initial look on Carl's face was one of shock, before he started laughing. "If it's any consolation he's had that one coming for a long time. Anyways, I apologize for the trouble I've given you."
"Hey, Carl. Take care of yourself, alright?" Makoto asked. The young vigilante nodded before setting off with Nirvana. Makoto sighed a breath of relief.
"Thanks for not fighting him, really." Noel said, relieved herself.
"Hey, he's your friend right? If he does try to come after me again, I'll just turn the other way. Come on let's get going," Ragna said as he began walking off.
"Yeah, let's go clothes shopping!" Makoto yelled cheerfully. She and the other two girls giggled as her boyfriend groaned.
*BlazBlue*
The four made their way to a clothes shop in the Merchant District. There was a large assortment of clothing to choose from and was empty, so it turned out perfectly. A bell chimed as the four walked inside. A raven haired merchant woman looked to the group in surprise. "I didn't think the Grim Reaper would be clothes shopping here of all places."
Ragna gave the woman a glare before she put her hands up defensively. "Hey, I hate the NOL almost as much as you do. So long as you pay for what you take, we won't have any problems. Plus, I want your opinion on something. My name's Elise by the way." Elise went over to a closet and unlock the door.
"WHAT THE-!" Ragna had to do a double take on what was inside. It was a red and black woman's top and skirt, but it looked like it'd been based closely on his own grab. "Why the hell did you make that?" Ragna asked, completely befuddled.
"I dunno, maybe I just wanted to be a rebel," Elise said grinning. "Anyways, take your time shopping."
Ragna decided to start looking at the different coats the store had. He'd finally found a black one that was his size before he heard his girlfriend.
"Hey Ragna, what do you think?" Makoto asked.
The Reaper turned to face her… and his jaw almost hit the floor. SHE WAS WEARING THE REAPER SKIRT. Did he admit that she looked… HOT? SEXY? Yes and yes, but it was just too much. It almost looked like his own girlfriend was cosplaying as him.
"Don't tell me you're buying that damn thing!"
"Of course not," Makoto assured him. Ragna let out a sigh of relief. "Elise gave it to me for free once I told her I was your partner."
…Damn it. The distress was evident on the Reaper's face.
Makoto laughed. "Don't worry, I'm getting something else as well. This is just something for laughs." Ragna was now worried about the beastkin's sense of humor. "Come on, pick out some clothes so I can see them on you!"
"Fine," he groaned.
After a while of searching he came out of the changing room so the girls could evaluate his outfit. Ragna was wearing the black jacket he had from before, with a crimson V-neck shirt underneath which outlined his six-pack and showed the symbol on his chest, he'd grabbed a brown biker glove for his left hand and had shifted his BlazBlue so that it matched the glove. He wore tight black jeans and black shoes on the bottom and covered his eyes with a pair of shades.
"You look hot," Makoto said approvingly. Ragna blushed and scratched the back of his head. "We still need to do something to fix that hair though… Elise do you have any dyes?"
"Sure, any particular color?"
Makoto and Ragna thought to themselves for a moment. "How about we try red?" Makoto suggested. Ragna shrugged, if it was just for a day, he was certainly willing to try.
While Ragna went to the back room to get his hair dyed, Makoto, Noel, and Linhua decided to find new outfits for themselves. By the time Ragna came back, his hair was now a shade of red a few shades lighter than his shirt and his hair no longer stood up as much as it did earlier, but still retained its spikey detail.
"So what do you think?" Makoto asked as she came out of her changing room. Her current style was much more modern in design. She wore an orange hoodie and faded jeans (with a cut out for her tail of course). She'd purchased a pair of sneakers to wear and completed the outfit with a brown baseball cap.
"You look good, I like it," Ragna said honestly. Makoto smiled and grinned back to him.
"Thanks, and be sure to say something nice about Noel's outfit, it took us forever to get her to wear it."
"…Uh… guys?"
Noel was wearing a pink kimono and leather sandals. She'd let her blonde hair fall so now it reached passed her shoulders. As her own personal touch, she'd added little Panda earrings. "H-h-how do I look?"
"Why are you so nervous Noellers? You look great!" Makoto gave Ragna a small nudge with her elbow. The Reaper simply nodded in agreement. "See you need to have some more confidence… I know! Strike a pose!"
Noel hesitated for a moment before striking a very familiar pose with her hip out to one side and the peace sign covering her face.
"I feel that we're ripping someone off here…" Ragna admitted.
"Yeah," Linhua agreed beside him. Unlike the others, she was just wearing her regular clothing.
"Why the hell are you with us if you're not even shopping?" Ragna asked agitated.
"I just wanted to see your reactions," Linhua said simply before smiling. "And the one when you saw Makoto in the skirt was priceless."
Ragna felt his cheeks heat as all of the girls present laughed at him.
*Later*
After the four had stopped for lunch, the group decided to look at the local book store. The group was now heading out.
"So Noel was the only one that got a book?" Makoto asked a bit surprised.
Noel nodded. "Yeah, I found a book on poetry. I know we have a lot going on, but it'll be nice to keep up a hobby."
Makoto cringed; she'd remembered Noel's poetry back at the academy… it had been almost as bad as her cooking.
"I thought I saw Jack grabbing a book too," Linhua commented.
Everyone looked at Ragna. Due to his new appearance change, he'd decided to go as Jack for the time being. Things hadn't gone bad after he'd dropped his concealment Ars; no one screaming or accusing him of being Ragna the Bloodedge… but he had gotten a few unnerving looks from a few women.
Anyways, the Reaper looked at Linhua doubtfully. "No, I looked at few books, but I put them all back. They didn't look all that interesting."
"Whatever you say."
"Anyways, I'll meet up with you three later. I've got some stuff to take care of." With that, Jack the Bloodedge walked off.
"Don't forget about our date later!" Makoto called out. Jack nodded as he waved back.
*Ronin-Gai Park*
Ragna sat on the park bench reading the book he'd just found. The title of the book read The Ikaruga Walker's Advice for Inexperienced Daters. He for one was glad there were few people in the park.
"Chapter 2," Ragna read aloud. "When you start a date with a woman, always be sure to compliment her on her appearance, whether it's her hair, dress, or even make-up… All right, I might be clueless, but I know THIS much!"
Needless to say, he was quickly becoming agitated with the book he was holding. It was taking all of his willpower not to tear the freaking book in half.
"Great, now what?" he said to himself.
"Well, isn't this surprising."
Ragna glanced over his shoulder and saw a familiar elderly gentleman wearing a tuxedo. "Valkenhayn… what are you doing here?"
"I myself was on my way to take care of a few errands… I'll admit, we're it not for your agitation I may not have recognized you in your new outfit. May I ask what you're currently doing?"
"None of your business!" Ragna shouted.
"Really?" Valkenhayn said amusedly. In the blink of an eye, he snatched the book that Ragna had been holding. "The Ikaruga Walker's Advice for Inexperienced Daters," he noted aloud. "Funny, I wouldn't have thought you to take dating advice from a book."
"HEY!" Ragna shouted at the older man as he attempted to grab back his book, but Valkenhayn was too fast for him. "Why the hell are you always butting in to my business?!"
"Mainly because I don't trust you," the king of beasts stated. "Did you really think that a new suit and book would allow you to woo the ladies of Kagutsuchi so simply?"
"Woo the ladies…" Ragna repeated, his agitation rising. "You have no damned clue why I'm doing this!"
"Oh?" Valkenhayn responded unfazed. "Then tell me your real reasons. I doubt you'd want to make yourself more presentable on a simple whim."
"All right, you wanna know the truth? Well, get ready for the shocker of your life old man, I have a girlfriend. AND I'm going to be taking her on a date tonight."
To Ragna's (somewhat) satisfaction, Valkenhayn was caught off guard. "Truly? Hmph, and you're using this book in some heinous attempt to sed-"
"GOD DAMMIT, JUST STOP!" Ragna yelled, causing a few people to turn towards the group. After giving them all a glare the two were alone once more. "Why the hell are you always assuming the worst of me?!"
"It comes naturally I suppose."
"Right, well my real reasons for getting this book aren't petty…" Ragna sighed, he had to be honest. "But I guess they are kinda pathetic."
"Explain."
Ragna remained silent, for a moment before relenting. "Well, the thing about her is she's a beastkin. One that's actually been a part of the NOL before joining me."
Valkenhayn nodded in understanding. "Go on."
"She's gone through a lot of disrespect and was constantly mocked while she was in the academy. Other than me there are about three other people who actually see her as a friend. This is actually going her first date."
"I see. And the reason you're reading this book is what?" the butler questioned.
"I… well I just want to make her feel special. Just to make her see that the world isn't just full of assholes who will constantly mock her for being part beast. But also someone who care about her, someone who doesn't care if she's part squirrel… I actually find it pretty cool myself."
"But…" Ragna hesitated before resolving to answer Valkenhayn. "I'm just not sure I can do that. I mean I care about her, sure. But I have no idea in hell how to make her feel special… The truth is, this is my first date too."
Valkenhayn handed the book back to Ragna. "It seems I misjudged you intentions Master Ra-"
"Jack… just call me Jack for now."
Valkenhayn gave Ragna a dubious look before shaking his head. "Very well, young Jack. It seems that your intentions are pure and you truly care about this girlfriend of yours, so I'll gift you with some advice."
"Whoa, whoa, whoa, you have DATING advice?" Ragna was in no small part, shocked.
Valkenhayn chuckled. "I wasn't always the butler as you see me as now. Remember, I was once known as the king of beasts… and quite the charmer of a king at that, if you'd believe it."
"Kinda saw that one comin'," Ragna admitted. "So what's the advice?"
"The advice I'm about to give is very basic, but it is easy to follow and closely pertains to you. The first one is you need to stop swearing so much," Ragna scratched the back of his head; he knew where the butler was coming from on this one. "Secondly, despite what you see these days, chivalry is by no means out dated. Even something as simple as holding a door open for others or pulling a chair out for your lady friend will make all the difference in the end."
Ragna nodded, committing this to memory. "Anything else?"
"Make sure your date is having an enjoyable time, but don't be one to coddle her. Have her feel that her evening is important to you, but that you believe that she's capable of enjoying it her own way. Lastly, always let a lady order first and be sure to pick up any payments while on the date… or is she the stubborn type?"
Ragna shrugged. "Makoto's pretty stubborn…" he said before grinning. "But something tells me I'm going to be taking the check anyways."
"Heh, you two seem to go well together then. Any idea's where you'll be taking her?" The Reaper shook his head. "Well, I did just hear about a night club that's just opened in the merchant district. Perhaps that might be a place to start?"
Ragna shrugged. "I'm not sure that the club scene really works that well for either of us, but I'm willing to try. New things and all that."
"I suppose," Valkenhayn agreed. "I need to be getting back to Madame Rachel so I'll bid you farewell here."
"See ya, and thanks I guess."
With that, the butler summoned a portal behind him, gave a small bow, and stepped through.
*Later that night… THE DATE*
"So this is the nightclub you heard about?" Makoto asked Ragna.
The two were just outside the venue. Even from out here the two could hear the beating of loud music. The club's name (as much as it irked Ragna) was 'King of the Mountain.' Seriously, who names a night club that?
"Not exactly what I had in mind," Ragna admitted. "Want to find another place?"
Makoto shook her head. "No, It's a new thing for both of us. Let's get in line."
The line traveled pretty quickly for the two, though Ragna noticed the line started to crowd with woman after he entered… why was he getting stalked so much these days!? At the front of the line the two came across a bouncer.
"Sorry buddy," the bouncer said. "But the pet's gonna have ta wait outside."
Don't lose it, don't lose it, don't lose it, Ragna practically begged himself. "Tch, let's go," he said to Makoto and the two started to make their way away.
"Hey, hold on!" the bouncer yelled. "You can go in, it's jus-"
"She doesn't go in, I don't go in," Ragna said threateningly. "Bet your boss is going to be happy to hear you turned an eligible, paying customer away."
The bouncer hesitated for a moment before stepping to the side to let the two into the building. Ragna turned his attention to Makoto to confirm that she still wanted to do this. Apparently she at least wanted to try as she made her way into the building.
The interior of the place was certainly gaudy. Smoke machines poured out some at a constant rate, and the lights came out in different part of the rooms in different colors. There was a bar to the right which offered drinks of varying neon colors, a music system in the back with huge stereos, and a section of tables and booths to the right. In the center, there was a giant dance floor covered with patrons dancing… well if you could call it dancing. Ragna and Makoto made their way over to one of the tables. Ragna, of course, remembered to pull Makoto's chair out for her before sitting himself.
The two tried to make conversation, but the music wasn't making it easy. It was some absurd combination of current Rap and Techno blasted at obnoxious sound levels. It might be popular for the rest of the world, but these two couldn't stand it; too much wacky tunes and rapid lyrics. Ragna was considering leaving when the doors were blasted open, the bouncer from outside being pushed to the floor. His face was swollen and it looked like he was missing a few teeth.
A group of ten men ran inside. All of them were dressed in punk clothes and was equipped with chains, clubs, or pipes. Their leader however, was wearing a filthy red coat, torn black jeans, and apparently just tried to bleach his hair. He carried a large falchion at his side that pulsed with Ars Magus.
"ALL RIGHT, LISTEN UP!" the leader yelled. "AS OF RIGHT NOW, THIS NIGHT CLUB IS OWNED BY ME, RAGNA THE BLOODEDGE!"
Both Ragna and Makoto had to do a double take after hearing that. He was trying to pose as Ragna!? The man had gotten the appearance all wrong, the sword didn't look even close to Blood-Scythe, and he was at least two feet shorter than Ragna. The poster had been one thing, but THIS!? This was an another level of insulting.
The music had stopped at this point, and the thugs were going around grabbing alcohol and messing with other patrons. Ragna had made his way up to leave with Makoto when one of the thugs made his way over to them.
"Hey beastie," he said with a mocking sneer to Makoto. "How about you show me some fun tonight? I'm sure I can pay more than this loser can for his night."
…
…
To those paying attention to the story, it's pretty obvious how DEAD this guy is.
Ragna reached across the table, grabbed the man by his shirt collar, and threw him as hard as he could. The man gave a Wilhelm scream as he sailed through the air and crashed into the music system.
"Crap," Ragna muttered. "Now I'm going to end up having to pay for that."
"HEY!" their leader shouted. "YOU JUST THREW ONE OF MY MEN! DO YOU KNOW WHO I AM!?"
"I dunno, a faker who shouts way too much?" Ragna said as he a Makoto became surrounded by the other thugs. The broken music system gave a spark as another genre of music began; something much closer to Ragna's style. Makoto took her time slowly standing up and stretching.
(Cue Ultimate Marvel vs. Capcom 3 Ryu's Theme)
"Sorry this isn't going like you wanted it to," Ragna apologized to Makoto as he cracked his knuckles.
"It's still more fun than the club was offering," Makoto replied. "Plus, I think we need to let off some steam after all the jerks we're seeing tonight."
"Heh, agreed," the Reaper grinned.
"GET THEM!" Pseudo-Ragna shouted. The thugs roared as they ran towards the two.
Ragna grabbed the chair he'd been sitting on and swung it into one of the thugs, sending the idiot flying. He then threw his make-shift weapon into one of the other ones and knocked him unconscious. Two of the thugs came at him from the sides, he dodged both of their attacks with ease before grabbing their heads and smashing them into one another. Five down, five to go.
On her end, Makoto was having no trouble at all. She caught the iron pipe one of them had swung at her and flipped the man into their table, breaking it. She dodge as another thug swung at her with a chain before tripping his left leg with her tail and smacking him across the head with her pipe. Another pipe wielder tried to rush her from behind, but her tail slapped him across the face, fazing him momentarily before Makoto blasted him in the chest with her fist. Her last thug pulled out a switch blade, but Makoto simply threw her metal pipe at the man causing him to go off balance. Makoto rushed him and unleashed a 12-hit combo on the sucker slamming him to the floor in the end.
"Looks like I'm up," the fake Ragna said as he grabbed out his falchion and swung it at real Ragna. "DIE YOU ASS-!"
Ragna crouched before bring his right fist up for a massive upper cut. When he hit the sword, the thugs blade shattered right before his eyes. 'What just-?' the thug thought, eyes wide.
"SHORYUKEN!" Ragna shouted as he finished the move and blasted the man into the air. The thugs' leader and fake poser flew for a few seconds before crashing down onto another table.
Ragna smirked as he dusted off his clothes. "This is why I do better in arcades than night clubs; I'm old school!"
(Song end)
While the place hadn't been trashed that badly, the signs of damage were apparent and everyone had been there to see the fight take place. All eyes were on the two and there was silence. Ragna noticed that he'd knocked the thug leader's wallet out with that last attack. He picked it off the ground to find that this guy had been carrying more than he'd anticipated. He looked over to the bar keeper and threw him the wallet. "Sorry about the mess," he said casually before leaving with Makoto.
The two walked down the street to the Clinic in silence before Ragna decided to speak up. "Sorry about… well everything. I guess that was a pretty crappy first date."
Makoto smiled. "Actually, I had a lot of fun."
Ragna was awestruck; she'd found being insulted, listening to obnoxious music, and getting interrupted by thugs FUN? "HUH!?"
The beastkin giggled. "Well, I had a night out with someone who was willing to do everything he could to stand up to me in public, someone who helped my beat up a bunch of third-rate thugs…"
Ragna nodded, 'I guess the fight could have been seen as fun to her.'
Makoto continued. "And someone… who made me feel special." Ragna smiled.
After a minute the two found themselves in front of the clinic. "So we're heading out tomorrow? And we're basically going to war with the NOL" Makoto asked.
"Yeah, but you know, even after everything started happening, I have the feeling everything's going to turn out fine."
"How do you figure?" Makoto asked.
Ragna smiled and leaned in. "My partner helped me see that," he said before kissing her. The two held that kiss, oblivious to the fact that they were being watch.
"In that book which is
My memory . . .
On the first page
That is the chapter when
I first met you
Appear the words . . .
Here begins a new life
- Dante Alighieri
Noel smiled as she closed her poem book and watched the two embrace each other under the full moon.
AN: I don't own BlazBlue or La Vita Nuova.
Sorry this chapter is week late due to the family reunion. Anyways, I decided to add a lot of stuff in this chapter, so I hope you all enjoyed.
Next chapter… is going to be a surprise for all of you, I guarantee.
Also, I uploaded the first chapter of a new story called "A Reaper's Awakening," to the Fire Emblem section. This fiction is a take of Fire Emblem Awakening with Ragna as the tactician. Give it a read if you're up for it.
Rate, Review, and I'll see you all next chapter.
Ciao.