Shaky Foundations
(A/N) Well what do you know: It hasn't been a single week yet and I've already started writing another Kokonoe story! xD
My original plan was to stop writing new stories for a bit and focus on finishing ongoing ones, but I came up with a cute idea for a Ragna X Kokonoe fic and jumped at the chance! :D
This could be seen as a sequel to my previous Kokonoe story "My Hero" in some ways, though you can easily read this without having read that. Rest assured, I hope to present a much more fitting personality for Kokonoe this time round (She was far too shy and nervous in "My Hero"! D:)
And just so you know, I am always open for requests: There is no real shipping I don't follow in the Blazblue universe! (Hell, I have three shippings for Relius alone! xD)
WARNING: A Tsundere Kokonoe, awkward sexual tension, and some naughty words courtesy of our favourite bitter cat and demon! :D
Chapter 1: Slip of the tongue
"Why don't you just shut that trap of yours for a moment and listen to me!?" Ragna cried, his fists tightening to a pale white on the hilt of his sheathed blade. Barely a few metres away stood the object of his frustrations, who with a point of a slender finger fought fire with fire.
"I've heard what your ideas are like before; the type of shit you come up with is a waste of time!" Professor Kokonoe growled. Turning her back on him to signal the end of the conversation, she fished her hand into a deep pocket of her coat and retrieved a freshly wrapped lollipop. Spitting the now exhausted one she was suckling on onto the grey, cool floor, she slammed this one into her mouth and sucked with all of her fury.
"Come back here, I'm not finished!" Ragna shouted, pursuing the girl with his arm outstretched.
To be honest, Tager didn't actually know what this argument was about. Stood at attention a safe and neutral distance away from his superior and the scowling man, he'd been observing the two in plain sight for the best part of forty minutes. He'd been midway through an experiment with magnetic coils and their effects on metal slugs alongside Kokonoe only for the man to barge in, and it seems he just faded away into the background since then.
Funny, considering he was nearly 8 feet of iron and steel.
"You are finished, dumbass. Go, I'm busy." Kokonoe groaned, absentmindedly picking a report from her desk and scribbling techobabble onto it.
"Yeah, sure looks like a busy day in the office for you eh? What, were you told to power a light with a lemon?" Ragna mocked, crossing his arms and puffing out his shoulders to appear even larger than his already great height.
"Go screw yourself, bastard!" Kokonoe shouted, her face flushed in rage. Ragna grinned, suddenly taking control of the situation much to both Kokonoe and Tager's chagrin.
"Nice comeback there, kitty. Anyway, now that we've gotten past the usual greeting, do you think you can actually lend me a hand here?" Ragna asked, his expression blank and distant. Kokonoe coughed and regained her composure, before walking past him to continue whatever in god's name she was doing.
"I already told you Ragna, I don't know how that... Thing... Of yours works!" She growled, motioning to the large blade Ragna had dangling from his belt. "Tager might know, but I don't have the time, the know-how, or the shit to give!"
Suddenly realising that his name had been mentioned, Tager's head bobbed up and turned to look at Ragna.
"Right, come here and I'll see what I can do." He smiled, his characteristic calmness acting as an antidote for the bitter poison of anger and hate that made the room stuffier than a microwave packet of popcorn. Ragna seemed wary at first, but with a twirl of his weapon it was in the large and capable hands of the mass stood before him. "This may take some time."
Tager turned to a nearby workbench, seemingly his own custom one judging by the sheer size of it. Planting the sword down he wordlessly got to work, recalling that the white haired man had damaged the blade in a battle recently and needed some repair work done.
Personally Tager saw this man as odd and untrustworthy, and thought that Kokonoe should do her best to avoid him. Alas, she always seemed to be talking – if that's what you'd call it – with him almost every day. Many in his position would protest, but Tager knew his place, keeping his mouth shut and just following his superior's orders as usual.
"So, what are you up to anyway?" Ragna curiously asked, suddenly appearing over Kokonoe's shoulder and frightening one of her nine lives out of her.
"Don't sneak up on me, god damn it!" She yelled with a glare. Ragna stepped back with his hands raised, like a man caught on a Southerner's property and told to freeze. After covering a metre, Kokonoe turned back to her work and replied snarkily.
"Enjoying myself in paperwork, trying to make progress in my dead end job, and eating a lollipop." She mumbled monotonously, not really paying attention to him as he tried to catch a glimpse of the text she was currently writing.
"... What does that even mean?" Ragna asked with a raised eyebrow, pointing roughly at a paragraph that detailed current deployments and duties within Sector Seven. She turned her back on him, hiding the document from him and continuing her work.
"Hmph, there's no point in explaining the concept of reading to an idiot like you. This is probably the first thing you've seen that hasn't got lift-up flaps." She grinned, shoe-horning a reference to her favourite comedy novel into her insult. Ragna didn't seem that phased however, probably already accepting the fact that he wasn't the metaphorically sharpest metaphorical knife in the metaphorical draw of metaphorically mostly sharp knives.
"Makes sense, a smart girl like you probably doesn't have time for a blockhead like me eh?" He chuckled, casting a glance back at Tager to see him still working away on his blade.
"Good to see we're on the same page for once." Kokonoe smiled, flashing an absentminded thumbs-up. Ragna suppressed the urge to laugh at the girl's facial expression: She very rarely smiled, and she looked extremely peculiar with her sharp teeth bent into a grin.
It looked quite cute too.
Tager hid his smirk at this exchange, impressed that Ragna had actually made Kokonoe happy. As strange as a relationship as it was, perhaps someone like Ragna really was all she needed? Perhaps working with a bunch of spineless cowards who never fought back, and a loyal Red Devil who obeyed orders unquestionably, made her want to find someone with a backbone?
Some would say that it was strange that Tager had these thoughts for his superior, but he didn't enjoy seeing Kokonoe so unhappy all the time. To be truthful he saw her as a daughter at times, wishing her the best in her rocky future. He flicked a stray chunk of sawed metal from the blade he was maintaining:
Ragna could find trust in his eyes yet.
"By the way, as I was saying earlier..." Ragna began, his lip curling devilishly as he changed the topic back to what started the whole argument in the first place.
"Oh for the love of – No! I told you, enough with the crap!" She yelled, her smile turning into an animalistic snarl. Ragna placed his hands together, trying his best to reason with her.
"Come on: It's three for two, I need someone to go with!" He begged.
"No." Kokonoe replied bluntly, her pen stopping a few centimetres from the paper she was writing on.
"I'll buy the popcorn?" Ragna smiled, trying to lure her in with offers of tasty treats.
"No." Kokonoe said a little more roughly, her enlarged canines peeking over her lip.
"Tager can be the third. Tager, do you wanna come?" Ragna asked, waving to get the giant's attention. He pondered for a moment, scratching his chin out of habit, before shrugging his shoulders in a neutral manner.
"No." Kokonoe grunted violently, her eyes closing tightly as she tried to calm herself down from the sudden wave of instability and anger she felt.
"How abo-"
"For the last time, no!" She shouted, slamming her hands on her desk to punctuate the point. "Why would I go out on a date with you? It's not like I love you or anything!"
Silence.
A rather awkward silence.
If you saw your father walk into the room wearing speedos, nipple tassles, and a nametag calling him "Bingo", that might amount to how awkward the silence was.
"... Date?" Ragna said questionably, confused as to where she got the word from. To be honest, she was quite confused too. She broke down the phrase, trying to work out what in god's name she was trying to say.
"Why would I go out on a date with you? It's not like I love you or anything!"
"It's not like I love you or anything!"
Was that it?
"I love you"?
Where did that come from?
Kokonoe was staring into space, before suddenly she shot a glance at the confused face of Ragna the Bloodedge. Taking in the sight, her lips quivered, her eyes shone brightly, and her cheeks dyed theirselves a deep crimson in embarrassment.
He was handsome.
Ragna the Bloodedge was tall, strong, and assertive. He had a good sense of humour, would make his opinion known regardless of who he was speaking to, and was protective of those he cared about. His shaven jaw was sharp and firm, and his multicoloured eyes pierced through all that they saw, and made her heart skip a beat.
From his brain to his brawn, Ragna the Bloodedge was everything Kokonoe wanted in a man.
So why was she so scared of admitting it?
"Hold on..." Ragna said, a mischievous grin emerging on his lips. "Don't tell me you thought I was asking you out?"
"N-No! What are you talking about, you stupid bastard!?" Kokonoe squealed, suddenly feeling exposed. Tager sighed in the background, heaving the surprisingly heavy sword and shuffling back to the man it belonged to.
"There, it should last longer this time." He stated, having heard what Kokonoe had said but politely pretending not to have. With an acknowledging nod, Ragna grabbed the hilt, twirled it artistically, and slipped it back home on his belt.
"Well, as charmed as I am, I really must get a move on." Ragna smirked in a smug manner, swivelling around and making for the exit. "Been a pleasure speaking to you Kokonoe, Tager."
"H-Hold on just a minute!" Kokonoe suddenly cried, stepping forward and reaching out for the white haired man. He looked back, a surprisingly interested expression filling his face.
"Hmm? What's wrong?" He asked softly, like a teacher comforting an injured child.
"Do you have what it takes?" Kokonoe asked herself. "Or are you going to stay bitter about it forever?"
"You just fear rejection, don't you?"
"... Nothing..." Kokonoe whispered, surrendering to the fear that her cowardly mind had plagued her decision-making with. She could've sworn that she saw a look of disappointment fill Ragna's face, before it shifted back to his mocking smile.
"How cute!" He laughed, playfully sticking his tongue at her as he pushed the door open and left.
"Piss off, idiot!" She shouted back at him, stomping her foot and growling as the door squealed shut. Tager couldn't help but feel sorry for the Professor as she left the lab, muttering a few curses and kicking a couple of things as she went.
He could tell now, having collected adequate data from this single discussion between the two. He saw potential in a relationship between them both: It would certainly be beneficial for Kokonoe.
It'd probably be beneficially for the rest of staff, knowing that their boss wouldn't kick them in the shins for making "too much" noise. Alas, he wondered if she could muster the courage, being a sensitive girl at heart.
She feared rejection after all.
(A/N): Ragna went a bit OOC there, didn't he? D:
TBC! *Drama*