Two days. Two days, and not a twitch of movement from his savior. Ragna sighed as he stared down at Tsubaki, slumbering on a medical bed. Okay, so he hadn't exactly been glued to the spot or anything—never a good idea to stay in one place and all. And really, he probably shouldn't have been returning here at all after staking out the local Library branch. Far too good a chance that some Library dumbass would follow him. And then probably figure out that hey, this was a Sector Seven lab.

But he couldn't, no matter how damn annoying Kokonoe got. Not after what Tsubaki had done. He extended a hand over her forehead and muttered an incantation, a healing Ars that he hoped would not prove as useless as the others. Of course, she did not stir as the light crimson glow from his hand faded, and he sighed. Goddammit, why couldn't he do a damn thing to help her? He had to pay her back somehow; dinner wasn't enough for what she'd done. And there was nothing he could do, except wait by her bed and hope that she awakened soon.

"Geez, you're still hanging around? I told you, she'll wake up when she's ready." The door slid open behind him and Kokonoe stormed in with a scowl. "Alright, that's the good news. Ready for the bad?"

"What the hell's the 'good' news there?" Ragna didn't even turn to Kokonoe, although his scowl cracked. "That she'll wake up?"

"Yeah." Kokonoe sighed as she came to stand next to Tsubaki's bed. "Bad news is, it's probably not a good idea for me to try and fix her sight with…well, anything."

"…You can fix it?"

"Didn't you just hear me?" With a sharp rap on his skull, Kokonoe huffed and shook her head. "Technically, yeah, I can. However…well, Izayoi's a nasty piece of work. It's not just her eyes that it damaged. The entire occipital lobe—"

"The what?"

"The part of the brain deals with sight and shit. Hers is kinda wrecked. I could technically mend the damage a bit, but…um. Brains. Sensitive as hell. Chances are pretty damn good that I'd screw something else up in the process. So…yeah. Probably not a good idea."

Ragna froze in place, staring down at Tsubaki. "…G-gotcha. So, uh…"

"I'll ask her what she wants when she wakes up. As for you…" With a sigh, Kokonoe turned to him, gaze strangely soft. "Don't worry so much about her, alright? I'll figure something out for her. And…"

She broke off. No point reminding him that Tsubaki was an NOL officer, and thus technically his enemy. "Alright, I guess you can hang around a bit longer. But once she's up…"

"Yeah, yeah, I'll take off." As Kokonoe left, Ragna gave a heavy sigh. So Tsubaki wouldn't be able to see ever again. Goddamn wonderful. He should've been able to take that bastard down. Tsubaki never should've had to expend so much energy bailing his ass out. He reached down and took her hand, granting it a brief squeeze. And to his shock, it reciprocated, a light tensing so brief he had to wonder if he had really felt it. "Tsubaki…?"

"Mmn…" With another squeeze of the warm hand in her grip, Tsubaki opened her eyes. And, as confirmation of her nightmare, a pitch black void greeted her. Sitting up as slow as she could, she turned in the direction of Ragna's voice in the hopes of creating a façade of eye contact. She had been stripped of her purpose, rendered herself blind to take out an absolute madman…but at least she was alive, something she had never expected. "…Ragna."

Ragna met her gaze as well as he could, although the knowledge that he stared into sightless eyes unnerved him. "How…um…how're you feeling?"

"…I'm…." Tsubaki hung her head. She didn't hurt anywhere, not even in the eyes. All of her wounds had been long since treated, and she doubted anything except tiredness could inhibit her movements. But she wasn't okay, not by any stretch of the imagination. Her throat parched, leaving her to gape as she tried to force herself to speak. Nothing came.

A hefty sigh tickled her ear, and the bed beside her sunk as Ragna sat beside her. He gave her hand another squeeze of reassurance. "Look, um…if you need anything…"

"Mm…" Tsubaki hardly heard him, a distance conveyed in her light hum. The squeeze was nice, though. "…Did I hear Kokonoe right? That she can't heal me?"

"…She can, but…" With another sigh, Ragna trailed off. A weight settled in his gut at the prospect of breaking this news to her. But no matter how goddamn much it sucked, she needed to hear it. "…Um, something about whatever she does, like, damaging your brain further or something…"

"I see." Tsubaki nodded even as what little vestiges of hope remained were shattered by his words. So that was it, then. There was no realistic hope of her recovering her sight, at least not without running too great a risk. And if she lacked sight, then where did that leave her as a soldier?

But she knew this cost, even before she finished Azrael. She knew back when she first took Izayoi that this was bound to happen. If this was the price of taking out such a threat to society, a man so vile that he forced her and the Grim Reaper to work together, she could accept that. At least it wasn't in vain.

Kill Ragna.

…And that voice was still there. Tsubaki sighed, but smiled at wherever she was facing. "I'm…really just glad to be alive after that. Um…" Her cheeks burned and she knew she must have been blushing a bit. "Thanks for staying with me back there."

"What the hell kinda asshole would I be if I left you to rot there?" Ragna cuffed her on the shoulder. "You feeling up for going somewhere?"

Tsubaki froze up. True, Ragna had proven himself far from a monster, showing genuine care for her even after Azrael had been finished. Under ordinary circumstances, she would be more than willing to take him up on his offer. But…this was the Grim Reaper. In theory, her enemy, but there was no way she could ever call him that again after what he'd done for her. And her loyalty to the Librarium, eternal shackles she had consigned herself to in the name of justice, dictated that no matter how much their battlefield alliance had drawn them together, there could never be anything between them, not even friendship.

But why should she just accept that? "…Perhaps a little later. I imagine Kokonoe needs to check on me before I go anywhere. Do you have anything in mind?"

"Um…I dunno, was thinking dinner or something." The light rustle of Ragna rubbing the back of his spike-haired head followed. That pause made him nervous; the girl was an NOL officer, after all. Or…was. He had no idea how she would be treated by them now that she was effectively useless in combat. Selfish though he knew it was, part of him wished she would be discharged entirely. "Unless you'd rather do something else, of course."

"Mm…dinner sounds fine." She turned another smile at where she thought he was. Surely this would be permissible, right? A friendly dinner following their battle? "Um, do you think you could go get Kokonoe, please? I figure the sooner we know my condition, the better we can make plans."

"Yeah, sure." Ragna chuckled, and the weight on the bed left. "Be right back."

"Alright." A door clicked closed, and Tsubaki let out a sigh. What was she supposed to do now? Both her duty to the Librarium and her sense of justice dictated that she apprehend him. But…no, she couldn't do that. Not after their battles together. She would go through with this, and make her decision afterward.

And…what then? What service could she possibly provide to the Librarium now? Certainly nothing involving combat. Although… No, it was too soon to really be thinking of this. But no matter what, she would not allow this to end her service to the Librarium. She would overcome this handicap, and then…

Kill Ragna.

…No, not that. She would serve the NOL the best she could—

You must.

Tsubaki blanched at the voice, suppressing a chilled shiver. Just what was this? Either the onset of schizophrenia or something sentient; both possibilities terrified her to the core. …She had to keep her mind off of it for now and ask someone about it later. Maybe Kokonoe, although she had no idea if the scientist knew much about psychological issues. But no harm in asking, right?

…What were Jin and Noel doing now? It had been so long since she last saw them…since she had fought them. She shivered; at least she wouldn't be able to do that again, given her state. Or was that voice going to demand she kill them as well?

She shook her head, trying to clear away her concerns about the voice, trying to ignore her blindness. …How did Ragna feel about her? The thought came unbidden, but she couldn't shake it. It had blossomed on the edge of her mind when she had talked to him, and now demanded its attention. Just how attached to her had he become? Because it sure felt like the answer was "very". Her cheeks scorched over at the thought, and she swiveled around on the bed to put her feet on solid ground. The bare tile floor sent a shiver through her from its chill.

After taking a few moments to work up some sort of courage, Tsubaki rose, shaking. Her arms extended in either direction and her left hand found the wall, her guide out of the room. It took another collection of her wits, but she managed to force herself to take a step forward. And she stalled again, the fear of what might lie out of sight too great for the moment. She pondered what to do for several moments before resolving to find her way out of the room. Each step, short and low though it was, sent a pang of nervousness through her, uncertain of what may lay in wait below her bare feet.

And it only took a few steps before her arm ran into an obstruction, a pair of cool, hard bars that made it impossible for her to keep using the wall as a guide. A metal shelf or something? Whatever it was, she needed to find her way around it. Slowly, she edged her finger up and down the furthest bar until she found a shelf at gut level. Her finger traced along that, trying to find its end… "Ah!"

A sharp pain greeted her finger and Tsubaki pulled it back in instinct. Liquid tickled it, dripping from the digit, and she suckled it to the ferric taste of blood. And once more, she found herself at a loss. Fear clouded her mind—how on earth was she supposed to do this? How was she supposed to cope with this handicap, if just leaving a room was this difficult? …Like she would let something like this stop her. No, she could adapt to it; she wouldn't let this best her. She strode forward, hands outstretched like a mummy, groping for anything solid that may lie before her. And within moments, her hands met something. Firm, but not necessarily hard, buffered by a thin layer of some fabric, enticing to the touch… "You done feeling up my chest yet?"

"A-ah!" Tsubaki took a step back, stumbled and almost found herself flat on her back, if not for a hand gripping her wrist. Still, rather than allow herself to be pulled back up, she just slumped back to the ground, cheeks a bright red. That...that was…? "S-sorry, Ragna…I…"

"Don't worry, geez. It's fine." A gloved hand fell on her shoulder. "Was just checking on you. You sure you should be moving around like this?"

Tsubaki hung her head. "N-no. I know I shouldn't, but…"

…Shit. Ragna stared down at her pathetic form, a lump in his throat. He released her wrist and scooted over to sit beside her. He doubted she would come right out and say it, but it was clear she was scared. "Here, uh…want me to take you back to bed?"

"N-no. I can do this." Although shaking, Tsubaki pulled herself up to her feet. She had to pull through this, so simple a task. At once, a hand clasped her shoulder, but she shook her head. "Please. I need to at least try on my own."

"…Alright." The hand left. "If you say so. First sign of trouble, though…"

"I understand." Shaking, Tsubaki started forward again, reaching out her hands to feel around for anything to guide her. It took all of her willpower to take a step forward when nothing greeted her outstretched fingers. Three steps later, and at last she found the doorway. She poked her head through and met an acrid stench that made her stomach turn. After lingering in the doorway for several moments, Tsubaki stepped back and sighed. No, she couldn't continue through like this. Whatever created that scent was too likely to be dangerous should she stumble into it. "I…um…"

Rough hands gripped Tsubaki's shoulders and she jumped. Ragna's voice tickled her ear a moment later, drawing a light flush. "Back to bed with you."

"Right…" With a sigh, Tsubaki allowed Ragna to guide her back to the bed and lay her down on the firm surface. She instantly curled up under the thin blanket, her mind seized by failure. Her hand gripped the fabric in sheer frustration. "Could you…um, please go get Kokonoe for me?" Like she had originally requested.

"Oh, right. Talked to her, she'll be down in a minute. Trying to find something or some shit." Ragna grimaced as he looked down at Tsubaki. He had to drag her mind away from her predicament; she couldn't be left to wallow in such misery. "So. Um…what kind of stuff do you like?"

For several long moments, Tsubaki didn't speak or move. Finally, she turned to the sound of his voice. "You mean, what do I enjoy that I can still partake in? Because the main one was reading."

…God dammit, he sucked at this. "…Sorry."

"It's fine. I'm sorry if I'm being short with you." Tsubaki shook her head; Ragna was just trying to help her. She couldn't take her frustrations out on him like this. "Well, um…I guess singing. And if I had a way to have my books read to me…"

At that, Ragna brightened up a bit. "Um…I could probably read stuff to you." Because hey, he wasn't completely illiterate, even if he never really saw the point of it all.

"Really?" A light smile worked its way onto Tsubaki's lips. "Um, thank you, Ragna. If you really wouldn't mind…" She trailed off.

"Huh?" Ragna cocked his head. For her moment of happiness to have passed so quickly unnerved him. "Something wrong, Tsubaki?"

"…Why are you being so nice to me? I mean…" Tsubaki sat up, although she hung her head. "I understand why you would be, considering our battle with Azrael. But…you're the Grim Reaper, and my loyalty…"

Kill him now.

"…Is with the Librarium." Her gaze turned in his direction. "I appreciate everything you're doing, don't get me wrong. It's just…we're supposed to be enemies."

"Honestly, I was kinda ignoring that bit." As Tsubaki spoke, Ragna's head hung lower and lower. "Look, I…um. I just don't wanna leave you like this, especially after you saved my ass there. Hell, I'd be willing to take you with me, but…well, Librarium officer and all."

"You…you would?" And to her surprise, Tsubaki found herself considering the prospect, truly considering it. At least until she reminded herself that Ragna was, in fact, an incredibly dangerous, violent criminal. Obviously not something she should ever be involved with. But still… A full smile restored to her, she turned to Ragna. "Well, thank you very much, then. I'll keep it in mind." Because she doubted she could shake it off ever.

"Mm…" Ragna returned Tsubaki's smile on instinct, even though he knew she couldn't see it. Well, at least her misery had been broken, or at least tapered. "You need anything that doesn't involve turning myself in, just let me know."

Unable to hold back a light chuckle, Tsubaki shook her head. "Thank you, but I think I'm okay…" She trailed off as her mind at last went back to the cause of her blindness, the tool that had had stolen the light from her world, and very nearly her life. "…Actually, may I ask what has become of Izayoi?"

"Right." Ragna growled a bit at the thought of the weapon. Its blue eye stared out at him from the corner of the room, taunting him. With Tsubaki's permission, he would destroy it so it could claim no one else victim. "I was gonna destroy that piece of shit, but I thought I'd leave it up to you. Want me to blow it to hell?"

"If this was truly my decision to make, yes. I never want to hear its name again." Tsubaki sighed, unable to give Ragna the request to destroy it. "Unfortunately…it's my family's weapon. I can't, in good conscience, have you destroy something that technically belongs to my father like that."

Ragna glared at the weapon one more time. Oh well; first chance he got, that damn thing was gone. "Gotcha. I'll—"

"You know, for the Grim Reaper, you're damn attached to a Librarium officer. She just that cute?" Kokonoe stepped into the room, an arrogant smirk on her lips. "Anyways. Think I figured something out."

The words didn't register in Tsubaki's mind for several breaths. And then she sat up, staring at the source of the voice. "Wait, you can heal me?"

"Heal? No. I've pulled some crazy shit with neuroscience, but there's no way I'm trying to fix destroyed brain tissue. However…" Kokonoe chuckled, clearly proud of herself. "Gimme a few days, and I think I can whip up some sort of Ars for you. Won't restore sight, per se, but you'd be able to kinda sense your surroundings. A bit of a substitution, assuming your Ars aptitude is high enough for it to actually be practical. Which I doubt; Noel's Ars aptitude is insane, and I doubt even she could keep it up for long."

"I…I see." Although it was a battle, Tsubaki managed to keep too much giddiness from leaking into her voice. Even with such limitations, even if it wasn't actually sight… Well, at least she wouldn't be completely useless to the NOL. "Thank you very much, professor."

"Hey, Kokonoe." Ragna reached out to lay a hand on Tsubaki's shoulder. "She good for heading out for a bit?"

Kokonoe's sharp glare turned on him. "And just where are you planning on taking her?"

"Dinner."

"…Eh. I guess. She's still not fully healed, so no going to screw in the bushes afterwards or anything, got it?" Ignoring their shared blushes, Kokonoe turned on her heel and headed back out of the room. "Well, me and Tager got shit to do. Enjoy your date."