A/N: Apologies for the lack of updates since June. My muse has been comatose these past couple months.

And prepare yourselves for fluffiness.

Tsubaki gripped Ragna's hand tight as the two meandered through the streets. Every step was tentative and nervous, no matter how much she tried to force herself to trust his lead. It was all she could do to stay up with him, as nerves fought to keep her from moving at such a brisk pace. And this was after she had gotten him to cut his speed back once already. However, no harm had befallen her on their path, and he had always given ample warning whenever something would be in her way. With a deep breath, she shook her head.

"Something wrong?" Ragna's question tickled Tsubaki's ear and her cheeks shifted to a light pink, well aware of how they must have looked to any passersby. She could feel the tension in her comrade, the effort it took to walk so slowly. Part of her wanted to oblige, to stop being such a burden. But no, such an idea was idiocy. And besides…she couldn't help but admit it was actually pretty nice like this. "You're clawing through my glove, by the way."

"Ah! Sorry." Relinquishing her grip a bit, Tsubaki shook her head. "No, nothing's wrong."

"You sure?" Ragna released a sigh as Tsubaki drifted away a couple inches. Okay, so that was nice enough that he probably could have ignored the razors biting his skin. His arm twitched a little and started to rise, to encompass Tsubaki in a hug around the shoulders and keep her close—for her safety, of course. "Anyways, just a couple more minutes until we're there. Doing good?"

"Yes, I am. T…thank you very much for this." Tsubaki turned a bright smile up at him and, unable to contain herself, tightened her grip once more. "It really means a lot to me that you're doing this much."

"Heh. Ain't a problem." With a chuckle, he returned the grin as they approached the entrance to their restaurant of choice, a red wooden building of Oriental design. He gave her a light nudge. "Hey, watch your feet. Stairs."

"Ah…alright…" Tsubaki slowed down, nervousness dimming her joy. She inched forward until her foot bumped against the stair. Her foot lifted, pressing against the wood to trace its contour with her big toe until it cleared the top. She was just about to take her first step when something scooped her up and plodded forward. "Wha…hey!"

"Sorry, Tsu, but you'd take five minutes like that." Ragna smirked at the startled girl in his arms, somewhat anxious about how she'd react. As her arms came around his neck on instinct, he relaxed. Her face glowed red as she tucked herself against him, the heat of her breath blowing across his cheek. With a breath to settle his nerves, Ragna started forward again. A few seconds later, he came to the top of the stairs, and lowered her back to her feet. "Uh, sorry about that, but…"

"N-no, it's fine." Trembling, Tsubaki fumbled for his arm again to anchor herself. She gave it a light tug. "Let's…just get seated."

"Right, right." Ragna led her inside the restaurant, fingers fidgeting with the fabric of the inside of his pocket. Once inside, he glanced around quickly, hoping the burning of his cheek wasn't visible. Gah, what the hell was wrong with him? His eyes settled on a waitress standing before them, already holding a pair of menus, and he gave her a quick nod. "Hey. You got seats for two?"

"Of course," the woman responded, a thick Oriental accent to her voice. She strode forward without so much as a gesture for them to follow—Ragna had to wonder if she recognized him as a criminal somehow—and took them past booths to where a door waited. "You want to be separate from others?"

"Huh? Oh, uh…" Rubbing the back of his head, Ragna turned to Tsubaki. "You got a preference, Tsubaki?"

"Um…" Tsubaki hesitated a moment; the tension in Ragna's arm told her all she needed to know about how nervous he was at the moment. At the same time, the less people to see her inevitably drench herself after knocking over her own drink following a blind fumble, the better. "Sure. If that's fine with you, of course."

"Ain't got a problem with it." Ragna nodded to the waitress.

"Okay then." The waitress opened the door and led them inside. An ivory white table with cushioned, wooden chairs on either side and a metal candelabrum with three lit candles awaited them. "Go ahead and take seats. I return for orders shortly."

"O-okay. Thank you." Nervous, Tsubaki reached for...anything, really. Her trembling hand met empty air and, after swallowing, she took another step forward.

Ragna spared a moment to give the waitress a nod, and glared at the candles. He took the candelabrum and blew them out in short order. "Well, that was stupid." He looked over at Tsubaki, making sure his partner wasn't moving her hands anywhere dangerous. He definitely felt more...protective than usual.

"Huh?" Finding the back of her seat, Tsubaki edged around to the front of the chair and sat down. The smell of smoke reached her and she blinked. "Oh. Candles, I'll take it?" Her hand brushed along the top of the table and encountered the laminated paper of her menu.

Ragna grumbled to himself. "Yeah. Waitress couldn't see I was leading you around, I guess. Way I see it, that could get real messy real fast." With a grimace, Ragna looked down at Tsubaki's hand. "There's a knife about an inch away from your left arm. Lemme take it, alright?"

"Ah!" Tsubaki's arm instinctively pulled up to her chest. "Th-thank you."

Feeling her cheek burn a little, she looked down and sighed. "Um, Ragna? Could you please tell me what they serve here?"

Ragna gave a nod. A moment later, he felt like punching himself as he moved the knife away. God dammit, why was he having so much trouble remembering that the girl was blind? "You got it. Chinese food. Heard they cook a pretty nice duck, but I'm sure you know what you'd want."

He laughed a bit. "I'm just glad I don't have to order one of everything off the menu for a change. It's...pretty nice."

Tsubaki returned his chuckle. "A friend of yours do that or something?"

Ragna gave a grumble of assent. "Couple of 'em. Can't really call one of them my friend, either. Just an annoying mooch."

"Ah, I…see." Maybe she could ask more about it later, but right now, something much more important was at hand. She paused a moment to think. "Do they have orange chicken here?"

At Tsubaki's question, Ragna opened the menu and scanned it. "Hmm...yeah, they got it. That what you want?"

"Yes, please." She looked up with a broad smile. "And don't worry; I promise I won't empty your wallet here."

"Alright." Well, at least he was getting used to not using visual gestures around her. At her concession, Ragna gave a chuckle. "And Tsubaki, if I wanted to save money, I wouldn't be taking you out. Get whatever the heck you want."

His wallet cried out at him, but he ignored it. That smile alone was worth getting over a little penny pinching.

"Ah... Um, thank you very much." Tsubaki gave a brief bow of her head. When she looked back up, her smile had only widened, while her blush had grown. "Um, may I ask what there is to drink here?"

Between Tsubaki's widened smile and her blush, Ragna felt his own cheeks start to burn. "It's...not a problem." He glanced away, trying to stop the fuzzy feeling he had in his gut. "Let's see here..."

Grateful for any sort of distraction, he set to scanning the menu once more. "Green tea, chamomile tea, jasmine tea...god damn they got a lot of different teas. There something you like? I can't tell the difference between all this hot leaf juice."

Tsubaki broke into light laughter and turned a full-on grin at him. "I'll just have the jasmine tea, thank you." She fell silent, but inside she worked to find something to say, something to idly chat with Ragna about.

Ragna grinned up at her, daring to look into her brilliant eyes again. "Might as well share a pot, I guess. Sure as hell ain't anything I'm interested in."

After several moments of nervous silence, Ragna racked his head for something that could be a decent icebreaker. Jubei had never exactly been helpful on the subject, and he couldn't exactly talk about work...or could he? "So...alright if you tell me a bit about what you do? Don't really see Library people risking their asses for the people often."

"Oh, um..." Tsubaki looked down, avoiding eye contact out of pure nervousness even if she couldn't see. "I...at least for the moment am part of the Wings of Justice. Most of my duty ends up being to patrol wherever I'm stationed and keep the peace. However, our primary role is...well, seeking out specific targets. Traitors to the NOL and the like."

Ragna nodded to himself, considering her words. He didn't know all that much about the Wings; they had always struck him as something phantasmal, appearing without warning, doling out their judgment, and vanishing just as suddenly. Ruthless, heartless killers. Which sure as hell didn't mesh with what he'd seen or heard from Tsubaki. "And you just happened to be on patrol then?" He grinned at her, before remembering that it was useless. "Well...gotta say, I like the sound of that. Wish you weren't attached to the Library at all, but a guy can't have everything."

Tsubaki giggled a little, her blush returning. "Well, actually, at the time I was on my break. Until Azrael decided to use me as a weapon."

Ragna winced at the memory; the thought of being of her being used in such a way ignited a protective spark in him. "Right…"

With a sigh, Tsubaki closed her eyes. And her she was, back at the core of her dilemma. "...Of course, I doubt I'll be retaining my position now. There is no use in the Librarium for a soldier—no, an assassin who can't see her target. But I'm sure they could find something for me to do. With how many positions are available within the NOL, I can't see myself being left jobless."

The disappointment in Tsubaki's voice almost made Ragna recoil. He ground his teeth at the thought of the Library turning their backs on Tsubaki, after all she had done. "They damn well better. If the Library is stupid enough to let someone like you get out of their hands after the shit you pulled, they never deserved you in the first place." A light smirk came to him. "Well...I wouldn't mind much, but I figure you wouldn't be happy with it."

"Mm..." Tsubaki blushed a little. For Ragna to be that concerned for her… Still, she managed to peek up and smile in his direction. Of course he wouldn't mind too much if she had to turn somewhere besides the Librarium; he wanted her to join him, didn't he? And maybe, if she was left with nothing else… No, she couldn't. Not when he was hell bent on the Librarium's destruction.

Tsubaki's short answer left Ragna's throat dry. He'd let a lot of himself hang out there, and her being noncommittal made him nervous. Did she appreciate it? Dislike him for it? The smile helped, but damn it, he wanted to be sure. Before he could say anything, the door opened and the waitress returned. "You order now?"

The waitress arriving was marvelous in breaking him out of that deadlock. "Uh, sure. One orange chicken, one roast duck, and a pot of Jasmine tea to share. That sound right, Tsu?"

"Yes, that's right." Tsubaki kept her sightless stare on Ragna, trying not to betray her handicap to the waitress out of embarrassment.

The waitress jotted down the orders, drew and lit a match, and swiped it over the candelabrum, lighting the three candles in one motion. "Okay, I be back soon."

"...She's really asking me not to give her a tip, isn't she?" Ragna scowled once the waitress was out of earshot, and blew out the candles one more time. Upon looking back over at Tsubaki, he sighed at her attempt to stare back at him. "If you're trying to hide it, you'll probably want to look a bit higher up. Looks like you're checking out my chest."

"A-ah!" Blushing, Tsubaki forced a chuckle and did as he suggested, alarmed by how fast her mind traveled back to her accidental feel of his chest. "R-right, thanks. Um..."

After a moment of consideration, she decided to go ahead and ask a question lingering in her mind. "May I ask what you, um...do?"

Ragna grumbled a bit as she overshot his eyes by a hair. When he actually bothered to straighten up in his chair, though, it was just about right. "I…think you know pretty damn well what I do. Wanted posters are there for a reason."

"Yes, I...realize that much. But, um, you have to do something else at times, right? Like, you get money somehow..."

Ragna shrugged. "Odd jobs outside of the Hierarchical Cities, mostly. Farming shit for the most part. Just take whatever I can get when traveling, and a worker who shrugs off seithr's always good for the people out there."

"Oh, I see." She cocked her head. "Um...you mean to say that seithr doesn't affect you much?"

Ragna clapped his hand against the metal piece on his artificial arm. "Azure Grimoire. Acts like a lightning rod for the stuff, makes it so I can just walk through it like it's not there."

And now, time to change subject, because no way in hell was carrying on about his damned grimoire. "Don't suppose you've seen much of the world outside the Cities, have you? Yayoi and all?"

"Only from airships, unfortunately. And a bit while I was at the Academy, although I refused to go too far. I...was really sheltered growing up." Her eyes shined with curiosity as she tried to meet Ragna's gaze. "What's it like out there?"

"Well…shitty. Seithr mutates most animals and plants, twists the landscape and kills whatever it can't fuck up." His voice softened as the edge in his eyes vanished. "But when the seithr's light, it's beautiful. Kinda makes you envy those people who got to see what it was like before the Black Beast."

Rubbing the back of his head, Ragna trailed off. "I'm...probably coming off pretty stupid. Envying some assholes busy ten feet under..."

"No, you're not. At all." Tsubaki heaved a sigh, although her eyes all but glittered. "I wish I could have seen such a world. That we didn't have to be confined to the Hierarchical Cities."

Ragna smiled, glad that he wasn't coming off as stupid as he thought he was. "Thanks, Tsu." After thinking on it a moment, he grinned. "You know, if you're curious, and have the time...Wanna go to one of those places? Grew up in one of them."

"Oh!" Tsubaki brightened up, hands clasping together. "Yes, I-I'd love that. If…if it's not too much trouble, of course."

At her radiant smile, Ragna glanced away to kill his nerves. "Course it ain't a problem. Wouldn't offer if it was."

"A-alright, then. So, after dinner here?" She frowned and looked down. "But…how close is it?"

"Eh, don't worry about that. I know a…um, person…thing that could get us there. And unless you've got anything you gotta do after this, we can right after dinner."

…Person thing? What on earth was he talking about? Setting the question aside, Tsubaki shook her head. "Yes, I could leave right away. Thank you very much." And if she could see and was in a position where it would be appropriate, she would lunge in to hug him tight.

"Ain't a problem, Tsu. Right after this, we'll head there."

Awkward silence fell as neither could think of anything further to discuss. A few minutes in, Tsubaki gave a light sigh as her wandering mind fell upon an old friend. She blinked, confusion welling up inside her. What should she do now? Her affection for Ragna was now rivaling what she had spent years building up for Jin. She could tell Ragna cared for her in his own way, more deeply than he should have at this stage. But what about Jin? She sighed again.

"You okay?"

"Huh?" Her head shot up at Ragna's voice and she nodded. "Y-yes, I am. Sorry about that. I was just thinking."

"Mm…" Ragna scowled. Whatever was on her mind seemed to be unpleasant. Well then. Time to get her mind off of whatever it was. "So, uh…what was the Academy like?" Lame question, but hey, it was all he could brain up, dammit.

"Well, um…" Tsubaki thought for a moment. "Um, anything in particular you want to know?"

"How was it for you?"

"Like I said, I was rather sheltered growing up, and the Academy was pretty much my first break from that. I was initially…shocked by how ugly it could be."

"Lemme guess. Figured out that people could be complete bastards?"

"Yes. In particular, I met one of my closest friends, a beastkin from a poor family, by having to defend her from against nobles tormenting her for her social status. It was something I crusaded against my entire stay there. Still…" She smiled, eyes closed in reminiscence. "Besides that, it was mostly wonderful. I made a lot of good friends…" Two of whom she was now supposed to kill. But if there was any consolation to her new handicap, there was no way she could be expected to carry out those orders.

"Well, that's good at least. How'd you do at the Academy?"

"Top of my class."

"…Damn." Ragna's smile widened in admiration, and he knew it probably looked quite stupid on him. Oh well. "So, uh, what made you decide to join the Wings of Justice, anyways?"

"Oh, um…" Tsubaki looked away from him, cheeks pink. "Originally, I was hoping to work under one of my friends as his secretary, at least to start. That…fell through, though, and so I decided to go with what I thought what help me uphold justice the best. Dealing with major enemies of the Librarium struck me as the best option in that regard."

"Mm, gotcha. You're really into this justice thing, aren't you?" Leaning forward a bit, Ragna grinned. "Why's that, anyways?"

"Well, um…it's kind of embarrassing to say, but…" Tsubaki giggled with a light blush. "It's… I really admire the Six Heroes for what they did. For how courageous they were. I've wanted to emulate them my whole life."

"The Six Heroes, huh? Yeah, I getcha." And if they got the chance, he would certainly introduce her to at least one of them. "You ever met any of 'em?"

"Y-yes. Back when I was stationed in Kagutsuchi, I had the fortune of encountering Hakumen." Tsubaki give a blissful sigh, eyes downward and a serene smile on her lips. "He was…amazingly nice. Very caring toward me. I…was surprised, really."

"You're telling me." Hakumen? Nice to anybody? Was it actually him that she had met?

"Huh? You've met him?"

"Yeah. He wants me dead. Dunno what his deal is."

"I…I see." Tsubaki's face went pale. "Um…sorry for bringing him up, then…"

"Nah, it's fine. I asked, anyways."

Behind Tsubaki, the door opened and the waitress stepped back in, holding a tray with two plates, two teacups and a steaming teapot. She set down the plates before their respective recipients—orange-glazed chicken bites and steaming vegetables for Tsubaki, a roasted duck for Ragna—and placed the tea between them. "Enjoy."

"Thank you very much." As soon as the waitress left, Tsubaki blinked. "Um…Ragna? How am I supposed to…?"

"…Uh. Shit." Ragna, fork in hand and ready to dig into his meal, paused to think. And came up with only a single solution, which left his face burning. "Here, just a sec. I'll help you here."

"O...okay." Tsubaki shared his blush, knowing exactly what he meant by that. It left her utterly embarrassed, but if there was no other way…

Ragna slid his chair around to the other side of the table, sitting directly to her left and bringing his meal along with him. He poured a cup of tea and shifted it over until its handle bumped Tsubaki's fingers. The girl took the cup, and Ragna laid a hand on her shoulder. The shock of contact drew a flinch from Tsubaki, and Ragna gave it a light squeeze of reassurance. "Right. Take it slow; shit's hot. Don't want you to spill it on yourself. And, uh, try to keep a grip on it here."

"Right…right…" Slowly, with a trembling hand, Tsubaki brought the cup up until it brushed her lips. She took a sip, letting the hot liquid calm her down. As she did so, Ragna speared a piece of chicken on a fork, and nudged the corner of her mouth with it. "Huh?" Her tongue flicked out and licked to the taste of the orange syrup. She turned and took it into her mouth. After swallowing, she gave Ragna a bashful smile. "Um…thank you very much for doing this."

"Ain't a problem, Tsu." Focused on fixing up another bite for her, Ragna didn't notice her smile for a few moments. When he turned and looked her in the eyes, however, attraction struck him and sucked out his wind. God damn, was this girl beautiful. Numb, he brought up the fork, carrying both vegetables and chicken. "Um…"

Tsubaki opened her mouth wide, knowing what he was trying to say. After Ragna drifted the fork inside, she bit down, ate the small bite, gave him a quick smile, and took another tentative sip of her tea. Rather than work on preparing another bite for her, Ragna just watched Tsubaki for a few moments, spellbound. With a shake of his head, he set about making another bite.

His own dinner could wait until Tsubaki was satisfied.

"Thank you very much, Ragna." Tsubaki beamed in his direction, hand locked in his. So he could lead her around, of course. "And, um…sorry I was such a burden there."

"Nah, it's nothing. Don't worry about it, Tsu." Again fidgeting with the insides of his pocket, Ragna couldn't help but smile down at her. "Oh, uh, you got a little something here."

"Huh?" Tsubaki tensed up as his finger brushed the corner of her mouth, wiping away a bit of glaze. Her cheeks burned red once more. "Oh. Um…thanks, again."

Ragna chuckled, giving her hand a squeeze. "You don't gotta thank me for everything, you know. Oh, right. We got some stairs down here. Feel comfortable walking down them, or…?"

"Ah…r-right." Tsubaki's lips twisted into a grimace as she pondered. She turned to Ragna. "Could you, um, carry me down?"

"Sure thing."

With that, Ragna scooped her up in his arms. With a deep breath to calm his haywire nerves, he started down the stairs. No sooner had he reached the bottom than a voice called out for him. The loathsome voice of a girl he knew all too well, reeking of nobility and superiority. "Oh, my. The Grim Reaper, carrying an enemy soldier in his arms? This is truly a surreal sight."

And no matter how much that damned squeak annoyed him, Ragna couldn't help but grin. Perfect. "Hey there, bunny-leech. Was hoping I'd run into you."

A/N: And now, a quick update on the state of my fics.

At Fate's Hands: I was really hoping to be getting close to done with these chapters by now, but I'm nowhere near that. This is pretty much my top priority now.

Mega Lambda and A Pleasant Shade of Grey: Neither of these are dead. I have Mega Lambda 4 planned out, but am having some difficulty coming up with what to do with APSOG 4. Both are second priority to AFH.

Confinement: Next chapter's about half done. It'll get done shortly in all likelihood.

The rest: have updated recently enough to be low priority, although I'm gravitating pretty strongly to this story.

Finally, I have a couple other ideas on my mind. One is just a short, silly Ragna/Tsubaki oneshot. The other is…somewhat darker, although it's just a general concept right now.