A/N: Sorry for the delay. Blame college.

"Huh?" Nu's eye widened and fixated on the glimmering blade. "But…Nu tried to…"

"Nuh uh~." With a smirk, Hazama walked up to her, a yellow glint in his eyes. The knife whirled once on his fingers. "I'm really sorry, but I just can't let this shit slide anymore. First Lieutenant. Report. What did she do against Ragna, hm?"

Tsubaki narrowed her eyes and clenched her sword but nodded. "As far as I could tell, Nu perfo-"

"Number 13. Not Nu. If you don't mind, of course."

"…My apologies, captain, but I prefer to call her Nu. At any rate, as far as I am concerned, she performed admirably in our fight against Ragna the Bloodedge. If there was any indication that something was awry, I failed to notice it."

With an energetic nod, Nu grinned, a mask to hide her unease. "Y-yeah! Nu did just fine against Ragna! He was being, like, super-mean to Tsubaki and-"

"Ehhh!Wrong!" Hazama's blade flashed and a thin red line carved itself into Nu's cheek. As he stared at her pathetic, confused stare, he chuckled. "Let me tell you something, thirteen. I hate lies more than anything else. Oh, and I can tell you're lying your ass off right now. I mean, I knew you were insipid and annoying, but cowardly? Oh my, we can't have that from a weapon, now can we? So…I think we're going to have to make a few more, ah, adjustments to your memory."

"Huh?" Nu backed away as her bottom lip quivered. "But…Nu will be good! It won't happen again!"

"Yeah. I know." Hazama shot his hand out to clutch her by the collar and drag her in. His eyes opened to reveal yellow irises. "Because there won't be anything left of your bullshit. I'm sorry, but this annoying 'Nu' character you've created for yourself-"

"That's enough, captain!" With a pull on Nu's shoulder, Tsubaki broke the grip Hazama had on her. She stepped forward with a deep snarl. "My apologies for acting out of line, but such treatment of one of your subordinates is-"

"Yeah, yeah, whatever, don't care." He turned his serpentine stare on her. "Look, if this bothers you so much, why don't you just step around the corner for a moment? Okay? Kinda doing business here."

Nu's eye widened and she shook her head vigorously enough for her long hair to whip back and forth. Blood dripped from her cut. "No, please Tsubaki, please stay with Nu, Nu doesn't want…"

As Tsubaki set a hand on her shoulder, Nu trailed off. However, Tsubaki's eyes trained on Hazama. "I will not abandon Nu to your torment."

"Then just stand there like a good little soldier and shut up. Okay? O-kay." Once more with a smirk on his face, Hazama pocketed his knife. His eyes squinted until they appeared shut once more. "Now. Number thirteen. Let me set you straight. You were created—by us, thank you very much—to be a weapon. Do you know what that means?"

"U-um…" Nu pressed herself against Tsubaki's rigid form. "…Please stop…"

"…God, you're just as pathetic as Noel. But anyways. It means you…" Hazama pointed at her as a mocking curl painted his lips. "…Are made totally goddamn worthless with emotions and all of that shit. No wait, let me rephrase that. Every little bit of you, besides the stabby parts, is worthless. Your body is all that matters; Nu just needs to stop existing. So do me a favor, will you? Stop forcing yourself to exist and let all of Relius's wonderful programming act for you, okay?"

"...No." Nu shook her head. "Nu doesn't wanna."

"That wasn't exactly a request, you know." Hazama chuckled to himself and spun his blade. "But hey, this whole personality thing…does it serve any point, really? Oh, wait, I know! It's for Raggy, isn't it?"

"N-no…Nu doesn't…"

"Tell me, doll. What makes Ragna so god damn special? I mean...all he ever did was try to kill you. Not exactly someone I'd dote on."

"...Nu doesn't know..."

"He doesn't give two shits about your well-being. Hell, I don't think he's even grateful that you saved his stupid ass! You said you two fought, right?"

"Th-that's not how it was! I fought only because he was being mean to Tsubaki…"

"Yeah. Wonderful guy, that Ragna, am I right?"

With an audible growl, Tsubaki wrapped her arm around Nu's shoulder to comfort the trembling girl. "Ragna had perfectly valid reason for attacking me. He even seemed-"

"This has nothing to do with you, First Lieutenant. You don't understand half of what's going on, so just shut up." Yellow eyes flicked to meet hers. "Here, how about an official order from a superior? Stop. Talking. Okay?"

Nu, her eye wide, tugged on Tsubaki's arm in panic. "I-it's okay Tsubaki, Nu'll be fine, please don't make him mad…"

With shake of her head, Tsubaki sighed. "I am not going to leave you alone with this man. Nor will I back down if you dare threaten her, Captain."

"Well, whatever then. As long as you keep your mouth shut, I'm happy." Hazama yawned and stretched. "Anyways. Ragna. Cute, lovable, puppy dog of a man, right? Let's be honest here. He doesn't give a damn about you, thirteen. Hell, I'm pretty sure he'd love to see you dead. I mean, really, why should he not? You only stabbed him with a ten foot sword and tried to drop him to a fiery death. Sounds perfectly forgivable to me."

Nu's eye widened and she clutched her head. "Nu…did…you're lying!"

"Oh, good, I was waiting for you to spout that! Just like clockwork!" Hazama threw his head back for a laugh. Tsubaki bristled and clenched her sword tighter but Hazama paid her no mind. "Why would someone who hates lies more than anything tell one? Oh, no, trust me, this is all truth."

"...But why would Nu do that...?"

"Oh, I dunno, programming and all that, maybe? It's totally killed your chances of ever being with him, too." Hazama scowled as he rubbed his chin and appraised her. Inside, however, he was smirking. It was time for the final assault. "You know, you're a real flappy-flap. Always trying to reach Rags, but he's always out of your reach! Flap all you want, but you'll never catch him. Don't you get it? He hates you! Doesn't want anything to do with you, you unnatural albino bitch! Get it through your head: you're not human! And for that reason alone, no one will ever care about you. So tell me. If no one gives a shit about 'Nu', then why should 'Nu' even exist? Sounds stupid to me. I mean…"

"P...please..." Nu had sank to her knees in the middle of Hazama's rant as tears dribbled from her eye. "Wh-why are you doing this to Nu...?"

"Because the sooner you know the truth, the better." After he put on a warm smile, Hazama leaned down to place a hand on her shoulder. "Don't you see? Being this...'Nu' character is just gonna hurt in the end. I'm just offering to take the pain away. Come on now, why don't you-"

And without warning, a vermillion blade rested against Hazama's neck. Tsubaki snarled down at him, her sword hand shaking. "I've heard enough. Leave Nu alone, Captain."

"Not again..." Hazama looked up at her as the false warmth faded from his eyes. "Tell me, First Lieutenant. Do you have a brain, or is there just a tin morality trophy stuck between your ears?"

"I refuse to dignify such a question with an answer."

"Tch. Yeah, because it's true, isn't it?" Hazama stood up as his knife glinted. A tiny globule of blood dripped from it. "You really need to learn when to keep your stupid mouth shut, First Lieutenant. Might get you into trouble one of these days."

"I refuse to sit by and allow you to torment Nu any longer." Tsubaki lowered her blade, but her glare remained strong as ever. "I will be filing a request to your superiors that Nu be transferred outside of your jurisdiction. I believe my account of what has happened here will suffice in convincing them to do so."

"Cute. Really. Do you actually think that will work?" Hazama smirked, a smug expression that dented Tsubaki's confidence. "Newsflash, sweetheart. I hold a lot more sway in the Librarium than you could ever imagine. Sorry, but the regular channels aren't going to work. And besides…"

He chuckled. "The Imperator will just override anyone dumb enough to try."

Tsubaki snarled as her mind fought to come up with a reasonable explanation for the power he claimed he held. "That's…even if what you say is true, Hazama…"

"Captain, thank you."

"…Very well, Captain. Still, I refuse to allow your mental barrage on Nu to continue. Your attack serves no purpose other than to abuse."

"Why are you so dead-set on defending trash? Oh, wait, let me take a guess." Hazama put on a broad, mocking grin and his eyes opened to burn yellow. "You just wanna get in her pants!"

Something in Tsubaki snapped. "You vulgar bastard…!"

"Geez, can't you take a joke? I know you've got the hots for a certain AWOL major…" Hazama chuckled at the hissing breaths escaping Tsubaki's lips. "But seriously. Are you really this desperate for a friend? You could go down to the local robotics shop and buy something just as human as number thirteen here! And hey, it'd be far less rebellious, right?"

Tsubaki said nothing for several long moments as she routed all of her self-control into not attacking the captain where he stood. Finally, she spat, "I am not desperate for a damn thing. Except perhaps for Nu's torment to end."

"Really now. Interesting." All her words did was make Hazama's sickening smile grow wider, more terrifying. "So you're back on good terms with Noel then? How about Jin? Or Makoto?"

That last name froze Tsubaki and blasted away her rage with a numbing chill. "What? Makoto…?"

"Oh, you didn't hear? Yeah, she's turned traitor, just like the rest of your so-called friends. Pretty sure she's with Sector Seven right now, along with dear old Noelly." The yellow leer Hazama wore pierced her to the very soul. "At some point, you gotta wonder how much you really meant to them."

"…Ideological differences do not mean that anything about our friendship was meaningless." Even as she spoke, Tsubaki could not help but ponder the truth of Hazama's barbs. "None of this means…"

"Are you sure about that? Okay, I'll give you Jin. But come on. You've never considered that Noel and Makoto were just using you?"

"…That makes no sense whatsoever."

"Again, are you sure? Two chicks that struggled with the booky bits of the academy who happen to befriend someone intelligent, noble, kind, able to keep them on the right track…" The smirk took on a more mocking tinge. "Gullible, easy to manipulate…"

"Stop this!" At once, Tsubaki's fire returned. To be under such verbal assault for defending Nu… "You don't know half as much as you think you do about me! We're still…"

"So you still consider them friends, huh? I mean...I'm pretty sure that Noel stole something kinda important from you and that Makoto chose her over you..."

"Unless you have something concrete, I will not listen to any of this."

"Oh well, whatever. Keep being naïve; it ain't my bitch." Hazama chuckled once more. "Just keep that in mind, will you? I mean, we wouldn't want to lose such a talented officer, would we?"

"Is there a point to this mockery, or are you just seeing how far you can push me?"

"Ah, right. The point." Hazama jabbed a finger down at where Nu crouched on her knees. "Her. She failed, and I'm the one who's gotta clean up now. So will you kindly stop playing hero and let me get on with business? Really, this 'justice' fantasy of yours is just gonna get you in trouble."

"I won't let you touch her." Tsubaki braced herself and summoned her book-shield to her side. "Leave her alone, Captain."

"Okay, look." At once, all traces of amusement were gone from him. In their place, commanding malice. His blade glinted in the sunlight. "This was kinda cute at first. Now? You're pissing me off. So shut up and get out of the way already, First Lieutenant."

"I will do no such thing."

"This is an order. From a superior officer. Are you capable of braining up what that means, or has this tumor called 'justice' spread so far that you've forgotten?"

Tsubaki shrugged. "I don't care. Keeping Nu safe from you is more important to me right now."

Hazama grinned, tight and ferocious. "Well, okay then! I suppose a little punishment is in order! I mean, considering how much you enjoy handing that shit out..."

"Stop this…" Nu stepped in front of Tsubaki. "Nu will go with you…please leave Tsubaki alone…"

With a laugh, Hazama sheathed his weapons. "Ah, very good! About time you-"

"No." Tsubaki's glare remained firm. "I will not allow this."

"But...Tsubaki, he's gonna..." Nu turned a pleading look Tsubaki's way. "...Nu doesn't want anyone getting hurt for her..."

"And I'm not about to let this monster erase who you are." Tsubaki raised her blade toward Hazama.

"...You're really doing this. You're really lifting a weapon at me. Wow, I guess I was right about the morality trophy thing." Hazama smirked and turned away. "Well, whatever. I got places to be. I'll let you know how many ranks you've been shunted down due to this stunt, okay, Yayoi?"

And with that, Hazama disappeared into a void. Tsubaki stood still a bit longer, her breaths huffed. A finger tap on her shoulder made her spin around to face Nu. "Nu...are you..."

"Why did you..." As she teared up again, Nu looked down. "...Go so far for Nu? Hazama's going to...um...Nu doesn't know what, but it will be bad for Tsubaki..."

Tsubaki's arms encompassed Nu in a light hug and drew the two together. "Don't listen to him, Nu. None of what he said about you was true..."

"Nu doesn't believe him. But..." Nu shook her head and looked up into Tsubaki's eyes. "...Nu doesn't understand...why did you help Nu? You...really shouldn't have..."
Tsubaki blinked. "You're my friend, Nu. Of course I was not going to let that happen. And besides, what he wanted to do...erasing who you are...nobody deserves that."

"Nu...is Tsubaki's friend?" Nu collapsed her face against Tsubaki's chest and returned the embrace as tears streamed. "Thank you..."

Tsubaki held tight to the girl, although the crying left her concerned. Crying just because Nu was told Tsubaki considered her a friend? "Um...Nu? Are you alright?"

"Mhm." Nu looked up again and grinned as she wiped away tears. "Nu's fine. I'm just...really happy right now. Tsubaki...thank you so much for helping Nu..."

Tsubaki chuckled as her arms dropped. "You're welcome, Nu, although...no, never mind. Just know that I'm glad to help you with...well, whatever."

Pain ached along her wounds from the fight with Ragna and Tsubaki winced. "Um...would it be alright with you if we found a place to rest for a while? And then maybe we could get a bite to eat?"

"Okay!" With a giggle, Nu broke off her own hug, her tears already forgotten. "Can we get food first, though? Nu's starving."

Tsubaki chuckled and nodded. "I believe we could that. Come on, let's go have a look around. Just...away from where we encountered Ragna..."

As the two girls headed off, a pair of mechanical eyes watched them from behind tinted glasses a good distance away, their sight zoomed in. The behemoth lifted a radio to his mouth. "Kokonoe. I believe I have located a new Murakumo Unit. Orders? ...Very well, then."