A/N: Happy Turkey Day, have an update. Also, I have a Ragna/Tsubaki three-shot in the works (yes, I know, so much variety from me). That will be up shortly.

At the first splash of rain on her nose, Tsubaki stirred. With a yawn, she stretched her arms and looked down at the weight on her legs. She smiled. Nu lay asleep before her, head resting in Tsubaki's lap. However, with the oncoming storm, perhaps it would be best to put an end to the angelic scene. She reached out and tapped Nu's shoulder. "Nu. Wake up."

"…Huh?" Nu looked up with an almighty yawn and blinked into Tsubaki's gaze. "…Oh. Morning, Tsubaki."

Unable to hold in a chuckle, Tsubaki smiled and shook her head. "It seems we kind of dozed off for a bit. We should find shelter."

"Oh! Okay." Nu pulled herself up from Tsubaki's lap, but whined as a bolt of pain laced down her back. "…Nu hurts."

A concerned frown etched Tsubaki's lips and she placed a hand on Nu's shoulders. Right. She may have healed the gash in Nu's gut, and thus the main threat to her life, but Hakumen had dealt far more than that to the girl. Gently, she lowered Nu onto her stomach and examined her. "Here, I'll patch you up as well as I can."

"Mm…" Nu closed her eyes and allowed Tsubaki to trail her hand over her wounds. She hissed in a breath and winced as Tsubaki's fingers ran over her shoulder. Looking up, she gave a light whimper, a request to fix what ailed her.

"Your shoulder?" Tsubaki shifted over, straddling Nu's waist for a better position. She leaned forward and drifted her hand over Nu's shoulder blade, its digits aglow. After a short time, she sighed. "…My apologies, Nu. I…don't think I can project my Ars through your bodysuit."

"Oh!" Nu muttered to herself, and the light blue outfit simply phased out of existence, leaving her stark naked beneath Tsubaki. She turned to look back at Tsubaki. "This should help, right?"

"Ah…um…yes." Pink tinting her cheeks, Tsubaki closed her eyes and breathed deep to try and regain her composure. She again leaned forward, inspecting the green-purple bruise that ran from Nu's shoulder to halfway down her spine. Her hands came down and ran over it, fingers massaging the soft skin on either side of the blight. As her hand ran up Nu's back, Tsubaki chanted under her breath. She rubbed up and down Nu, projecting seithr to heal her friend as well as she could. "How does that feel, Nu?"

"Mm…good." Nu closed her eyes and beamed. "Tsubaki's really good at this." When she looked back, she giggled a little. "What's with the blush, Tsubaki?"

"Huh?" When faced with having to acknowledge her embarrassment, Tsubaki only burned brighter. The gentle stroke of her hand faltered a moment. "Don't read too much into it; you simply caught me by surprise."

"Mm?" Nu's eye lit up with mischief as she gave Tsubaki a teasing smirk. She propped herself up on her elbows and turned a bit to look her in the eye. "Are you sure about that?"

"…You're making it difficult to treat your wounds."

"Aww…okay." Still smiling to herself, Nu lowered herself back to the grass and allowed Tsubaki to work. After about a minute, she sighed. "Um…Nu's sorry if I made Tsubaki uncomfortable. Nu was just joking."

"It's fine, Nu." Tsubaki granted her a warm smile. Although the Ars ceased, she continued massaging Nu's back, kneading her muscles to relax them. "Are you feeling better?"

"Mm! Thanks!" Nu purred, eyes closing. "This feels so good…"

"Mm. No problem, Nu." Although Tsubaki closed her eyes as well, her mind churned. According to Kokonoe, Ragna was instrumental to Terumi's defeat. Somehow; the last thing Tsubaki wanted to do was admit the idea had credence, but given how little she knew about everything that was going on, she figured she might as well do so. And Ragna was apparently wandering around. Where anything could befall him.

A tool of that importance shouldn't be allowed to be left in such danger.

She opened her eyes and gave Nu's shoulder a tap. The Murakumo turned with a sleepy look in her eye and murmured out, "Hmm…? What is it, Tsubaki?"

"When we're done here, we're going to go find Ragna the Bloodedge."

Tsubaki scowled as she stood before the steel gate into Kokonoe's laboratory. The return to Wadatsumi had been quick and uneventful, sans Nu offering to utilize her swords as dowsing rods to find Ragna. Tsubaki prayed the girl was joking with something that absurd. But now, as she gazed upon the wide-open laboratory, its inside barren, she found herself at a loss. "…Well. Seems like Kokonoe had to pack up shop here. Um, do you have any idea what we should do now, Nu?"

"Um…Nu doesn't…" Nu cocked her head and blinked as an idea rooted itself in her. Her visor formed and covered her face. "Scanning for biosigns… scanning… 1.7 million detected within range. Scanning biosigns for Azure Grimoire…"

After a few moments, she smiled. "Match confirmed. 3 miles at 2 o'clock."

"Huh?" Tsubaki blinked. "You're certain it's Ragna?" And why hadn't Nu thought of doing that before? It would've saved a lot of time…

"Yep! It's not Nu, so it must be…" Trailing off, Nu blanched, barely perceptible due to her naturally pale skin. No, there was someone else it could be. Someone she never wanted to see again. "…Um, actually…Terumi had one, too…"

"…I see." Tsubaki closed her eyes, pondering. "Yes, that would make sense. Terumi's presence could well be what caused Kokonoe to leave so suddenly. What do you think we should do?"

Nu looked down and away with a light shiver. "…Nu really doesn't wanna run into Terumi again… But we need to find Ragna… But… Nu doesn't know."

"Mm…" After a few more moments, Tsubaki made her decision. It was not one that set her at ease, not one she wanted to follow through on, but rather one that invited disaster to befall them. Ultimately, however, it was the only conclusion she could really come to, given what may have been at stake. "…We'll follow whoever you're detecting, albeit from a distance. We will need to determine our target's identity before we're noticed. If we confirm that it's Ragna, we'll move in and confront him. Peaceably; we don't to end up fighting him again."

"And if it's Terumi?"

"We run and hope he didn't notice us." Tsubaki straightened up. "Is this acceptable for you?"

"Y…yes." Nu forced a nod, even though the prospect of meeting Terumi again unnerved her to the point of nausea. Still, she had full faith in Tsubaki. Her friend would protect her from harm, right? "Nu will track him."

"Thank you." With a reassuring smile, Tsubaki gave her a nod, a prompt to get going. "Lead the way, please."

"Like, the signal's about fifty meters away. And he still hasn't moved." Nu raced along at top speed, completely unconcerned with passersby witnessing her hovering down the street. "Um…Nu hopes Ragna's alright…"

"Same." Tsubaki panted as she struggled to keep up with the bolting Murakumo Unit, Zero Squadron robe disheveled. She came to a halt behind Nu in the center of a strip of stores and cafes, and glanced around. "Is he… inside?" Hopefully, if it was Ragna. The public location reduced the chances of something having befallen him.

"Yep!" After a few moments of scanning, Nu skipped along toward a small restaurant, certain the signal came from there. As Tsubaki followed along, Nu said, "Pretty sure he's here. But…um, how do we get out if it's Terumi?"

"…I don't know. Let's just be careful."

"Mm." Nu picked up speed again and glided through the glass doors into the dim restaurant. The scent of seafood and cheap wine flooded her, but she paid those sirens little mind. In short order, she scanned the tables strewn about. In a dreary corner of the building, almost too far from any of the lights to be recognized, sat her target. She grinned and turned back to Tsubaki. "Ragna's here, Tsubaki."

"I see." A weight of apprehension lifting off of Tsubaki, she followed Nu inside. No sooner had she relaxed than a new worry struck her, though; what if Ragna proved hostile? It would be entirely counterproductive to have to use force against him. Still, she had no choice but to confront him here. "Let's go."

With a gesture to follow to Nu, Tsubaki strode through the rowdy patrons. However, a hand took her by the wrist, and she turned to see a waiter scowling at her. "Please wait to be seated, ma'am."

Tsubaki jerked her wrist away and shook her head. "My apologies, but I'm here on official NOL business." Hardly the truth, but… "If you'll excuse us. Come on, Nu."

Nu nodded and glided forward, ready to give the mental prompt for Murakumo's summoning at a moment's notice. "Okies."

As they approached Ragna's table, the Grim Reaper looked up. And scowled as soon as he realized who came to invade his solitude, a hand drifting to a scar in his gut. "What the hell are you two doing here?!" His other hand clasped Blood-Scythe's grip.

While every head in the café turned towards them, Tsubaki flinched at the roar, but did not waver in her approach. She came to a stop at his table and pulled up a seat, beckoning for Nu to join her. "We're here to speak with you, Reaper. Rest assured, we mean you no harm."

"Yeah!" Nu gave a firm nod as she sat down across from him as well. "Tsubaki said we needed to, like, find you and stuff, so…"

"So you decided to crash my lunch, huh? Tch." Ragna leaned forward, hatred in his narrowed eyes. "Well, whatever. Say whatever shit you need to and get out of here."

"It's…unfortunately not that simple." Tsubaki folded her hands on the table, and matched his stare. "We have been working with a scientist in Sector Seven—"

"Kokonoe?"

"Yes."

"She's nuts." Ragna took a sip of whatever he'd ordered to drink. "Go on."

"…Anyways. She indicated that you are somehow vital to Terumi's defeat."

Ragna blinked. "…And why would a good little soldier like you give a shit about something like that? What, you want to protect your precious captain? …And how do you know that he's Terumi, anyways?"

"I'll spare the details and just say he's proven absolutely horrific to Nu and I, to the point that I don't believe he's suited for a commanding role. Furthermore, he's a traitor to the Six Heroes."

"So…" With a sigh, Ragna looked down. If this chick really was against Terumi, he wasn't going to complain. But… "So, because he's an utter dick, you want him gone. Is Nu in on this as well?"

Nu nodded. "Yes. Hazama is mean."

"Understatement of the day there." Another sip, an annoyed roll of the eyes. "So, what do you want with me?"

Tsubaki remained cool, composed even as Ragna's irritation increased. "We need you to come with us, to keep you out of danger. If you, of all people, are actually a key to defeating Terumi…"

Ragna's mouth hung open for a moment as he fixed Tsubaki with a wide, incredulous stare. A choked noise escaped his throat before a harsh laugh barked over the clamor of the crowd. "Are you fucking serious? You idiots, protect me? What the hell makes you think that I need a goddamn babysitter?"

"The fact that I managed to stab you in the gut before, and could have killed you right there if I so chose."

Ragna's laughter died a very quick death. "…Oh, shut the hell up. Somehow, I don't think using Izayoi like that was exactly good for you."

"No, but that should break any façade of invincibility you might wear." After receiving no response other than a deep glare from Ragna, Tsubaki allowed herself a small smirk. "Anyways. We can't afford to allow anything to happen to you. So I figure the best way to ensure your safety is for someone to keep an eye on you. In case you end up in over your head again."

Ragna slammed a fist down, teeth bared in his snarl. "I was not goddamn—"

"My apologies, I'll stop with such comments."

"You'd damn well better."

"Come on, Ragna!" Nu perked up. "Join us! It'll be fun!"

"Like hell it would. And besides." Ragna jabbed a finger an inch from Tsubaki's nose. "What makes you think I'm gonna trust a Wing of Justice and a sadistic sword girl?"

"Um…" Nu raised a hand, tentative and shy.

"Yeah."

"Nu's a Wing of Justice, too…"

"You mean Tsubaki's dragging your ass with her in her Zero Squadron crap, because there's no way in hell you've actually been indoctrinated into the Wings." After pausing to down the rest of his drink, Ragna leaned forward and snarled. "Well, you have your answer. Piss off already, unless you have a death wish."

Tsubaki pursed her lips, hand on Izayoi's hilt. That sure escalated in a hurry. "Sorry, but—"

"But nothing." Ragna stood to full height and edged his sword out. "Get out of my way, or you'll regret it."

By now, the once-raucous restaurant had fallen deathly silent in anticipation of a fight, a burst of excitement to break the monotony. Tsubaki ground her teeth, needing to make a decision this damn second. However, a sniffle broke out from her side and she turned to its source. Nu pouted up at Ragna, eye wide and tearful, lips quivering. "…Why is Ragna being so mean? Nu and Tsubaki just want to help…"

Ragna gave her a deadpan look. "That shit ain't gonna work on me. Don't even bother."

In an affront to all sense of physical limitations, Nu's eye somehow widened further, and she sniffed. "But…but…"

"But nothing. Get lost."

"Meanie." Nu crossed her arms and scowled. "Um…like…come with us, and Tsubaki will lower your bounty!"

Ragna and Tsubaki exchanged disbelieving looks, and the former shook his head. "You're an idiot."

"I believe that term better applies to you." A gale blew the scent of roses through the restaurant, and in the blink of an eye, a youthful girl with long twintails reclined in the seat beside Ragna, teacup in hand. "One must wonder what malady of the brain would lead you to dine with two of your enemies, unless they knew of your lack of foresight, and even intelligence."

Ragna jumped at her sudden appearance and slid as far away as he could. "That's the best you got, bunny-leech? Your tongue's gotten dull."

"Is that so? I'm afraid I must have blunted it conversing with Professor Kokonoe. Rest assured, you have done little to affect it." Rachel took a sip of tea, eyes closed as though pondering some deep question. "Now. Please do tell me why you have seen fit to dine with Miss Yayoi and a Murakumo Unit."

With a snort, Ragna leaned on an elbow. "I'm not. They popped in and started babbling about keeping an eye on me or some shit. Because they think I'm important to killing Terumi or something. So they appointed themselves my babysitter, and I'm trying to tell them to piss off already."

"I see." Rachel turned to Tsubaki and inclined her head. "You have my gratitude; you would be ill-advised to leave this feral beast of a man to his own designs. One cannot begin to fathom—"

"Oh, shut the hell up, rabbit."

"Um…" Tsubaki fumbled for a reply, still trying to process Rachel's sudden appearance. "You're welcome…?" With a quick shake of her head, Tsubaki cleared her confusion and straightened up. "Um, my apologies, but may I ask exactly who you are?"

"Why, certainly." After taking another sip of tea, Rachel graced Tsubaki and Nu with a rare smile. "I am Rachel Alucard. And you are quite right in believing Ragna to be vital to our efforts against Terumi. However, allow me to assure you that you need not tail him. I have my eye on him at all times; he is scarcely in any true danger."

"I see. It's a pleasure to meet you, Miss Alucard." Although the girl's crimson eyes unnerved her, Tsubaki gave Rachel a nod while she wondered just how Rachel knew who she was. "However, I must disagree with the notion that you keeping watch is serviceable. Just a few days ago, I could well have taken his life without interference."

As Ragna grumbled to himself, Rachel smirked and let out a light giggle. "I understand your concern quite well. However, allow me to assure you that such danger is nigh impossible to repeat. Interference from the Izayoi kept me from realizing the danger Ragna was in, until it was too late. However, as you possess the only weapon of such nature, Miss Yayoi, I daresay the odds of phenomena blinding me from this stray dog's peril are quite low. Wouldn't you agree?"

"…I see." Tsubaki nodded, although inside she sighed. She would admittedly feel much more secure about this if Ragna would just consent to joining her and Nu. However, all her ammo for her argument had been destroyed by Rachel's arrival, so now all that was left was to accept it and ask Ragna's pardon for wasting his time. "My apol—"

"Aww…" Nu feigned a sniff, once more putting on the cutest face she could muster. "But Nu wants Ragna to come with us…"

With a roll of his eyes and a grumble, Ragna snarled at her. "No, goddammit."

"Oh? What is this?" Rachel cocked her head as she surveyed Nu, wearing a light frown. "You are a Murakumo Unit, are you not? Designation Nu-13?"

"Y-yes…" Façade breaking under the question, Nu looked down and to the side to avoid Rachel's gaze. "Um, like, why?"

"How is it possible you are acting in such a way?"

"Oh…" Nu deflated, hunching over and crossing her arms over her chest in a primal defensive gesture. "You don't think Nu's a person either, do you?"

"On the contrary."

"Huh?" Nu's head shot up, her eye wide. "You…?"

"While I admit it is rare for a Murakumo to shed her programming in such a way, I know it to not be impossibility. Or perhaps it is a result of the eternal march of technology; it would explain why only the 12th, and now 13th, Units have done so." Once more, Rachel closed her eyes and sipped her tea. "Miss Yayoi. Miss Nu. I must ask of your loyalty."

"My loyalty to the NOL will never falter." Tsubaki stared down Rachel with conviction. "However, I will not allow Terumi to taint it any longer. I, and I presume Nu as well, am quite willing to fight against him."

Nu nodded. "Nu wants him gone."

"Very well." Rachel stood up and looked over them. "We have an ally in Iwatsuchi. I would like to send you to him. Although he holds high rank within the Librarium, I assure you he will mean you no ill will."

With a harsh snort, Ragna gave Tsubaki a nasty mockery of a smirk. "He'll be trying to get in your pants, though. Just a heads-up."

A gust of wind surged through the restaurant, lifted up Ragna's drink and dumped it on his head. "Please keep your vulgar mouth shut." Satisfied that she had silenced Ragna, Rachel offered Tsubaki and Nu a small smile. "Meanwhile, I shall continue to keep a vigilant eye on this loathsome creature. Is this acceptable?"

Tsubaki and Nu glanced each other and, coming to a mutual decision, exchanged nods. Tsubaki rose and said, "Very well. As long as you can keep an eye on Ragna, we'll depart as soon as possible."