Chapter 2: Night of the Grim Reaper


Every Night and every Morn
Some to Misery are born.
Every Morn and every Night
Some are born to Sweet Delight,
Some are born to Endless Night.


"Mr. Ragna, did you really have a cat teaching you things?"

"You're not lying about it?"

"But what else did it teach you?"

"It could speak, right?"

He was being questioned by children. Laphicet from earlier, and another one who certainly looked less human. Green-skinned, plant-like hair, mismatched eyes…. Ragna could somewhat understand now why the others were surprised at his more basic reaction with Dyle. Any normal person would be freaked out at the sight, uncommon beastkin or not.

Still, not much surprised him anymore and given the curiousity and wonder of these kids, he may as well play along.

"Settle down now," he said, resting his back on a bench. It was night already, so he wasn't sure how much time he actually had to speak to them. The rest of the crew were looking at him with an amused expression though, but he didn't mind.

"What's your name by the way?" he asked the girl.

"Kamoana," she nodded.

"Cute name. But in any case, about the old cat, no I wasn't lying. He was really strong by the way and was onsidered a great hero before I was even born. Jubei of the Six Heroes" He replied.

"Jubei…" Laphicet told himself.

"I don't recall any mention of these Six Heroes in any history book." Eizen said, raising an eyebrow at Ragna's comment.

"It's not a story I expect many to know. I thought I mentioned I'm not from around here?" Ragna chuckled.

"Would you mind telling us about that story then Mr. Ragna?" asked Laphicet.

"I can give you a short version of it if you don't mind. Can't keep you two up past your bedtime."

"Ooh, storytime from the newcomer. This I have to hear." Rokurou said, turning his head towards them.

"Hmmm…" Ragna paused, wondering how to start this one off. He hadn't really done anything like this before, though he had heard a certain someone regale her version of the same events. He should be able to do something similar modified to what he knew about it. Besides, the kids were the ones asking about it. "It went something like…"

"Once upon a time, there was a Black Beast. It was too strong and with its many heads, it devoured everything in sight. And when the people tried to destroy it, they found they couldn't even scratch it and thus it threatened to consume the world.

But when the world was at a loss… a white knight appeared out of nowhere, followed by five champions. With their strength, they slayed the beast and brought hope to the world. But their stories were forgotten and faded into obscurity."

He was silent after that, eyes closed as he let them ponder the meaning of that story.

"Wait, that's it?" Kamoana wondered.

"It's a pretty depressing tale, all things considered." Laphicet murmured.

"The actual story would be much longer of course. But that's going to take more than a single night to properly get into its various details. Some even requiring multiple viewpoints to even understand properly."

"An odd story for sure, but interesting nonetheless." Eizen spoke up, Ragna turning his attention towards him. "Just out of curiousity, how many heads did this beast have?"

"I don't think they've really mentioned the specifics. But I think people usually drew it with eight heads?" Ragna shrugged.

"Eight-headed is the Lord of the Land / With seven mouths to devour malevolence. / Through pulses of earth doth base natures flow / As He awaits the time of awakening. / Four Empyreans may tear Him asunder / But so long as there is one receptive to divine power / Therions shall be forever reborn / In sight of the full crimson moon. / The Nameless Empyrean hath one heart. / The Nameless Empyrean hath one body." Laphicet recited.

"Innominat then?" Eizen frowned.

Ragna sensed the chill in everyone's faces almost immediately. What, did his story bring up a weird idea?

"I wouldn't look too deep into that. Besides, I probably messed up how it actually went." He said.

"It's more complicated than that. And we should really get you up to speed on what we're doing. I suspect you also may play a larger role than what we thought." Eizen responded.

"Not sure I like the sound of that, but I guess that's fine with me." Ragna sighed. "Before that though, where's Miss Frowny-face? It's pretty late right now."

"Velvet… likes to keep to herself." Laphicet said, his expression a little dejected. "Maybe we should call her back down here?" he wondered.

"What, she's up on the deck? I could do that if you need me to a bit more useful." Ragna said, getting up from his position.

"Very generous of you," said Eizen, "Take your time though. We're not arriving at our destination yet."

Ragna waved a hand as he turned away, walking back up the stairs towards the deck. Maybe he shouldn't have mentioned that story to them? At first it was just something to entertain the kids, but he didn't expect the mood to become more serious after that.

"Innominat, they called it." Ragna murmured. It was almost certainly not the same thing as the Black Beast but his descriptions may have implied some sort of similarity to it. A mistake to be rectified later on, but not now given the truth of the matter.

He sighed as he looked out over the horizon. The sun had long since set, but there was still enough light to find the boundaries between sky and sea. Few sights really moved him such as this, especially considering the usual method of travel done in the past. A ship like this would not have lasted long in a seithr-filled world.

"Reminiscing about something?" a voice asked him from the side.

He turned slightly. It was that girl, Velvet.

"I don't normally see these sights where I'm from." He replied, leaning against the side of the ship. "I was actually tasked with coming up to find you, y'know? Guess everyone wants to have a little talk."

"They're just cautious. They may have warmed up to you, but we still don't know anything about your purpose or why you are so willing to help us despite knowing so little."

"Yeah, it feels that way. Got nothing to hide though. You could say I'm doing this as a bit of… escapism, I guess? There's nothing else left for me to do so I'm passing my time."

"Escaping from some responsibility then? I didn't know that." Velvet said. "The business we have deals with revenge. As long as you have the stomach for that kind of work, I could care less about your true intentions." She said, walking past him.

"Yikes. Didn't think I'd hear something like that," Ragna said as he shook his head. "Careful with that though. That much hate could eventually be used against you if you're not careful."

"What would you know about the kind of pain it brings…?" Velvet trailed off, glaring at him just briefly before she vanished down the flight of stairs.

He sighed, arms crossed as he pondered the thought. He knew alright, he knew it all too well. Something about that conversation really bothered him, though. He once had the same look in his eyes, and it wasn't going to end well. Did the others know about this?

"I really don't want that to be my problem." He muttered to himself, taking another look at the ocean for a bit longer. The moon was full as well, though it was partially obscured by the increasingly darkening clouds above.

"You're really leaning towards that dark and mysterious type, aren't you?"

Ragna looked down to his right. He had seen that creature in passing, usually with one of the others. Purple and white fur, a tiny stature almost like that of a cat but on two legs, an oversized head with a hat on top. At a glance, he could kinda see why the others would think his description of Jubei resembled one of these things.

"Got to keep up my reputation and all," Ragna chuckled, leaning back against the side of the ship. "What are you doing up here?"

"Just getting some fresh air, Mister Ragna. I don't think we've been properly introduced yet have we? I'm always doing so much work for Miss Magilou." He sighed.

"Magilou? That witch?" Ragna wondered.

"Uh-huh," he nodded his head. "I'm her Normin Contractee, Bienfu. Pleased to meet ya!" he extended his arm.

Normin, Daemon, Therion, Malak…. There were still a few terms he needed to get accustomed to. Easy enough he supposed. Ragna shrugged and reached down, shaking the Normin's paw and then resumed his usual position.

"Seems like I've gotten myself involved with a colorful bunch of people. Not that I'm complaining. It beats doing most things alone." He said with a chuckle.

"You're not regretting anything are you? What about where you're from? Friends and family?" Bienfu asked, climbing up onto the side of the ship.

"My family is fine. My brother and sister are finally living their lives without me having to watch over them. Though I guess I do have one regret. There was someone I left behind…" he trailed off. Even just thinking of her made him feel odd. The scent of roses… and tea. Never thought he'd actually come to miss those sensations.

"A lost love? That is so sad…" Bienfu said, "I feel for you, Mister Ragna. The heart is a tough thing to deal with."

"What makes you think it's… you know what? Nevermind." Ragna answered, slightly irritated. He was sure Bienfu meant well, but he didn't need to be reminded of those things anymore. "Anyways, let's head back down. I don't want them to think we're plotting something nefarious."

"You don't seem to be the nefarious type, Mister Ragna." Bienfu said, jumping down to the floor.

"Just Ragna is fine. And who knows? I am called the Grim Reaper after all." He shrugged, following the Normin down where the rest of the crew was. He had half a mind to ask what Bienfu was doing up here, but decided against it. Their business is their own.

Chapter End


Skit: Trying to Learn

Magilou: Well, well. It seems you do have an affinity with Normin. Maybe you are more like a witch like myself.

Ragna: Is it related to them looking like cats?

Magilou: In a way. But are you any good at magic?

Ragna: You mean like, regular magic or sorcery? Because I can do the basics, though I think I might be interested in learning a few advanced ones.

Magilou: Ooh! I can do that! What kind are you looking to learn? Curses that would make your enemies wish they'd never cross you? Spells of destruction that wipe everything in sight? Or perhaps the more practical ones like charms that can cause great infatuation?

Ragna: ….Yeah, I'm thinking more along the lines of wind and lightning, none of the weird stuff.

Magilou: Oddly specific there. Any particular reason?

Bienfu: Oh, that's because it probably makes him think of –Eeep!

Ragna: *picking Bienfu up by the head* Hey, that's enough of that.

Bienfu: Sorry! Sorry!

Magilou: Heh, well in that case I could consider the steps. Unfortunately, I don't specialize in those elements. If it's wind, you could ask Eizen. He is suited for that and Earth. Lightning itself is difficult to categorize, but I've seen the kid use a few of those artes.

Ragna: Kid, you mean Laphicet?

Magilou: *nods* Though I am curious. If you intend to learn those elements, what do you currently specialize in?

Ragna: Oh, well that's easy. Darkness.

Magilou: Related to being called Grim Reaper then? Interesting…

Ragna: Hey, I said it's just the basics didn't I? Anyways, I'll head off to rest. I'll be able to show off what I'm capable of soon, I hope.

Magilou: *watching him leave* For one who claims specialty in the dark, he's surprisingly cheerful. Let's see what he has in store for us.

Bienfu: *shivers*


(This story shall officially move to the Crossover section by the end of the 3rd chapter.)