Chapter XXXII: Hair Today...

After Ragna's... run in with Tharja, the Grim Reaper headed off throughout the castle trying to decide what he should do that day. He knew he'd woken up rather late in the day, so he'd already missed morning drills and early practice with the Shepherds. He then remembered that Chrom had told him about Lissa's practice with magic at breakfast. He realized that he hadn't practiced much with his magic during his days traveling the continent as the enigmatic Black Knight, sure he'd been using techniques through his sword here and there, but never the raw stuff that he used to cast through his arm.

'Might be worth it to check in with the three of 'em,' Ragna thought to himself before a familiar sensation started to cover his body. Realizing that both his eye and arm were starting to go numb from the lack of dark energy, this more or less confirmed his plans. 'Guess I'll have to get some energy from Aversa then. Now where to find them? ...Guess I'll just have to ask around until I find someone that knows where they are.'

As he continued his search the Reaper was vaguely aware of something tailing him, peaking from behind the corner in order to get a better glimpse of the Reaper's back as he headed off. Ragna tried not to pay any mind to it, knowing that addressing it would likely put him in a new world of trouble. 'Sides, as he traveled through the hallways of Ylisse castle he could clearly see that there were several maids and butlers glancing his way and talking among themselves. This whole thing was probably just the gossip that he was still alive after his four month long disappearance.

Ylisse Spellcraft Chamber

"Now then, let's try that again," Aversa told the young Ylissian princess as she stood at the center of the room. Aversa herself was wearing her regular dark caster clothing (her regular outfit, not the robes she wears as a Sorcerer class). Lissa was a decent distance across from her with a Thunder spell tome in her hands, looking through the tome nervously. "Princess, you've cast this spell perfectly a dozen times before, what makes this any different?"

"Well... it's a little different trying to cast a spell against a target than an actual person," Lissa told her teacher as Maribelle stood off to the side looking over own Fire spell tome. "I mean... I don't want to hurt you..."

"As of now you're a novice caster at best Princess; nothing you cast at me will have the slightest chance of breaking through my defenses," Aversa told her with a roll of her eyes. Lissa wasn't sure whether or not to take that as an insult. "If you can't stand the thought of hitting someone with a spell maybe it would be better if you focused your energies on learning healing staves after all."

"But I can't just have everyone worried about me," Lissa said, trying to steel her resolve. "All right, I'm going to hit you with a spell! Get ready Aversa!"

'I've been ready for quite some time,' the dark caster thought to herself as magic circles started to form around Lissa. 'She still needs to work on lowering her casting time... oh well, still part of the process.' The Princess then finally cast the Thunder spell, the attack soar through the air at Aversa... right before it passed by her completely. 'Note to self; work on her aim.'

"HOLY HELL!" a familiar voice shouted as the misguided spell detonated, sending a powerful surge of electricity through whatever it had made contact with. The three then turned in concern to the source of the voice; a rather shocked Ragna who had emerged from the entrance to the chamber behind Aversa. He appeared unharmed, but his long silver mane now starting to stand up slightly on its own. "What was that for!?"

"Ragna?" Lissa said nervously as the Reaper continued come through the door, his face now just slightly cross. "I- uh... sorry?"

"What'd I ever do to you?" Ragna grumbled as he shook his head, causing his hair to fall once more. "Anyways, you three got room for one more? I was hoping I could get some practice in with my magic, and I heard that the three of you were doing some work with it on your own."

"If you wish I don't see why you couldn't," Aversa told him with a small smirk. "Be careful though, Lissa and Maribelle's main lesson today will be working on their aims."

"Yeah, I'll keep my head down," Ragna promised her, briefly noticing a look of disapproval in Aversa's eyes directed squarely at him. It didn't last for long, only a brief moment at most, but he had seen it quite clearly. 'She's got some kind of problem with me... and she's trying hard not to show it... Well, now's not the time to talk about it.' "Also my arm sort of needs a charge, kinda running low on juice."

"A charge?" Maribelle asked as Aversa nodded and headed over. "What exactly do you mean by that?"

"You know how my arm is supposed to run off of the Dark Energy that the Risen are made outta?" the Reaper began and the young noble nodded. "Well these last couple of weeks while I was wandering around I barely came across a single group of those damn monsters, didn't help that I had to spend a lot of my energy against Chr- one of my opponents." A small spark was felt on the BlazBlue as Aversa cast on of her dark element spells into the mysterious object. "Dark Magic is pretty close to Dark Energy, so I can get some power for this thing from Aversa, but it's not perfect."

"Perhaps if you actually put some energy into learning Dark Magic you wouldn't need my help," Aversa told him.

"Come on, the stuff that I can do with my BlazBlue is already dark enough and it's pretty damn powerful ain't it?" the Reaper told her.

"Yes, but it's easier to master magic if you're able to use all of the forms," Aversa told him with a scowl before she glanced to Lissa. "...With the occasional exception... You told me that you came here to practice your magic with us; consider this another level of practice, I doubt you'll be disappointed with the results."

"Fine, fine..." Ragna reluctantly agreed. "So where do we start?"

"For now consider yourself my little helper," Aversa told him with a slightly mocking undertone, leading the Reaper to roll his eyes in exasperation. "I'm going to be helping Maribelle get a proper grasp on second level spells. Meanwhile I need you to go and help little Lissa's aim, make sure she can make a shot without blasting a new hole in the castle wall."

"Hey, my aim's not that bad!" Lissa protested. "I just... I have trouble hitting real people."

"Well Ragna's real enough try to hit him with a few of the spells we went over," Aversa told her. "Besides, you've already blasted him unintentionally, he should be able to receive anything you can take and remain unscathed."

'I'm acting as a target dummy now? Wonder what the rabbit would say if she could see this?' Ragna thought to himself before looking to the nervous young Princess. "Well? Are you going to hit me or what?"

"I... I'm just getting myself ready," Lissa told him nervously before trying to appear prepared and determined. "All right! I'm going to strike you with my spell!"

"Less talking, more casting," Ragna told her before sighing. Yellow magic circles and runes finally started to appear around the princess as she started to channel her magic power into the tome she held. 'Does spell casting normally take that long? It'd be hard for her to use something like that in an actually fight.' Lissa then cast the spell, causing the attack to sail through the air... directly into Ragna's face. "Guh... Again?"

"S-Sorry! I didn't mean to hit you in the head!" Lissa told him worriedly before she got a proper look at Ragna. "Bwahahahahaha! R-Ragna! Your hair is-!" She couldn't continue, only succumbing from the demand to laugh at the startled and confused Grim Reaper.

"The hell's her problem?" Ragna grumbled as he looked to Maribelle and Aversa. The dark caster seemed to have an even snarkier smirk on her face than usual while the young noble was covering her mouth was a gloved hand, trying to prevent herself from giving an (in her eyes) undignified laugh. There were no mirrors in the room for Ragna to see the changes to his hair; his mane had become spiked once more, but instead of its usual light clumps of hair that it was usually in this time it was sprouting out of his head in several angles as sharp spikes that almost looked like you could impale someone with them, giving his head the appearance of a white porcupine that gave off the occasional spark of lightning.

"Quite amusing," Aversa told the young princess. "Let's see how well it'll react to a wind spell." This time Lissa could readily agree and wasted no time in charging the spell, this time hitting Ragna with the full force of the spell, blowing all of his spiked hair behind him and making it seem like that Reaper had just taken off at the speed of light before stopping. "There we go, much better."

"You're enjoying this way too much..." Ragna groaned as Lissa only continued to burst out laughing, snorting occasionally. 'Maybe I should get my hair cut soon after all...'

For the next half of the hour, the two groups worked with one another. Maribelle cast her spells at Aversa while she canceled them out with ease. Ragna had far less training in blocking the effects of spells, so he was forced to endure the attacks and each hilarious hairdo he was given to go with it. This only seemed to spur on Lissa's casting and reduce the time between each spell just to see what insane hair style she'd create on the Reaper next, even trying out a few Elwind spells for added effect.

"You know you could have tried to cancel the effect of the spells, don't you?" Aversa questioned the Reaper who was running his hands through his hair to return it to normal.

"Meh, started to see it was motivation enough for her to stick with, decided I'd endure it this once," he told her bluntly. "So now what?"

"Well the two of them are continuing their reviewing of second level spells, I think it's time I tried teaching you how to use Darkness Spells. This may prove to be a challenge as even the more basic spells are far more difficult to cast, but it been proven that if you can use even a beginner grade spell, you have access to the rest using spell tomes. The only ability truly set for you is your ability to cast the magic without a tome. It'll be interesting to see how that translates to you and your arm."

"Yeah, that could be something," the Grim Reaper agreed. "So how do I start?"

"Well there are a number of rituals that you could do; I might unlock some of the potential darkness that rests within your soul."

"Yeah, let's just stick to practice and go from there," Ragna told her. "What's the first spell on the menu?"

"That would be... this one," Aversa told him as she grabbed a dark book off of a side table and threw it to him. As soon as Ragna caught it in his right hand, a stand pulse was felt throughout his entire BlazBlue. It wasn't painful, but the sensation was still lingering on it and his entire body oddly felt like it had just woken up from a rather long nap. "Something the matter?"

"Just... felt something when I caught it," the Reaper told her, not in the mood for keeping secrets. "You didn't curse it did you?"

"No, but it might mean that you're highly sensitive to the magics within the tome. At the very least, it tells us that you can use the magic through tomes... possibly through your arm with sufficient practice."

"Then what are we waiting for? Let's get started," Ragna told her as he opened the tome and began skimming through the pages. "So it's called Flux then? Anything special about it?"

"Besides being a little stronger than other spells of this level there's nothing substantial about it. You could probably learn this spell in a short study-" The slight dark glow emitted around Ragna's glove interrupted her mid-sentence.

"Sorry, you say something?" Ragna asked with a cocky smirk upon his face as his gauntlet continued to glow from the spell it was storing and awaiting to cast.

"You're a quick learner I suppose, the only question is are you an efficient one?" Aversa then took position in front of the Grim Reaper and crossed her arms in expectancy. "Well?"

"No offense, but I probably hit with magic a bit harder than most of your opponents," Ragna told her.

"Then I'll just have to be satisfied that you're using a weaker and any mark you leave will heal completely," Aversa told him, leaving Ragna to raise an eyebrow. "Fine. Lissa, be a dear and keep your healing staff on hand."

"Um... okay," Lissa reluctantly agreed as she stopped practicing her spell magic and grabbed her familiar tool from the corner.

With three pairs of eyes upon him and Aversa's in a challenging smirk, Ragna knew he'd at least have to indulge her. Trying to put as little into the spell as he could, Ragna flicked his wrist and sent a blot of darkness at her chest. When the bolt came within four feet of her, the magic shattered before fading completely. Somewhat startled at this development, Ragna fired the spell again with more power, only to again watch as it shattered and faded as it neared Aversa. Trying a final time, Ragna poured in what anyone else might consider a sizable amount of power. This time Aversa was forced to take a stand before she swung her arm and shattered the spell.

"Alright, you have my attention... where'd I screw up?" Ragna questioned without whimsy as Lissa and Maribelle both let out sighs of relief.

"Your spellcraft is far too chaotic. Powerful or not, any magic duel against any real noteworthy mage would be like a fly attempting to kill a wyvern."

"My entire style is chaotic," Ragna rebuked.

"Why?" Aversa questioned.

"Why? Because that's how I was taught and that's how I've always fought," Ragna told her. "My master always told me that an unskilled fighter is a dead fighter, but a fighter whose too precise is one that's seen through too easily. The same principles apply to my Ars Magus."

"It's a mistake to think that casting a spell is the same as swinging your sword or even that other form of magic that you use. The more focused and precise a dark spell is harder it will be to cancel it mentally. Just because you learned to cast that spell quickly, don't think that you can harm an actual mage with it."

"...Alright you got me; teach me your mystic ways Aversa," the Reaper reluctantly agreed.

"If you're trying to flatter me, your silver tongue is out of practice," Aversa told him with a small smile upon her face. "Now then, begin channeling your magic and I'll tell you what adjustments need to be made."

"You got it," Ragna told her as he channeled his power into his BlazBlue once more.

The four of them continued to practice their magic for the next few hours. Lissa and Maribelle managed to master their lower class spells while Aversa worked with Ragna and helped him to master the Flux spell as well as review the fundamentals of a few of the other spells he hadn't worked on for some time. All in all it was time well spent and Ragna had felt like he'd at least managed to improve this world's version of spell casting somewhat.

"Well done you three," Aversa complimented. "Be sure you review what I've taught you, I may try to introduce you to the next level of spell casting the next time I see you." The other nodded in agreement while the dark caster left.

"See you later," Lissa told the remaining two. "Chrom wanted me to help him with his paperwork... though I don't really know what good I'll be..."

"As long as you can read to papers and mimic his signature I think that all he's looking for," Ragna explained gruffly. The princess gave a small giggle before heading off, leaving only the Reaper and Maribelle in the spell chambers.

Opinions of the Common Man

"So..." Ragna began as he looked at Maribelle. "What's on your plate?"

"If you're asking what on my agenda, at the moment I'm currently free. But perhaps there's something that you could help me with. Do you recall the tea that I provided you with the one time we had tea together?"

"Vaguely, thought I said something about it being warm juice," Ragna told her.

"You did. I actually brought the observation to my father not long ago and I was surprised to find that he wholeheartedly agreed with your judgment, yet when I told my verdict to a few of the nobles of court they merely told me that I 'didn't have the taste for such a pleasure.' Now I consider myself something of a connoisseur of fine teas, do you have any ideas why they might have said that?"

"Other than the fact that most nobles I know are stuck up?" he rhetorically responded, earning him just a slight glare. "Status I guess; it's easier if you shut up and go along with everyone else thinks than say something that contradicts their way of thinking."

"Is that so? But you, you always seem to voice your opinions of opposition, even when everyone else has said otherwise. Why is that?"

"Besides the fact that I can kick any ass I need to back up my argument?" Ragna told her with a chuckle, this time Maribelle gave a small giggle. "I guess I just never felt like being told what to do or think. Might've had something to do with the fact that I was usually surrounded by people that thought very little of me."

"Well given your status now I suppose you could certainly be seen as quite the voice of reason," Maribelle told him as an idea formed. "If you wouldn't mind following me, I do have a few teas and wines I'd like your opinion on."

"Eh, I got time so why not? Let's go."

Maribelle then led Ragna to an unused study and the two made their preparations for a taste testing. Maribelle heated a kettle of water and readied the tea while Ragna gathered a few goblets and poured the wines into them. Before long the two had everything they needed before them.

"Alright, so where do we start?" Ragna asked.

"Perhaps with this tea?" Maribelle said before picking up and handing him one of the steaming mugs. "This is an older brew, but several people of the kingdom have said that it has refinement in its flavor. Perhaps you could say otherwise?"

"I dunno, let's see..." Ragna took the mug and had small sip, letting the flavor cover his senses. "It's pretty good; a little more bitter than I usually like 'em, but good."

"I see, and this?" Maribelle asked as she brought him another mug.

"Ugh, WAY too sweet, how much sugar did you put into this?"

"I didn't it's a special brew that uses only its ingredients to present its unique flavor. Much like the first tea that you were served this one has come into critical acclaim as of late, yet you don't seem to agree. Even Lissa thought that this was an amazing flavor."

"Figures, she's always had a sweet spot for this stuff," Ragna muttered. "Trust me, this seems like the kind of thing that Gaius would be drinking."

"Our... thief?" Maribelle asked, her tone a mix of both disbelief and disapproval. "You truly believe he could appreciate something meant for a more prestigious pallet?"

"Why not? That guy's crazy about sweets and this tastes like it has a crazy amount of sugar, even if it doesn't." he explained. "Noble brewed or not it sounds like its right up his alley."

"So... you're suggesting I get his opinion?" the noble asked, unsure with Ragna's reasoning.

"I mean why not? Why is some noble's opinion any better than his? Unlike them, he probably won't care about any sort of status."

"Do... do you truly feel that way?" Maribelle questioned, leading Ragna to merely shrug. "Perhaps I shall question a few of the Shepherds then, I'll try to see if the really feel that way about the teas. It could help in my research."

"Research?" Ragna questioned with a raised eyebrow. "What the heck are you trying to do?"

"It's a rite of passage for my family," Maribelle told him. "My family has been known for brewing some of the best teas for the royal family for generations. I intend for my first creation to be one of the best in the kingdom... and if my last meeting with you told me anything you seem to have a unique taste for teas. Perhaps I'll even manage to top even your expectations."

'Should I just tell her about the box of Rachel's tea leaves that I hid in my room?' Ragna thought to himself. 'Eh, guess I should hold off and see if she can solve this thing on her own.'

Support Rank B Obtained with Maribelle

After the tasting session was over, Ragna exited the study and walked through the hallways of the castle, not having a particular course in mind. He passed by several nobles after they were leaving meetings or heading to their guest rooms or personal studies. Try as he might to ignore them, he couldn't help but overhear some of the things that the nobility was saying behind his back.

"So it wasn't just maid gossip after all," one of the nobles commented. "He's truly returned... And here I thought he was supposed to have died in the Exalt's- sorry, the former Exalt's rescue."

"He did manage to show up on the same day that Lady Emmeryn stepped down from the throne, and the day where that enigmatic Black Knight showed his undying support for her... Is it possible that there's some connection there?" one noblewoman advised.

"I suspected that as well," a third noble chimed in. "Perhaps this was all some ploy all along for Emmeryn to leave the throne and Chrom to take over. There's likely a plot here in all of this."

'These people just don't get it...' Ragna thought to himself with a sigh. 'Might as well let them think whatever the hell they want; they'll get theirs if they to encourage Chrom on a rise to power.'

"Still, with Ragna the Bloodedge returning this could present the rest of us with an opportunity, what with his close relationships with both Exalts," the first noble whispered to the others. "Don't you have a close niece that he might have interest in?"

'...That's it, I'm out of the castle,' Ragna thought to himself as he hurried off in a huff. 'Seriously, can't those damn nobles take a frickin' hint?'

Shepherd's Barracks

"Here we go, this is more like it," Ragna thought to himself as he headed back into the barracks. "Home sweet home." Heading inside he passed by the occasional guardsman who gave him a simple nod or even a salute which he returned with a nod of his own. As he passed by the training yard, he saw several of the Shepherds practicing their form against the training dummies and in duels against one another. This brought a brief surge of nostalgia to the Reaper, now relieved that Chrom had managed to convince him to return.

"Almost makes me feel like an idiot for not coming back sooner," Ragna muttered aloud with a small smirk on his face. His thoughts were interrupted by the barrage of footsteps that sounded behind him.

Innocent Fun

"RAGNA!" a young voice shouted as a young Manakete leaped into the air and landed on Ragna, clinging to his back. Though he lurched forward, he managed to keep his footing before glancing behind him. "Remember me?"

"Yeah, yeah, I wouldn't forget a fellow Shepherd... and it'd be damn hard to forget a dragon girl as energetic as you, Nowi," Ragna told her with a small smirk while the girl in question simply beamed with a smile. "So, any particular reason you decided to tackle me from behind or did you just feel like it?"

"I was looking for someone to play with," she told him. "Everyone's busy training or running errands, but then you came in and I found someone to play with."

'Play? At a time like this? Isn't she supposed to be centuries old?' Ragna thought to himself with a touch confusion. 'Then again, Tiki is pretty childish herself and I think she's supposed to be even older.' "All right, why not? What kind of game do you usually play?"

"How about hide and seek?" Nowi asked him. "I'm really good at finding people."

"Yeah, cause you're the type of person to crawl into everything," he told her with snark grin, only causing Nowi's own smile to grow ever larger. "Okay, you're on. Who's hiding first?"

"You hide, I'll find you," Nowi told him as she let go of his back and landed on the ground. She then covered her eyes with her hands and began to count. "One... Two... Three..."

Ragna immediately took off running, heading through the hallways and passing by the occasional Shepherd. Think back, the last time he'd played this game had been at the church with Jin and Saya. He became something of a master at the game, managing to hide from both his siblings and their matron caretaker... of course if he ever hid for too long Jin and Saya especially would cry until he revealed himself.

'Now that I think about it, would Nowi do something like that?' Ragna thought to himself as he hurried through the complex, his face slowly starting to darken. 'She's shown that she can be pretty childish and if she can transform into a dragon while she's upset... Maybe I'll try to be a little more obvious.'

Heading into the barracks, Ragna found himself in front of his old room. Trying the door, he saw that it wasn't locked so he decided to head inside and use this as his 'somewhat obvious' hiding spot. While he was relieved to find that the room didn't currently appear to be lived in, it did show that someone had been making the rounds and had been taking the time to dust it. Shutting the door behind him, he saw old collection of books on his bookshelf, a few of them already read while most had barely been started. His regular day to day supplies had been restocked, along with a bottle of brandy on the desk.

'Funny, this supposed to be for me?' Ragna thought before shaking his head. 'I'll ask Chrom about that later, maybe I can-' Right behind him the door was flung open as Nowi once more latched onto his back. "...That didn't take long."

"I think you underestimated me," Nowi told him with a giggle. "Alright, your turn to come find me."

"Alright, what am I counting to?" Ragna asked, realizing that the two had never established that.

"Fifty!" Nowi told him. Ragna narrowed his eyes; had Nowi found him as quickly as she did after counting that high she would've had to come directly here. "Oh, and if you can't find me, then I get a prize!"

"Wait, what? When was that part of the agreement?" Ragna demanded.

"I... I do the same with everyone else," Nowi told him, her eyes starting to fill with (crocodile) tears. Ragna decided he might as well go along with (that's what he told himself at least) and slowly nodded his head with a groan. "Great! Now cover your eyes and start counting!"

"One..." Nowi's footsteps were clearly heard for the first half of the call, before quickly become quieter as she made her way further and further away. "Two..." By the time he'd finished that call she was completely gone, no footsteps were heard. "Three..." Silence. 'Ragna the Bloodedge... What the hell did you just agree to?'

A good time later Ragna had no sign of Nowi, nor any sign that she had passed by. He'd decided it had gotten to the point where he could ask the others for help, but they'd told him that this was often a favorite trick of hers to win small favors from them. Most of them told him that perhaps he'd be the one to finally find her... He was starting to doubt it.

"Dammit..." he groaned.

"I win!" Nowi shouted as she came from out of seemingly nowhere a stood before the Reaper with a massive smile. Glancing down at the little thing, Ragna couldn't help but chuckle.

"You probably cheated, but what the hell, guess I'm a man of my word," Ragna admitted. "So what do you want? I got some decent coin on me so I can treat us both to meal."

"Food's good, but that's not what I want," Nowi told him. "Think I can play with your hair for a bit?"

"Say what?" The Reaper's complexion was one of honest surprise with the faintest touch of dread. "You're going to... what do you want to do to my hair?"

"Just play with it!" Nowi told him cheerfully. "The rest of the girls have let me play with their hair before and yours look like it's gotten much longer. I can totally have some fun with it!"

'Aw geeze...' "Nowi, listen..."

"B-But you promised..." the young Manakete began, with more crocodile tears.

'Damn it,' Ragna later thought to himself as he as he was seated in a small wooden chair while Nowi hummed behind him as she worked her magic. "Just... no bows... alright?"

"Don't worry you're pretty little head!" Nowi said before leaping up and roughly running her hair through Ragna's hair numerous times. He grimaced at the action, but held his tongue and decided to endure. (He's had to deal with Platinum, Nowi's a walk in the park via comparison). "I'll have you looking tres magnifique monsieur!"

"Where the hell did you learn to speak French?" Ragna questioned through Nowi's fun.

"What's French? I've just been repeating a few phrases that I've heard Virion say," Nowi told him.

'Figures.'

"And... finished!"

"Finished?" Ragna questioned as he barely touched the top of his hair.

"No touching! You'll ruin it!" Nowi shouted before she ran off and grabbed a mirror. "How about now?"

"Let's see the damage then... The spike are clumped together a lot thicker, buuuuut... That's it?"

"Nope!" Nowi told him as she brought something from behind Ragna. Looking at it closely, Ragna saw that it was an especially long gathering of hair from the back of his head.

"This a rat tail?" he asked.

"Don't call it a rat! It's a pony tail!" Nowi told him, giving him the slight bop of the head.

"Hmm..." Ragna hummed to himself. "Are you going to be disappointed if I change it back?"

"Just don't do it yet! Someone else has to see this!" the young girl said with a pout before her eyes lit up. "Wait right here! I'll be right back!"

"Seriously, this is the last time I play hide-and-seek with that kid," Ragna groaned as he leaned back in his chair and gruffly crossed his arms. "Guess she means well, but I need to figure out something else to do..."

"Come on! His new hair's amazing!" he heard Nowi shouted from down the hall before hearing the barrage of two sets of footsteps. Without any further warning the door burst open revealing Nowi and her chosen 'guest.' "Viola! What do you think?"

"I..." the blushing bride Elphelt began before she got a proper look at Ragna. Arms crossed and looking gruff? Check. Dressed in red and black? Check. Thick spiky hair atop his head with a long ponytail behind it? Double check. Elphelt didn't say anything, she only continued to stare at the Reaper with a still face.

"...The hell are you looking at?" Ragna questioned. Vulgar language... check, check, and check.

Elphelt lost control and fell to the ground with a sound thud. Both Ragna and Nowi looked down at her in concern as her body twitched with an odd expression on her face. "Sol..."

"Soul? What's that supposed to mean?"

"Easy. She's just complimenting the soul put into your new hair style," Nowi told him a-matter-of-factly.

"Something tells me that's not it..."

Support Rank B Obtained with Nowi

"Damn... what a day," Ragna groaned after he'd helped Elphelt back to her room. Walking out and heading down the hallways, the Reaper tried to plan his next move... that or finally get some time alone. He let out a defeated sigh a he realized he wasn't going to be that lucky. It was early afternoon and he figured that at least someone was going to find him before the day's end.

Trapped Again

"This is all your fault, you know?" Ragna told his hair as he undid Nowi's ponytail and shook his head until his hair returned to its new mane look. "Damn it, I should've taken care of this weeks ago."

"Ragna?"

The Reaper turned his head before he came face to face with Cordelia, the red-headed co-captain of Ylisse's pegasus knights. Unlike normal times when she was wearing her Pegasus armor, now she was wearing common clothing made of linen. Her hair also had a damp shine to it, indicating that she'd just come from taking a bath.

"Hey," he said simply, somewhat awkward seeing Cordelia one-on-one after so much had happened. "Um... How have you been?"

"Fine I suppose," Cordelia told him. "I just got back from teaching a few Pegasus flight techniques to the new recruits. They... managed, but I guess we're still pretty early in our training. It was fortunate that I had insisted that we trained close to the ground, otherwise one of the girls might not have stumbled away with just a broken ankle."

"No kidding, I can't imagine what it feels like when you're flying up there like that and have to do all of that fancy flying in the middle of a fight."

"Oh it's the greatest," Cordelia told him as her eyes seemed to light up. "Well not when you're in the middle of battle, but with the wind hitting your face and the way your body lurches and you need to hold on for dear life, it's the greatest adrenaline rush you could possibly imagine. And you have to put your faith in your pegasus to get you through pass and..." Cordelia realized that she'd been going on about her flying habits for some time when she noticed Ragna's slightly amused face. "Oh! I'm sorry, it must be boring to listen to me drone on like that."

"Eh, quite the opposite actually," the red-coated man assured her. "Almost sounded like you were describing your favorite roller coaster at an amusement park." 'Not that Jubei ever took me to one...'

"So long as you enjoyed hearing about," Cordelia told him with a smile of her own before she thought through his words. "Roller Coaster? Amusement Park?"

"A-Anyways, do you know a good barber?" he asked a little too quickly, trying to change the subject.

"I'm afraid I don't," Cordelia said, a creeping feeling starting to emerge and it started to show on her face. "Are you... planning on cutting your hair?"

"Well, that's the kind of the usual purpose of finding a barber, so yeah."

"NO!" the pegasus captain screamed, causing Ragna to take a step back in concern. Cordelia noticed her outburst only after she'd done it, now causing her face to grow red. "I... I sort of... like it... longer..." she told him, starting to fidget with her index fingers without making eye contact.

"...Is that so?" Ragna asked before chuckling lightly. "Well if you really feel that way, maybe I'll just cut it to what I had earlier just to get rid of any unwanted attention. After that I'll try letting it grow out again for you. Does that work?"

"I... I suppose," Cordelia told him. "N-Not that I need to have any say in your hair, it's your hair after all."

"Whatever you say," he told her with a smirk. "Now I just need someone to cut it."

"I could probably cut it if you wanted me to," she offered, her blush slowly fading from her face. "I've cut hair for the rest of the Shepherds so I can help you with yours if you want. I might even be able to get it back to what it once was."

"Heh, you really are a woman of many talents," Ragna noted aloud. "Sure, I guess I'll take you up on your offer. Might as well leave it to someone who knows what I want."

"Alright, follow me to my room," Cordelia instructed. As Ragna followed her, he realized that this would be his first time seeing Cordelia's room in the barracks. Sure he'd been in her room once or twice when they were on the road, but never at their home. "And... here we are," she told him as they arrived and she opened the door.

'Someone's neat,' Ragna thought to himself as he saw everything in the room appeared to be freshly dusted, the bed appeared to be perfectly made, her small bookshelf appeared to be organized, and her armor and weapons were freshly maintained and hanging on either the wall or the nearby mannequin. Noticing that Cordelia had pulled up a chair for him as she readied her tools, the Reaper undid his coat and sword and set them against the wall. After she'd grabbed a small tub to place behind him, two small tarps to cover both him and the floor, and a small bucket of water it appeared she was ready.

"Now, lean back and close your eyes," she instructed. Ragna did so, feeling the cold water pour over him as Cordelia made his hair wet and easier to cut. The water was caught by the small tub as the Pegasus rider readied her scissors. "Just a warning; I'm mostly going off of memory here."

"That's fine," Ragna assured her as she began cutting. "Hair grows back, at least until I start becoming a balding old man."

"An old man?" Cordelia began thoughtfully before smiling. "I can't imagine you looking old. Maybe you'd have a beard?"

"I doubt it, I've never really been able to grow any facial hair," he told her before chuckling. "At least my hair wouldn't change color."

"Please, now you're making me self-conscious," Cordelia told him with a laugh.

"Come on, you're still young," Ragna told her. "Don't think you'd have to worry about growing old for quite a while."

"Is that so?" the pegasus rider asked as she continued to clip his hair. "Then how old do you think I am?"

"...If it wasn't terrifying enough to be asked that question, you're asking me while you've got a pair of scissors to my head," he grumbled as the pegasus knight gave a small giggle. "…I'm just going to keep my mouth shut and say that you look beautiful no matter what."

"…Flattery alone will get you nowhere with me," Cordelia told him, though it was clear with the blush on her face that was an obvious lie. Making another cut, she let out a sudden shriek.

"What's wrong?" the Reaper asked, figuring she must've cut a little too much off in one place.

"I just cut a piece of your hair off and suddenly an entire section of it just sprouted up in the air!" she told him with shock. "How on earth does your hair even do that?"

"No clue, but I guess this means that you're getting close," Ragna told her.

After a while longer of working, Cordelia removed the tarp covering Ragna and held a small mirror in front of his face. It appeared that she'd done a fair job on his hair, now the mane was gone and it was spiking upwards like he was used to having it. The tub behind him had thin layer of hair covering the water, letting him know that she'd had to take quite a bit off.

"Thanks," he told her as he rose and grabbed his coat and sword and reequipped them. "Now that you've helped me out, what can I do to return the favor?"

"You don't need to do anything, really," Cordelia told him. "Trust me, it was nice enough just to get a chance to talk with you again like we used to."

"Come on, at least give me a chance to pay you back," Ragna told her. "How about dinner then?"

"D-Dinner?" Cordelia stuttered with surprise. "Y-You mean just the two of us?"

"Unless you've got other plans or want the others to come along," Ragna told her. "Interested?"

"I... I'd love to," Cordelia told him, a bright smile adorning her face. "Where were you planning on going?"

"I didn't have any set plans, but maybe we could just check around town and see if there's a good restaurant or something nearby. That sounds good to you?"

"It sounds excellent," Cordelia agreed. "Let's just clean out my supplies and we can get going."

Soon enough the two were walking the streets of the capital city. Ragna had never actually gotten much down time when he'd been in the capital (save for that one time Virion had dragged him off to a hostess bar), so this was one of the few times he'd actually managed to walk about the city instead of sticking specifically to the castle or the Shepherds barracks. The sun was setting off in the distance as the two walked around giving the town a very calming feel to it. A few merchants were still over the town, trying to push the last few of their wares before their day of business was over.

"This looks like a decent place," Ragna noted aloud as the two entered a tavern. The place was clean enough with townspeople seated at both the front bar and the tables adorning the area. The mood was especially festive, but the people were enjoying themselves as the talked among friends and family... though once they caught sight of Ragna, most of them quieted as they stared at the returned Reaper, a few glancing to the massive blade he carried on his back.

"...In hindsight, bringing my sword with us probably wasn't the smartest of moves," the Reaper admitted as Cordelia gave him a snarky smile saying you don't say. Trying to ignore the looks he was getting, the Reaper spotted an empty table in the corner and headed over with Cordelia. After being seated a nervous maid headed over.

"I-Is there anything I can get for the two of you?" she asked nervously.

"I suppose I'll have one of the meat pies," Cordelia told her. The maid nervously looked to Ragna who merely sighed before raising two fingers, indicating he wanted one as well.

"A-And to drink?"

"Is wine alright with you?" Cordelia asked her apparent date. Ragna nodded and the maid quickly hurried off to ready their food.

"Maybe we shouldn't have gone out," Ragna admitted worrying Cordelia. "I feel like I'm killing the mood of this place."

"I think people are just a little surprised to be seeing a man of legend," she tried to assure him.

"Man of legend? Whose been telling stories about me while... Virion?"

"Virion," Cordelia confirmed, leading Ragna to let out a low groan. "We didn't think that you were still alive, I think he just wanted to make sure you lived on for a while longer in local legends. Is that really so wrong?"

"I guess not..." Ragna admitted. "So... how has rebuilding the Pegasus knights been?"

"It's been... mixed," she told him. "There's not a lack of eager recruits hoping to join the Pegasus knights and protect the kingdom, but eagerness doesn't equal skill. They all have a drive to excel, but it's a learning process. Same for Sumia and myself who have to train them."

"Eh, with the two of you training 'em I'm sure they'll turn out fine," he assured her. The startled waitress soon returned with two goblets and a pitcher filled with wine. She gave the two a polite bow before heading off to cater to the other tables. Pouring a glass for his dinner guest before severing one for himself. "If there's anything I can help with, don't hesitate."

"I know you're always willing to lend an ear, but for now I think what we need most is time," she assured him. "Of course my parents are worried that I'm overworking myself, even though I'm constantly telling them that I'm fine..."

"Parents eh?" Ragna questioned, realizing that while he felt close with all of the Shepherds, didn't know their family situations. "...I guess it'd be weird if they weren't worried about their own daughter, even one with skills like you."

"Charmer," Cordelia told him playfully and Ragna couldn't help but chuckle. "I... I have a hard time talking about my parents..."

"Why? They're good people aren't they?"

"...The truth is besides myself, only a small handful of the other Shepherd's still have their parents. Even the Captain lost both of his at a very young age and Lissa was far too young to remember them. To most of them, the Shepherds is the only family they ever had..."

"No wonder everyone seems so close," the Reaper noted before taking a small sip from his goblet. Cordelia's lie before her, still untouched. "...Hey, it's nothing to feel guilty about and don't feel like you're an outsider just cause of this. You've been through the same hell as the rest of us and don't let anyone or anything say otherwise."

"...You always know what to say to keep me moving forward," Cordelia told him before giving a earnest smile, filled with gratitude. "Thank you, Ragna."

"Heh, now who's the charmer?" Ragna asked with a chuckle. Cordelia giggled at the rhetorical question before raising her goblet.

"To the Shepherds," she said, her smile showing no sign of fading.

"To the family," Ragna agreed as they clinked glasses.

The two ended up staying longer at the restaurant than planned. Cordelia continued to tell him about the events during her training of the Pegasus knights. Ragna himself had already told her stories about his travels as the Black Knight the night prior along with the rest of the Shepherds, so he settled for telling her about the crazy and chaotic events that had taken place that day... which was actually enough to fill the entire conversation on his part. Before long the pitcher of wine had been emptied and their pies had been brought ought and enjoyed.

"Pretty nice place," Ragna complimented as he fished a few gold out of his pouch and laid them on the table. "Maybe we should grab the rest of the Shepherds and bring 'em here sometime."

"If they're this distraught just seeing the two of us, I can imagine what they'd think if we brought our entire group with us," Cordelia told him. Ragna had to agree, even leaving now he was attracting a few looks and a few sideways glances from the dining patrons. "Just give it some time, they'll grow used to you soon enough."

"Here's hoping," Ragna said as the two exited the restaurant to head back to the barracks. The road back was deserted and empty, the only company the pair had was the chirping of the crickets and the occasional hoot of an owl; the sounds of the countryside. The Reaper let out a deep breath that he hadn't realized he'd been holding in, only to see Cordelia staring at him with innocent eyes. "...What?"

"You just seemed so... at peace I guess," she told him. "It's hard to think of a time when you weren't on guard at something even at the restaurant."

"Sorry about that... second nature," Ragna apologized with a grimace.

"No, no, it's fine! Especially after everything you've been through," Cordelia told him. "It's just... it's kind of nice to see this side of you. You should try to bring it out more often."

"...Usually if I want to I need someone else to bring it out for me," he admitted before turning to Cordelia with a warm smile. "I guess that makes you one of the few people that can manage to do that."

"Glad to be of help," Cordelia told them as the two continued their walk back. "I had an amazing night tonight Ragna, I hope we can do this again some time."

"Count on it, not much work for me besides helping in with the Shepherds," he told her. "Meaning I can probably find a way to make time for you."

Cordelia smiled happily at the promise as the two walked back, a warm feeling of pride and happiness covering her body. But, as the two continued to walk on, the Pegasus knight became worried as she recognized this feeling she had when she was with Ragna... one of obsession.

'No... This can't... Not again...'

Support Rank A Obtained with Cordelia

Meanwhile -The Shepherd's Barracks-

"Heh, heh, heh."

That dark chuckle was the result of the Shepherd's newest dark mage. The reason for her cackling lay before her; a collection of herbs, incense, animal bones... and a large clump of silver hair.

"Soon enough Ragna," Tharja promised as she looked at the ingredients before her with mischievous eyes. "Soon enough..."

Author's Note IMPORTANT

Hey guys, I'm sorry to disappoint you, but I've got some bad news. As the winner of the poll I tried to set myself so that I'd be able to continue writing for this story until the 13th of next month... that's not going to be able to happen. I'm not canceling this story, but I hit a point of hard burn out. Hell, I had to rewrite that last scene with Ragna and Cordelia over ten times because I didn't know what I wanted to do (sorry if it shows).

What does this mean? Well like I said above, I won't be focusing on this story, I think I'll be giving it a well deserved hiatus (the first one for this particular story). As far as my other stories go I'm thinking of taking a Pseudo-Vacation for a while, maybe even the rest of the year. This means I'll be update what I want when I want to.

I know this isn't going to be a popular decision, but trust me on this one. If I hit a burn out and continue to try updating, my writing and ideas are going to suffer... and with heavy character interaction and romance chapters on the horizon, I don't think you'll want them written anything less than my best.

Anyways, on break for a while, but I can at least provide you guys with the promised Omake. Storm VII, signing off for now.

Exploration of the World

"Damn that took a long time to make, but in the end it was all worth it," Ragna said to himself aloud with no small sense of pride. He felt that he earned this feeling after having completed the large meal he'd prepared for himself. A slowly spit roasted chicken covered in a rub of his own personal creation, mashed potatoes with clumps of roasted garlic inside, and a loaf of freshly baked rosemary bread. Placing the meal on a table in the empty mess hall and getting his silverware ready, he prepare to dig in.

BOOM!

A muffled explosion was heard off in the distance causing the entire garrison to shake. Ragna paused and craned his head in the direction of the explosion. He didn't hear any screams, nor did he smell anything other than the meal before him so he shook his head and was about to resume where he left off... right before a large shower of dust and dirt that had been shaken lose by the explosion fell right over his food (and the food only).

"..." Ragna stared at the ruined plate of food in front of him, unable to speak as his eye twitched uncontrollably in his rage. The was another rumble and another shower of dirt and dust, again over his food. "You've gotta be..."

Angrily standing up and marching out of the mess hall, Ragna grumbled under his breath his entire walk, making anyone that saw him quickly clear the way. It didn't take him long to reach the door in question and upon arriving he quickly pound his arm on it.

"Open up Kokonoe!" he demanded awaiting a response.

"Idiot! I'm in the middle of an experiment! If I wasn't so careful I could've have blown this entire place to pieces thanks to you!"

"That's exactly the problem I have with this!" Ragna shouted. "Open the damn door!"

"Why should I? You sure as hell aren't the boss of me," Kokonoe told him.

"Actually given my role in the Shepherds, the fact that I'm the guy who convinced Chrom to give you a place to stay AND the funding for most if not ALL of your projects... Yes, yes I am."

Kokonoe was silent for a long moment while Ragna stood outside and waited, his arms crossed and his mood souring by the moment. Eventually the door opened up to reveal Kokonoe with a heated glare in each of her yellow eyes and her hand hands moodily at her waist, one of them holding a lollipop.

"There I opened the door, does that mean I get a raise?" she asked him with an attitude that Ragna didn't appreciate.

"You're pushing it, cat," he muttered as he headed inside. Glancing around he say that her room was covered in sweets that she was keeping for later and science supplies, the entire room a cluttered mess. "Damn... How the hell do you even live in this dump?"

"Consider yourself lucky that I'm ignoring the fact that you just called this place a dump, the last worker that did that wasn't nearly as lucky."

"What? Did you end up dating them?" Ragna asked, irritating Kokonoe even further. "Just what is it that you're trying to do in the first place?"

"No end goal; just science. I've got a million different tests to run if I want to get any real progress in the data before... things turn ugly."

"Are you going through a technology withdrawal or something?"

"What do you think?" Kokonoe asked.

"I'm not a scientist, but I'd say it's pretty obvious that you are."

"Huh, you're actually smarter than you look... which is saying close to nothing."

"Riveting. Just keep the explosions down for god sake or do them somewhere else where I don't have to listen to them."

"Oh, is my work bothering you? Funny because I do these experiments at night and you don't seem to have any problem with them," she told him. "Is it because you sleep through them... or is it because you don't listen to Chrom and continue to train from dusk til dawn even after he promised you'd be on dishes for a month if he caught you doing it?"

"How the the hell do you know about that!? And follow up, you're the one in trouble here!" Ragna shouted.

"Am I though?" Kokonoe said as a smirk formed on her face. "Maybe neither of us has to be 'in trouble' as long as we both keep quite."

"Grr... Just keep it down," the Reaper growled to himself before exiting that room. "Seriously, that woman is just plain insufferable..."

Support Rank C Obtained with Kokonoe