Local Restauraunt

=========> Kagatsuchi Port

All but dragged away by Caelica, Ragna wasn't quite able to get all the answers he wanted from Rachel. The twosome had quickly left the port area and proceeded to Orient town. Apparently Caelica was still freaking out over some close encounter with Arakune. Not that Ragna could blame her, the blob monster even got on his nerves from time to time. However, now that they were safely among a crowd of people, the chances of running into any half assed bounty hunters was slim to none and the Bloodedge let out a sigh of relief. Tightening his grip on Caelica's hand, he pulled her into a nearby restauraunt and shut the door behind them. It was a two story building decorated in traditional oriental fashion like most of the area. Strangely enough, it seemed to be all but deserted except for one elderly female waitress.

"I'm starving, let's grab a table." he said as he walked towards a nearby empty table and sat down. "I saved the owner's ass a while back so he pays me back in free meals, god knows I need em."

Caelica, slowly relaxing after haveing gotten a good distance from Arakune and being back in a crowd of normal people, she sighed with a pleasent relief and nodded to him.

"Sure.. I`d love to." She didn´t even think of it as a date, Ragna wouldn´t remember that they were engaged to begin with. Maybe she would tell him a little more later, or if he asked, but right now, she was still deep in thought about what Rachel said.
She just followed him into the restaurant, sitting down in front of him and finally relaxed all the way as she tugged off her sword from her back, placeing it by her side.

"I`ve heard strange stories about the restaurants of this city, but with you by my side, i think its safe to eat in peace.."

Flipping through the menu, Ragna selected a cheap steak and scoffed at Caelica's comment on the restauraunt. "You wouldn't believe how many times I've been jumped in a place like this. I swear to god everybody and their grandmother wants this damn bounty." Pausing to take a sip of water, he leaned back in his chair and looked around again. "But it seems pretty dead in here right now. I doubt we'll have any trouble tonight and I'd like to avoid a fight if I can. This new left arm still feels a ittle sore."

Caelica looked over the menu herself, deep in thought as Ragna talked, then giggled a little at one time dureing her training when Trinity accidently bathed in her own milk as she tipped over the cup. She looked up again though as if she heard a cue.

"New arm..? You mean... your left is a fake too...?" He didn`t tell her about that, and she could only feel the energy of the Azure in his right arm.... combined with something foreign that was beyond her grasp of the concept. But his left looked more or less normal to her...?

Flexing his left arm, Ragna nodded once. "Yea, just got it a little while ago. I had to sacrifice my arm to help a friend. Luckily, someone was able to make me a good replcement on short notice." the memory of the battle with Mu and Nu's sacrifice were both very fresh in ragna's mind. However, he didn't want to dwell on those thoughts for too long. His mood had brightened a bit and he wanted to keep it that way. "So, where'd you go after you left us? You just been wandering around all these years or something?"

Caelica sighed as she felt that question would come up.

"I was hideing.. in the forest, then in a nearby city, going from place to place rather quickly so that Terumi wouldn´t find me.. although i was always looking for you and Jubei, it was nearly impossible to find either one of you two. Meeting you was just a lucky coincidence."

She smiled a bit, her bood brightening again.

"But now that i`m here with you, i feel like thats all past and history... and how have you been doing ever since i left..?"

She had a feeling that she wasn´t going to like what was about to follow, but some time she had to hear it...

"I-if you want to talk about that, of course..."

Ragna averted his eyes quickly at Caelica's question, it was something of a touchy subject. Reaching out, he grabbed his cup of water and took a short sip to clear his throat a bit. "After that night at the Church...I woke up a few days later with Master Jubei and Rachel...and this." he said raising his right arm, the Azure Grimoir. "They took me in, taught me how to fight and how to use the Grimoir so I'd be ready when I met Terumi again. For a long time I though Jin and Saya were dead but...turns out I was wrong. Jin got himself adopted and joined the NOL, turned into a goddamn homocidal psychopath. Saya...I just found her a little while ago. All this time Terumi's had her. I don't know what he did to her but the girl I saw wasn't the Saya I used to know and I'm not sure what I can do to change that."

"I... i´m sorry to bring that up just now, but i figured i had to know what happened... i wish i could`ve helped you earlier. I actually met Jin a while ago but i didn´t even reconize him until someone else told me who he was."

Caelica sighed a bit, also takeing a little sip on her drink which eventually turned into a large gulp as she didn´t stop sipping on it.
All the sudden, she almost bursted out her drink, swallowing it hard in order not to soak Ragna with lemonade.

"Wa...wait a second. Rachel said something about Saya being Imperator Librarius, didn´t she..? Is that what you mean with 'Terumi has her?' ...in the name of the lord, has all that effort gone to waste afterall...?"

"I thought we'd stopped him but then she came out of nowhere. Didn't even acknowledge me or Jin, just said she'd destroyed the Amaterasu Unit, whatever the hell that is. I don't really understand what she was driving at but one things for sure, she's the one calling the shots in the Library." Using his straw to stir the icecubes in his drink a bit, Ragna appeared to be in his own little world for a moment. Finally, the waitress returned with their meals and Ragna accepted his steak. Cutting into the meat, he quickly took a bite. The steak was a bit tough but good enough considering it was free.

"Hard to believe Terumi is takeing orders from a woman by his free will... my sister had to put him under a binding spell before he did anything for her sake... and even that caused the other heroes to dislike her because they already wanted him dead, seeing how he killed Jubei`s brother.."

Caelica sighed lightly, takeing another sip of her lemonade before putting it down again.

"But thats how people are, i guess. If she wouldn´t have bound him and copied his Nox Nyctores, its Armagus powers and all that, people wouldn´t be living like this now. But back then they hated her for it..."

She smiled brightly then, looking up at him.

"I bet its going to be the same with you. Right now they hate you because you want to destroy the gouverment, but when its gone, everyone is happy and nobody even considers thinking about who did it in the first place..."

Happy to occupy himself with his steak for now, Ragna nodded once. "I know what you mean. Seems like the only thing everybody hates more than the Library is the guy trying to destroy it." wiping his mouth with his napkin, the dhamphir took another sip of water. "What can you tell me about Terumi? Rachel loves keeping me in the dark about this stuff but I need to know what he's after. I thought he wanted this Eye of the World thing but now he doesn't need it anymore."

"I wish i would know what goes on in his head. Some of his acts seem completely random, others have system..."

Caelica sighed a bit, downing the rest of her drink with one gulp.

"The first time i actually met him was when a guy named Kazuma entered the Mage Assocication... you know, the thing that came before the Librarium was founded. Anyways, he was a quiet guy, liked to read, socially awkward and usually made people more uncomfortable than anything else.. then, he started to act strange, even more strange, like, he became wierder with each day that passed.. until he completely snapped and the spirit inside him, Terumi, was unleashed and went on a killing spree. Toshimori, the brother of Mitsuyoshi, went to stop him, but he only managed to weaken him before he died of his injuries... Nine then banned him, forceing him under her command until the Black Beast that he unleashed onto the world would be destroyed. I guess she figured that even he couldn´t survive something like that..."

She sighed again, obviously remembered of unfond memories.

"Sister knew what she was dealing with, she warned everyone, even Bloodedge, about Terumi´s mental state. The first second the Beast was done, she was the first victim to get attacked and mortally wounded, then came Trinity whom he murdered in her sleep. Jubei and Hakumen were supposed to follow, but as i later found out, they managed to banish him into the boundary... other than that, i really don´t know anything about the guy. He supposedly owned the Susanoo armor as it was first dug up from the earth, but lost his mind due to its effects and forced himself out of it, killing himself through that.. so Relius Clover built him a new body as well as the very first Nox Nyctores, Oroburos, to test the technologies he was about to use to finish his Dimensional Interference... something something project. I dunno, i never paid attention to the guy. But if he manages to destroy the bond of the six heroes on his own, that means something..."

Ragna's fingers tightened around his glass of water with each passing second of Caelica's story. Hairline cracks appeared in the surface before the entire thing shattered inwards in a small flurry of glass shards and water. The Bloodedge grit his teeth and cursed under his breath. "Everything I learn about that degenerate son of a bitch makes me hate him more. Everywhere he goes he screws with people's lives for his sick kicks. Well enough's enough." he said rising from his chair and turning towards the exit. "If nobody will tell me where to find him then I'll just make him come to me." Looking at Caelica over his shoulder, his eyes lost their fury and took on a worried expression. "I want you to stay out of this and get somewhere safe. I'm not gonna let you get hurt again for my sake."

Caelica widened her eyes, shocked, confused and suprised at once. What are the odds of one person suceeding where six failed? Six persons who were stronger than he was?

"Ragna... i.. i know what you mean, but.. i can handle myself.. i can help you, as far as i can.. Together we might stand a better chance..."

A little more quiet, and without looking at him, she added something else.

"I don`t want to see or hear you dieing again.. those one hundred years lonely without you."

Ragna closed his eyes and shook his head. "I don't care what the odds of me winning are. I'm going to stop him. Not because fate says I should, not because somebody asked me to, because I want to. I may wear this coat and carry this sword but I'm not the old Bloodedge Caelica, I'm me and I won't let you put yourself in danger for my family's sake again. So this is where we split." With that the red coated rebel walked forward towards the exit, his boots clicking lightly on the jade tiled floor. Reaching the doorway, he glanced back over his shoulder at Caelica one final time with his green eye, one of the few things that hadn't changed since his youth. "When this is all over I'll find you again. I promise." And just like that he sweapt through the doorway and disappeared into the crowds of Orient Town.

=======> Exit

Caelica watched him, silent, unable to speak a word. This is how thier reunion ended, hmm.. people met each other a lot in this city but this wasn´t something Caelica would know. She had only been here for a couple of days, met her old lover, and now he vanished into the night again.

"You´re much, much closer to Bloodedge than you think... he said the same thing to me back when he fought the beast..." She whispered, almost unaudiable, before she took her sword, wrapped her cape around herself and dashed out, close to crying, but holding herself back yet.
Right now she didn´t care where to go to, but she was going to go somewhere else... somewhere where she wasn´t reminded of him.

------> Exit

--------(From 'The Streets of Orient Town')----->

Noel just pushed the door of the restaurant, talking to Makoto absent-mindedly. Just sitting at the table made her realize she wasn't all that hungry. But I can't tell Makoto about it now, again... I'll still order something. So what's the meal that'll weigh the least on my stomach there...?

Once again, she wasn't going to eat much...

Makoto, in the spite of her youth and still growing (In diameter, not in height), ordered a rather large meal, although low on fat, and high in price. It was about time she maxed out her NOL credit card before it was too late.
While she was waiting for her meal and Noel to order, she looked at her friend, almost as if something was wrong.

"We haven´t seen each other in a while... any news in the love department, Sister?" She asked, flat out and yet totally serious. "I remember you being all full of hate and stuff about Ragna the Bloodedge in the Acadamy but now, you`re really not all that hard to him. ...Do i sense something in the makeing there?"

Noel was sitting there after ordering her food, first quietly waiting for it, but suddenly went all wide-eyed from Makoto's indiscretion, and she got agitated, moving her arms randomly just above the table, hands opened as if she wanted to form a wall between Makoto and her... It's starting to become very usual anyway... And why is she talking about me hating... Ragna..? Or... loving him?
It took her a little while to stop shaking her arms, and she was clearly blushing when answering: "Eeeeeh!? Love department?" She wasn't there at that one time... I don't want to traumatize her... "Full of hate about the Bloodedge? You know, I was incapable of hating someone..." It was only my job..." She was embarrassed and blushed at what her friend said next, but she didn't stop there... it would be rude of her. "Something in the making? Ooh nonononono... It just that... this idiot saved me. That's all." She insisted on the last word so her friend wouldn't probably further that question.

Makoto blinked, seeing Noel wave her arms around like that, then heard her stutter something in her defense. Her instincts never lied to her, did they? Noel`s embarressment could be just her inexperience with the subject, but she wasn´t just really red, the last sentence underlined that something was in the makeing.

"So he "saved" you, hm?" Makoto grinned at her, her arms resting on the table, her head in her palms. "Sounds like something to me. If someone would save me, it wouldn´t just end in a kiss, i´d get him to a hotel, get him to pay me a room and show him the wonders of nature..." Makoto`s eyes widened as she realized what she was saying to her. "But, eh, you probably don´t wanna know about that... Still, thats no little thing you´re saying there!"

Noel felt ashamed at how Makoto was almost shouting about private matters and almost slammed her head into the table. Totally embarrassed and still her head buried into the table, she stuttered: "J... J-Just don't say this out loud..."
Noticing the waiter about to serve them, she got back her composure, and when the waiter left, she said quietly: "Don't mind too much about all of that... I've definitely gone through it..." Her look clearly meant "Don't ask", but it was obvious she was lying...

Makoto smirked in response, moveing a bit closer towards her friend, talking more quietly and private this way.

"You´re in love with him, but he´s way older and taller than you, so you´re insecure about it, huh? Because if its just because he´s a criminal, thats a lie to yourself, you´re a criminal too."

She moved back again as the meal arrived, letting the waiter put thier dishes on the table... the waiter looked kind of cute too, now that she was on the subject of love interests.

Noel listened carefully to her friend, and obviously denied the fact that she could love Ragna, she answered. It's not that I'm feared of criminals... He's just a downright idiot..."
Her looking up at a corner made the denial clear enough. Wanting to forget about all that, she started to eat her meal, knowing that if it cut that discussion for now , it wouldn't cut Makoto's tongue, as she would have finished eating early. I should have chosen a bigger meal...

"Just that? He´s an idiot, so you don´t love him? Odd."

Makoto shrugged and started to eat herself, thinking that Noel would get the drift sooner or later.. pushing her to it was just mean, even if she did need more than just a shove to get to where she wanted to be. In the sake of thier friendship, she decided to change topics.

"Speaking of Ragna... any idea where he is right now? Haven´t heard anything about him in a while."

Noel had already finished her plate. She went from feeling bothered at the mention of Ragna to feeling worried about him. "Same here..." He could have contacted the Professor or me to have us reassured... what an idiot...
It was obvious Noel couldn't be only "worried" or "angered" when she thought about Ragna, and deep inside she at least cared for him, at most loved him with every inch of her skin. Why isn't him here? He would have appreciated the meal here... I know he likes this restaurant... somehow... He just keeps messing the place and not paying what he eats here... what an idiot.