Ragna's Assault

===>13th Hierarchal City (Orient Town)

Running through a thick forest, a lone red blur made its' way ever closer to the menacing NOL base of operations. The small city was not quite as large as Kagatsuchi but it was still very impressive and Ragna could see why it had once been the nerve center of the Ikaruga federation in the Second War of Magic. However, those days were long gone. Now it was a cold, hard reminder of the Library's power, the center of its' strenglehold in the area. Glancing about, Ragna saw that he had indeed lost the small band of bounty hunters that had intercepted him on his way here. The stubborn bastards had been on him almost immediately after he left Orient Town a few days back. The memory caused him to grumble a bit, he should have known giving Caelica and Tao orders was pointless. All he could do was bank on the fact that Jin ignored what he wasn't interested in and these days it seemed like Ragna was all the former NOL Major had on his mind.

Taking a deep sigh, Ragna emerged from the tree line and began a slow walk towards the front gate of the NOL headquarters. After a few stebs he sped up to a jog and finally a full tilt dash. When he had almost reached the massive steel gate which was as tall as a small house, the search lights finally spotted him, illuminating his white hair and crimson coat as alarms sounded everywhere. This was exactly what he wanted. If he could make a big enough ruckus he would surely attract the higher ups of the NOL, be it an official or even one of the masterminds themself. The Bloodedge was sure he could overcome anything they threw at him short of the likes of Hazama. In all honesty this was a rather badly designed plan but Ragna didn't care. He was angry, as angry as he could ever remember being in his life. Somebody had to be the punching bag around here, and Ragna had choosen this base to take out his fury. "Carnage...SCISSOR!" he roared drawing the Bloodscythe in one fluid motion as he reached the gate. The blade crashed against the door with a thunderous boom, black and red energy spinning around its' silver edge. A great dent appeared in the door's face but it did not stand for long. Bringing the Bloodscythe back in a return stroke, Ragna unleashed the dark powers he had inherited as the body of the black beast and sent the gate crashing inward with a cry of effort and frightening display of power.

Nu was restlessly looking for Ragna, ever since she had escaped the Cauldron and Terumi´s grasp.. but he was nowhere to be found in Kagutsuchi or even in the proximity of it... teleports to other cities confirmed it, the Bloodedge had vanished like a ghost...
With a sigh, the Murakumo had lost her faith already, despite knowing that Ragna had to be alive, and was ready to take herself in, moveing towards one of the main headquarters of the NOL...
...until she saw something red, dark and powerful destroy the gate.

"Rag... na...?" The name escaped her throat like it was sore, raspy and quiet, until she tried it again, louder and clearer. "Ragna!"

The Murakumo dashed towards him, forgetting all about what she was about to do, leaveing her fear and guilt behind and ran right into him, her arms wrapping around his body and her eyes closeing tightly as if she was trying to wake up from a silly dream she was haveing.

The steel defense gate collapsed before his Carnage Scissor and the Bloodedge stood in the now open entryway to the NOL base, his sword resting over his right shoulder. Retaliation forces has already begun to mobilize against him, the many soldiers of the Library conglomerating in the the court yard in a rough formation similar to a phalanx. Ragna glared at them darkly, his grip on his Bloodscythe tightening. These guys weren't really worth his time, certainly nowhere near Jin's level. He took a violent step forward and several soldiers flinched. Evidently his reputation preceeded him here. "Where...is...the Imperator!?" he yelled at the group. Before he could recieve a response, he heard something behind him. Something had yelled his name. Had some of the NOL forces flanked him? He spun hard, switching his sword into a reverse grip so he could strike at a moment's notice. However, at first glance it looked like...Saya?

The young girl ran straight into him and wrapped her arms around his waist in a hug. Had it been anyone else, they most likely would have lost their head to Ragna's sword, but her appearence had been enough to make him hesitate. Now that he hada good look at her, Ragna realized it was not his sister but her identity came as a huge suprise no less. "N-Nu!? You're alive!" he said in shock. He had watched this Murakumo die, twice, and yet here she was again.

A slight sobbing sound came from the girl, whinceing and whineing before bursting into tears, crying into his shirt. Nu was happy to be with him again, but he guilt of what she had done overwhelmed her in this moment, she couldn`t say anything, couldn´t respond, she just cried.

A good minute later, she finally came to her senses and looked up, letting her grip lighten up and wipe the tears out of her big red eyes. "Ragna... i`m so sorry. Nu had no reason to hurt you so much and yet i couldn´t help it..."

A noise beside her caught her attention, causeing her to snap around and stare a deathly glare at each and every one of the soldiers, cyber blades of plasma and seithr appearing out of nowhere, spinning around and sizzleing, ready to strike the men.

"...do these men bother you Ragna?" Nu asked seriously, as if she was ready to kill them in the next second.

Ragna could do little more than stare puzzled at the young girl holding herself against him. The first time they had encountered one another she had attempted to kill him, the second she had sacrificed her life for him. Now she was apologizing? All this was just too odd, too out of the blue. Something was fishy here, very fishy. The change in Nu's mood reminded the half-vampire of the NOL soldiers behind him. They had slowly been inching forward while he had been distracted and had cut the distance between them in half. The moment he turned to look in their direction they broke into a full charge letting loose a loud war cry in unison. Each of them was armed in some way, be it a sword or other medieval styled weapon, but their skills were limited. Then again, they had numbers on their side. There must have been over a hundred of them easily, every one of them ready to take his head at the first oppurtunity.

Damnit!" Ragna mentally cursed himself for letting himself get distracted so easily. Pushing himself free of Nu's grasp, he positioned himself between the murakumo and the NOL soldiers, his back to Nu. He wasn't sure he wanted to show this girl his undefended back but he didn't really have any other options. Snarling, Ragna unleashed a cry of his own and scraped the tip of his sword over the ground in an uppercut motion. Suddenly a massive black and read set of fangs erupted from the ground alongside his blade. The miniaturized copy of the black Beast's maw roared in unision with Ragna as it ripped through the center line of the soldier's formation. "Death Spike!"

"....."

Nu recieved no answer to her question, instead, Ragna took the initive and charged at them. For a moment, she was unsure what to do, whatever she should join him, help him or run away.. or just continue to watch..
It was clear that these men wanted him dead, and he wanted them dead. One side or the other was going to die..
Nu closed her eyes and chose the logical thing... she could listen to screams of terror and pain, people getting impaled and dismembered by her swords, but all of which was leaveing Ragna unscaved as she left him safe and sound, not letting anything touch him.
However, she only fended off one wave before opening her eyes again, seeing the mess of bleeding bodies and torn limbs, destroyed weapons and alike. It was a horrorshow... and Nu did it.
Suddenly, a flash of memories passed by, and Nu sank to her knees, her eyes widening.. this was her doing! The same things she did to Ragna...! She could care less about these men, but she could´ve turned Ragna into one of these... bodies!

My god... what am i that i`m capable of death like that?

She was about to burst into tears again, despite trying to get a hold of herself and continue to help Ragna. With any luck, the rest of the soldiers would RUN as fast as they could, seeing how brutally and easily thier buddies had been murdered right there.

His Death SPike had parted the sea of soldiers nicely, allowing Ragna to focus on only one wing at a time. Sheathing his Bloodscythe, the Bloodedge charged in with reckless abandon, his right fist flaring with black and red seithr. The Hell's Fang connected solidly with a NOL private's stomach and sent him barreling backwards knocking over several of his comrads. Following it up with a flurry of spinning kicks and punches, Ragna dispatched opponent after opponent with minimal difficulty. It felt good to have the upper hand for once. It seemed like he had spent so much time fighting losing battles over the last few weeks that he felt no remorse for these NOL underlings. However, even underlings could be challenging in great enough numbers. In complete disregard for their own safety, several men literally threw themselves at the Bloodedge attempting to bog him down through sheer weight.

As the blue uniforms piled on top of his, he was slowly forced to his knees by their bulk. Ragna grit his teeth and for the briefest of moments, his right eye turned jet black before returning to normal. "BURST!" He yelled, expelling out a small shockwave of raw seithr in all directions. The energy crackled around his body before disappearing entirely but it had done its' job. NOL recruits were flung in all directions before the rage and power of the world's most wanted criminal. After this display of power, as well as Nu's unmatched brutality, the remaining forces who were still quite substantial began to withdraw inside to relative safety and regroup. Ragna let out a relieved sigh, he was out of breath after all that. A disoriented soldier lay nearby, his rank indicating a sargeant in the NOL. Not allowing him the time to regain his senses, Ragna grabbed him by the collar and hauled him to his feet. "Where..is...the Imperator?" he asked calmly. The NOL soldier merely shook his head, a stuttering sound leaving his lips. The dhamphir growled and drew back his right hand which was quickly coated in a crimson aura resembling the claw of a terrible beast. "Where is she!?" he asked again only to recieve the same answer.

Frustrated and tired, Ragna released the man and stood idly by while he hurried to join his friends in the base. This had all been a damn waste, Saya wasn't here. If she was, he would have been up against something a lot more dangerous than them. Something like...a Murakumo. The crimson swordsman abruptly spun to face Nu, his brow furrowing as he rested his hand on the Bloodscythe still sheathed on the back of his waist. It all fit too damn nicely, first Caelica, now Nu, everyone that he had let down in some way was suddenly just popping out of the grave to visit him. This reeked of Terumi's handiwork and Ragna was beyond sick of it all. "No more games Nu. What do you want?"

Nu looked up, suddenly being confronted by Ragna again, and wiped her tears away. He seemed angry, really, really angry, and she could understand why.

"Nu.. is sorry... i just wanted to be with you again, you know...? Like Nu promised you!"

She had promised to be forever by his side, but now that she was, it seemed out of place and only pissed off Ragna more than he already seemed to be.

"...A... Are you looking for Saya, Ragna? Nu can help you find her if you like..."

The Murakumo was supriseingly insecure right now, without any programming she wasn´t too different from Noel, which wasn´t much of a suprise considering they came from the same source. But Nu wasn´t always like that, she was just really intimidated by the blood-soaked Grim Reaper.. so she did what those NOL soldiers should´ve done to begin with, cooperate.

As the last of the NOL soldiers dispersed, Ragna kept his eyes on the Murakumo in front of him. Despite her seemingly harmless demeanor, he knew just how powerful this girl was. If she really wanted him dead, it would take all he had to escape in one piece. Despite that, he behavior was off, even for her. She seemed so innocent, so naive, almost like Noel. She was nothing like the psychotic killing machine he had fought in Kagetsuchi. Part of him wanted to simply cut through the crap and try to bring her down while he had the chance. Those were his darker instincts talking, the deepest pits of his soul where the lines between Ragna and the Black Beast blurred beyond recognition. His eyes widened a bit at the mention of Saya. Nu knew where his sister was? Then again it made sense. Hazama or another of Saya's pawns must have had a hand in Nu's return so she must know something, even if it was just which Hierarchal City she was in.

"You're saying you know where Saya is? This is really important Nu, I need you to tell me where she is. I need to find her as fast as possible." he asked her in a noticibly calmer voice. He had yet to make up his mind whether he would trust this girl or not but at the very least he would take what leads he could get.

Nu blinked, then nodded, calming down just a little. Her big red eyes stared at Ragna, fixing on his heterochromic pair, slightly off center. She didn´t want to stare the Black Beast directly into the eyes, but she didn´t want to be rude or shy towards him either.
Her hands fiddled behind her back as she figured she shouldn´t tell him that, but this was probably her only chance to get even a little bit of trust in the near future.

"Uh-huh. Nu knows. Everyone with even a little power in the Librarium does. The Imperator Librarius leads the regime from a bunker somewhere in Ikaruga... but only people like Nu or Terumi or Master Clover know that its located underneath the ruins of Ibukido. Cuz, you know, like, nobody would launch an attack at a desert wasteland. And no army could survive a concentration of seithr that intense without protection. Nu doesn´t know exactly where it is, buuuuut, seeing what Saya is now... I would guess its somewhere near the Cauldron. They got all the data about my big sis Mu still there, so, like, thats the place i`d look at."

She cocked her head to the side, blinking again and then smileing.

"Does that help, Ragna?"

Ragna listened closely, hanging on Nu's every word. So Saya was in Ikaruga afterall. Getting to Ibukido would be a hassel though, even with the Black Beast inside him Ragna wasn't sure if his body could handle that much raw seithr. Now he just had to find this bunker Nu had mentioned...and the Cauldron. He couldn't very well just wander around the damn desert until he got lucky, he'd probably keep over long before he found something. At least it was a start, and he had to thank Nu for that. Despite everything she had done to him, in her own twisted way she cared for him. She'd already proven she was willing to die for him and it was because of her he'd been able to beat Terumi and save Noel. The idea engine in his left arm flared for a moment in response to the memory, memories of her.

"Yea...yea it does. Thanks Nu, seems like you're always there right when I need you these days. I owe you twice now." he said, a far off look in his eyes.

"You don´t owe me anything, Ragna. Nu is happy if you just forgive her for what she did."

Nu responded, smileing a bit and clentching her fingers tightly in nervousness.
Her smile faded as she looked down to the shoes of her uniform, sighing a bit as she realized she couldn´t be together with Ragna afterall. Not in these times. If the two would get caught together, Terumi would manipulate her into killing him.. or the other way around.
A little tear dropped off of her cheek, but a voice inside her told her that this wasn´t the end yet. It could still happen someday.
Without another word, she walked past Ragna, towards the Cathedral, to clear it out and retreat to the Cauldron, to wait... wait for a better time.

Ragna stood by silently and observed the murakumo, no, the girl in front of him. Despite everything she had done to him and all her deadly powers, she was still just a young girl at heart. Manipulated and warped by Terumi for his sadistic purposes yes, but deep down she meant well and was innocent to a degree. The red coated swordsman lowered his head as she passed by, unable to look her in the eye. He knew damn well he was the cause of her tears, he was the reason she was in all this pain. That being said, there was only so much he could do to help her. The very least of which was apologize. He called after her to gain her attention once more.

"Nu wait." He looked at her, this time directly in the eye. His rage had subsided and a kind yet slightly sad smile was on his lips. "You don't need my to forgive you, I did that a long time ago. Afterall, you're always gonna be by my side right?" The corner of his mouth turned up a fraction of an inch. Like it or not, they were two parts of the same whole. She was just a step shy of his real sister and his brotherly instincts were alot stronger than he liked to admit. "I'll see you again soon. I promise." he said softly. With that he turned away from the base, having found the answers he sought out in teh first place. For a split second, a blood red wing could be seen on his right shoulder before quickly disappearing. Slowly he walked towards the gate and away from the scene of the massacre. Saya...Terumi...I'm coming.

Only a couple of metres away, outside of the direct surroundings of the NOL, another girl came up which just so happened to be the one Ragna had been looking for. Caelica had followed in Ragna´s trail these last days, but naturally had a few hours delay because of Jin on it... seeing him again made her smile, but Ragna probably wasn´t going to like that A: her cape was gone, B: her left sleeve was gone and C: the sword she carried definately had been drawn because its cover was gone.
Without any introduction or something of sorts, she approached him and sighed deeply in annoyance.

"Jin is not the nice boy i remember him to be. At all."

Ragna left the base, both relieved and worried at the same time. He had a lead yes, but there was still so much left to do. As it happened, no sooner had he parted ways with Nu, Ragna was reunited with another friend from his past, Caelica Mercury. His old caretaker appeared from the edge of the forest, it seemed as if she had been in combat. The only one who could have done that was his own brother Jin. Despite his attempts to draw Jin off, Caelica had used herself as a distraction afterall. The Bloodedge frowned as he examined the damage, she seemed to be alright all things considered. "It's not all his fault. That damn Nox he carries around has been screwing with his head for years. Then again, we've always had our issues. Him and me." Ragna said, briefly thinking back on his childhood with Jin. He truly believe he had done nothing wrong in caring for Saya but he could still understand where Jin's resentment came from.

"I think he told me a few of them, but... he is mad beyond belief. I couldn´t understand half of what he told me."

Caelica said, lowering her head a little. Somehow, she felt like this was all her fault.
Then again, it had to be the intervention of Terumi.

"I really hope Saya is more reasonable than him, or else i`m gonna have to break down and cry one of these days."

Feeling a chill from a sudden gust of wind, she shivered, covering her arm with the other.

"And, i should get a new shirt from somewhere... i spent all my time trying to catch up with you...."

Ragna shook his head. "I wouldn't get your hopes up. The girl I saw a week ago wasn't the Saya I used to know. She was cold, dark, evil even." He stared off into the forest for a moment, scanning it for any signs of danger. He had lost that first group of bounty hunters but when you had a bounty as large as his there was always another upstart looking to make a name for himself. When he finally decided it was relatively safe he looked back to Caelica and noticed her shivering in the cold. Closing his eyes he removed his jacket without much hesitation and draped it over her shoulders. Cold weather had never really bothered him all that much so he would have no problem donating his jacket for a bit. "Here, this should keep you warm until we can find you something else. Just take care of of it, that thing means alot to me."

Caelica was about to respond to him about Saya, but then twitched a bit as the jacket fell onto her shoulders, the weight lightly pulling her down.
She quickly slipped into it, cuddleing into its warmth with a bright smile.

"You tell me about the worth of this... this jacket used to belong to my friend and lover."

Her eyes closed a bit as she smiled.

"Thanks a lot though. "

Then, as her mind started to settle, her thoughts got rolling.
Saya had become evil... her first instinct was to blame it on Terumi, but... someone powerful must´ve set him free, and it wasn´t Relius or Nine. Someone must`ve freed him and his body who had more power than Kokonoe and Konoe had.
The sheer thought of Saya being behind all of it was far out, too far out for her tastes, but things rarely were as she expected them to be.

-------------> From Orient Town
--------------------------

Jin entered the gates of the 7th Hierarchial City on his Ice Car. As he was riding through he saw groups of N.O.L bodies on the ground. Only one man could have done this....and his name was Ragna. Jin wanted to smile but he was panting to much to even move his lips. Not only was he a tiny bit exhausted with that fight from Caelica in ORient Town but he stayed up for the past few days without a moments rest to ride over here. Despite entering the city Jin didn't stop to take a break/ Jin continued riding onwards as he constantly looked from the left to the right to search for those distinguishing features. The silver hair, red and green eyes, red jacket, giant sword. Jin screamed out while panting NIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIISSSSSSSSAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAN!!!!" In a desperate attempt to even hear his brothers words, he just wanted to hear that voice. He was excitingly happy to see his brother in Orient Town and wanted to hang out with him and have fun like old times. But the Nox Nyctores he held onto was destroying his mind and changing the reasons why he wants to meet Ragna, but Jin himself was to ignorant to know such a fact. He continued to scream the same word NIISAN! several more times while he continued to ride onwards, wiping the dirt and scratches from his face as he struggled to keep his eyes opened.

Ragna looked thoughtfully at Caelica for a minute. "So you two were that close eh? Now it's starting to make sense." He knew that Caelica had been a comrad of the original Bloodedge, but the fact that they had been in a relationship explained her attachment to his legacy. He would have commented further but a familiar yell echoed throughout the forest. To think Jin had tracked him all the way from Kagetsuchi. Ragna needed to stop underestimating the depths of his brother's obsession. He set his jaw and widened his stance, staring off into the darkness. Jin was still too far off to see in the forest but Ragna could hear him loud and clear. If it was a fight his little brother wanted, then he was in store for one hell of an asskicking. "It's Jin. I'll take care of this. I want you to stay safe back here. He's my brother, it's time I took responsibility for him."

With that, the Bloodedge took off ata run directly into the forest, leaving his prized jacket in Caelica's care. Using the thick foliege to his advantage, Ragna homed in on his younger brother's voice but approached its' location from an angle. At this rate he would intercept Jin at an angle rather than head on so that the trees would hide him as long as possible. As it turned out, leaving his jacket with Caelica had worked to his advantage. His black undershirt blended in far better with the night time forest than the bright crimson would have. With the element of suprise on his side, Ragna was almost on top of Jin's position when he leapt into the air, his right hand cocked back in a fist. A suprise haymaker to the chin might serve to knock some sense into his brother. If it didn't then perhaps the followup kick would. Bursting through the cover of the foliege, Ragna flew towards Jin and unleashed a Gauntlet Hades combination. "Jin!"

Caelica was about to expain him the deep nature of thier relationship and that she had shown early signs of pregnancy before Terumi cut her throat, but then the sickening yell of a manman echoed through the forest, and she knew that from that point on, it would just repeat itself. She had never actually seen Ragna fight, so she just hoped that he would be more than just talk....

As if she had spoken it out aloud, the cold touch of a hand held hers, and she lookd into a pair of crimson eyes, attached to a silver haired girl.

"Don´t worry. Ragna will be fine.. it takes more than that to stop him.. like a nuke or something. Tehehehe... especially when there´s someone closeby that he likes."

As Jin was riding on his Ice Car he was ambushed by his brother wick a series of attacks, he seemed to have lost his red jacket somehow cause he was hard to see. The only reason why Jin was able avoid Ragna's attack from the sound of his voice. As he deactivated the Ice Car Jin landed on his feet and stared at Ragna. He still had dirt and scratches on his face with his fight with Caelica. Jin literally had tears running down his face as he smiled what he really was trying to say was Niisan! I'm happy to see you! I...I'm sorry for everything! I want us to be together like old times!" But Yukianesa was screwing with his mind, slurring his words, changing his attitude. "KeheheheheGAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!! NIISAN! ITS BEEN A LONG TIME! I'm glad to see you...I will enjoy this...M..Moment as I enjoy killing you! LET'S GO!" Jin was obviously exhausted, he stayed up for hours just to reach here even with the fight with Caelica. But nonetheless, he unsheathed Yukianesa and pointed at Ragna.


(OOC: The text in bold is when I speak in my mind colored text is speaking out loud.)

Jin, ever quick on his feet, managed to slip through the cracks in Ragna's opening assualt and land unscathed. true to form he was teetering on the edge of insanity. Whatever self control he seemed to have gained during the battle against Mu was gone, his younger brother was a psychotic killer once more. I'm getting sick of this crap the Bloodedge thought to himself sliding his left foot forward into a ready stance. Though his posture was relaxed, his body was fully prepared for combat, ready to leap into movement at a moment's notice. Knowing his brother, Ragna would need every bit of speed he had. Although, something was off. Jin looked exhausted to the point of passing out. Was he really trying to fight him while injured again? "Shut up you idiot!" he barked loudly as if scolding a child. [b]"You look like hell Jin. Last time you tried fighting me you were beat to hell before we even started. Looks like I'm gonna have to beat that lesson into your thick skull all over again.[b] Ragna knew that trying to resolve this peacefully was pointless. As long as that Nox had control of his brother's mind this rivalry was going to keep spiraling on forever, reason and commonsense be damned. There was only one thing to do.

Keeping his sword sheathed for the time being, Ragna launched himself forward in a powerful straight punch, his right fist shrouded in a jet black aura of seithr. He would attempt to slide in around the tip of Jin's sword to catch his younger brother in the ribs with the punch. However, with the smallest of changes, Ragna could shift it into a parry to turn Yukianese's blade is need be using teh gauntlet on the back of his hand and the aura coating his appendage. Regardless, Ragna's follow up was already prepared in his mind. In the aftermath of his Hell's Fang combo, Ragna would draw his Bloodscythe with a reverse grip and launch upwards in a devastating Inferno Divider. The move was dangerous, dangerous enough to sheer through Jin's torso if he wasn't careful. However, all Ragna had in mind was a shallow wound, just enough to force his brother into submission or unconsciousness. Whichever came first.

OOC: Bold red is spoken dialogue. Italics red are unspoken thoughts.

As Ragna had charged into him with his Hell's Fang attack Jin instinctively fired his Fubuki: Bliizard attack to counter the seithr coated arm. His Nox swirled with snow like energy as it collided with Ragna's fist leaving the attackers unharmed but mostly Ragna for the seithr coating his arm prevented his sword from slicing his hand off. Jin saw the other open hand of Ragna pull back to pull a combo with the Hell's Fang. Jin laughed thinking his brother was as dumb as a beast, Jin did a back flip to avoid the second attack from the seithr blow. Just then Ragna was unsheathing his "Scythe" and Jin took action he quickly bent down and fired his Violent Ice attack which swirled a larger concentration of ice around his sword as he fired his blade at Ragna's sword. The metals clanged together as Ragna's Inferno Divider was cancelled with Violent Ice Jin was trying to stop his brother from fighting but his mind was in shanmbles. He couldn't say what he truly wanted to say to his silver haired brother. "Kahahahaha! This is fun Niisan! Remember when we always played as swordsmen back when we were kids!? B...But then that bitch Saya had to get sick! How dare you leave me all by myself! I'll make you regret every second of misery you gave me!" Jin quickly pulled back Yukianesa and fired a series of 8 powerful sword slashes with is Sekkajin: Snow Flower Storm Technique at Ragna, each of the slashes were strong and fast enough to cleave through his brother's bones if unwary. However with each slash Jin was already panting and coughing from tiredness. It seemed his stamina was already coming to him but he forced himself to keep fighting. "No! Not yet! I will not stop until this fight is over! I spent so long finding him I'm not turning back now!"

(OOC: Changed Bold color is when I talk, unbold color is when I think but don't speak colorless bold is when I'm stating Techniques like Jin's Ice Car for example.)

Ragna hated to admit it, but his brother was no pushover. Fighting like he was, trying to keep things nonlethal and just knockout Jin, Ragna would never make anyhead way. It was all out or nothing. Bringing his blade in close to his body, Ragna blocked the first and second of Jin's 8 strikes easily enough. The third however, slipped through and made a shallow cut across the left side of his chest. A little deeper and it may have reached his heart but the Bloodedge had been lucky, a glancing blow wouldn't finish him. With pain focusing his mind, he tightened his guard and managed to hold off the next four of Jin's slashes before launching a slash of his own to meet the 8th swing head on. Locking blades his his younger brother, Ragna simply stared on quietly at Jin's mad ramblings. The former NOL major seemed tired, very tired, if Ragna could draw this out a bit longer he might get lucky and outlast Jin altogether. But that wasn't his style, he preferred to face things head on. "You're my little brother Jin. And I know that side of you is still there somewhere." His red and green eyes narrowed as he braced himself for another attack. He had to try and work Jin's torso, avoid headshots that might put his brother in real danger. "But I'm sure hell not gonna apologize for what I've done!" The Bloodedge yanked his sword from his right to his left, attempting to force Jin's blade out of the way and open Kisaragi up for a counterattack. Using the momentum of his turn, Ragna spun an entire 360 degrees to through a spin kick at the left side of Jin's head. From there, he would attempt to end it with a left hook to Jin's stomach. The world's most wanted fellon was sticking to unarmed attacks as much as possible. They might hurt like hell but they wouldn't kill his little brother. The Bloodscythe was another story entirely.

OOC: In case there's any confusion, imagine the combo as Ragna's standing C, standing B, and forward A. The only difference is I'm using the standing C as a parry rather than a straight up strike.