BlazBlue:Phase 0 Chapter 2

Chapter 2: Destructive Black

———Log 3

Lately, Relius has been doing stuff on his own.

I knew that he was a man who did everything based on his own convenience for all this time. But recently, my inquiry for an explanation has not yet received any outright answer.

Perhaps, it's because of the snake man from the other day.

...I have an unpleasant feeling. Still, I can't keep dwelling on it if I don't want to be a failure of a scientist.

What on earth is that green haired man trying to create? To begin with, what sort of a man is he?

Based on the given documents, it seems the Original Unit was supposedly retrieved from the Alucard Family.

But in the first place, to say that the Original Unit will be provided itself is truly bizarre.

Even then, the moment it was brought up from the first division, the government immediately concealed its existence.

Is he one of the government's officials?

Once Relius get engrossed to his research, he becomes oblivious to concerning factors that should've been recognized.

If there is to be an unexpected occurrence, I should come up with some sort of a countermeasure.

Part 1

By the time they had finished searching for a vacant lodging, rent some rooms, and settling down, night came down upon the seaside port city.

They got their dinner after rushing to a nearly closed bakery. Finished with dinner, Mitsuyoshi left to gather intelligence. Meanwhile, Celica returned to her room to sleep early.

While Ragna was waiting for Mitsuyoshi's return in a room beside Celica's, his thought wandered to the views outside the window.

The hotel didn't have any food service. Although it was close to the harbor, he could not see the sea due to the room's position. What he could see were cramped rows of square buildings and the surrounding streets which were only illuminated by nothing but occasional tiny street lamps.

Although that scenery was only separated by a single layer of thin glass, it seemed so awfully far.

Perhaps he never had any knowledge about this city. It's not only what he could see, he also didn't have any memory of how the atmosphere felt like.

An unknown self within an unknown land. It was very uncertain and vague. He felt a bit tired thinking about it.

No, what he could not remember was not only this city. Perhaps the world was foreign, too. If what Celica and Mitsuyoshi said were true, then the Black Beast would still be present, although it should had been destroyed a hundred years ago according to his memory.

"...Hm?"

Suddenly, he noticed a figure from outside the window. Ragna lifted his head after resting it on his his hand earlier.

A back hidden by black mantle. Light brown hair tied up near the roots. It was Celica.

It wasn't the time for a young girl to be walking around alone. Ragna hurriedly stood up while frowning his eyebrows.

"Sheesh. That girl keeps getting my hands full!"

If he let that hopeless person who had no sense of direction wandering aimlessly in the city at night, she undoubtedly would not return back. Ragna unconsciously clicked his tongue while snatching his sword. Then, he rushed out of the room.

He stepped out and felt just what someone would expect from a seaside port city. The wind blowing westward felt damp. There was a smell of salt on it.

Rushing out from the small room, Ragna hurriedly checked around. Celica was nowhere to be found. If he was not mistaken, Celica got out of her room and she was supposedly taking the path towards the seashore.

Ragna turned his head to various directions while running along the paved streets. The stones covering all over the streets were jagged and hard, making it difficult to thread on.

Leaving the thin path to a gentle hill road, the view of dark sea spread before his eye. His field of vision expanded simultaneously as the sea breeze whirling up and blew against Ragna. It made his white hair fluttered violently.

An unknown scenery. But it wasn't clear whether if it was because he lost his memory or he never knew about it in the first place. It made the sorrow within his heart expanded.

This wasn't the time to get sentimental. Ragna slid his hair that was obstructing the view and look around the surrounding, searching for that careless girl.

There.

On the promenade protruding to the sea. Its floor tiles were lined up to imitate bricks. There was a short staircase with a semi-circular platform on its end. Two old fashioned benches were encircled within silver railings.

A familiar person was leaning on the simple vertical railing as the sea breeze played around with the figure's lengthy hair.

"...Hey."

Stepping down from the short staircase, Ragna stood next to Celica.

Celica turned around and made her ponytail swung.

"Wah! You scared me."

"Don't go wandering around by yourself. You'll get lost again."

"No way, I shouldn't get lost again. The hotel is just over there."

"If it wasn't coming from you, I'd believe it without a doubt."

Celica pointed somewhere, but it wasn’t where the hotel located. Ragna dejectedly dropped his shoulders as a response.

While glancing at Celica who still had not yet moved from the spot she was found, Ragna leaned his back to the railing and shifted his weight to it.

It was such a peaceful place. There wasn't any store or another person around.

On the opposite side of the promenade, sometimes he could see a figure passing by. But this place felt like it was in a different dimension compared to that side.

The sea wind was refreshing. If you just stood there, you would lose track of time.

"...What are you doing in a place like this?"

Ragna asked a question. Celica returned her gaze to the sea as she smiled.

"I was wondering if I can see Japan from here."

"Japan?"

Ragna also turned his sight to the sea.

Rather than sea, what he could see was unfolding darkness.

The ground lamps' reflections on the water were glimmering and flickering. As if following the lines of light, his gaze shifted to distant horizon.

The line separating sky and sea was quite blurry.

"You can see it from here?"

"Don’t know. I was thinking it'd be nice if I could."

Ahaha, Celica let out a small laugh. From the beginning, she knew she wouldn't be able see it. However, Japan, the place where her father might be, was very close to the port town. She realized that much.

But as person who lost his memory, Ragna hardly understood that feeling.

"...Your father has been missing for more than six years, right?"

The Black Beast manifested in Japan. As a result, a nuclear strike had to be done to defeat it. Before the bombing begun, Celica's father had already been missing.

Ragna frowned.

"Sorry I say this, but... you sure he's alive?"

How much was the chance for him to survive if he was in Japan at that time?

"If you go, you might end up regretting it."

"Umm..."

Celica gave neither affirmation nor denial as an answer. She rested her arms on the railing. Then, she put her chin on top of her arms and stared at the horizon.

"...In my family, there are only my father and sister left."

Celica spoke. Her words were mixed with the night wind's whisper.

"When I was a child, Mother died of sickness. After that, Father, being a scientist, would always be holed up in his lab to do complicated researches. Onee-chan and I enrolled in some place called Magic Guild. Since she's a brilliant student, somehow, she got chosen to become a part of Ten Sages."

"Ten Sages?"

"Err. It's a group of ten extraordinary people, specially selected from within Magic Guild."

"I don't really get it, but they sound amazing."

Ragna was saying it casually as it made Celica's face brighten up.

"You got that right. They're really amazing!"

She seemed to be really proud of her sister. She was so simple-minded and Ragna couldn't help but chuckled.

In high spirits, Celica took a deep breath of the sea breeze.

"As for Father, he won many awards and gave lectures at many universities. He's a truly great scholar. When I was a child, I used to believe that Father was the most hardworking person in the world. I feel unworthy of having those wonderful persons as my family. ...Well, the relationship between them isn't exactly on best term."

"Is that so?"

"Yup. Especially Onee-chan. She reaaaaally hate Father. I don't know the reason, but she seems to dislike it when I'm talking with him."

Although she said it cheerfully, there was sadness as salty as the sea, deep within Celica's voice. However, it didn't make her voice wavered. Their conflict didn't even bother her.

"Even then, both of them are irreplaceable and important family to me."

Celica gently turned her face to Ragna. Looking straight at her big eyes, Ragna was spontaneously taken aback.

While Ragna was still confused, Celica, with the expression of a dreaming child, continued.

"Many months ago, the UN rescue team relayed news that they had found survivors in Japan. Unable to leave Japan before the nuclear strike, they had to live in ruins for six years."

Although some areas were still considered hazardous, recently Japan had been reopened for public.

Even in darkness, Ragna could see a pure hope shining within Celica's eyes.

"I believed my father was dead for a long time. But after I heard the news, I started wondering if he had survived. I couldn't stop thinking about it. Soon, I couldn't just wait patiently anymore."

"That's how you came to be here?"

She didn't have any definite clue or ground-breaking method to find her father. With such condition, Celica kept aiming to go to Japan without hesitation. She was either that determined or just a simply doing it blindly. Ragna believed she was the former.

"Your sister doesn't worry about you?"

His admiration turned to bitter smile as Ragna asked her. Celica shrugged and smiled mischievously.

"She probably does. She surely will horribly scold me when I get back."

"But you'll still search for your old man, right?"

"Of course."

Celica didn't hesitate at all. She was the type that wouldn't waver once a decision had been made.

Celica straightened herself after leaning on the railing. She lifted her chin and gazed on the horizon. She seemed to be staring at Japan itself which was on the other side.

"After all, he's my family. When you don’t know what happened, won't you worry? When I realize he might be alive, shouldn't I be searching for him?"

For some reason, Celica's serious tone got stuck on Ragna's chest.

Celica's gentle eyes didn't have the slightest worry in them. She boldly stared at Ragna.

She was just worried. That was her only reason to act... Ragna couldn't help but felt envious.

Celica smiled without a single worry.

"I love Onee-chan and Father very much."

Again. Ragna once again did his habit to press his temples.

Ragna had seen someone like this before. Someone smiled like this. When was it? And like what Celica did to her sister, he had once been called brother by...

"Ow..."

It felt like his head's contents were squeezing and causing him great pain. Ragna's face warped. Celica's expression changed and then she touched Ragna's head with the back of her hand.

"Are you okay? Shouldn't you rest, Ragna?"

"...I'm fine. It's not my body that's actually bad."

It's just when he tried to remember things, immediately he got hit by head splitting pain.

Softly nursing him, Celica brushed Ragna's hair. Her fingertips were shining and felt slightly warm. It was only a little bit, but the painful headache was subsiding.

Being treated like a little kid for his injury. Ragna felt rather awkward.

"Really... it'd be gone after a while. You don't have to use magic for thing like this."

"Don't worry. I'm doing this because I want to. Besides, it's free."

'Kay? Said Celica while smiling. It made Ragna also laughed a little.

"Said no one but you. This isn't the problem of free or not. Normally, mages won't recklessly use magic that easily, right?"

"Really? Since I'm able to use magic, wouldn't it better if I make use of it?"

Seeing Celica tilted her head to the side while touching a cheek with her fingertip, Ragna couldn't keep his cool. A conversation with her would clear any hatred and let your face loosen up.

His headache was completely gone.

"You're such a weirdo."

"Eeeeeh? I don't want to hear that from Ragna."

"Is that so? Compared to your non-existent sense of direction and over optimism, my memory loss is awfully trivial."

"That's absolutely wrong. After all, this is the first time I meet an amnesiac person."

"Well then, surely you've met someone as directional-impaired as you?"

"I have a normal sense of direction."

"Huh!?"

Ragna spontaneously raised his voice in disbelief.

It must be amusing since Celica giggled. Her gentle smile comforted Ragna.

A freezing breeze blew from the sea. Turning to face it, Celica took another glance at the sea.

"...We should get back soon."

"Yeah, you're right. If we catch a cold and end up missing the boat for tomorrow, everything will be good-for-nothing."

"Yup."

With still a bit of regret, Celica nodded.

Not wanting to force her, Ragna started to walk. His hard shoes tapped on the tiles' surface. Soon after, Celica's small footsteps followed him from behind.

After a while, Celica closed the short distance to Ragna and arrived beside him.

Compared to Ragna, the girl was a bit shorter and looked delicate. She often let her guard down and had too many openings. Her soft, thin arms didn't have the capability to fight, let alone the strength to wield weapon.

For a girl like that could keep pace with Ragna was truly a wonder. Truly, a wonder indeed.

Part 2

Before anyone knew it, the night had gone completely dark. There were even less people walking around the avenue compared to when Ragna came here. The number of houses with lights on was decreasing one by one.

The clouds made numerous stars couldn't be viewed. Under such a night sky, Ragna and Celica continued tracing the dark street back to their hotel.

The straight road branched to many side streets along the way. At the end of it, a bustled main street could be seen. The lights there were flickering.

Ragna swiftly shifted his gaze toward those lights by chance. At the same time, something unusual cut across his sight.

"...!?"

His breath became shorter. Ragna reflexively halted his feet and turned around. At the end of the road, there were many bright street lights standing side-by-side.

Now, right in the middle of them, there was a person. He got a hunch that he knew the person's face.

No, saying it just as a hunch would imply that the details were vague. When he gazed at that person, even if it was for less than a second, he certainly saw them.

Beautiful golden hair tied up to two parts. Two big ribbons served as hair decoration. A young girl wearing black dress...

"Wh-. H-hey, Ragna!?"

Before he knew it, Ragna broke into a run. He could hear Celica's voice from behind, but he couldn't afford to turn around.

That girl definitely had something to do with his memory. It just like the first time he saw Mitsuyoshi. He felt something similar as when he noticed resemblances on Mitsuyoshi that made him recalled Jubei.

Moving toward the main street, Ragna searched for the little figure he had lost sight of. On the other side of the crowd. He saw a small shadow walking away to a mild curve.

"Hey, wait! Rabbit!!"

Ragna yelled as he jumped to the crowd.

Instantly, it felt like all kinds of sound had vanished.

At the end of the rough old street, the figure Ragna was chasing before had stopped. Her long blond hair swung as she turned around. Ragna stared at her deep red eyes similar to a white rabbit's.

Rachel Alucard.

That name was engraved within Ragna's brain, as if it was burned in.

That's right. He remembered. She was the magic user Ragna had seen long before he saw Celica's healing magic. An old acquaintance. The girl used to be suddenly teleported near him, hurled insults and sarcasms to irritate him, and then leaving abruptly.

Nonetheless, she had lived far longer than Ragna. She might look innocent, but she was actually a vampire.

If it was her, she must have known. Who he really was. Why he was in a place like this. Why his memory gone. What he should do to get his memory back.

However, Ragna felt uncomfortable at the same time.

(Is she really... that rabbit?)

Something was different. The Rachel from his memory. The black dressed girl who was facing him from a part of the port city. They were not identical. That cheeky vampire he knew was more arrogant and bewitching.

"Ah... W-wait! I freaking said wait, you damn rabbit!"

The girl who was standing on the end of the road suddenly slipped from his sight. That time, she continued walking, leaving Ragna behind.

Ragna hurriedly chased after her. Pushing through the drunken crowds, he collided with a man who was on the way home from work.

However, when he arrived at the spot where the Rachel from before stood, his feet stopped.

She was not there. The other party just walked leisurely, yet he was running at full speed. While he was not fast enough to chase her, the speed difference wasn't that big enough to lose sight of her.

"Tch... She teleported."

If that really was Rachel, it was not strange for her to vanish just like that. For better or worse, the fact that she was disappeared served as a further proof that the girl from before was indeed Rachel Alucard.

"Why the hell is she here...?"

Furthermore, to think back upon, she seemed to be unusually young. Rachel had always looked like a 12 years old. But that girl seemed to be even younger.

"Shit. The hell's going on here?!"

His mind was filled with murmurs. Frankly, it was really unpleasant.

He considered running around the whole town to look for her, but he immediately brushed it off. If she was truly Rachel, then she wouldn't be on a place where Ragna could easily reach. If she was not Rachel, then searching for her would be meaningless.

As if he was being played around, Ragna got annoyed. However, there was nothing more he could do. Ragna trampled an empty can which was rolling on the roadside in his irritation. Then, he returned to the path where he came from.

He got a feeling as if the moon behind those dark clouds was ridiculing him.