Editing BlazBlue:Bloodedge Experience Part 2 Chapter 7 (section)

==Part 2==

She didn't like it.

Still unsure of the situation, Raquel was urged by Haruka and brought to the Hayami residence a few floors up, clutching a cushion and visibly sulking.

The reason was simple. That girl in the kimono who had appeared so suddenly.

"Haruka..." Raquel called out to Haruka, who was preparing tea in the kitchen, from the two-seater sofa. "Who was that girl?" Her tone was sharp, clearly revealing her dissatisfaction.

To be honest, being alone with Haruka, with no one else around, was quite a burden for Raquel. However, the weight of her discontent was even greater than that burden. ...Although she couldn't bring herself to look up at Haruka.

“Hmm…” Haruka hummed softly, searching for words as she placed tea leaves into the teapot. She closed the tea tin with a gentle clink against the edge of the counter. “That girl’s name is Saya Terumi, and she’s Nao-kun’s younger sister. Due to certain circumstances, she’s living at the main family house, the ‘Amanohokosaka’ family, instead of her own home. I had heard that she wouldn’t come out of there… but for some reason, she came to Naoto’s house today.”

Having said that, Haruka turned her back to Raquel and took out two mugs. The water for the tea wasn't quite boiling yet. Listening to the sound of the water approaching a boil, Haruka gazed at the electric kettle on the counter and tugged at her light-colored bangs.

"Nao-kun's family is quite old, you see. There are several branch families... and the Amanohokosaka is a very large family that oversees those branch families." Being a relative of Naoto's, Haruka wasn't completely unrelated to the Amanohokosaka family either. However, since Haruka was born much further from the old family than Naoto, she had never formed any particularly deep-rooted relationships with them. After Naoto's mother died, they had become quite distant. They didn't even exchange New Year's cards.

“Saya Terumi... Amanohokosaka…” Raquel murmured as if confirming, tightening her grip on the cushion in her lap. There was one puzzling thing. "...Her last name is different. Naoto called himself 'Kurogane'."

“Oh, that’s because of Nao-kun’s mother’s situation.” Haruka didn't know the exact details of why Naoto used the name Kurogane. However, she did know that Naoto had a very complicated relationship with his family. That was why Haruka couldn’t bring herself to ask further. She understood that the past was a painful and difficult topic for Naoto.

With a wry smile, she shrugged her shoulders and poured the boiling water into the cups and pot. “I can’t explain more than that. I don’t really know the details…”

If Raquel wanted to know more, she would have to ask Naoto directly. However, the slightly furrowed brows of Haruka hinted that she hoped Raquel wouldn’t pry too deeply.

“By the way, yesterday my mom brought back some baumkuchen. Let’s eat it together!” Trying to change the subject, Haruka spoke in her usual cheerful voice and turned to the shelf in the back of the kitchen. The back of Haruka's head, tied up in a hair clip, disappeared under the counter.

That's when it happened.

"Ugh..." A sharp, intense pain gripped Raquel’s chest, causing a dull ache. She instinctively stifled a groan, pressing down hard on her chest beneath the cushion. Raquel instantly realized what this pain was.

(My life... is being drained...)

It wasn't her life, but Naoto's. For some reason, the life force that Raquel shared and constantly supplied to him was rapidly diminishing. She didn't understand why. But she quickly thought of the most straightforward way to confirm it, exhaling the breath that had caught in her throat, and threw the cushion she had been holding onto the sofa.

“Raquel-chan, how much do you want to eat... oh, huh?” 

As Haruka set a white box containing baumkuchen on the counter, she looked puzzled when she noticed that there was no one in the living room where the sofa set was placed.

—-

It didn’t take long for a thick fog to envelop Naoto's consciousness.

"Ugh..."

Groaning softly, he struggled to free himself from the small hands that held him. His toes kicked at the air in vain. But Saya's grip didn’t loosen. With the stability of someone dangling a puppet, she easily continued to constrict Naoto.

"Ugh, ugh... let... go..."

"Brother, I've been wanting to meet you. But it won't do, will it? You've become so careless. To let me touch you... You haven't changed in that regard. I'm relieved. Or perhaps you wanted me to kill you?" 

"No way... ... ... you know... that's not..." With discerning eyes, Naoto read Saya and retorted in a barely audible voice. As he spoke, he clawed wildly at Saya's hands and wrists. But his fingers lacked strength. 

Saya's fingers, digging into his throat, were like the claws of a beast that had captured its prey. Naoto's body trembled as he felt something being sucked away from him, as if her fingertips were about to tear through his skin and flesh.

It wasn't his breath that was being taken. It was something more fundamental. Life itself. And this was no mere figure of speech. Saya's hands were intentionally draining Naoto's life force. As if to prove it, Naoto's eyes saw it.

The "Hunter's Eye," as Saya called it, allowed Naoto to visually perceive people's life force as numerical values. In his vision, the number representing Saya's life force, which floated above her head, was gradually increasing.

"Ha... ... ... ha..." A hoarse rasp escaped Naoto's throat. His head felt dizzy, and the sensation in his limbs faded. Gazing up at her brother's face, distorted by his agony, Saya wore a sharp smile.

"’Naoto Kurogane,’ huh? Ha, it's laughable that you would call yourself Kurogane, brother. Are you trying to carry your mother's gravestone on your back?" 

"Sh-shut up... ... it's none of your... business."

“Oh, or do you think you have the right to claim it? As proof of causing our mother’s death… I can understand that.” Saya’s tone was more playful than mocking, and Naoto’s expression twisted into something other than anguish. If he could, he would have screamed at her in anger. Unfortunately, he couldn't seem to get his voice out.

"Sa-ya-aaa... !" Naoto’s outburst was met with a short laugh from Saya as she pulled her brother’s neck closer. Unable to resist, his legs swayed as if being dragged, his toes scraping against the floor. Naoto awkwardly supported himself in an unsteady manner. Saya's hand, which had been gripping his neck, moved up to Naoto's cheek, tracing his temple and then gripping his skull.

[[File:BE2-2.png|frameless|right]]

With both hands, she clamped down on his head, parted his stiff, tea-colored hair, and forcibly pulled Naoto's face towards her. They were almost within kissing distance.

Naoto gasped, grabbed Saya's wrists, and pulled with all his might. No matter how hard he tried, her hands wouldn't budge. Grasping her slender shoulders with all his strength, he tried to pull her away, but Saya didn't even lose her balance. Instead, she ran her fingers through his hair, stroking it, and pulled her captured brother even closer.

“Stop…!”

Saya’s nose grazed Naoto’s as she leaned in. One of them let out a breathless sigh, lost in the narrow space between their lips. Saya opened her lips slightly. The girl's red lips sought out her brother's, as if to devour them. More than just a touch with her palm, she wanted to consume more of her brother's life force.

But just before their lips met, Saya suddenly halted.

“What… is this? You’re not… my brother?”

“Wha—” He tried to ask what she meant, but his voice was cut off. Suddenly, a gust of wind erupted from beneath his feet. Now it was Saya's turn to gasp.

The gust of wind exploded between Saya and Naoto, mercilessly knocking them both back. Saya slammed against a low shelf beside the television, while Naoto crashed into the dining table, both hitting their backs hard.

“Ugh…” Groaning from the dull impact, Naoto clung to the edge of the table to stand up. From his feet, a shadow suddenly sprang forth with the same force as the previous wind. A beautiful girl with golden hair wearing a white blouse and a black mini skirt—Raquel.

"Raquel!?" Naoto shouted in surprise, and Raquel glanced back at him over her shoulder. But her gaze was quickly pulled back to the front.

The air stirred. Saya, quickly rising to her feet, kicked off the floor and lunged straight at Raquel.

Unnoticed, her hand had already found the hilt of her sheathed sword, and she assumed a deer-like stance. As she made her purchase, she closed the distance. With a lightning-fast motion, she drew the sword, its hiss barely audible. The blade, swift as a streak of light, sliced through the air and struck Raquel.

“Dodge!” Naoto's warning was too late. By the time his voice reached her, Saya had already swung her sword. However, Raquel was no puppet that could move without command. She raised a gust of wind to deflect Saya's blade, then dodged, avoiding the cold edge. 

A red droplet flew through the air. It was Raquel's blood. A single red line ran down her white, porcelain-like cheek, even whiter than Saya's. Naoto could see it. The grazing tip had sliced a gentle arc, and a thin stream of red flowed from it. 

“How rude,” Raquel muttered with disdain as she took a step back. In that brief moment, the wound on her cheek seemed to absorb the surrounding whiteness and heal instantly. Seeing this, Saya paused for a moment, barely a breath. She jumped lightly and sheathed her sword with the grace of a dancer.

"The wound... it disappeared," she muttered to herself, her eyes narrowing sharply. She exhaled even sharper than her gaze and charged again. She slid her foot across the floor, lowered her body, and flashed her sword in a move to sweep her opponent's legs. 

Once again, Raquel was the target. The unerring strike was deflected by Raquel's protective magic just before it could sever her knee. The sound of hard metal clashing echoed. Next, she jumped up from her crouched position and struck again. From a position higher than Raquel's shoulder, she swung the sword she had just sheathed down like a whip.

"Ugh..." Raquel groaned. This time, instead of defensive magic, she directly deflected the silver blade by blowing wind against it. As if to return the favor for narrowly avoiding a dangerous attack, Raquel kicked out sharply, her long hair and short skirt flying. The kick, with a force that rivaled a slash, plunged into Saya's open side.

Saya gasped softly. But she wasn't a girl who would meekly kneel. She swung the scabbard in her left hand, creating a sufficient distance between herself and Raquel. Immediately regaining her posture, Saya sheathed her sword again and assumed an iaido stance, lowering her waist.

"It's you. The foreign object that has entered my brother," she said, her hand already positioned to draw her sword immediately. She glared at Raquel, discarding her previous lightness and coolness and adopting a hostile intent.

But Raquel didn't try to retort. Instead, she took a step back, scraping her foot against the floor. Another step. And another. Finally, she retreated with the swiftness of a small animal and hid behind Naoto, her shoulders hunched.

"W-wait a minute...?" Naoto looked at Raquel in surprise. He thought she must have been injured badly enough to retreat. But when he saw Raquel's wide-open golden eyes completely lose focus and go rigid, he slumped his shoulders.

(Seriously… even at a time like this, she’s socially awkward.)

For a moment, he forgot the tension that had been in the air. Naoto reflected on the impact of what had just happened. He turned to Saya, who was caressing her side and standing warily. His eyebrows furrowed slightly at the sight of his sister.

Saya’s stance was not one of restraint or attack; it was a posture meant to kill, to end a life. That was the essence of Saya as a girl.

Naoto felt a wave of disgust. Swallowing his breath as if to suppress the unpleasant emotions, he resigned himself to several things. Ideally, he wouldn’t want Saya to know about their situation. But that was no longer possible.

Saya must have already sensed it. Or perhaps, tasted it. 

Saya had “touched” Naoto with her own hands. She had devoured the life force within him. She had absorbed the life of Raquel, which constantly replenished and made the mutated Naoto immortal, through her hands.

“Saya, I died once,” Naoto said, and Saya’s eyes widened in surprise.

"Died? Brother?" Her voice was that of a girl her age, making Naoto feel slightly embarrassed. He wished she would stop making such unexpectedly childlike faces. Irritated, Naoto nodded several times.

“Yeah… I got caught up in something dangerous recently. So…”

“That woman… is it because of her?” Saya’s voice became cold and sharp, like the tip of a blade.

Naoto grimaced and shook his head immediately. “No.”

Saya was looking at Raquel. To block her gaze, Naoto took a half-step to the right.

“Raquel saved my life back then. But as a trade-off, it seems I ended up sharing my life with her.” He didn't know how to explain this situation to Saya, where he was essentially living on borrowed time from Raquel. It had become so normal that it sounded absurd when put into words. But how else could he say it?
(I'd better not tell her that Raquel is a vampire. That would just complicate things further.)

Deciding against revealing any details beyond the main point, Naoto withheld that information. 

For a few seconds, Saya remained silent. After a moment, she spoke.

“So, you’re borrowing the lives of others…” Her voice sounded as if it had been dragged up from the depths of her belly. It was unsettling, filled with something dark and foreboding. A shadow from her long hair fell over a crimson organ, staring into the void as if glaring at someone who wasn’t there.

“The life I drained from my brother was completely different because of that... So, there is someone who killed my brother. My... my brother." Saya murmured, though she didn't voice it aloud.

Naoto clenched his fist tightly behind his back, trying to suppress the emotions welling up inside him.

(Calm down. This is... Haruka's apartment...)

Like a woman, Naoto reminded himself. This wasn’t the time to let unnecessary emotions run wild. This wasn’t the place for that.

"As long as Raquel is alive, I won't die. I'm borrowing my life from Raquel, and I have no intention of dying. I won't give you the 'Hunter's Eye'."

With a strong sense of determination, Naoto looked at the 'Hunter's Eye', which showed a series of mysterious symbols floating above Saya's head. If these were read as numbers, they would be '7946'.

Despite having absorbed a considerable amount of life force from Naoto, the number above Saya's head was quite low. Saya had always been like this. Her body was weak, and she often caught colds, causing her life force to drop drastically, making Naoto worry that she might die.

Everything was different now, compared to those days. Saya had changed, and so had he.

“Go home, Saya.” Naoto said this firmly, almost as if pushing her away. A bitter feeling settled in his stomach. These weren’t words he was happy to say.

Saya sneered. The flickering anger she had shown earlier disappeared in an instant. “What a cold statement, brother.”

(Cold? You think so?) 

Saya's hand went back to the hilt of her sword. As if to warn him, Raquel suddenly grabbed Naoto's clothes tightly. Peeking out from behind him, Raquel said to Saya, "If you draw that sword, I won't hesitate to attack you, no matter what state you're in. ...Wouldn't it be better for you if you stopped now?"

Though her words came from a position of safety, they carried a weight that was more than sufficient for a warning, reeking of her knowledge of the circumstances. 

Saya looked at Raquel with accusing eyes. Raquel immediately retreated behind Naoto, not meeting Saya’s gaze. In a battle of intimidation, it was clear that Raquel was losing. But Saya smiled again and slowly released her grip on the hilt, undoing her stance.

"Indeed, I've been playing a bit too much. I came here today simply to greet you and deliver a letter from Lady Mei."

“Liar…” Naoto unconsciously muttered at Saya's sudden change of attitude. The feeling of her fingers on his neck was too full of killing intent for it to be just a game. Hearing Naoto's small voice, Saya nodded politely and respectfully, just as she had when she arrived.

"Brother. I'll come back another day." 

It was hard to believe that this was the same person who had just tried to gouge someone's eyes out. Naoto was utterly disgusted.

Naoto grimaced and put his hand to his head as if to ease a headache.

“Don’t ever come back.”

“That’s not going to happen.” As if implying that there was some fault on his part, Saya sheathed her sharp weapon back into the scabbard that had fallen to the floor. After securely tying it with a thin cord, she turned to Naoto with a heavy gaze. "My mission is to restore the Terumi family. To that end, I must have your 'eye'. I will definitely make it mine." 

It was essentially a declaration that she would definitely kill him.

With a pure-looking smile, she directed a creeping murderous intent towards him. A chill ran down Naoto's spine.

(This is what it is...)

“Then, I will take my leave for today.” With her ominous eyes covered by her eyelids, she performed a formal bow, holding the scabbard carefully to her chest as she quietly exited.