Editing BlazBlue:Phase Shift 3 Chapter 3 (section)

===Part 1===
The distorted landscape changed in the blink of an eye. With a light feeling of dizziness, Celica and her friends were surrounded by a plain with thin blades of grass, and trees growing in a chaotic manner.

It looked like it used to be a field; there were signs that it had been cleared and touched by human hands. A total of ten people, Celica included, stood in the middle of this facsimile of a field.

— “What is this place...?” — Celica asked, bewildered at this place that she had never seen before.

There was not a soul around these people — not even the Ten Sages or the Orbus Librarius Norma. It was such a quiet place; someone swore they could hear a bird chirping, or something like it

This area had probably been destroyed by the Black Beast. At least, it was nothing you would see in Ishana.

— “Well, I have no idea. But it looks like we went to the right place.” — Nine answered languidly and brushed her hair with a long, heavy sweep.

It was a hasty teleport that not only carried a large group of people, but also crossed the boundaries of the island. The wear and tear on the body was extraordinary, but not as much as it took to teleport into Ishana from the outside.

Since there were so many people here, maybe they had been pulled in by someone's mental image — but a mental image was not enough of a clue to specifically reveal where this place was.

A barren field and mountains could be seen in the horizon. Valkenhayn and Jubei looked around and observed the scene, so full with nature.

The wind was dry, and the air smelled of land.

— “This place is brimming with seithr...”

— “It is. A protective spell, just in case?”

In response to Valkenhayn's disdained muttering, Trinity cast a protective spell on everyone. Feeling the warmth of the spell on her skin for a few seconds, Nine turned her exhausted face to Hakumen, who stood in silence next to Nirvana.

— “So? How long are you keeping Celica in your arms?”

— “........”

— “Say something! Better yet, put her down!”


In his silence, Hakumen looked somewhat astonished. While in his arms, Celica turned her eyes from Hakumen to Nine and back, sporting a wry smile.

— “''BARK, BARK, BARK!'' That’s a real dog in heat… here, Nine! Shake!”

— “Shut your mouth!” Nine rushed in, and with light movements, she delivered a flying kick to Terumi’s head.

— “Agh…!”

With a sound as dull as his cry, Terumi turned over and fell into the thick bushes.

Valkenhayn just stared and shook his head; unlike Hakumen, he was not having any of this.

— “Oh, uh… I have a question!”

Just as everyone’s exasperation made the air so thick it could be cut with a knife, Celica slipped from Hakumen’s arms and raised her hand with vigor.
She immediately felt dizzy. Celica slumped backward, only to be effortlessly held up by Nirvana and Hakumen. After giving a shy word of thanks for their generous assistance, she began her question.

— “Are those… your friends?” — She asked, staring at two smiling shadows standing to either side of Jubei.

These were the unexpected reinforcements who helped them escape from Ishana.

The taller one had the stature of a normal girl, with a toned body exposed by her rough attire. The shorter, however, was small enough to look like a human child. Coupled with a garb that covered her entire body, she looked as adorable as a stuffed animal.

Both of them wore hoods that covered their entire heads, with triangular ears protruding from the top. Long tails hung down from their waists, flapping and swaying, wild and free. They looked similar enough to Jubei, a feline beastkin, but there was one striking difference:

Their faces.

They looked black as night, buried in the shadows created by their hoods; even the color of their skin was impossible to tell. Their faces looked drenched in darkness; their eyes and mouths, which looked like they had been drawn onto their heads, seemed to float within the hood.

When Celica spoke, Jubei looked back at the eccentric duo.
— “Oh, that's right. I forgot to introduce them.”

Standing at Jubei's side, the taller one put her large hands on her supple hips, and the mouth on her face smiled into the shape of a crescent moon. The red hair sprouting from her forehead caught the eye.

— “The name's Suzukaka; and the little one here's Totokaka. Look at that skull brooch on her hood, ain't it the cutest thing?!”
Suzukaka, the red-haired girl, picked up the smaller one and bowed towards Celica.
— “...nice to meet you.” — The childlike girl, introduced as Totokaka, spoke in a hushed voice, seeming a little nervous.

— “Whoa... so cute~!”
Seeing that Totokaka looked like a talking, walking stuffed animal, Celica reflexively relaxed her cheeks and lowered her voice.

Totokaka had bluish-silver hair sprouting from her hood and, as Suzukaka had said, a skull ornament between her ears. She did love that brooch, but when Suzukaka called it "the cutest thing", she couldn't help but be bewildered. Though her face was like red circles floating on a dark void, Celica liked the eccentric look of it.
— “So cute... nice to meet you, Toto!”

Suzukaka shot her a teasing look, and Celica folded both hands under her chin while her eyes glimmered. Totokaka just looked on and scowled. A little behind Celica, someone staggered to their feet, looking more ecstatic than jubilant.

— “Gah... I love them so much! Tiny Totokaka looks so cute with the bushy tail, but Suzukaka looks nice too...!”

Trinity softly smiled at Nine and Celica, who were completely captivated by the look of Suzukaka, Totokaka, and Jubei.

— “We have met them before. While investigating the place of the battle against the Black Beast, they showed up suddenly with quite a lot of friends.” There was no telling if Nine and Celica actually heard that explanation.

Nine asked Jubei, her eyes still moist — “Hey, these girls aren’t beastkin, right? What are they…?”

Jubei’s face twisted bitterly. He did not want to be asked that much, but he didn’t know how to say how he felt without it feeling rude, so he replied in a muffled tone:


— “Simply put, they’re my ‘daughters’.”

— “Wait… daughters? ‘Daughters’?” Nine spoke again, the words slipping out of her lips.

The captivated smile on her face froze up, and soon her eyes glowed with an intense, fiery color — like that of boiling lava. The smile disappeared, like it was sucked back into her face, and instead, light appeared in her outstretched hands.

— “What was that? ''WHOSE DAUGHTERS—?!''”

Immediately after Nine’s angry shouts, the light released by her rage caused an explosion that shook the entire area.


For the first time in a long time, Celica walked on her own two feet in an unknown land, in an unknown world. Nirvana walked right at her side; she actually walked at a much faster pace, but she felt sorry for following Celica’s pace exactly. And yet, even if Celica thanked her for her concern, she probably would not understand, and her only answer would be a blank stare. Imagining Nirvana like that made the dependable bodyguard seem even cuter, causing Celica to chuckle quietly.

Next to Celica walked Trinity, followed by Terumi and Valkenhayn. Hakumen was farthest behind. Having offered to guide the group, Suzukaka and Totokaka led the way — right behind them was Nine, who could not stop apologizing after sending their hairs on end with her attack spell.

— “Sorry, sorry, really sorry…!!!” Nine rarely apologized to anyone without Jubei around. “I didn’t mean to attack you! I got inflamed, and then…!!”

— “Oh, no.... well.... don't worry about it. I talked too soon.” — A dry, weak laugh spilled out of Suzukaka's crayon-esque lips. The catkin's rounded shoulders, which normally were hunched over, looked more slumped than usual.


The band led by Suzukaka was now headed west. They went to the forest beyond the mountains, which awaited them at the end of a roadless path occupied by grass and trees. Apparently, there lay an entire village of people like Suzukaka. Neither the Mage’s Guild or the Orbis Librarius Norma knew about it, so it was the perfect place to take shelter. It was fortunate that the group was able to teleport somewhere near that village, although the teleportation spell had been definitely influenced by the mental images of Suzukaka and Totokaka.


As they walked, Trinity began to briefly explain the eccentricity of their new guests to Celica and Nine, who still didn’t know anything about Suzukaka or her tribe.

— “They’re not actually beastkin; they’re bio-weapons created from Jubei’s genes. So, it’s not wrong to call them ‘daughters’…”

— “A bioweapon...?” Celica gave a curious tilt of her head. She could never have imagined that, from Suzukaka's charming appearance.


Jubei nodded with a snarl, answering before Trinity could.

— “It was when the Black Beast had just appeared. The country that sheltered me asked me to donate my genes for some reason... and I agreed.”

— “So they're your...” As she was about to answer, Nine trailed off. She wondered if it was appropriate to say those words in front of the triangular-eared girls.

But Suzukaka picked up on the question anyway.

— “A clone, right? At least, I think that was the word." Suzukaka chirped and continued, — "But you can see clearly that I'm not a clone. We don't look alike, I'm not as strong as Mitsuyoshi... I'm the biggest hardass in the village, but compared to the Big M? Not even close!”


Suzukaka did not seem to know what a bio-weapon or a clone was, not did she seem to care about the ethical and moral issues that people had with those. Whether or not it was a good thing, it’s hard to tell.


Jubei, for his part, did not think it was good, and his face showed deep regret.

— “At the time, I thought it was fair to do anything necessary to defeat the Black Beast. But shortly after these children were born, the country raising them was destroyed by the Black Beast... and the children were all that remained. They had nothing left, but their mission to fight the Black Beast.”


The countries that treated them as a military force disappeared, as did the people who were meant to oversee them.

— “Every country was in chaos at the time. You were not the only one without say in the matter.” Valkenhayn said sternly, more as a rebuke than a comfort.


In truth, given the world's situation at the time, Jubei's choice might have been even more humane: the first countermeasure taken against the Black Beast was to wipe out a country with nuclear weapons.

— “I guess you're right,” Jubei answered, “but I still don't get to pat myself on the back for it.”
With his answer came a grimace. Of course, his old friend would give him brute advice instead of cheap sympathy.


Suzukaka turned to Jubei gracefully. She continued walking backwards, sporting her crescent-moon grin.

— “We're still living it up in the Kaka Tribe... why the long face, Lord Mitsuyoshi?” When Suzukaka said this, with little concern for comforting him, Jubei's eyes briefly widened in surprise and he smiled.

—	“You're right... I'm sorry I sounded so bitter.” It was not like Jubei regretted the existence of those girls to begin with.


Suzukaka happily wagged her tail at Jubei's calmer tone, before it immediately stretched.

— “Oh yeah, I forgot to tell ya'; Munefuyu was in the village earlier.”

— “Seriously?” Jubei said, his tail stretched out in surprise while he gleamed wide-eyed at Suzukaka.

— “Munefuyu?” Nine asked, tucking her hair behind her ears.

— “My brother.” Jubei answered calmly. The short answer and the look on Jubei's face revealed the brotherly tenderness he still felt. Then, remembering his earlier slip of the tongue, Jubei gave a warped smile and twitched his beard.

— “As in, my ''actual'' younger brother.”


Nine and Trinity giggled at Jubei's clarification. Suzukaka, on the other hand, didn’t understand a word.

— “He told me to tell you he’s still alive and well…” Suzukaka said, “and to not go too hard.”

She turned around again, her steps no longer reminding him of his dark past. Noticing this, Nine looked at Suzukaka's dancing tail and secretly whispered into Jubei's ear.

— “She's a great daughter, right, Dad?”

— “Oh, come on... don't say that.” Although his smile was dismissive, Jubei knew Nine's smile was not remotely meant to tease. He just could not take being called "dad", so he looked up at her bright eyes and put his hands on his head, like he'd been caught red-handed.


During Nine and Jubei's exchange, a curious Celica walked alongside Suzukaka and Totokaka, who led the way. But she had already walked so much she was getting dizzy, so Nirvana wasted no time before picking her up. Her long ponytail bounced with every step from Nirvana.


— “So... Suzukaka's tribe is called 'Kaka'?” While Celica asked, still sitting in Nirvana's arms, Suzukaka proudly puffed out her chest.

— “Eeyup! We thought it up. We're neither human nor beastkin, so we came up with a nice name for ourselves. Pretty cool, ain't it?”


At her feet, Totokaka mimicked the puff of Suzukaka's chest. Celica practically gushed with excitement at Totokaka's adorable gesture.


— “Yeah!” Celica nodded, “it's like a big secret club! So cool...!”

— “So cool...!” Totokaka repeated Celica's words.


Then, Celica decided to mimic her as well.

— “The Kaka Tribe is so groovy—!!”

— “The Kaka Tribe...!!”


Everything Celica said, Totokaka repeated. It went on and on, over and over again, while the cheerful leader passed through the mountain roads. Before anyone knew it, the sun had long since set, and night was starting to fall. Soon, the group would be unable to walk without a light.

— “Hey! Pass through this forest and you'll get to my village.”

After pointing to the deep woods at the end of the mountain path, Suzukaka raised her arms and stretched her body, all too happy to be closer to home.