Editing BlazBlue:Spiral Shift - Hyokujin no Eiyu (section)

===Part 3===

At the exact same time, in the dark forest of night...

Honoka, who was gathering twigs with a handheld light, looked up when the light in his hand suddenly flickered.

He looked up at the night sky and gasped, opening his eyes wide as if he had noticed something.

The next moment, the light in Honoka's hand disappeared completely, and at the same time, a panicked voice came from a short distance away.

"Whoa!?"

“What’s the matter, what's wrong?"

It was one of the soldiers from the 9th squad who raised his voice.

Another soldier nearby turned around to see what was going on.

The one who suddenly spoke up stared at his outstretched hands and dropped his shoulders with a scowl.

"My Vigilance Ars Magus suddenly ran out in the middle of work. Shit, now I have to start all over again..."

For a brief moment, it felt as if seithr had completely disappeared.

Muttering and swearing, the soldier began to construct the Ars Magus again. It was an Ars Magus that alerts them when an unidentified entity is approaching them.

"You may be tired, but you're still in enemy territory. It's not safe here either. Don't let your guard down."

Grimwood slurped down a canteen of water and drank it when he called out to the extent that it didn’t interfere with the Ars Magus procedure.

They were in the middle of the forest, only a short distance from the dead bodies of Sector Seven’s research lab.

They hadn't yet met up with the Ars Magus Vessel to return to the main force. If they had, they would have been able to get to an open area in 30 minutes by jeep, but the jeep they relied on had been completely destroyed and is of course now useless. No one mentioned what had caused it, but everyone thought that it was most likely the work of those moving corpses. Above all, no one had the energy left to discuss the culprit.

It didn’t matter who it was. If they can’t move, they wouldn’t be able to leave the forest. That was the only thing that mattered and it was because of that fact that Grimwood and the rest of the 9th squad were preparing to camp, unable to move far from the laboratory where they had suffered so much.

"Honoka. Where's the firewood?"

Jin called out to Honoka when he spotted him standing there a little distance away. Honoka came to his senses and rushed over to him.

“I'm sorry, I found it. It's just this..."

"This won't last a night. Oh well, I'll look for more later. You can rest now."

He took a handful of dead branches from Honoka and placed a few of them in the small fire that was already flickering.

When they escaped from the laboratory, it was nighttime.

If the jeep hadn't been destroyed and if Karenjina had been able to use her Seagull, they would have been able to travel to a place where they could meet up with the Vessel without having to deal with the night. But now they had neither. All their vehicle opitions are out and Karenjina could no longer sense a rabbit a meter away without rest.

Looking at the burning twigs, Honoka bowed apologetically.

"I apologize. Now, if you'll pardon me."

Honoka, his valet, would have recommended that Jin, his boss, to take a rest, but Honoka seemed to have reached his limit. With staggering and unsteady steps, he collapsed into a sofa seat near the fire.

The sofa seat originally belonged to the jeep. When it became apparent that it had been destroyed beyond repair and that encampment was inevitable, Grimwood half-heartedly pulled it out of the jeep and set it down. Likewise, he dragged down a sofa from one of the other destroyed Librarium vehicles left behind from the battle before they arrived, so he was able to make enough beds for all of them.

Grimwood's dexterity with the battle axe and dismantling of the jeep and other vehicles was quite impressive and when Jin mentioned it to him, he smiled broadly with a hint of exhaustion and said that he might start work like that when the war was over.

Incidentally, Karenjina was already asleep in her leather-smelling bed, covered with a blanket, as if she had fainted. She was barely conscious until the moment she collapsed, though she might actually be in a state of unconsciousness now.

“Well then," said the soldier who had just finished applying the Vigilance Ars Magus, apologizing to Jin and slipping into the sofa seat.

Grimwood stood beside Jin as he lightly patted his subordinate on the back and sent him off to a simple bed to get some early rest.

"Are you sure you don't want to rest first? You're the one who's most worn out."

He said with concern, raising an eyebrow at his troubled face.

Jin nodded lightly. Grimwood was talking about watchkeeping.

They were going to spend the night in a place like this and no matter how many precautions they took with their Ars Magus, they never knew what might happen while they slept. That's why it was decided to set up lookouts in turn and Jin was one of the first to be nominated.

Jin split a long, thin branch in two and threw it into the fire.

"I'm too nervous to sleep anyway. I need you to leave me alone for a bit."

“Is that how it’s gonna be?”

“That's how it's gonna be. Just go to sleep. Your body is in the way when you're standing next to me."

When Jin said it plainly without even looking at him, Grimwood chuckled as he spewed. He patted Jin on the shoulder and turned away.

Dragging his strong, well-trained body, he sank into the sofa he had peeled off.

All of them, not to mention Jin, were badly worn out.

The air of repose has the effect of making the body aware of a great deal of fatigue. Lying on the couch, the members of the 9th squad soon stopped moving and deep slumber could be heard from every coach.

Jin turned to the fire that he had built for light and protection and pulled Yukianesa from beside him.

The night in the forest was quiet.

There were no sounds of animals, no sounds of insects. There were no signs of any presence other than their own.
What he had said to Grimwood had not been out of strength or concern. He was indeed very tired, but right now he wanted to be alone with his thoughts rather than resting with the rest of the 9th squad.

The fire sparks scattered.

Jin looked up at the night sky.

He couldn't see the moon. That was convenient. 

He hated the moon.

(...Still, I am glad we made it out safely.)

Leaning on Yukianesa as a staff, Jin exhaled from being tired.

As he recalled, it was a messy situation. They finally arrived at the site of the mission, where there were no allies or enemies, only the bodies of dead people and then all of them got up and started attacking them out of nowhere.

It was an unbelievable number to the point it was hard to believe that no one had lost their lives or even been seriously injured and then be able to return to the surface
while being tangled up in all of that. He was also curious about the puppet master, who was controlling that many at once.

(...Ha...Unbelievable.)

Jin thought to himself.

He still couldn’t believe it, even though the crisis is over and he was now doing things like watching the fire.

It was not about that pile of dead bodies that bothered him though. It's about his own actions inside the lab. The moment where they reached the "Cauldron".

Looking at his hands with narrowed eyes, Jin pulled off the gloves he was wearing.

...A long time ago, Jin killed his 'brother'.

With these hands and with this sword.

The feeling of that moment was still firm in Jin's hand. He thrust Yukianesa's cold blade into his 'brother's' back as he fell, stumbling and screaming in anger.

After losing his brother and the home he grew up in, Jin was taken in by the Kisaragi family. Ever since then, Jin's life has had no meaning.

His 'brother' was everything to him. Everything about him had been established through his 'brother's existence'.

So the world without his 'brother' has no meaning and Jin's days have always been lacking without him. There was no desire for the environment around him. There were no expectations from the people around him. He thought he would just consume his remaining life span for a few more decades and eventually die for no reason.

But in that time. When he was surrounded by moving corpses in the basement. When Grimwood was alone.

For perhaps the first time, Jin wielded his power for... "friends".

To survive together...

As Jin watched the fire in his lamenting thoughts, he suddenly smelled a scent. Jin looked around and saw a flower blooming on a nearby tree. They were red flowers. Each one was large, probably as big as Jin's palm. He didn't know the name of the flowers.

But the color of the flowers reminded Jin of a girl.

A girl with the same hair color and unironically the same name as these red flowers.









The last time he saw the girl was at the port of an Ars Magus Vessel heading to Yabiko.

At the port, many of Jin’s classmates and juniors from the Academy had gathered to see him off. A little outside of the circle of these people, she was quietly looking at him.

She was not the kind of person who would push her way through a crowd of people. Jin looked her in the eye, received her troubled and sorrowful look instead of a farewell and planned to leave.

But just before he boarded the Vessel, her friends half-heartedly brought her before Jin.

He thought she was embarrassed and troubled, because she probably wasn't good at these kinds of occasions.

But as she looked back at her friend for help. She was still pushed forward and turned to Jin with big eyes filled with tears that looked like they were about to burst.

However, looking back at her friend asking for salvation, she was pushed forward and turned to Jin with big eyes that looked like they were about to burst into tears.

Amidst the expectations of good luck and success, and the concerns of injury and illness, she looks at Jin with the deepest sadness anyone could muster.

Her red lips were trembling. She was searching for words while being lost for them. She bit her lips and held back the tears that threatened to spill. Then she said it...

“Please 'live'... and return safely.”

That seemed to be all she had to say.

At that time, Jin simply thought that if he died, this girl would cry...

So he tried to reassure her with a little smile.

“I promise you, Tsubaki.”

With that, he boarded the Vessel.









Burnt twigs snapped and crumbled in the orange and fine sparks of fire fluttered in the air.

"...Promise, huh?"

As he plunged the new branch into the fire, Jin muttered to himself.

But before he could step into the swamp of sentimentality, Jin called out towards the back.

“What is it?"

"...You surprised me. I thought I'd erased my presence."

A voice came back, sounding impressed. It was Karenjina.

This time, she didn't pay attention to her presence and walked up to Jin's side.

“I'm taking over. Time to go."

Jin's eyebrows moved slightly when he was told. He felt a little clumsy. He didn't realize how long he had been seriously lost in thought.

“...I am still good to go."

He turned away from Karenjina and quickly put on the gloves he had removed.

As he tried to escape her gaze, Karenjina moved to the other side and looked down at Jin.

“You should get some rest, too. I'm fine now. Besides, I'm better at "spotting the enemy" than you are."<ref>Karenjina Parsett’s Drive: Seagull, is written with the Kanji for Search and Enemy 索敵 or Sakuteki, but is pronounced Seagull in Katakana: (シーガル) in the novel instead of the Onyomi pronunciation of each kanji, therefore, Seagull literally means spotting/searching for the enemy, or in this context, she is better at “seagulling.”</ref>

Karenjina said appealingly, as if she thought Jin was concerned about her health. Missing the point, Jin ignored the brown-skinned female mercenary.

An exasperated sigh fell from her lips. Jin expected her to just walk away, but Karenjina betrayed his expectation and sat down next to him.

With her chin resting on her lap, Karenjina gazed at the small bonfire. The flames that lit up her deep blue eyes looked rather wondrous.



“...Thanks.”

After a few moments of silence, Karenjina spoke.

"We're sleeping alive tonight because of you. If it weren't for you, we'd all be dead in that basement. So, thank you..."

She says it in a softer tone than usual.

Jin peeked at the person next to him for a moment. At the same time, Karenjina turned to look at him.

Their gazes collided and it was awkward for both of them, so averted them almost simultaneously.

“You don't have to thank me."

When Jin replied curtly, Karenjina raised her body and looked up as if she was trying to mend her usual tone.

“I haven't forgiven you for calling me a 'shit,' though."

After he was told, Jin remembered that he might have said something like that. It surely would have been a surprise to his juniors at the academy to hear him use language like that towards someone.

“I don't remember that.”

"Hm...Feigning indifference. That's just like you."

She sniffed in frustration and rested her cheek on her lap. Looking at the flames, she chuckled lightly. The tickling tone of her voice made Jin's mouth unconsciously break into a smile.

“Oh.”

Immediately, Karenjina shouted in surprise.

“What is it?

"No, It's- ...I guess even you can laugh. First time seeing that side of you."

She said with a look of deep surprise on her face.

Immediately, Jin pulled back his smile and raised an eyebrow. He must have relaxed his mind without even realizing. It's a little embarrassing for him to have his carelessness pointed out like that. Jin closed his mouth and there was silence again. The person from his side seemed much softer and calmer than usual.

The fire flickered. The night sky was distant and silent as the dancing sparks of fire were sucked in.

Karenjina rested her shoulders and took a deep breath. It was as if she was trying to let out all the energy she has been holding in.

“But this time it was really bad. Really a miracle that we survived down there."

After a short pause, Jin affirmed with an attentive gesture and replied, "Yeah, that’s right.”

He used short words as an answer, but inwardly he was holding a greater agreement than words.

It was true that Jin's work led to their survival. But if Jin had made a different decision or if he had already used up all of his power, they wouldn't be here tonight.

Karenjina was right, what happened in the basement was indeed, to use her words, incredibly "bad".

There were a few things that were stuck in Jin's mind.

Why did the Puppet Master leave this necromancer doll behind when there were no survivors left on the side of the Librarium or Sector Seven? It's as if they knew in advance that someone would come after this.

And those corpses had waited until Jin and the others had entered the deepest room in the basement before moving. It was as if they had been waiting for them to advance to a position where they could surround them.

(Were we ambushed?)

The situation might have to many holes to fill yet to determine that this was the case. But Jin, who was standing in the middle of all of this, was convinced of the ambush by his gut. They've been waiting for them. He could feel it.

But how did they manage to ambush them? Did they get word that Jin's squad was the only one delayed? Was that why they had set up the trap, knowing that the rest of the squad was coming?

For what purpose?

No, to begin with.

For “whom” was the arrangement?

Jin? Grimwood? The 9th Squad itself? Or else...

“Did you say something?"

Karenjina, who couldn't hear Jin's mumbling, turned to Jin as she threw a twig,too small to be used as firewood, into the fire.

Jin shook his head lightly.

"No, it's nothing."

He didn't want to cause unnecessary confusion by spreading uncertain doubts. If he was going to talk about it, it would be better to do it some other time.

Karenjina smiled bitterly at his curt attitude of not looking at her. She seemed to have gotten used to his deliberate lack of interest in her.

After waiting for Karenjina to gaze to the fire, Jin asked abruptly.

"What are you fighting for?"

When he pushed the disturbing doubts to the corner of his mind, an inexplicable question arose instead.

He thought it was a casual question, but Karenjina blinked a few times with a puzzled look on her face.

“I never thought you'd ask me that kind of question..."

“What do you mean? There isn't really a deep meaning to it."

It was Jin himself who chose his usual attitude, but when everyone feels surprised every time at it, he felt uncomfortable. Karenjina on the other hand was always poking at Jin with hostility, but tonight she had no stabs in her attitude.

Was it because of the fire? For some reason, Jin thought so.

Next to him, Karenjina rested her cheek on her knee again.

"I'm a mercenary and there is only one reason for mercenaries to participate in the war. Money."

“I didn't know that. That is why I asked.”

“Huh? What do you think you know about me?”

“Nothing much.”

I don't know anything. That's why I ask.

Jin waited for Karenjina's words, not coldly and without disrespect.

Karenjina was silent for a moment, then whispered to the flickering campfire.

"...It's about revenge."

He hadn't intended to turn around, but at the unexpected words, Jin couldn't help but look at Karenjina. With her beautiful blue eyes, she shimmered in the light of the fire.

"My drive ability is... 'Seagull'. It is not something I was born with. It is an acquired trait."

There are two types of people who have the ability to use a Drive. There are those who are born with the right qualities and power and as they grow, their power gets active. Then there are those who suddenly awaken it one day for some reason. A Drive is considered to be an ability that comes from the soul of an individual. For example, let's say a Drive is stored in a box. If the box is unlocked and the lid opens naturally over time to reveal the Drive inside, the latter is like the key unexpectedly bursting out of nowhere and the Drive flying out from inside.

Karenjina picked up a branch and continued onward, playing with it.

“I was born in a poor family. When I was still a child, I was bought by a research facility, where there were many 'friends' who came from similar backgrounds. There we became... laboratory animals."

The emotions were fading from Karenjina’s voice as she spoke, as if the fire was dying out along with them. She was always energetic and emotional up to now, so her sudden tone switch comes as somewhat frightening across.

At the facility, Karenjina and her friends were used for various experiments on a daily basis. They were repeatedly subjected to things that were not meant to be forced upon humans. Karenjina did not know what the experiments were for.

However, when most of her friends were disposed of due to their inability to endure the experiments, Karenjina suddenly awakened to her Drive ability.

“This power was the worst. After I got it, I was locked in a room and there was nothing I could do about it. I could hear them consulting about me to use me for their experiments. I could see from a long way off that the researcher who was going to make me suffer through unpleasant things coming this way. But this wasn't the actual hell, I was more afraid that my friends' voices would fade away. I felt myself becoming more and more 'alone'."

One day, she would be the last one. This was the greatest fear of the young Karenjina and it became reality.

The days continued, but one day...

The research facility where Karenjina was working was attacked by a certain mercenary group.

"I was in a room that looked like a prison and then... Grimwood found me.”

Karenjina had a smile on her face as she mentioned the name of the man who was now leading them as their reliable captain.

For her, affection, repose, joy and pleasure were accompanied by his name. Even if she didn't say it, Jin could somehow sense it from her expression.

Feeling like he shouldn't touch that part so casually, Jin asked something else.

“It was a research facility under Sector Seven?”

Is that why she was cooperating as a mercenary with the Librarium that antagonized Sector Seven? Jin's hypothesis was immediately rejected by Karenjina, who shrugged her shoulders.

"It seems that it was a facility of "someone" that neither belonged to Sector Seven nor The Librarium. I don't know their name, but it seems that they were researching the 'soul '."

She guessed she was somehow influenced by that research to awaken to her Drive ability. That's what Karenjina said.

"Is this revenge directed at that 'someone'...?"

Jin's face twisted in a quizzical manner. They used her for experiments and killed her friends. Whether it's an organization or an individual, that's who Karenjina would have to want to take revenge on.

But Karenjina shook her head to the side. Her lips hung up in a wry smile.

“No, no. I have nothing against the research facility. I'm sorry if I misled you, but I was 'sold' to the facility, not 'bought' by them. I sold myself."

“What?”

“I sold myself to the institution.”

When Jin asked again, Karenjina pulled her lips into a light grin and smiled.

“I had two parents and two younger brothers. Life was hard, but I was happy to be with my family. But then the war... The Ikaruga Civil War started and my parents got caught up in it and died. I had to protect my two younger brothers somehow.”

That’s why... she sold herself?

“That in itself was not a big deal.” Karenjina said calmly. 

"My family, my two brothers, were the ones I wanted to protect, not a single thought went into my wellbeing, even if I had to led myself get reduced to an animal for researchers."

Her brothers. These words brought back childhood memories to Jin's mind. Jin had an older brother. He had a sister. But now, he had neither.

Karenjina’s eyes narrowed as she spoke.

“...After being rescued by Grimwood, I quickly returned to my house. But there was no one there anymore. It was just wilderness and no trace of it was left behind. I don't know what happened to my brothers."

"Our house was located in..." Karenjina voice seemed to fade upon revealing this. "In the 5th Hierarchical City of Ibukido."

(Ibukido-!)

During the civil war, a research facility set out a massive explosion and left Ibukido in the state it is now apparently. Though depending on who you asked, the reason for a entire Hierarchical City to be wiped are plenty. Before leaving for the frontline base, Jin stopped by at Ibukido on his way to Yabiko. The area where he engaged the Red Devil should be the location of the facility where the accident occurred.

That is where Karenjina’s brothers probably died. After all, they say that only one single girl survived the destruction of Ibukido.

"So I asked Grimwood to let me fight. To fight for revenge!”

Who or what is this revenge against? Jin had a suspicion.

Karenjina is seeking revenge on the one who took her family from her. It's not the research facility that used her as a lab animal and it's not the Ikaruga Federation or the Librarium.

"My revenge is to end this stupid 'war'."

Because war has taken everything away. The existence of this war was unforgivable to her. The word determination is not so easy to use. More like, it seems as if there were any margin for a different choice for Karenjina, her blood would freeze and her heart would stop. That was the kind of determination she had.

Karenjina fluttered her eyelids once and then turned her entire upper body to face Jin. Her dark blue eyes looked much like those of a wild predator.

“Why are you fighting?"

"Huh?"

"For the Kisaragi family? Or for the Librarium?"

“I'm..."

"Before, I thought you were fighting for something as simple as that. But now, I don't think you are 'that kind of Jin'."

As if the answer she sought was already there, Karenjina stared into Jin's eyes. They didn't look like the eyes of a human looking at another human. They were not that complicated and murky. They were pure and beautiful.

Why do you fight? Jin thought to himself when asked by Karenjina.

It wasn't for the Kisaragi family. It wasn't for the sake of the Librarium. He thought that he was just a residue of life, walking the path laid out by a flimsy name.

But now... for Jin of the "now" as Karenjina calls it.

“There is a... promise."

"Promise?"

“I'm gonna make it back alive.”

That's what I promised. To the girl with the name of that flower.

The promise to her meant something a little special to Jin.

(After all, I would hate to swallow a thousand needles...)<ref>Jin is referring to the traditional gesture of a pinky promise or pinky swear in Japan. Pinky swearing has origins in Japan from 1600-1803, where it is called yubikiri (指切り, "finger cut-off") and often additionally confirmed with the vow "Pinky swear, whoever lies will be made to swallow a thousand needles." (指切り拳万、嘘ついたら針千本呑ます, "Yubikiri genman, uso tsuitara hari senbon nomasu").</ref>

"The promise I shredded my little finger for on that childhood day is probably still valid..." Jin mumbled that so no one could hear it. 

If you lie, they will make you swallow them.

“So why don't you help us out?"

A third voice came from behind her. Karenjina jumped up and looked back at where the deep voice echoed from with power. A voice so powerful, even though it was kept low so as not to wake the others.

"Grimwood, since when!"

"You have finally come out. You've been eavesdropping for too long."

When Karenjina panicked, Jin sighed and turned his head astoundedly. Karenjina was dismayed by this as well.

“It seems that even our vaunted Seagull can't sense everything all the time.” When Jin chuckled, Karenjina’s ears flared.

“Haha, so I've been noticed. My bad."

Smiling at their exchange, Grimwood comes over, raising his hand to soothe Karenjina.

As he walked up to the fire, Jin saw the color of the flames reflected on his strong body. His smiling, fearless face took on a rather disturbing air, perhaps due to the shadows cast by the flames.

"Jin Kisaragi. You have 'power'. Please lend it to me."

The voice that announced it was full of energy, even more so than the expression on his face.

A thin piece of firewood burns in the fire. The scattered sparks of the fire flutter in the night wind.

Jin stood up and faced Grimwood head-on. There was no smile there anymore. Not for Jin, not for Grimwood.

“What are you going to do with it?"

The moment he asked, he felt his chest beating faster.

Grimwood answered without hesitation. With eyes that were far too serious to speak of dreams and ideals.

"Jin. Let's end this war."