Editing BlazBlue:Phase 0 Chapter 4 (section)

===Part 2===

They were not far from the First District... or they should be. On a desolate mountain trail with no vegetation growing, Ragna, devoid of energy to stand up anymore, sat down with his back placed against a big rock.

Even though his body was grazed many times against magic effects and received a shock wave to his stomach, the damage received from the continuous kicking was the most severe.

He rubbed his hurting forehead while he watched what was on the other side. There were Celica and seemingly her sister of a witch with the pointy hat. They were both quarreling and sometimes even shouting.

It was hard to say that the atmosphere was gentle. But he judged that there wasn't a tiny speck of anything serious that couldn't be mended. They seemed to be close sisters.

Ragna was at loss on how many times he had sighed. He had been completely out of the loop from some time ago.

"Here you go."

A gentle voice approached him from his side. It was the woman with glasses holding out a small plastic cup. Its contents was herb tea, which she blended herself. Thin white vapor was rising.

He wasn't particularly appropriate with the likes of herb tea, but Ragna was thankful to receive it. There was an unusually refreshing aroma there.

Although there was no water around the wasteland, it didn't really make the spectacled woman concerned in getting hot water since she had magic. He didn't have anything against magic, but even when he knew that it was harmless to drink it, he still had complicated feelings about it.

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The spectacled woman sat beside Ragna. She charmingly gazed at the sisters who were a bit separated from them.

"Please forgive her for suddenly intruding. When it comes to her sister, she will just disregard anything on her surroundings."

"You saw it, huh?"

A little while ago, his body realized it directly.

"Well, it's just because Celica is very important to her, right? ...I know she's being overprotective, but I've got problems with that."

Ragna spoke before sipping his tea while the spectacled woman giggled.

"Just like Celica-san said, you're very gentle, Ragna-san."

"What do you mean...? I don't get it."

"Ufufu. You're so shy."

As expected, the spectacled woman was viewing Celica and her older sister as if looking at playful kittens. Then, she took a sip of the warm tea.

"My name's Trinity~. And that girl is Nine. As you may already know, she's Celica-san's big sis."

"Nine?"

"Of course, it's not her real name. She's currently the ninth of the Mage’s Guild's Ten Sages. Therefore, she's called Nine."

"Hmm. I see."

It was a fitting reaction toward it, but Ragna's response didn't mean that he felt the name was unusual.

Nine. The Six Heroes defeated the Black Beast, and among them, there was someone named Nine. If that was the case, then she was probably...

"It's actually just a title. But it seems Nine isn't that fond with her real name~."

"The reason's probably her old man, huh?"

As Ragna muttered, Trinity bitterly smiled while furrowing her eyebrows.

On the opposite side, the usual tension could be heard from the voices of Celica and Nine.

In regard to Celica's serious pleading of ''Ragna isn't a bad person!'', Nine said her opinions like ''it's not good being together with a man that has doubtful origins, let alone when he's no less than small fry'', or, ''isn't it like picking up a dirty animal?''. At any rate, they were horrible things to say.

Trinity listened to that conversation while charmingly smiling and sipping her own cup.

"When she discovered that Celica-san had gone to find her father, Nine was in a panic. She always and always searched for her."

"Well, it's her sister's nature after all. Of course she'd be worried."

He didn't know what other things she was capable of, but her handicap of not having any sense of direction had burdened them so that they were barely able to reach the mountain near the port. It might have been not less than a miracle for them to have been able to get there.

"That's why a while ago she entered the mountain, relying on the powerful magic that had suddenly occurred. When she finally came across Celica-san, Nine felt so  relieved. But when she saw a man she had never seen together with her sister, she was sooo surprised. ...And then, she felt a little determined."

"The meaning of her determination was different."

Despite Trinity grinning as sweet as sweet pastry, Ragna wondered why he sensed a dangerous aura the moment he said those words.

"That, too, was because of her feelings for Celica-san. Please excuse her~."

"I'm not that angry. But it sure was painful."

His forehead still hurt. There might still be shoe marks there.

"...Though, I know that she's just worried about her sister."

"Oh my. Does Ragna-san have siblings, too?"

"Nope. I still can't remember about that clearly."

Celica had already told Nine and Trinity about when he was unconscious and the amnesia he got.

His memories were certainly coming back little by little. His mind especially felt clear immediately after he went to the Alucard residence.

Nonetheless, there were still many blurry parts. He tried to absorb the meaning of the word 'sister' which Trinity had said repeatedly.

Did he have a younger sister? Or maybe a younger brother? Either way, their existence was surely important.

"Why!? Why are you so against me searching for Father!?"

Celica's loud voice came in suddenly.

Before anyone noticed, the conversation went from talking about Ragna to Celica searching for her father.

Until now, Celica's tensed face was stiffening. She fixed her eyes on the sister that was a little taller and had a composed face.

"Don't you worry about Father? Japan has been like this for six years, but still no one knows where Father is or whether he's alive. It's weird!"

"It's a rare occurrence for someone to be alive if they're in Japan when the Black Beast appeared. Many people have been missing for a while, and now they're treated as if they've died. Even you should understand it, right?"

"But there were survivors!"

"It's just a coincidence. It's meaningless to find him."

"That's not true! At least, I want to know if he's in good health, or if I'm not able to meet him anymore..."

"And how will you do that!?"

Nine's voice became harsh.

The piercing tone of voice blocked Celica's reply back in her throat. However, her staring eyes didn't flinch. She wasn't that weak of a younger sister.

Rather, as the one who seriously shouted, it was Nine who was flinched as she dropped her gaze. To calm herself down, she took a deep breath.

"And what if he's alive? After you're satisfied with meeting that man again, are you going to return home together with him?"

"No. It's not like that. Not at all..."

Even after she had regained her composure, Nine didn't hide her irritation.

Celica desperately tryied to get the right words as she shook her head forcefully. Her long hair danced around.

"I just want to find him. If he turns out to be okay, then that's enough. If he's injured and in poor condition, then I'll heal him. And once again... Father will become like his former self and try his best to do lots of research for the better of society. I'm fine with just that."

"...For the better of society, huh."

Averting her eyes, Nine let out a short breath. Immediately, Celica's face was dyed in anxiety. But before she asked something, a third voice interrupted them.

"Nine. If you scold Celica-san that hard, wouldn't you feel sorry for her?"

It was Trinity. Before anyone noticed, she had stood between the two sisters. Just like when she interfered with Ragna and Nine who were fighting each other... or rather a one-sided violence.

"If only you spoke more honestly. Like, 'I was very worried. I'm glad you're okay'..."

"What do you mean? That's what I've been saying until now."

"You didn't say it."

Since Nine was too haughty with her reply, Ragna unconsciously let his mouth to interrupt her. At that moment, a frightening gaze eyed him.

"...Ahem. Anyway, if you just wander aimlessly in Japan, you won't reach your goal. There's a nuclear attack, and stuff similar to Black Beast fragments remained all over the place. Don't do futile efforts anymore. Let's get home already."

Folding her arms below the voluptuous bosom, Nine made a statement while trying to be careful not to make her tone sound harsh. Nevertheless, there were glimpses of irritation in every word she said.

Like Trinity had said, Celica must have been anxious and troubled.

Even Celica fully understood her intention. However, the younger sister shook her head stubbornly.

"I don't want to give up yet."

"Celica!"

"Anything's fine. I can accept anything that happened... but I want to know what's going on with Father. If I don't put this to an end, I'll keep worrying about Father forever. I might also drag someone down."

Celica crossed both of her hands in front of her chest.

"Even if the worst case happened, I'll accept it completely. It's better than being clueless like this. ...I want to properly know what happened to Father."

If in the end nothing would be gained, rather than keep wishing for unseen things, it's better to have something visible stolen away. Of course, it would be ideal if that visible something within their arms could return.

Celica's voice was confessing as if she were praying. Her chest seemed to be suffocating. Unable to stay quiet, Ragna stood up. He took Clavis' map that Celica had been holding in her hand and presented it to Nine. She must have been gripping it tightly. It was crumpled.

"An acquaintance told us to go there since there might be some clues. We're already close to it. Only a bit more, so let her be satisfied."

Nine didn't seem amused. But she took back her previous blatant hostility and looked at the presented map. Still crossing her arms, she didn't move her hands.

"...The First District, hm?"

"Do you recognize it, Onee-chan!?"

"The vicinity was nothing but a place related to Black Beast."

Nine spoke, looking a bit uncomfortable.

The reason was simple. Ragna asked her about it.

"You're aware that your old man's got something to do with Black Beast, huh?"

"Eh!?" said Celica as she let her voice out. Celica stared at her older sister with a surprised look on her face.

Nine didn't give a nod, but with an affirmative expression she answered.

"...The one who investigated it was the Mage’s Guild, after all. It's natural."

A mere ordinary pupil like Celica might not be able to know about it, but it was a different case for a member of the Ten Sages like Nine. One could only wonder just how much information she had obtained which didn't make it to the public. 

"So that's why you don’t want Celica to get close with her old man."

"You just happened to pass by. Don't act like you know everything. I felt discontent towards that man's researches in the past."

As if rejecting him, Nine averted her face from Ragna. Feeling completely annoyed, she then sighed and brushed up her long hair.

"As I thought, you're trying to trick her after all. I don't know from whom you got this, but he gave you a useless map."

Even with those kind of words, her tone of voice revealed that she had given up.

"...This the last time. If we don't find any clues after examining the First District, we'll take it that the man has died. Then we'll go home, okay?"

Nine stressed it while pointing her well-treated fingertip. It was the utmost bargain she could give.

Even when Celica was a bit hesitant, she gave a big nod since it was better than to shake her head and get dragged home.

"Yup. Got it."

"Well then, what are we going to do~?"

"Hmph. You already know it, Trinity."

At her friend's prompt of a smile, Nine spoke with a disappointed tone. Her rolled up sharp eyes were looking to Celica in resignation.

"Since it's you we're talking about, you'll probably get lost. I'll take you until the First District, so put away that useless map."

Averting her face suddenly, Nine turned her back from Ragna and Celica. Contrary to her harsh words, the movement of her hair, which was long enough to reach her hips, was graceful.

Celica looked at Ragna with a delightful face. Then, she leaped to reach the arm of her sister who had turned her back.

"Thank you, Onee-chan!"

"This is reaaaaaaally the last time I do this."

"I know, I know."

The sisters were talking as they returned to where they had come. As for Ragna and Trinity, both were giving a pleasant but bitter smile at the scene. Just as they had expected, the sisters were going back to the same ruined mountain trail.