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

===Part 1===

When he woke up, Jin couldn't stand up, not because of fatigue or pain, but because of a terrible feeling of helplessness.

Jin was in a small, dimly lit prison cell, surrounded by blackened gray concrete. He seemed to be lying on a mat on a bed that looked like a simple board attached to the wall, covered with a worn blanket.

He remembered what happened much more clearly than in his dreams while he was asleep.

Three soldiers, folded up and dead.

Countless corpses were brought in as if they were something like fuel for a cauldron.

Then there was... Grimwood's body, strangled by the throat and hung midair, Meifang looking up at him and smiling.

A neck that was shredded and a torso that fell.

Jin recalled the scene over and over again in the back of his eyelids as he sat cowering on the cold floor.

There was no rug on the floor, and the concrete was cold, but the sensation of feeling it seemed so far away that it was difficult to realize that it was his own sensation.

Jin was in a branch of the Zeroth Squadron in the sixth level of Yabiko City, in a room where criminals are detained awaiting justice.

The person who retrieved Jin was a member of the Zeroth Squadron who was in the same place at the time, and the wound on his shoulder had received only minimal treatment. What he was wearing was still the same, but all of his belongings were placed together right next to the prison.

...It was Honoka, standing behind the barred door, who explained to Jin.

"Captain Grimwood was a spy for Sector Seven. He has been leaking information to the outside, but this time he was informed that there were important secrets of the Librarium there, and he was trying to sell the contents to Kokonoe of Sector Seven...”

After these few words, Honoka moved his eyes to the document he was holding in his hand. It was a report on the series of events that had taken place after the boy soldier had arrived at the time.

Honoka dropped his thin shoulders and sighed.

“According to the investigation by the Zeroth Squadron, in addition to leaking information, he was involved in a variety of other activities, such as diverting equipment, sabotaging facilities and helping prisoners escape. It may have been because of him that the front line we were on did not produce effective results.”

Cleverly controlling the information and the battlefield, trying to coordinate so that neither side wins too much. They must have been using that place as their base of operations. That was how the Zeroth Squadron viewed it.

"...Lieutenant?"

Perhaps worried by Jin's lack of response , Honoka lowered his papers and peered behind the grate. Jin's eyes remained motionless as he stared blankly into the empty space. Not knowing if he was listening or not, Honoka peeked in, stepped forward and smiled a little.

"It's outrageous that he would involve and take advantage of you, Lieutenant Kisaragi, but since he was a spy, he was likely an expert at deception... And in the first place, there was no way around it.

“.....Ha!”

Apparently, Honoka thought that Jin was shocked by Grimwood's betrayal. An amusing thought, so Jin let out a light chuckle as he gushed.

He slowly raised his gaze to look at Honoka, who was puzzled. His green eyes had the color of exhaustion in them, though he was still able to reason.

"You don't believe it, don't you?"

His voice was hoarse and muddy as he spoke with a dry throat. Honoka tilted his head at the question. Then, he looked back and forth in a troubled way between the document in his hand and Jin, as if comparing them several times.

“Well, whether I believe it or not... it has already been officially accepted as a fact by the Librarium, so..."

Regardless of whether you believe it or not, this was acknowledged as a "fact". There was no room for personal feelings to enter.

Grimwood was recorded as a "sinner". That disgrace will remain with his name for a long time to come.

"With all due respect, I think you were deceived, Lieutenant Kisaragi. Deceived by how much of a good man he was. But I don't think the person you saw is necessarily the person they really are.”

Perhaps there was a side to Grimwood that Jin was completely unaware of. Jin didn't know the big, earnest man well enough to deny that possibility.

After all, it had only been less than a year since they had met.

(One year...)

In that period of time, Jin realized that he was quite fond of the big man. He liked him as a person. If he had stayed with him for a few more years, he might have had some unfamiliar feelings of respect for him, though not as much as Karenjina. He wasn’t sure if he thought that way because his emotions were romanticizing his impressions of his former captain.

"It seems that Lieutenant Kisaragi will be questioned as well. They’re preparing a meal right now, so you’ll probably be summoned when it's over." Honoka said to Jin, who turned his head down again.

It was probably Honoka's role to originally tell him this.

This time, he must have been told something by the Duodecim and the Librarium. He was grateful for the fact that he even brought the report and explained the situation and details.

"Honoka. What happened to Karenjina...?"

He asked in a muddy voice. The area was very quiet, so Honoka could still hear him without a problem.

"She was asked out a lot of questions about Captain Grimwood, but she didn't know anything about him and was not charged with a crime, but she was expelled and will be under surveillance for a while."

How she was interrogated was not in Honoka's words, but he could imagine. Jin felt a distinct sense of regret. Maybe he shouldn't have taken Karenjina with him, or maybe he should have kept her with him until the end.

It occurred to him that the choices she had made with Jin and Grimwood might have set her on the worst possible path.

"She's already been released from detention, but her... condition is not good. She is currently recuperating in a hospital room here."

"...I see."

“She seems to have had a tough time. But I'm sure the hardest part is yet to come.”

Honoka said, with an ambiguous tone.

Jin covered his face with his outstretched hand as the words seemed to pierce him. 

“Well... I'll be on my way. If you'll excuse me."

Honoka saluted as he had been taught at the academy and walked away, a little concerned about Jin.

The sound of footsteps moving away echoed in the aisle. After that, it was no longer heard.

Jin clenched his weak hand into a fist and pounded the floor.





Jin's interrogation was surprisingly uneventful.

They started by checking his name and identity and then asked him when and where he was in battle, what he thought of the people of the 9th squad.

Then he asked him a few confirming questions and that was it.

It was probably decided from the beginning that Jin would not be punished. After all, he was the next head of the Kisaragi family, one of the Duodecim. There was no need to go to the trouble of incurring a grudge over something like this.

Jin was immediately released.

But before he left, he wanted to make a stop at a place. He asked a guard in a white robe who was walking behind him as his escort and he told him surprisingly easily where he should go.

He took the elevator up to the fifth floor and walked down the unadorned white-walled corridor. At the end of this straight stretch, Jin stopped in front of the door on the left.

A card labeled "Ward A" was held up.

The door had a small window with a grate on it, suggesting that this was a hospital room for those who were being judged.

He knocked on the door, bottled up the hesitation that was slowly seeping through and said her name.

“Come in.”

A horrifyingly inorganic voice came back, but it was definitely Karenjina's.

Jin opened the door and stepped inside.

It was a small room. There was a bed, an empty shelf, a white bedside table and a chair that was probably used by the doctor. That was it.

Karenjina lay on her bed, staring at the ceiling.

Jin groaned briefly at the sight of her.

They turned her into a mess.

Bandages were wrapped around her neck, shoulders and arms. The blanket was covering the rest of her body, but she must have been injured below her abdomen as well. A large piece of gauze was placed on her cheek, and her eyes were blue and swollen. He wondered what had been done to her, but one of her ears was also covered with a thick layer of gauze. They looked like assault marks, but that's not the case when you're dealing with the Zeroth Squadron. The dreadlocks were completely trimmed and gone. These were the scars of attempted torture in various ways. 

Jin went to the side of the bed and stood there without a word.

The dark blue eyes did not look at Jin. They just stared at a point on the ceiling as if they were trying to hold back something and don't waver.

There was silence for a while. Jin didn't know what kind of words were needed at this moment. Was it an apology, an explanation, silence or tears? Indignation or chastisement?

He couldn’t really choose any of these.

“...I used to hate you."

He heard her take a breath, and when Jin looked up, Karenjina chimed in.

Her eyes were still fixed on the ceiling, but her words were clearly directed at Jin.

“You were assigned to us out of nowhere and one of the Duodecim. I thought you had it easy, even taking a valet with you."

Jin listened to Karenjina's words without saying anything. Somehow, he felt that she didn't want him to say anything at all.

Karenjina continued with a monolog-like tone.

"But Grimwood wasn't like me. He welcomed you. I heard over and over again... That with you, 'we could end the war.' But it wasn't with me. I thought, he can't end the war with someone like myself, but he might be able to end it with you. I was jealous. Jealous of Grimwood's expectations of you.”

"..."

“But you're so strong. I can't compare in any way. Until you came, I was the one who stayed by Grimwood's side this whole time. I was the one who was most useful to him."

Her tone was too pale and weak to be called resentment.

With no expression on either of their faces, Karenjina stares at the ceiling and Jin stared at her.

“...If only it was me.” she muttered.

Karenjina went silent for a while.

It was only a little later that Jin noticed that her shallow breathing was shaky.

“Grimmwood is...”

Karenjina's voice trembled.

“He didn't leak anything.”

"..."

Jin gasped in dismay at the assertion, unsure as to why he was so upset. But for a moment, he felt a twinge of envy. Jin couldn't affirm why, but it was envy.

Clutching her right hand, which was covered in bandages to the fingertips, Karenjina spoke as if she were spitting out her last breath.

"Grimwood wanted to end the war more than anyone. He hated the idea of anyone dying. Even though he was a mercenary, he hated war."

Karenjina choked once and sniffed.

"Grimwood was not a spy. I believed in Grimwood. I believed in the man who pulled me out of hell. He's may be asshole when left me with behind, but I'll always believe in him."

Unable to hold it in, her voice turned upside down and tear drops spilled out of the corners of her eyes. Karenjina kept her fists clenched and her eyes closed. Perhaps because she seemed to admit that she was crying when she wiped her tears away.

“But there's nothing left. I have no strength to fight. I have nothing."

Jin looked at Karenjina’s left arm.

Apart from the bandages that hold the fingers and shoulders in place, there were bandages that just cover her forearm area.

He didn't know what they had done to her, but when he saw it, he knew that she was no longer able to use her Drive.

"I'm 'alone' again. There is never a time when I am not."

Karenjina said, as if it was a curse she was placing on herself.

Jin saw the look on her face and emotions of regret spill out. She was a stout soldier, but her face was contorted and distorted. She bit her lips and started sobbing. She was crying incessantly. Then, closed her eyes tightly and stifled her cries with a quivering sigh.

"So please. Just leave me alone already. I don't need anything anymore."

Unable to bear it, Jin turned his head away. At the same time, Karenjina also turned her face away from Jin.

The sobs continued.

He couldn't stay here forever. Jin eventually turned around, keeping his lips pursed.

But before he could leave, her fingers. Karenjina’s fingers grabbed the hem of Jin's dress.

"...Jin."

“What?”

“End this war."

With that, Karenjina removed her fingers from Jin's clothes. After watching her hand go back to the bed, Jin turned his back to Karenjina again.

He walked with a calm and unhurried gait and left the hospital Ward A. Just as he was about to close the door behind him, he heard what sounded like a growl. Jin quickly left the room. He felt that he must not listen to her overflowing cries.