Editing BlazBlue:Bloodedge Experience Part 1 Chapter 5 (section)

===Part 3===

When the rampaging Isa fell silent, the classroom suddenly became eerily quiet. All Naoto could hear was his own ragged breathing and his pounding heart as he stood there with his fist still thrust out. He couldn't quite comprehend what had happened. But as he looked down, his shoulders heaving, and saw Isa lying there convulsing like a dying fish, he finally let out a deep breath.

"I... did it..." He dropped his arm, which had been extended without strength. He took a few steps back, tripped, and fell to the floor. He was exhausted. Was it relief? Or maybe he didn't care anymore, it was over, he had won.

He glanced at the number still above Isa's head: '217'. He was still alive. Naoto breathed heavily, a sigh of relief escaping his lips.

(Thank goodness he's still alive... those numbers are bad, but... please don't die.)

He didn't like Isa. There was the matter with Haruka, and with Kana, and the Apostle's influence, and...

Naoto might have understood that, but even so, he felt he couldn’t forgive Isa. Still, he couldn’t bring himself to kill him. He hadn’t come here wanting to commit murder or to vent his frustrations.

But then…

“... You’re not going to kill him?” A voice called from behind, and Naoto, his breath still ragged, turned his head to look at the speaker. It was Raquel. Although her tone was stern, Naoto somehow understood that she wasn't blaming him. He shrugged with a wry smile.

"What? Weren't you going to ask him questions?" He needed to investigate the Azure and Spinner. Isa was an important lead. But Raquel walked over to Naoto, her expression unyielding.
"You don't think you can save him, do you?" 

"What? You think it's impossible?" That was unexpected. Naoto forced a smile. "Well, you know, unlike the last guy, he still looks like Isa, and he doesn't seem to have those things coming out of his head..." 

As he spoke, Naoto realized something. The bug men in the deserted housing complex had also seemed dead, but then their heads had suddenly split open and bugs had come out. 

Raquel seemed to have the same thought. They exchanged tense glances and turned back to Isa at the same time. As if waiting for that moment, Isa's body began to tremble violently and then jumped up like a wound-up toy.

"Watch out!" Naoto, who had been slumping, pushed himself up off the floor and shoved Raquel behind him. But then, there was an unexpected interruption.

Countless dry, crackling sounds. At the same time, Isa's body, which had risen in front of Naoto, began to tremble convulsively. His limbs exploded with flesh and bodily fluids.

"Wh-what?!" Without a scream, Isa fell face down on the floor again, still in a defensive posture. The disgusting bodily fluids of the bug creature stained the classroom floor. Then, a group of people in full black gear burst through the entrance that Naoto had broken through earlier. They were like a police SWAT team. There were about ten of them. They each carried formidable-looking firearms, quickly took up positions in the corners of the classroom, and raised their muzzles as one.

The earlier cracking sounds had been gunshots.

Red laser pointers sought out their next target. The small red dots converged on Raquel. Holding his breath, Naoto shielded Raquel with his back again. Several red dots wandered around, searching for a target.

"Ugh," a voice out of place interrupted the tense atmosphere.

"Oh dear, look at the mess this classroom is in," she exclaimed with a sigh. Naoto jumped at the sound. It wasn't entirely unexpected, though. He'd completely forgotten about her, but she had mentioned she would be keeping an eye on things.

Entering the student council room, littered with broken glass and overturned desks, was Kiiro Hikagami. Dressed in a tight skirt with a deep slit and high heels, she looked completely out of place with her nonchalant complaints.

"Hehe, Naoto-kun. I'm here," she said, placing her hand lightly against her cheek and raising a shoulder, her face innocent. Raquel tensed behind Naoto. "Oh, well, that's enough of that. Why don't you all start cleaning up?" Kiiro waved casually at the black-clad figures standing guard around her, then gave instructions to Naoto in a completely different, indifferent tone.

The makeshift security team, moving with a trained precision, removed the red pointer from Raquel and holstered their guns. They quickly led something in from the corridor. Following them were three men dressed in white, not black, wearing white lab coats, rubber gloves, and white hats and masks. A stretcher, like the ones used in hospitals, was carried in, and the men in white lifted Isa's body onto it.

"Hey, wait a minute! What are you doing with him...?" Watching the methodical work, Naoto felt a strange sense of urgency and tried to stop them. But before he could, Kiiro stepped forward to block his way. "Hey, move..."

"That was amazing just now..." Her eyes were slightly flushed, tinted with a peachy hue as if painted on, and her lips, parted ever so slightly, seemed to... to somehow invite lust. With a shuddering, longing sigh, Kiiro let her fingers glide over Naoto's arm. She grabbed his right hand, pulling it firmly to her chest. Naoto's hand sank into her voluptuous breasts, pinching them between her soft tresses, and she pressed herself close to Naoto. 

"Come on, touch me properly. Can’t you tell how my heart is racing?" Feeling as if he was being drawn into a sensation he couldn't comprehend, Naoto instinctively tried to pull his hand away. But Kiiro held onto his hand tightly, not letting go.

As Kiiro said, beneath the pressed chest, an unusually rapid heartbeat thudded violently. It felt anything but normal. The excited and heightened heartbeat intensified with the sensation in Naoto's palm. As Kiiro had said, Naoto felt an abnormally fast heartbeat thumping beneath her pressed chest. It was far from normal. The sensation of Naoto's touch seemed to intensify the rapid beating.

"Oh... Naoto, you're going to get me into so much trouble... You're egging me on… Hey…” Kiiro said, coaxing Naoto’s hand down her chest and gradually sliding it further. His hand traced her unprotected belly between her ribs, and by that time, she moved his hand past her navel and trembled slightly.

“Hah... come on. Cut me into pieces with 'Blood Edge', Naoto-kun...” 

“’Blood Edge'?” Naoto frowned, confused by the unfamiliar words.

“Yes, that’s right…” With her mouth slightly open, her breath coming out in short, unsteady gasps, Kiiro led Naoto’s hand towards her lower abdomen. Immediately, Naoto pulled his hand away with force, slapping Kiiro’s hand away.

“No, don’t.” But she quickly grabbed his hand again, whining like a child who's had their toy taken away. She pushed past him and tried to bury her face in his chest, clearly determined not to let go this time. "Let go!" Naoto demanded, his eyes narrowing in a fierce glare.

Kiiro smiled, her lips curving into a smirk. "Amazing," she mused, her tone dripping with sarcasm. "You don't like being watched? I don't mind, but... you're so shy, aren't you?" 
"What are you talking about? Let me go already." It was a disgusting feeling. A truly disgusting feeling, and Naoto could feel a prickling sensation along the bridge of his nose. Even that harsh expression made Kiiro's cheeks flush slightly, and with a single blink, a sharpness glimmered amidst her alluring demeanor.

"Should we help that guy, Isa?" Kiiro licked her painted lips seductively as she whispered the question, her eyes fixed on Naoto. Naoto returned her gaze with a mixture of confusion and suspicion. Behind Naoto, Raquel, who had returned to Haruka's side, watched the scene unfold with a mix of curiosity and uncertainty. With a look as if to gauge Kiiro's movements, she cast glances toward both of them. 

Leaning closer to Naoto, Kiiro pressed her plump lips to his ear. "You want to help him, don't you? If Naoto-kun says so, I'll make a special exception. The corruption isn't too bad yet, and I can arrange treatment. ... I'll do anything Naoto-kun wants."

"R-Really? You can help him?"

"Hehe, impressive, right? This is the 'power of the organization.'... It's completely different from some incompetent girl somewhere. What I can do for you is on a whole different level. Don't compare me to a vampire." It seemed she was purposely letting them hear. While whispering to Naoto, Kiiro chose a volume loud enough for Raquel to hear.

Raquel glanced at Naoto once, then lowered her gaze to hide her expression. Although Naoto couldn't see it, she was biting her small lips in regret.

Kiiro let out a short, suggestive laugh and lightly raised her hand. At that signal, the lab-coated individuals, who had been waiting for instructions, quickly carried Isa, who was on a stretcher, out of the student council room. Where were they taking him, and for what purpose? Naoto couldn’t shake the feeling that it wasn’t just for treatment since he had become a Spinner's apostle.

"Oh, by the way. I’ll show this to you too, Naoto-kun." Subduing her earlier seductive demeanor, Kiiro put on a girlish expression and gestured to one of the black-clad soldiers, who brought her a small tablet. With practiced ease, she navigated the screen and opened a video file. She leaned close to Naoto and showed him the video. The familiar room appeared on the screen. And in that room, two familiar figures were shouting through a distorted voice. 

“Look, what's wrong with you? Tell me what you want! You pig!” 

“Please! More, more, please, Kana-sama!” 

“A lowly pig shouldn't speak human words! A pig should squeal like a pig!"

"B-buhiiiii!"

What unfolded was a picture-perfect S&M show. Naoto didn't want to think about who the black-haired dominatrix was, laughing loudly while wielding a whip, or who the man was, trembling with pleasure as he was whipped and crawling on all fours.

(She’s definitely a “queen.”)

The way she wielded the whip was so dignified that she seemed to be enjoying herself, even though she was being forced to do it. 

"There are plenty more, you know~. Which one do you like?" Kiiro asked, looking up with a teasing tone. Naoto took a step back, his expression sour.

“I'll pass.”

“Oh really? That's too bad, there were many more interesting ones...”

"......You looked at all of them?" He couldn't even guess how many there were in total, but judging by Kiiro's cheerful tone, it was clear that it wasn't just one or two more. Still, Isa's tastes were something else entirely. Turning the screen toward Naoto, Kiiro blinked mischievously from behind the tablet.

"So, I'll keep this video at the Mitsurugi Agency," Kiiro said. 

"Keep it? You're not going to get rid of it?" Naoto furrowed his brow, displeased. He had naturally assumed they would dispose of it.

Kiiro shook her head, her hair bobbing from side to side. "It's insurance, just in case. Kirashima Kana probably won't expose this herself, but if her parents start making a fuss, we'll be in trouble." She said this as if it were for Naoto's benefit.

In other words, if they didn't want this video to become public, they should avoid causing unnecessary trouble. It seemed she intended to use it as leverage.

Knowing Kiiro, she probably had already investigated not just Kana Kirishima's parents but also her relatives, looking into what kind of people they were and their tendencies. That thought made both the Mitsurugi Agency and Kiiro as a person quite terrifying.

“...By the way, how is Kirishima-senpai?” Naoto asked Kiiro, sounding resigned. He had left her crying in front of Isa's apartment. 

“I’m sure Kiiro-san was taking care of that follow-up.”

Kiiro smiled and handed the tablet back to a nearby black-suited soldier. "Of course, the Mitsurugi Agency is protecting her. Oh, and don't worry, I'll have this classroom restored by tomorrow."

Naoto glanced at it and looked around. There was something else he was curious about. 

"They're not here, are they? Those guys." 

"Which guys?" 

"Valkenhayn and Relius." If those two with their extraordinary fighting abilities were here, they could have easily knocked Isa unconscious in seconds. Realizing his own weakness, Naoto felt a tingling sensation in his fingertips.

Seeing Naoto secretly crumpling up his feelings of powerlessness in his fist, Kiiro feigned surprise. "If Clavis Alucard were here, I would quickly call for them, but it’s a waste of resources to bring those people out for a small fry like this. They’re expensive, you know.”

(…Expensive.)

Naoto couldn't help but chuckle, surprised by the sudden mention of money. He didn't know that 'slayer of the undead' was a business. Were they like mercenaries? It was funny to imagine those monstrous duo worrying about annual salaries and bonuses.

But Naoto turned his chuckle into a sigh and slumped his shoulders. He felt like everything was going exactly as Kiiro wanted. He felt like a puppet. But there was nothing he could do. He had no one else to rely on.

"Thanks for everything... So, what's the catch?" 

"Catch?" Kiiro's eyes widened in surprise. Naoto glared at her. 

"In a situation like this, you're usually about to bring up a 'favor' or something, right?" Treating Isa, securing Kana's video, protecting Kana herself, and even fixing the damaged classroom couldn't possibly be out of the goodness of her heart.

However, Kiiro burst out laughing as if she couldn't believe it. She placed her hand on Naoto's cheek and smiled. "Oh, Naoto-kun. Didn't I tell you? I can do anything for you, Naoto-kun. Really, anything. I could give you everything I have right here, right now."

Kiiro's words gradually became more heated. She slid her hand down Naoto's neck and wrapped her arms around him. As she smiled, her sweet breath brushed against his ear. "But if you prefer it that way, I'll consider this a 'loan'. If you want to pay me back, well... how about becoming much, much stronger, so strong it sends shivers down your spine?"
What did she mean by 'stronger'? Without explaining, Kiiro continued with her sticky, lingering presence.

She quickly distanced herself from Naoto as if the intimate contact had been a lie. Twisting her body as if to create a pose, she turned to him with an innocent girl's smile. For some reason, Naoto felt a chill from that smile. It was as if she completely trusted him. He couldn't understand how she could have such a look on her face.

(I’ve only met her twice, right…?)

No matter how much younger Naoto was, that wasn't the kind of expression one should direct at someone they had only met twice. He couldn't shake that feeling.

"Well then, leave that man to me. I'll contact you if I find anything out. ...Even if I don't find anything, I might contact you anyway," she said, her voice cheerful as she waved goodbye lightly. She led the remaining black-suited soldiers out of the classroom. 

That’s when it happened.

"Naoto!" Raquel's voice rang out in alarm, and the sound of shattering glass echoed down the corridor. The light had shattered. In an instant, the corridor was plunged into darkness.
"What the-!?" In the hallway, Naoto could hear the murmurs of the soldiers who had gone ahead. This wasn't the Mitsurugi Organization's doing. Then…

Naoto rushed out into the hallway.

A faint moonlight shone through the small window in the corridor. In the unreliable dim light, several soldiers were wandering around, their guns pointed in different directions, searching for their enemy. And behind them... darkness began to swell ominously.

“Hey, watch out!” Naoto's shout was meaningless. The swelling darkness, making a sound like dragging a heavy sandbag, quickly swallowed up the Mitsurugi Agency’s soldiers. A muffled scream and a futile gunshot rang out, and even the scream was swallowed up by the darkness. The darkness expanded, filling the corridor, and made a crunching sound as if chewing something hard.

(Are they... being eaten...?)

Thinking this instinctively, Naoto recoiled and took a few steps back. Eventually, the darkness shrank as if it were being drawn in, and then vanished completely. The men were nowhere to be seen. Instead, a single man stood there.

The faint moonlight was too dim to see clearly. Raquel, who had followed Naoto into the hallway, gasped as she stared at the man. Seeing Raquel, the man laughed. With the corners of his mouth drawn up, he spread his long arms wide in a grand gesture, as if he were about to sing an opera.

"Ah... as expected, how beautiful. Moonlight suits you so well. I would have preferred to meet you under a more divine full moon, but... even so, I can feel my body trembling with excitement at the sight of your fragrant, biting appearance. Oh, how I have been looking forward to this day. It is an honor to meet you... 'Raquel Alucard'."

The man's voice, which he sang as if reciting poetry, was indistinct in the night shadows, but Raquel, who could not see his expression clearly, was captivated by his voice. He could feel the uncontrollable excitement trembling within him. The man inhaled deeply, filling his lanky frame with air, as if trying to absorb every trace of Raquel’s presence in the room into his lungs. And then he spoke. 

“As you graciously invited me, I have arrived. I am Spinner Superior.”