Editing BlazBlue:Calamity Trigger Part 2 Chapter 2 (section)

===Part 4===
'''December 30, 2199 - 9:23''' 

Below the lower levels of Kagutsuchi, even further below Orient Town, the city spread out.

On the rugged bedrock, there were roughly carved, unstable footholds. Although it was by no means a desirable place to build buildings, the city was built with various ingenuity, with bridges spanning deep crevices and pillars driven into steep rock faces.

Even so, not all of the roads could be paved, and some of the houses were left in a half-finished state, so it could not be called a sophisticated cityscape.

This was commonly known as Roningai.

The townscape, which strongly imitated the style of the Ikaruga region, had a unique atmosphere that combined gorgeousness and simplicity.

But for the man who had just stepped into this town a dozen or so minutes ago, the name of this town, its efforts and ingenuity, and its origins were utterly irrelevant.

Blue boots stepped forward in a regular manner on the path that had been made by moving rocks and tamping down the dry earth.
The one who continued to walk silently was a young man with white skin and golden hair. There was no trace of emotion in his well-featured face or his beautiful green eyes.

The young man, who kept his lips tightly closed and moved his feet quickly without looking aside, wore a uniform based on blue and white, the uniform of a soldier of the NOL.

Major Jin Kisaragi, the commander of the 4th Thaumaturgist Squadron of the Novus Orbis Librarium.

He had suddenly disappeared a few days ago and infiltrated the 13th Hierarchical City of Kagutsuchi on foot, instead of using the Ars Magus ship that NOL soldiers would normally use for travel between Hierarchical Cities.

His goal was the uppermost layer, the NOL branch. But he was not heading there for surrender or return.

Silently stepping on the dry earth, Jin raised his head and looked up. Following the rock face of the high mountain that supported Kagutsuchi, he moved his gaze upwards.

Because it was at the very end of the lower level, Roningai was rather blessed with the sky and the sun. The sky was clear and sunny, and the ground of the uppermost layer could be faintly seen beyond the thin clouds.

There, even one more above that.

The NOL branch towering on the summit, there... eventually the "Grim Reaper" would appear.

That, and that alone, was his one and only purpose.

The "Grim Reaper," Ragna the Bloodedge, a wanted criminal who went around destroying NOL branches in various parts of the world. How many times had he repeated that name in his mind before reaching this place? How many times would he repeat it in his mind between here and the branch, his destination?

That name, as if it were a spell, commanded Jin's feet.

''Walk. Head towards him... and...''

But something suddenly fell and cut through Jin's vision, which seemed to be only looking at the destination and recognizing only that.

What fell were three things. Three black, shiny short swords were lined up and stuck into the ground just before Jin's toes, which he had stepped out.

They were special daggers called kunai.

Like the townscape, they were weapons that had been used for a long time in the Ikaruga region. They were also frequently used in the Ikaruga Civil War, which began eight years ago when the Ikaruga Federation declared independence from the NOL.

Jin had also participated in that war, just before its end. He knew about the weapons and the existence of special Ikaruga soldiers who used them.

"Ikaruga ninja, huh?" Muttering in a cold voice without inflection, Jin lifted his gaze, which had been taken by the kunai, and stared ahead.

It was on a bridge suspended over a deep crevice on the way to the upper layer. There should have been no one in that place until just before the kunai flew, but a man was standing there with his arms crossed.

He was a man with deep brown hair tied high in a single ponytail, his strong body clad in a deep green ninja outfit. On his back, he carried something that was too large to be considered a weapon, like a nail. On his forehead was a large cross-shaped scar, and beneath it, powerful eyes burned brightly as he glared straight at Jin.

"Jin Kisaragi!!" The man roared with pressure that seemed to blow away the seithr-infused wind. As soon as he uncrossed his arms, he pointed at Jin's face as if holding a spear. "What on earth do you intend to do by appearing in our town! Are you not satisfied with tarnishing the pride of Ikaruga? Do you still intend to trample on our people!?"

Every time the man shouted, the air vibrated from the pressure. The intricately woven ropes supporting the bridge trembled and shook, but not because of the seithr-infused wind.

The man with the cross-shaped scar - as his appearance and weapons indicated, the ninja from the Ikaruga Federation, Bang Shishigami- was furious, his temples bulging with blue veins.

Jin, who had been stopped by the kunai, stared at him coldly. He didn't understand anything the man in front of him was saying. If all the information possessed by this cross-shaped man was water, it wouldn't reach Jin's brain, but would freeze near the kunai.

Jin stared at the man, and then, without hesitation, took a step forward. As if he couldn't see the man with the cross-shaped scar, he walked past the stuck kunai, and threw words at Bang, who seemed slightly bewildered by his reaction.

"You're in the way. Move." He tried to slip past him as he was. But...

"I won't move! There's no way I'll move! Jin Kisaragi! Do you intend to ignore me!?" 

Coming to his senses, Bang spread his arms and blocked Jin's path.

The road in Roningai was narrow. He couldn't pass through this way. Jin was forced to stop again.

"What are you trying to do? Do you want to be killed?" 

Cold green eyes looked at the obstructer. Their gaze was like a needle of ice. They were so unwavering it was hard to believe they belonged to a human.

Bang momentarily lost his words. It was as if he was staring at a mineral. What kind of mind did he have to make that look?

"I asked what your intentions were first! What else are you planning to do to Ikaruga...?"

But Bang's question seemed irrelevant to Jin, like it didn't even exist.

"Ikaruga? Ridiculous... I have no business with you people." As expected, there was no warmth or emotion in his voice. Rather, the temperature lowered even further and his eyes grew slightly sharper. "Move. Otherwise, I'll kill you." 

Saying this, Jin reached for the blue sword he was carrying. It was something on a different level from ordinary weapons and weapons distributed by the NOL. This was not a weapon. It was a weapon of war.

About a hundred years ago, during the Dark War era, when humanity was on the verge of extinction, it was a phenomena weapon, a Nox Nyctores, created to fight against the worst threat in human history. 

Its name was Mucro Algesco: Yukianesa.

When Jin touched the hilt, he felt a coldness that burned his skin even through his thick white gloves. The power hidden in that sword was the ability to break ice. Death freezes everything. The enemies standing in his way, the detestable obstacles, and even the heart of the one who wielded it.

There was no emotion in the gaze that stared sharply and coldly at the target in front of him, just like the blade of Yukianesa itself.

Recognizing that, Bang finally changed his premonition into conviction. He had no choice but to do so.

"You... don't tell me you've forgotten... This face of mine, this scar on my forehead!" Bang's voice trembled as if wavering. Gripping his fist like a rock, Bang pointed to his forehead with his thick finger.

The cross-shaped scar was a large one that extended not only across his forehead but also between his eyebrows and below his eyes. It was clear even to those who didn't take up arms and fight that it was not a scar caused by a half-hearted attack. Even if they didn't have a close relationship, this scar would leave a strong impression.

But Jin...

"I don't know you." 

He couldn't remember anything.

It was natural for Jin. 

He knew from his appearance that the man in front of him was an Ikaruga ninja, as he made no attempt to hide his true identity. But when he served as the 4th Squadron's commander during the war, he did not count how many ninja he had crossed blades with. It was unreasonable to expect he'd remember a single ninja when he didn't remember any of the others he'd cut down.

But for Bang, Jin Kisaragi was the exact opposite. No matter how many soldiers he crossed blades with, no matter how many deaths he overcame, he would not forget that face.

"You bastard! You should remember! I am the Ikaruga ninja, Bang Shishigami! On the day of that decisive battle in Ikaruga, I was the man whose forehead you split open with that sword!"

The engraved cross-shaped scar was from Yukianesa. The pain from that time, the intense coldness, remained under the scar even now.

That was not all. Bang once again pointed his finger at Jin.

"I won't let you forget! Even if you forget my face, you hurt many Ikaruga people in that war, you mercilessly trampled on our homeland! And above all, you killed our lord, the Ikaruga lord Tenjo!!"

Jin Kisaragi joined the Ikaruga Civil War as the young commander of the 4th Squadron and achieved remarkable results. He broke through the front lines and took the head of the Ikaruga Federation's leader, the instigator of the rebellion.

He was praised for his achievements and promoted two ranks to major, and at the same time, he was praised as the "Hero of Ikaruga."

That alias was praised as an honor within the NOL, but it was regarded with fear and hatred among the people of Ikaruga.

"The 'Hero of Ikaruga,' indeed, meeting you here is like meeting you after a hundred years. It must be the guidance of Lord Tenjo... who died in regret that we have met again like this!"

Putting strength into his stomach, Bang opened his legs wide and took a low stance. The hand that stretched out to the sky became a strong hand that could cut through blades. Its tip was aimed at Jin's throat.

[[File:BB_CT2_127.jpg|frameless|right]]

The red scarf-like cloth that adorned Bang's neck fluttered greatly in the wind that passed through the bridge. Using the light fluttering sound as a signal to start... Bang jumped in an instant.

The jump was high and fast. Released in an instant, despite his strong build, were three sharp kunai that cut through the air. They were the same as the ones that had stopped Jin's feet earlier. However, this time the purpose was not to stop his feet. Jin jumped backwards to avoid them as they approached his torso and legs.

In the next moment, Bang landed in front of the retreating Jin, fluttering his red cloth.

"Tch!" Jin's breath caught in his throat. As if interrupting it, Bang's fist thrust upwards from below.

"Know the pain of Ikaruga in my fist!" The fist was wrapped in flames and was about to explode on Jin's lower jaw... but it was blocked by Jin's sheath, which he had pulled in as if to interrupt it.

"How insolent!" The pulled fist immediately changed into a thrust with both hands, slamming into the slender stomach of the uniformed figure. Jin also received this with his sheath. However, he could not completely nullify the impact, and Bang felt the recoil of flesh in his hand.

Jin frowned slightly at the unexpected impact that had struck his body. But the shallow wrinkle quickly disappeared, and he manipulated the sword, which he had been using for defense, in his hand. The slightly rotating sheath, along with the pointed tip, struck Bang's face hard.

"Gah!" Bang let out a crushed cry. Continuing, Jin kicked Bang, who had lost his balance, and pulled out his sword to fill the gap that had opened from the recoil. The sword, swung in a large horizontal sweep, slightly grazed the tip and failed to capture Bang's torso.

"...You dodged it?" Jin spoke in a small voice. This was somewhat unexpected. Even though he was from a defeated country, the ninja was apparently able to move to some extent.

Bang, who had escaped in the nick of time, immediately turned to offense. Rushing through like a whirlwind, he instantly circled behind Jin and swung down a wind-cutting chop at the exposed blue back.

The words came before that hand could touch him.

"Is that the pain of Ikaruga?"

Ridiculous. Jin's words, asked from behind his back, were so cold that there was something like an ice pillow gouging his chest.

In Bang's vision, where he swung his hand, the golden hair swayed like scattering. Green eyes stared at Bang, and the sword drew a silver arc as if chasing him. As it was, Yukianesa was about to cut off Bang's arm, regardless of whether its opponent was unarmed.

"What!" In an instant, Bang blocked the sword strike with his gauntlet. But there was a second strike. Jin's sheath, which was held in a different hand from the sword, violently struck Bang's temple. Passing through the loosened gauntlet's guard, Yukianesa diagonally cut through Bang's body.

"Guaaah!" Bang's scream was cut off. He was hit by the slash, and his entire body was frozen immediately afterwards.

Jin kicked it away, looking extremely bored.

The life-sized ice statue rolled and flew to the other side of the bridge, crashing into a pillar. The ice that had captured Bang shattered and burst from the impact, spitting out the heavily wounded ninja. By that time, Bang's body could no longer move properly.

"Guh... gaah... Jin... Kisaragi..." 

Still, Bang raised his head and struggled to get up. His eyes, which glared up at Jin even as he crawled on the ground, were not at all discouraged, and he still had the same strength and heat as his first attack.

A shallow sigh escaped Jin's mouth.

The sight of Bang collapsed there but still trying to climb up was reflected as something ugly in his green eyes. The battle had already been decided. He had just learned the difference in ability between himself and his opponent. And yet, he struggled miserably. It was so ridiculous.

"He's not here." He whispered in a barely audible voice, a faint feeling stirring within. "Even if I look at something like this... I won't find him."

"Brother" was not there.

Jin held Yukianesa and looked at the man glaring at him from across the bridge. Casually, yet with beautiful and flawless movements, he cut through the air. At that moment, ice ran from Jin's feet across the bridge.

A sound echoed like something being shattered. The ice froze the entire narrow bridge and ran upwards, creating a thick wall at the bridge's entrance. Dull sunlight shone in, making the ice sparkle. The transparent ice showed Bang's agitated face through it.

"You- you're running away! Turning your back on the enemy is the last thing a samurai should do...!" 

Bang was surprised as he realized the meaning of the sudden obstacle.

Jin simply looked at him with cold eyes.

"You're my enemy? Don't be conceited." Jin returned Yukianesa to its blue sheath and turned on his heel. "You're not even worth killing. Disappear."

Leaving those words behind, he started walking away quickly. He could hear something like an angry voice from behind, but it was already out of Jin's ears. It was useless to even register in his mind.

He had wasted unnecessary time. Jin quickened his pace.

He felt incredibly empty. The time he spent dealing with that man was pointless. He had not come this far for that.

His purpose was singular and absolute. He was searching. For that man. That man who should be in this city.

"I have to... find my brother." Crushing a small lump of earth with his heel, Jin muttered as if in a trance. "I have to kill him. Ragna the Bloodedge... I have to kill my brother..."

The whispering breath that slipped out was colder than the wind passing through the mountainside, and his gaze at the layer above Roningai had a cold-blooded murderous intent far below human body temperature.

The sound of his hard shoes moved forward as if it were his duty, and the blonde young man in a blue-and-white uniform was sucked into the next level.