Editing BlazBlue:Phase Shift 3 Chapter 4 (section)

===Part 4===
The next day, Celica was in a crumbling cityscape littered with debris. This time, it was not in a lonely moonlit night, but an early afternoon under the sun. It wasn’t just Hakumen and Nirvana that were there, but a full entourage with Nine, Trinity, Jubei, Valkenhayn, Terumi, Suzukaka, and Totokaka.

— “Yup— hup!” Celica crossed the unstable foothold, gasping out with every step. Nirvana followed closely behind, occasionally extending her arms to help with her perilous steps.

— “Slow down, Celica. You’ll be in danger if you overdo it.” Nine warned behind her, looking on with great exasperation.


Celica turned around on the rocky grounds where she’d just landed.

— “I’ll be fine! I was here last night!”

— “WHAT? You came to a place like this, at night, all by yourself?! That’s dangerous!”

— “Oh… I didn’t tell you, did I? Nirvana was with me, and Mister Hakumen too!”


Celica raised a finger to reassure her there was no problem. Nirvana then lifted her up with no issue and moved her onward. Nine followed them both, jumping over the rocks with great dexterity… even while wearing high heels.


— “Okay, but why was Hakumen with you late at night, in a deserted place like this?! There’s gotta be something I’m missing. If he did anything weird…!”

— “He’d never do that! Mister Hakumen is a nice guy.” As Celica pouted, Nine forced a smile; like a switch had been flipped, small sparks gathered around her.

— “…yup. Just like that guy, Hakumen’s playing you…”


As Nine held up her hand with a twisted smile, Jubei, who had been walking beside Nine until then, chased after her in a hurry and pushed her hand away.

— “Calm down, calm down! If she was with Hakumen, there’s no way it could’ve turned out how you think.”

— “I don’t care! Even if he’s wearing armor like that, I can’t trust her with some random man!”

Standing on a narrow rocky ledge, Nine pointed her finger at Hakumen while he led the way. Regardless, Hakumen ignored her words — if he’d heard her at all. Meanwhile, Valkenhayn let out a bitter sigh of exasperation.

— “I appreciate your energy, but would you pipe down a little? You are making too much noise.”

— “And I know you have good reflexes, but if you let down your guard too much, you might slip…”

— “AAAAAAH!”

As Jubei added to Valkenhain's quip, a cracking scream came out, away from their current spot.

Everyone stopped and looked back to see Trinity, far behind the group, losing her balance and almost falling from the tall rubble. Of all the people to grab her by the arm and help her up, it was Terumi.

— “Hey, Four-Eyes. Don’t slip.”

— “Ah… sorry!”


As fast as he could, Terumi pulled Trinity up with just one arm. She landed safely on the foothold, but she was so embarrassed even her ears were bright red.

— “Seriously… I’m so sorry for all the trouble!”

— “Hehe! You can apologize for all the trouble later. Now get up and go!”

— “Okay!”

Exhausted, Terumi patted Trinity on the back and urged her to move on. As she stepped on the debris — more recklessly than anyone else — Terumi followed. Celica watched the scene unfold, pressing a finger to her lips and tilting her head.


— “Hey, Sis… Terumi and Trinity really get along, right? They never fight…”

— “That’s not a good sign.” She answered, disinterested.

When Celica turned around in wonder, Nine wrinkled her eyebrows and looked away from Trinity and Terumi.


— “So, Hakumen… where the hell are you going? You said you wanted to check out the rocks, but there’s just rubble and grime here!” Her words were sharper than usual, due to her unquenchable dismay.

But Hakumen did not care too much. He landed on the side of a relatively intact building.

— “I didn’t ask you to come along.”

Meanwhile, Valkenhayn rested his feet on the wide footing, following those cold words. Next to catch up was Nine, followed closely by Celica. As they approached Hakumen, loud clacks sounded from their high heels.


— “You think I’ll just let you take Celica anywhere? No way in hell I’m letting her hang out with the first man she sees!”
— “This is going to be a long day…” Jubei grumbled, scratching his head.


Celica had no choice but to raise her shoulders and chuckle sheepishly. Hakumen was the only one she had asked to come investigate the rocky grounds with him. Of course, Nirvana had come along; as soon as Nine heard about it, she assumed something far worse. Valkenhayn came along, believing that if Hakumen was this concerned, there had to be something up; Trinity shared his concerns, and Jubei followed because he was worried about Nine. Terumi would not let himself be alone in a village full of cats, so he came along as well… and Suzukaka and Totokaka just figured the trip would be fun. As a result, this simple investigation had snowballed out of Hakumen’s control.


At the end of this building, which may as well have been a hangout spot now, Trinity slipped again, and Terumi caught her again.

The air here was extremely clean, with a fresh scent of greenery. Valkenhayn and Jubei’s faces crooked; they found it too strange.

— “The seithr in here… it’s too weak.”


Suzukaka nodded proudly.

— “Damn right! This place has been a real sight since the village got built… but Toto and the others say it’s too beautiful to stay here forever.”

Compared to Suzukaka, Totokaka seemed less familiar with this place, and her tail wagged at the scent of the wind with a curious look.

— “Kaka kids adapt to their surroundings really easy. They get too used to living somewhere without seithr, they’ll have a bad time living with it.” Then, Suzukaka stroked Totokaka’s forehead — “When you grow up…” She continued — “So what’s next? What are you lookin’ for, Lord Hakumen?”

Valkenhayn walked up beside Hakumen, who was looking out from the edge of the ruined building. The place was so clean, it was difficult to believe; but all anyone could see was an endless expanse of debris of all sizes. Thinking about the people who used to live here, and the ruthlessness of the dark disaster befalling the world, sent chills down his spine.


Glancing at the ruined city, Hakumen spoke.

— “This place…”

— “What about it?” Valkenhayn’s eyebrows furrowed, unaware of what Hakumen meant.

Still, Hakumen turned to Celica, his long hair flowing in the wind. He invited her closer with a tuck of his chin. He pointed to himself and asked Celica a question.


— “Do you feel anything?”

— “What do you mean?” Celica asked, visibly puzzled.

Hakumen turned his head, like he was looking for something invisible. His long silver hair, swaying in the wind, looked more mysterious than usual.

— “It’s the center of the air. I think you can feel it.”

— “The center…?” Celica did not quite follow, but she looked around anyway.


The air really was clean. She felt it last night when she met Hakumen; it was clearer than in Ishana.

''(Feels great…)''

She took a long, full-chested breath and tried to let her feelings dissolve into the air.

Celica felt happy. She felt like Hakumen, so strong and always there for her, was counting on her — even for just a minute.

He had always helped her so much, it was time to give back a little. So she closed her eyes and listened to the wind and air. Maybe she did not feel all that in her ears, but in her skin.

Her eyelids lifted naturally, and she pointed to what she saw in her line of sight.


— “I think… there’s an entrance over there.”

She stretched out her arms and pointed to a large pile of rubble. In the shadows, there was an entrance to a staircase leading somewhere underground.

— “…do we go there?” Hakumen whispered into the wind, leaning forward next to Celica to tell where her finger was pointed.

Celica looked uneasy.

— “I'm just curious... I just felt like something could be there. I don't really know, sorry.”

She could not sense seithr like Nine or Trinity; all she had to count on was her gut feeling.


Celica felt sorry for going to the trouble of asking for Hakumen's help. But it was not trouble for Hakumen, who immediately picked her up in his arms.

— “It’ll do. Come on, let’s check it out.”

— “No wait, I can go— aaaah!!”

Hakumen had no intention of refusing; he ran off with Celica in his arms before she could say a word. He rushed forward with no hesitation or care for the footing under him, which was too bumpy to even walk straight. They were going so fast, it was like the wind was carrying them.


— “HEY! Why are you holding Celica like that?! ''PUT HER DOWN!!!''”

Noticing Hakumen's sudden dash, Nine jumped out, her eyes blazing with rage. Holding her large hat in hand, she magically manipulated the wind and ran after the white-armored man.

Nirvana also ran after them, with her protegé ahead of her.

— “Hey, wait…!!” Behind her was Jubei, who did not want Nine to lose control; followed by Valkenhayn. Suzukaka carried Totokaka on her back, unaware that they were even following a goal, running with beastly reflexes and leg strength to much.
And then there was Trinity.

— “Wait for me, pleeeeease!!”


Trinity peeked over the edge and found the path was even rougher than she'd imagined. She could not even jump off; the only way was to slide down.

Still moving slowly and sluggishly, she walked up close and crouched all the way down, while Terumi looked down with a smirk.


— “Want me to take you there?” Terumi asked.

— “Not now… I’ll catch up later.”

— “Yeah, no. When you catch up, it’ll be past sunset.”

Hacking up a laugh, Terumi grabbed Trinity by her neck right as she was about to climb down from the scaffolding, pulled her up, and held her in his arms.

Firmly pulling his hood down, Terumi jumped low and far while he held Trinity.