Editing BlazBlue:Bloodedge Experience Part 1 Chapter 4 (section)

===Part 5===

The evening downtown area was overflowing with a diverse array of people and voices, mainly students returning from school. Most of the voices were cheerful and excited. There were groups of people laughing loudly at silly jokes, and groups of girls screaming excitedly about idols. Every day around this time, until after the sun had completely set and it was time for dinner, this area was like this.

However, Naoto and Raquel were not walking through the lively main street, but rather a quiet back alley lined with closed shutters. After leaving school, it wasn’t difficult to follow Kirishima Kana. Perhaps to hide her uniform, Kana ducked into the shadows as they approached the shopping district. From her Boston bag, she pulled out a bright red coat and wrapped it around herself. Once they entered the dimly lit back alley, she pulled the hood low over her head, concealing her striking appearance.

Indeed, if she dressed like that, even if she happened to pass by someone she knew, it was unlikely anyone would recognize her as Kirishima Kana. Nobody would think she would walk in such a conspicuous manner in a place like this. However, for Naoto and Raquel, who had followed her from school and witnessed her putting on the red coat, that eye-catching appearance served as a perfect marker.

Two blocks in from the main street, the back alley was quite far from the hustle and bustle, even near the station, and there were few people around at this time of day. Kana walked through it at an uncertain, hesitant pace.

(Where is she going...?)

By now, the initial guilt they felt about following her had faded. Naoto hid behind building entrances and parked cars, focusing all his attention on Kana's every move. Kana suddenly slowed her pace at the entrance to an alley. She must be getting close to her destination. She wandered around, waiting for the street to clear, then quickly turned and entered the alley. Naoto and Raquel immediately followed. The end of the alley Kana chose was a dead end. At the end was an old three-story building, and the figure in the red coat was going up the narrow stairs.

"Second floor," Raquel whispered, peering into the gap between the building Kana had entered and the neighboring building. It was a narrow building. There would probably be only one room per floor, whether it was a shop or a residence. If they followed her now, they would meet up halfway.

"What could she be doing in a place like this... Could Spinner be there?" Naoto asked, leaning against the wall in the cramped hiding spot.

Raquel shook her head while looking up at the building. "I don't sense any remnants of the Azure from this building. But... it's suspicious."

"I agree." Naoto wholeheartedly agreed with Raquel's suspicious tone. It was entirely based on preconceived notions and biases, but he couldn’t imagine the vice president of the student council stopping by a place like this after school. It was very different from a bookstore or a general goods shop. He could predict that there were circumstances in that second floor that were far removed from Kana's known image at school.

"Thanks to the stronger remnants compared to yesterday, I can track Kirishima Kana even if she's a bit further away. When she comes out, I’ll investigate that building first." It wasn't a suggestion but a command. Raquel clearly didn’t expect Naoto to voice any objections.

However, Naoto had no objections. After about ten minutes, Kana reappeared on the stairs. She hurriedly descended the steps and quickly left the alley. After waiting for the figure in the red coat to turn the corner and disappear, Naoto and Raquel slipped out through a narrow gap and looked up at the building where Kana had just exited. It didn't look like anyone lived there. There were three mailboxes on the side of the stairs, but none of them had nameplates. Instead, they were covered in suspicious-looking phone numbers.

Pink flyers were plastered on it. Naoto frowned involuntarily. It was an even more unlikely building for Kana.

(Come on... cut me some slack. I don't want to witness anything shady.) He sincerely hoped so as he stepped onto the stairs. They were headed to the second floor. Or rather, it seemed that only the second floor was being used. As far as he could see, there was no one around. It was an unpleasant silence. The sound of his footsteps on the stairs echoed.

He reached the second floor and stood in front of the only door. It was a very ordinary door. It was a heavy metal door like the ones you would find in old apartment buildings or old-fashioned public housing complexes. But when he saw the small sign that had been hung up in place of a nameplate, Naoto was momentarily disoriented, as if he had lost his sense of left and right.

His thoughts stopped. Written on the horizontal plate in rounded characters was probably the name of the shop. 

It said, “Department of Sexual Desire.”

(...Wait, what? I don't understand.)

Naoto's mind refused to comprehend. A strange sweat began to bead on his back. A sense of crisis ran down his spine. He probably saw something he shouldn't have. If everything he saw wasn't a mistake, it meant that Kirishima Kana had come out of this place not too long ago.

"What are you doing? Move aside." While Naoto was sweating bullets, Raquel brushed past him and opened the door to enter. 

"Wait—!" Naoto called out, but he was too late. The door closed behind Raquel. Realizing the gravity of the situation, Naoto grabbed the door as it was about to close and jumped in. And he was stunned.

It was a shop about twelve tatami mats in size. Long, white, tubular lights were regularly attached to the ceiling, making the interior surprisingly bright. But the items illuminated by that light were…

"Naoto, what is this?" Raquel, who had entered the shop first, looked at the shelves with a curious expression, picked up one of the items, and showed it to him. Naoto could only open and close his mouth, unable to speak. It was in a transparent package that allowed you to see the contents, and it was impressively larger than Raquel's arm. It was a thick, fleshy, arrow-shaped object, dark in color. "What is it used for...?" While turning it over and over, Raquel held a thin plastic package…

He stared intently through the cage. He couldn't bear to look any longer. Just as Naoto took a step forward to try to stop it, a male employee slowly emerged from the back of the store.

"Welcome. What are you looking for, boys?" The man who appeared made Naoto flinch involuntarily. He was a tall, muscular man with a shaved head. He had a mustache under his nose, dark sunglasses that obscured his eyes, and a black leather jacket. He clearly wasn't a law-abiding citizen. But the pale pink apron with the shop name written on it, worn over his tough leather jacket, strangely softened his tough, unusual appearance. Or perhaps it ruined it.

"What's this?" Without hesitation, Raquel turned to the male employee and, without being intimidated by his appearance, held out the product she had in her hand. The male employee looked Raquel up and down and then grinned wryly, lifting the corner of his mouth.

"This is 'Super Thick'... I don’t think she can handle this yet, right?" He turned his gaze to Naoto, seeking agreement through his dark sunglasses.

"N-no..." Approaching Naoto as he awkwardly searched for words to explain himself, the clerk took a product from the shelf and casually handed it to Naoto.

"You guys must be newbies, right? Well, why don't you start with something like this?" Since he had been handed it, Naoto had to look. He moved only his eyes and looked down at the object he was holding. A smaller version of the same object, clearly smaller than the previous one, was enshrined in a plastic package. The label with the product name politely stated "For Beginners."

"There are different sizes," Raquel remarked as she leaned over to peek at Naoto's item, comparing it to what she was holding before returning the glossy black "Super Thick" to the shelf. She then shifted her interest to another shelf, picking up something and starting to examine it. The enthusiastic employee quickly joined her, standing next to the petite girl in uniform to explain the products to new customers.

"Oh, you have a good eye! That one's the latest model!"

"What do you use it for?"

"Well, that depends on your boyfriend, I guess." The clerk winked at Naoto with a suggestive look. It was kind of vague, since he couldn't see his eyes through the sunglasses, but Naoto could feel that atmosphere strongly.

(Ugh, what are they talking about? I'm curious but don't want to know... And I'm not her boyfriend! Even if I was, don't look at me like that!)

At that moment, Naoto fully experienced what it meant to feel utterly uncomfortable.

"Wait, that's not what I mean!" Snapping back to reality, Naoto looked up. In his shock, he had forgotten his original purpose for coming here. He casually returned the "Beginner" item to the shelf and went over to the clerk.

"Hey, did a woman in a red coat come in here a little while ago? I need to know what she was doing."

"Sorry, kid. I can't tell you about a customer's privacy," came a low, slightly mocking reply. That was a fair point. Especially in a place like this, revealing secrets would jeopardize their business.

(I didn’t expect the employee to be this professional...)

He had thought he would be more careless. Pushing past Naoto, Raquel directed her gaze at the employee, her eyes suddenly sparkling bright red.
 
"Answer the question." She gave a simple order. As soon as he heard it, the clerk, as if drawn to her, trembled and then relaxed unnecessarily.

"...A woman in a red coat did come in." The employee casually shared what had previously been a guarded secret, as if it were nothing. Naoto could sense a strange, dazed look about him.

(The 'Slave Red'...)

A magic that forces a person to accept one statement, but only once. When it had been used on Haruka, it had been to make her swallow a ridiculous explanation, but now he realized it could be used this way too. Under the spell of the obedient eye, Raquel pressed on with her questioning.

"What did she come here for?"

"She came to pick up an item she had ordered... here it is." With unsteady, floating steps, the clerk went to the counter and opened a catalog that was placed there. A stunning array of products were lined up with photos. The clerk pointed one by one at some of the products labeled "latest" with his thick silver ringed finger. "This one, and this one... and this one too." With each item the employee indicated, deep furrows formed in Naoto's brow. Silk lingerie, hand mirrors, bondage costumes... among others. He didn't have extensive knowledge about such a world, but even Naoto could understand the special sexual preferences these items catered to.

"What kind of magic are these used for?"

"Magic? No, these are used for ''''pray'''.'" 

'''(Translator's note: The clerk is using the word "プレイ" which is pronounced "Pray." Translated to English, it would be rendered as "Play," but then Raquel's confused response wouldn't make sense)'''

"Pray? Are they ritual tools?"

"Rituals, huh? That's a deep way to put it. 'Pray' is..."

"Whoa, whoa, whoa! Stop! That’s enough! I can’t take any more of this!" Feeling mentally overwhelmed, Naoto stepped between the clerk and Raquel, shouting to interrupt them. Grabbing Raquel's arm, he urged her towards the exit. "Thank you, Mr. Employee! This was really educational!"

"Wait, Naoto, what are you doing? Let go of me!" Raquel exclaimed, her eyes narrowing in indignation as she thought they were still in the middle of gathering information. But he couldn’t go into every detail, nor did he want to. Besides, he had a bad feeling, a premonition. He wanted to get back to tracking down Kana as soon as possible.

"I'll explain everything later, so just come on! If we keep wasting time here, we’ll lose track of her!" Hurriedly and angrily, Naoto dragged Raquel out of the "Department of Sexual Desire." As the heavy metal door closed, a low voice seemed to echo from inside, saying, "Come again," but he had no time to respond and ran down the stairs two at a time.

Once they reached the first floor, he jumped out of the narrow entrance into the alleyway and finally released Raquel, whom he had been carrying under his arm. As always, Raquel was light. So light that he could carry her down the stairs. Her lightness was abnormal, as if indicating that she wasn't human.

"You’re such an anxious servant. Don’t worry, I can track Kirishima Kana in no time," Raquel sighed, carefully smoothing her disheveled bangs while looking down at him.

"That's not the point..." Panting for breath, Naoto said resentfully. 

(Damn it, I don't know exactly how you were created, but if he’s her father, he should have taught her more, that damn old man!)

With no one else to blame for the situation, Naoto directed his anger and frustration at Raquel’s father. However, he would never say that to the man's face.

While Naoto was catching his breath and cursing at someone who wasn't there, Raquel quickly finished drawing a small magic circle on the ground. 

"It's much smaller this time." It was even more simplified than the one he had seen behind the school building. "I already know my target this time. This is enough." Saying so, Raquel reached out as if to embrace something in the center of the magic circle. The wind gathered, lifting her where she stood. The magic circle was enveloped in a city-colored light. It was a familiar, usual magic. The light soon subsided, and Raquel's toes touched the ground. She dispersed the wind by lifting her eyelids and shook her head as if to shake off her hair.

"I found her."

"That was fast!"

"I told you, didn’t I? It can be done quickly." With a hint of pride in her voice, Raquel entwined her arm with Naoto’s, pulling him close to her chest. 

"W-wait?"

"I'm going to fly us closer. Don't struggle. I might drop you." 

"W-what the..." Naoto's words were cut off. Suddenly, a wind incomparably stronger than before enveloped Naoto and Raquel, swirling thickly. Then, with tremendous force, it lifted their bodies into the air. The surprise left Naoto speechless.

With Naoto in tow, Raquel stood in midair, guiding the winds with her fingertips. Following her lead, the wind picked up strength, propelling both her and her companion away at breakneck speed.