Editing BlazBlue:Bloodedge Experience Part 2 Chapter 9 (section)

===Part 1===

The clock was nearing three in the morning.

A few minutes after Naoto had defeated Spinner’s Apostle in the alleyway that night, men in black suits and white lab coats had appeared. They were from the Mitsurugi Agency, the same organization he had encountered at school the other night.

After efficiently collecting the creature's corpse, they told Naoto to go home, assuring him they would clean up the mess. They then began to collect samples of the creature's scattered bodily fluids.

Watching their skilled work, Naoto felt a sense of resignation. Surely, by tomorrow or the day after, the alleyway would be repaired as if nothing had happened. With no reason to linger, he decided to head home, but Raquel didn’t seem particularly cheerful. Naoto understood why. He didn’t feel good either.

It was past one in the morning. The fact that the Mitsurugi Agency had arrived so quickly and was so well-equipped this late at night meant they were under constant surveillance.

It made him sick to think that they probably had a detailed report of how he had run away and how Raquel had helped him, including their trivial banter. Still, he was grateful to have them take care of the scene, which they could never have handled on their own.

"Ugh... I'm so sleepy..." Naoto sighed as he soaked in the hot bath he had drawn as soon as he got home. He didn't mind staying up late, but tonight was particularly draining. Searching for a monstrous creature in the dead of night, being chased, and finally getting covered in some disgusting, unknown liquid - training was tougher than he had expected.

Naoto pulled his right arm out of the water and sniffed it.

(Is it really clean now?)

He had scrubbed himself more thoroughly than ever before. He was sure that the unpleasant smell and feeling were completely gone. Satisfied, he returned his arm to the warm water and gently rubbed it. As he relaxed, various images from that night flashed through his mind.

(Come to think of it, Kiiro wasn't there.)

The organization had been waiting for his “training” to finish. The situation was nearly the same as when he defeated Isa, but Kiiro was absent. She seemed to have a higher position than the men in black, and she probably didn't have the time to come out for every little incident like this. Whatever the reason, Naoto was relieved.

(If she had been there, I would have been stuck here for another thirty minutes...)

He chuckled to himself in the bath and then remembered something.

Kiiro's seductive smile at the hotel lounge lingered in Naoto's mind. Those suggestive words, one after another, and the soft, almost unreal feel of her... skin.

Naoto unconsciously placed his palm against his left chest. He wondered if Kiiro's heart was still beating in the same rhythm beneath her own chest. The thought sent a chill down his spine. After all, it was a heart. The idea that it was exactly like someone else's was anything but comforting.

"Ugh... whatever, I don’t want to think about anything anymore..." He was about to continue when the sound of a suddenly opened door interrupted him. "...Huh!?" 

For a second, he couldn't comprehend the situation. Even after a few seconds, it still didn't register. Furrowing his brows in confusion, Naoto turned to see who it was, his mouth half-open in a daze as he wondered what was going on.

In that instant, his thoughts completely froze.

Standing at the door was Raquel. 

Considering who else was in the house, it might not have been unusual. But the fact that Raquel was completely naked, her long blond hair down, and was about to enter the bathroom was not just unusual, it was impossible to ignore.

"You... what are you..."

"Oh, you're still in here?" Raquel pulled her loose hair behind her ear and stepped into the wet bathroom. Naoto immediately sank deep into the bathtub, trying to hide.

"W-w-w-what are you doing?! Why did you come in?!"

"Naoto, it's late. You should think about the neighbors."

"Don't tell me to be considerate when you're naked!"

"One minute you say to learn common sense, and the next you tell me not to talk about it. You really are an emotionally unstable man."

"Whose fault is that...?" Naoto knew it was pointless to argue, but he couldn't help himself. Still, he couldn’t just stare at her, so he shrank back in the bathtub.

Seeing this, Raquel let out a knowing "Ah" and a weary smile.

"Don't worry. Seeing a servant naked won't make me feel anything special. It's like seeing a dog with or without clothes." She said casually, as if teasing Naoto.

Naoto looked down. It's not like he wanted her to feel something special, but it hurt to be dismissed so easily. 

Ignoring Naoto's hurt feelings, Raquel placed her small butt on the bathroom chair. She reached for the showerhead and turned on the warm water.

She was serious about taking a bath together. Realizing Raquel's intentions, Naoto felt his face pale. Yet, despite the situation, she continued nonchalantly. 

"Naoto. I permit you, my servant, to wash your master's hair," Raquel said, brushing her long golden hair away from her chest. Her golden eyes urged him on, gazing at Naoto without any embarrassment or ulterior motives. It was as if she was simply acknowledging him, as he was, without any impure thoughts. It made him feel almost spoiled.

"How long are you going to keep staring at me like that? Hurry up. It's impolite to keep your master waiting."

"Okay, okay. I got it..." Naoto replied, somewhat annoyed. If he hesitated any longer, it would seem like he was the only one who saw Raquel as a woman. And that wouldn't do.

With a sigh of resignation, Naoto stood up.

(Don’t look, don’t look, don’t look...)

He chanted this mantra in his mind as he moved behind Raquel, who was seated on a chair. 

He had never been so grateful for a fogged-up mirror. Even though he was drawn to her translucent skin and slender shoulders, he managed to gather her hair in a bundle.

"Wow..." he said involuntarily. Raquel turned her head.

"What?"

"N-no. Your hair... it's beautiful." It was an embarrassing thing to say, but he couldn't help himself. The feel of her hair in his hands reminded him of golden silk. It was smooth and silky, sliding cool against his palm.

"Yes, it is," Raquel replied indifferently. Her short answer made it clear that she didn't have any particular feelings about her own hair.

"Yeah, I don't know much about women's hair, and I've never seen blond hair like this before. But I think it's beautiful," Naoto said with a wry smile as he ran the warm water through the beautiful hair in his hands.

It really was beautiful hair. And yet, he felt it was a shame that Raquel didn't seem to appreciate its beauty. It would have been nice if she could look up at people with her chin held high and simply take pride in such a normal thing.

Now that he thought about it, there were times in kindergarten when he had bathed with Haruka, but he had never washed her hair. As for Saya, he couldn't even remember bathing with her, given her frail health.

(This is the first time I've ever washed a woman's hair)

Her hair was so thin and soft. He wasn’t sure how to handle it. Is this how it’s supposed to be? He carefully applied the shampoo that Haruka had bought for Raquel, working it into the golden hair that flowed under the water. The long strands seemed to wrap around his fingers, yet they easily slipped away from the ends.

It felt like he was handling something fragile. It was an unfamiliar task. His hands fumbled awkwardly, and he started to lose track of how he usually washed his own hair.

[[File:BE2-3.png|frameless|right]]

Still, Naoto rinsed the shampoo out, applied the conditioner, and rinsed again. By the time he washed Raquel's shoulders and back, where her wet hair clung, the embarrassment and discomfort of a high school boy had considerably faded.

"There. I'm done." He said, avoiding her gaze as he turned off the shower and leaned it against the wall. Raquel gathered her wet hair to one side and lightly squeezed out the excess water, letting out a shallow, disappointed sigh.

"You're not very good at this."

"Shut up! I've never done this before! If you want it done well, don’t make me do it!" Naoto's voice echoed loudly against the bathroom walls. For a moment, he panicked, wondering if someone had heard him. Raquel remained calm. She turned to look at Naoto with her big eyes, which softened as if to ease the tension.

"Well then, that's fine. For a first time, I’ll revise my evaluation and say you did a pretty good job." Naoto felt his temples twitch at her almost smug expression.

"...Should I say thank you?"

(Shouldn’t I be the one getting thanked instead?)

Naoto felt a sense of fatigue that went beyond mere dissatisfaction. Reluctantly finishing the task, he began to rise from the bath. However, Raquel grabbed his arm with her wet hand, stopping him.

"What’s wrong...?" Naoto asked with an exasperated look. Raquel answered with a serious expression.

"What do you mean? Next, it’s your body. Wash it."

"Please, Raquel-sama!!"

In a burst of energy that even surprised himself, Naoto dropped to his knees in the bath. He thought he had come to the bath to relax. But now he realized that the bath held various potential dangers.

Soaking in the reboiled water, Naoto felt cornered, resting his arms on the edge of the tub. Right in front of him was Raquel, who had just washed her hair and, reluctantly, washed her own body. She was sitting comfortably between Naoto's legs, which were awkwardly bent, hugging her knees in the tub, enjoying the Japanese bath.

How should he feel looking at that? Unsure, Naoto covered his forehead with his hands, leaning against the edge of the tub.

"How are you feeling?" Raquel's voice echoed slightly from in front of him. Naoto returned his gaze.

"Feeling? I mean, it’s fine. I’m really tired, though." Naoto replied, letting out a deep exhale. He had been quite tired during the Isa event, but today…

Between running around and getting covered in sticky fluids, he was mentally exhausted. His body could heal physical wounds quickly enough, but it couldn’t fix his mental state after experiencing death.

Naoto absentmindedly looked at his right hand, the one that had been destroyed and replaced. Then he remembered something.

"Hey, there's something I wanted to ask. During that fight earlier, while I was being chased, I thought my opponent was too fast for me, but as soon as we faced each other, his movements seemed to slow down. And when I punched him, it felt almost too easy taking him down. It was like my body felt a lot lighter than before..." He couldn't quite put it into words, but he definitely felt different from when he was fighting Isa. His body was performing at a much higher level than he expected.

Raquel dropped her gaze to her knees, which were illuminated by her golden eyes. 

"I see, so that’s how it is."

"How what is?" Naoto asked, raising an eyebrow as he sat up straighter in the tub. 

The water rippled. Breaking through the waves, Raquel touched Naoto's right hand. Perhaps because of the warm water, her usually cool fingertips felt warm now.

"Your right hand is made from my blood. I mentioned that before, remember?" Naoto nodded. He looked at his arm, which still appeared to be an ordinary human arm. "The fusion between my blood and yours is progressing. The vampire blood is starting to mix with your own, strengthening you. ... Normally, this process should be much slower."

"W-wait a minute. Isn't it bad that it's progressing so fast?" Naoto submerged his arm, which Raquel had touched, into the water and instinctively leaned forward. As he got closer to her pale skin, he felt flustered. But at that moment, feelings of embarrassment were secondary.

Raquel, observing Naoto's panic and agitation, blinked her long eyelashes once. "Normally, yes, it would be bad. It means that your transformation into a vampire is advancing faster than it should."

"Wha... wait, then...!"

"The acceleration increased because my father reattached your arm. He overwrote the magic I had used to slow the process.”

Naoto's mind struggled to keep up with the sudden and unexpected information. Raquel’s calm demeanor helped him understand, but once he grasped it, dissatisfaction set in.

So what? It’s great that he was getting stronger, but it was all thanks to Clavis. And because of Clavis, he was going to become a vampire much sooner than expected.

(That old man... doing whatever he wants!)

That meant Raquel's estimate of about a year before he turned into a vampire was no longer reliable. However, his thoughts would soon be swept away by Raquel's next words, spoken with a hint of dissatisfaction.

"The influence of blood fusion... In other words, it's been adjusted so that while the vampire transformation is suppressed, you can still gain strength from the fusion. So even though the blood fusion is progressing, the vampire transformation isn't, and as this fusion continues, you will naturally become stronger."

"Wait, is that really possible...?" Naoto asked with a deflated tone, the frustration he'd felt earlier evaporating.

"Of course it is. After all, it's my father." Her straightforward reply lacked any real explanation, but it was persuasive enough. Naoto nodded, feeling a bit more serious about it.

Raquel rested her chin on her knees. Though her expression was the usual calm mask, she looked somewhat like a sulking child, perhaps upset that her father had modified the arm she had created. Naoto found this aspect of Raquel endearing. While he smiled internally, an idea came to him.

"If that's the case, maybe I could actually fight Spinner properly?" 

Naoto's body was no longer that of a normal human. Perhaps the outcome would be different from when he had encountered Spinner in the school hallway a few days ago. But Raquel shook her head firmly.

"That's not going to happen." Her tone was extremely serious. "That's why we're going to fight together."

"Together?" The atmosphere became too serious for any jokes, so Naoto tightened his expression and adjusted his posture slightly in the cramped tub. Raquel's golden eyes were fixed on him, reflecting his bewildered expression. Those eyes, like mirrors reflecting the souls of others, continued to watch him, blinking instead of nodding.

"You won't be the only one fighting. I will fight too. Otherwise... we won't win." Her calm yet sharp declaration carried an undeniable truth.

We won't win.

Naoto didn't have the confidence or foolishness to deny that statement. If Raquel said so, then it was certainly true that they couldn't defeat Spinner.

He needed to become stronger. For the sake of continuing to live as a human.

"Naoto." Raquel whispered, her voice echoing softly. She released her knees, placing her palms on the bottom of the tub, and slid closer to him.

"Y-yeah...?" 

As she crossed the imaginary boundary Naoto had subconsciously set in the middle of the tub, she leaned in closer, looking up at him from a short distance and placing her hand on his chest. Her hand was warm. Her white cheeks were tinged with a soft pink, as if to show that blood flowed through her veins just like any human.

"Promise me. That you will definitely obtain the 'Azure.'" Her voice, filled with a mystical resonance, slipped from her slightly parted lips and flowed directly into Naoto's heart. Her voice, both demonic and pure as a vampire, was enigmatic, whether due to her knowledge or her ignorance. 

Naoto couldn't tell if the warm air tickling his chest came from Raquel's breath or the steam from the bath.

"I... I get it. If I don't, things will get pretty messy, right? I have to get it." Unable to look away from her golden eyes, Naoto replied, determined to resist the pull. He felt something was different about her today. It wasn't like Raquel. Her gestures and voice were unusually weak and leaning.

Raquel's hand slid across Naoto's chest, clinging to his left arm, his human body. 

“You are my servant. My possession, in a way. You have a duty to serve me. That’s why…” She spoke with an unusual intensity, creating a humid atmosphere in the already hot bath. Naoto leaned back slightly. As if he had lost his balance at a slightly different angle, Raquel's body and nose came closer.

Right in front of Naoto, Raquel's eyes blinked. The bright gold color flowed like liquid.

"Fight for me, obtain the 'Azure' for me... and then..." Raquel's words trailed off before she could finish. Naoto didn't know if she intended to continue or not. Honestly, he didn't care anymore.

Raquel stopped talking, her lips trembling, and then she fell face-first into the bath, as if being drawn in.

She had fainted.

It was heatstroke.




A cool night breeze flowed in through the slightly opened window.

The night had grown late, almost approaching morning. No voices could be heard from outside.

It was quiet, almost as if time had stopped. At this hour, he would usually be in bed, wrapped up in his blankets.

Naoto fanned himself, feeling incredibly sleepy.

The fan had been distributed by a pachinko parlor near the station during the summer, but he never expected he would need it at this time of year.

Carefully avoiding overheating, the gentle breeze brushed over him as he lay weakly on the futon spread out in the tatami room, where Raquel lay. Raquel, in the pajamas he had managed to put on her, lay weakly on the futon spread out on the tatami mat, her vampire cheeks flushed red.

Frowning weakly, she complained in a thin voice, her head spinning. “Ugh... ugh, what... happened to me..."

"Yeah, yeah," Naoto murmured as he waved the fan, "I know."

In Naoto's eyes, he could see an abnormally low number hovering over Raquel's head. It was probably much lower than it had been before her bath. But with a number this low, he couldn't tell exactly how weak she was. All he knew was that this was someone with extraordinary vitality, a vampire. And yet, she had fainted from heatstroke. It was both impressive and baffling.

"Okay, okay. Just go to sleep now... please, just go to sleep..." He wanted nothing more than for her to get some rest.

The clock was approaching four. Naoto sighed. He had school tomorrow…