BlazBlue:Bloodedge Experience Part 1 Chapter 6
| Illustrations |
| Prologue:Rebirth |
| Chapter 1: Contact |
| Chapter 2: Immortal |
| Chapter 3: Mitsurugi |
| Chapter 4: Secret |
| Chapter 5: Encounter |
| Chapter 6: Interlude |
| Epilogue |
| Afterword |
BBBE Chapter 6: Interlude[edit]
Part 1[edit]
The everyday life that was suddenly lost, suddenly returned.
As Kiiro has promised, the half-destroyed student council room and hallway were restored by the next day, and the school resumed its normal routine as if the previous night had never happened, proceeding with the curriculum as usual.
The chimes rang at the same intervals as always, and classmates and teachers were present as expected. Classes remained as dull as ever, lunch break brought its usual sense of freedom, and after school, Naoto observed the various facets of school life unfolding around him, feeling a bit surprised.
During homeroom, they heard that the geology teacher, Isa, had taken a leave of absence due to illness. The vice president of the student council, Kirishima Kana, had been absent for a few days due to poor health, but she returned to school on Saturday, albeit looking a little thinner.
Without the Azure, Drives, Spinner Superior, or the Mitsurugi Agency... days swiftly passed since that night. Naoto's fleeting daily life had peacefully welcomed a quiet Sunday.
Part 2[edit]
On this tranquil, sunny Sunday afternoon, a pleasant autumn breeze rustled the small branches along the street. His room had been fully renovated three days ago, and for the past two days, he had returned to living in his own room. Originally, he had intended to return alone and have Raquel continue staying at Haruka's house, but at her strong insistence, they ended up sharing this room together.
Raquel's room was a small tatami room next to the living room where Haruka had slept during Clavis’ visit. Haruka had opposed the idea of Raquel and Naoto living together until the very end, but once their life as a pair began, she came to care for them as she had always done, without much concern. Even today, she had just made omelet and consommé soup for lunch, and the three of them had eaten together in Naoto's room. Incidentally, they were planning to have dinner at Haruka's house later.
(It's not like I have any complaints, but now that it’s come to this, it feels silly to live separately… It's really getting out of hand...)
That said, this was Naoto's way of drawing a line. It was necessary.
Naoto stepped out onto the balcony and stared blankly at the scenery outside. Across the road, a neighboring apartment building was under renovation with scaffolding. According to a neighbor, a tiny piece of space debris had crashed into the wall, leaving a dent. The large crack made when Valkenhayn collided with the wall had nearly vanished. The traces were disappearing.
In the deserted apartment complex, there was not a trace left of when Naoto was attacked by the bug man. The mangled arm had also disappeared somewhere. The room that Clavis had ransacked was now usable by Naoto without any problems, showing no signs of the turmoil that had taken place. The same went for the school.
No scars remained on Naoto's body. So, the only thing that demonstrated the various events of the past week were real... was the presence of Raquel, sitting on the living room sofa, engrossed in a book.
(...Well, maybe not.)
Leaning his arms on the balcony railing and resting his chin on his arms, Naoto murmured to himself as he gazed at the construction scaffolding, which was unoccupied today. He had just been reminded of the state of his surroundings a few hours ago.
The location was a splendid hotel in front of the station, one where weddings were also held. To make matters worse, he had been brought to the top floor, to a members-only salon, and invited into a private room separated by thick curtains, where they sat together on a large sofa and talked for over thirty minutes.
The topics were mainly about Isa, Kana, and Haruka. About Isa, who had become Spinner's Apostle, and the two girls who had unfortunately been involved with him, both in the past and in the future. Apparently, Isa had successfully removed the implanted insects. It seemed that the necessary measures had already been taken for Kana, and that Haruka would be taken care of as Naoto wished.
Of course, it couldn't end there, but that was about the only information Naoto could find comforting from being summoned that day.
The rest of the conversation, to be honest, wasn't very pleasant. Even so, he was able to return home without dragging the unpleasantness with him, thanks to Raquel, who had come to pick him up after learning about the summons... though he couldn't be sure how much Raquel understood that.
(Even now, she's really engrossed in her book... And...)
The book she was reading was "The Definitive Guide to Blood Type Fortune-Telling Part 7," which she had borrowed from Haruka. The sight of a vampire engrossed in blood type fortune-telling was hilariously absurd. And sometimes she would even...
"This is amazing..." she said, impressed.
(I wonder what's so amazing about it...)
Naoto watched as Raquel became engrossed, forgetting about the tea he had brewed for her. He thought he might ask to see it later.
Just then…
"Out of the way, out of the way, move aside, Nao-kun." Haruka came in with light steps, carrying a mountain of laundry in a basket she had bought at a 100-yen shop.
"Seriously, why do you let the laundry pile up so much?" Of course, the laundry inside belonged to this house. Naoto had a habit of doing all the laundry for the week on Sundays, but he hadn’t been able to do it last Sunday due to the incident with Clavis and Valkenhayn. So, excluding the time he spent at Haruka’s house, about two weeks' worth of laundry had accumulated in Naoto’s bathroom.
"Sorry, I’ll help..." Even though she always took the initiative since they were childhood friends, he felt a bit hesitant to leave everything to her. He reached out to help hang the laundry, but she lightly swatted his hand away.
"No way! Every time you hang it, it ends up all wrinkled. Just go sit in the corner and watch outside." Her playful tone made it hard for Naoto to respond, so he retreated to the corner of the balcony. Reluctantly pretending to look outside, he observed Haruka skillfully spreading out the laundry. To be precise, he was watching the numbers above Haruka’s head. Since that night, her numbers had remained low. It seemed she was struggling more mentally than physically. Although the numbers were gradually recovering, they were still quite low compared to her usual average today. Still, Haruka acted as if everything was normal. She asked Naoto to do the same. She tackled her usual tasks with a smile that seemed completely normal.
(Haruka is strong...)
With a light breeze ruffling her bangs, Naoto returned his gaze to the distant view. She was always a strong-willed person, but even so…
(No... that doesn’t mean she’s strong.)
Naoto quickly retracted his thoughts.
He felt a small jolt and warmth on his back. It was Haruka. She had lightly grasped the back of his shirt and was pressing her forehead against him. After a few seconds, a faint voice reached his ears.
"Um, you know, Nao-kun... I still haven't properly thanked you."
"…Yeah."
"Thank you for coming that time..."
"Yeah," Naoto replied with a minimal hum, trying to make his voice sound as cheerful as possible while desperately trying to keep from trembling. He wanted to encourage her to continue.
Haruka's fingers tightened around his clothes, and a fine tremor ran down Naoto's back. Haruka's breathing, which he could hear through her back, was labored and occasionally caught. "I thought that if I said something like this, it might worry you... But, you know, back then... I was really scared."
"…Yeah."
"I was really scared. I was so scared that I wanted to run away... but I couldn't, and I really didn't know what to do..." Listening to Haruka's pleading voice, Naoto bit his lip, trying not to be noticed.
...She couldn't be strong. She couldn't be okay.
Haruka had likely been carrying the wounds from that day, unable to put them into words. By acting as if everything were normal, she had been desperately trying to maintain and protect herself. Slowly swallowing the words that felt like they were choking her, she had finally managed to articulate them to Naoto today.
"But you came, Nao-kun. I was really happy when you did..." Had her sadness settled a bit? Was it no longer the tear-streaked face she had tried to hide? Thinking this, Naoto slowly turned toward Haruka. He reached out to gently embrace her, placing a hand on her head to hide her tear-filled eyes. Holding the slight weight resting on his chest in his arms, he spoke in a calm tone.
"But I was a little late. ...I'm sorry."
"No, no..." Haruka shook her head slightly in Naoto's embrace. He could hear the soft sound of her breath as her lips curled into a small smile. "I was just happy that you came." She whispered, and shifted in Naoto's arms. She placed her hands on his chest and looked up at Naoto. Her big, dark eyes were filled with Naoto's reflection. Haruka's eyes were filled with a different emotion than the sadness and fear she had shown earlier.
(Oh... crap. This pattern again...)
A fleeting thought crossed Naoto's mind, as he felt confused by the change in the atmosphere surrounding them. But then, as if clinging to him, Haruka lightly grasped his shirt and leaned in closer, prompting Naoto to reposition his hands from her back to her cheek and shoulder. Haruka squinted against the brightness. Naoto followed suit, but from there, neither of them knew what would happen next.
Naoto didn’t know whether to close his eyes. As he was caught up in the moment, Haruka’s lips came closer, their soft peach color trembling slightly as if seeking a hint of kindness, exhaling a gentle breath. Naoto closed his eyes, tilting Haruka's chin up a little more.
Just then, a loud, relentless ringing of the doorbell shattered the moment, cutting through the air.
"Wha—!? What!?" Caught off guard, Naoto instinctively pulled his hands away from Haruka. Haruka, who had been reaching up, dropped back down and turned to look at the noisy entrance. What was happening? Rushing to check the room, he saw Raquel glaring at the door, clearly annoyed, while hiding behind the sofa. Like a kitten.
"Shut up! This isn't a gamepad button!" What a rude visitor. He shouted angrily from the bottom of his stomach, but the doorbell continued to ring, drowning out Naoto's voice. He felt like he was being provoked. Just as he was about to storm back into the living room to yell back, he felt a small tug on his arm. "Eh…"
It was Haruka who had pulled him. She turned Naoto around, caught his cheek, and stretched up to touch him lightly. Her sweet breath vanished as she pulled away. Naoto was momentarily frozen, and with a mischievous smile, Haruka gently pressed her fingertip against her lips, which had just touched his.
"It’s my first time!" As Haruka laughed, the numbers above her head shifted. What Naoto saw was her usual, normal average—no different from any other day. With this, he couldn’t help but smile inwardly. He felt a sense of relief. It felt like it had been a long time since he’d seen Haruka’s true smile.
"...Me too." He replied, thinking it was good if Haruka could truly smile like this, even if the words he spoke were a "lie." Haruka giggled awkwardly and turned around gracefully. "Okay, okay, I'm coming." She went out into the hallway from the living room with light footsteps.
Watching her go, Naoto leaned against the balcony railing. He could still faintly feel her soft touch on his lips, the sensation of something that wasn’t his, along with the lingering sweet scent of her breath. He wondered if his face was turning red. Suddenly worried, he rubbed his slightly warm cheeks with the back of his hand, knowing the heat wouldn’t fade away. Just then, Haruka, who had gone to answer the door, rushed back in a hurry.
"Nao-kun, something’s wrong! Come quickly!"
"What's wrong... Did a salesman come or something?"
"Just hurry!" For a moment, Naoto hesitated, trying to understand, but Haruka quickly gave up and pulled harder on his arm. Naoto, tilting his head in confusion, followed her lead... and when he saw the person at the front door, he was speechless.
The visitor was a girl wearing a kimono with long black hair tied up at the back. A sword bag containing a rod-shaped object was placed beside her. From its shape, there was no doubt that the contents were indeed a sword. The girl sat there in perfect seiza, completely undisturbed by the ground beneath her. She closed her eyes with the stillness of someone meditating, her hands folded on her lap, listening for the sound of approaching footsteps.
As soon as Naoto and Haruka stopped, the girl opened her eyes. Both Naoto and Haruka knew that girl. And the girl knew Haruka and Naoto very well.
"It's been a while, Haruka-san." Remaining seated in seiza, she bowed her head in a perfectly drawn bow, her hands neatly in front of her. Haruka hurriedly knelt on the doormat and followed suit, putting her hands on the floor. But she couldn't believe it. That she would be here.
"Uh, um... has it really...?"
"Yes," the girl raised her head with a samurai-like movement and answered firmly. She looked at Haruka with red eyes from behind her cut bangs and said without hesitation, "I am Saya Terumi."
That was her name.
After introducing herself, Sayaka turned to Naoto and bowed deeply once more.
"It’s been a long time. I’m glad to see you well."
"Is... is that really you, Saya?" Naoto’s voice trembled as he asked.
What did she hear in that? As she raised her head from her formal bow, she replied, "Yes, brother." And with that, Saya smiled with her red lips.
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