BlazBlue:Bloodedge Experience Part 1 Chapter 1

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 1: Contact

Part 1

Somewhere, far off into the distance, a piercing noise echoes. The sound fuels an impending sense of crisis, it's loud and jarring despite being muffled by various structures like how a wall act like a protective membrane to the actions of one's neighbor; despite such distance and protective membranes, the noise is still hard on the ears.

Rather than a crisis, this feeling is more akin to how your alarm clock disturbs would someone’s pleasant rest, screaming until you act to silence it, making you want to destroy it even. Who wouldn’t hate that noise? A certain boy here knows he can't stand it at least.

The boy immediately wanted to be freed from this sound that was offensive to the ear. Thus, Naoto Kurogane's arm unreluctantly leaves the warm cocoon of blankets atop the futon, reaching for the alarm clock switch above its head. The said clock is an elliptically shaped non-digital type.

"...stupid bastard..."

Following a light touch, the cruel cries cease from the alarm. He is left with a small satisfaction similar to smashing one of the world's greatest evils. Then, motivated by victory, Naoto slips into the warmth of his futon once again.

But shortly after accepting the lullaby of drowsiness' advances, the front-door’s bell beyond the bedroom door chimes. And it's not only once or twice, it rings over and over and doesn’t seem to stop.

It’s too loud... Despite lacking the strength to voice his irritation, he wraps the futon around his head in resistance to that noise. This act serves to muffle the disturbing noise for earlier even, making that old problem feel distant and irrelevant. However, soon after the doorbell goes silent, as if in response to Naoto's shallow and lazy act of resistance and soon the melodies of metallic mechanisms and tumblers enters the bedroom. It is the familiar sound of a key entering a lock and turning and is then followed by groaning sound of the door in the entrance.

(...again?)

Meanwhile, the sounds of someone entering his home reaches Naoto's ears. That familiar presence stirs Naoto, a look of resignation rather than confusion or annoyance on his face while he gives up in his rebellion, as he crawls out the warm confines of his cocoon. In a simple T-shirt jersey and night clothes, he performs an large awakening stretch as he rises from his bedding in the center of the purposely and simply furnished bedroom.

Naoto's apartment is described as a Japanese'1LDK' or an apartment with a single separated bedroom and another large, combined kitchen, dining room, and kitchen (includes a single bathroom). It takes Naoto only a few short steps from the bedroom to reach the front door. But as he slowly rubs his drooping eyelids in his drowsiness, the door to his bedroom swings open with excessive force.

"Oh my. He's already up..."

Standing in the doorway peaking at the drowsy boy, is a long-haired girl in a pleated skirt sailor uniform with a blue ribbon and white base color. She voices her thoughts, tinged with a faint, vibrant sound of disappointment, as her hair sways, there being a white hair clip to complete the refreshing, uniformed look. The intruding girl's name is Haruka Hayami. She is Naoto's childhood friend and a classmate attending the same high school. She also happens to be the daughter of the apartment building's owner where Naoto lives.

"With so many doorbell presses showing results, that makes me confident in one thing. I think we've finally found the sure-fire way to get you up, don't you agree?"

Although he did not intend to get up while the doorbell was ringing, he decides to avoid such a familiar scenario. Haruka lifted her shoulder mischievously, giggling as she entered Naoto's bedroom, with an overly familiar confidence, teasing her childhood friend.

"It's not like I was going to come over everyday. But I'm disappointed. Just like the childhood friends in Nao-kun's favorite games, I wanted to lovingly wake you up with a 'Nao-kun, wake-up~.' I thought that would help fill your affection meter."

"What are you saying, idiot? That's a template! A cliche trope! There's no way genuine childhood friends really do that! What respectable Japanese girl enters a man's room suggestively saying 'I don't like to be apart from you~<3~<3'! Seriou-...Wh-what game?"

Naoto only comprehended Haruka's earlier words just now, too rushed to contest her 'template' words and deeds to act with more discretion. At that moment, Naoto's drowsiness and clouded mind was grimly awoken by Haruka's words.

Wh-Why did Haruka suddenly bring up the topic of games and childhood friend templates? Before Naoto could contrive an answer, Haruka's eyes teasingly met his now alert gaze.

"Or, is 'Hurry and wake up, Onii-chan!~' your preferred route's heroine?"

"Th-that's not something I know about!"

"No, it's okay. You is a growing boy. It's not particularly weird or abnormal. Rather, having lots of girls come out just to suit a boy's fancy, isn't everyone satisfying their urges that way? I thought having just the game was a little lonesome..."

"O-Okay! I admit I have those games, but I didn't buy them myself! Fukuda forced those games on me, okay!?"

Naoto exaggeratedly shakes his head in denial, but it can't be helped when it sounded like a shallow excuse for a undeniably truth.

"Yeah, yeah, sure. I'll get you a change of clothes and while you can go wash your face~.”

"That's the kind of thing you never do! And do not open the wardrobe without my permission! Noooo!!!”

Naoto hurriedly interrupted Haruka, who was reaching for the wardrobe in a motherly manner. He is not sure how to clear up this situation, but hopes that Haruka will understand regardless.

"I can get my clothes myself. Please, just go over there.”

"Yeah? Then I will prepare breakfast for you, but don’t fall asleep again.”

“I know…” he said after taking a deep sigh.

After seeing Haruka off with a light wry smile on her face, Naoto went to the bathroom as he was told. The wooden floor in the hallway and the bathroom are a little cool and the chill air made him stretch his back a bit.

This was Naoto's usual morning scenario. He is reluctant to get up, but Haruka would eventually unlock the door, enter his room, and forcefully waking him up. It's a scenario that has been going on for a while now, a scene that has been all too common for him at this point.

(Everything is still the same...)

Wiping off the cold water he had bathed in with a towel, Naoto looks up and sees his reflection in the mirror as he always did in the morning. His hair bounces back even when you stroke it carefully, and his eyes are bottoms up, lacking any sense of tension. He is not the strongest guy around, but he has a reasonably fit body.

In the mirror… a row of strange symbols that are floating above his head, are reflected. The symbols make up for a number. Though it’s a number, it isn’t the kind of number that people would perceive as one. Naoto understands these symbols as numbers. While he can see these strange numbers appearing above people's heads, they are only visible for him. He doesn’t know why, but that is simply a fact.

"’The Eye of the Hunter’… huh?”

He mutters that bitterly to himself, while he stares at the numbers that are above his head, as if they were a way too expensive price tag.

The number he can read from the symbols is '9810'. He doesn’t know if this is some accurate deciphering or not, but there is no way he could check the answer for that anyways. For a certain while now, Naoto's number has been static like this. What do they mean? Basically, these numbers show someone’s life force, their physical strength and health and so on. Depending on how person’s conditions are, the number can change. For example, martial artists and sportsmen have a relatively high one, while people with some kind of illnesses or physical handicaps are generally low. In addition, it can fluctuate in 100 up or down depending on how someone feels, so it becomes low if you are depressed or high if you are in a good mood.

But there is a reason why we can tell with certainty that it shows a living beings life force, even though he doesn’t know if the numbers he reads are always correct or not. Naoto has witnessed the moment when the value above someone’s head turns to '0'.

It was the moment when a person in front of him, ...his mother, died.

The moment she died the number said '0'.

He also remembers very well what happened after that...

"Naoto-kun, breakfast is ready!”

“Yeah, I'm coming!”

When he heard Haruka's voice from the living room, Naoto put his towel back on the towel rack and left the bathroom.

He went back to his room, took off his nightgown, hurriedly changed clothes and went into the living room and as soon as Naoto entered, he was greeted by a delicious smell that stimulated his empty stomach.

The person standing in the kitchen next to the small counter is, of course, Haruka. Dressed in her Shinkawahama High School uniform, she gripped a fry spatula and placed a freshly cooked bacon and egg on a white plate. Beside her, there was already a row of lightly browned toast, and a mini-salad with lettuce, tomatoes and broccoli was prepared on the table.

How she could prepare breakfast so efficiently in such a short time was still a mystery to Naoto, as it was every morning.

"Here, some milk. Eat quickly or you'll be late."

Haruka hurriedly placed her favorite mug on her usual seat, along with a plate of bacon and eggs and toast.

"You're looking good this morning..." He muttered to himself and hurried to the dining table.

As usual, he looked at the top of his childhood friend's head. There was a strange number floating that only Naoto could see. The number he sees is "10500". Her number is always higher than Naoto's, but this morning it was about 50 higher than yesterday. Haruka seems to be in good shape.

"Itadakimasu."

“Eat plenty.”

Since Naoto was woken up at the right time, he had plenty of time to enjoy his breakfast. After clasping his hands together and bowing lightly, Naoto gratefully reached for the hot, steamy meal. Spreading some margarine on a piece of toast and biting into it. It's his favorite thing to do every morning.

The fried egg attached to the crispy bacon was cooked to Naoto's liking, with a thin layer of half-boiled yolk and white meat. The lemon-scented dressing on the mini salad was also refreshing and tasty. But then he realized. He is sure there was nothing so lofty in their fridge.

"Hey, Haruka. Did you make this by any chance?"

When Naoto asked Haruka, who must have eaten breakfast at her house already, she nodded from her seat in front of him.

"Of course. Nao-kun, you saw me frying an egg earlier, didn't you?

"No, that's not it. I meant the dressing for the salad.”

“This.” Naoto said, indicating with his fork to a small plate that had been turned into a salad bowl. Haruka nodded again, this time smiling.

"Oh, you mean that? Yeah, because the only thing that looks like that in your fridge is mayonnaise."

"Well, if it is... then why don't you just put mayonnaise on it?"

"It's not that big of a deal. Oh, maybe it doesn't taste so good?”

"No, it's really good. I'm impressed actually."

"Haha... that's good."

"What's with the weird laugh?"

Was it embarrassment or pride? Smiling at Haruka's distracting laughter, Naoto stabbed a tomato with his fork with a renewed sense of gratitude.

As always, I take my hat off to my childhood friend for her cooking skills. No, not only in cooking, but also in housework in general, her abilities are something to behold. This is why Naoto can't get Haruka out of his head.

Haruka's mother, Yuki Hayami, who owns this apartment, is actually renting this place to him for free considering their relationship as aunt and nephew. In addition, Haruka not only comes to wake Naoto up every morning, but also cooks dinner and cleans his room, taking great care of him.

After several years of living away from home, Naoto's life would not have been possible without Hayami and her daughter.

(I'm spoiled, aren't I?)

Naoto sighed lightly in his chest as he took the last bite of his toast.

Before he knew it, he began to eat the breakfast Haruka prepared for me without any suspicion and the attitude of looking at it as a problem, like being spoiled, became just a distant feeling.

After all, it was very comfortable knowing that Haruka and her mother, Yuki, gave him a peaceful life.

When Naoto thinks about it, he feels grateful from the bottom of his heart, but at the same time, he feels ashamed of himself for being this naive. However, it would be a shame to let go of this warm breakfast atmosphere, so Naoto chewed on the second slice of a tomato as the calm feeling flowed through the dining room.

Part 2

It usually takes about 30 minutes to walk from the apartment building where Naoto and Haruka live to Shinkawahama First High School, which they attend. If they were to take the bus, they could relax at home until later, but Naoto, who dislikes crowded buses and prefers the busy downtown area, normally choses to walk to school. Naturally, Haruka walks with him to their school together.

Naoto has told her several times that she should just take the bus instead, since she doesn't have to do anything more for him than already, but everytime she does it regardless. Haruka would then laugh and follow him, saying it's good for her own health. However, when she can't go home with him, such as when she leaves for school, she takes the bus without hesitation, so it seems that her definition of "healthy" has a lot of flexibility.

Passing through a residential area with many apartment buildings, they waited for green light in front of a crosswalk.

It is the beginning of October. The remnants of the summer season that had been here a few days ago had almost completely faded away and the cool morning temperature was just right for Naoto's new uniform.

The sky was clear as day, with thin white clouds hanging over it, and when he looked up, Naoto felt a sense of peacefulness. As he was chewing down a sigh of relief from this peaceful feeling, Haruka, who had been acting strangely nervous for a while, peeked up at me.

"You know what? Back to the topic at hand, Nao-kun. Do you like that kind of stuff...?”

"What 'that kind of stuff'?"

Not knowing what she was talking about, Naoto rubbed the corners of his eyes with his thumbs and asked.

Haruka's eyes immediately wandered from side to side as if she was in panic.

"So, um, you know, like that... that game where the girl with the pink hair was giving the m-main character… i-in the bathroom─"

Haruka's words, while puzzling they are, caused Naoto's blood to run cold.

The traffic light turned green at this point. However, he couldn't get his foot out of his mouth.

"What did you mean by that... Haruka-san?"

"Oh, Nao-kun, it's green."

Without giving Naoto's distoreded feelings any attention, Haruka joyfully pulls on Naoto's sleeves. After being pushed by her, he managed to move his feet and awkwardly crossed the crosswalk, being sure that he is not in the condition right now, where he should do even a simply action like this.

After they were on the other side of the street, Naoto awkwardly turns to Haruka as if he had been shot by a bullet.

"What the hell?! How do you know about all these details!?”

"AH! God, you scared me! I was just wondering what kind of things you are into and since there were so many of ‘them’, I thought one would be alright at least..."

Her shoulders jumped up from Naoto's comment and Haruka defended herself as she crossed and untied her index fingers in front of her chest.

She feels a little embarrassed. However, it is not necessary to confirm the fact that she has touched Naoto's personal belongings without permission, but rather the fact that she has threatened Naoto's heart with her earlier comments.

"You see, I have a mission to know all about Nao-kun's daily activities and what he is interested in."

"What kind of mission is that?! I mean, why are you suddenly speaking so formal?"

...

Part 5

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