A/N: Well. This certainly took a long time to finish up.

The cool breeze made Tsubaki shiver. She sat down in the dewy grass of the pinnacle, arm wrapped around the doll Ragna had acquired for her, and tugged on Ragna's sleeve to get him to take a seat beside her. As soon as he had done so, she snuggled against him. For all the strangeness of the situation, she can't help but feel affectionate toward Ragna at the moment. Around them grew a wide variety of flowers, fruits and vines—a hanging garden, just as Tsubaki described it. Tsubaki smiled up at Ragna and asked, "Well?"

"Shit, this is nice." More so the girl snuggling against him than the surrounding vegetation, although he certainly had no complaints about the latter. Ragna brought his arm around her shoulders, breath shortening from the proximity. "Honestly, kinda surprised you can stand me."

"Somewhere, hidden by your coarseness and lack of… well, anything resembling tact, you're nice." As Tsubaki turned a bright smile up at him, her mind worked to the point of overloading. Trying to determine the actual nature of her date—the awkward, but nonetheless pleasurable man, a sharp contrast to the spiteful murderer NOL propaganda claimed him to be. Trying to figure out what, exactly, could drive him to his crimes. And of course, still trying to determine if this was reality or just a dream, a fantastical bubble set to pop at the sound of a blaring alarm. To hear such a loathsome sound herald the end would be to punch her in the gut, left with no option but track down the real Grim Reaper…

At the verge of saddening herself with such thoughts, Tsubaki sought out Ragna's free hand and gave it a light squeeze, just a tangible sensation to coax her fears of this being just imagination. "So, yes. I'm quite glad to have joined you for this." She giggled a little. "Although I might have to insist you cut down the vulgarities somewhat."

Joining her in laughing, Ragna returned the squeeze, although by now it was all he could to keep himself from petrifying. Somehow, during the course of the date, their situations had reversed, and now her affection left him struggling to do the slightest thing. "No guarantees there. And if you meet Jubei, he's a bit the same. Although I guess he's more blunt than anything."

"Honestly, from what I've read of him, I'm not too surprised to hear that. Hm…" With that light hum, Tsubaki speared Ragna's eyes with a daring look. "How about a little challenge, if you don't mind? Let's see if you can go a whole conversation without cursing."

"…Shit, that's evil."

It was all Tsubaki could do to struggle against the laughter that threatened to rumble out of her. "You didn't even make it past the first word. I suppose I'll have to resort to more drastic measures to clean up your language."

"Drastic, huh?" Grinning in defiance up at her, Ragna stretched himself out on the soft grass. "Sounds fun."

This time, Tsubaki could not dam off her giggles; her laughing batted back any disappointment that otherwise would have come from Ragna leaving her grip. She shuffled around where she sat to better look down at him, and reached over to pull her large stuffed toy into her lap. "No, I honestly doubt you'll enjoy this in the least. A swear jar, that will cost you one platinum dollar every time you elect to curse. All proceeds will to the NOL Academy."

"So, basically, my language funds the training of the people that want me dead? Cute." Ragna cocked an eyebrow up at her with a smirk, clearly amused by her attempt. "One problem with that. Kinda gave all my money to that kid that won the Hakumen thing for you. How, exactly, do you expect me to actually pay up?"

"I'll just keep track of how much you owe, and request it next time we meet." Tsubaki extended a hand down and stroked a pair of fingers over his cheek.

"…Huh. Fair enough." Closing his eyes, Ragna rubbed his cheek back against her gentle touch. "And how exactly would you get me to actually pay up?"

"A disapproving glance every time you refuse to do so. Don't underestimate their effectiveness."

Ragna burst out into laughter, and in doing so brought giggles to Tsubaki as well. "Well, shit. Guess you got me there."

He cast his gaze up, feigning to look up at the starry sky. But Tsubaki was all that his eyes took in, not that it rendered his next words any less truthful. "Damn pretty out tonight, isn't it?"

"Mm, yes." To Ragna's disappointment, Tsubaki laid herself down beside him to join him in looking up at the stars. She cast a sidelong look at him for a moment, offering him a wry smirk. "That's two, by the way."

"Yeah, I know. I'll be damned if this actually works, though." Ragna swiveled his head to the side, unable to keep his eyes away from Tsubaki for long at this point. Her hair lay in waves along the moist grass right beside him. He reached over, slow and tentative, and dipped his index finger into the sea of crimson strands. As he knifed the digit through her mane, she cast a narrow-eyed look his way, and he faltered; he wondered if this was the disapproving glance she had mentioned before. It certainly withered him enough. But after a moment, she puffed out a laugh and nodded to him with a smile. The tension left Ragna at the signal, and he traced his finger back and forth through her hair, drawing a light of purr of pleasure from Tsubaki.

After a few minutes of silence, Tsubaki shuffled from where she lay. Her hand outstretched, and she returned the caress, dragging her hand through the spikes of his coarse silver hair. Her fingers caught in tangle and she squeaked in surprise, while Ragna winced at the sudden jolt of pain. Blushing, Tsubaki drew her hand back as fast as she could. "S-sorry, I didn't mean to…"

"It's fine, Tsu. Shit happens." With a grin, Ragna dipped a second finger into her hair, soothing her worry. "…And I'm up to four now, right?"

"Yes, you are." Tsubaki giggled as she calmed down. "Somehow, I think I have to declare this experiment a failure. If anything, the frequency of your swearing has only increased since I presented the idea of a swear jar."

"What can I say? Most people think I'm foul."

"Hmm… I suppose I can see that. I must disagree with that, however." Tsubaki smiled as she returned her hands back to his head to begin an unconscious lacing of his hair. "Any unpleasantness is just first impression. Which is why I want you to work on your tact a little."

Ragna laughed, relaxing as her fingers danced in his hair. He had no idea what they were doing, but hey. It felt nice enough, aside from the occasional tug of a tangle. "Yeah, and I'm usually untactful because most people are hostile from the get-go. And… well, okay I get pissed off pretty easy."

"Hm, fair enough." Tsubaki's hand stopped, and she cocked her head at her handiwork. "Um… how easily, exactly, are you angered? Because I may have just braided two of your spikes together."

Ragna blinked twice, his hand drifting back to feel his hair. A bumpy braid met his touch, and he burst out into laughter. "Well. I suppose I look goddamn ridiculous now."

"…Slightly, yes." Tsubaki halted, unsure whether to shrink back or join him in laughter. "…Sorry?"

"The hell are you apologizing for? It's fine." Ragna looked skyward again. Behind the cover of clouds, the moon shone, signaling how late the night had become. He sighed as he continued to stroke her hair. This was great, but wasn't it getting kinda late? And there was still something she had mentioned that he wanted to check out… With a heavy sigh, he sat up, finger still twirling in her locks. "Hey, uh, you said there's an arcade nearby? Wanna go check that out before it gets too late?"

"Oh, um…" Caught off-guard by the question for but a moment, Tsubaki sat up as well, her arms coming back around the Hakumen doll. "Yes, I'd love to. Here, follow me."

Loud music shrieked through the small building, where awaited relics of days long past, somehow surviving the Black Beast's apocalypse. As Tsubaki entered, she winced at the cacophony of the arcade. A rough hand gripped her shoulder, and she turned a smile up to Ragna, reassuring him that the headache-inducing noise was not enough to drive her away. "See anything you like?"

"Um…" Ragna glanced around the various machines until one caught his eye. The sides of the game sported images of a smirking man, red-clad and wearing brown hair in unkempt spikes, and a more refined man, blonde hair back in a ponytail, each sporting swords. "That looks cool. Guy reminds me of myself for some reason."

And the other one reminded Tsubaki of… She shook her head. No, this game was centuries old; that man couldn't have been based off of Jin. "Alright. Let's see what this game's all about."

They took up places in front of the machine, Tsubaki looking up above the screen. All characters in this game were listed, and series of arrows and buttons informed her of what the viable inputs were. Ragna, for his part, just cast a deadpan look at the game's demo screen, showing the two characters emblazoned on the side of the arcade in combat with each other and thus demonstrating exactly what kind of game it was. "…Huh. Looks pretty good for a fossil, I guess."

Laughing a little, Tsubaki turned her gaze down at the game itself. "It's certainly vibrant. And flashy. I'm generally not too big on these sorts of games, but…"

She knelt down before the machine, drew out a few coins, and inserted one into each of the slots on the arcade's lower half. Above her, a demand to select their characters boomed, and she stood back up. Without hesitation, Ragna grabbed the controls tick and dragged his cursor over to his character of choice; the game blared "SOL BADGUY". Ragna blinked at the name. "…So, is this guy a dick or something? 'Cause that name kinda… oh well, he looks cool."

Fighting in more laughter at Ragna's commentary, Tsubaki selected Sol's blonde-haired rival; she didn't catch the name, but she didn't really care. As far as she was concerned, a Hero of Ikaruga was at her command. "Well, if he is, I suppose I must cast my justice upon him, then."

Ragna turned and grinned at her while the game loaded. "We'll see about that. Don't think I've ever played this kind of game, but eh. Can't be too hard, right?"

"You'd be surprised, actually. Mako… one of my friends introduced me to these, and while I never really…" Tsubaki trailed off as the loading ended. She cast one last look up at the move list over her head, a final refresher for what her character could do. And then the command came to "rock", and she started the first input she recalled…

As her character launched upward in a flash of lightning, a rattling clatter cut off her attention as Ragna pounded on every last button he could with his fingers. He jerked the stick around with no rhyme or reason, but he concluded that this had to be effective; he had landed the first hit, right? Laughing hard enough to just about double over, Tsubaki went on the defensive, waiting for Ragna's storm of button-mashing to cease. However, in short order it became clear that he was content just to run forward and hit whatever he felt like. Biting her lower lip, Tsubaki decided to take the offensive and throw out another random input. Her character flipped through the air, blade a brilliant glow, while Ragna's unleashed a short burst of flame. Fire and lighting clashed, and Tsubaki smirked to herself as Ragna's character bounced to the ground. "I've got you now."

"Yeah? Well, take this!" As Ragna's character leapt back to his feet, Ragna pressed the strongest attack button available to him. His character drew back for a massive slash… but Tsubaki's came in low with an electric slash, knocking him back down. And the cycle repeated—Ragna would get up and try to attack, Tsubaki would beat it out with a well-timed sweep—until the word "slash" boomed and Ragna's character did not rise anymore. As Tsubaki gave him a teasing smirk, Ragna raised an eyebrow. "…So, uh, how exactly do you block?"

"Just hold back." Tsubaki's smile faded as the second round started up, her mind set on testing Ragna as well as she could. At the call to begin, however, her mind locked up, and she made a flailed swivel of the control stick and a frantic press of a button. Her character offered no more than a light jab, and took a heavy blade straight to the face. She squeaked in surprise, instinctively going onto the defensive to scout out what Ragna some. The same attack he had managed to land came again and again as he pressed the button as hard and as fast as he could. She turned a sidelong look at him. "You know that the buttons aren't pressure-sensitive, right?"

"Yeah, but it's more fun like this."

Giggling a little, Tsubaki finally dared press a button, trying to strike between his attacks. However, to her surprise, Ragna's character suddenly launched for and delivered a fiery uppercut. As the characters fell to the ground, Ragna blinked. "Uh. How the hell did I do that?"

Again biting her lower lip, Tsubaki could only offer a shrug. All semblance of her strategizing broke, and she joined Ragna in simply pressing whatever button felt best at the moment. And so they fought, a clash to determine who could mash buttons the most effectively…

"Ha! That's three." Tsubaki turned and grinned at Ragna, the victory animation playing for her character once more.

"That was bullshit." Ragna crossed his arms and scowled in petulance. "Seriously, why could you just, like, keep doing attacks while I was already hit?"

Tsubaki gave him a comforting pat on the shoulder, although she couldn't remove her triumphant smirk in its entirety. "I think I figured out some of the core concepts of this game by the third match there. But you did pretty well; you took a match, right?"

"Yeah, I suppose." Ragna turned and directed a shark-like, toothy grin at Tsubaki. "I'll get you next time, though."

"Oh?" Tsubaki leaned in closer, narrowing her eyes in a dangerous edge. The grip on his shoulder tightened. "And may I ask how you plan to do that?"

"Just watch. I'll figure out whatever you were doing and return it." An unconscious hand drifted toward Tsubaki's waist as he inched closer to her, staring down into her eyes. "Hell, I'm so sure of it, I'll follow any order you give if you win again."

"Hm. Well, I suppose we could go again." The challenge had vanished from Tsubaki's eyes, and her hand wound up from his shoulder to the back of his neck. Some part of her screamed at her to stop; this was not who she was, and she was stepping into dangerous territory being so close to Ragna the Bloodedge. She faltered, her hand stopping just shy of his hair… before she shook it off. Her fingers traced back into the tangles of his hair, and her smirk returned. "Although, are you sure you want that to be the condition? You might not like what I would have in store for you, you know."

Ragna shrugged. "Long as it doesn't kill me, yeah. And somehow I doubt you'd do that, anyways."

"Of course I wouldn't." A far cry from her stance just hours ago; she wondered how Ragna had managed to win her favor in such a short amount of time. Probably that toy. Probably a bit more than that, actually. "However, it will still be justice of a sort."

Leaning in closer with a smirk, Ragna bumped the tip of his nose against hers. A gasp and a scarlet blush answered him, so he lifted the hand by her waist up to her shoulder to calm her. "I suppose I'll just have to get used to the justice, right?"

Before Tsubaki could respond, either with stammered words or further nervous physicality, the door to the arcade burst open. Several blue-clad men swarmed in and, at the sight of Ragna, circled around him, Armagus swords drawn. A taller soldier, clad in a white overcoat, stepped through the encirclement, hand resting on a decorative sword, a large cut sapphire serving as its pommel. "Ragna the Bloodedge. We heard from a local carney that you were in the area. You foolish, foolish man… My apologies, but I'm afraid I'll have to cut your date short."

Ragna released Tsubaki and snarled, lifting his right hand. No Blood-Scythe, so he would have to rely on his Azure Grimoire for this… To his surprise, Tsubaki stepped forward, scowling at the commander. "My apologies, but I'm afraid you have the wrong person. There is no Ragna the Bloodedge here."

Stupefied silence followed. The commander caught his wits and sneered at her. "Are you blind? He fits the wanted posters exactly, and we have a witness confirming his identity. Step away from him, or we will be forced to arrest you as well. He may have deceived you about his identity, but he will not slip through our grip this time."

"No, I assure you, he is not Ragna. First of all, those wanted posters are hardly accurate; they were drawn based on witness memory, rather than an artist seeing Ragna for him or herself. I'm sure you'll find that the faces don't match." Tsubaki pulled herself against Ragna and wrapped her arm around his side, while he gaped down at her like a fish out of water. "Second, I've been dating this man for a year now. His name is Taro, a relative of the Mutsuki family. He's a bit foolish at times; he thought he was being funny by dying his hair and donning that coat to resemble Ragna for our date."

The commander frowned, stone-faced. "Be that as it may, we have a duty to detain him and determine if he is the real Grim Reaper. The word of a civilian cannot deter us."

"A civilian, you say?" Tsubaki stepped forward, fishing around for a wallet. "Tell me, sir. What is your rank?"

"Lieutenant Drayson, Armagus Infantry, 3rd Unit." Drayson drew out a card, detailing his military ties and personal information. "Am I to believe you to be a soldier within the NOL?"

"Yes. First Lieutenant Tsubaki Yayoi, Zero Squadron." Tsubaki presented her own card, and had to hold in a satisfied smirk as the lieutenant visibly withered. "Tell me, Lieutenant. Why would a Librarium assassin seek to protect our greatest enemy, the Grim Reaper? I order you to stand down."

"…Very well." All glory for being the one to capture Ragna the Bloodedge melting before his eyes, Drayson spat his words and wheeled around. "As you wish, ma'am. Return to your posts men."

As the soldiers trailed out, Tsubaki released a heavy breath of relief, grateful that he had bought her story. She bent down and hefted her toy around its waist, before turning to Ragna's dumbstruck face. "Um, should we take off? I doubt Drayson is the only NOL officer in the area that heard the game operator's report, so… I suppose we should wrap up here." A heavy weight settled in her stomach at the thought.

"…Right, yeah. Don't want you getting into shit with the NOL here." Ragna did not resist as Tsubaki looped her arm around his and led him outside, his thoughts too scrambled to do any more than agree. The following minutes passed in tranquil silence, both minds caught in raging storms. Finally, Ragna bothered to look around at his surroundings. No part of the city he knew in the least stretched out all around him, and only three other people milled around, distant. Roving clouds covered the stretch of stars and drowned out the moonlight overhead. In this lonely street, he trudged down to a stop, halting Tsubaki's contemplative march. As she turned a questioning gaze up at him, he expelled a sigh. "Why'd you do that?"

"Well, for one, Drayson was hardly following proper procedure. While justice must be upheld, such maverick behavior is frowned upon among officials. The NOL is not quite totalitarian enough to have accusation be proof enough of guilt, although it's admittedly close." After a moment, Tsubaki echoed the sigh, her hand finding his and squeezing. "…But moreover, I'm not even sure where you stand anymore, Ragna."

"Pretty obvious. I destroy things. Like the Library. And apparently any sort of tact. What more do you need to know about me?" Ragna squeezed her hand back, but at the same time clutched his forehead. He had to cut this budding anger off now. "Look, I appreciate you helping me, Tsu. But don't do anything stupid, alright? Last thing I want is for you to be deemed a criminal by those bastards."

"…I won't be. Trust me." After swiveling around to stand before him, Tsubaki set her toy down and placed her free hand on his shoulder. She blushed at the intimacy of the position, but otherwise retained her composure. Above, the drift of the clouds revealed specks of starlight. "I realize that you are, indeed, an enemy of the organization, and following logic, I should be seeking to bring you to your final judgment. But I don't know why you're doing this, and until I do, I can't reconcile the Grim Reaper I was taught to fear with the Ragna I met tonight." Yes, of course, that was why…

She looked down, hand trembling. "…Normally, I wouldn't put this much thought into the matter; criminals must be punished, and all of that. But…"

"…You're sure, Tsubaki?" Ragna's hand cupped her waist and pulled her even closer. The street lit up by a few degrees as the moon revealed itself and cast down its illumination, only to be swallowed by cloud cover once more. "I… really don't get it; I'm not worth screwing yourself over for. But, um, if you want me to tell you about why I'm pulling this shit on the way to your place…"

"Oh, um…" Tsubaki gave a giggle, more out of unease than humor. "We're actually on the same street as my apartment, so I don't know if we have time. But, um..."

She cast her gaze down, lifting a foot up on its point to grind a toe on the street. "Are you going to be sticking around this city for a few days? If you'd like, I'm free three days from now."

"Oh, uh… sure." Ragna broke into a smile, all of his anxiety melting at the prospect. "Yeah, I'm sticking around town for a few days here. Should I come in the afternoon or something?"

"Mm, yes, that sounds good. Preferably around three, I think." As she clasped his hand between both of hers, Tsubaki looked up into his mismatched eyes with a smile. "You know, back at the restaurant, I could have sworn I was trapped in a dream. Or… nightmare, actually."

"What, I was that bad?" Ragna burst into laughter. "Yeah, I guess I kind of was a bit of a prick at first…"

"No, not that. It was more… your reputation I suppose." Tsubaki closed her eyes and braced herself. Part of her screamed that this was wrong. Another part scoffed at the notion; it felt appropriate, so why not go through with it? She rose up on her tiptoes, close enough to his mouth to feel his heated, heavy breaths. "…Would it be alright if I confirmed that I'm not dreaming?"

"Huh?" Ragna blinked, once more reduced to an awkward excuse of a man in her intimacy. "Yeah, sure… what do you got in mind…?"

"Just… close your eyes." As soon as Ragna had followed her request, Tsubaki leaned in the rest of the way and pressed her lips on his, eyes closing as well. A grunt of surprise answered her, before Ragna returned the kiss. It didn't hold long, but by the time the kiss broke, both were red-faced and short of breath. Doing everything she could to find her composure once more, Tsubaki graced him with a full beam as she released his hand. "W-well… thanks for everything, Ragna. I had a great time today."

"Yeah… same…" Ragna's eye, ever watchful, caught sight of a new man leaning against the lone apartment in the area, having trailed in during the kiss. "You, uh, need me to walk you the rest of the way? Looks like it's not even a minute from here."

"Oh, no, I'm fine. Thank you, though; maybe there is still hope for your manners after all." Tsubaki bent down and grabbed the plushy, before giving Ragna one final embrace. "Well, I'll see you in a few days, I suppose."

"Right, yeah. Be there about three. Later, Tsu." After returning and releasing the hug, Ragna stepped back and watched her trek all the way to the apartment; no way was he actually leaving until he knew she was absolutely safe. As Tsubaki opened the door, she turned back his way and offered a wave. Grinning, he reciprocated, holding it until she vanished into the building.

With an unusual pep—almost a skip—to his walk, Ragna meandered through back alleys until he returned to the very outskirts of the city. There awaited Jubei, seated on a bench, exactly where he had been when Ragna had left to meet his challenge. The beastkin's ear twitched in surprise at the giddiness Ragna possessed. "Well, now. Ya sure took yer sweet time. And ain't ya lookin' proud o' yourself? What, did ya actually get yerself a date?"

Ragna grinned, feral, vicious, and above all, victorious. "Suck it, fuzzball!"

A/N: Well, that wraps this little thing up. On a side note: still unable to post new stories, so for those that follow At Fate's Hands, I might be posting the first chapter of its follow-up on another site if this is still a problem by the time it's ready.