A/N: I sure write this pairing a lot. Takes placing during CP, rated T for the usual reasons.

A mighty haymaker from his adversary caught Ragna in the chest, lifted him off the ground and sent him hurtling through the wall of the building they fought in. As the building collapsed, Ragna bounced down the street through the startled crowd. He wobbled to his knees, spitting blood from his mouth as he watched the building fall in a cloud of dust. Surely, that was the end of his blue-haired assailant. Surely, no matter how inhumanly strong this angel of death was, he couldn't survive a couple tons of brick collapsing on him…

Something flickered in front of the ruins, appearing without warning from thin air. Something tall, muscular, sporting a grin of pure bloodlust, and wrapped in a blood red aura. Ragna had no time to rise to his feet before the man lunged forward with a kick, his planted foot just sliding along the ground. The boot struck Ragna in the gut and lifted him off the ground, allowing for another kick of the same style. Two more followed, the last of which sent Ragna barreling through a trio of panicked onlookers. The man appeared over him and reached down to grab him by the collar. "Heh. This is the Grim Reaper? How boring."

"Tch…shut the hell up." Ragna brought his knee up against the man's chin and was rewarded by being tossed into the nearest building. The building shook and cracked from the impact. For his part, a bolt of pain raced through Ragna's left shoulder. Goddammit, it felt dislocated. Head hung, panting, he managed to rumble out a, "What the hell's the matter with you?"

"What do you mean? This is just entertainment, right?" The man scythed through the pavement with his fingers and he lifted a block of concrete to hurl at Ragna. "Come on! Satisfy my thirst, Grim Reaper!"

"Go to hell!" Ragna shattered the cement with a swing of Blood-Scythe and rose to his feet. Shit, he was going to have to use his grimoire at this rate. No helping it, then… "Restriction 666 released, dimensional interference field deployed! Engaging Idea Engine! BlazBlue, activate!"

As a coating of darkness surrounded Ragna, symmetric to his adversary's red aura, a fist drove itself into his gut before he could protect himself. Ragna doubled over and a knee to the chin lifted him off the ground and a mammoth swing of the man's fist crushed him against the wall. In a burst of debris, Ragna found himself blasted down a hall and rolling head over heels until he collided with a bookshelf. Panting, he sat up and glanced to his left. A girl, red-haired and clad in a black, caped uniform, stared down at him. So, somewhat dazed and not fully cognizant, he offered her a wave, well aware of how utterly out of place the gesture was. "Hey."

"…What?" With a shake of her head to clear the oddity, Tsubaki drew her sword and glared down at him. The book she had just been reading lay forgotten at her feet. "Ragna the Bloodedge. In the name of the Imperator, I shall-"

The man burst through the hole in the wall and jumped to deliver an overhead kick to Ragna. Ragna raised his sword to bounce whoever the hell this nutcase was back and avoid being kicked through the floor. Hurtling through broken pieces of buildings kinda hurt. "Okay, seriously, who the goddamn hell are you and why are you attacking me? My stupid bounty?"

"Name's Azrael." He flickered out of existence and reemerged several feet closer to Ragna. Close enough to grab his prey by the neck and lift him up, even as the darkness flowing around Ragna drained him. He glanced over at Tsubaki's crimson sword and book-like shield, and smirked. "Just looking for a good fight."

With a roar, Azrael pivoted to hurl Ragna straight into Tsubaki and drew back for a punch. The aura around him grew to a bright orange as the two tried to untangle themselves from each other. Ragna and Tsubaki had only enough time to take in the neon blaze before he swept forward, a lunging punch that brought him through the entire hallway and sent both of his targets through the wall to skitter down the street. "Maybe adding the girl will give me a better fight. Unless she's as weak as all of the other Library soldiers."

"Ungh…" It took several moments for Tsubaki to register what had just happened. Okay, so Ragna was not the threat to peace here. That alone was hard enough to swallow. Almost as much as Azrael's inhuman strength. Snarling, she jumped to her feet, just in time for Azrael to punch the wall and send it flying after them in pieces. Before she could dodge the armada of concrete, something tackled her from the side to thrust her out of the way.

From where he lay covering Tsubaki, Ragna raised his sword to block the shrapnel from the wall. Chunks still pelted their lower bodies, however. He turned to the girl beneath him. "Get the hell outta here. And take anybody else nearby with you."

As Ragna lifted himself off of her to meet Azrael's charging punch with his sword, Tsubaki shook her head and rose to her knees. Ragna the Bloodedge, showing concern for her and everyone else nearby? Just what was he up to? She glanced around her. Although most passersby had fled, presumably when the library wall had spontaneously shattered, a good group had formed a half-circle around the combatants to watch in awe. And were probably oblivious to Azrael's total lack of regard for collateral damage. She turned to them and summoned up all the authority her voice could muster. "Citizens, this is an arrest of a dangerous criminal! As an officer of the Novus Orbis Librarium, I have the right to arrest you for interference in my duty if you do not vacate the premises!"

Where the threat of getting caught up in the fight failed, the prospect of arrest succeeded. The remaining citizens fled without a second thought, allowing Tsubaki to turn back to the battle without their safety on her mind. Ragna skidded by her again on his face and groaned as he came to a rest. Well. The fact that the Grim Reaper had been absolutely destroyed by this man certainly boded well. Calling upon her book to draw in light, Tsubaki turned the harshest glare she could on him. "As a Major of the Wings of Justice, I find you guilty of public endangerment, among other crimes. You are condemned to death in the name of the Imperator. Prepare yourself."

"Ha! Aren't you bold?" Azrael guffawed, a bark that sent a chill through Tsubaki. "Another arrogant Library idiot to crush…take that stick out of your ass and just enjoy the moment!"

"I refuse to take pleasure in something so senseless. Have you any idea how many lives you have threatened? Or do you simply not care?"

"Hmm…how to say this…" Azrael rubbed his chin before smirking. "Ah, I know. Do you feel any guilt when you crush an anthill beneath your heel?"

Tsubaki's breath caught. "…So that's how you see other people."

"No. Just the weak ones. You know…" His smirk widened. "Like peasants. And Library soldiers. Both sheep in their own ways, and barely even worth the effort."

"You…" With a cry, Tsubaki shot forward, led by her shield's purple light. "I will cast judgment upon you in retribution for your reprehensible actions, you psychopath."

"Feh." Azrael caught the charge against his palm and delivered a hook into Tsubaki's cheek. The punch sent her off to the side, rolling for several feet. "Weak. Come on! Entertain me! Or are you just as pathetic as every other NOL officer I've seen? Makes me wonder why Sector Seven even released me; can they really not deal with this?"

…Sector Seven? Shaking off the thought, Tsubaki returned to her feet and drew in more light. No, where he came from or who he worked for didn't matter. Not at the moment; he was a threat, and that's all that mattered. "I'm not finished. Take this!"

She conjured forth light from Izayoi, a set of eight yellow blades hovering in midair. No sense in trying to match Azrael's strength, an impossible task. The blades took aim and launched as one to impale the man. With a low laugh, Azrael raised his arms and expanded his aura. The red cloud swallowed each sword in turn, a black hole to light. The aura cooled back down, and Azrael fired off a bullet of it. The projectile, faster than Tsubaki could respond to, caught her in the chest and blasted her into a nearby wall.

"Goddammit…" Ragna swore under his breath as he struggled back to his feet. Was there any way to fight this bastard? Wincing through the pain stabbing in his shoulder, he roared and charged. As expected, Azrael fired off another bolt of red and black malevolence, which splashed harmlessly off Blood-Scythe. Ragna hurled himself through the air, sword shifting into a scythe that dealt a spinning blow to Azrael. It reaped the man's very soul and restored it to Ragna, healing him somewhat.

Ragna dealt a straight kick to his gut; it was like hitting rock. His sword followed, cutting a wide swath through the air. As Azrael buckled and gasped, Ragna dashed forward with a shadow-coated punch. Finally, he brought his other hand up, and with it came a bestial head composed of the darkness dancing around him. The attack lifted Azrael up and several yards away. Panting, Ragna turned to locate Tsubaki. "Hey, you idiot! Get outta here already!"

"No. Not until this villain is defeated." Tsubaki charged with another shield bash, this time wrapped in brilliant, blinding light. Azrael raised a palm to block again, but the impact drove him back several feet and jarred him enough for Tsubaki to continue attacking. Her book-shield spat out an angel's wing, blood-red with corruption, and her sword followed into his gut. Or against his gut, it would turn out. Whether it was due to protective enchantments or just because he was that well-toned, Tsubaki couldn't tell. His fist reciprocated the blow, catching her stomach and tossing her back behind Ragna. Azrael followed with a blast of his aura.

"Shit!" Ragna slashed at the ball, just in time to disperse it and thus spare Tsubaki. He turned to her. "You alright?"

"…Thanks for the concern, but I'll live." As she pulled herself up, Tsubaki shook her head. She couldn't possibly be so weak as to not affect this monstrosity…right? She cast a sidelong look at Ragna. No, there was no way she could beat Azrael alone. She loathed admitting it, but joining with the Grim Reaper, the scourge of the Librarium, seemed her only option. "Do you have any ideas on how to…"

"Tch. You two are boring." Grinning in spite of his words, Azrael crouched down. "So why don't I just finish this?"

His fist jetted forward, into the concrete. His other hand dug into the mess of cracks created and he pulled up. A massive chunk of the street, easily twenty yards long and quite deep, rose with his hands. He gave a shove and several tons of asphalt and cement come crashing down at Ragna and Tsubaki.

"Fucking—!" In absolute desperation, Ragna stepped forward, his dark pall coalescing around his sword and his hand twisting into a gargantuan, hadean claw. Blood-Scythe cut through the air and against the falling wall. Even this, possibly the heftiest blow he had ever delivered, failed to stop the street entirely. He sagged under its weight as light bits debris dribbled down from above. Fighting the best he could against the absurd weight on the verge of rendering him a red smear on the ground, he grunted out. "Help…goddammit…"

"Aequum!" Tsubaki crashed into the monolith a moment after shouting, striking with her light-laden shield. Her sword shifted into a claymore, every bit of oversized as Blood-Scythe, and she followed with a heavy cut that expelled the rest of her gathered light The fissures created by Ragna's attack widened and the slab shattered, weighing them down under its debris but far less so than if the whole thing had fallen on them. Panting, wincing, Tsubaki dragged herself free of the rubble and turned to the side. "Ragna…are you alright…?"

"Alive," came the deadpan answer. But only just, Ragna figured. A fair number of rocks had decided to thump his head, now bruised and bloody. And, if he had to guess by it feeling as though swamped in molasses, concussed. Wobbling up to his feet for a moment before falling back on his rear, Ragna clutched his head. "Shit…"

"Hmm? Not bad. Looks like you're done, though." Snickering to himself, Azrael started forward. "Oh well, at least I got a little entertainment from you. But…well, you disappoint me, Bloodedge. Too bad…"

"Stay back." Tsubaki rose to her feet, even though her entire body ached. A couple more blows, and she would be done. Her mind stormed to plan, to calculate a way to defeat this man. It came up empty. She pointed her sword at Azrael, a ball of light at its tip. "I won't let you harm him."

"Oh? A Library insect, protecting her enemy?" Azrael laughed. "You're desperate. Hopeless. Unfortunately, it's over. You're hardly worth consuming, but…"

Tsubaki closed her eyes and whipped her head around to look anywhere but straight forward. The ball of light erupted into a flash, a radiant blaze that blinded all in the vicinity who gazed upon it. As Azrael howled and collapsed to his knees, hand over his agonized eyes, Tsubaki grasped Ragna by the wrist and pulled him up. The criminal pulled away, rubbing his face. "What the hell? What's going-?"

"Just trust me. We're getting out of here." Tsubaki pulled on him, trying to spur him into following her through the rubble. "Come on, there's not much time!"

As his prey stumbled their way towards safety, Azrael rose to his feet and punched the ground. The entire city block cracked from the force, not that it did him any real good. "You bitch! Get back here! I will never let you escape!"

Unable to run any longer, Tsubaki yanked Ragna into an alley and slumped against a wall. "Sorry about that, but I couldn't risk him knowing what I was doing."

"It's fine. Just…gah. Ow…" Faint vision returning to him, Ragna took to the opposite wall. His very mind was blurry and all he wanted was to rest. Dizzy, he shook his head. "…Thanks."

"Mm." Tsubaki leaned forward. She, for all intents and purposes, was still in decent shape. Ragna, however… "We need to get somewhere safe as soon as possible. After a short rest, we're going. Is that fine?"

"I…guess…" Mental faculties: less than 100%. "Surprised you're giving up on capturing him, though…"

"I'm not. I just know a losing situation when I see one." Well, sometimes… "Can you walk?"

"Probably…dizzy as hell, though."

"…Open your eyes." Tsubaki leaned forward as he did so. Two unfocused, mismatched eyes greeted her and her scowl deepened. "You're probably concussed. Just rest for right now."

"Right…" Allowing his eyes to close again, Ragna sank back against the wall. Not far away, voices sounded, but he deemed them unimportant. "So, what's your plan here?"

"I'm heading back to a hotel here to recuperate and try to figure out how to deal with Azrael." Her eyes flashed. "You're coming with me, by the way. You need treatment, and I need your help in dealing with him."

"Tch. The hell with that. Ain't fighting that asshole again if I can help it."

Tsubaki's glare intensified, not that Ragna could see it. "Your other option is having your judgment doled out personally by me right here. I would much rather not do that, not after you tried to keep civilians out of the fight." A pause, a blink, a look of confusion. "…Why did you do that? Considering your track record, I don't see you as the kind to really care about anyone getting in your way."

"Yeah, well, my track record's filled with propaganda out the ass." Ragna sighed and looked down. "…Don't like people getting killed when they shouldn't be involved. And that fucker was doing everything he could to involve 'em. Throwing them at me and shit like that."

"I see." Tsubaki stood up and offered her hand. "We really should get going. Once we're at my place, I'll do my best to treat you. Come on, let's…"

Something skidded by the alley. A man, clothed in blue and unconscious. Paling, Tsubaki peeked out from between the buildings. Even from a long distance, her eyes met the crimson stare of Death himself, occupied by the remnants of an NOL force. A smile curved an Azrael's face and he thundered forward.

With a shriek, Tsubaki withdrew into the alley and yanked Ragna to his feet. "He's found us! Let's move!"