I don't know BlazBlue.

Blue sky, green grass, sun shining…yup, he was back in the real world alright. He was somewhat surprised it felt so natural, half expecting there to be some sort of strange dreamlike feeling or something along those lines. Everything was normal though. As if he was never gone.

So, basically, this is some kind of crazy lucid dream. Weird…

Ragna looked to the sky as he did his best to wrap his mind around the situation at hand. Some time ago, how long he wasn't sure, he decided to step into the Master Unit to make a better world. A stable world. A world without Terumi. His ascension, as it were, was meant to be permanent. He would never see the world again. Ragna figured that's how things would go down, anyway. Yet here he was, feet planted firmly in the world he created.

Hm, I wonder where I am…

With no real direction in mind, Ragna walked straight ahead. That hill dead ahead could make a good vantage point if nothing else.

Strange situation aside, Ragna was glad he managed to find his way back. No matter how much he told himself he was ready to sacrifice himself to set things right, he could never shake off the feeling that he needed to be back. Or rather, there was someone he needed to go back to. Was it a little selfish? Maybe. Though it's not like Ragna ever pretended he was the best guy around.

In the end it took a little doing, but before long Ragna had got comfortable enough using the Master Unit to project himself into the world. It was a trick he figured would work. Saya had done something similar and, hey, he was supposed to be god or something, right? Makes sense that he could manage some impressive stuff.

Ragna started making his way up the hill as his thoughts shifted to that certain someone he came back to see. A particular little rabbit who had grown to be quite the important fixture in his life.

Rachel…

Yes, even when he was busy with rebuilding reality, that bunny leech was still a regular part of his thoughts. Their last moment together played over and over again in his mind. He had picked her up and held her. It was odd. They had known each other for so long, about half his life, yet they never shared much physical contact. Fine in most cases for Ragna, who really didn't care for it anyway. Made his skin crawl. Still, it was never like that with her. The few times they touched each other, a pat here or a brush there, felt perfectly natural. So he didn't have to think twice when he took her in his arms. Sure surprised her though. If her voice cracking and that little punch to the head she gave him was any indicator.

Rachel was always the picture of calm and cool whenever he thought of her. Nothing ever managed to rattle her cage. Not Hakumen, not that bastard Terumi, and certainly not him even when he tried his hardest to do so. She was always three steps ahead. Ragna reached up and rubbed his head where her tiny fist hit him. He had to laugh a bit thinking about the whole thing.

"Who would've thought? All it took to catch you off guard was a hug."

He didn't know what to expect from her when he did it. Rachel always being a little odd to him. So her initial, less than enthusiastic reaction didn't shake him. After all, when it came down to it, she hugged him back. Squeezed him pretty tight too. It felt like she didn't wanna let go, and all this time the feeling never left him. He could still feel her arms around him, still smell her scent, still hear her voice…

Ragna smiled.

"God, look at me. All my big talk about you being the stalker and I'm the one who can't get you out of my mind."

No point in denying it any more. He came back just to see her after all. Might as well embrace it fully. On the other hand, take a second to think things over wouldn't hurt anything, right? Ragna started dragging his feet and closed his eyes in contemplation. What exactly was he going to say to her when they see each other again? The last time they spoke it was driven by the thought it was going to be the last time. Part of Ragna wanted it to be something special, while another part just wanted it to all be natural. Not like he would know what to say.

Ragna the Bloodedge didn't write poems.

Maybe he should just handle it like he handled most situations. Wing it. That did the job to get him this far. He could trust his instincts. Letting his worries roll off his shoulders, Ragna turned his attention to the top of the hill and was stopped immediately by what was waiting for him.

"What the hell?"

Jogging the remainder of the distance Ragna stopped just under a tree and stared at his old sword jammed into the ground. The Bloodscythe looked just like he remembered it: a giant slab of mental mounted on some mechanical components and beat to hell from his final battle. Next to it sat a small cross with a bouquet of flowers. Probably for him, he assumed. The memorial and even his sword didn't even phase him, however, compared to what was tied around the handle of the Bloodscythe. Ragna reached his hand out and lightly gripped the single ribbon that adorned the sword. It wasn't in the best of conditions, but it was a ribbon he was still plenty familiar with. He would never forget the little accessory that made Rachel 'rabbit'. He thought he hadn't been gone too long, but the ribbon looked worn out. How long was he gone?

"Rachel!"

Throwing his head back, Ragna called out to Rachel just as he always did. However, after giving it a minute or so, which was the longest it ever took her to respond, Ragna began to worry. No… No, she probably just wasn't expecting him. That was all. Ragna took a deep breath.

"Hey! Rachel! It's me, Ragna! Uh… Surprise! I'm back!"

He gave it another couple minutes, but still nothing. This definitely wasn't like her. In all their years together, Rachel always appeared when he would call, even when it inconvenienced her.

There was even a time back during the start of his journey where he had called her particularly late at night and she still showed. Ragna could remember it vividly. He called her for some help with directions. Not his proudest moment, he could admit. Despite the fact he did a good amount of traveling with Jubei, he still got a little turned around once he was out on his own. It took a couple good shouts, but Rachel showed. Though when she appeared she had her hair down, was wearing nothing more than a nightgown, and looked none too pleased. Apparently he woke her up.

Rachel wasted no time going off on him. She scolded him for 'screaming in her ear' as she put it, waking her from her sleep, and dragging her out into the cold night all for such a ridiculous reason. She would've surely been more furious if she had known Ragna wasn't paying the slightest bit of attention. In his defense he was a bit…distracted. It was the first time he ever saw Rachel with her hair down, not to mention the first time seeing her in something other than one of her overblown gothic dresses. It was just a little jarring. Especially considering the nightgown wasn't exactly modest either. He got a real eyeful of what Rachel was working with that night, and the image was burned into his memory pretty well. Funnily enough, he didn't really know how to describe her physique until he met Kagura. It was a word he used to describe a different woman of a similar body type one time: 'thick'…

Two loud slaps reverberated across the valley, scaring off any creatures in the area.

Ragna pressed his hands into his face, grateful that his strength hadn't waned at all, judging by how badly his cheeks stung.

Get it together, would you? Now is not the time to fantasize!

Ragna took a moment to compose himself while he forced his mind on to less pleasant thoughts. Crouching down, he took his time to examine the area and try to piece together the situation. He had clearly been gone longer then he originally assumed. The grass had grown back in around where the Bloodscythe was stabbed into the ground, and the ribbon left on it looked as though it been there for a little while. It at least looked less pristine then the ones he always saw tying up Rachel's hair. However, when his eyes shifted to the cross, he noted the bouquet in front of it look relatively new. Probably a few days old. A week, tops. Someone must have been visiting occasionally. He also figured it was a memorial, not a grave, because if the grass was any indicator no one was actually buried here.

Ragna stood up straight and lowered his head once more to think. The whole set up had to be for him. It made the most sense. Likely made by Rachel or Jubei and maintained by one of them as well. But why wasn't Rachel responding then? For a moment, just a few seconds, Ragna stopped and considered that maybe the memorial wasn't for him, and instead…

NO!

Ragna's whole body tensed up. Just considering the possibility at least part of this memorial was for Rachel enough to shock him out of his own thoughts.

"Relax. Come on, you're just overthinking things. Rachel is fine." Ragna told himself after a couple of deep breaths. His classic bad temper was ready to rear its ugly head, and that would do him no good right now. He had to stay positive. There was surely an explanation for why Rachel wasn't responding to him. After all, who knows what she had been up to with him gone? Maybe she has a new hobby that kept her bus. Maybe she is traveling around the world. Maybe she is just a really hard sleeper after all the work she did in the war against Terumi. Whatever the case, Ragna knew he just had to find another means to contact her. Ragna approached the edge of the hill and crossed his arms.

If I can't call her the usual way, then the next best way has got to be… Kokonoe.

Out of everyone he got to know over the years, Kokonoe probably has the easiest time reaching people. Aside from Rachel, at any rate. So long as she still had at least some of her old tech, Kokonoe could probably still reach Rachel with a communication Ars or something. The only issue would be finding the grouchy cat now. She always had a habit of laying low, and Ragna didn't have a clue as to where he should start. Hell, he didn't even know what her affiliation would be in this new world. No way to know if the NOL or Sector 7 were still a thing, or if Kokonoe would be aligned with one of them.

"Well, no point in just standing around here," Ragna sighed.

Nothing would change if he just kept asking himself questions and wondering about possibilities. Ragna the Bloodedge was a man of action dammit, and he wasn't about to let such a small speed bump like this slow him down. Spinning in place, Ragna moved to head back down the hill, but stopped just as he passed the Bloodscythe. He looked over his shoulder at the blade. It's not like he needed it anymore. He didn't plan on getting in any fights, and it wasn't exactly in any condition for it anyway. Still, it felt wrong to leave it behind. It was a precious gift from his master and served him well over the years.

Having made up his mind, Ragna reached out and gripped the Bloodscythe. It didn't take much effort to wrench it from its place in the ground. Despite being able to lift it easily enough with one hand, Ragna took a stance and held the Bloodscythe properly with both. Ragna grinned a bit when he felt that familiar weight. In the blink of an eye, the sword lashed out to the right, to the left, down and then up. The wind rushed with each swing, and couldn't help but feel a bit pleased with himself.

Like riding a bike.

Twirling it just like he did in the 'good old days', Ragna affixed his sword to his waist with a click. But as he pulled his hand away, Ragna noticed his hand brush the ribbon Rachel had left behind. He observed it for a second before undoing the knot that held it in place and instead tied it around his right wrist. It was longer then he thought it would be, he realized. Though it really shouldn't have surprised him. Rachel's 'ears' were quite big after all. Ragna was suddenly curious if she had a whole drawer or something just full of these ribbons. If not, was she wearing her hair down now? Perhaps even she wasn't using the ribbons anymore she cut it shorter.

Ragna snorted to himself. He so easily got lost simply thinking about her again. And the more he thought of her, the more he couldn't wait to see her. He would even welcome her nagging with a smile. Funny the places his mind would wander when he finally wasn't consumed with exacting his revenge.

Ragan turned his head to the sky one last time.

"Rachel…? Are you there? Can you hear me at all? Well, if you can feel free to show up anytime and save me the trouble, but if not then just hang tight. I'm gonna find my way back to you. Promise."

Setting his gaze on the horizon and squaring his shoulders, Ragna set out. Even with no real goal in mind, Ragna walked forward just as he always had before. Actually, it should be far easier than before. He wasn't being hunted, there was no psychopathic ghost around to drag him down, and he might even run into a friend or two out there. There was no need to get all depressed now. He couldn't be in a sour mood when he found Rachel. It was gonna be happy. They won their battle, and that meant it was time to celebrate. Ragna was willing to have tea, dance, or whatever the hell else Rachel did when she had something that she considered worth celebrating. The thought of partying with Rachel made Ragna laugh. With a new kick in his step Ragna took off across the field.

There was no time to waste. He had a rabbit to find.