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zephyr07

Blazblue: Short Stories and Novel Discussion

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Taokaka (Capricious Us):

The weather today in the Kaka Clan's village located beneath the 13th Hierarchical City “Kagutsuchi” was pitch black as always.

The figure of mister sun couldn't be seen, and the neighbourhood was damp and humid. This situation had been going on for tens of years.

The village people— wrong, the village cats were gathered around the cat-god statue in the middle of the plaza, arguing amongst themselves. A large pot had been installed there, and since it was used for cooking the fire under it was constantly lit, so it was very warm, making it an ideal spot to catch an afternoon nap. In any case, the situation of the sun playing hide-and-seek with the Kaka Clan was a serious problem indeed.

So then, in first place why was the sun's figure unable to be seen? The cause was a giant plate placed over the ceiling of the village.

Long ago the Kaka clan's ancestors, under the leadership of someone known as the“cat person”, found this comfortable and cozy area, migrated here, and constructed the village. At the foot of the mountain the Kaka clan began their unique civilisation.

However those peaceful days didn't last long. One day, humans abruptly appeared and in a blink of an eye they converted the entire mountain body into a Hierarchical City. By the time the Kaka village had noticed it, the plate from the upper level had covered their ceiling, and their village had changed into a dark place where the sunlight couldn't reach anymore. Once that happened, the village cats finally started to realise the seriousness if the situation, and began to chatter amongst themselves. However, it was already too late, and nothing could be done about their current situation. The lamentable end result was that they thought since it was still under construction everything was still alright... still alright... while taking their afternoon nap.

Furthermore recently another danger had appeared. The existence of the “squiggly”. One day, this black squiggly monster had suddenly come to their village. At first the village cats approached it interestedly with wagging tails going “What is that?”, but soon the unnatural aura they sensed from the “squiggly” made their fur stand on end. Responding to their hostility— the previously apathetic “squiggly” morphed into an unnatural shape and started to attack the Kaka clan. The ever free spirited Kaka banded together as one, combing their power to stand against the “squiggly”, and barely managed to succeed in driving it away.

However, afterwards the “squiggly” would still appear in the village from time to time. It attacked several number of kittens, even eating some of them. This was unacceptable— the devouring of victims had to be stopped... was what the cats were worrying about, as much as a cat can worry.

And then, the village cats finally reached a conclusion. In the first place, the reason why the “squiggly” appeared was the “absence of mister sun”.

That the village was dark and damp was why that monster appeared. Furthermore, now that mister sun was gone they had started fighting over all the remainding nice napping spots. Not one good thing had happened.

At the end of the worrying they decided to open a “cat conference”. All the cats gathered in the plaza, and formed a circle around the elder.

“Eh—, ahem. Right then, the first ever cat conference is now in session.”

The elder coughed loudly. The other cats reverently waited for her next words with meek faces.

“As everyone knows, currently our village has lost the favour of the sun.”

“I see meow—“ “It's so dark meow—” “That's terrible meow—” “I'm hungry meow—“ “I wanna go take a nap meow—“

“Silence!”

Dead silence.

“And on top of that, as of late the black “squiggly” thing has been attacking our village.”

“I see meow—“ “That's scary meow—” “That's terrible meow—” “I'm hungry meow—“ “I wanna go take a nap meow—“

“Silence!”

Dead silence.

“In any case, does anyone have any constructive ideas on improving our current situation?”

Dead silence.

The Kaka clan's village cats were always like that. Sighing, the elder randomly pointed at one of the cats and asked for it's opinion.

“The human village upstairs is in the way I think.”

“That's true meow. If that were to disappear then mister sun would come back I think”

“Hm... So then, what do you think we should do to get rid of the human village?”

“If we had 'money” then everything would be convenient”

“Marn-knee?”

“M-o-n-e-y?... Money?”

The first tangible idea brought up generated a buzz of discussion around the surrounding cats.

“I've heard that if you have a huuuuge amount of it you can do anything meow.”

The elder nodded in agreement.

“And where is this money located?”

“I don't know that, but I think it's probably in the humans' village meow—”

“I see, ok then.”

The elder nodded even more vigourously.

“Thanks to everyone's efforts, we've managed to come up with some useful information. First is that the humans' village has to be gone. To that end this money thing will probably go a long way to solving it. However, this money is likely to be in the village itself. Which means someone will have to travel and infiltrate the village...”

The elder surveyed the cats. They had started to push the responsibility to each other with words like “You do it.” “What are you saying? You do it.” “No way it's such a hassle.”. The conference dragged on. Those who slept halfway, those who secretly ate catnip all wanted to avoid the harsh punishment that would come later, so each cat tried their best to shrug off the responsibility, trying to bring the conference to an end. The place grew noisy.

However, with one cat's sentence, the atmosphere changed completely.

“Come to think of it, there's someone who's not here participating in the conference meow!”

“Who is it?” “Who meow?”

… They chattered on. The cats looked at one another in the face. All of them had gathered here for this very important (pain in the ass) conference, so who was the cat that had played truant...?

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Here lay a female Kaka deep in peaceful slumber. Knowing nothing of cat conferences and the like, Taokaka curled up in a corner of the village, indulging in her nap.

Always disrupting the group mentality and all but ostracised from the village. After all the cats had finished their investigation, Taokaka dragged her tail and other parts to the centre of the plaza, stopping in front of the cat-god statue.

The elder's paw on her head seemed to be saying “not you again”. However Taokaka didn't seemed to be concerned, and scratched her head with her hind leg, before starting to play with the insects that had gathered by the fire.

“Taokaka, do you like to take walks?”

“Yup meow”

The elder laughed and continued.

“Since you like walks so much I have a job for you...”

“No way meow.”

“What...?!”

With a “It sounds like a drag” Taokaka started to turn.

“Hm. If you were to perform this extremely simple task then I was going to give you a year's supply of top-class catnip but...”

“I'll do it meow! You should have said so earlier meow.”

Thus, the job that was actually supposed to be dignified and solemn, went to Taokaka, who undertook the task of visiting the humans' town. Just maybe, if Taokaka performed her mission admirably, the Kaka village could take back their sun...?

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Reality's Red

—Log 4

The Takamagahara System. The supreme program humanity has attained. One theory is that it's development is closely related to the Original Units.

Once upon a time humanity thought to use it, to try to interfere with the Master Unit.

The Master Unit exists somewhere on the opposite side of the Boundary.

In order to interfere first we must make contact with the Boundary itself.

What Relius and I are currently working on, is a subject for that purpose.

The Boundary.

He called it a gate.

The Gates of Sheol, that is.

They say Sheol is like Hades, I've heard it means the realm of the dead.

Our research is progressing very well. It all boils down to our self-conviction over what we're doing, but I keep feeling a threat looming over our heads on a daily basis.

Is the Boundary really something we should be messing with?

Is discovering that thing going to turn out to be one of the biggest mistakes in the history of the human race?

I'm frightened. I live in fear of that thing being completed.

I keep getting this feeling that our research will somehow cause the unthinkable to occur.

If some troubling event comes to pass, then I...

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—Log 5

It's completed.

That thing requested by the snake-like man and Relius, that dangerous thing.

And yet at the same time I find myself fascinated by it.

That's because I'm a scientist too.

That's why I made this.

This is the “lynchpin”.

Just as those guys created the blade to cut off the entrance to the Boundary, this is the nail that will nail it shut.

They don't know that I've created this. From this point onwards they probably won't notice it anymore.

That's because in their eyes, they can no longer see anything but the Kusanagi.

All that's left is for me to obtain the key, and this lynchpin will be completed.

The key... My key.

Until I can properly raise that so that it can properly fulfill it's role as the key, I can only hope that nothing will happen.

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— Log...

What is that thing.

What the hell is that. Why has it come to this? Why.

From the depths of the cauldron, something black began to flow out.

Something I didn't comprehend.

Relius, he said that wasn't the Kusanagi. That Relius was swallowed up by the black thing too... and he disappeared.

Is he dead?

Tell me Relius. Tell me what am I supposed to do now.

Did we create that thing?

No that's not it. That thing is...

The Gates of Sheol.

That thing isn't something that comes from this world.

What do I do, now that things are like this.

That's right.

The lynchpin.

I created it specifically for times like this.

But I don't have the key now.

The key... somehow it slipped from my grasp. But how?

I can no longer do anything anymore.

All I can do now is just wait for my life to end...

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Prologue

The gate— that was what he called it.

In the cold, lifeless room illuminated by a flickering red and green lamp, two men stared at the numerous gauges lined up in a row.

One of them was in his early forties. A white coat draped over him, at one look you could tell he was a scientist from his appearance. However his efforts at feigning a cool composure couldn't hide his nervousness, and he repeatedly combed his hair and adjusted his spectacles in a futile attempt to calm down.

The other man was younger, in his late twenties. He didn't give a single hint of what he was thinking nor what he was feeling, his eyes just stared at the readings on the gauge.

“The Azure Grimoire, the number zero prime field device, and the Murakumo Unit...”

The man with the specs raised his head from the gauges, his eyes narrowing at the scene unfolding in front of him.

A special glass panel had been fitted into one of the walls, and from beyond the glass something cloudy could clearly be seen.

The thing that could be seen looked like a volcano's crater. It was some liquid that was red, burning and thick, and it was squirming within a hole in the hard rock's surface.

It could also be thought of as a pulsation of some abnormal creature

“I think this definitely falls outside conventional knowledge... but having come this far, I feel that conventional knowledge is kinda meaningless now.”

This was directed at the expressionless young man next to him, but without even so much as a glance the young man remained motionless.

On his stiff face which looked like it'd been carved out of wax, with a cold expression only his lips slightly moved.

“... Kusanagi...”

“What's wrong Relius? To fully refine Kusanagi, we still need a little more time...”

Interrupting the bespectacled man's words, the wax-faced man called Relius slipped out of his chair and stood up. He hurriedly exited the room.

The bespectacled man left behind also hurriedly chased after him.

Boarding the elevator from the corridor, he reached his final destination, which was in front of the giant crater that could be seen from the glass panel earlier.

“Relius! The one who said not to interfere excessively with the “Gate” was you!”

Rushing over, he recoiled from the overwhelming heat. To compensate, the bespectacled man raised his voice.

However perhaps due to the roar of the whirling fires, or perhaps from the beginning he had no intention of turning back, Relius stared down into the large cauldron.

“What's the meaning of this...? There's no response from the Kusanagi. From deeper within, something is...”

“Hey, what's going on? Relius Clover!?”

“This is... I see, the opposite side of the Boundary—”

Suddenly, a black mist spurted out from the crater.

The violent force with which it erupted drowned out the rest of Relius's sentence, and then swallowed up the entire body of Relius in a flash.

“Wha...?!”

Something had awoken.

The black mist continued to spread endlessly in front of the bespectacled man whose eyes had widened in fear, it's eruption increasing in magnitude, growing hotter, and increasing in pressure.

The figure of Relius could no longer be seen. Any traces of him being swallowed by the black mist were gone too.

“Uh, ah, ah.......”

Something was awakening.

Something beyond his understanding.

A phenomenon no one had witnessed before was now swirling about, squirming about as if it was trying to form some sort of shape.

Slowly raising what appeared to be a head, it... somehow resembled a snake.

Before long it's large body began to tremble as if it had reached some critical point, and at one shot it burst open and flew out.

“Uwaaaaa—”

Swallowing the man's cry, with a thunderous roar the mist apparition shot out in all directions vigourously.

Trampling on all forms of reasonable logic, that thing continued to grow higher and higher.

And then all traces of the lab finally disappeared.

Only the eroded ruins of the room that birthed that creature, and the unnaturally quiet cauldron were left behind.

The silver full moon hung in the sky.

It was a place that looked impossible to get to, as well as impossible to get out of.

It was a strange place where everything looked like it was flickering about.

Thick ivy covered the walls of an old castle everywhere, and in one of the rooms, a white-haired old man was by himself, his body sunk into a shallow chair

With youthful and wise eyes that bellied his old age, he stared at the water's surface which resembled a silver mirror.

In it the entire world's events were reflected.

… as well as panic, and sorrow.

“Clavis-sama.”

A voice called out from behind him. A deep and calm male voice.

The old man glanced at the voice's source then turned to face it, his hands lightly gripped, he rested his head in his chin as he answered.

“Valkenhayn. … I presume it's something bad then.”

“According to the multinational summit meeting just held, the resolution for the nuclear strike on Japan has been passed. The situation being what it is, the execution of the order won't be long now.”

“I see...”

The old man's eyes clouded over with lament, and dropped back to looking at the water surface.

“So we can no longer avert it then. If that is their decision then there's nothing we can do. … I am merely an observer after all.”

What would be the outcome of their decision? A bright future? Or destruction?

The world reflected in the water's surface, as well as the constant questions in the old man's heart grew silent.

The harbinger from the earth, the black mist that gushed forth, it took the form of a snake with many heads. The monster which had suddenly appeared came to be called “the black beast” by the people.

“The black beast” seemed to have only one purpose and one ability; to destroy.

Anything and everything, it destroyed entirely.

No one could match this elusive monster's power, no one seemed able to injure it with anything. Finally humanity decided to destroy the entire area where “the black beast” had appeared.

It was definitely their last hand.

However... that thing didn't die.

“The black beast” rose up from the scorched earth, and spread itself all over the world.

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Litchi Faye Ling (Borderline):

I thought my nervous words wouldn't make a difference. Up till then and from then on...

However, that was a mistake, at that time I first became aware of that.

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AD 2193

Even after being guided to the entrance, I still ended up lost, and finally manage to arrive at that place. A silver plate was set into the thick metal door. The name 'Dr. KOKONOE' was unmistakably inscribed on it. At first I knocked on the door timidly, but there was no response from within. I tried knocking harder, but there was still no answer. Finally making up my mind I pushed the wide doors open.

“... Excuse me”

The door slid open with a light rattle. Peeking inside, despite it being daytime, the lab was gloomy and dim.

“... I'm sorry, is anyone here?”

I raised my voice a little. However, there was no reply. Or rather, I couldn't feel any presence from within the room.

“Oh dear, this is a problem...”

Today, my purpose for visiting was for my formal introduction. Should I wait outside for a little while?— while other thoughts floated around in my head, I stood still in front of the door.

“Hm? Who are you?”

Suddenly, a voice called out. I turned to face the voice's owner. A tall and slender man stood there looking at me.

“Excuse me, I came to meet with Dr Kokonoe but it seems she isn't in.”

“Huh, the professor's not in?”

“... Yes. I was supposed to come in today for my introduction but...”

While explaining, I looked at the man's eyes. Set upon a handsome face, it was full of intelligence and his pupils seemed to be drawing you in.

“Um, is there something on my face?”

“Ah, eh, no!”

Looking at my flustered denial, he let out a small laugh. Such a carefree smile. Why was I becoming nervous? I could feel my cheeks were blushing red.

“Are you a contractor?”

“Eh!? Ah, no... I'm supposed to start working here from today onwards. My name is Litchi Faye Ling.”

“Ah, so you're the one!”

“... Do you know about me?”

“I've heard a lot from the professor. I'm Dr Kokonoe's apprentice. I work in the lab next door.”

While saying so, he pointed over at the adjacent room.

“Ah, is that so. Well then, from now on please instruct me well. I'm in your care.”

“Ah no, I'm in your care too.”

That's was rather awkward of me, I thought. And also, that was our very first meeting.

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And so I came to work as Dr Kokonoe's lab assistant. He was a researcher specialising in alchemy, and he was also a first-class alchemist. I who lacked knowledge in that field, learnt various things from him about “the study of creating something from nothing”. And in exchange, he learnt from my strong points, the fields of oriental medicine and traditional chinese herbology. We exchanged knowledge on our specialised fields, and worked to better each other. Since we were both around the same age, it didn't take long for our friendship to quickly deepen.

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Just as I was thinking those days would pass like so, that day came. I was startled by a sudden loud voice.

“Do you still not get it, you stupid apprentice!”

“No! The one who's wrong is you!”

By this time, I had a slight sense that Dr Kokonoe and him didn't have a really stable working relationship. It was always about the subject of their research— or rather, the attitude a scientist should adopt, and their differences on opinions. However, up till now their discussion had always been calm. Now the both of them had raised voices and were throwing insults at each other.

As I watched their hostility to each other I became flustered, and grew nervous. Their cursing grew even more fierce, and it looked like their argument was going to end up in a violent scuffle. Normally, at this point Tager would step in, but unfortunately he was currently out on a mission. I made up my mind, and with fireworks coming out of eyes I cut in between the two of them.

“Both of you, calm down this instant!”

“... Tch.”

With a snort Dr Kokonoe grudgingly turned the other way.

“You too, calm down. This isn't like you!”

I turned to admonish him. Whereupon—

“Not like me? Not like me you said?!”

“... Eh?”

My words seemed to have struck a nerve, and he raised his voice again to continue ranting.

“Then, let me ask you. What is the me that you know?”

“Th, that's...”

For a moment I was perplexed, and was at a loss for words. His character that I thought I knew— the calm and gentle him— that wasn't his real face?

I asked myself this question, but I couldn't find the answer.

“You only know one side of me. The ordinary, mature, quiet and intelligent person. Was that the image you were holding on to?”

“...”

I hung my head, unable to reply.

“ That's right, we only know the one side of things. All creation has a front side and a back side, the light and the shadow. The parts we're able to perceive, is only a fraction of the entire phenomenon. However, listen to me Litchi. I will, I will... I swear, all the phenomenons in this world, I will find the road that leads to the truth behind them!”

The sight of his figure continually rambling on excitedly overwhelmed me. This wasn't the him I'd known up till now. Again, the subject he was talking about seemed extraordinary... I couldn't hide my unease, and couldn't bring myself to look at his face.

“Look at me Litchi... I... will absolutely open the fountain of all knowledge without fail for you to see.”

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After his argument with the professor, he and I drifted apart. A few months passed, and soon we were only nodding at each other politely in the corridors. However, even then I could see that he was becoming worn out. At that point, I went into his lab to check up on him— was what I was always thinking of doing.

Just like that, many months went by. He began to become absent from work more and more. Perhaps his health had deteriorated, for several weeks I hadn't seen his figure at his lab. For someone who took his work seriously this was very unusual. After asking around, it seemed he had ceased to exist altogether. On that day, I decided to pay a visit to his house.

His house was on a street where most of the middle class people lived. It was the top story of an apartment building. I pressed the buzzer several times but there was no response. With an uneasy feeling I knocked on the door. It wasn't locked. Weighing up the situation at hand, I quietly entered the apartment.

The smell of mould assaulted my nose. It looked like no one had cleaned this place for quite a while, and as far as the eye could see dust had piled up in all places. The room was in disorder, and all around the room there were countless piles of books stacked up, in total chaos. I called his name but there was no response. It seemed that he wasn't here. I apologised in my heart, and started searching the room.

— and then, I found “that”.

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Where did he go? What is doing now?

Why did I notice it sooner?

Why didn't I try to help him?

Within me all the doubts repeated themselves in a refrain

Regret and guilt tormented me

“If I don't find him soon then...”

In the middle of the darkness, I alone—muttered to myself.

AD 2197

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All right... so someone told me you translated this, finally, so I came back for this one time again. Thanks very much, Zephyr.

Okay, that's about it. Going out again soon before this gets even worse.

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Question: Is it better if I post whole chapters instead of individual sub-chapters? Obviously this means much longer waits for updates, but the story will flow better. Or is status quo good?

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hmmm that's a tough one, I would enjoy it more if the chapters were consistent, not that I don't enjoy reading the sub chapters too. I guess I would say what ever you feel is easier for you.

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Whatever is easier for you dude. I'm just grateful you're willing to translate anything for us :3

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I notice how the story is very pro Japan, I know it's written by Japanese so I'm not complaining, just thought it was a bit overkill.

Thanks zephry =D.

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I notice how the story is very pro Japan, I know it's written by Japanese so I'm not complaining, just thought it was a bit overkill.

Thanks zephry =D.

I wonder where they started their journey from. China maybe?

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