(?'s POV)

This is torture! I never wanted this! I don't even know what I did to deserve this! Heck, I'm sure I didn't deserve this! All I know is that some girl is forcing me though this hell, and now I have to get out. But I'm battered and shattered and bruised to no end. I have to make it through here, no matter what! But easier said then done. I'm limping, which makes me slower. It opens me for more pain from the mad-girl's traps. I don't think I can make it. Then I can see my only solace, the goal! I walk towards it, and I see my friends. My teacher! They're all waiting for me. I reach out and-

W-what? I felt myself… getting punctured in… the abdomen. It was… all an illusion. I fall over… in pain, and more spikes… come from where I lay. I'm dead… There's no… point around it. But despite this, I still cling on… to life. I want… to see my friends… again… I want to… play games with them again… I want to play games with… "H-Hajime…" That… was the last word I said… before it all went dark…

And then…

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I woke up…

How? It all felt so real… All the pain I went through. All the torment I had gone through. All the despair I felt… It was real, I know it. But despite that… I'm alive…

I get up and brush myself off. I quickly notice that I'm not in uniform. Instead, I have my teal-grey cardigan with my pointed hood. At least that's normal, I guess. But what unsettles me is that I'm wearing pale beige sweatpants, as opposed to a skirt, like I normally would. I also have flamingo-pink winter boots, in place of my usual Mary-janes. I quickly fell my head, and sigh in relief as my Gala-Omega hairclip is still on me. But the real unnerving part about it, is that I was completely unscathed. After all of what I went though, I'm alive without so much as a scratch. This is beyond surreal. A miracle perhaps?

Then I look around and see that I'm not in Hope's Peak anymore. I'm in the middle of a city. A big one at that. I don't know where I am, and none of these buildings look remotely familiar. There's a park, two cafes, a shopping plaza, a river outlook, a mountain pass, a video arcade (score!), and a few schools here too. But what's eerie is how there's almost no one out in the streets as of now. It does seem to be night. Wait, is it night. It feels like it, but I don't feel sleepy…

I look up and see a dark formation of clouds, a searing copper in the center. This is clearly abnormal! I look around again and see that, once again, there is no one in sight. I decide to wander around in hopes of finding SOMEONE to tell me where I am and what's going on. But, for what feels like an hour, I wander around aimlessly and see literally no one in sight. But I can't shake the feeling that I'm being watched by someone. Or, something. I look around at every opportunity and, nothing. It all feels so, hollow.

I feel a biting feeling on my right hand. I quickly jerk it away and turn to whatever it was that bit me. I looked down because I assumed it was a dog or something, but then I saw a black leg of some sort. I looked up and saw the source of the bite. I saw a tall, human-like creature, shrouded in darkness. Its eyes pierce through the shadowy figure with a sinister shade of amethyst. Whatever this thing is, I felt like I need to stay calm, and run away.

But it wasn't working. I'm not a good runner, and the monster seemed to be able to follow me. What's worse, I see more of those things all around the city. They weren't here when I looked around earlier. I quickly find myself running out of breath. And then I stumble over, flat on the ground. I try to crawl away, but the beast grips my ankles. It stares at me with undeniable bloodlust. No way… Am I going to die? Again? I close my eyes and brace for my second death.

But it never came. This time, someone came to my rescue. He had dual-toned hair, bleach blonde at the front and black at the back. His eyes a dark red with cat-like slit pupils. His attire was worn rather sloppily, a black, unzipped blazer with golden rims. He had small belts on the wrists of his sleeves and larger ones around his waist, all with a golden buckle on them. The bottom one on his waist was the only one undone. His black pants had zippers going down his legs and wore black shoes with a gold stripe going across the front. Under his jacket, he had a white polo shirt, and a red tie. Under his polo, I could see a red undershirt. In his hand was a long, red, katana-like sword that exuded a very powerful aura. And he had just used it to slice the monster in two.

"You okay?" He askes me. He holds out his free hand to pick me up. "I-I guess so…" I respond. I grab his hand and he pulls me up on my feet. "It's not safe for someone to be out here right now. What were you doing out here?" I try to respond. "I-I…" But then something catches my eye. Another one of those things skulking towards us. It seems to be gazing at the boy who saved me. But now, it noticed that I noticed it, and prepares to pounce. "Look out!" I yell. Then, I felt myself move on my own. I push him aside and prepare to intercept the beast with… my hand? How would that…

A neon green laser shoots from my palm. When it connects with the beast, the laser explodes into multiple green squares. It sends the beast reeling back as it retreats away to, who knows where. I stare at my palm for a moment, baffled at how I just did that. I felt a hand on my shoulder. I turn around and see the boy from earlier. "I didn't need to be pushed like that, but thanks." I wonder… "Do you have any idea what happened?" He nods. "Follow me. We'll tell you everything." We? I wonder what THAT means. With nothing else better to do, I follow him. He leads me to his house.

And now I understand what he means by "we." There were three others apparently living in his house. One was a young girl with brown hair and brown eyes. She wore a yellow hoodie with a black shirt that went up to her neck. She wore black spandex shorts and black zipper boots up to calf-length. Then there was another girl with long white hair in twin ponytails with a spiral, halo-shaped ahoge. She wore a flared, ruffled black dress with flared sleeves, with a bright red pattern adorning her dress. Her magenta eyes looked as sleepy as mine and behind her was a pair of six red wings that float behind her. I guess I'll ask about that later. Mostly because I was scared silent by the last one. It was a large, heavily-muscled, dark-skinned elderly man with thick white hair, thick white eyebrows, a full white beard and thick white chest hair. He had blood-red eyes that showed no pupils or sclera. He wore a fluffy collar, aquamarine martial arts training pants with a grey fur covering and black boots. He had two large gauntlets with metallic claws on them.

"So you found some girl being hunted by one of them, and saved her. Only to be jumped by another one and then she saved you." The young girl deadpanned. "Yeah. Only, I don't know what she did. I've never seen anything like it." The boy from earlier said. "She seems so frail. I'm surprised she didn't break when it caught her." The large man said loudly. "Perhaps we should inform her of the situation that surrounds all of us. She does not seem to be from around here." The winged girl said, rather coordinately. "Yeah. That's probably the best thing to do right now." The boy says. The other two nod in agreement. Then they all turn to me.

"Well, for starters, you're clearly not from around here. This city is called Kanzakai. You heard of it?" The young girl asked me. I shake my head no. "Well then. Let me fill you in on the situation. Here in Kanzakai, once every full moon, the town gets an appearance from what we call, 'The Hollow Night.' The boy tells me. There was more. "Furthermore, the creatures you were attacked by are known as Voids. Beings that prey on humans." What the winged girl said scared me. I could've been eaten? I dreaded to imagine what could've happened.

"Now then. Show me what you did to fend off your assailant. I want to see it first-hand!" The large man boasted. On instinct, and in jumpiness, I extended my palm towards him and the laser appeared again. Only, the man was able to block it with his claws. I look around and see the young girl's eyes widen a little. "Hmph. I see now." The large man says, in the first calm manner I've heard him speak with. "I'll ask you one question. Were you bitten by one of the Voids?" I nod my head yes. Everyone closes their eyes for a moment. Then the boy speaks. "Well that settles it. You're like us. An In-Birth."

"A-An In-Birth?" I ask. First thing I could say too. "Yeah. You have abilities that controls the EXS. Powers that stem from one's manifestation." The young girl explains. "And by technicality, we are not alive or dead. We are people without a birth." That surprised me. I remember being alive, but now? I couldn't wrap my head around it. "I know it's shocking. That's the look I made with my face when I first found out." The boy said. "I recognize that ability too. The EXS of Memory: Data Mine." The young girl says. "Data Mine?" I ask. "Do not worry. We will help you control your newfound powers that are now a part of your being." The winged girl says.

"First, we should let the girl know who we are." The large man says. They all nod in agreement once again. "We are known as the Night Blade. We protect innocents from the Voids that attack them in the Hollow Night. I am Waldstein." The large man says. "I am an Autonomic Nerve, tasked with the destruction of all Voids. However, you may call me Vatista." The winged girl says. "I'm Linne. Sort of the leader here. Nice to meet you." The young girl says. "And I'm Hyde." The boy says. "Now, what's your name?" Hyde asks me.

For some reason, this got me thinking. For whatever reason, I don't remember anything just before waking up in Kanzakai. All I was able to feel before then, was pain. It's as if I had already died. Could I have been an In-Birth already? No. I remember Hope's Peak. That I know. But I can't remember anything else! But I knew my name. It's probably the only thing I remember from then.

"I'm Chiaki Nanami."

Author's Notes

I do not own Chiaki, or any of the characters in Under-Night In Birth. They belong to their respective companies. The first chapter awaits on 11/30. Until next time, I'll stay Enigmatic.

-UltimateEnigmatic