Hello, and welcome! This is my first ever time writing for BlazBlue, so be warned it won't be absolutely perfect. I hope that you enjoy, though!
"No! Get your hands off of my brother, you bitch! You biiitch!" Jin Kisaragi screams from the floor, somehow finding a way to stand up on his own two feet after all of the injuries that he had went through. He charges towards his beloved brother and the girl that was about to take him away.
Jin is not going to have any of that.
"You're still up? Hang on, Ragna... I'll take care of this nuisance... and then we can finally be together forever..." the girl says, putting down Ragna the Bloodedge. She turns towards Jin, an emotionless look on her face. It was a stark contrast to the happy smile that she was donning earlier.
Jin can't lie and say that the girl in front of him is making his knees shake in fear, but he shrugs it off. There is no time to be afraid. He may be injured, and his fighting ability may be greatly hindered, but there is still one last thing that he can do. One last thing to protect his brother from the evil in front of him.
"Jin you idiot, what are you doing!?" Ragna yells, reaching out towards Jin. His injuries force him to the ground, making him unable to get up onto his feet to stop his brother from what he was about to do.
Jin grits his teeth as he tackles the girl, who continues to stare at him blankly. Only now does that fade away. She begins to panic, slowly realizing what Jin was doing.
"JIN!" Ragna yells one more time, struggling to his feet. He tries to grab at Jin, tries to stop him from what was about to happen, but he is too late.
Jin falls down along with the girl, going into the Cauldron below. Ragna gives one last final scream before giving up on trying to reach for his brother.
Jin opens his eyes to find himself looking up at the star-littered night sky with the full moon shining brightly down onto him. He slowly reaches towards the moon, watching as his hand eclipses it, and clenches his fist. He hates the moon. He had gotten over his fear of the moon after some time, but... he still disliked the sight of it.
He gets up and looks around, noticing that he's currently standing on top of a hill. How did he get here? Wasn't he fighting against that girl that was trying to take away Ragna from him?
Speaking of the girl, he jumps when he notices that she is standing right in front of him, a blank expression on her face. The same blank expression that she wore when they fought.
He puts his hand on Yukianesa in preparation for an attack from her. However, it doesn't come.
"Where... am I...?" the girl asks.
Did she not recognize him as the man she was fighting with such tenacity earlier? Jin decides to take his hand off Yukianesa, in case it would provoke her into attacking again. He was too injured to fight back. He wouldn't be able to defend himself.
"Now... this is quite interesting indeed," another voice that was unknown to the man says. Jin turns around, making sure that he kept a good eye on the girl that was attacking him before, to see a frail looking little girl standing there, her dress billowing in the wind.
"I suppose that Beast is an inevitability, no matter what happens... very well then... Mr. Hero, how would you like to become an actual hero?" the woman asks Jin. "Oh, and I suppose you can too if you so wish."
He already knows who the girl is talking about. The other girl that is standing behind him. He turns to her, staring at her with a cold expression. What was her answer going to be?
"...I do not comprehend," the girl says.
"Do you wish to die?" the sudden question startles both Jin and the other girl. What kind of question was that?
"No," an immediate response that Jin expects. No one wants to die.
"Then come with Mr. Hero and I. You shall live if you do," the girl says.
'If only this monster could die...' Jin thinks coldly. He knew that he had killed her before. How did she rise from the ground after that strike? It was impossible. This girl must be some kind of monster.
"What are you talking about when you ask her if she doesn't want to die?" Jin asks, curious as to why she would ask such a question.
"Because, Mr. Hero, there is a great travesty that is shaking the world to its very core. I am sure you know what I'm speaking of?" the girl says.
The Black Beast. But that was impossible, wasn't it? That was 100 years ago!
Jin saw no other choice but to go with the girl that stood before him.
'I have no idea where I am... I'm stuck here with the girl that attempted to kill my brother and I don't even know what to call her, and this woman is suddenly saying that the Black Beast is here!? There's something fishy going on, and if I follow her I might get answers,' Jin thinks.
But why would the girl that was behind him so readily accept the woman's offer? He supposes that it's because everything that's alive has that innate desire to preserve.
Suddenly, he feels himself getting whisked away by a gust of wind. It looks like he wasn't going to be able to decide, anyway.
Jin looks around once more to find that he was inside of a castle. Taking a look outside of the nearby window, he sees that there are millions upon millions of roses littering the ground outside. Does that mean something?
He finds himself laying down in a bed, and next to him was the girl that blankly stared at him.
"What do you want?" Jin asks coldly, trying to move himself. His injuries wouldn't allow that, however, sending a searing pain shooting up his body. It looked like he wouldn't be able to move for a while.
"Who... are you...?" the girl asks.
Jin scoffs. "I am Major Jin Kisaragi."
"Mr. Hero..." the sudden sound of the girl from before's voice startles him. "What is the last thing that you remember?"
"The last thing that I remember... I... Tsubaki... Brother..." the last thing that he can remember clearly is the fight that broke out at the Gate in Kagutsuchi. He didn't want to recall the details. Thinking back on what had happened, he mentally scolds himself. 'How could I have done that to her...?'
"I see... You are experiencing a side effect of the Boundary, what you fell into when you oh-so-heroically jumped into the Cauldron," the girl says.
"What is your name?" Jin asks before she gets into anything further.
"My name is Rachel Alucard," the girl responds rather quickly. "In the future do try to not interrupt me in the middle of my talking."
"What were you talking about when you asked me if I wanted to become a hero?" Jin asks, not caring if she was about to continue speaking. He wanted his answers, and he wanted them now.
"I was about to say, however you interrupted me once more. We will have to try to improve your rather crude behavior," Rachel says. "Before I say anything else, however, you must recover your strength. Now would be the perfect time to get to know your new partner. I will tell you that you have been sent backwards through time along with the girl. I will be taking my leave now. Rest."
She stands up from the chair that she was sitting on, which Jin notices was a cat-like creature, and walks out the door.
"I am Boundary Interface Prime Field Device #13... Nu," the girl says.
'So then... this is what happened after I tackled her into the Cauldron? I was sent into the Boundary and I was cast backwards in time along with this girl, to the time period that the Black Beast existed in!? That is all that I can muster up out of this. It's confusing... but I suppose that I will have to go with this until later,' Jin thinks. 'For now I suppose I should do what this Rachel person says and recuperate. I need my full strength if I am going to be locked in combat with the Black Beast, something that I plan to do. After all... it's my destiny to destroy it.'
Nu continues to stare at Jin as he closes his eyes and starts to sleep. She doesn't have the need for sleep, but she eventually closes her eyes too.
Jin wakes up from harsh pokes to his already bruised shoulders. He turns his head and glares at the offender: Nu. She stares at him with the same blank expression that he is sure is the only expression she can muster up to make.
"Why are you waking me up?" Jin asks irritably. He wanted his rest, not to get poked by some kind of monster.
"Rachel has ordered me to wake you up so that you may come down into the basement alongside me," Nu responds. Jin sighs heavily as he gets up, cringing in pain as his body screamed at him to stop moving it.
He can't believe that the girl that had done all of that damage to him was staring at him, waking him up so that he could come downstairs into the mansion's basement for something that concerned him.
What, was she his sister now or something to that extent?
Something doesn't sit right with that remark, and Jin ignores it, walking out of the room. This is where the tricky part came in. He didn't know where to go now.
"Jin Kisaragi and Nu, I presume?" an old voice asks as they walk through the hall, startling Jin. He didn't see anyone there! Maybe it was these godawful injuries that were doing it to him, keeping him on edge.
'Am I losing my touch?' Jin asks himself. The old man smiles warmly at him. He is dressed in a fancy, grey suit and has long, grey hair tied in a ponytail.
"I am Valkenhayn R. Hellsing. I will be leading you towards the basement of the mansion per Madam Rachel's request," the man says, bowing to the two. Jin silently thanks the gods above for sending someone to bring him down to where he needed to go.
If he didn't notice from when he looked out the window, this castle, mansion, whatever you wanted to call it, is huge. It also has a Halloween theme to it, Jin notices. He wonders what kind of people live in here.
Without any further words, the old man bows to Jin and leads the two down to the basement. Jin occasionally looks back at Nu to see her looking around, a look of curiosity on her face.
'So, she does have some semblance of emotion,' Jin thinks.
Jin looks at the armor in front of him with awe. It's unlike anything that he has ever seen before. It is a pristine white. Jin was sure that if light would shine down on it, the armor would reflect it. Beside the armor lies a sword that was as long as he is tall.
The girl that called him here in the first place smiles at the expression on his face. It was faint, but it was a smile.
"So, this is what you called me down here for..." Jin says, looking at Rachel.
"Yes, Mr. Hero. I do believe you like what you see as well," Rachel says. "This is the Susano'o Unit. I brought you here to tell you that this could be the armor that you wear to battle the upcoming disaster. However, whether you wish to continue fighting or not is up to you. As soon as you put this on, you cannot take it off. You will be bound to this for an eternity."
That doesn't sit right with Jin.
"The face you're making tells me that you should put a lot of time into thinking about donning this or not. Very well, I shall give you ample time. One week," Rachel says. "Now then, Nu. I called you down for a reason as well. When you fell through the Boundary, did you notice anything change within you?"
Nu looks confused as she tries to answer the question. A small smirk spreads across Rachel's face
"You have been slowly gaining a will of your own," Rachel says. "I do not know how long it will take for you, but you are slowly becoming less of a pathetic doll and more of a human being."
'How could I not have noticed? She was acting differently as she was walking with me to the basement...' Jin thinks, cursing himself for being so inattentive. However, it's not like he cares, anyway.
"Mr. Hero, Nu, you are dismissed. Valkenhayn, escort them out and back to their rooms," Rachel orders. Valkenhayn bows and ushers the two to follow him, leading them out of the basement.
Jin sits down on a chair while in the garden, watching the rose field intently. He comes here from time to time when he wants to think, and the past week was filled with a lot of thinking. Today is the final day that he has to think about the Susano'o Unit and wearing it into battle.
He is sure about what he wants do to, but he needs that one, final push towards his decision.
His eyes guide his vision towards Nu, who is sitting down in the garden.
"Why does she look so familiar...?" Jin asks, staring at Nu as she stands up and walks through the garden, a curious look on her face. "I feel like I know this girl from sometime ago, but that can't be. The first time I met that girl she was attacking Ragna."
The girl is wearing a leftover white dress, given to her by Valkenhayn for clothes while he washes both Nu's and Jin's clothing. They were stained in blood, and to Valkenhayn, it looked rather repulsive.
Jin wears a simple outfit. Normal pants with a normal shirt to go with it. It wasn't too flashy and it wasn't too special.
Nu's hair starts to blow freely in the wind, the braid that she usually has it tied up in gone.
That fact alone is what made Jin ask that question.
The only other girl he could remember looking like that was his sickly younger sister, Saya.
Jin's face twists with disgusted realization. This girl looks exactly like Saya! And this wasn't a coincidence, either. The resemblance is too perfect. Is this girl Saya? No, that can't be. Saya speaks in a completely different way. Acts in a completely different way as well.
"Jin, are you okay?" instantly the girl is in front of him. She must have walked up to him while he wasn't paying attention. The sudden 'realness' to her voice startles Jin. Over the past few days she had been slowly gaining a semblance of humanity... but how human could a machination be?
"I'm fine. Leave me be," Jin snaps, glaring at the eyepatch wearing girl.
As Nu leaves, out of the corner of his eye Jin sees Valkenhayn approach. His senses were coming back to him, slowly, surely.
"It would be wise not to treat the young lady like that. She is still developing her humanity, and I fear for how she will act if you continue to treat her coldly," he says.
"I have a strange sense of familiarity with her. She looks exactly like my younger sister," Jin says.
"With all due respect, Mr. Kisaragi, then treat her like one," Valkenhayn suggests.
"Hmph," Jin scoffs.
"Have you thought about the Susano'o Unit any?" Valkenhayn asks, taking a seat next to Jin.
"Yes, I have. I have decided that this crippled body of mine will serve me none on the battlefield. I will don the armor," Jin says.
"You know of the risks?" Valkenhayn asks.
"Yes, I do. This is my decision," Jin nods slowly.
"You are brave indeed," Valkenhayn notes.
"But first, I shall work to change myself," Jin says, surprising the old butler.
"What will you do?"
"I will take your advice, and speak with Nu," Jin states.
"I see. I wish you luck, Jin Kisaragi," Valkenhayn stands from his chair and slowly walks away, leaving Jin to his lonesome again.
"Are you sure you're okay?" her voice asks. Jin turns around to see Nu staring at him. Did she ever really leave? Or, maybe she has the uncanny ability to get anywhere without being noticed.
"Yes, Nu, I'm fine," He almost slips, catching himself before he said Saya.
"Are you going to put that on?" she asks. He knows what she's referring to. The Susano'o Unit.
"Of course," Jin nods.
'It's funny, in all honesty. I suppose that when you are hurled through the Boundary, you change for better or for worse,' Jin thinks. A moment of silence is shared between the two of them, not knowing what to say. Nu looks up to the sky and stares at the moon.
"I like the moon," the girl says, looking back to Jin.
"Why?" Jin asks.
"I... don't know. It... it's... pretty," Nu says.
"Well, I don't like the moon at all," Jin says.
"Why?" Nu asks.
"That answer is not for your ears," Jin responds coldly.
"Mr. Hero, tell me this: what is a hero?"
Jin stands before the armor in the basement once more, paying more attention to the Susano'o Unit itself than the small girl in front of him. Nu is standing by his side, taking great interest in the question that Rachel asked.
"A hero? You want me to give you what my belief of a hero is?" Jin asks incredulously. "Why would you want that?"
"To determine if you have matured enough to wear the Susano'o Unit," Rachel states.
"A hero, eh? Well, I do not know much about that. All that I do know, however, is that 'hero' is a title given to you by the people," Jin responds.
"I suppose I can take that answer. You are in the right mindset, at least," Rachel says. "Go on, it is yours now." She gestures towards the Susano'o Unit, and Jin does not hesitate in moving towards it.
"Now then, another question, if I may. Nu, you have had a week to yourself to figure what your path in life will be from now on. What is your decision?" Rachel asks.
While Jin was thinking about the Susano'o Unit, Nu had been thinking about her very own existence. Ever since she had passed through the Boundary, new things were rising up within her. She didn't know how to handle it, and she still doesn't know how. She realized on the third day that her systems seemed to have been wiped, and she must start with them anew.
All of her past data was gone. All that is left in her memory is a silver haired man that she doesn't know the name of, and her time with Jin. She feels that the silver haired man is important, but no matter how hard she thinks about it, nothing comes to her. She is still in the dark.
"What will you do with your life?" Rachel presses, taking on a semi-annoyed tone at her lack of an answer.
"I... I will assist Jin," Nu says.
"You wish to go with Mr. Hero on his journey, then?" Rachel asks.
"Yes. That is what I would like to do with my existence. If I stay close to him, I will find my answers. I am sure," Nu says.
"Well then... the best of luck to you," Rachel says.
Jin stares at the Susano'o Unit in awe. No matter how much he wants to, he can't bring himself to move on and put it on. He thinks that he is still unworthy of it, that he still has some thinking to do. However, a voice sounds through his head.
"Be the white void. Be the cold steel. Be the just sword. Wield the blade in your hand to reap the sins of this world and cleanse it in the fires of destruction," it says.
Jin gasps, not expecting to hear the voice in his head. Was this the Susano'o Unit itself? Is it accepting him, then? If so, then he will be the one to wear it. The armor has chosen him. He reaches forward and touches the armor.
All that he sees next is black. A dark, dark, dark black.
Then, he sees again, looking at the other three in the room, who were staring at the location the armor is at.
Jin attempts to move his hand to his face, only to see that it is the arm of the armor.
The unification was successful.
"I see... Mr. Hero, you have donned the Susano'o Unit successfully," Rachel says.
"How does it feel, Mr. Kisaragi?" Valkenhayn asks.
"No. I am no longer Jin Kisaragi. If I am to completely change, then I will abandon that name. I am Hakumen," the armor says.
"Now then, Mr. Hero... I need to tell you what the first thing you should do with the Susano'o Unit is," Rachel says. "You must take it into combat with that vile monster."
"And what would that be?" Hakumen asks. He knows the answer, however.
"Why, the Black Beast of course," Valkenhayn says.
'The Black Beast... what I am destined to destroy. Very well...' Hakumen thinks.
"Mr. Hero... now is the time you become a real hero," Rachel says as Hakumen and Nu get up. They walk towards the door, and Valkenhayn gives the two one last bow before they leave the room and the mansion itself.
'Some time has passed,' Hakumen thinks. He is surrounded by darkness, with Nu sitting down next to him. Everything after he became Hakumen is a blur to him. He can barely remember a thing.
The Black Beast...
Anything past his battle with the Black Beast is a mystery to the man. Something seems to have tampered with his own mind.
"The Edge," Nu says. Hakumen turns his armored head towards the girl. "We are inside of the Edge. I don't remember anything else... except for the Black Beast."
"So, you feel it too, Murakumo," Hakumen sighs. "How long have we been here for? Time seems to have escaped us."
Hakumen realizes that at least one hour here would drive a normal man insane. However, his strong will keeps his sanity intact. He supposes the same goes for the Murakumo.
Hakumen prepares to close his eyes to sleep and get rest. However, an unfamiliar voice awakens him and Nu.
"If you can hear me, please talk to me," the voice says. It's feminine.
Hakumen gives no response.
"Hey, if you can hear me, then say something. I can't do anything unless you talk to me."
"Who the devil are you?" Hakumen asks. Nu stands next to Hakumen, keeping herself close to the man.
"So, you're Hakumen, huh? And I suppose that other one with you is an ally? I'm gonna retrieve you now, but there is a limit to how much I can intervene on this side. So please, help out, okay?"
"He asked who you were," Nu says.
"Ah, so you speak! Really wanna know, huh? Alright... My name is Kokonoe. I'm just an ordinary scientist. I can't really answer any complicated questions. This is just a backup after all."
"A 'backup'? I suppose that makes you an owner of the Edge," Hakumen states.
"You call this the Edge? Well, it doesn't matter to me. I'm trying to retrieve the both of you, but I'm running into a bit of a problem with the reconstitution algorithm. One of my assistants is on the way there, but I don't think he'll be able to get to you. It's unstable there," Kokonoe says. "So, as much as I didn't way to... I decided to distort your casual pathways a bit."
"Casual distortion? Are you a witch?" Hakumen asks.
"Let's get the show on the road, alright?"
A familiar sensation washes over Hakumen and Nu.
"This feels like Nine..." Nu says.
"Are you her descendant, then?" Hakumen asks.
"That's not any of your damned business," Kokonoe snaps.
"I see... so I have guessed right. You are the offspring of Nine and the cat," Hakumen says. "The disruption of the Edge only proves the truth. You were born a true masterpiece, Grimalkin. A mixing of rare witch blood and mighty cat heritage."
"As much as I want to push you both back into the Boundary, I'm not about to let half a year's effort go to waste," Kokonoe says. "Are you ready?"
"Very well. We will see what we can do if you can provide me with an arrival location on the other side. We will return our own way," Hakumen says.
"We won't be able to talk for a while. Any last words?" Kokonoe asks.
"Surely you jest," Hakumen crosses his arms.
The two feel themselves getting whisked away. It worked.
A dirty lab is the first sight that Hakumen sees as he opens his eyes.
"Ah, Hakumen, you've arrived. Along with your little partner," he recognizes Kokonoe's voice. "It took you long enough!"
The woman in question is a cat-like woman with pink hair. She wears a shirt that reveals her stomach and red pants.
"Are you Kokonoe?" Nu speaks up. She usually doesn't talk, letting Hakumen do the speaking for her. It was always like that. Ever since the two left to fight the Black Beast.
"Yeah. Before you say anything else, don't bother acting like you're my friend or anything. I don't really like the two of you that much," Kokonoe says.
"Then why do you need us?" Hakumen asks.
"I really only need your body- the Susano'o Unit- for something I want to do. I would have taken your actual body and kept the Susano'o Unit for myself, but I can't do that kind of thing, so I brought the two of you here. I figured you worked best in pairs anyway."
"Then what do you require of us?" Hakumen asks as Nu starts to look around.
"I need you to just keep on existing. If you're around, then he's bound to show up," Kokonoe says.
"Ah, then you are in pursuit of Terumi..." Hakumen asks. Terumi... the bastard that betrayed all of the Six Heroes. Hakumen remembers confronting him with Nu, but that was where his memory faded away.
"Yeah. He'll show up sooner or later with you around," Kokonoe said. "So go and do whatever you want to do. I don't really care."
"Where is this place? It feels familiar..." Nu says as the two neared the city Hakumen was dead set on going towards. He wouldn't offer Nu any sort of explanation. However, now he turns towards her and stops.
"This is the 13th Hierarchical City, Kagutsuchi," Hakumen says. "The Dark One will be here soon."