What's up, everyone! This is GKC here bringing you the next chapter of Crimson Edge. I'll say that I'm a bit disappointed. Not a lot of views and only two reviews at that. That makes me pretty upset. Whatever, I'm still doing this anyways.
Now, I've decided to follow the Remix Heart manga of the Blazblue series. This way I can introduce Kazuya to some of the characters of the game series. That and to put him into some rather explicit situations.
I'm also holding an audition for a rival to Kazuya. One of you lucky readers will get the chance to bring your own OC into this story. Just follow the character sheet (bar the Voice Actors section, that was merely a phase) and I'll read it over. That lucky OC will wield a hidden fourteenth Nox Nyctores called Heaven's Armament: Seraphim.
Now for the disclaimer: I do not own, except my OC, the Blazblue series. All rights belong to their respective owners.
Now let's get this party started… BEGIN!
Blazblue: Crimson Edge
Chapter 2: NOL's Military Academy: Magic and Cute Girls
Eight Decades Later
Kazuya sighed dejectedly. He had been walking for whoever knows how long and most of the time, he's come in contact with nothing but wild animals and degenerate beasts that he occasionally dealt with his Ars Goetia.
The magically-woven scarf that Rachel had given him was enough to ward off the harmful effects of seithr tainting the air. That didn't make the food he had to cook from any animals he hunted taste any good.
The black-haired boy reached into his traveling bag and brought out the map. The light from the sun shining down to give him a good view of the path he was on. If he continued traveling down this road then he should be able to reach the 15th Hierarchical City of Torifune. Good, that place is said to hold a lot of information on the Nox Nyctores so maybe there was something on his Ars Goetia. Plus, since his aging was a lot slower than usual so while he was physically seventeen years old, he was still nearly a century old. Strange since he once thought he was human but now there was some serious doubt.
In those last few decades, Kazuya tried to search for any sign of his family but so far, nothing came up. So he wandered around, taking the occasional odd job that required hunting dangerous monsters that were once animals affected by the remnants of the Black Beast.
He shook his head, the young man was getting off topic. He needed to get into NOL's Military Academy and find those documents on the Nox Nyctores.
Besides, it's not like anything bad was going to happen.
(Begin 'Unripe Hero' by Minami Kuribayashi)
(Electric Bass Single) The screen opens to a view of the bright blue sky as it overlooks the 13th Hierarchical City "Kagutsuchi"
(Heavy Metal Instrumental) A black and scarlet red figure falls from the sky towards the city until they disappear into the buildings below
(Kizu yori itai basho ga motto oku ni aru tte) Cuts to Kazuya standing upon the edge of a cliff before the camera zooms on his face as an image of the Ars Goetia symbol appears in his pupils
(Kanjite shitta tsumetai yoru) A brief flashback of Kazuya's childhood with his adopted family then changes to his days of training with Rachel and Valkenhayn
(Nani ga shinjitsu nano ka wakaranaku natte iru) Cuts to Ragna walking through the streets of Kagutsuchi as after images of a younger Jin and Saya appear by his side
(Uso de nuri kata merareta sekai de) Cuts to Jin sitting at his office going over files while Noel comes in only to fall to the floor like a clutz in which Jin sighs dejectedly
(Kimi wo mamoritakatta yugami to ai ga) Shifts to a scene where Kazuya is on the ground unmoving; his hair covering his eyes as rain pours onto his body with the many weapons of Ars Goetia embedded all around him in the earth. After images of Mai, Makoto, Tsubaki, Konoe, Kokonoe, and Celica appear in front of the camera
(Kasa natta shunkan ni~) Cuts to Rachel and Terumi staring down each other menacingly
(Oi tsumerarete itta kanashimi) Cuts to Hakumen traveling through a forest before drawing out Ōkami and entering his battle stance
(Kaze ga dakishimeta) A brief showing of Hazama going from his usual calm self to his insane appearance crosses over the camera
(Ano sora ni hibiki tsuzukeru) Cuts to Bullet dashing towards Iron Tager, who brings up a barrier blocking her punch
(Kimi no kodoku na koe wo) Shifts to Arakune unleashing a skeletal arm at Litchi, who cries out to him, stopping the arm just short of hurting her
(Wasurenai yo) Carl looks up with a smirk as Nirvana lunges at the camera
(Inori ga tokete iku ne) Cuts to Valkenhayn and Azrael engaging each other in a fist fight to which Valkenhayn transforms into a werewolf with Azrael grinning like a madman
(Yuki no you nikieru~) Cuts to a brief appearance of Noel until three more figures revealed to be Nu, Lambda, and Mu fade in
(Ikiru imi wo sagashi nagara) Cuts to Ragna, who snarls then brings up his right arm, unleashing the Azure Grimoire as his hand morphs into a glowing hellish black claw then lunges forward
(Kyou mo sokudo wo agete) Kazuya roars as his body is enshrouded in a scarlet red light which dissipates to reveal him in the bio-mechanical armor of his Nox Nyctores's true form: Solomon
(Mada HERO nare naku temo~) Both Ragna and Kazuya engage in a fierce duel to the death as the camera zooms in on their faces; their eyes burning with unbridled rage and hatred
(Kitto) The two fighters threw a punch that collided with the other, engulfing the screen in hellfire
(Closing instrumental) Cuts to a scene with Blood Scythe and Bael crossing over each other while embedded in the earth; Kazuya's scarf flowing on the grip of the sword until it fluttered away in the wind
(End)
15th Hierarchical City of Torifune
The Military Academy of NOL where future librarians gathered to train and hone their skills for whatever challenges may await them outside in the real world.
A teenage girl with magenta eyes and blue hair tied by a yellow ribbon into a ponytail that reaches her thighs; she also has hair antennae, two sidelocks that reach to her chest. Her body is quite slender and athletic, with thin limbs and a flat abdomen, but has a rather impressive bust as well. She wore the standard blue and white uniform of the Military Academy, accompanied by black thigh-high stockings and white shoes with a yellow outline.
This is Mai Natsume and once upon a time, she wasn't always a girl. Before she was a man but some unexplained events happened that changed her gender and now she's had to live with it for a long while until she was sent off to the Military Academy.
'After a week's absence, even though I finally return to school…' She thought in her head, about to enter the boy's room until someone called out.
"What's wrong?" Mai's attention went over to three girls. A cute blonde with green eyes, a squirrel Beastkin with brown hair, nutmeg eyes and an impressive bust, and a pretty red-haired girl with ocean blue eyes and a more modest chest. "The girl's room is here!" The blonde said to her with a smile.
"Eh!?" Before she knew it, the brunette took her by the arm and dragged her to said room. "Ah- right!" Mai timidly replied. 'Wh…' The blue-haired girl blushed, uncomfortable with what will be happening today. 'What should I do…? A physical examination, of all things…!' She panicked in her mind.
She was shaken from her thoughts when she caught someone out of the corner of her eye.
A young man around her age perhaps with long black hair in a low ponytail, light skin, and he was taller than her by a few centimeters. He was dressed in the male version of the blue and white uniform for the Military Academy but the blue and white colors contrasted with the one thing she found rather mesmerizing. His eyes...were crimson red. A shade so deep yet bright that it almost looked like a pair of rubies. How beautiful…
Wait, he's looking this way!
She inwardly panicked. Even in this new body, Mai was never used to people staring or looking at her but the way this boy was looking at her...made her heart skip a beat. Shyly, she looked away as the brunette dragging her by the arm took her into the girl's locker room.
What she didn't know was that the boy had an almost predatory gaze when he followed the four girls. "Strange...why was she looking at me like that?" He muttered to himself then shrugged. Kazuya managed to infiltrate the academy by stealing a spare uniform and used forged documents to get in. The instructors or the supervisors didn't know the difference. But now he was forced to take some stupid physical examination and he was rather uncomfortable letting others see his nudity.
Guess he'll have to suck it up and deal…
Girl's Locker Room
"Ah…" Mai's blush increased tenfold. She was in the one place that she didn't want to be in right now. "..."
"What's wrong? Strip already!" Makoto Nanaya, the squirrel Beastkin pushed her friend while removing her shirt, showing that she wasn't wearing a bra at all and giving the blue-haired girl a view of her cleavage.
"Could it be that your health hasn't improved yet?" The redhead, Tsubaki Yayoi, asked concerned. She had half removed her shirt, revealing the pink bra and panties she had on as well as black suspenders and stockings.
"Are you okay, Mai?" Noel Vermillion, the blonde girl asked worried, using her dress shirt to cover her small breasts but revealing her nude figure which definitely had some delicate curves.
The bluenette looked away, still blushing madly. "I...I'm fine…" She stuttered. "I'm just not used to this sort of thing, and…" In her mind, she was screaming up a storm. 'Too...too much girl's underwear…!'
"I see…" Tsubaki spoke quietly, understanding what her friend meant.
Makoto, not really understanding the full view of Mai's plight, had a cat-like grin on her face to show off her chipper attitude. "Lookie here!" She started, thrusting out her cleavage without any shame whatsoever in front of the blue-haired girl's face which caused her to blush even brighter. "You gotta get used to this sorta thing!"
"!?" Mai gaped and before she realized it, Makoto walked behind her, pressing her large chest against the bluenette's back. "Here!" The squirrel girl grinned, removing the blue jacket Mai had on along with the tie.
"Th-This is embarrassing…" Mai stuttered, obviously wanting the unexpected touching to stop.
"Ho ho!" A sly gleam in Makoto's eyes signaled that it wasn't the end for Mai's torment. "That face you're putting on is pretty arousing, Mai!" She cooed with a small blush of her own. "Gotcha!" She exclaimed, opening up Mai's shirt to reveal her bra underneath as she gave the right breast a small grope.
"Fuahhh!?" The magenta-eyed girl exclaimed/moaned slightly in surprise.
"Now, whereee...is it!?" The brunette teasingly wondered, using her bare leg to feel around underneath Mai's...backside. "Fufufu...where could it be…?"
Mai felt her body heat up extremely as Makoto's leg grazed the underside of her new 'special place'. This is definitely not a good day for her! She felt like she could only cry now…
"Ehh? Where's thaat!?" Mai exclaimed, feeling something touch a no-no place.
"Where~?" Makoto spoke in a sing-song tone.
"Hey!" Noel exclaimed, her face blushing incredulously.
"Enough, Makoto!" Tsubaki scolded the Beastkin, not liking her behavior right now despite the light blush on her cheeks.
'A...Amazing...This is how girls communicate?' Mai thought, blushing heavily and feeling dizzy all of a sudden. 'My heart won't stop beating!'
"Hmm. Her underwear size is off." Makoto stated with a slight pout. "You're too thin, Mai!" This comment surprised the genderbent girl. "Did you hardly eat anything when you were in the hospital?"
"Y-Yeah… That's right." Mai replied, trying but failing to stem her blush.
"Oi, oi. Mai, how many centimeters is your top? And with your under?" Noel asked innocently.
"Top? Under?" The blue-haired girl repeated, honestly confused.
"The size of your breasts!" Noel answered with a smile.
"Mai, you're such a sheltered girl!" Makoto added.
Mai looked down, timidly blushing and fiddling her fingers at the hem of her skirt. "I-I'm sorry. I don't know anything at all about that sort of thing…"
Tsubaki smiled in understanding. "It's fine. No one is expecting you to know everything."
"We all have things we don't know about!" Noel chipped in with a giggle.
"Right, right!" Makoto nodded in agreement. "We're going here to learn! Here! With everyone!"
Hearing this surprised Mai which brought up something she had been meaning to ask. "...Um, then could I ask a question?" She stuttered. "What is the Ars Magus Route Assessment?"
Boy's Locker Room
After removing his uniform and standing in front of the mirror naked along with other male students, Kazuya thought up on when he read about the physical examination.
The Ars Magus Route Assessment…
It's the next step following the Ars Magus Aptitude Test taken to enroll into the Military Academy. The Ars Magus Aptitude Test simply examines one's ability to use Ars Magus. However, the Ars Magus Route Assessment tests what kind of Ars Magus a student is most suited with. The abilities found in those results best show where they can grow from. The lesson contents will change in the distant future that is best suited for them. The method of measurement which is used is the very same as the aptitude test's. You only need to touch the Ars Magus Course Measurement's Grimoire.
The process required the student's uniform to be removed so the special cloth doesn't get in the way of the examination. A rather bias assessment but nothing that Kazuya couldn't handle.
Oh, the other guys left him. He must've been so deep in his thoughts that the other male students passed by him.
He stopped in front of the doors that led inside to the grimoire that would assess his Ars Magus. He released a small breath of air and stepped inside, finding that he was the only one. Looks like all the other male students had finished their aptitude tests.
"Ah good, you're the last one here. Please step up to the grimoire and let us begin." An elderly male teacher replied, holding a clipboard in his hands.
Nodding, the dark-haired warrior stepped up toward the grimoire and placed a hand on it.
"Kazuya Mercury. His study and combat abilities show impressive results. Not only that…" The teacher's eyes widened a fraction. "But his Ars Magus Aptitude Levels are extremely high. You have possibly the highest Ars Magus record in the academy's entire history next to Jin Kisaragi! Most impressive, young man!"
Kazuya smiled on the outside but inward he released a mental breath. "Thank you very much, sir!" He bowed politely then left for the locker room to redress. It didn't take him long to acquire his uniform and leave the locker room. It would be some time until he could find those documents on the Nox Nyctores so he'll have to deal with being a student for now.
He stopped in front of the elevator and pressed the button, however just before he could enter when the doors opened, a body crashed into him. "Gah!" He exclaimed in surprised, falling on his back. If he didn't know any better, he might have heard a feminine yelp.
"Ite…" Kazuya groaned then felt something soft pressing against his chest. He opened his eyes and found himself staring into a pair of magenta orbs. "Whoa...beautiful…" He uttered out in surprise.
Wait…
Something soft, pretty eyes, and if he's guessing where his hands are at…
"Eep!"
Yep, a girl is on top of him.
...A very pretty girl.
"Wow, Mai, I didn't think you were that forward." A pretty brown-haired squirrel Beastkin teased the blue-haired girl straddling him with a bright blush on her cheeks.
"M-Mai-chan…?" A cute blonde girl with green eyes looked at the sight as the skin on her cheekbones colored a faint pink.
A pretty redhead with blue eyes was glaring at him condescendingly. "How revolting! Remove your hands from her at once, deviant!"
Wait, is she talking about him? Oh yeah, his hands are on this Mai girl's posterior. He released his hold on her and sat up. "Oh, I know you. You're the girl that was staring at me before." Kazuya gestured to the beautiful girl still on his waist.
"U-Um…" Mai blushed timidly, getting up off of the young man in front of her. "I'm sorry."
"It's okay." The crimson-eyed wanderer stood up on his feet once more and gave the four girls in front of him a cheerful grin. "Hello, my name is Kazuya Mercury."
The chipper-looking Beastkin grinned widely at him. "I'm Makoto Nanaya!" She gave him a wink. "Nice to meet you, handsome."
"Makoto!" The redhead chastised the squirrel girl, who merely giggled. She focused back on Kazuya. "I'm Tsubaki Yayoi, an honor student here at the academy."
The blonde girl smiled innocently at the young man. That smile...it reminded him of his younger sister. "My name's Noel Vermillion." She bowed politely. "It's nice to meet you."
The wanderer's gaze landed on the timid Mai. "And you?"
"M-My name is…" She tried her best to answer but stuttered a bit. She still had no idea what was wrong but this guy in front of her was making her heart beat irregularly. "M-Mai Natsume!"
Kazuya smiled. "A pretty name for a pretty girl." He had no idea that this comment would have her blush a bright red. "So where are you four off to?" He asked.
"To the seventh floor where students are housed," Noel answered.
"Oh, wonderful!" The young man smiled at the four girls. "You mind if I tag along?" There was something about his smile that seemed to sport blushes on their cheeks.
"Um, sure," Mai replied shyly.
Grinning, Kazuya stepped into the elevator as the contraption ascended up to the seventh floor. All was quiet between the five teenagers. Noel was even passing out small pieces of candy to her friends then handed one to him which he gratefully accepted.
"Ah! You just made it in time!" The blonde cheered. "Today's the last day, after all!"
There seemed to be gloomy and slightly scared looks on Tsubaki and Makoto's faces.
"T-That's right…" The redhead replied lowly.
"That's too bad…" Even the Beastkin's chipper attitude seemed to have taken a frightened tone.
Mai and even Kazuya looked confused. Why would these two girls suddenly seem so depressed or scared about what Noel was suggesting?
Once the elevator reached the desired floor, the five students marched outside. Noel cheerfully waved at Kazuya and Mai. "See you later then!"
"Right." Mai smiled back, waving at them.
"Can't wait." Kazuya grinned widely, giving the other three girls a thumbs-up.
"Have an empty stomach!" Noel shouted.
"Hm?" Both the blue-haired girl and black-haired boy looked at her comically confused.
The two backed up with large sweatdrops when Makoto and Tsubaki looked down at them with ominous looks in their eyes.
"But if you can't stand it, feel free to eat anything with no issues!" Tsubaki stated.
"Yeah, yeah! If you wan, go ahead and eat as much as you like!" Makoto added.
"Eh?" Mai and Kazuya uttered out a bit pathetically, slightly terrified by what the two meant.
"Hey, you two!" Noel complained. "If she does that, there won't be any room for dinner!"
"R-Right, I'm gonna leave you girls alone." The young man chuckled nervously as he stepped back from the four then ran off to find his dorm (and to escape the craziness of these girls for a while). 'And I thought Rachel would drive me nuts.' He thought dejectedly. 'Why must every cute girl I meet be super weird?'
Truthfully, he wasn't looking for his dorm room. He was looking for the science department that held the files he sought. However, just when turned the next corner, he bumped heads with a thin, young man with neck-length blonde hair, green eyes, and light skin. He was dressed in the male uniform with a pair of glasses on the bridge of his nose.
"Ouch!" He hissed, rubbing his forehead. "Sorry about that."
"It's fine. Damn corners." The blonde boy groaned, rubbing his own forehead. "This rarely ever happens to me."
"Still, I suppose it was pretty much my fault for running into you I suppose." The black-haired wanderer replied. "Oh, my name's Kazuya Mercury."
"Jin Kisaragi." The blonde introduced himself.
"You're Jin Kisaragi? Ah, I've heard that you once had the highest Ars Magus record in the history of the academy." Kazuya grinned.
"Yes, I've heard that someone like you beat my record along with some girl named Noel Vermillion," Jin stated. "You have my congratulations."
"Oh, thanks." The red-eyed young man nodded his thanks.
"Excuse me, I have some forms to deliver to the instructors." The blonde nodded to Kazuya one last time before leaving him behind.
"What a weird guy…" Kazuya muttered then heard a chime. "Dammit, that must be the freaking dinner bell!" He hissed under his breath.
"Ring, Riiing!" Noel's voice echoed on the intercom. "All boarding students! Dinner preparations are complete!"
"Noel, stop! Gimme that!" Makoto shouted over the intercom.
"Eh? What? Why…?" Noel questioned, confused.
"I'm terribly sorry, everyone," Tsubaki spoke, sounding quite apologetic. "Today is the last day the three of us are on kitchen duty."
"Ehh…" Makoto chimed in. "And also for today, there are sadly three items on the dinner menus…"
Kazuya was starting to dread what those two were talking about. Is Noel a bad cook or something?
Regardless, he was getting rather hungry so it couldn't be that bad. He's eaten worse things than what he had to devour out in the world. Kazuya stepped into the cafeteria and found himself watching a conversation between Noel, Makoto, Tsubaki, Mai, and some new girl he never met before.
"Noel, have you tasted it…?" Tsubaki asked, almost dreading the answer.
"I make it a rule not to taste anything!" Noel replied excitedly.
"What the hell!" Makoto exclaimed. "That's going way too far, Noel!"
The redhead of the group sighed. "Even though I think it's bad for Noel…" She removed a tarp to reveal a feast full of mouth-watering food. Such a sight was enough to make Kazuya's monstrous appetite growl with need. "This is for the boarding students."
The student body cheered, crying tears of joy at having not being forced to eat the death dinner.
"Thank god!"
"We don't need to eat death dinner!"
'Even though I worked so hard on it…' Noel thought dejected. Tears starting to build up at the corners of her eyes. Before she knew it, two plates were held out in front of her.
"I want to eat Noel's cooking," Mai stated with a smile.
"Me too. I wanna give it a try." Kazuya nodded, grinning at the blonde.
"Huh?" A look of amazement and gratefulness crossed her cute face. "Really!?"
Makoto, Tsubaki, and practically everyone else was gaping at the bluenette and the ravenette in shock.
"Mai, Kazuya, are you both sane!?"
"Yup." The duo stated bluntly.
"She went through the trouble to make it, so I want to eat it," Mai explained her reason. "After all, everyone else already are it while I was away, right? I don't want to be the only one left out…" She smiles cutely at them all. "I want to hurry and catch up with everyone!"
"I'm just doing it because I don't like seeing girls cry. Plus, I have a monstrous appetite. Besides, how bad could it be?" Kazuya chuckled with a toothy grin.
The poor fool...
"...Your way of thinking seems to be a bit off…" The lavender haired girl spoke. "I can't dislike those feelings, Mai. Kazuya-san." She smirked. "I understand! I will join my roommate, Mai, and feast on the death dinner!"
Kazuya tuned out what Mai and the other girl were talking about. Instead, he was more focused on the blonde girl cheerfully presenting her 'cooking'. "Here! Enjoy your meal, you three!" Noel said happily.
What he saw before him was anything but edible. It looked like something straight out of the dark depths of Tartarus. An unholy creation between things that was supposed to be used as food but now made into something that could definitely be apart of a tortuous experiment on prisoners of war. Something inside of Kazuya told him right then and there to get the hell out of that room while he still can. Damn the blonde's feelings, and damn the consequences! But like any rational human being with a hungry stomach, the ravenette ignored it all.
"Ah… What is this?" Mai questioned, her eyes having lost their previous luster as she stared at the 'meal'. "The visual is censored."
"Th-This leaves the biggest impact for the rest of the week…" The lavender-haired girl dreads at the sight of the concoction that Noel called food.
Noel cheerfully squealed with joy. "It was the last time, so I was pretty eager!" She giggled.
Tsubaki looked at the three with concern. "Are you sure about this, Natsume? Mercury?"
"If you wanna call it quits, then now's…" Makoto started only to be interrupted.
"Don't worry about me," Mai stated. "Because I…" She smiled, confusing the redhead and squirrel girl.
"L-Let's go, Mai!" The girl next to Mai shouted, wanting to get this torture over with.
Kazuya hummed in agreement as he, Mai, and the other girl clapped their hands together. "Itadakimasu!"
Tenderly, the two girls beside him took a bite with their forks.
Suddenly, Mai's eyes blanked out for a second before she exclaimed with a huge blush on her cheeks. "Delicious!" This declaration seemed to have surprised the other students while Noel looked at her friend with stars in her eyes. "It's so delicious!" Tears of joy started to appear in both Mai's and Noel's eyes as the blue-haired girl continued her declaration. "Never… My heart has never felt so much at ease from eating someone's cooking! I had already given up hope…!"
Seeing as how Mai liked it, Kazuya shrugged and took a bite himself.
…
…
Why is everything suddenly going dark?
Infirmary - 15 Minutes Later
Kazuya laid on a medical cot; a wet towel placed on his forehead while his face was colored a slight blue. Never before had he ever eaten something so disgusting in his life. If it wasn't for that healing factor he possessed then he most certainly would've died from food poisoning. If that Noel girl cooks again, he's getting the hell as far away from her as possible to avoid having to tear out his own stomach.
"Hey, how you feeling?" A familiar voice spoke, drawing the young man's attention toward the four girls that he had just befriended. Apparently, it was Makoto who asked that question.
"Well, I can definitely be honest that I'm never eating something like that again." The crimson-eyed teen gave Noel an apologetic look. "Sorry, Noel-san. I know you put your heart into cooking and I hurt your feelings by collapsing just from the taste."
"It's alright." The blonde girl smiled. "You and Cajun-san couldn't handle it but Mai's super tastebuds brought my mood up."
"Super...tastebuds?" Kazuya repeated, blinking a few times in confusion. "You know what, I don't think I'll understand so don't tell me."
Tsubaki smiled softly. "Well, you should get some rest while you still can. It'll be a while for the effects of Noel's food to wear off."
The blonde girl whined. "Tsubaki-chan!"
Kazuya laughed out loud, surprising the four girls. He continued to laugh even after the girls started to giggle with him. "Sorry, you all just remind me of someone." He managed to stem his chuckles then sat up. "Still, thank you all for being my friends."
"Sure, no problem!" Makoto gave the young man a toothy grin.
"It's the least we could do." Tsubaki smiled.
"Hai!" Noel nodded with her own smile.
Mai nodded as well with a faint blush still on her cheeks.
"You should go. I'll be okay." Kazuya grinned. "Curfew is likely to begin and I don't want you girls getting in trouble with the teachers."
"Alright, but if you ever need anything, we'll always be here for you." The redhead of the group left first followed by Makoto then Noel and finally Mai.
Once the girls left, Kazuya lost his smile then narrowed his eyes. A familiar scent caught his nose. A scent that he knew all too well from his time exploring the world in the last few decades.
The scent of seithr…
"A remnant of the Black Beast. So it followed me…" He mumbled to himself, sitting up from the cot then marching over to the large scale window that overlooked the courtyard of the Military Academy. His scarlet gaze landed on a dark mass moving along the school grounds. "Found you." Kazuya opened the window and vaulted outside.
Even though his hunger for food had been ruined, his hunger for blood was not. Now the hunter stalks his prey.
Mai and Cajun's Dorm Room
After bathing together and the pajama party, Mai sat by the windowsill watching the moon resting among the stars. Cajun Faycott, her roommate, was asleep on her own bed.
The bluenette sighed. Just her luck to pass out during the little bathroom get-together. Damn her hormones. Sure, she was in the body of a woman but she was still a man formerly. So seeing all of her friends naked made her blood run warm.
Then there was that boy… Kazuya Mercury…
Something about him sparked a certain interest in her that made her heart beat rapidly. Strange, it's like love at first sight but...wouldn't that be weird? After all, she was a man. If Mai did have a crush on this Kazuya character then would that make her gay or would that make her straight? God, this is so confusing!
"Ah mou!" Mai furiously rubbed her long blue hair, trying to rid herself of any thoughts especially after that embarrassing scene when they were mere inches away from...kissing each other.
That recent memory brought a massive blush to her cheeks.
Maybe she should've gotten a cold shower instead…
Her magenta eyes glanced back out into the courtyard until she noticed something, or rather someone…
"Is that...Kazuya-kun?" Mai blinked in surprise. "What's he doing out there?"
Her gaze tracked the young man walking through the yard with an almost deathly glare resting upon his face. It was like he was preparing for a battle. But what could he…?
Curiosity got the best of the girl as she looked down at the nightgown she was wearing. The transparency was enough to make her cringe since she could see her white bra and panties. She grabbed one of the bathrobes and slipped it on then grabbed a pair of running shoes to make it easier for her feet.
Mai quietly glanced at her sleeping roommate then left her dorm room altogether. She needed to know what Kazuya was doing outside.
Courtyard
The scent of seithr was growing stronger with every step.
Kazuya glanced around the area. Wherever the beast was hiding, it would soon come out to feed. Strange, he never figured one of the remnants to come right into a Hierarchical City. Still, it mattered not since the creature was gonna die either way.
The darkness of the night gave way to an eerie feeling that any normal human would find chilling but Kazuya had enough experience with these monsters that it was almost second nature to hunt these beasts.
The black-haired young man stopped.
He could smell it just like it could smell him. Kazuya's eyes scanned the surrounding area until a presence above him forced the wanderer to cartwheel back. A large impact sent a cloud of dust into the air.
"There you are, you little shit." Kazuya smirked as his prey finally revealed itself to him from within the dust.
It looked to be a large lizard, probably a gecko before it was corrupted by seithr. Still, it was definitely a monstrous beast. Its dark blue scales gleamed in the moonlight, razor sharp claws and talons lined with a sort of poison by his guess, sinister yellow eyes with slitted pupils, and finally, the rows of dagger-like teeth fit for tearing off flesh. Such a monster was definitely worthy of being slain by the wandering monster hunter.
Said gecko monster snarled at him after missing its chance to feast on a succulent meal.
"I was starting to grow bored…" The young man outstretched his right arm as the demonic seal of Bael appeared in a blood red near his hand. A black handle and guard appearing out of the circle. "Try and keep me entertained before you die." Kazuya grasped the handle and took out a longsword with a crimson red blade.
The beast roared then lunged at the human.
Rebel 1, ACTION!
Kazuya raised Bael in time to block the monster's poisoned claws. The amount of force behind it almost had him step back...almost anyways.
"Hello, handsome." The young man taunted with a smirk, earning a low growl from the transformed gecko. "My, what pretty eyes you have. Allow me to cut them out for you!" He slammed his head against the creature's snout, receiving a hiss of pain as a reward.
The beast swung its tail to send its foe into a tree but Kazuya leaped into the air, twirling like an acrobat at a circus. Landing in a crouch, the demon hunter glared at his opponent as an aura of darkness shrouded his fist. "Beelzebub Buster!" Kazuya lunged at the mutant gecko at blinding speed, punching it straight to the jaw as several of its teeth flew out.
Landing on its scaly back, the corrupted animal snarled furiously at Kazuya, using its tail to wrap around the young man's ankle then tripped him onto his back.
A breath of air escaped his lungs as his heartbeat increased. Adrenaline pumped through his veins as his scarlet gaze glanced down at his assailant's appendage. He raised Bael over his head then brought it down; a spurt of vile red blood spilled onto the ground along with a roar of agony that nearly busted his eardrums. Kazuya swings his legs to regain his momentum, using the palm of his hand to prompt himself back onto his feet as he dispels Bael and summons a different seal. "Valefor!" Out of the seal came a black boomerang with a razor sharp crimson bladed edge eager to spill blood.
The creature was still distracted by the obvious pain so Kazuya threw his new weapon at it. The razor-sharp edge cutting through its hip with its life blood dripping down its leg. The young man caught Valefor with no problems whatsoever.
"Is that the best you got?" Kazuya taunted with a barely noticeable smirk.
The gecko snarled at him and was about to attack Kazuya again when a feminine yelp of terror drew both fighters' attention. There, sitting on her butt was Mai Natsume. Dressed in only a bathrobe with a pair of sneakers on as well. Her magenta eyes wide with fear as she stared at the mutant gecko.
The beast growled lowly; salivating at the prospect of new meat to feast on.
"Mai-san!?" Kazuya exclaimed in surprise and shock. This is not good! She shouldn't be here!
Before the young man realized it, his monstrous opponent took his momentary distraction as an opportunity to knock him onto his back as it made a beeline for Mai.
She quickly flew back to avoid being killed but her bathrobe had been torn to shreds thanks to the monster's claws, exposing her bra and panties from the slightly scratched nightdress to the world.
The mutant gecko looked upon its prey with dripping ichor running down its teeth. The beast pounced at Mai once more to devour her.
The bluenette could only look at her death terrified. Even if she is a man, Mai couldn't help but scream. She closed her eyes, unable to look into the face of her killer.
…
She waited…
…
Still waiting…
…
Shouldn't razor sharp teeth be tearing her flesh apart right now?
Mai slowly opened one eye but shrank back in shock when she found herself staring into the open jaws of the monster's drooling maw. Then something else caught her eye; a black chain wrapped around its snout and upper jaw with a crimson spear tip linked between the metal chains.
"Ara ara, that's no way to treat a lady!" Kazuya joked, tugging the chain in his hands to pull the raging mutant back from Mai. Ose, the demon chain and possibly one of his most unorthodox weapons to wield. Still, the situation definitely called for it. "Get over here!" He wrapped one loop of the chain around his left wrist then pulled with all his strength.
The unexpected amount of force yanked the monstrous gecko towards Kazuya. Said young man's eyes glowed a blood red in the shadowy clutches of the midnight sky.
A split second later, the beast was met with a searing pain right between its eyes then darkness was all it knew along with the cold touch of Death's embrace.
Kazuya removed the scarlet katana blade of Barbatos from the dead creature's head. He watched as the body began to slowly decompose.
His gaze landed on the girl who looked upon him with both awe and slight amounts of fear. "Oh, crap…" The ravenette groaned. Now he had to explain to the witness about what the hell just happened.
Kazuya sent away his weapon, mentally deactivating Ars Goetia as he walked towards Mai but he stopped when she flinched at the sight of him.
He glanced down, finding that his 'borrowed' uniform was covered in the blood of the monster. The young man held up his hands as a sign of peace. "It's okay," Kazuya spoke softly. "I won't hurt you, Mai-san."
"W-What was that?" The girl questioned with a stutter.
"A remnant of the Black Beast." The black-haired wanderer explained. "Originally, the remnants were once animals until they were exposed to high amounts of seithr. Usually, they die before the effects take place but those unlucky enough to survive are transformed into monstrous abominations that will not hesitate to kill human beings."
"But why come here?" She asked.
Kazuya frowned. He hated having to lie but it was how he survived the world in the last few decades. Having to lie yet again was seriously starting to become a natural skill for him.
The young man shrugged. "I don't know. Maybe they thought it'd be good to change their hunting grounds this time." He replied.
Mai looked at him timidly. What was she supposed to say in a conversation such as this? Not only is her new guy friend a super cool warrior but apparently, he's a complete mystery to her. "Kazuya-kun, why did you come to the Military Academy?" She asked the one in a million question.
The small flinch from the young man was evident enough that this girl was more observant than she seemed. How could he explain to this pretty blue-haired girl that he was only here to gain the knowledge of some of the most powerful magical weapons in the history of NOL.
But he had to tell Mai something to appease her mind.
"Forgive me, Mai-san, but I can't tell you that sort of thing…" Kazuya started. "...At least, not yet anyway. One day, I will tell you."
Mai looked upset from the boy's answer but nodded nonetheless. "Okay, I understand."
"Now," The crimson-eyed man looked away from her with a small tinge of red on his cheeks. "I think it's time to get you inside before someone catches you in your...state of dress."
Confused at first, the magenta-eyed girl looked down at what Kazuya meant only to blush a bright cherry red as she covered what remained of her body with her arms and hands. A cute yelp escaping her lips.
The young man removed his jacket and placed it over her shoulders, taking Mai into his arms as he led her back inside the dorm building.
At one point, Kazuya thought his life was drastically changed this day…
...He didn't know the half of it.
A/N: That's it for the second chapter. Tell me your thoughts on this in the review box and if this fic has a chance.
Please review and comment on this chapter but no flames or rude criticisms, I will not tolerate them at all.
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Thank you to all who have been my loyal followers since Day One. You are all what keeps me going.
Peace out, everyone!