Fantasy WitchBlood || CLOSED ||

[Blu]

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「 OP: Rain to a Flower, A Song to You ~ The Binary 」




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「 ED: Dark Night ~ Eve 」
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「 Chapters 」​

• Chapter 1

• X Marks the Kill ~ CHAPTER LINK
  
  On the evening of their final trial, a group of Black Babel Witches is sent on a mission to exterminate their first Vampire.​

 

[Blu]

Drip, drop. Drip, drop. Consciousness is respired back into the body of Yuta Tsukiboshi as his vision slowly unblurs. He is sitting, propped up against a wall; the lower half of his legs immerse in a strange green liquid. He feels something warm running down the side of his face. Drip. A drop of red falls and disperses into the sea of green. He gasps and touches his face, then looks at his hand: blood. Groaning, he scans his surroundings and notices darkness encroaching from both sides. He seems to be in some kind of long corridor but it was too dark and he was barely conscious. "I have to get up." He weakly mutters to himself.

Then a flurry of bestial roars can be heard coming from his left. Yuta jolts his head in that direction, panic palpable in his eyes. His breathing intensified, he flimsily lifts his hand toward the noise. "Come on..." The rush of loud footsteps against the water fills the room. Yuta's shaking palm extends forward. "Come on..." From the shadows emerge five beast-like humanoids in tattered clothing, enraged and darting toward the young Witch; ready to tear him apart. "I refuse to die here!" Then, a blinding white light engulfs Yuta in a deafening silence...

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| WITCHBLOOD ~ OPENING THEME |​

SYNOPSIS

On the evening of their final trial, a group of Black Babel Witches is sent on a mission to exterminate their first Vampire.

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...Nine Hours Earlier​

"I like cloudy days." Yuta, dressed in a high school uniform, walks down a suburban street in Tokyo. A veil of grey and ash hangs overhead, painting the city in monochromatic tones. "I like the silence. The stillness of it. Life, itself, marching to a different tune." He soon passes a group of people unnoticed. Minding their own business, they are oblivious to him. "There is an unseen perspective only appreciable on days like this." Not long after, he finds himself in a dark alley, devoid of any other presence.

He removes something from his back pocket and stares at it in his hand. A bronze, hexagonal badge, just slightly smaller than one's palm. It is inscribed with the initials 'B.B.' in bold letters and, underneath that, are the etchings of two crossed brooms; the back side is engraved with the image of a pentagram. Yuta delicately tosses the badge onto the ground then lifts his head toward the sky. Two crimson Shoji-screen doors float horizontally in the air above him. As each door slides open simultaneously, Yuta is forcibly pulled upward, along with the badge on the ground.

He is plunged into a dark, upside down ocean that seems to stretch to infinity. There is no panic in his eyes or behavior; he seems perfectly calm as if he has experienced this sensation many times over. It lasts for less than half a minute before he is pulled through to the other side. Standing upright, he finds himself in the Other—land in-between.

Yuta, now sporting an odd black uniform with a cloak, arrives at the entrance to Black Babel: the academy of Witches. He, himself, being a Witch of said institution. "Ahh, you're such a glutton! I told you the next feeding time is in an hour. Do you realize how long it takes to prepare that much food?!" Another young man in the same outfit chastises a titan-class Daemon with a massive gaping maw lined with huge rectangular teeth, functioning as the front gate. "Hmm," he looks behind him, "oh hey! Sorry for the delay. Someone's a little pouty." He glares at the Daemon.

"I don't mind." Yuta tells the gatekeeper.

"Okay, come on, you have a job to do. Open up." The gatekeeper tells the gargantuan Daemon who complies. Its teeth retracts into its skull, opening up passage for the young Witch. As Yuta enters, he pets the side of the Daemon's presumable mouth. "Thank you." Upon entry, Yuta is greeted by the sight of a huge plaza filled with Witches in uniform either walking or flying in the sky with brooms. 'Welcome to Black Babel' says a digital screen on a nearby wall that has two eyestalks jutting out of its sides.

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SomebodyElse Saurosian Qrowlis animegirl20 Stern LuLuLu Cresion Breezes Ghostiiys Writingel​

 

[Saurosian]

Akane had asked Hiroto, from the class above them, how to prepare for the day before the final exam.

"Sleep well," the older boy had laughed. "And don't start any drama."

Akane had already failed one of his tasks, and dismissed the other. Drama wasn't in her toolkit.

Earlier that day, her teacher had laid a hand over hers, and she'd realized she was shaking.

"Are you okay, Ms. Matsui?"

She'd bit her tongue and nodded. Her teacher was not convinced.

"Stay focused," he had said. "That's the most important thing."

He didn't know he was echoing the ritual-chanting of her thoughts. The words had lost their meaning.

She had stepped through the daemon-maw and into the drum of Black Babel in the early evening, with witches swooping under the parabolic pull of the dusk's wyrd energies, cackling low over the crowds, snatching hats off unsuspecting friends and the occasional stranger. A titanic stork-daemon had swooped once, twice, and taken flight, its wings huge shadows on the ground.

"Good morning! Good morning!" crowed someone's shelled worm of a familiar, reveling in its erroneous decree.

And she hadn't known what to do, just then. The routine was broken but a new one hadn't cropped up to replace it. Usually, she would have marched off to class. She would have nodded at the familiar faces along the way and passed the greeting-words to the Ones Who Must Be Greeted, but today...

Well, today was a day very unwritten. And she didn't want to write it wrong alone.

So when Yuta steps through the mouth, there she is, legs crossed and back slouching against a pillar, green lizard lounging across her lap. Her hair pushed into disorder by the cap trying to slip itself off her head.

"Yuta!" she says, jumping up, suddenly at attention. The daemon - who has shrunk to half its size - scampers round her back and up an arm to perch just over her shoulder.

She walks, brisk, across the space to join him. She wills him into moving with her, so she can stop making excuses for her own delay. "How's that arm feeling?"

 

[Stern LuLuLu]

Grabbing a couple of fruits for breakfast and leaving grabbing his bag that has a note slightly sticking out but he doesn’t notice on his way to school. Walking through the school gates Seto doesn’t say much to anyone after he enters the gate he gives a small wave to whoever says anything to him. Then he just got out a “Goo morning “.Still clearly tried from staying up to late. Awls setting on his shoulder poking and pulling on his cheek to guide him to a comfy place to rest. Once he reaches a good spot Awls lets out a caw to let him know they have reached their destination.
Relaxing underneath a tree is nestled in a nice little spot in the plaza where he usually sets up with his cap covering half of his face. Seto was just waiting around pondering what he would get to eat afterward when he and his fellow witches came back from a successful hunt. All the while Awls just sat on a tree limb watching everyone and everything that he could that happened in the place. Talking mainly up at Awls . But if anyone is are to the hear him talking to his familiar.
”Today’s the day of the big test . It should be nice to go see everyone who will be taking part in this to build up a bit of trust right or would it better to build that up on the spot.”The only thing he gets in response is a couple of caws. He just laughs at it. “Maybe your right and I am still kind of hungry.“ Thinking back on it he probably should have had a bigger breakfast.

 

[Ghostiiys]

In the overworld, Kurai would spend most of her time at her local park, for some reason the warmth of the sun on her skin managed to settle her nerves in a way that she couldn't explain. A gentle breeze rustled her light-colored hair, the whooshing of nearby trees sent a chill up the young woman's arm. "I wish I could experience this for just a moment longer..." she whispered to herself as she looked up towards the clear sky closing her eyes she leans back on the park bench and plunges into the inverse world.

To Kurai, transporting between worlds almost felt like being submerged inside jello, for at least a moment she would feel like she was drowning. However when she drew breathe she had no problems at all. Opening her eyes she found herself in the familiar night sky of the Other.

Arriving at Babel she sighed, today was a very tense day, uneasy memories flooded her mind as she began to rub her forehead.

"Hello, all". Kurai greeted some familiar faces. "Are you all ready for today? I'm quite nervous."

"But I'm quite confident in everyone's abilities, so this should be like taking candy from a baby."

"I hope you aren't too wounded Yuta, or on second thought maybe it would be better, we could use you as bait." She jested, chuckling at her own joke.

Blu Stern LuLuLu Saurosian

 

[animegirl20]

Kotori was laying in the grass, on her back, in an uncrowded area in the plaza. She had fallen asleep with her headphones in her ears. Artimis was sitting next to her quietly as he was looked around the plaza. It had been a along day for Kotori not only did she have final trial today but she had other tests she had study for at her regular school along with homework. So she was up pretty late last night then today after school she had club activities or to be more precise she had cheerleading practice, so yeah she was pretty exhausted to say the least. When arriving at Black Babel she hadn't planned on going to sleep she was going to relax and listen to music but soon enough she had quickly went into a deep sleep. She also seemed to be dreaming every so often she start mumbling and Artimis would look at her with his head tilted to the side. "Stupid girl." He muttered to himself. "I told her not over do it and stay up late." Kotori shifted a bit and started mumbling again and then, to Artimis surprise, she suddenly grabbed him and held Artimis close to her cuddling him like a teddy bear. Annoyed he struggled to get lose but she had a tight grip on him. Seeing as there was no way he was escaping Artimis gave up and soon enough to fell asleep.

 

[Writingel]

The faucet let out a squeak as it was gently turned off, loose drops of water dripping into the sink with a rhythmic beat. Yousuke looked up at himself in the mirror, a tired, eager grin on his lips while the wetness of his face shone in the light. Today was his big day. It was their big day, all of them. He reached up, rubbing vigorously at his face and eyes, trying to get whatever fatigue remained out, before it could bring him down any more. He already had a time trying to convince the higher ups that a dying man wasn't a burden: he had a hunch if he was visibly exhausted, they might just pull him completely.

Well, maybe not. After all, this was their test: if he failed to get adequate rest, that was on him, and he had to suffer for it. With a sniff, Yousuke, still hunched over the sink, managed to glance upwards and peek down his own shirt: seeing the black cracks in his skin just made him stand up straight and adjust his shirt and jacket. I'm not telling you anything new, said the nurse, just a few minutes ago: an impromptu check-up, just in case. You're still in relatively good health, all things considered. You'll be fine.

Reaching up and fiddling with his hair for a few moments, Yousuke finally seemed content after he was done. With a clearing of his throat, and buttoning up of his jacket, Yousuke turned around and pushed his way out of the bathroom, into the main lobby of the building. With only one exception, none of his teammates knew that they were carrying with them a man destined to perish, and until he passed on, or grew so weak he may as well have, they never would. At least said exception could keep a secret.

"Let's go," Yousuke breathed, his nerves settling as his usual confidence began to boil, simmering up and throughout his system as he thought to his sister, and the promise of a souvenir especially for her. "Let me show them what I can do."

 

[Blu]

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Locale: Black Babel Plaza » East Quad Cafe - | Saurosian Ghostiiys Stern LuLuLu animegirl20 Writingel

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Yuta's quiet contemplation is ended as he hears a familiar voice calling out to him. He looks over to see Akane—a classmate and, subsequently, a potential candidate for the 176th Regiment; same as him. "How studious of her." Yuta smiles, thinking about how it's very like her to be the first to show up today. As they briskly move about the place, Akane asks him about his arm. They'd been training together for some time now with Akane helping Yuta to prepare for the Xcursionist final exam at the latter's request. "It's a lot better now actually." He says, giving his hand a shake. "I took your advice and stopped daily sessions for a week to let things heal properly. And I've also been slowly mastering that one move you taught me. All in all, I think I'm ready for tonight." Yuta then bends down a bit and waves at the Familiar on Akane's shoulder. "Good day to you, Locke." He smiles before turning his attention back to his fellow witch. "I let Nyx sleep in for the morning. He's not actually a cat but he sure does act like one at times." He muses.

Just then, the pair is joined by the arrival Kurai—another expectant 176'er. Yuta would describe her as a friend although it's not clear whether she would say the same. He certainly does his best to pester her to hang out with him oftentimes. "Heya, Kurai." As they all get to talking, Kurai makes a tease about using Yuta as bait if he were too wounded to fight in the exam. But earnest as he is, Yuta takes that suggestion seriously. "I'll do it if means you guys can secure the victory." He nods proudly with a fist raised.

Yuta then notices atop a nearby tree branch is Seto and, his Familiar, Awls. He too is one of their teammates. As the group walks over, Yuta waves to him. "Seto, down here. Want to hit up the meeting place together with us?" The meeting place Yuta mentioned is a cafe in the east quad of the campus. Here is where all of them would meet up and go over the details of the mission. Regardless of his answer, the group would make their way over to the meeting spot.

At the cafe, Yuta secures a table big enough for everyone once they eventually show up. He places his bag beside his feet and stirs the cup of coffee in front of him. "Our first real Vamp... No matter how many books you read or how long you train, facing the real thing will no doubt be a scary prospect." Yuta sighs. "What are the chances we'll succeed tonight?" Yuta asks his companions; his expression looks really nervous.

 

[Saurosian]

"All in all, I think I'm ready for tonight."

"You'd better be," Akane says, but there's nothing hostile in the statement. Like a recommendation of what to pack for a short trip. Yuta leans down to greet her familiar. Locke's little eyes pointedly fixate on something other than Yuta's looming face. Akane has to shake her head. The little rascal.

Kurai joins them. Akane nods, and grins - until Yuta takes the jest about bait to be serious, which makes her reconsider it, too.

"We have better bait, Yuta. Don't do anything stupid."

She feels Locke's weight sifting its way up her left arm, claws finding purchase on the cloth. She looks down, and mouths: Not you.

When Locke's expression doesn't change, she adds: Idiot. The lizard turns to climb across her back, and she offers a little bend to make the path easier.

"Seto, down here. Want to hit up the meeting place together with us?"

Akane looks up. She's been distracted by her familiar too long and hadn't noticed Seto, perching up there in the tree. She offers a quick wave, then hurries off to keep up with Yuta and Kurai. Locke scurries to a more secure spot to keep hold amidst the turbulence of speed.

And now, they're here. Akane slides into the seat beside Yuta, slinging her bag to the ground beside her chair. Locke crawls down, nudges the flap open, and disappears inside. She briefly nudges them out of the way to grab a book, and they pretend to bite her finger in return. She smiles and tucks her hair back as she places the book before her, flipping open to a page filled with diagrams of melee formations for small groups. The pages are fuzzy at the edges from a thousand hands over thirty years flipping through it with exactly the same interests as she has now.

There's nothing practical, in here. But she likes to have all the ideas, all the theory, stored away and fresh at hand. Material from which to be inspired.

She looks up. Drinks have arrived. She's missed something. Now Yuta's speaking.

"What are the chances we'll succeed tonight?"

She doesn't like the question. But she glances around the group, to gauge the others' response, to maybe hear the answer she wants to hear. Should hear. The answer I should hear.

They must succeed.

 

[Cresion Breezes]

"...Better bait? I suppose that's me..."

From under the table a white haired boy crawled out, he was much younger looking that everyone else, though the way he spoke suggested otherwise. Kaion was glad that the people at this particular table were people who already knew him, although he is more than happy to do it, he doubt anyone would care this close to the exam.

He was pretty good bait, for fairly obvious reasons. His magic, his condition, it all sort of builds towards something like that. Kaion didn't mind, he wouldn't want someone like Yuta to do it, as he always seem injured. Kaion doesn't really get injured, but he does awaits a worst fate that he doesn't want to think about.

It was hard to not think about things when you don't have too much to do on the other side in real Tokyo. Kaion couldn't even go to high school like the others because of how conspicuous he is. And going to grade school—even if he had four times the homework, wasn't exactly difficult. But none of that stopped him from rolling one of his pieces off the bed at night and waking up with a quarter of his body tired and sore.

"Ah...right. Good morning. This piece didn't sleep too well last night, so I put it under the table. The others are out searching...for you guys...but I suppose there's no need now." Kaion yawned and stretched out the arms of his current piece, as two more identical looking white haired boys walked into the cafe.

One of the less yawn-y pieces pulled up a chair and piled on, responding to the question that it wasn't even here for, but that's the pro of having four pairs of ears.

"Well, I think we'll succeed either 100%, or 0% of the time. Depends on if we succeed or not."

Meanwhile, Kaion's last piece was running towards the cafe from the other side of the campus as his cafe counter parts were yawning and quipping.

It ran into the cafe doorframe.

 

[Stern LuLuLu]

As he was relaxing with the thought of what will happen later in his mind. He hears a familiar voice from one of the people who will be going on the mission later Yuta if he was right accompanied by Akane and Kurai. After seeing him and others walk to the meeting place. He sat there for a little before leaning to the side falling out of the tree. His foot catches the branch he was resting on before he can fully fall then he lets go of landing with a bit of a thud but a lot softer than he would have. He picks himself up and dusts off a bit then follows the group. With Awls perched on his hat.” Sure why not.“

Watching two kids going entering the cafe he walks over to the table sitting opposite of them. Resting his head in his arms with his head down. Making an order as he waits for it to come the others start asking about how they think the operation will go. He thinks for a little then he picks himself up and sets back in the chair. Awls took off balance by the sudden movement and starts flying until Seto stops moving then lands on his head again going back to watching the cafe.”Well, to be honest, I have no idea how it is going to go down. But I'm pretty sure we will be alright. I mean we have been training for a reason right. ”Right before he can continue talking his order arrives.”Thank you .“ A plate of sandwiches and a cup of coffee. He starts eating as soon as the plate hits the table. Thinking that he would do everything he could to succeed in this for his grandfather. He would also try to bring back as many people as he could.