Naoto Kurogane

""You won't be winning against me!""

Naoto Kurogane (ナオト＝クロガネ), also known as Naoto Terumi, is the servant of Raquel Alucard and heir to the Terumi branch of the Amanohokosaka Clan, signified by his ownership of the Eye of the Hunter. Naoto is the older brother of Saya Terumi and a cousin to Haruka Hayami. Naoto was sent from his possibility into that of the BlazBlue world to save his own world.

Naoto is the main protagonist of BlazBlue: Bloodedge Experience - Part 1 and BlazBlue: Bloodedge Experience - Part 2. He made his playable debut in BlazBlue: Central Fiction.

Personality
"Has a rough personality. Due to owning the special power of the "Eye of the Hunter," he has experienced many hardships, and he deeply wishes to lead an ordinary and peaceful life. However, because he has a strong sense of justice and can't help but assist those in trouble, he sometimes gets himself tangled in problems. He's not afraid of acting, but often does so before thinking. He's a little too loud for tea."

Biography
Naoto was born as the heir to the Terumi clan, a branch of the Amanohokosaka Clan, and has a little sister, Saya Terumi. As Naoto grew up, his mother taught him martial arts and he grew close to her; like the main Amanohokosaka family members, Naoto, as a branch member, was taught Exorcism. As a young boy, Naoto watched Saya inherit the Soul Eater Drive and was driven insane by its power. She murdered his entire family before she was detained by Mei Amanohokosaka. Naoto lost all his immediate family as Saya was kept in the main Amanohokosaka household.

Yuki Hayami, Naoto's aunt, took him in. He attended a middle school in Shin Kawahama City where he met Shinnosuke Fukuda. Naoto soon transferred to Shin Kawahama First High School, and Yuki became his landlady, renting out one of her apartments to him with rent so small it was essentially free. Haruka and Naoto grew closer and closer as they grew up together. All memories with Saya were forcefully blocked out by Naoto, the trauma of losing his family being too much.

Bloodedge Experience - Part 1
In October, Naoto was woken up by Haruka, who teased him about the numerous games he had in his room, all lent to him by Shinnosuke. After getting ready, the two of them walked to school together instead of catching the bus. He was suddenly caught in Phenomenon Intervention as all the people around him had suddenly disappeared and a little girl stood nearby. She tried to say something but quickly disappeared and the world returned to normal for Naoto.

Arriving to school after having met Shinnosuke and putting up with his antics, Naoto had Geography with both him and Haruka. They were taught by Tadayuki Isa, who lost his temper with Naoto for not paying attention, but only the boy thought something was wrong with his teacher after seeing his ridiculously low life-force. Concerned, Naoto stayed back to check up on Tadayuki, but eventually gave up and walked home alone. As he did, he saw an Apostle chase after a young girl with the highest life-force he had ever seen. He followed the two of them into an abandoned district. He met the girl and she punched him when he mentioned her small chest. The Apostle grabbed the girl by the throat and Naoto ran away, coming back with a fire extinguisher and knocking the Apostle over the head, killing him. An insect emerged from the body and lunged at the girl - Naoto stood in the way and the bug cut off his right arm. Dying from blood loss, Naoto was held by the girl. She introduced herself as Raquel Alucard and bit him, turning him into her servant, and asked that he help her find the Azure.

Waking up his apartment, Naoto thought the events of the day before was all a dream. He saw his life-force value in the mirror, saw Raquel in his living room and screamed. She explained what had happened to him and his condition- in one year, Naoto will become a vampire unless he finds the Azure. Raquel explained that they were sharing her life-force and that his new left arm was made from her blood. Haruka found the two of them together, and Raquel used Slave Red to convince her that they were related. Both Naoto and Raquel went to the abandoned district and noticed everything from the previous day had vanished - the corpse, blood, and Naoto's arm. Raquel explained that she needed Naoto to defeat Spinner Superior, a mage who had come close to the Azure and was searching for her.

The pair walked together to a local park, and Raquel sunk into Naoto's shadow. The boy walked to a vending machine before being picked up and thrown into a concrete wall by a stranger. The man killed Naoto twice but he was revived by Raquel's life-force. Before the man could continue his assault, his partner stopped him and they introduced themselves as Valkenhayn R. Hellsing and Relius Clover. Valkenhayn left, angry that he could not kill Naoto. The boy stood up and Relius taught him some techniques on fighting immortals before leaving with advice for Raquel. Naoto and Raquel continued to search for the Remnants of Azure that Spinner had left throughout the city, but gave up and returned back home. As they walked in, they were met by Clavis Alucard.

Clavis welcomed the two into the apartment and explained that Haruka was asleep in the other room. He scolded his daughter and told Naoto to not be so nervous. The vampire grabbed the boy's right arm and marvelled at it before cutting it off. He then reconnected the arm, making it work better for Naoto. Before they could continue, Valkenhayn and Relius burst into the apartment and battled Clavis. The entire apartment was destroyed by the brawl, with the exception of the kitchen. After checking on Haruka, a woman walked into the apartment and grabbed Naoto's hands, putting them on her chest. She introduced herself as Kiiro Hikagami, a woman from the Mitsurugi Agency, and she explained the organization's goal to him, which he thought was fishy. She left after explaining that the Agency were hunting Clavis and asking what Naoto's Drive is, which confused him.

As his apartment was destroyed, Naoto moved up to Haruka's with Raquel. After falling asleep in Haruka's lap, Naoto awoke at midnight and the two nearly shared a kiss, only being interrupted by Raquel and Yuki, who had come home from work. Both Haruka and Raquel went to bed, leaving Naoto with his aunt, who teased him about what had nearly happened and warned him about the Mitsurugi Agency.

The following day, Raquel had enrolled into Shin Kawahama First High School and made Naoto's life difficult. She demanded he make her tea; called him her servant; talked about theories of sorcery; and stripped when she learned PE was on the syllabus. They went to the back of the school and Naoto watched as Raquel cast a sorcery circle to try and find Drive users within the school, and to detect Remnants of Azure. They were met by Shinnosuke, who teased him, and then Kana Kirishima, the Student Council Vice-President who sent Shinnosuke on his way. She talked to Naoto about his relationship with Haruka and left. Raquel noticed that the girl had Remnants on her, and the duo decided to investigate the Vice-President. In the evening, Naoto asked Haruka questions about Kana.

The following day at school, Naoto continued to ask questions and met Kana again. Raquel asked if she knew Spinner, but confused the girl and she left. After school had ended, they shadowed Kana as she entered an adult store. The situation was largely embarrassing for Naoto since Raquel was uneducated in the area that the store specializes in. After Raquel gathered the information, they followed after Kana, finding her in an abandoned apartment complex. The Vice-President broke down in front of them and explained that Tadayuki had been coercing her into sexual acts, and now his sights were set on Haruka. Tadayuki was not in his apartment, but Raquel had located him at the school and confirmed that he had become an Apostle. Both Naoto and Raquel rushed over there to save Haruka from the teacher.

At the school, Naoto burst through the Student Council doors and slugged Tadayuki, who was attempting to forcefully strip Haruka. She began to cry in Naoto's arms and fell unconscious; he carried her to a bench and put his jacket over her. Turning back to Tadayuki, Naoto taunted him, telling the teacher that he was going to beat him into the ground. Large beetle legs suddenly erupted from Tadayuki's back and the two began to fight until the teacher targeted Raquel and Haruka. Naoto threw himself in front of the legs and it pierced his stomach. Unfazed, Naoto threw the legs back and thought about the death of his mother, triggering the activation of his Drive - Bloodedge.

Using Bloodedge, Naoto cut down Tadayuki but left him alive. The Mitsurugi Agency arrived moments later with Kiiro leading the charge. Naoto expressed a desire for his teacher to be saved from his condition, and Kiiro agreed to using the resources necessary, and also stated that she would erase Kana and Tadayuki's memories. The corridor of the school was then filled with darkness and the Agency's squadron was instantly killed by it. From the shadows rose Spinner himself, who threw Naoto into the nearest wall. Before Spinner could kill Naoto, Kiiro intervened, and it was only thanks to Raquel's persuasion that the mage left. When Raquel and Naoto walked home, the boy discovered that she had told Spinner that he could have her if he could defeat Naoto. Stunned, the boy swore at her and called her an 'idiot'.

The following day at school, everything had returned to normal as Kiiro had promised. Tadayuki had taken a temporary retirement and Kana had returned to her duties with no recollection of what had happened. Kiiro met Naoto in a luxurious hotel and explained more on the situation. On Sunday, Naoto, Raquel, and Haruka returned to the boy's apartment, which had been fixed three days prior. The doorbell rang but before Naoto could leave, he was kissed by Haruka; her first kiss. A little fazed, Haruka opened the door and called for Naoto. Standing in the entrance was Saya Terumi.

Bloodedge Experience - Part 2
Stunned, Naoto allowed Saya into the apartment, and Haruka offered her tea. He could not ask his sister questions about how she was allowed free as Haruka was not aware of what Saya had done. It was only when she left with Raquel that Naoto finally asked what his sister was up to. She gave him a letter from Mei and then lunged for his throat and held him up against the wall. Saya activated Soul Eater, but the battle was cut short by Raquel who had sensed something wrong. Saya gave up and left after a brief battle with the vampire, claiming that she had only come to deliver the letter, also telling her brother that she was coming for the Eye of the Hunter. Naoto read its contents - which was essentially Mei insulting him for having been killed by Valkenhayn and that she could no longer contain Saya.

On Monday, Naoto and Raquel continued to look for Remnants within the school grounds. Eventually the young vampire demonstrated her frustration with Naoto for not having told her about Saya, let alone that she was the current possessor of Soul Eater. He explained to her the incident that had occurred that wiped out the Terumi branch and about the Amanohokosaka Clan. Afterwards, they talked about Kiiro and her heartbeat being in synchronization with Naoto's. They were found by Shinnosuke and Kana, who were working the school festival. Raquel talked Naoto into training so he could prepare for his eventual fight with Spinner.

At night, Naoto and Raquel slipped out of the apartment but were caught by Yuki. They fabricated a poor lie to her about going to a book shop, but she let them leave anyway. Now at 01:00am on the Tuesday, Naoto and Raquel had tracked down an Apostle. With Raquel's assistance, Naoto landed a deadly blow to his head, killing him instantly.

The Mitsurugi Agency came around at 03:00am to deal with the corpse of the Apostle. Naoto and Raquel returned to the apartment, and the boy thought of having a bath until he was interrupted by the vampire. She demanded that he clean her, and despite his protests, Naoto agreed. She revealed to him that the reason why he had become so strong was because he was progressing into a vampire, but it was thanks to Clavis' earlier work that he was gaining the strength more quickly, yet his progression was still stagnant. The following morning, the trio of Haruka, Naoto, and Raquel met on the school rooftop and talked about family.

In the evening, they decided to go shopping until time had suddenly stopped for Naoto and everyone had disappeared. Expecting to see the mysterious girl again, he was instead met by Clavis, who explained Phenomenon Intervention. The vampire asked why Raquel had chosen him for her servant and then what he would do with the Azure. Naoto gave his answers: he does not know, and that he wants to return to being human. Clavis changed the scenery and explained Raquel's origins as well as his battle with Soul Eater. The two agreed that in the eventual future they would have to fight for the Azure. Soon enough, Naoto was released from the Intervention, finding Raquel berating him in the supermarket. Raquel sensed a Remnant and the two rushed to the location.

When they arrived, they found Saya fighting against Valkenhayn. Naoto interrupted and kicked the lycanthrope in the face. The two began to taunt one another, goading each other into another fight, but they were interrupted by Spinner, who arrived and kidnapped Saya, taking her the rooftop of a nearby building. Raquel used her Drive to get both herself and Naoto onto the rooftop and they saw Saya encased within a large bug. Angered, Naoto attempted to fight Spinner but was met by the insect instead, which was designed to fight Clavis himself. Even though he could kill Saya to stop Soul Eater from going haywire, he relented, instead finding inner strength and ripping the insect's arms off. Raquel used her Drive to throw the corpse onto Spinner.

Briefly recuperating, Naoto had saved Saya, but Spinner's plan was not over as he grabbed Raquel and they fused into a grotesque monster. With his bond with Raquel weakening, Naoto's right arm turned back into blood. Spinner attacked, cutting off Naoto's right leg and left arm, leaving the teenager on the floor. Without the power of Regeneration, his limbs were not growing back and he was dying in his own blood. In a strange turn of events, black fog came out of his limbs and formed new limbs. Activating Bloodedge, Naoto created a large scythe and struck several times at Spinner, greatly hurting him. Naoto ran to the monster and dragged Raquel out of the fusion.

Naoto's right arm returned to normal but he lost his temporary limbs as Raquel rushed to his side. Regeneration kept the boy alive. Spinner was not yet dead but had been corrupted from opening a portal to the Boundary moments earlier. Before the corrupted mage could kill the duo, Kiiro arrived and finished off the mage, his corpse being dragged into the Boundary. Kiiro ran to Naoto and held his head, crying and apologizing for being so late. She then attacked Raquel but the vampire was saved by Clavis. The situation defused and Naoto fell unconscious.

Some time later, Naoto awoke in a hospital. Raquel and Haruka stood over him, the latter crying and calling him an idiot. Raquel explained that Spinner was absolutely destroyed by the Boundary, although Naoto did not understand much about the dimension. He discovered then that he had a new left arm and right leg which were fashioned for him by Relius. Kiiro came into the room and explained the situation with his new limbs, and then undressed. Although initially reluctant, Naoto looked and saw multiple scars and marks; the woman revealed that she was an artificial human, all her sisters had been killed by Spinner and she was made from their remaining parts. Kiiro offered Naoto a choice to join the Mitsurugi Agency, but he refused. Raquel stayed with Naoto and he promised to help her find the Azure.

Central Fiction
"An outsider who arrived from a parallel world to search for a girl called Raquel Alucard. He has the "Eye of the Hunter" that can see the strength of a person's lifeforce, and is the owner of the Drive "Bloodedge" that allows him to fight with weapons made from blood. Opening his eyes to the unfamiliar land of Kagutsuchi and disoriented enough to not know his right from his left, he asks around for "a blonde girl with pale skin, wearing black ribbons that look like rabbit ears.""

Raquel sent Naoto on a mission to save every possibility and his own world. He was flung into many different possibilities through the Boundary before he finally landed in the Embryo’s version of Bascule in the 13th Hierarchical City of Kagutsuchi. He wondered if anyone would understand his words and if anyone would attack him. Initially unaware of his own objective, he prioritized finding Raquel. While looking around, he bumped into Celica A. Mercury and Ex Machina: Minerva and asked them for directions, but they, too, were new to the area. After describing Raquel to them, they mistook it for Rachel, and the three of them decided to travel together within the distorted Hierarchical City.

Naoto was transported along with Celica and Minerva to the Ikaruga Federation, and together they heard Nine the Phantom’s voice telling them to kill Izanami to claim their piece of the Azure. He followed Celica as she ran to find her sister.

Eventually, they arrived in the 6th Hierarchical City of Yabiko. He listened to Celica talk about her sister. They decided to travel further into the city, only for him to lose her in the crowd. However, he caught a glimpse of Rachel and pursued her, having mistook her for Raquel. After catching up to her, Naoto began asking her questions that she was unable to answer. In response, Rachel became instantly hostile and forced him into a battle for his life, which he eventually managed to win by using Bloodedge. Valkenhayn, now much older than he had been the last time Naoto had seen him, arrived to protect his mistress. Naoto prepared to fight again, but was teleported away to the Gate where he was assaulted by Es. After fighting her and losing, Naoto was thrown out of the Gate.

Finding himself still in Yabiko, Naoto chanced upon Ragna the Bloodedge, fighting him when the Grim Reaper would not release information on Celica’s whereabouts. They recognised one another's Drives and became confused over claims of who was Saya’s older brother (Ragna referencing Saya, and Naoto referencing Saya Terumi). Naoto retreated when he remembered he had other, more important things to do.

Kokonoe found Naoto in her own time, and wanted measurements from him. She fought him to obtain those measurements, and afterwards noticed that she couldn’t track him back to his possibility. Naoto explained to her the situation and that he needed her help, but her singlemindedness scared him away.

Eventually, Makoto Nanaya found him. She strongly reminded him of Yuki, and they travelled together to the frozen space-time within the Embryo to search for Makoto's friend, Noel Vermillion. Inside, they were assaulted by Es, who had come to backup Makoto’s data as she had lost her qualification as one of the chosen. Makoto begged Naoto to run as he was one of Es’ targets for elimination. He complied, receiving a telepathic order from Raquel to go to Kagutsuchi’s cauldron.

On his way there, he was met again by Es, who informed him that Makoto had evaporated into seithr. Naoto nearly attacked her in a blind rage, but stopped at the last moment when she did not attempt to move out of the way. She revealed to him that he was the “future” while she was the “past."

Arriving at the cauldron, he saved Rachel from being tossed into the Boundary by Hazama, and stopped Ragna from killing the Grimoire. By stopping Ragna, he managed to save all possibilities as Raquel had requested, and returned back to his own possibility. When he woke up, Raquel offered her outstretched hand to help him to his feet.

Powers and Techniques
Naoto was taught by his mother in the way of her family's martial arts, excelling in them. As a member of the Amanohokosaka Clan, he is also versed in exorcism, but is nowhere near the level of the main family.

There are two powers that truly define Naoto - the Eye of the Hunter, and his Drive. The Eye allows him to see the life-force of every living thing - be it human, Kaka, vampire, or otherwise. Having had the Eye for all his life, Naoto can read the runes that the values are presented in and can gauge the health and strength of others by reading them.

Bloodedge is Naoto's main weapon and he uses it frequently to fight his opponents. By using his own blood and hardening it, Naoto can create various weapons to fight his enemies. His arsenal usually includes a katana, a two-handed axe, a large scythe, and an extendable amount of blood that he uses in a fashion similar to a whip. Whenever Naoto uses his Drive, his hair turns white and his eyes turn red, but as of Central Fiction, this is only the case when he truly taps into his power to fight. He can create many shapes with his blood, even making a head similar to that of the Black Beast.

Because of his contract with Raquel, Naoto borders on the immortal, but only when she is around. They share the same life-force, and hers is far and beyond more than most humans. This gives Naoto an ability normally unique to vampires called Regeneration, which means that all wounds sustained will patch themselves up effortlessly. Because his right arm is made from vampire blood and thanks to the sorcery installed in it from Clavis, Naoto has the physical strength of a vampire - this was easily demonstrated when he killed an Apostle with a single blow. For an unknown reason, Naoto can subconsciously create fog from his body to replace missing limbs.

As strong as Naoto is, he still has weaknesses. Without Raquel, Naoto loses Regeneration and his right arm disintegrates back into blood. He is also a three-time amputee, and his replacement limbs have some movement restrictions. Naoto also has a lack of real fighting experience and relies heavily on his Drive to fight tough opponents, which can make him predictable.

Naoto Kurogane
A foreign body that entered this world, searching for a woman named Raquel Alucard.

''He possesses a unique power, 'Eye of the Hunter' that allows him to see the streams of life. His drive is 'Bloodedge,' which turns blood into a weapon.''

''When he wakes up in the unfamiliar land of Kagutsuchi, he is at a complete loss. Without knowing left or right, he wanders town looking for a 'blonde, pale young girl with ribbons that resemble rabbit ears.'''