Mai Natsume

""Now then, shall I put in some effort?"

Mai Natsume (マイ＝ナツメ), previously known as Mai Hazuki, is the heiress to the Duodecim's Hazuki family. She is the current wielder of the Gallia Sphyras: Outseal and is a Remix Heart, being one with the No-Name Grimoire. She currently works with Sector Seven as one of their agents. She is very close to Kajun Faycott and Taro Sasaga'e.

Mai is the main protagonist of BlazBlue: Remix Heart and BlazBlue: Variable Heart. She made her playable debut as DLC for BlazBlue: Central Fiction. In BlazBlue Alternative: Dark War, a possibility of Mai exists known as Another Dark Mai. Mai was one of the characters in the initial roster of BBDW.

Appearance
Mai is a teenage girl with a slender and athletic figure, wide magenta eyes and long blue hair tied up into a ponytail with a big yellow ribbon, she also has two ahoges sticking up at the front of her head like antennae. Before her transformation she had broader shoulders, a wider waist, and narrower hips, as well as long hair that was at times tied into a ponytail, however the transformation was different enough that most people who knew Mai before the transformation didn't recognize who she was as Mai Natsume.

At the Military Academy Mai wore the girl's uniform along with black stockings and white boots. Later on in Variable Heart and Central Fiction Mai wears a backless white halter top with red trimming and a red cape that she takes off during combat. She also wears black pants that are cut at the outer hips and upper thighs and have red trimming, she also wears white boots with gold cuffs and guards.

In the first two volumes of Remix Heart, Mai's hair was a more tealish-blue color. From volume 3 onwards, her hair became the violet-blue color it is now.

Personality
"Bright and positive, one who sincerely considers others and treasures friends above all else. These thoughts aren't the only ones, as reflections on the state of the body also come quite often."

Mai is, above all, kind and considerate for her friends, and is willing to do anything to help them and to keep them from harm. The Hazuki heiress is brave to a fault, and is willing to put herself in harms way to protect friends and family. Mai is sincerely kind to just about anyone and will give up her own possessions to strangers if she believes it will help them.

She struggled for some time to come to terms with her transformation from a man into a woman, but has come to accept what has happened; for some time, she kept this a secret from her friends, terrified of what they would think of her. Recently, she has begun to long for others to accept her as human since she has become a Remix Heart. Mai, unlike many other nobles, also fails to be racist towards beastkin, half-beastkin, and demi-humans. When still new to being a woman, she had a slightly perverted side.

Her relationship is strongest with Kajun, who she cares immensely for. The two are close enough that they have been known to innocently sleep next to one another, and they are rarely seen apart. Mai also has a close relationship with Taro, and there are hints of an unexplored romantic attraction. Mai undoubtedly trusts the both of them with her life.

She has a strained relationship with her father, Houichirou Hazuki; her father's obsession with pure power has driven a wedge between the two, and Houichirou has sent numerous assassins after her just to test her strength. Mai is closer with her mother, Rin Hazuki, who cares deeply for her daughter, and the two train together. Despite this, Mai never responded to the letters Rin sent her daughter while she was the Military Academy.

Powers & Techniques
Since her childhood, Mai has been trained in the assassination techniques employed by her family's branch, the Kirihito's. She is capable of numerous acrobatics, has good stamina, and is generally physically fit. She has considerable skill with a rapier and main gauche, being capable of fighting with both in conjunction.

Mai has the technique called  which enhances her sense of taste to detect the feelings of food and those who prepared it. This has turned into more of a hindrance than a blessing as Mai finds most normal food to be essentially inedible, and can only eat the food made by Noel Vermillion with any satisfaction. At some point, Mai was also the Intermediary Grimoire, which allowed her to transfer abilities between individuals if she kissed them, but she lost this ability upon becoming a Remix Heart. As she is fused with the No-Name Grimoire, Mai has the ability to enter a mode that makes her faster and stronger, turning her pupils into white squares. She can also use this ability to turn into any other Grimoire, such as the Azure Grimoire or even a Nox Nyctores - Rin believes that within a week, she could also learn Vision with her power.

Currently, Mai wields the Legacy Weapon - Gallia Sphyras: Outseal, a spear which has taught her how to wield it. The weapon has the Immortal Breaker, allowing her to kill individuals like vampires. Outseal can change direction mid-throw, and can be summoned by Mai afterwards. Although considerably skilled with Outseal, Mai is not strong enough to evenly fight individuals such as Hazama.

BlazBlue: Central Fiction Official Site Profile
''Heir to the Duodecim's family, and a classmate of Noel and her friends during their days at the Military Academy. From a sudden incident involving a certain grimoire, his body was changed into that of a woman's. After the incident, she accepted her condition and looked positively to the future. To protect her friends, she wields the Legacy Weapon and faces danger head-on.  Bright and positive, one who sincerely considers others and treasures friends above all else. These thoughts aren't the only ones, as reflections on the state of the body also come quite often. ''
 * Story
 * Personality

BlazBlue: Central Fiction Library Entry
''Her full name is Mai Natsume. She certainly looks like a she, but is a man trapped in a woman's body. His real name is Mai Hazuki.
 * Mai

''He's a friend to Noel and Makoto in the military Academy, and one of the only people who can stomach Noel's cooking.

BlazBlue: Cross Tag Battle Official Site Profile
''Heir to the Duodecim's family. From a sudden incident involving a certain grimoire, his body was changed into that of a woman's. After the incident, she accepted her female self and faced the future positively.''

''The rushing skill is just the beginning of several quick attacks in the mid- to close-range that she possesses. Her weapon,, can also be thrown as a projectile. ''

BlazBlue 10th Anniversary Official Site Profile
''The protagonist of the comics "BlazBlue: Remix Heart" and "BlazBlue: Variable Heart". Bright and optimistic, as well as one who sincerely considers others and treasures friends above all else.''

BlazBlue Alternative: Dark War Official Profile
''A young girl who attends the NOL's Military Academy. She is bright and positive, the type who sincerely considers others above all else. In order to protect her friends, she faces danger head on with the Legacy Weapon 'Outseal'. She is also in possession of a Blank Grimoire labelled 'No-Name'.''

Appearances in other Media

 * The mobile game Mabinogi Duel stars Mai as a playable card.

Trivia

 * In the BlazBlue 10th Anniversary Character Poll, Mai placed 6th out of the 84 candidates. She scored one place above Celica A. Mercury and Jin Kisaragi. She had 3,345 votes.
 * This makes Mai the highest scoring character to not originate from the main BlazBlue games.
 * Mai's birthday falls between Girls Day (April 3rd) and the former Boys Day in Japan (April 5th). This is likely to reference that she changed sex.
 * Mai is the only member of the Duodecim whose birthday does not fall in the family's respective month. The Hazuki's month is August, but Mai was born in April.
 * All of Mai's movelist has a naming theme based around flowers.
 * When using the Arakune announcer pack, it will call Mai on the character select screen "The Blank Grimoire".
 * Before making her main appearance in the BlazBlue games, Mai was alluded to several times. The first time was in BlazBlue: Chimelical Complex, where her back is seen in Noel's flashback. The second time is in BlazBlue: Continuum Shift - Part 1 where Noel casually mentioned her to Ragna the Bloodedge while talking about her cooking. The third is in BlazBlue: Chrono Phantasma, where she was mentioned by Noel and Makoto as they talked about her disappearance after graduation.
 * Mai is the only playable member of Sector Seven who does not have the Sector Seven VS theme.
 * Mai is the seventh DLC character in the series and the second for Central Fiction, after Es.
 * According to Mori Toshimichi, Mai has the third largest breasts behind Litchi Faye-Ling and Makoto.
 * In BlazBlue: Cross Tag Battle Mai heals from Teddie's poisoned curry when she eats it instead of getting damaged. This is a reference to her Super Taster technique with which she can also enjoy Noel's cooking.
 * Mai is illustrated in the following Grimoire for BlazBlue Alternative: Dark War:
 * パン食い競争 (Bread Eating Contest).