It could be said that today was the result of a thousand little miracles. The training of these students, the successful development of VBS-108, a myriad of different factors had lead to today.

Others would reject such a description and instead insist that it was the product of rigorous planning.

Perhaps it was a mixture of both.

Regardless of the cause, today was an important day.

The latest batch of recruits to the Red Demons were about to formally enter the corps. To that end, they had been informed to assemble outside of the Military Science and Research Facility. Across from the educational district, surrounded by repaired buildings repurposed for live-fire exercises, or other military purposes.

This building was the one that housed the research and development of new Crimson Arms.

The one that ever Red Demon obtained their weapon from. Due to their incredibly high aptitude for Crimson Arms, they were granted the opportunity to choose their own high-performance weapon, weapons that many soldiers would simply be unable to safely operate.

In spite of this purpose, the building itself looked rather tame. White, with no windows visible from the outside, but surrounded with shrubs and other plants to make it look a bit more pleasant.

Supposedly, the gardens had been suggested by a certain prodigy scientist.

Regardless, this was where the gaggle of new recruits had been told to assemble.

They didn't have to wait very long.

Emerging from the main doorway of the man doorway was a tall, handsome, black-haired man with dark green eyes. He was clad in a black and red military uniform, a sword sheathed at his side as he approached the collected recruits, a black cape hanging from one shoulder.

He came to a halt ahead of them.

They, of course, would recognize him as Commander of the Red Demons, Nishimura Daisuke.

"Recruits, you already know why you're here," he began, his rather deep voice booming across the yard, "Because of your high aptitude, you've been selected to join the Red Demons. This isn't an opportunity that many people get, so I trust you all know what that means?"

The expectations placed upon Red Demons were high, after all. Throwing the opportunity away with poor conduct... it wasn't going to be treated kindly, to say the least.

"I hope you've all been getting to know one another," he continued, "But for now, follow me."

He turned on his heel, not waiting to confirm he was being followed. He simply expected them to listen, as he opened the doors inside and began to lead the new recruits down the brightly-lit, clinical halls, deeper into the facility...

For now, the recruits had the opportunity to talk.

@Zoey Boey@GingerBoi123@Pink Khione@Rune_Alchemist@Raineh Daze

Koka

Minako "Koka" Kaiyo stood with slumped shoulders outside the building she and the other recruits were told to gather outside. Her black hair was tied into a bun, with the three large bangs of hair died blue. She had big blue eyes and mousy features, and she stood with a relaxed smirk on her face. She glanced around the others and down at her totally boring outfit. At least her tattoos were still allowed, since she had enough sense not to get any done on her face. Even though her earrings and her gold-painted crucifix were also not allowed. Crimson Demons wasn't an organization fond of fashion sense, at least as long as they were whipping recruits like her into shape.

Koka dug her boots into the ground, glancing around with a casually content look on her face. Things were moving forward, like they always did. She rubbed her small, itchy nose before standing at attention as their superior officer arrived. Everyone here was expected to follow whatever this dude and his other similarly stiff dudes said. This particular dude, was somber. She walked down the halls and looked down each one they passed, glancing curiously into doors and down corridors. Eventually however she settled on the walk ahead and began looking around at her squad mates.

"Pretty exciting, huh?" She offered, breaking the silence. Her voice was lower than one might expect given her petite form and young age. Low and smooth, like a late night radio announcer...who had just taken a hit of helium. She was still a young girl, after all. "Yup. I get the feeling today is the big day. The one we've allll been waiting for. I dunno about you, but I..." she closed her eyes and yawned. "...am pretty hyped up." She chuckled good-naturedly, her eyes half-lidded like they usually were. Koka was friendly, rarely seemed stressed, and always open for a friendly chat. Koka, and please, call her that if you'd like, had tried to be on good terms with everyone around her. The only folks that might have a problem are those who take their job way too seriously and never lighten up. For example, Koka never seemed too particularly enthused about the idea of killing vampires. Violence just wasn't in her bones like you'd might expect from a Crimson Demon.

"Mmm," Hanako responded, eyes glancing around the halls, shoulders turned inwards. Why were they being lead through the building like this? Sure, they might be some sort of elite group... as silly as that sounded from looking at all of their ages, but they could have just been given the weapons and told to get going. No, they'd been assembled outside instead and left to do small talk. This girl with the two-toned hair... they just had to work together, why talk so much? So she'd mostly just made vaguely responsive noises and waited.

If she had known it would take so long, maybe she would have started drawing the outside? Or maybe not, this was obviously a top secret area, they probably didn't want anyone just drawing it. But there weren't that many tended gardens around nowadays... it would have been nice to get one of them.

Hopefully somebody else would keep Miss Talkative occupied.

---

Arisa woke up when the sun did, sometimes earlier. A dark blue hue still clung onto the skies, ever so slightly painted by the sun’s first rays reaching from over the horizon. It was almost 6am, just enough time for Arisa to get dressed for her morning run and physical training. This had been her routine for the past few years, a rigid itinerary set by her father to prepare her to be a top class Red Demons soldier. As a child, Arisa used to complain about the brutal regimen, but has since learned to be grateful for the training that would keep her alive in battle.

There was more pep in Arisa’s stride as she ran. She was great at keeping her emotions off her face, but today, her excitement shone in the tenacity of her movements. Though she never doubted that she would become a member of the Red Demons, she still felt an intense pride of her accomplishment. Today was her first day as a Red Demons recruit. She wasn’t sure what the day would entail, but Arisa was looking forward to assessing the skills of her fellow recruits and receiving her very own Crimson Arm.


The Commander’s voice was stern as he addressed the rookies. Arisa stood in line with rigid posture, attentively hanging on to his every word. Her eyes deviated once to evaluate the others around her. At a glance, many of them looked baby-faced and petite—in other words, weak. In fairness, Arisa was young too, but it was surprising to see so many recruits that many may underestimate based on appearance alone. Regardless of what they looked like, Arisa knew that combat would be the only true way to measure their worth.

As the team followed the Commander into the facility, one girl broke the stiff silence with idle small talk. Arisa’s focus remained glued to the Commander’s back—she saw no value in participating in the girl’s chatter, and it seemed like some others in the group agreed. She remained silent as they marched through the corridors.

---

Despite being stood up, the young man appeared to have dozed off through the minimal time of the commander speaking. It seemed as if even having to listen for a few words had broed him to the point that his eyes had slipped shut, his shoulders hunched over slightly though he still maintained a rather stead fast posture. He was faintly aware of the other recruits in line beside him, though paid them no mind. It was quiet for a moment as presumably the officer left, before the silence was broken by a voice. Gunmetal grey eyes slowly drew open, still slanted by sleep as he raised his arms above his head, stretching out till he heard a satisfying pop before running his hand through his dark hair. His hair was tousled and over all appearance somewhat messy, as if he had just rolled out of bed prior to arriving at the gathering. Then again, that wasn't far from the truth. Lau had a tendancy to stay in bed till the very last minute, and often did so subconsciously.

Looking down the row at the girl that spoke, he took a moment to take in her appearance before dragging his gaze back along the rest of the group. Most of these girls barely looked old enough to be enrolled in the military, though if they were here he didn't want to judge. All of them were there for a reason, and while they might not look very intimidating, especially when Lau towered over most, he wasn't about to challenge them.

After a reluctant moment, he pushed himself into a slow walk, keeping pace with the rest of the group while dragging his feet slightly. He wasn't quite a blind follower, and made a point to look around their surroundings as they followed behind the older man. His expression looked soft, the small, kind smile enhancing the sloped, drowsy eyes he bore. Despite that he kept his mind active, doing his best to keep track of each person in the group all at once.

"I suppose this will be interesting." He mused idly in response to the girls idle conversation, voice raspy with sleep, another yawn escaping his lips in response to the girls own.

Deeper and deeper, the new recruits her lead into the facility. Past different wings of the facility, never pausing long enough to really take in the sights. Not that there was very much to see, aside from a simply sign there was little to suggest what was contained beyond. Occasionally, they passed researchers, or soldiers in uniform.

Aside from a momentary glance, there was very little in the way of interaction.

Commander Nishimura only paused briefly, when they reached a considerably deep part of the facility, before a pair of on-duty guards. They nodded when he appeared and stepped to the side, beckoning him and the new recruits onward.

Beyond was another long, blue steel cylindrical hallway angled downwards.

The commander took another brief glance back towards the recruits, before proceeding down.

It seemed like a significant amount of time before they reached their destination, a set of blast doors that slid open at the presence of the commander.

As opposed to the someone tight, stifling interiors up until this point, the next room was rather expansive, a large hexagonal chamber. On the opposite end there was a wide observation window, near the ceiling.

Lining the chamber were containment units, ovular chambers hooked to the metallic walls. There was one for each of the new recruits, each labeled with their name.

"Ohhhh?!"

A youthful girl's voice from above, playing over the intercom, echoed over the chamber.

"Are these the new recruits?!"

Pressing herself to the observation window far above them was a blonde girl, her lithe frame clad in a labcoat. From here, it looked like all she wore beneath was a dress, or perhaps and oversized shirt, and she wasn't wearing anything on her feet.

"How cuuuute! Hehehe~ This batch is really cute, Commander!" she declared, gleefully, "So they're who all the prepwork was for..."

The commander simply sighed heavily.

"Your Crimson Arm will be labeled with your name," he said, turning to the recruits, "Open the containment unit and equip yourself. These aren't the training units or standard issue equipment, so be prepared for a bit of a rush when you pick it up for the first time."

Indeed, it had already been explained to the recruits that the first time picking up one of the more powerful Crimson Arms could be a bit... shocking. Flashes of sudden memories, lightheadedness, out of body experiences, nausea, any one of these symptoms or more could occur simply from holding one it a person's hands. However, those with the aptitude to wield such weapons would acclimate after a few minutes at most and the effects would fade away entirely.

Some got over it in seconds.

@Zoey Boey@GingerBoi123@Pink Khione@Rune_Alchemist@Raineh Daze

Himika

She had been oddly silent here. Quite unlike her, if anyone knew the white haired girl standing near the front. Honestly, it was just so exciting she couldn't actually put it into words! Today was the day! She was getting her very own crimson arm and she could finally, finally, do what she wanted after all these years. Agh, what should she do? How should she act? She should probably act a little more dignified, right? She was after all, bearing humanities weight on her shoulders now, so she had to at least appear somewhat competent.

"Wahaha, interesting?" Himika said in response to a comment made by some sleepy looking guy. "I guess, huh? I'm excited myself. I can't even think straight." Maybe she was being too optimistic, or looking at this with too much in the way of rose tinted vision, but she couldn't help it. Nothing could ruin this day, even if the path ahead of her was a difficult one. She made this decision, no sense in not liking what she was going to be doing. So she silenced herself, following along the corridor with everyone else present.

Thankfully, she didn't have to wait long. Soon they had seemed to have reached their destination, a blond woman in a labcoat commenting on how cute they all were. Himika couldn't help but to giggle and blush at the compliment, even if it wasn't directed completely at her, but the commanders words quickly pulled her back to reality.

"Right, right...okay...Himika you can do this..." She approached the containment unit that held her Crimson Arm. So much build up, so many mistakes, so many hours spent training and forgetting to even sleep some times. She was prepared, right? Totally prepared. Mentally and physically.

So she opened it.

She stared, for a few seconds. The black steel of the blade seemed smooth. Far too smooth. Almost made her think nothing could have made it. She inhaled, reaching her arms forwards and grabbed the hilt. For a moment, she was a bit disappointed at what felt like nothing happening as she lifted the blade.

"Geh? That's hot...!" All at once a wave of nausea and lightheadedness washed over her, and she could have almost sworn the blades handle was going to burn her. It was almost too much, really, and she almost lost her footing. Still, she didn't release her grip on the blade. "...urgh..." She had come this far. She wasn't going to let this go, nor let her admittedly clumsiness ruin this. This was her blade. Her crimson arm. And she wasn't going to give up.

Cute...? Could random strangers not call her cute, even as part of a group? It was all a bit... weird, really; she didn't want the attention in the slightest. It was a good thing that everyone was going to be distracted by the new toys; it meant her blush was going to go unnoticed. Especially with how fast Hanako shuffled over to the named containment unit, flipping the box open and...

Just a combat knife? Really, she had expected something... more? With how much this was being talked up. But a combat knife... oh, she could use a combat knife perfectly fine, and didn't hesitate in picking it up. T

The lack of hesitation was probably a bad idea, Hanako immediately decided. For one, the sudden feeling of sickness was overpowering. For another... was she imagining things, or were parts of her body just becoming see-through at random? Just what the hell was the function of this knife? One second her arm was there, the next it was just the floor, and she swore that it spread down to her stomach and that was... too weird...

But at least it was returning to normal. And she hadn't thrown up.

Koka

Koka entered the room, glancing around, her smile fading was curiosity took over her. It returned though, briefly, as she smiled and waved at the blonde girl who had complimented the entire group. Koka was especially amused by Himika's reaction. The black-haired girl's heart fluttered in her chest as she was told it was time to fetch their Crimson Arms for the first time.

"Oh-ho-man, here we go." She said. Koka rolled her shoulders, and bounced up and down. She watch as Himika and Hanako went first. Both of the mseemed to be affected by touching their blades. Affected them physically. But they seemed to get over it.

"Guess it's me, next. Wish me luck, ladies." She looked around at the group with a small but eager smile. The 'ladies' included the men of the group, as well.

Flipping open the case labelled 'Minako' her eyes widened, and she audibly gasped.

"It's...it's the most wicked assault rifle I've ever seen in my life." She said, her voice full of awe. She briefly covered her mouth and coughed, taken aback. Indeed, it was. All red and blue, a striking weapon that would stand out from any other. "I...I think I'm gonna cry." She said, playing it up with humor in her voice, wiping away an invisible tear.

Gently, she wrapped her hand around the rear handle of the rifle. And immediately, the effects were obvious, Koka the most strongly affected so far. Those looking at her face could see her smile fade and her eyes roll up partially into her head for a brief moment. Koka lost her balance entirely. "Nnnuh~" She stumbled back. Her head was swimming.

She caught herself on the nearest teammate, whoever it was.

Once rebalanced, she let herself fall onto her butt, crossing her legs. The smile returned as she shook off the worst of the effects, regaining her composure. Her face blushed a little out of embarassment, but other than that she seemed to take it well. "W-wow. Helluva kick." Her headache and nausa began to fade. Squinting through the migraine she began to stroke the barrel of her gun, admiring it. "This is...this is a work of art." She chuckled in quiet amazement.

---

Arisa could feel tension build as they made their way through the facility. The path to their destination seemed lengthy, but perhaps that was simply her anticipation influencing her perception of time. Time went on, and soon enough, the group of recruits followed the commander to a pair of doors that slid open in his presence.

The room was spacious, and Arisa took a few seconds to take in the new sights. There was an observation deck on the upper section of the back wall. The perimeter of the room was lined with chambers in intervals, and intercom speakers lined the ceiling. As soon as they stepped in, a female voice sounded through them. Heavily contrasted to the group’s stoic mood, the voice was cheerful and upbeat. Arisa thought her remark about how cute everyone looked was probably accurate; they were all young and not yet as strong as the typical Red Demons member.

Arisa listened attentively as the commander gave out his next instructions. Her eyes darted to the containment unit with her name. She was not worried about any side effect or ill symptom—she had strong conviction that it would be but a minor inconvenience. Her heart began to race as she stepped towards her Crimson Arm. With a careful movement, Arisa opened its container.

Two blades glistened in the box—one an obsidian hue, the other a bright silver, though both shone and reflected the harsh overhead lighting radiantly. They were long and thin, appearing as if their form was crafted to fit Arisa’s stature. She moved with caution, and slowly gripped the handles of both swords with her hands and lifted them out of the box. In an instant, a surge of heat blasted through her body, scorching all her senses with fire. Arisa hunched over in pain, but she bit her tongue and held back a scream of anguish and tightened her grip on the blades. In mere seconds, though it felt much longer, the pain ceased, and Arisa’s senses calmed.

She breathed a sigh of relief. Her first challenge as a Red Demons recruit had been won. Her eyes lingered adoringly on her twin swords, and an uncharacteristic smile spread on her lips.

After a long personal moment with her weapon, Arisa began to look around her. The other recruits seem to be in similar positions, admiring their Crimson Arms as much as Arisa had. She looked towards the commander with an eager glint in her eye, though she kept her expression neutral. “Commander, will we be testing out our Arms today?”

Stumbling into Hanako showed that she wasn't quite over the worst of it, very briefly going completely invisible--and wouldn't that be a weird feeling for Koka, leaninga gainst something that, as far as she could tell, wasn't there?--only to let go about the same time that the other girl dropped back into view, looking somewhat unsettled by the entire thing. Or maybe it was just the weird sensation of not being seen despite being visible to herself, it was quite strange.

"Well... nobody's on fire or anything..." Maybe they could find out why they'd come all the way here, now?

---

The long walk down further into the facility had Lau practically asleep on his feet, his eyes pretty much closed. It seemed like he was almost sleep walking, though his pace remained even and controlled, signalling that he was very much awake even if he wanted to start to drift off. Yawning softly he stretched his arms out above his head, his shoulders clicking softly before he dropped his hands into his pockets.

Their final entry into the room was almost underwhelming as he glanced around curiously, his gaze finally landing on the containers hanging on the opposite wall. Either those were some oddly shaped lockers, or they contained their Crimson Arms. Lau could feel his fingers twitch slightly in mild excitement at the prospect before glancing up to the ceiling where he could only assume the intercom was located, until his gaze landed on the window high above them. The observer was female and seemingly rather young, though it didn't exactly phase him as he glanced across the other people in his group.

Reaching up he rubbed the back of his neck anxiously before turning back to the commander, listening intently as his gaze drifted back over to the containers before trailing after some of the girls, taking his spot in front of his container before stopping to watch them as they came into possession of the weapons.

Glancing around, he waited patiently as some of his counter parts headed for their containers, watching curiously as slowly each reached for their weapons. What appeared to be side effects of coming into contact with the weapons had his brow raising slightly as he glanced down at his own container, his fingers drumming against his leg. Reaching out he flipped back the lid, tilting his head slightly when his gaze landed on the sleek trench knife. Casting one last glance down the line he reached out, fingers curling around the handle and slipping between the handguard as he pulled the knife out, only to have the heat run through him, flinching as a wave of electricity rolled through his body. Taking a sharp intake of breath he stumbled slightly before catching himself on the wall beside the container. For the first time in a long time he had the appearance of being fully awake, eyes slightly wide as he shook his head, trying to clear it before straightening up, twisting the knife around in his hand cautiously. He expected some form of side effect, but feeling like he had been struck by lightning was not something he could've predicted. His body was still tingling, almost like pins and needles but resided just above the skin, prickling in an almost ticklish maner.