Otonashi

Saya Otonashi (音無 小夜 Otonashi Saya) is the main protagonist of the series. Saya is the daughter of a chiropteran mummy who was also named Saya which was brought from Iceland by Joel the first.

Appearance
Saya has the appearance of an average rosy-cheeked, teenage, high school girl with a height of 5'2" and weighing 89lbs. She is black-haired with different hairstyles throughout time. In Okinawa, she likes to keep her bangs and hair short. After Riku's death, her bangs are shown to have grown, giving her a much matured look. Back in the zoo, she used to have long hair with the bangs tied behind. Her dark red eyes change to glowing crimson whenever she feeds on blood, change to chiropteran mode or sense the presence of Diva.

Attire
Saya is shown in a wide range of clothing throughout Blood+. Following is the list of her clothing according the appearance sequence:
 * She wears a soft white dress of medium length during Vietnam War
 * Her gym clothes consist of a white top with blue shorts
 * School Uniform
 * Spring: It is a white shirt with red bow and black knee-skirt
 * Winter: The same as spring with an addition of black jacket and grey socks.
 * Casual Clothing
 * Pink shirt and brown pants
 * Pink top with khaki short jacket and white short skirt
 * Powder blue turtleneck top with same jacket and skirt
 * Yellow sleeveless turtleneck top (worn beneath the dark red coat) with the same skirt
 * She has pink pajamas. During her stay at Glay's farmhouse, she wears borrowed pajamas which are lilac in color
 * The Vietnam School Uniform she wears is a lilac colored, high-collar, long gown.
 * The nightgown Saya wears during her stay in Vietnam is white with pink bands
 * Saya is given a pink party dress by Min to wear on the ball night at Lycee. The dress slips a little down her shoulders and hangs to knee level. She couples it up with pink strap heels.
 * At the Vietnam jungle, Saya wears a safari outfit with pink inner tops.
 * While journeying on the trans-siberian railway, Saya wears a red and white winter coat with brown boots. She also has a pink turtleneck top beneath the coat.
 * In the Russia flashback Saya wears red and black winter coat with a russian style hat.
 * 1880s
 * Gown: It is a pink and white gown
 * Fencing Attire: Saya wears a white fencing suit with brown belt
 * Hibernating Gown: This dress is of a beautiful soft pink shade with large white frills
 * Travel Gown: It is a red and white gown accompanied with a red hat
 * The Dark Red Coat: Saya wears this dark red coat throughout the last half of season three and most of season four. She also wears a pair of same colored boots with the coat.
 * The White Gown: It is a gift from Solomon. It is a simple yet elegant white gown with petal shaped design forming the waistline and lower cut
 * The Opera Dress: It is a pink sleeveless gown with purple inner top and pink scarf. Saya buys this when she goes shopping with Kai. She wears this outfit for the final duel with Diva. She rips through its lower half for the ease of her battle.
 * Omoro Waitress: It is an addition of a pink apron to the spring school uniform

Birth
Saya was "born" in the year 1833, at the Zoo in Bordeaux, France, from one of two cocoon-like objects taken from the belly of a chiropteran mummy called SAYA which was brought from Iceland, the other cocoon containing her sister Diva.

Life in the Zoo
Both Saya and Diva are kept at the "Zoo" by Joel Goldschmidt, where Saya is treated as his daughter and Diva, who is left nameless, is confined to a tower. Saya lives like a spoilt princess, given anything she wanted. She loves to wander off. Saya does not learn about Diva's existence until 1863, when she hears Diva singing and finds her locked in a room at the top of the tower. Saya then names her Diva, because of her mesmerizing voice. Diva also gifts her a blue rose and the two of them become good friends.

In 1870, Amshel purchases a 12 year old boy named Hagi from his parents to become Saya's companion and friend. Saya is rude to him at first but after knowing his sad story, she sympathizes and becomes a much closer friend. By the time Hagi grows up, the two of them share a bond of love for each other.

During a birthday party for Joel in 1883, Saya releases Diva so that she can sing for Joel. Diva, however, slaughters everyone in the Goldschmidt house while Saya and Hagi are out looking for Joel's favorite flower and Saya accidentally turns Hagi to her chevalier by saving his life with her blood. Coming back to the chateau, Saya finds everything engulfed in roaring flames and Diva drinking Joel's blood. Recognizing that Diva is a monster, Saya swears to spend her periods of activity hunting Diva to try to kill her, her chevaliers, and any chiropterans they have created. As Saya and Hagi embark on the journey to hunt Diva, Saya makes Hagi promise that he'll stay by her side till the end and kill her after she kills all other chiropterans.



During the Russian Revolution
During a flashback dream it is shown that Saya is hunting Diva after the presumed death of Grigori. This takes place after the Russian Revolution. Saya and Hagi travel throughout Russia in search of Diva. They come to a village and Saya meets a girl called Sonia who becomes much attached to her. It turns out the girl Sonia is actually Grigori. Saya fights Grigori who stalls her until Diva escapes with Amshel. Saya manages to crystalize him after Diva flees. After that Saya goes into her deep sleep(30 years hibernation).

Sudden Awakening during the Vietnam War
During the Vietnam War, a mass bombing occurs on December 25, 1972. The Red Shield agents attempt to prematurely awaken Saya when chiropterans are set loose in Vietnam, hoping that she will be able to fend them off. So, they use Hagi's blood and inject it in her body. However, their efforts go wrong when she awakes in a frenzy and kills friends and foes alike.

The frenzied Saya hears Diva singing and follows the sound to an empty container. Joined by Hagi, she fights Karl and almost kills him, but he cuts off his crystallizing arm to save himself. Karl flees to a small village and Saya follows. Hagi tries to stop her but Saya cuts off his arm and slaughters humans and chiropterans alike, in the process fatally injuring David's father.

This rampage is witnessed by both an US military soldier George Miyagusuku and a reporter, Akihiro Okamura's father (who takes pictures of Saya attacking). After exhausting herself, Saya falls asleep, returning to her hibernation. David's dying father entrusts her safety to George, who stores her in the Miyagusuku crypt when he later moves to Okinawa, Japan.

A New Beginning
Saya's cocoon lies inside the Miyagusuku crypt in Okinawa for years where George has moved with his family after leaving the military. But a sudden accident takes away the lives of all his family members. George visits his family's tombs before trying to suicide but feels heartbeats pulsating from Saya's cocoon as if she's telling him to live on. So he starts a new family, adopting children and running a restaurant.

Years later, George revisits the crypt. Saya's hibernation period is over and she emerges from the cocoon. When she awakens, George points his gun at her but could not kill her. Rather, he adopts her as his daughter and Saya starts her new life with her dad (George), and adopted brothers Kai and Riku.

Life in Okinawa
In 2005, when Blood+ begins, Saya is a high school girl living in Okinawa who was adopted a year ago by George Miyagusuku after waking from her hibernation cycle with no memory of her identity or past. Though she appears to be a normal teenager, any injuries she sustains heal almost instantly and she must receive regular blood transfusions to remain healthy.

One day, she sees a cello player and hearing him play a music, she falls asleep and has flashbacks. That night, a chiropteran attacks her school and she finds her life turned upside down. She is reunited with the cello player who is actually her chevalier Hagi, though she doesn't remember him, and learns that her blood can kill the chiropterans. She is approached by David, from the Red Shield, who tells her it is her duty to kill chiropterans because she is the only one who can. Neither David nor Hagi will tell her the truth about her past, telling her she must remember on her own. George takes her to the place where she hibernated and tells her how he found her. Though at first Saya is reluctant to fight and afraid of who she might be, she slowly comes to accept her duty and regain her memories after the death of her adoptive father, George.

Back to Vietnam
Working with the Red Shield now, Saya is sent to a girls' boarding school in Vietnam to trace a container. She joins the new school with Hagi disguised as a gardener and conducts nighttime investigation in the backyard garden along the bell tower. In school, she hears a legend of a Phantom who gives blue rose to the girl he's about to take away. Surprisingly she receives the blue rose and also meets the phantom in her nighttime ventures. But she discovers one more thing: something like a container is kept in the cellar. She relates her discovery to David secretly and they assume it's Diva's container.

A trip to Hanoi brings back memories of Vietnam war where she was slaughtering everyone. She runs in frenzy and finds herself in an alley cornered by the phantom. A fight is underway and Hagi joins Saya halfway through. When the phantom leaves, he is revealed to be Karl, the headmaster of the school and also a chiropteran.

A grand ball in the school allows Saya to let in her guests: David and Julia. David investigates the whereabouts of the container Saya has mentioned but finds it already moved elsewhere. Meanwhile, Saya catches the eye of the most stunning person of the party: Solomon Goldsmith. He approaches her and asks for a dance and the two of them get along well. An interruption from Van makes Solomon leave and Saya is once again engaged into a battle with Karl. Karl finds out that she is more human than ever and does not remember him. So, he departs from the battle field. As Saya is seen covered in blood and Diva's container is moved, she leaves from the school with David and Julia.

Later, Kai and Riku is kidnapped and Saya goes to rescue them as well as find Diva's container. Once the Red Shield tracks down Diva's container, Saya is paralyzed by hearing Diva singing as she begins to awaken. She eventually reverts to a vicious mindset and goes on a murderous rampage as she did in vietnam war, even mortally wounding Clara, another Red Shield agent. It is in this feral state that Saya fights Karl again, who is overjoyed to fight this Saya. However, she returns to herself again with Kai's help. She once more engages Karl in battle and this time defeats him, though he escapes. She also fails to stop Solomon and Van from safely escaping with Diva on a helicopter.

On the Railway
Saya and her Red Shield fellows board a train in the Trans-Siberian Railway. There she is met by an imposter who disguises as another fellow agent, Elizabeth. A chiropteran attack on the train knocks out Saya unconscious. She remembers the time she and Hagi visited Russia and the incident of Grigory. When she regains consciousness, she meets Liza and Riku. Later, Liza is revealed to be a chiropteran who refers Saya to go to the Zoo where all her memories begin.

Trip to the Zoo
Saya and Hagi journey to the Zoo in Bordeaux. They get attacked by the Schiff on the way there. But they manage to reach the zoo. As soon as she crosses the gates, she finds the place familiar. The fountain at middle, the steps remind her of older times and she slowly remember parts of her memory. She lived in the mansion over a hundred year ago, in the time of Joel I. Her growing up, meeting Hagi and everything else started there. While Saya is lost in the memories of past, Solomon appears. Hagi tries to fight him off but Saya agrees to listen to Solomon. He conveys her his part of story and wants her to leave humans to join her original family: her sister Diva! At this, Saya is shocked to learn that it is her own sister that she is after. Solomon tries to gain her confidence but Hagi interrupts. As they fight, a voice strikes Saya and she follows it as fast as she can to find herself in the tower, face-to-face with her sister Diva who has been drinking Riku's blood. Saya gets enraged and accepts the fact that Diva although being her sister, is dangerous and has to be got rid of. She fights with Diva whose inhuman strength soon overpowers her. When the battle ends in an undecided way, Saya returns to her unconscious brother. Kai pleads Saya to save Riku with her blood. Knowing what it'll turn him into, Saya is forced to accept the consequences after feeding Riku her blood.

Destruction of Red Shield HQ
A turmoil of emotions follow as Saya faces a distant Kai and self-accusation of turning Riku into her chevalier. Solomon's tip warns them to relocate into the Headquarters to avoid sudden attack. However, an unpredictable Diva comes with Karl on board the ship in search of Riku. Saya tries to fend her off but Karl stalls her. She is too late to save Riku who is once again victim to Diva and this time, raped and dead. Meanwhile, the Red Shield hierarchy decides to destroy the HQ to bury Diva with it. So, Saya remains with Hagi to hold down Diva and Karl while the others leave. But the fugitives flee before the ship is destroyed.

Chasing Diva
After Riku's death, Saya disappears for a year, along with Hagi. When she returns, she has longer hair and a harder, darker appearance. Now accepting of her chiropteran biology, she accepts the necessity of feeding on Hagi's blood to live and be strong enough to fight. However, she has a less cheerful personality, is more morose and less talkative than she used to be. Moses and Lulu both remark that she has lost hope. Believing the fight with Diva is hers alone, and not wanting to have to grieve for any more lost comrades, she avoids cooperating with Kai or the Red Shield. Saya's friends repeatedly work to help her understand that this fight is not for her to bear by herself, and that she is never alone. As the battle with Diva continues, Saya's next hibernation period draws nearer, she starts having sudden bouts of fainting spells, and her regeneration ability slows.

The Final Duel at the Opera
At the Metropolitan Opera House, Saya confronts Diva in a final duel, which ends as they simultaneously pierce each other with their blood-coated swords. Saya is unaffected by Diva's blood, because it lost its potency when she became pregnant. Diva, however, begins to crystallize, and Saya cries for her and tries to hold her shattering pieces together. With Diva dead, Saya turns to kill the babies and herself fearing that if they lived, they would be forced to become military weapons. Kai pleads with her to live, promising to protect her and the babies and make anyone afraid of her understand. He smacks Hagi back to his senses in order to stop Saya. Hagi disobeys Saya for the only time in his life, taking her sword and confessing he has loved her from the moment they met. Saya tearfully admits she wishes to live as she kisses Hagi. The news of possible bombing reaches them and as they are about to leave, Amshel obstructs their way. Hagi holds him up while Saya and the babies are guided to safety by Kai.

Returning Home
A month later, back in Okinawa, Saya finally goes into her next thirty-year hibernation period. At her request, Kai puts her back in the Miyagusuku family crypt to sleep, and he watches over her, and Diva's Children. Several years later, a pink rose with Hagi's blue ribbon is left at the crypt. Hagi is alive and he is watching from afar, waiting patiently for his love to awaken after her thirty year sleep.

Personality
Saya is shown to be spoiled by Joel the first, and is very immature, self-centered, and rude. She herself realizes this as a result of her friendships with Hagi, which helps nurture her compassion for others. However, deep down Saya is a bright, cheerful, and innocent person.

After she unwittingly releases the bloodthirsty Diva upon her foster family and friends and accidentally turns Hagi into her chevalier, coupled with learning the truth about herself, Saya loses her happy demeanor and becomes much more serious and plagued with guilt. She dedicates her life solely to correcting the mistake she made in releasing Diva by killing her, then forever ending the chiropteran threat by killing herself.

As a result of losing her memories and spending a year in Okinawa with new family and friends, Saya develops a sweet personality of an ordinary girl. At this time, she is troubled by her amnesia, but only becomes increasingly insecure and worried as she learns more about her true identity and experiences more loss because of the chiropterans.

Kai refers to her as being "a crybaby" and "a glutton". The latter name suits her as she is much inclined to eating. According to Kaori, no matter how much she eats, she never gets fat. The constant hunger is possibly due to insufficient consumption of blood.

A year after Riku's death, Saya exhibits a much lonely, self-reserved and darker disposition, having fully regained her memories. In the process, she lost hope, as Moses and Lulu both note. She is unwilling to work with others, particularly Kai and the rest of the Red Shield, not wanting to have to experience losing more loved ones. During the last half of the series, she slowly comes to accept their help. In the last episode, Saya tries to save Diva after having delivered her a fatal wound. She is persuaded from not killing Diva's daughters or herself, leading to her confession that she does want to live.



Diva
Saya didn't know that Diva was her sister when they first met at the tower. She befriends her and even names her Diva. She frees her to let her sing at Joel's birthday party. After the massacre, Saya hates Diva and vows to kill her. All the rest of the time, she hunts down Diva being ashamed that it was she who let Diva loose. Years later when Saya lost her memories, both Amshel and Solomon tried to make her feel softer towards her sister and give priority to the blood relation. However, Diva's action of draining Riku's blood again awakened her hatred and Saya sticks to the vow of taking vengeance.

Hagi
At first, Saya is rude to little Hagi, making him do every small work for her unwillingly. Later she sympathizes and befriends Hagi. They grow up together although Saya never ages. Hagi loves Saya and she also nurtures emotions for him. When Saya loses her senses and even attacks Hagi during Vietnam War, Hagi leaves in despair. In the last episode, Hagi confesses his loves and they finally kiss to share the emotion. However, they are unable to see each other again.

Kai
Saya is most human around Kai. She responses to his call even when she is in chiropteran mode. It brings her back to senses.

Riku
Saya treats Riku like her own little brother. They have small sibling arguments. When she turns Riku into her chevalier, she accuses herself of giving Riku a cursed life. After Riku's death, she separates herself from everyone so that no one else gets hurt because of her.

Skills
Fencing: Saya is trained at the zoo in fencing. She is shown to be agile and quite apt with her sword. This skill comes in handy while killing chiropteran as she wields her katana to do so.

Music: She is also taught to play violin and cello when she was in the zoo. She even teaches Hagi to play the cello when he was a kid.

Athletics: Saya is a skilled athlete. In Okinawa, she is seen to be very sportive being a remarkable high-jumper.

Exceptional Abilities
Strength: Although not to the extent of Diva's, Saya shows efficient strength in killing the chiropterans and Diva's chevaliers. Kai even calls her "a dragon slayer".

Speed: Saya shows herself to be adequately agile.

High Jump: Saya is able to perform high jumps from top of buildings as part of her chiropteran ability.

Blood Attributes:


 * Healing: Saya, being a chiropteran, has the usual ability to heal herself from any normal injuries. This was first witnessed by Joel the first. As the queen, she has the ability to use her blood to heal others too. But that leads to creating chevaliers. Both Hagi and Riku became her chevaliers being given her blood to heal mortal injuries.


 * Anti-aging: Her special blood stops her growth after aging 16 years. That is why she looks the same even after originally surpassing 173+ years! This applies not only for herself but also for her chevaliers. Time stops for them at the age they imbibe her blood.


 * Crystalization: When mixed with Diva's blood, Saya's blood crystallize. This is lethal to her. In turn, her blood can crystallize Diva and her blood products. So, Saya uses her blood to crystallize the chiropterans and chevaliers created from Diva's blood. In her final duel with Diva, she plunges her katana loaded with her own blood into Diva who begins to crystallize. Saya is stabbed with her sister's blood soaked sword too. However, due to Diva having lost her blood power, Saya doesn't get affected.

Weapon
She fights using a special katana with an edge she can touch with her thumb while gripping it so as to draw blood, and grooves specially designed to spread her blood through its entire blade. Once loaded with her blood, it is a deadly weapon against Diva and any chiropteran created from Diva's blood. After Saya's first blade is broken, David gives her a new one that has a red crystal at the base of its blade, symbolizing her membership in the Red Shield organization. The crystal is a piece of her adoptive father's body, which crystallized when she killed him with her own blood in order to spare him the fate of turning into a chiropteran.

Memorable Dialogue
[Saya is going to kill Diva's children]
 * Kai Miyagusuku: What do you mean you're going to die?
 * Saya Otonashi: We'll surely be used again as weapons of war. I don't want to see another war over our blood. I don't want to see anyone get hurt anymore.
 * [to the babies, raising her sword]
 * Saya Otonashi: I'm sorry.
 * Kai Miyagusuku: Stop it, Saya!
 * Saya Otonashi: We must not live on!
 * Kai Miyagusuku: Don't be stupid! Who decided that? If there's anyone saying you shouldn't exist, I'll kick his ass! And I'll make him understand you're just a normal girl; a crybaby and a gluten!
 * [Hagi blocks Kai from getting any closer to Saya]
 * Kai Miyagusuku: I'll look after you. One way or another I'll find the place where you belong. So just stay with me. Don't you think so too, Hagi?
 * Hagi: I am a servant of Saya. I will do as she wishes.
 * [Kai punches him]
 * Saya Otonashi: Kai!
 * Kai Miyagusuku: Who are you? Be yourself! Just say it in your own words: What do you want? Even you, don't you love Saya?
 * [pause. Hagi turns to Saya]
 * Hagi: I wanted to see your smile. Once more, like when we first met. I have been serving you and was glad to return to you, even if I had to give everything up. When I first awakened after becoming a Chevalier the first things you showed me were your tears. And, driven by rage, you chose to take up arms and fight. However, when I found you in Okinawa, you were wrapped in happiness. There was the smile I could not give you, no matter how much I wished to. It was you and your family, Kai, who gave that smile to her.
 * [he moves and kneels down with her]
 * Hagi: Saya, as your Chevalier I have been living according to your wishes. But now, I must go against your wishes, just this once.
 * [he gently takes away her sword]
 * Hagi: Live. Please Live.
 * Saya Otonashi: Hagi...
 * Hagi: Live today for tomorrow. You do not need to fight anymore.
 * [he kisses her check, and she is silent a moment]
 * Saya Otonashi: I want to live!
 * [they kiss, then he cradles her in his arms]
 * Saya Otonashi: I want to live together with Kai, Hagi, and everyone else! I want to live together with everyone!
 * [the babies giggle]
 * Kai Miyagusuku: They're saying they want to live too.
 * Hagi: From now on, you can live the way you want. Live today, and smile tomorrow. If you live life to the fullest, looking forward to tomorrow, things will work out. Nankurunaisa!