Post by Kuma on Mar 28, 2015 3:29:04 GMT
“You gave me your mud and I turned it into Gold.”
Charles Baudelaire
Born in an average household, studied in an average school, had an average life. Those things could be said of *****; he went to college and got a business degree, living a predictable and boring life as an office drone. But ***** didn’t want to live like that and found refugee in gambling, the only thing that seemed to make his heart race. Yet as much as he liked it, he was unlucky and soon he was broke and indebted. ***** got cornered by the loan sharks, members of a Yakuza Clan, the Tsubasa Family, one of the strongest in Tokyo. They could have killed him on the spot, but the enforcer sent to get him had a moment of mercy upon seeing the void inside *****’s eyes and asked what he did for a living, he replied that he worked on an accounting firm. Instead of an unhealthy dose of lead on his gut he was offered a job, serving as the assistant to the aging Clan Accountant, Gorobei and possibly his replacement.
***** didn’t doubt, he wanted to stay alive and he took the opportunity. For 5 years he worked, gaining their trust and becoming one more of the Clan, for him this was one of the happiest periods of his life, feeling to be part of something. With time he was introduced to the shadiest parts of their activities and the average accountant turned into a full blown Yakuza, even to the point he carried a gun and knew well how to use it. He grew in influence and power in the Clan, as his combination of smarts and skill, something he didn’t knew he had, allowed him to climb the criminal ladder. His loyalty and contributions were rewarded as he started serving as the Clan head personal aide and bodyguard. In this position ***** met the love of his life, Nadeshiko Tsubasa.
“All beauties, like all possible phenomena, have something of the eternal and something of the ephemeral— of the absolute and the particular.”
Charles Baudelaire
***** and Nadeshiko’s romance started with stealthy stares, casual touches and gentle words. They couldn’t admit to their feelings, ***** was too loyal to the Tsubasa Okashira, while Nadeshiko wasn’t allowed to choose were to deposit her feelings. They kept it on the down low, never surpassing the unbreakable limit, the barrier of a hair width of space between their lips. But soon a false step exposed them. The Okashira was the last to find out, but surprisingly for the young lovers, he approved their union, considering ***** to be a proper choice, not only as his daughter’s husband but as the next in line for the Clan. Great joy filled both lovers’ hearts and almost all the other members of the Clan, all but one. The Enforcer that allowed ***** to leave felt as if the object of his mercy had betrayed him, since before the soon to be leader appeared he was the next in line. He felt like he had to do something about this “injustice” against him.
The marriage was celebrated with the utmost majesty and happiness, with the bride wrapped in white and ***** in black, with a suit presented to him by the Okashira himself. The pair couldn’t be happier, but they didn’t notice the extra guest. The Enforcer brought him into the party as a bodyguard. The happy occasion was died in red, just as the white kimono of the bride, whoever was the killer he destroyed the whole clan, against his instructions, like an unchained beast he lashed out against everybody in the celebration, dismembering them, splattering their guts all over the place. ***** fought, the Yakuza fought, even his wife took a gun and shoot the killer, but to no avail. The Assassin killed them all and escaped into the night, but he didn’t check his work and as his black silhouette vanished in the shadows after jumping the walls of the Clan House, ***** emerged from the bodies, covered in blood, black and eerie under the moonlight.
He dragged his wounded body until he found her wife, drenched in her own blood. Bitter tears rolled down his eyes as he lamented her death. When he couldn’t cry anymore and his throat was coarse from screaming he stood up and left, wandering the streets of Tokyo in direction to the outskirts, without any emotion except for sadness in his eyes, leaving a trail of blood behind him as he left, trying to put as much distance as he could from the place. He kept walking all night, the next day and the next night, avoided by whoever saw him. He walked until his legs couldn’t support him anymore and his feet were bleeding from the effort, ***** collapsed into a gutter besides an old rural road and all turned into darkness, finally sleeping for the first time in almost a week.
“Everything, alas, is an abyss, — actions, desires, dreams, Words!”
Charles Baudelaire
***** finally woke up in a monastery, a temple deep in the mountains of the north. He had no recollection of his trip, but he could remember without fail every detail of the Tsubasa Massacre, as it would be called with time. The monks tried to mend his broken heart and soul, but nothing worked, he was an empty shell of what once was a man, too submerged in grief, sadness, pain and sorrow to even eat by his own hand. As time went by the monks only worried more, and asked their leader what to do. The Sage of the Temple, the Head Monk Saisei offered them an option to save *****’s soul, or at least repair it enough. Hidden behind the temple existed a cave, were only the monks considered the wisest and the most enlightened were allowed to meditate, as the cave had dangers impossible to handle for the untrained mind. Still it was the only chance to force healing upon him, so they took the chance.
They took him into the cave and left him alone, hoping for the best and praying for his enlightenment. For 3 days and 3 nights not a sound came out from the cave, but when the sun of the 4 day broke a powerful scream, that could freeze the blood of the bravest man came out the cave, a lamentation as no other, like never in the world. The screams lasted for the all the day until the sun vanished in the horizon. The monks guarding the entrance heard the steps echoing in the cave and saw the man walking out. He wasn’t the same and he would never been, he had looked at the abyss and he embraced it. Their plan worked, he was able to dispel the pain and sorrow, but they took everything else, he opened the tap and never closed it, letting all his emotions leave just as his pain. His eyes were black and so were his heart and soul.
They asked what happened, but his response was a stern face, with an unchanging expression, as if his face lacked any emotion and even sucked others. They couldn’t stand to see what he had become and he didn’t care, but still for some reason he thought that not leaving traces here was for the best and set the monastery ablaze, and stood in the entrance watching and killing anybody who managed to escape the blazing inferno he created. He felt nothing as he did, he only considered necessary to avoid being followed, he didn’t want anybody to follow him. He was free from the chains of morality, empathy and emotion, the cave turned him into a cold, emotionless being, maybe not even fit to be classified as a human anymore.
“Do not look for my heart anymore; the beasts have eaten it.”
Charles Baudelaire
***** was reborn on his 30 birthday and for the next 10 years he started building an empire, etching his way into business, politics and the criminal underworld itself, gathering information and extending a network of informants across Japan. During this period he found out about the existence of the Hidden World, easily identifying the culprit of the Tsubasa Massacre as one of its members. During this time he also created the façade of Usso Namae, a wealthy businessman that hoped some day to enter into politics. During this time he found out about several mysteries, occult relics and demons, this information started to turn into a plan on his head. He would bring Nadeshiko back to life, no matter the cost. But love wasn’t in his mind anymore; maybe a ghost pain of his feelings remained, as when somebody feels pain in the place where a severed limb should be.
“I am a cemetery loathed by the moon.”
Charles Baudelaire
With economical power and contacts he created Mangetsu a criminal organization bent on taking Japan’s Criminal Underworld’s and he managed to do so, conquering Tokyo at last, even through a minor mystical crisis that included Tengu and Yakuza. ***** finally gathered all the necessary when he managed to get his hands on a individual that jumped dimensions and using the energies from his body he opened a portal to one of the Six Realms of Buddhism, were according to a Prophet, was his wife. Something else came out instead of her soul, a Herald that warned him about an incoming doom that could end the Earth as we know it. He asked what was in for him, if he was asked to protect the Earth, as he had no stakes in this matter. The Herald promised him to find his wife soul and give it back to him. ***** accepted the mission asked to him and decided that it would be for the best to accomplish it from the Shadows. For that purpose he shattered his own empire and with the use of the Gainen Medal of Memory erased himself from the World, nobody, not even the most powerful beings could find him, thanks to the Conceptual Memory Control he could wield.
“The finest trick of the devil is to convince you that he does not exist”
Charles Baudelaire
Free from being known, ***** took the time to make an elite group of soldiers to help him complete his new goal and even if he had to deal with treason from some of his most loyal subordinates, a treason that ended up being the Incident in Ryugu-jo, he is strongest than ever. Now he is ready to complete the task asked by the Herald, so he can regain the soul of his wife and maybe, perhaps, his own.
Powers and Abilities
Physically Kuro-san is a man in his mid 50’s that regularly exercises and tries to be in good shape
Skills: Master Businessman, Diplomat, Strategist and Mediator
Advanced Knowledge in several fields, such as, Chemistry, Physics, Biology, Weapon Development, Electronics and Engineering
Proficient with most conventional weaponry and vehicles
Intelligence Network:
Information is currency; Kuro-san knows this and knows it well, so he keeps a large network of informants in Japan and in the whole world, usually getting information from FABLE, MI13 and the JHWAB with only hours of difference.
Gainen Medal of Memory:
Kuro-san posses the Gainen Medal of Memory, allowing him to wipe, alter or control the memories of whoever sees him in person. Depending on the target the effects can change, as strong minds can withstand this more than weaker ones. This medal counts with a passive skill “Akuma Tokumei” (Devil’s Anonymity) allowing him to automatically vanish from a person memories the moment they stop seeing him. This power only works on person, recordings of Kuro-san can be remembered, like for example Hitomi Nakamura and Hal Hastewell have.
The medal counts with other skills, but at its core is a Conceptual Mental Attack, capable of affecting the strongest minds, at least on a superficial level. He can summon an image of the Gainen Melancholy Memory into the world.
• <Melancholy Memory>
Tall and thin, covered in what at simple view seems like a long coat but upon closer inspection seems to be a membrane like skin. Melancholy Memory hides dozens of thin and multiply articulated skeletal arms under the membrane. These arm end up in long claws that have long strands connecting the tips with the palm. He can basically extract the memories of an individual and alter them by playing them like violin cords with the arms. This technique is called "Sonata of Memories"
Underlings, Henchmen and Allies
Ikari Fukushi (See Bio)
Sakka Jakuuma (See Bio)
The Herald
Not much is known about the Herald, he seems to be an extremely powerful individual who is accustomed to jumping dimensions and is capable to taking several different forms. He seems to serve Kuro-san as a partner, not just a simple henchman.
Nationality: ?
Age: ?
Powers: Teletransportation/Flight/Shapeshifting/Energy Projection/Illusions/Vampirism/Wind Manipulation
Appearances: Raid of Ryugu-jo, So Long and Thanks for all the Steak, Inazuma Gakuen, Lament of Dr. Lazarus.
DGT
An enigmatic Hacker who serves Kuro-san in exchange of something. He is one of the world's most skilled hackers and with his Shindou Powers he can dive into the cybernetic world.
Nationality: South Korea
Age: 17
Powers: Shindo of Hacking
First Appearance: Osaka Ablaze
Dr. Shikishima
A genius weaponsmith and armorer. Shikishima main area of expertise can only be described as "Pulp Mad Science" capable of creating weaponry the military of the mundane countries would kill to obtain. He is arrogant, abrasive and tends to think less of people depending on their violent impulses. He is easy to recognize, as he is completely covered in bandages, after many mishaps with his creations burnt, cut and destroyed his body more than once. He is younger than his colleagues in Kuro-san's science Triumvirate and tends to be more active in a fight, since he also knows how to use the weapons he makes.
Dr. Kago
Master Geneticists and Hidden Biology Expert, Dr. Kago has a facade of fatherly and sage wisdom, but deep down he might be the cruelest of the group, since even when Shikishima's trade makes him create weapons of destruction, Kago creates life itself and perverts it to his own means. He was behind the creation of K-4 a clone of Crow Cementerio and he was the one to operate on Gen, killing him for the first time. Shikishima had Masako Hihashi on his lab for an extended period of time.
Dr. Lazarus
Doctor Lazarus is the scientist you visit when you want theoretical physics to turn into reality. By far the smartest and less evil of the group, Lazarus joined to Kuro-san because both share similar goals, as they are fueled by the loss of a loved ones that they are trying to fix. He is conflicted about his actions, but always tries to pull through as the life of his wife is in the hands of Kuro-san.