JHWAB, Japanese Hidden World Affairs Bureau

The JHWAB was created at the start of the Meiji Government, the Shogunate had left the Hidden World without any supervision and it was starting to become dangerous, so taking in account the advice of the British allies to the government, an office originally called “Densetsu-sho” (Ministry of Legends) it was handled very differently as its current form. The original mission of the office was the eradication of the Hidden World in Japan, under the mistaken impression that the western advance was a sub product of cutting ties with the mythic past and locking their views to the future. Without mistake this was a very bad idea, as the Hidden World denizens, threaten towards extinction decided to join forces. The stupidity of the Densetsu-Cho officers managed to break conflicts in the non-human community and allowed them to, for first time in ages, join forces.

This was the first occult war of modern Japan, descending from the north a massive army of Yokai started attacking the outposts of the Office around the Islands. The current Densetsu no Daijin (Minister of Legends) forced a recruitment drive among the families that practices Hidden Arts, to counter the incoming horde. Begrudgingly, the Omnyo, Ki and Exorcism masters joined forced against those who surely were related to them by blood, trade or just shared traits. The war lasted 1 year ending on the dawn of the 20 Century. Both sides received a heavy blow and retreated to lick their wounds. The Minister resigned and was replaced by a powerful and respected Omnyo Master Senmei Yasunori, who started reconnecting the relations between humans and Yokai, trying to avoid another war, he was somewhat successful and 8 Half-Blood clans were formed.

Two decades of peace helped a lot to heal the estranged relations between both sides, but when the Taisho Democracy fell and the militarization of the country started, the new government demanded the Office to provide the army with Yokai. This was an infringement of the silent agreement of the countries to keep the nature of the Hidden World apart from the attention of the general public. Senmei Yasumori opposed to this demands, but at the start of the Showa era his oldest son, Haigo Yasumori poisoned him and killed him in a duel with the help of the rest of his siblings except for the youngest Roshi Yasumori. Haigo, drunk with power, changed the name of the Office to Sengoku Densetsu-Cho (usually abbreviated to Senden-cho) and started preparing. His younger brother, the only who didn’t betray the family name and convictions started an underground resistance against his brother forces, skillfully managing to stop the corrupted ministry to enact the new government demands.

This secret war continued, with more and more people defecting to join Roshi. Haigo, filled with despair made a deal with the devil and joined forces with the German investigators, capturing Yokai or even minor deities and using them in cruel experiments on the secret Ryugu-jo complex. This continued until the country surrendered, with the fall of the government Haigo lost his edge and Roshi took advantage of it, finally toppling down his brother and ending the “Yasumori Sengoku” conflict. The New Government offered Roshi the control of the Minstry, but he asked to change some aspects of it. He funded the current incarnation of it, the “Nihon no Kakushi Sekai Minikyoku” or as we know it the JHWAB. He installed a very organized system that would not only serve as protectors but as a bridge between worlds. Roshi’s goal is to make both sides co-exists peacefully. With that in mind, he decided to start from where that was already accomplished, thus he decided to keep the most important positions open for members of the 8 Taisho Clans, the 8 Half-Blooded families born from the efforts of his father.

Still the Half Yokai wouldn’t be enough for what the world had prepared for the Bureau. Another 20 years of somewhat peaceful days started in 1950, but when the 7 decade of the Century was at dawn a new danger. A mad scientist/alchemist that went by the name of Eiyu Shomei opened a portal to a strange dimension populated by a race of beings, which in theory, were created by the condensation of humanity’s thoughts, imaginations and feelings. According to further research, these beings, called Gainen are a sub product of human psyche, under the law of energy conservation (Energy cannot be destroyed, it can only change) so the mental energy of humanity isn’t just the electric impulses in their brains but the psychic energy also is released. A dimension in certain position between our world and others started gathering that energy and thus the Gainen were created, representing concepts created by humanity.

The Gainen attacks were devastating, but one of the assistants of Eiyu Shomei brought a possible defense. He worked in the Gainen research and developed 10 Gainen Medals, objects that trapped inside one of the Gainen, so humans could use the same powers. He picked many candidates but only one managed to activate his coin, Hiro Yamanaka, a young man that was escaping from school bullies and accidentally entered the test grounds. The Gainen Medal of Piercing was activated and soon enough the other ten ended up, curiously, in the hands of his classmates. This happened thanks to the school being placed in a dimensional weak point that casually touched the Gainen Space and thus all the students were already in synch with the energy. Once activated the Medals can work with other hosts, as Reiji Fukuma demonstrated, when he replaced Yamanaka’s younger brother in the possession of the Gainen Medal of Striking. This group trained by the military leader of the JHWAB, Kyoshi Kenmei, currently headmaster of Inazuma Gakuen. The Anti-Gainen Taskforce (Gainen Satsujin Tai or GStai for short) defeated the scientist and his Gainen Slaves.

Apart from minor uprisings such as the Kaze Ni Nare movement, that tried to release, in several occasions, a corrupted Dai-Tengu called Arashi and other strange sects, nothing bothered the JHWAB from the beginning of the eighties until the present, but that peace, or at least routine was interrupted by the discovery of the location of Ryugu-jo and the release of survivors, genetically engineered Half-Bloods. This group, who referred to themselves as Myth Soldiers or Shinwa no Heishi proved to be a difficult task to hide and to relocate, but thankfully a small village enclosed in a mountain valley was abandoned after the 2011 Earthquake and the radioactive crisis. The MS were immune to radiation and after cleaning up a bit they installed there, now many of them work for the JHWAB or the Government and Roshi, still the head of the Bureau hopes that they will become what he expected so many years, a way to join both worlds. The village was renamed Shinwa-mura, and is technically independent from the Japanese government, being similar to an embassy. The MS aren’t scared of humans and allow the free pass to their town, that slowly is becoming known and turning into a tourist location, but still haves restricted access, allowing only scientist or important people.

Currently the JHWAB is divided into 4 different sectors, Militar, Economic, Intelligence and Cultural, all led by Roshi Yasumori, each department is led by members of the 8 Taisho Clans and haves some agents under them. There are also many human officers and agents that handles the most tedious tasks or the hoaxes, some of them even without knowing that most of what they consider a myth is real and sometimes in the same room as them. All of the officers and agents are linked to the Ministry of Defense, currently lead by Minister Iyana, a not very bright individual that thinks himself much more important in the grand scheme of things that what he really is.

Threat Level

The JHWAB originally used a simple alphanumerical classification 1A to 5D. 10 Years ago, after reorganization a less formal, or at least less orthodox system was implemented. With these categories, from the lowest to the highest threat each one with 5 levels inside of them (Example Oni-2 or Tanuki 4) the lower the number the higher is their threat level inside their category.

Tanuki: Minor Yokai, initiate-level Hidden World Arts users and other minor threats are given this category, they tend to be mischievous but don’t usually damage humans or they even actively try to avoid them. The majority of the humans practitioners of Hidden World Martial Arts belong to this category except for special cases. Not because they are less powerful than minor yokai’s but they can be reasoned with through logic and tend to know about the secrecy of the Hidden World.

Kamaitachi: Reasonably powerful Yokai that can harm humans easily are the main component of this category, like the namesake the Kamaitachi or the powerful Kappa. Most of the Hybrids, except on notable exceptions also reside in this threat level. The last components of this category are the Magic Users, mostly apprentice or advanced students or non-offensive focused schools of magic.

Tengu: Powerful Yokai or Divine Herald Yokai (See Types under this) are the ones who populate this category. Advanced Magic Users and Master in Hidden World Martial Arts tend to reach this category as well. The Tengu Level threats are dangerous to the point of being easily capable of killing humans in bulk if they are unopposed. Still two advantages exist on this category when it comes to handle them. The Individual Yokai tend to lone wolfs, easily outnumbered and lacking proper support. The Divine Heralds have a power structure and connections to the Taisho Clans.

Oni: The Legendary Yokai or Demons are the ones on this category, is rare to see humans in this category, there are only 3 cases of humans without Yokai blood in the Oni Threat Level. This category is composed by dangerous elements that can’t be talked to or at least negotiating with them is usually fruitless. The bulk of the JHWAB elites work load comes from stopping the individuals in this category. As with the Tengu Class the creatures here tend to work alone thus making stopping them easier.

Kami: High Class Demons, Gods and Oddities fill this category, none of them is a target, as JHWAB policy is centered on avoiding combats with this entities. No humans exist on this category and the last sighting is supposedly the one during the Crisis in Shinjuku last year, yet is not a proven fact.

Types of Hidden World Denizens
The JHWAB classifies the denizens of the Hidden World in X Types

Humans: Pure or ½ Homo Sapien
· Martial Artist: Those who wield Ki or any variant to surpass human limitations
· Witness: Those who know about the Hidden World but lack any notable skill or power
· Magic User: Any practitioner of Magic, being of Eastern or Western Tradition
· Hybrid: Any human with mixed blood with any Yokai or Oddity (Western Yokai)
· Altered: Any human with artificially enhanced genes or technological implants that alter their body.
· Futurist: Any human with technology from an off-world location or more advance that the current highest tech available for regular military forces.

Oddity: Any kind of creature
· Yokai: Japanese or Asian creatures
· Myth: Western creatures
· Artificial: Biological enhanced creatures, genetic experiments or advanced robotics
· Divine Herald: Yokai who serve a God, like Tengu, Angels or others
· Demon: Yokai of otherworldly negative (hell-like) planes that need to be summoned
· Drifter: Interdimensional Creatures, even human-like ones fall under this category.

Mahokeiro
Created a couple of years ago the Mahoreiko (Magical Path) is an information network that uses a combined technological and mystical structure to support itself. Basically is like internet, but used exclusively by the JHWAB, with a technological infrastructure and codified through highly advanced archaic Omnyo magic.

This language, Kamishita, is codified through programs designed to translate this forgotten tongue to Japanese and then back to Kamishita. This ensures communication remains secret and hidden. Not to mention that every device given to operatives has a remote kill switch and needs retinal and voice commands to activate.

Roshi Yasumori

Omnyo Master, Sage and Leader of the organization, he is almost 110 years old, making him one of the oldest and most powerful Omnyo practitioners alive, he is known for his ability to summon massive amounts of Guardian Demons thanks to his good relation with every Hidden World Faction. He is a man of infinite patience and kindness, always trying to help others and trying to find a pacific solution for all conflicts. He may not seem so old, but thanks to many Gifts granted by minor deities and other powerful beings his life expectancy is unknown, he seems to have the body of a 50 year old and the face of a 60 years old.

He lives a very ascetic life, almost monk-like; his only priced possessions are his father’s walking staff and his moustache, who he loves as a son. He haves a very extended family, most of them following his steps and convictions. He knows the names of all who work for him and almost all the Hidden World population of Japan, the only group he dislikes is the Kitsune clans, considering them to be a bit too prideful and arrogant for his tastes, but he tends to keep his mouth shut. Lately he has been under a great deal of stress thanks to the events in Osaka, Kyoto and Sakurajima.

Eien no Ha

The leader of the Military Branch is a weapon…literally. Eien no Ha is a mystical blade forged from the purest Tamahagane, heated by the flames of from Kagutsuchi the Kami of Fire and finally cooled on the blood of the strongest Yokai. Eien no Ha can take possession of dead bodies, conserving them and enhancing them for its needs, the current host is a nameless Ronin from the Sengoku era. As it name indicates this blade never loses the edge, literally or not. Master of Strategy and combat it instructs the members of the organization in the arts of Warfare. It also currently serves as Sword Mentor for the highest year of the Inazuma Gakuen. He is part of the Aoibuki Taisho Clan, but isn’t related by blood, he served as their Samurai for years and when the family was required to send a member he was the one who offered.

Military Agents

Yami “Kuroken” Kizuato

The only known half human half Gainen with confirmation of the fact. Yami is the son of one of the many defenders of Japan during the Gainen conflict in the late 70’s. Yami was born with an innate connection with the Gainen Space and the concept of Slicing, thus he is able to tap into those powers, being able to slice objects with his bare hands. He consistently gets stronger as he summons more of the Concept, entering a Half Gainen Mode and a Full Gainen Mode for limited amount of time. He serves here and as mercenary.

Junior Agent of the Military Branch, son of Norio Bushitora. Shin is a self taught swordsman and jujutsu expert not to mention one of the youngest and finest experts in Japanese history currently alive. His knowledge of combat and martial arts comes from his academic pursuit as his main activity apart from the JHWAB is investigating and recreating long forgotten styles of combat. His intensive physical training allowed him to unlock his Ki to add to his attacks. Those who know him out of the field consider him a very calm and composed individual capable of lecturing at world class levels when it comes to history. But in battle he channels the spirit of the samurai long fallen, in a metaphorical way, and shows fearless determination.

Jin is a Half Human/ Half Tengu member of one of the Taisho Clans. He is honorable and strict, abides to the rules and may be a tad zealous over them. His powers encompass wind manipulation that ranges from subtle, like nullifying sound in an area, to bombastic, as he can summon whirlwinds capable of lifting up trucks. He usually does bodyguard assigments to other Half-Bloods or Full-Bloods, he has a hint of disdain for mundane humans.

Hyoron Kaisetsu

Formerly a member of the Ministry of Defense, Hyoron is a fast talking individual that got the job thanks to his relationship with one of the 8 Taisho Clans, as his brother married a member of one. Hyoron serves as the department leader of Spirit Boxing Incidents (SBI) under the HMAB (Hidden Martial Arts Bureau) and handles the secret betting game when the enigmatic Chambara appears. He is a very stressful person, with borderline OCD.

Gara is one of the youngest Military Branch officers, barely been 3 months since he was ascended to the position. He is a competent fighter, wielding a high-tech sword he made with considerable skill, yet his true skill lies on tactical command, him being one of the most promising squad leaders in the Military Branch. He tries to put a cool and collected front but he can be childish at times. Seemingly in the past he was really into cosplay.

Eiko Kintategami

The sole heir of the Kintategami Family, one of the Taisho Clans, Eiko is a cheerful half human half Kitsune. Unlike her maternal relatives she isn’t regal and stuck-up, but innocent and childlike, even at her age. She is incredibly wise and knowledgeable of the Hidden World in Japan, having good relations with almost any groups, half human or pure blooded. She works as one of the main PR officers, handling meetings and events. Using her magic she can seem fully human and spends her free time working as a Wedding Planner in Tokyo. She has an on and off relation with Yami Kizuato.

Only remaining member of the Yukishiro Clan, Subaru’s mother was a Yuki-Onna, he inherited his mother appearance and powers, capable of creating cold weather and controlling ice with just a movement of his hand or a thought in his head. He is as cold as his powers, always calculating, always plotting and never stopping. He looks up to Roshi as a father, since the old Exorcist raised him as his own flesh and blood. He is consumed by not knowing the fate of his family and no matter how much information he gathers is never enough to feel the void inside of him for not knowing a single fact. Most of the people try to avoid him. He hates almost everyone, but he has a important grudge with Yukio Shiraginu

Norio Bushitora

Investigator of the Intelligence Branch, father of Shin Bushitora and specialist in Arcane Investigations, Norio is a tall and thin middle aged man, divorced from Shin’s mother and currently living on his office. He is not a fighter, yet he can use powerful Omnyo Chants, mostly focused on barriers and enhanced perception for protection. He tends to take thinks to seriously and is legendary for his almost inexistent resistance to alcohol, capable of getting drunk with just a sip. He tends to get nervous under pressure and prefers comfortable chairs and good tea over the thrill of battle.

Kiken is the Investigaro in charge of any alien encounter, he might seem aloof and carefree at first sight, but deep down he takes his job quite seriously. He is considered one of the strongest members of the JHWAB thanks to the Midorisei, a powerful space crystal that bonded with him allowing Dansei the ability to suit up in an armor of technology to advanced to comprehend. He can move at hypersonic speeds and fight off alien crafts with easy. The only problem is that the armor consumes his stamina too quickly, focing a 3 min 33 sg on it usage with a 33 minute cooldown in between uses.

Agents

Mamoru Iyana

Son of Defense Minister Iyana, Mamoru Iyana was a former bureaucrat that had to abandon his job on a government building leading a department of impositive investigation after serious allegations of fraud. His father influence saved him from being fired as a scapegoat was placed on his place and upon giving him the chance to pick his new work he choose the JHWAB as it was the butt of all the jokes in the Government, considering our secretive nature. Iyana isnt qualified to serve in the field so he was placed in charge of an already ongoing surveillance job on Sakurajima Island.

Member of the Kikkawa Clan, Akane is an agent of the Intelligence Branch. Her specialty is recon, intelligence gathering and counter-espionage. She is a direct subordinate to Norio Bushitora. Her main asset to the JHWAB is her skill with G3, a series of family techniques that allow her to use her ki to expand her senses and tap to any digital mean of communication, or radio signals. This allows her to send astral proyections into devices connected to networks and manipulate them, as well read information in the air and copy information without the need of any device, storing it in her brain.

Member of the Okamimori clan, Hayato is adept on their secret techniques, all involving a careful combination of body manipulation and Ki kneading into altering the practicioner throat, allowing him to not only create strange effects with his voice, or mimic other voices but unleash a powerful attack known as the Wolf's Howl. He is a quiet and reserved young man who is working for the JHWAB to get some money to pay for his Medicine Studies.

Moe Akagitsune

The head of the Akagitsune family and an old friend of Roshi, she is the reason he dislikes Kitsune so much, as she is a pile of flaws and defects, but even through all that she is a very good accountant and an intelligent businesswoman, capable of keeping up with the JHWAB sometimes excessive expenses without faltering. She handles all the economic resources, such as gathering, selling and buying of artifacts and raw materials. She is also in charge of investigating crimes related to economy, making her work with Subaru, someone she always loves to tease. She is the oldest in all the organization and most of the times works double shift as the surrogate mother figure of many that come to ask for her advice.


Heir to the Minato Family from Osaka, known for their inhuman luck result of a blessing given to the Family Founder, Yuki Minato is an Officer on the JHWAB Economy Branch, serving as one of the “faces” of the department. She is amazingly wealthy, yet he really lacks much training on handling said wealth, so she lets the JHWAB take care of it and pays them for it with work. She is tomboyish and tends to have a good relation with her underlings, even if she lacks a lot of skills she is one of the favorites to replace the Branch leader when she chooses to retire.


A man always sharply dressed, Iosif is one of the top Inspectors in the Economy Branch. He serves as liaison with Eastern Europe for the Cultural Branch and he also is in charge of the department of Human Resources, as his powers make him the best suited for the position. Nobody really knows where his powers come from, not even Iosif, but basically he could be called a “Prodigy” when it comes to bureaucratic and contract related matters, capable of drafting contracts and forms that force the ones who fill them to speak truthfully or mark any lies the writer tries to do.






I'll add the important NPC as they start appearing in the threads