Yoshida, Shigeru WIP

[Reila Tsukino]

...........................................................................
CASE FILE: Chimera/Aerugese Militant

Embrace nothing:
If you meet the Buddha, kill the Buddha.
If you meet your father, kill your father.
Only live your life as it is,
Not bound by anything.

...........................................................................

FULL NAME:
→ The name the Zen priest gave him upon discovery is: Taizou Seiten; 青天退蔵 (meaning: “Hoarding blue sky”)
→ His adopted name is: Shigeru Yoshida 吉田茂 (meaning “Luxurious, lucky rice field”).
→ People he is close to call him: “Shige”, adding “-kun” to the end if desirable.
→ People he isn’t especially close to, but have a comradeship with call him: “Shigeru-san” or “Shigeru-kun” depending on their relationship, “-kun” being less formal.
→ People who are his kohai (of lower rank) and those who are formal towards him call him: “Yoshida-san”, but he doesn’t like being called that; he says it makes him sound too similar to Yoshida-sama, the shogun and his adopted father.

AGE:
→ Eighteen.

SEX:
→ Male.

BIRTH PLACE:
→ Mount Atago (Kyoto), Aerugo.

RACE/SPECIES:
→ Ezo Wolf; Canis lupus hattai.
→ Aerugese

DEPARTMENT:
→ Fukuchou; 副長 of the Shinsengumi

GENERATION:
→ Six.

DATE OF BIRTH:
→ March 11, 1994 is the day a Zen priest found him at the Agehaji Temple atop Mount Atago, thus it has been designated as his birthday by Priest Genjo Teisen ever since.

...........................................................................

HEIGHT:
→ 5’7”

WEIGHT:
→ 179 lbs.

PICTURE:
→

Spoiler:

DESCRIPTION:
→

...........................................................................

PERSONALITY:
→ Tentative—elusive, that is Shigeru’s breed. He is naturally quiet—naturally serene, fitting in with whatever setting he may meander into. Because of this, he oftentimes goes unnoticed as part of the scenery. He prefers this in every sense of the solitude, basking in his sideline duty. He is not used to being included, nor is he accustomed to crowds or too many people surrounding him. Coming down from a mountain baked in pine to a city as large as Kyoto could hardly be described as simply culture shock. His whole world changed, flipped on its axis into a mode of discovery. Silenced by most of what he witnessed, Shige became an observer who tends to stare inquisitively at simple things for long periods of time, poised as if to notate every detail that equates it to the world. This droopy-eyed stare of his is something stuck between audacious and aloof, lingering on the edge of annoyance and curiosity. He finds nearly everything of some worth, yet at the same time, he admits that everything is transient, thus, there is no reason to hold onto it. He merely witnesses, taking the object of interest as an experience that ties him solidly to this world. Due to this habit of his, Shigeru’s favorite place tends to be a set of steps. For hours, he can lounge on their flat edges, sitting in any position to see just what is around him. As it comes, he accepts it. As it comes, he absorbs it. As it comes, he lets it go. In short, he is entertained by what others consider as nothing, highly content with sitting on stairs for small eternities.

Due to his chimeric composure, his observances are capable of reaching quite a distance. He can hear the changing of the season, notate how a river flows a certain way, pick up on the comings of others long before they reach him, and hear conversations on all sides of him beyond most barriers. While the everyday person would think of it like a superpower, it most definitely has side-effects. For one, it doesn't have an off switch (though Shigeru isn't used to those anyway). He must endure at all hours of the day and night with his ears pricked by a confluence of aberrant observations and sounds most humans wouldn’t be capable of picking up on. He manages. ...or doesn't sleep. Actually, sleep is not a necessity; to him, the night is as beautiful as the day. He very often partakes in celebrating the moon, watching its silver glow while basking on the roof of Tennenji. In fact, other than the stairs, the roof is Shigeru's favorite place of dwelling. Call him crazy, but he takes no offense to his strange attributes, embracing them just as he has embraced the Ezo wolf within.

Aside from loafing around his Temple and/or training, Shigeru doesn’t have much of a personal life. He tends to live and breathe daily needs, requiring no more than the mundane. Despite his simple existence, when he first came to live with Yoshi-sama, he happened upon a rundown, shabby Temple abandoned much time after its birth in 1771. Being who he is, he took it upon himself to fix it up at the tender age of seventeen, building it back to its former brilliance. The Temple became known as Tennenji, named after his sword style for lack of a better title. From this, it is clear that he is not only bad at choosing names, but bad in general at making minor decisions. He does not know what he wants because he is used to the transient world, letting go of personal desire in the decadent face of current society. When asked such questions or facing situations where a choice must be made, he does not shy away—does not deny the essence desire holds—and forcefully asserts something from deep within himself. That something takes root, usually lacking the substance most are used to, therefore openly allowing rejection without an emotional response. In a sense, his thoughts are hard to read, a sly blankness always holding the flickering candle of thoughts.

He does not preach, declare his teachings, or hold people to his belief; he embraces all endorsements, fine print, and sloppy signatures that sign the mortal life away. His voice, when it is spoken, carries darkness with each word, cold and disconnected from even the most heartfelt conversations. He invests nothing in every passing second, the aloof interior even apparent through his dialogue. Soft and monotone, like the slew of nearly frozen water combing through rocks, he speaks in the dead of a snowless winter. Hardly ever yelling, he raises his voice naught to be heard, but to be attentive. Awareness is key to interpreting his meaning, vigilance required to even know he had begun speaking. He tries to make himself clear in different ways to each individual person, avidly aware that each one is different in their own ways. He himself has his own Way. Aside from that, he embraces everything and nothing, moving through life at a slow stride. Rushing is not his forté. In fact, when he is in a hurry, he will move slower than usual to account for errors and the forgetful haze of haste.

Shigeru creeps without intention (sometimes with)—so silent that his movements attract no sound. This makes it easy for him to sneak up on people, but he hardly realizes he does it; for, most of the time, he is tripping over something or running into walls. Despite having K9 reflexes and all the glorious attributes of a Hokkaido hound, he is very clumsy in cityscapes. Used entirely to trees and far-spread commotion, the city is a leap, placing telephone poles, streetlights, cars, people, technology and cracks in sidewalks all in his path to unfamiliarly collide with. However, he does not treat the city differently than he would the wilderness, sometimes even going as far as to start a bonfire in the middle of the street in which to roast dinner. Things like normalcy and assimilation do not faze him; he sees himself both as a part of everything and yet as a completely separate entity. Living with a mindset as such sometimes proves difficult for others to understand, but he was never much for worrying about what they think. Under no circumstances will Shigeru change himself or his opinions in order to please others. In fact, he will frequently choose refrain over ever shedding a lie.

He, at times, can seem ignorant, lacking common sense pertaining to technology and what is considered ‘normal’. For example: he owns a cellphone, but he cannot use it. Just a year ago, he didn’t know what a computer was. Now, in school, he is being forced to use one, trained essentially to conform to the 21st century populace. While he doesn’t object or submit to it, Shigeru is rather outgoing in approaching the onslaught of new things. Sometimes it can be too much, and other times he is completely optimistic. Depending on the issue, he is the kind of kid that sees a glass both empty and full: both. He’s optimistic at times, but he can be completely pessimistic in the next moment. No hope. His mood swings vary along this fine line; however, most of the time, he keeps himself carefully in check—carefully indifferent. Still, when his conversation is extracted, he is completely open, kindhearted, and fragile. He will share deep and important things about himself or others without thinking. No consequence. He doesn’t pay much mind to repercussions, knowing that whatever comes he will adapt to. No question. Shigeru will not fully trust anyone, not even Yoshi-sama. He is, perhaps, fearful of becoming too close to people, holding them always at a safe distance from his heart. It could be acquitted to Priest Genjo’s death or to his inexperience, having never had friends.

That does not necessarily mean that Shigeru doesn’t want friends. He loves people and highly enjoys their company, finding solitude (as much as he enjoys it) a much lesser plane of existence. If, say, he does reveal some personality, it is not because he is trying, but because he feels comfortable enough to allow himself out. He bridges on bubbly, talking with a girly drawl that leaks excitement and play. He’ll make light jokes, tease, smile like a cocky bastard, and comically incriminate. He has his own unique style that inserts his jest discreetly. Sometimes he can even be selfish and attention-seeking, especially with cats; he loves torturing playing with cats. Oftentimes, he misreads and misinterprets people, landing him in an apologetic hole. Shigeru is not perfect. At the end of the day, no matter what, he embodies compassion.

Around others his age, Shige is like an old man. He feels old, acts old, and is often mistaken as a professor rather than a student. This can be accredited to his childhood growing up in a zendo with priest Genjo Seiten. Day after day he meditated and practiced the sword style, Tennen Rishin Ryu, becoming the youngest in history to obtain menkyo kaiden. This allowed for him to grow mature in both mind and body, attaining an ever higher level of awareness than he already had. The way he holds himself and the way he reacts to most things allows for him to easily be overlooked, and his age to be assumed much higher than actuality. This distances him from the high school cliques especially considering that he doesn’t have the time for afterschool clubs and the like. Rumor has it that he is working for the bakufu (which is true), but he does not confirm or deny the convictions of the student body. In truth, many are afraid of him, taking his calm exterior and serene attributes as signs that he could snap at any moment and go on a violent rampage. Shigeru, however, has much more control than that, wielding his basically non-existent temper with patient countenance. And within that placid projection lays an echo, buried deep below the surface layer. Like the trill of a shamisen, Shigeru’s spirit is wild, untamed, and incapable of correction. His path is solid, trodden, and never looked back on. He will calmly cut down all who oppose the Shogun without mercy and without explanation. In the night, in the day, his mission is welcome to call for either. He does not question it and, if necessary, will look into a matter himself. He follows orders from only those above him; any who dare breach the shaky threshold of rank, expecting him to comply with their will faces his wrath. Despite the correlation of orders into his ideals, Shigeru makes his own decisions, accepting the opinion of those he respects and only them. Rank has no place in the real swing of things. If a higher up displeases him by swaying from the path, he will not hesitate to slay them. No exceptions. He is a ruthless sociopath—a bloodthirsty killer, justified only by the existence of the Shogun. Openly, he will admit that he is a murderer, seeing it in the mirror or in the rippled reflection of a pond each day. Possibly, he has swayed from the Path, this thought often haunting him. Yet, this is the direction his life has taken him, to go against the flow would be to go against himself. Regardless, he is who he is, having let that go to do what needs to be done—to sit with himself without holding breath to the stench of bloodlust.

Though he kills, Shigeru is looking for a warrior’s death, searching in the mist for an opponent that can steal his own life from him. He holds the value of each day over all else, but to die honorably is a best spent life. He hates crowded places, never putting his back to people, or getting himself into tight places. In short, he is claustrophobic to a point where he can handle it if necessary, but where he cannot stand being in such a situation under normal circumstances. Being human too, despite having to commit demonic deeds, he cannot swim. Akin to most samurai in the past, he never lived around any bodies of water large or deep enough to swim in. Therefore, anything involving boats, bridges, or large bodies of water, he acts cautiously around. Yet still takes baths over showers. He is an obsessive tea drinker like much of the Aerugese population, and goes to a hot spring at least twice a year, proving that even with his Buddhist lifestyle, he is still just a man.

LOVE:
→ Moths, Cats, The color blue, Blue skies, Paper airplanes, Bath houses, Hot springs, Milktea (but only after a bath), Green tea, Full moons, Night, Moonlight, Chrysanthemums, Autumn/Fall, Stepping on fallen leaves, Incense, Dragons, Tennen Rishin Ryuu sword style, Wilderness, Starting cooking fires in the middle of the road, Staring, Indifference, Dualism, Dogen, Suzuki, Zen Buddhism, Zazen meditation, Coming across a koan, Fooling people, An even fight, Being fair, Giving others handicaps, Making gang signs instead of speaking (his favorite is peace), Frailty, Fleetingness, Sitting by a window, Watching people, Watching snow fall, Touching things, Talking to inanimate objects, Quiet, Summer, Cicadas, Sitting on steps/stairs, Slinkys, Ayaka, Playing games, Being a menace, Attention from those he cares about, Being involved, Being ignored in school,

INDIFFERENCE:
→ School, School fairs, Friendship, Being made to do things in a carefree setting, Yoshi-sama’s cooking, Sake, Wind chimes, Sweeping leaves, Western clothes, Serving, Unquestionable loyalty, Fireworks (pretty but loud), Being alone, Solidarity, Seppuku, Children, Killing, Blood,

HATE:
→ Black cats, Candles, Any alcohol besides sake, Soda, Being dirty and not being able to take a bath, Fire not for cooking, Not cleaning his sword immediately, Letting the target escape, Letting someone live after they’ve lost a fight/battle, Being mocked, Being interrogated, Being forced to talk, Being forced to do anything, Small or tight spaces, Elevators, Door knobs, Nightmares, Repercussions, Safety, Putting his back to the crowd, Luck, Large bodies of water, Boats, Ships, Choices, Too many options, Making decisions, Overabundance, Chores, Being too busy to clean, Being away for too long, the idea of ‘home’, Trusting people, Becoming too comfortable, Becoming too attached, Taking shit from people, Being a teenage girl magnet at school


DEEPEST SECRET:
→ That his real name is [b]Seiten Taizou.
→ That he fears black cats.

IDOL:
→ Genjo Seiten

...........................................................................

HISTORY:
→ Winter’s touch is soft as baby’s skin—a cry in a faraway place, melded into the scenery of pine and the distant cry of a cuckoo. The dead of autumn, littered with leaves stained with the mold of frost, a box abandoned “Sometimes it speaks to me,” he whispered.

...........................................................................

TRIVIA:
→ He will avoid stepping on bugs when he walks and/or killing insects in general.
→ He is oddly virtuous in strange ways.
→ He is extremely clumsy.
→ He owns and occasionally lives in a Zen temple (Tennenji) where a certain Ayaka presides regularly.
→ He goes to just enough high school classes to pass.
→ He has insanely good hearing, (ranging a good mile), and often cannot sleep because of it.
→ He has recurring dreams.
→ He often hallucinates black cats as a coping mechanism and is convinced he has bad luck because of it. It’s a bitter sweet thing.
→ He holds menkyo kaiden status in Tennen Rishin Ryuu style of swordsmanship.
→ He doesn’t know his limits.
→ He is claustrophobic.
→ He nearly died when he was nine years old because of the wolf’s lifespan ending.
→ If he doesn’t approve of someone's behavior, he will kill them without a second thought unless Yoshi-sama tells him not to; however, he conveniently doesn’t ask, and it’s usually over in a flash.
→ He is a student of Noh.
→ He can’t swim.
→ He only takes baths.
→ “Thunder sounds like rolling dead bodies down the stairs.”
→ He takes four swords into battle because he ends up breaking at least two with his monsterous techniques. He typically carries one, however.
→ He is fluent in Aerugese (Kansaiben Dialect).

...........................................................................

ALIAS:
→ Aki

OTHER CHARACTERS:
→ Krux, Aurelius, Spade, Elastor, Toss

CREATOR'S COMMENTS:
→ For Ammy and Shu.

FACE CLAIM:

Code:

[b]Sengoku Basara[/b]/[i]Date Masamune[/i]

CUSTOM RANK:
→ 技術対刀

...........................................................................