Lieutenant Colonel
Kazaki Sugihara
26 Years Old
Commanding Officer of the Moon Demon Company
Squad Leader of Sugihara Squad
Personality: Kazaki Sugihara is the cold-hearted and calculating commander of the Moon Demon Company. A boastful and skilled warrior, Kazaki Sugihara is as mysterious as he is deadly. Quite possibly one of the most accomplished Vampire killers in the Imperial Japanese Demon Army, it is no surprise that he is the commanding officer in charge of the Imperial Army's most elite vampire extermination unit. Kazaki seeks the best out of each and every soldier under his command, leading them into the darkest corners of Japan and back. While he is a renowned warrior, his major strength comes from his tactical ability. Although often chastised by his superiors and peers as "reckless" or "too aggressive," The Moon Demon Company has accomplished much under his ingenious command with as few casualties as possible.
It should be noted that while Kazaki seeks to keep casualties to a minimum, he has little regard for the value of human life. He firmly believes that it is humanity's destiny to die out, being convinced that humans are good for little more than warfare. Even before the world fell to the Vampires, humans knew little more than waging war and he is not convinced that a new mankind would absolve that. Kazaki detests war, but cannot deny the thrill he receives when clashing blades with the enemy.
Biography:Unlike the majority of people that lost their friends and family before the outbreak wiped ninety percent of the human race, Kazaki had already lost everything. Kazaki once belonged to a prestigious family of politicians, often being brought to other countries to study abroad and follow his family on their obligations. One day, a terrorist attack caused the destruction of the United Nations Building he was staying in, leaving none of his family alive. He was then relocated to a orphanage back in his home country of Japan, where he was frequently abused by his guardians.
As soon as he turned 18, Kazaki joined the Japanese Self Defense Forces Maritime Branch and served for three years. He was dishonorably discharged at the age of 20, two years before the virus wiped out humanity. Kazaki and the destroyer he was navigating was deployed off the coast of Japan to intercept an unregistered tanker coming from North Korea. Radio communications with the tanker revealed that it held over a thousand refugees escaping North Korea and into Japan. Rather than allowing it safe passage, Japan feared North Korean retaliation and did nothing as North Korean ships chased down and sunk the tanker, killing every man, woman and child aboard. The incident was never reported to the media.
Kazaki deserted the Self-Defense Forces afterwards, living in a rural area of Iwate Prefecture, away from the cities and mankind. He lived off of the land and took up an interest in Iaijutsu, the art of drawing the sword. When the virus finally hit four years ago, many of the rural areas of Japan were unaffected. Leaving Kazaki alive. He had no idea that there was a war going on between the Vampires and Mankind as he lived in solitude for almost another year, until a battle ensued in the forest just by his house. He watched as Imperial Soldiers fought against the Vampires, mercilessly cut down in droves by the superior Vampires despite already having surrendered.
Story says that Kazaki drew his sword and fell upon the Vampires that night. Despite having no Cursed Gear, he managed to fight the Vampires off with sheer will and skill alone, causing them to retreat. He was then sworn into the Japanese Imperial Demon Army and became one of the most noted warriors in their ranks soon after. His rapid rise in prominence was due to his legendary command capability and Kazaki's feats are not taken lightly by anyone in the Army.
Black Demon Series - "Hachiman 八幡神"Hachiman is the powerful demon that resides within Kazaki's Black Demon Series weapon. Much of its origin and special abilities are unknown, other than the fact that the weapon takes the shape of a standard Japanese Tachi. The blade harnesses the elemental power of demonfire, a powerful black flame that sears Vampires, preventing healing for prolonged periods of time.
Combat Style - "Iaijutsu 居合術"Iaijutsu is an old sword art which focuses on the draw of the blade, leaving the blade sheathed before skillfully drawing and slashing in one, crisp movement. In swordsmanship terms, it eliminates the predictions of katas, typical sword holding forms which previously created a rock-paper-scissors style of sword fighting. By using Iaijutsu, the opponent cannot guess as easily where the blade will strike from, the velocity of the strike or even get a good sense of the length of the opponent's blade. It is an incredibly offensive style of combat, relying on cutting down the opponent faster than they can cut you down. In the even a Iaijutsu draw is too slow, it means death for the user.
Hachiman has been modified to contain a small compartment in the sheath which houses a small, metal tube of gunpowder. Upon drawing, the black demonfire ignites the gunpowder, causing a backwards pull on the sheath and allowing the blade to be drawn at an even faster speed than usual.
