_{"Self control is strength. Right thought is mastery. Calmness is power."}

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Name:
Kazuki Akibayashi

Age:
24

Gender:
Male

Height:
~ 6 ft / 183 cm

Appearance:
In the right lighting, Kazuki's hair can seem to have a purple or blue sheen, but its natural color is black; his eyes are a distinct shade of blue that can sometimes be taken for gray. He appears to have a slender build, especially in longer or looser garments, but in reality his muscles are toned from long hours of training and he can bring forth considerable strength and speed when necessary. When not donning any armor he prefers loose fitting, eastern styled robes, but no matter his state of dress he almost always wears a white scarf. His natural expression is very neutral, and he often keeps his state of mind under tight control--his smiles will often be soft and his anger will only be evidenced by a furrowing of the brow. When not tied back, his hair comes down to about the middle of his back, but more often than not he keeps it neatly tied. If a helmet requires a tight fit, he'll put it up into a traditional samurai's topknot. When he walks, he has a long gait due to his height but his steps are very light and smooth; it's quite easy for him to accidentally surprise someone when he walks behind them with nary a sound. Most other movements are very similar; they all have a calculated, meticulous quality, with little wasted energy.

Kazuki's current armor is known as the Yukumo Set, and is a traditional attire from that region. His Master is a native of the area, and it is where he learned his hunting techniques and his favored Long Sword.

Preferred weapon:
Long Sword; Currently using the Iron Gospel.

Likes:
Training, Theatre, Reading and Writing of all kinds, and Painting

Dislikes:
Lack of respect, Ignorance, Dishonesty, Unnecessary violence or destruction

Personality:
Kazuki is calm and collected, and often seems aloof or detached from the people and events around him. In reality, he is merely observing; he watches, listens, and waits until he feels he has enough information before making his own opinion heard or coming to a decision. Despite his seemingly standoffish nature, he isn't too hard to get along with so long as one gives him his space and his time. He often finds it hard to have lengthy conversations with others unless they are the ones initiating, as many of the subjects he prefers to talk about are beyond the scope of daily life. Nonetheless, there are many ways in which his intelligence can be appreciated by those around him, and if you need someone to formulate a strategy he's an excellent tactician and quite knowledgeable of monster habits.

Kazuki keeps a tight lid on his emotions most of the time, but the closer one becomes to him the more this control begins to slip. A sure sign that he's comfortable around someone to some degree, even if they're not on the best of terms as friends, is if he actually shouts when he gets angry or talks more often around them.

Short backstory:
Even though he was born to a noble family, Kazuki wasn't as removed from the outside world as one might think. Indeed, his father admired Hunters a great deal, and often funded Quests in order to obtain rare gemstones or other decorative "parts" from the Monsters they hunted, give his family a feast on the rarest of monster delicacies, or capture a specimen for personal study or entertainment in the Arena. Naturally, as Kazuki grew up on the tales of their heroics, he considered trying to become a Hunter himself, but had no idea how other than what he read from many reference books and adventure novels.

When he was ten years old, his family decided to take a trip to the famous Yukumo Hot Springs. On their way through the Misty Peaks, however, their carriage was attacked by a Mizutsune driven berserk by the mating season. Kazuki's father had hired a Hunter to accompany them for this very reason, but up until now Kazuki had written off the silent, stoic man as an incompetent who didn't even know how to speak, and probably took an easy job like caravan guarding because he couldn't hunt real monsters.

How wrong he was. Without hestitation the Hunter leaped into battle, and though Kazuki had to watch through the small window of the carriage while his mother clutched him tightly, what he saw mesmerized him. There was no wasted motion, and no rough exchanging of blows--the adept Hunter flowed from one strike to the next with precision and grace, and moved as if he knew every move the monster was going to make before it had even begun the attack. Not a single blow touched his armor, and in less than a quarter-hour the Mizutsune fell slain. The Hunter had sheathed that long, elegant blade before the monster's corpse even hit the ground. When Kazuki asked the man how he too, could become a Hunter like that, the man said two simple things:

"Don't get hit. And hit it til it dies."

So began his apprenticeship under this Hunter, and when he turned twenty his master declared him fit to begin his own career. Kazuki left his home and, seeking a trade hub where there would be plenty of work, found himself among the caravans in Val Habar. He breezed through the traditional beginner's rituals like Mushroom Gathering and Delivering Kelbi Horns, and even fought the likes of Kut-Ku, Seltas, and the Great Jaggi (Though his Master had always called such creatures "trash-tier").

As a 2* Hunter, he now felt he needed to test himself with greater challenges, and continue his training until he attains the Zen-like state his Master displayed over ten years ago. A perfect opportunity to do so came to him when the Guild announced that a village called Cantarco was in need of Hunters. Its volcanic surroundings seemed a bit unusual compared to the usual progression of a Hunter through plains, forests, swamps, and mountains...but wasn't that exactly what he needed? Some place that would keep him on his toes, where danger lurked at every step? So he packed up, and set off...