Name: Sanji Hidaka
Age: 27
Nationality: Sarukinan
Class: Apothecary
Role: Medic
Appearance: A lengthy mane of reddish hair frames (and partially obscures) Sanji's youthful countenance. He has long been unable to grow facial hair, whether due to burns he's sustained or fumes from his concoctions or perhaps even utilizing enough vulneraries to slow his aging, he nor anyone who knows him is sure of. His eyes are a dulled yellow which matches his most common wardrobe choice. His left cheek bears a burn mark from his most recent reckless mistake while cooking up remedies. All his clothes are tattered or singed. The satchel of ingredients he carries is threadbare, and its contents occasionally slip through the holes. He stands lean and tall at 6'4" and only weighing 178 lbs.
Personality: Sanji is typically quiet and reserved, though not exactly "shy". He simply doesn't see conversation as much of a necessity. After all, he has far too much swimming about in his brain concerning different herbs, fungi, and berries, as well as all manner of biological oddities he may discover. The most anyone is likely to hear of Sanji speaking is if they catch him while he is writing the day's discoveries in his rather disorganized notebook, at which point he mutters a near-incoherent string of "scientific phrases" as he scribbles hurriedly across the pages of the book. He is easily startled due to being generally out of touch with the world around him, and has quite a few fears, though he generally keeps these to himself.
He dislikes fighting, as he tends to not be very skilled at it, and will try to keep to the back lines if combat ever does break out. This ends up usually being the only time he pays attention to the things going on around him so he doesn't mistakenly end up with an axe between his eyes. This also helps in that if one of his companions ends up injured, he can rush to their aid with medicine in hand.
History: Sanji was born into the Wind Tribe of Sarukina, his mother a native, his father half-Hoshidan. Sanji was named in honor of his Hoshidan blood, as his mother hoped it would invoke that same spirit of honor that Hoshidan warriors were known for. (Spoiler Alert: It didn't.) He was raised gathering herbs and berries to help the tribe, and was also given instruction in the bow for hunting, but he unfortunately never could adequately grasp the concept.
When he was but 10 years old, Sanji was put through a test to see if he could one day be a warrior for the tribe. He failed spectacularly. From that day forth, Sanji's father, one of the foremost warriors of the tribe, never spared an opportunity to express his disappointment in Sanji. However, Sanji eventually began to take lessons in herbs and medicine from one of the tribe's healers, a skill at which he excelled. When others would go into combat, Sanji would treat their wounds with medicine he had concocted. However, a day came when Sanji was 19 that he was separated from his tribe during a battle, the battle that would alter the course of Sanji's life.
He found himself in the midst of the woods, alone with the sound of brigands echoing through the dark underbrush all around him. He came to a small clearing where he found someone who had been injured. This person was neither brigand nor fellow nomad, but Sanji rushed to their side and began treating their wounds just the same. Before he had quite finished treating this person, one of the cutthroats had found him and rushed at him, axe raised. Only a moment before the steel met Sanji's flesh, another figure stepped out of the woods and felled the bandit in a single, glorious flourish. That was the day that Sanji met and joined the Silver Hawks mercenary company. He had saved one of their lives, and they had saved his. Ever since, he has been the company medic, healing his comrades both during and after battle, and when he's lucky, he gets to plant an arrow in his foes. He never did try to rejoin with his tribe, as he felt the only way to prove to his father that he wasn't a disappointment would be to prove himself without the tribe.
Skills: He possesses no remarkable strength, only just able to reasonably carry a satchel full of herbs and ingredients and draw his bowstring to full length. However, he is more than knowledgeable in his craft as an apothecary and medic to whip up a vulnerary or antitoxin with impeccable efficiency.
Trivia: Effectively, in-game, this would be a character with an E-Rank in Bows. He'd possess low Str and Def, mediocre Skl, astronomical Lck and Spd, and decent Mag (practically useless) and Res. His Mov would also possibly be higher than normal (maybe he got himself a nice pair of Running Shoes
TM)?
Relationships:Beatrice "Beato" Rothschild: When Beato joined the company, despite her being much more vocal than Sanji is generally comfortable around, Sanji still saw the immediate chance to make some extra gold. The excess medicines he produced for the company, she'd be able to sell at a significant mark-up. It seemed the perfect business opportunity. So Sanji approached her with this idea, and to his pleasant surprise, she agreed.
What was initially a completely cordial business arrangement eventually developed into an unlikely friendship, and Sanji found himself training alongside Beato at target practice. Not that he ever became "adequate" with the bow, and he was repeatedly outshined by her performance. But, a bit of friendly competition never hurt, and Sanji has gotten
slightly more accurate as a result. Not that he hits the target more frequently, but more that his arrows find themselves slightly less awry at the end of the day.
Toda Ujiteru: Toda and Sanji both joined the Silver Hawks only a few months apart, and weren't always close largely due to the one thing they have in common: quietness. Toda seemed to, at first, acknowledge Sanji with caution, and Sanji for the longest time didn't bother in any attempts to break the ice. However, as time passed, the two found themselves rescuing one another from death's clutches with increasing frequency. Sanji's salves could heal the injuries Toda sustained on the battlefield, and Toda was able to fell the foes who were among the greater threats to Sanji.
To this day, despite spending roughly seven years in the company together, the two haven't said much to one another, but have engaged in what almost appears to be a silent competition, seeing who can save the other's life the most during their shared time in the company. Despite not saying much about it, Sanji truly appreciates Toda's presence and aid.
Matsuyama Izumi: Sanji never noticed the stealthy persona that is Izumi--he didn't even know when she joined the company, whether it was before or after himself. He only noticed her when she--quite abruptly--approached him with a job request. (When she first took note of Sanji, he had no idea.) She needed materials, but not the kind that he usually utilized in medicine, but rather the varieties needed in producing poisons of various effects and potencies.
Sanji was initially hesitant on taking the jobs, but he was never given any reason to believe that Izumi planned to poison him (though he has found himself in the habit of carrying the antidotes to her requests, just in case). And as long as Izumi poses him no threat, he acquires the necessary reagents (and occasionally even mixes them) no questions asked. Within recent weeks, Sanji has warily begun sharing some of his knowledge of herbalism with Izumi in short lessons when the two are free.
Nerea of Ilpasire: Ever since Nerea's joining the Silver Hawks, Sanji has found her to be a frequent patient of his. A reserved person off the battlefield, but a wild warrior on, Nerea has been a subject of Sanji's curiosity for as long as he's known her--he's often wondered if she is perhaps a victim of split personalities, though has never been bold enough to ask. The two tend to find themselves eating together at meal times as neither is bothersome to the other, both preferring the quiet of each other's shared company to the noise that tends to echo around the rest of the camp.
Another element to Nerea that has piqued Sanji's curiosity is her utility of the magic arts. Much like his use of medicine, magic could be used to save a life--or take one. Once, he asked her to share some of her knowledge of magic with him. Her response was to hand him a rather weighty tome, which Sanji opened later that evening only to shut it back and return it shortly after. The book in question was full of some rather dark magics which Sanji now wishes he hadn't laid eyes upon, and it was his decision in that moment that magic was not for everyone. In spite of this, a sorceress was a helpful ally to have around, even better to have one he could call a friend. Thus, their companionship has persisted, and Sanji finds himself patching Nerea's wounds after each battle.
Noriko Aburaage: The current captain of the Silver Hawks isn't one whom Sanji has had too many interactions with. To be fair, she's got a great deal more muscle mass than himself, so on the rare occasion that Noriko does seem to take notice of him, Sanji prays to the combined pantheons of both Hoshido and Nohr that it's not because she's angry. And they seem to have thus far answered his prayers. Generally, their interactions are after battles in which Sanji has excelled in his work as a medic and has saved the other mercs' lives at the risk of his own. Her line to him rarely varies far from, "Keep up the good work, kid," which is then accompanied by a pat on the back that nearly winds him with perfect consistency.
The Silver Hawks: As the company medic, it tends to be difficult for Sanji to avoid contact with any member of the mercenary company. Some names and faces have stuck better with him than others, and many have come and gone. In particular, the recent months have seen a significant influx in members. While generally quiet, Sanji does his best to provide equally the necessary medical attention to every member of the company who finds themselves in his care.
