Name: Kazama Kosubaku

Age: 17

Gender: Male

Appearance: Kazama is around 5,9 feet tall. He has a cheery air around him and a face that old people would call "trustworthy". He tends to wear sports clothes for easiness of movement for his part-time jobs.

Personality: An energetic, cheery, and upbeat young man who is always on the look for his next adventure, not wanting to waste away his golden years as a highschooler in the "spring of his youth"... or so he wishes, if it weren't for the multiple part-time jobs and errands he has to manage to make ends meet, but never the one to let small things like that sour his mood, Kazama affronts life's with a smile on his face.

Yet, is it not the nature of man to want something better for his life? Even if he would never admit it, sometimes, as he gazes into the starry night, his heart craves a better future, one where he doesn't have to be the pillar of the house, one where he gets to enjoy time with his friends, one here where he gets to enjoy freedom... but every time that thought passes for his head, it's guiltily stomped, yet never extinguished.

Kazama doesn't really have any hobbies, as he's too busy otherwise, but on the little free time he has he likes to gather and collect tourist pamphlets, enjoying the sights and unique attractions each destination offers. If he doesn't immediately crash on his bed after eating dinner, he tends to get on the roof through a nearby tree and, while looking at the stars, imagine what he would do in each of those places.

Skills:

Worker's Physique: While not on the level of a dedicated gym-goer or athlete, Kazama's body has been conditioned by years of part-time jobs, some of them demanding hours of repetitive physical activity. This has led to the formation of muscles that, while not overly visible, still gives him more strength than an average high schooler.

Knowledge of tools: Kazama is acquainted with a rather large number of tools, from big shovels to delicate screwdrivers, he knows his way around them and can use them effectively in most situations

Street Smarts: While not the most academically gifted, Kazama's time on the streets while looking for his next job opportunity, and the fact that he was the one managing the finances of his house has led to him being rather savvy on more mundane, everyday matters. He likes to call it "wisdom one can only learn with experience"

Blue Collar Connections: A by-product of his time working various part-time jobs, Kazama has become sometimes of a regular in a number of places, ranging from construction sites to moving companies. His work ethic and can-do attitude have led the majority of those he worked with to cherish him, and, if asked, they would surely be able to aid in small things.

Equipment:

Shovel: An everyday shovel used for various construction works, it was Kazama's first thing at hand when he awakened his echo, and he just kept using it afterward.
Phone: An outdated phone, the only model he was able to buy with his pocket money.
Swiss Army Knife: A small multi-tool Kazama was able to buy after one whole year of saving. Even if the occasions he needed it were far in between, just bringing it with him makes him feel ready for any inconvenience.

Echo:
Name: Icarus, the Shackled Wings: An Echo born of Kazama's desire for a more free future that he feels is shackled by the errors of the past and the weight of the present.


Appearance: Imagine that his wings, instead of unfolded, are close to his body like a straitjacket and an anchor is tied to his left foot.

Abilities: As an echo related to the concept of Freedom, Icarus is geared for high-speed movement. He uses his speed for blitz tactics involving powerful slashes and kicks. As the element more in tune with the sky, Icarus can also utilize wind magic. His weak point is his lackluster (in comparison to other Echoes that is) physical defense.

If the situation were to call for it, Icarus can briefly spread his wings and carry up to one person in short bursts of flying. This tends to tax Kazama more heavily than any other action, as he doesn't see himself as capable of attaining the freedom associated with it.

Brief Backstory: Kazama Kosubaku's early life was one of joy and happiness. His father always regaled him with the most fun of tales, and his mother cooked the most delicious of meals every day, for a boy his age, it was everything one could ask for. But life tends to twist at the most inopportune of times, and sometimes, for the smallest of reasons.

It was one tiny mistake at his office job, but it was all that took for his father to lose his job. Maybe it was a way of coping, or maybe it was to escape from the shame, but little by little, the money they had saved was drunk away by a man who could not support his family. Regrettably yet to the surprise of no one, this led to his eventual death, one rainy evening, while walking back to his house from the bar, Kazama's father slipped on a puddle and hit his head on the pavement. Instant death, the medic had said to the grieving widow and the crying young man. The little money they had left was used for the funeral, and the stability of the Kosubaku home was left on the shoulders of a housewife not accustomed to working.

The stress of trying to insert herself into a highly competitive and ruthless work market a short time after her husband's death while at the same time taking care of her adolescent son was too much for her, and, after being diagnosed with clinical depression, was unable to leave the house, and even less of supporting the household. And so, at only 13 years of age, that responsibility fell into Kazama's shoulders. At first, it was hard, and he cried for many nights, but in such circumstances, one is driven to grow up quickly. Thanks to the support of the workers he had to spend so much time with, Kazama accomplished to see life with a new perspective, and his cheerful mood even infected his mother, who started to once again care for the house, little by little.

Now, at 17 years of age, Kazama's life can not be called an ideal one. Friendly and helpful enough to have a number of acquaintances that know him by name, the fact that he has to spend most of his time earning money doesn't let him develop even a single friendship he could call a true one... but hey, there's folk out there who have it worse than him, at least he has a mother who loves him and can eat every night...

But sometimes, he wonders what kind of life he could have had if things didn't go the way they went, if he had at least one parent that could take care of him, and not the other way around, and as he looks in the sky, he chastises himself for even daring to think like that.

Name:
Tsubomi Amano

Age:
17

Gender:
Female

Appearance:
Image | A red-haired girl who stands at 5 feet 8 inches (or 172.72 cm) and weighs approximately 137 pounds, (or 78.47 kg) bearing amber eyes. Tsubomi has notably above-average musculature and an athletic build. She has a few scars across her arms and on the back of her right hand.

Personality:
Tsubomi is a fast and loyal friend who has trouble keeping secrets. She has a deep resentment for herself which drives her to constantly try to improve in everything she does. It's in part due to this that she has trouble asking for help no matter how desperate the situation, as she feels as if she doesn't deserve other people's time. However, she is overly trusting and gullible. She is quite competitive as it's a way to prove that she's not worthless like she believes herself to be. She dislikes authority and self-righteous people. She also despises insects and insect-looking creatures with all her heart.

She is very quick to anger, but usually can control herself before doing something she shouldn't. Though that's not to say she's not above beating someone up for a deep enough cutting insult, or especially for attacking her physically. Still, Tsubomi usually dislikes fighting unless it's to protect someone weaker.

Skills:
- Knife fighting: Tsubomi had to learn to fight with weapons that were easy to hide, such as knives, in order to defend herself effectively.
- Use of a sword: While not formally trained, she practices using a wooden sword daily.
- Improvisation: Tsubomi is a quick thinker and well-versed with makeshift items as weapons or otherwise.

Equipment:
A Bokken and a Courier Bag filled with the following items: Pocket Knife, Pocket Multitool, Flashlight, Cellphone, MP3 Player, Headphones, Waterproof Matches, Lighter, Compass.

Echo:
Name:
Samjok-o
Appearance:
A giant crow with three legs.
Abilities:
- Physical Reinforcement: This Echo can strengthen Tsubomi and her weapons to make them more effective in battle.
- Flames of Heaven: Being associated with the sun, Samjok-o can manifest flames to burn away its enemies.

Brief Backstory:
Tsubomi lived a fairly uninteresting life until she was 8 years old, when her elder sister disappeared. The police were unable to find any conclusive evidence, but it was an open secret that one of the local gangs, called the "Demons," were behind it. As such, nobody was arrested. Tsubomi misunderstood the situation and believed that it were an actual demon that took her sister away, drawing the young girl into the realm of the occult. Her older brother tried to explain the situation to her, but she couldn't accept that actual people could be so evil.

At 10 years old, she witnessed her best friend die in a car crash just outside of Tsubomi's home. Despite the fatality, the driver who caused the crash was able to get away unscathed and was found Not Guilty of manslaughter nor murder due to their connections as a member of the other local gang, the "Angels." Tsubomi cut herself off from all other friendships after this, believing that they would only get her hurt. She began working out and training herself to someday get revenge on the one who caused the crash.

Age 13, Tsubomi was arrested for nearly killing a member of the Demons with a baseball bat, but because he was a suspect in a larger crime and her actions led to his being caught as well, she was let off the hook with a warning.

At age 14, Tsubomi and her older brother joined with an adult friend of theirs to found a street gang. The express purpose of this group was to take down the two other violent local gangs, however possible. Due to the hatred of these two gangs there was no shortage of applicants for their group. Soon they had dozens of members and could be found fighting their targets in the back alleys, and later on in the streets themselves. Despite being so young, Tsubomi found herself leading several people of various ages to fight more experienced opponents. She learned to fight from her brother and refined her ability through actual combat, though did not come away unscathed. By age 15 she had several scars from her battles. Before she turned 16, her gang had managed to oust one of the two they had been founded to defeat, the Demons.

A year after that victory, Tsubomi found the Angel who had killed her best friend years prior, and after nearly caving his skull in, was arrested for attempted murder and given a choice: Move away to live with her uncle far away or go to prison. She chose the former, and so she traded her metal bat for a wooden sword, a gift from said uncle when she arrived. He believed that a healthy outlet for her violent tendencies would help her let go of her history.

This past year she joined Yamamura High School. Her old fascination with the occult reared its head once more when she heard of "Strange Gospel."

Theme:
youtu.be/rePFEUu7YZs

Name: Gotoh Yuzu
Age: 16
Gender: Female
Appearance:


She stands at around 5’2 with a thin body all around. She is often scowling or frowning. Yuzu usually just wears her uniform around, if not she prefers casual baggier clothing.

Personality: Yuzu is someone with a fairly bad personality. She is a child prodigy, though its mainly seen in her interest in science there isn’t a single subject she doesn’t excel at. This fact seems to have gone right to her head. Yuzu looks down on others and will gladly let them know it. She always has to have the last word in both argument and conversation and especially loves when shes being praised by others. Despite her generally rude and over confident behavior, she can be something of a push over. She has more people she can call admirers than friends and even then Yuzu builds ire far more easily than appreciation.

Yuzu hates being seen as anything less than amazing in the eyes of others, something that gives her genuine anxiety to think about. Alongside that, failure is never an option for her. She doesn't enjoy getting close to people, but if she ever did, she would likely do a lot to keep that person around.

Skills:

Language: Yuzu is fluent in English and Spanish.

Genius: Academically, Yuzu is peerless, she could easily be teaching most classes she sits through. If her attitude was better, at least.

Musical Ability: Yuzu's aunt had her learn some instruments while she lived with her, though much of that isn't relevant anymore.

Equipment: A pocket knife

Echo:

Name: Muramasa

Appearance:



Abilities: Muramasa, despite taking the form of the sword, is able to float in mid air and move on its own, though it seems to only defend its user if left to act. Being a sword, its mainly used for physical combat. It enhances it’s users physical abilities more compared to other Echos but at the price of having it’s user fight more on the front line comparatively.

The sword is always at least dripping with dark red blood which can be harnessed to poison those who are cut by Muramasa, if its possible to poison them. The sword can also produce a large amount of blood, slashing it away to create water cutters.

Brief Backstory: Yuzu’s parents died in a car accident when she was only 6, but she doesn’t remember this.

Yuzu’s memories start to begin when she moves to her Aunt’s home. Its there that her caregivers first catch onto Yuzu’s apparent genius. Immediately, finds herself moving around again and again. Meeting doctors, meetings with teachers, meetings with college professors, meetings with her other relatives.

She was special, so everyone wanted her. Her Aunt and her husband had her focus exclusively on academics from a young age, drilling it into her head that she had to do so in order to be successful in life. It started with her having lessons after school and ended with school being completely at home. Her caregivers looked at Yuzu as if she were a money ticket, and Yuzu picked up on this in a sense. She sensed that her value was pinned solely on if she could become successful for her family, and she hated it.

Eventually Yuzu had to move again. Her grandparents managed to find out that her Aunt had pulled her out of school and had been withholding meals from her in favor of more lessons. In Yuzu's eyes, her grandparents weren't much better once she went to live with them. She saw their actions as taking a nicer approach to their meal ticket, though it was enough to keep her living with them.

Yuzu was powerless, and she knew it. She resented it. So she tried her very best to own it. The moment she entered high school she became a new person. Someone who was absolutely proud of her accomplishments! Yuzu was better than everyone and had all the time and chances to prove it to everyone. Yuzu had figured out there could be a way to enjoy how much she resented the people around her, and it was by aiming it at everyone else. Still, there was this nagging feeling, something that told her it just wasn't enough. But for now, it just had to do.

NAME: Hattori Kauro

GENDER:Male

APPEARANCE:
About 5'10 and just average built. He doesn't particularly follow fashion much but picks out what at least looks good on him and is the most comfortable. He does love his hoodies though. When he is working on his stories, he keeps his hair tied back and he wears glasses when he reads books.

PERSONALITY:
On the surface, Kaoru is an incredibly charming and charismatic young man. Social, intelligent, and confident he presents himself as someone who has everything put together and yet remains humble. He follows the latest trends, keeps up with the latest celebrity gossip, and so on. Kauro is the very model of a popular, cheerful social butterfly that will typically say yes to every invite for a social event. He does his very best to present to present himself as the best version of himself, but the real Kaoru though is not this, however.

The reality is that he finds it all exhausting. He doesn't care about most trends, celebrity gossip, and is exhausted from the constant social interactions he makes within his current social circle. The actual Kaoru is someone that is filled with anxiety and negative thoughts and likes to have a quiet time to himself though that is obviously something he keeps a secret. He vehemently does his best to keep it all under wraps, including his own childhood so people don't realize just how broken he is though that means he doesn't have anyone to talk to about his issues.

However, one of his defining traits is his love of reading and storytelling, especially mystery and horror though given that it contradicts his bright, refreshing persona he keeps the love of those genres to himself. Kaoru finds great pleasure in problem solving, finding the hints and details that others overlook. He loves a good puzzle, whether it's a physical one or something like an ARG.


SKILLS:

• Detective: Kauro is a very perceptive, intelligent young man, often taking note of things that others do not such as when certain facts do not line up or if something is out of place.
• English: His love of literature was so great that Kauro actually learned English so he could read most western books in their original language.
• Writing: He is actually a talented writer that goes under the pseudonym Ligeia and posts his stories online with great success though he keeps it a secret from others due to his anxiety and how it may damage his persona.

EQUIPMENT:

• Pen
• Notebook
• Smart Phone
• Dagger

ECHO:

• Name: Nevermore
• Appearance:
  A strange, unnerving humanoid being. Nevermore stands at 8 feet (2.4384 meters) tall though it is always slouched, making it appear shorter than it actually is. Its body and its limbs seemed to resemble long, gangly black tree branches despite the fact that they have a texture of wrought iron. Those same branches make up its torso to form something that resembles ribs. Protruding from its back are those black, iron branches except they are sparsely covered feathers made from the same material to create something that looks like wings. Its head is humanoid save for a raven-like beak and also has the same black coloration as the rest of its body and its mostly featureless save for when it opens its mouth to reveal its human teeth and long, sharp tongue.
• Abilities:
  Darkness: It is not darkness in the traditional sense, but more of the "gravity of darkness." The darkness that Nevermore generates manipulates gravity within its reach. This darkness can be used in wide swathes or can be shaped into attacks such as spheres or beams of heavy gravity. Nevermore, despite its wings, cannot fly so it uses its darkness to simulate flight. However, at the moment it is quite taxing on his body, so it is not something that can be used in quick succession.
  Limb Extension: Nevermore can extend and retract its limbs. Can use its limbs for long range attacks and such.
  Branch Generation: Nevermore can create more branch-like limbs from its body that can be used for a variety of purposes, such as wrapping new limbs around its already existing limbs to make a heavier attack, increase defense, a flurry of attacks, and so on.

BRIEF BACKSTORY:
Kaoru's story isn't that unusual. His father knocked up his mother in a one-night stand and were wed out wedlock though by the time he was five years old, Kauro's mother walked out on them. His father was an abusive alcoholic with no prospects of getting a proper job and essentially made his son's life a living hell. Kauro's only solace were the books he'd be able to get from the library and the late-night movies when his father was passed out from a drunken stupor.

This went on until he was thirteen, when it all came to a head. One night his father became exceptionally drunk after losing his janitorial job and was violent. He blamed his son for everything, that he was the starting point where things went wrong. Kauro locked himself in his room as his father kept pounding his door and screamed at him to "open the fuck up," eventually breaking the door down where things escalated even more. The boy felt his father's hands around his neck and as he saw the last bit of light fade, his father collapsed. In a twist of fate, his father's pancreas burst from pre-existing conditions worsened by excessive alcohol consumption and stress. His father did not survive and Kauro was taken in by his father's sister's family and transferred schools.

For all its worth, his life did improve after that. His sister had long tried to get custody over Kauro, but the courts ruled in his father's favor and his father did not want to let him go due to the welfare checks he was getting that were meant to be used for his son. So, in her custody he had actually a healthy life for the first time ever, but the damage was done. Kauro acted like he was fine, putting on an act that made him popular with others around him, but in reality, it was a coping mechanism and an unhealthy one at that. The only thing that he was truly passionate about were the books he read and eventually began to write his own stories at the encouragement of his aunt and post them online.

That is how Kauro lived the last three years of his life when he heard a rumor called Strange Gospel. He thought that the Strange Gospel was just an ARG and tried as he might, he could not find a lead. Kaoru had given up though fate had something else in store for him. He was working on a story when he received a message from his father containing a link to Strange Gospel and against all reason, he clicked the link and saw a video of the future. It was just a mundane news clip about a traffic accident on the local news and just like the rumors said, he saw it on TV later.

He was fascinated. It was one thing to be in a book or an ARG, but it was real. Again, he sought for it though this time it had found him when he received a text notification from his deceased father. He saw the video. Shadows over the moon, a black tower, a man with a white mask. The mystery had taken a turn and now things have gotten worse. Students are disappearing and now there were rumors of a man in a trench coat. Every nerve in his body told him not to get involved though the detective in him could not help, but to be thrilled at the prospect of a real paranormal case. Everything led back to Strange Gospel.