Characters:
[CHAR] Shadow Contract: An Urban Fantasy Action RP
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- Fantasy
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- GM VitaVitaAR Co-GM FujiwaraPhoenix
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Raineh Daze Figure of Hourai
Member
Seen
2 hrs ago
- Name: Ando Hikari
- Age: 17
- Gender: Female
- Appearance: Forever stuck looking about 10 when dressed properly.
- Personality: For someone who looks so young, Hikari's attitude certainly isn't. Despite not even having left school yet, she's by default jaded and bitter, with particularly dim views on authority figures. On the other hand, she's also quietly confident where Grudges are concerned, even though most of her time in battle won't have more to call on than her own skill, or that she might end it without even that to work with. It's also quite hard to get a read on her expressions; Hikari doesn't emote much.
- Backstory: Hikari was, despite appearances, physically born as a boy. Raised around the Kumano Taisha, Hikari's future was always intimately tied to the shrine itself and the religious practice therein, and something about that was bothersome in a way that could never quite be put into words. Until, of course, the need for new contractors to replace the old came calling as ever, and as a third son there was no question that it would be fine if their shrine's deity thought to answer, to deem Hikari worthy—
Well, the long and short of it was that Susanoo did consider her worth contracting, and the lack of concern she had for the obvious price paid finally answered a lot of questions. Just turned ten at the time, that left several years before she would be sent away to properly apply her learned skills, which seemed a rather valuable amount of time to prepare given the sheer breadth of options and potential for danger such a contract posed.
That was when the other costs became clear. Obviously, she wasn't growing, and her endurance steadily decreased—her parents pushing her to practice more and more all the time, even though she knew the link was clear. In the end, by the time she got away to school—and in Tokyo at that, far from the shrine—there was very little of her full reserves to call on. That's obviously not something that a school curriculum has helped with, which Hikari is particularly bitter about, as she knows her own aptitude and the depth of the contract should warrant better. - Skills: Although she doesn't look it, the tiny girl is remarkably adept with a sword, although not in a way that lends itself to any sporting usage. She's also astonishingly knowledgeable about the various gods of Shinto, for some obvious reasons, although she could be considered overly specialised for that. Her conventional education is pretty much entirely left to languish… aside from literacy, and for some reason smugly rubbing in her calligraphy.
- Spiritual Energy Grade: Practically speaking, E. It should be much higher—although how much so, nobody can really tell as she'd already lost a lot of headroom before it came up—but that would take months if not years of total inactivity.
- Contracted Being: Susanoo-no-Mikoto
- Contract Rank: C—measured at her current stamina.
- Contract Abilities: Naturally, such a potent contracted figure offers a wide range of potent abilities: the ability to call a storm or force one to subside; enormous power over the seas or hostile waters, or simply the control and invocation of them oneself; even a very potent healing ability that can cure nigh any disease as well as address injury—and to use any of them would put the wielder out of action for the rest of the day, and anything too grandiose would be left untamed and uncontrolled. Instead, the majority of her contract's use is the comparatively-free ability to manifest Susanoo's own blade, with Hikari preferring to call it the more poetic Ame-no-Habakiri unless a giant serpent actually shows up, and just do the best she can with a plain-looking, straight-edged sword… fortunately, one both indestructible and spiritually effective, even without the rest of the contract's powers to call on it.
- Cost: The very initial cost of the contract was to be transformed into a girl… which really wasn't much of a cost at all, from Hikari's perspective. Naturally, though, contracting such a prominent and ancient deity had other costs associated with it: Hikari hasn't grown since the contract was made, her potential to reach physical adulthood also traded away, and any severe use of the contract's abilities does more than consume spiritual energy, it's scarring. As a result, her available spiritual energy has been gradually whittled away through carelessness or necessity.
It even has a tertiary cost... she says. Or maybe she just likes going home for long enough to take part in ceremonies. She certainly dresses as a shrine maiden enough.
Rune_Alchemist Absolute Depravity
Member
Seen
0-24 hrs ago
- Name:
Chiori Fukuzawa - Age:
16 - Gender:
Female - Appearance:
Chiori clocks in at roughly 5'4, with pale skin and can often be found wearing a comfy jacket at school over her uniform, sporting immaculate painted nails and we'll kept black hair with pink highlights. A slightly more rebellious appearance for someone with a personalty that wants nothing more than to not stand out or be noticed in some way. When not at school or otherwise, she can be found wearing some pretty typical more punk like fashion. She thinks dressing the part will make her more confident. It only kind of works. - Personality:
Otaku punk who has a tendency to speak very little. In her day to day, she tends to keep to herself, not really wanting to interact with others too much - she finds people and relationships exhausting. Not that she doesnt want to get along with people, she just doesnt know how to really properly do so. This tends to make her come off as just a bit standoffish and rude to others so she ends up keeping most people at arms length. Really, she's just nervous and somewhat socially anxious and doesn't know how to speak up well and is somewhat weak willed.
Notably though, she does her studies well, and puts a great deal of effort into most things she does, as long as they don't relate to interacting with people overly much beyond the typical student and day to day duties she does.
Likes to dote on her little sister. - Backstory:
Chiori, has had a completely mundane life, being completely unaware of the supernatural happenings around her. Happy family, and an adorable little sister she wants to spoil at every turn, a pet cat. The only notable thing, perhaps, was how little of a presence she had in her day to day. Not exactly being shy or awkward, rather it seemed as though she didn't take much interest in other people.
Truthfully, she's still not super certain about this whole mess she finds herself in. Her forming a Contract with a moon rabbit was about as mundane as the rest of her life.
A new years festival she was attending with her family. She wanted some piece and quiet, so chiori ended up wandering off alone somewhere quiet...quiet enough that she heard a gentle thumping sound, like something or someone beating something...and notably, a large pile of freshly made Mochi nearby sitting in front of an offering box.
Now, good religious Japanese kids would definitely not take or even entertain the idea of it. Chiori, was not a good kid some of the time. She only had one as far as she tells it, and the next thing she knew was the feeling of being lightly bonked on the head and a somewhat irritated, talking, rabbit.
"That mochi wasn't for you! I'd have been happy to make you some, but I was making that for the shrine!"
Not knowing quite what to say or respond with, by the time she had realized it, she agreed to help the rabbit replace the ones she had eaten...unknowingly, and not quite reading the fine print of permanent mochi making employement. - Skills:
Very quickly becoming skilled in the traditional act of Mochi making, but otherwise nothing particularly helpful to her current occupation. She's fairly knowledgeable about computers, though and cooks for herself and little sister every so often. - Spiritual Energy Grade:
S- Contracted Being:
Lunar Rabbit - Contract Rank:
C - Contract Abilities:
The Lunar Rabbit, is not an incredibly strong entity. The only thing that makes it strong, perhaps, is Chioris abnormally high amount of spiritual energy. Being depicted as fighting Sun Wukong in the Journey to the west, as a being that pounds mochi or the elixir of life on the moon, to a selfless and wise creature that sacrificed itself so another could eat.
As far as abilities go towards Chiori, the rabbit is often seen as a symbol of luck and fortune, and as such blesses Chiori with the same, however small of an amount, that makes her able to nudge things just in her favor a little.
Her main ability though, is being able summon a rabbits mochi mallet to herself as a weapon to smash grudges. The weapon itself is a large decorative hammer with a rabbit face carved into the face of the hammer. Just as well, and much to her bemusement, using this causes her to grow rabbit ears and her hair to turn pink as well as converts spirit energy into raw physical force...for beating grudges into Mochi, of course. - Cost: The cost for her is fairly simple and straight forward. Make Mochi. Lots and lots of Mochi. Hand and traditonally made, and then given to others at least once a week. It doesnt matter what kind of Mochi it is, as long as its hand made and given to others. On holidays such as the new year, she is required to make more. As she has yet to experince her first new year as a contractor, she dreads to find out exactly how much 'more' is.
- Contracted Being:
NAME: Hayakawa Kimiko
AGE: 16
GENDER: Female
APPEARANCE DETAILS:
Rather tall for a girl her age, Hayakawa possesses the build of one used to physical activity. She's lean and lithe, in fit shape but without considerable musculature or bulk. Hayakawa regularly wears a smirk or scowl on her face, combined with sharp facial features set on clear and clean skin, and amber eyes. Hayakawa dresses in street fashion when possible, and takes good care of her personal appearance, though not as meticulously as others might. Her dark hair is usually tied into a ponytail and she is rarely seen without her 'signature' red bomber jacket- wearing at any opportunity, even over her school uniform.
PERSONALITY:
Confident, though not quite to the point of arrogance, and stubborn, Hayakawa carries herself with the air of someone steady and sure of themselves. Occasionally brash and prone to being a bit hot-headed, Hayakawa has a rebellious streak a mile long and an at-times blatant disregard for authority, earning her a reputation of being a bit of a delinquent. She's loyal to a fault towards those she trusts, even if she doesn't always agree with or even like them at the time. Hayakawa values freedom above all and hates being restricted, and has a tendency to lash out when she feels trapped.
BACKSTORY:
Born an only child, Hayakawa's parents passed away shortly a few years after she was born, and she fell into the care of her paternal grandmother. Hayakawa's grandmother tended one of the few Shinto temples left in Yokohama, often times dragging Hayakawa along to help out, kicking and screaming. Her grandmother did her best, and meant well, but the family was always busy and short on money, and the older lady was never able to keep up with a growing child. As a result, Hayakawa spent most of her time away from the house, getting lost in whatever she found herself in at the time, from gaming, to graffiti, smoking, skipping curfew and generally causing trouble.
While bright enough as an individual, Hayakawa never paid much attention in school. Scraping by with her education, Hayakawa scored making smack dab in the middle of the pack at school. A bit notorious for her poor relationship with school faculty, Hayakawa had gotten into trouble with the police more than once throughout her early school life. Her poor reaction to the rumor mill and trouble with authority earned her the reputation of a delinquent and bully.
In an attempt to reign her in, Hayakawa's grandmother took her to the temple when she was 15 during the rainy season, to pay respects to her family and ancestors. At that temple, during the midst of a storm, Hayakawa made contact with a Raijū that had watched over her family for generations, whom had been subject to a shadow contract with her father- and now her.
With her eyes now opened to the world around her, Hayakawa for perhaps the first time in her life, looks forward to going to school.
SKILLS:
Hayakawa is active and physically fit, strong for her age and size, with plenty of stamina to boot. She is surprisingly well practiced with archery, participating in both the archery club at her old school, and having learned traditional bowmanship with grandmother.
SPIRITUAL ENERGY GRADE: B
- CONTRACTED BEING: Raijū - Thunder Beast
- CONTRACT RANK: B
- CONTRACT ABILITIES:Taking on aspects of a thunder beast, when using her contracted powers, Hayakawa moves faster than normal, leaving sparks, crackling electricity and scorch marks in her wake. Her speeds are still very much human, but often quick enough to get her into and out of trouble.
Offensively, Hayakawa is able to create in her hands bolts of electricity, semi-solid bolts of about a meter in length, with which she can then fire from her Azusa Yumi, throw like a spear, or strike with like a weapon. Though quick to conjure, at the moment, only two of these bolts can exist at any given moment in time. - COST:Much to her chagrin, in order to maintain these powers, Hayakawa must present prayers and tend to the local temple weekly, during which she must remain poised and polite. In addition, Hayakawa is charged with the protection of one of the Raijū's distant descendants: a fat, ill mannered and lazy Shiba named Kiri.
King Cosmos
Member
Seen
5 hrs ago
Hoga Nao
- Name: Hoga Nao
- Age: 16
- Gender: Female
- Appearance: At around 5’ 6” Nao is taller than average and has a slim build. Her black hair is cut into a messy bob that stops just below her ears, which is dyed with purple highlights at the tips. Black and purple are her dominant colour scheme in fact, the shade of her hair matched by the black and purple jacket she wears; the dark colours only broken up by its white stripes. The rest of her clothing varies, but is usually similarly dark.
- Personality: Nao carries herself with a self-assured cockiness mostly seen in people who have yet to be taught that they are not as good as they think they are; the arrogance of someone who has not been proven wrong. Her attitude towards others is combative and challenging, quick to put others down and push them to do something.
However, this confident attitude is quick to turn into indignation and outrage when it is turned back on herself and Nao has a quick temper that can flare up suddenly at any perceived slight. Furthermore, Nao is a person who holds long grudges and isn’t shy to seek vengeance. - Backstory: Originally from Osaka, and still carrying a strong Osaka-ben accent, Nao moved to Tokyo in the final year of middle school. Showing up halfway through the year, lacking in confident and being kind of loud and abrasive compared to her classmates, Nao had a hard time fitting in and didn’t make any friends by the end of the year. The following year she attended a high school nearby, as did a number of her middle school classmates, and things were not much better; in fact, they were considerably worse as rather than just being a loner, Nao’s attitude led to her getting involved in a lot of fights (with her classmates) and arguments (with her teachers) and soon found herself with a reputation as the “loud mouthed trouble maker” of her school.
It didn’t take her long to get fed up with this and it was near the end of her first year that she began to skip school entirely, instead spending her days wandering Tokyo by herself. Her parents were aware of this and tried to confront Nao, but this just led arguments at home instead and only served to further push her away. It was out of boredom, more than anything else, that led her to shoplift the first time; stealing some junk food from a konbini because she was too lazy to pay for it. When nothing bad happened she did it again, finding that the thrill of maybe getting caught at least alleviated her tedium a little, until it became a regular habit.
One day she bumped into someone on the street, or maybe they intentionally bumped into her, and found herself confronted by an angry young man who demanded an apology and payment for a feigned injury; a shakedown via intimidation. Nao gave him neither, instead kicking him somewhere painful and running off with his full wallet which he had foolishly been waving around. Once safely away she laughed herself hoarse as her heart beat wildly and the next day she escalated from shoplifting to pick pocketing for the first time. This did not go nearly as well and more often than not she had to run from her targets; she got quite good at sprinting through busy street and cramped alleyways as a result, as well as quickly learning how to climb her way out of dead ends. With enough practice, Nao found herself running away less and less.
The money she acquired this way went mostly unspent; aside from occasionally spending it on food and entertainment during the day most of what she took was hoarded away, stolen just for the sake of stealing it. After a couple months Nao even began to teach herself how to pick locks, though never found the nerve to do anything with her new skill.
It was during the break between her first and second year of high school that Nao saw possibly the most beautiful woman she had ever seen. Why she was the most beautiful, why she caught the eye as much as she did, Nao couldn’t exactly explain; she just kind of had the feeling that this woman was the most attractive person alive. Regardless, the woman’s appearance didn’t capture Nao’s attention quite as much as the large jewel she was carrying did. It looked like an oversized pearl, glittering white and almost glowing with some kind of inner light.
The jewel must have been far more valuable than the wallets she normally pickpocketed, valuable enough that taking it could get her into a lot more trouble than she knew how to deal with, but as the woman walked towards her Nao couldn’t stop herself from reaching out a deft hand to swipe the jewel from the woman’s hands before taking off down the street at a sprint.
Minutes later, when the sounds of the woman’s anger had faded and her blood was pumping loud enough in her ears to deafen her, Nao stopped to examine what she had taken. It was unlike anything she had seen and for a moment Nao wondered if it was even a jewel at all; it seemed too large, too unreal, to be genuine. Maybe she’d stolen some worthless trinket instead of anything valuable?
“Give that back!” The sudden shout almost had her dropping the ball in shock, but Nao managed to recover and grip it tight to her chest as she turned to find the woman, out of breath and furious, behind her.
Moving the ball behind her back as if it would hide the fact she had taken it, Nao smirked at the woman’s desperation, now half convinced that the ball was junk but willing to have some fun with it. “Eh, give what back?”
“The ball! Give me back my ball!” The woman’s shoulders were hunched up to her ears in rage, face contorted into something decidedly less beautiful than it had been before.
“Ah, this?” The ball reappeared in front of Nao and though the woman clearly wanted to leap for it, something held her back. “How do I know this is yours? Things like this are a dime a dozen aren’t they? I can’t just give this back without proof.”
“It’s useless to you! Even if you take it, you don't know how to keep it. It’s worth far more to me, so give it back if you don’t me to be your enemy forever!”
Nao’s smirk turned more mocking. “It’s worth a lot huh?” She began to pass the ball between her hands, throwing it back and forth and ignoring the growing sound in the back of the woman’s throat as she did so. It sounded a lot like an animal’s growl. “Want to put a number on that?”
The growling seemed to continue even as the woman next spoke, as if her mouth was making two sounds as once, but if there was anything unusual about this Nao didn’t notice it. She did notice when the growling suddenly stopped and the woman’s mouth lifted into a smirk of her own. “Oh, I see. You want to make a deal? Fine, it is very valuable to me after all. Let’s make a deal.”
Nao smiled like someone who had no idea they were about to lose. - Skills: Pickpocketing, lock picking, free climbing, running
- Spiritual Energy Grade: A
- Contracted Being: Kitsune – The many tailed fox
- Contract Rank: B
- Contract Abilities: Kitsune’s are known primarily for one thing; trickery. They can change their shape, often taking the guise of beautiful women and can create illusory sights and sounds to vex people. They are thieves and pranksters and Nao’s contract with one allows her many of the same traits.
Having made a contract with the Kitsune after stealing its Hoshi no Tama, the magic of the Kitsune allows her to create visual and auditory illusions; creating phantom sights and sounds that are visible or audible to as many or as few people as she wants. The form of the illusion, the shape of it or the way it sounds, will be exactly as Nao imagines it to be, meaning it will take constant concentration and imagination to maintain an illusion and will contain any flaws she includes or blank spots she forgets.
It also allows her to take on different forms, shape shifting in other people or even the form of animals or other yōkai. There is a limit to how much she can change her size however; she can become slightly bigger or slightly larger but cannot take on the form of a giant or a bird for example. The transformation also does not include any knowledge on how to move in her new form, should the form be drastically different from her own. - Cost: As payment for using the contracted power, Nao must make regular offerings of some kind to Inari shrines. The offerings should be proportional to how much she has drawn on the contract and cannot be stolen, or even given to her, and must be her own.
GM
VitaVitaAR King of Knights
Member
Seen
7 hrs ago
- Name: Kobayakawa Hiromi
- Age: 15
- Gender: Female
- Appearance: Petite for her age, and slim, on her own Hiromi doesn't present a particularly intimidating figure.
- Personality: A proud girl to the point of arrogance. At the very least, this is the typical perception of Hiromi's attitude. As the heir to one of the founding families, it is important to have pride in her bloodline. It's crucial to respect her origins. Thus, this is the mindset that informs the standards she sets for herself. Hiromi cannot accept anything but the best possible performance from herself, and ultimately this extends to her expectations of others as well. While she certainly does not believe the average contract-holder is capable of operating on equal footing with her, she expects them to do their best no matter the situation regardless. All of these factors lead a stern, prideful, and often irritable demeanor. Others frequently view Hiromi as cold or harsh, or overly egotistical. From Hiromi's point of view, she is simply holding others to the standards they should hold themselves, and taking pride in her own origins and family history. Despite this pride, the viewpoint of Hiromi and her family at large is that the purpose of their existence is as a shield to maintain order in Japanese society and in the hidden side of the world. They slaughter Grudges and protect the workings of the world. Hiromi's dedication to this purpose is paramount above all else, even her pride. Hiromi has an affinity for traditional clothing and food, things that are somewhat unsurprising given the often very traditional mannerisms of the Founding Families, but she especially loves Japanese sweets. Despite her slim figure, she can eat quite a lot of Japanese sweets. She is also rather reluctant to speak about the nature of her Cost, unusual given her typical pride in her own abilities. Hiromi is somewhat jealous of more mature-bodied girls, something she tries not to show directly but inevitably ends up letting spill.
- Backstory: Dating back to the very earliest days of the Heian era at least, the Kobayakawa are one of the Founding Families. It is at this time they established their contract, setting its payment and using the abilities granted by it to slaughter Grudges. Over a thousand years later, with the advent of the Shadow Academies, they were initially in opposition to their creation. By the logic of the Kobayakawa and their allies, it would dilute the status and overall capabilities of the protectors of Japan from Grudges. Only the Founding Families, in their eyes, possessed the capacity to act in this role. This conflict nearly lead to open violence, but it was the swelling numbers of Grudges as modernization bloomed in Japan that served as the final push. Though, the Kobayakawa never fully accepted it alongside their allies. Like most of the other Founding Families, traditions still remain important for the Kobayakawa, and so much of Hiromi's early life was immersed in these traditions. She was trained from a very young age to wield a sword, and lived in the large and isolated property owned by her family. She has been prepared for the purposes of serving as the heir to their bloodline and their techniques, something they invested a great deal of time and effort into. Her high degree of spiritual Energy, combined with her natural affinity for their techniques, proved to make her an excellent heir. While the Tokyo Academy Higher-ups view it as important to educate all Contract holders, it is viewed by the Kobayakawa as a formality rather than a necessity, born only from the agreements between the Founding families. It was for this purpose that Hiromi entered the Tokyo Shadow Academy after graduating from Junior High.
- Skills: Hiromi's early life was spent training her to wield a blade, and due to the high amount of effort placed in her training and her affinity for such purposes this has become considerably skilled for her age. Her training was particularly in the Kobayakawa's own personal form of swordplay, made to incorporate and formalize their various techniques for use with a blade.
- Spiritual Energy Grade: S
- Contracted Being: Tsukuyomi
- Contract Rank: A
- Contract Abilities: The Kobayakawa Bloodline Contract with the Lunar Deity, Tsukuyomi, giving them a twofold ability. The manipulation of reflected light, and the localized alteration of gravity. The former is in a directed state for use as an offensive attack, by focusing and condensing reflected light from the edge of a blade into beams. This permits long-ranged slashes or thrusts by projecting moonlight from Hiromi's weapon, an important part of Kobayakawa Swordplay. This facet of their contract abilities is known as Mangetsu. Multiple techniques of the Kobayakawa family utilize Mangetsu, the strongest of which being Gekkou Hansha. This technique uses the reflection of the moon and the edge of the blade to bounce light back and forth thousands of times, creating a massive blaze of lunar light encasing the katana before swinging down. Hiromi, however, has yet to master this technique. The other facet of the contract ability is known as Shingetsu, and is used in a variety of ways. Hiromi in particular uses it to scale walls or swiftly pull herself from one point or another, or push herself away for evasion. She may also use it to greatly reduce or completely stop a single target's ability to move, though as of now her ability to affect others is limited to a single target at a time. She may also use it to increase of decrease their speed, causing them to fumble, or suddenly align them to another surface or object to send them flying. Spiritual energy reinforcement can be used to defend against this ability, but it will likely not block it entirely.
- Cost: Performance of the Moonlight Cleansing Ritual by the family, once every ten years. The nature of the ritual is kept secret, with only those involved in its performance privy to its exact details.
coGM
FujiwaraPhoenix Archer Inferno
Member
Seen
44 min ago
- Name: Tenjou Seika
- Age: 16
- Gender: Female
- Appearance: "Rather nice out today, isn't it?"
Seika is a modest 5'6" (~167cm) with a figure that doesn't particularly stand out among the crowd of other Japanese people, much less other students. Her choice of clothing is also often rather low-key, opting for ensembles that are simple rather than gaudy whenever prompted. - Personality: Seika could be considered to be a rather friendly and outgoing individual, though not necessarily on the level of a social butterfly like some of her other more-popular classmates might be. At the very least, the young woman positions herself as something akin to a 'side character' (as her brother might put it) able to reach across the usual stratifications of friend groups in the class. To that end, Seika has become adept at both leading and maneuvering groups and social situations from the shadows—a distinct oddity given how her popularity might have shot up if what she spent her free time doing in lieu of accepting offers to hang out playing at arcades or singing karaoke came to light.
That being said, Seika doesn't desire the shallow popularity provided by student cliques; though peer approval is a meaningful part of her motivation to continue as she has, it is a desire to be acknowledged for what she has done and what she can do that pushes her to further and further heights. - Backstory: Though she originated from a rather mundane household (even by normal standards), Seika's childhood was punctuated more than anything else by the deep impression that the media her older brother consumed as she grew up. Games and anime that were popular among his peers were oft played while their parents were off working, and in so doing they became her introduction to the mass market appeal of otaku culture. In so doing, however, the young Seika found a connection to her sibling... And with that, a penchant for voice acting in turn.
With the boom in internet media where anyone could become an amateur videographer, Seika's brother found himself dabbling in experimenting with content to toss up on NND and YouTube, and began his slow grind through the content algorithm with something decidedly tried-and-true: gameplay with commentary. Seika, still quite young at this point, had one day chimed in and asked him if she could help. Curiosity of a child notwithstanding, the young man decided it reasonable enough to humor her request and prompted her to try reading some of the lines of a character in the game he was playing at the time. Her performance was surprisingly well-received by both him and by the pittance of an audience he had gathered at the time, which really just meant that she was unsurprisingly asked to do it again.
One thing led to another, though, and the young Seika soon found herself in talks with her parents about going to afterschool voice training classes to refine the one skill that she might not have ever found otherwise. Since then, though, that ability of hers, as well as the vocational tracks that they often lead towards, have become core parts of her identity and have remained as such since then. - Skills: Seika's voice could be considered one of her greatest strengths, and even if divorced from any connections to voice acting, her ability to speak and sing clearly could very well have opened other avenues for her to explore over the course of the years to come. Her ability to dance on stage is, in comparison, a bit lacking; while acting and movement through acting seems to 'click' at a glance, those movements serve a "purpose"—to convey the feelings and emotions of a character she is presenting. Modern dancing choreography is a bit too much for her at times, which really just means that being an idol was never really in the cards for her future—at least, not without extensive training to make up for her occasional two left feet.
Otherwise, though, Seika is rather adept at improvisation. Regardless of what the world throws her way or what tools she has at hand to try and break through a situation, Seika will do her best to figure something out to resolve it. - Spiritual Energy Grade: B
- Contracted Being: Menreiki
- Contract Rank: C
- Contract Abilities: Seika's contract allows her to, after paying a fixed amount of spiritual energy, summon a set of random masks for her personal use. Each mask has it's own set of abilities that can range from "completely useless" (such as increasing her ability to read faster) to summoning weapons (which she could or could not have any proficiency in using) to even increasing her physical capabilities or transforming her outright. The sheer randomness inherent in this ability leaves it's potential as inconsistent, and being coupled with the fact that Seika can only have one mask equipped at a time means that her actual usefulness in combat can vary wildly even over the course of a single battle.
- Cost: In order to continue using the effects of her contract, Seika she needs to 'perform' in some way, shape, or form to an audience. This can take many forms, be they singing, dancing, or acting to an audience, but obviously anything that incorporates all three provides the biggest benefits. Those 'benefits' primarily take the form of relative increases her "luck" whenever she next needs to invoke said contract, but may be subject to change in the future.
- Name: Jinpei Kato
- Age: 16
- Gender: Male
- Appearance:
- Personality: Calm and collected Jinpei tends to be almost lethargic in the way he acts, he is friendly but in a detached way, at least until someone starts speaking about stories, then any preconceived notion of idleness is thrown out of the window. A sweet tooth and a disgust for spicy dishes. Always carries no less than three pens on his person. Has a hidden mischievous streak.
- Backstory: As the child of a minor family of Contract Holders it would be easy to assume he would grow up training to become one, that is if one was anyone other than Jinpei. Born from two non-Contract Holders and with exceptionally weak Spiritual Energy it was believed that he didn't possess any at all, a fact that brought joy to the hearts of his parents, knowing that their child wouldn't be part of the unseen war.
Life was sweet during his first years, love was abundant, helped by his capacity to mingle with other normal kids as their family's house was firmly in the mundane part of town but close enough to their family's place of 'work' that they could respond to an emergency on either side. It was in one such emergency that he lost his aunt. He never learned exactly what happened, the most he was told at the time was that there was a complication and his aunt was assigned as part of a rapid response team. Something went wrong and it was shortly after that he, his parents, and a bunch of his aunt's coworkers were holding a funeral.
Eventually, like the other children, he was allowed to roam so he wouldn't disturb the adults, not knowing the other kids present and not wanting to socialize he decided to explore."The whithered man.
Skin as white as bone, robes that seemed ancient, and holding a scroll in his lap, seemingly detached from the world in a way that words failed to convey, his eyes itched and something inside was quietly telling him that approaching the man was to invite danger but his curiosity prevailed.
He wondered what the old man was writing, reaching him he asked it bluntly. Were his parents there to witness they would feel appalled at their son's lack of manners, that is if they could get over the horror of seeing their child talking to something they couldn't see.
The old man let out a chuckle.
"Ah, but is that truly the question you seek? Is it the text itself that holds significance, or rather, the purpose behind it?" The old man never turned his gaze "But to answer your question, child, I am not merely reading—I am engaged in the delicate dance of thought and ink, weaving the fabric of my narrative with the threads of contemplation."
Jinpei's interest was picked, he may not read a lot outside school but he still read manga from time to time, despite this the thought of meeting an author had never crossed his mind before and he was curious about what the old man who spoke funny was writing.
Another chuckle "A novel, I have come to the realization that the parchment of my existence remains bereft of the ink of narrative. It is a curious lacuna that has lingered in the recesses of my consciousness, beckoning me to traverse uncharted realms of expression."
There was a feeling of pressure growing around him.
Those were a lot of words that he didn't understand, but he got the gist of what he was talking about, a new question plagued his mind, what was it about?
"Ah, the essence of the story eludes even my grasp, for it is a journey yet untold—a narrative that emerges not from the dictates of my will, but from the whispers of the ink"
The pressure intensified but he didn't notice
He could only feel his confusion rise, how could the old man write a novel and not know what it was about? He decided to vocalize such thoughts.
"Tell me, youngster, when dawn breaks upon the horizon, do you dictate the path of the sun, or do you merely bear witness to the majesty of its ascent? In much the same manner, the genesis of a tale lies not in the predetermined machinations of its author, but in the serendipitous dance of inspiration and revelation" The air felt heavy for a moment, the old man didn't look different but where before he felt old now he was ancient. Then the next moment all the pressure he hadn't noticed disappeared and with it the weight behind the old man seemed to evaporate "But the first decision is the one and only that is mine and mine alone—the name of my protagonist"
That old man was weird, maybe senile? he looked like he could be very old so maybe he was loony? Mom always said to help his elders so why not help the old man choose a name for his protagonist
"What about Jinpei?" So what if it was his own name? He liked it.
The old man seemed to roll the name inside his mouth, face still directed at the canvas, and then a small smile appeared on his face as he seemingly came to a decision.
"Jinpei it is then"
For the first time since the conversation began the man separated his gaze from the book in his lap, his eyes were dark but serene, no different than a night without stars, the old man nodded at him and he nodded back with a smile, happy of having helped the old man.
The Contract was sealed"
He was found a couple of hours later, apparently having fallen asleep against a faded gravestone. It didn't take long for his family to find out about his new abilities and for his training as a Contract Holder to begin. - Skills: Stealth was a primary focus for him as his abilities aren't contact focused, People reading was something he developed on his own, General combat as part of his family trying to help him, he is at least able to fight against other normal people.
- Spiritual Energy Grade: E
- Contracted Being: The Ghost of Yoshida Kenkō
- Contract Rank: B
- Contract Abilities:
- Kengen: It allows him to choose something (designated as the Muse), once a Muse has been chosen a vessel will manifest, vessels vary in shape and form but they all share the common theme of telling a story, some examples of previous vessels include a comic book, a stone tablet, a pager with its controller and in one rare instance a musical sheet. The story depicted varies upon the person but as a general rule is a retrospective from their point of view up and is actualized in real time.
Cost: Each time Jinpei uses this ability, a portion of his memories is temporally erased (12h). The activation of this ability also creates mental strain so long periods of activation can lead to problems such as intense migraines, hallucinations, or emotional instability. - Hicchi: When Kengen is activated Jinpei is able to write ahead of the current sentence, he is able to affect the physical status of the Muse and their surroundings in minor ways (as long as they follow the internal logic of their narrative) but where this ability truly shines is when he influences their mental status, as a detriment or as a helper.
Cost: The memories erased become permanently lost. - Sokuhitsu: He can read and write at incredible speeds.
Cost: Jinpei's biological clock is slightly accelerated.
- Kengen: It allows him to choose something (designated as the Muse), once a Muse has been chosen a vessel will manifest, vessels vary in shape and form but they all share the common theme of telling a story, some examples of previous vessels include a comic book, a stone tablet, a pager with its controller and in one rare instance a musical sheet. The story depicted varies upon the person but as a general rule is a retrospective from their point of view up and is actualized in real time.
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