"The Yakuza shall rise once more, it's numbers infinite, it's power glorious and its hunger satisfied."
Name:Banha Akiyama
Age34
SpeciesBatarian
Gender:Male
Personality:One that does not know the crime boss personally may say he is cruel. Evil. A torturous man that has killed thousands and ruined millions of lives. They may say that he is deserving of being Enemy #1, a threat that only the Reapers and the more recent "Great Tide" could dwarf in treachery. These people are the innocents, the carpenter, the doctor, the normal men and women that walk the streets, feeling safe in their "perfectly normal" lives. These are people ignorant of Banha's true nature.
Among his people, he is a symbol of righteousness and rebellion, a fighter against oppression and corruption. Among enemies, he is one to be feared and run from, Enemy #1. Among friends however, he is a man under stress, handling the lives of millions of people under his command. With the recent arrival of the Dominion and their horrors, he struggles to find peace. He is stressed, he is tired, he is worn down. But Banha is the symbol of the New Yakuza, a strong people with a strong leader..
Bio:Banha was born on the planet of Anhur in the Eagle Nebula. Though damaged by the Reaper Invasion, the Human-Batarian colony has since prospered, their natural wealth carrying them through the hardships. Born in the capital New Thebes, little Banha didn't know much about his biological parents. At the age of four, he was dropped on the steps of the head of a once powerful gang. Shinku Akiyama, the so called "Last Yakuza", a title that have confused many aliens and humans who weren't aware of the name, was definitely surprised when he saw a small, sniffling Batarian child on his doorstep.
He sighed, his cold eyes renewed by the sight of such youthfulness. "Ahh, you are like me, eh? Left behind, sticking around while people move on. You're a loner like me." Shinku, then a comparatively young 44 year old, scratched his beard. "How about us two loners hang out for a while." The Japanese man took the young Batarian in. This changed both of their lives, for better or for worse? Well, depends on your perspective.
The years spent in the Akiyama household flew by, it was the childhood Banha never had really. His life became a happy blur and his days turn into a routine. He dropped into a routine with his technically adoptive father. The Batarian wakes up at 7:00 every morning and jogs around the block. When he arrives at 7:15, he will usually have to spray water at Shinku to wake him up for Iaido training. If the man was with Aleia, an Asari that could be called Shinku's girlfriend and someone who Banha affectionately calls mother despite the bone crushing hugs he receives afterwards, he would drag his surrogate father out of bed and cover Aleia's modesty.Â
After an hour of training with Shinku, Banha gets ready for school. This early morning routine repeated day after day, not that he minded. Until one day.
Banha returned from his final day of High School. The school he attended wasn't bad, it was quite an alright school. He wanted to tell his father about his test results. He had studied for the test extremely hard with Aleia, having wanted to become some sort of biologist when he grew up. It was something to strive for, so worked he did. Graduation was also a blast. He entered the living room to see a horrifying sight.
Shinku had committed seppuku. At least that's what it seemed like. A letter was on the ground next to his dead body.Â
If you are reading this, then I am dead. I have gone the honourable way, the way of the samurai. I do hope that you who are reading this is Aleia, not Banha. Aleia, you are my love and the only woman that could ever stand being with me. Take care of Banha for me please? Banha, if you are reading this, I am sorry. I cannot live with living this life anymore. Being a loner. Forgotten by the world. The word Yakuza was supposed to be a feared name and I ruined it by continuing my cowardly ways. My dad was a Yakuza and my whole heritage were Yakuza. Really, if you think about it, there is no place in the galaxy for a Yakuza. But I want to give the reigns to you, Banha. Don't make the same mistake I made where I left the Yakuza name to die. I beg you to make a New Yakuza. Better, fiercer and more feared than the last. If you don't, you're rejecting a dead man's wish :P.
Hugs, kisses and all that shit. Shinku. Â
Banha left the scene of the seppuku, openly crying and breaking down, calling the local hospital to pick Shinku's body up. He assumed that Aleia hadn't come back from work so he didn't bother with going to her, only leaving a small note on the door. She wouldn't like what the Batarian was going to do, and he didn't have the courage to deny her to her face. He packed up and scoured the city for a new home, somewhere to live and build up his legacy. His brotherhood. His New Yakuza.
Banha started out small, doing the odd job or two, robbing small stores and pick pocketing. He also began to spy on his opposition. There was the "8 Street Saints", a primarily Human group led by a man named Jay. They were quite a big gang, lots of territory and lots of money. They pale of course to the biggest gang in New Thebes, Â "Drummond&Co", an off world syndicate wanting to dip their fingers into Anhur's natural wealth.Â
It started off slow due to Drummond&Co beginning to take out any competition. The so called "Gang War" erupted in New Thebes between the 8 Street Saints and Drummond&Co, famously known because of the police effectively turning a blind eye to the various battles erupting in the mega city. Because of this, being the leader of an amateur gang wasn't the best. Gangs were absorbed left, right and centre, both big shot gangs wanting to get bigger and bigger to defeat the other.Â
As the war escalated, Banha began to seek for some men of his own. Because of the way the war was going, there were a lot of previously powerful gangs left in tatters, leaving them looking for some sort of glimpse of the old days. The Batarian slowly started to gather some allies, making some sort of army of his own. One day his right hand man Urdnot Varhak, an ex-Blood Pack member and now part of the New Yakuza, suggested something. "Sir." The Krogan said "I believe we should create some sort of uniform or emblem for this New Yakuza. His motley crew of varren needs to be separated from the rest of the varren." He gestured to the group of Batarians, Humans, Vorcha, Geth, Turians and so on. The New Yakuza wasn't just made up of Humans, there was a whole lot of different races.
Banha eventually agreed to the Krogan's ramblings of a uniform. Though not in a way the Krogan expected. He made it compulsory to wear a red headband around the head at all times to signify their alliance with the New Yakuza. There was Japanese Kanji on every single one of them, saying their rank and name. Rank worked like a number system. The higher respect and honour you have, the higher your number. So on Banha's red band, it had the Kanji for 58 on it while some of the new recruits had the number 1 on it. It was also compulsory to learn the ways of Iaido, even those who complained that it was a dying art and "obsolete" in the age of mass effect. He smacked them with his bokken.Â
The New Yakuza grew under the other two, feeding from their crumbs and growing in power. They got most of their revenue from drug trafficking, money laundering and transport of illegal goods. They only snipped away at the other two big gangs, stealing a container there and stealing from a store they were getting income from. The gang eventually grew and grew until a huge 5000 members made it that they couldn't hide any longer.
Banha released the horde. From every chapter house, club and store the New Yakuza hid in, poured member after member, surprising the various 8 Street Saint chapters. They were eventually overwhelmed and in two days, the 8 Street Saints were no more. He turned to Drummond&Co but found that they were no more. They upped and left Anhur.
Years afterwards, the New Yakuza has spread it's influence drastically. Anhur became the capital of this empire. They were found all over the Attican Traverse and the Terminus Systems. Chapters popped up everywhere and the New Yakuza reached a golden age. They were essentially a nation in all but name. Where a chapter popped up, the Yakuza essentially took over that planet. With the Council forces worn down from the fight with the Reapers, Banha made an empire. Free from the unfair rule of the Council, of their oppressive rulers. He offered freedom. They had many allies but even more enemies. From the different factions of Batarians, the different mercenary groups and even more.
This all changed. The Dominion, an offshoot of humanity, showed its face to the galaxy. They were ruthless. Activating a dormant relay, spewing ship after ship. They were there to conquer all. Banha was worried of this new threat. He knew that the Council was unfit to fight this new threat, and there was no Shepard to help them. As the Dominion ravaged world after world, destroying ragged and broken fleets with ease, he knew that the Yakuza would not be safe. His forces were spread out across the galaxy. As the Yakuza Grand Leader, he called for all chapters, and willing followers, to escape to the Eagle Nebula, to fortify their homeland.
As Yakuza escaped from every world not in the Eagle Nebula or worlds untouched by the Dominion's blind wrath, they brought supplies, vehicles and lots and lots of guns. The Eagle Nebula became Yakuza territory and became a safe havens for refugees. As the Dominion took over the Citadel, they turned dormant. Like a river that hit a dam. The attacks stopped and the Dominion, faster than they came out, went back into their relay. The Milky Way is silent once again, the sounds of an even greater threat emerging from the once dormant relay.
Banha restricted all civilian travel to other nebulae and sectors, making the Eagle Nebula a fortress. He sends explorers and scouts to scour the Nebula for resources and worlds. Fortunately, every dormant relay did not contain a Dominion. Merely a few more systems and resources. He made his Yakuza militarised and created a pseudo-state. The Supreme Grand Leader disappeared every now and then, leaving his five commanders in charge. The Milky Way isn't safe anymore. The Great Tide is coming.
Abilities:Skills4th Dan Iaido
-Banha is a practitioner of Iaido, probably the lone Batarian to study a Human martial art. His adoptive father, Shinku Akiyama, was a famous master of the dying art. When he found the little 4 year old Banha, he naturally adopted him and taught him the ways of Iaido. The Batarian can now practice his Iaido through all of the katas, preferring the standing kata to the sitting ones. Iaido calms Banha in a spiritual sense, letting himself sink into the kata. With a flash of his blade, the samaritan can slice a man in half.
Shooting
-As the leader of the fledgling New Yakuza, he has been labelled as a criminal by multiple factions (mostly Batarian led ones) and many bounties have been made for his head. Naturally, Banha needed to defend himself, his father and their foundling mercenary band/drug empire. The Batarian has a preference of a semi automatic assault rifle coupled with a sub machine gun. Though he does love the Terran C-14 rifles.
WeaponsModified Terran C-14 Gauss Rifle
-Red Dot Sight
-Grenade Launcher Mod
-Emblazoned with Asari in lewd poses
Heavily Modified M-99 Saber
-Assault Rifle Magazine Upgrade II
-Adjustable Thermal Scope
-Incendiary Rounds
-Omni Blade Mod
-Digital CamoÂ
M9 Tempest
-Advanced ACOG Scope
-Bright Pink Panther Camo
ToolsLayered Kinetic Shields
Omni ToolÂ
-Omni-Shinken
-Fitted on hand instead of arm, better use of Shinken
-Listens to Earth Jazz, Batarian Classical Music and Salarian Rap
Universe of Origin:Starhammer Effect: A Batarian's Galaxy
