Alias: Masked Justice
Age: 52
Current Residence: Kyoto, Japan
Birth Place: Arita, Japan
Hometown: Arita
Gender: Male
Beast: Grasshopper
Beast Mark:
Mark Location: Right wrist
Registered: No
Role: At day, deliveryman and noodle shop owner. At night, Zoanthrope Rogue and vigilante.
Height: 5'6"
Z-Height: 6'6"
Weight: 185 lbs
Z-Weight: 240 lbs
Build: Muscular, but slightly overweight.
Hair: Black, greying.
Eyes: Dark brown.
Basic Description: In his human form, Hiro is a stout older man of Japanese ethnicity. He has a build that reflects his younger years as a martial artist, muscular and strong, but age and his love for food have softened him up, especially around the midsection. His skin is a shade of medium brown, emphasized by a healthy tan. In terms of facial features, he has a strong jaw and forehead, with some notable wrinkles around his eyes and mouth. His eyebrows are large and bushy, and he keeps his facial hair in a well-groomed chinstrap beard and mustache. He has short hair with a receding hairline, heavily greyed on the sideburns.
In his Zoanthrope form, Hiro is much taller and more lithe in build. His 'skin' consists of deep green chitin plates that cover greenish-brown leathery skin between the plates. His limbs are proportionally long, with his arms about 1/3rd longer than human proportions and his legs in a digitigrade shape. Beneath his main arms, he has a pair of smaller limbs normally tucked below his chest that aren't as strong as his main arms, but are fully dextrous. Brown stripes go down his legs and his chitin fades to yellow on his forearms. His head is rounded with large, red compound eyes and a complex set of mandibles, as well as long antennae that go back over his head. On his back, he has insectoid wings normally covered by a pair of protective plates.
Notable Scars: Hiro has scars that appear to be from a whip on his back.
Tattoos: Multiple floral tattoo designs on his right forearm to help mask his Beast Mark.
Outfit: Hiro typically dresses very casually. Khaki pants, a polo shirt, and when at work, a pocketed apron are his typical daily wear. He prefers to stay out of the limelight when possible. In colder weather, he puts on a brown leather coat.
Most Prized Possession (Material Value): His noodle shop. It's his source of income.
Most Prized Possession (Emotional Value): His noodle shop. He prides himself on being able to feed his community and create a healthy, happy environment for the people who live there, and his work helps give him purpose.
Likes: Soba, pork, cooking for others, conversing with friends, teaching others, motorcycles.
Dislikes: Police, the government, Zoanthrope terrorists, criminals, street punks, trouble.
Goals: To maintain a safe neighborhood free of influence from either criminals or government surveillance, to live peacefully for the remainder of his years, to see a day where humans and Zoanthropes can live peacefully without conflict.
Life's Ambition ( Single greatest goal ): To see the dissolution of Oz. He wants a world where everyone is free to live in peace without being treated as an 'other' or a weapon by the government.
Fears: Having his identity revealed, losing his way in life, and failing those he seeks to protect from danger.
Vernacular: In human form, Hiro speaks with an intentionally put on voice that makes him sound meek, slightly frail, and unammusingly friendly. In Zoanthrope form, he allows his true voice to come out, which is a few octaves deeper and tends to roll his R sounds.
Mannerisms: Hiro is a kindly older man who likes to think of himself as a teacher for the youth and the lost of his community. He seeks to make the world a better place, and failing that, to keep his community safe and free of conflict for human and Zoanthrope alike. While he understands the need for law in society, he despises those that are unjust to people who face discrimination and troubles, and sees those who willingly uphold them to be just as bad as the criminals they're supposed to suppress. He lives to help others with anything from the mundane to the dangerous, living up to his reputation as a moral paragon.
Psychological Condition: N/A
Superstitions: N/A
Morals: Good
Relationships: Single
Family: His mother and father live in Arita. He visits them when possible.
Relatives: [To be filled out in case of future characters]
Friends: Mitsumori Abe, a local truck driver that delivers ingredients to Hiro's shop.
Acquaintances: [To be filled out]
Rivals: [To be filled out]
Favorite Sayings:
"Justice for all!"
"Henshin!"
"Freedom will not be taken from anyone!"
Back Story: Hiro comes from a family of martial artists who use a specialized version of Kickboxing. They lived humbly as teachers of their art, and while they had never attained any sort of fame, they were confident in their skills. Hiro began training in the martial art from a young age, at the time going by a different shortening of his name, Yuki. He was a confident, strong-willed child for whom martial arts were an ideal pastime. He sought strength to protect people and skills to gain his family fame, honor, and wealth.
Through his teenage years, he trained more intensely, pushing himself to become the strongest he could possibly be. His determination was nearly unmatched in his quest to become strong, but he was sure to utilize his skills and strengths in human form only. He had been taught that using his Zoanthrope form against a human would not only be dangerous to all of them, but highly immoral. Due to this belief, he refused to fight while transformed, and refused to transform at all for a long while. It kept the family's identity as Zoanthropes secret, and helped him turn even his human form into a powerful fighter.
At the age of 20, he enrolled in a fighting tournament, the grand prize being almost 500,000 yen. It was a chance to make himself known and help his family financially, as well as possibly inspiring others to learn their martial art. With the intensity of his training and a strong motivation, Hiro entered the tournament and fought his way to the top, defeating many opponents on his way towards the finals. He gained some local fame, as he represented his family's community, and was treated like a small-town celebrity for a time.
He won the tournament when the finals came, besting his opponent and bringing home the prize for his family. It seemed like the perfect end result, opening up the possibility of traveling around Japan as a big-name fighter, but his opponent had taken notice of an identifying mark on Hiro's wrist that branded him as a Zoanthrope. About a month after the tournament had ended and his family had moved into a new home, he was attacked by the loser of the finals and some anti-Zoanthrope thugs, who dragged him into an alleyway and viciously beat him. He tried to fight back, but was overwhelmed by the weapon-using criminals, who proceeded to violently scar him with a whip after he had been bested.
In his pain and rage, Hiro gave in and transformed to save himself from the thugs, none of which had shown any intention of ceasing the torture. He fought savagely and broke bones, something he had once promised to never do to someone intentionally. In the midst of the battle, he went a step too far and snapped the neck of the one who had led the attack, killing him. The others who were not too broken to move ran away, and while it had been in self-defense, the revelation of a Zoanthrope killing someone in the town would have brought danger to his family. He returned home, apologized profusely to his parents, and ran away that night.
Over the next part of his life, he wandered Japan aimlessly, breaking up fights when they started around him and drifting from place to place in the hopes of finding something, anything, he could do. He stopped using both his family name and his old nickname out of shame, instead going by "Hiro." Years were spent moving from place to place, scrounging up money where he could by doing simple jobs, until he eventually found himself in Kyoto.
Trouble caught up to him in the form of a gang of punks. They claimed ownership of the territory he was taking refuge in, and he was attacked after refusing to leave. While he made sure to contain himself, he fought them off and successfully drove them away, though they swore vengeance during their escape. Hiro never saw them again. Injured and tired, he intended to return to the alley he was sleeping at, but he was stopped by a worker of a noodle shop that had seen the altercation.
The shop's staff were thankful for him standing up to the thugs, who had been plaguing the area with petty crime and intimidation tactics. They got to know him, particularly the shop's owner, an elderly woman named Kyoko. She offered him free meals and a place to stay if he continued to keep the neighborhood safe, a deal to which he happily agreed. A few other petty gangs were pushed out of the area as they tried to establish territory in the previous gang's absence, driven off by Hiro's fighting skills. During this point, Hiro also got tattoos to hide his Beast Mark, which was kept a secret by the shop's staff.
When the gangs eventually stopped coming altogether, Hiro began to feel like his worth had run out. Though he was fully prepared to be sent away now that the gangs were gone, the shop's owner instead gave him a job as a chef. He wasn't great at it to begin with, as he was unskilled in the kitchen and found himself unhappy with his results. But with time and effort, Kyoko taught him how to cook properly, assuring him that he could help people in ways that didn't involve fighting. With the neighborhood now substantially safer, the shop became more lively, and the people who came to it were happy.
For years, Hiro worked at the shop, using his check to help pay rent so he could continue to live in the apartment above it. His physical skills were used for deliveries, and on many occasions, he's hand-delivered freshly cooked meals to people's doors on foot, aided by his athletic prowess. As he aged, life seemed like it could finally be peaceful again, though Kyoko passed away of age about 15 years after he had first come to the shop. Hiro became the new owner of the shop, and he's run it well to this day.
But not all could remain easy, and various human-Zoanthrope conflicts have caused tensions throughout the world to rise. The neighborhood Hiro lives in is out of the way and tightly knit, and some Zoanthropes have used it as a safe haven from the government. Some less-than-moral Zoanthropes, such as members of the ZLF, have recently been causing trouble the likes of which the community has never seen before. While at first reluctant, Hiro has once again taken it upon himself to fight for the safety of the neighborhood.
Current Story: Hiro now owns a small, but well-regarded noodle shop in an urban Kyoto neighborhood. During the day, he runs it as a normal shop where people can come for food, conversation, and friendly company. At night, he acts as a vigilante in his Zoanthrope form, fighting both criminals and corrupt police who put down others of his kind. He has made sure to keep his identities as separate as possible, and essentially lives a secret double life. He has sometimes considered becoming registered, but feels it would restrict his freedom and prevent him from protecting the people he cares for.
Fighting Abilities & Techniques
Fighting Style: Hiro's fighting style is a very professional, strategic close-combat style that emphasizes kicking in particular. He fights with a graceful, but powerful movement that is very well-aimed despite the quickness at which he can move, and though he uses kicks for his most powerful strikes, he also uses a variety of punches, chops, and elbow strikes for close combat as well, aiming to defeat and incapacitate enemies without leaving permanent damage to their bodies. While he can break limbs when he needs to, he much prefers to avoid leaving those sorts of debilitating injuries. There are a few grappling techniques, generally focused around tripping or leg-locking opponents.
Hiro carries no particular weapon of his own, but due to their prevalence in street gang crimes, he has become quite skilled at using pipes as makeshift clubs. He doesn't keep them after a fight ends, preferring to take them to a recycling plant for a few extra dollars the next day.
[Fighting Abilities]
[Spinning Axe Kick]
Description: Hiro jumps and does a vertical downward heel strike. In Zoanthrope form, he can hover and strike up to three times.
Weakness: No horizontal range at all, long recovery if missed.
[Roundhouse Thrust Kick]
Description: Hiro spins as if to do a roundhouse, then does a powerful thrusting forward kick instead. Range increases in Zoanthrope form.
Weakness: Shorter range, no vertical or horizontal range.
[Hover]
Description: In Zoanthrope form, Hiro uses his wings to hover above the ground and create a unique stance for fighting.
Weakness: Can't be used in human form.
[Flying Arrow Kick]
Description: Hiro jumps and kicks forward, launching a kick at an enemy with his full weight behind it. Speed and range increases in Zoanthrope form, especially if done from a hover.
Weakness: Heavy effectiveness drop in human form unless wallrunning or higher ground is used.
[Rapid Strike Fists]
Description: Hiro gets in close and punches the enemy rapidly in the torso and head. In Zoanthrope form, he uses all four arms and has more force due to chitin skin.
Weakness: There is a long recovery time after the move due to the amount of exertion it requires. If his first impact misses or is blocked, the attack is interrupted.
[Lightning Kicks]
Description: Hiro kicks very rapidly, up to twelve times in the span of a couple seconds. In Zoanthrope form, the range is increased due to his longer legs, and he finishes with a stronger kick to send the enemy flying away.
Weakness: Long recovery time after. Hiro switches legs to kick halfway through, at which point the move can be interrupted through a counter or block.
[Bullet Kick]
Description: With a single strong, forceful kick, Hiro sends the enemy flying away to put space between them. Does extra damage if enemy impacts a wall. Works identically in either form.
Weakness: The distance the move puts between Hiro and the enemy can put him at a disadvantage if they have ranged attack options, as Hiro cannot attack them from so far away.
[Locust Swarm]
Description: Hiro's Beast Drive. With an upwards kick, Hiro launches his enemy into the air, then jumps after them. Keeping himself aloft with his wings, he performs a series of rapid bicycle kicks and uppercuts to keep them aloft, then finishes with a kick similar to his Flying Arrow Kick to slam them into the ground.
Weakness: Hiro returns to human form after performing this move. If an enemy can manage to get out of range or block the bicycle kicks, it won't finish its combo.
Metal Zeta
