Quinntessential

Hidden Desires (F seeking M Characters) for long term active Partner's.

@Kilin - I'll shoot you a PM with my ideas!

•HAGAKURE•

Hakayama Kusai

Hakayama Kusai: The Steel Crane
_{Disgraced Magistrate and Duelist}
Age:
Twenty eight winters.
Totem:
Crane

Appearance
The woman that calls herself Hakayama Kusai would appear, when in her normal attire, as nothing more than a woman of unremarkable looks were it not for the vicious reputation that is attached to said name. The Steel Crane served as a magistrate for nine years, having joined straight out of her coming of age ceremony. A life of service in the name of the Grand Empire has left her looks something to be desired, if one were to ask a matchmaker. She’s very fit (NSFW picture) - beyond what most men would find attractive. Her arms are taught with speed and power. Those few folk who have seen her without a kimono would call her muscular and feel they’ve given an understatement. Her face bears a single scar - the closest she's come to losing her life to a blade in a duel. She favors blue and light blue kimono, enjoying both plain and deeply stylized patterns. Her flair for the dramatic extends to her clothing with her chosen kimono decorated with cherry blossoms and swooping cranes. Her arms are protected by kode - armored sleeves and bracers that tie across her chest to each other. The rest of her armor has long since been discarded in favor of the more mobile kimono that she wears.

Family
Hakayama Clan mon

Each crane represents one of the three major factors of the success of the Hakayama Clan. To the right, looking up to the heavens is the core Shinto beliefs that have brought order to the territory for centuries. To the left, looking to the world, represents the business and finances of the clan - namely the fishing industries that provide so much koku and ryo for development. Lastly, looking over all of the Hakayama, is honor. The Clan prides itself on etiquette and justice.

The Hakayama family is one of the more prominent coastal families on Tsukishima’s Eastern Coast. The small dynasty claims a plot of land that includes all farms and forests between Benten Seido, a small shrine to the Fortune of Romantic Love and Beauty, and Nobuto Toshi, a medium sized fishing and shipping village. The Hakayama clan currently consists of five brothers who rule the few thousand acres of countryside that they control. These Clan Daimyo are the rulers of the Hakayama family. Hakayama Igoe owns Nobuto Toshi exclusively, and one of his local governers is Hakayama Keitsu, Kusai’s father. Most of the Hakayama clan owes their allegiances in similar fashion up the chain to the five Clan Daimyo - very few are blood relatives; Kusai, however, is. Kusai is the granddaughter of Hakayama Igoe. There are at least a dozen other relatives in order of succession, but theoretically, if they were all to die, it would fall to her to become one of the Clan Daimyo. Hakayama Keitsu has a wife, Tsusho, but in his fifty nine years he’s only been able to father one child - Kusai. She has a long list of cousins, uncles, aunts, and relations that bear her name and duty, but like her, to them it’s simply a station. The Hakayama clan is currently estimated to be approximated 600 strong, not including peasant servants. These samurai and courtiers are what people talk about when referring to the Hakayama clan itself.

Personality
Kusai spent her childhood in the loving arms of her father. Since a young age, she showed an aptitude for physical pursuits, having a knack for speed and strength where other girls her age were learning sewing and etiquette. Her father, fairly progressive in his concepts of role and duty, didn’t shy away from raising the young girl as he had planned for a son. He personally oversaw her instruction in the hard sciences - math, calligraphy, history, and law. He brought in many of the students from a Dojo he was a patron for, ensuring that her physical strength and speed had an outlet. On a personal level, he treated her every bit like the son he wished he could have had. He never belittled her gender, but instead took a nurture over nature approach to how she would function in society. When her family held her coming of age ceremony, no announcement of marriage was made - instead, her father proudly proclaimed that she would be joining the Grand Empire’s Magistrates to help bring law and justice to all folk, high or low, across the land. He, of course, made use of some political contacts to get her accepted. Her training was originally supposed to be little more than a formality, with her getting a title and a post, and being shuffled off until someone was found to wed her so she could take her place as a normal woman. Instead, she astonished her superiors with her work ethic, adherence to law, and dedication to learning. She would not let their idea of her become reality. She was going to be a Magistrate. She would carry the Empire’s Will. Originally a very brash girl, time in the Magistrates has tempered her into a cool, calculating instrument of the Empire’s will. She is polite, and observes all forms of etiquette when in polite company. In public she has a very short, curt attitude to the lower classes that bears them no ill will but acknowledges her station as a samurai. With enemies, she is ice cold. Her reputation is built upon this, and it's where the origin of her name comes from. She has a healthy respect for the law of the land, even in exile, but now without the strictures of her office, her hunt for those who wrong her and the people can be pursued without restraint.

History

Early Career

As a Magistrate, a young Kusai ran into a few obstacles first off. Within two months of joining the Imperial Magistrates, she knew that they weren’t going to treat her the same as her comrades. She fought hard against the system, proving that she had what it took to be respected. Made it clear to her commanders quickly that she wasn’t going to be pushed around. Over her nine year career, she’s fought one hundred and twenty sanctioned seven duels. She’s won one hundred and fifteen of them. She keeps these events on a scroll - each duel, each opponent, is remembered in the parchment and ink. Victories state only a name and a date. Defeats feature a breakdown of how she lost and why. Aside from her sanctioned duels, she’s done more work to apprehend criminals within her jurisdiction than any other magistrate.

Her Jurisdiction

For the majority of her career, she was in charge of policing three smallish trading towns within a few days walk of each other. The largest, Kanishi no Saiken, is host to over five thousand villagers and peasants. The next largest, a farming village named O-kome Mura, sees a large portion of its income generated by processing and shipping rice across the province. O-kome Mura is home to roughly two thousand, most living outside of the city limits on farms. The last is Amai Mizu Yashiki - a small rest stop on the road south along the coast. The village only has about six hundred residents, but the town has a beautiful setting on the cliffs near the ocean and many travellers come through to stay at it’s luxurious inns. Those who live near her know that her case will be tried fairly, though often to the exact letter of the law. She has shown herself cold to lawbreakers, even in cases where a different Magistrate would show leniency. Tales of woe and hardship have never and will never sway her from a just decision. While initially, this was seen as overly harsh and totalitarian, the three towns she was in charge of overseeing saw a dramatic decrease in serious crime. Many gangs have tried to set up in her lands, only to find themselves suffering losses to her sword and having their ill-traded goods seized and destroyed.

Birth of the Steel Crane

Kanishi no Saiken regularly had trouble with gangs. Yakuza gambling dens were common and even such serious crimes as human trafficking were done through greased palms and hidden movements. Her first major operation was dismantling a human trafficking ring that was taking women, girls, and boys from nearby villages and shipping them out with the riverboats. It very nearly killed her, but after three months of hard work and a few well planned raids, the Yakuza were removed from the town. For a year, Kusai dealt with hired killers and assassination attempts, once nearly dying to a poisoning. The Yakuza moved back in while she was recovering, only to find her still tracking them through yoriki and other magistrates. That action earned her the nickname that she’s adopted - the Steel Crane. When not dealing with unruly Yakuza and vicious gangs, she's generally seen as an arbiter of the peace. She spent most of her time clearing up disputes between one party or another, helping travelers settle grievances and injuries, and keeping the roads safe for all people to travel. Bandit raiders and ronin mercenaries made her life difficult, but they posed less of a threat than the Yakuza in her mind. At least she could organize a levy to fight off a bandit horde - the Yakuza were insidious in their implantation into society. All of these actions helped her reputation grow. Magistrates and criminals alike know that the Steel Crane is someone to be respected.

Disgrace and Self Imposed Exile

Two years ago, she became a victim of her own success. Word of her talent reached the Heishien Clan, a small family working to expand their lands. Her three villages made up the majority of the clan’s holdings. Heishien Toruko, the clan’s Matriarch, found herself drawn to the magistrate for her constant rebuke of standard roles. She sought no husband or title beyond her office, and on the occasion that a man would extend a proposal, she would politely but firmly refuse. Sensing a bit of a kindred spirit within Kusai and called her into her court. There she informed the Magistrate that she was going to be shifting her focus. The Matriarch explained that a number of her opponents in court had turned to unsavory and illegal practices to help supplant her Clan’s power and claims. With a writ from Kusai’s superior, Toruko had effectively gone around the young magistrate and drawn her into her family’s court politics. Kusai was furious, but refused to let her new superior see that. She accepted her new position with every bit of courtesy that the ‘promotion’ required. Once in court, she found herself in a very new, very dangerous world. She struggled at first while working with the Heishien family, mainly because of her inexperience with the game Courtiers played behind fans and letters. She found evidence of criminal behavior but could never plant the crime to a name. The Politicians that surrounded her were duplicitous and corrupt, but she could do little to stop them as it stood. Not one to be defeated, she learned to adapt. Her prowess as a duelist came to it’s own in this theater. There were hundreds of ways to offend someone, to push them to brash action, but in the end a duel could always solve the issue for good. From the Heishien clan, she learned politics and intrigue - the ability to interpret the law to benefit one side over another. Her morals shifted, but never collapsed entirely. Her doom came when, without her permission, Toruko started working to arrange a marriage between Kusai and her son, Nanaki. When Kusai found out, she made the mistake of letting her displeasure known. Her enemies in court jumped on the opportunity, and for nearly a month, the scandal was all that the courts were gossiping about. Worse than that, Nanaki was a slug of a man, with little care for the world or it’s inhabitants beyond himself. Kusai found him repulsive and she let him know her feelings regularly. In the end, their rivalry doomed them both. Heishien Nanaki became so furious with Kusai’s refusals of him that he made the boldest claim he could. On the advice of his adversaries, he declared that he would beat Hakayama Kusai in a duel to seal the marriage. Kusai knew he couldn’t beat her, but it also meant that such a public loss would destroy every bit of political clout she’d been working to establish with the Heishien clan. Their heir would appear weak and foolish and none of the other clans would see them as equal partners in business or politics. Kusai knew also that being wed to Nanaki would remove her from the Magistrates. Her duty would be as a wife and mother - responsible for providing Nanaki with heirs to carry on his family name. Toruko begged her to accept the duel and lose - to ensure the safety and strength of the Heishien clan. Instead, Kusai ran. She never showed up to court on the day the duel was announced. She left without a word and became a traveller ever since.

Life on the Road

On the road life was not simple. Without the backing of the Magistrates, she realized her history with various gangs and criminals would mean constant threats and attempts on her life. With Heishien Nanaki’s pride wounded so, she knew that he’d do what he could to secure his ‘trophy wife’. The politics behind the marriage were hard to get around, but he would need a wife soon. She had faith in Toruko to find a new bride for her son while she was in exile. Once he was married, she could return without worrying about having to be betrothed to a married man. The worse disgrace was for her family. She abandoned her duty to the magistrates and very likely ended her chances of being a part of her family in any meaningful way. She hasn’t spoken to her father since she fled. There are some things that even a fearless swordswoman is too afraid to do. Instead, she travels. Recent troubles have kept her more wary, knowing that soldiers and magistrates could be anywhere. If the rumors of their corruption were true, she would kill them. She would not stand for tyrannical oppression under the guise of legal protection.

Strengths
Strength in Honor
Kusai is powerful. She can outdo most men she meets, and has yet to find a woman her equal in the field of physical prowess. Speed and strength come hand in hand for her after nearly a decade of training and practical applications. She works regularly to keep herself in peak physical condition, regularly waking at dawn to run and filling idle time in her day with practice and kata.

Haku Tsuru Kata
Her particular style, known as the Haku Tsuru, emphasizes swift, single motions. It focuses on the iai strike, teaching a philosophy of 'One Sword, One Soul, One Strike'. It is terrifying in single combat, focusing on oppressing the opponent with deliberate, powerful strikes. While the style itself looks static, the motions are completed with a deadly speed and power. Every form in the Kata starts with the katana sheathed. Those who have seen her duel would call her opening stance a moment of Zen before the waves crash upon her opponent. It begins with feet spaced evenly, facing the opponent with her left hand holding the saya of her katana (blade up) and the other palm up and knuckles resting on its hilt as if inviting an offer of peace before the violence of the blade held beneath is drawn. When the strike occurs, few perceive all the motions as they happen almost instantly. Her hand flips, fingers settling on the weapon and thumb securing the blade as it’s drawn. She twists her torso to the left and leans forward as the blade is being drawn, shifting the motion to the right as the strike occurs. Her left foot remains planted and both her knees bend before vaulting her body forward while raising her right foot and using it as the plant in her strike. Once the blade clears the saya, her right foot plants in a lunge and her body and arm shift to bring the strike across and up. The motion ends with her sword held almost vertically in one hand it’s blade tilting forward slightly, blade edge facing the sky. The next strike brings her left foot forward and uses her right foot as the plant. Her left hand comes up as her right turns the blade for a downward stroke. Working together, her arms bring the blade down and in as her torso curls forward. The second stroke ends with her left foot leading, and her sword hilt close to her hip and the tip facing straight forward. The initial attack ends with her settling into a drawn stance, blade facing behind her at the ready for an upward strike in a traditional Sha no Kamae. The whole series of actions happens in just a few moments. Changes to the movements are made for opponent’s stance and defense, but the core philosophy of of it remains the same. In the legends of the style’s founding, the first man to use it claims that his first strike severed the body of his opponent from his soul. Standing, blade raised, he realized the purity of his first stroke and delivered the second to put his opponent’s soul to rest. The second strike is always followed through, regardless of if it were needed or no, in honor of the defeated opponent’s soul.

Knowledge in Law
She is very well educated. Her formal upbringing ensured that calligraphy and etiquette were observed and taught. During her time within the Magistrates, she learned the intricacies of Imperial Law. While her memory isn’t perfect, it is an obscure law indeed that she cannot recall from rote.

Weaknesses
Cold Steel’s BiteShe's been called heartless, cold, and ruthless - all of those descriptions are unfair. She has emotions and cares for people, but knows that duty comes first. She has severe trust issues, and is very long to trust anyone beyond politeness. This detachment is as much her own doing as it is a product of her work. She’s trusted very few people in her life, and a majority of them have hurt or betrayed her.

Justice’s Unerring CourseOnce her mind is set on an outcome, she will pursue it. Her stubbornness comes through in almost every aspect of her life. If something prevents her from completing her morning workout, she will spend the rest of the day sour at the cause of her distraction. It’s difficult for her to see the value in other people’s ideas if she’s come up with one first. Her plan is, naturally, the best one.

Striking DistanceShe is not afraid to punish insolence with pain. While she isn’t one to kill someone for a minor threat, she has no problem escalating to a point that deters retribution. Someone shoving her, for example, may find their arm locked tightly and painfully. A knife drawn against her will usually end with a crippling strike from her katana. An opponent cannot hold a knife without a hand. In mortal combat, she will not relent once her sword is drawn. Surrender is only an option before it leaves it’s saya.

Respect and DutyShe refuses to start a fight or hinder law enforcement. The only exception is if they try to kill her, and even then, she will do her best to spare their lives (an exception to her normal bloodthirstiness). She chose the life of a wandering ronin. Unless corruption is present, she expects various magistrates and law-keepers to give her trouble and she willingly endures it as a penance for her failure.

Likes
She enjoys many things - most are holdovers from her time in court. Fine sake, plum wine, well made sushi. Beyond the luxurious, she finds the natural beauty of the forest something she can comfortably enjoy at any time. It seems at odds with someone so connected to travel, but she very much enjoys the rain. The sound, the feeling of it on her, the smell of it - a good spring rain will make her stop and simply enjoy the gift of water. While rain has a calming effect on her, storms tend to work her up. Some of her most intense workouts happen with the kami of thunder and lightning dancing in the skies above. She finds that she has excess energy in such times, needing to do something or needing to fidget while a storm rages around her.

Dislikes
Aside from the obvious elements of lawlessness, spiders absolutely make her skin crawl. She will go out of her way to dispatch them if seen. While she hails from a coastal city, the ocean holds no special place in her heart. While it may be pretty to look at, she’s well aware of its destructive capabilities and the amount of extra work that must be put in to live on its shores. Poetry is also lost on her. It is a rare haiku that makes her search her soul. She tends to see such pursuits as self serving and arrogant - that your words hold such meaning as to touch the hearts of others.

Theme
A bit of flavor for her!

Warhammer 40K: Beyond the Law - A Mercenary Adventure [MATURE] (Open for business, apply within.)

Nakera followed the blonde man at a safe distance. Something about his mannerisms felt dangerous and barely contained. If she hadn't seen him gut a man with his knife and grin while blasting another to bits with his strange gun, she would have been fooled by his charms. That said, he wasn't trying to kill, rape, or eat her, so that was a step up from some of the people she'd been kidnapped by. As she walked, she found the remnants of a battle. Among the dead was the Jailer.

He wasn't quite gone yet - pale from blood loss and riddled with stubber holes. One of his legs looked like shredded beef. He grabbed her leg as they walked past, choking out a bit of breath.

"H...Help me..." he choked. His lips coated themselves with blood as he struggled to breathe. His grip was weak and she broke away from it quickly.

Her skin absolutely crawled at the idea of him touching her. She spit on him and very nearly gave him a kick before she realized that Kaicero was beginning to outpace her if she dawdled anymore. She could hear him whimpering his last as she walked away.

They heard the explosion coming from the control center and very eagerly increased their pace. The locked door was between them and the room full of gunfire. Quickly, Nakera ran to the manual override panel - a small box covered in scrolls with the crest of the Omnissiah on it's surface. The thick steel was impossible to pry open without power tools but the box itself was a complex lock. With a prayer, she awoke the Machine Spirit within and begged it's cooperation. She struck the appropriate runes, sating the spirit's curiosity. In return, the Machine whirred and clicked, opening itself and revealing the lever that would release the massive pressures sealing the door shut. With a prayer, and a pull, Nakera yanked the valve open.

The door to the Comms Room opened with a hiss and the smell of death, explosives, and ionized air filled the hallway. She stepped in to see the Krieger standing over the massive xenos. She raised her hands in panic, not wanting him to shoot her. Why she thought it wold be a good idea to go in first was beyond her.

Kaicero had shown her the strange symbol he wore and sure enough this soldier bore it as well.

"Wait wait! Don't shoot! I'm a prisoner!" she said, stepping past and across the room. She knew Kaicero was on her heels - he'd be able to clear things up. Right now she was more occupied with the console of blinking red lights across the room. Nothing should make that console light up like that. She had no real training on the maintenance and repair of the Colony's main reactor, but she knew when it's primary safety panel was screaming for aid.

She nearly slipped and fell on the pile of gore that was the two pirates thrown into the console by the grenade Phant had thrown. She stopped short for only a moment, barely able to contain the wretch trying to force her to her knees. She hadn't eaten today, so at least she couldn't throw up. Once she controlled her stomach, she pulled a wire and plugged into the console, greeting the Machine Spirit with a few uttered prayers. Her eyes rolled into her head as she merged her mind with the computer. The panicked alarms it was sounding made her heart race and sweat bead on her forehead. She could feel it's fear, the Machine Spirit, and could see that she why.

Of the eight main plasma reactors that powered the facility, four had their safeties removed and were spinning up for a melt down. "Oh Throne..." she muttered, half in and half out of reality. She couldn't do anything from here. Hell, she probably couldn't do anything from THERE. Someone would need to stop him. Emergency procedures allowed her to purge four of the reactors. If a fifth started overloading, she risked blowing up the facility by purging them - not to mention destroying any hope of this place running ever again. If nothing was done...well...

Maybe being free floating ions wasn't such a bad life...

Warhammer 40K: Beyond the Law - A Mercenary Adventure [MATURE] (Open for business, apply within.)

I was going to post Nakera figuring out what he's doing once she reaches the command center, and trying really hard not to vomit on the bloodsplattered consoles.

•HAGAKURE•

@DeadBeatWalking - Redid the profile. Added some photos. Hope this is good! On the topic of her age - I was assuming 5-6 years of service, having come of age at 15 (normal for the time). I redid the profile having her be 28, so we'll go from there, but my original idea was 5-6 years a Magistrate after she was considered an adult. I'm cool with playing it either way.

Hakayama Kusai

Hakayama Kusai: The Steel Crane
_{Disgraced Magistrate and Duelist}
Age:
Twenty eight winters.
Totem:
Crane

Appearance
The woman that calls herself Hakayama Kusai would appear, when in her normal attire, as nothing more than a woman of unremarkable looks were it not for the vicious reputation that is attached to said name. The Steel Crane served as a magistrate for nine years, having joined straight out of her coming of age ceremony. A life of service in the name of the Grand Empire has left her looks something to be desired, if one were to ask a matchmaker. She’s very fit (NSFW picture) - beyond what most men would find attractive. Her arms are taught with speed and power. Those few folk who have seen her without a kimono would call her muscular and feel they’ve given an understatement. Her face bears a single scar - the closest she's come to losing her life to a blade in a duel. She favors blue and light blue kimono, enjoying both plain and deeply stylized patterns. Her flair for the dramatic extends to her clothing with her chosen kimono decorated with cherry blossoms and swooping cranes. Her arms are protected by kode - armored sleeves and bracers that tie across her chest to each other. The rest of her armor has long since been discarded in favor of the more mobile kimono that she wears.

Family
Hakayama Clan mon

Each crane represents one of the three major factors of the success of the Hakayama Clan. To the right, looking up to the heavens is the core Shinto beliefs that have brought order to the territory for centuries. To the left, looking to the world, represents the business and finances of the clan - namely the fishing industries that provide so much koku and ryo for development. Lastly, looking over all of the Hakayama, is honor. The Clan prides itself on etiquette and justice.

The Hakayama family is one of the more prominent coastal families on Tsukishima’s Eastern Coast. The small dynasty claims a plot of land that includes all farms and forests between Benten Seido, a small shrine to the Fortune of Romantic Love and Beauty, and Nobuto Toshi, a medium sized fishing and shipping village. The Hakayama clan currently consists of five brothers who rule the few thousand acres of countryside that they control. These Clan Daimyo are the rulers of the Hakayama family. Hakayama Igoe owns Nobuto Toshi exclusively, and one of his local governers is Hakayama Keitsu, Kusai’s father. Most of the Hakayama clan owes their allegiances in similar fashion up the chain to the five Clan Daimyo - very few are blood relatives; Kusai, however, is. Kusai is the granddaughter of Hakayama Igoe. There are at least a dozen other relatives in order of succession, but theoretically, if they were all to die, it would fall to her to become one of the Clan Daimyo. Hakayama Keitsu has a wife, Tsusho, but in his fifty nine years he’s only been able to father one child - Kusai. She has a long list of cousins, uncles, aunts, and relations that bear her name and duty, but like her, to them it’s simply a station. The Hakayama clan is currently estimated to be approximated 600 strong, not including peasant servants. These samurai and courtiers are what people talk about when referring to the Hakayama clan itself.

Personality
Kusai spent her childhood in the loving arms of her father. Since a young age, she showed an aptitude for physical pursuits, having a knack for speed and strength where other girls her age were learning sewing and etiquette. Her father, fairly progressive in his concepts of role and duty, didn’t shy away from raising the young girl as he had planned for a son. He personally oversaw her instruction in the hard sciences - math, calligraphy, history, and law. He brought in many of the students from a Dojo he was a patron for, ensuring that her physical strength and speed had an outlet. On a personal level, he treated her every bit like the son he wished he could have had. He never belittled her gender, but instead took a nurture over nature approach to how she would function in society. When her family held her coming of age ceremony, no announcement of marriage was made - instead, her father proudly proclaimed that she would be joining the Grand Empire’s Magistrates to help bring law and justice to all folk, high or low, across the land. He, of course, made use of some political contacts to get her accepted. Her training was originally supposed to be little more than a formality, with her getting a title and a post, and being shuffled off until someone was found to wed her so she could take her place as a normal woman. Instead, she astonished her superiors with her work ethic, adherence to law, and dedication to learning. She would not let their idea of her become reality. She was going to be a Magistrate. She would carry the Empire’s Will. Originally a very brash girl, time in the Magistrates has tempered her into a cool, calculating instrument of the Empire’s will. She is polite, and observes all forms of etiquette when in polite company. In public she has a very short, curt attitude to the lower classes that bears them no ill will but acknowledges her station as a samurai. With enemies, she is ice cold. Her reputation is built upon this, and it's where the origin of her name comes from. She has a healthy respect for the law of the land, even in exile, but now without the strictures of her office, her hunt for those who wrong her and the people can be pursued without restraint.

History

Early Career

As a Magistrate, a young Kusai ran into a few obstacles first off. Within two months of joining the Imperial Magistrates, she knew that they weren’t going to treat her the same as her comrades. She fought hard against the system, proving that she had what it took to be respected. Made it clear to her commanders quickly that she wasn’t going to be pushed around. Over her nine year career, she’s fought one hundred and twenty sanctioned seven duels. She’s won one hundred and fifteen of them. She keeps these events on a scroll - each duel, each opponent, is remembered in the parchment and ink. Victories state only a name and a date. Defeats feature a breakdown of how she lost and why. Aside from her sanctioned duels, she’s done more work to apprehend criminals within her jurisdiction than any other magistrate.

Her Jurisdiction

For the majority of her career, she was in charge of policing three smallish trading towns within a few days walk of each other. The largest, Kanishi no Saiken, is host to over five thousand villagers and peasants. The next largest, a farming village named O-kome Mura, sees a large portion of its income generated by processing and shipping rice across the province. O-kome Mura is home to roughly two thousand, most living outside of the city limits on farms. The last is Amai Mizu Yashiki - a small rest stop on the road south along the coast. The village only has about six hundred residents, but the town has a beautiful setting on the cliffs near the ocean and many travellers come through to stay at it’s luxurious inns. Those who live near her know that her case will be tried fairly, though often to the exact letter of the law. She has shown herself cold to lawbreakers, even in cases where a different Magistrate would show leniency. Tales of woe and hardship have never and will never sway her from a just decision. While initially, this was seen as overly harsh and totalitarian, the three towns she was in charge of overseeing saw a dramatic decrease in serious crime. Many gangs have tried to set up in her lands, only to find themselves suffering losses to her sword and having their ill-traded goods seized and destroyed.

Birth of the Steel Crane

Kanishi no Saiken regularly had trouble with gangs. Yakuza gambling dens were common and even such serious crimes as human trafficking were done through greased palms and hidden movements. Her first major operation was dismantling a human trafficking ring that was taking women, girls, and boys from nearby villages and shipping them out with the riverboats. It very nearly killed her, but after three months of hard work and a few well planned raids, the Yakuza were removed from the town. For a year, Kusai dealt with hired killers and assassination attempts, once nearly dying to a poisoning. The Yakuza moved back in while she was recovering, only to find her still tracking them through yoriki and other magistrates. That action earned her the nickname that she’s adopted - the Steel Crane. When not dealing with unruly Yakuza and vicious gangs, she's generally seen as an arbiter of the peace. She spent most of her time clearing up disputes between one party or another, helping travelers settle grievances and injuries, and keeping the roads safe for all people to travel. Bandit raiders and ronin mercenaries made her life difficult, but they posed less of a threat than the Yakuza in her mind. At least she could organize a levy to fight off a bandit horde - the Yakuza were insidious in their implantation into society. All of these actions helped her reputation grow. Magistrates and criminals alike know that the Steel Crane is someone to be respected.

Disgrace and Self Imposed Exile

Two years ago, she became a victim of her own success. Word of her talent reached the Heishien Clan, a small family working to expand their lands. Her three villages made up the majority of the clan’s holdings. Heishien Toruko, the clan’s Matriarch, found herself drawn to the magistrate for her constant rebuke of standard roles. She sought no husband or title beyond her office, and on the occasion that a man would extend a proposal, she would politely but firmly refuse. Sensing a bit of a kindred spirit within Kusai and called her into her court. There she informed the Magistrate that she was going to be shifting her focus. The Matriarch explained that a number of her opponents in court had turned to unsavory and illegal practices to help supplant her Clan’s power and claims. With a writ from Kusai’s superior, Toruko had effectively gone around the young magistrate and drawn her into her family’s court politics. Kusai was furious, but refused to let her new superior see that. She accepted her new position with every bit of courtesy that the ‘promotion’ required. Once in court, she found herself in a very new, very dangerous world. She struggled at first while working with the Heishien family, mainly because of her inexperience with the game Courtiers played behind fans and letters. She found evidence of criminal behavior but could never plant the crime to a name. The Politicians that surrounded her were duplicitous and corrupt, but she could do little to stop them as it stood. Not one to be defeated, she learned to adapt. Her prowess as a duelist came to it’s own in this theater. There were hundreds of ways to offend someone, to push them to brash action, but in the end a duel could always solve the issue for good. From the Heishien clan, she learned politics and intrigue - the ability to interpret the law to benefit one side over another. Her morals shifted, but never collapsed entirely. Her doom came when, without her permission, Toruko started working to arrange a marriage between Kusai and her son, Nanaki. When Kusai found out, she made the mistake of letting her displeasure known. Her enemies in court jumped on the opportunity, and for nearly a month, the scandal was all that the courts were gossiping about. Worse than that, Nanaki was a slug of a man, with little care for the world or it’s inhabitants beyond himself. Kusai found him repulsive and she let him know her feelings regularly. In the end, their rivalry doomed them both. Heishien Nanaki became so furious with Kusai’s refusals of him that he made the boldest claim he could. On the advice of his adversaries, he declared that he would beat Hakayama Kusai in a duel to seal the marriage. Kusai knew he couldn’t beat her, but it also meant that such a public loss would destroy every bit of political clout she’d been working to establish with the Heishien clan. Their heir would appear weak and foolish and none of the other clans would see them as equal partners in business or politics. Kusai knew also that being wed to Nanaki would remove her from the Magistrates. Her duty would be as a wife and mother - responsible for providing Nanaki with heirs to carry on his family name. Toruko begged her to accept the duel and lose - to ensure the safety and strength of the Heishien clan. Instead, Kusai ran. She never showed up to court on the day the duel was announced. She left without a word and became a traveller ever since.

Life on the Road

On the road life was not simple. Without the backing of the Magistrates, she realized her history with various gangs and criminals would mean constant threats and attempts on her life. With Heishien Nanaki’s pride wounded so, she knew that he’d do what he could to secure his ‘trophy wife’. The politics behind the marriage were hard to get around, but he would need a wife soon. She had faith in Toruko to find a new bride for her son while she was in exile. Once he was married, she could return without worrying about having to be betrothed to a married man. The worse disgrace was for her family. She abandoned her duty to the magistrates and very likely ended her chances of being a part of her family in any meaningful way. She hasn’t spoken to her father since she fled. There are some things that even a fearless swordswoman is too afraid to do. Instead, she travels. Recent troubles have kept her more wary, knowing that soldiers and magistrates could be anywhere. If the rumors of their corruption were true, she would kill them. She would not stand for tyrannical oppression under the guise of legal protection.

Strengths
Strength in Honor
Kusai is powerful. She can outdo most men she meets, and has yet to find a woman her equal in the field of physical prowess. Speed and strength come hand in hand for her after nearly a decade of training and practical applications. She works regularly to keep herself in peak physical condition, regularly waking at dawn to run and filling idle time in her day with practice and kata.

Haku Tsuru Kata
Her particular style, known as the Haku Tsuru, emphasizes swift, single motions. It focuses on the iai strike, teaching a philosophy of 'One Sword, One Soul, One Strike'. It is terrifying in single combat, focusing on oppressing the opponent with deliberate, powerful strikes. While the style itself looks static, the motions are completed with a deadly speed and power. Every form in the Kata starts with the katana sheathed. Those who have seen her duel would call her opening stance a moment of Zen before the waves crash upon her opponent. It begins with feet spaced evenly, facing the opponent with her left hand holding the saya of her katana (blade up) and the other palm up and knuckles resting on its hilt as if inviting an offer of peace before the violence of the blade held beneath is drawn. When the strike occurs, few perceive all the motions as they happen almost instantly. Her hand flips, fingers settling on the weapon and thumb securing the blade as it’s drawn. She twists her torso to the left and leans forward as the blade is being drawn, shifting the motion to the right as the strike occurs. Her left foot remains planted and both her knees bend before vaulting her body forward while raising her right foot and using it as the plant in her strike. Once the blade clears the saya, her right foot plants in a lunge and her body and arm shift to bring the strike across and up. The motion ends with her sword held almost vertically in one hand it’s blade tilting forward slightly, blade edge facing the sky. The next strike brings her left foot forward and uses her right foot as the plant. Her left hand comes up as her right turns the blade for a downward stroke. Working together, her arms bring the blade down and in as her torso curls forward. The second stroke ends with her left foot leading, and her sword hilt close to her hip and the tip facing straight forward. The initial attack ends with her settling into a drawn stance, blade facing behind her at the ready for an upward strike in a traditional Sha no Kamae. The whole series of actions happens in just a few moments. Changes to the movements are made for opponent’s stance and defense, but the core philosophy of of it remains the same. In the legends of the style’s founding, the first man to use it claims that his first strike severed the body of his opponent from his soul. Standing, blade raised, he realized the purity of his first stroke and delivered the second to put his opponent’s soul to rest. The second strike is always followed through, regardless of if it were needed or no, in honor of the defeated opponent’s soul.

Knowledge in Law
She is very well educated. Her formal upbringing ensured that calligraphy and etiquette were observed and taught. During her time within the Magistrates, she learned the intricacies of Imperial Law. While her memory isn’t perfect, it is an obscure law indeed that she cannot recall from rote.

Weaknesses
Cold Steel’s BiteShe's been called heartless, cold, and ruthless - all of those descriptions are unfair. She has emotions and cares for people, but knows that duty comes first. She has severe trust issues, and is very long to trust anyone beyond politeness. This detachment is as much her own doing as it is a product of her work. She’s trusted very few people in her life, and a majority of them have hurt or betrayed her.

Justice’s Unerring CourseOnce her mind is set on an outcome, she will pursue it. Her stubbornness comes through in almost every aspect of her life. If something prevents her from completing her morning workout, she will spend the rest of the day sour at the cause of her distraction. It’s difficult for her to see the value in other people’s ideas if she’s come up with one first. Her plan is, naturally, the best one.

Striking DistanceShe is not afraid to punish insolence with pain. While she isn’t one to kill someone for a minor threat, she has no problem escalating to a point that deters retribution. Someone shoving her, for example, may find their arm locked tightly and painfully. A knife drawn against her will usually end with a crippling strike from her katana. An opponent cannot hold a knife without a hand. In mortal combat, she will not relent once her sword is drawn. Surrender is only an option before it leaves it’s saya.

Respect and DutyShe refuses to start a fight or hinder law enforcement. The only exception is if they try to kill her, and even then, she will do her best to spare their lives (an exception to her normal bloodthirstiness). She chose the life of a wandering ronin. Unless corruption is present, she expects various magistrates and law-keepers to give her trouble and she willingly endures it as a penance for her failure.

Likes
She enjoys many things - most are holdovers from her time in court. Fine sake, plum wine, well made sushi. Beyond the luxurious, she finds the natural beauty of the forest something she can comfortably enjoy at any time. It seems at odds with someone so connected to travel, but she very much enjoys the rain. The sound, the feeling of it on her, the smell of it - a good spring rain will make her stop and simply enjoy the gift of water. While rain has a calming effect on her, storms tend to work her up. Some of her most intense workouts happen with the kami of thunder and lightning dancing in the skies above. She finds that she has excess energy in such times, needing to do something or needing to fidget while a storm rages around her.

Dislikes
Aside from the obvious elements of lawlessness, spiders absolutely make her skin crawl. She will go out of her way to dispatch them if seen. While she hails from a coastal city, the ocean holds no special place in her heart. While it may be pretty to look at, she’s well aware of its destructive capabilities and the amount of extra work that must be put in to live on its shores. Poetry is also lost on her. It is a rare haiku that makes her search her soul. She tends to see such pursuits as self serving and arrogant - that your words hold such meaning as to touch the hearts of others.

Theme
A bit of flavor for her!

Warhammer 40K: Beyond the Law - A Mercenary Adventure [MATURE] (Open for business, apply within.)

I didn't want to double post, I figured others had things they wanted to do. >.< @Jbcool

•HAGAKURE•

@DeadBeatWalking - I've gotten about half of this written. I'll keep writing for you tomorrow. Should have something up in the morning hours, PST. Thanks!

•HAGAKURE•

@DeadBeatWalking - Prepare for more beef. I'm talking fucking slaughterhouse style.

•HAGAKURE•

@DeadBeatWalking - The suspense here is killing me. It's like Auditions for the school play.

Pandora's Inheritance [Modern/Fantasy]

@Sypherkhode822 I can deal with this. *nodnod*