tsukune

Baybridge: Halcyon Days [Superpowers/Semi-Sandbox]

In case some people are wondering why I've gone ahead to post my CS without getting "approved"...

Long-time player + contributor of the Verthaven-Gaybridge universe reporting in here. Saying hi to all newcomers and also some old faces.

So yes, my characters have managed to stay alive through all the retarded incidents and disasters in the previous Gaybridge installments since Days of Rain. They are now back to kick moar asses Finally I can start killing them off one by one - hopefully.

Baybridge: Halcyon Days [Superpowers/Semi-Sandbox]

Shizuka Takashiro

<sub>"It's impossible
to save every single person
in this world---

Saving one life
means
another has to be sacrificed
to fill in the dead role."</sub>

BASIC INFORMATION

---

NAME

Shizuka Takashiro
(高城　静, Takashiro Shizuka)

OTHER NAMES

• Shizu - nickname
• Phantom - callsign
• Gāochéng Jìng - in Mandarin

GENDER

Dude, of course.

AGE

26

HEIGHT

5' 9"

WEIGHT

152 lbs

HOME DISTRICTS

Either Greencrest Heights in White Coast area with Holly, or Little Seapond in Roseview with Akemi if he drops by Baybridge. Otherwise he's often out of town on a cross-border trip across Asia... due to shitty political reasons.

APPEARANCE

---

HAIR COLOR

Black (originally Premature Gray)

EYE COLOR

Brown

ETHNICITY

100% Japanese

PHYSICAL DESCRIPTION

Shizuka has a small stature and slim build common among native Japanese; even the harsh military training he received after joining RAVEN didn't really help to put on much muscle and weight. Well, he certainly is a lot sturdier now compared to his teenage self, but hey, don't expect a pure-blood Asian to ever beef up like all those Hollywood male stars. Originally fair-skinned (for Asian standard; still seen as "yellow" to all you Caucasian people) that later took on a slight tan from his RAVEN training.

He still keeps his hair in a windswept pixie-cut style; he has also finally dyed his white hair to black, which helps him to keep himself hidden better - both with and without his power. His heart-shaped face doesn't seem to appear to have aged much at all, still retaining the androgynous look. (He can easily pass off as a girl... if he can tone down that intimidating aura of his first, that is.) The "birthmark" that differentiates him from his twin is the small mole on the left side of his face, just below the lower half of his thin lips.

ATTIRE

For Shizuka, he has only one golden rule when it comes to clothing: comfort over fashion. Partly due to his sporty nature, while the other was due to his ignorance for bull fashion. Though, everyone is more used to him wearing like an edgy teenager that he's been told numerous times how suits just don't go well with him - at all.

On the job, if he out on assault missions, he wears a simple black stealth suit with minimal armory such as army knives and small pistols/revolvers, instead of being heavily armored and equipped with bulky guns and retarded helmets like most agents. When needed to, he may pack a sniper rifle on his back. After all, he is supposed to stay in the shadows (and out of everyone's way) and he's rarely at the front line; also, all the extra armors are just dead weight to him. If he's in the office, you'd see him in standard office wear... sometimes, if he's been told off to wear proper clothes to work the day before.

PERSONALITY

---

INNATE & OUTWARD PERSONALITY

In Verthaven, Shizuka started out as an anti-hero with too much sass for his own good. He made it clear to everyone and anyone he had interacted with that he was a pessimistic realist, and his brother complex made it hard for him to trust people easily. His deadpan sarcasm, his reluctance to befriend others to protect the only person he loved... But underneath all that edginess he wasn't as emotionless as he seemed, even extending a helping hand to the Verthaven kids when they needed it most.

Fast forward to Baybridge. He's still as snarky as ever, but has learned how to hold back his tongue better, and has begun to build friendships with the Verthaven survivors. Though, he still has a long way to go to overcome his innate awkwardness, to express himself in a better way. His eccentricity makes it even worse, for his thoughts are rarely on the same wavelength as others. It's difficult for most people to be able to keep up with his unpredictable pace, sometimes giving rise to misunderstandings that can range from amusing to hostile. While problematic when he has to listen to orders, his unorthodox ways have helped to save the lives of people (and later earning mouthfuls from his superiors).

While Shizuka has been diligent in his judo (and later RAVEN) training that has hardwired the physical and mental discipline into him for as long as he can remember, ironically he doesn't care much about rules, justice, chivalry... whatever those superficial bullshits are. Rather, he believes in simply doing what's necessary to resolve a situation in the best possible way, even if some of the methods used are... morally gray. He has an extremely high survival instinct, and he'd use anything and everything in his possession to turn the situation in his favor. His ability to be able to suppress his emotions and keep a clear mind often allows him to think out of the box and see the bigger picture better than most people. Though, his cold logic is often being seen as a form of arrogance in the eyes of others.

Relationship wise, Shizuka is (un)surprisingly a very family person - after all, the biggest reason why he agreed to join RAVEN was to make use of his post to tap into some of the organization's resources to protect his family, especially his twin brother, Haruka, his closest next of kin (the opportunity to get his hands on those delicious guns is secondary). His circle of "friends" is very small - although he has opened up himself a little more than before, he still doesn't trust people easily. However, he has no qualms about making loads of acquaintances - some through normal, proper connections, while others with (a bit of) blackmailing. As for romance... that's up in the air (it's not happening anytime soon, not with his weird personality, lol).

HOBBIES & INTERESTS

Sports | He was a very sporty person back in his childhood days, so much so that he couldn't sit still for more than a few minutes without going into a fidgety state. From generic ball games to extreme sports like snowboarding, he had tried them all before. He's a lot less hyperactive now (patience is a virtue to be a good sniper!) and his job has kept him very busy, but he does hit the gyms sometimes, or some solo sports such as squash, or simply shooting some hoops.

Travel | Due to the nature of his parents' work, his family often has to travel around, moving from one place to another depending on where they are relocated to. Shizuka's limitless sense of curiosity and his physical restlessness give rise to his desire to go on a backpacking trip around the world on his own. He also begins to take great interest to broaden his knowledge on languages and cultures of other countries, which he finds useful to prepare for his backpacking dream. After joining RAVEN, he's given many opportunities to travel around US and the world (though mostly Asian countries) - and on official business, not vacation, unfortunately.

Firearms | Shizuka picked up this when he played some FPS games with Haruka for the first time when they were... still kids (let's not go into the details about game rating for children, yeah). He would find books or online articles on this topic and read about them, but whatever he had learned were only textbook knowledge. He had yearned for a chance to get hands-on experience with guns and rifles (and to a smaller extent, explosives) - which were later presented to him in two stages: first, by moving and settling down in America (where you can't live without a pistol in your pocket), and later by joining RAVEN.

Biology | After the "evolution" of his power during the Devil Disaster in Verthaven, he starts to take greater interest in understanding the human body, which is extremely useful to help him better utilize his new-found ability (and of course, an added bonus to some of his other skill sets).

SKILLS & TALENTS

Languages | Shizuka's family had spent a lot of time traveling - plus his quickness to pick up new languages - so besides his native tongue he is also fluent in English (well, it is the language most commonly used across the world, duh) and Chinese (easier for him to master due to many similarities with Japanese). Because of this, he has also become the main liaison officer between RAVEN and the Metahuman agencies in Asia (China, Japan, the Philippines, etc.) for any joint assignments with the East. He has been picking up a few dialects here and there (like Min and Cantonese) during his frequent trips to the East.

Combat: Close Quarters | Besides judo (now a fourth dan black belt), the military training he received in RAVEN has added a wide variety of CQC moves to his arsenal, including the use of daggers and batons. Unlike most agents who rely on brute strength and direct frontal assaults, he overcomes his lack of strength with agility, such as using feints and tricks before delivering lightning-fast surprise attacks.

Stealth & Reconnaissance | Given his small build, his quick reflexes and the nature of his power, he's pretty much the top in this area in RAVEN... probably second only to Holly.

Sharpshooting: Sniper | While he has an interest in generic firearms, he has taken a greater liking for rifles, in particular long-range sniper models (with assault types being a close second). He seems to be trying to maximize his usefulness - especially in relation to his power, range is an issue - but is that really the only reason behind this? Regardless, he's actually a pretty good sniper - nowhere as good as the legendary Sonya Mayfield (whom he looks up to), but you still shouldn't underestimate him.

GOALS & MOTIVATIONS

Family | As mentioned previously, Shizuka's main goal of joining RAVEN is to acquire the necessary skills and resources to protect his new family - especially his twin brother, whom he knows is his greatest weak spot, and fears his enemies would know to exploit that.

Self-Discovery | Other than his awkward personality, the unhealthy mental and emotional growth caused by the lack of love and care from Asami have also contributed to Shizuka's rather pessimistic view of the people and world around him, turning him into a rather apathetic person. More about his family background will be revealed in this sequel.

HISTORY

---

• Pre-Verthaven: Two Peas in a Pod

  Kamakura is one of the well-known spiritual spots in Japan: a small, humble city in the south of the Kanagawa Prefecture. Like most Japanese couples, Yuuichi Takashiro and his then pregnant wife Asami went to the shrines there to pray for their unborn child. Their prayer was answered - and it was more than what they had asked for.
  
  Asami gave birth to two peas in a pod - twin boys.
  
  This was where Haruka and Shizuka's story begin.
  
  Their parents, being diplomatic agents, had to constantly move from one place to another: when the twins turned three their parents' job relocated them to Shanghai; when they were six the family was posted to Singapore; when they were eight to France... Even their tenth birthday was forgone as they had to fly to Australia. They were not nomads per se, but to the twins, they never had a place they could actually call home. The boys were mostly left on their own, for their parents were so busy with their work that they could barely spent much time with their children - this was especially more so for the career-driven Asami. Initially they hired nannies and maids to look after the kids, but Shizuka would often drive them away with his pranks - he didn't like how they always fussed over him for every trivial matter, forcing him to wear the exact same clothes as Haruka, and how they kept comparing him pointlessly with his obedient brother. They might look the same, but they were still different! They might be still young, but stop suffocating them with their old-fashioned ideologies! Why couldn't these stupid adults understand?
  
  The parents then decided to send them to international schools, where they picked up an interest in multilingualism; with how the family was always moving about, they couldn't stay long enough to make any lasting memories and friends (a lot of their schoolmates also come and go just like them). For Shizuka, he was content with joining them as temporary playmates in ball games as long as he got to keep his body active, but Haruka hid himself away with books and computers, afraid to talk to anyone except his brother or when necessary.
  
  After a while, Shizuka begged his father to let him take up martial arts - and Yuu let him try judo. The physical and mental demand for competitive judo was more than most of the sports he had played so far, which motivated him to spend more time and effort into climbing up the belt levels, eventually earning his first black belt.
  
  Later on, Yuu suggested to enroll them into local institutions. The paperwork was a little more tedious compared to international schools, but the fees were much lower. More importantly, the change of academic environment gave the twins - though just a bit - a sense of settling down, which helped to make the recluse Haruka to take the first step out of his comfort zone, to face and talk to people directly.
  
  Of course, in whichever type of school they went to, Haruka could never escape the fate of being a magnet for bullies - he looked weak, nerdy... the very things that made him a perfect human punch bag for these delinquents. It was down to his younger brother to save his ass with his judo tricks - this did help to strengthen their brotherly bond, but Shizuka wasn't aware that his twin was taking his protectiveness beyond the realm of mere sibling love.
  
  Well, because Shizuka had a more pressing matter to deal with.
  
  His powers began to manifest after he turned thirteen - sometimes his fingers would pass through whatever he was holding; he also found out that when he put his hands through electronic devices he would cause them to short-circuit. At first, the ability was more of a nuisance to him: he had little to no control over how he could turn the power on or off, resulting in awkward situations such as things falling out of his grip unexpectedly, or part of his arm disappearing through the wall. An incident where his hand didn't go through his phone completely and was temporarily merged with the device sent him into a very painful frenzy - this caused an accelerated development of his ability, in which he could now extend intangibility to his whole body. Only Haruka knew of his power, and they swore to each other to keep this a secret between themselves. As he had never undergone any formal training on how he could control his ability properly, he was prone to unforeseen hiccups or accidental use of his power at times.
  
  As the boys became older, Yuu felt that he couldn't keep bringing them along on their business trips, depriving them the need of a proper school education and social interaction with kids of their age. He finally convinced Asami to place them under the care of their aunt - Asami's younger sister - Akemi Shinoda, who lived in the Chinatown area of Verthaven, a sunny city in the west coast of America.

• Verthaven: the Storm of Rain and Ravens

  Little did the boys know that they only had a month of peaceful - almost boring - enjoyment before they were thrown straight into an apocalyptic disaster that completely changed their life. Shizuka had been getting the bad signs through his "gut feeling", but no one believed him, thinking that he was being a callous smartass... Of course, it didn't help that his less-than-friendly personality made people all the more unwilling to listen to him.
  
  Then suddenly, people were getting killed left and right, including those whom they could become friends with if they had met under better circumstances; worse, the then-powerless Haruka was so close to dying not once but numerous times, even coming face to face with the Changeling Unit. After so much bloodshed and death encounters, It was truly a miracle that all of them managed to stay alive till the end - but this pure luck wouldn't be on their side forever, especially not after what Shizuka had done to help the NEST agents and the Verthaven teens to take down their foes, on top of saving their asses at times.
  
  This wasn't the end of everything yet...
  
  The Devil Disaster had prompted the reshuffling of NEST - which was now known as DOVE and RAVEN. Together with the other two surviving teens Zhao Meifeng and Cindy Keagan, Shizuka was also scouted to join the new RAVEN by the then newly elected Chairman, Maximilian Cornell. He accepted the offer, which made him the youngest recruit ever enrolled (and people started to call him an elite, though mostly out of spite).

• Baybridge: the Night is still Young

  He began the Spartan-like military training once he and his new family settled down after being relocated to Baybridge. His training still continued on even after the two years of basics (that all RAVEN newcomers must go through), in particular to further develop his skills in recon on top of sharpshooting. Sometimes he would be sent along with Meifeng to the other states and assist her with fighting with both old and new foes: the Hands of Science, the Pure, the Allegiance... to name a few.
  
  The events in Verthaven didn't affect him as much as it did to the other survivors since he's there only for a month and all (thankfully he didn't have any PTSD after going through a series of tests), but he knew he couldn't relax one bit and get his family into a similar kind of danger again. Call him paranoid, but who wouldn't after been through all that shit? While his job was keeping him real busy - including many business trips especially to Asian countries - he still made sure he set aside some time to be with his family, even helping out with the farm. (He and Holly shared an apartment which was much closer to their workplace, but he still liked to stay together with the whole family as much as he could.) Whenever he's back in Japan, he would try to at least meet up with his father, if Yuu happened to be back in their home country (once they even met in Malaysia by pure chance). He could care less about Asami, though.
  
  Most of the ice around his aloof personality has melted off as he began to work hard to improve his social life, especially his relationships with the people whom he fought alongside with in Verthaven. Though he's still as brutally honest as ever, he has learned to hold his sharp tongue back much better than before (no, he still had his snarky sense of humor, just keeping them to himself). He had received praises for doing a great job connecting RAVEN with the Metahuman law enforcement groups in Asia - so much so that the Chinese and Japanese counterparts would only speak to him and no one else from RAVEN - but his laid-back attitude made his superiors reluctant to give him much promotions (besides, he didn't want more work than he already had which would eat into his precious family time).
  
  He was hoping for a decent break after coming back from another business trip to China (where he had to entertain spoiled princesses on top of their doting old men), but before he could catch up with his twin he had to attend some charity event that ended with a case of dumb robbers. Soon, more retarded incidents started to pop up everywhere in Baybridge: an Allegiance riot where he was forced to snipe a young girl to prevent her powers from falling into the wrong hands, then a flesh-eating Metahuman on the loose... and the overloading cases that almost caused his brother to die under the blade of an old ghost.
  
  His second attempt to have a good bonding time with his twin was shattered again with Eco-Natura turning the entire Prince Ed-Field into a freaking rainforest. They managed to get out unscathed while saving a few familiar faces along the way... but not without a few surprises here and there, including the unexpected meeting with Jennifer Caspin, and a brief encounter with Lihua's foe, Song Jiang.
  
  The real bomb was dropped onto the twins with Akemi's voice message - a phone call from their father about their missing mother. Then another from Cindy about the dangerous Founding Family brought Shizuka to the Land of the Dragon once more.
  
  Now, it's time for the dragon to wake up from its deep slumber...

• Baybridge: Family is Business

  While the city is still taking it's own sweet time to recover from the Overload and Eco-Natura incidents, Shizuka had been busy with his job, looking for clues connected to the dragon tattoo... that led him to the existence of a secretive organization based in Asia called "Polaris". Of course, this discovery didn't come without other nasty revelations. One, the twins' mother, Asami, was a member of the cult; two, Haruka and his powers were triggered due to a certain experiment Polaris did on Asami.
  
  However, he was forced to leave the research to his colleague (and "sister") Holly, and was reassigned to deal with an Allegiance gathering that went horribly wrong. Before he could demand another leave from work, he was thrown into another retarded incident - this time from a tanking terrorist who called himself the "Black Hound", which in turn also revealed the existence of the Founding Family. Worse, his own brother Haruka was also dragged into the hostage incident, and even used to threaten him to chicken out. The Black Hound thought he got the most troublesome agent out of the way and pushed DOVE/RAVEN to a corner, only to be thwarted by Shizuka's even quicker thinking that saved almost all the hostages without giving into the Family's demands. Though, his surprising heroism was flipped upside down to scorn from the higher-ups (keyword: almost), which caused him to get suspended from his position for a month.
  
  Under the cover of his suspension, he continued to look into Polaris and the Family with Holly, even enlisting help from overseas - assistance from Ryu to check some anomalies happening in China. Some of his findings were relayed to the Zhaos, but that was interrupted thanks to the appearance of Jennifer. He saw through her lie and exposed her missing hand to their old friends, resulting in a fallout with her... but gaining the chance to mend ties with Lihua.
  
  Later, Haruka revealed his encounter with Xing Huo, the Fire Spirit of Polaris, and with the help of another agency agent they set up an ambush to get more answers out of her... only to be left with a cryptic poem. Still, they knew they couldn't stop there - adding two more allies to the odd team, which came with valuable intel in the form of audio recordings in USB drives scattered all over Baybridge. With the information he came up with some strategies along with what Lihua and the RAVENs had, even working together with a traitor within the Family.
  
  To cut the long and retarded story short, Shizuka eventually completed the mission and got what he came for, at the same time he kept his word with Veronica Emily Davis (now under a new alias 'Noelle Delacroix') to save her sisters from the Family's imprisonment. He also accepted the chance to get a promotion, something he had been avoiding for the past seven years ever since he became a full-fledged RAVEN.
  
  In the three-year gap before the start of this installment, Shizuka's workload increased with his rank - in particular speeding up multilateral ties with Asian Metahuman agencies to combat the growing threat of Polaris, before they would see a repeat of the chaos in Europe left behind by the Family - in Asia. However, there were resistances from China, India, Malaysia and Indonesia that prevented all the Asian countries to come to a consensus. Shizuka had been working on/off with Ryu to find out just how deep Polaris' influence had seeped into the Asian politics...

RELATIONSHIPS

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FAMILY

[+]

HARUKA TAKASHIRO | Twin Brother

See "Dynamics".

AKEMI SHINODA | Aunt

The aunt of the twins through their mother, where she's younger than Asami. To the boys, Akemi feels more like a mum than their own biological mother. Akemi is somewhat stricter with Shizuka - partly because of his difficult personality, and partly because she feels concerned about the various kinds of things he has to go through in his job as an agent fighting - at times even killing - rogue Metahumans.

DAPHNE "HOLLY" HOPE | Sister Figure

Holly becomes a sister figure to the twins when Akemi took her in as goddaughter. She often shares some of her wisdom to the boys - especially with Shizuka - which earns their utmost respect for her. In RAVEN, she also acts as a mentor to him even when they aren't in the same department (more importantly, that their powers give them similar edge in stealth and intelligence gathering). Some agents - even his own brother - have teased about him staying together with her with no signs of ever getting hooked up with each other, and he just brushes them off nonchalantly.

YUUICHI TAKASHIRO | Father

The twins' father. Yuu is a diplomatic agent representing Japan, and this job often causes his family to get relocated on a frequent basis, moving from one country to another all the time. He tries to squeeze out more time to spend with his children, but his wife Asami would always frown upon his desire to take days off work. Now, he tries to keep up to date about his sons through Shizuka, if they manage to cross each other's path during their frequent trips around the world.

ASAMI TAKASHIRO (nee SHINODA) | Mother

Although Asami is the (biological) mother of Haruka and Shizuka, she has never done anything for the twins - she was never there for them, never did what a mother should do to play her part in bringing up her children: to give them the care and love they needed, forsaking their psychological and emotional well-being for her own selfish goals, abandoning them so that she can climb further up the career ladder. It's later revealed that she was once a member of Polaris, and it's hinted that their mother's greed for superpowers is the cause/trigger to the twins' Metahuman abilities...

DYNAMICS

[+]

HARUKA TAKASHIRO | Inseparable | Twin Brother

"It's both my pride - and regret - to see how much he has grown over the years."
Haruka is Shizuka's older twin, but very few people are able guess that correctly - not just because of Shizuka's white hair in the past, but also how they always treat each other as equals, blurring the lines of seniority even between themselves. Even though Shizuka is no longer that overprotective of him compared to their childhood days, he still won't hesitate to put the well-being of his twin before anyone else'. They do argue and trash-talk each other from time to time.

ZHAO MEIFENG | Mixed | RAVEN

"Usually she's all brawn and no brain, but when she actually uses her head... I guess I'll acknowledge that she's a somewhat competent agent after all. I'm sorry about what happened to her mother, though."
Shizuka and Meifeng have come a long way from Verthaven - from having such low opinions of each other that they never saw the need to talk to each other in the eye, and now they are comrades working together in the same organization. While they are on friendlier terms now compared to seven years ago, they still argue at times - he has a problem with Meifeng's impulsive way of handling things, sometimes even questioning her intellect level. However, after the death of Lihua, he hasn't talked to her ever since...

QUENTIN TAYLOR | Respected | RAVEN, Senior

"Gotta admit that the old man is a genius with firearms - so good that I'd never want to be on the receiving end."
Shizuka can easily relate to him with how the both of them are willing to do anything and everything to protect their own brother. Although he finds that Quentin is somewhat similar to Meifeng with their... unhealthy hatred for villains in general, at least Quentin seems to have more self-control than the girl.

REED TAYLOR | Respected | DOVE, Senior

"Less intense than his older bro', and also a pretty good gunner."
On the field, Reed becomes Shizuka's "voice of reason" of sorts, which is usually Haruka's role in the past before he joined RAVEN. Sometimes he wishes that Haruka can be half as good as Reed... and stop that annoying "goody two-shoes" bullshit.

JACKSON DRAKE | Neutral | Informer

"Right now we only maintain a professional relationship with each other, but I feel like things are going to get worse... soon."
Shizuka saved Jackson from turning a scene even uglier when he decided to break up the shouting match at the DOVE front counter. While he's vaguely acquainted with Jackson, he didn't mind lending the man some help to find his missing friend... in exchange to work for the Japanese agent outside of RAVEN's jury.

ABILITIES

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CLASS

Super-System (Biological)

POWER

Intangibility - "Phasing" | Shizuka can phase through solid matter and objects by passing his atoms through the spaces between the particles of the object which he is moving through. As such, he and the object that he's going through may temporarily merge without interacting; each is unharmed when he has finished passing through the object. (This is somewhat similar to the process of quantum tunneling.)

• Non-Corporeal Physiology | While in phased state, he is practically untouchable. With a bit more concentration he can make his body light enough to be able to walk on air.

• Cerebral Power Resistance | His thoughts becomes highly erratic when he's in ghost mode, which makes it difficult to establish telepathic connection with his mind, or even detect his presence at times. He is also able to disrupt telekinetic links to the objects or the people he expands his power to (see next point).

• Limited Power Extension | He can extend his ability to the clothes he's wearing and any object in his possession at the moment. He's now also able to expand his power to a maximum of four people at each time. In order for this to work, he has to maintain direct physical contact with the person or thing he's phasing along with.

• Internal Analysis | Any person or object he extends his ability to allows him to be "linked" to them, giving him insight to their internal structure.

LIMITS

• Shizuka is unable to breathe while he's passing through the object (e.g. walking through walls), so he can phase continuously only for as long as he can hold his breath. As such, his power is highly dependent on his stamina - in order to keep his fitness level at its peak, besides exercising regularly he has sworn to stay away from cigarettes and alcohol.

• The denser the material is, the harder and slower for him to pass through. Forcing himself to phase through objects of very high density can cause him undesirable pain, at times also injuring himself. Also, he's unable to phase continuously through denser objects for a prolonged period of time without putting a lot of physical and mental stress onto himself.

• Although he gains cerebral power resistance in phased state, it doesn't completely erase his presence - it may be possible for an extremely powerful clairvoyant to be able to detect him. Also, his power doesn't make him invisible physically.

• The accuracy of Internal Analysis is heavily dependent on his prior knowledge of the object or person he's feeling - the less he know about them or the more complicated they are, the lower the accuracy.

WEAKNESSES & DRAWBACKS

• Shizuka's "natural" state is solid - he has to concentrate in order to switch to ghost mode. Shock-inducing weapons such as taser or stun guns are effective to disrupt his concentration and snap him out of phased state.

• His power only allows him to pass through atom-matters (solid, liquid and gas), hence he isn't immune to energy-based attacks such as lightning - he can't phase through electromagnetic waves and electrical currents. For example, trying to pass through systems still running on electricity will cause them to malfunction.

• Solidifying while in an object (applies to both partially - such as his limbs - and his whole body) or switching off his ability before he has passed through the object completely may inflict serious injury (and a hell lot of pain, mind you) - in worst case scenario, even death. This is because the atoms of his body are immediately merged into the object he's trying to phase through... which is similar to how someone stabs you right into your vital organs, but on an atomic level.

• Lead and Bismuth. Although he can phase through almost any solid matter, this two of the densest stable elements on Earth are pretty much a bane on his body. It's uncertain whether he would be able to phase through them at all, but he has zero intention to test that out, ever. As far as he's concerned, trying to pass through those two (nasty) elements is equivalent to a normal human trying to walk through a solid wall.

OTHERS

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TRIVIA

• Shizuka is not a citizen of US - he only holds American permanent residency (required in order for him to work for RAVEN), and he still has Japanese citizenship. Also, as his parents are diplomats he and Haruka are both able to enjoy diplomatic immunity, but they have no wish to use that privilege unless absolutely necessary.

• Although he sometimes appears to be predominantly left-handed, he's actually ambidextrous.

• He has tried a wide range of sniper rifles in his line of work, but mainly CheyTac M-325 Intervention because it's the standard model used in RAVEN now. For pistols, he uses a Beretta 92FS.

• He owns a blue Yamaha FZ-09, which he shares the bike with Haruka, who helps to keep it in top shape when not in use. Otherwise, he simply uses a RAVEN vehicle.

• His most prized possession is the survival knife he took from NEST (now RAVEN) for the last stand against the Devil of Verthaven - and later the Changelings. Originally he had a pair, but he used up one by merging the blade into Luis' brain in order to save Quentin from a suicidal death. He has never used it since then, but he still brings it along on some trips and missions as a protection charm.

THEME SONG

God Eater Burst OP - over the clouds

Haruka Takashiro

_{"Power and money
can buy the world,
the people...
but never enough
to buy loyalty."}

BASIC INFORMATION

---

NAME

Haruka Takashiro
(高城　遥, Takashiro Haruka)

OTHER NAMES

Haru - nickname

GENDER

Male

AGE

26

HEIGHT

5' 8"

WEIGHT

148 lbs

HOME DISTRICT

Originally lives in Little Seapond, Roseview with Akemi, but has been out of town with Jennifer for three years prior to this installment.

APPEARANCE

---

HAIR COLOR

Black

EYE COLOR

Brown

ETHNICITY

Japanese

PHYSICAL DESCRIPTION

Just like his younger twin, Haruka also has a small and slim stature common among native Japanese. While he doesn't have the athletic build his sporty agent brother possesses, the Academy's physical training has given him a much healthier hue and beefed him up a little, though he still can't get any tan even if he's under the sun a lot.

His jet-black hair is naturally ruffled and unkempt no matter how much he tries to straighten that mop of mess on his head. He wears a pair of rectangular, half-rimmed spectacles over his dark brown eyes, but he can still see without glasses since the degree isn't that high anyway. He has the same heart-shaped, androgynous face and thin lips like Shizuka, but he does not have any birthmarks.

The gun wound from the Mall Hostage incident has pretty much healed save for a faint scar on his thigh, to remind him that he's no longer the weak Haruka from before, but someone who can stand his own ground without his twin to protect him all the fucking time. Most people tend to drop their guard around him because of his weak appearance, which usually works in his favor - either to keep a low profile as much as possible, or to deliver surprise attacks to make quick getaways.

ATTIRE

It's hard to be particular about dress code when you're on the road, always on the move. As long as they are comfortable for the long journey (plus easy to wash and dry, of course), Haruka isn't picky about what he wears. However, he does take special care to make sure he can blend in with the crowd - the last thing he wanted is to attract unwanted attention to himself... and Jennifer.

PERSONALITY

---

INNATE & OUTWARD PERSONALITY

Haruka has come a long way from his old self. In Verthaven, he began as a nerdy kid of sorts: a soft-spoken introvert who spent most of his time with books - basically information in general - than with people. It didn't help that his childhood circumstances made him even more reluctant to socialize, and Shizuka became the only person he was willing to open up to. Still, he knew very well that people couldn't live alone and tried his best to reach out to others, even if he was hesitant about approaching them at times.

However, after the Verthaven Disaster and moving to Baybridge, he was enrolled into Academy 61 while his twin became a RAVEN. Increasing interactions after joining the Academy has given him the opportunity to break the ice. Eventually he has become much more comfortable facing and talking with strangers, and even making friends (better than Shizuka), though he still retains his rather polite/formal speech style. He does continue to value quiet times and his peaceful private space to take breaks from the social hubbub.

He may have a seemingly mellow personality (that's further accented by his meek outward appearance), but that doesn't mean he can't put up a fight. Trained directly under the Zhao Lihua, a matriarch among the elemental-manipulating instructors in the Academy, he fully understands that his power is as versatile as the element itself - air and wind - and he spares no effort to truly master his ability. He did, and went on to graduate from the Academy as one of the top students of his cohort. As much as he can he prefers to avoid needless violence, but if he has to resort to force he is capable of taking care of himself without any help from his overprotective brother. However, with how his ability is connected to his emotions, he has to be extremely careful with how he to keep his power - and his other side - under control.

He has also learned to be more reserved about putting his trust in people he barely knew, but he still tries to see the good in them as much as he can. While on the surface it's a good thing that Haruka is becoming more sociable and stop being a shut-in of sorts, he's also exposed to the dark side of human relationships, which often challenges his initial ideals about humanity, making it increasingly harder for him to think of people in a good way. The constant battle between the paradox of beliefs inside him continues to widen... resulting in two distinct personalities within him. One is his nice, idealistic "usual" self; the other is the darker, cold-blooded persona that seems to take after his more practical twin. (Do not mistaken this as a form of bipolar or personality disorder - Haruka is consciously aware of the two sides and has control over them. Besides, it's nowhere extreme enough to be considered that anyway.)

Most importantly, he has matured even further through the road trip with Jennifer to aid in her search of her previous "employer", a woman called Megan. An independent side that he has shown to only Jen, and no one else - not even to Shizuka. Maybe Xing Huo was right - there's a limit how far he can keep up the "Nice Guy" facade, but he doesn't know any other way he can still hold onto whatever's left of his optimism for humanity. Especially not after he has seen too many horrors in his life to pretend that everything will be alright. (Everything ain't okay if they're left as it is, period.)

HOBBIES & INTERESTS

Reading | Haruka prides himself as an armchair traveler as opposed to Shizuka's passion for backpacking. Unable to make long-lasting friendship with peers of his age due to the family constantly moving around in his childhood days, he seeks refuge by losing himself in the worlds of books and cyberspace. While his brother is out sweating himself in sports, the older twin would lurk in local libraries and bookstores, burying himself among the piles of musty old volumes; or he would hang out in internet cafes, lost himself in the sea of information in the virtual world. He is rather well-versed in Asian literature.

Music | Besides reading, he likes listening to music, specifically acoustic covers and instrumental pieces. It's one of the few things that can help to calm his nerves.

High Places | Mostly a "side-effect" of sorts due to his ability, he enjoys simply standing or sitting on the rooftops or trees, letting the open breeze to blow into him.

Video Gaming | Usually just between him and Shizuka. The twins would try to find free time and have a few hours of game time together - so far, Haruka is better with rhythm games and strategic turn-based types, while his younger twin is unstoppable in real-time action RPGs and FPS.

SKILLS & TALENTS

Languages | Like his twin, Haruka is also fluent in Japanese, English and Chinese. In fact, he learns new languages faster than Shizuka. On the road trip with Jennifer, he has picked up a couple of useful lines in various European languages here and there.

Eidetic Memory | He has displayed signs of such talent; however, it's possibly due to his aptitude to maximize the use of various mnemonics, which enable him to process information at a faster rate with better grasp than most people.

GOALS & MOTIVATIONS

Family | Haruka's reason is very different from his twin's; rather than about their current family in America, he's more concerned about their blood family - with Yuu and Asami. He doesn't want to give up on their original family like Shizuka, choosing to rebuild it from scratch.

??? | The journey across the world with Jennifer is certainly quite an experience, but once he gets back to Baybridge, he has to decide if he wants to take up DOVE's offer and follow Shizuka's footsteps... or continue to try figure out what he wants to do in his life from hereon.

HISTORY

---

• Pre-Verthaven: Two Peas in a Pod

  I suggest that you should read Shizuka's sheet first as it contains more details (which I'm not going to repeat myself here again).

• Verthaven: Partly Cloudy

  Verthaven seemed to be a promising place for the twins to finally settle down - Akemi was much nicer than their own mother, and they managed to make some "friends" around their age. Everything was smooth - he was starting to enjoy his new life in America - but that happiness didn't last long. Barely a month passed before the Devil's sludge army rose above the ground and razed the city, then his family was forced to run for their lives. He felt even more useless when he didn't have any powers like his twin, a hindrance to everyone else - until he met Jennifer Caspin, the first person he thought he could truly be friends with.
  
  He could see all the warning signs, he could tell that something wrong - something terrible - had happened to the girl, but he was afraid to probe her further, afraid of the answer. He was upset when Shizuka suspected her for being the mole selling them out to the Changelings - he knew that all his brother had done was merely to protect him, but he couldn't help feeling guilty that his own life was saved on her forsaken life. It was even more ironic that his superpower only manifested after her death.
  
  However, his brother was right: the only thing he could do to "repay" for being alive was to live on and keep moving forward, together with the memories he had made with those who had passed away in the terrible incident.

• Baybridge: Endless Waltzstorm

  After the twins and their new family settled down in Baybridge, Haruka was enrolled into Academy 61 to learn how to better control his power while his brother began his two-year basic military training with the newly formed RAVEN. The older twin worked really hard - he had been doing very well in the Academy and eventually graduated with flying colors, while Shizuka went on to do further training in his area of expertise. Though, a certain incident that happened during one of the arena practice fights was the first sign of his confrontation with the harsh reality. It might not seem like a big deal and was covered up pretty quickly thanks to Lihua, but that was only just the beginning...
  
  After which, Haruka decided to take up part-time degree course so that he could still help Akemi with the farm. Everything seemed so peaceful right now, but with his new power, he could feel it as much as Shizuka's "gut feeling" - that something else is stirring in the background... Something bad.
  
  He was living a peaceful life with Akemi, though he was disappointed that the reunion with his twin was cut short due to Shizuka's eventual involvement with the Stronghold Community patrol shift. While his brother was later caught up in one after another Metahuman-related incident that prevented them from having a proper get-together, Haruka soon found himself walking deeper and deeper into the Overload trap; he then became the final victim and razed Oakdell Harbor with his freak tornado-hurricane before the sniper who shot him with a charging serum was apprehended. Not without a near-death reunion with an old ghost he had never expected to meet...
  
  Just when he thought he could finally have a nice catch-up with Shizuka, the twins found themselves in the middle of another Metahuman disaster caused by Eco-Natura. While trying to escape from the growing forest, he met Jennifer again, but they didn't have the time to settle their score with each other when they had to part ways, with Shizuka prioritizing on getting uncombatable individuals under his protection to safety, and left the ice golem to her and Megan. Their brief, passing encounters went on when Jennifer loaded the injured Lihua up the car, and then Haruka had to fly his former mentor across to the Headquarters to seek medical help when the connecting bridge was bombed.
  
  To add on to his growing list of woes, the news of the missing Asami struck the twins. Shizuka quickly left for Asia to sort out both about the Founding Family and their mother's whereabouts on top of dealing with the increasing restlessness of the Asian countries in respond to the Baybridge incidents. As for Haruka, he wondered if he should find a way to get in contact with the few new friends he had made in the city to take a break from all the madness around him.
  
  Of course, things would never go the way he had wished for...

• Baybridge: Un-Friendly Fire

  While his younger twin was busy with more political bullshits between RAVEN and the Asian Metahuman law enforcement agencies, Haruka wasn't exactly slacking off, either. He was coping well with his "normal" studies in Computer Science (something he had taken interest in since his days in the Academy) but he would still wander around Baybridge from time to time, trying to overcome the emptiness without Shizuka around. After all, they had been together throughout their entire childhood for as long as he could remember... Thankfully, he had occasional company from the asexual bird-girl Rori, whom he got along with pretty well.
  
  Anyway, let's just skip the boring daily life stuff and get straight to the retarded main plots. Haruka got involved in the Mall Hostage incident and was singled out by the Black Hound with a Meta-energy suppressant canister strapped to his front as a precaution against his RAVEN agent twin, but failed when Shizuka found another way to breach the seemingly impregnable defense line set up by the Intimidation Unit. Sadly, even after Shizuka was suspended from his position for his crazy plan, the brothers still couldn't spend time with each other as much as they wanted.
  
  Shortly after Haruka was discharged, he encountered the Fire Spirit of Polaris, Xing Huo, who appeared to take too much special interest in the twins, even revealing a glimpse of their mother's dark past to him. With the help of an agent from a different organization, Aislin Rose, they set up a meeting with the Chinese lady to get more information out of her but was only left with a cryptic poem to ponder about. It seemed like Shizuka had been using the suspension as a cover to gather his own resources in their final stand against the Founding Family... Something that Haruka was proud of - but also unhappy with. Regardless, he knew he couldn't let his petty feelings hinder the operations to destroy the Family and end this shitstorm, once and for all. He also reunited with Wendy for only a brief moment - that girl had other business with her own family and friends, while he was more concerned about Jennifer at that time.
  
  In the end, Shizuka's Japanese agent friend Ryu took down Julia O'Sullivan, who was one of the Blessed Three, and they freed most of the Secretaries from the mind control. With combined efforts from RAVEN, they had finally ended the Family's regime attempt over North America, though not without some bitter loss: Lihua's death, Cindy's disappearance, Meifeng's depression - and the list could go on. However, Xing Huo suddenly appeared before him once more to remind him that this wasn't the end of everything yet...
  
  For the next three years before the start of this installment, Haruka joined Jennifer on a trip around the world - to look for an acquaintance of Jen's, Megan. Julia had mentioned her to Jen during their stand-off when he left her and went with Wendy's group to get out of the base back then, and so they believed that Megan might hold some answers to Jen's past during the seven-year gap between Verthaven and Baybridge. However, Megan was as sneaky as Jennifer had warned him about, where they were always a few steps behind their target, missing the chance to catch up with Megan. At the same time, they were also looking for another person - their old friend, Cindy Keagan, who went missing after the end of the previous installment.
  
  Eventually the two returned to Baybridge...

RELATIONSHIPS

---

FAMILY

[+]

SHIZUKA TAKASHIRO | Twin Brother

See "Dynamics".

AKEMI SHINODA | Aunt

The twins' aunt through their mother's side, who makes them feel more like a mom than their actual mother. Haruka gets along very well with Akemi - not just helping out with her farm, he also helps with any repair work needed around the house.

DAPHNE "HOLLY" HOPE | Sister Figure

Holly is like an older sister that Haruka never had until now - occasionally he would tease Shizuka that she is a potential girlfriend material to the younger twin, which Shizuka is quick to wave off that he's never seen Holly in that way.

YUUICHI TAKASHIRO | Father

Haruka does love his father, but he has also wished he can spend more time with him, and rebuild their relationship from scratch. Right now he can only be kept updated about Dad through Shizuka, something he hopes to change soon.

ASAMI TAKASHIRO (nee SHINODA) | Mother

Haruka's relationship with Asami isn't as strained as his brother's; however, he is also uncertain about how he should feel towards their mother's outright objection at them. He feels that she must have a reason for acting this way towards the twins, and he really wants to get to the bottom of it - for any chance to save their broken family.

DYNAMICS

[+]

SHIZUKA TAKASHIRO | Inseparable | Twin Brother

"I love him as much as I hate his crude sense of humor."
The younger twin brother; again, not many people can guess the seniority between them unless they explicitly say so. Haruka has stopped having weird unrequited feelings for Shizuka (which is basically worshiping him), and it's now no different from a normal sibling love. They are still very close though, and he simply ignores the strange looks people give them at their affectionate exchanges.

RORI AHERNE | Good | Friend

"We became friends through a quirky encounter, but I haven't seen her for a long time... not when so many things have happened in Baybridge."
Haruka's power was what sucked Rori, in bird form, to himself by mistake, and that little incident became the beginning of an unexpected friendship with the cheery bird-girl. He hasn't met her ever since the last time they talked a bit about her cousin and family, and he'd love to meet her again.

REINALD YOUNG | Neutral | ???

"He's my only hope to reclaim what we've lost."
Surprised to have the person he intended to meet delivered right before him, Haruka welcomes this unexpected development, but he has a suspicion that this might be a calculated move made by someone he knows well...

WENDY LUCKER | Curious | Junior

"She is probably the first multi-elemental manipulator I have ever encountered. It's also great that she loves books as much as I do."
Haruka first met Wendy at the market when the berserk snowstorm incident happened; they met again in the Academy library by chance. He admires how easily open Wendy was towards him when they barely knew each other.

ZHAO MEIFENG | Neutral | Lihua's Daughter

"I haven't talked to her at all ever since Verthaven. I hope she's alright, especially after... Lihua's passing."
Haruka still think of Meifeng as a friend of sorts, but Meifeng is usually out of town and Haruka didn't have any chance to meet her at all. He feels that they are something like distant friends - slightly above the level of mere acquaintances - and he only hears little bit about her through Shizuka. He shares similar sentiment with her with regards to Lihua's death, but to a lesser degree - merely at mentor-student/friend level.

REED TAYLOR | Respected | Quentin's Brother

"I haven't seen him at all since the Devil incident... I heard from Shizu that his brother gave him Luis' power. That is all I know about him."
Haruka barely interacted with him at all - whether during the Verthaven disaster or after they're all relocated to Baybridge - but he can feel that Reed is a pretty nice cop.

QUENTIN TAYLOR | Neutral | Reed's Brother

"I find him remotely similar to Shizu when it comes to being protective of his own brother, and I wish Shizu can learn from him and be less suffocating with me."
Even though Haruka hasn't had a chance to communicate with Quentin ever since the Verthaven Disaster, he still holds the senior agent in high regards. (It's also amusing how the Taylors are so similar to the Takashiro twins in many ways.)

ABILITIES

---

CLASS

Elemental (Mode: Air)

POWER

Air & Wind Manipulation | Just like any elemental benders, Haruka is able to telekinetically control any gaseous matter (including water vapor), moving the air around him to his will - from as gentle as a light breeze, to as destructive as a tornado. Though using hand gestures allow him to move the air with better precision and control, he is equally capable of manipulating through sheer concentration alone. The versatility of his power is only restricted by his own imagination and creativity, hence the list below is not exhaustible, just the more common tricks he employs:

• Flying | Probably one of the basics he has to master in his power package - I mean, how can an air bender not know how to fly? He can do this in two ways: either by "gliding with" the wind (i.e. moving in the direction of the air current, similar to how birds fly minus the wing-flapping), or creating a small tornado beneath his feet to carry himself into the air. Currently he can only carry a maximum of two people to fly along with him.

• Wind Blade | By packing the gas molecules closer together into very condensed air before swiping his hand outwards quickly, he can throw out an invisible arc with enough force to slice most generic furniture cleanly into half.

• Air Fist | He can also encase the closely-packed air around his knuckles to form an invisible orb, where it acts as a protection around his fist while dealing more damage compared to an ordinary punch.

• Cyclone Shield | He can generate a high-speed whirlwind around himself that can act as a spinning shield to knock out most things coming towards him (or at least get swept into the air funnel).

• Static Charge | If the air around him is moving at a high enough velocity, he's able to cause them to induce static charge on top of its spinning destructive force.

• "Sixth Sense" | This is different from extra-sensory powers - he doesn't have clairvoyance or mind-reading shenanigans, but he is sensitive enough to feel presences through the displacement of gaseous particles around him.

LIMITS

• Range isn't a major issue to Haruka - after the mall incident, it has gone up to about hundred-over feet from his position if you really want a number of sorts - but his power is definitely much more limited when he's indoors or underground There's only so much air he can control in these places - which means flying in these areas is impossible.

• Adding to the point about flying, obviously he can't fly up so high like airplanes - the most at the height of a nine-story building, and that's already pushing his limit. Even lower if he's carrying someone along with him.

• The larger and heavier the object, the harder for him to keep afloat in the air. Well, duh.

• He's nowhere strong enough to move the clouds with his power, and therefore cannot control the weather.

• While he's able to multitask a couple of tricks (e.g. flying and using wind blades at the same time), but that tires him out very fast than using just one at each time.

• The cyclone shield doesn't completely protect him from all attacks - it is possible for stray bullets to pierce through the whirlwind and still hit him.

WEAKNESSES & DRAWBACKS

• Haruka's power doesn't make him immune to air-related disadvantages such as breathing problems, suffocation, gas poisoning, etc. Also, his ability doesn't contribute any changes to his human physiology (e.g. no hollow bones like birds to reduce his body mass to fly).

• His ability is not entirely dependent on telekinesis alone - it's also linked to/balanced by his emotions; hence, if he loses control over his feelings, his power may go berserk.

• Although he has an edge when it comes to execution speed, air is still the weakest among all other elemental-type abilities based on raw power. Using Air Fist as an example, same or similar trick in other elements obviously have a lot more destructive force than air.

• He can induce static charge but it's ultimately not part of his control, hence he can still be subjected to getting a bad shock as much as anyone else is who is near his charged tornado. If he forgets to disperse the charged air around him, he can be extremely prone to attract lightning strikes towards himself.

OTHERS

---

TRIVIA

• Just like his brother, Haruka is also permanent resident of US but still holds Japanese citizenship. He enjoys diplomatic immunity due to their parents' job, but so far the twins have not used this privilege for any purpose.

• He shares the FZ-09 with Shizuka - and he's also in charge of maintaining it - but he only drives it when he needs to go out of Roseview area. Otherwise he sticks to his hardy bicycle, the Jamis Commuter 3.

THEME SONG

Jigoku Shoujo OP01 - Sakasama no Chou

---

Reinald Young

<sub>"Every wrong
has its cause;

Every debt
has its debtor."
--Chinese proverb</sub>

BASIC INFORMATION

---

NAME

Reinald Young Wing Ning
(杨永宁, Yáng Yǒngníng)

OTHER NAMES

• Rein - nickname
• Naoki Lee Yagami / Lǐ Zhìxī / 夜神・李・直希 - birth name
• Mèng Yóu - callsign in Polaris

GENDER

Male

AGE

19

HEIGHT

5' 7"

WEIGHT

139 lbs

HOME DISTRICT

Although the Young family has a house in Little Seapond, Rein spends most of his time in Academy 61 as his parents are often out of town.

APPEARANCE

---

HAIR COLOR

Natural Brown

EYE COLOR

Brown

ETHNICITY

Chinese (and Japanese, but no one knows unless you're nosy enough to pry too deep into his real past)

PHYSICAL DESCRIPTION

In the eyes of the ignorant Westerners, Rein is no different from a stereotypical Asian male: short and slim-built, with dark hair and eyes. But to the eyes of the more observant ones, he stands out from your ordinary Chinese immigrants. His short, unruly hair being the most obvious, which is of a lighter, natural brown color compared to the usual jet-black variant - a trait he has inherited from his mother. He is also rather fair-skinned (or oddly pale, depending on how you see it), causing him to be mistaken as a Eurasian at times.

It doesn't help that he has a soft facial feature, with a small nose and thin lips, making him seem much younger than his actual age. Maybe puberty is still taking its own sweet time with Rein before he truly matures into a full-grown man, but it's not like he's in a big hurry to grow up physically. Often seen wearing a pair of oval-shaped wire-rimmed glasses, but he can go without them too.

Underneath all that nerdy facade is where Rein's darker secret lies. There are numerous nasty scars around his torso; if anyone sees them they'll most likely be alarmed, wondering what kind of abuse this young boy must have been through in his younger days. He also has a black dragon tattoo on the back of his left shoulder, a constant reminder of his horrifying past... Thankfully, this nerd front can justify his reluctance to show too much of his skin to others. Well, unless you're a shameless pervert who's gay for him.

ATTIRE

Rein doesn't care much for style - he prioritizes the practicality of keeping his scars and tattoo out of sight from the nosy people around him, so he's usually in dark long-sleeved shirts, with long pants or jeans. Though, he also doesn't like to stand out unnecessarily, so sometimes he may pay some attention to the current fashion trend and dress in ways that allow him to blend in with the generic crowd to mask his presence as much as possible.

PERSONALITY

---

INNATE & OUTWARD PERSONALITY

Rein's outward personality is pretty simple: he is the literal definition of average - or he just has a lot of 'Asian zen', an ascetic person with a lot of restraint and self-control. He has a generally mild attitude towards most things, and seems really good at suppressing himself from making goofy reactions that many of his peers around him would (also known as 'fanboy mode'). While he doesn't care much for things he has little or no interest in, he does stay up to date with current news and trends, so that at least he can still keep up with conversations with the people around him. He's not exactly a sociable guy, but he isn't a loner per se. He just doesn't go out of his way to make friends with others unless he feels the need to, or if he feels that he's able to click with the other person.

If only you know what he's been through in his life. His true inward self.

Rein isn't as "normal" as he appears to be. Not when you have spent most of your childhood chained up in an underground prison, kept alive solely to exploit a cursed power that can possibly put the world at mercy. He's well aware that his ability - and his parents' - are dangerous, and highly sought after for their potential use in political warfare between countries. Growing up in a sickening environment has exposed him to the darkest and most revolting side of human beings since a very young age; also, his parents has taught him not to trust people too readily, to always guard himself against people who are out to use his power for their greedy personal gain. This negative upbringing develops a calculative, scrupulous side in him, to protect himself from those who may try to harm him.

The 'Asian zen' bit isn't a complete joke, actually - Rein is a boy with a hell lot of patience, another trait that has been imprinted into him during his time in Polaris' cell. A hard worker and quite a perfectionist, he doesn't cut corners or slack off from whatever he has set his mind to do, or whatever he has been working on. On the flipside, this rigid concentration makes him rather irritable if you disturb him from his work, a surprising contrast with his usual calm demeanor.

Deep down, Rein is a conflicted person. It takes a lot of courage and mental fortitude to be able to stay sane even after all the bullshits he's been through in his younger days, but for how long until he finally breaks down and unleash the pent-up horror inside of him? Playing the part of 'Reinald' is both a bliss and torture to the boy. You'd say that he should just become Rein and get over his past, but he isn't a simpleton who is easily content with the so-called 'freedom' he has now - he's always on his guard because his current lifestyle is merely a fabricated lie, but he still wants to try to enjoy his (short?) time in Baybridge as much as he can. Even if he has to pretend to be someone he isn't for the rest of his life.

Or it's time for him to start taking the real actions, to fight for his true freedom - with his own hands.

HOBBIES & INTERESTS

Calligraphy & Graffiti | Rein is an artistic person; especially with words and lettering, bringing dead-boring font types to life with his designer's touch.

Board & Puzzle Games | He likes to humor himself with traditional games, in particular those that stimulates the mind. He has never beaten his father in a chess match so far (he still enjoys playing against his dad most, though).

Knowledge | Whether it's surfing the internet or doing the hard way by digging for musty books in libraries, he'd try everything he can do within his power to satisfy his thirst for knowledge.

SKILLS & TALENTS

Languages | Rein is fluent in his native tongue Mandarin, and also English. However, his English has an indistinguishable accent that makes it hard even for those who are well-versed with accents to pinpoint where exactly he has learned it from - or even where he truly came from. Certain words may sound British, others sound more American... or even Australian, who knows? (It's a secret that he knows two more other languages, Japanese and Min/Hokkien. Ssshhh.)

Art: Calligraphy & Penmanship | He is capable of writing in many different styles, whether cursive or not. In fact, he can even copy off most font types available in computers (MS Word, Photoshop, etc), including graffiti-styled letters. He can also forge signatures and handwriting of others with ease, but that's not something he feels proud of.

Keen Observation | The most basic skill that any artist should have; how else can you replicate what you have just seen into your artwork? Of course, not only he has a good eye for art, his past experience has developed a subtle but defensive side in him - he'd watch his surroundings and the people around him very carefully, to determine what is the best action he should take, or the most appropriate words he should say next. Even with his eye for details, he's disciplined enough not to lose sight of the bigger picture.

GOALS & MOTIVATIONS

??? | So far, Rein seems to have finally obtained what he had desired for all his life in Polaris' underground base: freedom. Not really. He's merely trying to live a different life under a new - and false - identity, pretending to be normal... while the fear of his true fate continues to gnaw at the back of his mind, tickling the despicable tattoo on his back. His family still owes their life to the former Water Spirit Shui Xian - there's no way she is willing to arrange such a new life for them without expecting an equal compensation (or even more) in return, sooner or later. Unless he gets himself a backup plan of sorts... and getting on the good side of DOVE seems like a good place to start.

HISTORY

---

• Pre-Baybridge: Fake

  As far as anyone's concerned, Rein was born in a tiny red dot country called Singapore (located in Southeast Asia - and it's not a goddamn state of China, seriously), but due to his father's job they had to move around the world a lot. They settled down in Hong Kong for the longest period because his dad worked for the Wong Corporations, and that was where the headquarter office was at. Eventually his father was relocated to America, and now the family was staying in Baybridge.
  
  If one tried to dig deeper, all you would get were tons of genuine-looking papers and records about the Young family, even their ties with Wong Corporations. No one in their right mind would want to get on the wrong side of one of the most powerful families in Asia. Even if you're daring enough to go on, you ain't gonna find anything suspicious, and it'd be just a waste of your time trying to look for clues that just didn't exist.
  
  The so-called "Young" family that Rein was from didn't exist, of course - it was just a cover the former Water Spirit, Shui Xian, had put together for a certain family, wanted by Polaris and the Chinese government for their powerful cerebral abilities. Other than to protect them, this favor also put the family in deeper debt to the weather manipulator, for whatever grand plans she was cooking up in that head of hers (or maybe with her equally weird sister, the former Fire Spirit Xing Huo).

• Polaris: Fate

  Rein's true identity is Naoki Yagami; however, before we get to his past, we have to begin from his parents' backstory first.
  
  Lee You-Hwee was the next in line to succeed the Lee family in Taiwan, a clan which originated from Suilan and it's known to produce "dream-seers" - the ability to predict the future through dreams - for generations; more importantly, the clan served as the vessel for the position of Yin in a secretive cult called Polaris. You-Hwee had seen enough of the evil deeds the clan did for the cult; she despised her family's superiority towards those who have no superpowers, and was horrified at how they abused their foretelling ability to blackmail people into working for Polaris.
  
  Once she had reached adulthood, she was chosen to be to Japan to recruit more Japanese Metahumans into the cult, to further the organization's expansion beyond China to the other parts of Asia (their goal was to the whole world). The young You-Hwee received quite a cultural shock at that time, for she had been living a rather hermit-like life throughout her younger days (basically, whatever she knew about the world was the propaganda Polaris had been feeding the children living in the cult's base, but she knew enough basic social norms to avoid attracting too much unwanted attention to herself). She met a man by the name of Reiji Yagami by chance, when she saved him from a near-death accident at the train station with her foresight.
  
  To cut the long retarded romance story short, they eventually fell in love with each other and got married... and this was where their true nightmare began.
  
  You-Hwee chose to take on her husband's surname and changed her name to Yui Yagami, much to the horror of her family. Her clan attempted to interfere with their newlywed relationship, but they couldn't get past Reiji's strong and complex psychic shield inside his mind to blackmail him. Knowing that they were up against an extremely powerful cerebral-type Metahuman, they used Yui as a bargaining chip not just to get Reiji to join Polaris, but also to force the couple to return back to China. Upon returning to the cult's base, Yui was made the Spirit of Yin.
  
  A year later, Yui gave birth to a son, and they named him Naoki. Naoki was born with his power - the couple could feel their mind being pulled towards the young child whenever he was asleep, and they knew Polaris would make him become Yui's successor once he was of age. They lied to the cult that their son had no powers whatsoever, while they secretly helped to train Naoki to better control his ability in order to continue keeping his power hidden from Polaris.
  
  Under the protection of his paranoid parents, Naoki grew up away from the other cult children, and was forbidden to have contact with anyone within Polaris. This caused him to became a recluse and equally fearful of the people around him like his parents, though he also felt curious about the things around him - so much so that he couldn't help questioning the propaganda nonsense the cult had been teaching its members, and he yearned to explore the "surface world" that he had heard so much about from his parents.
  
  Of course, his parents were well aware that this twisted life was too cruel for their bright, growing child. Reiji and Yui were beginning to feel desperate - even if the chance of them breaking out of this goddamned place was almost zero, they would still do whatever it takes to free their son from the Hell that he didn't belong. The chance they had been waiting for finally came... but sadly, it was a trap set up by Yui's mother, Hwee-Suan, to stop them from freeing Naoki from Polaris.
  
  Hwee-Suan imprisoned Naoki's parents and forced Naoki to replace his own mother as the new Spirit of Yin; she also used his parents' fate as a leash to keep Naoki from defying the cult's orders. Naoki has been chained up in the Yin chamber since then, but he refuses to give up to despair, trying to find a way to escape with his family, no matter the cost...

• Polaris: Destiny

  Hwee-Suan would drop by periodically to check on Naoki, giving him beatings whenever she saw fit (more like when she felt like it). His hatred towards the old hag who was supposed to be grandmother only worsened, but there was little the young boy could do. He couldn't leave his prison - he neither had the power or anything around him to do that, much less going after his parents to save them and escape from this unspeakable hell. He could only bid his time, but how long would he able to last? Even if his mind refused to succumb to Hwee-Suan's sadistic attempt to break him, his weak, undernourished body wouldn't be able to sustain the physical abuse much longer.
  
  Seeing that the hard way wasn't working well on the surprisingly tough-headed boy, Hwee-Suan tried a different approach: by giving him the rare chance to visit his parents.
  
  The older Yagamis weren't in any better state than their son. His father, Reiji, seemed to be holding up as much as he could, just like Naoki himself. However, the mother, Yui, had been greatly weakened - so much that she probably couldn't sustain any more flame whips. The sight of his scarred parents did break Naoki's resolve, giving Hwee-Suan the chance to shatter his defense and pound more terror into the skin... the very bones of the Yagamis. A reminder of where they were, and their sorry fate.
  
  Using his dream-prediction power, he foretold the coming death of a Chinese businessman, which later allowed Polaris to seize control over his assets. But the second session didn't go as smoothly. The "client" of question didn't show up, and he was pitched against an empath who managed to shatter his illusions, and also the emotional agony he had been holding back inside him all these years.
  
  On the other side of the climactic build-up leading to the final stand against the Founding Family, the Water Spirit, Shui Xian, betrayed Polaris and freed the Yagamis, placing them under her control. Hwee-Suan had anticipated the schism, which only reaffirmed her desire to clean up the shame caused by her descendants, once and for all...
  
  In the three-year time gap before the start of the current installment, Naoki's family was given a new identity and began their "new life" in Baybridge - to lay low for the time being because they were now wanted criminals, most likely Hwee-Suan's doing. Shui Xian seemed to have connections with the infamous Wong Corporations, which was probably how they could get convincing papers and pass off as the Young family. She even got Naoki admitted into the Academy program in Roseview, with "Clairvoyance" as his supposed power.
  
  So far, all seemed well... Or was it?

RELATIONSHIPS

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FAMILY

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RAY YOUNG (REIJI YAGAMI) | Father

On the surface, Ray is an employee of the Wong Corporations. His job scope requires him to travel around the world on a frequent basis and he'd often bring his wife along, leaving their only son in the Academy. As such, their neighbors have little impressions of the Youngs. Which works for the family, because their child is a Metahuman... and Anti-Meta sentiment is at all-time high in the recent years.

In truth, Reiji was supposedly to be married into Yui's family, but Yui chose to do the reverse instead, which caused her clan to hate him, even accusing him for Yui's rebellion. Reiji is an extremely powerful telepath who is capable of forcibly bending the will of others and taking over the control of their mind, but he had never wanted to go that far - in fact, deep down he hated his ability for denying the basic privacy that people should have. He chose to create psychic blocks within his mind to lock his power away, at the same time also to defend himself from external cerebral intrusions. Rein is much closer to him than Yui, but he loves them both equally. Reiji is often out of town on some mysterious business with Yui...

YVONNE LI (YUI YAGAMI / LEE YOU-HWEE) | Mother

Mother of Rein, Yvonne often joins her husband on his business trips, and hence she's rarely in town - much less at home. Besides, leaving Rein in the Academy is the best option for them to protect their son from Anti-Metas.

Yvonne is actually Yui, who came from a long line of "dream seers", and her clan had been part of Polaris for generations. She met Reiji when she was sent to Japan to recruit the Japanese Metahumans into the cult; eventually their relationship blossomed and she knew that he was the one for her. As she was the strongest seer in Polaris at that time, no one could contest her position as the legitimate leader of Yin. She was later replaced by her own son upon her betrayal to the cult.

LEE HWEE-SUAN | Grandmother

Hwee-Suan is Yui's mother, and the previous Spirit of Yin. Although her dream premonition ability has slipped greatly due to her old age, she still retains enough to foresee important warning signs that have helped to keep her alive all these while. She is extremely loyal to the clan and the cult, so much so that she is willing to shed her own family's blood to preserve the Lee name and the cult's honor.

DYNAMICS

[+]

KANNIX CHENG | Neutral | Acquaintance

"Weird girl with a rotor mouth and a bit of a show-off, but I think she means no ill will and is just an awkward person."
A strange teen who just appears before him out of nowhere, and is gone like a bullet the very next moment. For now they probably have mixed first impressions of each other due to their (almost) polar opposite differences, but time will tell how their relationship is going to develop from hereon.

WENDY LUCKER | Neutral | Acquaintance

"I know everyone has a secret or two they don't like to share with others, but she's really terrible at hiding them... And that makes me envious of her in a way."
Through an embarrassing encounter at the DOVE rally, Rein was pulled in to join Wendy's intriguing discovery about the truth behind Metahuman powers, especially how the whole idea of 'reality bending' might be able to explain the phenomena behind his own superpower. Other than his curiosity towards Wendy's background, he is also amused to find out that the girl is a bad liar.

HARUKA TAKASHIRO | Neutral | ???

"He's full of mystery."
Rein and Haruka meet each other in the academy through a clever manipulation unknown to both of them(?), shattering Rein's ideal life so far and finally forcing him to face the past he has been trying to forget all these years...

LIHN PHAN | Neutral | Acquaintance?

"I hope we'll never have to encounter each other, ever - it's in the best interest for the both of us."
A former client that Rein (as Naoki) has met before, in a dream using his own power. Even though he had no grudge against the lady who had tried to help him once, he would never dreamed of the possiblity of meeting her in flesh in the same city...

ABILITIES

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CLASS

Cerebral (Extra-Sensory)

POWER

"Dream Scape" | Rein's ability is rather unique, evolved from the combination from both of his parents' powers. His dream universe, which he calls "Scape", is an abstract world completely submerged in water, with nothing but white-outlined ground grids in its base appearance. He can alter or add on things into Scape freely (for example, a mind ‌labyrinth or maze‌), limited only by his own imagination and creativity.

• Mode: "Clairvoyance" | This is the power registered in his 'Reinald Young' record with the Academy (and by extension, with DOVE), but it's actually a clever use of the next ability, Dream Telepathy, to create the impression he's a clairvoyant and nothing more but he's actually so much more.

• Mode: Telepathy | He can do this in two ways. First, he can mentally link up with the minds of those he wishes to communicate with and "invite" them into Scape; just imagine a chat room but inside your head, within a dream. Even if he doesn't bring people into his dream world, he's still capable of registering the presence of others around him - imagine traveling through a sea of windows and doors, where the windows and doors are like the entrance into the respective individual's dreaming mind. The second way is how he is able to maintain the "Clairvoyance" act as mentioned in the first point.

• Mode: Premonition | He can predict the future by "activating" the grid the person is standing/sitting on, causing it to flash blue; this allows him to dive into the person's dream and experience the most likely outcome presented to him momentarily before he returns back to Scape.

• Cerebral Power Resistance | With some help from his father, he has created multiple layers of psychic blocks - from around his Scape world to defend it against possible intrusion from other cerebral Metahumans (think of it as a mental firewall of sorts) to his whole brain in general, giving him resistance against most cerebral powers who may try to hurt him or take control over him through psychic means. Those who are inside Scape will also enjoy this protection to some extent.

• "Lucid Dreaming"? | There have been some reports from both Academy instructors and peers alike about Rein's tendency to space out almost on a frequent basis, but he's still able to keep up with the lessons and group conversations even if he doesn't seem to be paying much attention to them.

LIMITS

• While range is insignificant to Rein (if you seriously want a figure of sorts then the radius is roughly about a mile), he can only invite up to a maximum of four people into Scape, for a duration up to four hours each day.

• He's nowhere as powerful as his father to perform domination-level feats like mind control (or in his case, dream control), only enough to temporarily "intrude" the dreams of others in order for him to establish a mental link with them before starting a Scape session.

• Ten days is the furthest time span he can foresee. He also can't control the visions he wishes to see, and there are times they are too vague for him to understand. Well, he's nowhere as skilled as his own mother (the method his mother used to predict the future is actually quite different from his - just to take note).

• Adding to the point above, experiencing the visions can be pretty agonizing to him (such as getting bad migraines), so he can only perform Premonition once every three days to give himself some time to recover. (If possible, he doesn't want to do this, at all.)

WEAKNESSES & DRAWBACKS

• Rein has to go into a trance-like state naturally in order for his power to manifest. Knocking him out by force - such as using strong sedatives - won't allow him to activate his ability (I mean, he'd be completely unconscious to even dream, duh).

• Once he allows the people he linked up with into Scape, he is vulnerable to mental attacks from within his dream world... especially if one of them has a cerebral-type ability like telepathy or empathetic manipulation.

• He has to invite the person into Scape first in order to perform Premonition on that particular individual. See the point above for the disadvantage of allowing Trojans into his dream world.

• If he's forcibly woken up while Scape is in session, anyone linked up with him will be immediately kicked out of his dream world. Not only that, but everyone - including himself - will experience a terrible headache from the feedback.

• As he's still young and inexperienced, it may be possible for a powerful cerebral-type Metahuman to overwhelm him and mentally attack his mind. Vice versa, people with strong resistance against mental-type powers may not be able to establish the dream link with him well.

OTHERS

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THEME SONG

Fate/stay night OP - disillusion

Pokémon: Hoenn Fantasy

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StarRiders: Hoshizora no Riders

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...

「あの日見た星の名前を　私たちはまだ知らない。」
"We still don't know the name of the star we saw that day."

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♫

???

He couldn't remember how long he had been lying down, his back on the surface of the sea that stretched out all the way towards the horizon beyond. Orange-red sky above clashed with the blueness of the water beneath him, bathing the scenery with a spectrum of sunset-like colors; everywhere around him was so quiet, so bizarre that there was no doubt he's in a dream. His consciousness felt fully awake in here, and the dead silence was beginning to unnerve him, filling his ears with a low hum that he had to remind himself it was nothing more than a figment of his imagination.

He closed his eyes.

"How long are you going to stay like this?"

Startled by a voice - a sharp, feminine one - he bolted upright, sending ripples across the once-stagnant liquid. He looked around fervently, trying to pinpoint the source. He then got up to his feet, vaguely aware that the water was turning into a murky green from the disturbance.

"Where are you?" He frowned, squinting his eyes and staring hard into the infinity. "Who are you?"

As if she had heard his thoughts, he picked up the same voice again, this time she was singing to a melodic tune:

God forsook us but Death would not come
In the depths of the dark I searched for a light
Across the stars I yearned for the one
And now the final chapter has begun

As the last note reverberated across the dreamscape, he suddenly felt a deep sadness welling up somewhere inside of him, his whole body shuddering uncontrollably at the glimpses of horrifying scenes that were spinning faster and faster in his mind.

He dropped to his knees, clutching his head and screamed, "Stop it, whatever the hell you are! Leave me alone! And get out of my head!"

"My vision has shown me the way. You are the answer to what I have been seeking for eons."

He raised his head to see a figure looming closer - a petite girl with strange pinkish hair and blood-red eyes - before the pain was too much for him to bear. His eyes rolled up to the roof of their sockets, and the trance world disappeared into nothingness.

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"Never be content with a mere 'yes' or 'no'. Always keep asking the 'why's."

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Meiran Science Frontier Academy
April 1st, 20XX

Ushering the new season with a new school term, the thought of becoming a second-year student still hadn't sunk into the mind of Sora Ayanami as the young man made his way to Meiran Academy. How did he even got into an institution known by its infamous tagline - the 'elite among the elites' - was a mystery to him as much as anyone else's. Especially with how blatantly oblivious he was with the world around him.

...Okay, not really. It was just his stubborn refusal to take what everyone would call 'social norm', or 'common sense' at face value. A good scientific thinker should learn to explore deeper than the surface: always asking oneself the why's, always going the extra mile to seek for the truth down to their very roots--

He was slapped out of his thoughts - quite literally - and the back of his shoulder stung from the all-too-familiar and violent greeting of his best (and only) friend, Hayate Suzumura. Hayate's sloppy uniform made a stark contrast to Sora's well-ironed and -maintained blazer, and the dyed-blond hair pulled back with a headband bearing the words 'Safety + First' written in black calligraphic brush strokes.

If Sora lacked the inner sense of normality, then Hayate was equally ignorant with regards to outward appearance. The latter had called it 'hipster' fashion, but Sora knew nothing about current clothing trend to spare much thought for Hayate's flamboyant wardrobe - including his attitude.

"Yo." Hayate was oblivious how he almost sent Sora flying with the brute strength that came with the (supposedly) friendly greeting. "You look pathetic as ever."

"Is this how you always greet people?"

"No, just you," the blond didn't even bother to sugar-coat. Well, not like his dark-haired companion could tell the difference between a joke and sarcasm, anyway. "Be grateful that you get this special treatment from me."

Sora's only response to him was a mere shrug. "Right... So, we're now in our second year, huh?"

Hayate rolled his eyes. "Don't give me that sentimental bullshit, especially not on the first day of school." By then the duo had crossed the last stretch of road and were approaching the main gate.

That would lead them to a sight that certainly didn't look like any normal high school. Yes, it was nothing like those over-stylized but mediocre ones often recycled in countless animanga: it seemed more like an ominous research center with its pristine, white walls, futuristic design that made the institution time-skipped a decade ahead compared to the rest of the buildings around the school grounds.

And speaking of school grounds, given the already limited land space in major cities (Yokohama is considered a major city, period), Meiran was sure pushing the boundaries of using land reclamation to expand its facilities. Thankfully, they had a pretty typical uniform design and weren't require them to walk around in nerdy lab coats 24/7, which was only reserved for practical laboratory sessions.

Ah, second year, Sora couldn't help mulling over the idea of moving up a year in terms of numerical age - and of course, knowledge. How time flies. He could vaguely recall the day he was enrolled into this school... Was it when he was around, uh, eight? Or nine? While he didn't have much trouble pulling out encyclopedia facts from his brain, things like childhood memories felt so distant to him.

'How pitiful...'

"Huh?" Sora blurted out loud, turning to frown at Hayate. "Did you just say something?"

"Say what?" Hayate threw him a smug look. "That you're too gay for me?"

Sora didn't hear his best pal's reply, and simply scratched the back of his head. The voice sounded far away, with an ethereal echo that made it difficult for him to pinpoint where it was coming from. Though, on second thought, it didn't even sound remotely like Hayate's crude way of talking. It was more... feminine.

Maybe I'm still not ready for the new school semester, and now I'm having weird hallucinations.

Hearing voices was the least of his concern once the two boys had stepped through the school gate. Not with a crowd of students blocking the way to the entrance hall.

"What's with these people?" He could hear Hayate complaining next to him as they tried to push through the throng of students.

Well, Sora could make an intelligent guess: it could be a new student that everyone would naturally be curious about. The academy would admit anyone at any time of the year, as long as they could pass the notoriously difficult tests. There were rumors about dissecting live animals while explaining how the still-beating organs worked to a panel of assessors - and no, Sora never got something as brutal as that, thank goodness.

He was right - it was a new student - and a female one.

A girl who would soon change his life forever - not to mention, upside down.

Men vs. Women Race to 1000

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Men vs. Women Race to 1000

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Men vs. Women Race to 1000

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Men vs. Women Race to 1000

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Men vs. Women Race to 1000

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Men vs. Women Race to 1000

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