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[Calibur]

Voice Actor: James McAvoy

SHODA KAGERO
Lock up your wives and lock up your lovers,
Lest they join Kagero under the covers.



Age: 20
Sex: Male
Height: 5 feet, 11 inches
Country/Village: Rai no Kuni/Kumogakure
Character Type: Shinobi
Rank: Chuunin

Clan/Bloodline: Shoda Clan
Lightning Body Colour: Gold

[Nindo; "Way of the Ninja"]

"One for all."

[Appearance]

A fine piece of man candy, Kagero’s characteristics reflect a symmetry of strength, sensibility and masculinity, from his neatly styled hair and unblemished skin right down to his well-manicured fingernails. But he’s also a bit of a mannish boy. Take a look under the playful brush of coffee blond and you’ll find storm blue eyes of youthful exuberance tempered by self-discipline, or follow the line of his sophisticated nose to lips well-versed in the art of the smile. There are some rough edges, though, including the physique to perform his duties. At just under six feet tall, he is fairly slender but has endeavoured to develop an athletic build in order to keep himself trim and fighting fit, and would go shirtless more often were it not for his finely tailored fashion sense.

If one is presentable, interaction with others comes easier, so Kagero prefers to look his best, whatever the occasion, opting for smart yet comfortable wear like shirt and jacket combinations and dressing appropriately for each season. Up-to-date on most fashions in the Lightning Country, he picks the ones that complement his build and activities best. Style is important but not without practicality. Kagero’s tailor therefore ensures his client’s civilian clothes afford him decent mobility, and that his hitai-ate can be clipped over any of his belt buckles. Kagero's uniform has also been improved upon, with tactical padding for a denser, smaller flak jacket over a range of black, navy or grey undershirts, and leather-capped boots.

[Personality]

Kagero knows that when he puts his mind to something, he can achieve it. He is a resourceful free thinker, but one who plays by the rules to get things done. He’ll rein in his ego when he must, and compartmentalise to limit the extent that his professional life might encroach on the personal. Fighting for the freedoms of clan and country includes his own rights too.

A natural student in the art of espionage, cut from the same cloth as the rest of his tribe, he has cultivated an extraordinary level of concentration, as well as a thirst for learning and professional development. His sterling commitment to the LMG continues to turn heads, most notably among those who would otherwise look down on the Fallen Kings and Queens as traitors. As a member of the Shoda clan, he has always walked a path between the paradigms of treason and integrity whilst weathering the warring winds of contrived duty. The way has never been clear and the everstorm has left its mark. The Three Faction War was especially cruel but, as a survivor, Kagero endured its bloody conclusion.

It is not just optimism driving him forward, but responsibility. He hides the scars of his teenage years well. Loss has failed to crush his resolve; his memories demand that he persevere as the poster boy for resilience, recovery and living a full and passionate life. The attention Kagero receives from his male and female counterparts is the product of being a genuinely nice guy, not to mention one who never mistreats his dates. After all, good looks and charm only get a man so far. But with high standards for a compatible partner and a wariness in the danger of leading people on, he’s known as something of a heartbreaker.

This veil of dapper gentility hides an inquisitive brain-box who can recite entire film scripts, owns extensive manga collections, is beguiled by avant-garde technologies, longs to master his element, and who defies expectations but all on his own time. He also dances. Well, he dabbles. Ballroom, if you must know.

[Statistics]

Lightning Specialist x Fallen King
Elemental Special: Gains a free low-level Lightning technique.
*Stat Merit: +2 to Power, +2 to Reserves, +1 to Strength
*Stat Flaw: -2 to Willpower, -2 to Tactics, -1 to Speed
(AC - Advanced Character)

Chakra - Primary
Power: 1 + 2* + 10 (+1 AC) = 14
Control: 1 + 11 (+3 AC) = 15
Reserves: 1 + 2* + 9 (+2 AC) = 14

Physical - Secondary
Strength: 1 + 1* + 8 = 10
Speed: 1 - 1* + 11 (+3 AP) = 14 [+12 Jishaku Genkotsu] = 26
Stamina: 1 + 8 = 9

Mental - Tertiary
Intelligence: 1 + 4 (+5 AP) = 10
Tactics: 1 - 2* + 10 (+4 AP) = 13
Willpower: 1 - 2* + 10 (+3 AP) = 12

[Jutsu & Techniques]

Lightning Release (Raiton)

Stage 1: Flickering Luminous Body (Yurayura Hikari Karada) [PWR 2, TAC 2, FREE]
Stage 1: Electric Shock Clone (Dengeki Bushin) [WIL 3, RES 3]
Stage 2: Deafen (Rousuru) [PWR 5, CTR 4, RES 4]
Stage 2: Lightning Bolt (Rakurai) [WIL 6, TAC 5, CTR 5]
Stage 3: Detonation (Bakuhatsu) [PWR 9, CTR 9, WIL 7]
Stage 3: Great Pulse (Idaina Myakudo) [WIL 9, TAC 9, CTR 7]
Stage 4: Lightning Instantaneous (Raikou Shunshin) [PWR 12, CTR 11, RES 10, WIL 12]

The Magnetic Fist (Jishaku Genkotsu)

Stage 1: +3 Speed (Electric Spike Strike) [CTR 5, RES 3]
Stage 2: +3 Speed (Magnetic Levitation) [CTR 7, RES 7, SPD 6]
Stage 3: +3 Speed (Magnetic Rush; Magnetic Disarm) [CTR 10, RES 10, SPD 8]
Stage 4: +3 Speed (Electric Surge Spike) [CTR 15, RES 14, PWR 14, SPD 8]

Shoda Bloodline Limit: Lightning Body (Raikoukikan)

Stage 1: Conductor - Recovery [CTR 3, RES 3, PWR 3]
Stage 1: Conductor - Circuit Breaker [CTR 3, RES 3, PWR 3]
Stage 2: Conductor - Tether [CTR 8, RES 8, PWR 6]
Stage 2: Resistor - Ground [CTR 8, RES 8, PWR 6]

Global Shinobi Arts (Ninjutsu)

Stage 1: Transformation Technique (Henge no Jutsu) [CTR 3, INT 2]
Stage 2: Wall Walking Technique (Kabenobori no Jutsu) [PWR 5, CTR 4, RES 4]

[Inventory]

Standard Issue Shinobi Kit (0 points)
Handcuffs x2 (4 points)
R-SAK Hand Radio (2 points)
Electric Storm Bombs (1 point)
Combat Knife (1 point)
Item Points Remaining: 0

[Biography]

Originally Posted by Intelligence Division // Internal Affairs / Annual Subject Review (4 of 4)

…You didn’t mind being the middle child?

Not when Ichirou wasn’t interested in becoming a shinobi through the clan pathways. I think that always had him at odds with our parents so they heaped their expectations and attention on me instead. And Kei? She might have been the baby, but she represented the best of us, and brought out the best in us, so…

A happy childhood.

Sure. If you disregard the ever watchful eye of branch matriarch Aunt Kumiko, and the constant tests to draw out our bloodline abilities. I don’t blame Ichirou for wanting a different life, given the pressure he was under. The more I’ve thought about it, the more I reckon that my rising to the challenge was in direct correlation with his decision not to.

So none of it was your own ambition?

Too long ago to tell. You try to remember what motivated you twelve years ago.

I wanted to be a diplomat to view the world’s wonders and meet its people. Not to spite the naysayers who hounded me, but to make a difference.

Wow. Well…there you go. Good for you. Sorry it didn’t pan out.

We don’t all get what we want. There has to be a balance.

We could have done with some of that wisdom when we were younger. We lived in a bubble for most of our early childhood. Ichirou, because he didn’t know what else to do, tried to draw other kids into his schemes to boycott the clan training. His natural charm and optimism were being worn away by unchecked frustrations. Naturally, I joined him in a show of solidarity, but we got caught. He was suspended from Aunt Kumiko’s training for three months, learning from our dad instead, to get a taste of the life he desired, but that only drove the wedge deeper. Then the bubble popped.

Konishi bringing the Shoda Clan back into the fold…

A rude awakening for all affected, particularly as we’d grown up on stories of the outside world only to find we were the vilified ones. That people feared an 8-year-old like me, just for being Shoda. I knew their fears were misplaced. You don’t grow up in Aunt Kumiko’s household without learning a thing or two about disinformation and perception.

What did you do?

I got stuck in. Took to Academy training to be the soldier, the spy, the symbol — whatever my country needed from me. Entering into Aoi at the advanced age of 9, it was made clear through my dedication (and some of my aunt’s string-pulling) that I was to be a priority. We needed to raise the clan profile by getting as many of us into service in the public eye as possible, making good on our promise to be trusted allies. Most of the pressure actually came from me. I was too young to be a king, but I was determined to be knight rather than a pawn.

How did this affect your brother?

The bubble bursting was a different kind of awakening for him. He was introduced to what lay outside of that life and was irrevocably drawn to it. We all seemed to accept that there was no way to dissuade him from his obsession. My excuse was that I was too busy graduating as the Number One Rookie and cutting my teeth on my first Genin missions. But the truth? I wouldn’t have known what to say. Life isn’t scripted out like a book. I remember thinking I’d mess it up. Even Kei couldn’t reach him, though I think she tried.

Our failure set the stage for the honeyed words and gilded promises of the enemy. I don’t know when the G-Men found him and groomed him to work for them, but I know it would have been easy to get to him. We were a high profile bunch. You notice the ones bucking the trend who don’t fit in with one grand destiny, looking for another. After the radio tower incident, when Ichirou came to me, a mess of tears and crumbling confidence, saying it was his fault there’d been a casualty because he hadn’t gone through with the recon the G-Men had instructed him to perform…he was fearing for his life. So sure that after the G-Men won their guerrilla war, they’d come after him. What could I do?

Flag it up?

You’d think. I still can’t help but feel sick at how poorly I misjudged the situation, and what he needed. By the time I put my clan's wellbeing before his own and told my parents, it was too late and he’d run away. And then, to have my squad-mate, Hideo, killed the same week by the very monsters who’d manipulated my brother…

You were—

—And Mana, our other squad-mate, murdered while escorting her parents to safety…? It was too much. I was mute for days. Only when I started speaking again did they have me cleared for duty and reassigned to a new squad, beefed up to four. But we were all collaterally damaged goods. Embittered, inexperienced…the kids left behind. I did my best to play the part of royalty and keep us looking forward, believing in Konishi when we were losing faith, fighting the fear of death with missions that placed us in its crosshairs. Putting our hair-trigger, powder-keg, knife-edge-walking mentality through a trial of fire. It worked, strengthening us each time we came back in one piece. The cleanup of Hima was another positive: saving lives rather worrying so much about losing our own.

Kei was doing well too, all things considered. She was 11 when she graduated Aka into a system devoted to the Hima efforts, which had an even bigger impact on her. She decided to go into the Biomedical Engineering Corps to focus on rehabilitation, while her new Genin team also caught the spotlight for the hope it presented, following Nagai’s trial and acquittal. They became a symbol, but perhaps too fast. Sent to Matsuri City for a publicity stunt to galvanise the masses. Sent at the wrong bloody time.

Sorry. The more times I tell this story, the more I realise my family just has the worst luck.

Your sister survived the attack.

But lost the use of her legs, was publicly humiliated and forced into anonymity to escape the backlash. Although you’re right. It could have been worse. She could have lost her fighting spirit…but she didn’t. And she wouldn’t let doctors decide that her days as a shinobi were over, which inspired me not to let the expectations of others stop me from living my life. I realised it was all I’d let myself know from 8 to 13. Where was the other stuff? Playing with friends, crushing on girls, getting into fashion, getting into trouble? I found out. For a time, I was happy. Then Nagai declared open rebellion and the country was divided.

But you had your team this time.

Sort of. When we got to Jishaku, we were reassigned temporarily to divisional tutors to train us up for the inevitable Three Faction War, so what time I could spend with them and my family, I took. Before we started battling our former friends, former dates. Man…that was a hard one to get my head around.

It wasn’t all bad, though. Records state you made a pretty remarkable discovery too.

My Lightning Body? Yeah, it scared the living daylights out of us when I made the radio on Kei’s windowsill in the hospital explode. But greater power simply meant greater responsibility to raise the spirits of all those around me, and Sakoshi was my first real mass deployment. That’s a lot of hearts and minds to strengthen, and a lot of G-Men to go up against. I trained with the other bloodline users as much as I could beforehand but it was a steep learning curve and my awakening was ultimately more symbolic than functional.

So when we won, I simply kept at it. We knew this was only the first stage of what was to come. I stayed in Sakoshi for the next month, returning home with my squad only twice to escort my sister there from Jishaku then back again. That short period was a time of light in the darkness, seeing her drink in all the inspiration she could and return home with enough ideas to craft a pair of prototype legs. And it was darkness that followed. Katashi, Miwa, Usagi, our sensei Hakuro and I returned with Nagai’s army nipping at our heels. Hideyoshi helped convince the brass to keep the gates at Sakoshi open just for us.

Did you return the favour?

I couldn’t let him down when the siege began, obviously, but my role was largely out of my hands, and my squad was split by divisions. What control I had went into finding ways that I, personally, could support the Chuunin and Jounin on the front lines. For the most part, I covered my mom’s six when she went on strafing runs and carried messages between the clan branch captains, until she ordered me back to command the cousins of mine who lacked the bloodline. I organised them into supply lines for electrical devices that could energise our Raikoukikan users. It was the best I knew how to do…but then, of course…we were too busy playing soldier to notice that Nagai had stuck to shinobi tactics: misdirection; confusion; subterfuge; infiltration. He struck from within and harried us with guerrilla tactics until my teams were forced back to the front!

I lost cousins that day. Sakoshi reminded us, for a time, that even though we bicker and have our disputes, clan is clan, and family is family. When one dies, we all hurt the same. We lost six of our family in the siege and another two in the retreat. By then, we all knew Nagai could crush Jishaku whenever he wanted but there was too much blood in the sand to turn back. We fought for more than principle. More than honour. We fought for family. Or it seemed that way. You can get turned around in the fog of war. If we’d really wanted to protect the ones closest to us, we’d have pushed for a surrender. Maybe Denryuu saw it coming, because that was when he enacted a wave of morale-boosting promotions.

The first time you became a Chuunin.

And a squad leader, officially, to the other three, who’d missed out but were no less happy for me. It was my 16th birthday. We’d grown strong together. But from that point, I had to shoulder even more responsibility. I was an officer of the last bastion, where all supporters of the Raikage chose to find solace. We had refugees coming in from all over, and tried our best to accommodate them — that was one of my jobs — but it got to the point we had to start turning people away. And that’s when I got a message that there was a Shoda Ichirou at the gates. The guards wouldn’t release him into my custody, but they’d listen to my parents and aunt, who took control of the situation and left me to continue my duty. Didn’t trust me to be my brother’s keeper.

Not an unfair estimation, all things considered.

Yeah, but all things considered, what would have happened if I had been involved this time?

What did happen?

The Offensive kicked off the following day. And the plans we drew up for our section of the walls were effective, containing the majority of breachers to pockets of intense melee combat while Genin support squads and Chuunin medics oscillated in waves. Katashi, our heavy hitter, had paired off with me, while Miwa had teamed up with Usagi, for a deadly assassin/genjutsu combo, all of us holding fast to a ‘take no prisoners’ mentality. I saw more death that day than I’ve seen since. Some memories, I’ll never truly expunge.

Tell me about the bombings.

Which part? The part where we realised someone was massacring refugees from inside the walls and discovered the field of body parts, or the time I watched a Sound shinobi kill a father in front of his son then kill the son too, before we eventually put him in the ground? Maybe you just want the part where I saw my brother walking through the smoke with an accomplice, bricks of explosive tags strapped to his chest, slitting the throats of any survivors they could find. Do you want to hear about that? You want to poke and prod me again for emotional scar tissue like your predecessors did the last three years? Or can we move past the bit where I froze up, Usagi put a couple kunai in them and they kept coming, spouting rhetoric like zombies? Maybe the part where Miwa had to finish them off with senbon to the throat and I had to leave Ichirou in the dust or risk my team discovering who he was and what he meant to me. What they’d done.

Killed your brother.

That wasn’t my brother. Not any more. Those weren’t his words. Somebody had put him up to it, conditioned him. I’m not suggesting it was anything to do with Nagai — and before you try to interrupt me again, I know I don’t have any proof, and I’m not absolving him of guilt for those heinous acts.

So you’re not actively investigating the matter any more.

No, because that would be going against the direct orders I received two years ago when I last attempted it. I’ve just had to accept it as something that will never sit right with me but will also never interfere with my job. I’m not the kind of guy to let personal vendettas obstruct reason or I would have gone willingly to my execution. My loyalty is to this great nation, the same way a king’s should be, rather than to one person. We lost Katashi to that pride.

Fracturing your squad, while you were stripped of your title. What was there for you?

Joining the Intelligence division, aiming for Internal Affairs. While it wasn’t easy to earn back trust, it wasn’t the first time I’d faced that challenge. Fortunately, I discovered that being a military man and a citizen gave me purpose in a world after war. And I wasn’t without allies. Miwa and I were allowed to join with two Nagai-loyalists and form one of the new Unity Squads. We didn’t get on with each other right away. Staff Sergeant Masaki was fond of hazing and Akihiro was exempt, so Miwa and I hit the learning curve running and dodging, spending our first year weeding out lingering traces of dissent with such vigour it was hard to argue with the results. We were both Corporals by the time I turned 17, Miwa 16.

Kei foresaw the road to my eventual burnout and intervened before it was too late. She was rehabilitated by then, a Private in Engineering. Told me to look beyond myself or risk losing myself, so I listened. If I hadn’t…I would have missed things right in front of me.

Like your romantic relationship with Saionji Miwa.

Which was ill-advised, I know. But it made things easier for a time, sharing a bunk, confiding in each other. You’ve got to admit, we all need someone like that. We ended things when we realised how it might look, before we risked compromising missions, but it brought us closer, and our teamwork to new levels of instinctive proficiency. Can’t argue with those results. We knew it was a relationship of convenience rather than love, so we spared each other the broken hearts.

Such a succinct summary. Did you practice that?

Only a little. Want to hear more? My promotion, before you ask, came later that year, with Masaki moving on and the exams still fairly far away. Handpicking Private First Class Yamane Ren to keep with the theme of unity, I took all three of them out for a meal to lay my plans out on the table: my goal to get each of them to Chuunin status before the year was out and make ours the top Unity Squad in the entire LMG. No funny business. Hard work, but good work.

While you were still aiming for that top spot in IA. As ambitious as a king.

No, just the King’s man. Nagai’s the King, remember? But I did get my wish.

Why does it sound like you know more about where this interview’s going than I do?

Because this is where it ends.

Now just a—

Sorry, I’ve got nothing against you. I know it’s your job and you’ve got bosses, orders, I get it. Trust is a rare commodity at the moment. The war is still too fresh in our collective consciousness for it to be anything but. So I understand your persistence, but this is where it stops. This is the last time I subject myself to this loyalty test, and that lie detector in the corner, and the only time I’ll have done so willingly. It’s closure for me, and for my case. You don’t get to work in IA without being one of the most trusted guys in any room. So thanks for the memories, but if you want to sit me down like this again, take it up with Inquisitor Hiroto. His orders.

We cool? Good. King’s Man out.

[Other Information]

=====================
Surname, First Initial: Shoda, K
Alias: The King's Man
Company/Squad: Unity Squad 08
Technical Occupation: Intelligence; Internal Affairs
Military Rank: Sergeant
=====================
Birthplace: Shoda Clan Grounds
Serial Number: 118621643924
Specialisation: Lightning Release
Chevrons: 6 Standard Grade
Medals Earned: ---
=====================
Associations: Shoda family: Hisoka (father); Kotone
(mother); Kei (sister); Kumiko (aunt)
Declared Next of Kin: Shoda Kumiko (branch leader)
Dependents: None
Marital Status: Single
=====================

[Mission Log]

Stormlight Adventures | The King's Man
Theme: Memoirs of War & Peace

• World Date 1.35 | Mission #00: Prelude to the Storm
  My country gives me strength, my clan gives me strength, my team gives me strength. It's time that I gave back.
  Character Creation AP (MAX): +3 Speed, +3 Willpower, +2 Intelligence, Electric Shock Clone, Deafen, Lightning Bolt.
  Advanced Chuunin Points: +3 Control, +2 Reserves, +1 Power, Detonation, Great Pulse, Lightning Instantaneous.
  Cloud Creation GMAP: Transformation, Wall Walking.
  
  
• World Date 1.35 | Mission #01: Lightning's Heir
  Aim for the stars, shoot for the sky, and leave all your doubts at the door. This journey's just beginning.
  Perk Activated: AP Limit Breaker
  AP Awards: +3 Intelligence, +4 Tactics, Circuit Breaker, Ground, Magnetic Disarm.

[Junge]

your bio seems a bit short

This caught me offguard:

I had perfected my Stage One control

I've never actually seen a character refer to a technique as 'stage one' or 'stage' anything. My understanding is that stages (like the stats) are abstractions and not something that actually exist in-character. If I'm wrong then it's fine, but I'd prefer to see something like 'basic of control' or something that doesn't show so much of Engi's game-rules skeleton.

The shift from first person narrative to third person in the last part of the bio is extremely jarring. For the first few sentences I was wondering who this 'Kagero' person was. Maybe ease into it a bit better?

Stats and numbers all check out. Given that your bio is quite comprehensive I'm sure there are details that those more knowledgeable about Cloud can go over better than I can. I'll Half-Approve anyway.

[Calibur]

I know, it could do to be longer...

Thank you, Junge.

You're probably right about the Stages thing. As I'd included so few references to the system in that way, I went ahead and changed them like you suggested.

I also added a narrator's footnote at the end of the Ascension section, as well as a return to biographical form in that last part. Hopefully, it's not as jarring now, but if you have any advice on how to make it even smoother, I'm all ears. Hopefully, short of explicitly referring to the third person omniscient, what I've done will be alright.

[CommonRider]

Half-approved

[Junge]

It's in the hands of fate Kaen now.

Half Approved.

[Sinnocent]

Well, until fate comes around... here's another Half

[Res]

I like Kagero, though an initial point of concern in his bio that pops out to me is the spot when you've named Rikiya's child. The reason I'm apprehensive about that is because I don't want that to hamstring anyone else who might want to create a Shoda under his branch, and was interested in being a direct child. This would have then forced a character/section of bio they may not have been keen about.

Other than that, like I said, I like Kagero. I'll have to do another round and just make sure the family timelines make sense.

[Calibur]

I also now realise that I haven't followed naming conventions for said character. That being said, it's probably in everybody's best interest that I simply generalise this point and remove specifics.

I'm very glad that you like him, though

[Res]

I'm fine with people breaking the convention if it serves a purpose (which it does with Ichirou), but I just didn't want the book to be written for someone else, which I'm sure you can understand :)

From what I can tell, things look fine. Kaen will have to go over the history of events from a Cloud perspective...but the only thing I noticed is that Kagero would have been 7 when the Shoda were pulled out of exile, and currently you have him as age 9 when it happens (unless I misread it). Just a small thing.

Other than that, consider this clan GM approved, though I'm pretty sure that doesn't count towards your regular required number of approvals.

[Calibur]

Originally Posted by Res

I'm fine with people breaking the convention if it serves a purpose (which it does with Ichirou), but I just didn't want the book to be written for someone else, which I'm sure you can understand

From what I can tell, things look fine. Kaen will have to go over the history of events from a Cloud perspective...but the only thing I noticed is that Kagero would have been 7 when the Shoda were pulled out of exile, and currently you have him as age 9 when it happens (unless I misread it). Just a small thing.

Totally. All's good in the hood now.

I could have sworn I had that age progression worked out. It was one of the toughest things to reconcile between the two histories and his own personality progression. I do have him as 9. I can probably rephrase that easily enough to account for the time difference there, but then that throws off everything else. I think, originally, I had him as older, but wanted a younger chuunin about half way through writing. I'll have to pick through this and course correct as necessary.

EDIT: I have advanced him a year to 20 now, so he's 8 when the Shoda return to the fold, 13 when Hideyoshi sides with Denryuu Konishi (and when he starts to take an interest in girls, which was the reason for the shift, because 12 was too young), then 16 when Nagai triumphs. Whew. Edits done. Short but painful