CHARACTER
Name: Hagane Inaba
Age: 17, born Arashi 22
Species and Gender: Human male
Symbol: Gray, featureless mask facing toward the viewer
Occupation: First year Beacon student
Appearance: Hagane stands at 5'10" and weighs 155 lb. He is naturally blond and blue-eyed, but has altered both to be grey. He has a rather dull overall appearance. His face and hair are symmetrical, any facial hair is regularly shaved, and his relatively thin arms are always held at his sides when not in use. His rules for clothing are as follows: Every piece must be black, white, or a shade of gray; He must be combat-ready, no heavy attire or superfluous pieces to get in the way; and no short sleeves. This generally manifests as a white dress shirt, possibly with a light jacket over top, long, black pants with his scabbard fastened at the waist, and black slip-on shoes.
History: The Inaba family live in a small agricultural town in Northeastern Vale. Though technically located within the kingdom of Vale, the town is too remote and insignificant for the council to devote much attention to. As such, the community was forced to establish a weak self-government.
When it came time to elect a leader, Hagane's father, Berch, came up with a scheme to rise to power. He spread rumors of a warrior who fought against the Grimm in the early days of man, equipped with only his Ichimonji (straight line) sword. This warrior was the first member of the Inaba family, and his sword still existed in their home. When asked about the sword, Berch quickly produced an heirloom katana, pretending it was the very same Ichimonji from the story. Being poorly educated, the townspeople quickly believed him. They allowed the Inaba family to lead, believing the town would be safe under their watch.
Standard of living quickly improved for Berch and his wife, Skye, and they raised Hagane comfortably. They taught him to use a sword, and passed to him all they knew about the world. However, the couple did very little for the town off of which they profited, and Hagane soon became disgusted with his parents' governing. At age 15, he left home and moved to Vale city, where he saw what a truly well-governed society looked like. He lived here for two years before deciding to return home and confront his parents.
Upon returning to his hometown, Hagane found it in ruins, ravaged by Grimm. Shops and homes had been reduced to rubble, and many of his old friends and neighbors lay dead. Hagane was outraged by the failure of both Vale and his parents to protect the town, and was only further enraged to find his parents- alive. Instead of fighting, they had chosen to hide away and save themselves. Without a word, Hagane took the family sword and left again, vowing to become a hunter and do what his parents had failed to. He cast aside the family robes of purple, dyed his father's blond hair grey, and adopted grey contacts to hide his mother's blue eyes. He then tested into Beacon and began his new life.
Personality: Hagane tends to remain outwardly calm an speak in monotone even while inwardly excited. This can make him seem intimidating to people who don't know him well, though Hagane himself is oblivious to this. He actually tends to be oblivious to a lot in social situations when he gets focused, such as missing when a conversation changes to a different topic. He is an optimist and frequently cracks jokes, which in juxtaposition to his aforementioned monotone can often confuse more than entertain.
Hagane values trust above all else, and holds to a code of values to achieve this. Never will he intentionally break a promise, and he thinks very carefully before making one in the first place. Honesty is an absolute guarantee from Hagane, even when you may not want it (e.g. "Yes, you look like a cow in that. I hate it."). In one-on-one conversations, Hagane is very willing to share information about himself and often wishes other people would be more open with him.
While Hagane is very studious and prides himself on attention to detail, looking too deep into things often causes him to miss what's right in front of him. Often times, this means relying on his friends/teammates to take in and compile information, while he reviews what they notice to draw the right conclusion.
Aura and Semblance: Hagane's aura color is, well, grey. His semblance allows him to change the state of matter in an object within range between solid, liquid, and gas. While ordinarily this would mean rapidly heating or cooling the object, Hagane is incapable of both of these. Instead, he alters the behavior of the particles and is able to form, say, liquid iron at room temperature. The three main limitations of this ability are as follows:
1. Physical limits. Hagane is only able to project his aura about five meters from himself, and tends to work faster on objects closer to his body. Without risk of exhaustion, he cannot manipulate very large objects (think: could he hold it in his hands?). Hagane's most impressive feat was solidifying the surface of a narrow river as he walked across, but his aura was seriously drained and his mind exhausted from concentration by the other side.
2. Knowledge limits. Hagane must have a decent idea of the composition of whatever he is trying to manipulate. For unique objects, this generally means he must have thoroughly examined the object beforehand. In other words, he won't be able to, say, turn an enemy's weapon to gas.
3. Organics cannot be manipulated. Maaaaaaybe if he were the world's best biologist or something he could manipulate, say, a leaf without violating rule #2, but a Grimm would be a guaranteed violation of #2 and humans/faunus have their auras to protect them.
In general, this semblance is a utility and is only helpful in combat if used in conjunction with his weapon.
Combat Behavior: Hagane hates fighting alone and will avoid it whenever he can. Typically, he likes to have more combat-ready allies to serve as a diversion while he examines the enemy's fighting style and battle strategy to come up with a counter. If given time to complete his analysis, Hagane becomes nearly unstoppable and will almost always outplay his opponent. Before this point, he is vulnerable and can be quickly overwhelmed.
WEAPON
Name: Ichimonji
Primary Form: The "sword" is actually a hilt that can be fitted with a blade only by Hagane, as he literally forms the solid blade from liquid steel in his scabbard. The scabbard holds about three blades' worth of steel, and he typically forms it into a straight line (hence the weapon's name).
Secondary Form: If a particular target requires a specialized blade to strike, Hagane could in theory form the blade into other shapes. An example is a curved blade, like a scimitar, although Hagane is not nearly as skilled in any blade form other than the straight line.
Dust Functions: The hilt bears a mechanism Hagane can use to power up the blade with red dust, causing his attacks to burn the target. A blade in this state can also be ejected as a dangerous liquid or gas. This leads to attacks disproportionately painful to how much damage they are actually doing, so Hagane chooses not to use it unless absolutely necessary. He has recently fitted the hilt with an ice dust equivalent, which is primarily used to freeze Grimm in preparation for heavy damage.
History: "Ichimonji glows silver in the moonlight. The sight of it instills fear in the hearts of even the creatures of Grimm." This cliche-ridden lie is what made the Inaba family what it is, and the simple steel katana became legendary among a tiny northeastern community in Vale. It was prominently displayed in the Inaba family home before Hagane took it for himself. Just as he had severed all of his own ties with the village, Hagane did the same for the sword. He implemented advanced features to destroy the simplicity of the original design, and altered the blade to be usable by him alone. In this way, Ichimonji changed from a lie that protected fictional people into a remarkable weapon planned for use in defending actual lives.
Topic: Hagane Inaba (Resubmission with minor edits) (Read 2747 times)