Lt. Gen. Takenaka

"Form up on me! We're beginning the operation!"
LtGen. Takenaka (full name Takehiko Takenaka) is a player from Week 13 of The Reaper's Game. A military enthusiast, the Lieutenant General from Kyoto is a leader figure and a serious force to be reckoned with.
==Appearance==
Wears a stark-white military dress uniform with a set of ribbon stripes and three medals, including peaked cap and dress shoes. Character picture represents appearance out of uniform; he doesn’t need the glasses to actually see.
In battle situations, the General channels his Pins through his armaments - a Howa Type 89 battle rifle, Minebea P9 and KA-BAR combat knife, used as the situation demands. The armaments are props and replicas, however, and thus do not fire actual bullets. Using other Pins, the General is capable of creating other weapons, usually explosives such as grenades.
==Personality==
The General is first and foremost a military fanatic, peppering his speech with military terms that can confuse people who don't understand them. This incidentally leads to him referring to just about everyone by their rank, a designation he decides himself in the case of allied Players; Reapers are simply referred to by their own rank (i.e. Reaper, Conductor, etc.) He is a serious individual who does not suffer jokes lightly. The General takes pride in his own intellect, which he claims makes him a strategic genius; it mostly just comes off as arrogance, though he can certainly plan a battle strategy on the fly during combat.
==History==
===Pre-Game===
Takehiko was born in Kyoto to a family with a long and storied history of military service, their lineage stretching back all the way to Takenaka Hanbei of the Sengoku era. His own entry into the Japan Self-Defenses was basically assumed amongst his family members, and thus Takehiko threw himself into studying the military with earnest. Eventually, he would gather like-minded individuals around his age and formed the Thirteenth Kyoto Regiment, with the intent of preparing for and practicing lessons that would be taught in Basic.
One member of the Thirteenth had a father who excelled in making replica weaponry used in film-making. Borrowing several guns from him, the Thirteenth set out for Tokyo to practice a night operation in an urban theatre. While Takehiko was setting up his weaponry, another member jokingly pretended to aim and shoot him in the back; unbeknownst to him, the prop rifle had a piece of lead stuck in it that discharged when the trigger was pulled. The lead piece struck Takehiko in the back of the neck, paralyzing and killing him.
===Week Thirteen===
When Takehiko awoke in Shibuya, he was at first without his guns. After obtaining a sit-rep from Yoshi and Keiss, as well as other Reapers, he quickly acquired his weaponry after being inspired by them to go on a search. Realizing quickly that many of the other Players are civilians at best, Takehiko takes it among himself to be a leader for the group.
This proves to be a hindrance on Day 0, where his insistence on barking orders during the Mission aggravates several other players. Regardless, the General makes several allies; in addition to those mentioned earlier, he forms partnerships with Yasei, Satsuki, and Ji; however, after a fight against the Noise with Hawk, the two become enemies after an assault from the latter. A dialogue with the Reaper Chris causes the General to tell him about his legacy, as well as his ideas for Partners in the week, Satsuki chief among them.
The first day starts far frostier; several attempts by the General to force order fail to take, and a confrontation with Nagito makes the General storm off. By the time he has cooled off enough to return to the regiment, they have completed the day's Mission - only to be interrupted immediately by the sound of a scream and the sight of a dead body courtesy of the Game Master. Quickly ushering the other Players out alongside the Reapers, the regiment gathers in the Scramble for the night. With many of the other Players grief-stricken and panicking, it falls to Takehiko to bring order by silently protecting the others.
This task quickly bears fruit as one member of the group - a young girl - begins to break away, towards the streets. Takehiko stops her and speaks to her; having recently learned of Yoshi's mysterious erasure, the regiment is at an odd number, meaning that someone will have no choice but to sacrifice themselves at the end of the day. The girl wants to sacrifice, but repeated dialogue between her and Takehiko, as well as the Composer and Conductor's lockdown speech, convince her to change her mind. Uso, and later the Conductor, prod the two to Pact; with Satsuki nowhere in sight, time running out rapidly, and an order from a superior, the General pacts with the girl - Chika Kashino.
The pair handle several missions together on the second day, but at great cost; the General learns of Satsuki's death not long into the mission. Upon further intel, he also learns that fellow Player Hawk was turned into a Reaper and then back following Satsuki's death; the information is enough for the General to call him a defector. As the mission progresses, the regiment gains intel about Grizz and the mysterious Jumonji Seki - namely, that they are one and the same.
When Keiss's epiphany leads to the mission's completion, Jumonji Seki himself arrives. A tense showdown ensues that is only broken by Private April's friendship bracelet for Grizz; the revelation turns him into the monster from before and the Reapers quickly evacuate the others. As intel is disseminated once more, the General suffers further remonstrance from a ghost Noise that steals his weapons; the scenario, combined with Satsuki's death and the reappearance of the monster, cause him to question his place in the game.
After returning from a personal mission, the General airs grievances previously aired at Yasei to Judai, Uso, and Chika; he finally brings up Hawk's role as a traitor, as well. This has repercussions, as two Reapers force the two into battle and bring superior numbers to bear. With the odds against them, Takehiko calls a retreat, but Hawk is unwilling; the General is forced to convince him with words to leave the field. After returning, the General has a long chat with several Reapers regarding actions, blame, and the task at hand.
The General misses most of the third day of the game and as a result only hears of the Erasure of Yasei and Kai the next day from Uso. Stricken hard by the loss of Yasei, The General steels his resolve to aid the others; this only leads to him and Chika practically walking into an ambush of wild Noise early in the day. The General tells Chika to leave and die in the arms of their allies if they must die, but Chika refuses to leave; their attempt to storm the gates of Hell is cut short by an assist from the Conductor. As the day continues on, the General and Chika continue to work alongside their allies, completing the Mission in time.
It is than that tragedy strikes: Pulled into the Noise Plane prior, Corporal Ji - a good friend of the General's - is brutally erased in combat with Nagito. Unlike the previous Erasures, the General witnesses this one; as a result, he goes catatonic until well after Ji's partner Hikari fades away. After she does, the General rips his medals off and slams them to the ground to shatter them, declaring himself unfit to be a General; it takes the aid of Chika, Uso, Chris and others to get him to finally reconsider this stance. Their advice works; after a long and harrowing battle with a dragon, the General repairs the medals and even hands one to Seijirou for valor during the fight.
During the fifth day, the General engages in the last battle with a pair of minks that have created a tornado of violent sharks alongside Keiss, Seijirou and April; the General executes the minks and helps clean up the sharks with the aid of a powerful combination attack from Keiss and Seijirou. In the tornado's death throes, however, the group is thrown towards Dogenzaka - where Jumonji Seki still stands, this time well within the process of being lost to the beast within. Immediately ordering a retreat to the Scramble, the General personally leads the evacuation efforts, though Kyoka is lost in the process. Attempts at recuperation are quickly stymied by the God's Channel at midnight, followed by a mission briefing: "Survive. You have twenty-four hours."
As allies are targeted and erased consecutively over the course of the Day, the General and Chika end up being one of the few remaining pairs, alongside Judai and Uso as well as Keiss and Seijirou; during this time he grants Chika and Uso the last of his medals. As the day comes to a close, Toyo sets up something for the six - a sparring duel against him and several Noise, following it with a discussion of what everyone's hopes is. The day effectively ends with all of the Reapers and remaining Players bonding over a night flight through Shibuya.
When the final day arrives, the hands out the last of his ribbon strips to Judai and Keiss before the monster arrives controlling Grizz in the form of the Terrorcore Bison. What could have been a disastrous battle is turned around by the arrival of Jean and the Reapers. Even with them, however, the fight is tough, as the monster consistently taunts those close to Grizz as the combined group wears it down with repeated strikes. Eventually, the General requests of Jean to let the Players strike down the monster, and he acquiesces to the request, allowing the Players to work together and bring down the Bison. As they leave the dead beast, Jean collects Grizz's body; a last-ditch attack by the monster is stopped by Kuroko revealing himself as Blake, and Grizz dies thanking the members of the Shibuya UG.
After a long period of crying and mourning, the Composer stands up to grant the six Players their rewards. Takehiko is the first to make his decision, returning to the RG and shattering his guns. Chika, Keiss, Seijirou and (eventually) Judai follow suite, but Uso decides to stay as a Reaper. As the six Players discuss their hopes for the future and trade contact information with each other, Takehiko removes his military jacket - the last piece of the shackles of his past - and throws it into the wind, letting it fly away and freeing him to live his life.
==Relationships==
=== Major Kashino (Chika) ===
The General's partner, whom he kept from sacrificing herself to the possibility of an awful monster on the first day. As a pact of convenience, very little has been established between the two; however, Chika does seem to have a good rapport with the General, which was proven to be ironclad on the fourth day. The General considers Chika among the bravest of the other Players, perhaps even surpassing himself.
=== Captain Chris ===
One of the Reapers that routinely speaks to the General. Of the entire Reaper Corps, only he and Toyo talk to the General regularly, taking an interest in his military obsession; for that he has a strong bond with Chris in spite of being on opposite sides.
=== Corporal Hawk ===
Relations with Hawk started poor as he assaulted the General and got worse when Satsuki was erased, as the General blamed Hawk for her death as a convenient scapegoat. After a duel against an overwhelming opponent, however, the General moved to get Hawk out regardless of personal feelings; the situation has presumably died down since, and following Mazuki's act of cowardice on the fifth day, has caused the General to reverse his opinion on Hawk entirely.
=== Conductor Jean ===
The Conductor and the General had spoken from time to time prior to the end of the second day, but it was the General's attack on Hawk that made him take notice. In discourse, the Conductor mentioned that he was not to blame himself, and told him to be the one to evacuate the Players should the monster arise again.
=== Corporal Ji ===
A friend of the General with no arms. Though she may make inappropriate jokes at times, Ji gladly plays along with the General's military delusions, and in turn the General keeps her up to date on events. Ji's death was personally witnessed by the General, which caused him to have a breakdown after her partner was also removed.
===Field Medic Keiss===
Keiss was among the first of the allied Players that the General met. The two have a decent rapport, with Keiss explaining some of the workings of the Game to him, and his previous experience as an EMT have earned him the designation of Field Medic from the General. As a foreigner, Keiss generally doesn't seem to understand the military terms the General uses when spoken in Japanese.
===Corporal Mazuki===
The General met Mazuki prior to the Game, aiding her after she fell from a tree. However, upon being reprimanded by him, Mazuki shied away from the General; as a result, he believes her to have some form of dysfunction. The two pretty consistently argue over mission objectives and plans. Following the fifth day, however, the General's opinion of her changed completely as she left an ally to die, comparing her unfavorably to Chika.
=== Private Satsuki ===
An ally of the General, whom he lent a knife to wield during the first battle on Day 0. The General sees immense promise in Satsuki, as the two have similar motivations; his only regret is that he was unable to partner with her and temper her skills further. Her death hit the General particularly hard, and he blamed himself for not being there to rescue her.
=== Major Seijirou ===
The General only began to speak to Seijirou commonly halfway through the week, first to present him with a medal after a rough fight with the dragon. Since then, he has given moral support to Seijirou and aided him in battle, especially since both are staunch allies of Keiss.
=== Major Tendie ===
Relations with Recruit Tendie started frosty as the General confused him for an unknown entity due to the costume he was wearing at the time. In time, the relations gradually improved and the General trusts Judai, though he is oftentimes exasperated by some of his sillier actions.
=== Major Toyo ===
The officer reaper has taken an interest in the General, likely due to their similar mentalities and styles of dress. Toyo has high hopes for the General, who in turns plans to prove that those hopes are not misfounded.
=== Major Uso ===
Though the General has little to no issue with Uso, the girl herself is wary of him - likely due to values instilled into her by her grandmother. Though curious, he has yet to press the issue any further. Following the events of the first day, Uso's belief in Grizz makes the General wary, though he stays supportive regardless. Though he would never publicly admit it, he's saddened that Uso decided to stay as a Reaper.
=== Private First Class Kisho (Yasei) ===
Despite calling him a drunk upon their first meeting, relations with Private Kisho have been warm since their establishment due to the latter's insistence on calling the Players of the Regiment as family. The General counts him as a solid ally. Together, the two act as pillars for the rest of the Players, especially following the first day; their relationship is such that the General goes to him first for consultation.
=== Private Yoshi ===
Also among the first people that the General met prior to the start of the Game, the General and Yoshi have had steady contact but little else so far. The General is prone to reprimanding Yoshi for their sillier actions. Following the revelation of his erasure, Takehiko acknowledges him as "a good man".
==Trivia==
*Takehiko's birthdate is the same day that the Japan Ground Self-Defense Forces were formed.
*The Thirteenth Kyoto Regiment consisted of Takehiko and five others. Despite being the leader of the group, Takehiko never actively called himself a General proper for an unknown reason.
*Takehiko prefers to be called "General Takenaka" despite the above, though he'll accept Lieutenant in place of General.
==Gallery==
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Portrait placeholder.png|OH WOW HERE IS AN IMAGE DESCRIPTION.
Category:Players
Category:Week 13