Jin Juro

Jin Juro is the Original Bookkeeper, residing in the Golden Timeline. He is also employed as an Agent of Helheim. He travels the world collecting stories and recording history, and doing errands for the Goddess Hel.
== Appearance ==
Juro is tall, long, and lanky, with fair skin and an easy smile. He has short sandy blond hair, pushed up by a black head band, and dark amber eyes. He wore round spectacles that he inherited from Kotobuki "Jii-jii" Roku until it broke during the Battle of the Jaw. He has two scars from his jawline down his neck given to him by his ex-fiance, and a deep discoloration under his sternum from the repetitive embedding of magic during his childhood. He is clothed in an off white long sleeved shirt with gold buttons and fitted pants, a navy blue kimono, a blue-grey hakama, a black morokode, and black knee high boots. Around his neck is a long, simple blue-grey scarf to match his hakama. He carries a leather bag filled with his notebook and his pencil, which doubles as his fighting staff, but he doesn't use it that often. 
In his younger days, he wore a traditional hakama with the same colours. Upon discovering Aidorin and the other continents outside of his own, he traded it for the more casual, current look instead. When posing as the God of Longevity, he slips on sokutai, usually in its female stylings save for the kanmuri, which he does forget to wear sometimes. He does not care to wear them properly, although he does make a note to wear his crane kimono as the outermost layer. .
== Personality ==
Juro is neutral, not particularly tied down to one side. He will do small, simple favours for people in exchange for stories that he can record in the Library. He is charming, magnetic, and extremely laid back, sporting a perpetual, lazy grin on his face, usually unfazed by most things and accepting them as they come. The exception to this was Yun Milae, who brought up very old attachments that Juro had worked very hard to repress in himself. 
After the Battle of the Jaw, Juro became a little more melancholy and distant, especially with both Milae and Yun, in an effort to keep his neutrality, as events and outside forces had been making this very difficult for him. But there was a change happening in him, struggling to find a middle ground between wanting to keep the seal intact and his yearning for friendships.
With Frigga defeated by Yun and the lock destroyed, he no longer needs to suppress his emotions in the name of neutrality. His personal journey now is to learn to be more genuine in his expressions and inner thoughts. He unknowingly defaults to his easygoing personality, and while it is not entirely dishonest, he still needs to unlearn old habits and break down his facade, with the help of Milae and Dario.
== Abilities ==
Since his own destruction of the lock, and the death and reincarnation of Hel, Juro's Helheim contract is suspended for an indefinite amount of time. His amplification is no longer suppressed, and the lines between magics become blurred and end up manifesting as his own power, eventually enabling him to sustain all of his abilities himself.
=== Amplification ===
Juro inherited the ability to amplify magical energy from his descendants, the Shou family. Magic is embedded in him underneath through his chest cavity, which is the center of his whole body and the position with the best output. From an atomic level, his body will then house any amount of magical power, and over a continuous period of time, it will infinitely multiply it until it is utilized or replenished. The type of energy affects the magic that is created, ie. elemental, spiritual, or divine (the last only having occurred once, and was immediately expelled from his body due to catastrophic repercussions should it remain in him). 
Because of the way and the amount the magic is contained is within him, amplifiers like Juro normally do not have the physical and mental strength to utilize the power on their own on a regular basis. It will remain in their bodies unused until it destroys them from the inside, or until it is channeled by an outside manipulator, like the Imperial Government of Chuugo. It is because of this that amplifiers normally have a shorter lifespan of roughly 40-50 years. 
There have been several instances where Juro accidentally managed to channel the magic on his own. Twice were uncontrolled power surges due to extreme emotional stress, and both ended in tragedy and death. It is partly due to this that Juro decided to enter a contract with Hel, locking up the magic within him and keeping his emotional state neutral. He was also able to, with the help of Hel's power through Virion, suppress it low enough to do the most basic level of healing, like when he helped Yun during the Battle of the Jaw. 
With his amplification no longer sealed, Juro is now creating a constant output of magic, albeit at a much slower and less potent pace than he originally was able to, manifesting mostly through his right side and right eye, which was broken by Frigga's tendrils and rebuilt by Eir's essence. These conditions also make it easier for him to wield the magic himself, although it is an uphill physical and mental climb as Milae teaches him how to control his abilities. In the meantime, it is seeping out of him like a haze, affecting things at random, usually whatever he feels strongly about, like (update this after the field trip anita) 
=== Chains and Threads ===
Because of the Library and its interdimensional reach, the dormant energy used to seep into the timelines--every time a thread was woven or split, a Bookkeeper was also born, sustained by the locked magic that came from Juro through metaphorical chains. If the seal was broken, the power will surge uncontrolled again, but on a bigger, more cosmic levels, and would overload and kill every single Bookkeeper other than himself. 
Juro eventually decided to destroy the lock, with the help of Milae, Yun, and Norn magic, and in turn it dissolved the chains and intertwined it into the threads of time instead, stabilizing millions of Bookkeeper souls and keeping his and the Library's connection with all of them intact. He is able to sense these threads and the magic running through them. As a side effect, alternate versions of Bookkeepers are no longer spawned from Juro, and instead are born normally like all other souls. 
=== The Library ===
The Library is a separate dimension that used to be stabilized by Hel's power as per hers and Juro's agent contract, but with the lock destroyed, Juro now holds power over it. It is a magical, interdimensional database of everything Juro records as a Bookkeeper, and expands to each thread that appears and gives access to the information that all other timelines have collected. When Bookkeeper souls were still feeding off of Juro's magic, all the alternate versions automatically gained knowledge of the Library, but after the defeat of Frigga and the change in how Juro's soul is replicated, access became staggered depending on the environment of the universe. The more mundane the timeline is, the less likely they are to have awareness about it. 
It comes in many different forms depending on the universe, like Juro Jin's notebook computer, and the built-in AI for the Cyber Bookkeeper versus traditional timelines like Jaejin's personal journal, and Roujin's replica of the Library. Only Juro has physical access to the Main Library; it cannot be entered without his permission. 
=== Teleportation ===
Juro had no innate teleportation abilities like the Nix agents, which is why Hel supplied him with a golem called Virion created from her power, to serve as his portals. He is now able to manifest it on his own, using the original form from Hel and powering it using his own magic. 
It is an inhuman, magical being, but it has also shown sentience and a unique personality, with the ability to make decisions and experience emotions especially concerning its master. In addition to teleporting physical bodies, Virion can also carry sound and serve as a short term communication device as needed. Juro uses this often to eavesdrop on many conversations. 
It is originally formless, but influenced by Juro's energy it took on the shape of a white, blue, and gold crane with six eyes, a black beak, blue markings on its chest, and a twelve foot wingspan. When teleporting large masses of bodies, like during Ragnarok and the Battle of the Jaw, it grows exponentially in size to a minimum of 100 meters in wingspan. It can also shrink to a smaller, rounder version of its bird shape that can fit in two palms when serving as a communication device--although lately it has taken a liking to this form as it garners a lot of positive attention from the Rebels. Other forms include a blue and green Rumblehorn, and an eight foot tall doe with white markings and blue eyes. 
=== Suspension ===
As part of the contract, Hel suspended Juro's physical state, freezing him in his 24 year old body for centuries so that she could have a long term agent under her command. It is currently being sustained by Juro's own energy during Hel's disappearance. 
=== Combat ===
Juro has capable kendo skills, taught to him by Roku and Jurou when he was younger. He can hold his own in a fight and will emerge unscathed for the most part, but he prefers not to engage and would rather run and escape instead. He used a wooden staff to defend himself, but wielded it like a sword. Upon picking up his training once more, he returns to his old katana. 
== Early Life ==
=== 277 ===
Juro, originally known as Shou Lao Jin, was born in the ancient country of Chuugo on January 22 in the Aidorinian calendar year of 277. He had a mother and a father, but he never knew them as he was taken away immediately and raised by several handlers instead. Most of them were terrible towards him, save for one that was kind and sometimes told him of stories of the outside world.
He is a descendant of a family that had the innate ability to store magical energy in their bodies and amplify it infinitely. Unfortunately, this family has been imprisoned secretly by the Chuugo government for generations, forced to provide power to the entire country for the rest of their lives as the corrupted politics of the nation hid magic from its citizens and the rest of the continent, posing it as technology, and eradicated those that opposed them, like the dragons of what is now Aestreovar. It is with this power that Chuugo had used to conquer other nations during the time Jin was born. Nippon was one of their goals in sight, although it was a stronghold of impenetrable defenses and advanced technology that could rival raw magic, for even with added power it was a struggle.
=== 286 ===
When Jin was nine years old, there was a new clash between Chuugo and Nippon, bringing the battle to the Imperial City. 57 year old Kotobuki Roku and 26 year old Hitoshi Jurou of the organization of the Bookkeepers were present during this, hoping to record the event properly for the Library. During the height of the battle, as the Bookkeepers approached the Imperial Palace, a massive power surge rocked the city, with the palace at its epicenter. It effectively demolished the city for a few hundred meters around it, destroying Chuugo and Nippon soldiers alike. This caused panic amongst the ranks, and Chuugo used that opportunity to drive Nippon out of its territory again, thus the struggle between the two nations continued to be in a stalemate. 
Both Roku and Jurou managed to escape unscathed, and reached the hidden chambers deep within the palace, where they discovered a very sad, terrifying scene: Jin, standing in the middle of the ancient laboratory where his regular Magic Manipulations were held, soaked up to his knees in blood and surrounded by the dead bodies of his many handlers and manipulators. His handler was tortured in front of Jin upon discovery of her helpful actions towards him, and it caused him such emotional distress that he lost control of the magic inside him, and triggered the energy surge that destroyed part of the city. 
The Bookkeeper's Code called for both men to turn a recordkeeping eye away and leave the boy behind, but Jurou voiced what they were both secretly thinking: should they take him with them back to Nippon? He took pity on the boy after seeing his lifeless eyes that didn't even care for the dying caretaker on his lap, being reminded of his own rescue in his childhood by Roku himself, when he was trapped as a prince of his corrupt country. Roku resisted at first, having already broken the rule many a time being quite a horrible Bookkeeper in his own right, but Jin's handler begged them, on the last minutes of her life, to save the poor child in hopes of repentance for her actions, so that he would have another chance at living as a human. This moved something in Roku, as he was always one who struggled with the Bookkeeper Code more often than his comrades, especially after seeing the same face on Jin as he did Jurou many years ago. The Elder Bookkeeper finally relented, partially wondering if he would regret this action in the future, but knowing his personality that secretly sought to help people he could, wouldn't let him turn a blind away in the end. Both Roku and Jurou stole away in the night with a quiet Jin in their arms, as the boy stared over their shoulder and saw the destruction he left in their wake. 
For the next nine years, Jin grew up with the Bookkeeper Organization, his new family, hidden in a small house where the Library was still a mundane, physical place, tucked away in the port city of Hakata. He left his past and his fate behind, learning about the world and traveling as much as he could, writing stories as a Bookkeeper with the pen and journal that Roku had gifted him. He changed from a sickly, empty child to a , bright, lanky young man, with plenty of cheek and wit in his handsome face that he learned from his mentor Jurou, a lopsided smile he adopted from Roku, and a boyish charm and natural curiosity that he made his own. He absorbed everything he could, although he still struggled every so often with the law of neutrality, much like the Elder Bookkeeper. He was often reminded of his position, but he was never villainized for it, for it was what made him human.
=== 295 ===
When he was eighteen, he and Jurou set off to record the feudal war between lords in the north. It was there that they found Akane, like moth to a flame, again struggling between their Bookkeeper's code versus their moral compass, their positions switched this time, with Jin breaking his resolve first. Jurou relents in the end, but he had opposed it much more fiercely than Roku did nine years ago--there was something about Akane that rang metaphorical warning bells at the back of his mind.
Still, they ended up bringing her home, her memories lost and with nowhere else to go, a perfect Bookkeeper candidate. They were met with expected opposition, but this time it's even greater compared to his own arrival years prior. It escalated to the point that Jin condemned the Bookkeepers for preaching neutrality so much that they lost their humanity in the process, questioning their thoughts on his own rescue and existence as a human echo chamber. Again, it was Elder Roku that sided with him, and Akane was taken in and trained as a Bookkeeper. Jurou stayed silent during the entire conversation, and the disagreements drove a wedge between mentor and student. 
=== 298 ===
Three years passed, and Jin and Akane formed a romantic relationship. The Bookkeepers, slowly but surely, had come to accept Akane into their family, but Jurou was stubborn and refused to give any of his blessings. This upset Jin greatly--he couldn't understand why Jurou could fight for him but not for her when they were the same, and felt betrayed. All this time, Jurou had been searching what he could find about Akane, and had been coming up empty, but he persevered, for he knew it was for Jin's own good. Like a soldier, he continued his grim search alone for three more years, in which during this absence that Jin and Akane got engaged.
=== 301 ===
Jurou's journey brought him back to Chuugo, whose clash against Nippon had actually, oddly been peaceful and stagnant for the past fifteen years, for they had lost their main magic supply and were forced to ration as Jin's predecessors reached the last years of their lives. It was then that he found what he was looking for, but before he could return home with the news, he was captured and manhandled, tipping off Chuugo's radar on the Jin.
He and several Imperial Officials were brought back to Hakata the same night, using forbidden portals generated by captured nixes, and were greeted by a scene of blood. Akane stood in the middle of it, soaked to her knees in red, dripping down her arms and katana in rivulets, more than half of the Bookkeepers already dead around her. Jin remained off to the side, with a critically injured Roku on his lap, the young man's face familiarly blank as Jurou remembered it to be when he found him.
Akane turned out to be a biological weapon that Chuugo had built from birth, a mindless soldier that acted upon the will of its handler. Her objective was to find the amplifier the monarchs had lost fifteen years ago, searching all over the continent and arriving in Nippon, using the northern feudal war they found her in as cover. She stayed with the Bookkeepers because she knew it was Jin she was looking for, pretending and manipulating emotions and her relationship with him to get closer to him. It was confirmed through an accidental manifestation of his power that injured a lot of the Bookkeeper organization, as well as Jurou's discovery. 
Jin clutched the dying Roku in his arms as Akane effectively killed the rest of the Bookkeepers who were desperately trying to protect the young man from her advances, to no avail. Jin felt the weight of his actions dragging them down to their demise, cursing his inability to follow their law as well as his lack of control in his own power, and condemning his very existence for being the reason they were being hunted this very moment. But Roku stopped him, insisting that it wasn't his fault, for it was his oversight as the Elder and his dreamer's vision that hoped for a bright future for Jin, they wanted him to accept himself for who he was.
Roku died in Jin's arms as Jurou broke out of his restraints to protect the young Bookkeeper from Akane's further advances. Jurou insisted that Jin run and escape, feeling guilty over his own stubborn actions that set off Chuugo's radar and effectively starting the chain reaction of this tragedy. Akane attacked him, stabbing him through his chest and nicking Jin's jaw, who was behind his mentor. Jurou heaved himself forward to keep her away, the motion giving Jin a second smaller wound that lined up with the first, just as the older man pushed him into an open portal that the nixes were using to escape. Jurou's final words to him was the same plea of accepting who he was, and to live as he was born. That was the last Jin saw of the Bookkeepers, Akane, and Chuugo as he fell in the dimensional hole.
The portals resurfaced towards the south of Farengar Lake, where the nixes were originally from. They left him where he was as he sat, processing the recent events, unable to mourn as his survival instinct triggered to repress what he felt, especially after lack of control over his reservoir that kept ending in tragedy. In a turn of events, Jin managed to come into contact with the Goddess Hel, and struck up a contract with her: in exchange for his service as an immortal Helheim agent, she will create a seal and lock up his reservoir of magic so that it could not be utilized or tracked by anyone, especially Chuugo, provided that he could control his emotions. She also set up his system with the Library and its interdimensional reach, and gave him a golem for easier travel. 
After many months, Jin managed to convince himself to return to Hakata, but found no trace of the devastation. The house and Library had been abandoned, all of its contents destroyed or taken, the residents of the city none the wiser. He buried no bodies underneath graves at the top of the hill within a field of yellow flowers, then left his original home behind, never to return. He erected the shrine that currently serves as the front for the Library at the other side of the city, at ground level, and accidentally made a name for himself as an immortal, godlike priest that the people pay respects to. He actively avoided anything to do with Chuugo, whether visiting or recording stories, keeping as far away from them as possible. 
=== 302 ===
Shou Lao Jin, now renamed himself to Jin Juro, fell into a routine of exploration and bookkeeping, keeping his emotions suppressed and forming no attachments with anyone, keeping his neutrality and filling the Library with more and more stories. His sealed magic leaked into the timelines the Library and himself were chained to, manifesting more Bookkeeper souls to follow in his destiny to record time and history. Years, decades, and centuries passed. 
== BOTGD 1 ==
Juro was away from Aidorin for the duration of BOTGD 1.
== Extended Universe ==
Juro returned to Aidorin in early 1046, quite literally walking in the middle of a fight between Akkey Black and Koiroll, a champion of Thor. His entrance distracted the monstrous man, giving Akkey an opportunity to defeat him. They discovered that they were coworkers, employed as Hel's agents, and he decided to travel with her for three months.
They arrived at Yrus, her ancestral home, where she liberated it from the Wilder South Berserkers and reclaimed as her own. It was at this point that they decided to part ways, and Juro continued as he always had, recording the events of Ragnarok and everything thereafter, travelling all around the world.
== BOTGD 2 ==
=== Return to Aidorin ===
Juro arrived again in Aidorin after two years of being away, hovering on the outskirts of Haligan Island without making any prominent contact aside from Commander Lila Ericson. He excitedly asked her about Jari's windmills, to which she replied while scoffing at his oddness.
He appeared again amongst the rebels during their invasion and rescue of Castaway Dungeon, watching from afar. He ran into Akkey as she was snooping around for information for High Central, who questioned his whereabouts in exasperation. He avoided providing any straightforward answers, and merely promised his enigmatic presence more often from then on. He arrived at Haligan afterwards, where he met Liam Arnason, who was immediately suspicious of his identity. The half breed quickly concluded that he is an Agent of Helheim, and grew very upset upon discovering Juro's stance of neutrality. Juro countered with the concept of independence and self reliance, and Liam respected the perspective after a quick test of his combat skills.
=== Rhenco's Plague ===
He was present for the events of Temple Gate, but watched from afar as he always did for the Library.
Several days later, he spied a note facing up on the door of a house belonging to a certain seidkonur he had seen at the fight with Rhenco and heard about. It contained a note from the bodyguard Stonegit, promising information unreachable by general standards. Curiosity got the better of him, and ended up answering the note himself. It turned out that the bodyguard was looking for the Warden's uncle's demon name, for he had accidentally let slip her first name to the archdemon. With the payment of the conundrum's conclusion and more as an addition to the Library, the Bookkeeper agreed to search for the name in his archives. Unbeknownst to either men, Milae overheard their conversation, and quickly followed Juro through his portal before it closed behind him.
Juro immediately got to work searching for the name, utilizing modern technology to expand his pool, noting several hundred earthquakes that set off simultaneously across timelines. He was uncharacteristically surprised by Milae, who wasn't supposed to be there. The half breed demanded to know why he was meddling in dangerous demon business, and the Bookkeeper explained what he did as a recorder of history, providing favours for those who were willing to pay with stories of their own. Milae, despite his exasperation, was undeniably intrigued, especially with the unfamiliarity of the Library and the Bookkeepers, and offered his help in exchange for information regarding Frigga and the looped timeline of February 8, 1059. There was a moment of curious understanding and hunger for knowledge between them, and Juro agreed, the seidkonur striking an interest in him. Thus they began to informally work together.
The Bookkeeper continued with his research for days, and discovered that Frigga was multiplying the number of Eirs she held within the looped timeline, thus increasing her power. At this point, he also became aware of Yun's existence, but slotted it into the back of his mind, thinking it irrelevant to the current climate. Soon after, Akkey cornered him up in the rafters of the Great Hall, where she began probing further into the existence of multiple timelines and who he was as a Bookkeeper. He provided insight into the Blakkey timeline, the Library, and his work, but refused to elaborate on the finer details and the purpose of his job and his contract.
One day, a knock came on the door of the Library. It was Milae, who had found the physical location of the shrine. Juro immediately pulled him inside, while swathed in his priest robes, for Nippon didn't know of the existence of magic nor half breeds, and Milae must keep out of sight. Milae announced that he had more information on the demon name, and so did Juro regarding Frigga, and they exchanged discoveries. The half breed streamlined his search to more specific timelines where the Bookkeeper and the Rebellion were allied to the Empress, providing a higher chance of finding the name that way. Juro in turn told of the events in the looped timeline, and Frigga's rise in power as she generated more Eirs. This sent Milae in a panic, convinced that he needed to defeat her now before she grew any stronger, but Juro stopped him, uncharacteristically upset about the half breed's insistence on sacrificing himself and fighting alone, the friendly facade broken for a fleeting moment. He told him to fight with the Rebellion and form a plan to defeat Frigga instead, for the seidkonur was not alone in his battle, and his death would do more damage than good. It took some convincing, but Milae relented to wait and work with others, and Juro also calmed down and returned to his regular personality. He allowed him to peruse more of the Library, directing him towards books that were written in Aidorinian, and Milae took the offer and settled down with his own research. It was some time before the half breed fell asleep mid-read, and Juro then revealed himself underneath the mask again, upset at Milae's self sacrificial habits and need to help others, comparing it to figures from his own past, whom are much later revealed to be Roku and Jurou. The Bookkeeper tucked a bundle of kimonos behind the goat's head to make his rest more comfortable, and left him to sleep the rest of the day away.
Milae woke up many hours later, and found himself alone but somewhat cared for in the Library. He left a small gift in thanks before he left. Juro, from across the city on a hill by many graves, willed Virion to open and deposit the item in his hand, which he discovered was a little piece of cloth embroidered with an Aidorin sunrise. This amused the Bookkeeper, for before him in that moment was the Hakata sunset, which he noted to technically be the same sun. Juro took the gift and kept it in the Library from then on.
juro visits indigo in prison and promises to send ghe the letter to... Farris. I think. - need to reread lol come back later
In the ninth month of 1070, Haligan celebrated the Fallfeast, which lasted a whole 24 hours. Juro decided to swing by as well, bringing some sake of his own to share. He popped up beside Milae where he sat, scaring both Tulli and Bhaem who were with him, leaving only the goat half breed unfazed. They make some small talk, managing to convince Milae to drink as well, before the couple left to dance, as the half breed contentedly promised to give Juro their stories for the Library as well. Fondness bubbled up within the Bookkeeper again at the sight of the seidkonur's peace. The conversation shifted when Milae revealed that he had acquired the name they were searching for, and Juro temporarily transported them to the Library in excitement for some privacy. He probed to know the name himself, but Milae refused, and the Bookkeeper relented, disappointed but not very affected. They discussed their next steps, and settled on letting the bodyguard know of the discovery after the celebrations, returning to Haligan and Milae's cold drink once more. The seidkonur then gently commented on Juro's option to no longer involve himself in the current conundrum, but the Bookkeeper waved it away with a humourless smile, reiterating his previous statement on Milae no longer being alone, and a promise to be by his side. There is a moment of silent, mutual understanding, fates mirrored and intertwined, but also the heaviness of secrets kept hidden between them, before Milae expressed his need to find Tulli and Bhaem again. Juro also took his leave, pen twirling as he searched for more stories to write.
Immediately after the celebrations, Haligan received an onslaught of attacks from night furies, and (Rhenco idfr how he entered the scene what. Anyway. ) Juro situated himself on a roof for a better vantage point, Virion surrounding him in a small dimension of his own where he was unaffected by the ongoing ruckus, while sustaining several portals to eavesdrop on different points of the island, mainly on Nala and Stonegit, and Milae and Dario. His ear caught the conversation between the half breeds, and he paid more attention to their side right on time, witnessing the seidkonur invoking heavy seidr magic, sacrificing a life to bring Dario to safety in the Timeline to the Right. This caused a surge of upsetting emotions within him, knowing the consequences of such a fatal decision on the goat's relationships, and for the first time in centuries, the lock was threatened, temporarily affecting J, the Bookkeeper of said timeline. But Juro quickly shook himself back into neutrality, ignoring what had occurred and shifting his attention back to the bodyguard and the Warden.
Something about idle hands i have to reread again.
A few days after Rhenco's threat was finally destroyed, Juro found himself in a casual conversation and tea on a roof with a dragon half breed called Nayro. Upon closer observation, he discovered that he was in fact a dragon breed from Aestri, which is a civilization that specifically came from Chuugo, his motherland. The dragons of Aestri escaped the Imperial Government's clutches millenia ago, and due to their disappearance, were thought to be fables and legends, so this encounter struck a deep interest in the Bookkeeper. This was also news to the half breed. Juro was intrigued, and requested a visit to the invisible island of Aestreovar to learn more, and Nayro hesitantly promised to think on escorting the eager man in the future, should the opportunity present itself. Suddenly, a curious, silvery-white magic seemed to take over the dragon, and Juro watched with rapt attention, letting the events unfold before him. Nayro apologized for the odd show of power and uncontrolled visions after snapping out of it, but the Bookkeeper waved it away, checking on the man's well being. The half breed finally asked for Juro's name, which he happily supplied, but when Nayro revealed knowledge of his position as a Bookkeeper and a Helheim agent, Juro immediately grew very wary. Nayro promised innocence on the accident stumble of information, however, and Juro let it go, especially after spotting movement out of the corner of his eye on ground level, consisting of impressive antlers and a navy blue cloak heading for the Great Hall. He snapped himself back to the conversation at hand, intent on leaving and putting as much distance between him and the goat half breed that had been compromising him lately, and hastily bid Nayro a distracted farewell. He activated a portal, and left Haligan Island.
=== Battle of the Jaw ===
In the second month of 1071, the Rebellion invaded the Conclave at the Jaw of Fenrir to rescue Stonegit and the Warden from their clutches, as well as in hopes to finally bring down one of the factions of High Central. In a turn of unfortunate events, the Warden was forced into a contract with their leader, Vidar, and was placed in a 50 foot construct that proceeded to attack the Rebellion, and captured both Stonegit, and Yun, who had jumped timelines to warn the rebels of the upcoming danger, and began to siphon their life essences from them. Juro, from halfway across the world, fulfilling his duties as the shrine god for Hakata's Spring Festival, and avoiding confronting his internal struggle with Milae, noticed the Battle of the Jaw commencing unnaturally early and checked in through the Library out of curiosity. To his horror, he witnessed Yun in the belly of the construct, knowing that the seidkonur wasn't supposed to be anywhere near the Golden Timeline at all. Before he could stop himself, he immediately went back to Aidorin to launch a rescue.
He appeared right by the construct's hip, unable to teleport directly into the belly due to the surrounding anti-magic field technology, and began his dangerous climb up the mech's body. Yun spotted him and unknowingly screamed Jin's name, frightened out of his life. Juro, despite being threateningly close to endangering the lock, assured the young man with a lopsided grin that he would be alright, and proceeded to try and get him out with a borrowed meteor sword from the Library. However, before he could go very far with that endeavour, the construct, irritated by the many attacks it sustained from the rebels, initiated a stun command that rendered a majority of the Rebellion unmovable or unconscious, Juro and Yun included, who were right at the very heart of it. They released their grip on each other as they were heavily affected by the stun, and Juro fell, Roku's glasses broken on his face. He was caught mid-air by his golem, but the continuous emotional threat of his non-neutral actions, and now the effects of the stun, put a massive strain on his seal and placed several major chains in grave danger, notably the Bookkeepers for the Right, Royal, and Modern timelines, with the Emperor taking the heaviest brunt of it.
Thankfully, several rebels were able to fight against the stun, and a combination of attacks from Jari, the Changeling, Libulan, and Stonegit aggravated the construct enough and allowed it to self destruct. Both Juro and Akkey, who was also affected, were shaken out of their daze, to discover a massive ice spike through the center of the now destroyed construct. He dropped from Virion's grip, swiping the broken spectacles off his face, and reached the cage the same time Akkey did, but ignored her and Stonegit, and cared only for Yun, fearing the worst, but he was alive, although still not fully conscious, and badly injured. He carried him down to ground level, and with an odd, hard look on his face, proceeded to heal the seidkonur with the lowest level of magic that he could control with the help of his golem. Beginning to feel the weight of his decisions, he questioned Yun's reasoning for being in the Golden Timeline, who responded with his desire to help them. Once again, Juro found himself not in control of his actions, wrapping the young man in a quick embrace of gratitude before he knew it what he had done. He aggressively ignored this, pushing away all turmoil that began bubbling over within him, and met eyes with Milae, whom he hadn't seen in five months. The half breed had approached them from a distance in the aftermath of the battle, very curious and very confused about the entire situation. 
As the height of the battle came to a close and Vidar was taken away, rebels began to disperse and tend to their wounded. Juro, Milae, and Yun settled in an abandoned Conclave house to recover, especially the half breed whom he knew would worry more about others and forget about himself. With an inconspicuous shot of healing magic, he joined the mirrored souls as they caught each other up. Yun revealed that when Milae destroyed his seal, all the seidr that he had accumulated transferred over to Yun instead. Both Milae and Juro began realizing the horrible implications of the action, with Juro heavily regretting keeping the information to himself, as the shift of magic meant that Frigga would also switch her targets. It had been on Milae, but now it was unmistakably on Yun. This sent the Modern seidkonur into a panic, who figured that his best course of action was to hide in the Silent Timeline, but Milae disagreed. Twin souls began to argue, and it irritated Juro again into breaking his facade, which Yun quietly questioned, but forewent upon seeing Milae's reaction to it. Both ex-seidkonur and Bookkeeper managed to convince Yun that he would be safest in the Golden Timeline, although the youngest begged for a final visit to his timeline to see his Bookkeeper. Milae was hesitant, but Juro, who was doing internal checks on his chains, commented the lack of entries from Jin's timeline for two days. The half breed conceded, worried for Yun's friend, and let him go with a hug and a wish of safety. Juro also sent him off from a distance with a grin and a request for a story upon his return, but was attacked by a surprise hug from the younger man before he disappeared from the timeline.
As they recovered from the characteristic rush of blood, with Milae grinning at him very widely, they fell into a comfortable silence as the half breed rested and Juro caught up on entries, finding that there were blanks in his memory, having gotten involved. After some time he checked on Milae's well being, who was insistent that he was alright despite receiving some mental damage from the stun due to his connection with Yun. There was some stubborn back and forth between the two, but Juro finally dropped the subject, and approached the goat with many thoughts running through his mind. He apologized for his disappearance, especially after Milae's incarceration, and the half breed was undeniably upset, although he tried to hide it, having no desire to push all the blame on the Bookkeeper, for surely he had important reasons. This sent another wave of unwelcome emotion in Juro that he needed to bury quickly, as his internal war of protecting his seal versus his yearning for a friendship with the half breed began again in that moment. Milae carefully offered a guiding shoulder and a listening ear for whatever was bothering the Bookkeeper. Juro declined, but not before quietly asking for another opportunity to be asked again in the future, to which the half breed tenderly promised he would.
Juro was then called upon by Akkey and Lila. They were deciding on how to deal with the Conclave, whose soldiers still severely outnumbered the Rebellion, and could wipe them out once they regrouped again. They finally settled on a plan to make the soldiers surrender, or be sent to the depths of Tledah, should they decide to fight, by the Rebellion's teleportation team, consisting of six nixes and Juro. The Commander presented this ultimatum to the faction, with the leaders given no choice, and executed immediately, as a warning. Still, the Conclave were dissatisfied with their situation, and began breaking ranks. Akkey saw this and immediately implemented their plan, calling out the command of the first wave of teleportation to the team waiting high above the teeth for a better vantage point. Nixes began activating portals and sending hundreds of enemy soldiers to the bottom of the ocean, with Juro following suit. He called upon Virion, who warped into its 100 foot wide form, and descended upon at least 600 soldiers with its master on its back, controlling the teleportation with a sweep of his arm, and brought the Conclave to their watery demise. He kept his golem hovering above the crowds of soldiers as a threat to keep them in check while Lila reiterated their conditions. Finally, the Conclave slowly surrendered with Nala overseeing the process, and magically boosting the teleportation team along with the Changeling and the Arbiter.
It was slow going, but after half an hour or so the team finally managed to teleport all that needed to be take out of the Jaw. They met at ground level once again, where the Rebellion's main players had gathered. The demons unhooked their mental claws, receding their energy boosts, and it was then that extreme exhaustion hit the team, Juro included. While the Bookkeeper barely managed to stay conscious, he could no longer stand upright and fell to his knees. Milae, who had been watching, immediately came by his side to support him and bring him to one of the medical bays to rest. Milae and Dario fussed over him, but he refused to sleep, and stayed awake even longer than the couple did. He caught Akkey leaving only a mere two hours after everyone had settled, and reprimanded her lack of rest when even he was still feeling the fatigue, but the nix snapped back in fear, knowing that the longer she stayed at the Jaw, the worse it was for her mental space. He didn't press further, and she requested that he take her place in the portal train back to Haligan, promising a story in payment, but Juro waved it away, and uncharacteristically accepted the petition for free. Akkey thought it very odd, but took it and left.
After several hours of unwanted yet much needed rest, Juro escaped Milae and Dario's watchful eyes before breakfast, and began exploring the Jaw to catch up on bookkeeping that he had missed. He unknowingly came up to where the construct stood unfunctional, and he stopped short, mindfully observing the large technology, when he was shaken out of his thoughts by Yun, who had returned from the Modern Timeline. He asked of Jin's status, and the seidkonur replied that he was alright, but also, with a heavy, somber heart, wordlessly confessed that he knew everything of Juro's tragic past. Juro was at first horrified and numb to it, asking if it were the Modern Bookkeeper who divulged the information, to which Yun confirmed true, while shifting the blame away from the sniper, for it was his own nightmares that tipped the young man's curiosity off. It was then that Juro suddenly realized that he wasn't as upset as he was envious of Jin and his ability to be honest and close with his seidkonur, and silently wished the same for himself with Milae. He reassured Yun that it was alright, and he would still assist him in his fight against Frigga, and is amused by the young man's attempt to make it easier for the Bookkeeper and be less likeable. Yun confessed that the situation was immensely difficult for him, and while Juro promised that he didn't regret his actions at the construct, the time jumper could still feel the guilt weighing down on him, being very anxious with how he was out of place in the timeline. The Bookeeper then suggested, after some careful thought, for the exchange of a story from the Modern Timeline, he would help the young man blend in more easily. Yun perked up at this, and proceeded to tell the blonde about his first time meeting with his timeline's Nala during one of his work shifts. Juro listened attentively, recording his words with unnatural speed, before closing his journal and inviting the dark haired man into the Library. 
The Bookkeeper gifted a bundle of clothes for the seidkonur, very similar to what he wore, consisting of a green kimono, a tan hakama, a tasuki and several armour pieces, including arm bracers. Yun was extremely grateful, and automatically raised his arms for a hug, but stopped himself on time, and changed the subject, wryly noting the now better protection against the threat that hovered around him. Juro saw the awkward shift, but ignored it and returned with a suggestion to train with Milae, the one who would know the best about his powers. Yun also offered to break the news to the half breed regarding the lock, but Juro, although hesitant in his reply, ultimately declined, and chose to be the one to tell him instead, and the younger man accepted the decision. The Bookkeeper sent him on his way back to Aidorin, with the seidkonur mistakenly calling him by his modern counterpart's name. With Yun gone, Juro let himself fall to the ground and lose the facade again. The exchange had been an experiment on how well he would fare around the dark haired man, and by extension around Milae once again, and seeing that it had gone well enough, he pressed forward with grim determination, returning Fenrir's Jaw as well. 
=== The Fall of Helheim ===
The next day, Yun began his training with Milae, and Juro made it a point to be present and witness the session for the Library, sitting with Dario and recording everything he saw, from Yun's first handling of the borrowed staff, to the incredible materialization of Endurreisn, Milae's old naginata. He noticed the constant attention from Yun that also led to his unfortunate defeat, and while he didn't have a clear conclusion, he could wager a guess that it had something to do with him and his secrets. Still, the spar ended in good spirits.
A couple of days later, he crossed paths with the Commander Lila, and he greeted her with familiarity, but she didn't remember him, despite he being the one she was searching for. He took it in stride, and discovered that she wanted to thank him for his assistance during the battle with the construct. Juro sidestepped the expression of gratitude, however, convincing himself that he had no intentions of helping the Rebellion, but Lila insisted that he was an asset. Still, she questioned his reasoning for his actions, and this made him even more wary. He used his position as a Helheim Agent as an explanation, to which the commander demanded his alliance, but again he gave her no straight answers, as the Rebellion was not the goddess' only domain. Lila finally conceded, and upon further interview, learned that Juro would be a valuable informant, in exchange for more stories of her own. She thought his barter system to be idiotic, but he returned the insult with an exasperating, unaffected grin. She instructed him to liaison all information to her siblings, growing ever more annoyed with the Bookkeeper's non commital attitude, and they parted ways.
Juro arrived at Haligan the next morning with Dario and Vox, who had requested a portal to the island for some business they had with Treepelt Halfpaw, in which the Bookkeeper happily obliged at the prospect of a new story. Dario jokingly asked that Milae be contacted should anything go wrong in attempt to lighten the mood, and Juro accepted the petition cheerily, already distracted by the venture before them. They were let in the cat half breed's house, and were about to settle into the conversation, but Tree demanded that Juro leave, whom she saw as a stranger with no business in their lives. He relented and left with a self assured smile, for he had his ways of eavesdropping, leaving a pinprick portal at the keyhole for their voices to travel through to where he situated himself on a rooftop a few houses down. And thus Dario's heavy confession began, revealing the events of the ten years he and the scout were away, and the truth behind his past, his memories, and abilities. Juro wrote quietly from his hiding spot, serious as he learned more of the deer half breed, whom the Library curiously didn't have much information on. The exchange finished on a somber yet satisfied note, and Dario left to give the couple some privacy. The Bookkeeper quickly got up to follow him, but not before experiencing a jarring, intense vision of a negative, starry darkness around him. It was fleeting, however, and he dismissed it as that, and hurried after the deer half breed, who had already disappeared from sight.
While searching for Dario, he came upon a ferret half breed named Blair, who was laying on the snowy ground, bleeding from several nasty gashes on his face. Juro helped him up, albeit somewhat flirtingly in response to the ferret's coyness, and probed for the man's identity and the events that surrounded his state. They exchanged teasing banter, until Blair finally revealed that his injuries were due to Sylar, the hawk half breed whom Juro recognized from the tale that Dario had just told, and that he was on Haligan and had taken the deer somewhere else. The Bookkeeper immediately lost his playfulness, feeling his stomach drop at the danger that had appeared. He activated a portal to send a note to Milae to bring him to Haligan, all the while reasoning with himself and finding loopholes in the favours and stories that had just occurred to justify his current actions. With the message delivered, he pulled Blair along, and urgently began searching for Dario.
It was a short while before Virion found Milae and brought him right beside where Juro stood, following tracks in the snow, and he saw the half breed radiating the most fury and murderous intent he had ever seen him. Before they could continue their search, they heard a wild yell that was unmistakably Dario, and they ran for the source of the sound, and came upon an alley by an abandoned house where hawk and deer were well within their fight. Milae roared Dario's name, and joined the fray, desperate to protect his love. Juro and Blair could only watch from the sides, the former struggling immensely to maintain his neutrality and keep to his Bookkeeper's code. The battle kept escalating, with Sylar continuously beating both deer and goat down, until he attacked Milae enough to bring Dario into a blind rage. The tall half breed proceeded to beat the hawk mercilessly with fire, unaware the damage it was doing to his own hands, and the life that it pulverized out of his enemy. Milae struggled to his feet and attempted to stop his overkill with a hoof on his back, but Dario remained oblivious to his surroundings, whirling around and striking the goat straight to the side of his face, sending him flying many meters. It thankfully brought Dario out of his daze as he ran for his partner in guilt and fear to check on him, and Milae reassured him he was alright. But Juro witnessed the entire altercation. Again, the lock was close to being threatened, the Bookkeeper now caught in between the ultimatum of help versus harm and complete neutrality, as his wants and needs warred with each other. In attempt to balance it out, he 
=== Torn Destinies ===
=== New Beginnings ===
== Legacy ==
Juro has Friends now ;w; Milae is honourary Bookkeeper waaaaaaaa
== Relationships ==
===Yun Milae===
platonic soulmate. best friend. will die for him.
=== Dario Hjort ===
family. want to impress. will protecc 5ever.
===Yun===
chaotic magical buddy. dont leave them alone for more than two minutes.
===Akkey Black===
co worker. will tease. kept a lot of secrets from her since the beginning. slowly beginning to change that.
===Lila Ericson===
frenemies for life.
=== The Bookkeepers ===
all of his alternate selves. has distinguished relationships with each of them.
== Trivia ==
* Juro began as an experimental and self indulgent character, inspired by a third person POV One Piece ZoSan fanfiction. His main purpose was to be a muse that remained strictly on the sidelines, his concept of "neutral record keeper of time" being based on D.Grayman's Lavi and the Bookmen, but has since diverged drastically the more his backstory was developed.
*Many of his characteristics are inspired by several people, including BTS' Kim Taehyung, D. Grayman's Lavi, Kyoukai no Kanata's Nase Hiroomi and Akihito Kanbara, Tsubasa Reservoir Chronicles' Fai D. Flowright, and even the Japanese lucky god Jurojin.
*Juro actually had perfect vision, choosing to wear Roku's glasses as a tribute to him instead. He no longer uses them after they broke, although now his sight in his right eye has ironically been affected by Eir's essence.
*His real name is Shou Lao Jin, but it held too many bad memories, so he changed it to Juro to remember his mentor. He still goes by Juro after the defeat of Frigga, but he is less evasive of the name now.
*Most of his alternate selves' names are iterations of the kanji characters 寿老人 (Jurojin). Notable changes are 寿 being read as Kotobuki instead of "ju", and "jurojin" translated into "shou lao ren". All these variations mean "long life" or "longevity".
*Juro's character and aesthetic is inspired by Chinese and Japanese culture, especially during the Heian period where there was a large overlap between the nations, and the Taisho period, particularly its fashion.
Category:Akkeyroomi