Yatsu Kuro

GSDF (Former)

**Kuro** Yatsu (八津 **九郎**) is a recurring minor character in multiple Taimanin games and the OVA.

He is the older brother of Murasaki, he is blind, but it doesn’t hinder his abilities as a Taimanin veteran. Having the same skill as Murasaki, he is near immortal.

Kuro is known as a late bloomer and "captain" Asagi's right hand-man.

## Personality

Kuro is an intelligent, confident and careful veteran, which will use very unorthodox tactics from time to time. He loves his sister Murasaki and is protective and supportive, both share a solid family bond, and he does try to come to her rescue or save her from even minor embarrassment. He gets really serious in these cases and will not stop until his sister is safe.

Mostly down to business but able to make a joke and bend the rules if needed and also smirk even when against the wall. Cares deeply for his fellow Taimanin and the fight for justice, but given his larger experience in other groups knows more about the dark side than others and would cooperate, even with demons, to save his teammates. Never gave up on his dream to become a Taimanin, even working with the GSDF until his Ninja Art awoke.

Aside from being a bit of a cynic who complains a lot jokingly, he is a reliable ally who is different from the other Taimanin.

### Relationships

 Sabato | In the games Sabato tried to have a good relationship with Kuro, as he is the brother of her beloved Murasaki.
 Asagi | Both have been partners on many missions. Asagi trusts him fully and both are able to work together without words. Kuro is seen as the right hand man of Asagi when her sister isn't there.

## Appearance

A tall, bold man in his late 20s or 30. He always wears his signature sunglasses.

He wears a dark brown or black bodysuit. Furthermore, he is never seen without his black round sunglasses, these are only to cover his blind eyes.

## History

Kuro is a veteran Taimanin and long time friend/subordinate to the Igawa Asagi and the Igawa clan, like most members of the Yatsu clan. He is also Murasaki's older biological brother but was could not become a Taimanin of Gosha when he was young, as his Ninja Art, did not awaken. Forced to leave Gosha, Kuro remained active in his fight against demons and joined the GSDF, under the "Taimanin Ranger" corp. A group of people that could use at least a small amount of Taima Particles and were assisted with additional weapons in their fight against demons.

While in combat Kuro lost his eyes, against a foe he faced, but as a result of the stress and will to keep fighting, his Taimanin Art awoke, the same ability that his sister had, which enabled his body to heal indefinitely except for his eyes. Discharged from his former ranger corp after losing both his eyes, he rejoined the Taimanin and assisted Igawa Asagi on many battles. As he was very reliable and capable, he became her partner and second hand in her squad. Depending on the canon nature of the Igawa Revolt, he was also one of the people that assisted Asagi together with Mizuki Shiranui early on.

Kuro became known to be a late bloomer, which rose to the top. As such, he is seen as an inspiration for many Taimanin, that have not awoken themselves, which includes Akiyama Tatsuro and Sawaki Kosuke.

First introduced in the game Taimanin Asagi 2, investigating the connection of Dragon Gate and disappearance of three male Taimanins. Early on in his investigation, he worked with Section Two and learned about Dragon Gate Capital connection to the Chinese Union.

Kuro is separated from the Asagi and Sakura squad, after the bridge between Tokyo and Tokyo Kingdom City is destroyed. Being confronted by a demon called Sokushitsuki which fought against Asagi first, he defeats him, but victory is short, since Edwin Black was hiding inside that demon in order to take over Kuro's body. Using the body of Kuro to heal himself, and invade Dragon Gate to steal research data, Black left Kuro's body behind after he was done. Kuro returned to the now weak, Asagi and Sakura. That defeated Dragon Gate's clone Oboro and bioweapon Saya, in the meantime, and was able to organize a rescue team for Sakura's serious injuries, saving her life. His sister, is mentioned in the bad ending, as part of a rescue team together with Uehara Rin but he, like the other Taimanin has been cloned already.

In Taimanin Murasaki, he is only mentioned by his sister, which takes a more center stage fighting with Kiryu Sabato in that game, but in the OVA his role is much bigger.

Kuro appears again in Taimanin Asagi Tanned Skin on the phone. Checking on Asagi, Sakura and Murasaki, which were forced to take a vacation because their abilities became blocked for some time. He informed them about the danger of Booker Walls, as he suspected he would try something. However, the group already defeated Booker at that point, so he just praised their abilities after hearing this.

He gave a protective charm to his sister Murasaki, which Murasaki lent to Akiyama Tatsuro, which lost it instantly in a forced trade with Kiryu Sabato. However, because of the forced trade, the true ending of Taimanin Yukikaze 2 is possible. Kuro does get some additional information in TY2 and TA3, in which he is currently on oversea missions.

### Timeline TABA

He and his sister are tricked by Kiryu Sabato. Kuro is convinced to seal off the doors of a place to protect his sister. While she herself is under an illusion spell that convinced her to wear a wedding dress to marry Asagi, a plan that as silly as it sounds also was just a way to get pictures of Murasaki in a wedding dress. Kuro arrives after these events to confiscate and destroy all images made by Sabato, but luckily for, Sabato never learns that sealing the door was also part of the plan.

### Timeline RPGX

In Taimanin RPGX, he, together with Mizuki Shiranui, saved Asagi from the assassination plot of the Igawa Revolt. Also helping in the organization of the counter-attack.

## Additional Material

* Kuro appears in the Hell Knight Ingrid OVA, but not in his original game. Trying to find his sister, he attacks and beats up a number of demons for information about Dragon Gate. He gets cornered by two very strong demons and is saved by Edwin Black in a human child form, both team up off-screen to find Ingrid and Murasaki. While near the end Black is confronted by a dog demon creation called of Kiryuu Sabato, Kuro cuts open the "Nabelius"from the inside having been eaten by it off-screen, defeats some demons with Murasaki and flees the scene with her.
* Featured in Taimanin Asagi: The Dark Game, in which he together with a teammate takes out Nomad bases, while Asagi fights in the Chaos Arena. He does not appear in the manga, but in the Light Novel version arrives in the arena when Asagi and Sakura defeat Oboro and require help to escape.

## Powers/Abilities

**Main weapon**: Jack-knife and submachine gun. (RPGX: Large Axe)

* **Ninja Art**: "**Immortality Awakening**", he, like Murasaki, can heal with a superhuman rate unless his brain or heart get damaged or through workings of demon technology/magic. For the most part, he can heal every injury within seconds or minutes and can fight with no restrain on his muscles, giving him super human strength.
* **Super Sixth Sense**: Is able to use his other senses to compensate for his blindness and has higher awareness
* **Particle Control**: Taimanin are able to manipulate Taima Particles to enhance their physical strength, speed and defense. The particles are also used to counter demonic influences and strengthen damage to demons.

## Media

* Taimanin Asagi 2
* Taimanin Asagi Tanned Skin
* Taimanin Yukikaze 2 (mention)
* Taimanin Asagi Battle Arena
* Taimanin RPGX
* Action Taimanin (mention)
* Hell Knight Ingrid (OVA)
* Taimanin Asagi: The Dark Game (The Comic)

## Trivia

* Kuro is blind, and lost his eyesight before his Ninja Art awoke. This seems to be kinda a missing detail in the OVA.
* In TABA, he destroyed photographs that Kiryu Sabato made of Murasaki in a wedding dress, thinking they would be most likely be indecent.
* He is one of the strongest male Taimanin in the series. He is seen as an inspiration for unawoken or weaker Taimanin like Akiyama Tatsuro or Sawaki Kosuke.
* Though he is the brother of Murasaki and is mentioned by her often, they almost never share screen-time in the games. In Taimanin Asagi 2, Kuro does appear but both Yatsu Murasaki and Uehara Rin are only mentioned in the bad ending, as part of the rescue party. In Taimanin Murasaki, things are reverted, with Murasaki being around but not Kuro. In other games like Taimanin Yukikaze 2, he is mentioned by Murasaki to be on a mission and the same seems to be true for TA3. Funny enough, he appears the most in the OVA Hell Knight Ingrid, which is a rewritten version of Taimanin Murasaki. In TABA, both appear in the same mission but never enter the same room, Kuro just makes sure his sister will be fine behind the scenes.
* It said he can perceive his surroundings, with more detail and color, than he can with his eyes.
* He gave Murasaki a pendant for protection, but this one has been now lost to Kiryu Sabato. As it was lent to Tatsuro just to be force traded. This tiny trade made the happy ending of TY2 possible.
* Though he appeared in the OVA of Taimanin Murasaki (Hell Knight Ingrid), he does not in the game, being more important in Taimanin Asagi 2. The fact that him and Black worked together, is somewhat hinted, but "body possession" doesn't really count as full cooperation as in the OVA.
* His young artwork was done by Rabidhowl.
* As Kuro has been active for such a long time, even as a soldier of the GSDF he would be one of the few characters that had some encounters during the Peninsula Conflict.

## Quotes

**Yatsu Kuro**: "*My, you look dazzling. It appears the Captain has taken a shady job.*"
**Asagi**: "*Thank you. That shaved head of yours just keeps getting increasingly enchanting.*"
**Yatsu Kuro**: "*Well, that's because I never miss trimming it.*"
— Asagi and Kuro, light chit-chat before the mission briefing in TA2.[src]

## Gallery

Defending Yatsu MurasakiYoung in Taimanin RPGXDefeated SokushitsukiFighting two Beastman at onceMangaRescue of Igawa Sakura and Igawa Asagi, Kaliya and Oboro escape