Takeshi Hayate

**Takeshi Hayate (疾風 武志), the Sengoku Era Wind Hashira.**

## **Appearance:**

Takeshi is a tall, muscular man with long, wavy black hair that was tinged with green and had a few white streaks in it. He has wide, greenish eyes. He has two diagonal scars on his chest that form an X. Presumably acquired in a fight with a demon. Aside from that, he also has a few smaller scars on his face.

He wore a dark green haori, kept open to show off his muscles, as that was something he was incredibly proud of.

## **Personality:**

Takeshi was abrasive, hot-blooded, stoic, and stubborn, often impulsive and quick to lash out, start, or get into fights. He was often indifferent towards others and could get mad extremely easily. He harbored a deep hatred toward demons and was convinced that humans and demons can never coexist. When Takeshi made up his mind about something, it was extremely difficult to dissuade him. Despite his cold, rude, and dismissive behavior, Takeshi had good intentions and meant well in reality. Unfortunately, his ability to present his good intentions was burned to ashes over the years by his omnipresent rage.

## **Background:**

A lone wolf at heart, Takeshi was born in a small farming village. With no parents around to properly raise him, Takeshi developed a fiery temper that made him known in the village. It was clear that the young hothead was not good with other humans, but he did take a liking to the animals on the farm, spending a good amount of time every day caring for them. To the other villagers, Takeshi was just a weird kid that seemed more animal than human.

Unfortunately, when Takeshi was 10, his farm was attacked by a feral demon, who killed nearly all of the livestock and a few villagers in the village before it was chased away by a group of demon slayers. Takeshi could not care less about the villagers who were killed but was broken and enraged at the carnage the demon inflicted on the animals he liked so much. This started his lifelong resentment of demons.

5 years later, the samurai lord to whom his village belonged decided to go to war. Conscription was induced in his village. To most farmers, going on a campaign with the promise of loot was a preferable alternative to the backbreaking work of planting rice. A lot of young men signed up, but not Takeshi. He could not care less about some war for which he was too young anyway. But that did not seem to matter to the conscription enforcers. Takeshi had no choice but to flee the village to avoid punishment for draft dodging.

After a while of being on the run and committing some petty crimes, Takeshi came into the proximity of what seemed to resemble a sword-fighting dojo and immediately got into a fight with a swordsman standing guard at the entrance. The swordsman eventually subdued him and took him to the dojo master, someone called Master **Arashi Sato (佐藤 嵐).** The swordsman who took him there asked him why they should harbor a draft-dodger of all people, but master Arashi just sent him away. Takeshi vented about why he should risk his neck for anyone if no one has done it for him. Master Arashi told him that by harboring a draft-dodger and a petty criminal, he was risking his neck for him. He even allowed him to leave his dojo if Takeshi could make it to the exit without him stopping him. Takeshi immediately dashed for the exit but was surprisingly stopped by the old master. Master Arashi then said that he may stay if he wished to learn. Having nowhere else to go, Takeshi decided to stay.

Master Arashi was a retired demon slayer. He had been in this game for a long time, and he got out alive. Now he spent his remaining days training a new generation of demon slayers in his dojo. He saw much skill and potential in Takeshi but told him that he must develop the first to fulfill the second. Takeshi trained rigorously every day, fueled by his fury against demons. He quickly surpassed many of the other swordsmen at the dojo and started showing that potential master Arashi saw in him. At the same time, Takeshi learned to control his rage through discipline. At the final selections, he unleashed all his rage and indomitable fighting power against the demons, effectively becoming a killing machine.

Even though he had the rage and was an incredible fighter, Takeshi never managed to master the hereditary skill master Arashi taught all his students: the **Whirlwind Iron-cutting slash.** Takeshi tried again and again but failed again and again. Master Arashi told him that he had the power in him, but he had to locate and find it. He advised Takeshi to find this power in battle.

After he became a demon slayer, Takeshi's slaughter never stopped. Everywhere he went were the cries and screams of demons. But he never found his power, and instead was slowly getting lost in that rage. When Takeshi returned to his master empty-handed, he found out that the dojo had been attacked. Many fellow students had been slaughtered. His dying master told him that a former student of his who has disgraced the dojo and was exiled did this for revenge. After burying his master, Takeshi embarked on a quest to avenge his master.

Without his master's guidance, Takeshi's rage could not be controlled. Whereas other warriors fought with a clear and calm mind, he fought with an all-consuming fury. This made him a target of the Oyakata-sama's observation. When Takeshi was 19, he was summoned to the Demon Slayer HQ, where Yoriichi Tsugikuni was demonstrating his breathing techniques at the request of the Oyakata-sama. Yoriichi then began teaching his breathing style to other demon slayers. Takeshi was unable to master it, so Yoriichi taught him a modified style that focused on purely offensive attacks, most of which utilized rotating movements to generate swift whirlwind-like slashes that greatly increase the wielder's striking range. This style perfectly suited Takeshi, and he named it after his master. Thus, Wind Breathing was born. Soon, Takeshi was appointed Wind Hashira and set the example for all future Wind Hashira.

## **Trivia:**

* Takeshi's surname means "rapid wind, storm" (疾風 *Hayate*). His given name contains the kanji for "warrior" (武 *take*) and "resolve" (志 *shi*).
* The only one in whose presence he could control his rage and show some respect was the Oyakata-sama.
* Takeshi once questioned the Oyakata-sama if he knew what it was like to embark on a path, only to find it so completely twisted and turned that he did not even know where he was. The Oyakata-sama replied that sadly, he did.
* Takeshi always kept his uniform open, as he is proud of his muscles.
* Takeshi's personality was the polar opposite of the Yūsuke Mizuhara, the Water Hashira of the time. That led to them hating each other.
* Takeshi owns a rabbit.

## **Takeshi viewed the other Hashira as follows:**

* *"She's alright, I guess. I got into an argument about medicine with her once."* - about the Flower Hashira.
* *"I don't know anything about him since I rarely see him."* - about the Shadow Hashira.
* *"She's alright, but hard to deal with. I got into an argument about birds with her once."* - about the Phoenix Hashira.
* *"He's respectable. I got into a discussion about the Buddha and enlightenment with him once."* - about the Stone Hashira.
* *"He's punchable. Everything about him is punchable. I've gotten into so many fights with him."* - about the Water Hashira.
* *"He's respectable. I got into an argument about his hair with him once."* - about the Flame Hashira.
* *"He's alright. I got into an argument about his forgetfulness with him once, but he forgot who I was."* - about the Mist Hashira.
* "He's shameful. I got into an argument about women with him once." - about the Thunder Hashira.
* *"About the only decent fellow in the corps. He is a good friend that I often train with."* - about Michikatsu Tsugikuni.
* *"He's like the Water Hashira, but better, I guess."* - about Yoriichi Tsugikuni.