Zen Nagai

**Zen Nagai** (長禅, *Nagai Zen*) is a ghoul, currently residing in the 15th Ward. He works at Kamii University as a math tutor for a little extra cash. He is known to the CCG as **Needle** (針, *Hari*).

## Appearance

Zen isn’t particularly tall, even more towards the short side at 5’6’’ and around 130 lbs. This is only the start of his troublesome appearance though, since he also has straight blond hair that tumbles down between his shoulder blades and ends about halfway down his back. His bangs fall past his cheeks as well, and added with the fact that he has delicate-looking grass green eyes and eyelashes, he has been mistaken for a girl almost as many times as people have recognized him as a guy.

## Personality

Zen is very self-centered. He is his own world, and he always comes first no matter what. Because of his way of thinking, he doesn't get along with many people and is a little awkward around them. He normally keeps his mouth shut around strangers, or if he needs to say something then its right to the point and no non-sense. He finds sarcasm a waste of time and it's pretty much lost on him, as he takes things people say very literally. He always prefers the independent way of doing things, and will rarely ask for someones assistance even if he really needs it.

## History

Zen grew up living with his mother and father, and even from a young age they always told him that he was his best care-taker. They kept saying that he needed to always take care of himself, and make sure that he had everything he needed to survive. At first, he didn't know what they meant since his parents were the two most important people in his world. As he grew older though, his mind changed and he began believing them in what they said about him. So when the CCG appeared at his home after an anonymous tip from a neighbor, Zen did the only logical thing to him. He fled the house without a backwards glance, and took refuge in a nearby ward. Later he would see a newspaper detailing that his mother and father had been captured and sent to Cochlea, but there was nothing in the newspaper about him. He wondered if maybe his parents hadn't told the investigators anything about him, but that didn't make sense to him since they might get a lighter sentence if they gave up any info on their son. Regardless, Zen moved far away from his home ward and settled in the 15th ward, where he did any odd job he could find until he was able to rent out a small place in an apartment complex and provide for himself. He quickly gained the knack for hunting for his food, but he wasn't dumb enough to go out eating too often. That would put him at risk, after all. Eventually he manged to get a position at Kamii university as a paid tutor, and the steady income was too good to pass up so he accepted.

## Powers and Abilities

**High strength:** Due to wanting to keep himself in top form, he regularly exercises and as such is quite strong because of it, even for a ghoul. As he ranks up, so does his strength.

**High Regeneration:** Being a Rinkaku ghoul, Zen has fantastic regeneration abilities. Normal blows don't phase him, and even major stabs and such are recovered after either a couple hours or a good meal. As he ranks up, so do his regeneration abilities.

**Basic Hand-To-Hand:** After being forced to live on his own, Zen had to learn to fend for himself. Either hunting for food or defending himself from those who would attack him, he quickly picked up his own street-fighting style. Although, he tends to focus less on defense since he just regenerated most blows made against him by regular weapons.

**Combat:**

**Strengths:** Zen's main strengths are his strength and regenerative abilities, so he focuses mostly around those when he fights. He mostly tries to overpower his opponents, or might intentionally take a hit if he knows he can regenerate it back if it puts him in an advantageous position.
**Weaknesses:** Since he hasn't really seen a need to, Zen hasn't really learned much on how to dodge. If he needs to defend himself, it's mostly been blocking the strike or redirecting it if he could. He's also not that fast, a little below average for a ghoul.
## Kagune

**Type:** Rinkaku

**Appearance:** Can have up to six tentacles at any time, and can control how many he has out at once. Each tendril is only about half as thick as a normal Rinkaku tentacle though, but he can bind them together if needed to create a thicker tentacle.

**Strengths:** Due to their relative thinness, their piercing power is increased. They can also move a little faster and be used more often than normal, since there is less overall weight.

**Weaknesses:** Since his tendrils are thinner than normal, they are more easily severed. He would need about two of his tendrils wrapped together to equal a normal Rinkaku's thickness.

**Mechanics:** In blocking or attacking, he can increase the weight and strength of his individual tendrils by twirling them together. This also makes it more difficult to sever than if they were on their own.

## Threads

 Drinking Away Their Sorrows | Private RP
 A New Kind of Job | Private RP
 Whispers in the Night | Private RP
 Dangerous After Dark | Public RP

## Relationships

 Evan Fitzroy
 Tadashi Hisakawa
 Kurosawa Hideyoshi

## Trivia

* Dislikes Sarcasm
* Hates being mistaken for a girl
* ~~Despite disliking it, he doesn't do anything to stop the confusion surrounding his gender.~~