The Syndicate - Kai Isurugi

Kai's faceclaim

## History

Kai’s family is unique among many reasons. For one, they are a family of swordsmen and swordswomen. They’ve trained in a unique style of swordsmanship that blends Iaido and Kendo into a powerful, straightforward style with plenty of room for personalization. This Seven-fold Blade Art is based on seven distinct sword swinging techniques, with additional techniques built upon these basic strikes. The Isurugi Family also wields a unique energy known as “Origium,” though it is separate from the main universal energy of this reality. Through a pair of legendary Origium Blades, the Isurugis wield this unique energy in a wild dance of sword slashes and high-speed combat.

While the Origium Blades and all of its related techniques are passed on in secrecy to the next Isurugi generation, the Isurugi Seven-fold Blade Arts are publicly taught at a dojo. Many choose to specialize in one of the seven strikes and build their own fighting style around that, but Kai is adept at all seven strikes. When Kai and his older brother Jin received the Origium Blades, Jin proposed a duel to test their might. Kai accepted, and the two engaged in some simple sparring, or so Kai thought. What Jin really wanted was both Origium Blades, and he would kill his own brother to take it. For an undisclosed amount of time, Jin has been working with a rogue faction within the underground Syndicate, and he needs both Origium Blades to unlock their secrets and achieve immense power. When Kai learned of this through their duel, he grew disgusted with his brother and began fighting to the death rather than a simple spar. Their parents tried to separate them, but Jin murdered mother and father in cold blood, pointing his blood-covered sword at Kai saying "You're next."

Horrified, Kai ran away and began living as a vagabond, training with his sword as the only way of remembering his parents. As he grew up on the streets, he began using his skills as an assassin. He would earn the moniker “Seven” for swinging his sword only seven times to defeat an opponent, and for the seven silver stripes on his makeshift armor. This armor he scraped together was made of incoherent bits and pieces, offering him meager protection and storage for his sword while he trained to enhance his speed through Origium energy. It was around this time that the Syndicates took notice of him, sending one of their agents to watch his progress to see if he would be worthy of joining their ranks.

## Personality

Kai is a serious, ruthless individual who stops at nothing to finish his mission. He’ll make any sacrifice he needs to get the job done, and he’ll do so in a manner that leaves him as intact as possible. To keep others out of danger, Kai works alone and prefers to be alone. If forced to work with other people, he does prioritize others’ lives over his own. Kai seldom talks about his own past and family, lest he bring back the trauma he endured at a young age. Even if it seems like he doesn’t care about anyone, he does have people’s best interests at heart. He isolates himself to keep others safe, especially in his line of work.

## Powers/Abilities

* **Origium Energy Manipulation** - The Isurugi Family is adept at manipulating an unknown energy named “Origium” through the use of a specific pair of swords. Kai received the Crimson Origium Blade, which he wields with an Origium coating to enhance its cutting power; he can also direct Origium to flow through his body for enhanced speed and/or strength. It can be projected as an energy slash, or fired as an energy beam after shifting his arms into a certain position. Any and all powers derived from Origium require Kai to have one of the Origium Blades on his person to use.
	+ **Origium Ray** (オリジウム光線, *Orijiumu Kōsen*) - By crossing his arms with his left arm aligned horizontally in front of his vertical right arm in a +-shape, Kai can channel the Origium energy into a powerful energy beam. His suit's gauntlets are designed to focus the Origium Ray's energy once the arms have been aligned.
	+ **Sub Energy Manipulation** - Kai’s body can harness other energies derived from Origium, allowing him to use the powers of his ancestors and merge them with other energies to create something that better suits Kai’s fighting style. As of right now, he cannot use this power since he has yet to understand the truth of Origium energy itself.

* **Seven-fold Blade Arts: Seven Slugger Strikes** - Kai’s variation of the Seven-fold Blade Art focuses more on the Iaido side of the sword style. He strikes hard and fast, blitzing his foes with quick, precise strikes at high speeds. More often than not, Kai uses each basic strike in the Blade Arts in tandem with his speed to quickly end confrontations. Rarely does he ever get to show off his true swordsmanship. When he does, he fights without any hesitation. Each strike has a purpose, no movement is wasted. He can go on the defensive if need be, allowing his enemies to become overconfident in themselves before quickly and brutally turning the tables against them and winning. The “Seven Slugger Strikes” are actually Kai’s signature sword strikes, powerful enough to end a confrontation with just these seven attacks chained together. These Seven Slugger Strikes are the foundation of the Seven-fold Blade Arts, though Kai has turned them into lethal strikes.
	+ **Slugger 1: Helm Splitter** - A powerful overhead strike, perfect for beginning a combo.
	+ **Slugger 2: X-Down** - Two downward diagonal slashes, starting from Kai’s upper right to lower left, then from his upper left to lower right.
	+ **Slugger 3: X-Up** - An inverse of the previous move, featuring two upward diagonal slashes performed with a reverse grip starting from Kai’s lower right to upper left, then lower left to upper right.
	+ **Slugger 4: Twin Horizontal** - A double horizontal slash performed with a reverse grip, the first from the right followed by another to the left.
	+ **Slugger 5: Piercer** - A rapid barrage of stabs at breakneck speeds followed by one final thrust.
	+ **Slugger 6: Crucifix** - A downward vertical slash immediately followed by a leftward horizontal slash.
	+ **Slugger 7: Judgement** - The final strike of Kai’s style. It’s a rapid barrage of high-speed sword slashes too fast for the eye to perceive.

## Equipment

* **Crimson Origium Blade**: **Ketsueki** (血液, ***Ketsueki*** lit. Blood) - Kai’s signature weapon: a straight-bladed katana lacking a proper hand-guard. It has a dark red blade with a black hilt wrapping. Aside from providing Kai with access to Origium Energy, it also bears the will and power of an unknown powerful entity, reflecting its desire to protect others and help those who cannot help themselves.
* **Artificial Origium Blade**: **Zero Slugger** - After joining with the Syndicate, he commissioned the creation of the Zero Slugger, an artificial Origium Blade prototype using advanced technology to improve its cutting ability. The weapon is lightweight despite being made of ultra-durable, ultra-sharp alloy. It’s held in a metallic sheath that channels Kai’s Origium energy into enhancing the sword’s cutting edge, drawing from Ketsueki's power to do so.
* **Crest Slasher** - Initially, they were just a set of throwing knives Kai had purchased from somewhere. When he joined the Syndicate, he requested a custom set of knives using the same alloy and Origium energy sharpening technology used in the artificial Origium Blade. These new Slugger Knives are stylized Kukri knives resembling demonic horns. Kai carries six pairs of these new Slugger Knives on him at all times; three pairs holstered in the segmented thigh armor, one pair sheathed in his gauntlets, and one pair sheathed on each of his boots.

### Motorcycles

Kai owns two motorcycles as his personal mode of transport.

    The first bike, shown above, is an abandoned police-issue sports bike he repurposed after finding it in a junkyard. He’s had it retuned to his specifications, with some Origium energy conduits of his own designed installed for speed boosts. Sadly, the bike’s frame is strong enough to withstand the speed boost for long, and will break once it exceeds a certain speed limit.
The second bike, shown below, is the bike he created after joining the Syndicate. It features a completely custom frame with shifting panels and enhanced Origium Speed Conduits.

    It can move faster, receive greater Speed boosts, and maneuver through areas with extreme finesse. The back of the seat hides a stronger Origium booster for even more speed, using its own pre-charged Origium supply. The shifting panels allow for air-braking and increased maneuverability, and they can hide extra Slugger Knives if desired.

### Suits

#### Proto Suit

Kai’s first suit, made mostly of miscellaneous armor scraps cobbled together. It features segmented armor plating on its thighs, shoulders, and upper arms. Armored gauntlets and knee-high boots protect his hands and feet while in combat, with a thin red undersuit made of an unknown spandex-like material infused with Origium energy to increase its durability and flexibility. The helmet features a set of glasses hidden under its visor, with an integrated HUD system measuring the suit’s power output, durability, and Kai’s current speed. Its belt features a place for holding Kai’s Zero Blade on its waist, and its core is optimized for enhancing Kai’s speed and strength. It’s fairly primitive and does what Kai needs it to: protect and enhance.

#### Zero Suit Ver. 1

Kai extensively upgraded his suit after joining the Syndicate, using its massive pool of immense resources to essentially recreate his suit from scratch. Its red undersuit is now made of a flexible, metallic alloy with major design refinement, streamlining, and updates. Its arms are covered in a thin, lightweight blue armor with silver segmented shoulder armor. Its legs feature red armor and segmented thigh armor, with black armor on the sides of the torso and silver chest armor. A small hexagonal core on the suit’s chest plate glows when the suit has power, and will flash red if the suit’s running low on power.

The alloy used in his new sword is also featured throughout the Zero suit as well, providing increased defenses and enhancing Kai’s strength and superspeed. The helmet from the prototype suit has been refined, with the visor and glasses becoming a single component. When Kai removes the visor from the helmet, the top half of the mask and mouthplate retracts to reveal his face. The visor features an updated HUD, retaining its previous information displays in addition to weapons’ statuses and a streamlined design.

Like its previous iteration, this suit’s core is dedicated to enhancing Kai’s strength and speed. After submitting himself to multiple different tests to the Syndicate, Kai upgraded his suit again to better channel his Origium energy. The gauntlets have been redesigned to feature hidden ports that allow Kai to fire a more focused and powerful Origium Ray. Energy conduits throughout the suit channel the Origium energy into further enhancing his speed and strength.