Yamato 'Shoto' Katsuki-san

## Origin

As a member of the Yamato clan in Hokkaido, Katsuki is 33rd in line for the Chrysanthemum throne, which in realistic terms means nearly nothing - a fact about which his father seems to be in denial.

The Father: Yamato ' Hakuhito' Touma is a locally renowned ice-wielding mutant in the Japanese island of Hokkaido. Taking the codename Haku, after one of the three Sacred Mountains of Japan, and the honorary 'hito' in recognition of his (albeit distant) connection to the Imperial family - a moniker that would normally be scorned as hubris - but given his acts of heroism and the relatively positive impression he has stage-managed for himself has as-yet brought no dishonour, the name has not been officially rejected. The man claims his power is not mutation, but a sign from the Kami confirming his imperial lineage so that he 'can only dream of being equal to the great Emperors' in all that he does. Despite the spin, public perception is a tenuous thing, even amongst the devout and the royalists. As such, his status is something like the Xavier Institute in miniature - a neutral territory unto himself that (currently) would be too much bad PR to just haul off the streets into a mutant detention facility, especially given his family name. Likely, the throne's offices are watching him very closely.

The Mother: Yamato Setsuko is (secretly) a fire-wielding mutant and (publicly) the heiress of the Nemuro distillery in Hokkaido, a brewer of whisky and sake. She was 'chosen' by Touma to be his wife so that, Kami willing, their son would be the very symbol of Hokkaido - a wielder of fire & ice like its snowy volcanoes and the red snowflake on its flag. The fact that Katsuki has several older siblings of various power levels or none at all, and then no younger siblings, is a constant reminder that he is to be the successor and unlike them he won the genetic lottery.

Katsuki was home schooled for the first 11 years, at different family locations, then attended the finest academy in Hokkaido until he was 16. With his powers manifesting, confirming the father's greatest hopes, he was ordered to take a gap year and work with his father as an unofficial sidekick in disaster relief efforts and charitable events. His scowling face graced the cover of a few well-chosen magazines, always in the shadow of his mountainous father.

One significant event was the cave-in of the Hokkaido-Mainland railway tunnel that runs under the sea. He and his father's intervention prevented a catastrophic flooding, saving hundreds of passengers, and earning the boy the heroic name 'Shotohito' in the local press, Sho and to literally being burn and freeze, with that same 'royal' hito honorific.

When the non managed press started to catch rumours of a discord between the son and his father, the family decided it was best to ship him overseas for some world experience and character building - and to let the dust settle on circling rumours.

In truth, Katsuki was rebelling hard against high expectations, manifesting as literally explosive behaviour behind closed doors. He was refusing to use his father's ice power, over-compensating by using his mother's fire. In short, he needed to go be his own man, out from under his father's frosty shadow.

While considering prospective colleges overseas he was mindful of the perception of mutants in different regions and one obvious choice was Xavier's Institute for the Gifted. It didn't hurt that his childhood frenemy, Ookami Midori, was also attending. When Katsuki chose Xavier's, there was general unease that this would make things even worse for the family, but they fully expected it to be a phase or a foot-stomping decision on their son's part. Time will tell.

## Powers and Abilities

* **Fire ~** Create and control his own fire, but not other fires. This can manifest in fireballs, flamethrower, and similar offensive tricks. He is fire-proof up to a certain point; rocket-fuel fire would still cause him 1st degree burns over time.
* **Ice ~** He has the capacity for ice powers but doesn't really use it yet for emotional reasons. If he applied himself he could do things like ice-sliding, flash freezing, snow-burst.
* **Skills ~** Hand to hand combat training. First Responder training. Disaster relief certificate. Well educated.

## Weaknesses

All normal human weaknesses to injury.

**Emotional:** He has fiery outbursts in relation to suppressing his cold side, to spite his ice-based father's powers. He also has baggage from high expectations the family have for him to become 'The Hero of Hokkaido' as a literal embodiment of its frost-covered volcanoes and wear its Red Snowflake flag.

**Dependency:** He often relies on his fire-power to the detriment of a more tactical or nuanced approach to confrontations.This is something he should work on at the Xavier Institute, not just for self-reliance reasons but to depend on the level-headedness of others along the way.