recursal/Fanatic-Fandom huggingface dataset:
Takashi

**Takashi** (タカシ) is an employee of Club Miroir who is executed by Xianming Lin for stealing from the Kakyuu Association.

## Characteristics

### Appearance

Takashi is a young man with blond hair and freckles. The novel describes him as having a face covered in pimples. He wears a gold chain necklace, and while working as a waiter, a white shirt under a black waistcoat and tie.

### Personality

Takashi has a cowardly and opportunistic personality. He steals ten million yen from the club he works for, and when his lover Akemi is murdered in front of him, he pleads and attempts to make a deal for his own life.

## Background

Prior to the start of the series, Takashi stole ten million yen from Club Miroir, a high-end club owned by the Kakyuu Association. He bragged to an acquaintance about the money he obtained, and members of the Kakyuu Group learned of his actions. Rather than retrieving the money, the association sent Lin to kill him.

## Synopsis

### Mayor Harada Scandal Arc

Lin finds Takashi in his lover's apartment in Hakata, where he pretends to be a jilted lover demanding a break-up in order to be let inside. He kills Akemi as soon as she lets him in, and Takashi, exiting the shower, is sprayed with her blood. Upon learning Lin has been sent by the Kakyuu Association, he apologizes desperately and offers Lin the four million stolen yen remaining, but Lin goes through with his assignment, slicing him across the throat with a kitchen knife.

When Yamato pickpockets Detective Takeda's photo of Mayor Harada and Zhang off of Zenji Banba, he recognizes Takashi in the background of the picture. He tells Banba about Takashi's murder and relays rumors that Club Miroir is run by a dangerous organization, information that helps Banba with his case.
Chiaki Kisaki

**Chiaki Kisaki** is the author of *Hakata Tonkotsu Ramens*, for which she won the Grand Prize in the 20th Dengeki Novel Prize. Fukuoka, the setting of her works, is the author's hometown and is where she currently resides.

Kisaki credits her father for her love of baseball, and she is known to be a fan of the Fukuoka Hawks and the Yokohama Baystars. On her personal Twitter, she lists her likes as baseball, drama, and muscles.

## Links

* Twitter
* Personal blog

## References

1. ↑ https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dengeki\_Novel\_Prize#2008%E2%80%93present
2. ↑ https://twitter.com/kisakichiaki?lang=en
Club Miroir

**Club Miroir** is a high-class club in Nakasu owned by the Kakyuu Association.

## General Information

The classy, expensive club sits on the third floor of a high-priced tenant building in Nakasu called Brilliant Nakasu. The interior design is described as chic, with black upholstery, a piano, a chandelier, and mirrored walls. The majority of the club's clientele are male.

## Background

Some time before the start of the series, an employee named Takashi stole money from the club and bragged to an acquaintance. The theft was reported to the Kakyuu Association, who sent Xianming Lin to kill him.

Detective Takeda, investigating Mayor Harada's ties to the yakuza, paid an acquaintance to secretly photograph the mayor inside Miroir. The photo depicts the mayor meeting with Zhang, an executive of the Kakyuu Group, linking the mayor to the growing international crime syndicate. In the anime, the mayor was photographed meeting with the Kakyuu Group's president, Long Fang Wang. Suspecting that his life was being targeted for his investigation, Takeda mailed the photo to his junior, Shigematsu.

## Synopsis

### Mayor Harada Scandal Arc

Lin kills Takashi at the request of the Kakyuu Association. Zhang sends him to kill Takeda next, but the detective's body has already been discovered hanged inside his apartment, the work of the mayor's subordinates.

Shigematsu receives the photograph of Mayor Harada and Zhang from his senior in the mail that day and passes it along to his friend, the private detective Zenji Banba. When Yamato pickpockets the photo off of Banba, he recognizes Takashi in the background of the picture and tells Banba about Takashi's murder. After hearing the rumors that Club Miroir is run by a dangerous organization, Banba decides to visit.

Banba enters the club shortly before its open hours begin. The manager evades his queries about the mayor's visit, pridefully stating that many famous personalities visit, and claims to not remember any of the mayor's companions. Quickly tired of Banba's persistent questioning, the manager drives him away. Banba leaves his business card, and Zhang tasks Lin with killing the nosy private detective later that day.
Club Eve

**Club Eve** (イヴ, *Eve*) is a hostess club in Nakasu and the sister club of Club Adam. Most of the club's clientele are yakuza and killers for hire, and the hostesses are used to the illicit business discussions that take place there.

## Employees

### Hostesses

* Aiko
* Kaori
* Maki
* Miyu
* Yuri
* Reina
* Rinko

## Background

Some time before the start of the series, Tadafumi Izuku got a second job as a driver for Club Eve. As he spent time alone with the hostesses after their shifts, he and Kaori fell in love and began saving up portions of their paychecks to have Tadafumi's wife murdered. After finding the numbers and business cards of several hostesses among Tadafumi's belongings, his wife, Kumiko, followed him to the club and photographed him with two women outside the establishment.

## Synopsis

### Niwaka Samurai Impersonator Arc

Kumiko Izuku visits the Banba Detective Office and hires Zenji Banba to investigate her husband. Banba calls in a favor from Yamato, a host for Club Adam, who is able to get Xianming Lin hired as a hostess.

During Lin's only shift as a hostess, he meets Two-Hand Gun Ricky, an eccentric gun-wielding hired killer who promises to ask for him again. Banba pays a visit to the club, where he talks with Sayuri and checks on Lin. While Yuri is busy, Long Fang Wang and his entourage enter the club, and Long Fang chooses Lin's company. In the VIP room, he and his assistant, Li, discuss the Kakyuu Association's plans to hire a killer who can defeat the Niwaka Samurai. Proximity to his former bosses and discussion concerning a familiar name make Lin jumpy, to Long Fang's amusement. When Yuri enters and dismisses Lin, he hastily retreats to the back room and is excused for the evening.

Shunsuke Saruwatari visits the club after taking up Naoya Nitta's request that he participate in tryouts for the Kakyuu Association. He is directed to the back room, where Two-Hand Gun Ricky and George Gondo are waiting. After Ricky provokes Saruwatari and is knocked out cold, Li enters and has Ricky thrown out. Li offers the two remaining killers a large advance payment for bringing in the Niwaka Samurai dead or alive and has them fitted with tracking anklets.

Later, Lin hires Yamato for a pick-pocketing job. Yamato initially refuses, until Lin threatens to return to Club Eve and put Yamato's reputation on the line.

### Shou Wang Arc

Club Eve serves as the meeting place for the executives of Shou Wang and the Kakyuu Association to meet and dictate the terms of their truce.
Smokin' Hot

**Smokin' Hot** is a bar run by the Mutagawa Group. The organization's hitman Carlos works as its bartender.

## Synopsis

### Avengers Arc

Jiro Tanaka has a meeting with a client at the bar. He refuses to take Misaki along, prompting her to run away and seek information on his location from Enokida, who warns her that the bar is controlled by a yakuza group. Arriving for his meeting, Jiro notices only two other cars in the parking lot but everyone inside the bar suspiciously drinking non-alcoholic drinks. When he realizes that the yakuza member questioning him is only posing as a client, Carlos and the other members in the bar point guns at him to keep him in his seat. A short while later, after Jiro has been shot once and is still refusing to answer their questions, Méqué ignores the closed sign on the door and enters the bar.

The yakuza members are dumbstruck by the clown's appearance for a moment, long enough for Méqué to bow as though beginning a show. As the others begin to jeer, Carlos approaches him to shoo him out, and Méqué throws a knife into his throat. The shocked gangsters begin shooting inside the bar, and Jiro quickly slips out the back door. After dancing around the bullets until the gangsters run out of ammunition, Méqué finishes the rest of them off.

Worried for Jiro's safety, Misaki rushes to the bar and watches as Méqué hangs the corpses upside-down inside. He spots her peering in through the window and immediately confronts her, binding her limbs with rope and bringing her to his van.

Only Hiroshi Ishihara survives the Smokin' Hot slaughter and relates the events to Sanjou and his men when they arrive at the bar later.
Hakata Tonkotsu Ramens Manga Chapter 06

## Chapter Navigation

"**6th Up to Bat**" is the sixth and final chapter in volume 1 of the *Hakata Tonkotsu Ramens* manga.

## Synopsis

At tgagsgahsğhe batting cages, Zenji Banba updates Hironobu Shigematsu on the details of his investigation, including his visit to Club Miroir, where the manager had claimed to be unable to remember whether or not the mayor had ever visited.

That day, Reiko Asakura, Hisashi Ivanov, and Shinohara blow up a car containing Masaki Yoshida, Tatsuya Yamashiro, and Jun Murase, the three friends of Yusuke Harada's who had beaten a foreign man to death. At the same time, Ryuuji Munakata is meeting with Zhang, who agrees to provide them with a trafficked woman to give to Yusuke in exchange for ridding him of Xianming Lin.

In the meantime, Banba arrives home to find Lin watching television in his living room. Lin, despite being sent there to kill him, offers his services as a bodyguard in order to get back at Zhang over a pay dispute. When Banba insists he does not need to be protected, especially by a woman, Lin tackles and pins him down, revealing himself to be a man. Some time later, because Lin has urged him not to leave the safety of his home, Banba asks him to go out and buy some food.

That night, Saitoh is shocked to get a call from his superior congratulating him for a job well done, despite the fact that he had not killed Jun Murase as ordered. However, because someone else's murder has saved his own life, he happily takes the credit for it and decides to spend his pay check on a night out.
Kaori

**Kaori** (カオリ) is a hostess for Club Eve who has been having an affair with Tadafumi Izuka.

## Characteristics

### Appearance

Kaori is a young woman with short, bobbed hair that hangs on the right side.

### Personality

Kaori is described as a friendly hostess who offers Xianming Lin gossip and advice during the short time they work together.

## Background

When Tadafumi Izuka began working as the driver for Club Eve, he and Kaori often had time alone and eventually fell in love. Knowing that his wife, Kumiko Izuka, would never agree to a divorce, Tadafumi and Kaori began saving portions of their paychecks to hire an assassin to kill her.

## Synopsis

### Niwaka Samurai Impersonator Arc

Kaori is working during Lin's only shift as a hostess at Club Eve. After he escapes from Long Fang Wang, Kaori asks him about his shift and makes light conversation. She supplies him with information about Long Fang's visits and advises him to be careful.

After learning of Tadafumi's death in the news, Kaori meets Jiro Tanaka at a bar in Nakasu where she tells him about her affair and plans to have Kumiko murdered. Feeling empathetic toward her for the loss of her lover, Jiro accepts her request to take revenge on Tadafumi's killer.

## Etymology

* The name **Kaori** is written in katakana (カオリ), which has no special meaning. However, when written in kanji (香 or 香織), it could possibly mean:
	+ 香 - "fragrance, fragrant".
	+ 香織 - "fragrance, fragrant" (香) (**ka**) and "weave, weaving" (織) (**ori**).
Club Adams

**Club Adams** (アダムス, *Adams*) is a host club on the west side of Nakasu and is where Yamato works. Adams' sister club is a hostess club called Club Eve.

## Background

Though primarily making his living as a pickpocket, some time before the start of the series Yamato picked up a side job as a host at Adams to make ends meet.

## Synopsis

### Niwaka Samurai Impersonator Arc

When Zenji Banba is hired by Kumiko Izuku to investigate her husband Tadafumi, he immediately calls Yamato. As a host with a good reputation, Yamato gets Xianming Lin a job as a hostess at Club Eve. Later, Lin uses his employment at Eve to blackmail Yamato into accepting a pick-pocketing favor from him.
Mayor Harada Scandal Arc

The **Mayor Harada Scandal Arc** is the first story arc of the *Hakata Tonkotsu Ramens* series. It focuses on Xianming Lin and Zenji Banba's investigation into the Kakyuu Association, the organization's ties to the city's corrupt mayor, Shoutarou Harada, and his efforts to conceal the crimes of his son, and a new company hitman who is not quite cut out for the job.

## Character Debuts

* Akemi
* Chromartie
* Enokida
* Genzo Gohda
* Hironobu Shigematsu
* Hisashi Ivanov
* Jiro Tanaka
* José Martínez
* Jun Murase
* Kazuki Saitoh
* Masaki Yoshida
* Misaki Tanaka
* Qiaomei Lin
* Reiko Asakura
* Ryuuji Munakata
* Shinichi Saeki
* Shinohara
* Shota Yamazaki
* Shoutarou Harada
* Takashi
* Takeda
* Tatsuya Yamashiro
* Xianming Lin
* Yamato Igarashi
* Yusuke Harada
* Zenji Banba
* Zhang
Uno

**Ese Uno** is one of the founding members of the Los Eses drug cartel and a former member of the Veracruz Cartel. He leads Ocho and Treinta on their three-man trip to Fukuoka with the aim of laying the groundwork for Los Eses' future marijuana-dealing operations in Eastern Asia.

## Characteristics

### Appearance

Uno is of Japanese descent, implying he has mixed features, and he fluently speaks Spanish and Japanese.

### Personality

As one of the senior members of Los Eses, Uno heads the trio that visits Japan. He is frequently exasperated by the constant complaints of his comrades Ocho and Treinta. His weapon of choice is a gun.

## Background

Uno was a member of the Veracruz cartel and a loyal follower of Ramiro Sanchez. After the cartel fell and Don Ramiro was imprisoned, Uno and several other loyal members formed the Los Eses.

## Synopsis

### Cartel Arc

Uno chooses Ocho and Treinta to accompany him to Fukuoka. He initially teams up with a local Chinese mafia, but when distribution of their goods causes the Chinese to come into conflict with the rival Noma Group, Uno takes the freelance drug dealer and mediator Yakuin's advice and allies the Los Eses with the Noma Group. During negotiations with Kishihara, Uno proposes selling out the Chinese group to gain Kishihara's trust and eliminate a future rival.

From their warehouse near Hakata Port, the three cartel members load ten kilograms of marijuana onto a fishing boat and disembark at Sunset Park, on the tip of the pier. After noticing Treinta's disappearance, Uno and Ocho are surrounded by American DEA members. As José Martínez moves to handcuff the pair, Uno recognizes his own cartel's tattoo on the agent's arm.

With the advantage the trio of Los Eses members have over the pair of former cartel members, they take Martínez and Ricardo Seiya Ortega back to their warehouse. Back at Sunset Park, the three comrades watch the Noma Group surround and slaughter the Chinese, and as Uno prepares to hand over their marijuana to their allies, Zenji Banba and Xianming Lin arrive and incapacitate the Noma Group members. Uno sends Ocho and Treinta to deal with them while he loads the drugs back onto the boat. Interrupted by the escaped Ricardo, who confronts and begins shooting at him, Uno leaps into the boat and sets it adrift in the sea. As he tries to call his allies for backup, Martínez steps out of hiding and confronts him. Ricardo, having rushed after the escaping boat, shoots the gun out of Uno's hand before he can kill Martínez, and Martínez knocks him unconscious. Ricardo reports Uno's capture to the DEA.
Tadafumi Izuka

**Tadafumi Izuka** (飯塚忠文, *Iidzuka Tadafumi*) is the husband of Kumiko Izuka and the driver for the hostesses of Club Eve.

## Background

Tadafumi married his wife at 27 years old and supported her as a regular company employee. Three years into their marriage, however, he took up a second job as a driver for Club Eve to make up for his wife's lack of income. He began coming home late with more frequency, causing Kumiko to become worried about him and their tight finances.

During his late-night drives, Tadafumi had fallen in love with a hostess named Kaori, and knowing that his wife would never agree to a divorce, the pair made plans to have her killed. When Kumiko began looking into his activities, he was unknowingly photographed leaving the hostess club with two women.

## Synopsis

### Niwaka Samurai Impersonator Arc

Kumiko brings evidence of her husband's activities, including hostess' business cards and photographs, to the Banba Detective Office. Xianming Lin decides Tadafumi is guilty out of prejudice against Kumiko, but Zenji Banba has his doubts and agrees to investigate her husband's affair, sending Lin to infiltrate Club Eve. At the club, Lin discovers that Tadafumi has taken on a part-time job driving the hostesses home after their shifts.

In another part of Nakasu that night, Genzo Gohda tasks Abe and Yamamoto with assassinating one of his former killers, a man who had killed the wrong target and is blackmailing Genzo for money. The pair splits up to find the man wearing a blue shirt, and Yamamoto follows him into a parking garage and stabs him. Arriving on the scene, Abe discovers the man is not their intended target, but Tadafumi Izuka.

Lin relates Tadafumi's innocence to Kumiko, who insists that he must be having an affair and asks him to look for her now-missing husband. Lin accepts the task and passes it along to Enokida, who learns from the daily news that Tadafumi's body has been discovered in Hakata Bay and identified.

Kaori, a hostess from Club Eve, approaches Jiro Tanaka with a request. She reveals that she and Tadafumi had fallen in love and been having an affair, and they had planned to combine their savings to have Kumiko assassinated. She gives their savings to Jiro, asking him to take revenge on Tadafumi's killer.

## Etymology

* The name Tadafumi means "loyalty, fidelity, faithfulness" (忠, *tada*) and "writing" (文, *fumi*).
* Tadafumi's surname Izuka means "meal, boiled rice" (飯, *ii*) and "cemetery, tomb" (塚, *tsuka*). His surname is also a name of a city in Fukuoka Prefecture.
Tatsurou Myouken

**Tatsurou Myouken** (妙見達郎, *Myouken Tatsurou*) is a lawyer from the Myouken Law Office (妙見法律事務所, *Myouken houritsu jimusho*) whose name is used by Zenji Banba in order to infiltrate offices owned by the Kakyuu Association.

## Characteristics

### Appearance

Myouken is described as a serious-looking man who wears a suit. Shunsuke Saruwatari notes immediately that he looks like someone who leads an ordinary life.

### Personality

Myouken is a professional with a serious demeanor. He is also a normal person, compared to many other characters in the series, as he becomes frightened to the point of screaming and shaking when he sees a dead body.

## Background

Some time before the start of the series, Takashi Unoyama had a dispute with a regular bystander. Myouken is the attorney in charge of settling the dispute out of court.

## Synopsis

### Shou Wang Arc

Myouken has a 9:00pm meeting with Unoyama, which Banba uses to get close to Unoyama in order to kill him and his subordinates. When Myouken himself arrives at the office a short while later, he finds Saruwatari standing over the bodies of the slain mafia members. Saruwatari attempts to explain to him that he is not the one who killed them, but Myouken flees, and Saruwatari's shuriken misses his back and lodges in the wall. Myouken reports the murders, and he is later approached by a Kakyuu Group subordinate with a photo of Saruwatari in order to confirm the identity of the killer.
Hakata Tonkotsu Ramens Manga Chapter 11

## Chapter Navigation

"**11th Up to Bat**" is the eleventh chapter of the *Hakata Tonkotsu Ramens* manga and the fifth chapter in volume 2.

## Synopsis

Zenji Banba visits a ramen stand called Gen-chan, where the owner, Genzo Gohda, informs him that the Kakyuu Association is out for his head, and they have decided to hire the Niwaka Samurai to kill him. Banba is unfazed by the news and tells Genzo to go ahead and introduce the legendary killer to the mafia.

After his meal, Banba visits Saeki's Cosmetic Surgery Clinic and bumps into Jiro Tanaka. When he spots the body of Shota Yamazaki, brought by Jiro to be disposed of, Banba offers to buy it. As the two are conversing, Banba mentions having to avenge the sister of his acquaintance, who was raped and murdered by the mayor's son. Jiro connects his story to the unlucky circumstances surrounding Kazuki Saitoh, who woke up in a hotel next to the woman's corpse and has been blamed for her murder. The pair agree that the situation is a mess.

In Nakasu, meanwhile, Reiko Asakura and Ryuuji Munakata have found Enokida after tracing Hisashi Ivanov's cellphone, and when they inquire about Banba, Enokida asks for money for his knowledge of Banba's plans.

Banba and Xianming Lin meet up in Tenjin, both of them dressed up for their mission. Banba, dressed as a mafia member, gives Lin a small spider on a necklace that will serve as his communication device, and Lin, dressed like a woman and posing as a trafficked Chinese girl, is handed over to the mayor's hitmen in a suitcase.

When the suitcase is opened, Lin is greeted by his former employer, Zhang. He is tied at gunpoint, and the Niwaka Samurai enters the room carrying Banba's severed head.
Code Geass

## Summary

**Code Geass: Lelouch of the Rebellion** (コードギアス 反逆のルルーシュ Kōdo Giasu: Hangyaku no Rurūshu?), often referred to as simply Code Geass, is a Japanese Anime series created by Sunrise, directed by Gorō Taniguchi, and written by Ichirō Ōkouchi, with original character designs by manga authors Clamp. Set in an alternate timeline, the series focuses on how the former prince Lelouch Vi Britannia obtains a power known as Geass and decides to use it to obliterate the Holy Britannian Empire, an imperial monarchy and a superpower that has been conquering various countries.

## Power of the Verse

The universe of Code Geass has many strong characters, but most of them are framed within the realm of reality meaning they are comparable to regular humans, and Knightmares generally being in the Tier 8 range. There are a few immortals, and one being who represents the consciousness of all mankind. The main character Lelouch vi Britannia has the ability to control people with his Geass, and there are various other Geass users in the Verse, such as Mao, who is able to read minds. As a result of technology, the verse reaches Island level destruction capability with the F.L.E.I.J.A., a weapon that completely annihilates all matter that is engulfed by it's sphere, creating a vacuum in the process.

## Profiles

### Factions/Nations/Armies/Organizations

* Holy Britannian Empire
* United Federation of Nations
Yasukuni Shindou

**Yasukuni Shindou** (進藤泰邦, *Shindou Yasukuni*) is a low-ranking member of a well-known yakuza organization with a target on his back. His death has a lasting impact on Xianming Lin.

## Characteristics

### Appearance

Due to living in hiding in various hotels, Shindou sports an emaciated, anxious expression, with a poor complexion and deep shadows under his eyes.

### Personality

Shindou is tense and worried from the threat on his life. When he requests the Niwaka Samurai and meets Xianming Lin instead, he is initially insulting and rude toward his protector. It soon becomes apparent that Shindou has a kind heart, being concerned for the lives of his organization's murdered subordinates, and Lin realizes that Shindou is not cut out for the underworld.

## Background

Some time before the start of the novel, the head of Shindou's organization died, and the matter of succession was left undecided between Shindou and Takashi Kitaguchi. While the pair fought for control, Shindou sought a peaceful solution to avoid wiping out their group. When Kitaguchi hires Abe and Yamamoto to enter a room full of yakuza, kill all but one, and ask for the Kitaguchi's location, the slaughter is pinned on Shindou. With Kitaguchi targeting his life, Shindou has been living on the run, unable to accept that Kitaguchi had his own subordinates killed in order to set him up.

## Synopsis

### Niwaka Samurai Impersonator Arc

After Genzo Gohda tasks him with protecting Shindou, Lin arrives at the hotel. Shindou is disappointed in him at first glance, but he starts to calm down and informs Lin of the struggle within his organization. Lin has seven hours to protect him until his overseas flight departs.

Shindou notices a noise from the terrace, and when Lin goes to check outside, a man breaks the glass door with a baseball bat. Shindou is easily cornered, while Lin, taken by surprise, orders Shindou to run to his car while he analyzes and dodges the man with the bat. Determining him to be an amateur, Lin quickly incapacitates and stabs him.

After moving the body, he calls Shindou and they both head toward the parking garage. Lin hears groaning and pleading over the phone, and when he runs out of the elevator, he finds Shindou standing against his car with a blade stabbed through his heart from behind. His body falls to reveal the Niwaka Samurai.

Lin apologizes to Shindou's corpose, regretting sending him onward alone and failing to protect him. He is reminded of Shindou later while protecting Kazuki Saitoh from Nguyen, and learning from his earlier mistakes, he is able to save his friend's life.
Shou Wang Arc

The **Shou Wang Arc** is the third story arc of the *Hakata Tonkotsu Ramens* series. It focuses on Xianming Lin and Zenji Banba's continued efforts to bring down the Kakyuu Association; the Shou Wang, a new organization in town seeking to take advantage of the Kakyuu Group's weakened position; and Feilang, a figure from Lin's past who has spent years looking for him.

## Character Debuts

* Byeong-Hee Kim
* Feilang
* Fu Jian Huang
* Kubota
* Renyi Li
* Suzuki
* Takashi Unoyama
* Tatsurou Myouken
* The Instructor
* Tony Lau
* Yang
Qiaomei Lin

* Anime
* Manga

**Qiaomei Lin** (林僑梅, *Lin Qiaomei*) is the younger sister of Xianming Lin. She is trafficked and murdered in the first light novel, prompting Lin to hunt down the Kakyuu Association executives responsible for her death and seek revenge on Yusuke Harada.

## Background

Qiaomei grew up in the slums of China with her mother and older brother. Her father, a heavy drinker and gambler, left them behind with a large debt. Human traffickers often asked her mother to sell her children, but she refused. Lin eventually sold himself to alleviate his mother's burden and pay off the family's debts. Anticipating being reunited with his family, Lin keeps a worn photo of the three of them together on his person at all times.

Five years prior to the start of the series, the siblings' mother dies. Word never reaches Lin in Japan, who has grown his hair out and begun wearing women's clothes to feel closer to Qiaomei.

## Synopsis

### Mayor Harada Scandal Arc

Despite her brother's insistence that no one touch her, once Lin turns against the Kakyuu Association, Qiaomei is trafficked to Japan and sold to Yusuke Harada after Reiko Asakura and her companions devise a new plan to keep the mayor's son's sexual and homicidal urges under control. Although they had hoped the woman they had bought would keep Yusuke busy for some time, she is quickly raped and murdered, and Yusuke contacts them the next day to dispose of the body and buy him a new woman.

A TV broadcast states that she is a Chinese exchange student found dead in a hotel. Lin learns of her death from the daily news and contacts his employer Zhang immediately. Zhang nonchalantly confirms that Qiaomei had been purchased, used, and discarded, and refuses to name her buyer. Lin kills five of his subordinates and Ivanov in retaliation. After Enokida supplies him with the murderer's identity, Lin and Zenji Banba are able to take out Zhang and his remaining subordinates and frame the murders on Reiko. They bring Yusuke to a warehouse and listen to him confess his crimes. When he admits to raping and killing Qiaomei, Lin beats him up in a rage. Satisfied with having gotten revenge for his sister, Lin leaves the warehouse before Yusuke is killed in the same manner as Qiaomei.
Hakata Tonkotsu Ramens Manga Chapter 09

## Chapter Navigation

"**9th Up to Bat**" is the ninth chapter of the *Hakata Tonkotsu Ramens* manga and the third chapter in volume 2.

## Synopsis

Xianming Lin stands with a gun pointed at the head of the boss who trafficked his younger sister and withheld information about his mother's passing, insisting that he is not the child or the amateur that Zhang has always treated him as. Hisashi Ivanov appears from behind and disarms him, and as the strangulation expert begins to choke Lin, Zhang departs in disinterest. Stabbing the monster has no effect, and Ivanov only forces Lin to stab himself with his own blade. When Ivanov repositions Lin for a batter grasp on his neck, Lin pulls the knife out and pulls its hidden trigger, shooting Ivanov in the forehead with one of his knife-gun's bullets.

Ivanov's phone rings as Lin attempts to leave, and Lin answers the call, but Ryuuji Munakata calls his bluff immediately and promises to head over. As a heavily injured Lin attempts to leave the office in a rush, he bumps into Zenji Banba on his way in.

Banba reveals the listening device he had planted on Lin's jacket and puts the small mechanical spider on Ivanov's corpse. Lin, still bleeding heavily, collapses in the backseat of Banba's car, and as he swears to get revenge on Zhang for the deaths of his family, he allows himself to cry.

At Bar Babylon, meanwhile, Jiro Tanaka has seen the news with Kazuki Saitoh's face plastered on it and is startled when Saitoh himself bursts into the bar. He listens to Saitoh's story sympathetically, and Jiro in turn tells his own story, of the murder of his lover and his choice to become an avenger and take revenge for those unable to themselves. He explains how he met Misaka after killing her abusive stepfather, took pity on the small girl and brought her to live with him. Afraid of being thrown away and killed, Misaki works hard as an avenger to make herself useful, and Jiro is torn with disgust at himself for allowing a young child to help him with his unsavory line of work. Saitoh listens in surprise, identifying with the girl at their both finding themselves living in a world neither of them were ever supposed to witness, and he asks Jiro to avenge him by finding the true culprit and framing them for Qiaomei Lin's murder.
Doce

**Ese Doce** is a popular member of the Los Eses drug cartel.

## Characteristics

### Personality

Doce is ranked as the third-most popular Los Eses member, implying that he is well-respected in the organization. He is a proud and confident man, boasting the best arm strength of the cartel's thirty members.

## Synopsis

### Cartel Arc

Doce takes part in a boxing match against the cartel's newest member, Treinta, with all onlookers placing their bets on his victory. As soon as the whistle starts the match, Doce is overwhelmed by his opponent's speed and fights on the defensive until he spits up blood and collapses in pain. The referee takes him to the hospital.
Hakata Tonkotsu Ramens Light Novel Volume 01 Seasonal Opening Ceremony

Seasonal Opening Ceremony (始球式) acts as the prologue of volume 01 of the Hakata Tonkotsu Ramens light novel installments.

## Synopsis

"There is someone you want to kill at any cost. How would you kill someone?" Saitoh goes in for a job interview when he is asked an unbelievable question. After several interviews and not landing any jobs, Saitoh struggles on what to say to catch their attention. Desperate, he tells the interviewer of a past experience when he almost accidentally killed a batter by throwing a pitch at his head.

Weeks later he receives a letter of acceptance. However, he is unaware of how much his life would change from it. Eventually he will be left to wonder just when his life veered off course.
Yusuke Aoyagi

**Yusuke Aoyagi** (青柳雄介, *Aoyagi Yusuke*) is a former company employee whose work computer was taken over by Siva. Using his account, Siva posted hundreds of negative reviews of a privately-owned Italian restaurant online, and the incident eventually leads to Aoyagi's death.

## Background

At some point, Siva gained control of Aoyagi's work computer and began mass-posting horrible reviews that impacted the Italian restaurant's business. Aoyagi's superior visited the restaurant to apologize for his employee's behavior and ask that the incident be kept quiet in order to keep the company's name out of it. However, even after Aoyagi was reprimanded and quit his job, the posts continued, and the restaurant owner reached out to Genzo to hire a hitman.

## Synopsis

### .mmm Arc

Zenji Banba lands the job from Genzo and meets with the former yakuza-turned Italian restaurant owner, who gives him the name of his target. When the Niwaka Samurai arrives at Aoyagi's first-floor apartment, he enters from the balcony window and is surprised to find Aoyagi hanging from the ceiling by a rope around his neck. Banba checks his belongings for confirmation of his identity and finds his suicide note, a profession of his innocence.
Shinohara

* Anime
* Manga

**Shinohara** (紫乃原, *Shinohara*) is a university student who works for Mayor Harada as a hired killer.

## Characteristics

### Appearance

Shinohara is a young man who wears glasses and is able to blend in. As the least conspicuous of the mayor's group of hired killers, he is often tasked with bodyguard duties.

### Personality

Shinohara is a newcomer to both Fukuoka and the underground and still unaware of much of its workings. He asks a lot of questions of his companions, both work-oriented and personal. He has a cheeky attitude that his seniors sometimes find inappropriate and annoying. Munakata has a habit of hitting him on the back of the head in reproach.

Despite his attitude, Shinohara is talented and intelligent. He emphasizes the importance of his studies and specializes in explosions. He enjoys experimenting and appears nonchalant when things go wrong, knowing that their employer's wallet has all things covered. He appears contemptuous of Yusuke Harada because Shinohara got into university on merit while Yusuke was accepted to the same school on bribes.

## Synopsis

### Mayor Harada Scandal Arc

Shinohara is introduced at dinner with his companions Munakata, Ivanov, and Reiko. They inform him of the upcoming mayoral election and warn him that their workload will be increased. He complains due to his upcoming testing in school and interrupts Munakata's workload distribution to eat.

The next day, after Mayor Harada's speech in Kego Park, Shinohara trades places with Reiko as the mayor's bodyguard. Shinohara and the mayor's other bodyguards accompany him to a hotel in Tenjin, where Munakata delivers his report. He and Shinohara leave together to meet up with Ivanov and collect three of Yusuke's friends from their university campus. On the way, Shinohara asks Munakata about his missing eye and is disappointed when Munakata lies and denies the existence of the Niwaka Samurai.

Shinohara is tasked with blowing up Jun Murase, Tatsuya Yamashiro, and Masaki Yoshida, and making it look like a drunk driving accident, and he is delighted to test a new explosive. He shrugs off the excessive force of the explosion and calls the police officers in the mayor's pocket, thanking them in advance for writing the explosion off as a traffic accident.

Later, Shinohara is asked to trace the GPS in Ivanov's phone to find his killer, Xianming Lin, and he sends Reiko and Munakata surveillance footage of the internet cafe in the Gate's Building. That night, Shinohara picks up the suitcase containing Lin from Zenji Banba and brings it to the Kakyuu Group's torture room in an empty tenant building in Suzaki City. When the Niwaka Samurai is ordered to kill Lin and kills Zhang instead, those present in the room are initially too shocked to move. When Shinohara recovers, he immediately throws a handmade grenade at the killer, who returns it by swinging his scabbard like a baseball bat. The grenade explodes as it hits Shinohara.

## Trivia

* Shinohara dislikes beer and likes oolong tea.
Jun Murase

**Jun Murase** (村瀬 淳, *Murase Jun*) is a friend of Yusuke Harada's from university.

## Characteristics

### Appearance

Murase is a plain-looking young man who dresses in casual clothing. His hair is light in the manga and black in the anime.

### Personality

Murase has a lazy, careless, and cruel personality. He regularly skips class, opting to drink and party daily, and he joins his friends in brutally beating another man while intoxicated.

## Background

At some point in university Murase followed Yusuke in joining the softball circle because it functions as a drinking group, and he skips lectures to participate in daily drinking parties on campus. Just prior to the events of the first light novel, Murase and two of his friends, Tatsuya Yamashiro and Masaki Yoshida, beat a foreigner to death for sport and dispose of the body. The body is recovered and the incident appears in local newspapers in Western Japan, though the perpetrators remain unknown.

## Synopsis

### Mayor Harada Scandal Arc

When Reiko Asakura finds Yusuke watching footage he had filmed of his friends beating a foreign man to death on his orders, she demands the names and addresses of his companions. Her worry is that the careless disposal of the body could lead the police to Yusuke, causing a scandal for his father. He gives her the names, knowing that she will eliminate them.

The day Saitoh is transferred to Fukuoka for work, he is given the task of killing Murase. The client is Murase's landlord, who is tired of the trouble his tenant causes and supplies a master key to Murase's apartment. Saitoh finds his home empty and waits for his target to arrive, but the apartment is visited by Jiro and Misaki Tanaka soon after. Saitoh introduces himself as Murase in the hopes that they will leave quickly, but the pair incapacitates him and he is brought to a warehouse. Before he is tortured for Murase's crimes, Saitoh convinces Jiro that he is a member of Murder, Inc. and is released.

After Reiko passes along the names and addresses, her companions Shinohara, Munakata, and Ivanov retrieve Murase and his two friends from campus and drug them to sleep. They are put in a car near Nagatani Dam and blown up with one of Shinohara's new explosives. Shinohara calls the police to report the explosion and confirm payment, and Murase's death is written off as a drunk driving accident.
Akemi

**Akemi** (アケミ) is the lover of Takashi who is killed by Xianming Lin when he targets Takashi on behalf of the Kakyuu Association.

## Characteristics

### Appearance

Akemi is a young woman who is depicted in sleepwear and with tousled hair. In the novel, her hair is described as being light brown, nearly gold. In the anime, her hair is dark red. Her fashion tastes imply that she cares about appearances.

## Synopsis

### Mayor Harada Scandal Arc

Akemi wakes up and answers the door when Lin rings, dressed like a woman. She initially tries to feign ignorance of anyone named Takashi, but after Lin claims to have been cheated on, she sympathizes with him and allows him inside to break up with the man in question. She turns around to lead the way, and the moment Lin crosses the threshold of the small apartment, he grabs a knife off of the kitchen counter, covers Akemi's mouth with his other hand, and slits her throat. Her blood splashes on Takashi as he exits the bathroom.

After Akemi and Takashi have both been killed, Lin goes through her closet, taking some of her clothes and a name-brand bag.

## Etymology

* The name **Akemi** is written in katakana (アケミ), which has no special meaning. However, when written in kanji (明美), it could possibly mean "bright, light, clear" (明) (**ake**) and "beautiful" (美) (**mi**).

## Trivia

* Her name was only revealed in the anime.
* The building Akemi lives in, East Tenjin Hearts, is a real apartment building in Hakata.
Russet Mold Shrieker

*(Russet Mold cap, shrieker subvariant)*

Small Plant (Russet Mold)

**Initiative**: +0

**Senses**: Blindsight 60ft, Perception +1

Light-sensitivity, Weakness to UVB (1D6 per turn), **Vulnerability:** Fire

**Speed**: 0ft

**ACs**: KAC: 14 EAC: 12 CMan: 22 (+3/1 Natural, +1 Size) *Cannot be Tripped*

**HP**: 13

**Fort**: +4 **Ref**: +0 **Will**: +1

**Special Attack**: Warning Shriek (Triggered by movement or light within 10ft. PbAoE 30ft, DC 11 Fortitude or 1D4 Sonic damage. Automatically alerts any nearby Russet Mold creatures)

STR: -1 DEX: +0 CON: +1 INT: -- WIS: +1 CHA: +0

### Description

An odd mutation of the typical russet mold, this type of mushroom cap is more common in areas with intense russet mold infestation. While russet mold normal mushroom caps are rather large, the smaller shriekers can be hidden within the larger ones or carefully placed by the vegepygmies in order to give the alert if anything comes close to the mold patches. As the name indicates, "shriekers" have a strong reaction to anything non-russet mold moving or shining light on it, releasing a lot of air through specialised ports on the cap. This lets the vegepygmies know that something is approaching and but the ear splitting noise was known to incapacitate some, feeding the mold even more. Being a derivative of russet mold, the shriekers are very sensitive to flame and UVB radiation, and can easily be destroyed that way.
Hisashi Ivanov

* Anime
* Manga

**Hisashi Ivanov** (久志・イワノフ) is one of Mayor Harada's personal hitmen.

## Characteristics

### Appearance

Ivanov is a huge, muscular man whose face bears several scars. He stands at over two meters tall and wears his light-brown hair in a crew cut. He has trained his body to be hard and impervious to weapons, and as such, knives do not work on him. Due to his suspicious and obvious appearance, he cannot stand bodyguard for his employer, who is nearly always in the public eye.

### Personality

Ivanov's intimidating appearance contrasts with his kind and meek nature. He generally speaks in a soft murmur and jokes lightly with his companions, preferring silence over confrontation. Despite his kind personality, his size and strength allow him to excel as a killer. He is the most proficient at close combat in his group of hitmen. His specialty is strangulation, and his eagerness to take on work that will protect the mayor suggests loyalty, a desire to contribute to the team, and a penchant for killing. He shows hesitation when asked to kill outside of the parameters of his work, however, notably when the tasks of disposing of the body of one of Yusuke's victims and killing Yusuke's friends makes him uncomfortable.

## Background

Ivanov was born and raised in Saitama, Japan. At some point he was hired by Murder, Inc. as a killer, and he later left the organization and found employment under Mayor Harada.

## Synopsis

### Mayor Harada Scandal Arc

Ivanov is introduced at dinner with his companions Munakata, Shinohara, and Reiko. He offers to split the bill with Munakata and volunteers to strangle the detective looking into the mayor's connection to Fukuoka's rising crime syndicate, the Kakyuu Association. Ivanov calls Munakata when the murder is complete and is content that the police are treating it as a suicide by hanging.

After Reiko discovers that the mayor's son, Yusuke Harada, and three of his friends beat a man to death, they are forced to eliminate Yusuke's friends to keep Yusuke out of trouble. Ivanov is uncomfortable with killing outside of his job, but he obediently spreads gasoline around the car that the students are in before it explodes.

When Munakata meets with the Kakyuu Group, Zhang hires Ivanov to kill Xianming Lin, who is giving the organization trouble. Zhang calls Ivanov to arrive at the office at the same time as Lin, but when Ivanov enters, the front room is splattered with the blood of the five subordinates Lin had killed. He enters the office and grabs Lin from behind while Zhang departs. As Ivanov strangles him, pointing out the futility of Lin's attempts to stab him, Lin turns the knife toward his face and fires his gun, hitting him with a bullet in the middle of his forehead. Ivanov has enough time to wonder at Lin's weapon before dying.

## Trivia

* According to the first light novel, Ivanov can lip-read.
* His hobby is bodybuilding.
* He is half Russian and half Japanese.
Queen Aeróbeth

***(The following information is best understood with the History, Map, Crystoreeñ, and Emperor Gust tabs having been read).***

## Biography:

Due to the longer lifespans of the Flóff it is assumed that Aeróbeth grew up during the transitional period of her father taking over the throne. And despite typically family dynamics at the time it is implied heavily that Aeróbeth stayed with or at least lived near her father throughout this period. Though Aeróbeth appears very late into the series the few lengthier interactions she has with the primary characters within the book clearly shows that Aeróbeth exhibits similar attributes to that of her father. A deep seeded desire for peace along with a strong will and passion for leading by example. Aeróbeth also showcases a very Flóff approach to death, despite not actively seeking war. Lastly, unlike the typical Flóff leadership, Aeróbeth prides herself on calculated decisions, often referring to her advisers rather than merely making snap decisions based off honor or her own judgment.

Of course, it is not known whether Aeróbeth acquired these leadership skills through early teachings or through her marriage to Sheyda. Either way, beloved by her people and one of the very few who can manipulate the Stoná, Aeróbeth is a beloved and powerful ruler.

## Pre-Series:

As mentioned on many other pages, Aeróbeth and Sheyda's union marked a pivotal point for the history and well being of The Three. The founding of the Crystoreeñ and the Stoná furthered these points, though even these divine signs of approval did not stop those stuck in their ways. As co-ruler of the Crystoreeñ, Queen Aeróbeth's will was put to the test, dealing with early battles for the fledgling border as well as political in-fighting of The Three. May accounts say it was Aeróbeth's level-headed mind that helped keep the new land of Artésque safe, as she attempted to even the land for all powers, often fighting her father's will and even the will of her own people for the betterment of all. And as shown within the series, this idea must ring true, as once Aeróbeth became sick and fell into a slumber none could wake her from King Sheyda grew mad with grief, opting to use the power of the Stoná to save her. This of course did not work and forced the events that took place before the first book to fall into place.

## Return:

After years of being locked within a cyclone of magic, both Queen Aeróbeth and her city were brought back into the waking world via Clover Vines and the new Princess' efforts. Of course, with so much having changed, Aeróbeth's leadership was once more put to the test as she lead her people into the new land. The magic of the Stoná and her late husband has altered them, forcing many to remain in the city less they turn into an abominations of magic, most certainly the result of Sheyda's failed attempts with the powerful magic. Aeróbeth herself was not left unchanged, having gained some powers of magic herself and a strong connection with the world's Stoná. While not Devún by right, a new path was quickly trusted onto the waking Queen as she stepped into the series.