Nai Soguwa

"A sword is all you need."

## **Histor**y

Many admire the land of Minkai for its unique culture and unusual weaponry, but reality can often be disappointing. Nai was born in the capital of the Oda province of Minkai, perhaps the worst place to bring up a child in across the entire empire. The crime running abundant in Oda made it a terrible environment to grow up in, but it was still home.

Nai's mother was a dancer, a street performer who tried to earn a few coins from the passerby. Her father was a a sellsword who risked his life to take out dangerous monsters and other fiends. Or so she was told. In truth, her parents were both members of the local Shirogane yakuza. Her mother was an informant who used her performances as cover, while her father was a bodyguard who got his hands dirty when needed. Their race, combined with her parents' occupations got them a lot of enemies, though Nai only thought it was because of the former.

Growing up, Nai looked up to her parents and learned a lot of things from both of them. She often went to watch her mother's performances and picked up a few of her moves, while her father taught her how to handle a sword. "Just in case," he said. Nai naively thought he wanted her to have the option of following in his footsteps one day. In truth, he simply wanted his daughter to be able to fend for herself in case anything ever happened to him. No, not "if", but rather "when"...

As one might imagine, working for the yakuza came with all sorts of danger. In one of their many skirmishes with their rival families, Nai's parents lost their lives before she was even old enough to be considered an adult by human standards. The details evade her to this day, but she was probably better off not knowing anyway. Any attempts at revenge would likely lead to her death. Their only possession she could salvage was her father's prized sword, and that was only because he didn't bring it with him for some strange reason. And even more bizarre was the fact that its blade was completely dull, to the point it couldn't even cut through paper.

The girl was devastated, and worst of all, she had no family to turn to. The Shirogane yakuza's boss took this opportunity to make Nai one of his underlings, though her living conditions were closer to slavery than employment. Her room was barely the size of a prison cell and outfitted like one. The bed was hard and cold, there were no windows, it was dirty enough to be infested with cockroaches and vermin, the bathroom was better left unmentioned, and the door was always locked from the outside. Her meals were enough for her to survive, but tasted worse than the dirt she walked on. Her clothes were mere rags, and no one really treated her like an equal. The only personal possession she was allowed was her sword—since she couldn't hurt anyone with it—and she hugged it to bed every night.

Nai's job mainly involved selling drugs to whoever she could. Men, women, the elderly, children, it made no difference. All her boss wanted from her was the daily quota of a hundred gold pieces to be met. Her ability to talk telepathically to people she is in contact with helped her be a little discreet about it, but he still asked too much of her. For every gold piece she failed to make, she was beat once. It got to the point where she got several scars on places normally covered by clothing, like her back or upper arms. She tried to escape from them several times, but all it got her was more abuse. The yakuza had eyes all over the city and easily tracked her wherever she went. With no means to fight back, she was captured every single time.

The day things took a turn for the better was, ironically, when she returned without a single coin on her. The boss went ballistic and had her beaten bloody, then tossed to her room and locked up. As she lay there hugging her sword for comfort, a few drops of blood fell onto the blade and soaked through it. The blade shone in a dim, silver light as it transformed into a sharp sword with the name "Doryuu" engraved on it. Nai kept the fact secret from everyone around her and waited patiently until she was let out of her room again. As soon as she was forced into the streets to work again, she waited until they were in a deserted alleyway, stabbed the person keeping an eye on her, then ran as fast as she could. By the time anyone caught on, she was long out of the city. With nowhere to call home, she headed for a city large enough that no one could realistically track her down: Absalom.

## **Appearance**

Nai is a petite woman of short stature. She has fair skin, striking red eyes, and a distinct pair of horns growing on either side of her head. Her clothing is light to allow for freedom of movement and compliments her figure.

## **Personality**

Nai's childhood abuse has made it difficult for her to easily trust people. She is really cautious around anyone she meets and only opens up to them after confirming their intentions. Even then, she prefers to keep information about her past a secret and avoids any conversations that could bring it up.

She's also had to bottle up her anger for so long, she can snap at the drop of a hat. The smallest insult or attempt to get in her way can be met with a swing of her blade. However, she never attacks people unprovoked and doesn't involve innocent bystanders in her fights.

But underneath the tough exterior, one can find a sweet and considerate girl. She is a good listener and can empathize with others' struggles, seeing how she's been through a lot herself. All she really wants is to find somewhere to belong and people who genuinely care about her as much as she does for them.

## **Aspirations**

Finding a man worthy enough to be her husband.