Hachiman

**Hachiman** is a pimp and traveling merchant associated with the Shindo Clan and Abijah Fowler.

## Background

Hachiman has worked as a purveyor of prostitutes and general merchant for some time, enough to establish his reputation of never passing through a village without buying at least one of its' daughters. Despite being named after the Shinto god of battle, Hachiman is certainly not an accomplished fighter. Not being able to easily defend himself, he trades off his close association with the Shindo Clan and their foreign clients by carrying an illegally-purchased flintlock pistol, manufactured outside Japan.

## History/Synopsis

In "Hammerscale", passing through Ringo's village, Hachiman purchases two girls from their presumably impoverished fathers, intending to sell them at a higher price when he reaches a brothel or wealthier client. He stops at the soba tavern owned by Ringo's father and orders them a meal, intending to put a bit of 'meat on their bones' beforehand. Hachi acts hostile and disrespectful to Ringo as he serves the customers, ordering him to hurry with their food and referring to him as "Stumpy" while aggressively telling the girls to eat. He is unaware that the newest customer, a strange traveler carrying an ornate *katana*, has been following him for some time.

When Ringo accidentally spills on Hachi, the pimp angrily hits him, prompting Ringo's father to hastily apologize on his son's behalf. When Ringo tries to clean up, however, one of the girls struggles when Hachiman grabs her, accidentally bumping Ringo and causing him to slop soba and broth over Hachiman a second time. Enraged, Hachiman draws his flintlock pistol and aims it at Ringo, saying no one messes with "Hachi the Flesh-Trader." Calling Ringo a dog, he wonders aloud if he should 'put him down.'

Before he can fire, however, the strange traveler (Mizu) loudly pushes her table back and approaches, examining the pistol and commenting that it's design could only have come from Europe. Wary of a confrontation over his illegal purchase, and further unnerved when the traveler reveals she's been tailing him, Hachi hastily puts the gun away, tells her to fuck off and sits down to finish his food. However, she persists demanding to know who sold him the weapon, until Hachiman jumps up and aims at her point-blank, asking if she's willing to test his bullet against her blade. Mizu replies that he doesn't deserve her blade, and snatches up a cleaver; as Hachiman fires, she cuts through the pistol's barrel with a single swipe, deflecting the shot *and* severing his index and middle finger. As Hachiman drops the pistol, howling in agony, Mizu slams him against the counter, pulling down her tinted glasses to reveal blue eyes, to his shock. Under pressure, he finally admits he bought the pistol from Heiji Shindo, and is released- but makes the mistake of calling his attacker a "Dead-eyed, half-blooded demon *bastard*" and saying she looks like an *Onryo*. Mizu whirls around, cleaving off two more of Hachiman's fingers (from the opposite hand) with her *katana* before she leaves.

At the end of the episode, Hachiman is shown visiting Heiji Shindo's castle on Tanabe Island, alongside Lord Shindo, Heiji's brother. They both warn him that a mysterious samurai with blue eyes is hunting for him.