Joe Kuwata

**Joe "Hiro" Kuwata** was a son of a rich and powerful Corpo Family who had ties to the Arasaka Company. Joe was framed for a mild crime a friend of his committed and his family lost they're status with Arasaka. So he was exiled from his family home by his parents. Afterwards, Hiro changed his name to Joe and changed how he lived outside of his privilege lifestyle.

## Background

Hiro Kuwata was born on April 16th, 2053 to Masanori and Yoriko Kuwata, a Japanese Family who worked for Arasaka in Night City. Hiro was the youngest of 4 children, with 2 Sisters Miyako and Honoka and his brother Yōsuke. Hiro lived a privileged lifestyle, his parents were one of the richest Family's in Night City and lived most of his life in a rich neighborhood in Westbrook.

Hiro grew up in a very stricter household, his parents were old fashioned and always followed old Japanese traditions, his siblings were picture perfect always trying to live up to their standards, but this pissed Hiro off. Which pushed Hiro into becoming a rebel when he was in his teens. He started smoking, hanging out with other trouble kids, and staying out past curfew. He would even get involved in drugs like Stim which caused him to get addicted by the time he was 14 and used his family's money on Parties and Joy Toys.

His parents tried to discipline him even as going s far for his father to punch him whenever he talked out of turn, but it didn't phase Hiro. However one incident would change his life, when he was 19, he and his friend Charlie, who was part of the Tyger Claws Gang had shot a rival gang member of the 6th Street and Charlie bolted leaving Joe who was high at the time alone with the gun and dead body and was caught by nearby police officers and was arrested.

Luckily his parents had bailed him out but didn't take him home, Hiro's father told him that he was a huge embarrassment to their family, and even though he actually didn't kill anybody his parents didn't believe him and thought that if they get him out of it he wouldn't be their problem anymore.

So with nothing but the clothes on his back and his parents blocking him from his bank account, Hiro became homeless, he returned back to Charlie's apartment and while he was shocked that Joe was out, Joe was infuriated with his friend, so much so, he grabbed his friend's katana he had on his coffee table and sliced his throat out of pure anger and betrayal. Knowing he killed his former friend who was a member of a powerful gang, he stole all of his Eddies, his sword, his keys to his motorcycle, anything he could sell or keep and made it look like a suicide and fled.

Afterwards, Hiro spent the next couple years working as a Solo Merc only going by the name Joe, only taking jobs that had minimal violence as he was still traumatized from his past sins. He would however meet a former professional MMA Fighter Alex Basset at his newly open Gym. Joe wanted to learn how to fight as he relied mostly on weapons and was recently mugged. Alex had trained Joe in Boxing for a few free lessons. But Alex saw something in Joe, he realized that they were both similar, two guys who reached the top of the food chain but fell from the heavens and are roughing it like any common man.

Alex had told Joe that he was forming a Gang, not like the Animals or Maelstrom, but a gang in stopping local gangs in his neighborhood, Alex had already told a few people, and Joe was at first nervous in joining as he had been weary in joining a gang and knows how dangerous it is, but he knew Alex wasn't like other Gang Founders and knew what he was planning was something for the good and so he joined him.

Currently, Joe is the 2nd in Command of the Razorbats, working in Japantown as a Bookie-style Fixer whenever he gets jobs he can pass on to the Razorbats and acts as a Solo whenever the Bats needed.

## Trivia

* Joe's siblings are all executives working for Arasaka
* Joe has several tattoos he got out of spite of his parents, he has several Kanji symbols on his arms, a green dragon on his left shoulder, and black crane on his right shoulder blade
* Hiro changed his name to Joe due to him wanting to change his new life despite him not revealing his last name as he is worried about people finding out who he was
* Joe's drink of choice is a Japanese Beer called "Red Crane"
* Joe is Bilingual as he grew up learning Japanese but also learned English at the same time and is the Razor Bats go to Japanese translator