Izuha Okita

After spending time in New York City, Izuha has been drawn to Los Santos for reasons unknown to him. Perhaps his background will in some way assist the city and its people, but in the meantime, he is content simply to be there. He is taking over from Marcus Soft writing the People of Los Santos column for The Scene, and will be doing an ongoing series to highlight the many international historical and cultural influences of the diverse Los Santos people. The opportunity to write about his and others' cultures and cultural histories has become a part of that which he looks forward to greatly.

## Izuha Okita『沖田 ・異図刃』

### Relatives

Hashiro 『葉白』 (sister, adopted)

Okita Souji 『沖田・総司』 (master, deceased)

### Occupation

Los Santos: Writer for The SceneKyoto & Edo: Guardian

## Physical description

### Species

Kunitsukami『国津神』 (Meaning: Earthly Spirit)

## Appearances

### Portrayed by

Deidara @ https://www.twitch.tv/bishoukun https://www.twitch.tv/SandstormSystem

## Background

#### *A Kunitsukami Forms*

It is not uncommon that objects which have either seen a long life of use or which have been greatly cherished and cared for to develop hearts of their own.

In 1861, Okita Soujirou 『沖田宗次郎』, who would later become Okita Souji 『沖田総司』of the Shinsengumi, began teaching the strict art of kendo. Soujirou was already a master of several schools, or disciplines, of kendo and was considered a prodigy. One of the personal bokken Soujirou used in both teaching and personal practice would be taken with him to Kyoto, as this wooden blade refused to warp or break.

For its endurance and reliability, the young man treated it with respect and familiar affection, and this would be one of the few informal blades he would keep with him upon his return to Edo shortly before his death. The moment that all of the experiences and emotions integrated into a soul was during the final days in Edo, where an ill and rest-bound Souji carved three kanji where steel katana would often have their trademarks or formal names and decreed what would be the name of the kunitsukami that had formed: 『異図刃』Izuha, meaning "unique blade."

#### *Okita Izuha*

The night Souji died was the same night Izuha gained enough focus to take on a human form. Izuha was drawn back to Kyoto and would pass back and forth between there and Edo until the outlawing of the life-style that Souji had spent his whole life involved in and passionate about. From then on, he stuck to Kyoto, staying in a small traditional house near the temples which were familiar to him.

He is still known in his local area of Kyoto to indulge the younger children's playfulness and mischief, as well as protecting any who would otherwise be endangered from wilderness or dangerous people. Many of the traditional residents of Kyoto are aware that he is a kunitsukami, and many times over the last century and a half, he has been entrusted with guarding village children when it was known that their parents would be away or if any had run off and gotten lost.

This directly led to him finding Hashiro 『葉白』 during a winter downpour that had turned to black-out snow, dressed in a thin light-blue kimono. The girl was a kind child spirit who needed permission to live somewhere, so he took her home and told her to live in his house from then on. Hashiro, who remains about eleven years old in appearance and demeanor, dutifully takes care of the house chores in gratitude for her now-permanent home.

#### *Expanding Horizons*

Izuha has, at the suggestion of his adopted sister, begun to travel and visit cities beyond their home province of Kyoto. At first, he stayed within Japan and its territories, but he's expanded into the United States. He chose the US because it is both the most foreign to him and the most interesting; The convergence of international cultures and how those cultural histories have formed cultures of their own intrigues him. He has noticed that as global cultures begin to intersect more and more, the types of spirits and other creatures native to each culture have spread with their people - He has encountered a kitsune (a Japanese fox spirit which grows up to nine tails with wisdom, power, and age) in New York City.

Curious to find out just how much bleeding and blending of cultures goes, he has found himself strongly drawn to a city full of energy and a diverse cast of ethnicities: Los Santos. He doesn't know why he's there, but there was no hesitation in diving right into the community and becoming a writer for The Scene.

## Personality

Izuha will never correct anyone about it, but he dislikes people he isn't close to using his given name without permission, and will introduce himself with his surname, Okita. Izuha is a somewhat reserved man, expressing his enthusiasm or passions in a rather quiet, almost muted manner. He will always try to be as polite as possible without necessarily being formal. It is difficult to offend him even when trying to do so, as he tends to ignore such attempts as childish and unworthy of being acknowledged.

Beyond that exterior, however, Izuha is very gentle and kind. He appreciates the people who give him opportunities to be silly and ridiculous. While children can do this easily, adults will have to find a way for him to be comfortable letting go of social rules and assure him that they won't take offense or view him as being rude.

One of the many traits he inherited from Souji was the love and protectiveness of children and their innocent enthusiasm and enjoyment of life. When asked about this, he will say that childhood is a pure and precious time a person only has once to experience, and that it should be cherished and last as long as possible. He may also add that, since he looks after Hashiro, it's only natural that he tends to view all children as younger siblings.

## List of Major Events

Nothing major has happened around Okita so far.

#### Family

* Souji『沖田総司』
* Hashiro 『葉白』

#### The Scene

Izuha has a positive, though still largely formal, relationship with his new co-workers at The Scene. Their immediate kindness and acceptance of him into the fold has made a good impression, and so far there hasn't been anyone he's particularly disliked.

* Mary
* Marcus
* Coach
* Candi
* Sadie
* Elaine

* (There was one more that I cannot remember the name of I'm sors ;;A;;)
* Linus
* Stu

#### Neighbors/GPS

* Cupcake | Izuha found a line of salt left across his motel room door (which, unbeknownst to him, was done by Beth two doors over). Without context, this had him very confused, and he took to social media to ask about what it meant. The answer 'to keep in/out demons' wasn't all that helpful, as where English has one word, Japanese has multiple possible translations that could fit (ie; youkai, akuma, oni, obake, and even kami). A member of GPS arrived as he was inspecting it after going inside to check that nothing had been stolen or moved, and it turned out that she was actually his upstairs neighbor. Cupcake discussed the situation with him and broke the salt line, and they spoke about the supernatural cultural blending taking place as more people travel the world, and about the GPS uniform, until Cupcake began developing a headache from being near the kunitsukami. He quite likes Cupcake so far, thinking of her as being rather adorable, and finds her embracing of silliness to be a welcome change of pace.

## Trivia

* Izuha adopted the surname Okita 『沖田』 from his former master out of a deeply rooted respect for the man.
* If you address him as 'Souji' or 'Soujirou,' he will respond immediately as though it were his name.
* His favorite things are his little sister, rainy days, and writing in autumn.
* Izuha has a tendency to like cute things, exemplified in one of his Twitter profile pictures here.
* He tends to like sweet and savory foods over things that are salty.
* Sometimes there will be awkward pauses in his speech as he tries to find the best words to fit his meaning.
	+ (This is largely to mask the mun's executive functioning disorder and smaller instances of dissociation.)
* While he speaks fluent English, there are times when his heritage slips through in his speech;
	+ He'll answer 'hai' 『はい』when called for or startled, such as when he's deeply engrossed in his writing.
	+ He'll answer phone calls with 'moshi-moshi' 『もしもし』before sometimes correcting himself.
	+ When confused or surprised, he'll often use 'ara' 『あら』which can translate generally to 'huh?'

*Played by Deidara @ https://twitch.tv/bishoukun / https://twitch.tv/sandstormsystem*