Karasu Samezuka

**Karasu Samezuka** is a character in the roleplay. He is a disgraced Kitsune ninja from the land of Kakyou, currently on the run from the village that trained him.

## Personality

Karasu is perhaps the scummiest liar you could possibly ever meet. This has to do with his deep-seated love of money that seems to be ingrained within the very core of his being. Being a naturally charismatic fellow, he will happily chat up anyone and do nearly anything to obtain even a fraction of currency. His only desire is really to have the money more than do anything with it, and, should anyone be aware of his true nature, he values it above all else with few exceptions. The "few exceptions" are the lives of his family: his parents and a younger sister whom he dotes on. Everyone else he encounters, however, is simply a walking, talking piece of meat that is the means to his ultimate end of getting more money. As such, he is a rather amoral figure - not questioning the motives of any of his contracts unless they seem to be suicide missions. As a ninja, he makes sure to carry out his tasks discretely and stealthily, and is, for the most part, loyal to the one who has hired him. However, should he be offered a better price, he will terminate other contracts if necessary. In short, Karasu lives and breathes money, and nearly everything he does is to simply obtain more of it.

## Background

The eldest son of two influential kitsune from the land of Kakyou, Karasu grew up pretty much the perfect son. His parents doted on him, and made sure he received the best education and learning that any child could ever need. Unfortunately, while he was granted these luxuries, his younger sister was not by virtue of her being "average" in just about every field that their parents deemed worthwhile. As such, Karasu took it upon himself, the perfect older brother, to dote on her since their parents did not. His sister considered it, and still considers it, pity, and thus she rebuffed any and all attempts he made to help her "inadequacies." It was then that Karasu began taking ninja-esque habits - following his sister in secret and helping her "average" quality in secret. Many of her strokes of good luck were, in fact, him secretly having manipulated a scene in her favor. The ability to do this at a relatively young age managed to capture the attention of several high ranking ninja of Kakyou - and after some discussion his parents essentially "sold" him to a ninja village, under the conditions that Karasu would still have visitation rights.

To the village that took Karasu in, he was both a blessing and a curse. The young kitsune was a prodigy; what he lacked in the natural magic of illusion that most kitsune had, he made up for in practical skill. He was stealthy, proficient in combat, proficient in poisons, proficient in espionage, disguise, and lying. With such raw talent that would develop into even finer skill, the village was confident that this supposed genius would be the next ninja master that people would only speak of in hushed whispers. The curse, however, was the immense greed that came with the boy. How exactly it occurred is still up in the air, but Karasu loved money. And as the years passed, it progressively grew worse and worse, to the point where money seemed to own Karasu and not the other way around. Perhaps the even more messed up part was that Karasu seemed to be well aware of the fact but didn't seem to care; in fact, he seemed to embrace the greed. It was at this point the village leaders were at a loss of what to do with their fallen prodigy, as his behavior in the pursuit of more money seemed to be growing more and more erratic as each day passed.

By the time the village leaders took action, it was too late. Karasu had become a "dishonorable" ninja, accepting private contracts for himself and acting for his own self rather than that of the village. They'd no idea of it, however, until Karasu had accepted an assassination contract for one them. He succeeded, leaving the village without a trace and Kakyou itself. Since then, the kitsune has wandered from place to place, accepting various contracts ranging from basic espionage, assassination, and even more "questionable" tasks. As long as the pay is good, Karasu will do it. Often times, he never gives a name when accepting a contract, and when he does, it's usually a lie. Seeing as there is a ninja village after his head, discretion is the better part of valor.

The tournament of Khairu is of particular interest to Karasu, if only for the possibility of cash prizes. He couldn't care less for the glory aspect.

## Powers & Abilities

While Karasu is a Kitsune and is able to use illusion magic, he is not as skilled in it as the rest of his race. What he lacks in magical ability he makes up for in practical skill sets in espionage and assassination.

One of his more notable skill sets in the creation and usage of various poisons. Within the Khairu Tournament, he restricts his usage to non-lethal toxins. The non-lethal blends are all temporary in effect and range in their effect; the effect lasts depending on how large of dosage was received, and the toxins can spread further into other areas of the body if the target continues movement. The “sluggish” blend ensures that affected area is less responsive in movement time. For example, making a movement to grab a knife might take around a second, whereas under the sluggish effects, it would take up to two or three seconds. The “nausea” blend is rather self-explanatory, causing fits of nausea within the target. How fast the fits occur depends on the point of entry into the target’s system. If ingested somehow, the effects occur as soon as the toxin hits the stomach. If the point of entry is on a blade and is cut on the target, an arm gash can show effects within two minutes, legs within four minutes.

Perhaps the most creative toxin on Karasu is the pain nullifying toxin. This is a toxin not used by Karasu for his own benefit, but rather on his foes. As Karasu lacks in raw physical strength, he preferred method in an all-out brawl is to chip away at his foe until they are incapable of combat. The pain-nullifying toxin is one of the ways he goes about this, inflicting a person with the smallest of cuts laced in the toxin. The toxin allows the target to move as normal, but numbs pain receptors to a point where the target cannot feel that they were injured. It lulls the target into a false sense of security that they are unharmed, while Karasu can continuously inflict small injuries upon them without drawing their attention until it is too late. The toxin, like sluggish blend, spreads in the body, so that it does not stay contained within the area it was first applied to.

## Trivia

* Samezuka is not his true last name, but rather a name he just took to deter any who might recognize him during the tournament, as Karasu itself is a rather popular ninja name.

* For creatures like gargoyles and wraiths, who are less susceptible to poisons, he usually forgoes preparing his weapons with toxins. No point in it if it has no effect.
* He seems to dislike the elderly; why, he's never said. If an elderly person ever mentions cranberries, then he loses his composure - which is quite tough to do.