Takanashi Kuromiya

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"*I knew my father was a Cinder, I knew the whole time. He couldn't hide it from me, I'm sure mom knew too. It wasn't that I couldn't face the facts, it wasn't that I didn't want to believe it. It was because I knew despite it all he wasn't a bad person, I remember looking into his eyes one night before he went out. I knew he was going to commit crimes, but I could see the look in his eyes. They looked so sad, as though he was looking at me and begging me to save him. Heroes are supposed to save people, right? That means saving villains from themselves too!*"
—Takanashi preaching his ideas
**Takanashi Kuromiya** (小鳥遊黒宮, *Takanashi Kuromiya*) is a seventeen-year-old man, born and raised in Hylion for the majority of his young life. Takanashi moved from Hylion to Ishtar during his 8th-grade year after the accidental death of his father at the hands of a Knight of the Toranku. With his father being unmasked as a Cinder, a great deal of shame and disgrace was brought upon his family to the point they saw fit not only to move from their home but out of the country entirely. Despite this, Takanashi harbors no ill will toward his father. Going so far as to continue to idolize him for everything that he'd taught him. A pacifist at heart, he believes that all living things are precious. As such, he has vowed never to fight with the intention to kill no matter how dire a situation might be. A difficult vow to keep given that his magic, TBA, can easily be used with deadly force without the right amount of control. He does not have such great ambitions as becoming the greatest at anything or even a powerful mage, instead, devoting his life to becoming a good person and holding onto his own ideas of what that means.

## Personality

Takanashi is a kind-hearted young man, some may even say that he is kind to a fault, he looks long and deeply to find the goodness in others even if such a thing may be difficult to find in some. Believing that true evil is a rare and possibly even nonexistent thing within the hearts of people. He is quick to trust others, but no one should take this a sign of naiveté on his part as he won't allow himself to be taken advantage of, easily able to tell the difference between a genuine desire for help or friendship, or manipulation in an attempt to take advantage of his good nature. The oldest of five siblings, Takanashi knows how to be an older brother, a quality that extends to any other group he finds himself a part of. His leader-like qualities making him charismatic, something he uses to help others to the fullest of his abilities.

Descendant from a clan of Samurai once said to have been under the service of Hylion's king, a fact that his family took a great deal of pride and honor in, Takanashi's father raised him as a practitioner of many of the traditional ideas and beliefs held by his family. Raised not only in the art of the sword but in the very ideas of Bushido itself, raised to take the eight virtues to heart and to never stray from a good and righteous path. Even after the disgrace brought upon his family by the villainous deeds of his father, Takanashi has not lost faith in the teachings his father had spent his life teaching both him and his younger siblings. The loss of his father serving to strengthen his beliefs and desire to continue down a good and honorable path.

Takanashi is a devoted practitioner of Buddhism, his goals and ideas reflecting this. When back in school, he would wake up at four in the morning every single day and devote the first two hours of everyday day to meditation followed by stretches and breathing exercises before he headed down to the dorm kitchen to prepare breakfast and lunch boxes for those who want them. Holding the belief that all living things are precious, Takanashi is a vegetarian. This can easily be reflected not only in his own food choices but in the meals he prepared for others. Often leaving out things such as bacon and sausage, instead, making things such as scrambled eggs or pancakes for a healthy and fueling first meal. However, he isn't one force his ideas onto others, not so much as a nasty stare in the direction of those who chose to make themselves breakfast. Though he does dislike the smell of cooking meat, breathing through his mouth when around it to try and avoid the smell.

On days off, Takanashi would alternate his schedule. Spending some weekends training, others studying, and other times wandering around Unianim looking to help others with menial tasks or labors. As the day came to a close, he would always return to his dorm where he will offer to help with dinner duties whether he is scheduled to or not. Helping when he can or returning to his room to meditate on the day. After dinner, he held a study hall in the dorm lounge area where students both from their dorm or other classes can join in to help one another with subjects they may be struggling in. Once that was done and everyone had returned to their homes safely, he would pray in his room before going to bed. His schedule not changing much between days off or school days besides the actual act of going to school. Multi-day training exercises also changing his schedule a bit.

Takanashi is not known to have grand or even great ambitions for himself, having little to no desire to become a world-famous or even one of the four Beast Saints. When asked what it is that he would like to do with his life or why he chose to attend Mimisbrunnr he would almost always answer by saying that more than anything he wishes to be a good person. His own ideas of what it means to be a hero fitting more into the traditional definition. Believing that a hero is someone who saves others, holding great compassion even for criminals. Something that is often looked down upon due to the reckless danger such people often pose to society.

## Equipment

**Kouhei**: A sword forged for Takanashi by his late father that was meant to be a gift for him on his Eighteenth birthday, the sword was given to him by his mother after they'd moved from Unianim to Bahri in an attempt to help cheer him up after they'd left everything behind to find a new home in Ishtar. The blade is dark, nearly, black in color, measuring in at twenty-seven inches with the entirety of the sword measuring to be about three feet in length. A watery pattern across the blade a clear sign that it was forged from high-quality Damascus steel, durable and stronger than stainless steel commonly found in low-quality modern swords. However, the blade is unique in a much different way than one might expect. Knowing of the pacifistic nature of his son, the sword was forged with a reversed blade. The edge of the sword being found on what is normally referred to as the "blunt" side of the sword. The sword having little use as a cutting tool as the "edged" side of the blade has no edge at all. Takanashi's father wishing to respect the ideas of his son while still giving him the means to protect himself should the worse come to pass. His father naming the blade, Kouhei, meaning "Calm Peace" in Hylion's native tongue.

## Magic & Abilities

**Intelligence**: Takanashi has always been known by his fellow students and peers to be what one might describe as "the perfect student". Diligent in his studies, Takanashi was always favored by his teachers. Becoming somewhat of a teacher's pet on multiple occasions, though, not even his classmates could find it in themselves to dislike him for that. It was stated by his teachers that, with his grades and intellect, he could have gotten into any high school he applied for.

* **Bilingual**: Having Family living in Ishtar on his mother's side, Takanashi and his family would often take trips to visit them during holidays. His aunt and uncle helping him learn the necessary means to communicate and navigate the very strange and different world than he was used. to Takanashi enjoying his time spent in Ishtar and traveling around Ashvattha, taking the time to learn Ishtarian from a private tutor who would visit multiple times a week. Takanashi is rather fluent in reading Ishtarian but occasionally still messes up while attempting to speak it, the process of learning a language being a difficult one.

**Strength**: Takanashi is a strong and healthy individual. His dedication to his training having molded his body into one of near peak condition for someone of his age, an avid swimmer, the entirety of his body has been well trained and this is obvious in his physique with defined and prominent muscles.

**Endurance**: An athletic child, endurance is where Takanashi shines. Both his swimming and his swordsmanship helping mold him into a well-oiled machine capable of continuing the fight long after others might have given in. Partly due to pure determination but mostly due to the types of exercises that his two hobbies force him to participate in. As a result, Takanashi has stamina to spare.

**Iaijutsu**: Sometimes referred to as "the art of drawing the sword", it is a form of kenjutsu that focuses on the practice of drawing ones sword and cutting in that same smooth motion. It can be used both aggressively with premeditated surprise attack or defensively to counter attackers. The speed in which skilled practitioners can draw their sword and cut down their target being a spectacle in and of itself, Takanashi being trained in this art from the age of six and still practices in the style of Eishin-ryu to this day.

* **Muso Jikiden Eishin-ryu**: The most commonly practiced style of Iaido in Hylion and in the world, Eishin-ryu, meaning "Peerless, direct transmission, true-faith style", is a school of Iaido consisting of many different sword techniques that can be used for a multitude of positions both standing and sitting. Focusing on drawing the sword and striking, it emphasizes awareness and precision in its execution.

**Basic Self Defense**: Taught to Takanashi alongside swordsmanship from a young age by his late father, he views Judo not only as a form of self-defense but one of both self-expression and a way of life. Beginning his training at the age of six years old, Takanashi was trained not only by his late father but by his grandfather who owned a dojo not far from their home. Learning the martial art the same way other children might learn to play baseball or football. Not taking it very seriously at the beginning as most kids would, but as he grew older his dedication to the art deepened, especially with the passing of his grandfather.

* **Judo**: A form of martial art that is derived from Jujitsu, it is considered a modern martial art and is often practiced both as a form of self-defense and as a competitive sport. It is a martial art that focuses on using leverage, grabs, and holds to unbalance opponents using their own force and momentum against them instead of directly opposing said force. Meaning, "the gentle way", the philosophy of Judo is one in which practitioners do not meet force head-on. Rather, giving way, allowing the opponent to make their move and face the consequences of their actions. The philosophy associated with Judo is one that Takanashi can identify with on a personal level, his own nature making it so that he rarely if ever the aggressor in a situation.

## Trivia

Names means, "Little birds playing by the black shrine"