Jiro Hitomi

Born to the Political Advisor, Katashi Hitomi, Jiro was always been treated as lesser than by every member of his family, even so far as having a name that literally translated to "eyes of the second son", one last ultimate jab that he was too little too late. Because of this, Jiro has had an inferiority complex from the day he was born, and hides that insecurity behind layers of apathy and sarcasm.

When Jiro first met Hiyashi, he didn't like him. He was jealous of how he had a loving family, a promising future, and dozens of other things Jiro could only hope for, despite Hiyashi (in his eyes) not being anything special. However, after some time, Jiro realized he could boss Hiyashi around because the boy was too shy to say no, and thus their friendship began.

However, what had originally started out as distaste and annoyance towards Hiyashi, eventually turned into real brotherly bond, especially since Hiyashi was the first person to actually treat Jiro like an equal if not higher. By the time they were 15, the two were as close as could be. Even during the coup, instead of running and hiding, Jiro went looking for Hiyashi to make sure he was okay, despite the fact Jiro could barely hold a sword.

Shortly after they first became friends, Saori joined their merry band, and it was the three of them against the world.

Hiyashi was the strong one, not all that bright but was good at hitting things and dealing with any physical obstacles. Saori was their fearless leader, always taking them on one adventure or another, and happily getting into as much as trouble as she could. Jiro was the sly social butterfly, who could easily navigate rumors and gossip, getting any information they needed or passes into anywhere they wanted to go.

However, like all good things, it couldn't last.

As they grew into their teens, Jiro and Hiyashi both ended up falling head over heels for Saori. And, while it was obvious to Jiro that she only liked Hiyashi in return, he kept telling himself that he was reading too much into it, and perhaps he was wrong. He held onto the hope that he still had a chance because, after all, Hiyashi was his best friend - he wouldn't steal the girl he was in love with.

Then, one night after the Dragon Festival, Jiro had been attending with Saori and Hiyashi but noticed they'd suddenly disappeared after the fireworks. He went looking and found them down by the lake, where he saw Saori give Hiyashi a kiss - and that was the final straw.

In the few weeks prior, Jiro had been facing increased scrutiny from his father, as his older brother, Ichiro, had gone off to war so there was no-one else his father could take his frustrations out on. Jiro was consistently compared to Hiyashi and all the places where he just wasn't good enough; he wasn't strong like him, he couldn't fight like him, he wasn't, he wasn't, he wasn't, etc. The worst his father said to him was how embarrassing it was now to only have the son who "was an accident" at home, and how it would have been easier if Jiro was never born. This was nothing new, however, as he'd been emotionally, verbally, and physically abused by his father since childhood, which is was sent Jiro down the path of developing Narcissistic and A-Social Personality Disorder.

Additionally, just a few days ago, Jiro learned that Hiyashi had made an agreement with his father that, when Hiyashi was to become the Military Advisor, Jiro would be promoted as his retainer. However, what Hiyashi failed to realize was that this had just been Jiro's father finding a way to cut Jiro out of the succession line for the Political Advisor position, dooming him to be retainer for the rest of his career. Jiro was enraged by this, by Hiyashi's stupidity, and it was only made worse when Hiyashi couldn't understand why he was so upset - why he couldn't see that this was a good thing.

This, paired with seeing the two at the lake finally caused Jiro to snap. Brotherly love quickly turned to jealousy, and then hate. Jiro was tired of Hiyashi getting everything he'd ever wanted without trying and decided it was time to take his friend out of the picture permanently.

Because his father was the Political Advisor, if something were to happen to him, Jiro could inherit his position - the only issue being that he'd need to get his older brother out of the way first. But as it turns out, Ichiro was a highly decorated soldier, and the Head General directly under Isamu. So, if something were to happen to both Isamu and Hiyashi, then it would be the Head General who would inherit the position. However - Hiyashi had foolishly agreed to taking Jiro as his retainer when he became the Military General, which made things more difficult - but Jiro was still able to work up a plan to get the power he desired.

After Hiyashi was assigned his Musha Shugyō, Jiro managed to sneak his way around until he discovered what the assignment was, and further how to sabotage it; Their job was to deliver medication to a nearby village that had been suffering from an illness and was struggling to get back onto their feet. Jiro concocted a virtually undetectable poison which he then put into the medication, turning it from a cure to a death sentence. Anyone who took it would only become even more violently ill, then die.

Jiro did this knowing the Daimyo would order the execution of the entire village, even the ones who were never sick, in order to keep the plague from spreading. Jiro also knew Hiyashi and how predictable his 'hero' type behavior would be, and counted on him refusing to do so - which is exactly what happened. If Hiyashi never actually *became* the Military General, then his agreement with Jiro's father would be voided, and Jiro would still be in line for Political Advisor.

While he wasn't exactly sure how it would play out, Jiro knew the moment Hiyashi defied the clan, his father would lose his position on the Council one way or another, whether by getting killed in the crossfire, resigning, or being disgraced by the Daimyo. Thus, when he was killed in the crossfire, things fell right into place. Ichiro was summoned to replace the Military Advisor, Hiyashi was nowhere to be found, and Jiro finally had an actual chance of becoming more than just "the second son."

After months of careful planning and patience, Jiro eventually seized the perfect opportunity to kill his father. When he knew his father would be going on a morning ride alone, Jiro set a trap along the trail, which went off as his father passed by. The trap spooked the horse, who then threw his father, broke his neck, and trampled him to death. It was all ruled to be an accident. His only regret was that he couldn't be there himself to watch the light die from his father's eyes - for the man to know that it was Jiro who'd killed him.

Of course, Ichiro took their father's place, and Katsu Hitomi. took over as Military Advisor, However, Ichiro died a few months later in a skirmish, when bandits hired by Jiro ambushed them on a secluded road and killed the entire group. Jiro was appointed the Political Advisor shortly after.

In the years that followed, Jiro was able to work his way up until he was made the Second Hand to the Daimyo, and is now practically more in charge of the clan than he is. Because of the Daimyo's increasingly senile state of mind, he has become easy to manipulate, which was already something Jiro was incredibly good at.

Because of this, Jiro has been able to deftly change the atmosphere of the Hitomi Sect; What was once a clan of samurai that prided themselves on honor and aid quickly became a group of hired killers who cared more about gold than people. They've become known for their brutality and disregard for civilians - man, woman or child. It's all the same to them.

Jiro constantly butts heads with the other advisors, especially the Domestic Advisor, but since he is the Daimyo's Second Hand, he has the final say. Nothing goes to the Daimyo without going through him first.

Jiro also used his position of power to force Saori to marry him, as no one is allowed to turn down the proposal of an Advisor. He has two little girls with her now, named Chiyo Hitomi (7), 千世瞳 - “eternal eyes” - and Akiri Hitomi (11), 明莉瞳 - “bright eyes”, who he loves more like pets than daughters. He likes using them to get under Saori's skin, as he always makes her out to be the bad guy, while he gives them everything they want. The girls adore their father, and have no idea what a monster he is.

Despite all of this - getting the girl he wanted, a position of power he never even dream of having - Jiro still isn't happy. He plans to replace the Daimyo once he is gone, hoping that might fill the void in his chest, but he doesn't realize that still won't fix anything. He misses Hiyashi and hates what he did to his friend, he was young and angry and stupid, but he refuses to admit that to himself. He also misses how Saori used to care about him and hates what he's forced her to become, but he refuses to admit that either. Jiro doesn't know how to deal with his pain in any other way aside from burying it and putting himself above others, which will only get easier the higher on the totem pole he climbs.

With each passing day the Daimyo continues to live into an old age, the more impatient Jiro gets. He is quite irritated over how short the lifespans of humans are in comparison to other races, so he constantly sees the seconds ticking away and obsesses over the time he's lost. One of his most ambitious goals is to grow the strength of the Hitomi Clan and start a military campaign to search for the legendary Dragon Balls in order to Wish for immortality. However, he can't start doing that until the Daimyo passes.

Jiro is charismatic but manipulative. Very few have ever gotten to see how cruel he is, and those are usually his enemies moments before death. Cunning and a cheater, he will do whatever it takes to get what he wants in the most underhanded way possible so that no one knows it was him. He acts weaker than he is, but only because he uses that as a way to get others to fight on his behalf. He usually kills in secret, using poisons or other traps, all made to look like accidents.

The fact Hiyashi was never verified to be dead makes Jiro nervous, because that means there is still a chance he could come back one day and expose the truth.

Jiro is currently 42 years old.