Masaya Akitarou no Taigetsu
Low Moon Edge

New Moon of the Rakurai
Adren of the Shadow Lords
Steel Questioner of the Laws
Chujo Hakken of Clan Taigetsu
Leaf of the Razor Edge of the Jade Spear
Ethereal Eagle of the Court of Bamboo Talons

Description


Homid: ~Neither imposing or beautiful, Akitarou demonstrates other qualities. The Japanese gentleman appears to be in his late twenties, and he favors more mature attire. A bold and stylish suit fits the man's slender stature well. Akitarou's boyish face lacks a child's innocence. Ravenesque hair frames his noble cheekbones. He rarely touches his medium-length hair as if afraid to disturb whatever style he chose to wear this month. Despite his sense of fashion, Akitarou reveals more unsettling attributes. The man's thin lips are drawn into a tight, shrewd line. Brown eyes flicker with something unhinged and cruel. Akitarou's favorite hobby can be well-read in that chilling gaze: pain.~

OOC: Appearance 3; Style 1; Pure Breed 2; Glory 7, Virtue 3, Wisdom 6

Glabro: ~Akitarou must have those suits tailor-fashioned. Because when he assumes this near-man form, he still fits his attire well enough to only bulge intimidatingly. His eyebrows thicken some and his hair grows a bit more wild. But he doesn't get as hirsute as many Garou in this form, retaining his handsome nobility.~

OOC: Appearance 3; Fair Glabro; Pure Breed 2; Glory 7, Virtue 3, Wisdom 6

Crinos: ~All masquerade of humanity is shed when Akitarou assumes this terrifying war-form. The black-furred hunter stands almost eight feet, packed with limber muscle and primordial tenure. Deadly, yellow nails and a sharp maw stand ready to deliver bloody pain. A long, thick tail counter-balances the bipedal wolf-man's aggressive stance. The golden lupine eyes regard enemies with calculating ferocity.~

OOC: Appearance 0; Delirium; Pure Breed 2; Glory 7, Virtue 3, Wisdom 6

Hispo: ~The pony-sized wolf is as unnatural in form as the Crinos, and nearly as massive and muscle-bound. Akitarou stalks through the forests and prairies often in this fearsome shape, running down food and foes.~

OOC: Appearance 0; Pure Breed 2; Glory 7, Virtue 3, Wisdom 6

Lupus: ~Although a normal wolf in size and bearing, Akitarou is unusual in his inky night black fur. There are no patches of white or discoloration. While one might assume this is rewarded among the Shadow Lords and Hakken, it is not so. An all-black wolf is as unusual as albino breeds, and is accorded near-ostracism as a result. This is but one more reason why Akitarou is found alone so often: the lean and hungry lone wolf.~

OOC: Appearance 3; Pure Breed 2; Glory 7, Virtue 3, Wisdom 6

"Mmmhmm, I see... Tell me, how did that make you feel?"

History


Youth

A strange auspice brought Akitarou of the Taigetsu Clan onto the face of the Emerald Mother about thirty years ago. Akitarou was born to the wealthy Masaya family in the Taigetsu’s estate, located near Lake Biwa, outside Kyoto. His family’s contribution to the Taigetsu was largely limited to monetary support. His mother was one of the few Ahroun ever born to the Masaya. She and her older mate, a traditionally-raised and purely-bred Kinfolk man, had tried for a male Ahroun child in the past. Their first son was Trueborn, named Akio, but he was just a Theurge five years Akitarou’s senior. Their second son, Akitarou, was even more of a disappointment to the family hopes.

Accordingly, he was raised with rather disdainful parentage. He got the same private education in the clan estate that all Trueborn future Garou received. But his parents were especially harsh disciplinarians. Perhaps they wanted to “harden” the future Ragabash to be as tough as Ahroun. His mother even told him that he deserved and needed the corporal punishment if he wanted to be as strong as warriors should be. And the young boy believed it. He believed every spanking, whipping, and smack that brought tears to his eyes was for the good of the family.

But he didn’t accept it the way his parents thought or hoped he would. It prompted young Akitarou into more mischief. Indeed, the more jaded his parents became to his disobedience, the more perverted his deeds became. It was as if he wanted to earn those whippings from his stern father and temperamental mother. He would even go as far as emulating sexual congress, “humping” poles or even his mother’s leg. And this continued far beyond psychologists would consider normal… Akitarou seemed to suffer from a serious Oedipus Complex as the years ticked by. He wanted his mother, the attractive young werewolf that she was. He lusted after her so much that he gained pleasure from her corporal punishments.

However, at least Akitarou put in his time. A smart boy if twisted, Akitarou learned well and swiftly all that his Hakken tutors had to teach. He memorized the Litany, discovered the hengeyokai -- the Hakken’s fellow shapeshifer allies, and about other shen. He also trained hard at fighting arts, demonstrating a natural knack for kyudo. With a bow and arrow, his instructor discovered, Akitarou would be a deadly warrior. That alone, it seemed, made him a truly worthy addition to the “noblest” Tribe of Garou. And all of this was in preparation for his destined First Change.

Meanwhile, young Akitarou’s perversions worsened. He began to spy on his parents through keyholes as they had sex. He masturbated about it, imagining it was himself in bed with his mother. While his parents remained ignorant of that sneaky and grotesque habit, his mother was giving up hope that her son would be strong. So just to prove how tough he was to his mother, he began to taunt and provoke tougher youths. Some of those kids were future Ahroun of the Taigetsu Clan. And when they turned on him and beat him senseless, he barely fought back at all. He wanted the bruises to prove to his mother just how strong he was. But she refused to acknowledge strength. She only pitied him, until she decided he was doing it just for that. And maybe he was at first. But by his mid-teens, he stopped caring and desiring that kind of attention. Akitarou found that he liked getting beat up, bruised, and bloodied.

First Change & Tutelage

While Akitarou experimented in his enjoyment of physical pain, he was not prepared for an emotional knife to the heart. Not even the premature death of his older brother in the course of his Rite of Passage moved him much. But one night, while listening to his parents talk, he overheard an eye-opening conversation. His mother was pregnant again. And they were hoping that the child would be “proper” offspring, unlike their two “useless” sons. Swelling with hatred, Akitarou rushed out of his home and into the Taigetsu’s vast estate. He ran into the woods, crashing through the brush, tears blinding his warpath. Indeed, his human form finally fell away. The Beast took over and he raced after a startled deer, primitively eager to sink his teeth into blood and flesh. Akitarou First Changed, and returned to his family with a clearer conscience.

Since most of his tutelage was completed through his youth, Akitarou was almost immediately ready to engage in a Rite of Passage. He was shown how to shapeshift and how to step sideways into the Shadow realm, the true face of the earth: the spirit world. In the Yang World, in fact, is where his Rite of Passage would take place. To be accepted among the Hakken and Garou, he would have to prove himself with a final test. He was paired up with a young Ahroun cub, Ryonobu Daichi, who Changed the same month. Three spirits were summoned and released in the Taigetsu Protectorate’s Penumbra to mimic their animal kin. They had to hunt down a Tiger, Eagle, and Snapping Turtle. Only one trophy spirit was needed to pass the test. But whoever won two out of three would pass the Rite of Passage with a bonus fetish as present.

The Ahroun dove into the lake in search of the turtle. While the Full Moon was kept busy locating and finally wrestling with the large and aggressive reptile, Akitarou set up a deadly tiger trap in the woods. He lured the Tiger closer with piteous lupine whimpers, then dashed away. As the tiger pounced, it got a chestful of three foot wooden spike. That ended that! The Ahroun was crawling out of the lake with a conquered turtle’s shell in hand. Akitarou was already on the ball, bow and arrow in hand. He searched the skies, took aim, and brought the eagle down with one fell shot. He raced forward to claim the fallen bird. But the Ahroun snatched it up first, claiming Akitarou’s victory for his own! And naturally, since the Ahroun proved bolder and was, well, Ahroun, he was given the fetish. Akitarou grumped about it secretly, but was pleased to be given true Hakken status nonetheless. Of course, Akitarou learned that victory was more important than honesty. Since the Ragabash passed his test “well enough”, he was accorded the Rank of Cliath among the Garou.

Early Years

Now Akitarou felt like a new man…or rather, werewolf. He felt free from the fetters of his past. No longer did he lust after his mother. He was an adult now. He was beyond childish thoughts, he decided. Unfortunately, he thought his Clan was childish in many ways. He despised how they treated him, a “mere” Ragabash. So the young werewolf decided to strike out away from the estate to find his own fortune. He migrated to Kyoto with a small financial stipend due his noble birth.

Though a “country boy”, Akitarou learned the streets quickly. He fell right in with a slummy crowd. Maybe he was belittling his noble blood and upbringing, but he yearned for acceptance. And his cool, crisp style earned him friends among other youths. Some of his money from the Clan went to paying for his apartment and food. Most of the rest ended up being spent on whores. He didn’t favor high-class geisha either. Akitarou slept with S&M freaks and dominatrix. He got his kicks from their sick games. Of course, Akitarou kept his acquaintances ignorant of his true nature. He didn’t need the Beast to intimidate street rats and prostitutes. He lacked compunction and earned a reputation on the streets for being a sadistic psychopath. That wasn’t quite the truth, but Akitarou liked the façade it provided. Even the Wantong Bone Gnawers he acquainted in those early days stayed away from him.

Perhaps because of his habits and reputation, evil spirits gravitated towards the young Hakken. Yomispawn, Banes, whispered dark words in his ears. They encouraged him to have his way with the prostitutes beyond what they could ever want. They urged him to murder anyone who got in his way or gave him lip. But they underestimated Akitarou. Perhaps they assumed he was a young and uneducated Ronin, cast out from his Tribe and without fidelity or loyalty. Ambition won out over perversion in Akitarou. Where others might have seen danger, the Ragabash saw opportunity. He spoke with the Banes, pretending to agree with their suggestions. He gained enough of their confidence with a few well-placed gruesome murders of his own street “friends” (who were nobody to be missed). Then he lured them to the Wantong of the shantytown districts. The other Garou Raged on the evil spirits, tearing them apart. Akitarou looked on with gleeful delight in his bestial eyes, reveling in the pain the demons suffered. And every night, Akitarou recorded what he learned of his enemies and allies in a journal.

But Banes weren’t the only evils to approach Akitarou. Several years after Akitarou established himself on the local street scene, Hungry Dead of House Genji approached him. They appealed to his ambitions, inviting him to aid him against shen who were foolishly supporting the stagnation of Nippon and thus inviting in evil spirits and influences. While that might have been true, Akitarou determined through parleys with the Genji-myo that these individuals were corrupt themselves. He didn’t have the scent for Yomi’s spiritual taint. But he didn’t need to detect it magically. Akitarou could see it in their behavior and attitude and belief. As he learned back on the estate, the gaki reeked of stolen ki. Akitarou was prudent and did not outright refuse the vampires’ offers.

Unfortunately, the Genji’s old rivals, the Bishamon, did not realize that Akitarou would be refusing their offer. They dispatched a Koga-myo assassin to dispatch the werewolf. As Akitarou left his apartment to another rendez-vous, the assassin attacked from a rooftop. A traditional bow was employed and a silver-tipped arrow was loosed. It struck Akitarou in the back, shredding a vital organ or two. With a gasp of pain and surprise, the Ragabash flung himself into the cover of an alley. There, a handy pocket mirror helped him escape into the Penumbra. The assassin did not follow. So he was able to recuperate. And to his shock and curiosity, it didn’t take long. He pulled the silver arrow from his back, and found that the moon-metal did not cause him the agony it did other Garou. This didn’t register much with Akitarou at the time, however. He deduced that the assassin was a representative of the Genji’s rivals; he was warned against getting tied up in the deadly games of the undead!

So he had to prove he wasn’t a Genji ally to stmy further assassination attempts. He telephoned the Genji contacts. They told him what he figured -- the assassination attempt was Bishamon, their enemies. He feigned outrage and promised to join their ranks against that other House. Despite what they thought, he didn’t actually care about the Genji or their schemes. He was invited to a Genji meeting house the next night to meet those vampires with which he would work. And he showed up punctually, via the Umbra, and at the head of a pack of vicious Wantong warriors. Suffice to say, it was a slaughter. The vampires did not expect a double-cross for a double-cross.

But the Genji had powers and allies of their own. The Sabbat had small groups of Cainites in Kyoto, trying to make contact and ally with the Genji. They figured that they would impress their would-be gaki friends by handling their “Lupine problem”. While the main body moved against the Wantong (which failed when the Wantong called upon Nezumi allies, but that’s another tale), they dispatched a single assassin to take out the “Lupines’ leader”.

So once more, Akitarou’s new apartment home was located and an assassin ambushed him there. The vampire, an Assamite, came out of nowhere and unloaded a Mini-Uzi on Akitarou. The Hakken staggered backwards into a dark alley, riddled. He shifted to his dread Crinos, preternaturally tough hide expelling the bullets and mending the torn flesh. But it was as the Cainite planned. He wanted the werewolf to take his war form because he knew the “Lupines” were only really vulnerable to silver then. He drew a pair of pistols loaded with silver bullets and confronted the wounded werewolf. Once more he unloaded, pistols slamming bullets into Akitarou’s lean Garou war-form. And to the vampire’s shock, Akitarou stood up. He survived the onslaught and returned the favor. Though fast, the vampire wasn’t fast enough at the Raging werewolf, and was rent apart. Akitarou slunk off to lick his wounds, for while the silver did not shred him as it would others of his kind, it still burnt some.

Later Years

In quiet, he decided to return to the Taigetsu Clan Estate. Things were growing dangerous for him in Kyoto. Besides, it’d been about a decade. He figured he did enough “good” and honor for the Clan and Tribe to warrant a promotion to the next Rank. Also, he figured he had a sibling he never met waiting for him. So he packed up and left the city, leaving to where few enemies would dare tread. Even the Koga-myo would rarely accept an assassination assignment on the home estate of one of the largest and most powerful Hakken families left. So he was safe there from his enemies.

Ten years after he first left the estate, Akitarou returned. He went before his elders, demonstrating propriety and humility. He presented his journal to the Clan’s daimio, whom passed it to his assistants for reviewing. From Akitarou’s discoveries and escapades, which spirits were summoned to support (and they did), it was proven that the young werewolf was finally ready to be recognized as Fostern. He just had to challenge for it. So he went to Ryonobu Daichi, who already achieved his second rank several years ago. Unperturbed by that fact or Daichi’s boasts, Akitarou challenged the Ahroun for his own Rank promotion. The formal challenge was issued before the Clan elders. Daichi accepted the challenge and (naturally) the Ahroun decided upon a duel to submission. Akitarou anticipated this.

However, he didn’t expect Daichi’s special alterations to the classic duel, but he smiled nonetheless. It would serve his plans well. For Daichi added that it would be a duel with weapons, and that the opponents got to choose each other’s weapon. Confident in his own war skills, Daichi didn’t care what Akitarou picked. As the challenged, he picked first, selecting a mere arrow. Obviously, the Ahroun was mocking the Ragabash’s only renowned and serious skill of battle…which wouldn’t matter much close range. And with a smile, Akitarou chose a knife for Daichi -- made of silver. The Ahroun was shocked and the elders amused. They approved the choice, however. If Akitarou wanted to die, that was his folly. The Hakken did not protect the weak or stupid.

But the duel was short-lived. The two werewolves assumed Crinos. Then Daichi attacked Akitarou in a fast flurry as to be expected of a seasoned Full Moon. But Akitarou held his ground, even as the knife sank into his belly. To the Ahroun’s shock, Akitarou didn’t topple. Only a sharp snarl from the powerful stab of the blade was issued, instead of a death shriek. And the Ragabash countered immediately, plunging the arrow straight through Daichi’s throat. The Ahroun staggered backwards and collapsed, gurgling. Since any further wounds could be lethal, the elders called the duel to a halt. And while Akitarou was clearly the victor, he was put on house arrest. Garou did not shrug off a keen silver blade without some serious magical protection…or the protection of the devil.

So Akitarou was holed up in the main building while suspicious were allayed. Finally, the Clan Seer deduced the truth. Akitarou did not betray the Hakken to Yomi or some other malefic force. His tolerance of the moon-metal was natural. Unique, to be sure, but the Seer had discovered its root. Eager to know himself, Akitarou listened as the Seer explained that the boons of past lives could carry on into the present. And in the past, Akitarou was long silver tolerant. It was as if his own peculiar fighting style -- to “stand, deliver, and enjoy it” -- was ingrained over dozens of previous incarnations. As a result, his spirit and body developed a slight immunity to silver. In short, it was chalked up to psycho-somatic evolution. With that obstacle overcome, Akitarou was recognized in the next month’s moot as Fostern. While Daichi wasn’t pleased that he was tricked, Akitarou was not above reminding the proud Ahroun of the fetish amulet he won from the Rite of Passage…

With that matter settled, Akitarou decided to hang out at the Clan estate for awhile. He needed to catch up with his family and update his lore. He wanted to study up on the Kin-jin. The Western vampires’ attack on him in Kyoto irritated him to no end. While he spent some time in the estate’s large library, he also spent time at home. His father was busy and aloof as usual. His mother was gone on semi-permanent business up north with another Clan. His young sibling whom he never met was “taken care of” by sent everyday to a private school. The young girl was “merely” Kin of good breeding, named Eihi. And like Akitarou, she suffered abuse from her parents. Though they did not heap corporal punishment on her as they did Akitarou, she was emotionally abused by their distance and strictness. Akitarou showed his first sign of genuine compassion for Eihi, and began to dote on his ten year old sister. He presented with her gifts weekly and spent time with her to sneak her books and teach her skills she wouldn’t learn because she wasn’t Trueborn. They shared a common interest in archery, and he was pleased when she took pride in fixing his box and making arrows for his use.

So Akitarou stuck around for about three years. During that time, he honed his archery talent down to a fine art. He looked into expanding his knowledge of spirits and their lore. The expansive estate provided plenty of kami with which to commune. But Akitarou, in private, also began to experiment with darker habits. He explored pain, applying various ideas of torture to his own body. He recorded what worked and what didn’t. He also brainstormed ideas to test later on how to torture vampires. The Taigetsu library had little on the Kin-jin. It seemed Akitarou would have to learn their secrets from their own lips…which he doubted would flap willingly.

Recent Years

Finally, in early 2004, he announced his plans to go to the West and learn what he could of the Kin-jin. As a Ragabash, they decided it was auspiciously correct. However, to do it properly, he was told, he would need to consign his loyalties beyond the Clan. He would have to take up the Great Burden and count himself among the hengeyokai of the Beast-Courts. In Kansas City’s Little Asia district, he was told, a rising Court of such Fera could be found. So he wrote the Regent a request to join; Yamakita Mori returned the request with approval. So he kissed his sister good-bye and embarked on a flight to America.

Of course, his elders thought it fit to send Mori a warning about Akitarou’s…unusual tendencies. The hengeyokai accepted Akitarou’s petition and he took up the Mandates of the Emerald Mother with proper, quiet dignity. But beneath that façade of gentility, Akitarou nursed his own ambitions and lusts. The gai’nan watched the young Hakken warily. They would give him a chance to prove himself worthy. And he would make good on that opportunity. And perhaps Heaven was teasing or tormenting him. In a bold move, Eihi up and left Japan. She trucked off to America to join her brother after running away from home. He took his sister in, but his true selfish colors were beginning to show to those who knew for what to look. Akitarou served first and foremost Akitarou.

Fetishes


Bane Arrows (talens)
Gnosis: 4
Origin: Akitarou collected obsidian shards from the sides of Fujiyama. He then had arrowheads constructed from the shards. He took the arrows, summoned the wind, and bound the Air Elementals into the arrows in exchange for a favor: he had to punish one cigarette smoker for every arrow. Six cigarette smokers were kidnapped and burnt repeatedly with their own lit-up cigarettes. Akitarou had fun with that favor. He hasn't used any of them since he made them last year and thus has 6 arrows left.
Description: The arrowheads are black obsidian. Smooth pine was used for the shaft and raven feathers make up the fletching. They are of standard length for daikyu bows: approximately two feet long. The half-dozen arrows rest in a slender thatch quiver. When the arrows are fired, a shrill whistle sounds in the area.
Effects: 1) home in on Banes, visible or not, and inflict aggravated damage and provoke a howl of agony
Activation: String 'em up and fire away. If no Bane is present within the bow's range, the arrow will go straight. It may be damaged if it hits, say, a brick wall -- this would release the elemental. Otherwise the talen can be reused.

Significant Other


Sick, twisted, and perverse, Akitarou forever played up the worst aspects of the New Moon Auspice in his lusts for his mother. When Eihi ran away from her hopeless family to be with her loving brother, Akitarou found an excellent substitute for his beautiful mother in the developing young girl. Akitarou seduced Eihi through coercion, a sly tongue, and physical lusts. Eihi even had a baby with her brother, born on February 28th, 2005. And clearly their mating was blessed, for their son, Gisei, was destined Trueborn and Ragabash like his father (though waxing…). But as incestuously disgusting as it may be, Akitarou genuinely loves and adores his little sister. And she loves him in return, although her feelings for her sibling are now thoroughly muddled. Still, he will watch out for and protect her at all costs, like a good mate should. It’s just a shame he’s such a sick fuck. But then, the nobility have often displayed streaks of madness like this…

Fortunately for Eihi and their incestuous offspring, the family back home learned of the affair in 2009. Eihi (and their son) was ordered home and, to hide the sordid business, Akitarou was quietly chastised but never formally punished. Though infuriated of the stripping away of his beloved sister (and the trust fund she could tap), Akitarou was at least glad he wasn’t severely punished.


Eihi

Significant Other


But even as Eihi escaped the incestuous fate with her brother, their youngest sister, Kiwa, slipped away from the family and home in Japan in 2012. She joined Akitarou in America, jealous of the attentions her sister earned both at home and abroad from their beloved brother. She demurely yearns for the same treatment...


Kiwa

Weakness
Rotten Heart


There's something wrong with Akitarou. He's twisted, sick, perverted. He takes notions of nobility, honor, and sacrifice and flips them inside out. Perhaps that's what he's supposed to do as Ragabash. But maybe he goes too far.

Likelihood of Corruption


High.

Unlike many Garou, Akitarou's greatest threat isn't from his Rage. It's from his own perversion. Sooner or later, Yomi will be drawn to his sinister wants and heartless ambitions. Will he fall, or check those imbalances before it's too late?

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