WRHG: Haku, “The Wandering Swordswoman.”
Name: Haku (Last name was lost in translation over the centuries)
Powers and Abilities:
- Control over Wind and Air: Capable of either blasting foes with a gust of wind, redirecting certain projectiles, creating air pressure bullets that she can fire from the tip of her fingers, and so on. An unlimited amount of combinations and uses of wind and pressure can be developed from her abilities. Costs energy to create air where there is none, however.
- Heightened senses: Over the years, after living for so long she has gained heightened senses of sight, hearing, smell, touch, and taste. (However it still doesn’t make wasabi look, smell, or taste any better)
- Healing Powers: Her hands glow with a bright green magic. Can’t bring back a limb or missing organ, but can heal up several major wounds at the cost of a bit of energy. (Damn Calories)
- Mastery of the Sword and Unique Swordsmanship: (Now after living a century or two, one gets a little bored…) Haku has mastered many styles of swordsmanship from fencing to kendo, etc. She has even created her own style of swordsmanship that uses her power over the wind to create short-ranged flying blades of wind.
- The Demon: As a last resort, when she loses consciousness, the demon inside of her takes control and fights in her place with all the powers that she has and more! (NOTE: This form only lasts for a minimal amount of time.)
- Demonic Strength: Increases the physical output of Haku’s body, such that heavier objects that humans normally cannot move are now able to, stronger attacks, etc…
- Soul Consumption: Similar to Haku’s wind power, except for the fact that it drains energy from its target at range (only by a small, noticeable margin). It can do permanent damage if it physically gets its hands on you, aging whatever it touches. (Everything breaks down over time. The oceans dry up, the icecaps melt, and even mountains are leveled into dust.)
- Thick Demonic Skin: Strong skin reduces physical damage by a considerable margin.
Weakness:
- Kids (especially those orphaned ones)
- Ranged attacks. Her powers of wind can redirect a few projectiles, but ultimately she must anticipate them first.
- Small cuts and bruises don’t even register as far as consumption of energy is concerned when she heals herself. Healing bullet holes, stab wounds, and severe bodily damage takes more than just a “little” bit of energy to fix.
- Although she has managed to live over several centuries, she is still like a human in the fact: If you shoot her through the brain, dead. If you shoot her through the heart, can't heal it fast enough. Her body is like that of a human and can still be destroyed like that of a human.
Demon’s Weaknesses:
- The demon tends to be a bit overconfident because of its physical prowess, taking its time to play with its target.
- He also is weaker against holy attacks and artifacts. (Does not kill him; rather, it hurts as much as acid on your skin)
- His powers of air are also limited to the air around him, so he cannot use his powers if there is no air.
Personality:
- Generally a kind caring soul who provides for those less fortunate than others, meaning the homeless and Adoption Facilities.
- Has a hard time talking to new people. (Kind of shy? *May take out)
- Avoids strangers, asking and answering only the “need-to-be-asked-questions.”
- Loves kids and plays with the ones at the orphanage from time to time when she’s not doing jobs to earn money to help support them.
- She despises those who treat others badly, but rarely approaches them unless they’ve hurt those she cares about (namely the kids at the orphanage).
- Hates blood, but does not make her incapable of fighting. (Swordsman after all)
Demon’s Personality:
- He is very overprotective of Haku (Any reason can be argued between important vessel or something more, but most is left to the wind of ambiguity) and sometimes appears next to her in his spirit form that only she can see.
- When he’s not hungry for the souls of man, he is a battle-seeker. He loves a good challenge against a strong opponent, but rarely uses his utmost potential during a casual fight (except with his and/or Haku’s life is threatened, in which case he's usually unafraid of doing what it takes to survive).
- Because he is a demon at heart, he also needs his daily nutrition of the souls of mankind. So every now and again he steals their essence (energy) sometimes to the point of accidentally killing his meals.
Appearance:
- The hue of her skin is a milky tan and her eyes an almond brown.
- Her long dark hair extends a little below her shoulders at its full length but is mostly tied in a tight bun.
- Although she is several hundred of centuries old, she still has the appearance of a young adult.
- After centuries of swordsmanship, her hands had developed many calluses. Thank goodness for pumice now a days.
- She once wore the scars of battle proudly during the times of war, but scars do not reflect very well now a days on one's personality. She now wears a gray long-sleeved jacket and light blue slacks in order to hide the more prominent scars.
- Carries her swords at the sides of her hips (both the demon blade and the standard one from the RHG system)
- NOTE ON THE DEMON BLADE: It is not a form of connection between him and Haku, it was simply a prison to entrap him. However, ever since the demon escaped and entered Haku's body, he has been trapped inside of her. The sword itself is remarkably strong and can be called forth when heard by the demon.
- Wears a pack that holds all sorts of mysteries inside them. (Whatever she usually finds useful, she keeps)
Demon’s Appearance:
- Strangely enough, he either simply possesses Haku’s body or takes on his true form, which is similar to the appearance of a male version of Haku. (Even her clothes change with his transformation~! Convenient~!)
- Also has his own tail and horns when he decides to let them out to stretch.
Backstory:
Spoiler (Click to Show)
Wars began to breakout all over the countryside and, out of fear of his family being attacked in the night; he trained Haku in the way of the sword.
One day while cleaning her father's room, she had found a strange short wakizashi sealed behind a panel of the headrest of her father's bed. It was embroidered in a dark green casing and had a strange seal on it that she did not recognize, so she carefully unsheathed the blade to inspect it.
A flash of dark spiraling green engulfed her and unimaginable pain coursed through her body as if her blood vessels would burst beneath her skin. She fainted. When she awoke, she found herself standing outside of house still holding the wakizashi.
Then she noticed it. Blood. Lots of blood pooling from beneath the front door of her house. She ran towards it and pulled open the door. Headless bodies of servants and dismembered bodies of family members scattered the household.
The gruesome sight was too much for her as she tried to keep her stomach from turning. A soft groan from within the house tickled her ears. She jumped at the sound, "Who's there?" The groan did not reply. Haku slowly paced down the halls as she followed the path of blood that painted the floors that seemed to lead her to her father's room.
There her father was, propped up against the wall with his war spear protruding from his chest as his arms hung limp at his sides.
She couldn't hold it in anymore, the vomit in her mouth burned as it bubbled past her throat onto the bloody floor. She dropped to the floor, tears flowing from her eyes and her throat burning. She wiped them with the back of her hand and that's when she saw it. Dry, crusted blood cakes her skin like a shell.
Before she could make any sense of it, a weak groan came from the lips of her father. She quickly tossed the sword and ran to her father as he slowly opened his eyes.
"Demon…" was all he said as he pointed a finger towards her before breathing his last.
Confused she tried to shake him awake, but a different voice greeted her. "Child?"
She slowly turned to the sword that lay on the floor as it slowly rose in the air. Any other eye would have just seen a strange sword, but she saw it fully. A demon, slowly walking towards her holding the sword.
"No stay away!"
The demon stopped and disappeared as the sword fell to the floor.
Several centuries pass by and not much has changed in the world, including Haku. She had time to contemplate her existence and why she had suddenly stopped aging, but she had grown tired of thinking about it. Simply living with what she had was all she could do now.
Haku stands atop a hill overlooking a city briefly taking in the view as the wind blows by. She parts a misplaced strand of hair behind her ear and readjusts her rucksack as she heads into the city. "Join the RHG Tournament, great prizes await!" said the flyer she had pulled from her pack. Her stomach loudly grumbles as she places a hand over it, but she grins all the more beside it and strides into town.[/spoiler]
Demo:
Spoiler (Click to Show)
The fair skinned, Haku brightly smiles as she waves at the elderly man who smiles back and politely nods his head. The automatic doors slide shut behind him and Haku sits down with a heavy sigh as she stretches her arms in the air. “That was the last one! Ready to take over Ronald?”
A man leaning by several bags of rice grunts and rubs his dark wrinkled forehead as he slowly makes his way to the register. He looks down at the small balding man who quickly averts his eyes fumbling around with the coins in his pocket.
Haku removes the apron and picks up her bag as she heads out the door. “Alright, I’ve gotta to go and oh!” She peeks her head back through the automatic door. “Don’t forget to smile Ronald!”
Ronald spreads a wide intimidating smile from ear to ear as the customer throws a handful of bills down, grabs his bags, and dashes out of the store. Haku sighs shaking her head as she leaves the store stepping along the sidewalk as the sun begins to set.
The light of the sun rapidly turns to night as lights begin to flicker on from the windows of buildings and streetlights, dimly exposing the cracked concrete beneath them. Several men gather around fires rubbing their hands together to keep warm as Haku approaches them.
One man notices her arrival and waves a hand to greet her. “Haku! So nice of you to join us down in our part of town again.”
“Hey Bill. How are you doing?”
Bill shifts his hands back to the fire as Haku nods towards the rest of the group with friendly smile. “Oh you know, same ‘ole same ‘ole.” The men open up to let Haku stand with them. “So I here ya’ taking on a fourth job now eh? Don’t you ever sleep?”
“Nah, I let you guys do that for me.” Haku grins mischievously as several of the men snicker at her joke.
“So what have you brought for us today?”
Reaching into her bag, Haku pulls out several red globes and tosses one to Bill. He catches it and takes a large bite. Crunch! The crisp sweet flesh pours into his mouth.
“Apples!” He grins as he takes another.
Haku hands out the rest of the apples to the other men and swings her bag over her shoulder. “Well I’ve got to go to the orphanage real quick before I head out to my next job.”
“Already?” Bill exclaims as pieces of apple fly out of his mouth.
“Yea, well see ya!”
“W-wait! I have something for ya!” He turns and rummages into his backpack and hands Haku a small, but colorfully wrapped object.
“What is…?” She unwraps the object. A terribly patched soccer ball covered in tape and string sits in her hands.
Bill grins as he rest his hands on the side of his hips. “It’s for the kids you know? I felt like since you’ve always done what you can to help out those less fortunate that I’d do something too.”
A warm smile spreads across her face as she walks up to Bill and hugs him tightly, “Thank you so much Bill, the kids will surely love your gift.”
Redness flushes to his cheeks, but he embraces her as well. “Oh and one more thing.” He hands her a folded paper. “There’s this flyer going around about some amazing rewards for those who win their fights in this stadium in the Upper District.”
Haku takes the flyer and gives a pained look. “Come on Bill, really? You know I hate fighting.”
“This is an open invitation to anyone, even those of us from the Lower District! There’s got to be some amazing prizes if the Upper District is handing out freebies.” Bill places a hand on Haku’s shoulder. “All I’m saying is that you could win big, help the orphanage, and become a famous fighter in the Upper District all at the same time.”
“I just…I don’t want the kids to see me that way. Fighting as a means of entertainment is stupid and I don’t want the kids to see those kinds of things.” Haku runs a hand through her hair and releases a heavy sigh. “I’ve got to go. See you later Bill.” She stuffs the paper into her pocket and hurries back onto the road. “Geez what were you thinking Bill.”
Several blocks down the street later, Haku looks up at Saint Mary’s Orphanage with all its windows aglow. The sounds of children yelping and screaming playfully resound from inside as she opens the door. “I’m baaaaaaaaack.”
Several children swarm her with hugs as she walks into the foyer. “Hey kids, not so tight! These are my only pair of clothes.”
“Welcome back, Haku.” An elderly woman with long gray hairs wearing a long dark dress down to her ankles walks down the staircase and spreads out her arms.
Haku hugs the kids tightly before wading past them. “Matron! How have you been?”
The Matron embraces her tightly and kisses both cheeks. “I’m doing great darling, and it’s all because you’ve been helping out with our debt. If this keeps up then our debt should be covered with in this month! I can’t thank you enough for donating all that money from your jobs, it must be quite difficult to manage all those jobs.”
A smirk curves the edge of Haku’s lips, “You heard about that?”
The Matron smiles, “Yes, from Bill down the street.”
“Ah right, of course...” Redness fills Haku’s cheeks as she scratches the bottom of her chin.
A loud shrill of water boiling, resounds from the kitchen father inside of the building. “Ah dinner is almost ready! Come and please have dinner with us.” The Matron lifts her hands excitedly as she takes Haku’s and pulls her along, but Haku retracts her hand.
“I’m sorry I can’t, I have to be at my next job in a few minutes. Besides I’m not that-” Haku quickly backs towards the door, but the smell of homemade food causes her stomach to groan loudly. “I-I’ve gotta go.”
“W-wait!” The Matron quickly follows Haku out the door, but stops at the front porch. “At least take something to eat with you!” But it was too late; Haku had run past where the Matron’s voice could reach her. “Silly girl.” The Matron sighed, shaking her head as she turned back to the Orphanage and closed to door.
Running along the streets with her hand over her stomach, it finally begins to settle down. She pulls out an address scribbled on a crumpled piece of paper as she glances at the street names she passes by. “Hortfield…Krumpert…There we are! Townsend Street.”
Haku stops as she looks up at the building and admires the sign as well as the wafting