Raiden Takanashi

Shinobi & Retainer of the Black Tortoise Household

Appearance

Personality

Despite the cruelty and malice that his profession may entail, according to some others, Raiden Takanashi as a person is anything but. His usual disposition is that of a calm, collected, and insightful individual. Raiden is normally described as a quiet man of peaceful nature, easily approachable, generally only speaking up whenever spoken to or whenever he feels it is necessary. He is kind, caring, loyal to a fault, and feels things far deeper than his gentle smile will reveal.Upon interacting with others, Raiden will present himself as cordial and respectful as one should be. He is normally the type to listen instead of talking however, as he is not one to clamor for the spotlight in any social environment, so to speak. He usually listens and observes without directly being involved so that he is able to understand others. This enables him to think without prior preconceptions and prejudices and instead judges other people and other situations on their own merits.When it comes to his work, he takes his duties seriously, whether it is gathering intelligence, infiltrating a guarded area, or assassinating a target. He is very meticulous when it comes to his missions, as well as in general, really. He usually prefers to follow the most efficient strategy that will bear results as quickly as possible, as well as with the least amount of casualties possible.

History

Born and raised in the nation called Doma, within a small village of Namai in the mountainous region of Yanxia, Raiden Takanashi had grew up as a simple rice farmer, helping his family grow rice as a trade. While his mother had passed soon after birth, he was under the care of his father and his older brother. As a child, he had looked up to the two very much as they went off to fight of the Garlean Empire, who had been Doma's oppressors for two decades and a half. The child at the time had wanted so much to join them in the fight, only to meet the refusal of his father. It was until he had reached the age of nine when Raiden was permitted to learn under the secret way of the Shinobi and the art of Ninjutsu. When he would turn fourteen, he would finally join the battlefield along with his brother, father, and the Doman Liberation Front, as they continued to take the fight to the empire. What they lacked in numbers, they would make up for in martial prowess, and with the techniques and philosophies he would learn from the shinobi, Raiden would prove a most valuable asset in the fight for freedom.Doma's advantage to the fight would soon come to an end, however, as Raiden would be ordered to go on a stakeout alone to observe a garlean hideout in order to return back to base in order to come up with plans of attack. He would complete this mission alone, or so he thought, as he was met with two imperial soldiers who had discovered him. With no other option, he was forced into combat with the soldiers, emerging victorious . After the short scuffle, he would begin to question how they were able to find him, then would have an uneasy feeling that there was treachery within the Doman Liberation Front. He quickly made his way back to the hideout, only to find it in ruin. Everything was shattered, slaughtered bodies were everywhere, his fears would unfortunately come true. He would quickly search around for his father, who had been lying on the ground due to serious blow he sustained. When he was found, Raiden quickly went to him and was informed that his brother had defected towards the garlean empire and revealed their plans to them. He would also be told to go with the group of Domans who were fleeing their country to escape capture. After his father drew his last breath, Raiden was crushed, distraught, and furious. He would stay for the time being in order to search for his brother and put him to the sword for his crimes.After months of searching, dispatching soldiers, and covering his tracks as he did so, Raiden would finally meet his brother face to face, and would finally engage in a final fight to the death. After a long and grueling battle, Raiden would emerge victorious, but the pain in his heart would not relieve, as he wanted so desperately to bring his sibling back from the darkness that had consumed him. He would soon realize that it would not be safe for him to stay home, so he would take his brother's sword and make his way towards Eorzea by boat alone, where he would spend almost a year as a refugee for almost a year before returning back to Doma to continue the fight, this time not only to protect his homeland, but to atone for his brother's sins and cleans his spirit of evil.A couple of months went by after the war had ended, Raiden was back home in Namai for a short time. One particular day took place, he had just finished his duties tending to one of the many rice fields within the small village until he had been met with one doman woman. A hyuran war general by the name of Koto Shinonome who had been looking for him specifically. She had originally came to his village in search of him with the intention to question him about the events that led to the initial failure of the rebellion, as her, along with her company had suspicions about his allegiance. The shinobi would soon catch on to her intentions after a bit of talking, likely due to her dancing around the subject. As soon as she revealed her true intentions, he would then tell her everything about who he was, and what had transpired. This would surprisingly lead to the two spending a good amount of time together. After all of their talks, the sparring matches, and trials that she would have Raiden undertake for the purpose of getting to know what kind of person he was, their friendship would begin to grow even more, that their bond would be turned towards the familial spectrum. Raiden would soon be met with an invitation from her to join the Household of Genbu as retainer. A bit shock was his first reaction, then came joy and gratitude. And from that moment on, he has continued to serve faithfully by her side, eternally grateful for the second chance that she had given him.

Combat Style

Connections

Over the course of his journey, Raiden has met no small number of people who hail from different places and backgrounds. And throughout this process, there would eventually be several people who have made a permanent impact in his life.

Kuina Mori

His wife, his beloved, and his princess. Being the owner of the Hidden Pearl Tavern and Inn, they both had met one another during a rather tumultuous time that involved the threat of voidsent, in which she would use very honeyed words with Raiden in a bid for one final night of fun before her end. However, what she had originally planned to be a one night stand, turned into many long nights spent with Raiden, who chose to comfort and fight for her and her brother's salvation. When that goal was achieved, they would eventually fall in love and marry soon afterwards.

Koto Shinonome

Hardened Bastion of the nation of Doma, Leader and General of the Black Tortoise Household, and the woman Raiden faithfully serves as her loyal retainer. Koto made her journey to the village of Namai in search of Raiden a few days after Doma won it's freedom from the occupation to get his recount of his part in the fight, to which Raiden told her all about what took place on his part, more specifically about his brother's betrayal. Afterwards, they would spend the next few days going on several ventures within Yanxia, which would soon lead to Koto inviting Raiden to join her Household as her retainer, to which he would accept. To this day, they would continue fighting side by side for their nation, eventually growing as close as kin.

Naohiro Mori

The quiet, kind, ever vigilant voidhunter, and Raiden's brother-in-law. These two would begin to bond during their time working within the adventuring clan of Naohiro's creation, Ardent Lotus. This bond would strengthen the moment Raiden would begin to date his elder sister, and he would eventually be in attendance at his wedding. After many battles they have fought together, Raiden would view Naohiro as the brother that would fill that empty void that was left during the Doman Occupation. At this time, Naohiro has set off on a personal journey throughout the realm and his location is currently unknown, but Raiden is confident that they will meet once again in the future.

Haruka Uesugi

A trusted friend, and stalwart ally, Haruka and Raiden met within the Hidden Pearl where they also fight as part of the Ardent Lotus. While they are both incline to silence, they both share a love and passion for tea, to which they have soon bonded over. It had even gotten to the point where Haruka had began creating her own tea blends, and eventually naming one of her blends after the shinobi, to which he values with high honor. Both sharing similar fighting styles, the two are able to flow off one another well when it comes to combat, and both have came to each other's side on more than a few occasions. After all is said and done, Raiden would not hesitate to call upon her for assistance, and will be just as quick to deliver it when asked.

Seishuun Sou

The fearsome elite guard and jail warder of the Black Tortoise Household, Seishuun would serve as one of Raiden's superiors. Being a loud and strong presence such as he is, they did not get off to a very smooth start at first. Seishuun would immediately look towards Raiden with distrust, verbalizing no small amount of criticism towards his way, to which the shinobi would only take in stride, continuing on with his duties as he were. It was only after the pair had set off on a dangerous mission to deal with auspicious forces in the mountains of Yanxia, that Seishuun would begin to view Raiden in a somewhat more favorable light, thanks to his level-headedness, and calm approach to their mission. Though their personalities constantly clash with one another, Raiden would no doubt trust him with his life, with feelings being mutual with the latter.

Rokuro Shindou

The no-nonsense, critical inteligencer of the Black Tortoise Household, Rokuro Shindo would serve as one of Raiden's close coworkers. Not much has been spoken in the way of words between the two, as they both share an inclination of silence. However, that does not affect their teamwork, as they are often working together on reconnaissance missions. Their relationship for the most part is almost purely business, thought they are not adverse to conversation that would benefit one another. One of which led to Shindou taking Raiden under of sort of tutelage to perfect his hand to hand combat.

Hayato Mutsuki

Hayato Mutsuki is a lupin Samurai that serves alongside Raiden within the Black Tortoise Household. They are also a pair that share an all to familiar inclination for silence, however, it is thanks to Hayato that Raiden has gain some knowledge in regards to the origins of the Household. This knowledge has made the shinobi quite curious about the lupin samurai, though he knows better to overstep his boundaries and is content with working alongside him. That moment will present itself whenever it does.

Luka Darcia

Raiden had met this monotone Raen during a short trip within Ul'dah where she was quite curious about a straw hat that she was wearing of all things. The two would then talk for hours on end, her curiously asking questions and him answering as much as he could, learning about one another in the process. Circumstances would lead them to one day working alongside one another on a mission of sorts, where Luka would get a full glimpse of his abilities. Sometime in the later future, Luka and Raiden would meet again in Kugane, where the former would suddenly ask the latter to teach her the ways of combat. After a moment of consideration, Raiden would answer yes, and now serves as her teacher, helping perfect her combat ability.

Mai Inoue

A trusted ally. Raiden had met this spearmaiden while wandering through Doma, who would eventually tell about her mission of hunting down a traitor shinobi responsible for the death of his master. After hearing her story, the shinobi would offer his assistance in hunting down her target. While reluctant to put him in harms way, a bit of insistence would soon convince her to accept his help. After offering his expertise in dealing with her enemy, they had finally brought their traitor low, giving Mai the chance to finally put an end to her long quest. They have since spoken on multiple occasions and assisted one another on several missions, to the point where they would trust one another with their lives at any moment's notice.

Kaldi Gorsimi

It was a short time after his Brother-in-Law had left on a personal journey that Raiden met this brooding Viera. Kaldi, not really one meant for words, nor is he one to waste any action he takes, had came to the Hidden Pearl after a meeting the Ardent Lotus Clan during one of their many leves while Raiden had been one of the few who helped him settle in after being given membership of the Clan. An act which was followed by a request of a future battle between the two by Kaldi, to which the shinobi hesitantly agreed to at first. That was until the day of the battle had came about where they had engaged in one of the stiffest, most intense battles, Ninjutsu vs the Void. The conclusion resulted in a draw due to their power being evenly matched. It was afterwards, that an unspoken, mutual respect between the two forged through combat had taken shape, which would only be strengthened whenever the two fought side by side.

RP Hooks