+ APPLICATION
OUT OF CHARACTER:
Name/Handle: Kaze
Contact: wagashi
Reference: Akai
Other characters: N/A

IN-CHARACTER:
Character name: Okita Souji
Character journal: ahappylie
Series name: Peace Maker Kurogane (anime, with manga backstory)
Canon notes: End of anime series, the Ikedaya Incident has passed and he's recovering during the Gion Festival

Species: Human

History: PMK anime + manga recap - this is my old LJ journal, so the name is different, but this is my work

Personality:
Okita Souji has two distinct personalities. One is the face he shows the public: a happy-go-lucky, childish man, enthused with sweets and generally found playing with the neighborhood children. He dislikes the taste of alcohol, doesn’t indulge in the normal pleasure pursuits that most people of his age do, laughs easily, teases his friends, and, like most people of his time period, is both fascinated and a little put off by foreign things. Okita is more prone to prank someone and go off to wander the town in search of something tasty to eat, than he is likely to go visit the pleasure districts or engage in drunken fights like some men of his time. He’ll sometimes cut his patrols early in order to stop by the local sweets shop, and then dole out the candy he buys to the children nearby if he doesn’t eat it himself. He is a bit of a clean freak and prefers to keep things tidy around him – even though he keeps a piglet (named Saizou) as a pet.

The other side of him is when he has a sword in his hands. He gained his mastery and teaching certificate at the age of 18 (younger than anyone else had in his style, Tennen Rishin), and he was born with an innate ability to wield a blade. Unfortunately, when he is fighting, it is all or nothing. He loses sight of who his opponent is as a person, viewing them only as the 'enemy' who needs to be eliminated. He's a terribly efficient killer and he’s taken out students and other teachers, nearly killing them, the moment he sees them as a threat. Given a purpose and an enemy at which to point his blade, Okita is a formidable enemy, but that is exactly what he hates so much about himself.

Okita despises the thing he has become even while he recognizes the necessity for men like him in the tumultuous age in which he lives. As a child, he had been told to hide his ability after defeating a samurai and taking his sword, causing the samurai and his own family a great deal of shame. His father was killed on the journey to return the sword, and Okita realized the terrible nature of his gift. He blamed himself for his father’s death and thereafter thought it was because of his skill with a sword that people around him died or left him behind. Until Hijikata Toshizou told him to become stronger at the sword so that he would become indispensible, he'd actually given swordsmanship up. Okita admits that he is weak-willed and needs someone to guide him or provide a steady force in his life. Hijikata and Kondo do just that and molded him into the warrior he is today, for better or for worse. He's strong on honor, devoted to a cause, and willing to kill mercilessly in order to accomplish the collective goal.

Despite all of that, by the end of the series, he's entered a stage of quiet melancholy as he's been confronted with his imminent mortality. Historically speaking, Okita Souji dies at the age of 25 from tuberculosis, a then incurable disease. Throughout the series, he displays symptoms, but at the battle of the Ikedaya he actually coughs up blood. He has a few years before he dies, but his realization of what is happening to him fuels him to work harder than before. His greatest fear is to be left behind (as he was left by his parents in their death, and his sisters when they gave him away), and he wants to be of use to people. Therefore, he keeps his disease a firm secret and refuses to outwardly acknowledge what is happening to him. He feels that, should he admit to it, he would have to watch his friends mourn him while he was still alive, and it would detract from their resolve to fight as well as possibly crush so many of them at an important junction in their lives. He'd rather sacrifice himself and his health in order for others to live just a few more days or weeks without having to know the truth.

Abilities: Nothing to be dampened as he's just a slightly above average human being, but he has experience with kendo and kenjutsu, the Japanese swordsmanship arts. He's a master of Tennen Rishin style swordsmanship which emphasized practicality on the battlefield along with forms. He can use weapons and everyday objects to help him fight, but he's still only human. His strength is in his speed and agility, rather than brute strength. He's still strong enough to use a bamboo sword to break through practice armor, but he can also be overpowered by a greater force as his stamina runs out.
Augment Skillset: Security Augment
Sample:
These little boxes are just so amazing! And, I guess, the things they put in our heads. [Even if he REALLY wants to dig it the heck out of there and pitch it into the cold, dark reaches of space - which is another new concept he has learned in his time here. Space is weird and terrifying.] In my time, we didn't even have this 'electricity' thing and now I [supposedly] completely understand the concept. It's fascinating~

Is there a way to learn other useful things using these things? Not like weapons or engineering training, those things are boring. I mean things like cooking properly or painting pictures! Or writing poetry. I know someone who could probably use that particular skill, even if it would make me sad to see him improve. [He sighs, pouting a little.] Since he's not here, it's not even any fun to read his poems aloud! [Then he brightens.] But I will, if anyone wants to hear them. I have them all memorized because he's my favorite poet in the world. But! Does anyone have any stories or poems they miss from home? I'd love to hear more about it.

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+ INVENTORY
+ one set of white kimono clothing, blue obi, wooden geta

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