[b]Name:[/B] Tetsuya Ueno

[b]Clan:[/b] Shima Clan, originally of the Ueno clan

[b]Title:[/b] The Shima Knight

[b]Gender:[/b] Male

[b]Age:[/b] 16

[b]Race:[/b] Neko(mimi)

[b]Height:[/b] 5'8" (176cm)

[b]Weight:[/b] 146 lbs

[b]Appearance:[/b] [hider=Tetsuya Ueno][URL=http://s647.photobucket.com/user/kaifawx55/media/neko-boys-anime-animal-guys-3812411.jpg.html][IMG]http://i647.photobucket.com/albums/uu200/kaifawx55/neko-boys-anime-animal-guys-3812411.jpg[/IMG][/URL][/hider]

[b]Occupation:[/b] Lord's Guard, painter (albeit not very good).

[b]Notable Skills:[/b] Having studied swordsmanship from both within Baji and abroad, Tetsuya has command of a few different styles of swordplay. His most readily used, as indicated by his typical garb, is that of a "knight". He employs both a longsword and a shield in battle effectively, and can use the latter even as a weapon if need be. Likewise he is able to wield a katana if need be, but to far lesser success than with a longsword. 

[b]Magical Abilities:[/b] Tetsuya has the ability to use his magic as another shield as well, forming a slight barrier around himself. Using this renders him immobile however and does not provide a complete 360 degrees of protection; flanking him is the best way around this. 

[indent][b]Familiars:[/b] N/A [/indent]

[b]Ki Techniques/powers:[/b] 
Push; Using his shield, Tetsuya can make an extension of himself and, while pushing his shield forward, creates a small force to knock away anything in front of him. Used namely to put distance between himself and the enemy when he needs to catch his breath. Not very useful on larger enemies or anyone who's strong enough to withstand the hit.

[b]Weapons:[/b] Steel Longsword, Steel kite shield

[b]Other Gear:[/b]
- Water pouch
- Small pack, containing a bit of bandages, some herbs to help relieve pain and a broken compass -- a memento of his parents.

[b]Personality:[/b] Tetsuya is a soft-spoken boy, when he rarely does speak. He is perceptive, and while he may not voice his opinion on something he watches what is around him diligently. Above all else he is loyal to the Shima Lord, and does not take slights to the man kindly. Determined to fulfill his Lord's wish to protect Shima, perhaps to a fault, he is unwavering in his position to do what is best for his clan. In most things he views the world as black and white; good and evil. His ideology of the world living in peace pushes him ironically to fight, and he argues that the only way to achieve everlasting peace is to put aggressors in their place. In some views an ideal guard, he is not without faults. 

Tetsuya's black and white view of the world leads to naivete, and he can be a bit brash in acting. While he is well versed in swordplay he's never bothered to learn much else, leaving him a bit clueless in some other respects. In a way, being a guard is all he knows. He also has a slight discontent towards more modern weapons, thinking they are a cowardly, inhumane way of taking a life. If one is to take a life in war then it should be personal, not from dozens or hundreds of feet away. 

[b]Brief history:[/b] Tetsuya is the son of a Neko fisherman and a human woman. His mother, a resident of Shima, would meet his father Umenka during a routine trading in the city; Hidori worked for a trading company, helping to maintain catalogs and keep track of inventory. The two eventually hit it off and, inevitably, Hidori would become pregnant. During her pregnancy she was brought back to Umenka's place of birth, and in the village Tetsuya would be born.

For the first few years of his life the family remained in Umenka's village, with Hidori picking up the same profession only for a Neko trading company. Their settlement, consisting of nekos and humans alike, proved to be an excellent raising ground for their young child. Being a Nekomimi may well have seen Tetsuya be made fun of quite a lot elsewhere, but here he was accepted. In lieu of everything working well for the family they would eventually move, as the company in which Umenka was employed wanted to open a foreign post, and they meant to send the family there to help.

Almost immediately upon arriving and settling down, Tetsuya and his parents noticed an immediate change of atmosphere. Whereas the Neko homeland was relatively untouched by war this place reeked of it, with soldiers passing through and the occasional news of a battle breaking out being commonplace. Fearing for their child's safety the two deliberated upon sending him away, wishing to send him somewhere to be free from the threat of war. With very few possibilities they near gave up, until a trader from Shima passed through and learned of their pleas. Seeing their only chance, Umenka and Hidori begged the man to take their son, and with a bit of convincing he finally relented.

Tetsuya had little knowledge of anything going to Shima, having never been taught any kind of trade or receiving a real education. He could write, read, knew some basics, but that was about it. Seeing the difficulty in assigning the boy to any real job the trader offered him over to the Lord's men, suggesting they train him as a guard. Even at a young age, now seven years old, he could appreciate what was going on around him. Having little personal say in the matter he was brought off to train, eventually learning the way of the sword from the Lord's guard. Through the years he worked to refine and personalize his training, and today he's become a perfectly capable, if somewhat inexperienced guard. 

[b]Other: [/b] Learned some magic from other Neko, but not very well versed in it at all.