[hider=Reiko Hayakawa]

[color=bc8dbf][u][b][h1][center]Reiko Hayakawa[/center][/h1][/b][/u][/color]

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[color=bc8dbf][b]Appearance:[/b][/color]
[img]https://images-wixmp-ed30a86b8c4ca887773594c2.wixmp.com/intermediary/f/09927a30-dc37-4837-b4be-3d5bcda9ea8a/d3tfe0-8272696e-9185-452c-9376-931e2c127bcb.jpg[/img]

[color=bc8dbf][b]Name:[/b][/color] Reiko Hayakawa

[color=bc8dbf][b]Age:[/b][/color] 23

[color=bc8dbf][b]Class:[/b][/color] Ninja

[color=bc8dbf][b]Level:[/b][/color] 1

[color=bc8dbf][b]Personal Skill:[/b][/color]
-[b][u]Grace:[/u][/b] +30% to avoid

[color=bc8dbf][b]Skills:[/b][/color] 
-[b][u]Locktouch:[/u][/b] User can open doors and chests without requiring keys

[color=bc8dbf][b]Equipment:[/b][/color] 
-Iron Shuriken
-2xVulnerary 

[color=bc8dbf][b]Story:[/b][/color] Reiko was born a member of the Hayakawa clan, which is a Ninja organisation based in Mica. Trained from birth as a fighter, Reiko grew up expecting to one day go forth and prove her worth to her clan. Only, for some years after her training was effectively complete, Reiko was not sent off on any missions. Indeed, few people in the Hayakawa clan were actually being sent anywhere, as the clan had developed a small, elite group of Master Ninjas whom monopolised the important tasks that came from the clan’s clients. Reiko and many others among the clan’s newest generation began to feel like they were superfluous. She and the others begged the clan’s leadership for an opportunity to make something of them for what seemed like an age. Eventually, it seemed that their elders finally caved in and allowed them to take charge of their own assignment.

The assignment Reiko got appeared simple enough on paper. She, along with a few others, was to assassinate a warlord whose territory lay near the Yeryn border. When her group of fledgling ninja attempted their task, however, it soon became apparent this was anything but simple. Their target was not some jumped up outlaw but a legitimate warrior who had been gathering a small but vicious following. Her group was discovered trying to infiltrate and were all slaughtered save Reiko herself, although she certainly thought she would die at the time. As she lay there bleeding out, the Hayakawa’s elites showed up to finish the job. It was clear that they had planned to come here themselves, showing little surprise at the failure of their juniors and not even bothering to attend to those that were wounded, Reiko included. They came, killed the target, and left, saving Reiko only by virtue of giving her the opportunity to crawl away from the violence unnoticed.

It quickly dawned on Reiko in the aftermath that her group were used as fodder to soften up the warlord’s band for the better ninjas. They were never expected to succeed, only to kill a few or perhaps distract them long enough for the others to have an easy time of it themselves. Reiko waited for a week, convalescing in a derelict farmhouse, wondering if they would at least try to track her down, only to conclude their was no point waiting for those that clearly thought little of her. With nowhere else to go, Reiko made up her mind to leave this land for distant shores. She ended up in Nuniel purely because it happened to be the destination of the ship she stowed away on. In Nuniel she found a sense of purpose, as the militaristic country always had something in need of doing that suited her talents. She drifted around for a time, scraping by as a low-key mercenary, before she signed on with the Red Branch Company. This time, she hoped, she would be part of a family that wanted her as more than arrow bait. 

[color=bc8dbf][b]Sample Post:[/b][/color] The irony that her ninja training was what kept her going through these times was not lost on Reiko. Skills that were passed down to her by people that cared little if she ever used them, and later marched her to her potential demise without a care in the world, were precisely what had kept her from getting killed time and time again. The very skills that the Hayakawa clan had not cared to utilise were practically relished by those that discovered them in the warlike nation of Nuniel, and Reiko now found herself swamped with the activity she had so desperately desired during her days at the clan’s stronghold. As she let her last shuriken sink into the flesh of a Zuiterran skirmisher, however, she admitted to herself quietly that it was all too likely that Nuniel would forget her quickly once it found itself at peace. Nobody needed a ninja when they had no enemies to foist them upon.

Such was the way of life, of course. Reiko learned the hard way she couldn’t expect people to care when they had nothing to gain from you. Years having past since that day on the floor of the Zanshan warlord’s fortress, Reiko had embraced the facts of her situation rather than become embittered by them. If she could not expect unconditional support from those that employed her, then she would just have to make herself useful. There was nothing to be gained in wallowing in self pity, hoping that one’s callous superiors would bend down and give charitably. Just as Nuniel’s soldiers showed little care to their Zuiterran enemies, Reiko mirrored such apathy in her own work. She expected it would be little different if she were hired by the Zuiterrans to push out Nuniel.

As she scoured the battlefield for signs of life, her technical commanding officer approached from behind and patted her shoulder. [b]“Damn fine work, girl.”[/b] He began. [b]“I wish my own troopers had half the zeal you have for this work. We might push our way to the heart of this land like that.”[/b]

[color=bc8dbf][b]“Yeah, sure.”[/b][/color] She rolled her eyes as she spoke. She was quite sure Captain Manstein had a soft spot for her. Perhaps it was a slight infatuation with her exotic appearance. Either way, she knew there were plenty of soldiers that took their jobs as seriously as her, and yet here Nuniel was, fighting an eternal skirmish with their neighbour.

[b]“It’s really too bad.”[/b] Manstein continued, paying little heed to Reiko’s remark. [b]“The campaign’s winding down again. We’re likely to be heading back to base.”[/b]

[color=bc8dbf][b]“But the generals were sure we’d make a breakthrough this time!”[/b][/color] Reiko hadn’t been in Nuniel nearly that long, but she had heard enough from Manstein and others to know they were [i]always[/i] being told how their next assault would be the start of the final conquest of Zuiterra. Everytime, it was just another minor skirmish.

[b]“Don’t worry, I’m sure they’ll herald this brush up of ours as the victory to end it all.”[/b] He laughed along with her. [b]”Tell you what though, you should head on south. I’ve heard talk we’re planning a major offensive down that way. They’re sure to need someone with your talents.”[/b]

[color=bc8dbf][b]“It’s definitely worth considering. Do I really want to walk all that way, though?”[/b][/color] She said half in jest. She was concerned about travelling so far for an uncertain venture.

[b]“I’m sure the walk would do you good. But if you’re feeling lazy, you can always hitch a ride with a mercenary company. There are a few good ones that are guaranteed to get picked up for the campaign. I know a guy in the Red Branch Company, if you want me to help you get in. Interested?”[/b]

[color=bc8dbf][b]“…Yeah. Yeah, I think I am.”[/b][/color] The two of them would leave their modest battlefield behind and return to Nuniel’s territory. Eventually, Captain Manstein made good on his word and introduced Reiko to the Red Branch Company, and soon enough she would join them in battle.

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