[hider=Shion Sasaki][center]
[hr][h1][color=E7A0B2]Shion[/color][/h1][img]https://img.roleplayerguild.com/prod/users/9fe07456-0acb-4910-b449-67aebabf033e.jpg[/img][h3][color=E7A0B2]"Ya think so? Prove it, then!~"[/color][/h3]
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[color=E7A0B2]Name:[/color]
[indent]Sasaki, Shion[/indent]
[color=E7A0B2]Age:[/color]
[indent]17[/indent]
[color=E7A0B2][color=E7A0B2]Appearance:[/color][/color]
[indent]At passing glance, one would be forgiven for immediately thinking Shion a girl. Albeit his unkempt-looking hair [i]is[/i] short, it is also quite fluffy and possesses a traditionally-feminine rosy-pink tone. His bangs are often prone to brushing into his face, occasionally covering the similarly-unique hue of his grape-purple eyes - which are often enhanced with his personal application of black eyeliner. Additionally, Shion's facial aspects are rather feminine; soft yet angular features and fair, clear skin accompanied by thin, expressive eyebrows.

Aside from his head, Shion doesn't have anything [i]particularly[/i] special to note about him, physically. Admittedly, he [i]does[/i] possesses a physique a bit feminine for most boys his age - being that he is rather petite at 5'4" and with little [i]visible[/i] muscle. Despite his soft appearance though, he does have some musculature to him in the areas that are most manipulated in Kendo - those being the back, arms, core, and legs.
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[color=E7A0B2]Personality:[/color]
[indent]Shion is a bit of a wildcard, some might say. In general, he's a boy of many facets - he is very-much-so an ambivert, and his day-to-day self flexes this duality often. He's not scared of being loud, nor of being unheard. He's fun-loving and animated, but equally capable of solemnity or aloofness that might seem off-putting coming from a bright, quip-cracking personality like his. He is a naturally competitive sort, and possesses the tenacity to compete against the odds in whichever field it is that he desires. He's more attentive than one might expect from a boy as air-headed as he can sometimes be, and is all-too-interested in learning specific fields that might seem a little random - like martial arts, or chemistry.
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[color=E7A0B2]Bio:[/color]
[indent]Shion's life has been rather simple, if unfortunate, up to this point. Now living with his grandmother in an oddly large home for a Japanese citizen, Shion had been raised solely by his mother up until the age of 13. Until then, the two of them had lived alone, spending their days together as his mother, Aiko, worked from home. His life was one of normality and happiness - despite his father not being in the picture - and he would always return home from school to the waiting arms of his mother, who greeted him and treated him with all the love one could muster. But for some, fate deemed life would not be so blessed. At age 13, Shion lost his mother to a genetic disease with which he did not know she was burdened. From that point onward, he began to live with his grandmother Miu - a distant, if generous and benevolent, entity in his life.

He is, at least, a little fortunate in his inheritances granted by his mother. His closet is full of her belongings - memories of the only person who he was ever [i]truly[/i] close to. Additionally, Shion seeks to carry on her legacy in Kendo. Aiko Sasaki was a world-competitor in Kendo some years ago, having to quit due to health. Shion keeps tapes of some of her competitions, watching them from time-to-time when he needs inspiration or comfort. It is her legacy in the sport that causes him to hold a deep respect for Kendo, and the drive to be the best than he can be - and better.
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[color=E7A0B2]Kendo:[/color]
[indent]One might expect Shion's Kendo style to mirror his personality, and they would be right - though maybe for the wrong reasons. Where he is a rather balanced character who is equally prone to outwardness [i]or[/i] reticence, in Kendo he is a defensive, counterattack-specialist. In shiai, Shion almost never deviates from the balanced Chudan stance, and develops a sharp eye and a reactive disposition - looking for even the slightest moment where his opponent's attack leaves them vulnerable to one of his own.

Not only is Shion's style one that takes advantage of the aggression of the opponent, but Shion is [i]also[/i] a bit of a trickster when it comes to [i]his own[/i] forms of aggression. Generally, the most common form of strike in Kendo is a cut, but Shion finds some success in a proclivity for thrusts - a faster and more deceptive, but more easily deflected, attack. Fortunately, this works well for him, as it is more difficult to articulate one's shinai during the recovery of a deflected or bypassed attack.

Additionally, Shion's interest in martial arts and swordsmanship as a whole leads him to have developed a taste for.. innovating. While being mindful of what maneuvers fit within the rules of a competition, Shion likes to include a number of techniques that aren't something a Kendoka would teach you. Stuff like techniques from European or Italian manuals - exotic things like that. Of course, these techniques can be hard to find uses for in practice, and aren't hammered into him for weeks by an instructor - so they [i]could[/i] cost him.

Finally, there is Shion's behavior within Kendo. In all his flexibility, Shion's demeanor during true shiai is one that is very-much-so at odds with what people know of him. Were one to watch Shion closely, they would notice the very moment he reaches first sonkyo, any modicum of a smile, smirk, or really [i]any[/i] emotion, vanishes. He eyes lock onto his opponent, and he develops an aura of seriousness that one can almost [i]feel[/i]. The only reaction that one could distinguish from Shion's visage, in that moment, is the movement of his eyes as they flick from detail-to-detail, scanning his opponent in almost machine-like fashion. One could become so engrossed in the the polarity of the change that they could very well be startled by the curt, powerful burst of vocals that are Shion's kiai.

Shion is an exceptional Kendo student in his own right, but he does have his flaws. While he obviously isn't incapable of aggressing a defensive opponent, Shion's specialty lies in his eye for counter-attacks, and he is much more comfortable in that field of use. Additionally, he has been known to [i]lose[/i] practices due to his use of the aforementioned exotic techniques - as his level of exercise with some of them is lacking, compared to normal Kendo maneuvers. This has gotten him scolded on more than a couple occasions by whichever sensei was teaching him at the time.
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[color=E7A0B2]Other:[/color]
[indent]Nothing, for now![/indent]
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