 | Takai Shunsen 'Taki' 5'9" |
Profile
Appearance
Takai Shunsen - once a meagre figure amongst his affiliates, the last three months have given him time to work on his physicality. Rigorous physiotherapy has given him a bit of bulk, more so than his previous stature pre-casualty, and he stands at an above-average height for his nationality: 5'9. Before, the long ruffled hair of the man seemed to give him the merit of reservation. He sports a much shorter hairstyle in line with Iwata Honomi's old colouring and style. His facial hair, though longer, is a lot more pristine in its presentation. To say Takai had tidied himself up would be an understatement, and it all came as part of a psychological package of 'self-care for sanity'. With that, the core features of his appearance remain the same. Green eyes, thin lips, same height; he still has relics of what he was before. Except for two specific areas - the right leg and the left forearm. Both are now replaced, fitted with something a lot less natural. At the cost of these replacements, his damaged muscle augmentations have been completely removed to reduce the threat of internal injury.
As for his attire, things are more or less the same as they were before. On duty, he's still capable of equipping the PHUD, or Personal Heads Up Display, as he had done before with the little braces in his temples. Though it's a middle-ground between a helmet's HUD and a fully engraved eye-implant, it grants that extra diversity between usefulness and preservation of natural looks. On a more common note, Takai still wears traditional NSF outfitting. He still wears operational gear, though his field-services are mostly levelled at investigation work, in which he can shift to a more sharp-casual look. On-base, he's usually seen with the usual in-house clothing, be it shirts and combats, with boots being the go-to footwear. Off duty, he still retains a slightly broken down fashion sense, a remnant of what he wants to fix.
As for his attire, things are more or less the same as they were before. On duty, he's still capable of equipping the PHUD, or Personal Heads Up Display, as he had done before with the little braces in his temples. Though it's a middle-ground between a helmet's HUD and a fully engraved eye-implant, it grants that extra diversity between usefulness and preservation of natural looks. On a more common note, Takai still wears traditional NSF outfitting. He still wears operational gear, though his field-services are mostly levelled at investigation work, in which he can shift to a more sharp-casual look. On-base, he's usually seen with the usual in-house clothing, be it shirts and combats, with boots being the go-to footwear. Off duty, he still retains a slightly broken down fashion sense, a remnant of what he wants to fix.
Personality
Old habits die hard. And, additionally, they refuse to lay to rest when radicalised by trauma or discouragement. Takai is still determined to see his tasks through. Letting someone get away is a failure unless instructed otherwise. It creates a miserable aura around him, and worse still it grants horrific opportunities for them to strike back. In a nation, and city, where violence is the true form of changemaking, Takai has felt a burning desire to not let the target get on favourable grounds. The same habit had nearly cost him his own life.
Personally, he's become a mixed bag. A strict aura of professionalism is present around most people. Its a coping mechanism, some might say, to make up for his failures months prior. It also matches his tidier appearance. When it comes to discussing his limbs, he prefers to keep it silent and hates settling for much more. At times, where it may prove difficult for him to perform a specific dexterous task, he tries to make it discrete and is quick to turn attention elsewhere. Equally, his personal prowess has given him a slight extended trust from past superiors, and has also hidden away his actual self. Those who get close to him can pry out that kinder soul previously considerate of others. His trauma is still a fresh memory. The more favourable compatriot hasn't been fully lost, it just needs the kick back into gear. Other than that, he can be calculated and patient when required - to some that's all they need from him.
Personally, he's become a mixed bag. A strict aura of professionalism is present around most people. Its a coping mechanism, some might say, to make up for his failures months prior. It also matches his tidier appearance. When it comes to discussing his limbs, he prefers to keep it silent and hates settling for much more. At times, where it may prove difficult for him to perform a specific dexterous task, he tries to make it discrete and is quick to turn attention elsewhere. Equally, his personal prowess has given him a slight extended trust from past superiors, and has also hidden away his actual self. Those who get close to him can pry out that kinder soul previously considerate of others. His trauma is still a fresh memory. The more favourable compatriot hasn't been fully lost, it just needs the kick back into gear. Other than that, he can be calculated and patient when required - to some that's all they need from him.
Role
Investigative Combat Specialist - NSF
Previous Employment
Kyoto Police - Honshu Special Investigation Agency (H.S.I.A)
Kyoto Police - Honshu Special Investigation Agency (H.S.I.A)
Biography
Okinawa, the smallest of the five main Japanese islands, was the birthplace for young Takai; he was brought up within a reserved family, who made up a strict and disciplined collective. His bloodline reached held prominence during the imperial age of Japan's history, and as such it still retains some of its core values. Excellence, prosperity and wisdom are all achieved through service to the greater picture: home. National value was intrinsic, and pride in their bloodline was hammered in from a young age. His school life reflected this, where he was pushed to achieve only his best and nothing less at the cost of comfort and peace. Every week, he and his family would listen to stories told by Takai's own Grandfather and Great Grandfather, one speaking of their time within the Imperial Japanese Air Force. The other spoke of his time in the army during the Second World War. Both coming from officerhood, it seemed rather miraculous that both had survived, holding the contradictory belief of living to fight another day if the next day needed them more. Saipan, Okinawa and the Battle of Midway were commonly mentioned throughout their tales. Some of it may have been embellished, but it gave for a quiet and exciting childhood hobby.
Takai hadn't questioned their legitimacy at all, though it gave him the right to consolidate their perspectives as he aged. The thirst for knowledge drove him to perform well throughout his education, where he took enjoyment out of physics and mathematics. Fully, he loved deducing things. It was like a mini adventure, a walk in the footsteps of great geniuses until they changed everything in a precise prediction. Life continued quietly. The fascination gave him a quiet and lonesome childhood in which he occupied his time with reading and problem-solving. It was a faint reality that the love he held for finding answers led him on an absolute path. The fog covering that path was then brushed away in 2012 when the bomb fell.
The day was one of fear. The alarms all across Japan. The sirens and the calls to not panic. Thousands questioned what had happened, and then the sound of Tokyo's evaporation emerged as a thunderous clap in the sky. The emotional torment, the anger, the news coverage - all contributed to a new burning legacy. The dangerous path. His family, adamant to not see their nation torn apart by foreign powers, turned to fury. Takai's siblings were convinced into enlisting for military service. However, Takai himself was hesitant towards it. Whilst he was still young at the time, he wanted to uphold those values in a different manner. Through weeks of conversation, trying to convince them, they eventually settled on his ideas to join the emergency services - the police. And, with it settled, he glided through the rest of his years with above-average results until he was ready to leave and apply for the job.
He travelled to Kyoto and went through the motions of becoming an officer of the law. They were dire times, and with the expansion of a newer, brighter Tokyo on the horizon, Takai made it clear that he wanted to start in a favourable position. Life in Kyoto wasn't as bad as it could've been. The rise of technology gave run-ins with junkies and a few smugglers of electronic goods, but there wasn't too much in the way of chaos. Murders, gangs and the faintest trails of neocults and accelerationist groups slowly emerged, giving him a good three years of experience. On that third year, he garnered a reputation of stepping slightly out of his responsibilities, looking into a few criminal cases and making conclusions for formal reports. Failing to meet eye to eye with several of his officers, many of his working partners thought of joining a recently acclaimed Military Unit formed within the JSDF. Article 9 had been abolished, and out came the new wave of military interest surging throughout the nation. Many individuals were hopeful of the newfound rise to power the nation was suspected to go through, and yet Takai was adamant not to join up.
Instead, as the numbers in his policing precinct began to shrink, the overload of work began to bury Takai, ruining his social life once more and restricting him to long nights away from home. A previous lover of his, long term at the time, left his side due to the recent absurdity of his work hours, finding him to be only loyal to that of his duty.
Whilst not encouraged, it was praised long enough for a new organisation to pick up his trail. A combat investigation unit took his name to their registers: The Honshu Special Investigation Agency - or HSIA - was a governmental directed organisation based across Japan. Centralised into the newly erected NeoTokyo, the agency was spearheaded in combatting rising civil unrest amidst the expansion of the metropolis and the hard-to-ignore nationalistic outcry. At the time, under Prime Minister Abe Yoshihito, the weakness in the cabinet left them to fester wildly. Takai was given light augmentations to better suit his role. Thus, the headmounts for the PHUD were set in place.
His assignments were dusty, taking him across many of the city's darker corners. Human trafficking, early cultists and a violent gang war took him from strip-clubs to casino strips, workshops and the all-fearful exclusion zone. Particularly, the last location housed activity most unwelcomed. A congregation of Korean exiles, with undying wishes to Tae Jeong-Mun's legacy, were operating in the largely empty zones previously eviscerated by their icon's fire. This was the first taste of Takai's intense, and extensive, combat experience. Fifteen minutes of combat, just on the fringes of radioactive pockets, created a dire and deadly confrontation.
Shortly after, however, NeoTokyo and all of Japan was flipped on its heels. From within the JSDF, an expansive special operations group known as the Jinrai broke free of its command and attempted to coup out the newly elected Prime Minister, Konno Mashai. Though it failed, what followed were several days' worth of panic. The HSIA were in preparation to make moves into the situation but were held off by their commanders. At the end of the 5th day, all members of the HSIA were granted transfer to a newly formed National Security Force - the NSF.
Life in the NSF was a lot more rigorous. Takai underwent specialist training, was enlisted into a combat team and then registered as an investigations specialist. This was in 2029, at the outbreak of this shadow conflict. Back then, it wasn't much of a war. Many within the NSF considered it underground policing, and nothing more. At the time of his arrival, as one of the NSF's founding lower staff members, he was introduced to Iwata Honomi, who took him under her wing as a mentor figure, and a friend. Later on, a foreign recommendation from Iwata brought Kaz into the ranks, and the two began a lite friendship over the years. This all continued relatively peacefully, with dead-ended investigations and only the occasional combat raid taking place until mid-2030, where the Jinrai had finished reorganising itself. Their strikes were harsh and their operations on the weapons market grew exponentially. Takai found himself under a lot of pressure keeping up with the world around him. Its ever shifting dive into violence and chaos was a lot to adjust to, but he tried to maintain a smile on his face, even when Iwata dropped out after an Op gone wrong.
2031, August 29th. Iwata's monitoring after her discharge opened up an investigation when her name was crossed in Jinrai communications. In the lead up to another raid, Takai Shunsen was tasked with shaking down her household whilst she was due to leave her home. Kaz joined him, but the mission went downward soon after. Double-crossed by the ones who'd fed them intel, Iwata returned home with Jinrai personnel. A skirmish ensued and whilst in pursuit of Iwata, Takai injured her and cornered her in another building. Unaware of what she was doing, he faced retribution as she detonated an explosive, tearing up the building and critically wounding Takai as she perished.
He was uncovered with a missing forearm and leg, rushed to medical and was stabilised. Nine days later, he woke up under the administration of Doctor Miho Enri. What came next was a rushed rehabilitation programme. Three months of gruelling work, starting with cybernetic replacement, aimed to get him used to the replacements before the sensation of the lack thereof got there first. Physiotherapy constantly, self-care treatment and hours of calibration forced him back into a working manner at the cost of his personality and mental wellbeing. With November rolling around, it was soon time for him to return to service as a new man, with a new look, body and mental state.
Okinawa, the smallest of the five main Japanese islands, was the birthplace for young Takai; he was brought up within a reserved family, who made up a strict and disciplined collective. His bloodline reached held prominence during the imperial age of Japan's history, and as such it still retains some of its core values. Excellence, prosperity and wisdom are all achieved through service to the greater picture: home. National value was intrinsic, and pride in their bloodline was hammered in from a young age. His school life reflected this, where he was pushed to achieve only his best and nothing less at the cost of comfort and peace. Every week, he and his family would listen to stories told by Takai's own Grandfather and Great Grandfather, one speaking of their time within the Imperial Japanese Air Force. The other spoke of his time in the army during the Second World War. Both coming from officerhood, it seemed rather miraculous that both had survived, holding the contradictory belief of living to fight another day if the next day needed them more. Saipan, Okinawa and the Battle of Midway were commonly mentioned throughout their tales. Some of it may have been embellished, but it gave for a quiet and exciting childhood hobby.
Takai hadn't questioned their legitimacy at all, though it gave him the right to consolidate their perspectives as he aged. The thirst for knowledge drove him to perform well throughout his education, where he took enjoyment out of physics and mathematics. Fully, he loved deducing things. It was like a mini adventure, a walk in the footsteps of great geniuses until they changed everything in a precise prediction. Life continued quietly. The fascination gave him a quiet and lonesome childhood in which he occupied his time with reading and problem-solving. It was a faint reality that the love he held for finding answers led him on an absolute path. The fog covering that path was then brushed away in 2012 when the bomb fell.
The day was one of fear. The alarms all across Japan. The sirens and the calls to not panic. Thousands questioned what had happened, and then the sound of Tokyo's evaporation emerged as a thunderous clap in the sky. The emotional torment, the anger, the news coverage - all contributed to a new burning legacy. The dangerous path. His family, adamant to not see their nation torn apart by foreign powers, turned to fury. Takai's siblings were convinced into enlisting for military service. However, Takai himself was hesitant towards it. Whilst he was still young at the time, he wanted to uphold those values in a different manner. Through weeks of conversation, trying to convince them, they eventually settled on his ideas to join the emergency services - the police. And, with it settled, he glided through the rest of his years with above-average results until he was ready to leave and apply for the job.
He travelled to Kyoto and went through the motions of becoming an officer of the law. They were dire times, and with the expansion of a newer, brighter Tokyo on the horizon, Takai made it clear that he wanted to start in a favourable position. Life in Kyoto wasn't as bad as it could've been. The rise of technology gave run-ins with junkies and a few smugglers of electronic goods, but there wasn't too much in the way of chaos. Murders, gangs and the faintest trails of neocults and accelerationist groups slowly emerged, giving him a good three years of experience. On that third year, he garnered a reputation of stepping slightly out of his responsibilities, looking into a few criminal cases and making conclusions for formal reports. Failing to meet eye to eye with several of his officers, many of his working partners thought of joining a recently acclaimed Military Unit formed within the JSDF. Article 9 had been abolished, and out came the new wave of military interest surging throughout the nation. Many individuals were hopeful of the newfound rise to power the nation was suspected to go through, and yet Takai was adamant not to join up.
Instead, as the numbers in his policing precinct began to shrink, the overload of work began to bury Takai, ruining his social life once more and restricting him to long nights away from home. A previous lover of his, long term at the time, left his side due to the recent absurdity of his work hours, finding him to be only loyal to that of his duty.
Whilst not encouraged, it was praised long enough for a new organisation to pick up his trail. A combat investigation unit took his name to their registers: The Honshu Special Investigation Agency - or HSIA - was a governmental directed organisation based across Japan. Centralised into the newly erected NeoTokyo, the agency was spearheaded in combatting rising civil unrest amidst the expansion of the metropolis and the hard-to-ignore nationalistic outcry. At the time, under Prime Minister Abe Yoshihito, the weakness in the cabinet left them to fester wildly. Takai was given light augmentations to better suit his role. Thus, the headmounts for the PHUD were set in place.
His assignments were dusty, taking him across many of the city's darker corners. Human trafficking, early cultists and a violent gang war took him from strip-clubs to casino strips, workshops and the all-fearful exclusion zone. Particularly, the last location housed activity most unwelcomed. A congregation of Korean exiles, with undying wishes to Tae Jeong-Mun's legacy, were operating in the largely empty zones previously eviscerated by their icon's fire. This was the first taste of Takai's intense, and extensive, combat experience. Fifteen minutes of combat, just on the fringes of radioactive pockets, created a dire and deadly confrontation.
Shortly after, however, NeoTokyo and all of Japan was flipped on its heels. From within the JSDF, an expansive special operations group known as the Jinrai broke free of its command and attempted to coup out the newly elected Prime Minister, Konno Mashai. Though it failed, what followed were several days' worth of panic. The HSIA were in preparation to make moves into the situation but were held off by their commanders. At the end of the 5th day, all members of the HSIA were granted transfer to a newly formed National Security Force - the NSF.
Life in the NSF was a lot more rigorous. Takai underwent specialist training, was enlisted into a combat team and then registered as an investigations specialist. This was in 2029, at the outbreak of this shadow conflict. Back then, it wasn't much of a war. Many within the NSF considered it underground policing, and nothing more. At the time of his arrival, as one of the NSF's founding lower staff members, he was introduced to Iwata Honomi, who took him under her wing as a mentor figure, and a friend. Later on, a foreign recommendation from Iwata brought Kaz into the ranks, and the two began a lite friendship over the years. This all continued relatively peacefully, with dead-ended investigations and only the occasional combat raid taking place until mid-2030, where the Jinrai had finished reorganising itself. Their strikes were harsh and their operations on the weapons market grew exponentially. Takai found himself under a lot of pressure keeping up with the world around him. Its ever shifting dive into violence and chaos was a lot to adjust to, but he tried to maintain a smile on his face, even when Iwata dropped out after an Op gone wrong.
2031, August 29th. Iwata's monitoring after her discharge opened up an investigation when her name was crossed in Jinrai communications. In the lead up to another raid, Takai Shunsen was tasked with shaking down her household whilst she was due to leave her home. Kaz joined him, but the mission went downward soon after. Double-crossed by the ones who'd fed them intel, Iwata returned home with Jinrai personnel. A skirmish ensued and whilst in pursuit of Iwata, Takai injured her and cornered her in another building. Unaware of what she was doing, he faced retribution as she detonated an explosive, tearing up the building and critically wounding Takai as she perished.
He was uncovered with a missing forearm and leg, rushed to medical and was stabilised. Nine days later, he woke up under the administration of Doctor Miho Enri. What came next was a rushed rehabilitation programme. Three months of gruelling work, starting with cybernetic replacement, aimed to get him used to the replacements before the sensation of the lack thereof got there first. Physiotherapy constantly, self-care treatment and hours of calibration forced him back into a working manner at the cost of his personality and mental wellbeing. With November rolling around, it was soon time for him to return to service as a new man, with a new look, body and mental state.
Equipment
Field and On-Duty
- Combat Unit of the NSF
- Personal Heads Up Display, tailored to his face mounts.
- HRV ZR68C NSF Carbine
- H&K Mk. 24
- SUPA 8 - Breacher Shotgun
Theme
