[center][img]https://i.imgur.com/fmbEQ3M.png[/img]
[url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WiONUl3B9po]Music for effect[/url][/center]

[u][b]Name:[/b][/u] Major-General Raiko Akibahara

[u][b]Age:[/b][/u] 68

[u][b]Gender:[/b][/u] Male

[u][b]Appearance:[/b][/u] Major-General Akibahara is in tremendous physical condition for someone with both his age and experiences, the wrinkles on his face belying a frame of a true fighting man. His dark brown eyes are sometimes vacant, sometimes gleaming with a fire that would cower the devil himself. A deep scar runs down the left side of his face, and his right leg ends at the knee, replaced with a simple polished peg-leg made of bone.

[u][b]Personality:[/b][/u] Akibahara is grim and taciturn, wasting few words on those he does not consider useful. On the occasions when he does speak at length, "the Old Soldier" reveals himself to be intensely single-minded, compelled by a fanatical hatred of kaiju, particularly towards Godzilla himself. He rejects the notion that mankind can or should coexist with these monsters, and has no interest in learning about them beyond how such knowledge can help him destroy them. He finds himself frequently at odds with the other members of YATAGARASU, but he maintains a loyal corps of followers who share his beliefs.

Despite having driven away several monsters and even killing a few along the way, he has yet to score a victory against Godzilla, a fact that eats at him.

[u][b]Skills:[/b][/u] The Major-General has decades of military experience, and quite literally wrote the book on anti-kaiju warfare. Having seen his fair share of high-tech "wonder weapons" come and go over the years, he is slow to embrace new technology, preferring to rely on the mailed hammer-fist of armored columns and aerial bombardment. While he rarely wastes his time talking with his opponents, he goes out of his way to instill an [i]esprit de corps[/i] with his troops, many of whom will gladly march to certain doom for "the Old Soldier." His methods, while brutal and heavy-handed, and often coming at the cost of heavy casualties, are nonetheless effective against most kaiju.

[u][b]Equipment:[/b][/u] Akibahara typically carries an H&K SPF9-M pistol at his side, the standard issue sidearm for JSDF soldiers. In his prime, he commanded a [url=https://wikizilla.org/wiki/Type_70_Maser_Cannon]Type 70[/url] "Beast Killer" Maser Tank and later a [url=https://wikizilla.org/wiki/MBT-MB92]MBT-MB92[/url], and he still keeps himself updated and trained on how to operate the newer [url=https://wikizilla.org/wiki/Type_90_Maser_Cannon]Type 90s[/url].

[u][b]Brief Backstory:[/b][/u]
[list]
[*][b][i]1954:[/i][/b] In the aftermath of Godzilla's first rampage through Tokyo, rescue teams discover a baby boy amid the bodies of his family in the ruins of Akibahara Train Station. Nearly dead from starvation, the baby is nursed back to health and taken in as a ward of the state. With no identification and no surviving next of kin, the boy is named after the volunteer that rescued him, and the place where he was found.

[*][b][i]1959-1969:[/i][/b] Raiko Akibahara is raised in the Futaba Orphanage in Akishima. The conditions are squalid, the headmasters severe, instilling a grim, joyless disposition in the young boy. Despite his poor upbringing, Raiko applies himself to his studies, excelling in school and sports, with the goal of joining the military. Thanks to the orphanage's shoddy record-keeping, Raiko is able to lie about his age, enlisting into the Japanese Self Defense Force at age 16.

[*][b][i]1970:[/i][/b] Akibahara graduates from basic training, and is assigned the position of gunner in a Type 70 "Beast Killer" Maser Tank. Shortly after his assignment, his unit is deployed to defend Tokyo from the toad-like kaiju [url=https://godzilla.fandom.com/wiki/Gabara_(AMA)]Gabara[/url]. Despite his unit taking heavy losses, the tank column successfully exterminates the creature, with Raiko's tank delivering the killing blow to the monster's throat.

[*][b][i]1971-1990:[/i][/b] Akibahara rises through the ranks of the JSDF, first commanding his own Maser tank as a Second Lieutenant in action against [url=https://godzilla.fandom.com/wiki/Gezora]Gezora[/url] and [url=https://godzilla.fandom.com/wiki/Manda_(Atragon)]Manda[/url], then as a Captain commanding a company in the defense of Sendai against a swarm of [url=https://godzilla.fandom.com/wiki/Kamacuras_(SoG)]Kamacuras[/url]. By the 1980s, Akibahara had achieved the rank of Colonel, and is in command of the 122nd Armored Regiment. The 122nd, also known as "Raiko's Thunder," becomes notorious for its brutally effective anti-kaiju tactics.

[*][b][i]1991:[/i][/b] After several years of being believed dead, Godzilla returns and rampages across Japan once more. Colonel Akibahara and the 122nd are deployed as part of the defense of Tokyo. Finally having the chance to fight the monster that killed his family, Raiko leads his regiment from the front. The battle is a disaster, and the 122nd is annihilated along with most of the defending forces of the city. Raiko himself is grievously wounded when his tank is crushed by Godzilla's foot, leaving the Colonel scarred, disfigured, and nearly dead from radiation poisoning. 

[*][b][i]1995-1999:[/i][/b] Raiko resumes his command after five painful years of rehabilitation, and resumes service in the JSDF, now a Major-General in command of an entire division. After another battle with Godzilla, Raiko is once again left disfigured in the aftermath, losing his right leg to the monster. After the battle, the Major-General is forced into retirement from the JSDF, but is quickly recruited by the special anti-kaiju force YATAGARASU, initially as a civilian 'advisor.'

[*][b][i]2001:[/i][/b] Godzilla returns again, and Raiko is consulted by YATAGARASU on how to deal with the creature. His advice is initially not heeded, and the ensuing battle results in disastrous casualties. Wresting control of the command console away from the ranking YATAGARASU officer, Akibahara assumes control of the defense forces long enough to organize a proper withdrawal. While defeated by Godzilla once again, Raiko ensures that thousands manage to live to tell the tale.

[*][b][i]2002:[/i][/b] Major-General Akibahara is reinstated, and joint operations between YATAGARASU and the JSDF allow him near fully autonomous command of his own conventional division. Raiko uses this to astonishing effect by smashing an outbreak of the insect-like [url=https://godzilla.fandom.com/wiki/Meganulon_(Rodan)]Meganula[/url]. This reinvigorates the conventional forces, and Akibahara's division names themselves after his old command, "Raiko's Thunder."

[*][b][i]2003-Present:[/i][/b] Raiko commands the YATAGARASU conventional forces in several victories against various kaiju, successfully driving away larger beasts and killing several smaller ones. Just as spectacular as Raiko's victories, however, are his defeats, suffering cataclysmic losses against Godzilla. As some members of YATAGARASU call for a different approach to dealing with the monsters, studying how they can coexist peacefully, Raiko Akibahara remains a staunch war-hawk, his rallying cry as direct as a Maser blast: [b][i]"Destroy All Monsters."[/i][/b]

[u][b]Position Within YATAGARASU:[/b][/u][/list] Major-General Akibahara commands "Raiko's Thunder," the armored assets of YATAGARASU's conventional military division. At his disposal are hundreds of conventional tanks and combat vehicles, including advanced anti-kaiju weaponry such as Maser tanks and their ULT 'Freezing Laser' variants, and [url=https://godzilla.fandom.com/wiki/D-03_Missile]D-03 Missiles[/url] that can drill into a kaiju's flesh before exploding.