The Wake App
Feb. 24th, 2019 02:00 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
amethystsregretPersonal Information
Name: Jaden
Age: 24
Personal Journal:inujin
Email / AIM / MSN / Plurk: Plurk - Inujin
Current Character(s): N/A
Character Information
Character Name: Asato Tsuzuki
Fandom: Yami no Matsuei/Descendants of Darkness
Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Descendants_of_Darkness_characters#Asato_Tsuzuki
Character History:
Little is known about Tsuzuki’s past, but there are major aspects that are known. It is a fact that he was discriminated against and hazed by his peers from a young age. His purple eyes were considered demonic, so he often would be beaten up and left for dead. Despite this example, it was always his wish to be human, to be accepted as one of them, and he prayed most of his ‘life’ for God to make him so. The only family ever mentioned is his older sister, Luka. She taught him to dance and garden, which he is quite good at. Her attempts to teach him to cook seem to have failed because his cooking and baking are horrifically bad, rendering the Snow Queen unconscious for several hours. Tsuzuki says that he had to watch his sister die, and through the revelations of the demon Sagatanasu’s mining of his memories, he killed a lot of people in one setting, a sin that he forever regrets. Sometime after this event, he was taken by the Japanese Military, who was interested in him as a means for a weapon or something of the like, mentioned by Muraki. When he did not yield what they desired, he was placed into a hospital under Dr. Muraki’s grandfather for eight years as he lingered between conscious and unconscious, where he didn’t eat, drink, or sleep. When he would come to his senses, he would try to kill himself, namely slashing his right wrist. He died after a successful suicide.
Suicide is a heavy crime according to the Ministry of Hades, and sentencing is usually rejection for reincarnation and damnation to Hell. Because of his regrets in life though, Tsuzuki was chosen to be tested to become a shinigami, a Guardian of Death. He passed. Due to the nature of their work, he would completely shut down after every job, reminded of his crimes in life, and he frequently tries to go against orders and save people; still, Death can never be truly escaped in the end. As time went on, he learned to keep his wits about him over the deaths at his hand, but he never could accept it. He coped by putting on a smile and acting like nothing mattered, becoming a habitual liar, and as he hates his job, he is a notorious slacker, always looking for an excuse to get out of the office. Over the course of seventy years, he lost many partners due to his personality and habits. One such case was his third partner, Seiichiro Tatsumi. Partnered for three months, Tatsumi became haunted by the memory of his mother whenever he saw Tsuzuki break down, so he asked to be placed in a desk job, relieved of field duty. At present, in canon, he is partnered with Hisoka Kurosaki, a teenage, moody boy with powerful empathic abilities. It’s a touch and go partnership at best, but Tsuzuki sees the forever youthful shinigami as family.
When the series begins, Tsuzuki got a new partner, Asuka, a new arrival to the Ministry. Their first case handled a girl whose spirit died but her body hadn't been able to, Ayako Sugizawa. She blamed herself for the death of her cousin that drowned to save her life. Asuka put her down for not moving on and trying to run away from her guilt, but Tsuzuki defended her, feeling a sense of familiarity in the girl's grief. It turned out that Asuka was really Ayako's cousin, Masaki Kimura, who had been preventing her from dying. Tsuzuki brought them back together, and when Ayako found the will to live again, Tsuzuki made her summons get lost. Masaki got transferred to be near Ayako, and he was placed under another shinigami for more training.
Dr. Kazutaka Muraki appeared in the Vampire Arc, and Tsuzuki had to stop the doctor’s vampire from killing people by draining their blood. He got his new partner, Hisoka Kurosaki, in the middle of a chase after the vampire, and it almost ended with a bullet in Tsuzuki's chest. Maria Wong had been brought back from the dead and used to drain people of their life energy for Muraki, an energy vampire himself. Tsuzuki freed her, but Hisoka, revealed to be a murdered victim of Muraki’s, was taken, forcing Tsuzuki to play “date” with the doctor in exchange for Hisoka. It was believed that Muraki was killed in a fire caused by one of Tsuzuki's shikigami, Suzaku the Red Bird.
The Last Waltz Arc revealed a glimpse of Tsuzuki’s past through his sister, when Tsuzuki reflects on her with pained eyes. Against the rules of the Ministry, he fell in-love with his target, Hisae Toujyou, a terminally ill woman that wanted to win a dance competition in her late brother’s memory that looked remarkably similar to Tsuzuki. He admired her will to push forward even though she was in such pain for her brother, who she claimed died for nothing. He also was reminded of himself, looking up to his sister that gave up everything for him. Hisoka and Tsuzuki helped her overcome the sabotage of a former friend that blamed Hisae for her brother's death. After they finished their Magic Waltz, she fell asleep and died in his arms.
During The Devil’s Trill Arc, Tsuzuki attempted to save a young violinist, Hijiri Minase, from the demise of a demonic pact made by his deceased cornea donor. It turned out that Hijiri looked exactly Hisoka except darker hair. After luring the demon out, Tsuzuki was possessed by it during their fight. Sagatanasu, a high ranking officer to the leader of the Spirit Brigade, Ashitarote, used Tsuzuki's body to kill Hijiri, but Hisoka had seen through his act and pretended to be Hijiri. When Sagatanasu invaded Meifu to claim the daughter of the original violinist, he revealed that he had minded Tsuzuki's memories and was forced him to relive his greatest regret over and over. With the help of a powerful ally, Lord Enma-Daioh, disguised as Hijiri, entered Tsuzuki's mind to break the illusion, and Tsuzuki destroyed the demon with his own raw power.
In the Tarot Murders Arc, Muraki returned with another scheme with several murders of first class passengers on a cruise liner as well as a list of souls that were missing connected to the ship. Tsuzuki was enraged to see Muraki using another puppet to do his dirty work, a sickly girl, Tsubaki Kakyouin, with her friend Eileen's stolen heart and soul within her. The doctor was harvesting organs from passengers, and he was using Eileen's restless spirit, he was having her kill off the people involved in the scheme. Tsubaki died after two gunshot wounds, one from Muraki and the other Hisoka, who regrettably killed her out of mercy. Muraki got away as the ship exploded, but Seiichiro Tatsumi, the Ministry's Secretary, rescued the shinigami and passengers.
The St. Michael’s Arc brought Tsuzuki into the demonic world yet again when they investigated the obscure murder of a catholic school boy, Izuru Okazaki. It turned out to be the work of the demon Fuokaroru, trying to lure Tsuzuki out to take his place as Sagatanasu’s successor as Leader of the Dragons. Using the forbidden love of the boy and his teacher, Professor Mitani, the demon drove Izuru to kill himself in front of his lover, but he reanimated the body himself to kill Mitani and Tsuzuki. Tsuzuki killed Fuokaroru in his rage, but as he was unable to save Mitani, he blamed himself for everything.
In the Kyoto Arc, it was revealed that Muraki wanted Tsuzuki all along, having committed all his murders just to lure the Ministry’s attention to send him. He told Tsuzuki that he found demonic blood in his veins, reminding him about his past discrimination, and after forcing him to kill a grieving girl he wanted to protect, Mariko Ikaruga, he snatched the unconscious Tsuzuki from the Ministry to complete the task he had long awaited. He wanted to decapitate Tsuzuki to fuse the head of his half brother, Saki, in order to bring him back to life to exact revenge upon him. After coming to his senses, Tsuzuki wounded Muraki and tried to destroy his own soul along with him by summoning his shikigami, Touda the Fire Serpent with the power to kill a shinigami. He was saved by Hisoka and Tatsumi, but some kind of evil rescued Muraki from the burning laboratory.
Character Personality:
Asato is often described as a broken spirit. Due to his cruel past of discrimination and abuse, he often battles bouts of depression that he tries not to think about. He often pretends that none of his past even happened, and until a few years back, he had suppressed most of his traumatic history. It was a combination of Muraki and Sagatanasu's meddling that have tore open the old wounds and, in turn, old habits. When he struggles, he can often be seen indulging in his coping mechanisms: Eating, specifically sweets, and drinking. As his metabolism is inhuman, he is a heavy drinker, and he often suffers severe hangovers where he feels sorry for himself but will do anything not to get yelled at. He also eats, a lot. His magic burns so much energy that it's hard to tell if he is an emotional eater or just always hungry. Being broke, all the time, he bums food and alcohol off his friends and co-works that feel sorry for him. He also will eat or drink anything given to him without much though, much to his misfortune later.
He finds forming deep relationships with people difficult, since he was cruelly bullied as a boy and prefers to turn inward when stress in a social context. His social skills are passable, but he is horribly gullible and doesn't like to distrust without reason. Despite his foul ups, the ones that actually care stay at his side, proving to him that they are true friends. This does not stop him from lying through his teeth just to make someone happy though, and sometimes, it is for his own selfish reasons that he doesn't want to strain the relationship. Because of the numerous broken bonds he has suffered over the years, the man has almost gone numb to being abandoned, which often is a double-edged sword for him. He almost always foresees that he will lose someone in the end.
Since becoming a shinigami, Asato has seen a lot of people die at the hands of cruel killers, shinigami, and even himself; and recently, the deaths have been to torment him personally. He has a gentle spirit, but it is his greatest weakness. He values life a great deal because of his past, so now he hates the thought of killing at all. He would rather bring himself down with an enemy than have to kill. He carries all of his pain in his heart, locking it behind closed doors and lying to himself and the world just to make it through each day. He believes that he is such a monster that no one can accept all of him, so he puts on a smile and plays the part of a goof to draw away attention from his true self. In truth, he can be quite serious and primal when he is moved to anger. He wants to help people, no matter how outrageous it might seem. It’s just another way to try making up for his sins and to prove to himself that he can be good.
Edit - Asato was often described as a broken spirit. This was a good description of him. After growing up in a world that hated him, his only solace was found in his older sister and the sanctuary of their home. Living by themselves, Asato learned how to escape from his troubles at a young age. Whether it was in the garden with his sister, tending to their flowers and vegetables, dancing to the sound of Luka’s singing, or trying to cooking in the kitchen, he found comfort in forgetting his peers torment, especially when his sister was there to lift him up. Here he was normal. He was safe. Outside of this comfort zone though, there was hatred all around him. Children pointing at his face, saying his eyes were evil. Adults staring at him warily and trying to ignore him at the same time. Even his sister was given grief when she would go into town, asked why she would harbor a demon in her home. Often, he would be chased through the streets of their small town. Boys throwing stones and sticks at him, trying to ‘get rid of the demon’. Sometimes, he would out run them and hide in the forest, but others, he would trip up and fall, leaving him to the mercy of children taught to hate him.
Despite the unhealthy environment he lived in, breeding nothing but hate, Asato believed in his sister’s words: People fear what they don’t understand. By his gentle sister’s example, he tried to prove through his actions that he was a good person. Luka never once acted out in anger, and she taught him to do the same. While Luka reassured him that he was not a demon, Asato could not help absorbing the words into his spirit , and it didn’t take much for him to begin to see himself as the demon his neighbors claimed he was. Every night, he would pray that God would make him human. He wanted to be one of them, so they wouldn’t fear him. He never wanted to frighten anyone. He was a gentle child. He enjoyed watching things grow. He liked watching people in town interact, wishing he could be like that. Unfortunately, he blamed himself for not being able to. He blamed himself for the hard life Luka had to support them through. He blamed himself for the fear that fueled the hate. If only he were human, no one would have to suffer...
However, his prayers didn’t seem to be enough. Everything fell apart. Whether it was his fault or not, even Asato doesn’t know. His sanctuary and guardian were taken away right before his eyes. The life he had known washed away in the splatter of blood. Blood that he had spilled with his own hands. He really was a monster. That monster longed for destruction, and after his host blacked out, that was exactly what it got. When he awoke, Asato realized that he was not human and a danger to the human race he longed to be a part of. He was alone, and he blamed himself. This was the beginning of his downward slope into depression and eventually insanity. He was seventeen years old.
The Japanese government hunted him down, hoping to find a means of harnessing the devastating power he possessed. As Asato was unaware of what he truly was, he couldn’t give them any answers. When he refused to unleash the monster inside of him, the military tired of trying to force him. Asato was tired, weary of the struggle within him and trying to protect the world. He fell to the despair of his self loathing, and madness pushed him somewhere between the monster and the man, a state where he just stared at something and no one could snap him out of it. The military turned him over to an in-home clinic, where the doctor left him to lie in his bed. It didn’t take much to take care of him. Without eating, drinking, or even sleeping, Asato just lied in the bed, staring off in the distance. While he lied there, haunted by nightmares of his past, his body never aged. It was as if he were fixed at some point in time. However, he would sometimes stir from this state, at unpredictable intervals, and wildly attack himself. The struggle had come full circle. He was the only one that stood between the monster that lived inside of him and the world. He had to destroy it before it killed again. He had to protect humanity. If it released him from the agony he lived through, that would be fine with him, too. The nurses and doctor, unaware of what Asato was trying to do, would stop him. For eight years, this went on until Asato finally ended his life, but that was far from the end.
Asato found himself standing before a court not of this world, the Ministry of Hades. They put him on trial for his deeds in life. It was found that he had committed one of the unforgivable crimes, suicide. It carried a sentence of rejection for reincarnation and damnation to hell. Asato accepted this fate wholly. This way he could never harm people again, a punishment he believed he deserved. However, someone had other plans for him. The god of death believed his regrets in life were strong enough to be tested to become a shinigami. It wasn’t voluntary. His regret was more than enough, making him a powerful shinigami, and the god took Asato to his side as his right hand. Asato was mortified to become what he had struggle not to be, but he could not escape this existence as he had before.
He turned to new escapes, when he wasn’t shutting down after killing victim after victim the Ministry sent him after. Alcohol brought on a numb that made the pain in his spirit go away for a little while, but it was only for a moment. He would also eat sweets. Pastries, cakes, pies, and candy were reminiscent of the innocence of his childhood, and his attitude became quite childish as the years rolled by. He hated his vocation, and he did not exactly hide it. Still, he wasn’t a rebellious individual, so with the right amount of bellowing from the boss’s office, Asato would run like a dog with his tail between his legs and get to work. It got done, but it was messy and costly on the department. This work ethic became a problem, since shinigami worked in pairs. Tsuzuki’s slacker attitude would drive his partners crazy, and his depression was more than anyone could handle. Partner after partner requested transfers. Tsuzuki Asato was just too much, but he wasn’t going anywhere. He couldn’t even get fired.
Eventually, Asato started to realize that he wasn’t making his life or others any better by acting out. He could see how much of a burden he was to people, and he felt some of the sympathetic feelings of his childhood return. He started smiling, even if it was a false one. He didn’t want people to be miserable because of him. Despite how much it hurt him, he learned how to lie to make others happy. It became such a habit that he actually started to believe the lie that he was alright, and he just became an alcoholic bum that his co-workers just rolled their eyes at. As he was still awkward with people, having no friends aside from his sister, he tried to be friendly, believing Luka’s old advice of example would ring true in the end. Unfortunately, his clumsiness and gullibility proved to be more of a nuisance. However, his genuine desire to try won its way into the hearts of a few that would become friends in some form or another. They felt sorry for him, knowing he could be more, but they figured his regret might be what held him back. Some could only express their care or concern through intimidating means, which only made him cower like a puppy that just got it’s nose swatted.
As he gradually came into his own, Asato found a strong sense of justice, grounded in the experiences of his past. Growing up, he understood that what his fellow townspeople had done was not right, but he still felt he deserved their hatred. His sister hadn’t deserved the end she had had. Luka deserved far better than anything she had while he knew her. He knew that for certain. Though he never really ever learned to stand up for himself, consistently, if Asato saw someone being wronged, he took it very personally, so much so, it was as if he made their pain his own. Being a shinigami, he saw both sides of the coin, the victim and the source of their victimization. With the power he possessed, he tried to protect and save people from that, rather than use his power forcefully. He feared harming people still, and he leaned on the skills he had learned from his masters at the Ministry to keep himself in check. He also sought out the assistance of the shikigami, gods and spirits that could be summoned to aid their master in battle. Be it his pure desires or the power within him, he achieved what no other had in Ministry history: acquire twelve shikigami contracts, five of which were guardian gods. Every single one serves him loyally, out of respect or the desire to protect him in his endeavours. Just as the few friends he made, the shiki proved to genuinely care about him. This only strengthened his desire to help others and not harm.
Decades rolled by, and Asato was still a shinigami. At least, he had been placed at the head of the quietest district in their jurisdiction. Things were calm. He was still losing partners like sand through an hourglass, but he was used to that by now. The only want he had was for someone to care about him. He missed the bond he had had with his sister. The family ties, the friendship, the love were things he missed terribly, but when so few could even keep a loose friendship with him, how could someone ever be more than that? He was coming to grips with the idea that he would be alone, which might be for the best as he was a jinx to the very person he missed so greatly. He came very close to that in a partner he acquired in an unexpected manner though, a gun to his back. Hisoka had come from a difficult life. Again, Asato found himself owning the pain the young man possessed, but in this case, Hisoka felt others emotions against his will. He was an empath. It was perhaps the most complete rejection he had ever received, but they couldn’t really seem to get rid of each other. Not after Asato mistakenly discovered the origins of his partner’s death. It seemed they’re paths were connected when the culprit behind their case was Hisoka’s killer, and yet, he was after Asato. Between Asato’s complex and Hisoka’s conscious, they pulled their act together, and the two decided to give the partner thing a try.
As Asato tried to help Hisoka get settled into the job, it seemed things just kept stirring up for them. Asato was working more than ever, which Hisoka was stunned to find how lazy his partner truly was. The slacker suddenly had another task master on top of his chief and his secretary, Tatsumi, in the form of a teenager. He felt more and more like a lazy old man every day. Good thing he still had some friends to distract him from his all work and no play partner. Apparently, the shinigami were getting more lax as the decades rolled by. He was up to no good with the engineering, alchemist shinigami, Watari, who enjoyed using Asato as a cheap test subject for his alchemical concoctions. Shinigami Saya and Yuma dabbled in dressing men up in lolita, and when Asato was intoxicated, the women don’t even need to try hard to have a little fun. Wakaba was an artist in the kitchen. Her cooking and baking were so good that Asato often tried to persuade her to transfer to his district, but her partner, Terazuma, wouldn’t hear of it, as he was the only shinigami that managed to stir Asato to a fight. If it weren’t for the sexual harassment of Count of the Hall of Candles, whom he owed a great deal for altering people’s life spans, Asato had things going pretty good, until he clashed with the demon Sagatanasu.
After a violent clash, Asato was infected by the parasitic demon. Gaining full control of his host’s body, Sagatanasu went through Asato’s past, digging for dirt to keep him distracted while he finished his business. He found the blood stained past and the guilt the shinigami carried over it, forcing Asato to relive the event over and over. It was a nightmare he couldn’t waken from, and all the guilt and sorrow he had thought was gone came flooding back. If not for the intervention of his master the god of death, he would not have harnessed the monster within to crush Sagatanasu and free himself. As much as his friends tried to tell him everything would be alright, the door he had locked years ago had been broken into. It was only a matter of time before it opened completely. With the help of Dr. Muraki, it did just that. The man that Asato and Hisoka thought they had killed together was alive and well, and he was after Asato still, toying with Hisoka just to rile his true target’s emotions. Case after case, murder after murder, Asato became obsessed with stopping the doctor. He wanted the loss of life to end, but Muraki wouldn’t end his game. In the midst of his struggle with the doctor, another demon rose up to try killing Asato, hoping to claim the title he had won from Sagatanasu, but after so many died in his wake, the shinigani ended him the same way he had the other demon, grieving and blaming himself.
Asato could feel his depression coming back. The drinking became heavier. He started eating a lot more, despite having his checks slashed over the damages his fights with Muraki raked up. He hid it from his co-workers though. He didn’t want to worry them. After all, only the Chief knew about his regrets in the office, so he didn’t want to weigh them down with his baggage. He didn’t think they would like him if they knew what he really was either. As much as it openly bothered his partner, Asato carried his burden alone with a pretty smile to distract everyone. Finally, Muraki struck when he was weak. He told him that he had proof he wasn’t human, asking him what was he then. Asato collapsed from shock. It was too painful to hear those words from someone again. When he woke, he went straight to the bar, where he drank so badly that he actually tried to gouge his eyes out. It was all because of his damned eyes. Hisoka stopped him, seeing a glimpse of the painful memories Asato was reliving in his mind. He reassured Asato that only a human being could do something so weak as harm themselves, but Muraki had already set his trap. Using his latest victim, he use her to attack Asato within the Ministry of Hades, knowing the shinigami would do his damndest to protect her as best he could. It all happened so suddenly, and as he was still under the influence of the alcohol, he made an unconscious action out of self preservation. He summoned a shiki and killed her.
He shut down. Everything around him faded away after he finished screaming. He went back to how he was before he died, staring at something no one else could see. There was someone there though. He didn’t know who. By the time he came back to his senses, he realized he had played right into Muraki’s hand. He was tired of chasing the doctor. He was tired of living with the guilt. It was time to escape, again, but he was taking Muraki with him. Unfortunately, his plan failed completely. Both he had Muraki were saved. However, it was then that Asato realized what he had that he didn’t over seventy years ago. He had a family that loved him. He didn’t want to hurt them more than he already had, so he put the smile back on. Only this time, he tried to make it real, and he still is.
Powers and Abilities:
Ofuda Magic is Tsuzuki’s specialty. In Yami no Matsuei, Ofuda is a spirit type magic, and Tsuzuki is the best Ofuda Practitioner in the Ministry of Hades. Ofuda is used to summon the protection of spirits or gods, and it can also be used to bind or reject spirits as well. By writing the name of a spirit on a talisman, fuda paper, or chanting it, you can summon them to your aid. To raise a barrier or bind a spirit, a similar process is used to cast the spell. Tsuzuki has familiars in the form of white birds that are birthed from folding a fuda into origami birds and breathing part of his own spiritual energy into them. They are tracking spirits that answer only to him, unless designated otherwise.
Tsuzuki’s Ofuda fighting style is boiled down to his spiritual power. I do not typically have him summon spirits much, but he is able to summon most spirits and minor kami. When he conjures it up his energy, his spiritual power is given control of the spirit’s power as long as he holds onto the fuda paper used to summon it. Once he releases the talisman used to call the spirit, it burns up like a tissue as the spirit is released. As long as he doesn’t release his talisman, the power will be at his disposal. Tsuzuki can also raise barriers and conceal his presence with his talismans. The closest thing to a weapon he has is an Ofuda Whip. This is a line of talismans held together with Tsuzuki’s own spiritual power. He can use it to strike, but it doesn’t cut as it is made of spiritual power. It can be parried, if one doesn’t give it the chance to coil. It can also be used to bind and seal the spirit of the victim ensnared within, a ward, making powers reduce to nothing and possibly force unconsciousness. He can attach a spirit to it, but he has to discard the whole whip to release the spirit within. The whip can also work to raise a large barrier if needed, but it would require a great deal of Tsuzuki's spiritual power to hold it.
Shinigami in Yami no Matsuei have many powers that are given to them, so that they can do their jobs. When the dead spirits become shinigami, they are given physical bodies again to walk among the living to try fulfilling their regrets in life. They need to eat though, or these bodies won’t hold together, leaving them as spirits again. They are invisible to humans unless they shift their energies to be seen and touched. Along with regeneration powers, shinigami are swift and can fly. There are additional abilities that individuals can have, but those are the basics. They also usually have shikigami spirits from the Imaginary World at their call. These are gods or spirits that can be summoned. Typically, shinigami get one or two shiki because you must convince the spirit that you are worthy of handling them. Tsuzuki, however, has twelve shikigami that all willingly following him. As the spirits dwell in the Imaginary World, Tsuzuki cannot summon them, unless they are in the community.
Tsuzuki is obviously a special case Guardian of Death. On top of the normal powers of the shinigami, he also has his abilities that he had in life. He possesses impressive strength, able to nearly punch through bulletproof glass in one strike. He has amazing stamina, battling against a demon and not getting tired, and his agility and reflexes are inhuman. The demon lord Ashitarote wants Tsuzuki for his spiritual power, which seems to be extremely high for even a shinigami. Muraki says that his DNA isn’t human, but his actual origins have yet to be revealed. A glimpse of a darker side of him is seen when he saw Mariko die because he subconsciously summoned Suzaku. It was only for a moment, but he unleashed a monstrous scream before a large explosion occurred.
Samples
Network:
Hey, look at that! I think I figured out how to record a video on this thing! It is recording, isn't it Watari...? Oh never mind! You see that, Hisoka? You owe me a six pack, pal! Ha!
Well, now that I figured this out... What do you say on these journal things? I mean, it's not like it's an actual journal, right? I could have figured that out easy. I think Watari talks about how his experiments are going. I still can't find Hisoka's journal on here. Why does Watari have to have a Western computer? I barely get our kind. Maybe I spelled his name wrong...? K...U... R... O... S...A...K...I...? Geez, this makes me feel old. Watari! How do I turn it off now?
Third Person:
It was cold. That was first thing Tsuzuki noticed when his senses began to return to him. His fingers twitched suddenly. He was regaining mobility as well. His sense of smell picked up oil, chemicals, blood. He blinked slowly, moistening dry eyes. He knew this feeling, but it had been over seventy years since he had stirred from one of his sleepless comas. He wondered how long he had been gone this time. Did it even matter at this point? Where was he anyway? This was not Meifu or the Ministry's infirmary. Finally, his ears popped, allowing him to hear the sound of Muraki's voice speaking.
Whoever he was speaking to, Tsuzuki did not care. Everything came back to him in that moment. Mariko was dead. He had killed her by subconsciously summoning Suzaku, but that did not explain his black out. Unless, he had done it again. His eyes gaped as he realized he had killed an innocent girl with his own power. It was just like that night, all those years ago. He had no excuse then either for the blood that had stained his skin. Vengeance was never justified. The beast within him had killed again. Instead of weeping, his eyes softened with regret, staring at the tubes and wires that ran on the ceiling above him. He was so tired of crying.
"Enough..." He sat up, silently. "Enough..." His eyes found a knife resting on a tray table beside the gurney he had been lying on. It caught his eye for some reason. Picking it up, he stared at some dried blood that had crusted on the blade. He finally noticed he was wearing a white, kosode robe. His amethyst eyes saw blood had soaked into the material. It had dried to dark red now, just as the blood on the knife. It was all too clear to him. He thought he had heard Muraki's voice whispering to him in the dark. The shinigami had had enough of the doctor’s cruel treatment. It was time he ended all of this. His eyes hardened from regret to resolve. "I have had enough..."
Standing from the gurney, his bare feet touch the cold floor. He looked up in the direction he had heard Muraki's voice. There he was. The Good Doctor had his back turned to him. How careless of him. On silent footsteps, he made his way toward the mad man that had forced his inner monster out on innocent people. Seven decades he had worked to contain the power Fate had cursed him with. Seventy years he had suffered in silence, shouldering his sins alone. For nearly a century, he had prayed that someday the deity that governed Destiny would relieve him of his fears, making him human at last. Now, Muraki had killed any hope of that ever happening. He was not sure what he was, but whatever it was, he was going to let it kill one last time. It had to have the power to bring down the object of his torment. While he was at it, he might as well let it end the devastating power that dwelled within him. That would suffice his pain, would it not? It would make up for the dead that called out to him, asking why he had killed them. It would end the burden he was to those he loved and cared for. Yes, he would do what he did best. He sped up his pace, ramming the knife in his hand into Muraki’s side. It was time. Time for them to die…
Name: Jaden
Age: 24
Personal Journal:
inujin Email / AIM / MSN / Plurk: Plurk - Inujin
Current Character(s): N/A
Character Information
Character Name: Asato Tsuzuki
Fandom: Yami no Matsuei/Descendants of Darkness
Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Descendants_of_Darkness_characters#Asato_Tsuzuki
Character History:
Little is known about Tsuzuki’s past, but there are major aspects that are known. It is a fact that he was discriminated against and hazed by his peers from a young age. His purple eyes were considered demonic, so he often would be beaten up and left for dead. Despite this example, it was always his wish to be human, to be accepted as one of them, and he prayed most of his ‘life’ for God to make him so. The only family ever mentioned is his older sister, Luka. She taught him to dance and garden, which he is quite good at. Her attempts to teach him to cook seem to have failed because his cooking and baking are horrifically bad, rendering the Snow Queen unconscious for several hours. Tsuzuki says that he had to watch his sister die, and through the revelations of the demon Sagatanasu’s mining of his memories, he killed a lot of people in one setting, a sin that he forever regrets. Sometime after this event, he was taken by the Japanese Military, who was interested in him as a means for a weapon or something of the like, mentioned by Muraki. When he did not yield what they desired, he was placed into a hospital under Dr. Muraki’s grandfather for eight years as he lingered between conscious and unconscious, where he didn’t eat, drink, or sleep. When he would come to his senses, he would try to kill himself, namely slashing his right wrist. He died after a successful suicide.
Suicide is a heavy crime according to the Ministry of Hades, and sentencing is usually rejection for reincarnation and damnation to Hell. Because of his regrets in life though, Tsuzuki was chosen to be tested to become a shinigami, a Guardian of Death. He passed. Due to the nature of their work, he would completely shut down after every job, reminded of his crimes in life, and he frequently tries to go against orders and save people; still, Death can never be truly escaped in the end. As time went on, he learned to keep his wits about him over the deaths at his hand, but he never could accept it. He coped by putting on a smile and acting like nothing mattered, becoming a habitual liar, and as he hates his job, he is a notorious slacker, always looking for an excuse to get out of the office. Over the course of seventy years, he lost many partners due to his personality and habits. One such case was his third partner, Seiichiro Tatsumi. Partnered for three months, Tatsumi became haunted by the memory of his mother whenever he saw Tsuzuki break down, so he asked to be placed in a desk job, relieved of field duty. At present, in canon, he is partnered with Hisoka Kurosaki, a teenage, moody boy with powerful empathic abilities. It’s a touch and go partnership at best, but Tsuzuki sees the forever youthful shinigami as family.
When the series begins, Tsuzuki got a new partner, Asuka, a new arrival to the Ministry. Their first case handled a girl whose spirit died but her body hadn't been able to, Ayako Sugizawa. She blamed herself for the death of her cousin that drowned to save her life. Asuka put her down for not moving on and trying to run away from her guilt, but Tsuzuki defended her, feeling a sense of familiarity in the girl's grief. It turned out that Asuka was really Ayako's cousin, Masaki Kimura, who had been preventing her from dying. Tsuzuki brought them back together, and when Ayako found the will to live again, Tsuzuki made her summons get lost. Masaki got transferred to be near Ayako, and he was placed under another shinigami for more training.
Dr. Kazutaka Muraki appeared in the Vampire Arc, and Tsuzuki had to stop the doctor’s vampire from killing people by draining their blood. He got his new partner, Hisoka Kurosaki, in the middle of a chase after the vampire, and it almost ended with a bullet in Tsuzuki's chest. Maria Wong had been brought back from the dead and used to drain people of their life energy for Muraki, an energy vampire himself. Tsuzuki freed her, but Hisoka, revealed to be a murdered victim of Muraki’s, was taken, forcing Tsuzuki to play “date” with the doctor in exchange for Hisoka. It was believed that Muraki was killed in a fire caused by one of Tsuzuki's shikigami, Suzaku the Red Bird.
The Last Waltz Arc revealed a glimpse of Tsuzuki’s past through his sister, when Tsuzuki reflects on her with pained eyes. Against the rules of the Ministry, he fell in-love with his target, Hisae Toujyou, a terminally ill woman that wanted to win a dance competition in her late brother’s memory that looked remarkably similar to Tsuzuki. He admired her will to push forward even though she was in such pain for her brother, who she claimed died for nothing. He also was reminded of himself, looking up to his sister that gave up everything for him. Hisoka and Tsuzuki helped her overcome the sabotage of a former friend that blamed Hisae for her brother's death. After they finished their Magic Waltz, she fell asleep and died in his arms.
During The Devil’s Trill Arc, Tsuzuki attempted to save a young violinist, Hijiri Minase, from the demise of a demonic pact made by his deceased cornea donor. It turned out that Hijiri looked exactly Hisoka except darker hair. After luring the demon out, Tsuzuki was possessed by it during their fight. Sagatanasu, a high ranking officer to the leader of the Spirit Brigade, Ashitarote, used Tsuzuki's body to kill Hijiri, but Hisoka had seen through his act and pretended to be Hijiri. When Sagatanasu invaded Meifu to claim the daughter of the original violinist, he revealed that he had minded Tsuzuki's memories and was forced him to relive his greatest regret over and over. With the help of a powerful ally, Lord Enma-Daioh, disguised as Hijiri, entered Tsuzuki's mind to break the illusion, and Tsuzuki destroyed the demon with his own raw power.
In the Tarot Murders Arc, Muraki returned with another scheme with several murders of first class passengers on a cruise liner as well as a list of souls that were missing connected to the ship. Tsuzuki was enraged to see Muraki using another puppet to do his dirty work, a sickly girl, Tsubaki Kakyouin, with her friend Eileen's stolen heart and soul within her. The doctor was harvesting organs from passengers, and he was using Eileen's restless spirit, he was having her kill off the people involved in the scheme. Tsubaki died after two gunshot wounds, one from Muraki and the other Hisoka, who regrettably killed her out of mercy. Muraki got away as the ship exploded, but Seiichiro Tatsumi, the Ministry's Secretary, rescued the shinigami and passengers.
The St. Michael’s Arc brought Tsuzuki into the demonic world yet again when they investigated the obscure murder of a catholic school boy, Izuru Okazaki. It turned out to be the work of the demon Fuokaroru, trying to lure Tsuzuki out to take his place as Sagatanasu’s successor as Leader of the Dragons. Using the forbidden love of the boy and his teacher, Professor Mitani, the demon drove Izuru to kill himself in front of his lover, but he reanimated the body himself to kill Mitani and Tsuzuki. Tsuzuki killed Fuokaroru in his rage, but as he was unable to save Mitani, he blamed himself for everything.
In the Kyoto Arc, it was revealed that Muraki wanted Tsuzuki all along, having committed all his murders just to lure the Ministry’s attention to send him. He told Tsuzuki that he found demonic blood in his veins, reminding him about his past discrimination, and after forcing him to kill a grieving girl he wanted to protect, Mariko Ikaruga, he snatched the unconscious Tsuzuki from the Ministry to complete the task he had long awaited. He wanted to decapitate Tsuzuki to fuse the head of his half brother, Saki, in order to bring him back to life to exact revenge upon him. After coming to his senses, Tsuzuki wounded Muraki and tried to destroy his own soul along with him by summoning his shikigami, Touda the Fire Serpent with the power to kill a shinigami. He was saved by Hisoka and Tatsumi, but some kind of evil rescued Muraki from the burning laboratory.
Character Personality:
Asato is often described as a broken spirit. Due to his cruel past of discrimination and abuse, he often battles bouts of depression that he tries not to think about. He often pretends that none of his past even happened, and until a few years back, he had suppressed most of his traumatic history. It was a combination of Muraki and Sagatanasu's meddling that have tore open the old wounds and, in turn, old habits. When he struggles, he can often be seen indulging in his coping mechanisms: Eating, specifically sweets, and drinking. As his metabolism is inhuman, he is a heavy drinker, and he often suffers severe hangovers where he feels sorry for himself but will do anything not to get yelled at. He also eats, a lot. His magic burns so much energy that it's hard to tell if he is an emotional eater or just always hungry. Being broke, all the time, he bums food and alcohol off his friends and co-works that feel sorry for him. He also will eat or drink anything given to him without much though, much to his misfortune later.
He finds forming deep relationships with people difficult, since he was cruelly bullied as a boy and prefers to turn inward when stress in a social context. His social skills are passable, but he is horribly gullible and doesn't like to distrust without reason. Despite his foul ups, the ones that actually care stay at his side, proving to him that they are true friends. This does not stop him from lying through his teeth just to make someone happy though, and sometimes, it is for his own selfish reasons that he doesn't want to strain the relationship. Because of the numerous broken bonds he has suffered over the years, the man has almost gone numb to being abandoned, which often is a double-edged sword for him. He almost always foresees that he will lose someone in the end.
Since becoming a shinigami, Asato has seen a lot of people die at the hands of cruel killers, shinigami, and even himself; and recently, the deaths have been to torment him personally. He has a gentle spirit, but it is his greatest weakness. He values life a great deal because of his past, so now he hates the thought of killing at all. He would rather bring himself down with an enemy than have to kill. He carries all of his pain in his heart, locking it behind closed doors and lying to himself and the world just to make it through each day. He believes that he is such a monster that no one can accept all of him, so he puts on a smile and plays the part of a goof to draw away attention from his true self. In truth, he can be quite serious and primal when he is moved to anger. He wants to help people, no matter how outrageous it might seem. It’s just another way to try making up for his sins and to prove to himself that he can be good.
Edit - Asato was often described as a broken spirit. This was a good description of him. After growing up in a world that hated him, his only solace was found in his older sister and the sanctuary of their home. Living by themselves, Asato learned how to escape from his troubles at a young age. Whether it was in the garden with his sister, tending to their flowers and vegetables, dancing to the sound of Luka’s singing, or trying to cooking in the kitchen, he found comfort in forgetting his peers torment, especially when his sister was there to lift him up. Here he was normal. He was safe. Outside of this comfort zone though, there was hatred all around him. Children pointing at his face, saying his eyes were evil. Adults staring at him warily and trying to ignore him at the same time. Even his sister was given grief when she would go into town, asked why she would harbor a demon in her home. Often, he would be chased through the streets of their small town. Boys throwing stones and sticks at him, trying to ‘get rid of the demon’. Sometimes, he would out run them and hide in the forest, but others, he would trip up and fall, leaving him to the mercy of children taught to hate him.
Despite the unhealthy environment he lived in, breeding nothing but hate, Asato believed in his sister’s words: People fear what they don’t understand. By his gentle sister’s example, he tried to prove through his actions that he was a good person. Luka never once acted out in anger, and she taught him to do the same. While Luka reassured him that he was not a demon, Asato could not help absorbing the words into his spirit , and it didn’t take much for him to begin to see himself as the demon his neighbors claimed he was. Every night, he would pray that God would make him human. He wanted to be one of them, so they wouldn’t fear him. He never wanted to frighten anyone. He was a gentle child. He enjoyed watching things grow. He liked watching people in town interact, wishing he could be like that. Unfortunately, he blamed himself for not being able to. He blamed himself for the hard life Luka had to support them through. He blamed himself for the fear that fueled the hate. If only he were human, no one would have to suffer...
However, his prayers didn’t seem to be enough. Everything fell apart. Whether it was his fault or not, even Asato doesn’t know. His sanctuary and guardian were taken away right before his eyes. The life he had known washed away in the splatter of blood. Blood that he had spilled with his own hands. He really was a monster. That monster longed for destruction, and after his host blacked out, that was exactly what it got. When he awoke, Asato realized that he was not human and a danger to the human race he longed to be a part of. He was alone, and he blamed himself. This was the beginning of his downward slope into depression and eventually insanity. He was seventeen years old.
The Japanese government hunted him down, hoping to find a means of harnessing the devastating power he possessed. As Asato was unaware of what he truly was, he couldn’t give them any answers. When he refused to unleash the monster inside of him, the military tired of trying to force him. Asato was tired, weary of the struggle within him and trying to protect the world. He fell to the despair of his self loathing, and madness pushed him somewhere between the monster and the man, a state where he just stared at something and no one could snap him out of it. The military turned him over to an in-home clinic, where the doctor left him to lie in his bed. It didn’t take much to take care of him. Without eating, drinking, or even sleeping, Asato just lied in the bed, staring off in the distance. While he lied there, haunted by nightmares of his past, his body never aged. It was as if he were fixed at some point in time. However, he would sometimes stir from this state, at unpredictable intervals, and wildly attack himself. The struggle had come full circle. He was the only one that stood between the monster that lived inside of him and the world. He had to destroy it before it killed again. He had to protect humanity. If it released him from the agony he lived through, that would be fine with him, too. The nurses and doctor, unaware of what Asato was trying to do, would stop him. For eight years, this went on until Asato finally ended his life, but that was far from the end.
Asato found himself standing before a court not of this world, the Ministry of Hades. They put him on trial for his deeds in life. It was found that he had committed one of the unforgivable crimes, suicide. It carried a sentence of rejection for reincarnation and damnation to hell. Asato accepted this fate wholly. This way he could never harm people again, a punishment he believed he deserved. However, someone had other plans for him. The god of death believed his regrets in life were strong enough to be tested to become a shinigami. It wasn’t voluntary. His regret was more than enough, making him a powerful shinigami, and the god took Asato to his side as his right hand. Asato was mortified to become what he had struggle not to be, but he could not escape this existence as he had before.
He turned to new escapes, when he wasn’t shutting down after killing victim after victim the Ministry sent him after. Alcohol brought on a numb that made the pain in his spirit go away for a little while, but it was only for a moment. He would also eat sweets. Pastries, cakes, pies, and candy were reminiscent of the innocence of his childhood, and his attitude became quite childish as the years rolled by. He hated his vocation, and he did not exactly hide it. Still, he wasn’t a rebellious individual, so with the right amount of bellowing from the boss’s office, Asato would run like a dog with his tail between his legs and get to work. It got done, but it was messy and costly on the department. This work ethic became a problem, since shinigami worked in pairs. Tsuzuki’s slacker attitude would drive his partners crazy, and his depression was more than anyone could handle. Partner after partner requested transfers. Tsuzuki Asato was just too much, but he wasn’t going anywhere. He couldn’t even get fired.
Eventually, Asato started to realize that he wasn’t making his life or others any better by acting out. He could see how much of a burden he was to people, and he felt some of the sympathetic feelings of his childhood return. He started smiling, even if it was a false one. He didn’t want people to be miserable because of him. Despite how much it hurt him, he learned how to lie to make others happy. It became such a habit that he actually started to believe the lie that he was alright, and he just became an alcoholic bum that his co-workers just rolled their eyes at. As he was still awkward with people, having no friends aside from his sister, he tried to be friendly, believing Luka’s old advice of example would ring true in the end. Unfortunately, his clumsiness and gullibility proved to be more of a nuisance. However, his genuine desire to try won its way into the hearts of a few that would become friends in some form or another. They felt sorry for him, knowing he could be more, but they figured his regret might be what held him back. Some could only express their care or concern through intimidating means, which only made him cower like a puppy that just got it’s nose swatted.
As he gradually came into his own, Asato found a strong sense of justice, grounded in the experiences of his past. Growing up, he understood that what his fellow townspeople had done was not right, but he still felt he deserved their hatred. His sister hadn’t deserved the end she had had. Luka deserved far better than anything she had while he knew her. He knew that for certain. Though he never really ever learned to stand up for himself, consistently, if Asato saw someone being wronged, he took it very personally, so much so, it was as if he made their pain his own. Being a shinigami, he saw both sides of the coin, the victim and the source of their victimization. With the power he possessed, he tried to protect and save people from that, rather than use his power forcefully. He feared harming people still, and he leaned on the skills he had learned from his masters at the Ministry to keep himself in check. He also sought out the assistance of the shikigami, gods and spirits that could be summoned to aid their master in battle. Be it his pure desires or the power within him, he achieved what no other had in Ministry history: acquire twelve shikigami contracts, five of which were guardian gods. Every single one serves him loyally, out of respect or the desire to protect him in his endeavours. Just as the few friends he made, the shiki proved to genuinely care about him. This only strengthened his desire to help others and not harm.
Decades rolled by, and Asato was still a shinigami. At least, he had been placed at the head of the quietest district in their jurisdiction. Things were calm. He was still losing partners like sand through an hourglass, but he was used to that by now. The only want he had was for someone to care about him. He missed the bond he had had with his sister. The family ties, the friendship, the love were things he missed terribly, but when so few could even keep a loose friendship with him, how could someone ever be more than that? He was coming to grips with the idea that he would be alone, which might be for the best as he was a jinx to the very person he missed so greatly. He came very close to that in a partner he acquired in an unexpected manner though, a gun to his back. Hisoka had come from a difficult life. Again, Asato found himself owning the pain the young man possessed, but in this case, Hisoka felt others emotions against his will. He was an empath. It was perhaps the most complete rejection he had ever received, but they couldn’t really seem to get rid of each other. Not after Asato mistakenly discovered the origins of his partner’s death. It seemed they’re paths were connected when the culprit behind their case was Hisoka’s killer, and yet, he was after Asato. Between Asato’s complex and Hisoka’s conscious, they pulled their act together, and the two decided to give the partner thing a try.
As Asato tried to help Hisoka get settled into the job, it seemed things just kept stirring up for them. Asato was working more than ever, which Hisoka was stunned to find how lazy his partner truly was. The slacker suddenly had another task master on top of his chief and his secretary, Tatsumi, in the form of a teenager. He felt more and more like a lazy old man every day. Good thing he still had some friends to distract him from his all work and no play partner. Apparently, the shinigami were getting more lax as the decades rolled by. He was up to no good with the engineering, alchemist shinigami, Watari, who enjoyed using Asato as a cheap test subject for his alchemical concoctions. Shinigami Saya and Yuma dabbled in dressing men up in lolita, and when Asato was intoxicated, the women don’t even need to try hard to have a little fun. Wakaba was an artist in the kitchen. Her cooking and baking were so good that Asato often tried to persuade her to transfer to his district, but her partner, Terazuma, wouldn’t hear of it, as he was the only shinigami that managed to stir Asato to a fight. If it weren’t for the sexual harassment of Count of the Hall of Candles, whom he owed a great deal for altering people’s life spans, Asato had things going pretty good, until he clashed with the demon Sagatanasu.
After a violent clash, Asato was infected by the parasitic demon. Gaining full control of his host’s body, Sagatanasu went through Asato’s past, digging for dirt to keep him distracted while he finished his business. He found the blood stained past and the guilt the shinigami carried over it, forcing Asato to relive the event over and over. It was a nightmare he couldn’t waken from, and all the guilt and sorrow he had thought was gone came flooding back. If not for the intervention of his master the god of death, he would not have harnessed the monster within to crush Sagatanasu and free himself. As much as his friends tried to tell him everything would be alright, the door he had locked years ago had been broken into. It was only a matter of time before it opened completely. With the help of Dr. Muraki, it did just that. The man that Asato and Hisoka thought they had killed together was alive and well, and he was after Asato still, toying with Hisoka just to rile his true target’s emotions. Case after case, murder after murder, Asato became obsessed with stopping the doctor. He wanted the loss of life to end, but Muraki wouldn’t end his game. In the midst of his struggle with the doctor, another demon rose up to try killing Asato, hoping to claim the title he had won from Sagatanasu, but after so many died in his wake, the shinigani ended him the same way he had the other demon, grieving and blaming himself.
Asato could feel his depression coming back. The drinking became heavier. He started eating a lot more, despite having his checks slashed over the damages his fights with Muraki raked up. He hid it from his co-workers though. He didn’t want to worry them. After all, only the Chief knew about his regrets in the office, so he didn’t want to weigh them down with his baggage. He didn’t think they would like him if they knew what he really was either. As much as it openly bothered his partner, Asato carried his burden alone with a pretty smile to distract everyone. Finally, Muraki struck when he was weak. He told him that he had proof he wasn’t human, asking him what was he then. Asato collapsed from shock. It was too painful to hear those words from someone again. When he woke, he went straight to the bar, where he drank so badly that he actually tried to gouge his eyes out. It was all because of his damned eyes. Hisoka stopped him, seeing a glimpse of the painful memories Asato was reliving in his mind. He reassured Asato that only a human being could do something so weak as harm themselves, but Muraki had already set his trap. Using his latest victim, he use her to attack Asato within the Ministry of Hades, knowing the shinigami would do his damndest to protect her as best he could. It all happened so suddenly, and as he was still under the influence of the alcohol, he made an unconscious action out of self preservation. He summoned a shiki and killed her.
He shut down. Everything around him faded away after he finished screaming. He went back to how he was before he died, staring at something no one else could see. There was someone there though. He didn’t know who. By the time he came back to his senses, he realized he had played right into Muraki’s hand. He was tired of chasing the doctor. He was tired of living with the guilt. It was time to escape, again, but he was taking Muraki with him. Unfortunately, his plan failed completely. Both he had Muraki were saved. However, it was then that Asato realized what he had that he didn’t over seventy years ago. He had a family that loved him. He didn’t want to hurt them more than he already had, so he put the smile back on. Only this time, he tried to make it real, and he still is.
Powers and Abilities:
Ofuda Magic is Tsuzuki’s specialty. In Yami no Matsuei, Ofuda is a spirit type magic, and Tsuzuki is the best Ofuda Practitioner in the Ministry of Hades. Ofuda is used to summon the protection of spirits or gods, and it can also be used to bind or reject spirits as well. By writing the name of a spirit on a talisman, fuda paper, or chanting it, you can summon them to your aid. To raise a barrier or bind a spirit, a similar process is used to cast the spell. Tsuzuki has familiars in the form of white birds that are birthed from folding a fuda into origami birds and breathing part of his own spiritual energy into them. They are tracking spirits that answer only to him, unless designated otherwise.
Tsuzuki’s Ofuda fighting style is boiled down to his spiritual power. I do not typically have him summon spirits much, but he is able to summon most spirits and minor kami. When he conjures it up his energy, his spiritual power is given control of the spirit’s power as long as he holds onto the fuda paper used to summon it. Once he releases the talisman used to call the spirit, it burns up like a tissue as the spirit is released. As long as he doesn’t release his talisman, the power will be at his disposal. Tsuzuki can also raise barriers and conceal his presence with his talismans. The closest thing to a weapon he has is an Ofuda Whip. This is a line of talismans held together with Tsuzuki’s own spiritual power. He can use it to strike, but it doesn’t cut as it is made of spiritual power. It can be parried, if one doesn’t give it the chance to coil. It can also be used to bind and seal the spirit of the victim ensnared within, a ward, making powers reduce to nothing and possibly force unconsciousness. He can attach a spirit to it, but he has to discard the whole whip to release the spirit within. The whip can also work to raise a large barrier if needed, but it would require a great deal of Tsuzuki's spiritual power to hold it.
Shinigami in Yami no Matsuei have many powers that are given to them, so that they can do their jobs. When the dead spirits become shinigami, they are given physical bodies again to walk among the living to try fulfilling their regrets in life. They need to eat though, or these bodies won’t hold together, leaving them as spirits again. They are invisible to humans unless they shift their energies to be seen and touched. Along with regeneration powers, shinigami are swift and can fly. There are additional abilities that individuals can have, but those are the basics. They also usually have shikigami spirits from the Imaginary World at their call. These are gods or spirits that can be summoned. Typically, shinigami get one or two shiki because you must convince the spirit that you are worthy of handling them. Tsuzuki, however, has twelve shikigami that all willingly following him. As the spirits dwell in the Imaginary World, Tsuzuki cannot summon them, unless they are in the community.
Tsuzuki is obviously a special case Guardian of Death. On top of the normal powers of the shinigami, he also has his abilities that he had in life. He possesses impressive strength, able to nearly punch through bulletproof glass in one strike. He has amazing stamina, battling against a demon and not getting tired, and his agility and reflexes are inhuman. The demon lord Ashitarote wants Tsuzuki for his spiritual power, which seems to be extremely high for even a shinigami. Muraki says that his DNA isn’t human, but his actual origins have yet to be revealed. A glimpse of a darker side of him is seen when he saw Mariko die because he subconsciously summoned Suzaku. It was only for a moment, but he unleashed a monstrous scream before a large explosion occurred.
Samples
Network:
Hey, look at that! I think I figured out how to record a video on this thing! It is recording, isn't it Watari...? Oh never mind! You see that, Hisoka? You owe me a six pack, pal! Ha!
Well, now that I figured this out... What do you say on these journal things? I mean, it's not like it's an actual journal, right? I could have figured that out easy. I think Watari talks about how his experiments are going. I still can't find Hisoka's journal on here. Why does Watari have to have a Western computer? I barely get our kind. Maybe I spelled his name wrong...? K...U... R... O... S...A...K...I...? Geez, this makes me feel old. Watari! How do I turn it off now?
Third Person:
It was cold. That was first thing Tsuzuki noticed when his senses began to return to him. His fingers twitched suddenly. He was regaining mobility as well. His sense of smell picked up oil, chemicals, blood. He blinked slowly, moistening dry eyes. He knew this feeling, but it had been over seventy years since he had stirred from one of his sleepless comas. He wondered how long he had been gone this time. Did it even matter at this point? Where was he anyway? This was not Meifu or the Ministry's infirmary. Finally, his ears popped, allowing him to hear the sound of Muraki's voice speaking.
Whoever he was speaking to, Tsuzuki did not care. Everything came back to him in that moment. Mariko was dead. He had killed her by subconsciously summoning Suzaku, but that did not explain his black out. Unless, he had done it again. His eyes gaped as he realized he had killed an innocent girl with his own power. It was just like that night, all those years ago. He had no excuse then either for the blood that had stained his skin. Vengeance was never justified. The beast within him had killed again. Instead of weeping, his eyes softened with regret, staring at the tubes and wires that ran on the ceiling above him. He was so tired of crying.
"Enough..." He sat up, silently. "Enough..." His eyes found a knife resting on a tray table beside the gurney he had been lying on. It caught his eye for some reason. Picking it up, he stared at some dried blood that had crusted on the blade. He finally noticed he was wearing a white, kosode robe. His amethyst eyes saw blood had soaked into the material. It had dried to dark red now, just as the blood on the knife. It was all too clear to him. He thought he had heard Muraki's voice whispering to him in the dark. The shinigami had had enough of the doctor’s cruel treatment. It was time he ended all of this. His eyes hardened from regret to resolve. "I have had enough..."
Standing from the gurney, his bare feet touch the cold floor. He looked up in the direction he had heard Muraki's voice. There he was. The Good Doctor had his back turned to him. How careless of him. On silent footsteps, he made his way toward the mad man that had forced his inner monster out on innocent people. Seven decades he had worked to contain the power Fate had cursed him with. Seventy years he had suffered in silence, shouldering his sins alone. For nearly a century, he had prayed that someday the deity that governed Destiny would relieve him of his fears, making him human at last. Now, Muraki had killed any hope of that ever happening. He was not sure what he was, but whatever it was, he was going to let it kill one last time. It had to have the power to bring down the object of his torment. While he was at it, he might as well let it end the devastating power that dwelled within him. That would suffice his pain, would it not? It would make up for the dead that called out to him, asking why he had killed them. It would end the burden he was to those he loved and cared for. Yes, he would do what he did best. He sped up his pace, ramming the knife in his hand into Muraki’s side. It was time. Time for them to die…
